Half-Orcs

It was rare that a human settlement and an orc tribe forged an alliance, but when they did it was often inevitable that members of each party would intermarry. Half-orcs were the offspring of these marriages between two kinds.

Half-orc children were all too often rejected by their wider human family, forced to grow up in orc tribes where they were able to prove their orcish nature through hard work and the performance of grim deeds.

Like half-elves, half-orcs had no true homelands. They were often found living in the slums of larger human settlements, or amongst bands of orcs in the wild.

See Player's Handbook, pg. 40

Half-Orc Variants

Some half-orcs display more obvious signs of their orcish ancestry. Your half-orc character can forgo the Savage Attacks trait and instead take a trait based on their orc parentage.

• A half-orc of grey orc descent can choose the grey orc's Grey Orc Weapon Training or Long Stride.
• A half-orc of mountain orc descent can choose the mountain orc's Mountain Orc Weapon Training or Climber's Grip.
• A half-orc of orog descent can choose the orog's Orog Weapon Training or Superior Darkvision.
• A half-orc of red orc descent can choose the red orc's Red Orc Weapon Training or Fire Resistance.