D&D Characters

Half-Orc Character Traits, Ideals, Bonds and Flaws - D&D 5e

Duncan Thomson
Rhorog is a half-orc who uses few words but can swear fluently in twelve languages. He believes in personal honour and lives only for the future, leaving behind the past. He is harsh on others but harsher on himself and sings orcish battle chants during combat.

Half-Orc Characters for 5e D&D

Half-Orcs have been in and out of Dungeons and Dragons through different editions. In for 1st Edition AD&D, 3rd Edition and Fifth. Not in core for 2nd Edition or 4th Edition. Often they are associated with savagery, great axes, ferocity, barbarians and difficult childhoods.

Some grow up in orcish cultures, others in human and some in-between or another place entirely different. They give the ability to play a "savage humanoid" while retaining a link to humanity. They are favoured for strength-based warriors and anyone wanting to add a bit of resilience to their character.

Here are tables for character traits, ideals, bonds and flaws. Last is a table for savage heritage

There is a half-orc character ideas generator at ChaosGen. And more tables with Half-orc Characters on DM's Guild

Half-orc Characters on DM's Guild Characters Bundle on DM's Guild

All character tables - dragonborn |  dwarves | elves | gnomes | half-elves | half-orcs | halflings | tieflings | minotaurs

Half-Orc Traits

1d20Trait
1 I use few words
2 I express my emotions often and without restraint
3 I get bored when others talk too much
4 I fill silence with crude jokes
5 I love a friendly wager or challenge
6 I compare everything to the way orcs do it
7 I can swear fluently in twelve languages
8 I often use physical activity to keep dark thoughts at bay
9 I laugh loud and often, for tomorrow I may not laugh at all
10 I don't trust in pretty things. They often hide an ugliness inside
11 I love showing off my strength
12 I bathe once a year
13 I solve problems with direct solutions
14 I keep a tight rein on my emotions after past experiences
15 I flaunt my savage upbringing at every opportunity
16 I prefer doing something to talking about it
17 Every day I struggle against the beast within
18 I am blunt where others use hints or lies
19 I prefer a life of simple pleasure and few worries
20 If you wrong me I will destroy you and everything you love

Half-Orc Ideals

1d20Ideal
1-2 Aspiration I will prove my worth to myself and those important to me
3-4 Cunning. Being smart where others are strong keeps you ahead
5-6 Fortune. Good things happen to those who make them happen
7-8 Glory. Others shall know of my deeds in stories and songs
9-10 Honesty. Plain words and hard work and are enough to live by
11-12 Honor. A broken oath is a broken person
13-14 Respect. If you want respect you must gather enough power to demand it
15-16 Savagery. I want others to see the pain and rage that lives inside me
17-18 Strength. The strong get to make the rules that others follow
19-20 Today. Enjoy each day while you can. Life is too short for big ideas

Half-Orc Bonds

1d20Bond
1-2 I have a feud with a rival that needs to be settled
3-4 I am the last of my family and I will bring my wrath down on those who harmed them
5-6 I'm hunted for a crime I did commit. And I'd do so again
7-8 I have great interest in the legends and tales of my heritage. We can be some much more than we are
9-10 I seek to build a place where everyone is welcome. A home to all
11-12 An orcish amulet is my most treasured possession, reminding me of something I must do
13-14 My adopted family are everything to me
15-16 I want to be remembered for the things I have done
17-18 I live only for the future. The past is best left behind
19-20 Wealth is a way to ensure survival in the world

Half-Orc Flaws

1d20Flaw
1-2 I have a habit of holding grudges
3-4 I often get into trouble trying to live life to the full
5-6 I have no way of hiding my feelings
7-8 Violence is too often my response to any danger
9-10 I often have vivid dreams of bringing ruin to nearby lands
11-12 I am willing to sacrifice anything to survive
13-14 I sometimes take insults too far
15-16 I am harsh on others but harsher on myself
17-18 Once I indulge in strong drink or other vices I find it hard to stop
19-20 I often say the wrong thing in social situations

Half-Orc Savage Heritage

Use this table for backstory and other ideas tying to parts of elven or human world.

1d20Savage Heritage
1 You give brutal sounding names to your weapons a shield with a religious symbol
2 You proud bear several scars a disreputable port city
3 You see omens in every cloud an elderly adventurer
4 You have a vivid tribal tattoo a barded warhorse
5 You prefer to sleep on animal furs a crude display of wealth
6 You have several painful looking piercings a loud family argument
7 You are guided by an ancestor spirit who fell in a great battle against elves a retired fighter
8 You wear an orcish bone amulet a sprawling metropolis
9 You prefer to be active during the night a strange painting of a unicorn
10 You have taken an orcish epiphet such as the Fierce, Bone Snapper or Death Walker several dogs
11 You are marked by a large battle scar a lively tavern
12 You sing orcish battle chants during combat shrine of a human deity of music
13 You believe one of the orcish gods watches you closely a long beard
14 You have a blood feud with an orcish tribe a large gambling debt
15 You have an orcish dance you perform whenever you hear drumming greatsword of a feared barbarian
16 You look for omens and signs in the remains of dead creatures a duck-feather pillow
17 You keep a piece of every creature you kill pact with a devil
18 You believe a guardian spirit of an aurochs or bear protects you a young necromancer
19 You have been branded with the mark of a deity a farmstead
20 You believe the quality of music relates to how loud it is a large family

More Half-orc Tables

There is a half-orc character ideas generator at ChaosGen. And more tables with Half-orc Characters on DM's Guild

Half-orc Characters on DM's Guild Characters Bundle on DM's Guild