35 thoughts on “Heres the first page of an Orc class im working on. Let me know what you think its pretty rough right now. V0.1”

  1. two quick observations/questions (I still have to read the whol class, this counts as a sub)

    1) does the mount granted from Beast Rider have stats like the ranger companion? It could be cool, I think

    2) the Chaotic Alignment looks a little too broad to me. I mean, I could not be sure to win any fight. Maybe something about being overnumbered or overpowered?

  2. I like eveything except some of the basic moves. Though as Nikitas Thlimmenos notes, the Chaotic Alignment trigges is fairly broad.

    Eternal Foe is too mechanical for my tastes. The one against Humans is great because it’s all fiction, but the others just seem like a lot of +1 forwards and +1 armor effects. I’d like to see them made more like the Human one.

    Also, I’m not a fan of choosing specific races. Sure Halfling, Elf, Dwarf, and Human are the big four, but there are other races in Dungeon World. I would make these groups rather than single races.

    I think Cheap Labor would work better as a “on a 10+, choose two. On a 7-9, choose one” type of move.

    I think the healing effect from Homecooked Meal is enough. The +1 forward against that species until your next meal just seems like overkill.

  3. The one for halflings should maybe read: 

    When you discern realities, the GM will tell you if there is a Halfling hidden here in addition to whatever else they tell you. 

  4. I agree with Christopher Stone-Bush  about the “just +1” bonuses: I don’t dislike them, they’re generally fine, but they can become boring. I don’t know if it’s approriate to suggest ideas, but I’ll give it a try. How about the idea that orcs who fought against elves have some king of magical resistance? Maybe magic users that deal damage have to roll twice and choose the worst outcome. Or, more generically, “Magical effects have a lesser impact on you, the GM will tell you how” (more generic, and it could be gold for some hard moves while trying to be healed by magic…).

    The one about finding halflings sound like fun too!

  5. I think some of it depends on what your source material is and what role the Orc will play in the group, but off of the top of my head, Bend Bars, Lift Gates and Thousand-Yard Stare would make sense.

  6. So I agree that this class lacks focus currently I hope to change that and  I am probably going to make the Home cooked meal move an advanced move.  I am also going to add in a move that deals with violent rage, I was thinking like swear to destroy one person or thing that has evaded you and gain 2 boons.

    Tim- I actually was thinking that a hidden Halfling was more open than that, like say something is stolen and you need to speak to the head of a Halfling thieves guild, you would be getting +2 on any rolls to finding them, whether its parlay or discern realities, or just looking around. 

    And 2 questions for you guys

    1. What is this /sub thing?

    2. How should I update this, should I make a new post or keep it in the comments?

  7. sub = i subscribe to this threat to get updates when somone posts in it. 

    2. Keep it in the comments for now 

    3. Giving a +2 to something shouldn’t be done probarbly it skewes the probability curve way to much. 

  8. I think that new move might be better as something that gives you hold. It’s very poorly defined as it is. 

    Could you tell us more about what role you think the Orc plays in the party? Someone who has all this baggage might not play nice with others.

  9. Well the Orc is supposed to be a berserker who does a lot of damage but takes a lot also. The orc is supposed to be an angry but loyal person who solves Thier problems by smashing them. Why would you do to change the rage powers? And should I even keep the eternal enemy move?

  10. Well Orcs really are barbarians, but im trying to differentiate them to show that while barbarians may fight with reckless abandon, orcs fight mercilessly and  try to cause as much damage as possible. And im trying to make it a blend between all  of the martial classes so as you level up, you decide the kind of fighter the orc is

  11. Peter Johansen How would it work as a hold? And Im changing the text to ” Each night before you go to sleep you remember all the things that infuriate you. Your rage empowers through the night, Choose 2 boons:”

    Any suggestions on how I can improve it further? 

  12. Peter Johansen Thanks you have been a bunch of help. I have removed the eternal foe move, added bend bars for the time being, I have removed the expansionist background and added half orc, which allows you to not be immediately detected as an orc. and the rage power now has a new activation:

    Once per day after you have killed an enemy in battle, you focus your rage, Choose 2 boons:

    How is that? does it add better lore to the orc? I am trying to get a cross between fighter and an angry ranger.

  13. Just my personal preferences on this, the way I see a PC viable Orc breaking down kind of.. isn’t the same.

    You seem to have made them a beast-riding slaving race that holds eternal grudges against other races. To me… beast riding is Goblin, enslaving is Hobgoblin and eternal grudges is Dwarf.

    I think the difference here is that I see Orc as primarily a chaotic race. Even more chaotic than evil.

    That means they aren’t going to have the patience to tame and train any beast. Nor do they necessarily have the disposition to chat with it and join its pack like a goblin.

    Enslaving is likely to be a short-term thing. They really don’t have the slant towards order to set up a system of slavery. Hobgoblins want to dominate the world and place themselves squarely on top as its rulers. Orcs want to crush, break, and burn it to prove they are the best of the best.

    And eternal grudges against races? Orcs likely haven’t the attention span or drive to actually hate any one particular race over another. To them they are all soft, squishy little things to beat down, take their stuff and walk away laughing. They haven’t the time to count the crimes against them of one weak little race over another.

    But.. that aside. What might be some things Orcs would excel at?

    Well, they likely don’t give up even when things get their worst. They’d probably do better on death rolls and might fight better when injured.

    They fear no foe short of a dragon or pit fiend. They have every confidence they can beat any race smaller than them and they are likely to charge even an Ogre or a Troll, their sheer force of will and thrill of battle overcoming any sense to run away and hide.

    They can survive in some of the worst and harshest climates imaginable. The human has to wear three layers of furs to stay warm? The Orc tribes live there running around half-nude from the time they are born. There is absolutely no food in this desolate landscape? Well, the Orc found plenty to eat for himself and you too. Now shut up and eat your fungus and half-rotted reindeer.

    Toxins? Diseases? They don’t care– especially if it came from something they ate or drank. It isn’t going to slow them down.

    They are masters of axes. They might use a giant two-handed axe or a pair of one-handed axes and throw axes at you… they can also use their axe with proficiency as a survival tool.

    They have a great sense of smell. Think you are nice and hidden from them in those bushes? Think again– they can smell your stink from 10 yards away, even over their own.

    They very much follow their emotions and are in-tune with the elements of nature among them, as harsh as those elements can be. They have shamans who can speak to the spirits of the wind and rocks, of the animals they have bested and even to their ancestors. A heroic Orc might well carry some of these abilities.

    You don’t seem to have come up with any advanced moves yet, so maybe those would be some ideas to chew on. But then, from what you have written so far, it is clear your type of Orc is not at all the same subrace as the type of Orc I think of when I am making them as PCs.

  14. andrew ferris Thanks for all rall the great ideas. I will  definatly take them into account. And add advanced moves that would allow you to make any kind of orc you want.

  15. Well, in addition to the ideas I mentioned in my previous post… why not for one of the highest level advanced moves to let them have the effect of the Cause Fear spell at will so long as they can roll high enough (2d6+Cha, need 7+ for the effect with a drawback and 10+ for a perfect effect)?

Comments are closed.