The existance of Half-Orcs in the default setting where Orc = Evil necessarily implies rape. They don't want to just gloss it over, and they don't want to deal with it in detail, so Half-Orcs got cut.
Also, one minor reason:
They wanted a core race that was dragony.
__________________
bv728 - Member, RMES ^^^^ Brazil has decided you're cute.
"It's fucking great to be alive, ladies and gentlemen, and if you do not believe that it is fucking great to be alive, you better go now, because this show will bring you down so much." -Frank Zappa (1940-1993)
Xbox Live Gamertag : bv728 Reviction, a WoW guild.
Why were they dropped as a core race? Hell, they're not even in the MM, IIRC.
bv728 has the consensus speculation covered; I don't think WOTC themselves have given an official reason, but some of their staffers have talked around the same points. You can always use the stats for the Orc in the MM appendix and call it a half-orc, if you want to add 'em back in.
__________________
"Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened." - Winston Churchill
I always got the feeling that Half-Orcs existed as a way to play an Orc without your alignment being "Evil." But with the way that alignment and player races work, you can now play an Orc without your alignment being evil. So... you know... hooray Orcs!
The existance of Half-Orcs in the default setting where Orc = Evil necessarily implies rape. They don't want to just gloss it over, and they don't want to deal with it in detail, so Half-Orcs got cut.
The odd thing about this idea is that the only half-elf I associate with D&D is Tanis from Dragonlance. He was conceived from a rape, but half-elfs are still in the game.
__________________
Wanking is fine and lovely but should largely be done in private. Personally I don't like getting spooged on unexpectedly. Topher
I'm wondering what they'll do about it once Eberron comes round, since one of the biggest Dragonmarked houses in the setting consists mostly of half-orcs. Then again, Eberron has none of the implied rape business of the original half-orcs, instead being symbols of ancient human-orc alliances.
I think they'll either introduce half-orcs in Eberron or just say "Use the stats for orcs but call them half-orcs". Another way to dance around the subject would be to erase half-orcs from the setting fluff and say that House Tharashk consists of humans and full-blooded orcs. Then again, I'd rather just have half-orcs around.
I think they'll either introduce half-orcs in Eberron or just say "Use the stats for orcs but call them half-orcs". Another way to dance around the subject would be to erase half-orcs from the setting fluff and say that House Tharashk consists of humans and full-blooded orcs. Then again, I'd rather just have half-orcs around.
I would prefer to have the full-blooded orcs around, but I also like having hobgoblins as a PC race.
__________________
Wanking is fine and lovely but should largely be done in private. Personally I don't like getting spooged on unexpectedly. Topher
The odd thing about this idea is that the only half-elf I associate with D&D is Tanis from Dragonlance. He was conceived from a rape, but half-elfs are still in the game.
Half-Elves, though, are a MUCH older idea; the circumstances of one Half-Elf are rendered diminuative in light of the legacy of Elrond and the norse Half-Elven.
Furthermore, Elves are not portrayed as a Raiding Evil; the default setting for Orcs is that they're evil raiders, thus placing them squarely outside of the Points of Light.
I imagine that we'll see Half-Orcs return for Ebberon, because Orcs are specifically part of civilization there.
__________________
bv728 - Member, RMES ^^^^ Brazil has decided you're cute.
"It's fucking great to be alive, ladies and gentlemen, and if you do not believe that it is fucking great to be alive, you better go now, because this show will bring you down so much." -Frank Zappa (1940-1993)
Xbox Live Gamertag : bv728 Reviction, a WoW guild.
I always got the feeling that Half-Orcs existed as a way to play an Orc without your alignment being "Evil." But with the way that alignment and player races work, you can now play an Orc without your alignment being evil. So... you know... hooray Orcs!
I like the Half-Orc, they make good adventurers because they don't fit in anywhere and they have to find their own way in the world. I'm much less interested in playing an Orc.
__________________
"To seize the essence of history, it suffices to compare Herodotus and the morning newspaper."
Attriubted to Schopenhauer by Walter Benjamin.
[4E] Why no half-orcs?
Linear Mode
