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I am interested in finding alternative subraces for half-orcs, especially those with less-terrible ability scores. I am aware of the Unearthed Arcana environmental variants (aquatic, arctic, desert, and jungle half-orcs) and elemental variants (water half-orc), and I’m aware of the frostblood half-orcs from Dragon Magic, but these are literally the only examples I can find.1

It must “be” a half-orc (have “half-orc” in the race name), or qualify as one for requirements. Full-blooded orcs, sadly, can’t apply (looking to use half-orc paragon). Sources can include any Wizards of the Coast-published 3.5e material, or Dragon or Dungeon magazine content. LA +0 vastly preferred, but since I’m grasping at straws here, I’ll happily take a look at stuff with a higher LA or even unplayable stuff, so long as it is some variant half-orc and not just a template applied to half-orcs.

  1. For the record, the sharakim from Races of Destiny are not an answer here. Despite their introduction being “Humans assume all orcs are the same [...] one group in particular stands apart from all others,” sharakim aren’t orcs, half- or otherwise. They’re “tainted humans;” they have the human subtype, and not the orc subtype. Orcs were already an offensive caricature, but honestly the way this write-up dangles even a little bit of redemption for the race and then re-assigns it back to humanity is beyond the pale. I hope whoever wrote this description has learned better since and is ashamed of it.
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  • \$\begingroup\$ Are you sure that sharakim are the only potential half-orcs from Races of Destiny? That book mentions half-orcs an awful lot. \$\endgroup\$
    – J. Mini
    May 30, 2020 at 0:26
  • \$\begingroup\$ @J.Mini I looked, couldn’t find any! I thought so too, but there didn’t seem to be anything. Happy to be proven wrong, though. \$\endgroup\$
    – KRyan
    May 30, 2020 at 0:27

2 Answers 2

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Scablands Half-Orc

I hunted around every race list that I could find, and, aside from Chet Erez's outdated work, this one was the only one that did the job. As far as I can tell, your only omission is the Scablands Half-Orc from page 43 of Sandstorm. Everything else is either homebrew, 3rd party, or Pathfinder.

Frankly, the subrace isn't notable for anything. Its only changes from the base half-orc are:

  • Low-light vision rather than darkvision
  • Some protection against thirst
  • Heat Endurance as a bonus feat

I think that you've got everything else. Neither my own regex work nor Chet Erez's old index had any more to say.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Insanity, but thank you so much for your hunting and backing up my “nothing.” I’m gonna just go ahead and accept—if someone comes up with more, then great, but I doubt anyone will. \$\endgroup\$
    – KRyan
    May 29, 2020 at 23:52
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    \$\begingroup\$ @KRyan I've finished my final checks. Unless there's something hidden in the books that have already been mentioned, I'm confident that you've got everything. \$\endgroup\$
    – J. Mini
    May 30, 2020 at 0:44
  • \$\begingroup\$ This index likewise doesn't go any further than what's already listed, but it may be useful in providing additional confirmation. \$\endgroup\$ May 30, 2020 at 8:55
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If you are willing to admit Kingdoms of Kalamar material, the Dangerous Denizens book has the Tel-amhothlan, an half-orc/half elf hybrid: no listed LA and explicitly has the orc-blood trait.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Considering how we have found a grand total of eight sub-races of half-orc ’til now, yeah, I’m willing to look anywhere, +1. An elf/orc hybrid would be super-relevant to my interests; too bad it isn’t playable. \$\endgroup\$
    – KRyan
    May 31, 2020 at 22:47

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