The Orcs
Throm-ka, warrior! Do you live for crushing your enemies before you? To see the lamentation of their loved ones? Do you yearn to ride free on a giant wolf, the wind in your face, and commune with the primal elements? If so, then orcs might be the race for you.
The orcs of World of Warcraft are quite different from the orcs of other fantasy franchises like Lord of the Rings, Warhammer, or Dungeons & Dragons. In Warcraft, orcs are a fully sentient race with a complex culture and government structure, rather than magical corruptions of existing races, fungus-grown killing machines, or brutish monsters with little thought of anything beyond their next fight or meal.
On their homeworld of Draenor, the earliest orcs lived in the shadow of the gronn and ogrons, giants native to Draenor, and then ogres. The orcs split into clans and spread over their continent. Clans such as the Blackrock, Laughing Skull, Dragonmaw, Bleeding Hollow, Frost Wolves, Thunderlords, Burning Blade, Shadowmoon, and Warsong developed localised cultures, beliefs, and systems of rulership. Regardless of clan differences, orc culture prized strength and valor above all. Honor was important as well, however, what was honorable shifted from clan to clan. In addition to their natural skill as warriors and hunters, orc shamans often held prime leadership roles in orcish society, as they could commune with the elements and the ancestors, who the orcs venerated.
Under the leadership of the shaman Ner’zhul and his apprentice Gul’dan, the orcs fell under the sway of the vast demon army The Burning Legion. The Legion came to the orcs in the guise of spirits, offering to teach the shamans a new element to utilize; the fel (chaotic energy used by demons). The only price they had to pay was fealty to these new spirits. Over time, these shamans trained in the fel became the first warlocks, practitioners of fel magic and demon summoning. The warlocks organized most of the clans into a unified horde. When the Horde had been gathered, the Legion’s general, a pitlord named Mannoroth, arrived on Draenor to complete the ritual swearing the new Horde to the Legion’s service. All able-bodied orcs were to accept Mannoroth’s gift, and drink his blood. Doing so turned the orcs green (their natural hue were earth tones, as we will see with the Mag’har Orcs later). During these events, the Horde launched their first of many military campaigns. The Draenei had come to Draenor centuries before, and while there had been tensions with the orcs, the two races had for the most part maintained an amicable distance. That changed, however, as the orcs began slaughtering Draenei populations wherever they found them. Draenei prisoners and civilians were gathered at a site in Tanaan Jungle, where the Horde was building the massive Hellfire Citadel and the Dark Gate. The gate required souls to open, so the Draenei were to be the fuel to open the gateway to Azeroth.
What followed the opening of the Dark Portal was also referenced in my previous article on the humans. The orcs came through, and in the First War ravaged the human kingdom of Stormwind, and launched an immediate Second War, this one after Ogrim Doomhammer became warchief of the Horde and disbanded the warlock Shadow Council in an attempt to reclaim the orcs’ honor and conquer a new homeland after Ner’zhul’s final ritual on Draenor essentially broke the planet apart, However, despite trying to conquer the dwarves, gnomes, and humans of the northern kingdoms, the Horde would lose the Second War. This led to the internment of the orcs in camps across Lordaeron. The orcs fell into a stupor after their defeat, as the blood rage inflicted on them by drinking demon blood subsided.
In time, a young orc shaman named Thrall would unite the disparate tribes and camps, break them out, and flee across the Great Sea to the distant shores of Kalimdor, where in the harsh deserts of Durotar, the city of Orgrimmar was built. The harsh land was to be their homeland, Thrall decided, as penance for the world the Horde had ravaged. This decision would have far-reaching consequences in time, as younger orcs grew up in harshness and poverty, only to become angry and once again plunge the world into a whirlwind of blood, death and genocide.
The pull between what they’ve done and what they want to be is an important theme for the orcs in particular. They aspire to be more than just a rampaging mob of raiders and killers, even though that is often how they come across to other races. And so the orcs of Orgrimmar strive to find their place in a world that often fears and hates them.
Choosing to play an orc gives you access to the warrior, death knight, hunter, shaman, rogue, monk, warlock, and mage classes.
The racial bonuses orcs receive emphasize their hardiness and ferocity. In addition to giant shoulder armor, they also receive:
1.Blood Fury. On a 2-minute cooldown, an orc can give in to the inner rage they carry to increase their attack power or spell power, depending on class and specialization
2.Hardiness. Orcs are big and tough. They know it. Everyone else knows it. Stun effects are reduced by 20% on orcs.
3.Command. Orcish hunters, warlocks, and death knights know how to get the most out of their companions/minions, so hunter pets, warlock demons, and death knight ghouls do an increased 1% in damage
Orcs are one of the two central races of the Warcraft mythos. Their rivalry with the Humans formed the core of the original trilogy of games. Orcish heroes reverberate through the game’s history like the human ones. Names like Orgrim Doomhammer, Grom Hellscream, Garrosh Hellscream, Durotan (who fought against the corruption of his race by the Legion) and Saurfang. To play an orc is to walk the line between greatness and savage madness, so get out there and bring honor to the Horde! Lok’tar ogar!
The orcs of World of Warcraft are quite different from the orcs of other fantasy franchises like Lord of the Rings, Warhammer, or Dungeons & Dragons. In Warcraft, orcs are a fully sentient race with a complex culture and government structure, rather than magical corruptions of existing races, fungus-grown killing machines, or brutish monsters with little thought of anything beyond their next fight or meal.
On their homeworld of Draenor, the earliest orcs lived in the shadow of the gronn and ogrons, giants native to Draenor, and then ogres. The orcs split into clans and spread over their continent. Clans such as the Blackrock, Laughing Skull, Dragonmaw, Bleeding Hollow, Frost Wolves, Thunderlords, Burning Blade, Shadowmoon, and Warsong developed localised cultures, beliefs, and systems of rulership. Regardless of clan differences, orc culture prized strength and valor above all. Honor was important as well, however, what was honorable shifted from clan to clan. In addition to their natural skill as warriors and hunters, orc shamans often held prime leadership roles in orcish society, as they could commune with the elements and the ancestors, who the orcs venerated.
Under the leadership of the shaman Ner’zhul and his apprentice Gul’dan, the orcs fell under the sway of the vast demon army The Burning Legion. The Legion came to the orcs in the guise of spirits, offering to teach the shamans a new element to utilize; the fel (chaotic energy used by demons). The only price they had to pay was fealty to these new spirits. Over time, these shamans trained in the fel became the first warlocks, practitioners of fel magic and demon summoning. The warlocks organized most of the clans into a unified horde. When the Horde had been gathered, the Legion’s general, a pitlord named Mannoroth, arrived on Draenor to complete the ritual swearing the new Horde to the Legion’s service. All able-bodied orcs were to accept Mannoroth’s gift, and drink his blood. Doing so turned the orcs green (their natural hue were earth tones, as we will see with the Mag’har Orcs later). During these events, the Horde launched their first of many military campaigns. The Draenei had come to Draenor centuries before, and while there had been tensions with the orcs, the two races had for the most part maintained an amicable distance. That changed, however, as the orcs began slaughtering Draenei populations wherever they found them. Draenei prisoners and civilians were gathered at a site in Tanaan Jungle, where the Horde was building the massive Hellfire Citadel and the Dark Gate. The gate required souls to open, so the Draenei were to be the fuel to open the gateway to Azeroth.
What followed the opening of the Dark Portal was also referenced in my previous article on the humans. The orcs came through, and in the First War ravaged the human kingdom of Stormwind, and launched an immediate Second War, this one after Ogrim Doomhammer became warchief of the Horde and disbanded the warlock Shadow Council in an attempt to reclaim the orcs’ honor and conquer a new homeland after Ner’zhul’s final ritual on Draenor essentially broke the planet apart, However, despite trying to conquer the dwarves, gnomes, and humans of the northern kingdoms, the Horde would lose the Second War. This led to the internment of the orcs in camps across Lordaeron. The orcs fell into a stupor after their defeat, as the blood rage inflicted on them by drinking demon blood subsided.
In time, a young orc shaman named Thrall would unite the disparate tribes and camps, break them out, and flee across the Great Sea to the distant shores of Kalimdor, where in the harsh deserts of Durotar, the city of Orgrimmar was built. The harsh land was to be their homeland, Thrall decided, as penance for the world the Horde had ravaged. This decision would have far-reaching consequences in time, as younger orcs grew up in harshness and poverty, only to become angry and once again plunge the world into a whirlwind of blood, death and genocide.
The pull between what they’ve done and what they want to be is an important theme for the orcs in particular. They aspire to be more than just a rampaging mob of raiders and killers, even though that is often how they come across to other races. And so the orcs of Orgrimmar strive to find their place in a world that often fears and hates them.
Choosing to play an orc gives you access to the warrior, death knight, hunter, shaman, rogue, monk, warlock, and mage classes.
The racial bonuses orcs receive emphasize their hardiness and ferocity. In addition to giant shoulder armor, they also receive:
1.Blood Fury. On a 2-minute cooldown, an orc can give in to the inner rage they carry to increase their attack power or spell power, depending on class and specialization
2.Hardiness. Orcs are big and tough. They know it. Everyone else knows it. Stun effects are reduced by 20% on orcs.
3.Command. Orcish hunters, warlocks, and death knights know how to get the most out of their companions/minions, so hunter pets, warlock demons, and death knight ghouls do an increased 1% in damage
Orcs are one of the two central races of the Warcraft mythos. Their rivalry with the Humans formed the core of the original trilogy of games. Orcish heroes reverberate through the game’s history like the human ones. Names like Orgrim Doomhammer, Grom Hellscream, Garrosh Hellscream, Durotan (who fought against the corruption of his race by the Legion) and Saurfang. To play an orc is to walk the line between greatness and savage madness, so get out there and bring honor to the Horde! Lok’tar ogar!
Comments
Post a Comment