Once upon a time, orcs were a quarrelsome race of humanoids, who were as likely to stick the pointy end of a blade into friends, neighbors, and leaders as they were an enemy. But alas, that was then and this is now.

These days, orcs are no longer a monster you’ll find in the current Monster Manual. Rather, they are a playable character species in the 2024 Player’s Handbook, seemingly more likely to greet their neighbors with casseroles and muffin baskets rather than blood and fire, if the picture above is any indication of how they are perceived in-game. Sad face.

As a Dungeon Master, I see orcs through Tolkien’s lens. And so, for my games, orcs will cleave to the old ways, hating everyone (including themselves) and responding to one thing, and one thing only: strength.

As the party sleeps outdoors in the wilderness, one of the characters who draws a watch hears the echoes of shouting somewhere in the distance. If the character or the party investigates the source of the shouting, they discover the flicker of a campfire several hundred yards away from their own camp. Approaching the campfire to investigate further reveals the following scene:

A forest glade glows with the light of a blazing campfire as two orc warriors hack at each other with savage fury, their weapons flashing in the night. Around them, a circle of orcs chant and jeer, the air thick with sweat, smoke, and blood. Each strike sends sparks across the dirt, every roar echoing through the trees. This is no friendly contest – the crowd watches hungrily, eager to see one fall beneath the other’s blade.

The fight ends within a round of the characters arriving, when the blade of one orc combatant sprouts out of the back of the other, eliciting a ragged, bloodthirsty roar of delight from those watching the duel.

As the vanquished orc slumps to the ground, the assembled orcs hail their new chieftain, chanting his name while thrusting their weapons in the air with each shout.

The chieftain soaks in the adulation for a moment, then quiets their raucous cheers to address his tribe for the first time as their new leader.

“I will need a lieutenant at my side to help me lead this tribe,” says the new orc chieftain.

“The first of you to bring me the head of our uninvited guest(s),” he says, suddenly pointing to the character (or party) hidden nearby, “will win my favor.”

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