Orc tribes are extremely competitive, and when they meet it is 75 percent likely that they will fight each other unless a strong leader (such as a wizard, evil priest, evil lord) with sufficient force behind him is on hand to control the orcs.  Being bullies, the stronger will always intimidate and dominate the weaker.  (If goblins are near, for example, and the orcs are strong enough, they will happily bully them.)  Orcs dwell in places where sunlight is dim or non-existent, for they hate the light.  In full daylight they suffer a +1 Diff Mod when attempting to hit an opponent, but they see well even in total darkness (as an IR scope: short range = 3 meters).

Known orc tribes include the following:  Vile Rune, Bloody Head, Death Moon, Broken Bone, Evil Eye, Leprous Hand, Rotting Eye, Dripping Blade.  If orcs from one of these tribes are encountered in an area, it is likely that all other orcs nearby will also be from this tribe.

For every 30 orcs encountered there will be a leader and three assistants.  If 150 or more orcs are encountered there will be the following additional figures will be with the band:  a subchief with 3-18 guards, each treated as Veteran NPCs.  

Orc lairs are underground 75 percent of the time, in an above ground village 25 percent of the time.  There will always be the following additional orcs when the encounter is in the creatures' lair:  a chief and 5-30 bodyguards (Veteran NPCs), females equal to 50 percent of the number of males, young equal to 100 percent of the number of males.  If the lair is underground, there is a 50 percent chance that there will be from 2-5 ogres living with the orcs.  If the lair is above ground it will typically be a rude village of wooden huts protected by a ditch, rampart, and log palisade.  The village will have from 1-4 watch towers and a single gate.

Orcs are cruel and hate living things in general, but they particularly hate elves and will always attack them in preference to other creatures.  They take slaves for work, food, and entertainment (torture, etc.) but not elves whom they will kill immediately.

Orcs are accomplished tunnelers and miners.  They note new or unusual construction underground or sloping passages on a successful Difficult: Excavation task.

The majority of orcs speak goblin, hobgoblin, and ogre in addition to the languages of orcs.

Description:  Orcs appear particularly disgusting because their coloration — brown or brownish green with a bluish sheen — highlights their pinkish snouts and ears.  Their bristly hair is dark brown or black, sometimes with tan patches.  Even their armor tends to be unattractive — dirty and often a bit rusty.  Orcs favor unpleasant colors in general.  Their garments are in tribal colors, as are shield devices or trim.  Typical colors are blood red, rust red, mustard yellow, yellow green, moss green, greenish purple, and blackish brown.  They live for 40 years.

Half-Orcs:  As orcs will breed with anything, there are any number of unsavory mongrels with orcish blood, particularly orc-goblins, orc-hobgoblins, and orc-humans.  Orcs cannot cross-breed with elves.  Half-orcs tend to favor the orcish strain heavily, so such sorts are basically orcs although they can sometimes (10 percent) pass themselves off as a true creatures of their other stock (goblins, hobgoblins, humans, etc.).