Search This Blog

Friday, March 21, 2025

Orc Faces in D&D and elsewhere. Details for gnolls n such. Gazetteer

 The BECMI Gazetteer num. 10, The Orcs of Thar. See BECMI Berserker’s yt. 

Statblock for orc War machine at the 8:01 time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgLtXr8Ereo&t=311s

Time 10:34 has the fun orc-speech spelled out phonetically for a PC sheet.  


THE LOOK OF THE ORCS

UPDATE, Cool, just found this... wow that blows me away. Pig-faced orcs were very common from many sources, like that Tolkien calendar. And some others I had never seen (one-eyed orcs?!), and here's the original inspiration for the DND cartoon orcs: https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2021/07/a-very-partial-pictorial-history-of-orcs.html



Tolkein calendar in 1975ish

Tolkein calendar: https://swordssorcery.blogspot.com/2015/10/hildebrants-tolkien-calendar-1976.html

MM 1e had them drawn as simpering and sad faced pig people.  Not intimidating.

MM 2e had them as hairy, sort of goblinesque.  With a stooped posture, clawed feet, evil eyes, and a strange small but upturned nose.  

MM 3e (year 2000) made them look like barbarian humans more than anything. The nose was skeletal, the mouth had become overly large, but very human.  

Helpful timeline of editions via wikipedia

The 1983 DnD cartoon made them reptilian but with a mammal snout and of large girth.  I like these quite a bit.  No fur.  Clearly scaled eyebrows and face… almost crocodilian.  

The BECMI Gazetteer num 10, The Orcs of Thar? Their faces were still monstrous enough on the cover.  Snouts were greatly shortened from before… 



 Mm4e (2008-2014) and 5e (2014+) went even more human-like.  …So in recent years, since the WoWarcraft (and warhammer) influences…their mouths are their defining “monstrous trait”…  they have become more toad-like or really more Hippopotamus-mouth-like with a smattering of the Incredible Hulk.  I do not much care for the Incredible Hulk/toad/hippopotamus look.  Also compare to the goblins of The Hobbit cartoon movie… they were very toadlike due to their large mouths.  


What about Star Wars - Return of the Jedi's (1984) Gamorrean guards looking very pig-orc-like (or hippo-jawed-orc?)? Including this Executioner from around 2012: 

Gamorrean Guard from Return of the Jedi in 1984

Gamorrean Executioner, approximately 2012



TABLES OF FUN STUFF / good for playin', INDEX of all on Pg. 20 of The Orcs of Thar, Gazetteer

Orc names, gnolls names, hobgob names

Dozens and dozens of names.  Orcs

  • Bone-fist
  • Red-eye
  • Scar-snout


Hobgobs… uumdul, uzuk, wu’hai, yagrai, zhongbai, yarlung.(a or i at end mean female). 


Horde names 

Major hordes… yellow eyes, wolf riders, night brimgers, black moons, skull smashers, etc.

Minor hordes… black axes, blood thorns, night stalkers, vile runes, deathmongers, fire spears, hell hounds, dwarf smashers, tunnel creepers, broken shield, devil swines, bloody hands


Mushrooms (Pg. 36  of the Gazetteer, The Orcs of Thar. )

  • Badshroom - poison
  • Fireshroom- rub together or step on, burns.  Looks like sticks.  
  • Poofshroom - hear enemy step on a spears throw away. And smell.  And poof dust spores go flying.  
  • Darksnap - camo. Can bite off finger.  Super old one can eat a troll.
  • Gooberry - like a sundew from cave ceiling.  Biggest catch a goblin.  Small catch insects. 


Details for gnolls (Pg. 31 of the Gazetteer, The Orcs of Thar. )

  • Grey spots on snout.  
  • One ear flops. 
  • Split lip, exposing teeth. Lip cut scar see teeth thru.
  • Open mouth drooling.
  • Missing fur patches.
  • Mohawk. Mane. Plume or tuft.
  • Bald, extra hair on shoulders.
  • Big wrinkles or flabby flesh.
  • Broken teeth.
  • Tattoos.
  • Eye patch
  • Cold slimy snout
  • Limoing, whining, or hiccup.
  • Occasional convulsion or twitxh
  • Big ears or nostrils 
  • Small horns, or sm boar tusks
  • Twitching or nervous attitude 
  • Various ugly, seamed scars
  • Wet, slimy hair under chin



No comments:

Post a Comment