Few races share a hatred of each other like the orcs and elves. In many ways they are opposites. One beautiful, the other grotesque. One strong, and one agile. One intelligent, one that could not think its way out of a parchment satchel. The truth is this contempt runs deeper than their differences, their blood and their history. This is a hatred that weeps from their very gods, and any pitiful creature born of an unthinkable union between them is doomed to a life of anguish.
— Professor R. Bennett, human sage
Strong, agile and utterly unpredictable, an elf-orc is formidable yet despised by both their parent races. Those born to elven mothers are sometimes raised in secret, or taken to human lands and raised there instead. Those born to orc mothers aren’t usually allowed to live. The loathing between these races cuts to the very core of their being, and the rare child sired between them is condemned to the life of an outcast.
Dexterous Yet Durable
Elf-orcs are blessed with the beauty of elves, marred only by jutting jaws, prominent teeth and a slight hunch to their build. Elf-orcs stand between 6 to 7 feet tall yet lack the broad, bulky bodies of their orc parent, instead having slim builds with their natural muscle wrapped tightly beneath the flesh. Their skin tones tend to reflect that of their elven parent tinged with a grayish, dulling hint.
There is an almost elegant quality to their purposeful movements, reminiscent of lion or tiger—powerful, yet precise and fluid. Elf-orcs are not as strong as full orcs, nor as agile as pure elves, they instead embody a near-perfect balance between might and speed. They are impulsive and erratic, making them all but impossible to anticipate in battle; a trait which earns the respect of some of their parent races, if not their acceptance.
Turmoil Within
The elf-orcs are a people that not only struggle with others, but also conflict with themselves. The whispers of the orc god Gruumsh do not directly reach their minds, kept at bay by their fey ancestry, yet his influence still burns in each and every elf-orc. It’s this influence with amplifies their already chaotic tendencies, a gift also of their elf blood, and sees them act on instinct—unpredictable but often reckless, with little regard for law and order. It drives them to violence, and only the fine control granted by their elven heritage allows them to—mostly—rein in these urges.
Likewise, their elf blood steers them toward doing good—a task made difficult by the fact that they are widely shunned, along with their vicious cravings and aloof nature. These often futile desires commonly lead to frustration, and see more elf-orcs maintain a neutral or evil alignment than any form of good.
Misunderstood by their parents and almost every other race, including other part-orc people, elf-orcs feel most at ease among tieflings who know what is to be scorned by the masses. The few elf-orcs in existence often find a home among the slums of human cities or wander the lands as lone drifters. Those with power who come to accept elf-orcs find them to be both capable and efficient, often employing them as personal bodyguards, lethal assassins, bounty hunters or shock troops.
Elf-Orc Names
Elf-orcs are given names fitting to where they were raised. Those raised by a reclusive elf will have an elven name, whilst one raised by an exiled orc will bear a more gutteral sounding, orc name. Alternatively, like tieflings, some elf-orcs adopt a “virtue” name based on a word that they feel signifies their struggle to survive, or an important goal to them.
Look between elf names, orc names, and tiefling “virtue” names and choose one for your character.
Those given away to be raised by others, whether to guardians from another race, a monastery or faction order, or otherwise, could have any name relevant to those.
Elf-Orc Traits
Your elf-orc character has certain traits deriving from your mixed ancestry.
Ability Score Increase
Your Strength, Dexterity and Constitution score each increases by 1.
Age
Elf-orcs combine the strange mixture of maturing quickly and yet living long lives. They reach adulthood by the age of 15, yet live up to 150 years.
Alignment
Nearly all elf-orcs are wildly chaotic, inheriting traits of chaos from both sides of their parentage. Elf-Orcs can be of any alignment but they are almost always conflicted; their orc blood drives them towards violence and evil, whilst their elven heritage exerts a strong influence toward good.
Size
Elf-orcs are taller than humans but just as slim, ranging from 6 to 7 feet tall. Your size is Medium.
Speed
Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Darkvision
Thanks to both your elf and orc blood, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
Elven Gift
The type of elf your elf-orc is descended from will determine what they have inherited:
• An elf-orc of moon elf or sun elf descent can choose the high elf’s Cantrip.
• An elf-orc of wood elf descent can choose Fleet of Foot, or Mask of the Wild.
• An elf-orc of drow descent can choose Drow Magic.
• An elf-orc of aquatic heritage can choose a swimming speed of 30 feet.
Fey Ancestry
You have advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and magic can’t put you to sleep.
Aggression
As a bonus action, you can move up to your speed toward an enemy of your choice that you can see or hear. You must end this move closer to the enemy than you started.
Erratic Dodge
Born from conflicting races, with an unknown story and your very blood chaotic; no enemy can predict you. You may use your reaction to either give yourself advantage on a Dexterity saving throw, or force a creature to reroll an attack against you, taking the lowest of the two rolls for their attack. You can use this trait once per short or long rest.
Languages
You can speak, read, and write Common, Elvish and Orc. Elvish is fluid, with subtle intonations and intricate grammar. Orc is a harsh, grating language with hard consonants.