Orcs
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The origin of Orckind (or Shuhah Maru as they are often called in polite company) is somewhat of a mystery. The first clear mentioning of them comes accounts of priests and adventurers have blamed everything from the fierce Simarulan jungle to the magical tinkering of ancient kingdoms for birthing this sturdy and survivable creature.

The average Orc is a particularly burly looking humanoid that stands between 5'9" to 7'5, feet in height, with paragon specimens reaching 8'5" feet or so. The male is generally much larger and bulkier than the female of the species, but both have strong, angular features and light-olive to seaweed colored skin, with the 'average' Orc being a bronzy green. Light-skinned Orcs tend to have hair colors ranging between ivory and dark khaki, while darker skinned Orcs generally have sandy brown to lamp black hair. Orcs of any sex or age have a particularly athletic and chiseled appearance with minimal body fat and strong features, but this attractive quality is strongly undermined by their often ferocious or sinister facial features, grotesque body modifications, and unsavory social ideas.

There are those social upstarts that believe Orcs have been given a bad rap, or that they have somehow been misunderstood. The fact of the matter is that the average Orc respects strength, resilience and tactical cunning over compassion or amicability, and he is likely to be considered tactless and apathetic to suffering of others by his peers. Creatures strongly in tune with nature observe that the Orc is often slightly out of touch with his environment, lending credence to theories about Shuhah Maru possibly originating from a chthonic or extraplanar environment.

Most Orcs are nocturnal by nature and quite sensitive to sunlight, and prefer dimly lit habitats like the ancient jungles of Olorun where the light barely traverses the dense canopy of vegetation. In order to thrive in harsh environs such as the deserts of Geron or the ice fields of Kurjeya, some Orcs have developed a resistance to the debilitating rays of the sun, conducting most of their work during the hours of dusk and dawn when their sight is keenest. These Orcs are properly called 'Neper Maru'.

Orc tradition calls for ritual scarification and mutilation, tattooing and piercing. These body modifications serve as an indication of religious, social, moral and regional alignment, as well as birth signs and personality traits.

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