By: Jeff Sparks

Half-orcs are the offspring of human and orc parents, typically found where tribes of the two races come into contact like wild frontiers and small borderland towns. Half-orcs stand between six and seven feet, weigh 180 to 250 pounds, and have grayish skin, jutting jaws, prominent teeth and coarse body hair.

Half-orcs have no native lands to call their own, they most often live among orc tribes. When not living among orcs, half-orcs live among humans, who are often more accepting of half-orcs than other races. Frequently they are not accepted by either society. They will choose a violent career which is sutible for their temperament and physical strength. They find companionship among adventurers, many of many of whom are also wanderers and outsiders.

Prime Requisite: Strength

Requirements: Minimum Strength of 9

The class features of the Half-Orc are:

• Usally Chaotic or Neutral in alignment.
• Save and fight as Fighter of the same level.
• Can use any weapons, are restricted to chain armor or lighter and may not use shields.
• Automatically speak Orcish, and Common.

		Exp.	Hit
Level	Title	Points	Dice
1	Tusker	0	1d8
2	Raider	2,200	2d8
3	Reaver	4,400	3d8
4	Rage	8,800	4d8
5	Hacker	17,000	5d8
6	Slasher	35,000	6d8
7	Scourge	70,000	7d8
8	Storm	140,000	8d8
9	Berserker Lord	270,000	9d8
10	Berserker Lord (10 th)	400,000	9d8+3*
11	Berserker Lord (11 th)	530,000	9d8+6*
12	Berserker Lord (12 th)	660,000	9d8+9*

*CON adjustments no longer apply

Special Abilities

Half-Orcs have only 30' Infravision. However, they do not suffer penalties in bright sunlight like their fullblooded orc kin.

Due to their mixed blood, Half-Orcs are already genetically somewhat short-tempered. With practice, a Half-Orc can work himself into a rage of berserk fury during combat, giving bonuses to hit and damage. The drawback is that he tends to ignore defense for the sake of landing a blow. When a Half-Orc goes berserk, he may only fight or move. He cannot use magic items (i.e. scrolls or potions, etc. Magic weapons and armor are OK), speak, or perform any complex tasks. Unlike the Berserker in the Monsters section of the rule book, a Half-Orc can tell friend from foe and will not strike an ally.

• At 1st level, a Half-Orc can go berserk 1/day. He gets +1 to hit, +1 damage (melee only), and a +2 AC penalty (max. AC of 9). He remains berserk for 1d4 rounds.
• At 4th level, he can go berserk 2/day as above.
• At 7th level, he can go berserk 2/day at +2/+2 with a +2 AC penalty for 1d4+1 rounds.
• At 9th level, he can go berserk 3/day at +3/+3 with a +1 AC penalty for 1d4+2 rounds.

It takes one round for the Half-Orc to work himself into going berserk, during which time he can move but not attack. The "countdown" begins on the following round.

When a Half-Orc reaches 9th level, they attract a "horde" of 2d6 followers. These followers consist of 1st level Half-Orcs (75%) and 1st level non-Lawful Fighters (25%). The Berserker Lord may either use his followers to raid and fight or hire them out as mercenaries, but the horde needs to have some sort of fighting to do or they will disband after 1 month of inactivity. Once disbanded, the berserker lord can gather a new horde for a specific purpose within 1 week if he spends the time actively recruiting them. Members of a horde will typically work for no wages, but will demand a share in the spoils. If they are hired for mercenary work (as opposed to raiding), then a wage may be in order.