Let me tell you about Kel Kektar, my half-orc…
Jun 19, 2017 18:26:30 GMT -8
Post by chronovore on Jun 19, 2017 18:26:30 GMT -8
My DM in a weekly Pathfinder game stated he'd rather run DnD 5e, and we were free to roll up new characters. At the time, I didn't have the 5e book, so I said, "Make whatever you want for me. Hell, make a female half-orc bard who plays the bagpipes… I'm good with whatever."
And so was born Kel Kektar, who is all of those things.
When I read through the half-orc race description, it appears most of them come from raiding orcs who rape their victims. Which is pretty horrific, but also must play heavily into their psychology, and will shift depending on who raises them. In Kel's case, she was the child of a human woman whose husband died during the raid. Nearby dwarves had been tracking the marauding band of orcs, so they managed to drive them off before the whole village was slaughtered, though fire and death had taken a heavy toll.
The dwarves brought the few survivors back to their Hold, to recover before moving on with their lives. Kel's mother, now widowed, had lain with her husband not long before the raid, so she hoped that her new pregnancy would prove to be his final gift to her. Instead, when Kel was born, the mother's heart was crushed. She abandoned the child and left the dwarves' – she has not been heard from since.
Kel, a half-orc, was raised amongst dwarves. She knows she does not fit in, so has learned to become entertaining as a means of getting along. Her sense of humor is cutting, and her knowledge of dwarven drinking songs, performed either on bagpipes or sung in the dwarves' ancient tongue, is stunningly replete. She feels an instant kinship with anyone who doesn't fit in, and assumes any dwarf who isn't actively trying to distance her must be an ally.
In short, Kel is easygoing and tries to be funny, until someone won't be wooed by charm — at which point her orcish tendencies will come to the surface, and she'll get by on intimidation.
And so was born Kel Kektar, who is all of those things.
When I read through the half-orc race description, it appears most of them come from raiding orcs who rape their victims. Which is pretty horrific, but also must play heavily into their psychology, and will shift depending on who raises them. In Kel's case, she was the child of a human woman whose husband died during the raid. Nearby dwarves had been tracking the marauding band of orcs, so they managed to drive them off before the whole village was slaughtered, though fire and death had taken a heavy toll.
The dwarves brought the few survivors back to their Hold, to recover before moving on with their lives. Kel's mother, now widowed, had lain with her husband not long before the raid, so she hoped that her new pregnancy would prove to be his final gift to her. Instead, when Kel was born, the mother's heart was crushed. She abandoned the child and left the dwarves' – she has not been heard from since.
Kel, a half-orc, was raised amongst dwarves. She knows she does not fit in, so has learned to become entertaining as a means of getting along. Her sense of humor is cutting, and her knowledge of dwarven drinking songs, performed either on bagpipes or sung in the dwarves' ancient tongue, is stunningly replete. She feels an instant kinship with anyone who doesn't fit in, and assumes any dwarf who isn't actively trying to distance her must be an ally.
In short, Kel is easygoing and tries to be funny, until someone won't be wooed by charm — at which point her orcish tendencies will come to the surface, and she'll get by on intimidation.