Midgard's Orcs

Orcs are only mentioned in Midgard under the section of the White Goddess, the albino female Orc goddess, a mention under the Hunter god, and another mention of "deep orcs" in another chapter. How they are used here, where they are in the world, and how prominent they are is up to you.

Tales of the Valiant Monster Vault, page 270.
Copyright © 2024, Open Design, LLC

Tales of the Valiant introduces Orcs as a player race, and keeps the Orc entry in the Monster Vault. They retain their brutal, tribal, warlike look, making the game better than what we got in D&D 2024. What did we lose? We lost most of the description of the race being warlike, brutal, violent, and worshipping dark gods or demons. That description block is an OSR standard, and it feels like the designers at Kobold Press are "leaving it up to us."

Do we want the "noble savages" of World of Warcraft, or the Orcus-worshipping, evil brutes of the OSR? Are they allowed as player options in every game? ToV does not give you direction on allowing or disallowing lineages (races), so this is all up to the group. I appreciate being given the choice instead of having one forced on me.

The Orcs still have savage looks and are not "softened up" with CalArts' rounded features, doughy looks, and pudgy faces. They are not sloppily transplanted onto another culture like in D&D 2024, which is insulting. They look amazing, and the art reflects their sharp, brutal, and rough lives. This classic fantasy art communicates a lot about them; for some players, it will be why they play them.

I swear, people have lost their imagination somewhere along the line, and everything has to be a symbol or something in the real world. Orcs have their OWN culture. Just look at World of Warcraft if you want an example, but even that isn't the end-all since they got sloppy with silly and stupid pop-culture references.

Respect Orc culture like you would any other. This is not hard.

These orcs look cool. They have their own "thing" going on. If they look cool, I want to play them and use them.

This is a common theme in ToV, where D&D explicitly tells you what to do and actively eliminates options. D&D also uses its art to preach its designer's values to you. ToV will present you with everything and let you decide for yourself. The art stays mostly neutral. Kobold Press is a pretty progressive company, so this permissiveness is a pleasant surprise. Designers deserve praise for "staying out of the way" regarding group preferences instead of trying to socially engineer your gaming group.

I get it; sticking with D&D and "ignoring the designer's stupidity" are what everyone does.

But I stand up for the better game that respects my choices.

In Midgard, I am free to use orcs however I want. Although they are not mentioned much in the book, I can insert them wherever I want, create a land with them like something out of World of Warcraft, and do whatever I want, however I want, and make them as old-school as I want. I can make one faction the noble savages, and another the demon-worshippers, and have the two sides fight.

ToV is superior to D&D 2024 in this regard. Orcs are still in the game and are still listed as monsters.

Even better is the designers respecting the group's choices.