A Tunnels and Trolls® play-by-post adventure run by khara_khang
Researching my next post, I ran across an interesting tidbit in the 5th edition T&T rules.
According to section 2.41 (Personalizing Monsters), a Half-Orc (half Orc, half Human) is 1.5 times stronger, tougher and heavier, and 1.25 times as tall as an Orc.
Furthermore, the Monsters! Monsters!® Rulebook states that Half-Orcs are faster than Orcs.
This leads me to believe that Humans are stronger, tougher, etc. than Orcs. This is counter-intuitive, to me at least.
Ken [St. Andre, T&T®'s creator --ed.], are you out there? Can you shed some light on this? Anybody else?
I think I've answered my own question.
In Tolkien, the Uruk-Hai (Saruman's Orcs) are Orcs crossed with Humans, and they are superior to vanilla Orcs.
M!M! clearly gives Tolkien as the source for its Half-Orcs.
'Nuff said!
P.S.: On a related note, Jax and Taran have never shown the sensitivity to light that afflicts vanilla Orcs, so this leads me to believe that they have some Human, or at least Uruk lineage, though Taran claimed in his first adventure to be neither Uruk-Hai nor Uruk-Baghk.
Going back to the Orc's creator, Tolkien, we see that Saruman's breeding of Orcs and men (why on earth did the movie fiddle with this?) led to a stronger breed that could also go untroubled in the sun. Boromir (a strong man, but a man) stands off a good eighty Orcs before getting himself feathered. But then, there's variaton here: the Half-Orcs "Sharkey" drags with him to the Shire later on seem a relatively feeble lot, fit only for bullying Hobbits. So, I dunno... Ken? O Ken, can you enlighten us?
Whoa, jawillroy, you on the same wavelength or what, dude?
Ok, what am I thinking now?
"What work am I putting off in order to post?"
Whoops! No, that's me!
Whoa, jawillroy, you on the same wavelength or what, dude?
The same wavelength, but you are both, of course, incorrect.
Allow me to elucidate....
Orcs and Humans are races unto themselves. Lots of people to hang out with, meet, greet, party, etc., etc., etc. In fact, both of 'em even get together and have "parties" with each other. Sigh, they've squandered their lives with drink and loose women (men).
Contrast that with the Half-Orc. Ostracized by both cultures from the get-go, having no parties of their own, and having never been invited to any reindeer games, they spend all their free time building up their bodies, so that one day they can go on a Jenny Jones "You Thought I Was Not, But Now See That I'm Hot" show.
The Spider Spins Again!
Eee-yaHA!
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