The 50th anniversary year for Dungeons and Dragons was a terrible year to be a goblin.
It’s the year that Dungeons and Dragons 1st edition pig-nose orcs were promoted and elevated from being brooding villains prone to violence and believing in their superiority over other species to become peace loving beatniks only too happy to take their place among the cohorts of Player Characters races /species with the right to to beat the living snot out of goblins in the name of good.
How did this happen? How did the year that the game was supposed to celebrate the history of the game decided to turn its back on the history of the orc?
Lets start at the beginning.
According to the Oxford reference the word “orc” is recorded from the late 16th century, and might be based upon the latin word Orcus or Italian Orc demon of monster, or the Old English word Orcneas denoting monsters.
This use of the word in the context of monstrosity lasted centuries with J.R.R Tolkein using the name in his book for the horde villains of his stories. Ruthless and evil but not incapable of organisation – just organisational structures based on strength and the application of violence. The orc is a symbol of the worst of real-world humanity (a species capable of great things yet prone to falling to violence and a betrayal of accomplishment through peace, hope and love).
The orc is a symbol of the worst of real-world humanity (a species capable of great things yet prone to falling to violence and a betrayal of accomplishment through peace, hope and love).
This played out in the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Monster Manual 1st Edition where orcs were typically found in tribes of 30 to 300 creatures but had average to low intelligence but not none. Orcs were capable of creating alliances and building kingdoms but the propensity for violence and cruelty were never far away. Reactionary violence tempered by boughts of pragmatism.
In 2nd edition, orcs remained aggressive and believed other species to be inferior to them and that bulling and slavery were part of the natural order. They would cooperate with others but eventually rebel against non-orc control. Orcs could form alliances and become trading parties (building civilizations) and have notionally peaceful societies but were quick to take offense and react with violence. Orcs were purists and considered orc children bred with other species (half-orcs as not trustworthy) leading to some half-orcs being left on their own or congregating with others similar to themselves.
In 3rd edition, orcs in the monster manual became more aggressive and introduced Gruumush a one-eyed god who tolerated no peace among his people. Think of a god who channels the beating drums of war into their children’s head. These societies were slightly less likely to build the orc civilization of 2nd edition and 1st. Notable is the Monster Manual does contain information that allows Players to now run Orc characters.
A shift to COMPUTER GAME violence – SIMPLISTIC, EFFICIENT AND INCONSEQUENTIAL
In the 4th edition orcs in the monster manual are beholden to the god Gruumush, prone to violence, and a society limited to that outcome Orcs were simple being focused on war and conquering territory and resources.
In the 5th edition (2014) monster manual orcs remained beholden to Grummush and became tribal nomads moving from place to place taking and stripping resources before moving onwards to conqueror the next. Violence dominated. In 5th edition’s Volo’s Guide to Monsters this was built upon further by bringing other minor orc gods minions to the table with orcs that had access to different combat abilities but the same goal of conquest by strength. Indeed an entire chapter in Volo’s Guide to Monsters supports with detailed Orc Culture but the chapter also breaks from this by including a section on roleplaying an Orc and conjecturing the question as to whether its indoctrination rather than genetic that makes an orc destructive and cruel. Still the personality traits, Ideals, Bonds and Flaws lean heavily into the destructive and cruel nature of orcs to provide the player with a clear roleplaying challenge to determine whether an orc is defined by nature or nurture.
Both 4e and 5e D&D moved towards a simpler orc mythology and its easy to see why it was lent into. 4e changed many things but it was focused on bringing computer combat complex monsters were not required and complex ethical choices were not needed to support that do lean in. There certainly has always been and will always be a place for kick-down-the door dungeon combat and this enables it. 5e 2015 embraces this and for many this is perfect – the gaming table is often the place to escape real world concerns and consequences for a few hours.
What Changed?
So orcs in Dungeons and Dragons have not been a monolithic culture nor a prohibited race for Players to play in Dungeons and Dragons. But the 2024 Players Handbook presents orcs as peace loving and no orcs are contained in the 2024 Monster Manual, nor did the typically have green-skin so what happened?
Well a few things have happened since 2014.
- 5e adventures regularly present monsters as the good guys – a look through any adventure will find many monsters playing a role not intended such as a friendly Illithids (mindflayer) in Out of the Abyss, and a nice Lich in Princess of the Apocalypse). Playing monsters off type has been an age old concept of gaming but 5e Wizards of the Coast adventure products has made it the norm (along with friendly NPC’s betraying you as the key plot hook).
- Both Wizards of the Coast and and popular shows like Critical Role has taken making friends with monsters and friendship between monsters to another level, as well as playing characters who would traditionally be evil monsters (werewolves and the undead). People whose interactions are mostly online love making friends and seeing friends made.
- Vocal community segments have clearly expressed that don’t want to think: Nosferatu and Interview with a Vampire but more like Wednesday Addams TV or the Twilight Saga. For those who are a bit older the famous line from the movie Who Framed Roger Rabbit comes to mind: “I’m not bad – I’m drawn that way” comes to mind.
- But mostly because computer games (World of Warcraft) and other game companies (Games Workshop) have successfully monetized orcs – and for a very long time – decades. With Wizards of the Coast looking to go digital why would they not want to maximise how much money they can make from D&D orcs? Micro-transactions are part of the future 3D tabletop that Wizards of Coasts is making and cute orcs will sell. Make no mistake decisions about the direction of the game are being made using market research and profit maximization strategies. 5e 2024 DnD orcs are drawn nothing like their pig-faced brethren of 1st or 5e 2014 orcs. Orcs in 2024 5e are drawn they way they are in 2024 because Wizards of the Coast knows what will sell well and what won’t – hence the green skintone.
This is nothing new. Pandas and Koalas are used to generate funds for environmental causes – not earth worms and lice – they just don’t cut it in a marketing campaign.
Future orc cultures in 5e Wizards of the Products will likely be kind to orcs. They will become artisans a people freed from Grummsh the suppressor and champions of the future. They will become a heroic people with a history that aligns with sales and success. Ironically this is means the orcs have found a path from violence to accomplishment and satisfaction through peace, hope and love and in doing so move from protagonist to friend.
the orcs have found a path from violence to accomplishment and satisfaction through peace, hope and love and in doing so move from protagonist to friend.
You can (and should) do want you want with orcs at your table – the different editions of Dungeons and Dragons provides you with a range of cultures of orc. Do you want pig faced, part civilized, blood thirsty, or kind – D&D has them all -just please don’t hurt future Wizard of the Coast orc sales and the future of the corporate version of D&D!
But we do know is that for the foreseeable 5e 2024 DnD future – it will suck to be a goblin!
