History Main / OurOrcsAreDifferent

* In ''Literature/{{Victoria}}'', "Orcs" is an in-universe term of {{dehumanization}} for roving packs of black and Latino {{gangbangers}} who terrorise the New England backwoods and rural communities inhabited by the protagonists. Yeah, it's [[AuthorTract that kind]] of book.
-->'''Father Dimitri:''' "The word is from Tolkien, ... He was one of the great Christian writers of the 20th century. In his ''Literature/LordOfTheRings'', which is Christian analogy, orcs are soldiers of the Evil One. Those creatures your government wants to move in to Bangor are orcs, believe me."

** Tolkien never officially settled on an origin for Orcs. In most versions, they are an AlwaysChaoticEvil corruption of elves and therefore cannot procreate themselves. However, Tolkien also stated in writings that there had to be Orc women. Other writings even imply that there were orcs who actually ''resisted'' Sauron. As a devout Christian, Tolkien had moral issues with the idea of an AlwaysChaoticEvil species -- some writings speculated that they might have been modified animals who needed powerful leaders, like Morgoth, Sauron, Saruman or the balrog, to organize and direct them.

* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'': Orcs first appear in ''Literature/UnseenAcademicals'', where Pratchett wonderfully deconstructs the Tolkienesque, AlwaysChaoticEvil orc. To everyone on the Disc they're terrifying bogeymen from an ancient war, remembered as the typical Tolkienian orc. However, as it turns out, orcs were genetically (or, well, magically) engineered from humans as tactically-minded, nigh-immortal killing machines. They were then horribly abused by their [[CaptainErsatz Sauron-ish]] creator and given no option but to kill. The humans who won the war and wrote the history didn't know or didn't care about that, and set about exterminating them all. [[spoiler:[[TheWoobie Mr. Nutt]], the only orc in the story so far, is actually extremely hard-working, highly skilled, and has memorized basically an entire library, but is crippled by a need to "achieve worth" -- because he's an orc, and, well, see Discworld's perception of them. He is able to become cultured, intelligent etc. because ChildrenAreInnocent, no matter what species they are, and when Nutt was found as a seven-year-old chained to an anvil, [[BadassPreacher Mightily Oats]] cut him free and sent him to [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Lady Margolotta]] for an education, instead of getting the terrible conditioning other orcs went through. Nutt may have grey skin, retractable claws and enough strength in his skinny body to shatter any chain that binds him, but ''damn'' if he doesn't talk posher than a wizard.]]
** Prior to the introduction of Orcs proper, the earlier, pure fantasy, novels in the Discworld series had ''gnolls'' to fill the necessary space for a humanoid chaotic-evil Other. These are described in a way very reminiscent of Orcs, both in look and manner. however, as the Central Continent is developed, explored and rebuilt by humans and the wildernesses shrink, the last of the gnolls, a defeated race, find their way to Ankh-Morpork in much the same way Reservation Indians emerged as North America ceased to be a wilderness. in the manner of debased and defeated native Americans, the gnolls now form a sub-group at the bottom of the social pyramid, doing the filthiest and dirtiest jobs which are disdained by humans and dwarfs and trolls.

** Tolkien never officially settled on an origin for Orcs. In most versions, they are an AlwaysChaoticEvil corruption of elves and therefore cannot procreate themselves. However, Tolkien also stated in writings that there had to be Orc women. Other writings even imply that there were orcs who actually ''resisted'' Sauron. As a devout Christian, Tolkien had moral issues with the idea of an AlwaysChaoticEvil species -- some writings speculated that they might have been modified animals who needed powerful leaders, like Morgoth, Sauron, Saruman or the balrog, to organize and direct them. Tolkien's Orcs are also a very diverse lot, and numerous varieties were around during the War of the Ring, largely as a result of the various dark lords breeding them like livestock to suit their needs. To wit:

* ''Manga/DeliciousInDungeon'': Orcs are tall, stout, and porcine (plus small horns and tusks), but are primarily Blizzard-style, respecting courage, living in communal villages, and despising cowardice. They have a wholly justified reputation as murderous raiders, but the humans and elves they target [[CycleOfRevenge can't be called innocent]], having historically committed their own fair share of atrocities against the orcs. They're actually pretty amiable around non-orcs who somehow get on their good side.

* Half-orcs are more likely to be born from consensual pairings, or at the very least, orcs are no more likely than humans to commit rape [[EvenEvilHasStandards even if they're villains]].

* Half-orcs are more likely to be born from consensual pairings, or at the very least, orcs are no more likely than humans to commit rape [[EvenEvilHasStandards even if]] [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil they're villains]].

* Half-orcs are more likely to be born from consensual pairings, or at the very least, orcs are no more likely than humans to commit rape.

* ''Podcast/FriendsAtTheTable'': Orcs in Hieron are a bureaucratic ProudScholarRace and pioneers of a unique form of magic. That said, you don't want to get in the way of their collections department -- orcs are still big, burly, and notorious for plundering, they just do it because ItBelongsInAMuseum now. In the past, they were stereotypical brutish, artificially-made {{mooks}} for an unknown EvilOverlord, but it's been a long time since then and they don't like acknowledging it.
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[[folder:Puppetry]]
* ''Series/DieLieweHeksie'': The yellow goblins working for the WickedWitch are Orcs in all but name -- brutish, deceitful and stupid.

[[folder:Puppetry]]
* ''Series/DieLieweHeksie'': The yellow goblins working for the WickedWitch are Orcs in all but name -- brutish, deceitful and stupid.
[[/folder]]

* ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'' has the Super Mutants. They're big, they're green, a few of them eat humans, and all of them can kick ass. Regardless of whether they're portrayed sympathetically or not, they're usually portrayed as more aggressive and warlike than other in-game factions (as they indeed are created to serve as SuperSoldiers in Pre-War times) and are rarely very bright. [[WasOnceAMan They all start out as humans]], becoming Super Mutants after being exposed to the Forced Evolutionary Virus, a mutagen that turns their skin green, massively increases their muscle mass, [[OneGenderRace eliminates their secondary sexual characteristics]], drops their IQ a notch or three (though some strains have a small but non-zero chance to instead ''increase'' intelligence) and, as an unintended side-effect, turns them sterile as mules.

** The art book for ''Fallout 3'' puts even more emphasis on the Tolkien part as well, as the [[OurOgresAreHungrier "ogre"]] aspect as they are shown to make their own cobbled-together armor and guns, as well as forge melee weapons such as axes, [[{{BFS}} swords]], [[CarryABigStick maces]], and [[EpicFlail flails/meteor hammers]].

* In ''VideoGame/PillarsOfEternity'', they're a race [[NotUsingTheZWord called the aumaua]]. They're musclebound and sharp of tooth, but have multicolored skin similar to tropical fish instead of the usual green or brown. The typical orcish hats are also defied; aumaua have a warmongering history, but are more civilized about it and you don't really encounter any [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy "Proud Warrior" types]]. In fact, they actually have a strong ''seafaring tradition'' and the one who joins your party is a BadassBookworm.

** Orcs seem to ''look'' more like the Blizzard variety. However, to say that they act like the Tolkien variety would be to vastly underestimate their [[AxCrazy sheer batshittery]]. They're also ''terrifying'' adversaries for ordinary warriors and weaker adventurers, because [[ImplacableMan they don't go down until you've done enough damage to kill them]].

* Often have [[PigMan pig-like snouts]] or upturned noses that resemble pig snouts. (Sometimes taken one step further by actually giving them ''pig heads'', like in early editions of ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons''.) May have tusks. This is possibly drawn from the fact that "orc" is Welsh for "pig", and Welsh was the inspiration for Tolkien's [[{{Conlang}} Sindarin]]; alternately, it comes from the illustrators misunderstanding Creator/GaryGygax who supposedly told them to make the orcs look [[LiteralMinded "pig-headed"]]; or, simply, that "orc" rhymes with "pork". This look was popularized in Japan by [=RPGs=] like ''Franchise/DragonQuest.'' Often called "Porcs" on the internet.

* Have intelligence equal to humans and other races (though other races [[FantasticRacism might not see it that way]]). Their technology and magic might even be on par with such, though their magic will be more spiritual than scholastic, and their technology will be more "earthy".

* Are more likely to have cities or settlements beyond war camps, although other races will likely still consider them barbaric and primitive.

* Have bright green skin and are physically similar to ([[AllTrollsAreDifferent some]]) trolls from European folklore.

Although the two interpretations differ significantly, they broadly share both a monstrous, primitive appearance and conflict with humanity and the other StandardFantasyRaces. The author's choice of which model to emulate usually depends on whose perspective the story is written from, the story's relative position on the SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism, and whether or not the author intends to explore [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman the ramifications of killing sentient beings]]. In any case, expect humans to treat revisionist orcs as if they were Tolkienesque orcs, at least initially.

Also, both types generally reach maturity faster and to have a lower life expectancy than even humans, though this isn't universal. Around half human lifespan seems to be common, with half-orcs bridging the difference. Your average orc will be an adult at ten, in their prime at twenty, middle aged at thirty, old at forty and on their deathbed (assuming they don't die in battle first).

Orcs typically share a close relationship with [[OurGoblinsAreDifferent goblins]], and indeed Tolkien originally used the two words more or less interchangeably. Modern fantasy typically separates them into distinct species, with goblins usually smaller and more lightly built. Orcs are also frequently associated with other monstrous humanoid races. See: OurOgresAreHungrier, AllTrollsAreDifferent and OurGiantsAreBigger, as well as StandardFantasyRaces. The trope often overlaps with PigMan, especially in Japanese media, though the pun on "pork" is a coincidence. They are often the "adopting" parent when a child is RaisedByOrcs. In many cases, SpaceOrcs will literally be fantasy orcs InSpace, although it's somewhat more common for them to be an original species with a Tolkienian orcish personality added on.

Ever since Tolkien, the worlds of fantasy literature and video games have been overrun with tribes of ugly, bellicose humanoids, whose main purpose for existence is to serve as the {{Mooks}} of the Forces of Evil. [[AllTrollsAreDifferent Trolls]], [[OurGoblinsAreDifferent goblins]] and/or hobgoblins (and such) are usually also closely associated with them, or may just be different names for the same thing.

The word ''orc'' comes from [[UsefulNotes/AngloSaxons Old English]] and shares linguistic roots with ''[[OurOgresAreHungrier ogre]]''. Both terms are related to the Latin word Orcus, the name of an Etruscan/Roman god of TheUnderworld which came to denote the place itself (like Greek ''Hades''). Later, ''Orcus'' was [[EverybodyHatesHades glossed as a term for a]] [[HijackedByJesus demon or hell itself]]. Thus, the Old English word ''orc'', as attested by medieval glossaries -- as well as cognates in other languages like French ''ogre'', Italian ''orco'' and Portuguese and Spanish ''ogro'' -- denoted a kind of demon or monster. However, the only appearance of ''orc'' in surviving Old English literature comes from ''Literature/{{Beowulf}}'' in the form ''orcnéas'', "demon-corpses", sometimes translated as "living dead" -- [[OurGhoulsAreDifferent ghouls]], perhaps? ''Orcnéas'' are said to be evil creatures descended from [[TheDescendantsOfCain Cain]], together with ''eotenas'' ([[OurGiantsAreBigger giants]]), ''ylfe'' ([[OurElvesAreDifferent elves]]) and ''gigantas'' (giants, again, so ''eotenas'' is sometimes translated as ogres or [[AllTrollsAreDifferent trolls]]). [[note]]Confusingly, a homonym of ''orc'' also exists in Old English with the meaning of "cup" or some other sort of "vessel", with the plural ''orcas'' appearing in ''Beowulf''. This is also derived from Latin, but is completely unrelated to ''Orcus'' since it comes from ''urceus'', much later ''orca'' -- which itself has a homonym meaning "whale", hence killer whales are called orcas.[[/note]]

* Are of varying colors; ranging from sallow to gray to red. Green is not unknown, though generally not the vibrant green of "Blizzard" orcs (''Dungeons and Dragons'' orcs are grayish-green).
* Are most likely to be FacelessGoons[=/=]{{Mooks}}.

* Have little or no culture outside of raiding/war parties and worshiping [[WarGod gods of war]] or the local EvilOverlord.

* Are oftentimes made solely as artificial creatures rather than reproducing naturally (since CreatingLifeIsBad), thus explaining the aforementioned lack of females and making the {{dehumanization}} and [[GuiltFreeExterminationWar extermination]] of these creatures less morally questionable.

* Are often hunched or stooped in build or posture with awkward musculature and proportions, and may lope like a great ape when running.
* May or may not have a British cockney accent (as popularized by ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'' and ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'').

* Has a ProudWarriorRace culture partially inspired by various real-world "tribal" or "warrior" societies (though they are unlikely to be a [[FantasyCounterpartCulture direct counterpart of one culture]].) Likely have a strong sense of honor; may or may not apply it to dealings with non-orcs. They've been referred to as "green [[Franchise/StarTrek Klingons]]".
* Have intelligence equal to humans and other races (though other races [[FantasticRacism might not see it that way]]). Their technology and magic might even be on par with humans and elves, though their magic will be more shamanic than scholastic, and their technology will be more "earthy".

* May appear rugged and violent because they [[HadToBeSharp live in dangerous environments]] that have very few resources available, so they resort to a spartan way of life.

* Will have large tusks jutting out from their lower jaws, though if the orcs are portrayed as attractive, these will be reduced to inverted CuteLittleFangs (though female orcs tend to have small "cute" tusks even when the men's are still large and imposing). This is the one holdover from when orcs were more pig-like in appearance. Even if they have human noses, they'll ''always'' have the tusks.
* Are larger than humans and [[PunyEarthlings nearly always stronger]]. A Blizzard Orc is probably 6-8 feet tall, very stocky and muscled and with good posture. Limbs may be thicker or longer in proportion than humans'. CompetitiveBalance usually ensures that this does not make them superior to other races in battle; they are often {{Mighty Glacier}}s who can be outmatched in precision or agility.
* Are vastly more likely to be protagonists or at least supporting characters as opposed to [[FacelessGoons rank-and-file]] {{Mooks}}.

Although the two interpretations differ significantly, they broadly share both a monstrous, primitive appearance and conflict with humanity and the other StandardFantasyRaces. The author's choice of which model to emulate usually depends on whose perspective the story is written from, the story's relative position on the SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism, and whether or not the author intends to explore [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman ramifications of killing sentient beings]]. In any case, expect humans to treat revisionist orcs as if they were Tolkienesque orcs, at least initially. Also both types are generally mooted to reach maturity faster and to have a lower life expectancy than even humans, though this isn't universal. Around half human lifespan seems to be common, with half-orcs bridging the difference. You average orc will be an adult at ten, in their prime at twenty, be middle aged at thirty, old at forty and venerable at fifty, in the unlikely event they live that long - orc lives tending to be dangerous, brutish and short.

Orcs typically share a close relationship with [[OurGoblinsAreDifferent goblins]], and indeed Tolkien originally used the words "orc" and "goblin" more or less interchangeably. Modern fantasy typically separates them into distinct species, with goblins usually being smaller and more lightly built. Orcs are also frequently associated with other monstrous humanoid races. See: OurOgresAreHungrier, AllTrollsAreDifferent and OurGiantsAreBigger, as well as StandardFantasyRaces. The trope often overlaps with PigMan, especially in Japanese media, though the pun on "pork" is a coincidence. They are often the "adopting" parent when a child is RaisedByOrcs. In many cases, SpaceOrcs will literally be fantasy orcs InSpace, although it's somewhat more common for them to be an original species with a Tolkienian orcish personality added on.

* ''VideoGame/BattleForWesnoth'': In most campaigns, orcs are the Tolkien type. They are mostly portrayed as [[AlwaysChaoticEvil pretty much Evil]], but sometimes they have motives beyond that as well. Some orcs are also allied to the (generally) good Knalgans. Appearance wise they have simian characteristics and brown or grey skin. Their massive numbers are explained by orcs being born in large litters, the runts being called [[OurGoblinsAreDifferent goblins]]. Strangely, the average orc soldiers seem to have better armor and weapons then the regular human soldiers. Due to Wesnoth's decentralized development structure, the portrayal of Orcs and Trolls suffers from a touch of DependingOnTheWriter.

* ''WebOriginal/CodexInversus'': Orcs are green-skinned, tusked humanoids who once served the Djinn in the World Before. They sided with Heaven during the ancient cosmic war and thus retain a strained relationship with the Infernal Empire. Their society is highly rigid and caste-based, with each family being expected to follow a specific profession or vocation. They are also highly militaristic, and are famous for practicing a martial art that uses complex sword flourishes to quickly inscribe spells in combat to produce devastating effects.