Orc - Description, Racial Bonuses and Penalties

Orcs are one of the many races of Tamriel. Some people also call them Orsimer, but the traditional name Orcs is more familiar.

They belong to The Daggerfall Covenant so if you chose Orc your allies will be the Bretons and Redguards.

Orcs are naturally big and strong. They are one of the tallest races of Tamriel. Their skin is green and they have huge canine teeth, giving them a scary appearance. They're not adept with magic and so not many are sorcerers, but, sometimes you will come across an exception. Their main advantage is their physicality which makes them tough warriors. They are among the strongest races found in Elder Scrolls. They are exceptional in wearing heavy amour and sporting even heavier weapons which makes them specialists in hand-to-hand combat. So if you need a strong and fierce warrior, an orc would be a very good choice. You can see many of them among adventurers or legionnaires of the Imperial Legion.

Racial bonuses and penalties

	Robust	- Increases Health regeneration while in combat by (5/10/15)%.
	Heavy Armor Expertise	- Increases experience gain with the Heavy Armor skill line by 15%.
	Brawny	- Increases maximum Health and maximum Stamina by (2/4/6)%.
	Swift	- Reduces sprint cost by (4/8/12)% and increases sprint speed by (3/6/9)%.

History of Orcs

“No one bests an orc”, The code of Malacath

Strength, brutality, pride, fearlessness. It’s better to have an orsimer on your side than being his enemy. Considered as monsters, pure and simple barbaric creatures, they’ve always been socially marginalized. Even the name “orsimer” means “pariah folk”. Contrary to bretons, they don’t have that inherent bind to magic granted by elvish origins. They rather excel in blacksmithing and fighting with their berserk ability. They also have a tribal organisation, where each orc has a rigorous role and place in hierarchy, and where male and female are equals in ranks and considerations: hunting, fighting, building...Even blacksmithing is traditionally a female role.

Their leitmotivs are loyalty and honor. Orcs worship the daedric Prince Malacath. Why? Why are they so different from the other mers? Why the pariah folks?

In the end of the Dawn Era, Trinimac, the mighty and popular champion god of the high elves, and protector of his kind, tried to stop the anti-Aldmeri rebellion led by Veloth prophet of Boethiah. The latter tricked and ate Trinimac, regurgitated him as Malacath, and turned his followers into orcs. Many of them fled to Skyrim in the region around Sarthaal. Many others decided to stay in the Iliac Bay region. Due to their appearance, that “evil” cursed- like morphology, they were considered as beastfolks, similar to ogres or goblins; however, orcs were mainly used as sellswords, mercenaries, raiders...

When the Altmer let those beast people live freely, they gathered in High Rock to give birth to Orsinium and kept the homeland growing, with refugees of wars and invasions, as well as social outcasts. As Orsinium became a powerful city, with an army of determined fighters, a strong organization and the ability to craft and sell weapons and armors, the neighborhood did not appreciate : "The orcs have been much plaguing the Wayresters and impeding traffic to the heart of the land", in a letter from the King of Daggerfall to Gaiden Shinji. After carrying out the siege of Orsinium in alliance during thirty hard years, Bretons and Redguards finally overwhelmed and destroyed Orsinium in spite of the orcs ruggedness. Until 2E430 the city was part of the Empire domain.

A new potential assassination made things change. Orcs are broken, but not extinct. The more you strike them, the more determination they have. They want Orsinium back. They want their honour to be revived. They responded to High King Emeric's call to form the Daggerfall Covenant, and have the chance to fight again for their honour and territory. Go, orsimers, rise again and show Tamriel what you're made of!