Orcs are a group of large, muscular humaoids, originally from Draenor, that now mostly live in the Kalimdor Barrens.

Orc Body Type and HealthEdit

Most orcs in Azeroth are green skinned, large, muscular creatures. They are taller than humans, and about as tall on average as most Elves, but heavier and more muscular. Males tend to be much more obviously muscled, but females are also quite strong for their size. no one knows for sure where orcs came from, some guess that they are related to ogres, others guess that orcs came into being on their own, but orc legends are of little use, and Draenor's explosion has left no evidence from the past.

Orcs can eat the same types of food that humans can eat, though have a much stronger preference for meat. Surprisingly, most kalimdor orcs eat little more than humans, the hot weather in the barrens and the heavy food the orcs eat compensates for their large size. Orcs that do not eat enough meat get so called "meat hunger", and become easily irritated, tired, have trouble sleeping, and have a voracious hunger for anything and everything. Old orc stories tell of orcs, suffering from meat hunger, voraciously eating grass, leaves, bark, and anything else edible around them. Eating meat quickly ends the meat hunger.

Some Azerothians, who have had little contact with the orcs, assume that orc's large size is compensated for by lack of intelligence or agility. Those who fight against or with orcs, or trade with orcs, quickly learn how wrong this assumption is.

Orc SocietyEdit

Orc society on Draenor was a loosely organized network of clans, with clan cheifs considered as underneath the leader of all orcs, the warchief. Originally, the warchief was a relatively weak leader, tasked mainly with settling disputes between clans, and organizing clans to deal with occasional, large threats. When the burning legion arrived, and spurred the orcs to kill the Draenei and invade Azeroth, the warchief became a much more powerful position, leading the horde militarily and having much more control in general over the orcs. After the internment and their arrival in Kalimdor, the orcs have formed a more organized nation, giving Thrall power equivalent to that of a human king or queen.

The orcish clans on Draenor, or in the war, formed in a number of ways. Some were descended from a common ancestor, others represent groups of orcs that lived in particular parts of Draenor, some were formed by orcs of a particular profession of ideology. During the orc's internment, members of different clans were freely mixed, and the clan system has little impact among current day orcs. Those who were not interred, however, such as the Frostwolves and Warsong, have retained this structure, though this separation too is eroding slowly. Modern day groups of orcs sometimes form "clans", but these are often simply networks of friends and/or family, and have little influence or effect outside of that.

Peons make up the lowest section of orc society. Peons are orcs who are significantly weaker and less intelligent than other orcs, and they are left to do the most menial tasks. Although treatment of Peons has improved in recent years, they are still treated with disdain and derision by most orcs.

In the middle of orc society, as with most societies, lies the farmers, hunters, low level soldiers, craftspeople, and other such workers. Most current day non-soldiers have some fighting skill, as they were either rescued from internment camps or had been hiding in Lordaeran, and needed to know how to fight to handle potential discovery by humans. Current day orc society resembles human society much more than it did in the past, as most orcs were born or lived most of their lives in internment camps, and have few other models to base a society around.

For spiritual leaders, the orcs turn to their shamans. The most respected shamans are members of the frostwolf clan, but as the orcs escaped from internment camps and settled down in Kalimdor, younger shamans have been learning the skills and wisdom from the older frostwolf leaders. Orc shamans are known for their skill at predicting and manipulating weather, though they prefer to avoid changing the weather unless in extreme emergencies. Shamans also learn to manipulate the other three elements, commune with ancestors, and have some influence directly over living beings.

At the top of orc society are various military leaders, shamans, and other officials. These are organized in a similar manner to equivalent human leaders and officials.

Non-Durotar OrcsEdit

Orcs that did not join the nation of Durotar hold similar values, and have a similar society structure, as orcs during their invasion of azeroth. They generally are much more warlike and aggressive than modern day orcs, and rely much more on raids and hunting for food than Durotar orcs. These orcs are dangerous foes in areas such as the burning steppes near blackrock mountain, though lack the organization to effectively conquer and invade outside areas. These orc groups rely heavily on raiding to equip and feed themselves, as they lack the craftsmen and farmers or hunters necessary to produce food and equipment for themselves.