( No Title )
It kind of bugs me that whenever somebody tries to draw a D&D orc with high Charisma, it’s always, like, slender frame, smooth skin, small tusks, high forehead, etc.
I mean, leaving entirely aside the fact that D&D explicitly treats Charisma as a metaphysical quality that operates wholly independently of physical appearance – you could have 20 Charisma and be ugly as hell – why are we making the high Charisma orc pretty by human standards? Seems awfully chauvinistic, if you think about it.
I wanna see a 20 Charisma orc who’s an absolute knockout by orc standards.
Random thoughts on Things That Orcs Might Find Hot:
Scars: Probably large and prominent, the sorts of scars that tell stories of surviving adversity and/or prowess in battle. These scars would be a demonstration of that orc’s physical power and how imposing they’d be. I think this would also be a particular sub-set of another thing I think orcs would find attractive…
Body modification: Orc art could be reflected in their bodies. Tattoos and ritual or aesthetic scarification could be prominent in their culture, but it doesn’t necessarily have to stop there. Piercings of various types, in various places, and to various extremes – the truly skilled piercers and modifiers could integrate piercings into scars with such skill that a casual observer might not be able to tell where the scars stops and the piercing starts. Modifications command attention, another way of manifesting your presence to the world.
Bodies built for strength: Think less of the people sculpting their bodies to look muscular – we’re talking the bodies you’d see at strongman or weightlifting competitions, where they’re actually built for strength. Think of Maui from Moana if you want a visual reference. This would tie in to demonstrations of strength – an orc casually bending metal into knots with their hands is probably the equivalent of food porn.
Force of personality: Strength isn’t just physical – it can also encompass the imposition of a person’s will onto the world in some way. Intimidation is an obvious way of doing this, a brute-force approach of exerting force of personality. Aggressive diplomacy and negotiation could be their preferred leadership style, extracting concessions the way a blacksmith extracts a weapon from steel, hammering it into a shape that represents that person’s will and personality.
Battle Porn: The orc warrior spattered in blood – some of it from their opponents, a bit from a fresh wound across their torso that would turn into an inviting scar – with sweat glistening on their rippling muscles as they heft an axe with a head larger than their own, chest heaving from the exertion of war as they come down from their rage. They wipe the spittle from their mouth and throw it contemptuously onto the corpse at their feet, turning their blood-rimmed gaze to you; you cannot tell if they want to take you or slay you, but you feel a wordless need to have them do something to you, to feel their power, to submit to their overpowering presence…
… sorry, I think I got carried away there. You get the idea though.
Omg yes thank
Discussion ¬