New Player Race: ORCS!

[Velvathos]

..........Before gargoyles, before elves, a great many of roleplayers, roleplayed a race that the game mechanics did not offer us and still don't.. Many, many people have roleplayed as Orcs, in fact, it was the second most popular race to roleplay as.. I would have long expected Orcs to be a race in the game before any Gargoyle or Elf....

This is from like 1999 or so, it was a Orc guild on Europa and Catskills called the Shadowclan..

Many of those that roleplayed Orcs back in the day have now quit the game, I still have an Orc on Pacific and there is around 8 or 9 of us roleplaying as Orcs on that shard, many people still roleplay orcs on other shards, and there has been many guild based off orc roleplaying, we even have our own language that is a mixture of german, tolkeins black speech and very bad english..

I think the players have shown in the past that we deserve to have ORCS as a player race more than any other, it saddens me that they and the players have chosen gargoyles and elves over this once famous and magnificent race.. The dedication of Orc Roleplayers, dreaming of having it has a player race one day, looks very, very far off, people are now begging for a pirate expansion next.. But I think we have shown in past and present that orcs need to be a player race first, more than any other..

This is a plea to the devs, please give us orcs as a player RACE!!

 

[sikooovision]

I didn't play back then ... but dude that picture is AWESOME ....

 

[deadite]

Ah yes. I miss those days very much....

 

[CatLord]

... "meet the barbarian Horde!"

 

[Velvathos]

I didn't play back then ... but dude that picture is AWESOME ....

If you think that is awesome then you have not experienced much roleplaying..

 

[Velvathos]

If anyone remembers the "Community Spotlights" that the developers use to do, Orcs were mentioned A LOT of times.... If you don't know what I am talking about, I will refresh your memory..

http://www.uo.com/spot_6.html

They use to do these once a month, but stopped in like 03 for some reason and never spoke of doing one again.. They use to accept all kinds of player fiction that people would write and put together, it would be fiction based off actual events that players do in game, similar to Hawkeye Pike and his UO Journals.. And they would do them about once a month and they would pick one that would be featured on the front page of the UO website. This was back when the devs actually catered for roleplayers.. I cannot say they do anymore...

Anyways, that picture that I showed with all the orcs, that is where this is from and the devs featured Orc spotlights around 5 or 6 times I would say..

 

[Dor of Sonoma]

HOOWAH!

 

[Maplestone]

What is the origin of the orcs of Sosaria?

(orcs are fascinating from a literary point of view since they are so widely used in fantasy, yet have such a clear modern lineage of inspiration from Tolkien through D&D to all the places they now populate)

 

[Turdnugget]

I loved the ORK guild on Pacific. Their little GH right behind the Brit orc fort... oh man.

I even made a character specifically for harrassing/killing you guys!

Graydon Orcsbane

Those were some fuuuuun times!!!

 

[ColterDC]

Sure add Orcs.... why not.

The game will still suck though.....might as well just add Klingons next.

 

[Velvathos]

What is the origin of the orcs of Sosaria?

(orcs are fascinating from a literary point of view since they are so widely used in fantasy, yet have such a clear modern lineage of inspiration from Tolkien through D&D to all the places they now populate)

Well.... There was the Orc & Savage invasion as I recall, and the savages and the orcs fought each other.. That was a pretty large event.. And they added in tons of new orcs plus the orc cave.. They seem to be big bulky creatures that are very savage like, and maybe even controlled by some essence which would make them demonic, who knows? But they are very, very stupid, you can compare their IQ to a rock, they seem to hate everyone as well, are enemies with anyone not of their race..

This is really all I can gather..

 

[Velvathos]

Sure add Orcs.... why not.

The game will still suck though.....might as well just add Klingons next.

I always thought the main races in UO should be Orcs, Humans, Jukas and Meers..

 

[Velvathos]

I loved the ORK guild on Pacific. Their little GH right behind the Brit orc fort... oh man.

I even made a character specifically for harrassing/killing you guys!

Graydon Orcsbane

Those were some fuuuuun times!!!

I currently run a orc roleplaying guild called the bloodraven clan, right on Pacific!!

 

[Gildar]

You can roleplay an orc easily without needing a full-blown player race.
It is difficult to roleplay a gargoyle without having a full-blown player race.

Yes, it would be nice for people to actually select orc as a race, and throw in some racial characteristics like Humans and Elves have... but gargoyles are a more intricate part of Ultima lore and should take precedence.

If another race gets added after gargoyles, orc would be a good choice.

 

[Maplestone]

orc pirates?

 

[Thangorodrim]

Modern fantasy conception of orcs is 99.9% Tolkien and in that narrative Orcs are the descendants of elves captured, tortured, and corrupted at the hand of Morgoth.

Over time, speciation occurred into goblins, orcs, Saruman's Uruk Hai, etc.

Tolkien adapted the term from Old English or Anglo Saxon - I cannot remember the details.

I was in Shadowclan on Siege for many years. It was a great group and we had a lot of fun, despite certain griefing dip****s.

I think it would be a nice addition for orcs to be a playable race.

 

[phantus]

Orcs

Origin of orcs : Beowulf, circa 1000

 

[Clog|Mordain]

Ahh the good old days. We even had a couple of orc guilds on oceania. I also have a orc i used to play on pacific. Maybe one day I'll come join yas. PM me with the details of you guys for future reference

 

[Bara]

Modern fantasy conception of orcs is 99.9% Tolkien and in that narrative Orcs are the descendants of elves captured, tortured, and corrupted at the hand of Morgoth.

Over time, speciation occurred into goblins, orcs, Saruman's Uruk Hai, etc.

Tolkien adapted the term from Old English or Anglo Saxon - I cannot remember the details.

I was in Shadowclan on Siege for many years. It was a great group and we had a lot of fun, despite certain griefing dip****s.

I think it would be a nice addition for orcs to be a playable race.

Tolkien certainly crafted the race into what we know today, but I really believe that the personification of orcs is largely thanks to D&D.

As far as orcs being a race in uo. Hell yes. I would play one.

 

[GarthGrey]

Tolkien certainly crafted the race into what we know today, but I really believe that the personification of orcs is largely thanks to D&D.

As far as orcs being a race in uo. Hell yes. I would play one.

You might want to check the timeline from when Tolkien wrote The Hobbit and LoTRs and the time Gary Gygax came up with D&D...you're off a little. And actually, Peter Jackson did more to personify Orcs than Tolkien or D&D did.

 

[MalagAste]

Matters not who created them ...... matters what we enjoy.....

GL's had the URK.... and other clans of Orc.... Along with the savages of the Booga Tribe..... loads of fun....

I really miss them..... they were quite a lot of fun.... always hoped they would return.

 

[Maplestone]

You might want to check the timeline from when Tolkien wrote The Hobbit and LoTRs and the time Gary Gygax came up with D&D...you're off a little. And actually, Peter Jackson did more to personify Orcs than Tolkien or D&D did.

Obviously Tolkien came first, but the boar-tusked, pig-faced interpretation of orcs is D&D's addition to the mythology, dominating the RPG-scape. As much as I like the LOTR movies, I find Jackson's orcs are actually rather bland and forgettable other than in their variety of subspecies.

 

[Malimus]

Orc's FTW! Always enjoyed seeing the Orc guild's on pacific over the years. Those orcs really crack me up lol.

 

[Bara]

You might want to check the timeline from when Tolkien wrote The Hobbit and LoTRs and the time Gary Gygax came up with D&D...you're off a little. And actually, Peter Jackson did more to personify Orcs than Tolkien or D&D did.

I said Tolkien crafted them (I.E. he essentially created the race as we know it). Then I credeted D&D (though not so much Gygax, more Greenwoods forgotten realms) for breathing culture and life into them, as we know it today.

Though, I believe that more recently, R.A. Salvatore has done a ton of work fleshing out the orcish culture with King Obold and the kingdom of many arrows.

Also, credit where credit is due.. Warcraft did a lot for orcish culture. I realize that there is a massive amount of hatred for warcraft on these forums though, so flame on.

 

[Viquire]

Well, IMHO the demise of the orcs in UO came about largely through, you guessed it, AoS and the complete loss of their basic items only philosophy.

Now, as I recall, there is an orc Avatar available through the body sculptor. So it is more possible to play an orc now than it ever was, just don't take that npc bought dbl axe and the ring suit looted off an orc Lord to Fel my friends.

SA offers some interesting opportunities for completion of that particular variety of suit though. Hmmmmmm

But really, having an orc was more like doing Fred and Bob wars on your own shard with an advanced character. *wistful sigh*

 

[Violence]

I currently run an Orc role-playing guild called the Bloodraven clan, right on Pacific!!

HERETIC. BLASPHEMER. THE EMPEROR KNOWS, THE EMPEROR SEES. YOU WILL BURN FOR NAMING A GREEN-SKIN CLAN AFTER THE EMPEROR'S FINEST!!! ;DDD

 

[Omnius]

Orcs are very old european conception. The thought of any modern writer having added as much as folklore is a sad testament to whose playing this game these days.

 

[Bara]

The invention of orcs is ancient, just like sidhe.... but their archaic origins bear little resemblance to their contemporary counterparts in the fantasy genre and you know it!

"Sad testament to those playing this game these days" indeed...

 

[Maplestone]

Orcs are very old european conception. The thought of any modern writer having added as much as folklore is a sad testament to whose playing this game these days.

Well, everything Tolkien created was intended to fit existing folklore fragments as a plausible English pre-history mythology on the scale of Norse or Greek mythologies, so obviously he drew linguistically from every folk tale within reach, and variations of the word "orc" or "orke" exist in vague references to an ogre or demon, but I think it's unfair to not give Tolkien his due.

(but I don't claim to be an expert - I've probably not read anything on the subject you haven't)

 

[Mairut]

Sure add Orcs.... why not.

The game will still suck though.....might as well just add Klingons next.

They're already doing the Lovecraftian thing in Glow...saw a void creature thingy today. I expected Cthulu to pop up next, all things considering ^_>

 

[RoseBlue]

I know I'll be flamed for this ; but really I just can't imagine UO with these races : gargoyles + orcs, dwarfs, elves etc etc.

I know we already have elves and I personnally would never play one but...well...elves are kind of ok (spirit of the nature or something like this ?...).

As for the rest (gargoyles included) I just feel sorry for the game : I think soon UO will no longer be a virtual WORLD but will become just a game like hundred of others out there, nice for 15 years old

What I wouldn't mind is :
- pirates
- fantastic creatures of the seas (like sirens for ex), the pendant to elves...
- we could even consider : angels (why not ?) + daemons (or are the gargoyles daemons ?...I don't know )
- ALIENS. (Yes ! time for R. Garriot to come back then )

I'm very sorry to think like this for all those of you who so much love the Ultima Lore but pls keep in mind not everybody was born into that and Ultima ONLINE do not necessarily needs it that much !

ULTIMA IS DIFFERENT FROM ALL OTHER GAMES AND SHOULD REMAIN DIFFERENT ALWAYS : it's the fact that it's DIFFERENT that makes ppl stay OR COME BACK. Make it like any other game and it sure won't last forever !!!

 

[Green Meanie]

I would like to see orcs but im a lil affraid that it will make UO even more of a EVERY OTHER MMORPG. Also gargys are extremly important to alot of the goings on to the ulitma story line. Defenatly more so than orcs.

 

[Viquire]

I think the body sculpter is a great idea. Graphic enhancement with no other changes required.

I'm not sure I'm looking forward to playing a gargoyle, but I am brushing up on my gargish.

 

[Nok]

Warcraft did a lot for orcish culture.

Wat? Yes mi lord. Okay. Leave me alone. Okay. Wat? Alwight. Yes mi lord. Okay. Wat?

 

[Mattitracks]

I vote no because it would take resources away from developing other aspects of the game I think are of a higher priority!!! Sounds stupid eh?

Edit: I didn't really vote no. It was sarcasm based off another thread. [I don't feel like reading a dimwitted reply]