An Orc (Author: MasterSkitzo)

Golden eyes peered back at him. Unlike those of his brethren which switched solely between dull cow like obliviousness or bloodshot berserker fueled rage; his were intelligent, cunning, curious even. He shared the mottled grey-green skin of his kin, their short upturned nose, and slightly elongated canine teeth. But his coal black hair fell full, short, and wild rather than the shaved or Mohawk look favored by many male, and more than a few female, orcs. A thin dark beard followed his square jaw line tipped off by a triangular goatee that he had a habit of stroking while in thought.

His thick torso was bare except for a mat of coarse dark body hair. Beneath the lip of the pool, his lower half was covered by a pair of tattered and stained trousers for decency. Though the outline of his impressive, for an orc anyway, manhood was still plainly visible. His last article of clothing were a pair of boots so used and falling apart that his toes stuck out and gripped their soles.

He pushed himself up away from the pool and collected his staff.

Staff?

Indeed a staff, for he was a mighty orc... novice. Out of an entire species built for brutal melee combat, he was a loner on the path of magic instead. Dark magic. It made him an outcast among his kind. At best other orcs would shun him. At worst they would rip him limb from limb as an abomination.

He retained the orcs physical build though somewhat diminished. His cousins were seven foot tall slabs of meat. All muscles, and steel, and breath that could age cheese. Then again at least his vocabulary consisted of more than grunts and war cries. He would be considered short even for a human, standing a hair under five feet. His build was more squarish, closer to flabby than toned. He wouldn’t be mistaken for a common forest goblin but neither would he strike fear into wandering adventures.

He gave a resigned sigh as he pulled up the window containing his Character Sheet

What’s changed this time?

Level 3 Orc Novice
Monster, Orc, Explicit
Experience to level up – 300
Attributes:
Strength 18
Dexterity 10
Stamina 23
Charisma 9
Intelligence 12 (+0)
Wisdom 17
Luck 22
Skills:
Crafting (Woodworking)
Crafting (Stoneworking)
Crafting (Create Magical Items)
Feats:
Hardy Endurance - Racial trait. Increases stamina gained during level up. Stamina refills faster during rest. Stamina decreases slower during exertion.
Silver Tongue - increases the chances of positive conversation checks due to persuasion or intimidation based on Charisma
Blessings of the Dark Ones - Blessing (Curse?) from the Ancient creatures of the Dark Abyss who have recognized an abnormal magical aptitude in the caster. Caster’s Dark attribute spells deal x2 more damage. Immunity to all Dark attribute damage. Take x2 more damage from any source of Light attribute attack. Studying any Arcane Knowledge is gained more quickly. {-note- a Blessed Feat from any source unlocks the normally hidden Luck attribute.}
Wisdom of the Ages – gain a constant, passive buff to your intelligence based on the time since your last .
Spells:
Dark Energy - a simple Dark Attribute projectile orb of magical energy. Variable damage based off caster’s intelligence and amount of MP used to charge. Dissipates after 10 meters.
Summon skeleton - creates a humanoid skeleton the same level as the caster. Unarmed and capable of following only simple commands. Durability is based off caster’s intelligence. Costs a set amount of MP from caster to maintain.

Less strength than a normal orc in exchange for higher intelligence that still wasn’t high enough for a practical magician and a charisma based feat while he suffered from a natural penalty to Charisma. His Wisdom of the Ages feat was likely meant to make up for his poor intelligence stat, but unfortunately it had proven more or less impossible to live long enough to take advantage of with his low level.

“Perfect,” he muttered to himself sarcastically. “They’ve lowered my intelligence yet again and given me three new crafting skills instead.”

Using his staff as a walking stick he rambled to the edge of his cave, “Why should a magician need any intelligence?! But by the gods he must be a good carpenter!”

He waived away his character sheet as he stood blinking in the early morning sun.

His cave was situated roughly a third the way up the side of the mountain, just above the tree line of the dew and fog covered forest. Out of the way of the main trails up the Imporne Mountain. Only the one narrow entrance. It was suitably defensible. A wall of rock behind him and an endless sea of greenery before him. It was beautiful really. Fishing his flaccid cock from his filthy pants, he proceeded to piss as far as he could across the magnificent view.

Happy enough with the arc he was able to achieve he began to list his priorities.

1. Stay alive. As always. one never knew when a rampaging adventurer would come along to relieve you of your life and meager belongings
2. Replace the door that had disappeared during the update. It may have only been a crude hodgepodge of uneven wooden planks, but it kept the worst of the cold mountain air away at night as he slept in his... “God fucking damnit!”
3. Replace the nice bed of straw and furs that he just realized had also disappeared.
4. Food
5. See if any other monster knew what the fuck was happening. There were plenty in the forest or further up the mountain, but a strong monster could be just as bad as adventurers when presented with the temptation of experience points from a lone orc.