Orcs Through the Editons from 1st edtion AD&D to 5th edtion D&D.

The orc is an eternal favorite heavy and cannon fodder of D&D. With each edtion of the game the Orc has been reworked to fit the new editon. Here’s the stats across the edtions from 1srt edtion aD&D to the new 5th Edtion D&D with my comments after each.

1st Edition AD&D Orc

FREQUENCY: Common

NO. APPEARING: 30-300

ARMOR CLASS: 6

MOVE: 9"

HIT DICE: 1

% IN LAIR: 35%

TREASURE TYPE: Individuals 1; C, 0, Q ( X IO), S in lair

NO. OF ATTACKS: I

DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-8 or by weapon type

SPECIAL ATTACKS: Nil

SPECIAL DEFENSES: Nil

MAGIC RESISTANCE Standard

INTELLIGENCE: Average (low)

ALIGNMENT: Lawful evil

SIZE: M (6'+ tall)

PSlONlC ABILITY: Nil

AttackDefense Modes: Nil

The traditional orc is a minion of evil, soldiers of the leviathan that threatens to consume all in warfare. Along with the base stats we get tribal organization, a little details on elites and others who may associate with orcs and their nasty breeding habits.

2nd edition AD&D Orc

Climate/Terrain:	Any land
Frequency:	Common
Organization:	Tribe
Activity Cycle:	Night
Diet:	Carnivore
Intelligence:	Average (8-10)
Treasure:	L (C,O,Q×10,S)
Alignment:	Lawful evil
No. Appearing:	30-300 (3d10×10)
Armor Class:	6 (10)
Movement:	9 (12)
Hit Dice:	1
THAC0:	19
No. of Attacks:	1
Damage/Attack:	1-8 (weapon)
Special Attacks:	Nil
Special Defenses:	Nil
Magic Resistance:	Nil
Size:	M (6’ tall)
Morale:	Steady (11-12)
XP Value:	15 Subchief, leader: 35 Guard: 35 Chief: 65 Bodyguard: 65 Shaman, 1st: 35 Shaman, 3rd: 175 Shaman, 5th: 650

Orcs get a little brighter, they are now of average average intelligence. We still get the break down of these minions of evil but a little less detail outside of their elites, their vile breeding habits are not noted.

3.x Orc from Hypertext d20 SRD

	Orc, 1st-Level Warrior
Size/Type:	Medium Humanoid (Orc)
Hit Dice:	1d8+1 (5 hp)
Initiative:	+0
Speed:	30 ft. (6 squares)
Armor Class:	13 (+3 studded leather armor), touch 10, flat-footed 13
Base Attack/Grapple:	+1/+4
Attack:	Falchion +4 melee (2d4+4/18-20) or javelin +1 ranged (1d6+3)
Full Attack:	Falchion +4 melee (2d4+4/18-20) or javelin +1 ranged (1d6+3)
Space/Reach:	5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks:	—
Special Qualities:	Darkvision 60 ft., light sensitivity
Saves:	Fort +3, Ref +0, Will -2
Abilities:	Str 17, Dex 11, Con 12, Int 8, Wis 7, Cha 6
Skills:	Listen +1, Spot +1
Feats:	Alertness
Environment:	Temperate hills
Organization:	Gang (2-4), squad (11-20 plus 2 3rd-level sergeants and 1 leader of 3rd-6th level), or band (30-100 plus 150% noncombatants plus 1 3rd-level sergeant per 10 adults, 5 5th-level lieutenants, and 3 7th-level captains)
Challenge Rating:	½
Treasure:	Standard
Alignment:	Often chaotic evil
Advancement:	By character class
Level Adjustment:	+0

Orcs got brawny in third edition they changed from the faceless minions of brutal evil to chaotic brutish raiders of computer warming fame. Orcs went from being a constant annoyance to a notable threat at low level 2d4+4 damage at +4 to hit was pretty good even in 3e D&D for a 1 HD monster. Their alignments changed they are now wild raiders. Less specific information is given to their habits and organization, everything can produce offspring in 3e D&D which suffered from a sometimes comical half=this-and that syndrome. They gather in smaller numbers in this edtion but that’s probabky a good thing as they are pretty tough in the damage output for monsters of their HD. Granted the default stats are for Orc Warriors if you had Orc Rogues, Orc Adepts, or Orc Gardeners the stats would be fairly different in 3rd edition.

4^th edition orc from Monster Manual

Orc Raider Level 3 Skirmisher

Medium natural humanoid XP 150

Initiative +5      Senses Perception +1; low-light vision

HP 46; Bloodied23; see also warrior’s surge

AC17;

Fortitude15, Reflex14, Will12

Speed6 (8 while charging)

Greataxe(standard; at-will) *Weapon

+8 vs. AC; 1d12 + 3 damage (crit 1d12 + 15).

Handaxe(standard; at-will) *Weapon

Ranged 5/10; +7 vs. AC; 1d6 + 3 damage; see also killer’s eye

Warrior’s Surge

(standard, usable only while bloodied; encounter) *Healing, Weapon

The orc raider makes a melee basic attack and regains 11 hit

points.

Killer’s Eye

When making a ranged attack, the orc raider ignores cover and

concealment (but not total concealment) if the target is within 5

squares of it.

Alignment Chaotic evil

Languages Common, Giant

Skills

Endurance +8, Intimidate +5

Str 17 (+4)  Dex15 (+3) Wis10 (+1) Con14 (+3)  Int8 (+0)  Cha9 (+0)

Equipment

leather armor, greataxe, 4 handaxes

Oh boy…. 46 hp, +8 to hit. And these are skirmisher orcs, there are details given for minion class (all 1 hp mooks), warrior Orcs (9^th level) and a couple others.   ORc skirmisher are darned good with their bows and have the bizzare ability to regain HP when they stick an arrow in someone. This monster is a great example of why many didn’t care for 4^th edition D&D.

5^th edtion Orc from Legacy of the Crystal Shard

Medium Humanoid (Orc)

Armor Class 13 (studded leather)

Hit Points 11 (2d8 + 2)

Speed 30 ft.

Senses darkvision  60 ft.

Str 14 (+2) Dex 10 (+0) Con 12 (+1)

Int 7 (–2) Wis 11 (+0) Cha 10 (+0)

Alignment chaotic evil

Languages Common, Orc

Traits

Relentless: If the orc takes damage that reduces it to 0 hit

points, it can make a Constitution saving throw with a DC of

5 + the damage taken. If the saving throw succeeds, the orc

drops to 1 hit point instead. If the orc has only 1 hit point at

the end of its next turn, it drops to 0 hit points.

Actions

Melee Attack—Greataxe: +4 to hit (reach 5 ft.; one creature).

Hit: 8 (1d12 + 2) slashing damage.

Ranged Attack—Shortbow: +2 to hit (range 80 ft./320 ft.; one

creature). Hit: 3 (1d6) piercing damage.

Encounter Building

Level 3 XP 70

The orc has been toned down. He’s got 11 hp average (2d8+2) Hit Dice are technically there but have been otherwise dropped from this edition as a term to describe monsters. These guys are still wild and savage raider types. Orcs are hard to kill in this version for some odd reason unless you hit then with massive damage they have a good chance to keep on fighting. They are running about with pretty fearsome weaponry and are going to be hitting with it a fair amount of the time.. Orc organization is absent in this write-up but it’s not a complete monster manual entry at this point. Supposedly this new and improved orc is useable over a wider range of character levels, so was the 1^st edition orc instead of 10 you used 20,30 or 200.  This is not the Orc of old, it might be the Uruk-Hai but common orcs seem to have departed for the western shore.