Hello, friends, and welcome to the final installment of Orc Facts for this year. I wanted to go out on a higher note, something a little more upbeat. Heroes. This will mostly touch on a few different properties and not be that in depth (and fair warning, I only really solidly know about Elder Scrolls lore). Let’s dig in.

First, the term hero is, of course, full of connotations. From the grandest epic heroes who save worlds all the way down to that random stranger who was nice to you on a day you really needed it, a hero can be many things. We’ll start big.

Thrall, from Warcraft, has been described as Orc Jesus/Moses. At least in the bits of info I’ve gleamed from tumblr. Thrall is a major NPC in the Warcraft series whose role has essentially been the salvation of the Horde to attempt to bring peace between the races. Suffice to say, he has a LOT of backstory but the basics, the way I understand it, is that he became the Warchief of the Horde via spirituality as a shaman with elemental control, strength, and diplomacy. So, that seems like a pretty big damn hero there.

Similarly, Gortwog go-Nagorm was an orc lord in the Elder Scrolls series who managed to use diplomacy and cunning to legally acquire the former lands the Orsimer called home in order to rebuild the oft-destroyed city of Orsinium. After that, he set about trying to resurrect the worship of Trinimac, who you may remember from the previous entry, stating that Malacath was a false god. The hope was that the orcs would no longer be an ostracized people. It worked. Sort of. While Gortwog reigned, the orcs saw themselves accepted into the Empire proper and gain all the rights of Imperial citizens. Big damn hero.

Imrijka is a half-orc from the Pathfinder games. And, quite frankly, has the most in common with Grimluk. Again, at least from what I can gather. Why? Because she’s a monster hunter. Specifically, she’s an inquisitor for the Church of Pharasma. And, as you’ll see, her hat game is too stronk. She travels, she hunts, she fights. Sound familiar? Now, the wiki page doesn’t give me tons of info. I’d imagine I’d have to buy some of the modules or novels to get more info but, she definitely seems to be more of a common hero.

Grimluk will probably never be a world-saving hero. My plans for the series include a lot of sword and sorcery/western inspired settings. I’ll hint at bigger things. Books 3, 4, and 5 will have such hints but they’ll never be the focus. Grimluk is a wanderer. He’ll walk into town, help folks, and then head back out into the dust of the road. That’s who he is. Demons or monsters, makes no difference. There’s always someone to help and always something to hunt.

That is it for Orc Facts. Monday is the last day of Orctober and I’m very proud of who’s joining us. No spoilers though. That’s all, until then, keep your tusks strong.