Orc (starting race) - Revision history

Umbire the Phantom: /* Strategy */ pothole

2026-04-19T21:16:45Z

‎Strategy: pothole

Umbire the Phantom: /* Strategy */ copyedit

2026-04-19T21:16:28Z

‎Strategy: copyedit

Umbire the Phantom: /* dNetHack */ more tweaks

2026-01-14T17:57:21Z

‎dNetHack: more tweaks

Umbire the Phantom: /* dNetHack */ touch-ups

2026-01-14T17:41:15Z

‎dNetHack: touch-ups

Scyrmion: Add Encyclopedia entry

2025-10-10T21:54:38Z

Add Encyclopedia entry

Umbire the Phantom: /* Racial benefits and restrictions */ detail

2025-08-18T01:04:04Z

‎Racial benefits and restrictions: detail

Umbire the Phantom: /* History */ extra food

2025-07-02T14:37:28Z

‎History: extra food

Umbire the Phantom: and done!

2025-05-28T18:02:25Z

and done!

Umbire the Phantom: dnh - stopping mid-copypaste to save my progress

2025-05-28T17:54:11Z

dnh - stopping mid-copypaste to save my progress

Show changes

Umbire the Phantom: slash'em

2025-05-28T17:07:31Z

slash'em

@@ Line 79: / Line 79: @@
 At a glance, orcs seem to have the worst of all worlds for a prospective hero&mdash;their attributes are unimpressive, their starting equipment is worse than that of their peers, they have below-average HP and energy growth, and many of the dungeon's denizens that are not other orcs will be hostile by default, including the highly-dangerous elves. This typically makes for one of the most dangerous early games for any particular race in ''NetHack''.
-However, poison resistance and extra food are both very meaningful advantages: orcish heroes can safely eat a wider variety of corpses such as [[kobold]]s or [[giant spider]]s in the early game, and do not have to fear [[Poisoned weapon|poisoned projectiles]] or [[spiked pit]]s among other hazards, though nasty monsters with strong [[poison]] attacks (e.g. [[soldier ant]]s) are still threats. Their ability to stomach tripe also makes it safe to consume and useful for nutrition in a pinch (though it does also preclude them from using it as a source of confusion). Furthermore, the extra food is invaluable for roles like the Rogue and Wizard, ensuring they can maintain nutrition and even [[tame]] or pacify [[domestic animal]]s to either avoid combat or obtain pets. Though their strength cap is lackluster compared to other races, it is more than sufficient for melee-focused builds, and their intelligence cap of 16 is also enough for orcish Wizards to benefit from [[reduced-hunger casting]] and play the role more than competently.
+However, poison resistance and extra food are both very meaningful advantages: orcish heroes can safely eat a wider variety of corpses such as [[kobold]]s or [[giant spider]]s in the early game, and do not have to fear [[Poisoned weapon|poisoned projectiles]] or [[spiked pit]]s among other hazards, though nasty monsters with strong [[poison]] attacks (e.g. [[soldier ant]]s) are still threats. Their ability to stomach tripe also makes it safe to consume and useful for nutrition in a pinch (though it does also preclude them from using it as a source of [[confusion]]). Furthermore, the extra food is invaluable for roles like the Rogue and Wizard, ensuring they can maintain nutrition and even [[tame]] or pacify [[domestic animal]]s to either avoid combat or obtain pets. Though their strength cap is lackluster compared to other races, it is more than sufficient for melee-focused builds, and their intelligence cap of 16 is also enough for orcish Wizards to benefit from [[reduced-hunger casting]] and play the role more than competently.
 As an always-chaotic race, orcish heroes also have the easiest means of performing same-race sacrifice, since other orcish monsters such as [[goblin]]s and [[hill orc]]s can be used to automatically convert cross-aligned [[altar]]s and summon peaceful [[demon lords]]&mdash;subsequent sacrifices will summon peaceful [[foocubi]], giving orcs an easy way to power up in the mid-to-late game. Additionally, said orcish monsters may still generate as hostile, reducing the need to risk the hero's [[alignment record]] in the early game, and they generate much earlier compared to same-race monsters for other races of chaotic hero.

@@ Line 79: / Line 79: @@
 At a glance, orcs seem to have the worst of all worlds for a prospective hero&mdash;their attributes are unimpressive, their starting equipment is worse than that of their peers, they have below-average HP and energy growth, and many of the dungeon's denizens that are not other orcs will be hostile by default, including the highly-dangerous elves. This typically makes for one of the most dangerous early games for any particular race in ''NetHack''.
-However, poison resistance and extra food are both very meaningful advantages: orcish heroes can safely eat a wider variety of corpses such as [[kobold]]s or [[giant spider]]s in the early game, and do not have to fear [[poison]]ed projectiles or [[spiked pit]]s among other hazards. Their ability to stomach tripe does preclude them from using it as a source of confusion later on. Furthermore, the extra food is invaluable for roles like the Rogue and Wizard, ensuring they can maintain nutrition and even [[tame]] or pacify [[domestic animal]]s, either to avoid combat or to obtain pets. Though their strength cap is lackluster compared to other races, it is still more than sufficient for melee-focused builds, while their intelligence cap of 16 is also still enough for orcish Wizards to benefit from [[reduced-hunger casting]] and play the role more than competently.
+However, poison resistance and extra food are both very meaningful advantages: orcish heroes can safely eat a wider variety of corpses such as [[kobold]]s or [[giant spider]]s in the early game, and do not have to fear [[Poisoned weapon|poisoned projectiles]] or [[spiked pit]]s among other hazards, though nasty monsters with strong [[poison]] attacks (e.g. [[soldier ant]]s) are still threats. Their ability to stomach tripe also makes it safe to consume and useful for nutrition in a pinch (though it does also preclude them from using it as a source of confusion). Furthermore, the extra food is invaluable for roles like the Rogue and Wizard, ensuring they can maintain nutrition and even [[tame]] or pacify [[domestic animal]]s to either avoid combat or obtain pets. Though their strength cap is lackluster compared to other races, it is more than sufficient for melee-focused builds, and their intelligence cap of 16 is also enough for orcish Wizards to benefit from [[reduced-hunger casting]] and play the role more than competently.
-As an always-chaotic race, orcish heroes also have the easiest means of performing same-race sacrifice, since other orcish monsters such as [[goblin]]s and [[hill orc]]s can be used to automatically convert cross-aligned [[altar]]s and summon peaceful [[demon lords]]&mdash;subsequent sacrifices will summon peaceful [[foocubi]], giving orcs an easy way to power up in the mid-to-late game. Additionally, said orcish monsters may still generate as hostile, reducing the need to risk the hero's [[alignment record]] in the early game, and they generate earlier than same-race monsters for other races of chaotic hero.
+As an always-chaotic race, orcish heroes also have the easiest means of performing same-race sacrifice, since other orcish monsters such as [[goblin]]s and [[hill orc]]s can be used to automatically convert cross-aligned [[altar]]s and summon peaceful [[demon lords]]&mdash;subsequent sacrifices will summon peaceful [[foocubi]], giving orcs an easy way to power up in the mid-to-late game. Additionally, said orcish monsters may still generate as hostile, reducing the need to risk the hero's [[alignment record]] in the early game, and they generate much earlier compared to same-race monsters for other races of chaotic hero.
 ==History==

@@ Line 129: / Line 129: @@
 By gaining experience levels, orcs can exceed the racial maximums of physical attributes for other races, reaching a total of 25 in each one at experience level 21 or higher. While their energy growth is still quite poor, they have some of the best post-cutoff HP growth among races along with gnomes.
-Orcish heroes that are not [[Madpeople]] start with knowledge of all orcish items from ''NetHack'', which are retained for dNetHack. There are several racial substitutions made for orcish heroes:
+Orcish heroes that are not [[Madpeople]] start with knowledge of all orcish items, which are retained from ''NetHack''. There are several racial substitutions made for orcish heroes as well:
 {| class="prettytable"
@@ Line 159: / Line 159: @@
 |}
-As in ''NetHack'', orcish heroes that are not Convicts, Madpeople or Wizards are given two stacks of 1-2 random food items to compensate for inferior starting equipment.
+Similar to ''NetHack'', orcish heroes that are not Convicts, Madpeople or Wizards are given two stacks of 1-2 random food items to compensate for inferior starting equipment.
 ==Encyclopedia entry==

@@ Line 95: / Line 95: @@
 In [[dNetHack]], [[notdNetHack]] and [[notnotdNetHack]], orcish heroes have significant differences from ''NetHack''.
-Orcish heroes remain chaotic, and can be played as [[Barbarian/dNetHack|Barbarians]], [[Binder]]s, [[Convict/dNetHack|Convicts]], [[Madpeople]], [[Rogue/dNetHack|Rogues]], [[Ranger/dNetHack|Rangers]], [[Troubadour]]s (Bards), [[Undead Hunter]]s, and [[Wizard/dNetHack|Wizards]].
+Orcish heroes remain always-chaotic, and can be played as [[Barbarian/dNetHack|Barbarians]], [[Binder]]s, [[Convict/dNetHack|Convicts]], [[Madpeople]], [[Rogue/dNetHack|Rogues]], [[Ranger/dNetHack|Rangers]], [[Troubadour]]s (Bards), [[Undead Hunter]]s, and [[Wizard/dNetHack|Wizards]].
 Orcish heroes exchange their infravision from ''NetHack'' for second-level [[low-light vision]], and similar to SLASH'EM they gain an alignment bonus for eating the tins and corpses of orcish monsters. Orcish heroes also obtain intrinsic [[magic resistance]] at experience level 15. An orcish hero gains an AC bonus equal to (2*XL)/3, topping out at -10 AC for an orcish hero without armor at experience level 30&mdash;combined with the -7 AC bonus from 25 dexterity (which orcs can attain, with details below), a level 30 orcish hero can reach a maximum of -17 AC before factoring in any armor. Orcs also gain to-hit and damage bonuses equal to (XL+2)/3, as well as a [[carrying capacity]] bonus equal to (XL/3)*10.
-Orcish heroes have 55 points to distribute among their starting attributes, which is lowered to 50 if they have an [[inheritance]]. Orcish heroes have their initial strength cap ''lowered'' to 18, the same as an elven hero, while their other attribute caps are unchanged from ''NetHack''&mdash;this is because they gain a full point to their strength, dexterity and constitution caps for every three experience levels they have. Their HP bonuses are changed as well:
+Orcish heroes have 55 points to distribute among their starting attributes, which is lowered to 50 if they have an [[inheritance]]. Orcish heroes have their initial strength cap ''lowered'' to 18, the same as elven heroes, while their other attribute caps are unchanged from ''NetHack''&mdash;this is because they gain a full point to their strength, dexterity and constitution caps for every three experience levels they have. Their HP bonuses are changed as well:
 {| class="prettytable"
@@ Line 127: / Line 127: @@
 |}
-By gaining experience levels, orcs can exceed the racial maximums of physical attributes for other races and reach a total of 25 in each one at experience level 21 or higher. While their energy growth is still quite poor, they have some of the best post-cutoff HP growth among races along with gnomes.
+By gaining experience levels, orcs can exceed the racial maximums of physical attributes for other races, reaching a total of 25 in each one at experience level 21 or higher. While their energy growth is still quite poor, they have some of the best post-cutoff HP growth among races along with gnomes.
 Orcish heroes that are not [[Madpeople]] start with knowledge of all orcish items from ''NetHack'', which are retained for dNetHack. There are several racial substitutions made for orcish heroes:

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:54, 10 October 2025
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	As in ''NetHack'', orcish heroes that are not Convicts, Madpeople or Wizards are given two stacks of 1-2 random food items to compensate for inferior starting equipment.		As in ''NetHack'', orcish heroes that are not Convicts, Madpeople or Wizards are given two stacks of 1-2 random food items to compensate for inferior starting equipment.
		+
		+	==Encyclopedia entry==
		+	{{encyclopedia\|
		+	Orcs, bipeds with a humanoid appearance, are related to the
		+	goblins, but much bigger and more dangerous. The average orc
		+	is only moderately intelligent, has broad, muscled shoulders,
		+	a short neck, a sloping forehead and a thick, dark fur.
		+	Their lower eye-teeth are pointing forward, like a boar's.
		+	Female orcs are more lightly built and bare-chested. Not
		+	needing any clothing, they do like to dress in variegated
		+	apparels. Suspicious by nature, orcs live in tribes or
		+	hordes. They tend to live underground as well as above
		+	ground (but they dislike sunlight). Orcs can use all weapons,
		+	tools and armors that are used by men. Since they don't have
		+	the talent to fashion these themselves, they are constantly
		+	hunting for them. There is nothing a horde of orcs cannot
		+	use.
		+	\|[ het Boek van de Regels; Het Oog des Meesters ]
		+	}}

	==References==		==References==

@@ Line 6: / Line 6: @@
 ==Racial benefits and restrictions==
-Orcish heroes have [[intrinsic]] [[infravision]] and [[poison resistance]], and gain +1 [[to-hit]] when [[throwing]] or shooting at [[Elf (monster attribute)|elves]], due to orcs' hatred of them.{{refsrc|src/dothrow.c|1587|nethack=3.6.7}} Similar to [[Cavepeople]], they take no penalties for [[eating]] the [[corpse]]s or [[tin]]s of [[little dog]]s, [[kitten]]s or either monster's [[growth stage]]s, as well as the corpses of other [[Orc (monster attribute)|orcish]] monsters; they will also never become [[nauseous]] from eating [[tripe ration]]s (and in fact enjoy the taste). Their [[attribute]]s caps favor physical stats, but not nearly to the extent of the most physically capable races, while their mental attribute caps are on the lower end.{{refsrc|src/role.c|719|nethack=3.6.7|name="caps"}}
+Orcish heroes have [[intrinsic]] [[infravision]] and [[poison resistance]], and gain +1 [[to-hit]] when [[throwing]] or shooting at [[Elf (monster attribute)|elves]], due to orcs' hatred of them.{{refsrc|src/dothrow.c|1587|nethack=3.6.7}} Similar to [[Cavepeople]], they take no penalties for [[cannibalism]], which includes [[eating]] the [[corpse]]s or [[tin]]s of [[little dog]]s, [[kitten]]s or either monster's [[growth stage]]s, as well as the corpses of other [[Orc (monster attribute)|orcish]] monsters; they will also never become [[nauseous]] from eating [[tripe ration]]s (and in fact enjoy the taste). Their [[attribute]]s caps favor physical stats, but not nearly to the extent of the most physically capable races, while their mental attribute caps are on the lower end.{{refsrc|src/role.c|719|nethack=3.6.7|name="caps"}}
 All monsters with the orcish [[monster attribute]] are considered the same race as an orcish hero for purposes such as cannibalism and [[same-race sacrifice]]. While no monsters are mostly [[peaceful]] towards orcish heroes, other orcs have a chance of generating as peaceful, while [[Human (monster attribute)|humans]], [[Elf (monster attribute)|elves]] and [[Dwarf (monster attribute)|dwarves]] that are not [[undead]] will always generate as [[hostile]] towards a human hero.{{refsrc|src/role.c|716|nethack=3.6.7}} Orcish heroes that [[Death (character)|die]] and leave [[bones]] where they arise from the dead will resurrect as [[orc mummies]] and [[orc zombie]]s, depending on their killer{{refsrc|src/role.c|711|nethack=3.6.7}}&mdash;in practice, there is no means of killing any hero that causes them to rise as a zombie.

@@ Line 84: / Line 84: @@
 ==History==
-The orc starting race is introduced along with the other playable races in [[NetHack 3.3.0]].
+The orc starting race is introduced along with the other playable races in [[NetHack 3.3.0]]. In this version, orcish heroes that are not [[Wizard]]s can start the game with cram rations and lembas wafers among their random extra food items{{refsrc|u_init.c|806|nethack=3.3.0}}&mdash;later versions added the code intended to give orcish heroes tripe rations in place of cram and lembas for this extra food, but that code did not function properly. This is fixed in [[NetHack 3.6.2]].{{refsrc|src/u_init.c|222|version=NetHack 3.6.2}}{{refsrc|src/u_init.c|1055|version=NetHack 3.6.2}}
 ==Variants==

@@ Line 134: / Line 134: @@
 ! Standard item(s)              !! Replacement item(s)                      !! Affected roles
 |-
-| [[athame]]                    || rowspan="3"| [[elven dagger]]           || [[Wizard/dNetHack|Wizard]]
+| [[athame]]                    || rowspan="3"| [[orcish dagger]]           || [[Wizard/dNetHack|Wizard]]
 |-
-| [[dagger]]                    || [[Noble]], [[Ranger/dNetHack|Ranger]], [[Rogue/dNetHack|Rogue]]
+| [[dagger]]                    || [[Ranger/dNetHack|Ranger]], [[Rogue/dNetHack|Rogue]]
 |-
-| [[knife]]                     || [[Pirate]]
+| [[knife]]                     || [[Binder]]
 |-
-| [[spear]]                     || rowspan="2"|[[elven spear]]             || none
+| [[spear]]                     || [[orcish spear]]                         || none
 |-
-| [[rapier]]                    || [[Noble]]
+| [[short sword]]               || [[orcish short sword]]                   || [[Rogue/dNetHack|Rogue]]
 |-
-| [[short sword]]               || [[elven short sword]]                   || [[Rogue/dNetHack|Rogue]]
+| [[bow]]                       || [[orcish bow]]                           || rowspan="2"|[[Ranger/dNetHack|Ranger]]
 |-
-| [[bow]]                       || [[elven bow]]                           || rowspan="2"|[[Ranger/dNetHack|Ranger]]
+| [[arrow]]                     || [[orcish arrow]]
 |-
-| [[arrow]]                     || [[elven arrow]]
+| [[helmet]]                    || [[orcish helm]]                          || none
 |-
-| [[helmet]]                    || [[Elven helm (dNetHack)|elven helm]]    || none
+| [[buckler]]                   || rowspan="2"|[[orcish shield]]            || [[Priest/dNetHack|Priest]]
 |-
 | [[kite shield]]               || none currently
 |-
-| [[victorian underwear]]       || rowspan="2"|[[Noble]]
+| [[ring mail]]                 || [[orcish ring mail]]                     || [[Barbarian/dNetHack|Barbarian]]
 |-
-| [[pair of stilettos]]         || [[elven boots]]
+| [[chain mail]]                || [[orcish chain mail]]                    || none
 |}
-<!--    { PM_ORC,	ATHAME,			ORCISH_DAGGER	      },
+As in ''NetHack'', orcish heroes that are not Convicts, Madpeople or Wizards are given two stacks of 1-2 random food items to compensate for inferior starting equipment.
 ==References==