Orcs?

[Orcs]

Interesting observation re GW & LotR. The GW LotR range, based in the film were, in my humble opinion, pretty much spot on. At least in my imagination. Tolkien describes Orcs as broken, twisred and corrupted elves, with regard to their origins (or 'back story' as it is now called).
So yes, that woukd be a good depiction.

Apart from the fact that Tolkien only refers to Orcs with Spears, bows and swords. No mention of Pikes or Crossbows for them.

Secondly I am not broken or twisted, but possibly corrupted. 

[Big Insect]

Apart from the fact that Tolkien only refers to Orcs with Spears, bows and swords. No mention of Pikes or Crossbows for them.

Secondly I am not broken or twisted, but possibly corrupted. 

Ah yes, the old pikes v lances v spears conundrum ... it's all a bit like the "how long is a piece of string?" question.
I'm not sure that Tolkien actually refers to crossbows specifically at all (although I am happy to be educated upon such matters).
"Wat's its gots in its pocketzes, my precious." - pieces of string, an old bit of half-chewed chewing gum, paper clips, dried up prunes, a nasty snotty tissue and the skeletons of boys who've crawled away to die (curtesy of N. Molesworth Esq.)

[Orcs]

Ah yes, the old pikes v lances v spears conundrum ... it's all a bit like the "how long is a piece of string?" question.
I'm not sure that Tolkien actually refers to crossbows specifically at all (although I am happy to be educated upon such matters).
"Wat's its gots in its pocketzes, my precious." - pieces of string, an old bit of half-chewed chewing gum, paper clips, dried up prunes, a nasty snotty tissue and the skeletons of boys who've crawled away to die (curtesy of N. Molesworth Esq.)

Tolkien mentions curved scimitars, short broad-bladed swords, spears, knives, and bows for the Orcs - Boromior dies from multiple arrow wounds.

I suspect the Pikes are for visual effect on the mass battle scenes, rather than accuracy.

[Last Hussar]

Cozy accuracy in fantasy fiction is paramount?

I had the part work. The figures for the 9 were spot on.

[Orcs]

Cozy accuracy in fantasy fiction is paramount?

Tolkien is historical fact!

[Big Insect]

I can see the T-shirt:

Tolkien is Trooof!

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

I can see the T-shirt:

Tolkien is Trooof!

I would wear dat

[MonAtArms]

Just resurrecting the old Orc thread with a small pseudo-poll.

What kind of Orcs do you like the most?

More classic Tolkien-style?
More square and brutal?
More or less civilised?

To be honest, I had never really thought about it before. Better said, the question had never really occurred to me until now. It made me realise how many different interpretations of Orcs there actually are.



A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

And another question: is there any type of Orc you feel is missing or underrepresented?

Curious to hear everyone's preferences!

[Ithoriel]

Since Orcs are corrupted elves I would have gone with E for a very long time but alas my vision of Orcs has been corrupted by the evil empire and these days if I think of Orcs it is G that comes to mind.

Though they are most definitely brown skinned not green!

On the other hand, influenced by Alan Garner, I often think of goblins as piebald black and white. 

[Big Insect]

'A' .... ah yes ... them wuz the days!
25mm scale Minifigs LotR 'pig-orcs' you gotta luv em     
(still available from Minifigs I gather)

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

Well, there is this...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grunts

[MonAtArms]

Well, there is this...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grunts

Well, that link sent me down a rather unexpected rabbit hole...

Which led me to discover this absolute gem from the 80s:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085625/

The whole thing has very strong orc vibes to be honest. I'm half convinced someone in fantasy design must have watched this at some point for inspiration! 😄

[Big Insect]

the opposite of the old adage ..."where the sun don't shine!"        

My personal vote would be for option 'E'

There is also the additional approach from the Will Smith film 'Shine' of course, but that's more of a 'modern' take on things.

[Orcs]

Personally I would go with E. I felt the old Vendal Miniatures Orcs/Goblins were spot on.

[Last Hussar]

Well, if anybody knows about what an orc looks like...

[Fingolfin]

As a die-hard Tolkien anal-purist, I'm happy with anything that has long arms, bow-legs and a "sallow face" that wields a scimitar. Have to say that the Pendraken 'Goblin' range is pretty in-line and canon for me.

I would love to see Pendraken produce some larger Uruk-Hai.

Somewhere between D and E is my sweet-spot.

[far4ngn]

D and E would be my pick

[flamingpig0]

A are my favourite Orcs

[steve_holmes_11]

I meet Orcs in two settings.

Tabletop battles, usually playing as the fatalist shock troops / cannon fodder.
Wave attacks, prefer an epic ending to surviving the campaign....
E, G or I work in that role.

Individual Characters in Role Playing games.
Here they are far more civilised and able to co-exist in human society.
Somewhere close to Tolkien's ruffians form Bree.
For this I'm inclined toward H - but with better tailoring.


The difference between wargaming and role playing gaming.

A wargamer brings hundreds of figures and one rulebook.
A role player brings one figure (or none) and multiple rule books.

[Ithoriel]

In my RPG campaigns civilised orcs are definitely not a thing.

An Orc's appearance, like their lives, is nasty, brutish and short.

In Harn, my setting for my later fantasy campaigns, Gargun are the orc and goblin equivalents. In the Harn background Gargun are cave dwelling and oviparous. So my Gargun emerge from their eggs and receive their first sustenance not from mother's milk but from those of their siblings who have not yet emerged from their eggs.

A Gargun's thoughts are centred on the Four F's. "Can I fight it, f**k it, feed on it or set fire to it?"