Boskorg (3.5e Race)

Author: the bluez in the dungeon (talk) Date Created: 30/12/2020 Status: Complete Editing: Clarity edits only please

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Boskorg

Boskorgs are a subrace of orcs, known also as bosky orcs. They live in heavily wooded areas, more akin to silvan elves than their own race. They are still savage and primal when compared to more civilized races, but they cultivate a rich culture that is centered around honor and nature.

Personality

Boskorg society is primal and nature-centered. They are excellent hunters, involved in shamanist religion, they like physical competition, with brawling on top, and employ guerrilla tactics in war.

The typical boskorg is prideful and independent, but they are not self-centered or egotistical: their lifestyle and social structure is imprinted towards building a strong and lasting tribe, lest they doom their kin to failure and death. Because of this they are encouraged to compete and strive for the best to ensure the success of their community.

They are very judgemental of other races that they deem too tender and lax, but they are not too honest with strangers. In fact they are shy with people that they don't know well, and may appear even quite polite, for orc standards. They eventually open up, as they value greatly community and partners or friends. Quite exceptionally they seem to like or tolerate wood elves, because of their similarities.

They like practical jokes, riddles and rhytimic music. They are quite spiritual, worshipping nature spirits, ancestors and sometimes orc deities, but usually this faith is more related to the community than to individuals.

Boskorgs adventurers are either exiled criminals or those who willingly left the tribe to follow a life of travels. Both know that they may not come back to their original tribes, unless some special deed is accomplished, though this is a rare event.

Physical Description

Boskorgs' skin changes color according to seasons: in autumn is auburn, in winter is deep brown, like a trunk, shifting towards dull green in spring and summer. This peculiarity makes them very successful in moving unobserved in woodlands. Their eyes are green or dark, or something in between. Their skin is a bit rough, especially during winter, similar to tree's bark. Most notably, they possess one or more pair of small horns, but no more than three pairs. They are often more similar to small bumps of bone, especially when they are in multiple pairs, but sometimes longer horns appear. Their ears are long and pointed and their faces are smaller than a typical orc, as they have four canine teeth but no tusks. They are well built, regarding muscles, but not tall as much as other orcs. Their arms are a bit longer than usual for their size.

They wear few clothes, especially in hot seasons, often made of animal fur. Women of some tribes do not cover their chest, especially if they don't come in conctact with other races. In winter they cover themselves a lot instead, with capes and coat of fur made from hunted animals.

Boskorgs are not many, as their reproductive cycle is long and they are not much fertile: females are fertile only during summer and may bear one or two children, while male's reproductive organs fall off during autumn and winter (and they are planted to grow more trees, as they behave as seeds of the same type of nearby trees) to grow up again in spring and summer. Because of this they are not very interested in couple relations, as usually female boskorgs have multiple companions and don't know who the father of her child is. This is no problem as they raise children together with all the members (they call themselves "brothers and sisters").

Relations

Differently from other orcs, boskorgs do not discriminate half-boskorgs, welcoming them instead in their tribes, where sometimes they make up a large part of the population. This is probably also due to their difficult breeding. Another notable difference is their respect for wood and wild elves.

They don't judge other races before having known them, especially because they are very reclusive, so some tribes never encounter other people. Usually they are treated as any other orc by other races though.

As they value strength and self-reliability, they may despise more civilized people, regarding them as weak. But they are usually less hostile than regular orcs, so conflict is rare, as it is often a waste of precious resources.

They are quite unfriendly towards members of their races, often coming to battle when two tribes' hunting grounds overlap, putting the survival of each tribe at risk. Because of this they live usually distant from one another, to avoid confrontation. They meet peacefully between multiple tribes during some ritual moments or for formal discussions, though this events are not frequent. In these occasions they often mate with members of other tribes, mixing their genes to prevent stagnation.

Alignment

Bosky orcs are more frequently chaotic rather than lawful, even though they are quite respectful of their traditions, which are not too strict. They do tend to neutrality on the axis of good or evil, but each tribe is different.

Lands

Any heavily wooded area could be home to boskorgs, as they very diffused, despite being few. They are not often noticed because of their shyness and because they are focused on surviving rather than expanding.

Their homes and communities are particular, as huts are very distant from one another, build onto trees, and made in such a way to seem like they are not there. Because of this they are often overlooked by adventurers, that pass beneath their homes without noticing it.

They prefer moderate climates to very cold or hot forests.

Religion

Boskorgs are quite spiritual, but their religion doesn't revolve completely on destruction, chaos and violence as that of other orcs. They are instead interested in nature and spirits, giving to each spirit the right attention, to gain success in whatever tasks they intend to undertake. Some tribes rever orc gods, a reminiscence of the culture of the original orcs that adapted to life in the forest, but this worship is often more a matter of tribe life than of individual spirituality.

Language

They speak the orcs' language, but they developed multiple dialects, with notable differences with standard Orc, but these variants are not so different to prevent mutual understanding.

Their vocabulary is often quite limited, in some sense, as they have no words for certain items or concepts more typical of technological advanced cultures. Instead they have many specific words to refer to hunting and animals, as well as plants and natural events all that regards these topics.

Tribes that live near or come in contact with other civilizations use words from the language of those people to talk about things that their language doesn't include.

The name "Boskorgs" means "children of summer" in their dialect.

Names

Their names are similar to those of other orcs, but often mean things like: Leafmantle, Bravehunt, Soulfeet or similar. They sometimes incorporate elven terms in their names. They don't have surnames but tribe names, such as Pinebark or Higheagle.

Racial Traits

• +2 Dexterity, +2 Strength, -2 Charisma, -2 Intelligence: These orcs are strong but also agile, and they cultivate a deeper culture than others.
• Humanoid (Orc) 
• Medium: As a Medium creature, a boskorg has no special bonuses or penalties due to its size.
• Boskorg base land speed is 30 feet. They also have a climb speed of 15 feet (4,5 meters). This gives them a +8 bonus on Climb checks, as well as any other benefit from a climb speed. 
• Low-Light Vision: A boskorg can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination. She retains the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions. 
• Axe Tradition: +1 bonus to attack rolls and damage rolls with one-handed axes. All boskorgs are proficient with the handaxe and the throwing axe. This is part of an ancient tradition that all tribes preserve, as axes are especially useful in their environment. 
• Brachiation: Boskorgs gain the Brachiation^CAdv feat for free. 
• Forest Life: They always have Climb as a class skill and they gain a +2 bonus to Balance checks. Boskorgs live in the trees from birth and this makes them very good at staying on branches and climbing. 
• Skin of the Tree (Ex): +2 to Hide checks in forests and they always count as if having concealment for the purpose of Hide checks in woods and when adjacent to plants of Small size at least. The skin color of boskorg makes them especially stealthy in wooded areas. 
• +4 to Intimidate checks. They are quite savage and dreadful.
• Automatic Languages: Orc
• Bonus Languages: Common, Gnoll, Goblin, Sylvan
• Favored Class: Ranger In The Dungeon or Scout
• Level Adjustment: +0
• Effective Character Level: 1

Vital Statistics

Table: Boskorg Random Starting Ages

Adulthood	Simple	Moderate	Complex
16 years	+1d4	+2d4	+1d6+2

Table: Boskorg Aging Effects

Middle Age1	Old2	Venerable3	Maximum Age
35 years	60 years	70 years	+85 years
At middle age, −1 to Str, Dex, and Con; +1 to Int, Wis, and Cha. At old age, −2 to Str, Dex, and Con; +1 to Int, Wis, and Cha. At venerable age, −3 to Str, Dex, and Con; +1 to Int, Wis, and Cha.

Table: Boskorg Random Height and Weight

Gender	Base Height	Height Modifier	Base Weight	Weight Modifier
Male	5' 3"	+1d6	150 lb.	× (1d6) lb.
Female	5' 1"	+1d6	140 lb.	× (1d6) lb.

Pathfinder Options

For Pathfinder games, boskorgs remove their Charisma penalty.

Simple Racial Traits

These are racial traits for use with the simplified races rules.

• Humanoid (Orc)
• Medium
• Base land speed of 30 feet. Climb speed of 15 feet.
• Combat Ability - Dropdown Attack: When making a charge by dropping down onto the target or throwing a throwing weapon from above, deal +1d6 damage per 10 feet covered, up to 5d6. This is valid only for the first attack in the round.
• Passive Ability - Skin of the Forest: Gain a +2 bonus to Hide checks in forested areas and count as if always having cover for making Hide checks in woods.
• Utility Ability - Brachiation: Gain the Brachiation^CAdv feat for free.

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