johnsemlak
First Post
What is the difference between orcs and urak-hai (sp?) Do Urak-hai have a D&D equivelent?
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[LotR question]difference between orcs and urak-hai
- Thread starter johnsemlak
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IIRC, the uruk-hai are supposed to be be an interbreeding of orcs and "goblin men", who are probably the folk who life in the wilds west of the Gap of Rohan (descendants of the folks displaced by the Rohirrim).
Between that and the descriptions in the books, I'd peg 'em as being akin to a D&D half-orc. But I'd also peg a Tolkien "orc" to be anything from a kobald to a goblin to an orc, as the species has much variation in the books.
Between that and the descriptions in the books, I'd peg 'em as being akin to a D&D half-orc. But I'd also peg a Tolkien "orc" to be anything from a kobald to a goblin to an orc, as the species has much variation in the books.
Olgar Shiverstone
Legend
See the Middle Earth d20 page for various D&D takes on the races and monsters of Middle Earth.
John Crichton
First Post
I don't know about the books but in the movies they were basically a little smarter than normal orcs but the big thing was that they were effective in the day and not as hindered by sunlight like "normal" orcs.
If I remember correctly there are now two answers to this question.
Answer 1: According to the movies the Urak-hai are a crossbreed of Orcs and Men created by Sauroman the White(sp?).
Answer 2: According to the books they are an improved race of Orcs that are created by Sauron, while the troops that Sauroman the White(sp?) uses are half-orcs.
So it depends on which source you want to take. If memory serves correctly, I remember an old 1st/2cnd Edition monster that was basically an orc/ogre crossbreed that might serve.
Answer 1: According to the movies the Urak-hai are a crossbreed of Orcs and Men created by Sauroman the White(sp?).
Answer 2: According to the books they are an improved race of Orcs that are created by Sauron, while the troops that Sauroman the White(sp?) uses are half-orcs.
So it depends on which source you want to take. If memory serves correctly, I remember an old 1st/2cnd Edition monster that was basically an orc/ogre crossbreed that might serve.
jonesy
A Wicked Kendragon
Actually in the book it is stated that the Uruk-hai who captured
the hobbits were servants of Saruman and that both Saruman
and Sauron had Uruk-hai orcs (the appendix hints that the
Uruk-hai first appeared from _both_ Isengard and Mordor which
could mean that Sauron gave Saruman the instructions on how
to 'produce' them).
the hobbits were servants of Saruman and that both Saruman
and Sauron had Uruk-hai orcs (the appendix hints that the
Uruk-hai first appeared from _both_ Isengard and Mordor which
could mean that Sauron gave Saruman the instructions on how
to 'produce' them).
Corinth
First Post
Ahem.
About that "goblin-men" reference: "goblin" is synonymous with "orc". Thus "goblin-men" is another way of saying "orc-men", meaning "creatures with traits of both orcs and men", and as such it is reasonable to conclude that we're talking about half-orcs. Crossbreeding pure orcs with half-orcs to produce Uruk-Hai would get the result we see in the books and the film: a creature with all of the desireable (from Sauron and Saruman's POV) traits of both species. Orcs of man-like stature and intelligence, able to operate without penalty in sunlight, but possessed of orc-like strength, stamina and ferocity- that's your Uruk-Hai.
It makes sense to me.
About that "goblin-men" reference: "goblin" is synonymous with "orc". Thus "goblin-men" is another way of saying "orc-men", meaning "creatures with traits of both orcs and men", and as such it is reasonable to conclude that we're talking about half-orcs. Crossbreeding pure orcs with half-orcs to produce Uruk-Hai would get the result we see in the books and the film: a creature with all of the desireable (from Sauron and Saruman's POV) traits of both species. Orcs of man-like stature and intelligence, able to operate without penalty in sunlight, but possessed of orc-like strength, stamina and ferocity- that's your Uruk-Hai.
It makes sense to me.
