Orcs,

Orcs are humanoid species, only slightly shorter than humans, broadly built with long arms and thick legs. They have wide jaws, with two small tusks that protude from the lower jaw. They have thick brows and large pointed ears. They have absolutely no body hair except that on their head. Their hair tends to be thick.

The most unusual trait of Orcs is that their skin color varies extremely, both among different groups, as well as within groups - current orc tribes vary in color from blue, to green, to brown, but even among these groups one will find wide variety of colors. In addition, even among these groups, one may find Orcs with skin colors completely unlike those of their fellows. It is suspected that orcs have some odd, innate adaptive trait where the skin colors of children are somehow affected by the environment or the experiences of their parents - indeed, orc children when born may be any variety of colors, but their "adult" color reasserts itself within six months.

Orcs are decent magic users, but the ability to use magic is very erratic. Some Orcs show such a lack of magical ability it turns into a kind of immunity - others are powerful sorcerors.

Orc are extremely hearty creatures, not prone to disease and resistant to heat and cold. They are comparatively short-lived, most adults living to 40 or 50, and an orc older than 60 is nearly unheard of.