[RPG] Are the orcs of the D&D core canon not above eating sentient humanoids

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Are the orcs of the D&D core canon cannibals, i.e. not above eating sentient humanoids?

As far as I can remember, Tolkien's orcs seem to have no qualms about doing so (thanks for the link, Flamma), though I'm not sure they would've eaten their own kind as well.

What's the official stance (if there's any) on the feeding habits of DnD's orcs?

I'd be most interested in v3.5's "core setting" or that of the upcoming Next's (and least interested in v4's anything :)), though a comprehensive but abridged history could be a nice plus.

Best Answer

Yes, orcs are continuously depicted as cannibals (or, if you prefer, anthropophagous) in D&D lore.

AD&D 1e

Monster Manual, p.76:

They take slaves for work, food, and entertainment (torture etc.)...

Basic D&D

Orcs of Thar: I couldn't find anything on cannibalism with a quick scan, but this is an inordinately goofy book anyway.

AD&D 2e

Monstrous Manual:

Orcs are carnivores, but prefer game meats or livestock to demihumans and humanoids.

This is repeated without comment in PHBR10 The Complete Book of Humanoids. Sounds like they will eat people, but as a secondary recourse once the burgers and brats run out.

D&D 3/3.5e

No comments one way or another in the core books or Savage Species. There are parenthetical references to orcish cannibalism in non-canon sources, like this WotC blog article.

Pathfinder

Orcs of Golarion, p. 5:

Cannibalism

Orcs are infamous for their willingness (even eagerness) to eat other humanoids, and sometimes even other orcs. At some level, the practice is a matter of survival—eating what food is available to them. In lean times, humanoid slaves are more important to an orc tribe as livestock than they are for their labor. After all, orcs can always raid for more slaves when the opportunity presents itself later.

Orcs also believe consuming the flesh of other creatures allows the eater to take on their strengths. Just as warriors feast on the hearts of dire boars, cave bears, or worgs, so too does eating a fallen enemy symbolize the ultimate victory: not merely defeating the foe in combat, but consuming all that he was.

As with other orc meals, humanoid flesh may be eaten raw, torn from the body of a fallen enemy or a helpless prisoner, or slowly and carefully cooked. Indeed, orc “cooks” are just as often also butchers and torturers, skilled in gutting and bleeding victims in such a way as to “tenderize” them for slow roasting or stewing. Orcs often talk about other races in terms usually reserved for livestock and game animals, comparing the flavor and texture of elf to dwarf, or the taste of this nation of humans versus that one. When a laughing orc refers to a prisoner as “meat,” he is being entirely literal.

D&D 4e

Monster Manual p. 205:

DC 15: Orcs favor hills and mountains, places pocked by caverns easily turned into defensible lairs. Bloodthirsty marauders and cannibals, orcs venerate Gruumsh and thereby delight in slaughter and destruction.

D&D 5e

However, neither entry on orcs for 5e (Monster Manual p. 244; Volo's Guide to Everything p. 82) makes them out to be cannibals, merely murderous.

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