I wonder when DF will do non-European fantasy

[Anthony]

If you do want "orcs", well, pretty much take whatever that culture viewed as barbarians, and turn it to 11.

[The Colonel]

Originally Posted by Gold & Appel Inc

Arabian legend also gives us the Nasnas (or Xunguruuf in Somali folklore), which resembles a human bisected halfway up the middle lengthwise, which hops about on its one leg with great agility and can either kill you with a touch or turn you into one of their own depending on version. Though, if I was doing this I'd have them turn people into two of their own by splitting up the middle, because it makes more sense, really, and hey, interesting force multiplier if they get into a crowd or have time to set up.

This critter is ... disturbingly common in international myth. All sorts of cultures seem to have encountered it - there's a Celtic version called the Fachan and I seem to recall it cropping up in Amerindian myth as well...

[robkelk]

Originally Posted by b-dog

... Are there any Arabian or Middle Eastern versions of orcs? ...

Originally Posted by mhd

Are there European versions of them? ...

Originally Posted by Mailanka

There's not even a European equivalent to orcs. The closest I can think of, off the top of my head, are Jotun. Orcs are pretty Tolkienish. ...

So, would it be fair to wonder when DF will do European fantasy?

[Mailanka]

Originally Posted by robkelk

So, would it be fair to wonder when DF will do European fantasy?

If your intent is to explore actual mythology, sure. I mean, let's set aside the sarcasm for a moment and ponder the fact that DF is legitimately culture-less. Greek mythology is definitely European, and if you wanted culture-themed adventures/bestiaries, you could fill one with pop-culture versions of the chimera, Cerberus, the hydra, centaurs, etc. Celtic mythology is similarly European, and we could explore the Sidhe/Fae and the fomori. Vikings are also European, and we could face off against jotun/trolls, giant wolves, serpents/dragons, etc.

Though, of course, for those with the stomach for doing actual stat-work, I note that each of these have their own 3e GURPS book, if you want a starting point.

[Bruno]

Originally Posted by The Colonel

This critter is ... disturbingly common in international myth. All sorts of cultures seem to have encountered it - there's a Celtic version called the Fachan and I seem to recall it cropping up in Amerindian myth as well...

It's in Aztec myth. Appropriately gory, of course.
Fear of mutilation is universal, and this is a pretty extreme form of mutilation.

[b-dog]

Originally Posted by Mailanka

There's not even a European equivalent to orcs. The closest I can think of, off the top of my head, are Jotun. Orcs are pretty Tolkienish. .

I know orcs are from Lord of the Rings and not really from European myths but I was just hoping for a sort of monster men that have a more Arabian feel. The town that Mirror of the Fire Demon is set in is called Wadi al Sheik.

[Railstar]

Originally Posted by b-dog

I know orcs are from Lord of the Rings and not really from European myths but I was just hoping for a sort of monster men that have a more Arabian feel. The town that Mirror of the Fire Demon is set in is called Wadi al Sheik.

How about ghul-lings or some other diminutive of ghul? Generally speaking ghul behaviour is pretty orc-like from what I can tell. Be they feral ghuls, pack ghuls, ghul-spawn, or something similar to reflect a lesser/powerless ghul, they could fill the same basic niche as orcs quite easily.

[Phil Masters]

Tolkien-style "orcs" are mostly the classic adventure story "sinister foreigner" with the nasty attributes turned up to eleven, and then the creature turned into a non-human because we're mostly vaguely aware these days that even the most hostile foreigner is still a human being, making it harder to slaughter them in industrial quantities without at least a twinge of guilt.

So Tolkien's orcs, being the enemies for a quasi-western European culture, are usually imagined with some attributes of medieval eastern Europeans, and more of Mongols. Nyambe got fairly clever with this, and had orcs, with d20 orc stats, being well-organised slave-taking raiders from across the seas (and very possibly from the cooler north). Thus, "orcs" for an Arabian Nights-inspired setting would perhaps have to be unbelievers and blasphemers from beyond the borders of civilisation, drunkards and devil-worshippers, possibly fairly sophisticated in some ways but not quite on a par with the heroes. That's the "sinister foreigner" archetype of the Nights with the dial turned up.

(Ghuls are more like ogres or the nastier sort of faerie folk - weird but deadly monsters of the wilderness.)

[Bruno]

The Disney movie Mulan treats the Mongol army as almost literally an army of Tolkin-esque orcs - they're grey coloured, with black sclera and yellow irises, and the Mongol general has an ape-like physique and fangs. They're also ridiculously tough and strong.

Depending on the period you're drawing your north-African flavor from and how far east/west you're going, the Romans (or Greeks if even earlier) might make for a great model for your "foreigner monsters".

[b-dog]

I guess orcs are like Starbucks of monsters, they're everywhere.