@Hellmouth - Agreed. The Orsimer are unique, and should be represented as such in Skyrim. I have no doubt at the minimum they will look like the Oblivion concept art, and more likely they will look absolutely miles ahead of what we expect. Also, I do hope some of the "pending lore" mentioned in Oblivion's Pocket Guide will have had a definite long-term impact after 200 years. I expect Orsinium to have gained provincial status, or simply exist as a lone kingdom due to the weaknesses of the Empire. I would also hope some major decision amongst the Osimer people have decided whether they follow Malacath of old or the newer belief only in Trinimac which also decries Malacath's "curse". Perhaps both beliefs are still around? Or perhaps there was war in Orsinium to decide the religion?

I expect answers to all these questions in Skyrim.

Got there before me Hellmouth...

Orcs, while a bit clumsy and slow, are made for taking hits from magic and weapons. In addition to having willpower rivaling that of magical races, the females have average intelligence, instead of below average, and both sixes have 50 endurance and 45 strength, making them the most consistent fighting race. The biggest difference between the two races is if you want to be more suited for being a battlemage (female) or a tank (male).

Also, they can ramp up their offensive prowess with Berserk (however, it should be made slightly better, as Adrenaline Rush kicks its ass).

If orcs were more like Stan Nicholls' portrayal it would be a big step up.

interesting topic..... for some weird, reason I have a feeling you guys are going to be really happy when Skyrim drops. anyway, back to work for me....Ive got to make sure I do my part to make you guys happy

^^^^That has so much win. We just had a Bethesda Character Artist tell us it's all gonna be ok. Awesome. :celebration: :tes:

True. Orcs are probably the best "tank" race imo. They should definitely improve upon Berserk, or at least not make Adrenaline Rush so outrageously awesome.

Consider the MMO archetypes. While it's not really 100% a valid comparison, I think it's just in this case.

Orc = tank (tougher, more magic resistant)
Nord = DPS warrior (stronger, faster)

You sly dog.

Also, I agree with Hellmouth. And the way those orc males look like orcs and the females look like beautiful/athletic women with green paint on them is ridiculous.

^^^This exactly^^^ I've always thought Bethesda has tried to humanize the more bestial races throughout the games and ending in a bad style for them.

For me the two most important things for Orcs are a darker, more leathery skin and have their teeth not be so symmetrical.

People's teeth generally aren't symmetrical so how would a group of individuals have external teeth (more vulnerable to being hit) that are long (more force on the root when force is placed on the top) have teeth that are entirely symmetrical?

Personally, I usually look to D&D art as good fantasy representations but in that universe they are generally classless and unintelligent so I don't think it fits. Interestingly, and related, R.A. Salvatore writes books based around D&D rules in the Forgotten Realm universe and has an intelligent orc character that tried to start a kingdom named http://images.wikia.com/forgottenrealms/images/e/ec/Obould_Many-Arrows_-_Matt_Wilson.jpg. I think his representation is interesting and fits to a substantial degree what orcs would look like in TES (I'd still like the teeth less symmetrical).

My personal view of orcs was always closer to http://www.criticalgamers.com/archives/pictures/Orc.8.1.06.jpg (not Uruk-hai, those aren't really orcs), except more green, a little less dirty, and maybe a foot taller.

The TES concept art http://images.uesp.net//b/bd/Orsimer_official.jpg is a great and unique vision of what orcs should look like. As I've mentioned so far though, why are it's teeth so symmetrical? Have you ever seen an animal with symmetrical pointed teeth, let alone EXTERNAL long symmetrical pointed teeth? It just kills the concept art for me. Other than that I think staying faithful to this vision can't steer too wrong. As many have noted though, the nose might be a bit TOO piggish. If there is a way to adopt some of the nose structure from the previous images into this one it might be an improvement.

In general, the important thing for TES lore is that orcs LOOK savage and ugly but DRESS decent or in well crafted armor. I think the looks can be acheived through creating a varied leathery, dark green skin and by making their external teeth varied and asymmetrical. Each orc NPC model should have different external teeth: some have a third smaller next to one of the two outer, some have chipped teeth (they are external and prone to damage), some are angled off, some have one tooth that juts out more, some have smaller teeth than others.

I know is drastic but orcs are elves that were corrupted by the Daedric Prince Malacath, right? Well shouldn't they look more demonic like Dagon's dremora?
I mean these http://i51.tinypic.com/ir5p3n.jpg http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ympYOscIRwc/SUSBzb6hIyI/AAAAAAAAAiA/KuzzoVrIMCw/s400/Gulgar_Half-Giant.jpg don't look so bad. A middle ground between them would be nice. I like the horns a lot.

I think the first one looks absolutely fantastic, really mean and ferocious - just how I would like my Orc warrior to look. But the second one (which I also like very much) would fit better in TES. I think the horns are a great touch.

I dunno, I would say that the first one would be good if orcs in TES were strictly evil, but that isn't the case. The second one wouldn't be too bad as a starting point.

B?mp. Let's talk a bit more 'bout our hearty plump-faced neon green friends! (I kid obv.)

So, any thoughts and ideas for the look of their armaments? Will they be as nicely ornamental as before? I really do hope so, personally. But I think they ought to be relatively rare; the game should be more plentiful on everything Nord-like, since the game is set in Skyrim after all, so they shouldn't really steal too much attention from the spotlight.

Also this bit is rather interesting to me:

Seeing this, I would like to see some reference to that beast in their armor and weapon designs, along with the usual ornately intricate Aldmer-ish details on it. They used to be seen as mindless and culture-less beasts before their acceptance, so it is only natural that now they're more than proud to flaunt around the fact that they're in actuality are just as sophisticated (if not more) as the other races, and a nod to the hardship of their past (like that bit from the lore) will make it doubly good in my opinion. Or maybe the horned kabuto (enclosed helmet) we had in Morrowind was actually a reference to that beast? Hm...

Personally, I hope to see two types of Orcish armor set in Skyrim: One is the very stylized full-plate type of heavy armor that is a mix of western and eastern design (kinda like the one in Morrowind), and another is a lamellar studded leather armor, with bits of fur here and there, that is similar in design to the iron orcish heavy armor in Oblivion, but with more "nomads of the steppes" looks to it just a little bit; i.e. a touch more practical looking suited for the marauding business. The one we've seen on the concept art video seemed nice enough for their heavy armor, though it's hard to make out the details from it since it was too small and too dark, considering the quality of the video.

I'd fancy some weapons too. Axes and blunt weapons are a given if they decide to include any sort of Orcish weaponry in the game. But I'd like them to look somewhat more exotic as well (so player will get this sort of impression that "Oh, those seem to be made somewhere out of this province,"). Think of the "barbaric" weapons around the time of Rome: a weapon in the style of a http://www.warlordgames.co.uk/neo/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/dacians_box_art.jpg or the http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh270/arnspac/Dacian/Rhomphia3.jpg in place of claymores to ruin those pitiful shields, the http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/Yataghan.png for longswords and an http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Falcata_ibera_%28M.A.N._2003-114-51%29_01b.jpg in place of short sword. Not to mention that they also kind of reminiscent of the shape of their tusks, innit? Self-reference ftw. Alsom from other sources of references, a slightly more stylized version of http://www.couronne.co.jp/images/08/pic_02.jpg as their signature two-handed blunt weapon (or as an alternative to the warhammer) would be cool. But a flanged mace would be just fine enough for their one-handed blunt weapon. With their axes, just make them looking pretty darn terrifyingly strong yet sophisticated as hell.




Finally: absolutely NO to a return to the banol-looking Daggerfall's style of armor, please.