Gray orc

Gray orcs were more civilized orcs than others who lived in the Moonsea and Hordelands.

Description
Gray orcs had an appearance similar to their northern cousins, with facial features less bestial and porcine, although gray orcs had tusks. They had wolf-like ears and their hair tended to be black or grey in color, and usually had eyes of orange, red or yellow. They were known to wear more sophisticated clothing than their northern counterparts, preferring clothing of dark shades.

Society
As nomads, gray orcs traveled migratory routes they have established that took them across the remote and desolate parts of northeast Faerûn, traveling between their favorite campsites and caves. Their nomadic travels were seasonal.

Gray orcs lived in small tribes of up to fifty individuals, led by a single individual, the chieftain, whose main duty was determining when the tribe attacked a target. The position of chieftain was, in reality, a temporary title, as chieftains were often killed before long.

The clerics of a gray orc tribe were the true source of power. The high priest, often a female, was the true leader of the tribe and often retains this title for many years. Gray orcs were zealous and the words of the clerics were tribal law.

Language
Gray orcs spoke a more intricate and verbally complex variant of Orcish. It was similar enough to Orcish that anyone who spoke it would be able to communicate with a gray orc, however there was some difficulty due to the varying degree of inflections, pronunciations and even words. Most gray orcs did not speak another language, but the clerics spoke Common, primarily to interrogate prisoners. They also spoke Giant and Goblin, which was used to communicate with potential allies to the tribe.