Gray orc

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

Description
Gray orc males were typically in height and  in weight, while females were typically  in height and  in weight. They were rather hairy, with long "manes" of black bristles on their head, shoulders, and back; and their faces were somewhat less porcine than those of mountain orcs, they retained the tusks and were still obviously orcish. They also had wolfish ears.

In coloring, gray orcs typically had red, orange, or yellow eyes, black hair, and gray skin with mottled patches of darker or lighter shades on the chest and flanks. Unlike mountain orcs, they typically wore more "civilized" clothing, normally in shades of black, brown, blue, and other dark colors.

Personality
Gray orcs were just a savage and barbaric as mountain orcs, but lacked drive to conquer and enslave of their northern kin. They preferred to trust their hearts and instincts over logic, and were likely to react suddenly and irrationally to events. Given the opportunity to attack a hated rival, a gray orc would not hesitate even if that same rival had defeated them countless times before.

Abilities
Gray orcs were strong and fast. Due to their long strides they were capable of rapidly covering significant distances on foot.

Magic
Most spellcasters among gray orcs were divine spellcasters. Arcane spellcasters were much rarer, gray orc druids even rarer. During the Orcgate Wars, gray orc clerics had access to many powerful and unique spells; the most potent of magics being their ability to directly call down avatars of their deities. Knowledge of this magic was lost with their defeat, as a result gray orc clerics used more common clerical spells.

Gray orc spellcasters crafted potions and scrolls for themselves or for the benefit of their tribe. Most magical items found in the possession of gray orcs were most likely stolen or looted.

Combat
Gray orcs preferred to wear light armor in combat, as it allows them to fight relatively unencumbered and to use their speed in battle.

Gray orcs were skilled with the longbow and greataxe, training with these weapons since they were children. Gray orcs considered their axe as a holy weapon, and spent considerable time maintaining them. Their axes were often garishly adorned with tokens of beads, feathers, gems and even the body parts of their enemy. Most gray orcs kept a tally of enemies killed with their axe, either by making a notch in the handle or inscribing their target's name on the axe head.

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 verbally complex variation of Orcish, similar enough to the common form that anyone who spoke Orcish could understand it. However, many words, inflections, and pronuciations varied wildly between tribes and learning the idosyncrasies of each tribe normally took a few days to learn. Grey orcs were not, however, fond of learning new languages and were not literate. The clerics would at least speak Common in order to interrogate captives, and Giant and Goblin in order to converse with potential allies.

Religion
Gray orcs acknowledge Gruumsh as the most powerful. Unlike other orcs, gray orcs don't feel the need to focus their worship solely on Gruumsh, instead worshiping all the orc deities equally. They often worship whichever deity suits their interests and personality, although most gray orcs of a tribe worship the same deity.