- Dec 12, 2020
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It depends on what fantasy novel you read or what game you play. It's not the same everywhere. Just like vampires are not exactly the same everywhere. These are undead in some novels. Elsewhere only transformed people. In the Witcher Saga by Sapkowsky they are even a species by their own. And so it is with pretty much every creature that exists in fantasy. They are what the author makes of them. There are no truly universal definitionsGoblins and Orcs are the same species. Their based loosely on traditional goblins, that is why they were still named Goblins in The Hobbit and later Orcs in LotR. The word Orc is an old english word for a demon.
Nowadays most people think they are usually green, which is heavily influenced the Warhammer Fantasy.
I wonder why Orcs had pig noses in some sources. Maybe from the middel irish word orc for piglet?