Half-Orc is a physical-force specialist with +3 Strength, +2 Power and Aggression, and +1 Vitality, offset by lower Discipline and Spellcraft.
The physical tendency package
Half-Orc has +3 Strength, +2 Power, +2 Aggression, and +1 Vitality. Discipline and Spellcraft are both reduced by 2. Growth is neutral at ×1.0, and the new-campaign career window is 14–36. This is a direct, high-amplitude profile: it pushes toward physical force and durability while pulling away from spell capability and disciplined behaviour.
Tendencies shape the likely generated attributes; they are not fixed combat bonuses. The class-fit ranking weights each tendency by the priorities of a class. A strong average match does not guarantee that a particular Half-Orc has a good sheet, and a negative tendency may be largely irrelevant when the chosen class already suppresses that attribute.
Warden as the cleanest fit
Warden is the strongest computed match. Strength and Aggression are both important Warden weights, Power is useful, and Vitality is the class’s highest priority. Spellcraft is already suppressed at 0.3, so the −2 tendency costs little in the fit calculation. Discipline is not among Warden’s listed weights. The result is a race profile that reinforces both the defensive and aggressive halves of the class.
Blademaster also benefits heavily from Strength, Power, and Aggression. Its lack of dependence on Spellcraft makes that penalty inexpensive, although Blademaster must still roll Weapon Skill, Critical Strike, Agility, Speed, and Positioning well. Guardian gains Strength and some Vitality, but the Discipline penalty conflicts with one of its secondary weights and the race does not boost its defining Threat, Armor Use, Parry, or Mitigation rows.
Growth and timing
The ×1.0 growth modifier is neutral. That means the decision depends more on the individual’s present attributes and age than on a racial development premium or penalty. The 14–36 new-campaign career window is earlier than most other races, but the useful question is not which number looks young in real-world terms. It is how much development time the game gives this specific recruit.
For a development project, compare starting quality, wage, and the seasons available to improve. For an immediate contender, a strong current sheet can matter more than theoretical growth. Neutral growth makes both strategies possible without deciding between them.
Evaluating the actual hero
On Warden, verify the tank core first: Vitality, Threat, and Mitigation. Then see whether Strength, Aggression, Power, Armor Use, Crowd Control, and Resolve turn the recruit into the aggressive defender promised by the pairing. A Half-Orc with great Power but poor Threat is not a good tank merely because the race and class names look compatible.
On Blademaster, Weapon Skill and Power remain the first checkpoints, followed by Critical Strike and the execution attributes. Give real credit to Strength and Aggression, but inspect Agility and Positioning rather than assuming raw force covers them. The race tendency is a head start on part of the profile. The rest of the build still has to come from the roll.
Party and trait context
A Half-Orc Warden still needs dedicated damage and healing roles. A Half-Orc Blademaster still needs someone else to hold attention. Review the class pages for the remaining slots and the synergy table for named party bonuses. Race tendencies do not override role responsibilities.
Discipline-related traits or behaviours may deserve extra attention because the race already leans −2 there, but do not assume a trait and an attribute are mechanically interchangeable. Read the specific trait analysis, then judge the complete hero including contract cost.
Common mistakes
The first is seeing +3 Strength and hiring without checking the class signature. The second is using a Half-Orc Warden as a damage dealer while neglecting Threat and Mitigation. The third is treating Spellcraft −2 as universally severe; it matters greatly for Arcanist but very little for Warden or Blademaster. The fourth is ignoring the Discipline penalty on a Guardian pairing where Discipline has a real secondary weight.
Always anchor advice to the verified patch. If an older guide reports different tendencies, use the version switcher and changelog rather than combining the two datasets.
A practical decision rule
Prefer Half-Orc when Strength, Power, Aggression, and Vitality overlap the chosen class without making Discipline or Spellcraft essential. Warden is the clearest case; Blademaster is the main offensive alternative. Require the individual’s role-defining attributes before paying for the racial strengths. This turns a thematic pairing into a data-supported hire.
For a final comparison, remove Strength from view for a moment. If the Warden still has credible Threat and Mitigation, or the Blademaster still has Weapon Skill and execution attributes, the pairing is structurally sound. If it falls apart, one spectacular racial tendency has been masking an incomplete hero.
The career window above is for a new campaign. Legacy campaigns retain 14–38; an individual hero can also carry their own saved career bounds. They bound the career window; they do not predict how many seasons a particular hero has left.