Something you gotta know about me is that, along with the TTRPG system I'm writing (WIP name - RUINS system), I'm cooking up a semi-generic fantasy world to go with it as like some optional content.
This worldbuilding process has obviously included conjuring up some fantasy races, and I started thinking about orcs - namely how they're depicted in many popular TTRPGs and in fantasy in general. Now, I'm heavily against the way they are often depicted in WotC content particularly, for obvious reasons, but I've been thinking - if we divorce the generic orcs from their (most often VERY racially coded) esthetic, what are we left with?
A species of inherently evil humanoids.
Now before I start asking the important questions, let's establish a couple things:
1. Since "evil" does not exist in a vacuum, let's assume they're "evil" in the sense that they kill and destroy, and do so without a clear emotional reason.
2. We also assume they're evil genetically - as in, they can't become not evil and they're born evil and must do evil as if they were compelled.
3. Orcs have basically no culture. They're a species oriented around killing, consuming and destroying.
Notice how, with these assumptions, we've just basically created Tyranids from WH40k? Every time I try to imagine orcs with the assumptions I just presented, Tyranids just pop up instead.
And in my opinion (bear with me) it's the culture that separates Tyranids from your basic fantasy orcs, SO now comes the big question:
Could one write a species of SENTIENT creatures that are entirely "evil" (according to the selected arbitrary standards) but DO have a unique, realistic culture?
It perhaps feels narrow minded to say, but I don't believe it's possible. At least I could never find a way to write any type of sentient beings in a way that their culture doesn't also encompass some other aspects of reality. Even limiting these cultural aspects to the oldest examples of culture in real world history, like places of worship or various items of artistic expression, I find it impossible to create a culture that is both realistic and allows for inherent evil as defined above.
Really makes you think what them writers at WotC and of other fantasy media were smoking back in the day,huh? (spoiler - it's unexamined racism and xenophobia).