No orcs here?

[d.phoenixxx]

I think the idea is that Orcs are generally associated with certain archetypes and stereotypes, notably ingrained by Warcraft lore and Lord of the Rings lore.

When you mention Orc, people instantly expect a certain look, behavior, stature, language, and background.

This is why Orcs are not used in Dota 2. Dota 2 heroes like Axe, Warlock etc are more deep and have more personality than the Orcs can project.

[polkunus]

What do you mean why? Because valve decided to make their own "orc" race instead of using a cliche and unoriginal fantasy race.

[Nemzal]

You people are assuming Valve doesn't just want to make their own races.

Valve likes to raise the bar, and in this case they're opting for a thing called originality.

[simum]

Axe, warlock, disruptor andlifestealer are oglodi, a race valve created, because why not. They like to do new things, trolls were originally gonna be called trowles, but yes, troll warlord is still a troll. As far as timbersaw, alchemist, sniper, clockwerk, gyrocopter and tinker go, they're all keen folk. If I were you, I'd check out the lore megathread on the top of the page

[Redthirst]

They changed Doom Bringer to just Doom and Windrunner to Windranger.So no, they can't.And as I said, they should all look first at LOTR, actually, come to think of it, LOTR should sue both.Yeah.

I don't really know how this thing works, but apparently everything was changed just for safety. Remember, Valve won the lawsuit about using name "Dota" and technically Dota 2 is a competitor to HotS.

[Wulfstan]

They changed Doom Bringer to just Doom and Windrunner to Windranger.So no, they can't.And as I said, they should all look first at LOTR, actually, come to think of it, LOTR should sue both.Yeah.

[Redthirst]

How could orcs or red orcs be copyrighted?That means blizzard would have to sue LOTR director for actually orcs being red in LOTR when born.

Considering that they apparently have rights of words like "Doom Bringer" and "Windrunner", I guess they can sue Valve for red orcs. The truth is is that Valve don't want to take any chances. I don't think that Blizzard can actually win a case about Valve using words "Doom Bringer", but even so it's still lost time and money, so they change everything that can cause troubles.

[Wulfstan]

How could orcs or red orcs be copyrighted?That means blizzard would have to sue LOTR director for actually orcs being red in LOTR when born.

[Redthirst]

*Flattered*
Oh you.

But really, I have written an article on the very characters you've asked about.
They're early articles so they're not that comprehensive but I hope it answers your questions.

Oh hi! But I don't think your articles can answer OPs question. I guess there are two main reasons why they made them Ogodi and not Orc.
1. It's a really cliche race, so Valve wanted something different.
2. Red orcs might fall under Blizzards copyright.

[Nemzal]

DotaCinema has regular content updates about lore called "Lore for the Uninitiated" and there is article about axe and co. so you can check it on their web site.

*Flattered*
Oh you.

But really, I have written an article on the very characters you've asked about.
They're early articles so they're not that comprehensive but I hope it answers your questions.

[Justinian of Hattes]

Perhaps it's because Orcs are a very cliche and overused archetypical race in fantasy, so they went with a different name. As Heifastus pointed out, this is ultimately a non issue. They COULD be called orcs and it would mean as much.

[Redthirst]

Ok, ok i got this here - http://dev.dota2.com/showthread.php?t=35923, but i still dont catch it. They look like orcs, sounds like orcs, fight like orc, so what wrong with The name? Orc - this isnt bad name.

I guess they can't call Axe an orc. We have many copyright bullshit here, and I guess that red orcs could be partially copyrighted by Blizzard.

[Pshekhaz]

Ok, ok i got this here - http://dev.dota2.com/showthread.php?t=35923, but i still dont catch it. They look like orcs, sounds like orcs, fight like orc, so what wrong with The name? Orc - this isnt bad name.

[Noo]

Any orcs.

[Pshekhaz]

Thank You people for the answer. This is article from DotaCinema: http://www.dotacinema.com/heroes/axe
Sry but i didnt see there any info about ogolodi race. Where You got that info from? Can You paste direct link? (sry it is hard to move on this dotacinema blog.)
Btw. Troll Warlord isnt troll too? What is his race if he isnt troll?
Edit:

Why would there be any?

- ? Any what?