In the
Forgotten Realms campaign setting for
Dungeons and Dragons, the
tanarukka are a humanoid race which originated as
orc-
demon crossbreeds in
the region around
Hellgate Keep/
Ascalhorn. However, years of dwelling on
Faerûn has led to their being regarded as a separate species,
rather than simply as
tieflings. They're
nasty, brutish and short, as the
saying goes, and not necessarily terribly blessed with intelligence. They are,
however, extremely dangerous
fighters. They can often be found acting as
muscle for
cambions and other
fiend-related creatures. 'Tanarukk' is plainly a hybrid of '
Tanar'ri' and '
Uruk'.
Tanarukka first appeared in
Hellgate Keep, a
module by
Steven E Schend,
and subsequently in the
Monsters of Faerûn
supplement.
Addendum,
11/02/02: Sean K Reynolds of
Wizards of the Coast has released an
erratum stating that tanarukk, although of the type '
outsider', are also of the subtype '
orc'.