Quote Originally Posted by ShadowImmor View Post
If it were up to me, I'd say the Orcs were surprised.

Lets face it, the Orcs have been having peace talks, no weapons have been readied, and they're about to shake hands, then BAM out of nowhere one of these random peacetalkers has stabbed the chief. It wasn't expected, and even if they were on edge, the OP said that they began to relax and drop their guard, which to me, means their not paying as close attention as they should be.
Dude they're Orcs.

They live in a society where that kind of treachery and violence is commonplace.

I mean, if the DM pulled that in reverse to you (the Orcs seem friendly guys... BAM SURPRISE!) wouldnt you argue that there was no way in hell your PC would be trusting Orcs, let alone ones you've only just met?

If no sane PC would trust a bunch of Orcs, why are the Orcs trusting anyone else? They live with deception, murder and treachery as a daily freaking occurrence!