Fun ways to do a "warlike" people [+]

[BookTenTiger]

A discussion in another thread made me start brainstorming fun (and not stereotypical) ways to design "warlike" people in RPG settings. Orcs and Klingons may have been novel in their time, but the trope of an entire species sharing the quality of "warlike" is, at this point, a tired one.

So let's come up with some new ideas!

What would be fun ways to design a warlike people for an RPG setting?

Of course you could have a warlike culture, like the Dothraki in Game of Thrones. But what if instead of being a culture of conquerors, they were self-proclaimed liberators, freeing common folk from the yolk of service? A horde of anarcho-barbarians converting serfs to their cause could be a lot of fun.

Or on the opposite end of the spectrum, what if it's a culture so embedded in the bureaucracy of war that no one actually has any idea of why they are fighting. They just know that the paperwork says to go here and fight these people. Some kind of invisible machine is pulling the strings of war, with a purpose unknown.

If we do want to explore a "warlike people," could they be the product of some kind of parasite that feeds off of battle? Maybe there's a species that has a symbiotic relationship with a kind of ooze that lives in its bloodstream and feeds off of adrenaline. This species seeks out challenging battles in order to feed their inner oozes, and are rewarded with unmatched strength.

What are some other fun ways to design warlike people in an RPG setting?


NOTE: This is not a thread to debate the history of orcs. If you are choosing to participate, I ask that you please do so in a spirit of creativity and fun.

 

[payn]

Why not combine Klingon and Ferengi? A culture thats so embroiled into the economics of war, they wage it just to get their economies roaring. If they stopped, they wouldn't know what to do.

 

[TiQuinn]

Why not combine Klingon and Ferengi? A culture thats so embroiled into the economics of war, they wage it just to get their economies roaring. If they stopped, they wouldn't know what to do.

You could do the same with the Vulcans and have a species that has to swing back and forth between their superego and id every so many years, alternating between diplomatic but calculating vs totally berserk.

 

[overgeeked]

But what if instead of being a culture of conquerors, they were self-proclaimed liberators, freeing common folk from the yolk of service? A horde of anarcho-barbarians converting serfs to their cause could be a lot of fun.

Yeah. That’s great.

Religion. You can justify anything if a god tells you to do it. Like the vikings. You go to sit with Odin in Valhalla if you die in battle.

Money. People will do anything for money. Give them a tradition of hiring themselves out as mercenaries.

Scarcity. The land they occupy suffers a draught or famine and they are forced to move. And conquer.

 

[MGibster]

We've got plenty of cultures throughout human history who loved wars. Let's take a look at a little group hardly anyone talks about these days, the Romans. The Romans justified many of their wars as acts of self-defense. They attacked first? You misunderstand. They pre-emptively struck only to protect themselves or their allies. Expanding their territory and influence simply led to stability and security for all.

 

[GMMichael]

A discussion in another thread made me start brainstorming fun (and not stereotypical) ways to design "warlike" people in RPG settings. Orcs and Klingons may have been novel in their time, but the trope of an entire species sharing the quality of "warlike" is, at this point, a tired one.

What would be fun ways to design a warlike people for an RPG setting?

What's the question here? How do you say a group is warlike without making it a genetic thing?

Are you using "species" the D&D way or the normal human way?

The old-fashioned "warlike orcs" never made much sense to me anyway. The group that lives by constant fighting gets overrun by the group that conserves energy (and plans and organizes). But no humanoid group is peaceful; those were all wiped out by the warlike ones.

You could, I imagine, make a warlike people that justifies its murderous tendencies with atrocities that it suffered in the past. An eye for an eye?

 

[Tonguez]

You have the Roman who became a highly organised and highly disciplined military, able to operate as both independent units and as a large army, bringing various innovations supported by a centralised state and excellent logistics.|

Genghis Khan also developed a highly organised and disciplined military structure built around a central code and use of technology (stirrups, fast horses and recurved bows) that was perfectly adapted to the terrain, as well as the openess to adopt and adapt new technology they came across as the reappointed the conquered peoples as administrators under the Mongol Law.

The English/British who had a well supported central authority and significant resources and technology. By the 17th C their military was professional and reasonably good too (despite inefficient leadership nepotism) but most notably the English were masters in the use of economic and diplomatic power to both curry the support of allies and also to weaken the enemy position. They were also unsurpassed in exploiting existing enmities among their enemies to divide and conquor.

The US is similar to how England was with the added benefit of massive investment in military technology.

 

[Deset Gled]

How about a species that is experiencing an extreme breeding boom? Maybe they always had lots of offspring, but only in the last few generations did a majority of their young survive (possibly due to advancements in magic, trade, or tech). Or maybe they have simply undergone a religious or cultural revolution that puts tons of focus on having lots of kids. Either way, they desperately need to expand to gain resources, lest they turn to civil war and/or starvation.

 

[Bagpuss]

The Kafer's in 2300AD have a physiology that rather than releasing a adrenaline to make them faster and stronger when threatened they release a hormone that speeds up the neural process and makes them more intelligent.

If exposed to the hormone over long periods then the effects last longer. So the smartest Kafers are their frontline warriors, their scientific progress comes through warfare. If they want someone to understand a complex problem they will hit them until they understand. Violence is seen as a way to solve problems. They of course assume other races are the same, so captured human prisoners are beaten, not out of malice or cruelty, but because they are trying to help them and make them understand what they are telling them.

In play the GM is instructed to play them dumb at the start of the fight but if it drags out, they start using tactics like bounding overwatch, flanking, etc.

 

[Bagpuss]

How about a species that is experiencing an extreme breeding boom?

That's generally how I've always seen orcs and goblinoid races, breeding and maturing much faster than humans so constantly needing to expand or control their population by fighting among themselves. Warlike out of necessity, culture and nature.