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<blockquote data-quote="Barastrondo" data-source="post: 5105315" data-attributes="member: 3820">Heraldry to some extent, religion to a great extent. I like the fighting Uruk-Hai of 1e and 2e a lot better than I like the chaotic evil barbarians that showed up in later editions, and part of what made the Uruk-Hai work was a bloody-minded faith and confidence. Even if the &quot;Evil Eye&quot; of Gruumsh and the &quot;White Hand&quot; of Yurtrus were direct rips from Tolkien, they were a neat idea: orcish heraldry doesn't just represent tribal identity, it represents a specifically vicious worldview and maybe comes with some interesting rituals besides. The orc priests of Gruumsh plucking out one eye? Great stuff, weakish these days only because we've all gotten used to it by now and it's lost a bit of its shock value. It's not orcish to me if it doesn't come with some sort of device to plaster on shields or banners, and some bizarre ritual that emphasizes just how brutish and hardcore they are. I try to make sure I never use generic &quot;orcs&quot; -- I want the players to differentiate the Brass Killers from the dragonpriests, much as they'd differentiate human opponents from different &quot;tribes.&quot;</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Barastrondo, post: 5105315, member: 3820"] Heraldry to some extent, religion to a great extent. I like the fighting Uruk-Hai of 1e and 2e a lot better than I like the chaotic evil barbarians that showed up in later editions, and part of what made the Uruk-Hai work was a bloody-minded faith and confidence. Even if the "Evil Eye" of Gruumsh and the "White Hand" of Yurtrus were direct rips from Tolkien, they were a neat idea: orcish heraldry doesn't just represent tribal identity, it represents a specifically vicious worldview and maybe comes with some interesting rituals besides. The orc priests of Gruumsh plucking out one eye? Great stuff, weakish these days only because we've all gotten used to it by now and it's lost a bit of its shock value. It's not orcish to me if it doesn't come with some sort of device to plaster on shields or banners, and some bizarre ritual that emphasizes just how brutish and hardcore they are. I try to make sure I never use generic "orcs" -- I want the players to differentiate the Brass Killers from the dragonpriests, much as they'd differentiate human opponents from different "tribes." [/QUOTE]

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