Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Yaarel" data-source="post: 9225141" data-attributes="member: 58172">The tricky part is where to put an advanced civilization of Orc.In the default Forgotten Realms setting, an overall impression with some adaptation is:Relating to the Ogre, the Orc is a Humanoid Giant species that originates northward from the High Forest, perhaps specifically at the Rauvin Mountains. There is a Dead Orc Pass that may specifically be remains of the earliest sacred ancestors. Today the Orc species flourishes across the northwest of the Faerun continent. From periods of ancient migrations, a few disconnected, farflung, locales survive with modest Orcish communities elsewhere in Faerun.There are canonical "Mountain" cultures of indigenous Orcish nomads, whose territories of extended families and tribal alliances own the Rauvin and Netherese Mountains, as well as areas of mountainous wildernesses elsewhere in Northwest Faerun. These tend to be tent-dwellers, but some families adopt a seasonal rotation of permanent structures.There are (what I call) "Grasslander" cultures of rural Orcs, especially in the grassland areas west of the High Forest, ranging from Evermoors to High Moor, and including agriculturally arable areas of wetlands, hills, and prairies in between. In this region, Orcs tend to farm, but rarely domesticate animals, and preserve ancient ways of hunting. These often befriend wild animals. The Grasslander Orcs are culturally diverse rural farming communities, who comprise hamlets and villages. Sometimes they join together with nomadic Ogre communities, especially in the Evermoors region. Sometimes they join together with Humans and other Humanoids to form multispecies farming communities, especially in the mainly peaceful regions such as Sumber Hills.There are "City" Orc cultures in Northwest Faerun, where Orcs immigrate into the cities of Humans and other Humanoids. But these are mainly multispecies cultures. Besides economic requirements to sustain any city, local politics can make one city culture differ substantially from an other city.Currently in the Forgotten Realms "canonical" setting, there is no known native advanced civilization of Orc. There might be a network of hidden Orcish cities, perhaps underground or in an other plane, such as the Border Ether on route to the Elemental Planes. Or there might be prominent Orc cities outside of the Faerun continent.Note the Kingdom of the Many-Arrows tribe along the Spine of the World mountain range tends to be an alliance of many tribes, both Mountain and Grasslander. Many of them seem to be in a process of urbanization and political unification, with permanent structures arising among most tribes there. There, the Grasslander culture adapted farming techniques for the harsher arctic and near-arctic environments.With regard to sacred traditions, the Mountain Orc cultures tend toward indigenous animistic worldviews, with strong ties to surrounding Primal wildlife and plantlife and Elemental mountainscapes and watercourses, with sacred local features. North of the High Forest, these Mountain cultures tend to be fiercely protective of sacred ancestral sites that revere specific natural features. Territorial disputes are ungoing against Dwarf and Human attempts to politically unify the region.The Grasslander cultures tend toward polytheism, especially in the context of local sacred farming traditions. The cults of Gruumsh and Orcus originate here from the polytheistic Grasslanders, and tend to be viewed as terrorists by other Grasslanders. The Gruumsh fanatics prevail among the citizens of the Many-Arrows Kingdom but are at odds with its government. The Gruumsh fanatics teach that Gruumsh had granted the Orcs the capacity of existential rage, whose ferocity helped free the Orcs from the Giant Ordning. Thus Orcs today would be required to embrace the ways of Gruumsh and his eternal rage, slaughtering, and expansion. Most of the elven communities of the High Forest region view the Cult of Gruumsh as a longterm threat against Elves and other Humanoids, including a threat to Orcs.The ways of Orcus originate from the animistic Mountain cultures. The heightened awareness of Elementals who are native to the Material Plane and among the features of the landscape and weather patterns, and awareness of the wildlife of animals and plants, as well as of Fey incursions near Crossings, arouses curiosity about the Shadow Crossings, and the remnants of ancestors which are in the Shadowfell. There is a Negative Route of planar crossings (thin places), from the Material Plane via the Shadow Crossing to the Border Shadow, to the Deep Shadow, to various Fiend Astral dominions, to the Astral Plane. This Negative Route facilitates meetings of Orcs, Undead, and those Fiends that are agents of the Fiend Orcus. Mountain cultures tend to make necromancy taboo, but certain families embrace it, and some communities view it as a "left hand" of the natural world.Most Mountain Orcish cultures focus on the sacred features of the natural world who are their neighbors, and view reincarnation within the Material Plane.The default setting allows for a highly diverse evolution of Orc cultures. But the existence of an Orcish advanced civilization still requires attention. Generally, the city culture channels its adrenaline rushes toward sports and thrill seeking, while embracing universalist aspirations of positive energy, monism (compare Eberron), and monklike tranquility and academic sagacity (compare Critical Role). The adrenaline rushes need to apply to focus concentration for academic pursuits as well. Individualism in cities invites one Orc to differ noticeably from an other Orc. Thus a city can include enthusiasts of Mountain and Grasslander ways of life.</blockquote>

Verification