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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Elder-Basilisk" data-source="post: 549849" data-attributes="member: 3146">I think I'd do as Aust suggests except for one thing.When I killed the leaders of the city, I would take special care to capture at least one leader who was a part of the second or third echelon of the city's leadership but who had blood ties to other kingdoms and city states as well. Perhaps he would be 5th or 7th in line for the throne of a nearby city-state. I would hide him in my fortress and interrogate him for months. I would learn how he talks and walks and everything about him.Then, after conquering the city with my orc army, I would make sure that they were inefficient in the conquest, allowing many leaders of leading houses to escape with their wealth--those leaders that I allowed to escape would be historical enemies however. Then I would take my orc army and march on other kingdoms, deliberately overextending it. (Focussing particular attention on the people higher in the line of succession than my kidnapped noble).Around this point, I would appear in the form of the young leader to unite the exiled nobles of the city I've slated for conquest. I would send out the call for an army and work to unite the kingdoms against the orcs. Secure in my strength and invulnerability, I would be an Alexander the Great type lead from the front rank type of general. In my role as the leader of the orcish army, I would do my best to ensure that the forces of the other kingdoms always got the worst of the battles but that the forces of my "boy general" persona were able to save the day. In this way, I would cultivate a myth of invincibility while I also weakened the prestige of my rivals in neighboring kingdoms. After defeating the orcs, I would lead my triumphant exiles in a glorious return to the city.Then, I would start eliminating the royal families of the neighboring kingdoms until I inherited there too.I could also provoke a war between my city and a weak neighbor later on and, after winning the war, annex it to my city. After a few of these kind of wars, and other inheritances, I should be a power to be reckoned with.Over time, I would also want to start some rumors about the nature of this invincible boy general/king. Perhaps he is really a child of the gods. Or perhaps they have blessed him. Or perhaps the jealous god of victory condemned him to infertility such that any children born of him would be monsters. And the goddess of love cursed him for spurning her advances such that though he will love with purest passion and live a life of eternal youth, all those he loves will betray him or meet with misfortune thus turning the blessing of eternal youth into the wellspring of infinite pain. That sounds romantic and would build up my myth. And, I'd need something to explain the fact that I intend to be immortal. I'd also need some way explain the fact that any of my children were 1/4 dragon, 1/4 trolls. And that my wives had a habit of mysteriously dying if they found out too much about me.This would have several advantages over simple conquest.1. Orcs are neither particularly loyal, particularly disciplined, nor particularly popular. As the invincible boy general, hero of the orc wars, and Liberator of the Polis, however, I would have a much more skilled and loyal cadre of soldiers to work with.2. An orc incursion would probably be seen as upsetting the balance of power and as a threat to the neighboring kingdoms. There would not be the opportunity for me to gather power and influence by cunning and stealth since the heads of the human kingdoms would be unlikely to make diplomatic marriages with a victorious orc chief or allow the orc chief to inherit lands in their kingdoms.The magics that would be required to pull this off:Long term (persistent/permanent) alter self or polymorph self (only two forms needed).Detect Thoughts (for the interrogation)Undetectable AlignmentNystul's Antimagical Aura would be nice (to hide the undetectable alignment and the shapechange magics)Suggestion would be very handy as well.So would Cure Light Wounds or Remove Disease (if I wanted to pretend to be blessed by the gods).</blockquote>

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