Orcish Resources
- Thread starter DerHauptman
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KaosDevice
Explorer
Umbran said:
That book completely ruled.
Lord Zardoz
Explorer
The thing with source books of this nature is that your usually just paying for a whole lot of fluff, and not a whole lot of crunch. The Slayers Guide to Orcs may be an adequate source, but as an owner of the Slayers Guide to Hobgoblins, I doubt its going to provide much that will impress you.
There are a few things out there that can make very good indirect sources if you want some more crunch to go with the fluff. I suggest taking a look at Traps and Treachery, and the Book of Vile Darkness. You may also want to take a look around for prestige classes involving Grummsh.
And now, for my own thoughts about how to run Orcs, and how they stack up against other humanoid types (Goblins, Kobolds, Hobgoblins).
Assets
Good physical power: They are simply stronger then any other single HD humanoids.
Good shamans: Orcs are alot more iconic than the other humanoids. I would translate that by having them benefit from the intervention of their gods more often than Hobgoblins. More preist / cleric types, and more powerful preist / cleric types. Its not that they are more devout. Its that they tend to better embody their gods ideals.
Good Connections: If your an evil warlord and you need warm bodies to swing axes, you think Orc. If your an evil wizard and want some loyal but malleable minions to dominate, you think Orc. If your an Ogre Cheiftan and want to fill out your numbers, you think Orc. If your looking for mercenaries who will kill for cash on the cheap, you think Orc. There is essentially no evil race or leader that Orcs would not work for, and they are in demand. Goblins are too weak, and Hobgoblins too expensive and arrogant / ambitious.
Disadvantages
Stupidity: Compared to Hobgoblins, and probably goblins, they are dumb. This manifests in being more easily tricked, and in having poorer tactical thinking. The height of orcish strategy is typically to throw more Orcs at it until it falls over. Unfortunately, this is a strategy they are usually well equpied to pursue.
Poor Equipment: There is a reason that there are no fameous Orcish Blacksmiths. Their weapons are going to be either poorly made or in poor repair if they are primarily metal. Variants of leather and hide armor are going to cover standard issue. And they probably arent using longbows. When they have better gear, its either made by slaves, stolen, or aquired by trade.
Treachary and Infighting: Being chaotic, the strongest rise to the top. The strongest will try to stay at the top by arranging for their rivals to die. The weakest will get around this by hanging their rivals out to die as the opportunities arise. So Orc tribes are likely to have say, a 10th level cheif, with most other classed Orcs being 3rd level or lower. A Hobgoblin tribe, by comparison, is more likely to have say, an 7th or 8th level cheif with a number of 5th and 6th sub cheifs.
END COMMUNICATION
There are a few things out there that can make very good indirect sources if you want some more crunch to go with the fluff. I suggest taking a look at Traps and Treachery, and the Book of Vile Darkness. You may also want to take a look around for prestige classes involving Grummsh.
And now, for my own thoughts about how to run Orcs, and how they stack up against other humanoid types (Goblins, Kobolds, Hobgoblins).
Assets
Good physical power: They are simply stronger then any other single HD humanoids.
Good shamans: Orcs are alot more iconic than the other humanoids. I would translate that by having them benefit from the intervention of their gods more often than Hobgoblins. More preist / cleric types, and more powerful preist / cleric types. Its not that they are more devout. Its that they tend to better embody their gods ideals.
Good Connections: If your an evil warlord and you need warm bodies to swing axes, you think Orc. If your an evil wizard and want some loyal but malleable minions to dominate, you think Orc. If your an Ogre Cheiftan and want to fill out your numbers, you think Orc. If your looking for mercenaries who will kill for cash on the cheap, you think Orc. There is essentially no evil race or leader that Orcs would not work for, and they are in demand. Goblins are too weak, and Hobgoblins too expensive and arrogant / ambitious.
Disadvantages
Stupidity: Compared to Hobgoblins, and probably goblins, they are dumb. This manifests in being more easily tricked, and in having poorer tactical thinking. The height of orcish strategy is typically to throw more Orcs at it until it falls over. Unfortunately, this is a strategy they are usually well equpied to pursue.
Poor Equipment: There is a reason that there are no fameous Orcish Blacksmiths. Their weapons are going to be either poorly made or in poor repair if they are primarily metal. Variants of leather and hide armor are going to cover standard issue. And they probably arent using longbows. When they have better gear, its either made by slaves, stolen, or aquired by trade.
Treachary and Infighting: Being chaotic, the strongest rise to the top. The strongest will try to stay at the top by arranging for their rivals to die. The weakest will get around this by hanging their rivals out to die as the opportunities arise. So Orc tribes are likely to have say, a 10th level cheif, with most other classed Orcs being 3rd level or lower. A Hobgoblin tribe, by comparison, is more likely to have say, an 7th or 8th level cheif with a number of 5th and 6th sub cheifs.
END COMMUNICATION
Tonguez
A suffusion of yellow
I took more of an anthropologist view of Orc society and created a split-gender matriarchy thus
ORC CLANS
Orkish society is centered around the clans who are embroiled in a never-ending series of wars and bloodfeuds, with alliances constantly being formed and broken. An orkish clan is never at peace with its neighbors for long.
Orc society is split according to gender with male orc whelps being expelled from the presence of their mothers at age 8. Female Orcs form semi-nomadic clans number from 40 - 150 families and usually consisting of a Matriarch, her daughters, and their whelps. Orc clans, although cohesive maintain a hierarchy of the Matriarch, the senior daughters and the juniors. Seniors often bully and are violent towards the juniors, stealing their food and even killing and eating their whelps. Juniors are little more than slaves but few who have attempted to leave have survived long as they fall prey to the mobs, other clans or enemy races.
Related clans do interact with each other for trade purposes but generally these groups are also highly territorial and will fiercely defend their territory from encroachment. Trade with more established other races is not unknown, although not common either.
The Mob
At the age of 8 yrs (orc years) most male whelps are forced out of the clans and form all male peer groups called Mobs. A mob consists of 10-40 male orcs with leadership of a mob being held held by demonstration of strength. Kindness or mercy are invariably interpreted as weakness and taken advantage of accordingly. As such members are constantly fighting for status and the resultant primary access to resources.
In addition these mobs are constantly feuding with other mobs and with the clans, so life in the mobs is best summarized as "nasty, brutal and short".
The clans do not allow mobs to establish territories and thus mobs survive by raiding and brigandry, which often brings them in to conflict with other races as Orc mobs raid farms and settlements for food and resources. Naturally this has resulted in great enmity with other races and means that Orcs suffer great stigma when interacting with non-Orcs.
Clans also limit interaction with the mobs except for the mating ritual. Orc Mating rituals are best described as 'ritual rape', when an all-male mob meets an all-female clan and the females are ready to mate, they will stage a 'Confrontation', where the females line up and taunt the males occasionally running forward over the demarcation line. The males are then obliged to abduct the female and if he can subdue her and escape from her pursuing relatives the two will mate. Any lone female encountered by a mob is also subject to forced mating and this ritual carried over to other races is one origin of the half-orc
Despite this forced seperation the mobs are dependent upon the clans to replace its own losses due to their constant fighting. Because of this dependence, the mobs have to follow the semi-nomadic female clans thus keeping the mobs from claiming any one area for themselves. Several male mobs have been known to shadow one female clan
It is not unknown for multiple related clans to settle into a large area under the leadership of Chieftain. When a clan settles into an area, other clans tend to gather in the same area to trade and this is usually the time the male mobs close in to perform the mating ritual. This gathering brings large numbers of orcs into one area but it is short lived as the territorial clans cannot tolerate each other or the mobs for very long.
The Shaman
Orc Shamans require special mention, as these are usually males who have been raised by the all-female clans rather than forced out. Raised as females, most Orc shamans are transvestites and are believed to gain special access to the two great Orc deities. Orc Shamans are given free access to move amongst all the clans and mobs without fear of reprisal. Orc leaders use the Shaman's persuasive abilities to occasionally forge huge Orkish hordes. While many Shamans wield great power, they are ultimately the servants and councilors of their chieftains.
Horde
A horde is a collection of mobs with the sole purpose of conducting war. The warlord doesn't have to be an orc, but by show of strength and aggression be capable of persuading the orcs to follow him. Although dim by human standards Orcs are not entirely stupid and sometimes act as mercenaries fighting for others in return for guaranteed food and shelter and it is thus that many orcs are found in the service of Evil
Orcs are not lacking in skills and when forced are capable of prodigious work. They can tunnel almost as well as the dwarves, and although most crafts are crude the few-trained Orc smiths are renowned for their mastery in the crafting of the most cruel weapons, war engines and torture implements.
ORC CLANS
Orkish society is centered around the clans who are embroiled in a never-ending series of wars and bloodfeuds, with alliances constantly being formed and broken. An orkish clan is never at peace with its neighbors for long.
Orc society is split according to gender with male orc whelps being expelled from the presence of their mothers at age 8. Female Orcs form semi-nomadic clans number from 40 - 150 families and usually consisting of a Matriarch, her daughters, and their whelps. Orc clans, although cohesive maintain a hierarchy of the Matriarch, the senior daughters and the juniors. Seniors often bully and are violent towards the juniors, stealing their food and even killing and eating their whelps. Juniors are little more than slaves but few who have attempted to leave have survived long as they fall prey to the mobs, other clans or enemy races.
Related clans do interact with each other for trade purposes but generally these groups are also highly territorial and will fiercely defend their territory from encroachment. Trade with more established other races is not unknown, although not common either.
The Mob
At the age of 8 yrs (orc years) most male whelps are forced out of the clans and form all male peer groups called Mobs. A mob consists of 10-40 male orcs with leadership of a mob being held held by demonstration of strength. Kindness or mercy are invariably interpreted as weakness and taken advantage of accordingly. As such members are constantly fighting for status and the resultant primary access to resources.
In addition these mobs are constantly feuding with other mobs and with the clans, so life in the mobs is best summarized as "nasty, brutal and short".
The clans do not allow mobs to establish territories and thus mobs survive by raiding and brigandry, which often brings them in to conflict with other races as Orc mobs raid farms and settlements for food and resources. Naturally this has resulted in great enmity with other races and means that Orcs suffer great stigma when interacting with non-Orcs.
Clans also limit interaction with the mobs except for the mating ritual. Orc Mating rituals are best described as 'ritual rape', when an all-male mob meets an all-female clan and the females are ready to mate, they will stage a 'Confrontation', where the females line up and taunt the males occasionally running forward over the demarcation line. The males are then obliged to abduct the female and if he can subdue her and escape from her pursuing relatives the two will mate. Any lone female encountered by a mob is also subject to forced mating and this ritual carried over to other races is one origin of the half-orc
Despite this forced seperation the mobs are dependent upon the clans to replace its own losses due to their constant fighting. Because of this dependence, the mobs have to follow the semi-nomadic female clans thus keeping the mobs from claiming any one area for themselves. Several male mobs have been known to shadow one female clan
It is not unknown for multiple related clans to settle into a large area under the leadership of Chieftain. When a clan settles into an area, other clans tend to gather in the same area to trade and this is usually the time the male mobs close in to perform the mating ritual. This gathering brings large numbers of orcs into one area but it is short lived as the territorial clans cannot tolerate each other or the mobs for very long.
The Shaman
Orc Shamans require special mention, as these are usually males who have been raised by the all-female clans rather than forced out. Raised as females, most Orc shamans are transvestites and are believed to gain special access to the two great Orc deities. Orc Shamans are given free access to move amongst all the clans and mobs without fear of reprisal. Orc leaders use the Shaman's persuasive abilities to occasionally forge huge Orkish hordes. While many Shamans wield great power, they are ultimately the servants and councilors of their chieftains.
Horde
A horde is a collection of mobs with the sole purpose of conducting war. The warlord doesn't have to be an orc, but by show of strength and aggression be capable of persuading the orcs to follow him. Although dim by human standards Orcs are not entirely stupid and sometimes act as mercenaries fighting for others in return for guaranteed food and shelter and it is thus that many orcs are found in the service of Evil
Orcs are not lacking in skills and when forced are capable of prodigious work. They can tunnel almost as well as the dwarves, and although most crafts are crude the few-trained Orc smiths are renowned for their mastery in the crafting of the most cruel weapons, war engines and torture implements.
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