Orcs and Ancient Sparta

[Sir Elton]

I had an idea while writing up an orc's history on using Ancient Sparta as the template for his native tribe. It's complicated, but what do you think about the idea?

I can't regurgitate all the details, but it seems a perfect fit.

Sparta in a nutshell:
* The Men were trained to be the perfect army.
* The Women ran all the economics.
* It befell both men and women to create the next generation of warriors.
* Both Spartan girls and boys were encouraged to play naked together. (No joke; Grandma Prudery was deemed to be a weakness).
* The Spartans practiced Eugenics. They would throw all babies who were born deformed in some way over the cliff.
* The Spartan diet consisted mostly of lean meat.

 

[Mac Callum]

Well, Hobgoblins seem the better choice. Lawful, you know.

 

[Sir Elton]

Well, Hobgoblins seem the better choice. Lawful, you know.

I know.

 

[DonaldRumsfeldsTofu]

Yeah, Orcs aren't disciplined. Spartans are.

 

[dreaded_beast]

I like the idea, sounds interesting.

If I remember correctly, Orcs in 2nd edition were Lawful Evil according to the Monstrous Compendium.

Anyways, this being your campaign, I don't think it would hurt any changing the alignment of your orcs. Or this could be a whole separate race of orcs, a throwback to their more "civilized" days. Or these are mechanically the same orcs found in the Monstrous Manual, the only difference being the alignment and the society they live in.

 

[Sir Elton]

I like the idea, sounds interesting.

If I remember correctly, Orcs in 2nd edition were Lawful Evil according to the Monstrous Compendium.

Anyways, this being your campaign, I don't think it would hurt any changing the alignment of your orcs. Or this could be a whole separate race of orcs, a throwback to their more "civilized" days. Or these are mechanically the same orcs found in the Monstrous Manual, the only difference being the alignment and the society they live in.

Thanks for your vote of confidence.

Yeah, Orcs aren't disciplined. Spartans are.

Your vote of confidence is underwhelming.

 

[Krieg]

Don't forget that the Spartan economy absolutely relied on non-spartan population for every non-military function.

Spartan citizens were not allowed to participate in ANY trade outside of combat arms.

The Perioikoi were the craftsmen and merchants and were relatively well off, they were only forbidden from participating in foreign or military affairs.

The Helots were farmers and laborers that were officially the property of the goverment, think of them as serfs.

So who is going to fill the roll of the Perioikoi & Helots for your Orcish Spartans?

Yeah, Orcs aren't disciplined. Spartans are.

Nothing quite like pigeonholing stereotypes to make for an interesting and innovative campaign!

 

[Tetsubo]

I think this would make an interesting campaign element. People often seem to think of Orcs as fantasy Klingons. Taking the Spartan route could be cool.

 

[LoneWolf23]

Don't forget that the Spartan economy absolutely relied on non-spartan population for every non-military function.

Spartan citizens were not allowed to participate in ANY trade outside of combat arms.

The Perioikoi were the craftsmen and merchants and were relatively well off, they were only forbidden from participating in foreign or military affairs.

The Helots were farmers and laborers that were officially the property of the goverment, think of them as serfs.

So who is going to fill the roll of the Perioikoi & Helots for your Orcish Spartans?

Nothing quite like pigeonholing stereotypes to make for an interesting and innovative campaign!

Hmm... How about Kobold Slaves for the Perioikoi and Halfling or Goblin Slaves for the Helots?

And I like the idea of Orcs as Spartans.. I've had such an idea ever since I saw Frank Miller's 500. Either that, or Dwarves as Spartan, that works equally well. But I like the Spartan Orc idea if only because it makes me think of Warhammer III's Orcs...

 

[Akrasia]

... Nothing quite like pigeonholing stereotypes to make for an interesting and innovative campaign!

Ummm ... "pigeonholing stererotypes" is pleonastic. I assume you mean "defying stereotypes" here.