History of the tribe and S'Urok
Let me know what you think... (One metagame note, I think NE as a tribal alignment would go better than CE due to the history I have outlined. Let me know what you think)
The Crunching ships orc tribe had long lived along the shores of the Great White sea. In two ways they had always sustained themselves, fishing in their long drakars, pushing through the waves, long nets behind, and, by equipping those same drakkars with rams and forcing tribute (or sinking those who would not pay) of ships that passed their coast. For centuries this lifestyle continued- going so far as to have semi-forma agreements with many of the surrounding nations and formal agreements with many merchant trading costers that found yearly payments easier than negotiating each time they passed the coasts.
So they prospered and soon became tradition to look in each generation for one that exemplified what they felt was the ideal orcish traits. This paragon of the orcish race was taken from his family at an early age, tutored in the racial history and traditions by the tribal shamans and then sent to the care of the chieftain’s army to learn the arts of war and rule felt necessary to run the tribe.
The beginning of the catastrophes took them by surprise. Half the tribe were wiped out over night, amongst them the king and his descendants. Leaderless they fled to the safety of the sea, to houses built on floating platforms hoping that the killing winds would die down before they reached them on the seas. So it was that the next great catastrophe did not affect them as much as many others, as the lands heaved and belched fire, smoke and the red hot magma they watched from the safety of their rafts. But here they were not safe from the torn land, under sea rifts opening and sending gouts of steam to burn and destroy – underwater eruptions creating new islands and destroying their habitual fishing grounds. It got worse, the sea slowly disappeared, the sea holt, long maintained by the ancestral relic of the eye of S’Urok, one of the great warrior kings of the past failed, no water appeared and the sea receded. Their sea holt was no more. Bereft of home, hearth and hope they created a new life on land. Trying to make sense of the devastation around them they started to build a new life but the plague seemed to have struck a blow that none had expected, the line of leaders was broken, the paragons of the species were no longer born, no longer was the line of perfect orcs that has been relied on to represent them available. No longer was their an orc of perfection to give them guidance and unite the tribes.
In their despair they fell to the machinations of a great undead wizard. His name is never spoken, his visage never seen. No one knows what he is, merely that his power protects them from the surrounding devestation and keeps the tribe alive. It seems a small price to pay when he calls for an orc to ascend to his abode, never to be seen again. All assume that the sacrificial orc is supped on, others believe that it is the life of that orc that sustains the magics that keep them safe. None have dared to ask.
Into this turmoil was finally born a new paragon. This symbol of hope to the tribe was greeted with joy and given the name of their mightiest king, great S’Urok himself. Through him the tribe looks for redemption, hope for the recovery of the great artifact and the rebuilding of their sea holt (near where there is now sea of course). S’Urok has had a childhood of privilege. Given what tutoring and training the tribe can muster he is seen as the last great hope for the resurrection of the tribe from the ashes.
Tribal Holy Days
The tribe celbrates few holy days – the main ones being the day of Gruumsh’s victory over Correlon Larenthian.
Other than that mid-winter is seen as a time for great sacrifices and propriation to the Gods.
Of more modern origin is the Day of Calamity, marking the day that the wind started blowing and the tribe started dying (they never really noticed the disappearance of sorcerous magic), followed by the Day of Bereavement, when the earth opened and swallowed the sea and their home.
Tribal customs
It is customary for the tribe to name each darker after a warrior who was slain most recently in battle, thereby giving their soul a chance to once again taste blood. Too, they hold pregnant women sacred, removing all responsibility from them and having all children under the age of 10 perform all tasks, no matter how menial, for them.
For the men it is customary to scar along their forearms each time they kill a foe. Some of the elder men of the tribe still hold with the tradition of nicking the ear whenever an elf is killed.
When entering into the home of another tribal member, it is customary to enter head down and bent and hands open to show peaceful intent, the head down signifying that you recognize the other as the master of his house, the arms bent to show they are not in position to withdraw a weapon and hands open to show that nothing is being concealed.
It is also tribal custom that all should be trained for war. For at least five years all tribal members, male and female, train in weapons and how to work in the militia. As such the tribe is far more disciplined and organized than one would normally expect from a tribe of orcs.
Tribal Traditions
Everyday life in the tribe is fairly regimented. Everyone knows there place (or takes a beating!), and everyone does what is necessary for survival.
Everyday dress for men and women is a short tunic, belted in the middle. Men were the belt short, women generally make the strings longer and decorate the ends. On holy days or for celebrations the short tunics are replaced closed, high collared, long sleeved shirts and baggy pants. The shirts are generally black (for both men and women) but men decorate the edges with bits of metal and have a small blade of some kind attached by tassels at the bottom. Women generally decorate their shirts with beads and rather wear the small blade as a decorative necklace or brooch.
For those actively serving in the militia studded leather armor with a symbol of a drakar on is the standard uniform. To go with the armor is simple leather pants, high boots and a war axe (some prefer a great axe but the choice is open).
According to the few remaining pictures that remain from the old days, dress was far more varied and colorful then, but the needs of survival have simplified the dress as less time for other issues is available.
Rituals and Rites
The tribe has few rituals, the most common ones being the greating of the moon each month in which a bowl of water is set out to reflect the light of the moon and is then followed by a communal meal.
The Ritual of ascension takes place when a new chieftain is appointed. Before the whole tribe the chieftain swears to be a symbol of the tribe and to lead them to glory. He does so naked so all can see his perfection (and admire his battle scars). Recently none of the chieftains have undertaken this ritual as none have the purity of blood necessary to pass the ritual.
The Rite of Purification is performed on a baby when it is deemed to be a paragon. The rite includes the killing of all its litter mates as elements that may impede it in getting all the attention it deserves. Additional elements of this rite include the reigning chieftain cutting himself and dripping his blood onto the baby, at least three (but preferably more) pregnant women holding and kissing the child (in the hope of his perfection being carried through to their litter) and then the sacrifice of a minimum of three “imperfect orcs” (in other words orcs born deformed or ugly) whose entrails are read (while they lie dying from their disemboweling) to determine the name of the newborn child. Of course then a great feast ensues. The Rite of Purification for S’Urok is the first for the tribe since the last of the great catastrophes.
The Rite of Rule is held when a reigning chieftain dies and there is more than one orcish paragon to take his place. The two battle to the death, the winner becoming the new chieftain. If there are more than two then a free for all battle ensues, occasionally some of the more organized minded amongst them agreeing as to who should be ruler and then wiping out any that do not agree with their choice (surprisingly for orcs the one chosen by the group is rarely the biggest but is usually the one who is seen as the best ruler).
