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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Bercilac" data-source="post: 4679248" data-attributes="member: 82608">Rites of PassageHi, Did a bit of anthropology during my undergrad.  Arthur Van Gennep wrote a book called "The Rites of Passage" that's a fascinating and pretty easy read if you're interested.  To summarise the process he claims every rite of passage goes through: 1.  The initiate is symbolically seperated out from the rest of the group, to emphasise their "unfinished" state.  This may include special dress, face-paint, rituals vows of celibacy, silence, et cetera.  The orcs would see these guys as initiates, but the PCs might mistake them for elites. 2.  There is a "rite of transition", symbolising the passage from one state to another.  Tatooing, circumcision, walking through a symbolic or actual doorway, dubbing (as in knighthood), et cetera. 3.  There is a rite of re-integration, in which initiates symbolically re-join the community, but now as fully fledged (or married, graduated, whatever) members of society. There may be other, smaller component rituals during this structure, but this is the bare minimum.  Remember, the symbolism should evoke a journey, a death and rebirth, or some other unversalistic concept of change.  Often there will be other members of the community acting as guides for this process (probably a cleric or druid).  The other members of the community may also be in symbolic dress (perhaps some element of which is awarded to the initiates when they finish). If anyone has knowledge of religion (know this about your characters, don't ask them or they'll cotton on) they should get a roll, though obviously a high DC as orcish rites of passage probably qualify as obscure knowledge in, for instance, elven clerical training.</blockquote>

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