ORCS

"A wholly frightful people, I'd no sooner attempt negotiations with the boorish brutes than with the wargs and dire wolves they ride. Even sojourning with an honorable clan - a misnomer to be sure - left me with a sour taste and an offensive odor." - Historian Ausae Norrek, Koliska: A Land in Shadow  p.27, The Serial Historia

Orcs of Mundus closely resemble those of other campaign settings, with a few notable differences. Found roaming the grasslands and tundra of Koliska’s vast Vinka Plains as nomads or occupying fortified strongholds along the Tsamkhaguul foothills, orcs claim the largest racial homeland of any race on Mundus. Divided into close-knit clans and aggressively territorial, individual settlements rarely exist peacefully with one another. When two clans do engage in trade or other business, it’s usually with a weary eye and a readied weapon. Many clans have forged better relationships and even alliances with nearby nations (such as the gnomes of Takara Velai or the humans of the Ulthwé Empire), though these bonds are tense at best.

Young orcs leave their clan for a multitude of reasons: some emigrate to escape daily peril, some are driven out by rivals or sold into slavery, and still others are the remnants of a clan obliterated by warfare. Those who do might find work as adventurers, often to pay a debt or through indentured servitude.

Though some orcs might excel in more thoughtful exercises, most are inept in academics. Most gravitate to occupations befitting their might and tenacity. Barbarian, bloodrager, brawler, fighter, oracle, shaman, skald, sorcerer, and witch are all common classes an orc might possess. In more civilized areas, orcs can be found as clerics, hunters, inquisitors, or warpriests. A rare alchemist or druid is also possible.

Basic Information

Biological Traits

Mundus orcs are massive, hulking humanoids, standing nearly seven feet tall. Broad and powerful, both males and females are built for combat and survival. Their complexion is oily and rough, with skin tones of greens, greys, or browns; their eyes may be black, grey, or red. An orc’s lower incisors protrude like tusks – in some individuals these teeth grow so large they can be used as natural weapons.

Orcs have a natural lifespan of 50 - 70 years, though few make it past their third decade.

Additional Information

Social Structure

The quality and function of orcish lifestyle differs from plains to highlands.

On the wide open grasslands, orc clans move with the rhinoceros herds. Their nomadic lifestyle brings them in direct conflict with human tribes and clans who also depend upon the migratory mammals for sustenance and shelter. Some orc clans of the plentiful southern plains have developed amiable trade relations with like human tribes, though limited resources keep the northern tundra clans in perpetual competition. Many clans grow simple crops, such as potatoes, garlic, and onions, as these crops easily survive the cold climate.

Each nomad tribe is led by a chieftain who attains power by birthright or, more often than not, battle challenges. Such challenges are always to the death. Should both combatants succumb to the challenge, the clan's most revered warrior steps in (if said warrior was not part of the challenge).

In the highlands, orc clans have developed more structured - if less communal - societies. Utilizing rock quarries and ore either mined or stolen, many clans have built fortified settlements in the foothills and mountains. Such settlements have higher rates of infighting and a tendency for squalor. Trade goods are often the spoils of raids or outright theft, as possession ends with whomever is strongest. Highland settlements rarely engage in agriculture, though occasional goat herding may be found.

Through locally determined hierarchies, chieftains or warlords are chosen through battle challenges or violent coups. Settlement leaders rarely live long enough to choose a successor.

In both regions, a given orc clan is typically indifferent to one or two other clans and at war with three to five other clans, a ration which applies well to surrounding human settlements as well. This web of interrelations changes as leaders do. Outsiders do well to approach any diplomatic discussion with the utmost care and always assume their information is outdated.

Civilization and Culture

Culture and Cultural Heritage

Orcs are a rancorous lot, in general. While their penchant for carnal pleasure could threaten overpopulation, the high mortality rate among infants and youth means many orcs fail to reach adulthood. Those that do are forever embittered towards life, society, and the world at large. Their savage culture only compounds this view. Most orcs gravitate toward neutral or evil alignments, and are almost always chaotic. Few orcs could be considered genuinely good. Almost none bother being lawful.

Orcish faith is an amorphous, splintered affair. Varying from clan to clan, orcs might follow Bethshiv, Goddess of Finality, they may engage in ancestor spirit or demon worship, while some clans are atheistic all together. By far the most common faith among orcs is the worship of the beast-god Mortla the Ravager, whose tenets exemplify savagery and strength as the epitome of existence.

While some clans incorporate faith and ritual into daily life, most view it simply as a supporting principle to their indomitable world view.

Lifespan

50 - 70 years

Average Height

6'3" - 7'0"

Average Weight

225 - 260 lbs

Orc Racial Traits

+4 Strength, -2 Intelligence, -2 Charisma: Orcs are aggressive and uneducated, but possess unrivaled strength.

Orc: Orcs are humanoids with the orc subtype.

Medium: Orcs are medium creatures and have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.

Normal Speed: Orcs have a base speed of 30 feet.

Low-Light Vision: Orcs can see twice as far as humans in conditions of dim light.

Standard Languages: Orcs begin with their native language plus 1 additional language. Orcs with high Intelligence scores may learn up to five additional languages.

Fearless: Orcs gain a +2 racial bonus on all saving throws against fear effects.

Ferocity: Orcs can remain conscious and continue fighting even if their hit point totals falls below 0. Orcs are still staggered at 0 hit points or lower and lose 1 hit point each round as normal.

Weapon Familiarity: Orcs are always proficient with greataxes and falchions and treat any weapon with the word “orc” in its name as a martial weapon.