Orcs

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

Orcs are referred to first by their family name and then their first name. family names are often simple such as grock or slar, where as first names are chosen personally by the individual once they reach the matured age of ten.

Gender Ideals

Orcs see little difference between the males and females of their race, personal skill and house name being far more important to them.

Courtship Ideals

Orcish tradition for courting, once both parties have agreed to the pairing, is to challenge your wanted partner to a dual, the manner of which they get to choose. the winner of the dual is decided as the family which the pairs children will go to.

Relationship Ideals

Polygamy is common practice for Orcs the most skilled and impressive of individuals taking upwards of five separate partners to be their own. While to further the household opposite sexes often pair, it is extremely common for an orcs favorite partner to be of the same sex.

Average Technological Level

Heavily weighted bows, with specially designed arrow heads for piercing armor, heavy chain armor, and large two handed axes make up the most commonly used war technologies used by the orcs.
underground houses are very common in the southern most tribes, to deal with the heat they are not accustomed to.

Major Language Groups and Dialects

Orcish, southern and northern Northern being very harsh and loud while the more southern tribes have a looser dialect dropping more harsh sound which Centaurs and Elves struggle with.

Common Etiquette Rules

Hospitality is one of the biggest peace time ideals of the orcs, even rivaling families hosting each other when requested. Opposed to the old ways spilling blood over disputes is largely frowned upon, duals still being common, are fought till one or the other members collapse.

Common Dress Code

Northern tribes cover modestly with many furs and consider going without shirt, pants, and/or proper dress in public obscene. Southerners, while still wearing some furs, are often more covered in conventional cloth clothing and often seen shirtless or in some other state of undressed in public.

History

Housed in the northern tundra down to the edges of boreal forests or the north, the orcs fought for resources fiercely with Giants and Dwarves, until the invention and importation of the bow from the northern most elf tribes. Once fully adopted into the orc culture the bow was strengthened to fit their terrifying strength giving them the ability to take most above ground usable land from both the Giants and the Dwarves. Still largely unorganized the orc tribes quickly descended into civil war once their rivals were deposed. out of the bloodshed a new system was set up by the beaten and bloodied remnants of the orc population, the orcish lands would be divided among the most powerful of the houses, each led by one strong ruler. The ruler was decided in competition of physical and mental prowess, each head of household would compete in a number of games ranging from hand to hand combat, to mock battles of tactical skill. From that day on every five hundred cycles of light and dark, or upon the leaders death, the games would be held to decide the new leader. since this change the northern most orc have become much less bloodthirsty than their ancestors, instead valuing the art of war and honor over spoils and gore. The southern tribes, still open to new lands for raiding, maintained a level of ferocity but also had their own deeply held code of honor.