Dretorcha Orks

Overview:
Huge, hulking and powerful, the orcs harbour some of the most deadly fighting forces in the known world of Uldur. Aggressive and power-hungry, they are feared and hated by the other races, and for good reason; the orcs possess incredible brute strength and a savagery second to none. With an overpowering desire to kill and maim anything in their path, including each other, the orc is a war machine, perfectly suited for war and killing.

With their fanatical hatred for anything living, the Orcs have an almost barbaric bloodlust in battle, and often sacrifice tactics for an all out attack. Despite their ferocity, they have an extremely high moral code and sense of single combat, and view their personal prowess as the most important of all.

Culture

Culture and cultural heritage

Culture
Because of the extremely violent temperament of the orcs, war is always on their agenda; raiding the other lands frequently to sate their bloodlust. During brief times of peace, the orcs constantly plan for more attacks upon life; the main belief that to be strong an orc must overpower and control anything in its path. Male orcs are seen as far more dominant in orcish society, with the women only deemed to be prizes of war and little more than breeding machines; The Syndicate in particular hold great contempt for the orcs for their treatment of female captives in their raids. Battle strength is everything to an orc, and the older a male orc is, the weaker they’re deemed to be. Elderly orcs often wander the world having been banished from their domains, desperate to meet a good death at the hands of anyone in their path.

Average technological level

Brutality isn’t their sole attribute however. They have considerable intelligence for their brute force, and have excellent skills in farming and mining. After the discovery of mithril and gold mines in their territory, the Orcs became known as skilled blacksmiths, second only to Old Valia in armory. Many of the Mer/human armories value orc armour low in quality, but this is mostly because of their prejuice. Most of this is for good reason; orks are extremely brutal, full of hatred and desire for killing. This makes the orcs surprisingly adaptable despite their poor reputation. Many of their enemies have died underestimating the orcs, expecting a one-dimensional race and learning their wrongs as they lie dead in a pool of blood. Even though they are bloodthirsty creatures, they are not without other talents, with a great focus on building massive fortresses and they live some quite healthy and comfortable lives. Their diet is primarily meat with heavy breads and a crude ale called “Noil” made of ground up barley left to fester and ferment, mixed with blood.

Common Etiquette rules

Physically orcs are the largest and strongest of the races, with males standing over 7 feet tall, and females slightly smaller. (There are rumours in Berunoian lore that the orcs are solely male, because females and males are nearly indistinguishable in appearance, although this has been disproved by Orcish lore) They have the shortest lifespan of all the races, because of the extremely violent nature of the orc they often die early through death or injury. The longest an orc usually lives if they don’t meet a premature end is 40-45 years, much lower then that of men or Valian. Their entire lives are geared towards the killing and purging of everything that isn’t an orc, although orc clans will often turn on each other, with exterminations of their own kind occurring often.

Common Taboos

Friendship with man or Valian. Half-breeds

Common Myths and Legends

Religion
The orcs , a bloodthirsty race who constantly finds itself at war with the other races in a endless circle of blood, aren’t the most pious of races, but most worship Gorgoroth, the High Chief of the orcs, and all clan leaders are said to be Grogoroth in physical form. Orcs who die well in battle are said to be reborn as Grogoroth’s elite army, where they fight for eternity.
However, Grogoroth demanded very specific rituals from his kin when worshipping him, such as the complete destruction of any enemy in battle; the orcs viewed every other race as inferior to theirs, and because they lacked their brutality they deserved to die; taking survivors prisoner was seen as the utmost shame, and the greatest efforts were made to kill as many opponents as possible. The Orcs however found deep mithril and gold mines in their territory, and because they lacked the skills to mine the rare minerals, turned to slavery. This only heightened their greed and they began taking more and more survivors of war captive to enslave, enraging their god.
Ever a savage cult, the orcs at times ignored the whims of their god, often turning to other means of worship to sate their bloodlust. They had no temples or monuments to honour their higher power, and all “worship” was done through killing rituals, which was all that Grogoroth demanded.

Ideals

Courtship Ideals

Although war and enslaving man/Valia is the main goals of the orc, they aren’t above keeping people as sexual slaves, turning to violent/dangerous half-breeds. They are often shunned even by their own culture, and they cannot breed, making them impotent. Often seen as a punishment.

WIP