Orcs
“To bleed is to grow. It is through hard trial we find the weaknesses that must be cut out so that we might heal stronger.” – Chieftain Stora Truetongue
Overview
Recognizable by their green skin and large tusks, Orcs are renowned for a gift at manifesting a berserk rage that pushes their already substantial physiques to exceptional levels in combat. This has fed into the long held belief by outsiders that they are little more than hot tempered and violent savages. Orcs are just as varied as any other people however, and those who harbour such beliefs are sometimes surprised when their ignorance is exposed by orc sages or scholars, many of whom can recall centuries of their clan or nation’s oral history.
Orcs are one of the most physically robust peoples in Ariel. Even the average specimen can withstand grievous wounds and have been known to easily become resistant to toxins. They favour direct solutions and treat setbacks in their pursuits as opportunities to either prove their worth or learn from their failures. Orcs are skilled explorers and tacticians, able to see the ‘big picture’ in their journeys. Conversely, orcs struggle with the written word; reading, writing, and magery are frustrating, and this leads to some orcs deeming them as overly complicated and unnecessary.
Racial Bonuses
- Begin with 10 Skill Points (SP)
- Begin with 7 Life Points (LP)
- Begin with 2 Resurrections
- Begin with the Physical Prowess skill
- Begin with one Fury skill (any additional purchases require the pre-requisite skills)
- May purchase LP to a maximum of 15 LP
- May purchase the Resist Poison skill for 3 SP
- Must pay double for the Read & Write skill
- Must pay double for the Read Magic skill
Mandatory Costuming
- Green skin (makeup or prosthetics should cover any exposed skin)
- Tusks (fangs jutting up from the lower jaw)
Racial Aging
| Youth | Elderly | Aging | Max. Age |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 years | 40 years | 2 years | 70 years |
Youth: This is the minimum starting age for a given race. This is also the minimum age that can be achieved through rejuvenating spells.
Elderly: This is the age when the effects of time begin to take their toll and benchmarks aging negatives for a character, eventually affecting their Life Points.
Aging: Upon reaching the age indicated in the “Elderly” column, a character’s maximum LP decreases 1 Life Point for every increment of years indicated in the “Aging” column. For example, if the racial maximum LP for an orc is 15 LP, a 44-year-old orc character would have a maximum Life Points of 13. (A 44-year-old orc is 4 years over “Elderly” and, marking two increments of aging at 2 years each, reducing that characters’ Life Points by 2.)
Maximum Age: Upon reaching the age indicated in “Max. Age” the character is deceased and may not resurrect.
Nations and Lands
Although there are lands under the control of orcs across Ariel, the Ranges are traditional orcish lands that hold great significance to orc sages. Some have permanent towns and villages built upon them, but others are left largely wild, with the orcs acting as stewards of the land, learning and discovering the mysteries of their large territories.
Below are the seven Great Ranges – large territories that the orcs largely have uncontested control over within Ariel.
- Ang Gijak – One of the two orc ranges closest to Harodom, Ang Gijak has a number of orc principalities that share rulership over the range as a whole. Representatives of these principalities are selected by acclaim, and for the past century or so, the orcs of Ang Gijak have been – mostly – friendly to the people of Harodom, Eldersire, Michian, and Detter. Ang Gijak has a representative band of Dust Banner orcs who practice necromancy – but while not strictly shunned, Dust Banner representatives are treated with extreme caution, given whatever they ask for, and then hopefully sent along their way.
- Sorr Bukra – The other of the two orc ranges within the Lakes Region, Sorr Bukra borders the City State of Portnos, and is opposite the Duchy of Dwadain across Jagari Bay. With several built up settlements, the largest of these is Sorr Bukra itself, from which the range derives its namesake. Sorr Bukra has been in a state of war with Hammerfrost, Eldersire, Harodom, and Detter for about forty years, although this mainly takes the form of the difficult-to-farm Range’s warriors raiding border farms for foodstuffs and supplies.
- Vell Bardik – Far to the West of Ariel, bordering on the Sea of Ice, the Orc range of Vell Bardik is a near neighbour to the minotaurs of the Yat’turth territory. Uneasy neighbours, the orcs hunt and fish on the Sea of Ice, and serve as the basis for a number of folktales and legends. The Warriors of Vell Bardik are said to arrive only when the snow flies, and to leave no survivors in war – leading to a fearsome reputation. Traders and merchants from Vell Bardik deny this, but this merely raises the question – if they are not behind these attacks, then who is?
- Fann Korra – The keepers of Fann Korra are said to bear within them the spirits of great birds that once roamed the plains in the middle of Ariel. Whether this is true or not, the orcs of Fann Korra move swiftly, crossing the vast distances between settled parts of their Reach in short order, owing in part to their adoption of riding lizards. On the opposite side of the Necropolis of An’xar from Whistlewind, Fann Korra’s secular leaders maintain a tremulous truce between those orcs who would see the undead that issue forth from the necropolis put down in battle – and those that would try to wrest control of the undead.
- Enging Roz – Now much diminished by a great sickness that overcame the Range in the 1980’s, Enging Roz was once known for its scholars and physicians, so great was its bounty that it could support schools for those who would make these softer lines their life’s work. On the West Coast of Ariel, the scholars and physicians of Enging Roz are still extant, but the College of Enging is but a fraction of its once proud size, and worshippers of Kazzok on the Range have made several credible bids for dominance, swelling the nation’s forces with demons.
- Kan Vizek – Kan Vizek is famous for its sailors, although others might say for its pirates. On the East Coast of Ariel is the Range of Kan Vizek, which claims territory up to thirty miles from the coastline. The capable privateers of the range charge ‘tolls’ to any passing ships, and are more than capable of handling aggression from those who have difficulty with the question of ‘Your money or your life?’. The orcs of Kan Vizek are capable fisherfolk as well, and tend to be among the most prosperous of the Ranges – owing in no small part to the Rain Banner privateers that sail their seas.
- Ra’zir Wehr – Little is known of Ra’zir Wehr; even orcs of other Ranges know little of the internal workings of the Range. Those that enter with the invitation of the residents have little to say about their experiences within, and those that enter without that invitation either do not make it far in before they are met and escorted out by capable warriors, or never emerge. Shrouded in secrecy, the orcs or Ra’zir Wehr seem to prefer it – and have little friendly to say to those that would uncover those secrets.