Races of Theopetros: Orcs
Hardship and Strength
Appearance
Orcs stand the same height as humans on average, with the largest members of the race standing a head taller. Their frames are typically much more muscular than those of humans. Their bodies are rough, as are their features. They lack the refined beauty of the elves. Orcs have jagged teeth, and most sport at least one pair of tusks. Their noses are wide and flat with a more upturned front. Orcs range in skin tone from reds and greens to various shades of brown and occasionally black. Their eyes come in the same colors as humans, with brown being the most common. Orc males are bald as often as not. Beards are respected, if grown well, but most orcs choose not to put in the work and instead go clean shaven.
Ogres look like bloated giant orcs. They stand around ten feet tall. Goblins could be mistaken for emaciated orc children. The smaller race stands around 3 feet tall.
Personality
Orcs realize that most other races tolerate them at best. Theirs is a race with a long history of oppression and counter oppression. They rarely deal with other races unless they can do so from some position of power. They respect strength above all else, and disdain more mental pursuits unless a reward can be shown. Orcs have a racial memory of the heights of their culture, and many despise what their people have become, but have no idea how to change the situation. They know stories of the great orc nations, but many aspects of their culture have been lost in the past centuries. Orcs zealously guard what is left of their culture to the point of xenophobia.
History
The Beginning
When the races were being born the choicest lands were taken by those gods who were faster to craft children. Grodge did not have the speed or wit of his brothers. He found himself over the frozen tundra of Tolar. A tough land would require a tough people. Grodge looked at the great beasts that called this land home, and set about creating his children. His first attempt was the ogres. They embodied the strength needed to survive in such a place, but were dull of mind. Grodge tried again. His second attempt resulted in the creation of goblins. They were much more clever than their larger cousins, but they were far weaker than Grodge had intended. His third attempt was the birth of the orcs. The orcs took the strength of the orges and melded it with the cunning of the goblins.
His children flourished in their tough land. They hunted polar bears and seals, hunted and tamed mammoths, and even made alliances with remorhaz.
When the Demon Lord killed Grodge, the orcs and their cousins pledged their allegiance to him. The Demon Lord led the orcs out of the tundra, using them as his foot soldiers. For three thousand years they followed the Demon Lord faithfully. Their strength helped him maintain control, and in return the advances of society were theirs to claim.
After the Seal
When the Demon Lord was defeated the orcs found themselves without a master. Pursued by the armies of the free races, the orcs fled back to the tundra. For the next two centuries they consolidated their power.
When powerful undead began to rise the orcs found a chance for greatness once again. These powerful beings were revealed to be the spirits of deceased gods. One of the spirits that returned was Grodge. The deific ghost took control of his people once again. The orcs sought ways to return his full might. After many secret raids, they were able to return Grodge to full divinity. With their god once again among the living, the orcs flooded into the world.
Among the blessings left behind after the Demon Lord’s reign was the knowledge of iron. Bolstered by their god and their technology, the orcs cut swathes out of the world and establishing great orc empires. It took the combined might of the other races to push them back. The Orc empires were slowly dismantled. In the process the orcs lost much of their culture.
Culture
The basic unit of orc culture is the clan. These are collections of close families. Larger clans are less related, and therefore harder to control. Orcs revere power over all else. Their society is patriarchal, but it is not unheard of for particularly strong matriarchs to take positions of authority within a clan, even running clans themselves. A strong leader is respected by those they are related to as much as by their strength. The less a leader is related to his clan the stronger the leader has to be.
Orcs are very militaristic. They create very few things themselves, preferring to raid the neighboring races for whatever the clan needs. Hunting is one of the few ways they are likely to provide for themselves. Orcs view hunting in much the same light as warfare. The stronger the prey the better.
Relations
Ogres are the most brutish of the goblinoids. They rarely have friendly relations with their neighbors. They take everything they want, and are only cowed by displays of force. Orcs are more likely to interact on a cultural level, but their extreme loyalty to the remnants of their culture hampers relations. Goblins are not unknown in civilized lands. A clan may take up residence in the sewers or back alleys, living in the shadows of the other races. In many ways they are similar to halflings, but they are viewed with more suspicion.
Orcs assume that other races distrust them, and act accordingly. The fact that most other races do distrust them makes this a vicious cycle.
Orcs see elves and halflings as weak. Beauty is simply a defense of those who cannot protect themselves. Dwarves are respected for their strength and industriousness, but hated for the racial history of warfare. Humans are accepted if they earn it, but their similarity to elves makes Orcs unlikely to trust them.
Architecture
Orcs rarely build permanent dwellings. Their homes consist of wood and bone frames with animal skins stretched over them. Wood is used more extensively for ceremonial buildings. Stone is rarely used unless they are rebuilding a building that existed before.
Ancient orc architecture made extensive use of stone. Many orc tribes try their best to maintain these ancient sites if they come across one.
Grodge still guides his children. Orcs are aware of their role in returning the god to power. They respect Grodge as their creator, and for his strength, but it is not the absolute reverence that other races have for their creator.
Larsh is a popular deity among those orcs who live in closer proximity with other cultures. His shapeshifting ways teach them to still be themselves while becoming what they must to live in the greater society of the world.
Many orcs turned to the worship of the Demon Lord after his ascension. They believe in an orc golden age during the time of the Demon Lord’s rule, and they want to see it return.
Bloodlines
Orcs have the second strongest demonic bloodline. Only humans have more instances of demonic blood in their lineage.
Hydra blood is common among the orcs and their cousins. Ettins are the result of hydra blood introduced in ogres.
Draconic blood is also very common. Many orc tribes pledge themselves to dragons in the mountains.
Government
Orcs have no central government. A leader controls as large of a clan as they can, and hopes that a stronger leader doesn’t arrive to take over. The smallest clans are single family groups. Larger clans consist of more and more families as the group grows.
Military
Orcs have not forgotten their place as the army of the Demon Lord, but they have forgotten much of their organization. Every able bodied member of a clan is considered a warrior. Orcs prefer high quality weapons, but lack the methods for large scale manufacture. As such they will often raid supply depots of neighboring military forces.
Technology
Orcs were once very technologically advanced. They lost most of their technological knowledge when the other races pushed them out of their empires. Orcs make extensive use of mammoths and other large beasts. These beasts are used as mounts and mass labor.
Clans that still live in the tundra often befriend a remorhaz that acts as a living forge so that the orc smiths have the means to work metal.
About the Author:
Stephen Mayo lives in Montana with his wife, daughter, corgi, and three cats.
You can keep in touch with him on Facebook and Twitter. If you enjoyed reading this consider buying him a coffee or supporting him on Patreon.
