Editing ORC TRIBES (section)

=Order of the Grey Hand (Orc Legates)=

:  Weakness is not tolerated by Orcish midwives. A child that shows any hint of imperfection, malformation or stunted growth is cast into the stew pot. There is only one thing which may save such a youth. A simple test. 
:  Orcish midwives bare a bracelet which is the mark of their important position. On each of these bracelets is a rare piece of pale obsidian which has imbued with the Dark One's blessing. Should this talisman darken when touched to the flesh of a newborn Orc, that child is spared, no matter their malady.
:  Instead they are given to a member of a small and often shunned order of the Shadow's priests. The sect of the Grey Hand. The infant is taken to a hidden temple in the mountains north of Gasterfang. There, in that barren and tainted land which has been poisoned by the corpse of their master, the young Orc will be raised as a Grey Hand apprentice.
:  The tenants of the Grey Hand are very different from the teachings of the Orcs, and even the other Legate orders. They are not taught that they are superior and loved by their God. They are not taught that their place is to subjugate the other races for the glory of Izrador. Instead they are taught that they are not worthy. That they are mistakes that should have been left to die, but that their presence so disgusts their dark master that they are required to earn the bliss of death before being allowed into his shadowy embrace.
:  The way they will earn their place in the afterlife is by serving the Dark One's will on Erdane. The Order of the Grey Hand are the Orcish Army's version of combat medics. Their job is to keep the warriors going another day.
:  Orc warriors will never submit to being healed by a human Legate. Such a show of weakness would be intolerable. Further more, Legates would rather chew glass than lower themselves to healing a filthy Orc. The Grey Hand does not have these problems. Orc warriors are taught to not even acknowledge the presence of an acolyte of the Grey Hand. This gives the Order some amount of autonomy. A rare thing among orcs. They answer only to their superiors and to the highest ranking officer of the force they are assigned to.
:  Their intense self loathing and their desire to please their god creates a powerful zeal, unique in it's complete lack of personal desires or ambition. Surprisingly, among this order of rejected and hated priests, Izrador has found a group of servants who are completely devoted to his goals, without the interference of their own desires. This has not gone unnoticed by him.

:  Being a member of the Order of the Grey Hand makes the following changes to the Legate class.

::    A Legate of the Grey Hand has the Domains of Evil and War. They bear longswords rather than Vardatches as a symbol of thier devotion to izrador and as a symbol of their shame. Only true Orcs are worthy of bearing a Vardatch.
::    Grey Hand legates are able to spontaneously cast Heal spells rather than Inflict spells.
::    Grey Hand legates gain the ability to cast Spectral Hand as a swift action a number of times per day equal to 3+thier Wisdom modifier.
::    Grey Hand legates do not recieve Astirax companions. Instead they are granted a continuous Deathwatch ability (as the spell)
::    Grey Hand legates are shunned by the other Legate orders, but they are still reluctantly allowed to witness the sacrifices at the Zordrafin Corith in order to maintain their connection to their god. While they are allowed to witness, they are never allowed to participate in a more than superficial fashion.
::    Spells cast by a Grey Hand legate are never allowed to positively effect them. For example, if a Grey Hand legate were to cast Mass Bull Strength, it would effect everyone else normally, but would not effect the Grey Hand Legate themselves.
::    A Grey Hand legate is never granted spells of higher than 3rd level. If they become high enough level to cast spells of levels higher than 3, those spell slots are instead used for more lower level spells, or metamagic enhanced spells.



:  I like it but was wondering about the touch spells changed to short (range) spells.  The only reason I could see the change is to prevent the Grey Hand legates from having to touch those they have to heal.  I really like the inclusion of deathwatch as it allows the Grey Hand to clearly see which warriors are fell and a possible threat to the orc armies.
:  Actually the main reason for the Touch spells at Short range thing is to give them the ability to stay out of the front lines and still do their jobs. And yes, there's potential for abuse, but with the limit on their spell level, I couldn't think of a single instance where it would be game breaking. 
:  Blindness/Deafness was the one that I was most concerned about, but I kinda like the image of a crippled Orc waving his hand at you and everything going black. The PC's would have no idea what happened. 
:  Maybe I'll change it to a (x) times per day thing. 3+Wis modifier? 1/2 class level?


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