Ourworld:Laideann
The Orcs are not a PC race!
The Orcish Tribes
Living on the southern area of the great western continent, the Orcs live a harsh and brutal life. Beset on all sides by enemies, they live in crude walled forts and are constantly at war. They fight the Goblins who live deep in the mountains, who harass them, they fight the hill giants who blunder in and cause havoc, they fight the voracious trolls and they fight each other. They fight the raiders and settlers from other races and occasionally, they form great warbands to take the fight to others. Theirs is a totally conflict driven society; every endeavour is geared somehow towards battle, thus they are expert smiths (though their tools are barbaric) and engineers of war machines.
The Orcs
Brutal looking humanoids, Orcs average about 6’0-6’6 and are very muscular and bulky. Their skin tends towards varieties of light green to dark green and they have fangs that grow up to 6’ long from their mouths. Their eyes are deep set and often red or orange. They ritually scar and tattoo themselves, and this indicates their rank. Social standing is in direct relation to one’s skill at arms and viciousness. They don’t have peaceful contact with any nations, treating other races as either foes or prey. If they fight a truly superior foe, they will fight to the death. There is no word for theft or rape in Orcish as the concept of ownership is simple- you can have it if you can take it. They have no formal laws and disputes are resolved through fights. Still, the clans instinctively band together for survival and intraclan violence is surprisingly rare. This also explains how such a violent race can construct fortifications and live together for mutual defence. At war, they prefer the use of savage, two handed melee weapons and are especially fond of greataxes, though any big weapon that causes great gouts of blood to splash out is popular. Their armies are composed of beserkers, warriors, scouts and war priests. While they have contingents of ranged bowmen, they consider this form of war undignified and bowmen have a low social standing. An exception to this is the Orcish siege engineers. Their war machines are terrifyingly effective and every Orc thrills at the sight of a Flesh Harvester in full swing.
Orc, medium humanoid +4 Str, -2 Int -2 Cha All Orcs are proficient with either greataxe or handaxe. +2 racial bonus to Intimidate and Survival. Racial training vs goblinoids and giants. Beserk: +2 Str, +2 Con, -2 AC. 1/day an Orc may fly into a frenzy (similar to rage). Stacks with rage.
Orcish Blood Sacrifices
Orcish religion equals sacrificing sentient beings to the Blood God. Huge mounds of charred bones litter the lands where entire villages have been sacrificed, their blood consumed and their flesh eaten.
How the Orcs see the:
Ailokim: The pinkskins are clever little things, but they bleed red enough. Weak and puny, the Ailokim invite only disgust from the Orcs.
Dwarves: The Orcs know little of the Dwarves, but would love to try their excellent siege weapons against the Dwarves’ defences. In war they are tough foes, and if the Orcs can be said to respect another race, it would be the Dwarves.
Goliaths: Very few Orcs know of the Goliaths, those that do fear their strength and size but on the whole, despise their inherent weakness: pacifism.
Keltoi: The Orcs hate the Keltoi, pure and simple. They hide behind their firesticks and their magic and would relish the opportunity to reduce their settlements to smoking ruins.
Laideann: Some of the Orcs have been known to trade with Laideann, but generally think they are Keltoi anyway.
Lizardmen: Very few Orcs have seen the Lizardmen, and would likely have much to share culturally: savagery and violence, mostly.
Summer Islanders: They make excellent slaves due to the fact that their settlements are easily raided.
Teleri: The Orcs also hate the Teleri; they’d dearly love to sacrifice them all to the Blood God and burn their infernal ships.
Umberkim: They fight well, but are ultimately slaves to the Ailokim.
Contents
Laideann Northern City States
The Northern City States are a loose collection of states covering a geographically small but politically and economically powerful area. As the name suggests, they are a group of city states which are clustered around a great river. They bicker and fight amongst themselves constantly and always vie for the upperhand in their endless trade wars and political manoeuverings.
History
The remnants of the Laideanns who were displaced by the Keltoi almost a thousand year ago fled north and settled on the banks of the White River where they built a series of villages that over time developed into small cities surrounded by farmlands. They each lie between 50 and 100 miles from each other and between them lies relatively untamed wilderness that is largely uninhabited and often quite dangerous. The river is primarily used for trade and travel between cities since they all lie next to the great river. While culturally similar (a culture which was essentially wiped out in the Keltoi invasion and only now begins to flourish again), the city states enjoy total autonomy and possess different laws and traditions, though their roots are the same.
The Laideann People
An older and according to themselves, more noble and worthy people, the Laideann are the remnants of the once great Laideann Empire which was destroyed. They enjoy a refined sense of the aesthetic and are great hedonists. They promote art and music and philosophy but there is always a faint sense of the decadent surrounding everything they do. They have been called cruel and immoral but the Laideann see this merely as the hallmarks of a more advanced civilisation. Physically, they tend towards slender and almost noble features. They tend towards curly black hair and dark eyes with slender fingers and lithe frames. They have a great love for wine and narcotics and for the pleasures of life. The dominant religion is that of Talus, but outside the theocracy, few follow it with much ardour.
Principal Cities
Talic Theocracy
Led by the High Priest Lucius, the Theocracy dominates the Law and culture. There is significant prejudice against people who are not of the church and priests are given fair leeway in their activities, e.g., they don’t pay taxes. Lucius is a relatively conservative, academic, reasonable man with no head for politics and intrigue, preferring to delve into complex issues of doctrine, which is precisely why the Council of Priests elected him. He does not rock the boat and generally agrees on whatever the Priests put forth. Father Talis is the head of the investigation into church corruption and is a dour, soft-spoken and introverted fellow. He is quietly ruthlessly efficient and has enough ‘information’ on various priests and lay officials to keep them in line, whether it’s true or not. He of course justifies this for the ‘continued stability of the church’. He is capable of quite monstrous acts in the name of his faith and continues his crusade against corruption and evil with a kind of calm and calculating fanaticism. Even when directly ordered not to do something, he will twist the intent and do it anyway, completely convinced that he knows better. He never loses sleep over his deeds because of his utter conviction of his beliefs. He has never been implicated in his deeds because of his scrupulous and almost anally retentive planning, though many people have a vaguely uneasy feeling about him.
Alignment Laideann are a varied people and don't really dominate one alignment, though they tend ever so slightly towards neutrality.
How the Laideann see the other races:
Ailokim: Odd little creatures that are useful for trade of knowledge and obscure unguents and spices. The Laideann feel the Ailokim are freaks and find them aesthetically displeasing but don't actively persecute them unless.
Dwarves: Purely a financial agreement, the Laideann don't have strong opinions about the Dwarves; they find them dull.
Goliaths: Very few Laideann have seen one, but they find them brutish and ugly things, barely considered sentient in the true sense.
Lizardmen: Horrid beasts that are only good for extermination.
Summer Islanders: For peoples who share a love of pleasure, the Summer Islanders and the Laideann couldn't be more different culturally, though they at least treat them like second class citizens instead of persona no grata.
Teleri: The Laideann have a history of trade with the Laideann and find certains aspects of their culture fascinating, though they don't really take them seriously.
Umberkim: The Laideann have almost no contact with the Umberkim and since they don't fight the Ailokim, have no general opinion of them.\
See Also
| Ourworld | ||
| Societies | Keltoi, Laideann, Ailokim, Teleri, Goliaths, Goblinoids_and_surrounds, Dwarves, Orcs, Ashlands | |
