Orc

Background

One of the races of Lindwurm, included in both Warcrow Adventures and Warcrow. They are present in the following factions: The Northern Tribes.

---

The orcs are instinctive combatants, intelligent, born to hunt and fight, and they are great predators. The Varank are thirsty for blood and disciplined.

---

Pushed south by a dark unknown power, the Northern Tribes have forged an alliance to lay waste to the continent’s civilized lands, leaving only death and destruction on their wake.

  A warlord is worth whatever he can take with his spear.

No one ever forgets the first time they face an orc, let alone if that happens in the battlefield. They’re apex predators.

Orcs are large, burly humanoids with wide and strong backs. An orc’s posture is always reminiscent of that of a hunter instants away from pouncing at their prey. Everything about them tells the story of a species at the top of the food chain.

But orcs are not beasts; they’re beings whose intelligence allows them to stand as the absolute predators they are, only equaled by the large and mighty varank.

Despite their fierce aspect, they’re remarkably cunning.

Orcs rarely fail. They begin partaking in hunting and combat at a really young age. This way, when they reach adulthood, they’ve already become expert predators, attacking without hesitation and ripping their prey apart at breakneck speed.

As warriors, when taking a life they value physical closeness above all else and their weapons of choice are a reflection of that. The older an orc is, the shorter is the range of the weapon they carry.

Killing an enemy face to face is considered an honor, they want to be as close as to perceive the last breath of those whose lives they’ve extinguished. Thus, a good orc always ends up covered in blood, even if not one single drop is theirs.

From age 10 onwards, they jump into the fray in units known as Cubs supervised groups that employ bows and arrows to strike their prey from a distance. Past this stage, they hunt alone with great spears and javelins.

Adult orcs, on the other hand, wield heavy weapons and choose difficult terrains such as wetlands, mountain passes, or ravines that favor them when attacking their target.

Wargs Orcs have a deep relationship with wargs, the giant wolves with which they hunt. Varank warriors, on their part, have developed an aversion towards these creatures, which they associate with death. Orcs, however, have come to develop a profound bond with these canids, allowing them to become part of their packs and counting them as powerful allies that can turn the tide of battle by themselves.

In addition, the power of the Evokers—wise orcs who can summon rock trolls to mercilessly smash their enemies or contact their past lives to invoke their power—further increases the lethality of troopers who know not of defeat.

Honor Orcs are not only interested in the material rewards of their skirmishes, but also in gaining glory and honor. That’s how they display their potential, their strength, and superiority, this reaffirming their position in the group. As a consequence, the way they obtained their loot is as important or more than obtaining the loot itself.

Orcs kill as lions hunt, and they can be vicious, but never cruel. One of their features is never leaving a wounded victim alive, which contrasts with the varank, who enjoy watching their enemies bleed out.

However, orcs have some widespread customs, that of eating their strongest enemies’ hearts after shredding them apart so as a way of honoring them and absorbing their energy.

Orcish society Orcs are acutely aware that, just like all other sentient beings, they’re just another animal. This philosophy of life allows them to acknowledge their nature instead of fighting it.

Because of this, they believe that it’s important that each creature acts according to its nature. In their case, predators must indeed hunt and kill, but they also must devour their prey and refrain from taking a life without a good reason.

  For that very reason, orcs don’t waste time thinking about the future or being obsessed about the past. Their only concern is with surviving in the present.

The egalitarian character of the orcish society is undeniable. No group dominates another, no one is subject to another due to matters of religion, politics, wealth, or race. They are part of massive families in which everyone feels a bond of kinship. That is because orcs mate freely. In fact, the exact parentage of their offspring is deemed to be irrelevant, and their children are raised in groups by the tribe as a whole.

Their main way of sustenance is hunting. This affects the establishment of settlements across the land. Their dwellings are not meant to last beyond the season they spend living in them. In the north, they usually make underground huts covered with tree branches and furs. In the southern forests, they build wooden shacks.

Death Orcs believe in reincarnation and therefore do not fear death. In their mind, this is but another step in an infinite chain of lifespans; some are brief, like that of the worms; and some others almost eternal, like that of the mountains.

Their struggle-based existence leads most orcs to die before they reach old age. The few who do feel unfortunate for having survived. To put an end to that feeling, they are subjected to a ritual presided over by the Evokers, in which they’re branded as Already Dead. It’s a living funeral of sorts, after which they’re completely ignored by the tribe.

For that reason, the Already Dead seek the most powerful enemies on the battlefield to fight an honorable battle that would put an end to their days by being struck down by a worthy opponent.

Characters and Units

Ormuk

Artwork