GoCorral

Subraces

Orcs define themselves by their tribe. There are no major physical differences between tribes, but the traditions and upbringing cause varied changes in the orcs’ abilities as they mature. There are close to a hundred tribes in the Orc Lands, making it impractical to detail them all here. Instead, four of the main tribes that pay fealty to Great King Gregor of the Orcs are described along with the Clanless group.

Clanless: Clanless are the lowest of orcs. Without a tribe there are no traditions that bring strength to the Clanless. Without a proper place in orc society, many of them leave to go west. Others stay and make a living as laborers for tribes or as bandits. Clanless are looked at with suspicion in the Orc Lands. Many tribal orcs believe that without a tribe, the Clanless have no honor and nothing to lose, so they are likely to harm others to support themselves.

King Gregor recently made changes to the Clanless position within the Orc Lands. He created a tribe open to all Clanless named Free Spring. The rite of passage to this tribe was two years of service in Gregor’s army every ten years. With that, the Orc Lands had a stable force to impose order and extend real power beyond the Orc Lands. The majority of the Free Spring live in the areas that were depopulated during Gregor’s rise to power.

Thunderhawks: The Thunderhawks are the tribe of King Gregor. They live in the Terror Mountains in the north of the Orc Lands. Every member of the tribe is a powerful warrior of frightening strength. They train in battle tactics and have a history of mercenary work in the Orc Lands. The Thunderhawks are supported by a large group of Clanless that perform agricultural work for them in a valley close to the tribe’s mountain town.

Blessed by Zeus during Gregor’s Chiefdom the Thunderhawks rose to prominence within the Orc Lands. They were set to take control of the Orc Lands decades before, but due to the manipulations of Amalganus, Gregor was kidnapped and sold into slavery. Gregor’s half-brother, Alexander, succeeded him, but Alexander was not Gregor’s equal. The unified tribes crumbled between his fingers. Depressed at his failures, Alexander turned to alcoholism. An accomplished young woman, Angor, challenged Alexander for the chiefdom. Alexander was a coward during the challenge. Angor spared his pitiful life and banished Alexander from the tribe.

Angor brought new life to the Thunderhawks, but they were nowhere near their previous ascendant position. After Gregor escaped slavery he returned to reclaim his chiefdom. He executed Alexander and Angor to ensure there was no dispute over his rule. He then led a campaign to unite the Orc Lands and exterminate a rival tribe in this endeavour, the Endless Autumn. With Gregor’s victory, the Thunderhawks are now positioned at the top of the Orc Lands with more power, position, and privilege than any other tribe.

The rite of passage for the Thunderhawks is a hunt. A tribal member must journey on a hunt and return with a slain animal. The tribal member gains greater position the less they bring with them and the greater the beast that they slay. King Gregor left on his hunt naked and slew a polar bear. It was this act that gave Gregor the initial boost in status that he capitalized on to become Chief of the Thunderhawks.

Nightsouls: The Nightsouls have a long tradition of hunting large monsters together as a tribe. They believe that the path to eternal life lies in death through combat or hunting. The tribe’s buildings are constructed using their kills. Their meeting house is within the ribcage of a slain dragon. Chief Kragshok leads the tribe.

Long ago the Nightsouls were known as the Wild Choir. They were a group of Amazon-like women who modeled themselves after Gorwinua, singing as they went into battle. The men of the tribe served as magical support for the warrior women. The men were secondary citizens within the Wild Choir. Eventually a male member, whose name has been stricken from history, summoned a demon to punish the women for treating the men of the tribe poorly. This demon killed a woman each night and left bloody carnage in its wake. The unnamed summoner had worded his ritual so that only a male member of the Wild Choir could undo his curse.

A different male magician, Umanamu, summoned a second demon and bound it within his own body. He used this power to banish the first demon, but the second one remained within his body. In returned for saving the tribe, Umanamu demanded that all the women of the tribe become his brides. Those who refused were killed or executed. Thus, all the members of the newly named Nightsouls are descendants of Umanamu.

Umanamu’s power from the demon manifested itself as lycanthropy, the first of its kind in Cimmeria. While the curse has dwindled in power over time, the tribe continues to draw power from the moon. The first demon was actually banished to the moon through a portal. This portal is hidden in the woods near the Nightsouls tribal center.

The tribe draws power from the moon using this portal before they go on hunts. The power synergizes with their lycanthropic energy and returns to the portal making it stronger. This ritual of absorbing power, hunting, and returning the power is also the tribe’s rite of passage. Thus only those descended from Umanamu can become Nightsouls. Any others who undertake the ritual will be unable to return the power and close the portal. If the portal were left open the first demon could return and wreak revenge upon the Nightsouls for its centuries of imprisonment.

Rock: The Rock tribe control the hilly land in the northwest of the Orc Lands. They are a small clan that wields a large amount of power due to their acceptance of Clanless. Rock tribe members are typically miners, smiths, or earth mages. They operate and oversee the mines themselves, with massive amounts of additional labor provided by Clanless. The earth mages of the Rock tribe are forbidden from using their magic to aid the mining and smithing process. The tribe is secretive and never reveals the underlying reason for this.

The Rock tribe was embroiled in a long term conflict with the Endless Autumn tribe. The Endless Autumn had occupied and conquered the Rock tribe, but a secret resistance continued, led by a brave Rock member, Hri’Jon. Gregor arrived to assist Hri’Jon in freeing his people. Upon victory, the Rock tribe promised fealty to King Gregor. Hri’Jon became chief and aided Gregor in his rise to power in the Orc Lands.

Due to the inclusion of so many Clanless in their daily lives, the Rock tribe rite of passage is well known. A Rock tribe member must find something of value within the mine and improve its value through hard work. Typically the rite is passed by finding some iron ore, smelting it, and then forging the iron into a nail. There is an additional secret rite known only to true tribe members. There is a portal to Erebos hidden beneath a giant boulder at the top of a hill that overlooks the Rock tribe town. The Rock tribe dispose of their dead directly into the portal. Using a communal, magical ritual, the Rock tribe lifts the boulder without touching it and pushes the corpses of their loved ones into the abyss.

Standing Horns: The Standing Horns are cattle ranchers in the south of the Orc Lands. The tribe is split into different dukedoms. At the top is a high duke who is voted into office by a council of dukes when the previous high duke dies. Standing Horns territory at the southern edge of the Orc Lands positions them well for trading with the hobgoblin cities further south. Lots of trade goods travel to and from the Orc Lands via the Standing Horns.

The Standing Horns secret rite of passage is to vault over a bull. A prospective tribe member must jump over a bull. Depending on their social status, they may be given advantages such as being allowed to vault over a sleeping bull. The reverse is also true. A hated person may be required to vault over a bull that has been prepared for a rodeo. An additional rite of passage known as the Gauntlet exists for the dukes of the Standing Horns. Prospective dukes must pass through a row of people within their dukedom. Each of the orcs in the row whips the prospective duke. This symbolizes that the duke must be able to take on their people’s problems as their own.