This is probably one of the first times I really got to use Orcs in Hodas. Our orcs are very much the standard pigmen who are more or less just evil creatures who survive through the suffering of others. I wanted a bag guy race who are consistently evil and won't be talked down from their position or redeemed (unless it's a specific quest for it moment) through a simple talking to.
So what makes Orcs in Hodas so evil? Orcs are created, they are not born. Every orc carries within themselves an ancestral memory, how to make more orcs. when a tribe is reduced in numbers enough to risk being wiped out or grows large enough to splinter, an orc's generic memory activates. They dig a pit, they fill it with water, orc blood, and perform rites of sorcery over it. from this spawning pit is where new orcs come from. Living creatures are thrown into these bubbling pits and painfully they are turned into orcs, loyal to the tribe, with no memory of themselves before. Each orc tribe has their own secret they add to the spawning pits, creating unique traits within the tribe. The twisted spine clan, talked about in today's post, add in a grass local to their region, known as coil grass. This gives them the ability to "launch" their upper body up to 30 feet away to make melee attacks before springing back into place. they use this to slingshot ranged weapons and harass on the run.
This process isn't perfect, 1-in-10 orcs are born with a mutation. They are simply accepted into the tribe as another orc. sometimes it's a conjoined twin, sometimes it's one massive strong arm and one vestigial arm. some tribes even place their dead back into these pits to bring them back, making mutants 1-in-5.
This is how I got my bad guy race. They need to kidnap people and put them in these pits to propagate their species. Because they were made to be a weapon of genocide they do not know any different and cannot escape their cycle (unless someone quests for it). In setting almost no one actually knows any of this. they assume people are taken back to orc camps to be eaten or worse and orc women and children simply are not kept among raiders or war camps. The benefit of a small world is that such things aren't widely known.
Session 4:
Party Geared up and rode out to battle against the twisted spine orc clan, meeting them in an open field. They clashed in a bloody conflict slaying more than 20 orcs, including a pair of chiefs, a shaman, and a mutant. Unfortunately the party underestimated the low cunning of the orc tribe and had their retreat cut off by burning grasslands behind them as more orcs raced into battle. Deranged and Halcyon fled through the flames, suffering painful burns and smoke inhalation as they rushed through the fire. Talshu chose to flee along the path of the fire, hoping that her steed would carry her to safety. Unfortunately for her the orc’s alatlatl claimed the life of her horse. Her escape seemed hopeless until Eskel decided to bring honor to himself through deed and steel. He charged the orcs and felt a strong spirit guiding his blade as it found orc flesh. His charge gave everyone enough time to flee to the safety of Tibault.
Upon regrouping and finding that they were missing their friend the party mourned him while the city celebrated. It seems word had gotten around that he was a hero who single handedly repelled the orc tribe, taking hundreds of them with himself. The tale grew each time a balladeer spoke it and women (were paid) to weep in the streets for him. It seems Eskel had many secret lovers in the city.
During the private funeral Orkov showed his face, and offered to cover the loss of his equipment, no strings attached, as a thank you for the work Eskel did to rid the city of the orc problem. The party refused and chased him out of the funeral but later Deranged accepted the deal with the understanding that he could recall the debt at any time, adding strings now that he had been insulted.
