Orcs
Orc tribes are seldom found in the western provinces of The Empire. Their numbers are greatest in the eastern forests, and in the northeast in particular there are large orc tribes and tent cities.1
Way of life
Not all orcs are raiders: many live in harmony with nature and worship Viridia instead of Korhak. Even so, their lives are shaped by a harsh, survival-of-the-fittest ethos, and even the followers of Viridia cannot wholly turn away from violence, for their way of life makes peace all but impossible.1 Korhak is respected above all by orc warbands that keep to the old ways.2
Orc tribes usually settle in wild country where the sky is easy to watch, and their sense of time is shaped by the moon they see at night. Their Twin-Moon Calendar is much like the Clora Fastis, but they begin the year on the day both moons appear in the sky together, and they count the start of the day from nightfall. In traditional orcish life the community is more active by night than by day.3
Conflicts
Orc tribes fight the northerners, the Empire, the badgerfolk, the capra hordes and the wood elves, and they fight among themselves as well.1
Between the orc tribes and the Fran people there has long been a bloody conflict. Orc raids and Fran attacks in the Lands of Exile have kept it going until it has become all but impossible to resolve.1
In the Empire orcs are generally seen as enemies. Although not all of them are raiders, the Empire tends to see them that way, which breeds deep prejudice and hatred.1
Half-orcs
Half-orcs are often caught between both worlds: the Empire tends to see them as savage beasts, while orcs may see them as weak and pitiable.1
Notes
Sources
This article draws on:
- SSGLands of Exile: Starter Setting Guide(Bad Badger Games, 2024), pp. 5, 6, 30, 45
Related articles
RegionThe EmpireThe human realm at the heart of the Lands of Exile, an absolute monarchy heavily shaped by faith, ruled from Marble City by the unbroken line of the Red Eagle and divided into five provinces under their Sovereigns.
DeityViridiaThe goddess of nature, the Willow Mother, Queen of Thorns and Green Lady, who reigns at the borders of civilisation and guards the balance of life.RegionLands of ExileThe northern lands of Caligran where the ancient races took refuge after the Desolation, with the Empire at their heart, a harsh world of rare magic, scarce learning, many faiths and dangerous wilds.
DeityKorhakThe god of strength and violence, prized by mountain tribes, marauder clans, orc warbands and mercenaries, whose creed holds that the strong should rule and that only a worthy fight earns his blessing.PeopleHalf-orcsPeople of mixed human and orc descent who often struggle to be accepted by either side; the Empire tends to see them as savage, while orcs may see them as weak.PeopleHumansThe people who lived in northern Caligran long before the Desolation, sheltered the long-lived races after the Exodus and remain the greatest power in the Lands of Exile, at the heart of which stands their Empire.
PeopleBadgerfolkA small, fur-covered people from the Blue Forest who resemble badgers standing on two legs. They are skilled craftsmen and archers, build wooden towns they can move with the seasons, elect their mayors, and often stand with the wood elves.
PeopleCapraA tireless, goat-headed nomadic people of the Yellow Sea beyond the forest frontier, led in herds by their strongest warrior, the Shepherd, and divided between herds bound to nature and herds touched by dark gods.
PeopleDroomA rare people born from the heart of an ancient forest, whose bodies of bark, leaves, vines and resin make them resemble walking, talking trees. They have no parents, do not age, and turn back into trees when they die of natural causes.
PeopleForgottenThe dead who walk with their souls and their memories intact. Unlike the mindless dead, a forgotten remembers everything, looks as they did in life but paler and cold, does not age, and must hold to a purpose or slowly lose their mind again.