The Orcs

Overview

Traveling war profiteers who turned conflict into a sophisticated economy. Unlike traditional depictions, they are shrewd traders and negotiators who profit from all sides while maintaining unique cultural values and mysterious origins.

Core Culture

Economic System:

War markets - Traveling trading posts following conflicts
Neutral profiteering - Sell weapons and supplies to all combatants
Diplomatic immunity - Generally left alone due to usefulness

Cultural Traits:

Scar-based status - Judge wealth by scars, not gold
Battle-born tradition - Children named for first sound heard
Nomadic lifestyle - Constantly moving, hard to pin down
Memory traditions - Strong reincarnation bonds, remembering past lives

Mysterious Origins

Ancient Extra-Dimensional Connection: May share dimensional history with The Entropy Shepherd, explaining:

Why the Shepherd has largely ignored orc populations
Their apparent immunity to many entropy effects
Unique cultural resilience in face of entropy

Traditional Reincarnation Beliefs: Eternal cycles where souls move between lives, retaining memories from past incarnations. Makes them uniquely aware of cyclical patterns and resistant to despair.

Reincarnation Theology (Session 3 Details):

Prepared Souls: Orc souls properly prepared through ritual and tradition smoothly transition into the next life
Unprepared Souls: Those who die unprepared for the cycle become "adrift in the ether" - lost in nothingness rather than successfully reborn
Soul Preparation: Proper preparation requires following traditional beliefs and practices, creating urgency around theological correctness
Fear of Being Adrift: The prospect of eternal drift in the ether (neither alive nor properly dead) is one of the most terrifying fates in orc theology

Current Crisis: Memory Circle promoting heretical end-times beliefs that challenge core traditions, using fear of souls "adrift in the ether" to motivate conversion to their preservation philosophy.

Current Crisis

The Memory Circle Upheaval

Leadership: Religious order of 8 orc elders in dark green robes spreading heretical philosophy across tribes.

Core Belief: "The reincarnation cycle is almost over" - advocating to end traditional rebirth cycle.

New Philosophy: "We just keep the vessels forever" - permanent preservation of current bodies/souls instead of eternal reincarnation. This mirrors The Entropy Shepherd's preservation philosophy.

Tribal Impact: Internal conflict between traditional believers and Memory Circle converts. Leaders like Gil caught between ancestral traditions and survival pragmatism.

Response to The Entropy Shepherd

Negotiated Alliances: Rather than direct conquest, The Entropy Shepherd negotiates with tribes:

Kovat tribe arrangement: "He has guaranteed us he will not leave us alone"
Suggests negotiated protection rather than natural immunity
Tribes choosing between traditional beliefs and Shepherd-influenced philosophy

Continuing War Economy: Despite ideological crisis, orcs maintain operations:

Still selling to all sides in conflicts
Adapting trade to heat scarcity realities
Some tribes profiting from Shepherd arrangements

Relationships

With Other Peoples:

Secret trading - Kurg supplies orc alloys to Ale-ore
Neutral acceptance - Welcomed as useful despite being war profiteers
Economic necessity - Others need their services despite disapproval

Notable Orcs

Kurg "Breaktooth" Randalar** - Current Fellowship member, master negotiator who once ended conflicts through bidding wars
Grox - Kurg's accountant companion, meticulous record keeper
Tiny - Kurg's enforcer companion, large and loyal

Cultural Artifacts

Teeth as dice - Kurg's three lost teeth representing acceptance of loss
Orc alloys/metals - Unique metallurgy desired even by dwarves
Leather-bound ledgers - Meticulous deal accounting
Traveling gear - Always ready for next profitable conflict

Campaign Significance

Unique Position: May be the only people with genuine protection from the Shepherd's influence due to shared dimensional origins. Their immunity and continued prosperity makes them valuable allies and information sources.

Philosophical Counterpoint: Pragmatic approach to conflict offers resistance to Shepherd's despair - they view endings and beginnings as natural cycle parts rather than final defeats.