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Orc names (and weapons)?

Posted: Tue May 13, 2014 2:58 am
by Glorelendil
Was there a thread somewhere that listed possible orc names?

Mn next software project is a Random Orc Generator. I spent some time reverse engineering (via a complex spreadsheet) the stats of the official orcs, in order to construct a point-buy system for creating new variants. E.g., you could ask it for an orc of attribute level 4 and you might get one that looks like an Orc Guard, or you could get a brute with extra HP and a favoured 2H axe, but low armor and parry. Or an archer with unusual special abilities. Or something else entirely...

So when the fellowship encounters a band of orcs, they won't all be cookie cuttered.

In order to flesh it out I want to give the orcs names, so I need a long list to work from. Better yet, a bunch of syllables that could be randomly combined.

Anybody?

Re: Orc names?

Posted: Tue May 13, 2014 3:20 am
by Láthspell
Some of these were gleaned from less than official sources. I'll leave it to you to break it down into syllables:

Azog
Balcmeg
Boldog
Bolg
Dungalef
Durbûrz
Fimbul
Golfimbul
Gorbag
Gorgol
Gothmog
Grishnákh
Lagduf
Lug
Lugdush
Lurtz
Mauhúr
Muzgash
Narzug
Nereb
Orcobal
Othrod
Radbug
Shagrat
Sharku
Snaga
Ufthak
Uglúk

Re: Orc names?

Posted: Tue May 13, 2014 3:30 am
by Heilemann
I've been using this one for my Roll20 orcs: http://www.enworld.org/forum/dnd_view_block.php?id=200

Re: Orc names?

Posted: Tue May 13, 2014 2:00 pm
by Rocmistro
There were the 12 or 13 named Orcs that were part of the MERP cardboard cut-outs that went along with the Herubar Gular adventure. I can't remember all their names, but the leader was "Thuk". I seem to remember them all having pretty convincing Orc names.

Re: Orc names?

Posted: Tue May 13, 2014 2:33 pm
by poosticks7
I shall try and post this right this time :) (someone asked for Dwarven names awhile back)

http://www.darkshire.net/jhkim/rpg/lord ... /names.pdf

Re: Orc names?

Posted: Tue May 13, 2014 3:38 pm
by Glorelendil
poosticks7 wrote:I shall try and post this right this time :) (someone asked for Dwarven names awhile back)

http://www.darkshire.net/jhkim/rpg/lord ... /names.pdf
Ah, that's where I remember seeing it.

Thanks, everyone, for replies.

By the way, since I'm stepping outside of official lines I'm also adding weapons. I've got:

Makeshift Club
Spiked Club
Iron flail
Unwieldy maul
Orcish great-axe
Throwing axe
Uruk great-bow

Anything else that would add some more variety and flavor? I thought about glaive or halberd (mostly because I've had a miniature since the early 80's of a little green goblin with a halberd twice his height.)

(Yes, I looked in the "Additional Rules" fan supplement; I'm not using identical stats since orcish weapons tend to be a bit weaker than hero weapons. But thank you to those authors for inspiration.)

Re: Orc names (and weapons)?

Posted: Tue May 13, 2014 3:44 pm
by Hermes Serpent
One thing I noted was that orc weapons have a same Edge as those of the same style used by heroes but the Injury rating seems to be 2 lower i.e. Axe vs. Orc Axe 5/G/18 vs. 5/E/16 or Spear 5/9/14 vs. Orc Spear 4/9/12. It isn't always so but the correlation seems to much to be chance.

Re: Orc names (and weapons)?

Posted: Tue May 13, 2014 4:05 pm
by Rocmistro
Elfcrusher:

how about -

Morning Star
Iron Cleaver
Mining Pick
Crossbow
Slaver's Chains
Glaive
Warhammer

Re: Orc names (and weapons)?

Posted: Tue May 13, 2014 4:55 pm
by Glorelendil
Morning Star
- I had this in the list, but I couldn't think of a colorful name (in keeping with the orc weapons in the LMG)
Iron Cleaver
- Like a butcher's cleaver? I like it conceptually...how should it differ from bent sword? (Other than name...) Too bad we don't have dual-wielding rules.
Mining Pick
- Ooh...that's good. Two-handed?
Crossbow
- Thought of this, but I think crossbows are intentionally absent in the game
Slaver's Chains
- This is good, too. Low damage but chance of disarm or other consequence? (And maybe something bad for the wielder on a fail + Gandalf?) Also two-handed?
Glaive
- Yeah, like I said, I like picturing little green goblins with polearms. I'll probably add this back in.
Warhammer
- Like morning star, I had this but couldn't think of a colorful name. I think between club and flail there are enough bludgeoning 1H weapons.

Oh god I forgot whip. How could I forget whip?

"Orange whip? Orange whip? Three orange whips."

Re: Orc names (and weapons)?

Posted: Tue May 13, 2014 5:18 pm
by Rocmistro
Morning Star / Warhammer: understood.

Iron Cleaver (or Butcher's Cleaver, or just Meat Cleaver :-)) I have a houserule for daggers, and while it might not work for everyone's setting it could work for this. In my game, Dagger stats are dam: 3 edge: 8 Injury: 10 The basic idea is that they are easy to get a piercing blow with on unarmored people (assassination weapons), but very easy to make protection TN against. So they are useless against armored opponents, but very good against unarmored ones.

Mining Pick: Yep, 2 handed. Basically a suckier version of a Dwarf's mattock.

Crossbow: True, though I think it's one director's vision vs. anothers. I rather like PJ's Uruk Hai with XBows.

Slaver's Chains: 2-handed, yes, and on an "Eye" roll (for the wielder) the target is considered restrained or something similar to grappled/pinned, etc.

I have a house-rule for whip. Damage: 2 Edge: 7 Injury: 10
Basically they do little damage but hit Edge a lot. They are useless against armored opponents, however. When the user hits his edge though and the target fails their injury TN, they are not "wounded" in the traditional sense, but rather they are weary (from pain) for a number of turns equal to the quality of the success (1/2/3 for success/great/extraordinary success)