Looks like Orc Work

[Robin Smallburrow]

This stuff is taken (p.24-25) from ICE's Gorgoroth module (which you should read as it is great for orcs):


https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/656 ... Mordor.doc

Hope some of this gives some inspiration for when you do the Orcs of Mordor - personally, i think the best way to look at orc tribes is that they are a bit like urban youth gangs - thus even in just one city there will be several orc tribes or 'sub-tribes' who will only work together under a stronger authority, otherwise they tend to fragment...

Robin S.

[poosticks7]

Thanks Robin I will give it a read.

I agree there would be many sub tribes within the larger groupings I've used - (as there would for a mannish group). I'm just trying to do a general overview at the moment - I may do some variants for each grouping if I can think of some more ideas.

[venger]

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Hello
I like the way this is going and think much along the same lines and look forward to seeing the outcome!
I would like to share some ideas.

There was a clan of Orc in MERP that occupied the southern parts of The Mountains of Mirkwood call the Shirkag. I used them to trouble the Woodmen.

I had made a distinction between them and Orc that served the Dark Lord, Mordor Orcs and Orcs of Southern Mirkwood who were more or less militaristic, better equipped and trained. Their agenda was set for them by the Dark Lord's lieutenants.

We played in the ten years before the War of the Ring, and at that point the Shirkag were a group of free tribes not really associated with the Dark Lord's lieutenants with their own agendas and a separate economy. And In a nutshell I felt the Shirkag needed a society of a sort.

There were several villages mostly hunter/gatherer's with some trade, leatherworks, livestock for the leather, basic metalworks, an iron mine, a copper mine, pottery, etc.with limited agrarian stuff though.

Each village had a village chieftan and a couple shaman to oversee breeding, while a fortress housed the main war garrison, training facilities and was the center of power ruled by the Overlord Chieftan. The villages supplied the garrison but would squabble between each other over territory and vie for power to become Overlord.

The company's main objectives would be to eradicate the shaman to thwart breeding, and next to disrupt production facilities where possible. Killing shaman was such a high priority because a single shaman could escape and start a new clan within a handful of years, like a female roach lol. That's not canonical, just something I made up.

I could have the adventuring company thwart the Shirkag's designs without raising the attention of Sauron.

The theme was so strong the adventurers were careful/leery about dealings with the "Red Eyes", Orcs from the south with the Red Eye of Sauron emblazoned on their gear.
They were concerned about severe retaliation and they favored actions against the less organized Shirkag.

It made for some good role play.
I can elaborate more about the society if need be, but I don't have any stats that would be useful to TOR. Feel free to nick any of this if it helps.

Namarie!
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