Orcs are an aggressive humanoid race found throughout Tyrra and in
general found at war with the civilized races.
They are thought to lack the ability to form true communities where
members of the community work together for the benefit of the whole.
They tend to be subservient to a dominant member of the tribe and
either do his bidding, leave, or challenge him for authority, this
challenge inevitably leads to one of their deaths. The goals of the
tribe, rather than benefiting the tribe, benefit the dominant member
or chieftain.
There are many factors that lead to this form of existence among
the orcs. First they have a very high birth rate. The gestational age
of orcs in Neridia is about three months rather than the nine seen in
humans, this rate varies somewhat throughout the known regions of
Tyrra. The females of the orcs carry their offspring low and tend not
to show their pregnant state allowing them to fight and still be
productive members of the tribe nearly until they actually give birth.
The babes, if that word truly applies, mature rapidly with each being
able to bear arms within six months from their birth. These facts lead
to a high population pressure and need for food and land. This in turn
drives the orc aggressive nature which is high already.
Orcs organize themselves, to the extent they can, in primitive
tribes and clans. These tend to be closer to large hunting parties.
The orcs are ruled with an iron fist by the clan chieftain who is
nearly always the dominant warrior. Another figure with the same range
of power in orc society is the shaman; their pronouncements tend to
direct the chieftain. The shaman and their followers tend to be the
only orcs to learn magic. Even so, orcs cannot learn the finer points
of magic and do not have the discipline it takes to become a scholar,
being limited to training as templars in magic. All tribe members must
be warriors and be able to support themselves in battle. Any who
cannot are left behind to die or even killed outright by the other
members of the tribe.
The race would likely have died off millennia ago due to the poor
organization and inability to truly regulate their own existence.
However each generation a few are born to the tribes that have a
higher capacity for forethought and planning. These are the few orc
leaders that have the sense to organize their people, lead them in
battle as an army rather than a horde, keep control through leadership
ability in addition to physical dominance. They even occasionally
learn enough magic or force their shaman into learning enough magic to
place a circle or resurrections, or bargain with others for the
creation of one for them. These special few are called
"orc-lords".
On the other hand, each generation of orcs spawns many which are
barbaric even to the standards of their own race. These so-called
"war-orcs" tend to be more physically powerful then the run
of the mill orcs often becoming chieftains due to their prowess in
combat but they lack any ability to use magic. Due to this lack they
often force weaker members of their brethren to learn the healing they
need to survive.
The orcs remaining in Neridia are all descended from the Ryndarth
orcs which fled underground after the First Expansion War. They
descended to depths below where even the dwarves of Deep Incanus go,
where the Deep Walkers live in caverns lit by eerie phosphorescent
growths. The Ryndarth orcs frequently try to raid the surface but the
only real access they have is through the area now held by Neridia as
the hunting grounds.
