Setting the Setting - OD&D (3LBB) & AD&D2e - Part 10 - Cultures: Drogath Stormcleaver Orcs

 

I've been silently for a little while - work and also cataloging some of my other collections, but it's time to dive back in to the Eldorian Isles! So far, in the Cultures subseries of these Setting the Setting posts, I've detailed the dominant culture of the area - Eldorian Humans - our three major cultures - the mercantile Thunderan Dwarves, the Egyptian-like Sunari Elves, and the militaristic, Roman Empire inspired Tauren Minotaurs - and three of our minor cultures - the Vindhyaksha Goblins, the Hearthwarden Halflings and the Drak'Thul Lizard Men. I'm saving our second Human culture for last, so next up we have the last culture before them - the Orcs.

For the Cultural Archetype, I rolled on the World Builder's Guide Cultural Characteristics Table on page 43, and got... Viking!  Quite fitting for our oceanic, archipalegic world setting, and an interesting contrast to our tropical local campaign area.

Viking: While the Vikings of northern Europe could probably be considered barbarians, the modern player's strong recognition of their culture merits their inclusion. HR1, the Vikings Campaign Sourcebook, is useful for creating Viking realms.

Now, for the tech level, I wanted to use one from the Table on Page 47 that we hadn't used yet, and one of those really leaped out as fitting for a culture of Viking Orcs - Dark Ages:

Dark Ages: In many respects, the Dark Ages are a step backwards from the Roman age. The organization of a central government is replaced by a renewed tribal loyalty or fealty to warlords. Intensive agriculture is found only in a few suitable areas, and animal husbandry becomes a much more important part of daily sustenance. The study of tactics and maneuver in warfare fade as crude warbands and fyrds or levies become the standard military units. This technology level can describe backwards or barbaric areas in a standard Middle Ages-type campaign.

So we have roving warbands of seafaring orcs, probably with raiding as their primary means of economy and subsistence. I can sea them reaving out from hidden or isolated coves where their smoky and grimy longhouses shelter amongst the trees, maybe with some captured livestock and scattered vegetables and fruit trees to supplement their hauls. Next up is Social Alignment. I have 9 cultures and there are 9 options on the table, and I have been setting things up over the last several posts to have each culture have a different Social Alignment. With 7 already rolled or chosen, and one held in reserve, that leaves Chaotic Evil for our Orc Vikings (and if you've been following along, you already know what alignment that means the last culture will have, and might infer some of the... interesting... implications.

Chaotic Evil: These people are ruled by the adage that "might makes right." Local government amounts to nothing more than a series of strongman bosses who obey the central government out of fear. Any degree of treachery or violence is accepted as a form of advancement. A feudal system gone bad or a despotic dictatorship or autocracy could be described as chaotic evil.

For the culture's form of government, I selected rather than rolled, even selecting one we've already had come up - militocracy. This is the internal government of the culture itself, while the government of the area in general is a kind of Religious Satrapy.

Militocracy: Military leaders run the nation under martial law, using the organization or apparatus of the army and the other armed forces. A militocracy might be based around an elite group of soldiers, such as dragon riders or war-wizards. 

Hierarchy: A feudal or bureaucratic system which proceeds through different levels of a religious institution.

Satrapy: Conquerors and representatives of another government wield power over the region, ruling it as part of a larger empire. The satraps themselves might be bureaucrats and military officers, or they may be unusual characters or monsters of some kind, such as dragons, beholders or vampires.

So, our hidden orc harbors are ruthlessly ruled by the most successful and daring captains, with their crews likely serving as strongarms whenever in port. 

The Local Campaign Area Chapter goes on to Subsistence Systems, culture/race relations, and Population Level, but I feel like these are best addressed when we get to detailing and mapping the land itself and plotting the settlements. 

Putting Orc Vikings into the Culture Name Generator at Vondy.com, the option that came up which I liked the best was 'Drogath Stormcleavers,' and I extrapolated with 'Drogathi' as the demonym and name of the language. 

I've also been looking at migratory patterns, and through some rolls and choices, I decided on settlement waves for our 9 cultures. The Drogathi arrived in the same wave as the Eldorian Humans, which are now the dominant culture of the region while the Drogathi are a minor culture - I'm sure this does not sit well with them! I decided to make them also originally from the north - same as the Eldorians. I like the idea that these two cultures were in conflict in their home islands  Perhaps a group of the Drogathi chased the Eldorians here - or vice versa. Or possibly a small fleet of each culture had been involved in a running naval battle, consistently being driven off course by each others maneuvers, storms and currents, until their remnants arrived here.

Next post, we'll finally get to the final culture.