Orcs: Difference between revisions
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Far from the disorganised mess one would expect, an Orc army marches in lockstep, regimented and orderly, if brutish and foul. Few races know as much about war as the Orcs for it consumes every moment of their lives. In fact, some scholars theorize that the wild behaviour of orcs within the army serves to distract the enemy from the complex web of tactical manoeuvres they employ. These same sages argue that were it not for Garkan’s curse, the Orcs might even outstrip the [[Elves]] in wondrous achievements, bringing about a new golden age. | Far from the disorganised mess one would expect, an Orc army marches in lockstep, regimented and orderly, if brutish and foul. Few races know as much about war as the Orcs for it consumes every moment of their lives. In fact, some scholars theorize that the wild behaviour of orcs within the army serves to distract the enemy from the complex web of tactical manoeuvres they employ. These same sages argue that were it not for Garkan’s curse, the Orcs might even outstrip the [[Elves]] in wondrous achievements, bringing about a new golden age. | ||
Though the [[God War]] ended centuries ago, the Orcs endured. Their unnatural resilience and propensity for violence ensured that they carved out fluid though sizeable domains on the edges of civilisation, colonising those places where no other race cared or was able to settle. Their natural drives mean that peace is an alien concept, and if confronted with no other foe, they will often fall to fighting amongst themselves. Few among their number are able to focus on anything more than the next fight, and this leads to one of the more curious paradoxes of the [[Orc|Orc race]]. Their leaders, those who exhibit enough cunning and forethought to be able to plan and conceive of ideas beyond pure, blind aggression, are often great and powerful thinkers in their crude way. It takes iron will and sharp wits as well as sheer brute force to control even a small number of Orcs, and the Warlords of some of the larger tribes in the world would rival some of the greatest generals of [[Human|Men]], [[Dwarfs]] and [[Elves]] in their capacity for strategy. Such individuals are thankfully rare, and once killed, their carefully welded alliances of Orcs will fall quickly into disarray and indiscipline. It is this fact alone which keeps Orcs from sweeping all civilisations before them and ruling supreme. | Though the [[The God War|God War]] ended centuries ago, the Orcs endured. Their unnatural resilience and propensity for violence ensured that they carved out fluid though sizeable domains on the edges of civilisation, colonising those places where no other race cared or was able to settle. Their natural drives mean that peace is an alien concept, and if confronted with no other foe, they will often fall to fighting amongst themselves. Few among their number are able to focus on anything more than the next fight, and this leads to one of the more curious paradoxes of the [[Orc|Orc race]]. Their leaders, those who exhibit enough cunning and forethought to be able to plan and conceive of ideas beyond pure, blind aggression, are often great and powerful thinkers in their crude way. It takes iron will and sharp wits as well as sheer brute force to control even a small number of Orcs, and the Warlords of some of the larger tribes in the world would rival some of the greatest generals of [[Human|Men]], [[Dwarfs]] and [[Elves]] in their capacity for strategy. Such individuals are thankfully rare, and once killed, their carefully welded alliances of Orcs will fall quickly into disarray and indiscipline. It is this fact alone which keeps Orcs from sweeping all civilisations before them and ruling supreme. | ||
Humans and Elves alike (the Dwarfs know better) mistake their inability to concentrate and propensity to sudden, mindless violence as stupidity, but Orcs are far from stupid. From their father god Garkan the Black they have inherited an affinity for making; and though their creations are crude and ugly to others’ eyes, they are strong. Orcs are capable of awesome feats of smithying and engineering when inspired – the might of their war machines and weapons is surpassed only by the twisted ingenuity of their instruments of torture. | Humans and Elves alike (the Dwarfs know better) mistake their inability to concentrate and propensity to sudden, mindless violence as stupidity, but Orcs are far from stupid. From their father god Garkan the Black they have inherited an affinity for making; and though their creations are crude and ugly to others’ eyes, they are strong. Orcs are capable of awesome feats of smithying and engineering when inspired – the might of their war machines and weapons is surpassed only by the twisted ingenuity of their instruments of torture. | ||
