Ninjadeadbeard
2012-01-08, 05:09 PM
Now, I know what your thinkin'. “Everybody does Orc rewrites! Everyone has done every variation possible! And they've done it better than you ever could cuz you're lame!” To which I would say, “That's quite hurtful.”
But enough about that. Let's do another one!
Orcs, Who are they, and How are they different? Everyone does Orcs differently, I think, because people like reinventing the bad guys. And Orcs were the original Bad Guys, at least as far back as Tolkien. But if a rewrite is worth doing once, it's worth doing more. And I had a vision of Orcs in my head or a while now. Inspired by this thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=226951 ) originally.
As always, criticisms and critiques are welcome (nay, demanded!). I hope the people of the Playground can give some good advice on how to make this a more coherent/good setting.
For now, let's begin with society. Let's assume for simplicities sake that this is an Early Medieval time period, where the Orcs have been forced to the edge of the world by the more “civilized” races. Orcs live in the most inhospitable landscapes,the tundras, the deserts, the swamps, although the primary concentration will be in the cold North, surrounded by perpetual coniferous forests and more-common-than-not, snow. We'll be focusing mostly on the Northerly bound Orcs.
Appearance
Orcs are a large, humanoid species residing near the edges of the map and in the most inhospitable parts of the world. They typically stand between six and seven feet (nearer to the latter) and are highly muscular. In the cold north they possess gray skin and black hair and eyes, but further south in the deserts one can find Orcs of red skin, lighter hair and bright yellow eyes. In the jungles and swamps of the world, Orcs have been described as mossy green with green eyes and hair. And combinations of these traits are not unheard of.
Orc appearance is generally described as feral due to possessing mostly canine, or pointed teeth, giving them a distinctly fearsome expression. They actually do possess molars, though these are difficult at times to see. Their arms are also slightly longer than what would normally be proportional. This means that, to a human hoping to dodge an Orc's blade, one must compensate because the sword arm will be longer than it appears.
Oddly, despite them being much taller and far more muscled, Orcs appear to possess the same basic skeletal shape as an Elf. Orc skulls are noted as being highly angular, almost identically so to Elves, and despite their higher percentage of muscle Orcs tend to be somewhat narrower than one would expect. As several Gnome scholars have noted, Orcs can at times look like very tall, muscular Elves. However, where one would expect a sharp point or corner on an Elf's skeleton (the chin or cheekbones), an Orc's will be squared-off or flat. This gives them a slightly cruder visage, as if they were carved by some inelegant hand. This extends to their ears, which while long like an Elf's, end end with an abrupt corner, like the edge of a playing card.
Orcs also possess a long lifespan. Like Elves, Orcs are mistaken for being immortal. In truth, only Dwarves live forever (Orcs believe they are made of Stone, as opposed to clay). Elves and Orcs share a suspiciously similar lifespan of 1,000 years, give or take. Orcs don't always live that long due to the harshness of their environment, although stories of immortal Orcs do exist (See: Magic: Atavism).
Orc Society
Orcs are known for their semi-nomadic lifestyle. For thousands of years they have made a life for themselves on the edge of the world because the rest of the world pushed them out. In these harsh lands, the Orcs have slowly built a stable society. Their society is split into two separate, distinct, yet symbiotic parts: Settlements (Urukin) and Patrols (Ka'aleah).
Settlements
The Settlements are the Orc cities and villages, and there is no general size or layout to them. They appear where needed and grow to fit that need. Some are as sparse as a few houses in the center of farmland, while others have become colossal stone metropolises nearing a million Orcs in population. And when I say stone, I mean stone. The Orcs carry among their priestly caste spells passed down throughout the ages, learned at the dawn of time by powers unnamed here. Some spells allow them to mold rock with their hands, given time to concentrate on the task. Thus, the Settlements often boast mighty fortifications and strong houses within.
Now, the first thing one must know about the Orcs is the separation of the sexes. In the Settlement, the High Priestess is the law. She answers directly to the Conclave, a weekly meeting of all the adult members of a Settlement, who are technically the final say on how things are done in a Settlement. The High Priestess deals with sacrifices, rituals, and the tutelage of the young and the aspiring healers (read: Clerics).
Next down on the societal ladder is the local Shalak, the storyteller. This is usually an Orc of advanced age (note: most male Orcs wish to die in honorable combat, so the honor of this position is somewhat dubious). He will spend the remainder of his days as the lore-master of a Settlement and sometimes adviser to those who heed him.
Below him stand the Home Guard, those Orc men who have yet to reach the proper age of thirty to join a Patrol, and Orc women who have born children in the past (the reasoning being they will fight ferociously for their children). They stand ready to defend the Settlement in times of war.
Below these are the farmers (again, all female). Most of the land surrounding an Orc Settlement is devoted to agriculture, with the fallow fields used to raise pigs, goats and chicken kept for food. The produce is sold at market because the Orcs are largely carnivorous by nature. Vegetables and grains make them sick.
Last in the (official) social rungs are the Merchants. This position is held almost exclusively by Goblins in return for protection by the Orcs. Most Orcs see them as a necessary evil, slightly unsavory characters, but a good way to avoid being cheated in business dealings with outsiders. Goblins are duplicitous, lying, thieving cretins who would kill and rob you so much as look at you, but seeing as the Orcs recognize they are culturally inclined to naivete and gullibility, they have little choice (and besides, the Goblins aren't so stupid as to rob their sole benefactors). Goblins have no separation of sexes, have a great amount of social mobility (See: Warfare and Tactics: Auxiliaries), and follow their own religion, but are otherwise deeply devoted to the Orcs (a puzzle that keeps many an Elf awake at night).
Beneath the Goblins would be the slaves kept by the Orcs. They rarely perform manual labor, but rather are used as instructors and craftsmen. While Orcs are not incompetent, the Priestesses long ago realized the need for knowledge, and so asked the Patrols to raid for slaves of higher classes that could teach the Orcs new ways of making things. It is suggested in places that a Dwarf slave gave the Orcs the knowledge to craft stone homes long ago.
Slaves are highly prized, and once they have given service they are set free and made honorary Orcs. Surprisingly, many slaves remain with or marry into the Orc lifestyle afterward, leading to various claims of Half-Orcs running about.
The Patrols
The Patrols serve as the military, hunting, and herding arm of the Settlements. The Patrols are effectively small armies that migrate from Settlement to Settlement, hunting game for the Settlements as they go. As they travel, Patrols make short visits to the Settlements in order to drop off their hunting hauls and pick up supplies of their own. When they leave, they take with them all young male Orcs that are of Age, who then join the Patrol as members. While in town, the Patrol members found worthy may be honored by a female Orc who wishes to mate. The resulting child is raised by the Settlement until he too comes of age and joins another Patrol. No Patrol has sole control over a Settlement, and vice-verse. It may take a few years, but a Patrol can visit every Settlement in a region, provided their hunt is moving in that direction.
Patrols herd large, wooly creatures called Ogres (a four legged version of a Monster from “Where the Wild Things Are”). The Ogres provide ample milk and meat for the Patrol, and when Winter comes a few slaughtered Ogres can feed an entire Settlement until mid-spring. Their milk is also considered highly nutritious (and the cheese horrendously smelly), and often mixed with the Ogres' blood and fermented to make “Hogla”, a mead-like alcoholic beverage (it's name must be bellowed at the top of one's lungs, and for your own sake don't let it touch your gums on the way down). This alone would make the Patrols incredibly wealthy, since Elves love Ogre cheese, and Humans consider Hogla almost mythically good. Still, tensions between the races has led to little enough trade of this sort. The last gift of the Ogres is their wool, a high quality wool that takes well to dying and is considered exceptionally fine winter attire by most races (except Gnomes, who get hives from touching it).
Typical game for a Patrol includes such finds as: Giant Stags, Dire-Wolves, Bear-Wolves, Wild Boar, Dire-Boar, Jakalopes, and on occasion, Dragons. A Dragon kill is considered the finest honor any hunter can attain, save perhaps one (See: Magic: Atavism). There's also good-eating on Dragons, as one could feed a Settlement of decent sizes for months. Dragon bones are made into weapons (they naturally ooze poison into every enemy cut) and their scales are made into armor.
During the harsh winter months, Patrols stay for an extended period in the Settlement walls, and around the local countryside. They take up residence in the Hogla Hall and proceed to eat and drink until Spring. During these months, the male Orcs found worthy are allowed to mate with the females. This accounts for many summertime Orc births. They also provide a valuable garrison, and fill the nights with song, stories and dance, some of the great loves of the Orcs. Unfortunately, another love of Orc men is drinking and combat. While ritualized battles are encouraged, there is only so much an Orc can take. This is why, to take their minds off laying about and doing nothing but eat, drink, fight and make love in winter, the Patrols often take extended winter...excursions.
These excursions are usually the reason most people have a low opinion of the Orcs, as an Orc Winter excursion is often synonymous with “Loot and Pillage”. Winter is the War season. Patrols race off to Elf or Human lands and pillage to their hearts' content. This gives the men something to do, keeps order, and provides slaves and treasure for the Settlement.
The reason this system works is twofold. Orc borders are always crawling with patrols, and the gene pool is always kept diverse (the Orcs themselves don't know what a gene pool is, but would get the general concept). It fosters a culture that has very little concept of “family units” as the blood of various Settlements are spread about by the Patrols (and vice-verse), and instead sees equivocation between “family” and “Orc”. Orcs are incredibly altruistic towards other Orcs. An Orc merchant (if there was such a thing) would scam any human or Elf they saw. But set another Orc in front of him, and the phrase “What's mine is yours,” takes on a literal definition. That merchant would give the Orc the shirt off his back if asked for it. Orcs don't see the difference between a relative and a distant neighbor. They do not tolerate wrongs against even one of them. You kill an Orc, you're a dead man because there's a million of these guys, and they will gleefully destroy you.
The downside of this hive-mind mentality is that, considering how they feel about each other, Orcs do not understand the concept of “An Individual”, or “Personal Responsibility”. If some Elves kill some of their people, the won't necessarily go directly for the Elves who committed the attack. Oh sure, they'd love to get their hands on those guys, but if they can't then the nearest Elf village will do fine. The attackers killed Orcs, so the Orcs kill Elves, thinking that the loss will feel the same to the ones who wronged them. Some Orcs, the ones who for one reason or another find themselves exiled (a common punishment that can last anywhere between a few weeks to several years, to life) and working with Adventurers, have learned to get over this belief in order to function in foreign societies.
War is almost unheard of between the Orcs, except in a ceremonial sense. It's mostly done to keep the skills sharp and the morale up. Usually, the “wars” are prearranged and forbid the use of weapons. Both sides fight fist and foot, but there ware still rare fatalities.
Now earlier, during Appearance, there was mentioned Orc skeletons. This is important here. The reason so few Orc skeletons remain is because of the peculiar nature of Cannibalism in Orc Society. In this specific case, that of an accidental death in ceremonial combat, the fallen warrior is ritualistically devoured. In fact, unless an Orc dies from disease or their body is totally destroyed or otherwise unrecoverable, their flesh is eaten by the others, including bones (bone marrow tastes good, amirite?).
Sometimes real war breaks out, whether it is because of territorial disputes (Settlement A claims the same field as Settlement B) or honor (War Chief Greet feels insulted by something Chief Huil said about his Patrol), or simple pettiness (The High Priestess of Ha'Shol Settlement just does not like her counterpart from Wurj). These battles are usually bloody and ruinous for the Settlements involved, and such feuds can simmer for centuries due to Orcs' long lifespan. Sometimes battle by Champion can resolve the issues, but not always.
Other notable facets of Orc society:
Trials -In Orc society, crime is not unheard of. If an Orc commits a crime against the Settlement or Patrol, whether thievery, murder or heresy, he must be punished. However, the typical Orc mentality on individuality complicates the trial process. For one thing, the shame of the crime is shared by the whole. Therefore, the Settlement or Patrol (whichever the crime took place) will assign itself the blame for not preventing the crime. Practical consideration is given to the actual criminal however. While the root cause of moral failings may lie in some weakness among the whole, the individual still had the final say in committing the crime.
While capital punishment is nonexistent, exile is the preferred method of punishment. For the most minor of infractions (fighting for instance), the offender is usually put to work the least desirable duties of the Settlement or Patrol (hard labor in general). More serious offenses are punished with exile. A particularly savage fight with little reason to end at that, or theft (being the penultimate violation of community), could be punished by anywhere from a few months to several years exiled. Anyone exiled in this way is Outlaw, no longer considered a true Orc. He/she must pay for services instead of simply receiving aid, and is generally treated as an outsider until the terms of their exile are completed.
For murder, an Orc will be exiled for life, and no other Orc may associate with them. Killing such a one is still a touchy thing. Generally, the Settlement or Patrol won't do it themselves unless the Exiled one initiates hostilities. The Exiled one's name is stricken from living memory, and no one is to speak of them.
Returning from such a wretched state is rare. It has only happened once or twice, and redemption can never be regained in Orc eyes unless the Exiled dies in their redeeming act.
Civil Service – All wealth is shared by the community, ergo no taxes, ergo almost no bureaucracy (sans religious)
Magic – Orcs only require two forms of magic. The first is their Clerics, their Jira'l. All priestesses are given basic instruction in healing arts. Those with aptitude become Jira'l, practitioners of a magical tradition, and these travel alongside the various Patrols, providing magical assistance. They use their power to increase the speed and strength of their charges, heal the sick and wounded, and rarely call down celestial wrath (very little offensive magic, mostly buffs and de-buffs). It is forbidden for any man to touch a Jira'l, being held as sacrosanct. Any Jira'l who willingly break the taboo are declared heretical, Witches. They cannot reenter a Settlement for the rest of their lives, but many Patrols prefer their company, as a Witch often will study forbidden spells that can turn the tide of battle in a pinch.
The second form of magic accepted by mainstream Orc society is simply known as “The Rite”. Certain Orcs who “hear the call” travel into the harshest, most godsforsaken hellscapes imaginable and do not return until they have achieved Atavism. They meditate and hone their bodies to a knife's edge until they transcend their Clay-flesh and become Flame incarnate. These Warrior Priests are honored and revered among the Orcs, but believed to be too pure to remain in Orc society for long. They are as wandering monks, aiding any they come across and generally serving as immortal teachers and protectors. The Orcs hail these demi-gods as “Ba'Rok”, though the more common name (produced by an Elf mistranslation) is “Balrog”.
But enough about that. Let's do another one!
Orcs, Who are they, and How are they different? Everyone does Orcs differently, I think, because people like reinventing the bad guys. And Orcs were the original Bad Guys, at least as far back as Tolkien. But if a rewrite is worth doing once, it's worth doing more. And I had a vision of Orcs in my head or a while now. Inspired by this thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=226951 ) originally.
As always, criticisms and critiques are welcome (nay, demanded!). I hope the people of the Playground can give some good advice on how to make this a more coherent/good setting.
For now, let's begin with society. Let's assume for simplicities sake that this is an Early Medieval time period, where the Orcs have been forced to the edge of the world by the more “civilized” races. Orcs live in the most inhospitable landscapes,the tundras, the deserts, the swamps, although the primary concentration will be in the cold North, surrounded by perpetual coniferous forests and more-common-than-not, snow. We'll be focusing mostly on the Northerly bound Orcs.
Appearance
Orcs are a large, humanoid species residing near the edges of the map and in the most inhospitable parts of the world. They typically stand between six and seven feet (nearer to the latter) and are highly muscular. In the cold north they possess gray skin and black hair and eyes, but further south in the deserts one can find Orcs of red skin, lighter hair and bright yellow eyes. In the jungles and swamps of the world, Orcs have been described as mossy green with green eyes and hair. And combinations of these traits are not unheard of.
Orc appearance is generally described as feral due to possessing mostly canine, or pointed teeth, giving them a distinctly fearsome expression. They actually do possess molars, though these are difficult at times to see. Their arms are also slightly longer than what would normally be proportional. This means that, to a human hoping to dodge an Orc's blade, one must compensate because the sword arm will be longer than it appears.
Oddly, despite them being much taller and far more muscled, Orcs appear to possess the same basic skeletal shape as an Elf. Orc skulls are noted as being highly angular, almost identically so to Elves, and despite their higher percentage of muscle Orcs tend to be somewhat narrower than one would expect. As several Gnome scholars have noted, Orcs can at times look like very tall, muscular Elves. However, where one would expect a sharp point or corner on an Elf's skeleton (the chin or cheekbones), an Orc's will be squared-off or flat. This gives them a slightly cruder visage, as if they were carved by some inelegant hand. This extends to their ears, which while long like an Elf's, end end with an abrupt corner, like the edge of a playing card.
Orcs also possess a long lifespan. Like Elves, Orcs are mistaken for being immortal. In truth, only Dwarves live forever (Orcs believe they are made of Stone, as opposed to clay). Elves and Orcs share a suspiciously similar lifespan of 1,000 years, give or take. Orcs don't always live that long due to the harshness of their environment, although stories of immortal Orcs do exist (See: Magic: Atavism).
Orc Society
Orcs are known for their semi-nomadic lifestyle. For thousands of years they have made a life for themselves on the edge of the world because the rest of the world pushed them out. In these harsh lands, the Orcs have slowly built a stable society. Their society is split into two separate, distinct, yet symbiotic parts: Settlements (Urukin) and Patrols (Ka'aleah).
Settlements
The Settlements are the Orc cities and villages, and there is no general size or layout to them. They appear where needed and grow to fit that need. Some are as sparse as a few houses in the center of farmland, while others have become colossal stone metropolises nearing a million Orcs in population. And when I say stone, I mean stone. The Orcs carry among their priestly caste spells passed down throughout the ages, learned at the dawn of time by powers unnamed here. Some spells allow them to mold rock with their hands, given time to concentrate on the task. Thus, the Settlements often boast mighty fortifications and strong houses within.
Now, the first thing one must know about the Orcs is the separation of the sexes. In the Settlement, the High Priestess is the law. She answers directly to the Conclave, a weekly meeting of all the adult members of a Settlement, who are technically the final say on how things are done in a Settlement. The High Priestess deals with sacrifices, rituals, and the tutelage of the young and the aspiring healers (read: Clerics).
Next down on the societal ladder is the local Shalak, the storyteller. This is usually an Orc of advanced age (note: most male Orcs wish to die in honorable combat, so the honor of this position is somewhat dubious). He will spend the remainder of his days as the lore-master of a Settlement and sometimes adviser to those who heed him.
Below him stand the Home Guard, those Orc men who have yet to reach the proper age of thirty to join a Patrol, and Orc women who have born children in the past (the reasoning being they will fight ferociously for their children). They stand ready to defend the Settlement in times of war.
Below these are the farmers (again, all female). Most of the land surrounding an Orc Settlement is devoted to agriculture, with the fallow fields used to raise pigs, goats and chicken kept for food. The produce is sold at market because the Orcs are largely carnivorous by nature. Vegetables and grains make them sick.
Last in the (official) social rungs are the Merchants. This position is held almost exclusively by Goblins in return for protection by the Orcs. Most Orcs see them as a necessary evil, slightly unsavory characters, but a good way to avoid being cheated in business dealings with outsiders. Goblins are duplicitous, lying, thieving cretins who would kill and rob you so much as look at you, but seeing as the Orcs recognize they are culturally inclined to naivete and gullibility, they have little choice (and besides, the Goblins aren't so stupid as to rob their sole benefactors). Goblins have no separation of sexes, have a great amount of social mobility (See: Warfare and Tactics: Auxiliaries), and follow their own religion, but are otherwise deeply devoted to the Orcs (a puzzle that keeps many an Elf awake at night).
Beneath the Goblins would be the slaves kept by the Orcs. They rarely perform manual labor, but rather are used as instructors and craftsmen. While Orcs are not incompetent, the Priestesses long ago realized the need for knowledge, and so asked the Patrols to raid for slaves of higher classes that could teach the Orcs new ways of making things. It is suggested in places that a Dwarf slave gave the Orcs the knowledge to craft stone homes long ago.
Slaves are highly prized, and once they have given service they are set free and made honorary Orcs. Surprisingly, many slaves remain with or marry into the Orc lifestyle afterward, leading to various claims of Half-Orcs running about.
The Patrols
The Patrols serve as the military, hunting, and herding arm of the Settlements. The Patrols are effectively small armies that migrate from Settlement to Settlement, hunting game for the Settlements as they go. As they travel, Patrols make short visits to the Settlements in order to drop off their hunting hauls and pick up supplies of their own. When they leave, they take with them all young male Orcs that are of Age, who then join the Patrol as members. While in town, the Patrol members found worthy may be honored by a female Orc who wishes to mate. The resulting child is raised by the Settlement until he too comes of age and joins another Patrol. No Patrol has sole control over a Settlement, and vice-verse. It may take a few years, but a Patrol can visit every Settlement in a region, provided their hunt is moving in that direction.
Patrols herd large, wooly creatures called Ogres (a four legged version of a Monster from “Where the Wild Things Are”). The Ogres provide ample milk and meat for the Patrol, and when Winter comes a few slaughtered Ogres can feed an entire Settlement until mid-spring. Their milk is also considered highly nutritious (and the cheese horrendously smelly), and often mixed with the Ogres' blood and fermented to make “Hogla”, a mead-like alcoholic beverage (it's name must be bellowed at the top of one's lungs, and for your own sake don't let it touch your gums on the way down). This alone would make the Patrols incredibly wealthy, since Elves love Ogre cheese, and Humans consider Hogla almost mythically good. Still, tensions between the races has led to little enough trade of this sort. The last gift of the Ogres is their wool, a high quality wool that takes well to dying and is considered exceptionally fine winter attire by most races (except Gnomes, who get hives from touching it).
Typical game for a Patrol includes such finds as: Giant Stags, Dire-Wolves, Bear-Wolves, Wild Boar, Dire-Boar, Jakalopes, and on occasion, Dragons. A Dragon kill is considered the finest honor any hunter can attain, save perhaps one (See: Magic: Atavism). There's also good-eating on Dragons, as one could feed a Settlement of decent sizes for months. Dragon bones are made into weapons (they naturally ooze poison into every enemy cut) and their scales are made into armor.
During the harsh winter months, Patrols stay for an extended period in the Settlement walls, and around the local countryside. They take up residence in the Hogla Hall and proceed to eat and drink until Spring. During these months, the male Orcs found worthy are allowed to mate with the females. This accounts for many summertime Orc births. They also provide a valuable garrison, and fill the nights with song, stories and dance, some of the great loves of the Orcs. Unfortunately, another love of Orc men is drinking and combat. While ritualized battles are encouraged, there is only so much an Orc can take. This is why, to take their minds off laying about and doing nothing but eat, drink, fight and make love in winter, the Patrols often take extended winter...excursions.
These excursions are usually the reason most people have a low opinion of the Orcs, as an Orc Winter excursion is often synonymous with “Loot and Pillage”. Winter is the War season. Patrols race off to Elf or Human lands and pillage to their hearts' content. This gives the men something to do, keeps order, and provides slaves and treasure for the Settlement.
The reason this system works is twofold. Orc borders are always crawling with patrols, and the gene pool is always kept diverse (the Orcs themselves don't know what a gene pool is, but would get the general concept). It fosters a culture that has very little concept of “family units” as the blood of various Settlements are spread about by the Patrols (and vice-verse), and instead sees equivocation between “family” and “Orc”. Orcs are incredibly altruistic towards other Orcs. An Orc merchant (if there was such a thing) would scam any human or Elf they saw. But set another Orc in front of him, and the phrase “What's mine is yours,” takes on a literal definition. That merchant would give the Orc the shirt off his back if asked for it. Orcs don't see the difference between a relative and a distant neighbor. They do not tolerate wrongs against even one of them. You kill an Orc, you're a dead man because there's a million of these guys, and they will gleefully destroy you.
The downside of this hive-mind mentality is that, considering how they feel about each other, Orcs do not understand the concept of “An Individual”, or “Personal Responsibility”. If some Elves kill some of their people, the won't necessarily go directly for the Elves who committed the attack. Oh sure, they'd love to get their hands on those guys, but if they can't then the nearest Elf village will do fine. The attackers killed Orcs, so the Orcs kill Elves, thinking that the loss will feel the same to the ones who wronged them. Some Orcs, the ones who for one reason or another find themselves exiled (a common punishment that can last anywhere between a few weeks to several years, to life) and working with Adventurers, have learned to get over this belief in order to function in foreign societies.
War is almost unheard of between the Orcs, except in a ceremonial sense. It's mostly done to keep the skills sharp and the morale up. Usually, the “wars” are prearranged and forbid the use of weapons. Both sides fight fist and foot, but there ware still rare fatalities.
Now earlier, during Appearance, there was mentioned Orc skeletons. This is important here. The reason so few Orc skeletons remain is because of the peculiar nature of Cannibalism in Orc Society. In this specific case, that of an accidental death in ceremonial combat, the fallen warrior is ritualistically devoured. In fact, unless an Orc dies from disease or their body is totally destroyed or otherwise unrecoverable, their flesh is eaten by the others, including bones (bone marrow tastes good, amirite?).
Sometimes real war breaks out, whether it is because of territorial disputes (Settlement A claims the same field as Settlement B) or honor (War Chief Greet feels insulted by something Chief Huil said about his Patrol), or simple pettiness (The High Priestess of Ha'Shol Settlement just does not like her counterpart from Wurj). These battles are usually bloody and ruinous for the Settlements involved, and such feuds can simmer for centuries due to Orcs' long lifespan. Sometimes battle by Champion can resolve the issues, but not always.
Other notable facets of Orc society:
Trials -In Orc society, crime is not unheard of. If an Orc commits a crime against the Settlement or Patrol, whether thievery, murder or heresy, he must be punished. However, the typical Orc mentality on individuality complicates the trial process. For one thing, the shame of the crime is shared by the whole. Therefore, the Settlement or Patrol (whichever the crime took place) will assign itself the blame for not preventing the crime. Practical consideration is given to the actual criminal however. While the root cause of moral failings may lie in some weakness among the whole, the individual still had the final say in committing the crime.
While capital punishment is nonexistent, exile is the preferred method of punishment. For the most minor of infractions (fighting for instance), the offender is usually put to work the least desirable duties of the Settlement or Patrol (hard labor in general). More serious offenses are punished with exile. A particularly savage fight with little reason to end at that, or theft (being the penultimate violation of community), could be punished by anywhere from a few months to several years exiled. Anyone exiled in this way is Outlaw, no longer considered a true Orc. He/she must pay for services instead of simply receiving aid, and is generally treated as an outsider until the terms of their exile are completed.
For murder, an Orc will be exiled for life, and no other Orc may associate with them. Killing such a one is still a touchy thing. Generally, the Settlement or Patrol won't do it themselves unless the Exiled one initiates hostilities. The Exiled one's name is stricken from living memory, and no one is to speak of them.
Returning from such a wretched state is rare. It has only happened once or twice, and redemption can never be regained in Orc eyes unless the Exiled dies in their redeeming act.
Civil Service – All wealth is shared by the community, ergo no taxes, ergo almost no bureaucracy (sans religious)
Magic – Orcs only require two forms of magic. The first is their Clerics, their Jira'l. All priestesses are given basic instruction in healing arts. Those with aptitude become Jira'l, practitioners of a magical tradition, and these travel alongside the various Patrols, providing magical assistance. They use their power to increase the speed and strength of their charges, heal the sick and wounded, and rarely call down celestial wrath (very little offensive magic, mostly buffs and de-buffs). It is forbidden for any man to touch a Jira'l, being held as sacrosanct. Any Jira'l who willingly break the taboo are declared heretical, Witches. They cannot reenter a Settlement for the rest of their lives, but many Patrols prefer their company, as a Witch often will study forbidden spells that can turn the tide of battle in a pinch.
The second form of magic accepted by mainstream Orc society is simply known as “The Rite”. Certain Orcs who “hear the call” travel into the harshest, most godsforsaken hellscapes imaginable and do not return until they have achieved Atavism. They meditate and hone their bodies to a knife's edge until they transcend their Clay-flesh and become Flame incarnate. These Warrior Priests are honored and revered among the Orcs, but believed to be too pure to remain in Orc society for long. They are as wandering monks, aiding any they come across and generally serving as immortal teachers and protectors. The Orcs hail these demi-gods as “Ba'Rok”, though the more common name (produced by an Elf mistranslation) is “Balrog”.