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Lord_Asmodeus
2007-12-12, 11:17 PM
I was thinking about the orcs from the many universes and this is what I came up with for a new orcish subrace

The orcs are known to themselves as the Gilgrom Orcs, from the Dark lands of Gilgrom, but are more commonly known as "toad orcs" or "frog orcs" for their smaller toadish appearance. It is actually unclear as to whether the Gilgrom are even fullblood orcs at all and not a goblinoid subtype, but they insist upon their orcish nature and most are not so enclined to care enough to refute their claims. Gilgrom orcs are shorter than average, roughly standing up to 5'6-5'8 on average, they have pale gray skin and are often thick, with large necks and throats, which give them the title "toad orcs", they are wrinkly and have pointed ears, somewhat like a dog or a cats, and small beady eyes that can vary greatly in color, their hair, when they have it, is usually black, but can be darker shades of brown or of a reddish tinge. Toad Orcs have clawed hands and feet, and their arms are somewhat longer than normal, giving them an apelike and simple appearance, their faces tend to large and wrinkly, with large pointed fangs, and tusks jutting up from their bottom lips, that can be up to or over a foot long, when given proper time to age. their feet are prehensile in a limited way, and can grasp simple objects (like stones or sticks). Gilgrom is a harsh land which is comprised of a large, dark and foreboding forest, a large mountain range in which most Gilgrom orcs live, and outside the mountain range a barren and bleak landscape leading up to the Dark Forest. The forest is highly populated by werewolves, worgs, and other evil unnatural and magical beasts. like many orcs, Gilgrom orcs have been known to work with worgs, often using them as mounts, but some hostilities still remain from back when the worgs tried to kill, and eat, a large gathering of Gilgrom tribes.

Gilgrom orcs worship Giktok, a god of war, anger, and self-preservation. domains associated with Giktok are war, hatred, and fear. His favored weapon is the Pike because of its range and its ability to keep the wielder at a safe distance. Ceremonies to Giktok usually involve sacrificing an animal and shouting praises and asking for victory in their next battle, however sometimes Worgs and other such intelligent creatures are sacrificed. Giktok is Neutral Evil(changed from Chaotic Evil). Giktok's titles are The Toad King, and the Great Pike. His symbol is a demonic toad with a pike gripped in its hand. He lives in the Abyss in his and his brothers realm the Gray Barrens.

Gilgrom orcs, though they enjoy battle as much as most orcs, also suffer from a powerful sense of selfishness and self-preservation, and often prefer to merely raid small towns and waylay merchants than to engage in large scale conflicts, as such usually yield high casualties. Gilgrom orcs are not inherently cowards, but usually just prefer to be left alone. Most Gilgrom orcs are generally either chaotic evil or chaotic neutral, and are occasionally neutral or lawful evil, or true neutral or lawful neutral, but very rarely are they good, though it has been known to happen.

thats all I have so far, what do you think?

p.s. if you're thinking I got the idea from the LOTR animated 80's movies you're semi right, they were one source of inspiration, largely for the appearance if nothing else.

smart thog
2007-12-13, 01:21 PM
Stats would be nice.

Fuum Bango
2007-12-13, 01:26 PM
I like 'em, though to be honest I'd cut the "some are good bit", maybe even have a myth were one served a great knight but left him to die when a battle got too scary.
Stats don't really matter but I'd give them a weakness to fear effects and a bonus to Hide.

Lord_Asmodeus
2007-12-13, 11:00 PM
Yea that does make sense, the "some rare good guys" thing was supposed to be like, in Neutral aligned tribes there might be a couple guys who see things differently, really most of them would either be evil or neutral (neutral is so common because they honestly don't care who you are so long as you leave them alone, or something along those lines)

Another deity I thought up for them is the brother of Giktok

He is Crilk also known as the Slave Driver, Old Whipper, and the Lord of the Lash,(yes I got that straight from the song, not my fault its so catchy :smalltongue:) he is the driving force in their religion (sometimes literally) because while most Gilgrol orcs avoid large conflicts at all costs, some of their Warlords are more inclined to the idea, and they usually follow Crilk, as he is the god of forced servitude and ruling by fear. Clerics of Crilk are often slavers and call a multitude of beings, even other Gilgrol orcs, as their servants. Crilks favored weapon is (surprise) the whip. Domains associated with Crilk are Evil, Fear, and Tyranny. Crilk is Lawful Evil. Crilk's symbol is a clawed Gilgrol orc's hand gripping a whip, reared back as if to strike. Crilk lives with his brother in their realm, the Gray Barrens.

Gilgrol, while not so inclined to wars, will often take jobs as bodyguards and caravan-guards (ironically, especially seeing as how raiding caravans is a common thing among many Gilgrol tribes) any Caravans that travel to, or through Gilgrol use Gilgrol orcs if they can help it, because most Gilgrol will not attack caravans guarded by other Gilgrol, because of a combination of unspoken codes of behavior between tribes, because they believe it is more trouble than its worth, and fear of retribution by the
tribes the orcs belong to. Gilgrol even send caravans of their own out into the world at large, for though not as masterful as some races works, the Gilgrol orcs are accomplished weapon, and especially armor crafters, and there are many minerals of value hidden in the deep caves most tribes dwell in.

As a side note a common Gilgrol warchant while on the march is infact, "where there's a whip, there's a way", most notably while pressed into service, often with priests and clerics of Crilk as their task-masters :smalltongue:

Wardog
2007-12-14, 05:30 PM
Sounds interesting and well thought-out.

Only one thing that seems slightly off to me:

For pikes to be an effective weapon, you need lots of soldiers working together in tight formation and looking out for each other. As such it doesn't seem quite right as a favoured weapon for a CE deity and a CE/CN race.

Maybe NE would be a better alignment for Giktok and the Gilgrom Orcs, or else give them a different favoured weapon. Perhaps either a ranged weapon (good for hit-and-run raids), or some one-handed weapons (i.e. something that can be used with a shield). Maybe even (I don't know enough of the D&D rules to know if this is technically allowed) some sort of "spiked shield" as a favoured "weapon".

Lord_Asmodeus
2007-12-14, 05:52 PM
the alignment thing makes sense, really the reason i picked the pike is because I wanted like a weapon with range but wasnt ranged, and since my Gilgrom orcs don't really have one set general alignment (kind of like humans except you know... more evil less good.) I'll probably just change Giktok to NE.

one thing that I've been thinking alot about is if they would best be added to a preexisting world (like a not much mentioned region of Faerun or something) or if I should just make my own world around them. If i did make my own world Gilgrol would probably be located in the Northeastern area, but not too north or eastern, like mid-northeast.

Lord_Asmodeus
2007-12-21, 10:55 PM
I've been trying to think up some appropriate racial traits, heres what I've got so far.

Racial Traits:
-2 charisma -2 wisdom +4 constitution, Gilgrol Orcs are not well liked by many races and don't even get along with their own kind half the time, however because of their build and their great will to live, Gilgrol Orcs are often hard to kill and are hardy beings, belying their somewhat cowardly nature.
-Darkvision 60 feet, can see in the dark up to 60 feet, darkvision is black and white only
-Pike and Whip proficiency. Since many Gilgrol are either the more common "worker/soldier" place in society or the "chieftain/taskmaster" place in society, as such they either gain a +2 damage proficiency with the Pike or the Whip
-Medium Humanoid, Gilgrol Orcs do not gain any advantages or disadvantages based on size.
-Because of their toadlike appearance and the fact that they are usually chaotic, neutral, or both, it has been rumored that the Gilgrol Orcs were originally half-slaad half-orcs who mingled with normal orcs and thus became their own race, much like the Tanarukk, and Gilgrol Orc tribes have even been known to worship powerful Slaad Lords. As such Gilgrol orcs gain the Outsider (native) racial trait, and when interacting with Slaad, they gain +3 diplomacy and +2 bluff. Gilgrol Orcs are more welcome on Limbo than any other non-Slaad (though this does not guarantee they still won't be killed)

thats all i got so far, what do you think?

Edit: I just added the Slaad thing, do you think its too much if I want to keep them with a +0 LA?

Ne0
2008-01-02, 01:12 PM
It's alright, except that you might want to change it to Humanoid (Planetouched). Not sure where you can draw the line between native outsiders and outside natives. :smallconfused:

Rowanomicon
2008-01-02, 01:28 PM
No time, just thought I'd post to say I reallylike this. Good job.