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Post by Stu Venable on Jun 12, 2017 9:37:28 GMT -8
Blood, Blade and Tusk is a setting I'm developing for Moment of Truth. We're using this campaign to help me finish that development and playtest the magic rules that will be included with that setting.
Here's the elevator pitch: Sometime in the 10th or 11th century, orcs emerged from beneath the ground in France. A lot of them. The spread out and began taking land and displacing the nobility. After more than a century of warfare between the orc tribes and Christendom, hostilities have ceased. Today, the orcs hold most of what was once France, an Inquisition by the Holy Church is in full swing as they try to root out those in Christendom who have learned the demon magic of the orcs.
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Post by uncommonman on Jun 12, 2017 10:04:17 GMT -8
What about religion?
What do the orc's believe in?
Is there any asa belivers left in the nordic countries?
It's around that timeframe sweden became Christian and how does this fit with the orc's invasion.
I am asking because (Tolkien) orcs are partially inspired by the nordic Vätte creature and that might rekindle the asa belif in Scandinavia.
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Post by Stu Venable on Jun 12, 2017 11:35:59 GMT -8
Orcs brought their belief system with them. There's a feminine god and masculine god, and individuals follow one path or the other (Father Warrior and Mother Teacher) when they reach a certain age. During character creation, we did determine that -- in England at least -- there is some historical record of the native orc language -- it was a scroll found in an old church.
Much of the "spreading" of Christianity didn't happen. The crusades didn't occur. William never invaded England. I'll have to read up on the history up North. But generally, if it involves solders going somewhere or an effort of the state, "Christianization" doesn't happen, as they're too busy trying to hold their territory or help the French take their territory back.
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Post by Probie Tim on Jun 12, 2017 11:39:51 GMT -8
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Post by vyrrk on Jun 12, 2017 12:02:42 GMT -8
So I'm super excited to see how your magic system works. The way you explained it sounds awesome!
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Post by RudeAlert on Jun 12, 2017 12:03:45 GMT -8
Orcs brought their belief system with them. There's a feminine god and masculine god, and individuals follow one path or the other (Father Warrior and Mother Teacher) when they reach a certain age. Could have been interesting to flip the gender roles, Father Teacher and Mother Warrior (after all the female is the one who sheds blood once a month for the rest of her life once she reaches puberty, assuming orcs have a menstrual cycle of course). Having the warrior role being associated with women would also be another fun way to mess with and incense those pesky humans.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 12, 2017 12:11:09 GMT -8
Orcs brought their belief system with them. There's a feminine god and masculine god, and individuals follow one path or the other (Father Warrior and Mother Teacher) when they reach a certain age. Could have been interesting to flip the gender roles, Father Teacher and Mother Warrior (after all the female is the one who sheds blood once a month for the rest of her life once she reaches puberty, assuming orcs have a menstrual cycle of course). Having the warrior role being associated with women would also be another fun way to mess with and incense those pesky humans. Yeah, except we (the humans) would have wiped them out. If decimating your warriors also decimates your woman, that means you'd need to be able to breed with the speed of rabbits to keep up. Population is a resource, one that needs very few men to bounce back. If the women were decimated though, that would have a much bigger effect.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 12, 2017 13:02:06 GMT -8
That's presuming they have human like biology. You could have orcs have only one or two large broods early on in life but have a longish life span or have a natural population skew towards more women than men.
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Post by uncommonman on Jun 12, 2017 13:09:25 GMT -8
Orcs brought their belief system with them. There's a feminine god and masculine god, and individuals follow one path or the other (Father Warrior and Mother Teacher) when they reach a certain age. During character creation, we did determine that -- in England at least -- there is some historical record of the native orc language -- it was a scroll found in an old church. Much of the "spreading" of Christianity didn't happen. The crusades didn't occur. William never invaded England. I'll have to read up on the history up North. But generally, if it involves solders going somewhere or an effort of the state, "Christianization" doesn't happen, as they're too busy trying to hold their territory or help the French take their territory back. Nice, Blot for everyone! Read up on Odin and his magic I think that might inspire you somewhat. norse-mythology.org/tales/odins-discovery-of-the-runes/
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Post by Stu Venable on Jun 12, 2017 13:37:01 GMT -8
The orcs typical have litters of 3-5, so they would breed faster. They also mature slightly sooner than humans.
Male and Female orcs can choose the path of either the Father or Mother, so there are definitely female warriors. But yes, if you're trying to repopulate it's easier if you have more females than males. I figure the multiple births thing more than makes up for a drop in female population during war time.
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Post by OFTHEHILLPEOPLE on Jun 12, 2017 13:41:25 GMT -8
Are there any Orc Sympathizers in the form of humans attempting to join their warbands or help them attack/raid/be Orcs?
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Post by Stu Venable on Jun 12, 2017 14:26:45 GMT -8
Yes and no.
The humans who farmed the lands that the Orcs took over continue to do so. Orcs do not understand the concept of working someone else's land, so they assume the farmers in France owned the land they worked. So the farmers became de facto landowners overnight.
They're fans of the orcs, as the orcs understand the importance of steady supply of food when feeding an army.
There is a region that is a no-man's-land between the Kingdom of Germany and the orc lands where there are unaligned city states. Many of these welcome or at last tolerate orcs.
The Brittons don't have any particular issue with orcs.
The Church quite literally believes they are demons. That's doctrine.
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Post by OFTHEHILLPEOPLE on Jun 13, 2017 13:31:19 GMT -8
Are their Orc Shaman who wield ancient magicks, or are they purely the tribal Shamans who throw bones and motivate through belief? If they do possess magic, what affect has that had on the land, human society, and the Orcs?
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Post by Stu Venable on Jun 13, 2017 13:50:18 GMT -8
Yes. I'm still figuring out the scope of their magic. Mechanically, the magic systems will be the same, but their beliefs as to why it works are different, so the focus might be different as well.
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d47
Journeyman Douchebag
RPG of Choice: Metagaming Melee
Posts: 194
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Post by d47 on Jun 14, 2017 5:57:01 GMT -8
The original BBT AP was an excellent story. Stork's Deus ex Machina use of a MoT to save the party was super story-making. It was like a movie ending: brave party almost achieves goal but nearly dies trying until allies come to their aid.
That version of the MoT was a radical break from other RPG mechanics (that I know). I feel like the MoT has become watered down to just a kind of benny. Honestly, the amount of player power of the MoT in that version made me uncomfortable, but now I think it was super cool. Great stories aren't about rerolls. They are about extreme unexpected surprises, which regulate game mechanics don't generate often.
I feel like that original MoT concept from BBT should be revisited. Maybe they shouldn't be earned. Maybe each player only gets one each session or for an entire story arc, but I think that super MoT was an amazing story device.
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