In the first Mounstrous Plots post we talked a little bit about kobolds and presented some situations involving those creatures to help create adventures. Now it's time we take a look at one of the most iconic monsters of every fantasy setting, the orcs.
Orcs are usually portrayed as savage, brutish and cruel humanoids with a taste for destruction. They tend to be primitive savages who value strength above all things. They survive on raiding other humanoids and other orc tribes, and they relish for violence. But not all orcs have to be this way.
Some scenarios describe orcs as a primitive folks with shamanistic traditions and a brutish but honorous code of conduct. Those orcs still value strength, but together with wisdom, elders, spirits and honor. Sometimes, orcs are presented as mindless berserkers and other times as highly militaristic warriors. They can be as varied as humans, but some common traits usually appear in all characterizations, their barbaric traditions and value of strength.
Following there are a few situation ideas to get adventures started. They were also based on the situations I talked about in the article I wrote about adventure building. They were also based on varied concepts about orcs that appear in fantasy such as orc's horde, their rivalry with dwarves, the wars they have between their tribes, their sense of honor.
A great orc warrior is gaining a lot of prestige among the majority of the tribes on mountains and is trying to unify them under his control. The communities around the area fear that this could mean the formation of one of the great orc's hordes that appear over hundreds of years to destroy everything on its path. The only way to stop this from happening, they believe, is to cause the tribes to fight among themselves and not to follow the great warrior. The adventurers may get involved by being asked to help by local authorities, they may stumble on a group of orcs meeting for a treaty and start to realize what's going on. They can also start to see signs of what's coming when they start o face bold attacks from orcs, all claiming that the new warchief will make the humans pay for they insolence. The situation might be resolved through combats if the heroes could get to the leaders and slay them, this could become an infiltrating adventure where they go on a stealth hunt. Things could also turn to a more intrigue kind of adventure where the adventurers disguise themselves and start to create conflicts between the tribes, preventing them from unifying. Another possibility is that the heroes could try to unify the communities that would be attacked and form an army to face the Horde.
Burial Grounds
A recent town has been raised above a ancient burial grounds of a nomadic tribe of orcs that once in a few decades makes a pilgrim to the site to honor their ancestors. The first few orcs of the tribe start to arrive and see their sacred site occupied by the townsfolk. Some of them get furious and attack people without warning. This start a conflict between the town militia and the orcs that seem to be getting reinforcements every day. If nothing is done this could escalate to a full fledged war. The adventures could get involved in may ways such as being stuck because the orcs, being asked by the authorities to deal with the situation or even being contacted by the orc's tribe leader and try to solve the problem. Possible outcomes for this situation are the construction of a place for the orcs to come to the town and practice their rituals in honor to their ancestors, guaranteeing safe passage for futere pilgrims; a battle with the orcs, making they leave the place.
Primordial Servants
The orcs of the nearby mountains are worshipers of the primordials and the elements. Their shamans are figures of authority within the tribe. Recently the shamans of the tribe started to receive visions of a great primordial under the mountains that is about the escape his ancient prison. The tribe decides to start summoning elementals and capturing victims to sacrifice for the coming primordial, that's when it starts to affect the people living near the mountains.The heroes can get involved by being target of one of the attacks, witnessing an attack, being asked to rescue victims that were kidnapped or by a local religious order sensing the awakening of a primordial. Possible ways to deal with the situation could include just killing the orcs to venturing in the underground of the mountain and making sure the wards of the primordial are still safe and sound.
Portal Keepers
A tribe of orcs with strong traditions of druidism has long ago been charged with keeping the portal to the Far Realm closed. But now, centuries have passed since any disturbance to the portal has happened. The young orcs of the tribe have started to forget their traditions and their duty as the protectors of the seal. That's when the Far Realm aberrations start to act again. Their madness seep through the portal and start infecting the young orcs. They neglect their duties allowing ruptures to appear on the seal keeping the portal close. Aberrant creatures start to pass through them and destroy everything they can. The adventurer's can get involved by being attacked by those aberrant creatures, seeing a small town being overrun by them, being contacted by elders of the tribe asking for help in closing the portal again. Outcomes for this situation include the heroes trying to find a way to closing the portal, either by themselves or finding someone who can.
The King's Axe
A long time ago a orc warrior was able to unify the orc's tribes of the whole north. The legend says he was able to do this because of the power of his magic axe. The axe became a legend over time, and many seek it for it's power, both orcs and non orcs alike. The adventurers could be in possession of this axe even without knowing it and start being sought by orcs trying to get it back to their people. Or maybe, the heroes could be assigned with the mission to locate the axe for a museum or collector and find themselves competing with a group of orcs trying to get their hands on the axe also. Another possibility is that of a orc warrior that found the axe and is starting to get attention from the other orc's tribes, the mission would be getting the axe out of his hands and destroying it.
Well, this are just five ideas of situations that could evolve into adventures involving orcs. I've been pretty busy those last few weeks and I am going to be for at least one more month. Next time I post, I will talk about a few more ideas for adventures with orcs. I hope you like those five for now.
Primordial Servants
The orcs of the nearby mountains are worshipers of the primordials and the elements. Their shamans are figures of authority within the tribe. Recently the shamans of the tribe started to receive visions of a great primordial under the mountains that is about the escape his ancient prison. The tribe decides to start summoning elementals and capturing victims to sacrifice for the coming primordial, that's when it starts to affect the people living near the mountains.The heroes can get involved by being target of one of the attacks, witnessing an attack, being asked to rescue victims that were kidnapped or by a local religious order sensing the awakening of a primordial. Possible ways to deal with the situation could include just killing the orcs to venturing in the underground of the mountain and making sure the wards of the primordial are still safe and sound.
Portal Keepers
A tribe of orcs with strong traditions of druidism has long ago been charged with keeping the portal to the Far Realm closed. But now, centuries have passed since any disturbance to the portal has happened. The young orcs of the tribe have started to forget their traditions and their duty as the protectors of the seal. That's when the Far Realm aberrations start to act again. Their madness seep through the portal and start infecting the young orcs. They neglect their duties allowing ruptures to appear on the seal keeping the portal close. Aberrant creatures start to pass through them and destroy everything they can. The adventurer's can get involved by being attacked by those aberrant creatures, seeing a small town being overrun by them, being contacted by elders of the tribe asking for help in closing the portal again. Outcomes for this situation include the heroes trying to find a way to closing the portal, either by themselves or finding someone who can.
The King's Axe
A long time ago a orc warrior was able to unify the orc's tribes of the whole north. The legend says he was able to do this because of the power of his magic axe. The axe became a legend over time, and many seek it for it's power, both orcs and non orcs alike. The adventurers could be in possession of this axe even without knowing it and start being sought by orcs trying to get it back to their people. Or maybe, the heroes could be assigned with the mission to locate the axe for a museum or collector and find themselves competing with a group of orcs trying to get their hands on the axe also. Another possibility is that of a orc warrior that found the axe and is starting to get attention from the other orc's tribes, the mission would be getting the axe out of his hands and destroying it.
Well, this are just five ideas of situations that could evolve into adventures involving orcs. I've been pretty busy those last few weeks and I am going to be for at least one more month. Next time I post, I will talk about a few more ideas for adventures with orcs. I hope you like those five for now.
No comments:
Post a Comment