Monstrous Plots - Orcs

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.

Monstrous Plots - Kobolds

This post is the first one of a series I am going to make about adventures plots involving creatures from Dungeons and Dragons. It will work something like this: I will choose a creature from the D&D universe and try to write a few adventures plots that include them either as enemies, allies, patrons or whatever trying to vary as much as I can. Also, in those plots, I will try to put the creatures in different situations, trying to avoid the cliché ones they are used associated with, but I can’t promise I will be successful in doing that all the time.

The first creature to appear in our Monstrous Plots series is the Kobold. Kobolds are small reptilian creatures usually known to be cowards and cruel murderers at the same time. They live in barrows with mazelike tunnels filled with deadly traps they make to avoid intruders to find them and prisoners to flee. Know to be a race of surprisingly excellent miners, Kobolds are fond of gems and shinning objects, which some says that they received that from their dragons ancestors. Kobolds revere dragons as if they were gods, although most of these “gods” ignore them or simply eat them. Many towns have ignored kobolds for too long considering them just as an occasional annoyance to one day see their community overrun by these creatures, even being known by their cowardice kobolds can be surprisingly bold if they have a proper reason.

Enough with the chitty chat, right? Let’s check those plots I talked about!