Orogs

[Doyle]

I'm looking for how players and GM's percieve Orogs - is it another 'medium challenge for medium xp/treasure' - a beefed up Orc, a toned down Ogre - an intelligent race of creatures (above human average in 2nd ed.) that has a complex but thoroughly disorganised social structure - perhaps a pre-technology version of Dark Horse's Predator.

The reason for the question is two-fold, firstly I've almost completed writing a Birthright scenario / ruleset for Mordheim (small scale minatures game) and the only thing missing is the Orog Warband. I cannot bring myself to just use the beastman stats and change the visual description - Orogs seem more than that to me. Secondly (as some of my players have guessed), there may be the option of encountering large numbers of this race, possibly even in a tribe situation.

So, any ideas / opinions (directions to someone's 20 page write up on Orogs that I didn't find earlier while bumbling around in the archives ;-)

Regards,

Doyle.

[Lee]

In a message dated 4/20/05 5:56:35 AM Eastern Daylight Time,

brnetboard@BIRTHRIGHT.NET writes:



<< The reason for the question is two-fold, firstly I`ve almost completed

writing a Birthright scenario / ruleset for Mordheim (small scale minatures

game) and the only thing missing is the Orog Warband. I cannot bring myself to

just use the beastman stats and change the visual description - Orogs seem more

than that to me. Secondly (as some of my players have guessed), there may be

the option of encountering large numbers of this race, possibly even in a

tribe situation. >>



Briefly, my take is that (as opponents/armies) they should be about as

organized as your dwarves are. Rather well-trained; prone to group tactics over

individual feats of bravado; heavily-armed-and-armored (and therefore

vulnerable when out in the open). Also like dwarves, outside of battle, they are

rather family- or tribe- centered, to the detriment of the nation or ruler`s

interests.



Lee.

[geeman]

At 11:38 AM 4/20/2005 +0200, Doyle wrote:



>I`m looking for how players and GM`s percieve Orogs - is it another

>`medium challenge for medium xp/treasure` - a beefed up Orc, a toned down

>Ogre - an intelligent race of creatures (above human average in 2nd ed.)

>that has a complex but thoroughly disorganised social structure - perhaps

>a pre-technology version of Dark Horse`s Predator.



Klingons. I know, I know, but bear with me for a moment. Warrior

esthetic, expansionistic empire ideology. Violence as a means to an end

and an end in itself. Weird shaped heads and funky hair. Tusks. Well,

OK, that last one is a difference rather than a similarity, but on the

whole I model orogs on a fantasy version of Klingons.



Gary

[Grendel_Todd]

I found the write ups for them in the "Monsters of Faerun" & "Races of Faerun" to work rather nice. They&#39;ve come to play a very significant role in my home campaign, and the key things I&#39;ve found (both while running them as npcs & watching them as PCs) are that not only are they bigger & stronger than most of the other races, but they&#39;re smart and CONFIDENT (sometimes overly so - every PC regent I&#39;ve seen was a raving megalomaniac). They are xinophobic, yes, but not because they&#39;re afraid - because they KNOW they&#39;re superior, and anything not an Orog isn&#39;t worth the spit to shine their boots. I tend to play their society as a mix of dark age Anglo-Saxon culture (falling somewhere between fact and the watered-down Nazi-flavored drivel they had in the Recent King Arthur movie).

[The Jew]

The Nazis may well be a good example. Highly organized, smart, expansionist-militaristic with an underlying ideology (coming from their god and the clergy) of racial superiority and extermination (of the dwarves).

[Doyle]

This is really good, now I can get something nice and unpleasant (for the PC&#39;s), fleshed out for the next game.

Thanks,

Doyle.