A I: Wartorcs

Written by Neons-Mindrealm

Wartorcs
Bulking Brutes of Alterna I: The Lands of Paradise

Origins:

Forcefully evolved through the controlled possession of Fallen Spirits before the Lands' first Day of a Black Sky, it is said that a portion of the bulky Boghogs fully turned bipedal. And were transformed into a new race of semi intelligent brutes, now known as Wartorcs, to aid the Angel of Darkness in his failed assault on the elven Paradise. Before developing a will of their own after the Angel's defeat, whilst also retaining most of their new-found intelligence to now freely roam the Lands.

Current Habitat:

Able to adapt and improvise quite well to numerous situations, Wartorcs can be found nearly anywhere on the Lands. As they not only possess the intelligence and skills to build crude structures and tools, but also makeshift rafts or even boats to cross the Singing Sea.
Where they are seen quite rarely though is the Desert of Bones, as well as Eclipse's Domain. Since the intense heat of these two regions appears to pose quite a significant challenge for their bulky bodies to handle and adapt to.

Average Size / Height:

On average, a Wartorc reaches a height of around 3 meters tall, with a rather bulky and rounded physique.

Diet:

As a weird kind of omnivorous gourmet, Wartorcs appear to be drawn to a wide plethora of all different kinds of foods. Including those usually seen as edible, as well as those who would be considered to be rather novel types of ingredients.
They usually follow a somewhat strict pattern when it comes to consuming meals, as they always do so once the sun emits its first rays, once it shines the brightest, and once when it fades away.
These consumption rituals reminiscent of a breakfast, lunch, and dinner appear to be almost entirely prepared in the form of a giant stew. Where the Wartorcs of a group mix together all kinds of ingredients they previously gathered and stockpiled, to create some rather curious looking concoctions.

Physical Appearance:

Able to stand up straight on their rather short legged back hooves appear Wartorcs generally as a bipedal descendant of the wart covered Boghogs.
Just like with their ancestors, their bodies consist mainly of a large gut, with each appendage following a quite corpulent and roundly shape. Where their hind legs remained mostly unchanged from the pig like structure of a Boghog's, whilst their arms became almost twice as long and even developed round fingered hands.
Connected to their portly torso by a barely visible neck is a comparably short head, reminiscent of a pig, with a prominent two tusked snout, two small eyes, as well as a pair of rounded up pointy ears.
Furthermore, depending on their current habitat, their thick leathery skin mostly ranges from a grayish green whilst residing in shadier areas, to a more dark brownish color when they mainly camp directly under the sun.

Behavior and Social Structure:

Either solo, as a pair, or in rare groups up to 4, Wartorcs are generally seen to house in tent like structures across the Lands, usually build around a camp with a single fire in the middle, and some various sized storage units for food at the sides.
Groups of three and four are mainly led by the most dominant of the group, which is established quite early, where a pair of Wartorcs often appears to frequently switch the leading role around in a constant struggle for superiority.
Regardless if they are a group or a pair, Wartorcs also seem to treat each other quite often as if they were siblings, no matter what their true relation really is. While their first, and almost only reaction and thought towards any other creature is just a constant curiosity of how they might taste, or acknowledgement of their flavor, if they had already ended up in one of their stews before.

Role in the Food Chain:

Due to their large size and overwhelming physical strength, as well as semi intelligence and capability to craft not only crude weapons but also simple traps, rank Wartorcs rather high within the Lands' food chain.
Their skin is as hard as multi-layered leather armor, which makes the attacks of most smaller predators or weapons ineffective at best. While those who are able to penetrate it are often met with the instant release of a poisonous cloud of gas, if they accidentally burst open one of their numerous warts.
A single unarmed blow of a Wartorc is also capable of breaking the spine of a full-grown Dusk Bear into pieces, while striking with one of their improvised weapons holds the potential to make quick work of most man-made structures.
What Wartorcs do lack in significantly though is their speed, agility, and stamina. Since their massive bodies are quite taxing in energy on every move they make.
Additionally, while may being able to think and communicate like early sentient races, the cognitive abilities of Wartorcs do tend to be quite easily overstimulated and thrown into confusion. As simply managing to engage them into a more complex conversation was often proven to be enough to temporarily shut down their ability to think clearly, and give their victims ample time to escape.

Special Abilities and unique Physical Traits:

With their bulky bodies largely covered in gas bearing warts, seem Wartorcs to possess a similar form of primal channeling like Boghogs. Where they subconsciously produce a poisonous gas within their body, and store it inside of numerous protruding warts on their leathery skin.
Although, other than their ancestors, who were able to release these gases by manually bursting and regrowing their warts, Wartorcs appear to be unable to do so on their own.
However, if something or someone manages to pierce through their hard leather skin, and burst open one of these warts, a poisonous puff of said gas would immediately be released.
Similar to the defense mechanism of Boghogs when being attacked by a predator.

Additional Insights:

Whilst most Wartorc groups appear to not go over a limit of 4, there is a rare occasion in which multiple of these groups seem to unite into a small tribe, and create an almost village-like community.
The reason for this anomalous behavior to occur is due to the rare breed of a so-called Pig King, which is a wartless, 4 meter tall Wartorc, possessing the intelligence and leadership skills of a human general.
Wartorc tribes led by such a creature appear to be generally more organized. With established roles such as guards, hunters, or cooks throughout their village, as well as specialized structures to store and cultivate food, and even a treasury for shiny objects to be pilled up in.
Now, while a Wartorc tribe doesn't necessarily pose a much bigger threat to the Lands than some ordinary groups, the Guild usually does put quests involving the hunt of a Pig King much higher on the priority list than most other quests.
Which presents a quite attractive method for highly skilled adventurers to quickly earn themselves a small fortune.

Genetic Ancestor(s)

• A I: Boghogs