Orc
Orcs have their own common presence in Emicara, and are typically feared and hated. They exist in marauding bands throughout the Badlands or in the Apps Mountains. Some have been known to become “civilized” as they have embraced more acceptable traits and behaviors in Populres and the Confederacy. The Saru Tribe in the Sypi Confederacy is well known as a group of civilized orcs that live among humans and follow at least some human traditions, while maintaining their ferocity.
Orcs with D&D Fifth Edition
When creating an orc character for play in the Emicara setting, you have two possible choices. For a member of a savage tribe in the Badlands or northern Apps, use the creation and statistics provided in Volo's Guide to Monsters. For an orc of the Kingdom of Populres or the Sypi Confederacy, you will instead want to use the orc creation provided in Eberron: Rising from the Last War.Civilization and Culture
Major Language Groups and Dialects
Orcs speak Orcish. If they reside in a region with other languages that are dominant, they will frequently educate themselves in key phrases in those tongues, in order to allow them to communicate their desire for enemies to surrender.
History
Orcs have their origins in a place called the Pit. It was a city that existed before the War that brought about the end of the Nameless Empire. Some believe that the orcs were experimental creations by the Nameless Empire, that escaped their containment when the fighting came to an end. Others believe that they evolved from humans that were bombarded by intense magics. The orcs formed into unique tribes and clans, and proved themselves as both craftsmen of weapons and armor as well as warriors. They became migratory throughout the northern Apps, eventually moving south into Emicara's borders. At their first arrival a large gathering of clans conquered a massive swathe of the region, razing entire fledgling civilizations and their track of destruction led to the creation of the Badlands north of Augustin and Kyralino. Only a unified effort by all of the surviving human nations led to the orcs' defeat and their retreat north, where they were scattered into tribes.
Today the orcs make up the bulk of the population of Populres, and are a solid middle point in their society. The kings of Populres have been orcs since the nation's founding, and they have done much to eliminate the traditional tribal and clan structure of their people. They have mimicked the humans in forging a civilization of their own with all of the appropriate trappings. Beyond several wars with the Kingdom of Recfrere, however, they have avoided much conflict with the lands south. Instead, they have tested the orcish people's valor and glory against monstrous invasions from the north and west, and occasionally by warring with the dwarven strongholds of the Apps Mountains. They have developed an unique and thriving culture of their own, allowing orcs of all types to find their own destinies.
Other orc tribes continue to follow their old ways throughout the Apps Mountains, but they have been slowly whittled down through years of warfare and infighting. The expansion of the Shin Empire and Alsona further eliminated some of the orcish people's most ancient homes. The Saru tribe of orcs became the first such tribe to settle in the Sypi Confederacy, earning their position as a full Confederate member. Others have worked as glorified mercenary companies, but most of these were destroyed or disbanded during the wars between the Jakonian Empire and the Shin Empire. Only a handful remain, desperately trying to preserve their old ways of life and traditions.
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