Clans of Thröm
The Northwestern Orc Tribes are characterized by their hostility to Feloran society and their deep devotion to Thröm, who they believe to be the Father of Orcs, whom they hold the Elves responsible for his death. It is an oral tradition known as the Tragedy of Thröm, a poem recited to younglings daily once they speak their first word. The Tragedy is a war epic, telling the story of how Thröm created the Orcs and how he was killed by the Felorans, who wanted to control the Orcs and impose their way of life on them. The Northwestern Orcs mostly consist of clans who followed General Glognozz Redfang, leader of a rebellion of five tribes against the disintegrating Feloran Empire. After ransacking Soren, Glognozz escaped with stolen cargo from the port as well as half of the gold in the treasury. He used the materials to found the Blood Moon Clan and the stronghold from which he commanded his tribe, Tarbash as its first Chieftain.
Demography and Population
No one truly knows how many make up the tribes, given their hostility to non-orcs. However, old Feloran records detail the clan and tribal makeup of the followers of Glognozz, and people captured by the Dotharan Alliance during anti-piracy operations have helped maintain a general understanding of their numbers and internal politics. Shobob, the largest tribe, has roughly 1300 members and is nominally the leader of the other western tribes. These tribes, the Grilkar, Hurlog, Urdnot, and Frumsh have about 800-500 members each. It is impossible to break down where the population lives, as the nomadic tribes are often moving between several locations and never remain in one place longer than a Feloran month (70 days).
Territories
The Northwestern Tribes are spread from about 200 kilometers west of the Dotharan border up the rocky coast, hiding their ships in caves and alcoves, for about 500 kilometers; they rarely make camp more than 20 kilometers inland, due to the difficulty in traversing the thick rainforest and steep mountains. This keeps them mostly out of contact with the Kingdom of Daramar, which keeps within their own borders. There are a few more Orc tribes that consider points even further west their homes, however they are not as reliant on piracy nor do they share a uniform vision of the Felorans.
Religion
The Northwestern Orcs do not have an organised, uniform religion. The only uniform, sacred text or myth to them is the Tragedy of Thröm, one of the stories towards the end of the Ashar Rema, the oral compendium of sacred knowledge kept by the D'jo Elders of the Northeastern Orc Tribes. The worldview of the tribes – their accepted truths of how the world works and why things are how they are – is shared by most Southern Orcs. Festivals devoted to Thröm and events in his life, notably the liberation of orcs from Feloran Slavery, have notable prominence in the northwest tribes. Additionally, broader cultural mythology traditions and ceremonial practices are similar to Feloran practices.
Foreign Relations
Beyond contact with their cousins to the east, whom they regard as fellow "Children of Thröm", the tribes do not have any friendly relations with other polities – raiding indiscriminately from their shores. They consider Felorans to be collectively guilty of the death of Thröm, a mythical figure and historical Orc leader from the Early Imperial Era of the Feloran Empire. The tribes are also unnacepting of half-orcs within their clans, as they consider half-orcs to be tainted with the blood of Thröm's murderers – "the only Orc blood they carry is on their hands" – as one northwestern tribal leader put it.
Agriculture & Industry
Economic development is not the forté of the Northwestern Tribes. While the tribes generally hunt enough food to sustain themselves, farming is not a valued activity by most members of the tribes. As such, the tribes often raid ships that pass too close to their shores, and the Shobob will rally the others to launch concerted attacks on Dotharan settlements to the east in multi-tribe parties. The increasing power and might of the Dotharan fleets are making this an increasingly difficult task, as the numbers needed to overwhelm their defenses grows higher with each passing year, and it is already difficult to get the constantly quarrelling Clan Elders to agree to contribute their warriors. When individual ships do get seized, those who survive are generally taken back as prizes and either enslaved or sold for ransom, generally both.
Trade & Transport
Transportation infrastructure is nonexistent. Rudimentary paths do connect most of the permanent settlements, which are heavily fortified outposts that serve as the permanent seat of power for Chieftains and Clan Elders. The Orcs will travel by their distinct purple-sailed vessels to the other Orc settlements to trade, settle debts or scores, or for some (friendly) fighting, and many an overzealous ship captain have brought their own doom by attacking one of their ships, only to finish boarding or sinking the ship right as three more show up on the horizon. The Northwestern tribes have also been known to trade or interact peacefully with the odd dwarf, dragonborn, or any heartier race whom they judge to have the “Spirit of Thröm”.
Type
Political, Confederation
Capital
Alternative Names
Warrior Clans of Thröm, Warriors of Thröm
Head of State
Government System
Tribalism
Power Structure
Confederation
Economic System
Barter system
Official Languages
Controlled Territories
Neighboring Nations
Notable Members
Related Ethnicities
Related Plots
