Tribal Orc
Tribal Orc is a broad category describing Orcs who live in defended lairs following their traditional ways in family groups, self-isolated from the local 'civilized' cultures though no less sophisticated or intelligent than their race living in the towns and cities of the Realm and the Empires of Silk and Spice. These are in contrast to Orcs who have for the most part left their traditions aside in favor of steady work, reliable access to food and companionship, and protections under the laws of the Realm or the Empires (though in most places other than the largest cities, Orcs are regarded with caution at best, and outright hostility is not uncommon).
Tribal Orc society is characterized by a decentralized leadership structure centered on one or more war chiefs of equal status in the clan. In a small group of 15 - 25 or fewer individual adults, the clan may seem to have a single central authority, but even in those cases usually power is split between a war chief and a shaman. Sometimes this is an unequal split, with either the Shaman or the War Chief holding highest authority over matters concerning the whole clan, and sometimes both must agree before a given course of action is to be undertaken. But in groups of 30 or more, generally more than one war chief will emerge as a co-leader, with their power based on the size and influence of their respective family unit within the clan. Thus, a large settlement of hundreds of tribal orcs may be considered a unity of a number of separate and independent chiefdoms, each with their own war chiefs, hearkening back to a more primitive pack society where competition for mating partners could be fierce, and clans roamed nomadically with unpredictable results - alliance or war - when meeting. Often the reaction was hostile when the two groups shared no family lines, and cooperative when cousins and descendants could be identified between the two.
Though steeped in traditions of personal valor and honor, in practice Orc society can be violent and misguided due to a reliance on combat as the preferred method for solving disputes. Avid subscribers to the tradition of might makes right, a victor in a dispute is automatically considered to be the correct party regardless of any evidence to the contrary. This is ultimately reflected in the nature of the Orc Deities and their relationships with each other that involve deceit and subterfuge ultimately being overturned by winning a fight, not winning an argument of words or facts.
Orcs are an omnivorous species but favor carnivorous rather than herbivorous behaviors. Tribal Orcs have no farming culture to speak of and they regard the addition of seasonings and spices for any purpose other than preservation to be a weakness - and preservation is also deemed suspect by most Shamans as it implies a doubt that Gruumsh will provide fresh meat in the future. They do have a crafting tradition, and noncombatants - the very young and old, the incapacitated, and the disgraced members of a clan - make simple weapons and armor, bows, spears, and handheld bludgeoning weapons like clubs and maces. The storied tradition of Orcs as master Smiths comes from the city, not the lair, though Tribal Orcs do value and hoard found blades and other metal weapons, and integrate metal parts into their weapons made of wood and bone. Eschewing the smithy is not so much about a lack of knowledge or skill as much as it is considered incompatable with a clan that needs to be ready to move at any time. Being tied down to a forge is a weakness, as would be the disgrace of letting a forge fall into the hands of an enemy tribe. However it should be said that some clans do have small hot forges and others have been known to kidnap and enslave accomplished smiths of any race, when they can be had. A slave with such a valuable skill will be treated very well relative to the treatment of those taken as conscripts, heavy labor or worst of all, food.
Tribal Orcs are highly suspicious of magic and of stealth, though Shargaas does favor the Orcs that embrace silence and craftiness in their warlike habits. Those that go on to have actual class skills are generally from the cities and not the tribal tradition, but among the tribes many high-ranking war chiefs have levels in fighter and barbarian.
Naming Traditions
Feminine names
At a glance it's difficult to tell a male from a female name, but female names tend to have more open vowels, especially -a and -o sounds, and they tend to end in -ul, -ol or -al. (example: Voshagul)
Masculine names
Male names tend to have harder consonants and often end in -osh, -ish or -ash, especially the names of older and more storied family clans. (example: Malbyish)
Unisex names
Most orc names that don't conform to the -ul/-ol/-al tradition for females and the -osh/-ish/-ash tradition for males are freely used by either sex. Orc culture is not strongly patriachal, and male and female closely resemble each other in build and appearance.
Family names
Family names tend to be longer for higher ranking individuals, with a distinctive 'sloppy' quality from combinations of -ish and -yish, -osh, and -ool sounds. Orcs may also use nicknames awarded for their skills or preferences for certain weapons
Culture
Major language groups and dialects
Orc is a gutteral language awash in sounds that come off as unpleasant to civilized ears. Orcs have their own language, but dialects vary greatly by tribe, and in many cases the Orcs will adopt the written symbols of a different language - blocky Dwarven is a common choice - but use their own distinct language within that same alphabet. The language is as pragmatic as the tribe, with a very simple presentment that tends to follow a counter-intuitive passive word order, [object] [verb] [subject] - for instance, in a literal translation, "Meat ate by me" rather than "I ate meat". But this is an artifact of normally waiting to the end of the sentence to find out what was acted upon. Orcish starts with what the Orc considers the most important part of the sentence, then what was done, and who did it comes last in the order as that's often not even relevant. But outside of this 'passive' or arguably even more active construction, there are few common elements between dialects, and many reflect a nomadic lifestyle with significant word borrowing from other tongues. Shortened versions of lengthy Elvish words and word-sentences are heard commonly, hearkening back to an even darker age when Orcs and Elves met violently on the battlefield on a regular basis.
Common Taboos
Orcs have few direct taboos, but the ones they have are based on deeply contrary behaviors. They value Orc lives above others and disdain skulking around in the shadows, so in internal conflicts, outright murder is not celebrated, and poisoning is considered especially weak and shameful. However in an open battle between clans, death is a common consequence and while not lauded or encouraged, it's also not frowned upon in those circumstances. However, while the subjugation of other races is a trivial or positive consideration, enslaving other Orcs is considered detestable, even if they were defeated in battle - detestable for the slaves and the slavers both. The slaves should have had the self respect to die in battle rather than surrender and permit themselves to be humiliated, and the slavers should not have given their conquered foes the option. Likewise, while eating an enemy soldier is a neutral or even positive action within some clans, all clans reject the idea of eating another Orc.
Another odd taboo is connected to having prolonged gentle feelings towards a mate, and in couplings that are anything less than practical exchanges of DNA for the purpose of building up the tribe. Being cuddly or cute with a mate is considered a perversion of the highest order, and some larger towns cater to this forbidden desire in the city Orc population with specialized soft and sweet brothels that are known Orc 'hug dungeons'.
Ideals
Beauty Ideals
Orcs favor bodies built for combat, and that show the signs of having survived battles in the past. At the same time, they are strongly repelled by injuries and deformities that preclude conquest or the defense of the lair, such as missing limbs, and do not favor scars that might hinder combat such as the loss of an eye or ear. The war chiefs and shamans are generally the most beautiful in the tribe because if they were small, or had a debilitating injury, they'd likely be deposed from their rank and replaced with one more ideally suited. A victory in combat over someone considered more fit, and thus more beautiful, can cement one's place, however, and a great deal of in-fighting is taking place at any one time in an Orc tribe simply because of these beauty ideals and the fact that a one-eyed veteran soldier may be a better fighter than a vigorous but unexperienced youth.
Gender Ideals
It may be hard to tell a male from a female apart in many cases as both have similar muscle fiber quality and muscle mass and females have much less sexual dimorphism compared to Orc males than is seen in species like humans and elves. As combat prowess is equated completely with sexual prowess among tribal Orcs, natural selection and mate selection criteria have overlapped to a high degree. One's genitalia is not of great relevance to most Orcs unless and until the availability of food and other resources is high enough and steady enough for there to be reason to add additional Orclets to the tribe, in which case those of reproductive age in the tribe will pair up. Orclets are raised collectively so in a tribe of any size, a mother is not unduly tied down to the care of a child; they spend about a month nursing their child, but it can be weaned at about four weeks. Women are honored for their ability to create more Orcs from inside their bodies, but there is no cult of motherhood per se in tribal Orc society.
Courtship Ideals
Courtship is a completely pragmatic affair based on tribe rank, which in turn is based on combat prowess; this is by design, a way to ensure that the males and females with the strongest bodies and highest skills are creating theoretically more fit offspring than if mating pairs were based on courtship skills, looks, or anything so ephemeral and ridiculous as feelings of romantic love.
Relationship Ideals
Relationships of a sexual nature are for the growth of the tribe in times of plenty. While individuals certainly have their favorites, those at the top of the combat board have more access to mates and more choice in the matter. In Tribal Orc society the war chief may have a private harem of his or her own, but this too is a practical matter and the members of the harem must earn their way there by their abilities in combat. They are simply considered off limits and long-term partners of the chief. Orcs below that rank are limited to those of equivalent combat abilities, which has the interesting side effect of maintaining an under-base of noncombatant support workers who can pass on skills to their offspring. Chefs have children with other chefs, and can teach them deep cooking lore as a result, for instance. This is not a caste system per se, but the practicalities are essentially the same. As such, loyalty isn't necessarily a value, it's simply a side effect of limited choice.
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