Please help me with an Orc tribe.


Advice


I need some advice, which is why I came here, on building a smaller orc tribe. They are in the Hold of Belkzen and will be encountered when my group is around level 17 or 18 when the PCs have three or four mythic tiers.

For some background on this group. They are a small tribe that are still loyal to Tar-Baphon. They have connections to the Whispering Way. I am wanting them to be a small group who typically avoid all the other tribes since they have a higher mission, releasing Tar-Baphon.

This group captured a Paladin of Iomedae around 19 years ago and kept her for five years. In that time a Half-Orc was born from the unwilling union between the Paladin and the leader of the small tribe. This Half-Orc is one of my players and is wanting to eventually meet this tribe and fight with papa. The Paladin was rescued and the group getting her out missed the child. He has yet to meet either of his parents again.

So here is my list of questions.

I have never had to do anything with Orcs before so I am a little lost on this. I need a name for the small tribe and I have failed to come up with a name I like.

As to the mechanics they are Orcs so most of them will be melee classes but due to their connections to the Whispering Way some of them should be casters right? What classes would work best?

How would a small clan be built?

Should I make most of the tribe some form of Undead?

What are some fun items that I could have the tribe have that the party will get assuming they defeat the tribe?

This is at a high level so what would be some fun environmental encounters that they have to deal with?

How could I make sure the actual fight between father and son is dramatic and emotional?

Thank you in advance
DAA


I would take a look at the monster codex. Orcs often have religious leaders and witch doctors, but they are still focused on melee. The most common Orcs are probably fighters. Barbarians come too. An interesting and unique thought is orc monks. Some Orcs are lawful and normally run the tribe. They have self discipline but are still bestial, inventing the boar style. Many Orcs breed with humans to create smart advisors or leaders. For papa, the son may have to focus on outsmarting. On the other hand, he may be forced to use his savage upbringing to take him on. I think making papa a monk would be pretty cool, and definitely make a memorable character.


That is actually an interesting idea. I have not had a chance to play with a monk before.

Liberty's Edge

because the tribe has ties to the Whispering Way...go crazy.

Dont try to limit it. You want the big bad to be 4 levels higher than the party, then Id tier down from there. have 4 of roughly the same level, and maybe 8 around 4 levels less and 16 around 8 levels less, and the bulk about 10th level.

have Orc Fighters, Barbarians, Cavaliers riding some sort of 'monster',...perhaps Giant Wasps?

throw in half Orcs liberally. Goblins, Hobgoblins,

clerics, shaman, hunters, Rangers, Alchemists, Summoners, Sorcerors

Witches, Warpriests,

Just have fun with it


How about 'Whisperer's Hand' for a tribe name?

RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32

Antipaladins? Warpriests? Necromantic bloodragers?

How small is small? 10, 20, 50?


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How about "The Silent Skulls" for a tribe name?


I would change the bit about the paladin.

It might just be me, but I believe a paladin who learns her captors are practitioners of the whispering way will escape or die trying (possibly killing herself if the situation becomes too difficult).

Also, I think Scarred Witch Doctor (Witch) and Sorcerer with Undead Bloodline could both be appropriate caster classes for some members of the tribe to be.


Orcs use Gortheks (Monster Codex) as steeds, and have special items and feats for them. Maybe the tribe should stem off Gorthek in some way, like Gorukthu.


If his son have Mythic tiers his "papa" should have a few too.
Oh lord, A Mythic Orc monk that worships Tar-Baphon?!
That's pretty Badass!
And you can bring back the Order of the Long Death from 3.5 material
for monks that worship death and tar-baphon.


Hmmm. If they've been in the keep for some time, I'd imagine they have some traps set. They are orcs though, so I doubt they'd set very many traps, or make them very advanced. I'd set up a falling rock trap, maybe a pitfall into some manner of dangerous creatures den, and a few traps of the ambush sort, like walls that have been weakened beforehand so orcs can crash through and surprise the players. As far as the orcs themselves go, if your characters are levels 17-18, then I'd make the average grunts moderately leveled Barbarians or Fighters. I'd suggest a high level shaman, with maybe one or two apprentices assisting during Orc encounters throughout the keep. It wouldn't be a stretch for there to be a few ogres, goblins, or bugbears among them to mix it up some, as other goblinoids will often hang around tribes of orcs. I'd suggest an encounter or two with an Orc scouts on Warg or Winter wolf back outside the keep, which would give the orcs a chance to prepare themselves, unless the PCs can stop the scouts from raising the alarm. I suggest these outriders be mid-leveled Rangers, in groups of 2-4. The father, as far as combat goes, should probably be, and hear me out here, a paladin of Tar-Baphon. As a leader, I'd have to assume he's fairly cunning, and being a paladin would break the general mold of a stupid barbarian or fighter. I know Tar-Baphon isn't technically a divinity, so if this idea doesn't agree with you, then he could be a paladin of a divinity who wishes to see Tar-Baphon awakened like, say, Orcus. As far as the clan name goes, they're generally simplistic, with names like "The Blood Boars" or "The Iron-blood". To be honest, it's not a big deal. If you want some sort of insignia or representation of them, something like a skull-perhaps in Tar-Baphons helm-ought to suffice. Hope this was helpful. Oh yeah, if they're in the keep, then equip them decently, as they would probably have an armoury. I'd equip the Clan leader and Shaman in some magical duds.

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

One of my friends, Zohruk built an entire small tribe in Belkzen. You should contact him for brainstorming.

Hmm


Yay I got people helping me! Woot!

Ok with that out of the way.

I want to go crazy, i like it that way. My first boss fight took seven hours and everyone had a blast. Necromancy allows for some crazy shenanigans. Not sure about the wasps but i am not opposed to the idea either. It would be odd and stand out.

I like the name suggestions!

I am wanting somewhere around 20ish Orcs I think then the minions.

And I find the Bloodragers to be rather interesting. And the idea of a Necromantic bloodrager sounds right up my alley.

The player was the one who came up with the Paladin being captured and I can make it work, or at least I am trying. It is part of the tale he wants for his character and I want it to be what the player wants. Honestly not even the hardest or weirdest PC in my game.

The Gorthek is a odd critter. And I love mounted combats.

Order of the Long Death is something I have never heard of but i will look into it.

I love paladins and anti-paladins. I really do. It is a strong contender. Also there is a mythic ability that lets you grant domains. So Tar-Baphon could be like a Deity.

Hello PbP spouse! I just might do that.

Thank you all. I love help! I only have one player who has been gaming for less time than i have so i really want to be able to provide my experienced player with a fun and challenging game. Please keep it coming

RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32

Well, obviously, when minions die, they rise as undead to fight again!

And if 5 minions die, they combine like (re)Volt(ing)ron and make a giant undead monstrosity.


What are the mechanics of something like that? Because that could be awesome.

RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32

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Just off the cuff....

1. Pick an undead type weaker than the original. Zombie, Skeleton, Ghoul, Shadow, etc.

2. When a minion dies, the next round or two, it rises up.

3. When a bunch of minions die at once (such as from a fireball), their bodies slither and shamble towards each other, combining to form Revoltingtron! Let's use zombies to be easy. Pool all their hit points, take the number of base zombies and add it to Revoltingtron's AC, Attack Rolls, Damage, DR, CMB, CMD, ability checks, maybe Saving Throws, Skill Checks, and Turn Resistance. Try to keep the math simple. Don't worry about size modifiers and stuff like that; they're already rolled into the mix. Supposedly. ;-)

For added zest, give it resistance or immunity to the attack form that killed it, and maybe add a die or two of it as additional damage.
For example, a fireball-spawned Revoltingtron would have immunity to fire and do +2d6 fire damage to its slam attacks.

What special area effects do your PCs typically use? Keep them in mind when working on ReVoltingTron.

EDIT:

Consider marking the minions with an evil tattoo or bloody warpaint, and giving PCs an opportunity (via Perception or Sense Motive) to notice them, and/or a Knowledge (arcana or religion) or Spellcraft check to identify what they mean (either vaguely or specifically--whichever is most fun for your group).

Dark Archive

By tying orcs to the 'Black Blood of Orv' and it's necromantic properties, a literally 'black blooded' sub-breed of orcs that retain a connection to their original homeland flowing through their veins might have no penalty to their mental stats, but only a +2 bonus to Strength, combined with a Tiefling/Geniekin like bonus to Necromancy School powers, Death Domain powers, Undead Bloodline powers and Bones Mystery powers similar to 'Fire Affinity' or 'Fiendish Sorcery.' (Charisma 2 pts. higher for the Sorcerer/Oracle options, +1 level for Death Domain and Necromancy School powers?) These orcs might have their own 'pure-blood' tribe, and occasionally be born to normal orcs, as sort of a throwback to the older 'priestly caste' or whatever (and serve as white-haired black-blooded advisors and mystics in tribes of conventional orcs).

Smilodon's notion of instant-animation could also be funky. Perhaps, like the old Death Master class from 1st edition, they have an oil they can put on a body so that it can be instantly animated later, and they wear it into battle, so that when slain, they instantly rise to attack their killer. (This sort of animation might be temporary, only 1 round / HD or 1 minute / HD.)

A different version, used by their priests and casters, would cause their spirit to tear free at the moment of death as an incorporeal undead, based on their HD. (A 3rd level caster could only become a shadow, for instance, while an 8th level caster could become a spectre. Again, temporary, and no create spawn power, it's just an 'instant revenge' power, not a long-term undead creation power.)

Having twelve normal-sized dead orcs slithering together and turning into a single 24 HD gargantuan zombie, could also be visually cool, and turn a dozen 'mooks' into a larger singular threat. (Rather than come up with a new undead, just make the corpses into that many HD worth of scaled up zombie, or wight, or whatever, with the effect occurring whenever a certain threshold of these orcs die in a certain time period / area of effect.)

RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32

I LOVE Set's idea about connecting them to the Black Blood of Orv. Soooooo cool. And making them essentially orcish tieflings? Priceless.

And definitely make those instant-undead temporary. Just having them last 1 minute will mean it will extend the combat and/or make it more dynamic. Or the PCs will run away and have to come back, possibly using up precious resources, like buff spells.

If there is already a 24 HD giant zombie, awesome!

Just remembered it's for 18th level PCs with 4 mythic tiers. Maybe make it 48 HD???

RPG Superstar 2012 Top 16

Kill a thousand zombies, watch them amalgamate into a Flesh Colossus from the old Epic rules...PF'd and updated, of course.

==Aelryinth


Wow! just wow. I love those ideas. The Black Blood thing is right up their alley and i am going to use that. I love it!

The Revoltingtron is also going to be happening. The party will be horrified. Thinking that they have won and the a bigger monster has risen. This isn't even my final form! hehe. Attrition is the bet method for contending with the mythic stuff when I really want to scare the party. This is definitely going to be in Gallowspire.

I had never though about having the 'instant revenge' but I have a few baddies that it would be perfect for. And I love the idea of giving them abilities to replicate how they died. That is brilliant!

Thank you so much!

Dark Archive

SmiloDan wrote:
Just remembered it's for 18th level PCs with 4 mythic tiers. Maybe make it 48 HD???

Ooh, definitely, let the PCs annihilate a couple hundred orcs only to have to see the corpses all smoosh together into a Kaiju-sized OrcZombieZilla!

That'll teach them to get all cocky about being able to kill an orc army single-handedly!

RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32

I did the opposite in the days of 3.5. MM3 has a Charnel Hound monster that is a Huge undead canine composed of hundreds of rotting corpses. The PCs killed it, it fell apart, then each rotting corpse rose as a zombie.

And the party of 8's only divine caster was a druid. **evil grin**


That is evil and a rather good idea. I shall do both. Really let the cleric shine.

Kaiju-sized OrcZombieZilla hehe that sounds like fun!


Bumping!


If it has mythic points based on it's Hit Dice and has a use for thoes points, there you go.


I had the idea that maybe Dead Old Dad is a Bloodrager who became a Lich and has been trying to amplify and augment his magical bloodline through generations of incest combined with the addition of other bloodlines such as the Paladin’s via rape. Her half-orc son was a disappointment, but maybe there’s a daughter who turned out better (perhaps even Anti-Paladin) and now has some incestuous babies of her own, some so young that the PCs should presume them innocent and in need of rescue (though a magical Evil baby/toddler who flies around attacking the party and cries when Mommy or Pop-pop gets dropped could be fun/terrible/sick). If Sis wants to capture/charm/seduce her brother or other PCs for further bloodline experimentation that could be messed up too. Heck, maybe she could get what she wants out of some PC during what seems like a throwaway RP segment of hooking up with wenches/maidens at the tavern/castle and then have somebody's baby in her belly during the big fight (and of course mention that fact so the PCs have to decide whether to kill both mother and child or maybe take her captive until she gives birth)

Anyhow, with the Bloodrider archetype and Boon Companion Dad could have a badass Gorthek mount if he wanted. If he took the Undead bloodline he could make people shaken. The Primalist archetype could let him give up the 8th level Death’s Gift power in exchange for a couple of Rage Powers (I’m thinking that Intimidating Glare and Terrifying Howl could be fun since he’d have lots of abilities for making enemies shaken). Either way Dad would be a lot like a typical orc Barbarian leader except with an undead theme. If he or his mount had a Cruel weapon it would be pretty easy to work with a Witch (perhaps Scarred Witch Doctor) to give an enemy like his son a -8 on saving throws and then apply the lich’s paralyzing touch (which would also be a great tool for his Paladin raping hijinx)

Giving the rest of the tribe some undead themed stuff might be fun too if they’re part of the Whispering Way. I kind of like the idea of the Wasp Riders too. There’s a wasp-like monster called a Spider Eater which has paralytic poison. They’re smart enough to take class levels, so a few of them as NPC allies of the tribe could make sense. They could be simple melee goons like Barbarians (which would boost their Poison DC a little). Since they have Freedom of Movement they’d work really well in areas where movement would otherwise be impaired (perhaps within the area of certain area effects - since Dad could potentially both cast Black Tentacles and become incorporeal that could set up some pretty nice combos)

If Dad or even a "nuclear family" of folks at the top of the tribe are liches that also almost ensures the threat of a comeback and could send the party on a time pressure quest to find and destroy one or more phylacteries. Alternately Dad might just show up again later on as an underling to some higher ranking BBEG. If so he'd probably have some nasty things to say to the PC about patricide, sororicide, etc as well as a gratuitous Darth Vader appeal ("Join me in immortality!")

RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32

And Spider Eaters might be useful when dealing with the drow neighbors...

Black Tentacles + quickened, (heightened?) Stinking Cloud is pretty nasty.

Actually all the poison cloud spells are pretty nasty when combined with poison-immune types, like undead. Especially undead with blindsight/lifesight/deathsight what-have-you.


Stinking Cloud always makes me think of using Bull Rush, like "Get back in there!" I bet that Gorthek animal companions or Spider Eater Barbarians could get pretty good at Bull Rush or Awesome Blow, and even folks with Freedom of Movement might fail their Fort saves for Stinking Cloud, especially if they have a -8 on saving throws.

A really well prepped party could completely negate a lot of these hazards with some low level spells/wands (Freedom of Movement, Remove Fear, Remove Paralysis, Delay Poison), but if the PCs don't know what to expect they also might have to retreat from an initial encounter and come back better prepared later on. Of course the DM would have to judge whether this particular party is willing and able to run away when things aren't going well. Some don't have the right spells, and others would rather stand and die than back down regardless of the situation.

RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32

And the lich can also dispel those spells too! **evil grin**


Oh wow I like the sibling idea. I actually like the idea better than the paladin gets away. Hehe my druid will lice this!

Rhe could spells sound awesome.
Especially with monsters inside them. Not something I have heard my group talk about before. All older gamers than I am.

Thank you
DAA


"(though a magical Evil baby/toddler who flies around attacking the party and cries when Mommy or Pop-pop gets dropped could be fun/terrible/sick)."

It really makes players unhappy. Make sure that the kids are less of a threat and therefore less likely to be targeted and killed first.

If it's high enough level for the Scarred Witch Doctor to have major hexes (10th level) she should probably be a double agent and, at least at some point, feed the PCs the proceeds of "Cook People."

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