Skûn of Many-Voices
Orc Id Rager Bloodrager 6
Darkvision: 60ft
Traits:
Militia Veteran: +1 to Profession: Soldier and it's a class skill.
Called: Once per day upon rolling a natural 1 on an attack roll, you may reroll the die and take the second result instead.
Ferocity: A creature with ferocity remains conscious and can continue fighting even if its hit point total is below 0. The creature is still staggered and loses 1 hit point each round.
Rage: +4 Str/Con, +2 Will, -2 AC
Uncanny Dodge: Cannot be caught flat-footed.
Improved Uncanny Dodge: Can no longer be flanked.
Resolve: Immunity to fear effects. If the Id Rager fails an ability check, skill check, or attack roll, he loses this immunity for 1 hour. Multiple failed checks or rolls are not cumulative.
Flagrant Disregard: As a swift action, gain a +3 bonus on all attack rolls and a –2 penalty to AC for 1 round.
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Other Equipment:
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Belt of Giant Strength +2 This belt of braided hair and bone pins reminds an Orc what he fights for - not being made into a belt.
Cloak of Resistance +2 A cloak of wyvern-skin passed down through four generations.
Mithril Breastplate Looted in a raid on another Orc tribe in the mountains, it's adorned with carvings of goats and other tasty things.
Bloodrager's Kit, Dungeoneering Kit, Flight Grapnel, Potion of CLW x5, 191g
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Army
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Medium army of orcs (Fighter 2)
hp 5; ACR 1
DV 13; OM +1, ranged
Special Ferocity, Darkvision
Speed 2; Consumption 0
Commander: Str +5|+7, Cha +2, P. Soldier 6 (+11), Leadership +11|13
Boons: Defensive Tactics, False Retreat
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Fluff:
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The Keening Bones Tribe:
The whistling of the wind is omnipresent in the gullies and spires of the Keening Bones Tribe's mountain lands. It's enough to drive one mad, and, if you believe the gossip, has twisted the Keening Bones into a mockery of a proper orc. The truth is a bit more complicated.
The Keening Bones Tribe firmly believes that the afterlife, all afterlives, are hellish places filled with torment compared to the waking world. So, to save themselves and their ancestors from passing on, they ritually bind their fallen brothers' souls to their bodies through ritual. In other words, they eat them, mimicking the scavenging psychopomps that carry a warrior's soul from the battlefield. Each and every member of the tribe has parts of the souls of the preceding generations flowing through their bodies - the worst punishment the tribe can issue is the refusal to devour a members soul, the highest honor it can bestow on an outsider is the consumption of his.
As a side note, this practice also changes how schooling works in the tribe. Rather than use traditional methods the tribe's shamans will, with mind-altering smoke and a convulsing dance, strengthen the souls in their student's bodies that their ancestors can teach them. All wisdom comes from the dead.
This ephemeral bond draws the tribe very close together; there are far fewer internecine killings in the Keening Bones than expected. Unfortunately, this also means that there are far too many of them - absent the death of a chief the tribe has no real population control and periodically pours out of their mountain home to raid richer lands.
Skûn of Many-Voices:
When a chief of the Keening Bones Tribe is challenged and killed, his better ritually devours his flesh alone to avoid diluting the wisdom of past chiefs. When a chief is killed by an outsider, the entire clan competes to see who will be the next chief. It is not uncommon for one in three Keening Bones orcs to die before a new chief is chosen. Three summers ago, the chief died to a human arrow and Skûn of Many-Voices emerged the victor.
Born screaming along with the wailing wind, Skûn's first taste of flesh ignited a burning surety that he would one day taste the flesh of the chief. Coached by his ancestors, he showed an unusual skill in manipulating other orcs - a skill which served him well when Chief Torbaz Bright-Eyes realized he was a threat. He was able to stave-off assassination until Torbaz fell in a raid; his discipline held him back from the tiring initial infighting and his rage won him the title of 'Chief' - if he could survive the ritual.
The drinking of the ritual stew was like chewing a lightning bolt - the collective souls of over two-hundred strong-willed orcs nearly drowned Skûn's mind in their mad rush to dominate the new chief. If Skûn had failed, if the chiefs had subsumed him, he would have been killed by his tribe's shamans on the spot. The dead chiefs overwhelmed his political savvy, his discipline, and his rage until all that remained was his pride. And it remained. He would be chief, and from his soul's final bastion Skûn re-took his body and was named Skûn of Many-Voices - the echoes of his rasping voice returning timbers not his own.
