Orc

Orcs (pop. 10,000)

Orcs are the second most numerous race of humanoids in Karameikos, and their presence in this land is quite old.

About half of the orcs living in Karameikos are found in the western part of the country. They were the first orcs who came to Karameikos; tribes of red orcs and common orcs driven out of the hin lands to the west by the halflings’ uprising (BC 744-610). These orcs settled the Cruth Lowlands region between the Cruth and Achelos Rivers. Modern local orc tribes, like the Jagged Claw and the Blackstone, claim to be descendants of those hordes. Later defeats at the hands of the hin in the following centuries (like those of AC700 and AC944) have pushed a stable flow of orcs into the Cruth Lowlands region. These orcs are often in league with groups of ogres and control much of the lands north of Riverfork Keep, representing a real hindrance to the penetration of human presence in that area. Other smaller orc hordes are part of mixed (goblin or gnoll) tribes who are stationed within or around the lands of the Black Eagle Barony (with which they are allied), while several hundred orcs directly serve the Black Eagle Baron as mercenaries in his elite division, the Banner of the Black Eagle. The tribes living in western Karameikos are mostly of common orc (Orcus porcus) stock, but a relevant part of them (about 30%) belongs to the red orc (Orcus rubeus vulgaris) stock.

Other large orc tribes, who belong entirely to the common orc (Orcus porcus) stock, are found in eastern Karameikos, mostly along the Altan Tepes range; among those are orc-only tribes (like the Hairless Dog or the Black Web of the southern Altan Tepes) or mixed tribes (like the Jagged Rocks of the northern range). A couple of smaller tribes are also found around the medium flow of Castellan River, between the Duke’s Road and the upper Highreach River flow. All the orcs of eastern Karameikos arrived in this region during the humanoid invasions of the early5th century BC, after the humanoid defeat at the Battle of Sardal Pass (BC492).

Besides these larger tribes, smaller bands of orc raiders, often in the service of human villains, can be occasionally found also in other parts of northern Karameikos.