Warcraft Orcs in Creation

[Erinys]

Does anyone want Orcs shamelessly ripped from Warcraft added to their Exalted game? I hope so, because here they are. I don't even know why I came up with them. I was just comparing some different settings in my head and wondered "What's the Exalted equivalent of orcs from various settings?" The idea appeared fully formed and now it's running around in my head distracting me while I try to work from home. I have no use for these guys but I gotta write them down so I can concentrate on work again.


The Mag'har

During the Shogunate, the Mag'har were a large group of related tribes living in Draenor, a country in the far [East or South] of Creation. They had a complex nomadic herding culture, and they lived far enough from the nearest Shogunate power centers to get away with rather shocking "heresy". Instead of properly conforming to the Immaculate Philosophy, they illegally worshipped the elementals. Their numerous and sophisticated thaumaturges were the intermediaries between the spirits and humans, and a few of their legendary heroes might even have been full Sorcerers. Obviously their horrible impiety is what doomed their society and homeland, unlike all those other, pious Immaculate mortals who were equally doomed when the world came to an end. Yes, totally.

After the Contagion killed 90% of the Mag'har and their livestock, the ragged survivors were not slaughtered by the Fair Folk, unlike their nearest neighbors. Instead, the nearby Raksha enslaved and mutated the Mag'har into a new breed of slave army, named Orcs.

The Orcs

The Orcs were mutated with hulking bodies, tusks, green skin, and pointy ears, and filled with endless bloodlust. Added to the armies of hobgoblins, silverwights, buck-ogres, and other horrors, the new Orcs ravaged and slaughtered many human neighbors. Even after the Scarlet Empress crushed the bulk of the Balorian Crusade with the Sword of Creation, the surviving Raksha noble Sapphire Lute-Bearing Rishi of the Manilkaras in the far [East or South] retained the Orcs as soldier-slaves for over one hundred years. Orcs captured by human reprisals were occasionally kept alive as slave labor.

Ogrimar

Sapphire Lute-Bearing Rishi of the Manilkaras and its Bright Facet of Manilkara Wastes Court were finally vanquished and utterly destroyed by the Lunar hero Marble Palm of the Wrathful Moonlight, over 600 years ago. With the Rakshas' death, the enchantment of insane aggression and violence was lifted and the Orcs found themselves with neither drive nor purpose, except to survive. Their former homeland, Draenor, was now an uninhabitable mess far out in the Middlemarches, and their human neighbors were hungry for vengeance. Marble Palm renamed the Orcs the Ogrimar and rallied them to herself, along with Sapphire Lute-Bearing Rishi's former buck-ogre slaves, and her own aurochs and wolf beastfolk tribes. Before she departed, the Lunar encouraged these four peoples to build a new civilization beyond the Realm's imperialist reach, and to restart the ancient Mag'hars' relationships with the elemental courts.

Ogrimar are still entirely human, with a few cosmetic mutations, high strength, and sharp teeth. They can Exalt. They don't identify themselves as human anymore, but they're no more hostile to nearby tribes than other humans are to each other (that is, they're viciously xenophobic bastards, just like everyone else). They really, really hate the Fair Folk, which they call "Elves". Still true to Marble Palm's instructions, the Ogrimar, aurochsfolk, wolffolk, and sometimes even the buck-ogres wage ceaseless war against the Raksha and hobgoblins. The Ogrimar aren't nearly as nomadic as their ancestors. Their capital city is ... Ogrimar. Even after 600-some years of freedom from the soul-eating Raksha, they're a bit challenged in the creativity department.

[Accelerator]

That's great. I would add in something more, more from desperation and misguided desire for power against the fair folk, some of them have taken up thaumaturgy for demon summoning and alchemy. More based around power and strength than any desire to worship the yozis. Distilling the rage of malfeas into vitriol and Theion-to, and using their own native hardiness and Wyld-taint as a bulwark, the Orcs were able to survive the concotion which would have killed most other humans, and instead gain hardened flesh and the berserker-strength of Malfeas.

Of course this is not without its own problems, like glowing green eyes and wild mood swings that come with ingesting the solidified rage of Malfeas, but these are not seen entirely as drawbacks to the warlike Orcs in their crusade against the soul-eaters.

[Baaldam]

Funny that you would mention that - in my game they are a folk called "Greenmaws" thanks to a combination of the appearance and a mythology-religion relating their origins to the elementals of the same name in some point lost to the mists of time. They can be found in almost all directions though they are definitely far more common in large forested expanses or grasslands such as those more commonly found in the East.

[Amethyst]

This is really cool! These are some great ideas. I would probably put the Orcs/Ogrimar somewhere in the far East, but the deserts of the South could work too.

[Accelerator]

How about west?

Break the stereotype!

[Erinys]

I'm glad someone likes them!

I suggested East and South so the original Mag'har would have dark brown skin, like in WoW. Some brown Ogrimar could be born occasionally in the modern day, without the green skin mutation. East is also the place to get giant wolves to tame as mounts and beasts of burden, although they would inevitably become husky-like dogs after a few generations of domestication. The East also has clawstriders to tame, but those would be luxury steeds for really rich Ogrimar who can afford a large animal that eats nothing but meat.

That's great. I would add in something more, more from desperation and misguided desire for power against the fair folk, some of them have taken up thaumaturgy for demon summoning and alchemy. More based around power and strength than any desire to worship the yozis. Distilling the rage of malfeas into vitriol and Theion-to, and using their own native hardiness and Wyld-taint as a bulwark, the Orcs were able to survive the concotion which would have killed most other humans, and instead gain hardened flesh and the berserker-strength of Malfeas.

Of course this is not without its own problems, like glowing green eyes and wild mood swings that come with ingesting the solidified rage of Malfeas, but these are not seen entirely as drawbacks to the warlike Orcs in their crusade against the soul-eaters.

Yep. And the misguided thaumaturges who summoned and mated with Blood Apes produced those red Ogrimar.

The aurochsfolk and buck-ogres stand in for the Tauren and Ogres, respectively. But I can't justify the Marble Horde allying with the Forsaken or Blood Elves. The first is a zombie horde who claim they don't serve the local Deathlord anymore, but who's dumb enough to believe them? The second are creepy-looking, Wyld-addicted, suspiciously Elf-like mutants who go around turning perfectly natural lakes into Wyld zones to feed their addiction. So I gave the Marble Horde wolf-folk ("Wolfen") instead. I could write up the Trolls, though.

Orc-x-baseline-human hybrids are possible (though really unlikely due to politics), but I don't know about Orc-x-Buck-ogre hybrids.

[Lioness]

I'd probably have gone for demon blooded, but my bias there is that I've never really played World of Warcraft and thought Mannoroth was the coolest of the Burning Legion villains in Warcraft 3.

[Erinys]

I've never gotten to play WOW either, but I was a fan for a while. The Burning Legion are psychopathic "demons" of chaos who invade planets and mutate their victims into new races of "demons", and sometimes dissolve whole planets into chaotic clouds of asteroids. They invaded the world and nearly destroyed it, and they did blow up the Orcs' home planet. So I decided they're the Fae. Plus the Orcs are in a forever war with the Elves, so who else would they fight in Creation?

[Erinys]

I forgot to provide basic stats. Generally you can base them on mortals from the Antagonists chapters, but these are their mutations:

	Ogrimar (Orcs)	Tauren (Aurochsfolk)	Wolffolk
2E Mutations	Fangs pox (incl. very short ‘tusks’), Large pox, Skin Color pox (usually bright green, occasionally grey-green or blue-green)	Fur pox (brown, tan, or black), Hooves pox, Tail pox, Horns and Huge afflictions	As in the Corebook
Revlid's 2E Mutation rewrite	Lethal Attack 2 (fangs), Cosmetic mutation (green skin), Large 1	Steady 1 (tail), Natural Attack 1 (hooves), Natural Attack 2 (horns), Lethal Attack 2 (horns), Large 2, Natural Armor 1 (fur)	Enhanced Smell 2, Steady 1 (tail), Lethal Attack 2 (fangs), Night Vision, Large 1, Natural Armor 1 (fur)
3E Innate Merits and Flaws	Mighty Thew 1, Fangs 1; Wyld Mutant	Giant, Mighty Thew 2, Hooves 1, Horns 3, Tail 1; Wyld Mutant	Enhanced Senses (smell, night vision), Mighty Thew 1, Fangs 1, Tail 1, Unusual Hide 1 (fur); Wyld Mutant
1E Mutations	Large and Skin Color poxes, Fangs affliction	Fur pox, Huge and Tail afflictions, Beast Form blight	As in the Corebook

For 2E see the corebook and also Compass of Celestial Directions: The Wyld.

Rarely, an Ogrimar is born without the Skin color pox, instead having normal brown human skin. These throwbacks are honored with the title Mag’har. Demon-blooded Ogrimar descended from crosses with Blood Apes often have cherry-red skin instead, and sometimes small spikes or horns, and/or bigger fangs.


Some other folks from Warcraft:
Draenei: Not the alien/demon-looking race playable in WOW, but the horribly mutated ones like the Lost Ones and Broken Ones. They used to be regular humans, living in settled towns and cities in Draenor, alongside the nomadic Mag’har. They lived mostly in peace in the abundant land, despite holding to a version of the Immaculate Philosophy. Horribly mutated and deprived of their homeland in the Balorian Crusade, then hunted nearly to extinction by the Orcs, the few surviving bands of Draenei hate the Ogrimar even more than the nearby baseline humans do. They eke out miserable lives in places where other people don’t want to live. They are often sickly, either from the mutations or their poverty and often inadequate diets.
In 2E Draenei have the Claws (feet), Small, and Ugly poxes, and the Skin color pox (grey and/or purple). Holy crap, are they ugly.
In Revlid’s system Draenei have Lethal Attack 2 (claws), Disturbing Appearance 3, and Small 1.
In 3E Draenei have the Claws 2 and Hideous Merits and the Wyld Mutant Flaw. They also have low Stamina (1 or 2).

Quillboars: Once, a tribe of boarfolk lived near the territories of the Tauren. Today they are mutants living in the Wyld zones, attacking just about anyone they can catch and eat.
2E: Enhanced Sense (Smell), Fur, Hooves, Tail, Mood Swings, Tusks, Wyld Addiction, and Quills.
Revlid’s system: Enhanced Smell 2, Natural Attack 1 (hooves), Natural Attack 2 (tusks), Lethal Attack 1 (tusks), Expanded Diet 1, Natural Armor 1 (fur), Natural Counterattack 2 (quills), Mood Swings, and Wyld Addiction.
3E: Iron Stomach, Fangs 2 (tusks), Hooves 1, Enhanced Sense (Smell), Quills, Tail 1, Wyld Mutant, and Wyld Addiction.
Or if you find more mechanically-sound boarfolk, just add Quills and Mood Swings and Wyld Addiction.

Blood Elves: These Fae-Blooded mutants have Enhanced vision and hearing, glowing eyes, huge pointy ears, severe Wyld Addiction, and thaumaturgy. Many, many of them quest into the Wyld to gain Awakened Essence (2E) or Sorcery (3E) (some occasionally come out mutated into Satyrs, or worse). They even have magic that can turn natural lakes and ponds into Wyld zones, which they use whenever possible.

Trolls: Somewhere in the Southeast that is gone, there was a prosperous nation of people called the Zandalar. Once ruled by a pair of Lunar Exalted, they were devastated during the Usurpation and violently forced to bow to the new Immaculate faith. Remnants of their civilization survived during the Shogunate, gradually wittled down by repeated Raksha invasions, until it was destroyed by the Balorian crusade. Like so many others who survived out at the new edges of Creation, the Zandalar's tribal descendants became mutants. In their case they have oddly-colored skin, tusks, huge pointy ears, bent-over frames, and very few fingers and toes. Green-skinned forest trolls are green with actual moss instead hair. Dark trolls have purple skin and the ability to hide in shadows. Other trolls are merely blue with very brightly-colored hair. They continue to worship whatever gods and elementals they need to propitiate, including some of the gods who were on their local Immaculate schedule during the Shogunate.
2E: Enhanced Sense (Hearing), Skin Color pox, Tusks affliction. Dark Trolls: Night Vision pox, +2 to all Stealth rolls in shadows. Forest Trolls: Wood Adaptation pox.
Revlid's system: Enhanced Hearing 2, Cosmetic mutation (skin color), Natural Attack 2 (tusks), Lethal Attack 1 (tusks). Dark Trolls: Shadow Camouflage 2, Night Vision. Forest Trolls: Moss-Skin (+2 to Survival rolls to find food when they have sunlight and water), Plant Poison Resistance 1, Forest Native 1, Small Appetite 1.
3E: Fangs 2 (tusks), Enhanced Sense (hearing), Wyld Mutation. Dark Trolls: Enhanced Sense (night vision), +2 to all Stealth rolls in shadows. Forest Trolls: Tempered by the Elements (thick forest), Toxin Resistance, +2 to Survival rolls to find food when they have sunlight and water.

Centaurs: It’s not clear if these six-limbed creatures were wholly spawned from the Wyld, or if the Tauren stories are right that they are the mutated remnants of a wood elemental species. Either way, they’re incredibly violent, dangerous, and insane by human standards. In 2E they have hooves, Fur, Tail, Huge, Gazelle’s Pace, Wyld Addiction, Multiple Limbs, and some derangements and magical powers I haven’t worked out.