The Orks of Morak

The putrid swamplands of Morak are home to the orks, a barbarian race of fierce and dedicated warmongers. Orkish history is dominated by endless military campaigns, which have involved all other races and creatures within reach. For thousands of years, the orks have lived only for the glory of battle and the thrill of combat.

In recent centuries, however, a sinister but civilizing influence has worked on the minds and culture of the orks. Under the aegis of Azhi Dahaka, also called the Fire Dragon, they have built cities, enslaved other races, and begun to master the arts of strategy and tactics. Instead of aimlessly inflicting war-bands and tribal expeditions on the rest of Agon, the orks are now a military force to be reckoned with.

While they may have become more advanced as a culture, the orks are just as fierce and vicious as ever. In fact, their newfound powers of organization have allowed them to extend the reach of their killing and maiming, and to achieve new levels of cruelty in the treatment of slaves and enemies.

Physical description
Orks stand slightly taller than humans, and are a great deal more muscular. They are physically intimidating to other races, and the individual ork puts a great deal of pride in being strong and resilient. Weak individuals are not accepted among them, and millennia of selective breeding based on brawn and martial ability has shaped a race of strong and combat-cunning warriors.

Orkish skin is thick and varies greatly in colour between individuals: Orks can be dark green, dark blue, deep red, and black. Almost from birth, orkish skin resembles the bark of an ancient tree; it is as gnarled, wrinkled and impenetrable to the wind and rain. Male orks are bald and their bodies are hairless.

The orkish skull has a low forehead and a roundish shape. Their enormous jaws host impressive sets of canine teeth, with tusks protruding from each side of the lower mouth. The size and number of protruding tusks varies greatly between individuals, with some sporting veritable thickets of fangs and tusks, while others have relatively well ordered and symmetrical sets of teeth.

Orkish eyes are small and deeply set, and come in an even greater variety of colour than their skin. In fact, all the main colours have been observed, with varying frequency, except brown and blue, which are unheard of.

Bite attacks
When engaged in melee combat, orks have the ability to bite opponents with their tusks. The ork shoots his tusks forward, tearing at the flesh of the enemy. While not as damaging as a conventional weapon, the ork bite is quick and, in many cases, understandably surprising.

The Angry Mode
When an ork receives damage in combat, his anger rises slowly towards a berserker rage. When the boiling point is reached, the ork may choose to enter the Angry Mode, in which he deals more damage but is vulnerable defensively. When in this state, the ork screams, beats his chest, and swears and spits uncontrollably, not caring who hears him.

Weapons and equipment

Orkish armour
Through most of their history, orks wore little or no armour. Most individuals preferred to display their brawn and trust in their thick hides, wearing only leather trousers and heavy boots. In the old days, when they did make armour, orkish smiths created bulky iron breastplates which were unwieldy and rather ineffective.

With the relatively recent enslavement of the svartdvergir, orkish warriors gained access to highly skilled smiths. The raven-haired cousins of the dwarves now work in the forges of Morak, producing suits of armour to rival those of any other nation. Svartdvergir smithcraft has been an important factor in the military rise of Morak, and these days most orks prefer the new, armour-heavy style of warfare. There are, however, some traditionalists who still hold to the old, shirtless ways.

Modern orkish suits of armour always include heavy and finely wrought chain shirts. The shirts are hoodless and run down to just below the waist, while short arms cover the biceps.

Over the shirts, orks wear lamellar breastplates. These consist of longish, thin metal plates that are riveted to the chain shirt in overlapping rows. The plates cover the chest, belly and back, and broad supportive straps run over the shoulders. The front and back parts of the lamellar armour are connected by rows of plates that protect the sides of the orkish torso.

Each individual lamellar plate halfway covers its neighbouring plate to the left, and is attached to the chain shirt with a single rivet. Each horizontal row covers the lower part of the one above it.

Orkish weapons
Due to the proficiency of svartdvergir smiths, orkish weaponry has evolved just as much as their armour, quality-wise. But rather than abandon their old designs, the orks have refined them, creating weapons which are both quintessentially orkish and highly effective. Even though enslaved, the svartdvergir take pride in their work: often unbidden, they make beautiful hilts and add luscious, intricate details along blade-ridges.

Orks prefer blades which are curved and viciously jagged. Their longswords have the shape of scimitars, and are equipped with wicked, saw-like jags that tear at the flesh and bones of opponents. Reflecting the strength of their wielders, orkish swords are heavier than those of other races. Orks have retained their tradition of etching evil-looking runes and symbols along their blades, but due to the skill of svartdvergir smiths, the work is done more subtly these days.

More and more orks prefer the longsword and shield combination that is used by the armies of king Grrak. But extremely large two-handed weapons are still quite common, with two-handed greatswords and double-bladed axes being particular favorites. Nowadays, these tradition-steeped weapons are made with great craftsmanship, and have been subtly improved upon, making them more balanced and battle-efficient. When they have time, svartdvergir smiths add intricate details to the obligatory vicious runes along the blades.

Some of the more exotic orkish weapons have also survived the weapons renaissance. The Flattener, for instance, which is a large slab of metal attached to a stout metal pole. These weapons are slightly smaller now, and improved crafting techniques mean that the metal slabs fall off rather less frequently. Additionally, the Flatteners of today are covered in a layer of brass which is finely decorated, in some cases with kvitjarn, mithril or raudstaal.

Shields and helmets
When wielding a single-handed blade, orks always carry shields in their off hands. These shields are always decorated, sometimes with the symbol of the ork’s clan, other times with symbols representing the Fire God, or the kingdom of Morak. In addition, orkish shields are always equipped with one or more stiletto-like blades that protrude from the middle of the shield, opposite the hand-straps. Orks traditionally prefer buckler-type shields that are fastened to the off hand, but larger types are gaining in popularity. The armies of Grrak the One-eye use fairly large, torso-covering shields which nonetheless have blades for slamming attacks.

Orkish helmets are low-fitting, offering protection all the way from the lower edge of the orkish cranial ridge. They are tight fitting and simple in design.

Orkish bows
In the old days, orks despised ranged weapons, preferring to charge into melee combat as quickly as possible. In recent times, however, the orkish kings have trained longbow-orks for their armies, and the custom has spread throughout Morak. Now it is fairly common to see orkish warriors who, in addition to melee weapons, have a longbow hung on their backs. Orkish bows are stout and even longer than those used by humans, but shorter than the long, slender bows of the elves.

War machines
Orks are fond of large engines of war. They build mobile catapults and ballistas, as well as things that are more exotic – and often quite deadly. The quality of the construction has increased recently, but many of the basic designs go back centuries. Teams of goblin slaves often get the job of pulling orkish war engines.

The Mancrusher is rightly feared: it is a large siege machine that launches slabs of rock into the air at a very steep angle. The blocks gain a lot of height, but only move a few hundred meters forward, before hurtling down towards the ground with frightening speed. As the name indicates, the Mancrusher was designed to flatten soldiers rather than buildings.

The ork dispenser is a more quirky engine. It catapults a single ork five to six hundred meters, and is used to send individuals straight into the midst of enemy armies. It shoots orks headfirst at great speed and at a slightly flat angle. Those living missiles that survive both the impact and the braking down, try to kill as many enemies as possible before being killed themselves.

The so-called Slapper consists of a huge, flat wooden plate, covered by sheets of metal and spikes. The plate is wound up by orks using winches, and when released it snaps forward and to the right or left, mowing down anyone who doesn’t get out of the way quickly enough. Slappers tend to be very large, and with a perfect hit they can send ten to twenty enemies flying.

The Hellfire Catapult is basically an ordinary catapult, but it is designed to throw large animal stomach balloons filled with an unstable liquid substance. Upon impact, the balloons either explode in balls of deadly flame, or merely burst, covering everything in harmless goo.

Orkish Artok
Many ancient creatures, who died out elsewhere long ago, have survived in the depths of Morak’s swamps. One such remnant is the Artok, a giant, horned lizard which is the preferred mount of the orks.

In the wild it is an herbivore, but well-equipped to defend itself against the fierce predators of Morak’s swamplands. Exceedingly thick, leathery skin protects the artok’s entire body, while two horns allow it to counter-attack: The largest horn, located on the forehead, is used to impale attackers. The smaller one, located halfway between the upper horn and the mouth, is used for ripping into opponents with upward thrusts. The artok’s forehead is covered in reinforcing plates.

The artok’s mouth resembles the black beak of a giant black bird. The rest of its body has a dark green hue, with the exception of a pale, yellowy field which runs along the belly, from the neck to the hind legs. Unlike many other giant lizards, the artok has no tail. Its four legs are less trunk-like than those of many other giant lizards, but still impressively thick and muscular.

The orks ride artoks in large saddles that are fastened around the reptiles’ torsos. While the artoks are relatively slow mowing, they can run steadily for days without tiring, and are capable of short bursts of high speed. A charging individual can even outsprint a horse. Skilled artok-riders can train their mounts to fight for them, ripping into enemies with their horns.

Society of the Orks
In many ways, slaves built the kingdom of Morak. Countless goblins have died building cities, roads and monuments, which in turn were planned and engineered by another, more skillful group of slaves, the svartdvergir. Svartdvergir smiths have also revolutionized Morakian smithcraft, inventing new weapons and armour-types, and improving old designs which their masters are fond of.

The policy of taking slaves, instead of just killing everyone, developed due to the influence of Azhi Dahaka, a fire god originally worshipped by the orks of the central Gutlands. Five hundred years ago, a massive eruption of the Flaming Skull volcano was taken as a signal by Gutlands orks, who launched a particularly determined campaign of conquest. Slightly more than one hundred years ago, all of Morak was finally united under the rule of Flaming Skull. The worship of other gods than Azhi Dahaka was eventually outlawed, and the old tribal gods are now – practically speaking – dead and forgotten.

Most orks, male and female, see themselves as warriors first and foremost. While some eccentrics take up trades because they feel like it, extremely few actually need to do so: In Morak, menial tasks are left to the numberless hordes of slaves.

Orkish clans feud and fight among each other, just like they always have done. Technically speaking, they all owe allegiance to Flaming Skull, but the king generally leaves them to their own devices. This is a considered policy: The ever-belligerent orks need a steady outlet for their aggression, and lasting peace in Morak is neither possible nor desirable, in the eyes of King Grrak. When the time is right [See magic & religion, below], Grrak will summon all clans to join him in a crusade against the other races of Agon. In the meantime, he needs the orks to stay combat-sharp and content.

Names and clan-names
Orks prefer short, fierce-sounding names, often followed by an honour-name taken by the ork or given to him or her by his friends. The honour-name often changes many times during an ork’s lifetime. Thakk the Angry is a typical example of an ork from the land of Morak.

Clans are generally given names that are meant to intimidate rivals. Other than that, names vary wildly, with no rigid traditions obstructing orkish creativity. Examples include Chopping Necks Clan, Iron Maiden Clan, and Red Tusk Clan.

Goblins

The swamps of Morag teem with these green-skinned humanoids. They live in ill-organized tribes, and subside on a combination of hunting, gathering, and opportunistic scavenging.

The orks have enslaved large numbers of goblins, who are forced to perform a wide variety of tasks, from housework to hard labour. They are kept in abhorrent conditions, in so-called Worker Pits, which they are only allowed to leave when a job awaits.

One of the most important tasks assigned to the goblins, is pulling enormous stone blocks from quarries to building sites. The puny goblins are ill equipped for this kind of heavy labour, but their orkish masters compensate with mercilessly driven quantity. Literally thousands of goblins die from exhaustion during the construction of ambitious orkish structures, such as the ziggurat at Flaming Skull.

In Morak, goblins are regarded as animals rather than sentient beings. An ork is free to kill any goblin he is displeased with, as long as he pays the cost of a replacement. Orkish communities breed semi-countless numbers of goblins in their Slave Pits.

Svartdvergir
Hundreds of years ago, a bitter civil war tore the dwarven nation of Dvergheim in two. After the final battle, the defeated clans were scattered and driven from their ancestral lands. Most fled down into the bowels of the earth, but a single clan fled overland, settling in a then-uninhabited part of present-day Morak. They lived in freedom for a time, but as the power of Flaming Skull grew, most of them were slaughtered in battles, or captured and used as sacrifice.

In time, however, the Orks realized that the Svartdvergir possessed skills which made them more valuable as workers than as sacrifice. The remaining Svartdvergir were rounded up and forced to work in the cities and villages of Morak.

Today, svartdvergir perform many important tasks in orkish society: They carve the stone in orkish quarries; oversee all important construction work; and serve as weaponsmiths and blacksmiths in Morak’s forges.

Given the importance of the svartdvergir, it should be no surprise that they are fairly well treated. They are allowed to construct and live in their own homes, and are given more than enough food to be comfortable. They are even allowed to worship their own god, Heimar, and to live according to svartdvergir customs. However, they are under no circumstances allowed to leave their home settlement, and should an individual dare to disobey a ranking ork, the local ziggurat awaits.

Unlike goblins, svartdvergir are considered useful individuals. Killing a svartdvergir slave has the same consequences as killing an orkish servant.

The Court at Flaming Skull
Flaming Skull lies in the heartland of Morak, in the shadow of an active volcano. The volcano is constantly spewing out smoke, and at irregular intervals, minor eruptions threaten the surrounding area. At these times, Grrakk’s city is covered in ashes and daytime darkness. For a full description of the town, its king and its environs.

The geography of Morak
Morak is a watery mud-waste where only orks, lizards and goblins could thrive. A seemingly endless stretch of insect-plagued, disease-ridden swamp covers the centre, while tundra, mud lakes, and sodden mangrove forests are found in the periphery.

The swamps of Morak are dominated by ankle-deep, brown and slightly sticky mud, interspersed with tufts of grass and occasional trees. Copses of waterlogged forest, fields of soggy grassland, and the occasional stretch of rocky highland break the monotony.

Southern Morak receives spectacular amounts of rainfall. Here, it rains more often than not, and a semi-permanent layer of clouds covers the sun. The mud is deep in this part of the realm, making travel slow and arduous.

In the southeast, the swamps drain into a huge mud lake, which is traversable by neither boat nor foot. Wind and currents have clustered what little vegetation there is into small islands, which float in lazy patterns around the lake. A tribe of lizardmen, who inhabit some of these rotting islets, have built primitive villages, and constructed precarious walkways between islands. The lizardmen of Mud Lake are a fairly primitive people, who live in makeshift reed huts and subside on a diet of lizards and Mudfloater fish. They are distant relatives of the Sadayel people.

In the south and southwest, along the border with Mercia, stands a massive mangrove forest. The water level is quite low throughout this area, and most parts are traversable by foot or horse. However, the trackless interior of the evergreen forest is home to alligators, wild goblins, trolls, and worse.

In the northern provinces, the swamps are replaced by frozen tundra which stretches endlessly and featurelessly between horizons, before fading into the ice-covered arctic.

The heartlands of Morak are dominated by the Gutlands, a volcanically volatile highland plateau. See the orkish capital document for a description of this area.

Religion and magic
Orks worship a god of fire, Azhi Dahaka, who they venerate as a great destroyer: Wood burns when he touches it; water vaporizes when he licks it; stones crack before him. The orks believe that Azhi Dahaka is present in all fire, even that which burns on torches, or in the hearth of every home.

Azhi Dahaka manifests as a gargantuan dragon; a leviathan of the air who covers the land in shadow beneath him, and who destroys cities with a single breath. He is black in colour and smolders with invisible flame; his shape, though constant, appears to be shaped out of molten black lava. Fittingly, his orkish name translates to ‘Fire Dragon’.

The Fire Dragon’s eyes consist of the purest fire imaginable, and countless lines of sharp light explode from them, like the rays of a painted sun. When Azhi Dahaka speaks, his voice is deep and fluid like a dragon’s, but at the same time it crackles and roars like a hundred fires. When he lands, the immense heat he gives off makes everything near him burst into flames.

Worshipping the Fire Dragon
Azhi Dahaka craves sentient sacrifice, and he grows stronger when it is offered to him. If enough hearts are thrown into the sacrificial pits of Morak, priests prophesy, Azhi Dahaka will be able to manifest on Agon. When he does, they say, he will lead the orks to war, and all other races will fall before them - slaughtered or enslaved forever.

The orks worship The Fire Dragon on ziggurats that stand in the centre of their settlements. The ziggurats all have the same step-pyramidal shape, and all have an obsidian altar, on which priests cut out the hearts of victims. The heart is first held up towards the sun, and then both heart and body are thrown into a burning pit that stands next to the altar. While the ceremony is taking place, all the orks of the settlement gather on the lower levels of the ziggurat, chanting and bowing down in supplication.

Orks believe that a gate to Azhi Dahaka’s home plane exists inside the Flaming Skull volcano, which towers over the northern Gutlands. The very choicest pieces of sacrifice, such as elflords or human knights, are therefore taken to Flaming Skull and sacrificed there. The priests of the capital always hold the still-throbbing hearts of their victims up to the volcano, not the sun.

The priests of Azhi Dahaka
Orkish priests wear clothes and wield weapons that went out of general use in Morak decades, if not centuries ago. They tend to wear hide loincloths and keep their torsos bare, no matter what the season is. All orkish priests carry staves made of human or elven bone. When wielding weapons, they prefer the large, jagged-edged axes of their ancestors.

Orkish priests mark their bodies and faces with hideous networks of scars. The patterns of scars seem completely random, and involve no symbols, religious or otherwise. Priests keep adding scars throughout their lives, and the face and torso of an aging priest is a tangled, whitish mass of old and new self-inflicted marks.

The gifts of the Fire Dragon
He might be a destructive deity, but Azhi Dahaka understands the need to build up the power and sophistication of his followers. For centuries, he has whispered suggestions in the ears of priests and kings, slowly goading the orks of Morak towards civilization, while preserving their natural cruelty.

It was Azhi Dahaka who suggested that the orks should build cities and abandon their nomadic lifestyle, and it was he who suggested that svartdvergir and goblins should be enslaved, not slaughtered. Under his subtle guidance, the orks have changed from a scattered race of savages, to a nation of skilled and well-equipped warriors.

Soon, the Fire Dragon is ready to gather his armies and embark on a campaign of conquest and enslavement. Countless souls will be offered up to him, and he will grow in power. If he succeeds, his orks will rule all of Agon, and there will be no limit to the amount of sacrifice available to him.

The Burning Lands
Azhi Dahaka’s home is the Burning Lands, a semi-dimension which borders Agon. The Fire Dragon rules the Burning Lands, and all who live there worship him unreservedly. Either Azhi Dahaka created the Burning Lands himself, or he conquered it long ago.

In the Burning Lands, all plant life has burned away, and all that remains is a scorched and blackened wasteland. Most parts of the land are volcanically active, and since a thick layer of smoke blocks out the sun, the non-active areas are very cold.

Azhi Dahaka has made his home inside the largest volcano in the Burning Lands. Here he rests in a lake of lava, building his strength, and plotting his campaign on Agon. For now, he is too weak to leave his home dimension, and must work his schemes through priests and other minions.

The servants of the dragon
The natives of the Burning Lands all serve Azhi Dahaka, and do his bidding both on their home plane and on Agon. Foremost among them are a race of fire giants called the Erodach, who are smaller than the fire giants of Agon, but more numerous, intelligent, and magically inclined. Azhi Dahaka sometimes sends Erodach to serve as temple guardians or army captains in Morak.

Serpentines and fire drakes are also common in the Burning Lands, and powerful orkish priests occasionally summon these creatures to Agon.

Draupnir, the Bane of Orks
Since the dawn of creation, Azhi Dahaka has been locked in an eternal struggle with Draupnir, the feathered serpent. Draupnir seeks to protect the life and happiness which Azhi Dahaka seeks to devour.

On Agon, Draupnir sees it as his primary task to counter the spreading power of Azhi Dahaka’s orks. Like the Fire Dragon, Draupnir is bound to his home plane, Shimmerdal, and he must act through agents. Chief among these are the Sadayel, a race of intelligent lizard men native to Morak, who Draupnir has helped in the same way as Azhi Dahaka has helped the orks.

Draupnir is just as large as Azhi Dahaka, but his body is covered in feathers, instead of serpent scales. His many-coloured plumage seems to gently shimmer, and an aura of light and kindness flickers around him with soft light. Under the feathers, Draupnir’s shape and features are basically those of a large dragon.

The Sadayel
While most lizardmen are crude savages, some of those who dwell in Morak have built a civilization. Inspired by the benevolent deity Draupnir, they have turned swampland into farmland, built beautiful villages, and mastered such arts as weaponsmithing, writing and wizardly magic.

The Sadayel wear loose-fitting, white scale mail that bears a passing resemblance to the scales of a silver dragon. They wield graceful longswords that are made of the same whitish metal as their armour, and carry round, metal-plated shields. They regularly throw volleys of thin, metal-tipped spears at their opponents before entering melee combat.

In honour of their god, the Sadayel wear feathered headpieces, and decorate their shields and spears with colourful bird feathers. Their shields are commonly decorated with a portrait of a rampant feather-clad serpent.

The Sadayel are the sworn enemies of the orks. While less fearsome warriors than their foe-race, they claim superiority in the ways of magic.

Orkish architecture:

The straight walls of the finest orkish houses are made of expertly cut stone blocks, laid in even rows. All their houses are square-shaped, and straight lines dominate completely in orkish architecture: no arches and very few corners are seen.

All orkish homes have jagged battlements along the edges of their flat roofs. When orks build a second story, they always make it smaller than the first, leaving a narrow gap between the new walls and the original battlement. If a third story is added, this procedure is repeated.

During construction, viciously hooked wooden pikes are inserted into the walls of orkish buildings. These stout pikes are assembled in straight lines along the length of the wall that contains the main entrance, halfway between the battlements and the doorway. The heads and limbs of slain enemies are traditionally hung from these pikes, or impaled on them.

The stone blocks to the right and left of the main entrances are always decorated with orkish carvings. Each motif is carved onto a single block, covering its visible side entirely.

The homes of poor orks are cheaply and hastily constructed, and as a result, they are much cruder. The uneven walls of these buildings consist of jagged, hastily cut blocks that fit badly together, and the gaps between blocks are either filled with gravel or left open.

Orkish rock carvings
Orks build primarily in stone, and they decorate their buildings with stone carvings. While technically and artistically impressive, the carvings are almost exclusively preoccupied with warfare, religion and ritual sacrifice. Orkish art is primarily intended to frighten and intimidate.

Orkish stone carvers are technically and artistically sophisticated. Intricately carved details are combined with solid, straight-angled outlines, giving their work both power and grace. Orks subtly colour their rock carvings, often in soft shades of red, blue and green.

Favored motifs include warriors killing enemies in battle, and priests sacrificing members of other races. These carvings always include a high level of inventive, graphic and gruesome detail, as if the artists relish this part of the job.

Slightly less morbidly, depictions of the Fire Dragon are common, as are the various symbols of the orkish nation of Morak.

Orkish symbols
The most frequently used symbol of Azhi Dahaka is a yellow reptilian eye surrounded by a circular aura of stylized, jagged flames. Another commonly encountered symbol of the Fire Dragon, is an orkish sacrificial dagger against a stylized black sun.

The red outline of Flaming Skull Mountain is a much-used symbol, symbolizing the nation of Morak. The current king, Grrak, uses the red, vertically aligned outline of a battle-worn two-handed axe against a black background.

Clan holdings

Inns
Orkish inns tend to be among the largest buildings in a holding, and among the most shoddily constructed. They are usually made of especially large, unevenly cut stone blocks, hastily put together. Inside, extremely solid wooden furniture bear witness to the fights and mass brawls that frequently break out.

Inside, the guests sit on benches lining long tables on each side of the central area, in which food is made. There are two, four or six long tables on each side of the central area, depending on the size of the inn. The extremely strong beer, often locally made, is usually served by goblin slaves, while all guards are orks.

Broad stairs leads down to one or two subterranean floors, which house the sleeping chambers of the establishment (after all, it’s easier to roll them down than to carry them up). Most halls only offer two kinds of accommodation: Poor and decent. However, more and more halls have opened luxurious (by orkish standard) rooms, to cater to the growing number of wealthy orks.

Food enclosure
Orks enclose all their livestock within the same large and sturdy pen. Pigs, sheep, cows and horses are all forced into the food enclosure, where they are kept until someone decides to kill and eat them. Teams of goblin slaves work in the food enclosures, feeding animals, tending them, and cleaning out dung. Still, the enclosures are horrible places full of mud, offal and the occasional dead animal.

Artok enclosure
The giant orkish mounts are usually quite docile, grazing peacefully and contentedly inside their large enclosures. If they aren’t well fed, however, the herd will seek greener pastures, and few things in the world can contain it. Therefore, the surprisingly flimsy wooden fences around artok enclosures are more territorial boundaries than anything else. Artoks do not mind rain, and there are no roofed or walled sections within the enclosure.

The shorty hut
Orks have little time for their young. At a fairly young age they are placed in a common hut with other orks of their own age, with little or no adult supervision. They are rarely given enough food, and the strongest are thus encouraged to take food from weaker individuals. After a while the weakest orks die, while the strongest grow to dominate the others, and thus they learn orkish leadership skills from a young age. The shorty tent is usually an unclean, anarchic and violent place.

The angry pit
A large, oval hollow is always dug out of the ground at the heart of the stronghold. Its walls slope gently towards flat centre, and its floor is of flat-packed earth.

The angry pit is the clan’s dueling arena. Orks of the same clan aren’t ordinarily allowed to take their grievances out on each other, but anything goes inside the angry pit. The combatants don’t need to arrange a formal duel in advance, since it is common knowledge that no rules apply inside the pit.