[hider=Exarch - Obould Khagn][img]http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gRCWha-59vE/VBXiMshgK0I/AAAAAAAABp0/u5IwZ44MGXg/s1600/OrcKing.jpg[/img] [b]Name:[/b] Obould Khagn (orignal name: Durldar) [b]Titles:[/b] Obould Many-Shot/Goldshot, The Beast of North [b]Type:[/b] Orc Exarch [b]Loyalty:[/b] Iao, The Archon of War [b]Allies:[/b] TBA [b]Rivals:[/b] TBA [b]Appearance:[/b] TBA [b]Personality and Drive:[/b] TBA [b]History:[/b] The leader of the infamous Golden Horde now pledged allegiance to the Empire. While most Khagns rose from the lines of prestigious clan leaders Obould was born from a minor shaman family of healers under the name of Durldar. [to be continued...] [b]Armaments:[/b] [hider=Dond-Dron'Mekth][img]http://britishbattles.homestead.com/files/asia/mideast/turkey/ottomans/transparent_turks/TRANS_Early_16th_century_Ottoman_volley_gun.gif[/img] Dond-Dron'Mekth (Ten Thunder Killers) is an ornate and unique Strigzanuurz made shortly after his promotion to Exarch. It's forged of the best Guarni metal and rune crafting, enhanced by shamans and imbued with a fragment of Obould's exarch essence. The weapon has a large central tube and nine secondary tubes, all can be separately loaded with blasting balm and ball. Ignition provided by a firegem which is rotated to the correct position with a mechanism. The chambers are enhanced with fire runes and shamanic blessings for greater performance. So great that the weapon needs heavy golden bullets to bring out its full potential (albeit other metal or stone bullets are more commonly used). Some say that Dond-Dron'Mekth is so powerful it can siege fortress walls but such claims must be a complete exaggeration. Regardless this weapon quickly earned Obould the title of Many-Shot and Goldshot for its unique features. It's said that Obould was so amazed and in turn also terrified of the performance of Dond-Dron'Mekth that he ordered the master smith responsible for its creation to be executed, burying the knowledge of the weapon with him. [/hider] [b]Abilities:[/b] TBA [/hider] [hider=Faction - Golden Horde][img]http://i.imgur.com/ScOttKH.jpg[/img] [b]Name:[/b] Obould's Warband, Golden Horde (mistranslation of Kri'Kadar meaning "Central Tent") [b]Specialization:[/b] Nomadic Warriors [b]Size:[/b] 5000+ warriors and shamans [b]Goals:[/b] To seek honor in battle, attain wealth and grow in power for the ultimate goal of gathering all Uruk under the same banner. [b]Warcry:[/b] WAAAAAAAAAGH! (no, not really...) [b]Hierarchy and Culture:[/b] The title of Khagn signifies a warlord who united multiple tribes (described as Bashkaum) under his banner. Beneath him are the Bajrakuurz who are chieftans and military leaders to their tribe (Bajrak). Depending on the amount of warriors within the tribe they are then split into varying number of Tufri (hordes, singular: Tuf) lead by a Kritar. A Tuf is generally split to 8-12 Kadars collecting 6-10 warriors including a Lapuurz to command them. Uruks often born into the same unit and barring promotion or extraordinary circumstances they never leave these. They practice and fight together in these formations for their whole life and they achieve high levels of discipline. Each Tuf has at least one Laguurz (shaman) whose duty ranges from religious guidance to medicine and even the creation of the infamous Karikabuum (gun balm) for the army. Bajraks have more higher ranking Laguurz in addition and the most famous of the shamans often go even further to serve the Bashkaum and be in direct contact with the Khagn. As it can be seen shamans form a separate hierarchy from the warrior caste and the two almost never interferes with the affairs of the other. Shamans are priests, scholars and magicians to the Horde. Barring the best of them a shaman's power is extremely limited which leads to orcish magic often being simple and subtle in nature. They are also advisors to the units they're assigned with and tasked with keeping their history and records. [b]History:[/b] TBA [b]Military Capabilities:[/b] [hider=Uruk (orcs)][img]http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_lD5nplPLYn4/SZf_bjLhHqI/AAAAAAAAAFI/M97LaijFeNE/s400/orch.jpg[/img] The Uruk also known as the orks/orcs are a race of humanoids dominant within the center of the main continent. They are tall, at least 6 feet at average and often highly muscular. More distinctly they have protouding jawline and foreheads, large canine teeth and skin coloration unnatural to any human. This and their legends of ferocity at times titled them as "monsters" or creatures of the devil. Yet barring certain features the orks aren't that different from humans (also proven by the fact they can interbreed to sire a half-ork). They have same maximum lifespan of 120 years. Yet so long they are physically active the Orks don't show signs of venerable age for long. At the age of 60-80 an ork could be still within his prime and thus at average orcs live longer unless they either starve or killed. Due to their higher muscle mass orks at average are considerably stronger than a human and if well-fed can be twice as enduring as them. Feeding is an issue for orks as they consume more than twice as much food as humans at average. Some say orks eat humans and other people on regular basis but those are only rumors based on wild assumptions. In contrast the rumors about orks having poorer eyesight is true at least when the Sun is the brightest. On the other hand orks can see much better during low-light conditions and combined with their dark skin this made them dangerous night hunters. Speaking of which the ork skin varies just like a human's. In their case it can range from pale brown to the usual greenish brown to charcoal black. Just like for humans the skin pigmentation depends on how much one"s exposed to the sunlight thus it also can tell lifestyle and social status. In general most if not all ork warriors have black skin. To an average human most orks look beastly and gruesome but the feeling is somewhat mutual. The Uruk sense of personal aesthetics and beauty are different from humans and especially compared to the elves. Their sense of aesthetics is somewhat flipped in this regard. In the end some attention should be dawn to their name. Uruk is both the name of their race and nationality. The term Ork/Orc originates from "Orakbur" a contraction of the words translated as "Sons of Orakgash" which was the nickname of Orakgash's tribe before uniting all Uruk in their legend. The name survived and occasionally used between Uruk which eventually mutated to the short version "Ork" , this soon became the common name of the Uruk in foreign lands. Due to this origin no Uruk will ever be offended to be referred as Ork, albeit they might politely attempt to correct you. [hider=Laguurz - Ork Shamans][img]https://thinyourpaints.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/pzo9208-halforc.jpg[/img] Uruk religion is based on their tribal shamanistic roots. They beleive in the gods representing the four elements as well as respecting the spirits of the land, the forest, the rivers and the mountains. Their religious body are the Laguurz which roughly translates "to do magical". They were chosen from the brightest most gifted members of the tribe and aside from listening to the spirits they also conduct scholastic activities and even medicine. They are priests, scholars, medics and even magicians. Their duties are many and they're well respected for it. While magic and religious rituals are the their first duty not many shamans are powerful spellcasters. Instead they use their magic in simple, subtle yet still very meaningful ways. Like alchemy or the art to communicate with pieces of enchanted paper. Shamans are responsible for the creation of Karikabuum, the infamous blasting balm. While initially this had purely religious purposes since its militarization Laguurz are tasked with supplying Uruk with however much they need. Laguurz are wise and tasked with the records of their culture. They write the history of the Uruk and tell the tribe in tales. Their knowledge and connection to the spirits also make them trusted advisors to any leader. [/hider] [/hider] [hider=Warg][img]http://pre15.deviantart.net/9bd9/th/pre/f/2012/045/3/4/big_bad_wolf_by_solidtom-d4ppjx6.jpg[/img] Wargs are giant wolf-like creatures and the most important animal with the Uruk culture. As said their features are mostly resembling a giant wolf with size approaching a large bear. Yet the similarities almost end there. Wargs are omnivorous capable of eating grass or hunting for prey. They have a prominent musculature which also grants them explosive strength on the sprint. When well-fed Wargs are very enduring, at the extremes capable of traveling over a hundred miles within a day. Also unlike horses wargs are equipped with a fangs and claws as their own dangerous weapons in combat. Giant wolf creatures tearing apart men can be a chaotic and very demoralizing sight. In addition wargs can literally feed off the remains of the slain enemies. Wargs are also surprisingly intelligent and can be trained to perform various orders on their own with minimal supervision. Overall the versatility of the Warg what made Uruk a force to be reckoned with. Outside of battle wargs are also great hunters and guards of homes. Ancient Uruk tradition is to own a warg cub as a pet which latter will grow up to be a loyal mount for the would be Uruk warrior.[/hider] [hider=Karikabuum (blasting balm)]Laguurz (shamans) respect all four element but out of them the most popular are the spirits of fire. Attempting to reach closer connection to them the Uruk alchemy created Karikabuum. Named after Karikaasd the young god of violent fires Karikabuum combines tree sap (or mushrooms) with mold and soil to create a burning balm-like compound. It was soon discovered that Karikabuum has military applications and the combination of these two factors exploded into a culture wide fashion. Now Karikabuum is not only used for practical purposes but have a religious meaning for Uruk. There are multiple grades of Karikabuum, the lowest can be produced from just mixing the ingredients while higher grades can require days of preparation. Outside the Uruk these generally separated into two categories, fire balm and blasting balm. Fire balm is weaker and more suited for producing fires, propelling rockets or used in low quality Strigzanuurz. Blasting balm is dried which makes it volatile and more difficult to use, the higher quality the more dangerous it'd become. Blasting balm is used in high quality Strigzanuurz and most explosives. In Uruk the high quality blasting balm is called Karijak'hai. [b]List of names:[/b] Karikabuum, Kabuum, Kaboom, blasting/fire balm, Karijak'hai (explosive), Palsvaj (low quality alternative), Thrund-Grog (Guarni name of it) [hider=Strigzanuurz - totally not guns][img]http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Qm25l2vw1hI/UpJWISWiY4I/AAAAAAAAAWM/ZRsJpVatlcA/s1600/800px-Vietnamese_wooden_cannon_captured_at_the_Vinh_Long_citadel_by_the_French_on_23_March_1862.jpg[/img] Strigzanuurz (roughly translated as "A Warrior's Tool") is the primary weapon of the Uruk, almost completely replacing bows in war. These can be described as tubes filled with fire balm followed by some kind of projectile (usually stone or scrap). Strigzanuurz are extremely loud, creates a flash of fire and produce thick smoke as a byproduct. As such they have a certain psychological effect, too. Rarely even mistaken for sorcery. Uruks in contrast love all these and some even claim divine revelation in its midst. Chaotic scene aside it's questionable if Sgtrigzanuurz are really better than archery. Compared to the terrifying warbows the Uruk used to wield the Strigzanuurz might be even weaker while being slower and more awkward to reload. They are also dangerous. The typical Strigzanuurz is made out of a wood trunk hollowed out in the middle and reinforced with some metal bands. The weapon can burst anytime, destroying it and injuring the user. Albeit nowadays they tend to run molten copper or bronze inside the barrel for reinforcement which reduced the risk considerably. More wealthy Uruks (usually the leadership) might also have metal Strigzanuurz made from anything to copper, iron or [url=https://68.media.tumblr.com/69146b638cd350a0fb8fe24db541c532/tumblr_inline_nek9bohar61sfjjkp.jpg]most preferably bronze[/url]. These can endure more powerful loads and are far less likely to burst but they have the bad tendency to grow hot from constant use. [/hider] [hider=Balshatauz - fire lances][img]http://cdn1.historybuff.com/images/2015/11/19134709/huoqiang-e1447958895649-300x200.jpg[/img] One of the first uses of Karikabuum in battle were for psychological and disorienting purposes. By fitting a wooden tube to a cavalry lance it was possible to cover your enemy in a wall of flames prior to your deadly charge. As time went on the Uruk put stones and scrap in front of the mixture for a more distant and lethal effect and so this is how the currently dominant design for the Balshatauz (fire lance) was born. These weapons still mostly rely on the disorienting effect of the noise and flames but now with the random carnage of the shrapnel. The tube can be easily replaced out of battle but otherwise it's regarded as a single use weapon which is then continued to be utilized as a normal lance. [/hider] [hider=Karikijat - rockets][img]http://pds8.egloos.com/pds/200806/19/26/e0014726_4859a2dea0d37.jpg[/img] Also referred as fire arrows, the Karikijat are long arrow or javelin like projectiles propelled by a tube stacked with low grade Karikabuum (also referred as Palsvaj for rockets). Instead of an instant this propels the arrow continuously, achieving a slow but more consistent flight. Fire arrows were invented early and were the most popular before the use of Strigzanuurz. Regardless they exist in many uses and forms ranging from light ones shot from bows to larger ones launched from hand or wooden frames. Most of them only has a spear or arrow head but certain types even carry explosives or incendiary charges. The heavier rockets are also popular in siege warfare as they can be still easily created on site. [/hider] [hider=Zaja'bok - bombs and grenades] Incendiary or explosive charges made by putting large amount of Karikabuum into a container. This can anything from a ceramic jar to a hollow metal sphere. Some variants have small balls or caltrops mixed with them to spread shrapnel. The largest ones are used for siege, mostly launched from catapults. The smaller ones are thrown, either alone or 2-4 of the connected by a rope akin to a bola. Zaja'bok are risky to handle and not everyone is trusted with them. High quality Karikabuum is also expensive and rare thus such weapons aren't that common. [/hider] [/hider] TBA [/hider] [hider= Territory - Staz'Logonob][img][/img] [b]Name:[/b] Staz'Logonob (Beast Basin) [b]Type:[/b] Collection of Uruk tribunaries under Obould's control [b]Description:[/b] TBA [b]Culture: [/b] TBA [b]Laws:[/b] As per Uruk customs so long they pay their dues the tribunaries to a warlord enjoy safety and almost complete autonomy. [b]Military:[/b] Outside of the Uruk tribes in the wilds Staz'Logob has relatively limited military. This is two-fold, once because the Uruk rulers don't like their subjects too powerful. Another reason being that they live in relative peace with the Uruk shouldering their protection. That being said there are auxiliaries that can be recruited from all races and each settlement has their own guard force. Inspired by Iao's legion system these auxiliaries are in the process of reorganizing in a similar manner. [/hider] Pretty much still work in progress but posting what I have for now.