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Old 07-07-2020, 09:50 AM   #1
Daigoro
 
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Default [GAME] Orcish Ag Bash!

Oi! Lissun' up you whelp breaths, itz time for the...
Orcish Ag Bash!

In the same vein as the Dwarven Agricultural setting thread, forum user (E) has hacked out the sums on what an orcish village might look like, upon which work this thread will expand by filling out the culture, history and personalities of the settlement.
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The Question Game
The idea of the game, for any newcomers, is to achieve some collaborative worldbuilding by asking and answering questions about the setting. Answer a posted question with your creative ideas, then post one or more questions that link in to your ideas, that explore other ideas in depth, or that start off in new directions. We'll build bit-by-bit on each others' contributions, and try not to contradict anything that's been established.

We won't use the Rapid Fire Rule (limiting answers to d6 sentences) this time round, so your answers can be as long as you like…. just stay on topic!

Use bold to highlight the question and answer numbers, and please try to quote the question you're answering.

Also, if you're in the middle of a long write-up for an answer, let us know that you want to claim it so that another contributor doesn't beat you to it.

Tags
To help us organise the questions and answers a little, use these tags to label them, or feel free to make up new tags if there's a new branch of discussion.

[TECH] - About the agricultural model and anything that might need crunchy research or calculations.
[BIO]- For questions about the physiology, behaviour or psychology of our orcs.
[HIST]- For the history of the village.
[SET]- For questions about the wider world outside the village, such as what empire lies over (or under) the next hill.
[Name 5]- (Or 3 or 7 or 10, whatever's appropriate.) A handy tag for fleshing out bits of the setting, where posters may give one or more answers each but we leave the question open for other posters to respond as well.
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I'll requote (E)'s working in the next post then kick off with the first question below that.

And for those with some time on their hands, you're invited to peruse previous iterations of the worldbuilding game:
Spoiler:  
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Last edited by Daigoro; 07-07-2020 at 10:43 AM.
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Old 07-07-2020, 09:52 AM   #2
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Default Re: [GAME] Orcish Ag Bash!

The village so far...
For reference, these are some of the assumptions our orcs are based on:

Spoiler:  
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Old 07-07-2020, 09:54 AM   #3
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Default Re: [GAME] Orcish Ag Bash!

The village so far... part 2!

These are the results of (E)'s calculations:

Spoiler:  


There was a bit of further discussion in that thread, so you might want to skim through it as some things mentioned there might be brought up here.
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Old 07-07-2020, 10:02 AM   #4
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Default Re: [GAME] Orcish Ag Bash!

Question 1 [META][Open Discussion & Vote]

Do we want to set this orcish agricultural village in the same world as the dwarven ag model from 2 years ago, or start afresh?

Pros: Quite a bit of work went into that thread, so we have a firm basis to build on and link things together with. It had lots of solid and fun ideas.
Cons: It would mean a fair bit of homework reading through that thread to get familiar with it, to find points to link to and to avoid contradictions.
Pro & Con: I don't recall orcs making their way into that setting, so we have a blank slate there, but we would need to find some space for them to exist in. (Or... did we mention them as being far away at the other end of the mountain range?)
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Old 07-07-2020, 10:22 AM   #5
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Default Re: [GAME] Orcish Ag Bash!

If we can simply summarize the take-aways from the dwarf thread, then that's an option. If a single post can't summarize the continued material, I say we start it in a new world.
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Old 07-07-2020, 12:44 PM   #6
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Default Re: [GAME] Orcish Ag Bash!

Let's say everything about Knurlkyth is mostly supplementary as these Orcs are far away.

Here's a quick rundown:
-> The Thrumbleking of Hurldrak seeks to unite all Dwarven nations.
-> The year is 3999 FFF (From Forge's Firing), at least in the Dwarf Calendar.
-> Humanity was twice ruled by a large empire, and a messianic cult is preparing for the third.
-> An anti-Human Dwarven cult called the Hidden Kingdom wages a secret genocidal war against humans.
-> There are multiple kinds of Elves, including High Elves, Twilight Elves, and long ago, Mountain Elves.
-> High Elf longevity collapsed seven hundred years ago along with the rest of their society.
-> There is a republic called Knurlkyth notable for its fine weapons manufacture.
-> Knurlkyth struggles with Grindal Peak (a Human-Dwarf society that general resents them), Three Valley (which controls trade to Knurlkyth), and the Horde of the White Eagle (who regularly raid their merchant caravans).
-> Dwarven Mages are rare, often adopted into nobility, and have aspect magic. They can commune with the spirits related to their aspect.
-> Knurlkyth maintains positive relations with Twilight Elves
-> Dwarves have difficulty interbreeding with other races. One half-dwarf, whose birth was ensured through a demonic pact, attempted to take over the world. It half-dwarves could be possessed by the same demon.
-> Other races include:
->-> Cowerbolds, underground dwelling terrier faces
->-> Immortal God-Kings, now deposed and met many fates.
->-> Dragons, natural disasters that hoard treasure.
->-> Rhinomen and Toad-Heads, who are little described beyond being in the Thrumbleking's employ.
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Old 07-07-2020, 02:17 PM   #7
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Default Re: [GAME] Orcish Ag Bash!

My vote is towards having the orcs exist in a different world or on a separate continent where any reference to the dwarven write-up is specifically made in the text of the Question or Answer but is otherwise ignored.
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Old 07-07-2020, 08:41 PM   #8
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Default Re: [GAME] Orcish Ag Bash!

Quote:
Originally Posted by (E) View Post
My vote is towards having the orcs exist in a different world or on a separate continent where any reference to the dwarven write-up is specifically made in the text of the Question or Answer but is otherwise ignored.
Story-wise, I'd lean toward the far-flung reaches of the same continent, the eastern or southern coast, which would allow us some discretion for intermingling. However, geologically, Knurlkyth is more Andean or Himalayan, while the orcs are in a more weathered Australian landscape, as I understand. So... nearby continent? Reachable, but with difficulty, at TL3ish? This is really starting to beg for a map though, it would be super dandy.

Quote:
Originally Posted by TGLS View Post
Let's say everything about Knurlkyth is mostly supplementary as these Orcs are far away.

Here's a quick rundown:...
That was impressively quick. The only thing I might add is any mention of how magic or the spirit world works, which give some structure to the metaphysics of the world.
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Last edited by Daigoro; 07-07-2020 at 08:53 PM.
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Old 07-08-2020, 06:50 AM   #9
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Default Re: [GAME] Orcish Ag Bash!

Well, there's this tidbit:

Quote:
Originally Posted by tshiggins View Post
However, in the age since the fall of the Empire of Man, explorers (and refugees and pirates) discovered that a long archipelago lay to the west, which provided a reasonably safe route across the Sunset Sea to the distant land of Oyashima. The largest island in the Stardrop Archipelago is the thickly forested Logris, about 200 miles west and currently the home of four kingdoms dueling for dominance.
Logris does not fit the bill (heavily forested), on the other hand Oyashima is a big nothing right now, and we could easily just make it what it needs to be.
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Old 07-08-2020, 08:04 AM   #10
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Default Re: [GAME] Orcish Ag Bash!

Quote:
Originally Posted by TGLS View Post
Logris does not fit the bill (heavily forested), on the other hand Oyashima is a big nothing right now, and we could easily just make it what it needs to be.
Well, the swampy region is modelled on a place in Victoria, which I would otherwise consider to be heavily wooded, so I don't think that rules it out. We'd just have to make the whole island large enough for a few different biomes; a major wooded biome then a few other more marginal biomes.

Also, being an archipelago, we could choose a different island than Logris.

Oyashima itself suggests it's a Japan-like culture, but it's not stated whether that's the whole continent, a major polity, or only the seafaring polity whose fame has reached across the Sunset Sea. So this could imply that the orcs are part of the Japan-analog hegemony or have them as major neighbours.

Anyway, let's settle it with the vote. I've got a fair idea of what people want, but this can confirm it.

Question 1.1 [VOTE]
What's the geographic relation between Kjanikatu and Knurlkyth?
Answer with your first preference and second preference.
Voting will close in 24 hours, and it's open to anyone, not just the fine posters we've heard from so far.

A: Kjanikatu is nearby neighbours to Knurlkyth, the Craft Kingdoms, the Ornthrond Mountains and the Halflings of White River, it's just that we hadn't discussed them yet.

B: Kjanikatu is on a distant part of the same continent as Knurlkyth.

C: Kjanikatu is on a different island or continent to Knurlkyth, though whether that's Logris, another of the Stardrop Archipelago, Oyashima or somewhere else altogether can be addressed later.

D: Kjanikatu is on a completely separate world to Knurlkyth.

E: Another option, please specify.

--
My vote:
Spoiler:  


----
In the meantime, let's get some other questions rolling.

Question 2 [BIO] - Size
2a: Are the orcs generally smaller, the same size as, or larger than humans?
2b: Are male and female orcs generally the same size, slightly different, or do they display a great deal of dimorphism?

----

Quote:
Kjanikatu
This large orcish village is one of several located in a strip of swampland some 5 miles wide and 20 miles long. It is beside what is officially recorded by the Empire’s cartographers as the shortest route through the wetlands.
...
Area
3 mile radius, 28 square miles of area, 18,000 acres total.
Question 3 [GEO] - Neighbourhood
3a: How many other villages are there in this region?
3b: What are their names?
3c: What's the name of the region?
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Last edited by Daigoro; 07-08-2020 at 08:22 AM.
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