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Old 07-10-2020, 09:22 PM   #21
Daigoro
 
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Default Re: [GAME] Orcish Ag Bash!

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Originally Posted by TGLS View Post
Well, I suppose with a high level of infant mortality, it could work...
And with a very low birth weight, perhaps.
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A) There's an average of about 23 Orcs/Spirit Circle. In the village, it is slightly lower.
So there's 24 or 25 warder spirits/spirit circles for the village then?
Quote:
B) It's fairly common for spirit circles to live under one roof, though campaigning and other duties can interfere with this.
Sounds like lots of long halls or villas then.
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D) Spirit circles cut clear across caste lines. However, Sires and Queens tend to stay within a smaller number of circles.
So, in other words, some circles are more likely to produce queens or sires?
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Originally Posted by (E) View Post
Assumptions used in the calculations.
- Each Adult orc consumes 750lbs of meat rich food per annum. This includes a percentage of wastage and likely lowballs the energy concentration of their diet.
- Each "Family" has 2 adults and 3 dependants.
- Each "Family" consumes 4 adults worth of food.
- 1/5 of the population is working in a profession.
- 1/5 of the population is occupied in miscellaneous tasks.
- 2/5 of the population is children.
- 1/5 of the population is elderly.
I forgot about the 900 surplus mouths, some of which would be living in the village but not directly involved in its productivity.

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I would lean towards a lowering of the birth rate if there was one Queen per village.
But there are other ways to balance a sufficent number of skilled individual to run a village with a high juvenile population. Question 11's answer might help too.
Part of the surplus could be supporting the extra juveniles, not to forget the queen's extra consumption.
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[Edit] Very roughly an orc Queen's reproduction rate might be equivalent to that of a human population of 1000 - 2000 people.
I have no idea what that would be. Got a figure? However, we can also figure it out from the family breakdown. If "children" are ages 0-10, and there are 200 of them, then there are 20 children per year bracket, after infant mortality is deducted. (Presuming no further mortality. I guess it could be a pyramid graph, with 5x 10yr olds, going down to 100x 1yr olds.)
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Old 07-11-2020, 08:11 AM   #22
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Default Re: [GAME] Orcish Ag Bash!

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Question 11 13 [BIO] - Lifespan
When do Orcs reach maturity? When do they reach old age? When do they die?
(Should be qn 13).

Answer 13 [BIO] - Lifespan
Orcs mature quickly, at around 30% younger than humans of an equivalent development point. So a 7yo orc is equivalent to a 10yo human, they're juveniles at age 10 (equivalent to humans at 15), and full adults by 14 (a human 21). Their old age starts around 40 (human 60), but after that they age much more slowly, being healthy and active up to 80 or 100.
----

Question 14 [BIO] - Old Orcs
What happens to older orcs for them not to be such a large portion of a village's population?

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Originally Posted by TGLS View Post
A) There's an average of about 23 Orcs/Spirit Circle. In the village, it is slightly lower.
B) It's fairly common for spirit circles to live under one roof, though campaigning and other duties can interfere with this.
Question 15 [SET] - Warder Spirit Range
This seems to imply that warder spirits have a geographic limit to their influence. Do they, and how far is it?
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Old 07-13-2020, 08:43 AM   #23
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Default Re: [GAME] Orcish Ag Bash!

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Question 8 [SET]
Who are the Ancients? Are they related to the Immortal God-Kings from the Far East?
Answer 8- The Ancients' City of Molthe
The Ancients were a race alien to this world, arriving from elsewhere via travel through the astral plane. They came early in the First Age, smelling a young world ripe for conquest and dominion. They were skilled in astral crafting- shaping forms and essences out of astral material and applying them to terrestrial objects or even beings. The Ancients resided in Molthe, a city of jagged bismuth spires and ellipsoid salt crystal domes from which they commanded their empire for an Age.

The empire's downfall came many millennia ago, catalysed by the defeat of their orcish host, allowing the peoples of this continent under their tyrannical rule to revolt against them.

It's said the Immortal God-Kings were originally barbarian bandits who plundered the ruins of Molthe. Or was it that they daringly stole from under the noses of the Ancients at the peak of their rule? The true facts become clouded and dim across these many ages. In any case, they made off with the chrysalis urns and other artefacts of astral crafting and survived learning how to harness their astral energies toward extending their own lifespans and turning thought-form into concrete substance.

Question 16 [HIST]- The Ancients' Legacy
16a) What was the fate of the deposed Ancients?
16b) Are the Ruins of Molthe still there?
16c) What other artefacts of astral crafting are abroad in the world?
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Old 07-13-2020, 08:51 AM   #24
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Default Re: [GAME] Orcish Ag Bash!

I think the thread's a bit young to die, so I'll continue to beat its drum a little while longer.

So here's a question recap to help you dive in and push the wagon another furlong down the road.

Question Recap
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?

Question 9 [CUL/VIL]
How are Orcish governments organized in general? How about this village? Is it part of a larger nation, or is it independent?

Question 12 [SET]- Warder Spirits
12a) What race(s) were the army that sacrificed themselves to become warder spirits?
12b) What were they and their homeland called?
(I'm calling this a SET question instead of HIST, so we know what to call the spirits and what their powers might be.)

Plus Qns 14, 15 & 16 above.
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Old 07-13-2020, 09:06 AM   #25
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Default Re: [GAME] Orcish Ag Bash!

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Question 9 [CUL/VIL]
How are Orcish governments organized in general? How about this village? Is it part of a larger nation, or is it independent?
Answer 9 [CUL/VIL]
At the village level, governance is undertaken by a council of the older matriarchs, and those of the smarter older males. One of the later will be the foremost of the village's warriors, and lead them in battle with the assistance of his broodsisters.

Because of the trade in sires, villages are forced to operate in coalitions. These can be stable across generations, or fluid (and rife with betrayal and subterfuge). These coalitions can also comprise neutral clans such as those that practice specialised crafts or skills, colleges of shamans, or orders of priests/esses. Rumours of some clans specialising in the skills of assassins are the just the talk of drunken dwarves and elves that have partaken in the leaf of the halflings.

This particular village is part of a coalition of a number of herding/hunter gather/and forestry focused settlements. It also includes clans which specialise in metalwork and bow making, a college of shamans, and some orders of clerics associated with the local pantheon (Goddess of fertility and providence, a god of war and conflict, a goddess of trade, and a goddess of darkness, knowledge, and undocumented arcana, amongst others).

Orcs have a multitude of different expressions of their culture. Some will eat any sentients that they capture, others only elves. Some groups will trade with humans, and others will provide them with mercenaries in return for high quality trade items.
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Old 07-13-2020, 09:11 AM   #26
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Answer 9 [CUL]
Some will eat any sentients that they capture, others only elves.
Orcish joke

Q: How do you cook a dwarf?
A: Throw it in a big pot, along with spices and a large rock. When the rock is soft, discard the dwarf, and eat the rock instead.
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Old 07-13-2020, 04:54 PM   #27
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Default Re: [GAME] Orcish Ag Bash!

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Question 11 [BIO] - Lifespan
When do Orcs reach maturity? When do they reach old age? When do they die?
Answer 11 [BIO] - Lifespan (addendum)
A number of orcish young do not seem to mature, and as they age they tend towards gender ambiguity. These smaller orcs are what are commonly called golbins, smarter than their bigger brothers, and with a greater mechanical attitude than their bigger sisters, who are in turn smarter than them.

NB: (E), would this work within the context of your maths?
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Old 07-13-2020, 05:14 PM   #28
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Default Re: [GAME] Orcish Ag Bash!

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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?
Answer 2 [BIO] - Size (Addendum)
There are tales of orcish folk where the roles and abilities are inverted, as well as some where they are the same size. But it must be added, that the later are rumoured to be merely human folk, cursed in the distant past for their alliance with an Orcish host...
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Old 07-13-2020, 05:17 PM   #29
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Default Re: [GAME] Orcish Ag Bash!

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(Should be qn 13).
Question 15 [SET] - Warder Spirit Range
This seems to imply that warder spirits have a geographic limit to their influence. Do they, and how far is it?
Yes, warder spirits have geographic limits to their influence. Every Orc must return to their spirit's shrine at least once every triple moon (a cycle of about 17 months), lest their spirit becomes unbound.

Most shrines are located at or near their circle's long house, and can be relocated. Most shrines are buildings, but there are some more fanciful shrines that are part of a natural feature such as a waterfall, or a section of a ship. Each shrine contains a sacred item, usually a weapon said to date back to the Battle of Mount Ze'hurim. As long as the item exists, the shrine can be rebuilt.

Recently, some uncultured barbarians have apparently heard rumors about "Magic Orc Weapons" and have started going around sacking shrines. Most of the time, they have ignored the sacred items (usually discarding them as broken junk), but this is becoming a nuisance...

Question 17 [SET] - Barbarians
Who are the Barbarians who are attacking the Orcs?

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Old 07-13-2020, 11:55 PM   #30
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Default Re: [GAME] Orcish Ag Bash!

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Answer 9 [CUL/VIL]
<...>
It also includes clans which specialise in metalwork and bow making, a college of shamans, and some orders of clerics associated with the local pantheon (Goddess of fertility and providence, a god of war and conflict, a goddess of trade, and a goddess of darkness, knowledge, and undocumented arcana, amongst others).
So, are we going to pursue these ideas from the other thread about the metal-workers being a religious group?

(ETA: Though there are shades of The Mandalorian in this idea to be wary of copying.)
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A semi regular visiting metal smith, or someone hawking similar? Considered neutral in any conflicts between clans or settlements, etc? Acolytes of an Orcish equivalent to Hephaestus
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Originally Posted by (E) View Post
Anyone working with timber or stone is going to need some repair work done on their tools on a daily basis.
If the local tools are more like those of the iron age then the repair work may involve heating and reshaping many of the tools.
Charcoal is difficult to transport long distances, so importing tools is likely.
The local timber may burn hot enough for rudimentary smith work.

Just throwing around some ideas.
Smith's being considered neutral sounds interesting to me, there are certain correlations with smiths traditionally having skills and knowledge that are considered mystical (ish) with rumours and legends tied to the profession.

Playing with the acolyte idea smiths might take the place of shamans or the religeous practitioners in society.
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