Orc Warlord (Basic Lore)

From Epic Path
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Orc Warlord (HeavyCR 20)

Orc Warlord
Chaotic Evil - Medium - Humanoid (Orc)
This creature possesses the Heavy role, and therefore counts as 2 monsters for purposes of encounter size, XP award, and treasure.

This monster frequently has the Heavy role, but may be set to other roles if desired.

Orc Warlords aren't warlords in the sense that they are inspirational leaders who provide direction to their fellow orcs through stirring speeches and encouraging battle cries. Orc Warlords are called warlords because they are lords of war. Orc Warlords are incredibly mighty, beings who have fought among the ranks of the centurions and shown a heroic aptitude for butchery. They are fierce, nearly unkillable and impressively destructive.

Warlords typically aren't leaders of the tribe, as they aren't necessarily politically savvy. They rarely concern themselves with the logistics of how the legions will get enough food while on the march, or finding the best ground to camp without being exposed to enemy harassment. Instead, orc warlords are surrounded by servants, lovers, toadies, and sycophants, and are pampered, dressed in savage finery, and given the best armors and weapons. They are expected to live a life of debauchery and leisure, with no responsibilities except to fight when there is fighting to be done.

A single tribe raises as many warlords as they can, and for many tribes it is rare for more than one warlord to be encountered at a time. Instead, orc centurions are common companions to warlords on the battlefield, as well as the occasional Orc Wardrummer. However, for some orc tribes, prosperity and luck will allow them to elevate groups to warlord status, and great nations of orcs have been known to field scores of them.