New Player Character Race: Rohm (rejected)

Rohm (Ortho Orcs)

Before the rise of the Knights of Harmony, Orcs marauded through the lands in the service of the Lords of Chaos and demons. Prince Rohmel made their defeat to be one of his primary duties in establishing peace throughout the nations of Ortho. While many of his Captains argued that exterminating the Orcs was preferable (since they were an utterly evil race), Prince Rohmel balked at this genocide. Instead, he made it a point to take vast numbers of prisoners as he rounded up most of the Orc race during his conquests.

That was when Prince Rohmel set upon a daring plan, Instead, Prince Rohmel ordered the children of all Orcs taken from their parents and raised in the glories of the Harmonium. When the adult children were returned to their families, they found nothing in common with their degenerate and backwards ancestors. A brutal war followed with one generation pitted against the next. Prince Rohmel's plan succeeded beyond his wildest expectations as the Old Orcs were utterly annihilated with the last of their elders cleaved in by a group of twelve year old army Orcish drummer boys. The orcs took the name of the "Rohm" in honor of their founder and were welcomed into the Harmonium.

The early years of the Orcs weren't particularly pleasant by any stretch of the imagination. Many races balked at the presence of their hated enemies amongst the ranks of the Harmonium. Dwarves, especially, loathed the fact that the Rohm were amongst them. Former allies of the Orcs in the Harmonium like the Hobgoblins and Beholders viewed the Rohm with derision as they seemed to have forfeited much of their legendary ferocity. Nevertheless, the Orcs have fought for recognition and equality by being doubly as Harmonious as the next man. This has given the Rohm the reputation of being the most die-hard fanatics of the OCA.

The current place of Orcs in the OCA is one of the most widespread and recognized races in the union. Their place is somewhat menial compared to that of other races in the OCA and some bigotry still exists against them, but this hasn't prevented some from rising to the top ranks of the Harmonium. Nevertheless, while most Orcs react with horror and disgust at what their species acts like on other worlds....others have noticed that they at least not considered lackies and servants.

Personality: Rohm have a reputation as unfailingly optimistic, idealistic, and passionate believers in the Harmonium. Rohm are amongst the most loyal and steadfast citizens in the Harmonium with most of them showing tremendous difference to officials of the OCA whenever they are confronted with them. There is an erroneous assumption that most are easy to bully as well but few make the mistake more than once. The Orcs of Ortho are much better educated than the rest of their kind but are not particularly deep thinkers, which has resulted in much prejudice against them.

Rohm have a deeply wounded sense of cultural pride underneath their skin that never forgets any slight towards them (and there have been many). While they believe in the OCA, they are also of the mind that many in the Harmonium don't believe in them. Thus, they have developed a long memory for revenge and retribution against those that have slighted them or their kinsfolk. Those Orcs that find themselves in positions of authority often immediately turn to using that to strike back at those that abused them on the way up.

It takes a great deal to get a Ortho Orc to lose his temper but the actual results are usually quite terrifying to witness. Not a few Ortho Orcs have managed to find themselves hung or serving lengthy prison sentences thanks to individuals who did not know when to stop pushing them.

Physical Description: Rohm are significantly cleaner and better groomed than their Barbarian cousins. They tend to be less freakishly strong than their cousins as well, most having grown up in 'civilization' than the harsh conditions that most Orcs have to deal with. They have a preference for utilitarian clothes and do not have much in the way of fashion, disdaining the ostentatious lifestyles of many humans. Orcs prefer simplicity in most things with the only exceptions being their military uniforms. Rohm take a tremendous pride in any awards or decorations that they recieve and show them off at every opportunity.

Orcs of Motmurk are an exception to this as they tend to dress in "traditional" orcish garb that's decorated in battle trophies, feathers, home spun cloth and other 'regalia' of the past. This is viewed as hopelessly Un-Harmonious by most civilized orcs. Nevertheless, it is a source of pride and defiance for the well-wounded people. They also tend to show signs of sickness and scars from pox due to the appalling conditions in Motmurk.

Rohm are not unattractive to humans, at least compared to their kin, as they've made a deliberate effort to blend in much more with the race that conquered them. While no green-skinned Orc will ever pass for a human being, they do not look out of place in middle-class Ortho society.

Alignment: Rohm Orcs tend to be lawful to a ridiculous degree. The majority of the race is either Lawful Neutral or Lawful Good with most living by the strictest definitions of their religion and the OCA's laws in a given region. Unfortunately, those Orcs who choose to go against these alignments tend to taint the entire race's reputation.

Chaotic Orcs tend towards Neutrality or Evil as they feel liberated from social constraints when they rebel against the stifling society of the Harmonium. The Orc's long buried violence is often released in startling and terrifying ways. Some of the worst criminals on Ortho are Rohm and they tend to quickly form gangs around themselves that the Harmonium is forced to use maximum force to repulse.

Lawful Evil and Neutral Evil Orcs are even worse with most of them bearing terrible grudges against the whole of Harmonium society for the poor condition of their kinsmen. Quite a few of them take to worshiping Alzrius or the Baatezu in hopes of striking back at a society that they believed enslaved them rather than liberated them.

Rohm Lands: Most Orcs lack any real Province to call their own and mostly live in small communities throughout the Human lands. The Orcs are a large minority on the planet Ortho and almost ever present but they rarely wield any significant degree of authority. The majority of Orcs are employed in menial labor or the lowest levels of the military with only exceptional members rising above their relatively lowly station.

Dwarves and Hobgoblins have particular problems with Orc-Kind, mostly due to the fact that both tend to hold the higher end jobs in terms of labor or the military that most Orcs covet than ethnic prejudice. While everyone is equal in the Harmonium, there are often significant flair-ups when Rohm are forced to work with either of these parties. Curiously, Orcs are amongst the most fond of the Otaki as the outcasts treat them with none of the hostility of their fore bearers.

Orcs who live on the frontier regions like Heka-Voll or in the Thaeran Isles tend to find much more freedom than in civilized regions. These Orcs often rise to positions of power and prominence as their strength becomes a significant asset.

But the Orc 'homeland' for all intents and purposes is Motmurk, which is a source of pride and shame for most orcs. Motmurk was where most of the Orc peoples were huddled then forced to learn the ways of 'civilization' so that the stories about them are filled with plague, pestilence, famine, and other horrid tragedies even before they were taken away by the OCA. By comparison to the rest of Ortho, it is a poverty stricken region and most of the tribes live an extremely harsh existence despite the minimal aid given by the Harmonium. It is also where most Orcs feel the most free and filled with life.

Religion: Orcs are almost all worshipers of the Lords of Order. The old religions have been completely cast down and they tend to be sincere, if literal, followers of the Churches of Ortho. Indeed, many of the more secular minded citizenry of Ortho view the Orcs as blind devotees of the gods without any real forethought to questioning them. This only makes them more valued as patrons of the faith in the Church's eyes.

Bizarrely, while most Orcs are not very good at analyzing scripture, there is a disproportionate number in the service of the Church. Many Orcs find their way into the service of the Sin Hunters as their literal and fundamentalist approach to the following of the faith is perfect for the role of Inquisitor.

It also is important to note that Orcs make up the largest followers of the demigod Alzrius and other Lords of Chaos after humans. While very few Orcs are followers of these gods and are hated by their own kind, the religions offer some the feeling that they are able to rise above a station they'd never exceed if they 'followed the rules.'

Languages: Orcs tend to speak their own tongue, which is almost unrecognizable from the original language they spoke (only 20% or so is understandable by outsiders who speak standard Orchish). This version is mostly used to communicate amongst themselves and their interior community with very few outsiders taught it. All Orcs are also taught how to speak Ortho common in order to better fit into the world around them.

Those few Orcs who speak other languages tend to choose something that is simple and practical than learning for its own sake.

Names: Orc names are very plain and human-like. Most of the male names are named things like Ben, Jacob, Fortitude, William, Temperance, etc. while females get names like Sarah, Chastity, Virtue, and Laura. Their surnames are almost entirely like those of humans with profession and town being the most common.

The Orcs of Motmurk reject this and use Ancient Orcish names for themselves as a matter of pride. Ironically, it is also a sign of pride amongst orcs that have been gangsters or thugs in the cities.

Adventurers: Ortho Orc Adventurers favor martial classes with Fighters finding the race to be particularly good with weaponry. While not splendid tacticians, they make excellent skirmishers with more than a few finding themselves in the Church as Paladins or scouting as rangers. Those Orcs who abandon civilization as Barbarians are shunned by their kind. Barbarians are viewed giving into the primitive urges that the race has mostly risen above but have a sort of pseudo-mystique that many secretly envy. Rangers tend to blur the line in terms of behavior as the freedom from civilization is something that is an ever present temptation to them. It is the favored class of Orcs from Motmurk.

After Fighters, most Orcs tend towards becoming Rogues amongst adventurers. This is viewed as a shameful life choice but the poverty that afflicts many Rohm households is something that encourages them to turn towards violent professions. Oddly, many Rogues become Spies and Saboteurs in the Army and 'redeem' their profession.

The Orc is well-represented in the Church with clerics being exceptionally common. They tend to favor the hard-line faiths of Didairdin, Tyerusus, and Saeduenical than any other. As priests, they tend not to be very imaginative but are blindingly faithful.

Few Orcs have the intellect towards Wizardry and tend to shun magic as a general rule. Rohm Sorcerers are surprisingly more common with their charisma often leading them to become demagogues amongst the lower ranks of society.

Rohm Traits

* Medium: As Medium creatures, Orcs have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
* Orcs base land speed is 30 feet.
* Ortho Orcs receive +2 to Strength.
* Ortho Orcs receive a -2 to Intelligence.
* Darkvision out to 60 feet.
* Light Sensitivity: Orcs are dazzled in bright sunlight or within the radius of a daylight spell.
* Automatic Languages: Common, Orc. Bonus Languages: Beholder, Dwarven, Hobgoblin, Planar Trade.
* Favored Class: Fighter (Ranger in Motmurk)