The term
Rhom-Oc covers all orcish
tribes living in the vast Heath of Wilderon. Most of these
orcs live in small
family communities scattered over the plains and got known due to their close
relationship with wargs
with which they hunt the huge herds of reindeers that wander these harsh
regions.
Usually the Rhom-Oc avoid direct contact with other races
except for occasional raids on villages and caravans for which they
are feared for and where they use the vastness of the Heaths
to escape from anyone who might pursue them.
Appearance. The Rhom-Oc are smaller than
other known orc
tribes and appear weaker in stature. Most of them don't exceed the height
of 1.6 peds and 1.8 peds is already considered extremely
tall. The appearanceof the Rhom-Oc is
probably a result of the harsh life in the Heaths
and despite this they are quite sturdy and immune to all
kinds of weather conditions. The skin color is generally a deep and dark green
that fades into their surroundings nicely, but exceptions
of are brown-skinned
orcs are also known - however,
they're a rare sight. Another
special feature about these orcs
is that their eyes show a nearly natural (from a
human perspective) amount of white, only
the corneas are of the common yellow or red colors,
though sometimes with a good amount of brown in it and less glaring than the
eyes of other tribes.
They cloth mainly in furs and leather. Woven cloth is unknown to them except as
loot from their raids. Metal is very precious and only used for weapons and
tools as it is very seldom in this region
and therefore is a sign of great wealth as
is jewellery. Most Rhom-Oc wear
decoration made of bones and teeth from their prey. Their long hair is worn open
or in long braids over their shoulders to give some protection from the cold.
Coat of Arms/Sign.
Most of the clans wear a personal sign on their small leather shields,
often a pictures of an animal living in the Heaths. Preferred are the pictures
of wolves,
wargs, jackals, bears and reindeers, more
seldom some kind of birds. The shield often changes when the leader of the clan
switches to mark the change in politics and leadership.
Territory.
The Rhom-Oc live in the vast Heaths of Wilderon in
Northern Sarvonia. They
wander freely, following the herds of reindeers as they wish. Over the course of
the year they wander northward till summer and then back to the south in more or
less one big circle, however most clans stick to special
routes and follow only certain herds.
Some, but not all, Rhom-Oc clans are known to settle in the Peat
Hillands during winter and it is heard some clans took permanent seats on
the lower hillsides of the Imlith or Vindel Mountains
using natural caves as permanent encampments.
The general borders of their territory are the Vindel and Imlith
Mountains to the south, the Gulf of Oh'Cant'Aelwyn and the Gathorn
Mountains north and west. Their
eastern borders reach as far as Prism Lake but as they're
nomads living in small groups scattered over the Heaths it is hard to determine
where the actual borders lie - from
a Rhom-Oc point of view most likely the territory you can reach in one day
riding on top of a great warg so their
territory is very loosely defined.
People.
The Rhom-Oc are the only known
orcish
tribe that tamed the great
warg permanently and in a real supportive
relationship. Most others misuse these beasts only for their war efforts while
the Rhom-Oc need the wargs
in everyday life. The
wargs respresent the Rhom-Oc
way to travel the huge distances across the plains during one year and
with the help of these gigantic wolves
they successfully hunt the reindeers of the Heaths.
Every family has its personal pack of
wargs they live and travel
with. The warriors use mainly the male
wargs as their steeds while
the female wargs
are often the pack animals that carry the sparse belongings, the tents
and the tools of a family.
In the life of a Rhom-Oc warrior he or she often only has
few wargs
as his/her personal ride animals and often builds
up a close relationship with the beast he/she has to
count on to survive in the harsh life conditions: the
wargs
help to hunt enough food and the
orcs provide
them with warmth and protection.
The Rhom-Oc and the wargs
form an equal relationship in this respect and it is said that the
otherwise fire-shunning warg would follow his rider even into the crater of a
vulcano if the rider would ask him to do so.
This close is the relatonship
between warg
and orc among
these clans.
The rules governing the Ashz-Oc and the Rhom-Oc
regarding the role of the females in orcish
society are nearly identical so they are being considered together. Their laws
are similar to those of the Losh-Oc, although they are
not quite so rigid and females are permitted more leeway. They may study to
become shamans (though only under the tutelage of a male and are subject to him)
and are also responsible for the care of the
wargs.
Females may own possessions that are not subject to the whims of their mates
(i.e. a female may barter a piece of jewelry or a deer hide that belongs to her
without her mate’s permission). A female does not necessarily have to be
assigned to another male immediately if her mate dies. In theory, she may even
live on her own if she can provide for herself and her young. In practise,
however, there is a great deal of social pressure to remarry and most generally
do, though a rare few prefer to manage on their own. Though the Rhom-Oc and
Ashz-Oc orcs usually have multiple mates as well, they
tend to have greater respect for their female's wishes, and will not, for
instance, give away a mate to another warrior if she is unwilling to go.
However, women are still not allowed to be warriors and their responsibilities
are still mainly domestic.
Housing.
The Rhom-Oc live in simple leather tents that are built up with four
poles into the ground only used for sleep or to cover from rain or storm. One
fireplace is in the middle of the tent to provide enough warmth for the family.
Though the tents are small, about two to three peds in diameter six to eight
orcs,
often one family, live in one tent. Most family clans
only consist of three to six tents with every tent housing one branch of the
family forming the only kind of settlements in the Heaths.
Clothing.
The Rhom-Oc clothe in leather and fur. Most of
them wear sturdy leather trousers and leather shirts for
riding and fur jackets or vests
to protect from the cold. In winter another wide fur coat is
wrapped around the body. The warrior use straps of
wolf, bear or
warg fur attached to their clothing to
mark their alignment to these particular beasts.
The Rhom-Oc's feet stand in high fur boots that are fixed
to the leg with leather straps to connect smoothly with the trousers and prevent
the wind from blowing into the clothes.
The female orcs wear
trousers as well but instead of the jacket a fur dress over their leather
clothing. This is the reason the Rhom-Oc are often named disparaging "furballs"
by the humans in the region.
Rhom-Oc also wear all kinds of talismans, amulets or
necklaces made of bones or teeth for spiritual protection or help.
Diet.
The main source of food are the reindeers, which are
only sometimes spiced up by found or stolen salt, berries or herbs. The food is
simple and many of the Rhom-Oc suffer from the lack of variety in their food.
This may be also a reason for their small stature and bad teeth.
Weapons.
The Rhom-Oc use a shortbow similar to the
Orcish Warbow made of wood and
bone for hunting and shortswords or daggers for skinning and fighting alike.
Spears are used against bigger animals though they are not
common in fights. The main weapons of the Rhom-Oc,
who rides a
warg, is the
warg itself.
Also a long club is used when riding
these animals with a thorn attached to the front side for bashing down
from the warg's
back.
Armor is unknown to the Rhom-Oc, metal is too precious
for that, they only use leather shields to protect themselves
against enemy blows. Sometimes also the
wargs are covered in leather to be
protected from fire and enemy
warg teeth.
Occupations.
The men are mainly hunters, take care of their
weapons and the wargpack. The warriors are
also usually protecting the treck to their next camp site. Hunting
reindeers is often a task of several days and
it takes even more time to gather and prepare the meat
for transport.
Women look for berries and herbs when a suitable place is found or make clothes
and prepare the hides. Also, if available they milk the female
wargs to prepare the fluid for the
only known alcoholic drink the Rhom-Oc know.
The role of the healer and shaman is always taken care of by the oldest and most
experienced couple which are often the leaders of a family clan as well.
Government.
There's no real government among the Rhom-Oc. However,
occasionally various families meet at certain places and discuss in a
great council the events of the last year and the strategy of the coming ones.
The most important issue on these occasions is how to split up the known
reindeer herds the families then will follow over the
year and whether to fight another clan for more herds and
meat. Also the rare occasions of campaigns against other races or clans are
decided here.
All other decisions, may it be raids on caravans or a big hunting operation are
discussed individually by the neighboring families and decided by the leaders
incolved in such a task.
The influence on these councils are mostly determined by the size of the family
that stands behind the leader and his relationship to other family clans. The
word of every leader is equal.
Production/Trade.
The Rhom-Oc produce only few things of relevance for other people. Most
things are necessary for their own survival. Minor trade is about hides,
sometimes flesh and warg
breeds. Some rare human merchants are
interested in warg
hides for some arrogant noblemen to sell to. In
the north the fur boots of the Rhom-Oc are appreciated as they're both warm and
good riding boots at the same time but besides
that there's nothing of any value in the Heaths of Wilderon and so the Rhom-Oc
are mainly left alone.
Natural Resources.
There are no big amounts of natural ressources in the Heaths.
Only small deposits of iron are found on the surface and stone salt in some
caves of the hills. Besides that the Rhom-Oc live from
the few things that can be found on the surface of the Heaths:
reindeers, berries and herbs.
Festivals.
Every spring and autumn the various clans meet at certain places to
discuss about various issues concerning the whole clan. At this time the Rhom-Oc
also worship their most important Gods and hold several
festivals to the Gods' honor. Sometimes different clans
mix up at these occasions, only to talk about a common
problem or enemy. Besides that these two fixed times in
the year are the only days where the different families celebrate the alignment
to each other as one bigger community.
These festivals are also used to balance the numbers of family members and to
decide marriages. In the Rhom-Oc society this is a rather rational matter. If a
family lacks warriors and hunters they try to marry one of their females with a
respected warrior of another family who then joins the family. The other way
round is also possible and which way to go is a completely rational decision
about what helps the survival of a family.
This tradition makes the relationship between the hundreds of families of a clan
a rather blurry thing and the Rhom-Oc themselves are possibly the only ones who
really know what family is related to whom and why.
