I'm unearthing this again since, as part of planning an rpg, I've been fleshing out orc culture as I want my players to encounter a vast orc camp.
This is the orc-lore, I've developed for my fan-based derivative work. Obviously this isn't canon but as it is borne of this conversation, I wanted to share it here.
- Matriarchal: The orc society operates on a unique principle akin to the organization of insect hives. Within their grim hierarchy, certain females take on the role of breeding mothers, dedicated solely to producing offspring. These orc queens, as they are informally known, give birth to multiple siblings with astounding frequency, ensuring a constant influx of new recruits for the orc military machine. Mass creches become the battlegrounds where young orcs scrap, fight, and learn the art of war, all while preparing for their destined roles in the ever-expanding ranks. The entire orc society revolves around a relentless cycle of birth and warfare, with the queens as the life-givers of their brutal existence.
Interesting thoughts.
I’ll stick with what I have but still intriguing.
Okay. Sticking with what I have for that aspect though. Perhaps it’s unclear but I didn’t envision queens as the only breeders of the tribesThe issue with a hive structure is that there you have one or few queen(s) who do nothing else beyond laying eggs and a whole nation a sterilized female workers of various casts and were few drones who are useless beyond the swarming itself.
So to reproduce the structure you would need 80-90% of a breeding pit be females orcs who are somehow kept from breeding. And if so, also not able to breastfeed the queen's offspring - or they know of some ways to cause lactation without pregnancy - which is possible - but difficult. And the queen would need to have multiples each time she gives birth. Still the ability of orcs to rebuild their populations and increase their numbers in a few decades would be difficult if you limit the number of breeding females this much, as a gestation period of only one week would be simply unbelievable...
Okay. Sticking with what I have for that aspect though. Perhaps it’s unclear but I didn’t envision queens as the only breeders of the tribes
seems workable nowIn retrospect I did tweak it as I didn't love the concept of value coming from birth and female orcs purely having value as breeders. I wanted to rather hone in on the idea that the pain of childbirth is seen as a thing of value. As such, I felt your set up of the queen being a seasoned elder orc worked nicely.
This is the reworking which I think sets up a nice dichotomy.
- Matriarchal: The orc society operates on a unique principle akin to the organization of insect hives. Within their grim hierarchy, certain females take on the role of breeding mothers, dedicated solely to producing offspring. Orc births are gruesome, violent, and often fatal for mothers, but within this brutality lies a twisted form of transcendence. Those orc females who survive these horrific ordeals are revered as leaders of the highest order. Their ability to withstand the most excruciating suffering and pain marks them as the ultimate authorities in orc society. Those that have faced it time and again, who have lived through hate and hurt, and are now past breeding age themselves, take on the role of background tacticians; as much as orcs can be strategic. These orc queens make critical decisions about battle plans, target selection, and the allocation of resources. While orc males may execute the tactical aspects of warfare, it is the matriarchs who shape the overarching strategies that guide their savage campaigns. Female orcs of breeding age take the role of under-matriarchs. These females stay behind in the encampments to birth, train, and equip the next wave of orc broods, all while pregnant with future warriors. Mass creches become the battlegrounds where young orcs scrap, fight, and learn the art of war, all while preparing for their destined roles in the ever-expanding ranks. Orcs give birth to multiple siblings with astounding frequency, ensuring a constant influx of new recruits for the orc military machine. The entire orc society revolves around a relentless cycle of birth and warfare, with the queens as the life-givers of their brutal existence.
On addendum:
'That said, while orc queens may be respected for the pain they have endured however, should they continue to grow into old age, their respect is lessened and the older the orc, the less likely they are to be listened to, due to the orc’s innate abhorrence and disgust for anything that seems to be made to last. To become an orc-queen is a position none seek by are appointed to in a de-facto sense by virtue of the life lived and it is a role that is not meant to last long.'
It’s not that it’s undesirable it’s just not an official appointment as there is no set government. It’s defecto in the sense that it’s accepted at a certain point that you will become the new queen. It’s less a formal rank than suddenly, you’re the one people start coming to for advice and you end up filling this role. What happens to the old queen? Probably not nice.interesting but a little counterintuitive - I would think an aging orc matriarch would be quickly removed by the next one in line... But if the position is appointed and undesirable would an orc female not just reject or abandon it? - Especially if they are raised to pose as thinking only of themselves to not to honour any social obligation? A little difficult in this context to believe...
Maybe Orcs are born female, and after bearing some offspring, turn male. Or perhaps they can go back and forth between male and female at need (this would explain how their numbers can increase rapidly after a battle in which nearly all die).
Hi Jim,
I like this hyena theory about Orcs. Pliny the Elder said that hyenas, "are popularly believed to be bisexual and to become male and female in alternate years." According to Pliny, hyenas can "laugh just like us, can call us by name, then proceed to slaughter us when we emerge from our homes."
In Medieval times, hyenas were said to be, "neither male nor female, neither faithful nor pagan, unclean because they have two natures."
Generally hyenas have a bad reputation in folklore and myths. They also kill and eat people. Probably throughout human history, but continuing into modern times. 35 people, for example, were killed by hyenas in Mozambique in 2004 along one 20 km stretch of road.
(Of course, I know that hyenas are not really hermaphrodites, just that the female sex organs are very penis like. But, this was not known in Europe until the 1930s.)
So, Orcs being similar to folkloric hyenas is a neat idea. We never hear about orc women, because orcs can change from men to women at will. Orcs can laugh and talk like humans, but they are not really children of Illuvatar, they are just very clever animals. Of course Orcs are treacherous, dangerous, mean, and nasty, like hyenas. Orcs were probably just normal animals once, but they were twisted and boosted by the dark arts of Morgoth.
Not a bad analogy (though by no means perfect). Still it does provide solutions for some of the Orc problems?
What if Orcs really are just like very evil humans?
With a demonic bloodline anti- beren/luthien