Creator: Adam Zielinski
Greybone Orcs (13 RP)
In ages past, a small tribe of tundra-dwelling Orcs facing starvation in fey-tormented lands began to cannibalize their dead. Over time the act of eating the dead became sacred to them, and rituals were developed to consecrate the consumption of their kin. Following this, the Orcs that participated in these rites discovered that they understood things that had never been taught to them. Seeking to understand why this was, they sought the wisdom of the spirits. They were surprised when the spirits of their ancestors, those that they had consumed, were the ones to answer the summons. The tribe learned that the rites they used to consecrate the eating of their dead imbued the remains with a power that tied flesh and spirit together so that a portion of the deceased would live on in those that consumed the body. The tribe also learned that continuing the practice would bring them wealth and power. From this was birthed the ancestor cults of the Greybone Orcs, whose bodies and minds were strengthened by the bodies and minds of those that came before them. As each generation passed, the accumulated wisdom of the tribe grew, allowing them to rise from squalor and build a civilization. More than anything, they became expert craftsmen, able to carve stone and forge metal such that even Dwarves were impressed. Raising their capital in the tundra not far from the site of the first sacred rites, the Greybone Orcs developed a stern, honorable culture focused on revering the gifts of their ancestors and working to add to them. One ancestor in particular, a blacksmith named Ograshim, imparted a particularly critical gift upon the tribe: that of making Greybone Iron. While preparing the bones of his father for interment in the Great Mausoleum, he discovered that they resonated with a peculiar power, and almost seemed alive even years after his father's death. He sought guidance from the ancestors in the Great Mausoleum, and they instructed him to gather their bones (except for their skulls), burn & crush them in an exact manner, and add the blackened powder to iron as it was being smelted. To the horror of the other Greybones (who would have killed him for blasphemy were it not for the intervention of an Emissary of the Ancestors), he did as instructed. The resulting ingots possessed a luster unusual for iron, and with some experimentation it was discovered why: the iron had a life of its own, healing when scratched, chipped, or cracked. Soon, the bones of all ancestors were being mixed with smelting iron, their legacy now literally and figuratively supporting the civilization of their descendants. Ograshim's bones became a great warhammer, wielded by the Fist of the Emperor. The Great Mausoleum now holds only the skulls of the ancestors, meticulously cared for, as the rest of their skeletons are fed to the smelters. Great beams and struts of living iron reinforce the formidable stonework of the Greybone Orcs, and living iron weapons are passed from parent to child and made from parent for child. As their empire spreads out across the tundra those in warmer, more fertile lands to the south look to to north in fear of the day that the empire spreads to them.
Type: Humanoid (Orc)
Size: Medium
Base Speed: 30ft.
Ability Score Modifier: Standard (+2 Con, +2 Wis, -2 Cha)
Languages: Common and Orc, plus Dwarven, Elven, Giant, Gnoll, Goblin, Sylvan, Undercommon
Defensive Traits: Deathless Spirit (3RP), Spell Resistance, Greater (3RP)
Feat & Skill Traits: Focused Study (4RP), Craftsman (1RP)
Sense Traits: Low-light Vision (1RP)
Offense Traits: Weapon Familiarity (Battle Axe & Falchion) (1RP)
Special: When properly prepared and added to iron as it is smelted, Greybone Orc bones turn common iron in to Greybone Iron. Greybone Iron is identical to Living Steel, except in that it also counts as cold iron for purposes of damage reduction.