Orcs

**Orcs** are one of the many species to be found in Centralia. Originating in Ragasta, Orcs have an insular and heavily family based society. Orc clans are large, and tend to live in isolated places, or more recently in their own 'gated communities' in the cities of Centralia.

## Physical Appearance

Orcs are humanoid, bulkier and taller than ordinary humans. All orcs have sharp fangs and red eyes, which gives them a fearsome reputation. Orcs' skin can be coloured anywhere along the spectrum from tan to lime green, although rare red-skinned Orcs occur at about the same rate as albinism in humans.

Orcs themselves are a very variable species, due to a magical property shared by all Orcs, a connection to something called the Ancestral Memory. This is the sum total of all Orcish memories, ideas and experiences, which are 'uploaded' into the memory when the relevant Orc dies. This means individual Orcs - with the help of shamans - have access to millennia worth of skills and expertise in almost all areas. This does lead to a habit of overly-relying on the ancestral knowledge, and not wishing to change or expand that which is already known - this is a problem in a rapidly advancing world.

## Culture

Orcs are notorious for commonly taking jobs that require violence: mercenaries, enforcers, guards and the like. This is not due to an inherent enjoyment of this employment on the Orcs' part. Rather, the Orcs are usually:

1. Physically powerful.
2. Impoverished.
3. Not well educated enough to access other careers.

While it is blatantly untrue that all Orcs are warriors, it is true that most work in menial labour, or with animals. The amount of Orcs who can afford training in science, academics and magic is few, but those that do show equal aptitude to their classmates.

Orcs organise into large Clans, which are usually made up of about 6-8 extended families travelling or living together, although larger and smaller Clans have been reported. Each clan has a shaman, who uses the Orcs' connection to the Ancestral Memory for the benefit of the clan. Shamans come in three varieties:

* **Clan-thinkers** are the most common type, who tap into the Memory and show others visions from the lives of past Orcs. These can be lessons, historical tales, entertainment, or much less often used as punishment. An individual Clan-thinker can only have so many memories at a time, however, so choosing the right repertoire on the rare occasions they can access the Memory is a crucial challenge of the job. Most carry memories from the Orcs' earliest days in Ragasta.
* **Ghost-talkers** are perhaps the most interesting type of shaman, who reach into the Memory and take the form and mind of a deceased Orc. This can be used to ask advice, hold a conversation with a passed on friend or loved one, or to ask the victim of a murder who the perpetrator was. The shaman will fully take on the physical form, appearance and mind of the spell's target, meaning that it's not uncommon for soldiers fighting Orcs to be cut down by the very same Orc they killed yesterday, or for long-dead Orcish heroes to suddenly appear in the midst of battle to rally the troops.
* **Gift-givers** are the rarest kind of shaman, and possibly the most powerful. Only using their powers when travelling with an Orcish warband, the Gift-givers can take the individual strengths, skills and abilities from all the greatest orcish warriors, mages and heroes of old, and temporaily give them to a living warrior. This warrior, now known as a **Gift-given**, is almost completely unstoppable for however long the powers last. The length of the gifts will change with the skill of the Gift-giver.