[OOC] The Final Histories of Arda: The Contention of Mordor

[Terminal]

In the meantime, I'll put up a profile for our 'Orc Hunters.' You can expect it up later tonight.

[BlackBishop]

This looks incredibly cool. I'll have an application up asap.

[BlackBishop]

Zi Vadok

Stronghold Durthang
A castle built by Gondor during the Last Alliance of Men and Elves, the fortress fell in the Third Age following the Great Plague. Following the War of the Ring, Durthang became a haven for fleeing Orcs and Haradrim. Now a place of great unrest, as competing factions among the survivors of the Battle of Morannon fight for dominance, it has fallen into disrepair and it's supplies dwindle.

Commander Gorgol
A uruk of a sickly grey complexion, his brute strength and sheer ferocity has propelled him into one of the leaders of Durthang, though pockets of resistance still defy him in the fortress under-tunnels. Once a commander among Sauron's army, Gorgol led his company back to Durthang after Sauron's fall, along with a company of Haradrim. Conflict soon followed, as leaders among both factions jostled for power and the right to rule the fortress. Gorgol seems poised to win this struggle.

Description
Known as Zi Vadok, or Black Death, the warband are infamous for burning their enemies alive before eating their blackened and charred remains. Routed from the Battle of Marannon, Gorgol led his warband back to Duthang. Here they have led a brutal existence as perpetual conflict between rival orcs and haradrim for dominance of the fortress ensued. Gorgol and his inner circle excel at keeping the lesser Orcs in line through fear and intimidation. Those who do not submit are made examples of.

Gorgol was the commander of a Uruk band during the war, but most were killed during the Battle of Marannon. Rounding up all the survivors he could, Gorgol was routed back toward Durthang, where Haradrim and other Orc bands sought refuge. Though the fortress has kept these survivors safe from external threats, within the fortress, internal conflict ensued.

Following a long and bloody fight with lesser Orc bands and the Haradrim, Gorgol claimed victory over the fortress proper, with rebels taking up strongholds within the under tunnels. Gorgol and Zi Vadok have vowed to flood the tunnels with the blood of these vermin.

Goals and Challenges
Zi Vadok are locked in a power struggle for control of Durthang. The under-tunnels of the fortress are a stronghold of rebel factions of Orcs and Haradrim. To finally claim supremacy over the castle, Gorgol must finally defeat these vermin.

The supplies of Durthang are dwindling. The castle's stores are often raided by rebels, and are being steadily consumed by the warband. Gorgol must secure new supply lines if he has any hope of remaining here, or he must relocate elsewhere in Mordor.

Respources
Zi Vadok have captured a large number of Haradrim rebels from the undertunnels. Those culled into submission have been enslaved, those who remained defiant were made to suffer before their end. Goblins who thought to rebel after Sauron's fall were quickly brought in line and serve as the prominent labour force of the warband. Gorgol has been able to subjugate these slaves through the use of his Uruk underlings, the survivors of his company during the war.

Resource Allocation
Demi Trolls - 2 points (5)
Goblin Slaves - 2 points (250)
Human Slaves - 2 points (400)
Uruk - 4 points (400)

[Eru Iluvatar]

Zi Vadok

Stronghold Durthang
A castle built by Gondor during the Last Alliance of Men and Elves, the fortress fell in the Third Age following the Great Plague. Following the War of the Ring, Durthang became a haven for fleeing Orcs and Haradrim. Now a place of great unrest, as competing factions among the survivors of the Battle of Morannon fight for dominance, it has fallen into disrepair and it's supplies dwindle.

Commander Gorgol
A uruk of a sickly grey complexion, his brute strength and sheer ferocity has propelled him into one of the leaders of Durthang, though pockets of resistance still defy him in the fortress under-tunnels. Once a commander among Sauron's army, Gorgol led his company back to Durthang after Sauron's fall, along with a company of Haradrim. Conflict soon followed, as leaders among both factions jostled for power and the right to rule the fortress. Gorgol seems poised to win this struggle.

Description
Known as Zi Vadok, or Black Death, the warband are infamous for burning their enemies alive before eating their blackened and charred remains. Routed from the Battle of Marannon, Gorgol led his warband back to Duthang. Here they have led a brutal existence as perpetual conflict between rival orcs and haradrim for dominance of the fortress ensued. Gorgol and his inner circle excel at keeping the lesser Orcs in line through fear and intimidation. Those who do not submit are made examples of.

Gorgol was the commander of a Uruk band during the war, but most were killed during the Battle of Marannon. Rounding up all the survivors he could, Gorgol was routed back toward Durthang, where Haradrim and other Orc bands sought refuge. Though the fortress has kept these survivors safe from external threats, within the fortress, internal conflict ensued.

Following a long and bloody fight with lesser Orc bands and the Haradrim, Gorgol claimed victory over the fortress proper, with rebels taking up strongholds within the under tunnels. Gorgol and Zi Vadok have vowed to flood the tunnels with the blood of these vermin.

Goals and Challenges
Zi Vadok are locked in a power struggle for control of Durthang. The under-tunnels of the fortress are a stronghold of rebel factions of Orcs and Haradrim. To finally claim supremacy over the castle, Gorgol must finally defeat these vermin.

The supplies of Durthang are dwindling. The castle's stores are often raided by rebels, and are being steadily consumed by the warband. Gorgol must secure new supply lines if he has any hope of remaining here, or he must relocate elsewhere in Mordor.

Respources
Zi Vadok have captured a large number of Haradrim rebels from the undertunnels. Those culled into submission have been enslaved, those who remained defiant were made to suffer before their end. Goblins who thought to rebel after Sauron's fall were quickly brought in line and serve as the prominent labour force of the warband. Gorgol has been able to subjugate these slaves through the use of his Uruk underlings, the survivors of his company during the war.

Resource Allocation
Demi Trolls - 2 points
Goblin Slaves - 2 points
Human Slaves - 2 points
Uruk - 4 points

@BlackBishop

If you can state how many of each resource you have in the Allocation part, just in brackets besides the points, then that is fine to copy through to Characters. Thanks!

[BlackBishop]

Notable Orcs of Durthang

Gorgol

The Captain of Zi Vadok, and self proclaimed lord of Durthang. A survivor of the Battle of Morannon, Gorgol led what was left of his company to Durthang where he formed the Zi Vadok warband. With the defeat of Sauron, Gorgol looks forward to a life free of overseers, and seeks to secure power for himself and his followers. A uruk of corpse grey skin, and marked with battle scars across his body, Gorgol is an especially cruel leader, who punishes dissent with the upmost severity.

Ufthak

A Morannon Orc standing nearly seven feet tall with wide shoulders and a quietly fierce disposition, Ufthak commanded the Durthang garrison during the War of the Ring. When Gorgol and other refugees of the Battle of Morannon retreated to Durthang, Ufthak soon lost control as factions rose up to take the fortress. Forced into the under-tunnels of Durthang, Ufthak now leads a rebellion against Gorgol and Zi Vardok who rule the castle above.

Bolg

A demi-troll who has been stricken mad from decades of harsh treatment from it's masters. As the bloody civil war within Durthang raged, the troll finally broke, and cut a bloody swath through the castle, killing many indiscriminately. Zi Vadok have managed to barricade the wrathful beast within one of the castle's mess halls. So far Bolg has come in handy as a form of punishment against captives and dissenters, throwing them within Bolg's hall to meet a grisly end.

Radbug

A goblin slave master who surrendered to Zi Vadok during their uprising against the Morannon Orcs. Radbug is scorned among his fellow goblins, yet none openly challenge him as he has the support of Gorgol, and does not hesitate to kill any who so much as whisper dissent. For his loyalty, and help culling his goblin brethren, Radbug enjoys many perks over his enslaved counterparts.

Hasharin

Known only as the Hasharin, this enigmatic Haradrim leader controls the last of the Haradrim survivors caught in the Battle of Morannon, the rest, dead or enslaved by the hand of the Zi Vadok. Securing the lower depths of the castle, the Haradrim hold their ground much to Gorgol's frustration. Backed in a corner, the Haradrim cannot escape the castle, nor do they dare venture into the under-tunnels, where poisonous fumes promise an agonizing death. From their stronghold in the catacombs, they wage daring raids and strike from shadows to slowly kill off the Zi Vadok.

[Eru Iluvatar]

Notable Orcs of Durthang

Gorgol

The Captain of Zi Vadok, and self proclaimed lord of Durthang. A survivor of the Battle of Morannon, Gorgol led what was left of his company to Durthang where he formed the Zi Vadok warband. With the defeat of Sauron, Gorgol looks forward to a life free of overseers, and seeks to secure power for himself and his followers. A uruk of corpse grey skin, and marked with battle scars across his body, Gorgol is an especially cruel leader, who punishes dissent with the upmost severity.

Ufthak

A Morannon Orc standing nearly seven feet tall with wide shoulders and a quietly fierce disposition, Ufthak commanded the Durthang garrison during the War of the Ring. When Gorgol and other refugees of the Battle of Morannon retreated to Durthang, Ufthak soon lost control as factions rose up to take the fortress. Forced into the under-tunnels of Durthang, Ufthak now leads a rebellion against Gorgol and Zi Vardok who rule the castle above.

Bolg

A demi-troll who has been stricken mad from decades of harsh treatment from it's masters. As the bloody civil war within Durthang raged, the troll finally broke, and cut a bloody swath through the castle, killing many indiscriminately. Zi Vadok have managed to barricade the wrathful beast within one of the castle's mess halls. So far Bolg has come in handy as a form of punishment against captives and dissenters, throwing them within Bolg's hall to meet a grisly end.

Radbug

A goblin slave master who surrendered to Zi Vadok during their uprising against the Morannon Orcs. Radbug is scorned among his fellow goblins, yet none openly challenge him as he has the support of Gorgol, and does not hesitate to kill any who so much as whisper dissent. For his loyalty, and help culling his goblin brethren, Radbug enjoys many perks over his enslaved counterparts.

Hasharin

Known only as the Hasharin, this enigmatic Haradrim leader controls the last of the Haradrim survivors caught in the Battle of Morannon, the rest, dead or enslaved by the hand of the Zi Vadok. Securing the lower depths of the castle, the Haradrim hold their ground much to Gorgol's frustration. Backed in a corner, the Haradrim cannot escape the castle, nor do they dare venture into the under-tunnels, where poisonous fumes promise an agonizing death. From their stronghold in the catacombs, they wage daring raids and strike from shadows to slowly kill off the Zi Vadok.

@BlackBishop

An impressive extension of lore!

And much appreciation is awarded to that signature.

I shall kick off the IC posts at some point today - as soon as I am done feel free to begin your stories.

[BlackBishop]

Thanks so much! Pretty excited about getting the IC going. Mordor Orcs don't get enough love.

[BlackBishop]

Come to think of it, I do have a question. Am I correct to assume our warbands would also consist of regular rank and file Orcs that do not consume resource points?

[Eru Iluvatar]

Come to think of it, I do have a question. Am I correct to assume our warbands would also consist of regular rank and file Orcs that do not consume resource points?

@BlackBishop

Indeed. Terminal and I deduced how many Orcs there would be remaining, and divvied them up between Warbands - but I don't think we wrote anything down. I will double check how large the Warband should be on average.

[Terminal]

<Snipped quote by BlackBishop>

Indeed. Terminal and I deduced how many Orcs there would be remaining, and divvied them up between Warbands - but I don't think we wrote anything down. I will double check how large the Warband should be on average.

@Eru Iluvatar

We did actually!

Each Warband has /approximately/ 5000 Orcs apiece, for free. You can, of course, have fewer Orcs if you would like (you won't get anything for it though).

The original forces Sauron was described as being able to field numbered in the hundreds of thousands, partially because of Mordor's excellent strategic placement (impregnable defenses make for an isolated power making military buildups easier without interference) and of course good old-fashioned Maiar Mind Control. Eru reckoned that as much as 80% of those numbers were killed by the Eruption of Mt. Doom alone - a lot of Sauron's legions, even the ones that weren't pulled to Udun, were staged out of the Gorgoroth plains. Only legions remaining in each of the strongholds plus a few oddballs here and there would remain. Most Goblins were similarly killed, and even more by terrestrial and subterranean upheavals (and so there are fewer of them surviving than Orcs).

The slave populations around the Nurnen Sea would also have remained unscathed, but would have been comprised largely of Men and Goblins.

Alltogether, there should only be between 30-50,000 Warrior Orcs (not counting slaves, of which there could be tens of thousands unaccounted for). remainining in all of Mordor. Less than 10,000 goblins. Less than 2,000 Uruk (most were stationed at Barad-Dur or were on the frontlines). Those numbers may all seem small, but even so they are relatively formidable. Keep in mind that Gonodor, even before marching on the Black Gates, didn't even have ten thousand soldiers to rub together. Even if half of the Orc Warlards completely annihilate their opponents' forces, the remaining Orcs will still outnumber every other military force in Middle Earth.

That's part of why the Contention of Mordor is important. It speaks to the premise that, even with Sauron dead, 80% of the military populace killed off, an internal slave rebellion, a complete power/influence fracture, and the loss of all foreign support - Mordor remains the single greatest military power in the setting.

[BlackBishop]

Ah excellent. We're more formidable then I thought. Man-flesh for everyone!

[Eru Iluvatar]

Apologies for the drastically short opening, though I think I expressed everything I wanted to, and I wanted to limit the amount of time we spent with Aragorn before the long stretch in Mordor.

Also, if you would post your banners at the head of every one of your posts, that would be brilliant. Thanks.

[BlackBishop]

Very nice opening. Short and sweet. I'll have an ic up soon.

[Cold Hands]

I will get something up today. I hadn't been able to post due to my mother being in the hospital, sorry.

[Terminal]

I will see about getting something up as well.

[Bright_Ops]

Aukhen Agon

Ashen Dawn

Stronghold: A work in progress in the fields of Nurn.

Commander: Tuskkar

Tuskkar was not a solder for the Dark Hordes of Mordor in the dark days of their fiery master; He had been spared becoming yet another slave solder of the eye to be thrown into the meat grinder of Mordor's war machine in order to serve as a farmer in the fields of Nurn. Tuskkar stood around 5 and a half feet tall with some rather impressive muscle on his frame, but it was the muscle built from the hard work of toiling in the fields alongside his fellow orcs, goblins and human slaves rather then that of combat or dark experimentation like those found in the military.

Many believed that Tuskkar was simple minded for an orc, considered too stupid by the guards with whips to go out into the world to raid and kill the enemies of Mordor like a real orc and thus little better then the slaves tending the fields alongside him. In a way, they were correct; Tuskkar was very simple minded. He lacked the ability to come out with new methods of cruelty that the guards boosted of. He lacked the hatred for humans that drove so many of his kind to seek to kill them all. He didn't even have it in him to look down on the human and goblin slaves that worked beside him.

The thing that they got wrong was that simple does not mean the same thing as stupid. Tuskkar was very intelligent.

Description:
When the Dark Master of Mordor fell and fire rained down from the skies, the overseers and guards of the plantation that Tuskkar was living at fell into confusion and panic; Something of great importance had taken place and something fundamental had changed, but they were blind as to what had actually happened and didn't know what it was that they were meant to do next. Had they been given time, they might have worked something out. They didn't.

Led by Tuskkar, the farmers and slaves of the farm rose up in revolt and turned on their former overseers with their tools, a desire for freedom and pure rage. Understaffed and disorganized, armed more for 'motivation and fear' then actual combat, the guards and overseers were slaughtered to an orc.

Before the rebellion had the chance to splinter and turn on itself due to old racial hatreds, Tuskkar started to speak. He spoke of the death of their dark master. He spoke of how they had all been slaves to him, willingly sacrificed for no purpose then to push his own dark designs. He spoke of their freedom and how easily they could lose it and their lives if they did not unite, if not to the other bands of orcs that were no doubt forming at this very moment then to the humans and elves even if they managed to escape Mordor; The orcs and goblins would be slaughtered outright while the humans would be reduced to little more then beggars and serfs, ignored and used by their kings because they were beneath them.

Why be a beggar, a serf or a slave when together they could become something more? The Dark Lord that had enslaved them all had finally passed and in the place of his darkness it was an Aukhen Agon, an Ashen Dawn for them all. While the warrior can only spill blood, they were farmers and had one major advantage over their rivals; They knew how to grow something new from the blood soaked ashes of Mordor and that it would be them who decided what Mordor would become.

Getting to work building up a new fortified settlement, Tuskkar's message was spread to the other farm camps like a fresh breeze; Orc, Human or Goblin, all would be welcome as equals to create a new nation and way of life for them all.

Resources: WIP

Agenda and Concerns: Tuskkar has five main objectives for the Aukhen Agon:
1. Create a secure base of operations in Nurn for the Aukhen Agon to operation out of.
2. Unify orcs, human and goblin under the same banner as equals.
3. Spread the influence of the Aukhen Agon throughout as much of Nurn and Lithlad as possible; An army marches on its belly and having a monopoly on food production and possibly the water supply would greatly strengthen the Aukhen Agon's position, influence and power in Mordor.
4. Defend against all aggressors.
5. Rebuild Mordor into something greater then it has ever been before,

Resource Allocation:
400 Humans slaves 2 points
250 Goblin slaves 2 points
10 Orcish Chirurgeons 2 points
10 Demi-Trolls 4 points

Note: The official and enforced position of the Aukhen Agon is that goblins and humans are no longer slaves and are considered equals. In the case of humans, they are given the following offer: Join the Aukhen Agon and work and defend your right to be a free and equal member of the new Mordor or be given some food and water and allowed to leave their lands unhindered. It is also made quite clear that in the unlikely event that they somehow get out of Mordor alive without being enslaved or killed by the other warbands of orcs, the environment, the wildlife, dying of thirst or starvation they would still have to cross a lot of hard to travel, hostile wilderness before they arrived anywhere even remotely friendly to them; At which point their reward for surviving the trip would most likely to be a serf or a beggar for the rest of their lives.

.......................................................

I hope I am not too late to join.

[Eru Iluvatar]

You are not too late to join. I will look over your CS later - looks promising!

[Terminal]

My post is basically done, but as it involves Aukhen Agon (in mentioning) I shall wait for Eru to review/approve @Bright_Ops' app before proceeding.

[Bright_Ops]

@Terminal

All I did was type in 'Ashen Dawn' into a black speech translator. Does Aukhen Agon have some other meaning that I missed?

[Eru Iluvatar]

@Bright_Ops

Sorry for the delay, you and your warband are accepted.

Move your sheet to the character tab and feel free to post.