BLACK SHARK ENTERPRISES

Today's post is a transition from the orc series into some more Halloween-themed posts. Given the orc clans and other terrible monsters that live there, why does anyone ever venture into the Daerkwood? This same question can be applied to any dark and spooky place. There are numerous secrets hidden within the Daerkwood to attract adventurers, but the most-common reason people go there is for the components used in powerful magics. The Daerkwood is an ancient forest steeped in

This is the 14th post in the orc series and probably the last for a while. I promise you that we have not seen the last of the orcs, however the release of Orcs of the Moon Skull Clan is being delayed for a re-work involving more material and some custom art. Look for the orcs to finally come out around the holiday season. The art today comes from Publisher's Choice Quality Stock Art (c) Rick Hershey / Fat Goblin Games. Rick is one of the artists that I hope to get some piece

This is the 13th article in the orc series. Today's topic is an odd one; we are going to examine law among the orcs. Many may argue that orcs are chaotic evil in alignment and therefore do NOT have laws. I hold the opinion that chaotic evil societies may not have laws (other than the strong dominate the weak), but they do have codes of conduct. In my campaign, these codes of conduct are simple, no more than a few rules that all orcs in a clan are supposed to follow and what w

This is the 12th article in our orc series. Today, we will examine and detail the different types of orc groups that you might encounter in the Daerkwood. As I have said on other occasions, these groups might not fit into your world. If they don't, I hope that you can find some use for this information. If nothing else, it might serve as a model for the different types of encounters you can have with a single monster type. Players can be a troublesome lot. Sometimes it seems

This is the 11th post in the orc series. I fear that little time remains before the orcs are upon us. I hear their drums in the distance and I know they are coming for blood. Who will be brave enough and hearty enough to withstand the charge of the Moon Skull clan when they descend among us? This remains to be seen, but in the short time that we have left I wanted to share some information about a few well-known orc heroes. The information provided below will give you the bas

"Orc Shaman" by Mark Molchan. Check out more of Mark's amazing work here. Well, I have good news and bad news. The good news is that I have managed to escape from the orc town of Kharzaag. The bad news is that I'm pretty sure that the orcs are following me and will be here in a week or less. Also, I'm pretty sure that they are furious at me for stealing the secrets of their culture and revealing them, so I think they are coming with at least a war-band and maybe even a horde.

This is the ninth post in our orc series. Today, we will discuss magic weapons created by or for orcs. Clearly, this is a topic that every DM will have their own opinion on. I've run campaigns in which the idea of orcs having magic items at all would be patently ridiculous and I have also run campaigns in which the orcs were the most technically and magically superior race among humans and demihumans. If orcs having magic upsets your worldview, then perhaps you can find some

This is the eighth post in our orc series. In this post we will talking about treasure of an interesting sort, stuff that your PC's might actually WANT to loot from a dead orc. Orcs have a reputation of being dirty and nasty, so their fashion does NOT really appeal to everyone. Also, besides coins, gems, and the odd magic item, orc bands usually don't often have cool treasures unless they stole them from someone else. At least this is the most commonly held perception. If you

Here is the seventh post in our orc series. For those of you who didn't get enough Orcish adventure seeds last time, here are some more. Just like before, some of these seeds might not be what you'd expect from orcs, so be aware. Most of them, however, follow the more traditional view of orcs, that of vile and bloodthirsty raiders and killers. Whatever your style of play, hopefully today's list will have something you can use. Here is Another 10 Kinds of Trouble with Orcs. H

This is the sixth post in our orc series. Today we will learn a little orcish. Perhaps you are familiar with the foreign travel advice that says a person travelling in a country in which the people speak a language different from their own should learn a few important phrases so that they can get by in case no speaks their language. This post has the same basic idea, but the phrases aren't things like "where is a bathroom?" and "how do I get to the museum?". Rather, they are

This is the fifth post in our orc series. Today I am going to share with you some fun stuff that I have found on the web that can help DM's who are using orcs in their adventures. There is a wide variety of stuff in the links below and it is my hope that there's something for everyone. Without further ado, here are the 5 Fantastic Resources for Orcs in D&D. Happy Gaming! #1 If you are looking for a map of a simple orc raider camp, then click here. There are more maps below th

Here is the fourth post in the orc series. Today's list was originally created as the notes that an NPC Outpost Commander had made concerning orc tactics and the allies that all orc clans use over the span of 15 years serving on the frontier near the Orcwood. The information was revealed over time to the PC's as warnings and advice from the old veteran, who was a ranger named Sir Gregor the Steady. You are free to make what use you can of these items. Perhaps they will give y

This is the third post in the orc series. This time we will be taking a look inside the typical orc raider encampment. Today's list is a fairly generic one which could fit with any of the clans that I have mentioned in previous posts. This list lacks "razzle-dazzle", exciting elements, and specific information about terrain so that it can be used in a variety of circumstances. My intention is for the list to provide DM's some of those little mundane details that imho make the

This is the second post in the orc theme started last week. Today's list is nothing more than a bunch of adventure seeds involving orcs, but they might not be exactly what you expect. I firmly believe that you should 'never judge a book by its cover', so some of the hooks below may seem vastly out of character for any orc. I would suggest making these sorts of encounters rare unless orcs really are significantly different in your world than they are described in the various e

Today's post will begin a new series centered on a certain perennial favorite bad guy. Orcs have a poor reputation as a cliche D&D villain. When most players hear "Orcs", a certain mindset develops. Orcs are ugly, nasty, brutish, and NOT very smart. I enjoy using these preconceived notions against my players, so while MOST orcs the PC's encounter do fall into the general description that society provides, some do not. I have found that if you keep your players on their toes,