Here’s one from my own campaign: South of Urgir is Floodtruce hall and the Floodtruce farms. The Stoneblooded orc Druid Baghtru Thunderchild has spent the last five years building wood and packed-earth dams along the Flood Road to slow the flow of the river south. By using Plant Growth spells to encourage the growth of the forests around it, he is growing vast swaths of forest around the series of small lakes made by the villages that jut out into the flow of the river. Each “farm” is a village built on the top of a river wall meant to slow the river, like a beaver’s dam. By making the flooding year-round, the orcs and half-orcs of the Floodtruce farms aren’t reliant on the annual flood truce for food. Each farm houses a different tribe and during the proving times, they come together to build another village to the north. The chiefs of the Floodtruce farms have a custom of trying to outdo each other in giving gifts. A chief whose tribe has more than they need will give any excess to others in great festivals. Any war against one is a war against all and there are likely warriors from each tribe in any of the villages at any time. It’s common custom for them to call each other “cousin” when they speak to another who they may not know personally.
You know, often when I hear about the Stewards of Gondor referring to themselves only as Stewards because they're waiting for some True Monarch to return I roll my eyes. Ardax insisting he is only a Steward though? God damn, that gave me chills.
@@trajanfidelis1532 with Gondor I associate it with a real monarchy "true king" slant and, like, they've been waiting hundreds of years but are waiting for someone whose blood is pure enough or some bullshit like that. With Ardax though, it feels like a far more personal statement. This isn't some hundreds of years long bloodline thing he's honouring, he is honouring the monumental life and achievements of someone he personally knew and served, someone who had a huge impact on the course of his nation and Orc culture. It's a minor thing tbh, and it's not like I'm saying LotR or Gondor is bullshit, I just find the True Monarch thing far less engaging than the personal slant of Ardax's thing (though come to think of, the latter is probably the kind of thing that leads to the former)
This channel, is just amazing. The presentation style, the visuals, the attention to detail... Pure masterpieces, all of them. Can't wait for further video releases as I watch through the back catalogue!!
Cooking up a half-orc Paly/cav multiclass from Trunau. I had already intended for him to be a worshipper of sarenrae, and knowing that fits right in with the burning suns alliance with Trunau buttons it up so nicely. Thanks again mythkeeper.
Just found your channel. Great work. Gonna be listening to them all. Just about to dive into a Kingmaker Campaign so I'm looking for character ideas. These are fantastic. Thanks for the hard work.
Belkzan is a happening place, apparently. I love that Paizo went through the trouble to give all the orc tribes and chiefs their own distinct personalitiest cultures. It shows how far game writing has come since the days of "Orc bad. Go kill orcs." Granted, most of the orcs in the hold aren't particularly nice--even the more forward-thinking Grask Uldeth and Ardax seem more pragmatically neutral rather than truly benign--but some of them have some real nuance, and even the objective bad guys have some personality and distinguishing characteristics rather than just being generically evil mooks for player characters to roll over. I'm amused at the use of the Ravnican guild signs for tribal emblems.
Doing research for these videos has really made me realize how much depth there is to every corner of the Pathfinder world. Its pretty remarkable and, yes, each of the orc clans in Belkzen is pretty distinctive.
Darklands (PF's version of the Underdark) is coming early this year but I don't know exactly when. I'll talk about some dark elves in that video. There isn't specifically a Drizzt equivalent in the lore, but you could easily make one.
I just started writing my AP focused on the Hold of Belkzen, so this video has been a great reference! Is the Hold of the Orc Hoards the only book you used for this, or is there other material I can dive into as well? Also, the map you have of all the locations marked would be fantastic. Is that publicly available? The one in the Orc Holdes book is a bit too stylized for my tastes.
The map with the overlays is not publicly available as like all the maps in my videos I made them and I'm not uploading all of the video collateral anywhere yet. There are a few maps (the dragon locations, the ships map) that I've shared on my MythWatchers Club membership available here on RU-vid, but thats it for now. Major reference was Hold of the Orc Hordes, but I also used some Lost Omens content, mainly Lost Omens Legends & World Guide, to bring the lore up to 4724 AR.
I was planning to do a Varisia & New Thassilon guide Part 2 since my old guides were not as detailed as they are now. I could tackle a deeper look at Old Thassilon in that video maybe?
I'm waiting for more books of Avistan to see how the narrative is evolving because, now the orcs of Golarion are less expansionist or at least less agresive against their neighbours as we see in the world guide of the Second Edition. I'm a bit tired of the traditional good or evil duality of the fantasy settings and their way to treat "monstruous" ascendencies. More shades of grey please!
I love the orcs being less savage and more brutally utilitarian. It makes sense that in the blasted wastes of Belkzen there is no room for whimsy and frolic.
@@chazzwozzio - True. Also what they are is suvivors. The orcs are a species that evolved in large, dark underground caverns, with plenty to eat and plenty of moisture. But they got displaced by zealous dwarves into a large desert - and they had no choice but to adapt.
I know next to nothing about Pathfinder universe except from these lore videos and games, but to name a battle 'XY of the burning child' is just so damn dumb. it tries to be edgy, yet is laughably bad of a name.
I've had the idea for a political intrigue/mystery adventure set in Belkzen and centered on investigating Grask Uldeth's murder for a while, this is a great resource!
@@H.P.Loveshack - No, its fairly buried in there in the credits section. But I do that for all my videos, so if you ever need the most relevant book its handy.
Just came up with a masseuse orc character named "Mama Sudra". She will run a massage parlor and resort known for it's "special touch," but it's just really really good massages. If anyone tries anything with Sudra or her masseuses, she breaks them. She'd possibly be a barbarian class of the merchant or herbalist background
