Monster Family- The (P)Orcs

Squealer, Orc, and Great Sow

Squealer (1 HD, +1 AC, 1d4 bone darts and knives)

Morale- 7, if lead by orcs 9

Numbers- 1d6 as scouts, 1d4 as lookouts, 2d10 in camp

Squealers appear as small, pink skinned bipedal piglets. They never grow taller then 3 feet in height, and are named due to their high pitched squealing. While much weaker then an Orc, they are considered useful to orc raiding parties and camps due to not being hurt by the sun like an orc and for the fact they are not nearsighted like orcs are. They are primarily used as scouting parties and lookouts, and are not given good weapons or armor.

Squealers are born from female orcs in great squealing liters. Actual orcs are born almost as large as adult Squealers, and appear similar despite their red eyes and pale skin. They almost immediately start bullying the Squealers and put them in their place at the bottom of the orc hierarchy. As such, some Squealers either stolen away or captured have managed to integrate into the society of the mortal races, usually as assistants and messengers. Some orc tribes treat their squealers better then others, but a lost squealer isn't worth much consideration.

Whenever a Squealer or group of squealers is encountered, they will emit a loud squealing that will attract any nearby orcish raiding parties on a 1 in 6 chance. Even if no orcs are present, the loud squealing may attract the attention of a wandering monster at the same chance. By killing all the Squealers on a surprise round, or by casting a magic spell of silencing, you can avoid this noise.

Orc (2-4 HD, 1d6 rusted weapons)

Morale- 11

Numbers- 2d6 raiding party, 1d8+1 as guards, 2d20 in a camp. >100 in the underhalls.

Orcs, also called P'orcs, are the albino bipedal pig men of the cavernous underworld. Everything on the surface world has a foil beneath, and Orcs are said to be the counter to mankind. They are fearful of the sun and take 1 damage per exploration turn they are exposed to the sun. Orcs still raid towns and human villages at night, or right at dusk. They can see in the dark, and have glowing red eyes. Some Orcs are exceptional and have higher HD then your average P'orc.

Most Orcs wear medium or heavy armor, and have 14 to 16 AC. All of these types of Orcs are male; the warrior cast of their species. The smaller members may stand in the back and use crossbows or even lesser Sorcery, but it is considered to give less honor and glory to that particular Orc. The largest and fattest warriors go to the front of battle to get bloody and scarred to make themselves more attractive to the female sows of their race, but orcs aren't sucicidal and will retreat from an unwinnable battle. Orcs may ride Warboars into battle and use squads of Squealers as their backup. All Orcs are bound into the subterranean realms and serve the Great Sows without question.

Most Orc conquests are about food to feed their broods deep in the earth. An Orc will gladly capture a handful of serfs as steal all their grain, due to the omnivorous nature of their kind. Unlike many other monsterous races, orcs have some amount of honor and will respect deals; usually demanding all of the food and weapons of a group of travelers in exchange for their lives or in deciding a fight by a duel with a powerful human champion. But Orcs do also make use of slavery, and will capture defeated foes to drag back into their caves to be used as labor before being eaten.

War Boar (3-5 HD, 1d8 gore attack, tramples through enemies, ridden by orcs)

Morale- 8, if lead by orcs 12

Numbers- 1 or 2 with an orc raiding party, 1d6 in a whole tribe

Huge wiry haired boars captured and used as mounts and living siege weapons by Orcs. Unlike the other creatures related to Orcs, War Boars are simply natural giant boars that much prefer living in the forests and mountains then being ridden by Orcs and do not do well underground except in the largest tribal caverns deep below the surface.

Due to their immense size and tusks, a charging boar adds its HD to its attack and damage when it moving at full speed, in an attempt to burst through an enemy formation or to break down doors or barricades set by humans. Orc war-chiefs usually are the ones to control these fearsome beasts. War-Boar ivory is treasured by orcs, but it is not carved or decorated after the beast is dead, as such the most valuable ivory belongs to the longest lived and most useful war beasts of the orcs.

Great Sow (4-6 HD, +3 AC, +2 to hit, 1d8 iron staff, 1d6 damage strength hex, casts spells)

Morale- 14

Numbers- 1 or 2; within the deepest underhalls there may be greater congregations

Great Sows are the leaders of the P'orc race, and are massive, multi-breasted, bipedal female pigs. Most are between 8 and 10 feet tall, and wield massive crude iron staves along with their spells. Great Sows are the progenitors of the Orc race, and give birth to huge great litters of piglets which will one day grow into Squealers, Orcs, or even more Great Sows. Every female Orc becomes a Great Sow after they have sex and is inducted in the ways of black magic, and as such Great Sows are the cornerstone of orc society and are the most treasured and protected by their people.

All Great Sows can trace their lineage back to the first Great Sow; a massive female pig impregnated by the keymaster, the red & lustful God, God of hidden places & evil beings. From that brood spawned all of P'orc kind. From this direct lineage and from their fertility; Great Sows are the spiritual leaders of the orc race and are the most gifted in magic, both from spells and from dark powers granted to them by their God. Great Sows are the primary leaders of Orc society in terms of organizing campaigns and distributing resources, but allow direct leadership of raiding and war parties by the war-chiefs. Great Sows only breed with the strongest and most successful orc leaders, and as such orcs are extremely competitive and inspired to war with the races of the surface world.

Outside of combat, female P'orcs brew potions of strength and lotions that can help an orc resist the sun's harmful light, as well as providing magical training to the lesser Orc sorcerers. Some attribute great black clouds that follow orc warbands as being the work of these pig witches. They use their magic to calm the minds of both the War Boars as well as tame the great Boar Wurms beneath the earth. When forced into a fight, Great Sows use a strength draining hex that they use against rebellious and disruptive orcs as punishment which they also turn against human invaders. They also know several other spells, such as Black Step which lets them teleport to a nearby place of darkness.

Boar Wurm (8-9 HD, ignores all damage below 3, 1d12 great maw, move with save or be trampled and take Xd6 damage, where X is monster HD)

Morale- 16

Numbers- Always 1

Said to be the monsterous first boars that once lived in the ancient times. As they trampled and flattened the land, the first gods removed their legs and forced them to adapt to a diet of rocks and ore as punishment. Now the boar wurms slither through the rock and deep dirt of the world, causing earthquakes and great chasms to form in their wake. Despite not being the descendants of the first Great Sow; the Great Sows use their magic to guide their path, which allows new caverns to be forms or great underground roads to be made in their conquest of the surface world.

Boar Wurms are ancient and huge, and their thick hide lets them ignore most lesser forms of damage. Their mouths are great jagged maws that snap and crush everything they gobble up, but their real strength is their simple size and weight, which can crush almost anything underneath it. Boar Wurms brought to the surface of the world flatten forests, dig canyons through mountains, and send up massive clouds of dust that darken the land for days at a time. These Boar Wurms are seemingly ageless, and each one is a unique being with inscrutable motivations.

Boar Wurms can occasionally be seen in use as a living siege engine; turning over hills worth of stone and dirt and crumbling castles by digging chambers beneath it to be undermined. Great Sows cannot control these wurms from far away, and so must accompany Orc war parties when doing sieges of such large scale. Boar Wurmss hide is especially thick and considered magical, and any shield or armor made from it would share the magical property the beast has; armor that ignores all points of damage less then 3. The mighty tusks of a Boar Wurm could also be fashioned into a huge lance or spear, which could easily knock the heaviest riders off their horses or be jammed into the ground to cause a miniature earthquake to knock enemies on their feet.