Orclops Ravagers

Part of the Forgotten Knowledge Quest. Orclops Ravager Artwork.jpg|Official Creature Artwork

The orclops is a newly discovered breed of orc which, after having been bred extensively by the orcs as war machines, very quickly lost its attraction to the point of extinction. The strength of a cyclops and the brutality of an orc did not mix well. The orclopses were prone to fits of rage and frequent rampages that cost the life of many a tribesman. Although stories of ancient battles mention whole battalions of orclopses, using them was deemed to be too dangerous to be worth the effort. In times of peace, feeding a single orclops was an onerous task for a tribe and feeding half a dozen of them drained a hunting ground empty. As a result, having an orclops became a status symbol for some warlords and all but died out as a subspecies. However, it can be regarded as ironic that a human secret society brought the orclopses back from the brink of extinction. Although the Brotherhood of Bones specialised in necromancy, some of them were eager to employ different kinds of weapons, minions and allies in their wars against the Nightmare Knights. Allying themselves with the Bloody Tooth orc tribe, they provided the orc shamans with the means to breed a better kind of orclopses. Even though this took time, this led to a new breed of orclopses that were more docile and intelligent, less driven by their basic instincts. Through their new found strength and superior intellect, they began to challenge their orc masters for the leadership of the tribe. Orc society reacted harshly by simply enslaving the orclopses with brute force. The new orclopses were subjugated and trained for war by their enslavers. This worked well for the orcs for a while. But then came "Big Ugly". Big Ugly was an unruly orclops and quite intelligent. To break his spirits, his enslavers made him endure the most torturous procedures of their training again and again. As a result, his body and face were so scarred by wounds that it inspired his name. Big Ugly survived and became the most feared fighter of the orclopses. Due to his strong will, his handlers never dared to use him in wars. Instead he was forced to compete in brutal pit-fights against captives and monsters from all over the world. Then they made the fateful decision to let him train other orclopses in the arts of fighting. Little did they know how intelligent and persuasive Big Ugly was. In a short time, he became the idol of the orclops slaves of the tribe. He led them in an uprising. He and his allies swept over the tribe in a single night and crushed all resistance. For half a century there was open warfare between orcs and orclopses. Whenever local orcs heard that the orclopses had arrived in their territory, they either slaughtered their orclopses or released them in the hope that this would appease the approaching orclops tribe. Soon only remote tribes still held captive orclopses. Luckily for the orcs, the new tribe quickly fell into factions upon the death of Big Ugly. Given their immense need for food, a single territory could not sustain a large tribe for long. The newly created clans roamed the world as nomads, slowly diminishing in numbers once again. Nowadays orclopses and orcs have developed a grudging respect for each other. Some of the smaller clans have even joined orc tribes, although this time as allies instead of as slaves. Others have settled in remote areas independently. The Orclops Ravager is the most common orclops. Strong and somewhat dumb, the typical Orclops Ravager spends most of his day satiating his enormous appetite. In battle he relies on his strength and rarely employs any complicated tactics.