Kingdom of Piled Skulls

Kingdom of Piled Skulls is one of the major factions in Legacy of the Dragon.

Its ruler is King Krogor VI and claimant to the throne is Great Shaman Xomori. Piled Skulls is an orcish kingdom. A blood red skull is their symbol, and they prefer the colours gray and red on their banners.

Orcs were originally a warlike, tribal, divided people inhabiting the mountain ranges of Aejdaria and surrounding realms. Although there was a concentration of orcs in Drukian Mountains in southeastern Aejdaria, their infighting kept them from becoming a major threat to civilized nations, for ages they were merely a nuisance.

Then a chosen of the Orcish god One-Eye who were later to be called Krogor the Great by his people, united the warring tribes of orcs, some tribes of ogres, goblins and even some trolls into a single horde and marched them against the human kingdoms with the hope of world domination. Their first victim was the mountainous kingdom of Drukia, and later they carved right into Kingdom of Aslania.

While they made their way north, human kingdoms realized a greater external threat and abandoned their internal strife and formed the Aejdarian League. Armies of Aejdaria marched against the Great Horde and after a bloody battle where three Aejdarian kings have fallen, orcs and their allies were defeated.

Although Krogor the Great survived this defeat, his horde was shattered. His people went back to their old ways, and Krogor and his companions retreated back to their tribal land. Realizing devastation his unrealistic ambitions caused his people, Krogor set on a new plan, to carve out a orcish homeland in Aejdaria.

He united the tribes once more, suppressed the orcish and ogre rebels and founded the Kingdom of Piled Skulls in former Drukia. Although kingdoms of the Aejdarian League were cautious and were preparing one final assault against the upstart Orcish kingdom, rise of the Dracolich distracted them and Orcs of Piled Skulls helping the League against the Dracolich helped build an uneasy peace between the human kingdoms and the new orcish kingdom.

Kingdom of Piled Skulls is made up of various tribes with a hereditary monarch from the line of Krogor leading them. Major tribes in the kingdom are Shattered Skull, the tribe of Krogor the Great; Deadly Sting; Gouged Eye, the tribe that breeds the notorious orcish shamans and a cause of a great dissent for the kingdom; and the Clanless of Hatchtown which is home to the bulk of half-orc population of the kingdom.

Travelling through Kingdom of Piled Skulls, adventurers should be wary of Mountain Orcs, who still adhere to the old ways and will attack anyone trespassing their territory, orcish or otherwise.

Culture
Orcish society is made of various tribes, some large and some small. Heads of the tribes are called chieftains, back in the day this position was claimed by the strongest member of a tribe, but in recent years the orcish king has been favoring a hereditary succession for the tribes for the sake of stability.

Orcs trade with both their allies the undead kingdom of Yarasia and the human kingdoms of the Aejdarian League. Orcs of Piled Skulls do not pose a greater threat to travelers and merchants than their human counterparts.

Back in the old days, orcish females were treated little better than slaves. Concept of marriage or life mates did not exist. However kings of Shattered Skull have been trying to abolish this practice and instill a concept of family within the tribal and chaotic Orcish society.

Majority of the population of Kingdom of Piled Skulls are orcs, although some ogres also fight in their ranks. Some humans native to the area are tolerated (although as second class citizens) as well.

Orcs practice slavery, however enslaving an orc, or an half-orc is prohibited and is punishable by death.

Faith
Orcs believe in a god which they call "One-Eye". Shamans are the emissaries of One-Eye and they also speak to the spirits of Orcs' ancestors. Most of the shamans belong to the Gouged Eye Tribe.

It is a common belief among Orcs that the world domination is the will of One-Eye. Line of Krogor abolishing this goal led to creating some dissidents from orcs who are more loyal to the old ways, such as the claimant to the throne, Great Shaman Xomori of Gouged Eye.

Tactics and Troops
Kingdom of Orcs has a troop tree very similar to Nords in original Mount&Blade: Warband. Some orcs ride worgs into battle, beasts resembling a more gargantuan type of wolves. Their elite troop is Orc Shaman.

Strengths

 * Powerful infantry with excellent choice of equipment for direct engagement.
 * Archers are skilled in and equipped for close combat as well as long-range firing.
 * All troops have high Athletics skill by default.
 * Excellent troops for both attacking and defending in sieges.

Weaknesses

 * Complete absence of cavalry.
 * Vulnerable to heavy cavalry.
 * Second lowest strategic mobility out of all factions.

Notes and Trivia

 * Contrary to first impression, "Piled Skulls" do not refer to human victims of Orcs, but to the pyramid Krogor the Great built out of the skulls of orcish and ogre dissidents who rebelled against him claiming he has abandoned the old ways.