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Strength and Honor: The Path of a Grunt
#1
[Image: OrcCrest.jpg]

The Grunt
First and Last Line of Defense


So you want to play an Orc, but you also want to play a Warrior. You know what they do right? Don't you? They're all unintelligent brutes who just fight all day and aren't afraid of anything...
...Except that's not right. Orcs are one of the most multifaceted races of all, and the Grunt is but one of those facets, and the one that I'm going to explore in depth right now.

What does it take to be a Grunt?

Humble Beginnings
Gor'shen Stonearm looked over the young Orc, then turned to his father. "Rocktusk, is your son prepared to take on the duties of a warrior?" The other older Orc nodded. "Yes, Kaghuros is old enough to begin his path and, spirits willing, he will become a Grunt as I am, and as my father was. Train him well for me, old friend."
The young Orcish child looked on solemnly. Even at his young age he knew what his father was asking of him, it was what every young man-Orc and she-Orc did on the path to becoming a great warrior like his father and he looked forward to it with the same childhood enthusiasm a Human boy might think of being an armored knight or powerful wizard. It was the path to the same glorious heroism he saw in his father.


The path of a Grunt starts at an early age. Most Orcs who prove to be both physically and mentally competent, but lack a connection to the spirits of the earth, are trained by their parents or a mentor in the skills of the axe and bow. These are things a semi-nomadic race like the Orcs, especially now when just settling into a new land, have always needed to know to survive. This training goes on until a young Orc is about to come of age. That's when the real trials begin.

The Trials of a Warrior

The axe felt good in his hand, as it very well should. He had made the weapon with his own hands under Stonearm's watchful eye. It was a heavy, one-sided thing made of stone. Not a true Warrior's weapon, but it was what was required. Something made with one's own hands, and good enough to slay the beast that he fast approached in the grass.
Kaghuros ran headlong at the large boar, for a moment admiring the thick ropes of muscle showing under its scarred hide. This was an old beast, an honorable hunt, and he was going to claim its heart.


Each Orc that comes of age must pass a trial to become ranked in society. Just as Shaman must commune alone with the spirits, so too do young Grunts commune with their own path. Each individual is sent on their own challenge, perhaps to claim the heart or horns of a venerable beast, to explore a cave and take an object from within. All challenges are to be met alone and unaided, those who don't come back are given a grand pyre but those who come back empty-handed are cast out and become Peons.

Duty and Honor

Stonearm was dead, but life went on. His body, lame from an old battle, was laid out a bed of interlocking dry logs and grass. As a chill wind whispered over the small campground, Orcs huddled closely together in their families, speaking softly of the deeds of the old man. One Orc came forward and stood in front of the unlit pyre. He touched Stonearm's hand and turned to face the gathered throng.
"Stonearm was a great Orc, a fearsome Warrior in his prime and a slayer of many of our enemies. That is not what made him. Stonearm was more than just a killer, he killed because it was his duty to protect our kin, to see the Horde through its trial. He had honor in his work, giving his foes a clean death and fighting with respect towards even our most untrustworthy foes. Even when his arm was severed in battle he continued to uphold his duty. He was my mentor, my guide, and he showed me everything I know now about the art of war. Stonearm was a true Grunt, and a true friend. Let his strength remain in our spirits as he watches from the other world."
The young Orc turned and lit the pyre, letting the wind draw flames over his old friend's corpse.


Grunts are not simple killers. They are bound by a sense of duty to protect their kin at all costs, and a respect for their enemies. An armed Grunt often will try not to kill an unarmed foe, they will give them a chance to either plead for their life or regain their weapons (Unless the Grunt or another disarmed them in combat). This doesn't apply to spies, because spying is not honorable. A Grunt will try to give a foe a clean death and an honorable burial if the foe conforms to Orcish honor. There is always glory in fighting a challenging foe, and their death should be respected as that of an equal.

A Warrior's Hobby

Sitting under trees
Purple leaves fall from above
They have all been slain


So what do Orcs do in their off-time? Well, anything! Choose something that fits your chosen personality and even your own OOC interests. Kaghuros is a warrior-poet in the style of the Samurai of ancient Japan. He writes haiku in a rather Orcish style as a way of expressing the joys and sorrows of what he sees in his life. He has a small farm and raises pigs when he's not fighting, and he smiths his own armor. Your Orc can do any of those and so much more!

Extras/Bonus

Grunt Armor Set:
Standard:
Sentinel Boots
Sentinel Bracers
Sentinel Breastplate
Sentinel Girdle
Sentinel Gloves
Sentinel Trousers
Cabalist Spaulders or Big Bad Pauldrons

Post questions or comments in the thread.
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#2
This is very nice!

Add on to that gear set - that Sentinel armor in addition to either [item]Big Bad Pauldrons[/item] for plate wearers or [item]Cabalist Spaulders[/item] for others for an Orgrimmar Grunt appearance.
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#3
There are also some nifty green pauldrons such as [item]14688[/item] For the "Stranglethorn" or "Stonard" looks.

EDIT: Also, [item]7719[/item], [item]7718[/item] and [item]7717[/item] From Scarlet Monastary, while not exactly grunt-ish and a very good way to make yourself a Herod look-alike, they can make for a good-looking soldier/warrior.




Move him into the sun—
Gently its touch awoke him once,
At home, whispering of fields half-sown.
Always it woke him, even in France,
Until this morning and this snow.
If anything might rouse him now
The kind old sun will know.

Think how it wakes the seeds,—
Woke, once, the clays of a cold star.
Are limbs, so dear-achieved, are sides,
Full-nerved—still warm—too hard to stir?
Was it for this the clay grew tall?
—O what made fatuous sunbeams toil
To break earth’s sleep at all?
[Image: 62675bf4fd.jpg] [Image: 0e7357dcfe.jpg]
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#4
Wow, I didn't know Kaghuros was a poet. Very interesting.

The hobby part is the thing I agree with most, for any character really. A character seems bland if all they devote themselves to is archery or fighting or what have you.
Spoiler:
We're all doomed
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