ZeRoc wrote:What happens to me a lot is when I find a strong hold is that I don't realize it to be a strong hold and start killing them, me assuming that they are bandits... until I realize that they are fleeing, then I get a pit in my stomach for killing innocent Orcs...
The Strongholds have a unique map icon. Watch out for it. It kinda looks vaguely like that of a Nord Barrow, but it looks more like a Mongolian Yurt of some sort.
Monsters are bred in labyrinths, labyrinths are bred from walls. There is a reason the Giants choose to remain nomadic rather than follow their shield kin the Nords in building permanent settlements. The Tower is the beginning of all walls.
Yeah... I always think "That's a weird icon, I wonder what it's for..." and then snipe one of the residents... My next thought is "whoops, I have to remember that that icon means it's a stronghold"... I never remember...
Hat wrote:Do you people understand how underrated ZeRoc is? Do you see this post above me?
Avron wrote:Guys, do you realize just how glorious all of ZeRoc's puns are?
I work at Ancestry, so does that make me an ancestor ghost?
I find the Orc culture fascinating, and I would never in a million years do anything but treat them with the respect they, as an ancient and honorable culture, deserve.
Veck wrote:The Strongholds partly annoyed me because this cultural revelation of chieftains owning women seemed odd for a race that are well-known for treating woman equally to men. Still, I have a lot of respect for the Orcs as a people and seeing them in a more natural state was pleasant enough, even if it did just show the regressive effect Malacath has on them. There wasn't really anything going on in the strongholds themselves though, so I did indeed raid them for ore and move on.
I'm going to have to contest this statement actually. I haven't seen anything implying that the chieftains 'own' women (though I'm open to evidence supporting this) and while only the chieftain has wives and is allowed to mate that's actually a very old tribal structure that is used because the strongest male (thus, chieftain) would create the strongest children so it makes sense from a certain perspective. I've actually heard it said this wears more on the males than it does on the females, though I don't remember where so I can't provide a link.
If anything, the Strongholds treat the men like breeding stock.
The women are the most talented smiths, healers and often even hunters and warriors.
In a way it reminds me of a Lion Pride, or a tribe of great apes. One big strong male who makes babies, but the females do most of the work.
Monsters are bred in labyrinths, labyrinths are bred from walls. There is a reason the Giants choose to remain nomadic rather than follow their shield kin the Nords in building permanent settlements. The Tower is the beginning of all walls.
The Orc-strongholders are among the most noble and trust-worthy tribes in the game. Saying that you enjoy killing Orcs is like saying you enjoy killing police dogs.
Sure, there are Orc Bandits and Orc Skooma dealers. That doesn't trashcan an entire ethnicity, though. There are deadbeat members of all ethnicities in Skyrim.
I role play as a half Nord half Orc (an Orc template designed to downplay Orc features when possible) who has a identity complex and hates his Orcish half. So I decimate strongholds for fun and pick off any Orcs I see outside of strongholds.
He also considers himself a true Son of Skyrim and joined the storm cloaks, attempting to court Nord women and be accepted as a Nord.
Pilaf The Defiler wrote:
(In fact, the Medes in general seem to make pacts with Daedra. I can't recall if Titus I ever had any dealings with them, but it's implied Titus II wielded Goldbrand on the battlefield against the Thalmor. People familiar with Goldbrand know it's a gift from the male aspect of Boethiah - a god of war. It is usually granted only after slaying a warrior of each of the mortal races of Tamriel, meaning if Titus earned it, he would have had to have been a capable and fearsome warrior in his youth.)
This raises a very interesting idea, is it possible then that the Decline of the Empire can be contributed to a "debt" if you will that Mede owes to Malacath, I mean he is
Spoiler:
also very strangely at peace with his death when you approach him.
I dont mind the strongholds i help some miners just out side markarth and then im aloud in side the strongholds but the main stronghold i visit is Narzulbur due to the large ebony mine
Why does the old orc one sometimes encounter want to die. What's wrong with being old and grey? I do not understand the orc mindset. I also do not know why they are forced to live in strongholds, and not live how/where they want.
The Black Weasel wrote:Why does the old orc one sometimes encounter want to die. What's wrong with being old and grey? I do not understand the orc mindset. I also do not know why they are forced to live in strongholds, and not live how/where they want.
Well, in some IRL tribal cultures this is a practice for the health of the community. Inuit (or at least some) (traditionally) Elders would go out to sea alone to pass away so that there would be more food for and they would be less burden on the community. And keeping in strongholds I don't know is something they are forced to do, is it? I figured rather that they are trying to preserve their culture. Globalization IRL is destroying cultures; I saw a program on NatGeo that said ~50 years ago there were 6000 languages being spoken in the world, and today that number is probably half (3000) languages being spoken. In both that show and a book I have of interviews with people from the Amazon, young members of old cultures want to do things like fly planes more than live their whole lives with their parents and pass on the old ways. Orc Strongholds are places where Orcs can continue their traditions
Let's play some APB ReloadedMount & Blade: WarbandAPB ReloadedMech Warrior OnlineAPB ReloadedBattlefield 4 SKYRIM!
The Black Weasel wrote:Why does the old orc one sometimes encounter want to die. What's wrong with being old and grey? I do not understand the orc mindset. I also do not know why they are forced to live in strongholds, and not live how/where they want.
Well, in some IRL tribal cultures this is a practice for the health of the community. Inuit (or at least some) (traditionally) Elders would go out to sea alone to pass away so that there would be more food for and they would be less burden on the community. And keeping in strongholds I don't know is something they are forced to do, is it? I figured rather that they are trying to preserve their culture. Globalization IRL is destroying cultures; I saw a program on NatGeo that said ~50 years ago there were 6000 languages being spoken in the world, and today that number is probably half (3000) languages being spoken. In both that show and a book I have of interviews with people from the Amazon, young members of old cultures want to do things like fly planes more than live their whole lives with their parents and pass on the old ways. Orc Strongholds are places where Orcs can continue their traditions
Good post, I was actually trying to explain this to people in an Imperial vs. Stormcloaks discussion at one point.
Gideon Dragontongue wrote:I made an Orc just to RP in the strongholds and then I realized there was nothing to do. So I was a little disappointed.
Yeah, they were actually really disappointing. TBH, and I love Skyrim so don't go accusing me of being a hater, there were many things in Skyrim that weren't fleshed out as much as they should have been: guilds, quests, etc.
Orc strongholds are in Skyrim. If Nords hate outsides, why don't they attack the strongholds?
Can Strongholds be counted as sovereign territory? Orcs have no guards in the traditional sense. Just a chieftan. Low population. Non-Orcs cannot enter unless they somehow become blood-kin.
This seems the Orcs are incredibly backward, in comparance to the Empire and the Nordic Holds. I can enter Whiterun, trade items rent a room. join the companions. Imperial and Nordic live is more advanced. Why would the Orcs stay backwards at the whim of a Daedra. In this respect, would the Orcs not be at conflict with the Vigilants of Stendarr?
The Black Weasel wrote:Orc strongholds are in Skyrim. If Nords hate outsides, why don't they attack the strongholds?
Can Strongholds be counted as sovereign territory? Orcs have no guards in the traditional sense. Just a chieftan. Low population. Non-Orcs cannot enter unless they somehow become blood-kin.
This seems the Orcs are incredibly backward, in comparance to the Empire and the Nordic Holds. I can enter Whiterun, trade items rent a room. join the companions. Imperial and Nordic live is more advanced. Why would the Orcs stay backwards at the whim of a Daedra. In this respect, would the Orcs not be at conflict with the Vigilants of Stendarr?
The orcs follow an ancient way of life that precedes the arrival of humans in Tamriel. The reason the Nords don't attack them is because they deliberately live in very secluded areas, which are extremely difficult to find if you're not looking for them.
Indeed they follow the Code of Malacath and live the life which was instructed to them by the daedric prince. Also those Stongholds while they seem backwards are pretty connected to the recent developments. You can find orc mercenaries for hire, ex legion soldiers, practitioners of the mercurial arts...also nobody limits the orcs to live in this strongholds for each member can take the road and live a life of adventure...well if he stays away for a long time he is considered an exile though.
What puzzles me is what would happen if an orc mage would try to usurp the position of the stronghold chieftian. Would it be considered legal, by the Code?
"You have the honor of addressing a member of the Thalmor. Bask in it."
