# Roleplaying scenario help **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 25, 2005, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roleplaying-scenario-help/327794 "2005-10-25T10:51:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2005, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roleplaying-scenario-help/327794/21 "2005-10-28T00:26:49Z")
If you’re good on this, may I suggest making the mercenaries themselves memorable for something beyond being mercenaries? Perhaps they are eunuchs. Perhaps they serve a dragon and fight wars in order to bring treasure and information to their master. Perhaps their leader is enamored with humanity and is extraordinarily erudite; all the orcs emulate humans as best they can. Perhaps they are blinded in one eye (per D&D’s Gruumsh), and fight only in hand-to-hand combat. Name them, give the leader a memorable personality, and make them morally ambiguous. Them’s my ideas, anyway. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2005, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roleplaying-scenario-help/327794/22 "2005-10-28T05:29:15Z")
How about, at the gate of their camp, a few neat racks of battle trophies and of the skulls of hard-to-kill creatures, and a sign with some variant of [this old spiel](http://www.parky-mp.dircon.co.uk/) and “For Hire” written in three major languages. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2005, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roleplaying-scenario-help/327794/23 "2005-10-28T08:38:31Z")
> [@N9IWP](#): > > OOh! good idea – Maybe the players could encounter a battlefield with the orc / non-orc corpse ratio is much higher than normal. Not sure who the non-orcs should be though. > > Brian Dwarves. Seasoned dwarven fighters are pretty tough to beat, and having a lot of dead dwarves on the battlefield, and not too many orcs, should be an indicator. I also like the idea of the orcs having very nice well-kept armor, weapons, and equipment You might sprinkle some half-orcs in there, too, if the game world allows it. Some half-orcs might very well be proud of their orcish blood, and think that orcs/half-orcs are the toughest, meanest race around, and should take advantage of their strengths. ---
**Author:** ![Catalyst](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e47774/32.png) [@Catalyst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catalyst)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2005, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roleplaying-scenario-help/327794/24 "2005-10-28T09:45:41Z")
> [@Lynn Bodoni](#): > > You might sprinkle some half-orcs in there, too, if the game world allows it. Some half-orcs might very well be proud of their orcish blood, and think that orcs/half-orcs are the toughest, meanest race around, and should take advantage of their strengths. Worse yet, orogs: half orc, half ogre. I don’t think they’re quite as bright as half-orcs, though. Actually, I can see bloodlines being used as the basis for rank, with orc grunts, orog sargeants, and half-orcs as tacticians/officers. Throw in some ogres for “heavy artillery,” and you’ve got a pretty formidable force. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_the\_Immortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2005, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roleplaying-scenario-help/327794/25 "2005-10-29T00:08:58Z")
The PCs arrive in a new town, and all of the adventurer-work has already been done. The goblin tribes have been driven away, the children have been saved from the ogres, and the local necromancer has been slain. The orc mercenaries have saved the day, and for a princely sum. Not only have the orcs demonstrated their skill, they have earned a degree of admiration from the common folk. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2005, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roleplaying-scenario-help/327794/26 "2005-10-29T00:30:54Z")
Another idea: what if nobody realizes they’re orcs? Let them wear full expensive armor with frightening designs, mostly not speak, except their eloquent leader; break their orcosity on the players only once the players are convinced they’re dealing with badass humans. Daniel [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roleplaying-scenario-help/327794.md?page=1)