Orcs

The history of the North is replete with tales of orc hordes spilling out of the mountains to attack the mines, ranches, farmsteads, and settlements of other folk. Like the Reghed barbarians of Icewind Dale and the Uthgardt barbarians scattered throughout the frontier, orcs gather in tribes. When a particularly strong orc chieftain unites multiple tribes under one banner, the re­sulting horde typically rampages across the land, laying waste to strongholds and slaughtering other creatures in its path. Reghed and Uthgardt barbarians usually put aside their territorial rivalries to oppose and destroy a rampaging orc horde. Civilized communities form their own coalitions to combat rampaging orcs, with mixed results. The War of the Silver Marches (1484-1485 DR), the latest such conflict, saw orcs fighting alongside white dragons and frost giants. Though the orcs and their mighty allies were defeated and sent scurrying back to their mountain lairs, numerous settlements throughout the Silver Marches were ravaged and left in ruins, among them the fortress-city of Sundabar.

Not all orc chieftains are bent on destruction: King Obould Many-Arrows forged a tenuous alliance with his dwarf neighbors and helped maintain peace in the Sil­ver Marches during his tumultuous reign.