ORCSES!

  By Robert J. Schwalb Keys to the Battlefield “Look friend, we ain’t got no fancy spells and there ain’t no gods lookin’ out fer the likes of you and me. We got these weapons, but we got something more too. We got each other. You get my back and I swear on my father’s beard I’ll get yours.” —Borst, dwarf warlord Martial characters might engage the enemy in wildly different ways. Some rely on shadows to skulk about and plant their daggers where least expected, and others fling themselves headlong into the enemies’ teeth. However, what unites them all is an uncommon understanding of battlefield tactics. Such characters don’t have grimoires dripping with complex arcane formulas or a god’s hand resting on their shoulder, but what they do have is grit, discipline, and cold, hard steel. No one knows this better than the warlord. Trained in a variety of fighting techniques tested on countless battlefields through history’s long march, warlords draw from their vast experience to find u...

Loyal followers are the most valuable “possessions” these villains can have. Undoubtedly, a betrayal at some point in the past has cost our ancient villain a great deal. Certainly, magical items are helpful, but these can be found, stolen, bartered for, or made. Followers, on the other hand, must (in most cases) be courted, recruited, and trained. They represent a great investment in time and energy. They are allowed or encouraged to grow powerful in order to serve better, but they are watched carefully to see that they do not gain enough power to become a threat to their master. This is not to say that these villains are kind and benevolent to their minions. The methods that evil-aligned creatures use to obtain loyalty differ from the methods of good-aligned creatures, but they can still be effective. At the very bottom tier of the ancient character’s retinue are slaves and charmed victims. These are unwilling followers who probably revolt if given the opportunity and some hope of suc...

The warlord is a belligerent individual who sets his organization up along military lines. This villain’s activities focus on the assimilation or destruction of large areas of land and groups of people. He may wish to take over a particular land, race, or geographic area — or he may aim at nothing less than the entire world. If undead, this villain might try to regain the lands he ruled or controlled when alive. Since villains do not necessarily declare war or restrict their attacks to military targets, they are often thought of as brigands or pirates until they gain considerable power. Most warlords do not often enter combat personally. If a party were to infiltrate the army surrounding him, he would assume that it was through subterfuge or powerful magic rather than through military force. His scouts and wizards would have detected an army nearby, but maybe not a handful of spies. If a party does find its way to the warlord’s presence, he immediately attacks, regardless of the circum...