|
|
|
Wargs |
|
|
A handful of the orcs of Mordor, through habitation at the Mirkwood fortress of Dol Guldur, have formed alliances with the Wargs of the Mirkwood Mountains. These orcs when in Mirkwood often raid with the wargs, the wargs either loping alongside the orcs or, when necessary for speed, bearing them as riders. However, the wargs are not domesticated servants of the orcs, and players who seek to portray wargs in RP should remember some important facts about the wargs' character and their relationship with the orcs.
Orcs of Dol Guldur of the rank Dog ('warrior') and above may apply to become a Warg Rider and if accepted will be issued a warg puppet to use in RP, but the controlling player will be expected to play the warg appropriately at all times. Abuse of the privilege will result in its revocation. The Warg Riders' will also be expected to fall into a specific weapon/armor catagory. They should use only Studded Leather armor, then use a helm and shield if applicable. For weapons the primary should be spear, scimitar, or axe. The total weight of the player's equipment should beunder 40 lbs to allow the wargs to carry them and their weight.
Raiding
The wargs of the Mirkwood Mountains are wild and highly intelligent. Though they are not of the breed which spoke to the goblins of the Misty Mountains in The Hobbit, neither are they simple canines. They are cruel and fierce, killing for pleasure as well as for food. Most importantly, they are never tame. The relationship between the orcs and wargs is more one of partnership than ownership. The wargs go raiding with the orcs because the orcs lead them to fresh meat and an energetic chase, not because they follow any orc's command. They do not.
Fighting
Wargs cannot be as reliably controlled in battle as can well-trained soldiers (or even orcs). No orc or troll ever 'trains' a warg. Wargs enter the fray of battle when it is meet for them to do so, when there is blood to be had at not too great a cost. They will attack in packs, biting or charging at the flank of an opponent and then darting away, whether or not any of them bears an orc rider; the rider will simply be borne along with the warg, attacking with the pack. Sometimes wargs may be directed at a particular foe, but only if it otherwise suits them and the lure of blood is not too strong in another victim.
Under no circumstances will a warg fight to the death to support or save an orc. When they feel the panic of seemingly near defeat, wargs will run howling into the shadows of the forest--leaving behind any orc or troll who disagrees with the notion.
