The World of Avlis

I'd like to know more about the great magical, Orcish disaster on Avlis. Can you fill in some blanks on this? I realize some of it may be being saved for special reasons, however.

What were the Orcs trying to do when the spell backfired?
How did this all happen?
What are the Orcs up to now? (Or at least, what are they rumored to be up to?)


I've been developing ideas for an Orcish arcane caster, and knowing more would be nice. It would also be very cool if, eventually, such a character could get in with a community of outlaw Orcish wizards. Maybe set up a secret sect of these guys somewhere and set up factions so that they are friendly to Half-Orc casters, but hostile to everyone else.

That now makes orcish arcane caster character #6 in avlis.

Seek out Lord Crunk. He can teach you the ways of the steel caster. Orc magi can take a beating unlike the normal soft and squishy magic users.

My favorite is Marighad Bloghed. She has a much milder temper then Crunk.

The long and the short of it is that the orcs used to have a very developed magical institution and social class back before the Great War. Towards the end of the war they came up with an ingenious evocation spell that would basically wipe out the entire force allied against them. They even started to cast it, however, at the same time, there was an unknown magical disturbance that interfered with the magical field and caused the spell to backfire. All of the orcish casters involved were destroyed in the backlash, and so were tens of thousands of non-caster orcs, along with a whole mess of innocent bystanders in the war, such as the humans, who were not generally involved so much in the Great War officially.

Needless to say, the orcish population blames their loss in the war on the arcane orc casters. Casting arcane magic is illegal in orcish society and their casters are hunted down and killed by the orcs.

Clerical magic is accepted just fine.

They even started to cast it, however, at the same time, there was an unknown magical disturbance that interfered with the magical field and caused the spell to backfire.

Could it have been....

The Vortex of Chaos?

No, but if we ever start playing my PnP campaign again you'll find out what it is when you read the campaign notes.

Just curious as always....

Is OrcScourge Chasm supposed to be the place where this spell back-fired?

That would explain why all the orcish caster types are in the TNanshi/MChek area. If they were up in orc lands they would be six feet under.

Orcscourge chasm was one place where the magic destroyed. There are quite a few throughout Avlis.