The Warrior's Code

[Jendekit]

Do you guys have warrior codes in your worlds beyond the codes of conduct used for paladins? The first two written down for my setting both belong to the orcs of the continent Sylvanor north of the main part of the setting.

There are two major humanoid cultures native to Sylvanor: the orcs that are even bigger than their Green Coast counterparts and various human tribes that roam the tundras far to the north where the winter nights last weeks. Earlier today I sat down to codify the code that the Sylvanor orcs live by, essentially an orc version of chivalry or bushido (to use the most famous examples). Unlike chivalry or bushido, the main code is informal and no laws exist to punish those that break it.

The tenants with the most common interpretations are:

• Courage. Stand fast in the face of dangers to home and aksdyn*.
• Cunning. The highest halls of Vangalr** are reserved for those that fight smarter and harder.
• Duty. The warrior that knows not his place is the warrior that dies alone.
• Loyalty. We stand against the shrieking dead and entities of the wilds together, or fall alone.
• Respect. Show fellow warriors the respect they deserve, do not deny them the chance for Vangalr.***

* The best translation into Common would be "brothers in arms", but there are several cultural connotations that are lost in the translation. If an orc declares you to be aksdyn, then you are considered to be kin in all but blood.
** The orc version of Valhalla
*** Essentially, do not strike down a warrior that is unable to fight back. Let them maintain their dignity by dying fighting.

The second of the two codes is the Daithnyr-Kren Berlenr ("Oath of the Berserk") sworn by orc warriors upon being initiated into the ranks of the Berlenr, the elite guard and soldiers of orc kharan (king). Upon swearing the oath, they are given the weapon of the Berlenr: a metal staff that bestows both strength and fury to the one it is bonded to (modified version of the Berserker Axe in 5e).

The oath consists of the following lines (haven't done the work to translate them into the Sylvanor Orc language yet)

• "By the winds of Wolyn, I shall act with the purest of lungs*,"
• "By the forge of Temdor, my arm shall enact my kharan's will,"
• "By the lidless-gaze of Ukaulr, my actions shall match my words,"
• "By the fury of Tsobgath, shall I crush my kharan's foes,"
• "By the whispers of Djorgr, I shall beware the wild-ones,"
• "By the light of Sar Laisla, shall I smash the shrieking dead."

* In orc culture the lungs are seen as the source of emotion and thought rather than the heart, IE instead of saying that someone is pure of heart they'd say pure of lung.

[raygun goth]

Respect. Show fellow warriors the respect they deserve, do not deny them the chance for Vangalr.***

*** Essentially, do not strike down a warrior that is unable to fight back. Let them maintain their dignity by dying fighting.

Oh, I like the implication of this - an orc is fighting someone and the guy falls on his face, the orc stops fighting him for a moment to help him back up and hands him his weapon back. That's so cool. Orcs leave children alive, even if those kids pick up weapons for the first time, just so that kid can grow up to become a warrior and earn a place in Vangalr.

Yes, I use a lot of warrior codes (and other codes in general) in almost all my settings. I am afb at the moment, but I'll be glad to post a couple when I'm back.