**Faction Type**: Orc Warlord Clan
**Alignment**: Chaotic Evil
**Location**: Bloodcrag Mountains, near [[Kadh Vrbuz]]
**Status**: Active Threat and Rebellious Faction
### **Overview**
The Ironhide Clan is the most dangerous remnant of northern orc ideology, a brutal faction that rejects diplomacy, industry, and modernization. Unlike the southern orcs under [[King Gorath]] of [[Kadh Vrbuz]] and King [[Otubog]] of Olgrug, the Ironhides cling to an ancient orcish worldview: might makes right, and blood conquers all.
They reject the unity of the Southern Orc Union and wage constant war against both southern orcs and the goblins of the [[Shadowspire Dominion]]. Their territory, carved into the edge of the Bloodcrag Mountains, serves as a bastion of violence and rebellion that threatens the fragile peace of the southern lands.
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## **Leadership**
### [[Drazkul]] the Iron Wolf
- **Title**: Warlord-King of the Ironhide Clan
- **Personality**: Brutal, cunning, and seething with hatred for the "civilized" southern orcs
- **Appearance**: Towering, draped in scarred ironplate armor, gray mane flowing, with burning red eyes
- **Weapon**: _Fangbreaker_ – a colossal war axe forged from the bones of a slain frost giant
- **Philosophy**:
_"The South grows weak, feasting while the strong grow hungrier. We will remind them what it means to be orc."_
[[Drazkul]] views King [[King Gorath|Gorath]] and King [[Otubog]] as weak pretenders, labeling them traitors who abandoned orcish pride for foreign peace.
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## **Ironhide Beliefs**
- **Conquest Over Civilization**
Orcs should conquer, not build. Cities and diplomacy are signs of decay.
- **Survival of the Fittest**
Weakness deserves death. Any orc who bows to foreign ideals is not a true orc.
- **Hatred of Goblins**
Goblins, especially under [[King Grusdak]], are seen as manipulative cowards. The Ironhides loathe their tactics and presence.
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## **The Frostcrag Bastion**
**Location**: Bloodcrag Mountains – strategic highlands above key trade routes and southern settlements
### Key Features
- Massive stone walls enhanced with stolen dwarven engineering
- Wolf-hide banners, skull trophies, and shattered enemy standards
- Slave pens containing goblins, humans, and captured southern orcs
- The Ironforge – a grim foundry where weapons are made from the remains of fallen enemies
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## **Conflict and Warfronts**
- **King [[King Gorath|Gorath]] of [[Kadh Vrbuz]]**
Engaged in a prolonged war of attrition against the Ironhides. His goal is to contain their chaos before it fractures the southern territories.
- **King [[Otubog]] of Olgrug**
Seeks total eradication of the Ironhide threat. Has begun joint military campaigns with King [[King Gorath|Gorath]] and King [[King Grusdak|Grusdak]].
- **Resistance of the Bloodcrag**
The mountainous terrain and [[Drazkul]]’s ambush tactics make the Ironhides exceptionally difficult to uproot. Even united southern forces struggle to crush them.
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## **Related Factions**
- Kingdom of [[Kadh Vrbuz]]
- Orc Union of Olgrug
- [[Shadowspire Dominion]]