Overview
The nomadic confederation umbrella encompassing the Steppe's Orc clan groupings — the ancestral population from which the Human Empire drew its slave-legions, now free and evolving on the open steppe. Tribal and confederal governance; the political umbrella is loose, containing at minimum 8 named sub-confederations in varying states of competition, alliance, and decline. Their relationship with the Orc Confederation (Samarkand) is the structural tension that defines both factions: shared ancestry, a thousand years of divergence, and the persistent question of what "Orc power" actually means in the present era.
Structure & Governance
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Relationship to Power
[TODO — stub] Hidden influence: [TODO — stub] Leverage: [TODO — stub]
Cultural Character
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Key Tensions
- [TODO — stub]
Narrative Hooks
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Relationships
| faction | relationship | notes |
|---|---|---|
| Orc Confederation (Samarkand) | rival / complex kinship | The settled/nomadic split; shared ancestry, divergent thousand-year trajectories |
| Chain-Breakers Order | allied — oral tradition overlap | Ancestor spirit veneration and liberation memory share deep roots |
| The Human Empire | historical — enslaved source population | The Empire drew slave-legions from these peoples; liberation was the founding rupture |
DM Notes
Sub-clan naming is pending. Eight historical-analog clans are identified in `_category.md` § Steppe Clan Sub-Factions (Borjigid-analog, Tayichuid-analog, Kerrait-analog, Naiman-analog, Tatar-analog, Ongirrad-analog, Merkit-analog, Uriangqai-analog). Fantasy names to be assigned in a dedicated naming session using the FANTASY_NAMING_GUIDE. Do not use the historical-analog names in any player-facing content.
References
- Index: world/factions/_category
- Sub-faction detail: world/factions/_category § Steppe Clan Sub-Factions