Gundabad Orcs skirmishing
| “ | There could not be much doubt: there was fighting in the tower, the orcs must be at war among themselves, Shagrat and Gorbag had come to blows. | ” |
–The Return of the King, The Tower of Cirith Ungol | ||
Skirmishes are events in which two or more Orcs fight amongst themselves.
Skirmishing occurs most often among Mordor Orcs. It cannot occur among hired units or 'special' Orcs such as traders and captains. Certain, more disciplined Orcs such as the Uruk-hai, Black Uruks and Utumno Orcs, do not skirmish. Gundabad Uruks are the only Uruks that skirmish, though they do so less often than regular Orcs.
Starting a Skirmish[]
Skirmishes can only begin in a group of 2 or more Orcs that are not focused on an enemy NPC or player, and, thus, are bored and have "nothing better to do." A skirmish begins randomly when one Orc decides he doesn't like the look of a nearby Orc, and moves to attack him. The more Orcs that are in an area, the more likely it is that a skirmish will occur.
An Orc chat line often appears just before the start of a skirmish if the player is close enough, such as sayings like "Get out of my way, maggot!" Other telltale signs of a skirmish include unexplained sounds of Orc bombs exploding and the sounds of Orcs getting hurt. It is common to be walking in a biome where Orcs spawn and to suddenly see several lines of chat showing up underground at once as Orcs in a deep cave begin fighting.
Continuing a Skirmish[]
The skirmishing behaviour is transferred between Orcs when a skirmishing Orc targets another Orc. If the Orc who is attacked manages to defeat his attacker, he himself will then seek out other nearby Orcs to skirmish with, and continue the skirmish.
In addition, if an idle Orc sees a skirmish happening nearby, he may want to join in. In these ways skirmishes tend to get bigger - increasingly quickly - in areas with lots of Orcs. Sometimes, this fighting can become so extreme that it results in the deaths of several dozen Orcs.
Ending a Skirmish[]
Any Orcs involved in a skirmish will continue skirmishing and seeking out new Orcs to attack for as long as they can. If an Orc cannot see someone new to skirmish with, he will gradually 'cool down' for a few seconds, after which the skirmishing behaviour for this Orc will cease.
Thus the entire skirmish ends once all the Orcs involved are either dead, or are too far apart from other Orcs to continue the skirmish.
Disabling a Skirmish[]
Before Public Beta 22, orc skirmishes could be disabled with the following command:
/gamerule enableOrcSkirmish <true|false>
They can currently be disabled in the mod settings, accessible via the Title Screen.
Mini-quests[]
Since Public Beta 23.3, Orcs involved in active quests will not engage in skirmishes with other Orcs.
Gameplay mechanics of the Lord of the Rings Mod
Basic Mechanics:
Alignment •
Books •
Crafting •
Equipment Modifiers •
Factions •
Farming The World:
Biomes (Variants) •
Clock •
Compass •
Fast Travel System •
Roads Achievements and Quests:
Achievements • Mini-Quest • Shields • Titles • The Red Book • Tutorial In-Game Events:
Bandits • Bloodmoon • Invasions • Player Respawning • Skirmishes • Thieves Combat:
Banners •
Boss Mechanics •
Combat System •
Conquest •
Fort Besieging Tips •
Fort Defense Tips Brewing:
Portals:
Other / Technical:
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