Imperial Orcs economic interests
Imperial Orcs see money as something that separates free citizens of the Empire from slaves. Perhaps more so than many humans they understand the freedom that comes with being able to buy and sell things freely. A number of the first generation were raised in League cities, and possessed a well-developed appreciation for the power that comes with wealth. In keeping with their instinctual desire to be part of a group, however, many Orcs see a distinction between personal wealth - enough money to live in comfort - and the wealth of the legion - the wealth that comes from and is used to keep everyone in the legion well equipped, fit and capable of doing their jobs.
Bonesetters
Many legions pool the majority of their wealth and resources, using it to provide for the members of the legion on the basis of need. A warlord will usually appoint one or more individuals to look after a legion’s wealth. By tradition these people are called bonesetters and are usually trained apothecaries, physicks or both.
Bonesetters are expected to attend to the physical needs of the legion, but their remit runs well beyond this. Most bonesetters proactively work to enrich their legion, investing the legion’s resources as they see fit to try to increase the legion’s wealth. Bonesetters have no formal powers but they often broker deals for the skills of individual legion members or even the whole legion, if they are confident that their warlord will support them. A competent bonesetter who is working in the best interests of their legion can usually count on their support. Few orcs want to annoy the individual whose responsibility it is to treat the wounded but more importantly, the genuine bonesetter is assumed to be making deals for the benefit of the entire legion.
Thief-takers
Orcs despise criminals or indeed anyone who puts their own interests above that of their group. As a result Imperial Orcs find themselves natural supporters of the Imperial legal system. If an Imperial Orc witnesses corruption or lawbreaking, they are likely to take steps to immediately arrest the criminal, and take them straight to the nearest magistrate for judgement. As a result many have found a niche for themselves serving as thief-takers.
Thief-takers earn their income by collecting bounties on criminals who have fled the law and more rarely by taking payments from private individuals looking to identify perpetrators of crimes. Thief-takers are overseen by the Imperial magistrates and the most effective work closely with them. Some legions encourage their members to take this work, believing that it earns wealth for the legion as well as performing a valuable service, but some orcs enjoy the work so much that they make a life for themselves outside the legion forming small bands with other successful thief-takers.
The large number of orcs prepared to carry out this work, and their strict adherence to the letter of the law, particularly enacting magistrates’ orders which would make others’ lives politically very uncomfortable has meant that in recent years more and more of this work is brought directly to the Imperial Orcs. In particular a number of magistrates have adopted the “culprit’s walk” where suspects are forced to walk around the orc camp before being released on bail. The culprit’s walk makes it easier for orc thief-takers to identity suspects that fail to return for trial as well as making the culprit aware of the resources available to bring them to justice. There have been three attempts by the Senate to ban the culprit’s walk but thus far they have all been unsuccessful.
Reavers
Most orc legions support large groups of heavily trained soldiers who are no longer serving directly in the Imperial army. These soldiers are usually deployed with the orc armies, to further bolster their strength, but periodically they perpetrate raids on barbarian lands to earn much needed wealth for their legion. This arrangement ensures that more power remains with the warlords rather than being commanded directly by the Imperial generals. Wise generals work closely with those warlords whose legions are part of their army; ensuring they have enough opportunities to raid barbarian lands to keep their legions supplied helps ensure their continued support and cooperation.
A handful of legions have come to enjoy the freedom and wealth that raiding brings and no longer maintain links with the armies. These groups, called reavers, usually support themselves primarily by raiding and by hiring as mercenaries with one of the Imperial armies. Reavers are largely tolerated by legion orcs; their raids help to enrich the orc nation and the Empire and damages their enemies, but are often disorganized or poorly focused. It is seen as a good way of life for those orcs who chafe under the leadership or strict discipline of army life to still serve the nation.
The line between legions and reavers is easily crossed. Legions that find themselves unable to respect the generals of the armies often take up the reaving lifestyle, sometimes for years at a time. Likewise reavers who prosper enough to become prominent often join one of the armies to allow them to play a full role in orc society.
Resources
A few Imperial Orcs maintain lands and resources near to the legion camps. Most orcs regard mines with a great deal of distaste and few orcs can be convinced to work them. As a result Imperial Orcs tend to avoid them and the few orcs that do own them usually hire local labour. Shortfalls in resources and other materials that the Imperial Orcs need are usually provided by reavers.
Most Imperial Orcs favour military units and only a few invest in herb gardens, mana sites or other static resources. The plan needs as much military might as can be brought to bear, and when it is complete the goal is to relocate to the new territory which will be more difficult for those with close ties to existing resources.