The Iron Orcs.
Since I always type giant paragraphs that no one wants to read I'll summarize my idea: The Iron Orcs are Psionic Half-Orcs. They are a true breeding race and stopped being the result of Human-Orc sex centuries ago. They are Warrior-Monks that live in mountain monasteries, they have an affinity for Adamantine and can actually create it, and their nature as a mix of the power of the White and Red God is what makes them such talented Psions. They're mostly ignored by Valeron, but the Orcish followers of the Red God see them as a perversion and often try to sack their cities and monasteries.
*IMPORTANT* This is not the only source of Half-Orcs, or the only Half-Orc nation if you want to make your own. I just wanted to do something cool with Half-Orcs. I have ideas about actual Orcs that follow the Red God, how they create Black Glass and badass Lava Golems, but I need time to work that out. *RETURN TO UN-IMPORTANTANCE NOW*
The mountains to the west of Valeron have long been home to many Orc tribes that attack the Human settlements of the lower hills. Over years both Orcs and Humans would take prisoners from their enemies, and at times would abandon their own homes to live among each other. The various children resulting from these abuses and unlikely romances are the Half-Orcs we all know and love. Since they could rarely find acceptance in among either of their parent races, and in fact were often the target of violence, the Half-Orc people of the Sulhas mountains retreated into hidden communities deep in the mountains.
This exile continued for years until a Prophet united the Half-Orc tribes and lead them to an ancient citadel of the Iron Giants where they could seal themselves away from the ravaging Orc tribes hunting them. Within the great citadel, the people that would come to be known as the Iron Orcs were taught that they were meant to become the greatest warriors of Joval, so that they could defend the world the Red and White God had shaped. The hardships they had faced in conflict with the Orcs and Humans of their old bloodlines were only the beginning, and as a people they were meant to seek out and face greater hardships to strengthen their will and sharpen their skill.
The Iron Orcs spent years honing their bodies and minds in their citadel, and though the old magics of the Iron Giants had all but faded from their home, they developed a great appreciation and natural affinity for the metal that surrounded them. Through learning the secrets of this ancient citadel, the Iron Orcs learned to shape metal in ways that have been long forgotten by the other races, and are the only known race that can create Adamantine.
The Iron Orcs also learned to master the potential of their ancestry, looking to the Red God for the secrets of Energy and Ambition, and to the White God for the secrets of Control and Discipline. Mastering these elements together, there are no finer Psychic Warriors on Joval. They count many Psions, Soulknives, and Monks among them as well, but their knowledge of Arcane and Divine magic is barely more than rumor and superstition.
After centuries hidden away in their citadel, the Iron Orcs emerged just a few years before the outbreak of the Kythian War. They have spread throughout the mountains north of the Burning Sea, building monasteries in barren wastelands and remote mountain tops. Great iron cities hidden behind massive Adamantine gates. Considered abominations by the Orc cults following the Red God, a perversion of the Lady's love by the Church of Valeron, looting mongrels by the Dwarves, and a new challenger by the Dragonborn. They are outnumbered, totally surrounded, and have no hope for help. Truly, they have found the Promised Land.
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So that's their story. They have a handful of cities scattered throughout the mountain ranges surrounding the Burning Sea, and are largely just a way to add some Psionics into Joval and give the Half-Orcs some much deserved badassery. I'm borrowing a bit from the Elder Scrolls here, as their history of being outcasts and constantly seeking to overcome new hardship is rather central to their culture. I'd like to hash out their affinity for metal with Robert, because I actually want them to have a special rivalry with the Steel Elves. Iron Orcs fighting Steel Elves. Maybe the Steel Elves can create Mithral, I don't know if they were supposed to be connected to Adamantine.
Also, they aren't the only source of adamantine. Adamantine is still just a metal that others can find and shape, but the Iron Orcs can create it. They can't outfit every soldier with adamantine armor and weapons, but their elites would generally have it. For the most part their fortresses have Adamantine gates, but they can't create enough to build entire fortresses with it.
Important to note that the don't start fights or wars generally. Their culture demands they test themselves against overwhelming odds so that they will be forced to improve themselves, but they aren't looking to acquire land or territory. They're rather friendly when not fighting, and should be a great source of Psionic teachings. They want to learn about other fighting styles and Magic, so they can incorporate it into their own traditions, and they're comfortable with the idea that their student today may use their teachings against them tomorrow. The only secrets they absolutely refuse to share is their metalcraft, which is the source of their conflict with the Dwarves.
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I've got two notable NPCs: Garrin, the handsome fella with the white hair. And Riekka, the hot chick with the sword.
Garrin is the current leader of his clan, the [Badass Name Pending], and he has taken them north to seek battle with the Stormriders of Torheim. They've built a new city in the Ice Shield mountains and are fighting for a place on the Anvil to call home. Garrin sees the Anvil as the perfect home for his race, a place of constant conflict and obstacles, such that even surviving is a struggle. If he can stake a claim on the Anvil, he will send word for the other Iron Orcs to join him, a prospect that many of the Stormrider Warlords are not eager to allow.
Riekka is a clan leader as well, but she lead her people down from the mountains and into the Burning Sea. She found and has begun to rebuild the ancient Dragonborn city of Risan (now called The Risen City by traders), a city long thought lost to the Dragonborn. A great conflict is brewing over the Gray Orcs occupation of the city. While there are many priceless artifacts in the city that the Dragonborn wish to preserve from looters, traders and caravaners are welcoming the new city, as it provides a welcome oasis in what was once a completely uninhabited and extraordinarily dangerous stretch of Argoden's Road. Riekka had already declared that she will not leave the city, and is secretly looking forward to the inevitable attempts by the Dragonborn to claim it, while the Dragonborn clan leaders are enraged that outsiders are desecrating one of their most sacred cities. There are also rumors that the Dragonborn may be hiding something about how the city was lost to begin with, that there may be something in the deepest depths of the old city that should have stayed buried. The future of The Risen City could very well have a great affect on the whole of Argoden's Road.
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