One idea about why the Orcs might have wanted to go off on their own was that this way they would be in charge, rather than bowing to others. So they may not be good, they just want to be closer to being in charge.
RK_Striker_JK_5 wrote: ↑Wed Jul 22, 2020 5:20 am I always did hate the 'Always Chaotic Evil' trope. It feels lazy, has
massive unfortunate implications and is just bad overall.
So like
Pathfinder Goblins? Or
Goblin Slayer Goblins?
The other idea would be corrupting beings (i.e. Cthulhulian entities) who want to consume life-bearing planets they come across. That planet has small deities that protect it, but if the deities protect it perfectly, then the entities will notice and apply their full strength to crack the protection. So the protecting deities have left small holes in their protection, allowing the Cthulhulian entities to send through small threats. The people on the planet have to slay these creatures so they do not form a cult that can open the doors for the bigger critters. The small deities need worship to have their power, so there are multiple churches on the planet that encourage people to pray to the deities and strengthen them.
This would allow for a militant faith, arguments against atheism (atheists are literally putting the planet at risk), locations of evil (physical locations of the holes where creatures come in more frequently), preparation for crusades (the deities notice that an entity is making a bigger push and tell the people to get ready to fight), corruption of different classes (they start worshiping the entities after having strange dreams), corrupting artifacts, purifying spells/prayers, and within that fiction it makes sense.
So you have D&D for the random monster killing, L5R for the corruption, Call of Cthulhu for the entities, all in one. And the best part is the deities can be of any type you want since they have to work together to protect the planet. I.e. why is a nature god working with a god of industry? Because if the two deities don't work together, they will both be annihilated. The nature deities/spirits might be able to spot new corrupting locations faster, while deities of industry tell their worshipers to go to X location and destroy the strange monsters.