Snagahai

The Slave-folk constitute the largest Orc-tribe in the Black Chasm. Moria's upper Deeps serve as home to over nine hundred Snagahai (B.S. "Slave-folk"), including six hundred or so Snaga warriors. Despite their numbers, though, they are also the weakest and least unified of the three nations of local Yrch. They suffer accordingly. Frequent but erratic attacks by the neighboring Durbaghash sap Snaga strength and trim their territories. Always on the defensive and often facing defeat, the Slave-folk appear (at least ultimately) to face eventual extinction. A number of reasons account for the Snagahai's plight. First, the average warrior is little match for his bigger brethren. Standing only three to three and a half feet tall, a Snaga fighter is small by any Orc standard. Other Yrch consider them "Gongi," or "Lesser Goblins," and count them (as their moniker suggests) as fodder or potential slaves. Second, the Snagahai are an ancient, highly-inbred, and exceedingly dim-witted race. They quarrel constantly amongst themselves and frequently engage in bloody infighting. Fratricide is commonplace. Effective Snaga governance and organization is at best occasional. Their loose tribal structure revolves around an unsteady balance between six jealous Ore-lords.