The Horde: Difference between revisions

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=== Common varieties include: ===

=== Common varieties include ===

* Barbarian humans, such as the Vikings, Mongols, Huns, and other so-called [[Barbarian Tribe|"Barbarian" tribes]] before and during the Dark Ages, large enough groups become hordes.

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== [[Literature]] ==

* Sauron's army in ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]''.

** While the Orcs are [[The Horde]] by nature, Sauron's sphere of influence is more [[The Empire]]~~--the~~ Orcs may not like it, but they're organized much more strictly than anything you might call a horde (to the point of being "officially" known by numbers rather than names) and are forced to work with Mordor's various client states.

** While the Orcs are The Horde by nature, Sauron's sphere of influence is more [[The Empire]]—the Orcs may not like it, but they're organized much more strictly than anything you might call a horde (to the point of being "officially" known by numbers rather than names) and are forced to work with Mordor's various client states.

** They also have rules related to the One Ring. For instance, if anyone is caught trying to sneak into Mordor, they're to be stripped, everything they have on them cataloged, and then everything is sent to Barad-dur.

** While Sauron is [[Sealed Evil in a Can|sleeping]] orcs tend to form bandit gangs of their own.

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* The army of [[Big Bad|Lord Foul]] in ''[[The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant]]''.

* The wildlings in ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]'' are perceived thus by those in the Seven Kingdoms, though there might be [[The Undead|something else]] they should be fearing more...

** ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]'' also has the Dothraki, generally well done [[Expy~~|Expys~~]] of the Mongols.

** ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]'' also has the Dothraki, generally well done [[Expy]]s of the Mongols.

* The nomad tribes in the ''Warworld'' series (part of the [[CoDominium]] setting) fill this role towards the settled farming societies. The HaBandari and the Saurons manipulate the nomads strategically, driving them back and forth across the steppe into each others' territories. In ''Blood Vengance'' when some of the allied tribes slip past the Sauron Citadel into the undefended Shangri-La Valley, one of the Bandari compares them to packs of ravenous wolves and the valley's unarmed farmers as sheep.

* The Mongols in the ''[[Conqueror]]'' books, a rare case of [[The Horde]] being the protagonists. The Tartars in the first book might also qualify, making it a case of Horde vs Horde.

* The Mongols in the ''[[Conqueror]]'' books, a rare case of The Horde being the protagonists. The Tartars in the first book might also qualify, making it a case of Horde vs Horde.

* The Green Men from the [[John Carter of Mars]] novels by [[Edgar Rice Burroughs]] oscillate between [[Proud Warrior Race Guy]] and [[The Horde]]. This is because there are a huge number of diverse tribes of Green Men, some of whom have the [[Proud Warrior Race Guy]] code of honor and some whom are just rampaging maniacs.

* The Green Men from the [[John Carter of Mars]] novels by [[Edgar Rice Burroughs]] oscillate between [[Proud Warrior Race Guy]] and The Horde. This is because there are a huge number of diverse tribes of Green Men, some of whom have the [[Proud Warrior Race Guy]] code of honor and some whom are just rampaging maniacs.

** The Horib and Korsars from Burrough's Pellucidar novels also fit this trope.

* The more civilized states view the Plains nomads this way in the second section of ''[[A Canticle for Leibowitz]].'' In the first section, we have references to earlier hordes and mass migrations.

* In [[Robert E. Howard]]'s [[Conan the Barbarian]] story "[[Black Colossus]]", Natohk's nomad forces are considerably more than the usual raids, with thirty tribes.

** Several peoples in the Hyborian Age are [[The Horde]] or can become it under certain circumstances: [[The Savage Indian|The Picts]], [[Horse Archer|the Hyrkanians]], [[Horny Vikings|the Nordheimers]], the less-civilized natives of [[Darkest Africa|the Black Kingdoms]] (especially [[Cannibal Tribe|the Darfari]]), and of course Conan's people, [[Barbarian Tribe|the Cimmerians]].

** Several peoples in the Hyborian Age are The Horde or can become it under certain circumstances: [[The Savage Indian|The Picts]], [[Horse Archer|the Hyrkanians]], [[Horny Vikings|the Nordheimers]], the less-civilized natives of [[Darkest Africa|the Black Kingdoms]] (especially [[Cannibal Tribe|the Darfari]]), and of course Conan's people, [[Barbarian Tribe|the Cimmerians]].

* The Kargs of the [[Earthsea Trilogy]] come off as this, particularly in ''A Wizard of Earthsea'', where they're essentially [[Fantasy Counterpart Culture|Vikings]]. They get some [[Character Development]] in the next book, ''The Tombs of Atuan'', but it's pretty clear that most of Earthsea considers them to be exactly this trope.

* The Shas-ga in [[Mikhail Akhmanov]]'s ''[[Arrivals From the Dark|The Sword above the Abyss]]'' are nomadic barbarians from planet Ravana (AKA Inferno), who roam the barren steppes north of an impassable mountain range on the Western continent. While normally divided into tribal groups called Hearths, they are now united by a powerful leader called Grey Trumpeter (a title, not a name, kind of like Genghis Khan), who has managed to find a passage through the mountains to the more temperate southern lands. The Shas-ga are cannibals and often kill their own women and children for food and as sacrifices to their gods. Their warriors ride on massive ox-like beasts with a nasty temper. Now that they have crossed the mountains, their enormous horde (about 30,000 warriors, which is big number on Ravana, whose population is small) threatens to wipe out the much more civilized cultures on the southern part of the continent, unless the disparate Kjoll barons, the eastern trade towns, and even the southern barbarians join together to meet this threat.

* The Yuuzhan Vong from the [[New Jedi Order]] start out as a space-faring version of [[The Horde]]. After taking Coruscant midway through the series and becoming the galaxy's dominant political power, they morph into [[The Empire]].

* The Yuuzhan Vong from the [[New Jedi Order]] start out as a space-faring version of The Horde. After taking Coruscant midway through the series and becoming the galaxy's dominant political power, they morph into [[The Empire]].

== [[Role Playing Games]] ==

* ''[[Dungeons and Dragons]]'' had at least two varieties of [[The Horde]]: Goblinoids, and Orcs.

* ''[[Dungeons and Dragons]]'' had at least two varieties of The Horde: Goblinoids, and Orcs.

** Somewhat subverted in [[Eberron]], where the Horde has settled down and is trying to become [[The Empire]]. In two different areas, with varying degrees of success.

*** In fact, one of those Hordes is actually a ''former'' Empire trying to get back on its feet after a [[The Legions of Hell|demonic invasion]] that, in a [[Averted Trope|major departure from expectation]], they were in no way responsible for, and went along ways in preventing the reoccurance of.

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== [[Video Games]] ==

* The [[Our Orcs Are Different|Orcs]] in ''[[Final Fantasy XI]]'' are certainly this, being a [[Barbarian Tribe]]. The [[Big Bad|Shadow Lord]]-owned Beastmen Confederate is also like this, if only because most of the Beastmen were forced into it.

* In the first two ''[[Warcraft~~|Warcrafts~~]]'', [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|The Horde]] [[Shaped Like Itself|was an example of]] [[The Horde]]. In the third and in [[World of Warcraft]], The Horde becomes closer to [[The Alliance]] (the trope, not Azeroth's Alliance); the Scourge, an undead army, takes their place in this trope.

* In the first two ''[[Warcraft]]s'', [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|The Horde]] [[Shaped Like Itself|was an example of]] The Horde. In the third and in [[World of Warcraft]], The Horde becomes closer to [[The Alliance]] (the trope, not Azeroth's Alliance); the Scourge, an undead army, takes their place in this trope.

** There are two hordes: The Horde, and the Dark Horde, with the latter playing it straight.

* The Zerg, from ''[[Starcraft]]'' which were, at least according to license contract legend, originally intended to be the Tyranids from ''[[Warhammer 40000]]''.

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== [[Truth in Television]] ==

* While real world raiding cultures are usually a LOT more complicated than [[The Horde]] and have an active, peaceful home life, this is how the neighbors who get raided will ''perceive'' the raiding culture. Perhaps the most obvious examples from history are the Vikings and, the [[Trope Namer]], the Mongols.

* While real world raiding cultures are usually a LOT more complicated than The Horde and have an active, peaceful home life, this is how the neighbors who get raided will ''perceive'' the raiding culture. Perhaps the most obvious examples from history are the Vikings and, the [[Trope Namer]], the Mongols.

** The word "horde" comes from Mongolian ordo/orda/ordu/ordon, and originally referred to a tent or campsite; it became associated with the modern connotations of "horde" thanks to the Mongol armies making frequent use of mobile camps during campaigns.

** The Mongols were actually more organized and disciplined than popular portrayals tend to show them to be. [[The More You Know|That's why they won so many battles]]. Not that it was any comfort to their enemies, since they had a very mobile army and looked larger than they were because several reports came into their enemies headquarters from different places at the same time. Each warrior also had two or three horses so that he could switch between them for long journeys and not exhaust them, making thee army look much larger.