Well, First off, Being a gruntee is HARD. Even if you think that you have what it takes, you are not prepared for how its really going to be. You'll be suprised at how quickly you begin to really get mad at oomies, and how much you resent them soon enough. Also though, you'll find that being an orc puts you in the best company, and that the people around you are not obly generous, kind, forgiving, pretty damn smart, good pvp'rs, they are also some of the funniest and most fun people to play with in UO. So stick your ugly mug up high, grab your kigg, lusk, olig, or whomp, and get ready to have the most fun in UO you've ever had.
THE HARD PARTS
There are days when you cannot help but get mad, pissed off, dissapointed, and in general just intollerably perplexed as what cussword you would like to invent in orcish to vent at the oomies that are around you. I'll even let you know that sometimes this can keep happeneing for more than just a while or a whole day. (esp, if you play at off peak times, which i do alot) BUT, you either have to get tough, remember that what you lost is only "tingies" and that you can always get more. ORC LIFE IS HARD. If your not willing to put up with it, don't waste your time. It won't get easier.(at least i think, grunts, let me know)
THE GOOD PARTS
They happen all the time. And trust me, its so fun when a group of gruntees outsmart a few oomies, it just makes you beam with pride and yell HOOOOOOOOOOOWAH!!!!! You will learn a ton as a gruntee on how to work together as a fighing force, and how to have a ton of fun while doing it. I'll also have to say the first week i was a gruntee all i did was sit there and laugh my ass of at all the characters in the clan. What is also fun is the fact that after a while, you learn to basically live off the land, this not only makes you stronger, but it also builds a resourcefulness that most oomies never learn or develop.
TIPS
-Learn the olig, if you do, you can ALWAYS get more supplies, without dying a bunch, all you need to find is a lusk (which you can usually find on a body of an orc) OR if you are one of those orcs like me who is alone frequently, you should hide one in the fort, preferabbly in one of the barrels or kegs that stay in there. oomies never look in there for stuff, and you can keep back ups of your stuff, or at least the most important stuff. also, its there if another orc needs it you can help them out
-ALWAYS do that if you have extra shinies laying around, trust me, you either lose the shinies to the oomies if you play alone, or to the barrel. which is worse? =)
-You'll need rags when you get rezzed-first look for sheep of course-and also check the wandering healers. snoop them and see if they have any, if they do, you can steal them. its better than nothing, and will get you back on your feet. (OH AND KILL THE DAMN SHEEP, they wont respawn with wool, so friggin kill them. you waste others time, and possibly your own too if you dont.)
-Going AFK, if you do, either be in a protected fort, or in a good out of the way hiding place. I personally if I'm in the woods, like to hide next to an tree and bush or rock, at least a few items, that way a oomie will avoid them, and not run over me and try to kill me while im going to the bathroom, lol. Also, stay away form places like the brigand fort, its fine to go by, but dont run right by it unless you jsut need to.
-Bring a healer to the fort. If there isnt a priest of mondain at the fort, go attack one and bring it back to the fort, you help everyone if you do this. it doesnt take long for us orcs to get back into the fray if we dont have to wait on someone being able to res us in the middle of a fight.
-Grunts, DO what they Say. if you dont know what they are saying, or dont understand, *raises paw* works well, don't talk back, but dont feel like you can't have fun with them. they can take a joke, in fact most of them start them, lol. All the ones i've met still seem to remember that they were gruntee's once too (well most were I guess) and they are pretty fun to be around. If you get clomped, just find out why and apologize, if you don't keep doing it, its no big deal. Don't take it personally.
-Staying in character. Most of the time this isn't a problem. Heck, occasionally i type things on ICQ now and realize some of the words are misspelled........in orc. lol. But in game no matter how pissed you get at the oomies. dont blah oomie. like i said, you may have to make up your own personal curse for the dumhed oomies.
-Drinking. I put this in for Vrunk. If we're going on a trip and you are drunk, thats bad. lol. because when we are setting traps, you will keep getting revealed. So try not to drink too much cydur at once. I know its good. but sometimes 8 jugs is just a litttttttle too much.=)
Take this all with a grain of salt, remember that I am still a young Gruntee, and I don't know much about anything. lol. I hope i was some help, but there is ton's i still have to learn. I'm not really the best candidate for giving advice, but I hope that you can learn some from my experiance, and maybe not have to go through as much stupid crap like I did.
Thanks,
Girm'luhk