Basic Information
ALIGNMENT:
Lawful Neutral
GENDER:
Male
TITLE(S)/ALIASES:
- One-Eye
- He Who Never Sleeps
PRIMAL ENERGY:
Red / White
PORTFOLIO:
orcs, strength, war, all the orcnea
REALM:
Nishrek
SYMBOL:
red orcish eye
FAVORED WEAPON:
the Bloodspear (longspear)
FAVORED ANIMALS:
none
FAVORED MONSTERS:
Ash mephits, cyclops, hell hounds, smoke mephits
FAVORED COLORS:
red
Distinctive Characteristics
Personality: Gruumsh is the driven and aggressive leader of the orcnea pantheon. One-Eye drives his followers to overcome all foes, expand their territories, and claim what they believe is rightfully theirs. He revels in warfare and combat, and teaches that only through constant battle can the strongest survive to befet even stronger future generations. He is ever watchful of his race, although woe betide those who transgress him or his priests.
History: Gruumsh once ruled all of the monster deities, gathering them together with the help of his brothers to combat what he considered the true enemies, the deities of the Duende and Nan pantheons. His rule was brought down by the Jacha Pantheon, led by Stronmaus. He has since realized his mistakes and has satisfied himself with building up the power and strength of the orcnea creator race, bringing those deities to heel even when they are reluctant to obey, such as Maglubigek. He is committed to his new goal of protecting the orcnea and allowing them to grow as a dominant race, content that the fittest will survive in a confrontation of the races.
Description: Gruumsh’s avatar appears as a huge, battle-scarred orc with grey-green skin fully outfitted in tough hides and holding a bloody longspear he affectionately calls “the Bloodspear”. He wears an eyepatch over his right eye, which is just an empty eye socket. Despite his barbaric appearance, he is very clever and calculating, and does not act unless he knows it will merit success.
Manifestations: Gruumsh rarely manifests to his followers, as he believes they should be strong enough to confront challenges without his intervention. When he does manifest to a priest, it is usually in such agreeable forms as the snapping of a priest’s neck, or more leniently, a billowing cloud of black, toxic smoke. On very rare occasions, warriors or priests who have overcome tremendous odds will be sheathed in a blood-red aura, showing their fellow orcs that they are models to follow.
Kinships
Allies: Tanka, Tyr, Vasu, Corrus, Lords of Fire, Luthic, Sunnis, Boornik, Grond, Yurtrus, Maglubigek, Riccio, Moquol, Bargrikhul, Kikanuti, Kurtulmak, Cegilune, the Jacha pantheon, Corellon Larethian, Solonor Rallathil, Moradin
Opponents/Rivals: Ios, Xoac, Heramar & the Morrigan, Interitus, Ac’Tu, Ilneval, Lloth, Selvetarm, Eshabala, Mrrshaulk, Sess’innek
Relationships: His mate Luthic and his elder brother Grond both advise and help in leading the orcs and orcnea into a more civilized society. He is also the father of Sunnis and Boornik, who both have embraced his new purpose with far more open-mindedness than he is comfortable with. He is insanely proud of the two of them, however, though he does not always let them know it. He has come to a peaceful accord with Moradin and Corellon, although he would not ever consider them allies, more like placid rivals. Grond and Yurtrus are both tolerated by One-Eye since neither harbors any ambition towards rulership and their powers further his goals, but he keeps a careful eye on Maglubigek, well aware that the goblin deity’s ambitions frequently exceed his common sense.
The Church
Dogma: Might is right. Only the strong should survive. Weed out the weak from the tribe. One-Eye’s greatest gift to his people is the ability to survive where weaker creatures would die; gain strength in these areas and use that power to sweep away the enemies of the tribe. Acquire territory and living space. Showing weakness is the key to an early death. Those who are too weak to fight for your tribe should be put to the test. The greatest gift that the One-Eyed gave to the orcs was the ability to survive where the weaker races would die. Build your strength in these lands and use them to conquer your enemies.
Core Worshippers: orcnea
Clerical Alignments: LN, N, LE, LG, NG
Clergy Title(s)/Structures: Gruumsh’s priests have no distinct title. Novices in the service of One-Eye are called the Watched. Full priests are known as Everwatchers. There is no uniform hierarchy amongst the tribes, and the chief priest position is always held by the strongest orc.
Clergy Special Duties & Restrictions: The church of Gruumsh dominates most orcish tribes, and all other priesthoods are nominally subservient to it. Powerful specialty priests, clerics, and crusaders of Gruumsh are sometimes tribal chieftains, but more often they are advisors and war leaders, whereas shamans and witch-doctors are almost always advisors. They push their tribes to wage war and expand their territory, and are tasked with eliminating the weak, sickly, and infirm in order to keep the tribe strong and healthy. One-Eye’s clergy can be very vindictive; they do not hesitate to put an orc into a dangerous situation or eliminate them outright if they feel they have been slighted. Gruumshan priests have a great say in who becomes chief of a tribe, and the clergy will undermine a chief who opposes their goals.
Clergy Special Powers: Gruumsh’s priests gain one additional use of their channel divinity ability per day, which can be used to activate the rage ability of a barbarian of the same level.
Holy Days: The holiest of days in any tribe commemorates their greatest military victory. These events usually include mock-combat (which still frequently ends in death or serious injury), stories of great events and myth, and wild feasts. Priests of One-Eye also hold ceremonies during the nights of the new moon, although these are usually restricted to the priests themselves.
Chosen:
Shadows of Dakaron 