Monday, April 12, 2010
Orcus for Unisystem
Note: Some of this information is based on previous works, some of it is based on historical records and some more is completely made up.
Orcus, Demon Prince of Undead
Orcus is beyond a doubt one of the most powerful demon lords in existence. Not only is his physical might great, his ability to create and control vast legions of undead monsters has given him the justified title of Demon Prince of the Undead. But Orcus has not always been this way. There was a time when the demon prince was a god and was worshipped openly.
History of Orcus
Before the 5th century BCE the Cult of Orcus spread throughout the Etruscan lands (what is now Italy), Orcus was then the God of the Dead. Never a benign god, he was worshipped out of fear and for his believed mastery over death. Once the Romans came to power in 509 BCE the cult was outlawed and moved underground, both literally and figuratively. The Romans, heavily influenced by the Greeks, equated Orcus to Hades/Pluto, Dispater or Thanatos. Ancient burial chambers became the new altars for the God of the Dead where bulls, sacred to the god, were sacrificed.
By 3rd century CE the rise of the Mithras Cult in Rome further pushed Orcus out of the mainstream. Mithras was seen as a God of Light and many paintings showed Mithras fighting the Bull of Darkness. Orcus went from being a necessary evil, to malicious evil incarnate.
While the Mithras Cult did not last, its relative and heir Christianity continued to demonize the cult, even to point that Orcus was no longer a god, but a demon that plagued on mankind. Orcus symbolic death as a god and revival in a lesser status as a demon also changed his powers. He was no longer responsible for the stewarding of souls in the afterlife, that task belonged to God and Satan for good and evil souls respectively. Instead, his powers became twisted after his Fall and he was to rule over the Undead, those that have moved beyond the grace of God or the grasp (supposedly) of Satan. Orcus does not revel in his new position, he despises the undead as much as he does the living.
Motivations and Goals
Orcus appears to be a slowly calculating and meticulous demon. He is in fact, merely lazy. He is a genius and his power is great, but he lacks the desire for long term planning. His typical response to any situation is to use as much brute force as possible. When his own demonic advisors advised him on a ill-fated battle with his arch-enemy Demogorgon, he killed every one of them and half of his own army. Orcus is rage personified. That is not to say he does not have plans. Orcus ultimate goal is to be reinstated to Godhood. While he loathes his worshippers, he grants them powers and undead to further his own causes. He also supports many seemingly random and violent acts that result in multiple deaths. Modern sages believe that the chemical accident in Bhopal India in 1984 was a result of Orcus plans.1
Any undead-creating necromancy is believed to be currently, or at one time, attributed to Orcus teachings.
Appearance
He can appear as anything he chooses, other known forms he has adopted include a grossly fat middle aged human male (which some say is his original true form), that of an angel-winged specter of death, a statuesque pale woman, or even a tall thin African male. In any form the Demon Prince reeks of death and destruction.
His most often used form is that of a grossly fat demon lord. As described in the Monster Manual by the great sage Gygax, "He stands some 15' tall but walks somewhat stooped over. His oversized stomach (fat from eating the souls of the unfortunates he turns into undead) nearly drags the ground. He is covered in short goatish grey fur that is matted and mange in spots. His head is also goat-like, although his horns are similar to those of a ram. His great legs are also goat-like, but his arms are human. Vast bat-like wings sprout from his back, and his long snaky tail is tipped with a razor sharp poisonous tip."
The Cult of Orcus
Orcus' greatest manifestation in this world is through his cult. These small groups are loosely organized and even more loosely aligned. What they share is common worship for the Demon Prince. The motives of the individual worshippers vary. Some are necromancers wanting to learn more about the nature of life, death, and undeath. Others are undead themselves and regard Orcus as their Prince and God, one that has not abandoned them as God or Satan has. But most are anarchists who see Orcus as a means of causing more evil and chaos in the world. Cultists revel in raising undead, typically zombies, but sometimes more powerful undead such as vampires as well.
The Wand Of Orcus
Orcus holds the Wand of Death (Orcus' Wand) which is a rod of obsidian topped by a skull. This instrument causes death (or annihilation) to any creature, save those of like status (other demonic lords, arch-fiends, avatars, powers, greater ethereals etc.) merely by touching their flesh. This power can be used at the will of the wielder. Often Orcus sends his wand to the Earthly realms to allow it to fall into the hands of some mortal to wreak havoc. When Orcus needs it back he summons it and it comes, usually current wielder in tow, immediately to his side.
Orcus in Your games
How Orcus' presence is felt in your world is of course up to you, but here are some suggestions for adding him to the various Unisystem games. In any case, Orcus is extremely powerful and should be able to wipe out most groups of characters. Orcus works the best when he is the invisible force behind the curtains, the master that manipulates all the puppet strings. He is intelligent and thousands of years old, he should be played that way. Balancing this out are Orcus' mental problems, vices, and attitude that he is invincible.
Orcus in WitchCraft (pre-Reckoning)
Orcus keeps a low profile, relying instead on his secret network of worshippers to further the cause of evil in his name. Members of the Twilight Order, whether willing knowing or not, are modern day relations to the Orcus Mystery Cults of pre-Christian times. The Twilight Order was descended from early Etruscan death cults, though most of the priestly aspects of the Order have been stripped away. Some members of the Twilight Order thought, in particular evilly inclined Necromancers, still venerate Orcus with the original rituals. The other Twilight Order chapters ignore these aberrations in general except in times when their actions reflect poorly on the Twilight Order as a whole. There are in truth, only a very few chapters of the House of Thanatos that will identify themselves directly with Orcus. While most Thanatoi will disguise this with words like Atlantian Scholars or Lemurian Necromancers there is a connection with Orcus that many either don't know about, or ignore. Typically the members of the House of Thanatos oppose Orcus, as they seem him as a rogue and evil element in a situation that is already too delicate (the balance between the living world and the Death Realms).
Orcus in Armageddon (post-Reckoning)
Like nearly every other demonic and angelic being the return of Leviathan shocked even mighty Orcus. Not one to let an opportunity pass him by Orcus is making use of the chaos to spread his influence even further. Of course the Mad Gods seeping influence into the Death Realms is also a cause for concern for the Prince of the Undead. Orcus has discovered that while he can (like most other demons) spend longer times in the Earthly realms, his power over undead that have been exposed to Taint, the Arisen Hordes and the Sheol is very little. Orcus may not care for his undead creations, but the insult of taking them away from him is too much. So in addition to increasing his own power base, Orcus fights the Cult of Leviathan.
Orcus in AFMBE and Army of Darkness
Orcus is not an active or direct mover in the world. Like the generals of old, he prefers to sit back and let the rank and file do his fighting. To Orcus the rank (emphasis on the rank) and file are zombies. Raising undead is something Orcus does. Not just to spread his word, but to inflict as much mass suffering, confusion and evil he can. A zombie/deadite uprising could be due to a group of priests or would-be-priests that have stumbled on a tome to raise the dead. Orcus often rewards these priest by making them the first thing the zombies kill.
Orcus and his cult make a great (if somewhat stereotypical) bane for players in a Dungeons and Zombies game.
Orcus in Ghosts of Albion
Orcus has no special interest in Albion. His cult never got to Albion's shores and his greatest enmity is with those in the Mediterranean that destroyed his cult. That being said, Albion is a place of great mystical power and to tap that power source would be a significant boost to his own power. The recent events of the summoning of Balberith and discovery of Charlemagne's crown by the Necromancer might shift his attention. As one of the most overly populated cities in the world at this time, London is ripe for a supernatural take over.
Unisystem Stats
Orcus
Other names: Thanatos, Thanter, Dis Pater, Pluto, Dis, Hades.
Type: Greater Seraphim (Demon)* (formerly a pagan god/primal of death)
Association: Infernal Legions
Attributes
Strength: 21
Dexterity: 13
Constitution: 17
Intelligence: 10
Perception: 11
Willpower: 9
Secondary Attributes
Endurance: 245
Speed: 60
Armor: 24
Essence: 162
Channelling level: 7
Life Points: 469
Qualities
Acute Senses (all)
Age (as a demon) +20
Charisma +2
Essence Channelling +20 (7)
Hard to Kill +13
Increased Essence Pool +5
Increased Life Points +9
Natural Toughness
Nerves of Steel +3
Seraphim Greater (Demon)
Supernatural Senses
Drawbacks
Adversary (lots, powers of good and evil) 10
Attractiveness 3
Covetous, Greedy 2
Covetous, Lecherous 3
Cruel 3
Delusions (will be a god again) 3
Lazy 3
Paranoia 2
Taint Vulnerability (part of (fallen) Seraphim quality)
Skills
Languages (all) +10
Theophany skill
Brawling +13
Bureaucracy +12
Cheating +9
Craft, Weapons +10
Craft, ritual items +12
Dodge +8
Gambling +10
Hand weapons, mace +15
Hand weapons, sword +12
Hand weapons, others +10
Magic Theory +16
Magic bolts +12
Myths & Legends, Etruscan +16
Myths & Legends, Roman +16
Notice +14
Occult Knowledge +16
Questioning +14
Rituals (Roman, Etruscan, Twilight Order) +12
All other skills at +5
Metaphysics / Theophanies (Malefaica)*
Destroyer 8 Destruction
Dark Aura
Dark Vision
Decay
Domain of the Dead
All Necromantic Metaphysics at level 10
Bad Luck 9
Create Ward 9
*Because Orcus was once the God of the Dead he still holds some of those powers beyond what a typical demonic prince would have.
Combat
Wand of Orcus, 1 attack, bonus: +34, damage: d10(6)x27, Destruction power
Melee, claws, 2 attacks, bonus: +26, damage: d4(2)x27
Melee, horns, 2 attacks, bonus: +26, damage d4(2)x27
Melee, tail, 1 attack, bonus: +24, damage d4(2)x27, poison tip (Poison strength rating 6, damage 2d6(6)).
Orcus can also summon any number of animated dead to aid him. He is limited only by the number of bodies available, but summoning takes time and effort. Typically he can summon up to 50 zombies and 50 skeletons at one time. He can also summon greater willed undead like vampires (vampyres) or wights (Ghosts of Albion). The creature is allowed a contested Will test against Orcus to avoid the summoning. Orcus can also summon up to a dozen lesser demons and fiends to aid him.
1I mention this because this accident had a very profound effect on me back then.
Note: I have no idea who is the artist of the top picture of Orcus. But it has been making the blogs. I have said it before and I'll say it again, Orcus' plane in the Abyss it needs to make "Tomb of Horrors" look like "Candyland".
Monday, December 6, 2021
Monstrous Monday: Demon Prince Orcus fo AD&D 2nd Edition
Going back a bit to do some more level setting and based on a conversation I had last week with a friend. He was looking for some stats for Orcus for 2nd Edition AD&D. I have stats for all versions of AD&D/D&D for him, but none for 2nd Ed. I had always felt that Orcus was dead throughout all of 2nd Edition (thanks to The Throne of Bloodstone) but the events of Dead Gods brought him back.
I did have some older AD&D 2nd Ed stats I had created in something I call the "Red Book." The notes are largely cribbed from 1st Edition sources.
To rebuild this I am going to also look to other sources like Swords & Wizardry and Pathfinder.
Orcus, Demon Prince of the Undead
Climate/Terrain: The Abyss
Frequency: Unique
Organization: Solitary
Activity Cycle: Any
Diet: Carnivore
Intelligence: Supra-genius (20)
Treasure: P, S, T, U
Alignment: Chaotic evil
No. Appearing: 1 (Unique)
Armor Class: -6
Movement: 18, Fl 36 (B)
Hit Dice: 25 (130 hp)
THAC0: 7
No. of Attacks: 3 (see below)
Damage/Attack: 1d10+3/1d10+3/2d4 + special
Special Attacks: Fear, spell-like powers, summon and command undead, Wand of Orcus
Special Defenses: +3 or better weapons to hit
Magic Resistance: 85%
Size: L (15' tall)
Morale: Fearless (19-20)
XP Value: 36,000
Orcus is the Prince of the Undead, and it said that he alone created the first undead that walked the worlds.
Orcus is one of the strongest (if not the strongest) and most powerful of all demon lords. He fights a never-ending war against rival demon princes that spans several Abyssal layers. From his great bone palace he commands his troops as they wage war across the smoldering and stinking planes of the Abyss. Orcus spends most of his days in his palace, rarely leaving its confines unless he decides to leads his troops into battle (which has happened on more than one occasion). Most of the time though, he is content to let his generals and commanders lead the battles.
Appearance: Orcus is a grossly fat demon lord, some 15 feet tall. His huge grey body is covered with coarse goatish hair. His head is goat-like, although his horns are similar to those of a ram. His great legs are also goat-like but his arms are humanoid. Vast bat wings sprout from his back, but these are usually tucked out of sight when he is not in flight. His long, snaky tail is tipped his a poisonous head.
Combat: It is probable that this creature is one of the most powerful and strongest of all demons. If he so much as slaps with his open hand the blow causes 1-4 hit points of damage. His terrible fists can deliver blows of 3-13 hit points. If he uses a weapon he strikes with a bonus of +6 to hit and +8 on damage. Additionally, his tail has a virulent poison sting (-4 on all saving throws against its poison), and his tail strikes with a 15 dexterity which does 2-8 hit points each time it hits.
Orcus prefers to fight using his wand. (see below)
Orcus radiates a 60-foot-radius aura of fear (as the spell). A creature in the area must succeed on a saving throw vs. Spell or be affected as though by a fear spell (caster level 30th). A creature that successfully saves cannot be affected again by Orcus’s fear aura for one day.
Orcus can, at will, use any one of the following powers:
Orcus can command or banish undead as a 15th-level cleric, controlling up to 150 HD worth of undead at one time. He casts spells as a 15th level cleric and 12th level magic-user, and can use the following magical abilities at will: animate dead, charm monster, darkness, dispel magic, ESP, fear, feeblemind (1/day), lightning bolt (12 die), speak with dead (as 20th level cleric), symbol (any) and wall of fire.
Orcus furthermore is able to summon the undead, for he is their prince. If random calling is desired by the referee the following is suggested:
- 4-48 Skeletons
- 4-32 Zombies
- 4-24 Shadows
- 2-8 Vampires
Habitat/Society: When not warring against rival demon princes, Orcus likes to travel the planes, particularly the Material Plane. Should a foolish spellcaster open a gate and speak his name, he is more than likely going to hear the call and step through to the Material Plane. What happens to the spellcaster that called him usually depends on the reason for the summons and the power of the spellcaster. Extremely powerful spellcasters are usually slain after a while and turned into undead soldiers or generals in his armies.
Ecology: Orcus controls several levels of the Abyss he claims as his own including the 113th and 333rd layers. When not at war with the forces of good and life he wars with all the other demon princes for control of all the Abyss. Orcus' goal is to see all life extinguished and death reigns supreme.
Wand of Orcus: Mighty Orcus wields a huge black skull-tipped rod that functions as a +3 heavy mace. It slays any living creature it touches if the target fails a saving throw. Orcus can shut this ability off so as to allow his wand to pass into the Material Plane, usually into the hands of one of his servants. Further, the Wand has the following magical powers: 3/day—animate dead, darkness and fear; 2/day—unholy word.
--
Might need to tweak it some for my own uses, but this looks like it works well enough. These stats are not perfect by any stretch, but they feel pretty close.
I reject the fan theory that so many have adopted that Orcus was once human. Though this does fit in with the Mystara/BECMI Immortals Set version of Orcus. Though THAT Orcus also has 39 HD and 620 HP.
I prefer my own where he is a remnant of a former god. He has memories of God-like power, but nothing else. After all according to Milton Orcus was in Hell when the Devils first arrived.
In any case, I do see that Orcus became more powerful after the events of Dead Gods. Maybe also explaining why he went from being "immensely fat and covered in grey hair" to the red demon of 21st century D&D.
Links
Wednesday, June 5, 2019
OMG: Greek and Roman Mythos, Part 4 Tales of Brave Ulysses
A lot of what we know about the "Greek Myths" comes from the Roman counterparts in Ovid's Metamorphoses. In truth I can go on and on (and on and on) about Ovid and Metamorphoses. I could spend a couple of posts on just his influences on Shakespeare for example. But that is not the scope of OMG. I really want to look into a couple of things in this respect. How do gods grow and evolve (say from Greek and Etruscan to Roman) and how this produces our Monster Manual demons.
Let's get down to business and look at the second big demon in our D&D Pantheon and his strange origins. Of course, I can only mean Orcus.
Hades and Pluto and Orcus and DÄ«s Pater
No. Not a crazy comedy from the 70s. Well, I suppose it could be. But I want to talk about the God of the Underworld. I mentioned Hades a lot in this series before. He is the God of the Underworld and was so feared that he was often never called on by name, he gains the epithet "The Rich One" and much later on "The Lord of this World" something that has also been attributed to Satan.
As Greek myths merged into Roman myths several gods were syncretized to arrive at the Roman Pluto. These include many gods of the underworld, the dead (but not death) and riches such as the Etruscan Atia and the Roman DÄ«s Pater. Mixed in all of this is the Greek Horkos and Roman Orcus.
So how do we go from a God, one of the Olympians no less, to a demon AND a devil (I didn't forget about you Dispater)? Well, the thing about myth there can several, sometimes even mutually exclusive stories, and all are true. Now I have personally never cared for the history of the Demon Prince Orcus as told in the Dead Gods book (though an otherwise great sourcebook). Orcus was once a human? Balderdash and Poppycock! Sounds like lies told by Demogorgon cultists.
Instead, I propose this. As Hades was starting his transformation to more benign Pluto he sloughed off his evil like a snake sheds an old skin. In Milton, this would have been when Lucifer first came to hell or sometime before Lucifer fell. It could be that the dæmon Horkos picked up the skin and became Orcus. OR even Horkos was killed and was filled with the evil from Hades to become Orcus. I like that better than a "fat, evil necromancer" became one of the most powerful demon princes in the game. It also ties him into the undead more and helps explain why Orcus' motivation is often to become a real god. He has "memories" of a time when he was a god.
Also, for this reason, I have a bitter rivalry between Dispater and Orcus. They both could have been created at the same time from Hades' skin of evil (if that sounds familiar, it should). Dispater was a Fallen who encountered the remaining evil and he too has "memories" of time when he was a god.
The newest version of D&D refers to Dis/Dispater as the "foremost arms dealer" in the lower planes. I can work with that. His forces can help out the PCs in my current game against Orcus.
So we can have a Greek titan, turned demon in a rivalry with Roman godling turned demon. I have said a lot about Orcus and I am likely to say more.
- Orcus for Unisystem
- Orcus as the Boss? Immortal level D&D? What's my End Game?
- Question of the Day: Anyone run/play a fight against Orcus
- A to Z of Adventure! H is for High Level / Bloodstone
- A to Z of Adventure! E is for Epic Level Adventures (4th Ed)
Vanth
Like Orcus, Vanth is another Etruscan chthonic god depicted as a demon and she adorns funerary art.
I learned about Vanth, not through mythology, but through one of my very first loves, astronomy. Vanth is the largest moon (only moon so far) of the Trans-Neptunian Object/Dwarf Planet Orcus. Vanth orbits Orcus in a tight precise circle and they are tidally locked. Vanth is never far from Orcus then and she always keeps her face toward her master. Vanth has a very different spectra than Orcus, so the two were not formed together like most other satellite systems. Vanth is likely a captured Kuiper Belt object. To take another page from mythology Orcus stole Vanth from another god/demon/master to be his psychopomp, maybe even from Pluto, or given her torch, from Hecate. In that case, she would be somewhat similar to the Erinyes.
Here she is for Basic-era D&D (yeah I should do AD&D, but I am on a Basic kick).
Vanth, Psychopomp of Orcus
No. Enc.: 1 (Unique)
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Movement: 60’ (20’)
Fly: 240’ (80’)
Armor Class: 1 [19]
Hit Dice: 11d8+ 11 (61 hp)
Attacks: 1
Damage: 1 sword (1d10+4)
Special: Flight, Magic resistance (55%), regenerate (3 hp/round), +2 or better weapons to hit.
Save: F12
Morale: 12
Hoard Class: X
XP: 3,600
There are other demons similar to Vanth such as Culsu, Charun and Tuchulcha.
Vanth |
Tuchulcha |
This also marks the end of the "Classical" Myths of antiquity. After this, we get into what could be called the Pagan Myths. I already did one part of the Celtic Myths, so I will need to revisit them.
Thursday, December 8, 2022
One Man's God Special: Syncretism Part 4, Orcus and Dispater
This post really is a transitory one. It takes on ideas from my One Man's God and my One Man's God Special: Syncretism and transitions it in-a-matter of speaking to my new In Search Of posts.
Today I want to talk about syncretism, but not in the sense I have in my last few posts. I covered the basics of syncretism a while back. In two different posts syncretized the Greek and Egyptian gods and the Roman and Norse gods. It is to the Greek and Roman gods that I turn today. In particular, I will focus on the Roman side of the Greek One Man's God posts in OMG: Greek and Roman Mythos, Part 4 Tales of Brave Ulysses, and my attention is on Orcus.
In Search of Orcus
Orcus, Demon Prince of the Undead |
Orcus has always been a major bad guy in my and many others' games. Not just because he is a great demon lord and master of the undead, that is plenty of reason, but even more so from the very mysterious Etruscan background of the god Orcus.
I mentioned Hades a lot in this series before. He is the God of the Underworld and was so feared that he was often never called on by name, he gains the epithet "The Rich One" and, much later on, "The Lord of this World," something that has also been later attributed to Satan.
As Greek myths merged into Roman myths, several gods were syncretized to arrive at the Roman Pluto. These include many gods of the underworld, the dead (but not death), and riches such as the Etruscan Atia, the Etruscan Tuchulcha, and the Roman DÄ«s Pater. Mixed in all of this are the Greek Horkos and Roman/Etruscan Orcus.
This is what is going on in our world. But what of the worlds of Dungeons & Dragons?
I'll be 100% honest here. I think the "official" history of Orcus is pure garbage. Orcus starting out as a human? No. Not in my world. Orcus was a god. Romans swore sacred oaths to him. He has a dwarf planet named for him. He was not some human necromancer. He was more.
But before I get to Orcus and what he was or is, I want to discuss Dis.
In Search of DÄ«s Pater
Dispater, the Iron Duke |
I will admit that the AD&D Dispater was always one of my favorite devils. Looking into his official background is more appealing than it is for Orcus, largely because there is not much of it. I think role-playing wise I molded him after the devil character from the TV series "From the Brothers Grimm" episode Bearskin. Sort of the evil gentleman devil.
In later editions of D&D, the "Iron Duke" have become akin to an infernal arms dealer and paranoid. Certainly an interesting choice but how does that square with the DÄ«s Pater, or Rex Infernus, of Roman myth?
Both Dispater and DÄ«s Pater are very wealthy. Both are considered to be the Lord of the Underworld (or at least one of them). DÄ«s Pater has a connection with the dead via Pluto/Hades who he was conflated later on. Dispater's only connection with the dead is via the souls he traffics in Hell.
Like the god Orcus and later on Satan, DÄ«s Pater is a good of riches and "Lord of the World." This does fit into the notions of how Dispater is currently being presented.
How the Gods Die, and are Reborn
Things with Gods never should be clean-cut. If there is nothing else I want to show here, then let it be that Gods and Demons are a messy bunch. They live, and they can die, and they can be split up and recombined.
I mentioned in my Syncretism of the Greco-Egyptian Gods that, in some cases, scholars have pointed to the syncretism of Set and Hades in early notions of the Christian Satan. There is more than this of course (see the "messy" note above), but this is a good start for me today.
One of the themes I like to play with in my games is the conflict between the old and new gods, or more specifically, the conflict between Paganism and the rise of Monotheism. In D&D this has its manifestation in the Dawn War.
In my games the servants of the good gods, angels, and the like, who fell became the Baalseraph or the unique devils. Demons have various origins, but some used to be gods.
Orcus used to be a God.
Sort of. In my overly complicated mythologies here Orcus was an avatar of a God of the Dead. I am currently using Hades/Pluto as a stand-in here but I will come up with something later. So this God of the Dead creates an avatar and this is Orcus of Roman myth, he also has another avatar, more akin to DÄ«s Pater but is more of psychopomp (like Hermes or Vanth). Here is where things get weird. This god is killed, maybe during the Dawn War, maybe before. The two avatars do not die, but rather go a little mad, each thinking they are the rightful heir to this god's mantle. Both "fall" and are "demonized." The psychopomp of DÄ«s Pater falls and becomes Dispater the Iron Duke. The other avatar is demonized to become Orcus, the Demon Prince of the Undead.
Each remembers being a god, if somewhat vaguely. For Orcus, this manifests in his desire to become a God himself and his rage to destroy all life when he can't. For Dispater, this manifests as his extreme paranoia, his desire to control all around him, and his hoarding of his wealth.
It also has one other aspect may be unique to my games. Orcus and Dispater hate each other. It is a deep existential dread that the other has something they need OR need to destroy. Both work against the other. Their warlocks, priests, and cultists (who have rituals that are oddly similar) work against each other. It goes beyond anything that the Blood War might suggest; it is a personal hatred they share.
What would happen if Dispater and Orcus put aside their animosity and worked together? Or worse, what if some magic was used to re-combine them back into the God they were? I shudder to think to be honest, but there is no way that would be good for anyone.
Maybe there is a third part of this god. A Neutral Evil one that does know what they were and what roles Orcus (CE) and Dispater (LE) play in this. Who is that entity? What do they want?
I still might take a page from Christopher Golden and Thomas E. Sniegoski's series, The Menagerie, and have Hades dead. This third creature, likely much weaker than the other two, would live in the remains of Hades' kingdom.
Links
- Campaign Wikis
- Orcus: Forgotten Realms | Pathfinder | Critical Role
- Dispater: Forgotten Realms | Pathfinder | Critical Role
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Orcus as the Boss? Immortal level D&D? What's my End Game?
In my game multiverse Orcus used to be a Primal God. In 4e I am fine with this being called a Primordial, but now he is a demon. He is a demon prince and a very, very powerful one, but an over arching plot seems a bit cerebral for him. I am thinking that maybe Orcus is nothing more than the weapon being used by someone more powerful, but behind the scenes. But who and for what ends?
I mean Orcus is no dummy, but as a demon he is more concerned with destruction than labyrinthine plots.
Here are some thoughts on some potential players.
Vecna - God of evil knowledge and a lich, but what does Orcus have that Vecna wants? What could Vecna be using Orcus for?
Asmodeus - The Blood War may be in cold war mode now, but maybe the Arch duke of Hell needs Orcus to get the seed of evil.
Tharizdûn - This one is easiest. Tharizdûn wants out of his prison. While everyone thinks Tharizdun is imprisoned either in the Abyss or the Astral, he is in reality imprisoned in the lowest point in Hell. Asmodeus is still his jailer. I would make him a bit like Lucifer in Dante's Inferno, chained to very bottom of hell. Asmodeus thinks he is draining power off of Tharizdûn, which is why he is a god-like power now. Tharizdun is allowing this knowing that he gains a little more control over Asmodeus. Who is using who? Well I guess that depends on who wins in the end.
Iggwilv - The Witch Queen wants the Abyss, and Orcus is one of the big things in her way. I have been dying to use her is some way.
So here is my plan.
Iggwilv and Asmodeus are working together to manipulate Orcus. He is being propped up as this huge threat so the PCs take him out. Iggwilv is directing the PCs to do this while also working on Orcus telling him that doing this will make him a god. The plan is to have the PCs kill Orcus and deliver his wand somewhere it can be destroyed. The PCs end up in Hell and hand over the Wand to Asmodeus. Asmodeus has told Iggwilv that he wants the extra shard and she can keep the Abyss. In truth Asmodeus is being manipulated by Thaizdun. Orcus' Wand and Asmodeus' Rod together will free him.
Yes, this is bit much for a D&D plot, especially a D&D4 one, but I like the idea. If the PCs play this right they could defeat Orcus, Iggwilv and Asmodeus all in one fell swoop.
The old AD&D adventure H4 Throne of Bloodstone is an influence here since the goal there is to destroy the Wand. The E1-3 series for D&D4 focuses on Orcus wanting to become a god. So I will merge them a bit. The whole Tharizdun bit is a bit recycled from the Gygax "Dance of Demons" book, but that is fine really.
Part of this though also depends on something else.
To defeat Orcus in the E series takes the characters right to 30th level. To then take on Iggwilv, Asmodeus AND Tharizdun then is something else altogether.
So I had yet another idea. What about Immortal Level D&D. Reading over the Mentzer D&D BECMI set I do see how well Immortal level play can work and that is something Immortals would do, stop the imbalance of Tharizdun coming back into play. I am just not quite sure how to do that in D&D4 just yet. I am sure I'll figure it out. Though I did ask about it on RPG.Net.
Presently I am working on finishing my 3.x campaign. Since the 4e characters are the kids of the 3.x ones I can start planting some seeds now. Drop the name Tharizdun and Iggwilv. Mention Orcus' and Asmodeus' rise to power. Might need to figure out how Vecna and Raven Queen fit into all of this. Maybe once Orcus is dead Vecna becomes the new patron of the Undead. Am I ready to get rid of Orcus once and for all?
Hmm. Interesting thought.
Thursday, September 24, 2015
Question of the Day: Anyone run/play a fight against Orcus
But I was looking over some of my adventures I have laying around and I noticed a theme.
For 1st Ed I have the Bloodstone Wars modules.
For 3rd Ed I have a bunch of stuff from Necromancer Games.
For 4th Ed I have the HPE series of nine modules.
And now for 5th ed I have Into the Abyss.
What do they all have in common?
Looking pretty damn scary in his new 5e form. |
Well, in the broadest terms they all deal with destroying the Demon Prince Orcus.
(ok 5e is about all demons)
Or at the very least stopping his machinations.
I mean, I get it. Orcus is the most metal of all the demon lords.
Back in the day we gleefully killed him in H4 Throne of Bloodstone. I was looking forward to doing it again under 4e in E3 Prince of Undeath. So there is an allure.
So how about you all?
Did you ever run/play a game where the PCs went after Orcus?
If yes, what adventure did you use?
If no, would it be something you would consider?
Bonus question. Why doesn't Demogorgon get any of this attention?
Orcus Links (I have talked about this before)
- Orcus for Unisystem, http://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2010/04/orcus-for-unisystem.html
- Orcus as the Boss, http://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2010/11/orcus-as-boss-immortal-level-d-whats-my.html
- Generational Mega-plots, http://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2010/06/revised-plan-generational-mega-plots.html
- Orcus and Vanth, http://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2013/09/orcus-and-vanth.html
- So...Have you ever killed a God?, http://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2010/11/sohave-you-ever-killed-god.html
Saturday, April 9, 2016
A to Z of Adventure! H is for High Level / Bloodstone
The H series is an odd one, even in a group that includes a lot of odd ones. There is a connecting story, of sorts; dealing with the interference of Orcus, but there are other things going here.
The first adventure, H1 Bloodstone Pass was for 1st edition AD&D but was also part of their new Battlesystem mass warfare rules. H2 Mines of Bloodstone is more of a straightforward adventure. H3 brings us back to Battlesystem and finally H4...well, let me get to H4 in just a bit.
H1 Bloodstone Pass 13–17
H2 The Mines of Bloodstone 16–18
H3 The Bloodstone Wars 17–20
H4 The Throne of Bloodstone 18-100
H4 The Throne of Bloodstone was fairly notorious back in the day. It was another adventure I bought and then gave to my DM with screams of "run this!" We ran it the first summer I was home from college.
The basic plot is that all the trouble caused in the previous modules was not just due to a cult of the Demon Prince Orcus, but Orcus himself. In H4 the characters went to his lair in the Abyss and killed him. Ok...where to begin with this one!
Well let's start with that cover.
This is the only adventure in the series that is labeled for the Forgotten Realms. The first, H1, assumed any world. There is Orcus himself coming out of the mouth hell or something (the Abyss really). Oh and the recommended levels...let's see, 18 to 100! 100th level characters?
I have to admit that was one of the reasons why I grabbed this. We had been playing a LONG time and I have many characters well past the by-the-book levels. AD&D at the time really only went to about 25th level, but figuring out higher levels was not that big of a deal. Generally speaking, adventures topped off at 20th level.
So I took some characters, right around 20th - 25th level...and a couple of them died right away! This was not an adventure to screw around with.
The other thing you notice with this adventure is that it is long. The module itself is like 96 pages and tons of maps. I seem to recall it took us a while to get through it too, most of the summer I was home from college.
You do get to fight Orcus in the end, as well as Tiamat, Baphomet, a giant Red Dragon, and potentially Asmodeus. It is just a deadly, deadly module.
After this, I retired all the characters that went through. After all what was left for them to do?
Fighting Orcus is a theme that D&D would come back to again and again. The HPE series for 4e, especially the Epic modules. In 2nd edition, the events of this module would later play out as part of the Dead Gods' adventure.
For me, today, this adventure is a template for other high-level adventures. While the module said up to 100th level, there are not really many qualitative differences between a 25th level character and a 100th level one. Fighters top off in attacks. Clerics top off on undead turning at 14th level and so on. I was a little disappointed that the AD&D designers did not take a page from the D&D team in this case. At this point in time AD&D and D&D were two different, but similar, systems. D&D characters could go to 36th level and even become immortal. Some of that would have been helpful here.
Much like the E modules, this module is likely to use as a source of material, but not so much as the adventure itself. Still...running it could be a lot of fun.
In truth fighting Orcus is always a good idea. He is a demon, he wants to destroy everything AND in the E series, he desires to become a god. This H series and the E series only scratches the surface when it comes to fighting Orcus. And even if you do kill him there is still the Dead Gods adventure that deals with him coming back from the dead. In fact, there is no lack of products out there to let you match up against the Demon Prince Orcus.
This is certainly an end-game adventure after this buy that castle in southern Nyrond, hang your +5 Holy Avenger over the mantle, hire some Valley Elves to make some wine and kick up your heels and smoke pipeweed to end of your days.
Monday, November 16, 2020
Monstrous Monday: Daughters of Iggwilv
Today's monster comes from a variety of sources. First, there is Iggwilv-Louhi connection that I talked about it in the Finish Mythos. Louhi, despite being an old witch is said to have lovely maiden daughters that the heroes often seek out. By extension shouldn't Iggwilv have some daughters too?
If we go with "yes" (and I always go with yes) then there are two issues, what are they like and who is the father. Let's go with the father question first. Among the candidates of "people" she has been involved with include the Demon Prince Fraz-Urb'luu, the half-demon Arch-Mage Tsojcanth, the wizard Zagig Yragerne, even Mordenkainen himself is a possibility and of course the Demon Prince Graz'zt.
We know all about Iggwilv's love affair with Graz'zt. We know from other sources, chiefly the Gygax Greyhawk novels, that Iuz is the offspring of Iggwilv and Graz'zt. Or maybe not. In the World of Greyhawk Fantasy Game Setting entry for Iuz it is suggested that he is "some by-blow of Orcus." I personally liked the idea that Orcus had mortal agents in the world. While this idea was later dropped it became an element of the Forgotten Realms, where I think it works out a little better. But it still is a tantalizing idea.
While Louhi might have daughters known as "the Maidens of Pohjola" I am not expecting Iggwilv's daughters to be so innocent. Her only other daughter, Drelnza, was a vampire, described as a "false Disney Princess" (she is not the damsel in distress, she is the monster), and most certainly not the offspring of Graz'zt. Going back to the Louhi/Lovitar connection for a bit, Lovitar is known as the mother of the Nine Diseases. Nine is a good number.
I think I have something.When Iggwilv was defeated by Graz'zt the former master was now the slave. Graz'zt had intended to keep the fallen Witch Queen in the Abyss to have her suffer an eternity of imprisonment as she had kept him. Iggwilv however was more clever than the Demon Prince knew and soon she went from prisoner to consort, to confidant to his main advisor. While she was rising in the ranks of Graz'zt courts she was "traded" to the Demon Prince Orcus over a loss Graz'zt had suffered at the hands of the Demon Prince of undead.
Taken from Azzagrat in chains she arrived in Thanatos at the feet of the Lord of Undead to serve a tredecim (13 years) of service between CY 503 and CY 516.
Enraged, Iggwilv plotted revenge on both Graz'zt and Orcus. Her carefully constructed lies and seductions learned from Fraz-Urb'luu that were so effective on Graz'zt held no sway on Orcus. Save for the occasional bit of violence Orcus showed no interest in the Witch Queen other than to deprive Graz'zt of her. Within that century though Iggwilv gave birth to nine daughters that she was able to keep secret from both Orcus and Graz'zt. These nine daughters were all of the same fierce, dark beauty as their mother, but had the taint of undeath like their father. In secret, Iggwilv taught her daughters the ways of witchcraft and fashioned Abyssal weapons for each of them. Once they were grown their curse of undeath took hold and they became something akin to vampires. Iggwilv sent them into the world to cause as much havoc and chaos as they could and, most importantly act against the designs and will of both Graz'zt and Orcus.
Noidan Tytär
Medium Undead (Demonic)
Frequency: Unique (only 9 are known to exist)
Number Appearing: 1 (1)
Alignment: Chaotic [Chaotic Evil]
Movement: 240' (80') [24"]
Fly: 180' (60') [18"]
Armor Class: -4 [20]
Hit Dice: 14d8+42**** (105 hp)
Attacks: by special weapon, claw/claw, or by magic or special
Damage: 1d10+6, 1d4+4 x2, special
Special: Magic required to hit (+2 or better), Vampire abilities, Witch spells, Undead
Size: Medium
Save: Monster 14
Morale: 12
Treasure Hoard Class: Special, see below
XP: 5,150
The Noidan Tytär, or Daughters of the Witch, are a unique group of undead demonically spawned creatures. These creatures, as beautiful as they are powerful, evil and deadly, are thankfully very, very rare. In fact, only nine are known to exist. Thankfully they also never work together by order of their mother the Witch Queen.
Each of the Noidan Tytär is a skilled fighter and possesses both superior arms and armor. Typically magical plate mail of etherealness +2, and a bastard vorpal sword +2 that they wield with one hand due to their preternatural strength.
In addition to their fighting ability, the Noidan Tytär are also undead akin to vampires. Magic is required to hit them and they are immune to charm, hold and sleep magic as well as any mind-affecting magics. Unlike vampires, they do not require blood to survive but drain the life energy (Constitution points) at the rate of 2 points per touch. They can go long periods without feeding but it will cause them to go into a deep stupor until a victim can be found. They can not enter a personal dwelling or holy/blessed land like a vampire and holy items can keep them at bay and cause damage. They are however immune to the effects of garlic. A stake through the heart will destroy them, but if the stake is removed they will reform in one round. They can become gaseous, but cannot assume the shapes of animals. They can fly as per the spell.
They can be Turned as Special (14 HD) by a cleric of high enough level. Any result of a D only discorporates them until the next new moon. The only way to truly destroy them is stake them, remove their head, and burn both the body and head in separate pyres. An exorcism or cleanse spell must then be used to force their spirits back to the Abyss.
Additionally, each Noidan Tytär can cast spells as a 7th level witch of the Mara Tradition.
The Noidan Tytär are often used as mercenaries for powerful chaotic rulers, demon lords, and evil cults. Secretly they work to undo the efforts of Graz'zt and Orcus.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Orcus is mine!!
There is Orcus next to Aspect of Orcus and the figure I use for my paladin. It is very cool.
I already stated up Orcus for Unisystem, and I was comparing his 3.x stats with the newer 4.0 stats and it looks like he got weaker, 3.x had less hitpoints, but more hit dice than 4.0 does. Anyone notice this?
Anyway there was something else I noticed while taking the pictures.
Left to right: Destroyah, a little Destroyah, Aspect of Orcus, Orcus.
The sizes are just about exactly the same. I can have a Destroyah and an Aspect of Destroyah in a game. I think if I did that I'd go with the idea that Destroyah is female. Orcus' mate maybe? More like a rival demon.
BTW that 6.5 Destroyah lists for 12 bucks. We got it for 6 at Toys R' Us. The little Destroyah came in a pack of a bunch of Godzilla monsters.
My fellow Eden Fan, Majin Gojira, has done up Angel/Ghosts of Albion stats for Destroyah (and others) over at the Eden boards. I have also seen 3.5 d20 stats for Destroyah, but I think these are a tad high, though in line if she was an Elder God and not a demon. She does seem to be more in line power with the likes of Cthulhu.
Of course as I am writing this my two boys are trying figure out what they need to fight both of them.
I remember being a young munchkin too!
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Revised Plan; Generational Mega Plots
So a while back I posted a plan for the adventures I wanted to run with my family using 4E.
Well since that time, some gaming has happened, some looking over various adventures and some tests on my part has brought me to the conclusion that I can't run some of those old school modules under 4E after all. Certainly I am still working on my current 3.x adventures with my kids.
Now mind you, this is not a bad thing nor is it reflective of the modules, 4e or "Old School".
But it has forced me to change my plans.
So for the "Dragon Slayers" game I am running I'll add some of those classic modules. The characters are all right around 13th level now, with one just on the verge of 10th. The ultimate goal of this game is to defeat Tiamat in the "Graveyard of Dragons". What can I say, my kids like the old D&D cartoon. The rules are under 3.x edition, which has an odd mix of D&D 3.0, with some 3.5, minor bits from Pathfinder, BESM d20 and Star Wars d20 (the revised one that came out after Attack of the Clones).
Also some of these modules are going to be played by me under Pathfinder in either my "Big Kids Group" or the "Little Kids Group". Currently the LKG is going through "B2 The Keep on the Borderlands". I have already used bits of "X1 Ilse of the Dread" and "B4 The Lost City". I know that in the one of the Pathfinder groups we will go through the GDQ series at some point, most likely the Little Kids Group. I will be running "C2 Ghost Tower" under the Doctor Who Adventures in Time and Space game.
After that those characters will retire and their descendants will complete a new Quest. The defeat of Orcus.
I'll run this one under D&D 4E and I do plan on it taking many years.
I am not 100% certain how the adventures will pan out, but I do want to use the D&D4 ones for ease.
- H1 Keep on the Shadowfell
- H2 Thunderspire Labyrinth
- H3 Pyramid of Shadows
- P1 King of the Trollhaunt Warrens
- P2 Demon Queen's Enclave
- P3 Assault on Nightwrymn Fortress
- E1 Death's Reach
- E2 Kingdom of the Ghouls
- E3 Prince of Undeath
Part of this is my desire to have them battle Orcus at the end. Plus I like to overall plot of involving the Raven Queen vs Orcus and Orcus getting a hold of some ancient artifact of Tharizdûn.
Those modules will get them from 1st to 30th level. But I might want to add a couple here and there. Not sure yet since I have not read them all in detail. I also know some people have had issues with these modules, both in terms of how they fit together, plot and playability. So I want to get things that are out now, and then tweak them as I need. Afterall, if this is about fighting Orcus who gets an artifact from ancient Tharizdûn then I can lay some ground work in my 3.x game now for that.
So after all that I have some modules left over.
- B3 Palace of the Silver Princess, levels 1-3 (using bits from both the "Green" and "Orange" versions).
- L1 The Secret of Bone Hill, levels 2-4
- X2 Castle Amber, levels 3-6 (place it in the Shadowfell, which is the new Ravenloft anyway)
- I6 Ravenloft, levels 5-7. That is if I don't use it as a convert Ghosts of Albion adventure. Use some of the Ravenloft campaign/world setting stuff here too.
- S2 White Plume Mountain, levels 5-10
- I10 Ravenloft II, House on Gryphon Hill, levels 8-10.
- S4 The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth (with some of the info from the 3.5 update), levels 6-10
- WG4 The Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun, levels 5-10
- S1 Tomb of Horrors, levels 10-14 (though I might just wait for the new D&D4 version)
- S3 Expedition to the Barrier Peaks, levels 8-12
- CM2 Death's Ride, levels 15-20.
- H1 Bloodstone Pass, levels 15+
- H2 The Mines of Bloodstone, levels 16-18
- H3 The Bloodstone Wars, levels 17-20
- H4 The Throne of Bloodstone, levels 18-100
Like the E series for D&D4, these send you to Orcus's layer to defeat him. Of the lot, H4 would be the best one to use, maybe as a buffer between E2 and E3. The others seem more suited for the Dragon Slayer's Pathfinder game. Of course, I could convert the H1-H4 Bloodstone series to feature Tiamat instead of Orcus. S4 and WG4 are linked and deal with Iggwilv, her Demonomicon and Tharizdûn. They are good to set up the history of Orcus and Tharizdûn. They can happen in either game. In the 4th Ed game I'd stick it in between H and P. CM2 Death's Ride has some cool stuff in it. Good to set up the whole Orcus wants to be a God thing in the 3.x game. Plus it would give me a good arch-nemesis for the characters to fight throughout.
The Ravenloft ones would be great for the Sunsword (a good weapon against the undead) but there is the Board Game coming out and I want it. Plus I'd rather run Ravenloft these days under True20. So I might have to find something similar. If I use the new Tomb of Horrors then I could place a good aligned sword there. There is a D&D4
There is a lot to do and figure out here. But I see this as a good thing. Look at all the time I have. I can plan out a mult-year arc of adventuring that would take my kids all the way to college. Wouldn't have died to have done something like that?
Though I do need to figure out a way to get more dragons into the 4th Ed game for my oldest.
Now this is my attempt to bring Old Schoolers and New Schoolers together.
NEW SCHOOLERS: What things should I be aware of when running the HPE series?
OLD SCHOOLERS: What classic, epic modules are a "must run" for a group of kids that were not even alive when Clinton was in office, let alone Carter. What memory of "D&D" is a must have? Barrier Peeks? Tomb of Horrors?
Clarifications on Games being Played
- "Dragon Slayers" is a 3.x game that I play with my two sons and sometimes my wife joins us. The goal of this game is to defeat Tiamat.
- "Big Kids Game/Group" is a Pathfinder game where I play a Paladin. In this group are my kids and the DM's kids (6 players, 1 DM)
- "Little Kids Game/Group" is a Pathfinder game where I play a Witch (same witch as I do in Dragon Slayers). This is the group with the Problem Player.
Both Pathfinder games have the same DM.
- "Untitled 4th Ed Game" is a 4e game where the players are the same as Dragon Slayers, but the characters are their children or descendants. The goal of this game is to defeat Orcus.
Wednesday, April 6, 2016
A to Z of Adventure! E is for Epic Level Adventures (4th Ed)
Fourth Edition gets a bad rap from a lot of gamers, especially old-school gamers. Which is really a pity to be honest. There is a fun game there. There is even a fun D&D game there. But alas it is also a game I am not likely to ever play again despite my investment of time and money in on it.
What I did like the most about 4e though were the HPE modules. These were a series of three adventures for each "tier" of play; H for Heroic (1st to 10th level), P for Paragon (11th to 20th level) and finally E for Epic or 21st to 30th level of play. Now while most D&D games stick to 20 levels, 4th edition went to 30. Well...1st had an assumed cut off at 20 and D&D BECMI went to 36th and beyond. But I'll get to that.
The Epic level adventures were truly epics. The adventure plot was discovering that Orcus, the Demon Prince of the Undead (and the cover boy on Prince of Death), desires to be a god and he sets out to kill the new Goddess of Death, the Raven Queen. The E series had you confront Orcus in a reality-spanning quest to stop a mad demon with the powers of an ancient evil artifact. It was a plot that appealed to me. The series featured three modules.
- E1 Death's Reach (21st to 24th level)
- E2 Kingdom of the Ghouls (24th to 27th level)
- E3 Prince of Undeath (27th to 30th level)
Over the last couple of years I have come up with some fairly rough algorithms for 4e conversion. So here are my current thoughts.
Plan 1. Use bits of this plus bits of H4 Throne of Bloodstone to fold into my Come Endless Darkness campaign. This is the most likely really.
Though I would still LOVE to use ALL these adventures someday. Play all nine, ten or eleven if you count the ones that came with the 4th ed basic set and Ghost Tower of the Witchlight Fens. I doubt I will ever run it under 4e, but stranger things have happened.
But I could convert it.
Plan 2. Convert for use for another game. There is some good stuff here really and I would still love to play all of them out. Conversion could solve my issues, but how do I convert it?
Well if I am playing 2nd, 3rd or 5th ed then levels are about to 2 to 3. So if the adventure says it is for 6th level then I take 4th level characters through and replace the monsters appropriately.
If I am playing B/X/C or BEMCI (aka "Basic") version of D&D or AD&D 1 then I add 5 levels to the characters. B/X/C and BEMCI assumes that the characters, well, human characters, will advance to 36th level. And your average 1st level 4e character is still more powerful than your average 4th-5th level character.
I am more likely to try it under Basic; going from 1st to 36th level. I am not really sure how well it would work to be honest. But I will also admit this is my conversion of choice. It allows me to use all the cool OSR toys I have and use a system am very familiar with. I would adopt some of the 4e trappings like conditions, especially "bloodied" and ideas like minions.
I have already converted 1st and Basic-era luminaries as Emirikol the Chaotic, Aleena and Morgan Ironwolf to 4e, so going backwards is not that difficult.
There are a couple of conversion guides out there too. WotC has one as does Sly Flourish. But none that I have found so far back-converting.
If you are new to this and want to learn how to play 4th Edition D&D and see the first part of the HPE saga you can get H1 Keep on the Shadowfell & Quick-Start Rules for 4e for free.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Of Orcus and Generalists
Orcus vs. Demogorgon
If this were the demonic throwdown then Orcus overwhelms Demogorgon. Far more comments and hits. I have to say though a large part of that is because of the Tod Lockwood art. But even when I have something similar in the past Orcus usually wins too. I like Demogorgon and think there is tons of untapped horror there and even something that makes him more demon than Orcus. But Orcus looks like he could be on the cover of an 80's metal album. Yeah I can see than, some band out of England in the 80's or a Death Metal band out of Norway or Finland today. Name them Orküs or something like that. Some one get Raggi on the phone, he would know.
Generalist vs. Specialists
Generalist seems to be the rule of the day here too. But that is also not a surprise given the population that reads this blog. I throw out stats for Unisystem, WitchGirls, d20, D&D of all shapes and size. You all must like that stuff. The Specialists have their own blogs. There are also seem to be dabblers. People that are Specialists in one or two systems and fluent in a dozen more.
I still wish though that I had a better name for Generalist.
More later including a "new" game for me...Rifts.
Friday, September 13, 2013
Orcus and Vanth
But who is this?
Her name is Vanth and she is another Etruscan chthonic god depicted as a demon and she adorns funerary art.
What is their relationship other than the obvious historical one?
Well I also read a lot of science blogs and this picture of the largest trans-Neptunian objects came up (in a discussion of the Oort cloud.)
Vanth is the moon of Orcus.
I can't even begin to tell you how many ideas came flooding in on that one!
Vanth orbits Orcus in a tight precise circle and they are tidal locked. Vanth is never far from Orcus then and she always keeps her face toward her master.
Mythological Vanth shares a role similar to that of Charon. She brings the souls of departed to the underworld. She has a torch to light her way, a key to unlock the gates of the underworld, a scroll with the information on the deceased and a sword. According to myth Vanth appears as woman, much like an Erinyes and described as young and vibrant.
There is a Pathfinder creature called a Vanth, but it lacks some of the charm of this demon.
No I think I prefer Vanth to be a vassal of Orcus. Responsible for bringing him the choicest souls to be corrupted into foul undead. In truth that picture of Orcus above should be reversed, Vanth (the woman) should be the one presenting the skeleton to her lord.
It could be that this unique Vanth has many of the lesser vanths at her disposal. Maybe the souls her lord rejects become part of her own army.
I also saw this picture of Stephanie vanRijn that had me thinking of the relationship between Thanatos and Eros. Maybe this what Vanth looks like to humans.
Vanth
Hit Dice: 11+15** (70 hp)
Armor Class: 1 [19]
Attacks: 1 sword (1d10+4)
Special: Flight, Magic resistance (55%), regenerate (3 hp/round), +2 or better weapons to hit.
Move: 24' / 60'
Save: F12 (Basic) 12 (S&W)
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Challenge/XP: 11/3,000
I will have to develop here more later.
http://amusedgrace.blogspot.com/2013/08/this-is-other-piecei-did-earlier.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanth
http://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/monster-listings/outsiders/psychopomp/psychopomp-vanth