Most extensive of all monstrous pantheons is that of the populous, fertile orc race. Their myth of pre-time, constantly re-told by shamans around the campfire in the deepest dark of night, is archetypal for most of the monster races.
Legend[]
In the beginning all the gods met and drew lots for the parts of the world where their races would dwell. The elven gods drew the lot which gave them green forests and bright woodland, the dwarf gods drew the lot which gave them the riches of the mountains, the gnomish gods got the sunlit, rocky hills, and the halfling gods picked the lot which gave them the rolling fields and meadows. The human gods drew the lot which allowed the humans to dwell where they pleased, in any environment. Then the assembled gods turned to the orcish gods and laughed loud and long. “All the lots are taken!” , they said tauntingly. "Where will your people dwell, One-Eye? There is no place left!’
There was silence upon the world then, as Gruumsh One-Eye lifted his great iron spear and stretched it over the world. The shaft blotted out the sun over a great part of the lands as he spoke: “No! You lie! You have rigged the drawing of lots, hoping to cheat me and my followers. But One-Eye never sleeps; One-Eye sees all. There is a place for orcs to dwell… here!” , he bellowed, and his spear pierced the mountains, opening mighty rifts and chasms. “And here!” , and the spearhead split the hills and made them shake, covering them in dust, “And here again!” , and the black spear gouged the meadows, and made them bare.
“There!” roared He-who-Watches triumphantly, and his voice carried to the ends of the world. "There is where the orcs shall dwell! And they shall survive, and multiply, and grow stronger. And a day will come when they cover the world, and they shall slay all of your collected peoples! Orcs shall inherit the world you sought to cheat me of!’
The Afterlife[]
THE AFTERLIFE
Orc notions of the afterlife vary. Orcs who did not serve their gods faithfully are sought by Grimlok and either sent to Fleshslough where there are wracked with the most painful of diseases for all eternity or sent to Kabok where their bodies are devoured, allowed to grow back, and devoured again. Some few souls avoid Grimlok and are forced to walk the material plane as tortured spirits. Below are the realms that orcs who served their gods faithfully are sent to:
Nishrek – The realm of orcs within Avalas the first layer of The Infernal Battlefield of Acheron is known as Nishrek. Here petitioners of Gruumsh, Bahgtru, Ilneval, Luthic, Garthel, Farok, Meega, Thokesh, and Gar come when they have finally died. It exists as an iron cube flying through a void of other iron cubes. Gravity on the cube is always directed towards the center of the cube. This takes a little bit of getting used to by newcomers to the realm. On Nishrek the mildly lawful aligned trait of Acheron is negated. Light comes from the void and varies from the equivalent of moonlight to that of a cloudy day. The source of the illumination is unknown. The first view that petitioners get of Nishrek as they approach is of swirling trenches carved all around the face of the cube. Tunnel openings seem to pop up at random leading deep into the cube and cities and barracks appear to have been placed at random. Still, the size of the tunnels and barracks are immense and Nishrek is definitely prepared to fight great battles. Gruumsh directly controls the three major fortresses of Rotting Eye, White Hand, and Three Fang. He has a residence in each and seems to move between them at random. Bahgtru controls the fortress of Stronghold where he lives and trains his strength and Ilneval controls Red Sword and Dripping Blade. Red Sword is his home and base of operations. Ilneval’s lieutenant Thokesh lives in Dripping Blade, which he holds in fief for Ilneval. Gar has no fortress but he and his orogs travel the realm manning the defenses and preparing for battle. Gar’s residence is in Barrackar the largest of the realm’s barracks. Garthel claims a whole face of Nishrek. One side is eternally frozen cold and here is where Garthel prepares for battle in his fortress of Coldeth. This is the only part of this cube face in which any mortal can survive for long and petitioners of other gods never cross to this face unless sent as a messenger from one of the other deities. Luthic lives deep within the tunnels of the cubes. The earth mother goddess prefers to be underground and this is where she has made her lair. She keeps two residences, one in Vile Rune in the center of the cube and one in Blood Drinker, which is located near Rotting Eye. These are not only her homes but also places of healing for troops who have been grievously wounded. Luthic and her petitioners work day and night on healing these wounded. Meega always lives in Blood Drinker. She dwells here between battles and runs the city when Luthic is in Vile Rune. However, when battle comes to Nishrek, Meega takes her great moon vessel of Meksh to the sky to add illumination for the orcs so that they can see their enemy clearly. Farok also lives deep within the tunnels. None save Gruumsh know where he keeps his home although some suspect that it somehow moves through the tunnels. Farok and his petitioners toil unceasingly to measure the life of each orc and record all of his deeds. When it is felt that the orc will no longer contribute as much to the orc cause as he has in the past, his life is cut and the process continues with other orcs. To the orcs, Nishrek is everything that heaven should be. It is a land of eternal warfare. Gruumsh leads the troops directly under his control through the planes in hopes of defeating his foes, Moradin and Corellon Larethian. Meanwhile the followers of the other deities fight the eternal battle with the goblins on Acheron itself and occasionally fight skirmishes with the other denizens of the realm. For warriors to whom combat is everything this is an idea existence and the phase “gone to Nishrek” is a metaphor for achieving perfect happiness.
The Night Below – The realm of orcs within Krangath the fourth and final layer of the Bleak Eternity of Gehenna. Here petitioners of Shargaas, Tarok, and Feng go when they have died. Krangath is dominated by the volcano, Dead Furnace, but as its name suggests all volcanic activity has ceased. This layer is shrouded in silence with no wind stirring and no light glimmering. The Night Below is built almost perfectly into Dead Furnace, such that a casual observer would not even realize that it is there. Windows are disguised as small volcanic vents and the single door is a secret passage that appears as normal mountain rock. Shargaas does not want anyone to know where his realm lies, especially the other inhabitants of Gehenna. It is said that aside from his petitioners and servants that only Gruumsh, Grimlok, and Kargyev know where the Night Below is. This serves the god of trickery and stealth quite well. Regardless of where it is, those who know of its existence believe that Shargaas did not build it and that he has merely moved into a realm built by some other deity long ago. The Night Below extends deep into the volcano where it spreads out into a series of caves and rooms that would make dwarves envious. These caverns extend far below Deep Furnace and some say that they extend into unknown lower layers of Gehenna or perhaps into other planes. The Night Below is shrouded in a special magical property. Those entering the realm can not see more than five feet in any direction no matter what form of light they have brought with them. Only Shargaas, Tarok, or Feng can negate this effect for any individual. The Night Below is also populated by a large portion of orc undead that do the menial work. Shargaas lives in the furthest reaches of the Night Below in a great palace called Cold Fever carved deep in the volcano and apparently with its back adjoining the base of the volcanic vent that leads up to the top of the Dead Furnace. Feng lives in a lesser palace carved out of the rock and midway between Cold Fever and the main entrance called Night Killer. Here he trains his petitioners as ninja and plans raids in other planes. Tarok holds the exterior fortress, known as Death Moon that is immediately inside the volcano. Moons in various phases adorn the walls of the palace and it is said that Tarok hopes to woo Meega in this manner. In either event, Tarok is the first line of defense for the Night Below. He is also often busy in training his petitioners in the duties of defending the gate as well as preparing them as raiders of various types. Tarok often leaves a trusted lieutenant in charge of his post while conducting raids or assassinations at the behest of Shargaas. The is a realm for the highly skilled and thus orcs who feel that they have talents wish to go there so that their talents will be recognized and that they will be engaged in something other than brutish battles. Shargaas appreciates an orc with brains and often even if his soul is claimed by another god, Shargaas will claim the body of the orc and have it sent through a portal to the Night Below where it will be animated as one of his undead servants. Also, orcs who like to play vicious pranks on other find that life in The Night Below suits them fine as they are often sent on missions to steal from, trap, or kill other deities. The more subtle their methods the more approval they get.
Fleshslough – The realm of orcs within Oinos, the top layer of the Gray Wastes of Hades. Here petitioners of Yurtrus and Grimlok go when they have died. Fleshslough is a horrible place existing underneath the ground of Oinos and thus avoiding most of the Blood War going on above. Yurtrus is neutral in the war (although some believe that he favors the devils) and is ever at work crafting diseases within Fleshslough that he will unleash upon any beings on the surface of Oinos including the devils and demons. Those who mistakenly find their way to Fleshslough immediately regret it and it is considered as one of the possible hells for non-Petitioners of Yurtrus or Grimlok. The entrance to Yurtrus is a cave with two great iron doors at its mouth. All plants die long before reaching these doors although the doors can be seen from a forest of stunted trees that ends abruptly (no doubt due to the influence of this realm). As one descends the walls take on a spongelike quality and the air becomes damp. No one usually notices until it has become to late that this is because the walls are no loner rock but skin and instead of damp water, the walls are dripping with blood. Those caught in the realm have their flesh melded to the walls where they are continually tortured. Body parts are removed and melded into the caves. Torture of any one person in this condition is felt by all others simultaneously, thus the agony is excruciating and Yurtrus takes care to proceed slowly so that the agony of any one being may take centuries. One is completely subsumed by the essence of Fleshslough the soul is said to merge with the other souls which continue to feel the agony of each person tortured in this manner. Petitioners, conversely, come from the sick orcs that enjoyed inflicting pain and disease on their fellow orc and they hope to come to Fleshslough to inflict the torture rather than to take part in it. The number of petitioners in Fleshslough at any given time is small due to the fact that Yurtrus has few devoted worshippers that come to his standard but this suits him fine as he does not want to many hands speeding up his work. Fleshslough has one city in which Yurtrus and his petitioners reside known as Leprous Hand. Here Yurtrus sits on his throne created from the stitched together bodies of several beings and inflicts torture on his subjects or crafts new diseases to inflict upon Oinos or the material plane. Grimlok has a small cave of his own that branches from the main section that leads to Fleshslough. This small area is known as Greydok and here his petitioners aid him in creating his list of the slain to collect and making sure that the great bat that he rides through the planes is fed and ready to take him on a new journey. Yurtrus pays little attention to Greydok even though it is technically under his rule. He only cares that Grimlok keeps him supplied with a fresh supply of petitioners of both kinds. Fleshslough is hell for most orcs and many an orc shaman keeps his tribe in line with tales of Fleshslough and what will happen to them their if they do not do what they’re told now. Yet, some few orcs consider it heaven for they too would like to sit in judgment of others and to torture them for all eternity. Menial worker orcs not fit to serve in battle also see Fleshslough as a means of elevating their own status and serving the greater orc cause by aiding Grimlok in his task of gathering orc souls on their trip to the afterlife.
Baknor – This is not its original name but none now living know the original name of this realm. Baknor lies in The Clockwork Nirvana of Mechanus. Here petitioners of Bargvar and Korak go when they have died. Baknor is a single large cog with a shaft rising from the center. Bargvar lives in the central shaft, which is actually a large tower and is called Sturmguld. From here, Bargvar controls weather on the material plane. Bargvar claims to have created a great device for this purpose but many others believe that the machine was already here when Bargvar fled Acheron and that he found it. They say that the machine’s purpose is probably far greater than what Bargvar has conceived and that it almost certainly has power to control weather on more than just the prime material plane. Baknor itself is laid out in gridlike precision with cities full of petitioners spread evenly from Sturmguld. Each city is also laid out in grids and each city mirrors each of the others when they had an equal population. Sharg’troth is followed with no deviations. The prime city nearest to Sturmguld is Quarnostus and this is where Korak dwells and administers justice throughout Baknor in Bargvar’s name. Baknor is lit by an indeterminate light source that seems to come from the void beyond the cogs for 12 hours followed by 12 hours of darkness. The light and dark periods never deviate. Baknor is heaven to the storm orcs who long for a world of perfect precision and order. Petitioners on Baknor often take up the old House struggles once finding themselves there. Battle is also taken up against the Formians whose expansionist civilization has often targeted Baknor for colonization. To the storm orcs the chance of combat solidifies Baknor as the best possible reality to live out eternity.
Swampmarsh – The realm of swamp orcs near the city of Rigus in the Concordant Domain of the Outlands. Here petitioners of Savidge and Shauka go when they have died. Swampmarsh is a vast swamp that encompasses all types of bogs and marshes in all four seasons. Thus, all types of swamp creatures exist here and have a habitat especially for them. Visitors to this realm find that any druid spell is treated as if it were extended. Petitioners usually just tend to the swamp to maintain its balance and beauty. There are no cities in Swampmarsh but Savidge and Shauka do live in Rutland, the hollowed out base of a giant tree where they sometimes hold court and where they receive the infrequent guests from the rest of the orc pantheon. To swamp orcs, Swampmarsh is home. It is a realm where their special abilities are highly valued and in which they are protected. Here they can belong. Very few petitioners come to Swampmarsh who were not swamp orcs in life but the occasional orc druid or other noteworthy orc finds his way here. These too are welcomed and integrated into the community.
Kabok – The realm of Pygmy orcs in the 16th layer of the Infinite Layers of the Abyss. This layer is an endless cave with tunnels branching in random areas. Here petitioners of Genki and Kag go when they have died. Visitors to this realm find themselves lost easily as space is also slightly distorted so that those travelling in one direction may find themselves entering a new passage from another. Hanging from the walls of most caves are (mostly orc) bodies in various states of mutilation. These are orcs who failed their gods and have been consigned here. Some extraplanar travelers or other hapless victims can be found here as well but mostly you will only find orcs. The god Genki holds sway over this realm. The states of mutilation are the result of his eating of the various souls whom he entraps and devours on a daily basis to sate his endless hunger. He knows better than to devour anyone fully for some aspect of the plane causes all wounds to eventually heal, even missing limbs. Thus, beings in Kabok must suffer an eternity of being devoured with their only hope being that one day Genki will forget himself and eat them entirely. No one knows if this has ever occurred so the hope may be a futile one. Genki has no special court or home. He sleeps in a cave when the mood takes him. The only place of any note in Kabok is Hell’s Kitchen where Kag toils for all eternity to create dishes to please the cannibal lord. Genki’s petitioners are mostly pygmy orcs although a very few orcs of other subtypes join them. Their one hope is to enter Kabok as petitioners and to be put to work on the endless feast of torturing prisoners. Those who forget themselves and completely devour someone are subject to being placed in that prisoner’s place and being eaten in turn. Thus a sort of order is maintained in such a realm. Several portals exist from here to Fleshslough and it is said that the screams from one realm echo throughout the other as yet a further means of creating fear and crushing hope among the prisoners.
The Forest of Despair – The realm of Forest orcs in Cathrys, the second layer of the Tarterian Depths of Carceri. Here petitioners of Kargyev and Jergic go when they have died. Like all realms in Carceri, the forest of despair is located on an orb floating through a void of orbs separated by air. This orb is covered entirely by forest and to a traveler just arriving it would appear just like any other forest in the material plane. However, everything about the plane is deceptive from plants that try to eat you to animals with attacks and abilities unheard of on the material plane as well as dire versions of animals which are far more common here than they ever are on the material plane. The worst fate that a traveler might meet is becoming the prey to a hunting party of forest orc petitioners who delight in nothing more than hunting intelligent prey. Kargyev lives in a great treehouse city known as Shrigek sprouting out from the highest tree in the forest and extending to other trees from rope bridges and ladders. Several trees are constantly on fire to provide illumination but through some special magic wielded by Kargyev they do not burn. She maintains portals to Swampmarsh, The Night Below, and Baknor so she has facilities to host guests of mountain, scab, swamp, or storm orcs although she takes a care never to have more than one of those types enter her domain at the same time. Jergic, the hunter deity maintains a home on the forest floor in a single building that he calls Lodge. From Lodge he leads hunting parties of orcs at whatever game they hope to capture. The Forest of Despair is heaven for the Forest Orcs. Here they have a forest of infinite dangers and beasts of great ferocity and cunning to track and defeat with the hope of occasionally being able to hunt intelligent prey. This also appeals to a few orcs of other subraces who also end up here to participate in the great hunt.
Solitaire – The realm of orcs in Mithardir, the third layer of the Olympian Glades of Arborea. Here petitioners of Touvos and Gyen go when they have died. Solitaire is a mighty fortress set up against the stinging sandstorms that abound throughout the dessert of Mithardir. Touvos found this realm when fleeing from Gruumsh and found that it was full of information from a godlike inhabitant that had once lived here. Over the last few centuries Touvos has poured over all of the knowledge that he has found here and learned a great deal about the nature of the multiverse and its denizens. Solitaire is a large building the size of a metropolis on the material plane but it is mostly bare as neither Touvos nor Gyen have many petitioners. Touvos lives in Great Hall, a very large room of palace-like proportions in the center of Solitaire. Gyen lives at the top of the highest tower, which he calls Mendar. Solitaire is heaven for good-aligned orcs. Petitioners who come here are often orcs that didn’t fit in to orc society and would consider an eternity of living in it as hell. In Solitaire they can spend eternity either seeking pure knowledge or heightening their mental abilities or anything else that they can think of. Touvos does not believe that anyone should be bound by the will of any other and his one precept in Solitaire is that one simply seeks to be the best at whatever it is that they wish to do. The honing of oneself to perfection is the only law in Solitaire. This is a challenge accepted freely by the rather competitive orcs.
Goryal – The realm of orcs in Limbo. Here petitioners of Ezric and Maegric go when they die. Goryal exists as a sub-maelstrom within the greater chaos of Limbo itself. Ezric goes here to hide from Yurtrus and Genki and uses the shifting nature of the plane to conceal her tracks and presence. Within the maelstrom that wreaths Goryal is a fortress not unlike the Githzerai monasteries. Here Ezric sits and rules over matters of passion on the material plane as her petitioners look outwards for the presence of Yurtrus or Genki. Maegric lives within a wing of the fortress known as Mariticide and here she and her patrons plan to aid orc women who have killed their spouses or even sometimes those who have killed fathers, lovers, sons, or just want to run away from orc life in general. As most petitioners were in similar situations in life they are more than happy to help. Goryal is heaven to a great number of female orcs and a few male orcs. It exemplifies the chaos of orc life and those who had a particular bent towards passion have a place in which they can act on those urges for all eternity. There also female orcs who have committed mariticide or who just didn’t fit into orc society can go as a place to be at peace and to help others to escape from the shackles of orc life.