Gruumsh (Greyhawk Action)
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| Greyhawk Action! |
Gruumsh is the patron of orks and savagery, a wild and untamed god that demands bloody trial.
Gruumsh is the god of wrath in the Common pantheon The one-eyed slayer has become something of a generic god of strength in adversity, might making right, and hardship. Street gangs honor him, as do humanoids living among humans or who have lost their racial traditions.
To the Flan he is the enemy, the despoiler of herds, the slaver and stealer of brides, eternal enemy of Ubad-Hai.
In Synchretism he is the good of savagery and strength through trial. Each tribe has its own name for him and he actively sets these different aspects and their tribes at each other's throats. He is Vatun to the Suel barbarians of the north-east and Erythnul to goblins and Oerdians, and is known under a variety of other local names. He actively encourages warfare between the followers of his different avatars.
Gruumsh (groomsh), deity of orcs, is chaotic evil. He appears as a hulking orc in black full plate armor. He has one unblinking central eye. He harbors a special hatred for Corellon Larethian, Moradin, and their followers. In ages past, Corellon Larethian put out Gruumsh’s left eye in a fight. Some orc clerics dispute this tale, claiming that the elven deity stole the eye because he could not beat Gruumsh in a fair fight.
Gruumsh demands that his followers be strong, that they cull the weak from their numbers, and that they take all the territory Gruumsh thinks is rightfully theirs (which is almost everything). He tolerates no sign of friendliness from his people. Unceasing warfare is his creed, though Gruumsh does not object to simple colonization if that can be arranged. Gruumsh dislikes everything that is not an orc or of orcish make, and he feels particularly spiteful toward elves (over the matter of his eye). He feels equal malice toward dwarves, who contested with the orcs for control of the mountains and won; a state of affairs Gruumsh regards as strictly temporary.
Gruumsh’s clerics strive to become the war leaders of their communities or the key advisers to those leaders. They also see to the culling of the weak and unfit through feud or sacrifice. They usually wear fighting gear. A temple or shrine to Gruumsh lies at the heart of nearly every orc community. They tend to be oppressive places full of acrid smoke and the stench of blood. Temples and larger shrines invariably have holding cells where sacrifices to Gruumsh are kept, and many feature gladiatorial areas as well.
Alignment: Chaotic Evil.
Weapon: Battle axe.
Symbol: Empty eye socket, or a single unwinking eye.
Pathfinder Domains: Chaos (Demon), Destruction (Rage), Evil (Demon), Strength (Ferocity), War.