Orcish Pantheon

Grokolok

Grokolok is known as the Goddess of the Tribe. Many funeral rites are performed invoking Grokolok. She is a Goddess of both birth and death. Her primary motivation is the survival of the tribe (taken literally to be one’s own tribe) and, more broadly, the survival and propagation of orckind. Many consider the customs and ‘laws’ of orcs to be her purview, though some dispute this and assert that it is the domain of Vruudash.

Gruumsh

Gruumsh is only the god of war. His remaining eye, his condition inflicted by a fallen Lynochian God, is his symbol. Some orcs believe that the berserker rage is the holy spirit of Gruumsh channeling through fierce orc warriors. Gruumsh is believed to be present at every battle, relishing in the bloodshed and watching for signs of dishonor. His angels are said to sweep up the most valiant felled orcs and bring them, at first with an audience with himself and Vruudash, and then ferry them to a special palace in Grokolok’s realm (the Hall of Hallowed Warriors).

Harzdolkar

Harzdolkar is the god of the plains. Worshipped by the herders and farmers. He grants fertility for crops and grasses. He is simultaneously taken to be a god of sedentary agricultural life and semi-nomadic animal husbandry. Modest sacrifices are offered to Harzdolkar for healthy crops and livestock and rain. He is the consort of Grokolok.

Kalgazgro

God of Shadows. Deals with trickery (and many intermediaries with Kalgazgro deal in body control, death magic, and necromancy). According to orcish mythology, Kalgazgro wardens the souls of honorless orcs, keeping them as his slaves. Occasionally, it is said, he will dole them out to intermediary spirits to supply them to their necromantic servants.

Gaku

Gaku is a demonic agent of Kalgazgro. He was originally created by Brozmul, but escaped when Brozmul’s power base collapsed.

Vruudash

Orcish All-Father. Vruudash is said to have created orcs. He is claimed to have set as their destiny to end human dominance and destroy the Lynochians (and its Chetsin off-shoots). However, reasons for the creations of orckind vary immensely. After the Lynochian Gods disappeared and the Lynochian Empire was destroyed and/or shunted out of existence, Vruudash retired, allowing the lesser orc deities to rise to what they are now. Vruudash is rarely invoked, and is rarely counted on to intervene in orcish affairs. He is, nonetheless, respected and revered by orcs, and it is hoped that he still watches with interest the future and conditions of his children.