bump. Let's see that turn.
Also, did you write up the Orcish pantheon yet, Weirdsound? I wrote up some ideas in a fit of boredom.
I was thinking that Orc Gods could have been near mythic Mortals at one time, and that when they died, their ancestral spirits were powerful enough to be raised to the Plain of the Gods. I havent written up the last one yet.
I dunno, I like the idea of the Orc Gods like a feuding family lol
Tell me if any of these ideas warrant further examination, or even if they inspire you a bit.
The Orcish Great Father was said to be the first Orc Chief-he led his people from a meager existence living hunted by other races in the foothills, to building great Clansteads in plains rich with game. He taught his people honor and strength of arms, and how talking can be used instead of fighting..but he also taught them how to take action if words fail. Of course, to other races, The Great Father was only the first of many Orcish Warlords that sought to increase their own power by cowing Hordes of Orcs and sending them to pillage, but the records do not lie when they say the Great Father was the least violent and most prosperous leader the Orcs had in that generation.
Among the Orcish Pantheon, he is the most neutral-if not quite good in alignment. He listens to his people often, and encourages them to show a balance between shows of strength and shows of diplomacy. He considers Okus and Neega his beloved children, is conflicted about the Great Mother, but despise Ghloo.
Followers of The Great Father are many-thinkers, War chiefs and some of the more civilized Shamans all follow his example of strength and wisdom in equal measure when ruling over their respective groups. Many lesser Orcs also follow his path, especially if they have aspirations to lead and defend a tribe, family, or clan themselves. The Great Father does not truly hate other races, but he reserves his love for the Orcish people, and as such, only a Orc may worship him.
He wields no chosen weapon, preferring the heavy shield instead-a combination of defense and offense. He gifts followers with an aura of respect and honor among Orcs, shields and armor, wealth and food from his celestial clan halls-he was known as a giver of silver rings- ,and the ability to cow or negotiate with enemies and allies in equal measure. He does not like if his followers are either overly violent, or unendingly diplomatic. Straying from the balance risks losing his favor, and once it is lost, it is lost forever.
The most devoted of the Great Fathers warriors, Okus was also the true son of The Great Father and The Great Mother-he was a legendary fighter who wielded the Great Axe. His strength in battle, along with The Great Fathers leadership, and Neegas cunning, allowed them to carve a bloody path through the old races of the World, and make a home for the Orcs. He was the one who rose to power after the Great Father died, but his rule was short and marked with great hardship. He was slain, not in battle, but from ambush, and the Orc Empire that might been collapsed overnight into a squabbling horde.
Followers of Okus blamed followers of Neega for the cowardly slaying, and they naturally denied these accusations, and that specific argument is still very alive to this day. To some Okus is representative of the penultimate of a warriors skill tempered with faithful allegiance to ones Chief. To other, Okus is a bloodthirsty, dimwitted fool who followed his Chief blindly while allowing his own glory to diminish.
Among the Orcish Pantheon, he is classified as true neutral, having no true moral scruples, expect for a obvious dislike of cowards and traitors. He reveres The Great Father, despises Neega and Ghloo, and reserves a distant, confused love for The Great Mother, who never returned it.
Followers of Okus are most often warriors, and good ones-many of them do not bother with concepts like diplomacy and leadership, preferring to chase personal glory on the battlefield. Some followers of Okus learn to lead warriors into combat like he did, leading by example, but leave the governing of greater clan affair to others. Okus accepts warriors from any race, if they have bested one of his Battle Priests in fair combat. Such duels are to the death-while Okus accepts strength of any shade, his followers will fight ferociously to keep non-Orcs from gaining favor with Okus.
His priest often wield the Great axe as the chosen weapon. He gifts followers with their own Axes and weapons from his divine armory, replenishes their strength in combat and grants the ability to deal deadly blows. He is unforgiving of cowardice in battle, and dislikes when his followers attempt to lie or use indirect tactics such as assassination, trickery or even diplomacy. Those who displease Okus may find themselves fighting for their lives against agents of fate brought to bear against them, or even may be brought to his Celstial Arena to prove themselves in combat. Those who survive, can always find their way back to him.
The traditional relationship between The Great Father and Okus is one of master-servant, father-son, but these days few followers of Okus adhere to that, arguing that if given the chance to lead, they can equal and even surpass the Great Father, and bring honor to themselves in his memory. He was also known as the "Thrall Taker", and all Orcs who take Thralls gain favor in his eyes-his people have inherited a healthy hatred of Green Orcs, though they do not even truly know why..
Neega was the illegitmate daughter of the Great Father, and one of the first Green Orcs-a breed smaller and more wiry than the rest of her race-that rose to prominence in his eyes, after killing Yelkmor the Dark Wolf with cunning and knowledge, instead of strength. The Great Father saw how useful her skills could be, and offered her a spot in his court. Neegas spies and assassins played a large, unseen role in the wars that followed, slaying leaders, gathering vital information and using cunning tactics to split the strength of the enemies of the Orcs strength, and turn it against them. After the murder of Okus, Neega and her followers were hunted by Okus's followers, who were convinced she was guilty. Neega was able to avoid a messy war by pulling the greatest trick of all-disappearing into thin air, right before the massed forces of both sides. Neega was never seen again.
Neega and Okus both served and loved the The Great Father equally, but perhaps because of this very reason, they despised each other from the first meeting. Okus often accused Neega of treachery and cowardice, and Neega accused Okus of unneeded cruelty and stupidity-the fact that their combined powers often were the key to many victories, the followers of both of them to this day only grudgingly admit.
Among the Orcish Pantheon, she is well and truly neutral, but was willing to go far above and beyond what is considered right and wrong to defeat the enemies of the Orcs-yet she despises needless cruelty and waste of life, Orc or Non-Orc, and shares similar opinions to The Great Father in regards to diplomacy instead of fighting. Being too obvious in your dealings with life, hesitating when acting, being needlessly violent, and failing to maintain the Orders secrets will make her unhappy. Unlike the other Gods, she won't bother to curse a follower, preferring to merely vanish from their lives, taking all the memories of what they learned with her, leaving them in a void that will never truly be filled again. She has no love for her brother Okus, but understands why he is the way he is, loves her father, despises her mother for turning against the family, and claims to also understand Ghloo, and her pity outweighs her hate.
Followers of Neega tend to be thieves, spies and assassins, or crafty Hunters and wise mages-anyone who does not follow Okus's 'might make right' policy may find shelter under her dusky cloak. They are mostly loyal to the Orcish race as a fact, but some are mercenaries, who will turn their blades against anyone. The followers of Neega have denied all allegations of taking part in Okus's murder, but have not been able-or willing-to show any evidence to counter the accusations. This only truly proves guilt in the eyes of Okus's followers, of course. Strangely, Neega does not always wait for followers to find her-she finds them. A true master thief or spy may hear her in a dream or a vision, and as long as they keep the secret, they may gain favor with her. If they ever admit it to anyone, though-they will be lost to her forever. The Order of Neega is usually invitation only though-they guard a massive collection of secret lore and knowledge hidden across the land, to be released to the world when the Great Father deems it time.
Her acolytes wield the twin swords as her chosen weapons-the long blade for striking, and the short blade for defending, or striking from ambush. She gifts followers with divine blades that hide with their wielder, and make no noise when swung along with trinkets and cloaks that allow one to hide either completely or in plain sight. She has kinship with the Orcish Shadow spirits, and calls them to aid her followers by allowing them to remaining unseen, or distract foes. She also gifts her followers with secret knowledge of many things-lore, herbology, creature myth, crafting-and gives the ability to make people see truth where there is only lies. Her heritage has all but been conveniently forgotten by modern Orcs.
If the Great Father is the heart of Powerful and stable village, the Great Mother is the storm that blows the walls down. Originally a follower of The Great Father, she became his wife after an proving her mastery of Shaman magic to him, and calming the spirits of nature who often attacked the Orcs for their wasteful and destructive ways. Their relationship was tumultuous-like the powers she wielded, The Great Mother was wild and unpredictable. The Great Father dreaded to take her with him, for her powers often devestated his own forces as much as the enemy-yet if he left her to rule the Clansteads, they would descend into chaos and tyranny, siding with animals and plants over her own people. Eventually, and with a great deal of remorse, he told her to go back to the Wilds where she had came from, and she agreed-vowing that with his choice, the natural world was forever unbalanced. She was rumored to have turned her physical form into a beast, before her spirit ascended to Godhood.
The Great Mother had a good many followers-Wild Shamans, Druids and Feral Warriors, who followed her into exile. They began a process of uprooting and driving nature itself strike back against those who had harmed it, growing deadly strains of plants, and breeding more powerful monsters. They vex the modern world and all its races to this day.
Some claim the Great Mother is the exact opposite of what she claims to be-instead of a defender of nature, she is a destroyer, perverting what was once balance to her own selfish ends. Her followers merely state that whatever damage they do is nothing compared to what has already been done.
Among the Orcish Pantheon, she is chaotic to the extreme. The Great Mother wishes to bring balance back to the World, and does not care how much the World is unbalanced while she attempts to achieve this. She despises the rest of the pantheon, especially The Great Father who she believes betrayed her love for power. She accepts only the races more inclined to Nature-such as Elves, for the few of them that are insane enough to actually worship her.
Followers of the Great Mother are not all nearly as insane. All of them revere nature, though-some are avengers, lashing out against anyone who opposes their admittedly vague demands, while others are voices of reason, trying to find an easy balance between the natural world and technological advancement. Almost all Orcish farmers and hunters pay homage to her out of respect or fear.
Her acolytes often wield the a quarterstaff as her chosen weapon-made of poisoned thorns, of course. She gifts followers with natural weapons-blunt weaponry used for bashing, grown in her Celestial forest rather than carved is common, but she also enjoys spontaneously augmenting and cursing her followers with tough hides, coarse fur, wings, large claws, sharp teeth and large muscles. Her favored fighter are called "Feral Warriors" who combine combat skill with a totem animals strength, such as a bear, hawk, wolf or shark.
But, to become a true devotee to the Great Mother is to risk losing your free will, dropping to all fours, and becoming a beast entirely. Ironically, she has little use for followers who have made the final transformation, and they typically forced to defend her temples as mindless animals, or made into obedient pets for other worshippers. The Great Mother can aid her followers through nearly any way if they connected to nature-sating hunger and thirst by locating food and water, restoring your health, identifying plants, altering the moods of wild animals..but like nature, her mood is unpredictable, and you might not always get what you prayed for, especially if it would upset the natural balance too far, though shes amazingly forgiving if it smites those she views as enemies.
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Topic: Explorers of Remembrance OOC Thread (Lets build some NPCs!) (Read 7466 times)