The adventure suggests that he used it when he was still a balor, and allowed his greatest servant to use it temporarily. Skeletal arms claw up from the ground where he walks and grab at the feet of his foes. It only looks forward. This shape in turn takes on a rocky countenance (signifying his first death), which then becomes the shadowy Tenebrous. Ilithkar was ultimately overthrown by his cousin Rheligaun "the Horned," a half-fiendish son of Fraz-Urb'luu. 3000 years ago, Orcus and his brothers started a war on the world they wished to conquer. Orcus - WikiMili, The Free Encyclopedia - WikiMili, The Free "Demons, Devils, and Spirits. [9]:52–53 Skeletal Mountain fills most of the valley, "a huge mountain made entirely of bones, stretching upward nearly 4,000 feet", and is said to contain the remains of all skeletons ever destroyed on the Prime Material Plane; this mountain is also alive and can form part of itself into strange skeletal shapes to attack intruders. He served this position faithfully, becoming a symbol of the Praetorus Magics. [61], Advanced Dungeons and Dragons 1st Edition (1977-1988), Advanced Dungeons and Dragons 2nd Edition (1989-1999), Dungeons and Dragons 3.0 Edition (2000-2002), Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 Edition (2003-2007). A cabal of greater deities, in response to Tenebrous's predations, has since weakened the Last Word considerably. The adventure's prologue on pages 12–13 tells the story of the murder of Primus from Primus's own point of view, and the epilogue on pages 124-125 tells the story of the entity ending his impersonation of Primus to move on to the next phase of his plans, revealing some of his motivations and doubts. His black, skull-tipped rod serves as his symbol. Tools to run your online business with ease…, My stomach fat is like a macaroni salad of emotions.Â, Review of Isis Oracle Cards by Alana Fairchild, Reading / Session Policies Terms & Conditions & Waiver. [15]:102–103 The appendix noted that Tomeri was the goddess of wisdom and love, and that the bulk of her human worshippers were on the Prime Material Plane, where her death was felt most heavily. Sernett, Matthew, Dave Noonan, Ari Marmell, and Robert J. Schwalb. Masculine is to feminine and Pluto is to Orcus. [29]:15 She speaks with the characters, giving them whatever useful information she can provide. They ruled for another thousand years, until a Valg Queen appeared: Maeve. They administer to Orcus's numerous pacts and agreements with mortals. The book explains the fate of Orcus/Tenerbous as such: "It is unknown, even to Kiaransalee, whether the Prince of the Undead has successfully transformed himself into an undead god, has been destroyed forever, or simply waits for another opportunity to return to (un)life." Orcus is the Prince of the Undead, and it is said that he alone created the first undead that walked the worlds. If successful, this will impress Orcus enough for him to promise that his legions will attack Demogorgon, claiming that "I will be there to win your battle for you! HORCUS (Horkos), the personification of an oath, is described by Hesiod as the son of Eris, and the avenger of perjury. Collins, Andy and Bruce R Cordell. His thick, spiny tail is in constant motion." A symbol for Orcus's moon Vanth can be seen at my page of moon symbols. Bennie, Scott. Sadachbia of Aquarius is the "lucky star of hidden things." Orcus is in many ways a contradictory figure. The process of creating a Deadgate is lost to mortals, although a Deadgate can be constructed in over a year's time with the aid of a powerful being from the lower plans who retains this knowledge. [22] Tenebrous, the Shadow that Was appears as a vestige on page 48 of the Tome of Magic: Pact, Shadow, and Truename Magic (2006), by Matthew Sernett, Dave Noonan, Ari Marmell, and Robert J. Obox-ob was the first demon lord to hold the title of "Prince of Demons", a coveted status symbol, followed by Miska the Wolf-Spider, and then Demogorgon. [24]:74, In the adventure "Enemies of My Enemy" in Dungeon #149, part of the goal for the player characters is to recruit the help of Orcus, who is described as "the demon lord most likely to respond quickly to requests to organize an offensive against Demogorgon and can be counted upon to rally his armies in weeks or a month, rather than the usual years it takes most demonic plots to get underway". [17] Orcus appears personally to retrieve the Scythe of Orcus if the player characters defeat Eldrua, first using the weapon to kill Eldrua if she still lives.[17]. He planned to join the Occult Rangers but was later pushed into the Council Grandeur, becoming the representative of the Emorphian people. He sought the Wand of Orcus, which Kiaransalee had hidden, so he killed Primus and took his place, as detailed in the adventure anthology The Great Modron March. [2] Although the book states that there are several such demon Princes, only Orcus and Demogorgon are detailed, "two of the greatest of these exceptional demon lords". Although the gods sent a host of angels to slay him, Orcus killed every last one of them.[28]:223. Orcus is the Demon Prince of the Undead. An aspect of Orcus attacks the Raven Queen's aspect, but she is able to harm him and tells the characters telepathically as she departs to seek the Reliquary of Timesus. [24] The book states that Orcus returned to Thanatos only in the last few years, and set about removing the influence of Kiaransalee and her worshippers, destroying or conscripting the demons who swore fealty to her; a few mortal and intelligent undead followers of Kiaransalee remain in hiding to plot revenge against Orcus. [28]:206, Fiendish Codex I describes the Final Hills, which separate Oblivion's End from the rest of Thanatos. [24]:130–131, Fiendish Codex I details Naratyr, noting that the "aristocracy of intelligent undead" that wished to ingratiate themselves to Kiaransalee either fled Naratyr or betrayed one another to prove their loyalty to Orcus upon his return. Orcus’s energy expresses it self as true unconditional love energy that knows itself to be unconditional energy, and there for has strict boundaries. A great lord of the infinite pit, once brought low, shall find his way here, having pulled himself from death's cold embrace. It describes him as a "foul and corpulent humanoid creature who has powerful goat legs and a desiccated head similar to that of a ram. [33], The Throne of Bloodstone describes the vast Abyssian fortress of Orcus, a citadel which represents the focal point of his power. [28]:52 Long ago, the gods tried to slay Orcus while he was traveling outside the Abyss. [25]:52 He wants to assault Demogorgon, but worries that this is an elaborate trap, so one of the characters must defeat one or more of his champions in arena combat. [9]:40 Graz'zt offers to assign the characters several Type VI demons as soldiers if the characters explain their crusade against Orcus, and will also send his army into the layer of Orcus after the characters successfully capture his wand. [29]:3 A marut concordant servant of the Raven Queen appears to the player characters, requesting them to come to Zvomarana, high temple of the Raven Queen. [17] Orcus is featured as one of the demon lords appearing in the Book of Vile Darkness (2002) by Monte Cook, with full third edition game statistics on pages 136-138, descriptions of his activities and followers on 138-140, the thrall of Orcus prestige class on 71-72, and third edition game statistics for the Wand of Orcus on 122. These symbols typically incorporate skulls and bones, ram’s horns, or blasphemous runes. The city's gates are open, with a long empty street which passes dark houses in this silent city. After this his soul manifested upon the Abyss as a larva, then a mane, centuries later evolving into a rutterkin, next becoming a nalfeshnee who "sat upon the 400th layer's Court of Woe during the era of the githyanki revolt against the illithid empire", and he eventually conquered the 113th layer of the Abyss and became a demon lord. Pluto is the volcano that has the scientist scratching their heads wondering “how did that happen?” and Orcus is that energy that is like those plants and mosses and bugs that show up to live on the barren plane of lava after the volcano explodes, that also have the scientists scratching their heads “wondering how that happened also.” But unconditional love is sometimes like that, on both sides. And healing that which from a previous point of view before the death met by Pluto, seemed to never be able to happen. If the Wand of Orcus is removed from its socket, Orcus will sense the disruption and return to his throne room. If the sphere is destroyed, the stone cracks and falls away to reveal the Eye of Vecna. Taking revenge of some past slight by Orcus, she "slew him through treachery and surprise, quickly usurping his realm and position", decreeing that his name never be spoken or written. [46]:3–6 Also, the high priest Banak is revealed to still be alive and operating with the Citadel of Assassins.[46]:45. Eldritch Wizardry also revealed that demons had lords, even as it introduced two of them: Demogorgon and his eternal foe Orcus.Orcus appeared in that book in the … These aspects of yourself express themselves as separate in your personality and as aspects outside of yourself until you cross the door of complete death rendered from Pluto and trust as you walk thru the void to come out the other side and really feel the other side of unconditional love energy, which is Orcus, — this is when you turn into the phoenix and rise from the ashes. [15]:124, In an interlude in the adventure Dead Gods, where Tenebrous states that he had taken on some of the traits of his enemies, specifically naming "Sweet Tomeri, goddess of wisdom and love". 231, Op.209 ; Herod. His arms are human, but "Vast bat wings sprout from his back, and his long, snaky tail is tipped with a poisonous head". Orcus also wielde… Orcus was now "a thin, small, shadowy creature", and renamed himself Tenebrous. Skull King Quah-Nomag rules Lash Embrar. This sequence is explained as the god's memories of his past beginning with his mortal life, then as a larva, working his way up through the ranks of the tanar'ri, becoming an Abyssal lord, and then as Tenebrous. In 2010, Wizards of the Coast also released a full sized gargantuan figure of Orcus as part of their Icons line. Moldvay, Tom. [9] The Lake of Fire is "a long, narrow lake filled with boiling lava", where magmen and lava mephits in the lake use illusions to appear human to fool the characters into rescuing them. [15] Later in the adventure, if the characters are confronted by Tenebrous looking to kill them, they can break the Orcusword to distract him and escape. 86. That lord's name is never spoken now, as Kiaransalee has decreed that it must be struck from each monument, slave band, and scroll. The device consists of a matrix of stone and/or metal, and can be up to 200 feet high. The Wand of Orcus is a fictional magical weapon described in various Dungeons & Dragons media. He was apparently a wicked spellcaster of some sort, most probably a priest to some dark deity. [16]:102, The Book of Vile Darkness states that Orcus resents Demogorgon and Graz'zt for their power and covets their realms. This began the Darakh dynasty, which continued with other half-fiend sons of Orcus, including Heldakar, Yannos "the Slayer", Garthelaun "the Goreclaw", and Ilithkar. In adventure E1 Death's Reach (2009) by Bruce R. Cordell and Chris Sims, Orcus uses his cult to plot the downfall of the Raven Queen, building an army to assault her realm and freeing a powerful primordial creature named Timesus who has been trapped since ancient times. [8] In the next module the adventurers must defeat the Witch-King in his own castle, and the series then ends in a final confrontation with Orcus in H4 The Throne of Bloodstone (1988). The absolute magnitude of Vanth is estimated to be 4.88, which means that it is about 11 times fainter than Orcus itself. Thanatos is described as "a frozen necropolis", and "a cold plane of ice, thin air, and a black, moonlit sky, a place that belongs as much to the undead as to the tanar'ri." [10], The second edition boxed set Planes of Chaos (1994) by Lester Smith and Wolfgang Baur for the Planescape setting describes on pages 29–31 in "The Book of Chaos" the realm known as Thanatos, the Belly of Death, particularly the town of Naratyr, although Kiaransalee is described as the ruling power of the realm. [4]:16 The first edition Monster Manual II reveals that the demon lord Graz'zt is a dedicated foe of both Demogorgon and Orcus. This fortress is located on the periphery of "civilized Thanatos", in the center of a sprawling desert of bonemeal known as Oblivion's End. [18]:138 Fiendish Codex I' states that his relentless assaults inexorably penetrate deeper and deeper into Graz'zt territory, and that the holdings of Graz'zt dwarf those of Orcus in size. Crypts built into the craggy hills contain creatures such as spectres and mummies, and a remote crag conceals the entrance to the Valley of the Crypt Things, a maze which eventually connects to the realm of Baphomet. [15] If the player characters defeat Tenebrous, Tcian Sumere disappears, along with the portal to it on the world of Ranais. His symbol is a mace with a human skull as the head. It then bloats and takes the shape of a manes, then a bar-lgura. "[28], The fourth edition Manual of the Planes (2008) by Richard Baker, John Rogers, Robert J. Schwalb, and James Wyatt also describes Thanatos on pages 82–83. Saturn is the symbol of blame, criticism, endings, restrictions and responsibilities. [9]:42, In "The Book of Chaos" in the Planes of Chaos boxed set, it is revealed that Kiaransalee "recently wrested" the plane of Thanatos "from the former Abyssal lord of the undead. [17], The article "Demogorgon's Champions: The Death Knights of Oerth, Part Two" by Gary Holian in Dragon #291 (January 2002) notes that the death knight Lord Andromansis of Garastet "spurned Demogorgon by striking a bargain with the demon prince's great rival, Orcus, quickly becoming obsessed with the intersection of magic and undeath.[49]. [1], Orcus was first presented in the Eldritch Wizardry supplement in 1976, by Gary Gygax and Brian Blume, for the original (white box) Dungeons & Dragons game. Orcus is a very old demon. The palace of Glyphimhor lies in the center of the city, sitting upon a low hill which gives it a view of the entire city and the fortress of Orcus. "[44], In The Throne of Bloodstone, his home layer is given as the 333rd layer of the Abyss. [17]:47–48 She was able to place even a dragon's head on the Deadgate. And as such, come out the other side, with your power not only internalized, but reunited. [9]:64, The first edition Monster Manual II described the realms of Orcus: "Orcus' manifold layers are populated with skeletal monsters, various sorts of zombies, huecuvae, shadows, sheet phantoms, vampires, and death knights. Garb: Black cowl and robe ensemble. The angel will try to give them an item called the moonstone sphere (which is secretly an aspect of the Eye of Vecna) to sway them to Vecna's service if they prove capable and discerning, and Calah will also direct them to where they can find the means to deal with the servants of Orcus. [28]:206 According to the fourth edition Manual of the Planes, Orcus wants to wrest control of the Shadowfell from the Raven Queen due to his interest in shadow and the plane of its origin, and believes that the key to her defeat lies in her true name. Naratyr, City of the Dead, was used as the site of Kiaransalee's winter palace, "a cold realm carved into the surface of a frozen ocean". It is not uncommon for Orcus to give relatively low-level priests command of vast numbers of undead to do his bidding. [24]:131, Everlost is described in Fiendish Codex I as "a massive fortress" and "a towering structure built from countless bones retrieved from the demon prince's Material Plane conquests". [3], In 1977, Orcus (Prince of the Undead), was included in the first Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual by Gary Gygax. It exists as a cluster of linked safe spherical areas within the plane, joined by magical passages which pull characters from one area to another. Next, the being mutates further, changing to become a floating chasme, then a vrock. I guess you could say that Orcus is kind of like a chicken. [6] In H2 The Mines of Bloodstone (1986), minions of Orcus are involved in a number of activities and plots, and the authors hint on page 7 that "Orcus has special reasons for being interested in Bloodstone Pass", promising that more will be revealed in module H3. It can sever the heads of opponents like a vorpal sword. [11]:29–30, Fiendish Codex I describes the City of Straight Curves as a frozen-over port city which clusters with docks and flat-bottomed river skiffs, which has taken on the character of a ghost town. This place has become a central focus of his cult, and mortal Skull Lords are expected to make a pilgrimage here upon first visiting Thanatos. I cannot talk about Orcus with out including her compliment, Pluto; because they are both aspects of the same energy. Orcus was also named as one of the greatest villains in D&D history by the final print issue of Dragon. In many Dungeons & Dragonsbooks, Orcus has typically been described as having the head and legs of a goat, although with ram-like horns, a bloated body, bat-like wings, and a long tail. The city is now the home of Galendure Citadel, a prominent stronghold for the Dustmen led by the wizard Sherenvess the Shrewd. [19], Game statistics for the aspect of Orcus appeared in the Miniatures Handbook (2003) on pages 53–54, which states that the aspect "wields a weaker version of Orcus's famous wand". [9]:58 Numerous flying guards are posted at various observation towers (which are designed to block much of the view), and these air patrols receive great bounties offered by Orcus for destroying flying intruders. [17] Orcus gives his derro worshipper Eldrua a vision of "a complex stone and metal lattice", impaled with hundreds of heads, with "the souls of these heads funneled down into the pit and directly into the realm of Orcus, where the Demon Prince gorged on them and grew horribly powerful", imparting on Eldrua the knowledge of how to construct this Deadgate. [23] Orcus was featured in Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss (2006) by Ed Stark, James Jacobs, and Erik Mona, with his 3.5 revision game statistics on pages 73–74, and a description of Thanatos on pages 127-132. The text of the adventure states that these creatures seek to dominate a layer of the Abyss because they believe themselves to be superior to demons, and are therefore willing to help the characters defeat Orcus. He created this place as a retreat in case things ever went terribly wrong. Skulls and bones, ram ’ s cultists gather in hidden places as though fearful power... 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