Eye of Gruumsh [Archive] - Wizards Community

Eye of Gruumsh [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Bicko
04-06-08, 07:51 PM I'm currently planning a new D&D Campaign with some friends in the Forgotten Realms setting. Talking with 1 of my friends, he seems set on starting as a Half-Orc Barbarian and progressing to an Eye of Gruumsh.

This is totally fine by me, but I can't seem to find any material on the actual ritual performed to become the EoG. From what the books says, I've come up with an idea of sacrificing an Elven follower of Corellon at midnight of a full moon (deity's most hated enemy being killed on the holy day) there being a few Fortitude saves (to stop from screaming out in pain) and some kind of specialist sacrificial weapon.

So to reiterate, is there any canon source information on the Eye of Gruumsh Ritual that I've managed to completely miss?
Divisionbyzer0
04-09-08, 09:27 PM I'm currently planning a new D&D Campaign with some friends in the Forgotten Realms setting. Talking with 1 of my friends, he seems set on starting as a Half-Orc Barbarian and progressing to an Eye of Gruumsh.

This is totally fine by me, but I can't seem to find any material on the actual ritual performed to become the EoG. From what the books says, I've come up with an idea of sacrificing an Elven follower of Corellon at midnight of a full moon (deity's most hated enemy being killed on the holy day) there being a few Fortitude saves (to stop from screaming out in pain) and some kind of specialist sacrificial weapon.

So to reiterate, is there any canon source information on the Eye of Gruumsh Ritual that I've managed to completely miss?
I think you just have to make something up. It has to involve the orc cutting out his or her own eye, and making no noise in the process.

Might find some stuff here: http://www.orcs.ca/

Or ask the folks in the races of the horde threads.
Bicko
04-10-08, 08:13 PM Well I had a poke around in my BoVD and after checking about in the Sacrifice section and cross-checking it against both the updated Eye of Gruumsh in Complete Warrior and the listing for Gruumsh in Deities and Demigods I figured I'd just use this:

Sacrifice (Knowledge: Religion DC25). Using the BoVD I've made up some extra things to create bonuses to the scarifice DC like:
Sacrifice is Elven (+1 DC)
Sacrifice is a follower of Corellon (+2 DC)
Sacrifice is a Cleric (+2 DC)
Sacrificed with a Spear (Gruumsh's Favoured Weapon) (+1 DC)

I think that under the right conditions (i.e. my player is smart about it) then he can get a massive +14 bonus to the roll of the sacrifice.

Just to check, does having a Giant Rat (Gruumsh's sacred animal, according to Wikipedia) present count as the "Conducted in the presence of a creature important to the deity" bonus?

After the sacrifice, it'll be a Fortitude and Will save (DC15 each) against making a noise and voiding the ceremony while jabbing his right eye out. Just wondering if I should do a Will save, I mean I guess it takes willpower to not shout out while jabbing your eye out but Fortitude is representative of taking physical punishment.

I was wondering if a Concentration check (DC10+1d6 damage) was worth throwing in or swapping for something in there?
1 ton ghost
04-16-08, 01:30 PM The point of order involving sacrifice is rather progressive and thought out. I like to employ it, particularly when their is a PC cleric trying to give it his/her all. Not just for evil folks either.

Nj, though I kind of look the other way when a PC is elligible for a PrC. If it's a low amount of players at the table, yeah, I'll push that dramatic element and put them through the motions, but I have to be careful not to eat up the clock at the expense of the other players. Still, the concept therein is compelling to say the least.

Having to pluck out one's eye silently would very hard. Technically, it would probably fall under Concentration, though a healthy nod to a Fort Save would be understandable too.

Makes me think of seppuku. You gut yourself w/ a short blade from your daisho and traditionally your best friend/companion/etc beheads you w/ your katana to spare you the embarrassment of crying out during evisceration. It's supposed to be a major honor if not a courtesy. Killing one w/ kindness...;) Perhaps in that capacity a shaman of Gruumsh could assist you. Quite literally in game terms too (Assist a Skill), dope you up for the pain, whatever. It's not like they don't want you to succeed. They can use another holy warrior in their arsenal, you know?

Oh, and if you're keen on the Sacrifice, there's a ceremonial dagger that ups the KnowReligion check by 3 (BoVD) I believe.
ciaran
04-20-08, 02:37 PM He certainly needs the assistance of his friendly local Gruumshian holy man to help if the checks are going to be easy.

Option 1) He performs the ceremy himself. Maybe the other PCs hold him down and help. He would have to invest in his own ranks of Knowledge Religion and hope the checks and saves are successful.

Option 2) Aspect of Gruumsh visits (in dreamland or not) and some kind of ceremonial one-on-one battle is waged while the party sleeps. While the orc knows he can never win, he must bare all his god-derived savagery forth before the eye :D of his god. If the god is impressed with his follower's stand in the face of cerain defeat that as a reward he puts out his eye - during combat. It may take X many days to once again achieve full combat capability.

Option 3) Cleric of Gruumsh demands thats some (large or small) quest be completed before the ritual is performed. Some easy saves, with the help of rage but not magic, are required.
Bicko
04-21-08, 08:20 AM I've thought about getting the assistance of an EoG cleric but they're hardly the most social bunch of fellows.
1 ton ghost
04-22-08, 10:50 AM Too true. Typically, orc holy men/women are adepts in the sense that, like most primitive cultures, they are "shamans". Shamans, apart from the official class (for PCs and the like), tend to fall into that niche class to represent a smattering of magical apptitude. That is to say, they don't have well funded magic schools/churches/shrines/hermitages/monastaries, etc.

They make do in that respect. Every once in a while, you'll see a full blown cleric, but they are terribly rare.
Bicko
04-22-08, 07:13 PM I would expect the only NPC Gruumsh clerics you could find 'in the wild' would be parts of orc camps, or the types that ocassionally head off to a cave off in the middle of nowhere to perform some rituals or such.

The only 'social' ones you'd find are Half-Orcs, and they tend to be wanderers, even more so with Gruumsh.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Bicko 04-06-08, 07:51 PM	I'm currently planning a new D&D Campaign with some friends in the Forgotten Realms setting. Talking with 1 of my friends, he seems set on starting as a Half-Orc Barbarian and progressing to an Eye of Gruumsh. This is totally fine by me, but I can't seem to find any material on the actual ritual performed to become the EoG. From what the books says, I've come up with an idea of sacrificing an Elven follower of Corellon at midnight of a full moon (deity's most hated enemy being killed on the holy day) there being a few Fortitude saves (to stop from screaming out in pain) and some kind of specialist sacrificial weapon. So to reiterate, is there any canon source information on the Eye of Gruumsh Ritual that I've managed to completely miss?
Divisionbyzer0 04-09-08, 09:27 PM	I'm currently planning a new D&D Campaign with some friends in the Forgotten Realms setting. Talking with 1 of my friends, he seems set on starting as a Half-Orc Barbarian and progressing to an Eye of Gruumsh. This is totally fine by me, but I can't seem to find any material on the actual ritual performed to become the EoG. From what the books says, I've come up with an idea of sacrificing an Elven follower of Corellon at midnight of a full moon (deity's most hated enemy being killed on the holy day) there being a few Fortitude saves (to stop from screaming out in pain) and some kind of specialist sacrificial weapon. So to reiterate, is there any canon source information on the Eye of Gruumsh Ritual that I've managed to completely miss? I think you just have to make something up. It has to involve the orc cutting out his or her own eye, and making no noise in the process. Might find some stuff here: http://www.orcs.ca/ Or ask the folks in the races of the horde threads.
Bicko 04-10-08, 08:13 PM	Well I had a poke around in my BoVD and after checking about in the Sacrifice section and cross-checking it against both the updated Eye of Gruumsh in Complete Warrior and the listing for Gruumsh in Deities and Demigods I figured I'd just use this: Sacrifice (Knowledge: Religion DC25). Using the BoVD I've made up some extra things to create bonuses to the scarifice DC like: Sacrifice is Elven (+1 DC) Sacrifice is a follower of Corellon (+2 DC) Sacrifice is a Cleric (+2 DC) Sacrificed with a Spear (Gruumsh's Favoured Weapon) (+1 DC) I think that under the right conditions (i.e. my player is smart about it) then he can get a massive +14 bonus to the roll of the sacrifice. Just to check, does having a Giant Rat (Gruumsh's sacred animal, according to Wikipedia) present count as the "Conducted in the presence of a creature important to the deity" bonus? After the sacrifice, it'll be a Fortitude and Will save (DC15 each) against making a noise and voiding the ceremony while jabbing his right eye out. Just wondering if I should do a Will save, I mean I guess it takes willpower to not shout out while jabbing your eye out but Fortitude is representative of taking physical punishment. I was wondering if a Concentration check (DC10+1d6 damage) was worth throwing in or swapping for something in there?
1 ton ghost 04-16-08, 01:30 PM	The point of order involving sacrifice is rather progressive and thought out. I like to employ it, particularly when their is a PC cleric trying to give it his/her all. Not just for evil folks either. Nj, though I kind of look the other way when a PC is elligible for a PrC. If it's a low amount of players at the table, yeah, I'll push that dramatic element and put them through the motions, but I have to be careful not to eat up the clock at the expense of the other players. Still, the concept therein is compelling to say the least. Having to pluck out one's eye silently would very hard. Technically, it would probably fall under Concentration, though a healthy nod to a Fort Save would be understandable too. Makes me think of seppuku. You gut yourself w/ a short blade from your daisho and traditionally your best friend/companion/etc beheads you w/ your katana to spare you the embarrassment of crying out during evisceration. It's supposed to be a major honor if not a courtesy. Killing one w/ kindness...;) Perhaps in that capacity a shaman of Gruumsh could assist you. Quite literally in game terms too (Assist a Skill), dope you up for the pain, whatever. It's not like they don't want you to succeed. They can use another holy warrior in their arsenal, you know? Oh, and if you're keen on the Sacrifice, there's a ceremonial dagger that ups the KnowReligion check by 3 (BoVD) I believe.
ciaran 04-20-08, 02:37 PM	He certainly needs the assistance of his friendly local Gruumshian holy man to help if the checks are going to be easy. Option 1) He performs the ceremy himself. Maybe the other PCs hold him down and help. He would have to invest in his own ranks of Knowledge Religion and hope the checks and saves are successful. Option 2) Aspect of Gruumsh visits (in dreamland or not) and some kind of ceremonial one-on-one battle is waged while the party sleeps. While the orc knows he can never win, he must bare all his god-derived savagery forth before the eye :D of his god. If the god is impressed with his follower's stand in the face of cerain defeat that as a reward he puts out his eye - during combat. It may take X many days to once again achieve full combat capability. Option 3) Cleric of Gruumsh demands thats some (large or small) quest be completed before the ritual is performed. Some easy saves, with the help of rage but not magic, are required.
Bicko 04-21-08, 08:20 AM	I've thought about getting the assistance of an EoG cleric but they're hardly the most social bunch of fellows.
1 ton ghost 04-22-08, 10:50 AM	Too true. Typically, orc holy men/women are adepts in the sense that, like most primitive cultures, they are "shamans". Shamans, apart from the official class (for PCs and the like), tend to fall into that niche class to represent a smattering of magical apptitude. That is to say, they don't have well funded magic schools/churches/shrines/hermitages/monastaries, etc. They make do in that respect. Every once in a while, you'll see a full blown cleric, but they are terribly rare.
Bicko 04-22-08, 07:13 PM	I would expect the only NPC Gruumsh clerics you could find 'in the wild' would be parts of orc camps, or the types that ocassionally head off to a cave off in the middle of nowhere to perform some rituals or such. The only 'social' ones you'd find are Half-Orcs, and they tend to be wanderers, even more so with Gruumsh.