An evil orc with two swords, on a camel. Had this vision of him against the sunset of Cormyr after stealing a gem from a Yuan-ti temple.
Know, oh prince, that in an age undreamed of there was a reaver, a conquerer, a king. Blooded from the temples of the Snake-men, he returned to his people bearing the ancient Eye of Gruumsh. With the Eye, he sought to unite the orc of the mountains ringing the great desert and turn that mighty horde south to subjugate the plains of the goblin and then shatter the kingdom of the manlings in the name of the One-Eye.
Inspired on Nur al Din who came to mind when the OP noted the riding action of the orc figure. In the 12th century Nur al Din the Saint King drove trought the blasted desert using several horses to reach a (potentially rival) general of the muslims to stop the second large crusader invasion. His arrival managed to bolster the local populace into a workable army fit to support Nur al Din in the south sevral days later. Nur al Din was known to be a large and pious warrior who preferred the company of priests over his fellow soldiers. Perhaps this time when orcs declare a Great Horde they gather around a pious and less harsh leader, and manage to show divinely inspired tactics thanks to this new leader.
-That makes me wonder, though, is there such a relic out there? It does sound familiar? If so, it sounds like something to be included in Elves of Faerûn. A powerful Orcish relic, the Eye of Gruumsh, protected for millenniums by the Olin Gisae.
-That gem is definitely going to be the 'Eye of Gruumsh', a relic sacred to the Orcs. As to why he had a camel...He stole it?
-That makes me wonder, though, is there such a relic out there? It does sound familiar? If so, it sounds like something to be included in Elves of Faerûn. A powerful Orcish relic, the Eye of Gruumsh, protected for millenniums by the Olin Gisae.
Got this idea halfway from an old King Kull comic I read when I was about 8; the orc stole it from the eye of a serpent statue, with it's mouth as an entrance to a temple. He needs the other eye to reforge the Eye of Gruumsh.
He needs the other eye to reforge the Eye of Gruumsh.
The other eye? You mean one of his own or the eye of an elven king? (Sacrifice or revenge should empower such an artifact, nothing less will do.)
-When reunited with it's missing 'brother', what happens?
Carnage, mass carnage.
Seriously though, I would say that it's an artifact you wouldn't want in a campaign world. Have it give some pretty hefty bonuses against elves (+2 to +5), barbarian rage for any orc within a mile or so (at the bearer's command), +1 die of damage from fire effects within a mile of the Eye, and just to make things interesting, the bearer should slowly turn into incarnation of Gruumsh himself as his horde sweeps across elven kingdoms.
The Eye of Gruumsh? I seen it once. Big thing, looks like a ruby 'bout the size o' yer fist, but it's got a big black spot on one side of it, like a big eyeball. Drives them orcs mad when they come near it, I heard a priest call it the "Eye of Burning Rage", he said it's the actual eye of Gruumsh himself, gouged out by some high muckity-muck elf god back before the beginning of time.
All I know is that it whips them into a right nasty frenzy, it does. Makes 'em all manner of eager to sack and burn, even more than they normally is. When the orc warlord that carries the accursed thing finally drops in battle the bloody one-eyed priests grab the thing and haul it back into orc lands 'til they get some other halfwit strong, brave or stupid enough to lead a horde into elflands carrying it.
You've got some good ideas there, Goblin Pride.
Don't go spreading that around, you'll give me a reputation.
Carnage, mass carnage.
-Well, that goes without saying. :P
-Maybe it can be an artifact akin to the Eye of Vecna, Khae? You know, the Orc pokes his own eye(s) out, and inserts the Eye of Gruumsh?
You've got some good ideas there, Goblin Pride.
-Who would have thought there would be a Goblin that did? Not I...
-Maybe it can be an artifact akin to the Eye of Vecna, Khae? You know, the Orc pokes his own eye(s) out, and inserts the Eye of Gruumsh?
It stands to reason an artifact as powerful as the Gruumsh's own eye would demand the sacrifice of the bearer's own eye.
I have to tell you, this is an excellent creative exercise. I'm beginning to lay out the plans for an alternative FR campaign in which the eye of Gruumsh appears. I can already see the cities of the north in ruin and the people of Cormyr cowering behind their walls as they scan the horizon looking for the campfires of orcish armies.
It stands to reason an artifact as powerful as the Gruumsh's own eye would demand the sacrifice of the bearer's own eye.
-Not necessarily. Originally, I was envisioning it about the size of a basketball or so. Unless you are a giant, I don't think you can really cram that in your eye socket.
-Not necessarily. Originally, I was envisioning it about the size of a basketball or so. Unless you are a giant, I don't think you can really cram that in your eye socket.
I said it demanded a sacrifice, I didn't say you crammed it in the hole your eye came out of. Gouging out your own eye binds you to Gruumsh so that it's power is at your command. Should be a long drawn-out ceremony to bind yourself to it, lots of incense, lots of smoke, lots of fire and the ritual sacrifice of a couple elves just for good measure.
-Not necessarily. Originally, I was envisioning it about the size of a basketball or so. Unless you are a giant, I don't think you can really cram that in your eye socket.
Was thinking the size of a hand myself, so too big to jam into your own eyesocket. Was essentially thinking it could be used for scrying, commanding people through the crystal ball, and obviously a giant laser beam. Also, it's intelligent. Perhaps an imprisoned Sarrukh soul or something. Still, the orcs believe it to be Gruumsh's eye, so all orcs flock to him anyway. Nothing like spying on Alustriel and hammering her with a giant laser from one of Toril's moons.
Still remember getting my paws on the Mollars of Vecna in an old campaign.
EDIT: Palantír!
Know, oh prince, that in an age undreamed of there was a reaver, a conquerer, a king. Blooded from the temples of the Snake-men, he returned to his people bearing the ancient Eye of Gruumsh. With the Eye, he sought to unite the orc of the mountains ringing the great desert and turn that mighty horde south to subjugate the plains of the goblin and then shatter the kingdom of the manlings in the name of the One-Eye.
This.
Seriously, that just gave me an evilgasm.
Seriously, that just gave me an evilgasm.
I was aiming for a multiple Evilgasm, read on.
I didn't even get around to Gruumsh's Brand or Baghtru's Touch. This has all been about the Eye.
The level of intelligence required to avoid becoming a statistic in a society where brute force is the rule of law means being able to manipulate those who have said force. Look at Homer's Illiad for inspiration. Ajax was unbelievably strong and it didn't help him. Achilles had only the one weakness and it killed him. Yet little Ulysses (Odysseus), smaller, weaker and most assuredly mortal managed to break the defenses of Troy and return home when others that were beyond mortal didn't.
Now, if we take the example of Ulysses and apply it to an orc leader, suddenly we have one leader in a warband that thinks well above what his enemies would expect.
We could've held out for months behind the walls. We had supplies to last until the middle of the next year. We figured the orcs would give up the siege when the first snows came, but no, that's when we saw the dreaded standard of Grimtooth.
Nobody's really sure when Grimtooth came to power. Only the old men could remember a time before Grimtooth ruled his kingdom. It was said, quietly, mind you, that he could break any army that moved into his valley. His standard alone sent a chill down the spine of our defenders.
Chills would come aplenty before it was over. The orcs had harried us night and day with attempts to come over the walls, but when Grimtooth arrived they stopped. Not that it meant we could rest, the drums of the orcs throbbed night and day. We watched as they built sheds for tunnelling. For every arrow we fired out at the miners, a dozen fire arrows were returned. Every fire meant another man left to freeze in the cold winter wind. After a week, we stopped firing.
We watched in fascination at first as the orcs heaped the earth from their mining. When they began shoring up the mounds and building earth and timber walls, our leaders began to talk openly of surrender or escape. They had hundreds of miners, more than I had ever seen. How deep did their tunnels go? It couldn't have been more than three weeks before the orcs had a twenty foot pallisade around our city and that was when the western wall gave way. Before the day was through, our city would stand naked, it's walls stripped away and nothing but rubble strewn where they had been, yet they didn't attack.
At dawn the next day, Grimtooth stood atop his walls and called for treaty. The Orcs stood their ground with our city at their mercy. He demanded nothing less than unconditional surrender. The men, all but four, would be either killed or sold into slavery, along with the women and children, but the city was no more.
We drew lots to decide the fated four and I was among them. Grimtooth was quite genial, considering our plight. He said that we were to carry his promise to the kingdoms of the world. If any sought his lands he would come to their cities as well. He had us armed so that his messengers could defend themselves. He fed us well so that we would not start our journey hungry. He warned us further that we were not to sleep more than a night in any city or he would come for us.
I thank you for your hospitality. You have heard my tale and the dread warning in it. In the morning I will make my way further towards the west, there are more kingdoms to warn....
I just had a bizzare dream after reading some Lovecraft while I had a fever.
A recipe for disaster my friend
-Any chance you remember some of it, and run a Cthulu game? Maybe something Ravenloft?
Actually took a look at Cthulu, it any good? Using the Ravenloft insanity rules atm.
-Don't know. I just know that the game exists. Nothing else.
Bel