Ogharod the Conqueror

Ogharod the Conqueror is a deity of the Orcish Pantheon, with dominion over Punishment, Corruption, Oppression, and war against outsiders. As a primordial deity, the Conqueror is considered by many to be older than all the other orc gods, possibly including the Fire-keeper. While not widely worshipped by the mainstream Nation, ambitious warlords looking to unify the nation, or desperate warlords seeking an edge against invaders, occasionally turn to Ogharod. The Conqueror promises the faithful a share of his power and authority in exchange for their service in his own Horde in Hell after their demise, a bargain many a warlike orc has taken.

He is a Neutral Evil deity in spite of his place in Hell. His symbol is an orcish metaglyph for "war unending on the outsider". Divine spellcasters inspired by the Conqueror gain access to the Evil, Darkness, Death, and Strength domains. His sacred weapon is the Orc Ram. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Rams are his sacred animal.

History

By long tradition, Ogharod is a primordial deity cast out from Hell by the combined forces of the devils and dieties there, who none-the-less persists within that plane and continues a campaign of conquest there. Initially unconcerned with the Orcish Nation, he was invoked by many orcs during the incursions of Petreneans and Bastonians in the ancient past, and eventually became a common figure in their pantheon.

Relationships

Ogharod is an outcast within the pantheon, feared or reviled by all of its gods save for Buggug Angel-Slayer, who he mistrusts and suspects of plots of usurpation. He is also an outcast in hell, forced to fend for himself to maintain his holdings there against armies of devils sponsored by San Meteo or agents of The Enemy.

Appearance

Ogharod is an impressive sight, a giant with the legs of a fawn and the head of a ram, clad in heavy armour, who can sweep whole fields with his Orc Ram.

Realm

Celestial physics says that Ogharod should not have a realm in Hell, and yet Ogharod's Reach can be nothing other than his personal realm there. These battlefields, keeps, castles, and fortifications are the evidence of his campaigns and the campaigns of Hell's natives to drive him back where he belongs.

Providence

Ogharod is petitioned to break the spirits of his followers enemies, a boon he often grants. His devout can rely on his guidance - and demanded obedience to that guidance - in the form of visions or dreams.

Servants

Ogharod is served in his realm by conquered devil slaves, the souls of his departed followers, and the like.

Unique Servants

Trimetatron the Plague-Bringer

The herald of the Devourer is a large, green-hided Nabasu of incredible age and power, who has become rotund with age and power, and usually appears clad in half-plate, weilding a scythe. He is sent by Kodo to either support his followers or to cull his cults which have otherwise failed him in some way. On rare occasions, Trimetatron appears in Hell to conduct business on behalf of his master.

Church

Ogharod's followers obey customs similar to those of the Fire-Keeper, as Ogharod does not require absolute obedience, only military obedience. As a result, it is easy for an external observer to confuse the customs of one for the other, which has lead to much anti-Orc sentiment in the wider world. Ogharod's church is violent and capricious, creating customs such as the abandonment of unfit children and elderly people to the elements, trial by combat, punitive execution of those who fail in relatively mundane tasks, and so on.

A critical cultural shift is the attitude toward cities and migration. While orcs will move whole towns and even small cities every generation or two, Ogharod's followers do not, viewing this as a defeat by whatever element lead to the decision.

Worshippers

Warlords who want the might to organize the whole Nation into a great horde to fight their battles for them, and want a leg up in the proceedings, are often followers. As is the case with Kodo the Devourer, their influence usually spreads through the whole tribe, which necessarily must be purged of the followers of other orcish deities (or the church fail to take hold in the attempt).

Clergy

The priests and clergy of Ogharod the Conqueror are military officials by their nature, either warlords themselves or serving on the councils of warlords. Accordingly, they are marked out from ordinary captains of guard or raiding teams by the richness of their armour and weapons, and their use of the Orc Ram, which is otherwise a fairly rare weapon.

Temples & Shrines

Though the Orcish Nation is semi-nomadic, they do maintain permanent shrines and temples to their gods. In settlements where Ogharod's church truly takes hold, permanent temples often crop up, being somewhat fortified and serving as part of the defensive elements of that town.

This all being said, the long-dormant volcano known as the Hellmaw in the Atlas Mountains is held as being sacred to Ogharod, and some of his followers make journeys there to petition him directly.

Holy Texts

While some collections of the stories, morals, and histories inherent to the church have been written down in either common or the Orcish language, no one such record or transcription is considered authoritative. Transmission of knowledge within the church is an oral tradition, and one that usually must be rekindled each time a settlement falls into his sway.

Church History

There is little continuity between individual groups of Ogharod's followers. While Hordes and Tribes in Ogharod's service are often successful, the comforts of peace time and the pressure from the proletariat (who do not share as richly in Ogharod's largess) often leads to a return to the practices of the Fire-keeper

Holidays

Celebrations involved the debauched revelry in every craving his followers have - great feasts, binges of alcohol and other drugs, public orgies, and blood sacrifice. The Devourer teaches that to enjoy his freedom the orcs must indulge their every whim while fate allows them to do so.

Favoured Animals

Locusts, who settle in an area, devour all they deem edible, and then move on to repeat the process, are sacred to Kodo the Devourer.