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EltonJ
Learned Scribe
USA
101 Posts |
 Posted - 28 Sep 2010 : 04:07:22
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I'm altering King Obould's little kingdom from a bunch of Gruumshites to something more of a shamanistic nature. So here we go!
ANCESTOR WORSHIP AND TRADITIONAL SHAMANISM
The People of Obould's kingdom practice ancestor worship and shamanism, which is much more in common with many tribal societies. Not all of them, such as some Native American tribes worship YeHewaWaHeha and some African tribes worship Nwali. I figured that Gruumshism would not be consistent with King Obould based on how many people think he is Lawful Good (which puts Gruumsh's actual alignment in doubt). While Gruumshism is consistent with the Wotanic pagan religion.
I propose Ancestor Worship and traditional Shamanism as alternatives for Obould's people. This will change 4e's written canon significantly, but if you take this up you can add Gruumsh as an Orc ancestor, then Obould himself could become an ancestor (in other words: it won't change much).
This religion is made using G.U.R.P.S. Religion.
Pt. 1 -- Myths
Orc Creation Myth
Once there was the One, and the One was all that was. The One and the sea of Creation. So the One uttered the Word of All Creation, and all things came into being. Land, Water, the trees, plants, and animals all came into being. And that is how our old world was created.
The One then came upon the land and created both Gruumsh and Luthic and set them in a garden of plenty. The One then married the two of them and ordered them to multiply and subdue our world.
And so Gruumsh and Luthic soon knew each other and multiplied many orcs into the land. Back then, some orcs were pale and ruddy, other orcs were yellow, and other orcs were a deep rich brown.
How the Ancestors Saved Civilization
Back on our own world, the One got angry with the Orcs and their violence. He punished the whole world with Water but saved only a few orcs. Nawoo and Gothlin were saved, and so were their sons and their wives. Soon, Nawoo was venerated as the Ancestor of all Civilization. Nawoo taught the new orcs how to irrigate, how to write, and how to farm and herd. Gothlin taught the orcs how to build, how to count, and how to sing. Their sons taught the orcs how to pray, how to think, and how to make. And thus, the Ancestors saved civilization.
How the Ruddy Ones of the Talachi People became Green
The Talachi were once pale and very fair. They are the ancestors of us here in Toril, and they were beautiful and stellar to look upon. Their sons were handsome and the daughters gorgeous. The Talachi built a mighty empire over all orcs.
However, as all worlds do, their Empire went soon into decadence and then in deep decline. The One was angry with the Talachi, but nothing could make him angrier as they turned from Him and began to worship a pantheon of false gods and venerate the First Parents as gods.
Then the One was greatly wroth and had caused a rival nation to shoot many arrows at them that caused great fire, smoke, and poison. In the aftermath of the fire and smoke, many Talachi were dead, and still many became sick. Their sickness had caused many to become green. Still, the group that gave rise to us escaped through a magic portal. After all, many of those who became that sickly, deep green were as the walking dead.
We are the descendants of the Talachi that escaped. We have come to Toril to escape the fires, the smoke, and the poison in the air.
How the Obould tribe returned to the Ancestors
After thousands of years, we still worshipped Heathen gods. In fact, we the people descended back into barbarity and heathenism, and most of our brethren became little more than animals. Thanks to the poison in our old home, our people became capable of breeding true with any humanoid creature and our race was slowly beginning to loose our identity. However, our fellows' heathen ways made most of our breathren not to marry but to breed and so we became fecund. Only the humans and the elves kept us in check.
We faced our first test as a people when our ancestors fought against the Elves, and our people had our god Gruumsh manifest himself against Corellon Larethian. Surpreme, our ancestors believed we would win, however Corellon Larethian took the eye of Gruumsh bring us total defeat. Although fecund, we could not recover from the war for many years.
IT was then that a part of us turned to the One and remembered the old ways. For four hundred years, we turned back to the One asking for deliverance. We called ourselves the Mag'ar, or the Pure Ones. We the Mag'ar were then led into the North. Where we live unto this day, separate from our heathen brethren.
This is only the first part. New parts coming along.
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Kno
Senior Scribe
452 Posts |
Posted - 28 Sep 2010 : 22:08:38
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| is this from the orc bible |
z455t |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 30 Sep 2010 : 19:27:53
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Because it is an Orcish myth, I would change 'The One' to something more Orc-appropriate, like "That which raids above all others", or 'The Great Taker".
'The One' is appropriate for a universal over-cosmology, but each race should have their own name/identifier.
I see the Orcs revering an over-deity akin to Entropy - something which is forever moving forward, destroying everything in its path, just to create things anew in its wake.
Which is very Druidic in outlook, now that I think about it - I suppose those guys who worked on Warcraft knew what they were doing. 
Otherwise, great concept. |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Ancestor Worship and Shamanism (non-cannon)
