Iconic characters of Dungeons & Dragons: Orcus

Iconic characters of Dungeons & Dragons

The splendid miniature of Orcus has just been released by Wizkids / Neca, for the Icons of the Realms series by Dungeons & Dragons. We take the opportunity to give you some more information on the origins of this iconic character. Being a character present since the origins of D & D, his story has been rewritten several times according to the various editions of the game and the use that the game designers wanted to make of it. So we can say that the one presented here is ONE of the possible stories ...

Physical appearance is not everything but ...

Orcus is the Demonic Prince of the Undead. Typically he is depicted with the head and legs of a goat, with twisted horns similar to those of rams, a horribly swollen body, bat-like wings and, at times, with a long, curvy tail. Orcus is the incarnation of evil, he does not care about anything except himself and the spread of misery and evil throughout the multiverse. His wish is for living creatures to be wiped out and replaced by his legions of undead.

His weapons

One of his most famous symbols is the Wand of Orcus, also called the Death Wand. It is a wand, with a skull on top, which has the power to kill any living thing. It is said that Orcus, from time to time, enjoys dropping it into the hands of mortals, so that they fight for its possession and thus bring chaos to the world.

Initially Orcus also wielded a powerful weapon known as the Orcusword, a +6 broadsword that grants access to certain types of divine spells, which is now enshrined on the negative energy plane in the citadel of Tchian-Sumere, guarded by Alzogra The Bloated and Yleris, a necromancer yugoloth.

The origins

Orcus, like many of the most powerful Demon Lords fighting for power in the Abyss, began his existence as a mortal on the First Material Plane. He probably he was an evil sorcerer or a priest of some dark deity. After his death, his soul ended up in the Abyss and Orcus began his afterlife as a humble and miserable larva. Orcus climbed the demonic ranks over the next several thousand years, moving from larva to mane, mane to dretch, dretch to rutterkin, rutterkin to vrock, vrock to glabrezu, glabrezu to nalfeshnee, and eventually became a balor. From there he rose to the rank of Demon Lord, becoming the Prince of Non-Mortes and ruler of Thanatos, the Belly of Death. Always eager for more power, Orcus has long yearned to be recognized also as the "Prince of Demons", a title held by Demogorgon and also coveted by the demon Graz'zt. For this the three entities are in eternal conflict.

The divinity!

In time, Orcus also attained true divinity but shortly after his divine ascension he was killed by the demigod drow Kiaransalee, who he took over the Orcus Abyss layer and locked his deadly wand in the last layer of Pandemonium. Kiaransalee decreed that the name of Orcus be deleted forever from all existence and that he was never spoken of again. But it is difficult to eliminate a deity forever and a peculiar combination of events ended up thwarting Kiaransalee's plans: the lich Acererak's tampering with the nature of the Negative Energy Plane, the last prayers of Quah-Noma g and the unexpected awakening some of the sleepers of Moil's demiplane have combined to revive the spirit of Orcus in the form of an undead god. Taking the name of Tenebrous, to hide from his enemies, Orcus traveled to the ruins buried in the sands of Pelion where he found the Last Word. The Last Word is one of the True Words and is destined, one day, to put an end to the Multiverse itself and, if spoken aloud, can destroy anything instantly, even the deities.

Then he went looking for his wand. During his quest he killed several deities, including Camaxtli, Tomeri, Bwimb, Primus and Maanzecorian the illithid god. But Orcus's efforts were thwarted by a group of adventurers, and he was finally destroyed again by the power of the Last Word.

Gods never die

But Orcus certainly couldn't disappear so easily , and his follower, Quah-Nomag, brought him back to life through a complex and ancient ritual. Orcus has thus taken back his kingdom and his title even though he has lost his status as a divinity. However, Orcus's "deity" has survived as a stand-alone entity known as Tenebrous.

Are you looking for new and collectible Dungeons & Dragons manuals or RPG material? At this link you can find the latest news to unobtainable goodies ready to be sent to your home