[D&D - FR] Orcus, the Demon Lord

[Dennis]

I have seen several references to Orcus, the Demon Lord, and something called "The Wand of Orcus" and I was wondering who he is, what power he has, and a little bit of his history. I have some 3rd Edition books, so if there's a reference in Faiths and Patheons I'll be happy with that, but I don't have all the books, so a small historical write-up would be much appreciated.

Thanks.

[Serious Paul]

Orcus

Orcus (Demon Prince of Undead)
Huge Outsider (Chaotic, Evil)
Hit Dice:50d8+750 (1200 hp)
Initiative: +10 (+6 Dex, +4 Improved Initiative)
Speed:40 ft., fly 60 ft. (average)
AC:54 (-2 size, +6 Dex, +40 natural)

Attacks:Wand of Orcus +66/+61/+56 melee (or slam +66/+61/+56 melee), tail sting +63 melee Damage:Wand of Orcus 1d8+17 and annihilation; slam 2d6+17, tail sting 2d4+8 and poison Face/Reach:10 ft. by 10 ft./10 ft.

Special Attacks: Spell-like abilities, spells, fear aura, poison, summon demons, summon undead

Special Qualities:Damage reduction 45/+7, poison and electricity immunity, resistances (cold, acid, fire 20), darkvision 60 ft., SR 46, telepathy, speak with dead

Saves:Fort +42, Ref +33, Will +39

Abilities:
Str 45
Dex 23
Con 40
Int 24
Wis 34
Cha 36

Skills:

Bluff +63, Climb +62, Concentration +65, Diplomacy +63, Disguise +63, Escape Artist +56, Gather Information +63, Heal +62, Intimidate +64, Jump +67, Knowledge (arcana) +62, Knowledge (planes) +63, Knowledge (undead) +65, Listen +62, Move Silently +56, Scry +62, Search +62, Sense Motive +62, Spellcraft +62, Spot +62.

Feats:

Blind-Fight, Cleave, Combat Casting, Dodge, Great Cleave, Improved Initiative, Multiattack, Mobility, Power Attack, Spring Attack, Sunder, Weapon Focus (slam, Wand of Orcus)

Climate/Terrain:

Any land and underground Organization:Solitary or troupe (Orcus plus 1-2 mariliths, 1-3 glabrezus, and 4-20 zombies or shadows)

Challenge Rating:

36

Treasure:Double standard

Alignment:Always chaotic evil


Advancement:-

Orcus is one of the strongest and most powerful of all demon lords. He fights a never-ending war that spans the many layers of the Abyss with the forces of Graz'zt. Orcus is known as the Prince of the Undead, for it is said in secret that he alone invented the first undead that walked the worlds.

Orcus appears as a grossly fat demon some 15 feet tall. His gray body is covered with goatish hair, and his head is goat-like, although his horns are similar to those of a ram. His great legs are also goat-like, but his arms are human. Vast bat-like wings sprout from his back, and his long snaky tail is tipped with a razor sharp poisonous tip.

Combat

Orcus prefers to melee with his fists. If pressed, he will use his spells and spell-like abilities. He wields his Wand whenever possible. If combat is going against him, he will summon demons and undead to cover his escape.

Spell-Like Abilities:

At will-

animate dead, blasphemy, charm monster, charm person, deeper
darkness, desecrate, detect good, detect law, detect thoughts, dispel magic, fear, greater dispelling, lightning bolt, polymorph self, pyrotechnics, read magic, see invisible, suggestion, symbol(any), telekinesis, teleport without error(self plus 50 pounds of objects only), tongues (self only), unhallow, unholy aura, unholy blight,and wall of fire; 1/day-feeblemind. These abilities are as the spells cast by a 35th-level sorcerer (save DC 23 + spell level).

Spells:

Orcus casts arcane spells as a 35th-level sorcerer (save DC 23 + spell level) and divine spells as a 35th-level cleric (save DC 22 + spell level). He has access to the domains of Chaos, Death, Evil, Destruction and War. Fear Aura (Su):All within 60 feet; Will save (DC 48) or flee in fear for 2d6 rounds. If the save is successful, that creature cannot be affected again by Orcus' fear aura for one day. Poison (Ex): Tail sting; initial damage 3d6 temporary Constitution, secondary damage death, Fortitude save (DC 50). Speak with Dead (Su):Orcus can, at will, speak with dead(as the spell of the name). Summon Demons (Sp):Three times per day, Orcus can automatically summon one balor, 1d3 nalfeshnees, or 1d4 mariliths. Summon Undead (Sp):As their prince, Orcus can automatically summon 100 HD of undead per day.

Demon Qualities (Ex):Orcus is immune to poison and electricity; and has cold, fire, and acid resistance 20. Telepathy (Su):Orcus can communicate telepathically with any creature within 100 feet that has a language.


Wand of Orcus:Mighty Orcus wields a huge black skull-tipped rod that slays any living creature it touches if the target fails a Fortitude save (DC 40). Orcus, can at will, shut this ability off so as to allow his wand to pass into the Material Plane (and usually into the hands of one of his servants). In addition, the Wand has the following powers: " 3/day-animate dead, desecrate, deeper darkness, fear, and unhallow. " 2/day-blasphemy and unholy aura. Each ability is as the spell cast by a 20th-level sorcerer (save DC 30 + spell level).

Taken from: here

Hope that helps.

[Serious Paul]

And here are some Orcus related sites:

Orcus Cult

Orcus wants to expand his power base...

And on a different note the The History of Orcus and the wand of Orcus

[Serious Paul]

And because I am insane:

A Brief History of OrcusPage 1A

Brief History of Orcus
A Scholarly Study of the First and Second Edition Canon1
by Shane O'Connor2

Orcus began his life as a mortal man, just like the rest of us. The details of hismortal life are unknown, save that he was bloated even then, and was some sortof spellcaster. Eventually, he died, as all mortals do. After his death, he passed onto the outer planes, becoming a loathsome larva, and then working his way upthrough the tanar'ric hierarchy.3

Once achieving great abyssal power, Orcus began to assert himself as a force to bereckoned with. One of his greater achievements, though little noted, is thecreation of the Orcusword.4What powers the Orcuswordhad are unknownthough, as it lost much of its original potency once Orcus was killed (see below).5

Another item of his crafting that is all but lost to mortal knowledge today is theJuggernaut, a suit of armor so powerful it is a minor artifact.6

It was after Orcus achieved his status as an Abyssal Lord7that he became trulyinfamous across the planes. He asserted himself as the patron of undeath, an1


This summary is based on previously released material that is copyright TSR, Inc., and or Wizards of theCoast. This summary is a personal work of individual scholarship and is not intended as a challenge to anyof the trademarks and/or copyrighted material of TSR, Inc., and/or Wizards of the Coast.2This summary is the personal creation of Shane O'Connor. The information contained herein is based onworks released for First or Second edition Dungeons and Dragons.3

See the Planescape adventure Dead Godspage 121 under the header "The Everchanging Fiend." Thesecond paragraph shows Orcus's memory of the various stages of his existence:

"At first, the being appearsto be a fat, grotesque human ­ probably a foul wizard or wicked priest, judging by the evil affectations andhorrid symbols on his clothing. But the figure shrinks as if melting, becoming a wormlike larva. It thenbloats and takes the shape of a manes, then a bar-lgura. Next, the being mutates further, changing tobecome a floating chasme, then a vrock. The vrock screeches and becomes a hezrou, which immolates andtransforms into a huge, fiery balor. The loathsome balor bloats, its head growing ramlike, adopting thetraditional form of Orcus."4

See the Planescape adventure Dead Godspage 69, second column, first full paragraph.


"The weapon isthe Orcusword, an ancient blade wielded by Orcus long before he created his infamous wand. Chant is heused the sword eons ago when he was still just a balor, and that he let his greatest servant ­ greatest proxyonce Orcus achieved godhood ­ use it temporarily."5


After Orcus's death (and partial resurrection as Tenebrous) the powers of the Orcuswordare as follows:

It is a longsword +3 (forged in the Abyss), and causes double damage on a natural attack roll of 20. On anatural attack roll of 1, the sword breaks. Note that Orcus has a link to his sword. The details of the link areunknown, but he feels pain if it is broken, enough to delay him for 1d3 hours from whatever it is he isdoing at the time. See pages 69 and 115 of the Planescape adventure Dead Godsfor more details.6For a more detailed description of the Juggernaut and its powers, see it's entry (pg. 68) in the article"Armor of the Abyssal Lords" in issue 270 of Dragon Magazine.


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A Brief History of Orcus
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unusual trait for an outer planar entity, since the outer planes are far from theNegative Energy Plane, the plane of unlife. Still, Orcus soon became known farand wide as a being to turn to for the secrets of living death.How long Orcus ruled his layer of the Abyss, named Thanatos,8is unknown(though rumors abound that he also controlled other layers. This remainsunknown). Certainly it was a very long time, given the level of renown which thePrince of the Undead had garnered. He is said to have created the first deathknights, a dozen of them in total, though given the nature of these creatures(fallen knights of righteousness), and the sheer number of them in existence, thisseems unlikely.9Orcus's greatest claim to fame, though, was his legendary wand.

The Wand ofOrcus was a mighty artifact created10by the demon lord himself in his days as anAbyssal lord, and held a large piece of his own essence within it. It was well-known for its power to slay any living being it touched (presuming that livingbeing had no divine essence, for even a bit of divinity made a living beingimmune to the Wand's death power). It's other powers, for it surely had more, arealmost completely unknown (though it is known that the Wand also had theability to plane shift itself (and, presumably, it's wielder) anywhere in themultiverse).117


For more information on Abyssal Lords in general see the Monstrous supplement included in thePlanescape Planes of Chaosboxed expansion, and the Planescape accessory On Hallowed Ground.8Thanatos is the 113th layer of the Abyss. Any number of sources will have this noted. See the PlanescapePlanes of Chaosboxed expansion for the most detailed description of the layer, though it is afterKiaransalee killed Orcus.9If the compiler remember correctly, the first edition Fiend Foliohad an entry for death knights, an entrythat mentioned something about Orcus creating them. The compiler of this this article is not 100% sure onthis though.10

The exact details of the creation of the Wand is unknown. However, recently, certain details have cometo light.

The skull on the Wand of Orcus is the skull of a famous warrior named Anarchocles. WhenAnarchocles died, Orcus took the skull from the warrior's corpse, which was destroyed anyway, and placedthe skull on the end of an iron scepter, which then was imbued with some of Orcus's own essence, creatingthe Wand of Orcus. Anarchocles's spirit, however, needed to be preserved to keep the power of the Wandintact. As such, Orcus bound the warrior's spirit into a golden circlet, which was in all ways like the circletfor a skeletal warrior (see theMonstrous Manualaccessory for more on skeletal warriors).

This circlet is the secret weakness of the Wand, for if it, the repository of Anarchocles's spirit, were ever touched to theskull of his body, then, like a skeletal warrior, both would be destroyed, which would also destroy theWand. For more details, see the Planescape adventure Dead Godspage 62, under the header "The Circlet.

"Note that, depending on the outcome of the adventure, the circlet may very well have destroyed skull, but ifsuch did happen, then Orcus's last priest found another. See chapter 9 of Dead Godsfor more details.11Part of the third sentence in the second paragraph under the header "Sending the Wand Away" on page114 of the Planescape adventure Dead Godsreads, "...one of it's [the Wand's] major powers ­ the abilityto plane shiftitself anywhere in the multiverse." More powers of the Wand can be found listed in both thefirst edition Dungeon Master's Guide, under the "Wand of Orcus" entry in the section on magical artifacts,and in Encyclopedia Magicavol. 4, under "Wand of Orcus," though, curiously, the two entries seem to differ.


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A Brief History of Orcus
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Orcus had many foes, both mortal and immortal, as a result of his rise to power.Though there is no love lost between Abyssal powers, his feud with Demogorgonwas all but legendary.12Indeed, it is said that Demogorgon managed to find apowerful death knight to serve him in his war against Orcus, declaring that deathknight to be a saint in his name.13Of only slightly lesser proportions was thehatred that was held by both for the Abyssal lord Graz'zt.14

One of Orcus's morepowerful mortal foes was a human named Bane. Bane, a cleric of a deity of lawand martial justice, had a powerful hatred of the undead, and descended into theAbyss to personally confront Orcus in battle, very nearly destroying the demonlord before being forced to retreat. Bane was later declared to be a saint in hisdeity's religion for this act.15


Despite his many adversaries though, Orcus's power and fame grew, and heeventually became a god.16What level of godhood he achieved is unknown,17as ishow long his divine reign lasted, but it must have been considerable. In one showof flexing his divine might, Orcus visited his wrath on the city of Moil, located ona world called Ranais. The citizens of Moil had once worshipped the demon god,but had eventually turned from him to worship a sun deity. Orcus punished the12See the first edition Monster Manual, page 16, under the heading "Demon, Demogorgon."

The opening sentence reads, "Rivalry between demon lords is great, but the enmity between Demogorgon and Orcus isimmense and unending." Statistics for Demogorgon after he became a god, as well as his church, can befound in the Monster Mythologyaccessory.13An article in an old (double-digit issue number) Dragon magazine had an article on saints, one of whichwas a death knight who served Demogorgon. The compiler can't remember the exact number, though adedicated search on the CD-ROM archive of the first 250 issues of Dragon Magazine should turn it up. Thecompiler thinks that the evil saint's name was Kazgoroth, but is not 100% certain of this.14See the first edition Monster Manual II, page 39, under the heading "Demon, Graz'zt." The openingsentence reads, "One of the most powerful demon rulers of the Abyss is Graz'zt, lord of an entire layer anddedicated foe of both Demogorgon and Orcus." On a side note, Graz'zt currently rules not one, but threelayers of the Abyss. More information about Graz'zt and his demense can be found in the Planescapeboxed expansion Planes of Chaos, as well as in the Forgotten Realms adventure For Duty and Deity.15St. Bane is referenced in the same article as the death knight saint mentioned above.16When Orcus abandoned his physical body in his apotheosis to godhood, his worshippers kept the remainsof it as a phylactery. While he does maintain a link to his body's remains, it is minor, less than his link toother artifacts that are a part of him, such as his sword. See page 69 of the Planescape adventure DeadGods, second column, second paragraph, third sentence: "Interestingly, Tenebrous's connection to theblade is somehow greater than even his link to his phylactery."17Circumstantial evidence exists to show that Orcus reached the level of lesser power before meeting hisdemise at Kiaransalee's hands. In the AD&D second edition game, demi-gods can only grant clerical spellsof up to fifth level, lesser gods can grant clerical spells of up to sixth level, and intermediate and greatergods can grant clerical spells of any level. On page 121 of the Planescape adventure Dead Gods, a priest ofOrcus has his "spellcasting powers returned when he arrived on his deity's corpse." Said corpse is, ofcourse, that of Orcus. The priest in question was 12thlevel, which is powerful enough to cast sixth levelspells, and no higher. Thus, Orcus must have been at least a lesser power. It may be that Orcus was aintermediate or greater god, and that the priest was simply not high enough level to attain greater spells, butif that were so, it seems unlikely that Kiaransalee, a mere demi-god, would have been able to kill him, evenwith surprise on her side (see below).
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A Brief History of OrcusPage 4citizens by enchanting them so that they fell into a mystic slumber that could onlybe broken when the sun shown down on them. He then moved the entire cityonto a demi-plane, where the sun would never shine.18What Orcus planned to dowith the city later is a question for the ages though, as shortly after he moved thecity, disaster befell the Prince of the Undead.After eons of rule, Orcus was deposed. For all his might, once Orcus became amighty power, he began to lose his edge, and when that happened, an enemystruck.No one knows exactly why the drow demi-goddess Kiaransalee19hated Orcus, butshe did, with a passion. Using treachery and surprise, she slew Orcus, taking hisrealm for herself, destroying his immense power base in virtually one blow.20Kiaransalee then hid his Wand21and cast a powerful spell to erase (or maketotally illegible) every written record of Orcus's name in the entire multiverse(though she couldn't make him forgotten in the minds of people, which is whatshe really wanted). Tanar'ri lords who fought in the Blood War, the eternal warbetween tanar'ri and baatezu, were upset at the loss of Orcus's undead troops tothe cause,22but were mostly mollified when Kiaransalee offered similar servicesto them. Thus, Kiaransalee's actions went unopposed, and Orcus's death wentunavenged.After a thousand years however, something happened. For unknown reasons,Orcus was revived. Perhaps it had something to do with one of Orcus's more18For more information on Moil and Ranais, see the Planescape adventure Dead Gods, page 52. For moreinformation on what became of the city after its transference to a demi-plane, see the Return to the Tomb ofHorrorsboxed set and the Planescape accessory Guide to the Ethereal Plane.19More details on the statistical information of Kiaransalee and her church can be found in the MonsterMythologyaccessory and the Forgotten Realms Demihuman Deitiesaccessory, although the latter is from aForgotten Realms view of her. Also, a notation on how she rules Thanatos can be found in the PlanescapePlanes of Chaosboxed expansion. A note on how she interacts with the rest of the planes can be foundunder her entry in the Planescape accessory On Hallowed Ground.20Not all of Orcus's worshippers were destroyed however. A few escaped to a tiny hideaway Orcus hadbuilt on the Negative Energy Plane called Tcian Sumere. See chapter 5 of the Planescape adventure DeadGodsfor more information on the fortress. Also, at least one of Orcus's proxies survived his death (notcounting the babau tanar'ri Rotting Jack, who converted to worshipping Kiaransalee in a pathetic attempt tosave himself, which she allowed because it amused her). A marquis cambion named Bleeding Setchsurvived the death of his master, and currently searches for ways to restore him to power. See his entryunder "Notable Proxies on the Planes" on page 26 of the Planescape accessory On Hallowed Ground.21When Kiaransalee hid the Wand, she had two of her servants place it behind several walls of force ofgreater-than-average strength on Agathoin, the deepest layer of the plane of Pandemonium. Moreinformation on the Wand's hiding place and those who hid it can be found in the Planescape adventureDead Gods.22See page 15, "The Death of Orcus," under the section titled "The Time Line" in "The Dark of the War"book in the Planescape boxed accessory Hellbound: The Blood War.
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A Brief History of OrcusPage 5powerful servants, the lich Acererak,23utilizing the demi-plane of Moil in ascheme involving large quantities of negative energy. Perhaps Bleeding Setch hadfound a way to revive his dead master. Perhaps it was the continued devotion ofhis last remaining priest. Whatever the cause, Orcus rose again, this time as anundead god. His first task in his new existence: revenge.Though he was somehow revived, Orcus did not regain all of his power. He wasnow lesser than even a demi-god, though still more than mortal. Clinging to whatpower he could, he crawled onto the planes-spanning tree Yggdrasil, hiding therefor years while pondering what to do. He summoned his minions to him, notrealizing that they had been slain along with him. How surprising it was for himwhen they returned as undead fiends with new powers.24Eventually, he somehow learned of the power he would need to effectuate hisvengeance. Moving his base of operations to Tcian Sumere, he journeyed to thelowest layer of the plane or Arborea, Pelion, and learned the magic of the LastWord.The Last Word one of the True Words, magic so powerful only a god could learnthem without being blasted to ashes from such knowledge.25The Last Word'spower was that of utterly destroying any creature to whom the word was spoken,even gods. However, Orcus, who now called himself Tenebrous, a new name forhis new existence, was not a full god, and the power of the Last Word slowly ateaway at him from inside like a cancer. He needed to regain his former power tocontain the Last Word's might. How to do that? Simple. Regain the Wand ofOrcus.Orcus knew to keep a low profile so his return would not bring a host of enemiesdown upon him. Still, it was necessary to slay a few gods and some other beingsto track down his Wand,26and for a time Tenebrous even assumed the position ofPrimus, the supreme modron, in order to force the modrons to march around theouter planes out of sequence, gathering data that he could use to determine hisWand's location.2723See "The Journal of the Tomb" in the Return to the Tomb of Horrorsboxed set, which states that therewas a "...reference to someone, or something, called Tenebrous, to which Acererak owed much of hispower." Note that this is an anachronism, as Tenebrous was a moniker that Orcus used only recently, whenhe was somehow revived, not one thousand years ago, when Acererak's reference was made.24These creatures, named visages, are detailed on pages 158-159 of the Planescape adventure Dead Gods.25Another of the Words in the driving force in the Ravenloft adventure Vecna Reborn.26A complete list of the gods and other beings slain by Tenebrous during his time as an undead god can befound on page 124 of the Planescape adventure Dead Gods.27The details and ramifications of Orcus's assuming the position of Primus can all be found in thePlanescape adventure anthology The Great Modron March.
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A Brief History of OrcusPage 6Eventually, Tenebrous determined his Wand's location: buried in the deepestlayer of Pandemonium. As he raced to get it though, a group of powerful mortalheroes arrived there first, having detected Tenebrous's depredations, and eitherdestroyed the Wand or sent it away, it is unclear which.28Either way though, theresult was the same. After all the years spent plotting and planning since hispartial resurrection, Tenebrous's time had run out, and with the Wand of Orcusagain out of reach, nothing could stop the Last Word's power from killing himagain.However, Orcus's tale does not end there. The Wand of Orcus was done awaywith by the heroes, thinking that it was of no real concern now that Orcus wasdead again. It ended up on a prime material world (certain circumstantialevidence exists to say that this was the world of Greyhawk) in the dungeon of ademi-lich named Blaise.29Orcus's last surviving priest, however, was not finishedyet. Hiring a famous thief named Ash Vodiran to steal the artifact back for him,Orcus's last priest, a half-ogre named Quah-Namog took the Wand to his master'scorpse in the Astral Plane, intending to try and resurrect his god.30Whether ornot he succeeded is unknown, however.The same group of mortals who snatched the Wand from Tenebrous's grasp inthe bottom of Pandemonium interfered again, tipped off that something washappening by the Guardian of Dead Gods31itself. They interrupted Quah-Namog's resurrection ritual, and when it was over, both the priest and the god-corpse were gone.32Was Orcus revived? Or was his corpse totally destroyed in the disrupted ritual (astate that would make any future resurrection impossible)? In the end, it isunknown, and the multiverse continues on, not knowing when, or if, the demongod will ever return to plague man and god alike once more.3328Whether the Wand was destroyed or relocated depends on what the PCs did during one of the lastsegments of the Dead GodsPlanescape adventure.29See page 43 of the Reverse Dungeonadventure. "It [the Wand of Orcus] has since been reclaimed...byits rightful owner, as Master Blaise knew it would be."30See chapter 9 of the Planescape adventure Dead Gods.31For more information on the Guardian of Dead Gods (aka Anubis) see the Planescape accessories Guideto the Astral Plane, On Hallowed Ground, and Dragon Magazine 240.32The epic saga of trying to stop Tenebrous from regaining his Wand is the subject of the Planescapeadventure Dead Gods.33Certain circumstantial evidence exists to say that Orcus was re-empowered, at least to his shadowy stateas Tenebrous, by the ritual. On page 124 of the Planescape adventure Dead Godsit is stated under thesection titled "Aftermath" that "When Kiaransalee discovers that Tenebrous was Orcus, she's driven to thebrink of barminess with paranoia. She begins fortifying her realm against what she fears (for many yearsafterward) will be the inevitable coming attack by her old foe." The future tense of the first sentencesuggests that it is only after Quah-Namog's attempt to resurrect his god that Kiaransalee even realizes thatTenebrous and Orcus are one and the same. Now, on page 23 in the Forgotten Realms accessory
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A Brief History of OrcusPage 7Compiler's note:All references made about Orcus in this text have been in thecontext of both editions of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons game. However, inwriting this biography, the compiler noted that in the boxed set Wrath of theImmortals, for the original Dungeons & Dragons game (before the third editionof the game, Advanced Dungeons & Dragons was a separate, but similar, gamefrom Dungeons & Dragons), an entry was written for an Immortal named Orcus.Statistical differences in the two games aside, the entry for the D&D Orcusdescribed a being that was virtually the same as the AD&D Orcus. Furthermore,the Wrath of the Immortalsboxed set was an accessory for the Mystara campaignworld, which was later updated to second edition AD&D. As such, it may be feltthat the D&D information on Orcus should have been included in this work.However, because the compiler of this article is not aware of any conversionguidelines between D&D and second edition AD&D in the matter of D&DImmortals and AD&D deities (indeed, page 294 of the D&D Rules Cyclopedia,under the header "Immortals & Deities" it says "The Immortals of the D&Dsystem and the deities of the AD&D system should not be converted betweengames."), the two versions of Orcus are, in the compiler's opinion, irreconcilable.Demihuman Deities, under Kiaransalee's entry, it has listed her foes, and among those listed is "Orcus(dead)/Tenebrous (undead)." Though in this volume, even dead deities are listed, the fact that Tenebroushas a status of "undead" and not "dead" seems to be telling, though rather confusing, since his alter ego islisted as "dead." It also states on the same page that "Recent events suggest that Orcus returned, at least fora time, as an undead god who called himself Tenebrous. It is unknown, even to Kiaransalee, whether thePrince of the Undead has successfully transformed himself into an undead god, has been destroyed forever,or simply waits for another opportunity to return to (un)life. Regardless of the truth, Kiaransalee isconvinced that her former foe will eventually return, and thus the Lady of the Dead is consumed withrenewed efforts to find and eliminate every last trace of both Orcus/Tenebrous." On page 25, under"Affiliated Orders [with Kiaransalee's church]" it states "The Legion of Vengeful Banshees is an order ofKiaransaleen crusaders [crusaders here meaning an optional priest class introduced in the Forgotten Realmsproduct Faiths & Avatarsas well as Player's Option: Spells & Magic] dedicated to the destruction ofTenebrous's undead tanar'ri servants, known as visages. While the Banshee Knights are found on manyworlds...the members of the order mount long-ranging hunts on the surface and in the Underdark forTenebrous's minions. The Banshee knights have apparently developed some sort of spell or magical itemthat allows them to detect and defend against the use of a visage's lucidity controlpower [said power isexplained under the entry for visages on page 158-159 of the Planescape adventure Dead Gods]." Thetelling thing here is that if Kiaransalee only realized that Tenebrous was Orcus after the events in DeadGods, she could only have made her order of Banshee Knights after those events. The fact that the BansheeKnights even know what a visage is, let alone how to combat one, must mean that there are some visagesout there (though Kiaransalee could have somehow noted there powers before or during the events of DeadGodsbut this seems unlikely). If there are some visages still out there, then Tenebrous must be active insome fashion, since it states on page 118 of Dead Godsunder the header "Faces of Death" that "WhenTenebrous died (for the second time), many of his undead servants were taken with him. Now these visagesare frozen on the Astral along with their master, trapped with a power and force that created them..." Notehowever that it says "most" of Tenebrous's undead servants were taken with him, not all, so maybe a fewvisages are still out there somewhere, working his will. Furthermore, on page 120 of Dead Gods, the lastparagraph of "Faces of Death" reads, "If the bashers [PCs] attack the frozen visages, they find the thingseasy to destroy ­ they seem to be made of dry stone that crumbles easily. However, if the PCs completelysmash one of the visages, the creature's essence is freed from its entombment here and escapes into thevoid with a hideous, mocking cackle." Does this mean the visage is destroyed, or that it is freed to go outand wreak havoc once again? As stated before, the evidence that Orcus/Tenebrous may have beenrevitalized again are circumstantial at best.
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A Brief History of OrcusPage 8Thus, no information on Orcus from Wrath of the Immortalsor any other D&Dsource is presented here.)BIBLIOGRAPHY1. Dead Gods ­ A Planescape adventure for AD&D second edition.2. Demihuman Deities ­ A Forgotten Realms accessory for AD&D secondedition.3. Dragon Magazine 270 ­ "Armor of the Abyssal Lords" (pg. 64), an article forthe second edition AD&D game.4. Great Modron March, The ­ A Planescape adventure anthology for AD&Dsecond edition.5. Hellbound: The Blood War ­ A Planescape boxed set accessory for AD&Dsecond edition.6. Monster Manual ­ A Core Rulebook for AD&D first edition.7. Monster Manual II ­ An accessory for AD&D first edition.8. On Hallowed Ground ­ A Planescape accessory for AD&D second edition.9. Return to the Tomb of Horrors ­ A boxed set adventure for AD&D secondedition.10. Reverse Dungeon ­ An adventure for AD&D second edition.Additionally, the first edition Fiend Foliotome was referenced for knowledge ofdeath knights, as was an issue of Dragon Magazine for an article on saints.Unfortunately, the compiler cannot remember the exact issue number. ThePlanescape Planes of Chaosboxed set accessory for AD&D second edition wasreferenced for information on Thanatos, Orcus's former realm, nowKiaransalee's. The first edition AD&D Dungeon Master's Guidewas referenced,as was Encyclopedia Magicavol.4 for the AD&D second edition game forinformation on the powers of the Wand of Orcus. The For Duty and Deityadventure was referenced for it's details of Graz'zt's realm in the Abyss. TheMonster Mythologyaccessory for second edition has details on Kiaransalee andDemogorgon after he became a god. The Guide to the Ethereal Planefor secondedition gives a mention to the City That Waits, though not as in-depth as theReturn to the Tomb of Horrors boxed set does. The Ravenloft adventure VecnaReborn, for AD&D second edition, is the only adventure besides Dead Godstouse one of the True Words. The Guardian of Dead Gods is mentioned in thePlanescape works On Hallowed Groundand Guide to the Astral Plane, as well asDragon Magazine 240.Referenced materials were referred to but not actually consulted during theprocess of writing this biography, either because the reference in question wasnot important enough to warrant a full check, or because the necessary productwas not owned by the compiler.

[Dennis]

*cough* Damn.

Thanks, Paul.

[Jackal]

Right then, if I ever have a question that I need the entire library of congress to answer I know to go to Paul.

[Cash]

Bah, we could take 'em.

[Jackal]

Yeah, aside from the 1,200 hit points or the 45/+7 damage reduction....you are aware that means only epic weapons are even likely to hurt him.

[Cash]

And? I said we could take him.

*rolls init*

[Dennis]

Orcus, baffled by Cash's diceroll drops his wand on Cash's head, killing Cash by accident.

[Cash]

*pulls out his next character*

[Cazmonster]

Cazmonster remembers when the demons didn't have four digits of hit points.

Geh, I can't think that high right now.

[Eliahad]

I beat the 2e Demogorgon, does that count?

[Elldren]

Easy.

<i>Holy Word</i> anyone?

[Salvation122]

Somehow I don't think that'll do it.

[Cazmonster]

As many Maximized Searing Lights as you can, with Improved Critical, and Weapon Focus (Ray), along with everything that can max out Spell Penetration.

And remember, you only have to hit his Touch AC of 16...

[Cash]

Touch AC of 14. -2 for size.

Does Searing Lights go through Spell Resistance?

[Cazmonster]

Gork! I must now chastise myself for my craptacular math.

No, Searing Light won't bust Spell Resistance, that's what the Spell Penetration or Improved Spell Penetration are all about. It may only be 40 points per zap, but you could crit for 80...

[Salvation122]

I somehow doubt that you'll hit him 29 times (counting a crit.)

[Cazmonster]

I think it's crap that there isn't an improved Searing Light, one in the 6th level range that has a fifteen die cap that's good against anything. Orcus's fat ass would smell like Holy Bacon if he took 120 points of damage (240 on a crit).

[FlameBlade]

ok

D&D:

Bulldrekkers vs the Demons.

How does that sound?

[The Traveler]

The guy kills gods for shits and giggles. Orcus is a demon lord. Not to be trifled with

[Elldren]

Somehow I don't think that'll do it.

Sure it will. Instant banishment = bye bye demon.

He'll be back tomorrow, but then you can just banish him again. And again. And again.

[Salvation122]

Epic Spell Resistance. The thing's level 35, for chrissakes.

[Serious Paul]

I am not much into Dungeon and Dragons but if you tried that shit in my game, I'd have Orcus shove that Holy Word up your ass sideways with a rosary and a half gallon of Hennessey Holy water.

[Elldren]

Aww... So much for creativity. Just so you know, Sal, I <i>would</i> allow you to use that tactic. Just make sure to be prepared for the consequences.

[Salvation122]

Spell Resistance 46. I don't think I'd manage to affect it.

[paladin2019]

The stats Paul posted are little...off. If anyone cares, the Book of Vile Darkness sez:

Orcus, Demon Prince of the Undead
Large Outsider (Chaotic, Evil)
HD: 37d8+592 (758 hp)
Initiative: +7
Speed: 20 ft, fly 40 ft (average)
AC: 47 (-1 size, +7 Dex, +6 insight, +20 natural, +5 deflection), touch 27, flat-footed 40
Attacks: Wand of Orcus (+6 chaotic unholy greatclub) +57/+52/+47/+42 melee and claw +45 melee and horn +45 melee and sting +45 melee
Damage: Wand of Orcus (+6 chaotic unholy greatclub) 1d10+27/19-20, claw 1d6+7, horns 2d6+7, sting 1d3+7 plus poison
Face/Reach: 5 ft by 5 ft/10 ft
Special Attacks: Poison, spell-like abilities, spells
Special Qualities: DR 20/+7, outsider traits, see invisibility, SR 41, summon tanar'ri, summon undead, tanar'ri traits
Saves: Fort +36, Ref +27, Will +26
Abilities: Str 39, Dex 25, Con 43, Int 29, Wis 22, Cha 21
Skills: Alchemy +46, Buff +42, Concentration +53, Diplomacy +40, et al.
Feats: Ambidexterity, Cleave, Craft Rod, Dark Speech, Improved Critical (greatclub), Power Attack, Quicken Spell, Scribe Scroll, Spell Focus (Necromancy), Weapon Focus (greatclub)

Ya want more, it's in the book.

[Silent Sniper]

ok

D&D:

Bulldrekkers vs the Demons.

How does that sound?

That could be fun. Though I'm not sure if D20 can handle the amount of sheer firepower that some of us can unleash.

I mean, some of us do have bigger arsenals than most countries, after all.

[Chuckles]

ok

D&D:

Bulldrekkers vs the Demons.

How does that sound?

That could be fun. Though I'm not sure if D20 can handle the amount of sheer firepower that some of us can unleash.

I mean, some of us do have bigger arsenals than most countries, after all.

Big Eyes, Small Mouth would work. Or, for sheer power scale ours would match the DBZ roleplaying game closer than anything else. Use their rules for attacks that are worth 2000 D6-role two dice and multiply by 2000.

[Szechuan]

Yeah, a friend of mine bought the DBZ book but we never bothered playing it.

When you have attacks that add, y'know, +1,000 dice to your pool, it gets a little silly.

[Ryan Murphy]

Go! Go! Exalted! (Corporate shillery should be a crime!)

[Patience]

I think it's crap that there isn't an improved Searing Light, one in the 6th level range that has a fifteen die cap that's good against anything. Orcus's fat ass would smell like Holy Bacon if he took 120 points of damage (240 on a crit).

Taken from page 87 of the Epic Level Handbook:

[glow]Vengeful Gaze of God[/glow]
Transmutation
Spellcraft DC: 419
Components: V,S
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 12,000 ft.
Target: One creature, or up to a 10 foot cube of nonliving matter in line of sight
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Fortitude half
SR:Yes
To Develop: 3,771,000 gp; 76 days; 143,640 XP. Seed: destroy (DC 29). Factor: to increase damage to 305d6 (+570 DC), 1-action casting time (+20 DC). Mitigating factor: 200d6 backlash (-200 DC).

The target of this spell is subject to a fury like unto heavenly wrath that deals 305d6 points of damage (or half of that if a Fortitude save succeeds). If the target is reduced to -10 hit points or less (or a construct, object, or undead is reduced to 0 hit points), it is utterly destroyed as if disintegrated, leaving behind only a trace of fine dust. Channeling such terrific forces has its price, and the caster is likewise dealt 200d6 points of damage as your eyes bleed and your skin convulses when the power is released. This spell often kills the caster, but it's often worth it.

[FlameBlade]

Holy...

[Cazmonster]

Umm, pass. I'll just go do the math so I can have a 6th level spell with 15 dice of damage to apply to demonic ass.

[Reika]

SR 41 is when you make that spellfire wielder with a few levels of epic spellfire wielder.

[Ancient History]

WHo wants to roll 305 d6's?

[Anguirel]

<voice class="Trident Commercial"> I do, I do!! </voice>

Edit: Someone else can roll the 200d6 against me, though... I don't wanna see it.

[FlameBlade]

I just calculated the most probable damage...

it's 1067-1068 points of damage. There's 50% chance of getting above that. There's 50% chance getting below that.

Since Orcus has about 800 hp...I would say... that there's 60-70% of chance that the vengeful eye of God will banish Orcus...in other words, better get fighters whack him down, to increase chance, but I don't see that happening

[Ryan Murphy]

Get us some more info, like standard deviation, variance, and give us some percentiles! Chop chop, Statistics boy!

[FlameBlade]

Urmmmmmmph.

[Ancient History]

I've been meaning to ask you: is your avatar
a)Fulgore from Killer Instinct?

or

b)from the game Fallout?

[Salvation122]

Fallout 2. That would be (Advanced?) Power Armor Mark II.

[Cazmonster]

I want the bigger dice man. D12's are just keen.

30d12 would be excellent to do to somebody.

[Ryan Murphy]

Sal gets it in one. I believe it's the power armor that the Supermutant wears, but I could be wrong.

[FlameBlade]

But it looks like Protoss...

[Cazmonster]

I can not wait to see what Blizzard does for the next iteration of Starcraft, aside from that Ghost piece of crap.

I want bad ass protoss Mo Fos and I want them soon.

[Patience]

En taro Adun, Caz.

[Ancient History]

Bring back the Xel'Naga!