Cleric of Gruumsh in a party with an Elf

[Tales and Chronicles]

Maybe you could depict the orc like Dragon Age has the Qunari: being an ork is not a racial thing in itself, its more a belief, a way of life, a (lack of) mentality. Maybe the the greatest victory for an orc, beyond crushing his enemies, is ''converting'' a non-beliver to being an ''ork''. The cleric of Grummsh could try to make an Orc out of the elf, showing him the way of the One-Eyed God so that he can also embrace his life as an orc.

 

[BookBarbarian]

Maybe you could depict the orc like Dragon Age has the Qunari: being an ork is not a racial thing in itself, its more a belief, a way of life, a (lack of) mentality. Maybe the the greatest victory for an orc, beyond crushing his enemies, is ''converting'' a non-beliver to being an ''ork''. The cleric of Grummsh could try to make an Orc out of the elf, showing him the way of the One-Eyed God so that he can also embrace his life as an orc.

Even putting aside the Qunari aspect, I do think a Cleric of Grummsh trying to get an elf to abandon his God/Elven Culture is more interesting than one trying to kill the elf.

It seems like the kind of thing Grummsh would get a kick out of.

 

[Hriston]

As a DM, I'd focus on putting the half-orc character in situations that test his newfound orcish identity and rejection of his adopted parents. What's he willing to do to prove he's truly an orc? Perhaps a full-orc he encounters calls him human and challenges him to do something orc-like to prove himself. Perhaps his adopted parents are in need of help and the player has to choose whether the half-orc turns his back on them. This gives the player a chance to develop her character in the direction she has indicated she wants to take it and explore the themes in which she's interested.

 

[DeanP]

I think you need to give them a common enemy, in which the Cleric of Gruumsh and the elven player can find a way to work together against a greater threat that both despise. I nominate the Drow. The ole "enemy of my enemy is my friend." Be sure to keep at least one Drow antagonist/major nemesis around for the entire campaign arc to help with the suspension of disbelief, and game away.

 

[ccs]

How's the elf character feel about this?
And how does the rest of the party feel about palling around with a cleric of an evil god?
Are their characters stupid? Ignorant? Evil? Or are they just the type of players who'll shrug & accept anything in order to get on with rolling the dice?
Because in a Role-Playing game it really should matter that the clerics patron god is Grummsh....

 

[Mistwell]

The half-orc could be trying, on behalf of Grummish, to discover all the wily tactics and tendencies of the hated enemy. Grummish believes the elf is favored by the nasty elf deities and their plots may be revealed by carefully watching the elf.

As long as he is able to gather such valuable intel on a prominent Elf, Grumish may reward such data with continued granting of spells and support. This is done with the understanding that, some day, the value of the information will be outweighed by taking down the elf...which this half-orc will be in the best position to accomplish given they've been watching him closely for a long time.

But for now, the success of the half-orc is bound to the success of the elf. You can't gather information on the plots and schemes of the disgusting fey creatures if your sample is dead. So, let the spells flow. Because someday, vengeance shall be swift and mighty.

 

[TwoSix]

Or are they just the type of players who'll shrug & accept anything in order to get on with rolling the dice?

<raises hand>
A party where everyone is having a good time is far more important than keeping your game world perfectly consistent with PHB tropes. The world exists to be a backdrop for the characters, not the other way around.

And if you are the type to prioritize your world over the characters, you have a session zero to make sure all the characters fit.

 

[Rossbert]

I like the idea of the god just not paying enough attention to know or care.

Another way to go is a bit warlocky. The cleric in some way got access to Gruumsh's divine power without the god's knowledge, blessing or consent. In at least one play test for something I saw an idea that clerics had a ritual to open a channel to a god to empower new clerics so you had to deal with the clergy and not the god at all.

The third way of running it straight and just making the party work through some creative finagling is also viable.

Long Example: I am currently playing an incredibly snobby elf in a party with another elf (rogue) and two humans (cleric and warlock/paladin).

His two big issues? Elves are better than other people, which he mainly expresses by frequently just assuming everyone else has elf abilities (darkvision, trance). He will then end up feigning shock when they can't, be patronizing about their limitations or mutter disparagingly under his breath. His other big prejudice is that wizardry, being the study and personal knowledge and control of magic is fundamentally better and more worthy than any magic that uses a "crutch" without the caster needing to understand magic, such as channeling power from a god or patron. The source does all the work, you just sit there and ask them to solve your problem, no fundamental knowledge or ability required.

How it works out is that the paladin saw a 'sign' that her god insisted she work with the wizard (there wasn't really one, she isn't that smart, just desperate for ANY sign). The wizard berates the paladin's magic crutch (though acknowledges and respects gods, just not the magically ignorant casters) while knowing full well the dedicated sword and shield is incredibly useful in his pursuit of knowledge, elvish artifacts and helping the destitute and oppressed. The paladin can't bail out of fear of refusing the god's will.

 

[Hriston]

It would also be helpful to know more about the character's ideals, bonds, and flaws.

 

[The Human Target]

It's a great story hook, and the cleric already seems very atypical.

I'd run with it and see what happens.

But talk to the players, and see what kind of stories they are interested in taking part in.

Not everything has to be DM stuff totally hidden from the players. Bring them into your confidence.