D&D General Ideas for other Orcish religions/cultures that are alternatives to the Gruumshite religion

[Eltab]

Orcs could revere the Mordenkainen Correlon (never by that name!) as the source of the formless ever-moving magical power which their wizards learn to tap and form and control.

Silvanus (nature red in tooth and claw) would adapt easily to many worlds' Orcs.

Yondalla might be seen as a patron goddess of children and places made safe for those not yet strong enough to do that task themselves. (And her dark side, Dalla Yon, empowers those who seek new homes for the tribe to settle into and make them safe places to raise children.)

Even if Orcs have Sunlight Sensitivity, they recognize the need for light to make plants grow so animals can eat them and become bountiful feasts for orcs, so a Sun god can fit in a pantheon. Maybe as a remote figure who just sticks to his own job and doesn't interfere in other beings' doings.

 

[Flamestrike]

To be fair, this kind of nuance is harder to write in settings where the gods in question are objectively real.

I disagree. I dont see how it makes any difference at all.

 

[GreenTengu]

I could definitely see them as some sort of nature-spirit based animism.

The wind has a spirit, the trees have spirits, the mountain has a spirit-- basically everything has spirits-- the spirits have desires and desire certain things to be done. In return, a small handful of special orcs can ask those spirits for favors and have them fulfilled.

But if you don't show respect and reverence to the spirits and fulfill their requests, then they will become angry and make seek to destroy you. If there is an earthquake or an avalanche or a tidal wave or a tornado or a blizzard it is because the particular spirit was not properly appeased (unless the event happens to favor the Orcs, in which case it was a blessing and favor by those spirits).

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

Orcs of my homebrew world are rangers, nature clerics, druids, and shamans. They don't worship a deity, but do venerate nature.

 

[Kobold Avenger]

Orcs of my homebrew world are rangers, nature clerics, druids, and shamans. They don't worship a deity, but do venerate nature.

I generally see something like that as one of the examples closer to some more recent depictions of Orcs, especially with something like World Of Warcraft.

 

[Voadam]

In one of my Freeport Trilogy games I kept having each wave of Orcs sent out by Captain Scarbelly being worshipers of One Eye.

1st group "Gruumsh sees all!"

Second Group: Berserkers of the One-eyed All-Father! Odin!

Third group: Balor of the Evil Eye!

Fourth group: Talos and his Gods of Fury!

If there was a fifth encounter group it would have been: Vecna sees all! to go with a White Hand orcs of Saruman vibe.

My homebrew campaign world had multiple real world and fantasy pantheons operating and I liked having the different races have multiple pantheons and religions each.

 

[Kobold Avenger]

For the Syncretic Orcs, I see some as being a combination of approaches like Roman Mystery Cults and Voodoo, where some deities get reinterpreted. This movement would be at odds with the Orthodox Gruumshite, especially if it came from Orcs tribes/nations that had more diplomatic relations to Humans, Halflings and other races. Half-Orcs might have huge role in such a movement too.

 

[Kobold Avenger]

As for non-Orc followers of Gruumsh, they might have briefly touched on that with the Nentir Vale setting as they tried to make certain deities less exclusive to certain races.

 

[aco175]

I thought there was some stuff for FR in the Vassa or Narfell region. I was looking at some of it, but looks like there is a large amount of 1/2orcs. I thought there was a novel I read about all the tribes being migrant and only having gatherings once a year. Made them sound more like Native American plains Indians over savage Klingons.

 

[Aldarc]

Using a customized version of the Dawn War Pantheon, I have Gruumsh more as an Ares figure. Orcs provide veneration to Gruumsh's father, Bane, as well as to Gruumsh's mother, Melora. But they also provide prayers to related figures, including even to Gruumsh's uncle Moradin, a god of labor and crafting, as well as Gruumsh's cousin Kord, a god of champions, and Kord's sister Avandra, a goddess of luck, travel, and livestock.