The Return of Orcus

[Shemeska]

He found the knowledge of the Last Word in some unbeliveably ancient ruins in the lowest level of Gehenna (I think), and if I remember rightly he made sure that no-one could get that knowledge after him.

It was on Arborea's third layer of Pelion/Mithardir, among the nameless ruins of some now vanished potentially pre-Eladrin race. More than just The Last Word was contained within that particular structure, but Tenebrous destroyed it, and killed one of the two guardians of the place before he left.

 

[Shemeska]

and in the final H4 Throne of Bloodstone the 100th lvl PC is to recover the Wand of Orcus and destroy it as the background to this whole why Orcus is gone in the first place.

That was the plan at least, but they apparently didn't destroy it, or only destroyed a copy, because Orcus had his actual wand when Kiaranselee ended up killing him.

And, that said, H4 is the goofiest adventure written in the history of D&D. St Sollars.... *shudder* I like to pretend it doesn't exist sometimes.

 

[Shemeska]

Very, very interesting.

Which adventure module (or book) has these details?

2e 'Dead Gods' has all the firm details, though 'Great Modron March' is a precursor to the module that features the death of the previous Primus (Orcus/Tenebrous is not directly revealed as such till Dead Gods).

 

[diaglo]

That was the plan at least, but they apparently didn't destroy it, or only destroyed a copy, because Orcus had his actual wand when Kiaranselee ended up killing him.

And, that said, H4 is the goofiest adventure written in the history of D&D. St Sollars.... *shudder* I like to pretend it doesn't exist sometimes.

i try and act like it doesn't exist too. but it keeps staring at me.


the worst adventure though was WG7 Castle Greyhawk. both for goofiness and downright bad taste.

and the worst product was The Shady Dragon Inn.

 

[Shemeska]

i try and act like it doesn't exist too. but it keeps staring at me.

the worst adventure though was WG7 Castle Greyhawk. both for goofiness and downright bad taste.

I really have to wonder what the original rationale behind that particular module. It was... disturbing.

and the worst product was The Shady Dragon Inn.

I can't say I'm familiar with that one. Is this is a good thing?

 

[Felon]

I seem to recall he offed Maanzecorian when the illithid god of secrets could not or would not divulge the location of the rod of Orcus. There isn't much info on why he offed the other deities, but it stands to reason they were for similar reasons, Camaxtli being a god of fate and Tomeri a goddess of wisdom. I do submit, though, that he offed Bwimb simply out of annoyance.

Regarding Bwimb:

Tenebrous then set to finding the Wand of Orcus, for without the nourishment of its wicked energy, he feared his new form might not long endure. Besides - the wand was his, and he would possess its power anew. Ancient lore, stolen from many sources, led him to the dusty Arborean layer of Pelion, where he found a mighty force of destruction known as the Last Word. What’s more, Tenebrous learned - at last! - that his missing wand lay in the Paraelemental Plane of Ooze. So to Ooze he went.

That blithering, simpering Bwimb creature, Tenebrous mused, remembering what had happened when he’d arrived. Baron of Ooze indeed. He disgusted me. He did nothing but beg for his lfe. It was a pleasure to kill him. The multiverse is better off without such weaklings. Ah, but what did he care about making things better?

In any event, he had been misled. The Wand of Orcus wasn't there at all.

And the others NiTessene states, the others were destroyed as Tenebrous sought to rip their secrets from various minor gods of knowledge in the hopes they might have a clue about the location of his wand.

 

[diaglo]

I can't say I'm familiar with that one. Is this is a good thing?

it was a push to sell the plush and plastic merchandise. it tied in with Quest for the Heartstone (another waste of my hard earned dollars at the time)

 

[Nichols]

I may be incorrect, but I believe the first mention of Orcus' death at the hands of Kiaransalee is in Planes of Chaos, when it discusses the Abyssal layer of Thanatos. I might be wrong though.

 

[BOZ]

correct, however, it goes out of its way not to mention his name.

 

[Felon]

The great demon lord Orcus has long sought divinity. Some years ago, for a brief period, he actually attained it. Slain and resurrected by a surge of negative energy, the sorpulent demon arose as the gaunt Tenebrous, a god of darkness and undeath. For a time he traveled the planes in this form, slaying other gods in his quest to gain more power. His ultimate goal was to reincarnate himself yet again because he wished to be a god as orcus, not Tenebrous. Some say he was thwarted by a band of mortal heroes, but whatever the cause, his grand plan failed. Orcus did indeed rise again, but as the demon prince he once was, not a god.

True divinity can never fade completely. The tatters of godly power that Orcus shed remained intact. Less then a god but still divine, this bit of essence drifted in the void between planes until it once more coalesced into a bitter sentience.

Thus, Tenebrous yet exists as a pale reflection of what he once was, a shadow of a shadow.

It's interesting to note that this intel is a retcon of how Orcus is presented in Dead Gods. That module regards Orcus as having been a deity prior to being slain and resurrected (hence the title "Dead Gods"), and that he's actually diminished as Tenebrous--he's literally a shadow of his former self.

I'm re-reading to see how convertable it is to 3.5e. It's a fun read, and the artwork's wonderful, but damn it's long. It's like a Dungeon Magazine Adventure Path unto itself...although you don't actually to fight Tenebrous at the adventure's end.

Btw, anyone else find the notion that a demon lord--an emboditment of chaos if there ever was--could stand in for any length of time as Primus, an exemplar of order?