Church of Gruumsh

The church of Gruumsh was the primary religious organization dedicated to the worship and service of the orc deity Gruumsh, the One-Eyed God. They were commonly called Gruumans.

Membership
Though orcs were his most fervent followers, Gruumsh had come to dominate a multitude of savage humanoids, which he unleashed against the civilized world. For example, during the Spellplague, trolls also worshiped Gruumsh, seeing Vaprak as their racial patron under him. Although an overwhelming majority of evil dragons worshiped Tiamat, around 5% were devoted to different deities, with the more destructive, ravaging types favoring Gruumsh. Evil rangers of all kinds may also worship He Who Watches.
 * Non-Orcs:

Ogres rarely practiced religion unless introduced to a deity by another race, even if said race was one they treated as enemies. Meetings between orcs and ogres were often violent, but when orcs won, they sometimes took the ogres captive and recognized their value in battle, treating them with surprising fairness before adopting them into the tribe and converting them into Gruumans. Most became barbarians, but a few were trained as "tempests", acting as a tribe's champion and mascot. Armed with an orc double axe and marked with armor bearing Gruumsh's symbol, the appearance of a tempest on the battlefield could strike terror in the enemy and rally shaken orcs.

Classes
In wilder regions, battle priests, the clerics of Gruumsh, tended towards becoming barbarians, while those in or near a civilization commonly became fighters. They traveled with orc war bands to provide counsel and religious guidance, reading omens, saying prayers, and making the proper sacrifices before and after battle. Orcs would compete for their favor, for those who were judged the best combatants would receive his spells and have a better chance at survival.

This useful service could not hide the fact that battle priests highlighted the fundamental contradiction of orc culture. The race strived to enact glorious warfare, but few were willing to die for the sake of their kin or tribe. As a chosen disciple of Gruumsh, the priest expected others to die on his behalf, self-interested behavior Gruumsh could accept, but was not allowed to cower behind other warriors when faced with a dangerous adversary, leading to the priests indecisively drifting at the edge of the fight.

These paradoxical priorities of showing bravery while guaranteeing one's own survival took a sharp turn towards the former when an enemy cleric appeared, particularly one of Corellon. In this case, battle priests would use the magic they would otherwise have withheld for the best warrior on themselves before charging forward to slay his rival. Further contrasting this selfish behavior was that clerics would sometimes "adopt" a soldier, passing on the teachings of Gruumsh to them while on march. This student would then eventually "graduate" by casting their first spell, usually in a major battle.

Specialty priests of Gruumsh could only be found in large clans, with half of his clergy consisting of shamans and witch-doctors. Shamans of Gruumsh, among other requirements, could never lose a personal battle, suffering instant death at their deity's hand if they did. The loss of the tribe in battle meant the loss in power of the shaman, which could be regained by successful conquest later on. Furthermore, they could never use curative spells on anyone but themselves. Despite this high price of office, orcish shamans were highly favored by Gruumsh in his effort to outdo other deities, and the rigors of shamanic status had some compensation. Firstly they were given extra favor that made them tougher than they would normally be, and second were trained extensively with weapons, making them as equally competent fighters as they were shamans.

Rare among orcs were war howlers, whose talent for inspiring bloodlust made them highly valuable. Though the orcish equivalents of bards, these skilled fighters were taught by the clerics, and had memorized ancient chants of hatred against all other races, harnessing litanies that listed the many crimes of the enemy with such stirring delivery that others were driven to battle. Yet again, however, the internal conflict of orc society meant that few of them survived to be practiced warriors. Their obvious leadership skills made them prime rivals for a chief's supremacy, so only the greatest warlords had the confidence to field many.

Shrines & Temples
Gruumsh was to be worshiped within orcish lairs. Once orcs made camp somewhere, a war hearth would be lit, serving as a place for the celebration and feasting after victory and killing, and to represent the rage in the unblinking eye of their god. It was kept continually burning by the priests, and if the orcs moved camp then coals would be collected from the hearth and kept glowing in shells and pots until a new hearth was started. Adjacent to the main chamber was the war chief's residence, which housed a smaller fire in its center, and next to his enclosed sleeping area would be a shrine to Gruumsh consisting of a crude stone effigy surrounded by bloody offerings.

Some temple or shrine to Gruumsh laid at the heart of almost every orcish community. These were oppressive places filled with acrid smoke and the stench of blood, and were essentially military camps with as many fighters and barbarians as clerics. The temples and larger shrines always had holding cells for sacrifices to be made, and many housed gladiatorial zones, the largest hosting arenas where wagering was common and the best gladiators could earn much treasure. Some were known to acquire young girallons in order to train them as guardians and fighting beasts.

Notable Locations
Rumors spoke of ruined temples of Gruumsh in the flooded forests north of Ylraphon.

Dress
Orc war priests wore a patch over one eye to symbolize their worship of the orc deity. They also dressed in dark red vestments, armored with war helms and black plate mail.

Magic
Various orc rituals had been contrived and lost over the years. An orc who subjected themselves to rituals involving Gruumsh's judgement might undergo various effects. At times Gruumsh saw fit to grant a commune or raise dead spell and at others he deemed the orc unworthy and devoured their body and soul. Those he did find worthy might be rewarded with the Mark of Nishrek, imbuing them with the powers of the Hatred and Orc domains as well as causing a symbol (a broad diamond-shaped "pupil" with a slender, similarly shaped "iris" inside) to manifest as a burned scar on the forehead.

By bathing in the bubbling green blood of Gruumsh (usually found at unholy sites where clerics tended to iron cauldrons full of the ichor) it was possible for an orc to become Gruumsh-blooded. This caused the permanent shriveling and subsequent loss of the left eye, but empowered them with Gruumsh's fury among other strange abilities.

Other rituals used by Gruumans included the collection of raiding captives for a mass sacrifice to Gruumsh, the completion of which would summon an aspect of his to terrorize the nearby region, or an act of great destruction performed by a powerful priest to call forth an exarch. They might also utilize magic rituals made by other races, such as the method for creating plague walkers, as Gruuman clerics rarely cared if their troops got caught in the crossfire of their rancid bursts.

Magic Items
Shamans could so impress Gruumsh with their outstanding destructive tendencies that he rewarded them with a magical iron spear, a weapon granted to only a twentieth of the most powerful among them. They functioned as +4 weapons when held (not thrown) by an orc shaman, were non-magical for all others, and burned elves that touched them, forcing them to be dropped.

Only worshipers of Gruumsh could use the power of Shields of the Severed Hand, so called for the gory, dripping hand, its bloody marks and symbols always wet, emblazoned on their wooden surfaces. The shields allowed one to easily bat foes aside whether charging at them or blocking their strikes. Orcs favored the weapons for their shock value, and the first was made when an orc warrior chopped off an elf king's hand and mounted it on his shield, the shield having been found intact amongst the ashes of the same warrior's funeral pyre with the palm print still present.

Another artifact related to the faith was the so-called Hammer of Gruumsh, a +1 maul engraved with abstract designs. The first to wield it was the orc king Gorak but many warlords had held it since, more recently Kursk One-Tusk and an orog named Thrull after him. The wielder of the Hammer could sunder objects with ease, and saw orc-blooded creatures bend more easily to their desires.

Spells
A number of spells and prayers were unique to Gruuman priests:
 * Battle line
 * Bloodspear
 * Pocket cave