Church of Bahgtru

The church of Bahgtru was the primary religious organization dedicated to the worship and service of the orc god Bahgtru, The Leg-Breaker. They were commonly called Bahgtruns.

"Think not crafty thoughts, for they undermine the strength of the tribe. Loyalty to your leader is all that is required of you."

- An excerpt of the creed of Bahgtru's church.

Dogma
The dogma of Bahgtru was that of power and tribe loyalty; the strong were to crush the weak in order to strengthen the tribe. The only desirable mental trait for them was obedience to their leaders, and they were in fact required to remain unintelligent, for doing otherwise undermined the tribe's strength. Only physical strength could be relied on, for it was enduring, and the shields of weakness others used were to be rejected.

Beliefs
Warriors that revered Bahgtru sometimes kept stables of war bulls and rode atop the large, ox-like aurochs because of legends about Bahgtru riding a great bull into battle. By doing so they honored both him and the creatures, which were trained to be fierce mounts from a young age. To all orcs, aurochs were sacred symbols of their god imbued with his spirit, not to be harmed or eaten and treated as honored warriors upon death.

Terminology
The Leg-breaker's omens were known to come in the form of a splitting headache referred to as "Bahgtru's pat".

Activities
Followers of Bahgtru had to undergo near-constant and strenuous physical training regimens, as well subject young males to similar training, to bolster the overall power of their clan. They had to continually try to prove their superior strength and endurance through cruel competitions against tribe members, unprovoked aggression, and battle prowess, to show they were worthy of Gruumsh's gaze. Bahgtrun clerics led the elite males of the tribe that served as the bodyguards of the chief, whom they were to stay unwaveringly loyal to until they were killed or bested in a physical challenge.

The loyalty of Bahgtru's devoted only extended so far as the clan itself, with clan rivalries being encouraged. Just as competition within the tribe strengthened it, so too did interclan competition strengthen the orc race, and the Bahgtrun clergy always tried to convert other clans to Bahgtru's cult.

Membership
Bahgtru was the god of common orc warriors, his followers being the majority of young orcs that explorers would encounter—brash and eager to prove their strength and bravery to their elders. His clergy was often composed of the tribe's strongest members, and clerics of the Fist of Gruumsh had to keep themselves strong and physically fit, or else lose their abilities. Such orcs would have their spirits crushed by Bahgtru's fists in the afterlife, and stronger clerics had permission to help weaker clerics to the great beyond, usually without the consent of the latter.

Like scavengers behind a shark, the faithful followed Bahgtru's path of destruction while seeking to use his destruction to their benefit. Those who acted in the Leg-Breaker's name sought to break through clever trickery and adamant defense through raw power, with ogres and other brutes paying homage to his sheer strength. Tanarukks (orc–demon hybrids) content to use their strength to serve an orc leader (without much thinking) leaned towards the worship of Bahgtru, and were the strongest, most aggressive tribe members, rarely donning armor more than any other tanarukks out of the belief it was a weakness.

Classes
Even in relatively civilized orc tribes, many Bahgtrun clerics trained as barbarians, with others training as fighters or warriors.

Rituals
Clerics and adepts of Bahgtru prayed for their spells at dusk, when the Leg-Breaker "tore the sun from the sky". Every full moon, the Bahgtruns gathered for a Festival of Strength, when many challenges of physical ability were held, some of which were lethal for the inevitable winnowing of the weak. Other holy days for the Fist of Gruumsh were before and after battles, where the bones of enemies were sacrificed on the battlefield.

Shrines & Temples
Worshipers of Baghtru had a pile of broken femurs that served as a shrine to Bahgtru in the large, main cavern of an orc tribe. Even if space was available within the stronghold, Bahgtrun worshipers often lived outside the entrance in crude, shoddy fortifications, in order to protect the elders by guarding the most vulnerable parts of the lair.

Dress
Ordinarily, Bahgtrun clerics were to wear nothing but a loincloth. Armor was not to be worn, but at times studded leather armor could be worn.

Weapons
Weapons could be used as desired, but studded leather gauntlets were preferred.

Magic
The only special spell granted to Bahgtru's clerics was strength, albeit a variant that enhanced brawn beyond the ordinary limits of such magic.

Relationships
The clergy of Bahgtru was, reflecting Bahgtru's relationship to his father, subservient to that of Gruumsh, although they had to try and become dominant over any other priesthood in their clan.

History
Bahgtru's broken bone symbol was meant to be that of a behir's femur, owing to a legend of him breaking the first such creature's legs one by one, thus earning him his title. This served as a reminder to his followers that anything could be broken and bested through superior strength.