Orcus

Lord of the Undead, Prince of the Undead, Prince of Undeath, Blood Lord

Overview

The bloated Demon Prince of the Undead seeks to end all life in the cosmos, replacing the living with immortal, undead creatures that answer only to him. In this grim future, the many suns of the Material Plane are extinguished, and all hope has faded away. All that remains is the eternally static realm of the living dead.
Orcus is the universe’s staunchest advocate of stagnation. He sees the activity of life as noisy, crude, and maddening. It rakes at his senses like the claws of a rat scratch across a hard floor. In his view, the universe can know peace only when life’s incessant hum is replaced with the peace and quiet of the world of the dead.

Cultists

Worshipers of Orcus are heretics and blasphemers who see the gods of the multiverse as cruel, unjust creatures. They resent that mortals must suffer and die at the whims of these entities. In Orcus, they see the promise of release from pain without the demand for obedience. In the state of undeath that Orcus offers, they will be free from hunger, fear, and worry.
People who have lost a loved one to a tragic death are especially susceptible to his appeal. A father stricken with grief after the death of his child might seek Orcus’s intervention in returning his child to the world after the gods cruelly snatched her away.
All who would become cultists of Orcus must be willing to become undead. Those who commit to the cause are admitted to the cult. Those who have second thoughts and attempt to decline are destroyed, their souls condemned to the Outer Planes while their bodies are animated as skeletons and zombies.

Orcus's Lair

Orcus makes his lair in the fortress city of Naratyr, which is on Thanatos, the layer of the Abyss that he rules. Surrounded by a moat fed by the River Styx, Naratyr is an eerily quiet and cold city, its streets often empty for hours at a time. The central castle of bone has interior walls of flesh and carpets made of woven hair. The city contains wandering undead, many of which are engaged in continuous battles with one another.

Lair Actions

On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), Orcus can take a lair action to cause one of the following effects; he can’t use the same effect two rounds in a row:

• Orcus’s voice booms throughout the lair. His utterance causes one creature of his choice to be subjected to power word kill. Orcus needn’t see the creature, but he must be aware that the individual is in the lair.
• Orcus causes up to six corpses within the lair to rise as skeletons, zombies, or ghouls. These undead obey his telepathic commands, which can reach anywhere in the lair.
• Orcus causes skeletal arms to rise from an area on the ground in a 20-foot square that he can see. They last until the next initiative count 20. Each creature in that area when the arms appear must succeed on a DC 23 Strength saving throw or be restrained until the arms disappear or until Orcus releases them (no action required).

Regional Effects

The region containing Orcus’s lair is warped by Orcus’s magic, creating one or more of the following effects:

• Dead beasts periodically animate as undead mockeries of their former selves. Skeletal and zombified versions of local wildlife are commonly seen in the area.
• The air becomes filled with the stench of rotting flesh, and buzzing flies grow thick within the region, even when there is no carrion to be found.
• If a humanoid spends at least 1 hour within 1 mile of the lair, that creature must succeed on a DC 23 Wisdom saving throw or descend into a madness determined by the table below. A creature that succeeds on this saving throw can’t be affected by this regional effect again for 24 hours.

If Orcus dies, these effects fade over the course of 1d10 days.

Madness of Orcus

If a creature goes mad in Orcus’s lair or within line of sight of the demon lord, roll on the table below to determine the nature of the madness, which is a flaw that lasts until cured.

d100	Flaw (lasts until cured)
1-20	“I often become withdrawn and moody, dwelling on the insufferable state of life.”
21-40	“I am compelled to make the weak suffer.”
41-60	“I have no issue against tampering with the dead in my search to better understand death.”
61-80	“I want to achieve the everlasting existence of undeath.”
81-100	“I am awash in the awareness of life’s futility.”

Orcus CR: 26 (90,000 XP)

Huge fiend (demon), chaotic evil

Armor Class: 17 (20 with the wand of Orcus)

Hit Points: 405 (30d12 + 210)

Speed: 40 ft , fly: 40 ft

STR

27 +8

DEX

14 +2

CON

25 +7

INT

20 +5

WIS

20 +5

CHA

25 +7

Saving Throws: Dex +10, Con +15, Wis +13

Skills: Arcana +12, Perception +12

Damage Resistances: Cold, Fire, Lightning

Damage Immunities: Necrotic, Poison, as well as Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing from nonmagical attacks

Condition Immunities: Charmed, Exhausted, Frightened, Poisoned

Senses: Truesight 120 feet, Passive Perception 22

Languages: All, Telepathy 120 feet

Challenge Rating: 26 (90,000 XP)

Wand of Orcus. The wand has 7 charges, and any of its properties that require a saving throw have a save DC of 18. While holding it, Orcus can use an action to cast animate dead, blight, or speak with dead. Alternatively, he can expend 1 or more of the wand’s charges to cast one of the following spells from it: circle of death (1 charge), finger of death (1 charge), or power word kill (2 charges). The wand regains 1d4 + 3 charges daily at dawn. While holding the wand, Orcus can use an action to conjure undead creatures whose combined average hit points don’t exceed 500. These undead magically rise up from the ground or otherwise form in unoccupied spaces within 300 feet of Orcus and obey his commands until they are destroyed or until he dismisses them as an action. Once this property of the wand is used, the property can’t be used again until the next dawn.
Innate Spellcasting. Orcus’s spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 23, +15 to hit with spell attacks). He can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:

• At will: chill touch (17th level), detect magic
• 3/day each: create undead, dispel magic
• 1/day: time stop

Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If Orcus fails a saving throw, he can choose to succeed instead.
Magic Resistance. Orcus has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Magic Weapons. Orcus’s weapon attacks are magical.
Master of Undeath. When Orcus casts animate dead or create undead, he chooses the level at which the spell is cast, and the creatures created by the spells remain under his control indefinitely. Additionally, he can cast create undead even when it isn’t night.

Actions

Multiattack. Orcus attacks twice with his Wand of Orcus.
Wand of Orcus. Melee Weapon Attack: +19 to hit, reach 10 feet, one target. Hit: 3d8 + 8 bludgeoning damage plus 2d12 necrotic damage.
Tail. Melee Weapon Attack: +16 to hit, reach 10 feet, one target. Hit: 3d8 + 8 piercing damage plus 2d8 poison damage.

Legendary Actions

Orcus can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn. Orcus regains spent legendary actions at the start of his turn.
Tail. Orcus makes one tail attack.
A Taste of Undeath. Orcus casts chill touch (17th level).
Creeping Death (Costs 2 Actions). Orcus chooses a point on the ground that he can see within 100 feet of him. A cylinder of swirling necrotic energy 60 feet tall and with a 10-foot radius rises from that point and lasts until the end of Orcus’s next turn. Creatures in that area are vulnerable to necrotic damage.

Alignment

Chaotic Evil

Gender

Male