Gromism

Gromsism is the religion of the orcs. It is a deeply unorthodox religious system, when compared to other beliefs. It's predicated on the rejection of worship; the entire point of Grom's religion is to reject Grom's teachings. Adherents are called the Gromish.

History

• The orcs believe their creator, Grom, saw all of the humans constantly praying to their own gods, and thought they were weaker for it. So, he created the orcs, and promptly abandoned them, hoping they would become stronger than men for not having a benevolent god to pray to.

• Grom’s only function as a god is to punish the orcs that are weak enough to revere him. But, he is still seen as the master of the universe, so orcs sometimes look to him when they have no other recourse.

• Orcs believe that, when they die, they are brought before Grom, and must serve as his slave for a length of time proportional to the amount of times that they prayed to him or swore his name. After that, they are permitted to move onto the afterlife, which the orcs conceive of as an idyllic natural landscape where Grom permits them to rest after a life of struggle.

Participants

• Grom suffers no clerics or paladins, and grants no divine magic.

• Orcish religious leaders are the ones that have a hatred for Grom that borders on the pathological, and would be the least likely to pray to him under any circumstances. They are expected to be extremely wise in the practical arts. When orcs come to them seeking counsel, they must try to offer solutions that don’t involve prayer or worship. They are herbalists, advisors, and diviners; wise first, and pious second.

Observance

• Blasphemy is the language of their religion; orcish prayers and rites typically involve insults and curses in the name of Grom. His epithets might be "the Fat", "the Moron", the "Repulsive to Women." The only prayers that please Grom is no prayer at all, but at least these let him know that the orc in question doesn’t truly revere him.

• At the same time, orcs will jump to defend their god's honor if other races speak about him in this way. The softer peoples have their own gods to coddle them; that’s just insulting the orcish god for fun.

Primary Related Location

The Dales