Temple of Luthic

Mythos

Luthic the Cave Mother is the orc fertility goddess and mate of Gruumsh, the leader of the orc pantheon. Her mate serves as the god of war & conquest while her son, Bahgtru, is the god of strength. Despite her prominent role in the pantheon, the other gods treat her as a servant and underestimate her influence. She plays to their preconceptions, manipulating her family to further her own ends.

History

Luthic’s worshippers often served as the cultural backbone of their tribe, raising the young, protecting their settlements, and crafting necessities. While an important role, they never received as great of praise as the raiders and hunters of the tribes. Strength and combat prowess was always exalted among the orc tribes north of the Verdant Vale.

Orcs in this region often raided their neighbors for resources and slaves, making enemies of the Drow, Dwarves, Goblins, and Humans, among others. They also waged war among themselves, competing for power and influence over their fellow orcs. The followers of Luthic were instrumental as they both defended the home front while the warriors went on raids and encouraged breeding in order to restock on fighters lost in combat.

About a century prior to the Troubled Years, the Kingdom of Gamore began a massive campaign to cull the orc hordes in the mountains. With assistance from the Dwarven Clans, these armies managed to wipe out several of the more prominent orc tribes. They also took hundreds of orc prisoners, most of them followers of Luthic that had surrendered in exchange for their young to be spared.

These captives were taken south to Gamore, resettled in encampments with military guards. The humans had expected to use them as hostages in exchange for brokering a peace deal with the orcs, but the other tribes were unconcerned about the families of fallen rivals. Faced with hundreds of prisoners, mostly females and children, King Ruharan began a controversial program to turn the orcs into assets rather than liabilities.

The adults were put into labor programs, turning their temporary encampments into towns & building roads connecting them to the rest of the kingdom. The children were put into education programs, learning Common, agriculture, and crafting skills. They continued to be taught about their Orc culture by the adults, but they were also aware that they had been abandoned to their captors by the other tribes.

The programs continued for a few generations, with fewer and fewer rebellion attempts and with the garrisons guarding them gradually being redeployed. Eventually, the Orcs in these villages came to be citizens, most of whom worshipped a modified version of the goddess Luthic. Their culture was now centered around self-sufficiency and they could serve as warriors in the kingdom’s military. There were occasional attempts at rebellion and returning to the old ways, but these skirmishes were often short lived and quickly suppressed.

Clergy & Worshippers

Luthic is primarily worshiped by Orcs & Half-Orcs, so her clergy is almost entirely drawn from those races. Within Gamore, her worship is centered in the town of Gallowshill and the Temple of the Cave Mother nearby. The faith has been restructured into a loosely organized religion with local Clan Mothers assisted by their daughters or adopted female heirs. The Clan Mothers are overseen by the Conclave of Matrons, a council consisting of senior Clan Mothers and led by the Great Matron.

As a goddess of fertility, healing, & medicine, many of her clerics and druids operate as physicians, pharmacists, & midwives to their communities. While Luthic was originally a patron of childbirth & children, her profile has since expanded to include agriculture. Major events that a cleric of Luthic is called for include childbirth, coming of age ceremonies, the sowing of crops, & the harvest.

The most important holiday for the Temple of Luthic is the Feast of the Moon. Celebrated on the night of the winter solstice, it was a time for orcs to gather for warmth in their shelters (& procreate) during the darkest and coldest time of the year. In Gamore the occasion is treated as a romantic holiday, though it still often results in a new addition to the family six months later.

As a goddess of craftsmanship, her role has expanded to include the artisans and merchants. While her followers were originally limited in there resources to the bare necessities of leatherworking, pottery, woodworking, & weaving, the Orcs of Gamore have proven to be industrious metalworkers. They have also shown great artistry in their more traditional crafts, so much so that Orc handy crafts are a frequent souvenir of travelers & adventurers.

Clerics & druids of Luthic are almost exclusively female. However, the Temple has come to sponsor a sect of mostly male paladins called the Order of Darkclaw. They are typically sworn to protect the Orc community, either acting as local law enforcement or within the kingdom’s military. They are considered an evolution of the Orog or the Claw of Luthic, the former being blessed with superior cunning & the latter being blessed with magic.

Tenants

• Community. When we are united, we are strong. A thousand hands can move mountains farther than the strongest alone.

• Family. Children are a blessing from the Cave Mother. They are the future of the clan & must be raised to be productive members of the community. That is the greatest honor for parents.

• Protection. The world is often a hostile and cruel place. Protect the future of the clan from all threats, be it blight, pest, or warriors.

• Strength. Only the strongest can survive the trials of life. Strength of mind, body, & soul needs to be exercised at all times so that none become a hinderance to the clan.

Religious Habit

The Clan Mothers of the Temple of Luthic do not have a specific uniform. Instead, they often wear badges of rank passed down by their individual clan. Motifs common to the Temple of Luthic are bears, as they are the sacred animals of the goddess. So the Clan Mother of one village may wear a necklace of bear claws while their neighboring Clan Mother will have a bearskin cloak.

Other common marks of the clergy include long nails painted black and sharpened into claws, a tradition to emulate depictions of Luthic and her association with bears. They also frequently wear jewelry depicting the holy symbol of Luthic, the Orc rune for “home.”

Relations with Other Faiths

The Orc Pantheon. Luthic was always marginalized by most of the Orc Pantheon, but her influence through her husband and son often leads the gods down paths she desires. Whether the Temple of Luthic in Gamore is a new path she is creating for her race or a heretical deviation is currently a mystery. The Orc Tribes view their kin as weaklings who blaspheme Gruumsh, often showing no mercy to them during raids.

The Goblinoid Pantheon. The gods of the Orcs and Goblinoids wage an eternal war on the Plane of Acheron. Luthic protects her children with a ferocity that can even outstrip that of her male counterparts. Legends describe that during rages she has overcome Maglubiyet himself, tearing at his eyes for threatening her children. Some prophecies even go so far as to predict that the only survivor of this cosmic war will eventually be Luthic and her children.

• Kikanuti. The fertility goddess of the Nomadic Goblins, Kikanuti’s followers try to maintain amicable terms with those of Luthic. While they both despise Magulbiyet, the Nomadic Goblins are frequently targeted by Orc raiders. Prejudices can often get the better of both groups if they are not careful.

The Morndinsamman. The Dwarven Pantheon is often in conflict with that of the Orcs. The Temple of Luthic in Gamore has no real official policy towards Dwarves or their gods, preferring to simply be as civil as possible to visiting Dwarves.

The Seldarine & Dark Seldarine. The long animosity between Elves & Orcs is often difficult to overcome. The Temple of Luthic in Gamore has no real official policy towards Elves or their gods, preferring to simply be as civil as possible to visiting Elves. An exception is of course made for the Drow of Lolth, as they still frequently have to fend off raids from the Underdark by these Dark Elves.

• Eilistraee. The worship of Eilistraee is popular amongst the Outcast Drow of Gamore. Often the followers of Luthic & Eilistraee will compete during the winter season as to who can throw the best festival: Eilistraee’s First Dance of the Winter Moon versus Luthic’s Feast of the Moon. This friendly rivalry generally improves both festivals without giving way to racial conflict.

The Raven Queen. Some followers of Luthic still prefer the traditional funeral rites of Yurtus the White Hand over those of the Raven Queen’s clerics. This generally involves harvesting bones of the dead to construct ossuaries in catacombs or caves near Orc communities. The Temple of the Raven Queen is still the state religion of Gamore, so the Orcs often feel obligated to include their local Raven Queen cleric in some part of the funerary service.

Other Deities or Entities. The Temple of Luthic in Gamore has a rather specific concern over the Demon Lord of Beasts, Baphomet. He offers a ritual to Orcs desperate for power, transforming them into a Tanarukk. These demonic creations will try to seize power and destroy any that oppose them. Should a bloodline be tainted by a Tanarukk, there is the chance that one of its descendants will birth a cambion to plague the Orc community.

Type

Religious, Temple