Kharism

The religion practiced by Chudun Orcs, Kharism stresses obedience to Gruumsh and savage conquest of other races.

Tenets of Faith

Gruumsh is the center of the dark, primal religion of the orcs, one of brutality, bloodshed, and devastation. As venerators of Gruumsh, orcs take pleasure in the act of slaughter and put their faith in blind savagery. Orcs see Gruumsh's face in avalanches, believe him to be angry when the earth rumbles, and hear is voice in howling storms. These perceptions are not necessarily untrue, as Gruumsh, for example, is known to create thunderheads in front of his rampaging hordes, calling on his Talos aspect to create powerful storms. Gruumsh is a god of destruction, and he brings it to people, civilization, and the land itself through his orcs. Orcs are a naturally chaotic race, acting based on instincts and emotions rather than logic or reason, and most normal orcs lack the capacity to control others in their tribe. Often, only certain charismatic individuals can do so, and it is not enough to simply claim allegiance to Gruumsh. Rather, when orcs prove themselves through feats of ferocity and acts of strength, Gruumsh will directly touch them with his will and might, for they are considered worthy of being true followers.

Priesthood

A singled-out individual will be visited by Gruumsh and bestowed with a dream or vision signifying their acceptance. This would psychologically, and often physically, transform the orc, driving some to the brink of madness and leaving them only able to mutter about omens and prophecies, while imbuing others with supernatural powers, allowing them to rise a position of authority among their peers. In wilder regions, the priests of Gruumsh tend towards becoming barbarians, while those in or near a civilization commonly become fighters.

If Gruumsh intended females to be the equal of males he'd have given them bigger muscles.

— A less-brutish translation of a saying among orc warriors. Most of the orc pantheon is extremely patriarchal, with most of the gods only accepting male priests and shamans. This applies especially to Gruumsh, who is considered the orc god of virility (in contrast to Luthic, who governs fertility). This is a result of the "might makes right" attitude common in orcish society, since males are stronger on average than females. Even so, a female strong enough to defeat those that would subjugate her could reach any position, with the sole exception of becoming a cleric of Gruumsh. Battle priests (the clerics of Gruumsh) travel with orc war bands to provide counsel and religious guidance, reading omens, saying prayers, and making the proper sacrifices before and after battle. Orcs compete for their favor, for those who are judged the best combatants receive his spells and have a better chance at survival. This useful service cannot hide the fact that battle priests highlight the fundamental contradiction of orc culture. The race strives to enact glorious warfare, but few are willing to die for the sake of their kin or tribe. As a chosen disciple of Gruumsh, the priest expects others to die on his behalf -- self-interested behavior Gruumsh could accept, but is 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 takes a sharp turn towards the former when an enemy cleric appears, particularly one of Corellon. In this case, battle priests 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 is that clerics sometimes "adopt" a soldier, passing on the teachings of Gruumsh to them while on march. This student will eventually "graduate" by casting their first spell, usually in a major battle. Specialty priests of Gruumsh can only be found in large clans, with half of his clergy consisting of shamans and witch-doctors. Shamans of Gruumsh, among other requirements, can never lose a personal battle, suffering instant death at their deity's hand if they did. The loss of the tribe in battle means the loss in power of the shaman, which could be regained by successful conquest later on. Furthermore, they can never use curative spells on anyone but themselves. Despite this high price of office, orcish shamans are highly favoured by Gruumsh in his effort to outdo other deities, and the rigors of shamanic status have some compensation. Firstly they are given extra favor that made them tougher than they would normally be, and second are trained extensively with weapons, making them as equally competent fighters as they are shamans. Rare among orcs are war howlers, whose talent for inspiring bloodlust makes them highly-valuable. Though the orcish equivalents of bards, these skilled fighters are taught by the clerics, and memorize ancient chants of hatred against all other races, harnessing litanies that list the many crimes of the enemy with such stirring delivery that others are driven to battle. Yet again, however, the internal conflict of orc society means that few of them survive to be practiced warriors. Their obvious leadership skills makes them prime rivals for a chief's supremacy, so only the greatest warlords have the confidence to field many.

Sects

Although they acknowledge Gruumsh as the leader of the orc gods, Gray Orcs do not normally feel bound to worship him above any other members of the pantheon. They worship the various orc deities equally, and normally select the one that most closely aligns with their individual interests. Intertribal conflict is perpetuated by religious bigotry, since most members of a particular tribe tend to a favor a specific patron deity whose interests conflict with the other orc gods. Even so, even orc tribes that hold another god as their patron usually pay some homage to Gruumsh as the king of the pantheon. Mountain orcs acknowledge the other orc gods, but considered them as little more than the servants of Gruumsh. Almost all mountain orc clerics are Gruumsh-worshipers, and as a whole religion is not an all-consuming matter for them. This also applies to Orogs (orcs blessed by Luthic) who worship the whole orc pantheon, but Gruumsh and Luthic foremost, out of their respect for might alone and belief that the gods are mightiest. Deep orcs display this relatively secular worldview to an even greater degree. Though they retained the worship of Gruumsh when they descended into the Underdark, they have more or less forgotten the other members of the pantheon. Religion is still an established facet of their society, but the average deep orc is not interested in matters of the spirit and sees clerics as little more than healers. Half-Orcs that were raised in orc tribes normally follow Gruumsh. As a god of strength, action, and war, which half-orcs are skilled in and have a propensity towards, they find him an inspiring, if bloodthirsty patron, and relate well to his teachings of hatred towards elves and dwarves since both of them often hate the half-orcs in turn. However, even half-orc barbarians and fighters might worship him as a war god even if not evil themselves. Those tired of explaining themselves or who want to avoid mistrust keep their religious stances private. Tanarukks, orc-tanar'ri planetouched, all revere Gruumsh, especially chieftains, who see their demonic blood as a reward for their long service. They kill the weakest young of their tribes, as well as those among them who did not manifest tanarukk abilities, believing them to have committed a grave offense by rejecting Gruumsh's gifts. However, Ilneval is worshiped almost as Gruumsh's equal, and if they continue to expand the god of orc crossbreeds is likely to supplant the One-Eyed God in their eyes. Though orcs are his most fervent followers, Gruumsh has come to dominate a multitude of savage humanoids, which he unleashes 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 worship Tiamat, around 5% are devoted to different deities, with the more destructive, ravaging types favoring Gruumsh. Evil rangers of all kinds may also worship He Who Watches. Ogres rarely practice religion unless introduced to a deity by another race, even if said race was one they treated as enemies. Meetings between orcs and ogres are often violent, but when orcs win, they sometimes take the ogres captive and recognize their value in battle, treating them with surprising fairness before adopting them into the tribe and converting them into Gruumans. Most become barbarians, but a few are 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.