Luthic
The Cave Mother, The Healer, Great Mother, The Blood Moon Witch Goddess of caves, orc females, home, wisdom, fertility, medicine, healing, and servitude Lesser goddess
Alignment: Lawful Evil
Domains: Cavern, Earth, Evil, Family, Healing, Life, Nature, Orc
Symbol: Orc rune meaning "cave entrance"
Luthic (pronounced LOOTH-ick) is the wife (and sometime servant) of Gruumsh and the mother of Bahgtru, although only the latter pays her heed. The Son of Gruumsh honors his mother's commands, even above Gruumsh, a small rebellion on the part of his otherwise loyal son that the One-Eye God tolerates only grudgingly. She has only a small following, but her worshipers are faithful enough to feed her plenty of power. She's the one the orcs turn to when they're in need of morale, healing, and children. For a female (a curse indeed in orcish society), she proves herself far more useful than most males'd ever think possible.
Truth is, Luthic is one of the few who can readily bend the ears of both Gruumsh and Bahgtru, and she doesn't shy from using this to her advantage. Chant is she's also secretly communicating with Hecate for help against the goblins, but so far the witch-queen hasn't responded to Luthic's overtures. The Great Mother never gives up, though, and she's determined to get Hecate on the orcs' side soon.
Luthic has a strong affinity for the earth on which her enduring strength is built. Although hardly kind, she tends to the injured with a brusque efficiency and is the quiet bedrock on which the orc pantheon rests. The Cave Mother does not take kindly to those who abuse her name, inflicting wasting diseases on those who do. She has a nasty temper that can erupt at any time. Her avatar is dispatched after great battles, to heal, and sometimes to observe and protect orcs during fertility rites. Her omens may appear as claw marks in rock, a magical darkening of some area, or as a rumbling in a cave mouth.
A Lighter Shade of Black: Given her domains, which include Fertility, Wisdom and even Healing. Dragon Ascendant: 5th edition establishes that Luthic is the foremost of the orc gods next to Gruumsh, and Volo speculates that, should Gruumsh' endless war finally end, it would be Luthic who became chief god, and not her husband.
Earth Mother: Luthic is a mother-goddess who governs over fertility (mostly for female orcs; Gruumsh is the male fertility god) and her affinity with the earth is strong; many orcs rub themselves in dirt to ensure they have many children, while making an invocation to her.
Evil Matriarch: It's pretty much her job and she encourages this mindset to her followers. Femme Fatalons: Luthic has unbreakable black claws four feet long. The other orcish gods fear her great claws, which are so strong they can tunnel through solid rock.
Genius Bruiser: She's an orc goddess, so she's definitely strong. She's also one of the cleverer deities in the orc panteon.
Healer Goddess: She is a goddess of primitive medicine and healing. Her avatar is often dipatched to heal injured orc warriors after great battles, which she does with brusque efficiency. Her clerics also teach simple healing and herbalism to orcs, skills that enable orc warriors to survive many battles.
Informed Attribute: While every edition of D&D has officially listed her as some variation of Evil, they never seem to include examples of her doing or ordering anything evil. Her primary concern has always been the continuation of the orc race, so this comes off as guilt-by-association.
Mama Bear: She is the orc goddess of motherhood and is fiercely protective of her children, and it is her priestesses who raise and protect the tribe's children. Fittingly, her sacred animal is the cave bear. Our Orcs Are Different: While still brutal, her domains differ greatly from the other orc gods.
The Scottish Trope: Luthic does not take kindly to anyone abusing her name, orc or non-orc alike, and she may (25% chance) inflict a wasting disease on them that, unless the curse is broken, will prove fatal within 2-7 days. The Smurfette Principle: Luthic is the only female deity of the orc pantheon. Aside from her loyal son Bahgtru, the other orc gods pay her only a modicum of respect and then only because she is the wife of Gruumsh, treatment she grudgingly accepts as her lot even if she detests it.
White Magician Girl: Inverted. She's evil, but she's one of the few evil gods with the Healing domain. Her clerics are mostly female and are noted to be skillful healers, which is both handy and ironic for a culture that values Social Darwinism and Rape, Pillage, and Burn.
Women Are Wiser: Enforced, as Wisdom is in her portfolio, unlike the other orc gods.
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