#luthic

[petulant-poet]

I cannot beLIEVE I never posted these old passes at the Orcish pantheon (and Gruumsh’s bum of a brother) so enjoy

[howhow326]

So was thinking of a way to try salvage dnd Orc lore as one does when I came across this really awesome female Orc goddess that's like secretly the foundation of Orc society and she like loves her people so much and cares for them like a mother Bare but when threatened she slays her enemies with her acrylics and also she's cheating on the dumb default Orc God and she has a son that's more devoted to her than the dumb default Orc God and WotWc please make Luthic the head of the Orc pantheon in Dnd one she is literally more interesting than all the other Orc gods.

[jasper-the-menace]

Dyspo 🤝 Stem: theologically-significant figures through being adopted by 1+ deities

Since I've rambled a lot about Stem, let's talk about Dyspo in my fun DIY lore.

In the world of Dungeons and Dragons, the orc pantheon is headed by a family: Gruumsh, the father; Luthic, the mother; and Bahgtru, the son.

After being kicked out by his (transphobic and overall terrible) parents as a very small child, Dyspo was taken in by Luthic, the Cave Mother, in her guise as a bear. She raised him and taught him the fundamental parts of his abilities that would form the basis of his training later in life. At that time, Dyspo was codified into orc lore as the Prince With Many Enemies (and, to a lesser extent, the Prince With Many Allies).

Once he was old enough and sure enough in his skills, Dyspo finally joined the Pride Troopers and quickly rose through the ranks to become the Vanguard Captain. He actually never told anyone about his family, either birth or divine, and brushed off any questions about it with a thin excuse before changing the subject. He's not ashamed of being raised by orcs, but given the common perception of them, he wants to be a shining example of the good his family can do before revealing it.

Dyspo has mixed feelings about being a theological figure, especially since the stories of him being raised by Luthic have led many athletic-based orcs to follow the "Way of the Prince" (as opposed to the more strength-focused ways of Gruumsh and Bahgtru). On one hand, being minorly deified is weird. On the other, this makes family reunions hilarious.

There's also the fact that Grandmother Beetroot is in my story and she's Dyspo's grandma through many adoption events. Dyspo knows how to make a mean borscht because of her.

[that-spider-witch]

Who are the most underused and underrated deities in the Forgotten Realms canon and why are they Luthic and Vhaeraun.

[orcpost-generator]

All other DnD pantheons are inferior because the orcish pantheon has:

-Odin but cooler

-deity of professional wrestlers

-bear themed lady dimitrescu

[comparativetarot]

Queen of Coins. Art by Jon Sacha, from Goblins & Gardens.

Luthic has been called by many names: Orc Goddess of Fertility, Cave Mother, Blood Moon Witch and simply The Healer. No matter the name, the narrative always remains the same. She represents home. For all Orcs she is a reminder that we carry with us the capacity for sanctuary. For some it’s the warmth of a hearth and a home cooked meal with root vegetables in favor. For other’s it’s a generosity that grows into community no matter kin or kind. Luthic embodies all of these things and more. And you wouldn’t know it from the look of those nails but she provides excellent cuddles!

You are both haven and harbor. You are compassion, cuddles, and cooking. Domesticity should never be a point of shame or denigration. May your fireplace be forever lit and watch as all manner of life flock to your warmth.

[paintedwarpony]

I’d love to know your thoughts on Luthic worship!

ABSOLUTELY. I would be glad to share! This is something that I started to explore as a player myself (but sadly the DM I had at the time seemed to actively discourage creativity) but then picked back up and continued to explore and expand on as a DM myself when one of my own players wanted to work up more orc-ish heritage culture for his own half-orc.

So typically the god that most orcs and half-orcs are associated with is Gruumsh the One Eye, the Ruiner, who in most instances aint a good dude. Specifically in my campaign, running in Matt Mercer's world Wildemount, Gruumsh is a Betrayer God and known to be a savage and brutal warmongerer and pillager, the orc and half-orc army under his command is cursed with equal savagery and brutality.

So two of the many brilliant things that Matt Mercer's world allows for are:

1. Races/Species historically considered monstrous or evil are given the opportunity canonically to be free of that villainous heritage

2. While there is a Prime Pantheon he built in and has made PLENTY of room for Quasi and Lesser Deities.

 

Alot of orcs and half-orcs in Wildemount turn to Kord the Storm Lord as their chosen deity, using his expectations of challenge and strength and sportsmanship as an outlet for the energy and rage thats left behind when breaking from the cursed influence of Gruumsh but I wanted more, "less aggressive" options.

So while exploring a bit about Gruumsh in older editions of D&D and orcs in the Monster Manual I came across little bits and blurbs about his "wife" Luthic. Of course in the info from the Forgotten Realms and older references she didn't have all the best traits but there was surprisingly ALOT of potential to really use Luthic as a benevolent goddess compared to the Ruiner.

Luthic is the orc goddess of home, hearth, family, fertility, wisdom, medicine and caves (and a few other less ideal things but we cherry pick because we can). Her totem is the orc rune for "home" and her animal is the cave bear/bear. She's referred to as "Cave Mother" which is the common deity name I and my player chose to refer to her by (akin to the Wildmother or the Moonweaver). She most associated with the Life and Nature domains. And while Luthic isn't particularly depicted as being soft or kind, her focus is always shifted to being protective of home and hearth, of family and to the health, prosperity and propagation of the family to carry on strong bloodlines.

Those were the biggest themes I decided to run with when it came to those that follow Luthic is their loyalty and protectiveness of their home and family clan, that orcish clans and families that follow Luthic are far more likely to produce Clerics and Paladins than more war-like classes, almost all Luthic followers have knowledge or home training in medicine and fall back of remedies readily.

Arguably Luthic is the reason half-orcs exist at all. One of the “commands” of Luthic is to go, propagate and bring strong young into the world regardless of heritage. A true goddess of fertility, Luthic doesn’t care about the parentage of children as long as they are strong and healthy. Feeding off that I made it a trait of Luthic Orcs to be far more tolerant and accepting of other Races and Species and especially accepting of individuals that are mixed races (wither orc is one of them or not). They are also far more relaxed and willing to seek partners and mates of any gender in other races and species. This makes for A LOT of diversity and mixing of culture as well as racial traits and physical attributes in Luthic Orc clans and families. In my personal campaign this is part of the reason why Luthic Orc clans thrive so well in Xhorhas and under Dynasty rule, where there is a similar mindset concerning mixed race family units and children. (The Kryn and Dynasty canonically embrace and view mixed race pairings and children as blessings and displays of genuine love). So a lot of Luthic Orc clans are made up of half-orcs of a variety of heritages and origins. The strength and bonds built within Luthic Orc clans start very early but they don’t prevent members from scattering to find their own families and places in the world but there is always a desire to eventually return, either for a visit or to knit two family groups into one. All in all this aspect of followers of Luthic make them exceptionally protective of children, their own and any they cross.

While many a villager or adventurer find themselves pleasantly surprised (or outright lucky) to find that some of the best midwives, surgeons, and healers have the surprising origins of being connected to Luthic Orcs or a Luthic Orc clan by some means, worshippers of the Cave Mother are not soft pushovers. A part of Luthic’s mythos and origins was that she was a general and great warrior of Gruumsh’s armies. While they are not the ravagers of the Ruiner’s followers nor the more aggressive tribes that follow the Storm Lord, Luthic devout orcs and half-orcs will without hesitation lay down their lives to defend their families, clans and homes. Often this protective instinct is so strong it extends to the community and/or country an individual orc or half-orc may be from and Luthic Orcs are often exceptionally fierce and revered soldiers and guardians.  

Within the campaign a few of the symbols and signs of worship of Luthic that had come up are holy symbols and totems in the form of bear claws or teeth, either left whole or carved with runes or turned into beads and charms used in any form of jewelry or ornamentation. The use of a bear pelt to accentuate or ornament clothing or armor, use of orcish runes (particularly ones meaning “cave”, “bear”, “home” and “family/clan”) are often embroidered, engraved or embossed on clothing, weaponry or armor as subtle ways to display loyalty to the Cave Mother. Simple shrines are made and often adorned with home and hand made carvings or crafts made of bone, clay, wood, stone, anything natural in the shape of a bear or a female/feminine figure representing Luthic herself. Her most holy day is the Winter Solstice and followers of Luthic gather up their families and closest friends and clan members for a long day and night of feasting around comfortable, roaring fires where familial and communal bonds are strengthened and prayers offered up for a healthy and hearty year to come and that any babes born are whole and hale (as in the more “primal” communities of orcs the winter is often considered the “mating season” as war bands and ravagers hole up in caves to ride out the worst of the winter weather).

Keeping actual bears is not common practice as bears are notoriously terrible pets and difficult to fully train and tame, though some Luthic worshippers that find themselves wandering the world as an adventurer do occasionally challenge themselves with raising a bear cub. Though any bear dens found in non-nomadic Luthic Orc territory are considered protected and to be left alone unless the animal proves to be a danger to the clan or community in some way.  

NOW that all being said I am only just starting my research into Maori culture and traditions and how I can weave it into Orcish and half-orc culture. The Maori have an extremely rich and deep culture and it has so many unique traditions and aspects. A major part of the Maori culture I intend to borrow from is the use of traditional arts. They include whakairo (carving), raranga (weaving), kapa haka (group performance), whaikōrero (oratory), and tā moko (tattoo). The patterns and characters represented record the beliefs and genealogies (whakapapa) of Māori. Tattoo especially will play in a lot into Luthic worshippers especially for clans in certain regions of (my homebrewed parts and cultures) of Wildemount that will display more diverse and influenced cultural traditions. BUT because I haven’t done all the research I want on that subject yet I will at this point refrain from commenting much further on the use of Maori cultural influence because its really important to me to get it right.

I went off on a bit of a ramble but hopefully this was informative! I’ve had a lot of fun developing this stuff for my campaign, characters and players and am glad to share it!

[weirdlet]

It’s rare and strange when I can set pencil to paper these days, but I had a full illustration pop into my head and I had to try.

This didn’t come out as dynamic as I wanted it to, but at least I got down some of the design elements I wanted. If Luthic, in classic D&D lore, is in charge of motherhood and fertility, perhaps part of her worship is sacred dance among females, meant to strengthen and prepare the body for childbearing. Not everything is blood sacrifices and misery, even if there’s usually a sword involved (which I forgot to put in). Instead of a sword to balance or clawed gauntlets, I settled for staining her hands a good berry red!