Yurtrus

Yurtrus
Game background
Title(s) White-Hands, the Lord of Maggots, the Rotting One
Home plane Gray Waste of Hades
Power level Intermediate
Alignment Neutral Evil (Lawful Evil tendencies)
Portfolio Death, disease
Domains Death, Destruction, Evil (also Orc and Suffering in Forgotten Realms)
Superior Gruumsh
Design details

In many campaign settings for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, Yurtrus is the orc deity of death and disease.

Contents

Publication history

Yurtrus was first detailed in Roger E. Moore's article "The Half-Orc Point of View," in Dragon #62 (TSR, 1982).[1] In Dragon #92 (December 1984), Gary Gygax indicated this as one of the deities legal for the Greyhawk setting.[2] He also appeared in the original Unearthed Arcana (1985).[3]

Yurtrus was detailed in the book Monster Mythology (1992), including details about his priesthood.[4] His role in the cosmology of the Planescape campaign setting was described in On Hallowed Ground (1996).[5]

Yurtrus's role in the Forgotten Realms is revisited in Faiths and Pantheons (2002).[6]

Description

Relationships

In many campaign settings, the orcish pantheon of gods consists of the leader Gruumsh, as well as Bahgtru, Ilneval, Luthic, Shargaas, and Yurtrus.

Realm

Yurtrus lives in a disgusting realm called Fleshslough, located on Oinos, the first layer of the Gray Waste.

In the 1st edition Manual of the Planes it is stated:

"Yurtrus's realm on the layer of Oinos is dreary and depressing even by Hades's standards. All plants die before reaching its borders. Only Yurtrus and his equally silent orc spirits live within; even the daemons tread carefully through this terrain."[7]

In On Hallowed Ground it is stated:

"Almost nothing is known of Yurtrus or his realm, which is commonly called Fleshslough. That's because anyone who enters the realm never leaves, not even avatars sent by other powers. The entrance to the place is two great black-iron doors set into a forbidding hillside in Oinos; the stench of death wafts out every time the doors swing open."[5]

Worshippers

Clergy

Yurtrus's priests wear animal skins painted white.

Holy days, temples, and rituals

Yurtrus's holy days are on the new moon, and he is worshipped in underground crypts. Appropriate sacrifices are made to him monthly. His sacred "animal" is the skeleton.

References

  1. ^ Moore, Roger E. "The Half-Orc Point of View." Dragon #62 (TSR, June 1982)
  2. ^ Gygax, Gary (December 1984). "From the Sorcerer's Scroll: Clerics live by other rules". Dragon (Lake Geneva WI: TSR) (92): 22. ]
  3. ^ Gygax, Gary. Unearthed Arcana (TSR, 1985)
  4. ^ Sargent, Carl. Monster Mythology (TSR, 1992)
  5. ^ a b McComb, Colin. On Hallowed Ground (TSR, 1996)
  6. ^ Boyd, Eric L, and Erik Mona. Faiths and Pantheons (Wizards of the Coast, 2002).
  7. ^ Grubb, Jeff. Manual of the Planes Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1987.

Additional reading