Gruumsh

Gruumsh, the Ruiner is a Betrayer God who commands hordes of his followers across Exandria to destroy, pillage, and slaughter from his home plane of Acheron. He is depicted as a massive orc with one eye, and his symbol is a singular unblinking and bleeding eye. He is worshiped in communities in Wildemount, Tal'Dorei, and Marquet as the god of violence and slaughter.

He is commonly held to have created orcs during The Calamity when his nemesis Corellon shot out his eye and his blood struck Corellon's elves, transforming them into orcs. However, orcs existed before this battle, and this false origin was encouraged by Gruumsh, who wished to take credit for their creation, through his followers. Gruumsh is also known for destroying Cael Morrow, a city of elves and orcs in Marquet, as vengeance against Corellon during the Calamity, though he was prevented from destroying the entire continent by Alyxian.

Description
Gruumsh is depicted by his followers as a "hulking, bulbous behemoth of an orc" with one eye centered in his face like that of a cyclops. He is sometimes depicted with fangs, and he typically wields a spear.

He is also known as "Great Ruiner" and known by the epithet of "the Ruiner". His alignment is chaotic evil.

The Founding
Gruumsh is one of the gods of the pantheon who came to Exandria at the beginning of the Founding. The gods, then collectively known as the Protean Gods, arrived as formless and nameless young divinities. As they tamed the elemental chaos of Exandria, shaped the world, and created its peoples, these gods were given shape and names as their creations worshiped them. Though they were previously formless, it is believed each god had unique motivations and thoughts that were codified through this worship.

The Primordials, whose presence on Exandria was unknown to the Protean Gods, fought against the shaping of the world and destroyed many of the gods' creations. This led to the Schism in which part of the pantheon sought to defend their creations, becoming known as the Prime Deities, and the rest sided with the Primordials and wished to abandon Exandria to start anew elsewhere, becoming known as the Betrayer Gods. Gruumsh was among the Betrayer Gods, who were ultimately defeated and banished to isolated prison planes.

Age of Arcanum
Throughout the Age of Arcanum that followed, the Betrayer Gods shaped their prison planes into reflections of their hatred. Eventually, they were released. Gruumsh was released back into Exandria apparently before Asmodeus and was already at the newly raised Ghor Dranas when Asmodeus arrived. In the following evening, the Betrayer Gods attacked Vasselheim, starting a battle that lasted twenty days and nights. Ultimately, the Betrayer Gods were forced to retreat, but the attack started the centuries-long war known as The Calamity.

During the war, Gruumsh led a "bloody army" comprised of various war clans, including many orcs. He fought Corellon, the Archeart and their elves at a hill in the Ironseat Ridge of Tal'Dorei, now known as the Throne of the Archeart or the Fist of the Ruiner. Corellon shot out his right eye with an arrow, and he temporarily deafened them. In retaliation against them in the late Calamity, he struck Marquet with his spear to destroy Cael Morrow, a city of elves and orcs. Alyxian sacrificed himself to deflect Gruumsh's spear. He prevented the complete destruction of the continent, but Cael Morrow was destroyed and a third of Marquet's jungles became the Rumedam Desert.

Gruumsh was ultimately banished back to his plane by the end of the war and, like all other gods, prevented from returning to Exandria by the construction of the Divine Gate. With his banishment, his armies went into hiding. A portion of his army in Wildemount migrated north into the Greying Wildlands, ultimately splitting into the Jez-Araz still dedicated to him and a clan who turned to Kord and established Boroftkrah.

Post-Divergence
During the Post-Divergence, Gruumsh rules the plains of in Acheron and "stokes the fury of his twisted armies and prepares to wage a violent war across the planes".

Relationship to orcs
Orcs and half-orcs lived prior to the Calamity during the Age of Arcanum, such as in Avalir. However, it came to believed in the Post-Divergence that orcs were accidentally created in the same battle from the elves who were seared and changed by Gruumsh's blood during his battle with Corellon and that the half-orcs were first born in Wildemount in the war's final days or after the Calamity. These untrue stories were spread by Gruumsh, who wanted credit for the creation of orcs, through his followers. His battle with Corellon did create "vengeful, orc-like beings" but did not originate orcs as a people. Gruumsh spread the narrative that these were the first orcs through his followers. Though this narrative is widely believed throughout Exandria, some in the Post-Divergence indeed note that this narrative conflicts with other origin stories (such as that of centaurs) associated with the battle between Gruumsh and Corellon.

The prevalence of this narrative has additionally led to a pervasive myth that orcish individuals suffer from the curse of ruin, or hgra'Gruum: a drive to violence and fury caused by inherited the blood of the Ruiner. Though no such curse truly exists, it is believed to be the "birthright" of orcs and half-orcs. Superstition about the curse has consequences ranging from social stigma as others feared this mythical fury to orcish individuals blaming the curse to dismiss responsibility for their mistakes. Belief in this curse remained prevalent in 836 PD

Relationships within the pantheon
Gruumsh holds a hatred for Corellon after they shot out his eye during the Calamity, and he drives his followers to specifically target elves and followers of Corellon. He also hates Melora, the Wildmother for her kindness. A feud between his goblinkin followers and her Ki'Nau followers in the Lushgut Forest led to a desecration of her shrine. Lolth, the Spider Queen holds a similar hatred for Corellon. However, she often manipulates Gruumsh's followers into attacking her enemies to keep her drow followers safe.

Worship
Gruumsh is worshiped as the god of slaughter and warfare, and his commandments emphasize violence, anger, and brute strength. His worship attracts those who are drawn away from civilization and toward "the uncomplicated, primeval world" and do not enter the following of Melora. His followers follow creeds of slaughter and urge others to eschew the courtesies of civilized society, submit to the "chaotic and selfish nature of the predator", and seek pleasure in destruction, pillaging, and slaughter by destroying the world around them. Groups of worshipers are described as without order and honor and are said to be "roving hordes of barbaric marauders".

Those who already serve the Ruiner may be sometimes hypnotized by his rage and hatred into a bloodlust that drives them to want to to kill elves and followers of Corellon.

Symbols and artifacts
"Primitive" or simple representations of Gruumsh are typically made of clay. His symbol is that of a single unblinking and bleeding eye. Followers often mark themselves in ways that mimic Gruumsh's single or bleeding eye. At the extreme end, some zealous hill giants in Tal'Dorei ritualistically tear out one eye. In contrast, wealthier hill giant worshipers in Tal'Dorei simply create eyepatches to wear, and high-ranking members of the Fists of the Ruiner in Marquet mark their cheeks to create "tears" of blood.

Like other Betrayer Gods during the Calamity, Gruumsh forged an Arms of the Betrayers, a sentient weapon using the life force of a greater fiend. He crafted the spear Ruin's Wake using the bone of an ancient gold dragon and a balor named Yarrowish.

Temples
There are two temples to Gruumsh in Tal'Dorei: the Shrine of the Ruiner in the Dreamseep Marshlands and the Empty Socket in the Temple Ward district of Westruun. As of 812 PD, the Empty Socket is the smallest template in the ward and is maintained by a small number of orcs.

Just as for the other Betrayer Gods, portions of the Betrayers' Rise in Bazzoxan, Xhorhas are dedicated to Gruumsh. The Blood Font of the Ruiner consists of a pool of blood kept fresh by demonic magic; the room can be magically sealed and the pool activated, causing the blood to boil and overflow, by a prayer to Gruumsh in Abyssal. He is also depicted in at least one carving in the temple, which opens a planar rift to the Abyss and summons a vrock every time a creature passes through it.

Worshipers
Gruumsh is worshiped in communities throughout Tal'Dorei, Wildemount, and Marquet. In Tal'Dorei, his worship is among the minority faiths of the Dividing Plains and the Stormcrest Mountains. In Wildemount, most followers live in the Greying Wildlands, where Gruumsh's army migrated after his banishment in the Calamity. Though a portion of that army converted to the worship of Kord before establishing Boroftkrah, the adventure hook "Storm Celebration" describes a group of orcs and an in Boroftkrah who have secretly begun to worship Gruumsh and plan to attack those who still follow Kord.


 * Fists of the Ruiner, Crawler gang in Bassuras in Marquet
 * Garthok, member of the Clasp
 * Jez-Araz, nomadic clan of orcs descended from Gruumsh's army in the Calamity that roams the Rime Plains at the base of the Flotket Alps
 * Koshtask clan, clan of orcs and other peoples in the Iothia Moorland of Xhorhas
 * Arakki, chosen of Gruumsh. He eventually became a follower of the Luxon.
 * Ravagers, roving death cult in the Dividing Plains of Tal'Dorei and among his most devout servants in the continent. Through Gruumsh's blessings, their Slaughter Lords can cast spells.
 * Kalydria Darkeye, one of the slaughter lords of the Ravagers located in a fort within the Bramblewood Forest
 * Shivergut tribe, massive clan of orcs in the Frostweald of Tal'Dorei. Those that worship Gruumsh have an annual coming-of-age festival that involves a pilgrimage to the Shrine of the Ruiner.

Behind the scenes
Gruumsh's battle with Corellon during the Calamity "is said" to be the origin of the first orcs in Exandria in Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting, Explorer's Guide to Wildemount, Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn, and Call of the Netherdeep. This was contradicted with the appearance of a half-orc character, Orwyn, in Exandria Unlimited: Calamity, set right before the beginning of the Calamity. Dungeon Master Brennan Lee Mulligan remarked that this was unintended and an oversight on his part. It is through addressing this discrepancy on Twitter that Matthew Mercer directly stated that the myth described in these four books as the popularly believed creation story is untrue.

Appearances and mentions

 * Exandria Unlimited: Calamity
 * Campaign 3
 * Exandria Unlimited: Calamity
 * Campaign 3
 * Exandria Unlimited: Calamity
 * Campaign 3
 * Campaign 3