Connects to: 26.01 and 26.01.01.
Overview
Orcish gharsang can always be found along the borders of any orcish territory, but these hideous leering faces carved from the wood of large trees can be found in special profusion here. The orcs say that they drive off evil spirits, ward orcish lands from enchantments and strip away illusions. Whether that is true, who can say but their toothy grins certainly give any intruder pause.
These carvings generally include the regalia of orcish priests or generals and include both male and female specimens. The orcs scrawl “lord of the sky” on the female ones and “lord of the underworld” on the male ones. All orcs who return to their homeland must pass under the gharsang and as they do so they are watched carefully for any ill omen. After passing these wooden gargoyles, orcs then spend some time sweating out any foreign corruption they may have picked up in one of a series of nearby sweat lodges. Considering the smell of orcish holdings (26.01), many members of other races joke that the sweat lodges should be placed on the other side of the border but at least one doppelganger has been found out when it passed out from the heat inside one of the orcish lodges.
Connections
- For more information on orcish religion see 26.01.01.
Hooks
- Do the gharsang actually do anything besides look scary?
- Any interesting rituals that go into creating these things?
- What do the titles “lord of the sky” and “lord of the underworld” look like?
- What regalia do orcish priests and generals wear?
- What sort of ill omens do the orcs watch for?
- What sort of corruptions do orcs think that they can pick up by travelling abroad?
- Can any other race withstand the heat of orcish sweat lodges?
- What rules do orcs have for other races visiting their lands? Are they allowed at all?
