Mogus, God of Warriors

Mogus is the God of Warriors, and is responsible for the creation of the Orcs. He is the fourth child of Syvl and Kevolah from the First Era.

## Origins and Creations

Mogus was born to Syvl and Kevolah during the First Era, the fourth of their eight children.

During the First Era, Mogus fashioned a race for himself, which became the Orcs of Somara. Mogus seemed to care little for guiding and nurturing his people, but he did pass down the Rules of Mogus, which the Orcs hold dear to this day, and often use as a base for their legal system.

## Appearance

Mogus always appears as an orc, and there are no records of him taking the form of any other race.

Mogus takes the form of a burly orc with a severe underbite and tusks, like most members of the race. He's very ugly, even for an orc. He has long black hair in dreadlocks, most of which have bones or small bits of trophies claimed from enemies tied into them. He has a multitude of scars covering his body, and he wears light armor made from the pelts of wolves.

He is commonly depicted wielding a spear, but also is known to use a greatsword, a battleaxe, and a pair of handaxes.

## Personality

Mogus is hot-tempered and cruel, delighting in slaughter and the spilling of blood. He cares little for strategy, and will very often join orc tribes in disguise in order to participate in raids and wars with them. He demands that his followers pay him tribute and devotion, and will in return grant them power and gifts.

Mogus is far from the brightest god, but more than makes up for it with his sheer might and determination. Those who talk to him must be very careful not to insult him or wound his ego, or they could find themselves on the business end of his spear.

Mogus, for the most part, despises his other siblings. He believes Valen and his elves are cowards. He feuds often with Durefn, and enjoys fighting against him. He holds no respect for Feyan, Roggirth, or Fortas, as he believes them and their peoples (fey, gnomes, and halflings, respectively) to be weak. Saris he mostly ignores. The only sibling that he respects is Novokorus, after the God of Courage beat him in a duel.

As for the rest of the Pantheon, Mogus has little respect for any other god, believing most of them to be weak cowards. There are a few that he does respect, however. He idolizes Caius, the God of War, and will consistently attempt feats to impress him. Dionus, as Caius's sun, has some jealousy from Mogus, but he still respects the god's skill with warfare.

The only other Gods to have earned Mogus's respect (and therefore, gods he allows his people to worship) are Fune, Jekhari, Nhekri, Oghma, Ophane, and Xyas, who have all done things to earn his respect.

Mogus identifies with Fune's domain of vengeance, as Mogus will frequently seek revenge on those who he feels wrongs him.

Jekhari, despite having a similar temper to the Ugly God, has somewhat of a friendship with him, and the Jekhari's power over storms has impressed Mogus.

Nhekri's skill as a hunter impresses Mogus, as he once challenged her to (the Goddess of the Hunt) to see who could kill the most animals in a week. He lost, obviously.

Though he normally eschews the pursuit of knowledge, Oghma seems to have a decent relationship with Mogus, as he gave Mogus access to arcane power. Mogus doesn't really understand how to use that power, but he respects that gift nonetheless.

Ophane earns Mogus's respect for her cruelty and destructive power, something he admires. He often goes out of his way to be nice to her and bring her different gifts, but she shows little interest in him.

Xyas scares Mogus, something he's freely admitted on several occasions. He respects her for her power, but does whatever he can to stay out of her way. Some theorize that he made Yurtus a demigod only to appease her.

## Worship

Mogus is one of the more fickle gods. Some of his strongest worshipers may go their entire lifetime without getting a visit from him, while others he drops in on daily. Mogus will often reward his followers with gifts of weapons or power.

Because he believes that the majority of the gods are weak and deserve no respect, he has created his own pantheon of demigods made up of orcs that he admired and elevated to divinity. They are Luthic, the Orc Demigod of Fertility (replacing Kevolah); Ilneval, the Orc Demigod of Strategy (replacing Dionus); Bahgtru, the Orc Demigod of Strength (a chieftain who managed to best him in a duel), Shargaas, the Orc Demigod of Darkness (replacing Decia), and Yurtus, the Orc Demigod of Disease (an attempt to appease Xyas).

Mogus is also fond of challenging his own followers to duels to the death, as a way of testing his mettle. However, this is often a death sentence for them; as Mogus also tends to get angry at losing, and will frequently track down and slay whoever bests him. For those that do beat him and maintain his respect, they often find themselves receiving grand rewards.

Because of all these factors, worship of Mogus is almost exclusive to orcs and half-orcs. His clerics are nearly always under the War Domain, and his paladins will usually swear the Oath of Conquest. If a tribe suffers a defeat, some members will swear an Oath of Vengeance to him, promising not to rest until they have avenged the loss.