I was wondering, does Orcus still hold the title "Demon prince of the undead" still? Since technically he is a god now and should be called "Prince of the undead."

Also.... Isn't Orcus a self-serving deity that cares nothing about his followers and all you have to do is say his name a couple times and he shows up and kills you?

No, you have to be in front of a mirror and say the following...

"Biggie Smalls... Biggie Smalls... Biggie Smalls."

(South Park joke, for those that don't get it.)

For a serious answer, no, as far as I'm aware he is not omnipotently powerful so bringing himself to the Material plane to kill anyone that mentions his name is unlikely. (Maybe I should say FOIG! :o )

And his title still remains, he is the Demon Prince, because he's still a demon, he just now has some deity powers. I now direct you to Song of Orpheus, I'm pretty sure he knows the deal with Orcus. :twisted:

Thomas_Not_very_wise Isn't Orcus a self-serving deity that cares nothing about his followers and all you have to do is say his name a couple times and he shows up and kills you?

All gods in Faerun have to care about their followers. It's a rule of divinity, made very clear by the Time of Troubles when Ao brought down the hammer, so to speak. Regardless of information given about Orcus in other sources, if Orcus is used in FR as a god, he has to follow this rule.

Just curious.

Secutor

Thomas_Not_very_wise Isn't Orcus a self-serving deity that cares nothing about his followers and all you have to do is say his name a couple times and he shows up and kills you?

All gods in Faerun have to care about their followers. It's a rule of divinity, made very clear by the Time of Troubles when Ao brought down the hammer, so to speak. Regardless of information given about Orcus in other sources, if Orcus is used in FR as a god, he has to follow this rule.

There are loopholes.

I know of several gods in the Realms who maintain power despite not caring about their followers. Although, I imagine that most people wouldn't know the names of these gods as they're not mentioned very often and for example aren't mentioned even once on these forums. Go figure.

Orcus is a demon prince that became a god because he was such a badass that when he was killed, he brought himself back to life as an undead demon god of creepiness.

Also, he likes having worshippers, but that doesn't mean he likes listening to their whining and prayers. He's a lot harsher than many gods. That's my understanding, anyway.

Oroborous

Secutor

Thomas_Not_very_wise Isn't Orcus a self-serving deity that cares nothing about his followers and all you have to do is say his name a couple times and he shows up and kills you?

All gods in Faerun have to care about their followers. It's a rule of divinity, made very clear by the Time of Troubles when Ao brought down the hammer, so to speak. Regardless of information given about Orcus in other sources, if Orcus is used in FR as a god, he has to follow this rule.

There are loopholes.

I know of several gods in the Realms who maintain power despite not caring about their followers. Although, I imagine that most people wouldn't know the names of these gods as they're not mentioned very often and for example aren't mentioned even once on these forums. Go figure.

Anthee

Oroborous

Secutor

Thomas_Not_very_wise Isn't Orcus a self-serving deity that cares nothing about his followers and all you have to do is say his name a couple times and he shows up and kills you?

All gods in Faerun have to care about their followers. It's a rule of divinity, made very clear by the Time of Troubles when Ao brought down the hammer, so to speak. Regardless of information given about Orcus in other sources, if Orcus is used in FR as a god, he has to follow this rule.

There are loopholes.

I know of several gods in the Realms who maintain power despite not caring about their followers. Although, I imagine that most people wouldn't know the names of these gods as they're not mentioned very often and for example aren't mentioned even once on these forums. Go figure.

Oro is right in that a deity doesn't have to care about their followers to maintain their power, and that's because what really matters is whether the deity in question is worshipped or not. Of course, if the deity doesn't actively seek followers, then they most likely aren't going to have very many of them -- but the point is that some people are willing to worship a deity even if the deity seems indifferent to their followers. Just think of the elemental gods: only Kossuth shows any interest in his followers. It remains a mystery to me whether the other elemental gods retain their Greater Deity status due to actually having many worshippers, despite all, or due to somehow being so "fundamental" to the multiverse. (Another ambiguity left behind by WotC -- I'm fairly sure that the elemental gods do not have very many followers at all)

Loopholes.

There are loopholes to the rule about deities needing worshipers. Not all deities need them. Its also not ambiguous. The reasons are explained in various source books, but you need to read lots of them and pay very close attention.

Some people worship gods just out of sheer fear rather than need. So Ignoring your worshippers needs but giving them a curse now and then will keep them under tabs to have those 'please don't kill me' prayers rolling in.

The recent returning of Moander in EFU is a perfect example.

Who is the hell is Orcus? :?

The infamous god of undead humping.

Tenebrous, Orcus is responsible for a Mindflayer god hitting the bucket....The drow god of undeath is living in Mortal fear of Orcus...I also read somewhere that Orcus despises undead...I officially declare Orcus the most screwed up deity behind the god of illusion (Forgot name)

Actually Thomas, you're right on the money. Orcus IS the ascended Demon Prince of the Undead. But he despises the undead. Then again, when Orcus, and I mean this in all seriousness, hates EVERYTHING, undead just so happens to fall under that category.

So to say he hates undead doesn't really mean anything. Orcus hates you, me, his followers, even his highest ranked clergy.

See, I don't know if this pretains to the Forgotton Realms though.

However, Orcus was resurrected by Quah-Nomag, one of his foremost high priests and thralls, in a blasphemous ritual he enacted in the Astral Plane. Orcus then reclaimed his kingdom and his original name, re-proclaiming himself "Prince of the Undead" (despite his hatred of undead). However, as a result of his second death and resurrection, Orcus has lost his divinity and is now a demon lord again. Orcus' divinity now exists as a vestige, also named Tenebrous, and can be called upon by binders.