Review & Commentary On The Balor-Kin Racial Class For Labyrinth Lord By James Mishler Games

Half demons have always been troublesome but when it comes to the sons & daughters of the Abyss that's a whole different level of Abyssial trouble! This is five pages of Abyssial fun waiting to happen to your players.




That's where 'The Balor-Kin Racial Class' For Labyrinth Lord comes in. Now let me go on record as saying that this is not a RC that's I'd allow at the table unless I was runnning a very high level Abyssial  game. The goes up to ten levels & I'd use it to create a very nasty & devestating demonic NPC villain. Why because of the unnatural abilities of one of these Abyssial bastards: 

"Balor-kin have the following abilities:

• Armored Skin
• Creatures of Fire and Shadow
• Creatures of Magic
• Dual Wield Warriors
• Immolation
• Inhuman Stature
• Movement
• Natural Magicians (can use spell-like powers of 1^st to 4^th level).

The balor-kin racial-class has 10 levels, each more fiendishly powerful than the last. "

No way was this meant for a PC of any type but for use with a NPC villain. This is a portrait of a young & very dangerous demon waitin to be sprung on your PC's! Let's get a little reminder here of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual origins of these demonic horrors. What the 'The Balor-Kin Racial Class' For Labyrinth Lord is distills all that bottled demonic evil & brings it to your table top adventures. Believe me your players are not going to thank you for this!  All of the normal Monster Manual abilities are there but in miniature. 


The classic DCS Monster Manual artwork that does not appear in the
'The Balor-Kin Racial Class' For Labyrinth Lord but I'm using it for context.

Let me go into the publication history of the Balor from the Balor wiki entry to give some context on the most dangerous of demonic horrors & overlords; "The balors found in Dungeons & Dragons have little relation to the mythical Balor of Irish mythology, actually being based on the balrogs of The Lord of the Rings,^[2] and some of its derivation can be seen in its physical description, with its fiery aura, sword and flaming whip.^[3]

In the original Dungeons & Dragons pamphlets, this breed of demon was known as balrog,^[4] but the name was revised in subsequent supplements to simply "type VI demon" so as not to infringe on J. R. R. Tolkien's copyright.^{[citation needed]} In second edition AD&D, the name "type VI demon" was revised to "balor," taking the name of the greatest individual of their rank as the name for the entire breed.^[5] Also in second edition, balors now had vorpal swords.^[6]

Gary Gygax, in his Gord the Rogue novels, has alternately called them raloogs or conflagranti.^{[citation needed]}

Dungeons & Dragons (1974–1976)[edit]

The type VI demon appeared under the demon entry in the Eldritch Wizardry supplement (1976).^[7]

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition (1977–1988)[edit]

The type VI demon (Balor, etc.) appears in the first edition Monster Manual (1977).^[8] In this incarnation of the game there were only six Type VI Demons in existence across all of the planes of the multiverse, and they were ranked in power below only the Demon Lords and Princes of the Abyss, who were each unique in both name and form. Each Type VI Demon had its own individual name as an indication of their importance and power, as lesser demons (Types I – III and lower) had only a species name, and not individual appellations. Their names were listed in an appendix of the Dungeon Master's Guide, given as: Errtu, Ndulu, Ter-Soth, Alzoll, and Wendonai, with Balor itself being the greatest and most powerful of them all.

Essentially you'd be allowing one of the most choatic & evil of the Abyss's  demon lord's progeny in your old school games. Labryth Lord hasn't changed this! Their as evil & unpredictable as ever! The fact is that James Mishler has distilled them down into a useable form hasn't changed the bastards! 

The Labyrinth Lord version of the
  type VI demon with awesome artwork 


This RC class is completely & utterely up to Mishler's standards, James & Jodi Mishler have done an excellent job of making this a completely usable class. But man would this class devestate a group of player's who had no idea of the depths of the Abyss they were taking on. The Labyrinth Lord version of this class is completely & utterly compatible with Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition. That means that even third party products such as the classic Mayfair Games Demon's box set is easily usable with  'The Balor-Kin Racial Class' For Labyrinth Lord.


The Balor came straight out of J.R.R. Tolkein with different name & paint job but they are at the completely  chaotic evil bastards of old who are more then happy to tear the wings off of angels, challenge & destroy gods, & wreck the very foundations of creation as well as campaigns themselves. The 'Balor-Kin Racial Class'  is their progeny given form & function within campaign. Use & allow these very carefully within a campaign. The PC class is streamlined to allow the monster to grow with the player characters & that's something unto itself. 
Is  The 'Balor-Kin Racial Class'  well done? Oh most definitely. But would I allow it into a game? Only as an NPC class to challenge the highest level PC's or the progeny of the gods! This is a class to be the heart & soul of a game campaign. 

OSR Campaign Commentary The Many Heads of Horror of Demogorgon & David Cook's Dwellers of the Forbidden City.

The force of suns had waned beyond recall.
Chaos was re-established over all,
Where lifeless atoms through forgetful deeps
Fled unrelated, cold, immusical.

Above the tumult heaven alone endured;
Long since the bursting walls of hell had poured
Demon and damned to peace erstwhile denied,
Within the Abyss God's might had not immured.

(He could but thwart it with creative mace. . . .)
And now it rose about the heavenly Base,
Mordant at pillars rotten through and through
Of Matter's last, most firm abiding-place.

Bastion and minaret began to nod,
Till all the pile, unmindful of His rod,
Dissolved in thunder, and the void Abyss
Caught like a quicksand at the feet of God !
The Abyss Triumphant  (1912) 
by Clark Ashton Smith

Demogorgon the name conjures up the image of a two headed demonic monster from the depths of  the Abyss & some dark wizard's fevered conjunctions of the arcane. But this prince of demons is so much more then at first he seems. He first appeared in  Eldritch Wizardry (1976)  & many of the major powers of the demon prince were already in place.




His rivalry with Orcus is well established & he's already at the high end of the Abyssal power structure & ruling class if there is such a thing in the chaotic morass of the Abyss. Its abilities to alter reality & magical abilities are all present. So is the fact that he or it holds its position & title of 'Prince of demons' through sheer occult & physical power.


A year later in the Monster Manual in '77 we'd see the main stay stats of Demogorgon for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons first edition. Many an adventuring party has quaked in their boots even at the mere suggestion of this demonic  horror's influence in a game session.



Demons & Devils in Dungeons & Dragons have an epic history going all of the way back to the very foundations of original Dungeons & Dragons. But going into Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea 2nd edition? They've got a bit more  of a functionality change from the norm Advance Dungeons & Dragons demonic rabble.



The demons of Astonishing are those who have survived the ravaging events of Ragnarok & the lifting of Hyperborea into space. Their in charge of the far future mini Abysses & Hells of Underborea filled to capacity with Hyperborean souls, the Ancients, & those fools who summon them to the surface world. These are demons who have seen it all & done it all. And where does Demogorgon fall into this? The Wiki entry on him reveals something very interesting; 

"His title as Prince of Demons is contested and somewhat misleading in that in the chaos of the Abyss there are no official titles and positions. He holds this title through sheer power and the fact no other demon has been able to prove themselves his superior and wrest the name from him. Demogorgon is also known as Lord of All That Swims in Darkness.

The hatred between Orcus and Demogorgon is legendary. He is also a dedicated foe of both Graz'zt and Fraz-Urb'luu. Some of his allies include the Succubus Queen Malcanthet; the currently imprisoned Shami-Amourae was his former consort. In Gary Gygax's Gord the Rogue series, he is the brother of another demon lord called "Mandrillagon". He is served by the minor demon lord Abraxas that controls the 17th layer (Death's Reward) and was allied with the demon lord Ilsidahur who controls the 90th layer, near Demogorgon's realm."

Surely there's no place on Hyperborea for the cult of Demogorgon?! His cult might be comparatively small compared to other more active ones such as Tsathoggua. But his cult is far more active, dangerous, & has ties to assassins, black wizard, & thieves guilds;

" Demogorgon's cult is small compared to those of "true" deities, but much larger than those of most fiends. He is worshiped not only by evil humans, but also by the intelligent rays known as ixitxachitl. Cultists of Demogorgon who are not already demons are often among the most mentally disturbed members of their races.

The following beings are some of Demogorgon's most infamous servants:

• Belcheresk, a potent balor and Demogorgon's right hand
• Major Enderan, a demon in command of a company of stone giant juju zombies
• Ghorvash, a glabrezu demon who serves Demogorgon as a spymaster
• War Secretary-General Gromsfed the Drowned, a huge klurichir 4th warchief who is the chief tactician of Demogorgon
• Saint Kargoth the Betrayer, the first death knight and one of Demogorgon's top generals
• Kazuul, the exarch of Demogorgon
• Archpriest Nulonga, an ancient worshiper of Demogorgon
• Rozvankee, a female lich pirate and one of the best monster creators in the service of Demogorgon
• Severik, a potent balor who commands the elite mariliths of Demogorgon's bodyguard squad
• Tharak, an ettin clone of Demogorgon and one of his best monster creations
• Ulu-Thurg, a bar-igura demon chief assassin of Demogorgon
• Bagromar and Tetradarian, twin generals of Demogorgon who are clones of the demon lord: Bagromar, clone of the Hethradiah head and Tetradarian clone of the Aameul head"
  
  Both  the ixitxachitl & the serpent men are highly active on Hyperborea as well as Zothique. This is because Demogorgon has been involved in a three sided war for some time. Not only is he actively involved in his Ying/Yang war with Orcus the master & prince of the Undead but with Yig The Father of Serpents.
  
  
  
  

Lovecraft - Yig, the Father of Serpents II by KingOvRats ..

This rivalry stretches back to the beginning of the empire of the serpent people of Yoth; "Yig and his then-mate Coatlicue ruled the crimson cavern of Yoth beneath the subterranean land of K'n-yan, where the two were worshiped as gods by the denizens of Yoth, the Serpent Men. This arrangement came to an end when the Serpent Men transferred their veneration to Tsathoggua, and mighty Yig placed his curse upon them." Demogorgon was venerated by a splinter faction of these serpent people & later by certain cults of K'n-yan. Their empire in Valusia was legendary but their power really comes alive in David Cook's 1981 adventure, Dwellers of the Forbidden City.


I1 Dwellers Of The Forbidden City module By David 'Zeb' Cook  is a world unto itself & the factions here are completely & utterly inspired by Robert Howard's Red Nails story. The yuan-ti, the tasloi, and the bullywugs are perfect fodder to spread out into the lands of Hyperborea or some hidden part of Zothique to spread the word of Demogorgon. His rival gods blindsided by the 'Prince of Demons' as death knights acting as his generals take command of his rabble cults. 
"In the World of Greyhawk campaign setting, Demogorgon sometimes goes by the ancient name "Ahmon-Ibor", or "the Sibilant Beast". He is responsible for corrupting the paladin Sir Kargoth and transforming him and thirteen of his fellow Knight Protectors of the Great Kingdom into Oerth's first death knights." 
That's right Demogorgon is responsible for the creation of some of the most dangerous forces of undeath  that PC's can come across.



By using some of the adventure seeds provided by  Cook which includes -- the under-city warrens filled with ghouls and demons, the vampire orchid-men, the Black Brotherhood, and time travel to the days when the City was at its decadent height the dungeon master suddenly has the perfect module to add to Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea. 




But if you think that's the only thing that can be done with Demogorgon's cults & I1 Dwellers Of The Forbidden City module By David 'Zeb' Cook. Then let's put the city as part of its own demi plane & have it mold itself to Zothique, Hyperborea, Greyhawk, & Mystara. This gives the jungle ruins a planar edge & it makes the cults just that more dangerous. Mystara's version of Demogorgon is female & male souls trapped within the same demonic horror show of a body. She is the patron god of witches, necromancy, & all kinds of nastiness on Mystara. Why?! Because of the fact that the demon lord itself spawns all kinds of horrors especially on Mystara.



Demogorgon & his fiends from  "The Official Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Coloring Book - Illustrated by Greg Irons (1979)"

Make no mistake that Demogorgon & his ilk have been infeltrating & creating cults across the planes. There is evidence that some of the chaotic horrors seen in Bruce Heard's Calidar in Stranger Skies could in fact be the Demon Prince. PC's from Calidar running across the works of this demonic prince should report these chaotic activities to the proper authorities immediately. 



Demogorgon's cults could make their way across the planes & perfectly infiltrate the secret occult societies of London,New York, & across the modern world. These cities are perfect occult hot houses for such a chaotic horror & its demonic spawn. The Amazing Adventures! rpg Companion & the Book of Powers is key here for creating memorable cultists of Demogorgon  from the Pulp Era .  The death knights of Demogorgon would be menaces capable of taking down even the most experienced heroes & adventurers. Their horrors the likes of which most players would not be expecting in this era. Demogorgon was a taboo name to  Christian scholars as a being whose very name is taboo. "A creature named Demogorgon is featured in John Milton's Paradise Lost, Ludovico Ariosto's Orlando Furioso, Spenser's The Faerie Queene and Percy Bysshe Shelley's Prometheus Unbound, although the D&D Demogorgon's appearance and history may not be based on any of these sources." This makes the demon prince at once contemporary & yet unique as a
horror of popculture & classic reference.

Same as any of the works of the 'Great Old Ones' the works of the demon prince Demogorgon are going to be very chaotic in the extreme. They will reek of the corruption & horror of the Abyss. Any appearance upon Albion of these signs will lead to a full blown inquisition. Dark Albion & Cults of Chaos players should expect the worst of mutation & corruption when encountering any of the demon prince's works! 



The planes reek with the corruption & horror of the 'prince of the maw' where he has trodden. There is far more Demogorgon then meets the eye. He & his works should never be taken for granted. His power & influence are great even to this day! Adventurers must be aware of the danger from this monster lord of influence & power corrupt itself. 

Chaos & Conquest The Spores of The Demon Lord Juiblex In Advanced Dungeons & Dragons As Well As My Old School Campaigns

It is known as Juiblex, also called The Faceless Lord, 
Lord of Sloth, Demon Lord of Poison and Ooze. It  is the demon lord & father  of Slimes and Oozes but its other names are  Szhublox & the faceless rot. Juiblex's lair is on the 222nd layer of the Abyss, which he shares with Zuggtmoy, the Demoness Lady of Fungi.  Together they are fungal rot & chaotic evil incarnate tearing apart the soul of the planes. 

Juiblex appeared in the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual in 1977. In first edition, Juiblex rules his own layer of the Abyss, the 528th layer, which is an infinite sea of slimes and oozes feeding off each other's putrid forms.


Juiblex is one of the most dangerous of the Abyss's demon princes not because of its ambitions but because its already among us. Slimes, jellies, & puddings are a part of him & his children. They are everywhere spreading from dungeon to dungeon moving among the planes like a fungal infection. He rules not only his own plane but the Undersump as well. A series of planar tunnels that are networked throughout the Abyss connected by the river Styx. Not only does he know all but is aware of everything going on around his children. Green slimes infect a myriad of dungeons & even though they are not intelligent in the traditional human sense. They relay a trillion  bits of data back to their demonic parent whose vary existence is a mockery to all of creation. 

Slimes move into dungeons & ruins across the multiverse giving Juiblex access to an infinite number of planes. The power of the Grey Oozes are not to be discounted. His silent assassins & spies stalk the halls of power & have claimed many a life of a powerful wizard or even some powerful  demi god children. These silent assassins are often used by his worshipers such as powerful Drown families, drug users, & poisoners of divinity along with royalty. 

The powerful bruisers of the dungeons are the Ochre jellies who are spawned by the cult rituals & rites of the cults of Juiblex. They are the strong arm of these cults taking on any who challenge the right of them to worship their parents inside dungeons & ruins. They are the hand of the entropic demon lord ruining the lives of any who challenge their lord's worship. 

The power of ochre jellies should never be underestimated & it is said that their demonic master himself uses these bastard horrors as his tools on the prime material. These 'blessed'  jellies often seem to exhibit a remarkable degree of cunning & evil intentions. They can use tactics & traps to murder any adventurers they come across as sacrifices to their 'father'.  Since the planes are in the "Kali Yuga (Sanskrit: कलियुग, translit. kaliyuga, lit. 'age of Kali') is the last of the four stages (or ages or yugas) the world goes through as part of a 'cycle of yugas' (i.e. Mahayuga) described in the Sanskrit scriptures.^[1] The other ages are called Satya Yuga, Treta Yuga, and Dvapara Yuga.

Kali Yuga is associated with the demon Kali (not to be confused with the goddess Kālī). The "Kali" of Kali Yuga means "strife", "discord", "quarrel" or "contention".

According to Puranic sources,^[2] Krishna's departure marks the end of Dvapara Yuga and the start of Kali Yuga, which is dated to 17/18 February 3102 BCE"

 Juiblex's power & influence has been on the rise as is the cycle of Abyss moves into descendancy;"Undoubtedly, few denizens in the Abyss equal, in the horror they evoke or in the hideousness of their forms, the corrupt majesty of the Faceless Lord. In the gloom that enshrouds his realm, he holds court over the glistening masses, the twitching oozes he sires. Juiblex is deemed a lesser figure in abyssal hierarchy, judged Lord of Nothing by his peers. However, in my research, I have plumbed the foul mire to examine the full darkness that is this disturbing fiend. Juiblex is a power defined by incremental advances, a being whose wickedness flows slowly but inexorably toward an unspeakable end, which troubles even this writer."

I've always loved the Demon: Juiblex artwork  by christopherburdett

Juiblex is the premiere alien demon lord whose long standing form of chaos incarnate has been the subject of being one of the possible sources for the creation by the Elder Things of the naught impossible horrors of the  shoggoths. Because of the mating of Juiblex & Ubbo-Sathla ("The Unbegotten Source", "The Demiurge") according to The Mysteries of Science which gave rise to the most dangerous & demonic of these foul monsters. 

The Pit of Shoggoths  by Azaghal

Juiblex's influence should never be uncounted. He or it is one of the most dangerous of demon lords. Ever present & waiting to corrupt & strike. His reign of terror starts when & where its needed coming into full bloom when adventurers least expect it. Here are ten ways I've modified Juiblex to fit in my home campaigns: 

1. I've used his other areas of worship to great effect for his dungeons & temples besides the usual fungal aspect of the demon lord. These include Chaos, Destruction, Evil, & Water. 
2. Juiblex's human cults are very dangerous & think that destruction of everyone & everything is good for the multiverse. They will murder when & where it suits them.
3. Juiblex has a strong on going rivalry with  Tsathoggua over certain regions of the underworld & upon Hyperborea. 
4. There are write up on Juiblex in the Wraith of the Immortals set for his place on Mystara 
5. Cults of Juiblex often pay for rare & exotic molds, slimes, & jellies 
6. The temple areas & ruins of Juiblex are often infected with some the most dire of chaotic diseases & infections
7. His influence pops up in the post apocalyptic wastelands as a god from time to time among wasteland nihilists
8. Gamma World has three temples dedicated to the demon god. 
9. Juiblex has been summoned to destroy worlds in a post apocalyptic fungus fueled frenzy over millions of years. 
10. Juiblex is actually one of a race of powerful demon lords & he is their father. 

More Commentary On The Many Facets Of The Demon Prince Orcus In Original Dungeons & Dragons As Well As My Old School Campaigns

  Tonight I busted out my copy of Eldritch Wizardry not because I was feeling nostalgic about psionics but because I wanted to stare into the face of one of demon lords of the Abyss. Lately, Demongorgon has been getting a ton of press because of the Netflix show 'Stranger Things'. But pound for pound I've used the demon prince of the undead more times then I can count. Eldritch Wizardry is pretty special to me because this was the book that my adopted uncle gave me before my folks & I returned to Connecticut from New York State. Its also that same copy that would get me expelled the first time from the Christian high school I was attending about eight years later. Why? Not because of the powerful occult Original Dungeons & Dragons items inside or the demon lords. Nope it was the naked chick on the cover. 


"Orcus was first presented in the Eldritch Wizardry supplement in 1976, by Gary Gygax and Brian Blume, for the original (white box) Dungeons & Dragons game.^[3] Although the book states that there are several such demon Princes, only Orcus and Demogorgon are detailed, "two of the greatest of these exceptional demon lords". Game statistics for Orcus appear on page 27, while a description of Orcus appears on page 35 with an accompanying illustration, and a description for his Wand of Orcus appears on page 42 under the section for artifacts."


At the time I received my copy of Eldritch Wizardry  I was reading a ton of Marvel Seventies Dr.Strange. The demon lord slotted itself forever more in my mind as one more demon lord that Doc could encounter but because he was prince of the undead he couldn't be banished from the mortal plane.I got the feeling that his cult was expansive & very dangerous as his titles suggest as  the Prince of the Undead & Prince of Undeath. 


"In 1977, Orcus (Prince of the Undead) was included in the first Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual by Gary Gygax. First edition AD&D game statistics and a description for Orcus appeared in pages 17–18 under the "demon" section, with an illustration of Orcus by David C. Sutherland III on page 17 and an illustration of the Wand of Orcus on page 18.^[5] The Wand of Orcus was detailed on page 162 of the 1979 Dungeon Masters Guide, also by Gygax, in the section on treasure (artifacts and relics)."
Then in '77 we got a fully fleshed out Orcus in the Monster Manual & his rod was fully detailed in the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Dungeon Master's Guide. His corpse fat bloated continence glows like some infernal chess master over the myriad of planes across the multiverse. Each & every skeleton, ghost, etc. in the dungeon or backwater village adds a bit more power to the bastard. He can't get enough & its never going to be enough for him. So he adds his necromancers & death masters as his cult grows just a bit more. To me it always felt like there wasn't a corner of the planes of existence where Orcus didn't have just a little bit of influence. His rod really gives the clue on how & where his cult spreads, it annihilates anyone it touches. This is the perfect creed & philosophy of his cult of nihilists, the final corpse bloated peace of the grave for everything. Only its not the end because you'll be animated as a skeleton or wight or some other undead. 

But it was when I had read Clark Ashton Smith's Empire of the Necromancers that Orcus came into focus;
"Unbroken before them, through fields devoid of trees and grass, and across the channels of dried-up rivers, there ran the great highway by which travelers had gone formerly betweea Cincor and Tinarath. Here they met no living thing; but soon they came to the skeletons of a horse and its rider, lying full in the road, and wearing still the sumptuous harness and raiment which they had worn in the flesh. And Mmatmuor aad Sodosma paused before the piteous bones, on which no shred of corruption remained; and they smiled evilly at each other.
'The steed shall be yours,' said Mmatmuor, 'since you are a little the elder of us two, and are thus entitled to precedence; and the rider shall serve us both and be the first to acknowledge fealty to us in Cincor.'
Then, in the ashy sand by the wayside, they drew a threefold circle; and standing together at its center, they performed the abominable rites that compel the dead to arise from tranquil nothingness and obey henceforward, in all things, the dark will of the necromancer. Afterward they sprinkled a pinch of magic powder on the nostril-holes of the man and the horse; and the white bones, creaking mournfully, rose up from where they had lain and stood in readiness to serve their masters.
So, as had been agreed between them, Sodosma mounted the skeleton steed and took up the jeweled reins, and rode in an evil mockery of Death on his pale horse; while Mmatmuor trudged on beside him, leaning lightly on an ebon staff; and the skeleton of the man, with its rich raiment flapping loosely, followed behind the two like a servitor."
It doesn't matter your station or social standing the power of undeath & necromancy makes a mockery out of the afterlife. Todd Lockwood's Orcus from 1981's Dragon takes all of the grayness of the demon prince's realm & brings it into sharp focus. There's a certain mocking black magick something about this piece that has the same effect on me as the Ray Harryhausen skeleton fights. You can almost see the movements of the skeletons bringing the poor sacrifice before the bloated demon prince. 


Because the Todd Lockwood's piece of artwork came out in 1981 its forever associated in my mind with the 1966 film Planet of Vampires. It was the same year I got this piece of artwork in Dragon & had that Italian horror flick burnt into my young mind at 3:00 A.M.!

Orcus is the demon prince of undeath, so it stands to reason that vampirism (undeath) is under his purview. In my young mind these to connected somehow. I whipped up an adventure in which the planet Aura was simply another plane that Orcus had discarded in the past. This unknown planet was part of some bizarre planar chess game he played with his fellow demon lords. Little did I realize that apparently this was something already built into background of AD&D. 
Of course 1981 is the same year that the Evil Dead films came out & you've got to wonder if there isn't a passage or two about Orcus in the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis. Come to think of it perhaps those demons were birthed by Shub-Niggurath (The Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young) & Orcus in some obscene acts out in the multiverse some place? This might help explain the random demon generator from the pages of the Best of Dragon magazine. "Orcus was often depicted, accompanied by Succubi and Type V demons. Here's one illustration, created by Jennell Jaquays that depicts a whole host of demons." This piece of artwork from the pages of the Best of  Dragon magazine helped to flesh out many of the demons of his from the Monster Manual over the years. In fact several demonic monstrosities  have been birthed from that corpulent stomach after a friend joked about him being pregnant. 


I don't think that there's been a plane that hasn't been touched by the demonic prince of undeath. His influence continues to spread across the planes & his cult has made it onto Hyperborea. I adapted Orcus's 'origin' by Frank Mentzer as official inner circle cult doctorine & inter game dogma for AS&SH;"

Orcus was one of two demon rulers (along with Demogorgon) described in the Dungeons & Dragons Immortals Rules set (1986) by Frank Mentzer, in the "DM's Guide to Immortals" booklet on pages 33–34, with accompanying charts on pages 35–36. Orcus and Demogorgon are said to command all the other demons described in the book, although they are but two of the many Eternals of the Sphere of Entropy. Orcus (also called The Goat, Master of the Dead, Lord of Darkness, and The Black Prince) commands all mortals of the Sphere of Entropy, which includes undead monsters, and he also commands a small body of loyal Immortals. The book notes that Demogorgon can even command Orcus, although he requires great and sufficient cause to do so. In this version, Orcus attacks with any convenient weapons, wielding one in each hand.^[11] In Wrath of the Immortals (1992), Orcus's history was fleshed out somewhat; he was said to have been a devil swine (a kind of shape-shifter who changes between the form of a fat human and a wild pig) in the long-ago kingdom of Traldara on the world of Mystara. His hatred for all life was sufficient to draw the attention of the Immortal Thanatos, who sponsored Orcus's own successful bid for Immortality.^[51]:31 The article "The Known World Grimoire" by Bruce A. Heard in Dragon #196 (August 1993) mentions that the orcish Tribe of the Sea Plague has Oruguz (also known as Orcus) as their patron. Oruguz is part of the pantheon of the orcs of the Dark Jungle, and the tribe that serves him is led by devil swine, which enforce the precepts of Oruguz among the tribe. "
Here's ten  modifications I used for my own home campaigns over the years with Orcus

1. The bits of Orcus lore I kept were his demonic epitaphs The Goat, Master of the Dead, Lord of Darkness, and The Black Prince
2.   Orcus commands all mortals of the Sphere Cult of Entropy, which includes undead monsters, and he also commands a small body of loyal demonic Immortals.
3.  The book notes that Demogorgon can even command Orcus, although he requires great and sufficient cause to do so. In this version, Orcus attacks with any convenient weapons, wielding one in each hand.
4.  In Wrath of the Immortals (1992), Orcus's history was fleshed out somewhat; he was said to have been a devil swine (a kind of shape-shifter who changes between the form of a fat human and a wild pig) in the long-ago kingdom of Traldara  His hatred for all life was sufficient to draw the attention of the Gods of Undeath who sponsored Orcus's own successful bid for Immortality.
5. Orcus is one of the big Lovecraftian baddies in my games & he's caused myriad zombie (ghoul) zombie plagues  
6. His influence pops up in the post apocalpytic wastelands as a god from time to time among wasteland nihilists
7. His demons are used all of the time on my version of Hyperborea because of their connection with AS&SH necromancers. 
8. All undead have a bit of Orcus's demonic influence 
9. There are a myriad of planes, dimensions, planets that have fallen to his fat corpulent rotten influence over billions of years. 
10. A demon prince of undeath isn't something to be taken lightly. 

Commentary On The Many Facets Of The Demon Prince Orcus In Original Dungeons & Dragons As Well As My Old School Campaigns

  Tonight I busted out my copy of Eldritch Wizardry not because I was feeling nostalgic about psionics but because I wanted to stare into the face of one of demon lords of the Abyss. Lately, Demongorgon has been getting a ton of press because of the Netflix show 'Stranger Things'. But pound for pound I've used the demon prince of the undead more times then I can count. Eldritch Wizardry is pretty special to me because this was the book that my adopted uncle gave me before my folks & I returned to Connecticut from New York State. Its also that same copy that would get me expelled the first time from the Christian high school I was attending about eight years later. Why? Not because of the powerful occult Original Dungeons & Dragons items inside or the demon lords. Nope it was the naked chick on the cover.


"Orcus was first presented in the Eldritch Wizardry supplement in 1976, by Gary Gygax and Brian Blume, for the original (white box) Dungeons & Dragons game.^[3] Although the book states that there are several such demon Princes, only Orcus and Demogorgon are detailed, "two of the greatest of these exceptional demon lords". Game statistics for Orcus appear on page 27, while a description of Orcus appears on page 35 with an accompanying illustration, and a description for his Wand of Orcus appears on page 42 under the section for artifacts."


At the time I received my copy of Eldritch Wizardry  I was reading a ton of Marvel Seventies Dr.Strange. The demon lord slotted itself forever more in my mind as one more demon lord that Doc could encounter but because he was prince of the undead he couldn't be banished from the mortal plane.I got the feeling that his cult was expansive & very dangerous as his titles suggest as  the Prince of the Undead & Prince of Undeath.


"In 1977, Orcus (Prince of the Undead) was included in the first Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual by Gary Gygax. First edition AD&D game statistics and a description for Orcus appeared in pages 17–18 under the "demon" section, with an illustration of Orcus by David C. Sutherland III on page 17 and an illustration of the Wand of Orcus on page 18.^[5] The Wand of Orcus was detailed on page 162 of the 1979 Dungeon Masters Guide, also by Gygax, in the section on treasure (artifacts and relics)."
Then in '77 we got a fully fleshed out Orcus in the Monster Manual & his rod was fully detailed in the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Dungeon Master's Guide. His corpse fat bloated continence glows like some infernal chess master over the myriad of planes across the multiverse. Each & every skeleton, ghost, etc. in the dungeon or backwater village adds a bit more power to the bastard. He can't get enough & its never going to be enough for him. So he adds his necromancers & death masters as his cult grows just a bit more. To me it always felt like there wasn't a corner of the planes of existence where Orcus didn't have just a little bit of influence. His rod really gives the clue on how & where his cult spreads, it annihilates anyone it touches. This is the perfect creed & philosophy of his cult of nihilists, the final corpse bloated peace of the grave for everything. Only its not the end because you'll be animated as a skeleton or wight or some other undead. 

But it was when I had read Clark Ashton Smith's Empire of the Necromancers that Orcus came into focus;
"Unbroken before them, through fields devoid of trees and grass, and across the channels of dried-up rivers, there ran the great highway by which travelers had gone formerly betweea Cincor and Tinarath. Here they met no living thing; but soon they came to the skeletons of a horse and its rider, lying full in the road, and wearing still the sumptuous harness and raiment which they had worn in the flesh. And Mmatmuor aad Sodosma paused before the piteous bones, on which no shred of corruption remained; and they smiled evilly at each other.
'The steed shall be yours,' said Mmatmuor, 'since you are a little the elder of us two, and are thus entitled to precedence; and the rider shall serve us both and be the first to acknowledge fealty to us in Cincor.'
Then, in the ashy sand by the wayside, they drew a threefold circle; and standing together at its center, they performed the abominable rites that compel the dead to arise from tranquil nothingness and obey henceforward, in all things, the dark will of the necromancer. Afterward they sprinkled a pinch of magic powder on the nostril-holes of the man and the horse; and the white bones, creaking mournfully, rose up from where they had lain and stood in readiness to serve their masters.
So, as had been agreed between them, Sodosma mounted the skeleton steed and took up the jeweled reins, and rode in an evil mockery of Death on his pale horse; while Mmatmuor trudged on beside him, leaning lightly on an ebon staff; and the skeleton of the man, with its rich raiment flapping loosely, followed behind the two like a servitor."
It doesn't matter your station or social standing the power of undeath & necromancy makes a mockery out of the afterlife. Todd Lockwood's Orcus from 1981's Dragon takes all of the grayness of the demon prince's realm & brings it into sharp focus. There's a certain mocking black magick something about this piece that has the same effect on me as the Ray Harryhausen skeleton fights. You can almost see the movements of the skeletons bringing the poor sacrifice before the bloated demon prince.


Because the Todd Lockwood's piece of artwork came out in 1981 its forever associated in my mind with the 1966 film Planet of Vampires. It was the same year I got this piece of artwork in Dragon & had that Italian horror flick burnt into my young mind at 3:00 A.M.!

Orcus is the demon prince of undeath, so it stands to reason that vampirism (undeath) is under his purview. In my young mind these to connected somehow. I whipped up an adventure in which the planet Aura was simply another plane that Orcus had discarded in the past. This unknown planet was part of some bizarre planar chess game he played with his fellow demon lords. Little did I realize that apparently this was something already built into background of AD&D. 
Of course 1981 is the same year that the Evil Dead films came out & you've got to wonder if there isn't a passage or two about Orcus in the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis. Come to think of it perhaps those demons were birthed by Shub-Niggurath (The Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young) & Orcus in some obscene acts out in the multiverse some place? This might help explain the random demon generator from the pages of the Best of Dragon magazine. "Orcus was often depicted, accompanied by Succubi and Type V demons. Here's one illustration, created by Jennell Jaquays that depicts a whole host of demons." This piece of artwork from the pages of the Best of  Dragon magazine helped to flesh out many of the demons of his from the Monster Manual over the years. In fact several demonic monstrosities  have been birthed from that corpulent stomach after a friend joked about him being pregnant.


I don't think that there's been a plane that hasn't been touched by the demonic prince of undeath. His influence continues to spread across the planes & his cult has made it onto Hyperborea. I adapted Orcus's 'origin' by Frank Mentzer as official inner circle cult doctorine & inter game dogma for AS&SH;"

Orcus was one of two demon rulers (along with Demogorgon) described in the Dungeons & Dragons Immortals Rules set (1986) by Frank Mentzer, in the "DM's Guide to Immortals" booklet on pages 33–34, with accompanying charts on pages 35–36. Orcus and Demogorgon are said to command all the other demons described in the book, although they are but two of the many Eternals of the Sphere of Entropy. Orcus (also called The Goat, Master of the Dead, Lord of Darkness, and The Black Prince) commands all mortals of the Sphere of Entropy, which includes undead monsters, and he also commands a small body of loyal Immortals. The book notes that Demogorgon can even command Orcus, although he requires great and sufficient cause to do so. In this version, Orcus attacks with any convenient weapons, wielding one in each hand.^[11] In Wrath of the Immortals (1992), Orcus's history was fleshed out somewhat; he was said to have been a devil swine (a kind of shape-shifter who changes between the form of a fat human and a wild pig) in the long-ago kingdom of Traldara on the world of Mystara. His hatred for all life was sufficient to draw the attention of the Immortal Thanatos, who sponsored Orcus's own successful bid for Immortality.^[51]:31 The article "The Known World Grimoire" by Bruce A. Heard in Dragon #196 (August 1993) mentions that the orcish Tribe of the Sea Plague has Oruguz (also known as Orcus) as their patron. Oruguz is part of the pantheon of the orcs of the Dark Jungle, and the tribe that serves him is led by devil swine, which enforce the precepts of Oruguz among the tribe. "
Here's ten  modifications I used for my own home campaigns over the years with Orcus

1. The bits of Orcus lore I kept were his demonic epitaphs The Goat, Master of the Dead, Lord of Darkness, and The Black Prince
2.   Orcus commands all mortals of the Sphere Cult of Entropy, which includes undead monsters, and he also commands a small body of loyal demonic Immortals.
3.  The book notes that Demogorgon can even command Orcus, although he requires great and sufficient cause to do so. In this version, Orcus attacks with any convenient weapons, wielding one in each hand.
4.  In Wrath of the Immortals (1992), Orcus's history was fleshed out somewhat; he was said to have been a devil swine (a kind of shape-shifter who changes between the form of a fat human and a wild pig) in the long-ago kingdom of Traldara  His hatred for all life was sufficient to draw the attention of the Gods of Undeath who sponsored Orcus's own successful bid for Immortality.
5. Orcus is one of the big Lovecraftian baddies in my games & he's caused myriad zombie (ghoul) zombie plagues  
6. His influence pops up in the post apocalpytic wastelands as a god from time to time among wasteland nihilists
7. His demons are used all of the time on my version of Hyperborea because of their connection with AS&SH necromancers. 
8. All undead have a bit of Orcus's demonic influence 
9. There are a myriad of planes, dimensions, planets that have fallen to his fat corpulent rotten influence over billions of years. 
10. A demon prince of undeath isn't something to be taken lightly. 

Dave Trampier Orcus