0RCUS
Orcus is the Demon Prince of Undeath, known as the
Blood Lord. He takes some pleasure in the sufferings
of the living, but far prefers the company and service of
the undead. His desire is to see all life quenched and the
multiverse transformed into a vast necropolis populated
solely by undead creatures under his command.
Orcus rewards those who spread death in his name
by granting them a small portion of his power. The least
of these become ghouls and zombies who serve in his
legions, while his favored servants are the cultists and
necromancers who murder the living and then manipu-
late the dead. emulating their dread master.
Orcus is a bestial creature of corruption with a dis-
eased. decaying look. He has the lower torso of a goat.
and a humanoid upper body with a corpulent belly swol-
len with rot. Great bat wings sprout from his shoulders,
and his head is like the skull of a goat. the flesh nearly
rotted from it. In one hand. he wields the legendary
Wand ofOrcus, which is described in chapter 7. -Trea-
sure," of the Dungeon Master's Guide.
0Rcus's LAIR
Orcus makes his lair in the fortress city of Naratyr.
which is on Thanatos, the layer of the Abyss that he
rules. Surrounded by a moat fed by the River Styx,
.\PPEI'OI X 0 OBION LORDS
Naratyr is an eerily quiet and cold city, its streets often
empty for hours at a time. The central castle of bone has
interior walls of flesh and carpets made of woven hair.
The city contains wandering undead, many of which are
engaged in continuous battles with one another.LAIR ACTIONS
On initiative count 20 (losing initiative tics), Orcus can
take a lai r action to cause one of the following effects; he
can't usc the same effect two rounds in a row:
Orcus's voice booms throughout the lair. I lis utter-
ance causes one creature of his choice to be subjected
to power word kill (save DC 23). Ore us needn't see the
creature. but he must be aware that the individual is
in the lair.
Orcus causes up to six corpses within the Jajr to rise
as skeletons. zombies, or ghouls. These undead obey
his telepathic commands. which can reach anywhere
in the lair.
Orcus causes skeletal arms to rise from an area on
the ground in a 20-foot square that he can see. They
last until the next initiative count 20. Each creature
in that area when the arms appear must succeed on
a DC 23 Strength saving throw or be restrained until
the arms disappear or until Orcus releases their grasp
(no action required).