# Archdemon, Orcus, Prince of the Undead >[!rimg]+ > ![[Placeholder2.png]] > > > > xLang:: 6/8 (2) *The massive, bloated demon stands 15 feet tall, his immense frame a hideous combination of muscle and bloated flesh. His head is that of a ram with a great maw filled with tusks, and his thick-furred legs end in cloven hooves. Leathery wings and a barb-tipped tail complete the picture of the archetypal demon.* <div class="grid-container"><div class="MON">Orcus, Prince of the Undead</div> <div class="CR">CR 22 (614,400 XP)</div> <div class="SOU">Book of Vile Darkness pg. 136, Fiendish Codex 1, pg. 73</div> <div class="SYS">Dungeons & Dragons 3.5</div></div> CE Large Outsider (chaotic, demon, evil) **Init** +10 **Senses** darkvision 60 ft., true seeing; **Perception** +34 #### defense **AC** 48, 20 touch, 42 flat-footed (+5 deflection, +6 Dex, +28 natural, -1 size) **hp** 468 (26d10+338) **Fort** +21, **Refl** +21, **Will** +20 **Feint** 44, **Demoralize** 41 **Defensive Abilities** undead traits **DR** 20/cold iron and good; **SR** 33 **Immune** electricity, poison; **Resist** acid 10, cold 10, fire 10 #### offense **Speed** 20 ft., fly 40 ft. (average) **Melee** wand of orcus [+6 chaotic unholy heavy mace] +44/+39/+34/+29 (10d10+18 plus 2d6 unholy plus 2d6 chaotic plus death/19-20), claw +35 (1d6+6), gore +35 (2d6+6), sting +35 (1d6+6 plus poison) **Ranged** enervation ray +22 touch (1d4 negative levels/19-20) **Space** 10 ft., **Reach** 10 ft. **Special Attacks** death (non-outsider of 15 HD or less, DC 27), poison **Spell-Like Abilities** (CL 20th; Concentration +24) > **Constant**— _true seeing_ > **At will**—_astral projection_, _command undead_ (DC 18), _desecrate_, _detect good_, _detect law_, _enervation_ (+32 ranged touch), _greater dispel magic_, _greater teleport_, _telekinesis_ (DC 19), _unhallow_, _unholy blight_ (DC 18) > **3/day**—quickened _enervation_, _finger of death_ (DC 23), _symbol of death_ (DC 24) > 1/day—_summon_ (level 9, 1d6 vrocks, 1d4 glabrezu, or 1 marilith at 100%), _summon_ (level 9, 4d10 wights, 1d8 spectres, or 1d3 mohrgs at 100%), _wail of the banshee_ (DC 25) #### statistics **Str** 35, **Dex** 23, **Con** 37, **Int** 27, **Wis** 20, **Cha** 19 **BAB** +26, **CMB** +39, **CMD** 60, **TA** +37, **RTA** +31 **Feats** [[Dark Speech]], [[Greater Spell Focus]] (necromancy), [[Hover]], [[Improved Critical]] (heavy mace), [[Improved Critical]] (ray), [[Improved Initiative]], [[Improved Natural Attack]] (gore), [[Multiattack]], [[Power Attack]], [[Quicken Spell-Like Ability]] (enervation), [[Spell Focus]] (necromancy), [[Weapon Focus]] (heavy mace), [[Weapon Focus]] (ray) **Skills** Acrobatics +32 (+28 when jumping), Bluff +33, Climb +38, Craft +37 (alchemy), Diplomacy +30, Escape Artist +32, Fly +33, Intimidate +33, Knowledge (arcana) +37, Knowledge (planes) +37, Knowledge (religion) +37, Perception +34, Sense Motive +34, Use Magic Device +33 **Languages** Abyssal, Aklo, Common, Draconic, Infernal, Necril; telepathy 300 ft. #### special abilities ### Mantle of Death (Ex) Orcus is immune to any effect that undead are immune to, though he is otherwise treated as a creature of his type and subtypes. ### Poison (Ex) Sting—Injury; save Fort DC 36; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1d3 Strength damage; cure 2 consecutive saves. The DC save is Constitution-based. #### ecology **Terrain** Any (Abyss) **Organization** Orcus plus 1d6 vampires or liches **Treasure** Quadruple plus Wand of Orcus **Advancement** — Orcus is a massive, bloated demon prince—bloated on spite, bile, and contempt. After becoming complacent with his wars against Demogorgon and Graz’zt waning, Orcus was murdered and deposed. But then, Orcus rose from the dead—an an undead demon, and took the name Tenebrous for a time, hiding in the shadows and waiting to take his revenge. Now he has reinstated himself to his former position and taken up residence in Naratyr, his terrible fortress-city in the Abyss on Thanatos, the layer he rules. Once again Orcus finds himself in a struggle for dominance with many of the other demon lords. Orcus is no longer content to grow old and fat feeding on larvae in his castle. He focuses his anger and hate on the absolute destruction of his enemies and the spread of woe and havoc among mortals. Truly a demon reborn, Orcus is more terrible and more dangerous than ever. Orcus hates both Demogorgon and Graz’zt. He resents them for their power, and he covets their realms. Orcus commands a host of undead as well as armies of demons that ravage the fields of the Abyss that they cross. Probably because he has an identifiable, if loathsome, “portfolio,” Orcus is worshiped as a god more often than most of the other demon princes are. Although Demogorgon might actually be more powerful, Orcus may be closer to ascending to true godhood. Standing 15 feet tall, Orcus is a massive demon. His head bears a striking resemblance to that of a ram, and his legs end in cloven hooves. Batlike wings complete the picture of the archetypal demon. In fact, when commoners think of demons, they most likely think of some terrible picture of Orcus that they once saw somewhere. Orcus is best known in some circles for his wand, an artifact of malefic might. This wand—more accurately described as a rod—is made of black iron and obsidian and topped with a skull. It has terrible powers and is a horrific weapon in its own right. The black, skull-topped rod also serves as the prince’s symbol. ### Wand of Orcus The weapon that Orcus wields functions as a +6 unholy anarchic heavy mace. If the wand touches any nonoutsider, or any outsider with less than 15 HD, the target must succeed on a DC 25 Fortitude save or be instantly slain. This is a necromantic death effect. The wand also confers a +5 deflection bonus to the Armor Class of its wielder. ### Combat Orcus relies heavily on his wand in combat, much preferring to engage foes in melee. Attacks with his free claw, gore, and poison tail are almost afterthoughts. If faced with numerous powerful foes, Orcus fights more carefully. He summons undead and tanar’ri to engage foes in melee while he provides support with finger of death, wail of the banshee, and his other spell-like abilities. ### Servants, Enemies and Goals After becoming complacent in his eternal war with Demogorgon and Graz’zt, Orcus was recently murdered and deposed. But then, Orcus rose from the dead—an undead demon—and took the name Tenebrous for a time, hiding in the shadows of the multiverse and waiting to take his revenge. Now he has reinstated himself to his former position and reclaimed his realm Thanatos, and once again finds himself in a struggle for dominance with many other demon lords. Orcus is no longer content to grow fat and decadent in his castle. He focuses his anger and hate on the absolute destruction of his enemies and the spread of woe and havoc among mortals. He covets Graz’zt and Demogorgon’s realms above all others, and commands a host of undead and demons that ravage entire layers of the Abyss at his whim. Against Graz’zt, Orcus’s tactics are fairly direct. He constantly sends wave after wave of his limitless undead armies against Graz’zt’s three Abyssal layers, continuing these battles eternally since Orcus can replace fallen undead soldiers as quickly as they are destroyed by Graz’zt’s defenders. This relentless assault is inexorably penetrating deeper and deeper into Graz’zt’s territory, but at nowhere near the pace that Orcus wishes. He realizes that Demogorgon is a more powerful foe, and as a result, Orcus’s actions against the Prince of Demons are more subtle. He sends small bands of nabassu, vampires, and liches into Gaping Maw and other places Demogorgon holds sway to undertake missions of precisely calibrated assassination and sabotage. Yet while Orcus himself might not be as powerful as Demogorgon, and his realm might be dwarfed by the size of Graz’zt’s holdings, Orcus’s cult on the Material Plane is in truth his greatest resource. In particular, orcs, half-orcs, ogres, and giants revere Orcus, as do a large number of corrupt and despicable humans. His temples are usually hidden, and his worshipers form secret societies that commit atrocities and wage wars in his name. He demands living sacrifice from his cultists, and blood and skulls are important parts of the imagery used in his worship. Intelligent undead rarely serve him willingly, although many vampires, liches, and other undead creatures are forced into his service by dark pacts or compelling magic. Clerics of Orcus have access to the domains of Chaos, Death, Demonic, and Evil. His symbol is his wand—a skull-topped black mace.