Gruumsh (grumsh) is the undisputed head of the pantheon of the ores. In pre-history, one or two now-unknown orc Powers conspired to depose He-who-never-sleeps, and were destroyed utterly. Since that time, Gruumsh has ruled the other orc Powers with an iron grip. He is a fearsome, brutal Power who revels in warfare, and ever seeks new territory for his race.

This drive to acquire territory and living space is Gruumsh's greatest motivation. He has always felt cheated by the way the Powers of humanity and demihumans divided up the world, casting aside the orcs (and himself!) without any respect. Gruumsh drives his people relentlessly, through the work of his clerics, to colonize new lands. And his deep and abiding hatred of the other Powers ensures that he strives to achieve such dominion through warfare, constant and unceasing. Gruumsh tolerates no sign of peaceability from his people. Indeed, orcs have no word for "peace" in their language, only a guttural expletive which means, roughly, "temporary respite from strife".

Gruumsh has an abiding hatred of Corellon Larethian for defeating him in battle. Orc religion denies that Gruumsh lost an eye to Corellon, as their story of "in the beginning..." demonstrates. They hold that Gruumsh was tricked and cheated by Corellon's magic, and that the elf-Power could not win in a fair fight. Gruumsh seeks to have his people raze and destroy elvish homelands whenever possible. It is as well for the elves that they usually live in homelands far distant from the orc clans.

But then, Gruumsh has an equally deep hatred of dwarves and their Powers. The shamanic tales of how Gruumsh and the Elder Orcs fought for control of the mountains would weary the patience of any listener. Orcs desire mountains for their stark and barren quality; they are despoilers, and love the bare and bleak. Still, they'll take whatever they can get, and a major strength of the race is their ability to survive almost anywhere.

That property, too, is close to Gruumsh's heart. He and his clerics weed out orcs who are sick, weak, lame, or unfit for the prosecution of war. Gruumsh is a harsh patron, and iron rule and weeding out the weak is a key element of ore thinking. Since males are physically stronger than females, females are usually relegated to the roles of child-rearing and making sure the warriors have food on the table after a hard day's pillaging and slaughter. "If Gruumsh intended females to be the equal of males he'd have given them bigger muscles" is a less brutish translation of an orcish saying among the warrior caste.

Fortunately for the races of Wearth, much of Gruumsh's attention is taken up with the eternal battle of orc and goblin spirits in the Hells, where he directs the warfare against them from his iron fortress. But Gruumsh is ever watchful over his race, and is especially watchful for transgressions...