Other Enemies

Born: 1772

Child prodigy. Self-taught in philosophy, medicine, and biology as well as magic, kabbalism, and alchemy. Victor also dabbles in diabolism and makes a pact with the demon Orcus in exchange for some secrets to life and death.

1789, at age 17, he constructs his first creature. Frankenstein goes mad and abandons the creature. He spends the next year in an asylum.

1790, Frankenstein's younger brother dies under mysterious circumstances. The family maid, Justine, is implicated in the murder and hanged. Frankenstein suspects the creature, but the brother was actually killed by Orcus as payment. Frankenstein attempts to revive both his brother and the maid, but the Creature interrupts him, attempting to stop him. Frankenstein's plans are foiled, but Orcus exacts his payment once again, this time against Frankenstein's wife. Once again, Frankenstein blames the creature. He goes mad and begins a hunt for the creature the leads him from Switzerland to the Mediterranean to the Black Sea, then across the Russian Steppe to the Arctic Ocean. There, aboard an ice-bound ship, Frankenstein and the creature face off. The creature wins and Frankenstein is left for dead. Frankenstein, unknown to himself, has been made immortal by the demon Orcus, and survives the attack. He is taken to Prussia and goes into hiding, where he changes his name to Franken.

1798, Napoleon invades Switzerland and seizes all of Frankenstein's family's assets.

1870, Franken changes his name to Switzer and aids the Prussians during the Franco-Prussian War.

1914, Switzer moves to Massachussetts and changes his name to Herbert West.

1922, While serving on the staff at Miskatonic University, West creates his re-animating "Reagent". After a scandal, he returns to Germany.

1932, West changes his name to Joseph Mengele and joins the "Steel Helmet" organization.

1937, Mengele joins the Nazi Party.

1938, Mengele joins the SS. His creature returns from hiding in Tibet to thwart him during World War 2.

1945, Mengele poses as a farm laborer in Bavaria.

1949, Mengele moves to Argentina and changes his name several times.

1979, He creates a clone of himself and fakes his death once again.

Orcus is beyond a doubt one of the most powerful demon lords in existence. Not only is his physical might great, his ability to create and control vast legions of undead monsters has given him the justified title of Demon Prince of the Undead. But Orcus has not always been this way. There was a time when the demon prince was a god and was worshipped openly.

History

Before the 5th century BCE the Cult of Orcus spread through out the Etruscan lands (what is now Italy), Orcus was then the God of the Dead. Never a benign god, he was worshipped out of fear and for his believed mastery over death. Once the Romans came to power in 509 BCE the cult was outlawed and moved underground, both literally and figuratively. The Romans, heavily influenced by the Greeks, equated Orcus to Hades/Pluto, Dispater or Thanatos. Ancient burial chambers became the new altars for the God of the Dead where bulls, sacred to the god, were sacrificed.

By 3rd century CE the rise of the Mithras Cult in Rome further pushed Orcus out of the mainstream. Mithras was seen as a God of Light and many paintings showed Mithras fighting the Bull of Darkness. Orcus went from being a necessary evil, to malicious evil incarnate.

While the Mithras Cult did not last, it’s relative and heir Christianity continued to demonise the cult, even to point that Orcus was no longer a god, but a demon that plagued on mankind. Orcus’ symbolic death as a god and revival in a lesser status as a demon also changed his powers. He was no longer responsible for the stewarding of souls in the after life, that task belonged to God and Satan for good and evil souls respectively. Instead his powers became twisted after his Fall and he was to ruler of the Undead, those that have moved beyond the grace of God or the grasp (supposedly) of Satan. Orcus does not revel in his new position, he despises the undead as much as he does the living.

Goals and Motivations

Orcus appears to be a slowly calculating and meticulous demon. He is in fact, merely lazy. He is a genius and his power is great, but he lacks the desire for long term planning. His typical response to any situation is to use as much brute force as possible. When his own demonic advisors advised him on a ill fated battle with his arch enemy Demogorgon, he killed everyone of them and half of his own army. Orcus is rage personified. That is not to say he does not have plans. Orcus’ ultimate goal is to be reinstated to Godhood. While he loathes his worshippers, he grants them powers and undead to further his own causes. He also supports many seemingly random and violent acts that result in multiple deaths. Modern sages believe that the chemical accident in Bhopal India in 1984 was a result of Orcus’ plans.

Any undead-creating necromancy is believed to been currently, or at one time, attributed to Orcus’ teachings.

Appearance

Orcus, in his normal form, is a grossly fat demon lord, some 15 feet tall. His huge grey body is covered with coarse goatish hair. His head is goat-like, although his horns are similar to those of a ram. His great legs are also goat-like but his arms are humanoid. Vast bat wings sprout from his back, but these are usually tucked out sight when he is not in flight. His long, snaky tail is tipped with a poisonous head.

He can appear as anything he chooses, other known forms he has adopted include a grossly fat middle aged human male (which some say is his real true form), that of an angel-winged spectre of death, a statuesque and pale woman, or even a tall thin African male. In any form the Demon Prince reeks of death and destruction.

His most recently sighted form is that of a well-dressed middle-aged white male with curving horns growing from his forehead. He was accompanied by two large well-dressed demon bodyguards with similar horns.

The Cult of Orcus