| 8 people marked this as a favorite. |
I once made a cleric of Gorum "fall" in my game because he plotted to murder an NPC in his bed instead of facing him in fair combat.
|
| 4 people marked this as a favorite. |
Things he might scrowl at;
Run from combat or otherwise avoid a fight that you could have won. (Avoiding an unwinnable fight, or at least delaying it until you are better prepared, is just sensible strategy. "Revenge is a dish best served five levels later." as they say.)
Use diplomacy to stop two parties from resolving a dispute through conflict.
Use tactics like spreading disease (which Inner Sea Gods mentions that Gorum particularly hates) to weaken combatants and keep them from the battlefield. He'd probably not be a fan of blockading a city (or just blocking the entrance to the kobold's cave) and waiting for them to starve, either.
Assassinate or murder someone, rather than face them openly. Inner Sea Gods mentions that he loathes Norgorber for these sorts of tactics.
People get pissy at Ragathiel even though there's Gorum about. I don't get it.
The best thing to do IMO is to talk to your GM. I think you'll get a lot of good responses here, but what they decide is what is most important to your game.
Having said that as GM rednal said preaching peace could, but I guess your character could at least make sure civilian casualties are minimized. I view Gorum as reveling in the excitement of combat and is not really about slaughter as that is what Rovagug does.
Being cowardly would also do it.
I guess you could offend Gorum if your character gives praise, or is part of a celebration dedicated to, another god of war such as Iomedae.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Isn't the idea of honorable combat quite Lawful?
Honour is, yes, but Gorum wants you to fight it out, and it wouldn't be a real fight otherwise. Honourable combat is more of a side-effect.
|
Isn't the idea of honorable combat quite Lawful?
In my game, being Lawful primarily means following the good old ways.
If those call for dishonorable tactics, then being Lawful definitely means no honorable combat.
Note that a Chaotic character might follow some of the good old ways just because it makes sense to him/her or s/he feels like it. But not just because they are the good old ways (that is what being Lawful is all about)
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I'd imagine not taking care of your own equipment(not sharpening your bladed weapons, not polishing armor, etc) would displease him, as would being lazy/not training for combat.
|
|
| 4 people marked this as a favorite. |
I would answer the OP question with some clarifications that illustrate my ideas on what displeases Gorum
Gorum is not the god of slaughter
Gorum is not the god of cowards
Gorum is not the god of pacifists
Gorum is the god of glory through conflict and battle.
Like any god, Gorum does not expect you to excel or even succeed at this. But he definitely expects you to do your best reaching for this
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Isn't the idea of honorable combat quite Lawful?
Not really. If the main purpose is your own glory, than it's definitely chaotic. If it's a mandated way to settle a dispute than it can be lawful.
And it can be somewhere in between.
Use diplomacy to stop two parties from resolving a dispute through conflict.
I'd imagine you could possibly use some kind of duel of champions instead of the meat grinder. It is still within the realm of "I win because I am stronger".
...which could actually end up as the taciturn method for someone surrendering 'without a fight.' Sometimes, the town you want realizes they don't stand a chance and want to surrender. And you want them to surrender so you don't have to waste time and risk losing goods in fires and such. But...war god, y'know? So you just set up a nice little duel where they don't stand a chance, and let that be that.
|
| 3 people marked this as a favorite. |
Use diplomacy to stop two parties from resolving a dispute through conflict.I'd imagine you could possibly use some kind of duel of champions instead of the meat grinder. It is still within the realm of "I win because I am stronger".
...which could actually end up as the taciturn method for someone surrendering 'without a fight.' Sometimes, the town you want realizes they don't stand a chance and want to surrender. And you want them to surrender so you don't have to waste time and risk losing goods in fires and such. But...war god, y'know? So you just set up a nice little duel where they don't stand a chance, and let that be that.
Gorum is perfectly fine with you accepting surrenders, since that's still asserting your superiority.
Forcing a village "champion" who doesn't know how to fight fight in a duel would not be amusing to Gorum.
Gorum isn't about fair and honorable combat, 3 giants vs 3 goblins is still a fight, the soldiers chopping down poorly armed and trained peasants is still a fight. Only the GM is encouraging fair fights.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Cowardice is probably the swiftest way to displease Gorum. (The priest of Gorum never says "I can't fight that," at worst, he or she says "I can't fight that yet."*)
Accepting surrender is a good way to avoid (or finish fights) that won't be (or no longer are) glorious.
On the other hand, if the other side doesn't stand a chance but they insist on fighting anyways, it would be disrespectful to not accept their challenge and kill them on their own terms.
My concept for a mythic cleric of Gorum from a one shot some years ago was a CN wanderer who'd come across conflicts, identify the underdog, and then join it. (And then usually turn the tide, because dude was mythic.)
He'd join a group of bandits being hunted by a stronger army as readily as he'd join a town to defend it from the same bandits.
Kind of like a half-orc Kwai Chang Caine, but without his moral standards.
* After all, there's no glory in dying stupidly. If you must fight a battle you can't win, make damn sure it's worth it.)
|
|
| 5 people marked this as a favorite. |
Okay, just went and read back over ISG and it had this to say,
Gorum is the excitement, battle-lust, and brutality of combat. He is indifferent to whether his followers are knights in plate mail, goblins wielding dogslicers, or children armed with table knives—anyone willing to put up a fight, no matter how pathetic or pointless, is worth swinging at. He does not condone the wild slaughter of innocents and invalids, for such acts are the parlance of murderers and butchers, not of warriors. Likewise, he can be merciful, giving quarter to those who surrender, but he is quick to slay any who pretend to submit in the hope of striking while the superior opponent is unaware, and those who refuse to fight at all are barely worth a scornful beheading.
It is more pleasing to Gorum to see a soldier fight a score of battles in his lifetime than die in the first, and if compromises or truces mean warriors live on to fight again, he supports diplomacy over seeing every soldier fight to a pointless death, but he doesn’t care for negotiations and quickly loses interest when tempers cool and blades are sheathed. Battles of words and wits tire him, not because he lacks the intellect for them, but because he finds them as pointless and unsatisfying as crushing ants—true challenges are those where lives are on the line and a moment’s hesitation can mean blood and pain. As good and evil have little meaning for him, he may fight demons one day and noble dragons another, just to challenge himself and test his own mettle. Among other deities, Gorum is seen as warrior with few equals, but prone to rage and destruction when he grows bored.
So anyone who takes up a weapon is fair game, but is against killing noncombatants and people who couldn't put up a fight. He's also okay with diplomacy and surrenders.
1. Wear a chain shirt when you own a breastplate.
2. Wear a breastplate when you own half plate.
3. Wear half plate when you own full plate.
I never noticed what a fashion cop Gorum was...
| 4 people marked this as a favorite. |
Fighting/killing people who reasonably can't fight back. Riding into town and slaughtering villagers is a no.Actually, one of Gorums lieutenants will slaughter everyone in the area if he is summoned to too weak a battle.
That sounds a lot like a tech support guy I used to have to work with...
"YOU SUMMON ME FOR A MERE 'PC LOAD LETTER' MESSAGE!? PERISH IN FLAMES!"
|
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Fighting/killing people who reasonably can't fight back. Riding into town and slaughtering villagers is a no.Actually, one of Gorums lieutenants will slaughter everyone in the area if he is summoned to too weak a battle.
Gorum the Deity and minion of Gorum are not the same thing.
|
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Gorum the Deity and minion of Gorum are not the same thing.Fighting/killing people who reasonably can't fight back. Riding into town and slaughtering villagers is a no.Actually, one of Gorums lieutenants will slaughter everyone in the area if he is summoned to too weak a battle.
Also the actual text for The First Blade is,
Tales tell of the herald appearing amid lesser battles and, upon finding them to be mere skirmishes or clashes among weaklings, slaughtering all involved in disgust.
So no, not "everyone" in the area, just those fighting.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Not being badass enough?
Gorum just seems like the kind of person who you're lucky to have on your team. And also kind've horrified.
So anyone who takes up a weapon is fair game, but is against killing noncombatants and people who couldn't put up a fight. He's also okay with diplomacy and surrenders.
Well, it is might not matter if they can put up a proper fight. Children with kitchen knives are included.
Theoretically? A kid with a kitchen knife could kill. depending on where he hits, how armored his opponent is, and whether anyone was defending against him. Necks are that vulnerable, after all. Even in gorum fashion (full plate), there is the theoretical idea that the kid might stab at a joint and cripple your leg or something.
'can't fight' is a very, VERY small subset of people (typically those that are bedridden). 'unwilling to fight'....yeah, don't hit those.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Going off of what lemeres is saying, one of the phrases close to a Gorumite's heart is, "Will you fight?" The desire to do so and the ferocity with which you fight is the most important part (as far as I understand it from reading about Gorum).
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
I can't be the only one to picture Torgue (from Borderlands 2 and Pre-Sequel) being a pretty close parallel to Gorum, can I?
Posting from work, so I can't quite include pictures or video. But they seem like they'd be best friends. I want that buddy cop movie.
Off the top of my head, I can think of several things that can get Gorum annoyed.
- messing up a good fight with tricks - poisoned blades, utilizing diseases in war, intrigue and betrayal, etc.
- slaughtering weaklings who cannot fight.
- not fighting when you have all you need to, i.e. chickening out.
If you want to fight - a good, hard fight, not an assassination or a raid on someone who can't fight back- he likes that. The rest doesn't matter so much.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Literally beating your swords into plowshares
Being in the prime of your combat prowess and taking up basket weaving he hates that %#!@
It's weird. Gorum is a deity of battle who hates bullies but declares every fight, no matter how lopsided, as a good thing. I think it would take some work to piss Gorum off as a result, like several instances of lopsided battles, a clear history of preferring the use of wordplay over combat, or acts of true cowardice- not running away when outnumbered or outmatched but making use of poison, sabotage, and partisans/seconds as opposed to personal combat.
| 8 people marked this as a favorite. |
Literally beating your swords into plowshares
"We beat our swords into plowshares--"
"--well that seems kindly. Good j--"
"--then we used the plowshares to beat our enemies into submission."
"..."
"What? We like a challenge."
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Getting OTKed by someone 4 lv lower than you..... If not I owe that cleric an apology.
Also its not about honor. Its about making sure you get to kick the most butt possible. Not debilitating stuff beforehand makes the stuff stronger than otherwise = more awesome fight. I would compare Gorum to the ringmaster of a gladiator ring. Its got to be worth his time or you aren't doing it right
Another way to look at it is as him as the god of manlyness. Which is more manly. Killing a politician in his sleep or dueling the Great Warrior and Demigod Achilles while surrounded by his soldiers and under heavy siege engine fire. That said he does recognize there is a line of stupid. You just better be a bit past that line before backing down
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
My rule of thumb: If a klingon would find it detestable, then Gorum likely would as well.
Another way to look at it is as him as the god of manlyness. Which is more manly. Killing a politician in his sleep or dueling the Great Warrior and Demigod Achilles while surrounded by his soldiers and under heavy siege engine fire. That said he does recognize there is a line of stupid. You just better be a bit past that line before backing down
Gorum: God of Machismo, Bravado, and #BuffStuff.
Gorum is definitely sounding like an ideal god for the Old Norse from what folks are saying here.
I would also add that apparently working with daemons, especially Szuriel, Horseman of War, would probably get Gorum and his followers miffed at you. Gorum wants war; Szuriel just wants oblivion and will gleefully kill her own loyal followers along with their enemies.
Gorum asks "Will you fight?" If the answer is "No", then Gorum is not pleased with you. That's... about it, actually. Don't be a coward or a pacifist. So long as you fight the good fight Gorum doesn't care if you're strong, weak, or somewhere inbetween - a puny wimp standing up to an enemy five times his strength is infinitely more respectable than a hulking brute who runs away, even if the wimp gets pummeled.