Ogres are a minor[1] spacefaring race in the Spelljammer campaign setting, and are closely associated with other goblinoid races, including orcs, goblins, hobgoblins, bugbears, gnolls and scro.[2][3][4]
"We sail the skies for plunder,
Any ship we find we sunder,
More human skulls to crack,
to line our captain's rack." - Ogre Sailor's Chant[5]
Overview[]
At one time the ogres and the other goblinoid races had a major presence in wildspace, fighting amongst themselves and against the other races in space, especially the elves. Although they were powerful, the goblinoid fleets were divided among a huge number of local chiefs, leaders and kings, and were unable to coordinate anything more than localised raids. However, considering their numbers, these raids completely depopulated whole regions of space, wiping out elven installations, human cities and dwarven citadels.
Most local kingdoms and organizations fought off these assaults as best they could, but the Elven Imperial Navy adopted their own solution: a full-fledged war against the goblinoid fleets in space. Beginning with the Battle of Kule in Greyspace, and continuing for the next decade, fully half of the various goblinoid fleets were destroyed, with the remaining forces scattered and later hunted down.
The power of the goblinoid fleets were crushed, but individual bands remained a factor in space. Of all the goblinoids, the ogres fared the worst due to their lack of organization and their relative unsuitability for life in wildspace. Individual ogres managed to eke out a living, signing on as pirates or as manual labour.[2]
However, rumors persist of the remnants of various ogre fleets banding together and rebuilding; waiting for the day they can avenge themselves on the hated elves.[6][7] With the advent of the Second Unhuman War, many ogre tribes have joined the war alongside the scro, who employ them as shock troops and manual labour, considering them too dumb to be entrusted with anything else.[3]
Description[]
Ogres stand 9 to 10 feet tall, and weigh 300 to 350 pounds. Their skin ranges in color from a dead yellow to a dull black-brown, and (rarely) a sickly violet. Their warty bumps are often a different color - or at least a darker shade, while their long greasy hair is usually blackish-blue to a dull dark green. Their eyes are purple with white pupils, and their teeth and talons are orange or black. They dress in poorly cured pelts and skins, and the resulting odor is repellent, reminiscent of curdled milk.[4]
Personality[]
Ogres continually plague other societies in their lust for wealth and flesh. They willingly join with other creatures to prey on the weak and favor overwhelming odds in battle. They are big, and ugly, and greedy, and live by ambushes, raids and theft. Ill-tempered and nasty, they typically sign on as mercenaries with orcish tribes or gnolls;[4] though with the advent of the Second Unhuman War, many have signed on with the scro.[3]
Combat[]
Ogres typically fight as disorganized mobs of individuals, but can be lead to fight more cohesively.[4] The scro employ ogres as shock troops and as muscle to keep other troops in line.[3]
Society[]
Ogres can be found anywhere, from deep caverns to mountaintops, to the depths of wildspace. Ogres live by raiding and scavenging, and they will eat anything, with a marked fondness for elven, dwarven, and halfling flesh. Ogres always enslave their prisoners, putting them to work in the holds of their ships.[8] Extremely avariscious, ogres squabble continuously over treasure , and can't be trusted, even by their own kind.[4]
Ogre mage[]
Ogre mages are blessed with numerous magical abilities and serve as advisors to their tribal warchief or ship's captain. However, talented (and very powerful) individuals have gone on to lead their own tribes. Those ogre ship's that have not been equipped with a lifejammer or a deathhelm will be powered either by an ogre mage or by a mercenary human spellcaster.[9]
Ogre mages are significantly more intelligent than their brutish cousins. They are also taller, averaging over 10 feet in height, and have light blue, light green or pale brown skin with ivory horns. Their hair is typically the opposite of their skin color (blue with green, green with blue), and a shade darker, while those individuals with pale brown skin will have yellow hair. Ogre mages have black nails and dark eyes with white pupils, and their teeth and tusks are very white.
Ogre mages can use the following spell-like abilities at will: fly (for up to 2 hours), become invisible, cause darkness in a 10-foot radius, polymorph into a human or similar bipedal creature (between 4 and 12-feet tall), and regenerate. Once per day they can cast: charm person, sleep, assume gaseous form, and create a cone of cold 60 feet long. In battle, ogre mages typically resort to magic first before relying on physical attacks, preferring to wield a naginata or a scimitar and a whip.[10]
Merrow[]
Merrow are ogres who have adapted to an aquatic environment. Faster and more aggressive than their landbound cousins, merrow have greenish scales with webbed hands and feet. Their necks are long and thick with sloping shoulders, and their mouths are huge with large undershot jaws. They have black teeth and nails, and dark green eyes with white pupils. Their hair resembles slimy seaweed and about 1-in-10 males grow ivory horns. Merrow are very fond of tattoos, and females especially may have their entire bodies inked with scenes of death and destruction as a sign of their status. Merrow speak their own dialect, and the common tongue of ogres.[11]
Notable Ogres[]
- Bash was a war chieftain who led the ogre troops stationed onboard Gamaro Base in Moragspace.[3]
- Dav the Butcher was a famous half-ogre mercenary from Krynnspace who served as an ambassador to the council of war called in response to the raids conducted by the Vodoni Empire.[12]
- Doom was a Nzunta ogre chieftain who discovered a spelljammer on Krynn decades ago, and began exploring Realmspace with 30 of his dark ogre followers, acquiring magic and mercenaries with the intention of returning to Krynnspace to conquer his homeworld.[13][14]
- Gargon was the personal bodyguard of the scro General Vorr, second-in-command of the Tarantula Fleet.[15]
- Grinder was the bouncer at the portside tavern The Rockrat on the Rock of Bral.[16][17]
- The Ogre King was a powerful ogre mage who ruled a nascent ogre kingdom in the crystal sphere known as the Steel Star.[6][7]
- ShiCaga the Enchantress was an ogre mage chieftess who lead the ogres onboard the Spelljammer.[18]
Signature Spelljammers[]
Ogres are closely associated with the Mammoth,[8][9] and its many variants, including the Mastodon,[19] the Dinotherium,[20] and the gigantic Archimperator.[20]
Appendix[]
Gallery[]
External Links[]
- Ogre article at the Forgotten Realms Wiki, a wiki for the Forgotten Realms campaign setting.
- Ogre article at the Dragonlance Wiki, a wiki for the Dragonlance campaign setting.
- Ogre article at the Eberron Wiki, a wiki for the Eberron campaign setting.
- Ogre article at Greyhawkonline.com, a wiki for the Greyhawk campaign setting.
- Ogre article at the Dungeons and Dragons Lore Wiki, a wiki for official Dungeons & Dragons content from every edition.
- Ogre article at the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition Wiki, a wiki for official Dungeons & Dragons content from 2nd edition AD&D.
References[]
- ↑ Jeff Grubb. AD&D Adventures in Space; Lorebook of the Void, TSR, Inc., 1989, Major and Minor Races side bar (pp.50, 52 and 54)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Jeff Grubb. AD&D Adventures in Space; Lorebook of the Void, TSR, Inc., 1989, Goblin Races section, chapter 3: Spacefarers (pp.59–60)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Bruce Nesmith, SJS1 Goblins' Return, 1991, (TSR Inc.), Ogre Compound section, chapter 3: Gamaro Base Description, page 39
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Tim Beach et al, Monstrous Manual, 1993, (TSR Inc.), Ogre entry, pages 272-273
- ↑ Bruce Nesmith, SJS1 Goblins' Return, 1991, (TSR Inc.), side bar, page 8
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Ed Greenwood. Lost Ships, TSR, Inc., 1990, Ogre Kingship section (p.55)
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Ed Greenwood. Lost Ships, TSR, Inc., 1990, Steel Star side bar (p.56)
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Ed Greenwood, SJR1 Lost Ships, 1990, (TSR Inc.), Ship Catalog chapter, page 54
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Bruce Nesmith, SJS1 Goblins' Return, 1991, (TSR Inc.), Ogre Mammoth Ship, page 60
- ↑ Tim Beach et al, Monstrous Manual, 1993, (TSR Inc.), Ogre Mage entry, page 273
- ↑ Tim Beach et al, Monstrous Manual, 1993, (TSR Inc.), Merrow (Aquatic Ogre) entry, page 273
- ↑ Grant Boucher, SJA4 Under The Dark Fist, 1991, (TSR Inc.), Appendix C: Pregenerated Characters, page 12
- ↑ Jean Rabe, SJR7 Krynnspace, 1993, (TSR Inc.), Krynn chapter, page 32
- ↑ Jean Rabe, SJR7 Krynnspace, 1993, (TSR Inc.), Doom From Wildspace section, Adventure Ideas chapter, page 92
- ↑ Roger E. Moore, The Cloakmaster Cycle, The Maelstrom's Eye, 1992, (TSR Inc.), page 19 (first appearance)
- ↑ Nigel D. Findley, SJA2 Skull & Crossbows, 1990, (TSR Inc.), Letters of Marque, Introduction, pages 3-4
- ↑ Richard Baker, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), Part 3: A City Among the Stars, page 67
- ↑ Jeff Grubb, The Legend of Spelljammer, Captains and Ships, 1991, (TSR Inc.), Personalities of the Spelljammer, pages 65-66
- ↑ Ed Greenwood, SJR1 Lost Ships, 1990, (TSR Inc.), Ship Catalog chapter, page 55
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 Ed Greenwood, SJR1 Lost Ships, 1990, (TSR Inc.), Ship Catalog chapter, page 56