Ogres

Where the Jutons are the towering giants of Dúnamhar, the Ogres are their smaller—though still formidable—cousins, standing well above human height without ever approaching the mountain-scale of their kin. The bloodline between the two races shows plainly in build: thick-boned, heavy-muscled, and dense in a way that suggests old Juton stock scaled down but not softened. What an Ogre lacks in a Juton's sheer height, it makes up for in a stockier, more compact power, built low and hard to topple.

If there is one trait the tome can record with total certainty across every Ogre encountered, it is the color of their skin: green, without exception, though the shade itself wanders considerably from one Ogre to the next—some as pale as new spring leaves, others as dark as a forest canopy at dusk, and a great many falling somewhere between, mottled or uneven in ways no two Ogres quite share. Where the Jutons vary in hide color by subspecies and region, the Ogres seem bound to this single hue by something deeper than geography, as though green were simply the color chaos settled on when it shaped their particular branch of the Juton line.

Beyond that single constant, the Ogres defy easy description as thoroughly as their giant cousins do. Intelligence among them ranges as widely as it does among Jutons—some Ogres are simple, driven by hunger and impulse, easily led or easily provoked, while others are shrewd enough to run warbands, broker trades, or out-think opponents who mistake their green hide for a promise of dull wit. Attractiveness, too, varies enormously and without any clear pattern tied to intelligence, temperament, or lineage; it is entirely possible, the tome notes, to meet an Ogre both handsome by any race's standard and sharp-minded to match, just as it is possible to meet one neither.

This dual unpredictability—never knowing, on meeting an Ogre, whether one faces a brute or a schemer, a face that repels or one that charms—has made Ogres uniquely difficult for the other races to categorize or dismiss. Where a Juton's danger announces itself from a horizon away, an Ogre's danger, or lack of it, must be discovered up close, and by then it is sometimes too late to matter.

Ogre Society

Where Juton society, such as it is, tends to fracture along subspecies lines and rarely rises above the scale of a clan or a war-band, Ogre society is a stranger and more varied thing—shaped less by bloodline and more by whichever Ogre happens to be clever enough, or strong enough, to hold a group together at a given time. An Ogre band led by a shrewd schemer might operate almost like a small mercantile company, trading, bargaining, and building alliances with human or elven settlements at its borders. That same band, should its leader fall and a duller-witted Ogre take its place through simple strength, might collapse within a season into little more than raiders.

This instability is, in the watchers' long estimation, the defining feature of Ogre society: it is never fixed, and never entirely predictable, because it rests so heavily on the character of individuals rather than any inherited structure. Ogres organize around competence and charisma far more than lineage, and an Ogre band will follow whichever among them proves most capable of keeping the group fed, safe, and unified—whether that capability comes from cunning, strength, cruelty, or, in rarer cases, genuine fairness.

Because of this, Ogre settlements vary enormously in how they are perceived by their neighbors. Some have earned grudging respect as canny traders and tough but honest negotiators. Others are given the widest possible berth, their names invoked by parents to hasten children home before dark. The tome cautions its readers against assuming either reputation applies universally—an Ogre band's character can change entirely within a generation, or even within a single change of leadership.

Kinship with the Jutons

The bloodline the Ogres share with the Jutons is not merely a scholar's theory but a fact acknowledged, however grudgingly, by both races. Ogres are widely believed to be descended from Juton stock that broke away in some ancient age—diminished in size, perhaps by dwelling too long from the mountain heights that seem to sustain full Juton growth, or perhaps by some old mingling with other peoples that the tome cannot confirm with certainty.

The relationship between the two races is, at best, distant, and at worst openly contemptuous. Many Jutons—the Stonebrow and Ashgorge especially—regard Ogres as a lesser branch of their line, diminished and undignified, too small to be true kin and too stubborn to simply be dismissed as another race entirely. Ogres, for their part, tend to hold no particular reverence for the Jutons either; where a Juton sees a shrunken cousin, an Ogre often sees an oversized brute too slow-witted and too isolated in its mountains to matter much to Ogre affairs.

There are exceptions. The Fenwrought and Choróin Jutons—the more cunning of the giant subspecies—have, on rare occasion, been known to treat clever Ogre leaders as something closer to equals, particularly when a shared border or a common enemy makes cooperation useful. Such alliances remain rare enough that the tome records each instance individually, rather than treating them as any kind of pattern.

Ogre Subgroups by Region

Bramblehide Ogres (Brine-Root Fen, borders) Living at the fringes of the great swamp, the Bramblehide have taken on a mottled, dark-green hue that serves them well in the tangled undergrowth, and are known as capable, patient hunters. They maintain an uneasy, transactional relationship with the Fenwrought Jutons who share their territory—neither fully allies nor enemies, but careful neighbors who have learned when to stay out of each other's way.

Rootgrasp Ogres (Coill-Spine foothills) Pale green and heavily built, the Rootgrasp dwell in the wooded lower slopes below Stonebrow Juton territory and have developed, among the more intelligent of their kind, a surprising talent for woodcraft and rough trade with the human settlements of Glenmaura's borders. They are, on the whole, the Ogre subgroup most likely to be encountered as traders rather than raiders.

Ashmarsh Ogres (near Ashgorge Juton territory, Wyrm-Tooth foothills) Living closest to the volatile Ashgorge, the Ashmarsh have taken on much of their neighbors' reputation for volatility, with a duller hue closer to olive-grey-green and a temperament to match the harsh land they occupy. They are widely regarded as the most dangerous of the Ogre subgroups, prone to raiding when resources run thin, and are given wide berth by travelers through the eastern passes.

Glimmerfen Ogres (Obsidian Sea coastline) The rarest and most curious of the subgroups, the Glimmerfen have a faintly luminous quality to their green skin, said to come from long exposure to whatever strange properties give the Obsidian Sea its name and color. Little is known of their society, as they keep largely to themselves along the remote coast, but the few accounts that exist describe them as unexpectedly artistic, decorating their dwellings and even their own skin with pigments drawn from sea-glass and volcanic ash.

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• ARROGANT: The culture of ogre-kind is one of great boasts and deeds. Others see them as haughty and distant, giving them the Arrogant Hindrance.
• BIG: Ogres are thick and burly creatures with wide shoulders and great guts they take immense pride in. They subtract 2 when using equipment designed for smaller beings, and cannot wear humanoid armor or clothing. Equipment, armor, food and clothing cost double the listed price.
• CLUELESS: Ogres subtract 1 from Common Knowledge and Notice rolls.
• CLUMSY: Ogres subtract 2 from Athletics and Stealth rolls.
• OUTSIDER (Minor): Their awkward and imposing size makes other beings nervous. Ogres subtract 2 from Persuasion rolls.
• HARDY: Ogres are exceptionally tough. A second Shaken result from damage does not cause a Wound.
• SIZE +1: Ogres are eight to nine feet tall. This adds +1 to their Toughness.
• VERY STRONG: Ogres have a starting Strength of d8 and a maximum Strength of d12+2.
• VERY TOUGH: An ogre’s starting Vigor is d8, and the limit is increased to d12+2.