Ogre

History:

The first time the ogres appear as a race in the history books of Aabahran
is around the years 100 - 125 PC when talk started about a strange new race
having being spotted in the lands. These odd intruders had come in from the
Great Chasm, where they supposedly had lived for some time rather unnoticed.
Their true origin is lost in time. Dark legends give account of a time of
blood and war, where the dwarves who had dug up from the Underdark caused a
massive cave-in in the newly founded ogre town of Marak with many casualties.
The bloody retaliations that followed and developed into what was later
called the "War of Night", as large battles were fought below ground lead
to the almost complete destruction of Marak. It is reported that the ogres
proved superior in the end and the dwarves retreated, sealing most of their
tunnels to the ogre town forever. The victorious ogres rebuilt their city,
using prisoners of war as cheap workers. After the city had been rebuilt,
far surpassing the original town, a heated discussion amongst the ogres
started about what was to be done with the surviving prisoners. In the end,
the faction refusing to just have them killed won and the dwarves were
chained and imprisoned in the new palace, a memorial to all to think twice
before bringing war to the mighty ogres.

With peace and order restored to Mark, the ogre Crunch took the duty upon
himself to keep these laws, becoming Chieftain of Marak. Over the years,
many young skilled ogres have taken up the position of warleader for their
people, however Crunch kept the administrative power and the final say in
all matters of law. He rules in Marak still, an ancient ogre sitting on his
throne of bones, surrounded by portraits depicting his past and the founding
of Marak. After things had quieted down somewhat, other strong ogre fighters
sought glory and riches outside of their hometown and soon enlisted in the
almost forgotten Warmasters. Grishnak and Smash, the son of Crunch, were
among the first to stand victorious against the early Savants. With the aid
of Ulraut, Ryspantherin and others, the Warmasters quickly rose to power,
and - for a while - became the most powerful force in the lands. Grishnak
attained the Leadership of the Warmasters. It is rumored that Smash retired
from the fray after a long dispute with Ulraunt, and returned to Marak,
siring a young ogress daughter with one of his wives. This daughter, Madelle,
lives in Marak with her grandfather Crunch still. Smash died many years
later as a very old man, something not often seen these days within the
Warmasters. Ulraut, an ogre who had become one of the strongest Warmasters
of his time, befriended a Savant mage by the name of Krendenn and was cast
from his organization and executed for this offence.

But also the next generation of ogres had its famous children, one of the
most remarkable of these was a young ogre by the name of Dunlith. Son of
the warleader Domran, he received intense training from a very young age,
but his path utterly changed its direction when he killed his best friend
Garnak in the heat of battle. To atone for this sin he set out on a new
path, under Sirant's guidance, and eventually became his new god's avatar
and gained the position of Bull of the Theran Wind, a force assembled to
battle the threat of the Dreadlords, who sought death and destruction. He
met his end at the hands of the vampire Ellowyn, the leader of the Dreadlords.
Soon other sons and daughters of Marak gained positions not only in the
tranditional fighter organization of the Warmasters, but also in others like
the Knights, Nexus, Justice, Syndicate and at later times the Watchers and
Tribunes. Many gained fame and glory, amongst them the Warmaster Rompkei,
the Knight Thandaeius and his enemy the Nexus Askarran, the Watcher Kronit
and many others including the powerful Archfiend Triathix, one of the most
feared combatants in Aabahran's history. To this day the race brings forth
some of the strongest fighters.

Usual Height:

Larger than minotaurs, only slightly less tall than the bigger giants

Hometown:

Marak

Religion:

Ogres are a superstitious people in general, often led by tribal shamans.
These tribal ogre shamans do not commune directly to their chosen deity,
but rather specialize in foretelling the future through signs, such as the
flight of birds or the innards of sacrificial animals. Their prayers and
sacrifices guarantee the tribes' good fortunes. While some ogres follow the
various religions preached to them by their village's shamans since early
childhood, others reject all faith in the supernatural and prefer to believe
solely in their own brute force and the power of their club.

Physical Features:

Large, broad and thickly muscled ogres are anything but gracile. While their
general body-shape is humanoid, they are far taller than humans. Ogres are
in several ways superior to the giants they are sometimes mistaken for.
Having a similar frame, they possess an incredible metabolism granting them
great strength and speed. They heal at an unheard of rate while possessing
a constitution and health that far surpasses any other race. Many scholars
claim that the ogre's natural ability to tab into the very weave of Magic
unconsciously is the reason for their uncanny healing abilities as well as
for their surprising intelligence. However this very advantage turns to a
horrible disadvantage when ogres encounter magical attacks in battle. Any
magic disrupts their connection to the Weave, weakening their very life-force

and thus they suffer more than any other creature from spells and other
magics thrown at them. Many claim that this is also the reason why there
are no ogrish mages or clerics, despite the fact that they are more than
intelligent enough. They are already tapping into the very weave of magic
permanently, making it very hard to draw enough surplus power to cast spells
without suffering severe brain damage.

Their skin color varies from a deep dark brown to a greenish grey, depending
on the ogre's origin. The race as a whole suffers from a speech impediment
caused by protruding incisors or tusks. Their eyes often shadowed by heavy
bone ridges and their features heavy-boned and square ogres are only ever
found attractive by other ogres. Most ogres care little about hygiene and
let their thick hair grow wild, cut only by whatever comes to hand when it
starts getting in the way. Their females tend to be only slightly less broad
and tall and often are as fond of physical combat as their male counterparts.

Society:

Most ogres live in small nomadic villages moving often as they forage for
food and prey, usually led by a chieftain. Tribal shamans or wise women tend
to be their spiritual leaders. While many ogres stick with their hereditary
style of life a large group has abandoned their nomadic ways and settled to
the north of the Great Chasm, founding the ogre village called Marak. Their
social order is determined by skill in combat, their chieftains are often
chosen in battle and the leadership is usually not hereditary. All ogres,
no matter their gender, receive some martial training in their youth, either
as warriors, berserkers or rangers. In some of the more barbaric tribes
clubbing your prospective wife or husband unconscious and dragging them off
is the usual and socially accepted way to find a spouse.
Customs and traditions vary from the most bloody rites and unholy sacrifices
to a caring and mostly harmonious way of life, the martial aspect however
features in all ogre communities.

Relationships with other Races:

While ogres usually get along well with giants and minotaurs as well as any
martially oriented member of other races they look down upon the slighter
built races such as faeries and elves, considering them flimsy and weak.
Some ogres have been known to convey their feelings for the slight physical
built of these races to their mental inclination and think of them as unstable
and unreliable. Many ogres exhibit a heavy distrust or even enmity to mages
and scholars; communers however are broadly accepted, being similar to their
own tribal shamans. Other races often consider them stupid strong beasts,
employing them as guards, bouncers or "meat shields".