The same wild frontiers that produce half-orcs from unions between tribes of human and orc barbarians also produce half-ogres. Ogres and humans fight in times of war and trade in times of peace. In peaceful times, ogres value humans’ intelligence and adaptability, while humans value ogres’ strength and toughness. Half-ogres inherit a blend of the physical characteristics of their parents. They may be found in either parent’s community (where their status varies according to local sentiment).
Personality: Half-ogres are generally low in intelligence but quick to anger. Where a half-orc understands alternatives to action, half-ogres do not. Successful half-ogres are those with enough self-control to live in a civilized land.
Half-ogres love simple pleasures such as feasting, drinking, boasting, wrestling, drumming and wild dancing. While some claim to be able to sing, few other races would agree. A half-ogre is likely to assume that refined enjoyments such as poetry, courtly dancing and philosophy are just tools for making fun of him.
Physical Description: Half-ogres are taller than humans or half-orcs, but not as tall as ogres. Adults are typically closer to the height and weight of an ogre than of a human. Their skin colour ranges from dull yellow to dull brown. Their thick hides sport patches of dark, warty bumps, and their heads are topped by a mop of dark hair.
Relations: Because they are the offspring of giants, half-ogres have a rough time getting along with dwarves and gnomes. Of course, ogres are rarely on good terms with elves, humans, or halflings either. On the other hand, they understand the prejudice that half-orcs experience and relate well to them.
A half-ogre seeks a way to gain acceptance from those who hate or fear his ogre cousins. Most exploit their innate toughness so that others have no choice but to accept them, whether out of admiration or fear. A few demonstrate piety and good-heartedness as publicly as they can (whether or not such displays are genuine).
Alignment: Half-ogres inherit a tendency toward chaos from their ogre parents, but, like their human parents, they favour neither good nor evil. Half-ogres raised among ogres and willing to live out their lives with them, however, tend toward evil.
Half-Ogre Lands: Half-ogres have no lands of their own, living among ogres or humans depending on their circumstances and the tolerance of the locals.
Religion: Like ogres, evil half-ogres worship Vaprak the Destroyer. The rapacious Vaprak is a chaotic evil deity of combat, destruction, aggression, frenzy and greed. His domains include Chaos, Destruction, Evil and War, and his favoured weapon is the greatclub. Half-ogre barbarians and fighters revere him as a war god even if they are not evil themselves. Erythnul also numbers ogres and half-ogres among his followers. Worshippers of Vaprak or Erythnul who are tired of explaining themselves, or who don’t want to give other races yet another reason to distrust them, simply don’t make their religion public knowledge. Half-ogres who want to solidify their connection to their human heritage follow human deities, and they may be outspoken in their shows of piety.
Language: Giant, which has no alphabet of its own, uses Dwarven script on the rare occasions when an ogre needs to write something.
Names: A half-ogre typically chooses a name that helps him make a specific impression. If he wants to fit in among humans, he chooses a human name. If he wants to intimidate others, he chooses a guttural ogre name. A half-ogre raised entirely by humans has a human given name, but he might choose another name once he is away from his hometown. Some half-ogres, of course, are not quite bright enough to choose a name this carefully. Ogre names are similar enough to orc names that players may choose from the orc lists when making their characters.
Adventurers: Half-ogres living among humans are drawn almost invariably toward violent careers in which they can put their strength to good use. Frequently shunned from polite company, half-ogres find acceptance and friendship among adventurers, many of whom are fellow wanderers and outsiders.
Source: Races of Destiny (Page 96)
Your character can be either male or female.
Every player character starts as an adult. You can choose or randomly generate your character’s age. If you choose it, it must be at least the minimum age for the character’s race and class (see Table: Starting Ages). Your character’s minimum starting age is the adulthood age of his or her race plus the number of dice indicated in the entry corresponding to the character’s race and class on Table: Starting Ages.
Alternatively, refer to Table: Starting Ages and roll dice to determine how old your character is.
| Adulthood | Intuitive1 | Self-Taught2 | Trained3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14 years | +1d4 (15—18) years | +1d6 (15—20) years | +2d6 (16—26) years |
1 This category includes barbarians, rogues and sorcerers.
2 This category includes bards, fighters, paladins and rangers.
3 This category includes clerics, druids, monks and wizards.
With age, a character’s physical ability scores decrease and his or her mental ability scores increase (see Table: Aging Effects). The effects of each aging step are cumulative. However, none of a character’s ability scores can be reduced below 1 in this way.
| Middle Age1 | Old Age2 | Venerable3 | Maximum Age |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 years | 45 years | 60 years | +2d12 years |
1 -1 to Strength, Dexterity and Constitution; +1 to Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma.
2 -2 to Strength, Dexterity and Constitution; +1 to Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma.
3 -3 to Strength, Dexterity and Constitution; +1 to Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma.
When a character reaches venerable age, the DM secretly rolls his or her maximum age, which is the number from the Venerable column on Table: Aging Effects plus the result of the dice roll indicated on the Maximum Age column on that table, and records the result, which the player does not know. A character who reaches his or her maximum age dies of old age at some time during the following year, as determined by the DM.
The maximum ages are for player characters. Most people in the world at large die from pestilence, accidents, infections or violence before getting to venerable age.
Choose your character’s height and weight from the ranges mentioned in the appropriate race description or from the ranges found on Table: Height and Weight. Think about what your character’s abilities might say about his or her height and weight. A weak but agile character may be thin. A strong and tough character may be tall or just heavy.
Alternatively, roll randomly for your character’s height and weight on Table: Height and Weight. The dice roll given in the Height Modifier column determines the character’s extra height beyond the base height. That same number multiplied by the dice roll or quantity given in the Weight Modifier column determines the character’s extra weight beyond the base weight.
| Gender | Base Height | Height Modifier | Base Weight | Weight Modifier |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male | 6’ 10" | +2d12 (7’ 0"—8’ 10") | 250 lbs. | ×3d8 (256—826 lbs.) |
| Female | 6’ 5" | +2d12 (6’ 7"—8’ 5") | 210 lbs. | ×3d8 (89—786 lbs.) |
Source: Races of Destiny (Page 110)