The Gob-Ur-Nak Ogres are a small, fierce tribe of ogres that inhabits the Imlith Mountains and the surrounding Shadowlands. The ogre in question is unusual in a couple of ways; the most noticeable difference between this tribe and all others is that stealth has become an asset for these beasts. It is in part thanks to the fact that it has a smaller stature than most ogres, but also its long gangly legs and its skin colour help them blend in naturally to the rock of the Imlith Mountains. It is with this stealth that the Gob-Ur-Nak acquires the vast majority of its prey, preferring stealth to open combat or a long chase.

Appearance. Smaller than all other breed of ogre, the Gob-Ur-Nak tribe measures fewer than two peds at the forehead, and weighs around two and a half pygges. Appearing chalky grey in terms of skin colour and their mouth full of horrible teeth, the Gob smears its body with blood and mud in order to camouflage itself when hunting, or any other time that stealth is vital.

The bodies of the Gob are covered in “trophies”, things that the ogres were able to salvage from the bodies of their enemies once vanquished. Whether it be some sort of jewelry, tanned leather, animal skins, or various human armour, even body parts, the ogre shows physical prowess and battle experience with the decorations that adorn the thick, scarred hides. However, just because the ogres take the items from the dead, it does not mean that they know what its particular purpose might be, or how to wear it. One is just as likely to see an ogre wearing a newly earned tunic tied around his/her ankle as anywhere else on his/her body. Occasionally one of the ogres will wrap him-/herself in an animal’s skin, be it the Ashmarian wolf, the Wilderon stag, perhaps even the Cartashian bear or woolly boar, and that will serve as a makeshift defense against humans, orcs and dwarves, not to mention other ogres.

Most Gob-Ur-Nak Ogres wear a top knot of greasy black or grey hair on their bony leathery heads, which sits on a neck so thick that most laymen viewers would think there was no neck at all. The face of these ogres is best described as “battle destroyed but noble nonetheless,” complete with missing teeth, scars, smashed ears, and other various violence inspired injuries. Below their heads the Gob’s are a mass of muscles and torn flesh. Broad shoulders, massively strong arms and rippling chest muscles are intimidating factors that stab fear into the minds of their enemies and make it also possible for the monsters to throw the huge rocks and heavy logs that help make them as deadly and dangerous as they are rumoured to be. Squat torsos and long legs round out the package, giving the Gob-Ur-Nak Ogres an original look, and providing them with a deadly combination of speed, strength and stealth. A normal human stands no chance in tête-à-tête combat, but Gob-Ur-Naks have been successfully killed by groups of men with a pack of kardión hounds to help with the tracking.

Coat of Arms/Sign. The Gob-Ur-Nak Ogres mark their territory with animal heads perched on sticks stuck deep into the ground at moderate intervals on the border of the territory they claim. The different family clans within the Gob-Ur-Nak tribe will use different animal skulls, but the skulls will remain consistent for that family. For example the Dor-Jug-Ek family uses a Cartashian bear’s skull, whereas territory owned by Truc-O-Ter clan is signified by the head and antlers of a male Wilderon stag. If a clan were to challenge a neighbouring clan, they would only need to knock over the existing coat of arms, and place their new stick in its place, then wait a few days.

Territory. The territory of the Gob-Ur-Nak Ogres lies in a stretch of land found between Inglis Haven and Salmador in what is known as the Shadowlands. The actual caves that house the ogres are found on the southern side of the Imlith Mountains, but ogres ranging out onto the Shadow Marshes for food is not uncommon. Generally every family clan will maintain about 5 powders of territory necessary for hunting and resource gathering.

People. The ogres of the Gob-Ur-Nak tribe are excellent hunters and trackers of all prey, even humans. They move quite soundlessly, especially for their bulk, and are excellent in the art of the thrown weapon, i.e. stones and logs. Also, very quick movement and silent approach make traveling through their part of the world a hair raising experience.

When observed from a safe distance that does not threaten the ogre, the family lines truly shine through. A mother will call her offspring to her and feed the young with the same amount of care and patience that is seen in human mothers. Young ogres wrestle and play in the mountainous woods, creating games and playing war amongst each other. The males will return after a hunting/scavenging trip and give up everything taken to the inspection of his current spousal partner. It is such a shocking contrast to what thoughts one would normally associate an ogre with, as usually only horror stories contain the monstrous grey beasts; they are not often cited for their kindness, duty or their cooperation.

Housing. The Gob-Ur-Nak Ogres live in naturally formed caves found on the southern side of the Imlith Mountains. Inside the caves, the dwellers have rounded and smoothed the walls to form a comfortable, cylindrical, womb-like home. There are few possessions inside the home, these may include: a pile of leaves for a bed, a fire pit, rocks and short logs for throwing, and larger stones on which they can sit. There are no decorative pieces inside the home, as that would require effort besides fighting and eating and the ogres do not believe they should spend their energy doing anything besides fighting, eating, and procreating.

However, provided that someone brave and lucky enough to attempt to approach the home and were able to get within eyesight of it, they would see their trophy/warning. Humans cannot discern whether the pile is there to boast, scare away intruders, or simply because the ogres are lazy and messy, but a large pile of animal bones, armour, weapons, skulls, clothing, and body parts can be found consistently outside every cave that has ogres actively living there. One may also determine the strength of the family living there, as a bigger pile of items means more kills, and more kills definitely means a more dangerous group of ogres. Most piles from well-established families will be no more than one ped in height and one in breadth.

Clothing. The ogre is not a shy creature, and will be seen completely naked except for his/her trophies, except in the extreme cold, where a thick animal skin is wrapped around the body to protect it from the elements. Infantile young are often wrapped in skins, too, even in the summer, but this is more for its protection, and so the mother can manage it with more ease, than for heat or humility.

Diet. The Gob-Ur-Nak will eat whatever living thing they can find, and as much as they can manage. Although strictly carnivores, the Gobs find all their nutritional needs are met by the selection of animals living in or migrating through the area: plenty of Wilderon stag, mimsy, prieta deer, a few stilted elk, some bouncers, an occasional armoured beast, and maybe a nul’tum or two make up the menu of wild game hunted by the ogres. If there is not an abundant supply of these animals, anything becomes fair game, including farm animals and even people or other ogres. In the most desperate cases, ogres from the same family may even resort to infanticide in order to survive.

Note: There is no proof of infanticide within the members of the clan, but it is a generally accepted estimation by researchers of the tribe.

Weapons. The ogres use very simple weapons that require no forging or fabrication whatsoever, with their entire arsenal including large rocks and short logs for throwing at, and longer sturdier sticks for striking their enemy.

Occupations. Ogre occupations are very simple and quite easily categorized. The tribe members are, obviously, either male or female and their duties are therefore predetermined for each ogre. Male ogres hunt for food, and fight for territory, cave rights, mating rights and on scavenging raids. Females prepare the food brought by the hunters, rear the young, and clean out the cave (somewhat). The genders interact symbiotically, and the work as a team to raise the young and prosper.

Government. Broken down into family groups, the ogres have a fairly primitive governing system. Whoever is the largest, meanest ogre owns the cave, and therefore rules, it’s that simple. If the biggest, strongest ogre thinks the clan should hunt, they hunt, or they will possibly be killed, or much more mild a punishment, evicted from the cave and the territory. Usually a family group consists of a male-female leadership pair, and their offspring, along with their mates and their young. If the group gets too large to be supported in a smaller cave, instead of moving the family to a new cave, the leader pair will evict some of the older inhabitants to make room for new ones.

On a scale larger than the family clan, there is very little organization to speak of. Occasionally in times of hunger or dwarven/Ashz'Oc orc intrusion, two or three family clans must come together to decide what action to take to rid them of their problem. Again, the ogres implement the golden rule: whoever is the strongest makes the rules for the weaker, and the meanest, toughest family group will decide what steps are to be taken. Once the problem has passed, regardless of the outcome, any survivors will simply go back to their territory and continue to live in their family clans, refusing to associate with their neighbours unless the need should arise again.

Production/Trade. There is little to no trade among the Gob-Ur-Nak Ogres. The closest thing that may be considered trade would be their mating ritual. Other than that there is no production to speak of, because these ogres have not mastered tool-working. By specializing in no production, they do not present any opportunity with which to trade.

Natural Resources. The Imlith Mountains are not famous for being plentiful in the ways of natural resources. Perhaps the only resource to be listed is the plethora of fruits and vegetables that grow wild in the ravines and lowlands surrounding the mountain. Wild game and their skins are also abundant, but not used properly by the ogres, who do not understand how to tan and cure the leather, so usually it rots while they wear it.

Holidays, Festivals and Observances. There is but two days in the year when the ogres come together from the different family tribes, and not all the ogres, mind you, but only the single, mating-ready ogres attend. The days have no set date, but are decided by the weather patterns. The first full moon once the snow melts in spring is the first day, and the first time it snows in winter is the second. Researchers have dubbed these days as “Snow Parties” for lack of a better term. Basically all the ogres that have reached puberty and are not mated with another ogre walk up, high into the mountains to a place called Ik-Orpell-Hert, otherwise known as the “Dance Hall”. Here they meet, in neutral territory, and have met for centuries, like clock-work for as long as any of the living ogres can recall.

1st Passing Clouds 1666 a.S. Information provided by Ralhag