Ogres

From the Encyclopedia Allerius:
A creature whose strength of arms is rivaled only by the strength of their odors, the Ogre is a creature of great size and girth that seems to forever be on a march to war. Nomadic not so much by choice, but because few provinces can stand their presence, this ugly offshoot of the Goblin species can be found in some of the most inhospitable regions of the Aelyrian Empire, and several areas whose citizenry have been recently evicted by rather messily means.

General Information

Ogres are, for a lack of better terms, large brutish creatures often shunned by the more civilized species of the Aelyrian Empire. Even the Giants, a somewhat respectable member of the Empire, vehemently disdain that of which many claim are indeed distant relatives. Something which is an absolute repugnant thought to say the least, and that no self respecting Giant would ever condone. Indeed, even amongst Ogres, the similarities between the two species are often downplayed to mere coincidence, often going as far as to claim that it is They who came before and that the Giants are nothing more then “bastardized” versions, spawned through the mating with Humans (though the exact terminology the Chieftain used was increasingly, and rather alarmingly, more vulgar to say the least). Regardless of the speculations into the history of this species, it is through observation of the Ogre that the Empire has compiled what information on these creatures as was possible. Things such as a constitution almost unmatched and a general thirst for battle that borders on madness to some have made the Ogres a force to be reckoned with.

General Description

The typical male Ogre stands somewhere between Seven-and-a-half to Eleven-and-a-half feet tall. Oddly enough, or maybe after closer examination not so odd at all, the female of this species tends toward much larger sizes, the smallest of the Tribe measuring upwards to Eight feet and the tallest closer to Thirteen. Regardless of gender however, both tend to be very stout of limb and torso, often equated to that of a Dwarf were they to be enlarged to the same proportions. The Ogre’s skin however, ranging in shades of dusky gray to earthen browns (and even peculiar shades of green have been known to occur, though this seems to be quite rare), is thicker than that of most species outside the bestiaries, allowing for the Ogre to often shrug off blows that would cripple most. With sausage like digits for fingers, similar to that of human hands but for the cracked, often blackened fingernails and a complete lack of cleanliness (indeed, the Ogre tongue does not even contain a similar word in any of the known dialects), the Ogres are an intimidating, often repulsive race to be around. It is in part because of this thickness of body and flesh that the Ogre finds a portion of their vast constitution.

It is however in the facial features, most notably the cranium itself that the Ogre truly differs from that of the other Humanoid species. Their jaw and cheeks tend to have softer, more rounded curves in comparison to the more angular of the Elves, and even that of Humans. Not to mention that set within those jaws tends to be a ragged collection of ill maintained teeth, often in varying states of decay. It is because of this lack of dental hygiene that these beasts often appear to have fangs; when in truth, it is more that the teeth themselves have been ground and rotted into the semblance of broken tombstones in a grave yard. Indeed this is a rather accurate likeness when one is unfortunate enough to be sharing the same breathing space as one of these behemoths. Add to this a heavily bridged brow, a broad flat nose, and ears that extend out in points that follow the sloped forehead and you end up with a creature that is either horribly ugly to behold, or beauty too complex for mortal eyes.

One peculiar oddity however is that hair growth amongst the male of the species seems almost limited to patches along the forearm, back and chest, and the top of the feet. This ranges in colors from black to a dark brown and shades of gray with age. Typically they tend to be bald along the cranium, though the older of the Tribes do show wispy strands of gray that stand out unruly around the ears and above the brow line. Like the women however, there are those who have grown full heads of hair, or more commonly a friar line circling from the temples. This tends to be the exception as opposed to the rule, and more oft than not they will either shave off this hair, or have it wound in tight braids close to the scalp.