The Riesengard Ogres
by HåvardThe Riesengard Ogres is a tribe of Ogres living in the Valley of the Skeletal Kings somewhere in the Hyborean Reaches. The curse weaved by the Skeletal Kings has made the climate in the valley survivable and the Ogres have been living in the southern part of this valley for centuries. These are not normal Ogres however. Long ago they renounced their old Immortal patrons and swore allegiance to Odin and the Norseman Immortals.
Background:
The Riesengard Clan were descendants Ogres from King Loark's Horde that ravaged Norwold in the 1700s BC. This tribe eventually fell under the dominion of the Black Jarls, a group of Antalian Sorcerers who used their magic to bend the ogres to their will. The Riesengard Ogres were instrumental in helping the Black Jarls flee the Known World and make their journey into Hyborea. Once there, the Ogres helped built the dark strongholds of the Black Jarls who had now turned into the powerful Undead known as the Skeletal Kings. Once their task was done, however, the Skeletal Kings had no use for the Ogres and cast them off without the payment they were expecting. Realizing that their former masters were too powerful, the Ogres, now free of their Charm spell simply wandered off, bitter and defiant.
Angry at the world, they renouced their old Immortals. Soon after, Riesengard Shamans started recieving their first visions. They claimed these came from Odin, or Wotan as they called him. The Ogres established their first villages and began buiilding a community, wowing to one day get back at the Skeletal Kings for their betrayal.
Recent Events
Recently, Chief Grynlor have been recieving visions of his own in the form of strange dreams. His Shaman has suggested the dreams are messages from Wotan, urging the Chieftain to forge an alliance to destroy the Skeletal Kings. He has sent his strongest warrior, Grossrogh Ironskull, on a quest to search for allies and possible weapons to be used against the Liches. Grossrogh has been able to make amends with a rival Ogre tribe of Forest Ogres and recruited some warriors from that tribe to help him on his quest. The mission seems bleak though, for the Skeletal Kings hold immense power and have many allies in the valley that the ogres would have to defeat to even just reach their stronghold.
Behind the scenes:
As I mentioned in the other thread, this whole mini-setting is loosely based on an old AD&D campaign I was a player in. Grossrogh Ironskull was actually my player character as we were allowed to create characters from the Complete Book of Humanoids and most other sourcebooks available to us. The above is pretty much an elaboration of my already quite detailed background for the character.