A huge tome, written over the course of a lifetime, the 'Guide to Norland'
has been created by human scholar Dahwyn to detail all aspects of life
in the realms. The following extract may be of some interest to Half Ogres in the realm
"The origins of the Half Ogre race are shrouded in much confusion, with as many
theories on the beginnings of it all as there are stars in the sky. The most
scholars believe that this race of beings was spawned by the Dark Lord Vagma to
serve as hefty, yet controllable shock troops in his war against the other
immortals, whilst the Half Ogres themselves say that they are all descended from
the loins of their race God Gurunch, an Ogre of such ability that he was lifted
to the heavens.
Half Ogres are of quite distinct stock to the wild, 'pure bred' Ogres that roam
much of Terris. Whilst they are certainly not a sophisticated, or graceful race, Half Ogres posses much more placid temperaments and finer build than their bestial cousins. Built much larger than humans, Half Ogres do not have the compact bones of Dwarves, Gnomes, or Halflings, rather they rely on the massive muscles and layers of insulating fat that covers their bulky frames to protect them from harm. Generally five foot across at the shoulders, the arms and Torso of the average Half Ogre are massively developed compared to their smaller, yet still sturdy waists and legs. Longer arms, ending in thickly boned hands, gives Half Ogres a powerful swing in combat
Whilst their eyesight is not as good as that of some races, Half Ogres have a
wonderful sense of smell and direction, which aids their hunting abilities no
end. In the rare instances of a Half Ogre reaching old age, an individual will
come to rely almost exclusively on their nose, as their eyesight slowly fades
with time. This does not appear to happen with 'wild' Ogres, and scholars seem
to believe this deterioration is a direct result of Half Ogres thinking more, and grunting less.
Half Ogres possess very developed jaws and teeth, easily capable of cracking
bones, or opening Brazil nuts at Deorimas. Thick neck muscles and sloping
shoulders often gives them very large, solid seeming heads, covered in course,
yet not overly profuse hair. Half Ogres tend towards facial hair, however it
seems to be much softer and lighter on females than males, and is often
decorated or styled by unmarried womenfolk. The slightly pointed ears of each
bloodline are often covered with many earrings and trophies, and a Half Ogre
trouble maker can often be spotted by the number of rings pulled out in fights.
The half ogres still use the ancient language of Blak-Burh when they speak. In
truth it is not their language rather one granted to the large creatures by the
Dark Lord Vagma in the dim past. Giants also speak this tongue but they have
never taken it to the stage of development that the half ogres use. In these
times the half ogre version of Blak-Burh is as similar to the original as old
English writing is to modern English script. "
