New feature out containing more than you likely ever wanted to know about Ogres!

Almost every Ogre bull has a servant Gnoblar. These small greenskins are traded freely among the Ogres, and when a Gnoblar changes ownership, it gets, quite literally, earmarked by its new owner. The Gnoblar’s Ogre master bites off a chunk of the Gnoblar’s ear so that what remains is a permanent mark of ownership.

Tasty!  Check out the full feature after the jump.

The NPC Races of WAR - Ogres

It was on the last day of our scouting mission that we found the Ogre band.  The scene that we stout and hardy rangers witnessed made our worst nightmares seem the mere stuff of a drunken beardling’s campfire stories—men of the Empire slaughtered indiscriminately, their mounts torn apart in scattered mounds of gore, and at the center of this grim circle, the Ogres feasted on the armored Knights.

At first we thought they were using the thick armor to better serve up the flesh of the fallen, cracking it open like shells to suck out the meat, but no . . . they were devouring the very steel itself!  I saw their leader, his hunger not sated by the feast, set upon one of his wounded fellows. He seemed to consider the monstrous screams of the other Ogre as an added flavor to complete his meal.

It was then, as we witnessed this gruesome scene that we were discovered and added to the Ogre menu. I would never have escaped were it not for the fact that the beasts were slowed by the high alcohol levels in my fellow rangers' blood. Thank Grungi for the Dwarf ale in our battle rations. Beware the relentless gluttony of the Ogre!

- Bandur Stoneshot, Ranger

Ogres

Ogres are huge, fearless beings that are famous for two things: eating and fighting. It is hard to miss an Ogre—their size, girth, and gigantic round bellies, which are almost always protected by a round plate of armor, make them easily recognizable.

Ogres will smash and eat anything, preferably in that order, although for the purpose of digestion it is all the same to them. Of the many things that set Ogres apart from other races, their legendary digestion is probably the most outrageous feature. Ogres are known to eat their prey raw. In fact, some incredible legends tell of Ogres who went so far as to devour the siege weapons of conquered enemies to celebrate their victory.

Ogre Religion: The Great Maw

All Ogres worship the same all-devouring god: The Great Maw. They consider the gigantic crater deity with its jagged tooth-like edges to be a huge, all-consuming mouth, and since Ogres consider anyone who can eat more than themselves superior it’s unsurprising that this bottomless pit is held up as an ideal.

The other reason the Ogres worship The Great Maw is because of how it was created. The crash of a colossal comet created the crater now known as The Great Maw, almost completely killing off their kind! The horrendous firestorm that followed this event incinerated everything and everyone for miles around, transforming the lush, grassy highland habitat the Ogres called home into a searing desert.  If it hadn’t been for cannibalism, the race would have not survived this cataclysm.

To this day the Ogres worship their deity through pilgrimages to maw and the digging of stake-lined pits wherever they travel. Within these muddy, bloody holes in the ground they fight each other and the occasional unlucky traveller to the death, hoping to appease the eternal hunger of their grim god.

Ogre Culture

Ogres strongly believe in the statement “Might makes right!” and this can be seen in all levels of their culture. Their tribal leaders constantly have to prove themselves in combat along with various “Ogre Games” known by illustrious names such as Gut-Barging, Face-Cracking, and Fist-Splintering. The victor of these games gets to eat bits of the loser. If it is a small dispute or a recreational challenge, the lost appendage could be as little as a finger, nose, or ear, but if the challenge is more serious, the combatants will remove their iconic gut-plates before the fight. In this case, it is understood that the winner will beat the loser to death with his bare hands and eat the bloody remains right then and there.

Ogre Allies and Servants

Almost every Ogre bull has a servant Gnoblar. These small greenskins are traded freely among the Ogres, and when a Gnoblar changes ownership, it gets, quite literally, earmarked by its new owner. The Gnoblar’s Ogre master bites off a chunk of the Gnoblar’s ear so that what remains is a permanent mark of ownership.

Another race that is often seen fighting side-by-side with Ogres is the Yhetees. These sub-tribal beasts hail from the highest peaks of the mountains that the Ogres call their home. It is unsure why they will obey and fight for the Ogres. Some believe that the two races are distantly related, while another theory suggests that the Yhetees owe the Ogres a great debt from their distant past.

Ogres in the Age of Reckoning

Gnoblars can be found all over the Marshes of Madness and, of course, in High Pass. Yhetees are quite a common enemy as well—both Order and Destruction players will be tasked with hunting them on several occasions throughout their careers!

Ogres themselves are spread thinly all across the Old World, but most of them can be found around High Pass and Thunder Mountain.  Many Ogre bulls have spread out all over the Old World, most of them to pursue a career as a Mercenary. On your path to greatness, you are bound to run into a couple. Some may ask you for assistance, but most will want to kill you. Ogres love war, and since WAR is everywhere, so are Ogres!