Ten good ogre words: flattered, loping, brooding, grubby, proud, swollen, demanding, intent, inviting, expect.
Ogres aren't big orcs. Ogres aren't stupid. Ogres shouldn't even be green.
This will be a shorter one, since not much needs to be said. Some of my thoughts on ogres have historical backing (so long as you agree to my arbitrary cut-off dates for the development of ogre myth). Some of my thoughts are cherry-picked ogre concepts to make them feel cool and unique.
I'm going to use the word ogre, but ogress is the correct term for a female ogre.
Ogres aren't stupid.
Ogres are gullible. There is a big difference. We all know someone who is perfectly intelligent but will believe anything you say. Ogres are like that, trusting. It could be because they don't think you are a threat, or because they think they are extra smart when they are actually regular smart. They take you seriously, so long as you don't show fear. Any fool pleading for their life is as good as eaten.
They also don't like the idea of missing out. You can stay alive for quite a long time in an ogre's power simply by talking as if you know something that they don't.
Ogres aren't green.
Ogres looks more like giants or half-giants. Big, brutish men with extra hair. They don't run around naked. They don't look like orcs, like, at all. I feel it is important to visually distinguish them because I don't want my players to feel like ogres are a "run up and bash them" sort of enemy.
I like the wikipedia image for them.
Ogres are villains
Please don't throw an ogre in as a random goon barring a door. They have a lot of story interest, and once your characters have experienced the two club swings of a boring rpg ogre the whole species will be thematically ruined.
Ogres are great big bads for low level parties. They like having minions. They like talking. They like eating people.
They live in wood mansions that are too large in scale for humans, but not so large that humans can't effectively navigate it.
They dwell just outside town. Close enough to be a nuisance, and far enough to feel "other."
Ogres are greedy. They have to be near civilization because the people they bother or eat ultimately have something the ogre wants. Human meat, flattery, fear, and gold are all very appropriate ogre motivations.
Ogres are shapechangers.
I am summoning the authority of Charles Perrault—the guy who wrote Puss in Boots (1697) and the first to use the word "ogre" in its current form—when I say that ogres can change shapes. They can turn into any animal they wish, but if they die in animal form then that's that. None of this 5e wildshape nonsense.
I'd probably limit my ogres to shapechanging into animals their size or smaller, and animals that are regionally appropriate.
In the original Puss in Boots story (and in Spiderwick), the way the ogre dies is by being tricked into transforming into a mouse or bird, then being eaten, hence why gullibility is key.
Some game stuff to properly reimburse you for your attention
D6 Ogre Villains
- Cormoran is a skilled chef. He is always seeking new and interesting ingredients. His specialty is Maple-braised man.
- Brulgut eats only pigs, and likes to dine in bear form. She claims other foods upset her stomach. She is cruel, and forces nearby farmers to bring her pigs to eat in ever more humiliating manners—threatening to harm their families if they don't.
- Mud King's bull slaves pull great trowels in ever expanding spirals. The lake where he resides is being expanded into a grand expanse of mud. The nearby town is not happy about it.
- Grandpa has taken over a small village. The people know its bad that he is the mayor now, but don't know what to do about it. Grandpa sends bands of reluctant raidersd to abduct people from homesteads to be eaten. The ogre knows better than to eat his servants.
- Beardo is constructing an enormous woodland manor. His minions kidnap carpenters, masons, engineers, and architects to be forced into labor.
- Jura lives in the criminal dark of a mid-sized city. The ogress spends the majority of her time in the form of pigeons, crows, rats, mice, and other inconspicuous creatures. She spies on the rich and powerful, selling information and blackmailing politicians to afford her luxurious lifestyle and exotic dietary preferences.
Ogre stats for SWADE
Ogre
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Spirit d8, Strength d12, Vigor d12
Skills: Athletics d10, Fighting d10, Focus d10, Intimidation d12, Notice d6
Pace: 8, Parry: 7, Toughness: 11, Size: 3
Hinderances: Greedy, Curious
Edges: Iron Jaw, Menacing,
Powers: Animal Shape
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