Dungeons & Dragons 5E: Race -- Half-Ogre

One of the fun things to play in 1E D&D was a half-ogre. Basically, the archetypical half-ogre was big and dumb, and you're only job was to hit things. Locked door? Bash it open. Hobgoblins threatening the party? Hit them until the fall down. Subtlety was lost with this character; but that was the point -- if you DMed a game, and someone wanted to play a half-ogre, you knew they didn't want to talk to the townsfolk or rub elbows with the nobles; they were only here to kill things and take their stuff.


A list of references for folks coming late to D&D will show just how popular this player race seems to be:

• Gygax, E. Gary. "The Half-Ogre: Smiting Him Hip and Thigh." in From the Sorcerer's Scroll, Dragon 29 (September 1979): 12-13. Print. [Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, 1st edition]
• Moore, Roger E. "The Whole Half-ogre." Dragon 73 (May 1983): 24-25. Print. [Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, 1st edition]
• Stewart, Doug. "Ogre, Half-." Monstrous Manual. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1995. 274-75. Print. [Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, 2nd edition]
• Slavicsek, Bill. "Humanoid Races: Ogre, Half-Ogre." The Complete Book of Humanoids. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1993. 46-47. Print. [Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, 2nd edition]
• Lamb, Jim. "Ogres and Half-Ogres PCs." D&D Adventures, 2001. Web. 19 Dec. 2014. [Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, 2nd edition]
• Eckelberry, David, Rich Redman, and Jennifer Clarke. Wilkes. "New Race: Half-Ogres." Savage Species. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2003. 217-18. Print. [Dungeons & Dragons, 3nd edition]
• Nudson, Wade. "Strange Bedfellows: New Half-Monster Templates." Dragon 313 (November 2003): 92-97. Print. [Dungeons & Dragons, 3nd edition]
• Weis, Margaret, and Don Perrin. "Races: Half-Ogres." Dragonlance Campaign Setting. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2003. 41-42. Print. [Dungeons & Dragons, 3.5 edition]
• Noonan, David, Eric Cagle, and Aaron Rosenberg. "Other Races of Destiny: Half-Ogre." Races of Destiny. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2004. 96-98. Print. [Dungeons & Dragons, 3.5 edition]
• Greene, Scott. "Ogre, Half." The Tome of Horrors Revised Edition. Necromancer Games, 2005. 281-283. Digital. [Dungeons & Dragons, 3.5 edition]
• Crawford, Jeremy, Mike Mearls, and James Wyatt. "Character Races: Goliath." Player's Handbook 2. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2009. 12-13. Print. [Dungeons & Dragons, 4th edition] NOT AN EXACT MATCH, BUT THE SAME ARCHETYPE
• Ciechanowski, Walt, and Gareth-Michael Skarka. "New Races: Half-Ogre." The Tome of Secrets. N.p.: Adamant Entertainment, 2010. 6-7. Print. [Pathfinder RPG]
• Doyon, Ashavan. "Half-Ogre PC Race." Kobold Press, 23 Apr. 2010. Web. 19 Dec. 2014. [Dungeons & Dragons, 4th edition]
• Mearls, Mike, and Jeremy Crawford. "Half-Ogre (Ogrillon)." Monster Manual. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2014. 238. Print. [Dungeons & Dragons, 5th edition]

Half-Ogre Traits

As a half-ogre, you have the following racial traits.

    Ability Score Modifiers. Your Strength and Constitution scores increase by 2 but your Intelligence score decreases by 2 and your Wisdom score decreases by 1 (to a minimum of 1).

    Age. Half-ogres have lifespans a little shorter than humans. They generally reach maturity at 15 years of age, and live for about 70 years on the average.

    Alignment. Half-ogres inherit a tendency toward chaos from their ogre parents, but, like their human parents, they favor neither good nor evil. Half-ogres raised among ogres and willing to live out their lives with them, however, are usually evil.

    Size. Half-ogres are taller than humans or half-orcs, but not as tall as pure-blood ogres. Half-ogres stand almost eight feet tall and weigh around 450 pounds, making you a Large creature.

    You can use wield oversized weapons that deal double the normal dice of damage on a hit, but cost twice the normal price. Armor must also be made especially for half-ogres, at a cost of twice the normal price.

    Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

    Darkvision. Adapted to nocturnal pursuits, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

    Languages. You can speak Common and Giant; while the ability to read and write is relatively common among adventurers raised in civilized lands, half-ogres who grow up among their ogre kin are rarely literate. Giant is the language of the giants, such as ogres. Ogres use the Dwarven script when writing Giant on the rare occasion that someone wants to write something down; Ogre writing turns up most frequently in graffiti.