Broggan

*"You see, that was your first mistake. You think that just because I'm not human, that I am inferior to you. Let's see if you still think like that when you're bleeding out on the ground."*

-Broggan, moments before butchering the Shanks

## History

Broggan knows little of where he originally came from, only that his parents were long gone by the time he could form concrete memories. A slave in the Kingdom of Amaria, he was moved from place to place as he grew and his worth changed. As a child, he was good for little more than cleaning, but that changed when his first growth spurt showed he would one day end up a towering figure. After that, he was rebranded as a labor slave, which held less worth than the house slave he used to be. However, he was purchased in the city of Luperion before he could be sent to work in the fields or a blacksmith's shop.

His new master was a low noble that dabbled in the arcane, fancying himself a wizard of greater power than he actually was. Broggan never quite found out why he had been purchased alongside several other non-human slaves, only that it had something to do with testing their potential for magic. However from his perspective, the wizard's "tests" accomplished little but torturing the subjects of the "experiment." Day in and day out, he knew little else but pain and screams, which he endured for years even as several of the others perished.

But whatever the wizard had been looking for was not present in the young Half-Orc. Though he did have a meager talent for magic and could perform some minor tricks, he would never rise above, or even meet, the level of a backwoods hedge mage.

His body broken from the "tests," he was thrown out into the streets alone. Though he had been expected to die as others had, Broggan persevered, dragging himself into shelter for the night. He nursed himself back to health over the following weeks, digging for scraps of food and killing rats to fill his stomach. The same toughness and strength of will that had seen him through the wizard's torture served him well, allowing him to endure once more.

During this time, he stumbled across a beaten and worn book in a refuse pile. There were pages missing, but the majority was still legible. Though the wizard had been cruel, he had taught his slaves to read so that they might better serve whatever purpose he had intended for them. An illiterate mage was no mage at all, in his mind.

With little else to do as he recovered, Broggan poured through the book, which he soon discovered to be a holy book of Milani, the goddess of revolution and hope. Entranced, he devoured it, reading it again and again from cover to cover. Fashioning himself a crude holy symbol from a piece of scrap wood, he prayed for swift healing daily. Once his wounds had disappeared and the pain had faded, he threw himself into training with the fervor of a madman.

Nearly three years after he had been abandoned in the streets, he was ready to exact retribution upon his former master. With the help of one of the older servants, Broggan, now older and stronger than he had left, was smuggled into the estate. Taking up a woodsman's axe, he crept silently into the bedroom as the wizard slept and hacked him to pieces.

With the mage dead, Broggan freed the newest stock of slaves his former master had purchased before escaping into the night. Now, Broggan lives as a petty thief as he protects his charges from any attempts to reclaim them, earning himself the name "Shattershank" after a memorable incident where he dealt with a gang named the Shanks who tried to take advantage of his charges. However, this is not enough to support them fully, so he has turned to adventuring to gain more support.

## Appearance

Towering over most humanoids at nearly seven feet in height, Broggan's rigorous self-training has turned him into a heavily muscled brute capable of immense feats of raw strength and enduring more punishment than most. His arms are covered in large patches of scar tissue, from where he marred his slave brands with his own hands by cutting away the damaged layer of skin with a hot knife.

He allows his black hair to grow long as a way to relish in his freedom, as he had been forced to keep his head shorn as a slave. The tusks jutting out of his mouth have been sharpened to for use in tearing out the throat of enemies.

## Personality

Due to his brutal upbringing as an Amarian slave, Broggan is naturally suspicious and slow to trust. As a result, he tends to keep most people at arms length until they have managed to prove their trustworthiness to him. However, once that is done, he will defend his allies with an almost inhuman ferocity. He has a soft spot for former slaves like himself, particularly for children. Harming one within his sight is a surefire way to earn his wrath.

His protective instinct and skepticism is only matched by his rage. Slavers earn no mercy from him and he will go out of his way to inflict cruelties upon them.

Because of the experiments performed on him as a child, he is wary at best towards magic users, even though he realizes intellectually that not all mages and priests are like his former owner. He uses the meager magics he himself possesses sparingly and only when needed, never for frivolity. Overall, he treats magic as a poison. A useful tool, but one that can easily be used for evil ends.

## Friends

Slave Children: After he killed his former master, Broggan spirited away with a shipment of non-human slaves the mage had bought to continue his experiments. Several of the children show obvious signs of natural magical talent, while others have the potential to learn the path of the wizard. The half-orc serves as their protector and provider, responding to any threats against them with extreme brutality.

## Enemies

Slavers: Broggan makes a point of maiming and scarring the bodies of any slavers he kills, often scattering the pieces in easily seen locations.

Kingdom of Amaria: There is an arrest warrant out for the murderer of his former master, though the identity of the perpetrator is still unknown. Broggan has so far managed to keep himself hidden from the authorities and bounty hunters.

## Aspirations

Broggan wishes to break the slave system of the Kingdom of Amaria, if not overthrow the government and institute a more righteous one.