Drog Ironhand

Drog emerging from his imprisonment in Cheliax

*"Ya see, I'm wut ya call a smart ogre. A dumb ogre eats an' shits like a smart one, but eventually he goes an eats some poor fook dat had a buncha friends. Next thing ya know, they comin' at ya with pitchforks and magic, then yer really fook'd. A smart ogre knows dat even if a squishy looks like a squishy and walks like one, they might haff a ton a friends dat'll come at ya faster than ya can kill 'em. When ya figure dat out, then towns start lookin' like bees nests. When dat happens, a smart ogre like myself knows dat if a bear is careful enuff, he can still get sum honey...*

*...an' y'know, bees crunch nice too, from time ta time."* -**Drog Ironhand, on the complexities of life.**

## History

Drog's story began in the foothills near Halmyris in Cheliax. A member of a small family of ogres led by a notably old matriarch, Drog had to exhibit strength or other useful qualities in order to gain priority over his brothers when it came to food. Not the largest ogre nor potentially the strongest, he found his niche by being brutally competitive, always willing to toss aside any pride in favor of serving his mother. It was using this favor that he was able to kill several of his brothers with no consequences, as long as he played by the rules.

When news of a burgeoning ogre clan in the Halikarnassos Hills made its way to the Chelish government in Halmyris, it was not long before a dispatch of soldiers was sent in order to deal with it. What they expected to be a simple extermination quickly became a full-blown siege as the ogres made use of the terrain in order to hurl rocks down at the encroaching humans. Over the course of a week, the Chelish legion inched their battle-lines forward until the ogres were driven into a cave. Thinking they were safe, the ogres hunkered down -- which turned out to be their downfall.

Early the next morning, Drog and his mother went to check the state of affairs, when a blast of energy struck the cave entrance. The jagged rocks studded Drog's body, leaving his arms embedded with horrendous spines of stone. Meanwhile, his mother was crippled, her legs crushed under falling stone. It was at this moment that Drog knew that they could not survive like this. One may assume his instincts would be to save his mother, however this ogre had a different plan... Dragging his injured matriarch out of the cave as an offering, he approached the Chelish legion. The humans did not speak the language of ogres, but they knew what a turncoat looked like. Drog's family was slaughtered, meanwhile Drog himself was imprisoned and sentenced to the slave arenas; however he bore satisfaction in the fact that he survived another day.

Despite what others would consider to be atrocious and inhumane, Drog absolutely loved the Cheliax slave arena. All he had to do was kill a few folks and make a show out of it. Plain and simple, not to mention they gave him the corpses to eat, as it saved them the expenses of keeping an ogre fed. It was on the bloody sands of those arenas where Drog earned the title 'Ironhand', a moniker given based on Drog's style of crushing the life out of opponents with his hands, in spite of any armor or weapons on their person. It was here in these pits that he learned to speak Common, albeit poorly. The constant supply of food allowed him to grow to an impressive stature and age for an ogre. However, despite all of these wonderful circumstances, boredom eventually began to strike Drog... but once more fate was kind to this ogre.

A cell of Bellflower Network insurgents launched a raid on the arena in order to free the halflings who were forced to be servants there. Drog couldn't care less about halflings, as they're far too small to get much meat out of, but he did like the idea of stretching his wings a bit, so to speak. Thusly, he elected to use the commotion to shatter his cell and make his way out of the arena, crushing slaves and wardens alike on his way out. Finding his way to the edge of the arena, which was already on the outskirts of the town due to the presence of monstrous fighters, Drog made his escape.

It was a long journey, but Drog eventually made his way out of Cheliax, where a whole world opened up to him. He knew that somewhere out there was the next niche for a bloodthirsty ogre to make his way up in the world. All he had to do was know when and where to follows rules... and when to let loose and have some good old fashioned ogre fun.

## Appearance

Drog (Without hood)

Drog is about as ugly as your typical ogre-- assuming you put that ogre through a blender full of rocks and rubbed some mud on the resulting monster. Between fighting with his brothers, the Chelish legion, and other slaves, it is not inaccurate to say that Drog is more scar than flesh at this point. Bits of knives and rock stud his greasy skin which is further marred by what were various infections and other products of an utterly filthy existence.

Although his skin is still scarred, Drog knows well enough to wash himself daily and to cover his body with a large patchwork of black cloth when traveling near cities. Lastly, he wears a hood to conceal his visage, although it doesn't offer much in regards to public appeal as it was taken from an executioner, giving Drog the appearance of something of nightmares.

## Personality

Drog's personality is crude and blatant to say the least, as he is completely content to laugh at the injury of another, crack jokes at a bad time or not even attempt to veil his malice when someone annoys him. In this regard, Drog is the picture of the typical ogre... however he has learned lessons due to his long years that allowed him to refine himself.

Despite being rude and uncouth, Drog is uncommonly cognizant of the premise of law, going so far as to study (as well as an ogre could) rules and restrictions surrounding racial discrimination and persecution. He doesn't respect law by any means, however he knows that he must leverage it in order to get access to the potential rewards that exist within cities. He won't kill a person unless they're a criminal or they attack him enough to 'threaten his life', which Drog defines by the threshold at which he starts to get annoyed. It is for these reasons that Drog often seeks to employ a lawyer when working within city limits, as well as keeping a HEAVILY abridged version of the most important laws in an easy to read, almost child-like book on his person.

## Relationships

Everyone who maintained a consistent relationship with Drog is currently deceased, however he isn't opposed to the idea of friends. In fact, anyone who he finds entertaining he will gladly fight for, until it's not feasible for him