Monster review: Ogre

The first and ( personally favorite ) of the big dumb monsters for players to battle, the ogre!

I love these guys!

Now they are supposedly related to giants. I think they are their smaller dumber 2^nd or 3rd cousins. Then again at one time they were said to be related to trolls. Whatever their lineage, they are just such a great monster.

First off there is nothing better than a big dumb monster for players to fight. They stand between 9 and 10 feet tall. They weigh 600 plus pounds. They can take a beating and deliver one right back at you! They can fill various parts in a game ; the quinticential brute, they can be made elites, and they can be foot soldiers for even worse creatures. Even better is their singular ease of use. They are a point a click monster that takes no thought to run, meaning no tactics besides “HULK SMASH!”

They come in various varieties. There is the smaller ½ ogre. The semantics behind their creation/ gestational cycle is mind boggling. The merrow and aquatic ogre for those who enjoy the nautical theme games. There is even the dreaded ogre magi or oni. A Japanese inspired ogre with innate magical abilities. Multiple flavors of the same beast to fit various niches. I’m not going to delve into their other versions though. This is just about the standard and always classic ogre.

Never liked this look for the ogre. Way to beastman-ish

When throwing out an ogre at lower levels ( think levels 1-5 ) these guys are just amazingly fun! They are a nice scary threat as a single we rolled hit can just wreck a character or party. The fear for characters getting pasted at low levels is real. Then jump to some mid-range  levels ( 5-10 ). Then the ogre becomes a foot soldier for elite monsters. They can also arrive in greater numbers. This way they can still be a threat, but not overwhelming. They can still deal some damage but not enough to entirely cripple a player or party. They can still take a few hits, but will not last more than a few rounds of combat (unless your party damage output is rolling low ).  After level 10 the ogre will probably not be a threat sans some crazy army full of them ( and that is just beyond silly in a D&D campaign ) or your party is noting put squishy characters who abhor melee.

They provide a bit of chest thumbing bravado for players. Sure they aren’t giants or dragons, but they are a nice big threat. I mean who doesn’t feel a sense of gaming achievement taking down the first ogre a party faces at low level? Who doesn’t feel like a “big man” after standing tall against a couple ogres in melee while the mage cowers ad the cleric is healing the squished rouge? What better feeling is there than routing a cadre of elite foot soldier ogres on the way to face down their horrible ( insert scary leader here )master?  How cool is it to go blow for blow with this big brute only to come away the victor? None ( well maybe killing the first dragon a party ever faces but after that, none)!

The humble ogre. A classic D&D monster. Easy to use. Satisfying to battle. Scary alone and even scarier in numbers. A perfect creature for any campaign.

Next week a creature I never use, the Mind Flayer.