Homebrew Half-Ogre (Adapted from 2E "The Complete Book Of Humanoids" to 5E) Species Details

This is my adaptation of the Half-Ogre as described in "The Complete Book Of Humanoids", TSR 1999, to 5E specifications. I borrowed ideas from Zarcon, Bryan, and Moctopus. I hope you enjoy this interpretation of the Half-Ogre as a player-character race.

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Ogres are big, ugly humanoids (lesser giants) that stand over nine feet tall. Most are greedy, living by ambushing, raiding, and outright theft. They tend to be ill-tempered beings, nasty and very violent. Dark warty bumps cover their dead yellow hides. They have purple and white eyes, orange or black teeth and talons, and long, greasy hair that ranges in color from blackish-blue to dark green. Ogres live by raiding and scavenging. They will eat anything. In the wild, they have a fondness for elf, dwarf, and halfling flesh. They use prisoners as slaves or save them for food. They have ravenous natures — they covet everything they see. As such, they can rarely be trusted, and they squabble over treasure even among their own kind.

Half-Ogres are either the offspring of ogre and human (or other humanoid) matings, usually facilitated by evil overlords for the purpose of creating powerful warriors, or the children of two half-ogres. They have much of the strength and size of their ogre heritage, but also retain much of the native intelligence and reason of their human side. Half-Ogres stand between seven and eight feet tall, appearing as huge humans. The skin coloration that marks ogres is very much subdued in half-ogres: swarthy skin, lank hair and usually, but not always, human eyes.

Half-Ogre's monstrous sides are tempered by human thoughts and emotions. Except for their unusual size, they look much like ugly humans. This makes it relatively easy for them to find a place in human society, even if they must hide part of their heritage. Half-ogre PCs should select a monstrous trait which emerges under certain circumstances.

Half-Ogre (Adapted from 2E "The Complete Book Of Humanoids" to 5E) Traits

Half-Ogres have the following racial traits:

Ability Score Modifications

Your Strength and Constitution both increase by 2. Your Intelligence decreases by 1.

Age

Half-Ogres mature a little faster than humans, reaching adulthood around age 14. They have the potential to live to about the same age as humans, although they rarely do so.

Tough

You gain 2 extra hit points per level.

Size

Half-Ogres are quite a bit larger and bulkier than humans, and they range from 7 to well over 8 feet tall. Your size is Large. Due to your large size, Two-Handed weapons can be wielded in one hand without disadvantage, but sets of armor which fit you will be expensive and difficult to acquire.  Additionally, no ordinary mount can bear your bulk and prodigious weight.

On the other hand, you can carry twice as much equipment for your strength as a human can without being encumbered.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30'.

Darkvision

Thanks to your ogre blood, 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.

Menacing

You gain proficiency in the Intimidation skill.

Natural Armour

You have a base AC of 11.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write in Common and Giant.

Brawler

Accustomed to rough-and-tumble fighting at close quarters, you gain the following benefits:

• Your unarmed strike does 1d4 plus your strength modifier bludgeoning damage.
• When you hit a creature with an unarmed strike, you can use a bonus action to attempt to grapple the target.

Bestial Appetite

Because of your large size and Ogrish ancestry, you require four times as much food as an average human and are almost always hungry. Fortunately, you can eat almost anything, including food that has spoiled, without concern of becoming ill.

Meat-Hook Hands

If you attempt to handle something very small, such as a vial of acid, the DM may call for a Dexterity check where a smaller sized creature would automatically succeed.