Grothog the Exiled's page

About Grothog the Exiled

Versatile, quiet, and often surprisingly competent, Grothog the Exiled (Grotthy or Grog) serves many roles in the Circus, but mostly for unskilled manual labor and the straight man for any comic relief.
Most of his communication is with grunts and short one-liners or inquiries, sometimes gazing off to the crowd with a deadpan expression when his colleagues make a joke at his expense.

Appearance. Over 7 feet in length and broad of shoulders with powerful thick arms, Grog moves with a slight forward gorilla-like slouch to meet human-height creatures at eye level. Like most orcs, Grog has his share of scars, but most are on his arms, shoulders, and back. His gray-green skin is rough and hairy, and he wears his tough unruly hair in tight braids that fall on his back. His grim countenance is enhanced with large tusks and deeply-set black eyes that sometimes sparkle with a deep light. He usually wears a brown leather jerkin and dark blue baggy work pants and heavy brown boots, and carries cleaning supplies, materials for prop-making, and (when serving as an enforcer or guarding an exit) he puts on a better suit and a dash of red warpaint over his eyes with a badge that says 'Circus Security of the Circus'. He sometimes carries a weighted club (or the Strongman hammer) that he waves around threateningly but never really struck anyone except to push them back.

Background. Grog does not speak of his history (except perhaps to his first hirer), but his fellows in the circus have their rumors which he has not confirmed (which vary from being true to outright fabrications)
1. Grog was a raider who was captured during a raid on Absalom and escaped the noose by hiding in the wilds and killing three patrol-captains of Absalom with his bare fists
2. Grog was exiled from his orc clan because the warchief felt he might grow to be a threat but was unable (due to familial bonds) to kill
3. Grog is actually a half-orc with a very strong orc bloodline, and he was born of witchcraft to mix the strength of orc and the mind of man (explaining why he isn't killing everything that is breathing and looting everything that isn't nailed down)
4. Grog is mostly silent (and repeats the phrase 'evil consumes its own' when drunk) because he (and his orc buddies) once attacked a monastery to take their riches, and encountered the head monk (the rumor diverges where sometimes Grog killed the monk but was cursed to be exiled by orcs, or the monk killed Grog's comrades but left him alive with a lesson, or the orc band left after the monk performed a display of divine power)
5. Grog is a spy for orc raiders and struck a deal with the old circus manager to scout out the defenses of towns they visit. If the circus's visit was unprofitable and the defenses were weak, the raiders would sack the town and share a portion of the plunder with the circus and Grog (a rumor which emerged a town they left was attacked bandits)
6. Grog is not an orc at all, but an angel masquerading as one to test the compassion of Sarenrae's faithful (a rumor which emerged after he extracted a circus patron from a collapsed building). The fact that the rumor encourages some of Sarenrae's faithful who believe the rumor to donate to the circus is an extra reason to keep the orc (who is called the Blessed-Who-Walks-The-Earth)

Personality. He has no delusions of grandeur as most orcs, nor the heavy emotional weights and guilt of most half-orcs. He is a quiet hard-working orc who came to realize the cycle of orc brutality and cultural baggage is what causes his people to remain where they are, or 'Evil consumes its own'. He still delights in observing a well-fought battle, but himself keeps to intimidation rather than combat.

Bond. Grothog is familiar and comfortable with his friends in the circus. There, he can blend in without appearing to be threatening, and can work and find little pleasures (usually in how props are set up) and security, without grappling with mortal danger or having to live with his past (which he does not mention).

Flaw. Grog prefers to intimidate, flex at, or shove away threats instead of actively engaging them. This is mostly because that, despite his strength, he has no will to fight. Perhaps that is what keeps him in the circus (as well as the security that allows him to travel without being hunted or forced to banditry to eat). Perhaps it is because he truly believes that evil consumes its own, so he is paralyzed at the concept of putting his feet down a road where his fate is predetermined.