The unlikliest member of the Company of the Crescent Moon, Grog was a goblin warrior whose exploits as a member of the Company earned him a place in their legend. In modern tales of that august group bards often
Grog the Mighty
employ Grog as a comic foil, a role not untrue to his nature.
Spending his life battling against the reputation and brutish nature of his people, Grog led a storied career.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
Grog was born into the Hrashkrag (Gog. "Bone-gnasher') Clan of goblins in 1693 AS, somewhere in the Blackfang Mountains of central Amallon. Naturally enough his early life was brutish and cruel, characterized by a constant struggle for survival. Little else is known of his earliest life, and Grog himself discussed it but rarely, but light is shed on it in a very general degree through other records. It is known that the Bonegnashers were significantly reduced in number in 1695-97 AS when mercenaries (hired by local settlements) stymied the threat they presented. The summer of 1705 AS brought a severe drought to the Bonegnashers' territory, and brought with it famine. By early winter it was time for Grog to come of age and he was dispatched with several other goblin youths to hunt and return with food. They returned days later with nothing more than a few rabbits. After enduring a severe beating they were dispatched again.
After three fruitless days of hunting the goblin party was starving. Travelling by the light of the moon on a cold winter night they stumbled across a slumbering party of adventurers--the newly assembledCompany of the Crescent Moon. Leading his fellows slowly and quietly towards the party, Grog ordered them to slaughter all present, dreams of a glorious return home dancing through his head. With a cry the goblins leapt forth, alerting Tarantar the Mad, who was quietly keeping watch. The Mad Mage unleashed magical flame into the midst of the goblins, instantly killing several of them. In moments the rest of the Company was awake and on the offensive. Between the spells of Tarantar and Kyriana and the steel of Borom, Dale, Azeem and the rest, the goblins were obliterated in moments. Looking around him, Grog saw that he was the sole surviving member of his two dozen strong party. Defiantly pouncing onto Borom's foot and sinking his dagger and teeth into it, Grog elected to die with at least something to eat in his mouth. Borom grabbed the diminutive creature by the arms, lifted him, and yanked them from their sockets, then dropped him back onto the ground. An argument erupted within the Company, some disgusted by what they saw as needless cruelty, others offering to finish him off. The former ultimately won out, and treated Grog's wounds. The mages' spells allowed for communication between Grog and the others. Hearing his story and moved to compassion, the Company filled his belly and provided him with the meat from a deer they'd slaughtered the day before. In awe of these shining beings, Grog returned quickly to his village with the meat. Expecting a glorious welcome, Grog imagined he'd be celebrated for returning with food enough for all. His welcome instead consisted of another severe beating; the Bonegnashers consumed all his spoils and left him with nothing. Voicing his complaints, Grog was again beaten savagely and fled the village, fearing for his life. Returning to the site of his encounter with the Company he found them gone, departed some time in the day it took him to make the round trip.
Within the Company[]
Grog had a little skill at tracking, and the Company was not taking pains to hide their passage. They proved easy to follow for the goblin, who hoped to feed and clothe himself from any cast-offs. For nearly a fortnight he followed them silently on their travels, listening in on their conversations in strange languages and beginning to pick up a few words of Common. He could not contain his curiosity indefinitely and, one night, snuck into the party's camp to try and steal a little of the food remaining from their supper. This time it was Azeem Rab-ul-Salaam who was on watch; his keen eyes spotted the lone goblin in the darkness. The rogue drew a dagger silently and took careful aim at the goblin, but at the last moment recognized him. Amused, Azeem called out to the goblin in Common. Grog froze, eyes locked on the southerner, a shred of meat clutched in his fist. Azeem smiled and beckoned him over. Slowly, Grog approached him, sat beside him and hungry devoured the food offered him. Soon the rest of the Company was awake and Grog's tale was discovered and explained. It was Azeem who first raised the idea of taking the goblin along with them; he was, Azeem pointed out, obviously a cunning tracker and skilled at stealth to have pursued the party for so long undetected. Oddly enough, the other members of the party agreed, and presented Grog with his own equipment. From a few spare pieces of armour they cobbled together some measure of protective gear for the young goblin; he was also given a short sword the Company had recently acquired as spoils from a ruined temple. Unbeknownst to the Company members the sword was no mere blade but contained the spirit of its previous owner, a young knight who had died upon the blade. The knight's soul was able to speak to Grog in his dreams, teaching him and leading him towards a genuine path of goodness. Combined with the subtle influence of the knight, and the education he was recieving from the Company, Grog began to come into his own as a warrior, one day to be known as noble in spirit. Declaring that he should afterwards be known as 'Grog the Mighty' the young goblin inadvertantly bestowed upon himself the name that would be remembered in the tales of bards until this very day.
Although the young goblin was thirstly for knowledge, and quickly learned whatever was offered, the Company soon found that refinement and social graces were not skills that would be quickly imparted to him. With patience, Kyriana and Azeem began trying to teach the warrior how to behave less like a goblin.
By 1709 AS Grog had spent three years as a member of the adventuring band. He had also learned a great deal, becoming fluent in not only Common but also Ashani and Selmari. He also honed his skill as a tracker and, to the eternal disbelief of Azeem and Dale of Havan, showed a remarkable talent for dancing. The young goblin began to try his hand at poetry (with terrible results) and cooking (with only marginally better results). As a warrior he was beginning to cut a fine figure, using his small size to dart in and out among the legs of his larger opponents and causing a great deal of havoc among them. He also found that he shared a sense of humour with Kyriana; the two caused a mighty stir on one occassion when Grog accompanied the beautiful Ashani mage to a Matlisani banquet thrown in her honour.
Grog remained with the Company as one of its bravest members for the remainder of its existence. By 1728 AS, the end of the Company's time, Grog was 35 years old and entering old age for his people. The toll of the Quest of the Sevenfold Staff was heavy, and with the Company's dissolution Grog decided to retire from the adventuring life.
After the Company[]
With his days of glory and high adventure behind him Grog's memory returned to the village of his birth and he wondered after his own people. A glorious life had unfolded for him and he knew that his people too could benefit from a wider view, and from greater knowledge. In 1730 AS, at the age of 37 years (nearly 70 for a human) Grog made the journey to the homeland of the Bonegnashers. There he found his tribe's condition little improved and set about bettering the lot of the entire tribe. Assisted by a few of his younger human friends, Grog set up a school and began to teach the rudiments of reading, agriculture and refinement to the tribesmen. Things went well initially, but the chief, Darug, felt his authority was being challenged and attacked Grog one morning in the school. Of course, he was no match for the seasoned and skilled Grog, and was cut down immediately. Due to the law of the strong followed by the goblins, Grog had inadvertantly become chief. Feeling a sense of duty towards his people, the newly minted Chief Grog of the Bonegnashers made education obligatory for all of them. By the time of his death Grog had done something wonderous--the Bonegnashers ceased to live lives of brute ignorance and terrible savagery and instead began to live as civilized beings. Grog's time in the Settled Lands had earned him many friends, several of which he called upon to aid him in his great work. The Bonegnasher villiage was demolished, and the goblins taught how to build homes from wood and stone; ramparts and a pallisade were raised around their village. By this time the young adults had all grown up under Grog's enlightened leadership, and sent missionaries to other goblin tribes, seeking to spread the wisdom they had learned. None were successful; several were killed. Various tribes banded together in an effort to eliminate the Bonegnashers, but proved unable to do so. Saddened at his, Grog elected to increase the defenses of the village and strike back at the attackers. Seeking not to kill those of his own kind, Grog instead elected to drive them away, further into the wilderness and away from the Settled Lands of Amallon.
Death and Legacy[]
Grog finally passed away in 1741 AS, at the age of 48--positively venerable for a goblin. By the end of his life he had not only transformed the small Bonegnasher tribe into a small, civilized settlement, but had also inspired a pride in 'gobliness' within them. While the Bonegnashers remain a tiny tribe, isolated from their own kind, they have begun to develop their own traditions of poetry, music and art while turning towards a more peaceful way of life.
After his passing, Grog's body was buried within the Grandfather Cave--the sacred burial site the Bonegnashers used for those they wished to honour. His armour and weapons were buried with him--contrary to traditional goblin practice--and his grave remains honoured by his people. Rule of the Bonegnashers passed to Hargur Grogsfriend, who, for the first time in goblin history, took power through the beauty of his words and ideas, rather than the strength of his arms.
Player Notes[]
+remembered as a member of the Company of the Crescent Moon
+often provides comic relief in stories and songs about the Company.
+was said to be very brave and noble despite his origins
+One popular story involves him single-handedly slaying a family of ogres through his cleverness