```metadata
title: Half-Ogre Race
description: >-
A rendition of the half-ogre from the Monster Manual made playable as a PC
race.
tags: []
systems:
- 5e
renderer: V3
theme: 5ePHB
```
## Race: Half-Ogre
{{quote
The charlatan’s head gave a sickening crack as it hit the side of the bar. “And don’t you forget it!” Grok said. He picked up the would-be conman’s unconscious body and laid it over the countertop. “Sorry ’bout that,” he said to the barkeep. “Folks think ’cause of my heritage I’m an easy mark, but I ain’t stupid.” The barkeep wiped sweat off his forehead but said nothing.
}}
To walk the life of a half-ogre is to be shunned by two worlds. To their humanoid side, they are monstrous brutes associtated with horrific violence. To ogres, they are impure runts, not as useful as their full-blooded kin.
### Giants Writ Small
The first thing that stands out about half-ogres is their size. They tower over their humanoid companions, so that a mighty goliath feels like a dwarf does next to a human. To most humanoid eyes, they are also rather ugly. Many assume that they’re dim and clumsy as well, but the average half-ogre is the intellectual equal of their humanoid peers, and also a match in nimbleness.
### Societies, or Lack Thereof
Half-ogres most often occupy the bottommost rung of ogre society, though an enterprising one may take advantage of their relative bulk and brains to carve out a niche for themselves among orcs or bugbears.
In most humanoid societies, half-ogres are marginalized, if tolerated at all. Because of this, they are disproportionately represented in criminal enterprises as muscled enforcers and hitmen.
### Half-Ogre Traits
***Ability Score Increase.*** Your Strength and Constitution scores each increase by 2.
***Age.*** Half-ogres reach maturity at around the age of 15 and can live for up to slightly under a century, though many meet their ends well before then.
***Alignment.*** Half-ogres tend toward the chaotic alignments, whether underdog heroes or foul villains.
***Size.*** Half-ogres are often about 8 feet tall and weigh around 850 pounds. Half-ogre adventurers are the runts of their kind, however, with some being as short as 6 and a half feet tall. Your size is Medium.
***Speed.*** You have a base walking speed of 30 feet.
***Darkvision.*** Accustomed to dark caves and night ambushes, you have darkvision out to a range of 60 feet. Within that range, you can see in dim light as if in bright light, and darkness as in dim light. You can’t see color in darkness, only shades of gray.
***Giant.*** Your creature type is giant, rather than human-oid. You count as a humanoid for the purposes of the *calm emotions* spell.
***Ogrish Build.*** You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift.
Additionally, you can use the two-handed damage die of weapons with the Versatile property when wielding the weapon in one hand.
***Short-Tempered.*** Immediately after taking damage from a source other than yourself, you can use your reaction to gain temporary hit points equal to your level + your Constitution modifier (minimum of 1 temporary hit point). These temporary hit points last for 1 minute or until you are affected by a *calm emotions* spell. While you have at least 1 temporary hit point from this feature, you can expend the temporary hit points to give yourself advantage on one melee weapon attack roll.
Once you use this trait, you cannot use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
***Languages.*** You can speak, read, and write Common and Giant. If you are playing in the *Eberron* campaign setting, you can substitute the Goblin language in place of Giant. If you are playing in the *Dragonlance* campaign setting, substitute the Ogre language in place of Giant.
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##### Half-Ogre
© Wizards of the Coast, [via D&D Beyond](https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/17185-half-ogre)
}}
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Half-Ogre Race is unofficial Fan Content permitted under the Fan Content Policy. Not approved/endorsed by Wizards. Portions of the materials used are property of Wizards of the Coast. © Wizards of the Coast LLC.
}}
\page
## Appendix
#### Design Note: Customizing Your Origin
I conceived of the initial mechanics for this race prior to *Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything* introducing an allegedly optional rule for customizing races' Ability Score Increase feature. That rule involves reassigning the bonuses wherever one pleases, so long as they don’t overlap. This makes races with a total of +4 to stats very powerful, such as half-elves, mountain dwarves, and yes, this half-ogre. I therefore discouage using this race and the “optional” rule together for the sake of game balance, in order to prevent unforeseen combinations that may make the half-ogre more powerful than other races in an unbalanced manner. — *P. G. Macer*
### Optional Racial Feats
If your DM uses the optional feats rule, half-ogres of human ancestry are eligible for the Prodigy feat from *Xanathar’s Guide to Everything*. In addition, the follow-ing setting-exclusive feat is available to half-ogre PCs in the *Dragonlance* campaign setting:
#### Steeltoe’s Grip
*Prerequisites: Dragonlance Campaign, Half-Ogre, 6th level*
You can wield a greatsword in one hand. Your wielding of a greasword cannot benefit from the Great Weapon Master or Dual Wielder feats when used in this manner.
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{{wide
Half-Ogre Race is unofficial Fan Content permitted under the Fan Content Policy. Not approved/endorsed by Wizards. Portions of the materials used are property of Wizards of the Coast. © Wizards of the Coast LLC.
}}