Noman Kente

From RPGwiki

On numerous occasions Noman has been accused of having very little going on in his head, but a recent psychological profile that preceded his appointment as commander of the Waltdorf City Watch displayed, to the surprise of many, that quite the opposite was true. What takes up much of the ogre’s thought processes is the constant struggle between Nature and Nurture.

His natural ogre urges drive him to smash things and generally show his dominance over all those less powerful then he is (which as he is the strongest known ogre on record is nearly everyone). It is then rather fortunate that he was rather mysteriously abandoned in the woods near the mining community of Boremium and found by the Kente family. These adopted parents brought him up on their farm and were able to instill a strong sense of moral duty that if he’d been human and didn’t have to constantly struggle against the impulse to kill all these puny creatures surrounding him and eat the flesh off their bones would probably have put him in good steed to becoming a paladin.

This was not meant to be however, and his adopted family had to find some means of releasing his violent urges, thankfully they had a friend who had spent some years as an adventurer and mercenary before settling down in the small town, and whist he was no master of combat as Noman would become he did teach him the beginnings of the warrior-arts.

Over the years that followed Noman’s adoption word began to spread amongst the Low-Races of Boremium’s liberal attitude to their kind (at least for a small community, larger places like Waltdorf were already accepting all kinds of folk), and it is perhaps due to his presence that a nearby village of Low-Race folk was able to both attract so many and allowed to build up to a small but thriving village by the time Noman had reached adulthood. Using his enormous strength and his training Noman was able to fend off the less affable inhabitants of the settlement, and without these undesirable elements the relations between Boremium and its neighbour were reasonably good. During his youth he was known to display his superior strength over other ogres from this settlement for no cause other then a show of his dominance, but his adoptive-parents succeeded in indoctrinating him against bullying, and indeed he now is firmly against anyone displaying discriminating behaviour.

(Noman often displays a dislike of mages, but there is much evidence that this stems from his early experience with magic-users. From his very first adventure and throughout most of his early career magicians were on the whole either trying to kill him, or were arrogant youths who treated him with a total lack of respect. The Mage of the Vale went along way towards breaking down this mistrust, and by the time he got to know the Airriders he was a lot more accepting.)

By the time Noman was eighteen he had more then made his presence felt, but he was growing bored of small town life. Though they weren’t the first adventuring party to pass through the town and take an interest in Noman (most notably there was an unfortunate incident involving another group of young adventurers, they mistook Noman for an evil despot. However they technically didn't "pass through" as to do so you need to go out the other side...) but a young Ranger called Hank and his companions came along at the right time to persuade Noman to go out and see the world.

The rest, as they say, is history…

(...and may be recorded here as and when I write it up)

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“The villagers of the mining town of Boremium, in North Bissel, are a hardy bunch of souls. Most are human or Dwarven, and scratch out a living in the steel mines to the west of the village. These people have little time for chit-chat, preferring to keep their own counsel. But pay a visit to the Inn of the Well, and ask one of the taciturn miners you will find there what they know of the Heroes of the Dragonquest, and you will see that man’s chest swell with pride and his eyes glimmer with excitement. Stay awhile and he will tell you that once there lived in Boremium a human couple by the name of Kente, who found a low ogre hatchling abandoned in the forest. Against all advice, they took pity on the hatchling and raised him as their own. At first the villagers were fearful to have such a creature in their midst, but the young ogre proved himself to be both hard working and also fiercely protective of his adopted village, helping fend off orc raiding parties on more than one occasion. The name given to the ogre by the Kentes is long forgotten, but he was and is known in the village as simply “no-man”.

By the time of his eighteenth birthday, the ogre (now a towering nine foot, twenty stone adult) was met in the Inn by a travelling party of young adventurers, including Hank the ranger and Billings the Paladin of Paladine (both of whom we shall learn more of later). The adventurers told no-man of the lands beyond his village, and the wonders and treasures that a brave young warrior could avail himself of. No-man’s interest grew and grew, but he also was reluctant to leave the only place he had ever called home and the two kindly humans who saw him as their son.

Whilst the new friends were still drinking their ale, the village came under attack by a horde of Usa fanatics. The young adventures fought side by side with no-man, and marvelled at his strength and ability with a sword. He in turn was impressed by Hank’s bravery and Billings’ swordsmanship. The party went on a quest to find out what the Usa fanatics were doing in the area, and discovered a ruined underground temple long since abandoned after the Cataclysm and now home to fell beasts, where the fanatics were trying to resurrect a long dead priest-king. The young adventurers foiled the plans of Usa’s foul servants, but serious disagreements between Billings and the rest of the group led to him setting out on his own. No-man seized the opportunity, and joined the party to seek adventure!” Arnaulf, priest of Mislaxa, keeper of Boremium chapel.

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"A wonderful dichotomy of civilisation and bestial destruction. He has died several times, so I listen to his insights into the afterlife, simple as they may be. Like an animal, he sees straight through lies without even noticing them, and so reacts to the basic truths that others often miss."

— Schallat

"Him da mightiest warrior in de world! Him also me bestest friend!"

— Hank

"Now you go to bed, or the big bad ogre will come and get you!"

— Fire Giant fable used to scare their children into behaving

"Some people say that he can drink more than me. I say he just drinks faster - it's hard to keep up with someone who drinks his ale strait from the barrel!"

— Smith

"Oddly enough I do some of my best thinking in discussion with Noman. He has such a contemplative nature to his thinking, which means he can spot flaws in my plans that I would just never consider. Unfortunately it sometimes takes him days to come back to me with those ponderings. Thoughts moving at the speed of glaciers, while his muscles just have a glacier's strength."

— Peregrine Airrider