Larger and stonger than orks, these creatures claim to have journeys from the far west over the ice field to reach Ghurtha. Ogri stand eight to ten feet tall, with broad faces and almond shaped eyes. They are well equipped for winter travel, having a thick pelt of dark coarse hair, which they supplement with skins and rought cloth woven from yak hair.

They live primarily in family groups and have an ancient association with yaks. In the mountains, most are semi-nomadic herders, moving higher up the mountains for the summers and returning to traditional encampments around lakes in the winters. They use little metal, relying mostly on stone and bone tools. However, it is common for groups of young male ogri to travel out of their homelands to gather enough wealth to purchase a bride. Such wealth often includes highly prized metal tools and weapons.

Family groups are made up of common descendants of a single great-grandfather. Families are patriarchal, with the new bride coming to live in her husband's family. It is not unknown for wealthy ogri to take two or three wives (sometimes sisters), as the mortality amongs young male ogri is quite high, leaving a surplus of brides. For an outsider to be allowed to meet an ogri's women-folk is an honour of the highest order - often sadly wasted, since male and female ogri are not easy to tell apart.

The primary dwellings of ogri are huge yurt-like tents, made from yak skins, which can be taken down and moved to the next grazing ground. The tents are strong and weatherproof and the thick yak hair is usually left on the skins and turned outwards to repel rain and wind. The hair is dyed in traditional patters which denote status and family relationships.

Status is denoted by the size of the tent. The largest tent of an encampment will belong to the great-grandfather ruling the family group. Each yurt houses a male ogi, his wife or wives and his unmarried children. Tents are partitioned, with male and female ogri living separately. A very wealthy family might have several tents; one for the male and a separate one for each of his wives.

Ogri worship Haf, the Great Mother Yak. A small tent is set aside for the religious puposes and is occupied by the shaman of the tribe. It is partitioned between the ancestral spirits of the kindred and Haf.

When travelling, the belongings of the family are stored in yak-hide bundles. Within the tents, it is traditional for all the goods of the family to be on display, to show their wealth to visitors. Metal tools and weapons are especially prominantly displayed. There is little of purely decorative value, although the soft summer undercoats of the yaks are combed out and woven into rugs and blankets.

The winter quaters in the foothills of the mountains have some permentant buildings of rough stone, mostly barns and corals where orks and the occasional human traders visit in the autumn. The more civilised ogri tribes on the northern fringes of the human empire have the most stone buildings including winter living quarters. These buildings are roundhouses, hung with skins within to resemble a tent.

Orks and Ogri

Disputes arise over hunting rights and over wintering places and there are problems caused by groups of young male ogri who decide to steal rather than earn their bride prices .