Gnoblar Lords



Gnoblar Lords are the greatest and most esteemed of their kind. Sometimes an Ogre will grow fond of a particular Gnoblar, and will bite it on the ear to permanently mark it as his property. This practice is known as Earmarking. An Ogre's bite-mark is unique, easily identifiable and the strongest statement of ownership an Ogre can make. The Gnoblar becomes a cross between a pet and head servant.

Overview
Gnoblars elevated to this lofty and protected position call themselves Lords and are able to strut around the camp bullying all but the largest of their kind with impunity. When out of earshot other Gnoblars use many names for these 'lords', the most pleasant of which is 'bootlickers'. Ogres are very selective when choosing Gnoblars to be their personal property. These Gnoblars understand well that their master is the source of their social status and protection. The more they enjoy abusing their power, the more paranoid they become about keeping master happy and protecting their privileged position. When more than one Gnoblar is marked by the same master they become highly stressed and even more paranoid. Constant bickering and competing behind the master's back becomes the norm. Gnoblar lords live in constant fear of their master taking another pet.

Unfortunately, keeping a bull Ogre in the state he considers is his right requires a lot of work, so Gnoblar lords have no choice but to tolerate the other Gnoblars that seek safety by serving their masters. Gnoblars who lose their master are truly tragic creatures. They still have earmarkings, so they try and maintain the masquerade, struttling around the camp and using the name of their master to bully food and valuables from others. This rarely lasts, however, as news of a dead Ogre gets around quickly, and when it does a mob of the selfsame scum he bullied when he was protected will rapidly descend on the poor unfortunate.

In these circumstances, tradition demands the mob bite off the victim's nose and ears to signify his fall from grace. If he's lucky, and hunting has been good, he will then be beaten, robbed and left to crawl back to his hovel. Despite all this, some Gnoblars try and bluff having a master for lengthy periods of time. Having the earmarks of an unknown, long-deceased or even currently alive and unaware Ogre are all popular frauds. All kinds of tricks to fake earmarks are used, from something as crude as a mantrap or knife to using old Ogre jaws or even the highly dangerous tactic of sneaking into an Ogre's tent at night and dangling an ear into his mouth when he snores. An old Ogre skull or set of jaws is highly prized among Gnoblars, and the bite-mark of more than one great Ogre hero has been seen around camp for many generations aftere his fall in battle.

Source

 * White Dwarf UK (Issue #310)
 * pg. 101

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