![[Kurogash.png]] # Kurogash _Half-Orc Warrior | [[Force Grey]] Captain (Retired) | [[Waterdeep]]_ ## Summary One of the greatest warriors [[Waterdeep]] has ever seen and founding member of the [[Heroes of Waterdeep]]. Came to the city searching for his father alongside his half-sister [[Xyrbwynn]] and stayed to become the kind of soldier battles turned on. Towering even by half-orc standards — somehow taller after his resurrection — he wielded [[Azuredge]], a sentient greataxe that chose him to protect [[Waterdeep]]. His origins trace to [[Marlos Urnrayle]]'s atrocities against the Black Claw orc tribe — a history [[Marlos Urnrayle|Marlos]] denied with contempt while essentially confirming through his own boasting. Half-brother to [[Xyrbwynn]] and [[Isabel Urnrayle]]. Fought through every major conflict of the age: the elemental cults, the [[Undermountain]], the assault on [[Skullport]], the war against [[Graz'zt]], and the final confrontation with [[Tharizdun]]. Was possessed by the ghost dragon [[Ebondeath]], turned to stone and smashed by [[Marlos Urnrayle]], killed by gnolls and eaten by a [[Shoosuva]], and resurrected or cloned back every time. Delivered the killing blow to [[Orcus]], the Demon Prince of Undeath, in a suicidal assault that left him drenched in the demon lord's ichor. "Kurogash can never die." Married [[Myra Stormbreaker]], a tempest cleric of [[Talos]]. Six children. Officially retired from [[Force Grey]]. The [[City Watch]] still checks the Strongseed household first when something dangerous is happening. %% ## At a Glance Massive even for a half-orc, old scars layered over older ones, moving with the deliberate economy of someone who has been in too many fights to waste motion. Could transform into a gargoyle — "Kuragoyle" — and used the form for everything from aerial reconnaissance to carrying allies out of combat to flying out of besieged cities. Not hostile at rest, but never entirely relaxed either. In combat, Kurogash was a force of nature: blocking doorways to control entire encounters, cutting through elemental horrors that leveled armies, mounting a mind-controlled undead [[Xanathar]] beholder and riding it through the assault on [[Skullport]]. He rushed without hesitation to save an endangered child from [[Zuggtmoy]], earning [[Azuredge]]'s explicit approval. He tended wounded villagers in [[Amphail]] with surprising gentleness for one of his size. And he couldn't resist sticking his head through a [[Demon Gate]] in [[Skullport]] to see what was on the other side — finding a massive demon army staring back at him. His one vulnerability: ghosts. When [[Ebondeath]] possessed him, Kurogash nearly killed [[Bussy]] before [[Mya]] knocked him unconscious. He had a nervous breakdown afterward. He once fled screaming into a swamp when he encountered undead in the [[Mere of Dead Men]]. The greatest warrior on the Sword Coast was terrified of things he couldn't hit with an axe. ## Personality Direct, stoic, profoundly uncomfortable with paperwork, and possessed of a simplicity of purpose that made him devastating on a battlefield and endearing everywhere else. He left the administrative side of [[Force Grey]] to [[Baldric]] without argument — Kurogash was for killing bad guys, not filing reports. Beneath the battlefield composure was genuine protectiveness: he tended wounded villagers, rushed to save children, and defended [[Waterdeep]] not out of political duty but because its people were his people. His relationship with [[Xyrbwynn]] — the search for their father that brought them to [[Waterdeep]] together — was the emotional anchor underneath all the fighting. Also, when a creature seemed prepared to parley, Kurogash's instinct was to immediately attack. This was consistent. ## Quote _"Kurogash can never die!"_ ## Background **The Strongseed Name:** Came to [[Waterdeep]] with [[Xyrbwynn]], searching for their father "Winmar Strongseed" — actually [[Urstul Floxin]]. The truth was worse: their bloodline ran back to [[Marlos Urnrayle]] and his "Strongseed" mercenaries' campaign against the Black Claw orcs. [[Marlos Urnrayle|Marlos]] denied any connection to Kurogash — "I don't touch orcs" — while simultaneously boasting about directing [[Urstul Floxin|Floxin]] to rape a Black Claw woman. [[Marlos Urnrayle|Marlos]]'s letter to Kurogash drew disturbing parallels between them: both mercenaries, both killers, both men who made their own names. "When the nightmares come, I think about all the death and destruction I've caused, and it calms me." **Azuredge:** [[Vajra Safahr]] gave him the sentient greataxe on the condition he join [[Force Grey]]. The axe demanded to know if he was worthy, lawful, and willing to protect [[Waterdeep]]. Kurogash was somewhat convincing on at least a few of those points. When the elemental cults devastated [[Waterdeep]], [[Azuredge]] screamed: "So much death. So much pain. They attacked [[Waterdeep]]. We must avenge my city." The axe and the warrior were in complete agreement. **Ebondeath:** Inside the ghost dragon's mausoleum in the [[Mere of Dead Men]], [[Ebondeath]] possessed Kurogash and turned him against his companions. He nearly killed [[Bussy]]. [[Mya]] realized the only way to expel the ghost was to knock Kurogash unconscious. After being freed, he suffered a nervous breakdown. He was never comfortable around the undead — a man who could face demon lords without flinching but ran screaming from ghosts in a swamp. **Deaths and Returns:** Turned to stone by [[Marlos Urnrayle]]'s medusa gaze, then smashed to pieces. [[Xyrbwynn]] resurrected him as a half-orc — slightly taller. Killed by gnolls and eaten by a [[Shoosuva]] in [[Graz'zt]]'s palace after delivering the killing blow to [[Orcus]]. Woke up in [[Reg]]'s cloned body in the demiplane. Killed by [[Shadow Assassin]]s during the assault on [[Skullport]]; resurrected by [[Xyrbwynn]] again. Each time he came back harder. The catchphrase was earned. **The Killing Blow:** During the demonic invasion of [[Graz'zt]]'s realm, [[Orcus]] — charmed by [[Tharizdun]]'s Song of Chaos — turned on the party. Kurogash threw himself at the Demon Prince of Undeath in a suicidal assault. With his companions' aid, he delivered the killing strike, ending one of the most powerful entities in the [[Abyss]]. He didn't make a speech about it. He was drenched in ichor. **Beholder Rodeo:** During the assault on [[Avareene]] in [[Skullport]], Kurogash mounted the undead [[Xanathar]] beholder and rode it through the battle before [[Reg]] permanently turned the creature into a fish. He also couldn't resist popping his head through a [[Demon Gate]] they discovered — finding a massive demon army on the other side. [[Reg]] used Telekinesis to push back the [[Balor]] that noticed him. **Myra Stormbreaker:** Met her during an [[Underdark]] expedition — a tempest cleric of [[Talos]] who could outdrink him and call lightning on their enemies. He didn't stand a chance. Their wedding at the [[Yawning Portal]] allegedly did structural damage to the tavern. **Retirement:** Six half-orc children who idolize him. A wife who is exasperatedly amused by him. An official retirement from [[Force Grey]] that everyone treats as a technicality. "Routine patrols" that somehow always uncover nefarious plots. The hair is graying and the scars have multiplied, but when he gears up, his family knows better than to ask when he'll be back. %%