Grog Strongjaw

Grog Strongjaw is a goliath barbarian/fighter and a member of Vox Machina. He is played by Travis Willingham.

When he was young, Grog was exiled from the Herd of Storms by its leader, Grog's uncle Kevdak, for taking pity on a helpless old gnome the tribe was attacking. He was then taken in by that same gnome, Wilhand Trickfoot, and raised alongside his great-great-granddaughter Pike.

During his adventures with Vox Machina, he became the wielder of the legendary Titanstone Knuckles, acquired by taking down his uncle, to fight against the Chroma Conclave. He forged the Prime Trammels and was the wielder of the Sword of Kas in the fight against Vecna.

Intro
"Right, listen up. If you have ale, then you have a friend in Grog Strongjaw. A goliath of towering height and size, this barbarian has an appetite for the two great loves in his life: combat, women, and ale. Wait...

''Easily the brains of the group, Grog is often consulted for his vast knowledge of shapes, colors, and shiny things. Also ale.''

''In his early years, armed with his two-handed great axe, Grog often enjoyed proving his might amongst the ranks of his family's wandering herd. But after coming upon an unsuspecting elderly gnome in the woods, he objected to the killing of such an innocent life. A creature of impulse, Grog felt only pity for this terrified little thing. His disobedience cost him dearly. Beaten bloody and banished by the herd leader, his uncle Kevdak, Grog was abandoned and left to die.''

''Exiled from his herd, it was then that the relative of the very gnome he fought to save, saved him. It was the kindness of a gnome cleric named Pike that healed Grog, bringing him back from death's edge. And they have remained close friends ever since.''

''Most nights, Grog can be found challenging entire taverns to wrestling matches! Or accompanying Scanlan to the nearest house where you pay for, er, lady favors. Also ale."''

Appearance
Grog, being a goliath, is grey-skinned with tattoos all over his upper body and his bald head. He weighs upward of 645 pounds and stands at 8 feet, 7 inches tall. After having a phylactery removed from his body, a scar formed on his chest which remains a mark of the lingering darkness within him.

After donning the Belt of Dwarvenkind, Grog has grown a thick black beard, a feat thought to be impossible for him due to male goliaths having no body hair. After joining the Slayer's Take, Grog has the brand of the guild on his right arm.

During Vox Machina's one-year break, Grog took the skin with the bear tattoo which he had flayed from Kevdak's chest and had it tanned. He then got an exact copy of it tattooed on his back, as a symbol that Kevdak and the events surrounding him are now behind him.

When he enters his rage, his eyes appear to glow a red coloration, as shown in the Vox Machina Campaign Intro.

Personality
Grog's low intelligence score has proven problematic for the group in the past. He has been completely incapacitated by creatures that made psychic or intelligence attacks, particularly when an intellect devourer's attack put Grog into a catatonic state. Occasionally, Grog a great thought visits him once a day, for example Grog came up with the idea to use their Alchemy Jug to produce water and exhale it while under the effect of Water Breathing, avoiding the toxic fumes of Scaldseat volcano that do not concentrate in the water. He also called himself "Professor Grog". Travis described this as a warrior wisdom, intuition derived from his fighting lifestyle. Grog was known to for his stubborn bargain.

Because of his low intelligence, Grog is illiterate and cannot read or write in any language. After being unable to read any of the runes written in Giant within the City of Brass, Grog expressed a desire to learn how to read, and asked for Pike to help him learn the Common alphabet. Since then, Pike has managed to teach Grog how to read words in Common that are up to five letters long.

Grog has shown himself to be rather impulsive, as seen often when he charges ahead of the group into an unknown area of a dungeon, or his desire to compulsively pull a card from the Deck of Many Things. At the start of the campaign, he is often more aggressive and less merciful than some of the other characters, which reached its pinnacle when he acquired the Craven Edge. Grog does not like being bested in single combat, as seen in. He is willing to cheat to win, as seen when he drank a potion of Stone Giant Strength to defeat the half-orc Kern in. Despite this, Grog has a sweet, happy side that often comes out when he is around his friends.

Grog is physically the strongest member of Vox Machina and often attempts to take the majority of damage, acting as the party tank, due to his high armor class and constitution.

Background
Grog was raised in the Herd of Storms, a band of nomadic raiders consisting mainly of goliaths. When Grog was younger, he and his group encountered a helpless old gnome and attacked him, but Grog took pity on the gnome and protected him. Because of this, Grog was beaten nearly to death by the leader of the herd; his uncle, Kevdak, exiled and left for dead. However, the gnome he had saved, Wilhand Trickfoot, sent his great-granddaughter Pike to help him. She saved him from death, and Grog was welcomed into the Trickfoot home. He and Pike became best friends.

Grog has learned the art of shoemaking.

Vox Machina: Origins
Series I Grog was a member of The Wing with Scanlan Shorthalt, Vash, Arnicor and Thurista to recover an artefact from a temple in the swamp near Stilben. They fought a giant frog as well as the cult of fish-like people who inhabited the temple. They cut off the ruby eyes off of the statue of a fish god, then headed into town. Vash, the party wizard, identified some of their loot, but couldn't identify a vial of clear liquid they had found in the swamp. The party headed to an alchemist's shop to ask about it, but were met with assassins of the Myriad, who said they had interfered with their plans and demanded the vial. The assassins killed Vash before the rest of the party managed to kill them.

Grog followed his party to a tavern. There, he noticed Scanlan was talking to Tiberius Stormwind and joined them. The dragonborn expressed interest in the vial, which he recognized as a potion of Aqua Caedis, and bought it from Scanlan.

Later, Grog and Scanlan overheard an alchemist mention the Mockingbird, a ship arriving in the morning with a shipment. They walked in and Scanlan put him to sleep with magic so they could take a book he was guarding. As they investigated the room, Vax'ildan and Vex'ahlia jumped out of the shadows and attacked them, asking for the book they just got. Grog and Scanlan fought with the twins, but they were interrupted by a group of assassins who walked out of a mirror - the same ones that they had fought and killed earlier. Grog, Scanlan and the twins worked together to fight the assassins. Mid-battle, Tiberius walked in with Keyleth, and joined them in the fight. After all the assassins were killed, Iselda also walked out of the mirror and attacked the party. Grog tried to fight her, but he was trapped in a magic bubble that only dissipated once Iselda retreated.

Grog followed Scanlan when he decided to go help Vex instead of leaving for Whitestone with Arnicor and the cleric, and they met up with Vex'ahlia, Keyleth, and Tiberius at the docks. There, Scanlan pointed to the Mockingbird, and they all witnessed an explosion as Vax'ildan jumped out of a hole in the side of the ship, where he was being held captive. The group decided to work together this time, and boarded the Mockingbird. Grog fell overboard before they even made it on deck, but later reappeared, covered in seaweed, when the others were about to be overpowered by Iselda. Grog killed her by pushing her into a magical sygil that had been carved in the floor, and she burned alive. The group escaped through the previously made hole in the side of the ship. Afterwards, they all headed to a tavern together.

Series II As was also shown in, after doing some odd jobs in Stilben for a while, Grog left the group and traveled back to Westruun. After not hearing from him for a while, the rest of the party traveled there as well and met Pike Trickfoot for the first time. She told them that Grog had been acting strangely and had marched on his own through the Bramblewood Forest towards Gatshadow Mountain. Deep within the mountain, they discovered a mind-controlled Grog, the reanimated corpse of his father, Stonejaw Strongjaw, and a dying mage attempting to become a lich. The party slew the mage, but not before he embedded his phylactery into Grog's chest.

The party later realized the phylactery was going to activate very soon, and split up to find ingredients for a ritual that could save him. Grog went with the twins in search of the heart of a nymph. While in the Frostweald, they found a pond where a nymph, named Nahla, lived. Instead of attacking him, she invited Grog to follow her into the pond, which was a portal to the Feywild. After a while, Grog returned looking quite satisfied with himself while holding the item the group needed. He refused to tell the twins what happened on the other side.

With the help of Eskil Ryndarien, the phylactery was successfully removed from Grog, although it left behind some lingering necromantic energy.

The Story of Vox Machina and Other Pre-Stream Events
At some point, Grog inadvertently almost killed Trinket when he hit the bear's backside with the flat side of his axe, causing Trinket to charge through a heavily trapped area of a dungeon. Vex was not amused.

Grog was the one who decided to keep one of the troll penises that his teammates shot off, as a souvenir; it was later used as a distraction in an encounter.

At some point, when Keyleth used a form of a white saber-toothed tiger to help Grog intimidate somebody by pretending to be his pet tiger, Grog named her "Minxie".

Grog has previously been mentally dominated by another opponent, which caused him to turn against his group and almost kill a few of the party's members.

Grog has encountered umber hulks in the Crystalfen Caverns below Emon. During the fight, he attempted to grab and throw an umber hulk through the hole that dropped into the giant cavern below them, but was knocked off there instead. Grog fell, took enough damage to put him unconscious and the umber hulk then was pushed out after him via Tiberius, leaving vulnerable Grog with the hungry beast. To save him, Tiberius made a leap of faith after them and cast Feather Fall. The spell had "a really hard concentration check", and if he failed, he'd probably died. "He needed a 14 on a d20, and he rolled exactly a 14, cast the spell, landed, and managed to stop the umber hulk in time to let the rest of the party come down via rope."

During a fight in a fighting pit of the Brawler's League, Grog and Scanlan managed to intimidate a group of hostile mages when Scanlan summoned a pony, that Grog abruptly decapitated and smeared its gore on his body while screaming.

Grog was responsible for a blue dragon, Brimscythe, turning against Vox Machina when he found a treasure room and went into a "rage loot"; when the dragon emerged, Grog paused to acknowledge it before he continued looting the room. Grog's choice almost cost some members of Vox Machina their lives, but it also significantly increased their party funds.

Grog convinced the group that in order to find good security for their new keep, which they named Greyskull Keep, the potential guards would have to fight each other to the death.

On the road from Emon to Kraghammer with mission to aid Kima, Grog successfully prevented a fight between a roving band of goliath barbarians, led by his uncle Kevdak's son, Zanroar, and Vox Machina after he recognized his cousin. The truce was only temporary, though, and Grog left with the understanding that their next meeting would almost surely be their last—though this later turned out not to be the case.

Arc 1: Kraghammer and Vasselheim
 Grog fell in the battle against K'varn, but was brought back to life thanks to Pike's Revivify spell.

 When Vox Machina arrived in Vasselheim, they visited The Crucible, a brawling arena in the Braving Grounds District for the first time. Grog (under the ring name "Phillip") fought a ferocious bout against Kern, the reigning champion of the arena. After a long and evenly matched battle, Grog appeared to have won, but Kern's half-orc endurance allowed him to come back for a finishing blow. After losing his pride, and Vox Machina's gold, Grog prepared himself for a rematch.

 Grog returned to the Crucible and fought a furious rematch with Kern. This time, Grog benefitted from the help of Scanlan and a Potion of Stone Giant Strength. Even with such boons, the fight still proved difficult, as Kern's training endowed him with the multiclass abilities of a monk. Grog, barely remaining conscious thanks to his Relentless Rage, finally defeated Kern.

As the battle ended, it appeared that Grog had earned the approval or respect of a mysterious monk, Earthbreaker Groon. Vox Machina decided to meet Groon, so they entered the Trial Forge to seek an audience with him. At first, Groon was in a meditative trance as the Earthbreaker, instructing Grog to ask his questions, but Grog didn't really have any questions so instead offered Vox Machina's service. Groon emerged from his trance, smiled, and accepted Grog's piety—then revealed that dark times were ahead.

Arc 2: The Briarwoods
 Grog approached Percy and asked about the sword that he recovered from the body of Sylas Briarwood, offering to trade the Dragon Slayer Longsword for it. Percy agreed, and when he handed it over, the sword immediately spoke to Grog, offering him power which Grog immediately accepted. The sword called itself Craven Edge.

Arc 3: The Chroma Conclave
 Grog returned to the Trial Forge after the Chroma Conclave attacked, and Groon put Grog through a trial intended to show the goliath that he should trust his friends rather than the dark blade, Craven Edge.

 Craven Edge caused Grog's body to suddenly fall dead in the snow. Scanlan pointed out that his soul might be inside the sword. Pike cast Revivify, and the ritual was successful. When he came to, the party confronted him about the sword, and decided it would be best to get rid of it. After Pike severed Craven Edge's connection to Grog with a Greater Restoration spell, Keyleth banished the evil sword to the Dread Emperor's realm using Plane Shift. Due to the conflicting statements about the Dread Emperor's realm, it is unclear if Craven Edge is now in the Astral Plane, in a pocket dimension, or somewhere else altogether.

 Grog challenged his uncle, the leader of the Herd of Storms, Kevdak. With the help of Vox Machina, he landed the killing after being released from Raven's Slumber by Vex'halia, spliting Kevdak in half with his axe as he fell onto him from above. He fell unconscious from the fall right after, but was promptly revived by Scanlan's Healing Word and lifted into the air by Bigby's Hand. Grog declared Kevdak defeated, and encouraged the herd to aid Vox Machina in their battle against Umbrasyl.

Grog was given Kevdak's Bloodaxe and his Titanstone Knuckles, one of the Vestiges of Divergence. Grog then claimed that he would return the Herd of Storms to power; he chopped off the head of Greenbeard, the herd's seer, and had Zanroar released, declaring that he was to be the one rule the herd. Later, Grog looted Kevdak's body, taking his skull and cutting his bear tattoo off of his skin to store in the Bag of Colding.

 While visiting the city of Syngorn, Grog tried to act formal when Vox Machina meets with city officials, and mispronounced the phrase "good day" as "bidet".

 While looting Thordak's lair, Grog found the Deck of Many Things. Grog pulled a card from the deck, which was at first misread by Matt as the Key card, and awarded him a rare magic weapon: Dancing Sword. The mistake was corrected in, and was retconned when Grog saw a medusa-like visage within the blade, felt a rush of pain in his mind, and dropped the sword which turned black and rusted. The card Grog pulled was actually Euryale, and he had been cursed to a permanent penalty to all his saving throws. The curse could only be removed by a god.

Vex took the deck back from Grog, and when attempting to draw a card herself, was warned by Percy of its dangerous nature.

 Grog tried to trade the Periapt of Wound Closure to Vex in order to get his deck back, but Vex tricked him by giving him a leather pouch with rocks inside. Vex made Grog promise not to pull anything from it: he could only keep it in its little pouch.

Arc 4: Taryon Darrington
 In the rematch against Grog, this time in a one versus one battle, Earthbreaker Groon initially showed to be impossible to hit. Instead of attacking Grog, he simply moved around and examined him, giving cryptic hints. Frustrated at his inability to hit him, Grog eventually just placed a finger on his torso, confirming that Earthbreaker Groon was present. Eventually, Groon managed to drop Grog down to 0 HP, but Grog used his Relentless Rage in order to stand back up. Groon, impressed by Grog's endurance, attacked him again but another Relentless Rage allowed Grog to keep fighting, causing him to win. When he won the fight, Grog's Titanstone Knuckles also reached their Exalted state.

When Scanlan woke up after his resurrection and yelled at everyone for not knowing him or his story, Grog was one of the only ones who didn't talk back at him, and simply asked what his mother's name was, saying he was sorry he didn't know. He immediately recognised that Scanlan's accusations had some truth to them, said that he meant a lot to them, and told Scanlan that whatever he wanted to do was up to him. As Scanlan got up to leave, Grog tossed his salt-lick rock to Scanlan, to remember them by. While Vex and Vax lamented his departure, Grog simply said that the only thing that mattered was that Scanlan was alive, and that they had to give him time. He later asked Percy if he could send anyone after Scanlan and Kaylie, to keep an eye on them.

 Vex admitted to Grog that she had secretly kept his Deck of Many Things. She gave him back the real one, feeling guilty for having lied to him. Grog completely failed to understand the chain of events and got very confused by her confession.

 Grog got bored in the peace that followed Thordak's defeat. Among other things, he went looking for Scanlan, but did not find him; he also got a copy of Kevdak's bear tattoo done on his back, "because that shit's behind me," and made Kevdak's skull into a mug. He then returned to Vasselheim and defended his title in the Crucible. He also did some contracts with the Slayer's Take, but did not find it as exciting as fighting ancient dragons.

While drunk late at night in the streets of Vasselheim, Grog found a random, also drunk, stranger and convinced that stranger to pull a card from his Deck of Many Things. The stranger pulled a card, said, "I wish that I was a powerful lord of the Quadroads," and then ran off in a carriage that suddenly appeared for him. Grog never got the stranger's name. Though Grog was extremely tempted to draw another card for himself after that incident, he convinced himself to wait until he could return to Whitestone and try it with Pike. Finally, Grog set out into the Frostweald, accessing a Feywild portal there, visited the nymph he knew there, and gave her a palm-sized ruby that he has found in his bag.

Arc 5: Vecna
 Vox Machina made their way into the Core Anvil, the abandoned workshop of the Allhammer. Using the strength of the Titanstone Knuckles, Grog forged three Prime Trammels out of the beads of divinity provided by Ioun, Pelor, and the Raven Queen, which were then completed by Percy's engravings.

 After Vox Machina retrieved the Sword of Kas from within Thar Amphala, it was given to Grog to wield in the final battle against Vecna.

 During the final confrontation with Vecna, Grog was banished to another plane twice by the god. When he was finally brought back, he attacked Vecna with the Sword of Kas, opening three wounds in his chest. Hanging onto Vecna's chest, Grog managed to shove Pelor's divine trammel into one of the wounds before being banished again. Keyleth attempted to place the second trammel, but failed. When Grog reappeared, Pike passed the third divine trammel to him, and he drove it into another chest wound.

When Vecna banished Scanlan, who held the Tome of Isolation, Grog broke Vecna's concentration with a hard blow, allowing the Rites of Prime Banishment to continue. Grog hung onto Vecna's body until the lich was successfully banished.

 Grog, aided by Pike and Scanlan, managed to part with the Sword of Kas and entrust it to the Platinum Sanctuary along with Arkhan's hand to track Arkhan and retrive the Hand of Vecna.

After Vox Machina returned to Whitestone castle to finally rest, Grog stepped out to the front courtyard, checked that no one is watching, and pulled out the Deck of Many Things. Just as Pike returned from the forest, she saw him draw a card, The Void, and fall to the ground. Grog was left catatonic, his soul drawn from his body, with an open deck of cards in his hand.

Epilogues
 Vox Machina discovered that Grog's soul was held captive on the plane of Pandemonium, sealed within a stone. The party tied Grog's body to the back of Trinket and carried it with them as they searched for his soul and fought with the Empyrean guarding it. When the stone made contact with Grog's body, he regained consciousness.

 After returning to Whitestone, when Grog inquired about the current location of the Deck of Many Things, Vox Machina lied that it had been left behind on Pandemonium. Pike cheered up the disappointed Grog by offering to make him a homemade (and decidedly NOT magic) Deck of Many Things.

 Grog took it upon himself to taste-test the food for Vex and Percy's rehearsal dinner, making sure at least half of them weren't poisoned. The bride and groom put him in charge of clearing a path down the aisle and laying down petals. Grog teared up when they asked him. He swears that he will practice his petal-throwing skill all night.

During the rehearsal dinner, Grog was the only one, along with Derrig and Trinket, to remain conscious as the rest of the wedding party suddenly dozed off. While he fought off the vampires attacking them, he didn't notice that Vex and Percy were being taken. When Sylas tried to escape in bat form, Grog striked him down with his Bloodaxe, forcing him back into the ground for Vex to deal the final blow.

Post-Campaign As revealed in, Grog returned to Vasselheim to turn himself in for punching a guard in a certain potion merchant's shop. However, he was recognized as one of the saviors of the city and forgiven of his crime. The merchant was initially indignant at Grog's release, until Grog offered him 8,000 gold to become his own personal reading tutor. He agreed. While in the city, Grog helped Earthbreaker Groon rebuild the temple of Kord, and occasionally had Pike join him in the Crucible to defend their titles there. He also adventured with Pike, and moved in with her into Wilhand's home. When Scanlan asked him for permission to accept Pike's proposal, Grog accepted. He gave Scanlan a black sapphire for Pike, and carried Scanlan down the aisle at the wedding.

Grog's next great challenge was to improve his mind. He eventually learned to read and write, and also studied numbers. He organized the Luncheon of Champions, an event taking place in Whitestone four times a year to which he invites the greatest warriors of Exandria to a massive brawl, followed by food and drinks.

As of 843 PD, Bertrand Bell believed Grog was in Whitestone.

Keyleth
Grog calls Keyleth's sabretooth tiger form "Minxie", after the two of them (Keyleth in her cat form) attempted to intimidate somebody and Keyleth pretended to be Grog's pet. Keyleth and Grog have worked together on other occasions as well, such as creating a special combo attack referred to as the "Fastball Special", where Keyleth turns into a brawny creature, like an earth elemental, in order to have enough strength to throw Grog at a large opponent.

Grog was present when Keyleth was on the brink of attacking Raishan when the dragon revealed herself in the guise of Seeker Assum and explained to her the value of patience. When Keyleth, struggling with her anger at Raishan, asked Grog how he manages to keep his rage in check, he answered: "Family."

Lady Kima of Vord
Grog became infatuated with Lady Kima after the party freed her from a torture rack in Emberhold and she subsequently borrowed Pike's mace to bash the duergar who tortured her into "hamburger meat."

Pike
Grog and Pike are very close friends due to Grog protecting Pike's great-great-grandfather Wilhand Trickfoot, and Pike having saved his life after his uncle Kevdak banished him from his tribe and ordered the other tribe members to beat him near to death. The two often joke when working together, and Pike will often defend Grog from jokes made by other team members. After her death and resurrection, she has become more violent and bloodthirsty, sometimes even impressing Grog.

Scanlan
Grog and Scanlan Shorthalt were best friends, occasionally pursuing the same things. After he left Vox Machina though, relations between the two have been strained. Grog seems to feel that he has been replaced by the "Bardbarian".

Vax'ildan
Grog and Vax'ildan have a rather antagonistic relationship, the two of them occasionally playing pranks on each other. Aside from that, they are close friends who have each others' backs.

Quests
Grog's quest is not exactly known. However, it has been stated by Travis that he wants revenge on his uncle Kevdak for nearly killing him, which he managed to fulfill in.

One of Grog's short term goals was to beat the half-orc Kern, also known as "The Hammer", who beat him in the Crucible—a quest he has since fulfilled.

Current items

 * Alchemy Jug
 * Amulet of Defense (+2 to AC)
 * Amulet of the Drunkard (allows Grog to heal HP when he drinks ale)
 * Bag of Holding
 * Belt of Dwarvenkind
 * Bloodaxe
 * Boots of Feral Leaping (traded for Percy's Boots of Spider Climbing and traded back )
 * Chain of Returning (made by Tiberius)
 * Dragon-tooth necklace (doubles hit points restored by hit dice; given to Grog by Shale)
 * Dust of Tracelessness
 * Dwarven Thrower
 * Holy oil
 * Titanstone Knuckles
 * Boots of Levitation

Former items

 * Boots of Spider Climbing (received from Percy in a trade and traded back )
 * Bracers of Defense (given to Scanlan's Simulacrum in, lost in when the Simulacrum was dispelled by Vecna.)
 * Craven Edge (banished to the Dread Emperor's realm by Vox Machina in )
 * Dancing Sword (originally awarded by the Deck of Many Things, but taken away through creative editing due to DM error on the draw)
 * Deck of Many Things(confiscated by Vox Machina after he pulled The Void card and they had to spend two weeks retrieving his soul from Pandemonium)
 * Firebrand Warhammer (Disarmed during the duel with Kevdak, taken by a member of the Herd of Storms)
 * Gauntlets of Ogre Power (now belong to Pike)
 * Greatsword of Frenzy (found in the cave near Yug'Voril; given to Whaska in exchange for information about Plate of the Dawnmartyr)
 * Javelin of Lightning (lost in Ank'Harel)
 * Adamantine hammer (abandoned in the Crypts of Thomara)
 * Sword of Kas (gains a +1d10 bonus to initiative, deals an additional 2 dice of damage to undead; given to Highbearer Vord)

Abilities
Grog has a few abilities that allow him to inflict more damage in combat and demoralize the enemy. The primal path of his rage is that of the berserker—his rage is a means to an end, in which his thrill is derived from the chaotic nature of battle. He later multiclassed into a Battle Master fighter similar to his uncle Kevdak, gaining use of Second Wind, the Great Weapon Fighting style, the ability to use Action Surge, and a variety of combat maneuvers.

Goliath abilities

 * Mountain Born
 * Natural Athlete
 * Powerful Build
 * Stone's Endurance

Additional features

 * Beard Growth (Belt of Dwarvenkind)
 * Darkvision (Belt of Dwarvenkind)
 * Dwarven Resilience (Belt of Dwarvenkind)
 * Elemental Resistance (Fire/Cold/Lightning) (Titanstone Knuckles)
 * Enlarge (Titanstone Knuckles)
 * Siege Damage (Titanstone Knuckles)
 * Euryale card from the Deck of Many Things: Grog has a −2 penalty on saving throws while cursed in this way. Only a god or the magic of The Fates card can end this curse.

Feats

 * Great Weapon Master (taken at level 12)
 * Tough
 * Mobile
 * Mage Slayer

Barbarian abilities

 * Rage
 * Unarmored Defense
 * Reckless Attack
 * Danger Sense
 * Primal Path: Path of the Berserker
 * Frenzy
 * Intimidating Presence
 * Mindless Rage
 * Retaliation
 * Extra Attack
 * Fast Movement
 * Feral Instinct
 * Brutal Critical (3 dice)
 * Relentless Rage
 * Persistent Rage

Fighter abilities

 * Fighting Style: Great Weapon Fighting
 * Second Wind
 * Action Surge
 * Martial Archetype: Battle Master
 * Combat Superiority
 * Student of War (unknown)

Maneuvers
As a 3rd-level Battle Master, Grog knows three combat maneuvers and has four Superiority Dice, which are d8s.
 * Disarming Strike
 * Parry
 * Trip Attack

Behind the scenes
Grog's name and accent were both last-minute decisions. Travis was running a half-hour late to their first session. He was caught off-guard when Marisha asked his character's name. Based on his love for Monkey Island, he came up with ""Grog"", where is a popular pirate beverage that is 'one of the most caustic, volatile substances known to man'. His speaking voice and accent is based on the trolls in The Hobbit; Travis heard everyone else using special voices and didn't want to be left out.

"Grog" is a term for any alcoholic beverage, originally referring to a drink made with water and rum. The name for the beverage originated from the nickname of Vice Admiral Edward Vernon (who first introduced the drink), Old Grog or Old Grogram, which itself stemmed from how Vernon wore a coat of grosgrain (also known as grogram) cloth.

Grand Poobah title is a satirical term derived from the name of the character Pooh-Bah in Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado. The character had a title of "Lord High Everything Else" and "humbly" agreed to accept several important government offices. The name has come to be used for someone self-important or locally high-ranking and who either exhibits an inflated self-regard or who has limited authority while taking impressive titles.

Grog's design for The Legend of Vox Machina was simlified to be easier to draw. Face markings were tweaked and the ears were made a little bit smaller to make his expressive, cute face journeys more easily recognized.

Appearances and mentions

 * Campaign 1, appeared in episodes played by Travis except as follows
 * One-shots
 * Campaign 3
 * Vox Machina Origins Series I, all issues except
 * Vox Machina Origins Series II, all issues except Issue 5, absent
 * Vox Machina Origins Series III, all issues
 * The Legend of Vox Machina, all episodes
 * Narrative Telephone
 * One-shots
 * Campaign 3
 * Vox Machina Origins Series I, all issues except
 * Vox Machina Origins Series II, all issues except Issue 5, absent
 * Vox Machina Origins Series III, all issues
 * The Legend of Vox Machina, all episodes
 * Narrative Telephone
 * Campaign 3
 * Vox Machina Origins Series I, all issues except
 * Vox Machina Origins Series II, all issues except Issue 5, absent
 * Vox Machina Origins Series III, all issues
 * The Legend of Vox Machina, all episodes
 * Narrative Telephone
 * Vox Machina Origins Series I, all issues except
 * Vox Machina Origins Series II, all issues except Issue 5, absent
 * Vox Machina Origins Series III, all issues
 * The Legend of Vox Machina, all episodes
 * Narrative Telephone
 * Vox Machina Origins Series III, all issues
 * The Legend of Vox Machina, all episodes
 * Narrative Telephone

Quotations

 * "I would like to rage!" (Grog's catchphrase)
 * "I have an intelligence of six, I know what I'm doing."
 * "You owe me a cask. Of. Ale"
 * "How about-- All of the dragon's teeth and three of the vials of blood?" (Grog's attempt at haggling)
 * "...Vax." (after having half his beard shaved)
 * "Do you have a female setting?" (to his cursed sword Craven Edge}
 * "In my anger." (when first asked where he finds his strength)
 * "In my friends." (when asked again where he finds his strength)
 * Scanlan: "You killed him [ Horace]. Was he related to you in some way?" Grog: "I don't know. I remember him. He was always a little shit." Keyleth: "Grog, do you remember killing him five seconds ago?" Grog: "Who?" Keyleth: "Oh no. You guys."
 * Grog: "Look, if you get bucked off a horse, right? You don't kill the horse, you just train it up a bit. Let's just work with the sword." (reluctant to part with the Craven Edge after the sword swallowed his soul) Vex: "Horses don't try to steal your soul, Grog."
 * "My whole life has been wanting to punish or get back at Kevdak. I don't want to do it cheaply, I don't want to do it quickly. I want to do it with my own hands. Now, I'll do it with my family, do it with my buddy Pike, but I want it done right."
 * "Vox Machina! Fuck shit up!"
 * "FOR STRONGJAW!" (During his HDYWTDT on Kevdak)
 * "Bidet." (Grog trying to sound fancy)
 * "I pride myself on my strength, but as we fought Earthbreaker Groon, you [Scanlan] were there by my side as I learned that my true strength comes from my friends, which means that these trinkets, no matter how strong they are, mean nothing. You knew me before then, and I would hope you would know me after. While my best buddy Pike taught me to love, you taught me to laugh, and I don't want to know what life is like without that. ♫ Hail to Scanlan Shorthalt Hail to victory! No one can make me laugh faster. Please bring him back to me. ♫ (speech for Scanlan's resurrection ritual)
 * "Standing there, with one hit point, acid melting my flesh, I would like to pull out the Deck of Many Things."
 * "Vox Machina, fuck shit up! And I would like to rage! With my bonus action, I will smash the Titanstone Knuckles together."

Trivia

 * As of June 2022, Grog had highest constitution score of any player character and the second highest strength score after Zerxus Ilerez.
 * Grog formerly had the lowest intelligence score of any player character. However, starting in December 2019, that distinction belonged to Buddy the Ogre with an intelligence of 5, which has not been surpassed as of August 2022.
 * Travis often plays this aspect for comedic effect, thus giving birth to Grog's signature catchphrase: "I have an intelligence of 6, I think I know what I'm doing."
 * Occasionally Travis forgets himself and "Grog" says something clever, usually played off as a random moment of cleverness. However at least once it has resulted in Grog suffering pain and the DM assigning psychic damage for "attempting to think too hard."
 * Grog officially puts Kashaw Vesh to shame when it comes to genital size.
 * Grog was the first player character to die after the stream began, and the second overall, after Pike.
 * In the Critical Role Major Arcana Tarot Card Set, he represents VIII - Strength.
 * In the 2017 video game "Mass Effect: Andromeda", there is a krogan warlord named "Strogjaw Grog". Strogjaw Grog is the leader of a refuge for exiled scavengers known as "The Flophouse" on the scorching desert moon of Elaaden.
 * In the Vox Machina Origins comics, Grog's title of "Grand Poobah de Doink of All of This and That" is erroneously written as "Grand Poobah of de Doink."
 * Grog's design as a large, muscular man with pale skin, a bald head, facial and body tattoos, and thick black beard coincidentally gave him a resemblance to Kratos in the 2018 video game God of War. Additionally, Kratos also has the special ability to "Spartan Rage" in the game. Many Critters were quick to point out these resemblances across various social media such as Twitter and Reddit, with quite a few posts directed straight to Travis Willingham.
 * Grog is included in the Critical Role Pack DLC for Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire.
 * A screenshot on the DLC's Steam page shows Grog built in-game as an Island Aumaua.
 * In "The Legend of Vox Machina Kickstarter is LIVE!", Sam Riegel wanted to voice Grog during Travis' nightmare.