Grog Strongjaw

Grog Strongjaw is a Goliath Barbarian in Vox Machina. He is played by Travis Willingham.

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 very relative of the 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 lady favors. Also ale."''

Character Information
Grog is a rogue barbarian after being banished by his people. He is the strongest member of Vox Machina and often attempts to take the majority of damage due to his high armor class and constitution. He weighs 645 pounds and stands at 8 feet, 7 inches tall. Jokes have been occasionally made about Grog being smarter than most barbarians when the group plays and Travis does mathematical calculations faster than the other players. Travis sometimes jokingly calls his character "Professor Grog".

Grog's low intelligence skill has proved problematic for the group in the past. On two separate occasions he has been completely incapacitated by creatures that made psychic or intelligence attacks. Once when an Intellect Devourer's attack put Grog in a catatonic state, and the other time when a Duergar, Queen Ulara dominated his mind and kidnapped him (Travis was absent from that game).

Grog has also shown himself to be rather impulsive, as seen often when he charges ahead of the group into an unknown area of a dungeon or map. He is also the only Chaotic-Neutral group member which often makes his character more aggressive and not as merciful as some of the other players. He does not like being bested in single combat, as seen in Hubris. Grog and Pike are very close friends due to Grog protecting Pike's great-great grandfather Wilhand, and as Pike saved his life after his uncle, Kevdak, banished him from his tribe and ordered the other tribe members to beat him to near death. The two often joke when working together, and Pike will often defend Grog from jokes made by other team members. Since Pike's death, she has become more violent and bloodthirsty, sometimes even impressing Grog.

Grog calls Keyleth's snow cat form "Minxie", after the two of them (Keyleth in her cat form) attempted to intimidate somebody and Keyleth pretended to be Grog's pet.

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."

Before the Stream
At some point, Grog inadvertently almost killed Trinket when he hit the bear's backside with the blunt 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 the part of the Troll his teammates shot off as a souvenir. It was later used as a distraction in an encounter.

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.

During a mission, Grog was fighting an Umberhulk just like in Into the Greyspine Mines. He ended up getting confused and in an attempt to bull rush the creature he fell 170 feet to a cavern floor. He was knocked unconscious and almost killed by the impact.

Grog went through a portal to retrieve an item. A nymph was on the other side protecting it. Instead of attacking him, she liked what she saw. After a while Grog returned looking quite satisfied with himself holding the item the group needed.

Grog and Scanlan managed to intimidate a group of hostile mages in a fighting pit 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 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. Apparently this almost cost some members of Vox Machina their lives.

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

On the road from Emon to Kraghammer, Grog successfully prevented a fight between a roving band of Goliath Barbarians, led by his uncle Kevdak's son, and Vox Machina after he recognized his cousin. The truce was only temporary though, as next time Grog and his cousin will likely try to kill each other if they meet again.

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. Whether he wishes to return to his tribe or not is unknown.

One of Grog's short term goals is to beat the Half-Orc Kern, also known as "The Hammer" who beat him in The Crucible. Which he has now fulfilled.

Divine Items

 * Holy Oil

Magic Items

 * Firebrand Warhammer
 * Bag of Holding
 * Belt of Dwarvenkind
 * Chain of Returning (Tiberius' making)
 * Dust of Tracelessness
 * Craven Edge
 * Bracers of Defense

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 chaotic nature of battle.

Goliath Traits

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

Barbarian Features

 * Rage
 * Reckless Attack
 * Frenzy (Path of the Berserker)
 * Mindless Rage (Path of the Berserker)
 * Intimidating Presence (Path of the Berserker)

Feats

 * Great Weapon Master (taken at level 12)