Ori Grimgaze: No Sugarcoating, Just Steel.

WHO'S ORI GRIMGAZE?

Every company needs that one person — the one who says little, does much, and picks up the slack when the talkers run out of excuses. In the gloriously ramshackle fellowship of the Offcuts, that person is Ori Grimgaze, the dwarf who makes sure order and discipline don’t leap overboard at the first sign of adventure.

Here’s a fun fact: the name Offcuts itself was Ori’s idea. It was he who, setting sail for Moss Island beside his mismatched band of misfits, first muttered the word. “Forge scraps,” he said, glancing sideways at his companions as they left the port of Svart — and, so legend has it, he allowed himself half a chuckle beneath his moustache.

For a dwarf as meticulous and well-drilled as Ori, the Offcuts are about as far from his comfort zone as you can get, though he abandoned any hope of comfort zones long ago. Since boyhood, Ori has followed Thugni like a grumbling shadow, officially tasked by their king (who also happens to be Thugni’s father, Olaf) with keeping the princely fool alive. Unofficially, it’s always been about loyalty — and that infuriating, exasperated affection that only a brother-in-arms can earn.

Ori and Thugni are day and night, plan and chaos, blueprint and fireworks. Their friendship is a contradiction: two souls too different to stand each other, yet too bound to break apart. Since they were children, Thugni found trouble like a truffle pig finds mushrooms — and Ori trudged right after him, not out of love for adventure, but because someone had to drag the prince home in more or less one piece.

As a warrior, Ori could easily hold rank among the Iron Crows’ elite — Kazhuk Izril would welcome him in the gleaming halls of polished steel. But Ori chose instead to stand by Thugni’s side, bound by a promise he made to a king — and to a friend who never deserved to face this world alone.

When Thugni decided to embark on his “solo” adventure (that was the plan, anyway!), Ori was already waiting on the deck, armed and armoured as if off to war. And truth be told, if Thugni ever chose to march into the underworld itself, you could bet your last gold coin that Ori would be right behind him — spear in hand, shield at the ready, a silent wall against whatever nightmare lay ahead.

Taciturn, introverted, and dry as iron dust, Ori’s humour is as sharp as his blade — and twice as cutting when you least expect it. His sense of duty is unbending, his loyalty immovable, his moral code as rigid as a castle wall in winter. He does not compromise easily, especially when traditions or oaths are at stake.

Yet even stone has a weak spot. Ori’s happens to be pastries.

It is said that this gruff pillar of discipline hides a secret weakness for sweet things, especially those filled with chocolate cream. Rumour whispers that this curious fondness traces back to his first love, the royal baker’s daughter: Myra Olvdottir, whose pastries once melted the iron around his heart.

If you ever find yourself arguing with Ori (may the gods help you), don’t waste your breath trying to change his mind. It’s nearly impossible. But offer him a well-made pastry at the right moment, and you might just soften that stone exterior enough to bargain your way out alive.

Together with Borik and Thugni himself, Ori completes the Offcuts’ trifecta of seasoned warriors. If Borik’s fighting style is a landslide that smashes everything in its path, and Thugni’s is a reckless dance of blades and arrows, then Ori is the boulder that rolls forward slowly, inexorably, crushing all resistance. His shield is near-impenetrable, his spear strikes like Grundur’s lightning, and in the chaos of this unlikely band, Ori Grimgaze stands unshakable — the stalwart bulwark of the Offcuts.

WHO IS ORI GRIMGAZE FOR

If you prefer facts over fancy talk — and believe the sharp persuasion of steel best settles every good argument — then Ori Grimgaze is your spirit guide.

Uncompromising and severe, with a glare that could bend iron if it weren’t already forged, Ori wears an adamantine shell around a will of cold steel. Somewhere far, far underneath, if you dig deep enough (and survive), you might find a heart made of chocolate. Maybe.

Ori is not the friend who forgives every little slip-up. He’s the one who’ll drag you by the collar when you deserve it, deliver the hard truths without a hint of sugar, and then stand by you anyway when the storm hits — even if it means taking the hit himself.

Think of Ori as Mary Poppins, except instead of sweetening the pill with sugar, he’d rather hand you the biggest suppository you’ve ever seen. And you’ll thank him for it later — probably.

WHAT'S INSIDE THE KIT?

This kit is for the traditionalists at heart: a veritable lasagna of overlapping armour plates, weapons, and that eternal Dwarven scowl that looks like it still listens to heavy metal on cassette tapes. If you love painting metal — true metallics or NMM, doesn’t matter — Ori is your happy place. Apart from a scrap of beard and a tattered cloak, there’s precious little to distract you from your beloved steel.

Ori represents the new prototype of the Iron Crow Iron Warriors, the natural next step when a Sentinel just won’t cut it anymore — when things get messy, and the brawls get bone-crushing. The closed helmet design is the result of countless tweaks and failures. But by Grundur’s beard, it was worth every blasted attempt.

Between the ghosts, the goblins, and Thugni’s spectacular lack of impulse control, Ori’s life is already hard enough.

Do him a favour: sign up, dive in, and see what the Offcuts are really about.

Worst case? You’ll survive to tell the tale. Best case? You’ll come back for seconds.