Questions about Background Story Etiquette

I have officially named my tribe and my Tyrant, but in writing the story I had a few questions in regards to proper Ogre Etiquette (which sounds like an oxymoron now that I think about it)

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There are items that hint at story and lore in the history of the Ogres, but isn't explicitly stated where.  For example, Grut's Sickle or the Halfling cookbook.  It mentions that Grut the Bloodthirsty used the sickle and it was kept in the tribe, but who is Grut and where did he come from?

Question 1:  Can I use Grut in my story?  I was thinking about explaining where the sickle came from, when Grut was killed by his own tribe and how it was kept in circulation within the Ogre Kingdoms, but I wasn't sure if that would be stepping on anyone's toes.

Question 2:  Has anyone came up with the story of Grut?  Has this idea of mine already been taken?

Statement 1: If it is okay to use Grut the Bloodthirsty in my Story AND no one has thought about writing him into their tribe - Don't take my idea   I've got almost the entire story of my tribe done and it would be a shame if someone else took my idea before I posted my story.

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I know the use of the word "Thunder" is used often in the Ogre Tribes, probably because of the sound of thunder relating to the power of the ogres, but I think making multiple references to it would be okay as long as the same exact use of it wasn't reused.

Question 3:  Has anyone seen the name "Thunder Fist" tribe being used for their name?

Statement 2:  Don't use Thunder Fist if no one else has used it yet

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I am sure there have been great story tellers to come and go in the forum, but

Question 4:  What is the recommended size for a background story?  Word Count? Pages?

Question 5:  How far back should a background story go?  How long of a timeline should it pass through? (or does it depend on your story?)

Statement 3:  I am thinking about having a tribe that has been around since the Great Maw!! (I know thats really old, but i think it makes it rich with story)  It earned its name during the war against the Sky Titans and is now working as the forefront "Assault Storm Trooper" squad for Greasus Goldtooth to push the boarders and boundries of the Ogre Kingdoms!!!

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Let me know - Thanks

Aighty, lemme see if I can tackle this for you.

Question 1:  Can I use Grut in my story?  I was thinking about explaining where the sickle came from, when Grut was killed by his own tribe and how it was kept in circulation within the Ogre Kingdoms, but I wasn't sure if that would be stepping on anyone's toes.

Typically it is best in fan fiction, role-play, etc to avoid using established characters unless done very loosely. The idea is that you don't want your fiction contradicting or using characters from someone's work in a way they didn't intend it. True, in this case, not much has been established about Grut, his tribe, or the story surrounding it, but it does start tiptoeing in the territory of fluff bending. Now, Grut is such a minor fluff character, as opposed to say Karl Franz, in where if you did this most probably would over look it.

I'd maybe, instead of having Grut be the main character of your tribes story, have him be the driving force of why your tribe does what it does. Did they have a chance encounter with Grut? A victim of his sickle? Obviously Grut's ultimate fate is out of your tribe's hand, but that doesn't mean he can be a side character, a motivator of your story.

Question 3:  Has anyone seen the name "Thunder Fist" tribe being used for their name?

I'm sure someone somwhere has it. Then again, we're Ogres who copy culture. Your tribe might claim it's the "original" tribe and go off highlander style on the others. "There can be only one...Thunder Fist!"

Question 4:  What is the recommended size for a background story?  Word Count? Pages?

Maybe a paragraph or two if you're feeling squirrelly. I mean it's really up to how much you want to write. If you feel like you can go on for pages, then do it. If a paragraph leaves you satisfied, then that's fine too. Not like we take a letter grade here.

Question 5:  How far back should a background story go?  How long of a timeline should it pass through? (or does it depend on your story?)

It should go for however long it takes for you to establish the setting and important facts about your tribe. If you need us to know they've been around forever, make sure we know. If they're a new tribe, we don't need to establish anything in ancient Ogre history.

Statement 3:  I am thinking about having a tribe that has been around since the Great Maw!! (I know thats really old, but i think it makes it rich with story)  It earned its name during the war against the Sky Titans and is now working as the forefront "Assault Storm Trooper" squad for Greasus Goldtooth to push the boarders and boundries of the Ogre Kingdoms!!!

See, this is a good use of an established Fluff character. He's not your character, but he's a motivator of your story. So long as you don't say your tribe ends up killing him or effecting his established fluff.

Hopefully this rant helps.

AWESOME!

What great words of wisdom! Well said and thank you! This helps me out a lot!

Idlem left things pretty clear, so I have only a couple things to add.

Grut has only ever been mentioned in one paragraph of the old army book, and I've not heard of him being mentioned in the new book, And I'm actually pretty sure the sickle does not exist anymore as a legitimate magic item, so if you want to create fluff about him, I'd say knock yourself out.

I have indeed seen many -thundergut- tribes, but again, there's no need for names to be completely unique.

Finally, you might want to be careful about the whole 'first line of attack for the Goldtooths' thing, because maybe the goldtooth tribe itself would be in charge of this, and maybe many other people have written their tribe to be goldtooth's right hand. And also because you don't need the tribe to have such a strong connection to a big character for it to be awesome; in my fluff goldtooth is only a driving force, but the story is still quite epic.