Big Poppa came to the Guntaak tribe nearly a decade ago. As with other monastic orders, his required a certain period of walking the world. Guntaak would have been just another stop along the way, but Big Poppa's arrival coincided with the untimely death of the tribe's schoolmaster, who wound up on the losing end of an argument over whether or not to teach swordplay in school, in addition to the usual skills of clubbing, axing, and spearing. Orc tribes don't have PTAs, so the issue was decided, as you might expect, by having the opposing sides square off, sword vs. club, axe, and spear. Unfortunately for the teacher, he was on the side of the sword. Even more unfortunately, the representatives of club, axe, and spear didn't notified him of the start of the debate by planting their respective weapons into various parts of his spine.

Regardless of how it happened, the job became available, and Big Poppa took it, after first demonstrating that no weapon at all could be as effective as any of the others. He was much beloved by the children of the tribe, and grew to be one of the most popular members. For his part, he considers himself father to the children of the tribe, many of whom are now grown to be contributing adult members.

He was spared the massacre because he was preparing for a field trip with a group of students, learning which plants in a nearby forest were edible and which were not. Unfortunately for him, he discovered one that was not, and was unconscious for nearly a full day before he recovered from its effects. He came to too late to aid in the defense of the tribe, but he could see the flames of the school-hut leaping skyward, and hear the screams of his students as they were put to the sword. Jogging toward the meeting-place, he hoped that some others were able to regroup there as well. The goblins would know pain.