“Do me a favor, and leave the dangerous fighting to me and my men.”
—Ogma to Shiida in a conversation in Shadow Dragon.
Ogma (オグマ Oguma, romanized as Oguma in the Japanese version) is a playable character in Fire Emblem: Ankoku Ryū to Hikari no Tsurugi, Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem, and theirremakes. He is a hard-edged mercenary of Talys. He was born in Pyrathi as the son of a Grust-born woman who was the wife of an executed Akaneian nobleman, but his mother died protecting him in his youth. He eventually ended up as a gladiator in Knorda and was drafted into the Talysian army after Princess Shiida stopped several people from punishing him for aiding in Samto's escape. Ogma then dedicated his life to being the princess's bodyguard and was eventually handpicked as the guard of both her and Marth during the latter's quest. He is also the captain of Barst, Bord, and Cord.
In Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem, Ogma allied with General Lorenz in protecting two Grustian royal children: Yubello and Yumina. He caught up with them and protected them throughout a valley full of Vikings, with the help of a mysterious knight named Sirius. Later, he joins up with Marth once more, but vanishes once the whole battle is over.
In an optional conversation with Shiida in Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon, he says the king will kill him if she is hurt, but she asks him to take care of Marth. In the end they make an agreement: he will take care of Marth if she will stay safe and in the back of the fighting.
Ogma is the first mercenary character in the game, usually has slightly above average growths, making him a fan favorite. He is credited with starting the Hero class, the promoted variation of the Mercenary class. He also started an archetype, in which a mercenary or other sword wielding unit joins early to the middle of the game with good base stats in addition to having balanced stat growths, and can become some of the best units in the game.
There are characters in the series who are considered as the Ogma archetype. There are others who are thought as such, but this is the generally agreed upon list.
Ogma has a fairly important role in the canceled OVA of Fire Emblem. He first appears during the pirate attack at Talys, where he saves Marth and Shiida in a duel with the pirate Gazzak. When Marth's army reaches Galder, Ogma has a brief flashback of when he was once a gladiator. He recalls the day Shiida saved his life. During the end of the last episode, Ogma has a sword fight with Nabarl. Before they engage in the battle, Ogma mentions that he has heard of Nabarl and his style to fight with two swords. The fight concludes when Shiida stands between the two of them. She pleads with Nabarl to stop, and they both withdraw their weapons.