Zorbo Salinger was the bastard product of a love-at-first-sight union between his Half-Orcish father, Roarg Salinger, and a Human gypsy, Talia Ilam. Roarg subsequently married Talia, much to the chagrin of the rest of the Roarg's family, including his first wife, an Orc named Exilir, his second wife, a Half-Orc named Grate, his son by his first wife, an Orc named Faug, and his two daughters by his second wife, both Half-Orcs named Silver and Sall.

As a High Noble, earning his fortune from large-scale farming and caravan trade of basic food goods between the Desert of the Arumvorax Lords and the North Eastern SlugHeart Mountains, Roarg spent little time at home. As such, he was unable to prevent the verbal and domestic cruelty dealt to Zorbo and Talia by the rest of the family, who hated them for their Human intrusion into an otherwise stable Orcish noble family. Treated like family slaves, Zorbo and Talia were prevented from leaving the estate for anything other than brief, menial chores. Loved only by his biological mother, Zorbo has yet to overcome the ego damage of his first twelve years.

At the age of twelve, Zorbo found himself in a confrontation with Faug who, in a drunken, late morning stupor, accused Zorbo of wearing his armor without permission. While it was true — Zorbo had illicitly tried on the oversized suit of platemail — Zorbo could find no reason for a physically brutal punishment. Zorbo had apologized, several times, in between covering his face from Faug's massive fists, but Faug was unrelenting. When Zorbo's sisters, and his second mother (referring to Roarg's second wife), had opened their bedroom doors only long enough to verify that it was Zorbo being beaten, Zorbo began to fear for his life. In a desperate attempt, Zorbo pulled the rug out from under Faug who, under the influence of many tankards of Orcish ale, lost his balance, fell down a flight of stairs and broke his neck. Zorbo clearly remembers Faug's twisted body at the bottom of the staircase, crumpled at the feet of his natural mother, Elixir, who had regretfully witnessed the entire savage affair.

Such an act — the murder of an elder brother — often brought the penalty of death. But in an act that Zorbo will never forget, nor ever fully understand, Elixir testified on his behalf; the act will always exemplify Zorbo's definition of honor. Knowing that Zorbo could no longer be tolerated living at home, Elixir arranged for Zorbo to become a magician's apprentice. There was a quick volunteer, a then-7th-level human mage named Avatar.

Zorbo began the dangerous life of an adventuring apprentice, which lasted five years. During that time, Avatar made the transition from an active adventurer to a small-time adventurer patron, using Zorbo's family influence in subtle, but not necessarily malicious, ways. As he still is, Avatar was obsessed with obtaining magical components, the more rare and exotic the better, as well as maps, charts, rumors and legends that would lead him to such items. During Zorbo's final year of apprenticeship, Avatar sold several of his personal magic items in order to hire a group of adventurers to investigate an intensely researched, yet equally speculative, legend about the location of five Phoenix feathers. Avatar's research and intuition was accurate. Avatar wrote seven, now seminal, articles from his research on the unique feathers, establishing him as a major mind in Alchemy. Avatar was highly recruited by several guilds around the world, including the Monastery of Arcane Lore. Avatar decided to stay in Glenzor with the Monastery, and donated the five feathers to the FlintLock Brotherhood for further research.

Almost immediately after Zorbo returned home for the first time in five years, his three mothers and two sisters died of an intense, but short-lived plague; his father was not around to be infected, and thus was spared. Avatar was extremely supportive, both academically and emotionally, in getting Zorbo through the ordeal. Avatar, as well as several other alchemists, failed to determine the nature or origin of the plague. Avatar's reputation for the organically strange, of course, made the often isolated apprenticeship a likely source of infection, but neither Avatar or Zorbo had contracted the plague. To this day, Zorbo can not help but think that he personally delivered the plague to his family.

When Roarg returned to Glenzor, he immediately blamed Zorbo for his family's death. With no proof, however, Roarg's attempt to disown Zorbo potentially threatened the family line for unjust reasons, and this allowed Zorbo room for an honor appeal. Out of the public eye, the High Council allowed Zorbo an honor duel with his father. Zorbo was, of course, no match for his powerful father, who had personally built the Salinger empire through personal adventuring and an entrepreneurial eye. So when Roarg charged Zorbo in the first few seconds of the match, tripped over a loose leather strap of his leg grieve, and impaled himself upon his own sword, the Glenzor nobility was shocked. Zorbo still believes that the shame of surviving that match is worse than death itself.

The majority of Glenzor's elite prefer to treat Zorbo as an idiosyncrasy of Orcish Nobility. It's not that Zorbo has never tried to play the political game, but silence and lack of recognition are potentially greater boundaries than outright opposition. While Zorbo's assets and family business have the potential to be greatly lucrative, Zorbo has opted for a complete hands-off approach. As such, his empire is managed by a host of intermediaries who take a significant cut of the profits. Zorbo has never blamed Avatar for his family's death, and has been instrumental in providing behind-the-scenes support for his political climb.