Greenskins

"Find da pointy-‘eads! Give ‘em a proper fight! WAAAGH!" Orcs and Goblins are a bane to civilisation, raiding ceaselessly and carrying war and barbarism to every corner of the world. Collectively known as Greenskins, time and again they amass without warning, their direction and intent utterly fickle and unpredictable. Their hodgepodge armies are typically a whole slew of violent-minded creatures, monsters and critters dominated by a single Orc or Goblin. For one of the latter to lead due to being "da biggest" is unheard of, which makes the story of the tribe known as Broken Axe notable due to the remarkable rise and feats of its Goblin Warboss, Grom the Paunch. Grom was once a young Boss of the Broken Axe Goblins – a little-known, backwards mob from dismal surroundings. He began his rise to fame after consuming a large quantity of raw Troll meat during a wager. By all rights the regenerating flesh should have killed him, but he had always been a big eater, and after days of chronic indigestion and profuse flatulence Grom found he was able to digest the meat at roughly the same rate at which it grew back – so long as he kept eating excessively. A grossly fat and even stronger Grom heroically emerged, his new expansive proportions rivalling that of even the biggest Orcs. Using his newfound bulk, he worked his way to the top of the Broken Axe tribe before conquering many other Orc and Goblin mobs. Grom’s trail of destruction continued through the realms of Dwarfs and men, his horde swelling to unfathomable numbers as countless Greenskins flocked for a share of his battle glory. Following a trance-prophecy from his Shaman Ol’ Blacktoof, Grom took his massive host to sea, fortuitously landing on a mysterious shingle beach wreathed in mist – this was Ulthuan, along the bleak coast of Yvresse. The maniacal Shaman claimed the High Elves’ realm was a land that Gork and Mork wanted conquered, and Grom obliged. The hopelessly outnumbered High Elves could do little to stop his rampage inland. Eventually, he reached a city to conquer worthy of his reputation; a beautiful metropolis that rivals any ever built, Tor Yvresse. Grom’s overwhelming Waaagh! flooded in, cackling as the flames went higher and pausing to rip the arms off statues, torment injured Elves and barbarically smash any symbols of civilisation they could find. Then, just as the city was on the verge of complete destruction, down from the skies upon a mighty Griffon hurtled Eltharion, an Elven captain of renown. Fighting with vengeance in his eyes, he eventually beheaded Blacktoof with a single sword stroke. With the death of Broken Axe’s chief Sorcerer and the arrival of Eltharion’s battle-hardened reinforcements, Broken Axe’s horde started to rout as a storm raged overhead. Grom attempted to rally his shaken troops in vain, until he too finally fled. With the ignominy of defeat a not-so-distant memory, the proclaimed King of the Goblins hungers still – both for anything he can get in his mouth, and the glories of conquest. In time, Grom’s Waaagh! shall amass once again and return to claim "da biggest prize"!

Throughout all of history, very few Goblins have risen to the top of the Greenskin food chain. Skarsnik is one of them. He is a Night Goblin whose supreme cunning and malign intellect far surpasses that of his peers. It is this gift, and the presence of his incredibly loyal and eternally-hungry Cave Squig, Gobbla, that has allowed him to climb the brutal hierarchy of the Crooked Moon tribe and remain at the top. Orcs typically struggle to take orders or be subservient to Goblins. Naturally, a few have tried to usurp Skarsnik, but needless to say that Gobbla ate especially well on such occasions - the sneaky Night Goblin’s cunning far outweighing an Orc’s brutal and direct challenge. Whilst Skarsnik has retained an iron grip on his tribe, his real achievement (the one for which he is hated by both Dwarfs and Skaven alike) is his domination of Karak Eight Peaks, the former Dwarf mountain fortress. The self-proclaimed 'Warlord of the Eight Peaks' has controlled the surface for years, something which has enraged the stunties beyond forbearance! Provoking the Dwarfs, or any of the Warlord’s many enemies, is what Skarsnik does best. A master of deception, he captures his foes and uses their tortured screams or body parts (scalped beards for stunties) to bait his ever-more devious traps. His targets almost always take the lure, as they are simply not used to Greenskins having such an intricate take on warfare. However, as Skarsnik’s evil reputation continues to grow, fewer adversaries dare underestimate him. Truly, the Warlord of the Eight Peaks is one to be feared!

Ever since Wurrzag Ud Ura Zahubu dragged the Bone Nose tribe up to greatness - after accidently turning their original Shaman into a Squiggly Beast - he has claimed to speak directly for Gork and Mork, da Great Green Godz. The Savage Orc Shaman has crossed the Southlands and headed deep into the Badlands, joining tribes and rekindling the spark of the Waaagh! in them that they may have lost. His words and presence can lift a tribe to greater things in the name of Gork (or perhaps Mork). In the Land of the Dead, Wurrzag joined the Spotted Skullz tribe, leading them to victory against the Undead legions and their animated statuary. There are many other examples of Wurrzag's interventions, and so his reputation has spread far and wide. Among most tribes, his arrival is seen as a blessing that Mork (or Gork, maybe) has chosen them for some special mission. Not all Warbosses are so welcoming, however. Some view Wurrzag with suspicion, reckoning he comes always on the eve of events set in motion already, taking the credit even though it was the Bosses that did all the zoggin’ work in the first place! They argue that a Waaagh! can happen and countless do without Wurrzag present to trigger them. Whatever the truth, Wurrzag certainly believes he was put on this mortal plane as a tool of the Green Godz, and when Orcs believe something, then fate has a habit of making it true...

On the face of it, Azhag is an unremarkable Warboss, though this is in the context where ‘unremarkable’ describes a class of hulking individuals who have pummelled their way to the top in a culture where only the strongest survive. All Orcs must fight to survive, but the tribes that dwell in Troll Country must endure particularly rigorous challenges. Monsters and packs of trolls stalk that deadly land, while Chaos warbands raid from the North. There is no safety amongst Orc kind, as the different tribes of Troll Country are bitter rivals, eager to destroy each other whenever they meet. Such are the lands in which Azhag rose to prominence. Having established dominance over all competitors, he took control of his own mob and his exploits brought Greenskins flocking to his banner. Amongst these new followers were Shamans, both Goblin and Orc, and many of these have spoken of the strange and portentous aura that surrounds Azhag. Several have been visited with green-tinged visions in which Azhag sits astride a mighty Wyvern, an ominous iron crown on his brow from which an insistent voice whispers and mighty spells of Death emanate. If the Shamans are to be believed, Azhag has a mighty and terrible future ahead of him.

No one knows much about Grimgor before he staggered out of the blasted wastes with the Immortulz, his bloody-minded bodyguard. They were tired and hungry, but were Black Orcs nonetheless, and particularly hard ones at that. Even for a Black Orc, Grimgor’s thirst for war was exceptional. If a single day went by without a battle, Grimgor was known to start camp-decimating arguments, his one good eye blazing with eagerness to find fault and start a good scrap. Two days without a battle and Grimgor would smite anything he could reach, save (perhaps) his fellow Black Orcs. Who knows what would happen if three days without a battle ever occurred? Even scarred veterans tremble just to think of it. This unquenchable thirst for battle is a sign that marks out a Warboss for leadership, a sign that the Orc is favoured by Gork. In a hulking Black Orc with unmatched fighting skills and ferocity, it has marked out Grimgor for greatness; the prophet and harbinger of Gork.