Idol of Gork Project Characters (Part II: The Orcs)

Well, it’s been a little while since I have updated the blog for the Idol of Gork project… the biggest reason is that old thesis chestnut, but another part is that it has been tougher to figure out the orc and goblin characters than the Empire characters.

Part of this I think is my ambivalence towards the ‘Warhammer World’ take on orcs as dim soccer hooligans – a quality which really comes through in the characters which they came up with for the Idol of Gork campaign pack.  On the one hand it makes the orc and goblin army a fun one, but on the other hand I think it detracts somewhat from the grim feel of the setting and makes the orcs and goblins a fair bit less terrifying than such brutal creatures should be.

I think my personal (far from official or ‘canon’, I’m sure) stance on it is that the ‘comic relief orcs’ aspect is a bit of a meta-game in-house joke… a bit like the legendary White Dwarf.  From the perspective of someone hypothetically ‘experiencing’ the Warhammer World, however, there would be none of this quasi-endearing silliness… rather just terror in the face of brutal, hideous, relentless foes.  This ‘grim’ perspective is going to be the one from which I think our story is going to be written… however, for the fun of those of us who are playing out the battles I have kept the ‘meta-game’ personalities in mind when picking models as described below:

Oddgit ‘the peculiar goblin shaman’ (Lvl 3 Night Goblin Shaman Lord on foot)

Oddgit is a night-goblin shaman and as described in the campaign he fits the stereotype well really: he is cowardly but sadistic and cunning and slightly unhinged by the dark magics and mushroom induced visions which he plays around with.  Ideally he hopes to ambush Mannfred’s encampment by the idols, have his minions slit the throats of the humans and make off with the crown of Gork without a fight.

(Model-wise Oddgit will be easy as we have access to a number of night goblin shamans.  The campaign pack provides a picture and I believe a model was released specially for the job, but really any night goblin shaman model will do in a pinch!  Oddgit is potentially the Ironclaw tribe’s most potent spellcaster – I want to keep magic rare so he will be the ONLY Lord level magic user for the orcs and goblins, and even so he will only be level 3.)

Snagga ‘leader of the band…eager for battle’ (Orc boss on boar/chariot?)

We find out very little about Snagga except that he is a brutal and cunning enough orc leader to keep his band of raiders in Rutgar and Frederik’s lands, pillaging enough vulnerable targets to keep his followers’ bloodlust sated but not staying in one place long enough for the Empire forces to overwhelm him in a pitched battle.  Or maybe it’s just luck.

(Model-wise some form of mounted warrior might be the go here, as this raiding force is a mobile one.  This narrows the options down to either a hero on a boar or a hero on a chariot.  On the other hand, Grotfang Skah (see below) is ALSO likely mounted so we have a similar conundrum to the Rutgar/Konrad issue which we faced with the Empire – how to keep heroes differentiated.  Will think on this further.)

Dreg ‘trusted shaman’ (Level 2? Orc shaman on foot)

Dreg is the orc shaman who rises to prominence in the Iron Claw tribe: we are not told why, though if Oddgit is killed or abandons the Ironclaws after failure in scenario 1 there is good reason!  He is sent to enlist the aid of the Itchy Skab tribe and brokers a deal with their shaman, Nazgob.

(Dreg’s model is easy – I think we only have access to one orc (as opposed to goblin) shaman, but he is a great model, and just suits the name perfectly!  He is probably only a level 2 (perhaps even level 1), since we want to keep magic relatively rare and because magical pre-eminence belongs to Oddgit.)

Nazgob ‘shaman of the Itchy Skab tribe’ (Level 1 or 2? Goblin? Shaman)

The shaman of the Itchy Skab tribe who convinces his warlord Uzguz to throw in with the Ironclaw orcs.  We never actually find out if he is an orc or a goblin, or much else about him except that he likes a potent fungal brew.  While I suspect that he was meant to be an orc, I’ve decided he is a goblin shaman to give us variety since we’ve already got a night goblin and orc shaman representative.  Besides, I think my uncle has a great goblin shaman model which seldom gets used.

(Model – ‘Normal’ goblin shaman – see above J )

Uzguz ‘warlord of the Itchy Skabs’ (Orc/Savage Orc/Black Orc? Boss on foot)

We learn very little about Uzguz except that he is the orc warlord of the Itchy Skab tribe, and is convinced by his shaman Nazgob to ally with the Ironclaw against the invaders from the Empire with rumours of hidden treasures in Rutgarberg.  The only other clues we get are that he is somewhat dim (he camps at the wrong Troll Rocks) and mistrustful (he thinks Grotfang may be plotting treachery)…but then, these are not really very unusual traits in an orc!

(Given that Uzguz and his band are attacked while camping we have an excuse to use a model for an orc hero on foot – a nice counterpoint to Snagga and Grotfang.  I had half thought of differentiating the ‘Itchy Skab’ tribe as ‘wild’ – making them primarily savage orcs and spider rider goblins – but this approach seemed to make their list too bland.  Another option is to make Uzguz a Black Orc boss since it seems that Grotfang is NOT a black orc… but ‘Itchy Skab’ doesn’t really sound like a Black Orc tribe’s name!  An orc boss on foot will probably do and there are plenty of them.)

Grotfang Skab ‘…the once mighty warboss of the Iron Claw tribw... Rutgar’s great foe.’  (Orc Lord on Boar)

Yet another brutal orc warlord… but the biggest and meanest of our bunch!  Grotfang is, as you’d expect, violent and unsophisticated, but he has the low cunning leadership ability to mount a serious campaign against Rutgar’s settlers (often claiming his shamans’ plans as his own!).  There is an element of (dim) urgency in Grotfang’s personality… the Ironclaw clan has already been defeated and driven from their lands by Margrave Frederik and he knows that if he is to have any chance of maintaining his rule he needs to dislodge the new settlers under Rutgar and prove himself as war leader again.

(Model – from what I’ve read the ‘official’ model for Grotfang lives on as this orc warboss: http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/productDetail.jsp?catId=cat440078a&prodId=prod1130263).  I can’t remember if my uncle has this model, but if not I am sure we have plenty of other options.  Bottom line is he is an orc lord mounted on a boar!