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ORC TRIBES All Orcs and Goblins live in tribes. A tribe usually contains Orcs or Goblins of the same type, for example it might be a Night Goblin tribe, a Black Orc tribe, a Forest Goblin tribe, etc. However, most Orc tribes also include inferior Goblins of lower status. Tribes vary in size from a few hunded individuals to many thousands of warriors. A tribe is led by a chieftain called a Warboss or, if he is very powerful a Warlord. If a chieftain is very successful other Orcs and Goblins will flock to join his tribe and other tribes will place themselves under his command. Orc and Goblin tribes are dependant for their fortunes on the abilities of their chieftain. Tribes grow and become powerful under brave and successful leaders, and then shrink or break apart when their chieftain is eventually defeated or slain. When a tribe breaks apart the main portion will probably continue under the old leader or under his successor if the original boss has been slain. The contenders for a tribe's leadership come from the group of especially large Orcs known as Big'uns - the closest that Orcs get to a ruling class. Every tribe has its own core of Big'uns waiting their chance to take over and become the tribe's chieftain. Of course, there can only be one chieftain, so defeated rivals must either accept his supremacy or leave the tribe altogether and set up a new one of their own. ![]() |
THE WAAAAGH! When a tribe tools up to fight, an air of eagerness pervades the otherwise antagonistic atmosphere. The blessing of Gork on the proceedings makes it an almost holy occasion while Bork and Morks omnipotent presences bless the Warboss and his generals as they plan their attack or defence. On the Warbosses command all hell breaks loose and the Orcs rabble engages the foes. The Gobbo love of fighting is hard to miss. The Warboss generally commands the crack troops of the Warrior caste, with the Big Bosses commanding the rabble of Mobgobs eager to get stuck in. One great advantage Greenskins have in many cases is the great force of numbers they have and many a foe has been at least partly demoralised before even entering melee with the green tide. When a Warboss grows in power green-skinned warriors will travel halfway across the Old World just to fight by his side. The tribe of a successful Warlord will tend to grow in size and power, enabling it to fight other tribes, who will place themselves under his command, or invade the realms of Men. Soon a Warlords tribe will grow so large that it generates a unifing aura known as a Waaagh! This gives the greenskins a huge sence of community and belonging. With this feeling moving through the tribe other Orcs and Goblins are attracted to its power and they begin to move towards the Realms of Men looking for a fight. |
THE ORIGIN OF GREENSKINS
Old World scholars have vastly differing opinions on the Greenskins origins. Some hypothesise that they were the product of a set of Old Slann experiments, others believe that their unique skin and blood colours point to an otherworldly origin, while another faction believes they are the descendants of Dwarves and Elves twisted by the initial surge of chaos into the world. Others simply acknowledge that the Greenskins are just plain weird by the standards of the other humanoid races, and don't make any attempt to understand them, turning their attention to bigger fish. Legends of the first Orc contact with mankind tell of the Greenskins first coming out of the Darklands, though this has never been shown to be conclusively so, a fact proponents of the chaos-born theory of the Goblinoid origins sometimes seem to forget.
Recent Imperial research has led some to believe the Greenskins have an unusually high resistance to chaos and so were perhaps part of the program that eventually led to the Halflings or were brought to the Warhammer world by the Old Slann for use in the program. Others are skeptical and point to their resistance as evidence that they are actually in league with chaos and Greenskins are the spawn of demons, a race of mutant worshippers. This charge, although false, is believed easily by the common poulace of the Old World and has led witchhunters to seek out and destroy all of the Goblinoid bloodline - as the saying goes, ten thousand Bretonnians can't be wrong... Those who believe the Slann experiment hypothesis emphasize the all too Human features of the Hobgoblins as evidence to their cause, while others suggest that the Hobgoblins are merely a stable form of Half Orc.
The lore of their origin has, of course, been lost by the Greenskins themselves and either the gods themselves have forgotton the truth are they aren't telling... This, of course, does little to stop the hatred, mistrust, speculation and accusation the Greenskins inspire so well...
PHYSIOLOGY & PSYCHOLOGY OF GREENSKINS
The Greenskins, although varying greatly between species, are internally very similar. All are capable of slight Night Vision and their blood is slightly more viscous than that of other Humanoids, flowing that little bit more slowly. As poorly as conventional medical science understands even Human anatomy, however, the blood is thought to play a crucial role in healing (although not all agree about this by any means) and it is hypothesised that something in the Greenskins bloodstream gives them their unusual healing ability - an ability by no means instantaneous but faster than ordinary Human healing by any means. In an age where even Human anatomy is little known about, the Greenskins innards are cause for much debate among scholarly circles.
Psychologically, the Greenskins psyche is very much shaped by the society in which they live. Most quickly develop the violent, warlike, impulsive, mischievous and sometimes downright evil character the Greenskins are well known for. The Greenskins are not inherently evil but are predisposed towards this by the culture in which they live, the survival of the fittest.
Snotlings are an exception to this, being far less violent and nasty unless circumstances make them so, although this does make them rich pickings as snacks by some of the larger Gobbo species
THE TRIBE
The basic unit of Orc society is the Tribe. Tribes vary in size, but are typically made up of 100-200 individuals. Tribes smaller than this, say up to 50 individuals, are usually called a Band, while groups larger than the basic tribe are usually made up of several tribes to form a Horde. Bands are common in regions where the Greenskin population is more scattered, such as the Old World forests, and less common in areas more or less controlled by the resident Orcs, when several bands will usually amalgamate to form a tribe or even a horde. The formation of hordes is especially common when a Waaargh occurs.
The smaller tribes and bands are usually composed of only a single Gobbo species, such as a tribe of Black Orcs or a band of Goblins, while larger tribes and hordes invariably consist of mixed species. The mix will usually be a relatively large number of the lesser species with a smaller number of the more dominant species, such as a tribe of Goblins with a smaller number of dominant Orcs. The larger hordes typically consist of all the Goblinoid species, the relative number of a species in the horde being roughly inversely proportional to the species' dominance.
Tribes and bands are usually nomadic, travelling the current area and raiding when it suits them or the whim takes them. The larger the tribe the more likely it is to set itself up in a fixed place, usually a set dug from the ground or a network of abandoned tunnels. Abandoned Lizardmen, Dwarf or Skaven tunnels are the favourite.
LANGUAGE
The Greenskins have their own language, best known to non-Greenskins as the 'common Goblin tongue' and to Greenskins themselves as 'Ha^zhakh'. Each Greenskins species speaks its own dialect of this. Greenskins use the following turms for other spices;
Dwarves : Dwurfies or Stunties
Elves : Elvsies or Pansies
Halflings : Stunties
Humans : 'Oomies or Humies
Skaven : Ratties
A written form of Ha^zhakh, called Ha^zScript or GlyphScript, is used by a few higher shamans. GlyphScript in its' purest form is a symbolic script and written in 'glyphs' reading from left to right with a definite grammatical structure. Many glyphs represent such things as the tribe and other common Greenskin concepts, a number doubling as phonetic symbols which can be used to represent any Greenskin or alien word or name. The meaning of any given glyph can usually be deduced from the context it is used in.
Most degenerate tribes, of course, have lost the knowledge of GlyphScript and use a crude form of Human script to represent words phonetically. The Elven and Dwarven languages are generally too complex for the Greenskins to emulate.
TRIBEAL STRUCTURE
The politics of a large tribe or horde is linked in very much with the Greenskins caste system. As mentioned earlier, the larger the tribe the more likely it will consist of mixed species and the more likely the Gobbo caste system will swing into play. The idea is simple: the bigger or more powerful you are, the more heads you can knock together, and the more dominant you will be. There are seven castes:
1) The Warlord.
The highest rank a Greenskin can have, the Warlord is the grand high Warboss in charge of a Waaargh (which is typically named after the Warlord in charge).
2) The Warboss.
Except when a Waaargh is underway, the Warboss occupies a caste of his own, ruling over the tribe or horde. He makes all decisions of the tribe and is the one who leads the tribe into battle. He, of course, is never to blame for any blunder in a decision or battle strike, and it is his advisors or generals who are to blame... The Warboss is usually a Orc. When a Waaargh is underway the Warboss acts as general of his particular tribe.
3) The Boss caste.
4) The Warrior caste.
5) The Shaman caste.
6) The Mob caste.
7) The Slave caste.
Note that only the larger tribes and hordes will support all these castes. Smaller tribes will typically constitute a single Boss, a small number of crack Warriors and the remainder of Mobs. A typical band consists only of a Boss and an unstructured array of Mobs.
Ultimate power over the tribe is exercised by the Warboss - usually the Orc who bests those others contesting for the position in hand to hand combat. If another Greenskin of the Boss caste contests the current Warbosses right to hold that position, one of two outcomes will occur. Either the current Warboss will command those loyal to him to lynch the unfortunate challenger or, if the Warboss feels his fighting prowess has been slighted, a one-to-one fight to the death will ensue, the victor claiming or retaining the position of Warboss. Of course, similar power struggles exist in smaller tribes, members of the Warrior caste usually being the ones to contest for the position of tribe Boss.
TRIBEAL POLITICS
Greenskin politics, if it can be called that, is based on one simple tenet: you can do anything if you're strong enough to carry it off. At the centre of the fray is the Warboss or Warlord who, as long as he stays in power, has absolute say over all decisions. Greenskin politics rarely takes the form of subtle plotting, usually taking the form of direct action and/or violence. The efforts of each Boss to become the next Warboss is a classic example.
CRIME & JUSTICE
Crime, as the Goblinoids define it, is surprisingly rare in a society as wild as that of the goblinoid race. Killing is not considered a crime at all, and petty stealing is often overlooked as routine. Few crimes in the Human sense of the word are defined as such in Gobbo society, with one simple reason: religion (see Chapter Three: Religion and Magic for more info on this). Gobbo justice operates by the law of the jungle, every Gobbo for him/herself. Waiting for a fellow Gobbo to pass, sneaking up on him, knocking him out and 'borrowing' the tasty Squig he was carrying is perfectly Ok - after all, it's good practice for when you do it to a Humie. Gork salutes those with melee prowess, so killing a fellow Goblinoid is perfectly fine. In fact, Gork smiles on you all the more when it's a superior. You've proved yourself better than a superior, so are ripe for a rise in social status. I'm sure you get the picture.
Despite an atmosphere of being able to get away with almost anything , things rarely progress beyond petty thieving, the occasional killing (which is, after all, an occupational hazard the higher up the chain you are), etc. When 'justice' is perceived necessary, it is of course up the victim to get it done. A trick just as sneaky as the 'crime' itself or giving the perpetrator the gift of a new incarnation on da weel (or, roughly translated, killing 'im!) are the usual methods. Those close to the 'victim' can give them a hand of course, or warn the perpetrator of the original 'crime' beforehand...
DIET
The diet of a typical Greenskins depends a great deal on the local surroundings and the species.
The Badlands as a barren, rocky, desolate sort of place, supporting little plant life. As such, the Badlands Greenskins live mainly on the meat of animals caught while on their nomadic travels. In fact, I see the Darklands as being somewhat similar, in terms of where the food comes from at least, although the Darklands Greenskins would obviously have to be more careful in what they try to eat...
The forest dwelling Greenskins bands would probably live off a number of food sources. The forest vegetation could feed them, game can be caught and raids on Humans passing through or on Human settlements could well provide food as well. The same sources would probably be available, albeit to a lesser extent, in mountainous regions.
ARTS & CRAFTS
Yes, _arts_, not that Goblinoid artists are particularly skilled - few Goblinoids ever become inclined to produce art, and fewer still are any good... The typical Goblinoid artist, usually an unhinged Goblin or Lesser Goblin, spreads whatever paint or ink he/she has available liberally on whatever surface he/she is using as a canvas (rocks, animal skin, whatever), almost always producing something that looks a mess with no artistic appeal whatsoever! It's no accident that Goblinoid art does not lead the world...
Their crafts, however, fair somewhat better. Although nowhere near as skilled as Human, Elven or Dwarven crafts, Hobgoblins make proficient, if crude, craftsmen, and it is they who produce the armour and tools that their society requires (and which can't be scavenged from elsewhere). A typical Goblinoid forge in a Gobbo set is set up well enough to make things like swords and shields, with the occasional helm, but nothing much more complex. A mail coat, for example, would probably require facilities such as those commanded by Humans, Dwarves or Elves.
INTERNAL & EXTERNAL RELATIONS
Goblinoid relations, whether interal to their society or with other races, could never be said to be particularly rosy. Friction and animosity is common between individuals of differing species or from different tribes is common and while bloodshed does occur over this, it happens surprisingly rarely. Only when Goblinoids have cause to unite does the inter-species and inter-tribe friction lessen, and then not by much. Larger Gobbo species generally hold the smaller species in contempt or ignore them (except, of course, when peckish or they have a errand they want running). The smaller species, for their part, regard their larger cousins with a mixture of awe, pride and fear, depending on the exact species.
Relations with other intelligent races are strained at best. The mutual hatred between the Goblinoids and Dwarves does little to provoke anything but war between the two races and major conflict has occured several times over the course of their histories, most markedly in the period known by scholars as the Goblin Wars. The highly 'sexually active' society the Goblinoids have does little to douse the flames of this mutual hatred, going almost exactly against the Dwarven belief in maintaining a stable (polygamous) family unit. Elves regard the Goblinoids little more favourably, although coming into contact far less often. Humans see little of the Goblinoids other than the raids on the Border Princes and similar areas, and unsurprisingly hold them in little regard.
SQUIGS
Squigs are small, sometimes furry, creatures, highly variable in appearance. They come in all shapes and sizes, from a few inches long to several feet. Most are fairly stupid and mindless. The great variability of Squigs has produced some especially useful or interesting species:
Hair Squigs: These Squigs, approximately the size of an average wig (about 10 inches long), sport a mass of long fur similar to hair in texture, making them prized by higher placed Orcs who attach them to their heads as hair. The squig is affixed to the Gobbo head but will, if it can, occasionally jump off the head and gobble up some food before being rudely placed back on the annoyed Orcs' head...
Target Squigs: These unfortunate 6-12 inch Squigs are blessed with a set of brightly coloured concentric rings in their fur, making them ideal for Gobbo target practise. Often affixed to the back of a unfortunate slave and shot at, a successful hit often impales the Squig and passes through to the Gobbo beyond. The slave will often forget fear of his superiors over fear for his/her life, giving the shooter practise on a moving target.
Brain Squigs: The only Squigs with even a modicum of intelligence, these Squigs are not stupid as others are. Brain Squigs, usually approximately 8 inches long, are the only ones capable of intelligent thought and have developed their own language of squeaks, gurgles and purrs, Squiggoth, a rare few also speaking Ha^zhakh, the Goblinoid tongue. Being intelligent, they are capable of intelligent attack, albeit unskilled. It is thought they may follow their own god, but the truth of this has never been found out for sure.
Cave Squigs: Also known variously as Killer Squigs, Nasher Squigs, Fang Squigs or Toof Squigs, they are so called because of the caves in which they are found. Cave Squigs are naturally solitary creatures for the simple reason that they attack anything else they see! Many a Squig handler or catcher has been maimed or killed by one of these fearsome creatures, easily big enough to swallow a Goblin (and an Orc in some cases) whole. Sporting a set of extremely sharp teeth, Cave Squigs are essentially mindless. Goblin Squig handlers keep them individually in sturdily built cages or at a safe distance with their pitchfork-like 'prodders', to be unleashed against enemy forces when appropriate, although they often cause as much damage to the Goblin rabble as to the enemy.
Sniffer Squigs: These Squigs, barely more than a few inches long, have an uncanny knack of sniffing out food, whereever it may be, thanks to their acute sense of smell. Their one drawback (and the reason why they are only rarely used by Gobbo food foragers) is their amazingly slow speed - they can take hours to move themselves to the food and will often then spend further hours eating it unless otherwise disturbed. Their one instinct is to sniff out food, which along with their slow movement makes almsot useless as trackers - the Sniffer hounds Gobbos breed are far more suited for tracking.
Immediately below the Warboss in authority are the members of the Boss caste, those who might rise to power in time but for now act as his advisors and generals. It is often these who are blamed when the less-than-brilliant master plan of the Warboss goes wrong ("We's in dis gully, ryt. We charges from dis end and you charges from d' uvver end, and the Dwurfies 'ul be so surprised dat we'll bash 'em good!..."
The Warbosses crack troops. A large number of Black Orcs fall into this caste, as do the Big Uns and Boar Riders.
This caste houses the Shamans of Greenskin culture. Roughly equal in rank to those of the Warrior caste, those in the Shaman caste nevertheless enjoy the status of advisors to the Bosses, the most able Shaman being approximately elevated to a status equivalent to the Boss caste as advisor to the Warboss, as is a senior Shaman (Greenskin are particularly superstitious, and offending the gods is very bad form). The Shamans do, unfortunately, have to take the blame for things going wrong higher up the chain as it descends from the ranks above them. The Warbosses Shaman usually has to do some fast talking to get out of sticky situations when things go awry in the magic department.
The majority of Greenskin society will fall into this caste, giving the caste its name. This caste absorbs all those not big enough to be Bosses or tough/skilled enough to be Warriors, but with higher station than the poor wretches in the Slave caste.
The lowest of the low in Greenskin society, the down and outs. Those Snotlings and Lesser Goblins not lucky enough to have a large contingency in the tribe often fall into this caste, to be used as footstools and lackeys by their betters. Not a good caste to be born into.