Orcs & Goblins

Orcs are one of the races of Games Workshop's Warhammer Fantasy fictional universe. For general information on the origin of the word "Orc" and Orcs in other fantasy worlds, see: Orc. more...

Characteristics

Orcs aren't very smart, but can be cunning at times. They are extremely warlike and the whole society is geared towards constant warfare. Orcs live for battle and will fight with anything that gets in their way (and quite a lot that doesn't), even other Orcs. This constant need to fight is the expression of Orcish culture, a fact that keeps the orcs from forming anything but temporary alliances with one other. In combat they can transform even the most common object into a lethal killing instrument. Orcs are exaggerated, humorous parodies of the creatures from Norse myth. Some Games Workshop designers claim that orc culture and military tactics are loosely based on Scottish Highlanders.

The Race

The orc race is comprised of a number of distinct subspecies.

1. At the top of the food chain are the orcs themselves. Orcs are large, stooped creatures with long arms and short legs, like gorillas. Huge slabs of muscle move under tough green skin, and their jaws are lined with vicious fangs that jut out from their underbite. They have beady red eyes, and a generally foul demeanour, and are naturally bald. Normally six feet tall, they are up to seven feet tall when stretched out of their characteristic stoop. There are three main breeds: Orcs, Black Orcs and Savage Orcs.
2. Goblins are much smaller and skinnier, with pointed noses. They are more common and smarter than orcs, and prefer stabbing their opponents in the back, shooting them from out of the enemy's reach, or just attacking in massive numbers. They are afraid of elves because they "smell funny." Goblins tend to be bossed around by orcs because of rule by strength, but they can outwit them when trading scavenged goods. There are many varieties; the best known are common goblins, night goblins, and forest goblins, but there are also kobolds (including the fire-breathing variety) and troglagobs (aquatic raiders). In the first edition there were also Red Goblins, famous for riding giant wolves.
3. Snotlings are small and even weedier than goblins. They are even less intelligent than orcs, and can't do much except by imitating their larger cousins. They congregate on the edges of greenskin villages, hunting (and being hunted by) squigs. In battle, they usually gather in large swarms that are too stupid to know when they're beaten. Sometimes they manage to cobble together examples of the infamous snotling pump wagon. It's difficult to tell where a large snotling is different from a small goblin, but orcs don't care; they're all just weedy little "grotz" to be bossed around.
4. Gnoblars were not well known to the Old World until expeditions from the Ogre Kingdoms became commonplace. They serve as pets who are used to scavenge battlefields and carry luggage. Gnoblars are between normal goblins and snotlings in hierarchy.
5. Hobgoblins are a Greenskin race living out on the Eastern Steppes. They are so underhanded that normal Greenskins refuse to have dealings with them. They are used as slave drivers by the Chaos Dwarfs. They are ruled by Khans and fight in huge wolf-mounted hordes.

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