Ruglud's Armoured Orcs

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Ruglud's Armored Orcs are the only known orcish member of the Regiments of Renown in Warhammer Fantasy... sort of. See below. What makes them distinct is not that they wear heavy armor (because Black Orcs have figured out how to do that) but they have taken to the use of the crossbow, and have actually managed to become pretty damn good at shooting stuff! They take their name from the leader, Ruglud Bonechewer, former warlord of the Crooked Eye Tribe. These orcish mercenaries will work for anyone willing to pay them, from their fellow Orcs & Goblins to humans.

Official Fluff

Overview

"Gobbos fer dinner! Gobbos fer tea! Gobbos when u want ‘em! Gobbos for me!" —Battlecry of the Ruglud's Armoured Orcs

Ruglud's Armoured Orcs are a famous band of Dogs of War mercenaries lead by the infamous Warlord, Ruglud Bonechewer. Ruglud is a powerful and wealthy Orc mercenary who sells his services all across the known world, from the treacherous Badlands in the south up through the realm of the Border Princes and throughout the mountains surrounding the Empire.

Rumours suggest that even the Empire itself has hired his services on occasion. Ruthless to the core, Ruglud's only loyalty is to himself and he has been known to change sides during battle if offered more payment and, more importantly, more opportunity to loot and pillage. Over the years the band has equipped itself with a motley assortment of equipment, stripping scraps of armor from countless defeated foes, and always taking the crossbows and bolts that they prize so highly. Though their brethren from the east despise them, and the Dwarfs of the Worlds Edge Mountains hunt them, the Orcish mercenaries under Ruglud Bonechewer have not only survived, but thrived as they roam the lands, offering their services to anyone for the right price, and the opportunity to loot the remains of their slain enemies.

History

Ruglud Bonechewer was once a mighty Warlord of the Crooked Eye Tribe, leading these Greenskins towards countless victories over the course of his reign. Uniting the local tribes surrounding his domains within the Badlands, his army stormed his way through the Grey Mountains and Worlds Edge Mountains and upon the lowlands of the Empire itself. There he staged numerous successful raids upon numerous Dwarf strongholds and Empire towns, as well as upon various Goblin tribes that refused to grovel before him. In time however, Ruglud suffered one devastating defeat many miles to the east of the Old World, and in that defeat he also lost his position as Warlord of the Crooked Eye. Caught in a cunning and well implemented ambush by a powerful Chaos Dwarf slaver party, his tribe were cut down in their hundreds by the withering hail of missile fire that the Chaos Dwarfs sent into their midst. The Orcs returning missile barrage was unsurprisingly inaccurate. The heavy armour worn by the Chaos Dwarfs deflected the few arrows that found their targets.

As Ruglud fled, many of his tribe turned on him, blaming him in typical Orcish manner for the defeat. Ruglud bullied a small group of the Orcs into staying by his side and fled with them to the south, pursued by the arrows and insults of his former tribe. They came across an ancient, seemingly impenetrable stronghold built into the mountainside. It appeared to be deserted, and the superstitious Orcs cowered at the sound of the wind howling over its blackened battlements. As they picked their way around the huge boulders at the base of the stronghold's walls, the smallest member of the group, the runt known only as 'Maggot', tripped and fell. Ruglud blinked in surprise, for the Goblin had disappeared from sight. Moments later, he stuck his head up through a hole in the ground, exclaiming that he had found a tunnel.

The Orcs refused to enter the tunnel, scared of the "bad spirits" that supposedly inhabited the stronghold. Ruglud pushed the Orcs aside roughly, determined to show them that he was not afraid. Besides, he thought, there might be something worth looting inside. Ruglud grabbed Maggot by the scruff of his neck and forced him to walk in front of him, into the low tunnel. They came upon a scene of devastation: the aftermath of a titanic battle in the tunnels and grand halls of what must have been a Dwarf stronghold. Dwarf bodies lay strewn across the floors in unbelievable numbers, and at first it looked to Ruglud as if Dwarf had been fighting Dwarf. As he looked closer at the bodies, he saw that some were the Chaos Dwarfs to whom he had suffered his great defeat.

Bloodied armour and weapons were scattered across the stone floor. At Ruglud's feet lay a Dwarf crossbow, which he absently picked up in one huge hand. His gaze lingered on the weapon as a sizable lump of masonry suddenly fell on his thick head, and a moment of inspiration washed over him. The unexpected thought filled his cunning, Orcish mind: "If ya can't beat em, join 'em!.

He began to strip the armor off the Dwarfs' bodies, haphazardly strapping the plates to his over-sized frame. Climbing unsteadily out of the hole, he stood before his Orc followers who fell back before him. With a strange, determined look in his eyes, he growled at the Orcs: "We'll show 'em how it's done." And so the mercenary band known as Ruglud's Armoured Orcs was formed, the only known band of Orcs to implement the combination of armor and crossbow. They are still disliked and distrusted by other Orc tribes, but their fighting ability is grudgingly accepted. Wherever the band travels, it fights for gold and for food, and for the chance to strip the enemy of anything worth taking.

Other Greenskin Mercs

Whilst Ruglud and his Armoured Orcs are the only Greenskin mercenary unit to survive past 6th edition, they weren't the first of their kind. The original Regiments of Renowned miniatures boxed sets included several other orcish and goblin mercenary units:

• Grom's Goblin Guard, which was made up of orc/goblin hybrids led by the prototype Grom the Paunch, appeared as the 3rd Regiment of Renown boxed set in June 1984.
• Harboth and the Black Mountain Boys, an orcish merc unit, appeared as the 5th Regiment of Renown boxed set in June 1984.
• Mudat's Half-Orc Mercenaries, whose title sums them up, were the 9th Regiment of Renown boxed set and debuted in December 1984.
• 'Battle Chariots of Bogdan the Goblin Warlord, RR101 or BN1 – Goblin Warlord’s Chariot (December 1984).
• RR14 – Notlob’s Orcish Bolt Throwing Engines (January 1985)
• RR15 – Throg’s Hobgoblin Despoilers (April 1985)
• RR18 – Eeza Ugezod’s Mother Crushers (August 1985)

For more info, check out the links below:

• https://awesomeliesblog.wordpress.com/2018/06/20/the-wfrp-story-xii-regiments-of-renown/
• https://awesomeliesblog.wordpress.com/2020/04/09/the-wfrp-story-xxvii-reinforcements-of-renown/