2d4chan - User contributions [en]

Team Fortress 2

2022-09-22T07:21:39Z

2601:188:C300:64B8:6421:EABE:84ED:1FAC: /* Balloon Race */

{{/vg/}}
{{topquote|Welcome to [[Hats|Team Fortress 2]]. After 9 years in development, hopefully it will have been worth the wait. Please let me know what you think after you have a chance to play. I can be reached at gaben@valvesoftware.com, and my favorite class is the Spy|Gabe Newell, back when he was cool}}
{{topquote|Basically, I'm kind of a big deal.|Scout}}

'''Team Fortress 2''' is a class-based team shooter. It is considered a pillar of video gaming and internet culture in general, and its influence over memes and multiplayer culture can be felt over dozens upon dozens of games.

[[File:4B8AF982-AFE4-40FC-8668-3CB77B13A571.jpeg|thumb|right|An Average Payload match.]]

==Relevance to /tg/==
So why is this here? TF2 has certainly left it's mark on video game culture, but this is a wiki for everything related about traditional games. What does TF2 have to do with that?

Simple answer: TF2 is awesome.

A longer answer would be that TF2 is the pinnacle of the class-based shooter genre. No other game in its genre, [[Blizzard|no matter how hard they try,]] has left the sheer footprint in popular culture that TF2 has. It's characters are unique and varied, and are so customizable that it's hard to find two players playing the exact same way in a match. And the characters themselves are extremely memorable in both design and personality. Their voicelines and models have transcended the game they originate from and continue to gather an audience to this very day, even on /tg/.

So yeah, it deserves a page.

Also this.

[[File:Teams and fortresses.jpg|center]]

And this.

[[File:Gargoylesandgravel.jpeg|frame|center]]

Yeah, Heavy is [[That Guy]]

==Gameplay==
The game is a class-based multiplayer first person shooter. The core objective varies a whole lot depending on what mode you're playing, but ultimately, it's always about BLU team attacking RED team, or both attacking each other to get the upperhand over something. Originally, each player used a different class to occupy a different role, but with balance changes and the addition of new weapons, each class ended fitting a specific niche or get specific utilities depending on the scenarios. TF2 isn't a game of rock-paper-scissors [[Blizzard|unlike another certain game]], but it's mostly a game where some classes can do anything with different loadouts and gameplay styles (like fighting games, somewhat), and some others are stronger in specific modes.

==Classes==

===Scout===
{{topquote|Grass grows, sun shines, and brother? I hurt people.|Scout, about what he does best.}}

'''Scout''', also known as '''Jeremy''', '''The Prison dodger''', '''"Hitting your balls" Jeremiah''', '''That damn fucking fly''' or '''Scunt''', is a fast and unapologetically annoying courier who's the fastest dude of the bunch. He hits on women all the time, but he's far from being a womanizer, unlike his father. He's also the most athletic person of the bunch, having the innate ability to ''double-jump'' on top of being the fastest class.

Scout was named and designed off of one of Team Fortress Quakes developers and Internet personality Jerma.

Scout, as a class, specializes in massive close-ranged damage-dealing, capping, movement, and fight-picking. Meaning he's not only getting into fights, he chooses whether or not he duels you. Scout, with his poor health-pool, relies on his speed to dodge projectiles, enemy fire, and corner his adversaries. However, should he get face-to-face with a Heavy good at aiming, a Soldier who gives him a faceful of rockets or a Demoman who knew he was gonna pass-by, Scout is ultimately gonna hurt.

Scout is considered to be a '''Generalist'''. His excellent speed and double-jump allows him to travel maps faster than any other class, and he has tools to greatly enhance his movement. With his ability to pick fights, he can quickly dispose of a distracted enemy with ease, and make the job of his teammates easier. A perfectly balanced class. Except in community maps with all crits and low grav, then he's just pure cancer.

Pros:
* Fast movement speed and double jumping result in some serious mobility. Daring Scouts can even circle-strafe fully-upgraded sentries.
* Dangerous at close range.
* Captures points and payloads at twice the speed of other classes, meaning that well-played Scouts can easily take territory if its poorly-defended.

Cons:
* You're tied with the Engineer, Sniper, and Spy as having the lowest health of all the classes. All it takes is two good hits and you're mulch.
* Your arsenal is only good for close to medium-range combat. At long range? I hope you enjoy pecking at that sentry with that dinky pistol of yours.
* Hard to master. Bad Scouts drop like flies. Good Scouts are a menace to deal with. The path to a being a good Scout is a hard one. As a corollary;
** '''Annoying as shit'''. No matter how skilled you are, the Scout's voice lines will drive you up the wall. Some players will deliberately invoke this with [[Slaanesh|garish clothes and colors]] and spam as many voice commands as they can, specifically to [[Distraction Carnifex|draw attention away from their more durable allies]].

===Soldier===
{{topquote|If God had wanted you to live, he would not have created ME!|Soldier, being objective}}

'''Soldier''', also known as '''Jane Doe''' (yes, he gave himself a female name), '''Merasmus' roommate''', '''The Real American Psycho''', '''Trolldier''', '''Mr. USA''' or '''Solly''' is a psychotic, dumb and bazooka-loving flanderized version of an American soldier. He specializes in rocket-jumping, team-boosting, "moral support" via his backpacks, and air-shotting, and is such a patriot that he went to Europe to kill some anti-American Nazis, continuing his then-uninterrupted slaughter until someone pointed out to him that the current year was 1949. Soldier is delusional and a very sloppy and unreliable narrator. Whether or not he even had comrades helping him during his massive shootout with the Wehrmacht is debatable, and whether or not he knows WHY he's fighting in the Badlands is an overall different question.

As a class, Soldier is a very versatile character with a huge emphasis on damage-dealing, mild-crowd control, movement and team-boosting. Needless to say, he's one of the handiest classes in the entire game, and can deal hefty amounts of damage to the enemy team. He's considered to be a '''''generalist''''' by the competitive community. Being both good at defense and offense makes Soldier an ideal class for the veterans AND the noobs.

Pros:
* Soldier's rocket-launcher allows him to deal a very decent amount of damage and maneuver himself around the map easily.
* Rocket-jumping isn't easy, but with enough practice, it becomes your greatest advantage against anyone.
* While not tanky, you can definitely take a lot of damage before succumbing. Bad Box loadouts (even post-nerf) can extend this even further.
* Your banners make you a valuable asset for your whole team.

Cons:
* You're slow. If it weren't for your rocket-jumping, you'd only naturally outspeed Heavy.
* You are prone to get yourself cornered easily if your team does not support you.
* Because you’re in the frontline the most often, this also means you’ll be facing the enemy’s strongest defenses or accidentally walking into an Engineer’s nest.

===Pyro===
{{topquote|Hmmhmmphfff hmmppphfff hmmmppph!|Pyro}}

'''Pyro''', also known as... '''Pyro''', is a maniacal, psychotic, axe-crazy, flame-loving, man-melting menace who loves everything that burns or can make things burn. He... She... IT probably isn't even a man at all and most likely a monster that uses a fire-hazard suit to guise itself as a man. I mean, one quick look at its cosmetic should tell you everything about Pyro. It has a very specific vision of the world, or well, ITS world, cutely named ''Pyroland''. Some have taken advantaged of their child-like sense of "wonder" (read; morbid curiosity) to employ them into doing various unethical jobs. So far, they're considered to be a wild card by everyone, including their own team. The only three who really appreciate them being Soldier, Engineer and Miss Pauling.

In game, Pyro is a jack of all trades. They specialize in close-range combat, crowd-control, fending off enemies, front-line defense, spy-checking, general assistance and decent damage-dealing. The flamethrower allows them to not only put their opponents aflame, but also to reflect the projectiles of both Soldiers and Demoman, making them a serious menace for the two of them. On top of that, they can undo any sticky-trap, push enemies away or prevent them from progressing, or make Spy's life a living-hell. They're often considered to be Engie's best friend, due to the fact that they possess weapons and tools to help him around with his buildings, most notably the homewrecker which allows them to un-sap buildings.

With all of that said however, Pyro is also one of the most polarizing classes in the game, sharing that reputation with Sniper. This is because of their flamethrower being able to hold ground as long the fire button is held, thus most strategies that worked involved literally holding W and Mouse1 and walking into enemies, seemingly without thought. Good players can counter this playstyle with distance and engineer sentries, and certain classes like Heavy and Soldier are effective at tanking the flamethrower enough to kill your opponent; should the latter use a shotgun to avoid potential bursts.

Pros:
* Jack-of-all-trades class with the basic loadout, so they're not pigeonholed into one duty or another - some loadouts can be more specialized for certain tasks, though, like ambushing or babysitting sentry nests.
* You're a menace to Soldiers and Demoman once you get a handle on airblasting, as this lets you redirect projectiles right back at them or off to the side. Also '''the''' worst nightmare of a Spy, since your flames will set a disguised or cloaked one alight and give the game away to your teammates (who are immune to your friendly fire, so give quick 2-3 second flame to any of them you see).
* Very reliable source of afterburn for the rest of your team, letting you soften up heavier targets and DoT-kill lower health threats. Particularly dangerous if you can get the drop on an opponent, since your constant DPS can chew through their healthbar before they can react.
* One of the more forgiving classes in the game when it comes to mistakes -- you need to reload only on your secondary, you've got decent speed and the third-highest base healthpool, and your weapons are easy to aim and fire.

Cons:
* Very much a short-range class; wide, open areas or long corridors are the bane of your existence due to your flamethrower's person-length range (which becomes even shorter when moving forward due to the flames' behaviour), particularly if there are Snipers in the area.
* Engineer's sentries or Heavy's massive healthpool are both hard counters to Pyro, as they can either tank damage long enough to kill them or beat them in the damage race; the former is best left to your teammates, while the latter should be avoided or ambushed then circle-strafed if possible. More competent Soldiers and Demos can also pose a threat, thanks to explosive splash damage or ill-timed airblasts.
* Something of a skill gated character. Mitigating your weaknesses needs a lot of work-arounds, wisdom, and experience as opposed to swapping to a different class when the going gets tough, and airblasting (your biggest hard counter to Demos, Soldiers, and anyone near a hazard) is somewhat difficult to get a hang of.
* Expect to see a lot of people yelling "W+M1!" at you, with or without justification.

===Demoman===
{{topquote|Oh, they gon' tuh have to glue yue back togetha', IN HELL!|Demoman, after he gibs (You).}}

Hailing from Ullapool, Scotland, '''Demoman''', also known as '''Tavish Degroot''', '''Captain KABEWM''', '''Demopan''', '''Delak's favourite''', '''Average Scrumpy Appreciator''' or simply '''Demo''' is a [[What|Black Scottish Cyclops]]. [[Meme|They got more feckin’ monsters in the Great Loch Ness than they got the likes of him]]. Working four different jobs to support his financially stable and blind mother and treat the many acres of land he owns, Demoman finds joy in pure slaughter, demolition, and demolition accessories. If it wasn't for his raging obession with alcohol, he'd be considered one of the ''"sanest"'' member of Team Fortress. Well, he's a massive workaholic on top of an alcoholic, and he's such of an addict that he turned his whole body into a distillery.

Don't ask him about his haunted eye-socket.

Demoman, as a class, is '''the apex predator of TF2'''. No, this article was not written by a Demomain. We're just not joking. Demoman's role in the team revolves around ''hefty'' damage-dealing, crowd-control and movement. And he's good at all of that. No kidding. He's insanely powerful. And for that reason, he's considered to be a '''generalist'''. All of his grenade launches deal massive damage on a direct hit, more than the soldier’s rocket-launcher. His stickies, when stacked, deal such damage that no one in a 2 meter radius survives.

Well, okay, we're exaggerating a little… In truth, he is a very good trap artist that can control territory better than a Pyro or potentially an Engie by using his stickies to hide secret explosives for enemy trespassers. Not just that, but his grenade launcher’s timed explosives can be used to toss your projectiles with the source engine, potentially [[awesome|killing targets with physics, allowing your grenade to roll under them and explode before they can get out.]]

Pros:
* You're insanely powerful and can insta-kill people with a well placed sticky-trap.
* You're a very versatile class.
* You're able to maneuver yourself around the map very easily.
* Insane crowd-control.
* Can get busted with the right items.

Cons:
* All of your weapons, to the exception of your melees (except one), damage you. Thus, you're effective only at mid-range.
* Grenades and sticky bombs can be reflected or pushed back by Pyros.
* Grenades are affected by gravity and bounce off objects, so mid to long-range combat can be a pain in the ass.

====Demoknight====
{{topquote|There can only be oooooooone!... eye...|Should you hear this in a match, RUN.}}

Should you decide to drop your your stickybomb launcher for a shield (and optionally drop your grenade launcher a pair of boots), you become the '''Demoknight''', arguably the most accomplished of all the sub-classes in this game.

The Demoknight's role revolves around unconventional combat to gain a killstreak through a style of fighting many wouldn’t expect. Using a trusty shield to charge quickly into an enemy while charging your sword for a guaranteed crit, you take the heads of your victims to strengthen you. Other swords will either heal you or increase the duration of your charge. The catch? You’ll be playing a First Person Shooter ''without a gun'', so expect to die. [[rage|A lot.]]

Pros:
* Chaining kills will make you more durable, either by increasing your maximum health (almost to the Heavy's HP) or healing you up.
* You'll be a little faster than a Scout, and that's without taking into account the charges. Complex techniques like trimping can let you get into places most people wouldn't expect.

Cons:
* Again, you have no guns in a first-person shooter. Forgoing the boots in favor of your grenade launcher can help, but you lose the ability to set traps.
* Sentry nests are now the bane of your existence, as are Heavies. You just can't match them in terms of damage output even without the rest of the enemy team being on your ass, so trying to attack one ''will'' get your ass mulched.
* Easily the single most skill-reliant class in the game. Learning when to GTFO, who to avoid, how to trimp, and the terrain of each map (particularly ''where'' to trimp) is utterly critical to using this subclass effectively.

===Heavy===
{{topquote|Some people think they can outsmart me. Maybe… Maybe… I've yet to meet one who can outsmart '''bullet'''.|Heavy reflecting on his percieved lack of brains. Which he doesn't lack at all.}}

'''Heavy''', also known as '''Misha''', '''The Pootis Man''', '''The Baby-Fighter''', '''Mr. "I give my weapons names"''', '''Hoovy''' or '''The entire Russian block''' is a large, build-a-bear, living weapon of mass destructions and an avid sandvich(sic) connoisseur. Hailing from an unknown part of Russia, he at some point earned a PHD in Russian literature, before he got a job as an artillery man to get enough money to feed his family, who were stuck in the mountains chasing bears. GIANT bears. That's the wholesome part of Heavy. The psychotic part of him comes in the form of his ''genuine'' love and care for his guns, which thankfully comes only second to his family. Him and Sasha are considered the face/mascot of TF2 as whole, the two being promoted a lot in ads and official art.

Heavy in game is a slowpoke. He's a ''Tank'' and excels in Defense, mild-support, halting the enemy team, and considerable damage-dealing. With Pyro and Sniper’s Uzi, he shares one of the only automatic weapons in the game, which is the most powerful: The Minigun. A god-send for anyone who knows how to properly rev it up and time his shots. While Heavy uses a shotgun as a secondary, he's also gifted with the third most practical source of health in the entire game: ''The Almighty Sandvich''. He has the most health of the entire bunch, and serves as a literal wall of flesh and guns for anyone who crosses his path.

He has one small issue, though… He is Way. Too. Fat.

Heavy is HUGE. Meaning in a game that rewards good aim, he's massive, moving, shouting target. If a Heavy shows up on his own in the middle of a battle without proper support, he becomes everyone's main priority and dies appropriately seconds later. He's oftentimes the victim of Sniper's headshots, Spy's backstabs, Engie's sentry, Pyro's fire and airblasting, Demo's explosives, Soldier's Direct Hit, and Scout's general mosquito-like attitude. Heavy NEEDS team support to be effective. He can only take care of a target at a time, and requires that the enemy team is distracted enough for them not to take him together. So, ironically, Heavy is arguably one of the most experience reliant classes, despite initially seeming to be a good beginner class. Playing as Heavy really requires you to understand the layout of maps and how to maximize every drop of survivability from pickups. Due to this, a good Heavy can pubstomp casual servers, but he struggles hard in competitive due to him being considered a '''Specialist''', built for long defenses but not as good at pushing.

Pros:
* Fuckhuge health pool, easily the highest in the game when overhealed.
* Strong damage output on the minigun, particularly if you know when to rev it up. If ubercharged, you're a poorly-coordinated defending team's worst nightmare, as you can easily rip through sentry nests for the duration of the uber.
* The Sandvich lets you take a bit of heat off the Medic or keep yourself alive in a pinch.
* Your presence in a fight can take the heat away from other friendly combat classes.

Cons:
* You're a big target, so expect everyone to be gunning for you when you show up. You ''will'' need a Medic at your back and maybe a couple others flanking you if you don't want to be shanked, sniped, or shoved via explosion/airblast to your doom.
* You're slow, so expect to lag behind the team on assaults.
* Your main gun needs to rev up before firing, so sudden enemy ambushes can tear through your health before you can react. God help you if a Backburner Pyro or regular Spy gets the drop on your ass.

===Engineer===
{{topquote|Don't worry boys, the Engineer is engihere!|Engineer, being Engineer.}}

'''The Engineer''', also known as '''Dell Conagher''', '''Sentry Man''', '''Mr. Brains over Brawns''' or '''Engie''' is a formidable technician hailing from Texas, and descendant of long running line of inventors and craftmen. Matter of fact, if it weren't for his ancestors, nothing of what happens in TF2 would have happened at all! With twelves P.H.Ds under his belt, Engineer created three of the most practical things a human could possibly dream of; a teleporting device, an ammo and health dispenser, but most importantly, the man-shredding sentry. Thankfully he’s also a very stable individual with a ”Go Get ‘Em” attitude that you can’t help but smile at.

As a class, Engineer is... Well...''Peculiar''.. His role is fairly unique. Unlike his peers, Engineers mostly focuses around creating a solid front-line and install Areas of Denial anywhere he goes! His "versatility" as a class comes to how you decide to use his tools. Engie's role practically revolves around creating spaces for his teammates to restock and re-engage, provide a way to reach the ever-moving frontline quickly, or halt the progression of the enemy team.

In the community, Engineer is seen as a fantastic dwarf. Let's just say that he's so bizarre as a class in an FPS that pretty much everyone agrees he's good in Casual or Highlander. Engimains get absolutely demolished in competitive. This is because the he's so dependent on his buildings that it becomes harder for him to be of any use without them. On top of that, most of his buildings take time to... Well, build. And in many cases, they won't serve a useful purpose to your team at all. With half of the cast being able to zoom to the other end of the map hastily and ammo being more bountiful with more players, Engie's buildings aren't as necessary before. In a casual try-hard setting however, they are ''kings''... Or so some would let you think. Engie depends a lot on the very people he supports, with a solid team, good resource management, great positioning and excellent decision making; Engineer makes for a powerful ally.

Pros:
* Your buildings can solidify the frontline.
* With good management, Engineer becomes better.
* You have decent offensive options.
* THE WRANGLER; you protect your sentry with a defensive bubble and allows you to control the sentry’s aim with manual control.
* You get the most out of any support you get AND provide.
* Your Sentry at level 3 can be a mighty force of reckoning for most classes. Dedication is needed to take one out, as well as exploitation.

Cons:
* Two classes are designed specifically to hunt you down. That won’t stop everyone else from trying to destroy your sentry nest.
* Not for the faint of heart. Prepare to panic a whole lot when '''ANYTHING''' happens to your buildings.
* You don't have a lot of movement options except for the Eureka Effect and Wrangler-Jumping (which takes time)
* You can be very vulnerable without your sentry.
* You're not very likely to fit in competitive.
* '''NEED A DISPENSER HERE!'''

====Battle-Engie====
{{topquote|Sometimes, you just need a little less gun.|[[Orks|<span style='color:green;font-size:100%'>'''DATS A ZOGGING LIE'''</span>]]}}

So what happens when someone decides that it’s not worth defending their team? What if you want to say “Fuck it. I have a shotgun!”? Well, enter the '''Battle Engineer.''' By trading your right arm for a robotic Gunslinger, you turn your previously upgradeable sentry into a quickly-deployable mini sentry with enough metal to create a second one immediately after the first one is destroyed. With your plethora of shotguns that can either promote sentry kills like the Frontier Justice, or good aim like the WidowMaker. In addition, you get an additional +25 health for some added tankiness.

Pros:
* You can be very annoying like a Scout with your mini sentry shooting in conjunction with you.
* The Shotgun is a very powerful weapon in the right hands, with the burst fire dealing good damage up close to an enemy and a plethora of options to choose from.
* Engineer still has access to his Dispenser and Teleporter, all of which are still very valued to the team.

Cons:
* You do not have a lot of health, even with the Gunslinger’s 25+.
* The minisentry isn’t as strong as a level 1; maybe more fragile. It will break a lot.
* You give up a lot of defensive capability and territory control to play like a slower, less agile Scout.
* Sometimes, less gun will get you killed.

===Medic===
{{topquote|That... was doctor-assisted homicide!|Medic, recommending you to play Battle-Medic, which you shouldn't do.}}
'''The Medic''', also known as '''Dr. Ludwig''' or '''DOKTOR''', is a medical student from Stuttgart, Germany during a period when the Hippocratic Oath was more of a "Hippocratic Suggestion". Considering the setting, it's been heavily implied that he might have been an actual [[Nazi]] (though officially he has never associated with them, partly because it was too easy of a joke). In any case, a doctor with a callous disregard of life is exactly what you'll be wanting as the Medic will often be tagging alongside other characters, dispensing healing when needed like the [[Healslut|healbot]] he is.

Mechanically, there's likely one thing the Medic will be stuck on more than anything else: The Medigun. A singular beam of continuous healing energy, this not only helps restore health to wounded allies, but also provides a temporary measure of overhealing for a buffer of protection from more serious attacks. Healing also gives charge to a secondary feature to the Medigun called the Ubercharge. The original Medigun's Ubercharge gives both the Medic and his patient temporary invincibility, but there are alternatives that provide different boosts. As for the other guns, the Syringe Gun and the Bonesaw, don't focus on them unless you're planning on using them to supplement the Ubercharge.

Of course, Medics are a necessary fixture in the game's meta as he is the most reliable means of healing in a game made well before automatic healing was even considered mandatory. Your healing will be in such high demand that you'll find yourself needing to prioritize who should be healed more and especially who's more deserving of the Ubercharge. This is also the ultimate weakness of the Medic, as he is a dedicated healer and won't be of much use without someone to fight for him. Sure, there's other guns and a natural healing factor because healer, but that won't stop a Sniper from turning that head into a pulpy red mess.

Pros:
*Mediguns give your team the single most consistent source of healing in the game, so you can keep people alive on maps/modes with 20-second respawn times.
*Can be the deciding factor in whether your side wins or loses a match, since you can keep great players alive or pop an ubercharge to help your team break through a particularly strong defence.
*Grab an Ubersaw and a Crusader's Crossbow, and become God. The former gives you 25% Uber on hit while the latter extends Medic's healing range greatly and lets you punch back surprisingly hard, at the cost of having to deal with ammo and arcing projectiles.

Cons:
*Being a high value target with useful support abilities, Medics will always be a priority target for the opposing team, especially Spies. Entire matches can be decided on a well-timed Ubercharge, and a single Medic can mean the difference between surviving for the next push or waiting 20 seconds to respawn.
*<s>Medics are not built for fighting.</s> Ubersaw: <span style='color:green;font-size:100%'><big>'''CRIT 195'''</big></span>. In all seriousness, while the Medic ''can'' dish out a surprising amount of damage, he is '''not''' meant to go in guns blazing.
*Expect to get sick of people screaming <big>'''"MEDIC!"'''</big> after the first few games.
*Playing Medic is a thankless job. No one really looks out for you, but they expect you to keep them alive through anything and everything, and then blame you for their death because they fucked up when you ubered them or because they left you high and dry then got killed the moment you weren't healing them.

===Sniper===
{{topquote|Sniping’s a good job mate. It's challengin' work, outta doors, and a guarantee you won't go hungry.|Sniper, on his job.}}

Hailing from the mythic land of New Zealand before being sent to Australia to be raised by farmers, '''Mr Mundy''' fancies himself a professional assassin and a polite bloke you can have a cold one with. His job ensures a meal and a gun, as he travels alone in his camper van to his next destination. This makes him somewhat less of a team member in this game as most Snipers players will be on their own, picking targets off the enemy team while avoiding the same fate themselves. Their trusty Sniper Rifle gives the player the ability to automatically Krit upon a headshot; dealing 3x the damage. Combine this with the fact that your rifle charges its shot while scoped in, means you can deal 450 damage to anyone on a Headshot! No Medic is going to save you from that!

Not only is our ol’ sniper equipped with his trusty gun, but he has several pitch weapons to deal with anyone cocky enough to take you on. Your trusty kukri knife will make sliced beef out of any spy while the [[/d/|Jarate covers your foes in your piss, dealing minikrits on all damage for a limited time.]] You can even give up your gun/jar for a little shield that can protect you from Spies(Razorback), Pyros(Darwin’s Danger Shield), or allaround damage(Cozy Camper).

Pros:
* With good skill, you can pinpoint kill any threat to your team from a distance. The enemy has to respect YOUR line of sight, lest they are forced to wait another 20 seconds. This includes overhealed Heavies, Rocket-Jumping Soldiers, Medics ready to charge, and even catch demomen or engineers off guard with a good angle.
* Your plethora of options means you can play with or without headshotting style. The Huntsman gets rid of the long range in favor of a more combative playstyle!
* As long as you can get a headshot from a scope, you can do it in close range as well!

Cons:
* You have low HP like the Scout and the Engineer. You will get killed if a soldier or demoman decide to take their battle up close and personal.
* You are a magnet to every sniper and spy in the game. All Snipers are your rival, and never forget that; also remember to watch your back, as Spies love delivering a dose of surprise buttsecks into your vulnerable rear.
* Sometimes hits just won’t register right, or register in your favor. This is an old game, so expect some hitboxes to weirdly work or not.
* Expect to be spammed by bot snipers spinning out of control more often than not.

===Spy===
{{topquote|Well? Off to visit your mother!|Spy, being French.}}
'''The Spy'''; also known as '''Frenchie''', '''Turncoat''', an '''Alley-Skulkin’ Backstabber''', '''SPAH''', a '''Shape-Shiftin’ Rat''', a '''''Handsome Rogue''''' or '''Spycrab''', is a French enigma, constantly hiding behind a suit and balaclava. Nobody knows what he is or who he is loyal to, as he is trained to play both sides of any conflict at a moment's notice. Even worse is that he has a special disguise kit in the form of a cigarette case, equipped with masks that let him [[The Changeling|shapeshift into the form of anyone else, be they friend or foe]], nurturing very (un)healthy bouts of paranoia.

As a class, the Spy is very dependent on execution, needing to get in close for the kill. The only gun he has is a revolver, while perfectly accurate, is slow to fire accurately. Similarly, his butterfly knife isn't very strong but it has the unique trait of backstabbing, allowing a spy to instantly kill anyone he hits from behind. To actually get within killing range, you'll need the tools: The aforementioned disguise kit allows a Spy to transform into anyone else he can wish, as the watch can render the Spy invisible for a moment of time but runs on a limited battery, and the sapper gives a way to automatically sabotage and destroy an enemy Engineer's contraptions.

Among all the classes, the Spy is considered divisive depending on how good one can get playing him. On one hand, he's very flimsy and not very capable at fighting with only a revolver and knife, and those who know about what a Spy can do will know how to spot one and will punish him once spotted. On the other hand, those abovementioned tools give him plenty of ways to harass and distract an enemy in unexpected ways, perhaps playing in ways that leave one to ask if he was actually taken out. Whether the spy is good or bad, you’ll always be watching your back once you know he’s around…

Pros:
* When a Spy scores a backstab, most things don't get back up from it.
* Disguises and invisibility are perfect for playing mind games with the enemy.
* Sappers are tailor-made for messing with Engineers; most of them will bolt straight to their buildings when a sapper goes on, leaving them wide open for a cheeky backstab if no-one else is around.
* By exploiting an extension of a player model’s back, you can perform “Trickstabs” to kill opponents through your agility and cunning.
* Ultimately, playing a Spy perfectly makes you look like a goddamn master chess player.
*Similarly (But better at this) to Sniper and Heavy (With a Medic), a good Spy rules the game by his presence alone, making sure that his enemies are always on the lookout.

Cons
* Spies' health is shit and their direct damage dealing capabilities are only slightly better than a [[meme|literal butter knife]]. If you're caught, you'd better have a good plan.
* Your many tools can be easily foiled by a few easy ways that most people can tell and prepare for. Pyros in particular are good at this, as their anti-sapper tools and flamethrowers make them your worst fucking nightmare.
* While Spies do have plenty of gear slots, only two of them are actual weapons.
* The learning curve between understanding the tools and the enemy team will mean that bad plays will reward you with frequent deaths.

===Civilian===
{{topquote|If you win this match, I'll give you a share in my oil company! A small one, mind you.|John D. Rockefel- Civilian.}}

Well okay, he's isn't "canon" to TF2. But if Valve finally decided to do something about '''TF2 Classic''', he might as well be! The '''Civilian''' is a british V.I.P. and a very wealthy C.E.O. of a multitude of companies across the globe. Unlike many of his peers (or, maybe just like his peers), he absolutely adores bloodsports, oftentimes commenting matches of mercenaries and other assassins killing each other for money. He's also fat, weak and defenseless, only being able to give "moral boosting" to those around him.

The Civilian is the star of the scrapped VIP mode, rendered only playable by the mega-project that is TF2 Classic. As a class he can't do much but give a small mini-crit and speed boost to those he points at. He can also defend himself with his umbrella, but he's as effective in melee-combat as a T'au. His role essentially boils down to being a living, breathing and intelligent payload controlled by a player. He's the only capable of capping certain points and he does so at a relatively fast pace. However, the entire team must baby-sit him into not getting killed.

Pros:
* You're rich.
* The boosts.
* You're quite fast.
* You're good at capping.

Cons:
* The entire team must carry you to victory.
* You're extremely vulnerable.

===Mercenary===
{{topquote|Alright, who's the wise guy who just signed his own death warrant!?|The man born to be wild.}}

Although primarily featured in the fan-game of the fan-game of the game, the '''Mercenary''', also known as '''Merc''', is the star of '''Open Fortress''' and could very well be featured in '''TF2 Classic'''. The Merc is as much of a mystery as spy, as neither his name, age, origin or even motive is known. What we do know of him is that he's a massive movie nerd, oftentimes quoting his favorite films when fragging people, and usually likes acting like hot shit. He's also the only class you can play (usually) in the Quake-style deathmatch mode of the game.

As a class, the Mercenary would be considered to be a '''generalist'''. Having access to tons of different guns and having the innate ability to naturally bunny-hop throughout the map without having to deal with TF2's inner code "preventing" such exploits. In Classic Mode, the Merc is either equipped with a tommy-gun or a shotgun. He uses a revolver for a secondary, and a crowbar for a melee. He's... Very average. As in, he doesn't strike as a unique class among the others. With that being said however, his b-hopping abilities make him a very viable asset to his team. The only thing preventing him from dominating the other enemy team being the map he's on, or sentry nests.

Of course, him being the sole character playable in regular deathmatch, he's just average. He can gather "pills" that greatly enhance his healthpool and his overheal takes more time to drain. He isn't great or bad in this mode, he's just what everyone uses. All of his weapons are especially busted, and some are variations of existing ones used by other classes. For example, he can use a rocket-launcher with enhanced practically in regards to rocket-jumping, a railgun that doubles itself as either a sniper rifle or a regular one-shotting railgun, a minigun that takes less time to rev up, a SUPER SHOTGUN, a double-barreled with a hook to catch other players, etc. etc.

Pros:
* You're average in every concievable way, but you're very versatile.
* BUILT-IN, ENHANCED, SUPPORTED B-HOPPING. This will allow you to speedrun your way throughout entire maps without the use of any weapons, making you just as fast (if not faster) than a Scout.
* Your overheal drains out slower than normal.
* You have access to a plethora of weapons, some of which are overhauled weapons of other classes specifically redesigned for you...

Cons:
*... but they're only available in Deathmatch.
* Well, in general, Deathmatch is the only mode in which the Merc truly shines. Mostly because he's the only one featured.

==Gamemodes==
Team Fortress 2 has four main gamemodes (Payload, King of the Hill, Control Points, Capture the Flag), each of which is a team-based objective centered around capturing points or advancing through a map. This also applies to the alternate gamemodes, of which there are several.

===Payload===

There's a big fucking bomb on rails and a big fucking bomb slot in the middle of RED's base. BLU wants to get the bomb there and shove it into their hole, RED wants to avoid getting that bomb jammed up their ass. The attacking team has to cluster around the bomb to 'push' it forward and capture multiple control points, with the exact speed at which it moves varying depending on the number of people riding the cart. If the cart isn’t pushed for a while, it will move backwards to the last captured point. If it’s on a slope when it’s not being pushed, then gravity does it for you.

Some maps like Goldrush, Hoodoo, or Thunder Mountain will span 3 stages across a single large map, while others like Badwater Basin, Frontier, or Upward will be one long map with multiple points. Frontier gets a special mention because its payload is a train with a set of teeth at the front called Li’l Chew Chew that you sent to blow up in Red’s Base.

====Payload Race====
Payload, but there's two holes and RED also has a payload to push. The first one to get their payload to its detonation point wins the game, so expect to see everyone running off to impede their enemy's payload while the cart sits on its own. Most games played will take place in '''High Tower,''' which is considered one of the more fun maps by the community’s standpoint.

===King of the Hill===
There's a single control point in the middle of the map. Both teams have a 3:00 minute timer that only decreases when they own the point; whoever holds the point when their clock hits zero wins.

===Control Point (A.K.A.: 5CP) ===
Both teams fight over the same 5 control points in a single map, with the victor being declared by who captured all of them in a game. 2 points will lead to each team’s base while the final one is dead center for everyone to fight over. Typically these games are symmetrical for both sides as players need to know when to start grabbing points, or defending a contested one. The more captured points a team has, the faster they can take the next one. Playing a Scout or a soldier/demoman with a Pain Train equipped will count as 2 players capturing, allowing for quicker captures and risky plays. While most games have 5 control points, Powerhouse may be the only map to have 3 points instead.

====Attack/Defend====
Both teams take turns playing the role of Attacker (BLU) and Defender (RED). The objective of the game is to defend all of the Control Points from BLU before they can occupy the point long enough to declare their capture. Once both teams have taken their turn, the winner is declared based on the points you captured before loading into a similar map to do it again.

The first and final control point will always be near the spawn of the BLU and RED teams, respectively. The reason behind this is pretty simple: the terrain initially plays heavily to RED's advantage by giving them all the higher ground and defensive positions to camp their sentries. (Dustbowl phase two, for example, lets RED re-enact the D-Day landings on BLU, as they have to run up a slope and over an open plain of ground or through a tight chokepoint in order to come close to the CP.) BLU players must fight back against all odds before the favour becomes in theirs, with the final point almost always being RED's last stand.

Some games will have just one set of points in a large map to capture (Steel, Gravel Pit, Gorge, etc.) while others take place over a set of 3 parts (Egypt, Dustbowl, Erebus, etc). There is also a medieval version that removes most guns (spare the primitive ranged weaponry like crossbows or bows and arrows) in favor of storming a castle with your melee.

====Arena====

Arena is a combat-oriented gamemode where both teams fight to the death, with a single capture point that has to be taken to also win the game. The catch is that it only unlocks after one minute and anyone dead is left to spectate until the game ends. This is for the players who want a more tactical, teamwork-focused version of KOTH/CP with rules similar to Counter Strike, another game by Valve.

This is also used in various community mods; like one where Blu team is a single player controlling a powerful opponent like Saxton Hale, and the Red team has to work together to defeat him before they’re all killed. There is also one where everyone is a spy looking for a murderer in the midst, or the mod where one team is a bunch of harmless props that have to hide from a team of hunters in a version of hide n seek.

===Capture the Flag===

The enemy team has a briefcase full of intel in their base. Your job is to get that fucking briefcase, then haul it back to your base and deposit it in your intel room while the other team simultaneously tries to take yours. If you can't get it back in time, it returns to the original base. First team to three captures wins.

While it's a good gamemode overall, the most popular of the maps (2Fort) is also kinda notorious among hardcore players for hours-long, bloody stalemates and causing new players to embrace the worst parts of their class (Snipers camping battlements, Engineers setting up nests and never moving from them, etc.) There's also no protection against outright spawncamping of the "Station a Heavy and three sentry guns outside the only door" kind on many of the CtF maps, so you'd better hope [[That Guy]] isn't on your enemies' side.

===PASS Time===

[[What|Football, hockey, and basketball meet bloodsports.]] You're meant to carry a ball known as the JACK across the map and score at the opposing goal, but barely anyone plays this fucking thing.

===Medieval Mode===
You ever wanted to know what it'd be like if TF2 was a medieval fantasy rather than a hat collection simulator? If you do, welcome to Medieval Mode and its attendant map, Degroot Keep. The basic gimmick is that the classes aren't allowed any 'modern' tech, only 'medieval' stuff like melee weapons, crossbows, or shields; the attackers also have near-instant respawn to compensate for the defenders' heavy terrain advantage. One side has to attack and capture two control points to the side of the big ol' castle, then get past the main gate to capture the last central control point in the castle's keep itself. If they can take this last point within 60 seconds, the attackers win; if not, the gate closes and they have to recapture the other two points before trying again.

Thanks to the above restrictions, this means it's an absolute paradise for Demoknights, Spies, and Huntsman-equipped Snipers, with plenty of [[Rip and Tear]] to go around on all fronts; it's also probably where you'll pull off your first trimp-jump, thanks to the rocks there being designed specifically to facilitate long charge-jumps up onto the walls. The final control point in particular is a great place to experience what being a [[Khorne Berzerkers|Khornate Berserker]] is like up close and personal, as it inevitably devolves into a mosh pit whenever the gate opens up.

===Mann vs. Machine===

The only proper "Cooperative" mode, in which a team of six players is pitted against several waves of AI-controlled robots. The bots want to try and bring a bomb across the map to the CP you're defending; defeating them makes them drop cash, which can then be used to upgrade your abilities and weapons. You also have to fight powerful "Boss" robots with unique and sometimes OP gimmicks at the end and sometimes the midpoint of a wave, meaning that team cohesion and good loadouts are crucial to this mode.

This mode also has a rather different meta to the main game due to the upgrades system and enemies, with otherwise fairly mediocre weapons becoming robot-mulching superweapons and the potential for every class to play its part (though Engineers and Mad Milk Scouts are pretty much auto-includes). Completing the (paid) Tours of Duty also ensure you get a random Strange-quality "Botkiller" stock weapon, with a very small chance for the coveted Australium weapons to drop from the highest-difficulty campaigns.

===Miscellaneous===
These poor bastards are the game modes that never really got out of beta or just aren't popular enough to justify their own options on the gamemode choice menu.

====Special Delivery====

Capture the Flag meets Payload. BLU needs to capture a neutral briefcase and drag it to a control point on a platform, which will slowly rise to the top of a rocket. If it reaches the top and the rocket launches, BLU win; if the timer runs out without the platform reaching the rocket's top, RED wins.

====Territorial Control====

The much-maligned meeting of Control Point, Attack/Defend, and KOTH, Territory Control's gimmick is that the game takes place in several different "territories" of a map known as Hydro. Each territory has only one control point, and capturing it captures the territory. Once a territory is capped, the map's layout is changed slightly (so unlike Dustbowl, you won't be fighting in the same order of environments every match) and the fight moves on to the next territory. Rinse and repeat until the final point is captured by BLU or a successful defence is made by RED.

Despite being a pretty cool concept and one of the first six maps ''ever'', a mixture of badly-explained rules, confusing layouts that led to rounds becoming steamrolls or stalemates (seriously, people got lost here even after the devs put in labelled signs; it was entirely possible to find and cap the point ''by accident'' in seconds of the round start), and the Control Points gamemode being "Territory Control, but without the flaws and more maps to play" pretty much resulted in Hydro being abandoned by developer and player alike mere months into TF2's launch, beyond the rare achievement hunter or curious player. An ironic fate, for a gamemode intended to be infinitely replayable by the devs.

====Player Destruction====

Kill people and pick up the gubbinz they drop, then drop these gubbinz in a central collection point. Which the other side also uses, so be ready to get killed mid-deposit and have your points stolen.

====Robot Destruction====

Basically Player Destruction, but with NPC robots and the chance to steal briefcases containing enemy points. Can you tell why these never really caught on yet?

====Zombie Fortress====
A zombie-survival fan mode where players try to run away through a map whilst other players are zombies and try to kill them. Those killed join the Zombie team and try to kill their former teammates.

====Balloon Race====
A fan variation map for capture the flag featuring two flying ships with hot air balloons, similar to the ones the Horde used between Orgrimmar and Undercity in World of Warcraft. The players shoot at each other whilst riding the balloons, and try to capture the flag at specific stops.

====Deathrun====
A fan gamemode where players try to rush through a death course with only one life, while a single member of the opposite team controls traps throughout the course.

====Slender Fortress====
A fan gamemode where the living team is in a Multi-player version of Slender, with multiple monsters from either other franchises or tailor-made for Slender Fortress controlled by AI hunts them. Those who are killed can watch as ghosts to try and help the living, or go to the opposite team in a separate area that's supposed to be a safe place near where the monster lurks.

==Wargame/RPG Ideas==
While no such Team Fortress RPG or Wargame exists, there have been many unfinished fan attempts and ideas, and generally the idea of a 9v9 TF2 skirmish game in the vein of [[Kill Team (Specialist Game)|Kill Team ]] would certainly be fun.

[[File:C6840E80-86EA-484C-8F33-31E93737FC74.jpg|400px|thumb|left|Ork Kill Team discovers and copies ancient Terran wargame ]]

Team Fortress 2

2022-09-22T02:23:49Z

2601:188:C300:64B8:6421:EABE:84ED:1FAC: /* Robot Destruction */

{{/vg/}}
{{topquote|Welcome to [[Hats|Team Fortress 2]]. After 9 years in development, hopefully it will have been worth the wait. Please let me know what you think after you have a chance to play. I can be reached at gaben@valvesoftware.com, and my favorite class is the Spy|Gabe Newell, back when he was cool}}
{{topquote|Basically, I'm kind of a big deal.|Scout}}

'''Team Fortress 2''' is a class-based team shooter. It is considered a pillar of video gaming and internet culture in general, and its influence over memes and multiplayer culture can be felt over dozens upon dozens of games.

==Relevance to /tg/==
So why is this here? TF2 has certainly left it's mark on video game culture, but this is a wiki for everything related about traditional games. What does TF2 have to do with that?

Simple answer: TF2 is awesome.

A longer answer would be that TF2 is the pinnacle of the class-based shooter genre. No other game in its genre, [[Blizzard|no matter how hard they try,]] has left the sheer footprint in popular culture that TF2 has. It's characters are unique and varied, and are so customizable that it's hard to find two players playing the exact same way in a match. And the characters themselves are extremely memorable in both design and personality. Their voicelines and models have transcended the game they originate from and continue to gather an audience to this very day, even on /tg/.

So yeah, it deserves a page.

Also this.

[[File:Teams and fortresses.jpg|center]]

==Gameplay==
The game is a class-based multiplayer first person shooter. The core objective varies a whole lot depending on what mode you're playing, but ultimately, it's always about BLU team attacking RED team, or both attacking each other to get the upperhand over something. Originally, each player used a different class to occupy a different role, but with balance changes and the addition of new weapons, each class ended fitting a specific niche or get specific utilities depending on the scenarios. TF2 isn't a game of rock-paper-scissors [[Blizzard|unlike another certain game]], but it's mostly a game where some classes can do anything with different loadouts and gameplay styles (like fighting games, somewhat), and some others are stronger in specific modes.

==Classes==

===Scout===
{{topquote|Grass grows, sun shines, and brother? I hurt people.|Scout, about what he does best.}}

'''Scout''', also known as '''Jeremy''', '''The Prison dodger''', '''"Hitting your balls" Jeremiah''', '''That damn fucking fly''' or '''Scunt''', is a fast and unapologetically annoying courier who's the fastest dude of the bunch. He hits on women all the time, but he's far from being a womanizer, unlike his father. He's also the most athletic person of the bunch, having the innate ability to ''double-jump'' on top of being the fastest class.

Scout was named and designed off of one of Team Fortress Quakes developers and Internet personality Jerma.

Scout, as a class, specializes in massive close-ranged damage-dealing, capping, movement, and fight-picking. Meaning he's not only getting into fights, he chooses whether or not he duels you. Scout, with his poor health-pool, relies on his speed to dodge projectiles, enemy fire, and corner his adversaries. However, should he get face-to-face with a Heavy good at aiming, a Soldier who gives him a faceful of rockets or a Demoman who knew he was gonna pass-by, Scout is ultimately gonna hurt.

Scout is considered to be a '''Generalist'''. His excellent speed and double-jump allows him to travel maps faster than any other class, and he has tools to greatly enhance his movement. With his ability to pick fights, he can quickly dispose of a distracted enemy with ease, and make the job of his teammates easier. A perfectly balanced class. Except in community maps with all crits and low grav, then he's just pure cancer.

Pros:
* Fast movement speed and double jumping result in some serious mobility. Daring Scouts can even circle-strafe fully-upgraded sentries.
* Dangerous at close range.
* Captures points and payloads at twice the speed of other classes, meaning that well-played Scouts can easily take territory if its poorly-defended.

Cons:
* You're tied with the Engineer, Sniper, and Spy as having the lowest health of all the classes. All it takes is two good hits and you're mulch.
* Your arsenal is only good for close to medium-range combat. At long range? I hope you enjoy pecking at that sentry with that dinky pistol of yours.
* Hard to master. Bad Scouts drop like flies. Good Scouts are a menace to deal with. The path to a being a good Scout is a hard one. As a corollary;
** '''Annoying as shit'''. No matter how skilled you are, the Scout's voice lines will drive you up the wall. Some players will deliberately invoke this with [[Slaanesh|garish clothes and colors]] and spam as many voice commands as they can, specifically to [[Distraction Carnifex|draw attention away from their more durable allies]].

===Soldier===
{{topquote|If God had wanted you to live, he would not have created ME!|Soldier, being objective}}

'''Soldier''', also known as '''Jane Doe''' (yes, he gave himself a female name), '''Merasmus' roommate''', '''The Real American Psycho''', '''Trolldier''', '''Mr. USA''' or '''Solly''' is a psychotic, dumb and bazooka-loving flanderized version of an American soldier. He specializes in rocket-jumping, team-boosting, "moral support" via his backpacks, and air-shotting, and is such a patriot that he went to Europe to kill some anti-American Nazis, continuing his then-uninterrupted slaughter until someone pointed out to him that the current year was 1949. Soldier is delusional and a very sloppy and unreliable narrator. Whether or not he even had comrades helping him during his massive shootout with the Wehrmacht is debatable, and whether or not he knows WHY he's fighting in the Badlands is an overall different question.

As a class, Soldier is a very versatile character with a huge emphasis on damage-dealing, mild-crowd control, movement and team-boosting. Needless to say, he's one of the handiest classes in the entire game, and can deal hefty amounts of damage to the enemy team. He's considered to be a '''''generalist''''' by the competitive community. Being both good at defense and offense makes Soldier an ideal class for the veterans AND the noobs.

Pros:
* Soldier's rocket-launcher allows him to deal a very decent amount of damage and maneuver himself around the map easily.
* Rocket-jumping isn't easy, but with enough practice, it becomes your greatest advantage against anyone.
* While not tanky, you can definitely take a lot of damage before succumbing. Bad Box loadouts (even post-nerf) can extend this even further.
* Your banners make you a valuable asset for your whole team.

Cons:
* You're slow. If it weren't for your rocket-jumping, you'd only naturally outspeed Heavy.
* You are prone to get yourself cornered easily if your team does not support you.
* Because you’re in the frontline the most often, this also means you’ll be facing the enemy’s strongest defenses or accidentally walking into an Engineer’s nest.

===Pyro===
{{topquote|Hmmhmmphfff hmmppphfff hmmmppph!|Pyro}}

'''Pyro''', also known as... '''Pyro''', is a maniacal, psychotic, axe-crazy, flame-loving, man-melting menace who loves everything that burns or can make things burn. He... She... IT probably isn't even a man at all and most likely a monster that uses a fire-hazard suit to guise itself as a man. I mean, one quick look at its cosmetic should tell you everything about Pyro. It has a very specific vision of the world, or well, ITS world, cutely named ''Pyroland''. Some have taken advantaged of their child-like sense of "wonder" (read; morbid curiosity) to employ them into doing various unethical jobs. So far, they're considered to be a wild card by everyone, including their own team. The only three who really appreciate them being Soldier, Engineer and Miss Pauling.

In game, Pyro is a jack of all trades. They specialize in close-range combat, crowd-control, fending off enemies, front-line defense, spy-checking, general assistance and decent damage-dealing. The flamethrower allows them to not only put their opponents aflame, but also to reflect the projectiles of both Soldiers and Demoman, making them a serious menace for the two of them. On top of that, they can undo any sticky-trap, push enemies away or prevent them from progressing, or make Spy's life a living-hell. They're often considered to be Engie's best friend, due to the fact that they possess weapons and tools to help him around with his buildings, most notably the homewrecker which allows them to un-sap buildings.

With all of that said however, Pyro is also one of the most polarizing classes in the game, sharing that reputation with Sniper. This is because of their flamethrower being able to hold ground as long the fire button is held, thus most strategies that worked involved literally holding W and Mouse1 and walking into enemies, seemingly without thought. Good players can counter this playstyle with distance and engineer sentries, and certain classes like Heavy and Soldier are effective at tanking the flamethrower enough to kill your opponent; should the latter use a shotgun to avoid potential bursts.

Pros:
* Jack-of-all-trades class with the basic loadout, so they're not pigeonholed into one duty or another - some loadouts can be more specialized for certain tasks, though, like ambushing or babysitting sentry nests.
* You're a menace to Soldiers and Demoman once you get a handle on airblasting, as this lets you redirect projectiles right back at them or off to the side. Also '''the''' worst nightmare of a Spy, since your flames will set a disguised or cloaked one alight and give the game away to your teammates (who are immune to your friendly fire, so give quick 2-3 second flame to any of them you see).
* Very reliable source of afterburn for the rest of your team, letting you soften up heavier targets and DoT-kill lower health threats. Particularly dangerous if you can get the drop on an opponent, since your constant DPS can chew through their healthbar before they can react.
* One of the more forgiving classes in the game when it comes to mistakes -- you need to reload only on your secondary, you've got decent speed and the third-highest base healthpool, and your weapons are easy to aim and fire.

Cons:
* Very much a short-range class; wide, open areas or long corridors are the bane of your existence due to your flamethrower's person-length range (which becomes even shorter when moving forward due to the flames' behaviour), particularly if there are Snipers in the area.
* Engineer's sentries or Heavy's massive healthpool are both hard counters to Pyro, as they can either tank damage long enough to kill them or beat them in the damage race; the former is best left to your teammates, while the latter should be avoided or ambushed then circle-strafed if possible. More competent Soldiers and Demos can also pose a threat, thanks to explosive splash damage or ill-timed airblasts.
* Something of a skill gated character. Mitigating your weaknesses needs a lot of work-arounds, wisdom, and experience as opposed to swapping to a different class when the going gets tough, and airblasting (your biggest hard counter to Demos, Soldiers, and anyone near a hazard) is somewhat difficult to get a hang of.
* Expect to see a lot of people yelling "W+M1!" at you, with or without justification.

===Demoman===
{{topquote|Oh, they gon' tuh have to glue yue back togetha', IN HELL!|Demoman, after he gibs (You).}}

Hailing from Ullapool, Scotland, '''Demoman''', also known as '''Tavish Degroot''', '''Captain KABEWM''', '''Demopan''', '''Delak's favourite''', '''Average Scrumpy Appreciator''' or simply '''Demo''' is a [[What|Black Scottish Cyclops]]. [[Meme|They got more feckin’ monsters in the Great Loch Ness than they got the likes of him]]. Working four different jobs to support his financially stable and blind mother and treat the many acres of land he owns, Demoman finds joy in pure slaughter, demolition, and demolition accessories. If it wasn't for his raging obession with alcohol, he'd be considered one of the ''"sanest"'' member of Team Fortress. Well, he's a massive workaholic on top of an alcoholic, and he's such of an addict that he turned his whole body into a distillery.

Don't ask him about his haunted eye-socket.

Demoman, as a class, is '''the apex predator of TF2'''. No, this article was not written by a Demomain. We're just not joking. Demoman's role in the team revolves around ''hefty'' damage-dealing, crowd-control and movement. And he's good at all of that. No kidding. He's insanely powerful. And for that reason, he's considered to be a '''generalist'''. All of his grenade launches deal massive damage on a direct hit, more than the soldier’s rocket-launcher. His stickies, when stacked, deal such damage that no one in a 2 meter radius survives.

Well, okay, we're exaggerating a little… In truth, he is a very good trap artist that can control territory better than a Pyro or potentially an Engie by using his stickies to hide secret explosives for enemy trespassers. Not just that, but his grenade launcher’s timed explosives can be used to toss your projectiles with the source engine, potentially [[awesome|killing targets with physics, allowing your grenade to roll under them and explode before they can get out.]]

Pros:
* You're insanely powerful and can insta-kill people with a well placed sticky-trap.
* You're a very versatile class.
* You're able to maneuver yourself around the map very easily.
* Insane crowd-control.
* Can get busted with the right items.

Cons:
* All of your weapons, to the exception of your melees (except one), damage you. Thus, you're effective only at mid-range.
* Grenades and sticky bombs can be reflected or pushed back by Pyros.
* Grenades are affected by gravity and bounce off objects, so mid to long-range combat can be a pain in the ass.

====Demoknight====
{{topquote|There can only be oooooooone!... eye...|Should you hear this in a match, RUN.}}

Should you decide to drop your your stickybomb launcher for a shield (and optionally drop your grenade launcher a pair of boots), you become the '''Demoknight''', arguably the most accomplished of all the sub-classes in this game.

The Demoknight's role revolves around unconventional combat to gain a killstreak through a style of fighting many wouldn’t expect. Using a trusty shield to charge quickly into an enemy while charging your sword for a guaranteed crit, you take the heads of your victims to strengthen you. Other swords will either heal you or increase the duration of your charge. The catch? You’ll be playing a First Person Shooter ''without a gun'', so expect to die. [[rage|A lot.]]

Pros:
* Chaining kills will make you more durable, either by increasing your maximum health (almost to the Heavy's HP) or healing you up.
* You'll be a little faster than a Scout, and that's without taking into account the charges. Complex techniques like trimping can let you get into places most people wouldn't expect.

Cons:
* Again, you have no guns in a first-person shooter. Forgoing the boots in favor of your grenade launcher can help, but you lose the ability to set traps.
* Sentry nests are now the bane of your existence, as are Heavies. You just can't match them in terms of damage output even without the rest of the enemy team being on your ass, so trying to attack one ''will'' get your ass mulched.
* Easily the single most skill-reliant class in the game. Learning when to GTFO, who to avoid, how to trimp, and the terrain of each map (particularly ''where'' to trimp) is utterly critical to using this subclass effectively.

===Heavy===
{{topquote|Some people think they can outsmart me. Maybe… Maybe… I've yet to meet one who can outsmart '''bullet'''.|Heavy reflecting on his percieved lack of brains. Which he doesn't lack at all.}}

'''Heavy''', also known as '''Misha''', '''The Pootis Man''', '''The Baby-Fighter''', '''Mr. "I give my weapons names"''', '''Hoovy''' or '''The entire Russian block''' is a large, build-a-bear, living weapon of mass destructions and an avid sandvich(sic) connoisseur. Hailing from an unknown part of Russia, despite having a PHD in Russian literature, Heavy got a job as an artillery man to get enough money to feed his family stuck in the mountains chasing bears. GIANT bears. That's the wholesome part of Heavy. The psychotic part of him comes in the form of his ''genuine'' love and care for his guns, which thankfully comes only second to his family. Him and Sasha are considered the face/mascot of TF2 as whole, the two being promoted a lot in ads and official art.

Heavy in game is a slowpoke. He's a ''Tank'' and excels in Defense, mild-support, halting the enemy team, and considerable damage-dealing. With Pyro and Sniper’s Uzi, he shares one of the only automatic weapons in the game, which is the most powerful: The Minigun. A god-send for anyone who knows how to properly rev it up and time his shots. While Heavy uses a shotgun as a secondary, he's also gifted with the third most practical source of health in the entire game: ''The Almighty Sandvich''. He has the most health of the entire bunch, and serves as a literal wall of flesh and guns for anyone who crosses his path.

He has one small issue, though… He is Way. Too. Fat.

Heavy is HUGE. Meaning in a game that rewards good aim, he's massive, moving, shouting target. If a Heavy shows up on his own in the middle of a battle without proper support, he becomes everyone's main priority and dies appropriately seconds later. He's oftentimes the victim of Sniper's headshots, Spy's backstabs, Engie's sentry, Pyro's fire and airblasting, Demo's explosives, Soldier's Direct Hit, and Scout's general mosquito-like attitude. Heavy NEEDS team support to be effective. He can only take care of a target at a time, and requires that the enemy team is distracted enough for them not to take him together. Heavy is arguably one of the most experience reliant classes, playing as Heavy really requires you to understand the layout and how to maximize every drop of survivability, due to this a good Heavy can pubstomp casual servers, but he struggles hard in competitive due to him being considered a '''Specialist''' built for long defenses but not as good at pushing.

Pros:
* Fuckhuge health pool, easily the highest in the game when overhealed.
* Strong damage output on the minigun, particularly if you know when to rev it up. If ubercharged, you're a poorly-coordinated defending team's worst nightmare, as you can easily rip through sentry nests for the duration of the uber.
* The Sandvich lets you take a bit of heat off the Medic or keep yourself alive in a pinch.

Cons:
* You're a big target, so expect everyone to be gunning for you when you show up. You ''will'' need a Medic at your back and maybe a couple others flanking you if you don't want to be shanked, sniped, or shoved via explosion/airblast to your doom.
* You're slow, so expect to lag behind the team on assaults.
* Your main gun needs to rev up before firing, so sudden enemy ambushes can tear through your health before you can react. God help you if a Backburner Pyro or regular Spy gets the drop on your ass.

===Engineer===
{{topquote|Don't worry boys, the Engineer is engihere!|Engineer, being Engineer.}}

'''The Engineer''', also known as '''Dell Conagher''', '''Sentry Man''', '''Mr. Brains over Brawns''' or '''Engie''' is a formidable technician hailing from Texas, and descendant of long running line of inventors and craftmen. Matter of fact, if it weren't for his ancestors, nothing of what happens in TF2 would have happened at all! With twelves P.H.Ds under his belt, Engineer created three of the most practical things a human could possibly dream of; a teleporting device, an ammo and health dispenser, but most importantly, the man-shredding sentry. Thankfully he’s also a very stable individual with a ”Go Get ‘Em” attitude that you can’t help but smile at.

As a class, Engineer is... Well...''Peculiar''.. His role is fairly unique. Unlike his peers, Engineers mostly focuses around creating a solid front-line and install Areas of Denial anywhere he goes! His "versatility" as a class comes to how you decide to use his tools. Engie's role practically revolves around creating spaces for his teammates to restock and re-engage, provide a way to reach the ever-moving frontline quickly, or halt the progression of the enemy team.

In the community, Engineer is seen as a fantastic dwarf. Let's just say that he's so bizarre as a class in an FPS that pretty much everyone agrees he's good in Casual or Highlander. Engimains get absolutely demolished in competitive. This is because the he's so dependent on his buildings that it becomes harder for him to be of any use without them. On top of that, most of his buildings take time to... Well, build. And in many cases, they won't serve a useful purpose to your team at all. With half of the cast being able to zoom to the other end of the map hastily and ammo being more bountiful with more players, Engie's buildings aren't as necessary before. In a casual try-hard setting however, they are ''kings''... Or so some would let you think. Engie depends a lot on the very people he supports, with a solid team, good resource management, great positioning and excellent decision making; Engineer makes for a powerful ally.

Pros:
* Your buildings can solidify the frontline.
* With good management, Engineer becomes better.
* You have decent offensive options.
* THE WRANGLER; you protect your sentry with a defensive bubble and allows you to control the sentry’s aim with manual control.
* You get the most out of any support you get AND provide.
* Your Sentry at level 3 can be a mighty force of reckoning for most classes. Dedication is needed to take one out, as well as exploitation.

Cons:
* Two classes are designed specifically to hunt you down. That won’t stop everyone else from trying to destroy your sentry nest.
* Not for the faint of heart. Prepare to panic a whole lot when '''ANYTHING''' happens to your buildings.
* You don't have a lot of movement options except for the Eureka Effect and Wrangler-Jumping (which takes time)
* You can be very vulnerable without your sentry.
* You're not very likely to fit in competitive.
* '''NEED A DISPENSER HERE!'''

====Battle-Engie====
{{topquote|Sometimes, you just need a little less gun.|[[Orks|<span style='color:green;font-size:100%'>'''DATS A ZOGGING LIE'''</span>]]}}

So what happens when someone decides that it’s not worth defending their team? What if you want to say “Fuck it. I have a shotgun!”? Well, enter the '''Battle Engineer.''' By trading your right arm for a robotic Gunslinger, you turn your previously upgradeable sentry into a quickly-deployable mini sentry with enough metal to create a second one immediately after the first one is destroyed. With your plethora of shotguns that can either promote sentry kills like the Frontier Justice, or good aim like the WidowMaker. In addition, you get an additional +25 health for some added tankiness.

Pros:
* You can be very annoying like a Scout with your mini sentry shooting in conjunction with you.
* The Shotgun is a very powerful weapon in the right hands, with the burst fire dealing good damage up close to an enemy and a plethora of options to choose from.
* Engineer still has access to his Dispenser and Teleporter, all of which are still very valued to the team.

Cons:
* You do not have a lot of health, even with the Gunslinger’s 25+.
* The minisentry isn’t as strong as a level 1; maybe more fragile. It will break a lot.
* You give up a lot of defensive capability and territory control to play like a slower, less agile Scout.
* Sometimes, less gun will get you killed.

===Medic===
{{topquote|That... was doctor-assisted homicide!|Medic, recommending you to play Battle-Medic, which you shouldn't do.}}
'''The Medic''', also known as '''Dr. Ludwig''' or '''DOKTOR''', is a medical student from Stuttgart, Germany during a period when the Hippocratic Oath was more of a "Hippocratic Suggestion". Considering the setting, it's been heavily implied that he might have been an actual [[Nazi]] (though officially he has never associated with them, partly because it was too easy of a joke). In any case, a doctor with a callous disregard of life is exactly what you'll be wanting as the Medic will often be tagging alongside other characters, dispensing healing when needed like the [[Healslut|healbot]] he is.

Mechanically, there's likely one thing the Medic will be stuck on more than anything else: The Medigun. A singular beam of continuous healing energy, this not only helps restore health to wounded allies, but also provides a temporary measure of overhealing for a buffer of protection from more serious attacks. Healing also gives charge to a secondary feature to the Medigun called the Ubercharge. The original Medigun's Ubercharge gives both the Medic and his patient temporary invincibility, but there are alternatives that provide different boosts. As for the other guns, the Syringe Gun and the Bonesaw, don't focus on them unless you're planning on using them to supplement the Ubercharge.

Of course, Medics are a necessary fixture in the game's meta as he is the most reliable means of healing in a game made well before automatic healing was even considered mandatory. Your healing will be in such high demand that you'll find yourself needing to prioritize who should be healed more and especially who's more deserving of the Ubercharge. This is also the ultimate weakness of the Medic, as he is a dedicated healer and won't be of much use without someone to fight for him. Sure, there's other guns and a natural healing factor because healer, but that won't stop a Sniper from turning that head into a pulpy red mess.

Pros:
*Mediguns give your team the single most consistent source of healing in the game, so you can keep people alive on maps/modes with 20-second respawn times.
*Can be the deciding factor in whether your side wins or loses a match, since you can keep great players alive or pop an ubercharge to help your team break through a particularly strong defence.
*Grab an Ubersaw and a Crusader's Crossbow, and become God. The former gives you 25% Uber on hit while the latter extends Medic's healing range greatly and lets you punch back surprisingly hard, at the cost of having to deal with ammo and arcing projectiles.

Cons:
*Being a high value target with useful support abilities, Medics will always be a priority target for the opposing team, especially Spies. Entire matches can be decided on a well-timed Ubercharge, and a single Medic can mean the difference between surviving for the next push or waiting 20 seconds to respawn.
*<s>Medics are not built for fighting.</s> Ubersaw: <span style='color:green;font-size:100%'><big>'''CRIT 195'''</big></span>. In all seriousness, while the Medic ''can'' dish out a surprising amount of damage, he is '''not''' meant to go in guns blazing.
*Expect to get sick of people screaming <big>'''"MEDIC!"'''</big> after the first few games.
*Playing Medic is a thankless job. No one really looks out for you, but they expect you to keep them alive through anything and everything, and then blame you for their death because they fucked up when you ubered them or because they left you high and dry then got killed the moment you weren't healing them.

===Sniper===
{{topquote|Sniping’s a good job mate. It's challengin' work, outta doors, and a guarantee you won't go hungry.|Sniper, on his job.}}

Hailing from the mythic land of New Zealand before being sent to Australia to be raised by farmers, '''Mr Mundy''' fancies himself a professional assassin and a polite bloke you can have a cold one with. His job ensures a meal and a gun, as he travels alone in his camper van to his next destination. This makes him somewhat less of a team member in this game as most Snipers players will be on their own, picking targets off the enemy team while avoiding the same fate themselves. Their trusty Sniper Rifle gives the player the ability to automatically Krit upon a headshot; dealing 3x the damage. Combine this with the fact that your rifle charges its shot while scoped in, means you can deal 450 damage to anyone on a Headshot! No Medic is going to save you from that!

Not only is our ol’ sniper equipped with his trusty gun, but he has several pitch weapons to deal with anyone cocky enough to take you on. Your trusty kukri knife will make sliced beef out of any spy while the [[/d/|Jarate covers your foes in your piss, dealing minikrits on all damage for a limited time.]] You can even give up your gun/jar for a little shield that can protect you from Spies(Razorback), Pyros(Darwin’s Danger Shield), or allaround damage(Cozy Camper).

Pros:
* With good skill, you can pinpoint kill any threat to your team from a distance. The enemy has to respect YOUR line of sight, lest they are forced to wait another 20 seconds. This includes overhealed Heavies, Rocket-Jumping Soldiers, Medics ready to charge, and even catch demomen or engineers off guard with a good angle.
* Your plethora of options means you can play with or without headshotting style. The Huntsman gets rid of the long range in favor of a more combative playstyle!
* As long as you can get a headshot from a scope, you can do it in close range as well!

Cons:
* You have low HP like the Scout and the Engineer. You will get killed if a soldier or demoman decide to take their battle up close and personal.
* You are a magnet to every sniper and spy in the game. All Snipers are your rival, and never forget that; also remember to watch your back, as Spies love delivering a dose of surprise buttsecks into your vulnerable rear.
* Sometimes hits just won’t register right, or register in your favor. This is an old game, so expect some hitboxes to weirdly work or not.
* Expect to be spammed by bot snipers spinning out of control more often than not.

===Spy===
{{topquote|Well? Off to visit your mother!|Spy, being French.}}
'''The Spy'''; also known as '''Frenchie''', '''Turncoat''', an '''Alley-Skulkin’ Backstabber''', '''SPAH''', a '''Shape-Shiftin’ Rat''', a '''''Handsome Rogue''''' or '''Spycrab''', is a French enigma, constantly hiding behind a suit and balaclava. Nobody knows what he is or who he is loyal to, as he is trained to play both sides of any conflict at a moment's notice. Even worse is that he has a special disguise kit in the form of a cigarette case, equipped with masks that let him [[The Changeling|shapeshift into the form of anyone else, be they friend or foe]], nurturing very (un)healthy bouts of paranoia.

As a class, the Spy is very dependent on execution, needing to get in close for the kill. The only gun he has is a revolver, while perfectly accurate, is slow to fire accurately. Similarly, his butterfly knife isn't very strong but it has the unique trait of backstabbing, allowing a spy to instantly kill anyone he hits from behind. To actually get within killing range, you'll need the tools: The aforementioned disguise kit allows a Spy to transform into anyone else he can wish, as the watch can render the Spy invisible for a moment of time but runs on a limited battery, and the sapper gives a way to automatically sabotage and destroy an enemy Engineer's contraptions.

Among all the classes, the Spy is considered divisive depending on how good one can get playing him. On one hand, he's very flimsy and not very capable at fighting with only a revolver and knife, and those who know about what a Spy can do will know how to spot one and will punish him once spotted. On the other hand, those abovementioned tools give him plenty of ways to harass and distract an enemy in unexpected ways, perhaps playing in ways that leave one to ask if he was actually taken out. Whether the spy is good or bad, you’ll always be watching your back once you know he’s around…

Pros:
* When a Spy scores a backstab, most things don't get back up from it.
* Disguises and invisibility are perfect for playing mind games with the enemy.
* Sappers are tailor-made for messing with Engineers; most of them will bolt straight to their buildings when a sapper goes on, leaving them wide open for a cheeky backstab if no-one else is around.
* By exploiting an extension of a player model’s back, you can perform “Trickstabs” to kill opponents through your agility and cunning.
* Ultimately, playing a Spy perfectly makes you look like a goddamn master chess player.
*Similarly (But better at this) to Sniper and Heavy (With a Medic), a good Spy rules the game by his presence alone, making sure that his enemies are always on the lookout.

Cons
* Spies' health is shit and their direct damage dealing capabilities are only slightly better than a [[meme|literal butter knife]]. If you're caught, you'd better have a good plan.
* Your many tools can be easily foiled by a few easy ways that most people can tell and prepare for. Pyros in particular are good at this, as their anti-sapper tools and flamethrowers make them your worst fucking nightmare.
* While Spies do have plenty of gear slots, only two of them are actual weapons.
* The learning curve between understanding the tools and the enemy team will mean that bad plays will reward you with frequent deaths.

===Civilian===
{{topquote|If you win this match, I'll give you a share in my oil company! A small one, mind you.|John D. Rockefel- Civilian.}}

Well okay, he's isn't "canon" to TF2. But if Valve finally decided to do something about '''TF2 Classic''', he might as well be! The '''Civilian''' is a british V.I.P. and a very wealthy C.E.O. of a multitude of companies across the globe. Unlike many of his peers (or, maybe just like his peers), he absolutely adores bloodsports, oftentimes commenting matches of mercenaries and other assassins killing each other for money. He's also fat, weak and defenseless, only being able to give "moral boosting" to those around him.

The Civilian is the star of the scrapped VIP mode, rendered only playable by the mega-project that is TF2 Classic. As a class he can't do much but give a small mini-crit and speed boost to those he points at. He can also defend himself with his umbrella, but he's as effective in melee-combat as a T'au. His role essentially boils down to being a living, breathing and intelligent payload controlled by a player. He's the only capable of capping certain points and he does so at a relatively fast pace. However, the entire team must baby-sit him into not getting killed.

Pros:
* You're rich.
* The boosts.
* You're quite fast.
* You're good at capping.

Cons:
* The entire team must carry you to victory.
* You're extremely vulnerable.

===Mercenary===
{{topquote|Alright, who's the wise guy who just signed his own death warrant!?|The man born to be wild.}}

Although primarily featured in the fan-game of the fan-game of the game, the '''Mercenary''', also known as '''Merc''', is the star of '''Open Fortress''' and could very well be featured in '''TF2 Classic'''. The Merc is as much of a mystery as spy, as neither his name, age, origin or even motive is known. What we do know of him is that he's a massive movie nerd, oftentimes quoting his favorite films when fragging people, and usually likes acting like hot shit. He's also the only class you can play (usually) in the Quake-style deathmatch mode of the game.

As a class, the Mercenary would be considered to be a '''generalist'''. Having access to tons of different guns and having the innate ability to naturally bunny-hop throughout the map without having to deal with TF2's inner code "preventing" such exploits. In Classic Mode, the Merc is either equipped with a tommy-gun or a shotgun. He uses a revolver for a secondary, and a crowbar for a melee. He's... Very average. As in, he doesn't strike as a unique class among the others. With that being said however, his b-hopping abilities make him a very viable asset to his team. The only thing preventing him from dominating the other enemy team being the map he's on, or sentry nests.

Of course, him being the sole character playable in regular deathmatch, he's just average. He can gather "pills" that greatly enhance his healthpool and his overheal takes more time to drain. He isn't great or bad in this mode, he's just what everyone uses. All of his weapons are especially busted, and some are variations of existing ones used by other classes. For example, he can use a rocket-launcher with enhanced practically in regards to rocket-jumping, a railgun that doubles itself as either a sniper rifle or a regular one-shotting railgun, a minigun that takes less time to rev up, a SUPER SHOTGUN, a double-barreled with a hook to catch other players, etc. etc.

Pros:
* You're average in every concievable way, but you're very versatile.
* BUILT-IN, ENHANCED, SUPPORTED B-HOPPING. This will allow you to speedrun your way throughout entire maps without the use of any weapons, making you just as fast (if not faster) than a Scout.
* Your overheal drains out slower than normal.
* You have access to a plethora of weapons, some of which are overhauled weapons of other classes specifically redesigned for you...

Cons:
*... but they're only available in Deathmatch.
* Well, in general, Deathmatch is the only mode in which the Merc truly shines. Mostly because he's the only one featured.

==Gamemodes==
Team Fortress 2 has four main gamemodes (Payload, King of the Hill, Control Points, Capture the Flag), each of which is a team-based objective centered around capturing points or advancing through a map. This also applies to the alternate gamemodes, of which there are several.

===Payload===

There's a big fucking bomb on rails and a big fucking bomb slot in the middle of RED's base. BLU wants to get the bomb there and shove it into their hole, RED wants to avoid getting that bomb jammed up their ass. The attacking team has to cluster around the bomb to 'push' it forward and capture multiple control points, with the exact speed at which it moves varying depending on the number of people riding the cart. If the cart isn’t pushed for a while, it will move backwards to the last captured point. If it’s on a slope when it’s not being pushed, then gravity does it for you.

Some maps like Goldrush, Hoodoo, or Thunder Mountain will span 3 stages across a single large map, while others like Badwater Basin, Frontier, or Upward will be one long map with multiple points. Frontier gets a special mention because its payload is a train with a set of teeth at the front called Li’l Chew Chew that you sent to blow up in Red’s Base.

====Payload Race====
Payload, but there's two holes and RED also has a payload to push. The first one to get their payload to its detonation point wins the game, so expect to see everyone running off to impede their enemy's payload while the cart sits on its own. Most games played will take place in '''High Tower,''' which is considered one of the more fun maps by the community’s standpoint.

===King of the Hill===
There's a single control point in the middle of the map. Both teams have a 3:00 minute timer that only decreases when they own the point; whoever holds the point when their clock hits zero wins.

===Control Point (A.K.A.: 5CP) ===
Both teams fight over the same 5 control points in a single map, with the victor being declared by who captured all of them in a game. 2 points will lead to each team’s base while the final one is dead center for everyone to fight over. Typically these games are symmetrical for both sides as players need to know when to start grabbing points, or defending a contested one. The more captured points a team has, the faster they can take the next one. Playing a Scout or a soldier/demoman with a Pain Train equipped will count as 2 players capturing, allowing for quicker captures and risky plays. While most games have 5 control points, Powerhouse may be the only map to have 3 points instead.

====Attack/Defend====
Both teams take turns playing the role of Attacker (BLU) and Defender (RED). The objective of the game is to defend all of the Control Points from BLU before they can occupy the point long enough to declare their capture. Once both teams have taken their turn, the winner is declared based on the points you captured before loading into a similar map to do it again.

The first and final control point will always be near the spawn of the BLU and RED teams, respectively. The reason behind this is pretty simple: the terrain initially plays heavily to RED's advantage by giving them all the higher ground and defensive positions to camp their sentries. (Dustbowl phase two, for example, lets RED re-enact the D-Day landings on BLU, as they have to run up a slope and over an open plain of ground or through a tight chokepoint in order to come close to the CP.) BLU players must fight back against all odds before the favour becomes in theirs, with the final point almost always being RED's last stand.

Some games will have just one set of points in a large map to capture (Steel, Gravel Pit, Gorge, etc.) while others take place over a set of 3 parts (Egypt, Dustbowl, Erebus, etc). There is also a medieval version that removes most guns (spare the primitive ranged weaponry like crossbows or bows and arrows) in favor of storming a castle with your melee.

====Arena====

Arena is a combat-oriented gamemode where both teams fight to the death, with a single capture point that has to be taken to also win the game. The catch is that it only unlocks after one minute and anyone dead is left to spectate until the game ends. This is for the players who want a more tactical, teamwork-focused version of KOTH/CP with rules similar to Counter Strike, another game by Valve.

This is also used in various community mods; like one where Blu team is a single player controlling a powerful opponent like Saxton Hale, and the Red team has to work together to defeat him before they’re all killed. There is also one where everyone is a spy looking for a murderer in the midst, or the mod where one team is a bunch of harmless props that have to hide from a team of hunters in a version of hide n seek.

===Capture the Flag===

The enemy team has a briefcase full of intel in their base. Your job is to get that fucking briefcase, then haul it back to your base and deposit it in your intel room while the other team simultaneously tries to take yours. If you can't get it back in time, it returns to the original base. First team to three captures wins.

While it's a good gamemode overall, the most popular of the maps (2Fort) is also kinda notorious among hardcore players for hours-long, bloody stalemates and causing new players to embrace the worst parts of their class (Snipers camping battlements, Engineers setting up nests and never moving from them, etc.) There's also no protection against outright spawncamping of the "Station a Heavy and three sentry guns outside the only door" kind on many of the CtF maps, so you'd better hope [[That Guy]] isn't on your enemies' side.

===PASS Time===

[[What|Football, hockey, and basketball meet bloodsports.]] You're meant to carry a ball known as the JACK across the map and score at the opposing goal, but barely anyone plays this fucking thing.

===Medieval Mode===
You ever wanted to know what it'd be like if TF2 was a medieval fantasy rather than a hat collection simulator? If you do, welcome to Medieval Mode and its attendant map, Degroot Keep. The basic gimmick is that the classes aren't allowed any 'modern' tech, only 'medieval' stuff like melee weapons, crossbows, or shields; the attackers also have near-instant respawn to compensate for the defenders' heavy terrain advantage. One side has to attack and capture two control points to the side of the big ol' castle, then get past the main gate to capture the last central control point in the castle's keep itself. If they can take this last point within 60 seconds, the attackers win; if not, the gate closes and they have to recapture the other two points before trying again.

Thanks to the above restrictions, this means it's an absolute paradise for Demoknights, Spies, and Huntsman-equipped Snipers, with plenty of [[Rip and Tear]] to go around on all fronts; it's also probably where you'll pull off your first trimp-jump, thanks to the rocks there being designed specifically to facilitate long charge-jumps up onto the walls. The final control point in particular is a great place to experience what being a [[Khorne Berzerkers|Khornate Berserker]] is like up close and personal, as it inevitably devolves into a mosh pit whenever the gate opens up.

===Mann vs. Machine===

The only proper "Cooperative" mode, in which a team of six players is pitted against several waves of AI-controlled robots. The bots want to try and bring a bomb across the map to the CP you're defending; defeating them makes them drop cash, which can then be used to upgrade your abilities and weapons. You also have to fight powerful "Boss" robots with unique and sometimes OP gimmicks at the end and sometimes the midpoint of a wave, meaning that team cohesion and good loadouts are crucial to this mode.

This mode also has a rather different meta to the main game due to the upgrades system and enemies, with otherwise fairly mediocre weapons becoming robot-mulching superweapons and the potential for every class to play its part (though Engineers and Mad Milk Scouts are pretty much auto-includes). Completing the (paid) Tours of Duty also ensure you get a random Strange-quality "Botkiller" stock weapon, with a very small chance for the coveted Australium weapons to drop from the highest-difficulty campaigns.

===Miscellaneous===
These poor bastards are the game modes that never really got out of beta or just aren't popular enough to justify their own options on the gamemode choice menu.

====Special Delivery====

Capture the Flag meets Payload. BLU needs to capture a neutral briefcase and drag it to a control point on a platform, which will slowly rise to the top of a rocket. If it reaches the top and the rocket launches, BLU win; if the timer runs out without the platform reaching the rocket's top, RED wins.

====Territorial Control====

The much-maligned meeting of Control Point, Attack/Defend, and KOTH, Territory Control's gimmick is that the game takes place in several different "territories" of a map known as Hydro. Each territory has only one control point, and capturing it captures the territory. Once a territory is capped, the map's layout is changed slightly (so unlike Dustbowl, you won't be fighting in the same order of environments every match) and the fight moves on to the next territory. Rinse and repeat until the final point is captured by BLU or a successful defence is made by RED.

Despite being a pretty cool concept and one of the first six maps ''ever'', a mixture of badly-explained rules, confusing layouts that led to rounds becoming steamrolls or stalemates (seriously, people got lost here even after the devs put in labelled signs; it was entirely possible to find and cap the point ''by accident'' in seconds of the round start), and the Control Points gamemode being "Territory Control, but without the flaws and more maps to play" pretty much resulted in Hydro being abandoned by developer and player alike mere months into TF2's launch, beyond the rare achievement hunter or curious player. An ironic fate, for a gamemode intended to be infinitely replayable by the devs.

====Player Destruction====

Kill people and pick up the gubbinz they drop, then drop these gubbinz in a central collection point. Which the other side also uses, so be ready to get killed mid-deposit and have your points stolen.

====Robot Destruction====

Basically Player Destruction, but with NPC robots and the chance to steal briefcases containing enemy points. Can you tell why these never really caught on yet?

====Zombie Fortress====
A zombie-survival fan mode where players try to run away through a map whilst other players are zombies and try to kill them. Those killed join the Zombie team and try to kill their former teammates.

====Balloon Race====
A fan variation of capture the flag featuring two flying ships with hot air balloons, similar to the ones the Horde used between Orgrimmar and Undercity in World of Warcraft. The players shoot at each other whilst riding the balloons, and try to capture the flag at specific stops.

====Deathrun====
A fan gamemode where players try to rush through a death course with only one life, while a single member of the opposite team controls traps throughout the course.

====Slender Fortress====
A fan gamemode where the living team is in a Multi-player version of Slender, with multiple monsters from either other franchises or tailor-made for Slender Fortress controlled by AI hunts them. Those who are killed can watch as ghosts to try and help the living, or go to the opposite team in a separate area that's supposed to be a safe place near where the monster lurks.

Shrewd Fulg

2022-09-22T02:12:28Z

2601:188:C300:64B8:6421:EABE:84ED:1FAC:

[[Image: Shrewd_Fulg.jpg]]
Shrewd Fulg is an irritable and evil-hearted old Ogre, weathered and hunchbacked, one would think he wouldn't last long as a leader in Ogre society,with their survival-of-the-strongest and strongest-eat-weakest mindset. And you'd be right. But Fulg isn't playing by Ogre rules. He's playing by Skaven logic. See, his tribe, who he has renamed simply as "The Tribe of Shrewd Fulg" or simply "Fulg" in Total War Warhammer 3, is scared shitless of him. Even his bodyguards don't even dare to fart in his presence without his OK. Because Shrewd Fulg made a rather shrewd deal with shrews, I mean rats! That's right, Shrewd Fulg supplies those of his own tribe who he dislikes the least at the moment to the Skaven Clan Moulder, in order to twist, splice, and mutate into Rat Ogres! Suffice to say, his tribe members don't want to be dragged away by the Skaven in dead of night to the tunnels leading to Hell Pit, and as such follow the physically frail yet mentally clever old despot.

[[Category: Ogre Kingdoms]]
[[Category: Warhammer Fantasy]]

Shrewd Fulg

2022-09-22T02:11:50Z

2601:188:C300:64B8:6421:EABE:84ED:1FAC:

[[Image: Shrewd_Fulg.jpg]]
Shrewd Fulg is an irritable and evil-hearyed old Ogre, weathered and hunchbacked, one would think he wouldn't last long as a leader in Ogre society,with their survival-of-the-strongest and strongest-eat-weakest mindset. And you'd be right. But Fulg isn't playing by Ogre rules. He's playing by Skaven logic. See, his tribe, who he has renamed simply as "The Tribe of Shrewd Fulg" or simply "Fulg" in Total War Warhammer 3, is scared shitless of him. Even his bodyguards don't even dare to fart in his presence without his OK. Because Shrewd Fulg made a rather shrewd deal with shrews, I mean rats! That's right, Shrewd Fulg supplies those of his own tribe who he dislikes the least at the moment to the Skaven Clan Moulder, in order to twist, splice, and mutate into Rat Ogres! Suffice to say, his tribe members don't want to be dragged away by the Skaven in dead of night to the tunnels leading to Hell Pit, and as such follow the physically frail yet mentally clever old despot.

[[Category: Ogre Kingdoms]]
[[Category: Warhammer Fantasy]]

Shrewd Fulg

2022-09-22T02:11:07Z

2601:188:C300:64B8:6421:EABE:84ED:1FAC: Created page with "Shrewd Fulg is an irritable and evil-hearyed old Ogre, weathered and hunchbacked, one would think he wouldn't last long as a leader in Ogre society,with their survival-of-the-..."

Shrewd Fulg is an irritable and evil-hearyed old Ogre, weathered and hunchbacked, one would think he wouldn't last long as a leader in Ogre society,with their survival-of-the-strongest and strongest-eat-weakest mindset. And you'd be right. But Fulg isn't playing by Ogre rules. He's playing by Skaven logic. See, his tribe, who he has renamed simply as "The Tribe of Shrewd Fulg" or simply "Fulg" in Total War Warhammer 3, is scared shitless of him. Even his bodyguards don't even dare to fart in his presence without his OK. Because Shrewd Fulg made a rather shrewd deal with shrews, I mean rats! That's right, Shrewd Fulg supplies those of his own tribe who he dislikes the least at the moment to the Skaven Clan Moulder, in order to twist, splice, and mutate into Rat Ogres! Suffice to say, his tribe members don't want to be dragged away by the Skaven in dead of night to the tunnels leading to Hell Pit, and as such follow the physically frail yet mentally clever old despot.

[[Category: Ogre Kingdoms]]
[[Category: Warhammer Fantasy]]

Ogre Kingdoms

2022-09-22T02:01:52Z

2601:188:C300:64B8:6421:EABE:84ED:1FAC:

[[File:F8eadd7a4470a5bc529656620e73680f.png|thumb|right|350px|A bunch of lards being dudes.]]
{{Topquote|The gluttons dig their own graves with their teeth.|James Howell}}
{{Topquote|I'll take a double triple bossy deluxe, on a raft, 4x4 animal style. Extra shingles with the shimmy and a squeeze, light axle grease, make it cry, burn it, and let it swim.|The average Ogre order when they go out to eat}}
{{Topquote|No voice in our ears but the Maw<br>We relish the sound of its call<br>We’ll plunder and feast on any man, any beast<br>Doesn’t matter, we’ll snack on them all<br><br>The stragglers we didn’t consume<br>Are chucked in our sacrifice stew<br>They scream and they run<br>But that’s part of the fun<br>‘Cause the Ogres are coming to get ya!<br><br>Oh, Ogres, Ogres<br>Chomping on meats<br>Filling our guts with our struggling treats<br>Tearing, chewing<br>We kill for the Maw<br>The power and grub’s what we’re doing it for!<br>Crunching and biting<br>We kill for the Maw<br>The power and grub’s what we’re doing it for!|2=
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Bbp98oMsjA The Ogres' trailer music from Total War: Warhammer III]}}

The '''Ogre Kingdoms''' are a faction in [[Warhammer Fantasy]], although it's really more of a geographical term than a political term, as Ogres in WFB aren't really "united" in any rational sense. In fact, they're spread out across the Warhammer World, some making up tribes that, in turn, make up the "kingdoms," whereas others serve as mercenaries for other factions (although there's not really an in-game way to represent this as of now).

Ogres used to live in the Warhammer World's equivalent to Mongolia, but they were driven away by the arrival of the [[Great Maw]], some sort of literal giant maw that stuck into the ground and makes Ogres really, really hungry. They began to move westwards, ending up in the massive [[Mountains of Mourn]] to the east of the [[Dark Lands]] (which, in turn, is east of the [[Old World]]). These would eventually become known as the Ogre Kingdoms, but Ogres are continuing to move west, working for some forces and invading (and eating) others.

==History==
===Pre-Chaos===
Way back in the early days of the world, the [[Old Ones (Warhammer)|Old Ones]] knew that [[Chaos]] was approaching and they feverishly worked to find a way to prevent it by engineering a race capable of fighting Daemons and winning. They created [[Lizardmen]] to aid them as servants, and set to work first creating an environment to place the race in to live up to its full potential, then study them and decide if they were a success. First they made the [[High Elves (Warhammer)|Elves]], who were too slow to reproduce and too frail to survive prolonged war. Then the [[Dwarfs]], who were incapable of using magic and too rigid in their culture to change fast enough to adapt to [[Daemon]] trickery. Then they created [[Humans]], who were too corruptible. At this point the Old Ones began panicking, and created a bunch of races (so everyone who isn't one of the main groups) all of which were flawed in one way or another (the [[Halflings]] of the Moot are in fact prototype Ogres). Finally, they produce the Ogres. At first they seemed to have all the desirable traits the old ones were looking for. They were as adaptable and fast breeding as man, able to survive all but the harshest of conditions, resistant to mutation, long lived, fairly intelligent, and they could eat just about anything. The Ogres were a half-finished race, though, as the old ones had yet to curb the creature's intense hunger. At this point, the [[Warp Gates]] collapsed preventing the Old Ones from distributing the ogres and using them as soldiers. As such, Ogres, despite being the race theoretically capable of fighting Chaos and winning, were left without the means or knowledge of how to do so. Also, ogres are huge, like, REALLY huge, so them being really hungry is a lot more of a problem than you'd think.

===Great Maw===
{{topquote|The feast is OVER! There's no more food! Go home and - wait, no put me down!!!!|Cathayan Emperor, finally sick of the Ogre's nearly eating his empire under the table|}}

Ogres initially lived in tribes, which wandered the steppes of Warhammer Mongolia following nomadic giant animals which they ate whole. This kept them happy for thousands of years. But as the numbers of the Ogres increased, their half-completed environment was unable to support them. They began attempting to cross the passes that lead to the other races of the world. Nearest them was the Humans of [[Cathay]], AKA Warhammer China. Ogres learned stone-age technology such as "fire" and "wheels" from the Cathayans, and for the first time tasted the meat of intelligent beings: and it was FUCKING DELICIOUS. The Emperor of Cathay, who was apparently an immortal dragon god, used his magic and the mages of his court to pull a mysterious creature from space down into the middle of the Ogre lands where it promptly pulled a Tunguska. Said impact reverberated through the world, with all races feeling the shock (Dwarfs everywhere carved Malachite murals of the event, menacing with spikes of Cat Bone. Elves wrote a sonnet about it, which is actually a metaphor for why Dwarfs are short. Humans made up a myth about a hero fucking the Earth God Ishneros bareback). The impact wiped out 2/3 of the Ogre race instantly, and the comet reached the molten core of the world. The land of the Ogres was destroyed, burned to a crisp and rendered mostly lifeless. The survivors of the Ogres believed that they had been punished by an angry god for their sins (what they think those sins were varies from group to group) and they came to worship the giant crater as the physical manifestation of their God. Somehow, this also caused an unnatural hunger for every Ogre that could not be sated. This came to be the basis for their ENTIRE culture, and also lead to the current "fatty boy" look of their race.
Natural selection came into play as the weak were eaten by the strong. The only Ogres that survived this dark era were absolute fucking badasses with skin that could stop cannonballs and muscles underneath that could crack said cannonballs (cannonball soup makes a great pre-cannon team barbeque dish by the way). With tribes consuming themselves into oblivion and survivors being fed on by larger tribes without end as Ogres could never feel satisfied, Ogres had to find new lands and new meats. Cathay was blocked by natural barriers, so westward they went, tribe by tribe.

An Ogre named Groth Onefinger stepped forth and lead his tribe to the site of impact of the comet. The areas surrounding the hole were dangerous enough to kill even the hardened Ogres, and those that survived found that the pit wasn't just a hole. [[Tyranids|It was a pit, surrounded by muscle and rimmed by teeth. It had no discernible end. It was alive and the dangers around it were simply its intake of breath and respiration.]] Since that day, Ogres no matter where in the world they were born return at some point in their lives to visit the Great Maw, and all Ogres worship it as their deity and adorn their crafts in images of it.

===War in the Sky===
The Ogres became the first race in the setting to cross the natural boundaries of the Old Ones. They carved their way through impassible mountains and ascended the heights, finding new beasts to eat. Ones that were just as capable of eating them, but regardless still new flesh. Ogres once again passed through a challenge that consumed the weakest of their race, strengthening the survivors and their descendants. In the frozen wastes, everything was capable of preying on Ogres, and tribes couldn't rest or take shelter without being consumed to the last. The Ogres that managed to reach the tops of the peaks found rolling hills of a more temperate climate, where enormous herds of succulent mammoths were tended by their cousins, the Skytitans. The Skytitans had a great civilization on top of what is now the Ancient Giant Lands, only descending the bottom when tending to their herds, and carved fortresses and artwork worthy of Elves and Dwarfs into the peaks. The Ogres initially preyed on the herd animals, which were powerful enough that an entire tribe was needed to kill one (and an entire tribe could find themselves feasting for a longer time than thought possible). The Skytitans didn't take kindly to the Ogre invasion of their lands, and fought a war to render the dwindled race extinct. The weapons of war and magics of the Skytitans slew most of the Ogre race in what came to be known as the War in the Sky, but in the end the dwindled Ogres still outnumbered the Skytitans hundreds to one and the isolated, singular lifestyle of the Skytitans prevented them from uniting, resulting in each Skytitan being besieged and eaten (often alive) in his own home by packs of vermin-like Ogres. Soon most of the race was consumed, the last of the Skytitans having become so large and hardened (as Skytitans grew larger and tougher as they aged) that they were indistinguishable from the mountains themselves, with small numbers of survivors banding together and setting sail on fortresses built on the tops of solidified clouds, but where they went and if they survived the journey is unknown. Some Skytitans fled to other lands on foot, most of them devolving and inbreeding into the current [[Giant|Giants]]: monsters that dwell the hills looking for battle and food (in that order), with no art or culture to speak of, and oftentimes goaded (often with large quantities of alcohol) to march alongside Beastmen, Greenskins, and Chaos devotees.

The victorious Ogres enslaved the Skytitan's children, consumed the mammoth herds of the Skytitans, destroyed their fortresses and covered up ancient carvings depicting the Old Ones and their wisdom with grease paintings (literally, paints made of grease and charcoal from cooking fires) depicting great meals eaten by Ogre tribes. The magical radiation that the Great Maw had sent into the atmosphere made the mountain tops dangerous, and with the depletion of most of the Skytitan's mammoth herds, most Ogres continued westward. Those that stayed turned feral, grew fur, and became Yeti (called "Yhete" in Warhammer). With the mass cannibalism that followed the comet impact leaving only the strong and the War in the Sky killing off those who weren't strong enough to survive the massive war, this back to back double whammy meant that the men and women of the Ogres became even more powerful as only the toughest bastards and bitches managed to live through.

===Modern Day===
The Ogres ascended the peaks of the Giants and found themselves in the Mountains of Mourn. Here, they found more animals than they had ever dreamed of. They found Dwarfs (who believe a mountain made of solid gold is found somewhere in the Mountains of Mourn, and thus keep attempting to invade), greenskins, [[Skaven]], and Humans. Ogres kept some Goblins as pets and bred (and ate) them, and within a few generations they wound up creating a new race of servile greenskins called [[Gnoblar|Gnoblars]].
Ogres managed to push the semi-intelligent beings who originally inhabited the Mountains of Mourn (called Dragon Ogres) entirely out, leaving them confined to the Chaos Wastes. They also drove out [[Beastmen]] who had begun to dwell in the lower peaks.

Ogres carved their own territory in these lands out, and Ogre tyrants became more permanent fixtures of tribal rule rather than simply "biggest loudest guy who was still alive in the morning". They fought off any threats that came to the Ogres, among them a Daemon invasion (leading some Ogres to develop a taste for them) and a giant living glacier that the Ogres battled during a particularly bad winter (allegedly living anyway). When Orc slaves managed to escape the Chaos Dwarfs into the Mountains of Mourn, they fought with the Ogres for land and eventually found their way into valleys beyond the notice of the Ogres where they began to build their numbers. At one point the Skaven attempted to invade the Ogres. The resulting battles almost led to extinction among the Skaven, as the Ogres found their way into the tunnels and developed a taste for them.

The tribes expanded, and true diplomacy was born. Eventually some tribes discovered that there was greater gains to be had by being amicable to the smaller races than simply eating them outright (asking yearly tributes from multiple villages on a cycle gave more meat than just eating all of them and if the villagers get uppity you could have farmer steak and your wife could have seamstress soup to remind the survivors of their place, plus actually honoring the protection racket can provide ample foes to make delicious Greenskin sausage, Beastman kebab and Undead jerky), and Ogres spread throughout the world as mercenaries to be hired by anyone who had goods they could convince the Ogres had some value, and edible foes.

Ogres, by the nature of their creation, are resistant to the effects of the [[Warp]], and of magic. Despite this many ended up swearing themselves to Chaos for different reasons, be it the hedonistic encouragements of [[Slaanesh]], the encouragement for slaughter and trophy-taking by [[Khorne]], the similarity between themselves and the servants of [[Nurgle]] as well as the camaraderie of being part of a tribe that will never turn on itself (besides backstabbing the leader, but that's just par for the course), or the fact [[Tzeentch]] will either do the thinking for them so they can just focus on what they do best or give them spiffy mutations like extra mouths so they can eat even more. [[Warriors of Chaos]] make use of the Ogres as living siege weapons, while the Ogres make use of the Warriors as playthings and snacks.
But Ogres are a neutral race, just as likely to learn to read and write (at a very basic level) so they can peruse wanted posters in the Empire for bandits and vampires, all of which make lovely snacks with the bonus that the Ogre ends up with a decent amount of gold at the end with which he can purchase the clothes of an Empire nobleman (fitted about twenty sizes up) with which to dress himself so he can dine with polite society. Sometimes ON polite society if he's lucky enough to be challenged to a duel while there.
Still others sail the world, becoming pirates and devouring sea monster and crew (and ship) alike depending on who they cross paths with. Still others find employ amongst High Elves, being studied by mages of Saphery between battles against [[Dark Elves]].
Some wander [[Wood Elves|Athel Loren]], growing moss from their backs and their skin hardening like bark until they're indistinguishable from treekin themselves.
Other Ogres are even employed by said [[Dark Elves]], who were so impressed by their capacity for brutal violence they recruited Ogres instead of enslaving them.
Ogres today can be found amongst any group in the world, doing whatever they can, always eating, always looking for more. Sometimes individually, sometimes in groups.

During the [[End Times]] the Ogre Kingdoms were taken over by the Orcs under [[Grimgor Ironhide]] and joined his Beast WAAAAGH! after Ironhide defeated the last Overtyrant, [[Greasus Goldtooth]]. They invaded Cathay and later took part in the last stand against Chaos in a losing effort.

===[[Age of Sigmar]]===
Now named "Ogors" (because copyright), they exist in the mortal realms as the [[Ogor Mawtribes]]. They are largely the same, barring the division of units into “Gutbusters” (on-foot regular ogres and gnoblars) and “Beastclaw Raiders” (hunters and snowy monsters).

==Regions==
* '''Mountains of Mourn:''' Most Ogres are found in the Mountains of Mourn, considered their homeland. Those that wander or make their homes in other lands return, or send representatives, to tell their stories which usually results in some Ogres leaving the homeland and joining them. Sometimes this results in an entire tribe living outside the Mountains of Mourn, but inevitably they will seek contact again with their kin. This is the primary method through which they expand across the globe. The Mountains themselves change constantly, as they are constantly bathed in radiation from the Warp. Many dangerous animals wander the Mountains. To smaller races, these are dangerous beasts worthy of a small Crusade of [[Bretonnia|Bretonnian]] knights, or a party of High Elf White Lions of Chrace, or a hunting party of [[Vampire Counts|Strigoi and ghouls]]. To Ogres, it's either a single meal or a pet. The largest of them are at best mounts. The mountains themselves are full of caves and tunnels that lead to everything from portals to the Warp to Dwarf Fortresses, to greenskin WAAAGH!s in formation, and things ancient and unknowable beyond these; all of which are great sources of meals. Half the peaks are volcanic, half sub arctic. All bother Ogres as much as a bit of rain or sun. Mount Thug is notable in the range for actually being alive, and Ogres have a great deal of respect for those who escape being eaten or crushed by it as they scale its peaks to feed on the bloated animals that live in spaces Mount Thug can't reach. The [[Fire Mouth]] is an active volcano with periodic eruptions nearby the greatest concentrations of Ogres, and they believe it's the bastard offspring of the sun and the Great Maw. The Firebellies are a cult that worship this "god" which they believe is the wargod of the Ogre pantheon. Each Kingdom is ruled by a Tyrant, and his domain extends literally as far as he can see at his place of dwelling. Tyrants as such place a big deal of importance on thrones and hills. Tyrants that manage to gain control of important sites, like the passes that lead to the Great Maw or out to the western kingdoms face constant challenges from other Tyrants, and reap the rewards of demanding tribute (often food, sometimes a percentage of the Ogre pilgrims in the group as meat).

* '''Challenge Stone:''' A large stone found at the northernmost edge of the Mountains of Mourn and the southernmost edge of the Chaos Wastes. When held by the Warriors of Chaos, it is fought over and rededicated from one Chaos God to another. When held by Ogres, they fight to inscribe their tribe symbol on the stone for bragging rights the world over. The two races CONSTANTLY fight over the stone. Currently controlled by the Bloodmaw tribe.

* '''The World:''' Seriously. They're fucking everywhere.

==Tribes==
Ogre tribes are numerous, and constantly changing. Most are named for a notable Ogre in them, or a characteristic common to members. Ogres are not the kind to trace lineages or politics outside their own generation, and as such tribes are a mark of the present rather than past or future (some tribes do manage to defy this, existing across multiple generations. This is a rarity). Tribes change locations, even within its Tyrant's own kingdom, constantly. Memories of the coming of the Great Maw still exist, and it's within the imagination of Ogres that it could happen again one day. As such, Ogres are mostly nomadic and their possessions are few and easily packed. The most valuable thing to an Ogre is his tribe's Mawtooth, a single great tooth and flag which at gatherings of their kind is arranged with others in a circle, making an effigy of their god.

* '''Goldtooth''': A tribe lasting across multiple generations, known to be the wealthiest. Currently led by Greasus Goldtooth(that's Tradelord Greasus Tribestealer Drakecrush Gatecrasher Hoardmaster Goldtooth the Shockingly Obese to you, peasant!). Known for elaborate displays of wealth, like feeding other tribes and blinging out their gutplates. Goldtooths are known for having a large number of Ironguts, and are the most feared tribe.
<gallery> Image:Goldtooth Tribe.jpg|Goldtooth symbol. </gallery>

* '''Thunderguts''': Known for rampaging through the lands of the Old World and taking over towns or taking hostages, then demanding food as payment. They usually end up either demanding more and more, or eating their hostages. Greenskins and Empire humans alike fear them greatly.
<gallery> Image:Thunderguts Tribe.jpg|Thunderguts symbol. </gallery>

* '''Crossed Clubs''': Known for producing more Maneater mercenaries than other tribes. Also for lying constantly about everything they do, making up tall tales of glory. Each veteran (veterans themselves being a rarity amongst Ogres) wears gear obtained in their travels and proudly displays trophies earned, making them a rather motley crew of clashing colors and gearschemes (obviously the tribe designed for the greenstuff addict in mind).
<gallery> Image:Crossed Clubs.jpg|Crossed Clubs symbol. </gallery>

* '''The Sons of the Mountain''': Living on one of the tallest and coldest peaks in the Mountains of Mourn, the Sons of the Mountain tribe are wealthy from trading the meat, pelts, and ivory of creatures that live only in their home. Many Yhete are found amongst them, and the Ogres of the Sons of the Mountain paint themselves entirely in white paint and dwell amongst the beasts they hunt directly.
<gallery> Image:Sons of the Mountain.jpg|Sons of the Mountain symbol. </gallery>

* '''The Feastmasters''': Known a generation ago for producing high quality meals (for a portion of the feast), the current Tyrant Blaut Feastmaster captured Halflings from the Moot in his travels. To this day, Halflings fill the role for Feastmasters that Gnoblars fulfill for most tribes. As a result, the Feastmaster cooking has improved greatly.
<gallery> Image:Feastmaster.jpg|Feastmaster symbol. </gallery>

* '''The Rock Skulls''': The toughest tribe of Ogres, who are known best for the skill of breaking boulders with their heads (apparently a big deal among Ogres). They're also known for being fairly unintelligent. When Skarsnik the Goblin waged his great wars against the Dwarfs, he brought the entire Rock Skull tribe with him as support. In negotiations with the Goblins for what they were willing to pay for the support of the tribe, he convinced the Rock Skulls to instead pay HIM for them to fight.
<gallery> Image:Rock Skulls.jpg|Rock Skulls symbol. </gallery>

* '''The Blood Guzzlers''': Inhabit the areas of the Mountains of Mourn known to host more giant spiders than anywhere else in the world. That's...pretty much it. They eat spiders.
<gallery> Image:Blood Guzzlers.jpg|Blood Guzzlers symbol. </gallery>

* '''The Ironskins''': Physically powerful Ogres that wear black gutplates. Known for taking massive numbers of captives, and not eating them, they trade freely with the [[Chaos Dwarfs]], and their Tyrant rides a mechanical mount given to him to provide better ties between the two groups.
<gallery> Image:Ironskin.jpg|Ironskin symbol. </gallery>

* '''Lazarghs''': The single oldest tribe, descended from Groth Onefinger himself. Live closest to the ancient Giant lands, most have mutated in various (non-Chaos) ways and cover themselves with cloaks. Their teeth fall out often, leading them to simply jab black jagged rocks directly into their gums, horrifying even the toughest, most scarred Ogres. They carry bells, and hang them to mark the pass to the Great Maw.
<gallery> Image:Lazarghs.jpg|Lazargh symbol. </gallery>

* '''The Mountaineaters''': Recently, an Ogre named Bauldig Mountaineater conquered every challenge Ogres had to offer him. Climbed Mount Thug, fought every beast, and destroyed Bigstride Peak by burrowing in and eating the heart of that mountain. A tribe of fanboys and groupies gathered to him, each eating rocks and dwelling in caves. The only meat they eat comes from subterranean races like goblins, Dwarfs, and Skaven.
<gallery> Image:The Mountaineaters.jpg|Mountaineater symbol. </gallery>

* '''The Eyebiters''': A clan that controls a series of desolate passes leading to and from many of the Ogre lands. They demand large tributes from any who pass through, and raid all settlements and hunt all monsters within their range. The Tyrant of the Eyebiters has fathered more children to grow into adulthood than any Ogre.
<gallery> Image:The Eyebiters.jpg|Eyebiters symbol. </gallery>

* '''Tribe of Shrewd Fulg''': A tribe of Ogres scared shitless of showing the barest hint of rebellion against their Tyrant, Shrewd Fulg, despite him being old and hunchbacked. Why? Because Shrewd Fulg is a spiteful slaver who trades his own tribesmembers to the Skaven of Clan Moulder to mutate into Rat Ogres. Even his own bodyguards don't dare to fart in his vicinity.

==Army==

===Characters===
* '''[[Greasus Goldtooth]]:''' The current Overtyrant of the Ogres in the Mountain of Mourn. Gained leadership of his tribe after killing and eating his own father in a pit fight.

* '''Golgfag Maneater:''' The greatest Ogre mercenary alive, and the one all others are named after. He earned renown fighting against the Dwarfs in the World Edge Mountains, eating, fighting and robbing his way into notoriety. At first fighting against the dwarfs of Karak Kadrin, then for them after pissing off his Orc employer by drinking all the booze, then robbing the Dwarf King blind, '''after they paid him'''. Golgfag got locked up by those same dwarfs later. He impressed Ungrim Ironfist by eating everyone else in the dungeon but his oldest friend(who still lost a leg). Ungrim wept that such a majestic creature was being imprisoned and ordered his release. His rap sheet includes: looting on Ulthuan, being decorated by Karl Franz, coining the Ogre slang word for Knights as "Tinned Food", making and losing countless fortunes, and downing more of the dwarfs' most prized beer then most of them have even seen. He's so famous that his title of Maneater has become the word for all Ogre Mercenaries. Golgfag got the title after eating his human paymaster and making off with the gold chests. Despite the name he'll eat anything like any other Ogre, though he especially likes halfling. Golgfag leads the renowned and rather imaginatively named mercenary band "Golgfag's Maneaters".

* '''Bragg The Gutsman:''' Traveling bruiser and executioner. As a young Ogre Bragg found he had a talent for killing shit, naturally knowing where to swing for the best results. Bragg was a fairly average brusier until he forged his signature weapon "Great Gutgouger" from the magical axes of a Black Orc Warboss he killed, which increased his killing ability tenfold. What made him infamous however was his discovery that he could cut around other Ogre's gutplates disemboweling them. Ogres are scared shitless of him because of this, since Ogres' guts are sacred to them and Ogre anatomy means its a long, nearly irreversible and agonizing death as their guts unravel after being disemboweled. Bragg realized he had a good thing going, and left his tribe to go solo, taking his one man murder show on the road seeking battle. He is welcomed by all tribes to fight alongside them thanks to his killing ability, but feared and hated as he inevitably cuts someone from that same tribe open for challenging him, at which point he gets kicked out. Bragg isn't bothered one bit, happily leaving to do it all over again somewhere else. He can't become a Tyrant since no Ogres are willing to follow him thanks to his grim reputation, even if he kills the old one. He wears a black hood like some human executioners, figuring if he's got a fierce reputation, might as well make the most of it.

* '''[[Skrag the Slaughterer]]:''' The Great Prophet of the Great Maw. Viciously attached to his back is a giant pot, which he fills with enemies AS HE FIGHTS. What he misses is grabbed by Gnoblars in service directly to him (ranking them above even common Ogres) and put into the pot. He was the head Slaughtermaster of the Rockgrinder tribe. He angered the Tyrant by cooking their favorite Gnoblar and serving it to him at a feast. In retribution the Tyrant hacked off and ate both of Skrag's hands, had his pot chained to his body, then cast him into tunnels even Ogres feared. He immediately impaled his former cooking tools into his stumps, and set forth. Long forgotten Gorgers attacked him, and they found themselves hacked up and in his pot. After dicing up their leader, the Gorgers followed him as if members of a tribe he leads. He found himself reaching the surface through a cavern none of the Gorgers had ever seen before. He and his followers set upon the tribe, killing and feasting on them all. Upon putting the finishing touches on a lovely dish made entirely out of the former Tyrant, his wounds sans his missing hands healed and his pot and cooking implements were strengthened with the magic of the Great Maw. Now a tribeless Ogre, Skrag wanders the lands of the Ogres joining in battles whenever he can. Welcomed by all, he not only turns the tide of battle but also prepares and cooks the resulting corpses with great skill.

* '''Shrewd Fulg''': An old and irritable tyrant who sells his own kind to Skaven to make into Rat Ogres in return for having Clan Moulder back his rule. His tribe appears in Total War Warhammer 3, but he doesn't appear, opting to lead from behind the scenes as he is old and hunchbacked. Instead, his henchman Targog is who you speak to during diplomacy and who you fight in battles.

* '''Braugh the Slavelord''': Braugh was once a prisoner to a Necromancer, but he escaped his bonds, found the Necromancer in a coffin, beat him to death with a chair and skinned him. Afterwards he celebrated by eating half the Necromancer's other captives and talking the rest as slaves, but then he discovered something ''very'' interesting. The magic of the Necromancer lingered on in a set of chains; Braugh now uses those chains to cast spells as a Wizard and bind his slaves' souls so that if they die, they come back as a Zombie. This allows him to make a very profitable living as both a slave trader and a spellslinger-for-hire.

===Generic Characters===
* '''Tyrant:''' The head of an Ogre tribe. Rules by virtue of his ability to defeat challengers, and reputation. Anyone can challenge the Tyrant for his position in a fight without gutplates where the loser is eaten alive. These fights are the most common form of entertainment for Ogres. Tyrants have the best gear, the most names, and most children of any Ogre in a given tribe.

* '''Bruisers:''' The subordinates of the Tyrants, and oftentimes future Tyrants come from their ranks. They can do anything they want so long as it doesn't offend the Tyrant or their fellow Bruisers. Like the Tyrant, Bruisers can be challenged to one on one combat. The winner eats the loser, and attains the rank of Bruiser.

* '''Slaughtermaster/Butcher:''' The priesthood of the Ogres, Butchers handle all meat considered the property of the Tyrant, Bruisers, or the whole tribe. Considered a direct line between the Great Maw and the common Ogre, Butchers enjoy a position equal to Tyrants but entirely separate. Tyrants take great care not to offend Butchers lest the tribe abandon him fearing a comet crashing down atop their heads. Butchers are known to kill any Ogres who offend them to feed to the group, or to randomly take body parts from the tribe for flavoring. They carry holy implements, all of which aid in cooking or preparing, at all times. They are larger than any other Ogre in any given group, getting the best choice of meat and consuming it (being a direct link between the tribe and the Great Maw). Butchers do not wear gutplates as a declaration of faith that the Great Maw has got their <s>backs</s> guts. Any Ogre child with a gift for magic, or is seen blessed in some way, is taken by a Butcher and fed a copious amount of meat. As he grows, he is fed things that are poisonous and inedible even to ogres to strengthen his gut (based on the real-life practice called mithridatism - ingesting poisons to develop a resistance or immunity to them) things to make his gut ever stronger to hold the essence of the Great Maw. Most Butchers learn the Gut Magic of the Ogres, being things related to their culture like strengthening the skin of Ogres, tenderizing the meat of (still living) enemies, and causing the earth to swallow foes alive as sacrifice "appetizers". Others learn other magic Lores, all in their belief related to the Great Maw (Lore of Heavens=the comet, Lore of Death=consumption from the Great Maw, and so on). Slaughtermasters are simply the leaders amongst the Butchers.

* '''Hunters:''' Lone Ogres who take the role of a WoW huntard. Usually tribeless, they wander through the mountains and wild in search of beasts to prey upon. Sometimes they’ll even take some of them alive and bring them back to some other tribe as a gift to the Tyrant. A feast will be held in the Hunter’s honor where he will tell stories about his adventures before quietly vanishing back into the wilderness.

* '''Firebellies:''' Strange religious fanatics that worship a volcano called the Fire Mouth. There are three tests. The first is to eat super-hot chili (powerful enough that it's implied to be a laxative, a substitute for boiling oil or both) and keep it down. Then they have to track down and eat a giant firebug that lives in volcanoes. The final test to join the cult is to be dipped into the caldera of the Fire Mouth, eat a mouthful of magma and come out alive. Though, on the upside, those who survive can breathe fire, use fire magic and are almost immune to heat.

===Core===
* '''Ogre Bulls:''' The basic Ogre that lacks any particular rank. Ogres are (repeatedly) described as having a bully mentality by GW (oh the irony). If they want it, they try to take it. If you aren't respecting them enough, or it's been too long since they reminded you WHO gets the respect, they rough you up. The only way to stop them is to prove you're better than them, at which point they'll likely back the fuck off and suck up to you as the new boss (this behavior is reminiscent of Orks in 40k, however Orks tend to naturally follow the biggest whereas Ogres are likely to see "biggest" as a challenge to their own masculinity and attempt to EAT the biggest Ogre, and become the biggest themselves). Generally speaking, most Ogres are dumb as rocks and it takes an extraordinary Ogre to learn lessons. Those that do invariably reach some degree of old age, and probably aren't in this category for long.

* '''Ironguts:''' Ironguts are the basic Ogre, but with armor. They tend to be a bit tougher than their fellows as a means of natural selection, since Ogres squabble amongst each other for gear, so the Ogre who manages to KEEP his equipment is one that can't be challenged by un-armored Ogres for it. The types of equipment varies; for some Ogres, it's the tools from a farm the Ogres consumed (livestock, crops, AND family. Probably the house and their little dog too) bent and tied as weapons and the shield and flattened helmets of the local town guard tied to their limbs for armor. For others, it's a well crated suit of Gromril armor from the Dwarfs who the Ogre has served as a mercenary. Some Ironguts have evolved natural armor, like Ogres who have lived for so long in Nehekhara that the sand has been worn directly into their skin, compacting as they flex until it's almost like they have stone skin. Bruisers and Tyrants have some say as to who is an Irongut and who isn't, as divvying up the spoils of war usually falls to them (if they're giving out any at all). Like Silver Helms for High Elves and Black Orcs for greenskins, Ironguts are the Ogre variety to which most of the race looks to as exemplary of their kind.

* '''[[Gnoblar|Gnoblars]]:''' Small greenskins that evolved to their current state when Ogres moved from the mountains of the Giants to the Mountains of Mourn. Gnoblars have the place of being the singularly most mistreated beings in either Warhammer setting, as Ogres see them somewhere between vermin like insects that are simply a fact of life to deal with, or very low and undepletable slaves. Sometimes as food if there's nothing better around, although some Gnoblars wind up in the position of "favorite hunting dog" as long as the Ogre can remember them. Meanwhile, Gnoblars see Ogres as a mix of living gods and eternal masters. They differ from Goblins in that they are much smaller, and while Goblins have pronounced noses the face of a Gnoblar is mostly nose. This gives them a beak appearance, making them resemble a Jim Henson Muppet character.

===Special===
* '''Leadbelchers:''' Ogres who carry around field cannons as hand weapons, which they will shove just about every jagged object into and hit people with in close quarters like some ginormous shotguns. They are typically seen as rather unhinged by their fellow Ogres, which usually means that they get to be good for a bit of fun. Their cannons also look suspiciously like Imperial and Dwarf cannons (in fact, they do take them after successful fights or get themselves custom-forged guns from the Chaos Dwarves). If these guys don't have at least one scar, such as missing eyes, burnt skin, disfigured faces, etc., they're doing it wrong.

* '''Maneaters:''' If this was D&D these guys would be an ogre adventurer. They can take a variety of special rules and special gear, and make themselves look like the corresponding region they've been working in, such as stabbing feathers into their skull like State Troopers without the headgear, or jabbing sharp rocks into their gums to emulate vampires.

* '''Sabretusk Pack:''' Sabre tooth tigers, but wolves, great for hunting war machines. Though with LD 4 they will run from anything. Standard use is to get a single one and run it into the nearest cannon - If someone focuses it out, they've severely wasted some shots that could've gone to cutting down Ogres.

* '''Yhetees:''' The Ogres frozen, mutant, hillbilly cousins. Got all magical attacks, not really good for much else though. Their models also look even more like deranged chimpanzees than the old Gutter Runner models.

* '''Mournfang Cavalry:''' Ogres on the backs of smaller woolly mammoths (as in "as small as a trebutchet"), great for causing mayhem to your opponents troops. Known for being one of the only things that can scare Chaos Knights.

* '''Gorgers:''' Albino baby ogres who were born without a characteristic paunch whoa are thrown to die in a tribes warpstone caves, but these ones survived by eating whatever they can find down there: such as rats, roaches, rocks [[Grimdark|and each other]]. In lore these landshark troglodytes are supposed to be both insanely aggressive and hungry with high killing capabilities. Tabletop-wise they are also known for being pretty useless... But then again, what do you expect from a emaciated albino loser?

===Rare===
* '''Gnoblar Scraplaunchers:''' Sometimes, a group of Gnoblars get together to fight alone - Most of the times, that will be in huge rabbles of mutant Goblins below even slave status, which won't do much other than piss off a unit of Chaos Warriors, but once in a while, they'll get together, find a woolly rhino and strap a chariot to it, on which a catapult is placed. Unfortunately, Gnoblars can only get to the smallest of objects, as Ogres take all the rest, so it's mostly scrap and stuff they throw about with it... Fortunately, there's a lot of scrap in an Ogre camp.

* '''Ironblasters:''' Same chariot, same rhino, but with an Ogre on top, alongside a fucking big cannon, taken from the Skyholds of the Giants back in the day. As such, these cannons are sorta held as relics in the individual tribes, as much as an inedible thing can be to Ogres. Also known for being ''the'' cannon in the game that can move AND shoot. I'll say it again. Move. And. Shoot. Can also charge and kill stuff as a chariot. Truly, Ogre Kingdoms is the superior WFB faction.

* '''Slave Giants:''' Said people the Ogres stole the cannons from. Also made them into inbred animals and reduced them to sub-tribal wandering monsters. Also still use them for battle, because fuck them, right? Basically the same as any other Giant in any other faction, but here, they are enslaved by the race that destroyed their civilization ''unknowingly'', because Ogres never really kept history like that. Ogres are dicks like that.

* '''Stonehorns:''' A mammoth/rhino hybrid with stone bones, and the attitude of a pissed-off bull in a china shop. Have so great an urge to headbutt ''anything'' they see that only the youngest of the race have any skin on their forehead, which leads to them looking like Skeletor, if Skeletor was made of stone. They eat minerals and meat, so gemstones protrude from their bones like freckles from skin. For some-odd reason, Ogre Hunters use them as mounts, which really doesn't make sense, as the fucking thing can't stand straight unless it's headbutting the ground it's standing on, but no one's gonna complain about having a steed that can literally bulldoze just about anything into the ground. Also, there's the question of how the hell they reproduce since Stonehorns of either gender would be too busy head-butting everything in sight to actually mate. The best guess on how that process works would be that the male has to headbutt the female until she's too tired to fight him before mating with her.

* '''Thundertusks:''' Legends are told about the legendary thundertusk "Fridge" who acompanied a band of ogres through the Empire and coined the term "Fridgereted" for frozen chunks of meat that will keep fresh throughout the winter. Less volatile than the Stonehorn, Thundertusks are used as combined fridge, walking meat and watchtowers, with one or two Ogres sitting on top with ranged weaponry like throwing spears, harpoon launchers held like crossbows and fucking sabertooth-jaws fitted on chains, so the Ogre in question can make the enemy come over to him. Thundertusks are naturally freezy, and makes its surroundings colder by being there. This is quite useful for freezing less tough creatures down, so the Ogres can catch them before they slit their bellies. They even have a frost-breath-like attack for further freezing. Shame it looks like a retarded mandrill fused with a mammoth, but without the trunk. One might find oneself asking how the Thundertusk eats when it has so many tusks and the like in the way. The answer? Well...I don't have one, but hopefully there is one out there somewhere. Edit: Apparently it's a combination of skill, a long and dexterous tongue, and using their tusks to flip the meat of slain prey into the air and directly into their gaping maws.

==Total Warhammer==
Ogre Mercenaries are going to be recruitable for all factions after getting their FLC through Total War Access, with individual locations that they can be recruited from randomly appearing around areas where conflicts and battles occur, as is frankly logical for mercenaries. These mercenary units include thicc dual-wielding ogres, thicc Maneaters wielding a weapon and a "pistol", and extra thicc Mournfang Cavalry. This is certainly just a taste (heh) of the Ogres before the full Ogre Kingdoms factions release as pre-order DLC for [[Total War: Warhammer|Total Warhammer]] 3, which really wasn't that all surprising given the Ogre Kingdoms were always a full faction in WFB while the iffier sorts of Kislev and Cathay were confirmed for 3's release factions instead.

As of November 4th, 2021, they got a trailer, and even got a song with it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Bbp98oMsjA

As unlikely as it was, even minor background character Shrewd Fulg was able to make an indirect appearance, as his tribe, simply called "Fulg" as a shortening of "Tribe of Shrewd Fulg" appears as a minor faction. In an un-Ogre-like way, Shrewd Fulg doesn't lead his own armies in battle, being old and hunchbacked. Instead, his henchman Targog acts as the face you speak to during negotiations and war.

==Misc Fluff==
* Ogres don't have priests. Butchers and cooks are their holy men. The only interest Ogres have in the faiths of others is in traditions related to eating. This can be awkward when, in the company of a group of Sigmarites for example, the Ogre bodyguard keeps commenting on how he can't wait for someone to die for the funeral feast (even more awkward when he thinks that eating the body of the deceased is part of it).
* Most Ogres wear a piece of armor over their stomach, a gutplate. Gutplates are sort of the equivalent of full plate armor for Ogres, as their most important organs are all hidden behind the large race-wide paunch they have. Helmets and shoulderpads are secondary as anything big enough to pierce an ogre's head and shoulders with weapons would likely ignore the armor anyway. Plus, given their fixation on eating and the god they worship, their guts are considered sacred. Only Butchers and Slaughtermasters eschew a gutplate, preferring to put their trust in the Great Maw to protect them.
* In older lore, Tyrants love their favorite weapons. An Ogre touching the Tyrant's weapon, who wasn't the Tyrant himself, was punished by being force-fed their own hands.
* Ogres enjoy pitfighting, and use it to settle disputes. The winner is allowed to eat part of the loser, ranging from an appendage (such as a nose) to an entire limb. If Ogres remove their gutplates in a pit fight, that means it's a fight to the death where the winner will eat the loser in front of the crowd.
* Ogres are known to collect names. Their first name is usually a guttural sound made by the mother or father upon seeing the infant, the last being their tribe. But anything they choose to add to their name from their life experiences is attached as well. Sometimes these names are less than complimentary words Ogres don't understand like "debased" or "unscrupulous" or "acrid". The result can be interesting ("Gulk 'Scampered Engorged Beareater Bling Topsyturvy Gelatinous' Goldtooth" for example). These names literally strengthen the Ogres on the tabletop, counting as upgrades that came from the experiences they had (also a bit of Orkish "clap your hands if you believe, and it will happen" style magic).
* Ogre Biology is weird. For one their gut isn't actually filled with fat, but rows upon rows of muscle, which lets them crunch up anything inside with ease. Their skin is also extremely thick (literally) which also hints that they likely don't have any feeling in them, allowing them to do cringe-worthy levels of stuff to their outer hides (like piercing them with hooks) that other saner races would rarely do.
** Between cultural/religious and biological reasons, being disemboweled is considered the worst possible way to die for ogres; Ogres only die when all their guts finish pouring out of the stomach wound, and ogres have ''lots and lots and lots'' of intestines, so it's a slow, irreversible, and incredibly painful process. Even watching another ogre get disemboweled can cause a reaction similar to men watching another man getting his balls slowly crushed. Gutplates prevent this (for the most part), so Gut Up, young bull!
* It's possible that the Halflings and Ogres were meant to be companion species in a similar manner to Kroxigors and Skinks. While there are exceptions, members of the two races have an uncanny tendency to get along when they meet. After the depature of the Old Ones left the two species in seperate geographic locations, the Ogres started taking on Gnoblars as their protectorates, which could be related to their affinity with Halflings through the Ogres trying to fill in the void caused by their missing companions with an inferior substitute.

==Crunch(ing and Biting)==
Ogres are a low pop army with lots of fun rules. They're fairly strong right now, so they're increasingly popular. Despite this, most new players don't know much about Ogre Kingdoms fluff so by doing your research you can easily gain some 'ham cred.
Ogres on the charge hit like artillery blasts. Ogres can upgrade their standard bearers to have Gnoblars in a makeshit crows nest on top of them, allowing all characters and the champion in the unit to get "Look Out Sir" benefits. In addition, Ogres get a few nifty weapons no other army gets.

==Gallery==
NOTE: Some of the models below are conversions, but there are official GW models among them. Can you guess which is which?

<gallery>
Image:Araby Ogre.png|Araby Ogre
Image:1.jpg|Beastmen Ogre
Image:Bretonnian Ogre.png|Bretonnian Ogre
Image:Cathay Ogre.png|Cathay Ogre
Image:Dark Elf Ogre.jpg|Dark Elf Ogre
Image:Dwarf Ogre.png|Dwarf Ogre
Image:Chaos Dwarf Ogre.jpg|Chaos Dwarf Ogre
Image:9.jpg|High Elf Ogre
Image:Lizardmen Ogre.jpg|Lizardmen Ogre
Image:Nippon Ogre.jpg|Nippon Ogre
Image:Orcs and Goblins Ogre.jpg|Orcs & Goblins Ogre
Image:Skaven Ogre.jpg|Skaven Ogre
Image:Empire Ogre.jpg|Empire Ogre
Image:Tomb Kings Ogre.png|Tomb Kings Ogre
Image:Vampire Counts Ogre.jpg|Vampire Counts Ogre
Image:Warriors of Chaos Ogre.jpg|Warriors of Chaos Ogre
Image:Wood Elves Ogre.jpg|Wood Elves Ogre
Image:Ninja Ogre.png|Ninja Ogre
Image:Pirate Ogre.png|Pirate Ogre
Image:Female Ogre.png|Crossdressing Ogre
Image:8039787889_96ed2c0f29_k.jpg|ogre Slaan
7180203363 d2bffd50f0 k.jpg|lustrian standard
7176858107 e68eecf828 o.jpg|lustrian bulls
7180207541 159c1f51e1 k.jpg|lustrian bruiser
7362010446_d8e5ba564e_o.jpg|lustrian thundertusk
8815390127 6f698fd585 o.jpg|lustrian "sabretusk"
10800351164 e09f18840b o.jpg|lustrian hunter
Bullunit.jpg|orc bulls
DSC03006.JPG|Cathay
Leadbelcherwip011.jpg|orc leadbelchers
Assdffe.jpg|tzeentch bull
Lizardmen2.jpg|lizardmen leadbelcher
Skaven2.jpg|skaven
Blood Bowl Lady Ogres.jpg|Lady Ogres in Blood Bowl. EXTRA THICC
</gallery>

==See Also==
* [[Warhammer/Tactics/8th Edition/Ogre Kingdoms|Ogre Kingdoms tactica]] for playing them in WHFB.
* [[Ogre Kingdoms Creation Tables]] to make your own tribe.
* [[Ogryn]] for their 40k counterparts.
* [[Ogor Mawtribes]] for their AoS sucessors.

{{Playable Factions in Warhammer Fantasy Battle}}

{{Regions and areas of the Old World}}
[[Category:Warhammer Fantasy]][[Category:Ogre Kingdoms]]

Ogre Kingdoms

2022-09-22T01:59:16Z

2601:188:C300:64B8:6421:EABE:84ED:1FAC: /* Total Warhammer */

[[File:F8eadd7a4470a5bc529656620e73680f.png|thumb|right|350px|A bunch of lards being dudes.]]
{{Topquote|The gluttons dig their own graves with their teeth.|James Howell}}
{{Topquote|I'll take a double triple bossy deluxe, on a raft, 4x4 animal style. Extra shingles with the shimmy and a squeeze, light axle grease, make it cry, burn it, and let it swim.|The average Ogre order when they go out to eat}}
{{Topquote|No voice in our ears but the Maw<br>We relish the sound of its call<br>We’ll plunder and feast on any man, any beast<br>Doesn’t matter, we’ll snack on them all<br><br>The stragglers we didn’t consume<br>Are chucked in our sacrifice stew<br>They scream and they run<br>But that’s part of the fun<br>‘Cause the Ogres are coming to get ya!<br><br>Oh, Ogres, Ogres<br>Chomping on meats<br>Filling our guts with our struggling treats<br>Tearing, chewing<br>We kill for the Maw<br>The power and grub’s what we’re doing it for!<br>Crunching and biting<br>We kill for the Maw<br>The power and grub’s what we’re doing it for!|2=
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Bbp98oMsjA The Ogres' trailer music from Total War: Warhammer III]}}

The '''Ogre Kingdoms''' are a faction in [[Warhammer Fantasy]], although it's really more of a geographical term than a political term, as Ogres in WFB aren't really "united" in any rational sense. In fact, they're spread out across the Warhammer World, some making up tribes that, in turn, make up the "kingdoms," whereas others serve as mercenaries for other factions (although there's not really an in-game way to represent this as of now).

Ogres used to live in the Warhammer World's equivalent to Mongolia, but they were driven away by the arrival of the [[Great Maw]], some sort of literal giant maw that stuck into the ground and makes Ogres really, really hungry. They began to move westwards, ending up in the massive [[Mountains of Mourn]] to the east of the [[Dark Lands]] (which, in turn, is east of the [[Old World]]). These would eventually become known as the Ogre Kingdoms, but Ogres are continuing to move west, working for some forces and invading (and eating) others.

==History==
===Pre-Chaos===
Way back in the early days of the world, the [[Old Ones (Warhammer)|Old Ones]] knew that [[Chaos]] was approaching and they feverishly worked to find a way to prevent it by engineering a race capable of fighting Daemons and winning. They created [[Lizardmen]] to aid them as servants, and set to work first creating an environment to place the race in to live up to its full potential, then study them and decide if they were a success. First they made the [[High Elves (Warhammer)|Elves]], who were too slow to reproduce and too frail to survive prolonged war. Then the [[Dwarfs]], who were incapable of using magic and too rigid in their culture to change fast enough to adapt to [[Daemon]] trickery. Then they created [[Humans]], who were too corruptible. At this point the Old Ones began panicking, and created a bunch of races (so everyone who isn't one of the main groups) all of which were flawed in one way or another (the [[Halflings]] of the Moot are in fact prototype Ogres). Finally, they produce the Ogres. At first they seemed to have all the desirable traits the old ones were looking for. They were as adaptable and fast breeding as man, able to survive all but the harshest of conditions, resistant to mutation, long lived, fairly intelligent, and they could eat just about anything. The Ogres were a half-finished race, though, as the old ones had yet to curb the creature's intense hunger. At this point, the [[Warp Gates]] collapsed preventing the Old Ones from distributing the ogres and using them as soldiers. As such, Ogres, despite being the race theoretically capable of fighting Chaos and winning, were left without the means or knowledge of how to do so. Also, ogres are huge, like, REALLY huge, so them being really hungry is a lot more of a problem than you'd think.

===Great Maw===
{{topquote|The feast is OVER! There's no more food! Go home and - wait, no put me down!!!!|Cathayan Emperor, finally sick of the Ogre's nearly eating his empire under the table|}}

Ogres initially lived in tribes, which wandered the steppes of Warhammer Mongolia following nomadic giant animals which they ate whole. This kept them happy for thousands of years. But as the numbers of the Ogres increased, their half-completed environment was unable to support them. They began attempting to cross the passes that lead to the other races of the world. Nearest them was the Humans of [[Cathay]], AKA Warhammer China. Ogres learned stone-age technology such as "fire" and "wheels" from the Cathayans, and for the first time tasted the meat of intelligent beings: and it was FUCKING DELICIOUS. The Emperor of Cathay, who was apparently an immortal dragon god, used his magic and the mages of his court to pull a mysterious creature from space down into the middle of the Ogre lands where it promptly pulled a Tunguska. Said impact reverberated through the world, with all races feeling the shock (Dwarfs everywhere carved Malachite murals of the event, menacing with spikes of Cat Bone. Elves wrote a sonnet about it, which is actually a metaphor for why Dwarfs are short. Humans made up a myth about a hero fucking the Earth God Ishneros bareback). The impact wiped out 2/3 of the Ogre race instantly, and the comet reached the molten core of the world. The land of the Ogres was destroyed, burned to a crisp and rendered mostly lifeless. The survivors of the Ogres believed that they had been punished by an angry god for their sins (what they think those sins were varies from group to group) and they came to worship the giant crater as the physical manifestation of their God. Somehow, this also caused an unnatural hunger for every Ogre that could not be sated. This came to be the basis for their ENTIRE culture, and also lead to the current "fatty boy" look of their race.
Natural selection came into play as the weak were eaten by the strong. The only Ogres that survived this dark era were absolute fucking badasses with skin that could stop cannonballs and muscles underneath that could crack said cannonballs (cannonball soup makes a great pre-cannon team barbeque dish by the way). With tribes consuming themselves into oblivion and survivors being fed on by larger tribes without end as Ogres could never feel satisfied, Ogres had to find new lands and new meats. Cathay was blocked by natural barriers, so westward they went, tribe by tribe.

An Ogre named Groth Onefinger stepped forth and lead his tribe to the site of impact of the comet. The areas surrounding the hole were dangerous enough to kill even the hardened Ogres, and those that survived found that the pit wasn't just a hole. [[Tyranids|It was a pit, surrounded by muscle and rimmed by teeth. It had no discernible end. It was alive and the dangers around it were simply its intake of breath and respiration.]] Since that day, Ogres no matter where in the world they were born return at some point in their lives to visit the Great Maw, and all Ogres worship it as their deity and adorn their crafts in images of it.

===War in the Sky===
The Ogres became the first race in the setting to cross the natural boundaries of the Old Ones. They carved their way through impassible mountains and ascended the heights, finding new beasts to eat. Ones that were just as capable of eating them, but regardless still new flesh. Ogres once again passed through a challenge that consumed the weakest of their race, strengthening the survivors and their descendants. In the frozen wastes, everything was capable of preying on Ogres, and tribes couldn't rest or take shelter without being consumed to the last. The Ogres that managed to reach the tops of the peaks found rolling hills of a more temperate climate, where enormous herds of succulent mammoths were tended by their cousins, the Skytitans. The Skytitans had a great civilization on top of what is now the Ancient Giant Lands, only descending the bottom when tending to their herds, and carved fortresses and artwork worthy of Elves and Dwarfs into the peaks. The Ogres initially preyed on the herd animals, which were powerful enough that an entire tribe was needed to kill one (and an entire tribe could find themselves feasting for a longer time than thought possible). The Skytitans didn't take kindly to the Ogre invasion of their lands, and fought a war to render the dwindled race extinct. The weapons of war and magics of the Skytitans slew most of the Ogre race in what came to be known as the War in the Sky, but in the end the dwindled Ogres still outnumbered the Skytitans hundreds to one and the isolated, singular lifestyle of the Skytitans prevented them from uniting, resulting in each Skytitan being besieged and eaten (often alive) in his own home by packs of vermin-like Ogres. Soon most of the race was consumed, the last of the Skytitans having become so large and hardened (as Skytitans grew larger and tougher as they aged) that they were indistinguishable from the mountains themselves, with small numbers of survivors banding together and setting sail on fortresses built on the tops of solidified clouds, but where they went and if they survived the journey is unknown. Some Skytitans fled to other lands on foot, most of them devolving and inbreeding into the current [[Giant|Giants]]: monsters that dwell the hills looking for battle and food (in that order), with no art or culture to speak of, and oftentimes goaded (often with large quantities of alcohol) to march alongside Beastmen, Greenskins, and Chaos devotees.

The victorious Ogres enslaved the Skytitan's children, consumed the mammoth herds of the Skytitans, destroyed their fortresses and covered up ancient carvings depicting the Old Ones and their wisdom with grease paintings (literally, paints made of grease and charcoal from cooking fires) depicting great meals eaten by Ogre tribes. The magical radiation that the Great Maw had sent into the atmosphere made the mountain tops dangerous, and with the depletion of most of the Skytitan's mammoth herds, most Ogres continued westward. Those that stayed turned feral, grew fur, and became Yeti (called "Yhete" in Warhammer). With the mass cannibalism that followed the comet impact leaving only the strong and the War in the Sky killing off those who weren't strong enough to survive the massive war, this back to back double whammy meant that the men and women of the Ogres became even more powerful as only the toughest bastards and bitches managed to live through.

===Modern Day===
The Ogres ascended the peaks of the Giants and found themselves in the Mountains of Mourn. Here, they found more animals than they had ever dreamed of. They found Dwarfs (who believe a mountain made of solid gold is found somewhere in the Mountains of Mourn, and thus keep attempting to invade), greenskins, [[Skaven]], and Humans. Ogres kept some Goblins as pets and bred (and ate) them, and within a few generations they wound up creating a new race of servile greenskins called [[Gnoblar|Gnoblars]].
Ogres managed to push the semi-intelligent beings who originally inhabited the Mountains of Mourn (called Dragon Ogres) entirely out, leaving them confined to the Chaos Wastes. They also drove out [[Beastmen]] who had begun to dwell in the lower peaks.

Ogres carved their own territory in these lands out, and Ogre tyrants became more permanent fixtures of tribal rule rather than simply "biggest loudest guy who was still alive in the morning". They fought off any threats that came to the Ogres, among them a Daemon invasion (leading some Ogres to develop a taste for them) and a giant living glacier that the Ogres battled during a particularly bad winter (allegedly living anyway). When Orc slaves managed to escape the Chaos Dwarfs into the Mountains of Mourn, they fought with the Ogres for land and eventually found their way into valleys beyond the notice of the Ogres where they began to build their numbers. At one point the Skaven attempted to invade the Ogres. The resulting battles almost led to extinction among the Skaven, as the Ogres found their way into the tunnels and developed a taste for them.

The tribes expanded, and true diplomacy was born. Eventually some tribes discovered that there was greater gains to be had by being amicable to the smaller races than simply eating them outright (asking yearly tributes from multiple villages on a cycle gave more meat than just eating all of them and if the villagers get uppity you could have farmer steak and your wife could have seamstress soup to remind the survivors of their place, plus actually honoring the protection racket can provide ample foes to make delicious Greenskin sausage, Beastman kebab and Undead jerky), and Ogres spread throughout the world as mercenaries to be hired by anyone who had goods they could convince the Ogres had some value, and edible foes.

Ogres, by the nature of their creation, are resistant to the effects of the [[Warp]], and of magic. Despite this many ended up swearing themselves to Chaos for different reasons, be it the hedonistic encouragements of [[Slaanesh]], the encouragement for slaughter and trophy-taking by [[Khorne]], the similarity between themselves and the servants of [[Nurgle]] as well as the camaraderie of being part of a tribe that will never turn on itself (besides backstabbing the leader, but that's just par for the course), or the fact [[Tzeentch]] will either do the thinking for them so they can just focus on what they do best or give them spiffy mutations like extra mouths so they can eat even more. [[Warriors of Chaos]] make use of the Ogres as living siege weapons, while the Ogres make use of the Warriors as playthings and snacks.
But Ogres are a neutral race, just as likely to learn to read and write (at a very basic level) so they can peruse wanted posters in the Empire for bandits and vampires, all of which make lovely snacks with the bonus that the Ogre ends up with a decent amount of gold at the end with which he can purchase the clothes of an Empire nobleman (fitted about twenty sizes up) with which to dress himself so he can dine with polite society. Sometimes ON polite society if he's lucky enough to be challenged to a duel while there.
Still others sail the world, becoming pirates and devouring sea monster and crew (and ship) alike depending on who they cross paths with. Still others find employ amongst High Elves, being studied by mages of Saphery between battles against [[Dark Elves]].
Some wander [[Wood Elves|Athel Loren]], growing moss from their backs and their skin hardening like bark until they're indistinguishable from treekin themselves.
Other Ogres are even employed by said [[Dark Elves]], who were so impressed by their capacity for brutal violence they recruited Ogres instead of enslaving them.
Ogres today can be found amongst any group in the world, doing whatever they can, always eating, always looking for more. Sometimes individually, sometimes in groups.

During the [[End Times]] the Ogre Kingdoms were taken over by the Orcs under [[Grimgor Ironhide]] and joined his Beast WAAAAGH! after Ironhide defeated the last Overtyrant, [[Greasus Goldtooth]]. They invaded Cathay and later took part in the last stand against Chaos in a losing effort.

===[[Age of Sigmar]]===
Now named "Ogors" (because copyright), they exist in the mortal realms as the [[Ogor Mawtribes]]. They are largely the same, barring the division of units into “Gutbusters” (on-foot regular ogres and gnoblars) and “Beastclaw Raiders” (hunters and snowy monsters).

==Regions==
* '''Mountains of Mourn:''' Most Ogres are found in the Mountains of Mourn, considered their homeland. Those that wander or make their homes in other lands return, or send representatives, to tell their stories which usually results in some Ogres leaving the homeland and joining them. Sometimes this results in an entire tribe living outside the Mountains of Mourn, but inevitably they will seek contact again with their kin. This is the primary method through which they expand across the globe. The Mountains themselves change constantly, as they are constantly bathed in radiation from the Warp. Many dangerous animals wander the Mountains. To smaller races, these are dangerous beasts worthy of a small Crusade of [[Bretonnia|Bretonnian]] knights, or a party of High Elf White Lions of Chrace, or a hunting party of [[Vampire Counts|Strigoi and ghouls]]. To Ogres, it's either a single meal or a pet. The largest of them are at best mounts. The mountains themselves are full of caves and tunnels that lead to everything from portals to the Warp to Dwarf Fortresses, to greenskin WAAAGH!s in formation, and things ancient and unknowable beyond these; all of which are great sources of meals. Half the peaks are volcanic, half sub arctic. All bother Ogres as much as a bit of rain or sun. Mount Thug is notable in the range for actually being alive, and Ogres have a great deal of respect for those who escape being eaten or crushed by it as they scale its peaks to feed on the bloated animals that live in spaces Mount Thug can't reach. The [[Fire Mouth]] is an active volcano with periodic eruptions nearby the greatest concentrations of Ogres, and they believe it's the bastard offspring of the sun and the Great Maw. The Firebellies are a cult that worship this "god" which they believe is the wargod of the Ogre pantheon. Each Kingdom is ruled by a Tyrant, and his domain extends literally as far as he can see at his place of dwelling. Tyrants as such place a big deal of importance on thrones and hills. Tyrants that manage to gain control of important sites, like the passes that lead to the Great Maw or out to the western kingdoms face constant challenges from other Tyrants, and reap the rewards of demanding tribute (often food, sometimes a percentage of the Ogre pilgrims in the group as meat).

* '''Challenge Stone:''' A large stone found at the northernmost edge of the Mountains of Mourn and the southernmost edge of the Chaos Wastes. When held by the Warriors of Chaos, it is fought over and rededicated from one Chaos God to another. When held by Ogres, they fight to inscribe their tribe symbol on the stone for bragging rights the world over. The two races CONSTANTLY fight over the stone. Currently controlled by the Bloodmaw tribe.

* '''The World:''' Seriously. They're fucking everywhere.

==Tribes==
Ogre tribes are numerous, and constantly changing. Most are named for a notable Ogre in them, or a characteristic common to members. Ogres are not the kind to trace lineages or politics outside their own generation, and as such tribes are a mark of the present rather than past or future (some tribes do manage to defy this, existing across multiple generations. This is a rarity). Tribes change locations, even within its Tyrant's own kingdom, constantly. Memories of the coming of the Great Maw still exist, and it's within the imagination of Ogres that it could happen again one day. As such, Ogres are mostly nomadic and their possessions are few and easily packed. The most valuable thing to an Ogre is his tribe's Mawtooth, a single great tooth and flag which at gatherings of their kind is arranged with others in a circle, making an effigy of their god.

* '''Goldtooth''': A tribe lasting across multiple generations, known to be the wealthiest. Currently led by Greasus Goldtooth(that's Tradelord Greasus Tribestealer Drakecrush Gatecrasher Hoardmaster Goldtooth the Shockingly Obese to you, peasant!). Known for elaborate displays of wealth, like feeding other tribes and blinging out their gutplates. Goldtooths are known for having a large number of Ironguts, and are the most feared tribe.
<gallery> Image:Goldtooth Tribe.jpg|Goldtooth symbol. </gallery>

* '''Thunderguts''': Known for rampaging through the lands of the Old World and taking over towns or taking hostages, then demanding food as payment. They usually end up either demanding more and more, or eating their hostages. Greenskins and Empire humans alike fear them greatly.
<gallery> Image:Thunderguts Tribe.jpg|Thunderguts symbol. </gallery>

* '''Crossed Clubs''': Known for producing more Maneater mercenaries than other tribes. Also for lying constantly about everything they do, making up tall tales of glory. Each veteran (veterans themselves being a rarity amongst Ogres) wears gear obtained in their travels and proudly displays trophies earned, making them a rather motley crew of clashing colors and gearschemes (obviously the tribe designed for the greenstuff addict in mind).
<gallery> Image:Crossed Clubs.jpg|Crossed Clubs symbol. </gallery>

* '''The Sons of the Mountain''': Living on one of the tallest and coldest peaks in the Mountains of Mourn, the Sons of the Mountain tribe are wealthy from trading the meat, pelts, and ivory of creatures that live only in their home. Many Yhete are found amongst them, and the Ogres of the Sons of the Mountain paint themselves entirely in white paint and dwell amongst the beasts they hunt directly.
<gallery> Image:Sons of the Mountain.jpg|Sons of the Mountain symbol. </gallery>

* '''The Feastmasters''': Known a generation ago for producing high quality meals (for a portion of the feast), the current Tyrant Blaut Feastmaster captured Halflings from the Moot in his travels. To this day, Halflings fill the role for Feastmasters that Gnoblars fulfill for most tribes. As a result, the Feastmaster cooking has improved greatly.
<gallery> Image:Feastmaster.jpg|Feastmaster symbol. </gallery>

* '''The Rock Skulls''': The toughest tribe of Ogres, who are known best for the skill of breaking boulders with their heads (apparently a big deal among Ogres). They're also known for being fairly unintelligent. When Skarsnik the Goblin waged his great wars against the Dwarfs, he brought the entire Rock Skull tribe with him as support. In negotiations with the Goblins for what they were willing to pay for the support of the tribe, he convinced the Rock Skulls to instead pay HIM for them to fight.
<gallery> Image:Rock Skulls.jpg|Rock Skulls symbol. </gallery>

* '''The Blood Guzzlers''': Inhabit the areas of the Mountains of Mourn known to host more giant spiders than anywhere else in the world. That's...pretty much it. They eat spiders.
<gallery> Image:Blood Guzzlers.jpg|Blood Guzzlers symbol. </gallery>

* '''The Ironskins''': Physically powerful Ogres that wear black gutplates. Known for taking massive numbers of captives, and not eating them, they trade freely with the [[Chaos Dwarfs]], and their Tyrant rides a mechanical mount given to him to provide better ties between the two groups.
<gallery> Image:Ironskin.jpg|Ironskin symbol. </gallery>

* '''Lazarghs''': The single oldest tribe, descended from Groth Onefinger himself. Live closest to the ancient Giant lands, most have mutated in various (non-Chaos) ways and cover themselves with cloaks. Their teeth fall out often, leading them to simply jab black jagged rocks directly into their gums, horrifying even the toughest, most scarred Ogres. They carry bells, and hang them to mark the pass to the Great Maw.
<gallery> Image:Lazarghs.jpg|Lazargh symbol. </gallery>

* '''The Mountaineaters''': Recently, an Ogre named Bauldig Mountaineater conquered every challenge Ogres had to offer him. Climbed Mount Thug, fought every beast, and destroyed Bigstride Peak by burrowing in and eating the heart of that mountain. A tribe of fanboys and groupies gathered to him, each eating rocks and dwelling in caves. The only meat they eat comes from subterranean races like goblins, Dwarfs, and Skaven.
<gallery> Image:The Mountaineaters.jpg|Mountaineater symbol. </gallery>

* '''The Eyebiters''': A clan that controls a series of desolate passes leading to and from many of the Ogre lands. They demand large tributes from any who pass through, and raid all settlements and hunt all monsters within their range. The Tyrant of the Eyebiters has fathered more children to grow into adulthood than any Ogre.
<gallery> Image:The Eyebiters.jpg|Eyebiters symbol. </gallery>

* '''Tribe of Shrewd Fulg''': A tribe of Ogres scared shitless of showing the barest hint of rebellion against their Tyrant, Shrewd Fulg, despite him being old and hunchbacked. Why? Because Shrewd Fulg is a spiteful slaver who trades his own tribesmembers to the Skaven of Clan Moulder to mutate into Rat Ogres. Even his own bodyguards don't dare to fart in his vicinity.

==Army==

===Characters===
* '''[[Greasus Goldtooth]]:''' The current Overtyrant of the Ogres in the Mountain of Mourn. Gained leadership of his tribe after killing and eating his own father in a pit fight.

* '''Golgfag Maneater:''' The greatest Ogre mercenary alive, and the one all others are named after. He earned renown fighting against the Dwarfs in the World Edge Mountains, eating, fighting and robbing his way into notoriety. At first fighting against the dwarfs of Karak Kadrin, then for them after pissing off his Orc employer by drinking all the booze, then robbing the Dwarf King blind, '''after they paid him'''. Golgfag got locked up by those same dwarfs later. He impressed Ungrim Ironfist by eating everyone else in the dungeon but his oldest friend(who still lost a leg). Ungrim wept that such a majestic creature was being imprisoned and ordered his release. His rap sheet includes: looting on Ulthuan, being decorated by Karl Franz, coining the Ogre slang word for Knights as "Tinned Food", making and losing countless fortunes, and downing more of the dwarfs' most prized beer then most of them have even seen. He's so famous that his title of Maneater has become the word for all Ogre Mercenaries. Golgfag got the title after eating his human paymaster and making off with the gold chests. Despite the name he'll eat anything like any other Ogre, though he especially likes halfling. Golgfag leads the renowned and rather imaginatively named mercenary band "Golgfag's Maneaters".

* '''Bragg The Gutsman:''' Traveling bruiser and executioner. As a young Ogre Bragg found he had a talent for killing shit, naturally knowing where to swing for the best results. Bragg was a fairly average brusier until he forged his signature weapon "Great Gutgouger" from the magical axes of a Black Orc Warboss he killed, which increased his killing ability tenfold. What made him infamous however was his discovery that he could cut around other Ogre's gutplates disemboweling them. Ogres are scared shitless of him because of this, since Ogres' guts are sacred to them and Ogre anatomy means its a long, nearly irreversible and agonizing death as their guts unravel after being disemboweled. Bragg realized he had a good thing going, and left his tribe to go solo, taking his one man murder show on the road seeking battle. He is welcomed by all tribes to fight alongside them thanks to his killing ability, but feared and hated as he inevitably cuts someone from that same tribe open for challenging him, at which point he gets kicked out. Bragg isn't bothered one bit, happily leaving to do it all over again somewhere else. He can't become a Tyrant since no Ogres are willing to follow him thanks to his grim reputation, even if he kills the old one. He wears a black hood like some human executioners, figuring if he's got a fierce reputation, might as well make the most of it.

* '''[[Skrag the Slaughterer]]:''' The Great Prophet of the Great Maw. Viciously attached to his back is a giant pot, which he fills with enemies AS HE FIGHTS. What he misses is grabbed by Gnoblars in service directly to him (ranking them above even common Ogres) and put into the pot. He was the head Slaughtermaster of the Rockgrinder tribe. He angered the Tyrant by cooking their favorite Gnoblar and serving it to him at a feast. In retribution the Tyrant hacked off and ate both of Skrag's hands, had his pot chained to his body, then cast him into tunnels even Ogres feared. He immediately impaled his former cooking tools into his stumps, and set forth. Long forgotten Gorgers attacked him, and they found themselves hacked up and in his pot. After dicing up their leader, the Gorgers followed him as if members of a tribe he leads. He found himself reaching the surface through a cavern none of the Gorgers had ever seen before. He and his followers set upon the tribe, killing and feasting on them all. Upon putting the finishing touches on a lovely dish made entirely out of the former Tyrant, his wounds sans his missing hands healed and his pot and cooking implements were strengthened with the magic of the Great Maw. Now a tribeless Ogre, Skrag wanders the lands of the Ogres joining in battles whenever he can. Welcomed by all, he not only turns the tide of battle but also prepares and cooks the resulting corpses with great skill.

* '''Shrewd Fulg''': An old and irritable tyrant who sells his own kind to Skaven to make into Rat Ogres in return for having Clan Moulder back his rule.

* '''Braugh the Slavelord''': Braugh was once a prisoner to a Necromancer, but he escaped his bonds, found the Necromancer in a coffin, beat him to death with a chair and skinned him. Afterwards he celebrated by eating half the Necromancer's other captives and talking the rest as slaves, but then he discovered something ''very'' interesting. The magic of the Necromancer lingered on in a set of chains; Braugh now uses those chains to cast spells as a Wizard and bind his slaves' souls so that if they die, they come back as a Zombie. This allows him to make a very profitable living as both a slave trader and a spellslinger-for-hire.

===Generic Characters===
* '''Tyrant:''' The head of an Ogre tribe. Rules by virtue of his ability to defeat challengers, and reputation. Anyone can challenge the Tyrant for his position in a fight without gutplates where the loser is eaten alive. These fights are the most common form of entertainment for Ogres. Tyrants have the best gear, the most names, and most children of any Ogre in a given tribe.

* '''Bruisers:''' The subordinates of the Tyrants, and oftentimes future Tyrants come from their ranks. They can do anything they want so long as it doesn't offend the Tyrant or their fellow Bruisers. Like the Tyrant, Bruisers can be challenged to one on one combat. The winner eats the loser, and attains the rank of Bruiser.

* '''Slaughtermaster/Butcher:''' The priesthood of the Ogres, Butchers handle all meat considered the property of the Tyrant, Bruisers, or the whole tribe. Considered a direct line between the Great Maw and the common Ogre, Butchers enjoy a position equal to Tyrants but entirely separate. Tyrants take great care not to offend Butchers lest the tribe abandon him fearing a comet crashing down atop their heads. Butchers are known to kill any Ogres who offend them to feed to the group, or to randomly take body parts from the tribe for flavoring. They carry holy implements, all of which aid in cooking or preparing, at all times. They are larger than any other Ogre in any given group, getting the best choice of meat and consuming it (being a direct link between the tribe and the Great Maw). Butchers do not wear gutplates as a declaration of faith that the Great Maw has got their <s>backs</s> guts. Any Ogre child with a gift for magic, or is seen blessed in some way, is taken by a Butcher and fed a copious amount of meat. As he grows, he is fed things that are poisonous and inedible even to ogres to strengthen his gut (based on the real-life practice called mithridatism - ingesting poisons to develop a resistance or immunity to them) things to make his gut ever stronger to hold the essence of the Great Maw. Most Butchers learn the Gut Magic of the Ogres, being things related to their culture like strengthening the skin of Ogres, tenderizing the meat of (still living) enemies, and causing the earth to swallow foes alive as sacrifice "appetizers". Others learn other magic Lores, all in their belief related to the Great Maw (Lore of Heavens=the comet, Lore of Death=consumption from the Great Maw, and so on). Slaughtermasters are simply the leaders amongst the Butchers.

* '''Hunters:''' Lone Ogres who take the role of a WoW huntard. Usually tribeless, they wander through the mountains and wild in search of beasts to prey upon. Sometimes they’ll even take some of them alive and bring them back to some other tribe as a gift to the Tyrant. A feast will be held in the Hunter’s honor where he will tell stories about his adventures before quietly vanishing back into the wilderness.

* '''Firebellies:''' Strange religious fanatics that worship a volcano called the Fire Mouth. There are three tests. The first is to eat super-hot chili (powerful enough that it's implied to be a laxative, a substitute for boiling oil or both) and keep it down. Then they have to track down and eat a giant firebug that lives in volcanoes. The final test to join the cult is to be dipped into the caldera of the Fire Mouth, eat a mouthful of magma and come out alive. Though, on the upside, those who survive can breathe fire, use fire magic and are almost immune to heat.

===Core===
* '''Ogre Bulls:''' The basic Ogre that lacks any particular rank. Ogres are (repeatedly) described as having a bully mentality by GW (oh the irony). If they want it, they try to take it. If you aren't respecting them enough, or it's been too long since they reminded you WHO gets the respect, they rough you up. The only way to stop them is to prove you're better than them, at which point they'll likely back the fuck off and suck up to you as the new boss (this behavior is reminiscent of Orks in 40k, however Orks tend to naturally follow the biggest whereas Ogres are likely to see "biggest" as a challenge to their own masculinity and attempt to EAT the biggest Ogre, and become the biggest themselves). Generally speaking, most Ogres are dumb as rocks and it takes an extraordinary Ogre to learn lessons. Those that do invariably reach some degree of old age, and probably aren't in this category for long.

* '''Ironguts:''' Ironguts are the basic Ogre, but with armor. They tend to be a bit tougher than their fellows as a means of natural selection, since Ogres squabble amongst each other for gear, so the Ogre who manages to KEEP his equipment is one that can't be challenged by un-armored Ogres for it. The types of equipment varies; for some Ogres, it's the tools from a farm the Ogres consumed (livestock, crops, AND family. Probably the house and their little dog too) bent and tied as weapons and the shield and flattened helmets of the local town guard tied to their limbs for armor. For others, it's a well crated suit of Gromril armor from the Dwarfs who the Ogre has served as a mercenary. Some Ironguts have evolved natural armor, like Ogres who have lived for so long in Nehekhara that the sand has been worn directly into their skin, compacting as they flex until it's almost like they have stone skin. Bruisers and Tyrants have some say as to who is an Irongut and who isn't, as divvying up the spoils of war usually falls to them (if they're giving out any at all). Like Silver Helms for High Elves and Black Orcs for greenskins, Ironguts are the Ogre variety to which most of the race looks to as exemplary of their kind.

* '''[[Gnoblar|Gnoblars]]:''' Small greenskins that evolved to their current state when Ogres moved from the mountains of the Giants to the Mountains of Mourn. Gnoblars have the place of being the singularly most mistreated beings in either Warhammer setting, as Ogres see them somewhere between vermin like insects that are simply a fact of life to deal with, or very low and undepletable slaves. Sometimes as food if there's nothing better around, although some Gnoblars wind up in the position of "favorite hunting dog" as long as the Ogre can remember them. Meanwhile, Gnoblars see Ogres as a mix of living gods and eternal masters. They differ from Goblins in that they are much smaller, and while Goblins have pronounced noses the face of a Gnoblar is mostly nose. This gives them a beak appearance, making them resemble a Jim Henson Muppet character.

===Special===
* '''Leadbelchers:''' Ogres who carry around field cannons as hand weapons, which they will shove just about every jagged object into and hit people with in close quarters like some ginormous shotguns. They are typically seen as rather unhinged by their fellow Ogres, which usually means that they get to be good for a bit of fun. Their cannons also look suspiciously like Imperial and Dwarf cannons (in fact, they do take them after successful fights or get themselves custom-forged guns from the Chaos Dwarves). If these guys don't have at least one scar, such as missing eyes, burnt skin, disfigured faces, etc., they're doing it wrong.

* '''Maneaters:''' If this was D&D these guys would be an ogre adventurer. They can take a variety of special rules and special gear, and make themselves look like the corresponding region they've been working in, such as stabbing feathers into their skull like State Troopers without the headgear, or jabbing sharp rocks into their gums to emulate vampires.

* '''Sabretusk Pack:''' Sabre tooth tigers, but wolves, great for hunting war machines. Though with LD 4 they will run from anything. Standard use is to get a single one and run it into the nearest cannon - If someone focuses it out, they've severely wasted some shots that could've gone to cutting down Ogres.

* '''Yhetees:''' The Ogres frozen, mutant, hillbilly cousins. Got all magical attacks, not really good for much else though. Their models also look even more like deranged chimpanzees than the old Gutter Runner models.

* '''Mournfang Cavalry:''' Ogres on the backs of smaller woolly mammoths (as in "as small as a trebutchet"), great for causing mayhem to your opponents troops. Known for being one of the only things that can scare Chaos Knights.

* '''Gorgers:''' Albino baby ogres who were born without a characteristic paunch whoa are thrown to die in a tribes warpstone caves, but these ones survived by eating whatever they can find down there: such as rats, roaches, rocks [[Grimdark|and each other]]. In lore these landshark troglodytes are supposed to be both insanely aggressive and hungry with high killing capabilities. Tabletop-wise they are also known for being pretty useless... But then again, what do you expect from a emaciated albino loser?

===Rare===
* '''Gnoblar Scraplaunchers:''' Sometimes, a group of Gnoblars get together to fight alone - Most of the times, that will be in huge rabbles of mutant Goblins below even slave status, which won't do much other than piss off a unit of Chaos Warriors, but once in a while, they'll get together, find a woolly rhino and strap a chariot to it, on which a catapult is placed. Unfortunately, Gnoblars can only get to the smallest of objects, as Ogres take all the rest, so it's mostly scrap and stuff they throw about with it... Fortunately, there's a lot of scrap in an Ogre camp.

* '''Ironblasters:''' Same chariot, same rhino, but with an Ogre on top, alongside a fucking big cannon, taken from the Skyholds of the Giants back in the day. As such, these cannons are sorta held as relics in the individual tribes, as much as an inedible thing can be to Ogres. Also known for being ''the'' cannon in the game that can move AND shoot. I'll say it again. Move. And. Shoot. Can also charge and kill stuff as a chariot. Truly, Ogre Kingdoms is the superior WFB faction.

* '''Slave Giants:''' Said people the Ogres stole the cannons from. Also made them into inbred animals and reduced them to sub-tribal wandering monsters. Also still use them for battle, because fuck them, right? Basically the same as any other Giant in any other faction, but here, they are enslaved by the race that destroyed their civilization ''unknowingly'', because Ogres never really kept history like that. Ogres are dicks like that.

* '''Stonehorns:''' A mammoth/rhino hybrid with stone bones, and the attitude of a pissed-off bull in a china shop. Have so great an urge to headbutt ''anything'' they see that only the youngest of the race have any skin on their forehead, which leads to them looking like Skeletor, if Skeletor was made of stone. They eat minerals and meat, so gemstones protrude from their bones like freckles from skin. For some-odd reason, Ogre Hunters use them as mounts, which really doesn't make sense, as the fucking thing can't stand straight unless it's headbutting the ground it's standing on, but no one's gonna complain about having a steed that can literally bulldoze just about anything into the ground. Also, there's the question of how the hell they reproduce since Stonehorns of either gender would be too busy head-butting everything in sight to actually mate. The best guess on how that process works would be that the male has to headbutt the female until she's too tired to fight him before mating with her.

* '''Thundertusks:''' Legends are told about the legendary thundertusk "Fridge" who acompanied a band of ogres through the Empire and coined the term "Fridgereted" for frozen chunks of meat that will keep fresh throughout the winter. Less volatile than the Stonehorn, Thundertusks are used as combined fridge, walking meat and watchtowers, with one or two Ogres sitting on top with ranged weaponry like throwing spears, harpoon launchers held like crossbows and fucking sabertooth-jaws fitted on chains, so the Ogre in question can make the enemy come over to him. Thundertusks are naturally freezy, and makes its surroundings colder by being there. This is quite useful for freezing less tough creatures down, so the Ogres can catch them before they slit their bellies. They even have a frost-breath-like attack for further freezing. Shame it looks like a retarded mandrill fused with a mammoth, but without the trunk. One might find oneself asking how the Thundertusk eats when it has so many tusks and the like in the way. The answer? Well...I don't have one, but hopefully there is one out there somewhere. Edit: Apparently it's a combination of skill, a long and dexterous tongue, and using their tusks to flip the meat of slain prey into the air and directly into their gaping maws.

==Total Warhammer==
Ogre Mercenaries are going to be recruitable for all factions after getting their FLC through Total War Access, with individual locations that they can be recruited from randomly appearing around areas where conflicts and battles occur, as is frankly logical for mercenaries. These mercenary units include thicc dual-wielding ogres, thicc Maneaters wielding a weapon and a "pistol", and extra thicc Mournfang Cavalry. This is certainly just a taste (heh) of the Ogres before the full Ogre Kingdoms factions release as pre-order DLC for [[Total War: Warhammer|Total Warhammer]] 3, which really wasn't that all surprising given the Ogre Kingdoms were always a full faction in WFB while the iffier sorts of Kislev and Cathay were confirmed for 3's release factions instead.

As of November 4th, 2021, they got a trailer, and even got a song with it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Bbp98oMsjA

As unlikely as it was, even minor background character Shrewd Fulg was able to make an indirect appearance, as his tribe, simply called "Fulg" as a shortening of "Tribe of Shrewd Fulg" appears as a minor faction. In an un-Ogre-like way, Shrewd Fulg doesn't lead his own armies in battle, being old and hunchbacked. Instead, his henchman Targog acts as the face you speak to during negotiations and war.

==Misc Fluff==
* Ogres don't have priests. Butchers and cooks are their holy men. The only interest Ogres have in the faiths of others is in traditions related to eating. This can be awkward when, in the company of a group of Sigmarites for example, the Ogre bodyguard keeps commenting on how he can't wait for someone to die for the funeral feast (even more awkward when he thinks that eating the body of the deceased is part of it).
* Most Ogres wear a piece of armor over their stomach, a gutplate. Gutplates are sort of the equivalent of full plate armor for Ogres, as their most important organs are all hidden behind the large race-wide paunch they have. Helmets and shoulderpads are secondary as anything big enough to pierce an ogre's head and shoulders with weapons would likely ignore the armor anyway. Plus, given their fixation on eating and the god they worship, their guts are considered sacred. Only Butchers and Slaughtermasters eschew a gutplate, preferring to put their trust in the Great Maw to protect them.
* In older lore, Tyrants love their favorite weapons. An Ogre touching the Tyrant's weapon, who wasn't the Tyrant himself, was punished by being force-fed their own hands.
* Ogres enjoy pitfighting, and use it to settle disputes. The winner is allowed to eat part of the loser, ranging from an appendage (such as a nose) to an entire limb. If Ogres remove their gutplates in a pit fight, that means it's a fight to the death where the winner will eat the loser in front of the crowd.
* Ogres are known to collect names. Their first name is usually a guttural sound made by the mother or father upon seeing the infant, the last being their tribe. But anything they choose to add to their name from their life experiences is attached as well. Sometimes these names are less than complimentary words Ogres don't understand like "debased" or "unscrupulous" or "acrid". The result can be interesting ("Gulk 'Scampered Engorged Beareater Bling Topsyturvy Gelatinous' Goldtooth" for example). These names literally strengthen the Ogres on the tabletop, counting as upgrades that came from the experiences they had (also a bit of Orkish "clap your hands if you believe, and it will happen" style magic).
* Ogre Biology is weird. For one their gut isn't actually filled with fat, but rows upon rows of muscle, which lets them crunch up anything inside with ease. Their skin is also extremely thick (literally) which also hints that they likely don't have any feeling in them, allowing them to do cringe-worthy levels of stuff to their outer hides (like piercing them with hooks) that other saner races would rarely do.
** Between cultural/religious and biological reasons, being disemboweled is considered the worst possible way to die for ogres; Ogres only die when all their guts finish pouring out of the stomach wound, and ogres have ''lots and lots and lots'' of intestines, so it's a slow, irreversible, and incredibly painful process. Even watching another ogre get disemboweled can cause a reaction similar to men watching another man getting his balls slowly crushed. Gutplates prevent this (for the most part), so Gut Up, young bull!
* It's possible that the Halflings and Ogres were meant to be companion species in a similar manner to Kroxigors and Skinks. While there are exceptions, members of the two races have an uncanny tendency to get along when they meet. After the depature of the Old Ones left the two species in seperate geographic locations, the Ogres started taking on Gnoblars as their protectorates, which could be related to their affinity with Halflings through the Ogres trying to fill in the void caused by their missing companions with an inferior substitute.

==Crunch(ing and Biting)==
Ogres are a low pop army with lots of fun rules. They're fairly strong right now, so they're increasingly popular. Despite this, most new players don't know much about Ogre Kingdoms fluff so by doing your research you can easily gain some 'ham cred.
Ogres on the charge hit like artillery blasts. Ogres can upgrade their standard bearers to have Gnoblars in a makeshit crows nest on top of them, allowing all characters and the champion in the unit to get "Look Out Sir" benefits. In addition, Ogres get a few nifty weapons no other army gets.

==Gallery==
NOTE: Some of the models below are conversions, but there are official GW models among them. Can you guess which is which?

<gallery>
Image:Araby Ogre.png|Araby Ogre
Image:1.jpg|Beastmen Ogre
Image:Bretonnian Ogre.png|Bretonnian Ogre
Image:Cathay Ogre.png|Cathay Ogre
Image:Dark Elf Ogre.jpg|Dark Elf Ogre
Image:Dwarf Ogre.png|Dwarf Ogre
Image:Chaos Dwarf Ogre.jpg|Chaos Dwarf Ogre
Image:9.jpg|High Elf Ogre
Image:Lizardmen Ogre.jpg|Lizardmen Ogre
Image:Nippon Ogre.jpg|Nippon Ogre
Image:Orcs and Goblins Ogre.jpg|Orcs & Goblins Ogre
Image:Skaven Ogre.jpg|Skaven Ogre
Image:Empire Ogre.jpg|Empire Ogre
Image:Tomb Kings Ogre.png|Tomb Kings Ogre
Image:Vampire Counts Ogre.jpg|Vampire Counts Ogre
Image:Warriors of Chaos Ogre.jpg|Warriors of Chaos Ogre
Image:Wood Elves Ogre.jpg|Wood Elves Ogre
Image:Ninja Ogre.png|Ninja Ogre
Image:Pirate Ogre.png|Pirate Ogre
Image:Female Ogre.png|Crossdressing Ogre
Image:8039787889_96ed2c0f29_k.jpg|ogre Slaan
7180203363 d2bffd50f0 k.jpg|lustrian standard
7176858107 e68eecf828 o.jpg|lustrian bulls
7180207541 159c1f51e1 k.jpg|lustrian bruiser
7362010446_d8e5ba564e_o.jpg|lustrian thundertusk
8815390127 6f698fd585 o.jpg|lustrian "sabretusk"
10800351164 e09f18840b o.jpg|lustrian hunter
Bullunit.jpg|orc bulls
DSC03006.JPG|Cathay
Leadbelcherwip011.jpg|orc leadbelchers
Assdffe.jpg|tzeentch bull
Lizardmen2.jpg|lizardmen leadbelcher
Skaven2.jpg|skaven
Blood Bowl Lady Ogres.jpg|Lady Ogres in Blood Bowl. EXTRA THICC
</gallery>

==See Also==
* [[Warhammer/Tactics/8th Edition/Ogre Kingdoms|Ogre Kingdoms tactica]] for playing them in WHFB.
* [[Ogre Kingdoms Creation Tables]] to make your own tribe.
* [[Ogryn]] for their 40k counterparts.
* [[Ogor Mawtribes]] for their AoS sucessors.

{{Playable Factions in Warhammer Fantasy Battle}}

{{Regions and areas of the Old World}}
[[Category:Warhammer Fantasy]][[Category:Ogre Kingdoms]]

Distender

2022-09-21T14:48:59Z

2601:188:C300:64B8:6421:EABE:84ED:1FAC:

[[Image: Distender.jpg]]
A fiend who vomits the four humors into its prey to inflate them DeviantArt-style. Then proceeds to vore them whole like an anaconda, also DeviantArt-style.

[[Category: Dungeons & Dragons]]

Distender

2022-09-21T14:36:03Z

2601:188:C300:64B8:6421:EABE:84ED:1FAC:

[[Image: Distender.jpg]]
A fiend who vomits the four humors into its prey to inflate them DeviantArt-style. Then proceeds to vore them whole like an anaconda, also DebiantArt-style.

[[Category: Dungeons & Dragons]]

Vilisemen

2022-09-21T14:33:51Z

2601:188:C300:64B8:6421:EABE:84ED:1FAC:

[[Image: Vilisemen.webp]]
Possessed jizzum-skeet from Dungeons and Dragons. Literally the vengeful souls of the potential children from the cum possessing the semen, angry their chance to be born was robbed from them.

[[Category: Dungeons & Dragons]]

Distender

2022-09-21T14:28:04Z

2601:188:C300:64B8:6421:EABE:84ED:1FAC: Distender

A fiend who vomits the four humors into its prey to inflate them DeviantArt-style. Then proceeds to vore them whole like an anaconda, also DebiantArt-style.

[[Category: Dungeons & Dragons]]

Vilisemen

2022-09-21T14:26:16Z

2601:188:C300:64B8:6421:EABE:84ED:1FAC: Vilisemen

Possessed jizzum-skeet from Dungeons and Dragons. Literally the vengeful souls of the potential children from the cum possessing the semen, angry their chance to be born was robbed from them.

[[Category: Dungeons & Dragons]]

Leagues of Votann

2022-09-21T12:57:59Z

2601:188:C300:64B8:6421:EABE:84ED:1FAC:

{{Infobox 40k Nations
|name=Leagues of Votann
|image=[[Image:‎NewLeaguetemplogo.jpg|200px|center]]
|Capital=Decentralized, Greater Thurian League being most powerful
|Official Languages= Squat Lexicon, High Gothic, Low Gothic
|Power=Great Power
|Size=Galactic Core, a third of Segmentum Solar, several thousand Mining Worlds, many Holds of various sizes
|Head of State=Decentralized, Leagues act as Head of State
|Head of Government=Votannic Councils
|Governmental Structure=Confederated Gerontocratic Supranational Union
|State Religion/Ideology=Ancestor Worship<br>
|Demographic=Kin ([[Squats]], Ironkin)
|Military Force=Kinhost Forces, Kinhost Fleets
}}
{{topquote|Right after Mankind’s colonization of the galaxy came its first true golden age. Reared by machine prophets, the survivors of the Oedipal plagues built civilizations that equaled and even surpassed their Solar forbears.| CM Koseman, ''All Tomorrow's''}}

{{topquote|Better a soulless clone... than a souled roach.|David Mitchell, ''Cloud Atlas''}}

{{topquote|Bite my shiny metal ass!|Bender, ''Futurama''}}

The '''Leagues of Votann''' or otherwise known as the '''Squat Homeworlds''' (Or if you're in /tg/; as the '''Domain of Squats, Squat Territories, [[Dwarf Fortress|SPESS DORF FORTRESS]]''' is the areas in which one can find our beloved space midgets in the early days of 40k and its current modern reboot.

Back in the [[Rogue Trader (Sourcebook)|good old days,]] the then-named Squat Homeworlds, unlike other Imperial-aligned entities in the galaxy, enjoy a significant degree of autonomy. Whilst de jure, the Squat Homeworlds are part of the [[Imperium of Man]], de facto it is its own self-sustaining and self-sufficient society unlike places such as [[Ultramar]] or the [[Adeptus Mechanicus]] which has an interdependent and semi-autonomous relationship with [[Terra]].

Of course, we all know how the Squats were Squatted soon after making the debut, with the [[Tyranids]] [[Derp|''somehow'' targeting <u>'''''only'''''</u> the Squat worlds whilst leaving the rest of the Imperium-controlled space right next door to the Squats largely untouched.]] This is ridiculous when taking into account that the territories of the Squats weren't some small speck like the [[Tau Empire]], but rather, a significantly large domain that took up half of the entire Galactic core. This is made worse when taking into consideration that [[Lolwut|it was completely out of character for the Imperium to stop and do nothing against such a large incursion of Tyranid forces in an area considered astrostrategically important for them.]] [[Games Workshop|Games Workshop's]] [[Fail|shitty excuse/explanation in removing the Squats from cannon]] [[Rage|had never really stood well within the community,]] [[RAGE|let alone actual Squat players.]]

However, their reintroduction as the Leagues of Votann has somewhat radically changed their origins whilst still keeping some old lore modernised. The '''Leagues of Votann''' (also known as the [[Squats|Unsquatted Squats]]) is now a [[retcon|""new""]] faction in the [[Warhammer 40,000]] universe. They are gatherings of short abhuman clones called the Kin (more commonly known as Squats by the dirty Necromunda gangers), bound together by the [[Votann]], super-cogitators from the [[Dark Age of Technology]]. Each League has its own Votann, and are organized in strongholds around it. [[Powergamer|They used the data stored to survive among the stars and maintain their culture across generations]]. Of course, since some [[Adeptus Mechanicus|factions]] are touchy about AI, the Leagues are very cautious when dealing with [[Imperium of Man|its closest ally]], hence their secretive lifestyle.

However, because of the [[grimdark|setting]], everything is not that simple. Since Windows is not regularly updated anymore and issues that have arisen from having remained active for literal millennia, the Votann began to deteriorate. If they want to repair their computer, <s>[[Dwarf Fortress|they must wage war with other shitcoin miners for more processing power]]</s>, the Kin have to once more brave a galaxy full of danger. Imagine if Italian Corporatists, the Monopoly Man, and the Evil Mining Heads in fiction were merged with the seven dwarves.

==Rogue Trader Era Fluff==
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%">
Given the sheer extensive history between the old and the new. This section will contain all the fluff from the old Rogue Trader days. For the sake of preventing page bloat, this entire section will be put in a collapsible page.
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
===Historical Overview===
[[File:Squat-logo_banner.png|300px|right|thumb|The original emblem of the squats]]

The Squat Homeworlds were all worlds filled with rich mineral resources, which led the Human ancestors of the Squats to lay down, settle and mine the shit out of. Most of these were located within the galactic core where unique and rare minerals were found in abundance in exchange for being sterile and barren of life of course. But for the early Human colonists, it was a gold mine as [[Terra]] ran out of all of its resources, so the search for raw materials was needed. Their planet's gravity is great, usually two or three times that of Terra. Their atmospheres are either thin or non-existent. Even those planets with atmospheres are blasted by tremendous storms. But hey? Who gives a shit about all of that when you have all the resources to make you rich, and rich the Squats got.

Like the Gulf States, the Squats quickly took a monopoly on these minerals and started to get wealthy, and with money comes an increase in development and technological advancements. These planets became Mining Worlds and with the coming [[Age of Strife]], the Squats got themselves the good end of the stick by both inhabiting hostile worlds and cranking up the technological kazoo when the rest of humanity plunged into a galactic-wide [[shitstorm]].

Squat history can be split into several eras.

====Age of Founding====

The first is the Age of Founding, which is the Squat equivalent of the [[Dark Age of Technology]]. This is not technically the first period of the Squats as they had yet to evolve, but it is the time of the founding of the colonies that would become the Squat Homeworlds. Almost twenty thousand years ago contact between these planets and Terra was almost continuous, testament to the importance of these colonies. Terra also kept the worlds well supplied with that which they could not produce for themselves in adequate amounts, primarily food. This period lasted until the [[Age of Strife]].

====Age of Isolation====

The Age of Isolation corresponds with the earlier part of the Age of Strife - around eighteen thousand years ago. The galactic core was cut off from the rest of human space by the devastating Warp storms of the Age of Strife. Many worlds were swallowed by the Warp and disappeared forever, others were trapped in stasis and became lost. Most survived although they were separated from Earth and all contact was lost with the rest of the galaxy. During this time of isolation and danger the Squat worlds still in contact with each other began to organize for their mutual defense. It was at this time that the Squats began to refer to their worlds as the Homeworlds.

The Homeworlds remained isolated for thousands of years and their inhabitants learned to survive in a universe that was becoming increasingly hostile. Those that survived grew and prospered. Settlements were enlarged and fortified into impregnable Strongholds. They soon developed alternative technologies to make up for the lack of supplies from Earth.

During the isolation the complex system of Engineer Guilds developed. These Guilds were responsible for preserving technical knowledge and skills as well as training technicians, miners and other specialists necessary for the Strongholds. The Guilds transcended the Strongholds, allowing every Stronghold to benefit from the preserved knowledge as well as new advances in technology.

During this age the Leagues first began to develop from Strongholds allied for trading and defense purposes.

====Age of Trade====

The Age of Trade took place during a slight abatement of the warp storms during the Age of Strife and led to the Squats encountering other races, including [[Orks]] and [[Eldar]].

At the beginning of the Age of Trade, some strongholds were attacked, but the aliens quickly realized that the Squats [[RIP AND TEAR|were armed to the fucking teeth and prepared to go down fighting]], and that trade was a more practical arrangement. [[Just As Planned|The Squats took full advantage of their tremendous mineral wealth, which they traded for weapons, foodstuffs and high-technology systems.]] To this day, Squat hydroponic plants, [[Heresy|developed with Eldar help]], are among the most efficient food sources in the Imperium. The Squats remained carefully neutral in the numerous conflicts between Eldar and Orks, maintaining trade links with both sides. There were inevitably small wars from time to time, but for the most part the Squats' complex structure of treaties and trade agreements maintained a stable peace.

====Age of Wars====

The Age of Trade lasted for nearly three millennia, but finally collapsed when an enormous Ork battle-fleet, under the command of Grunhag the Flayer, attempted a full-scale invasion of the Homeworlds. Losses on both sides were astronomical, with vicious tunnel-fights through the mine workings and bloody pitched battles in the Squats' underground settlements. The Squats appealed to their Eldar trading partners for help against the invading Orks, but none was received.

The Age of Wars, as it became known, is regarded by the Squats as the blackest chapter in their history, and the double betrayal by Orks and Eldar gave rise to a cultural enmity which still persists. Many strongholds were wiped out by the Orks, and the traditional epic ballad known as The Fall of Imbach commemorates one such destruction. Even today expeditions are mounted from the Squat Homeworlds in search of lost strongholds, and these expeditions are often accompanied by Adeptus Mechanicus priests, eager to rediscover lost Squat technology to [[Blood Ravens|'burrow from'.]]

====Age of Rediscovery====

The Age of Rediscovery was the most recent phase of Squat history, corresponding to the Great Crusade and the current Age of the Imperium. As the Imperium recovered from the Age of Strife and began to reunite the scattered worlds of humanity, the Squat Homeworlds were rediscovered and contact with the Imperium was established.

The Imperium found that a distinct culture had developed on the Homeworlds, and that the Squats had moved outwards through the galaxy, extending their domains. Often they settled harsh planets similar to their own Homeworlds, but they also occupied more conventional worlds able to support normal Human civilization.

====Age of the Imperium====

The current phase in Squat history. It essentially details the various treaties between the Squats and the Imperium.

The experiences of the previous millennia has left the Squats with a strong sense of cultural unity and a fiercely independent nature, and instead of rejoining the Imperium as subject worlds, the Homeworlds negotiated a series of treaties which enabled them to keep their independence. The racial character of the Squats - hard-working, tenacious, honorable, and inimical to alien races - was almost perfect from the Imperial point of view, and the Imperium was content to allow them a great degree of self-government.

A detailed description of their relationship can be read below.

===Squat-Imperium Relations===
[[File:Squat-homeworlds-800px.jpg|480px|right|thumb|Galactic map of the Squat Homeworlds.]]
First contact with the Squats by the Imperium began during the [[Great Crusade]] as the Emperor's forces reached the worlds near the galactic core. Many of these worlds were the Squat Homeworlds and, Squats being Spess Dorfs and Spess Dorfs being just regular Dorfs with tech, conflict became inevitable. Suffice to say, the [[Space Marine]] legions [[Rape|got their shit kicked in]]. Who would have wondered, that 8-foot tall supersoldiers would have trouble trying to fight in 5-foot by 5-foot tunnels with no cover whatsoever. Here's a fun hint, Empy's forces got creamed so hard it led directly to the development of the Mark 3 [[Power Armor]].

The Emprah with all his infinite wisdom, decided that being on friendly terms with midgets all armed with D-Cannons and rapid-firing plasma machineguns is probably a good idea rather than engaging a war that might as well be the Imperium's Vietnam. So a treaty was signed to sweep the whole 'first-contact shenanigans' under the bus and get back to business.

The Squat Homeworlds as aforementioned, have long been part of the Imperium, but enjoy a level of autonomy greater than the ordinary self-governed Imperial world. Hell, the Squats are so autonomous that not even the [[Administratum]] can touch them. Instead, Squat Homeworlds are ruled by strongholds of leagues.

Nonetheless, the Homeworlds, while governing themselves without interference from the Adeptus Terra, are expected to follow Imperial policy on wider issues. Both the Imperium and the Squats benefit from this arrangement: the Homeworlds provide troops for the [[Imperial Guard]]. The Imperial Guard also provides military support to the Homeworlds when necessary, as they would any other threatened Imperial worlds (Space NATO). Additionally the Squats trade their mineral wealth exclusively with the Imperium in return for some sweet, sweet moolah. The [[Adeptus Mechanicus]] are highly interested in the Squats and the Homeworlds for several reasons: Squats possess a high level of technical expertise which seems to come naturally to the race. Additionally, the Homeworlds as a whole possess the greatest amount of surviving [[STC]] equipment in the Imperium. The Squats are said to allow the Adeptus Mechanicus free access to Squat technology. However it is also said the Squats keep their technology from other races, regarding the Adeptus Mechanicus as little more than sorcerers mired in superstition.

The relationship between the Homeworlds and the Imperium is therefore generally peaceful, although through history has been punctuated by bouts of war and bitterness. The Squats and the Imperium trade to their mutual benefit. Both races also share many enemies, especially [[Orks]], making it in their best interests to cooperate. The Squats do not follow the Imperial Cult, rather they revere their ancestors. Squats fighting alongside the Imperial Guard often adopt the Emperor into their beliefs, as a guardian of their ancestors.

Squat technology is based upon the heavy mining equipment they brought with them to the Homeworlds. During their isolation from the rest of humanity they adapted it for other uses, notably exo-armour which was engineered from heavy mining suits. Squats continued to innovate and invent while humanity sank into a Dark Age. As a result, the Squats have developed technologies such as [[Wat|neo-plasma]] and warp cores far in advance of anything the Imperium owns. Some Squat technologies were absorbed into the Imperium, especially tunneling vehicles and weaponry such as the [[Tunneling Transport Vehicles#Termite|Termite.]]

===Strongholds===
Strongholds are Squat settlement centres. They were generally founded during the original colonisation and those produced later are known as ''Newholds''. Strongholds also often join together under Leagues to form defensive pacts.

Generally a Stronghold develops around a mine and its associated living quarter although some later developments were not associated with mining. A hereditary Lord ruled each stronghold and was protected and supported by the [[Hearthguard]]. The [[Hearthguard]] were the elite of a Squat army and the servants to the Lord while also protecting the Lord when he went to war. Each Stronghold had a group of [[Squat Trooper|Brotherhood or War-Brethren]] which formed the core of the Squat armed forces for the Stronghold. Every Squat had an obligated 30-70 year service period although they may not be called upon to fight until they had sired two sons and raised them to maturity. This helped protect the continuity of the race from the Stronghold's military activities. A Squat could then retire from active duty with his honor and probably some wealth and take up a position of responsibility in his family's business.

The Brotherhood was often also seen as a mercenary force. In times of peace warriors were traded for resources to either fight for the Imperium or for other strongholds. Another member of the aristocracy was the [[Squat Warlord|Warlord,]] a close relative of the Lord who was there to be placed in control of the Brotherhood in order to prevent Lords from wielding too much power and sending their troops into battles they should not be fighting. Other Lords would send their Brotherhoods on expeditions which range from locating other ancient and lost strongholds to a campaign against an alien race or piracy. Some Brotherhoods had totally turned to piracy and become known as Squat Reavers. When they returned to their stronghold they distributed the booty between the pirates and the Lord of the Stronghold.

Squats had a requirement to provide forces for the Imperial Guard and this often took the form of a detachment of the Brotherhood.

===Leagues===

So what are Leagues? Well, in a nutshell, they are groups of strongholds working together for a common purpose - usually mutual defense - trade or dealings with the Imperium. Leagues varied greatly in size, the smallest consisting of four Strongholds and the largest consisting of over three thousand. The League of Thor was the most powerful and influential, including over 300 strongholds. The League of Norgyr was the league closest to Holy Terra. Now, under the new lore there exists the [[Leagues of Votann]], each formed around a [[Votann]] ancestor core. Votann equipped leagues seem to be the only survivors as full scale polities in the Imperium, but at least some clans are known to have survived, usually working as engineers, miners and mercenaries.

A League usually encompassed the Strongholds on more than one planet with the latest extant being 700 known Leagues total. Each League was led and dominated by a single Stronghold. As some Leagues were virtually nations with distinct cultures, Squats often identified themselves with the League their Stronghold belonged to.

The Squats had a strong sense of mutual preservation, as it had been known for rival leagues to go to war with each another. Such occasions could lead to lasting enmity, as Squats were inclined to remember deeds of infamy for many generations much like the Book of Grudges from [[Warhammer Fantasy]]. The League of Thor and League of Grindel fought an unusually bitter war around 2,000 years ago when settlers from both sides clashed over the exploration of the Lost Stronghold of Dargon. The war that followed resulted in the destruction of several Strongholds and many key victories for the League of Thor including the capture of two other Leagues. Peace only came with the huge Ork invasion of Grunhag the Flayer which obliged all the Leagues to unify against their mutual foe. Although the war ended with the rout of the Orks, the two Leagues remained distrustful rivals and both sides considered the other side owing them debts of blood and honor.
</div></div>

==Reboot Fluff==
This section details the new and updated fluff from 2022 onwards. This deals with the Leagues and their similar but new background for the modern 40k narrative.
===History===
[[File:Votann meeting.jpg|500px|thumb|right|[[Star Wars|200,000 clones are ready with a million more well on the way.]]]]
Even though the oldest living Kin don’t remember what their earliest days were like, some undeniable “First Truths” remain constant in the Votanns’ data tracks. One such truth is that the First Ancestors departed from ancient Terra prior to the Unification Wars to harvest the untold riches of the galaxy with the first holds being settled near the galactic core. What became of these Ancestors is unknown, but curiously when the Ancestors begun to fade away…the Votann are first mentioned.

A second First Truth is that the Kin have always been a cloned people. The Ancestors used genetic systems called “cloneskeins” to [[Transhumanist|manipulate and modify their race’s molecular structure]], and continue to define their overall division of labor. Over time the Kin became squatter, denser, and stronger than an average human growing no more than five feet tall max. They’ve even been able to artificially neuter their [[psyker|psychic]] footprint to avoid the attention of [[Chaos]], in a not too dissimilar to how the [[Tau]] souls work. Other examples of this engineering can be seen in the Hearthkyn Warriors, who often are also engineered with particular cloneskeins that allow them to specialise in combat – heightened senses, improved stamina, and the ability to see better in the dark, to name but a few. In contrast, others augment their bodies for battle with mechanical limbs and synthetic organs, with members of the powerful Cthonian Mining Guilds being noted as extensive users of these body modifications. This is not that unexpected as that particular guild (which is noted as being a particularly extreme embodiment of the usual belligerent acquisitiveness of the Kin) is willing to fearlessly locate, secure, and harvest resources for their race from environments so dangerous that even other Kin would baulk at their hazards leading to a need for extensive augmentation on their part. Because of all the above, some fans are now speculating that GW is tying the [[Men of Stone]] thread to the modern Squat civilization (either to the Squats themselves or to the Votann) given the [[Men of Gold]] and [[Men of Iron]] have already been speculated to be [[Perpetual]]s and [[Machine Spirit|abominable intelligence]]. With the reveal of the “Iron Kin,” their fully-mechanical and true AI robot social class, who were designed with a prerogative to help their meaty cousins, this theory of the Kin being the Men of Stone could bear all the more weight.

At some point during the reconstruction after the Horus Heresy, the ancestors of the Ironhead Squats arrived from the Leagues to help with rebuilding efforts on Necromunda. However they somehow lost their Votann ancestor core in the process and so they ended up having to stay on the world long after the rebuilding was done so they could try and track it down, a search which still continues to this day and has resulted in them regressing technologically in the mean time. Maybe someone should tell them to go search Van Saar's basement.

With the formation of the Great Rift, the Leagues had lost a few holds and trade routes, pressuring them into expanding and gaining new trade routes, endorsing new colonization efforts, and slowly withdrawing from their semi isolated state.

===Culture===

[[File:1657022781779.jpg|300px|thumb|right|I NEED MOAR]]

{{topquote|So, we're talking about space dwarfs who need more RAM for their gods?|Anon}}

In the modern day of the 41st Millennium, the culture of the Kin seems very egalitarian, with no distinction between male, female, machine or otherwise amongst its members. [[Greater Good|United in the guidance of the Votann, the Leagues of the Kin operate with seeming unity, with the Kin working in unison for the betterment of their Kindreds, or so it would appear to outsiders.]] The truth however is a little more complicated than that though.

The Leagues are semi unified conglomerates of "family states" (a cross between nation states and extended family) called Kindreds, guilds, Freelancers, and kinhost armies. While the Leagues are very communal and chummy with their fellow kin, this does not stop the dark influences of a past long gone from seeping into their civilizations.

Entire planets and even systems with ecosystems and civilizations stripped to the bone, regardless of the ethics. Global magna extraction and tectonic delving allows the Kin to harvest whole worlds, populated or not. Evacuation may be offered, but not always. Ferocious competition between Guilds and freelancers, who have taken on the mantle from dark age corporations, merc groups, independent contractors, and cartels and follow the philosophy of "When someone has what you want, why not take it." While the Kin do live to serve their fellow kin, their societies, and their ancestors, they are also filled to the brim with society-wide greed and hunger. As individuals, they may or may not have such hungers, but as communities they will devour entire worlds. Not even the universe itself will be enough for their wants.

This does not mean they are the type to cut corners. Far from it. Like their many Dwarven counter parts in other media, one of the things they appreciate is fine ass Craftmanship. No planned obsolescence, shoddy piss water, and easy to break communicators here. Only the best in quality is acceptable (or at least, the best they can make). And this is not even such a difficult feat for them. High quality mass produced goods is the norm for League society, with their high technology and industrial society. Many of their holds are even live-in factories, constantly churning out master crafted items at a constant pace. The Leagues overall conduct resource extraction, industry. and technology developments on a vastly larger scale, making the Imperium look puny in their developments by comparison. And unlike the imperium, they dont dig for the ore required, wasting time and lives. the Kin instead sees that whatever asteroid or world they are working on can just be torn apart, and the remnants plucked out the wreckage

But despite all their comforts and conveniences, they are still a hardy people who revere their ancestors and promote the importance of sacrifice.

===Technology===
Let's not beat around the bush here, their stuff is straight up better than the Imperium's. While they didn't retain everything after the collapse of the golden age of Man, they retained far more than their Imperial counterparts, to the point where they can at least echo DAoT society and its tech. While much of the Leagues tech is reminiscent of the Imperium's, it's is LEAGUES better than what they have.

They can edit their souls. They can make stable mutations and psykers. Their guns hit harder and faster, and even their basic infantry can prove to be trouble for your average space marine. Agri-worlds? Why grow your food using outdated primitive farming methods when you can grow, and make your foodstuffs in your factories, labs, and indoor facilities. Cybernetic implants and genetic modification is the norm, and advanced helper AI citizens walk the streets as equals. They have advanced ion weaponry, something that terrified the shit out of the Imperium to the point where they just straight up banned it. And unlike the unstable, insecure, filthy, and crime-infested hive worlds with their hive cities, Holds could be considered closer to actual fortified arcologies than the hive cities ever were. They also make use of exotic materials (Much of the kins weapons contain exotic material not found outside the galactic core) like Dark star ore, which is extremely dangerous to life, as just a single cut can cause death as the universal dampening field the material emits can halt all mechanical and organic functions. Because of the dangers, the material is mined and shaped with exceptional care, and is only wielded by those who could be trusted with such a equally dangerous and tactically valuable weapon. They have almost flawless teleportation technology, so kin can be deployed without significant risk. It can even be used tactically. Another one of amazing devices are pan spectular scanners, which allow the Kin to find a enemy’s location, not only through walls and objects, but also through the warp. They also have stellar siphons that drain the stars themselves as the cithonic mining guilds take whatever resources they need, and even the most terrifying of galactic phenomena are reaped through atom delving and transotheric resubstantiation. The Kins warp drives and Gellar field are superior to the Imperium’s, making travel safer and more reliable. They utilize their ancestor cores like mini Astronomicans because they are so big brained, they shine in the warp fullfilling a similiar albeit less effective version of the Astromomican. Also since they don't dive headfast into the Warp like Imperial vessels do their ships are generally slower than their Imperial counterparts. However the kins methods of warp travel are far safer and more predictable than the Imperiums methods which they feel far outweighs a slower travel speed. Thanks to said superior shielding tech, shielding developments are also prevalent in the physical realm, with weave field generators employing a technique where different energy fields overlap and interlock over a range of frequencies and exotic energies. Weave field generators are compact and efficient, and can be use as personal shields and can even be projected onto entire areas, which is useful for mining. They can scout for minerals and space hulks while in the warp. They have plasma blades made entirely of plasma. Many of their weapons are augmented with HunTR modules, which connects to the Kins neural implants, and help bring the best possible firing solution that can be achieved. Their Brôkhyr have mastered the manufacturing of Focusing lenses and other components necessary to produce a sustained stream of energy, leading
to focused beam technology that can be used on and off the battlefield, such as their mining and excavation industries. Much of the kins weapons contain exotic material not found outside the galactic core. And like their more peaceful interex counterparts, their ships are FUCK HUGE, to the point where they dwarf even the largest of the Imperium's interstellar vessels. They can even move entire planets. Their Volkanite weapons have remained the same, with few alterations, but the fact that they can still make them commonly puts them way above the imperium. Like it was said earlier, strictly better.

Unfortunately for them, much of the tech they didn't retain was the top of the line tech, things like the Votanns. Due to this, while they can emulate most of past pinnacle human civilization, their development and research has slowed down to a crawl thanks to their big moai heads also slowing down (which does the work not many in the galaxy could ever do, thanks to their smarts). Until this is fixed (if it ever will be), they are stuck behind the Eldar and the Necrons technologically. But hey, at least they aren't on the Imperium’s level of decay.

===Aspects of League society===
*'''Leagues:''' Conglomerates of family states united for better economic and defensive potential. Competitive, but not to the point of self destruction and to the point where it gets in the way of productivity. Looks down on the Imperium. Hates the eldar because they are entitled bastards who are bad for business. Some are business partners with the Tau and gives them ion guns and other goodies. Loves their Votanns to point of self sacrifice. Their numbers greatly outnumber the populations of the upstart tau and the dwindling eldari, yet their population is still far fewer than the imperium obviously (they are still described as having formidable and vast interstellar empires however). Loves their Galactic core due to its crazy amounts of wealth and minerals, and it being quite inhospitable to the other races (which they were <ref><nowiki>Insert non-formatted text here</nowiki></ref>made to live in). There is no exact number of known Leagues, the Kin find no use in keep track of it. Can often be in nomadic (living in spacefaring holds). Currently trying to fix up their broken trade routes after the Great Rift appeared.
*'''First Ancestors:''' The DAOT colonists (engineers, miners, etc) who journeyed to the galactic mineral-rich core in generation ships as part of a large colonization effort. Not much else is know about them besides the fact they disappeared when the Votann first appeared...
*'''[[Votann]]:''' Super-cogitators, which contain Gestalt repositories of unimaginable inherited wisdom and knowledge, along with [[Spirit stone|Ancestor Cores]] with their self-organizing datastacks and quantum infocores. They communicate with the Kin via a tangle of arcane technology called a "Fane" and through the special class of Kin priest-psykers called the Grimnyr. All members of the Leagues after they pass on are returned and recycled by the ancestor cores in somber ceremonies, both mind, and body. Even the ironkin are not immune to this fate, as while they are long-lived, they will eventually slow down to a crawl and breakdown. The minds and uploaded data are kept in the Votann, while the bodies are recycled to make new kin. They are currently breaking down and developing [[Machine Spirit|"personalities"]], with calculations that normally took hours taking decades, if not centuries to complete. However they can still be modified by the kin (often at the votanns request). Curiously, they also serve another purpose of acting as mini [[Astronomican|Astronomicans]] for the Leagues, due to their vast intellect literally shining in the warp. Has been stated that the "Votann belong to the Kin as Kin belong to the Votann". Often act more like advisors and repositories (none of them have been leaders). Due to their degradation and age, some of the Votann have even lost the ability to produce more kin (Brokhyrs and Ironkin Guilds can produce more ironkin, but they are of lower quality than what the ancestors could create). The ancestor cores have been stated to have been on the first generation ships.
*League Leadership tends to be broken down as follows:
**'''Votannic Council:''' A League’s ultimate ruling body presumably second only to the Votann themselves. Stubborn, and are slow to change their minds or come to decisions. Elections in the Leagues generally are extremely heated. Needed for full on wars (local conflicts excluded).
**'''Guild Masters:''' Guild Leaders who have worked their way up through the Leagues meritocracy. Note that there can be multiple guild masters on the council.
**'''Brôkhyr Forge-Master:''' The absolute cream of the crop from the forges of the Leagues, they not only have proved their ability to create technological marvels,but over see their development as well. They also bring the fury of the Forge to the battlefield, delivering council to the warriors on the field as well.
**'''Lord Grimnyr:''' The ultimate representative of the Grimnyr, who embodies wisdom, guidance, and insight. The Lord Grimnyr acts as the voice of the Votann itself, acting as a walking conduit for both their lore and gestalt might. This role is not purely a ceromonial or advisory role, for it is incumbent upon the Lord Grimnyr to walk the battlefield as the eyes, ears, and voice of the Votann, dispensing wisdom to friends and allies, and unleashing the wrath of the Ancestors. It is not known how they are selected for the position.
**'''Grimnyr:''' Kin psykers that wield massive amounts of power. Capable of accessing "empyrically archived" Votann wisdom. They are probably deeply tied to the Votanns and represent them in their wing of the Leagues governments. <s>Probably</s> Definitely have very long beards.
**'''High Kâhl:''' The ultimate military commanders of the kinhost militaries. To be named High Kâhl is both a tremendous honour and a awesome responsibility. To be elected a High Kâhl, the incumbent must go beyond just a tremendously capable warriors ,and a indomitable battlefield leader. They must master the cruel calculus of war itself.
**'''Kinhost commanders/senior Officers:''' The military leaders of the Kinhost militaries that rank below the High Kâhl.
*'''Kindreds:''' A combination between nation state and extended family, essentially the societies that make up the Leagues. Generally lives in holds (although it's population is encouraged to go travel throughout the galaxy and make their ancestors proud). They are very communal in nature, and their populations range from a couple dozen to the millions. Each one is governed by a Votannic council. They have their own aspects which are called the Four Pillars:
*# Hearth: “the heart of the hold,” literally the heat and light their forges, recycle air, and let the kin thrive
*# Forge: Here everything the Kindred needs is built, from weapons to life-support systems
*# Thane: Where the Grimnyr interface with the Ancestor Cores
*# Crucible: Where new flesh and blood Kin are made
*#'''Hearthspake:''' In a given hold, the Hearthspake is the governing body, no matter how big or small. They are a council comprised of Guild representatives of particular commercial groups, the hold's attendant Grimnyr, as well as the leaders of the hold's Kinhost, such as the Kahl.
*'''Kinhosts:''' The militaries/militias of the Leagues, made after the kindreds united and combined their militaries. Soldiers are typically drawn from the civilian populous, but are not restricted to kinhosts only, as depending on their decision (after they completed their oath of service to their Kâhl), the soldier may return to civilian life after they have done their service. Objectives range from protecting colonization efforts, protecting resources extraction operations and other guild/kindred interests, and overall defense to annihilating entire worlds because they know too much. Has a slightly overall civilian look to them (but are still more deadly than Imperial forces). The forces within the kinhosts militaries (called oathbands), are extremely flexible on what they consist of. Some of these oathbands can even consist entirely of mercenaries.

*'''Guilds:''' The overall backbone of the Leagues. Independent commercial groups. Builds holds and everything else. Regulates and manages almost everything, and oversees fair competition( but are not necessarily overbearing). Does not like cutting corners. Very competitive and ruthless in general. Is unofficially apart of the government. Typically doesn't leave their own holds. Does not like Freelancers and outcasts (and the occasional rival guild). Every aspect of life and production is affected by the guilds. Clonskin guilds exist and work to improve upon and stabilize cloneskins. Ironkin Guilds exist as well.

*'''Freelancers:''' Independent contractors, mercenaries, traders, explorers, plumbers, etc. Does the same thing as the guilds except with less political influence and resources. Not too fond of guilds

*'''Holds:''' The homes of the Leagues and its organizations and populous. Typically enclosed and fortified, holds vary in type and size. Can range from underground tunnels and narrows, to fortified bunkers and live in factories, to hive cities and ecumenopolises. Also comes in the form of space stations, asteroid colonies, and ships. Industrial and high tech in nature, yet very cozy with a lot of empasis on community, closeness, and interaction. Essentially hive cities except not shit and on steroids. Contains "Hearths", which act as the hearts of the holds, providing heat, light, and recycled air, and overall let the kin thrive. Hearths also act as reactors for the Kins holds, powering up all their electrical needs.

*'''Kin in general/clonekin:''' The general population of the Leagues. Mainly consists of ironkin and clonekin (although, there could be more). Tough as nails, and artificial in nature. Comes from "crucibles" (which they prefer due to regular reproduction diluting the genetic quality of offspring. Generally enhanced by both biological and cybernetic means. Very intelligent and industrious. Loves their ancestors to death. Loves their Kin and kindreds. Loves making their master crafts. Loves living in their fortified holds (but will go out into the galaxy to serve the ancestors, their guilds, and their communities). They get to pick their own names (excluding their family names, which they get from the names the crucibles has attached to it, and its considered rude to change), and gain more throughout their life from fellow kin like "Orkslayer". Loves their individuality and mutations (although some cloneskin templates and mutations can actually lower the lifespan of a clonkin, along with clonekins who had their production accelerated). Far from uncommon for them to get plenty of physical alterations. They were also made to resist and endure the warp and its corruptions, dampening their souls (note: they are masking their souls brightness, not actually dimming down their souls) for better protection. They also have high amouns of white blood cells, which allows them to greatly resist disease, and heal swiftly. Some can see in infrared.

*'''Ironkin:''' The League have [[Men of Iron]] now, or at least true AIs. Appears to be comparable to a Servitor, although distinctly described as being treated as equal to the fleshy Kin. The Ironkin can mimic their living counterparts’ every behavior and demeanor, but display no sense of ambition and are hard-wired with a desire to be helpful. Their bodies are all built for a unique purpose and cannot be easily replaced should they be damaged. One such purpose are the Wayfinders, which are the supercomputer, squatty equivalent of Imperial [[navigator|navigators]], allowing the Kin to traverse the Warp without the need of psykers, and thus reduce the threat of daemonic incursions. All ironkin have a CU, or Cerebral Unit, and a mechanical body, both of which are unique to each individual ironkin. The CU's themselves are nigh indestructible (with microfield generators woven into the structure of the unit), and can send out distress beacons. Since Kin are kin, these are high priority for recovery.

*'''COGs:''' Are essentially the lower forms of ai, automatons, and algorithms the Leagues possess. Akin to tau drones (yet still more advanced). Does much of the menial jobs and such in the Leagues, along with being utilized in combat as well, and overall helps automate the Leagues of Votann. Probably still treated better than servitors (especially considering they look like ironkin).

*'''Outcasts:''' Hippies, troublemakers, and those Kin who do shit like performing illegal experiments, probably.

===Known Leagues===
*'''Greater Thurian League:''' One of the original founding Leagues and the poster boy League. Has a teal color scheme. Largest of the Leagues, spreading over a wide expanse of the galactic core and very influential on the other Leagues. Includes over 200 allied kindred holds, and it contains the biggest guild. Very wealthy and expansionist, they have a lot of military might and resources at their disposal and they want to expand their reach. Their members think they epitomize what it means to be Kin. Are uncompromising with their mercenary attitude. Apparently, their grim, methodical pragmatism is an inspiration to other Leagues. The Kin’s special character Ûthar the Destined hails from this League.
*'''Urani-Surtr Regulates:''' A determined League constantly being invaded by groups of Orks, Tyranids, and Necrons, despite this the League is determined to fight to the last person standing. Their colors are greens and brown. Their kin live on the minimum and are currently at war with a necron world (and by extension the Necron Sunnok dynasty). Are stoic, pragmatic, and abhor waste like most other Leagues, though they are noted for being less concerned with the cost of lives and material for battle to prevent giving up ground. Likes to keep their population counts high for their oathbands. No kin admitted to the Urani-Surtr Regulates has ever left.
*'''Trans-Hyperion Alliance:''' The most puritanical in their worship of the Ancestors. Sacrifice has more importance to them than the other leagues. Their colors are mostly orange and white. They enjoy collecting data and new info for their Votanns. They are a nomadic league, spread out not only across the galactic core but beyond, into far space with their 3 Votanns being stored in heavily armed ships. Their prospectors are known for venturing the width and breath of the galaxy in search of resources, and the League’s Hernkyn Pioneer riders are extremely skilled and considered genuinely exceptional by the other Leagues. This lifestyle is driven by the requirement to enrich their Votanns, which for the Trans-Hyperion Alliance is a reward in and of itself.
*'''Kronus Hegemony:''' Also known as Kôrynn’s Kindred they are the most militaristic and aggressive league (to the point of being aggressive even to other leagues). Their color scheme is yellow and black. They are a relatively new league formed less than millennium ago. [[Awesome|Ork WAAAGH!s, Tyranid swarms, and many other threats have been broken by the mighty kinhost of the Kronus hegemony]]. They are known for having a harsh reputation, due to their strictness and quotas. The formation of their league was due to their League’s Fane (computer systems) achieving self-awareness and transforming into a full blown Votann which has subsequently been demanding the Hegemony should always be gathering resources; Kindreds that join have to pay a hefty price to join and then have to pay hefty tributes through conquest. They also already pissed off the other Leagues in territorial disputes. Despite their reputation, they are still seen as a boon for the other Leagues due to their defensive capabilities.
*'''Ymyr Conglomerate:''' A massive and ancient power bloc. Has a red color scheme. Few value quality craftsmanship more than the Ymyr conglomerate. They have long ventured beyond the core trading and operating all over the galaxy. They are the richest League, having the best living standards to boot. Even for the other Leagues, they appear decedent. They also have a higher amount of high-quality weaponry and equipment for their kinhosts.
*'''Seran-Tok Mercantile League:''' Has risen to prominence and profited greatly from trade with the T’au Empire. <s>Probably</s> confirmed to be the Demiurg.
*'''Grand Orion Compact:''' Their Votann was destroyed by Orks from WAAAGH! Morbok resulting in a grudge against the green skins and starting a 500 year long war of extermination against the members of that WAAAGH!
*'''Emberg Agnir Bloc:''' Destroyed by Tyranids. Their Votann absorbed their biomass to deny the Tyranids their prize as revenge, which drove the Votann mad, turning it into "The Mad Core", which causes fluctuations in the Warp impeding travel near their former hold, which brings up a lot of fluff questions of its own. How exactly does a mechanical supercomputer ''assimilate'' an entire hold/league? Was it something like [[Forge World|Lucius]], where the Mechanicus holed themselves up underneath the surface, [[Tomb World|using teleportation to send their forces up and retrieving the shatted out mechanical bits back later]]? Or is this some weird techno-vore thing [[Grimdark|where all the dorfs jumped into an acid vat so their biomass could be used by their god?]] Either way, their Votann may have been one of the few Cores left able to react quickly, not that it'll be of much use now. Probably a callback to the original demise of the Squats.

===Known Kindreds/Holds===

===Known Guilds===

===Noteworthy Kin===
*'''Ûthar the Destined:''' A great Kahl from the Greater Thurian League that has a mysterious objective and destiny, prophesied to complete a great task. He’s a ruthless warrior armed with masterfully wrought weapons, including the legendary Blade of the Ancestors, and has a gift for assessing enemy foes.

===Relationship/interactions with other factions===
'''Galactic relations in general:''' The Kin will leave most of the denizens in the galaxy alone, so long as they aren't getting in-between what the Kin want. The Leagues of Votann trade outside the core through a range of names, though these are rarely of their choosing this has caused confusion and misunderstanding over who these mercenary adventurers really are. To those who are in their way however (unwillingly or not), the Kin are a tough nut to crack. Even far from the more secure area that is the galactic core, the Kin are a armoured, fortified, bunkered down, advanced, and tactical juggernaut. More often than not, the Kin succeed in their conflicts, and even the more major players of the galaxy find them difficult. On occasion, a resistant population may be deemed too strong for any conflict to be worthwhile, but most of the time any resistance will be swept aside or ignored. The Kin have no compunctions about tearing open the crust of a world whilst the population still dwells upon it, however sometimes a evacuation can be negotiated. To those on the kins good side, they are invaluable business parts. To those on their bad side, they are a force of ruthlessness and greed.

'''Ironhead Squat Prospectors:''' See each other as distant cousins who can share a pint in the pub and complain about the Aeldari.

'''Tyranids:''' In the Imperium of Man, the Tyranids hunt ''you'', in the Leagues of Votann, the League hunt ''Tyranids''. Known to the Leagues as “The Bane” the Kin are wary of the Nids and have gain a grudging respect for their effectiveness and adaptability. Whilst the Nids still view the Kin as biomass, they themselves also stay clear away from them as the Leagues are known to scout out and hunt down ''entire Tyranid hive fleets'' to harvest their resource bounties. Moreover, the high technological levels and large presence of automatons makes fighting the League a sunk-cost fallacy for the Tyranids such as in one example with the Northstar cluster, where the bioforms exhibited an odd nesting behavior not seen elsewhere. They have proven difficult to eradicate, and have brought devastation to the Urani-Surtr Regulates. The Kin see the danger of the Tyranids, following the destruction of the Emberg Agnir Bloc. It was made up of a few dozen kindred and found themselves in the path of hive fleet Leviathan. The League was wiped out. The Votann was left untouched. It absorbed the bodies of its fallen Kin to deny the Tyranids the biomass, and was driven mad, becoming the mad core, and causing fluctuations in the warp that disrupt travel. Nevertheless, such endeavours still prove too risky for the Tyranids and, given the League's habit of hunting their fleets down like giant whalers; the Hive Mind has put the League on the same level as the Necrons in terms of GTFO.

'''Tau:''' They view the Leagues as grand benefactors and business partners of the Greater Good and the Tau Empire - although they could certainly improve their view points and dedication to the cause. They are also really happy with their new technology they received from the Demiurg and the Leagues, with their ion technology being extremely popular among the Tau's forces. The Leagues see the Tau as a very naïve and young people, though they appreciate the value of the greater good as it shares similarities with their own philosophy, putting Kin first. The Tau are more than happy to pay the Leagues, though the Kin rarely share their more advanced developments. As an example, the Kin's ion tech is superior and far more compact than the Tau's. Thanks to the extreme naivety of the tau, the Tau actually think the few ships they see from the Leagues are all that is left of the Kin, following a invasion from the Tyranids. These rumors have been rebuffed by the kin, much to the confusion of the Tau. The Kin see no value in enlightening them in this regard so long as the can continue to profit from trade with the naïve civilization. With the advances of the empire in the Chalnath expanse, there have been some minor clashes with the various factions of the Kin, which may have somewhat soured some local relations. Kind of. Nothing that money can't fix, though.

'''The Imperium of Man:''' View the Leagues as useful and good enough for trade, yet they're also sketchy abhumans who stray too far from the holy human form and are probably heretics, though they don't seem as quick or eager to put these ones down nor whip out any Exterminatus moves on them. On the world of Necromunda at least, they are looked down upon as Squats despite all they've done for the world. Likewise, the Leagues view the Imperium as a bunch of disappointing dumbfuck competitors - although they're still good enough for trade. Will surprisingly be honest about their usage of AI if pressed on it (which of course pisses the Imperium off). On some Imperial worlds like Necromunda, the Kin have been there since their Imperial records started. Rogue traders are more than happy to deal with the Leagues, though their extravagant life styles are considered wasteful by the kin, and deals are made with governors of Imperial worlds and systems, for a suitable fee. The more zealous of the Imperium deem the Kin as sanctioned xenos, if not abhumans. And at one point, the Demiurg had a automated mining facility that was infiltrated by the alpha legion. Overall, the Kin treat them as any other species.

'''Aeldari:''' [[Elf|Guess]]. They like to keep their meetings brief and few as the knife-ears aura of arrogance and entitlement pisses the Kin off.

'''Dark Aeldari:''' [[Dwarf Fortress|Guess again]]. Unlike the Tau who were dumb enough to trust the S&M gimp suit wearing weirdos at one point, the Kin are smart enough to not have wanted anything to do with the perverted pasty sweat goblins.

'''Harlequin:''' Weird creepy clowns that are to be avoided.

'''Aeldari Exodites:''' [[Avatar|Guess thrice]]. Although, the Kin actually do respect them for their more practical nature. Still more than happy to invade for resources though.

'''Necrons:''' The Necrons consider the Kin to be another upstart race, though with a level of trepidation. Not only are they considered remarkably dangerous foes to fight, the Kin also delve deep into their worlds, breaking into tomb complexes, and plundering the rich harvest within. To the Kin, the metallic aliens are easy pickings while they sleep, and vicious foes when roused. Typically shoot on sight levels of diplomacy. They already war with the Urani-Surtr Regulates for control over one of its main worlds. The involved Necrons is the Sunnok dynasty.

'''Orks:''' The Orks are the Leagues most hated Foe, as not only are they pervasive, they are also endlessly wasteful, fighting and destroying what the Kin have built, and The Leagues have been as successful as every other civilization in eradicating the Orks. The Orks are not stopped by the dangers of the core regions, and Ork pirate raids are a particular concern, with Orks like bog da freedin king and his numerous fleets pestering the Leagues. The Orks tendency to use whatever scrap they can get has led to the creation of the saying "a prize for a Ork" , used to describe things or ideas that are worthless to the Kin. The 500 years war was fought against WAAAGH Morbok after they overran the Grand Orion Compact's Hold of oriax iron gate kindred. The Votann in the hold was torn to pieces, the most widespread grudge in the history of the Kin was called, and the Compact spent the next five centuries hunting down every single Ork from WAAAGH Morbok.

'''Chaos:''' They find the Leagues to be a major pain in the ass as they actually have at least some idea on how to deal with chaos unlike their Imperial counterparts. They dimmed their souls, use soulless A.I. to pilot through the warp, have top notch security, and live high quality and comfortable lives in their holds. They see little to even no chaos corruption in the Leagues and will probably see more losses than wins with them. The Kin of course are absolutely disgusted by them, and have little time for their gruesome and foolish activities

'''The Adeptus Mechanicus:''' A series of mental breakdowns and cybernetic overloads occurs when Mechanicus members encounter the Leagues. Whether it's due to them seeing Heresy in the Leagues, or due to the many shinies the Leagues have, it doesn't matter. They will see the Leagues as major competition regardless of the reason, and move to claim the shinies for themselves. To the Leagues, the Adeptus Mechanicus are rats scurrying around a scrap heap. Superstitious tech cultists living on the successes of their ancient betters who's ignorance makes them dangerous. The Kin avoid them whenever possible, and are swift to eradicate them when needed.

===Speculation/Theories===
A bit of speculation around the Votann is if anything else in the setting will be retconned into/explained as being one. The most obvious candidate is the [[House Van Saar]] STC, described as being "large building" sized and "damaged" in that it's spewing out radiation, similar to the disrepair some Votann are said to be in albeit more extreme, and if it was a Votann it would explain why Squats are on Necromunda.

The Votann are fueled by alcohol.

===Influences/Mythology/Aesthetic/Complaints===
*'''The greater rage:''' The 2001 release of the [[Tau]] was spurred with anger, confusion, and revulsion. Even to this day in the year 2022, you'll still see swathes of the community that seethe at the mere mention of the Tau, deeming them as "weaboo space communists who aren't grimdark enough", or simply "another vile xeno who is irrelevant". And like its predecessor, the LoV is reaching similar levels of division and anger. But much like the decade that it was revealed in, the Leagues bring in a new scale of chaotic and unprecedented changes. This section is to help boil this down, and address complaints and confusion.
*'''Twentieth century futurism:''' There have been quite a few who have claimed that the LoV is "generic sci-fi" and "inconsistent in its design". To be quite frank, this is a bunch of nonsense hullabaloo. Anyone who has enjoyed enough fictional settings like that of [[Fallout|Fallout]] is going to tell you that the Leagues is full of [[Isaac Asimov|mid-centrury futurism]] and [[Arthur C. Clarke|classical sci-fi]], with the atv looking like a 1960s moon buggy, and the Hernkyn chopper looking like a mid century 60s bike ([https://youtu.be/ySxEFuUrdio|for gods sake, look at it's trailer]). While you will find some of dieselpunk in the LoV and its not entirely just mid century aesthetics, [[atompunk|atompunk]] has asserted its dominance here, Giving them a more civilian look. This also includes the look of the Ironkin (and to a certain extent [[UR-025]] and the [[Kastelan Class Battle-Automata]] which look like mid century robots. Fact is, the LoV is a love letter to classic sci fi. But that's not all.
*'''Western/wacky sci-fi:''' If you haven't noticed from the bolter revolvers, the abundance of words like "Pioneer", "frontier", "rugged", and "hardy", along with the fact that the first revealed ironkin looks a lot like a western blacksmith, the amount of "simple" practical tools the Kin often carry, the Leagues have a lot of western influences. They also seem to still retain an air of comedic relief from their previous Squat forms. Expect future [[Firefly|Firefly]] references, and a Votann answering with [[Approved Literature|"42"]].
*'''Mass produced goodness:''' Unlike their many Dwarven counterparts, the Leagues are by no means the top industrial power house of the galaxy (the Necron and the Aeldari have them beat, along with most of the other species from around the time of the old ones). To be quite honest, they are more about industry as a theme rather than being the most industrious. However, one could say they are still the top non-prehistoric industrial in the galaxy. They could also be said to be the top powerhouse in the galaxy that is both operating at its full capability (Necron sleepiness), and still actively lives and colonizes the galaxy (Eldar and their hidey holes). And in comparison to their "competitors", are probably the most easily accessible due to them generally not wanting to instantly butcher you the second they even glance at you, or just tell you to get lost. As for the lower powers? The Imperium, while it's very industrial, its also incredibly inefficient and and often...dumb with its capabilities in general (Agri-worlds, under use of auto loaders, crappy servitors). And the Tau, while smarter than the imperium with their industrial capabilities, has far less potential with what they have.
**Moving on from their position in the galaxy, why the industrial aesthetic? Well, first off, they're dwarves. Second off, as mentioned above, the other industrial factions are either too insufficient to carry out certain ideas and concepts, or are too hidey. The Leagues are in the perfect position to introduce potential new concepts to the universe, like not crap hive cities, dyson spheres that don't belong to the Necron, megastructures, and potentially much more. it's a nice change of pace to see an actually efficient industrial that isn't controlled by ancient aliens.
**Thirdly, you need a little grime and practicality to that atompunk, and efficient industry is the perfect way to do it. Doesn't mean you can't have your cleanliness (and I'm pretty sure they'd prefer to not have pollution in their holds), just adds a tad bit of realistic imagery to it.
*'''Cleanliness, kin, and old world blues:''' Besides the reasons above, there is a reason the Leagues look so clean, organized, and sleek. This comes from the more grimdark and evil side of the Leagues (which is a little weird and unique). As previously stated before, the Leagues are a meritocracy overseen by guilds, wise long-bearded psykers, military commanders, and the mighty moai heads themselves. Said guilds are very competitive, and will not hesitate to strip to the bone entire planets with civilizations and ecosystems just to stay ahead.
**So are they capitalist? Maybe. But while they've shown how they can easily have conflicts with themselves, one of their mottos is "Kin are kin". They also seem to be very egalitarian within their societies, On top of this, we've had previous examples of society reaching post scarcity levels of comfort, including even some Imperial worlds, and the friggin lower tech tau. They also seem to put high importance on community and fellow kin. Even the guilds wouldn't be caught dead cutting corners and making shoddy products (they regulate much of League society).
**So socialists? Maybe. But really, the answer may be in-between (somewhat). Would certainly suggest looking up the guilds of post classical, classical, and pre-classical history to get a better perspective.
**But we do know that they generally have a comfortable life and are very egalitarian. The guilds are competitive, meritocratic, regulate much of League society, and still come to blow with each other. What we can tell is that Leagues inner society is generally at least decent for its citizens. As for those who are outside of League society...
**Expect to see a lot of neocolonialism, colonialism, client states, banana Republics, puppet states, potentially narco states, banana wars, and the 1893 overthrowing of the kingdom of Hawaii except 10x worse (and with more planetary genocide). As with their holds: dirty on the outside, clean on the inside.
*'''The mythological and the fantastical:''' This one is a total mashup. You got Celtic, Greek, Nordic, and other mythologies mashed in. The Leagues are named after Greek titans, and Nordic gods. The Votann are based off [[Odin]]. The Kin are Geri and Freki, odins greedy wolves. The leadership is based off odins ideal leadership (with the grimnyr being based off one of his disguise names).
*'''Silicon Knights and Too Human similarities:''' way back in 2008 the now defunct game company Silicon Knights released a game called “Too Human” for the Xbox 360 after over a decade of it being stuck in development hell. The game was based on reimagining Norse mythology through a cyberpunk lens. While the game flopped miserably due to its clunky control system some of its design elements seem suspiciously similar to the Leagues of Votann aesthetic including: exoskeleton equipped berserkers, combat transports that resemble the Hekaton Land fortress, the whole mega corporation of the Aesir, and the fact that Odin was reimagined in the game as an AI called the “Organic distributed information network” which bears a striking similarity to the idea of the Votann. Maybe someone in GW played the game and used it as inspiration for the Leagues? It wouldn’t be too surprising.
*'''[[Video games|Deep Rock Galactic]]:''' Similar to the above, the game "Deep Rock Galactic" may have spurred on GW's decision to reinvent the squats in some areas. Notably, the game is based on a company of the same name, which uses actual dwarves as their mercenary-miners to plunder a planet of all its wealth while fighting bugs. Themselves a corporatist, mercantile faction that prefers wealth over civility. Now, this game was released in alpha in early 2018, so it could be a little bit of a stretch to say if it's fully influenced much on the LoV, considering the lengthy design process GW has. It hasn't stopped WarCom from throwing in some tongue-in-cheek, potential references to the game, though. Plus, with all the "Rock and Stone"s and "For Karl!"s that players will throw out, it probably won't matter anyway.

===Forces of the Kin===

*'''[[Kâhl]]:''' Taking the place of [[Squat Warlord]]s as leaders in their species’ military roster, they’re experienced battle hardened Generals who proudly wield the Leagues advanced weaponry, and are the final authority over an individual Oathband in the Kinhost militaries, they’re subordinate only to their Kindred’s ruling Votannic Council. Their most important role is to cast the Eye of the Ancestors over their foes — marking out priority targets and ensuring the most dangerous enemies are the first to feel the wrath of the Kin. Equipment wise they carry nifty ornate armor and weapons like the Kin equivalent to storm bolter, plasma axes, and Volkite equipped power fists. FOR KARL!!

*'''[[Squat Thunderers|Brôkhyr]]:''' The [[Guildmaster|engineers]] and lead craftsman of the Leagues, named after the dwarf of Norse mythology, Brokkr, who built Mjolnir. They just blow tech priests out of the water on every level, as not only do their (creatively named) A.N-vyl Terminals (just picture a 3D printer but for guns) have MANY full STCs inside that make all their guns all that and a bag of chips in comparison to those of the Imperium, but they're also not limited by dogma and orthodoxy when it comes to technological advancements, meaning they actively upgrade their shit. That being said while their specialty lies in engineering these folks are also more than willing to throw down with the best of them. When the Oathbands head to battle, the Brôkhyr will strap on powerful exo-frames to become the mighty Thunderkyn. Although not quite as scratch-resistant as the Einhyr Hearthguard’s exo-armour, since the powerful suits they wear were initially adapted from rugged engineering rigs, they can still take a hell of a pummeling and allow the Brôkhyr Thunderkyn to heft the heaviest man-portable weapons the Leagues can muster with ease. Hordes of their enemies fall before salvos unleashed from bolt cannons, while heavy infantry find themselves pierced by the unstoppable lances of SP conversion beamers, prospects that have made more than one enemy think twice before attacking them.

*'''Brôkhyr Iron-master:''' The Brôkhyr are the Leagues’ highly skilled techno-artificers, and the Iron-masters are the cream of their crop. They head into battle with a dutiful Ironkin assistant and a knack for repairing even the most beaten-up vehicles. Helping them are a gaggle of E-COGs – hardy combat and repair drones, lacking the intellect of a true Ironkin.

*'''[[Living Ancestor|Grimnyr]]:''' The predominant psykers of the Leagues, dressed like [[weeb|fucking wizards]] in an army full of voidsuits and armor. Wearing robes over their Power Armor to the point that [[Dark Angels]] themselves looks like normies. The Kin now name their dwarf wizards after the false identity Odin took while on a bet from Frigg, from Norse Mythology (or ripping off the WHFB dwarf god [[Grimnir]]). Are essentially the Votanns eyes, ears, limbs, mouth, etc. They are able to access directly the data stores of the Votann using psychic powers, and communicates its will and guidance to their Kindreds and Leagues. They are the closet you'll to a priest in the largely secular Leagues. They also use barrier tech to help them harness the raw power of the immaterium in battle – such as summoning two mechanical CORVs that often hover alongside them as familiars (very similar to the ability of the gene stealer cults to summon familiars). Essentially mystical wise old sages.

*'''[[Squat Berserkers|Cthonian Berserks]]:''' Hailing from the Cthonian mining guilds which are noted for venturing to environments even other Kin fear to tread, these furious and heavily augmented murder machines are a sci-fi reimagining of [[Slayer]]s from WHFB. These frontline fighters originally began as Kin who enhanced the physical capabilities of their cloneskeins with cybernetic upgrades and cyberstimms, all the better to extract precious minerals from rad-plagued nebulae, explosive asteroids, and fathomless ocean depths. Now tasked with dealing with their people’s enemies they charge into battle with modified advanced mining gear like heavy plasma axes, concussion mauls, and power fists all while wearing little or no armor besides that which their cyborg augmentations provides. They also have mole mortars/ grenade launchers (for mining purposes of course).

*'''Hearthkyn Warriors:''' Because replacing i's with y's is so sci-fi and trademark friendly. The [[Squat Trooper|Hearthkyn]] are essentially identical in terms of origin as the [[Guardian|Guardian Defenders]] of the eldar, in that they are the core infantry force of the Leagues' military that were conscripted from their civilian populations. However, rather than being a militia roused during times of conflict, the Hearthkyn are instead closer to real-world militaries, in that the soldiery serve for an extended period of time before going home to their civilian professions. Serving in the Hearthkyn, anyone can enlist: male, female, flesh or metal, as Kin are Kin, after all. The units themselves are equipped with all manner of hullabaloo Squat guns depending on their specialization, on the lighter end there are the Autoch-pattern bolters used for assault and laying down covering/saturation fire, there are also bolt shotguns, and bolt revolvers. On the heavier side there are volkanite disintegrators, ion blasters (whose technology the Kin apparently gave to the Tau much to the Imperium’s ire) and HYLas auto-rifles all of which are used to sunder the defences of heavily-armoured opponents. Finally there’s also specialized heavy weapons such as L7 missile launchers, EtaCarn plasma beamers, Graviton blast cannons, and magna-rail rifles. All these ranged weapons are supported by smart tech integrated into Kin battlegear. The haptic utility nerve transmission recalibrator modules – HunTR for short – interface with their neural augmetics to establish a feedback loop between firearms and their users. This system projects minute gravitational pulses to maintain a stable firing platform even while running at full pelt – or zooming along on a flying trike. For close combat they got plasma blades, plasma axes, and concussion weapons like gauntlets, hammers, and mauls that amplifies the kinetic energy behind a Kin’s strike enough to launch an Ork boy into the air. As for protection they wear their own brand of power armor called Void armour comprised of hardened jointed segments which are hooked into a void suit beneath. The suit is fashioned from magnaferrite weave, and often reinforced with adamantine and enhanced with microfield generators for a level of protection that any Imperial Guardsman would give their left gonad to have!
**'''Theyn:''' Sci-fi spelling for the old Anglo-Saxon Thegns/Thanes (Fantasy Dwarfs had Thanes as heroes, so another connection there). They are experienced warriors that serve as [[Squat Thunderers|squad leaders]] in Hearthkyn and Einhyr Warrior squads of 10 to 20 warriors and are able to arm themselves with a variety of hand-to-hand combat weapons, including brutal concussion gauntlets, plasma blades, and vicious plasma axes in addition to high quality ranged weapons. Theyns communicate with their squad with the aid of cybernetic implants – relaying strategic instructions from the commanders of the Oathband to their units, and can be differentiated from the other kin by the fancy animal headed crest mounted on the back of their armor.

*'''Einhyr [[Hearthguard]]:''' Named after the Einherjar of Valhalla, they are the newly-christened [[Hearthguard]] Terminators of old, being the honored warriors selected from a Kinhold's most accomplished fighters, clad in [[Exo-Armour]]. They're armed with a shoulder mounted grenade launcher, a hand-held Volkanite Disintegrator, and either a power first with a retractable plasma blade or a Thunder Hammer. Like regular Hearthkyn Void armor the Exo-armor also has the HunTR system of micro gravity field generators built in to help keep their aim steady allowing them to fire on the move.

*'''Einhyr Champion:''' Those who climb the ranks of the Einhyr that eventually became Champions. These warriors are clad in modified exo-armour fitted with mass-drivers for jump purposes and armed with vicious close combat weapons. They function as living battering rams, pulverising anything that gets in their way.

*'''[[Hekaton Land Fortress]]:''' A HECKA CHUNKY Heavy support tank that can double as a defensive emplacement. Packs overwhelming firepower onto a rugged frame, and can lug around a hefty 12 models. It can go toe-to-toe with some of the biggest and best battle tanks in the 41st Millennium thanks to its durable void armour. And it can be equipped with a variety of hefty weapons and devastating warheads – from the very nasty heavy magna-rail cannon to the SP heavy conversion beamer and a missile launcher apparently.

*'''Hernkyn Pioneer:''' THE [[Squat Trike|TRIKES]] RETURN! [[Skub|AS HOVERTRIKES!]] And with a [[-4 Str|female]] driver. It looks like a spider-tank tachikoma from Ghost in the Shell fucked a [[Squat Bike|Harley]] and their baby came out a hoverbike. Hernkyn Pioneers are ridden by independently minded Kin who serve as scouts and outriders for the Kinhosts. They exchange the heavier armor of the Hyrthkin for lighter void suits backed up by armored trench coats, an old style pilot’s cap, and when necessary a gas or oxygen mask. Before you make the mistake of thinking they’re outlaw bikers though it should be noted that they are not seen like that at all amongst their own people. Rather in eyes of the Kin the Pioneers willingness to go off alone is considered courageous and selfless as they are putting their own lives at risk for the sake of their families, in effect making them the equivalent of the WFB Dwarf rangers. Anyway, to ensure they can keep riding for as long as possible the Pioneers make sure to carry any all equipment they might conceivably need with them at all times, from bedrolls to digging tools strapped to their rides. To aid them in scouting their trikes come equipped with multiwave comms arrays and pan-spectral scanners which are all quite useful for picking up strategically important data. Weapons-wise the riders can be armed with a bolt pistol, or a bolt shotgun, and a plasma blade for a backup, while the Trike itself was equipped with a magna-coil autocannon mounted on the front. In addition if the rider is willing to take along a passenger then it’s possible to mount another heavy weapon on the back of the vehicle like a rotary Hy-Las (high yield laser) cannon or whatever else might be needed. These weapons are linked to the driver and passenger’s implants via the HunTR system so they can fire on the move.

*'''[[Sagitaur ATV]]:''' A six wheeled infantry fighting vehicle, that takes its name from the centaur shaped constellation Sagittarius, the Sagitaur is used for surveying inhospitable alien terrain. The Sagitaur is a rapid-response ATV suited to scouting operations and lightning-fast armoured offensives alongside Hernkyn Pioneers. Its armoured carapace is durable enough to shrug off everything from rockslides to plasma blasts. Sagitaurs usually operate in pairs and are remarkably heavily-armed for their size, with a nose-mounted twin bolt cannon complemented by a swivelling turret weapon, such as a HYLas beam cannon, L7 missile launcher, or MATR autocannon. Once they’re right up in the enemy’s lines they will disgorge their troops, in the form of a full squad of infantry which can be split between the two vehicles, who can then go on to seize vital objectives.

*'''Colossus-class war engines:''' were briefly mentioned in a Warcom article where it’s stated the Ymyr Conglomerate Holds can wield more of them then any other league due to the Holds large number of skilled Craftsman and Engineers. Sadly we don’t have a stat line, nor do we have an image to confirm if these are indeed the same thing as the old Squat [[Colossus War Machine]].

*'''[[Ironhead Squat Prospectors]]:''' An offshoot of the Kin that set up shop on [[Necromunda]] right after the Horus Heresy, and are busy doing dwarrowesque things, while also dealing with the locals that sometimes try to loot their stuff. While they're only distantly related to the Leagues with no direct affiliation, they're said to get along. There is a small but not high chance the'll be options on the table top as well since Kill team has a precedent for a small unit from one box being an option like the sister novitiate, at the very least make a good proxy/conversion.

*'''[[Cargo-8 Ridgehauler]]:''' the Squat land trains return! Well they have on Necromunda at least. These huge transport trucks with multiple trailers and strapped on weaponry are used by Squat prospectors and regular human folk to cross the ash wasteland and protect valuable shipments. They aren’t quite up to the standard of the old land trains but at least it’s something.

*'''[[Demiurg]]:''' Largely here because of non-direct confirmation, but WarCom confirmed that the Tau received their ion weapon technology from the Kin, whereas in Battlefleet Gothic they claim that it was from the Demiurg, ''another'' race of dwarf space-miners. Logically, the term "Demiurg" may just be what the Tau call the Kin, or the Demiurg may be another offshoot culture of the wider kin race like prospectors above. After all, their clone-skin’s capability in stressing divergent phenotypes means visibly different strains could possible (like different breeds of dogs or cats). Or they could be just a League like the Seran-Tok Mercantile Leagues that decided to throw in their lot with the upstart T'au Empire rather than being in the bottom of the Imperium's to-do list.

==See Also==
*[[Warhammer 40,000/Tactics/Leagues of Votann(9E)]]
*[[Kharadron Overlords]], their closest Age of Sigmar counterpart
*[[Dwarfs (Warhammer Fantasy)]]

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:VotannTrike.jpg|They see me dworfin, they hatin', Patrollin', and tryna catch me ridin' dirty.
File:CNiuMZPWWNpatQNt (1).jpg|dorfy thicc dorfy brick
File: FW1NodbWYAA-Gzh.jpg|‘[[StarCraft|Ye want a piece a' me, lad??]]’
File:Sagitaur ATV.jpg| Sagitaur ATV, the perfect vehicle for dropping off some Hearthkyn at the pub for some brewskies on a moons surface.
File:LeagueHold.jpg|One of the many holds in the Leagues, in all it's industrial might
File:Ironkin.jpg|A humble Ironkin, ready to serve for their civilization
File:Getbackintheironkinchen.png|"[[Weeb|UWU.exe]]: I wonder if [[Adeptus Mechanicus|our new friends]] will enjoy these muffins I baked for them? I should head over and see what they're up to!"
File:CthonianBerserks.png|Just another day of cyberstimms and Cyberpsychosis...
File:Wrathoftheancestors.jpg| [[Primaris Captain|Where have I seen that before?]] [https://1d4chan.org/wiki/File:Captain1.jpg Oh.]
File:Kâhl.jpg|Pictured: The '''real''' Space Vikings.
File:Gangoftrikes.jpg|If Mad Max had discovered hovercraft technology
File:VotannPioneer.jpg.webp|A Kin Pioneer negotiating with a Imperial
File:Leaguemining.jpg|It ain't no trick to get rich quick If you dig dig dig with a shovel or a pick
File:Leagueanvil.jpg|Remember Brokyr, the Ancestors are Always Watching
File:Thunderkyn.jpg|"Hey look buddy, I'm an engineer and that means I solve problems..."
File:LOV Army Shot.png|A Kin Oathhost about to tell the Black Legion to gtfo their lawn
File:Votann Grimnyr.jpg|Finally, the [[Space Wolves|fucking furries]] don't have the monopoly on sweet beards
</gallery>

[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]]
[[Category:Dwarves]]
[[Category:Squats]]
[[Category:Abhumans]]
[[Category:Governments & National Powers]]
[[Category:Under Development]]

{{Template:Squats}}
{{WH40k-Factions}}
{{40k-Governments}}

Chaos Gods

2022-09-20T22:10:59Z

2601:188:C300:64B8:6421:EABE:84ED:1FAC: /* The Great Gatherer */

{{heresy}}
{{Topquote|The creatures of the Warp are just "aliens" too, but they are not life forms as we understand the term. They are not organic. They are extra-dimensional, and they influence our reality in ways that seem sorcerous to us. Supernatural, if you will. So let's use all those lost words for them... daemons, spirits, possessors, changelings. All we need to remember is that there are no gods out there, in the darkness, no great daemons and ministers of evil. There is no fundamental, immutable evil in the cosmos. It is too large and sterile for such melodrama. There are simply inhuman things that oppose us, things we were created to battle and destroy.
|Horus Lupercal, about to realize that he was wrong and that he could get great power, and then dearly regret his casual arrogance.}}

The '''Chaos Gods''' are the gods which rule over the Realm of [[Chaos]] in [[Warhammer Fantasy Battles]] and the [[Warp]] in [[Warhammer 40,000]]. They love nothing so much as dicking with each other, except perhaps with their mortal followers, and literally each other (especially Slaanesh). Before they were gods, they were generally benevolent beings, when the Warp was a calm sea. Each one is formed by the emotions of living souls clumped together in the Warp/Realm of Chaos. Contrary to standard thought, they personify good attributes as well, and are powered as much by good as by bad. Even if said god started out entirely bad, in their eventual evolution as part of their natures, they will kill gods who represented entirely good things, and will gain not only their values, but their power by said value.

Be aware many of the gods' values will and do intersect. This is as much due to the chaotic nature of the gods as it is to the multitude of emotions that make up the living. For example: let's say you're literally obsessed with brutally murdering people and you get a real nice kick out of it. The act of spilling blood is gonna feed [[Khorne]], while the ecstasy and obsessive sensation you get out of it will feed [[Slaanesh]]. So yeah, there's some overlap, in that an individual doing a certain thing, under specific circumstances, can simultaneously feed multiple Chaos Gods, but the God who was invoked (whether intentionally or no) upon when commuting the action will get the most power out of it (I.E: You killed someone for Khorne. While your ecstasy from the murder will feed Slaanesh a bit, your simple act of ending a life will feed Nurgle, your continued ambition to please the Blood God to earn his favor will also feed Tzeentch a bit, but Khorne gets the most since you offered that kill to him foremost).

==Overview==
According to the wikifans over at the Official Warhammer 40k Wiki, the Chaos gods were created and are sustained by the collective emotions of 'every sentient being of the material universe'; so not just the Milky Way, but every alien, both heretical and loyal, in the whole universe. This however probably isn't true, or rather it's just very bad wording, because if the Milky Way alone has all of these sentient races in it, then there's a safe bet that most other galaxies in the rest of the universe also have a multitude of sentient races too. And there are like, at least billions upon billions of galaxies in the observable universe, let alone the true universe which is likely many magnitudes larger. Based on what we've seen in the fluff, ''That'' many galaxies, filled with ''that'' many sentient lifeforms, ''all'' feeding only ''four'' Chaos Gods, would give said Chaos Gods so much power that they would probably have the capability to turn the entire galaxy (and many others) into massive Eyes of Terror at a simple scheming click of their heretical fingers. But of course, that hasn't happened (thank the fucking Emperor). Which probably means those wikijerks are talking complete [[Bullshit|unadulterated bullshit]] (or are making the common and infuriating mistake of conflating "universe" with "galaxy"). In actuality, the full range of influence the Ruinous Powers have only extends to the area of the Milky Way and not much further. After all, a specific location in the Warp corresponds with a specific location in the Materium; your thoughts and emotions will have an effect (albeit very minor) on the Warp in your specific corresponding location, and the collective thoughts and emotions of a galaxy's population will only have an effect on that specific galactic area of the overall Warp. This essentially means the four Chaos Gods are completely confined to the Milky Way galaxy, because that's where the emotions that created and feed them are currently being felt.

So what does that really mean? Well, it means the Warp in the vast, cold, empty space between galaxies is calm as fuck, absolutely nothing like the infested shitty plughole it is right now in our home galaxy, because there's no sentient life and hence no chaotic emotions there to stir it up. However, this also means that if other galaxies out there have their own interstellar sentient species with a presence in the Warp, then those galaxies will have their own Chaos Gods [likely just analogous versions of the four ([[Malal|point five]]) we have, although it's also possible that the different emotions might be allocated differently for each galactic pantheon; Andromeda might have gods based on the seven deadly sins, for example] that reside there and are also confined to the area of their own galaxy. But who knows? Maybe each warp god is a reflection of the galaxy that birthed it, and the aliens that live in other galaxies there have actually got their shit together and all get along like best buddies in a setting that just oozes [[Noblebright|noblebright]] from every pore, and the Chaos Gods there aren't even called that because they're all so friendly and cushy to everyone and like to play vidyagames with each other and cracking open cold ones on a warm Friday night while watching The Batchelor. Maybe the Warp gods in most galaxies actually maintain contact with those in neighbouring ones, and everyone just stays the fuck out of the Milky Way for the same reason most 21st century tourists stay out of Somalia. How sweet... I wonder what would happen if two galaxies, both with their own analogous Chaos Gods, collided. Would they just absorb each other into a new pantheon of four even-more-powerful Gods? Would they fight each other until one reigned supreme? Or would they get along like good ol' chums since they understand each other perfectly? Anyway, tangents. This fallacy is explained further in detail just right below.

Now that I say all of this, why the actual '''FUCK''' has no one decided to just up and leave the galaxy already?! It's a complete shithole! It's filled to the absolute brim with nothing but copious amounts of [[Grimdark]] and a whole host of things that want to murder, rape and eat you, not necessarily in that order. And it's ''still'' being filled up with that shit, both [[Necron|crawling out from under the ground]] and [[Tyranid|flying in from outer space to OMNOMNOMNOM the faces of everyone you both despise and adore]]. Even if you're lucky enough to escape the immediate crossfire, you're still likely to be part of [[Imperium|a civilisation that completely smashes any feeling of worth or individuality out of you and treats you like just another cog in the machine of trillions of cogs]]. Just leave already, god dammit. What about Andromeda? I hear it's rather pleasant this time of year. At least compared to this literal hellhole. But it's probably not possible for the same reason why [[Roboute Guilliman|Big Bobby G]] and [[Lion El'Johnson|Lion-O]] couldn't simply fly over the Ruinstorm to get to Terra; if the space between galaxies is calm because there are no souls, that probably means there's no warp either, making intergalactic travel impossible. But this is just baseless speculation that contradicts the nature of the Warp's existence, specifically that the Warp is influenced by life, not created by life, and existed before even the first lifeforms did. Plus, you need to be Necron-tier to get pass the nids off galaxy. Or it could be things like the Void Dragon possibly eating a million galaxies before returning to ours where he then met the Emperor, the Tyranids consuming a thousand galaxies, and generally such things indiciate that outside of the Milky Way is worse than in the Milky Way.

But then again, It is officially stated that Warhammer 40k and Warhammer Fantasy are completely different franchises which just so happen to have the same Warp with the same Chaos Gods.

Now, where were we? Oh yes, Chaos Gods. Ahem.

===On the Question of Omnipotence===

One of the most [[Skub|talked about and hotly debated topics]], especially amongst Chaos players is the question of Omnipotence. [[Matt Ward|Other than massive fanwanking and colossal jerk-offs,]] it must be stated and stressed that the Chaos Gods for all their strength are not omnipotent, for to be omnipotent means to be all-powerful and the idea of the Great Game greatly debunks this claim. Part of the problem may lie in the fact that folks like to give examples of the power of the Chaos Gods from codexes from the Rogue Trader era and Second Edition, eras which are of ''dubious'' canonicity. You see, what they don't seem to understand is that GW, especially ''early'' GW, had a habit of making use of flowery language and hyperbole to exaggerate the grandeur of something or someone. This by itself is not a problem, as 40k runs on exaggeration. The problem is that [[Powergamer|''some folks'']] seems to lack any ability to discern nuances or critical thinking skills and proceed to extrapolate these hyperboles as true, completely ignoring the fact that the majority of these flowery examples came from either a) the viewpoint of a Chaos Cultist b) in-universe propaganda and/or c) extremely old sources where [[Ian Watson|all sorts of wacky hijinks were birthed.]] As such, the credibility is highly suspect and should be taken with a mountain of salt.

So when sources 'claim' that the Chaos Gods could destroy 'universes' or Greater Daemons were [[Exterminatus|destroying entire planets wholesale]] within the [[Warp]], the validity should be scrutinized in the same way fa/tg/uys scrutinize [[Furries]]. What the Chaos Gods or their followers claim to be true (remember that they are notorious [[Bullshit|liars]]) does not match up with their actual abilities both in Warpspace and in Realspace. If they were truly multiversal as they claim, then, first of all, the [[Hive Mind|Shadow of the Warp]] should not be an existential threat to them. After all, a true universal - let alone multiversal - entity should not even notice a few intergalactic bugs on the windshield. Moreover, the Necron Pylons should also not be considered a threat to the big four, for if they possess such levels of reality-warping power, they should not be dependent in letting their [[Failbaddon|errand boy]] do all their dirty work for them in realspace. Even in the Warp, their so-called 'omnipotence' did not stop a certain [[Kaldor Draigo|Mary Sue]] from trashing their backyard from time to time.

The reality is the Chaos Gods, as far as deities go in Science Fiction, are pretty weak sauce. For example:
*They are utterly dependent on the emotions of a single galaxy (if they really did not care about emotions as some may claim, then they shouldn't be ''that'' invested in the Imperium now would they?).
*Certain [[Tyranids|critters with enough mindless psychic connections can close entire Warp-rifts and there is nothing the Chaos Gods can do about it;.]]
*Tzeentch's self-proclaimed omniscience is put into doubt seeing as how he and his [[Kairos Fateweaver|underlings]] failed to predict the rise of [[Roboute Guilliman|Robo Guillitan]] [[Gathering Storm|and the following]] [[Indomitus Crusade|mechinations of it]].
*Their self-proclaimed reality-warping powers are self-contained in the Warp, and even then it is restricted to their own realms. Much like how a child could create and manipulate anything in a sandpit does not automatically equate to the child turning sand into gold, the same analogy applies here - seriously it is telling that the Gods of Chaos couldn't do jackshit about the Necron Pylons for ''60 million years'' since the War in Heaven.
*Their dreaded Chaos corruption such as Scrapcode could literally be stopped by an AdMech Priest cutting off the connections fast enough during the Fall of Mars, knowing how abysmal 40k's A.I. are, that shit ain't touching the likes of a [[The Culture|Culture Mind,]] [[Halo|a Contendor-class A.I.,]] and the [[Xeelee Sequence|Anti-Xeelee]]. To state otherwise would be a No Limit Fallacy and a False Equivalency since the idea of scrapcode would be overpowered against the likes of the Necrons, Tau and the AdMech, yet this shit has seldomly been used which suggests limitations on the behalf of Chaos.

In retrospect, the contradictions of what the Chaos Gods/followers ''claim'' and what they are actually shown to do is no different than the problems the [[Hive Mind]] has found itself in as [[Tyranid#'Masters of Evolution'?|can be read here.]] They are all bound by GeeDubs' status quo and the balance of power, as such their powers are restricted insofar in one galaxy to preserve the status quo. With the bombshell of '''Godblight''', the argument of omnipotence has finally been shot down after Chaos got hit with a ''massive'' [[nerf]] bat. From the [[Emprah]] suggesting that the Daemon Primarchs can be redeemed, thereby making the threat of Chaos corruption impotent to Big-E literally shoving his Power Sword up [[Nurgle|Nurgle's]] ass and his garden, '''''permanently''''' wounding him grievously, to the outright confirmation that a Chaos God without sufficient faith would degenerate into Warp-soup and become perma-K.O. as faith is what gives Warp entities sentience. Godblight has single-handily trashed any presumption of Chaos omnipotence in but a few chapters, and let's not even get into a single [[Primaris Lieutenant]] kicking one of the strongest Nurglite Greater Daemons in the ass...[[Bullshit|''somehow'']].

So are the Chaos Gods powerful? In the universe of [[Star Wars]], [[Star Trek]] and [[Bioware|Mass Effect]], sure, of course they are. Are they omnipotent multiversal destroyers? Hell the fuck no. If you're honestly thinking that these ''guys'' are in the same ballpark as [[/co/|the Abstract Entities of Marvel and DC]], [[Doctor Who|the Time Lords]] or the motherfucking Downstreamers, then you should probably go see a doctor for a prostate exam; constant wanking is bad for ya health you know.

[[Tl;dr]], 40k is prone to not applying the concept of <u>'''Show Don't Tell'''</u>, which is ironic given the reputation of 40k in general, but it happens again and again and again. A good narrative showcases its targets' capabilities and feats, a bad narrative just tells them to the viewers. If the Chaos Gods can actually pop universes like grapes, ''then we better fucking see them popping an actual universe''. No wishy-washy flowery language, no offhand statements in the codex, no shenanigans inside the Warp which is unreliable ''at best''. <u>'''Show Don't Tell'''</u>. It isn't just the Chaos Gods that are guilty of this mind you, the [[Men of Iron]] and even the [[War in Heaven]] [[Necron]]s are guilty of this as well. Sun-snuffing machines the size of Saturn's rings and Breath of the Gods asshattery means jack shit if we don't actually see them in action. <u>'''Show Don't Tell'''</u>.

Or maybe they are merely aspects of the the warp itself, immutable, unstoppable and actually multiversal, creating monsters for it's amusement.

==Khorne==
{{Main|Khorne}}
[[File:Khorne First.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Lord of RAEG, War, Butthurt, Steroids and Testosterone. Really just a grouchy puppy.]]

BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD! SKULLS FOR THE SKULL THRONE! MILK FOR THE KHORNE FLAKES! BUTTER FOR THE POP KHORNE! Oh, sorry. In case it wasn't obvious, Khorne is the god of battle, martial honor, and oh yeah, BLOOD! Although primarily formed from hate and rage, bravery and honor are also thrown in the mix. Also in the mix are mercy (in particular, mercy for those too weak to put up a fight and be a challenge to kill. This is almost never shown in the fluff though, annoyingly), courage, regret, fear, athleticism, determination, daring, impulsiveness, and struggling onward in the face of any odds.
* Gender - DEFINITELY A MAN, AND DON'T YOU FORGET IT!! <strike> I thought he was female? </strike> {{BLAM|'''*BLAM!* *BLAM!* THAT'S DOUBLE HERESY!!'''}}
* Main Enemy - Slaanesh, as he considers him/her/them to be too frilly and really doesn't care about sensations, especially when they prolong the spilling of blood, to the point fluff wise it is distinctly pointed out he hates the priss even more than tzeench, going so far as to have slaaneshi and khornates have the hatred special rule against eachother.
* Bro god - Nurgle, although he doesn't seem to mind Khaela Mensha Khaine (they're probably the same thing, though), and he is rumored to be in a polyamorous relationship with Mork and Gork.
* Love Interest - Gork and Mork (see above). [[Valkia the Bloody]] (Canonically - yes, your brain is now broken).
* Dedicated [[Chaos Space Marine]] Legion - The [[World Eaters]], other various chapters and bands of warriors dedicated themselves to him since. Also has IG-equivalent armies like the [[Blood Pact]].
*[[Warriors of Chaos]] "Hero"/Chaos Tribe: Arbaal the Undefeated (ANGRY VIKINGS!! FUCK YEAH!!), Valkia the Bloody, Scylla Afingrimm (former warlord turned [[Chaos Spawn]] and still kicks ass), Hrafn Untam, Haargroth the Blooded, Skarr Bloodwrath. Khorne also has an entire Norse confederation especially devoted to him known as the Aeslingr.
* Sacred Number - 8 ("The eightfold path")
* Adjective - Khornate

<center><gallery>
File:WE Heretic Astartes 2.png|A Khornate Berzerker Heretic Astartes of the [[World Eaters]] Traitor Legion.
</gallery></center>

==Nurgle==
{{Main|Nurgle}}
[[File:Nurgle Old.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Despite his and his minion's appearances, they're actually pretty nice (for debatably self-aware boogers).]]

Nurgle is the god of filth, pestilence, decay, and generally being a cool dude (which are [[Neckbeard|obviously related]]). Formed from despair and fear of death, his portfolio also includes acceptance and stoicism. Other values include inevitability, empathy, kinship, struggle, (familial) love, tradition, mercy, and memory. Nurgle is also notable for being the only Chaos god that cares for his followers whatsoever, bordering on love (in fact in 40k, he loves the [[Eldar]] goddess [[Isha]] so much that he [[grimdark|chained her up and force feeds her his new diseases]], because that's the only way he knows how to express love... yeah, love sucks <s>sometimes</s> <s>all the time</S> most of the time). Also note that one aspect of him that is played up in the End Times is that he is in fact the god of life, only for him it means unrestrained, infinite life such as with pathogens and tumors.
* Gender - A (slob of a) man. A VERY fat, old one.
* Main Enemy - Tzeentch, the paragon of hope and change, in opposition to Nurgle's representation of decay and inevitability.
* Bro god - Khorne, mostly because Nurgle is the only Chaos god Khorne doesn't entirely hate.
* Love Interest - His joy and wife, [[Isha]]. Now pins for Alarielle, since he [[Everqueen#Isha.2FAriel_Alarielle_Fusion_Dance.21|lost Isha to her]].
* Dedicated [[Chaos Space Marine]] Legion - The [[Death Guard]]. Has tons of other followers like the [[The Purge]] (omnicidal wackos who have no problem using chemical and virus weapons on helpless populations), [[Apostles of Contagion]] ([[Zombie Plague]] aficionados), the [[Lords of Decay]] (utterly loyal Marines sent to die in the Eye, holy fuck these guys made a direct assault on the Solar System and won Pluto), and human IG armies like the rebellion on [[Vraks]].
* [[Warriors of Chaos]] "Hero"/Chaos Tribe: [[Valnir|Valnir the Reaper]], old school champion of Nurgle; [[Festus the Leechlord]] (this guy used to be a doctor in the Empire; he's not even a Northman). The Crow Brothers of the Björnlings are especially devoted to him also (Festus leads these guys), the [[Glottkin]], [[Gutrot Spume]] (a Nurglite pirate barbarian), the [[Maggoth Lords]] of Icehorn Peak. It could also be possibly argued (especially considering [[Age of Sigmar|Age of Skubmar]]) that the Skaven Clan Pestilens is some sort of splinter cult built on worshipping Nurgle while thinking that they're worshiping an aspect of the Horned Rat.
* Sacred Number - 7 (though 3 is also a popular number)
* Adjective - Nurglite
* Please note that the above lore mixes both Warhammer fantasy lore and Warhammer 40k lore which, although the character is virtually indistinguishable, are not the same thing. [[Skub|Maybe]].

<center><gallery>
File:Plague Marine 8th Ed.png|A [[Plague Marine]] of the [[Death Guard]] Traitor Legion.
</gallery></center>

==Slaanesh==
{{Main|Slaanesh}}
[[File:Slaanesh Old.jpg|thumb|right|200px|The embodiment of all things PR0N.]]

Slaanesh is the god/dess of pain, pleasure, and perfection... or, in other words, a god of [[1d4chan|emotions formed from emotions]], not all of which are bad. In 40k (WHFB didn't elaborate how Slaanesh was born, so we can only assume he/she/they manifested normally like the other Gods), the an inherently psychic race called the [[Eldar]] created him/her/them by having so many damn orgies they tore space-time a new asshole (The Eye of Terror). Formed mainly from hedonism and excess, love and creativity are also attributes of Slaanesh. Other facets include perfectionism, obsessiveness, attention-whoring, jealousy, sensuality, [[Doomrider|DRUGS]], empathy, self-expression, individuality, art, music, joy, and admiration (so quite literally the god of sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll!).
* Gender - Whatever you want it to be, sugar! In WH Fantasy you'll see illustrations of a lecherous old hag / old man / old bits-of-both; in WH40k depictions are of a young flamboyant hermaphrodite.
* Main enemy - The brutish Khorne, obviously. H-he never calls...
* Bro god - Tzeentch, although that's mostly because he's the least icky of the Chaos gods. His/her/their friendship with Nurgle is a bit questionable since he stole [[Isha]] during Slaanesh's proverbial and... literal raping of the former Eldar Empire, though it isn't shown anywhere that Slaanesh still openly detests Nurgle for that (Hell, their daemons temporarily joined forces once or twice). Generally the most open to working with the others.
* Love Interest - All of them. Still pines for Isha, and is depressed no one ever seems to love him/her/them back. Tries to tempt Khorne into raping him/her/them. Gave up on Nurgle after he got married. For a long time has been pining for Tzeentch of all people, but she can never seem to make him think she likes him as more than just a friend. Basically, she's the hot chick who got friendzoned by the nerd. But he/she/they won't give up!
* Dedicated [[Chaos Space Marine]] Legion - [[Emperor's Children]]. Also has others to call on like The [[Flawless Host]] (their drugs make Emperor's Children's look like baking powder), [[Violators]] (these guys body sculpt themselves enough to make a [[VtM|Tzimisce]] well up with pride), as well as, again, various IG-equivalent armies.
* [[Warriors of Chaos]] "Hero"/Chaos Tribe: Sigvald the Magnificent (he really is quite magnificent...), [[Dechala|Dechala the Denied one]], former high elf maiden turned into near greater daemon level, Azazel, former bro of [[Sigmar]], Styrkaar of Sortsvinear. <s>The Varg tribes serve him.</s> NO WE DON'T. Likely that the Hung worship him/her/them, purely judging from their nomenclature. Also, [[Dark Elves (Warhammer Fantasy)|Dark Elves]], pre-retcon.
*Sacred Number - <s>sex</s> 6. Probably 69 and 420 as well, due to what they’re associated with.
* Adjective - Slaaneshi

<center><gallery>
File:Mandraykh Blyss EC.png|A Slaaneshi-Heretic Astartes of the [[Emperor's Children]] Traitor Legion.
</gallery></center>

==Tzeentch==
{{Main|Tzeentch}}
[[File:Tzeentch Old.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Change we can all believe in...]]

Tzeentch is the god of [[Just as planned]], being a wishy washy nerd, and magic, arguably the coolest and most potentially powerful of the four due to being nerfed from his actual true power in the height of his age of coming from both respective canons of Warhammer and generally being the most victorious when fighting against humanity and other races as a scheming jerkass. Tzeentch is formed from paranoia and plotting, but also, amazingly enough, hope and ambition. Other values include trust, curiosity, dissatisfaction, aspiration, progress, knowledge, learning, protection, will, anarchy, and change.
* Gender - Always changing, but usually male or genderless.
* Main Enemy - Nurgle, because he symbolizes stagnation, a.k.a. refusal towards change. Khorne as well, as the jock bullies him for his nerdiness, which is what Tzeentch wants you to believe, in truth he bullies and torments Khorne.
* Bro god(dess) - Slaanesh, who isn't as brutal/dumb as Khorne and not as much of a lazy bastard as Nurgle. Plus, he/she/they're nice to little Tzeentch! [[Cegorach]] might have a Shonen Rival Bro Bond with him when they dont fight on different teams.
* Love Interest - Kind of wishes that the Deceiver, Cegorach, and the Emperor were chicks. For female gods hes got an Eye for [[Arianka]] since she's a rival to his whole all play to her all work dynamic and wants her to be the [[Isha]] to his Nurgle.
* Dedicated [[Chaos Space Marine]] Legion - [[Thousand Sons]], and basically no other Space Marine groups; only [[The Scourged]] are canonical non-TS-descendants who are dedicated to Tzeentch. Tzeentch also apparently doesn't have any IG-equivalent armies dedicated to him in particular (besides the [[Prospero Spireguard]] who are more like the Thousand Sons auxilia than anything else). In-universe this is most likely because if a Guardsman is going to turn to a specific Chaos god, the prospect of [[Khorne|power and unending glorious conquest]], [[Nurgle|freedom from all pain and suffering]], or [[Slaanesh|all the booze, drugs and whores you can handle and then some]] are more attractive options than being a scheming nerd. Or else Tzeentch's non-marine cultists are rarely warriors or soldiers, more often power-hungry bureaucrats, nobles, Imperial Governors, and even Inquisitors. Out of universe it's hard to make Tzeentch-focused units other than TS when their signature units are sorcerers, who only come in small quantities on the tabletop, and the Sons-specific Rubric Marines. He also offers limited knowledge of the future, represented in game with a boosted Ward save from the Mark of Tzeentch.
* [[Warriors of Chaos]] "Hero": <s>Vilitch the Curseling</s> [[Egrimm van Horstmann|Egrimm van Horstmann]]. No Chaos Tribe seems to revere him to any exceptional extent (well there was this Sarl tribe and it was ruled by a Tzeentch chieftian, but [[Wulfrik the Wanderer|Wulfrik]] killed him as well as his son) but he pulled out some nasty tricks such as becoming the grand magister of the Order of Light and fucking said order up before flying away on top of a dragon. Also, got [[Cathay]] in a bag.
* Sacred Number - 9
* Adjective - Tzeentchian

<center><gallery>
File:TS Sorc Divination.png|A Tzeentchian Chaos Sorcerer of the [[Thousand Sons]] Traitor Legion.
</gallery></center>

==Malal==
{{Main|Malal}}
[[File:Malal.jpg|150px|right|thumb|Then we have this motherfucking out of place/odd one out weirdo here....]]

Though not as relevant as the other big four, Malal is still more notable than the other minor Gods mentioned below. He's sort of the borderline between major and minor chaos gods.

Malal is a renegade Chaos god that only appeared in one comic for Fantasy before his creators divorced and took their character with them, resulting in GW shitcanning most of the original sculptors and artists. Then he was replaced with two entirely different characters with the same basic domain before being quietly swept under the rug and forgotten, barring the odd reference that slips out here and there. He is fittingly the god of fractiousness and dissent, which means his power is parasitic: any time the four other major Milky Way Warp gods do their thing, which is to say strive to gain power at the expense of the materium and eachother, Malal grows in power as well. Because of his nature as a common enemy to the big four and thus a Warp Entity that fights the Warp, he is also sometimes a god of atheism, contradictions, and paradoxes, when he exists at all. That being said, he did have awesome champions who lived solely to hunt down the greatest champions of the other gods, which is pretty [[Awesome]]. Sadly (or not, depending on your opinion), [[Games Workshop]] idiotically lost the rights to his name, so he's been more or less retconned. Except now he <i>might</i> be back in 40k, with a [[Chaos Space Marine]] warband called the [[Sons of Malice]] who worship a god called Malice...who just happen to wear a color scheme of black and white, and just happen to have a symbol of a bisected skull, and whose premier Chaos weapon specializes in killing Daemons. There's also [[Beastmen]] of Malal in one of the card games. But nope, don't you dare say they worship Malal. Like Khorne, Malal has an aspect of hate, however it's more along the lines of loathing (including towards self), [[derp|malice]] and cold contempt compared to Khorne's ragey hot-blooded variety. While a worshipper of either might shoot up a school, a malal worshipper would probably think of it like exterminating pests rather than a pleasant rampage. Beyond all that, his portfolio includes paradoxes, justice, revenge, nihilism, and the inevitability of Chaos turning upon itself. Every time the others fight or power shifts between them, he grows stronger. Just like Chaos will eventually win and consume all worlds, Malal will eventually win and consume all Chaos resulting in oblivion for all things...then if GW took the full bite off Moorcock's work and not just the parts they wanted, the whole thing starts all over again from the beginning.
* Gender - Maleal
* Main Enemy - EVERYONE. Because Malal's an edgy loner who doesn't play by the rules (also because he represents one of the few things GW didn't steal from [[Moorcock]], that Chaos eventually destroys itself), although the forces of [[Chaos Undivided]] might logically be prioritized over other folk.
* Bro God(ess) - Probably any character that has been retconned away, that [[Squats|is angry about not being a part of the canon anymore]]. A story where he temporarily joins forces with someone like Emps or the [[C'tan]] might also work.
* Love Interest(s) - As per his nature as an edgelord, he has a tsundere love-hate relationship with chaos itself.
* Dedicated [[Chaos Space Marine]] Chapters - [[Sons of Malice]]. And that just about sums it up. No Imperial Guard equivalent, no daemon spawn, nothing (that we know of). So yeah, that pretty much makes him a god of hipsters too. /tg/ has made a fan-codex for [[Malal Daemonkin]], though, so go help yourself :)
* [[Warriors of Chaos]] "Hero"/Chaos Tribe: A fellow named Kaleb Daark was Malal's first revealed servant, who swung around a pterodactyl head on a stick. The Ogre Skrag the Slaughterer fucked up dwarves in his name before pussying out to follow some shitty Ogre god thanks to retcons. There's a small tribe of Beastmen named the Claws of Malal as well.
* Sacred Number - 11
* Adjective - Malalic

<center><gallery>
Image:Maxresdefault.jpg|220px|A Malalic Space Marine
</gallery></center>

==Great Horned Rat==
{{Main|Horned Rat}}
[[File:Betterskaven.jpg|220px|right|thumb|Thinks he's better than sliced Jesus.]]

This otherwise-unnamed deity is patron of the [[Skaven]], and god of... well, rats. He also infringes copyright on both Nurgle's and Tzeentch's portfolios, but it's mostly rats. The Horned Rat once appeared in material form; he's the only Chaos god to do so. Of course, in Skaven fashion, he just ate a ton of the Skaven present, gave some orders and left; the Skaven only serve him out of fear, even though their belief in him only makes him stronger. He left them with a warpstone monolith containing the Skaven equivalent of the Ten Commandments.

In Age of Sigmar he was promoted to Chaos God following the demotion of Slaanesh out of the Great Game.
* Gender - Referred to as male.
* Main Enemy - Everyone, backstabbing is his primary creed and portfolio. Being cowardly, he will also work with any Chaos God, mostly Nurgle. Archaon shows him the least respect, however.
* Bro God(ess) - Nurgle, as far as his followers are concerned. They have very similar hobbies.
* Love Interest(s) - As Skaven themselves are incapable of feeling love, it is unlikely GHR can either.
* Dedicated [[Chaos Space Marine]] Chapters - None. Great Horned Rat does not exist in 40k. Although there are [[Death Guard]] miniatures with [[Skaven]] heads.
* [[Warriors of Chaos]] "Hero" - [[Clanrats]]. All of them. ALL OF THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Also apparently [[Thanquol]], because the Great Horned Rat thinks his fuckups are hilarious.
* Sacred Number - 13

==The Other Ones==
Older editions of Warhammer Fantasy and 40k mention several lesser Chaos gods. Nowadays, they only appear(ed) in WFB (and even then, only sparingly), with some (the Horned Rat and Hashut in particular) generally considered to be separate from the "main" Chaos pantheon.

Until the Horned Rat replaced Slaanesh as the Fourth Chaos god after the End Times. This change did not affect 40k (or presumably any other universe Slaanesh exists in), and Slaanesh is slowly breaking the prison walls.

===Warhammer Fantasy===
====Ashedte'gash====
A Minor Chaos God who was once an orphan on the streets of the Empire, who grew up learning that strength and cleverness are what allows one to survive, and that those who are weaker and stupider should be climbed over and killed to serve their betters. As such, he is served by only a few Greater Daemons, as the Lesser Daemons that followed him were all killed off for realsies in the Warp by their betters in an Ayn Randian survival-of-the-fittest natural selection murderfest.

Ash has only a handful of Greater Daemons serving him. All of the lesser daemons were destroyed in the ever present struggles to prove oneself to Ash. The remaining daemonic servants of Ashedte'gash are heavily armored Greater Daemons, wearing plate armor, carrying giant two handed swords. Little is known of these foul servants of Ashedte'gash. They lack wings to fly, but except from this nothing is known, but of their great strenght at arms.

====Atagro====
Lord of Beasts, was once mortal but was risen to Minor Chaos God status by Shagraunt, another Minor Chaos God, deeds included slaying a Sandworm in Araby. Atagro is a huge vicious creature clad in glistening black armor and crowned with a fierce, horned helm atop his blackened, skeletal head. Atagro's eyes burn with a fiery luminance, and he wears a huge shroud-like cloak. Tormented, vaguely human wretches struggle and writhe to peer out from under its folds. Atagro's armor is decorated with all the symbols of chaos, as he was once their most powerful champion. His hands are filthy and rotted; capped with grim steel talons and dark metal studs. Atagro's weapon, Kagorr, is a huge tooth edged sword with a second blade extending from the handle. The mighty god wields the blade with whirling grace and deadly precision. Kagorr is the most powerful weapon of chaos ever created and less powerful blades of similar appearance are often granted to Atagro's followers.
*'''Storm Lasher''' (also known as ''Serpent-Giants'', ''Twisting Punishers'', or ''Lashing Gargantuans''): These disgusting creatures appear as bloated gray skinned giants with long flailing tentacles for heads. The creatures have thick, two fingered hands with each finger ending in huge dark tentacles. Their short opposable thumbs are their only true fingers. The storm lashers are so named due to their affinity for lightning. Lashers whip their enemies with tentacles and make a sound like thunder when they run.
*'''Gull Grinder''' (also known as ''Raging Slug Men'', ''Screaming Beasts of Frenzy',' or ''Atagro's Habitations''): These creatures are among the more deadly of Atagro's demons. They appear as huge brown skinned strongmen with slug bodies for legs. Their enormous muscled arms end in the heads of lions and their own flat, bald heads are featureless save for beady black eyes and huge mottled beaks. The Gull Grinders attack by biting or spewing fireballs with their lion heads.
*'''Corpse Render''' (also known as ''Butchers of Atagro'', ''Beast-Lords'', or ''The Dark Titans''): The horrifying Corpse Renders are absolutely Atagro's most powerful greater demons. They look like massive 20' humanoids with black skin and the heads of rhinos. The Corpse Renders arms end in spherical masses of dark, twisted blades which spin and rotate at the will of the demons. The Renders awesome muscular legs end in flattened black hooves which they may scrape across the ground as they snort in anticipation of a coming fray.

====Be'lakor====
{{main|Be'lakor}}
The first [[Daemon Prince]] and ostensibly the only Daemon Prince of [[Chaos Undivided]], Be'lakor commands a great amount of power over the Realms. While still under the thumb of his four parents, he has been able to control a sizeable army of followers and has claimed to have even influenced [[Archaon]].

====Chaos Gods of Law====
{{main|Chaos Gods of Law}}
[[Alluminas]], [[Arianka]], and [[Solkan the Avenger]]. Supposedly These guys were the opposite of the big four, though you'll notice there are only three of them, there was apparently a fourth but they never popped up. They also had human worshippers. [[Kaleb Daark]] was meant to kill Arianka but he was mysteriously vanished along with her relevance. And Be'la'kor said Solkan (and implicitly the other three) was not real. Given how God's are born of belief and he had active believers it's not sure how that works out. Nevermind that Be'la'kor's version of the truth can be skewed at the best of times. These old-school dudes have their own page!

====Hashut====
{{main|Hashut}}
Hashut apparently means "Father of Darkness" in Dwarfen, which naturally means he's the god of the [[Chaos Dwarfs]]. And if his followers are any indication, he's also god of penis-compensating hats.

====Kka====
Kka was a Chaos Godling, that is to say Minor Chaos God, although what he embodied is unknown. What is known is that he was the patron of the equally goofy-looking and sexy Harpy-turned-Chaos-Spawn named Ngaaranh, who looked like a 3 Headed Harpy with long necks and eyestalks.

====Khakkek====
[[File:KhakkekkFollowers.jpg|200px|right]]
From old-school Warhammer, was the god of the Chaos Goblins. Was only mentioned once or twice, but was described as a red skinned, 8 limbed spidery-goblin who was a god of bloodletting but unlike Khorne, allowed for magic. Described as seen as halfway between Khorne and Khaine. The picture above shows a cult of his worshippers. If you look closely, you can see the Symbol of Chaos on the Shaman's Loincloth.

*'''Greater Daemon:''' The Great Demons of Khakkek feature an almost Goblinoid physiognomy, so they can be easily mistaken, from afar or in poor light, for an Orc (albeit very large). On closer inspection, however, we discover glowing red eyes, Chaos armor, and an impressive number of sharp teeth and claws (including a nice pair of fangs). His face can mirror Khakkekk's, and he wields a fiery giant sword with immense skill. Its characteristics are the same as those of a standard Minor Demon.
*'''Lesser Daemon:''' Just as the Big Demon looks like an Orc, Orc, the Little Demon looks like some kind of Goblin. He too, from afar or in poor light, can easily be mistaken for a Goblin (albeit tall), with red eyes. His face and impressive array of dangerous teeth and talons (no fangs) are also reminiscent of Khakkekk. Its characteristics are similar to those of a Minor Demon.
*'''Daemonic Beast:''' These creatures, sociable in the manner of the Nurglings, appear as Brats (would be Snotlings in more modern editions, since Greenskins now reproduce by spores) with glowing red eyes (this is the common characteristic of the demons of Khakkekk, with sharp teeth and talons) and sport 1d4 Chaos mutations. Like other demons, each has a face that strangely recalls its master. The profile of a Demonic Creature is the same as a standard Servant Demon, or, alternatively, that of a Nurgling (if you have Realm of Chaos: the Lost and the Damned).
*'''Daemonic Steed:''' Khakkekk's Demonic Mount appears virtually identical, at least physically, to a Large Wolf, and it may actually be. Whether or not this is the case, it is virtually identical. You can therefore use the description of the Big Wolf from the bestiary of WFRP1 or that of present in this project.

====Kweethul====
Kweethul Gristlegut was a Skaven who managed to become an extremely minor Chaos God in the older Warhammer editions. He was later mentioned as being a HERETIC against the Horned Rat in a later Skaven army book. The Horned Rat will suffer no challenger to its dominion over Skaven-kind! Could create his own Daemons, too.

*'''The Six Eyed Slayer:''' Greater Daemon. He stands about 10ft in height with a pair of three eyed goats heads. It carries a Chaos Weapon with the power of mutation.
*'''Floating Horror:''' Lesser Daemon. Appearing much as a Harpy but with the clawed feet of a Bear.
*'''Fire Runner:''' Daemonic Steed. A partially feathered beast with burning clawed feet.
*'''The Thing:''' Daemonic Beast.

====Meneloth====
An androgynous god of pleasure among the Elves, may have been a sort of proto-Slaanesh before being absorbed into the greater whole of Slaanesh upon Slaanesh's birth, either that or a toned-down aspect of Slaanesh used to lure Elves into worship of Slaanesh, like a dealer giving a watered-down needle of heroin to a kid to get them addicted before giving them the hard stuff.

====Necoho====
[[File:Necoho_Revealed.png|500px|thumb|right|[[/tg/]] has recently deduced Necoho's true identity.]]
Necoho is the god of atheism and one of the other minor gods invented as a replacement for Malal. Stupid as it sounds, it actually works, as Chaos is a reflection of all human beliefs and emotions, including, paradoxically, disbelief. He generally works to make religious movements disappear and wears a permanent expression of comic amusement, as he fucking knows he's a walking, talking paradox.

Note that Necoho was introduced in an adventure for [[Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay]] 1st Edition, so his current canonicity is doubtful, to say the least. That being said, he has been mentioned sporadically since then, such as the [[Gotrek & Felix]] novel ''Road of Skulls'', which is more than can be said for Zuvassin. Has been mentioned by name in the Age of Sigmar novel ''Auction of Blood'', along with a mention to his cult and an antitheist tract called "The Revelations of Necoho, or the Light of Doubt".

In the popular series [[If the Emperor had a Text-to-Speech Device]], [[Magnus the Red]] made the point that the Emperor was, perhaps unknowingly, feeding a Chaos god of unbelief by promoting his Imperial Truth.

====Obscuras====
Brother of Alluminas, Chaos God of Law. Was originally one of the Gods of Law but got jealous of his brother and turned to Chaos proper.

Shadowphytes (also known as Shadow Daemons) are daemons of Obscuras, standing around the height of an average man. The most dedicated of Obscuras' cultists hope to join the ranks of the Shadowphytes upon their deaths. Shadowphytes appear as black shadowy humanoids whose features are only barely visible through the inner darkness they radiate. They cannot fly but possess the ability to melt into the shadows in one place and reappear in the shadows somewhere else within their line of sight. They fear the light and it is know to cause them actually damage when not standing in full or demi-darkness.

Shadowphytes can't cause physical wounding upon their victims, but cause damage through their touch, which robs the victim of his or her strength, and they are skilled users of the magical art of their master. It's said that anyone slain by a Shadowphyte is condemned to eternal torment in Obscuras' realm of shadow.

====Oubelgyr====
Oubelgyr is a Daemon-Prince who sits at the cusp of just-about-to-be-but-not-quite a Minor Chaos God, who is known to be a Peddler of Knowledge, like some sort of Daemonic Informant. Whereas Tzeentch is all about learning and then coveting secrets, Oubelgyr is always trying to find secret knowledge then sell it to the highest bidder, a trait useful for Chaos Sorcerers with sacrifices to spare who wish to skip the chanciness of Tzeentch's blessings. Was imprisoned at one point, but was able to scheme a way to unlock the door to his prison, only to then decide his prison was a nice lair and pretended to still be locked in. Rather than having daemons of his own, he has multiple Daemons and Mortal slaves who he has bound with contracts, who have to do as he says and guard him.

====Quorn====
[[File:QuornArtwork.jpg|200px|right]]

Not to be confused with Khorne, Quorn was the Minor Chaos God of carnivorous plants, whose schtick basically was "Radical Anti-Veganism" with carnivorous plant life devouring all flesh-creatures. His name was a double-pun, meant to sound like Khorne's and the same as a vegetable-based fake-meat substitute from before Impossible Meats were a thing. (Note: Pictured above is fan artwork produced by putting Quorn's name and description into Nightcafe, an Artificial Intelligence Art Program that makes art based on text description)

====Rhasneth====
The Chaos God of Insanity. Must be pretty batshit insane if his brand of nutters stands out amongst the general mental sickness of the rest of the Pantheon of Chaos.

The daemons of Rhasneth are to varied to make a single name for them, the most horrible nightmares of the most twisted madmen made real, pushing their way from the realm of nightmares into the world of the living to do their master's wish. The daemons of Rhasneth are special in that not all can see them, only those who have already lost their sanity can see them while all others fail to even notice them. The madman can scream in terror when his nightmares comes for him, not only to haunt him in his dreams but to feast upon his soul, while the rest of the world remains ignorant of the creature and tells him there is nothing there. Even as the daemon slowly approch, a mad twisted snarl upon its face...

====Screaming God-Child====
[[File:Screaming God-Child.png|200px|right|]]
Appearing only in the [[Malus Darkblade]] novel ''Lord of Ruin'', and more completely in the Malus chapters in Warhammer Monthly, the God-Child is the ruler of a little corner of the Realm of Chaos known as ''Alterity'', a massive chunk of rock on top of which lies walls in the shape of an eight-pointed star, guarded by ancient daemons who keep the locals and guests who enter from leaving Alterity. The God-Child himself takes the appearance of a young humanoid being with a near featureless face, only having a mouth, wearing robes and an amulet in the shape of the star of Chaos.

====Shagraunt====
A Minor Chaos God of whom even less is known of than Atagro, it was Shagraunt who ascended Atagro into the ranks of the Minor Chaos Gods.

====Stromfels/Mermedus====
Whilst often speculated to be [[Manann]]'s edgy dark half, Stromfels' mutant cults and rumored links to Khorne in earlier editions point towards his status as a minor Chaos god. Further proof of this is his patronage of sea mutant pirate Aranessa Saltspite, and his Chaos cult in the Gotrek and Felix story "Slayer of the Storm God", featuring his avatar, the "Harbinger of Stromfels".

Another variation of Manann but Chaos exists in the form of '''Mermedus''', the Norscan god of the sea, that's considered by some to be an even more edgy version of Stromfels. Notable that most Norscans don't even like him, because all who die at sea are claimed by him and denied entry to their patrons realm, except for the Skaelings who drown prisoners of war and animals for him after battles and raids. He's described as a ghoulish and bulbous figure that walks on the sea floor, covered in eyes and bloated like a drowned person. This is odd, as Stromfels' Avatar, Harbinger of Stromfels, looked like a Giant with a Tentacle where each of the Arms would be and the Head of a Shark.

In [[Total War: Warhammer II]], he is also [[Cylostra Direfin]]'s patron deity, having resurrected her as a vengeful ghost to wreak havoc against the High Elves and Bretonnians who rejected her singing.

In Age of Sigmar, he apparently is still worshipped by pirates in one area of Ghyran, and was worshipped by a tribe of Gargants in Azyr before Sigmar cleansed the realm of Chaos.

====Tristaris====
A Chaos Goddess of Misery, with a minor interest in knowledge. Represents the misery brought about by knowledge of Chaos' ultimate victory. Sounds like Tzeentch's perfect girl, a big tiddy goth nerd GF.

*'''Blissbane:''' (also known as ''Wailing Woman of Misery'',''Mistress of Destress'', or ''Gaunt Spirits of Lamentation'') This infernal creatures look like haggard, ghostly women with wild hair and gaunt, wrinkled bodies. They wear white shroud like clothes and are translucent to the eye. The Blissbanes emit occasional shrieks of pure misery as well as sudden bursts of maniacal laughter. They can pass through any obstacle as though they were ethereal, but are also incapable of manipulating any material objects. Often Blissbanes appear in groups of four, the number of Tristaris.
*'''Sloathe:''' (also known as ''Mounts of Misery'', ''Hunching Beasts of Suffering'', or ''Steeds of Tristaris'') The sloathes are bear sized creatures with four legs and short curved claws. The creatures have no heads and appear to be made almost entirely of layer upon layer of dark rags and shrouds. They make low grunting and grumbling sounds as they walk. The sloathes lash out with their claws in combat, and they have the ability to collapse into a pile of useless rags. The rags may be scattered by the wind or even burnt up; but unless every single one of them is destroyed the creature can return to its normal shape from any one of the pieces.
*'''Humanwood Tree:''' (also known as ''Oaks of Despair'', ''Petrified Eyes of Torment'', or ''Roots of Evil'') The humanwood trees are powerful demons that largely inhabit the groaning forests of misery in the pocket dimension that is Tristaris's realm in the chaos warp. The trees look like stubby, twisted oak trees with thick trunks and anguished human faces and bodies seemingly squirming about beneath their flexible bark. The trees speak a language that is their own and to hear it is to surely lose one's mind. All who hear the trees speaking will feel suffer from it as blood pours from their ears. The trees lash out with their branches and should the victom be caught the trees nine limbs will easily rip a held person to shreds. Strangly enough they are also immune to fire, somehting that would otherwise have been their main weakness.
*'''Sade:''' (also known as ''Screaming Devils of Sorrow'', ''Sobbing Lords of Tribulation'', or ''Jeering Lords of Languishing'') The Sades are Tristaris's greater demons. They look like gaunt red skinned men with long black beards, tiny horns from their foreheads and pointed chins. The Sades dress like nobles and their eyes are white and constantly streaming with bloody tears. Each of them carries a large, gleaming sickle. They also each carry a Lash of Lament and have long claws which they can use in close quarters. The Sades must consume twice their weight in living hearts each day that they exist in the material world if they are summoned.

====Urlfdaemonkin====
Urlf isn't a name. It's the last fucking death cry a guy makes when you gut him. That should tell you all you need to know. Anyway, this guy used to be a Norscan (like most of the daemon princes on this list) and was elevated to princehood by Khorne for exceptional badassery. Before his ascension, he was a massive, tall, bearded, Clint Eastwood-type Chaos Champion and was a chieftain of the Snaegr clan of Aeslingr. He's so fucking powerful that he was able to create his own lesser daemons and can bless warriors with the Mark and mutations of Khorne. Urlf has his own summoning days like most powerful daemon princes, and is usually worshiped as a lesser deity of Chaos by those who serve his master, Khorne. He has a short story in the 6th edition Chaos army book, where he muses on the fuck-you nature of time in the Warp and remarks on how the new Chieftain of the Snaegr resembles one of the sons he fathered in his mortal life. He also blesses the new chief with Khorne's mark and turns him into a monstrous cross [[Awesome|between a Bloodletter and a Chaos Champion]].

====Vymnn====
A Minor Chaos god who was only known as the master of the Daemon Prince Hakrii, who Atagro slayed (Hakrii, not Vymnn) in his quest for Daemon Princehood himself.

====Zhedun====
A Chaos God of gnawing, eternal hunger, who represents how Chaos would destroy itself if it ever won in the end, being dependent on sapient mortal thought for sustenance.

Daemons of Zhedun are known as Devouring Fiends (a.k.a. Mawed Ones, or Devourers) creatures ruled entirely by their own voracious appetite. They stands well over six feet tall, stooped, with atrophied arms but strong legs, and their heads are comprised mostly of a giant gaping jaw filled with massive teeth. Often they will stop at fallen foes, devouring their bodies in their Chaos-spawned hunger.

====Zuvassin====
Zuvassin is one of the two minor gods invented as a replacement for Malal. He just likes to see shit fall apart, specifically nonphysical stuff like schemes and lives - in other words, he's the god of [[not as planned]]. He's the guy who makes all the bad shit happen in infomercials. Generally, he makes sure that Murphy's Law is always enforced in the most spectacular possible ways. He doesn't have many worshippers, as he makes sure to fuck up whatever they're planning too.

Note that Zuvassin was only introduced in an adventure for [[Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay]] 1st Edition, so his current canonicity is doubtful, to say the least.

Actually, he is still canon, at least in Warhammer Fantasy. The 2nd Edition "Tome of Salvation" lists both him and Necoho as Chaos Gods.

And the motherfucker is STILL canon in Age of Sigmar, where a short story features a Chaos Champion named "Zuvass". Hmm.. I wonder who he might be worshipping.

Makes an appearance in [[Total War: WARHAMMER|Total War: WARHAMMER III]], where [[God-Slayer|Daniel]] can get an event where you can communicate with him and get his blessing, as he considers you important in disrupting the balance of Chaos.

====Ziraad, Thain, Blazzach and Javate====
4 Minor Chaos Gods known among the people of Araby, mentioned in Atagro's backstory as the gods worshipped by 4/6 members of his BATTLE-HAREM, the last 2 being a one of Tzeentch and one of Slaanesh.

===Warhammer 40,000===
====Balphomael====
[[File:Balphomael.png|200px|right]]
A minor Chaos God skirting on the edge of independent Greater Daemon, ruler of the Daemon World of Woe. Has a Christian Devil, "Let's Make a Deal" sort of vibe about him, complete with looking like classical illustrations of Demons and his name being a portmanteau of Baal, Baphomet and Samael. The art above is from a Dark Heresy book.

====King in Rags and Tatters====
Quite possibly a Chaos God version of Hastur from the Cthulhu Mythos, may or may not be a guise of Tzeentch. Leader of the "Menagerie" a Chaos Cult that seeks to unravel reality itself. Has unique demonic minions in the form of Warp Spectres, roiling, constantly changing masses of hideous-energy-being Daemons (like a Chaos Spawn made of gas and energy instead of fluid flesh?).

====Lord of Misrule====
Another minor Chaos God skirting on the edge of being an independent Greater Daemon from Dark Heresy. Also seeks to undo the veil between reality and the Warp.

====Melkirth====
Mentioned in older background material for Warhammer 40,000. Melkirth was a minor chaos god described as "The god of evil, malice, and wanton cruelty and suffering." While Melkirth remains a minor god, it is said that the actions of the mortal races, particularly the Dark Eldar, are causing Melkirth to grow in power until he ultimately becomes the fifth major Chaos God. The daemons of Melkirth are described as being the colour of shadow and able to take on the appearance of any daemon, be it a daemon of Khorne, Nurgle, Slaanesh, or Tzeentch. These shadow daemons could be inspiration for the shadow daemons Morathi encounters in Ulgu in Age of Sigmar, as they are also having to do with Dark Aelfs.

====Mo'rcck, Phraz-Etar, and Ans'l====
Puns on the last names of sci-fi and fantasy author Michael Moorcock (from whom the idea of [[Chaos]] as a fundamental force in the world was blatantly stolen/took inspiration from, and don't anyone ever say "borrow for a while" since even the author and Games Workshop have admitted it), artist Frank Frazetta (who drew a lot of movie and comic book posters, especially in sci-fi and fantasy), and Citadel Miniatures founder Bryan Ansell (who wrote several of the [[Rogue Trader (Sourcebook)|First Edition]] rulebooks). These guys helped set the tone of the early [[Warhammer 40,000]] universe (purposefully or not), including the propensity of putting spikes on [[Chaos]] things. Games Workshop decided to pay homage in the (initial) Third Edition [[Codex]]: [[Chaos Space Marines]], which mentioned that Chaos Space Marines often put "spiky bits" on their armour in praise of these three gods. They were never mentioned anywhere else, and probably shouldn't be considered "canonical"... not that canonicity counts for much in 40k anyway.

Some baseless fan speculation could be made that Phraz-Etar could be the Patron God of the Apemen of The Southlands, the regional Beastmen variant who are probably the equivalent of the common Gor births that plague Old World villages for the unlucky African equivalent villages in that jungle land. This is due to the existence of the popular "Frazetta Man" trope of degenerate Apemen started by Frank Frazetta himself in illustrations for Conan the Barbarian comic stories.

====Raptor God====
The minor god worshipped by the [[Chaos Raptor]]s, responsible for turning them from standard [[Assault Squad|Assault Marines]] to the mercenaries they currently are, and maybe also the one that turns them into [[Warp Talons]].

====Ysarille the Daemon-King====
According to an Eisenhorn book, Ysarille was a Daemon Prince of Tzeentch from a time before the Eldar first went to space, before Slaanesh was born, and who gained enough power that he became capable of creating his own Daemons, basically making him a lesser Chaos God. He went to battle with his former master, and after a billion-year battle, Tzeentch finally killed Ysarille. His surviving Daemons took his body and fled, setting up a Tomb world for him on the planet Ghúl, and their own Daemon Empire of 600 worlds surrounding planet Ghúl, in exile from the Warp. Cherubael, Gregor Eisenhorn's minion who takes the form of a Daemonhost by possessing the corpse of Gregor's former colleague Godwyn Fischig, was one of Ysarille's servants.

===Age of Sigmar===

All Warhammer Fantasy Gods, presumably. Zuvassin and Necoho are explicitly active.

====Archaon====
{{main|Archaon}}
Upon completing a new set of challenges by the Chaos Gods in AoS, he was empowered to demigod level and given free reign to do whatever he desired.

====Devourer of Existence====
A primitive aspect of Chaos as an apex predator, that wishes to devour all else and despises any sign of civilization, worshipped by the Untamed Beasts. Maybe a modern take on Zhedun?

====Eightfold Watcher====
Some sort of Chaos-Spider-Godbeast worshipped by the Tarantulos Brood. From Warcry Red Harvest.

====Ever-Raging Flame====
A massive fire of Chaos, said to be the Chaos personification of Aqshy itself, worshipped by the Scions of the Flame in the Realm of Fire.

====The Great Gatherer====
A (presumably) giant crow worshipped by tribesmen from Ulgu in the [[Age of Sigmar]]. Not much is known about him, since [[Warcry|the only game his followers appear in]] isn't out yet, but we do know that the [[Corvus Corax|Corvus]] Cabal (the aforementioned tribesmen) consider [[Archaon]] to be his avatar in the Mortal Realms. Theories range from it being an aspect of [[Tzeentch]] (notable avian features, Tzeentch is known to be interested in the Realm of Shadow, maybe gathering secrets?) or [[Nurgle]] (the Crow was Nurgle's totem animal among the Norscans, maybe gathering bodies?) to being a minor, but ascending, Chaos God not so far removed from the Great Horned Rat's path to the pantheon. He even has the weird connection to both Nurgle and Tzeentch the GHR does. It has been confirmed that the Warbands from Warcry will be usable in the main game, possibly as normal units, and will have the keyword SLAVES TO DARKNESS, which means he'll have some representation in a mainline game. Not too bad for the newest kid on the block. Maybe like Great Horned Rat, he'll get his own race of worshippers someday. Chaos Kenku, anyone?

====Morghur====
{{main|Morghur The Shadowgave}}
Originally one of the most notable Beastmen, he's worshipped as a minor Chaos God of mutation and devolution in Age of Sigmar. Wait what the fuck is this??

====Nagendra====
Originally a Godbeast, was splintered and the remains corrupted into Daemons called Coiling Ones, worshipped by the Splintered Fang.

===Blood Bowl===
====Nuffle====
{{Main|Nuffle}}
A joke Chaos God for [[Bloodbowl]], Nuffle is a mispronunciation of NFL (as in "National Football League", the American gridiron football pro league in real life), which would be pronounced "Noofle" as in "book" if you tried pronouncing it. Nuffle explains why the Blood Bowl universe is so wacky and gridiron football obsessed. Technically the superior to the rest of Chaos, although apparently only in the Blood Bowl universe.

===When Tzeentch was the best===
According to recent Tzeentch Codex/Battletome Tzeentch was at one point the sole major chaos god. A rebellion against him fractured him into many pieces, which because of warp time fuckery, technically counts as a different god. When chaos was first forming (just after War in Heaven for 40k) there were many chaos gods and entities competing (rather than the total domination that exists now). Tzeentch somehow became number one, and was a super god of sorts, although he was possibly less powerful than the current Tzeentch due to the lesser size and influence of chaos. A rebellion by all the other chaos gods fractured him, creating the Tzeentch we know today. In the same way that Slaanesh has always existed in 40k, the new Tzeentch has always existed the way he is. While the old Tzeentch is permanently destroyed (across all time), while still doing the things he did, what really matters is the influence in the material realm: Tzeentch's new self and Slaanesh started doing that when they were created relative to the materium, while the Warp is such a mess that a contradiction like old Tzeentch being completely destroyed while still having done the things he did is basically nothing. They are implied to be two seperate entites.

This is a variant of the backstory of The Blue Scribes.

{{ChaosGods}}

[[Category:Heresy]]
[[Category:Warhammer Fantasy]]

Chaos Gods

2022-09-20T21:59:22Z

2601:188:C300:64B8:6421:EABE:84ED:1FAC: /* Oubelgyr */

{{heresy}}
{{Topquote|The creatures of the Warp are just "aliens" too, but they are not life forms as we understand the term. They are not organic. They are extra-dimensional, and they influence our reality in ways that seem sorcerous to us. Supernatural, if you will. So let's use all those lost words for them... daemons, spirits, possessors, changelings. All we need to remember is that there are no gods out there, in the darkness, no great daemons and ministers of evil. There is no fundamental, immutable evil in the cosmos. It is too large and sterile for such melodrama. There are simply inhuman things that oppose us, things we were created to battle and destroy.
|Horus Lupercal, about to realize that he was wrong and that he could get great power, and then dearly regret his casual arrogance.}}

The '''Chaos Gods''' are the gods which rule over the Realm of [[Chaos]] in [[Warhammer Fantasy Battles]] and the [[Warp]] in [[Warhammer 40,000]]. They love nothing so much as dicking with each other, except perhaps with their mortal followers, and literally each other (especially Slaanesh). Before they were gods, they were generally benevolent beings, when the Warp was a calm sea. Each one is formed by the emotions of living souls clumped together in the Warp/Realm of Chaos. Contrary to standard thought, they personify good attributes as well, and are powered as much by good as by bad. Even if said god started out entirely bad, in their eventual evolution as part of their natures, they will kill gods who represented entirely good things, and will gain not only their values, but their power by said value.

Be aware many of the gods' values will and do intersect. This is as much due to the chaotic nature of the gods as it is to the multitude of emotions that make up the living. For example: let's say you're literally obsessed with brutally murdering people and you get a real nice kick out of it. The act of spilling blood is gonna feed [[Khorne]], while the ecstasy and obsessive sensation you get out of it will feed [[Slaanesh]]. So yeah, there's some overlap, in that an individual doing a certain thing, under specific circumstances, can simultaneously feed multiple Chaos Gods, but the God who was invoked (whether intentionally or no) upon when commuting the action will get the most power out of it (I.E: You killed someone for Khorne. While your ecstasy from the murder will feed Slaanesh a bit, your simple act of ending a life will feed Nurgle, your continued ambition to please the Blood God to earn his favor will also feed Tzeentch a bit, but Khorne gets the most since you offered that kill to him foremost).

==Overview==
According to the wikifans over at the Official Warhammer 40k Wiki, the Chaos gods were created and are sustained by the collective emotions of 'every sentient being of the material universe'; so not just the Milky Way, but every alien, both heretical and loyal, in the whole universe. This however probably isn't true, or rather it's just very bad wording, because if the Milky Way alone has all of these sentient races in it, then there's a safe bet that most other galaxies in the rest of the universe also have a multitude of sentient races too. And there are like, at least billions upon billions of galaxies in the observable universe, let alone the true universe which is likely many magnitudes larger. Based on what we've seen in the fluff, ''That'' many galaxies, filled with ''that'' many sentient lifeforms, ''all'' feeding only ''four'' Chaos Gods, would give said Chaos Gods so much power that they would probably have the capability to turn the entire galaxy (and many others) into massive Eyes of Terror at a simple scheming click of their heretical fingers. But of course, that hasn't happened (thank the fucking Emperor). Which probably means those wikijerks are talking complete [[Bullshit|unadulterated bullshit]] (or are making the common and infuriating mistake of conflating "universe" with "galaxy"). In actuality, the full range of influence the Ruinous Powers have only extends to the area of the Milky Way and not much further. After all, a specific location in the Warp corresponds with a specific location in the Materium; your thoughts and emotions will have an effect (albeit very minor) on the Warp in your specific corresponding location, and the collective thoughts and emotions of a galaxy's population will only have an effect on that specific galactic area of the overall Warp. This essentially means the four Chaos Gods are completely confined to the Milky Way galaxy, because that's where the emotions that created and feed them are currently being felt.

So what does that really mean? Well, it means the Warp in the vast, cold, empty space between galaxies is calm as fuck, absolutely nothing like the infested shitty plughole it is right now in our home galaxy, because there's no sentient life and hence no chaotic emotions there to stir it up. However, this also means that if other galaxies out there have their own interstellar sentient species with a presence in the Warp, then those galaxies will have their own Chaos Gods [likely just analogous versions of the four ([[Malal|point five]]) we have, although it's also possible that the different emotions might be allocated differently for each galactic pantheon; Andromeda might have gods based on the seven deadly sins, for example] that reside there and are also confined to the area of their own galaxy. But who knows? Maybe each warp god is a reflection of the galaxy that birthed it, and the aliens that live in other galaxies there have actually got their shit together and all get along like best buddies in a setting that just oozes [[Noblebright|noblebright]] from every pore, and the Chaos Gods there aren't even called that because they're all so friendly and cushy to everyone and like to play vidyagames with each other and cracking open cold ones on a warm Friday night while watching The Batchelor. Maybe the Warp gods in most galaxies actually maintain contact with those in neighbouring ones, and everyone just stays the fuck out of the Milky Way for the same reason most 21st century tourists stay out of Somalia. How sweet... I wonder what would happen if two galaxies, both with their own analogous Chaos Gods, collided. Would they just absorb each other into a new pantheon of four even-more-powerful Gods? Would they fight each other until one reigned supreme? Or would they get along like good ol' chums since they understand each other perfectly? Anyway, tangents. This fallacy is explained further in detail just right below.

Now that I say all of this, why the actual '''FUCK''' has no one decided to just up and leave the galaxy already?! It's a complete shithole! It's filled to the absolute brim with nothing but copious amounts of [[Grimdark]] and a whole host of things that want to murder, rape and eat you, not necessarily in that order. And it's ''still'' being filled up with that shit, both [[Necron|crawling out from under the ground]] and [[Tyranid|flying in from outer space to OMNOMNOMNOM the faces of everyone you both despise and adore]]. Even if you're lucky enough to escape the immediate crossfire, you're still likely to be part of [[Imperium|a civilisation that completely smashes any feeling of worth or individuality out of you and treats you like just another cog in the machine of trillions of cogs]]. Just leave already, god dammit. What about Andromeda? I hear it's rather pleasant this time of year. At least compared to this literal hellhole. But it's probably not possible for the same reason why [[Roboute Guilliman|Big Bobby G]] and [[Lion El'Johnson|Lion-O]] couldn't simply fly over the Ruinstorm to get to Terra; if the space between galaxies is calm because there are no souls, that probably means there's no warp either, making intergalactic travel impossible. But this is just baseless speculation that contradicts the nature of the Warp's existence, specifically that the Warp is influenced by life, not created by life, and existed before even the first lifeforms did. Plus, you need to be Necron-tier to get pass the nids off galaxy. Or it could be things like the Void Dragon possibly eating a million galaxies before returning to ours where he then met the Emperor, the Tyranids consuming a thousand galaxies, and generally such things indiciate that outside of the Milky Way is worse than in the Milky Way.

But then again, It is officially stated that Warhammer 40k and Warhammer Fantasy are completely different franchises which just so happen to have the same Warp with the same Chaos Gods.

Now, where were we? Oh yes, Chaos Gods. Ahem.

===On the Question of Omnipotence===

One of the most [[Skub|talked about and hotly debated topics]], especially amongst Chaos players is the question of Omnipotence. [[Matt Ward|Other than massive fanwanking and colossal jerk-offs,]] it must be stated and stressed that the Chaos Gods for all their strength are not omnipotent, for to be omnipotent means to be all-powerful and the idea of the Great Game greatly debunks this claim. Part of the problem may lie in the fact that folks like to give examples of the power of the Chaos Gods from codexes from the Rogue Trader era and Second Edition, eras which are of ''dubious'' canonicity. You see, what they don't seem to understand is that GW, especially ''early'' GW, had a habit of making use of flowery language and hyperbole to exaggerate the grandeur of something or someone. This by itself is not a problem, as 40k runs on exaggeration. The problem is that [[Powergamer|''some folks'']] seems to lack any ability to discern nuances or critical thinking skills and proceed to extrapolate these hyperboles as true, completely ignoring the fact that the majority of these flowery examples came from either a) the viewpoint of a Chaos Cultist b) in-universe propaganda and/or c) extremely old sources where [[Ian Watson|all sorts of wacky hijinks were birthed.]] As such, the credibility is highly suspect and should be taken with a mountain of salt.

So when sources 'claim' that the Chaos Gods could destroy 'universes' or Greater Daemons were [[Exterminatus|destroying entire planets wholesale]] within the [[Warp]], the validity should be scrutinized in the same way fa/tg/uys scrutinize [[Furries]]. What the Chaos Gods or their followers claim to be true (remember that they are notorious [[Bullshit|liars]]) does not match up with their actual abilities both in Warpspace and in Realspace. If they were truly multiversal as they claim, then, first of all, the [[Hive Mind|Shadow of the Warp]] should not be an existential threat to them. After all, a true universal - let alone multiversal - entity should not even notice a few intergalactic bugs on the windshield. Moreover, the Necron Pylons should also not be considered a threat to the big four, for if they possess such levels of reality-warping power, they should not be dependent in letting their [[Failbaddon|errand boy]] do all their dirty work for them in realspace. Even in the Warp, their so-called 'omnipotence' did not stop a certain [[Kaldor Draigo|Mary Sue]] from trashing their backyard from time to time.

The reality is the Chaos Gods, as far as deities go in Science Fiction, are pretty weak sauce. For example:
*They are utterly dependent on the emotions of a single galaxy (if they really did not care about emotions as some may claim, then they shouldn't be ''that'' invested in the Imperium now would they?).
*Certain [[Tyranids|critters with enough mindless psychic connections can close entire Warp-rifts and there is nothing the Chaos Gods can do about it;.]]
*Tzeentch's self-proclaimed omniscience is put into doubt seeing as how he and his [[Kairos Fateweaver|underlings]] failed to predict the rise of [[Roboute Guilliman|Robo Guillitan]] [[Gathering Storm|and the following]] [[Indomitus Crusade|mechinations of it]].
*Their self-proclaimed reality-warping powers are self-contained in the Warp, and even then it is restricted to their own realms. Much like how a child could create and manipulate anything in a sandpit does not automatically equate to the child turning sand into gold, the same analogy applies here - seriously it is telling that the Gods of Chaos couldn't do jackshit about the Necron Pylons for ''60 million years'' since the War in Heaven.
*Their dreaded Chaos corruption such as Scrapcode could literally be stopped by an AdMech Priest cutting off the connections fast enough during the Fall of Mars, knowing how abysmal 40k's A.I. are, that shit ain't touching the likes of a [[The Culture|Culture Mind,]] [[Halo|a Contendor-class A.I.,]] and the [[Xeelee Sequence|Anti-Xeelee]]. To state otherwise would be a No Limit Fallacy and a False Equivalency since the idea of scrapcode would be overpowered against the likes of the Necrons, Tau and the AdMech, yet this shit has seldomly been used which suggests limitations on the behalf of Chaos.

In retrospect, the contradictions of what the Chaos Gods/followers ''claim'' and what they are actually shown to do is no different than the problems the [[Hive Mind]] has found itself in as [[Tyranid#'Masters of Evolution'?|can be read here.]] They are all bound by GeeDubs' status quo and the balance of power, as such their powers are restricted insofar in one galaxy to preserve the status quo. With the bombshell of '''Godblight''', the argument of omnipotence has finally been shot down after Chaos got hit with a ''massive'' [[nerf]] bat. From the [[Emprah]] suggesting that the Daemon Primarchs can be redeemed, thereby making the threat of Chaos corruption impotent to Big-E literally shoving his Power Sword up [[Nurgle|Nurgle's]] ass and his garden, '''''permanently''''' wounding him grievously, to the outright confirmation that a Chaos God without sufficient faith would degenerate into Warp-soup and become perma-K.O. as faith is what gives Warp entities sentience. Godblight has single-handily trashed any presumption of Chaos omnipotence in but a few chapters, and let's not even get into a single [[Primaris Lieutenant]] kicking one of the strongest Nurglite Greater Daemons in the ass...[[Bullshit|''somehow'']].

So are the Chaos Gods powerful? In the universe of [[Star Wars]], [[Star Trek]] and [[Bioware|Mass Effect]], sure, of course they are. Are they omnipotent multiversal destroyers? Hell the fuck no. If you're honestly thinking that these ''guys'' are in the same ballpark as [[/co/|the Abstract Entities of Marvel and DC]], [[Doctor Who|the Time Lords]] or the motherfucking Downstreamers, then you should probably go see a doctor for a prostate exam; constant wanking is bad for ya health you know.

[[Tl;dr]], 40k is prone to not applying the concept of <u>'''Show Don't Tell'''</u>, which is ironic given the reputation of 40k in general, but it happens again and again and again. A good narrative showcases its targets' capabilities and feats, a bad narrative just tells them to the viewers. If the Chaos Gods can actually pop universes like grapes, ''then we better fucking see them popping an actual universe''. No wishy-washy flowery language, no offhand statements in the codex, no shenanigans inside the Warp which is unreliable ''at best''. <u>'''Show Don't Tell'''</u>. It isn't just the Chaos Gods that are guilty of this mind you, the [[Men of Iron]] and even the [[War in Heaven]] [[Necron]]s are guilty of this as well. Sun-snuffing machines the size of Saturn's rings and Breath of the Gods asshattery means jack shit if we don't actually see them in action. <u>'''Show Don't Tell'''</u>.

Or maybe they are merely aspects of the the warp itself, immutable, unstoppable and actually multiversal, creating monsters for it's amusement.

==Khorne==
{{Main|Khorne}}
[[File:Khorne First.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Lord of RAEG, War, Butthurt, Steroids and Testosterone. Really just a grouchy puppy.]]

BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD! SKULLS FOR THE SKULL THRONE! MILK FOR THE KHORNE FLAKES! BUTTER FOR THE POP KHORNE! Oh, sorry. In case it wasn't obvious, Khorne is the god of battle, martial honor, and oh yeah, BLOOD! Although primarily formed from hate and rage, bravery and honor are also thrown in the mix. Also in the mix are mercy (in particular, mercy for those too weak to put up a fight and be a challenge to kill. This is almost never shown in the fluff though, annoyingly), courage, regret, fear, athleticism, determination, daring, impulsiveness, and struggling onward in the face of any odds.
* Gender - DEFINITELY A MAN, AND DON'T YOU FORGET IT!! <strike> I thought he was female? </strike> {{BLAM|'''*BLAM!* *BLAM!* THAT'S DOUBLE HERESY!!'''}}
* Main Enemy - Slaanesh, as he considers him/her/them to be too frilly and really doesn't care about sensations, especially when they prolong the spilling of blood, to the point fluff wise it is distinctly pointed out he hates the priss even more than tzeench, going so far as to have slaaneshi and khornates have the hatred special rule against eachother.
* Bro god - Nurgle, although he doesn't seem to mind Khaela Mensha Khaine (they're probably the same thing, though), and he is rumored to be in a polyamorous relationship with Mork and Gork.
* Love Interest - Gork and Mork (see above). [[Valkia the Bloody]] (Canonically - yes, your brain is now broken).
* Dedicated [[Chaos Space Marine]] Legion - The [[World Eaters]], other various chapters and bands of warriors dedicated themselves to him since. Also has IG-equivalent armies like the [[Blood Pact]].
*[[Warriors of Chaos]] "Hero"/Chaos Tribe: Arbaal the Undefeated (ANGRY VIKINGS!! FUCK YEAH!!), Valkia the Bloody, Scylla Afingrimm (former warlord turned [[Chaos Spawn]] and still kicks ass), Hrafn Untam, Haargroth the Blooded, Skarr Bloodwrath. Khorne also has an entire Norse confederation especially devoted to him known as the Aeslingr.
* Sacred Number - 8 ("The eightfold path")
* Adjective - Khornate

<center><gallery>
File:WE Heretic Astartes 2.png|A Khornate Berzerker Heretic Astartes of the [[World Eaters]] Traitor Legion.
</gallery></center>

==Nurgle==
{{Main|Nurgle}}
[[File:Nurgle Old.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Despite his and his minion's appearances, they're actually pretty nice (for debatably self-aware boogers).]]

Nurgle is the god of filth, pestilence, decay, and generally being a cool dude (which are [[Neckbeard|obviously related]]). Formed from despair and fear of death, his portfolio also includes acceptance and stoicism. Other values include inevitability, empathy, kinship, struggle, (familial) love, tradition, mercy, and memory. Nurgle is also notable for being the only Chaos god that cares for his followers whatsoever, bordering on love (in fact in 40k, he loves the [[Eldar]] goddess [[Isha]] so much that he [[grimdark|chained her up and force feeds her his new diseases]], because that's the only way he knows how to express love... yeah, love sucks <s>sometimes</s> <s>all the time</S> most of the time). Also note that one aspect of him that is played up in the End Times is that he is in fact the god of life, only for him it means unrestrained, infinite life such as with pathogens and tumors.
* Gender - A (slob of a) man. A VERY fat, old one.
* Main Enemy - Tzeentch, the paragon of hope and change, in opposition to Nurgle's representation of decay and inevitability.
* Bro god - Khorne, mostly because Nurgle is the only Chaos god Khorne doesn't entirely hate.
* Love Interest - His joy and wife, [[Isha]]. Now pins for Alarielle, since he [[Everqueen#Isha.2FAriel_Alarielle_Fusion_Dance.21|lost Isha to her]].
* Dedicated [[Chaos Space Marine]] Legion - The [[Death Guard]]. Has tons of other followers like the [[The Purge]] (omnicidal wackos who have no problem using chemical and virus weapons on helpless populations), [[Apostles of Contagion]] ([[Zombie Plague]] aficionados), the [[Lords of Decay]] (utterly loyal Marines sent to die in the Eye, holy fuck these guys made a direct assault on the Solar System and won Pluto), and human IG armies like the rebellion on [[Vraks]].
* [[Warriors of Chaos]] "Hero"/Chaos Tribe: [[Valnir|Valnir the Reaper]], old school champion of Nurgle; [[Festus the Leechlord]] (this guy used to be a doctor in the Empire; he's not even a Northman). The Crow Brothers of the Björnlings are especially devoted to him also (Festus leads these guys), the [[Glottkin]], [[Gutrot Spume]] (a Nurglite pirate barbarian), the [[Maggoth Lords]] of Icehorn Peak. It could also be possibly argued (especially considering [[Age of Sigmar|Age of Skubmar]]) that the Skaven Clan Pestilens is some sort of splinter cult built on worshipping Nurgle while thinking that they're worshiping an aspect of the Horned Rat.
* Sacred Number - 7 (though 3 is also a popular number)
* Adjective - Nurglite
* Please note that the above lore mixes both Warhammer fantasy lore and Warhammer 40k lore which, although the character is virtually indistinguishable, are not the same thing. [[Skub|Maybe]].

<center><gallery>
File:Plague Marine 8th Ed.png|A [[Plague Marine]] of the [[Death Guard]] Traitor Legion.
</gallery></center>

==Slaanesh==
{{Main|Slaanesh}}
[[File:Slaanesh Old.jpg|thumb|right|200px|The embodiment of all things PR0N.]]

Slaanesh is the god/dess of pain, pleasure, and perfection... or, in other words, a god of [[1d4chan|emotions formed from emotions]], not all of which are bad. In 40k (WHFB didn't elaborate how Slaanesh was born, so we can only assume he/she/they manifested normally like the other Gods), the an inherently psychic race called the [[Eldar]] created him/her/them by having so many damn orgies they tore space-time a new asshole (The Eye of Terror). Formed mainly from hedonism and excess, love and creativity are also attributes of Slaanesh. Other facets include perfectionism, obsessiveness, attention-whoring, jealousy, sensuality, [[Doomrider|DRUGS]], empathy, self-expression, individuality, art, music, joy, and admiration (so quite literally the god of sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll!).
* Gender - Whatever you want it to be, sugar! In WH Fantasy you'll see illustrations of a lecherous old hag / old man / old bits-of-both; in WH40k depictions are of a young flamboyant hermaphrodite.
* Main enemy - The brutish Khorne, obviously. H-he never calls...
* Bro god - Tzeentch, although that's mostly because he's the least icky of the Chaos gods. His/her/their friendship with Nurgle is a bit questionable since he stole [[Isha]] during Slaanesh's proverbial and... literal raping of the former Eldar Empire, though it isn't shown anywhere that Slaanesh still openly detests Nurgle for that (Hell, their daemons temporarily joined forces once or twice). Generally the most open to working with the others.
* Love Interest - All of them. Still pines for Isha, and is depressed no one ever seems to love him/her/them back. Tries to tempt Khorne into raping him/her/them. Gave up on Nurgle after he got married. For a long time has been pining for Tzeentch of all people, but she can never seem to make him think she likes him as more than just a friend. Basically, she's the hot chick who got friendzoned by the nerd. But he/she/they won't give up!
* Dedicated [[Chaos Space Marine]] Legion - [[Emperor's Children]]. Also has others to call on like The [[Flawless Host]] (their drugs make Emperor's Children's look like baking powder), [[Violators]] (these guys body sculpt themselves enough to make a [[VtM|Tzimisce]] well up with pride), as well as, again, various IG-equivalent armies.
* [[Warriors of Chaos]] "Hero"/Chaos Tribe: Sigvald the Magnificent (he really is quite magnificent...), [[Dechala|Dechala the Denied one]], former high elf maiden turned into near greater daemon level, Azazel, former bro of [[Sigmar]], Styrkaar of Sortsvinear. <s>The Varg tribes serve him.</s> NO WE DON'T. Likely that the Hung worship him/her/them, purely judging from their nomenclature. Also, [[Dark Elves (Warhammer Fantasy)|Dark Elves]], pre-retcon.
*Sacred Number - <s>sex</s> 6. Probably 69 and 420 as well, due to what they’re associated with.
* Adjective - Slaaneshi

<center><gallery>
File:Mandraykh Blyss EC.png|A Slaaneshi-Heretic Astartes of the [[Emperor's Children]] Traitor Legion.
</gallery></center>

==Tzeentch==
{{Main|Tzeentch}}
[[File:Tzeentch Old.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Change we can all believe in...]]

Tzeentch is the god of [[Just as planned]], being a wishy washy nerd, and magic, arguably the coolest and most potentially powerful of the four due to being nerfed from his actual true power in the height of his age of coming from both respective canons of Warhammer and generally being the most victorious when fighting against humanity and other races as a scheming jerkass. Tzeentch is formed from paranoia and plotting, but also, amazingly enough, hope and ambition. Other values include trust, curiosity, dissatisfaction, aspiration, progress, knowledge, learning, protection, will, anarchy, and change.
* Gender - Always changing, but usually male or genderless.
* Main Enemy - Nurgle, because he symbolizes stagnation, a.k.a. refusal towards change. Khorne as well, as the jock bullies him for his nerdiness, which is what Tzeentch wants you to believe, in truth he bullies and torments Khorne.
* Bro god(dess) - Slaanesh, who isn't as brutal/dumb as Khorne and not as much of a lazy bastard as Nurgle. Plus, he/she/they're nice to little Tzeentch! [[Cegorach]] might have a Shonen Rival Bro Bond with him when they dont fight on different teams.
* Love Interest - Kind of wishes that the Deceiver, Cegorach, and the Emperor were chicks. For female gods hes got an Eye for [[Arianka]] since she's a rival to his whole all play to her all work dynamic and wants her to be the [[Isha]] to his Nurgle.
* Dedicated [[Chaos Space Marine]] Legion - [[Thousand Sons]], and basically no other Space Marine groups; only [[The Scourged]] are canonical non-TS-descendants who are dedicated to Tzeentch. Tzeentch also apparently doesn't have any IG-equivalent armies dedicated to him in particular (besides the [[Prospero Spireguard]] who are more like the Thousand Sons auxilia than anything else). In-universe this is most likely because if a Guardsman is going to turn to a specific Chaos god, the prospect of [[Khorne|power and unending glorious conquest]], [[Nurgle|freedom from all pain and suffering]], or [[Slaanesh|all the booze, drugs and whores you can handle and then some]] are more attractive options than being a scheming nerd. Or else Tzeentch's non-marine cultists are rarely warriors or soldiers, more often power-hungry bureaucrats, nobles, Imperial Governors, and even Inquisitors. Out of universe it's hard to make Tzeentch-focused units other than TS when their signature units are sorcerers, who only come in small quantities on the tabletop, and the Sons-specific Rubric Marines. He also offers limited knowledge of the future, represented in game with a boosted Ward save from the Mark of Tzeentch.
* [[Warriors of Chaos]] "Hero": <s>Vilitch the Curseling</s> [[Egrimm van Horstmann|Egrimm van Horstmann]]. No Chaos Tribe seems to revere him to any exceptional extent (well there was this Sarl tribe and it was ruled by a Tzeentch chieftian, but [[Wulfrik the Wanderer|Wulfrik]] killed him as well as his son) but he pulled out some nasty tricks such as becoming the grand magister of the Order of Light and fucking said order up before flying away on top of a dragon. Also, got [[Cathay]] in a bag.
* Sacred Number - 9
* Adjective - Tzeentchian

<center><gallery>
File:TS Sorc Divination.png|A Tzeentchian Chaos Sorcerer of the [[Thousand Sons]] Traitor Legion.
</gallery></center>

==Malal==
{{Main|Malal}}
[[File:Malal.jpg|150px|right|thumb|Then we have this motherfucking out of place/odd one out weirdo here....]]

Though not as relevant as the other big four, Malal is still more notable than the other minor Gods mentioned below. He's sort of the borderline between major and minor chaos gods.

Malal is a renegade Chaos god that only appeared in one comic for Fantasy before his creators divorced and took their character with them, resulting in GW shitcanning most of the original sculptors and artists. Then he was replaced with two entirely different characters with the same basic domain before being quietly swept under the rug and forgotten, barring the odd reference that slips out here and there. He is fittingly the god of fractiousness and dissent, which means his power is parasitic: any time the four other major Milky Way Warp gods do their thing, which is to say strive to gain power at the expense of the materium and eachother, Malal grows in power as well. Because of his nature as a common enemy to the big four and thus a Warp Entity that fights the Warp, he is also sometimes a god of atheism, contradictions, and paradoxes, when he exists at all. That being said, he did have awesome champions who lived solely to hunt down the greatest champions of the other gods, which is pretty [[Awesome]]. Sadly (or not, depending on your opinion), [[Games Workshop]] idiotically lost the rights to his name, so he's been more or less retconned. Except now he <i>might</i> be back in 40k, with a [[Chaos Space Marine]] warband called the [[Sons of Malice]] who worship a god called Malice...who just happen to wear a color scheme of black and white, and just happen to have a symbol of a bisected skull, and whose premier Chaos weapon specializes in killing Daemons. There's also [[Beastmen]] of Malal in one of the card games. But nope, don't you dare say they worship Malal. Like Khorne, Malal has an aspect of hate, however it's more along the lines of loathing (including towards self), [[derp|malice]] and cold contempt compared to Khorne's ragey hot-blooded variety. While a worshipper of either might shoot up a school, a malal worshipper would probably think of it like exterminating pests rather than a pleasant rampage. Beyond all that, his portfolio includes paradoxes, justice, revenge, nihilism, and the inevitability of Chaos turning upon itself. Every time the others fight or power shifts between them, he grows stronger. Just like Chaos will eventually win and consume all worlds, Malal will eventually win and consume all Chaos resulting in oblivion for all things...then if GW took the full bite off Moorcock's work and not just the parts they wanted, the whole thing starts all over again from the beginning.
* Gender - Maleal
* Main Enemy - EVERYONE. Because Malal's an edgy loner who doesn't play by the rules (also because he represents one of the few things GW didn't steal from [[Moorcock]], that Chaos eventually destroys itself), although the forces of [[Chaos Undivided]] might logically be prioritized over other folk.
* Bro God(ess) - Probably any character that has been retconned away, that [[Squats|is angry about not being a part of the canon anymore]]. A story where he temporarily joins forces with someone like Emps or the [[C'tan]] might also work.
* Love Interest(s) - As per his nature as an edgelord, he has a tsundere love-hate relationship with chaos itself.
* Dedicated [[Chaos Space Marine]] Chapters - [[Sons of Malice]]. And that just about sums it up. No Imperial Guard equivalent, no daemon spawn, nothing (that we know of). So yeah, that pretty much makes him a god of hipsters too. /tg/ has made a fan-codex for [[Malal Daemonkin]], though, so go help yourself :)
* [[Warriors of Chaos]] "Hero"/Chaos Tribe: A fellow named Kaleb Daark was Malal's first revealed servant, who swung around a pterodactyl head on a stick. The Ogre Skrag the Slaughterer fucked up dwarves in his name before pussying out to follow some shitty Ogre god thanks to retcons. There's a small tribe of Beastmen named the Claws of Malal as well.
* Sacred Number - 11
* Adjective - Malalic

<center><gallery>
Image:Maxresdefault.jpg|220px|A Malalic Space Marine
</gallery></center>

==Great Horned Rat==
{{Main|Horned Rat}}
[[File:Betterskaven.jpg|220px|right|thumb|Thinks he's better than sliced Jesus.]]

This otherwise-unnamed deity is patron of the [[Skaven]], and god of... well, rats. He also infringes copyright on both Nurgle's and Tzeentch's portfolios, but it's mostly rats. The Horned Rat once appeared in material form; he's the only Chaos god to do so. Of course, in Skaven fashion, he just ate a ton of the Skaven present, gave some orders and left; the Skaven only serve him out of fear, even though their belief in him only makes him stronger. He left them with a warpstone monolith containing the Skaven equivalent of the Ten Commandments.

In Age of Sigmar he was promoted to Chaos God following the demotion of Slaanesh out of the Great Game.
* Gender - Referred to as male.
* Main Enemy - Everyone, backstabbing is his primary creed and portfolio. Being cowardly, he will also work with any Chaos God, mostly Nurgle. Archaon shows him the least respect, however.
* Bro God(ess) - Nurgle, as far as his followers are concerned. They have very similar hobbies.
* Love Interest(s) - As Skaven themselves are incapable of feeling love, it is unlikely GHR can either.
* Dedicated [[Chaos Space Marine]] Chapters - None. Great Horned Rat does not exist in 40k. Although there are [[Death Guard]] miniatures with [[Skaven]] heads.
* [[Warriors of Chaos]] "Hero" - [[Clanrats]]. All of them. ALL OF THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Also apparently [[Thanquol]], because the Great Horned Rat thinks his fuckups are hilarious.
* Sacred Number - 13

==The Other Ones==
Older editions of Warhammer Fantasy and 40k mention several lesser Chaos gods. Nowadays, they only appear(ed) in WFB (and even then, only sparingly), with some (the Horned Rat and Hashut in particular) generally considered to be separate from the "main" Chaos pantheon.

Until the Horned Rat replaced Slaanesh as the Fourth Chaos god after the End Times. This change did not affect 40k (or presumably any other universe Slaanesh exists in), and Slaanesh is slowly breaking the prison walls.

===Warhammer Fantasy===
====Ashedte'gash====
A Minor Chaos God who was once an orphan on the streets of the Empire, who grew up learning that strength and cleverness are what allows one to survive, and that those who are weaker and stupider should be climbed over and killed to serve their betters. As such, he is served by only a few Greater Daemons, as the Lesser Daemons that followed him were all killed off for realsies in the Warp by their betters in an Ayn Randian survival-of-the-fittest natural selection murderfest.

Ash has only a handful of Greater Daemons serving him. All of the lesser daemons were destroyed in the ever present struggles to prove oneself to Ash. The remaining daemonic servants of Ashedte'gash are heavily armored Greater Daemons, wearing plate armor, carrying giant two handed swords. Little is known of these foul servants of Ashedte'gash. They lack wings to fly, but except from this nothing is known, but of their great strenght at arms.

====Atagro====
Lord of Beasts, was once mortal but was risen to Minor Chaos God status by Shagraunt, another Minor Chaos God, deeds included slaying a Sandworm in Araby. Atagro is a huge vicious creature clad in glistening black armor and crowned with a fierce, horned helm atop his blackened, skeletal head. Atagro's eyes burn with a fiery luminance, and he wears a huge shroud-like cloak. Tormented, vaguely human wretches struggle and writhe to peer out from under its folds. Atagro's armor is decorated with all the symbols of chaos, as he was once their most powerful champion. His hands are filthy and rotted; capped with grim steel talons and dark metal studs. Atagro's weapon, Kagorr, is a huge tooth edged sword with a second blade extending from the handle. The mighty god wields the blade with whirling grace and deadly precision. Kagorr is the most powerful weapon of chaos ever created and less powerful blades of similar appearance are often granted to Atagro's followers.
*'''Storm Lasher''' (also known as ''Serpent-Giants'', ''Twisting Punishers'', or ''Lashing Gargantuans''): These disgusting creatures appear as bloated gray skinned giants with long flailing tentacles for heads. The creatures have thick, two fingered hands with each finger ending in huge dark tentacles. Their short opposable thumbs are their only true fingers. The storm lashers are so named due to their affinity for lightning. Lashers whip their enemies with tentacles and make a sound like thunder when they run.
*'''Gull Grinder''' (also known as ''Raging Slug Men'', ''Screaming Beasts of Frenzy',' or ''Atagro's Habitations''): These creatures are among the more deadly of Atagro's demons. They appear as huge brown skinned strongmen with slug bodies for legs. Their enormous muscled arms end in the heads of lions and their own flat, bald heads are featureless save for beady black eyes and huge mottled beaks. The Gull Grinders attack by biting or spewing fireballs with their lion heads.
*'''Corpse Render''' (also known as ''Butchers of Atagro'', ''Beast-Lords'', or ''The Dark Titans''): The horrifying Corpse Renders are absolutely Atagro's most powerful greater demons. They look like massive 20' humanoids with black skin and the heads of rhinos. The Corpse Renders arms end in spherical masses of dark, twisted blades which spin and rotate at the will of the demons. The Renders awesome muscular legs end in flattened black hooves which they may scrape across the ground as they snort in anticipation of a coming fray.

====Be'lakor====
{{main|Be'lakor}}
The first [[Daemon Prince]] and ostensibly the only Daemon Prince of [[Chaos Undivided]], Be'lakor commands a great amount of power over the Realms. While still under the thumb of his four parents, he has been able to control a sizeable army of followers and has claimed to have even influenced [[Archaon]].

====Chaos Gods of Law====
{{main|Chaos Gods of Law}}
[[Alluminas]], [[Arianka]], and [[Solkan the Avenger]]. Supposedly These guys were the opposite of the big four, though you'll notice there are only three of them, there was apparently a fourth but they never popped up. They also had human worshippers. [[Kaleb Daark]] was meant to kill Arianka but he was mysteriously vanished along with her relevance. And Be'la'kor said Solkan (and implicitly the other three) was not real. Given how God's are born of belief and he had active believers it's not sure how that works out. Nevermind that Be'la'kor's version of the truth can be skewed at the best of times. These old-school dudes have their own page!

====Hashut====
{{main|Hashut}}
Hashut apparently means "Father of Darkness" in Dwarfen, which naturally means he's the god of the [[Chaos Dwarfs]]. And if his followers are any indication, he's also god of penis-compensating hats.

====Kka====
Kka was a Chaos Godling, that is to say Minor Chaos God, although what he embodied is unknown. What is known is that he was the patron of the equally goofy-looking and sexy Harpy-turned-Chaos-Spawn named Ngaaranh, who looked like a 3 Headed Harpy with long necks and eyestalks.

====Khakkek====
[[File:KhakkekkFollowers.jpg|200px|right]]
From old-school Warhammer, was the god of the Chaos Goblins. Was only mentioned once or twice, but was described as a red skinned, 8 limbed spidery-goblin who was a god of bloodletting but unlike Khorne, allowed for magic. Described as seen as halfway between Khorne and Khaine. The picture above shows a cult of his worshippers. If you look closely, you can see the Symbol of Chaos on the Shaman's Loincloth.

*'''Greater Daemon:''' The Great Demons of Khakkek feature an almost Goblinoid physiognomy, so they can be easily mistaken, from afar or in poor light, for an Orc (albeit very large). On closer inspection, however, we discover glowing red eyes, Chaos armor, and an impressive number of sharp teeth and claws (including a nice pair of fangs). His face can mirror Khakkekk's, and he wields a fiery giant sword with immense skill. Its characteristics are the same as those of a standard Minor Demon.
*'''Lesser Daemon:''' Just as the Big Demon looks like an Orc, Orc, the Little Demon looks like some kind of Goblin. He too, from afar or in poor light, can easily be mistaken for a Goblin (albeit tall), with red eyes. His face and impressive array of dangerous teeth and talons (no fangs) are also reminiscent of Khakkekk. Its characteristics are similar to those of a Minor Demon.
*'''Daemonic Beast:''' These creatures, sociable in the manner of the Nurglings, appear as Brats (would be Snotlings in more modern editions, since Greenskins now reproduce by spores) with glowing red eyes (this is the common characteristic of the demons of Khakkekk, with sharp teeth and talons) and sport 1d4 Chaos mutations. Like other demons, each has a face that strangely recalls its master. The profile of a Demonic Creature is the same as a standard Servant Demon, or, alternatively, that of a Nurgling (if you have Realm of Chaos: the Lost and the Damned).
*'''Daemonic Steed:''' Khakkekk's Demonic Mount appears virtually identical, at least physically, to a Large Wolf, and it may actually be. Whether or not this is the case, it is virtually identical. You can therefore use the description of the Big Wolf from the bestiary of WFRP1 or that of present in this project.

====Kweethul====
Kweethul Gristlegut was a Skaven who managed to become an extremely minor Chaos God in the older Warhammer editions. He was later mentioned as being a HERETIC against the Horned Rat in a later Skaven army book. The Horned Rat will suffer no challenger to its dominion over Skaven-kind! Could create his own Daemons, too.

*'''The Six Eyed Slayer:''' Greater Daemon. He stands about 10ft in height with a pair of three eyed goats heads. It carries a Chaos Weapon with the power of mutation.
*'''Floating Horror:''' Lesser Daemon. Appearing much as a Harpy but with the clawed feet of a Bear.
*'''Fire Runner:''' Daemonic Steed. A partially feathered beast with burning clawed feet.
*'''The Thing:''' Daemonic Beast.

====Meneloth====
An androgynous god of pleasure among the Elves, may have been a sort of proto-Slaanesh before being absorbed into the greater whole of Slaanesh upon Slaanesh's birth, either that or a toned-down aspect of Slaanesh used to lure Elves into worship of Slaanesh, like a dealer giving a watered-down needle of heroin to a kid to get them addicted before giving them the hard stuff.

====Necoho====
[[File:Necoho_Revealed.png|500px|thumb|right|[[/tg/]] has recently deduced Necoho's true identity.]]
Necoho is the god of atheism and one of the other minor gods invented as a replacement for Malal. Stupid as it sounds, it actually works, as Chaos is a reflection of all human beliefs and emotions, including, paradoxically, disbelief. He generally works to make religious movements disappear and wears a permanent expression of comic amusement, as he fucking knows he's a walking, talking paradox.

Note that Necoho was introduced in an adventure for [[Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay]] 1st Edition, so his current canonicity is doubtful, to say the least. That being said, he has been mentioned sporadically since then, such as the [[Gotrek & Felix]] novel ''Road of Skulls'', which is more than can be said for Zuvassin. Has been mentioned by name in the Age of Sigmar novel ''Auction of Blood'', along with a mention to his cult and an antitheist tract called "The Revelations of Necoho, or the Light of Doubt".

In the popular series [[If the Emperor had a Text-to-Speech Device]], [[Magnus the Red]] made the point that the Emperor was, perhaps unknowingly, feeding a Chaos god of unbelief by promoting his Imperial Truth.

====Obscuras====
Brother of Alluminas, Chaos God of Law. Was originally one of the Gods of Law but got jealous of his brother and turned to Chaos proper.

Shadowphytes (also known as Shadow Daemons) are daemons of Obscuras, standing around the height of an average man. The most dedicated of Obscuras' cultists hope to join the ranks of the Shadowphytes upon their deaths. Shadowphytes appear as black shadowy humanoids whose features are only barely visible through the inner darkness they radiate. They cannot fly but possess the ability to melt into the shadows in one place and reappear in the shadows somewhere else within their line of sight. They fear the light and it is know to cause them actually damage when not standing in full or demi-darkness.

Shadowphytes can't cause physical wounding upon their victims, but cause damage through their touch, which robs the victim of his or her strength, and they are skilled users of the magical art of their master. It's said that anyone slain by a Shadowphyte is condemned to eternal torment in Obscuras' realm of shadow.

====Oubelgyr====
Oubelgyr is a Daemon-Prince who sits at the cusp of just-about-to-be-but-not-quite a Minor Chaos God, who is known to be a Peddler of Knowledge, like some sort of Daemonic Informant. Whereas Tzeentch is all about learning and then coveting secrets, Oubelgyr is always trying to find secret knowledge then sell it to the highest bidder, a trait useful for Chaos Sorcerers with sacrifices to spare who wish to skip the chanciness of Tzeentch's blessings. Was imprisoned at one point, but was able to scheme a way to unlock the door to his prison, only to then decide his prison was a nice lair and pretended to still be locked in. Rather than having daemons of his own, he has multiple Daemons and Mortal slaves who he has bound with contracts, who have to do as he says and guard him.

====Quorn====
[[File:QuornArtwork.jpg|200px|right]]

Not to be confused with Khorne, Quorn was the Minor Chaos God of carnivorous plants, whose schtick basically was "Radical Anti-Veganism" with carnivorous plant life devouring all flesh-creatures. His name was a double-pun, meant to sound like Khorne's and the same as a vegetable-based fake-meat substitute from before Impossible Meats were a thing. (Note: Pictured above is fan artwork produced by putting Quorn's name and description into Nightcafe, an Artificial Intelligence Art Program that makes art based on text description)

====Rhasneth====
The Chaos God of Insanity. Must be pretty batshit insane if his brand of nutters stands out amongst the general mental sickness of the rest of the Pantheon of Chaos.

The daemons of Rhasneth are to varied to make a single name for them, the most horrible nightmares of the most twisted madmen made real, pushing their way from the realm of nightmares into the world of the living to do their master's wish. The daemons of Rhasneth are special in that not all can see them, only those who have already lost their sanity can see them while all others fail to even notice them. The madman can scream in terror when his nightmares comes for him, not only to haunt him in his dreams but to feast upon his soul, while the rest of the world remains ignorant of the creature and tells him there is nothing there. Even as the daemon slowly approch, a mad twisted snarl upon its face...

====Screaming God-Child====
[[File:Screaming God-Child.png|200px|right|]]
Appearing only in the [[Malus Darkblade]] novel ''Lord of Ruin'', and more completely in the Malus chapters in Warhammer Monthly, the God-Child is the ruler of a little corner of the Realm of Chaos known as ''Alterity'', a massive chunk of rock on top of which lies walls in the shape of an eight-pointed star, guarded by ancient daemons who keep the locals and guests who enter from leaving Alterity. The God-Child himself takes the appearance of a young humanoid being with a near featureless face, only having a mouth, wearing robes and an amulet in the shape of the star of Chaos.

====Shagraunt====
A Minor Chaos God of whom even less is known of than Atagro, it was Shagraunt who ascended Atagro into the ranks of the Minor Chaos Gods.

====Stromfels/Mermedus====
Whilst often speculated to be [[Manann]]'s edgy dark half, Stromfels' mutant cults and rumored links to Khorne in earlier editions point towards his status as a minor Chaos god. Further proof of this is his patronage of sea mutant pirate Aranessa Saltspite, and his Chaos cult in the Gotrek and Felix story "Slayer of the Storm God", featuring his avatar, the "Harbinger of Stromfels".

Another variation of Manann but Chaos exists in the form of '''Mermedus''', the Norscan god of the sea, that's considered by some to be an even more edgy version of Stromfels. Notable that most Norscans don't even like him, because all who die at sea are claimed by him and denied entry to their patrons realm, except for the Skaelings who drown prisoners of war and animals for him after battles and raids. He's described as a ghoulish and bulbous figure that walks on the sea floor, covered in eyes and bloated like a drowned person. This is odd, as Stromfels' Avatar, Harbinger of Stromfels, looked like a Giant with a Tentacle where each of the Arms would be and the Head of a Shark.

In [[Total War: Warhammer II]], he is also [[Cylostra Direfin]]'s patron deity, having resurrected her as a vengeful ghost to wreak havoc against the High Elves and Bretonnians who rejected her singing.

In Age of Sigmar, he apparently is still worshipped by pirates in one area of Ghyran, and was worshipped by a tribe of Gargants in Azyr before Sigmar cleansed the realm of Chaos.

====Tristaris====
A Chaos Goddess of Misery, with a minor interest in knowledge. Represents the misery brought about by knowledge of Chaos' ultimate victory. Sounds like Tzeentch's perfect girl, a big tiddy goth nerd GF.

*'''Blissbane:''' (also known as ''Wailing Woman of Misery'',''Mistress of Destress'', or ''Gaunt Spirits of Lamentation'') This infernal creatures look like haggard, ghostly women with wild hair and gaunt, wrinkled bodies. They wear white shroud like clothes and are translucent to the eye. The Blissbanes emit occasional shrieks of pure misery as well as sudden bursts of maniacal laughter. They can pass through any obstacle as though they were ethereal, but are also incapable of manipulating any material objects. Often Blissbanes appear in groups of four, the number of Tristaris.
*'''Sloathe:''' (also known as ''Mounts of Misery'', ''Hunching Beasts of Suffering'', or ''Steeds of Tristaris'') The sloathes are bear sized creatures with four legs and short curved claws. The creatures have no heads and appear to be made almost entirely of layer upon layer of dark rags and shrouds. They make low grunting and grumbling sounds as they walk. The sloathes lash out with their claws in combat, and they have the ability to collapse into a pile of useless rags. The rags may be scattered by the wind or even burnt up; but unless every single one of them is destroyed the creature can return to its normal shape from any one of the pieces.
*'''Humanwood Tree:''' (also known as ''Oaks of Despair'', ''Petrified Eyes of Torment'', or ''Roots of Evil'') The humanwood trees are powerful demons that largely inhabit the groaning forests of misery in the pocket dimension that is Tristaris's realm in the chaos warp. The trees look like stubby, twisted oak trees with thick trunks and anguished human faces and bodies seemingly squirming about beneath their flexible bark. The trees speak a language that is their own and to hear it is to surely lose one's mind. All who hear the trees speaking will feel suffer from it as blood pours from their ears. The trees lash out with their branches and should the victom be caught the trees nine limbs will easily rip a held person to shreds. Strangly enough they are also immune to fire, somehting that would otherwise have been their main weakness.
*'''Sade:''' (also known as ''Screaming Devils of Sorrow'', ''Sobbing Lords of Tribulation'', or ''Jeering Lords of Languishing'') The Sades are Tristaris's greater demons. They look like gaunt red skinned men with long black beards, tiny horns from their foreheads and pointed chins. The Sades dress like nobles and their eyes are white and constantly streaming with bloody tears. Each of them carries a large, gleaming sickle. They also each carry a Lash of Lament and have long claws which they can use in close quarters. The Sades must consume twice their weight in living hearts each day that they exist in the material world if they are summoned.

====Urlfdaemonkin====
Urlf isn't a name. It's the last fucking death cry a guy makes when you gut him. That should tell you all you need to know. Anyway, this guy used to be a Norscan (like most of the daemon princes on this list) and was elevated to princehood by Khorne for exceptional badassery. Before his ascension, he was a massive, tall, bearded, Clint Eastwood-type Chaos Champion and was a chieftain of the Snaegr clan of Aeslingr. He's so fucking powerful that he was able to create his own lesser daemons and can bless warriors with the Mark and mutations of Khorne. Urlf has his own summoning days like most powerful daemon princes, and is usually worshiped as a lesser deity of Chaos by those who serve his master, Khorne. He has a short story in the 6th edition Chaos army book, where he muses on the fuck-you nature of time in the Warp and remarks on how the new Chieftain of the Snaegr resembles one of the sons he fathered in his mortal life. He also blesses the new chief with Khorne's mark and turns him into a monstrous cross [[Awesome|between a Bloodletter and a Chaos Champion]].

====Vymnn====
A Minor Chaos god who was only known as the master of the Daemon Prince Hakrii, who Atagro slayed (Hakrii, not Vymnn) in his quest for Daemon Princehood himself.

====Zhedun====
A Chaos God of gnawing, eternal hunger, who represents how Chaos would destroy itself if it ever won in the end, being dependent on sapient mortal thought for sustenance.

Daemons of Zhedun are known as Devouring Fiends (a.k.a. Mawed Ones, or Devourers) creatures ruled entirely by their own voracious appetite. They stands well over six feet tall, stooped, with atrophied arms but strong legs, and their heads are comprised mostly of a giant gaping jaw filled with massive teeth. Often they will stop at fallen foes, devouring their bodies in their Chaos-spawned hunger.

====Zuvassin====
Zuvassin is one of the two minor gods invented as a replacement for Malal. He just likes to see shit fall apart, specifically nonphysical stuff like schemes and lives - in other words, he's the god of [[not as planned]]. He's the guy who makes all the bad shit happen in infomercials. Generally, he makes sure that Murphy's Law is always enforced in the most spectacular possible ways. He doesn't have many worshippers, as he makes sure to fuck up whatever they're planning too.

Note that Zuvassin was only introduced in an adventure for [[Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay]] 1st Edition, so his current canonicity is doubtful, to say the least.

Actually, he is still canon, at least in Warhammer Fantasy. The 2nd Edition "Tome of Salvation" lists both him and Necoho as Chaos Gods.

And the motherfucker is STILL canon in Age of Sigmar, where a short story features a Chaos Champion named "Zuvass". Hmm.. I wonder who he might be worshipping.

Makes an appearance in [[Total War: WARHAMMER|Total War: WARHAMMER III]], where [[God-Slayer|Daniel]] can get an event where you can communicate with him and get his blessing, as he considers you important in disrupting the balance of Chaos.

====Ziraad, Thain, Blazzach and Javate====
4 Minor Chaos Gods known among the people of Araby, mentioned in Atagro's backstory as the gods worshipped by 4/6 members of his BATTLE-HAREM, the last 2 being a one of Tzeentch and one of Slaanesh.

===Warhammer 40,000===
====Balphomael====
[[File:Balphomael.png|200px|right]]
A minor Chaos God skirting on the edge of independent Greater Daemon, ruler of the Daemon World of Woe. Has a Christian Devil, "Let's Make a Deal" sort of vibe about him, complete with looking like classical illustrations of Demons and his name being a portmanteau of Baal, Baphomet and Samael. The art above is from a Dark Heresy book.

====King in Rags and Tatters====
Quite possibly a Chaos God version of Hastur from the Cthulhu Mythos, may or may not be a guise of Tzeentch. Leader of the "Menagerie" a Chaos Cult that seeks to unravel reality itself. Has unique demonic minions in the form of Warp Spectres, roiling, constantly changing masses of hideous-energy-being Daemons (like a Chaos Spawn made of gas and energy instead of fluid flesh?).

====Lord of Misrule====
Another minor Chaos God skirting on the edge of being an independent Greater Daemon from Dark Heresy. Also seeks to undo the veil between reality and the Warp.

====Melkirth====
Mentioned in older background material for Warhammer 40,000. Melkirth was a minor chaos god described as "The god of evil, malice, and wanton cruelty and suffering." While Melkirth remains a minor god, it is said that the actions of the mortal races, particularly the Dark Eldar, are causing Melkirth to grow in power until he ultimately becomes the fifth major Chaos God. The daemons of Melkirth are described as being the colour of shadow and able to take on the appearance of any daemon, be it a daemon of Khorne, Nurgle, Slaanesh, or Tzeentch. These shadow daemons could be inspiration for the shadow daemons Morathi encounters in Ulgu in Age of Sigmar, as they are also having to do with Dark Aelfs.

====Mo'rcck, Phraz-Etar, and Ans'l====
Puns on the last names of sci-fi and fantasy author Michael Moorcock (from whom the idea of [[Chaos]] as a fundamental force in the world was blatantly stolen/took inspiration from, and don't anyone ever say "borrow for a while" since even the author and Games Workshop have admitted it), artist Frank Frazetta (who drew a lot of movie and comic book posters, especially in sci-fi and fantasy), and Citadel Miniatures founder Bryan Ansell (who wrote several of the [[Rogue Trader (Sourcebook)|First Edition]] rulebooks). These guys helped set the tone of the early [[Warhammer 40,000]] universe (purposefully or not), including the propensity of putting spikes on [[Chaos]] things. Games Workshop decided to pay homage in the (initial) Third Edition [[Codex]]: [[Chaos Space Marines]], which mentioned that Chaos Space Marines often put "spiky bits" on their armour in praise of these three gods. They were never mentioned anywhere else, and probably shouldn't be considered "canonical"... not that canonicity counts for much in 40k anyway.

Some baseless fan speculation could be made that Phraz-Etar could be the Patron God of the Apemen of The Southlands, the regional Beastmen variant who are probably the equivalent of the common Gor births that plague Old World villages for the unlucky African equivalent villages in that jungle land. This is due to the existence of the popular "Frazetta Man" trope of degenerate Apemen started by Frank Frazetta himself in illustrations for Conan the Barbarian comic stories.

====Raptor God====
The minor god worshipped by the [[Chaos Raptor]]s, responsible for turning them from standard [[Assault Squad|Assault Marines]] to the mercenaries they currently are, and maybe also the one that turns them into [[Warp Talons]].

====Ysarille the Daemon-King====
According to an Eisenhorn book, Ysarille was a Daemon Prince of Tzeentch from a time before the Eldar first went to space, before Slaanesh was born, and who gained enough power that he became capable of creating his own Daemons, basically making him a lesser Chaos God. He went to battle with his former master, and after a billion-year battle, Tzeentch finally killed Ysarille. His surviving Daemons took his body and fled, setting up a Tomb world for him on the planet Ghúl, and their own Daemon Empire of 600 worlds surrounding planet Ghúl, in exile from the Warp. Cherubael, Gregor Eisenhorn's minion who takes the form of a Daemonhost by possessing the corpse of Gregor's former colleague Godwyn Fischig, was one of Ysarille's servants.

===Age of Sigmar===

All Warhammer Fantasy Gods, presumably. Zuvassin and Necoho are explicitly active.

====Archaon====
{{main|Archaon}}
Upon completing a new set of challenges by the Chaos Gods in AoS, he was empowered to demigod level and given free reign to do whatever he desired.

====Devourer of Existence====
A primitive aspect of Chaos as an apex predator, that wishes to devour all else and despises any sign of civilization, worshipped by the Untamed Beasts. Maybe a modern take on Zhedun?

====Eightfold Watcher====
Some sort of Chaos-Spider-Godbeast worshipped by the Tarantulos Brood. From Warcry Red Harvest.

====Ever-Raging Flame====
A massive fire of Chaos, said to be the Chaos personification of Aqshy itself, worshipped by the Scions of the Flame in the Realm of Fire.

====The Great Gatherer====
A (presumably) giant crow worshipped by tribesmen from Ulgu in the [[Age of Sigmar]]. Not much is known about him, since [[Warcry|the only game his followers appear in]] isn't out yet, but we do know that the [[Corvus Corax|Corvus]] Cabal (the aforementioned tribesmen) consider [[Archaon]] to be his avatar in the Mortal Realms. Theories range from it being an aspect of [[Tzeentch]] (notable avian features, Tzeentch is known to be interested in the Realm of Shadow, maybe gathering secrets?) or [[Nurgle]] (the Crow was Nurgle's totem animal among the Norscans, maybe gathering bodies?) to being a minor, but ascending, Chaos God not so far removed from the Great Horned Rat's path to the pantheon. He even has the weird connection to both Nurgle and Tzeentch the GHR does. It has been confirmed that the Warbands from Warcry will be usable in the main game, possibly as normal units, and will have the keyword SLAVES TO DARKNESS, which means he'll have some representation in a mainline game. Not too bad for the newest kid on the block.

====Morghur====
{{main|Morghur The Shadowgave}}
Originally one of the most notable Beastmen, he's worshipped as a minor Chaos God of mutation and devolution in Age of Sigmar. Wait what the fuck is this??

====Nagendra====
Originally a Godbeast, was splintered and the remains corrupted into Daemons called Coiling Ones, worshipped by the Splintered Fang.

===Blood Bowl===
====Nuffle====
{{Main|Nuffle}}
A joke Chaos God for [[Bloodbowl]], Nuffle is a mispronunciation of NFL (as in "National Football League", the American gridiron football pro league in real life), which would be pronounced "Noofle" as in "book" if you tried pronouncing it. Nuffle explains why the Blood Bowl universe is so wacky and gridiron football obsessed. Technically the superior to the rest of Chaos, although apparently only in the Blood Bowl universe.

===When Tzeentch was the best===
According to recent Tzeentch Codex/Battletome Tzeentch was at one point the sole major chaos god. A rebellion against him fractured him into many pieces, which because of warp time fuckery, technically counts as a different god. When chaos was first forming (just after War in Heaven for 40k) there were many chaos gods and entities competing (rather than the total domination that exists now). Tzeentch somehow became number one, and was a super god of sorts, although he was possibly less powerful than the current Tzeentch due to the lesser size and influence of chaos. A rebellion by all the other chaos gods fractured him, creating the Tzeentch we know today. In the same way that Slaanesh has always existed in 40k, the new Tzeentch has always existed the way he is. While the old Tzeentch is permanently destroyed (across all time), while still doing the things he did, what really matters is the influence in the material realm: Tzeentch's new self and Slaanesh started doing that when they were created relative to the materium, while the Warp is such a mess that a contradiction like old Tzeentch being completely destroyed while still having done the things he did is basically nothing. They are implied to be two seperate entites.

This is a variant of the backstory of The Blue Scribes.

{{ChaosGods}}

[[Category:Heresy]]
[[Category:Warhammer Fantasy]]

Orc

2022-09-20T21:43:05Z

2601:188:C300:64B8:6421:EABE:84ED:1FAC: /* Direct Adaptations */

[[File:Orc.jpg|400px|thumb|right|An average Warhammer Orc.]]
{{Topquote|These have not had a fair press. They are fanatically brave in spite of being weaker and less practiced than most other humanoids, and must be kind to animals, since they train them so well. It is interesting that Tolkien’s characters describe them in terms very similar to those used by medieval chroniclers to describe Mongols, who in our day are considered a nice friendly people of slightly eccentric lifestyle.|Phil Barker, Sue Laflin Barker & Richard Bodley Scott, ''Hordes of the Things''}}

'''Orcs''' are a fantasy race that is used in a number of settings. Compare to [[Ork]]. They are generally depicted as barbaric humanoids with tusks and green or gray skin (or some combination of the two). Typically, they are stronger than an average [[human]], though generally less intelligent as well.

They enjoy molesting, eating and generally mistreating the goblins, their smaller cousins. They have longstanding relationships with trolls and ogres, their larger and more stupid neighbors, whom they con into performing demeaning menial tasks and press into service in wartime. Their relations with more distant races are more variable - some may work for humans as mercenaries, for example, while others will attack humans on sight. They are also interfertile with many other races, leading to the existence of [[half-orc]]s. The long-standing exception to this is [[elves]]. All orcs hate elves, and this makes them good people.

Historically, the term is derived from an Anglo-Saxon word meaning 'demon', according to Tolkien, who lifted the word from Beowulf and proceeded to invent orcs as a fantasy race out of whole cloth.

=The Master Template=
While many traditional fantasy races ([[Elves]], [[Dwarves]], [[Dragons]], [[Goblin|Goblins]] and [[Wizard|Wizards]]) can be traced back to folklore and mythology, orcs are entirely a product of modern fantasy literature. Here we have a basic rundown of the image that comes up when people say "Orc" and how it evolved.

==Tolkien==
[[File:Tolkien Goblins.JPG|thumb|right|400px|The origin of the original Orcs.]]
Orcs as we know them have their beginnings with Tolkien's works. The first orcs were created by Melkor (later known as Morgoth) shortly after the first elves awoke, before humans existed. It should be noted that Tolkien never definitively stated the true origin of Orcs , and most of what we have comes from notes and decisions he left to his son Christopher when he passed control of the setting over.
According to one account published after Tolkien's death in The Silmarillion, some of these elves wandered about exploring this world that they had awoken in and were captured by some of Melkor's Maiar ("fallen angels" futher down the hierarchy, Melkor being basically Satan) and were taken to Angband, his base of operations. Because Melkor was bitter about being unable to create life they were tortured, abused, cursed, mutated and selectively bred until you got Orcs, [[What| because obviously torture is totally going to influence the physiology of your offspring]]. The result was a species of ugly, bad-smelling, fanged, bow-legged, long-armed, claw-handed, hairy apelike humanoids which were 'sallow', 'swart' or 'black' in coloration, had an aversion to sunlight, ranged in size from smaller than a hobbit to almost as large as a man. These creatures would make up the bulk of Melkor and later Sauron's armies.

Tolkien's Orcs are not stupid, described as "making no beautiful things, but many clever ones" and their speech, while crass, is articulate. They are capable of making weapons (bows, spears, daggers, shields and curved swords), armor (helmets, mail and scale armor supplemented by salvage), effective if unpleasant medicine (prosthetic limbs are literally stabbed into the stump, for example), and are pretty good engineers on top of creating assembly lines; one of the general morals of Tolkien's works is rampant industrialization is a path to evil and/or misfortune, and making Orcs more advanced than other races reflects this. They are almost as good at mining as Dwarves are even if their work ethic leaves something to be desired. Nor are all orcs identical. There are variations among Orcs both in terms of individual personalities and differences between groups. Orcs from the Misty Mountains are described as being fairly tribal while those of Mordor are regimented (to the point where they have serial numbers). There are also different breeds of Orcs, besides the garden variety Orc you also have 'snufflers' bred for following scent trails and the larger and more sun resistant Uruk-Hai bred by Sauron and Saruman, supposedly made by crossbreeding Orcs with humans and specialized to act as commanders. However they are violent, sadistic, spiteful, enjoy breaking stuff, have no concern for aesthetics and are as a rule hateful and miserable. Fighting, killing, eating, drinking, looting, blowing stuff up, gaining power, bossing their subordinates around, torturing and presumably raping captives can only give temporary reprieve. They hate Sauron and especially Melkor, but serve them out of fear, their psychic influence over them and the fact that everyone who is not under their authority despises them and wants them dead. They are capable of internal loyalty and do have some social taboos (being accused of eating other Orcs is a considerable insult even though they are perfectly fine with eating non-Orcs) which are enough to let them act together as groups, although these groups tend to collapse due to infighting after reaching a certain size in the absence of a leader who can terrify them into submission.

Despite this, little is said by Tolkien about how Orcs live their lives on a day-to-day basis as their role in the story is as a force which threatens the heroes and those around them. It can be extrapolated, however that it is usually nasty, brutish and short. Some of the interactions between different groups of orcs frequently results in back-stabbing and violent power struggles, so we can assume that they operate on a grimdark version of Klingon politics. All the orcs mentioned are male which is usually interpreted as "orcs don't bring their womenfolk along on campaigns" (which is basically what Tolkien said in one of his letters) but has led a few to say that orcish sexual dimorphism is basically nonexistent or that female orcs don't exist. Given Sauron's proclivities and the various castes in mordor they were likely subject to some form of selective breeding program.

In Tolkien's published works, "Orc" and "goblin" are synonyms (at least at first; later he said that goblins were a subtype of orc, and later still he said that they were totally unrelated). In later editions of The Hobbit, he says that "goblin" is a translation of "orc", which is "not an English word". "Uruk" means Orc in Black Speech, a mix of Elvish, human tongue, and Sauron's attempts to give them their own language. Most fantasy fiction typically distinguishes between Goblins and Orcs: most of Tolkien's Orcs would resemble other works' Goblins (Frodo and Sam disguised themselves as Orcs, so we can assume at least some are Hobbit height). The largest Orcs in Middle Earth - the Uruks of Isengard and Mordor - appear to be only almost as tall as Men.

Something worth pointing out here is that, Orcs do '''not''' represent non-European folks, at least not in the mind of Tolkien. Instead, they were always a representation of man's inhumanity, especially the form it took in the 20th century. As stated previously, Orcs created many clever devices of war, as well as industry that polluted the land and enslaved others. Tolkien saw Orcs as the inevitable end-products of rationalism and progress without any sort of ethical restraint, and likened them to the various people who supported an ends-justify-the-means mentality, even going so far as condemning the creation of the atomic bomb as the most Orcish thing the Allies had ever done. In this light, Tolkien's Orcs are best understood not as the foreign ''Other'', but as a vision of what could happen to ourselves in the future, should we allow ourselves to degenerate into evil monsters unbound by any morality.

===Grey areas===
The question of whether they are [[always Chaotic Evil|intrinsically evil]] is never brought up, and several of Tolkien's unpublished works suggest that this was due to his own misgivings with the concept of a wholly evil race. Melkor had no power to create other beings himself, but the fact that elves could be corrupted would also imply Eru had either made the souls of some elves either inherently evil or easily corrupted to become evil. Unlike Melkor, Sauron, and Balrogs who were spiritual beings that made an active choice to be evil, Orcs are universally portrayed as evil which means they could be evil from birth which was strongly against Tolkien's strong Catholic beliefs in the nature of good and evil. This in turn contradicted his own views on the nature of [[God|Eru]] as a wholly good deity while also opening up some thorny questions of faith for Tolkien himself, and even in his last writings it appears he could not come up with a satisfactory explanation for how they could be universally evil by nature. Christopher similarly has not come up with a satisfactory answer and has largely avoided the subject, avoiding talking about Orcs as anything but adult militant antagonists and leaning back on his father's suggestions of corrupted man/elf hybrids descended from enslaved elves.

Fans divide into different camps of explanation.

* Orcs could be born adult and "male", like the Warhammer Orcs discussed below, and thus be more intelligent animal like Dragons as opposed to inherently evil people.
* Another suggestion is they could also be people who are indoctrinated from youth, such as their closest inspiration as the Central Powers in World War 1 (trying to kill Tolkien in the Somme) and Axis (who blew up his barn while he and the family hid in the cellar during the Blitz) which would make Orcs antagonists with horrible leaders and a corrupt ideology as opposed to naturally evil; this would make them as evil as the Easterlings.
* Some have reasoned, in the vein of the second suggestion, that Orcs are not all unified on Melkor/Sauron's side, which is supported by a single line from Tolkien that no race stood united for or against Sauron; this is dismissed by some with the elf/man origins as all Orcs evil and all elves good, but can be interpreted either way. In this view some have reasoned there must be neutral tribes of Orcs who did not participate in conflict and are as unmentioned as the Stoorish Hobbits (Gollum's original people, who's only importance at all and thus only mention is just that; being Gollum's people before he degenerated into a [[Ghoul|ghoulish]] being), that these Orcs could possibly even be good for all that is known.
* Another idea is that Melkor's corruption of the Elves he kidnapped either diminished or removed their capacity to do good, which would make creating the Orcs one of the most monstrous acts he had ever committed, and considering this guy was capital-E Evil in every way he could think of that says a whole goddamn lot.
* The presence of Boldogs/"Orc-shaped Maiar"; AKA '''fucking Fallen Angels'''; amongst Melkor's forces suggests a more insidious reason as to why Orcs are so physically deformed and spiritually corrupted. As it does not make sense that the torture and spiritual corruption; even if done by fantasy Satan himself; of the captive Elves would somehow cause their [[Orcs|descendants]] to be so physically and spiritually twisted that they counted as a different species, it would however, make sense if the original Orcs were logically bred into existence like the later Orc breeds. Since there were no Orcs running around at this time in pre-history, what were these captive Elves bred with you might ask? [[Demon|The Maiar who sided with Melkor and took demonic physical forms.]] Like the Fallen Angels of the Christian Bible, these hateful beings would lust for the flesh of [[God|Eru's]] children, [[Rape|and would visit upon them every manner of violation and torture.]] Thus would the Orcs come to be, the spawn of rape by demonic beings, every bit as twisted and warped as you would expect such a creature to be. Unlike the Nephilim of the Christian Bible though, Orcs are not known for being incredibly strong, giant, or legendary warriors and kings; which begs the question as to why Orcs in this theory are not as strong despite being analagous to the Nephilim of the Bible. Furthermore, this theory also runs the most afoul of Tolkien's own misgivings about an inherently evil race, aside from [[FATAL|the obvious squickyness and implications that arise from rape by Fallen Angels.]]
* One possibility, strongly hinted at in the text by the fight going out of the Orcs as soon as the Ring was destroyed, is that some kind of mind control was involved.
* The final suggestion is Orcs have no souls, and much like the Little Mermaid (not the Disney version, but rather the original story where they are Feyfolk who are sea foam come to life in the forms of people that can love and grieve, but return to sea foam in oblivion when they die because they have no souls) are just some natural material come to life with no real importance or moral rights because they were not intentionally created by the omnipotent creator (Dwarves are exempt from this fate, being creations of the Vala Aulë who were granted life and 'adopted' by Eru Illuvatar). In this view you could do anything you want to an Orc from killing to torture because they have as much natural rights as their base components, similar to the destruction of the Golem in Hebrew myth, and would explain the ostensible absence of Orc souls in the afterlife of Tolkien's cosmology, though one could find moral problems with this as well depending on your worldview. Tolkien seems to have considered this explanation at one point but ultimately rejected it, as he believed that the Orcs would have been no more intelligent than any other animal if they were truly soulless.

In any case, Tolkien invented Orcs and what is discussed above served as the inspiration of of MANY spinoffs that to various degrees A: took the idea and ran with it while expanding on it to fill in the blanks, B: took the basic idea and gave it a few tweaks, or C: deliberately subverted what people expected from Orcs, making it possible for them to be the good guys. There have been various takes on the "are Orcs fundamentally evil?" question. As a general rule more people tend to go with some flavor of "no, strictly speaking" in that regard as it opens up more narrative possibilities as opposed to a race of set-in-stone killer meatbots utterly unable to deviate from their programing though still cast them primarily in a villainous role.

===Direct Adaptations===
For the most part the Lord of the Rings movies created by Peter Jackson have done a reasonable interpretation of the orcs from the books, though they have cranked their aggression up a bit, uglied them to a great degree, often used the green skin-tones that were popularized later, made them much taller across the board, and ''possibly'' confirmed females. No females are pointed out, but some actresses that played Orcs have insisted their characters (who are usually killed by Elf acrobatics in the same scene or just screech at the camera and shoot an arrow) are female; Jackson has never confirmed or denied this but still made a point of including these interviews on the special features sections of the home release of the movies. Then again, he also put Elves at Helms Deep...

There's also a rather Grimdark theory akin to Daemonculaba regarding the breeding of the Uruk-Hai from mutating regular newborn Half-Orc infants. The "mud" seen in the movie has been filled with Dark Magic/Essence of Sauron, and the blood of sacrificed humans. Infant Half-Orcs are chosen after being selectively bred, torn from their human mothers' grasp (and possibly womb), and tossed heartlessly into the muck as they wail, crying and desperate for the return of their parent's love. They sink into the bubbling muck, where it serves as a sort of incubator, forcing the half-blood orcling to grow up in a matter of days, maybe even hours, instead of the years it would take the half-orc to normally grow up. Eventually, Snaga are forced to pull the cocooned body of the now Uruk-Hai out of the muck. They have been infused with Sauron's dark will, and are completely brainwashed to his cause by his will. This theory basically paints Saruman as being fucking Doctor Mengele.

Notably, the 2014 game Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor, while mostly known for being "actually pretty good" for what was essentially an Assassin's Creed clone, also showed Orc culture. Essentially, they were a naturally evil race ruled by a hierarchy of tribe chiefs who use grimdark Klingon politics (although there was references made to Sauron possibly using his terrible magical psychic might to force them to be evil, along with references made in the first game of an Orc who was giving information to humans having Flies that are supposedly aspects of Sauron's dark spirit crawling up his ear whilst he slept and buzzing and gnawing within, driving said Orc mad); meaning whoever could knock around his fellow Uruks became boss, and a boss who could honorably duel, assassinate, or otherwise neutralize his peers climbed the ladder. While they were mostly the Chaotic Evil monsters Tolkien didn't want to portray them as, this didn't mean that they weren't interesting. Their mindset was that when they weren't focusing on eliminating other tribes, most Uruks just wanted to put in a hard day's work (of bossing around human slaves or Snaga), made small talk, had drinking songs, and at the end of the day just go have a drink with his mates. With the mental influence of Celebrimbor's shade on them they are rendered neutral in terms of good/evil, as Sauron's hold on their mind has been weakened, but will still fight and kill each other for promotions; this is generally interpreted as mind control, although a large number of Orcs following you without Celebrimbor in the sequel suggests it may also be you reducing Sauron's influence on them and allowing them to make their own moral choices.

==Warhammer==
[[File:Black Orc.jpg|400px|thumb|right|The modern interpretation of Orcs.]]
[[Games Workshop]] was originally a company that produced quality boards for games like Chess, but after two out of three of the original team fell in love with Dungeons & Dragons after [[Gary Gygax]] sent them a copy (believing they were a legitimate company based on their name, rather than three guys in an apartment sending out stuff through the mail) they began distributing licensed games and later producing miniatures for use in these games under the brand [[Citadel Miniatures]].

As time went on, they had a surplus of unsold miniatures and had trouble retaining the rights to sell their products, so they began to have members of their team create new games owned by Games Workshop to use the models they produced (which unfortunately made many of the early Warhammer designs that survive [[Broo|extreme]] [[Daemon|ripoffs]]). The most successful of these was [[Warhammer Fantasy]], then just Warhammer, which was a wargame version of Dungeons & Dragons that existed mostly just to sell models. Warhammer didn't get its own setting and story until 3rd edition, where [[Orcs & Goblins|its Orcs]] were described as having green skin and red eyes with tusks in their mouths as well as being savage brutes that gathered in hordes and attacked civilization, or just about anything capable of fighting, every so often. Although later on this lore became more complex with Warhammer greenskins becoming genderless mushroom-apes with the creation of [[Warhammer 40000]] which was ported back into Fantasy, the prototype Warhammer Orc still had females and Half-Orcs.

With this, the master template of Orcs was completed. Almost every fantasy setting to use Orcs after Warhammer made them green and sometimes gave them red eyes with tusks, which eventually migrated back into Dungeons & Dragons and even the Lord Of The Rings movies. However, one thing was missing. Orcs were still Always Chaotic Evil which greatly limited their use, and non-evil Orcs were a footnote that didn't even have a [[Drizzt]] to be their posterboy example.

==[[Warcraft]]==
The importance of Warcraft isn't actually in any evolution in any master template. In fact, what it mostly did is combine concepts from previous fantasy settings into a setting and use the appearance of Warhammer Orcs, which was thrust into mainstream public perception and made Orcs "cool" causing a boom of fantasy gaming both on the tabletop and in video games, as well as the movie screen.

Warcraft: Orcs & Humans was released in 1994, and featured generic knights VS generic Orcs in the Warhammer style (indeed, rumors persist that Warcraft was a canceled Warhammer game as Games Workshop had been experimenting at the time with video games). Orcs were controlled by Demons from some obscure Satanic force, and used Ogres as their minions. The only real innovation was Orcs coming from another planet through a portal, although the theme of Satanic forces invading from portals was largely dropped and instead lived on in the Diablo franchise. The game was a surprising success, being low budget from a minor studio.

It was followed by Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness in 1996, which sold RIDICULOUSLY well and sparked a boom in the entire Real Time Strategy genre which quickly became a staple of PC gaming. The setting was expanded a great deal, although Orcs remained mostly the same but were joined by Goblins (who coincidentally looked similar but were a different race), Trolls, their persisting Ogre slaves, the undead (created by the Orcs from their own dead Warlocks), and enslaved dragons. The most diverse change to be found here was Goblins being a race of money-obsessed mad scientists, and Trolls being intelligent. An expansion pack was released that involved the humans invading the Orc homeworld to end the war.

Setting their eyes on the horizon, Blizzard planned an explosion of lore with a book series beginning with Of Blood And Honor which went into the friendship between a human Paladin and an aged Orc ex-Shaman who hated what his race had become which created complexity in what had previously been just a generic "kill it all and loot/eat then march again" race. The second book was Day Of The Dragon, expanding a minor plot involving Dragons into the war between good and evil which had used the Horde and Alliance as a proxy for their own machinations. Lord Of The Clans delved deeper into Orc lore, explaining that they were a race with souls naturally attuned to other sources of energy that had communed with the forces of nature itself until they were tricked into a Daemonic curse that affected them like meth, giving them fanatical boosts of power until it diminished their body and soul into a husk; the main character of the book, named Thrall by humans who used him as a pit fighter, learned nature magic and freed the defeated Orcs to lead them to a peaceful natural existence again. Finally the book The Last Guardian detailed the madness of the human supreme wizard Medivh who had summoned the Orcs into the world in the first place and gave context on the Burning Legion, transforming them from a vaguely satanic demon army into a varied force of cosmic enemies that would fit right into Doctor Who.
Here finally Warcraft added new flavor to their Orcs although unlike previous versions of non-evil Orcs the Warcraft version had identical culture only without malice. The major difference here was making them neutral race that actually got to be in the spotlight, as all previous non-evil Orcs were minor races left mostly undescribed beyond the basics that never starred in a story and always were just an option for exotic PCs; Warcraft was the first setting to make them a core race in the starring role with equal importance to humans in the first person narrative, which catapulted Orcs across fantasy fiction in importance.

In Warcraft III: Reign Of Chaos, released in 2002, Blizzard took the mantle of villains entirely away from the Horde and rendered the judgement of gray morality into all factions. The Alliance were racist arrogant bastards that hated each other, were ineffective, and easy to corrupt. The Horde was full of the same assholes from Warcraft I and II that were missing "the good old days" and jumped at a chance to suckle Daemon teat for power again (although the curse was broken during the game). Undead wore the mantle of villainy, but that's because they were lead by a soulless human merged with the ghost of the Orc who set in motion the events which made the Horde evil in the first place. Also, there was forest Elves who wanted everyone to get the fuck out of their forest.

Warcraft III became THE game on the PC at the time, and Warcraft mania had made the image of Orcs something the average non-gamer person could identify. Green skin, tusks, gigantic frame with large shoulders, and sometimes red eyes (which just meant "evil Orc" in Warcraft) became THE Orc as a result of Warcraft, which very little since then has drifted away from. Very few fictional works with Orcs that came after left out these details.

Next in 2004 came World Of Warcraft, '''THE''' MMO which destroyed or outlasted every competitor, surviving for <s>12</s> '''15''' full years and which is still ongoing today. While most of the changes added in WoW remain only important to Warcraft continuity, as they haven't migrated into the mainstream yet, non-evil (or at least neutral) Orcs put upon both by their own evil kin and the hateful humanity became the default Orc. As the game's story moved on, the main racial plot for the Orcs concern itself with its heritage as bloodthirsty conquerors, with the younger lads wondering whether or not wanton genocide really was all that bad... One of them even took the Horde to... [[Nazi|An interesting place]]. So the nature of Orcs as evil/not-evil-just-really-fighty is still being discussed within the game.

So while Warcraft didn't pioneer the idea of non-evil Orcs, greenskins with tusks, or Orcs being in control of their own destiny rather than being pawns in the schemes of a greater power, it did make the Master Template a staple of fantasy fiction. Stories like the Styx and Divinity video games have continued using the new template since then, with more on the way. Even Warhammer itself dropped the most outright evil of their Orcs since then, making them Chaotic Neutral destructive forces that can be allied with rather than Chaotic Evil.

=Mold-Breakers=
{{topquote|Look at them. Ranks, files, locked in everlasting conflict at the whim of the player. They fight, they fall, and they cannot turn back because the whips drive them on, and all they know is whips, kill or be killed. Darkness in front of them, darkness behind them, darkness and whips in their heads. But what if you could take one out of this game, get him before the whips do, take him to a place without whips‚ what might he become? One creature. One singular being. Would you deny them that chance?|Lord Havelock Vetinari, '''Unseen Academicals''', on the subject of [[Terry Pratchett|Sir Terry Pratchett's]] Orcs}}

As the above suggests, orcs are typically your generic [[barbarian]] rapine-horde of bad-guys in most fantasy settings. However, this isn't always the case, and a number of notable exceptions have developed over the years.

'''Discworld''' (Also the universe where the above quote comes from) barely mentions orcs, only saying that they were made as cannon fodder for an evil empire before it was destroyed. There is, however, one orc Character; Nutt, who is Perhaps the most intelligent being in the whole setting, incredibly strong and fucking brilliant at football, although he avoids becoming a [[Mary Sue]] due to Terry Pratchett's Incredibly good writing.

'''[[Al-Qadim]]''' is notable for being probably the first full-on retooling of the orcs from "rampaging barbarian tribes" to "just one more fantasy race that mostly gets along with the others." This is mostly because, rather than having all the races living in their own corners of the world with their own cultures, the deserts of Al-Qadim saw lots of racial mixing around the few oases, and thus a single unified culture comprised of multiple races formed. The only enemies who ''are'' always evil are explicitly supernatural, like the YAKMEN! Also, the most likely setting ever for [[/d/|elf-orc crossbreeding]].

'''[[Eberron]]''' gave its orcs a status as a relatively peaceful race who were once responsible for combating the threat of [[aberration]] hordes from beyond the stars, as well as founders of the tradition of druidism in-setting. Orcs generally tend to live in few places and have vastly different cultures, some good, some evil, some neutral. Even in the present, they tend to live in the swamp-regions and do no harm; they freely mingle with humans and adopt them into their tribes, so [[half-orc]]s are not only common, but have just as much an expectation of being born from consensual relationships as anyone else, rather than the "orc man raping a human woman" expectation of most other D&D settings.
*Shadow Marches, said to be orc homeland, is home to the the Gatekeeper druids who saved the world from aberrations severl thousand years ago and are busy keeping evil unkillable daelkyr lords of madness locked in their prisons. But it's also a home to cults of Kyrzin, one of those evil lords of madness and orc tribes loyal to Gatekeepers and those loyal to Kyrzin are constantly fighting. Both tend to kill outsiders wandering through their lands, because those outsiders are usually enemy agents and it saves time, so don't get confused by Gatekeepers being the good guys, they're by no means nice guys.
*Droaam, right next to Shadow Marches is a multi-cultural nation of monsters and orks are a sizeable population of it. Gaa’aram tribes are your typical evil barbarian orcs, only difference being they form multi-racial tribes where orcs, goblins, ogres and trolls work together. Gaa’ran on the other hand are "peaceful" farmers and about the only people in Droaam who do agriculture. "Peaceful" is in brackets is because they would only fill you with axes and hang your mutilated corpse on a stick to deter future trespassers if you trespass on their lands, being the epitome of "get off my lawn".
*Demon Wastes have two competing cultures, both made of orcs, humans and half-orcs fighting together. Ghaash'kala clans are "good" human, orc, and half-orc [[barbarian]] clans all living and fighting and drinking together for the glory of Kalok Shash, an incarnation of the Silver Flame, in an endless war to make sure nothing ''else'' in the Demon Wastes ever gets out. That being said, things they fight are mostly evil orcs of Carrion Tribes who worship demons and make your typical Faerun orcs look like saints in comparison. Just like in Shadow Marchers, don't assume Ghaash'kala are nice because they're good - they operate under assumption that anything that comes from the wastes is corrupted and needs to die (an assumption that is right 99% of times), so don't expect eny mercy if you come to their lands from the wrong side.
*Finally, separated from all other orc lands are Jorash'Tal, the asshole racist orcs of Mror Holds who hate dwarfs with fiery passion for invading and colonizing their mountains thousands of years ago and refuse to let it go. They're nomad tribes roaming valleys between the mountains and are generally nice people that ''won't'' kill you for trespassing on their lands unlike other orc cultures generally painted as "good". Unless you're dwarf. In which case they kill you for the sins of other dwarfs that lived so long ago no one remembers them. Generally they're a case study on how racial grievances won't do you any good, no matter how justified they are. Dorfs, being both more numerous and technologically advanced are locked in indecision what to do with them as half their clans want to make peace and integrate Jorash'Tal, putting them to work since most holds are in need of more labour, while the other half pushes for the ultimate solution to orcish problem.

'''[[Forgotten Realms]]''', although certainly playing it straight, has exceptions too, in the form of the AD&D-only orc subspecies known as the Ondonti. A ''Lawful Good'' race of peaceful, quiet, contemplative, gentle orcs who devote themselves to [[Eldath]] (a minor Goddess of Peace and Quiet Places) and live a humble life as farmers in a hidden valley. They have several Priestly spell-like abilities (Sanctuary (Self) and Purify Food & Water 3/day, Barkskin 1/day and Tree 1/week), are resistant to poison and immune to Charm spells. The general belief of their origin is that they are an example of option 3 in the infamous [[The Orc Baby Dilemma]], with a bunch of Eldathi priests taking orphaned orc infants into seclusion and bringing them up into their cult, causing them to forsake their ancestral barbarity and embrace peace, quiet and advanced hygiene. You can check out their AD&D stats [http://www.lomion.de/cmm/orcondon.php here]. It's also worth noting that many D&D fans take the stance that orcs, goblins, ogres, and other "always evil" monsters are only evil because ''they're brought up in an evil culture'', and that an orc raised in a human household would be just as Good as their adoptive parents (assuming the parents actually ''are'' Good-aligned, that is). There's also the Kingdom of Many-Arrows, a nation of orcs that seeks to have diplomatic ties to their neighbours, though they do occasionally raid their neighbours, especially the local human barbarian tribes.

'''[[Spelljammer]]''' is an unusual entry on this list, because its unique orcs, or ''Scro'', are still bad guys. It's just that, in [[AD&D|an era where orcs were defined as being chaotic, anarchic, disorganized hordes]] scro were defined by being cultured, intelligent, disciplined and well-organized soldierly regiments - in other words, very close to how [[hobgoblin]]s have come to be defined in modern editions. They are even bigger than normal orcs, pimp out their teeth with much bling, and [[Nazi|wear black leather uniforms when not in battle armor]].

'''[[Warcraft]]''', as covered above, may be the iconic example of a mold-breaker when it comes to orcs. After making them fairly bog-standard bad guy invaders in the first two games (if a little unusual in that they were also invaders from another planet), the third game offered the revelation that orcs had once been a [[noblebright]] culture of shamans and honorable warriors, but were corrupted into savage, bloodthirsty conquerors by an evil warlock and the setting's demonic BBEG. As a result, their campaign in the third game focused on their drive to draw their beaten clans out of human territory and found a new nation for themselves where they could try and rediscover their past. This led to the formation of the Horde faction in [[World of Warcraft]], which took off hugely in popularity because of its then-novel idea of traditionally brutal monster races (orcs, [[troll]]s, [[undead]], and [[minotaur]]s) as an ordinary, viably civilized (relatively speaking) faction in its own right. There was even a short-lived tabletop RPG (first a D&D 3.5 spin off, then a more "customized" but still fundamentally D&D-cloned WoW version) as a result. They still fight, bicker, and war with the "good" races, but now it's because of [[Blizzard]]'s <s>refusal to [[Advancing the Storyline|give up the "dual faction" mechanic and let the story progress]] along with long-standing prejudices between both the Alliance and the Horde rather than because they're the bad guys</s> revolving door of insane and genocidal Horde warchiefs who get overthrown every 2-4 years, with Orcs on both sides of the warchief's agenda. The plot twist is that this time, the warchief is not an Orc at all, but an undead elf which adds layers of complexity. For example, the Orcs go along with her orders in an attempted genocide of the Night Elves after the demons are defeated, but one of the key figures to rise against her was an Orc.

While '''[[Elder Scrolls]]''' **prepare for shitelf cope** Orcs (or Orsimer, if you wish to use their proper name) weren't even considered ''people'' in the first game, by the time the third game rolled around they had become fully integrated into normal society and weren't looked upon any differently from elves or humans. They are as intelligent as anybody else (in the fifth game one even runs the library at the local mage's college) and generally known to be the best smiths in the setting besides the long-extinct Dwarves, as well as crazy good soldiers next to the Nords and Redguards. Their skill in fighting with heavy armor has lent them a place as heavy shock legionaries in the Imperial Legions. One Orc even became the continent's best chef. Technically, they're a subspecies of Elf which were transformed into their current state after the Daedric Prince Boethiah [[Vore|ate (and shat out)]] their greatest champion/god, who was himself turned into the Daedric Prince Malacath.

'''[[Wicked Fantasy]]''' Orks ''were'' originally the standard Always Chaotic Evil raider types, having been created by malevolent gods for the purpose of fighting for their amusement. And then, one day, thirteen great orkish heroes realized that their race had always been nothing more than slaves, and chose to take a new path. They fought their gods and slew them, and though they still struggle with the lingering blood-rage they were created with, they are now a comparatively peaceful race. They're still a ''dark'' race, but not an evil one. For example, they worship pain as a sacred concept... because, by their understanding of it, pain is ultimately on the side of life and it is the giver of strength. Pain warns you when you are hurt, when you are about to die, but it also pushes you to fight harder, to try and survive. Orks prize battle scars as near-sacred objects; nothing comes without sacrifice, and without a scar, the physical symbol of pain, for reference, a victory is ultimately meaningless.

'''[[Sharakim]]''' seem like this at first glance, as they are orcs who are highly organized, discipline, civilized and benevolent people, but arguably don't count: they're the descendants of humans who were cursed to ''look like'' orcs for sacrilege, not really proper orcs.

'''[[Monster Hunter International]]''' orcs, while green and tusked, are among the few monsters that aren't evil as a species. Unlike most of them they are not PUFF exempt, so they do their best to stay hidden from the government. Monster Hunter International helps hide the orcs at their headquarters in Cazador, Alabama and, in return, gets a help from a few orcs. Appearance wise MHI Orcs are pretty standard, though they wear masks to hide this from humans (though the one look at their village suggests they may do this beyond just secrecy). What makes them interesting is that they have an (Orc) god given talent that makes them very specialized in a particular area, yet utterly incompetent at something related to but outside that area. These include a master of bladed weapons that can't hit the broad side of a barn with a gun, and a helicopter pilot who can make a [[MI-24 Hind]] do things even current helicopters can't, but is unable to drive a car (Upon hearing this, one character speculates that Top Gear's Stig is an orc). They can also make magical healing potions, though they need to be made for specific people and don't keep well. Female orcs greatly outnumber males, so polygamy is the norm. MHI Orcs also worship heavy metal musicians. Most information about orcs in this world is based on the depiction of one friendly tribe, and the only other tribe mentioned was willing to slaughter this friendly tribe, so it's likely other tribes differ in some or all aspects.

It's not very common, as one can see, but some DMs have been known to revamp orcs for their own homebrew settings as well.

=Orcs in D&D=
[[File:DnD Original Orc.jpg|thumb|right|300px|1st Edition D&D Orcs, now commonly referred to by some variation of "P'Orcs" by fans.]]
In the first edition of [[Dungeons & Dragons]], Orcs were among the first monsters inspired by folklore and fantasy literature added to the game in a reissue set. They became the primary antagonists out of the many enemies in the game due primarily to their statline rather than their iconic nature, since they were the best "always an enemy" humanoid to accompany a [[Big Bad Evil Guy|BBEG]]. Early DnD Orcs were pig-like monsters resulting from savage tribals that bred with all other races they warred with (so reproducing via rape) with no unified culture or language, but interestingly were also described as having a "reputation for cruelty that is deserved, but humans are just as capable of evil as orcs" which suggests they weren't anything extraordinary to the setting. There was also a short-lived form of Cycloptic Orc, from the British Boxed Set illustrations of AD&D.

Half a decade after their introduction, they were given a more neanderthal appearance as well as being given a size-increase to that of a gorilla (which is actually shorter than the average human, btw), were made able to breed with humans resulting in the [[Half-Orc]] playable race, and given their own mythology (which in most D&D settings is the explanation for why a race behaves the way it does). The leader god is named [[Gruumsh]], who was screwed over in inheritance of the world by the gods of the fairer races causing him to be a bitter asshole and make his race into entitled "might makes right" pricks like a father passing on their shitty life to their kids. Gruumsh's family are below him in importance and include his wife [[Luthic]], goddess of the submission of Orc females as the inferior gender, who goes barefoot and never wields a weapon and just serves to run the home and [[Meme|make babby]], and their son [[Bahgtru]] who's pretty much the god of "stupid, but strong", along with Gruumsh's second in command [[Ilneval]] who is the Orc god of war that directly guides mortal Orcs, with the four together representing the Neutral and "Lawful" (as in they are willing to take orders and respect their place in society) side of the pantheon. Also added were [[Shargaas]] the god of general bad magic and spooky things, and [[Yurtrus]] the god of ruin and death, neither of whom have any loyalty to Gruumsh's side of the pantheon and represent the truly Chaotic "for the evulz" aspect of Orcs.

An article for [[Dragon Magazine]] later gave the option of making the traditionally evil races like Orcs and [[Kobolds]] player characters of any alignment. This lead to the [[Forgotten Realms]] setting having two races of Orcs that are capable of any alignment, the pacifistic Ondonti who culturally are closer to Hobbit than Orruk, and the Gray Orcs who are treated as another among the fair races. All other D&D Orcs remained stupid-evil.

Dungeons & Dragons became the standard for most fantasy that came after, but ultimately for Orcs the only purpose was to move forward to the next step in the master template.

Despite their traditional role as bad guys, since at least the days of Basic D&D, where they had their own [[Known World Gazetteer]] in "The Orcs of Thar", orcs have actually been a full-fledged PC race. True, you typically need DM permission, but the option was there.

Though... not a lot of people took it, as in accordance with their fluff, orcs could be mechanically rather... lackluster. It's a well-known fact in 4th and 5th edition alike that, really, you're better off using and reflavoring the [[half-orc]] or even the [[goliath]] races instead. Especially in 5th edition, where they are literally ''the only race in the game'', aside from [[kobold]]s, to get an ability score penalty.

This has changed with Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse. Orcs have lost their Primal Intuition; Aggressive has been reworked into Adrenaline Rush allowing them to Dash as a bonus action PB times per long rest, and they gain temporary hit points equal to their proficiency bonus when they do; and they've gained the Half-Orc's Relentless Endurance. On top of all that, with the modern WotC design philosophy, they get the same "add 2 to 1 stat and 1 to another, or 1 to 3 different stats" that all races get, so no more ability score penalty.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Orc ODD1.png|Original D&D
orc sewer A1.png|[[Scourge of the Slave Lords|A1: Slave Pits of the Undercity]]
orc camp A1.png|A1: Slave Pits of the Undercity
orc MCV1.jpg|2e Monstrous Compendium
orc MM 2e.png|2e Monstrous Manual
Orc miners First Quest.jpg|2e orcs with some klingon-like head ridges (First Quest).
orc MM 3e.jpg|3e
orc MM 4e.jpg|4e
4e Orcs, Monster Vault.jpg|Orc sexual dimorphism is a bit of a hit-and-miss affair.
4e Orcs, Dragon 374.png
orc MM 5e.jpg|5e
orc B1.png|Pathfinder
orc ARG 1.png
orc ARG 3.png
Orc sf 1.png|Starfinder
Orc sf 2.png
</gallery>

==PC Stats==
===BECMI===
In BECMI era [[Mystara]], there are two different Orc race-classes; the standard Orc, as seen in [[Known World Gazetteer|The Orcs of Thar]], and the horse-riding Krugel Orc, seen in the [[Hollow World]] subsetting. If the Krugel Orcs are Mystara's proto-orcs, then they must be the orcs of Mystara's distant past, Blackmoor, who were ruled by King Funk, chosen of the Lovecraftian Egg of Coot to lead the orcish hordes, arguably the first big fearsome orc warlord type character in tabletop gaming, predating Warhammer's Grimgor Ironhide, Kings of War's Gakamak the Smasher, and Faerun's Obould Many-Arrows. Said Krugel Orcs were one of many savage tribal races produced by D&D Beastmen, alongside Ogres, Cyclops, Goblins, and Trolls.

;Standard Mystaran Orc
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%"> Click "Expand" to see the stablock.
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
::Orc Ability Modifiers: +1 Strength, -1 Dexterity
::Note: Like all Humanoids from "The Orcs of Thar", an Orc has racial ability score caps of 18 in all scores bar [[Intelligence]] and [[Wisdom]], which are capped at 16.
::Note: Like all Humanoids from "The Orcs of Thar", an Orc determines its [[Charisma]] score for interacting with [[human]]s and [[demihuman]]s by dividing its Charisma score by 3 (rounding down) and subtacting the result from 9.
::Orc Natural Armor Class: 8
::Can become [[Shaman]]s (6th level) and [[Wokani]] (4th level).

{| class=wikitable
!Orc's's level || XP Required || Orc's hit dice
|-
|0||0||d8
|-
|1||1,000||2d8
|-
|2||2,000||3d8
|-
|3||4,000||-
|-
|4||8,000||4d8
|-
|5||16,000||5d8
|-
|6||32,000||6d8
|-
|7||64,000||-
|-
|8||130,000||7d8
|-
|9||260,000||+2 Hit Points
|-
|Subsequent||200,000||+2 Hit Points
|}
</div></div>

;Krugel Orc
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%"> Click "Expand" to see the statblock.
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
::Racial Ability Modifiers: +1 Strength, -1 Dexterity, maximum of 16 Intelligence and 16 Wisdom
::Prime Requisite: Strength - Strength 13+ for +5% to XP earned, Strength 16+ for +10% to XP earned
::Save as [[Fighter]] of equivalent level
::Can reach 6th level as Shaman and 4th level as Wokani
::Mandatory Skill: Riding (Horse or Bounder - a kind of far-leaping bipedal carnivorous [[dinosaur]])
::Unlike normal Mystaran orcs, Krugel orcs have lost their Infravision
::Cultural Melee Weapons: Dagger, Sword (Short/Broad/Bastard), Mace, Club, Warhammer, Spear, Javelin, Lance, Net, Whip
::Cultural Missile Weapons: Crossbow (Light/Heavy), Bow (Long/Short), Sling
::Cultural Armor: Leather, Scale, Mail, Chain Mail, Banded Mail, Shield (including horned, knife, sword and tusked), Leather Horse Barding
::Shamans can use: Mace, club, warhammer, lance, net, all cultural armor
::Wokani can use: Dagger, club, net, whip

Krugel Experience Table: Krugels can reach level 36
::1: 0 XP, 1D8 Hit Dice
::2: 1,000 XP, 2D8 Hit Dice
::3: 2,000 XP, 3D8 Hit Dice
::4: 4,000 XP
::5: 8,000 XP, 4D8 Hit Dice
::6: 16,000 XP, 5D8 Hit Dice
::7: 32,000 XP, 6D8 Hit Dice
::8: 64,000 XP
::9: 130,000 XP, 7D8 Hit Dice
::10: 260,000 XP, +2 HP (Constitution bonus no longer applies)
::+1 Level: +200,000 XP, +2 HP (Constitution bonus no longer applies)
</div></div>

===AD&D===
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%"> Click "Expand" to see the statblock.
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
::+1 Strength,-2 Charisma
::Strength: Minimum 6, Maximum 18
::Dexterity: Minimum 3, Maximum 17
::Constitution: Minimum 8, Maximum 18
::Intelligence: Minimum 3, Maximum 16
::Wisdom: Minimum 3, Maximum 16
::Charisma: Minimum 3, Maximum 12
::Available Classes & Max Levels: Fighter 10, Cleric 9, Shaman 6, Witch Doctor 6, Thief 11
::35% chance to spot new and unusual constructions
::25% chance to spot sloping passages
::Infravision 60 feet
::-1 penalty to attack rolls and morale when in direct sunlight
::Weapon Proficiencies: Battle axe, crossbow, flail, hand axe, spear, any bow, any pole arm, any sword.
::Nonweapon Proficiencies: Alertness, armorer, blacksmithing, bowyer/fletcher, carpentry, chanting, close-quarter fighting, hunting, intimidation, looting, religion, set snares, spellcraft, tracking, weaponsmithing.
</div></div>

===3e===
There are several different orc stats, scattered across multiple sourcebooks. The "common" orc in the [[Monster Manual]] featured the following statblock:

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%"> Click "Expand" to see the statblock.
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
::+4 Strength, -2 Intelligence, -2 Wisdom, -2 Charisma
::Medium size
::Base land speed 30 feet
::Darkvision out to 60 feet
::Light Sensitivity (Ex): -1 penalty to Attack rolls when exposed to bright sunlight or a daylight spell.
::[[Favored Class]]: [[Barbarian]]
</div></div>

====Forgotten Realms====
In the [[Forgotten Realms]], however, there are three different varieties of orc:

The "Mountain Orc" is the most common of the three races, and is the most generic, being pretty much standard Monster Manual orcs. They inhabit the Frozen North, predominantly the Spine of the World mountains and other hilly regions (hence the name), and for the most part at generic would-be conquerors foiled by their own inability to focus on anything besides killing - except for when [[Obould Many-Arrows]] tried to forcibly drag them out of their pits and show them that the best way to get respect is to actually make a kingdom of their own. These guys use the standard orc profile.

Deep Orcs, or [[Orog]]s, are a stronger, smarter (but somewhat shorter) breed of orc native to the [[Underdark]]. See their page for more details.

Finally, Gray Orcs are a strange race of emotional, impulsive, and deeply religious orcs originally hailing from another world. Long story short, centuries ago, an archmage created a portal to their world, but wound up being killed for an unrelated incident before anyone ever found out about this portal - which meant nobody ever shut it off. Five years after his death, the orcs found the portal and swarmed through in a religious crusade, battling the empires of Mulhorand and Unther in the 6-years-long Orcgate Wars, which ended with the closing of the portal, the defeat of several of the incarnate gods of Mulhorand and Unther, and the scattering of the gray orcs into loose, fractious tribes that still haunt the Moonsea and the Endless Wastes. Though physically weaker than their mountain orc "relatives", gray orcs are much more strong-willed and independent, and retain a knack for divine magic which makes them dangerous. They also possess a far swifter stride and keener senses of smell. Gray Orc PCs have the following racial stats:

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%"> Click "Expand" to see the statblock.
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
::+2 Strength, +2 Wisdom, -2 Intelligence, -2 Charisma
::Medium Size
::Base Speed 40 feet
::Racial Weapon Proficiency: Great-Axe and Longbow
::Light Sensitivity (Ex): -1 penalty to Attack rolls when exposed to bright sunlight or a daylight spell.
::Scent (Ex)
::Orc Blood: For all effects and special abilities that target a creature's race, Gray Orcs count as '''Orcs'''.
::[[Favored Class]]: [[Cleric]]
::[[Level Adjustment]]: +1
</div></div>

====3rd Party Settings====
;[[Midnight]]
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%"> Click "Expand" to see the statblock.
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
::+4 Strength, -2 Intelligence, -2 Charisma
::Medium
::Base land speed 30 feet
::Weapon Familiarty: Vardatches are Martial Weapons for Orcs
::Night Fighter: Darkvision 60 feet, +1 racial bonus to attack rolls when fighting with no light.
::Light Sensitivity: -1 penalty on attack rolls in bright sunlight or within the radius of a daylight spell.
:: Resistance to Cold: Immune to nonlethal damage caused by cold weather, severe cold, exposure or extreme cold. Halve lethal damage (rounding down) inflicted by extreme cold.
::Natural Predator: Orcs add their Str modifier to Intimidate checks as well as their Cha modifier.
::Spell Resistant: +2 racial bonus on saves against spells and spell-like effects, -2 spell energy points for orc casters.
::+1 racial bonus on damage rolls against dwarves.
::+1 racial bonus on attack rolls when fighting in groups of 10 or more orcs; allies and enemies both count for triggering this feature.
::[[Favored Class]]: [[Barbarian]]
</div></div>

;Warcraft the RPG
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%"> Click "Expand" to see the statblock.
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
* +2 Constitution, -2 Intelligence
::Medium size
::Base land speed 30 feet
::Low-Light Vison
::Battle Rage: Can Rage once per day as per a Barbarian, or adds +1 to rages per day if a Barbarian
::Weapon Familiarity: Orc Claws are a Martial Weapon rather than an Exotic Weapon
::Weapon Proficiency: Automatically receive Martial Weapon Proficiency (Battleaxe) as a bonus feat
::+2 racial bonus to Handle Animal (Wolf) checks and Intimidate checks. Handle Animal (Wolf) and Intimidate are always Class Skills for orcs.
::+1 racial bonus to attack rolls against humans
::[[Favored Class]]: [[Fighter]]
</div></div>

;World of Warcraft the RPG
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%"> Click "Expand" to see the statblock.
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
* +2 Stamina, -2 Intellect (Note: Con and Int by different names)
::Medium size
::Base land speed 30 feet
::Low-Light Vison
::Battle Rage: Can Rage once per day as per a Barbarian, or adds +1 to rages per day if a Barbarian
::Weapon Familiarity: Orc Claws are a Martial Weapon rather than an Exotic Weapon
::Weapon Proficiency: Automatically receive Martial Weapon Proficiency (Battleaxe) as a bonus feat
::+2 racial bonus to Handle Animal (Wolf) checks and Intimidate checks. Intimidate is always a Class Skill for orcs.
::+1 racial bonus to attack rolls against humans
::[[Favored Class]]: [[Barbarian]]
</div></div>

===4e===
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%"> Click "Expand" to see the statblock.
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
::+2 Strength, +2 Constitution
::Size: Medium
::Speed: 6 squares
::Vision: Low-light
::Running Charge (+2 to Speed when charging)
::Warrior's Surge (racial encounter power; make a 1[W] + Strength modifier attack with a melee weapon against an opponent's AC and get to spend a healing surge)
</div></div>

===5e===
Added in Volo's Guide to Monsters as a monster race. They get the following traits... which are, as more than one person has noticed, essentially the 5e [[Half-Orc]] stats with -2 Intelligence tacked on and with the gloriously beefy Relentless Endurance (survive a killing strike with 1 [[hit point]] left 1/day) and Savage Attack (+1 die of damage on a melee weapon critical hit) replaced with the okay Aggressive trait and the pathetically overvalued Powerful Build trait, something that [[skub|has caused its fair share of arguments]].

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%"> Click "Expand" to see the statblock.
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
::+2 Strength, +1 Constitution, -2 Intelligence
::30 feet base movement speed
::Size is medium, but they get <strike>almost large</strike> Powerful build which gives them the carrying capacity of a large creature.
::60 feet darkvision
::Aggressive (use bonus action to dash, must finish dash closer to your enemy than where the dash started)
::Menacing (Intimidation proficiency, same as half orcs)
</div></div>

Amazingly, orcs got an official retcon with an official PC writeup in the 5e [[Eberron]] splatbook. "Rising from the Last War" uses the above orc as a base, but strips away the pointless -2 Intelligence penalty and trades the Menacing for ''Primal Intuition'', which gives them two free skill proficiencies chosen from a list made up of Animal Handling, Insight, Intimidation, Medicine, Nature, Perception and Survival. This is much more useful, and better meshes with the theme of the orcs as the primary [[druid]]ic race in Eberron, and overall makes them a powerful and viable PC race... still, from a flavor perspective, there's something to be said for switching the Half-Orc and Orc stats around.

This version of the Orc was subsequently reprinted in the [[Exandria]] splatbook "Explorer's Guide to Wildemount", so it seems to have become more or less the official replacement for Volo's initial shitfest.

And as of the October errata, that is now the case, and the change seems to be a step in the right direction for orcs and [[Kobold|kobolds]]. Even so, it goes without saying, but [[Skub|it's simply impossible to please everyone]].

====3rd Party Settings====
;Arkadia
The [[Orc]]s of [[Arkadia]] are a race born from the blood of the Great Hydra, and native to the broken wastes of Garagos. Also known as [[Giant]]s for their mighty stature - orcs typically stand 6 to 7 feet tall, though the orcs of Gargaros can grow even larger - the race has long been the traditional enemy of the Arkadians, as the race seems possessed to the last by madness and the need for destruction. But... Arkadian orcs are not a monolithic racial force. There are many tribes of orcs scattered throughout Gargaros. The Cerberans train cerberus worgs to hunt and kill; the Cyclopax fight alongside [[Cyclops|cyclopean giants]]; and the Hydrak, the largest and most hated — even by their own kind — who worship the bound titan, seeking to free it through fire and blood. Despite the ancient animosity between orcs and men, some tribes of orcs have come to find a place in Arkadia, especially among the Krytans who value strength and physical prowess above all else. These orcs were first taken as slaves during one of the many wars with Gargaros. Thrown into the fighting pits and gladiatorial arenas they displayed such power and ferocity that the king, impressed, granted them freedom and a place in his army. Many Orcs have since taken to the worship of Krytos with abandon, finding in the mighty god a surrogate father who shares their savagery and love of combat.

Arkadian orcs resemble humans, but with leaf-like ears similar to those of the [[Arkadian Elf|elves]], powerful builds, and jutting lower canines. Their skin is the color of ochre clay; orange, reddish brown, or ashen grey, often varying from tribe to tribe. Many orcs wear black warpaint in stark bands and square keyed patterns. Valuing strength and dominance above all else, orcs, as a Hyperian general once put it, make excellent warriors and terrible soldiers. Their physical prowess and violent nature make them most at home in Kryta, whose army cares more for the might of individuals than the discipline of lines. Their fearlessness and unbridled aggression on the field make them an unstoppable force, ideal as linebreakers, often turning the tide of battle almost single-handed. Some, lacking even the control for this, become mercenaries. Others take to the fighting pits or, with some luck, the grand coliseums of Illyria, untouched by Gargaran raids, where their prodigious size and strength are coveted for their exotic nature.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%"> Click "Expand" to see the statblock.
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
::Ability Score Increase: +2 Strength, +1 Constitution
::Size: Medium
::Speed: 30 feet
::Darkvision: 60 feet
::Colossal Build: Your carrying capacity and the amount of weight you can push, drag, or lift is doubled as if you were one size category larger.
::Relentless Endurance: When you are reduced to 0 hit points but not killed outright, you can drop to 1 hit point instead. You can’t use this feature again until you finish a long rest.
::Savage Attacks: When you score a critical hit with a melee weapon attack, you can roll one of the weapon’s damage dice one additional time and add it to the extra damage of the critical hit.
</div></div>

;World of Farland
Orcs in the [[World of Farland]] come in a number of different subspecies, as part of their home setting's homage to the [[Lord of the Rings]] books that inspired it.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%"> Click "Expand" to see the statblock.
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
::Ability Score Increase: +2 Strength
::Size: Medium
::Speed: 30 feet
::Vision: Darkvision 60 feet
::Orcish Weaponry: You are proficient with the Hand Axe, Battle Axe, Great Axe, Scimitar and Great Sword.
::Aggressive: Once per short rest, you can use a Bonus Action to move up to your speed towards a creature that you can see.
::Subrace: Choose the Snog, Skaruk or Irzuk subrace.
</div></div>

'''Snog''' orcs, or "Slave Orcs", are the root-stock of the orcish race; first bred as fodder for the wars of dark masters, they are still used in that role to this day, and are literally bred like livestock for that role.
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%"> Click "Expand" to see the statblock.
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
::Ability Score Increase: +1 Constitution
::Relentless Endurance: When you are reduced to 0 hit points but not killed outright, you can drop to 1 hit point instead. You can’t use this feature again until you finish a long rest.
::Indefatigable: You have Advantage on all Constitution checks relating to exhaustion, forced marching, going without food and water, and going without sleep.
::Armored: You have Proficiency with Light and Medium armor.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%"> Click "Expand" to see the statblock.
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
'''Skaruk''' orcs, or "Wild Ones", are orcs descended from tribes that fled their creators and have since pursued independent existences in the wilderness.
::Ability Score Increase: +1 Dexterity
::Savage Attacks: When you score a critical hit with a melee weapon attack, you can roll one of the weapon’s damage dice one additional time and add it to the extra damage of the critical hit.
::Wild Rage: After you first take damage in battle, you deal +1 damage with each attack for the next minute until you are knocked unconscious, or if your turn ends and you haven't attacked a hostile creature since your last turn or taken damage since then.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%"> Click "Expand" to see the statblock.
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
'''Irzuk''' orcs are a new race of orcs bred for their resistance to the cold and their ability to track victims. They are visually distinguished by their uniquely crimson hides.
::Ability Score Increase: +1 Wisdom
::Tracker: You have Proficiency in Survival and gain Advantage on Survival checks relating to tracking by scent.
::Cold Endurance: You have Advantage on Constitution checks relating to resisting natural cold and are Resistant to Cold Damage.
::Enhanced Aggression: When you use your Aggressive trait, you can move up to +10 feet over your normal movement limit.
</div></div>

;Scarred Lands
Orcs of the [[Scarred Lands]] are semi-nomadic tribals who live in the plains and savannahs of [[Ghelspad]], noted for their talents in astrology and riding [[Dire Animal|Dire Wolves]], strong tribal identities, and a preference for a simple life with a few great luxuries. They originally fought on the titans side in the Divine War, but most of them took the asylum offer given by the gods. They all have the following stats:

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%"> Click "Expand" to see the statblock.
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
::Ability Score Increase: +3 Strength, +1 Constitution
::Size: Medium
::Speed: 30 feet
::Darkivision 30 feet
::Aggressive: As a bonus action, you can move up to your speed toward a hostile creature you can see.
::Menacing: Proficieny in the Intimidation skill
::Orcish Combat Training: You are proficient with the battleaxe, greataxe, handaxe, and lance.
::Savage Attacks: When you score a critical hit with a melee weapon attack, you can roll one of the weapon’s damage dice one additional time and add it to the extra damage of the critical hit.
::Language: You speak Orcish and one other language.
</div></div>

===[[Pathfinder]] 1e===
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%"> Click "Expand" to see the statblock.
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
* +4 Strength, -2 Intelligence, -2 Wisdom, -2 Charisma
::Medium size
::Base land speed 30 feet
::Darkvision out to 60 feet
::Ferocity (can keep fighting at zero HP, but is Staggered and loses 1 HP each round automatically)
::Light Sensitivity (automatically suffer Dazzled condition in daylight)
::Weapon Familiarity: Automatically proficient with Greataxe and Falchion, treat any weapon with "Orc" in its name as a Martial weapon.
</div></div>

As nameless monsters who won't survive the encounter anyways, Ferocity effectively adds their constitution score (''score'', not modifier) to their HP. This make them quite dangerous at low levels, since it ''triples'' their HP (the standard Orc has 6 HP and 12 con). This isn't enough to put them next to [[Cat|house cats]], incorporeal foes or [[Swarm]]s as slayers of low level PCs, it does make them quite hard for their supposed CR 1/3.

===Pathfinder 2e===
Compared to their previous edition, and the DnD 5e, the Orcs of second edition is a lot more fleshed out. With the APG sidesteping a lot of their more "violent" tendencies of pillaging and "conception" of half-orcs, preferring to focus on their glory-seeking, honesty and unbreakable loyalty to those they see as equals or treat them nicely. They are a society looking to surpass their shitty upbringings, wanting to move on from their long history of conflict.... [[derp|by way of conflict]].

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%"> Click "Expand" to see the statblock.
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
::Hit points: 10
::Size: Small
::Speed: 25 feet
::Ability Boosts: Strength, Free
::Languages: Common and Orcish, as well as any other languages equal to your intelligence modifier.
::Darkvision: You can see in darkness and dim light just as well as you can see in bright light, though your vision in darkness is in black and white.
</div></div>

===Starfinder===
Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Orcs in [[Starfinder]] were long ago enslaved by the Drow and forcibly underwent social engineering to make them servile to the Drow on an almost genetic level. Their once green skin has turned blue, to better blend in with the tunnels of the Drow planet's underground caverns and to resemble their masters' more purple skintones.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%"> Click "Expand" to see the statblock.
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
::Ability Modifiers: +4 Str, –2 Cha
::Hit Points: 6
::Size and Type: Medium humanoid (orc).
::Conditioned Focus: Due to her conditioning, an orc can choose one skill that becomes a class skill for her. If the chosen skill is a class skill from the class she takes at 1st level, she instead gains a +1 bonus to checks with that skill. In addition, due to her confidence with that skill, once per day, before she attempts a check with the chosen skill, the orc can grant herself a +2 bonus to that check.
::Darkvision 60 feet
::Fierce Survivalist: Orcs receive a +2 racial bonus to Intimidate and Survival checks.
::Light Sensitivity: An orc is dazzled as long as she remains in an area of bright light.
::Orc Ferocity: Once per day, an orc brought to 0 Hit Points but not killed can fight on for 1 more round. The orc drops to 0 HP and is dying (following the normal rules for death and dying) but can continue to act normally until the end of his next turn, when he becomes unconscious as normal. If he takes additional damage before this, he ceases to be able to act and falls unconscious.
</div></div>

=Green Skin=
One usually wonders where the green coloration of Orcish skin came from, in the old myths (i.e., Lord of the Rings) the orcs were established as barbaric, crude brutes, true; but the approximate skin color was never truly established, the Orcs were generally described as filthy and mucky, with darkened skin and bestial countenances. (Similarly, in the films their skin shades are in varying shades of ash-black and dirty-brown, the occasional bit of face-painting notwithstanding.) It wasn't until the advent of the Hulk comics, and GW deciding to make their orcs different, that the common skin of the orc became green. Because Warhammer's orcs became so memorable, thousands of copycats have followed suit.

This of course may not truly explain why some orcs in DnD have green skin as well, DnD being around before Warhammer, but the a more precise green coloration in its orcs may have come later. Indeed, earlier DnD art shows a variety of skin colors, some of them sallow yellow and earthy reds. Green may have come about because all the other possible colors simply have clashing connotations, such as a calming blue, or offensive real world racial connotations (black, [[kobold|red]], brown, and [[goblin|yellow]] are right out for a barbaric and evil race of XP bags.) Another theory is that Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson, the 2 co-founders of [[Games Workshop]], also had a lot of communication with Brian Blume, the developer of D&D, especially in the early days of these 2 companies, so it is entirely possible that certain ideas were mentioned and then copied.

''In-universe'' reasons for their chartreuse complexions vary between IPs; While earlier editions claimed that the Orks of 40k are said to be animate plants, current lore dictates that Ork DNA is a combination of animal, plant, and fungal DNA, thus their colors are effectively the result of chlorophyll running through their bodies (while the animal part conveniently allows them to bleed red for grimdark purposes). Meanwhile, the green skins of the orcs of The Elder Scrolls and Warcraft universes are the result of demonic tampering; The Orsimer are a result of the above-mentioned champion-devoured-and-shat-out incident, while the Warcraft Orcs were convinced to drink the blood of the Pit Lord Mannoroth, changing their normally brown or grey skin into that distinct hue, with further ingestion of Pit Lord blood turning them red. Some orc clans turned down the offer however, and still keep their original skin tones in the present.

Though for what it's worth, D&D orcs are grey, not green, as of 5e. Seriously, open your monster manual if you don't believe us.

=Piggish Looks=
On occasion, a person may find orcs depicted as pig-men, despite the generally accepted portrayal of orcs as being (usually green-skinned) Frazetta Man style cavemen fellows. This goes back to [[Dungeons & Dragons]] 1st edition, where orcs were described as having a fundamentally "piggish snout" for a face and depicted as more or less a boar's head on a hunch-shouldered, ugly, green-skinned chimpanzee. Some depictions of orcs thusly refer back to this. It's most common in Japan, where old-school [[neckbeard]]s grew up to have a huge impact on art, manga and videogames. For a reference cue there, see the Moblins from the Legend of Zelda series. Similar incidents of redesign of classic tabletop gaming creatures include dogfaced kobolds, pumpkinheaded bugbears, starving-looking lanky trolls, and slinky hobgoblin-like gnolls.

=Cyclops Orcs=
An even rarer variant from the British 1st Edition AD&D Boxed Set illustrations. This one-eyed example was originally published by Games Workshop, and later inspired the appearance of Fangor Gripe, one of the Orc leaders of the Vile Rune tribe. May have been inspired by one of the descriptions of Gruumsh in D&D being cycloptic after Corellon took out his eye, and his wounded socket and existing one merged together to give him one big eye.
<gallery>
cyclops orc.jpg| Fangor Gripe's model, which resembles a basic Warhammer Orc with one eye, unlike the original Cycloptic Orcs, who resembled emaciated skinny hairless elves with a single bulging human eye.
</gallery>

=Scaley Orcs=
You thought we were done with the various Orc subvarieties? Think again, BITCH! We got another one! Scaley Orcs are orcs who take the "leathery, almost like scales of a reptile" description, add in the "green coloration" description, and the "snout like a hog" description, and figured "gee, sounds vaguely like a crocodile". Thus, were Scaley Orcs imagined up. If the most well known type of Orc is a toss-up between sadistic malformed maniacs made popular by the Lord of the Rings movies and the brutish greenskinned thugs made popular by Warhammer and Warcraft, with Pigfaced Orcs being second well known in most places besides Japan, where the Piggies are favored, and Cycloptic Orcs are in dubious third place due to many references to one-eyed orcs as individuals still making appearances in background lore, then these poor lizardy fucks are in the pathetic fourth place. Which is sad, as they originate in a piece of classic 80's RPG fantasy, the illustrated book "Down in the Dungeon" by Don Greer. Whilst somewhat niche in many of today's RPG circles, amongst Grognards it's regarded as a hidden gem from a dying generation of players. In it, there are two varieties of these reptilian orcs, full-blooded orcs of small stature similar to their goblin-synonymous Middle Earth book description orc cousins, who look like fat humanoid lizards with faces like inaccurate 80s Chinese plastic dinosaur toys, and their equivalent of Half-Orcs, the "Man-Orcs" who somehow look even more reptilian, with a face like an inaccurate Chinese plastic T. Rex toy, or maybe a crocodile. These guys actually have models made of them, by Essex Miniatures, and are a good piece of retro-orc-breed-history. In theory, Greer may have been inspired by the earlier, Pigfaced Orc breeds, as shown in a photo below with a Scaley Orc female still having six breasts like a Pigfaced Orc sow.

<gallery>
Scaley_Orc.jpg|Essex Miniatures model, official painting on their site. Forgot to thin their paints.
Great_Scaly_Orcs_2.jpg|Fan-painted Scaley Orcs. Now you can see how these guys are intimidating up close.
Scaley_Orc_Couple.jpg| A husband and wife in the war together. Notice the six breasts, a holdover from their Pigfaced Orc Ancestors.
</gallery>

=Monstergirl Depictions=
{{Monstergirls}}
Orcs are not the most commonly seen of [[monstergirls]], as many of the individuals inclined to make monstergirls, despite what many [[/d/]] cliches may lead you to believe, aren't inclined to find orcs attractive. Those rare orc MGs seen tend to be, basically, green-skinned [[Amazon]]s; [[musclegirl]]s of a particularly dumb "fight 'em an' fuck 'em" mentality with a penchant for either raping men or gathering in harems around particularly strong, tough warriors (who may or may not be made to submit).

In the [[Monster Girl Encyclopedia]], the Orc is a chubby pink girl with pig ears on her head and a pig's tail (see above about how "pigmen orcs" are popular in Japan). She's a vanilla demihuman-type mamono who goes around in large groups by preference. They're femdommy by nature, but happily submit to maledom if a potential spouse can overpower them in a fight, and also enjoy sharing a spouse between them. Hilariously, this is pretty square with what official sources have established about D&D orc sexual mores. January 2018 saw the release of the "High Orc"; a bigger, stronger, smarter and fiercer version of the standard orc, the "boar-girl" to their "pig-girl". Fearless, cunning and strong, they are natural leaders of their lesser kin, aided by the fact they release a pheromone that whips up a lust for battle (and sex) in any nearby orc. Of course, if you beat them, that knocks the wind out of the normal orcs' sails, and they will generally flee or surrender on the spot. High Orcs fit the same sexual mold as their weaker siblings, aside from their pheromone doubling as an aphrodisiac. In a twist that /tg/ finds hilarious, High Orcs have dark brown skin, which, combined with their status as the natural leaders of the race, immediately puts them in mind of the [[Black Orc]]s of [[Warhammer Fantasy]]. Most likely they were instead based on the Uruk-hai of [[The Lord of the Rings]], but why let that spoil a good laugh?

[[Daily Life with Monstergirl]] combines the above two, having male Orcs be ugly green pig dudes who lust for human (and human-like) women. Thus far we haven't seen female Orcs yet, but like the [[centaur]]s in the series they will likely be a lot more attractive than their male counterparts. As a matter of fact, a female orc named Ruka actually shows up in the tie-in online game as one of your potential haremettes; if taken as canon, then female orcs in this setting are indeed cute green-skinned pig-girls - unlike the MGE version, they have a pig's tail and trotters for feet, with elf-like ears, as the Daily Life verse tends to avoid more animalistic ears for its beast-girls in general.

<gallery>
Female Orc.jpg|gb2kitchen
Amazon Orc.jpg|In some depictions female orcs are rather [[amazon]]ian.
MGE Orc.jpg|A pig-eared orc from the Monster Girl Encyclopedia.
MGE High Orc.jpg|Bigger, tougher, smarter champions of orcdom, the boar-based High Orcs are essentially the MGE's [[Black Orc]]s.
Monster Musume Ruka the Orc.png|Ruka from Monster Musume showcases an incredibly rare meeting point between p'orc and greenskin.
1642287072.baguette2077 konosubaorc 001.jpg|Who says Pigfaced Orc Women can't be attractive?
AsianPigOrc.jpg|Weeaboo Pigfaced Orc Waifu
Aggralan, Mag'har Shamaness.jpg|The she-orcs of [[Warcraft]] have always been pretty hot.
orc ARG 2.png|Pathfinder proving [[half-orc]]s don't HAVE to have human mothers.
</gallery>

=See Also=
*[[Goblins]]
*[[Ork]]
*[[Orcs & Goblins]]

=Gallery=
<gallery>
Orcweapons.JPG|Ork made [[Exotic weapons]].
Orksword.GIF|Ork make more [[Exotic weapons]].
Orc_bard.jpg|What happens when the DM lets him take a homebrew feat to use his Strength score for Perform (Dance) checks.
Orcs are Grays.jpg|Orks are Xenos, after all...
CyclopticOrcs.jpg|Even rarer than Pigfaced Orcs are Cycloptic Orcs.
Subject to Inter-Goblinoid Animosity.jpg| Even among Old-School Breeds, Inter-Goblinoid Animosity is a thing.
Down in the Dungeon.jpg| Don Greer's Scaley Orcs, along with other creatures of his design.
Scaly_Orc_Slavers.jpeg| Some Scaley Orcs with some newly-captured slaves, formerly adventurers.
</gallery>

{{D&D1e-Races}}
{{D&D2e-Races}}
{{D&D4e-Races}}
{{D&D5e-Races}}
{{Pathfinder-Races}}
{{Starfinder-Races}}
[[Category:Scarred Lands Races]]

Orc

2022-09-20T21:32:04Z

2601:188:C300:64B8:6421:EABE:84ED:1FAC: /* Direct Adaptations */

[[File:Orc.jpg|400px|thumb|right|An average Warhammer Orc.]]
{{Topquote|These have not had a fair press. They are fanatically brave in spite of being weaker and less practiced than most other humanoids, and must be kind to animals, since they train them so well. It is interesting that Tolkien’s characters describe them in terms very similar to those used by medieval chroniclers to describe Mongols, who in our day are considered a nice friendly people of slightly eccentric lifestyle.|Phil Barker, Sue Laflin Barker & Richard Bodley Scott, ''Hordes of the Things''}}

'''Orcs''' are a fantasy race that is used in a number of settings. Compare to [[Ork]]. They are generally depicted as barbaric humanoids with tusks and green or gray skin (or some combination of the two). Typically, they are stronger than an average [[human]], though generally less intelligent as well.

They enjoy molesting, eating and generally mistreating the goblins, their smaller cousins. They have longstanding relationships with trolls and ogres, their larger and more stupid neighbors, whom they con into performing demeaning menial tasks and press into service in wartime. Their relations with more distant races are more variable - some may work for humans as mercenaries, for example, while others will attack humans on sight. They are also interfertile with many other races, leading to the existence of [[half-orc]]s. The long-standing exception to this is [[elves]]. All orcs hate elves, and this makes them good people.

Historically, the term is derived from an Anglo-Saxon word meaning 'demon', according to Tolkien, who lifted the word from Beowulf and proceeded to invent orcs as a fantasy race out of whole cloth.

=The Master Template=
While many traditional fantasy races ([[Elves]], [[Dwarves]], [[Dragons]], [[Goblin|Goblins]] and [[Wizard|Wizards]]) can be traced back to folklore and mythology, orcs are entirely a product of modern fantasy literature. Here we have a basic rundown of the image that comes up when people say "Orc" and how it evolved.

==Tolkien==
[[File:Tolkien Goblins.JPG|thumb|right|400px|The origin of the original Orcs.]]
Orcs as we know them have their beginnings with Tolkien's works. The first orcs were created by Melkor (later known as Morgoth) shortly after the first elves awoke, before humans existed. It should be noted that Tolkien never definitively stated the true origin of Orcs , and most of what we have comes from notes and decisions he left to his son Christopher when he passed control of the setting over.
According to one account published after Tolkien's death in The Silmarillion, some of these elves wandered about exploring this world that they had awoken in and were captured by some of Melkor's Maiar ("fallen angels" futher down the hierarchy, Melkor being basically Satan) and were taken to Angband, his base of operations. Because Melkor was bitter about being unable to create life they were tortured, abused, cursed, mutated and selectively bred until you got Orcs, [[What| because obviously torture is totally going to influence the physiology of your offspring]]. The result was a species of ugly, bad-smelling, fanged, bow-legged, long-armed, claw-handed, hairy apelike humanoids which were 'sallow', 'swart' or 'black' in coloration, had an aversion to sunlight, ranged in size from smaller than a hobbit to almost as large as a man. These creatures would make up the bulk of Melkor and later Sauron's armies.

Tolkien's Orcs are not stupid, described as "making no beautiful things, but many clever ones" and their speech, while crass, is articulate. They are capable of making weapons (bows, spears, daggers, shields and curved swords), armor (helmets, mail and scale armor supplemented by salvage), effective if unpleasant medicine (prosthetic limbs are literally stabbed into the stump, for example), and are pretty good engineers on top of creating assembly lines; one of the general morals of Tolkien's works is rampant industrialization is a path to evil and/or misfortune, and making Orcs more advanced than other races reflects this. They are almost as good at mining as Dwarves are even if their work ethic leaves something to be desired. Nor are all orcs identical. There are variations among Orcs both in terms of individual personalities and differences between groups. Orcs from the Misty Mountains are described as being fairly tribal while those of Mordor are regimented (to the point where they have serial numbers). There are also different breeds of Orcs, besides the garden variety Orc you also have 'snufflers' bred for following scent trails and the larger and more sun resistant Uruk-Hai bred by Sauron and Saruman, supposedly made by crossbreeding Orcs with humans and specialized to act as commanders. However they are violent, sadistic, spiteful, enjoy breaking stuff, have no concern for aesthetics and are as a rule hateful and miserable. Fighting, killing, eating, drinking, looting, blowing stuff up, gaining power, bossing their subordinates around, torturing and presumably raping captives can only give temporary reprieve. They hate Sauron and especially Melkor, but serve them out of fear, their psychic influence over them and the fact that everyone who is not under their authority despises them and wants them dead. They are capable of internal loyalty and do have some social taboos (being accused of eating other Orcs is a considerable insult even though they are perfectly fine with eating non-Orcs) which are enough to let them act together as groups, although these groups tend to collapse due to infighting after reaching a certain size in the absence of a leader who can terrify them into submission.

Despite this, little is said by Tolkien about how Orcs live their lives on a day-to-day basis as their role in the story is as a force which threatens the heroes and those around them. It can be extrapolated, however that it is usually nasty, brutish and short. Some of the interactions between different groups of orcs frequently results in back-stabbing and violent power struggles, so we can assume that they operate on a grimdark version of Klingon politics. All the orcs mentioned are male which is usually interpreted as "orcs don't bring their womenfolk along on campaigns" (which is basically what Tolkien said in one of his letters) but has led a few to say that orcish sexual dimorphism is basically nonexistent or that female orcs don't exist. Given Sauron's proclivities and the various castes in mordor they were likely subject to some form of selective breeding program.

In Tolkien's published works, "Orc" and "goblin" are synonyms (at least at first; later he said that goblins were a subtype of orc, and later still he said that they were totally unrelated). In later editions of The Hobbit, he says that "goblin" is a translation of "orc", which is "not an English word". "Uruk" means Orc in Black Speech, a mix of Elvish, human tongue, and Sauron's attempts to give them their own language. Most fantasy fiction typically distinguishes between Goblins and Orcs: most of Tolkien's Orcs would resemble other works' Goblins (Frodo and Sam disguised themselves as Orcs, so we can assume at least some are Hobbit height). The largest Orcs in Middle Earth - the Uruks of Isengard and Mordor - appear to be only almost as tall as Men.

Something worth pointing out here is that, Orcs do '''not''' represent non-European folks, at least not in the mind of Tolkien. Instead, they were always a representation of man's inhumanity, especially the form it took in the 20th century. As stated previously, Orcs created many clever devices of war, as well as industry that polluted the land and enslaved others. Tolkien saw Orcs as the inevitable end-products of rationalism and progress without any sort of ethical restraint, and likened them to the various people who supported an ends-justify-the-means mentality, even going so far as condemning the creation of the atomic bomb as the most Orcish thing the Allies had ever done. In this light, Tolkien's Orcs are best understood not as the foreign ''Other'', but as a vision of what could happen to ourselves in the future, should we allow ourselves to degenerate into evil monsters unbound by any morality.

===Grey areas===
The question of whether they are [[always Chaotic Evil|intrinsically evil]] is never brought up, and several of Tolkien's unpublished works suggest that this was due to his own misgivings with the concept of a wholly evil race. Melkor had no power to create other beings himself, but the fact that elves could be corrupted would also imply Eru had either made the souls of some elves either inherently evil or easily corrupted to become evil. Unlike Melkor, Sauron, and Balrogs who were spiritual beings that made an active choice to be evil, Orcs are universally portrayed as evil which means they could be evil from birth which was strongly against Tolkien's strong Catholic beliefs in the nature of good and evil. This in turn contradicted his own views on the nature of [[God|Eru]] as a wholly good deity while also opening up some thorny questions of faith for Tolkien himself, and even in his last writings it appears he could not come up with a satisfactory explanation for how they could be universally evil by nature. Christopher similarly has not come up with a satisfactory answer and has largely avoided the subject, avoiding talking about Orcs as anything but adult militant antagonists and leaning back on his father's suggestions of corrupted man/elf hybrids descended from enslaved elves.

Fans divide into different camps of explanation.

* Orcs could be born adult and "male", like the Warhammer Orcs discussed below, and thus be more intelligent animal like Dragons as opposed to inherently evil people.
* Another suggestion is they could also be people who are indoctrinated from youth, such as their closest inspiration as the Central Powers in World War 1 (trying to kill Tolkien in the Somme) and Axis (who blew up his barn while he and the family hid in the cellar during the Blitz) which would make Orcs antagonists with horrible leaders and a corrupt ideology as opposed to naturally evil; this would make them as evil as the Easterlings.
* Some have reasoned, in the vein of the second suggestion, that Orcs are not all unified on Melkor/Sauron's side, which is supported by a single line from Tolkien that no race stood united for or against Sauron; this is dismissed by some with the elf/man origins as all Orcs evil and all elves good, but can be interpreted either way. In this view some have reasoned there must be neutral tribes of Orcs who did not participate in conflict and are as unmentioned as the Stoorish Hobbits (Gollum's original people, who's only importance at all and thus only mention is just that; being Gollum's people before he degenerated into a [[Ghoul|ghoulish]] being), that these Orcs could possibly even be good for all that is known.
* Another idea is that Melkor's corruption of the Elves he kidnapped either diminished or removed their capacity to do good, which would make creating the Orcs one of the most monstrous acts he had ever committed, and considering this guy was capital-E Evil in every way he could think of that says a whole goddamn lot.
* The presence of Boldogs/"Orc-shaped Maiar"; AKA '''fucking Fallen Angels'''; amongst Melkor's forces suggests a more insidious reason as to why Orcs are so physically deformed and spiritually corrupted. As it does not make sense that the torture and spiritual corruption; even if done by fantasy Satan himself; of the captive Elves would somehow cause their [[Orcs|descendants]] to be so physically and spiritually twisted that they counted as a different species, it would however, make sense if the original Orcs were logically bred into existence like the later Orc breeds. Since there were no Orcs running around at this time in pre-history, what were these captive Elves bred with you might ask? [[Demon|The Maiar who sided with Melkor and took demonic physical forms.]] Like the Fallen Angels of the Christian Bible, these hateful beings would lust for the flesh of [[God|Eru's]] children, [[Rape|and would visit upon them every manner of violation and torture.]] Thus would the Orcs come to be, the spawn of rape by demonic beings, every bit as twisted and warped as you would expect such a creature to be. Unlike the Nephilim of the Christian Bible though, Orcs are not known for being incredibly strong, giant, or legendary warriors and kings; which begs the question as to why Orcs in this theory are not as strong despite being analagous to the Nephilim of the Bible. Furthermore, this theory also runs the most afoul of Tolkien's own misgivings about an inherently evil race, aside from [[FATAL|the obvious squickyness and implications that arise from rape by Fallen Angels.]]
* One possibility, strongly hinted at in the text by the fight going out of the Orcs as soon as the Ring was destroyed, is that some kind of mind control was involved.
* The final suggestion is Orcs have no souls, and much like the Little Mermaid (not the Disney version, but rather the original story where they are Feyfolk who are sea foam come to life in the forms of people that can love and grieve, but return to sea foam in oblivion when they die because they have no souls) are just some natural material come to life with no real importance or moral rights because they were not intentionally created by the omnipotent creator (Dwarves are exempt from this fate, being creations of the Vala Aulë who were granted life and 'adopted' by Eru Illuvatar). In this view you could do anything you want to an Orc from killing to torture because they have as much natural rights as their base components, similar to the destruction of the Golem in Hebrew myth, and would explain the ostensible absence of Orc souls in the afterlife of Tolkien's cosmology, though one could find moral problems with this as well depending on your worldview. Tolkien seems to have considered this explanation at one point but ultimately rejected it, as he believed that the Orcs would have been no more intelligent than any other animal if they were truly soulless.

In any case, Tolkien invented Orcs and what is discussed above served as the inspiration of of MANY spinoffs that to various degrees A: took the idea and ran with it while expanding on it to fill in the blanks, B: took the basic idea and gave it a few tweaks, or C: deliberately subverted what people expected from Orcs, making it possible for them to be the good guys. There have been various takes on the "are Orcs fundamentally evil?" question. As a general rule more people tend to go with some flavor of "no, strictly speaking" in that regard as it opens up more narrative possibilities as opposed to a race of set-in-stone killer meatbots utterly unable to deviate from their programing though still cast them primarily in a villainous role.

===Direct Adaptations===
For the most part the Lord of the Rings movies created by Peter Jackson have done a reasonable interpretation of the orcs from the books, though they have cranked their aggression up a bit, uglied them to a great degree, often used the green skin-tones that were popularized later, made them much taller across the board, and ''possibly'' confirmed females. No females are pointed out, but some actresses that played Orcs have insisted their characters (who are usually killed by Elf acrobatics in the same scene or just screech at the camera and shoot an arrow) are female; Jackson has never confirmed or denied this but still made a point of including these interviews on the special features sections of the home release of the movies. Then again, he also put Elves at Helms Deep...

There's also a rather Grimdark theory akin to Daemonculaba regarding the breeding of the Uruk-Hai from mutating regular newborn Half-Orc infants. The "mud" seen in the movie has been filled with Dark Magic/Essence of Sauron, and the blood of sacrificed humans. Infant Half-Orcs are chosen after being selectively bred, torn from their human mothers' grasp (and possibly womb), and tossed heartlessly into the muck as they wail, crying and desperate for the return of their parent's love. They sink into the bubbling muck, where it serves as a sort of incubator, forcing the half-blood orcling to grow up in a matter of days, maybe even hours, instead of the years it would take the half-orc to normally grow up. Eventually, Snaga are forced to pull the cocooned body of the now Uruk-Hai out of the muck. They have been infused with Sauron's dark will, and are completely brainwashed to his cause by his will.

Notably, the 2014 game Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor, while mostly known for being "actually pretty good" for what was essentially an Assassin's Creed clone, also showed Orc culture. Essentially, they were a naturally evil race ruled by a hierarchy of tribe chiefs who use grimdark Klingon politics (although there was references made to Sauron possibly using his terrible magical psychic might to force them to be evil, along with references made in the first game of an Orc who was giving information to humans having Flies that are supposedly aspects of Sauron's dark spirit crawling up his ear whilst he slept and buzzing and gnawing within, driving said Orc mad); meaning whoever could knock around his fellow Uruks became boss, and a boss who could honorably duel, assassinate, or otherwise neutralize his peers climbed the ladder. While they were mostly the Chaotic Evil monsters Tolkien didn't want to portray them as, this didn't mean that they weren't interesting. Their mindset was that when they weren't focusing on eliminating other tribes, most Uruks just wanted to put in a hard day's work (of bossing around human slaves or Snaga), made small talk, had drinking songs, and at the end of the day just go have a drink with his mates. With the mental influence of Celebrimbor's shade on them they are rendered neutral in terms of good/evil, as Sauron's hold on their mind has been weakened, but will still fight and kill each other for promotions; this is generally interpreted as mind control, although a large number of Orcs following you without Celebrimbor in the sequel suggests it may also be you reducing Sauron's influence on them and allowing them to make their own moral choices.

==Warhammer==
[[File:Black Orc.jpg|400px|thumb|right|The modern interpretation of Orcs.]]
[[Games Workshop]] was originally a company that produced quality boards for games like Chess, but after two out of three of the original team fell in love with Dungeons & Dragons after [[Gary Gygax]] sent them a copy (believing they were a legitimate company based on their name, rather than three guys in an apartment sending out stuff through the mail) they began distributing licensed games and later producing miniatures for use in these games under the brand [[Citadel Miniatures]].

As time went on, they had a surplus of unsold miniatures and had trouble retaining the rights to sell their products, so they began to have members of their team create new games owned by Games Workshop to use the models they produced (which unfortunately made many of the early Warhammer designs that survive [[Broo|extreme]] [[Daemon|ripoffs]]). The most successful of these was [[Warhammer Fantasy]], then just Warhammer, which was a wargame version of Dungeons & Dragons that existed mostly just to sell models. Warhammer didn't get its own setting and story until 3rd edition, where [[Orcs & Goblins|its Orcs]] were described as having green skin and red eyes with tusks in their mouths as well as being savage brutes that gathered in hordes and attacked civilization, or just about anything capable of fighting, every so often. Although later on this lore became more complex with Warhammer greenskins becoming genderless mushroom-apes with the creation of [[Warhammer 40000]] which was ported back into Fantasy, the prototype Warhammer Orc still had females and Half-Orcs.

With this, the master template of Orcs was completed. Almost every fantasy setting to use Orcs after Warhammer made them green and sometimes gave them red eyes with tusks, which eventually migrated back into Dungeons & Dragons and even the Lord Of The Rings movies. However, one thing was missing. Orcs were still Always Chaotic Evil which greatly limited their use, and non-evil Orcs were a footnote that didn't even have a [[Drizzt]] to be their posterboy example.

==[[Warcraft]]==
The importance of Warcraft isn't actually in any evolution in any master template. In fact, what it mostly did is combine concepts from previous fantasy settings into a setting and use the appearance of Warhammer Orcs, which was thrust into mainstream public perception and made Orcs "cool" causing a boom of fantasy gaming both on the tabletop and in video games, as well as the movie screen.

Warcraft: Orcs & Humans was released in 1994, and featured generic knights VS generic Orcs in the Warhammer style (indeed, rumors persist that Warcraft was a canceled Warhammer game as Games Workshop had been experimenting at the time with video games). Orcs were controlled by Demons from some obscure Satanic force, and used Ogres as their minions. The only real innovation was Orcs coming from another planet through a portal, although the theme of Satanic forces invading from portals was largely dropped and instead lived on in the Diablo franchise. The game was a surprising success, being low budget from a minor studio.

It was followed by Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness in 1996, which sold RIDICULOUSLY well and sparked a boom in the entire Real Time Strategy genre which quickly became a staple of PC gaming. The setting was expanded a great deal, although Orcs remained mostly the same but were joined by Goblins (who coincidentally looked similar but were a different race), Trolls, their persisting Ogre slaves, the undead (created by the Orcs from their own dead Warlocks), and enslaved dragons. The most diverse change to be found here was Goblins being a race of money-obsessed mad scientists, and Trolls being intelligent. An expansion pack was released that involved the humans invading the Orc homeworld to end the war.

Setting their eyes on the horizon, Blizzard planned an explosion of lore with a book series beginning with Of Blood And Honor which went into the friendship between a human Paladin and an aged Orc ex-Shaman who hated what his race had become which created complexity in what had previously been just a generic "kill it all and loot/eat then march again" race. The second book was Day Of The Dragon, expanding a minor plot involving Dragons into the war between good and evil which had used the Horde and Alliance as a proxy for their own machinations. Lord Of The Clans delved deeper into Orc lore, explaining that they were a race with souls naturally attuned to other sources of energy that had communed with the forces of nature itself until they were tricked into a Daemonic curse that affected them like meth, giving them fanatical boosts of power until it diminished their body and soul into a husk; the main character of the book, named Thrall by humans who used him as a pit fighter, learned nature magic and freed the defeated Orcs to lead them to a peaceful natural existence again. Finally the book The Last Guardian detailed the madness of the human supreme wizard Medivh who had summoned the Orcs into the world in the first place and gave context on the Burning Legion, transforming them from a vaguely satanic demon army into a varied force of cosmic enemies that would fit right into Doctor Who.
Here finally Warcraft added new flavor to their Orcs although unlike previous versions of non-evil Orcs the Warcraft version had identical culture only without malice. The major difference here was making them neutral race that actually got to be in the spotlight, as all previous non-evil Orcs were minor races left mostly undescribed beyond the basics that never starred in a story and always were just an option for exotic PCs; Warcraft was the first setting to make them a core race in the starring role with equal importance to humans in the first person narrative, which catapulted Orcs across fantasy fiction in importance.

In Warcraft III: Reign Of Chaos, released in 2002, Blizzard took the mantle of villains entirely away from the Horde and rendered the judgement of gray morality into all factions. The Alliance were racist arrogant bastards that hated each other, were ineffective, and easy to corrupt. The Horde was full of the same assholes from Warcraft I and II that were missing "the good old days" and jumped at a chance to suckle Daemon teat for power again (although the curse was broken during the game). Undead wore the mantle of villainy, but that's because they were lead by a soulless human merged with the ghost of the Orc who set in motion the events which made the Horde evil in the first place. Also, there was forest Elves who wanted everyone to get the fuck out of their forest.

Warcraft III became THE game on the PC at the time, and Warcraft mania had made the image of Orcs something the average non-gamer person could identify. Green skin, tusks, gigantic frame with large shoulders, and sometimes red eyes (which just meant "evil Orc" in Warcraft) became THE Orc as a result of Warcraft, which very little since then has drifted away from. Very few fictional works with Orcs that came after left out these details.

Next in 2004 came World Of Warcraft, '''THE''' MMO which destroyed or outlasted every competitor, surviving for <s>12</s> '''15''' full years and which is still ongoing today. While most of the changes added in WoW remain only important to Warcraft continuity, as they haven't migrated into the mainstream yet, non-evil (or at least neutral) Orcs put upon both by their own evil kin and the hateful humanity became the default Orc. As the game's story moved on, the main racial plot for the Orcs concern itself with its heritage as bloodthirsty conquerors, with the younger lads wondering whether or not wanton genocide really was all that bad... One of them even took the Horde to... [[Nazi|An interesting place]]. So the nature of Orcs as evil/not-evil-just-really-fighty is still being discussed within the game.

So while Warcraft didn't pioneer the idea of non-evil Orcs, greenskins with tusks, or Orcs being in control of their own destiny rather than being pawns in the schemes of a greater power, it did make the Master Template a staple of fantasy fiction. Stories like the Styx and Divinity video games have continued using the new template since then, with more on the way. Even Warhammer itself dropped the most outright evil of their Orcs since then, making them Chaotic Neutral destructive forces that can be allied with rather than Chaotic Evil.

=Mold-Breakers=
{{topquote|Look at them. Ranks, files, locked in everlasting conflict at the whim of the player. They fight, they fall, and they cannot turn back because the whips drive them on, and all they know is whips, kill or be killed. Darkness in front of them, darkness behind them, darkness and whips in their heads. But what if you could take one out of this game, get him before the whips do, take him to a place without whips‚ what might he become? One creature. One singular being. Would you deny them that chance?|Lord Havelock Vetinari, '''Unseen Academicals''', on the subject of [[Terry Pratchett|Sir Terry Pratchett's]] Orcs}}

As the above suggests, orcs are typically your generic [[barbarian]] rapine-horde of bad-guys in most fantasy settings. However, this isn't always the case, and a number of notable exceptions have developed over the years.

'''Discworld''' (Also the universe where the above quote comes from) barely mentions orcs, only saying that they were made as cannon fodder for an evil empire before it was destroyed. There is, however, one orc Character; Nutt, who is Perhaps the most intelligent being in the whole setting, incredibly strong and fucking brilliant at football, although he avoids becoming a [[Mary Sue]] due to Terry Pratchett's Incredibly good writing.

'''[[Al-Qadim]]''' is notable for being probably the first full-on retooling of the orcs from "rampaging barbarian tribes" to "just one more fantasy race that mostly gets along with the others." This is mostly because, rather than having all the races living in their own corners of the world with their own cultures, the deserts of Al-Qadim saw lots of racial mixing around the few oases, and thus a single unified culture comprised of multiple races formed. The only enemies who ''are'' always evil are explicitly supernatural, like the YAKMEN! Also, the most likely setting ever for [[/d/|elf-orc crossbreeding]].

'''[[Eberron]]''' gave its orcs a status as a relatively peaceful race who were once responsible for combating the threat of [[aberration]] hordes from beyond the stars, as well as founders of the tradition of druidism in-setting. Orcs generally tend to live in few places and have vastly different cultures, some good, some evil, some neutral. Even in the present, they tend to live in the swamp-regions and do no harm; they freely mingle with humans and adopt them into their tribes, so [[half-orc]]s are not only common, but have just as much an expectation of being born from consensual relationships as anyone else, rather than the "orc man raping a human woman" expectation of most other D&D settings.
*Shadow Marches, said to be orc homeland, is home to the the Gatekeeper druids who saved the world from aberrations severl thousand years ago and are busy keeping evil unkillable daelkyr lords of madness locked in their prisons. But it's also a home to cults of Kyrzin, one of those evil lords of madness and orc tribes loyal to Gatekeepers and those loyal to Kyrzin are constantly fighting. Both tend to kill outsiders wandering through their lands, because those outsiders are usually enemy agents and it saves time, so don't get confused by Gatekeepers being the good guys, they're by no means nice guys.
*Droaam, right next to Shadow Marches is a multi-cultural nation of monsters and orks are a sizeable population of it. Gaa’aram tribes are your typical evil barbarian orcs, only difference being they form multi-racial tribes where orcs, goblins, ogres and trolls work together. Gaa’ran on the other hand are "peaceful" farmers and about the only people in Droaam who do agriculture. "Peaceful" is in brackets is because they would only fill you with axes and hang your mutilated corpse on a stick to deter future trespassers if you trespass on their lands, being the epitome of "get off my lawn".
*Demon Wastes have two competing cultures, both made of orcs, humans and half-orcs fighting together. Ghaash'kala clans are "good" human, orc, and half-orc [[barbarian]] clans all living and fighting and drinking together for the glory of Kalok Shash, an incarnation of the Silver Flame, in an endless war to make sure nothing ''else'' in the Demon Wastes ever gets out. That being said, things they fight are mostly evil orcs of Carrion Tribes who worship demons and make your typical Faerun orcs look like saints in comparison. Just like in Shadow Marchers, don't assume Ghaash'kala are nice because they're good - they operate under assumption that anything that comes from the wastes is corrupted and needs to die (an assumption that is right 99% of times), so don't expect eny mercy if you come to their lands from the wrong side.
*Finally, separated from all other orc lands are Jorash'Tal, the asshole racist orcs of Mror Holds who hate dwarfs with fiery passion for invading and colonizing their mountains thousands of years ago and refuse to let it go. They're nomad tribes roaming valleys between the mountains and are generally nice people that ''won't'' kill you for trespassing on their lands unlike other orc cultures generally painted as "good". Unless you're dwarf. In which case they kill you for the sins of other dwarfs that lived so long ago no one remembers them. Generally they're a case study on how racial grievances won't do you any good, no matter how justified they are. Dorfs, being both more numerous and technologically advanced are locked in indecision what to do with them as half their clans want to make peace and integrate Jorash'Tal, putting them to work since most holds are in need of more labour, while the other half pushes for the ultimate solution to orcish problem.

'''[[Forgotten Realms]]''', although certainly playing it straight, has exceptions too, in the form of the AD&D-only orc subspecies known as the Ondonti. A ''Lawful Good'' race of peaceful, quiet, contemplative, gentle orcs who devote themselves to [[Eldath]] (a minor Goddess of Peace and Quiet Places) and live a humble life as farmers in a hidden valley. They have several Priestly spell-like abilities (Sanctuary (Self) and Purify Food & Water 3/day, Barkskin 1/day and Tree 1/week), are resistant to poison and immune to Charm spells. The general belief of their origin is that they are an example of option 3 in the infamous [[The Orc Baby Dilemma]], with a bunch of Eldathi priests taking orphaned orc infants into seclusion and bringing them up into their cult, causing them to forsake their ancestral barbarity and embrace peace, quiet and advanced hygiene. You can check out their AD&D stats [http://www.lomion.de/cmm/orcondon.php here]. It's also worth noting that many D&D fans take the stance that orcs, goblins, ogres, and other "always evil" monsters are only evil because ''they're brought up in an evil culture'', and that an orc raised in a human household would be just as Good as their adoptive parents (assuming the parents actually ''are'' Good-aligned, that is). There's also the Kingdom of Many-Arrows, a nation of orcs that seeks to have diplomatic ties to their neighbours, though they do occasionally raid their neighbours, especially the local human barbarian tribes.

'''[[Spelljammer]]''' is an unusual entry on this list, because its unique orcs, or ''Scro'', are still bad guys. It's just that, in [[AD&D|an era where orcs were defined as being chaotic, anarchic, disorganized hordes]] scro were defined by being cultured, intelligent, disciplined and well-organized soldierly regiments - in other words, very close to how [[hobgoblin]]s have come to be defined in modern editions. They are even bigger than normal orcs, pimp out their teeth with much bling, and [[Nazi|wear black leather uniforms when not in battle armor]].

'''[[Warcraft]]''', as covered above, may be the iconic example of a mold-breaker when it comes to orcs. After making them fairly bog-standard bad guy invaders in the first two games (if a little unusual in that they were also invaders from another planet), the third game offered the revelation that orcs had once been a [[noblebright]] culture of shamans and honorable warriors, but were corrupted into savage, bloodthirsty conquerors by an evil warlock and the setting's demonic BBEG. As a result, their campaign in the third game focused on their drive to draw their beaten clans out of human territory and found a new nation for themselves where they could try and rediscover their past. This led to the formation of the Horde faction in [[World of Warcraft]], which took off hugely in popularity because of its then-novel idea of traditionally brutal monster races (orcs, [[troll]]s, [[undead]], and [[minotaur]]s) as an ordinary, viably civilized (relatively speaking) faction in its own right. There was even a short-lived tabletop RPG (first a D&D 3.5 spin off, then a more "customized" but still fundamentally D&D-cloned WoW version) as a result. They still fight, bicker, and war with the "good" races, but now it's because of [[Blizzard]]'s <s>refusal to [[Advancing the Storyline|give up the "dual faction" mechanic and let the story progress]] along with long-standing prejudices between both the Alliance and the Horde rather than because they're the bad guys</s> revolving door of insane and genocidal Horde warchiefs who get overthrown every 2-4 years, with Orcs on both sides of the warchief's agenda. The plot twist is that this time, the warchief is not an Orc at all, but an undead elf which adds layers of complexity. For example, the Orcs go along with her orders in an attempted genocide of the Night Elves after the demons are defeated, but one of the key figures to rise against her was an Orc.

While '''[[Elder Scrolls]]''' **prepare for shitelf cope** Orcs (or Orsimer, if you wish to use their proper name) weren't even considered ''people'' in the first game, by the time the third game rolled around they had become fully integrated into normal society and weren't looked upon any differently from elves or humans. They are as intelligent as anybody else (in the fifth game one even runs the library at the local mage's college) and generally known to be the best smiths in the setting besides the long-extinct Dwarves, as well as crazy good soldiers next to the Nords and Redguards. Their skill in fighting with heavy armor has lent them a place as heavy shock legionaries in the Imperial Legions. One Orc even became the continent's best chef. Technically, they're a subspecies of Elf which were transformed into their current state after the Daedric Prince Boethiah [[Vore|ate (and shat out)]] their greatest champion/god, who was himself turned into the Daedric Prince Malacath.

'''[[Wicked Fantasy]]''' Orks ''were'' originally the standard Always Chaotic Evil raider types, having been created by malevolent gods for the purpose of fighting for their amusement. And then, one day, thirteen great orkish heroes realized that their race had always been nothing more than slaves, and chose to take a new path. They fought their gods and slew them, and though they still struggle with the lingering blood-rage they were created with, they are now a comparatively peaceful race. They're still a ''dark'' race, but not an evil one. For example, they worship pain as a sacred concept... because, by their understanding of it, pain is ultimately on the side of life and it is the giver of strength. Pain warns you when you are hurt, when you are about to die, but it also pushes you to fight harder, to try and survive. Orks prize battle scars as near-sacred objects; nothing comes without sacrifice, and without a scar, the physical symbol of pain, for reference, a victory is ultimately meaningless.

'''[[Sharakim]]''' seem like this at first glance, as they are orcs who are highly organized, discipline, civilized and benevolent people, but arguably don't count: they're the descendants of humans who were cursed to ''look like'' orcs for sacrilege, not really proper orcs.

'''[[Monster Hunter International]]''' orcs, while green and tusked, are among the few monsters that aren't evil as a species. Unlike most of them they are not PUFF exempt, so they do their best to stay hidden from the government. Monster Hunter International helps hide the orcs at their headquarters in Cazador, Alabama and, in return, gets a help from a few orcs. Appearance wise MHI Orcs are pretty standard, though they wear masks to hide this from humans (though the one look at their village suggests they may do this beyond just secrecy). What makes them interesting is that they have an (Orc) god given talent that makes them very specialized in a particular area, yet utterly incompetent at something related to but outside that area. These include a master of bladed weapons that can't hit the broad side of a barn with a gun, and a helicopter pilot who can make a [[MI-24 Hind]] do things even current helicopters can't, but is unable to drive a car (Upon hearing this, one character speculates that Top Gear's Stig is an orc). They can also make magical healing potions, though they need to be made for specific people and don't keep well. Female orcs greatly outnumber males, so polygamy is the norm. MHI Orcs also worship heavy metal musicians. Most information about orcs in this world is based on the depiction of one friendly tribe, and the only other tribe mentioned was willing to slaughter this friendly tribe, so it's likely other tribes differ in some or all aspects.

It's not very common, as one can see, but some DMs have been known to revamp orcs for their own homebrew settings as well.

=Orcs in D&D=
[[File:DnD Original Orc.jpg|thumb|right|300px|1st Edition D&D Orcs, now commonly referred to by some variation of "P'Orcs" by fans.]]
In the first edition of [[Dungeons & Dragons]], Orcs were among the first monsters inspired by folklore and fantasy literature added to the game in a reissue set. They became the primary antagonists out of the many enemies in the game due primarily to their statline rather than their iconic nature, since they were the best "always an enemy" humanoid to accompany a [[Big Bad Evil Guy|BBEG]]. Early DnD Orcs were pig-like monsters resulting from savage tribals that bred with all other races they warred with (so reproducing via rape) with no unified culture or language, but interestingly were also described as having a "reputation for cruelty that is deserved, but humans are just as capable of evil as orcs" which suggests they weren't anything extraordinary to the setting. There was also a short-lived form of Cycloptic Orc, from the British Boxed Set illustrations of AD&D.

Half a decade after their introduction, they were given a more neanderthal appearance as well as being given a size-increase to that of a gorilla (which is actually shorter than the average human, btw), were made able to breed with humans resulting in the [[Half-Orc]] playable race, and given their own mythology (which in most D&D settings is the explanation for why a race behaves the way it does). The leader god is named [[Gruumsh]], who was screwed over in inheritance of the world by the gods of the fairer races causing him to be a bitter asshole and make his race into entitled "might makes right" pricks like a father passing on their shitty life to their kids. Gruumsh's family are below him in importance and include his wife [[Luthic]], goddess of the submission of Orc females as the inferior gender, who goes barefoot and never wields a weapon and just serves to run the home and [[Meme|make babby]], and their son [[Bahgtru]] who's pretty much the god of "stupid, but strong", along with Gruumsh's second in command [[Ilneval]] who is the Orc god of war that directly guides mortal Orcs, with the four together representing the Neutral and "Lawful" (as in they are willing to take orders and respect their place in society) side of the pantheon. Also added were [[Shargaas]] the god of general bad magic and spooky things, and [[Yurtrus]] the god of ruin and death, neither of whom have any loyalty to Gruumsh's side of the pantheon and represent the truly Chaotic "for the evulz" aspect of Orcs.

An article for [[Dragon Magazine]] later gave the option of making the traditionally evil races like Orcs and [[Kobolds]] player characters of any alignment. This lead to the [[Forgotten Realms]] setting having two races of Orcs that are capable of any alignment, the pacifistic Ondonti who culturally are closer to Hobbit than Orruk, and the Gray Orcs who are treated as another among the fair races. All other D&D Orcs remained stupid-evil.

Dungeons & Dragons became the standard for most fantasy that came after, but ultimately for Orcs the only purpose was to move forward to the next step in the master template.

Despite their traditional role as bad guys, since at least the days of Basic D&D, where they had their own [[Known World Gazetteer]] in "The Orcs of Thar", orcs have actually been a full-fledged PC race. True, you typically need DM permission, but the option was there.

Though... not a lot of people took it, as in accordance with their fluff, orcs could be mechanically rather... lackluster. It's a well-known fact in 4th and 5th edition alike that, really, you're better off using and reflavoring the [[half-orc]] or even the [[goliath]] races instead. Especially in 5th edition, where they are literally ''the only race in the game'', aside from [[kobold]]s, to get an ability score penalty.

This has changed with Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse. Orcs have lost their Primal Intuition; Aggressive has been reworked into Adrenaline Rush allowing them to Dash as a bonus action PB times per long rest, and they gain temporary hit points equal to their proficiency bonus when they do; and they've gained the Half-Orc's Relentless Endurance. On top of all that, with the modern WotC design philosophy, they get the same "add 2 to 1 stat and 1 to another, or 1 to 3 different stats" that all races get, so no more ability score penalty.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Orc ODD1.png|Original D&D
orc sewer A1.png|[[Scourge of the Slave Lords|A1: Slave Pits of the Undercity]]
orc camp A1.png|A1: Slave Pits of the Undercity
orc MCV1.jpg|2e Monstrous Compendium
orc MM 2e.png|2e Monstrous Manual
Orc miners First Quest.jpg|2e orcs with some klingon-like head ridges (First Quest).
orc MM 3e.jpg|3e
orc MM 4e.jpg|4e
4e Orcs, Monster Vault.jpg|Orc sexual dimorphism is a bit of a hit-and-miss affair.
4e Orcs, Dragon 374.png
orc MM 5e.jpg|5e
orc B1.png|Pathfinder
orc ARG 1.png
orc ARG 3.png
Orc sf 1.png|Starfinder
Orc sf 2.png
</gallery>

==PC Stats==
===BECMI===
In BECMI era [[Mystara]], there are two different Orc race-classes; the standard Orc, as seen in [[Known World Gazetteer|The Orcs of Thar]], and the horse-riding Krugel Orc, seen in the [[Hollow World]] subsetting. If the Krugel Orcs are Mystara's proto-orcs, then they must be the orcs of Mystara's distant past, Blackmoor, who were ruled by King Funk, chosen of the Lovecraftian Egg of Coot to lead the orcish hordes, arguably the first big fearsome orc warlord type character in tabletop gaming, predating Warhammer's Grimgor Ironhide, Kings of War's Gakamak the Smasher, and Faerun's Obould Many-Arrows. Said Krugel Orcs were one of many savage tribal races produced by D&D Beastmen, alongside Ogres, Cyclops, Goblins, and Trolls.

;Standard Mystaran Orc
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%"> Click "Expand" to see the stablock.
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
::Orc Ability Modifiers: +1 Strength, -1 Dexterity
::Note: Like all Humanoids from "The Orcs of Thar", an Orc has racial ability score caps of 18 in all scores bar [[Intelligence]] and [[Wisdom]], which are capped at 16.
::Note: Like all Humanoids from "The Orcs of Thar", an Orc determines its [[Charisma]] score for interacting with [[human]]s and [[demihuman]]s by dividing its Charisma score by 3 (rounding down) and subtacting the result from 9.
::Orc Natural Armor Class: 8
::Can become [[Shaman]]s (6th level) and [[Wokani]] (4th level).

{| class=wikitable
!Orc's's level || XP Required || Orc's hit dice
|-
|0||0||d8
|-
|1||1,000||2d8
|-
|2||2,000||3d8
|-
|3||4,000||-
|-
|4||8,000||4d8
|-
|5||16,000||5d8
|-
|6||32,000||6d8
|-
|7||64,000||-
|-
|8||130,000||7d8
|-
|9||260,000||+2 Hit Points
|-
|Subsequent||200,000||+2 Hit Points
|}
</div></div>

;Krugel Orc
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%"> Click "Expand" to see the statblock.
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
::Racial Ability Modifiers: +1 Strength, -1 Dexterity, maximum of 16 Intelligence and 16 Wisdom
::Prime Requisite: Strength - Strength 13+ for +5% to XP earned, Strength 16+ for +10% to XP earned
::Save as [[Fighter]] of equivalent level
::Can reach 6th level as Shaman and 4th level as Wokani
::Mandatory Skill: Riding (Horse or Bounder - a kind of far-leaping bipedal carnivorous [[dinosaur]])
::Unlike normal Mystaran orcs, Krugel orcs have lost their Infravision
::Cultural Melee Weapons: Dagger, Sword (Short/Broad/Bastard), Mace, Club, Warhammer, Spear, Javelin, Lance, Net, Whip
::Cultural Missile Weapons: Crossbow (Light/Heavy), Bow (Long/Short), Sling
::Cultural Armor: Leather, Scale, Mail, Chain Mail, Banded Mail, Shield (including horned, knife, sword and tusked), Leather Horse Barding
::Shamans can use: Mace, club, warhammer, lance, net, all cultural armor
::Wokani can use: Dagger, club, net, whip

Krugel Experience Table: Krugels can reach level 36
::1: 0 XP, 1D8 Hit Dice
::2: 1,000 XP, 2D8 Hit Dice
::3: 2,000 XP, 3D8 Hit Dice
::4: 4,000 XP
::5: 8,000 XP, 4D8 Hit Dice
::6: 16,000 XP, 5D8 Hit Dice
::7: 32,000 XP, 6D8 Hit Dice
::8: 64,000 XP
::9: 130,000 XP, 7D8 Hit Dice
::10: 260,000 XP, +2 HP (Constitution bonus no longer applies)
::+1 Level: +200,000 XP, +2 HP (Constitution bonus no longer applies)
</div></div>

===AD&D===
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%"> Click "Expand" to see the statblock.
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
::+1 Strength,-2 Charisma
::Strength: Minimum 6, Maximum 18
::Dexterity: Minimum 3, Maximum 17
::Constitution: Minimum 8, Maximum 18
::Intelligence: Minimum 3, Maximum 16
::Wisdom: Minimum 3, Maximum 16
::Charisma: Minimum 3, Maximum 12
::Available Classes & Max Levels: Fighter 10, Cleric 9, Shaman 6, Witch Doctor 6, Thief 11
::35% chance to spot new and unusual constructions
::25% chance to spot sloping passages
::Infravision 60 feet
::-1 penalty to attack rolls and morale when in direct sunlight
::Weapon Proficiencies: Battle axe, crossbow, flail, hand axe, spear, any bow, any pole arm, any sword.
::Nonweapon Proficiencies: Alertness, armorer, blacksmithing, bowyer/fletcher, carpentry, chanting, close-quarter fighting, hunting, intimidation, looting, religion, set snares, spellcraft, tracking, weaponsmithing.
</div></div>

===3e===
There are several different orc stats, scattered across multiple sourcebooks. The "common" orc in the [[Monster Manual]] featured the following statblock:

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%"> Click "Expand" to see the statblock.
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
::+4 Strength, -2 Intelligence, -2 Wisdom, -2 Charisma
::Medium size
::Base land speed 30 feet
::Darkvision out to 60 feet
::Light Sensitivity (Ex): -1 penalty to Attack rolls when exposed to bright sunlight or a daylight spell.
::[[Favored Class]]: [[Barbarian]]
</div></div>

====Forgotten Realms====
In the [[Forgotten Realms]], however, there are three different varieties of orc:

The "Mountain Orc" is the most common of the three races, and is the most generic, being pretty much standard Monster Manual orcs. They inhabit the Frozen North, predominantly the Spine of the World mountains and other hilly regions (hence the name), and for the most part at generic would-be conquerors foiled by their own inability to focus on anything besides killing - except for when [[Obould Many-Arrows]] tried to forcibly drag them out of their pits and show them that the best way to get respect is to actually make a kingdom of their own. These guys use the standard orc profile.

Deep Orcs, or [[Orog]]s, are a stronger, smarter (but somewhat shorter) breed of orc native to the [[Underdark]]. See their page for more details.

Finally, Gray Orcs are a strange race of emotional, impulsive, and deeply religious orcs originally hailing from another world. Long story short, centuries ago, an archmage created a portal to their world, but wound up being killed for an unrelated incident before anyone ever found out about this portal - which meant nobody ever shut it off. Five years after his death, the orcs found the portal and swarmed through in a religious crusade, battling the empires of Mulhorand and Unther in the 6-years-long Orcgate Wars, which ended with the closing of the portal, the defeat of several of the incarnate gods of Mulhorand and Unther, and the scattering of the gray orcs into loose, fractious tribes that still haunt the Moonsea and the Endless Wastes. Though physically weaker than their mountain orc "relatives", gray orcs are much more strong-willed and independent, and retain a knack for divine magic which makes them dangerous. They also possess a far swifter stride and keener senses of smell. Gray Orc PCs have the following racial stats:

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%"> Click "Expand" to see the statblock.
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
::+2 Strength, +2 Wisdom, -2 Intelligence, -2 Charisma
::Medium Size
::Base Speed 40 feet
::Racial Weapon Proficiency: Great-Axe and Longbow
::Light Sensitivity (Ex): -1 penalty to Attack rolls when exposed to bright sunlight or a daylight spell.
::Scent (Ex)
::Orc Blood: For all effects and special abilities that target a creature's race, Gray Orcs count as '''Orcs'''.
::[[Favored Class]]: [[Cleric]]
::[[Level Adjustment]]: +1
</div></div>

====3rd Party Settings====
;[[Midnight]]
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%"> Click "Expand" to see the statblock.
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
::+4 Strength, -2 Intelligence, -2 Charisma
::Medium
::Base land speed 30 feet
::Weapon Familiarty: Vardatches are Martial Weapons for Orcs
::Night Fighter: Darkvision 60 feet, +1 racial bonus to attack rolls when fighting with no light.
::Light Sensitivity: -1 penalty on attack rolls in bright sunlight or within the radius of a daylight spell.
:: Resistance to Cold: Immune to nonlethal damage caused by cold weather, severe cold, exposure or extreme cold. Halve lethal damage (rounding down) inflicted by extreme cold.
::Natural Predator: Orcs add their Str modifier to Intimidate checks as well as their Cha modifier.
::Spell Resistant: +2 racial bonus on saves against spells and spell-like effects, -2 spell energy points for orc casters.
::+1 racial bonus on damage rolls against dwarves.
::+1 racial bonus on attack rolls when fighting in groups of 10 or more orcs; allies and enemies both count for triggering this feature.
::[[Favored Class]]: [[Barbarian]]
</div></div>

;Warcraft the RPG
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%"> Click "Expand" to see the statblock.
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
* +2 Constitution, -2 Intelligence
::Medium size
::Base land speed 30 feet
::Low-Light Vison
::Battle Rage: Can Rage once per day as per a Barbarian, or adds +1 to rages per day if a Barbarian
::Weapon Familiarity: Orc Claws are a Martial Weapon rather than an Exotic Weapon
::Weapon Proficiency: Automatically receive Martial Weapon Proficiency (Battleaxe) as a bonus feat
::+2 racial bonus to Handle Animal (Wolf) checks and Intimidate checks. Handle Animal (Wolf) and Intimidate are always Class Skills for orcs.
::+1 racial bonus to attack rolls against humans
::[[Favored Class]]: [[Fighter]]
</div></div>

;World of Warcraft the RPG
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%"> Click "Expand" to see the statblock.
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
* +2 Stamina, -2 Intellect (Note: Con and Int by different names)
::Medium size
::Base land speed 30 feet
::Low-Light Vison
::Battle Rage: Can Rage once per day as per a Barbarian, or adds +1 to rages per day if a Barbarian
::Weapon Familiarity: Orc Claws are a Martial Weapon rather than an Exotic Weapon
::Weapon Proficiency: Automatically receive Martial Weapon Proficiency (Battleaxe) as a bonus feat
::+2 racial bonus to Handle Animal (Wolf) checks and Intimidate checks. Intimidate is always a Class Skill for orcs.
::+1 racial bonus to attack rolls against humans
::[[Favored Class]]: [[Barbarian]]
</div></div>

===4e===
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%"> Click "Expand" to see the statblock.
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
::+2 Strength, +2 Constitution
::Size: Medium
::Speed: 6 squares
::Vision: Low-light
::Running Charge (+2 to Speed when charging)
::Warrior's Surge (racial encounter power; make a 1[W] + Strength modifier attack with a melee weapon against an opponent's AC and get to spend a healing surge)
</div></div>

===5e===
Added in Volo's Guide to Monsters as a monster race. They get the following traits... which are, as more than one person has noticed, essentially the 5e [[Half-Orc]] stats with -2 Intelligence tacked on and with the gloriously beefy Relentless Endurance (survive a killing strike with 1 [[hit point]] left 1/day) and Savage Attack (+1 die of damage on a melee weapon critical hit) replaced with the okay Aggressive trait and the pathetically overvalued Powerful Build trait, something that [[skub|has caused its fair share of arguments]].

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%"> Click "Expand" to see the statblock.
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
::+2 Strength, +1 Constitution, -2 Intelligence
::30 feet base movement speed
::Size is medium, but they get <strike>almost large</strike> Powerful build which gives them the carrying capacity of a large creature.
::60 feet darkvision
::Aggressive (use bonus action to dash, must finish dash closer to your enemy than where the dash started)
::Menacing (Intimidation proficiency, same as half orcs)
</div></div>

Amazingly, orcs got an official retcon with an official PC writeup in the 5e [[Eberron]] splatbook. "Rising from the Last War" uses the above orc as a base, but strips away the pointless -2 Intelligence penalty and trades the Menacing for ''Primal Intuition'', which gives them two free skill proficiencies chosen from a list made up of Animal Handling, Insight, Intimidation, Medicine, Nature, Perception and Survival. This is much more useful, and better meshes with the theme of the orcs as the primary [[druid]]ic race in Eberron, and overall makes them a powerful and viable PC race... still, from a flavor perspective, there's something to be said for switching the Half-Orc and Orc stats around.

This version of the Orc was subsequently reprinted in the [[Exandria]] splatbook "Explorer's Guide to Wildemount", so it seems to have become more or less the official replacement for Volo's initial shitfest.

And as of the October errata, that is now the case, and the change seems to be a step in the right direction for orcs and [[Kobold|kobolds]]. Even so, it goes without saying, but [[Skub|it's simply impossible to please everyone]].

====3rd Party Settings====
;Arkadia
The [[Orc]]s of [[Arkadia]] are a race born from the blood of the Great Hydra, and native to the broken wastes of Garagos. Also known as [[Giant]]s for their mighty stature - orcs typically stand 6 to 7 feet tall, though the orcs of Gargaros can grow even larger - the race has long been the traditional enemy of the Arkadians, as the race seems possessed to the last by madness and the need for destruction. But... Arkadian orcs are not a monolithic racial force. There are many tribes of orcs scattered throughout Gargaros. The Cerberans train cerberus worgs to hunt and kill; the Cyclopax fight alongside [[Cyclops|cyclopean giants]]; and the Hydrak, the largest and most hated — even by their own kind — who worship the bound titan, seeking to free it through fire and blood. Despite the ancient animosity between orcs and men, some tribes of orcs have come to find a place in Arkadia, especially among the Krytans who value strength and physical prowess above all else. These orcs were first taken as slaves during one of the many wars with Gargaros. Thrown into the fighting pits and gladiatorial arenas they displayed such power and ferocity that the king, impressed, granted them freedom and a place in his army. Many Orcs have since taken to the worship of Krytos with abandon, finding in the mighty god a surrogate father who shares their savagery and love of combat.

Arkadian orcs resemble humans, but with leaf-like ears similar to those of the [[Arkadian Elf|elves]], powerful builds, and jutting lower canines. Their skin is the color of ochre clay; orange, reddish brown, or ashen grey, often varying from tribe to tribe. Many orcs wear black warpaint in stark bands and square keyed patterns. Valuing strength and dominance above all else, orcs, as a Hyperian general once put it, make excellent warriors and terrible soldiers. Their physical prowess and violent nature make them most at home in Kryta, whose army cares more for the might of individuals than the discipline of lines. Their fearlessness and unbridled aggression on the field make them an unstoppable force, ideal as linebreakers, often turning the tide of battle almost single-handed. Some, lacking even the control for this, become mercenaries. Others take to the fighting pits or, with some luck, the grand coliseums of Illyria, untouched by Gargaran raids, where their prodigious size and strength are coveted for their exotic nature.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%"> Click "Expand" to see the statblock.
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
::Ability Score Increase: +2 Strength, +1 Constitution
::Size: Medium
::Speed: 30 feet
::Darkvision: 60 feet
::Colossal Build: Your carrying capacity and the amount of weight you can push, drag, or lift is doubled as if you were one size category larger.
::Relentless Endurance: When you are reduced to 0 hit points but not killed outright, you can drop to 1 hit point instead. You can’t use this feature again until you finish a long rest.
::Savage Attacks: When you score a critical hit with a melee weapon attack, you can roll one of the weapon’s damage dice one additional time and add it to the extra damage of the critical hit.
</div></div>

;World of Farland
Orcs in the [[World of Farland]] come in a number of different subspecies, as part of their home setting's homage to the [[Lord of the Rings]] books that inspired it.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%"> Click "Expand" to see the statblock.
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
::Ability Score Increase: +2 Strength
::Size: Medium
::Speed: 30 feet
::Vision: Darkvision 60 feet
::Orcish Weaponry: You are proficient with the Hand Axe, Battle Axe, Great Axe, Scimitar and Great Sword.
::Aggressive: Once per short rest, you can use a Bonus Action to move up to your speed towards a creature that you can see.
::Subrace: Choose the Snog, Skaruk or Irzuk subrace.
</div></div>

'''Snog''' orcs, or "Slave Orcs", are the root-stock of the orcish race; first bred as fodder for the wars of dark masters, they are still used in that role to this day, and are literally bred like livestock for that role.
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%"> Click "Expand" to see the statblock.
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
::Ability Score Increase: +1 Constitution
::Relentless Endurance: When you are reduced to 0 hit points but not killed outright, you can drop to 1 hit point instead. You can’t use this feature again until you finish a long rest.
::Indefatigable: You have Advantage on all Constitution checks relating to exhaustion, forced marching, going without food and water, and going without sleep.
::Armored: You have Proficiency with Light and Medium armor.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%"> Click "Expand" to see the statblock.
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
'''Skaruk''' orcs, or "Wild Ones", are orcs descended from tribes that fled their creators and have since pursued independent existences in the wilderness.
::Ability Score Increase: +1 Dexterity
::Savage Attacks: When you score a critical hit with a melee weapon attack, you can roll one of the weapon’s damage dice one additional time and add it to the extra damage of the critical hit.
::Wild Rage: After you first take damage in battle, you deal +1 damage with each attack for the next minute until you are knocked unconscious, or if your turn ends and you haven't attacked a hostile creature since your last turn or taken damage since then.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%"> Click "Expand" to see the statblock.
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
'''Irzuk''' orcs are a new race of orcs bred for their resistance to the cold and their ability to track victims. They are visually distinguished by their uniquely crimson hides.
::Ability Score Increase: +1 Wisdom
::Tracker: You have Proficiency in Survival and gain Advantage on Survival checks relating to tracking by scent.
::Cold Endurance: You have Advantage on Constitution checks relating to resisting natural cold and are Resistant to Cold Damage.
::Enhanced Aggression: When you use your Aggressive trait, you can move up to +10 feet over your normal movement limit.
</div></div>

;Scarred Lands
Orcs of the [[Scarred Lands]] are semi-nomadic tribals who live in the plains and savannahs of [[Ghelspad]], noted for their talents in astrology and riding [[Dire Animal|Dire Wolves]], strong tribal identities, and a preference for a simple life with a few great luxuries. They originally fought on the titans side in the Divine War, but most of them took the asylum offer given by the gods. They all have the following stats:

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%"> Click "Expand" to see the statblock.
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
::Ability Score Increase: +3 Strength, +1 Constitution
::Size: Medium
::Speed: 30 feet
::Darkivision 30 feet
::Aggressive: As a bonus action, you can move up to your speed toward a hostile creature you can see.
::Menacing: Proficieny in the Intimidation skill
::Orcish Combat Training: You are proficient with the battleaxe, greataxe, handaxe, and lance.
::Savage Attacks: When you score a critical hit with a melee weapon attack, you can roll one of the weapon’s damage dice one additional time and add it to the extra damage of the critical hit.
::Language: You speak Orcish and one other language.
</div></div>

===[[Pathfinder]] 1e===
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%"> Click "Expand" to see the statblock.
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
* +4 Strength, -2 Intelligence, -2 Wisdom, -2 Charisma
::Medium size
::Base land speed 30 feet
::Darkvision out to 60 feet
::Ferocity (can keep fighting at zero HP, but is Staggered and loses 1 HP each round automatically)
::Light Sensitivity (automatically suffer Dazzled condition in daylight)
::Weapon Familiarity: Automatically proficient with Greataxe and Falchion, treat any weapon with "Orc" in its name as a Martial weapon.
</div></div>

As nameless monsters who won't survive the encounter anyways, Ferocity effectively adds their constitution score (''score'', not modifier) to their HP. This make them quite dangerous at low levels, since it ''triples'' their HP (the standard Orc has 6 HP and 12 con). This isn't enough to put them next to [[Cat|house cats]], incorporeal foes or [[Swarm]]s as slayers of low level PCs, it does make them quite hard for their supposed CR 1/3.

===Pathfinder 2e===
Compared to their previous edition, and the DnD 5e, the Orcs of second edition is a lot more fleshed out. With the APG sidesteping a lot of their more "violent" tendencies of pillaging and "conception" of half-orcs, preferring to focus on their glory-seeking, honesty and unbreakable loyalty to those they see as equals or treat them nicely. They are a society looking to surpass their shitty upbringings, wanting to move on from their long history of conflict.... [[derp|by way of conflict]].

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%"> Click "Expand" to see the statblock.
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
::Hit points: 10
::Size: Small
::Speed: 25 feet
::Ability Boosts: Strength, Free
::Languages: Common and Orcish, as well as any other languages equal to your intelligence modifier.
::Darkvision: You can see in darkness and dim light just as well as you can see in bright light, though your vision in darkness is in black and white.
</div></div>

===Starfinder===
Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Orcs in [[Starfinder]] were long ago enslaved by the Drow and forcibly underwent social engineering to make them servile to the Drow on an almost genetic level. Their once green skin has turned blue, to better blend in with the tunnels of the Drow planet's underground caverns and to resemble their masters' more purple skintones.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%"> Click "Expand" to see the statblock.
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
::Ability Modifiers: +4 Str, –2 Cha
::Hit Points: 6
::Size and Type: Medium humanoid (orc).
::Conditioned Focus: Due to her conditioning, an orc can choose one skill that becomes a class skill for her. If the chosen skill is a class skill from the class she takes at 1st level, she instead gains a +1 bonus to checks with that skill. In addition, due to her confidence with that skill, once per day, before she attempts a check with the chosen skill, the orc can grant herself a +2 bonus to that check.
::Darkvision 60 feet
::Fierce Survivalist: Orcs receive a +2 racial bonus to Intimidate and Survival checks.
::Light Sensitivity: An orc is dazzled as long as she remains in an area of bright light.
::Orc Ferocity: Once per day, an orc brought to 0 Hit Points but not killed can fight on for 1 more round. The orc drops to 0 HP and is dying (following the normal rules for death and dying) but can continue to act normally until the end of his next turn, when he becomes unconscious as normal. If he takes additional damage before this, he ceases to be able to act and falls unconscious.
</div></div>

=Green Skin=
One usually wonders where the green coloration of Orcish skin came from, in the old myths (i.e., Lord of the Rings) the orcs were established as barbaric, crude brutes, true; but the approximate skin color was never truly established, the Orcs were generally described as filthy and mucky, with darkened skin and bestial countenances. (Similarly, in the films their skin shades are in varying shades of ash-black and dirty-brown, the occasional bit of face-painting notwithstanding.) It wasn't until the advent of the Hulk comics, and GW deciding to make their orcs different, that the common skin of the orc became green. Because Warhammer's orcs became so memorable, thousands of copycats have followed suit.

This of course may not truly explain why some orcs in DnD have green skin as well, DnD being around before Warhammer, but the a more precise green coloration in its orcs may have come later. Indeed, earlier DnD art shows a variety of skin colors, some of them sallow yellow and earthy reds. Green may have come about because all the other possible colors simply have clashing connotations, such as a calming blue, or offensive real world racial connotations (black, [[kobold|red]], brown, and [[goblin|yellow]] are right out for a barbaric and evil race of XP bags.) Another theory is that Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson, the 2 co-founders of [[Games Workshop]], also had a lot of communication with Brian Blume, the developer of D&D, especially in the early days of these 2 companies, so it is entirely possible that certain ideas were mentioned and then copied.

''In-universe'' reasons for their chartreuse complexions vary between IPs; While earlier editions claimed that the Orks of 40k are said to be animate plants, current lore dictates that Ork DNA is a combination of animal, plant, and fungal DNA, thus their colors are effectively the result of chlorophyll running through their bodies (while the animal part conveniently allows them to bleed red for grimdark purposes). Meanwhile, the green skins of the orcs of The Elder Scrolls and Warcraft universes are the result of demonic tampering; The Orsimer are a result of the above-mentioned champion-devoured-and-shat-out incident, while the Warcraft Orcs were convinced to drink the blood of the Pit Lord Mannoroth, changing their normally brown or grey skin into that distinct hue, with further ingestion of Pit Lord blood turning them red. Some orc clans turned down the offer however, and still keep their original skin tones in the present.

Though for what it's worth, D&D orcs are grey, not green, as of 5e. Seriously, open your monster manual if you don't believe us.

=Piggish Looks=
On occasion, a person may find orcs depicted as pig-men, despite the generally accepted portrayal of orcs as being (usually green-skinned) Frazetta Man style cavemen fellows. This goes back to [[Dungeons & Dragons]] 1st edition, where orcs were described as having a fundamentally "piggish snout" for a face and depicted as more or less a boar's head on a hunch-shouldered, ugly, green-skinned chimpanzee. Some depictions of orcs thusly refer back to this. It's most common in Japan, where old-school [[neckbeard]]s grew up to have a huge impact on art, manga and videogames. For a reference cue there, see the Moblins from the Legend of Zelda series. Similar incidents of redesign of classic tabletop gaming creatures include dogfaced kobolds, pumpkinheaded bugbears, starving-looking lanky trolls, and slinky hobgoblin-like gnolls.

=Cyclops Orcs=
An even rarer variant from the British 1st Edition AD&D Boxed Set illustrations. This one-eyed example was originally published by Games Workshop, and later inspired the appearance of Fangor Gripe, one of the Orc leaders of the Vile Rune tribe. May have been inspired by one of the descriptions of Gruumsh in D&D being cycloptic after Corellon took out his eye, and his wounded socket and existing one merged together to give him one big eye.
<gallery>
cyclops orc.jpg| Fangor Gripe's model, which resembles a basic Warhammer Orc with one eye, unlike the original Cycloptic Orcs, who resembled emaciated skinny hairless elves with a single bulging human eye.
</gallery>

=Scaley Orcs=
You thought we were done with the various Orc subvarieties? Think again, BITCH! We got another one! Scaley Orcs are orcs who take the "leathery, almost like scales of a reptile" description, add in the "green coloration" description, and the "snout like a hog" description, and figured "gee, sounds vaguely like a crocodile". Thus, were Scaley Orcs imagined up. If the most well known type of Orc is a toss-up between sadistic malformed maniacs made popular by the Lord of the Rings movies and the brutish greenskinned thugs made popular by Warhammer and Warcraft, with Pigfaced Orcs being second well known in most places besides Japan, where the Piggies are favored, and Cycloptic Orcs are in dubious third place due to many references to one-eyed orcs as individuals still making appearances in background lore, then these poor lizardy fucks are in the pathetic fourth place. Which is sad, as they originate in a piece of classic 80's RPG fantasy, the illustrated book "Down in the Dungeon" by Don Greer. Whilst somewhat niche in many of today's RPG circles, amongst Grognards it's regarded as a hidden gem from a dying generation of players. In it, there are two varieties of these reptilian orcs, full-blooded orcs of small stature similar to their goblin-synonymous Middle Earth book description orc cousins, who look like fat humanoid lizards with faces like inaccurate 80s Chinese plastic dinosaur toys, and their equivalent of Half-Orcs, the "Man-Orcs" who somehow look even more reptilian, with a face like an inaccurate Chinese plastic T. Rex toy, or maybe a crocodile. These guys actually have models made of them, by Essex Miniatures, and are a good piece of retro-orc-breed-history. In theory, Greer may have been inspired by the earlier, Pigfaced Orc breeds, as shown in a photo below with a Scaley Orc female still having six breasts like a Pigfaced Orc sow.

<gallery>
Scaley_Orc.jpg|Essex Miniatures model, official painting on their site. Forgot to thin their paints.
Great_Scaly_Orcs_2.jpg|Fan-painted Scaley Orcs. Now you can see how these guys are intimidating up close.
Scaley_Orc_Couple.jpg| A husband and wife in the war together. Notice the six breasts, a holdover from their Pigfaced Orc Ancestors.
</gallery>

=Monstergirl Depictions=
{{Monstergirls}}
Orcs are not the most commonly seen of [[monstergirls]], as many of the individuals inclined to make monstergirls, despite what many [[/d/]] cliches may lead you to believe, aren't inclined to find orcs attractive. Those rare orc MGs seen tend to be, basically, green-skinned [[Amazon]]s; [[musclegirl]]s of a particularly dumb "fight 'em an' fuck 'em" mentality with a penchant for either raping men or gathering in harems around particularly strong, tough warriors (who may or may not be made to submit).

In the [[Monster Girl Encyclopedia]], the Orc is a chubby pink girl with pig ears on her head and a pig's tail (see above about how "pigmen orcs" are popular in Japan). She's a vanilla demihuman-type mamono who goes around in large groups by preference. They're femdommy by nature, but happily submit to maledom if a potential spouse can overpower them in a fight, and also enjoy sharing a spouse between them. Hilariously, this is pretty square with what official sources have established about D&D orc sexual mores. January 2018 saw the release of the "High Orc"; a bigger, stronger, smarter and fiercer version of the standard orc, the "boar-girl" to their "pig-girl". Fearless, cunning and strong, they are natural leaders of their lesser kin, aided by the fact they release a pheromone that whips up a lust for battle (and sex) in any nearby orc. Of course, if you beat them, that knocks the wind out of the normal orcs' sails, and they will generally flee or surrender on the spot. High Orcs fit the same sexual mold as their weaker siblings, aside from their pheromone doubling as an aphrodisiac. In a twist that /tg/ finds hilarious, High Orcs have dark brown skin, which, combined with their status as the natural leaders of the race, immediately puts them in mind of the [[Black Orc]]s of [[Warhammer Fantasy]]. Most likely they were instead based on the Uruk-hai of [[The Lord of the Rings]], but why let that spoil a good laugh?

[[Daily Life with Monstergirl]] combines the above two, having male Orcs be ugly green pig dudes who lust for human (and human-like) women. Thus far we haven't seen female Orcs yet, but like the [[centaur]]s in the series they will likely be a lot more attractive than their male counterparts. As a matter of fact, a female orc named Ruka actually shows up in the tie-in online game as one of your potential haremettes; if taken as canon, then female orcs in this setting are indeed cute green-skinned pig-girls - unlike the MGE version, they have a pig's tail and trotters for feet, with elf-like ears, as the Daily Life verse tends to avoid more animalistic ears for its beast-girls in general.

<gallery>
Female Orc.jpg|gb2kitchen
Amazon Orc.jpg|In some depictions female orcs are rather [[amazon]]ian.
MGE Orc.jpg|A pig-eared orc from the Monster Girl Encyclopedia.
MGE High Orc.jpg|Bigger, tougher, smarter champions of orcdom, the boar-based High Orcs are essentially the MGE's [[Black Orc]]s.
Monster Musume Ruka the Orc.png|Ruka from Monster Musume showcases an incredibly rare meeting point between p'orc and greenskin.
1642287072.baguette2077 konosubaorc 001.jpg|Who says Pigfaced Orc Women can't be attractive?
AsianPigOrc.jpg|Weeaboo Pigfaced Orc Waifu
Aggralan, Mag'har Shamaness.jpg|The she-orcs of [[Warcraft]] have always been pretty hot.
orc ARG 2.png|Pathfinder proving [[half-orc]]s don't HAVE to have human mothers.
</gallery>

=See Also=
*[[Goblins]]
*[[Ork]]
*[[Orcs & Goblins]]

=Gallery=
<gallery>
Orcweapons.JPG|Ork made [[Exotic weapons]].
Orksword.GIF|Ork make more [[Exotic weapons]].
Orc_bard.jpg|What happens when the DM lets him take a homebrew feat to use his Strength score for Perform (Dance) checks.
Orcs are Grays.jpg|Orks are Xenos, after all...
CyclopticOrcs.jpg|Even rarer than Pigfaced Orcs are Cycloptic Orcs.
Subject to Inter-Goblinoid Animosity.jpg| Even among Old-School Breeds, Inter-Goblinoid Animosity is a thing.
Down in the Dungeon.jpg| Don Greer's Scaley Orcs, along with other creatures of his design.
Scaly_Orc_Slavers.jpeg| Some Scaley Orcs with some newly-captured slaves, formerly adventurers.
</gallery>

{{D&D1e-Races}}
{{D&D2e-Races}}
{{D&D4e-Races}}
{{D&D5e-Races}}
{{Pathfinder-Races}}
{{Starfinder-Races}}
[[Category:Scarred Lands Races]]

Abhuman

2022-09-20T10:25:39Z

2601:188:C300:64B8:6421:EABE:84ED:1FAC: /* Amphi */

[[File:Sharkabs.jpg|300px|thumb|right|They call them "Ab"humans for a reason.]]

'''Abhuman''' (from ''ab-'', "of, from, away from," ''human'') is a term used in the [[Imperium of Man]] to refer to a stable-breeding subspecies of [[humanity]]. Although their physiology and mentality would be so different that they should technically be classified as a whole different species altogether. Officially, they are not considered [[mutant]]s by virtue of their breed stability, but they are generally not treated the same way as "normal" humans. Civilian abhumans are almost always an underclass on other worlds, and when [[Imperial Guard]] regiments are raised from abhuman worlds as part of the Imperial Tithe they tend to be broken up into individual companies, platoons, or squads that are then attached to other regiments as auxiliary troops. Though, this is usually because most abhumans that qualify for Guard service are either [[ogryn|too stupid]], [[Beastmen (40k)|too undisciplined]], [[ratling|too specialized]], or [[Felinid|aren't numerous enough]] to maintain their own independent regiments. The Imperium recognises at least 70 different strains of permitted abhuman, with more than half of these being extinct in the modern day.

So far as is known, none of the abhuman strains below are compatible with [[Space Marine]] implants, while all are compatible with the Psyker gene. Space Marines themselves are considered dubiously human in some circles, but since they don't breed, their inhumanity is the result of postnatal modifications, and they're all 8 foot tall killing machines that carry automatic armor-piercing grenade launchers, they don't count as abhumans. [[Heresy|Or else]]. Of course we don’t even know if Astartes are genetically dissimilar from normal humans beyond the Progenoid adding and tweaking genes to allow for the other implants to be accepted. The other implants just change how the body behaves in a certain way. So, they might genetically not be notably dissimilar enough to be anything other than homo sapiens sapiens. The Custodes however...

== Origins ==
Humanity's characteristics are influenced by the conditions in which it grew up, including gravity, climate, and diet. If a population were isolated in a different environment for a long enough time, their distant descendants would be adapted to those new conditions.

During the [[Dark Age of Technology]], humanity spread to the stars, first with slower-than-light colony ships, and then with [[Warp]] drives after the discovery of the [[Navigator]]s. Some of their destination planets were very different from Earth, and when humanity entered the [[Age of Strife]] with the collapse of the old government, the inhabitants of these worlds were cut off from other colonies (it is known that Gene Wars were fought between various governments made up of people that couldn't really be considered human anymore during the Age of Strife); when contact was restored during the [[Great Crusade]] (or even later), their gene pools had diverged so far from the baseline that they could almost be classified as separate species. The Imperium spared them, though, because while they were clearly not pure humans, they were useful and no more prone to mutation than any other human. As humanity had ready access to genetic engineering in that era, it can be difficult to distinguish natural evolution from artificial enhancement in many cases, as Games Workshop does not usually reveal the necessary details.

The Horus Heresy novels mentioned that even during the high point of abhuman tolerance, formerly human populations have been purged due to achieving certain (high) levels of genetic "deviancy". The natives of Davin were shaggy creatures that were close to it, though Chaos may have had a hand in that, unbeknown to the Imperials.

Abhumans can be loosely categorized by the nature of their origin.

==Definitely Artificial==

These abhumans are definitively known to have been manufactured at some point. In the case of the Afriel Strain and Gland War Veterans, though, their actual status as true abhumans is a bit iffy, as it's unclear just how many of their augmented traits (if any) are genetically transferrable, and their populations are closer to (dwindling) engineered batches rather than self-sustaining breeds.

=== [[Squat|Kindred]]s ===
''Homo sapiens rotundus''

The Kindred, or Squats as they are called in Necromunda, grew up on high-gravity mineral-rich worlds near the core of the galaxy and became adapted to be short, robustly built, and adept miners. If this sounds familiar, it's because they were intentionally designed to be the space-equivalent of [[Dwarfs (Warhammer Fantasy Battle)|Dwarfs]] from [[Warhammer Fantasy Battle]].

They were introduced in the [[Rogue Trader (Sourcebook)|First Edition]] of [[Warhammer 40,000]] as a separate army to the various Imperial forces (being fiercely independent), and were mentioned sparingly thereafter until they were written out of the background (hence the term "squatted"), but the [[Warhammer 40,000 6th edition|Sixth Edition]] rulebook has written them back in again and in Necromunda [[Squats#2022: Squats are back on the menu|they actually have models]]. And in [[Warhammer 40,000 9th edition|Ninth Edition]] finally made a [[Leagues of Votann|triumphant return]].

They are morphologically very similar to Ratlings but have the inferior eyesight one would expect of a race adapted to low-light and/or interior conditions (where nothing to be looked at is ever very far away), as well as the increased [[Catachan Jungle Fighters|musculature]] and robustness to be expected of an environment harsher than Terra. Where Squats seem to be more adapted to hunting and gathering, Ratlings are more adapted to farming.

And in the new Votann lore we learn that they originated from cloning, with their ancestors using "cloneskeins" to modify their bodies, leading to their current body, and even neutering their psychic presents to avoid Chaos, making them almost invisible to them like the Tau. And, unlike the greater Imperium, their society is centered around the [[Votann]], AI supercomputers which they get their name from. And are kept secret for [[Adeptus Mechanicus|obvious reasons]].

=== [[Afriel Strain]]s ===
''Homo sapiens maledictis''

Afriel Strains were the byproduct of the Imperium trying to create the <u>[[Mary Sue|'Ultimate Human']]</u> via a shadowy experimental process which used genetic material from a number of the Imperium's greatest heroes to, [[Fabius Bile|in effect, make clones of them.]] While this may sound [[Awesome]] in theory, the Strains themselves...[[Lamenters|seem to suffer a severe case of bad luck.]] The amount of genetic tempering has effectively made the Afriel Strain a new sub-species of human. Whether they are allowed to do their [[/d/|'business']] and see whether the genes can pass on is unknown.

Despite this, the Afriel Strain project is still approved by the Imperium, by and large, and is still undergoing improvements to fix the...issue.

=== [[Gland War Veteran]]s ===
''Homo sapiens auctus glandulae''

Similar to the Afriel Strains, Gland War Veterans were humans that underwent severe genetic tempering to effectively combat and out-adapt the [[Tyranids]]. The term 'Gland War Veterans' is sometimes shortened to Glandies or Gland Warriors; they were made by the [[Mechanicus]] of the [[Magos|Biologis Magi]] in order to create a new human sub-species to effectively kill Tyranids without needing to waste more human lives. Woah, wait..not waste human lives? Yeah, the Tyranids are such a huge threat that against them, human life (literally cheaper than actual currency) is so valuable the Mechboys are willing to throw serious resources into preserving as many soldiers as possible in combat.

While still in its experimental phase, the [[Techpriest|Tech Priests]] in charge are already looking forward in making more of them and further improving on their combat effectiveness. In case you were wondering, these guys are EXTREMELY effective. No information on their sanity.

=== [[Navigator]]s ===
''Homo navigo''

Navigators are a three-eyed, specialized group of psykers that helps guide Imperial Ships through the Warp (in fact, they were developed to enable Warp travel); although essentially vital for the Imperium's survival, some radical groups in the Imperium declare them to be heretical mutants. These guys are so different from the mainstream human, that they are actually classified as another species of the Human genus, and not a human subspecies, hence their scientific name. They also get their own house in the Houses of Terra within the Terran Administratum, which provides a large modicum of independent political clout within the Imperium and prevents them from being sacrificed to the Golden Throne.

Navigators are never any other kind of psyker (including being a [[Blank]]).

==Probably Natural==

These abhumans are extremely adapted for one specific world (with two big exceptions), which is how evolution works; one would expect the [[Dark Age of Technology]] to be capable of far more versatile adaptations. Typically, the only details we are given about them is their planet of origin.

=== [[Felinid]]s ===
''Homo sapiens hirsutus''

Thanks to 6th Edition, Imperial [[catgirl|catgirls]] are canon! They're found only on the planet [[Carlos McConnell]] and we know absolutely nothing about them whatsoever... which is quite disappointing, really. Judging by the Latin name, they are likely [[furry|furries]].

Affirmed to be of the Neko variety in Liber Xenologis. Thank the Emperor....

=== [[Perpetual]]s ===
''Homo [[Mary_Sue|Superior]]''

A human that cannot die and is functionally immortal. If you believe [[Erda]]'s words, a Perpetual is a new species of Human, with the Emperor wishing to accelerate the evolution of standard Humanity into beings similar to Homo Superior and personally sought out every Perpetual on Earth for this task. Seeing as how she is a Master Geneticist, she may land some credibility. Perpetuals can also be Psykers, which is the only explicit confirmation of Abhuman psyker (excepting Navigators, though they are extreme specialists who were artificially engineered).

In fairness, this might not be abhuman so much as a more evolved human, as opposed to a side grade specialist.

=== [[Psyker#Imperium|Psyker]]s ===

''Homo sapiens psychicus'' (Presumed)

The most common strain of 'natural' abhumans are the Psykers. Considered a new fleeting species of Humanity that is yet too weak to fully shield itself from the [[Chaos|horrible gribblies of the]] [[Warp]]. Psykers are both despised ''and'' useful abhumans of the Imperium of Man, which no doubt creates some existential crisis and massive insecurity issues among these Psykers. Due to their (relative) abundance, Psykers have found many roles inside the Imperium when they are picked up from a roaming [[League of Blackships|Blackship]] from either the [[Inquisition]] or the [[Adeptus Astra Telepathica]]. This may include [[Astropath|Astropaths]] to guide the [[Imperial Navy]], [[Psyker Battle Squad|Sanctioned Psykers]] to be used and utilized in the [[Imperial Guard]], protecting the knowledge of a [[Space Marine]] Chapter as a [[Librarian|Librarian]], serve in [[Inquisition]] forces and even becoming a [[Inquisitor]] [[Gregor Eisenhorn|themselves.]] Those who got the short end of the stick becomes the [[Emprah|Emprah's]] [[Meatbread|psychic chow]] that is used to maintain the [[Astronomican]], though its probably the best an unstable psyker can hope for as they will be treated well, keep control and not be eaten by daemons upon death.

There's also a particularly rare form of psyker known as a [[blank]] which is essentially a Psyker in reverse, resisting or nullifying [[Warp]] energies.

=== [[Troth]]s ===
''Homo sapiens verdantus''

Only found on the world of [[Verdant]]; no other details known other than some claiming that they may be [[Wood Elves (Warhammer Fantasy)|plant people.]]

=== [[Neandor]]s ===
''Homo sapiens hyannothus''

Only found on the world of [[Hyannoth IV]]; no other details known other than their names, which may be a blatant reference to the extinct Neanderthals and thus, are basically space cavemen.

=== [[Scalies]] ===
''Homo sauromimus'' (Presumed)

Scalies are what happens when you mix an Ogryn with a Crocodile and launch the abomination down the deepest toilet hole. They often populate the underhive of Hive Worlds and are frequent bodyguards of [[Scavvies]] which are just poor hobos. They are so genetically unstable that their vox boxes have essentially twisted beyond proper human speech, only communicating via grunts or growls. Seriously, they are so far from the norm that they barely register as human, let alone a separate genetic caste.

They are like Killer Croc from Batman. Each of them can regenerate their limbs like a reptile if it is chopped off. They aren't fielded by the Imperial Guard due to their inability to effectively communicate and somewhat heretical mutations.

While they are found on many, distinct planets, they are only found in Hives, all of whom probably produce very similar waste, which the Scalies live in; combined with their ''lack'' of "stability" (i.e. having Scalies from different planets reliably breed true), they are what one would expect of natural evolution in an artificially similar environment.

=== [[Sub]]s ===
''Homo sapiens deformum''

Ghouls from [[Fallout]]. Intensely fuck ugly individuals born from the rankest shit possible. Similar to Beastmen in terms of persecution, but for some reason, their fuck ugliness is still somehow [[Wat|more stable than their furry counterpart.]]

==Probably Artificial==

These abhumans are adapted for a wide variety of worlds, and, critically, were found on multiple, distinct worlds; as evolution has an astronomically poor chance of producing results like this, odds are far better that the native population, in order to deal with problems brought about by the [[Age of Strife]], genetically tampered with themselves to survive, explaining why populations on similar but distant worlds would arrive at identical (or very similar) solutions.

=== [[Caryatid]]s ===
''Homo sapiens caeruleum''

Bizarre looking [[Wat|flying blue babies]] that may or may not be the original inspiration for the [[Cherubim]]. Often viewed by [[Necromunda|Necromundans]] in the same way as rabbit's feet. While classified under the genus and species of Homo sapiens, we aren't too sure whether it is an Abhuman or a Xenos.

=== [[Longshank]]s ===
''Homo sapiens longatus''

Longshanks are adapted for very low or zero gravity, such as would be expected on a damaged [[Imperial Navy|voidship]]. In appearance, the Longshanks are [[Indrick Boreale|bald]] with very pronounced eyes and have unnaturally long legs, when compared with baseline humans. May be an entire race of gingers if their name is any indication. Recently reappeared in the canon to be taken captive by Orks and then summarily executed by their [[Black Templar]] rescuers after assuming they were mutants. Later being chastised by their commanding officer over the incident and forbidden from harming any more of the prisoners. Its unknown if the offending marines faced any punishment.

=== [[Nightsider]]s ===
''Homo sapiens tenebris''

Nightsiders are abhumans adapted to live in the dark; not much else is known about them. They may have any of the adaptations one might expect in a low-light environment, such as [[Anime|overly large eyes]] to gather as much light as possible or vestigial eyes that have given up on sight altogether, and/or enhanced alternative senses to cope, such as sonar. As almost all dark environments are also cold, odds are very good they have some solution for this as well although this could be anything from thick, [[Nurgle|insulating fat]] and/or hair to having natural access to the Psyker discipline of Pyromancy, similar to how Navigators are stable psykers.

=== [[Ogryn]] ===
''Homo sapiens gigantus'' [[File:40k_ogryn.jpg|144px|thumb|right|Ogryn]]

Ogryn are transparently based on the archetypal fantasy [[ogre]]: big, strong, and dumb. They are useful as [[Imperial Guard]] shock troops because they are big enough to wreck the enemy and dumb enough to charge on command. They are resolutely loyal to their immediate superior officer, but this also makes it extremely easy to turn them to serving Chaos, as they will perform any command given to them if their commanders are persuasive enough, though their childlike faith in the God Emperor makes outright corrupting them harder.

Ogryn hail from high gravity worlds, where their large size is a major limiting factor (smaller creatures are much, much better at lifting more weight relative to their own, and everything is heavier on a high-gravity planet, including an organism's own body). As even a relatively small amount of time to genetically drift would realistically cause them to [[Ratling|shrink]] due to extreme selection for minimizing height, as well as get smarter (due to the same pressures that made stock humans get smarter in a hurry), the implication is that someone or [[Games Workshop|something]] (such as the Guard population or planetary AI) has been inducing their large size and low intelligence [[grimdark|to help keep them contained]]. Their adaptations make them naturally suitable for cold, low-gravity worlds, although their low intelligence makes them unlikely to thrive in any environment where they are responsible for feeding, sheltering, and/or clothing themselves.

=== [[Pelager]]s ===
''Homo sapiens oceanus''

Abhumans adapted for Ocean Worlds; possibly an attempt to bring back the [[Saharduin]], like the Demiurg are an attempt to bring back the [[Squats]]. Are described as basically being Aquatic Ogryn.

=== [[Ratling]]s ===
''Homo sapiens minimus''

Ratlings used to be space [[halfling]]s, but the latest edition miniatures give them hairy bare feet, making them look more like space [[Hobbits]] (though both archetypes have a fair amount of overlap). They are also noted kleptomaniacs, so they've got some space [[Kender]] in them, too. Their good eyesight and small size make them useful as snipers, but they are otherwise useless in a fight and their personal characteristics make them less than endearing to [[Imperial Guard]] leadership, though the Guardsmen themselves usually don't mind. Many Guardsmen are perfectly fine with trading with Ratlings for some [[Dakka|special equipment]] or extra rations, and they're well-known as the sorts of field cooks that can make three old rats, a handful of sawdust, and a stolen muddy boot taste downright '''edible'''. Also, they tend to [[Slaanesh|shag like bunnies]].

Taken together, their adaptations make them excellent at surviving on hot, high-gravity worlds with scarce access to food, particularly a damaged [[Imperial Navy|voidship]], where they would also be adapted to tight living quarters.

==Unknown==
=== [[Beastmen (40k)|Beastmen]] ===
''Homo sapiens variatus''

Beastmen are on their way to being declared [[Mutant#Warhammer_40,000|mutant]]s; as it is, the [[Adeptus Arbites]] has basically declared them an underclass, preventing them from traveling to most planets and excluding them from the [[Imperial Guard]] unless they're willing to be cannon fodder--something which many of them view as their chance to atone for the [[Grimdark|crime of being born as mutants]]. This will probably be for the best, since their [[Warhammer Fantasy Battle]] counterparts are one of the major parts of the armies of [[Chaos]], but one wonders if the 40K beastmen would be less likely to fall to Chaos if the Imperium made them feel just a little welcome.

All Beastmen which have not been mutated by Chaos are morphologically similar, having a basic human body type modified to have the head and lower legs of a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bovidae cloven-hoofed, ruminant mammal from Earth]; one can assume they also possess internal changes, such as a 4-chambered stomach. However, they exhibit widespread diversity within that category, leading to their common consideration of being [[mutant]]s. As these adaptations "merely" adapt the organism to being better at running, jumping, and being able to digest cellulose while sacrificing proficiency at climbing but Beastmen are found on many worlds throughout the Imperium, they would seem to be artificial if not for the fact that one would expect far better of the [[Dark Age of Technology]] than, for example, needing to include horns in order to accomplish digesting grass. Their most likely origin is being artificial but not for the standard reason (like Ogryn seem to be), in particular due to possible interference by nonhumans, such as [[Chaos]] or [[Dark Eldar]], both of whom are notorious for genetically tampering with human populations for their [[Troll|own ends]].

=== [[Centaur]]s ===
Occupying the deep gray end of canon, the short story ''Children of the Emperor'' from the anthology '''Into the Malestrom''' features a guardsman stranded on a lost, feral world with super-high gravity, populated by abhumans whose ancestors gave themselves centaur bodies and super-enhanced muscles to cope with high gravity and abundance of deadly predators. He gets involved with a struggle between the Emperor-worshipping locals and a [[Khorne|Khornate]] [[heresy]], but the best he can do is to report to the Imperium when he escapes that the planet is feral, too dangerous & resource poor to colonize, and houses only some unimportant alien species, thus preventing the loyalists from being slaughtered as mutants by more Puritanical Imperials.

===Stiltlimbs===
This race of abhumans is noted as first appearing in the Age of Strife. Other than that, very little is known of them.

===Tohruk===
Debased and brutal cousins of the Ogryn, who have enacted a dark Pact with the Night Lords Chaos Space Marines.

===Amphi===
This race of Abhumans from the world of Lampra are known to have shape-shifting abilities. This makes them yet another shape-shifting species in Warhammer 40K like the Simulacra, the Lacrymole, or those members of the Assassinorum who utiliize Polymorphine.

===Drepanes===
These abhumans from the world of Azetium IV are noted as having heads similar to sickles. What this means is unknown. A more deadly version of the Coneheads? Sickle-like beaks?

===Lazul===
A race of blue-skinned abhumans from the planet Garganus Prime. Other than that, little is known of them. The blue-man group in space? An entire race of Cad Banes? Slutty exotic harems for Pleasure Worlds like the Asari, Twi'lek, or Orion? Who knows.

===Thrix===
Apparently these abhumans have "lethal plumage". Maybe some sort of birdman abhuman with poison-exuding or razor sharp feathers?

===Katara===
The Katara were a species of Abhumans encountered during the Great Crusade.

An insular and honor-bound civilization that had evolved in the Kenuit System during the Age of Strife, they were tall, sunken-eyed, and extremely thin but graceful. Their cities spread beneath the ground of their moons and planets in vast networks of tunnels, and while technologically sophisticated they only used their skill to build cities, ships, and weaponry. Ritual wars and duels were one of the primary aspects of their culture, primarily used to settle social discourse from art and philosophy to war and politics.

During the Great Crusade, the Katarans were encountered by the Emperor's Children and after several skirmishes ultimately chose to have their fate decided by a duel between their champion Hamaya and the Astartes commander Abdemon. After Abdemon emerged victorious, the honorable Katarans committed mass suicide rather than serve as
a permanently oppressed underclass to the Imperium's purebred humans on their own homeworlds.

== DIY Abhumans ==
Rather surprisingly (considering how much creative freedom 40K typically offers), options for making your own abhuman breeds are actually quite limited, almost to the point of hardly being allowed at all. To recap, in the Imperium there are only 73 officially recognized abhuman breeds. 46 of those are declared extinct, and 12 more are believed extinct due to lack of contact. Only 15 abhuman breeds are officially alive and active in the Imperium of 40K, and 12 of those are named: Navigators, Beastmen, Ogryn, Ratlings, Squats, Nightsiders, Troths, Longshanks, Pelagers, Felinids, Scalies, and Neandors. That leaves ''only 3'' officially open slots for DIY abhumans.

Now, you could quibble on which breeds belong where on the list, or even if some should or shouldn't be on it all, and how many free slots there actually are, but the end result still leaves little to no wiggle room for converters and fan-fluff writers that want to make their own thing while sticking to the lore.

Then again, you could always just say "fuck it" and go ahead with a fan-creation, regardless of the official numbers, on the assumption that the [[Games Workshop|Administratum]] just got their paperwork wrong. [[Squats|It's not like that hasn't happened before]].

{{Imperium}}
{{Important Species in 40k}}
[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]][[Category:Imperial]]