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Kobold

2021-07-07T08:51:21Z

2601:188:C300:64B8:99EE:568B:FC6A:61F8: Added Warhammer Kobolds

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[[File:Kobold commando.jpg|300px|thumb|right|A [[/k/]]obold.]]
'''Kobolds''' are a race of creatures originating from Germanic folklore, where they were [[goblin]]-like malevolent spirits who were believed to haunt mines, occasionally leaving nasty surprises in the form of worthless, poisonous metal - the element we now know as "cobalt". The ore is naturally found as sharp shards, bonded with arsenic oxide. The shards are sharp enough to penetrate boots and feet, hurting miners and making them sick just as if they were poisoned caltrop traps left by kobolds. A "cobalt bomb" is a proposed nuclear weapon designed to poison a large territory with super-radioactive cobalt dust, making the target area uninhabitable for 105 years. The (relatively) short half-life makes it especially deadly, but possible for your great-grandchildren to recover the empty territory. So watch out for "kobold bombs" or "magic missiles".

They shot to fame in /tg/ circles in [[Dungeons & Dragons]] where, ever since the very first edition, they have been small, weak creatures, generally serving in most campaigns as low-level cannon fodder for the adventurers to mow down, much like [[goblins]] and [[orcs]].

Despite being physically weak, however, kobolds are also described as capable trapsmiths, and are known for creating traps to protect their lairs and dungeons (a habit that is usually ignored or underplayed by most [[DM]]s). This habit - combined with a penchant for lethal tunnel design and group tactics - were famously used in the tale of [[Tucker's Kobolds]] to illustrate that kobolds - and, indeed, any intelligent creature - can remain dangerous to high-level adventurers despite being statistically inferior in just about every way.

If played with the intention of being dangerous, kobolds are far and away the hardest throwaway monsters to fight. It could be likened to a sort of sick, hardcore version of Home Alone, with the kobolds taking the part of a severely deranged and sadistic Kevin McCallister and the PCs taking the part of hopelessly underprepared thugs walking into a situation they cannot have possibly foreseen. If treated like cannon fodder, they are the absolute hands-down easiest things in any edition to kill, including [[cat|housecats]] and electric iguanas.

Kobolds are often used as "weakling" monsters in games, particularly video games based on the pen-and-paper variety. Their actual versatility depends on the system, but like D&D runs the gamut of [[Dawww|harmless]] to [[Dwarf Fortress#Cats|devastating in numbers]] to [[Anal circumference|downright impossible]]. They are sometimes portayed as reptilian creatures, sometimes as either wolf/dog-like or [[Warcraft| rat-like]]; D&D has actually been in both camps in different editions, and in fact [[5e]] (presumably as part of its attempt to be the "Greatest Hits" edition) actually decided to split the difference and made them dragonkin with some reptilian and some canine features.

There is a market in [[Dungeons_%26_Dragons_3rd_Edition | 3.5]] for kobold [[PC]]s, since their draconian/reptilian ancestry make them one of the only +0 Level Adjustment races capable of qualifying for much of the additional material in [[splatbook]]s like the Draconomicon and the Book of Dragons. [[Pun-Pun]], for example, is a rather famous [[CharOp]] design that allows a kobold wizard to attain theoretically unlimited abilities and attributes, using material from splatbooks and the [[Forgotten Realms]] [[Dungeons_%26_Dragons_Campaign_Settings | campaign setting]].

While [[4e]] technically does allow for 0LA characters using the "racial features" rules in the Monster Manual, they effectively play like reptilian halflings, which get better bonuses. The lack of splat and reptilian-based bonuses makes them less appealing than 3e, but their inherent trap skills make them excellent [[Bloody Path|rogues]].

5th edition's Volo Guide to Monsters reintroduced them as an option, and while they're not a ''bad'' choice per se (Small, +2 to Dex and Darkvision make Kobolds quite effective rogues), their sensitivity to daylight proves to be a real disadvantage in campaigns that aren't extensive dungeon crawls.

The patron god of the kobolds is [[Kurtulmak]].

Kobolds with wings are known as Urds.

Kobolds are very popular with [[Furry|Scalies]].

==The Many Faces of Kobolds==
[[File:Kobold_Art_History.jpg|200px|thumb|right|A basic summary of the kobold look from 1st to 4th edition.]]
D&D Kobolds have undergone a long history of revision. When they first appeared in basic/AD&D 1e, they were considered kin to goblinoids, but also had distinctly beast-man type appearances - of course, these were the days in which [[bullywug]]s and [[gnolls]] were considered humanoids and thus could interbreed with humans, so not that weird. The result was a scaly-skinned rat- or dog-like humanoid with small horns and a distinct barking voice. The version first depicted in the [[Monster Manual]] was clearly a scaly dog-man, but versions by other artists were more rat-like.

When AD&D 2e was launched, the first Monstrous Compendium presented an alternative version that was more visibly [[goblin]]-like; a small, ugly but fundamentally man-shaped creature with big, saucer-like eyes, a puggish face and small horns. This version was not very well received, and the artwork quickly went back to the more rodent-like visages of editions past. The iconic depiction of this was by [[Tony DiTerlizzi]], in the AD&D Monstrous Manual.

Finally, in 3rd edition, kobolds became stunted, draconic humanoids; little reptile men with dragon-like snouts and stubby horns, and this interpretation, which made them claim kinship to true dragons, became their iconic face for all editions afterwards. Even Pathfinder reused this. The 5th edition version somewhat combined the reptilian and canine features, keeping them little reptile men with stubby horns on their heads, but giving them a more canine head with a black dog-like nose at the end of their snout, as well as a pair of longer horns that somewhat resemble dog ears at a glance.

Because the "dragonbolds" or "lizardbolds" are so associated with D&D, when kobolds reappear in other media, their appearance often changes. Because the goblinoid form is too confusing, most kobolds tend to be either [[ratfolk]] or dog-people. [[Warcraft]] has long used the ratfolk interpretation, with its kobolds being humanoid rats who are obsessed with finding candles to help them in their eternal mining. In Japanese media, kobolds as digging dog-people as popular for much the same reason why pig-men [[orc]]s are popular: [[Old School Roleplaying]] [[neckbeard]]s have a huge influence on /tg/ related animes & mangas, and they retain fond memories of the original quasi-dog-like appearance of kobolds from AD&D 2e. This is why, for example, Polt of [[Life With Monstergirls]] appears as a dog-girl.

==D&D Stats==
Kobolds have long been one of the playable monstrous races of Dungeons & Dragons, although their precise mechanical crunch has been... kind of hit and miss. Pathfinder and 5th edition's versions in particular have often been angrily derided for actually being weaker than [[Goblin]]s, who are supposed to be on roughly the same level of inferiority on the totem pole.

===BECMI===
Kobolds were amongst the many "humanoid" races to debut in the [[Known World Gazetteers|Known World Gazetteer #10: The Orcs of Thar]], alongside [[orc]]s, [[goblinoid]]s, [[ogre]]s, [[troll]]s and [[gnoll]]s.

::Kobold Ability Modifiers: -4 Strength, +3 Dexterity
::Note: Like all Humanoids from "The Orcs of Thar", a Kobold 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", a Kobold 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.
::Kobold Natural Armor Class: 7
::Can become [[Shaman]]s (6th level) and [[Wokani]] (4th level).

{| class=wikitable
!Kobold's's level || XP Required || Kobold's hit dice
|-
|0||0||1d4
|-
|1||500X||2d4
|-
|2||1,000||3d4
|-
|3||2,000||4d4
|-
|4||4,000||5d4
|-
|5||8,000||6d4
|-
|6||16,000||7d4
|-
|7||30,000||8d4
|-
|8||60,000||9d4
|-
|9||120,000||+2 Hit Points
|-
|Subsequent||100,000||+2 Hit Points
|}
{{D&D1e-Races}}

===AD&D/2nd Edition===
From the Complete Book of Humanoids. Before these, kobold PC rules (alongside [[xvart]], [[goblin]] and [[orc]] rules) had appeared for AD&D 1e in the article "Hey, Wanna Be a Kobold?" by Joseph Clay in [[Dragon Magazine]] #141 (January 1989).

::Ability Score Modifiers: -1 Strength, -1 Constitution
::Altered Ability Scores: Minimum Dexterity and Constitution of 4, Maximum Strength of 15, Maximum Constitution of 16, Maximum Intelligence of 17, Maximum Charisma of 14
::Class & Level Restrictions: Fighter (8), Cleric (9), Shaman (7), Witch Doctor (7), Thief (12)
::Size: Small
::Special Advantages: Infravision 60 feet, Intelligent or Powerful creatures will attack a kobold last unless it is obviously a threat
::Special Disadvantages: Light Aversion (-1 penalty to attack rolls in equivalent of direct sunlight), gnomes receive a +1 to attack rolls against kobolds
::Weapon Proficiencies: Club (spiked), hand axe, javelin, short sword, spear
::Non-Weapon Proficiencies: Animal noise, animal training (giant weasel), animal training (wild boar), begging, close-quarter fighting, danger sense, fast-talking, gem cutting, hiding, looting, mining, set snares, wild fighting
{{D&D2e-Races}}

===3rd Edition===
From Races of the Dragon.

*Ability Score Modifiers: +2 Dexterity, -4 Strength, -2 Constitution
*Size: Small
*Type: Humanoid (Dragonblood, Reptilian)
*Base Speed 30 feet
::This is faster than almost any other Small humanoid can get, making kobolds actually better for certain mobility builds than gnomes or halflings can ever be.
*Darkvision 60 ft.
*+1 natural bonus to AC
*+2 racial bonus to Craft (Trapmaking), Profession (Miner) and Search checks; Craft (trapmaking) is always considered a class skill.
::Later on in Chapter 6: Character Options, the skill listing for Profession says that kobolds also get some unusual perks to use Profession (miner). One kobold counts as a Medium creature to determine how much digging it can do, and up to 4 of the Small-sized fuckers can fit into a single square at one time. That means that they can actually dig four times as fast as dwarves and certain other underground races. In the book, it actually says that dwarves respect their mining skills.
*Light Sensitivity: Dazzled when exposed to bright sunlight or a daylight spell (which can be negated by buying some goggle-shades later on in the same book)
*Favored Class: Sorcerer

Additionally, Races of the Dragon has the Draconic Rite of Passage, where allows kobolds to endure a 9-day fasting, the permanent loss of 1 hp, and sacrifice a 100 gp gem to gain any 1st-level spell as a spell-like ability, usable once a day.

It should be noted that these basic stats were still considered a little weak compared to other races, so a web enhancement for Races of the Dragon beefed them up a tiny bit. While this didn't really make them all that "powerful", the update did actually make them a very interesting race. The additional abilities are:
* Natural Weapons: It's just a little 2 claws / 1 bite set that does 1d3 for them all, but it does mean a kobold is never unarmed, as well as explaining how they are so fucking ridiculous at digging.
* Slight Build: The opposite of the goliath advantage, you get to count as one size category smaller when it's advantageous, such as for size modifiers or when squeezing through a tight space.
* Weapon Proficiency/Familiarity: Kobolds get Martial Weapon Proficiency in light pick and heavy pick (kind of the way elves and others get bonus profs), and treat greatpicks from that web supplement as martial instead of exotic.
* Kobold cleric domain: Gives the cleric trapfinding, adds Disable Device and Search to class skills, gives some pretty fucking spiffy domain spells.
* The Greater Draconic Rite of Passage: This awesome addition allows a kobold sorcerer who already did the lesser Draconic Rite of Passage to get a free fucking level of sorcerer that doesn't alter their ECL or anything. No shit; all you have to do is another 9-day fast, give up 3 hp permanently (which is the only reason you might hesitate to do it), and a 1,000 gp gem. Enjoy being overpowered, you asshole...
* Draconic Reservoir feat: Your SLA from Draconic Rite of Passage is now 3/day instead of 1/day. Make it count.

====Why D&D 3.5 Kobolds Kick Ass====
It may not seem like it, but despite what a bunch of dipshts may say, 3.5 was the time when kobolds ascended to godlike fucking power.

You see, D&D characters have ages, and in third edition, your character's age can place you into one of four age categories. The first does nothing, and each one after that stacks an increasing penalty to your physical ability scores and a +1 to all of your mental ability scores, so a character who is older than Jesus will have -6 str, -6 dex, -6 con, +3 int, +3 wis, and +3 cha... unless that character is a dragon. Dragons get the mental benefits of old age without the physical penalties, because dragons are fucking awesome. But that doesn't do kobolds a lot of good, because kobolds aren't dragons, right? Enter the Dragonwrought feat. A kobold who takes the Dragonwrought feat during character-creation gets their creature type changed from humanoid to dragon. Page 39 of Races of the Dragon explicitly confirms: "Ability penalties due to age do not apply to dragonwrought kobolds. See the Dragonwrought feat, page 100." So, a 120-year-old dragonwrought kobold gets a free +3 to its mental scores in addition to all the other benefits of counting as a dragon, like low-light vision and immunity to magic sleep and paralysis effects. For a wizard, sorcerer, cleric, favored soul, psion, or any other dedicated caster class, which are already pretty godlike, dragonwrought kobolds can give you that little bit of extra edge that you need to achieve [[Pun-Pun|''uber''-godhood]].

It gets better, though. You see, in addition to the four ''normal'' age categories that all characters have, kobolds have ''kobold age categories'', ranging from Wrymling to Great Wyrm. True dragons, meanwhile, have ''dragon age categories'' with the ''exact same names'', and although there is no strict and official definition of a "true dragon" anywhere in the D&D 3e literature, they have been described as dragons that progress through said age categories. As a result, [[skub|some people have argued]] that [[bullshit|dragonwrought kobolds are, in fact, true dragons]]. Why would this matter? Because there's a bunch of epic dragon cheese that is only available to true dragons, and if you can stack that shit on a kobold player character, you'll practically be eating Tarrasques for lunch.

As NPCs, kobolds know they are small and weak and can't do much about it. They can dig through a mountain faster than that chump John Henry (look it up, you illiterate fuckwits), and lay out enough traps to make the Tomb of Horrors look like a fucking carnival ride, though, so what other creature could use a legion of little minions who do nothing but dig out precious minerals and make traps to defend it all day? Fucking dragons, of course. Right there in Races of the Dragon, there's a blue dragon who actually tells her hatchlings that only kobolds are more reliable than family and the most diehard friends. Because kobolds don't sit on their treasure; they hand it over to a neighborhood dragon and ask for nothing but protection and a little help with enemies once in a while. For a dragon, the return on that investment is just too good: fabulous wealth, dozens of lethal traps to help protect it, and a nice little army of sneaky, smart little ranged attackers who won't hesitate to pin-cushion intruders with dozens of crossbow bolts. For the most part, everyone wins in that arrangement.

Kobolds may not be as elegant as elves, as sturdy as dwarves, or have the adaptability of humans. What they have is moxie and the smarts to play up their strengths, making them the "underdogs" you can't help but root for a little bit.

===Pathfinder===
In addition to appearing in the Advanced Race Guide and Inner Sea Races, Kobolds got their own mini-booklet specifically aimed at Kobolds of Golarion, with a bunch of new traits - including special "bonus" traits based on what color their scales were.

::Ability Score Modifiers: +2 Dexterity, -4 Strength, -2 Constitution
::Size: Small
::Type: Humanoid (Reptilian)
::Speed: 30 feet
::Darkvision 60 feet
::Armor: +1 natural armor
::Crafty: +2 racial bonus to Craft (Traps), Perception, and Profession (Miner), Craft (Traps) and Stealth are always Class Skills
::Weakness: Light Sensitivity

''Alternate Racial Traits:''
* '''Beast Bond:''' Replace '''Crafty''' with +2 racial bonus to Handle Animal and Ride checks, with Handle Animal and Ride always being Class Skills.
* '''Dragon-Scaled:''' Replace '''Armor''' with Resistance 5 to either Acid, Cold, Electricity or Fire Damage.
* '''Gliding Wings:''' Replace '''Crafty''' with the ability to Glide; when falling, a kobold can make a DC 15 Fly check to land without injury as if using the ''Feather Fall'' spell, and if it succeeds on this check, can then make a second DC 15 Fly check to move 5 feet laterally for every 20 feet fallen.
* '''Jester:''' Replace '''Crafty''' with +2 racial bonus to Diplomacy and Perform checks, with Diplomacy and Perform always being Class Skills.
* '''Dayrider:''' Downgrades a kobold's Darkvision to Low-Light Vision, but removes its Light Sensitivity.
* '''Dragonmaw:''' Replaces '''Armor''' with a D4 damage bite attack that can also deal a bonus +1d6 fire/acid/cold/lightning damage (chosen and set at character creation) 1/day.
* '''Echo Whistler:''' Replaces '''Crafty''' with the ability to try and make a Bluff check with just a bit of vocal mimicry 3/day, gaining a +2 bonus to the check in any place that would generate an echo.
* '''Frightener:''' Replaces '''Armor''' with a +1 DC boost to any Fear spell that the kobold casts.
* '''Prehensile Tail:''' Replaces '''Armor''' with a +2 bonus to Acrobatics & Climb checks and the ability to draw a hidden weapon as a move action.
* '''Secret Strider:''' Replaces '''Crafty''' with the ability to, twice per day, enter a super-sneaky mode for 1 minute. During this time, the kobold leaves no trail when moving through natural surroundings, increasing the DC of Survival checks to track it by +10.
* '''Shoulder To Shoulder:''' Replaces '''Crafty''' with a +1 bonus to Aid Another checks, the ability to occupy the same space as another Small creature without penalty, and the ability to gain a +1 AC bonus when sharing a space with another kobold with this trait.
* '''Spellcaster Sneak:''' Replaces '''Crafty''' with a +2 bonus to Stealth checks. A kobold spellcaster with this trait can also freely apply Silent Spell to a spell 1/day.
* '''Wild Forest Kobold:''' Replaces ''Crafty'' with a +2 bonus to Perception and Survival checks. Additionally, Stealth and Survival are always class skills for this kobold.
* '''Wyrmcrowned:''' Replaces ''Crafty'' with a +2 bonus to either Diplomacy or Intimidate and the ability to count the chosen skill as always being a class skill.

Pathfinder 2nd Edition now has Kobolds thanks to the Advanced Player's Guide. Artwork of the little scalies shows a notable redesign in appearance from 1st edition, now looking more like salamanders or other lizards, with wider heads and a relatively thicker body (no, not ''that'' sort of thick). If nothing else, the wider and flatter heads do make the "three kobolds in a trenchcoat" trick a little more structurally-stable.
{{Pathfinder-Races}}

===Pathfinder 2nd Edition Kobolds===

Kobolds finally got their time in the spotlight with the APG during Gencon 2020. As stated above, they got an update to their appearances, now looking more like salamanders than the mini dragons they were before.

'''Stats'''

::Hit points: 6

::Size: Small

::Speed: 25 feet

::Ability Boosts: Dexterity, Charisma, Free

::Ability Flaw: Constitution

::Languages: Common and Draconic, 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.

::Draconic Exemplar: You draw minor powers from your draconic exemplar. Choose a type of chromatic or metallic dragon to be your exemplar. This determines your scale color and appearance, and dragons sometimes look more favorably upon those kobolds who resemble them, at the GM’s discretion. Your exemplar may also determine details of other abilities you have, using the Draconic Exemplars table.

In addition to all of these, Kobolds get a few feats like ''Cringe'', which works a lot like 5e's Grovel, Cower, and Beg, except here it's optional.

::Cringe

:::''Trigger'': A creature you are aware of critically succeeds on a Strike against you and would deal damage to you.
:::With pitiful posturing, you cause your foe to pull back a deadly attack. The attacking creature takes a circumstance penalty to the damage of the triggering Strike equal to your level + 2. This penalty applies after doubling the damage for a critical hit. The attacker is then immune to your Cringe for 24 hours.

===4th Edition===
In this edition, kobolds received their first writeup in the Monster Manual 1.
::Ability Score Modifier: +2 Dexterity +2 Constitution,
::Size: Small
::Vision: Normal
::Speed: 6 squares
::Skill Bonus: +2 Stealth, +2 Thievery
::Trap Sense: +2 to all defenses against traps
::Racial Power - Shifty: At-Will power. You can spend a minor action to Shift 1 square

They later got beefed up in the Dungeon Survival Guide. This gave them the Reptile type, traded Stealth bonus for Dungeoneering, gave them Darkvision, let them swap their Dex boost for +2 Charisma instead, and replaced Shifty with Shifty Manuever, an Encounter power that lets the kobold and all allies within Close Burst 2 shift 1 square as a free action.

It also gave them five new racial utility powers; Flee! (level 2 Daily; kobold and all allies in Close Burst 2 get +2 to all defenses for 1 turn and shift their full speed), Load Slingpot (level 2 Encounter; kobold with a sling can fling a randomly enchanted projectile that will either give the target a turn-long attack penalty, set the target on fire, or immobilize them for a turn), Tunnel Scuttle (level 6 Encounter; free move action that can go up walls and through tight spaces without issue), Frantic Shift (level 10 Encounter; shift 1 square as a minor action, recharges if you get Bloodied) and Trap-Gang Method (level 10 At-Will; if you take trap/hazard damage with a non-minion creature adjacent to you, you can shift over half the damage you take to that creature).

On top of that, it also provided them with five empowering feats; Dragon's Indomitability (roll two dice and choose the result you want when saving vs. Fear and Stun), Kobold in a Corner (+1 per tier bonus damage against creatures that have combat advantage against you), and Shiftier Maneuver (when you use Shifty Maneuver, one target can shift +2 extra squares) for every'bold, Trapbuster (roll two dice and pick your preference when making Perception checks to detect traps, you don't ever trigger a trap if you fail a Thievery check to disable it) for those with training in Thievery, and Eldritch Momentum (if you move at least 3 squares away from where you started your turn, you gain combat advantage against all creatures under your Warlock's Curse until the end of your next turn) for the kobold [[warlock]].

Truly, 4th edition was a glorious time to play a kobold.
{{D&D4e-Races}}

===5th Edition===
[[File:Looting_Kobolds.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Kobolds are a bit more silly in 5e.]]
From Volo's Guide to Monsters.

::Ability Score Modifier: +2 Dexterity
::Size: Small
::Speed: 30 feet
::Darkvision: 60 feet
::Grovel: Once per encounter, can use an action on your turn to beg, plead, snivel and otherwise humiliate yourself; until the end of your next turn, all of your allies gain Advantage on attack rolls made against enemies within 10 feet of you and who can see your pathetic display.
::Pack Tactics: If at least one non-incapacitated ally is within 5 feet of a creature you are attacking, you gain Advantage on attack rolls against that creature.
::Sunlight Sensitivity: You suffer Disadvantage on attack rolls and Wisdom (Perception) checks made when you or your target are in direct sunlight.

Until the 2020 errata of Volo's Guide to Monsters, kobolds had a -2 penalty to strength. This made kobolds and full-blooded orcs the only races in 5e with a racial ability score penalty. The orc's -2 to intelligence was also removed in the same errata (though, the orcs had already gotten the same change in the Eberron and Wildemount books).

The Grovel power is ridiculously useful, allowing you to grant Advantage to ALL attack rolls made by ALL your allies against a sizable number of enemies. That said, it's also the source of a great deal of [[skub]]; those who like their kobolds to be viewed as "truly pathetic" feel it's fitting, whilst players who want to play a kobold in order to fight ''against'' the perception of kobolds as weak, cowardly, stupid cannon fodder find it infuriating, because it's a racial trait that goes directly against their character plan AND it means you're inherently contributing less to the party. In fairness, it can easily be reskinned into a more heroic or warlike act, a comedy skit if you're going for something goofier, or even an elaborate and [[Pun-Pun|truly cunning]] [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XfkZlcG8KU| deception.]

Likewise, the Pack Tactics power is seen as extremely powerful. This is offset by your Sunlight Sensitivity, meaning that you yourself are less able to contribute in a fight. Especially since, being Small and having a Strength penalty, you're not likely to be in melee range in the first place, as you're far better suited for a bow-based [[rogue]]/[[ranger]] or a spellcaster.

In a nutshell, the 5e Kobold looks like an attempt at directly converting the 5e Monster Manual version into a PC race, for good or ill. An interesting thing to consider is that on their own, Grovel and Pack Tactics would be overpowered, but they are easily canceled out by Daylight Sensitivity, which is very likely to be the norm as most adventuring parties will choose to take a long rest during the night. From a meta-gaming perspective, the best way to play a kobold is as a team-player, which is very fitting for its lore as a creature that is weak on its own but powerful in large numbers. Consequently, it shouldn't be too surprising to see a kobold player find great success playing a class focused around the use of a companion, such as a Battlesmith Artificer or a Beastmaster Ranger.

Naturally, this version is not the most popular around, and there are alternatives. In particular, the [[Midgard]] Heroes Handbook offers this alternative;
::Ability Score Modifier: +2 Dexterity, +1 Intelligence
::Size: Small
::Speed: 30 feet
::Darkvision: 60 feet
::Blindsider: If at least one non-incapacitated ally is within 5 feet of a creature you are attacking, you gain Advantage on attack rolls against that creature. You can only benefit from this trait with one attack per round.
::Sunlight Sensitivity: You suffer Disadvantage on attack rolls and Wisdom (Perception) checks made when you or your target are in direct sunlight.
::Tinkerer: You have Proficiency with one set of Artisan's Tools of your choice from the following list: Alchemist's Supplies, Mason's Tools, Smith's Tools, or Tinker's Tools.

Or you could look at the [[World of Farland]] version:
::Ability Score Modifiers: +2 Dexterity
::Size: Small
::Speed: 30 feet
::Darkvision 60 feet
::Tricksy: You have Proficiency with the Trapmaking Kit.
::Sunlight Sensitivity: You suffer Disadvantage on attack rolls and Wisdom (Perception) checks made when you or your target are in direct sunlight.
::Pack Tactics: Once per short rest, when attacking an enemy adjacent to an ally who isn't incapacitated, you can gain advantage on the attack roll. If this attack hits, it does +1d6 damage, increasing to +2d6, +3d6 and +4d6 at levels 6, 11 and 14 respectively.
::Subrace: Choose the Common, Winged or Wyrmsblood subrace.

''Common Kobolds'' are known as "Murgs", which means "Scavenger" or "Rat" in the Dark Tongue. They gain +1 Constitution and the Iron Stomach trait, which lets them even spoiled or rotten food whilst also giving them Proficiency in Survival, Advantage on Constitution saving throws, and Resistance to Poison damage. Despite their name, they are ''not'' [[ratfolk]]; those are the [[ferek]]kin.

''Winged Kobolds'', obviously, can fly. They gain no extra ability score increase, but have a Fly speed of 30 feet. They can't fly if wearing armor they're not proficient in, nor a backpack specifically tailored to fit around their wings. Additionally, they need to pass a Constitution save whenever they take damage whilst flying (DC 10 or 1/2 the damage, whichever is higher) or else they immediately fall to the ground.

''Wyrmsblood Kobolds'' claim distant [[dragon]] heritage and an attendant affinity for [[Sorcerer (Dungeons & Dragons)|sorcery]]. They gain +1 Charisma and can cast Blade Ward, as well as gaining the ability to cast Charm Person 1/day from 3rd level, both using Charisma as their spellcasting ability score.

{{D&D5e-Races}}

==Cutebolds==
[[File:Cutebold adventure party.gif|250px|thumb|right|Aw, they think they're people!]]
Cutebolds are like Kobolds only incredibly cute.

They are pitiful and childish in everything they do, and are innocent enough to not know how to procreate. All they know is that rubbing their noses gives them a guilty pleasure. They are no less "harmless" when played properly, though. They tend toward the dog-like for extra D'aww.

This interpretation of the Kobold is thought to have been inspired by their depiction in [[Dwarf Fortress]], where they steal your supplies, but seem to do it in the most endearingly stupid manner possible.

Cutebold stats:
: +2 Dex, +2 Cha, -2 Int
: Charm person once per day as a spell like ability
: Low light vision and scent

==Kobold Commandos==

[[File:Kobold-red-beret.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Another [[/k/]]obold.]]
[[File:Kobold-with-smg.png|300px|thumb|right|Is that a sturmfaust? ITS A GUNDAM!]]
A popular way to portray kobolds in a more contemporary fashion, kobold commandos portray kobolds as being part of the military, especially special forces. Other anons point out that with the fact that they don't hold up in a one-on-on fight with other low level monsters, attack in large numbers and from ambush, have a predisposition towards traps and dig big underground tunnels, they're kind of like the Viet Cong. This is probably rooted in the old story about [[Tucker's Kobolds]], and there are similarities between these two depictions. Of the various 'cannon fodder' enemies, Kobolds seem to be the most organized, and with that organization a DM has a lot of leeway to look into all the ways one can use fortifications to fuck with an attacker, and turn them upon unsuspecting players.
D20 Modern's urban Arcana made this version actually canon, right down to an almost [[Ork]]ish love of [[DAKKA]], with the popular kobold character [[Meepo]], originally from the module The Sunless Citadel, getting transported into the world of d20 modern and joining an army, and later returning to his own world bringing his shotgun with him.

==Kobold Models==
Despite being a part of D&D since the very beginning, kobold tabletop models are rather rare(see below for links). For the longest time, [[Reaper Miniatures]] has been pretty much the ''only'' company that made them in squad/mob size numbers, and even then the sculpts... aren't that spectacular. However, as of May 2017 Westfalia Miniatures has Kickstarted their new tabletop wargame Strongsword, and included with it are models (damn good ones, too) for an entire kobold army! What's more, in the Strongsword lore the little bastards apparently cause enough mayhem to be responsible for a conflict called (I shit you not) the [[Tucker's Kobolds|''Kobold Wars'']].

==Warhammer Kobolds==

The Kobolds of Warhammer Fantasy were merely a subspecies of Goblin, whose only morphological difference was being skinnier and with more angular proportions. The exception to this was the Fire Kobold, a form of Kobold covered in red patches often mistaken for diseased rash. The Fire Kobolds held the unique ability to manifest fire through throwing fireballs or spitting out small gouts of flame.

==Monstergirls==
{{Monstergirls}}
[[File:MGE Kobold.jpg|thumb|200px|right|The MGE Kobold, one of the two most iconic depictions of the kobold as a cute doggie-girl.]]
[[File:Koboldette.jpg|thumb|200px|left|The basic approach the West takes to sexy kobolds.]]

Given the popularity of kobolds, there are also a lot of people who like them In That Way. The two most popular kobold monstergirl depictions are the dogbold and the little dragonbold: Goblinoid kobolds are pretty much immune to this treatment, mostly because at that point you just end up with a monstergirl [[goblin]] and maybe a few special kinks, at which point you're usually asking yourself "why is this not just called a goblin?".

Dogbolds are mostly seen in Japanese media like [[Life With Monstergirls]] and the [[Monster Girl Encyclopedia]], where they are humanoid dogs to some degree. In the former they have small snouts instead of noses, fur covering their bodies and [[Power_Fist|massive hands]]. Polt is the only kobold seen so far, the owner of a gym and creator of the "kobolds are all hyperactive dogs who'll drag you along if you take them for walkies" stereotype. In the latter they are humans with dog-like disposion; submissive, eager to please, excitable and won't stop doing something until you tell them to.

In the west, meanwhile, the small dragon type kobold is massive bait for the [[furry]] subgroup known as scalies: those with an interested in scaled rather than furred animals. Dragons are by far the most popular animal in the group, and not only are kobolds essentially a smaller version of dragons, the fact that kobolds are generally depicted as the loyal and submissive servants to their draconic masters means it's not hard to sexualize that relationship. Humanization is rarely done because that would ruin their small dragon appeal. While in some cases they are drawn with humanoid penises or breasts, often they are depicted as they are in the books (except, you know, naked). This includes very minute sexual dimorphism, meaning that any kobold could be a [[trap]]. Often included is them having a cloaca, meaning that their pelvic region is reduced to a single nondescript opening that they piss, jizz, and crap out of (....hot?). These kobolds are often portrayed with wide, egg-laying hips in order to give them some [[shortstack]] appeal.

===Canonical Kobold Deviance===
In what has to be the weirdest of coincidences, ever since kobolds got their [[dragon]]-linked makeover in 3rd edition, there's been some really weird sexual elements snuck into their lore, although what that element is depends on the edition.

[[Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition]]: [[Races of X|Races of the Dragon]] states that kobolds go into heat and are compelled to breed, like animals, but they're also sapient beings, so they also form permanent pair-bondings. They reconcile these different facts with the statement that extra-marital sex and breeding is considered "no biggie" in kobold society, because the urge hits when it hits, and they can't control themselves when it happens, so there's no point getting jealous about it.

[[Pathfinder]]: Kobolds of [[Golarion]] has become somewhat memetically infamous for its presentation of kobold biology. Classic Monsters Revisited also established kobolds as being super-breeders, with females producing eggs throughout their lives and producing bigger and bigger clutches as they get older.

[[Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition]]: The Dungeon Survival Handbook states that kobolds worship [[dragon]]s to the extent of willingly committing suicide by feeding themselves to hungry dragons because they view it was a way to transcend their kobold natures and become one with their devourer. While they are not stated to get any ''sexual'' pleasure from this act of getting eaten, you just know that pointing as much out will fall on deaf ears with many voraphiles.

[[Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition]]: Volo's Guide to Monsters states that, like certain frogs and fish, kobolds are environmentally triggered gender-benders, switching between male and female in response to the overabundance of one gender in order to facilitate breeding. So theoretically, if you want kobolds, you just stick two kobolds in a cage and it doesn't matter what sexes they started out as, they'll become a breeding pair and start making eggs soon enough.

==Gallery==
===Cutebolds===
<center>
<gallery>
File:Koboldthief.png
File:Id give you the moon.gif|If you should want the moon, and the stars that shine...
File:Grifli.gif|There's no word in kobold for "[[just as planned|keikaku]]".
File:Koboldhouse.gif|[[Kobold Camp]] now with 3D rendering.
File:Loveakobold.gif|Love can bloom under a battlefield.
Image:Cutebold_fantasies.jpg|Someone's got a widdle crush!
File:CuteboldMindflayer.jpg|No one messes with a [[Illithid|Mindflayer]]
</gallery>
</center>

===D&D Kobolds through the ages===
<center>
<gallery>
Original_Kobold.png|The very first kobold in D&D, the foundation of them all.
Kobold MM 1e 2.jpg
Kobold Monster card.jpg|The one time when "goblin" and "kobold" became interchangeable.
Goblinoid_Kobold.jpg
Urd.jpg|Now with flight!
Kobold MM 2e.png|The iconic AD&D Kobold artwork; you can actually see similarities to 3e if you squint.
3e_Kobold.jpg|The definitive species change-over.
4e_Kobolds.jpg
4e_Kobolds_2.jpg
5e_Kobold.jpg|New swolbolds, the pinnacle of kobold design!
Pathfinder_Kobold.jpg|Pathfinder did buff kobolds first.
Pathfinder_Kobold_Warrior.jpg
Pathfinder_Kobold_Shaman.jpg
KoboldPF2e.png|Pathfinder 2e makes the Kobolds look more like salamanders
</gallery>
</center>

===Western-style Monstergirls===
<center>
<gallery>
Image:Koboldette_2.jpg|Now in flat-chested variety.
Image:Kobold_Maiden.jpg
Image:Kobold_Maiden_2.jpg
Image:Embarrassed_Kobold.png|Some kobold-gals are very shy about being approached by human adventurers.
Image:Presenting_Kobold.png|Others, not so much.
Image:Then_and_now_1.png|Kobolds have changed a lot over the years.
Image:Nubile_Kobold_Savage.jpg
Image:Kobold_Worker.png
Image:Kobold_Traveler.jpg
Image:Kobold_Warrior.jpg
Image:Kobold_Dancer.png
Image:Kobold_White_Mage.jpg
Image:Kobold_Wizard_1.png
Image:Kobold_Wizard_2.jpg
File:Feathered Aztec Kobold Spirit Shaman.png
Image:Koboldwater.jpg
Image:Coal_the_Kobold_gets_pettings.jpg|Coal the Kobold, protagonist of Monsters Can Be Heroes Too! being adorable.
</gallery>
</center>

==See also==
*[[Tucker's Kobolds]]
*[[Pun-Pun]]
*[[Kobold Camp]]
*[[Kobolds Ate My Baby!]]
*[[Unified Setting/Kobolds]]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80BWVkKd_Cw The cutebold theme]
*[https://www.reapermini.com/search/kobold/ Reaper minis]
*[https://www.stonehavenmini.com/collections/kobold Stonehaven minis]
*[https://wizkids.com/dnd-unpainted/ wizkid D&D line, has some kobolds]

[[Category:Dragons]] [[Category:Furry]]

Sons of Behemat

2021-07-07T02:04:32Z

2601:188:C300:64B8:99EE:568B:FC6A:61F8:

{{Age of Sigmar Faction|Faction=Sons of Behemat|Logo=Kraken-eater.jpg|Alliance=Destruction|Motto=Big and friendly these giants are not...}}

{{Topquote|We had common cause once, little man. No more. Now the Sons of Behemat march. Kraken-eater. Warstomper. Gatebreaker. Mancrusher. Bonegrinder. All as one. Behemat calls.|The Kraken-eater Baran to a Freeguild Captain and former ally.}}

{{Topquote|Disasters are called natural, as if nature were the executioner and not the victim.|Eduardo Galeano}}

{{Topquote|There is only power. Power is of the individual mind but the mind's power is not enough. Power of the body decides everything in the end and only might is right.|T.H. White, "The Once and Future King"}}
The '''Sons of Behemat''' are Gargants (known as Giants outside of copyright speak), the offspring of the titular [[Godbeast]] Behemat; colossal forces of nature that terrify foes and (their few) friends alike. They are driven by their wanton need for inflicting mass carnage and proving themselves as the true champions of Gorkamorka. Despite this, other factions will often hire the services of the Sons of Behemat as living siege weapons.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4RyrcmRUNM&feature=share This is likely what a gargant invasion would look like.]

==History==
[[File:Behemat teaser.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Note that the [[Stormcast Eternals|Stormcast]] are literally immortal, yet they're still scared shitless by this absolute unit. Then again, Warham’s giants tend to stuff smaller foes in their trousers, so it's understandable]]

In the beginning, there was a titanic godbeast known as Ymnog, Grandfather of Gargants. According to the Gargant Matriarchs (no model exists cause no one wants to see what saggy Gargant tits look like in plastic), Ymnog created the Mortal Realms when he threw a punch so hard that he shattered reality into earth, sea, and sky. After drinking and eating entire sections of the cosmos, Ymnog laid down to take a nap, where his drool would flow down into the Realms and become the first rivers. Inside his stomach was born Behemat, who brewed a lake of moonshine in his father's guts, causing him to retch him into his mouth, where Behemat then broke his father’s teeth to escape, the shards of his teeth supposedly becoming the first mountains. Behemat landed in the Mortal Realms and became the progenitor of the Gargant race and personal right hand to the god of destruction [[Gorkamorka (Deity)|Gorkamorka]] (mostly because the Greenskin god was the only thing bigger than him), while Ymnog would end up being killed by Sigmar cuz he was a titanic monster and the Hammer god wasn’t gonna let him roam around his new home.

It is said the gargants were created from Behemat's vomit after he went on a binge-eating spree that caused the extinction of several species of cattle. Countless deeds are attributed to Behemat by his Sons, most of which double as their explanation for the different races (known collectively as “pipsqueaks”, “little men”, or any other short demeaning term), like the [[Idoneth Deepkin]] being an Aelven civilization that Behemat drowned after causing a massive flood, the [[Fyreslayers]] being born when the World Titan stomped out some volcanos and saw these angry short guys come out to yell at him, and the denizens of Shyish being mostly skeletons because Behemat ate all the meat in the Realm of Death. Naturally this is all just mythical nonsense passed down by the Gargants, but they serve as a good example of how they view the world around them, a product of Behemat’s achievements.

Trouble started to brew for the Gargants during the tail end of the Age of Myth. Trying to find a way into the Mortal Realms, [[Tzeentch]] whispered lies to Gorkamorka, making him envious of his champion, as Behemat enjoyed so much freedom under the green god’s rule, while Gorkamorka himself was stuck under Sigmar’s thumb. So Big G ordered Behemat to recreate some of the god of destruction’s greatest feats...and he did, though some were by accident. Then came the big one; Behemat had to recreate the duel between Sigmar and Gorkamorka. So after armoring himself with an entire mountain, Behemat bellowed a challenge to the Hammer God...and nothing happened. So he started stomping on the local sigmarites which caused the Lord of Azyr to come rocketing down from the heavens and knocked Behemat out cold, putting him in a millenia-long coma in the region known as the Harmonis Veldt in Ghyran. While he was asleep, his body would become covered by earth; his skull becoming the mountain of Tor Crania, his mouth becoming the Titansmawr (from which more gargants would occasionally crawl out), the Sweatswamp forming around the location of his left armpit, and so on. This pretty much makes him the [[Mythology#Norse_Mythology|Ymir]] of the Mortal Realms.

Despite their forefather taking a big snooze, the Gargants were mostly unfazed, continuing their own isolationist lives or rampaging in the hordes of Gorkamorka. This would not last, as with every single Age of Sigmar backstory you eventually reach the point where the Age of Chaos happens and everything gets ruined. The Ruinous Powers and their servants were quick to fall upon the Gargants, seeing them both as prestigious monsters to slay for glory and destructive weapons of mass mayhem. The ones that weren’t slain in droves or hid themselves away become Chaos Gargants (willingly or otherwise) who tromped alongside the Slaves to Darkness in agony.

The Age of Sigmar proved to be one of the most important parts of the race’s history. During the Realmgate Wars, as part of Archaon's plan to corrupt the godbeasts to Chaos, he sent the Maggotkin of Nurgle and the Skaven to corrupt Behemat, whose sleeping place was already corrupted by Nurgle into what is now known as the Scabrous Sprawl. The plan was for the Skaven to drill into his bones to awaken him, the Maggotkin to corrupt him with Nurgle's taint, and for him to be persuaded to join Archaon's side by being told half-truths about Sigmar killing his father Ymnog (which he technically did). Although the Stormcast Eternals attempted to stop this, they were too late and were forced to invoke the power of the Great Bolts (the same weapon Sigmar used to kill Ymnog) to put down Behemat before he could be fully corrupted. Many of the gargants native to the Sprawl felt lost after witnessing the death of their god-progenitor, and were taken in by the Oakenbrow Sylvaneth and became eventual allies of them. Meanwhile countless more became solitary drunkards called Aleguzzlers, and found “employment” with the [[Gloomspite Gitz]], on account of the Grots’ copious amounts of fungus booze and cold dank caves to sleep off their roaring hangovers.

Since the death of Behemat, his Sons have been noted to have been getting bigger, more violent and more intelligent, leading to the evolution of so-called "Mega-Gargants", colossal both in size and aggression. Just the thunderous sound of a Mega-Gargant’s footfalls will draw even the most reclusive of Gargants from miles around to join together. Tribes will form around these massive warriors who then proceed to mold the Gargants under his command into terrifying natural disasters.

And with the Mega-Gargants seemingly becoming bigger and bigger with each day, it seems likely that there will come a time when a new World-Titan will emerge...

===Broken Realms===
When the God of Earthquakes [[Kragnos]] broke free from his mountain prison and started to sprint towards Excelsis, several wandering Gargants noticed the colossal centaur creature and instantly felt compelled to follow him. Kragnos and his new posse collided with Waaagh!Gordrak and the two parties merged together under Kragnos’ command to tear down Excelsis. The Mega-Gargants were instrumental in tearing down the great walls that defended the city, however it was just as likely that their fallen corpses become brand new walls. An entire Stomp of Kraken-eaters appeared out of the water and marched on the Excelsis harbor, but they were soon surrounded by the surprise arrival of a Black Ark carrying Morathi-Khaine and her [[Daughters of Khaine|wych aelf worshippers]]. Kragnos was lured through a portal to the other side of Ghur and the destruction horde was scattered.

==Religion and Culture==
[[File:BehematStormcast.jpg|800px|thumb|center|[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OkpRK2_gVs/ SIE SIND DAS ESSEN UND WIR SIND DIE JAEGER!!!!!]]]
The Sons of Behemat don’t really worship [[Gorkamorka (Deity)|Gorkamorka]], whom they call the Godstompa, as they do “highly revere” him. In fact, they only seem to acknowledge the green god because Behemat did, who seems to be the real center of Gargant society. The Godstompa himself is said to be a massive yellow-nailed bare foot that flattens entire cities where ever he treads (watching the orruk shamans cast the Foot of Gork spell only strengthens this notion for them). When the Godstompa is split into “Gorkfoot and Morkfoot”, the Gargants state that one is “stompy but kicky” and the other is “kicky but stompy”. This fixation on feet forms the cornerstone of Gargant culture and how they view other races (Example: they’re not fond of the [[Slaves to Darkness]] not cuz they’re Chaos worshippers, but because their spiked armor makes them unpleasant to squash).

This foot fetishism also bleeds into their tribal organization. A tribe of Gargants is called a Stomp (most civillized races call them Catastrophes, but the average gargant can't pronounce that word), with the leader being known as the "Big Heel". Subordinate Mega-Gargants are thus "under the heel", while the tribe's Mancrushers are referred to as “footsloggas” (larger Mancrushers who lead their fellows are said to be "toeing the line"). Wherever a Stomp roams, the Gargants will leave their mark in the trails of ruin and destruction they leave behind. Frontier towns and outposts are reduced to rubble. Holy forests are uprooted and turned to splinters. All of which they do out of boredom and complete disregard for anything made/honored by the pipsqueaks. Such devastation is most commonly found in [[Ghur]], where Gargants are so common that all the natives have learned to recognize and fear the tell-tale thumping of their footprints that can be heard for miles around. Gargants won’t give anyone smaller than them (meaning everyone) the time of day unless they are at eye level with the beasts, usually standing on a cliff or some tower/war machine. Though this can prove a successful means of diplomacy, it’s just as common for the Gargant to mindlessly grab the diplomat and devour them.

Since Behemat was the Champion of Gorkamorka, his Sons now strive to fill the gap left by their forefather’s death. This is best exemplified by their correlation of size equaling strength, or “Mightier makes Rightier” as they say. The biggest have the authority to boss around those smaller than them and (most of) the giants just accept it as fact. Though when two Gargants of similar size meet, they are bound to begin wrestling with each other to assert dominance. Sometimes they will instead do a series of “strength challenges” to determine who’s in charge, though this often still leads to the participants grappling on the ground. The aforementioned challenges are usually done in large open area or the ruins of a nearby city that was stomped flat by the Gargants to serve as their playing field.

Gargants have a vague sort of connection to the various [[Orruk Warclans|greenskin]] [[Gloomspite Gitz|factions]], likely due to Gorkamorka’s role in their origin. Whenever a Waaagh! is called or the Bad Moon looms in the sky, it’s quite common to find the lumbering giants following the greenskin hordes. The maniac energies that swell during such times is contagious to the Gargants, though not to the same extent as Orruks and Grots. It’s described as the Gargants wanting to show the yelling hordes at their feet who’s really the biggest and baddest. At the height of their fervor, tribes of Gargants will break out into a full on sprint and crush entire battlelines with their feet alone before crashing into battlements with club and girth. As for the other destruction race, the [[Ogor Mawtribes]], Gargants have a healthy respect/fear of them. They acknowledge their larger size and strength compared to other pipsqueaks, and have seen more than a few of their kind be consumed alive by the ravenous gluttons or blasted apart by their cannons.

Most other realm-shaking events that defined entire factions weren’t acknowledged by the Sons of Behemat, deeming them as quite literally beneath them. Only three events have shaken their race as a whole, the Age of Chaos, Behemat's death, and after that the arrival of the [[Nighthaunt]] processions. The Mortarch of Grief [[Lady Olynder]] effortlessly slew a Mega-Gargant and his Stomp, allowing the survivors to tromp away to spread fear of her legions. Sure enough, rumors spread across the Gargant tribes of ghostly beings that stomping couldn't hurt or kill. Confusion led to terror, and terror became a reality when similar battles occurred where the Sons of Behemat, now dreading the Nighthaunt, found that their foot falls and club swings held little purchase against the ghosts. Things have gotten better though as new tales spread amongst the tribes of how the Bjarl Stomp worked with the ghost-hunting [[Bonesplitterz|Drakkfoot Warclan]] to put down an army of Nighthaunt at the Asp River.

===Gargants as Mercenaries===
Starting in the Age of Chaos, Gargants began to sell their bulk to various warring factions for the promise of food, loot, and a good scrap. This can be traced back to the very first Gargant Mercenaries, a trio of hairy bruisers called the Grugg Brothers. They were in an alliance with the Ogors of the Meatfist Mawtribe at the time, and started to take note of how the Ogors worked for other races and were getting paid for it. The Grugg Brothers were further tutored by the Maneaters of the Gutstuffers company, teaching them rudimentary tactics such as attacking early in the morning when enemy forces are tired and making battle plans before hand. When the Gargants inevitably parted ways with the Mawtribes, they spread their knowledge to the other Stomps and word quickly spread of a new lucrative way of life. This knowledge has since been known to the more cunning Gargants as the “Great Secret”.

===Favored Pastimes/Gargant Games===
*'''Horse-punting''': Players kick a horse and see which one goes the farthest. Bonus points are awarded to the horse that lands on an unsuspecting pipsqueek.
*'''Boar-scoffing''': Pig eating contest...with full sized hogs.
*'''Wakebelching''': A game played by more “civilized” Gargants (meaning the ones who work for Order factions). Each player takes turns burping loudly in the dead of night in the middle of a settlement. The Gargant who woke the most people/gets the most angry shouts of protest wins.
*'''Manskittles''': Bowling on the battlefield. Gargants will take a boulder, dead animal, or whatever else is on hand and hurl it at a shield wall to see how many bodies are sent flailing about.
*'''Tank-tipping''': Like cow tipping, but with Steam Tanks. It was first played by the Warstomper Nagbog and his Stomp who fought against Commodore Bonn Jensen’s Iron Squadron of Greywater Fastness. Onlookers of the massacre could’ve sworn they saw flying Steam Tanks that day.
*'''Rumble''': Football/soccer but with explosive volcanic boulders. Unusual for including willing participants from other races. The Ogors of the Boulderhead Mawtribe regularly migrate through the Adamantine Mountains in Aqshy, where they encounter the native Aridian Stomp. Both sides agree to play this game of Rumble (throwing and/or kicking boulders towards the opposing team’s side) to determine if the Ogors can pass through for free, or if they have to kill half of their beasts and mounts as payment to the Gargants.

==Types of Gargants==
Each “species” of Gargant has a very fairy tale like name, likely given to them by the terrified victims of their rampages.

*'''Mancrusher''': The OG Giant is now the most commonly seen species of the giant race, as well as the shortest (keep in mind that a ‘short’ Gargant can still punt a Sigmarine like a football). Mancrushers were originally wayward Aleguzzler/Chaos Gargants who happened to find a Mega-Gargant to follow around. When in the presence of a Mega-Gargant, they become eager (if a little clumsy) followers, ready to take orders and do whatever their bigger bosses want. This tiny level of “discipline” arguably makes them more dangerous as they can now make unified charges with their fellow Gargants and throw boulders at enemies in a crude firing line. They’re also oddly sober when compared to other Gargants, though this is because their bosses hog most of the booze they come across. In a strangely wholesome twist on the normal method of Destruction aligned recruitment (the weak being subjugated by the strong), Mancrushers will often willingly join the Mega-Gargants cause they admire them as big brothers in a sense. They will wait for the big lugs to fall asleep and then camp out around him. So when the Mega-Gargant wakes up, he’s got a full tribe of loyal bruisers ready to please him...get your mind out of the gutter [[Slaanesh]].

*'''Kraken-eater''': A sea faring variety known for their greed and territorial natures. Granted, what they deem as “their territory” is everything in seeing distance. They like lugging around ship cannons to use as blunt instruments as well as colossal fishing nets stuffed full of hapless victims and fish. Lots of fish. Kraken-eaters are also noted for being older than most gargants, being basically grouchy senior citizens who yell at everyone to get off their lawn. Though the more “tame” ones are capable of holding a “pleasant” conversation with other factions that hire them, making them the prime choice for Order factions when they want a Gargant mercenary. This still won’t prevent them from working with another faction to stomp on their former allies though. They lead pseudo crime-syndicates called ''Taker Tribes'', where they boss around Mancrushers to steal all the loot they can find and fight against anyone who comes onto their turf.

*'''Warstomper''': The epitome of the Gargant race and warmonger by any other name. Above all other sub-species, Warstompers love collecting trophies and trinkets from their flattened foes, using them to decorate their grotesque forms. The most intelligent of their kind display a malevolent level of cunning, actively trying to stop wars from ending so they can keep on fighting. To do so, they will join the losing side to drag out the war, kill surrendering troops, and hunt down and consume peaceful ambassadors. This makes them very popular among Chaos hordes who see the Warstomper as a gift from the gods. Expectedly, as they accumulate chaos runes and other mutations, Warstomper can slowly be warped into fully Chaos aligned creatures. Gargants led by a Warstomper are referred to as a ''Stomper Tribe'' and act as walking natural disasters who live only for the thrill of active combat.

*'''Gatebreaker''': These bitter big boys have an obsession with tearing down strongholds, and then using the wreckage as armor and weapons (some even appreciating the irony in these makeshift armaments). This obsession originates from a [[Beasts Of Chaos|loathing of all civilized life]], seeing them as the reason why Behemat is dead. Gatebreakers often wear crudely made cowls out of looted flags and banners in the style of an executioner’s mask, as they see themselves as the executioner of the cities they destroy. Gatebreakers are commonly found among death armies, as they often leave the best spoils to the Mega-Gargants, though staying around a bunch of smelly necromancers and vampires will occasionally twist the Gatebreaker into a thoughtless thrall who can survive on little to no sustenance. They lead the aptly named ''Breaker Tribes'', cults of personality where the Mancrushers seek to emulate their boss’ loathing of civilization and specialize in tearing down fortifications and other symbols of order.

*'''Bonegrinder''': The largest and rarest of all Sons of Behemat, twice as tall as the common Mancrusher and still head and shoulders bigger than the other Mega-Gargants. These absolute behemoths see themselves as the reincarnations of Behemat and try to bully everyone into serving on them hand and foot. So why don’t they lead the Gargant Stomps? It’s unclear (aside from a lack of official tabletop rules), though a likely explanation is a combination of their supreme levels of clumsiness and being incredibly dull, even for a Gargant. The few times they do show up though, it’s a sure fire sign that this Stomp means business.

==Named Gargants==
*'''King Brodd''': The self-professed “Last True Son of Behemat”, King Brodd is the absurdly strong and intelligent master of the Gargant Stomps native to the Scabrous Sprawl. He claims to have crawled out of the Titansmawr fully grown and declared himself leader. After pulverizing all belligerent challengers, he has cemented his rule and stated his ambition to reclaim his ancestral home of Tor Crania from the vile Cygors and other [[Beasts of Chaos]] that toppled it. Brodd never goes anywhere without two things; a crown made from the skull of a mouldragon he killed bare-handed, and a massive granite pillar that serves as his personal weapon and symbol of his right to lead the Sons of Behemat. During the Realmgate Wars, Brodd was caught up in a massive explosion which slew Stormcast, Gargants, and Beastmen, for miles. Though it is heavily implied that he survived and is continuing to lead his tribe in a quest to avenge Behemat's death, which will undoubtedly bring him to blows with the Stormcast Eternals.

*'''Bundo Whalebiter''': Mercenary Kraken-eater who can ally with the forces of Order. The Idoneth artifact that hangs from his ear is filled with Aetherquartz and increases his intellect to where he can use ancient strategies like “patience” and may even be able to read. He’s even smart enough to know when he’s being cheated in a deal by the [[Kharadron Overlords]]. Bundo’s now signature ear piece has since been mimicked by other Gargants...to varying levels of success. He has his own tribe called the Rondhol Stomp that has terrorized its way across the continent of Rondhol in Ghur, sometimes with the assistance of the grots of the Undersnapperz tribe.

*'''One-Eyed Grunnock''': Mercenary Warstomper who can ally with the hordes of Chaos, who in turn highly seek after him to aid them in battle. Originally known as Grunnock Battle-krasha, he decided to try and topple the Ivory Citadel of the Ossiarch Bonereapers. Not too long after his initial (and failed) attack, he witnessed the Bonereapers trying to make peace with the Kharadron Overlords. Outraged by the prospect of no more fighting, he bullrushed the two parties and squashed the Arkanaut Admiral and Liege Kavalos in charge of the two armies. He took a full fusillade of aethershot to the face that destroyed his eye, and from then on he became One-Eyed Grunnock, seeking endless war to subdue his roaring headache. Grunnock has a crude understanding of how important regiments and formations are in combat, so he specializes in disrupting said ranks with earth shaking stomps and jumps.

*'''Big Drogg Fort-Kicka''': Mercenary Gatebreaker who can ally with the processions of Death. A native of Hallost in the Ossiarch Empire, his main reason for allying with Death armies is that he hopes to gain the attention and trust of Nagash...so he can club him in the back when the god of death isn’t looking. Despite this, Big Drogg is still seen as a traitor and outcast by other Destruction factions, especially after he turned on an Orruk horde when Mannfred von Carstein bribed him with three barrels of royal blood. His oral hygiene is so atrocious that his rotten breath has become its own form of attack, wiping out hordes of enemies that dare to stray too close to him.

*'''Brawlsmasha''': Mercenary Bonegrinder who can only ally with fellow Destruction factions. It’s rumored that this Titan was found as a baby by an Ironjawz Warclan and decided to raise him as a living weapon. Now fully grown, he wields the gargantuan Mega-Club of Gork to flatten entire regiments and inspires all Orruks around him to greater acts of violence.

*'''Argol Brightfist''': A mysteriously benevolent Mega-Gargant native to the fallen continent of Donse in Ghur. Those who have seen him will take note of the mish-mash of colorful rags that adorns his body. He leads a motley Stomp of Gargants against the forces of Chaos that decimated their home millennia ago and slew their ten elder Gargants. On occasion, he will lend a stomping foot or two to anyone who is assailed by the Slaves to Darkness. Because of his unique disposition, the Grand Conclave of Excelsis has petitioned many adventures to go in search of Argol in hopes of securing his services in the fight against Chaos.

*'''Baran''': A Kraken-eater who once helped the Freeguilders and Kharadron hunt down a lake monster that was scoffing down ships. Pretty cool and bro-tier for a Gargant, explaining a bit about his people to a Freeguild captain and even giving the guy a sword for "helping" kill the kraken (the dude leaped off a Kharadron Ironclad and stabbed the Kraken in the eye, losing his sword. So no surprise the Kraken-eater thought he was a cool dude). Baran later met the same Captain on the other side of the battlefield, and ignored a heartfelt plea for friendship to prevail in favour of picking up said Cpt and squashing him like an overipe grapefruit. [[Grimdark|The power of friendship at work people.]]

*'''The Murgg Brothers''': Broguph, Slorgo, and Mangor are a trio of Warstompers hired by [[Skragrott|Skragrott the Loonking]] to aide in his siege of the Tuskvault, a Stormvault rumored to contain a shard from Gorkamorka’s own club. Skragrott had amassed a massive contingent of different Destruction factions, so much so that he convinced the Fist of Gork [[Gordrakk]] himself to lead it. The siege was thwarted by a combined effort of Sylvaneth, Fyreslayers, and Stormcast, with an enraged Mangor unintentionally bringing down a whole mountain that buried the Tuskvault once more. Shortly thereafter, Gordrakk (forcefully) recruited the Brothers for his own campaign; marching on the free city of Excelsis.

*'''Old Ropey''': A horrifying and enigmatic Mega-Gargant that stalks the blighted isle of Decrepita in Ghyran. He’s named so for the ropes of mouldering flesh that hang from his belly and drag along the ground where ever he roams. The unfortunates who are caught by Old Ropey are wrapped up in these rotting muscles where they are slowly absorbed into the Mega-Gargant like an undead fungus. Alarielle has sent numerous Glades to put down this living(?) ghost story, but no one can ever seem to find Old Ropey...unless he wants to be found.

*'''The Arbalester Gargants''': Back in the Age of Myth, Teclis and his mage students cast a petrifaction curse on some gargants on the Shyish island of Arbalester. They then triggered a rockslide that buried the behemoths up their heads and left. Over the years, the now mysterious Arbalester Heads are considered one of the strange natural wonders of the Realms...until Nagash’s Necroquake happened and undid the Gargants’ bindings. Now grown into Mega-Gargants, the throughly pissed brutes bellowed and ordered the nearby tribe of Savage Orruks to help dig them out. Since then, the Bonesplitterz Warclan has used their new found allies/objects of worship in a glorious Waaagh! that saw them claim multiple islands to the east of the Ossiarch Empire. Seem to be a reference to the Moai, or Easter Island heads.

==Music to Listen to While Playing these Big Lads==
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRja4HUsRu0&ab_channel=GerzamT= Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Man’s Chest - The Kraken]: Hans Zimmer doling out a healthy serving of goosebumps once again.
*[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oULBLox0zLg= Neon Genesis Evangelion “Decisive Battle”]: For the madman who will undoubtably paint some Evangelion Gargants.
*Anything from the Godzilla films, the Heisei era and GMK specifically stand out.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:BoL0PjL5oXMduBJl.jpg|A Kraken-eater Mega-Gargant.
</gallery>

{{Template:Playable Factions in Warhammer: Age of Sigmar}}

[[Category:Age of Sigmar]]

Gloomspite Gitz

2021-07-07T01:55:28Z

2601:188:C300:64B8:99EE:568B:FC6A:61F8: /* Groups/Subcultures */

{{Age of Sigmar Faction|Faction=Gloomspite Gitz|Logo=Deity Bad Moon 01.png|Alliance=Destruction|Motto=I’m gonna go higher! I’m pissing on da Moon!}}

{{Topquote|Da Bad Moon spoke to me, once. All dese years, through all dese realms, I've followed it in da skies and 'ave heard all da stories about 'ow it came to be...|Skragrott the Loonking}}

{{Topquote|Vast, horrible eyes staring down, seeming to see straight into her soul. Tattered clouds scattering as though fleeing in horror from the lunar abomination that settled low and gibbous in the skies above. The jagged suggestion of fangs the size of mountains, set in a leering, pockmarked face whose sanity-blasting immensity dwarfed the city as an armoured warrior dwarfs an insect.|Excerpt From “Gloomspite” by Andy Clark}}

{{Topquote|Don't go 'round tonight. It's bound to take your life. There's a Bad Moon on the rise.|Creedence Clearwater Revival}}

The '''Gloomspite Gitz''' are a loose coalition of [[Night Goblins|Moonclan Grot]]s, [[Forest Goblins|Spiderfang Grots]], [[Troll|Troggoths]] and more all united in the worship of the Bad Moon, which they see as an aspect of [[Gorkamorka (Deity)|Gorkamorka]]. This combination has created a faction that somehow ended up much more “chaosy” than Chaos, being more Heath Ledger Joker than evil cults and barbarians following their gods’ rules. They personify the horror and madness that comes with reckless destruction, with no aim other than to cause more of it.

==The Bad Moon==
The Bad Moon itself is a supernatural moon (even moreso than [[Morrslieb]] from the world that was) that travels between realms in no discernible pattern. A thing of horror and mystery, with those who seek to divine its path (Tzeentch sorcerers, Azyr astronomers, Skaven Grey Seers, and many more) driven mad by the celestial object. It also sends ill portents across the realms wherever it passes. It can even speak, though the only person it has done so to is Skragrott, allegedly, at least. If you take as many mushrooms as the Night Goblins do you'd probably begin to hear voices as well. He ain't called "Loonking" for nothing.

There are three stories of its origins. Most greenskins claim it's a moon that Gorkamorka tried to eat. It broke some of his teeth so he spat it out but unintentionally left a bit of his power in it. The Spiderfang Grots see it as an egg of their spider god which will one day hatch and flood the realms with spiders. Grot shaman's believe it is made of the coalesced souls of every grot shaman who has ever lived.

Whatever the case, the Bad Moon fills the Gloomspite Gits with lunacy, which they refer to as “Gloomspite” that fills them with fervor and strength but also takes a toll on their sanity. Just as Waaagh! energy builds up and empowers orruks, which is generated through their belligerence and battle-hunger; Gloomspite is generated out of the grots’ cruelty, spite, hatred of those more fortunate and sheer meanness. When the Bad Moon waxes, wars rage.

As the moon approaches an area, strange things occur. All surfaces will become clammy and slick with cave-moisture, animals will go insane or start to speak in weird and disturbing tongues, water drips up instead of down, insects and arachnids crawl out of every crevice and become aggressive to everyone. Worst of all, giant fungi grow on every material, from stone, wood, earth, to metal and even flesh. People will suffer from insomnia, nightmares, paranoia, and in the case of those unfortunates who are already weak minded, full-on schizophrenic insanity. For instance, in the novel ''Gloomspite'' by Andy Clark the coming of the Bad Moon was a source of Lovecraftian dread; as acts of anarchy, bouts of madness, and surges of murderous insects from below plagued the city of Draconium for a week before its arrival which itself caused shifts in gravity and the collapse of government; All of which works to further prepare an area for takeover by the Gloomspite Gitz, who thrive in these uncomfortable times. By the time the Bad Moon itself leers overhead the hordes of Grots, Squigs, Spiders, and Troggoths are already invading from hidden tunnels below or pouring from caves in the hills. And if the Bad Moon is feeling particularly spiteful it will “spit” out meteorites of loonstone called “Fangz of the Bad Moon”. They crash down onto its enemies with cataclysmic force and become the sites where the Gitz build their Loonshrines, from which even more Grots will pour out of.

The Bad Moon is also followed and orbited by a smaller moonlet or asteroid that crashes into celestial objects in its way. Much like how the Grots have varying ideas of what the Bad Moon itself is, they believe the smaller moon to be the Bad Moon's punishing fist, the Bad Moon's pet squig, or even the ancient spirit of a [[Skarsnik|powerful Grot warlord who conquered eight mighty mountain peaks]] in the primeval World-That-Was...

[[File:SkagrottMoon.jpg|400px|thumb|right|"Do you see me down ere'??!! I'm Skragrott the Loonking, Lord of da' Gloomspite Gitz!! ANSWER ME!!! WILL I EVER HEAR YOUR VOICE AGAIN??!!?"]]

==History==
===“Da Age uv Miff”===
Greenskins, grots included, have always existed in the mortal realms. Even when Sigmar’s pantheon worked to cultivate new kingdoms and nations on their own, scheming hordes of grots scraped and stabbed their way to survival. Sigmar eventually gained the trust of Gorkamorka, which meant the majority of his children would stop raiding the newly built bastions of Order. However, a few lesser known or obscure spots of the realms still suffered from regular attacks from the grots.

It’s around this time that the main grot sub-factions begin to emerge, born out of their environments and a religious desire to justify their spiteful actions. The Moonclan Grots take to worshiping the Bad Moon from the safety of dark dank caves, the Spiderfang take up residence in the the massive nest lairs of the Aracnarok spiders, the Grotbag Scuttlers somehow created workable flying ships and took to the skies, while the nomadic Gitmob Grots began riding wolves in Ghur and many more minor sub cultures that GW will likely never talk about again. Also noteworthy in this age is the god-beast Boingob, the grand progenitor of all squiggly beasts. The living meteor of rubbery fleshy chased after the light of Hysh, thundering across the Realm of Life before finally jumping up to bite it...only to have its body charred black and collapse to the ground. Boingob’s body becomes a holy place to the Moonclan Grots, the surrounding Orborean Woods becoming a stronghold for the grots that survived even the advances of the Age of Chaos.

===“Da Age uv Kaos”===
Unlike the orruks and ogors who thrived in the Age of Chaos, grots weren’t as lucky. Most tribes where viciously hunted down by the ruinous hordes or delved underground to escape persecution. Here the first documented Gloomspite Gitz made their appearance as Moonclan lurklairs struck deals with the Spiderfang nests. Starting from mere trading relationships these gradually evolved into full on alliances that proved very beneficial to both sides. Shortly thereafter, the newly formed Gloomspite Gitz realized that when properly interacted with and rewarded with food, the various Troggoths that also made their home in the same dark caverns and ravines could be made into excellent allies and bruisers to their mobs. Their combined swarms were used to great effect in pushing out the taint of Chaos from the dank depths of the Mortal Realms, carving out entire empires beneath the earth. Expectedly though, this meant they commonly clashed with the Fyreslayers and Skaven with these conflicts usually leading to the destruction of the losing party.

The grots following these events had minimal impact on the realms during the Age of Chaos, most preferring to carve out their own underground empires and leave the surface world to its fate (outside the occasional raid for supplies and plunder). During this period the only true large scale grot resistance to Chaos was Zigsnak's Waaagh, but ultimately this was put down with brutal swiftness. The grots overall still fared quite well considering, especially compared to many other races, not only surviving but managing to thrive and arguably becoming the true rulers of the underdark of the realms.

===“Da Age uv Da Hamma-Git”===
By the Age of Sigmar, grots were rarely seen by the surface world, becoming regarded as either myth or a very rare sight from survivors of their raids. The main reason stemming from besides small scale raids on villages or storehouses, moonclan grots would usually only come out in large numbers when in the presence of the Bad Moon. And for many centuries this was a very rare event, and probably for the best as when the Gloomspite Gitz gathered in mass it usually resulted in whole settlments disappearing off the map overnight. Incidentally this meant the Gloomspite Gitz for the most part had relatively little impact on the beginning of the age (the “biggest” thing to happen to them being the [[Sons of Behemat|many inebriated gargants]] flocking to their caves to sleep off their hangovers).

This however would change with the coming of the necorquake. This major event, while causing great destruction throughout the realms, also had the unintended effect of causing the Bad Moon to appear far more frequently. The various Gloomspite hordes saw this as a sign from the Bad Moon and Gorkamorka that time to bring the Everdank to the surface had began and started making major incursions into the surface world in numbers not seen since the Age of Myth, followed closely by their various allies and cave-beasts (so yeah, you can argue Nagash is responsible for the Gloomspite Gitz returning so greatly). Since than the moonclan, spiderfang and troggoth forces have been making many in-roads to secure greater territory for themselves but also to find a way to find where the bad moon will appear next.

Currently the Gloomspite Gitz greatest territorial conquest is the lands of Ayadah in Chamon at the hands of Skragrott, that while initially falling to Tzeench during the Age of Chaos, has now been conquered by the Gitz thanks to the Bad Moon blotting out the sky in that particular area for some unknown reason (Skragrott believes its because they impressed the celestial object enough with their conquest) allowing for an above-ground empire to be created, Skragrott claiming the former home of the [[Gnoblar|Gnoblars]], Skrappa Spill as his new capital. Currently while all the various sub-factions of the Gloomspite Gitz have different reasons and motives in venerating the Bad Moon, all are ultimately united in wanting to see the surface world bow before them.

====Broken Realms====
While it’s likely going to be ignored, with the reversal of the Necroquake thanks to Teclis, it is likely the Bad Moon’s roller coaster of movements will slow down considerably. Whether or not this will cause the grots to also settle down a bit is unclear.

The Loonking himself is currently leading a mass contingent of Gitz alongside the Fist of Gork Gordrakk and the other Destruction factions in a siege of the free city Excelsis. Skragrott isn’t overly fond of this endeavor as it means he doesn’t have the same level of authority/respect among these Ghurish greenskins like the ones back in Chamon, but the strange thumping sound he’s been hearing in his head and an ill prophecy from a Tzeentchian magister tells him whatever happens at Excelsis is gonna be important.

Turns out the important thing was the awakening of the End of Empires [[Kragnos]], who wrests control over a the Waaagh from Gordrakk...and still leads them to Excelsis. While the grots themselves weren’t noted to have done much, the Troggboss Glogg of Glogg’s Megamob made a viscous last stand on the outer walls of the city. Kragnos gets tricked my Lord Kroak and Morathi-Khaine to go through a wormhole and the destruction army scatters, with Skragrott likely feeling very peeved over the whole thing.

==Groups/Subcultures==
The [[Night Goblins|Moonclan Grots]] are pretty close to old Night Goblin lore, but with even more fungi. Moonclan Grots can't even stand outside during the day without their skin burning and their eyes clamping shut in pain, so they wear their heavy robes to hide from the terrible entity they call Glareface Frazzlegit, AKA the Sun. They believe that old Glareface exists to kill and hurt them, opposite their beloved Bad Moon. They work with the rest of the Gloomspite Gitz to bring about the Everdank - the permanent extinguishing of the sun and an eternal Bad Moonlit night. Because they so rarely appear aboveground, grots of all sorts are seen as children's fairy tales and drunkard's pink elephants, right up until the Moonclan are pouring into the streets and murdering everyone. They also have a strange obsession with bottles, and consider them the most valuable items to steal and loot from other races. The reason is twofold:
first is that Grots love magic potions and their shamans can craft many clever varieties from a myriad of mystical mushrooms and fungi, and secondly Grots lack any skill or knowledge of glassblowing, meaning that they cannot craft bottles themselves. To the Moonclan, a successful raid might be several tons of food, weapons, armor pieces, building scraps, and so on, but an equally successful night of raiding is a couple dozen glass bottles in good shape.

The Moonclan Grots have become highly adept at taming the creatures that lurk within. In particular they make extensive use of squigs which they breed for various purposes such as food, war beasts, tracking hounds, decoration and even lighting (yeah there is a glow-in-the-dark breed they use in addition to bioluminescent fungus and fire to light there lairs). Entire tribes will focus entirely around the breeding of squigs and look to create ever new or more aggressive breeds of the creatures to sell to other grots. In addition, they also make use of other cave flora and fauna like various fungi and insects. Fungus and various insects/arachnids are also cultivated/bred for food, potions and for other stranger uses. However the most heavily used creature by the Moonclan grots besides squigs is the segmapede; giant centipedes used as transportation, a beast of burden and tunneling creatures for the grots, allowing them to expand their caverns very quickly.

[[Skragrott|Skragrott the Loonking]], self titled leader of the Gloomspite Gitz, has a plan. He abducts every seer and prophet he can find that's had contact with the Bad Moon. Then he infects them with a fungal strain that turns them into half-human, half-mushroom hybrids (Something he seems to be trying to weaponize in the Gloomspite Novel). The Loonking keeps these captives in his creatively named "fungal asylum". He hopes they will foretell where the Bad Moon will rise, with mixed results so far. He also delights in the torture of captives as he uses the maddening transformation as a means to acquire information from those that would stand in the Bad Moons way. His ultimate goal is to cover all the Mortal Realms in the Clammy-Dank and he has already achieved this in Ayadah.

The [[Forest Goblins|Spiderfang Grots]] are a little different; they still worship the [[Spider-god]], but they also zealously follow the Bad Moon around for a different reason. They believe it is actually a FUCKHUEG egg laid by the Spider God, and that if they can make it stand still long enough it'll hatch, and spill a never-ending tide of Spiders across the Mortal Realms. [[What|Yeah]]. Says something about how crazy these gits are when even the ''Loonking'' thinks their interpretation is hard to believe. Regardless they are not to be trifled with as their hordes of grots and spiders (of varying terrifying sizes) pose a great threat to any who oppose them. Another interesting aspect to the Spiderfang is even in comparison to the Moonclan Grots, the Spiderfang have a very deep religious aspect to their society and is heavily influenced by their shamans. The Webspinner Shamans of the Spiderfang are powerful priests and wizards whose prophetic visions of the Spider-God (often brought on by the consumption of venom and hallucinogenics) have lead many stalktribes to victory, or defeat depending on the situation. They have also mastered the art of rearing and taming many large species of spiders for different purposes(food, mounts, webbing, specialized venom, etc), with the obvious exception of Arachnaroks as they are seen as holy creatures that allow the grots to live in their nests in exchange for a regular supply of food. The oldest of these colossal spiders have large shrines built upon their backs and act as focal points for worship of the Spider-God, while the youngest ones are little more than feral monsters, striking from the shadows to pull screaming prey into their nests.

Troggoths are pretty much the classic idiot troll. They’ve always existed in the Mortal Realms and no one is quite sure where they came from. Numerous legends are told by the Destruction factions on how they came to be, ranging from crawling out of the funk between Gorkamorka’s green toes, to being actual aliens from the Bad Moon who rode down to the Realms on its Fangs. They come in a couple varieties: Fellwater (River), Rockgut (Stone), and Dankhold (Mountain), with a passing mention of a fourth Sulphurbreath (Fire) variety. Fellwater Troggoths love to live in stinky swamps, fetid bogs, and stagnant pools, and stink so bad even ghosts hate them. Rockguts have the unique magical power to reshape rock and stone with their bare hands, but instead of using this power to create beautiful works of art or massive underground cities, they use their powers to scoop big rocks to throw at the enemy or make basic clubs out of. Lastly, Dankhold Troggoths are a strange breed that have hard, rocky flesh that fungus of all types can grow in. They also love to sleep, often sleeping for hundreds of years. Dankhold Troggoths also change size based on their environment, like huge humanoid fungus-goldfish, and if a Dankhold decides to squeeze itself into a tiny crevice, he'll wake up half his original size. Conversely, if a Dankhold sleeps in a huge, open cavern, he'll awaken taller than a Gargant. Lastly Dankholds love to eat fungus, especially fungi that grow on Realmstone veins, and instead of dying on the spot from consuming highly magical and radioactive fungi like any sensible creature, the Dankhold Troggoth internalizes the magic, making them magic resistant in the highest degree. Sulphurbreath Troggoths had half a sentence written about them in a White Dwarf article and live in the crevices in volcanos. Deepwater Troggoths were mentioned in promotional material for the Idoneth Deepkin, most likely an oceanic breed. The Mirebrute Troggoth is another swamp-dwelling species that has been cowed into servitude by the Kruleboyz Orruks, as is the Marshcrawla Sloggoth, which is forced onto all fours and adapts to be quicker, serving as a mount for the Grots who work for the Kruleboyz. The Angujakkak is a creature described as resembling a hybrid of Deepwater Troggoth and Mega-Squid. Troggoths don’t really act as a unified group, no troll king barking orders or whatnot. Staying true to the classic "wild giant only here to fuck your shit up," Trogherds are formed when random groups of Troggoths just start to follow the lead of a bigger Troggoth, for no reason or goal other than to rampage. Even a Dankhold Troggboss only leads his "army" through some sort of poorly understood instinctive leadership or alpha quality, and most Troggbosses are too stupid to read, or even speak. This does not stop them from causing ridiculous amounts of destruction as they blunder through farmsteads, homes, villages, or even cities as the leader picks a direction and just starts walking, with a dozen or two other species of Troggoths following him close behind.

===Notable Gloomspite Hordes===
*'''Skragrott’s Konkererz''': The Loonking’s personal army that led the invasion of Chamon. Following Skragrott are the High Gobbapalooza, which includes The Mighty Mezmerizmo and Curdlegore the Arch-Spiker. The ‘Eavies are a quintet of Dankhold Troggbosses who usually guard the entrance of the fungal asylum, but are more than happy to smash heads for the Loonking. The bulk of the army is made up of two Moonclan Skrap battalions, Da King’s Gitz and Izgit’s Loons, both groups constantly vying for Skragrott’s favor. Other detachments include the Badgob Batterers (Squigalanche), Warrblag’s Lurkers (Spiderfang Stalktribe), and the Lumberstomp Brothers (three Aleguzzler Gargants).

*'''Waaagh!Zigsnak''': Led by a particularly influential Fungoid Cave Shaman, this horde also included the likes of orruks and ogors, a feat unheard of among most Grots. With this massive collection of belligerents, Zigsnak won many a fight. Until the Waaagh! collided with a Khorne Goretide, and after a brutal eight day battle, the shaman’s head was claimed by Korghos Khul, and the Waaagh! was soundly butchered. This conflict has since been known as Zigsnak’s Folly, and is regarded by the Gloomspite Gitz as a cautionary warning. Specifically, "Don't fuck with Khorne."
** This also serves as a retcon for the absence of surface dwelling grots, as most grots fully committed to the underground life after this event, with only small remnants surviving in the wilderness like the Gitmob Grots.

*'''Claggit’s Smotherers''': The closest thing to fire fighters in AoS. Loonboss Claggit, the “Grand Smotherdouser”, has a burning hatred for fire and has devoted his entire tribe to extinguishing all flames they find. Considering they make their lurklairs in the Kindling Forests of Aqshy, they are considerably busy fighting Fyreslayer lodges, Tzeentchian cabals, and the Clans Skryre. A favored tactic of the horde is to employ large mobs of Fellwater Troggoths, who vomit all over the fires of their obsession. The grots wear dark green and grey robes, made to blend into the clouds of smoke and ash they create.

*'''The Badsnatchers''': You know that one idea where if you yell something loud enough people will believe it’s true? That’s kind of the story of the Badsnatchers in a nutshell. The horde’s leader, Ogwotz Da Magnificent, has proudly claimed to have covered all of Ulgu in the Everdank. This is very likely false given the nature of the realm of shadow, but none dare argue with the grots, who have become a special breed of arrogant braggarts who regularly pillage the surface world, confident that the Bad Moon is watching over them. They operate out of seven large lurklairs all situated in the Hushed Hills.

*'''The Scurrowstabberz''': Another Ulgu tribe, these grots are earnest allies to the Frazzleshun stalktribes in Hysh. Using realmgates, they trade refined realmstone for spider riders and arachnarok venom.

*'''Zarbag’s Gitz''': Through one way or another, the Madcap Shaman Zarbag and his personal crew ended up in the mysterious Nightvault hidden away beneath the city of Shadespire. Oh well, time to pillage and plunder!

*'''Da Moon City Murderboyz''': A Kharadron Sky-Port called Barak Khazzar made the fatal mistake of trying to reclaim a lost hold from the Grots. Unfortunately this backfired spectacuraly with the grots using their stolen ships to invade the city itself and with the help of an armada of Grotbag Scuttlers overran the Sky-port. Now their precious city is controlled by the Gitz and renamed to Da Moon City, where they also create cyborg squigs that they sell to other Gloomspite hordes.
**We can only hope this gets expanded on more because this could be the perfect backdrop for a specialist game.

*'''Narkleg’s Backstabbas''': A Chamon horde who migrated into the Glinting Deeps during the early years of the Age of Chaos. Their lurklair of Stabb Hole quickly expanded due to an ever expanding Grot populace and their new Troggoth allies. They mistakingly burrow into the magmaholds of the Sigyorn Lodge, resulting in endless territorial warfare between the Greenskins and Fyreslayers.

*'''Boomsplatta''': As their name suggests, this tribe has a proclivity for explosive fungi and dropping said fungi onto their enemies. These tactics were implemented and perfected by their Loonboss Wyngle.

*'''The Undersnapperz''': A Moonclan Skrap from Ghur noted to work alongside the Gargants of the [[Sons of Behemat|Rhondol Stomp]].

*'''The Jaws of Mork''': A gargantuan and inexorable Squigalanche that rumbles through [[Ghyran]] chasing after the Bad Moon. Their leader is the masked Overbounder, a mysterious Grot who never lets his skin show. His reason? He wants to be “in cognee toes” so he can sneak up on the Bad Moon and bounce right over it. The real question is how he plans to do so when his miles wide horde creates tremors that can be heard across the realm. They lack any uniform heraldry or unifying symbols as the living avalanche of Squigs is always attracting smaller hordes that will drop everything they’re doing just to keep up with them.

*'''Frazzleshun''': Dwelling in the Crackenmaw Chasm in the Realm of Light are swarms of spiderfang grots who spurn the shining radiance of their realm. Through their trade agreements with the Scurrowstabberz, they have crafted special shadow-silk webbings that they regularly use to block out the light and launch massive attacks with their venomous hordes against the [[Lumineth Realm Lords|native aelves]]. The tribe is led by a shrewd committee of shamans known as the Spider’s Eyes.

*'''Glintfang''': By feeding their spiders bits and bobs of metal, the Glintfang stalktribes create steel-silk, which is basically metal cabling. These wires are used to create anything from false jewelry to parachutes for dive bombing hapless foes.

*'''The Grimscuttle Tribes''': Also called the “Deff Grotz”, these Shyish stalktribes lurk in the haunted forests just outside of Nulahmia. They make sure to avoid [[Neferata]]’s wrath by only making the occasional raids of the lonesome human settlements that sit on the outskirts of her territory. This still doesn’t stop them from working with (then promptly backstabbing) the various Chaos Lords who seek to penetrate the Mortarch of Blood’s defenses. All the Grimscuttle Tribes are bloated with Skitterstrand Arachnaroks that flocked to the grots after the Webspinner Shamans attempted to open a realmgate to the Evercrawl, proving you can in fact fail upwards.

*'''Murkthudd’s Troggherd''': Murkthudd was a Troggboss of spectacular size and stupidity, and one day he decided to go for a walk. When he emerged from underneath the Domtanguan Mountains, he was followed by two dozen various Troggoths and a horde of Squigs. They wrecked havoc throughput the settlements surrounding the Ferrus Sea, regularly clashing with Freeguild and Stormcast regiments. Eventually they tore through the city of Azyrvale and marched right off the pier and into the sea. What became of them is unclear, though rumors persist that Murkthudd is still walking at the bottom of the sea to this day.

*'''Mollog’s Mob''': The ancient pygmy Dankhold Troggoth called Mollog only wants to find a quiet place to sleep. Unfortunately for him, a group of tunneling Skaven woke him up and ruined his cozy hideout. Now he wanders through Shadespire to find a new hole to crawl in and sleep. He’s followed by a collection of various cave critters, all of whom are fiercely protective of their master.

*'''Glogg’s Megamob''': This colossal nomadic Trogghorde is among the most feared of Gloomspite armies for their seemingly endless energy and appetite for violence. An attack by the Megamob is signaled by a horrible grinding noise that echoes for miles around. This noise originates from the sneering Loonshrines that the Troggoths drag with them wherever they go. The leader of this monstrous gathering is the monosyllabic Glogg, a regenerating mass of scarred flesh and an Ogor-like hunger. He’s followed by two bodyguards (and possible brothers) Blogg and Clogg, and a Troggoth Hag named Big Mudda, who has taken an...''interest'' in Glogg’s exploits. They made an appearance in “Broken Realms: Kragnos” as a glorified meat shield for Gordrakk’s Waaagh, and Glogg was killed in while fighting an entire Freeguild regiment.

*'''The Stoical Gobblemaws''': Located in the Stoical Vast of Ymetrica in the Realm of Light, these half-blind Troggoths are loathed as a constant threat to the [[Lumineth Realm-Lords]] of that continent. They regularly chew and chomp their way through their cavernous home, destabilizing the mountain range and upsetting the bull-headed earth spirits that call it home. So naturally the Alarith temples regularly clash with the teeming hordes of Rockgut Troggs and their Dankhold Boss Gorp, who only appears when the Bad Moon rises over the Stoical Vast. Each time his goal is always the same; rampage his way to the tallest peak Tjenaka and “consuming its heart”...whatever that means. He’s been beaten back by the Aelves countless times, but like [[Abbadon|Abby]] in 40k, he keeps coming back.

==List of Known Fungi used by the Gitz==

*''Stinkcranny Fungi'': A foul smelling violet fungus harvested for usage in various poisons. Usually it’s avoided by Grots and Squigs alike because of its horrendous odor.

*''Squig Eggs'': Not actually connected to the squiggly beasts’ reproductive cycle. Small spherical growths found in clusters near Squig dens.

*''Badloon Bossfungus'': An extremely rare mushroom known for its crescent moon shape. Revered as a sign of the Bad Moon’s favor, this particular fungus grows on the top of Skragrott’s staff.

*''Bitterspurts'': Pale blue shrooms found exclusively in Moonclan dung heaps. Used to brew “urgeblurt poison”, a toxin so revolting that it causes victims to vomit their guts in agony.

*''Dincap Mushroom'': A dark purple fungus that, when ingested, causes a person’s lungs to vibrate and turns their voice into a microphone. Though the effects are temporary, they do last for a while so be sure not to say anything secretive while under its effect.

*''Madcap Mushroom'': A magic-enhancing shroom used by Madcap Shamans. Not to be confused with the similarly named Madcap Toadstool, despite looking, smelling, and tasting identical to the impossibly toxic 'shroom.

*''Madcap Toadstool'': A deathly toxic fungus often confused with Madcap Mushrooms. It looks, smells, and tastes identical to the powerful Madcap Mushroom... at least until the poor idiot who ate it dies horribly from cramps so strong their organs implode.

*''Deffcap Mushroom'': A magical and addictive shroom eaten by Fungoid-Cave Shamans to increase their spell output. Grows only on the rotting flesh of mass graves of grots. Causes powerful brain-wracking hallucinations that are invariably prophetic in nature and often reveal the will of Gorkamorka 'imself, if you can survive the ten to twenty hour acid trip it involves.

*''Looncap Mushroom'': A rare fungi that only grows in the light of the Bad Moon. While it can grow virtually anywhere, it has a habit of sprouting out of the heads/backs of living creatures. They are harvested by Sneaky Snuffler teams who then use them on fellow Moonclan Grots to “enhance” their fighting prowess. Also refined in a magic potion and force-fed to the unlucky sods chosen to become Fanatics of either the Loonsmasha or Sporesplatta variety.

*''Twackweezer Puffshroom'': A pale fungus that releases lung-clogging spores upon the slightest contact. Thwackweezers grow quickly and silently in inconvenient places, such as under grots pillows or just behind their bathroom door and spray a foul spore filled gas that drives grots into a tooth-gnashing frenzy and everything else into coughing fits. Of course, grots being the vindictive little shitheads they are, they use them as "hilarious" pranks. Then some enterprising (and very insane) grit decided to replace a Fanatic's metal ball with a Thwackweezer, and after a few messy test runs and about a dozen dead volunteers, the Sporesplatta fanatic was born, which swings the heavy and solid fungus in a chain to generate a cloud of obscuring spores and drive nearby grots into a battle frenzy.

*''Stragglenekk Fungus'': These stalactite-like mushrooms grow around the entrances and ceilings of Moonclan lurklairs and display an almost predatory nature that causes them to slowly coil around and consume any one who runs into them.

*''Glowey Morkeye'': Small light blue mushrooms that emit an eerie bioluminescence which is used by Grots to navigate their pitch black tunnels.

*''Puffgut-Balls and Hopsplatter Fungus'': These fungi are fed to Squigs to make them incredibly springy, creating Squig Hoppers and Boingrot Bounders. As a side effect, it also makes them even more irritable than the stock Squig.

*''Blue Gorkshroom and Green Morkshroom'': Tall stringy like fungus that regularly “war” over territory in the darkest depths of the Gloomspite tunnels. Both are harvested by shamans to be mashed together, creating an hallucinogenic paste.

*''Grey Spattlethwapper'': Glowing spheres attached to thin stalks. A highly volatile fungus which erupts into a cloud of madness-inducing spores upon even the slightest of contact.

*''Redcap Mushroom'': Likely colored as their name implies, this fungus is primarily used by Loonbosses who ride upon Squigs. Ingesting then mushroom makes them much more aggressive in combat.

*''Scaldyscratch Spores'': A fine powder like substance that Loonbosses often use to blind their enemies, creating a painful burning sensation that only worsens as they try to claw their eyes out.

==See Also==
*[[Age of Sigmar/Tactics/Destruction/Gloomspite Gitz|Tactics/Gloomspite Gitz]]
*[[Gloomspite Horde Creation Tables]]

{{Playable Factions in Warhammer: Age of Sigmar}}
[[Category:Age of Sigmar]]