Black Orc
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This article describes a work or element of fiction in a primarily in-universe style. Please help rewrite it to explain the fiction more clearly and provide non-fictional perspective. (October 2009) |
Black Orcs are a sub-breed of Orc appearing in Games Workshop's Warhammer Fantasy setting.
Black Orcs are bigger, stronger, and more clever than normal orcs and as such are much more dangerous. This puts them at the top of the heap of Orc & Goblin society. Being more organized and generally smarter than regular Orcs, Black Orcs can settle all their differences the night before the battle through head-butting duels and goblin-tossing contests. As such in a battle Black Orcs are not subject to the same animosity as other goblinoids. In battle, Black Orc leaders of units continually watch out for in-fighting within their unit. Should their menacing presence fail to keep the lesser greenskins in line, the Black Orc character will start smashing some heads together and order is quickly restored at the minimal cost of a few greenskin lives.
Due to their size and status, Black Orcs get the best weaponry and armour and are effective hand-to-hand fighters.
In early depictions of Black Orcs, such as in Warhammer Armies for 3rd edition Warhammer Fantasy Battle, Black Orc skin colour was actually black and they were not that much taller than orcs. Since then they have been shown with very dark green skin and are taller than a man when stood straight with a penchant for metal plate armour and horned helmets.
[edit] Origin
Within the history of the game, the black orcs were created magically from the ordinary orc by Chaos Dwarf sorcerers in an attempt to engineer a superior slave (chaos dwarf generals were allowed to field many orc and goblin units in their armies). However the Black Orcs were too strong-willed, so they led a revolt and many of them escaped from the lands of the Chaos Dwarfs and can now be found among orc societies across the Old World.
[edit] Notable characters
- The Warboss Grimgor Ironhide, led numerous campaigns against Skaven and Dwarfs, and more notably, the failed attack on Kislev. He was a key figure in the Storm of Chaos Online Campaign where he knocked the Chaos Champion Archaon to the ground.
- Morglum Necksnapper is a noted black Orc who beat a Bretonnian army at the Battle of Black Fire Pass
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