Grimgor Ironhide

Grimgor Ironhide is a fictional character in the Warhammer Fantasy universe. He is an Orcish "Warboss", who controls various factions of Black Orcs.

The Beginning
No one knows of Grimgor’s early history. He came from the east, staggering out the Blasted Wastes with an unknown number of grizzled, tired and hungry Black Orc bodyguards, now known to other Orcs as "Da Immortulz" (The Immortals). Upon entering the northern portion of the Worlds Edge Mountains he quickly took over the first tribes of Greenskins he came upon and within a month had carved out a small empire for himself. From there he set course on a campaign of destruction that the northern Worlds Edge Mountains had rarely seen in their history.

It was quickly understood that Grimgor was no ordinary greenskin. His lust for battle was tremendous; always he looked for the heaviest fighting and the strongest opponent to test his skills upon. The first to feel Grimgor’s wrath were the Dwarfs of Karak Kadrin. In the many battles that followed, the Dwarfs witnessed defeat after defeat at the hands of Grimgor and his followers. Grimgor never once tried to take the Dwarf hold itself, always content to kill the armies that were sent out to defeat him. The Dwarfs lost so many warriors that in the end they had no choice but to sit behind the walls and mighty doors of Karak Kadin and wait for the fast approaching winter to do what they could not do: force Grimgor to retreat.

Grimgor however would not wait. Becoming bored of killing Dwarfs, he turned his army north and west, crossing the mountains, down Peak Pass and into Kislev. Again Grimgor’s army could not be stopped, towns were destroyed and their inhabitants killed. Three Kislevite armies were sent to stop this new menace and all three armies were destroyed. As Grimgor approached the city of Kislev itself, nature turned against Grimgor. A huge blizzard, summoned by the Ice Queen of Kislev, struck the advancing greenskin horde. Thousands of goblins froze to death and dozens more died at the hands of Grimgor as he raged against being stopped on his road of destruction. Orc Shamans began to speak of the storm as unnatural and in the end Grimgor had to turn his horde around and head back into the mountains. As he marched away from Kislev the storm abated but as soon as Grimgor turned back to Kislev, the storm would rage up again stopping him in his tracks. He returned to the World Edge Mountains in a rage, wishing for an enemy to crush.

Grimgor decided that he needed a base from which he could strike out at the world around him. He took up residence in the abandoned Dwarf hold of Karak Ungor, conquering the Night Goblin tribes who lived there. From Karak Ungor Grimgor could strike at the Dwarfs of the World Edge Mountains and the humans of Kislev and the Empire in the spring and summer. In the winter Grimgor would retire to the lower levels of the hold and fight the Skaven who tried to invade the fallen hold.

Battles with the Skaven
Before the coming of Grimgor, the upper levels of Karak Ungor was held by the Night Goblin tribe known as the Red Eyes. The Red Eyes, for many years, had been battling with a foe for the lower reaches of the dwarves hold. These foes were the Skaven of Clan Mor and Clan Moulder. Upon hearing of the Skaven below Grimgor and his Black Orcs quickly joined the battle. Hundreds of Skaven died at the hand of Grimgor and his boyz but this, unsurprisingly, seemed not to matter to the Skaven. Every time that one force was destroyed and the tunnels cleared of rats, new hidden tunnels would be discovered and hundreds of more Skaven would leap out of the darkness to attack the Orcs and Goblins of Grimgor’s army.

Grimgor had found his never-ending battle and was content. In the spring he would lead a portion of his forces out to attack the lands above and in the winter he would return, head deep into the tunnels of Karak Ungor and the World Edge Mountains to slaughter Skaven.

As the time passed (there is no idea of the time length, since GW does not publish many dates) Grimgor and his horde began to drive the Skaven back deeper and deeper into the tunnels of the World Edge Mountains. The losses on both sides were tremendous. Grimgor did not care about the losses since the battle was all that was important. The leadership of Clan Moulder was becoming concerned. Grimgor was pushing the Skaven back and unknown to him, he was approaching the border of Clan Moulder's home base, "Hell Pit". One skaven in particular was especially becoming concerned. Throt the Unclean, the Master Moulder himself saw Grimgor as a threat not to his people, but to his experiments. Grimgor was getting too close to his personal lab and his toys. To put a stop to this threat, Throt gathered together his strongest Rat Ogres and unleashed them on the approaching Orc horde. The Orcs and Grimgor were taken by surprise. The dozens of Rat Ogres were able to at first to drive the invaders back until Grimgor got over his surprise. Smiling he quickly found a spot from where he could fight back against this new challenge. Placing himself in a narrow tunnel, Grimgor stood alone against the Rat Ogres while the Orcs and Goblins fled back to the upper levels. For hours Grimgor battled the Rat Ogres, killing all that came against him. Soon the Rat Ogres and Skaven pulled back, unable to defeat this mad green monster. Upon hearing of the defeat of his mutant Rat Ogres, Throt became enraged. It seemed that he would personally have to confront this menace to his peace. Gathering up his most dangerous creations, Throt marched out to face Grimgor but the green monster was gone. Already in a rage over having to stop his experiments to deal with greenskin threat and now finding that Grimgor had fled back to the upper reaches of Karak Ungor, Throt unleashed his deadly mutant creations upon the empire.

New Challenges
Grimgor did not flee the tunnels beneath the World Edge Mountains because he feared the approach of Throt. He did not even realize that the mad Skaven was on his way. Instead, it was boredom that made Grimgor return to Karak Ungor. After his battle with the Rat Ogres, Grimgor had become bored. He saw the Rat Ogres as the best that the Skaven could send against him and after facing that challenge there was nothing left for him to do. The years of killing Skaven, humans and dwarfs no longer interested him and so he turned his attention elsewhere to find new challenges.

Gathering up his army, Grimgor set a course north and east. He was going to attempt to cross the treacherous region where the World Edge Mountains met the Mountains of Mourn. No other army had ever successfully made the crossing and this became more of a reason for Grimgor to succeed. Once again he conquered that challenge but no sooner did his army make it across the first mountain range that they found a second in their path. Grimgor ordered his army onwards, the weaker Goblins perishing in the hundreds from the cold and snow, dozens more fell to Grimgor’s axe as they tried to flee back the way they came. The rest of the army, mainly Orcs by now, marched on fearing Grimgor more than they feared the mountains and winter. A week later the horde had done the impossible. They had crossed the second mountain range and reached the open steppes, east of the World Edge Mountains (The Great Skull Land).

Forces of the Dark Gods
No sooner had the greenskin horde made camp in the open steppes for the night that the sentries spied a huge cloud of dust on the horizon. Grimgor ordered scouts out to see what threat could be approaching. Returning the scouts reported a massive band of marauding warriors on horseback racing towards the camp.

These horsemen were the Kurgan tribe known as the Yusak. Savage warriors who were at home on horseback as on foot. They were also followers of the Dark Gods of Chaos. The Yusak had heard of the approaching greenskin horde and had gathered to meet it in battle for the glory of their gods. Grimgor ordered his worn out army out to meet this approaching horde. Neither army paused in their advance, both seeking to press home the attack. The Kurgans initial charge looked at first that it would break the greenskins ranks but the sheer numbers of Orcs enveloped the Kurgans, pulling the horsemen from the saddles, stalling the charge. The battle was furious and lasted several hours. As the first rays of the sun broke over the mountains, all that remained of the Kurgan force was broken and dead men and horses. Grimgor stood upon a mound of dead, howling to the sun in triumphant exultation.

Grimgor, seeing how savage the Yusak fought, decided that here in this new land was possibly a challenge that he would like. Ordering his army on, he set up camp in the heart of Kurgan lands, which was the shortest and quickest route to the lands of the Empire. So to raid and plunder the lands to the west, the marauding tribes of the dark gods would have to pass through Grimgor and his Horde to reach them or to take a long diversion.

As word spread, tribes of Marauder warriors would gather to test themselves against the "Green Daemon" and his horde. As time passed many black Orcs from the east, Orcs and Goblins from the World Edge Mountains swelled Grimgor’s army. Once again Grimgor was content. He had found another never-ending battle.

On a side note, Grimgor’s action to block the closest route (High Pass) to Kislev and the Empire had allowed those two nations to regain their losses and strength, benefiting the Empire greatly.

The Storm Gathers and Breaks
As Grimgor sat along the most direct route to the Empire from the east, storm clouds of war were gathering further to the north. The forces of Chaos were gathering under the banner of Archaon, the Lord of End Times and his followers. North of the Great Skull Lands, thousands of tribes of Kurgan marauders gather under the banner of Archaon's herald, Crom the Conqueror, The Bringer of Storms. In time, the land to the north could no longer contain or maintain the tribes, and in a bloodthirsty flood the Horde of Chaos descended south into the Great Skull Lands. Like locusts over crops, the wild-eyed Kurgan tribesmen ravaged all before them. Hundreds of greenskins that were caught in their path were destroyed. Crom was leading his army south and then west towards High Pass, towards the Empire, towards Grimgor.

High Pass
As Crom reached the foothills below the pass, he found his way blocked by rank upon rank of Orcs and Goblins. Unlike the other greenskins his forces had overrun on their march these greenskins appeared well ordered and ready for battle. This was the army of Grimgor. Grimgor having become bored once more by the challenge offered by the tribes of the steppes had eagerly ordered his army north upon hearing of the approach of Crom. Here again was a challenge worth facing. Arriving ahead of the Chaos Horde, Grimgor ordered his force to block the mouth of the pass, making sure that Crom and his army would have no other choice but to face him.

As the sun rose from behind the Mountain of Mourn the two armies met. This would become the greatest battle that had ever been seen in the Dark Lands.

The two armies collided in battle, Men and Greenskins died in the hundreds, the Kurgans warriors fought for their lord Crom and their Dark Gods like men possessed, the Orcs and Goblins indifferent to their losses fought for just the joy of battle and killing. But this time it was the greenskins that faltered. Never before had they faced men who fought with such blood-rage. For every man cut down, 2 or 3 were there to take their place, there seemed no end of them. They had met an opponent that was just as indifferent to losses as they were, an army of man so unlike the weak men of the west. After hours of battle, with thousands killed on both sides it was the Orcs that were defeated and who fled the battle field.

Defeat?
As the battle was raging Grimgor was still looking for an opponent that could give him a challenge. All the Kurgan that he had faced and killed did little to satisfy his need. Fighting in the thick of the battle he fought his way deep into the Chaos hordes lines, fighting and killing dozens as he raged about without finding a worthy opponent. Then he saw Crom. Like Grimgor, Crom easily bested any who faced him. Goblins, Orcs, Black Orcs, boar riders and trolls all died to his sword and axe. Crom too was looking for an opponent that would test his skill. Then Crom saw Grimgor.

As both set eyes on one another, both knew that they had finally found an opponent worthy to do battle with. The fight was one of epic scale. For hours they fought as the their two armies battled around them. Both gaining the advantage at times but neither able to kill the other. As the sun began to set Crom and Grimgor pulled apart both staring at each other with respect, wondering how to end the others life. After several minutes Crom stepped back lowing his weapon, signaling an end to their fight. Grimgor howled in rage at the insult, wanting to continue combat. As Crom stood silently, Grimgor looked around for the first time since the battle began. All he saw was dead bodies and the army of Chaos, his army had fled into the mountains. Looking back at Crom and the Chaos warriors around them Grimgor retreated slowly back daring any to stop him. Once clear he turned and fled slowly south away from the High Pass. For the first time Grimgor had been defeated. For the first time he had failed to master a challenge.

Grimgor's own personal Standard was almost captured during the battle, as a Champion of Chaos was about to break it over his knee, until a Black Orc called Taugrek jumped in, throttling the Chaos Champion with his bare hands, before claiming the standard and fleeing with the Rest of Grimgor's army.

As the days passed and Grimgor gathered up his scattered forces, he felt the unfamiliar pangs eating away at his pride. He vowed that he would absolve himself in the eyes of Mork and Gork, the Orc gods. He vowed that he would gather together the greatest WAAAGH!! that the world had ever known, so massive and destructive that it would wipe away the stain of his loss.

Grimgor blamed his defeat on the inclusion of smaller, weedier greenskins such as Goblins in his army and decided to rearrange his horde to include only the biggest and best of the Boyz. So Grimgor slaughtered all the remaining Goblins and gathered all the biggest, toughest boyz around. The resulting army came to be known as Grimgor's 'Ardboyz (Hardboys), an Orc army with an unusually large number of Black Orcs and Big 'Uns. The 'Ardboyz were also known to carry a huge stone effigy of Gork with them into battle. Grimgor also constructed a pair of massive siege engines, one was a huge battering ram, and the other a giant catapult. These were also made in the image of Gork and Mork, essentially Fantasy versions of Gargants.

Storm of Chaos
Year 2522

In the Empire, the forces of good have gathered together to prepare for the invasion of Chaos from the north. In council information from all the races are shared so that they can work out a strategy that will save the Old World from destruction. It is from this information that we hear about Grimgor after his defeat. The dwarves of the World Edge Mountains have brought forth the following:

"The Orcs and Goblin tribes of the World Edge Mountains are flocking to the banner of Grimgor Ironhide, who had fought a long time against the marauding Kurgan tribes but had now thrown in his lot with the fighters of the Dark Gods. Why he had done this is not known but a rumour has it that first time he had been defeated in battle. He now sought to prove himself again in the eyes of his own gods. Other Orc chieftains and warlords are doing the same. Joining forces with the champions of Chaos for the fierce battle and looting that the invasion would bring"

Da Best?
As the hour seemed dark for the Empire, Valten finally brought the Everchosen, Archaon, to single combat. In revenge for the steed he had lost to Chaos artillery, Valten first destroyed Archaon's daemonic mount, hurling the Chaos Warlord to the ground. Raising the Hammer of Sigmar high for the killing stroke, Archaon quickly unleashed the power within his daemon weapon, impaling Valten. Diverted but not stayed, Valten's blow still opened Archaon's armour and dashed him to the ground. As Valten tried to pull Archaon's blade free, Archaon regained his feet and dealt Valten another mortal blow, carving open his breastplate and sending him onto his back. Seemingly in shock at seeing the mark of Sigmar on Valten's chest, Archaon was charged by Luthor Huss, who landed a series of blows upon the Everchosen, including an almighty blow to the head that sent him down to one knee. Archaon overcame Huss, however, and hurled him across the battlefield.

Panting, bleeding, Archaon's head met that of the Orc Warlord, Grimgor Ironhide. Splintering the Chaos lord's shield and sending him sprawling, Grimgor battered Archaon twice around the face before placing his axe on the tip of his foe's throat. Rather than strike the final blow, Grimgor spared his opponent, letting him slump to the ground. The Orc proclaimed 'Grimgor iz da best!' and quit the field, cheered by his followers.

Nemesis Crown
In the coming Games Workshop online campaign Nemesis Crown, Grimgor is the focus of the Orcs & Goblins part of the campaign. Grimgor isn't interested in the powers of the crown itself, rather he believes that if he acquires the crown it will cause the most powerful warriors of the world to attack him, thus guaranteeing Grimgor what he enjoys the most, a good fight. Grimgor did not find the crown and was defeated by Karl Franz's great army, though he survived to fight another day,

In Gaming
In the Warhammer Fantasy games, Grimgor Ironhide is one of the strongest characters. He is always followed by Orcs of great stature & carries Gitsnik, (meaning "foe killer" in parliamentary tongue), a hugely powerful axe and wears blood-forged armour. Grimgor's 'Ardboyz is also a separate army list from the normal Orc and Goblin Army, though it contains many of the same troop types, but relies mainly on brute force rather than cunning. It should be noted that the Storm of Chaos army lists are now banned from tournaments, however this does not stop people from using the army list in friendly games. Grimgor must be accompanied by a unit of Black orcs otherwise he cannot be used in a game.