Although none of Grottrogg’s troops landed on the food production planet Malichor III some spores did reach the planet surface on the larger chunks of debris. As Grottrogg’s conquest spread across Malichor IV small bands of feral orks began to appear across Malichor III.
Amongst one of these tribes there was a runtherd known across many tribes for raising the biggest, fiercest grots around. Though still much smaller than their orkish kin Squigchukka’s grots fought fiercely in battle and with better discipline than any ork. Squigchukka’s grots gave his tribe the edge they needed to maintain dominance over a larger territory than any of the tribes they regularly fought with. His fellow runtherds plied him with all manner of bribery and threat to learn his secret techniques but he would never tell. Away from the prying eyes of his fellow orks Squigchuckka would direct his grots through hours of mock battles using padded arrows and blunted weapons. The rigorous exercise and training allowed them to become comfortable with their weapons, more confident in their abilities and less afraid of defeat. As they took these skills into battle their successes further fueled their confidence and made them more ferocious. Because they did so well in battle they lived longer, grew stronger, and became more skilled in tactics and combat strategy. In time the veterans of Squigchukka’s herd became skilled enough to lead other grots in combat. He refused to work with other runtherds, afraid of his secrets being stolen, and instead relied on his veterans to help him tend his ever increasing herd. He spent less and less time amongst the other orks as he became obsessed with running increasingly complex mock military maneuvers with his grots. He began to envision them as an independent army, his own waaagh of swarming grots to overthrow the other tribes and put himself at the head of his fellow orks. One night Squigchukka and his grots slipped away from the tribe to set out on their own.
On several occasions the tribe had clashed with the humans on Malichor III. Although the Overlord of the Malichor system would not allow Malichor III to maintain a military force most citizens owned firearms for hunting and dealing with animals that threatened their crops and livestock. There were also small units of soldiers from Malichor IV stationed on Malichor III to ensure that production was kept at target and the Overlord’s law maintained. The orks were impressed with the destructive power afforded the otherwise ‘weedy oomans’ by their weapons but most were too small and fiddly for the orks to use effectively. Squigchukka had secreted some of these weapons away after realizing that the grots’ smaller, more dexterous hands would allow them to use the human weapons easily. He began raiding isolated farmsteads for food and supplies working his way up to smaller towns as his weapons cache increased. Eventually Squigchucka’s raiders managed to overtake one of the military garrisons and, bolstered by the contents of its armory, set up base there.
By this time Squigchucka himself had become quite senile and, though still cared for by his disciples, was little more than a figurehead for the rebellion. But the rebels had learned what they needed to and continued on under their own leadership. Human slaves were taken to teach the raiders how to use some of the more complicated equipment. Looted tractors and ground cars were hastily modified into mobile battle platforms. The raiders had leapt ahead of the feral tribes, who were still primarily using spears and bows to do battle. Frequent raids on other human towns ensured a steady stream of supplies, equipment, and slaves to fuel the rebellion. As word spread amongst the tribes the more cunning, adventurous, or just disgruntled runts escaped from their masters and made their way toward the compound. The grot dominance over Malichor III continued to grow. By the time Grottrogg conquered Malichor IV and launched his Waaagh toward Malichor III the rebel grots had enslaved over half the human population and were successfully suppressing the ork tribes.
The initial confrontations between Waaagh Grottrogg and the rebel grots were bloody. Having expected to face a poorly trained human population Grottrogg was startled by the ferocity and efficiency of the diminutive renegades. At first he drove his forces forward with enthusiasm, excited to have found a good scrap after all. But as the conflict raged on Grottrogg became frustrated. The rebels’ equipment was more reliable, better maintained, and their supply lines were local. His own runts began to desert in droves to join the rebellion, leaving his meks shorthanded and his equipment more poorly maintained than usual. The ragged feral tribes that trickled into the Waaagh did little to replace his casualties and fresh reinforcements had to be shipped in from off planet. He had not mobilized a large enough force to deal with such an opponent on their own turf and his initial invasion was turned back.
Fiends of Dakka & Rebel Grots
| 1. Grottrog’s Big Day 2. Grottrog Invade Malichor IV | 3. The Grot Revolution #1 4. The Grot Revolution #2 |
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Well done. I like that they established themselves on their own instead of just being a detachment to the Orks. Makes me want to start on my IG allies some more…
Thanks. I wanted them to be the result of an actual revolution, not just specially trained pets. I figure Grottrogg pays them with equipment in return for grot mercenaries and feral ork recruits.
Back in the 1st ed days I was always a big fan of Gretchen and wanted my own gretchen army. Nice to see a story unfolding where that is a reality! Go grots!!
I didn’t start playing orks until 2nd edition, but the gretchin were pretty cool then. They were much closer to guardsmen stats. I’ve wanted to work in some rebel grots since Gorkamorka but never really got around to it until now. Bringing them in as a small allied detachment allows me to really focus on making some cool models so I’m very excited about the project.