Editing Grom the Paunch (section)

==The Ur-Grom==
Something that Grom has in common with [[Josef Bugman]] is that he is one of the oldest special characters in Warhammer lore, as both Grom and Josef debuted in the days of Oldhammer (1984 onward) as part of the [[Regiment of Renown]] series of boxed sets - in fact, whilst Josef was the very first of the Regiments of Renown, Grom's Goblin Guard, as they were called, were the third Regiment to ever be released, debuting in June 1984. This technically makes Grom the second oldest special character in Warhammer's meta-history! (The 2nd RoR was a proto-[[Bretonnia]] unit called the Knights of Origo, who've been completely forgotten.)

This prototype Grom was a far cry from his later, more glorious self, but the basic elements were already in place. This proto-Grom was described as an enormously fat [[goblin]] of unknown mixed ancestry, to the point he resembled a particularly ugly [[ogre]] and was commonly nicknamed "the Paunch of Misty Mountain" - he also liked to surround himself with a personal guard of outcast goblin/orc crossbreeds renowned for their size and ferocity. A remarkable tactician and soldier, especially for a goblin, this precursor Grom was most famous for initiating the Goblin Wars by slaying the King of the Northern Dwarfs, Wulfrun Willowhand, in a drunken brawl - reputedly started when a debate over the relative merits of Old Sam's Brown and Bugman's Best got too hearted. Yes, that means that Oldhammer originally considered the idea of dwarfs and goblins being able to be drinking buddies. The death of Wilfrun is commiserated upon Grom's shield, with "a great deal of blood and the fabled toasting fork very much in evidence". The goblins under Grom's command attained particular fame by defeating the dwarfs at Zhuf Field; in addition to capturing the dwarven forges to outfit his troops, Grom cemented his place in infamy by murdering 100 dwarfs a day for the next month, which he did by sitting on them until they suffocated.

Unlike his more famous and powerful successor, this proto-Grom lacked the [[troll]]ish [[regeneration]], and never made to attack [[Ulthuan]]. Instead, he was killed in the first onslaught on [[Middenheim]], which in this proto-Warhammer lore was considered a dwarf fortress. His army was then taken over by the leader of his personal guard; an unusually tall, thin, lanky and long-nosed goblin named Crud Longbone. Crud led the remnants of Grom's goblin guard until they were slaughtered to the last in the final battle of the war at Mad Dog Pass.