Kruleboyz Orruks

Grand Alliance Destruction Kruleboyz

Goldboys vs Kruleboyz, Who wins?

Lore Tactics General Tactics

Kruleboyz are a sub-faction/sub-species of Orruk native to the many swamps and marshes of the Mortal Realms, particularly Ghur. These lean and lanky gits prioritize Mork over Gork, leading to an extremely cunning and cruel natured society, hence the name. Roused by the return of Kragnos, the Kruleboyz join the greater Orruk Warclans in a Waaagh! of realm shaking proportions.

Unlike their Bonesplitterz and Ironjawz cousins, the Kruleboyz actively utilize Grots in their forces, making them the closest thing to the oldschool Orcs and Goblins combined army. However aesthetically they draw less from the traditional Fantasy/40k redition of what an "Orc" is (a big angry overly muscled, almost gorilla-like design), and have more of a lanky, thin look, almost resembling an Uruk from Lord of the Rings more than Warhammer (although, this could be due to being influenced by the old 2nd-3rd Edition Warhammer Fantasy Greenskins appearances). Most off-putting of all, they stand upright.

Why are they so different from other Orruks?

The ancestors of the Kruleboyz were Orruks who colonized the swamps of Ghur. These enviroments were extremely deadly, and in a way that couldn't be solved with traditional brute strength and ignorance. Being bulky only makes you more vulnerable to being trapped in quicksand, and the biggest choppa in the world can't save you from being dissolved by acid fog. As such, the evolutionary pressures of their enviroments forced the Kruleboyz to evolve into a new subspecies (referred to as "Morruks" by some scholars) that was far more intelligent and lightweight (though still far stronger than the average humie, think of them like chimps to the Ironjawz' gorilla).

Kultur

The Kruleboyz have since spread out of Ghur and now reside in all of the swamplands of the Mortal Realms. Their fortresses are designed to blend in with the enviroment and to be easily abandoned, ensuring that they can hide from any enemy they don't feel like fighting. Kruleboyz in general are exceptionally patient and cautious and refuse to enter any fight they haven't rigged to their favor, relying on stealth, sabotage and terror tactics to undermine their enemies before the battle even begins. This is what kept them out of the limelight until the Era of the Beast, as they only went to war against weak targets of opportunity. Only with the massive uptick of Destruction activity and the Cities of Sigmar sending out new expeditions by the day to build vulnerable new settlements have the Kruleboyz truly become confident enough to be a common threat.

Similar to Skaven clans, each Kruleboy Orruk belongs to a tribe with a particular set of skills (which in themselves are seperate from the Warclans). Said tribes are the Badstabbaz (front-line warriors), the Beast-breakaz (animal tamers), the Deffspikerz (engineers/marksmen), and the Gitsnatchaz (slavers/corpse recyclers). The typical military formation of the Kruleboyz is the "Klaw", which is divided into five fingers: the 'Thumb' (Command, consisting of the boss and his shaman advisors), the 'Jab Finga' (consisting of the strongest warriors), the 'Middul Finga' (for insulting the enemy, consisting mostly of Deffspikerz), the 'Trophy Finga' (for showing off, consisting mostly of the monsters of the Beast-Breakaz and Gitsnatchas) and the 'Light Finga' (for nicking things, consisting of Hobgrots and yoofs sent off on stealth missions).

Since his return to the Mortal Realms, Kragnos now plays an important part in the religion of the Kruleboyz, though most aren't sincere in his worship. They merely respect his capacity for mass destruction, and if pledging allegiance to him is the best way to get him to kill their enemies instead of them, that's what they'll do.

Also, if you haven't figured out by their name they're incredibly cruel. Their use of poison, traps and psychological warfare is just as much due to their love of watching their enemies suffer as it is due to pragmatism.

Da Forces uv Da Kruleboyz

• Killaboss: The leaders of the Kruleboyz Warclans, who are just as eager to shove a poisoned dagger into a rival as they are to lob off their head in a fight. They’re often followed by little guys called Stab Grots, “brave” minions who help their boss fight off enemies or serve as a nice meat shield. The most ambitious (or crazy) Killabosses will ride bog-hounds called Great Gnashtoofs or the colossal Corpse-rippa Vulcha, both of which are tamed by a Breaka-boss.
• Breaka-boss: The bosses of the Beast-breakaz tribe in charge of capturing and taming beasts for battle, these domineering Orruks ride into battle atop Mirebrute Troggoths and goad then into rampaging through enemy lines.
• Snatchaboss: Leaders of the Gitsnatcha tribe that naturally specialize in grabbing high value targets mid-fight. They ride atop large monsters called Sludgeraker Beasts, which look like a cross between an alligator and a sloth.
• Swampcalla Shaman: Considered to be disgusting even to the other Kruleboyz, these Shamans channel the copious gunk and poisons of their marsh homelands into vile magic to fling at enemies. Interestingly, they appear to wear the facial part of a Gargant skull as back-armor. They are always accompanied by a cauldron laden Pot Grot who helps the Shaman brew his potent spells.
• Murknob: Lieutenants and underbosses to the Killaboss. They usually carry around enchanted Belcha-Banners that repel enemy wizards and cover the area in a swampy fog.
• Man-Skewer Boltboyz: A step up from the Arrer-Boy of old, these Orruks wield poison coated crossbows designed to pierce through armor and shish-kabob any unfortunate soul in the line of fire. They are surprisingly very professional when it comes to their weapons, boasting a scary level of accuracy (F̶o̶r̶ ̶a̶ ̶G̶r̶e̶e̶n̶s̶k̶i̶n̶ 2+ TO HIT!) and even having a sentimental connection to their crossbows after years of tending to and upgrading them. Said sentimentality though is easily ignored should they spot a better looking weapon.
• Beast-Skewer Killbow: The artillery version of the Man-Skewers, and the AoS take on the Spear Chukka.
• Marshcrawla Sloggoth: An especially degenerate quadrupedal breed of Troggoth made to serve as mounts for a crew of grots (as no Orruk would ever want to ride such a pathetic beast). While the Sloggoth does what any dopey monster does, the grots on its back are tasked with capturing their terrified foes with nets and barbed snatcha-poles.
• Gutrippaz: The most common of the Kruleboyz, equipped with jagged poisonous spears and leer faced shields. They all hail from the Badstabbaz tribe and form the bedrock of any raiding party.
• Hobgrot Slittaz: Hobgoblins are back! Stated as diminutive middle men for the Kruleboyz and clans of chaos-worshipping duardin rather than actually a part of the Orruk fold, these yellow skinned backstabbers use crudely made stick grenades to blow apart enemy formations.

Notable Bosses

• Gobsprakk, the Mouth of Mork: The most powerful Swampcalla Shaman, who is blessed with the ability to speak any language (hence the "mouth" part). This means that he can even speak the dead language of Kragnos’ people, so he can understand and be understood by Kragnos. Because of this, he is the one that interprets Kragnos words, giving him influence over other Kruleboyz to do whatever the End of Empires says… at least, whatever Gobsprakk tells them he says. He's already being billed as a pretty big badass between this and severing the hand of a Lord of Change and keeping it as a trophy despite the rest of that daemon getting banished. All of which make Gobsprakk the de facto leader of the Kruleboyz and sets him up nicely as the kunnin’ to “Fist of Gork” Gordrakk’s brutality.
• Swampboss Skumdrekk: A renowned and fabulously wealthy Snatchaboss with a propensity for gambling on the outcome of his fights.
• Killaboss Gazog : The Killaboss in the Dominion boxset. Tried to make it so an infinite Waaagh! backed up by Kragnos would happen. The plan he came up with was to brew a magic poison so toxic that when poured on a leyline in Ghur it would cause the living continent of Thondia to go into convulsions and trigger an earthquake that would destroy the last remnants of the nation of Donse, which had been the home of Kragnos people. This Gazog hoped would then send the Drogrukh-turned-god on an apocalyptic roaring rampage of revenge that would last indefinitely. Unfortunately for Gazog, his efforts were uncovered due to Yndrasta sending her old friend Lord Imperatant Tyberain Vorst and his Auric Lions (a new Thunderstrike Stormhost of the Hammers of Sigmar Stormcast Eternals) to investigate why certain villages in Ghur were suddenly going silent. This leads to the battle of Amberstone Watch in which the Orruks are ousted from the storm keep and chased back to their home in the Morruk Hills though the Greenskins haven’t given up and continue to launch assaults in an attempt to retake the fortress.
• Big Grikk: This deadly accurate Killbow operator had to leave his warclan after he “accidentally” shot down the boss’s vulcha mount. He left along with a posse of Boltboys to start a new mercenary life as the Kruleshots.

Warclans

• Grinnin’ Blades: Posterboys who favor attacking under a shroud of swampy mist.
• Big Yellers: Loudmouth braggarts who prefer to sit back and lazily mow down enemies with their startlingly efficient ranged weapons. Their name is also a delightful pun since not only do they yell a lot, but their skareshields are also a bright yellow.
• Skulbugz: Creepy and vile Orruks with an obsession with all manner of bugs. They prefer the company of monsters and their beloved bugs as opposed to the other Orruks. Are native to Chitinia.

In Soulbound

Kruleboyz were added as a playable race in the Age of Sigmar Roleplay splatbook Champions of Destruction, where they are noted for being the Destruction race least likely to end up in a mixed-faction Binding. Not because they have any philosophical or motivational objection to working alongside other races, but largely because, well, they're jerks. All the other Destruction races have some kind of endearing personality trait, whether it's the convivial boisterousness of the Ironjawz and Ogors or the hilarious eccentricity of the Bonesplitterz and Gloomspite Gitz - even Troggoths are more like big dumb pets than anything. But Kruleboyz are mean, and everybody knows it.

Still, that doesn't mean they can't be useful, and if an Order-focused Binding can accept a Witch Aelf, then they can work with a Kruleboy. Better to have him inside the tent and pissing outside than the other way around, right? For their own part, Kruelboyz regard teaming up with Order races in a Binding as a pretty sweet deal; it gives them lots of benefits and only barely reduces the number of people they can torment. In fact, it's implied that many Soulbound Kruleboyz actually come to like being heroes deep down, though they're too proud to admit they could enjoy being a "goody two-shoes". This especially goes double for any Hobgrot Soulbound, who are characterized as conmen and opportunists and, due to their nature as lackeys, tend to be rather cosmopolitan to the point that they can communicate with others that might have otherwise shut their doors to their allies.

The following Kruleboyz warclans have produced Soulbound so far:

• Grinnin' Blades: The biggest and most widespread of the warclans, these Kruleboyz are fervent believers in the prophecy of the Great Waaagh! and so are natural candidates for all-Destruction Bindings. But they also, surprisingly, show up in mixed-faction Bindings too; after all, a warclan this big produces its fair share of dissidents and defectors, and as the average Kruleboy sees it, if the other gitz have gods on their side, then it don't hurt to get some other gods on your side! THeir special trait is "Out of the Mists", which lets them spend an action to flood their zone with scare-mist; for 1 turn, the zone is Lightly Obscured, and if the kruleboy spends 1 Mettle whilst erecting the scare-mist, all enemies in the zone must make a DN 4:2 Soul (Determination) test or become Frightened.
• Big Yellers: Kruleboyz of this warclan are incredibly inventive and technologically advanced for orruks, building all manner of machines and clever devices (with the help of their Grot underlings)... mostly because they are the laziest orruks to ever flop on a comfy patch of moss. They rarely become Soulbound, because to them the prospect seems too much like work, they usually need to be pestered into one by their Gloomspite allies, or threatened into it by members of other races. But despite their disgruntlement, many Big Yellers actually find they come to enjoy it; after all, it gives them plenty of opportunities to show off their new inventions! Their special trait is "Only Da Best", which lets them forgo their move to add a one-turn-long modification to their weapon, letting them add Cleave, Penetrating, Rend, Restraining or Spread on the fly.
• Skulbugz: Having taken over the Shyish realm of Chitinia, an afterlife from a now-lost culture that worshipped insects, these orruks have inherited the love of all bugs big and small, bitey, stingy or toxic to nosh on. They specialize in extracting toxins from their buggy friends, though they also have experimented in using the bigger ones as warbeasts. Skulbugz most often end up Soulbound by the providence of the Spider God, snatched away by a skitterstrand arachnarok and then returning weeeks later as a Soulbound with little memory of what da zog happened in between. Skulbugz who seek out the Rite of Binding usually do it in hopes of finding, protecting or befriending a new type of insect, which in the case of a really ambitious kruleboy can lead to them joining up with a mixed-faction Binding in hopes of getting their hands on fancy foreign bugs, like Azyrite lightning bugs or even Sylvaneth spites. Their special trait is "Crawly Swarms"; every kruleboy from this warclan has a personal collection of bugs, which aside from giving them one dose of Basic Poison each rest, can also be ordered to swarm a single Close Range target as a Free Action, preventing them from applying Focus as the creepy-crawlies invade their clothing.

Kruleboys get access to four racial Archetypes; the Gutrippa, Man-Skewer Boltboy, Murknob, and Swampcalla Shaman. Also unusual is that you also have the option of playing a Hobgrot, who only have the Hobgrot Slitta archetype avialable.

Gutrippas are the basic warriors of the Kruleboyz, fighting with spear (stikka) and shield (skareshield) in tandem. They typically become Soulbound because they can't hope to progress up the ranks and become a Killaboss, whether because they lack political support or they genuinely don't care about becoming a leader.

Boltboyz are the ranged counterparts to Gutrippas, fighting with crude crossbows that can reach the size of small ballistas. Surprisingly adept snipers (that Morky influence shining again), Boltboyz who become Soulbound are typically doing so because they want to attain the biggest, bestest shooting gear they can imagine. No ramshackle ballista or bolted-together crossbow for them, no; these orruks ream of owning a Vanaric arcbow or an aethermatic rifle, and what better way to get one then by cosying up to the races who make it and proving themselves an ally (at least for now)?

Murknobs are champion warriors amongst the Kruleboys who carry enchanted totems called "Belcha-Bannas", which use harvested monster tongues to imbue these garish face-banners with the ability to unbind enemy spells. Often, a Murknob has been sent to join a Binding to represent his warclan... but some instead run away in hopes of seeking a new path to power with a different kind of horde.

Swampcalla Shamans are the mystical branch of Kruleboy society, weaving a dark form of geomantic magic that can transmute the land around them into swamps and bogs, or draw upon swampy effects for protection in battle. Like most Destruction mystics, they take a particular interest in being Soulbound, in their case regarding it as acquiring the flashiest trophy they could ever hope to get. Mixed bindings generally tolerate them because, as crude as they are, their geomantic practices offer a different perspective, and even the foulest swamp is cleaner than a Chaos-tainted wasteland.

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