My attempt at writing fluff.
XENOLOGICAL THREAT DATAFAX
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Title: Renegade Gretchin Warbands
Classification: Greenskin Subcategory Theta [Miscellaneous]
Primary Author: Mathew Becks [Ordo Xenologica – Minoris Tetra]
Authorization for Archival: Delth Al’Naln [Ordo Xenologica – Majoris Prime]
Date of Authorization: 7385986M41
Current Status of Threat: Mostly Harmless
Thought of the Day: Heresy grows from idleness, Faith grows from Tribulation
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Greetings. I am quite pleased to report that this document contains more information than I had originally set out to gather. While I had originally hypothesized that the subject of my research would be skittish and avoid contact with outsiders, in reality their leadership seemed eager to tell others about their activities, and their lofty goals of establishing a new order throughout greenskin society.
Physiologically, xenologists have given less attention to gretchin than they have to their larger cousins. This is understandable, given that the vast majority of our conflicts with the greenskins are primarily with the orks. However, piecing together prior research with my own observations has given me a good understanding how they function.
A grot usually stands between three and four feet [Imperial Standard] tall at full height, although they usually slouch below this. Their skeleton and musculature is very similar to that of an ork,but with less general bulk. Grots display strength comparable to an ork per pound of muscle, although this still makes them considerably weaker overall, do to having a smaller and more slender frame. They have a natural resilience to attacks that frequently equals or exceeds what has been documented in orks [see: A232-92-Kicking Grots], but they retain less general fortitude as a result of simply having less muscle and bone mass to withstand a blow. A grot seems to increase in size and build with rank in the same way that an ork does, but to a much smaller degree. They also have a tendency to become increasingly overweight as this occurs, although this may have more to do with the wealth available to them than any inbuilt mechanism.
While somewhat lacking in the brute qualities of the orks, gretchin do have a significant advantage over the orks in terms of speed, perception, and general dexterity. Gretchin are quite skilled sprinters, and can jump, change direction, and dodge projectiles while running with remarkable skill. I hypothesize that this is partially innate, and partially a result of them having to outrun orks and squigs (with the former often firing shots at them) from a young age. Gretchin have keen senses of sight, smell, and hearing, which is once again likely aided by the necessity of avoiding their many enemies. They have a natural knack for marksmanship (despite little disciplined training) which is commonly used by the orks in the manning of their “big guns”. Their small fingers and good hand-eye coordination also make them skillful at building and maintaining complicated equipment, and performing other tasks such as medicine and writing (this is another attribute of the gretchin commonly put to use by the orks). Gretchin also have very sharp teeth, as I learned in a rather unpleasant manner [R45672-Injury Sustained in Field].
The origin of the gretchin warbands is difficult to discern. They certainly seem to be uncommon; considering the sheer number of orkish societies, we have only noted a few dozen in which gretchin have actually rebelled against their betters, and far fewer in which this rebellion is not quickly crushed by the orks, or in which the integrity of the warband does not collapse soon after (generally leading to enslavement again). Gretchin appear, either by nature or by the totality of the situation they grow up in, to bear little to no resentment against their brutal masters in the vast majority of cases. In an attempt to learn more about the origin of “the revolution”, I attempted to meet with the leader of the warband I was researching. Eventually I was given an audience, in which he recounted bits and pieces of the rebellion’s history. Having been one of its original instigators, this interview was quite informative, if heavily laden with rhetoric and what I can only assume is an exaggeration of the actual events that took place.
While the warband’s leader (titled “Red Gobbo” by the warband itself) put dramatic emphasis on the indignities that the gretchin suffered at the hands of the orks, they actually seemed fairly standard for their kind; a little harsher than usual, perhaps (a frequent feature of the “Goff” clan), but still not bad enough to explain such deviant behavior. What did peak my interest, however, was the event I soon learned of; the ork tribe that the gretchin were currently serving under [A824-19 “Da Blakk Skarz”] fell into disarray with the death of their reigning warboss. A new warboss emerged from the infighting with a combination of brute strength and loud denouncing of things he considered “unproppa [See: Index8354-Ork Terminology]”. Among the many things he blamed for the warband’s momentary collapse (including humanity and orks who associate with us, wearing “flashy” clothes or bright colors, preferring the use of vehicles and ranged weaponry to close combat, personal hygiene, and “rocky-roll moozik”) was the laziness and cowardice of the warband’s gretchin. While this didn’t necessarily lead to more mistreatment of the gretchin, it did lead to their widespread ostracization, and intolerance of the traits traditionally associated with them. During this period the gretchin became increasingly independent of the orks in daily life, in some ways beginning to form a secondary social hierarchy. During this time the orks also began to provide the gretchin with less protection than they had in the past, which led to an increase in militarization amongst the gretchin.
Eventually the orkish tribe began to go on extended campaign. While the majority of the orks were at the front of this extended assault the orkish slaver class began to demand increasing amounts of labor and physical risk from their workers; and they increased the brutality of the treatment given to dissenters as well. From what I can gather there were increasing conflicts between the gretchin and the slavers over this matter, that universally ended in the rebellion being suppressed. Then, at some point, the grot leader I had been speaking to some managed to kill the ork noble in charge of maintaining control over the town. The exact nature of this act seems to have multiple renditions, with all of them near certainly exaggerated in some way, but in any respect it does seem clear that the nob was killed by gretchin, and this then led to the “Red Gobbo” rallying more and more gretchin to his cause. Severely outnumbered and leaderless, the orkish slavers were defeated over the course of several days without too much difficulty. From that point, the Red Gobbo consolidated the other assorted demagogues and rabble-rousers into his own party, and quickly forced the concept of a race-wide revolution on those less enthusiastic about the new order.
From that point there seems to be a lot of muddled history, but from what I can piece together the lack of supplies caused the “Blakk Skarz” tribe to falter on their campaign. Most of the tribe went back to their original territory, but they did so without a coherent plan, and attacked piecemeal. The gretchin forces were able to isolate and destroy their attackers; they suffered heavy casualties in this, especially when they first encountered orkish armor being used against them (most of the “Ork War” veterans still alive in the warband carry large amounts of anti-tank weaponry), but eventually prevailed. It is unknown what happened to the tribe’s warboss; some Imperial sources seem to suggest that he attempted to continue his campaign despite the rebellion, and was slain in an attack on New Sydney [R826].
From this point on the warband seems to have had quite a few other encounters, including conflicts with our own Imperial Guard, with small scouting groups of Astartes, with some human factions known to be traitors against The Immortal Emperor of Mankind, with eldar (briefly), with several other ork tribes, and with the Tau Empire. There conflict with the Tau Empire is of special importance do to the fact that they were at one time accepted as the Tau’s vassals, before rebelling against their rulership. The gretchin accused the Tau of deception and mind control, which lends strong credit to reports of similar treatment with human traitors [see: A972-Tau Water Caste]. The gretchin warband seems to have been willing to ally with some Imperial forces, and I can only imagine some traitor forces as well. They are not particularly trustworthy allies, though, as they remain impetuous and distrustful of others (presumably fearing a situation similar to the past enslavement by the orks). The gretchin Red Gobbo went on to recount a great number of feats that he himself accomplished; these included outlandish claims of having been swallowed whole by a Tyranid Carnifex [See: A835-9] before then proceeding the gnaw his way out of its stomach, having defeated a “[Record Expunged by command of the Ordo Malleus 92764727e.k.]” in some sort of competition with stringed instruments, and having casually beaten up The Immortal Emperor of Mankind (I should note that I do not ascribe credence of any sort to this claim. Ave Imperator) after some sort of petty argument.
The current organization of the gretchin warband mirrors that of their former overlords in many fashions. The basic gretchin – forming the equivalent of the orks who are simply called “boys” in their own society – are officially given the rank of “comrade” within a gretchin warband. These grots perform all of the basic tasks done by both the gretchin and the boys of a traditional ork society. The gretchin upper-class is formed of the Head Honchos, the Grot Liberation Kommittee, and the Red Gobbo himself. The Head Honchos act in a similar manner to the ork nobility. Like the orks, gretchin make little distinction between political and military power. The cause for this is most likely the necessity of continued “revolutionary” spirit within the grot hierarchy; the gretchin society is in a “continuing state of revolution” against ork kind, and that common goal is the imperative to keep what is otherwise a mass of cowardly backstabbers united. Unlike the orkish “nobs”, Head Honchos are given their position by the Kommittee. The requirements of the Kommittee include unflinching loyalty to them (and “The Cause” of grot rebellion), fearlessness in combat, the ability to shout rhetoric very loudly, and a small amount of true leadership ability. (All of these requirements are relative to gretchin, of course.)
The Kommittee itself is a rather shady organization. They appear to be an amalgam of the traditional ork “warboss” and warboss’ favored nobs. The Kommittee of the warband I observed had seven members to it, and the Kommittee usually has around that number of members. One thing to keep in mind about the Kommittee is that is actually the highest governance in the independent gretchin society. The single most powerful grot in the hierarchy is the Red Gobbo; however, while the Red Gobbo in the warband I observed seemed to have considerable fighting and rhetorical ability (for a grot, at any rate) his actual authority is derived from his position as head of the Kommittee. In this manner the line between the warboss and his personal retinue is blurred for the gretchin parallel. The method by which one gains membership into the Kommittee is difficult to determine; there seems to be a great deal of backstabbing and political manipulation for the position. A grot may only serve on the Kommittee for a week before he is assassinated and replaced, though this does not seem to stem the flow of applicants. The Red Gobbo himself is oftentimes killed off and replaced by another grot going by the same name and wearing the same regalia in these warbands, although the Red Gobbo of the warband I observed insisted that he was the original one to take the position in this instance.
The gretchin warmachine is perhaps even more disorganized and dysfunctional than their ork equivalent; for all of their disinterest in logistics and communication, the orks appear to have a natural code of some sort, which dictates their goals in combat. Orks who have no coherent plan made will still operate in a fairly coherent fashion, as their ability to function as part of a military unit seems to be as hardwired into them as their ability to fight as individuals. In contrast, the gretchin do not seem to display any such savantry. Gretchin units often run around without rhyme or reason, retreating when they should be pressing an attack, charging when they should fall back, and bickering amongst themselves as they attempt to work together. The Head Honchos attempt to maintain a semblance of order, but as loyalty and charisma are sought out more than tactical knowledge or basic organizational skills, what exactly the Head Honchos should be trying to do is usually a mystery to them. The Kommittee usually fights at the forefront of the battle (so as not to let any member be seen as lacking in dedication by their peers) or deep within the ranks of the gretchin mobs that form the backbone of the force (so as to remind the Head Honchos what it is they’re supposed to be doing; forcefully if necessary).
The potential threat of gretchin warbands to the Imperium’s security is difficult to gauge; certainly they don’t seem to be much of a threat at the present. However, should large populations of gretchin flock to the cause of a galaxywide revolt against the orkish race, I couldn’t begin to guess what the implications would be. I suppose should this event occur it would alleviate much of the stress on our great military caused by the orkish menace; however, gretchin appear to be quite adaptable and resourceful. If they begin to unite in large numbers, they may carry the same dangers to the Imperium’s well being as the Ork Waaaghs that have caused the deaths of so many.
Your Servant in the God Emperor’s Name: Mathew Becks
Deathskulls
Logan Grimnar's Great Company
