Greyskin Slaughterbands

The Greyskin Slaughterbands are a topic that is very simple to talk about, and one all can be glad that they content themselves to the deepest, darkest recesses of the world so we don't have to deal with them. It is logical that, with all things, we should start at the beginning and observe how these Greyskins came to being.

Back during the Dwarven time known as "The Age of the Green Menance", where the mountains knew nothing but war and slaughter. Many choices had to be made during these times, between the Greenskins and the stumpy Dwarves to try and gain ground against the new enemy. This resulted in many tunnels to be strategically or tragically closed off, sectioning off nearly half of the Dwarven Empire to an eternity of underground isolation and darkness. But even with this, the war still waged between Dwarf and Orc. And though these battles were more **** due to lower numbers and supplies, they waged nonetheless with both sides too proud and anxious to allow the other side to survive so they can ensure their own.

For a while it seemed that there was a stalemate between the two forces fighting it out in tunnel skirmishes, that was until a new faction had arisen. Strange, horrible, alien creatures from the darkness below interjected themselves into the fight and fought for the Dwarves...well, rather they fought against the Orcs so they could have some peace and quiet as they subjugated and enslaved the Dwarves. This resulted in the Greenskins to being **** to retreat away from the familiar and somewhat safe northern section of the Underrealm, and deeper into the pits of the world's innards. And it took a long time for them to find a place to "settle down". The Underrealm is notorious for many natural creepy-crawlies that are gargantuan in size or have notorious tempers, and the continued hunts from the being corrupted Dwarves and their eldritch masters, as well as the odd run ins with Dark Elves didn't help matters.

Deeper and deeper into the depths they want, down to even where Dwarf and Dark Elf did not dare set foot. They eventually came across a series of chasms and chambers that had large pillar-like formations the stretched higher than any can see, vast darkness, and strange fang-like jagged formations of metal ore. This would eventually be called the Bladerock Slaughter Grounds. Here, there were still many dangers, but at least the Greenskins were small enough to not be considered a worthwhile snack to some of the predators here, but the smaller and still highly aggressive creatures still attempted attacks, but at least there was plenty of space for the weary warriors to catch their breath.

It was at this time, the transformation from Greenskin to Greyskin began to take shape. For all intents and purposes, they were far from the influences of their Gods, and for all they knew, their Gods had abandoned them. The ability to subjugate and dominate others as the charismatic, larger-than-life warriors they were had no effect on the creatures here. It was simply kill or be killed; no middle ground allowed. These two things alone were instrumental in the change of society from a warrior for conquer society, to a warrior to kill society. Next was the near absolute darkness of the and magical corruption of the area. Their Greenskins and eyes were useless here, resulting in them adopting the titular greyish skin and red eyes that are perfectly adapted at seeing in darkness. Then there is the diet that they were **** to go on. It is needless to say that there isn't much food to go around in the Slaughter Grounds and the adjacent chambers that weren't claimed by the Dark Elves and Black Dwarves, resulting in the newly forming Greyskins to have to choose subpar dietary habits. Poisonous and toxic fungi and lichens, tough and unsavory meats from what creatures they could kill, and very distasteful cave water and nauseating drinks made from the local wildlife...all these things had very adverse side effects on the collective psyche and physical appearance of the Greyskins.

One could say that a near race wide psychosis had occurred, they had discarded all that their ancestors had known of the world. There was no need for Gods, no need for conquest, no need for ownership, no need for honor. The only thing they knew now was survival and the thrill of the hunt, the thrill of the kill. Greyskin society doesn't even operate with a hierarchy or anything we might consider a "society". There are no laws, no legislation or government. The only thing they live for now is safety in the darkness of the Underrealm and killing the most dangerous creatures they come across.

What we do know is that Greyskins are nomadic, in a sense. They do have permanent settlements within, on the surface of, and around the massive pillars that hold up the ceilings of the Slaughter Ground caverns, but very few actually stay in these settlements. Those too young or too old to travel, the pregnant, the injured and sick, and so forth. These settlements are more used as bases of operations for hunts, resting points, and resupply locations. Those within the optimal ages to hunt, fight, and kill are in a constant state of movement within the chambers, tunnels, and chasms of the Underrealm, always on the hunt for the next kill. Some do this solo, but a vast majority form hunting parties and hunter-killer formations. The size of the group of the Greyskins is usually indicative of what type of creature they are trying to hunt.

In Greyskin "society", all that matters is the hunt. If one were to die during a fight or a hunt, then they are disgraceful and are forgotten. However, should one succeed and bring a worthy travel, then they are heralded for as long as they continue to live and succeed in subsequent hunts. If one were to survive long enough and become too old to hunt but have a sizeable collection of trophies, then they are honored within the settlements and looked after. Those that grow too old and don't have many trophies, they are exiled out of the settlements to die an unworthy and painful **** at the hands of the creatures they had failed to kill, or more likely to starve to ****.

Due to what we can call a cognitive "degeneration", Greyskins are not as well versed in equipment crafting as their surface brethren. They don't make metals for their armor, rather using the hides and scales of the beasts they kill. Sometimes they don't even use metal for their weapons if a kill had physical parts that seem more advantageous. But, a great many weapons do make use of the "bladerocks" that are in the Bladerock Slaughter Grounds. What the Greyskins don't realize, is that these strange metals formed in the likeness of blades and monstrous fangs, are actually in fact raw Karminite, the sacred metal of the Dwarves. No one knows of this, not even the Greyskins. However, they find its never rusting capabilities and mass plentitude very convenient to make simplistic yet devastating weapons out of. Their crude and primitive craftsmanship and lack of understanding of what Karminite even is, though, results in them being unable to really use the metal to its full potential and make it only just about as good as some poorly made steel weaponry.

The Greyskins don't even know magic in the basest sense, relying purely on martial prowess and cunning hunting tactics.

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Greyskin Sub-Species:

The Greyskins do not enjoy the diversity of their surface-dwelling brethren the Greenskins. They have not met the Trolls nor the Cyclopsi, nor have they found the Hyskrit or the Beastmen. They even lost almost all of what little animals they had tamed before being sealed away in the vast darkness below. All they had with them were the original Orcs and Goblins of the ancient world. But they had undergone many mutations that changed their very physiology, allowing a whole new set of subspecies to form. However, one thing of curious note is that it seems the..."society", of these sub-species seems to be "fairer" when compared to their Greenskin cousins. Probably because they do not care for hierarchies, statuses, and the divine need to conquer and dominate. Rather, everything they value is within the merit and skill of the individual when out on the hunt.

Ghrazrah - The closest thing to the original Greenskin Orcs there are. They took on a name closest to the name of their former Overchief God as a mockery of him, claiming themselves to be better than him, the Overchief too cowardly to step foot in the Slaughter Grounds. They are completely and utterly bald, bare stone-grey skin, and have the blood red eyes that pierce through the darkness. One thing that makes them very different from their Orc cousins is the fact that they have large, powerful tusks and impressive underbite that supports anywhere from two to six of these natural weapons. It is common for a Ghrazrah to value their tusks like a Dwarf does their beard, and decorate them with various trinkets and trophies, or make them better for combat. A missing tusk can be considered a sign of shame or prestige depending on how well of a tale the hunter can spin about it.

Graughs - Monstrous brutes that are close relations to the original Orcs, but have seemingly doubled in size. They are a rarity, but they are around. They are born either from other Graughs or from Ghrazrah parents due to unknown means. They seem to start out as just slightly bigger from Ghrazrah babies but grow to monstrous sizes later in life. When mature, a Graugh becomes too big to stand up straight and begin to hunch over, their arms also lengthening greatly and growing very muscular to make them more like knuckle-walkers. They bear the same tusk features of their Ghrazrah parents, though are more numerous and larger, as well as grow extra thick hides. Their chest, shoulders, back, and upper arms especially thicken nicely as they seem to form natural, boney armor that look like solid stone. They are greatly revered by the Ghazrah as natural hunters and easily capable of taking out most of the Underrealm wildlife on their own, with even naturally heightened senses and hunting instincts...though, they seem to lose points in intelligences in other aspects.

Dreggs - The closest species to that of the original Goblins from the original Greenskins. They are roughly the same size as Goblins, but more built and lankier thanks to the lifestyles they have to live. Much like their Goblin cousins, they aren't as well built or strong as their counterparts and suitably have to compensate to be viable members of the group. Keeping true to tradition, their craftiness and cunning makes up for their lack of brawn, though they aren't as intelligent as their Greenskin cousins. In the Slaughterbands, the Dreggs make up the clever tacticians and trap makers of their hunting parties. Rather than favoring weapons to defend themselves, they instead spend their time planning ahead and making traps to kill their prey. It matters not to the Greyskins how one kills, only that one does. And many Greyskins find great use in having Dreggs in their groups to help felling particularly nasty beasts that a straight up **** or ambush wouldn't handle. Should also be known that Dreggs do not share the cowardice nor the omni-fertility of their surface cousins. These little creatures have also formed sheets of poisonous quill-like growths on their backs that can be removed for all sorts of uses, only for the quills to grow back.

Ghradreks - It is not really all the all uncommon for a Ghrazrah or a Dregg to have offspring. The Greyskins care little for love or restraint, and the new "society" of the Greyskins allow a more...liberal, view of mating. So long as a partner seems like a worthy candidate for mating, it shall happen, regardless if offspring is possible. It is in this way the first of the Ghradrek was born, a hybrid species of Ghrazrah and Dreggs, and there are plenty of them. It seems the time spent in the Underrealm has allowed the two sub-species to be close enough once again to be able to produce half-breeds that are also fertile and can create more Ghradreks. They are roughly in the average median of size between their parents and share many of their physical features. They have the tusks and quills of their parents and share their strength and cunning, though not to the maximum efficiency of their parents species. Regardless, this average makes them highly versatile and very welcomed additions to any hunting party. It also isn't uncommon to see Ghradreks become leaders of these hunting parties if they are particularly skilled, finding no discrimination among Greyskins if they prove themselves worthy.