In Warhammer, Ruglud's Armoured Orcs are a great addition to your force. These guys can be added as a rare choice to any Warhammer army, other than Bretonnians, High Elves, Wood Elves and Dwarves . The Heavy Armour gives these guys a longer life and the crossbows pack a punch. We decided instead of getting the actual figures, we'd show you how to make your own. We got hold of a handful of orc archers. They are pretty readily available on eBay.
We added a few metal pieces from the miscelaneous stuff box for the command crew. An old savage orc musician and goblin for Maggot, the standard bearer. We also acquired several sprues of crossbows, Ruglud's actual head and thanks to the plethora of orc parts, we gathered heads, arms and weaponry.
Upon assembly we began to think of Rugluds many escapades and decided he and his boyz would have collected many trophies along the way. Part of their motto is to fight for gold, for food, and for the chance to strip the enemy of anything worth taking. Once again we raided the parts bins and came up with some suitable pieces to add to our boyz.
We'll start with the command crew. For Ruglud Bonechewer we used one of the orc archers and gave him Ruglud's actual head. You can use anything that would stand out from the rest. An orc shield insert was added for his chestplate, a crossbow in his right hand and then the left was repositioned and a hand weapon was inserted.
A chaos skull was placed on his pouch in the back.
The old metal savage orc musician needed a bit of work. We added an armoured shoulder pad, an empire helmet was carved off the soldier wearing it and placed on the musicians head and lastly a piece of plasticard was attached under his belt.
His crossbow was added to his back, handy for when he needs to put the drum down.
The goblin was from somewhere that I can't remember right now, but he worked great as Maggot. We added an old orc metal standard top and a Bretonian helmet and shield to mimic the actual standard bearer from Ruglud's set.
Now we move on to the troops! These first two orc boyz scored relics from the Sauruses in a Lizardman army. The guy on the left had his left arm raised, bow removed and Saurus halbard added. He also has a quiver from the tomb kings army, shoulder armour and obviously a crossbow.
His mate has a lizardman chestplate, shoulder pads and hand weapon. He also had his right arm replaced, hand weapon removed from it and crossbow inserted.
Orc boy number three had his bow arm removed and cut to give it an upward angle. A spiked shoulder pad and dwarf pick axe finish him off.
Ruglud's number four has acquired a great piece of shoulder armor and has had a chaos sword attached to his back.
You can see where his arm was removed and shaved to also give it a more upward angle.
Boy five is basically intact with additions of the dwarf shield for a chest plate, shoulder armour and crossbow
OK, orc boy six! his choppa arm was left intast but the curve was shaved off the choppa to add variety in the weaponry. A dwarf's face guard now resides on his shoulder armour.
His bow arm was replaced with one that will keep the crossbow down and in so he can fill the back rank. The unlucky dwarf donated his axe too, posthumously of course.
Lucky number 7 has a new sword arm with choppa, a groovy spikey shoulder pad and crossbow.
He added an extra quiver on top of his standard issue.
On to number eight of nine! This guy is all about the back rank. The bow arm was removed and one with a hand weapon and tight angle added. He received the standard issue shoulder armour and he's sportin' a fashionable empire cap.
On his back he's wearing a Lizardman shield. The saurus had no more need for it if you get my meaning.
Lastly Ruglud's number nine orc boy is one of my favorites! He has a new bow arm with tight angle for rear rank and the choppa was replaced with the crossbow. His right hand needed something, so a tomb king skull was the perfect fit.
Add the shoulder armour and Tomb Kings shield and he too was finished.
So there you have them, in all their unfinished glory.
Ruglud, Maggot, a musician and seven armoured Orcs costs a total of 190 points. Additional orcs are 12 points each.
Maggot the Goblin standard bearer has survived countless battles and is regarded as a lucky mascot. His presence encourages the Orcs to fight all the more fiercely. The banner that Maggot enthusiastically waves adds + 2 to combat resolution rather than +1.
In addition to this. Maggot seems to lead a charmed life, and as a result has a 3+ Ward save. He may not accept challenges, for he is not in effect a character, just a particularly lucky Goblin. If Maggot dies, the banner is lost with him, and no other Orc can pick it up.
Ruglud's Armoured Orc stats are as follows:
| Profile | М | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Ld |
|---|
Ruglud
|
4
|
5
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
2
|
3
|
3
|
8
|
Maggot
|
4
|
2
|
3
|
3
|
3
|
1
|
2
|
1
|
6
|
Armoured Orc
|
4
|
3
|
3
|
3
|
4
|
1
|
2
|
1
|
7
|
These guys also have their own animosity chart.
1-2 Let's show 'em what these crossbows can do!
Ruglud's Armoured Orcs shoot at the closest unit, friend or foe. All models in the unit can fire without movement penalty at the nearest target in any direction, ignoring the usual restrictions for line of sight and fire arcs - this is an exception to the normal rules for shooting. The shots are worked out immediately, not in the Shooting Phase, and the models themselves are not moved. The unit cannot do anything else that turn. If there are no units within range, the unit Squabbles instead (see the next entry).
3-6 Squabble
An internal squabble amongst the ranks soon grows into a minor riot with fists and curses flying. This throws the unit into disorder and prevents all moving and shooting this turn. The unit can do nothing this turn while Ruglud cracks heads together to restore order.
Well we've included the entire sordid history for Ruglud and his Armoured Orcs, but its lengthy so we'll sign out first and then you can read as much as you want!
Have a Great Battle,
The Old Crow
History of Ruglud's Armoured Orcs
Ruglud Bonechewer is a powerful and wealthy Orc mercenary who sells his services all across the known world, from the treacherous Badlands in the south up through the realm of the Border Princes and throughout the mountains surrounding the Empire. Rumours suggest that even the Empire itself has hired his services on occasion. Ruthless to the core, Ruglud's only loyalty is to himself and he has been known to change sides during battle if offered more payment and, more importantly, more opportunity to loot and pillage. Over the years the band has equipped itself with a motley assortment of equipment, stripping scraps of armour from countless defeated foes, and always taking the crossbows and bolts that they prize so highly.
Ruglud Bonechewer was once a mighty Orc warlord, leading the Crooked Eye tribe to countless victories. Uniting the local tribes, his army stormed through the Grey Mountains and World's Edge Mountains. He staged numerous successful raids on Dwarf strongholds and Empire towns, as well as upon various Goblin tribes that refused to grovel before him.
Ruglud suffered one devastating defeat, many miles to the east of the Old World, and in that defeat he also lost his position as warlord of the Crooked Eye. Caught in a cunning and well implemented ambush by a powerful Chaos Dwarf force, his tribe were cut down in their hundreds by the withering hail of missile fire that the Chaos Dwarfs sent into their midst. The Orcs return fire was unsurprisingly inaccurate. The heavy armour worn by the Dwarfs deflected the few arrows that found their targets.
As Ruglud fled, many of his tribe turned on him, blaming him in typical Orcish manner for the defeat. Ruglud bullied a small group of the Orcs into staying by his side and fled with them to the south, pursued by the arrows and insults of his former tribe.
They came across an ancient, seemingly impenetrable stronghold built into the mountainside. It appeared to be deserted, and the superstitious Orcs cowered at the sound of the wind howling over its blackened battlements. As they picked their way around the huge boulders at the base of the stronghold walls, the smallest member of the group, the runt known only as 'Maggot', tripped and fell. Ruglud blinked in surprise, for the Goblin had disappeared from sight. Moments later, he stuck his head up through a hole in the ground, exclaiming that he had found a tunnel.
The Orcs refused to enter the tunnel, scared of the 'bad spirits' that inhabited the stronghold. Ruglud pushed the Orcs aside roughly, determined to show them that he was not afraid. Besides, he thought, there might be something worth looting inside. Ruglud grabbed Maggot by the scruff of his neck, forcing him to walk in front of him into the low tunnel.
They came upon a scene of devastation, the aftermath of a titanic battle in the tunnels and grand halls of what must have been a Dwarf stronghold. Dwarf bodies lay strewn across the floors in unbelievable numbers, and at first it looked to Ruglud as if Dwarf had been fighting Dwarf. As he looked closer at the bodies, he saw that some were the Chaos Dwarfs that he had suffered his great defeat against.
Bloodied armour and weapons were scattered across the stone floor. At Ruglud's feet lay a Dwarf crossbow, which he picked up absently in one huge hand. His gaze lingered on the weapon as a sizeable lump of masonry suddenly fell on his thick head, and a moment of inspiration washed over him. The unexpected thought filled his cunning Orcish mind: "If ya can't beat em, join 'em!" He began to strip the armour off the Dwarfs' bodies, haphazardly strapping the plates to his oversized frame. Climbing unsteadily out of the hole, he stood before his Orc followers who fell back before him. With a strange, determined look in his eyes, he growled at the Orcs: "We'll show 'em how it's done."
And so Ruglud's Armoured Orcs were formed, the only known band of Orcs to implement the combination of armour and crossbow. They are still disliked and distrusted by other Orc tribes, but their fighting qualities are grudgingly accepted. Wherever the band travels, it fights for gold and for food, and for the chance to strip the enemy of anything worth taking.
