Profile: ‘Ardnog Squigtamer

 

"An DIS little squiggy goes RARRGNASHCHOMPBLARRRRG all da way 'ome."

Hailing from the Grotonnian satellite township of Gnashville, Squigtamer is a rare example of a genuine goblin success story. He made his fortune as a highly successful squig trainer, with some dozens of champion gnasher squigs emerging from his stables. Having amassed significant wealth on the face-eating circuit* he came to the attention of the king of Grotonnia and now oversees the royal stable on those occasions when the king does not like, trust or remember the name of the official Royal Squig-herd.

His days as an active trainer are largely behind him and the majority of his time is now dedicated to his popular Gnashcar team.

A point of some interest to scholars of Grotonnian lore - all two of them - is that the word 'Nog' is in fact dwarfish and has no roots in any branch of the goblin language. Such nomenclature is highly unusual in goblin society and considering the historic animosity between goblins and dwarfs is normally intended as an insult. In this instance it is unclear which party is expected to take the most offence.

*The famed Orc face-eating contests require a constant supply of squigs. Enterprising goblin hustlers will sometimes challenge Orcs to eat their squigs, on the basis that if the squig wins then the goblin gets to keep all the deceased Orc's possessions. Such goblins have an extremely short life expectancy, but those who survive invariably become exceptionally rich.

Painting progress: Grotonnia

 WAAAAAAAAAAGH!

Profile: Da Green Night Gobbo

                                                 

Nominally second in command to the Questin' Grot, the Green Night Gobbo is something of a loose cannon even by Grotonnian standards. Rarely expected - or even wanted - within the halls of Grotonnia's king, he wanders the surrounding region looking for easy plunder and unsuspecting victims.

Although he is at best an occasional presence in the armies of Grotonnia, he has an almost supernatural ability to arrive on the battlefield, unlooked-for and unheralded, a hero emerging from the mist, just as the fight is going really well. This unearthly sense of timing has earned him many descriptions in the tongue of the Underland - "myffic"*, "effeereul"**, and "annanigma"*** to list but three.

He has a nose for loot and on many occasion the Questin' Grot - sick of having his boots stolen or his codpiece pilfered - will convince the king to feed him to the squigs, only for the Green Night Gobbo to show up at that very moment bearing a new shiny bauble as a gift and weasel his way back into royal favour. Such an uncanny talent for self-preservation means he is most often known as "git"****.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*tr: "Git"

**tr: "Git"

***tr: "Git" 

****tr: "One of questionable personal and moral qualities"

Profile: The Twins

 

The Twins - known to their handlers as Big and Bouncy - are two of the most gruesomely cheerful denizens of Grotonnia. When they were younger, the Grotonnians would use them as bait in a Djael, or ambush, when hunting loot-carrying quarry. Now they have reached full maturity, they are a prized asset on the battlefield where they will be prodded into place by means of the 'Wunda-bar', a large and rusty iron spike. They will be maneuvered into a position in which they are both impressive and intimidating to the enemy commander, whereupon they will be unleashed in all their manic glee while the rest of the Grotonnians sneak round the back of the distracted foe and stab 'em up.

Profile: Da Questin' Grot

Mightiest servant of Squigmar and the only grot to have paddled across the Mystic Lake, Da Questin' Grot is the undisputed commander of the armies of Grotonnia. Unusually skillful in combat for a grot, he rides into battle atop his faithful steed Hobnail, the biggest and meanest cave squig seen in a generation. Having captured Hobnail when just a squiglet, he raised it on a healthy diet of warm milk and enemies until it became - in the eyes of many - the living avatar of Squigmar itself.

Progress update: Knights of Grotonnia

Nothing more than a photodump!

Regions of the Underland: Grotonnia

Oi! Ya git!

 
Little more than a patchwork of caves and tunnels, Grotonnia is a relatively insignificant corner of the Underland. Its one notable feature is a deep underground lake which has - at least as far as the Grotonnians are concerned - mystical properties. The nature of the lake is unknown, but the area produces a prodigious number of squigs, the bounciest of which are captured and trained to be used as steeds by the Knights of Grotonnia.

The Knights are led by the one known as Da Questin' Grot and his not-at-all-trusted 'left tenant' The Green Night Gobbo. The Knights regularly raid and pillage nearby settlements, although they have grander aims to conquer the entire world and usher in the Age of Squigmar.

Most Grotonnians keep a pet squig.