Navies of the Old World - the Green Waves

lcmiracle#6727

History is repleted with tales of destruction brought on by the savage Greenskins. It seems no corners of the Old World has been spared their vile taints, they are found on the plains, in the woods, and upon the mountains, bellowing and rioting. Not even the great dark oceans are safe, for their rackety excuses for ships now prowl upon the waves.

Indeed when one speaks of the goblinoids, it's a rare occurance for that to conjure the image of a ship. Truly has there been but one notable instance where a goblin warlord took to the seas in Imperial records. The savage they call Grom the Paunch did rampaged across the Empire during the regin of Dieter IV, From the Black Fire Pass his horde came, ravaging from Stirland all the way to the shadows of the Middle Mountains. Then he wheeled south to sack Nuln, before finally coming to a halt in Reikland. Growing bored of the cul-de-sac, the diabolic greenskin turned towards the seas.

It was only by the grace of Manann that the Empire had to spared the Goblin's rapacious ravagings, though many of his kind were abandoned and continued to bevow the nation for many years to come. As for Grom, tales came from the Bretonnia claiming the Greenskins had been flung against its shores; still, there are those who say the warlord himself managed to reach the elven island paradise of Ulthuan and reaped great tallies there, though my contacts have been none too enthused to verify these claims.

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Though Grom has long disappeared from the annuals, it would be foolish to assume the greenskins no longer menance the seas. Indeed, even today, many ramshackled ships miraculously stay afloat to prey upon the sea lanes across the world.
One might be baffled as to how such barbarians could manage to build anything seaworthy, yet these aren't mere beasts, in times past they had shown their capacity for rudimentary engineering, at least when it comes to the field of war-making. Yet, perhaps there were other forces behind their unusual intellect?

Despite any dark and vague rumours, the Orc vessels remain flimsy and haphazard. Most their weapons are primitive but not ineffective, though in some dark moments of ludcidity, these savages did come up with impressively ludicrous constructs of war.

Seemingly in inmitation of the Dwarfs (surely much to the haunty race's chagrin), many Orc ships use threadwheels for moving about. Though imperfect as their works are, these are not driven by steam engines, but rather manual labour, and are thus slower in comparison.

Their smaller ships are specialised in either ranged combat or boarding actions, using shoddy catapults to launch giant rocks or unreliable devices in the form of a rock drill in ramming actions.

The most enomous Orc vessels are known as the Hulks -- these are terrifying in all regards, equipped with the dreaded "Ironclawz" and "Smash-hammers" for boarding actions as well as batteries of catapults to smash their foes from a distance.

Though no greenskins have risen to threaten our glorious nation on the seas since the days of Grom, one must not become complacent, for just as algae recedes but not destroyed, in time they might bloom again into a vast green tide!