Need Help Creating Fluff For My Feral Human Army?

[Proiteus]

For my next army I plan to create an army of feral and warlike humans called ‘The Kroggs’ which will be using the Ork codex. Mainly due to their feral nature and close combat abilities.

Problem is coming up with a background that suits them and explains their inhuman traits such as their increased strength and limited thinking ability and of course their lust for violence.

So far I’ve come up with several ideas to work with, plus I’ve received an idea or two from other people. So here are the ideas for the Krogg’s background.

Idea One
They were originally a Guard regiment that used a variety of combat drugs to enhance their ablites during battle. Everything changed with the creation of a powerful combat drug called ‘Bloodfire’ which could be injected or inhaled, one dose would increase the subject’s strength and durability nearly to that of a space marine for a limited period. With use of this drug the Guard drove back many invasions and the system enjoyed a time of peace and prosperity. However overtime side effects begin to appear in an increasing number of guardsmen such as an increase in body durability and muscle enhancement even when the drug was not being used. While these aspects where seen as a success, there were a number of negative side effects such as a decrease in mental power and a large rise in aggressive behaviour. On the battlefield some guardsmen went into an uncontrollable rage that even the strictest officers had trouble dealing with. This was made worst with the presence of an Ork Waaagh invading the system and the guard were quickly dispatched to defeat them. However during the conflict the guardsmen began adopting Ork traits, the worst one being to respect nothing but strength. This resulted in a mutiny of epic proportions as the 89% of the regiment turned on their officers, new leadership was found as the toughest soldiers climbed their way to power through contest of strength. Over the years the guard regiment now referring to themselves as the Kroggs had become as vile and as aggressive as the Ork race, and the system they were charged to defend was plunged into darkness and civil war.

I’ll like this idea because it both solid and has a good number of conversion aspects such as the Warboss (which will be converted from the Forgeworld Orgyn berserker boss) being a Krogg warrior who has been drugged up on ‘Bloodfire’ and enhanced by the Krogg Mek to be his personal bodyguard.

Idea Two
The Kroggs are a race of violent and aggressive Abhumans that originate from a large planet with a high gravity level and harsh climate. Being forced to live under these hazardous conditions their bodies have adapted in a way making them similar to the Ogryns of the Imperial Guard in the way of increased physical strength and limited mental capacity. But for untold years their warlike nature had forced them into a state of civil war this continued until the Imperial guard came to the planet looking to recruit them. At first the Kroggs refused but after being told of the challenging enemies that would await them in the dark reaches of space the Kroggs agreed. The guard soon came to realise the barbaric nature of the Kroggs during their first campaign which pitted them against the Tyranids. On the battlefield the Kroggs were a terrible sight to behold as most of them were uncontrollable. After the campaign the surviving Kroggs were returned to their homeworld while High Command considered their fate. In the end the Kroggs were seen as a possible threat to the Imperium and an Exterminatus was called in to eradicate their race. But upon arrival their planet had been abandoned and the Imperial ship orbiting the planet destroyed. It would appear that during the short period since the campaign the Kroggs had been told by the surviving warriors about the powerful monsters and enemies that existed out in space for them to challenge. With this goal in mind the Krogg’s channelled all of their resources into constructing a large fleet of crudely built ships in which to launch their bloody crusade. Travelling from planet to planet the Kroggs now seek out conflict in order to test their physical strength and skill.

This background was thought up by looking at an article in a white dwarf about Abhumans such as Ogryns and Ratlings and seems very straight forward.

Idea Three
The warring bands of sub-humanoid mutants known only as "Krogg" were a failed attempt to create a population of host bodies resilient enough to test the capability of housing the Immortal God Emperor's soul in an individual possessing "super-human" abilities. To test his thesis Thorian Inquisitor Maximus the Mad (later declared excommunicate and a heretic after his execution by burning at the stake), subjected the inhabitants of the once prosperous paradise world of Miranda to inhuman conditions by first ordering the mass evacuation of entire cities before orbitally bombing them (killing those who refused to evacuate in the process).

Watching the once peaceful citizens of Miranda reduced to a state of primal barbarity as they killed and consumed one another to survive the mad inquisitor then set about initializing the second step of his program. Using his private army of sycophants, Maximus the Mad set about capturing the different bands of survivors, subjecting them one and all to several different chemical and mutagenic therapies that would increase their physical resilience and strength seven fold.

Pleased with the results of his experiment so far, the inquisitor then continued to orbitally bombard the planet with virus bombs and nuclear missiles to cleanse the planet of all life and reshape it into a death world where he might be able to test the limits of his new specimens. Due to the prolonged orbital bombardment, the planet's once beautiful cities and forests were reduced to ash, leaving 95% of the world as an uninhabitable wasteland, while turning the remaining 5% into tiny oasises separated by thousands if not millions of miles of desert.

Releasing the mutated specimens back onto the planet, Maximus the Mad began hunting down and collecting powerful demonic entities to test the abilities of the modified specimen’s ability to survive possession by a powerful psychic being. However, before he could return to resume testing he was captured and executed as a heretic, his work on Miranda going unnoticed for one hundred years as the entire system was enveloped in a giant warp storm.

The combination of mutagenic and chemical therapy, exposure to the warp, and the general inhuman conditions the "Krogg" have endured, has led to the creation of a sub-species far more violent and resilient than was intended. If the world of Miranda could ever be pacified along with the it's inhabitants, the tithes of Imperial Guard regiments would be second only to the Adeptus Astartes in melee prowess, rivaling even Orgyn auxiliaries and the hated Xenos Ork scum.

This was suggested to me by someone off another forum and is very detailed; I am considering however changing the scale from a planet to an Imperial Hive city.

So which do like the most? The purpose of this thread is to decide on and develop a suitable and interesting background to support using the Ork codex to represent the Kroggs on the board.

[omegoku]

Something like idea 2 is my favourite.

An death world nearly abandoned during the Golden Age, much like Catachan but lost to the Imperium for millenia.
When it is rediscovered, they find that the humans have devolved to Abhumans who, while tougher and more aggressive than a true human, have a pretty Feral outlook.
Attempts to turn the creatures to the Imperial faith are slow but they have been convinced to fight for Him on Earth to absolve their sins of not being human.
Placed in the most hazardous battlefields, and let loose to fight in their own style, the Krogg have proved a powerful weapon, that must be carefully controlled lest they turn on the Imperial Forces that guide them.

[Visitor Q]

Hmmm...I quite like idea three actually. I would possibly hint at Rouge traders or Inquisitors occasionally using tribes of Kroggs as shock troopers and mercenaries. This would give them a bit of flexibility as to when are where they appear in the Galaxy.

[The_Giant_Mantis]

All good ideas.. Although 'Bloodfire' already exists in 40k, it's an incapacitating poison.

And Miranda.. Oops.. Steal the storyline from Serenity by all means, but not the names. It makes it too obvious.

I like ideas 2 and 3.. 1 seems a bit odd, as how are these low tech dudes producing an advanced combat drug? Which one depends.. 3 is a bit more dramatic, but also quite convoluted, while 2 makes the most sense, but could be considered a bit less interesting (it's 40k, we want 'sploshuns!)

[Proiteus]

All good ideas.. Although 'Bloodfire' already exists in 40k, it's an incapacitating poison.

And Miranda.. Oops.. Steal the storyline from Serenity by all means, but not the names. It makes it too obvious.

I like ideas 2 and 3.. 1 seems a bit odd, as how are these low tech dudes producing an advanced combat drug? Which one depends.. 3 is a bit more dramatic, but also quite convoluted, while 2 makes the most sense, but could be considered a bit less interesting (it's 40k, we want 'sploshuns!)

There is nothing in the fluff that stats they still create the drug only that it was the drugs had powerful side effects transforming them into the feral battle hungry people there are now. I could say that they still have the drug (which may need a new name) but in a limited supply meaning that only the strongest Krogg warriors such as the nobs and warbosses are the only one who can use it, with the painboy being the one responsible for it's safekeeping?

[Proiteus]

I've been workin on the fluff and taking in several suggestions from someone he suggested that I don't try to explain how they are a like to the Orks in nature, I should be describing them as a barbaric people and why they are so resilient like the orks.

The world of Duran IX was once a paradise world said to been ravaged by the enemies of mankind during the dark time of Horus Heresy. Those who survived the devastation were forced to live in a harsh and hazardous environment, fighting with each other over the few resources such as food and water. With the rest of the inhabitants on the other planets of the system wiped out by chaos forces the system was considered lost and the Imperium may no attempt to reclaim it.
Over the following years most newborns died at a young age unable to cope with the inhospitable environment, but those who did survive went on to become a warrior race. Over the centuries their bodies were toughened by the constant tests of their endurance.
Out of the ashes of Duran arose a new abhuman species called the ‘Kroggs’ their civilianization is divided up into several tribes who are in constant war with each other. What started out as a war for resources had become a contest with each striving to prove that they are the strongest. The Kroggs had become a savage people fixated on war. From a young age a Krogg child is taught how to fight and even though it is the men who go to war Krogg females are also talented fighters themselves.
Krogg technology is crude but efficient created from the savaged materials found in the wasteland. The Kroggs value close quarter combat above all else as they see ranged weapons as a tool for softening up the enemy, and that is a coward’s way of fighting to rely on it too much; this is reflected on their vehicles in the form of weapons such as a battering rams. Krogg vehicles range from a variety of crude vehicles from trucks to buggies.
It is the Krogg’s nature to remain on the move due to their constant need for resources and that they feel that settling down in one location will invite disaster, such as an attack from a rival tribe. Because of this all of the tribes are housed in colossal sized vehicles that acted as a centre point for their caravans. Each tribe is led by a Warlord would has proven himself to be the strongest in both strength and intelligence, both of these aspects are important as even the physically powerful Warlord can lead his tribe to ruin.
The Kroggs don’t have any form of religion in their society nor do they believe in the existence of gods, however they worship and tell legends of a mythical Krogg warrior called Groor who they say appears in the bloodiest of battles to aid his fellow Kroggs before vanishing. He is see as a demigod to them and his name has become their favored battle cry.
It wasn’t long before the Imperial guard discovered the Kroggs race and attempted to recruit their fighting power in the name of the Emperor. At first the Kroggs refused but after being told of the challenging enemies that would await them in the dark reaches of space the Kroggs agreed. The guard soon came to realize the barbaric nature of the Kroggs during their first campaign which pitted them against the Tyranids.
On the battlefield the Kroggs fought like wild beasts and were disrespectful and often violent to anyone not of their own race. After the campaign the surviving Kroggs were returned to their home world while High Command considered their fate. In the end the Kroggs were seen as a possible threat to the Imperium and an Exterminatus was called in to eradicate their race. But upon arrival their planet had been abandoned and the Imperial ship orbiting the planet destroyed. It would appear that during the short period since the campaign the Krogg Warlords and their tribes had rallied together after being told by the surviving warriors about the powerful monsters and enemies that existed out in space for them to challenge. With this goal in mind the Krogg’s channeled all of their resources into constructing a large fleet of crudely built ships in which to launch their bloody crusade. Travelling from planet to planet the Kroggs now seek out conflict in order to test their physical strength and skill.

Hows that? Hope it's good of course it may need a few improvements?

[DarkKnight]

I think its a great start. The only big problem i see is at the very end of your fluff. It seems to the reader they are rather limited in there technology but manage to build ships that are able to defeat the Imperial vessels. Why not instead take over the vessels that where flying them back home and escape on those?

[Proiteus]

I think its a great start. The only big problem i see is at the very end of your fluff. It seems to the reader they are rather limited in there technology but manage to build ships that are able to defeat the Imperial vessels. Why not instead take over the vessels that where flying them back home and escape on those?

You've got a point, my thought was that the ship was overwhelmed by sheer numbers of crude ships (like Reavers from serenity) however one ship won't be enough to transport their whole civilization.
They would need a partnership with someone to ferry them from one planet to the next?

[jaybird]

sounds kinda orky, actuallly. maybe they found/stole an stc or something?