Fantasy Flight Games

Spleenrippers and Meat Grinders

Published 20 October 2009 |

Spleenrippers and Meat Grinders

The fourth installment of background for Chaos Marauders

When the original Chaos Marauders first came out, it had a "Da Whozit Sekshun" in the back of the rulebook, which offered short bios of each of the units in the game. Join us today as we continue our tour of this colourful bunch!

Idol Orcs are not devoutly religious as a rule, but when all-out war looms they often decide a bit of divine favour might be useful. The shrines are tidied, the temples attended, and the idols dusted.

Hoping for a runaway win, the army drags along a stone idol of the Orc god, Kygor Sydewynder. Sydewynder (though born mortal) entered the Orcish pantheon after refining the Arts of Hack & Slay Warfare, as well as many fine implements of horrific torture.

Possessing an Idol of Kygor is not necessarily a good thing, though, as his divine wrath is easily roused!

Knocker This powerful, armoured battering ram, built from guidelines forced out of Varokroksenrok during one of his rare moments of weakness, is guaranteed to smash even the most solid Dwarven door off its smug little hinges. It has been constructed so superbly that it rolls with the minimal of Orcish effort. This is due to complicated things like the distribution of total body weight, high tension cables, and other such nonsense that only a “runt” or weedy Orc would understand.

Monggo’s Meat Grinders Every Orc army has something that is considered everyone’s personal property. This is the obligatory stock of portable torture implements, which includes everything from rippers, to crushers, to manglers, and more besides.

Despite the shared ownership of the “Meat Grinders,” one Orc ensures the equipment is kept safe and in good, rusty condition. The present manager is Bloodbath Monggo, whose techniques even give other Orcs appreciative shivers!

Ockee For most Orcs there is nothing more gratifying than to see some high ‘n’ mighty good creep taken down a peg or two by a large dart fired from this deadly accurate machine. (‘Ockee’ is a phonetic spelling of an Orcish word that means something along the lines of: “the place from which darts are thrown.”)

Odlugg Spleenripper This large ugly Troll is roaming the world in search of the ultimate nosh. However, having tried everything from poached Halfling to Ogre’s Limbs with Nurgle’s Rot, Odlugg has yet to find “Da grub o’ me dreemz.”

Afraid of Odlugg, the Orcs let him eat their booty if he wants it. Odlugg often gets confused in the heat of battle and walks away hoping to shift his headache. Sometimes he even joins somebody else’s ranks – which can be a problem.

Orc Regimental Standard/Musician Every regiment has its prized standard, and a drummer who whips the troops up into a frenzy. Indeed, when it comes to the crunch, there is nothing that would make Orc soldiers desert their standard. Nothing, that is, except for the sight of an even larger force coming to capture it.

Shaman of Aaaaaaaag Some perverse Orcs are not content to bash their way through life. They study battle magic instead, believing that any army is puny without mystical support to back it up.

However, it’s not easy to become a magician owing to the lack of mentors. So the Orcs go to the ancient secret caves (such as the Catacombs of Aaaaaaaag, at the southernmost point of the World’s Edge Mountains) where Orc adepts pass on their knowledge to other Orcs, who in turn pass it on, and so on. Of course, the practice is dying out as graduates of the temple (shamans), tend to run off to the nearest war, leaving fewer and fewer shamans to pass on their knowledge.

The Shotti This is a large vermillion jewel the Orcs know nothing about. They just bring it along on with the understanding that when the time comes to fight, it will do something spectacularly helpful.

The jewel itself holds the awesome ‘Blast’ spell and is to be wielded by the Chaos Magician Sziggmann Deathlok, who will join the army in a few days.

Skyrr’s Blowback The ‘blowback’ (more Orcish nicknaming) is a Skaven firethrower, using a mixture of magic, chemicals, and the weird Warpstone to produce a gout of corrosive flame. It is controlled by two Ratmen, one of whom is Skyrr – the firethrower commander.

The weapon is devastating, but suffers from one major setback. When it’s used there is always a chance that it will backfire and explode – wiping out the crew and anyone standing it the vicinity!

Chaos Marauders is a classic card game of fast and frenzied Orcish mayhem. Players build their battle lines as they prepare to assault their foes.

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Who Wuzzat?

Published 15 October 2009 |

Who Wuzzat?

The third installment of background for Chaos Marauders

When Chaos Marauders first came out, it had a Da Whozit Sekshun in the back of the rulebook. We are going to be putting these in the Support section of the Chaos Marauders minisite.

ChuckerThe average stone (or offal, flameball, and just about anything else) thrower takes about twenty large trees to build.

This may seem unimportant except that it is the cause of much fighting. After all, Orcs want to destroy, not spend hours carefully chopping up nice bits of wood for some addlebrained engine builder!

Claws of MalalThis regiment of Chaos Beastmen worships Malal, the renegade Chaos God. They are more than willing to join in tribal disputes and annihilate the followers of other, lesser deities, while showing the purest form of Chaos to the rest of the army.

Crummy Snotling SlavesAlways good for a laugh, these scurvy, wretched little slave units find themselves roped into most Orc campaigns; sometimes with promises of great rewards and more often with twenty feet of rope and a pointed stick! They are useless in battle, serving as mere cannon fodder to pad out the more valuable Orcish ranks. However, some provide other useful services for the army, such as the Whipping Post Mob or the highly skilled Nose Pick Brigade.

Dragromm FlailbreathA high-ranking Chaos Champion, Dagromm has a personal hatred for anything Dwarven, and will lead any attack against Dwarven strongholds or units. With his rotted face and bestial frame, he is feared by the Orcs and always obeyed. He is easily recognized by the many Dwarven bones fused to his black iron wargear, and misses no opportunity to extend his collection.

Garok VarokroksenrokThree years ago, this brilliant Dwarf engineer from Karaz-a-Karak was invited to the Human city of Talabheim to review its siege defenses. On his first night in the city, he was kidnapped by Clan Skryre Skaven, who were intent on gaining his precious knowledge. Since then, he has been dragged from hell-hole to hell-hole, bravely keeping silent. He serves now as a banner, and his moaning, crucified form will be one of the first things that the Dwarfs at Mad Dog Pass see when the Orc army attacks.

Grivziz DirtballsMany years ago, one of the Psycho Orcs of the Dripping Canker first invented the game of dirtball. This exciting pastime involves a number of fresh Dwarf heads being kicked round a cave mouth (the Ggg’ Hole). The Dirtballs are constantly “striving for perfection,” hoping to develop a team to match the classic lineup of ’66 (1566 Dwarf Date).

Leaders change when the team hits a losing streak; one of the players kills the leader and takes control. Ugmuk Mungrell, the previous boss, ended his thirty years at the top with the oft-quoted words: “Agghhh, you’ve killed me, Grivziz.”

Hak Veinthrob’s VolunteersThis well-bruised fighting force has been assembled, harassed, and bullied by the mortifying Hak Veinthrob. This veteran has a tendency to go blood-burstingly berserk at the drop of a helm, which not only earns him a healthy amount of respect but also leaves him with a terrible hangover. This, of course, only makes him even angrier...

Hobgoblin Musician/StandardIn the heat of marauding, spare a thought for these poor creatures who, unprotected and puny, are a tempting target for many a would-be Orc champion who has his eye on either the tatty Hobgoblin standard or the “Boozy and Sloshed” bone horn.

Hobgoblins rarely accompany their dangerous and unstable Orc allies into battle, but they do send their standards and musicians. If the Orcs win, the Hobgoblins take more than their share of the credit, and if the Orcs lose...well, who’ll miss a couple of cheerleaders?

Horned Rat StandardThe standard of The Horned Rat is an effigy of a most foul and horrible Chaos God revered by the Skaven Lords of Decay. The Orcs so fear the rodent deity that they would never risk its wrath by accidentally damaging the standard. Consequently, no battle line with the Horned Rat Standard in it will ever be attacked.

Chaos Marauders is a classic card game of fast and frenzied Orcish mayhem. Players build their battle lines as they prepare to assault their foes.

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Da Whozit Sekshun

Published 8 October 2009 |

Da Whozit Sekshun

A look at the background and flavour of Chaos Marauders

When Chaos Marauders first came out, it had a Da Whozit Sekshun in the back of the rulebook. We are going to be putting these in the Support section of the Chaos Marauders minisite.

Bilge ‘No Remorse’ GuttrottRegimental leader Bilge is a legendary Orc hero who slaughtered his way to fame during the historic Five Minute War. The war took place beneath the roots of Black Crag Tower, when a group of Dwarf prospectors contested his ownership of a seam of the rare, edible Black Crag Rock.

It was after smushing ‘the weirdbeard runt guys’ that Bilge earned his present surname. Bloated by success, Bilge consumed a solid hundredweight of the semi-organic stone. This feat was followed by The Time of The Mighty Heave: according to the Ugg Chronicles “he went westward into the wastes and fasted for one night and half the day thereafter, before returning a reformed and rock-fearing character.”

Blightskabb Plague LordsThe Blightskabb Plague Lords are the Warlord Clan followers of the Skaven hero, Akzen Parasyte. In battle, these particularly twisted Ratmen fight as a group, overtaken by a fanatical battle frenzy. They can appear anywhere without warning, taking their enemies by surprise and cutting them into pieces.

BomberThis war machine is actually a ferocious, powerful, and quite terrifying Wyvern.

The Wyvern and its Black Orc rider, Kug the Malicious, win their battles by swooping on enemy troops – who generally respond by routing. For those brave or foolish enough to hold their ground, Kug has an array of poisoned darts and other missiles at his disposal.

BoneshakerThis wolf-pulled, armoured war chariot may seem formidable to someone being charged by it. However, it’s at least twice as disturbing for the Orc crew who are jolted half to death every time they ride in the flaming thing!

Bozlum PigstickersJust south of Karak-Azgal, lost in the mists of Troll Stench, the Hole of Bozlum is inhabited by an especially nasty breed of Orc – the renowned Bozlum Bootboys and their even more infamous kin, the Bozlum Pigstickers.

Uncannily accurate with the bow, the ‘lads’ (as they like to be known), have won many “daarts” trophies in the local swill pits. Indeed, some think the lads could even out-shoot the pansy Elves.

Orcs who consider their bowstring plucking fellows un-Orcish – and mock their dubious prowess in other important areas – rarely live long enough to spread this opinion. Most Orc Leaders try to have some of the lads around whenever a good scrap looms on the horizon.

Chaos MaraudersIt was the hour of midnight when they were first noticed. What had been a space in the immense Orcish task force was now...not a space. As if from nowhere they appeared in the very heart of the army.

In hushed tones, the nervous Orc troops spread the word:

“It’s dem...da men wiv no name.”“‘Oo?”“Da men wiv no name!”“Wotcha call ‘em den?”“Errrrr...”

They pound the roads from coast to coast in their never ending search for a fist full of crowns. Destruction is their trademark, pillaging their game, a wise man stands aside from da men wiv no name.

They are the dread Chaos Marauders, a band of twenty or so black-armoured figures on immense, armoured steeds, each bearing the Mark of Chaos in blood red. They fight anyone, anytime, anywhere.

Chaos Marauders is a classic card game of fast and frenzied Orcish mayhem. Players build their battle lines as they prepare to assault their foes.

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Flavours of Chaos

Published 2 October 2009 |

Flavours of Chaos

A look into the flavour and background of Chaos Marauders

'Oi you...pig face! Wot you doin' wiv da fing?' Thogg snarled. '

I's stickin' me tribal standard up top so tha' we can all see it.' Vandaal replied gruffly.

'Who sez we’z want ta see it in da first place, dung-splot?' Thogg grunted., The crusty old Orc continued to raise his crimson banner, and growled back over his shoulder,

'Da Clan Festerdoom is da most Orcs 'ere.' Indeed many of the troops in the great army heading north were connected to the Clan Festerdoom, but Thogg didn’t let himself be impressed.

Oh, an' 'ave you been countin' then?'

'Well...sorta...' Like most goblinoids, Vandaal had trouble counting any number greater than the sum of his toes, fingers, and any other parts of his anatomy.

Thogg seized on the hesitation. 'We Black Eyes outnumbez you a zillion to one. Our flag'll be da one on da top der!'

'Over my mangy corpse,' Vandall growled.

'Dun an’ dun.'

'Aggggggggghhhh!'

Thogg wiped the blood off his jagged knife and began to design a makeshift banner for the Orcs of the Black Eye, using Vandaal’s body as a bench. Within seconds the word spread throughout the vast encamped army:

'Festerdooms is bein' insulted.'

'Vandaal's 'ad 'is bruggs cut off.' 'It's a bloomin' Black Eye invasion.'

'Dems Festerbreaths wotz a war, will gif em a war.'

'ATTACK, ATTACK, ATTACK!'

Soon, nearby Orcs from all regiments were gathering to fight under one of the two tribal banners, whether they were clan members or not. Quickly, every Orc, Hobgoblin, Snotling and Beastman in the army was choosing sides or making his own, spoiling fora fight.

A massive Dwarf army from Karaz-a-Karak has destroyed dozens of Goblin bases in a heroic raid on the Mad Dog Pass. In response to this outrage, a massive Orc army has assembled and is now journeying north, towards the pass, from the southernmost parts of the World's Edge Mountains. The plan is to put the Dwarfs firmly back into their stunted place!

However, every 50 miles or so, some part of the bored army breaks into a fight. As this is an expected manifestation of Orc psychology, the Chaos leaders of the horde allow these minor skirmishes, as long as they do not seriously affect the strength of the army as a whole.

Chaos Marauders is a game for 2 to 4 players, with each player representing one of the sides in the Orc tribal dispute. The fighting will be stopped by the army’s commanders before it gets too serious. However, until then, each Orc tribe struggles to amass the largest battle lines (and therefore become ‘da best!’).

The winner is the player whose battle-lines contain the highest number of valuable items, such as Orc Grog, treasure, and the like. This tribe is "da best" and gets to fly its banner above all the other tribal flags (a position of great prestige)...at least until the next fight.

Over the coming weeks we will be highlighting the flavour of the fantastic world of Chaos Marauders!

Chaos Marauders is a classic card game of fast and frenzied Orcish mayhem. Players build their battle lines as they prepare to assault their foes.

Discuss this article
in our forums!

'ere We Gooooo!

Published 1 October 2009 |

'ere We Gooooo!

Chaos Marauders is now on sale!

“Ere we go, ‘ere we go, ‘ere we gooo. ‘Ere we go, ‘ere we go, ‘ere we gooooo. We’re the Barmy Bozlum army!”- Bozlum Pigstickers war chant

Slap your Crummy Snotling Slaves in line and raise your Hobgoblin Standards high... Chaos Marauders is now on sale!

Chaos Marauders is a fast and frenzied card game of Orcish mayhem for 2-4 players that places you in charge of an orc mob preparing to lay waste to rival mobs! These grunts are boorish, disorganized, and just plain stupid... but they’re the only tribe you’ve got. So grab the whip and get ‘em into shape!

Head over to our description page for more details, then gather your friends and lay siege to your local retailer or our webstore! WAAAAAGGGGH!

Chaos Marauders is a classic card game of fast and frenzied Orcish mayhem. Players build their battle lines as they prepare to assault their foes.

Discuss this article
in our forums!

Da Rulz to Diz Game

Published 20 August 2009 |

Da Rulz to Diz Game

The Rules for Chaos Marauders is Now Available

Form up your battle lines and prepare to smash heads with the release of Chaos Marauders, the new edition of the classic card game of Orcs, Beastmen, Hobgoblins, and Gits. Previews of Chaos Marauders could be seen at Gen Con Indy 2009, but for those of you who want to study up on the fine art of devastation before Chaos Marauders comes to your town, the rules to the game are now available on the Chaos Marauders Support Page, along with the card reference book, featuring "Da Whozit Sekshun", a history of the wildest and craziest greens ever to fly a banner. Look for Chaos Marauders this Fall at your Friendly Local Game Store.Chaos Marauders is a classic card game of fast and frenzied Orcish mayhem. Players build their battle lines as they prepare to assault their foes.

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Crack the Whip

Published 4 August 2009 |

Crack the Whip

Announcing the upcoming release of Chaos Marauders!

Attention all Grivziz Dirtballs, Sneaky Gits, and Bozlum Pigstickers! The Crummy Snotling Slaves at FFG have been toiling endlessly to appease their Orcish overlords, and are now happy to say that the daily beatings may soon stop. Fantasy Flight Games is proud to announce the upcoming release of a classic Games Workshop card game, Chaos Marauders!

Originally published in 1987, Chaos Marauders quickly gained a large following for its fast and frenzied gameplay, hilarious cast of characters, and tense player interaction. In this light card game for two to four warlords, each player takes the role of the boss of a ragtag army of Chaos forces. You’ll need to muster and control your three battle lines, each capped off with a Musician and a Battle Standard, more efficiently than your opponents.

The new revised edition will include updated art, subtle rule improvements, and easy-to-use card layouts. It’s no longer necessary to reference the rule book for every special card, so new players can get into the bonecrushing action even faster!

Only one tribe can come out on top. Will it be yours?

Chaos Marauders is a classic card game of fast and frenzied Orcish mayhem. Players build their battle lines as they prepare to assault their foes.

Discuss this article
in our forums!