Black Orcs

 

Black orcs (so named because their skin color runs towards dark grey rather than green) are the largest, fiercest, and most disciplined of the greenskin races. Common orcs are bad enough: big and strong, hard to kill, and virtually fearless (at least as long as the battle is going in their favor). Black orcs are another level of bad entirely: each warrior is a match for any orc nob, is heavily armored (unlike common orcs), and carry heavy weapons that can shatter a human shield wall with a single blow. But worst of all is their tactical acumen and ability to work together as a cohesive military unit. They know no fear, even in the face of certain defeat, and seem completely immune to pain.

Fortunately black orcs are exceedingly rare in the Empire. Sometimes a lone black orc will lead a band of lesser greenskins or a small band of black orcs will come down from the World's Edge Mountains, but no unified force of such creatures have dared set foot in the Empire since before Magnus the Pious untied the provinces.

Empire scholars know very little about the origins of the black orcs, except that they probably originated from the World's Edge Mountains or in the Dark Lands beyond. Some have linked their creation to Chaos but this seems very unlikely: common orcs sometimes succumb to the lures of Dark Gods but black orc animosity towards Chaos is endemic. Then again black orcs hate elves, dwarves, humans, and every other creature - including other orcs - so maybe it's not so special.