The following is a timeline of the notable events in Ogre history, which are known in the Ogre Kingdoms as the "Big Times."[1a]
The vast majority of Ogre myths and legends concern legendary feats of strength or great battles, and it is generally agreed that the best stories contain lots of both. Ogres have no concept of historical dating - therefore all dates are reckoned using the Imperial Calendar and where specific dates are recorded, they are pulled from the annals of the more erudite races.[1a]
Many Ogres know something of this history, and could put much of it in order, but mostly think of history as something best left in the past.[3a]
The Big Times[]
- ca. -5700 IC - Elven scholars estimate that it is at about this time that the Old Ones created the Ogres to help stop the spread of Chaos.[1a]
- -2750 IC - A titanic meteorite strikes the heartland of the Ogres and from it emerges the alien entity known as the Great Maw which will forever haunt the Ogre race as its new deity and its greatest curse.[1a]
- ca. -2749 IC - The Ogre prophet, Groth Onefinger, makes a pilgrimage to see the Great Maw and holds a banquet comprised of the flesh of his own disciples on the lip of the glistening, pulsing gullet.[1a]
- ca. -2748 IC - Maelstrom in the Sea. The warpstone comet finally burrows its way through the world, emerging in the opposite hemisphere and causing the ocean there to boil. Few who see it live to tell the tale.[1a]
- -2745 to -2735 IC - War in the Sky. The remaining Ogre tribes head west to ascend the colossal peaks where they encounter the Sky-titans, whom they systematically destroy and eat in a decade-long war.[1a]
- ca. -2720 IC - Most Ogres leave the Ancient Giant Lands, driven away by the unnaturally shimmering skies. They descend the towering peaks and arrive at the Mountains of Mourn.[1a]
- ca. -2600 IC - First sightings of the supernatural race of Yhetees - the mutated Ogres who remained in the Ancient Giant Lands.[1a]
- -2523 IC - The Ogre tribe of Bulg Legeater hunts down and devours the goblinoid horde of Gholg Slitthroat after hearing that Hobgoblin flesh 'tastes a bit like beef'.[2a]
- ca. -2400 IC - The Dragon Ogre Wars. Amidst the peaks, the Ogres discover the ancient creatures known as Dragon Ogres. Enemies at first sight, many battles were waged, toppling many mountains over and finally driving the Dragon Ogres northwards.[1a]
- ca. -2300 IC - Great battles are fought with the Beastmen from the Haunted Forest, culminating with the largest Bull Roast ever.[1a]
- ca. -2100 IC - The Glacier that Walked. Legends tell of a northern glacier that rose up and fought the Ogres, slaying many. Some say it will rise again when the lands freeze over once more.[1a]
- -1957 IC - The Dwarf Kingdoms along the Worlds Edge Mountains discover, to their great surprise, that the Ogres raiding their holds are not interested in gold or jewels. Rather, they are after ale, foodstuffs, and Dwarfs.[3a]
- -1955 IC - The Annals of the Dwarf Kings report major Ogre raids into their mines in the Worlds Edge Mountains. At this time, the Dwarfs first hear tales of the mountain of pure gold that resides in the Mountains of Mourn. Expeditions are sent.[1a]
- ca. -1700 IC - The Last Sky-titan. A lone Sky-titan is found roaming the Ogre Kingdoms and is hunted down and slain in battle by Buluk Knifefinger, whose tribe feasts on the remains for a month.[1a]
- ca. -1400 IC - The Daemon War. A rift opens and Daemons beyond count spew out. Many tribes converge in a furious battle that lasts over a year before the fissure is sealed. Only a Plateau of Bones remains.[1a]
- ca. -1000 IC - Gnoblars, a new breed of goblinoid, become commonplace in the lands south of the Mountains of Mourn.[1a]
- ca. -950 IC - Thug the Fist becomes the first Overtyrant of the Ogre Kingdoms and begins the practice of the Great Feast.[1a]
- ca. -947 to ca. -930 IC - Dormant for hundreds of years, the Fire Mouth erupts. Taking the eruption as a sign to go to war, Thug the Fist leads many Ogre tribes to wreak havoc across the lands.[1a]
- ca. -800 IC - To avoid being enslaved by Chaos Dwarfs, Gnoblars purposefully lurk near Ogres. The plan pays off, as Ogres find Gnoblars more useful as servants than as nutrition.[1a]
- -734 to -700 IC - The Ash Battles. Many Ogre tribes are driven from the Dark Lands in a string of bitter battles with the Chaos Dwarfs.[1a]
- ca. -300 IC - The Human tribes of the lands that will one day be Averland learn to negotiate for the fighting services of wandering Ogres by offering them cattle and the first pick of ‘field spoils’. The Ogres prove to be useful in battle but too expensive to keep for long.[3a]
- -100 IC - The Black Orcs rebel and are eventually driven from Zharr-Naggrund. Many make their new lairs in the Mountains of Mourn beginning the first of many battles with the Ogres.[1a]
- 121 IC - Attempts to clear out the monster-ridden Bloodpeak fail, resulting in complete carnage and the destruction of several Ogre tribes. Especially large beasts still thrive there today.[1a]
- ca. 200 IC - Halflings and Ogres migrate into the Old World, coming over the Worlds Edge Mountains from the east.[4a]
- 1-30 IC - The newly-founded Empire is tested by many terrible foes. Emperor Sigmar finds the cheerful belligerence of Ogre mercenaries exceedingly useful and they swiftly become a staple of Imperial forces. Ogres find that ‘big slim Sigmar keeps a grand table’ — the highest praise given to human employers.[3a]
- 223 IC - Battle of Daemon's Stump. Chaos Dwarfs and Daemons fight the Ogres for possession of the Daemon's Stump. The Ogres are defeated and routed as they attempt to cross the River Ruin, which runs red for a week after the slaughter.[1b]
- 475 IC - A Greenskin horde slowly gathers to sweep into Tilea from the Border Princes. The desperate Tileans, with no standing armies to speak of, swiftly gather as many mercenaries as they can from across the Old World, including many Ogre bands. At the fabled Battle of Pugno, the mercenaries rout the Greenskin horde, changing Tilea's makeup, and its future military doctrine, forever.[3a]
- 542 IC - At the climax of his hundredth victorious pit fight, Mighty Marn the Mangler is struck by a staggering thought: he doesn’t have to eat his fallen opponent. This is swiftly followed by another equally powerful notion: all sorts of different creatures could be introduced into the pit, leading to wildly different fights and a wide variety of victuals. At first, many think Marn has just been struck in the noggin one too many times, but his ideas eventually catch on, even amidst the slims, changing pit fighting forever.[3a]
- 590 IC - The Fall of Karak Vrag. After near constant battles over hundreds of years, the Dwarf hold of Karak Vrag finally falls when the Ogre Tyrant Trug Legchomper leads a dozen Giants into the fray. They succeed in smashing a series of guard towers and finally the front gates. After taking a Dwarfen cannonball to the gut and not being able to eat for a week after the battle, Trug goes on to invent the Look-out Gnoblar.
- 702 IC - Some Ogres travel to the far east where they learn that the great horned trophies worn on many of their helmets are highly valued in far off lands. The resultant transaction gives a new name to the road to the east - the Ivory Road.
- ca. 920-940 IC - Rat Wars. Infestations of Skaven crop up throughout the western edge of the Mountains of Mourn. Most are found and destroyed, Sabretusks proving particularly adept at sniffing out the many tunnel entrances into Skaven lairs.[1b]
- 1001 IC - One of the first Questing Knights, Sir Baldrin of Brionne, rides into the Ogre Kingdoms in search of monsters. He finds them. His grisly end is recounted by Empire minstrels in the parody Quest's End.[1b]
- 1123–1124 IC - Hard pressed after years of desperate fighting against the Skaven, Count Mandred of Middenland hires bands of Ogres to help in his struggle. The Ogres prove their worth many times over, slaughtering countless Skaven and continuously dining well on battlefield spoils. After the final conclusive battle, the Ogre Captain Nogrud Neverfull refuses field foodstuffs, ‘Had enuff o’ rat, slim’, opting for a comparatively small herd of cattle and some horses instead.[3a]
- 1401 IC - The Battle of Kurgel's Gulch. Inspired by Dwarf war machines after the bearded warriors slaughter tribe upon tribe of Gnoblars, Ma the Grub, a Gnoblar scrap-lord, embarks upon a quest to create a war engine of his own. Later that year, the first Scraplauncher is built. Later versions are pulled into battle by Rhinoxen, and prove to be unexpectedly useful.[1b]
- 1525–1528 IC - Following the depredations of Gorthor the Cruel, most infamous of all Beastlords, the provinces of Ostland and Hochland were all but destroyed. For years after his defeat, many of the fell beasts Gorthor gathered to his army still linger within the Forest of Shadows. A massive hunt is called to cull the forest, and though the rewards promised grew, few responded for fear of the fell wood. A large band of Ogre hunters eventually answers the challenge, and for several years after regularly return from the depths of the forest with hundreds of partially-gnawed skulls in tow to collect their bounties.[3a]
- 1712 IC - WAAAAGH! Gorbad! breaks at last against the mighty walls of Altdorf. While the final victory belongs to many, Imperial records state the peerless courage Ogre pit fighter Igdrol Ironstump showed in single-handedly (bringing down (and eating) two of six wild Wyverns the War-boss unleashed was a pivotal factor in the city’s survival.[3a]
- 1877 IC - Ogre mercenaries make it to Naggaroth where they are captured. The astounding part is that they impress the Dark Elves so much that they aren't tortured as is customary, but are instead hired into the Tower Guard.[1b]
- 2006 IC - In the great city of Remas in Tilea, the brilliant Leonardo da Miragliano directs a reconstruction of the Grand Coliseum. Leonardo builds dozens of innovative devices into the massive structure inspired by conversations with the legendary Ogre gladiator, Brognal Bullsmiter.[3a]
- 2302-2304 IC - The Great War In the North. Known in the Old World as the Great War Against Chaos, it is no surprise that Ogres find their way into this colossal battle that pits Chaos-worshipping northern barbarians and their Daemons and Beastmen allies against an alliance of the Empire, Dwarfs and Kislev. Both sides can boast of fielding a fair number of Ogre tribes.[1b] The scale of the conflict is so massive that, for the first time, entire tribes of Ogres turn to mercenary work, passing over the Worlds Edge Mountains to happily join both sides of the struggle. Some tribes never return, finding new homes for themselves in the Empire and beyond.[3a]
- 2305 IC - Ambush at Mount Cragg. A broken Chaos army seeks egress to the Northern Chaos Wastes via the Pass to the East. They are ambushed by Ogres in the shadow of Mount Cragg and are never heard of again, though Gnoblar Scrappers are seen sporting fragments of Chaos Armour for decades afterwards.[1b]
- 2309 IC - During the Third Parravon War, Graf Haldebrand of House Jungfreud hires a large force of Ogre mercenaries from Gristle Valley to work as his ‘blunt fist’ against the heavy cavalry of the invading Bretonnians. The Ogres prove more than adequate to the task, repeatedly throwing back the Bretonnians and eventually helping the Graf besiege Parravon itself.[3a]
- 2342 IC - The young Duc Amoux of Parravon, intrigued by tales of their strength, hires a band of Ogres to use against a rival. While the mercenaries satisfactorily smash the rival’s forces, due to a ‘misunderstanding’ the Ogres eat nineteen of the duc’s beloved war horses during the victory celebration. The story spreads throughout Bretonnia, leading to Bretonnian nobles thereafter refusing to hire Ogres. Curiously, Bretonnian merchants began to favour Ogre bodyguards around the same time.[3a]
- 2420 IC - After defeating an artillery train out of Nuln, the Loose Tooth Ogre tribe captures six Empire Great Cannons. They find they can carry a cannon into battle, and although many Ogres are killed in the learning process, soon the first Leadbelchers are born. Later, in deals with the Chaos Dwarfs, the Ogres purchase Lead belcher cannons of their own.[1b]
- 2475 IC - A retired mercenary convinces a sceptical Greasus Goldtooth that gold can be used for more than just ornamentation. Once the inspired young Ogre rises to become Overtyrant in 2487 IC, gold is officially recognised as being as valuable as red meat throughout most of the Ogre Kingdoms.[3a]
- 2480 IC - Blaut Granitetooth captures an entire string of Halflings and forces them to take the role of Gnoblars in his kingdom. The Tyrant takes the name 'Blaut Feastmaster', and his tribe - now named for their corpulent leader - swiftly becomes legendary for the quality of its nosh.[1b]
- 2482 IC - Greasus Goldtooth claims the role of Tyrant for the Goldtooth tribe by eating his father, Gofg, after a challenge.[1b]
- 2487 IC - Greasus declares himself Overtyrant of the Ogre Kingdoms, which have been without an Overtyrant since the demise of Donner Gutbag in an avalanche some 100 years earlier. Through the education of Greasus, gold is finally recognised as being just as valuable as red meat throughout much of the Ogre Kingdoms and a new reign begins.[1b]
- 2496 IC - The Butcher, Skrag, is banished from his tribe, his hands severed from his wrists. In the Gorger-haunted labyrinths below the mountains, he has a revelation, and becomes the latest incarnation of the Prophet of the Great Maw.[1b]
- 2499 IC - Masses of Skaven erupt from the sewers of Nuln. Unlikely heroes and several mercenaries, including the band of the notorious Ogre Captain Hrothyogg, protect the city from utter ruination. Eschewing typical demands, Hrothyogg accepts a good deal of Nuln blackpowder in payment.[3a]
- 2500 to 2510 IC - At different times, Golgfag Maneater fights both for and against Orc Warboss Gnashrak Badtooth. Golgfag's many deeds during these battles, namely victory at the Battle of Broken Leg Gully and his decision to loot the Dwarf Lord's treasury, led to the Ogre's growing infamy and his rising reputation as a daring and unbeatable mercenary captain.[1b]
- 2512 IC - The Undead legions of Imrathepis, the Crimson King of Numas, stride out of the Land of the Dead, sweeping through the Badlands and into the Mountains of Mourn. The Tomb King is defeated after the Thunderhoof Tribe unleashes a Rhinoxen herd into the narrow Daggertooth Valley, crushing the skeletal army to powdered bones.[1b]
- 2518 IC - Golgfag Maneater's reputation grows to such an extent that all Ogre mercenaries take the name 'Maneater', finding that it leads to more frequent employ. Many fake 'Golgfags' spring up across the known world as a result.[1b]
- 2521 IC - A New Migration. The Ogres, having grown ever more numerous and wealthy under the rule of Greasus Goldtooth, find their population is becoming too large for the Mountains of Mourn. As the Fire Mouth erupts, Greasus orders the conquering of new lands and soon the heavy footfalls of marching Ogres is heard throughout many realms.[1b]