"If we run, they will claw us into the dirt and their hounds will gnaw the gristle from our bones. If we surrender, they will bind and bleed us, and Minotaurs will feast on our flesh. If we fight, they will hack and rip and bite and butcher, and they will swallow our still-beating hearts. So many deaths. Which will we choose?"
- —Blind Nowl, the Seer of Parravon[2a]
A grimacing Ungor, displaying his skull trophies.
Ungors, which means "not-quite right Gors," "other Gors" or "no Horns" in the Beast Tongue, are Beastmen who are not as strong, tough, intelligent or robust of frame as the more powerful Gors who make up the majority of a warherd, but they more than make up for it in sheer malevolence. Ungors are equal in size to average Men, and typically feature the hooves of a goat yet possess a Human-shaped face. They are physically smaller than other Beastmen and their horns are less impressive and less numerous.[1a]
Within the violent hierarchy of the Beastmen tribes, the Ungors are a pathetic and lowly breed that stands among the lowest ranks of Beastmen society, only surpassed in misery by the unlucky Turnskins and Brays. Ungors serve the warherd as workers, foot soldiers, and resentful victims to the brutish whims and bullying of their larger brethren.[2b]
Due to this low rank in the tribe, Ungors can never truly occupy the higher echelons of their warherd, and are forever forced to live a life of poverty and suffering even by Beastmen standards, a miserable state that is considered low even by the most foul Beastmen.[2b]
Role
A "Half-horn," a particularly impressive breed of Ungor who often serves as a leader among their lowly caste.
While Gors may have long and spectacular horns as deadly as any sword, Ungors usually have short prongs or horn buds sprouting from their skulls, not recognizable as those of a goat or any other type acknowledged by the Gors. Because of this they are not considered to be "proper" Beastmen by the Gors.[2b]
A render of an Ungor for Total War: Warhammer.
Some particularly unfortunate Ungors have no horns at all and, even among their own lowborn caste, are looked upon with suspicion and distrust by other Ungors. The race of Men, on the other hand, does not draw such distinctions. To them the Ungors are just as horrible, horns or no, for they are all twisted aberrations of nature that live to murder and despoil all that is good and wholesome.[2b]
Concept art of an Ungor created for Total War: Warhammer.
Unless the Ungor has a spectacular rack of horns, their fate is to be condemned to subservience to the Gors. In the rough pits that serve as homes for the Beastmen, the Ungors gather furthest from the fire and must constantly fight one another for what scraps of food they can scavenge, often resorting to stealing from the tribe's Chaos Warhounds, eating wriggling grubs and insects, sucking the marrow from bones or cannibalising those who fall to the constant internecine fighting of their race.[2b]
As a consequence of their lowly status in the tribe, Ungors are extremely cruel and spiteful creatures, taking out their bitterness on foes, captives or wild animals that fall into their clutches. They are possessed of a tireless drive to take their vengeance upon the mortal world that spawned them, and though not as powerful as the Gors, they have a wiry strength that means they are still more than a match for the Humans for whom they have such a vitriolic hatred.[2b]
Warfare
A warband of Ungors on the battlefield.
Ungors are considerably more dextrous than their fellows, their sinewy hands able to carve runes, build wooden structures, and fix and bind the weaponry of their clumsier Gor brethren. So it is that the Ungor fulfil a vital niche in the society of a Beastmen tribe, for without them, the Gors would soon be bereft of weaponry.[2b]
Renders of Ungor shields for Total War: Warhammer.
Most Ungors take to the field in large herds of infantry, arming themselves with stout spears with which to impale their prey, and carrying crude shields to protect their grotesque potbellied bodies. The Gors always push their way to the front of a fight, and so the Ungors jab between their larger cousins with their crude spears.[2b]
Ungors are extremely cruel and spiteful creatures, taking out their jealousy of the Gors on foes in battle, captives, Brays or anything else incapable of putting up much of a fight. In battle the Ungors join the Gors in unruly herds, charging towards the enemy with thoughts only of rending them apart. They are, however, bullied into a semblance of order by the largest of their number, known as "Half-horns," who seek a position in the battleline from which they can enact the most pain and suffering upon the foe.[2b]
Notable Ungor Regiments
Renders of Ungor axes for Total War: Warhammer.
- Destroyers of the Drakwald - A regiment of especially nimble Ungor spearmen who contributed greatly to the destruction of the Drakwald province in 1110 IC. After the unification of the Empire, the Drakwald was declared a province of the Empire, under the rule of its first Elector Count, King Otwin, who was unwilling to shed his old title of the "Berserker King" in favour of the less threatening "Count." Nonetheless, the Drakwald would continue to remain a proud part of Sigmar's great Empire for a thousand years. This sense of pride and accomplishment all came crashing down in 1110 IC, when the then-Count of Drakwald, Elector Count Vilner, was slain in battle fighting the loathsome Beastmen warherds that inhabited his lands. Having no heirs, the legendary Runefang Beast-slayer was given to the safe-keeping of the Emperor Boris Goldgather. A new Elector Count of Drakwald was never declared, for the most eligible candidate, Duke Konrad Aldrech, died under unclear circumstances during the time of the terrible Black Plague which ravaged the Empire in 1111 IC. Over the centuries, the province was left unsupported, with its towns and cities falling into a state of disrepair and suffering the depredation of Chaos attacks. Beastmen tribes began to overrun the province, and by the end of the 12th century IC, much of Drakwald and her people ceased to exist. The name of this regiment likely references their role in destroying this province of the Empire.[4]
Miniatures
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Videos
Sources
- 1: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition: Tome of Corruption (RPG)
- 1a: pg. 101
- 2: Warhammer Armies: Beastmen (7th Edition)
- 3: Warhammer Armies: Beastmen (7th Edition)
- 3a: pg. 38
- 4: Total War: Warhammer III (PC Game)
Gallery
