"The evil Count had us surrounded on all sides! We were cut off from the rest of the army, left with no choice but to fight to the last man against his Undead horrors. Yet as we steeled ourselves for this final battle, something strange happened. The Hobgoblin scouts the Count had hired started fighting his own troops. Seeing a chance for escape I led the charge..."
- —Captain Detlef Veidt from his book A Mercenary's Life in the Border Princes[1a]
Oglah Khan's Wolfboyz are an infamous band of Hobgoblin mercenaries hailing from the Eastern Steppes.[1a] They can be hired as mercenaries by anyone except for Dwarfs, High Elves, Wood Elves[1a][2a], the Empire of Man and Bretonnia, who will not deal with Greenskins save as foes.[2a] These Hobgoblins are now battle-hardened veterans and much in demand. Hobgoblins are excellent archers and ferocious in hand-to-hand combat, so there is only one thing a general of the Old World must consider when hiring them -- will they stay loyal?[1a]
History[]
Origins[]
"You payz, we slayz!"
- —Motto of the Wolfboyz[1a]
One of Oglah Khan's Wolf Raiders as seen in Total War: Warhammer III.
Far, far in the east, among the untamed Eastern Steppes beyond the Dark Lands, lies the dominion of Hobgobla-Khan -- the greatest empire in the Known World. The subjects of Hobgobla-Khan are Hobgoblins, a green-skinned race of humanoids closely related to Orcs and Goblins. Hobgoblins are widely abhorred for their cruelty, wickedness and their appalling standards of hygiene.[1a]
The armies of the great Hobgobla Khan are simply referred to as the "Great Horde." When all the tribes under the Great Khan are arrayed for battle, the Horde is said to stretch from horizon to horizon. The sub-commanders of the tribes are called "khans," each one commanding five hundred or more wolf-riding Hobgoblins.[1a]
Oglah Khan was one of the vassals of the Great Khan, and enjoyed the favour of the green-skinned despot. His tent was as large as the hall of any Human noble, and he owned a hundred Giant Wolves, making him a very wealthy Hobgoblin. In times of war he could summon six hundred spears to battle. Oglah fought in many battles for the Great Khan, and became widely known for his prowess in combat and his treachery -- traits admired by all Hobgoblins. It seemed that he was destined to become one of the most influential warlords of the era.[1a]
Battle of Xen-Tu[]
Oglah Khan's fortunes changed during the infamous Battle of Xen-Tu, where the Hobgoblins clashed with the Cathayans of Emperor Pu-Yi. When Hablo Khan, the commander of the Hobgoblin contingent, was killed by the Emperor's Champion Tong Po, many of the Hobgoblins fled, believing that all was lost.[1a]
Oglah Khan, on the other hand, switched sides when Hablo Khan was killed by the Dragon Emperor's champion. Turning on his fellow Hobgoblins as they fled proved a miscalculation when the rest of Hobgobla-Khan's Great Horde rode over the horizon, massively outnumbering the Cathayans. Declared outlaw for his cowardice by Hobgobla-Khan, Oglah Khan took the opportunity to leave not just the battlefield, but also the vast eastern steppelands.[1a][3a]
During their flight through the Dark Lands, hundreds of Oglah's infantry spearmen were lost to Chaos Dwarfs, slain outright or taken as slaves.[3c]
Battle of the Long Knives[]
Oglah Khan's Wolfboyz scouts the plains of Tilea between Luccini and Verezzo.[3a]
Oglah Khan and his tribe had been declared outlaws and banished from the Hobgoblin Empire. With no other place to go, Oglah Khan and his ladz headed west through the Dark Lands, to the Old World. Following the Silk Road he and his troops arrived in the Dark Lands and immediately enlisted in the army of the Black Orc Warlord Gordug Smasher.
In the Battle of the Long Knives, Gordug's Orcs were all but annihilated when Oglah once more betrayed his allies and joined his forces to those of the Tilean mercenary general Giovanni Giuliani. The general, unconcerned by such blatant deceitfulness, rewarded Oglah and his Wolfboyz by hiring them as highly mobile scouts and skirmishers. Since then, Oglah's Wolfboyz have worked as wolf-riding mercenaries for many princes and generals.[1a][3a]
At Present[]
The Hobgoblin mercenaries' renown has spread throughout Tilea and the Border Princes. The curious thing is this: Oglah has a reputation for treachery, and yet since he first sided with Giovanni Giuliani, there is no recorded instance of Oglah or his Hobgoblins doing anything other than what they were paid to do.[3a]
What has happened to his legendary treacherous nature? Has he learnt from past mistakes? Does he benefit by working for Tileans more than he did for his previous employers? Or is he biding his time, waiting to unleash his greatest act of betrayal? Only time will tell...[3a]
Recent Contracts[]
A juxtaposed Imperial wanted poster and request for employment poster for Oglah Khan's Wolfboyz.[1a]
"The thing is, Oglah’s perfidy is infamous throughout Tilea and beyond. He is now notorious for that betrayal. Everyone who ever hires him will be expecting a betrayal. And we already know that the wolfriders are the masters of the unexpected. So if the Hobgoblins know I am expecting to be betrayed, then I know that is the very last thing that they will consider."
- —A doge of north Tilea to Professor Pfaff.[3c]
Oglah Khan was offered work by a Tilean duce to protect his town from brigands, but he didn't trust the man and did not put his X on the contract at first. Oglah wanted to know if the duce was honest or deceitful, and needed to employ agents who would be accepted without suspicion in the town to do some digging. In fact, the duce was honest and only wanted to protect his people. Unfortunately, the brigands were controlled by one of Gordug Smasher's Black Orcs, a survivor of Oglah's betrayal at the Battle of Long Knives. The Orc, Barking Ripear, had kidnapped members of the duce's family, and hoped to use this leverage to lure Oglah into an ambush.[3a]
The loss of many of his soldiers in the Darklands had greatly rankled Oglah. Recently, he has heard rumours of Savage Orcs using hit-and-run tactics to attack Chaos Dwarf caravans and outposts. While no lover of Orcs, Oglah wants these rumours investigated to see if he and his Wolfboyz can get a bit of the action. If it means sticking it to the Chaos Dwarfs and maybe saving some of his own ladz they enslaved, he'll grit his teeth and work with a bunch of Orcs.[3c]
Since his betrayal of Gordug Smasher, Oglah has managed to honour his contracts, defying his reputation for treachery. Duce Alphonso wanted to change that and persuaded Oglah to turn on his current employer, Principessa Gioegia, in the Tilean nobles' upcoming territorial skirmish. Alphonso sent a group of adventurers to bribe Oglah Khan and his boyz into doing just that.[3a]
Why the Wolfboyz apparently abandoned their treacherous ways in favour of working for Tilean mercenary commanders with a degree of professionalism is a mystery. Perhaps Oglah really has just worked out that Humans won't stand for too much mischief from the Hobgoblins. Perhaps there is a grander treachery afoot, and the Wolfboyz are merely acting as scouts for their first employer, the Hobgobla-Khan and his Great Horde. If this is the case, the Wolfboyz could be merely the advance scouts of a much larger force of Hobgoblins intent on sweeping across the Old World as a conquering force.[3c]
Yet, the Wolfboyz's employers usually dismiss these doubts. They know that the Hobgoblins are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of miles from home, in a strange and belligerent land. They need to play a cagier game here, in Tilea, than they might in their homeland. They are perhaps one bad contract, or one failure, away from destruction, and they have the wherewithal to recognise that. This might be what sets them apart from other breeds of Goblin.[3c]
Recently Oglah Khan's Wolfboyz have fought in one of the many Tilean civil wars. Their patron was a wealthy Miraglianese duce who was fighting one of his enemies on the way to Trantio in the proximity of the River Tarano.[3c]
Appearance[]
"Hiiyaaarrghh!!!!"
- —Traditional battlecry of these warriors from the steppes. The meaning is obscure, most likely to be offensive and illegal[1a]
The Wolfboyz fight as any unit of Hobgoblin Wolf Raiders, including Oglah Khan, a standard bearer and a horn blower.[1a][2a] All of them are unwashed, shifty and wicked Hobgoblin warriors, wearing furs. They carry a black wolftail standard to battle, proclaiming they do not come in peace.[1a]
Wolfboy uniforms are a mismatch of clothes and armour from their steppe lives and items scavenged from various battlefields, as they are dressed partially in Tilean clothing, mixed with their own exotic garb. Many of them wear bronze lamellar armour, and spiked helmets surmounted with black wolf tails. All Wolfboyz are equipped with a spear, a scimitar, and a short bow. Although they'll scavenge pieces of plate armour, they prefer scale armour or light chainmail. Their shield design shows three red talon slashes on a white field.[3a][3c]
Oglah Khan wears dented, light scale armour and carries a wickedly barbed spear as well as a curved scimitar, a bow and a shield. On his shoulders he wears the Pelt of Wulfag.[1a]
Tactics[]
When Oglah Khan left the Eastern Steppes, over six hundred Hobgoblin riders flocked to his cause. Now, barely eighty remain. They travel as a roiling mass with small groups drifting off and wandering about.[3a]
To the untrained eye, they appear a constantly shifting rabble. However, there is a structure. The smaller groups who drift away are satellite outriding parties, remaining within sight of the main group, sharing information as they come and go. Smaller scouting parties venture further forward, out of sight of the rest, spying out the land ahead and watching for ambush.[3a]
Wargear[]
- Pelt of Wulfang - Wulfang was the monstrous steed of Khenghai Khan,[3a] also known as Khengai Khan, the Lord of the Steppes,[1a] the Hobgoblin Empire's founder. After its demise, the beast's fur was fashioned into a shoulder mantle and blessed with Waaagh! Magic. Gifted to Oglah Khan when he still had the favor of the Hobgobla-Khan,[3a] it carries an ancient blessing of the Hobgoblin Shamans, so that no enemy who turns their back on the Hobgoblins can escape alive.[1a] The item is of great cultural value to the Mournguls, and they bitterly resent that Oglah has absconded with the artefact. The Hobgobla-Khan has placed a great prize in gold and wolves upon the return of the pelt, and the delivery of Oglah Khan, whom he regards as a thief and traitor. Ideally, he would like any would-be bounty hunters to deliver Oglah to him alive, so he can mete out a suitable punishment personally, but should anyone prove able to return either the pelt or Oglah's head, they will find the Great Khan appreciative.[1a]
Notable Members[]
- Oglah Khan - Chief of the Wolfboyz as its mercenary captain, Oglah Khan is an imposing figure, with an air of restrained psychopathy. He shows an unnerving, gruff courtesy towards Men and Halflings (little more than Human children in his eyes). However, he stands tall and proud and looks princes in the eye without deference, knowing he's at least their equal on or off the battlefield. If obliged to behave diplomatically, he avoids Dwarfs as they often react violently to Greenskins. However, if they can resist outright hostility, he can tolerate their passive aggressiveness. Oglah is fascinated by Elven archery skills and elfbows; Elves themselves unnerve him, leaving him curiously reticent. In and out of battle, Oglah is constantly looking for an advantage over the enemy. His treachery is usually contained to those he has been hired to fight. Something people haven't realised is that since becoming a mercenary, Oglah now has to sign contracts, which he does with an X in his own blood, as he is illiterate. Oglah views signing his name to a contract with superstitious seriousness.[3d] Oglah speaks with his employers in broken Tilean. He also displays a degree of formal courtesy of the sort many would think entirely alien to Greenskins of any heritage. His etiquette is far from perfect, of course, but it is considerably better than that seen displayed by a good number of aspiring Human courtiers in noble manage. And although his voice is coarse, his Tilean grammar is passable and the vocabulary outright impressive.[3c]
- Zschokke Glahh - Zschokke Glahh is a member of the band who for some unknown reason desires to appear as if he were a Tilean.[3d]
- Gaglah Ghran - A big, angry, and formidable Hobgoblin, Ghran favours his heavy-bladed spear over his scimitar in close combat.[3d]
- Hhrag Wolf-Wispra - An Hobgoblin skirmisher.[3d]
Miniatures[]
