Eric Gregory’s first Black Library short story, Bossgrot is an anarchic Age of Sigmar tale of loyalty and treachery amongst the Gloomspite Gitz. Bossgrot Gribblak knows his inspirational leadership gives him the unqualified adoration of his skrap…or at least their grudging respect. After taking a beating at the hands of some particularly violent ‘umies, however, he needs to give his gitz something to really fire them up, so he hatches a plan to give them a big win…he’ll lead them in a glorious assault on the heavily-defended Glinty Crown, and both reaffirm their loyalty and win himself great renown.
There are few things as quintessentially Warhammer as darkly humorous goblins (grots in current parlance), and Gregory nicely nails the balance of vicious sneakiness and inept silliness in these characters. For all the humour, it’s still a cleverly constructed story which highlights some of the idiosyncrasies of the Gloomspite Gitz (wacky mushrooms, the Gobbapalooza etc.) in the context of the challenges Gribblak faces in maintaining his grip on the various fractious elements of his skrap, and what that does to his somewhat deluded mind. If you like your fantasy stories filled with hapless sort-of-heroes, backstabbing and black humour (or just squigs) then this daft but hugely entertaining tale is sure to appeal.
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