Orkimedes and Nazreg ad Urdgrub

[apologist]

Bit of a deep dive. Codex Armageddon details ‘Orkimedes’; a name given by the Imperials to a talented Mekboy, to whom is attributed things like the tellyporta, drop roks and similar.

 

Those technologies also appear during Piscina, when Ghazghkull was working alongside Nazdreg ud Urdgrub… who pointedly doesn’t appear during the Third War for Armageddon.

 

Entirely possible it’s coincidental, of course, but I always wondered why ‘Orkimedes’ identity remained hidden. Does he exist? Is there a connection to Nazdreg?

[Mazer Rackham]

Since I am currently preparing a TPK, er...adventure, on Armageddon, this snagga'd my attention.  I had a quick pull of the internet around Ol' Nazdreg, and he turns up around Medusa V, but he's definitely involved in the Tellyporta. I wondered if, instead of him being Orkimedes, he's the 'bank' and Orkimedes isn't just some head Mek of a workshop of crazy-genius Meks that Nazdeg financed/attracted, and who then disbanded after the Armageddon Bash broke up.

[Brother Tyler]

I love the Orkimedes gag.

 

The lore about Nazdreg Ug Urdgrub has morphed over the years. I think he first appeared in the Storm of Vengeance campaign back during 2nd edition. My copy is somewhere in the attic, and I doubt that the boxed set gave the fate of Nazdreg anyways (if the outcome of the campaign was described, it was probably via White Dwarf articles). Depending on the sources you consult, he may have been presumed dead at the end of that campaign. Alternatively, he and Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka may have simply "parted ways" as described in the booklet for the Fall of Medusa V campaign. Either way, he isn't mentioned in any of the Third War for Armageddon books or articles (that I know of). The Lexicanum page on the Fall of Medusa V campaign mentions that Nazdreg Ug Urdgrub did participate in the Third War for Armageddon. Since Piscina was the site of a major battle during the Third War for Armageddon (in addition to being the setting for the Storm of Vengeance campaign), it's possible that the warlord was present during that campaign and was otherwise unmentioned until the Fall of Medusa V lore retconned him in. There were 12-16 Ork space hulks present in that campaign, after all, and Nazdreg controlled a sizeable hulk.

 

Codex: Armageddon, may be the first time that 'Orkimedes' is described, though the lore makes it clear that this is just a codename given by Imperial scholars although the individual had not been identified at that time. It's also possible that Orkimedes was presented in one or more of the White Dwarf articles in the build-up to the Third War for Armageddon campaign. Orkimedes is also mentioned in The Battle for Armageddon book, as well as in Battlefleet Gothic: Armada. The latter provided some lore about Orkimedes, but it appears that his fate was uncertain (which is good for scenarios like that). One of the White Dwarf articles for the Third War for Armageddon campaign describes Orkimedes as an "archmekaniak" and as the designer of the giant submersibles that the Orks used during that campaign. Games Workshop later published an article providing some scenarios for playing the Third War for Armageddon using the Apocalypse rules. The lore in that packet named the creator of the Ork submersibles as Orghamek, however. It could be that 'Orghamek' was some other mekaniak. Alternatively, it could be that Orghamek was the name of the mekaniak that the Imperial scholars identified as 'Orkimedes' prior to learning his real name. I'm of the opinion that someone simply screwed up or forgot about the Orkimedes name.

 

The 4th edition Codex: Orks provides what is probably the most likely explanation:

 

Over the next few years [after Ghazghkull's defeat in his first invasion of Armageddon], Ghazghkull allied with Warlord Nazdreg Ug Urdgrub, combining forces to make a devastating assault on the Imperial planet of Piscina IV. This was no normal invasion, however. Nazdreg, a Bad Moon Warboss possessed of incredible wealth and cunning, had some of the finest Meks in the galaxy in his employ. These Meks had pioneered a type of teleportation device that enabled Nazdreg to manoeuvre his troops directly onto the planet from his space hulk, even when it was located a massive distance away from the planet.

 

Ghazghkull saw the revolutionary potential of these 'Tellyportas', and joined forces with Nazdreg to test it on the unsuspecting planet of Piscina IV. The Imperial forces there were taken completely by surprise, and the planet was brought to its knees. Only the mysterious presence of Space Marines from the Dark Angels Chapter saved Piscina from being overrun completely by the greenskin armies. [This was the Storm of Vengeance campaign.] The Dark Angels suffered a string of better defeats at the hands of Ghazghkull's forces, culminating in a breathtaking duel at Kallidus Harbour between the Ork Warlord and the Grand Master of the Deathwing. Though Ghazghkull all but broke Grand Master Belial in two, the Deathwing forces had bought time for the rest of the Dark Angels to arrive. Piscina IV was saved, but Ghazghkull already had his prize. Striking a deal with Nazdreg, Ghazghkull left the Bad Moon warlord to continue the war for Piscina in return for his best Mek and the secrets of his tellyportas. The Prophet of the Waaagh! had work to do.

 

I don't think that 'Orkimedes' is listed later in that codex, and I haven't had time to check subsequent codices, but from that entry I infer that 'Orkimedes' (whether he's Orghamek or someone else) was Nazdreg's "best Mek." The "evolution" of the lore for Nazdreg might be attributed to the viewpoints. When lore is given from the viewpoint of the Imperium, it is based on the assumption that he died during the events in the Storm of Vengeance campaign. When the lore is given from the viewpoint of the Orks, it is based on the reality which is that he survived to participate in later events.

 

                                   

Granted, I haven't read all of the Black Library novels, so there may be more information in those. And there may be more information in White Dwarf articles that I've forgotten about (and no longer have).

 

+EDIT+

 

Update: the 3rd edition Codex: Orks, which was published before Codex: Armageddon, includes lore that the Imperium knew that Nazdreg survived the events on Piscina IV and was still active as of 998.M41. Not having access to the 2nd edition stuff, I'm inferring that the 2nd edition lore (or battle report outcomes) presented the possibility that Nazdreg had been killed, but GW retconned that for 3rd edition.

Edited September 22 by Brother Tyler
3rd edition Codex: Orks update added