The Rhinox loped along the narrow trail, its shaggy fur matted with briars and mud. The great beast was a shadow of its former self, the massive rolls of fat that sustained it over countless winters long since dwindled to scrawny muscle over gaunt and prominent bones. The stream ahead appeared inviting and the beast moved towards its icy lip, shivering in the cold mountain. Lowering its head to drink, the beast’s bloated tongue began gulping down great mouthfuls of the cold water, snorting as it drank too fast and shaking its head to and fro. The cold water was satisfying enough and long icicles started to mat in the beast’s furry beard. Suddenly from the tumbled rocks to the beast’s hindquarters a massive iron tipped spear punched through the lowered forehead of the Rhinox, splitting its brain in one well placed shot. The dumb beast staggered around for several minutes, unaware that it was dead before collapsing in a snorting heap. Soon the great chest breathed its last and the body went limp.

Bellowing with uncontrolled glee a knot of Ogre Whelps led by a matronly Ogre Cow burst forth from the opposite side of the stream, splashing through the freezing waters to reach the carcass of the fallen Rhinox. Grazok Beastslayer emerged from the rocky cleft in which he had lain hidden, knowing that an unwary beast would find the stream irresistible. Even as the Hunter bent to retrieve the barbed harpoon from the beast skull the Whelps began to tear apart the carcass, giblets of blood and gore dripping from their gleaming faces as they sought to fill their empty bellies. The sounds of crunching bone, sucked marrow and tearing of skin followed as not a single part of the beast was wasted. The echo of tromping feet caused a momentary glance form the feasting younglings, before they went back to their gory meal.

A mile long column of Ogres emerged from the trail above the stream, a ragtag column of starving monsters that had travelled for weeks through the rugged highlands in search of food. Massive carts pulled by sickly Bulls, a gaggle of starving Whelps and columns of lean Ironguts all marched slowly along the rutted trail. Driving his spear into the ground Grazok gazed into the distance. Below him lay Cathay, its lush green folds undulating as far as the eye could see. There was food out there and perhaps even a place where the rumble of the maw would no longer trouble his waking dreams. Grazok looked back over his shoulder at the columns of Ogres snaking their way through the passes. Hundreds of tribes, thousands of families. They marched at his bidding, to Cathay, past the great Maw and into the unknown. Raising his spear into the air he let loose a guttural war cry, the deep percussive rumble reverberating off the mountain peaks as it was taken up by fully fifty thousand ogres, their voices raised in unison into a cold, uncaring sky.

Background

Famine has hit the Ogre Kingdoms just before the winter blasts began burying the mountain trails. The lack of food has had far reaching consequences throughout the East and it is not just the humans who are suffering. As plants fail, so herbivores dwindle and without sufficient stock, the predators begin to turn on one another. High in the mountain passes the Ogres endured two consecutive lean winters, followed by two long, lean summers, forced to range further and further afield in search of food as the deep throaty rumble of the Maw grew louder. Butchers questioned their voracious God, sacrificing precious food in an attempt to discover some kind of answer, but no answers came.

Before long, as summer dwindled into winter once more, the Ogres became desperate, launching quick strikes into Cathay. Before the famine these raids would have been impossible, but now that the Imperial Army has been reassigned to Wei-Jin and to the defense of the Barrier, gaping holes have begun to appear along the borders allowing raids into the most Easterly Provinces. Nevertheless, there is precious little to be had. Many villages are abandoned, the fields lie empty and what little food remains is blackened and twisted.

It was a group of gatherers from the Stone Gut tribe that brought the sickness back with them. Returning from Cathay with sacks of feed, rice and meats from an abandoned village they were treated as conquering heroes. As they could not read the strange symbols on the doors of the houses they did not know that the village had been abandoned due to the sickness that followed in the famine's wake, and that they brought that self-same sickness back with them. In a matter of days the Rhinox and mountain goat herds were dead, infecting with a wasting disease that stripped the meat form their bones before they choked to death on their own swollen tongues. As the animals died so did the last remaining food supplies for the winter.

Soon the Gnoblar population began to dwindle as they became snack food for the desperate Ogres. Before long the Ogres began to turn on themselves, the stronger devouring the weaker as all sought to fill their growling bellies. In the conflict that followed, several of the foraging group were eaten by their peers and so the disease was spread as Ogres from different tribes returned home, carrying the taint with them. Soon, the herds were dead throughout the Ogre Kingdoms and the Ogre race was facing starvation as the deep throaty rumble of the maw grew louder still. It was at this time that Grazok appeared.

As the tribes fought among themselves, Grazok began to spin tales of the rich lands of Cathay. Rice paddies as far as the eye could see, great herds of water buffalo and seas of golden grain. As he had travelled the route once before, Grazok knew the way past the Great Maw and guaranteed he could guide the tribes past their awful deity and towards salvation. He told them of a weakened power to the East, of vast stores of food and of lands where they might be able to escape the constant rumble of the Maw. The Ogres, seeing little choice, advocated to the mighty hunter, and a great migration to the East began. All the while before the army of monsters rushed another migration of sorts, thousands of tiny Gnoblars, desperate to escape the gullets of their former masters!

GM’s Note

As a player in The Great Migration you will take the part of a Tyrant, Hunter or Butcher in the service of Grazok Beastslayer as the mighty hunter leads your tribes into the land of Cathay. You are backed into a corner and your goal is simple. Cathay has food where you do not and you must take it for yourself. Grazok is not stupid however. An all out assault on the Cathayan army would be dangerous and he trusts you and your fellows to help him guide the tribe to a safer path. So your task is one a true Ogre will grasp quite easily. You must feed your tribe!

The Great Migration is an essentially neutral faction, and therein lies your advantage. While Ogres are quite rightly the largest and most feared humanoids in Cathay, they are not complete strangers. Ogre bodyguards have been employed within the Empire for centuries, so most people are well used to seeing hulking Maneaters walking along side the carriages of the more affluent members of Cathayan society.

It will be down to you as players to decide which way the Tribes you lead will go. You could approach the Figureheads and offer your might for hire, hoping to gain food for your whelps through this exchange. Many Figureheads would gladly use Ogre strength to further their own goals, yet you must decide carefully which ones will follow through on their promise of rewards and whether being led around by the nose suits your disposition. Alternatively you could choose a more independent path, and taking advantage of the weakened Empire take what you want when you want using your great strength to eat the very heart of Cathay. The choice is yours.

Finally it may be worth pondering Grazok's own question to you when he gathered the tribes. Is it possible to escape the constant hunger of the Maw? Only Cathay holds the answer. Use your cunning as a Hunter, but don’t be afraid to unleash that inner Tyrant if it means securing a hot lunch! Pray to the Great Maw as you see fit and may it grant you a plentiful bounty!