Total War: Warhammer II – Grom the Paunch’s campaign basics
Vortex campaign victory conditions
- Destroy the Yvresse faction.
- Complete Blacktoof’s Revenge quest chain.
- Win the Final Siege of Tor Yvresse.
Campaign start locations
The campaign maps and Grom’s skills infographic (discussed shortly) come from Total War: Warhammer II‘s official website. In the Eye of the Vortex campaign, Grom starts in the Southlands World’s Edge Mountains province. He owns the Karag Orrud settlement.
In a Total War: Warhammer II Mortal Empires campaign, however, Grom the Paunch starts in Massif Orcal smack dab in the middle of the Bretonnian duchies of Bordeleaux, Quenelles, and Parravon.
Grom the Paunch’s unique abilities
The self-styled Goblin King also has the following perks in Total War: Warhammer II‘s campaign:
Because he starts the game mounted on a chariot and he has the regeneration passive, it’s quite easy for him to rush to the thick of the fighting or harass ranged units. Similarly, the unique “His Great Immensity” yellow line passives provide bonuses to HP, defense, province growth, and boosts to Goblin and Pump Wagon units. You’ll be able to beef him up not just with beefy food, but with perks that turn this chariot-mounted lord into a tank.
Early-game units
Here are Grom’s starting units: 3x Goblins, 2x Goblin Archers, 1x Stone Trolls, 1x River Trolls, 1x Snotling Pump Wagons (Spiky Rollers).
The default Goblin units might be cheap and cost-effective, but, they’d still get mauled once you’re fighting Lizardmen and High Elves. The idea is to make sure that you’re focusing on all the Goblin buffs from Grom’s innate perks and the ingredients that can be combined in Grom’s Cauldron. Later, make sure you eventually get Black Orcs, Night Goblins, and Night Goblin Archers to bolster your forces.
The Snotling Pump Wagons (Spiky Rollers), meanwhile, help flank weaker troops, but their chariot attack is a bit wonky. Oftentimes, you’ll need to spam-click just to make sure that they’re actually steamrolling someone. Next, you’ve got your Stone Trolls and River Trolls to go krumpin’ about, and there’s also the Giant River Troll Hag hero which has access to Lore of Death spells like Life-Leeching, Soulblight, Doom & Darkness, The Fate of Bjuna, and The Purple Sun of Xereus. The hero’s default deployment ability in your army also boosts replenishment. The Giant River Troll Hag Hero, like the other Shaman heroes, can be equipped with Blacktoof’s Head in a Jar.
You won’t be going after Eltharion just yet since the only way you can instigate the final battle is if you’ve acquired at least 12 Grom’s Cauldron recipes. So, for now, just head further south. You’re at war with the Arachnos when you start your Total War: Warhammer II campaign, and you’ve got to teach them a lesson. Additionally, Grom’s initial army is enough to crush weaker garrisons via auto-resolve, so go ahead and capture the Mount Arachnos settlement.
Scrap upgrades, Raidin’ Camp stance, and calling the Waaagh!
After winning your first battle, you’ll notice that you’ve gained scrap, a new resource for the Greenskins. Scrap is used to upgrade unit capabilities and cook new recipes via Grom’s Cauldron. With regards to unit upgrades, some of these will still require you to have researched certain techs (or Big Thinkin’ as the Greenskins call ’em). These techs also require scrap to be spent first prior to initiation, though you only need to wait one turn to gain the effects.
In general, try to focus on techs that’ll boost your core units (ie. goblins and trolls), especially when you consider Grom the Paunch’s innate perks. You might also need to gather scrap for one quest which we’ll get to in a while.
Below, you’ll see a few early-game scrap upgrades for your Total War: Warhammer II campaign.
Scrap upgrades requiring Sharper Stabbas tech:
- Scrap Armor (Goblins) – +25 armor; 20 scrap
- Spiky Weapons (Goblins) – +5 armor-piercing weapon damage; 20 scrap
- Ammo Skinsacks (Goblin Archers) – +45% ammo; 20 scrap
- Heavy Ammo (Goblin Archers) – +400% armor-piercing missile damage; 20 scrap
Scrap upgrades requiring Stronga Howdahs tech:
- Chariot Armor (Snotling Pump Wagons) – +15% physical resistance; 20 scrap
- Jagged Weapons (Snotling Pump Wagons) – +10 bonus vs. infantry; 20 scrap
Note: There seems to be a bug at the moment since researching the Sharper Stabbas tech already makes these scrap upgrades available.
Another cool mechanic you’ll notice when playing as Greenskins lords like Grom the Paunch is that they’re heavily geared towards rapid expansion. For instance, if still have a sliver of movement points remaining, you could switch to Raidin’ Camp stance. This not only provides you the benefits of raiding enemy territory (lowered public order and gold generation), but you’ll also be able to obtain some scrap and access to global recruitment.
It’s even possible to move using March stance and then switch to normal or Raidin’ Camp stance. What’s not to love, eh? Always make sure that you’re switching to Raidin’ Camp stance when possible, as this can make a huge difference in your Total War: Warhammer II campaign expansion.
Similarly, you’ll notice another unique feature that’s part of the Greenskins faction overhaul, and that’s the revamped Waaagh! mechanics. The bar at the top of your screen shows you the reputation meter which provides additional boosts to your Total War: Warhammer II campaign. Increase it up to 100 points by fighting and razing, and you can call a Waaagh! by targeting a faction’s capital.
For 20 turns, you’ll have additional Greenskin units attached to your armies, and you can conquer the land with your green tide. If you successfully capture the target’s capital, you’re given a Waaagh! trophy with unique effects.
The Waaagh! mechanic is also present in battles while the campaign Waaagh! is in effect. As your units engage in melee, you’ll fill up the battle meter. Once full, you’ll be able to unleash a Waaagh! on unsuspecting gits:
Note: For more information about scrap upgrades and the new Waaagh! mechanics, check out our Greenskins faction overhaul guide.
Unique items and confederation decision
On your second turn, you should get the quest for two unique items:
- Grom’s Lucky Banner – Requires you to get the Call to Waaagh! Trophy by starting a Waaagh! (mentioned above).
- Blacktoof’s Head in a Jar – Have 50 scrap at the start of your turn; unlocks the Green Spores ingredient for Grom’s Cauldron.
Also, if you move your army close enough to the Lost Plateau settlement, you’ll likely get attacked by the Arachnos’ leader once you end your turn. Take him out and the battle victory will net you some additional scrap. This will be enough to complete the Blacktoof’s Head in a Jar mission.
This unique item is a powerful tool that can be equipped on a Shaman or Troll Hag hero. Doing so will allow them to summon a Rogue Idol in battle by using the “Blacktoof’s Conjuration” spell.
Note: Head over to our Grom the Paunch quest items guide for more information about how to complete these quest chains.
You’ll also be granted the opportunity to continue your war against the Arachnos, or just confederate with them. Keep in mind that you’d still need to build up your Waaagh! meter by going to war, so your next target should be Karak Zorn (capturing it will also grant you full control of the Southlands World’s Edge Mountains province).
Grom’s Cauldron
Additionally, since you’ve completed the Blacktoof’s Head in a Jar quest, you’ve unlocked a random ingredient for Grom’s Cauldron. Before this, you only had access to Troll Meat and nothing else. Now, you can combine that plus the new ingredient to create a new recipe (and gain +100 scrap as part of a quest). By default, you can only combine two ingredients, but, later on, you’ll be able to unlock the other slots.
Green Spores combined with Troll Meat creates the Shroom ‘n’ Offal Sausage recipe. Here are the effects:
- “Bangers and Smash” ability for Grom – AoE buff that provides 24% charge bonus and 12% leadership
- +25 charge bonus for Grom
- “Regeneration” passive for all Goblins and Night Goblins in all armies
- +5 reputation
- +10 growth in all provinces
All Grom’s Cauldron recipes cost 50 scrap to cook, have a set duration, and only one can be active at any given time. You could still choose to replace the recipe with a new one that you’ve discovered, and you’d also boost Grom the Paunch’s capabilities permanently when you do so (you can see an example below). Again, you need a minimum of 12 recipes in order to challenge Eltharion for the final battle.
Don’t forget to sack Karak Zorn while it’s held by the Dwarfs so you can get the Stunty Ale ingredient for Grom’s Cauldron. If you miss out on this opportunity, the closest Dwarf settlement is all the way in Lustria in the Spine of Sotek region.
The Food Merchant
You’re also notified when the Food Merchant spawns near a settlement that you own and you can interact by moving any lord or hero to that location. The Food Merchant also presents a dilemma with a number of choices:
- Buy the Hag’s Carrion – Obtain a listed ingredient; costs 1,000 gold.
- Cook for the Hag – Challenge the Food Merchant to a cook-out; completing this challenge unlocks a random ingredient and gives you gold.
- Let the Hag Cook – The Food Merchant cooks a random recipe in Grom’s Cauldron, replacing the one you already have.
- Daylight Robbery – Gain +50 scrap and +500 gold, but you won’t obtain an ingredient.
If you pick the “Cook for the Hag” option, you’ll need to cook a recipe based on clues to complete the Food Merchant’s challenge. This unlocks an ingredient slot in Grom’s Cauldron so you can combine more goodies when crafting recipes.
Note: Kindly refer to our Grom’s Cauldron guide for all the ingredients, recipes (including secret ones), the Food Merchant challenge, and an in-depth explanation about this mechanic.
Total War: Warhammer II – Grom the Paunch’s campaign progression
Diplomacy and future Waaaghs!
It’s highly unlikely that you’ll engage in a lot of diplomacy as Grom the Paunch. You just wiped out the Arachnos and Karak Zorn minor factions and you’re not trading with anyone. Now, you’re up against The Last Defenders Lizardmen led by Kroq-Gar. This faction will be your toughest challenge early on in your Total War: Warhammer II campaign since your goblins would hardly make a dent. You’ll have to rely on your monstrous units and Grom’s weight to take them out. Around this time, I also had access to a Waaagh! to help me fight the dinos.
After this, you’ll end up in conflicts against the Skaven (Clan Mors/Queek Headtaker), more Lizardmen (Tlaqua/Tiqtaq’to), and Dark Elves (Hag Graef/Malus Darkblade). As for the High Elves, I did encounter Caledor’s forces led by Prince Imrik and I wiped them out in the desert. Remember, as long as the Call to Waaagh! is active, you’ve got your free attached units roaming around with you, making it easier to cover Total War: Warhammer II‘s campaign in a green tide.
There will be only a select few occasions when you can find someone to buddy up with. In my case, it was the Tomb Kings (Khemri/Settra and, much later, Lybaras/Khalida) since I was fighting with the factions they were warring with. Since you won’t encounter any other Greenskins besides the Top Knotz Savage Orcs, your Total War: Warhammer II campaign won’t have other confederation options besides the Arachnos.
With regard to Yvresse, Eltharion’s faction will remain at war with Grom the Paunch all throughout your playthrough. It’s also likely that Eltharion will drag Tyrion, Alarielle, and other High Elf leaders for the ride.
The final battle: The Siege of Tor Yvresse
As you’re progressing through Total War: Warhammer II‘s campaign as Grom the Paunch, remember all the ingredients and recipes that you can find. Once you’ve cooked 12 different recipes, you’ll be able to initiate the final battle, the Siege of Tor Yvresse. Your reward here is 15,000 gold. What you’ll use it for? Well, I don’t know, really, because the game’s all over by then.
Note: We’ve got an in-depth breakdown and more tips for the final battle in our Siege of Tor Yvresse guide.
Total War: Warhammer II – The Warden & The Paunch is available on Steam. For more information, check out our guides and features hub.
