Warhammer 40K 3rd/4th edition rules misc analysis thread

[Connor MacLeod]

back.. and wit more orks.. the 4th edition codex...


Page 4

[
Orks are the msot warlike aliens in the 41st Millenium, and their number is beyond counting.

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Should the Orks ever truly unify, they would crush all opposition and dorwn the civilised races in a tide of gore.

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The Ork tribes spend much of their time fighting amongst themselves, ,waging brutal wars against their own kind so that only the strong survive.

Basically stuff we've heard before, but its still worth noting, the vast numbers, the ability to overwhelm everyone else if they united, fighting amongst themselves in a darwinian process, etc.

Page 4

A typical Ork stands around the same height as a man, though he would be much taller if he would onyl stand up straight. His frame is extremely muscular and solid. An Orks' arms are long and heavily thewed, and his knuckles almost scrape the floor as he lopes around. His gnarled hands end in taloned fingers capable of tearing an enemy's throat out with ease.

An Ork's skull is extremely thick, able to absorb impacts that would cave in an human head.

..

An Ork's genetic make-up contains fungal and algal strains, making them highly resilient. The skin of the Ork is green and leather-tough, and his body is dotted with scars, scabs, pock marks, and parasites.

..

An Ork feels nex to no pain even from the most grivous of wounds, enabling him to fight on whilst horrifically injured and even for a short while after he is technically dead. The greenskin regenerative process is so powerful that an Ork who has been cut apart in the crucible of battle can simply be stitched back together again, bewildered but ready to fight once more.

Orks slouching would be around 1.8--2 metres tall, but taller if standing straight (as tall/taller than a Space Marine, quite liekly.) Orks here ar ementioned as having taloned fingers, which makes them rather dangerous even unarmed (at least against unarmoured opponents.) Their skulls (and probably skeletons) are significantly tougher than humans, and their skins are much thicker/harder to pierce.

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The greenskin sub-racees have a symbiotic relationship of sorts, ,with the smaller greenskins performing menial tasks for their Ork overseers in exchange for a measure of protection. The self-sustaining Ork society and ecology is so robust that it can exist almost anywhere, which is why Ork settlements have been found scattered to the furthest corners of the galaxy.

The inter-relation of various orkoid species in Ork society, and the benefits to survival it engenders.

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Gretchin have a similar physiology to the Orks, though they are not as strong or tough.

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Sometimes known as Grots, Gretchin are more numerous than Orks.

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The Gretchin's large and protruberant nose gives them an excellent sense of smell, their ears afford them a similarily advanced esnes of hearing, and their eyesight is actue even in the dark.

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Some Grots hav etheir survival instinct honed to such a degree that they may posess a rudimentary sixth sense, or naturally be far more fortunate than they have a right to be.

..

On his own, ,a single Gretchin poses little threat ot a human sized adversary.

Various aspects of a Gretchin, fairly self explanatory.

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Snotlings have an even closer genetic bond with fungal life forms than the other greenskins, and cultivate the great patches of the fungi that spring up aroud Ork settlements. In this way the Snotlings provide food, drink, and medicine for the rest of Ork Society. Snotlings also look after the ferocious squiggly beasts that live in the Ork cesspits.

Snotlings.

Page 7

They [Squigs] are an integral part of the simple and mobile Ork ecosystem. The squits eat the refuse of the Orks, and the Orks eat the Squigs.

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Their functions range from edible to medical, but perhaps the most infamous of all Squig types are the ravenous face-biters, which the Orks use in teh same way humans might use attack dogs.

Squigs and their roles.

Page 7

Difficult as it was to believe, this ancient race was extremely intelligent, and held dominion over the other Ork Castes.

.
The Runtherds refer to the mysterious forefathers of the Orks as the Brainboyz.

The Brainboyz were the driving force behind Ork civilization; developing technology and directing the other castes in their expansion across the stars.

...

Some Ork legends tell of a grerat plague that lasted for many centuries, causing the Brainboyz to dwindle and eventually die out altogether. Others maintain that the Brainboyz regressed into Snotlings and that an Ork rebellion was responsible for reducing the Brainboyz to the infantile little monsters they are today. Either way, the Brainboyz took steps to preserve what they could of their knowledge by engineering it into the genetic structure of their slaves, tehreby creating the ultimate survivor race.. Many amongst the Magos Biologis of the Imperium theorise that the Orks retain such a relatively high level of technology in the 41st Mil;lenium as a result of this acceclerated evolution, their technical skills coded into their genes.

The Brainboyz fluff, which is (like most o fhte fluff here) recycled in some form or another from earlier sources, if with some changes. The orks are a engineered "survivor race" precisely because of the Brainboyz, which makes you wonder how they relate to the Old Ones and Krork (I'm sure someone will answer this for me.)

Also note the Orks are considered to have "realtively high" levels of tech.

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The rulers of Ork society are the largest and most powerufl Orks of all, known as Warbosses or Warlords. These monstrous killing machines can reach up to ten feet in height.

Warbosses can match/exceed Space marines for height.

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Most of the day-to-day running of Ork society is left to the Gretchin, whose duties include preparing food, taking messages, fetching, carrying, general organisation and just being around the place when an Ork wants something to kick.

Gretchin basically do all the stuff ORks are too lazy or impatient (or bored with doing)

Page 8

The Gretchin have created an entire enterprise culture of their own within their Ork-dominated society. Many Gretchin operate their own black-market businesses on the side, such as selling fungus-beer, roasting squigs on sticks, cooridnating the bets when a fight breaks out or looting corpses for fun and profit.

Gretchin are not only the primary ork labour forcec (aside from slaves) but they also seem to run the service and commercial industries. (And I n ever believed I'd be considering the term "Orkoid economy" in my analysis. Ever.)

[NecronLord]

From the context it appears in, Krork is either the C'tan & Necron name for orks, or their original name from the time of the necrons (the latter seems more likely, given that it appears in the rather eldar centric text of the necron codex). The quote also "Imagine how surprised I was [upon my awakening] to find your kind and the Krork everywhere." is also evidence to confirm that after Orks, humans are the most numerous sapient species in the galaxy.

[andrewgpaul]

It used to be the case that Snotlings are the devolved remnants of the Brainboyz caste, laid low by a pandemic. How this fits with more recent fluff (like the Necrons) is anyone's guess.

[Bedlam]

It used to be the case that Snotlings are the devolved remnants of the Brainboyz caste, laid low by a pandemic. How this fits with more recent fluff (like the Necrons) is anyone's guess.

I've also read one background where the Brainboyz / Snotlings needed to eat a certain type of fungus to get smart and one day a bunch of Orks decided to eat all the fungus and destroy the place where it grows, it didn't have any affect on their intelligence but caused the Brainboys to devolve, the last generation did some extra engineering on the Orks to make sure they can survive on their own. If you really want to try to shoehorn current fluff into it you could say the Deceaver wispered this plan into the Orcs ears before he went napping and didn't expect how well they survived without the Brainboyz.

[Connor MacLeod]

More from the 4th edition Orks codex (2007 ITW)
Page 8

Prolonged periods of conflict lead to a proportional increase in the size and strength of an Ork, and greenskins who have fought in an active warzone for a few years tower over those who have been deprived of such stimulus. Longer wars produce even larger combatants. At the climax of Warlord Thogza's decades-long Waaagh! into the Duros sector, the Ork veterans were reputed to reach a size almost twice as tall as a man.

The effects that combat and enviroment can have on stimulating Ork development. Its nothing too fancy, although the longer wars go for Orks, the stronger/tougher the survivors get (and the harder they are to defeat.) Not quite the adaptive abilities of a Tyranid, but useful nonetheless.

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In Ork society, teeth are used as money and form the entire basis of the Ork economy.

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It is a natural form of currency, considering the fact that Orks shed and replace their teeth every few years. This means the number of teeth in circulation never diminishes enough to create a shortage, and that no individual Ork can be reduced to dire poverty for too long.

More on the Orkish tooth-based economy.

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Although it may seem strange to humans, tehse Oddboyz all possess an innate understanding of their fields of expertise as soon as they are born.

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In a way this is almost litearlly true, for bound up within an Ork's genetic structure are artificial genetic strands that carry this sort of knowledge. Some believe these strands were implaneted into the Ork's genetic pattern to enable the Orks to survive without their Brainboy masters. As an Ork matures, any latent knowledge inherent in his genetic structure will startt to make itself apparent, and he assumes the role in Ork society for which he is best suited.

Despite all the talk of "genetic knowledge" and stuff, I'm willing to bet its more a "warp linked" knowledge, or psychically imprinted/transferred from one source to another. Its likely the "genetics" only play a role insofar as determining which "data" a particular ork might receive.

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It has long been known that the psychological aspects of a human are, in part, determined by their genetic heritage. Certain geno-types are disposed towards predetermined personality traits which, in turn, informthe process of learnign and aptitude. In Orks this genetic predetermination is also present, though in a different and much more pronounced fashion. It appears that not only is aptitude towards certain aspects of the culture present in the genestructure, actual skills and knowledge are also encoded into the genetic strand.

The best analogy one can think of is to compare this knowledge with the basic motor skills present in a human child. A human child does not have to be taught how to breathe, or how to make its heart beat. In a similar way, an Ork predisposed to science and mechanics [cf. Mek] has an encoded knowledge of basic physics and mechanical engineering theory. In the same way that a child can learn to alter their breathing, hold their breath or imrpove the capcity of their lungs and vascular system, so too can an Ork build upon these innate skills through the normal process of learning. The two major skill groups craeted in this fashion are the castes known as doks and Meks.

Doks are medical experts, who have a rough and ready knowledge of Orkoid xenological composition. Due to the hardiness of their physiognomy, Ork surgical and medical techniques are as crude as the rest of their technology.

Wounds can be easily stitched tight with staples or bolts, while broken bones need little in theway of setting to speed the healing process./ Internal injuries are similarly treated, and the multiple redundancy of many Ork organs provides plenty of transplant donors for those in need of such measures....

...

Often Orks undergo horrendous and entirely unnecessary surgical procedures to satisfy the Dok's inquisitiveness. Such treatments are not tested in any scientific manner before their employment and horrible injuires often result from such gruesome procedures.

Meks are similarly driven to experimentation. Much of the weaponry and wargear used by the Orks are designed and built by the Meks. As much of their knowledge is subconscious, the vast majority of Meks never truly understand what they are creating. This leads to some rather unlikely conventions. For instance, it is widely believed in Ork society that machines painted in a red colour operate faster. As disturbing as this sounds, "facts" such as this become true. MAny captured Ork weapons and items of equipment do not work unless wielded by an Ork. I theorise that many Ork inventions work because the Orks themselves think they should work - the strong telekinetic abilities of the Ork subconscious somehow ensure they function as dresired.

Genetor Lukas Anzion, Hereditary skill acquisition within the Ork caste.

More on the genetic nature of Orks, how it influences specialization in society (the creation of Doks, Meks, etc.), and the beneficial effects it has for Orkish medicine.

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An Ork's body harbours the genetic traits of both animal and fungal life forms, and it is this plant-like nature that gives the Ork his remarkable constitution. The Ork's green colouration is due to an algae that flows through thier blood, and also forms part of their digestive tract. This algae breaks down and repairs damaged tissues at an incredible rate, accounting in part for the Ork's extrmeely durable metabolism. An Ork's head can live for some time even when completely severed from the body, and can even be transplanted to another body altogether before death sets in.

The Ork reproduces by the dispersal of spores that settle and mature over time. an Ork's demise triggers a mass release of spores that can develop into dozens of cocoons. THough these cocoons may hatch Gretchin, Snotlings, or just simple fungi depending on conditions, a good number will mature into fully-grown Orks after a short gestation period. THese spores are dispersed far and wide by the wind, which makes the eradication of the greenskin presence from a contaminated warzone impossible to effect with anything short of the cleansing firestorm of Exterminatus.

A few Ork spores will come to rest in remote zones where no other ORks dwell; dense jungles and arid deserts where normal civiliasations find it difficult to survive. The spores rapidly infest the area and grow without threat of discovery. Over a relatively short period of time, the ORk hatchlings band together into loose tribes.

..

Once a world is infested with Ork spores, it is forever locked in an endless cycle of violence and madness.

The Orkish traits of being both animal and fungal as mentioned previously in other sources, the effect on healing, and the spore reproduction. Take especial note that anything short of Exterminatus is not guaranteed to eliminate spores - this confirms that Exterminatus is violent enough and/or intended to to wipe out life to the smallest level (total sterilization, in other words.)

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A tribe is simply all the Orks in a given location, ,regardless of what kult or clan they may belong to..
...

Each tribe is led by a Warboss, or Warlord whose authority and power holdes this loose confederation in check and prevents civil war between the rival elements of the tribe. Tribes can vary from a few thousand Orks to a few million, depending on the influence of the war leader at the top of the pile.

Definition and scale of an Ork Tribe

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each Warboss leads a warband of a hundred or so Orks..

Size of an Ork band.

Page 12

The basic Ork fighting unit is the warband, an organisation roughly equivalent to a Company in humna military terms.

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The Warband is split into a number of mobs, with each mob led by an Ork noble, referred to as a "Boss" or "Nob."

Warbands are usually part of a tribe but can be independent.

....
A tribe can comprise anything from several hundred to over a million Orks and will claim control of an entire continent or world. More commonly a habitable ORk world will sustain several Ork tribes in a more or less perpetual state of war with each other until they join in a Waaagh!

Ork "military organization", such as it is.

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A Goff Boyz mob is usually at least twenty strong, and a true Goff horde has a hundred times that number at its hearrt.

Scale of Ork Goff mobs and hordes, implied to be larger than typical band.

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The armies of the Imperium find it extremely difficult to engage the Evil Sunz on anything other than the Ork's terms, for the clan's super-charged trukks, battlewagons, and buggies can outmanoeuvre the heavy vehicles of the Imperium iwth ease.

This I guess means the Sunz qualify as the "mecahnized" components of an Ork army. Its also implied they are considerbly faster than Imperial vehicles.

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They [Blood Axes] trade openly with the Imperium, parley with the foe...

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True, they have made the most contact with the forces of the Imperium, occasionally fighting as mercenaries and making extensive use of Imperial war materiel, but then every Ork can see the funny side of extorting weapons from human planets only to use them against their former owners.

...

The Warbosses of the Blood Axe clan seem to have a better understanding of grand strategy than their compatriots from the other clans, planning large-scale battles or even entire campaigns in detail.

I suppose this makes the Blood Axes the most reasonable/friendliest of Ork tribes, ,insofar as that si possible.

[andrewgpaul]

The Blood Axes used to (i.e., in previous editions of the rules)* hire human military advisers. It was noted that the Imperium used to send Imperial Guard officers to 'advise' the Orks into attacking someone other than the Imperium.

*And possibly in 'in-universe' terms too; it has been noted that the other Ork clans almost annihilated the Blood Axes for fraternising with non-Orks too much.

[Cykeisme]

I recall descriptions of the Blood Axes also mentioning that they hire themselves out as mercenaries to other races.. are there any novels or at least short stories where this actually takes place?

[NecronLord]

I seem to recall there being some ork mercenaries in the Tau army in 'Kill Team.'

[Connor MacLeod]

Further update: 2007 Ork Codex:

Page 15

The Ork character traits have a reflection in the immaterial dimension of the Warp just like the traits and emotions of Humanity and the Eldar. These traits are made manifest in the belligerent ORk gods known as Gork and Mork. The Orks say that Gork si brutal but kunnin', and Mork is kunnin', but brutal.

Gork and Mork are divine powerhouses, deities so strong they are never truly defeated. They simply shrug off the attacks of other gods with a raucous laugh.[

Orks, like Eldar, Humans, and other psychic races, have a reflection in the warp, and these reflections result in the warp "entities" we are familiar with (in the case of Orks, Gork and Mork) and they feed into and provide those entities power (much as chaos cultists power the Chaos gods and daemons, the Imperial Cult powers the Emperor, ,etc.)

This implication seems to suggest that Gork and Mork are unbeatable, but in the same sense that Orks are hard to eradicate. Given the whole "warp/realspace" reflection thing, this comes as no surprise (as long as Orks exist their Gods will in some form, and when the Orks regrow their Gods will becomre stronger.)

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Dozens of other Ork Warbosses add their armies to the cause as the crusade gathers momentum.

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Soon, the emergent Waaagh! begins to span worlds instead of continents. entire native populations are forced into slavery merely to manufacture ammunition for the horde's guns. Crude factory-ships and war hulks are bashed into shape, the better to transport the Ork armies into battle.

Formation of ork WAAGHs. Note the mention of slave labor in factories, as well as "war hulks" and "Factory ships" (the orks have orbital infrastrucutre it seems, of a sort.)

Page 18

Orks live on innumerable worlds. On some they dominate completely, on others they live in a state of perpetual war, and on others still they act as slavemasters, bullying the local populations into doing their bidding.
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It has been tens of thousands of years since huhmanity encountered the Orks...

Ork worlds in brief.

Page 18

Millenia ago, a probe was sent out from Terra, ,its mission to reach the utmost limits of the universe. The Techpriests who built it hoped that it would someday return to its place of origin. The probe still sends back faint signals after 14,000 years adrift. To the utter despair of the Imperial Techpriests who monitor the incessant battery of incoming signals, many are identified as Orkish. The depressing conclusion for mankind can only be that wherever they travel in space, there's a good chance that the Orks will either have been there first or won't be long in arriving.

This has been commented on and repeated in so many editions I wont bother to here, other than it carries trhoguh from edition to edition.

Page 18

The primary mode of interstellar travel for the Ork race is the space hulk.

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When a space hulk appears in an Ork held system it is seized by any possible means, including colossal tractor beam arrays, and converted into a huge invasion craft. Cavernous launch bays are adapted for innumerable assault craft and millions of Ork warriors and war machines honeycomb its irregular cavities. Once completed, the space hulk is sent back out into the stars with an attendant fleet of attack ships and kroozers as escorts. The space hulk is guided into a warp storm or rift through the efforts of its Weirdboyz and Meks. It is drawn into the warp and, if all goes well, spat out once more at a world ripe for conquest.

Being incredibly random in their trajectory, space hulks could appear in any place, at any time.

Ork uses for space huulks (as assault ships, their battleship analouges, etc.) Navigation is (somehow) handled by Weirdboyz or Meks, but its implied that it has no inherent warp capability of its own (so its travel is completely random)

Of interest is the mention of the use of warp storms to travel (which presumably is one way how Space Hulks and other warp phenomena randomly appear/disappear throughout the Imperium) One may postulate that a warp drive creates (in effecT) a small, localized "warp storm" phenomena in order to enter/exit the warp. Which may give insight into the dangers and problems of such.

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Ork roks are essentially large asteroids hollowed out and fitted with drives, guns, and crew quarters. Though roks are incapable of travelling through the warp, any system containing Orks will quickly accumulate a growing number of roks. This is because Orks "build" them at a prodigious rate, often by breaking off large chunks of space hulk or welding space debris onto meteors. Orks can use Roks as a means of drifting from one world to another within a systme, pulling them in and out of orbit with simple but powerful tractor beams.

Design and purposes of Ork Roks. Basically Ork versions of system defense ships.

[Connor MacLeod]

More of Da Boyz. The most amusing thing to me in that book was when they totally kicked the Tau's ass. Bout time someone did.

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As one the Orks chose to follow Ghazghkull, becoming the first of several thousand tribes to pledge alleigance to his cause.

Good ol' Ghaz had "thousands" of tribes under his command. Which could mean anything from millions of orks to billions, depending on the exact size of the tribes. This also probably means many tens of thousands of spaceships (not including Roks) of varying sizes and types.

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A polluted wasteland of ash and metal, its innumerable weapons shops supply arms to Imperial Guard regiments several hundred light years away. Ghazghkull resolved to crush it without mercy. He knew that if this lynchpin of the Imperium were to fall, hundreds of worlds would be robbed of their defence capabilities and whole systems would buckle and collapse under the weight of his onslaught.

"several hundred light years" would imply that Armageddon is industrious enough to supply the whole Sector and maybe a bit beyond (into surrounding sub-sectors) That "hundreds of worlds" would be deprived if this is true is also indicative of such scale of its industry.

As a side note: We know Armageddon didnt have huge Guard forces, so it may seem odd that such a vital planet was lightly defended/fought, but we may infer that the reason for htis is that Armageddon's own populace was busy making the stuff so vital to the war efforts.

Page 22

Just as the Orks looked set to overrun Hive Helsreach and slaughter its people, von Strab unleashed a secret weapon - a massive stock of virus bombs capable of reducing even tough Orkoid flesh to a bubbling black soup in seconds.

Orks (like many other organic beings) are suscepible to virus weapons. The viruis weapon also acts hideously fast, even on the tactical scale (as opposed to exterminatus.) Or perhaps the scale affects time frame (over larger scales it can take longer for the virus to spread. This is certainly implied in Angels of Darkness.)

Page 22

- Armageddon has at least seven hives: Armageddon primus and secundus, Hades hive, Helsreach hive, Infernus hive, Archeron and Tartarus hives. Two others may be "Death Mire" and " Volcanus", "Tempestora"...


Page 24

Such were the mighty armies that Ghazghkull had mustered that the Ork fleet outnumbered that of Armageddon six to one.

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Ork Kill-Kroozers made suicidal rushes against the Imperial blockades with unbound ferocity, losing a dozen of their number for a single Imperial vessel.

..

Worse still, at the height of the engagement the naval commander Admiral Parol received comm-bursts from the nearby Yarrick and Mannheim monitor stations, warning that three more Ork fleets were inbound from the edges of the system.

The combined fleets of Ghazghkull and his allies numbered over two thousand ships and at least twelve space hulks....

...

The Imperial Navy ships also encountered dozens of crude asteroid fortresses, or "Roks", drifting in the noramlly vunerable tail of the Ork fleets.

The orks had massive numerical superiority but was offset by qualitative inferiority (a dozen ships lost per Imperial vessel, and its not celar if this means escort, cruiser, or battleship. Escorts are most likely.)

We know from the ARmageddon codex the orks had at least 2500-3000 ships (including 12-16 Space huulks, 2100+ attack craft, 250-400 kill kroozers, 100+ Rokls, and thousands of squadrons)

We can narrow this down . We know Ghazzie arrived with 2000+ ships and that before that the Ork forces outnumbered Armageddon's forces six to one and the Imperials had hundreds of warships easily (nearly 30 cruiser squadrons, 36 escort squadrons and 4 battleships) - call it between 250-300 ships, so between 1500-2000 also before that. 4000+ ships total.

Note as well that comm bursts from Yarrick and Mannheim detecting and alerting Parol of Orks alerting form "the edge of the system" implies FTL communications - we may assume astropaths but comm-bursts would suggest otherwise.

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The entire hive [Hades] and its inhabitants were obliterated by giant asteroids launched from the orbiting space hulks. Megatons of rock hit home like the hammer blows of an angry god.

[/quote]

"Megatons" of rock isn't specified as mass or energy, but based on context I'm guessing mass (millions of tons of stone, or billions of kg.) ASsuming a velocity consistent with asteroid/meteor impacts (20-25 km/s) would require ~300 megatons of KE (assuming a 2 million ton rock.), though higher estimates would definitely be in the gigaton range.

Page 25

Dozens of the great asteroid fortresses encountered by Admiral Parol's ships began to descend from orbit. Slowed by powerful forcee fields, the Ork Roks made landings in the verdant equatorial jungles and across Armageddon Primus and SEcundus.

Ork roks have/employ forcefield technologies (in controlled descents here, but its safe to assume they could double as shields.) This also shows the dual "drop ship/support platform" nature of the Rok.

Page 25

Temperatures outside of the Hives soared until even the greenskins were forced inside. Lava boiled across the landscape in lethal rivers that broke battle lines..

Description of Armageddon's "season of fire" - and the lava flows drove both Ork and Imperial vehicles away from battle.

Page 25

He [Wazdakka, Speed Freek leader] wishes to harness the secrets of warp space, and use them to create portals through which he can ride from planet to planet.

In other words, he wanted to duplicate the Eldar webway.

Page 26

Its already hostile climate had been enhanced specifically so that the Cadians could train in the most inhospitable battlefield conditions. Acid rain fell in great squalls, lava burst in sudden gouts from sharp volcanic rocks, and tornadoes raged across the violent skies.

An indication of trhe sorrts of terrain the Cadians are expected to fight/operate in, and endure.

Page 28

ork Warlords fighting against the nascent empire of the Tau have often found themselves sorely outgunned.

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Most impressive of all, Kaptin Badrukk and his Flash Gitz lit up the night, annihilating team after team of desperate Tau warriors with their snazz guns.

Higher-end Orks (like the Flash Gitz) are more than a match for Tau tech.

PAge 28

Perhaps if the Tau had adhered to their usual hit-and-run tactics they would have still carired the day, but Commander Farsight was known for his aggrerssion and martial pride.

...

As fhe forces of Commander Farsight pressed forward, the Ork front line fell back, hooting and hollering and cluching their heads. The Tau forces, caught in the jubilation of the hunt, overextended themselves. Suddenly the remainder of the Ork force ambushed them from either side, closing upon the TAu hunter cadres like a pair of giant green jaws.

The Tau high command were shocked to the core. Their force had been outmanoeuvresd and trapped by the brutish alien invaders. They scrambled reinfrocements to evacuate Commander Farsight, but Grog's war machine was in the ascendant. The Warchief and his boyz pursued the retreating Tau back to their base, burning it to the ground and looting as many Tau weapons as they could. With every bit of dakka they found, Grog's boyz became more of a threat, ,and soon they were tooled up with more high-powered weaponry than even the greediest Flash Gitz could wish for. The tide had turned, and it was not likely to turn back.

Since that day many more warbands have flocked to the Warchief's banner. Grog has taken three sept worlds in the space of a year, locked in a war of attrition that the Orks can afford but the Tau cannot.

The Orks basically fucked over hte Tau because the Tau broke their doctrine. Basically it demonmstrates that depending on your commander, teh Tau can be just ast stupid as the Imperium (Contrast with Taros.) Note that after the defeat, the Tau's much vaunted tactics did not seem to benefit them after they lost their main "base" Hell, they'd been "outmanuevered."

Note that "hit and run" tactics may not have helped here either, it depends entirely on circumstances. Given the Ork's nature to just keep coming at an enemy no matter how manyy times they get thrashed, the Tau would probably have been worn down no matter what tactics they employed.

Page 34

The most infamous of all Mekboy weapons is the shokk attack gun, a bizarre device capable of opening holes in the very fabric of the material universe. This awesome power is not used to advance science or revolutionise travel, but to fire warp-crazed Snotlings into the enemy.

An orkish version of a Titan warp missile (or psychoportive weapons.) But rather than using a munition, it throws snotlings. Go figure.

Page 34

Meks will build or scavenge powerful forcee field projectors with which to protect their warty hides. A kustom force field gives all units within 6" of the Mek a cover safe of +5

Personal Ork forcefields.

Page 35

This strange creation is a grerat example of how deeply the meks' affinity for technology runs, but also how rubbish they are at using it for anything other than short-sighted destrtuction.

The shokk attack gun works by projecting a narrow force field tunnel through a small portion of the warp. How it manages this is a mystery to anyone other than its creator, but the destructive potential of such a technological monster is considerable. The entrance to this tunnel opens up at the front of the gun and the exit point is created wherever the operator aims it.

More on the Shokk attack gun. Words really just fail me now.

[andrewgpaul]

A note on Armageddon's geography; Primus and Secundus are the continents. The Hives on Secundus are Hades, Infernus, Acheron, Tartarus and Helsreach (taken from the map from the boardgame).

You'll notice a similarity between Armageddon Secundus and Western Russia/Ukraine, Belurus. In addition, the Ork assault in the Second War was halted at Tartarus, under the leadership of a charismatic Commissar. The parallels to a certain historical campaign should be obvious. (in fact, the designer's notes say "... our campaign started out as an amalgam of three historical campaigns (see if you can guess which!)."

As for Ork force field/teleporter technology, it was implied (in the original Shokk Attack Gun article in WD 136, reprinted in Freebooterz or 'Ere We Go) that their instinctive grasp of it is more advanced than the Imperium. As for the Shokk Attack Gun only flinging snotlings, it's slightly more dangerous if you consider they materialise inside the target - imagine having to share the helmet of your terminator armour with a frenzied, incontinent snotling. Or one materialising in the breech of a tank's battlecannon just as it attepmts to fire.

[The Dark]

Page 21

A polluted wasteland of ash and metal, its innumerable weapons shops supply arms to Imperial Guard regiments several hundred light years away. Ghazghkull resolved to crush it without mercy. He knew that if this lynchpin of the Imperium were to fall, hundreds of worlds would be robbed of their defence capabilities and whole systems would buckle and collapse under the weight of his onslaught.

"several hundred light years" would imply that Armageddon is industrious enough to supply the whole Sector and maybe a bit beyond (into surrounding sub-sectors) That "hundreds of worlds" would be deprived if this is true is also indicative of such scale of its industry.

As a side note: We know Armageddon didnt have huge Guard forces, so it may seem odd that such a vital planet was lightly defended/fought, but we may infer that the reason for htis is that Armageddon's own populace was busy making the stuff so vital to the war efforts.

Out of curiosity, how do we know Armageddon didn't have large forces? According to Codex Armageddon, at Second Armageddon there were PDFs and a Titan Legion (Legio Metallica), and the losses were mostly due to von Strab's incompetence in throwing his units at the Waagh piecemeal. Third Armageddon was initiated by over 2000 Ork ships and six Hulks, overwhelming the Fleet's seven cruiser squadrons and two battleships. There were 20 chapters of Space Marines on the planet, along with at least five Legions (Legio Tempestor, Victorum, Metallica, Crucius, and Ignatum), and there were 17 garrison regiments of Armageddon Guard Militia routed at Volcanus Hive, suggesting at least moderate force levels.

Page 22

- Armageddon has at least seven hives: Armageddon primus and secundus, Hades hive, Helsreach hive, Infernus hive, Archeron and Tartarus hives. Two others may be "Death Mire" and " Volcanus", "Tempestora"...

According to Codex Armageddon, Primus and Secundus are the continents. Based on the Lexicanum, Death Mire, Volcanus, and Tempestora are the hives on Primus. Hades, Helsreach, Infernus, Acheron, and Tartarus are the hives on Secundus.

[andrewgpaul]

The Codex: Armageddon lists 5 regiments of Ash Waste Militia, 5 companies of Command Guard, 5 regiments of Ork Hunters and 120 regiments of Hive Militia took part in the 3rd War. There were also 25 regiments of Steel legion (i.e., Imperial Guard regiments, not local defence). That's compared to 104 regiments from other Imperial Guard units (and 9 batteries, 4 brigades, 18 companies, 14 squadrons and 17 battalions listed).

There were also 152 companies from 24 Space Marine chapters involved. 5 Chapters appeared to have involved their entire complements during the War (and the Exorcists seem to have disregarded the Codex 10-company limit - they brought 12).

[The Dark]

The Codex: Armageddon lists 5 regiments of Ash Waste Militia, 5 companies of Command Guard, 5 regiments of Ork Hunters and 120 regiments of Hive Militia took part in the 3rd War. There were also 25 regiments of Steel legion (i.e., Imperial Guard regiments, not local defence). That's compared to 104 regiments from other Imperial Guard units (and 9 batteries, 4 brigades, 18 companies, 14 squadrons and 17 battalions listed).

There were also 152 companies from 24 Space Marine chapters involved. 5 Chapters appeared to have involved their entire complements during the War (and the Exorcists seem to have disregarded the Codex 10-company limit - they brought 12).

Heh - I stopped flipping through C:A the page before the full OoB. There were also 10 companies of Sisters of Battle, and there were 4 Legios, 2 Demi-Legios, and 1 Quarto-Legio. They pulled in a bit of everyone from the Guard - Savlar Chem-Dogs, Death Korps, Iron Guard, Cadians and Catachans, and Elysian Drop Troops were all involved at Armageddon. Darn near the only major Guard regiment missing is the Tanith First and Only

[andrewgpaul]

I'd be surprised if the Tanith regiment still exists - the second Armageddon war took place about 250 years after the Sabbat Worlds crusade, after all.

[Connor MacLeod]

belated update.. more Ork stuff...

Page 36

Weirdboyz are the most psychically powerful of all orks. They act as a focal point for the psychic energy subconsciously gneerated by their greenskin comrades, energy that binds them together with a common purpose. Weirdboyz resonate with the power of sheer Orkiness, and the more Orks there are nearby, the higher the charge held within their bodies.

Unfortunfaltey, Weirdboyz can't rally control this buildup of psychic power.

..

Unles the WEirdboy finds some way to release this pent-up energy his head will explode, frequently detonating the heads of nearby ORks into the bargain.

...

Any Weirdboy locky enough to reach maturity will have learned how to release this power in a controlled energy blast or destructive wave. Though this makes the Weirdboy feel fantastic it can cause a messy and untimely death for anyone in his vicinity. For this reason WEirdboys live in special Weird-huts away from the other Boyz, and are not allowed to wander about unless they are wearing warning bells and escorted by an entourage.

..

Really successful Weirdboys, known as Warpheads, often form the epicentre of a travelling freakshow that roams the galaxy, offering their peculiar brand of psychic fireworks in exchange for handfuls of teeth.

...

The surge of psychic energy generated by all the fighting and chanting resonates through a Weirdboy until he is practically crackling with power. A Weirdboy in a battle trance is a terrifying sight.

..

When the surge reaches its excruciating peak, the Weirdboy will direct the resultant discharrge in a display of pyrotechnics that either blasts his enemies to pieces or energises his comrades with crackling green energy. Either way, the Orks who follow a Weirdboy to war are guaranteed a good show.

Weirdboyz... generally speaking they're just warp artillery. Massively destructive and extremely powerful (especially with an large Ork presence behind them) but they're either not very versatile or they're very specialized, depending on how you choose to interpret it. (under most cases, though we know that they can be employed in other roles like navigation or prophecy under certain circumstances)

Page 37

The energies raging through the Weirdboy go out of control, causing the heads of those nearby to explode.

..

The Weirdboy sends out arcs of crackling energy that ground themselves upon the enemy, reducing them to shrivelled hulks before the eyes of their terrified comrades.

..

The eyes of the Weirdboy glow a blazing reen, discharging an incandescent beam that strikes with the force of a thunderbolt.

...

The Weirdboy disperese the energy coursing through his frame into the Ork warriors around him with dramatic effect.

..

The Weirdboy closes his eyes tight and, in a storm of green light, teleports his unit to another part of the battlefield.

...

The Weirdboy screams a warcry at the top of his voice, suffusing his comrades with primal power.

Weirdoby effects - they can attack directly with energy attacks (implied megajoule/gigatjoule outputs compared to a "thuhnderbolt" - assuming we take that literally. Though reducing to shrivelled hulks may suggest baking/boiling the water off them, which would defintely be double or triple digit MJ easily) augment Ork warriors,and teleport. Exploding multiple Orky heads would be multi-MJ probably as well.


Page 38

Painboyz relish the implantation of the bioniks produced by Meks, and the professions occassionally work together to create Cyborks. These are unlikely fusions of greenskin and machine, and range from Orks who have had damaged limbs replaced with whirring blades or track units to fully bionik Boyz who are more machine than Ork.

Cyborks. Orks with "enhancing" cybernetic abilities.


Page 39

They [Meganobz] are characterised by the bulky exoskeletons they wear into battle, which they call mega armour, and by a dogged belief in their own invulnerability.

A suit of mega armour is comprised of extremely thick metal plates welded onto a piston-driven exoskeleton. It incorporates several engines and sub-motors that give the wearer tremendous strength. Each suit of mega armour has to be individually tailored by the tribe's Mek, who makes a great fuss of taking the customer's measurements before hammring togehter whatever he has to hand.

Ork equivalents of Terminators and/or Power armour.

Page 39

Each Meganob weighs at least a ton, for unlike the armourers of the Imperium the Ork Meks prefer quantity over qualit.

Meganobs carry so much metal plating that their only real weakness is their immense bulk. It is not uncommon to see a Meganob's comrades straining to get him back on his feet after a direct hit from enemy ordnance. Such is the resilience of ORk engineering and physiology that the Ork in question will quickly be back in the fray, ready to wreak his bloody revenge.

Power armoured Orks weigh at least one ton, impliing Imperial equivalents are significantly less lighter. Its implied that the armour can withstand ordnance that can knock it down.

Page 40

Their [Boyz] battered and grubby armour ususally consists of no more than a few scraps of flak jacket adorned with shoulder or back plate beairng hteir insignia.

..

They are generalyl armed with heavy solid-shot pistols known as sluggas and brutal edged weapons called choppas.

..

Orks have a preference for crude, noisy weapons and find it difficult to believe a gun can inflict any real damage unless it makes a loud and terrifying noise.

Orks are noted here to be wearing flak (somethign that was mentioned in really early editions) and mainyl using large bore solid shot (Rather than bolters, though this doesnt mean they still cant use bolters)

Page 40

Those ork Boyz who have become addicted to the deafening roar of automatic weapons fire call themselves Shoota Boyz...

...

Occasionally an Ork will manage to hang onto a heavy weapon that gives his mob some real anti-infantry or even anti-tank capability. The two favourites are the big shoota, beloved for its high rate of fire, and the trusty rokkit launcha. The larger the mob, the more liekly they are to have these heavy weapon "specialists" with them.

Some orks do use Autoweapons rather than slugthrowers/stubbers. Big Shootas probably correspond to autocannons and rokkit launcha is self explanatory.

Page 40

'Ard Boyz are Orks with enough armour to stride through incoming fire, laughing contemptuously as their poorly-armoured comrades are cut down around them. The 'Ard Boyz cover themselves in thick plates of scrap metal that they scavenge and attach as a loose-fitting suit.

Ork equivlaent of carapace likely... though with Ork strength and bulk its probably more effective.

[Imperial Overlord]

Page 40

'Ard Boyz are Orks with enough armour to stride through incoming fire, laughing contemptuously as their poorly-armoured comrades are cut down around them. The 'Ard Boyz cover themselves in thick plates of scrap metal that they scavenge and attach as a loose-fitting suit.

Ork equivlaent of carapace likely... though with Ork strength and bulk its probably more effective.

More likely that the greater thickness of the material helps compensate for its inferior material composition. Ceramite >>>scrap metal.

[Cykeisme]

More likely that the greater thickness of the material helps compensate for its inferior material composition. Ceramite >>>scrap metal.

No doubt that the material used for Astartes armor is some of the very toughest stuff the Imperium can produce, but it's worth noting that the Orky armor would vary in quality depending on what exactly the scrap metal used to be (i.e. from hab-block wall panels as opposed to coming from an Imperial armored vehicle).

[Imperial Overlord]

More likely that the greater thickness of the material helps compensate for its inferior material composition. Ceramite >>>scrap metal.

No doubt that the material used for Astartes armor is some of the very toughest stuff the Imperium can produce, but it's worth noting that the Orky armor would vary in quality depending on what exactly the scrap metal used to be (i.e. from hab-block wall panels as opposed to coming from an Imperial armored vehicle).

Of course. The composition and construction of Imperial carapace armour varies as well, but as a general rule Imperial Carapace which is made of highly durable materials, usually ceramite or armaplas, is going to be of superior composition to armour that is normally constructed from scrap metal. In this case Ork brute strength allows them to wear thicker armour and thus roughly compensates for its qualitative inferiority.

[Connor MacLeod]

More likely that the greater thickness of the material helps compensate for its inferior material composition. Ceramite >>>scrap metal.

We dont know if the mateirals ARE inferior. The various sourcecs for 'eavy armour and 'ard boyz tend to referencec it being made from "steel plates" (which helps us about as much as knowing some Russes are made from "conventional steel") or that it is called armour plate and that it is scavanged from defeated enemies. This can say alot, since we dont know where its scavenged from really (they could quite easily strip armor plate off other vehicles and amke it into armor for all we know.)

[Connor MacLeod]

Anoither Orky update...


Page 41

Trukks are built for speed and speed alone, and usually have little in the way of armour plating. A direct hit upon a Trukk can cause it to come apart in a clattering, cartwheeling pile of burning wrekcage.

Ork infantry carriers and their tradeoffs. Easily destroyed (presumably by things like tank rounds.)

PAge 42

An Ork finds something glorious in being able to boast about killing something twenty times his size.

..

It is common for a Tankbusta to wear armour plates fashioned form pieces of a tank he has destroyed...

..

the Rokkit launcha is not the only weapon favoured by these anti-tank specialists.
..

These range from Tankhammers to trained squigs that carry explosive payloads.
..

For close encounteres, Tankbustas also carry heavy magnetic discs they call Tankbusta bombs.

Ork Anti-tank forces. Note that they may fashion armor from the plates of tanks they blow up (Some may assume 'heavy ARmour might be similar.) Also tanke are described as "twenty times the size" of a Tankbusta ork.

The "tank hammerS" and "Attack squigs" are also amusing variations. (I bet they train snotlings to as well)

Page 42

A Tankhammer is a rokkit on a pole that is swung directly into the vunlerable bits of the target.

An Orky version of a Imperial Guard explosive-tipped lancec.

PAge 43

Lootas usually persuade their Mekboy comrades to build them one of the impressive shoulder-mounted weapons known as Deffguns. Each Deffgun is a fine exmaple of the Mek's craft, cobbled together from heavy weaponry the Loota himself has managed to salvage from the field of battle. The Mek will make a series of 'adjustments' to the weapon during its construction, ranging from adding viewfinders and recoil compensators to cutting the weapon to piececs and rebuilding it from scratch.

Orks (At least some) wil use "viewfinders" and "recoil compensators" for their weapons.

Page 44

Ork Kommandos epitomise the Orky virtue of low cunning.

..

These small-unit specialists do not socialise with the other Orks, and sometimes exile themselves from the tribe for months at a time, even permanantly divorcing themselves from their warband in extreme cases. Kommandos prisze intelligence and initiative, and some of them are even able to read.

..

Instead a Kommando gets his kicks from slitting throats and spreading panic behind enemy lines before launching a perfectly timed ambush. The horrified look on the faces of their prey, ,who assumed they would be able to see the Ork attack a mile off, is tremendously rewarding to the members of a Kommando mob.
..

Ont he field of battle, Kommandos will assassinate enemy sentries and destroy gun emplacments to give the rest of the ladz a better chance of reaching the enemy lines unscathed. It is common for each Kommando to have a specialist role withinthe mob, and having a nickname appropriate to his role...

..

This organised and militaristic outlook means that young Stormboyz often develop into Kommandos instead of rejoning the right-thinking Ork boyz at the heart of each warband.

Ork Kommandos. They don't seem to be as unorthodox as some suggest (since cunning is an Ork attribute.) It also shows a tendency towards adaptability and diversity in Ork forces.

Page 45

These "burnas" are able to spray great gouts of oily flame, and are linked to a sloshing tank of volatile promethium slung over the shoulder of the Burna Boy.

...

Burna boyz can modify their burnas with special nozzles and valves that force out a fierce blue tongue of fire instead of a cloud of orange flame. This 'cuttin' flame" is powerful enough to slice through anything up to a metal bulkhead. As a result teams of Burna Boyz are invaluable during slavage operations and the cration of larger ork war machines.

..

When facing heavily armoured opponents such as Space Marines, the Burna Boyz simply switch to their cuttin' flames and use their burnas to slice aprt the foe.

Burna Boyz weapons can serve as both a flamethrower and a blowtorch/cutting torch. Interestingly the "flamethrower" aspect seems to literally be that.. it makes one wonder about the cutting beam mode.. is it a more intense and cleanly burning flame perhaps due to its greater focus?

Note Space Marine armor can be sliced apart by the Burnas.

One would assume it woudl be possible (were they inclined to do so) to have Imperial flamers do something similar.

Page 46

The warbike itself is a single-seater attack bike with twin-linked dakkagunz - an exceptionally heavy armament for such a small vehicle. Of course, fixing sucha lethal combination of weaponry onto a small and relatively light bike poses a few problems, not least of which is the tendency to buck and spin wildly out of control when teh guns are fired.

the guns on the warbike seem to have considerable recoil.


Page 46

The Flaming Skull tribe go one step further,a nd are allegedly able to synchronise the skids of their bikes so precisely that when enemy aircraft pass overhead they are greeted by trails of oily smoke and dust that spell out 'ZOG OFF',"

[/quote]

I included this parttly becuase of the coordination implied, but mainly because its pretty damn amusing.

[Connor MacLeod]

Second-to-Last Ork update

Page 47

Stormboyz, the shock troops oof many successful warbands, are far to efficient nd disciplined by the standards of right-thinking greenskins.

..

to this end they go to war strapped to rokkit packs that,w hen activated, propel their wearers forward on great tongues of oily black flame.

Orks grow up faster than humans, but young Orks sometimes take a year or so to find their place in Ork society.

..

Young Orks can become addicted to the regimented life of a Stormboy, and dedicate their lives to the time-honoured disciplines of drilling, marching, and hurtling through the air.

Forethought and planning are avoided by most Orks, who much prefer to just make it up as they go along.

... The Stormboyz are the exception to this rule, and have actual respect for authority.

..

Stormboyz are also obsessed with the trivial details of warfare, such as the strength and location of the foe.

Stormboyz. Another example of specialization/variation in the Orks.

Page 48

Each Deffkopta is a one-man attack craft that has a set of whirring rotors mounted above the pilot's head and a jet booster t the rear.

..

If there can be said to be a typical role for the Deffkopta, it is as a reconnaissancec vehicle. Deffkoptas range ahead of the main tribes, locating victims for the main Ork army to fall upon. Once they have found an enemy force they will, with a supreme effort, turn their 'koptas around and head back ot the main armies to pick up reinforceements.

Self-explanatory.

Page 49

Warbuggies are two-man attack vehicles that combine the raw speed of a Warbike with a formidable weapon payload.

...

A conventional Warbuggy has a low-riding chassis with four fat tyres and a supercharrged engine that enbales it to zoom into battle at an incredible pace.

..

A full squadron of Warbuggies has more than enough firepower to mow down an enemy platoon or blow apart a trundling tank as the oOrks zoom past, cackiong and making obscene gestures.

ork Warbuggies combining speed and firepower (but not much else.) Note the extreme antipersonnel/anti-tank capability.

Page 49

All Ork vehicles are powered by a unique blend of squig-oil and gas.

..

Some Wartrakks mount great promethium tanks with which to incinerate the enemy.

Note that Gasoline (or at least the peculiar hybrid brand Orks use - enviromentally friendly Ork tech, or just a way to extend their fuel supplies?) and Promethium are distinctly different here. Also note Wartrakks mounting flame weapons capable of incinerating enemy troops (GJ range.)

PAge 50
[quoite]
the more experienced Runtherds know that a Grot will only really fight hard if he thinks he has a chance of actually killing something. This is why Grots are often allowed to use small arms, simple solid-shot weapons and even blunderbusses to encourage them to get into the thick of the fighting. The sad reality is that Grot mobs rarely see any real action, as they are used by the rest of the Ork army as a combination of cannon fodder, bullet shield, mine clearance device and living carpet.[/quote]

Uses of Grots, and the kinds of weapons they carry (Simple solid shot weapons presumably are either low tech slugthrowers, possibly muzzleloading/black powder type weapons if they're comparable to blunderbusses. Or even shotguns.) This suggests they're meant for short range/high firepower use, much liek Ogryn.

They're also considered vastly more expendable - for obvious reasons.

PAge 51

Kannon are little more than heavy guns that fire a large bore frag shell for blasting enemy infantry or a solid shot for punching through tank armour.

...

The Lobba fires an explosive payload, sending a shell high into the air and hurtling into the midst of a foe.

...

The most bizarre of the Big Gunz is the Zzap gun, essentially a long wire-wound barrel used to direct a great crackling arc of electricity into the foe. The Zzap gun's power is directly proportional to the nerve of the Grot operator, for the longer the Grot dares to hold down the electrocuting lever, the greater the power of the shot.

Note that Frag (HE?) shells are used in Kannon for antipersonnel, while Anti-tank is a solid shot. If we knew the size/diameter of the shell, we might guess at the firepower that ccomplishes this.

This also is indicative of the Orkish equivalent to artillery (Mortars, for example.) As well as Ork energy weapons - implied to be some sorrt of charged particle beam weapon/lightning gun.

Page 51

Kannon: These are heavy bore artillery pieces that fire anti-tank shells or frag rounds.

..

Most Lobbas look like big mortars or rokkits, though the Lobbas used by the more primitive tribes sometimes take the form of a catapult or trebuchet.

Kannon again noted as artillery. They're implied to be large diameteR (6 or 8 inch shells, perhaps?) which suggests that you need a pretty powerful gun to stand a chancee of penetrating 40K tank armor.

Page 52

Though frequently varied in shape and size, Deff Dreads alwas epitomise the three main ideals of Ork warfare: big, shooty, and stompy.

...

He belives that once he is in control of an enormous metal machine bristling with the deadliest of weaponry nothing can stand in the way of his ambitions. However, they soon find out that the disadvantage to being permanantly wired into an enclosed metal can is being permanantly wired into an enclosed metal can.

...

Dread pilots have to be interfaced with the crude circuitry of the Deff Dread itself.

...

Their wheezing, piston-driven limbs can rip a human in two or smash through a reinforced wall, often at the same time.

Ork Dreadnoughts. Orks also have some (crude?) neural interface tech, although this may have more to due with the robustness of Ork physiology (and its adpativeness, especially where tech is concerned) than ork tech itself, especially given Ork reactions to prosthetics/augmetics.

Page 53

A Killa Kan is outwardly similar to its larger cousin, the Deff Dread. They are essnetially giant metal canisters on piston driven legs that sport lethal close combat attachments and heavy-duty weaponry.

..

..Killa Kans are piloted by Grots rather than Orks.

..

It is not unheard of for Killa Kans to stand shellshocked at the first sign of danger or even waddle off in panic when the going gets tough, despite the fact that their metal carapaces make them all but invulnerable to small arms fire.

Smaller versions of Ork Dreadnoughts, although the differences in pilots also impose other differences. Also note that the Kans are "invulnerable to small arms fire.

[Connor MacLeod]

Short Orky update.. almost done with this codex..

Page 54

A looted wagon is a catch-all term for the metal behemoths that are resurrrected by inventive Mekboyz or built in Ork-controlled Imperial factories. They may be robust transport vehicles based upon a Space Marine Rhino or Imperial Guard Chimera, they may be self-propelled artillery that have been stripped down and covered in glyph plates, or they may even be anti-gravity skiffs that the Orks have not had a proper chance ot crahs into the ground yet. The fact is that after the inevitable process of modification, salvage, and tinkering that a Mekboy employs when fixing up a vehicle wrekc the yall share pretty much the same characteristics: temperamental as hell and a good deal less efficient than their previous incranation.

"looted" vechile are "less effective" than their previous incarnations. It must be noted that typically, though, they are all tremendously fast, even though (in theory) they would be slower in Imperial hands.

Its tempting to invoke the "WAAGH"factor into this (Red unz go faster) but there are (as I have argued before) certain logical limtiations to this, at least with regard to captured tech. That is, a looted vehicle still will have certain design/safety parameters tha tcannot be overruled. Its quite possible (likely) the Orks STRETCH these tolerances, and can operate quite safely on them for prolonged periods of time, but they exist nonetheless. This also means, in a broad sense, that the Ork performance can be considere da "maximal" or "upper limit" on Imperial vehicle performance. Why they do not achieve this usually is simple in that they are governed (as hinted at in th eGav Thorpe short story from the old IA1, ,as well as other circumstantial evideencee.)

Page 55

Though Battlewagons vary tremendously in style, most are built with a certain battlefield role in mind. Gunwagons, such as the heavily armoured Gobsmash and Lungbursta, loiter in the thick of the horde firing great shells into the enym ranks.

..

Assault wagson such as the Gorespeeda and Wheelz of Gork are very popualr with the Evil Sunz clan. They are geared towards taking large numbers of Orks to the front line in teh quickest possible type.

..

Another type of Battlewagon is the Krusha, a category that includes Bonecrusha and Bonebreaka variants. These lumbering behemoths can crush the enemy into a bloody paste with thier massive spiked deff rollas and piston driven grabbing claws.

Types and variations of ork battlewagons and how they fight the enem,y.

Page 56

If there's one thing the Flash Gitz like more than strutting their stuff, its using their kustom shootas to vapourise their enemies. The so-called snazzguns used by the Flash Gitz vary tremendously in design, but because bucketfuls of teeth tend to encourage a Mek to produce his best work they are all uniformly deadly.

..

All self-respecting Flash Gitz have expensive and overly elaborate targetrs hardwired into their eye sockets.

..

Weapons that have been tinkered with to make them shootier have a larger calibre and heavier ammo.

..

Really expensive snazzguns fire crackling energy bolts instead of solid shot.... Blasta snazzguns have the "Gets Hot! special rule.

The Flash Gitz ork types. Note the following details:

1- their shootas (or snazzguns) can "vapourise" enemies. Assuming a human (Guardsmen) this is easily in the triple digit megajoule range.

- Flash Gitz have/use targeters.

- more powerful weapons are large bore with heaver slugs (Size matters.) Energy weapons (snazzguns) seem to behave like plasma guns (which they likely are.)

Page 57

A lead-lined greatcoat protects Badrukk from the radiation generated by his beloved weapon, Da Rippa, a gun so dangerous that merely standing near it is tantamount to a death sentence. The weapon once belonged to the Ogyrn bodyguard of a subsector governor, and the Kaptin has sincee modified it to fire unstable plasma canisters instead of extreme-calibre bullets so that each hit detonates like a tiny sun.[

Orks using a modified Ripper gun to shoot plasma shells rather than solid shot. Turns it into an impromptu grenade launcher, though it has eextreme radioation dangers.

Note this probably hints that Ogryn (unsurprisingly?) are quite a bit stronger than Orks - most ORks anynhow.

[Cykeisme]

Note this probably hints that Ogryn (unsurprisingly?) are quite a bit stronger than Orks - most ORks anynhow

Not that this point is in doubt, but how'd you figure?

It doesn't say that the gun, post-modification, fires its crazy projectiles with any less velocity or kinetic energy than the original solid slugs.

Seems like Badrukk has made the ripper even more lethal without making it any easier to use (and more difficult in a cancer-inducing sort of way).

[Connor MacLeod]

Well it qualifies as a Shoota and those IIRC require two hansd to use. Ogryn use ripper guns one handed (along with a close combat weapon IIRC) Then again I could be wrong. Plus, most orks are smaller than Ogryn, and thats alot less mass to absorb recoil.