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Post by CELS on Apr 28, 2004 16:39:37 GMT -5
As you probably know, I intend to write a long essay about the Orks to fill in the fluff holes (or clear up the mess that GW has made of them, if you will).
Below is the topics that I intend to cover in this essay, and what I've written so far.
1. Ork nature 2. Ork clans 3. Ork military structure 4. Ork oddboyz a. Mekboys b. Painboyz c. Runtherdz d. Weirdboyz e. Brewboyz f. Diggerz g. Sumboyz h. Yellerz 5. Grots 6. Snotlings 7. Waaagh! 8. Ork warp travel 9. Ork manufacture 10. Blood Axe Warlord Morzkraga Barkharg
[glow=green,2,300]4. Ork oddboyz[/glow] The Oddboyz are the cornerstone of Ork society. Without them, the ork empires would collapse in no time at all, as most orks have no knowledge about things such as steering space craft, organizing industry, running farms or doing simple mathematics. The Oddboyz were once genetically engineered by the mythical Brainboyz, who equipped some of the ork race with special skills and abilities that would be required for the ork race to function on its own. Though the orks were created for warfare, a whole race of dedicated soldiers would obviously not be able to survive on its own, without supporting industry, agriculture, administration, and so on. This is why the Oddboyz were created, each group with its own unique skills which had been imprinted in their DNA to ensure that they would be able to carry on without the leadership of the Brainboyz.
Though it is impossible to imprint genes with explicit memory such as the schematics for a ship or formula for certain chemicals, the Brainboyz were able to equip the Oddboyz with extremely specialized skills and forms of intelligence. One group known as Mekboyz, was equipped with a natural understanding of mechanics and physics, enabling them to construct highly advanced machinery with little or no training. Another group known as Weirdboyz were given different psychic powers, enabling them to navigate ork ships through the warp, communicate by telepathy across the stars, and use psychic powers in combat. Together, the Oddboyz are the specialists that uphold the Ork society, supporting the dedicated ork soldiers everywhere in the galaxy.
[glow=green,2,300]a. Mekboyz[/glow] Mekboyz are the most common type of Ork Oddboy. Natural mechanics and innovators, the Mekboyz are responsible for running most of the Ork industry, and construct anything from kitchenware to Ork gargants, depending on their skill and status. Most Mekboyz start their career by opening their own workshops. These small one-man shops are typically very flexible, typically producing anything the customers might require, and filled with all kinds of house wares, vehicles, tools and assorted inventions, not to mention weapons in all shapes and sizes.
As soon as the Mekboy starts earning money, the lesser Orkoids called grots and Snotlings inevitably show up in the workshop, working for food and shelter. Though the work is hard and painful at times, getting work is usually only way the lesser species can avoid being sent to war by their Ork masters.
As the Mekboy’s workshop continues to grow, he will need more educated help than that of the lesser Orkoids, and he will usually merge with nearby shops or hire younger Mekboyz. The number of Gretchin and Snotlings will grow faster and faster as business thrives and often outnumber the Mekboyz more than a hundred times over. As the workshop grows to factory-size, it will have huge halls with countless small Orkoids scurrying around, operating small machinery, assembling parts, and even doing occasional maintenance. Both the intelligence and the physical strength of the lesser Orkoids are very limited however, and they are typically given intensely monotone tasks, often relying on lever-operated cranes and pistons.
Unlike most Orks, the Mekboyz are generally unconcerned with honour and such, rather focusing on the joy of their work. When a Mekboy strives to build up his workshop, it is only to get richer customers who will pay for more advanced machinery and bigger guns, which is more enjoyable work for the Mekboy. For this reason, Mekboyz as a group are considered more cooperative than other individualistic orks, who generally seek power and glory. Mekboyz are often seen forming Guilds and organizations that let them take on bigger assignments, controlled by councils more often than by single executives.
[glow=green,2,300]b. Painboyz[/glow] A less common group of Oddboy, the Painboyz, or Docs, are gifted doctors, surgeons and biologists. The main activity of Painboyz is that of amputation and grafting mechanical limb replacements in cooperation with a Mekboy, and tooth pulling. Due to the violent nature of Orks, Painboyz typically work alone, roaming the land and doing work whenever it comes up, knowing that they won’t have to go far to find an Ork in need of surgery. Some Painboyz have greater ambitions though, and build great labs to do all kinds of experiments with biological and mechanical augmentation. Like Mekboy workshops, these labs will be filled with lesser Orkoids doing all sorts of menial tasks, but also Mekboys and Brewboyz who help with the Painboyz’ strange experiments.
As soon as a Painboy has mastered the art of mechanical augmentation, his economical worries will be over, as war crazed orks will flock to the lab to graft power claws and mind-controlled firearms. Should the Painboy earn the favour of an Ork warlord, he might even be hired as a personal medic, in which case he follows his employer on distant battlefields.
Painboyz are not the most popular group of orks however, not trusted because of their reputation for experimenting on their patients. In addition, they tend to become oblivious with the pain of their patients as they become more experienced, their minds obsessed with augmentations and experiments instead, which has earned them their name as Painboyz.
[glow=green,2,300]c. Runtherdz[/glow] Runtherdz are responsible for training the Orkoids known as Grots and Snotlings and training and breeding the different forms of Squig animals that are so vital for Ork society. There are many ways that the Runtherdz can make a living, since Grots and Snotlings are typically so stupid that they can only be used for the simplest of tasks without proper training. Runtherdz can also make a living breeding different kind of squigs, either as livestock or as specially trained pets or even for war. Many Runtherdz open special schools or academies, where they specially train Grots or Snotlings for war, farming, advanced factory work or even assassination.
The Runtherdz are usually clearly marked out from other orks, using Hair squigs to grow impressive beards or scalp-locks, often riding powerful squigs resembling boars, and accompanied by flocks of lesser Orkoid servants.
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Post by CELS on Apr 28, 2004 16:49:27 GMT -5
[glow=green,2,300]d. Weirdboyz[/glow] The psykers of the Ork race are known as Weirdboyz, a catch-all phrase for astropath, navigator and combat psyker, since the Ork psykers usually have a wide range of abilities, and can often take on more than one of these roles. Compared to human psykers, Ork Weirdboyz are quite powerful, but lack the skill and training of human psykers. The most powerful Weirdboyz are known as Weirdboy Warpheadz, and are equivalent of alpha-level human psykers. Typically specializing in pyromancy, these Warpheadz are powerful enough to challenge even the Eldar Farseers in psychi combat. When it comes to navigating ships in the warp, and interstellar communication through telepathy, the ork Weirdboyz are far inferior to human Navigators and Astropaths.
Weirdboyz are quite different from the psykers of most races, in that they absorb psychic power from Orks around them. Whilst most Orks are incapable of using psychic powers in the same way as most humans, they still emit a sort of psychic aura that the Weirdboyz are able to absorb. The more orks that are close to the Weirdboy, and the more excited they are, the more power the Weirdboy absorbs. At times such as in a Waaagh! the Weirdboy can find himself surrounded by so many excited orks, that he is unable to contain his powers, often resulting in him injuring both himself and those nearby. For this reason, Weirdboy are honoured in battle, but in many ways shunned from the daily life of Ork society.
The Ork Weirdboyz do not live in the same settlements or cities as orks, as this is far too risky. Instead, they live in their own settlements, separated from the other orks. These settlements are usually surrounded by high walls as well as poles and fences of copper, intended to absorb most of the damage that Weirdboyz cause involuntarily. Some of the more reliable Weirdboyz are allowed outside their settlement, typically to do work as astropaths, communicating with other planets or distant ork fleets, or even to be assigned to ork fleets as astropaths and navigators.
Because of their dangerous nature, Ork Weirdboyz are always dressed in bright colours intended to warn other orks. Bells and chains are also popular. To make sure that the Ork Weirdboyz don’t run off into heavily populated ork neighbourhoods and blow up entire buildings, Weirdboyz are escorted by strong Ork bodyguards known as Minderz, who are often forced to keep their Weirdboy in chains to keep him running away.
[glow=green,2,300]e. Brewboyz[/glow] Brewboyz rival the Mekboys in popularity, being the only orks knowledgeable in the art of brewing alcoholic drinks strong enough to affect the resilient orks. This is only a small part of their capabilities however, as they are really gifted in all kinds of chemistry, concocting powerful potions and drugs, chemicals needed for construction and maintenance, different types of fuels and even chemical weapons and explosives.
Because of the Ork’s love of alcohol though, Brewboyz are often forced to spend much of their time brewing squig beer and fungus booze for the masses. Though Brewboyz have a nice income compared to other orks, they tend to have less privacy than other orks, often dragged out of their laboratories or even their beds at night to supply other orks with drinks.
As Brewboyz get older and can afford hiring younger Brewboyz to produce the alcoholic drinks for them, they are free to spend their time on more advanced and lucrative jobs, such as producing fuel or explosives. Unlike Mekboys, Painboyz and other sorts of ork Oddboyz, few Brewboyz actually dare to hire lesser Orkoid assistants as business grows however. This is perfectly understandable of course, considering they work in endless mazes of various flammable and explosive chemicals, and that Brewboy factories run by Grots and Snotlings have been known to be troubled by frequent fires, or even to blow up altogether (taking a few blocks with them).
Sometimes, especially wily warlords will bring Brewboyz to battle to make use of their knowledge with explosives and chemical weapons. Such alliances are fearsome indeed, as the Mekboy will typically equip other orks with fantastically potent explosives and flamers, and drugs that drive the orks into an unstoppable frenzy. Some orks, especially from the Blood Axe clans, are also known to use weapons engineered by Brewboyz that other Orks would consider dishonourable and “unorky”, such as acid spraying cannons and chemical gas weapons.
[glow=green,2,300]f. Diggerz[/glow] As their name suggest, Diggerz seem to believe that their purpose in life is digging, and that’s pretty much all they’re good for. Expert miners, the Diggerz will dig through a mountain with fanatical glee, with a seemingly instinctive sense of direction. In reality, the Diggerz are low-level psykers, who use their powers together with their obsession for digging and finding minerals. Though Diggerz generally don’t understand that they are using psychic powers, they have the ability to search solid rock with their minds. The distance is very limited however, which makes the digging random enough to avoid drawing suspicion.
The Diggerz have other psychic powers than the ability to see through walls and solid rocks however, but these vary greatly. Some Diggerz have abilities of telepathy and mind-reading, others telekinesis. Whatever their powers though, the Diggerz are such low-level psykers that when they happen to use these abilities, it is commonly attributed as bad luck, a blessing of Mork, or just ignored. Diggerz employ great hordes of Grots, Snotlings, in addition to using whatever machines they can get their hands on. Squigs are also a common sight in ork mines, pulling carts of minerals and crystals to the surface. The Grots and Snotlings are usually used to get into cracks and openings, scouting ahead of the powerful digging machines. Many Diggerz also use Grots to plant explosives, knowing that even though the stupid creatures are likely to blow themselves up in the process, there are plenty more where they came from.
Ork mines can grow to fantastic proportions given enough time, with Grots raising different Squig and fungus farms as they go along, providing food and oxygen. Sometimes, the Grots and Snotlings have such growth in numbers in these mines that the Diggerz are no longer able to control them, starting their own digging expeditions and disappearing into the deep. The greatest ork mines will thus have thousands and thousands of Orkoid workers, reaching many kilometers in all directions, spewing up fantastic amounts of rocks, minerals and crystals at a steady pace. Because of the exhaust from the machines, the air in some places of the mine would be outright deadly for humans, but grots and orks can usually breathe it with little difficulty.
[glow=green,2,300]g. Sumboyz[/glow] Of all the Oddboyz, the Sumboyz are the closest link to the mythical Brainboyz. This group of ork has earned its name from its mathematical skills, being able to perform all kinds of mathematical operations at amazing speeds and using figures too large for other orks to comprehend. Still, the Sumboyz are far from clever. Though they can multiply and divide great numbers without aid, they still lack the foresight and social intelligence to gain a dominant role in ork society. Instead, Sumboyz are hired by Ork bosses and warlords to take on various administrative and economical tasks.
The Sumboyz are by far the smallest group of Orkboyz and are rarely seen among other orks, spending their entire lives working for the leaders in ork society. This works out fine for them, mostly, as they are quite small and even cowardly compared to other orks, and usually manage to get themselves into trouble and harm’s way, as orks have an ability to sense fear. As soon as they’re hired by a powerful boss though, Sumboyz are quick to paint his glyphs on their clothes, giving them a level of immunity.
[glow=green,2,300]h. Yellerz[/glow] Another small group of Oddboyz, the Yellerz are the messengers of Ork society, known to have powerful voices, big lungs and good memory, and also to be great voice imitators. The Yellerz have a small but important role, carrying to orders of the bosses to his forces, spreading news to the masses and even communicating between rival bosses. Because of their seemingly unimportant role, it is likely that the Yellerz were in fact an unfinished work of the Brainboyz, and that they were originally intended to have a different role in ork society, such as leaders or even diplomats. Whatever their intended purpose, the Yellerz have managed to adapt to the Ork society as messengers, and can usually be seen sprinting around cities and settlements from one crowd to another, making long speeches and declarations. In times of war, Yellerz are sometimes used when large amounts of information must reach many different recipients, and the use of Weirdboyz is too unreliable. Because of this, Yellerz can be seen sprinting across war-torn landscapes, or driving fast, unarmed buggies between ork forces, seemingly oblivious of enemies or the state of their vehicles.
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Post by Lordof on Apr 28, 2004 22:01:09 GMT -5
Thats really good.
But i think some more brutality added into the descriptions would orkify it a bit more.
Generally like adding in the fact that most orks are mildly sadistic and painboyz have even more tendency towards this.
I think also Grots aren't incredibly stupid but just a bit simple and very naive in comparrison to the Orks.
So it could be said that the Orks have more of a tendency to treat how we would treat children.
So a Runt herda may have a tendency to be either a complete tyrant handing out beatings at every oppotunity or may be seen as a softy by the the other orks as he may induce the training with treats or priase, or maybe even both (Treats for the Squigs and beatings for the Grots)
Also make a mention of the fact that Slaves are often used by Orks to dig and mine in dangerous places so that would be a collaboration between the Runtherdaz and the Diggerz
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Post by CELS on Apr 28, 2004 23:42:55 GMT -5
Cheers. Did get a bit tired at the end there though. But i think some more brutality added into the descriptions would orkify it a bit more. Hm, I guess. Any concrete suggestions? Generally like adding in the fact that most orks are mildly sadistic and painboyz have even more tendency towards this. The nature of orks is a seperate topic in this essay or article. Now that I've written about oddboyz, I want to describe what makes them different from other orks. That most of them still have a fascination of violence and hurting others goes without saying, except when it comes to Sumboyz. I think also Grots aren't incredibly stupid but just a bit simple and very naive in comparrison to the Orks. I didn't suggest that they are incredibly stupid, but the fluff mentions them having a low intelligence when compared to orks, and it sounds as if they would be dependant on leadership both on and off the battlefield. So it could be said that the Orks have more of a tendency to treat how we would treat children. That's how I tried to make it sound. Except that most humans would feel some sort of attachment to children working for them, I suppose. Orks generally don't particularly care. So a Runt herda may have a tendency to be either a complete tyrant handing out beatings at every oppotunity or may be seen as a softy by the the other orks as he may induce the training with treats or priase, or maybe even both (Treats for the Squigs and beatings for the Grots) I'll make a note of this. Also make a mention of the fact that Slaves are often used by Orks to dig and mine in dangerous places so that would be a collaboration between the Runtherdaz and the Diggerz While slaves are to be covered in a different topic, I should mention that Runtherdz are also responsible for training slaves, yeah.
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Post by Minister on Apr 29, 2004 3:59:13 GMT -5
Wee changes I would suggest:
But very good stuff. Need a hand with any of it?
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Post by CELS on Apr 29, 2004 8:12:43 GMT -5
Many thanks, Minister. Was worried that an old timer like yourself might not be entirely pleased with all my inventions, especially the Diggerz. Do I need help? Why, certainly! As I've already said to zholud, I need a lot of help with Ork economy. Furthermore, I need help determining the Ork military structure, since I'm not entirely pleased with it consisting merely of tribes (thirty to several thousand orks, IIRC) and warbands (hundreds to tens of thousands of orks). With such silly formations, the forces invading Armageddon could have been everything from a small regiment of orks to several millions I definitely want to write about Ork nature and Ork clans myself, since I have very clear ideas on how I want to merge the old fluff with the new without offending too many people, and not just end up with some diluted, fluidy... thing. So if you want to help with military structure or ork economy, or if you prefer writing about the Waaagh! and ork warp travel... you're welcome to. Grots, Snotlings and Squigs also need to be detailed. Does any of this sound like something you want to write about? Keep in mind that I'm not writing an Ork bible, and that I have no intention of rewriting all of GWs fluff on orks. Rather, I'm trying to clear up the contradicting fluff, and also to expand on the ork fluff, with stuff such as new Oddboyz. Consider it an add-on for the orks, like what Chapter Approved is for the 3rd Ed Rulebook
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Post by Minister on Apr 29, 2004 10:37:10 GMT -5
I'm not realy up to writing anything too coherent at this point (I'l start again from the 28th of May once the exams are all done ;D), but any opinions you want you'll get.
By the way, you may wish to cover Gretchen and Snotlings as a one under "Runtz". The majority of Orks do not realy distinguish much between the two.
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Post by zholud on Apr 29, 2004 12:16:33 GMT -5
[glow=green,2,300] g. Sumboyz[/glow]Of all the Oddboyz, the Sumboyz are the closest link to the mythical Brainboyz. I doubt it. the idea of economics, or more specifically in Orks situation supply and logistics calls for planning, but not necessary plays with numbers… I’d better say they have better intuition and the ‘feel’ of what to take in the route… an example: there is such thing as finding optimal route between group of buildings… in math sense this can be extremely hard task, but the outcome it simple – make specially sized model of all possible routes and drop in soapy water. When taking off water the best route will be shown by soap bulbs… and without any math they are the same – they just see that better to take another squig than another bullet. I hope I made the clear point…
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Post by CELS on Apr 29, 2004 12:41:25 GMT -5
Fair enough, Minister. I'll put both Grots/Gretchin and Snotlings in a Runtz section. I'm already putting all kinds of Squigs in a single category, so... I don't think I'll have time to finish the essay anytime soon, but you never know. When the motivation to study drops, there's always the ASP... I doubt it. the idea of economics, or more specifically in Orks situation supply and logistics calls for planning, but not necessary plays with numbers… I’d better say they have better intuition and the ‘feel’ of what to take in the route… an example: there is such thing as finding optimal route between group of buildings… in math sense this can be extremely hard task, but the outcome it simple – make specially sized model of all possible routes and drop in soapy water. When taking off water the best route will be shown by soap bulbs… and without any math they are the same – they just see that better to take another squig than another bullet. I hope I made the clear point… Not really. But I assume you have a problem with the part you've quoted, so I'll just change that.
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Post by zholud on Apr 29, 2004 13:51:08 GMT -5
Not really. But I assume you have a problem with the part you've quoted, so I'll just change that. Not exactly. I like the link to the BrainBoyz, but it dislike the misunderstanding between mathematics and economics (and management and planning). Here math may help and usually does help, but it is not the end-all and rather an instrument, only one of many.
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Post by CELS on Apr 29, 2004 13:58:11 GMT -5
Yeah, ok, I'll clarify the part about mathematics, economics and administrative tasks. Any comments beyond that?
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Post by Minister on Apr 29, 2004 14:29:38 GMT -5
I'm hijacking the section on Runtz.
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Post by CELS on Apr 30, 2004 13:09:43 GMT -5
My latest addition; Ork nature. Let me know what you think, and let me know if you find any examples of especially poor grammar Oh, and also, let me know if there are other points about Ork nature that need to be made. [glow=green,2,300]1. Ork nature[/glow]The Orks are often misunderstood by humans, who see them as simple, stupid creatures with no sense of honour, beauty or other concepts that humans value. Considering the Imperial xenophobia, this is perfectly understandable, but also completely wrong. That orks are single-minded and devoted wholly to the pursuit of power and war is beyond question, but there is more to this race than meets the eye. Over the millennia, human commanders have met orks at war, and laughed as the green aliens charge headlong over battlefields with little or no cover, oblivious of danger, only to be cut down by ruthless Imperial guns. All over the galaxy, the orks are known to fight to their death when the only sensible thing is to retreat, to engage in hand to hand combat even when they have superior firepower, and to waste countless lives against the enemy’s most elite troops when they could easily avoid them and attack less protected regions. Imperial commanders see this as stupidity and poor tactics, writing orks off as brutes lacking foresight. Ironically, the same commanders will ignore examples of orks displaying superior tactics, blaming it on luck or the occasional incompetence of Imperial officers (the latter typically resulting in the execution of said officers). Ork commanders do not send their troops charging towards well-defended Imperial trenches with any illusions of the immortality of their troops. Actually, this is a perfect example of the ork’s incredible sense of honour. To the orks, retreating and evacuating is inexcusable cowardice and a mockery of the ork gods. To neglect firearms and charge one’s enemy with close combat weapons such as chainswords and power claws is the most honourable way to fight, and to die with sword in hand is something that no proper ork fears. This enthusiasm over close combat is tempered, however, by the orks’ ambitions for victory. While the orks leave crewing artillery and other long-range weaponry to their cowardly Grot counterparts, most orks have a great love of guns. While this may seem at odds with their concept of honour, the orks make up for this fact by charging into close combat when they’ve done enough shooting, thinking that it’s alright to start out with guns as long as they claim victory as proper orks, eye to eye and blade to blade. When not at war, the orks spend most of their time working to strengthen their warbands, which vary in size from mobs to small armies, training new recruits, building and repairing machines of war and working to afford better weapons and armour. Pit fights are very popular in ork society, both as a form of entertainment and as a way to settle disputes between individuals. Many orks make money and kill time betting on squigs, in squig races, squig fights and squig eating contests. Yet another popular activity is racing. The orks have such a fanatical love of speed that many of them dedicate their lives to building the perfect machine, outracing and outgunning all that come in their way. On ork worlds, some of these speed-crazed orks can be seen racing on open highways or even in crowded cities, occasionally shooting anyone faster than themselves, and even repairing their vehicle in motion, only stopping for fuel. In war, orks show an intuitive understanding of battle tactics, naturally cooperating with little need for leadership or communication. Despite a total lack of training, the orks have an unparalleled ability to assess their enemies and read the battlefield, making even the youngest orks worthy adversaries of veteran Imperial Guard.
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Post by Lordof on May 2, 2004 7:01:50 GMT -5
Perhaps make mention that the training orks put to use would be close to the brutal regime that marines undergo for their training (Just without all of the hormone balancing and drugs and implants)
Also add a touch of insanity into the description of the Speed Freekz. A simple line such as "They can be seen racing along open highways, grasslands, crowded city streets and generally anywhere a vehicle will fit and sometimes even in places a vehicle really doesn't fit."
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Post by CELS on May 2, 2004 7:12:18 GMT -5
Perhaps make mention that the training orks put to use would be close to the brutal regime that marines undergo for their training (Just without all of the hormone balancing and drugs and implants) But I thought Orks didn't have much training at all, and that this was the whole point. Or are you suggesting that some clans have training? Blood Axes perhaps? Also add a touch of insanity into the description of the Speed Freekz. A simple line such as "They can be seen racing along open highways, grasslands, crowded city streets and generally anywhere a vehicle will fit and sometimes even in places a vehicle really doesn't fit." LoL! I'll be sure to add that. The reason I'm not going into more detail about the Speed Freekz and Da Kult of Speed though, is that GW has covered this part pretty well already, and I don't want to do anything that might provoke GW like they were provoked by the Fluff Bible.
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