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An Ork in captivity will become decrepit and die. Orks literally need war to live!

Eldar think they're vermin. Eldar think all other races are vermin. I agree though, it would be more appropriate to call orks as brutes rather than vermin. Vermin make them sound like an annoyance. A full-fledged Waagh! is anything but an annoyance. Those things could reduce thousands of star systems into rubble.

Orks get bigger and stronger as they beat other Orks.

If they get beaten, they stop growing at that point and will get no more powerful. Hence Thraka, the prophet of the Waaaagh! is now 7m tall and would rip a Dreadnought in half!

Orks can live to be old, if they're smart (for an Ork) but they tend to die in battle. Or an accident. Or some combination of the two...

Tau live to around 40-45, humans to 100 without Juvenat treatments (whch can extend a life to 2-3x the standard) and Astartes are theoretically immortal, but none have ever lived long enough to test this.

Tyranids are recycled or die when they are no longer of use, though some, like Old One Eye, and the Swarmlord, have lived for many centuries... or have been re-created by the Hive Mind when they are needed.

Eldar are immortal. Same for Dark Eldar... so long as they keep finding souls to slake Slaanesh's thirst.

Necrons, well, who knows? Theoretically immortal, which was the point of their transmogrification into the Necrons, though they are somewhat lessened by their 60 million year sleep...

Daemons are immortal, though time does not flow within the Warp in the same what we understand it.

If they get beaten, they stop growing at that point and will get no more powerful

Ive never heard that one before. Yes, usually if an Ork is beaten, it is killed, so by default you would be correct. But Ive never heard that if they lose a fight, then they are screwed. Where did you get that from?

According to Gorkamorka you start with the 'yoofs' who are less muscled and pale skinned. The beef up and get darker and tougher skin as they age.

I imagine an ork could die of old age, but they are more likely to weaken or gradually acquire injuries due to the rough nature of ork society which mean they eventually will be fatally wounded in a fight or battle.

Miraclefish wrote:Orks get bigger and stronger as they beat other Orks.

If they get beaten, they stop growing at that point and will get no more powerful. Hence Thraka, the prophet of the Waaaagh! is now 7m tall and would rip a Dreadnought in half!

Orks can live to be old, if they're smart (for an Ork) but they tend to die in battle. Or an accident. Or some combination of the two...

Tau live to around 40-45, humans to 100 without Juvenat treatments (whch can extend a life to 2-3x the standard) and Astartes are theoretically immortal, but none have ever lived long enough to test this.

Tyranids are recycled or die when they are no longer of use, though some, like Old One Eye, and the Swarmlord, have lived for many centuries... or have been re-created by the Hive Mind when they are needed.

Eldar are immortal. Same for Dark Eldar... so long as they keep finding souls to slake Slaanesh's thirst.

Necrons, well, who knows? Theoretically immortal, which was the point of their transmogrification into the Necrons, though they are somewhat lessened by their 60 million year sleep...

Daemons are immortal, though time does not flow within the Warp in the same what we understand it.

Actually the Eldar stopped being immortal when the War in Heaven ended as a result of the disruption of the Warp. Dark Eldar are immortal because they drink souls. If they stop, all the unseen years appear very quickly.

Even then it starts breaking down.

The oldest DE are still ticking, but they can't make themselves young any more no matter how many souls they drink (unlike the younger, less jaded ones ), and the Haemonculus route is apparently flawed, as Urien (who pioneered it) is starting to look more and more odd with each 'rebirth'.

I don't think any have yet died of old age, assuming that they have a supply of agony on hand to tank up on, but it's hinted that it's possible.

I think to answer the original question Yes orks grow old. The orkish definition for old is the gigantic wall of green that tells you what to do. And they do die of natural causes, all the time in fact. War is the natural state of being for an ork.

Ascalam wrote:Even then it starts breaking down.

The oldest DE are still ticking, but they can't make themselves young any more no matter how many souls they drink (unlike the younger, less jaded ones ), and the Haemonculus route is apparently flawed, as Urien (who pioneered it) is starting to look more and more odd with each 'rebirth'.

I don't think any have yet died of old age, assuming that they have a supply of agony on hand to tank up on, but it's hinted that it's possible.

Kinda like addiction, with each soul you 'drink', you need to drink more to get the same effect.

Yup.

Dark eldar are 'addicted to life' but not in a good way

It's a nice note of irony, that they are staving off Slaanesh by topping off their souls, but the hole at the bottom keeps getting bigger, making it impossible to stave her off eternally.

I like the new DE fluff. It gives them a dark fey feel, rather than that of a militant bondage club, though that is still in there too..