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So, everyone says its because they think it should work, but all I could find about that in the codex was a report from an Imperial geneticist, so theres no way of being sure.

I also remember reading on the GW site once that Meks are genetically predisposed to knowing how to make technology, and other Orks are born knowing how to useweapons, and how to fight.

What do you think?

I'm fairly sure it's there two gods that allow them the ability to make things work via believing hard enough. I think that's how they get their kicks.

Part of it is the meks know how to instinctively build almost anything, but the waaagh makes up for the missing parts. One bit of fluff mentioned that the guns could lack triggers, or hammers but if an ork was near bullets came out just fine.

This is just my definition but when the Meks make "Da Gunz", the Mek makes some sort of psychic conduit or something that only reacts to Orks. This means that only when an Ork "consciousness" is nearby, the gun won't work if handled by a human or eldar.

Orky know-wots. IIRC the smaller firearms can be used by other races, but anything bigger than a shoota requires a ork(s) to work.

I like to ignore "Anzion's Magic Fairy Dust" in favour of the traditional "crude but effective" and throw in some "Motie technology". The former is the notion that Ork technology lacks all the user-friendliness that human technology includes, with a healthy dose of careless worksmanship. The latter is the notion that parts are multi-purpose; the Dreadnought Close Combat Weapon on a Dreadnought, for example, might use load-bearing members for power transmission. Combined with non-standardization of parts you have something beyond the dogmatic assumptions of human Tech-Priests.

Leave the psychic technology to the Eldar where it belongs. Let Orks have technology, not magic fairy dust.

Ignore it all you like that's what the fluff says.

I LOVE the ork fluff with this regard.

You have a race which has been genetically engineered to be in tune with the warp. The warp is basically psychic energy, which means that all orks are slightly latently psychic. Thus, through the power of the placebo effect, that which an ork believes, through the power of the warp, is made just that much more like reality.

Thus, when you get a lot of orks together who all believe something, it actually happens. Enough orks believe that red paint makes vehicles go faster, and, lo and behold, THEY ACTUALLY GO FASTER. Likewise, orks believe that vehicles should move and guns should go "Dakka", and so it actually works, purely by fiat, thanks to the power of the warp.

I also like how the latent psychic ability stacks. Enough boyz in a mob and they believe that they're invincible. Once a critical mass is no longer achieved, the effect is dispelled and they believe they're vulnerable, and thus no longer fearless.

Yeah, no matter how much you dislike the fluff, the orks latent psychic fields make it all work.

From Lexicanum: "The Orkish term Waaagh refers to three related phenomena. Ork behavior is dominated by the Waaagh!, a psychic field they generate. This field allows Orks to instinctively recognize who is 'bigga' and therefore, in charge. This field also has some effect on reality; it plays a key role in making many Orkish technologies work at all, and lends truth to certain Orkish beliefs, such as the idea that red vehicles move faster than those of other colors. Orks seem unaware the Waaagh creates these effects, simply believing they are how the world works"

source: http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Waaagh

Ork tech works for a couple of different reasons. First, orks do share a genetic memory which allows them to manufacture certain items, including weapons, without ever having been taught how to do so. I believe that this extends to the majority of things that they build, including buildings and vehicles.

The more outlandish things that they create are, in fact, empowered by their collective psychic power. Each ork individually has little psychic ability, but when it is all focused together, it creates reality-bending effects, including the much loved red paint job effect. My personal favorite bit of ork tech is their creation of kustom kombi-weapons. But that's just me.

Jimsolo wrote:Ork tech works for a couple of different reasons. First, orks do share a genetic memory which allows them to manufacture certain items, including weapons, without ever having been taught how to do so. I believe that this extends to the majority of things that they build, including buildings and vehicles.

The more outlandish things that they create are, in fact, empowered by their collective psychic power. Each ork individually has little psychic ability, but when it is all focused together, it creates reality-bending effects, including the much loved red paint job effect. My personal favorite bit of ork tech is their creation of kustom kombi-weapons. But that's just me.

Yes, quite an apt summary of the wall of text I posted

purplefood wrote:Ignore it all you like that's what the fluff says.

Actually no, it's what the fluff says Lucas Anzion says, and Genetor Anzion is an idiot.

Something interesting I've noticed about nerds is that they tend to be completely unprepared for people to lie to them, and take any exposition spouted by any character in a work of fiction to be the unvarnished truth about whatever subject the character is written to be commenting on. So if some character named Anzion suggests that he believes Ork technology to require psychic intervention to work, suddenly his opinion is "what the fluff says". That's putting aside the fact that Anzion is part of an organization that regards human technology as functioning through the intervention of spirits and by the grace of God, that dogmatically regards non-human technology as blasphemous perversions, and that has successfully lost sufficient knowledge to produce much of human technology and is famous for preserving what's left only through dogma, ritual, and superstitious nonsense. Nope, Orks is magic; it says right there on the page!

That's something that bothers me on this forum (the Background forum), that there's not enough close reading going on. Literacy isn't just being able to equate strings of symbols with the phonemes of spoken languages, it's the ability to comprehend the information encoded in those strings beyond the words on the page. So as my science-fiction professor pointed out during a particularly depressing class discussion on Robert Heinlein's Starship Troopers: "Beware the limited first-person narrator; they do not necessarily reflect the reality of the novel's universe, nor the opinion of the author." I know some people don't really understand or care to bother understanding such things, but others of us do and it gets annoying to try to discuss these things when people don't put the effort of discussion into a discussion (call it the Tycho/Gabe dichotomy to reflect frequent jokes on the subject in Penny Arcade).

So when some of the fluff is inconsistent with other fluff, and represents the view-point we have every reason to see as representing humanity's incomprehension of Ork technology, I not only feel free to ignore it, but obliged to discuss why the fluff itself licenses us to ignore/dismiss it as somehow truthfully representing what is the case in the 40k universe.

tl;dr version for the 'tards: No, it's not what the fluff says.

Wow, Nurglitch, good answer there mate! I can't help but feel that you're target audience is going to miss the point of it, but I was amused by it!

That aside, I reckon that the Orks technology functions via 'The Secret'

As long as they maintain a healthy positive attitude, thier stuff works fine, when they start to lose, it all begins to malfunction.

See, I agree with Nurglitch, the only fluff that states Ork technology works psychically is the report from the Geneticist.

Because the Imperium is so superstitous, they automatically believe that just because they can't understand something it must me magical/psychically powered.

This is one peice of fluff that GW seems to leave up to interpretation, because there are various other explanations that are hinted at.

Plus, if you read the exact report that Anzion wrote in the Ork Codex, I think you will understand it more, since the entire rest of the report basically says that Mek build things because of their genetics, which could lead into an entirely different theory.

To me it was clear that was the reason, but then he came up with the bizarre theory that the technology only works because Orks think it should, and I don't even think he mentioned psychic powers, thats on the Wierdboy page IIRC.


Of course I also think Orks are the most misunderstood race in the game, but thats just me.

Nurglitch wrote:

purplefood wrote:Ignore it all you like that's what the fluff says.

WORDS WORDS WORDS.

Wow, it looks like SOMEBODY refuses to be wrong at all.

The only "fluff" we have of how Ork tech really works, seeing as it looks like it should explode from you just looking at it, is that all Orkz have a gestalt psychic field, that when combined with others, adds fuel to their psychic flame. They believe their tech will work. IT WILL WORK. We have seen accounts of humans attempting to fire Ork weapons, but even when they pull the trigger/crank the lever/punch the squig, it doesn't work. But the Ork picks it up, it works fine. There was even a piece of fluff of how an Ork Bomba ran out of fuel, flew for a few more hours, and only when the Pilot realized it was out of fuel did it plummet out of the sky. You can even see an example of it in their growth. One Ork kicks ass and takes names, says he's the biggest and the strongest, the other Orks believe him, and he becomes bigger and stronger till a bigger stronger Ork kicks his ass, and proclaims that, no, HE is the biggest and strongest. Thats why Ghazskull is like 20 damn feet high in the fluff (Even though he's not that high in model. Of course, in model, Spess Mehrens are stick men with GIANT HEADS with no actual human anatomy under their crunchy candy shell). Yes, feet.
Yes, we also have the fluff that says they have the instinctive knowledge of how to build things, in the forms of Mekboys who have this genetic knowledge slowly released as they grow and age, and the biggest, strongest Meks, are therefore the smartest, and are able to build the most complicated tech. Of course, we have also seen fluff of Imperial scientists pulling apart a Power Klaw, and despite the whole "Complex AI is driven by Machine Spirits, and the Omnissiah grants life to the machine" Imperials still have to make a weapon/tank/anything that would work under the normal 40k physics. As I was saying, when they pulled apart the Power Klaw, it should not have worked. There was a generator, that wasn't plugged in/had no way of powering the Klaw, and there was no driving force for the Klaw. Just a few Pistons that had been put in the wrong way, and did not work under even the most basic applications of scientific knowledge. Did the Ork care? No, it worked perfectly fine for him. It worked, as we have said before, because all the little Orky children clap their hands and save Tinkerbell.

Jesus Christ, you are also really insulting. "TL;DR for the tards"?

God, you are getting pretty pissed off about a background window dressing for a fancy game of dollies with rules.

Simple answer: All orks are slightly psychic (the power of the waagh gets bigger as more orks join).

Because the orks truly believe their tech works, their latent psychic ability makes it work.

As cool as stylish as Orks are, this question is exactly why I don't think they fit very well in 40k.
Fantasy? Absolutely. Grab a hacking implement and march around looking for fights. That's as far as their intelligence should carry them.
Mass producing guns and high technology equipment like spaceships and such, while maintaining their brutish slow-mindedness? Right... It's the one army who's backstory just doesn't add up. They were not written in a way that accommodates a sci-fi setting.

Jihadnik hit the nail on the head when he said people would miss the point.

And Archonate, just beacause Orks are simple doesn't mean they aren't intelligent. (Even though there described as being more "Cunning" than Intelligent)

Archonate wrote:As cool as stylish as Orks are, this question is exactly why I don't think they fit very well in 40k.
Fantasy? Absolutely. Grab a hacking implement and march around looking for fights. That's as far as their intelligence should carry them.
Mass producing guns and high technology equipment like spaceships and such, while maintaining their brutish slow-mindedness? Right... It's the one army who's backstory just doesn't add up. They were not written in a way that accommodates a sci-fi setting.

Meh, one thing most don't realize, is that Orkz actually have their own societies, cities, rival clans, and a stable economy based on teef to boot. Not all Boyz are warfaring, but it is the "civilized" Orkz you see that press this onto the newly formed Boyz. Normally, when an Ork bursts from the ground ready to fight, another Ork beats the crap out of him and he is inducted into Orky life. But on an Ork free world, say, Orkz have recently been exterminated, and the Imperium just sorta...left, the Ork spores grow into new boyz, and form Feral Ork tribes, at the tech level of fantasy Orcs. It's really more the existing Orkz teaching the next generation of Orkz how to crump them humies in a semi-sustainable way.
Of course, I'm not a dedicated Ork player, and I may be wrong, but that is how I read it from what I have read.

I am not responsible for "sustainable" and "Ork" in the same sentence giving you the mental image of pot smoking Ork beatniks who complain about Humies harshing their vibe and killing the Waaaghvioment.

Orks are not supposed to be taken seriously, that's what i love about them.

All this psychic mumbo jumbo stuff fails to ignore that the orks have a healthy dealing of engineering in their society. If the "Psychic whatsit" really worked, then you'd have had a completely different story in the Gorkamorka series. If psychic was all that was needed, Deff Skwadron wouldn't have needed a test run on the squigg bomb - they just would have used it on ork enemies.

Yes, engineering whatsits are more often than not less.... precise than scientific whatsits, as are the orks less refined than the imperium. And yes, orks do have some latent psychic ability - but I've always seen that as directional psychic and not "It does everything".

I think most accounts of Orks are like the textpiece on Kommandos "They don't exist. Dogma has shown they don't exist." Orks designing? Well the imperium cannot design, the eldar have lost all creativity.... another race actually using engineering know-how?? Impossible!

[quote=ArchonateThat's as far as their intelligence should carry them.
Mass producing guns and high technology equipment like spaceships and such, while maintaining their brutish slow-mindedness? Right... It's the one army who's backstory just doesn't add up. They were not written in a way that accommodates a sci-fi setting.

.... Why do orks have to mass produce anything? Gun 1- AK47, Gun 2- M14.... Both are shoota class. Go forth and shoot with them.

Most Meks arn't the Meks that get fielded in the armies now.

Most Meks are little Mr. Fixits hammering away in a shared workshop building things. Helping the Big Mek build things.

they may not have assembly lines, but they can obviously make enough Shootas and Sluggas to arm Millions of Boyz while still taking "Speshul Orders" from the Boss and Nobs.


Much of ork tech does work for humans. Most PKs(those that don't will work for orks), Trukks(SW Omnibus), Shootas, and all the simple weapons will work for humans. its the wierd stuff like Shock Attack guns, RPJs, and KFF that the Impierium doesn't understand.

the Impierium doesn't know how Necron Gauss weapons work either, but they don't attribute that to Psychic wot'zit's.

Xenoticitions would be able to use psykers to determine if Ork tech indeed works by collective psychic abilities and they have done so.

the Fact it is the ONLY fluff that mentions how ork tech works and that it is in the Ork Codex makes it the official stance.

They test enough times to make it work


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I mean with enough tools and bitz I can make a cannon

the_ferrett wrote:All this psychic mumbo jumbo stuff fails to ignore that the orks have a healthy dealing of engineering in their society. If the "Psychic whatsit" really worked, then you'd have had a completely different story in the Gorkamorka series. If psychic was all that was needed, Deff Skwadron wouldn't have needed a test run on the squigg bomb - they just would have used it on ork enemies.

Unless the Orks expect their technology to have a high rate of malfunction, in which case it would become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

I see your point, I understand your point, your point has merit but I completely disagree.

Haddi wrote:

Nurglitch wrote:

purplefood wrote:Ignore it all you like that's what the fluff says.

WORDS WORDS WORDS.

Derp derp derp

Wot duz is matta 'ow it works or 'ow its made? Choppas is just fer choppin and Shootas is fer shooting. Who cares where da dakka comes from so long as its dead killy and loud!
Stop mucking about wiv da wurkins of it, dats for da meks! Orks is just made to fight and win!

Gather round, for story time. Once upon a time, Orky fluff said that Orks and their servants, the Gretchen (spelled with an "e" back then) were raiders and pirates that would rather take technology from others than make their own. And they would make the Gretchen manufacture their weapons before they would do any work themselves. Much later the idea of Mekboyz and psychic connections to the warp got added, and evrything started getting weird and screwy.

To me, they should have kept it simple. It made sense. It worked. Now it's a mess.