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How do massive WAAAGH!s travel to different areas through the Warp? Do they rely on Weirdboyz even though they draw power from the WAAAGH! instead of the Warp? Do they know where they're going or do they just fight whenever they drop into realspace?

essentially the Gesalt psychic power of every ork draws one another to certain areas. That is why when a Waaagh is gathering, orks from all over the sector will flood to that planet. Think of it like a psychic beacon for Orks.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
As far as how they travel once the waaagh is gathered? they for the most part just blunder around looking for a scrap.

 Ghazkuul wrote:
essentially the Gesalt psychic power of every ork draws one another to certain areas. That is why when a Waaagh is gathering, orks from all over the sector will flood to that planet. Think of it like a psychic beacon for Orks.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
As far as how they travel once the waaagh is gathered? they for the most part just blunder around looking for a scrap.

So how was Ghazghkull's WAAAGH! able to navigate back to Armageddon for the 3rd War? I could get that before he travels, Orks will gather to him and once he's there, Orks will travel to him, but how does that massive fleet navigate to Armageddon?

Probably because he already knew where it was, and had left behind a sizeable ork army which was basically its own Waaagh.

When it comes to Ghazzy then look no further then Gork and Mork. His title Prophet of Gork and Mork isn't just for show, it's real. Those Ork gods have a habit of putting him where they want him to be and also making him dissappear in a flash of green whenever he's about to get killed, deus ex machina style. Heck somehow Orkimedes has that tellyporta tek so perfected they cando blind jumps and accurately appear on enemy ship bridges without mishaps like appearing in solid matter. No idea how they do it.
But in general an initial migration will blunder through the warp and appear randomly. Once a Waaaaagh! is on the go somewhere it appears like a beacon to the Orks. Their version of an astronomicon. Yes weirdboyz can navigate the Warp currents but like any other race that lacks an astronomicon they are still ultimately sailing blind without a point of reference yet it helps that they can move away from local threats or in their case move towards local threat for a good fight.

edit add: I should note that the only times Ghazzy has gone into the Warp was when the Ork gods wanted him to and toss him to another sector to gather another Waaaaaagh! into his own. He started his own, took over Nazdreg's waaagh, went back to Armegeddon for the real deal, took over Urgrok's Waaaagh, took over Octaria Ork Empire and cleared out the Nids, all the while being led by Gork and Mork and in the case of jumping entire sectors he was literally whisked away their by the gods themselves. Now he's got his new message to leave Octaria and go to another Waaagh!. I certain Gork and Mork will decide and send him there or wherever whether he wants it or not.

ERE WE GO ERE WE GO ERE WE GO
ERE WE GO ERE WE GO THRU DA COSMOS
ERE WE GO ERE WE GO ERE WE GO
ERE WE GO ERE WE GO TO INFINITY
ERE WE GO ERE WE GO ERE WE GO
ERE WE GO ERE WE GO THRU DA COSMOS
DON'T KNOW WHERE WE'RE GOING TILL WE GET THERE

 ProwlerPC wrote:
When it comes to Ghazzy then look no further then Gork and Mork. His title Prophet of Gork and Mork isn't just for show, it's real. Those Ork gods have a habit of putting him where they want him to be and also making him dissappear in a flash of green whenever he's about to get killed, deus ex machina style. Heck somehow Orkimedes has that tellyporta tek so perfected they cando blind jumps and accurately appear on enemy ship bridges without mishaps like appearing in solid matter. No idea how they do it.
But in general an initial migration will blunder through the warp and appear randomly. Once a Waaaaagh! is on the go somewhere it appears like a beacon to the Orks. Their version of an astronomicon. Yes weirdboyz can navigate the Warp currents but like any other race that lacks an astronomicon they are still ultimately sailing blind without a point of reference yet it helps that they can move away from local threats or in their case move towards local threat for a good fight.

edit add: I should note that the only times Ghazzy has gone into the Warp was when the Ork gods wanted him to and toss him to another sector to gather another Waaaaaagh! into his own. He started his own, took over Nazdreg's waaagh, went back to Armegeddon for the real deal, took over Urgrok's Waaaagh, took over Octaria Ork Empire and cleared out the Nids, all the while being led by Gork and Mork and in the case of jumping entire sectors he was literally whisked away their by the gods themselves. Now he's got his new message to leave Octaria and go to another Waaagh!. I certain Gork and Mork will decide and send him there or wherever whether he wants it or not.

Waiiiiit he cleared out octaria? when?

I got the Waaaaaagh! Ghazzy supplement in my hand. If you only read the fluff from the Codex then it stops the brief Ghazzy insert to where he turns his attention towards Octaria. In the supplement it gives Ghazzy's story from when he was a normal boy to where he is now. They fought their way through the nids surrounding the planet then landed. Ghazzy at one point got swallowed by a Mawloc but came tearing his way out of the beast. Most hurt he's ever felt since he's head was blown to bits. Apparently he needed half a day of rest after the Dok and Orkimedes managed to get a claw out of his body and patch him up.
Anyways, yes they cleared Octaria of all the nids. Ork confidence was at all time high and he gathered his weirdboyz. Between them and Ghazzy they let off a big psykic ping that traveled across the galaxy. Every psyker felt it and even the astronomicon dimmed sightly for a moment. A new tendril of Nids is coming towards Octaria following the ping but so is billions and billions of more Orks. Octaria will be like Armageddon in that it will be in perpetual war. Which is the plan. Gork and Mork already began giving Ghazzy ordes to get ready to leave Octaria to it's war and go find another Waaaagh! to boost to a perpetual war. And that's where he's at right now. Looking up into the stars from Octaria knowing more nids are coming but he has to go somewhere else.

 ProwlerPC wrote:
I got the Waaaaaagh! Ghazzy supplement in my hand. If you only read the fluff from the Codex then it stops the brief Ghazzy insert to where he turns his attention towards Octaria. In the supplement it gives Ghazzy's story from when he was a normal boy to where he is now. They fought their way through the nids surrounding the planet then landed. Ghazzy at one point got swallowed by a Mawloc but came tearing his way out of the beast. Most hurt he's ever felt since he's head was blown to bits. Apparently he needed half a day of rest after the Dok and Orkimedes managed to get a claw out of his body and patch him up.
Anyways, yes they cleared Octaria of all the nids. Ork confidence was at all time high and he gathered his weirdboyz. Between them and Ghazzy they let off a big psykic ping that traveled across the galaxy. Every psyker felt it and even the astronomicon dimmed sightly for a moment. A new tendril of Nids is coming towards Octaria following the ping but so is billions and billions of more Orks. Octaria will be like Armageddon in that it will be in perpetual war. Which is the plan. Gork and Mork already began giving Ghazzy ordes to get ready to leave Octaria to it's war and go find another Waaaagh! to boost to a perpetual war. And that's where he's at right now. Looking up into the stars from Octaria knowing more nids are coming but he has to go somewhere else.

Awesome, I have to read that part. the octavian war was my favorite ork conflict and it makes me quite a pleased person that the orks "Won" it first and decided to keep the fire going. Awesome. Just... awesome. I hope they get a new unit or something for that theater.

Anyways to answer the OP's question I guess warp travel is like the IOM's travel when it comes to orks. they get a big device, maybe some gellar fields if they want a demon free ride, and then go to whatever place that looks fun. There are also stories of orks using Space Hulks as a sort of bus to travel around the star systems and jump off to whatever planet they come across next.

All joking aside, 'Ork space magic' probably isn't how a Waaagh gets around. Ork fleets manage to stay together when they jump. Ork Freebootas are a significant threat to Imperial shipping. All Waaaghs move with a purpose. You can see it in the way they move from isolated colonies to more industrialized, populated and heavily defended ones.

Were Ork warp jumps just random blundering fleets would starburst every time they entered the warp. Most Waaaghs would burn themselves out quickly by stumbling into better-defended systems. But none of that seems to happen. If it did Orks would be nothing more than a niggling annoyance.

I think that a Waaagh acting as a sort of Astronomican for Orks makes a good bit of sense, but that only explains how Orks find a Waaagh, not how a Waaagh or an Ork fleet navigates the warp. All Ork campaigns, not just Ghazzy's Armageddon campaigns, show some intelligence in their movements. Tuska deliberately headed into the Eye of Terror looking for 'da best scrap'. Nazdreg was notorious for his cunning attacks on Imperial shipping.

Unless Orks can somehow psychically sense likely targets and independently flock to them (which would eliminate the need for fleets that stick together) they probably have conventional warp navigation abilities that let them conciously decide where they want to go.

How they do that navigation is something of a mystery, of course. It probably involves captured alien databases, mekboy orreries with weirdboys as Navigators, and cast bones and stuffed pterasquirrels for good measure. It also probably varies from Ork fleet to Ork fleet. Leave it up to your imagination and season to taste.

To be honest, Ork navigation doesn't seem much more wonky than the Imperial variety. They just don't care if they come out in the wrong place/time. Being extreme opportunists they'll just take advantage of whatever target presents itself when they exit the warp.

Props to naerik for trotting out the old 'Ere We Go' ditty! To be fair, I've always been a fan of the 'hitch a ride on an 'Ulk an' see where it takes us' style of Orky space travel for purely humorous reasons. I suspect that style of travel was a real thing at some point, much as generation ships were a thing for humanity early in the Dark Age of Technology. In M41 I imagine it's mainly a relic of the dim Orky past. I also suspect that Luddites like Snakebites and Feral Orks who manage to get spaceborne still use that method from time to time. Perhaps even a Freeboota fleet or Waaagh that doesn't have a specific target may give it a whirl from time to time.

To butcher a Star Trek quote...

"Whurr to, Boss?"

"Out dere."

"Whut?"

<Sound of fist smacking against jaw>

"Ya heard me, ya yammerin' lout!" <voice grows dreamy>

"Out dere. Somewhere dere's a mudball loaded wiv Beakies an' crammed wiv plunder, jus' waitin' fer us. Where da Gud Scrap iz."

<sound of a steel shod boot connecting with an Ork posterior>

"So getcher arse in gear ya thievin' grot spore! Spin us some coordinates an' get dem engines fired up! Ennn-gage!!!"

"I alwuz want er ter say dat, hurr hurr...."

My two cents.

I know I did see somewhere that the weirdboyz pull the ship into the warp and push it jn the general direction they want to go. I'm certain they can guide it as well. I also remember seeing that there are a lot of waaaaghs that are started because they pick a direction and the planet they exit at happens to be inhabited. Certainly some get obliterated instantly but with so many orks out there that is like chucking a pebble into the ocean.

Do they use Gellar fields, or does the Waagh field also serve as some form of gellar during their warp transit?

I'm fairly sure Orks don't have a Gellar Field on their Kroozas or Space Hulks that they use to travel the Warp. Orks are fairly resilient to the Warp Energy and they often enjoy the inflight entertainment of a daemon incursion while they travel to their next destination. The Ork's collective gestalt psychic field probably offers some level of protection while their natural Orky resilience to chaos corruption makes warp travel easier to survive. Also its hard to tell a chaos crazy ork starting a fight from a bored ork starting a fight.

I think that an ongoing WAAAGH in a system act as a beacon to the Orks which draw other Orks traveling through the warp to them. Orks that are just randomly traveling to a new system just show up somewhere and start fighting. To Orks it generally doesn't matter where they are going so long as there is a good fight to be had once they arrive. Some Warbosses seem to have a target for their journeys (or they claim it was their objective when they arrive) while others just "Ere we Go" .

Orks travel through different methods, partly because not all orks are operating on the same level of technology. orks build what they need.

A lot of orks ride around in space hulks, and just go wherever. But plenty of other orks ride around in actual space craft (freebooter kaptains), so they obviously have warp drives. I can't see them having much luck as pirates if they're stuck in one system, or rely on random warp travel. It makes sense to me that they'd have warp drives. Probably wierdboyz steer the ship a bit, but mostly they just don't travel very far or very fast. like Tau or humans before navigators.

They seem to have some kind of modified kustom force field for making warp travel a bit safer. When Ghazzy and his Orks left Urk and took over the space hullk World Killa Ghazzy ordered the Meks to begin building a KFF for the big thing when it went into the warp to protect the Hulk. It doesn't seem to stop the daemons themselves from getting on, however, because in the same bit of fluff it mentions some overeager burna boys cutting off too much scrap metal and breaching the outer hull allowing daemons to pour onto the space hulk which kept the Orks from getting bored. Also by the time the hulk came out of the warp all that frenzy led to more Orks growing and it was full to bursting with Orks when it reached Armageddon. I'm guessinf the KFF protects the ship from less tangible threats of the warp while still letting the Orks fight daemons.