Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

The spelling and even the change in pronunciation to Orruks is so similar to Urukhai that it makes me wonder if its intentionally pointing out to Tolkien? Am I the only one who noticed this?

Eh? They're really not anything alike. About the only similiar thing is both have uk in the name.

'Orruk' is just the 40K 'Ork' with an extra 'ru' in the middle.

They just wanted to make all the racial names trademarkable, this was done during peak Kirby era after all.

I gotta admit, "orruks" is more fun to say when you furrow your brows, cross your eyes, and jut out your lower jaw.

 NinthMusketeer wrote:
They just wanted to make all the racial names trademarkable, this was done during peak Kirby era after all.

No it wasn't. Kirbv stepped down in 2017, Age of Sigmar didn't even have an Orc battletome until 2016. And while I never played destruction so I can't speak for 'orruk', I know for a fact that Aelves weren't a thing until the DoK battletome in 2018.

While it may have been an idea that was conceived in the Kirby era, it wasn't really applied until after he had already left.

Someone should do a break down of what Kirby has done. I don't know what went on with GW during that era but it seems to left a stain in everyone's under wear that can't be removed.

Back on the topic. I don't think it was coincidence. It's purely for trademark reasons. People in the local stores still say "Orcs". You rarely hear anyone say "Orruks".

ERJAK wrote:

 NinthMusketeer wrote:
They just wanted to make all the racial names trademarkable, this was done during peak Kirby era after all.

No it wasn't. Kirbv stepped down in 2017, Age of Sigmar didn't even have an Orc battletome until 2016. And while I never played destruction so I can't speak for 'orruk', I know for a fact that Aelves weren't a thing until the DoK battletome in 2018.

While it may have been an idea that was conceived in the Kirby era, it wasn't really applied until after he had already left.

So orruk tome writing was started 2-3 years before kirby left. So welj in kirby era.

Though don't see similarity in urukhai and orruk.

I definitely see the similarity.

There's Uruk-hai and Orruk.
I broke out the -hai to hopefully exemplify the point.

I'm sure it is deliberate, they wanted a distinct name that clearly still sounded like an Orc to people.

Well different letter and pronounciation to start, no hai in the end

ERJAK wrote:

 NinthMusketeer wrote:
They just wanted to make all the racial names trademarkable, this was done during peak Kirby era after all.

No it wasn't. Kirbv stepped down in 2017, Age of Sigmar didn't even have an Orc battletome until 2016. And while I never played destruction so I can't speak for 'orruk', I know for a fact that Aelves weren't a thing until the DoK battletome in 2018.

While it may have been an idea that was conceived in the Kirby era, it wasn't really applied until after he had already left.

AoS released with index packets for every WHFB unit, and included Aelves and Orruks.

 Rihgu wrote:

ERJAK wrote:

 NinthMusketeer wrote:
They just wanted to make all the racial names trademarkable, this was done during peak Kirby era after all.

No it wasn't. Kirbv stepped down in 2017, Age of Sigmar didn't even have an Orc battletome until 2016. And while I never played destruction so I can't speak for 'orruk', I know for a fact that Aelves weren't a thing until the DoK battletome in 2018.

While it may have been an idea that was conceived in the Kirby era, it wasn't really applied until after he had already left.

AoS released with index packets for every WHFB unit, and included Aelves and Orruks.

Yup. Those names were established at AoS' launch, which happened before Kirby left. Let alone development time.

I'm happy to be corrected Erjak, but ya kinda need to do it with actual facts. Did you even do the slightest bit of research before asserting that?

It was all a rather pointless exercise if you ask me. Most of the new made-up names sound stupid compared to the generic fantasy name they replace. And sure, no-one else is allowed to make an orruk, but they can still make as many 'fantasy orks compatible with tabletop wargames' as they like...

Tolkien came up with 'uruk' as an invented Black Speech translation of 'orc', itself taken from Old English (although Tolkien actually fethed up here, as the idea that OE 'orc' = 'evil spirit' is based on a copying error in an 11th century glossary that conflated two entries; an 'orc' is actually a cup or vessel in OE).

'-Hai' just means 'folk'. Tolkien was alluding to the Nazi habit of adding '-volk' to things (despite his claims to hate allegory, he was very clear in his writings that he saw fascists and other violent extremist thugs as 'the orc-minded'). So 'uruk-hai' are literally the 'orc-volk', jackbooted fascist thugs with fantasy trappings.

Every fantasy 'orc' is an adaptation of Tolkien's originals. Slight variations in the name don't really mean anything. 'Orruk' isn't any more or less Tolkienesque than 'orc' or 'ork'. They're all copied from Tolkien.

"Copied" isn't the correct word there.

 NinthMusketeer wrote:
"Copied" isn't the correct word there.

I'm referring to the names all being minor variations of the word 'orc', not necessarily the details of individual interpretations of the concept of 'an orc'. If you prefer, read that last sentence as "They're all imitating Tolkien's invented word."

In hindsight I was being excessively pedantic regardless.

Daddy dubs stealing from elsewhere to come up with a protectable term, seems par for...