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I'm a huge fan of Orks. Their aesthetics, dark humour and background really appeal to me to the point that they're the only thing keeping me interested in 40k.

So it really annoys me when people have huge misconceptions about Orks and sadly it seems that there are more people who misunderstand Orks than do. I'm hardly going to change the world, but I decided to start a blog and write a series of articles tackling some of the urban myths about Orks.

I've put the first one up which looks at the whole "Ork stuff only works because they think it does" rubbish here.

Let me know what you think!

If Orky tech only worked for Orks, how does Yarrick's Power Klaw work?

You are applying way to much logic to this.Seriously this makes orks boring as warp(hell to us)I might have missed what you said about it aren't many sluggas a box with a trigger filled with bitz of metal?Also:Why do choppas pierce spess muhrine armour?
If ork tech didn't work because they think it does almost NOTHING they have would work.Lets set the scene:A trio of Waaaghbikers are fleeing from a band of bigga meana warbikers.Suddenly logic exists.Most of their bikes fall apart.Now some things would work(burnas)but most things
(Kill kroozas)would fall apart.Because I doubt the meks know how gravity works in space.

there's a lot of raaaage in that blog. let it go dude, let it go.

I'm pretty sure it says straight up in their codex that orks are latent psychics that manifest in as much as their tech works because they believe it should work. There was this amusing little story about a techpriest studying ork slugga weapons, and the final report was that it should not work. Moment they gave it to one of their captured orks he proceeded to kill the techpriest with it.

Yeah, I'm also very annoyed at the "Ork stuff only works because they think it does" . Saying all Orkish achievements are because of "magic" really cheapens the whole 40k universe.

Well if you want to get technical almost everything outside of Tau works because of "magic". Also orks used to be way more ridiculous in the older codex.

Just because the tradition-bound AdMech doesn't understand how something works doesn't mean that it's impossible for it to work. It's just not human-standard.

Well firstly it was an antidote, and secondly the ork codex says that’s how it works, so that’s how it works.

Da krimson barun wrote:You are applying way to much logic to this.Seriously this makes orks boring as warp(hell to us)I might have missed what you said about it aren't many sluggas a box with a trigger filled with bitz of metal?Also:Why do choppas pierce spess muhrine armour?
If ork tech didn't work because they think it does almost NOTHING they have would work.Lets set the scene:A trio of Waaaghbikers are fleeing from a band of bigga meana warbikers.Suddenly logic exists.Most of their bikes fall apart.Now some things would work(burnas)but most things
(Kill kroozas)would fall apart.Because I doubt the meks know how gravity works in space.

I find the idea that Ork stuff works because :magic: to be boring. I've re-read the Ork codex before writing the article and I've not come across anything that says that a slugga is a box filled with metal bitz. And choppas don't pierce space marine armour, not since 4th ed. Even if they did still do it (and I'd like to see choppas give a -1 armour save modifier) then it's easily explained as choppas having a slight power weapon effect driven by psychic energy, or the Orks knowing the weak points in armour (this was mentioned in one of the short stories in the 3rd ed codex). And why would the bikes fall apart? The Orks have a solid grasp of mechanical engineering so of course they can build the tech that they do.

daddyorchips wrote:there's a lot of raaaage in that blog. let it go dude, let it go.

I'm not angry, although I will be if Ward butchers the Ork background in the codex (oooh, deathskulls love the colour blue because of ultramarines, evil sunz revere blood angels, gazghul chanced upon Armageddon by accident). It's annoying to hear the misconceptions passed about by non-Ork players.

Imperial Deceit wrote:Well firstly it was an antidote, and secondly the ork codex says that’s how it works, so that’s how it works.

The Ork codex doesn't say that's how it works. It says the opposite. The few pieces of fluff on how Ork technology is powered by sheer belief is commentary on how Ork tech is actually more advanced than people give them credit for, and therefore too advanced for other races to understand, as well as poor mechanical engineering understanding by the Imperium.

I agree with you Daedle, I do believe that the Ork latent psychic ability has an effect sometimes but it isn't the be all and end all of Ork technology.

Twice now the warp has eaten my posts but basically I agree.

If taken in the context that this theory is written by the sort of pompous hack churning out propaganda for the Uplifting Primer for example then it is quite fun.

Some petty official didn't have the intelligence to work out how a piece of ork tech literally built in a shed out of old scrap works and so denigrates it as junk powered by magic; orks are so unimaginably dumb their gear only works becuase they think it should is the message being sent when the opposite is actually the truth.

So basically a Techpriest doesn't know how to pull a trigger.And the orks haven't killed space marines in close combat for several editions.

Do you actually think a tech priest would test a weapons by "pulling the trigger" nonononono! The tech priest would first say a prayer to the omnisiah and disassemble the weapon with holy unguents and sacred oils to see what made it tick, upon finding no recognisable pattern or standard manufacture among the weapons, he would conclude that given the numerous violations of the tenets of the machine god, the weapon could never have worked.

Da krimson barun wrote:So basically a Techpriest doesn't know how to pull a trigger.And the orks haven't killed space marines in close combat for several editions.

Ugly Green Trog wrote:Do you actually think a tech priest would test a weapons by "pulling the trigger" nonononono! The tech priest would first say a prayer to the omnisiah and disassemble the weapon with holy unguents and sacred oils to see what made it tick, upon finding no recognisable pattern or standard manufacture among the weapons, he would conclude that given the numerous violations of the tenets of the machine god, the weapon could never have worked.

Pretty much this. Again there's nothing in the background to say that the scientist is even talking about sluggas - he just says some Ork tech, not all. Even if it didn't work when the tech priest pulls the trigger, that's not to say that pulling the trigger is the right thing to do or that the weapon didn't actually break before the tech priest got hold of it.

It's a bit like the bomma cockpit in Deff Skwadron, some lever or pedal or somesuch is described as havng no effect as it isn't attached to anything, it's just a random pedal.

Of course the Imperial propoganda aspect should not be overlooked nor the cementing of Mechanicus superiority of technical knowledge. If an ork can, through trial and error most often, construct some quite advanced technologies using old scrap parts, why not a human? Better to say orks can only make things work through psychic powers that normal humans don't have.

From all the background books I've read I've gathered this about Orks:

1) They are a genetically created warrior race.
2) They're skills are encoded into their genes.
3) They build things that work. No flash, no pretty, just pure utilitarianism.
4) Actually Utilitarian is how I would describe the entire race.
5) They do have a warp presence as a whole, I think this was also encoded into them as a defense by their creators.

6) Imperial Scientists, especially in Xenology are idiots, (ex: Primer states ork muscles are actually sponges filled with water)

I would also like to state that the Ork race is the most successful race/ biological weapon in existence. Tyranids can suck it.

I have to agree with a lot of what you have to say, I love orks but whenever someone looks at the orks with something halfway between disdain and pity like it's a partially lobotomized killer gorilla I get annoyed. They are the ultimate engineers that you can put them in any pile of scrap come back in a week and promptly get killed by deadly lasers that shoot missiles when you could have sworn there weren't the parts for either in that pile.

(Edit: spelling)

It's also a part of the fluff that Imperial strategists and even field commanders keep underestimating the stategic overview that Orks actually have. Also, Orks tend to be very unpredictable, so when a warboss that actually knows his stuff comes along, everyone gets taken with their pants down.

It's about the same with meks. I remember reading a BL story (I think it was Helsreach) with some space marines searching a crashed landing craft, and some arrogant space marine charges ahead, expecting only Slugga boys, and gets hit by a gun that looks like a pile of junk, but utterly stuns him with lightning (and it takes a lot to stun a battle ready Black Templar), and nearly gets himself killed.

Well the Guardsman’s Uplifting Primer is actually full of a lot of misinformation. If you ever get the chance to read one it is quite funny. It is intended as propaganda and to down play how horrifying the enemies of the Imperium really are. Along with the muscle bit it also talks about how you can easily rip out an Ork’s tusks with a sharp yank, and that despite their size Ork’s aren’t any stronger than an average human, and certainly no match for a trained soldier of the Emperor.

There is no doubt that the Orks certainly have a great deal of mechanical prowess, even if the Orks themselves don’t really understand mechanical theory. However much of their tech operates on the belief that it should work, and therefore it does. Now this might mean that the Orks latent psychic ability is literally powering the devices, however it could also mean that through a Mekboyz belief that his creation should function it unlocks his genetically encoded ability to make his belief reality.

There is one quote in the Ork Codex where an Eldar philosopher talks about the Orks. He says that they are possibly the most perfect culture in the galaxy because they are the only society that exists without stress, angst, depression, or fear. They know what they want, they know how to get it. Utopia.

First off, whatever Eldar made that comment needs to be strung up by his stupid hat. If orks society exists without fear, I'll eat my left boot.

Second, the reason so many people are of the belief that ork tech only works because they believe it does is because of the things in their codex that have no other explanation; Example, the guy who wears gold armor, that actually works. But, he's a named character, and they get odd rules.
A more common example? Ork shirts being able to stop bullets. They may not have a high armor save, but orks in fact get an armor save from their t-shirts. It's not advanced tech, it's not intricately woven metal in their shirts... it's cloth, that can stop bullets... because that's what they think!

I'm not going to say that ALL ork tech works like that. I will say that some, and more than likely most, of their tech works because they believe in it.

Also, I find it amusing that you use Yarrick as an example for an argument that ork belief doesn't power their gear, as one of his special abilities is based on orks believing that he is simply that bad ass.

As for orks being better than Tyranids as bioweapons? No... Just no. If for no other reason than that orks need metal, in some form or another, to be a threat. Nids do not.

Trust me, I know how it feels having part of your fluff (and an important part, to boot) be written from another races perspective. I play Tau, and the writings of the Imperium fascists have players believing that Ethereals are some kind of odor-abusing, mind-controlling, tyrannical dictators. If the ethereals are using pheromones to control Tau, then fine, but at least they really are all about the greater good. Honestly, I think Imperium players are just angry that humans would prefer to live under Tau rule than to sacrifice themselves, for the Emprah!

A final word of advice; Be careful what you wish for. Having part of your fluff written by another race may not be such a bad thing. Most of the Necron fluff in their previous codex was written from the perspective of the Imperium, and look what happened to them when that changed... They went from being Terminators, in space; To Tomb Kings, in Spaaaaaace!!!

What do you think the likes of Matt Ward would do if he got his hands on Ork fluff?

Necroes wrote:


Second, the reason so many people are of the belief that ork tech only works because they believe it does is because of the things in their codex that have no other explanation; Example, the guy who wears gold armor, that actually works. But, he's a named character, and they get odd rules.
A more common example? Ork shirts being able to stop bullets. They may not have a high armor save, but orks in fact get an armor save from their t-shirts. It's not advanced tech, it's not intricately woven metal in their shirts... it's cloth, that can stop bullets... because that's what they think!

They wear thick squig hide clothes and heavy helmets and shoulder pads, that should be enough for a 6+ save, which most weapons ignore.
Catachans get a 5+ save and they only wear pants and a tank top.

Necroes wrote:
A more common example? Ork shirts being able to stop bullets. They may not have a high armor save, but orks in fact get an armor save from their t-shirts. It's not advanced tech, it's not intricately woven metal in their shirts... it's cloth, that can stop bullets... because that's what they think!

Well, Catachan t-shirts also stop bullets

Regarding the Ork utopya, I guess it is not meant that Orks live without fear. All their society revolves around fear! It's more that fear is completely accepted and assumed in their society without regret. We, 21st century humans, abhore fear-based societies. We get very upset when our Governments use fear against us or against other countries! If we were Orks, we would expect them to answer any problem with massive violence and fear. And there is the magic: when all individuals in a society, including the ruling ones, share an ideology and act according to it, you automatically get an utopya! Everybody is happy because everybody knows that things are being done as they should!
You can even call it a community, rather than a society, because they all have the same interests and, well, ideology. And, in Ork society, as in our capitalist societies, everybody has a theorically free claim on power: grow strong and kill Tha Boss, become Tha Boss / grow rich and buy Tha Boss, become Tha Boss.
Well, forgive my cynism

Contrary to popular belief, the Adeptus Mechanicus are actually quite competent scientists and engineers. They just have quite a lot of belief ingrained into their methods and are extremely conservative advancement wise, but they generally can figure out how something works pretty well, after all they did figure out how to make a partial replica of a gauss weapon (although said weapon exploded because they can't get it precise enough).

Ork technology certainly should not be as reliable as it is. By all means Orks should lose as many boyz to their own technology as they would to enemy fire. And yet Ork technology tends to be highly reliable, so I think that the ork psychic field is effectively a magnifier when it comes to technology. What should not work very well does in fact, work as well if not better than it's imperial counterparts.

This is a species created for the sole purpose of fighting the Necrons after all, and the Old Ones understood that the Necrons and the C'tan find warp based science to be a waste of time when their advancements in other fields of science are already so far ahead. So the Old Ones likely programmed this psychic field to confound the logically minded Necrons and C'tan with unpredictability.

 Kain wrote:
Contrary to popular belief, the Adeptus Mechanicus are actually quite competent scientists and engineers. They just have quite a lot of belief ingrained into their methods and are extremely conservative advancement wise, but they generally can figure out how something works pretty well, after all they did figure out how to make a partial replica of a gauss weapon (although said weapon exploded because they can't get it precise enough).

Ork technology certainly should not be as reliable as it is. By all means Orks should lose as many boyz to their own technology as they would to enemy fire. And yet Ork technology tends to be highly reliable, so I think that the ork psychic field is effectively a magnifier when it comes to technology. What should not work very well does in fact, work as well if not better than it's imperial counterparts.

This is a species created for the sole purpose of fighting the Necrons after all, and the Old Ones understood that the Necrons and the C'tan find warp based science to be a waste of time when their advancements in other fields of science are already so far ahead. So the Old Ones likely programmed this psychic field to confound the logically minded Necrons and C'tan with unpredictability.

Well, Orks beat Imhotep by "abandoning all logic", which is something that even Chaos apparently can't do (since only Orks pull it off vs Imho) so I guess it'd make sense that the old ones purposefully made their tech function despite not being logical.

Orks are Psychic Fungus with algae instead of blood.
Orks get stronger from fighting, especially when they fight against a stronger opponent. Fighting is basically a drug for them.
Orks are not Stoopid, by any stretch of the imagination, they are different. Their built to always believe that might makes right and Skarboyz will attack each other just to have a scar for battles, even if the fight causes them to lose a limb or even their life. Orks will always follow a stronger being, but that being should always watch their back, because if they want the Orks to worship, stop fighting, or an ork believes they are stronger they will attack their leader and take on their roll as boss.
Orks do ridiculous things all the time. This is the human perspective. Fortunately, for all the other armies, Orks do not want to conquer the universe, if that was their plan they would have already done so.

my two cents

 Sleg wrote:
Orks are Psychic Fungus

Animal/fungus hybrid creature-- they are not purely fungus, having multiple redundant organs consistent with a humanoid (minus reproductive ones, as they reproduce through spores). Common Ork Boyz are not properly psykers, either.

 Sleg wrote:
with algae instead of blood.

Blood with algae in it. It is still described as blood and still fulfills the same purpose, as far as we can tell from current lore.

 Sleg wrote:
Fighting is basically a drug for them.

Only if that drug is steroids, and it has no negative side effects aside from increased belligerence.

I don't believe that the individual ork is a psyker, however, I do believe that in groups they gain power proportionate to the amount of orks.
In my opinion this doesn't make their tech work it just makes it much less likely to break down. Kind of like a probability field. That way they can work with a lot looser tolerances.

Necroes wrote:
First off, whatever Eldar made that comment needs to be strung up by his stupid hat. If orks society exists without fear, I'll eat my left boot.

Problem is the Eldar who made the comment says nothing about fear the section in question says "They have evolved a society which knows no stress or angst."

The only thing I've ever read abouut Orks lacking fear is that they lack the fear of death that was engrained into every race by the nightbringer.