Orks

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Orks (欧克兽人)
Alias(es)	Greenskins
Species/Race	A war race created by the Old Ones; the modern Orks are degenerated descendants of the ancient Krork 28
Affiliation	Independent Ork mobs led by bosses and Big Meks
Occupation/Role	Xenos invaders, raiders, and warbands driven by combat
First Appearance	Chapter 27: Greenskins Arrive

Background

The Greenskins were created by the Old Ones during the War in Heaven, using the reality-warping physical laws of the C'tan as a template. Modern Orks retain the power of Ork belief, though they are far weaker than the ancient Krork from which they descended 28.

Orks invade by overwhelming force rather than subtlety. During the invasion of the Teda Galaxy, their fleet destroyed the system's only space dock before directing hollowed-out asteroid warships into planetary gravity. The impacts devastated the surface of Hive World Two, while landing craft, drop pods, and space hulks deployed vast numbers of infantry, aircraft, and war machines 27 28.

Appearance

Orks are towering, heavily built Greenskins whose size and physical strength make them dangerous in close combat. Individual Boyz can stand nearly three meters tall, while bosses are generally larger, faster-reacting, and better equipped than their followers 33 38 42.

• Green-skinned, muscular humanoids with a visibly brutal physical presence 233.
• Often wear crude but sturdy armor assembled from scrap metal 233.
• Commonly carry oversized firearms, choppas, axes, clubs, chainswords, or improvised weapons 28 234 253.
• Bosses may wear heavy power armor, carry force-field shields, or display trophies on a boss pole 234 240 242.

Organization & Culture

Boss-Led Mobs

Ork mobs are bound together by the authority and psychic influence of their boss. A boss acts as a biological psychic node: while he lives, his followers are more united, fearless, and willing to fight. Once he is killed, the mob loses cohesion; Boyz may flee, fight over succession, or seek a stronger boss to follow 39 253.

Strength determines leadership. When a boss dies, powerful Boyz immediately compete for the position, while weaker Orks submit to whoever proves strongest 39. Iron Bull consolidated disobedient bosses through personal strength and later gathered an army of more than thirty million Orks in Totka City 43 45.

Love of Battle

Orks value combat above survival, discipline, or even factional loyalty. They readily fight their own kind when no external opponent is available, gamble with teeth on brawls, and may attack one another over minor disputes 32 45.

Their battle cry, “Waaaaaagh!”, spreads excitement through nearby Orks and accompanies charges against enemies regardless of casualties 37 233. Even heavy artillery losses, aircraft destruction, and hopeless assaults can make surviving Orks more eager to fight 244 396 399.

Trophies and Status

Ork bosses display slain enemies as proof of their strength. After killing the Genestealer Bishop, a Greenskin boss mounted the Bishop's head on his boss pole alongside three previous trophies, rallying his forces to continue the massacre 240.

Abilities & Traits

Physical Strength and Resilience

Orks are naturally powerful, durable combatants capable of sustaining charges through severe firepower.

• An Ork boss in heavy power armor forced a Genestealer Patriarch's psychic barrier to tremble under the pressure of his chainsword strike 234.
• Bosses can evade incoming fire more effectively than ordinary Boyz and may advance under sustained armor-piercing fire using heavy shields and brute strength 42.
• Orks are noted for tenacious vitality; survivors were expected even after a planetary bombardment 243.
• Their endurance does not make them invulnerable: Space Marine weaponry, tank fire, artillery, and concentrated heavy weapons can kill them in large numbers 48 244 250.

Ork Belief

Orks generate a collective psychic field known as Ork belief. A powerful boss strengthens this field, increasing his followers' ferocity and producing seemingly miraculous effects 28 424.

• One-Eye survived a massive artillery barrage protected by a green energy shield 424.
• His surviving followers gained pale-green barriers that resisted lasguns, machine guns, Gauss beams, and other ranged attacks 424.
• Hundreds of laser strikes over time could eventually break an individual barrier 424.
• The field depends on the boss serving as its psychic node; killing that leader causes the organized force and its psychic cohesion to collapse 39 424.

Weirdboy Psychic Powers

Weirdboyz are Ork psykers who channel the collective psychic energy around a boss. Their powers are direct, destructive, and highly unpredictable 235.

• A Weirdboy shielded an Ork boss from the Genestealer Patriarch's psychic lightning with green psychic energy 235.
• They can unleash powerful psychic attacks, including Gork's Foot, a massive green energy foot that struck both the Patriarch and the Ork boss 235.
• Their unstable excitement can lead them to harm allies or disrupt their own boss's battle plans 235.
• Despite this instability, Orks value Weirdboyz for their battlefield power and their perceived connection to Gork and Mork 235 236.

Fearlessness

Orks are largely immune to intimidation and terror tactics.

• Night Lords' stealth, psychological warfare, and attempts to frighten them provoked rage rather than fear 408 410.
• They may continue charging Space Marines and armored formations even after suffering catastrophic losses 244 253 399.
• Their courage can fail when their boss is killed; without leadership, mobs frequently scatter or turn on one another 38 39 430.

Equipment and War Machines

• Choppa Boyz — lightly armored infantry carrying huge melee blades 28.
• Shoota Boyz / Big Shootas — infantry with oversized, crudely assembled firearms that remain functional in Ork hands 28 396.
• Battle trucks and red vehicles — fast assault transports used to ram barricades and deliver Boyz into defensive lines 395 397.
• Dirty Tanks — red Ork tanks carrying cannons and Boyz armed with boltguns, flamethrowers, and rotary heavy guns 47.
• Killa Kans — Gretchin-piloted war machines roughly comparable in strength to Space Marines; their pilots become unusually bloodthirsty under the machine's mental strain 32 47.
• Deff Dreads — large combat walkers fielded alongside Killa Kans in assaults 58 399.
• Gorkanauts — heavily armed Ork war machines capable of crushing armored opponents and surviving intense mech combat 57 416.
• Mek Gargants — massive mechs piloted by leaders such as Crooked Mouth 58.
• Greenskin planes — crude but maneuverable aircraft, including propeller fighters and helicopters; skilled Ork pilots can evade sustained ground fire and conduct bombing runs 237 395 399.
• Asteroid warships and space hulks — ramshackle vessels armed with lance batteries, macro cannons, torpedoes, Void Shields, and assault craft 27 393 395 406.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Teda Galaxy Invasion

The Orks destroyed Teda's space dock, struck Hive World Two with at least three asteroid warships, and deployed a green tide against the hive cities 27 28. Their initial advance overwhelmed Planetary Defence Force positions, exposing the poor command quality of the defending officers despite the soldiers' numerical strength 30 35.

Art Student's forces exploited Ork behavior during the Battle for the Underhive. Tina killed an Ork boss at range, causing his followers to scatter and fight over leadership rather than continue their assault 38 39. Iron Bull later rebuilt the invasion force with bosses, Killa Kans, Dirty Tanks, and tens of millions of Boyz, but his death again broke the Ork army's cohesion and enabled its defeat 43 45 50.

Milzhi Planet War

On Milzhi Planet, Orks fought Genestealers who resisted the invasion to preserve the human population needed for their own reproduction 232. An Ork boss and a Weirdboy matched the Genestealer Patriarch's psychic power, while Ork numbers gradually shattered the Genestealer defenses 234 235.

The Greenskins ultimately killed the Genestealer Bishop and slaughtered the fleeing cultists 240. Human Aerospace Fighters then bombed both Ork and Genestealer positions, after which Space Marines and Defense Force troops began clearing the surviving xenos 242 243. Ork resistance continued through underground tunnels and confined passages until human forces eliminated the remaining mobs 249 250 253.

Jesta Invasion

Five Ork space hulks and dozens of asteroid warships arrived from the Warp after being drawn to the fighting in the Jesta system 393. The asteroid ships descended on Jesta, disgorging a massive horde that attacked Astra Militarum and Defense Force positions with vehicles, aircraft, walkers, and infantry 395 396.

The Orks breached hastily constructed Astra Militarum barricades with battle trucks and melta flamethrowers, though an Ork boss with a bionic eye was killed by tank fire before he could finish the company commander he targeted 397. Their aircraft assaulted Apocalypse Tank formations, but the tanks' shields and anti-aircraft fire annihilated the attacking planes 399.

Under One-Eye, the surviving Orks manifested a powerful collective psychic field that forced the human tank force to withdraw and maintain distance 424. Mech reinforcements and Space Marines then joined the counterattack, targeting One-Eye to break the Ork force's unity 425 426. Following One-Eye's death, the remaining bosses refused to cooperate, the Boyz fled, and human forces exterminated every Ork on Jesta after more than six hours of pursuit 430.

Notable Quotes

“WAAAAAAHG!” 32

“Boys, the fun's here! Follow me!” 37

“Waaaaaagh! Ork belief says we're the strongest!” 424

Trivia

• Orks use teeth as gambling stakes and currency; one Boy who lost a bet was punched until enough teeth fell out to pay the winner 45.
• Ork weapons appear to be assembled from industrial scrap, yet are exceptionally effective when wielded by Greenskins and nearly unusable by other races 28.
• Ork pilots can demonstrate remarkable skill despite flying crude aircraft; their machines have evaded heavy ground fire and performed successful bombing attacks 237 399.