Gretchin

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Gretchin (屁精)
Alias(es)	“Freedom Fighters”; Embers Company; Gretchin Civilization; Gretchin Empire
Species/Race	Greenskin xenos
Affiliation	Embers Company and its successor Gretchin state; temporarily allied with the Tau Empire
Occupation/Role	Former Ork slave laborers and scavengers; soldiers, engineers, pilots, propagandists, and settlers
Status	Active
First Appearance	22

Background / History

Before their rebellion, Gretchin occupied the lowest level of Ork society. They were used as workshop laborers, battlefield scavengers, cannon fodder, food for Squigs, and disposable tools; an overseer could kill one casually for a mistake. Their small green bodies were commonly grimy, scarred, hungry, and bent from labor. 62 242

Gretchin were nevertheless essential to Ork war-making. During earlier conflicts, they recovered weapons, trophies, and biological remains from battlefields with professional greed, using hooks, ropes, knives, and pliers to extract anything valuable. 62 66

Liu Zhipeng's seizure of an Ork workshop transformed this condition. After he destroyed the Gork Kong and its Ork occupants, he confronted thousands of terrified Gretchin with the question of whether Orks were truly born to rule. The Primordial Divine Flame ignited their anger, dignity, and willingness to resist. 243

Liu organized the rebels into the Embers Company, assigning Gazi to technical work, Fang to combat and internal order, and Snot to reconnaissance. This replaced an unstructured mob with dedicated logistics, combat, and scouting elements. 243

Following the defeat of Big Mek Guluk, Embers propaganda spread the legend of a “Gretchin Savior” offering food, clothing, weapons, and freedom. Escaped slaves flooded into the Scrap Workshop, expanding the force from several thousand to tens of thousands within days. 248

The movement then conquered Ork strongholds across Scrap World, liberated enslaved Gretchin, and ultimately captured Ironfang Fortress. The fortress was renamed the City of Hope, becoming the first homeland of the new Gretchin state. 251 257 258

Appearance

Gretchin are small, green-skinned Greenskins with pointed ears, large crafty eyes, and generally thin or hunched frames. Under Ork rule, many are visibly malnourished, filthy, scarred, and fearful; the Embers forces later equip themselves with maintained armor, weapons, and specialized machinery. 242 355

• Small stature; Liu Zhipeng's Gretchin body is described as only 0.8 meters tall. 242
• Pointed ears and bright green skin. 355
• Traditionally wear scavenged or crude equipment, often assembled from scrap.
• Embers veterans wear battered but well-maintained power armor and carry Gauss rifles. 355
• Gretchin personnel are adapted to operate vehicles and mechs built around their size and physical limits. 244 259

Personality

Gretchin are initially portrayed as fearful, hungry, opportunistic, and conditioned to submit to stronger creatures. They hoard food, compete over salvage, flee overwhelming threats, and can be chaotic even while fighting for a shared cause. 66 247 270

The Embers movement awakens a contrasting capacity for anger, dignity, solidarity, and discipline. Freed Gretchin become fiercely loyal to the Big Boss, respond strongly to promises of food and safety, and can develop into organized soldiers, engineers, and specialists. 243 251 262

Their culture retains a strong attraction to loot, improvisation, and spectacle. Even when presenting themselves as Tau-aligned “Freedom Fighters,” they enthusiastically strip supplied technology for parts and treat warfare as an opportunity for salvage. 266 272

Abilities & Skills

Scavenging and Salvage

Gretchin are highly effective scavengers, able to reclaim useful material from battlefields, wrecks, corpses, and industrial sites.

• Recover heavy biological trophies using ropes and hooks. 66
• Extract valuables such as Ork teeth with improvised tools. 66
• Serve as a crucial recycling link in sustained warfare. 62
• Can infiltrate facilities under the principle: steal what can be stolen, destroy what cannot. 407

Improvised Engineering

Under Gazi and Liu Zhipeng's direction, Gretchin turn scavenged Ork, Tau, Necron, and Imperial components into functional weapons, vehicles, fortresses, and warships.

• Built Mini Power Armor from Ork armor fragments and modified plasma cores, allowing users to carry heavier weapons and survive stray fire. 244
• Developed the mass-produced Vanguard mech with simplified controls tailored to Gretchin pilots. 259
• Combined Tau and Ork systems into the Justice Enforcer mech. 267
• Constructed asteroid fortresses linked into a planetary three-dimensional defense network. 431
• Their ramshackle aircraft remain operational inside an electromagnetic pulse storm that should disable conventional electronics. 407

Organized Mass Warfare

Embers-trained Gretchin can conduct artillery preparation, armored breakthroughs, infantry assaults, defensive trench warfare, reconnaissance, and tactical retreats.

• Rotate Gauss-rifle firing lines to maintain sustained defensive fire. 247
• Use rocket artillery and Liberator mechs to break fortified Ork positions. 251
• Learn from casualties, gradually adopting cover, focused fire, and flank harassment against Imperial forces. 262
• Carry out orderly withdrawals on command despite their reputation for cowardice. 263
• Can conceal veteran units among fleeing recruits to turn apparent panic into a tactical delaying action. 277

Faith-Driven Warfare

The Gretchin State Religion presents Liu Zhipeng as a godlike savior whose Primordial Divine Flame receives those who die gloriously.

• Provides a cultural answer to Gretchin fear of death: death in service is “going home.” 259 443
• Inspires suicidal fleet actions and last stands to defend the City of Hope or the sleeping Big Boss. 294 443
• Their faith in their weapons can amplify the scale of their attacks. 440
• The same collective susceptibility leaves them vulnerable to corruptive influences, including Slaanesh-tainted energy. 462

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Mini Power Armor — Crude torso-and-head exoskeletons built from Ork armor fragments; provide protection and increased carrying capacity. 244
• Gauss Rifle: Youth Edition — Simplified Gauss weapon designed around poor Gretchin accuracy; hits disintegrate targets rather than explode. 244 270
• Embers-I Rifle — Improved Gretchin-pattern rifle with optimized coils, cooling, stocks, and grips; its rate of fire was increased by thirty percent. 258
• Big Boss's Wrath / Katyusha Squig — Twelve-tube rocket launchers mounted on Squig-pulled carriages; used for saturation bombardment. 249 251
• Liberator mechs — Large rebuilt Ork walkers used as siege vanguards and symbols of Gretchin liberation. 249 251
• Vanguard mechs — Four-meter mass-production walkers armed with a six-barreled Gatling gun and small Gauss cannon. 259
• Justice Enforcer — A heavily modified Tau Riptide-based mech combining Tau energy systems with Ork weaponry. 267 273
• Squig bombs — Improvised explosives, including oversized variants using Tau fusion cores and Ork spore explosives. 440
• Embers-class assault cruisers — First-generation Gretchin warships built in orbital shipyards. 259
• Jumpy-class dimensional engines — Advanced engines enabling short-range fleet teleportation into enemy formations. 286 294

Organization and Society

• Embers Company — The original rebel army founded after the workshop uprising. 243 248
• Techboss Mob / Mek Boss Corps — Gretchin engineering corps led by Gazi; responsible for weapons, mechs, and technical development. 258 259
• Propaganda and Gospel brigades — Teams that infiltrate Ork-held areas to spread promises of food, dignity, equipment, and a place in the Primordial Divine Flame. 248 267
• Provost Corps — Internal-enforcement force armed with Embers-I Rifles; implemented the Hygiene and Order Act through immediate executions. 258
• Spore Purification squads — Units tasked with preserving newborn Gretchin while exterminating emerging Ork Boyz to reshape the planet's ecology. 259
• Gretchin State Religion — State doctrine that deifies the Big Boss as the savior and beacon of all Gretchin. 259

Relationships

• Liu Zhipeng — Liberator, Big Boss, and object of state worship; his rebellion gives the Gretchin weapons, organization, territory, and a new collective identity. 243 251 259
• Gazi — First Tech Boss and chief Mekboy; leads Gretchin technical development, infiltration missions, and improvised weapons projects. 243 407 437
• Fang — First warlord and later supreme combat commander; organizes troops, commands defensive battles, and embodies the military transformation of the Gretchin. 243 437 443
• Snot — Intelligence leader responsible for scouting passages, enemy activity, resources, and later spore-purification operations. 243 258
• Orks — Historic masters and principal oppressors; Gretchin rebellions undermine Ork industry, labor systems, and military power across the galaxy. 242 287
• Tau Empire — Temporary allies who provide aid and technology while underestimating Gretchin cunning and military capacity. 266 278
• Imperium of Man — Views the rising Gretchin civilization as a xenos threat and launches campaigns to eradicate it. 251 257
• Necrons — Enemies repeatedly ambushed, robbed, and challenged by Gretchin engineering, infiltration, and massed firepower. 426 435 440

Story Role / Major Arcs

Workshop Rebellion

Liu Zhipeng's destruction of the local Ork masters sparks the first large-scale Gretchin uprising. The rebels form Embers Company, gain weapons and armor, then defeat Big Mek Guluk's punitive force. 243 244 247 248

Liberation of Scrap World

The Gretchin use artillery, Liberator mechs, Gauss rifles, and mass recruitment to capture Ork strongholds. After taking Ironfang Fortress and killing Globb Da Git, they establish Hope Star and the City of Hope. 249 251 257

Founding of the Gretchin State

The new regime imposes the Hygiene and Order Act, eliminates Ork spores while protecting Gretchin newborns, builds a fleet and mass-production mechs, and establishes a state religion around the Big Boss. 258 259

Tau Alliance and Deception

Calling themselves “Freedom Fighters,” the Gretchin accept Tau aid while secretly appropriating its technology. They use propaganda, staged sacrifice, and controlled losses to gain further supplies, weapons, and Tau trust. 266 267 272 278

Galactic Rebellion

Armed Gretchin slaves rise against Ork overseers across the galaxy, causing the Ork Empire's labor-dependent structure to begin collapsing. Both the Imperium and Tau recognize the Gretchin Civilization as a rapidly growing power. 287

Wars Against Necrons and Chaos

The Gretchin deploy asteroid fortresses, massed trench armies, mechs, Squig bombs, and suicidal demolition tactics against Necron forces. During later conflict, Slaanesh-tainted energy begins influencing Gretchin thoughts and desires. 435 437 440 462

Notable Quotes

“We filled our bellies, straightened our backs, and took up weapons! With our enemies' blood and wails, we proved that Gretchin are no longer slaves!” 251

“For the Big Boss! For roast meat! For dental insurance!” 268

“We might die. But that's just going home.” 443