History Characters / Warhammer40000Orks

* EnemyMine: The quickest way to get different tribes of Orks to reconcile their differences and unite is to present them with a non-Ork enemy to fight.
** This started happening between the Orks of Armageddon and the Armageddon Steel Legion after the Fall of Cadia, with the two sides occasionally agreeing to a ceasefire and joining forces to combat the forces of Chaos that have descended upon the planet. It should be noted that these ceasefires are temporary and the two sides will go back to killing each other once Chaos has been beaten back.

* EvilOverlord: Your average Warboss is this.

* IHaveManyNames: Some Orks take on nicknames referring to particularly remarkable feats or defeated enemies. For example, by the end of ''VideoGame/DawnOfWar: Dark Crusade''[='s=] Ork campaign, a Warlord is known as Gorgutz 'Ead 'Unter, Rage Screamer, Blood Spilla, Death Killa, Daemon Killa, Gun Smasher, Ghost Killa.

* InsaneTrollLogic: Prolific enough to be called "Insane Ork Logic". As you may have noticed by now, Orks run on this, given their tendency to paint their vehicles red to make them go faster, and their views on winning and losing.

* ItCanThink: This is the greatest danger in facing Orks; the majority of Boyz are [[DumbMuscle moronic]] {{Blood Knight}}s, but there are always exceptions. The Warboss leading a Waaagh! can be highly intelligent, Mekboyz come up with devices that no one else would expect to work, and some Imperial commanders refuse to believe that Ork "Kommandos" exist. These frequently realize their error only when ambushed by the non-existant Orks [[BrightIsNotGood in brightly colored camouflage]].

* ZergRush: One of the ways the Orks became so numerous and one of their methods for defeating their enemies, thanks to their method of reproduction.

** Considering how Orks operate, especially in [[VideoGame/Warhammer40000SpaceMarine Space Marine]], this distinction is academic at best.

* AffablyEvil: No matter how violent and bloodthirsty they are in any setting, it's hard to actually hate the Orks because they're just so goddamn ''jolly'' about everything they do, whether it be a Mekboy shooting himself out of his own gun or the Green Tide wiping out an entire planet full of innocent life. In fact, they're arguably one of the least malicious races in all of ''40k'' (with the possible exception of the Tyranids, which aren't even really sentient). They don't fight and murder ForTheEvulz, they fight and murder because that's the ''only'' thing they know. Concepts such as peace and harmony are completely foreign and abstract to all Orks. To them, war is [[BloodKnight just one giant bloodsoaked party]], and they [[BlueAndOrangeMorality are genuinely confused]] as to why other races don't share the sentiment whenever they're actually ''aware'' that they don't[[labelnote:*]]For example, when an Ork sees the Imperium building a fortress, he thinks they're doing it so they someone can assault it and have a propa scrap around the entire thing - the idea that fortifications are meant to ''dissuade'' invaders never once comes to mind[[/labelnote]]. A common observation by fans is that the Orks are probably the only faction that is actually having a ''good'' time living in the [[CrapsackWorld war-torn hellhole]] that is [[CosmicHorrorStory the 41st Millennium]].

** On a more literal note, Warboss Tuska grew so fond of fighting daemons during Warp flights that he led his warband straight into the Eye of Terror. They're now trapped on one of Khorne's daemon worlds, doomed to an eternity of mindless violence, grisly death, and resurrection to begin the cycle anew - but because they're Orks, they've never been happier. Quoth Tuska, "Told yer I knew where da best fightin' woz."

* AffablyEvil: No matter how violent and bloodthirsty they are in any setting, it's hard to actually hate the Orks because they're just so goddamn ''jolly'' about everything they do, whether it be a Mekboy shooting himself out of his own gun or the Green Tide wiping out an entire planet full of innocent life. In fact, they're arguably one of the least malicious races in all of ''40k'' (with the possible exception of the Tyranids, which aren't even really sentient). They don't fight and murder ForTheEvulz, they fight and murder because that's the ''only'' thing they know. Concepts such as peace and harmony are completely foreign and abstract to all Orks. To them, war is [[BloodKnight just one giant blood-filled party]], and they [[BlueAndOrangeMorality are genuinely confused]] as to why other races don't share the sentiment whenever they're actually ''aware'' that they don't[[labelnote:*]]For example, when an Ork sees the Imperium building a fortress, he thinks they're doing it so they someone can assault it and have a propa scrap around the entire thing.[[/labelnote]]. A common observation by the fans is that the Orks are probably the only faction that is actually having a ''good'' time living in the [[CrapsackWorld war-torn hellhole]] that is [[CosmicHorrorStory the 41st Millennium]].

* HealingFactor: Regardless of how many pieces an Ork gets chopped into, if a Dok stitches him back together in time he'll be back on his feet and good as new. Half the time, an Ork's idea of reattaching a severed limb is to just ''nail it back on'' -- and an Ork's Healing Factor is so strong this actually ''works''.

* TheRemnant: ''Literature/TheBeastArises'' confirms that the six Clanz are the remnants of the original Ork Legions created by the Beast of Ullanor, with their Sofias acting as role designations (Blood Axes were to be leaders, Deathskullz handle the resources, Goffs act as shock infantry, while Snakebites manage slaves).

* BizarreAlienPsychology: Species-wide genocidal belligerence aside, Orks and their subspecies are notable in that they explicitly don't suffer from cognitive dissonance - the discomfort that people feel holding contradictory information. Whether it's a consequence of their culture or engineered biology is up in the air.
** Despite being hated by every other faction (not uncommon in the 40k universe itself), the vast majority of Orks bear little actual animosity towards those they fight against. The closest an average Ork will feel is a kind of frustrated contempt that their opponent isn't putting up a better fight or is trying to avoid a fight in the first place.

* BizarreAlienPsychology: Species-wide genocidal belligerence aside, Orks and their subspecies are notable in that they explicitly don't suffer from cognitive dissonance - the discomfort that people feel holding contradictory information. Whether it's a consquence of their culture or engineered biology is up in the air.

* DelusionsOfEloquence: Bad Moons consider themselves the nobility of Ork society, and love to show off by making poetry and using fancy words with more than two syllables what they looted from other races, like ''eviscerate'' or ''disembowel'' or ''[[TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers credenza]]''.

Stubbornly durable, physically powerful and naturally inclined toward violence, Orks are exceptional, if unruly fighters. While the majority of their technology tends to be ramshackle but effective machines built from whatever material that is available, some of their more eccentric technology is deceptively advanced, capable of rivalling or exceeding anything the Imperium or even the T'au Empire can build, at least when it decides to work. All of Orkish civilization and "kultur" is geared towards endless conflict, and their only ruling principle is "MightMakesRight". This makes the Orks as a whole naturally fractious, but when a particularly strong and charismatic Warboss (which is typically the biggest and strongest Ork around) is able to unite a number of tribes, a Waaagh! is formed. Described as a combination of mass migration, holy war and [[TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers soccer riot]], a full-scale Waaagh! can exterminate entire civilisations and shake the very foundations of the galaxy. While such events were once fairly uncommon, the anarchy and violence consuming the galaxy in the wake of the opening of the Great Rift (known to the Orks as Gork's Grin) has agitated the greenskins like never before and an increasing number of Waaaghs! are being launched by successive Warbosses.

Stubbornly durable, physically powerful and naturally inclined toward violence, Orks are exceptional, if unruly fighters. While the majority of their technology tends to be jerry-rigged but effective machines built from whatever material that is available, some of their more eccentric technology is deceptively advanced, capable of rivalling or exceeding anything the Imperium or even the T'au Empire can build, at least when it decides to work. All of Orkish civilization and "kultur" is geared towards endless conflict, and their only ruling principle is "MightMakesRight". This makes the Orks as a whole naturally fractious, but when a particularly strong and charismatic Warboss (which is typically the biggest and strongest Ork around) is able to unite a number of tribes, a Waaagh! is formed. Described as a combination of mass migration, holy war and [[TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers soccer riot]], a full-scale Waaagh! can exterminate entire civilisations and shake the very foundations of the galaxy. While such events were once fairly uncommon, the anarchy and violence consuming the galaxy in the wake of the opening of the Great Rift (known to the Orks as Gork's Grin) has agitated the greenskins like never before and an increasing number of Waaaghs! are being launched by successive Warbosses.

'''[[Characters/Warhammer40000ForcesOfChaos Forces of Chaos]]:''' [[Characters/Warhammer40000ChaosGods Chaos Gods]], [[Characters/Warhammer40000ChaosPrimarchs Chaos Primarchs]], [[Characters/Warhammer40000ChaosMarines Heretic Astartes]]\\

* GutturalGrowler: The Orkish language is slow, gruff, guttural, and thick with saliva, often [[TalkToTheFist punctuated with physical violence]].

* TapOnTheHead: Doks [[SkipTheAnesthetic don't usually bother applying anesthetic]], but when they do it consists of [[DropTheHammer a large mallet]] applied directly to the back of the patient's skull. This is usually less about mitigating the patient's pain than it is getting them to [[StrappedToAnOperatingTable quit struggling]] when undergoing delicate ([[MeatGrinderSurgery by Ork standards]]) surgery.

* DropTheHammer: Tankbustas sometimes give up on hitting an enemy vehicle at range and instead attack it with a Tankhamma, nothing more than an anti-tank rocket on a stick swung like a sledgehammer.

* ItCanThink: The Blood Axes are notable among the Orks for their willingness to come up with complex strategies, exploit their foes' weaknesses, coordinate and time their various forces' attacks for best effect, and use underhanded and sneaky tricks to get an advantage. Most other factions rarely assume Orks to be capable of more that brutishly direct aggression, and tend to be caught rather flat-footed when dealing with the Blood Axes.

* WeAreStrugglingTogether: Your average Ork warband, at the best of times. Applies species-wide as well: it is speculated that the Orkoid race, if by some miracle was ever united under one banner, would be a galactic juggernaut -- not even the vast, chittering hordes of the Hive Fleets nor the technological superiority of T'au would compare, and the Orks would brush aside all opposition. Sure enough, one Warboss, his real name lost to history and known today only as "the Beast", actually succeeded in doing this and his Orks devastated much of the post-Literature/HorusHeresy Imperium in a galactic Waaagh! that was finally stopped at great cost and desperate measure. No other Warboss has managed to do the same, many of them haven't even attempted to do so, though Warboss Ghazghkull may very well achieve this one day...

* WeirdCurrency: Orks use their teef as currency. Since Orks constantly grow and shed their tusks, this ensures that a community has a steady supply of coinage, and no Ork can go broke for too long. Hoarding is impossible since Teef naturally decay, which simultaneously prevents inflation. If an Ork wants something expensive, all he has to do is be 'ard enough to [[TeethFlying punch other Orks' teef out]], which is also why the Bad Moons' quick-growing tusks aren't seen as an unfair advantage by the other clans. "This simple approach to an issue most civilisations agonise about is typical of the pragmatic attitude of the Ork race." Notably, they ''do'' use the teeth of other creatures as currency too, but because bigger and more-impressive teeth are valued higher than smaller, weedier teeth, they don't bother taking the teef of humans or Grots. (They are also vaguely aware that humans are somewhat-protective of their teeth, which don't grow back.) This is part of why Orks love picking fights with Tyranids, who offer up a huge supply of big, fancy, impressive teef that can make an Ork community that successfully krumps a splinter fleet very, very rich.
* WhatAPieceOfJunk: The usual state of vehicles, ships, and weapons of Ork manufacture, which are never kept in good condition and look like they were slapped together in a scrapyard, and in many cases were. However, thanks to [[ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve Orks' faith in their weapons]], they tend to work a lot better than their engineering has any logical right to. That said, the rare examples of Ork tech that managed to be made with a modicum of actual skill are the real danger: the better the weapon or vehicle functions on its own, the more Waaagh energy is freed up to apply to more advanced abilities. An Ork rifle made to low-Imperium standards could be powerful enough to vaporize a tank.

* WhoWouldBeStupidEnough: Orks can often surprise enemy commanders by succeeding at crossing dangerous terrain or trying daring tactics everyone else has written off as suicidal. Ciaphas Cain ('''HERO OF THE IMPERIUM''') has noted that because of how unpredictable Orks can be to a logical tactician, the best bet for facing them is to assume ''nothing'', lest they actually try it.

* TheRemnant: ''Literature/TheBeastArises'' confirms that the six Clanz are the remnants of the original Ork Legions created by the Beast of Ullanor, with their Sofias acting as role designations (Blood Axes were to be leaders, Deathskullz handle the resources, Goffs act as shock troopers, while Snakebites manage slaves).

* BlueAndOrangeMorality: It isn't really fair to call Orks ''evil''; they're simply {{Living Weapon}}s that have outlived their wielders and were never installed with an off button. War is all they can understand, and they never bear any particular malice towards their enemy. Orks are physically and culturally built to thrive on violence and don't really get how other races might not.