"Let 'em tell da King. Da east belongs to da Orcs. Da east belongs to Morglum. Da east is green."
- —Morglum Necksnapper[3a]
An immense Orc warrior of great status.
The Orcs are perhaps the largest and most warlike of the Greenskin species, whose large size and raw physical strength easily allows them to dominate much of Greenskin society.[1b] Orcs are an extremely violent and brutish species in mind, body and soul. They are brutes and louts of the first degree, insensitive to pain and higher thought, and are singularly geared towards constant and ever-escalating warfare. In a more practical sense, Orcs simply live to fight.[2a]
Orcs are known for producing large, brutal armies of difficult-to-kill troops, usually supported by a variety or sub-groupings of other Greenskins. Such are their skills on the battlefield that the majority of the most destructive campaigns ignited by the Greenskins are more often led by an Orcish warlord or warboss of great strength, wit, and brutality.[1c]
Goblins are the more prolific Greenskin species, but it is the Orcs that do the bulk of the bloody work in most battles. They are an overly pugnacious lot and if the Orcs find themselves without an enemy, they will often pummel each other just to keep their spirits up. Orcs naturally take their robust physique for granted and regard everyone else as weak, puny or squishy.[1c]
Quick Answers
Who is Morglum Necksnapper in the Orcs society?
What are the physical characteristics of Orcs in Warhammer?
How does the raw physical strength of Orcs influence Greenskin society?
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What is the significance of the east to the Orcs in Warhammer?
Anatomy and Physiology
"Red-eyed brutes, the larger ones seem to be natural leaders of their kind."
- —Gavius Klugge[4a]
A typical Orc standing in a more upright posture than is normal for the Greenskins.
A typical Orc is a naturally large creature that stands taller than the average Man, with long arms and short legs, huge slabs of muscle moving underneath tough green skin, and their jaws are lined with vicious fangs that jut out from their underbite. They have beady red eyes, a generally foul demeanour, and are naturally bald. Normally six feet tall, they can be up to seven feet tall when stretched out of their characteristic, ape-like stoop.[1a]
Another strange characteristic about the Orcish species is their ability to grow in both strength and stature as they grow older.[2a] Orcs respect power and strength, and naturally tend towards becoming bigger and stronger as they rise through their society.[1a]
As an Orc grows older and wins more battles, he would begin to grow at an extraordinary rate, to such an extent that should he not be beaten by an even bigger, stronger foe in battle, the Orc would continue to grow for the rest of his life. In fact, it is said that an Orc can never truly die of old age, for by then, he would have already been beaten by a foe even bigger then himself or just simply killed outright.[2a]
Orc Sub-species
- Common Orc - The Common Orc is the broadest sub-grouping of the Orc species. Though the average Orc stands around the height of a Man, they would tower over Humans if they only stood upright rather than in their stooped posture. They are immensely broad and solid, with thick bones, dense muscles, and are almost completely unintelligent beyond their baser instincts. To an Orc, there is no joy greater than that of battle, and violence is a daily part of Orcish life. Led by tyrannical leaders called "warlords" or "warbosses", these Orcs are towering brutes that make their Goblin cousins look like runts by comparison. They are usually armed with a simple Orc Choppa (a catch-all term for any Greenskin close combat weapon) and some type of crude armour to protect themselves. [1c]
- Savage Orc - The Savage Orcs are a feral off-shoot of the Orc species. These tribes of primitives have been known to inhabit the Badlands just south of the Old World. Savage Orcs are the result of prolonged exposure to extreme heat, which degenerates the already small Orc brain into a stone age intellect, even by Orc standards.[1b]
- Black Orc - Black Orcs are a more powerful breed of Orc originally created by the foul magic of the Chaos Dwarfs to be used as slaves in their empire in the Dark Lands, but they have since rebelled and found a place in normal Greenskin society. They are naturally bigger, stronger and meaner than regular Orcs. Their name derives from the darker shade of green or black in their skin; another reason for the name maay be the black armour they prefer to wear and their horrendously foul odor. Though other Orcs tend to look down on the inteligence of Black Orcs, they are, if not smarter, at the very least far more organised than Common Orcs. They are above the petty in-fighting that consumes most Greenskin tribes and settle their differences with other Greenskins with orderly head-butting contests that end quickly and without last rancour.[1b]
Orcish Society
"We iz the best. We iz not dem weedie Gobbos or stoopid Trollz, we iz well 'ard! An' if anywun sayz we ain't, we iz guna stomp on der edz."
The Orc species displays an extraordinary range of variations within their overall physical anatomy and every Orc makes their own, often idiosyncratic wargear choices.
Across most of the Known World, the Orcs are the dominant force in Greenskin society. Most tribes are usually a mixture of both Goblins and Orcs, with the Orcs possessing the higher position within the tribe's violent hierarchy. Due to their strength yet lazy attitude toward labour, the Orcs occupy the "warrior caste" of Greenskin society, while the Goblins occupy the "worker caste".[1b]
In this union, the Orcs are given a large and plentiful source of labourers that will do all the menial task of daily tribal life, such as chopping wood, crafting weapons or building huts. In return, the Goblins receive the intimidating protection of their larger cousins from the threats of outside invaders such as fierce predators or other tribes of Greenskins.[1b]
However, there are times when a Greenskin tribe can consist almost entirely of Orcs. The composition of these Orc-dominated tribes is both wide-ranging and diverse. Regardless of their composition, however, most Orc tribes are formed around a hard-fighting core of Orc warriors. Without a large Goblin work-force to do the tribe's menial labours for them, the largest of the Orc warriors forces the smallest and weakest of their number to do the task for them.[1b]
As a result of their violent tendencies, this makes the always-belligerent Orcs even angrier, resulting in many full-on fights at an almost alarming regularity, even within Greenskin tribes. These physical struggles often help to establish a hierarchy within the tribe, forcing the lowliest warriors to do all the hard work while their larger and more powerful brethren loll about.[1b]
An Orc is a stubborn and lazy creature, and to have to do both the work and bear the humiliation of repetitive tasks such as chopping wood or building huts only guarantees another fierce fight in the imminent future. In time, these Orcs would once more fight amongst themselves, establishing a fresh new pecking order among the survivors.[1b]
This extremely hostile and unstable social environment ensures that most Orc-dominated tribes are smaller yet far more battle-hardened then a typical Greenskin tribe with a mixed species membership. However, as a consequence of their frequent infighting, the camps of Orc tribes usually lack even the crudest amenities that Goblin labourers normally provide, such as stockades or even simple skin-huts.[1b]
Warfare
"All Orcs, even the cleverest, resemble nothing so much as squabbling Human toddlers that have been magically granted enormous size, horrendous strength, and a variety of barbaric weapons."
- —Heinrich Malz, High Priest of the Cult of Verena[2a]
Orc Boyz in combat against the foe.
When the Greenskin tribes go to war, Orc brutes serve as tough-to-kill warriors called "Boyz" or simply "Da Boyz." These Orc Boyz would then form up into units, simply called "mobs," which are commanded by the biggest within their particular group, the "bosses." On the battlefield, Orc mobs are distinguished by their own symbols or markings, which are most often displayed on shields, banners or totems. It is common practice to brag about one's own mob, while rudely scoffing at other mobs. Naturally, this leads to punch-ups, scrums and actual combat between rival groups.[1c]
A unit of Orcs Boyz carries a range of weapons onto the battlefield, such as long-staved spears, a variety of bladed cleavers, giant crude axes, bloodied clubs, rusty swords and occasionally other looted wargear. These weapons often feature prominently in a mob's name; such as the "Rusty Choppas Boyz" or "Gutnik's Jabbers."[1a]
All Orc close-combat weapons are collectively and generically called "choppas" and are kept in a battered condition. To an Orc, an untarnished weapon is a sure sign that a fight has been long overdue.[1c] While they lack even the most basic organised intelligence of the more advanced intelligent mortal species, Orcs possess immense cunning and a potent survival instinct, but rarely adopt new tactics to replace their fondness for close-quarters brutality.[1a]
Before battle, mobs of Orc Boyz have been known to chant and stomp the ground as a means of intimidation and as a way to pump up an Orc's preternatural adrenaline rush. Should the battle take too long to begin, fights have been known to break out between individuals or rival mobs as taunts and rocks are flung back and forth.[1c]
As such, it is common to see a mob of Big 'Uns travelling up and down a Greenskin army as a disciplinary figure to stop such animosity from getting out of control. When their warlord or warboss roars his Waaagh!, Orcs have been known to lend their own guttural voices in the swelling of the barbaric battle cry. With battle finally commencing, these Orcs can at last release all of their pent-up violence into a ground-shaking charge.[1c]
Miniatures
.jpg "Orc Boyz (1).jpg (99 KB)")
_-_Hand_Weapon,_Spear,_Shield,_Two_Hand_Weapons.jpg "Orc Boyz (2) - Hand Weapon, Spear, Shield, Two Hand Weapons.jpg (47 KB)")
_-_Banner_Carrier,_Musician.jpg "Orc Boyz (3) - Banner Carrier, Musician.jpg (44 KB)")
.jpg "Orc Boyz (4).jpg (71 KB)")
Trivia
The Italian translation of "Ogre" is Orco, the same word used to indicate an Orc. Over the years, this has caused much confusion among the Italian Warhammer community. As a result, the Italian translation team for Warhammer adopted the terms Ogre (singular) and Ogri (plural) starting from the 6th Edition onwards.
Sources
- 1: Warhammer Armies: Orcs and Goblins (8th Edition)
- 2: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition: Old World Bestiary (RPG)
- 2a: pg. 22
- 3: Warhammer Armies: Orcs and Goblins (5th Edition)
- 3a: pg. 98
- 4: Warhammer Invasion (Collectible Card Game)
- 5: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition: Core Rulebook (RPG)
- 5a: pg. 325