This article has been written to help users write a cannon friendly and interesting page for an Ork Tribe. Before you write your article it is best to read up on the faction you are creating so you know what you are writing about and keep the content cannon friendly. Read more: Orks on Warhammer Wiki
AmyTheStray (talk) 11:12, April 30, 2015 (UTC)
What is an Ork Tribe?[]
A Ork tribe is a horde of green-skins usually comprised of one or more Warbands under the command of a single Warboss. Though the tribe is in no way a permanent grouping, Orks being a warlike and savage people tend to fight amoung themselves and enjoy overthrowing anyone whom they don't believe to be worthy of leading, these tribes can number from as little as a hundred, to many thousands (or more!) green-skins dwelling in a close proximity - a settlement or group of settlements may make up a lesser Ork tribe on a single world, while a grouping of large cities stretched over multiple worlds might make up a much larger and more prominent tribe - often with a number of vassal tribes under it's thrall.
Characters and Prominent Mobs[]
Da Boss[]
Sitting perched on the far top of the tribal hierarchy is your boss - the biggest and the baddest Ork in the area! And the first thing you need to consider when you make your tribe. Your tribe's leader, be he a warboss, a big mek, or some other variety of Oddboy, is the most important figure in the group! and as such you need to make sure that when you are writing your article you have your Boss as the center piece of the tribe - a larger than life focal point to build your tribe around. Ask yourself, why is he the boss? How did he become boss? And what makes him special?
Your boss may be a giant Warboss - the most fighty ork in the tribe, or maybe a cunning Big Mek who spend his time and teef building ever more outlandish machines for his spanna boy tribe. What ever he is, your bosses nature will no doubt colour the lay out of the tribe. A Goff Warboss could lead a horde of black-clad Nobz into battle, a Bad Moonz Big Mek might spend his time tinkering in his scrap yard with his spanna boyz out acquiring new parts for his brand new Stompa, or even maybe a strange and superstitious tribe may be lead by a freakishly unstable Weirdboy who heads a ragtag mob of fanatic GorkerMorkers.
But regardless of who your boss is, he needs to be a colourful character amoung a sea of green who stands out from the crowd not only by his great deeds, but by his "winning personality".
Read more: Warboss on Warhammer Wiki
Da Nobz[]
Below the boss are his retainers; a group of orks who act as both the enforcers of the bosses will, and the nobility of the tribe. Larger and more fearsome than the average boy, the Nobz take on the personality and traits of their boss - which means that they are almost as varied and colourful as the boss they follow.
Read more : Nobs on Warhammer Wiki
Oddboyz[]
Among the green-skins there is a caste of Orks known as the "Oddboyz", who are, well special. Born with the innate abilities to preform a specific task in Ork society, these Oddboyz stand apart from their peers and enjoy a privileged and quite often wealthy lifestyle. Your tribe will most likely contain a number of these individuals, and second only to the boss and his Nobz are the most important part of the tribe. So it is important to write a little about these unique individuals.
- Mekboys are the builders and architects of the green-skins and are essential in the creation and maintenance of the technology used by the tribe. If your tribe uses lots of vehicles or big "kustom" guns then you will either need a few of these crazy mechanics as a part of the tribe, or failing that have a number of Mek allies as business partners to keep everything functional.
- Painboys are the orkish equivalent of doctors and surgeons. From mending wounds to implanting bionics, painboys are almost always a prominent part of the tribe.
- Weirdboys channel the power of the warp through their minds, and are both battle psykers and fortune tellers in equal measure. While not always found in a tribe, as even they can not control their own natural talents, these insanely dangerous sorcerers are often sought out by a tribe to read omens and prophecies, or to aid the tribe in war where their potent warp powers can be used to disastrous effect. Weirdboyz usually live in a tall, rickety tower on the edge of town - or as far away enough to keep the townfolk safe from stray warp energy.
- Herdaz raise the lesser green-skined breeds, and are the overseers of the "drops"; a public toilet come fungus farm in the center of town. From house training gretchin to corralling squigs, the Herdaz are one of the most important members in the tribe. Without the Herdaz the drops would not produce and the settlement would be over run with stray snotlings.
- Madboyz are those sorry Orks that suffer from one kind of derangement or another. Be it uncontrollable blood lust or psychotic catatonia, the madboyz are kept by tribes as a sign of good luck and are often lead into battle where their oddity can be put to good use. When not at play (Madboyz love all sorts of strange games, which more often than not are more than an inconvenience to the settlement) or in battle the madboyz spend their time hold up in a special "crazy proof" compound behind a tall, often electrified fence.
Read more : Oddboys on Warhammer Wiki
Special Mobz[]
With so many different Orks trying to do their best in the tribe, it is inevitable that a number of small groups will develop and prosper to become famous for their mad talents and daring deeds. These mobz (ork squads or gangs) may be slithy lootaz who are known far and wide for their sneak-thievery, or a "kompany" of black-booted stormboyz who "are da best marchaz in da land". With the addition of one or two of these individual mobs you can help define your warband in an easily unique way.
Which Clan?[]
Some time in the far past of Orkish history the green-skin race split into six specific strains known as "Klanz". These bloodlines each include every form of green-skin life, but desplay small variations that effect the biology and psychology of the clans members. The Goffs are tougher than all others, the Evil Sunz are speed addicts and mad racers, the Bad Moonz are the richest, as their teeth grow faster than the other clans, the Snakebites live according to Da Old Way and favour lower levels of technology, the Blood Axes are more disciplined and militaristic than the rest, and the Deathskulls dawb themselves in "lucky" blue paint and are known for being "sneaky gitz".
Though each of these clans make an excellent starting point for making the over all theme of your tribe, it is common for a tribe to contain members from many of the different clans - or even Orks who are "clanless" for what ever reason.
Characteristics[]
No two tribes are the same, and the disposition and interests of your tribe can help highlight your warband. Are they a tribe of bikers and trukkboyz who are dedicated to the "Kult of Speed", or slog on foot in their droves carrying all they own on the backs of Squigoffs. Ask yourself, what types of orks and vehicles is your tribe made of, and why they prefer that style? How do they act in battle? Are they fighty or cunning? Do they clank about on mechanical legs or sneak through the brush in camouflaged face paint?
Colour Scheme[]
When creating a tribe you have to give them a colour scheme to set them apart from other tribes. Since the Orks like bright and contrasting colours, feel free to give your tribe any colour scheme you can think of; the boss chooses the colour and the tribe follows suit, so anything goes.
If you are unsure what colours you want to use, the Bolter and Chainsword Ork colour scheme generator can be found here - Ork Painter
Home is Where the Tribe is[]
Where does your tribe live? From primitive, backwater planets, to rusty spacehulks in the depths of space, Orks can live almost anywhere. Does your tribe live on a planet, or do they live in space? Is the planet verdant and forested or a smokey hiveworld? Is their home a ruined space station or the hollowed out shell of an asteroid? The environment in which your tribe inhabits will no doubt colour the nature of your tribe.
Enemies and Allies[]
Orks don't have the best manners, and often make more than a few enemies. Who are their greatest foes, and why do they hate each other so much? Could the theft of a statue of an Imperial saint cause a vendetta between your tribe and a local Adeptus Sororitas order, or an offhanded insult cause a rift between your tribe and another from the same planet? By the same token, your tribe may have made friends a fellow tribe due to having a common cause or enemy; or maybe your freebooter tribe has employed the services of a band of Eldar Marauders. Who ever these frienemies are, detail their relationship with your tribe and their shared history.
History[]
After the personalities of the tribe, the history of the tribe is what makes them who they are, and explaining how your tribe got to where it is now is imperative to the creation of your fannon. Why does your Big Mek hate the pointy-ears so much? When did your Warboss come into possession of his prize battlewagon? How did you tribe come to live in their icy, forested home?
A detailed bullet point list of chronological events is one of the best ways to create a history, with longer sections detailing the most important happenings; and since the Green-Skins are a race of superstitious story tellers, you may wish to write your history from the view point of a Herda spinning a tale of his bosses greatest exploits. As it is in their nature, feel free to be as adventurous as you like when writing the tribes history - the orks favour good fiction over boring facts.
From the tribes founding and the resulting misadventures, your tribe will never be at rest; forever moving onward to the next battle and celebration. An Ork tribe is never idle.
Quotes[]
Green-skins are enigmatic and loud-mouthed, and benefit from a full and fleshed out quotes which add colour to an already colourful faction. With Orks, the more quotes the merrier.