[IG 2020] Da Voidjawz (former Blakjawz)

[Kelborn]

OI!

Welkom, ya gitz!

 

This thread is a placeholder for what is about to come.

It'll be my first attemot if creating a Xenos faction and uploading it in here. Especially as I'm not an expert in any Xenos related stuff.  Let's see where this will lead us to, eh? Besides, does someone know if there's a Ork = English translating tool or such? Would like to be as correct with quotes as possible.

 

As of now, I don't have much to share except some snipptes of inspiration and ideas. So 'ere we go! 'ere we go! 'ERE WE GOOOOOHOOOO!

 

Former original concept

Idea:

 

- small Waaagh! or Freebota fleet led by Blakjaw

- more "savage" than the regular Ork, more focusing on melee fights, Weirdboys are more of an advisor role than the maniacs we know; utilizing visions to find their next prey

- making use of Orkish runes, which empower their host with the energies of the Waaagh!

- Grots maintaing their ships, Orks themselves are more about the fight than building

- love to hunt, especially big ones; constantly hyped by Waaagh! energies, always restless, always searching for the next prey

- favorite prey: Tyranids; Orks adorn themselves with skulls and carapace fragments; Blakjaw himself might wield a pair of boneswords instead of a choppa

- not sure if I want to write in the pre or after Rift era

 

Sources of inspiration:

 

- *what a surprise* Warcraft Orcs, Iron Horde, Draenor Clans, Grommash Hellscream & Kilrogg Deadeye, etc.

- Azog from the Hobbit movies

- The Banished from Halo Wars 2

- AoS Orruks, mostly Bonesplitterz

- Edward Thatch aka Blackbeard and the not romanticised Pirate era

 

Voidjawz

 

image address

https://image.shutterstock.com/image-vector/great-white-shark-jaws-260nw-304081742.jpg

 

Who dey are:

• Bonesplitterz in space, zealous, hunters, “primitive/ savage”, Freeboters
• Nonetheless Freebooters, always looking for loot; love to raid and plunder; most precious bounty being bones / skulls of slain champions
• Mixture of Bonesplitters, Freebooters and Feral Orks
• Exact their toll from several, isolated world; amongst them even a Knight world, which thy enjoy even more for the big metal beasts
• Operating within the Imperium
  • Freebooter enclaves within Segmentum Solar
  • Custodes of the Dread Host after Wazdakka Gutsmeks Waaagh!
  • Possible Hive Fleets: Kronos, Hydra, Leviathan
  • OR
  • Switching between both halves
    • More options ‘cause more Hive Fleets
    • Pain in the ass for both regimes
    • Some cat & mouse/ Moby Dick-ish possibilities / situation (Blakjaw vs Tyrant & Astartes/ Custodes vs Blakjaw)
• Enemies of the warband:
  • Tyranids; especially a Hive Tyrand, specialy named organism, Blakjaw is using its blades of a former incarnation, his Moby Dick
  • Either a SM chapter or a Knight Household; Voidjawz ravaged and raided their sector and homeworld, also took
    • Corpse of a champion/ leader
    • Holy artifact
    • Something other of importance with them
  • Custodes; threat to the Segmentum Solar, they’re after a stolen artifact or because of a vision or preventive measurements to keep Solar safe
  • Orkatan, the Speedboss; Immortan & Fury Road inspiration, Speed Waaaghboss, ruled over a system, invaded by Tyranids and “saved” by Blakjaw, joined his warband and went into submission; rival of Blakjaw, tries to undermine him and become the new boss

 

Da good onez:

• Da Mekka Beasts
  • On their way of exacting their toll did their warp engine not work properly and they dropped into a yet unknown system full of in habituated worlds
  • A small fleet stood against them for no reasons, Da Gods Revenga was just too big
  • They raided world after world until they set foot on one covered in dense forests and ancient keeps – quite a lot of keeps to be honest
  • Giant metal beasts emerge from the forests with blazing cannons and roaring blades, quite comparable with Gorkanauts or Morkanauts – depends on which you prefer
  • Blakjaw and his Boyz were amazed and eager to test their skill on this new metal bread giants
  • A massive battle occurs but eventually, said metal gargants fell to the cunning mind of Blakjaw – and some massive amount of Dakka and Wildboyz climbing up on their backs, cutting their way through its shell
  • Turns out that those awesome beasts were in fact like a cheap parody of a Morkanaut (or Gorkanaut) with a ‘Umie inside
  • Nonetheless Blakjaw and his Boyz enjoyed the fight and they continued to raid until they laid waste to every keep they found
  • But (which every other regular Boss would most likely do, but not Blakjaw!) they did not destroy the keep nor did they kill the ‘Umies. They simply took some toll and left them.
  • And here’s a thing: Blakjaw knows that they will rebuild their walls and repair their Mekka Beasts as he called them. He was hoping for that. In a couple of years, he would return and have some fun again. What’s an Ork without his hobbies, eh?
• Da fight for speed
  • the battle, which brought Orkatan into their ranks
  • Nidz invade an Ork system ruled by Orkatan, he is outmatched and about to loose
  • Blakjaw shows up, guided by his weirdboyz vision
  • distracts the bioships and splits his forces, one half led by the Bad Dok boards the central bioship while Blakjaw is chasing after the Hive Tyrant, who leads the ground assault
  • Blakjaw makes use of his favourite technique: Da beasts fangs
  • Mobile units encircle the enemies force, herding them together as much as possible
  • Nobz and other big ones face the herd head on, supported by dakka and choppas on their flanks
  • Right behind them are the weirdboyzs and other leading officers follow, providing heavy fire support with their big customized guns and psyichic powers, the latter again growing in strength thanks to the rising amount of Waaagh!!! energy
  • Deffdreads, Killakans and madboyz accompany Blakjar while striking deep into the herd, chopping off the leading organisms heads
  • Blakjaw gets the head of the tyrand, Kronk lethally injures the ship (how he did that is left a secret, da Dok doesn’t like curiosity about his stuff), which leads to the crumbling of the splitterfleet, rest is easy prey
  • defeated, Orkatans forces are absorbed into the Voidjawz or rather, his Boyz wanted to join the better Boss and he went with them
• Da golden Boyz or Da Chaos Weirdos
  • earning the ire of the Custodes Dread Host or a chaos warband by ravaging a world/ base and stealing a precious artefact/ individual/ whatever wasn’t nailed down
  • Custodes depends if they’re operating in Segmentum Solar alone; Dread Host, maybe Blakjaw killed a shieldcaptain and took his stuff
  • Chaos Warband, possibly a Tzeentch dedicated one; uses plots and intrigues to achieve their goals and then did the Voidjawz came, ruining it all, bit of stereotypical “Orks are too dumb, lucky and clumsy to get harmed by the sophisticated plans of the warband

 

Where da Boyz come from:

• First there was Blakjaw, who had a vision of his gods spirits caught in the bones of mighty beasts, legend has it
  • He heard the call and was exiled for beind weird, went into the wilds of a close by jungle world
  • His cries and screams of his prey echoed through the night, those, who brought him to the surface believed him to have been killed by the jungle
  • One day he returned at the head of a Feral ork tribe
  • With his Boyz becoming more “cleva”, they were able to build a ship and chase after his former warband
  • He killed the current boss and took over, from then on hunting the biggest legendary beast he could find; he succeeded and conquered the entire world and set out for the stars for bigger prey which was calling to him
  • Those feral Orks became his elite, his bodyguard, denying any type of armor and such and are covered in countless runes and “empowered” bone armor
  • From this day, more and more Orks joined him to be part of da great hunt and to feel da godz

 

Shpeschialz:

• Warechanters as semi “priests”, praising the word of Blackjaw and his revelations, leading the hunt for the godly spirits; Morks and Gorks might is hidden within the most lethal and biggest monsters, tear them apart, eat their flesh and use their bones to be granted a fracture of godly power
• Orks can absorb those powers to empower themselves via Orkish runes attached to their armor and using bones and fetishes of their slain prey
• Captured slaves of some races
  • Female Ordo Xenos Inquisitor, recently caught
  • Male Aeldari (Ranger or Drukhari?)
  • Personal slaves of the warbands leaders, those two of Blakjaw himself

 

How da Boyz fight:

• make use of bullhorn tactics, like Bonesplitterz
  • bikes and other fast moving units encirle and outflank enemies aka horns boyz
  • heavz units like nobz or dreads deliver the killing blow aka teef boyz
  • shootaz and other distance units as well as cc units fight the prey head on aka skull boyz
  • leading or special units fight enemies head on among the teef boyz
• Weirdboyz channel Waaagh! Energy through runes
  • Boyz become more savage
  • Runes add another layer of protection against bullets, blades and claws, which defies anz logic but does not surprise Imperial agents as they are talkning about Oks afte all
  • Strength to the runes wielder
  • Prevents Weirdboyz from exploding

 

Or..ga..ni...pah! da warband:

• Rather small fleet or maybe a Space Hulk; maybe fleet based only without a base of operation? at first
  • assimilates more and more smaller warbands, thus their fleet is growing, biggest joining warband was that of Orkatan
  • Those feral Orks, who choose him as a new boss and followed him from day one, became his elite, his bodyguard; denying any type of armor and such and are covered in countless runes and “empowered” bone armor
  • Flagship: Da Gods Revenga
    • Blakjaws second ship, Space Hulk of small – medium size
    • Fast & maneuverable, consists of several ships and one lost Ork Rokk of an unknown warband/ tribe
    • In habituated by Genestealers (live and hide in the shadows, nearly extinct, target of randomly happening leisure/ hunts of Blakjaw and his Nobz, human and other races slaves, mutants and a feral tribe of Orks frome Blakjaws “home”
    • One part of the ship was once a Beakie ship with large ship to ship claws (Ursus Claws), one of Blakjaws favourite tools, “Get em closer Boyz, I wanna see der fear in der eyes”
    • many bone decorations and such in addition to the regular Ork art
    • Many hangar bays, large engineer bays
    • “Mosh pit”, giant pit for events like pit fights, etc.; also used as gathering place before a fight in order to get “hyped”
    • Large halls for loot an’ stuff (tributes, loot, hunting trophies)
    • Blakjaws room is a former imperial bridge, being modified to be “orkier and betta”
• Orruk  Battletome notes aka organizational stuff
  • Bunch of weirdboyz/ Madboyz gathering around Blakjaw
  • Iconography: double-headed shark/ Tyranidskull rune/ shark jaw?
  • Waaagh! Energy defying all logic by standing against bullets and blades, vent for Weirdboy energies
  • Waaagh! Enhanced weapons; Choppas or bullets, infuse their victims with feral energies, which lead into a frenzy / loose all self-control, lost in the energies (source: Bonegrinz)
  • Organisation (based upon Bonesplitterz, name not fixed yet)
    • Kop Rukks
      • Leaders, elites, Weirdboys, Madboys (Nobz and Meganobz, Battlewagon?)
    • Snaga Rukks
      • Trukks, Bikes & Koptas, Trikes, Kommandos, Stormboys
    • Kunnin‘ Rukks
      • Lootas, Tankbustas, Flash Gitz
    • Brutal Rukks
      • Boyz, Burna Boyz
    • Teef Rukks
      • Dreads, Killakans, Gorka-/Morkanauts

 

Da Kultur:

• favourite prey: Tyranids, bigger, deadlier than anything else they’ve encountered, see the hunt of Tyranids as key of their purpose in order to gain as much of Morks or Gorks blessed powers as possible
  • to them, the Tyranids are sent by their deities as a challenge to prove their worth to them or as a gift to have fun with
  • as there are more and more of the Nidz coming, there is a point to that idea of the twin gods wanting every Ork to follow Blakjaws path
  • Old feud between Blakjaw and the Hyvemind (Moby Dick-ish)
• Orkish runes like cuneiform, mixed with the simple iconography of Bonesplitterz runes
  • Live aboard the Da Gods Revenga
    • “Regular” Ork community, Runtherds, using squigs for different purposes like hair, etc.
    • Mosh Pit = social important point, duels, eventz (like ‘eavy metal Konzertz)
    • Sometimes Blakjaw hosts big hunts or fights
      • Genestealer/ captured beasts vs. volunteers
      • Mob vs. mob as some sort of training/ competition
    • Rokkmusik, ‘eavy metal, squigpipes, playin’ with da meks toys
      • little hobby within the higher echelons of the warband, some Nobz and bosses collect the mini toyz of Mek Zappa and build entire armies only to throw them at each other during competition games called “Da Mini Gamez”
    • Wealthy bosses own “advisorz”, personal slaves
    • Fungus plantation in own ship (maybe a “cleaned” Nurgle ship as it already had the perfect conditions to grow fungus)
    • Shpeschial slaves = important for maintaining along with Gretchins and Grots

 

Da big ones:

• Blakjaw himself:
  • Warlord of the Voidjawz
  • Black tattooed jaw, massive Ork, no bionics
  • Heavily scarred, wearing bones and few metal armor to protect himself (only one shoulder pad)
  • Several pistols sheaved in belts across his massive chest like Blackbeard
  • Two huge blades/ swords from a slain Hive Tyrant (his big prey out there), bone blades, sharp enough to cut ceramite
  • Tattooed arms & chest
  • Heavy boots with spikes; bone necklace made of ‘Nid teeth
  • Mixture of Grom, Killrogg and Azog the Despoiler
  • Ambitious, somewhat prophetic, visions of the Great Hung
  • Has his own legend of origin amongst his boyz and other warbands, mysterious, cunning, intelligent, more favoring Mork than Gork
  • Patient, lethal in close combat, dominant, “eloquent” for an Ork
  • Keeps captives as personal slaves to learn from them (Inquisitor & Aeldari); advising role
  • Rumored to be a former Snakebite, exiled, came back at the head of a large feral OrkWaaagh!, killed his former Boss and became the new one
  • Main inspirations: Azog the Despoiler (Hobbit), Grom Hellscream & Kilrogg Deadeye (Warcraft)
• Other characters:
  • Mek Zapper
    • loves to work with Mad Dok Kronk on Deffdeads and such
    • has a fable for adding bones and such to carz as decoration
    • makes small bone-metal ish figures (some might call them toys but don’t ever say that close to Mek Zapper!) and replays encounters and fights of the warband (on a big table on which he builds miniature cities or environments – depending on his mood), owning one of those displays the favour of the Mek, meaning one gets the best gear
  • Mad Dok Kronk
    • called the Bugdok, loves to dissect Tyranids and learn more about their biology, etc.
    • some rumours him to mix shpeschial drinks made from Nids which make boyz run amok
  • Inquisitor Valya Beriksson
    • born on Midgardia, still mourns the loss of their homeworld
    • Ordo Xenos, experienced with Aeldari and Necron conflict, Orks are a complete new experience to her
    • captured during a raid on a world, her companions were killed or where they? She did not see the leader of her Deathwatch team succumb to the Orks
    • Recently captured, held captive as personal slave, observant, convinced that she’ll be able to escape or die heroically, female
  • Altherias “Pointy”
    • Another captive and slave
    • Waiting patiently for his chance to strike at his master and claim his revenge
    • Member of Craftworld Umare, which was nearly annihilated by the Voidjawz and Tyranids
    • New ally of the Inquisitor, male
  • Da Champion
    • another captive, Valya only heard of him as she never participates the big mosh pit fights
    • rumoured to be recently risen within the pits as the new champion
    • unbeaten, Boyz love him for his fights, savage, wild, Orky
    • beats Orkz , Nidz and whatever they throw at him
    • common threat between Boyz, “I will throw ya to da champion if ya do not stop”
  • Orkatan
    • Former Waaaghboss of his own Speedwaaagh!
    • His domain was invaded by Tyranids; Orkatan fought fiercely but was driven back
    • Blakjaw appeared and “saved the day” by hurling himself and his Boyz against the Tyranids, slew their leading organisms and shattered the Hivemind control
    • Forced into service by Blakjaw or die by his hand
    • The biggest thing he’s missing: Boyz chanting his name for a fight
    • Main inspiration: Immotan (Fury Road)

Edited May 17, 2020 by Kelborn

[Zephaniah Adriyen]

OI!

Welkom, ya gitz!

 

This thread is a placeholder for what is about to come.

It'll be my first attemot if creating a Xenos faction and uploading it in here. Especially as I'm not an expert in any Xenos related stuff.  Let's see where this will lead us to, eh? Besides, does someone know if there's a Ork = English translating tool or such? Would like to be as correct with quotes as possible.

 

As of now, I don't have much to share except some snipptes of inspiration and ideas. So 'ere we go! 'ere we go! 'ERE WE GOOOOOHOOOO!

 

Idea:

 

- small Waaagh! or Freebota fleet led by Blakjaw

- more "savage" than the regular Ork, more focusing on melee fights, Weirdboys are more of an advisor role than the maniacs we know; utilizing visions to find their next prey

- making use of Orkish runes, which empower their host with the energies of the Waaagh!

- Grots maintaing their ships, Orks themselves are more about the fight than building

- love to hunt, especially big ones; constantly hyped by Waaagh! energies, always restless, always searching for the next prey

- favorite prey: Tyranids; Orks adorn themselves with skulls and carapace fragments; Blakjaw himself might wield a pair of boneswords instead of a choppa

- not sure if I want to write in the pre or after Rift era

 

Sources of inspiration:

 

- *what a surprise* Warcraft Orcs, Iron Horde, Draenor Clans, Grommash Hellscream & Kilrogg Deadeye, etc.

- Azog from the Hobbit movies

- The Banished from Halo Wars 2

- AoS Orruks, mostly Bonesplitterz

- Edward Thatch aka Blackbeard and the not romanticised Pirate era

You picking up Prophecy of the Wolf? Good set for the Orks, and if you play Wolves too (like me) I think it's worth it.

[UtariOnzo]

The idea of Ork runes seems really intriguing. Are you planning on them being straight forward orky symbols, like toof style script, or something a bit different? If teef based, a modified cuneiform might be a good source of inspiration.

[Lysimachus]

Very nice idea, I've always loved the Freebooterz Orks, it's great because it gives you even more freedom to do what you want than the Clan kulturs!

 

Being focussed on melee might lead to more bionic replacements (or even more crude alternatives?) which would add to the Freebooterz/Pirate feel?

[Kelborn]

@Zephanian Adriyen: Gonna have the Saga of the Beast e-book version. Will keep an eye out for any further details via Prophecy of the Wolf. I mean, can't be wrong if it got Wolves and Orks in it, right? ;)

 

@UtariOnzo: Oh I like the idea of using modified cuneiform. They really are quite similar, so yeah. A decent inspiration, thank you.

 

@Lysimachus: Thanks. I had the same idea. Freebooterz can be everything. I wanted to go a quite different path with them. Instead of the "regular" bionics, I'm intending to go with the Bonesplitterz inspiration. I kinda imagine an Ork replacing his hand with a connected Tyranid/ bone claw or something like that. Sure, bionics will be in place but they reclaim what's left of their prey. Armor scraps made from Tyranid Warrior carcases, etc. Or at least tie them upon their regular armor. The image I have from Blakjaw comes very close to Snagrod in the Crimson Fist novel: barely any armor, protective shields, two melee weapons, some pistols hanging in airbrush hangers like the real Blackbeard did it and so on, black tattooed jaw and such.

 

Currently still investigating Ork and Orruk lore. Updates will come soon!

[Lexington]

Jazzed to see so many greenskin articles popping up down here! I love the idea of some Freebooters who hunt down Tyranids for sport.

 

Couple thoughts:

• Maybe room for an Abhab/White Whale thing in here, if you like.
• Is it a WAAAGH, or is it a warband? One could argue that the former's just a larger version of the latter, I guess, but WAAAGHs seem to have a bit more focus on conquest and growth. I guess the question is why your warband hunts Tyranids to such a degree. Is it just fun, or is there more? Do they see it as a calling, or just working out aggression in the normal greenskin fashion?
• Grots tend to do most Ork menial labor anyway (tho they're usually depicted as being supervised by Meks or Runtherds or some other boss), so this might not be worth noting, overall, unless there's something more to it
• Where do the runes come from? Are they metallic (or carved) things on the skin? You mention Weirdboyz as advisors - do they create the runes?

Excited to see more!

[Dosjetka]

Going straight into it:

- [...] Weirdboys are more of an advisor role than the maniacs we know; utilizing visions to find their next prey

The strength of the Waaagh!/Warp energy that goes through the minds of the Weirdboyz is what makes them go cuckoo, so they'd need to have something to counteract this. Perhaps they use some exotic concoction to avoid their brains getting fried to a crisp over time and would allow them more "clarity of vision"? Perhaps the main ingredients can be harvested within the hulls of the fleet's ships? Remember though, if you do have that, don't forget that there should some sort of negative side-effect. :devil:

 

- Grots maintaing their ships, Orks themselves are more about the fight than building

As mentioned by Lexington above, Grots are already the menial workers in Ork society so unless they do something notable there is little worth mentioning this.

 

- love to hunt, especially big ones; constantly hyped by Waaagh! energies, always restless, always searching for the next prey

Don't forget that these Waaagh! energies will have a strong effect on any Weirdboyz onboard, so you'll need to find some way of "calming" them and allow them to fulfil the adviser role you have in mind.

 

- not sure if I want to write in the pre or after Rift era

While it's good to keep this in mind, right now your focus should be to further develop this Waaagh!'s culture and show us how they are different to other Orks and Freebootaz. You're off to a solid start but we all want to see more. ;)

[Kelborn]

@Lexington:

- Good idea. There definitely is space for a classic Moby Dick vendetta between Blakkjaw and maybe a Hyve Tyrant or such.

- True, after reading some pages about Ork lore, Grots are the guys who maintain stuff along with Mekks it seems.

- Basically it's like with the AoS Bonesplitterz. Maybe they see the spirit of Gork or Mork within the Tyranids ferocity and are looking for obtaining its power via slaying the 'Nids and make use of their claws, etc.

- Weirdboys might be a wrong pic given their unstable state, etc. Maybe I'll implement some kind of religious Ork, who encarves said runes in either flesh or armor, which then are empowered by Waaagh! energy in battle or via Weirdboys.

- Bonesplitterz themselves fill out a niche within Ork society as they are zealous, somewhat god focused, always hunting for the spirit of Gorkamorka. Had something like that in mind combined with the Freebooters range of raiding and such.

 

@Dosjetka

- Like I said, Weirdboys might a way to go as long as I find a way to calm them down. The priest caste ish Boys do seem more fitting, tbh. Also some drummers/ chanters might be cool to have, as well.

- True that, I own you more stuff about them. Have to do some other points on my to-do list before I dive into writing mode. I think that I can present something in the coming week at the latest.

 

Thank you for your feedback! :tu:

[Lexington]

Going straight into it:

- [...] Weirdboys are more of an advisor role than the maniacs we know; utilizing visions to find their next prey

The strength of the Waaagh!/Warp energy that goes through the minds of the Weirdboyz is what makes them go cuckoo, so they'd need to have something to counteract this. Perhaps they use some exotic concoction to avoid their brains getting fried to a crisp over time and would allow them more "clarity of vision"? Perhaps the main ingredients can be harvested within the hulls of the fleet's ships? Remember though, if you do have that, don't forget that there should some sort of negative side-effect.

 

Y'know, not to intrude on an independent writing process too much, but the runes strike me as a very elegant solution, here. Maybe they allow the Weirdboyz to "bleed off" some of that mean, green energy into either materials or just bare skin, leaving them lucid enough to give their counsel and impart their visions? As for a downside, well, they're slapping runes full of warp energy onto other Orks, driving them just a little bit bonkers, and feeding Blakjaw's own sense and/or delusions of grandeur, leading the entire warband on...well, a mad quest to hunt down Tyranids?

 

Just an idea.

 

Kelborn, one thing I'll say (and I'll say this to almost anyone in this context) is that it's good to also take a step back and look at your warband as a whole, not just the upper echelons. What's drawn all these various Orks to Blakjaw's cause, and how does a culture form from both the natural organization of the greenskins, as well as the unique circumstances they're in? I think one trap a lot of people fall into when making 40K stuff is creating a leader and treating everything else as simply an extension of that character's will, rather than a mass of living, breathing things with their own lives and motivations, and it's a good thing to try and get away from early on.

[Lord_Caerolion]

 

Kelborn, one thing I'll say (and I'll say this to almost anyone in this context) is that it's good to also take a step back and look at your warband as a whole, not just the upper echelons. What's drawn all these various Orks to Blakjaw's cause, and how does a culture form from both the natural organization of the greenskins, as well as the unique circumstances they're in? I think one trap a lot of people fall into when making 40K stuff is creating a leader and treating everything else as simply an extension of that character's will, rather than a mass of living, breathing things with their own lives and motivations, and it's a good thing to try and get away from early on.

 

 

It's certainly something that GW is guilty of as well... *cough* Codex Farsight *cough*

[Kelborn]

Alright, lads.

 

I'm getting more and more familiar with Ork lore for 40K as well as AoS (for further inspiration). Didn't knew that Orks got so many different units, etc. And jeez, they're quite enjoyable, as well.

The concept of Blakjaw and his crew is assuming a definite form. My notebook is filled with related Orky notes. ;)

 

In the morning, I had an idea for an exemplary battle: Blakjaw and his crew are chasing after a 'Nid Hive Splitterfleet (again) and arrive on a world ruled by another Ork Warlord called Orkatan, da Speed Boss (a slight nod to Mad Max: Fury Roads Immortan). So we'll be having the avalanche-ish Tyranids, the speedmaniacs of Boss Orkatan and the sneeky/ feral/ Freebooter Boyz of Blakjaw.

 

Already got some smaller "scenes" and quotes for this as well as the index itself in mind.

 

Didn't thought that working with Orks would be that enjoyable. New favorite Xenos race incoming!

Edited April 8, 2020 by Kelborn

[Lexington]

Really glad you're getting into the greenskins, Kel! They're the best, just tons of fun. Really looking forward to seeing that story get fleshed out.

 

If you haven't already, I'd highly recommend getting ahold of the ancient Rogue Trader-er tome, WAAARGH Orks!. It is absolutely the ur-text of Ork-kind, and a blast of a read. Great portions of it still get re-printed verbatim in modern Ork Codexes, but there's a lot about the Kultur and greenskin life beyond the front lines of a WAAAGH! that's rarely, or even never been revisited since.

 

Actual hard copies can get pretty expensive, unfortunately. It's been out of print for at least twenty-five years, tho, so hopefully it's okay for me to note that PDFs are readily available if you've got Google and a couple of fingers to type with. 

[Kelborn]

Just had a quick look. Seems very promising, thanks for the recommendation! :tu:

[Lexington]

Very welcome! Also recommended (tho maybe a little less essential) is Da Uvver Book from GorkaMorka. It's sort of the initial turning point from that RT/2nd Ed conception of Orks to the modern, more feral one, and also has the most detailed description of Ork biology available in the "Anzion Report" at the very back.

[Lord_Caerolion]

I'd also recommend the other Rogue Trader books, 'Ere We Go and Freebooterz. They both deal more with the rules side of things, particularly Freebooterz, but they do also have some fluff snippets that are quite awesome, like how Orks share out the captured wargear after the battle, with the exception of the Deathskulls who, given the sneaky entrepreneurs that they are, hold an "orkshun" to see who gets what. Given that, my Deathskulls don't have fights or battles, they have "pre-orkshun stocktakes".

[Zephaniah Adriyen]

I'd also recommend the other Rogue Trader books, 'Ere We Go and Freebooterz. They both deal more with the rules side of things, particularly Freebooterz, but they do also have some fluff snippets that are quite awesome, like how Orks share out the captured wargear after the battle, with the exception of the Deathskulls who, given the sneaky entrepreneurs that they are, hold an "orkshun" to see who gets what. Given that, my Deathskulls don't have fights or battles, they have "pre-orkshun stocktakes".

I-... Alright, the hell with Goffs, when I do an Ork army, I'm doing a mix of Deathskulls, Bad Moons and Freebooters for maximum capitalism. Except Ghaz. He's big enough I gotta paint him in black because black's easy.

[Lord_Caerolion]

And yes, there are actual rules for how to carry out both the standard hand-out of gear done by most Klans, as well as how to do an Orkshun for Deathskulls. I'm a little disappointed that Bad Moons don't get a bonus to represent how rich they are. And, of course, since all orkz is equal but some are more equal than others, the Deathskulls get to pick what they want before the Orkshun, every other Klan then bids over the remainder.

 

EDIT: The Freebooterz stuff also includes other weird and wonderful Ork things that have stopped really being a thing, like the Possessed Warphead, who has a daemon trapped inside him, but because the Orks are so self-confident and mentally resilient, the Daemon can't actually take control, so the end result is a depressed daemon who can't leave, and a Warphead who's even more crazy than usual, which is saying something.

Edited April 9, 2020 by Lord_Caerolion

[Zephaniah Adriyen]

Possessed Warphead, who has a daemon trapped inside him, but because the Orks are so self-confident and mentally resilient, the Daemon can't actually take control, so the end result is a depressed daemon who can't leave, and a Warphead who's even more crazy than usual, which is saying something.

That is the best thing ever. Imagine being anything but a Khorne Daemon trapped in one of those.

[Lord_Caerolion]

 

Possessed Warphead, who has a daemon trapped inside him, but because the Orks are so self-confident and mentally resilient, the Daemon can't actually take control, so the end result is a depressed daemon who can't leave, and a Warphead who's even more crazy than usual, which is saying something.

That is the best thing ever. Imagine being anything but a Khorne Daemon trapped in one of those.

 

 

Random table allows for Flesh Hounds, Bloodletters, Bloodthirsters (poor thing), Plaguebearers, Nurglings, Pink Horrors, independent daemons, and Daemonettes (even worse).

 

EDIT: Seriously, I cannot recommend any of these books enough. Sure, there's a few things that have aged weirdly (Orks use bolters and bolt pistols instead of shootas/sluggas, etc), but there's so much delightful weirdness in them.

 

However, this discussion is maybe getting a bit off-topic. Should this bit maybe get moved to the Ork subforum?

Edited April 9, 2020 by Lord_Caerolion

[Kelborn]

Boyz and...ehm...boyz!

 

'ere's da first draff of our 'istory! Read it, boyz! Tis where we came from. Our big fights!

Tis da story of Blakjaw, da boss of bosses!

 

Got it? Good! Now get your lazy grot butts back into the pits! A fight is gonna happen! A big one! Da Boss smells it! Be ready! WAAAGH!!!

 

Oh and don't forget to leave your Mek Zappa mini toys here onboard. He hates it when we loose dem in battle.

[Kelborn]

Second (and probably final draft until the deadline hits) draft is up.

 

Had way more fun writing it than I anticipated.

One day, I'll turn this into a full article. They deserve it.

 

Hope you enjoy it. :)