At its peak, this energy becomes a tangible gestalt field of pure aggression that the Orks believe to be the gaze of their warring gods, Gork and Mork. More than that, the Orkish race is latently, if subconsciously, psychic, constantly producing a surge of psychic energy that can galvanise a horde into an endless sea of greenskins. Each Ork possesses an instinctive grasp of tactics and weapon maintenance, while their scientists (the technologically talented Mekboyz and the medically gifted Painboyz) are born with an innate understanding of their field of study that they call 'Orky know-wots'. As a result, Orks are tough enough to survive decapitation in time for a body transplant, shrug off anything less than a Bolter shell to the head, and strong enough to tear apart a Space Marine in close combat. What little can be gleaned of the history of the greenskins indicates that their kind go as far back as to the Aeldari, when a long-forgotten precursor race engineered them to be the ultimate warriors. Part of the Orks' success comes from their unique biology. 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. Described as a combination of mass-migration, holy war and a soccer riot, a full-scale Waaagh! can exterminate entire civilisations and shake the foundations of the galaxy.

All of Orkish civilization and 'kultur' is geared towards endless conflict, and their only ruling principle is ' Might Makes Right.' This makes the Orks naturally fractious, but when a particularly strong or charismatic Warboss (which is typically the biggest and strongest Ork around) is able to unite a number of tribes, a Waaagh! is formed. While the majority of their technology tends to be crudely-made 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 works.

Stubbornly durable, physically powerful and naturally inclined toward violence, Orks are exceptional, if unruly fighters. The most populous race in the galaxy of Warhammer 40,000, Orks are a race of green-skinned barbarians, a brutish and warmongering species that exists only to wage bloodshed on everything else in the galaxy, including their own numbers.

Warhammer 40k orks