Orks - Defining Characteristcs: Orks are massive, heavily-muscled, bestial humanoids, green-skinned and red-blooded, a side effect of their symbiotic physiological and genetic relationship with fungi. The Orkoid physique itself is so robust that it can withstand tremendous punishment. Orks feel surprisingly little pain, even from the most grievous of wounds, enabling them to fight on whilst horrifically injured and even for a short while after being technically dead.It is most fortunate for the Orks that they can withstand such brutal physical punishment, since their medicae specialists, called "Painboyz," operate on a generally nineteenth-century A.D. (ca. 801-900.M2) level of surgical knowledge; unlike Humans, though, Orks are quite capable of being beheaded, having the head sewn onto a different body, and surviving the experience to fight again.It is believed by some who study these alien brutes, albeit from afar, that this goes some way to explaining the Greenskins' ultra-violent sense of humour. As pain and fear mean little to them, they are highly curious and amused by the reactions of their weaker foes as they hack them apart, the screams of terror contrasting with a deep throaty rumbling that, on occasion, could be mistaken for laughter from the Orks and their snickering brethren.The Greenskin regenerative process itself is so powerful that an Ork who has been hacked to bits can simply be stitched back together, bewildered but ready to fight once more. Nothing but the most grievous wounds will put an Ork down for long, and burning them to ash is reputed to be the only way to make absolutely sure that they are gone for good.A typical Ork stands around the same height as an average Human male, though he would be much taller were he to stand up straight instead of being hunched over, as is his normal stance, and his frame is extremely muscular and solid. An Ork's arms are long and heavily thewed, knuckles almost scraping the floor as he lopes around, and his gnarled hands end in taloned fingers capable of tearing an enemy's throat out with ease.The skin of an Ork is green and leather-tough, and his body is dotted with scars, scabs, pockmarks and parasites. His skull is extremely thick, able to absorb impacts that would cave in a Human head.His heavy brow shades blood-red eyes, afire with the need to kill. Jagged fangs jut from a heavy jaw that would not look out of place upon a far larger predator, and when an Ork speaks, it is in a slow, gruff tone thick with saliva and guttural curses. His words are sparse, brutal and straight to the point.A particularly favored ingredient in their diet are Squigs, short for "squiggly beasts"; a variety of the symbiotic Orkoid races about the size of a Terran house cat but legless. These include the "Eatin Squig", a limbless blob which feeds on fungus, the "Growler Squig", a legged variety used as a sheepdog for Gretchin (in the Third and Fourth Editions of Warhammer 40,000 referred to as a "Squighound" and available as an item of wargear), the "Attack Squig" a powerfully voracious little beast available as an item of wargear, and the "Face-eater Squig", a ferociously toothed variety used both as a weapon and for entries in face-eating contests. (The Ork and the Squig both open their mouths and bite, in a parody of a kiss. If the Ork eats the Squig, he wins. If he keels over backwards, he loses.)There is also a larger sub-species of Squig, called a "Squiggoth" that ranges in size from about that of an elephant to a 60-plus-foot monstrosity capable of stomping buildings into rubble. Squiggoths are used as pack animals and in combat as the carriers of mobile fortresses.Orks grow all through their lives; the effect is particularly notable in successful Orks. As the Ork survives combats and wins trophies, the respect of other Orks will produce in him an effect somewhat similar to adolescence in the Human male: He puts on muscle, becomes more aggressive and assertive, and generally throws his weight around.If he wins the ensuing challenges to single combat, he may become a Nob, a leader or chieftain of Orks, noticeably larger and tougher than the average Greenskin. Once he begins to grow, an Ork will generally keep getting bigger and stronger until he is beaten by a bigger or more cunning Ork.Warbosses and warlords, the rulers of continents and entire Orkoid empires, respectively, are very large Orks indeed. Flash Gitz however are a special elite type of Ork typically armed with Big Shootas. Flash Gitz are obsessed with polishing their guns and these Orks are much larger than an average Ork. They are likely Nobz who have gathered into a group based on common interests.Ork physiology is actually the complex interweaving of two symbiotic organisms that have been genetically linked by the Greenskins' original creators: one strain is comparable to a terrestrial animal and the other to an algae or fungus living within the former's bloodstream and skin.An Ork's animal cells carry the genetic information of only the individual's Orkoid subspecies. But the fungoid component of their physiology possesses the genetic information that defines all the different varieties of Orkoid, as well as the different Oddboyz, and it helps to heal wounds by providing greater biochemical energy supplies drawn from some form of biosynthesis when necessary.Ork biology lends itself well to combat: they are extraordinarily strong and tough and are naturally good fighters, always looking for a scrap.There are two theories relating to why Orks have this unique, hybrid fungal/animal physiology. The first is that they were adapted by their masters, who were in fact the present-day Snotlings, a dimunitive alien race that soared to intelligence upon eating a particular species of mushroom, spread across the galaxy with the help of their less intelligent Ork slaves, and were then deemed stupid again when the Orks consumed all traces of the mushroom which only grew on their home planet.The more modern Imperial theory of Ork origins holds that they are the Krork, created as a warrior species by the Old Ones (referred to in Ork legend as the "Brain Boyz") in their wars against the Necrontyr and the C'tan.The fact that an entire ecosystem can be constructed of Orkoids, and their complete war-readiness from birth, suggests that this is the more likely of the two Ork origin theories.In early forms of this theory developed by the Imperial Magi Biologis, the Brain Boyz were actually an Orkoid subspecies, along with the Orks and the Gretchin, but they are now believed by most Imperial experts to be the reptilian Old Ones who also created other psychic species like the Aeldari and the Jokaero during the ancient War in Heaven.The Brain Boyz apparently became extinct or simply disappeared from the galaxy for unknown reasons during the course of the War in Heaven. This theory holds that before they passed on, they genetically-engineered the Orks' DNA to include a "techno-gene".This gene develops in Orks as they grow, influencing their minds and releasing genetically encoded knowledge; in a similar way that a Human baby will reflexively hold its breath under water or a horse can walk half an hour after being born, an Ork's techno-gene gives it information on how to fight, operate weapons, and speak the Ork language.Ork Oddboy specialists, such as Mekboyz and Painboyz, are the mechanics and surgeons of Ork society, and receive their knowledge through these techno-genes. This theory of Ork origins holds that this was a deliberate measure to ensure that the Orkoid race would survive in an incredibly hostile universe.