Orks - Warbands, Klanz and Tribes: The anarchic nature of the Orks means that their military groupings often change, but they are always ruled by the application of martial power -- usually expressed as a punch to the face. A warband is the usual Ork army, but the term covers everything from a handful of mobs to many hundreds of fierce Greenskins.Several warbands make up a tribe, which is led by the biggest and most powerful Ork, the "warboss." Each warband is ruled by its own warboss or any especially violent Ork, while the monstrous warbosses known as "warlords" are so powerful their brutal command is heeded by many tribes.All Orks belong to a tribe, but most also belong to a clan or "klan" -- a permanent social grouping of like-minded fighters often marked out by the colours and crude Ork glyphs they display on their bodies and vehicles. An Ork klan is a massive group of Orks stretching across many tribes who share an enduring philosophical viewpoint on Greenskin life. The great Greenskin thinker Orkimedes once postulated that "thinkin’ iz for gitz, but everyone'z a git, so's ya might as well think like some other gitz" which has come, through the years, to mean the klanz.Each klan is not really a true community, as each is scattered throughout the galaxy and comprises many disparate tribes. But they represent the rock upon which all Orks build the foundation of their existence. While Ork tribes are constantly changing groups of Greenskins, breaking apart and reforming, klan ties are more stable and enduring. Ork klanz are the philosophical delineations representing the various aspects of Orkish character. Each klan has its own colours, markings, defining characteristics and ways of waging war.It is possible that an Ork's klan affiliation may, in part, be a genetic phenomenon, as members of the same klan may have physical characteristics in common that distinguish them from members of other klanz -- for instance, Bad Moons are identifiable by the faster growth rate of their teeth.An Ork tribe usually contains Orks from many different klanz, so when tribes fight each other Orks will often find themselves in combat with foes from the same klan. This is considered normal, as an individual Ork's allegiance is to his warband or tribal warboss rather than his klan. Despite this, inter-klan rivalry is intense in most Ork tribes.The Orks are an incredibly anarchic species. Their armies and settlements seem utterly disorganised to outside eyes. Yet in truth Ork society is governed by a rugged set of tried and tested traditions that no Greenskin would ever consider changing.Orks thrive on conflict. The strongest rise to the top while the weak become subservient and benefit from the superior leadership and head-kicking skills of their conquerors. To an Ork this state of affairs is perfectly satisfactory. If an Ork tribe is beaten by another, stronger tribe, the defeated Orks welcome the opportunity to be led into battle by a new leader of even greater power.A tribe is simply all the Orks in a given location, regardless of what kult or klan they may belong to, because in the end an Ork is an Ork and they will always put aside their differences if there is an opportunity to attack a common foe. Each tribe is led by a warlord whose authority and power holds this loose confederation in check and prevents civil war between the rival elements of the tribe. Tribes can vary in size from a few hundred Orks to a few million, depending on the influence of the war leader at the top of the pile.Because a warlord cannot be everywhere at once, the tribes are split into warbands that in turn are led by factional leaders called warbosses. Each warboss leads a warband of a hundred or so Orks, forming a rough and ready army that is capable of taking on almost any foe. Most warbands have a hard core of Ork Boy infantry at their heart, but beyond this they vary enormously from one to the next.Like-minded Orks tend to cluster together, leading to warbands crammed with mechanised Speed Freeks or pyromaniac Burna Boyz. The warboss' preferences can also dictate how their warband looks and fights, some favouring masses of charging Boyz and hulking Nobz, while others prefer to ride to battle aboard columns of ragged armoured vehicles, or packing batteries of massive shootas and artillery.Although all Orks belong to a tribe, most also belong to klanz such as the Goffs or Evil Sunz. Tribes are constantly breaking apart and reforming in the crucible of battle, but the klanz are constant and enduring. A large tribe usually contains many different klanz, and each klan has its own distinct character and identity.While it has been stated in many sources that there are a great many different Ork klanz, there are only six that are truly widespread and found in almost every Ork tribe in the galaxy: the Bad Moons, the Blood Axes, the Deathskulls, the Evil Sunz, the Goffs, and the Snakebites. Most warbands or tribes will contain representatives of at least one of these klanz, each of which has distinct cultural preferences, traits and strengths.