A united Ork front vs the Tyranids

[Hiromi]

IIRC killing an Ork is what causes its spores to be released en mass, which is why Imperial doctrine calls for flamers whenever at all possible, and of course dying en mass is what Orks do during a Waaagh!

[Kingneo]

Don't Ork numbers grow more quickly during a WAGGH! ?

Orks release spores when they die. These spores (I believe) dig themselves into the soil where, after an unknown (to me anyway) period of time, they bud to become Orks, Gretchen, Squigs, etc.

[Omegalith]

IIRC killing an Ork is what causes its spores to be released en mass, which is why Imperial doctrine calls for flamers whenever at all possible, and of course dying en mass is what Orks do during a Waaagh!

Yeah, this plus the natural effects of capturing a lot of new territory, and the sufficiently nutritious soil that comes with it, in a hurry.

IIt's not abnormal to repel a Waaagh only for a resurgent mob to come crawling out of the wilderness several decades later.

That said, whilst the Tyrannid method is less sustainable, it's a heck of a lot quicker and more efficient.

[Jonathan8572]

The orks also have a tendency to get some supertech without much explanation. The 'nids can expect to stuff like forcefields, teleportation devices and teleportation guns show up virtually out of nowhere.

[Chou Blaster]

It's the very same comment that the "ate everything in their own galaxy" bit came from. Unless I'm mistaken, we just plain haven't seen whatever is going on where the Tyranid came from, and the Tyranid aren't talking about it, so all we have is conjecture.

In that case, nice.

She is my favorite blonde female in fiction.

Because she looks sexy in power armor. (That is a good pic, cause you can see her pretty face.)

[Hiromi]

The orks also have a tendency to get some supertech without much explanation. The 'nids can expect to stuff like forcefields, teleportation devices and teleportation guns show up virtually out of nowhere.

Ork mekboys have some kind of shared genetic memory or some other technobabble thing, they also have the tendency to reproduce tech they see which is where teleporters and forcefields came from. Plus their tech runs on "clap if you believe in fairies" to some extent.

[Omegalith]

Ork mekboys have some kind of shared genetic memory or some other technobabble thing

All their specialists have that. It's how they manage to have unreliably competent doctors who can install cyborg enhancements when you only went in to get a tooth pulled instead of no medics whatsoever.

they also have the tendency to reproduce tech they see which is where teleporters and forcefields came from. Plus their tech runs on "clap if you believe in fairies" to some extent.

Well, there's the "Red Wunz Go Fasta" effect, but for the most part it's more that their psionics keep things from malfunctioning for a while and make stuff act like they expect it to instead of how it would otherwise.

They aren't quite at the "This Hyperdrive is just shiny rocks, what the fuck?" level though. They need to actually haphazardly bolt it together.

[BitVyper]

I'm pretty sure I recall their codex saying a lot of their tech just straight up does not work if it isn't being used by an ork, because their orky belief field is the only thing that makes it work at all. I think it's not so much that they have to put something together that can work as it is they have to put something together that an average ork will believe works. No one will believe shiny rocks are a hyper drive, but if there's enough movey, explodey, sciencey bits, then it's another story. I imagine the effect gets stronger with more orks too, because waagh.

This is also part of why feral ork tribes are such a problem - once they see your guns in action, they can start making their own out of leftover bits or whatever.

[Omegalith]

I'm pretty sure I recall their codex saying a lot of their tech just straight up does not work if it isn't being used by an ork, because their orky belief field is the only thing that makes it work at all.

If the latest Codex says something to that effect, it's different from how I recall it being.

Then again, the latest Necron Codex claims they jack the Webway as their fastest mode of travel when they'd previously been established as having Star Wars+ level non-warp FTL engines, so I guess Games Workshop just like changing their minds.

I think it's not so much that they have to put something together that can work as it is they have to put something together that an average ork will believe works.

Sure it's not simply breaking down as soon as the Orks stop enhancing it?

[Hiromi]

Its one of the more inconsistent things in 40k lore, in some lore Techpriests completely reassemble Ork tech, and their conclusion is there's no god dammed way this stuff should work. On the other hand there's a good number of examples of Imps commandeering Ork stuff in desperate situations and having it work well enough to get the job done. Ciaphis Cain had to it pretty regularly when he got dumped off WAY behind Ork lines in one of his early adventures(though IIRC he did comment on how the Ork Truk he stole felt like it was about to fall apart at any second).

We know its not just propaganda because the red rule is actually part of the tabletop game, the extent of it however seems to depend on the writer.