WarSeer > Wargaming > Games Workshop > Warhammer: 40,000 > 40K Background > Ork caste system??
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Right now I have been reading the new Ork Dex and something has occured to me.
Now anyone who has read the background sections of the book will know that a great deal of referance is made to the old ones creating the orks although the orks refer to them as the 'BrainBoyz'. Now its is explained in the necron dex that the orks (krork) were created to defend the olds ones last bastions and the ork book makes referance to artifical genetic code that allows mekboyz to know how to build stuff and painboyz to know how the body works.
Now the section on the clans offers insights that each clan appears to have a specific advantage or specialisation over the others that seems awfully reminiscant of the tau caste structure. Basicaly summerized below.
Goffs: Fire caste, foot soldiers etc.
Deathskulls: earth caste scientists, mentioned that they wouold be excelant scientists if they werent so easily bored.
and the Old Ones/Brainyboyz function as ethereals.
Now it is widely accepted that the Tau were engineered by someone so is this where they got the idea? am I reading too much into this? anyone else see it too?
I think you're reading too much into it all. The Clans were sort of designed to create thematic armies for the Oddboys, so the Goffs would have mostly Nobs while the Blood Axes would have Kommandos and so on. It was also mentioned back in the 2nd edition days that there were more Ork Clans out there. And how would the Freebooterz fit in this theory? Note that the Flyboys are not part of the Evil Sunz, the Kult of Speed isnt part of the Evil Sunz either. The Feral Orks are not a part of the Snakebitez. I remember in some WD articles on the 3rd Armageddon War where various warbands were mentioned, while they are inspired by the Clans they were not part of those Clans.
Only question now is if these Clans are actually genetically decided.
Yes. Though you did a nice job with the comparisons, the Orks were made by the Old Ones, the Tau were helped along their way by the Eldar (though not created by either). Just because you can compare the two, doesn't mean they're related.
Note: The Tau Caste system evolved pseudo-naturally, and was only made official when the Ethereals were introduced to the culture by the Eldar.
Castes are normally social structures, however with the Tau there are actual biological differences between the Castes right? Was this perhaps done after the Ethereals showed up?
The tau have always had biological differences between Castes, ie air caste could fly, fire caste stronger etc. Tau evolve easily (almost like kroot, evolve through eating). I think the question here is do the ork clans have similar genetic differences.
Considering how often ork tribes fight each other I don't think a co-operation based caste system has anything to do with it.
Not really. The Ethereals do seem to have been messed about with but apart from that the main tau race has just been focused by the Ethereals wrather than bio-engineered.
Orks... well all Orks fight.
There is some suggestion in the dex that the character aspects of the clans are geneticaly encoded. Also the Orks as an entire race were designed to be warriors as sort of the old ones last weapon, the other aspects were engineered in to try a ensure a successful civilisation afterwards.
I read it more as similarities to the Eldar, klans are comparable to craftworlds.
Hence the marine codices, the old Craftworlds, etc.