Ork Clans: Warhammer 40K Lore Guide

Ask an Ork what he is and he will tell you two things: that he is an Ork, and which clan he belongs to. The second answer matters almost as much as the first. A Goff thinks a Bad Moon is a show-off, a Bad Moon thinks a Snakebite is a backward bumpkin, everyone thinks the Blood Axes are shifty, and nobody is quite sure where the Deathskulls got that tank. When a Waaagh! gathers, all of them pile in together, and the rivalry only makes the fighting better.

The clans, or Klanz, are the great cultural traditions of the Orks of Warhammer 40K. The parent guide sums up the six in a list; this one goes deeper into each clan's customs, colors and famous bosses, adds the Freebooterz and other Orks who live outside the clans, and explains how to pick a clan for your own army.

Ork Clans at a Glance

What a Clan Really Is

An Ork clan is not a tribe, a nation or a family. It is a way of being an Ork. Clans claim descent from the original clans of a long-lost Ork homeworld, and each has its own clothes, customs and ideas of what makes a proper Boy. Orks do not inherit their clan in any strict sense; a greenskin who acts like a Goff and dresses like a Goff is a Goff.

Tribes and warbands form, break up and re-form constantly, but the clans endure. Orks of the same clan tend to band together, yet heavy losses in a Waaagh! throw survivors from different clans into the same mobs, and the lore claims there has never been a Waaagh! with fewer than two clans in it. Older background even suggests the clan distinctions may be genetic, built into the Orks by the Brain Boyz of the ancient past, which would make the clans as much biology as culture.

What holds it all together is the same thing that holds Ork society together in general: whoever is biggest gives the orders. A Warboss of one clan can lead mobs from all the others, as long as he can win the fights to prove it.

Goffs: The Biggest and the Meanest

The Goffs are the toughest, most brutal Orks of all, and they know it. They live for close combat: the hammering of guns is nice, but nothing beats the crunch of a choppa landing home. Goffs pick fights constantly, even among themselves, which keeps them sharp. They dress mostly in black, decorated with checks and dags, wear horned helmets for head-butting and use a bull's head as their emblem. Camouflage disgusts them; hiding from a fight is for cowards.

Because they love bashing heads, a lot of Warbosses and Nobz are Goffs, and Goffs consider it their Gork-given right to boss the other clans around. The most famous Ork in the galaxy, Ghazghkull Thraka, the Prophet of the Waaagh!, is a Goff, and Goff-led hordes fought through the Second and Third Wars for Armageddon. Goffs also feature in the invasion of Rynn's World, the war that nearly destroyed the Crimson Fists.

Evil Sunz: Da Red Wunz Go Fasta

Evil Sunz live for speed. They love loud engines, the smell of fuel and the feeling of going as fast as Orkily possible, and their warbands are dominated by the Kult of Speed. They field more Mekboyz and contraptions than any other clan, bolting engines onto anything that will hold still.

Their emblem is a red sun with a grimacing face, often wreathed in flames, and their vehicles are painted red with flames down the sides. Orks believe red vehicles go faster, and because Orks believe it, it is true. The Evil Sunz are the clearest example of how Ork belief shapes reality in Warhammer 40K.

Bad Moons: The Rich Boyz

Orks use their teeth, or teef, as money, and Bad Moons' teef grow faster than anyone else's. That makes them the richest clan by a wide margin. They act as a kind of merchant class in Ork society, buying the biggest guns, the shiniest armor and the best food, which is why Bad Moons often look a little fatter than other Orks. They also keep more Gretchin around to carry it all.

Their colors are yellow and black, with crescent moons and black flames as their symbols, and they love gold trim. Other clans mock them as show-offs, but nobody refuses a Bad Moon's money. Classic lore remembers the warlord Nazdreg Ug Urdgrub as a Bad Moon, and the Black Library novel Brutal Kunnin by Mike Brooks follows a Bad Moon called Ufthak Blackhawk.

Deathskulls: Lucky Looters

The Deathskulls are scavengers and thieves, and proud of it. If it can be carried off, they will carry it off; if it cannot, they will take it apart until it can. Battlefields are shopping trips to a Deathskull, and their warbands bristle with looted weapons, captured vehicles and Lootas carrying guns pried from enemy tanks.

They are also deeply superstitious. Blue is the lucky color, so Deathskulls daub it on their skin, armor and machines, and they carry charms, skulls and trinkets for good fortune. Other Orks find them light-fingered and untrustworthy, mostly because things keep going missing whenever Deathskulls are around.

Snakebites: The Old Ways

Snakebites are the traditionalists. They distrust new technology such as force fields and vehicles, preferring war paint for protection and huge boars for transport. Their name comes from their initiation rites, in which young Orks let venomous snakes bite them to prove their toughness, and their emblem is the serpent.

Snakebites are closest to the Feral Orks in spirit and keep the old skills of squig herding and beast taming alive. In recent years they are especially associated with the Beast Snagga Orks, monster-hunting brutes who ride Squigosaurs and tame the biggest beasts they can find.

Blood Axes: The Kunnin' Ones

The Blood Axes were the first clan to meet the Imperium, and it changed them. They picked up human habits: wearing camouflage, using looted Imperial vehicles, trading with humans for equipment, and even retreating when a fight is going badly. Some Blood Axe warbands have worked as mercenaries for the Imperium, fighting beside the Astra Militarum when the price is right.

To other Orks this is all deeply suspicious. Blood Axes are branded treacherous, cowardly and "un-Orky", even though their tactics often win. They field plenty of sneaky Kommandos and use Flyboyz as scouts, and their bosses love wearing captured officers' caps and medals.

Freebooterz and Orks Outside the Clans

Not every Ork has a clan. Freebooterz are outcasts and pirates, usually Nobz or bosses who lost a leadership fight and left rather than submit. They gather in raiding bands that roam the stars in looted ships, flying the "Jolly Ork" skull and crossbones and selling their guns to any Warboss who pays. The best known is Kaptin Badrukk, a flashy Freeboota who prefers fancy gear and big guns.

The Kult of Speed is another loyalty that cuts across clans, uniting speed-obsessed Orks under the banner of the Speed Freeks, while Feral Orks live primitive lives on wild worlds until a Waaagh! sweeps them up. Smaller clans exist too, from the Blak Hornz to the Red Spiders.

How the Clans Shape the Waaagh!

The Ork race is one big belief engine; the clans are its moods. They explain why one Waaagh! is a black-clad tide of infantry and another is a red blur of buggies, why one warband trades with humans while the next would rather eat them, and why a Warboss has to keep a dozen rival egos in line. In the great wars, from Armageddon, where the Black Templars fought some of their greatest crusades, to the endless Octarius war against Hive Fleet Leviathan, the clans fight side by side and compete for the best loot.

Choosing a Clan for Your Army

All six clans use the same Ork range, so your choice is about style. Pick Goffs for big infantry mobs and brawling, Evil Sunz for fast vehicles and bikes, Bad Moons for heavy firepower, Deathskulls for looted tanks and odd conversions, Snakebites for beasts and squigs, and Blood Axes for sneaky Kommandos and flanking tricks. Freebooterz suit a pirate theme with mismatched colors.

Mixed-clan armies are completely in keeping with the lore. Many players give each mob a different clan, with a Goff Warboss holding them together. Orks are also the most forgiving army to convert and paint: if it looks Orky, it is Orky.

Ork Clans FAQ

What are the six Ork clans?

The six major clans are the Goffs, Evil Sunz, Bad Moons, Deathskulls, Snakebites and Blood Axes. Freebooterz, the Kult of Speed and Feral Orks are Ork cultures that sit outside the six clans.

Which Ork clan is Ghazghkull Thraka from?

Ghazghkull is a Goff. His Waaagh! drew in Orks of every clan, but his own background and his love of brutal close combat are pure Goff.

Why do Evil Sunz paint everything red?

Because Orks believe red vehicles go faster, and in Warhammer 40K the Orks' shared belief makes it come true. Evil Sunz take that idea further than anyone.

Are Freebooterz a clan?

No. Freebooterz are Ork pirates and outcasts drawn from all clans, usually bosses who chose exile over defeat. They are a culture, not a clan.

Can I mix Ork clans in one army?

Yes. Waaagh!s almost always include several clans, so mixing them is both common on the table and accurate to the lore.

Continue Exploring

• The Orks — Ork biology, the WAAAGH!, Gork and Mork and the teef economy.
• Warhammer 40K factions guide — every army, its lore and how it plays.
• Crimson Fists — the Chapter that nearly died on Rynn's World.
• Black Templars — the crusaders who fought Ghazghkull at Armageddon.

Browse every guide in the Warhammer 40K lore hub, or name your own Warboss with the orc name generator. To chronicle your own Waaagh!, Anima is free and runs in your browser with no account: a wiki, a timeline, and campaigns with a live DM screen.