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How do!

A thought that occurred in another thread, which I figured might be an interesting topic. And it’s about that allegedly Orkiest of all Orky Clans, the Snakebites.

Da old ways are da best. Allegedly. Except for Gargants. And Battlewagons. And ded shooty shootas. You’re good for Choppas though.

In common perception, the throwback hillbillies of the Greenskin race. Orks who just can’t get with the modern and live in the now. In the variety of Clans, at first glance they don’t seem to serve much of a purpose - the other Clans being almost a caste system. A mass expression of low level Oddboy oddness.

So….with Orky Know Wots being genetically coded? What purpose do the Snakebites serve? Are they aberrations, Orks of phenomenally low IQ, unable to see fun in driving a Stompa into battle?

I don’t think so. Rather, I think they’re a sort of genetic insurance policy.

See, whilst just a few hundred spores can theoretically Orkiform a planet, there is a design hierarchy to the emergence of a nascent Greenskin problem. First it’s Squigs, then Snots and Grots to husband the Squigs, then Orks with Pigdoks and Runtherds to wrangle the little’uns and ensure the Squigs are suitably vicious. And as that tribe grows, the more common Oddboyz begin to manifest in the population, seemingly at certain (sadly undefined) population densities.

I’m thinking Snakebites are a genetic insurance policy. A group of deliberately “a bit backward” Orks, big on survival skills and roughing it without the benefit of complex technology, there to ensure that should it all go horribly wrong, Ork society on that planet isn’t knocked all the way down. More, bombed back to the Iron Age/Dark Age than the Stone Age. A level where, given much less time, a full Orky society can be rebuilt from. A way to ensure those hallmarks of Bug Green Trouble (Meks and Doks) pop up in a few years, rather than a few decades.

Orks perfectly capable and willing to hide out in Jungles and other normally hostile environments, with the skills and knowledge of how to not get ded built into them.

As they also make for good foraging parties, should the initial invasion be halted by a couple of truly catastrophic battle, the Snakebite elements have a decent likelihood of having been elsewhere at the time - which depending on numbers, could easily lead a planet to believe it’s all over, and not think of hunting down survivors.

That’s my take, anyway. Heavy on the speculation, so I welcome your thoughts on the matter.

I suppose we don’t know the full extent of squig evolution as orks have been suppressed to stop them evolving into more advanced societies.

Squigs could serve all sort of strange purposes in advanced societies such as biological data storage(squid server) and communication, pharmaceutical production (squigbiotics) and reconnaissance (squigdar).

But someone will always need to manage the squigs. I think that’s their purpose. But I agree that there must be a very feral level of ork society that can survive as a beach head whilst they spawn more boyz.

There's multiple ways in which SB can be a viable option for some orks, and they aren't really mutually exclusive.

First of all, there's a degree of them simply being a useful part of the ork war-machine. As you say, scouts often need to be able to operate in rough environments with minimal support (especially when the logistics are as unreliable as ork ones no-doubt are). The Imperium recruits from feral worlds because their inhabitants have useful skills. Likewise, as you point out, sleeper cells of resistance can be very effective after a defeat. Not to mention that they are the ones most likely to have (or best suited to use) squiggoths and other bio-weapons (possibly including more subtle ones we don't generally 'see'; I remember some background mentioning that orks were fighting back against tyranids at the microscopic level in the Octarius war).

Then they have a role as a productive caste in the ork-conomy, as the agricultural sector. In many ways, they are actually the most practical ork clan, since they are the ones noted for producing large crops of fungus, squigs, and being the best at managing runts (the main labour force supplying orks, especially in the absence of alien slave labour).

It could also be the case that they are in some way optimized for the 'feral' stage of ork social development. That's a significant part of the infestation process and although distinct clans don't usually appear until later, it makes sense that there is some underlying variety which could make some orks better at it than others.

They could 'bridge the gap' between feral and 'developed' orks, acting as a gateway for wildboys to join mainstream ork society more easily.

I wouldn't be so quick to write-off the concept of a clan of 'defectives' either. It's surely possible for orks to 'go wrong' and getting 'stuck' in a less-mature form seems like a very plausible mutation. It's even possible that the snakebite clan, in a sense, acts like a 'sump' to collect 'defective' orcs and make them useful, and could have been designed / evolved for that purpose. Managing the effects of detrimental mutations is a huge part of biology.

 Perfect Organism wrote:

I wouldn't be so quick to write-off the concept of a clan of 'defectives' either. It's surely possible for orks to 'go wrong' and getting 'stuck' in a less-mature form seems like a very plausible mutation. It's even possible that the snakebite clan, in a sense, acts like a 'sump' to collect 'defective' orcs and make them useful, and could have been designed / evolved for that purpose. Managing the effects of detrimental mutations is a huge part of biology.

I do think on your last point, that Freebootaz are better suited to act as the "clan for Outcasts". Orks who are not part of the norm, are way more radical than even the oddest of oddboy, or aren't fully Orks anymore.

Freebootaz are almost the other end of the Orky spectrum from Snakebites. Orks happy to abandon their existing tribe to see what else is out there, fond of extravagant weapons to make a Bad Moon Blush.

Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:

See, whilst just a few hundred spores can theoretically Orkiform a planet, there is a design hierarchy to the emergence of a nascent Greenskin problem. First it’s Squigs, then Snots and Grots to husband the Squigs, then Orks with Pigdoks and Runtherds to wrangle the little’uns and ensure the Squigs are suitably vicious. And as that tribe grows, the more common Oddboyz begin to manifest in the population, seemingly at certain (sadly undefined) population densities.

Codex: Orks (3rd edition) states feral Ork populations reach about 10000. I suspect the exact level will vary based on environmental factors, but presumably above that is the point meks and doks are pretty much guaranteed.

Also, whilst no match for a gargant, squiggoths of various sizes can comfortably rival battlewagons and stompas

Perfect Organism wrote:There's multiple ways in which SB can be a viable option for some orks, and they aren't really mutually exclusive.

First of all, there's a degree of them simply being a useful part of the ork war-machine. As you say, scouts often need to be able to operate in rough environments with minimal support (especially when the logistics are as unreliable as ork ones no-doubt are). The Imperium recruits from feral worlds because their inhabitants have useful skills. Likewise, as you point out, sleeper cells of resistance can be very effective after a defeat. Not to mention that they are the ones most likely to have (or best suited to use) squiggoths and other bio-weapons (possibly including more subtle ones we don't generally 'see'; I remember some background mentioning that orks were fighting back against tyranids at the microscopic level in the Octarius war).

Then they have a role as a productive caste in the ork-conomy, as the agricultural sector. In many ways, they are actually the most practical ork clan, since they are the ones noted for producing large crops of fungus, squigs, and being the best at managing runts (the main labour force supplying orks, especially in the absence of alien slave labour).

It could also be the case that they are in some way optimized for the 'feral' stage of ork social development. That's a significant part of the infestation process and although distinct clans don't usually appear until later, it makes sense that there is some underlying variety which could make some orks better at it than others.

They could 'bridge the gap' between feral and 'developed' orks, acting as a gateway for wildboys to join mainstream ork society more easily.

I wouldn't be so quick to write-off the concept of a clan of 'defectives' either. It's surely possible for orks to 'go wrong' and getting 'stuck' in a less-mature form seems like a very plausible mutation. It's even possible that the snakebite clan, in a sense, acts like a 'sump' to collect 'defective' orcs and make them useful, and could have been designed / evolved for that purpose. Managing the effects of detrimental mutations is a huge part of biology.

I think this is about right. Snakebites being the Ork agricultural sector makes a ton of sense.

It's a good theory, Mad Doc. I've always assumed something similar, so I didn't realize it wasn't actual canon.

I think of Snakebites as basically being the agricultural orks. They're really good at boosting your population early on, then stick around to help avoid an agricultural collapse later on. To my mind, they aren't necessarily rejecting the use of shootas and vehicles wholesale; they just avoid being being obsessed with them which means they're comfortable continuing to bolster the population's access to food even when all bullets and prometheum run out. More orks means more odd boyz, so someone who can figure out how to make bullets and fuel vehicles will come along eventually provided acceptable resources still exist somewhere on the planet.

If I ever get around to it, my hypothetical ork army is a bunch of snakebitez that use their weaponized food trukz to hunt down grub for the other clanz in exchange for teef. So making use of tech, but sticking close to their roots of hunting down food the sort of old-fashioned way.

The squigbuggy is an example of a vehicle set up in a way favourable to Snakebites.

When I was writing the comedy/action story of my Deffskullz, I had made it so that the Skullz would literally loot other klans- hence, the Bloo Face tribe are a bunch of Wildboyz/ Snakebitez that the Deffskullz let onto their Hulk because they are great at squig husbandry.. That, and they're the only ones their squiggoths will listen to.

By the same token, Snakebitez as a whole are herders- squigs and grots- that offer their services to others. (Remember their named character, Zodgrod Wortsnagga is a Runtherd).

They could act as a back up but the weird thing is the presence of Wildboyz. These feral orks are usually the remnants of other Waaagh!s and spawn without any of the previous Orks around. Whilst the whole Ork great green repository of knowledge thing works, for some reason Orks need a standard example. So, these ferals will make weapons and such, but it's really crude and they don't make guns. Strangely, though on the wiki it says wildboyz are more adept at shooting than their spaceborne kin- most likely due to the fact you have to actually aim a spear/ sling/ bow than just pointing an automatic weapon and "spray and pray".

In my headcannon, the old WHFB was in the modern WH40K timeline- and I thought I read something that WHFB world was a staging ground for the old ones to manipulate a bunch of races- which explains why elves/ dwarves/ orcs/ lizardmen/ etc are there. Anyhoo- the regular orcs also had savage orc boyz, with shamen and whatnots. So- the Orks are to the Fantasy Orcs as they are to Savage Boyz, and the wildboy ferals are a bit in between, but Snakebitez are above fantasy Orcs, but below others Orks in tech. But this is by choice vs. just not having access to tech.

Like I said on the other thread, for a klan of "Da Old Wayz", there seems to be a lot of bioniks going about on the Snakebitez. Hell, it's even in the old Cyboars' name! So in a way, it's like the Snakebitez are Amish and Wildboyz/ Ferals are more like an indigenous tribe that lives in one area that has only been discovered in the last 50 years or so. Which.. strangely tracks with Zodgrod's old model.. Anyhoo, one knows about modern tech and chooses not to use it in their lives, except when it becomes necessary (Like, having truckers haul their milk in refrigerated tanks so as to keep to the food codes), the other has no idea so they can't come up to the same standard of living.

I was re-listening to Prophets of the Waagh! the other day, so it kinda bares mentioning here: They had a bunch of Spawnling orks come out too early, and they were dumb.. Even by ork standards. Pour Example:
"Greenies have boom fists! Me want boomfist!"
"It's a GUN ya zoggin runt! And it's 'I want a gun", not "Me want.."
"Me want boomfist!"
Some other mention that these spawnlings aren't even Wildboyz yet, making me wonder if that isn't part of the natural progression of an individual Ork, and the ferals don't have any other more advanced orks to mentor them, so they stay stoopid.

It’s worth keeping in mind Snakebites will use teknologee (even the densest Ork knows a gun is inherently more fun than a bow), but keep using Squigs and Boars where others would fully embrace “clever” equivalents.

The thought on them being the Farmers is a solid one, and I accept that.

But I still think them being a bulwark to prevent total societal collapse is also part of it. Being super self sufficient and knowledgable in bushcraft and the Orky Basics means it’s really, really hard to reduce Orks beyond that level, as you’d need to hunt down every Ork on your planet within a pretty rapid timeframe.

I didn't think feral orks were considered dumb. I just thought they lacked either the resources to make tech (ex: no metal on the planet) or else lacked the population size to produce a mek.

Given enough time and metal, I thought feral ork populations tended to eventually produce mekboyz who then cause the population to start becoming more traditional 40k orks, eventually achieving space flight in order to go fight somewhere else.

Pretty sure the spawnlings in PotWaaagh! are one of those details that's both canon and contradicted by other fluff in the setting. I think it's at least sort of canon that sometimes orks just pop into existence, for instance.

They're just Orks that like the simple things. Why build a bike when a big Squig will do? Just prefer the traditional way of doing things. It's hardly like there aren't humans who are like that.

Could the Snakebites be the ork clan that dominates when resources (or war materiel) are low? Other orks shoot off loads of ammo, burn up loads of fuel, make all sorts of expensive devices that explode/malfunction/require constant repair. In environments where stricter constraints exist on those resources, the Snakebites spawn and predominate--using squig mounts that can forage instead of needing fuel, using squig weapons like Mine Squigs and Buzzer squig pots over bombs and explosives, using old reliable buggies and guns rather than looking for a snazzy new one each week.

Because this is engrained in their genetic structure, they just do it, so when pressed for an explanation, they don't actually have one, and just say "The old ways is best", regardless of whether that logically conflicts with still making shootas instead of using bows.

They 'wander off' once a sufficient level of technological resources exist, not necessarily because they are more curious or have more expansionary interests than other orks, but because Snakebite clan expression isn't as useful at that point. Sure, they also wander off because they want to, but they want to because they are designed that way.

I think you could view the Snakebites as an expression of how orks are designed to survive and thrive in any environment. Environments that do not have the resources to support other klans at a high level of population might cause the 'psychic gestalt' that informs orks to produce more Snakebites.

Da Butcha wrote:
Could the Snakebites be the ork clan that dominates when resources (or war materiel) are low?

I'd think so, yes. This could also mean that snakebites become more common during prolonged engagements if you don't have a bunch of fresh ships bringing new fuel/metal/bullets to the war zone. Not enough gubbinz for flash gitz? Guess you'll be seein' more attack squigz and ladz wiv choppaz instead.

Environments that do not have the resources to support other klans at a high level of population might cause the 'psychic gestalt' that informs orks to produce more Snakebites.

I'm not sure you'd necessarily need to mess with the psychic gestalt to get the same result. Bikerz without bikez and flash gitz without flash aren't going to be as good at surviving the enemy (or surviving other orks) as a simple snake bite wot's good an' 'ard. Natural selection would result in a higher proportion of less tech-dependent orks being more numerous.

Side Note: Are we spelling "clan" with a "k" now? I thought not doing so in past editions was an intentional decision due to some unfortunate implications here in the U.S.

Kind of? Maybe? Ish?

It’s not massively clear whether lack of Dakka = plenty of Snakebites. Because should Orks, for whatever reason, lose access to Mek or stuff for the Meks to muck around with? They’re all just as happy smashing your face in with a stout branch as they are some techno choppa.

This again may feed into my pondering that the Snakebites are a deliberate failsafe. A core of Orks less fussed for the highest tech stuff. Crazy survivalists able to show (by demonstration, natch) other Orks how to get by when you’ve no buggies or shootas. Like those Doomsday Preppers, but considerably less deluded and more effective.

This could be in the short term (such as following concerted attacks on Orky strongholds, drastically reducing the number of available Mekboyz, to keep the war ticking over whilst the survivors setup shop again) or longer term (all the Meks got perished, and it’s down to da Squigs once again), or at least until any remaining Deffskulls have looted enough stuff for a decent armoured wedge etc.

Because it’s not as if it’s only Snakebites that find appeal in riding a massive, flatulent, ill tempered Squig into battle. It’s just lower on priorities for other clans, due to their own predilections.

The more I think about it the more I’m becoming convinced the clans are just another, more widespread and somewhat less specialised expression of Oddboy. Any Ork can show enthusiasm for any aspect of Orky Kultur, but their Clan affiliation is a distinct preference or particular talent in a given area (Deffskulls for instance, as the top looters, serve such an important role in providing a constant stream of recovered gubbins, Evil Sunz are natural scouts and so in) all of which strengthens the whole, whilst ensuring suitably expert Boyz are usually on hand when their particular passion is particularly useful.

Sure. In the sense that both odd boy skills and clan predilections are basically just instincts. I guess you could argue that odd boy skills are significantly more specific/detailed than a vague instinct like wanting to go fast, but they're probably fundamentally pretty similar and both serve the greater ork population.

We also see a sort of middle ground with Speed Freeks, Burnaboys and Tankbustas. All Orks where a passion has become outright obsession. I think Flyboyz fit in there as well, as unless the background has changed, most Orks consider flying distinctly un-Orky behaviour?

Yeah, Orks like to keep the feets on the ground- which may or may not be a behavior stemming from their origins from the dirt. But mostly flyboyz are seen as a subgenre of Speed Freeks.

I looked around, found the old chapter approved Feral orks list and I was under the impression they had NO tech, but the small bit of fluff says they usually pick up the guns of dead orks, or have their grots nick oomie weapons. But, still the highest form of tech is a Power Klaw, which only the warboss gets.

It may just be the contradictory old background vs. new stuff, since we have the kr/ork psychi wavelength thingie, but it stands to reason a Mek would pop up SOME wheres in a Snakebite/ Feral ork Waagh!. I wish I knew if Snakebitez got around on hulks by "hitching a ride" from another klan/ Freebootaz or they have the wherewithal to make their own ships. Either way, they get around or they wouldn't be a major klan!

Snakebites do have Meks, just fewer of them. And whilst we can only speculate, I suspect their Clan Culture would see them focus on low tech pieces.

So when seized by the mania to build artillery, it’s Squig Catapults, maybe a Shokk Attak Gun, over Bubble Chukkas, Traktor Cannon, Lifta Droppas etc. Lower tech stuff, or inherently Runt oriented weapons. Cyboar bits over Warbikes.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Snakebites do have Meks, just fewer of them. And whilst we can only speculate, I suspect their Clan Culture would see them focus on low tech pieces.

There's an Ork POV novel where a Snakebite Mek is ridiculed by other Meks for trying to create a better saddle (IIRC) - I'll see if I can remember which one...

TheChrispyOne wrote:
Yeah, Orks like to keep the feets on the ground- which may or may not be a behavior stemming from their origins from the dirt. But mostly flyboyz are seen as a subgenre of Speed Freeks.

I looked around, found the old chapter approved Feral orks list and I was under the impression they had NO tech, but the small bit of fluff says they usually pick up the guns of dead orks, or have their grots nick oomie weapons. But, still the highest form of tech is a Power Klaw, which only the warboss gets.

It may just be the contradictory old background vs. new stuff, since we have the kr/ork psychi wavelength thingie, but it stands to reason a Mek would pop up SOME wheres in a Snakebite/ Feral ork Waagh!. I wish I knew if Snakebitez got around on hulks by "hitching a ride" from another klan/ Freebootaz or they have the wherewithal to make their own ships. Either way, they get around or they wouldn't be a major klan!

I think the key point here is that Snakebites are not the same thing as feral orks. Orks from any clan can go through the feral stage, and clan kulture doesn't really become apparent at this stage anyway. It is just the development stage before the Ork population grows enough to start forming full tribes and eventually a Waaagh! if conditions are right.

Feral Orks scavenge stuff, incl. as much remnant Ork tech from the original Ork invasion that left the spores they came from- up to and including salvaged trukks. However, they are not reliant on scavenged tech and can produce things like stikkbomms and shootas if their pigdok has the skill. The issue is resources and population number. Feral Orks favour shootas because they are smaller and weedier than Orks in later, larger societies, and because they are reliant on hunting for food for which shooting is easier to achieve (this includes Orkoid food sources like squiggoths). More complex tech will appear once true meks come along. The 3rd edition Ork codex states that feral Ork societies reach about 10000. This is from an Imperial xenologist, so take with a grain of salt, but seems plausible as an upper limit for a feral tribe before it starts to become a more complex Ork society.

Snakebites on the other hand are a clan that can control a full tribe, or even be the clan of the dominant warlord in a Waaagh! They can use spacecraft and other advanced Ork tech, but they prefer to use simpler, squig-based stuff. Some of their methods hark back to the tactics of feral Orks, like boarboyz/squighog riders*, but they are not feral Orks.


*My personal hypothesis is that Ork boars are actually just a hairy form of squighog, in the same manner as the hairy squiggoth seen in early Epic 40k. I have plans to build two distinct forces of feral Orks from Armageddon, one from the Pallidus mountains using hairy boars (due to the cold climate), one from the equatorial jungle with the squighogs (hot, sweaty climate).


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 TheChrispyOne wrote:

They could act as a back up but the weird thing is the presence of Wildboyz. These feral orks are usually the remnants of other Waaagh!s and spawn without any of the previous Orks around. Whilst the whole Ork great green repository of knowledge thing works, for some reason Orks need a standard example. So, these ferals will make weapons and such, but it's really crude and they don't make guns. Strangely, though on the wiki it says wildboyz are more adept at shooting than their spaceborne kin- most likely due to the fact you have to actually aim a spear/ sling/ bow than just pointing an automatic weapon and "spray and pray".

Some clarification. Wildboyz are the very first stage of Orks, before even feral Orks. These are basically the mob that first spawns together, with one boss/nob taking charge. They have exceptionally basic weapons, usually just melee choppas. Over time, enough wildboyz grouping together will form a feral Ork warband if there are no other warbands nearby, and pigdoks and runtherdz appear- this is when shootas etc. start getting used. If more advanced Orks are around, wildboyz get adopted into an existing warband after proving themselves.

Snakebites are of such a level a tribe can adopt in any Wildboyz or Ferals with a low risk of Kultur Shock.

Lots of familiar things (Squig and Boar heavy), and enough new to help Ferals progress to a more Kultured level, such as seeing the sense in a shoota over a bow, and the tactic and strategies which come along with it,

So again, I’d argue the backward nature of Snakebites is entirely by design.

Have Ork bowman ever been mentioned in 40k? The feral Ork list in 3rd edition didn't have any.

Logically, a bow is quite challenging to produce and I think wildboyz would be more likely to favour javelins, darts, rocks, and maybe slings over bows. I am aware Ork bowman exist in AoS and Fantasy.

In Rogue Trader, 1st and 2nd Ed Epic? Yup!

Posssssssibly into 2nd Ed. Will check my Codex and get back to you.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Nope, gone by 2nd Ed 40K. Even Snakebites came with a Bolt Pistol

 Haighus wrote:
Have Ork bowman ever been mentioned in 40k? The feral Ork list in 3rd edition didn't have any.

Logically, a bow is quite challenging to produce and I think wildboyz would be more likely to favour javelins, darts, rocks, and maybe slings over bows. I am aware Ork bowman exist in AoS and Fantasy.

But they only have to believe that the Bow works

Also, Orks being primitive doesn’t mean “therefore utterly clueless”.

Bows are, or more accurately were, high technology in their day. For..functionally forever in the terms of our own species, they were the dominant weapon of war, and best hunting tool.

But, their roots remain in “how do I throw a pointy stick at that thing’s most ‘urtiest of ‘urty bits, whilst not getting mangled”

Go back from laminate bows. Go back from “gosh, Yew Trees are well good at this”. Look to the very very origin of them. And…they’re really quite basic.

Add in the Orky Know Wots, of making something deadly out of Bugger All Use To Anyone Else? And I’d suggest their understanding of what makes a bow and arrow work, even for their lowest level of tech, may be surprisingly effective.

Even with the highest Orky Teknologee, which is frankly astounding (force fields, tractor beams), the creator of such really doesn’t understand why it works. It’s enough that it does work, and is a good laugh at the same time.

 Haighus wrote:
Have Ork bowman ever been mentioned in 40k? The feral Ork list in 3rd edition didn't have any.

Logically, a bow is quite challenging to produce and I think wildboyz would be more likely to favour javelins, darts, rocks, and maybe slings over bows. I am aware Ork bowman exist in AoS and Fantasy.

Not really. When I was in the Boy Scouts of America, we amused ourselves at the end of one hike by building longbows out of nylon cord and long branches that we found laying on the ground. The arrows were just relatively straight sticks with no fletching. Despite how primitive the bows and arrows were, one of my fellow scouts was still able to punch a hole in my plastic water bottle (I don't mean a bottle of bottled water, I mean a cheap plastic almost canteen) from several yards away.

Were they good bows? Of course not. Range and hitting power would have likely been difficult at anything much further than what we were shooting at, or with a "hide" that was tougher than soft plastic that was a couple of mm thick.. But these were bows and arrows that were built in a matter of minutes using improvised materials, and pocket knives. An actual attempt to search out for better quality branches and sticks, and then spend the time shaping those branches and sticks into bows and arrows, likely would have produced significantly better results even with just a minimum of practice on the part of the crafter. They still wouldn't have been "Mongol compound bows" good, of course. But they'd be fine for use against living targets (prey or other) at range.

I'd wanted to make my "Bloo Face tribe" kitted out with bows, but have tiny rokkits or even bullets attached to the arrows- however, I am lazy/ lacking in a 3d printer.
Anyhoo, to put things into perspective, look at the lasgun. In today's world, if you told a soldier you could give them a firearm that will melt through concrete, never jam, never get flooded in mud or water and whose charge pack is good for many more shots vs. a whole can of ammo, they'd be overjoyed.
In WH40K?.. Flashlights! So, despite orks being mini-Hulks, even with the best compound/ recurve bows, they'll still come up short vs. one of the most prevalent weapons in 40k.
Even the lowest Grot blasta is pretty much a stubber gun/ shotgun and sluggas are bolters. I get from a game viewpoint, Feral Orks with heavier weapons would be too unbalanced, as you're taking away their main weakness of being bad at shooting; buuut- downgrading them to bows would be too much of a nerf.
Likewise, most Snakebites don't have too much shooty guns, since they're about mounted on squiggly-piggies/ kill rigs/ squiggoths- or are leading a bunch of grots to do that for them.

Snakebites aren’t feral, they just like the old fashioned ways. They have always had access to all the same equipment as any other clan, they still use energy weapons and force fields, they can do all the things any other ORK clan does.

I prefer the “waargh the ORKS” descriptions of ORK society and never liked the feral ORK army list when it came out because that aspect of ORK life was already covered, this just added another division that wasn’t needed.

It was the same when speed freaks became viewed as a clan or faction of ORKS, when all along the cult of speed was always just a cult that ran through all clans and culture. It was just a description of ORKS who liked going fast, regardless of clan etc. now people see it and feral ORKS as distinct clans like the original 6 clans.

Andykp wrote:
Snakebites aren’t feral, they just like the old fashioned ways. They have always had access to all the same equipment as any other clan, they still use energy weapons and force fields, they can do all the things any other ORK clan does.

I prefer the “waargh the ORKS” descriptions of ORK society and never liked the feral ORK army list when it came out because that aspect of ORK life was already covered, this just added another division that wasn’t needed.

It was the same when speed freaks became viewed as a clan or faction of ORKS, when all along the cult of speed was always just a cult that ran through all clans and culture. It was just a description of ORKS who liked going fast, regardless of clan etc. now people see it and feral ORKS as distinct clans like the original 6 clans.

If people see it that way it's a misconception, the actual fluff is very clear in stating "many evil sunz are speed freaks" and "Snakebites usually have more Feral Orks than others".