Gretchin

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Gretchin,Grots or Runts are a lesser Ork slave race who do the menial tasks which Orks consider they are above.

Physical Appearance

A Gretchin mob

Gretchin have a similar physical structure to Ork but are much smaller and weaker. They have short runty legs and grasping fingers to employ their greatest skill, low cunning. They are far more numerous than Orks and have large bulbous heads with tatty ears which flatten when they are scared. They have sharp fanged jaws which are their best physical weapon. They have an excellent sense of smell, hearing and they have effective sight in the dark. These traits aid their self-preservation allowing them to survive in the dangerous Ork society. Some Gretchin have even developed a sixth sense of sorts, or naturally be far more fortunate than they have right to be.¹

Society

Gretchin are more numerous than Orks and the Orks are greatly dependent on them. Most of the day-to-day assets, such as finding and preparing food, taking messages, finding things out, fetching and carrying, organising things and many other tasks are left to the Gretchins. The Gretchin are happy enough in their role. They bear little resentment towards their superiors, for them Orks are just a fact of life. Individual Gretchin can enjoy a relatively comfortable existence by providing valuable services to their Ork masters. Most Grots are owned by Orks as personal servants, though some gather together into loose tribes that may even own functional weapons and equipment.

The Gretchin have created an entire enterprise culture of their own within their Ork-dominated society. Many Gretchin operate their own black-market businesses on the side, such as selling fungus-beer, roasting squigs on sticks, coordinating the bets when a fight breaks out or looting corpses for fun and profit.^{[Needs Citation]}. Some Gretchins don't accept to serve their Orks masters and leave out their tribes, becoming bandits. The Gretchin Bandits (that sometimes follow the Freebooterz) often are violent anarchists that don't accept neither need any order.

There is a faction known as Rebel Grots who had too much of their rough treatment and rebelled against their masters. Because of their organisation skills they could sometimes build and maintain war machines and artillery.^{[Needs Citation]}They sometimes also accompany Ork Warlords, Mekboys as ammo runts and orderlies to Painboys.^{[Needs Citation]}

Because Gretchin are synonymous with cunning, small stature, cowardice, negligent physical prowess and other things considered un-Orky, the term 'grot' is used derisively between the larger Ork boyz. i.e. - "Da' boss needs some real boyz to do this job, not you pack of grotz!"^{[Needs Citation]}

Battle Use

Gretchin are known for their poor combat abilities, but they compensate for this by sheer numbers. They often go to war with a basic gun firing volleys of scavenged ammunition before falling on their enemies in an orgy of killing, ripping them to pieces with their teeth.¹

Known Grots

• Makari the Grot is thought to be the luckiest Gretchin ever, surviving for nine years before being sat on by his master, the notorious Goff Warboss Ghazghkull Thraka and subsequently fed to a Squig.¹

• Fixit is the Grot assistant of legendary Ork Mekboy Wazdakka Gutsmek. Wazdakka's warbike is kept clean and shiny by his Gretchin assistant.

• The Red Gobbo head of the Angelis' separatist gretchin faction known as the Gretchin Revolutionary Committee.

Images

• 

  A squad of Gretchins used for battle.

Sources

• ¹:Codex: Orks (4th Edition)