Squig

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A Squig[37]
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Orkoid Species

Squiggly Beasts, more commonly known as Squigs, are the simplest form of Orkoid life, ever-present amongst the tribes of the greenskins. For the most part, these creatures are lacking in intelligence, though their ferocity is impressive. There are many types of squig, each generally filling some functionary role in the Ork ecosystem, developing a strange symbiotic relationship with the Orks: some squigs are used for skin or food, others kept as fearsome pets and the largest of them can even be ridden into battle. Some Ork clans specialise in breeding ever-larger and more belligerent strains. The squigs feed on the refuse of the larger Orkoids (as well as local plants, animals and each other). In their turn they serve as the Orks' primary food source along with Orkoid Fungus.[32a]

History

It has been theorised by the Genetors of the Adeptus Mechanicus that squigs were created by the Orks’ forebears as part of a simple, mobile ecosystem that sustains the greenskin race as it travels from world to world, contributing to the success of this race in conquering large parts of the Galaxy.[32a]

Description and uses

Squig[5a]

There are many types of squigs, but most can be generalised into a single variety, such as edible, musical, hair, parasite-hunting, etc. Squigs naturally grow and breed within the cesspits of Ork settlements known as the Drops and subsist on Ork refuse. Gretchin and Snotlings are usually tasked with plucking them out for any use necessary. The task of tending the squigs usually also falls to Snotlings under supervision from Runtherds. Most Squigs are edible, and some are specifically bred for this purpose.[4][5a]

Many strains of these creatures also have medicinal uses and some are used exclusively by Painboyz. Squigs that have natural properties Doks find useful are referred to as Medical Squigs. Some, such as Swab Squig and Syringe Squig are used while alive and others are killed, preserved and used to make medicines. Painboyz sometimes rear Squigs in cages and bottles, but more often they dig special latrines and cultivate the various creatures inside. These latrines are usually guarded by Grot Orderlies. Some smaller varieties are often kept inside jars or tanks. Many Painboyz go as far as raising their own strains of Squigs, often trying to create new types or adapt old ones for medical uses, taking great pride in their potency.[6a]

Squig Breeds

There are countless different species of squig, all known ones are listed below:

'Sploding Squig

'Sploding Squigs are an unusual subspecies of Squig, possessing multiple stomachs, each containing a thick broth of unstable digestive chemicals. When agitated, which can happen from simply shaking the Squig, its digestive juices combine into a combusting liquid, causing the Squig to explode in a shower of meat, teeth and bone. Orks are known to force-feed these Squigs metal bits to enhance their lethality. They are usually thrown in combat, but can also be used as mines.[21]

Acid-Squig

Acid-Squigs can spit out streams of acid and are considered to be an exotic breed. They consist of several types, including the Tiger-Squig, and herds of Acid-Squigs can be deployed in battle by the Orks.[45]

Amp-Squig

Amp-Squig[41]

Amp Squigs are used by Goff Rockers to help amplify the power of their Moozik. Amp Squigs feature musical amplifiers, but it is unknown whether Amp-Squigs are born with the amps within them, or if they are implanted by a Dok.[41]

Attack Squig

This strain of squig is a vicious predator, and is little more than a snapping, fanged mouth on muscular legs. All squigs have a certain purpose, and this type is akin to attack dog. Many Warbosses and Oddboyz keep Attack Squigs as pets, using these beasts in battle. They are also known to be assembled in big herds and hurled at the enemies by Runtherds or used to guard an important location, although it is nearly as likely to tear apart the nearest Gretchin as they are the enemy.

Bag Squig

This breed features a large, gaping mouth, a bag-like body and a stomach that takes up most of that body. This also functions as a pouch that allows the Squig to survive by slowly digesting even the most unappetising food inside. These creatures are used by Orks as bags or belt pouches when tanned out like leather or as flask for drinks when dried out.[5c]

Bile Squig

This breed of squig is frequently fired from Squig Launchas and Heavy Squig Launchas. These Squigs come in a variety of breeds and are capable of spraying, squirting or vomiting harmful fluids. Typically launched by the handful, these creatures squeal and thrash while jetting acid, lubricants, poisons and flammable fluids in every direction. The effects can sometimes be harmless, but other times can cause their victims to burst into flames, explode or dissolve.[35]

Bitey Squig

This breed of squig is frequently fired from Squig Launchas and Heavy Squig Launchas. These Squigs have sufficient jaws, claws, and stingers to savage the target and anything close by. Launched gnashing and snarling into the enemy, they latch onto the first thing they hit and do not stop chewing until they are killed.[35]

Bomb Squig

These Squigs are strapped with explosives and used as mobile living bombs.[29]

Boom Squig

This breed of squig is frequently fired from Squig Launchas and Heavy Squig Launchas. Boom Squigs are infamous for their defence mechanism of violently exploding at the slightest provocation, typically due to direct physical contact or a loud noise (though sometimes even its own bouts of indigestion). They detonate with such force that they kill or maim anything unlucky enough to be in the vicinity. These creatures thus make the perfect living ammunition for Orks and are also sometimes used as landmines. They are also favoured by Orks as the tools of practical jokes, as nothing will amuse a Speed Freek more than hiding a Boom Squig under the seat of a Rukkatrukk Squigbuggy driver.[35]

Buzzer Squig

Buzzer Squig[6g]
Buzzer Squigs used as ammunition for Squig Catapult[19]

Found by Gretchin among the fungus groves around the Drops, Buzzer Squigs are mainly used by Orks as ammo for Squig Katapults. Multiple Squigs are corked by Gretchin inside pots, made from sun-baked mud drilled with small holes to allow the Squigs to breathe and placed at the bottom of the drops. After a few weeks the Squigs become even more savage and when used as ammunition in a Squig Katapult the pots crack on impact with horrific results. In the wild Buzzer Squigs are known to feed by burrowing into larger Squigs or small animals such as rats.[6g][32b]

Buzzing Squig

Buzzing Squig[5g]

Buzzing Squigs are very small, featuring tiny insectile wings which make the buzzing noises that give the Squigs their names. They can devour anything except for Orkoid flesh, which they are unable to digest. Buzzing Squigs will tunnel their way through food sources, making them deadly weapons, especially in swarms or when fired from Katapults.[5g]

Buzzsquig

These are small snack-sized creatures that, when eaten, give the greenskins a surge of energy that exceeds even their usual maniacal levels.[23]

Eating Squig

Eating Squig[5b]
Grot selling Eating Squigs[16]

Most Squigs breeds are edible, but some are more tasty than others. Eating squigs are only good for food. Orks usually prefer them cooked, but they can be eaten raw as well. Gretchin are quite adept at cooking them and have a number of methods including kebabing, marinating in fungus wine, stuffed with fungus and herbs, roasted on a spit, deep fried with fungus chips, or griddled over a campfire.[5b]

The best Eating Squigs found at the bottom of the Drops are known as Juicy Squigs. They are rare and hard to get from the depths. Since rarely found they often grow to large an more tasty as they get older. These are only cooked by best Gretchin servants and are usually offered to Nobs that can appreciate the finer aspects of Ork Kultur.[5b]

Face-Eater Squig

Face-Eater Squig[4]
Squig-eating contest[5e]

Also known as a Gnasher Squig or Orkus ravenati to Imperial xenobiologists,[17] the Face-Eater breed is perhaps the most voracious and dangerous of all the varieties of Squig. These creatures have a massive, gaping mouth filled with needle-like teeth and as wide as their bodies are long, capable of swallowing a Snotling whole. The rest of a Face-Eater's body is just a muscular tail, often used to hang from the drops that make up the breed's primary habitat.

Squig-eating Contests

The only reason any Ork would risk death by venturing out to capture a Face-Eater is for their use in a traditional Squig-eating contests. This sport is tremendously enjoyable for both spectating and participating Orks. Rather than eating as many of the creatures as possible, the aim of a Squig-eating contest is to eat a Face-Eater Squig before it can take a chunk out of their face. Spectators of the sport enjoy gambling, with many teef changing hands as the greenskins bet on who the winner will be. The winner of a contest can emerge as a very wealthy Ork.[4][5e]

Other Uses

Some Painboyz have made unsuccessful attempts to use Face-Eater Squigs to amputate a patient's limbs, usually resulting in the loss of the Dok's own fingers.[4][5e] Face-Eaters are often used as attack Squigs.[32b]

Flesheater Squig

Flesheater Squig[5l]

Some Runtherds breed these large, ferocious beasts to increase their wealth. This variety has a great crocodile-like mouth full of sharp fangs that are very similar to Ork Teef. They shed and replace these in the same manner that Orks do and as such are a source of huge wealth for the owner. Flesheaters' teeth deteriorate in the same manner Ork ones do, but the creatures are extremely long-lived, although rarely breed in captivity, making them even more valuable. Most owners of these tend to be Nobs and Orks are known to start a great fights in order to capture or loot a Flesheater Squig.[5l]

Glow Squig

A variety that glows a sickly green colour in the dark. Sometimes used to aid Ork sentries to see in dark conditions.[42]

Gob Squig

Gob Squig[5h]

This breed is very small so it can be put into an Ork's mouth and left there for up to several days. It cleans the Ork's mouth by rooting round the teeth and eating the food stuck in between them.

One particular variety of Gob Squig is known as Chewin' Squig. Orks chew on them while they sit and think (or just sit and don't think).[5h]

Growler Squig

Growler Squig[5f]

This variety is lively enough to be kept as pets or mascots. They are usually the size of a small dog, although far more vicious. They usually scurry behind their masters giving them a lot of amusement, especially when they snap at the ankles of other Orks. They are a mark of status and as such are usually owned by Nobs or Oddboyz.[5f]

One especially popular variety is known as the Mimic. This Squig has a beak-like mouth and is parrot-like in appearance. Mimics can be seen on a shoulders of many an old and haggard Ork, casting expletives and insults at passersby and are especially popular amongst Freebooters.[5f]

Hairy Squig

This breed features a small body and head that consist mainly of tiny claws and mouth full of small, sharp teeth. The most prominent feature is the creature's long tuft of hair, often of bright colour. These Squigs are bred in great numbers to provide Orks (who are naturally hairless) with mops, mohawks and other hair imitations. Gretchin servants put Squigs on his bald head, where they latch on, digging in with their teeth and claws. Feeding on an Ork's skin, the Hairy Squig can live there indefinitely. Some Orks only wear one huge Squig to make a huge tail, while hundreds are needed to make a whole head of hair. Their natural brightness may be further increased by colouring, so Orks can choose from a variety of colours and styles, which they often use to differentiate between Clans and Tribes. Other uses include using their hair for sewing. Orks have been known to attempt to barter these Squigs with humans, not understanding why their Hair Squigs are so small and pale. Inability to understand the value of the creatures serves as another proof of human stupidity to Orks.[5m][32c]

Another important use for these creatures was invented by Painboyz. They simply apply them to the open wound, which it holds closed with its tiny, needle-like teeth. After twisting the tail off, he repeats the process until the wound is completely closed. Feeding on blood from the wound, Squigs live like this for years, keeping it clean and free from infection. By the time he dies and drops off, the wound has already healed, leaving only a row of tiny holes around the scar. These wounds are prized among Orks as a sigh of toughness and strength.[5d]

One particular variety of Hairy Squig is known as a Chin Squig. These creatures feature a long thin body with claws and hair all over and, once attached to an Ork's (or occassionally Grot's)[44] chin serve as an equivalent of beard. They are also known to be a sign of age and status among Orks.[15]

Herd Squig

Also known as Squighounds or sniffer squigs, Herd Squigs are a special breed of Squig developed by Runtherds as herding animals for Gretchin. They are related to many other varieties, but are bred for their speed, intelligence, ferocity and endurance. They have a very good sense of smell and hearing allowing them to track Grots and Snotlings wherever they may hide. They make very good tracking beasts in general and runtherds who own these creatures are often hired by other Orks to track down lost items of equipment. Their powerful legs give them great speed and endurance and they can be often found running in circles around the runts and keeping them in one place. Herd Squigs are controlled by Runtherds by a combination of calls and whistles. They start out knowing only a few commands but the list expands as the beast matures. They get very attached to their master and are adept at understanding his commands, which usually vary significantly from one Runtherd to the next — it's impossible for a Runtherd to command a Herd Squig trained by another.[32b] The Squighounds can make barking sounds.[33]

Oily Squig

The body of the Oily Squig exudes a thick oily black secretion from its slug-like body that is used by the Orks for machine oil. For spot-oiling jobs an Ork Mek grabs hold of the Oily Squig and squeezes it to spurt the oily excretion wherever lubrication is required. As large quantities of oil are needed, these squigs are often bred in large quantities to extract the oily substance from them. The most efficient way of extracting the oil from the creatures is to use a large pressing machine, although more primitive methods, such as having gretchin jump up and down on them are also widely used. Orks prepare the barrels of the squig oil in advance, which they take with them on campaigns.[6d][32c]

Paint Squig

Paint Squig[5k]

This small and bright variety excretes powerful dyes that are used by other Orkoids. Gretchin use them to paint banners and clothes, whereas Orks use the dye as warpaint. Many varieties of Paint Squigs have tufts of hair on their tails that may be used as brush as well. Gretchin artists often use the shells of Edible Squigs as paint pots and palettes for painting.[5k]

Parasite-Hunting Squig

Parasite-Hunting Squig[5c]

These tiny, but voracious feeders are used by Orks to rid their bodies and clothes of parasites. Orks simply drop them on themselves and let them crawl around. Parasite-Hunting Squigs feed on any lice, ticks or leeches the Orks may have picked up and are often themselves eaten by the owner if they drop off or if he simply feels hungry.[5c]

Smasha Squig

Beast Snagga Nob riding a Smasha Squig[36]

Large and vicious Squigs ridden by Beast Snagga Nobs.[36]

Spiky Squig

Spiky Squig[6e]

This type of Squig is covered with spines and is usually quite safe. However, when agitated, as an instinctive reaction, it shoots out the spines at any threatening creature rather like a porcupine. These spines inflict a poisonous sting on anyone struck by them, though the effect of the poison on Orkish flesh is not as drastic as it is on other races. Squigs of this kind are sometimes used as a form of weapon by Orks.[6e]

Squigeon

Squigeons are squig counterparts of Terran columbidae. They are sometimes used for transporting messages in Ork tribes and warbands that lack more advanced methods of communication.[8b] However, they are frequently preyed upon by the ferocious predatory Squighawks and bored Ork Flyboy pilots.[34]

Squighawk

Squighawk[8b]

Squighawk is a flying breed of squig big enough to eat grown Orks. They are too wild to be trained and are rarely used by Ork Runtherds.[8b]

Squighog

A Squighog Boy riding a Squighog[36]

Squighogs are large four legged squigs used as cavalry mounts by Ork Squighog Boyz.[36]

Squigosaur

Squigosaurs are large two legged squigs, that Beast Snaggas ride upon. The most well known one is the legendary Big Chompa ridden by Mozrog Skragbad.[39]

Squigpipe

Several tube-like probosces emanate from this squig bag-like body. This curious breed is used by the Orks as a musical instrument akin to human bagpipes. Also thus known as a Musical Squig, it can be tucked under one arm and inflated by blowing down a proboscis. When squeezed, the Squig will make weird and disturbing sounds through its other pipes. It is a thousand times more cacophonous than any human musical instrument, but Orks like its sound when going into battle.[5i][32c]

Squigshark

Squigsharks are squig counterparts of the Terran shark that inhabit ocean depths on Ork-infested planets. They are known to be very dangerous beasts and many Ork sailors have ended their lives as a food for Squigsharks.[8a]

Swab Squig

Swab Squigs are related to Hairy Squigs, but unlike the long, trailing hair of its cousins its round body is covered with fur. Painboys use Swab Squigs to mop up during operations, or simply as handkerchiefs. Despite seeming harmless, these Squigs can inflict a nasty bite on smaller creatures, such as Snotlings.[6a]

Syringe Squig

Syringe Squigs kill their prey by injecting venom with a long needle-sharp proboscis - the biggest of the creatures wield needles up to 18 inches long. Painboyz use these Squigs by sticking the proboscis into the patient's flesh and squeezing the squig to release the venom. It is not deadly to Orks, but can knock them out for up to three Terran days at a time and so is used as an anaesthetic. Syringe Squigs are classified by their sizes: 'small', 'big' and 'urty', which are chosen depending on the strength of the dose required. The venom is sometimes extracted from the creature and used separately for mixing up some kind of special 'medicine', or if a really large dose is needed.[7a]

Targeting Squig

Targeting Squigs are weird creatures with a single targeting eye that serve as biological equivalents of Gitfindas used by Flash Gitz.[26]

Tramplasquig

A Tramplasquig towing a Kill Rig[40]

Tramplasquigs are mountainous four-legged Squigs, that are used by Beast Snaggas to pull their Hunta and Kill Rigs vehicles.[40]

Vampire Squig

Vampire Squig[7b]

The Vampire is a flying variety of Squig featuring leathery wings, long sharp fangs and an appetite for blood. They are used by Painboyz to bleed their patients and suck bad blood from septic wounds. The creatures don't seem to care where the blood comes from as long as they get some regularly and at times when there are few wounded Orks around the Painboy can always feed the Vampire by extolling the benefits of regular bleedings to completely healthy Orks.[7b]

Wyrdsquig

Wyrdsquig[17]

Wyrdsquig are an orkoid mutant breed of the Gnasher Squig found rarely in the wild. It has massive densely packed neural lobes and its used by Orks as a psionic bomb, triggered on the Wyrdsquig's death.[17]


Other Squigs

The breeds of squigs are innumerable and there are a lot of other, unknown types of these creatures in existence. From tiny micro-organisms on Ork bodies to the gigantic beasts put in the Ork spaceships to create breathing atmosphere as a form of a life-sustaining device, each of them has an use in Ork society. Notorious breeds such as the yellow-spotted facegnasha, the greater fang-gob, or the infamous leapin’ deff are especially popular for ther use as Bomb Squigs.[29]

Squiggoths

Main article: Squiggoth
Squiggoth[2]

Ork Runtherds may occasionally breed Squigs to create a giant monstrous versions of them. Known as Squiggoths, they are one of the more extreme off shoots of the Orkoid race and are highly valued by the Warbosses for their destructive potential on the battlefield.[32c] Squggoths are divided by their size into:

Trivia

TriviaScrollTrans.png

The following information is not to be regarded as officially sanctioned and/ or is not written from an in-universe point of view. A detailed explanation of the term "Trivia" as used in the Lexicanum can be found here.

Squigs were included in the first Tyranid army list in White Dwarf 145 (UK) in 1992, with (until Codex: Orks (2nd Edition) in 1994) their origin as bio-constructed creatures of Ork genetic material which retained an "Orky" spirit of free will which worked against the Hive Mind, having integrated into Ork society only after their varieties were "rescued" by Boyz who stormed Tyranid Hive Ships to find lost compatriots but instead found the changed creatures which they recognized as "Orky" and dubbed "Squigs" – taking them back and, through much evolution and adaptation, integrating them into the Ork way of life.[43]

Sources


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