Quote Originally Posted by Melissia View Post
That's actually contradicted by later fluff.

Dark Heresy, however, has a better explanation; in the hands of an Ork, an Ork weapon is reliable (like a lasgun is reliable, or a good quality bolter is reliable, or a revolver is reliable-- weapons that almost never jam). In the hands of a non-Ork, it's unreliable, but it's still able to be used... it just jams more than it should. I know Ciaphas Cain used an Ork Trukk, and Marines have used Ork Shootaz before, as well.

Basically, Ork technology, except for the crazier things such as teleporters and such, CAN work on its own. It just works better with an Ork using it, both because half the time only an Ork truly understands the nature of the weapon and how it should be used, and because of the innate gestalt psychic fields they emit as part of their orkyness.
And that is the great crime of retconning, they went and altered a great idea to make it “logical”.
However, I believe the gist of what Boom! Studios and Black Library seemed to convey is, while ork equipment may work for other races, no one, other than an ork, can understand why it works. If a Techno priest takes apart anything other than hunk of steel hammered into a sword like shape, they can’t find a logical reason for it to work. They’ll open it up and find no power sources, inconsistent moving parts, and loose “gubbins” just rattling around. For reasons no “propa ork” would question, their equipment works because an ork thinks it should work.

That being said, I think #3 is the most likely conclusion because 1# works off the assumption that there is logic/method to their madness and 2# is entirely too limiting not taking the sheer amount of imagination and inspiration for their ability to loot and adapt nearly anything else. I wouldn’t doubt that there is a looted Necron monolith out there with a dozen or so grots swarmed all over it, and a Mek using a bridle to steer it.

Throughout the codexs, rule books, and canonical literature, warmeks, big meks, painboyz, and mekboyz have been fueled by competition, inspired by Gork (or Mork), and beaten/stolen ideas out of others to build the fastest, shootiest, stabbinest, killiest, stompinest, biggest, and bestest equipment out there. The only hindrances to their imagination is our imagination, and I rather like the thought that mine is unlimited.