Frankosis said:

Fundamentally, if every faction had the same tone and feel, we wouldn't need more than one.

Orks differ from Eldar who differ from Tyranids who differ from the forces of Chaos who differ from the Tau, and so forth.

One thing that is commonly overlooked when regarding Orks in 40k is the difference between our omniscient external perspective and the various internal perspectives within the setting.

Orks, from the perspective of those within the Imperium, are rampaging warlike barbarians... a perfect example of the everpresent savagery of Xenos and their perpetual yearning to destroy all that mankind has wrought. No matter where mankind goes in the galaxy, Orks are either already there, or will be soon, to tear down civilisation. An individual Ork, to a Guardsman, is a hulking brute that seems to have no concept of pain, which possesses the physical might and personal inclination to tear a man to pieces and devour the remains. Orks are the monsters at the edge of the civilised world... they are, almost more than any other force in the galaxy, the reason there is only war in the darkness of the far future.

Orks, from their own perspective, revel in battle - they wage war because they wish to, because the din of gunfire and explosions is something they crave on a fundamental level. Orks are lighthearted primarily because the things that make 40k such a grim place for humanity are the kinds of things that Orks desire.

Yes, they're often depicted in a humorous light... but that's more to do with depicting the universe from the Orks' own perspective than anything else. 40k has always had elements of dark humour within it, so whether or not you view the Orks as fitting says something about the way you view the setting as a whole...

 Right, WarHammer, both Fantasy and 40k, has always had a unique brand of dark humor. I mean look at the old Rogue Trader era 40k and tell me there's not some hilarious stuff in that. 

I understand that some people want to keep their game GRIMDARK and everyone has frowny faces because the universe is so bleak, but that's more unrealistic than many aspects of the setting. Since we're discussing Only War, there are going to be MANY chances for offbeat moments because these characters are human and humans tend to find humor in anything no matter how depraved (in fact, soldiers do it sometimes as a defense mechanism). And if you're telling me that Orks cannot unto a horrific encounter for your DH team then you're not putting much thought into how to use a giant frothing beast with crude bladed weapons.

You could always flavor Orks to drop their funny traits, because as NO-1 mentioned to citizens of the Imperium, Orks are not a laughing matter. They are monsters who will rip you to shreds, crush you under their boot, and take sick pride in obliterating large structures that could kill hundreds of Imperial citizens. They are the enemy. And their growth which has become a cosmic inevitability in this setting is terrifying to many in high seats. This also, in the same coin, mean that you could play as the Orks without enjoying their unique flavor because they love destruction and obtaining more (Like a lot of Chaos warbands), and they have just as many options for RPG classes and specialties thanks to their tabletop counterparts  that they are just as viable an option for a Xenos based book as the Eldar are. No one has yet provided me with a compelling reason as to why you could not run a campaign with them and I would argue you couldn't find that reason with almost every force present in the 40k universe (The only one I think could need work is Necrons, but even then you can just up the power level and have the players be Necrons who have retained most of their identity, basically becoming Rogue Trader: Undead Edition).

If I had to pick a race that didn't belong in 40k I would say the Tau. Because on a strict designer standpoint it's really weird to try and throw anime mecha into the 40k universe, but I still think they're fine and don't upset the delicate "tone" that people seem to hold as a sacred cow here. I think it's a unique change of pace that they're relatively young, imperialistic, and their own attitude is a fairly optimistic as opposed to straight up "do or die" survival. I would go even further to say that I would want a Tau rulebook as well as the others because I think there's potential in that. So just because a particular race rocks the boat on the tone of space knights fighting in flying space churches blasting space gregorian chants while burning space witches, doesn't mean that they don't belong in the setting nor that there's not enough material to play a compelling game with them.

WittyDroog said:

Well stated. Tau are the least interesting and "least-fitting" race, imo. Not a game-breaker as you note but I really hope they are not prominent in Only War because that will be really... lame.

 I might have to disagree about them not being a key player in Only War strictly because the Tau are the most "regimented" army that aren't human, so I think that alone can play into some interesting war campaigns.

WittyDroog said:

Point taken although I imagine there will be a lot of action against organized, human heretic armies too.

Eradico Pravus said:

Ergo my use of the phrase "that aren''t human". I would expect regimented heretic armies to be commonplace, but they might also be a rowdy bunch depending on who we''re talking about.

WittyDroog said:

Hmm, right. I suppose command and disciplined control of a bunch of Khornite Berserkers will be spotty at best… 

WittyDroog said:

They aren't. Regimented and organized Chaos armies are, in most fluff, non-existent or considered to be extremely deadly enemies, almost on par with a warband of CSM [though not quite.]

An all Ork Campaign would be wicked!

N0-1_H3r3 said:

I'll disagree that it has more to do with depicting the universe from the Ork's own perspective. When the flame thrower scorcher is made with a trash can that's pretty objective and intentional. In my Gen Con Deathwatch game I used those Grot mini tanks (I guess they are 40k) to lead the charge across the bridge. I think one of those was made from a trashcan too. It was probably painted red to "go fasta." There's a fake 40k motivational poster that says " Orks were invented so crappy converters could feel good about their work." I think that pretty well represents the universal perception of who and what the Orks are. I think Ciaphus Cain has some elements of dark humor and that the Orks are beyond that.

I would agree that I do have my own way of viewing a setting in pretty much any game I play and I throw out or ignore the things that don't make sense to me or that I don't like. I imagine we all do that to some extent…