Board Thread:Warhammer 40k General Discussion/@comment-6078851-20140531013206/@comment-6078851-20140605030952

they're not quite that op :P

in an ork free environment generally the spores first grow gretchin and squigs (a few orks are grown at this point), the gretchin then cultivate the fungus and squigs to provide a solid food-base, and then the orks come en-masse.

codex quote: "the ork reproduces by the dispersal of spores that settle and mature over time. an ork's demise triggers a mass release of spores that can develop into dozens of cocoons. though these cocoons may hatch gretchin, snotlings or just simple fungi depending on conditions, a good number will mature into fully-grown orks after a short gestation period. these spores are dispersed far and wide by the wind, which makes the eradication of the greenskin presence from a contaminated warzone immpossible to effect with anything short of the cleansing firestorm of exterminatus."

while orks release a boat-load of spores on their death, they also release spores throughout their entire lives. the spores themselves don't seem to be too tricky to deal with through nature or technology, as the quote says only a few dozen fungal-cocoons will develop from thousands of spores, rather it's the sheer widespread volume that renders anti-spore defences useless.

if a painboy were to somehow 'upgrade' their spores to make them more resiliant then the meteor scenario wouldn't be too far from the mark, and then.....all hail gork, or mork :)