Gargant

The Ork equivalent of a Titan is called a Gargant. Gargants are as much idols of the savage Ork Gods, Gork and Mork, as they are engines of destruction. Big Mek Orks receive a divine vision of sorts from Gork (or possibly Mork), and set out to bring that vision to life in the artistic medium of thick armour plates, smoke-belching engines, and lots and lots of very large guns. This quickly spreads amongst other Big Meks in the area, and soon Gargants spring up all over the place. The construction of Gargants is one of the typical signs of an impending WAAAGH! from an Ork-held system. In an Ork warband, there can exist Gargants and Gargant-like mecha war machines all the way from Killa Kans (which are the Ork equivalent of the Space Marine Dreadnoughts) crewed by a single Gretchin to the vast armoured behemoths of the Mega-Gargants.

Gargants

Gargants and Great Gargants are the archetypal Ork Titans. They are massive constructions broad and squat compared to an Imperial Titan. They are fitted with many batteries of guns and also tend to have at least one mega-weapon. They are roughly equivalent to Reaver and Warlord Titans, respectively.

Epic Gargant2 — Another variant of an Ork Great Gargant

Construction

Gargant Size-Chart — Ork Gargant Size Comparison Chart

Ork Gargants are an extremely varied lot, with no two ever being exactly alike, as is common with seemingly slapdash Ork technology. Thanks to the frenzied imaginations of the Mekboyz building them, Ork weapons tend to be haphazard, unreliable and noisy. When they work, however, they can inflict gruesome damage. Gargants are commonly equipped with at least one close-combat weapon, because charging in and bashing heads is considered to be a very "Orky" thing to do.

For defence, Gargants have Power Fields which are the Ork equivalent of an Imperial Titan's Void Shields; however, while Gargants tend to have more intense and reflective Power Fields that an Imperial Titan, they cannot regenerate these during the battle like a Titan is able to do.

Orks do not rely on auto-systems to the same extent as the other intelligent races, and Gargants carry a large crew of both Orks and Gretchins. The crew is led by a Kaptin, who relays orders through a body of officers. A speaking-tube is the preferred method of communication within a Gargant. Each officer is in charge of one section of the Gargant, be it a weapon, the magazine, the engine room, or any other chambers. Under the officer is a crew of Orks and Gretchins who carry out the orders passed down to them. Repair crews are composed of Gretchins, whose smaller build suits them for crawling through cramped spaces armed with wrenches and oily rags.

Compared to Imperial Titans, Ork Gargants have weaker armour and comparatively shorter-ranged weaponry. Nevertheless, Gargants are extremely difficult to destroy due to their dense (albeit crude) construction (in games, this is represented by Gargants having more structure points). While Gargants do not suffer from potentially fatal plasma reactor meltdowns, they are particularly vulnerable to fires and magazine explosions.

The Ork Gargant is the Greenskins' equivalent of an Imperial Titan. It is a vast war machine. There is no set size for a Gargant, although the smaller ones are more often called Stompas. The large machine's armour basically consists of bits of metal of various sizes bolted together that makes the Gargant look like it is wearing a long skirt. Gargants are viewed by the Ork race as the truest embodiment in the physical universe of their Gods, Gork and Mork.

The weapons used by a Gargant will depend as much on the materials at hand as the Orks constructing the Gargant. It may make use of anything from a Lobba to a Zap Cannon as the primary armaments, and will usually have two of these. In addition, the Gargant will also be able to support many gatling cannons, Flamers, and myriad other types of death dealers. Like Imperial Titans, most Gargants will also have a melee weapon, be it an enormous Choppa', Hammah', or some other suitable 'hacky-smashy' Orky object.

The Gargant is a source of great pride for the Ork Warboss who owns one as it shows both his great richness in Teef (the Ork currency, and quite literally Ork teeth, though not necessarily his own) and that he is a great Big Mek (meaning that he has great technological competency). Gargants are common amongst the Kult of Speed and the Bad Moon tribe, though every Ork tribe have their own preferential Gargant weapon load-outs.

Mega-Gargant

The Mega-Gargant is a very rare, super-large Gargant on a par in size with the Imperator and Warmonger-class Emperor Titans, though not as powerful. It carries a large number and variety of weapons including the Mega-Dropper. Unlike the other Gargants which shuffle forward on their short mechanical legs, the Mega-Gargant is actually a tracked vehicle; essentially it is a mobile Ork fortress.

Other Variants

Killa Kan

Killa Kans are essentially giant metal canisters on piston-driven legs that sport lethal close combat attachments and heavy-duty weaponry. Crewed by a single Gretchin, one of their limbs usually ends in deadly-looking power shears or a great blood-encrusted buzz saw whilst the other is a large calibre weapon welded to the opposite side.

Deff Dread

The Ork Deff Dread is a a large Ork combat walker that is essentially a cross between an Ork Killa Kan and a Space Marine Dreadnought. The machine is smaller than an Ork Stompa, but is larger than a Killa Kan. The Deff Dread is also capable of carrying up to four weaponised arms. Also like a Dreadnought, a Deff Dread's Ork pilot must be cybernetically hardwired into the machine. As a result, the construction of a functional Deff Dread requires the skills of both an Ork Mekboy and a Painboy. When it is possible to craft a Deff Dread many Orks volunteer for the process since it will allow them to essentially become one of the biggest and most powerful Orks in the clan. Deff Dreads are also popular with other Orks since their immense destructive capacity, large number of weapons and tendency to stomp things to death lie at the very heart of what defines Ork "kulture."

Stompas

Sproket's Stompa - Gargant — An Ork Stompa

The Stompa is a small Ork Gargant, the equivalent of an Imperial Battle Titan of the Warhound or Reaver-class. In true Ork fashion, every Stompa is uniquely different, but equally deadly. The standard Stompa (if such a word can be applied to Orks) generally consist of one arm with some sort of massive hammer or chainsaw or equally suitable smashy-slashy thing, with the other arm consisting of several massive guns and rokkits, with the body festooned with more guns, though not as big as the main gun on the arm. However, the Stompa also has a religious significance to nearby Orks. Stompas are regarded as massive walking incarnations of Gork (or Mork) and the sight of such carnage even one Stompa can conjure can drive even the most placid Ork into a wild bloodlust. Two generally accepted sub-categories of Stompa are the Goff Stompa, and the Mek's Stompa.

Ork Stompa Goffs — Goffs Klan Ork Stompa

Goff Stompa

The Goff Stompa was popularised by the Goff clan, although it is found among other clans, and replaces the Stompa's gun arm with yet another massive close combat weapon. Such is the Ork way that each weapon is deadly in a new and often unexpected way. Some have massive claws that toss tanks aside, or stack them up like a macabre house of cards. Others connect the two arms together with a massive rolling-pin type device, capable of clearing paths through even the most well-armoured gun line.

Mek's Stompa

The Mek's Stompa does the precise opposite, replacing the close combat weapon with even more guns. Massive cannons, insane rapid-fire gatlings, a veritable plethora of lesser guns, occasionally a rokkit piloted by Grots (willing or otherwise), and not so occasionally six of such rokkits. Some Meks feeling over-protective of their creations customise a force field to try and deflect the incoming fire, which generally is not relyed upon too much as A) They generally break down and B) The Stompa does a good amount of damage deflection on its own.Some Mek Stompas have Titan guns and anger the Imperium of Man that Orks could have got their hands on a Titan. Stompa creation is regarded as the pinnacle of a Mek's work, since, after all, Stompas aren't cheap. However, once a Stompa is built, many Orks will flock towards its banner, bringing with them more Meks, more teef and in a circuitous way, more Stompas, and once two or three Stompas are on a rampage, woe betide any who try to stop them. Ork Meks have been known to customize their Stompa's with colours, banners, skulls and spikes.

Big Mek Stompas/Gargants

Often a Big Mek Ork will not be satisfied with the production of Battlewagons, and will create his own Stompa or Gargant. These Titan-like monstrosities mount the latest Mek weaponry, such as the 'Lifta-droppa'. The size of the Stompa or Gargant depends on how much influence the Mek has, how much raw materials there are, and who they are 'constructing' it with. Occasionally, two Meks may work together, combining their love of tinkering to produce a new Gargant on their own initiative or because they have been commanded to do so by a larger, tougher Ork Warboss or Warlord.

Notable Battles

Battle for Rynn's World (989.M41-991.M41) - During the Battle for Rynn's World, specifically the siege of New Rynn City, Ork Gargants saw some of their most extensive use in Imperial history. With the city's defenders trapped behind the walls, the innumerable Greenskin hordes began construction of six of the mighty war machines, intending to utterly crush the human defenders. After 18 months, the massive machines were finally done, and began to march upon the city. In the nick of time, however, the Crimson Fists Astartes were able to secure the space port and make way for fresh Imperial reinforcements. Before the Gargants could do much damage, they were engaged and destroyed by the newly-arrived Titans of the Adeptus Mechanicus' Collegia Titanica.

Sources

White Dwarf 116 (UK), "Ork Gargants"
Epic Armageddon Rulebook

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