“The Freebooters exist on the fringe of Ork Kultur. They are bandits and sell-swords belonging to no tribe or clan. Quite frequently they are remnants of tribes and communities that have been wiped out, together with fugitives fleeing from the wrath of their warlord or the boss of their family. Among the Freebooters are a handful of unstable individuals who are particularly dangerous and aggressive (even by Orkish standards). These Orks wander off and tend to form small, roving bands of pirates and freebooters. Naturally, they are eager for adventure, combat, and booty, and are quite happy to tag along with Ork tribes and armies as mercenaries.” (Waaargh! The Orks, pg.66)
The term “Freeboota” is incredibly specific. It means an Orkoid who does not belong to any Clan. It does not necessarily mean “Ork Pirate”, although most Ork Pirates are Freebootas. For such a specific term, it actually has quite wide-ranging applications; quite the contrary to what a number of Ork players think the term represents.
Still, if you want Pirate Orks, that is a large part of what Freebootas are, and if you want the Pirate Aesthetic almost exclusively, there’s nothing wrong with underplaying other aspects of Freebootas. But any Ork army can have any amount of Freebootas in their force. The most common incarnation of the Freeboota Ork is one who, for whatever reason, has left their Clan behind and sells their services as a free agent, a mercenary. The Freeboota ranks include such familiar faces as Zodgrod Wortsnagga, Old Zogwort, Mad Dok Grotsnik, Kaptin Badrukk, and an argument could be made for the likes of Bosses Snikrot and Zagstrukk too.
How an Ork becomes a Freeboota is by no means specific, however. Some Freebootas could simply be all that was left of a particular tribe that chose not to expand their ranks; whilst others could have been exiled for whatever reason, or were simply attracted to the life of a Freeboota by all of that lovely booty, or the desire to explore the universe with no ties holding them back.
The Freeboota lifestyle is to some extent romanticised by many Orks, despite the fact that most Freebootas are not warmly received by clans and tribes, often because they harbour various undesirables, and are often a bunch of Orks who aren’t just here for a good fight, but are expecting to be paid.
Freebootas are generally a wide-ranging and motley bunch. Orks are quite rigid in what they like and don’t like, but very specific in what bothers them about other Orks. Orks are always fighting, but when most Orks are united in not liking a particular group or individual, then you know the Orks are really displeased by their existence. Such Orks are typically called Bad ‘Unz (literally means “Outcast” or “Renegade”), and if not outright killed by other Orks, they will invariably become outcasts, and thus Freebootas by default, needing to offer themselves as Mercenaries, or following Freeboota Pirate bands, who need effective killers and are less inclined to be choosy.
Orks that fall into that category are usually considered dangerous to the wider Ork society, are viewed to be too different or alien to be considered Orky and/or have offended the Ork Society so badly that they are chased out of their society. Sometimes it is a combination of all or a couple of those reasons.
Most Freebootas are likely to be merely Outlaws, breaking the Ork society’s (fairly limited) rules for some reason. Most Oddboyz can end up outcast for various reasons, being labelled Bad Doks, Renegade Meks or Renegade Runtmasters. Sometimes whole mobs can become Outlaws, such as Bad Ork Biker Mobz, or Gretchin Bandits. Although usually accepted by Ork Society, Madboyz can also end up as Freebootas if they end up following a particularly deranged Weirdboy, or if they become too dangerous or destructive to the Orks.
However there are more extreme (not to mention controversial) cases. Orks can, contrary to popular belief, be tainted by the likes of Genestealers, or Chaos influence. So you can get Mutant Orks, Stealer-Hybrid Orks, Ork Kaptins, Warbosses and Warlords turning to Chaos, along with Ork units, especially Stormboyz who can often turn to Khorne, etc.
There are many Ork players who dispute the existence of such ideas, probably more than any other aspect of Ork fluff. But that cannot, ultimately, change the fact that such instances are written down in black and white: a canonical reality. It may go against the taste of certain Ork players, but in a discussion of canonical Ork fluff (which this is), there’s not really much to argue. It happens, get over it.
Besides, Orks are highly resistant to outside influences, but being highly resistant to them does not make Orks immune to those influences. It isn’t an influence that is welcomed by wider Orkdom, which is why most Orks that are tainted by it are quickly ostracized, and often killed. But it doesn’t make death an outright certainty, merely a likelihood. Exceptions will, and have been stated to in the fluff, occur.
But nothing changes the reality of it. Your Ork army represents your own idea of what reality is to your Orks, disliking wider implications are a waste of time, because you’re ultimately dismissing ideas that other people can use, especially ones that are stated to exist in the Canon.
Ultimately, there are a lot of things that happen on the Fringe of Ork society. What is represented in the current (4th Edition) Ork Codex does not represent the fringe; it represents the mainstream, the commonplace, the infamous, the well known. Lurking in the shadows, off to one side, exists pretty much every aspect of Ork society that has in some way been neglected since it disappeared from more modern books, waiting for the moment of their return. Why wait for GW to do it?
Of course, a lot of Freebootas are actually Pirates. Orks revert rather naturally to the Pirate way of life, because it is simple, exploratory and a lot of fun, mostly. But it is massively wrong to assume that this is all Freebootas are. The word Freeboota to an Ork merely means “one without a Clan”, and that’s a fairly unspecific term. It can mean Pirate, as well, but the two are linked in a similar way: they exist on the Fringe of Ork society.
There’s much flexibility in the concept “Freeboota”. It offers a lot of potential for themed armies that break away from what one usually associates with “Orky” (although what is Orky? Stay tuned for more on this in a later chapter). For those of you who like Chaos but love Orks, Freebootas can cater for you. If you like the idea of mercenaries, renegades, even more violent Orks, or just plain nasty stuff, Freebootas are there for you. Or, if you really like Pirates, you’re probably already a Freeboota.
Just remember next time you think of the word Freeboota, remember that it’s not necessarily synonymous with pirate. But don’t stop yourself from uttering “Yar” or “Arr” anyway, unless you’re a ninja. Or have taste.
