+ inload: Bloodsong quick Q&A and notes +

+ New frontiers +

+ Titanicus wargaming with xenos +

+ Getting the gang back together – from left to right, Ork Great Gargant; Imperial Warlord Titan, Eldar Phantom Titan. + 

+ I've held off a bit on posting pics of the various Titans, mainly because I haven't got any painting done for weeks and weeks; hobby time being taken up elsewhere. Nevertheless, with Bloodsong out in the wild [+noosphericexloadlink embedded+], and some feedback coming in already, I though the pic above gave a good indication of my take on things. +

+ This inload will look at the plan for Bloodsong, and address some early playtesting feedback. +

+++

+ The plan, early feedback and FAQs +

First off, thanks for everyone who's downloaded, read and given Bloodsong a go so far – please do let me know how you're getting on with it, and any feedback – positive or negative – is very welcome!

'Wombo combos' are exactly what I'd like to see you playtest to pressure test the rules; the playtesting so far has explicitly been Open Play and aimed at making sure the rules work mechanically, so seeing the live playtest results of more competitive players will be very helpful indeed. 

However, please do try 'em out 'in the round', as it were – there's lots that I was concerned was overtuned, but seems to work fine in our (admittedly rather soft!) games. Feel free to pop your findings in a message to me (I'm not thin-skinned, so don't worry about hurting my feelings!), or better yet, in a comment on the PDF, so they're all collected together.

The plan is for three months of playtest feedback to pin down the Terminals, Maniple equivalents and Weapons. (And gather artwork and model pics). Those are the core that anyone using the rules will have to engage with. After that, adding in the Legio equivalents, new weapons and new units (the Mekboy Gargant/Supa-Stompa) will be relatively easy.

… and August is therefore the plan for release of an updated version, which I hope will be a 64 or 80pp one, containing the lore and missions for a mini-campaign alongside the rest.

+ Playtesting +

Bloodsong is all, of course, unofficial, and I'd emphasise that your game is yours, whoever's rules you're using as a kicking-off point. If you're lucky enough to have someone willing to play unofficial rules, I imagine both you and they are already open-minded and creative enough to make some tweaks to better fit your take on things.

With that said, a common set of rules is necessary to make meaningful tweaks and adjustments, so when playtesting and providing feedback, I'd please ask you to give things a try as they're presented – or please let me know what changes you've made, so I can take into account.

When providing feedback, the 'big questions' I want to answer are:

• ‘Did they feel like Eldar/Orks?’
• ‘Were they fun to play with?’

and most importantly,

• ‘Were they fun to play against?’

After that, please feel free to get as granular and detailed as you like. Think a particular weapon stinks? Think the pricing's off? Want to know why X Y or Z was done? Let us know. 

There's a thread on the + Death of a Rubricist + Facebook group for discussion, or you can send me a message through the comments and contact details here, if you prefer.

+ Early feedback and FAQs +

Some quick response answers to unclear areas:

Orks

I read it as all sizes of Gargant need to have a belly gun and two arm guns but the Mega-Gargant's towers and kustom job are optional, is that correct?

Yes, that’s right.

Gargants can use weapon cards from their size or smaller, so a Great or Mega Gargant could use either the Great Gargant sized Gut Buster or the Gargant sized (half the points for the same weapon but less armoured), correct?

Typo here! Great Gargant version should be S10 and Blast (5in); hence the heftier price. This is flagged on the PDF for change. 

If you have 2 dice of krew in the weirdboy tower, is the strength determined by adding the 2 values together?

Yes, add the values together… although this is one of those bits that I’m very keen to hear feedback on. If you’re finding it oppressive, please let me know.

Are there any plans on the works for Stompas?

Knights and equivalent are beyond the scope of this project for the moment at least, but the Mekboy Gargant is definitely on the drawing board – currently occupying a specialist supporting role somewhat like the Imperial Dire Wolf or Warbringer Nemesis. Their weapon cards will be akin to (and  possibly interchangeable with) the Mega Gargants' Kustom Job cards. This unit will be included in the updated version, with a more 'normal' weapon option allowing you to field it as a Supa-Stompa.

[As an aside on terminology, the Mekboy Gargant, present in Epic: Space Marine 2nd edition and Titan Legions as the Mekboy Gargant, disappeared after Epic: 40,000, and was replaced by the Supa-stompa in Epic: Armageddon. Confusingly, the current 40k-scale Stompa is (in-universe) about this size – so you can see why I've got a bit tied in knots about whether Stompas are in or not!]

This unit will be great to proxy with your old Epic Gargant or Steam Gargant models.

What's the reasoning behind Gargants being on round bases?

We tried them on both, and found round bases gives more of a solid, unwieldy ‘feel’ in-game that helps to distinguish the orks from the other factions, and makes the model appear chunkier.

Round bases also opened up some interesting little tactical considerations – since the gun decks can fire in the side arcs, it allows Gargants to protect themselves from flanking knights or help an ally strip shields without turning. They can also fire slightly behind themselves, which gives a nice ‘navy battle cruiser’ feel. 

With that said, there’s not a huge amount in it, so feel free to adapt and use oval bases if you wish, or they better frame your models – these are, after all, homemade rules, so adapt them as you like.

Eldar

Can Revenants use their jump jets jump over titans?

No; cinematic as the visual is, I think that causes mechanical and gameplay problems. Feel free to playtest, but my instinct is that Revenants are already had enough to draw a bead on! 

Imageine a Warhound squadron attacks a Revenant.  The first shot from the first weapon hits the shield vanes, so the attacking Warhound finishes the rest of its attacks with no holofield active. When the second Warhound attacks, are the holofields active, or do they stay down until all squadron attacks are completed?

I’d suggest the shields are back in place for the second and subsequent Warhounds, as it’s a different unit. The mechanic is intended to encourage focussed fire from individual Titans, and since the holofields are the only defence the Revenant has, it seems harsh to allow an entire squadron to benefit (particularly once various Legio/Maniple bonuses are factored in). 

Some of the critical damage effects have names that are not defined in the booklet.  Do we assume they are analogous to what's in the main rulebook? e.g. Spiritmesh disturbed does not have a reference in the rulebook I can see; Steersman wounded, and Soulstone compromised are not defined in the rulebook, but I think its a safe assumption that they are analogous to MIU feedback, etc? 

Yes, the critical damage results started as ‘fluffy’ equivalents, with no mechanical difference – while some are now different, assume the others are as you’ve outlined. I’ll clarify this in the next update.

+++

+ How big's a [+INSERT TITAN HERE+]? +

Scale and size (particularly base size) have an impact on the game; from interactions with terrain to line of sight issues and arcs of fire, so the supplement contains a few notes that allude to it. However, I didn't want to bog down what's meant to be a practical gaming supplement with endless screeds of conversion suggestions – that's what this noospheric node is for!

On model size, you'll see that the fluid lines between Gargants and Great Gargants is mentioned a few times in Bloodsong, and that's to help when converting. With no official figures, you'll be forced to convert, find third-party sculpts, or scratch build – and that's complicated by the fact that there are lots of different interpretations of the various units; both officially and in fan-made material. 

+ This looks 'right' to me, weaned as I was on the original Adeptus Titanicus – but there's a decent argument that the modern Phantom, for example, should be nearer Reaver in size. +

I've tried to provide some structure in Bloodsong but leave lots of wiggle room – the last thing I want to do is tell someone they can't use their cool model because it doesn't match the letter of these rules. As long as it's clear to both you and the other player(s) what's what, than I think you can go a long way by being generous with line of sight etc. If you're converting or scaling things, I'd aim for the following height from base to top of head:

• Gargant between 9–12cm (3½–5in)
• Great Gargant between 12.5 and 15cm (5–6in)
• Phantom Spectre 15cm (6in) and larger
• Phantom Shade 12.5cm (5in) and smaller
• Revenant 9–10cm (3½–4in)

These are the assumed sizes used in Bloodsong, based partially on the background; on comparisons of the old Epic models to the new Titanicus models; on comparisons of the 28mm Eldar Forgeworld Titans to the 28mm Imperial Forgeworld Titans, and a hefty dollop of practicality – which models I found myself able to source. 

I really want Bloodsong to be accessible, so you'll note that the sizes suggested mean that you can essentially 'demote' the old Epic Phantom and Great Gargant to stand in as Revenants and (standard) Gargants respectively. These are relatively easy to find second-hand, and all the various generations of the official sculpts will be in the right ballpark.

+ Taller and more gracile, and shorter but stockier – you could use the Phantom Shade rules for one and the Phantom Spectre for the other; but equally you might just treat them as different styles of the same type. +

Part of the reason for the Shade/Spectre versions of the Phantom is to allow different interpretations to better match people’s models and conversions – but again, if you dislike the idea of having different types of Phantom, then by all means just pick one and stick with it. If you're converting your own, I’d suggest the Wraithlord is small but in the right ballpark for the Phantom. 

+++

+ inload: Testing out the ork rules for Legions Imperialis +

+ Trash da burg! +

+ Not the most aesthetically appealing inload today, but since it's the first modelling I've done in a while, I thought I'd pop up some pict-captures of the progress of my Epic orks – currently grisaille as well as grizzly. +

+ Noosphericexloadlinks for these models can be found in an earlier inload [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+], if you're interested in picking some up. I'm pleased to report that my fears that they were too big to fit the bases was largely unfounded, as you'll see here. +

+ Planning the stands I wanted to build took a little double-checking. The new model sizes of Legions Imperialis (LI) are considerably larger than old Epic scale, and so its becoming common for people to 'stretch' specialists (like Terminators) by having four models to the base. I prefer to have five models to a base where possible, but try to balance that against bases looking over-crowded. +

+ Here, the worst offenders were the Mega nobz. Absolutely no chance in hell of getting three of those on a base and looking decent (and bear in mind I'm using 2p pieces, which are flat sided and so have a little more play than the official bases), so I took cues from the Solar Auxilia ogryns and based them 2 to a base, as you can see above. +

+ You'll also note that the base in the middle has one mega nob, a banna wava and a painboy – this is the warlord stand. The Nobz and specialists aren't quite as massive as the Meganobz, but still looked over-crowded in fives. I therefore opted to have three to a base – which has the pleasing knock-on advantage of making them more clearly distinguishable for the other player; very important at tabletop distance. +

+ One of the reasons that I err towards five for a base is that things start look a bit thin on the ground, and for orks a massed rabble is really key. I have plans to come back to add some gretchin servants/runners/ammo carriers to the Nobz and Meganobz, but will do this on an individual base basis. +

+++

+ Da boyz +

+ I opted to split the boyz with sluggas and choppas into a separate group from those with shootas. While I personally prefer a little more abstraction, LI leans into granularity – much like its forebear, Space Marine 2nd edition (SM2). It's therefore useful to be able to distinguish the fierce assault troops from the uh... even more fierce assault troops. +

+ Shootas, Sluggas – and a Weirdboy. No-one brave enough to share his base! +

+ The stands can, of course, be mixed back together to create a more mixed formation, so this strikes me as a good safety net. If playtesting proves that distinguishing small arms (as with GW's official Space Marine army list, which provides the cues) is just too exhausting for a mass army like orks, then they can be folded back into a catch-all armament. +

+ The 30 of each type in the Rok Minis pack includes heavy weapons and Nobz. I ended up not including the Nobz with the boyz stands, and instead split them off as described above. I thought it would be too visually confusing to have some Nobz in their own stands, and some mixed in with Boyz. +

+ I did, however, include the heavy weapons here in order to have six stands of five. You could split them off to have two stands of heavy weapons instead.+

+++

+ Flash gitz/Lootas +

+ Flash gitz are one of those odd troop types that have oscillated between being 'orks with special weapons', 'Freeboota pirates', and 'Nobz who like shooting' in various games and editions. This has left them in a bit of an odd position – do I treat them as boyz with heavy weapons – the Devastator equivalents to the Boyz' Tacticals – or as Nobz, with the accompanying Boss rule and increased stats? +

+ In the current playtest rules Bloodsong v0.6, I've run with 'Boyz with special weapons', distinguishing them from Lootas, who are 'Boyz with long-range weapons'. However, this seems a bit redundant, so I'd be interested to hear what you think. Should Flash Gitz become more like Nobz, or stay like Boyz? Should this change be purely in terms of stats and points, or should they also get the 'Boss' rule? +

+ Whether these end up as Lootas or Flash Gitz (or something else) Model-wise, these ones are the size of Nobz, and so they're three to a base. I ended up using a couple of Boyz with the bigger heavy weapons (leftover from the Shootas/Sluggas) to ensure the numbers were right. +

+++

+ Stormboyz +

+ The identity of these orks has likewise changed since SM2. Unlike Flash Gitz, the change from 'oddly-disciplined yoofs' to 'rokkit-pack-equipped assault troops' was much more absolute and unchanging. +

+ I'm pulling the basis for the stats from SM2 for the most part, and in this iteration of Epic, Stormboyz were still foot-slogging. Nevertheless, I think the rokkit-pack-equipped version will be both more readily identifiable by the majority of LI players, and offer more tactical opportunity for the ork player. +

+ I outline the aims of the project here, and part of that is wanting to ensure that the rules I'm writing allow people to use their orks as they see fit – and, perhaps more importantly, allow the use of as many existing models as possible. +

+ I've therefore included the option for Rokkit packs rather than making it compulsory. Players can thus still use the old plastic Stormboy models as Stormboyz, or opt to simply count them as more Boyz. +

+ These were the figures I was most concerned about fitting five to a base, but they actually fit quite nicely, as the smoky exhaust fumes enable them to overlap the edge in places. +

+++

+ Assembling a Waaagh! +

+ So, with all the models assembled and the rules drafted, let's see what sort of army you can actually make with Rok Mini's box – and how far off I was! +

Formation: Goff Warhorde

HQ Detachments:

• Warboss – [50pts]
• Nobz Mob (2) – [30pts]
• Nobz Mob (2) – [30pts]
• Meganobz Mob (2) – [50pts]
• Meganobz Mob (2) – [50pts]

Core Detachments:

• Boyz (6) – [50pts]
• Boyz (+2) – 10pts
• Boyz (6) – [40pts]
• Boyz (6)– [40pts]

Support Detachments: 

• Lootas Mob (4) – [30pts]

Vanguard Detachments:

• Stormboy Korps (4) – [100pts]
• Detachment size (2)
• Kaptin
• Rokkit Packs
• Speedsta Mob – [155pts]
• 5 Buggies with Big shootas – 50pts
• 3 Buggies with Rokkit launchas – 30pts
• 3 Wartraks with Skorchas – 45pts

Battle Tank Detachments:

• Braincrushas (3) – [165pts]
• Increase Detachment size by 1

Transport Detachments:

• Battlewagon (6) –  [180pts]
• All upgrades to Gunwagons
• Battlewagon (3) –  [45pts]

Total: 975pts 

+++

+ Rather top-heavy – I think I need to consider where Meganobz should fit; and whether there's something clever I can do with Nobz as retinue upgrades for the Warboss, rather than as independent entities. Or perhaps the Formation should allow [X] Nobz Mobs to be selected – perhaps 1 additional per Boyz mob or something. That would also help curb spamming Biker Nobz/Meganob and other unusual types.  As a completely different alternative, maybe a couple of stands of Nobz should simply be part of the Boyz Mobs. Food for thought... +

+ Ignoring that, it looks like the box gets you nigh-on 1,000pts in the current rules (v0.7 which you can find on the Facebook group), and I haven't even used all the models you get, so it seems a good starting point. The only snag is the lack of bikes – currently the Speedsta mobs require at least three bike stands, and I have none. Hopefully playtesting buddies will have access! +

+ Overall, I think this is feel right – at least for a first outing. Because the Nobz now have Attached Deployment, they have to be attached to an another Detachment. This ensures that the ork army ends up with fewer, bigger Detachments for activations, curbing spamming – but (thanks to smaller independent detachments like Stormboyz) not preventing players from gunning for activation advantage. It will, however, not play to the orks' strength. +

+++

+ inload: Ork models for Epic +

 + Epic Orks for Legions Imperialis +

+ 'Ere we go! A box of orks have dropped from orbit and the boyz are getting ready to move. Rok Minis have come up with the rather clever wheeze of bundling Epic-scale minis licensed from various third party sculptors, so you end up with an army in a box. There are various options, and this is the '8mm Greenskins' one [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+]. +

+ In the process of de-sprueing and cleaning up, post-primer. +

+ The infantry sculpts are by Wake's Emporium, while the vehicles are by Bishok. All are awesome, and I think this is a great initiative by Rok: one of the biggest impediments to getting into Epic with a non-standard force is finding things that go together nicely, and knowing what a 'normal' force should look like. Being able to pick up a starter army breaks down that barrier. +

+ To further make it easier to get into things, I'm going to see what I can do with my Ork rules – part 1: [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+] and part 2 – [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+]to make sure that the army is useable straight out of the box. +

+++

+ What's inside? +

+ All 3D-printed in a flexible resin, Rok lists the contents as:

30 x Combat Lads, 30 x Shooting Lads, 10 x Heavy Weapons, 8 x Fancy Guns, 12 Heavy Armour, 30 x Rocket Lads, 4 x Battle Tanks, 6 x transport waons, 3 x trucks, 3 x flamer trucks, 3 x dragsters, 5 X Buggies, 7x HQs

+ Not noted here are the bases. The box comes with enough MDF bases for the force, which is another nice step to making things easy. +

+ Straight out of the box, you'll find the models still on 3D-print supports. If you've not handled 3D prints before, rest assured that this scaffolding comes away nice and easily. You can use clippers, a sharp knife or – in many cases – just gentle pressure. They may need a little clean-up to remove any lingering supports, and this can be done exactly as through removing flash from plastic or metal models. +

+ In this case, I decided to experiment with priming the infantry while still on the sprues. I cleared some of the supports, but left enough to securely hold the individual models on the sprue, saving me a stage of faffing about with regluing them to a sprue (as for my Epic Salamanders). +

+ Once removed, the models look like this. Note the lack of integrated 'puddle' bases. This isn't clear from the website, but is a big plus point in their favour for me – I loathe the puddle bases, as they make painting and basing an absolute chore. Happily, the models are pretty sturdy. Two feet did come off while cleaning up the supports, but were soon replaced with a spot of superglue. +

+ One thing to note, which may be a positive or a negative depending on your point of view, is that the models are big. They are listed both as 8mm, and as LI compatible – but I think these slightly suffer from the nebulous scale used for Legions Imperialis. While it's not going to be particularly noticeable on the tabletop, these models are taller and burlier than the new plastic GW Space Marines, and roughly twice the size of old Epic orks. If it helps visualise things, a while back I posted some pictures of the same sculpts from another seller on Etsy [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+], which did have the inegrated bases. The Rok versions are as tall as those, including the puddle bases. +

+ The good side of this is that all the lovely detail in the sculpts (and they are fantastically characterful) is visible, and it will undoubtedly make painting a bit more pleasurable. +

+ The downside is twofold – it reduces cross-compatibility with other ranges, such as Troublemaker Games' awesome Skinner models, available from Vanguard Miniatures. Secondly, it means that the bases are going to be very crowded. I wonder whether this is why Rok decided to go for bases slightly larger than the 25mm used for Legions Imperialis. +

+ I think overall I'd prefer the infantry to be a hint smaller – I've always thought of orks as broader but shorter than Space Marines, but as I say above, this is going to be a matter of taste. Having bulky models means that you can get away with having four or even three models to a base; and in any case a variety of sizes of orks is probably a good thing overall, but it's worth bearing in mind. +

+ Happily the tanks are, to my eye at least, perfect. The Battlewagon proxies are nigh-identical in length to an new Epic Land Raider, which tallies up with the 40k equivalents. +

+ They are substantially bigger than old Epic ork vehicles, but this is far less noticeable with ork tech than it is with Imperial STCs, so these models will go nicely in older armies, too. +

+++

+ Translating things into 40k-lingo +

+ Working out what proxies are meant to be is a fun challenge for a linguist – but it's another hurdle to actually getting into the game. To that end, here's my take on what the various pieces represent in terms of GW's Epic games. +

+ Infantry +

• 30 x Combat Lads – Fairly straightforward, these are boyz with sluggas and choppas. 
• 30 x Shooting Lads – Likewise, these are boyz with shootas. You could mix and match them for generic Boyz stands or keep them distinct. 
• 10 x Heavy Weapons – Orks with big shootas. These could be used in groups as dedicated Lootas, or scattered in to bulk up the number of Boyz stands. 

+ Waaagh! Shootas, sluggaz and big shootas. +

• 8 x Fancy Guns – A couple of these are shown at the top of the page. These look like Flash Gitz to me, but you could equally use them to bulk out Lootas.

• 12 x Heavy Armour – No mistaking these for anything else: Mega-Nobz. Since they're so large, you're going to struggle to fit more than two on a base, so you could instead use them as regular Nobz, by putting one on a base alongside a couple of Boyz.

+ Ded boss Nobz – as you can see, very large models indeed! +

• 30 x Rocket Lads – Not, as I first guess, boyz with Rokkit launchas, but Stormboyz. One of the models is notably larger than the others, and will work well as a Kaptin.

+ Stormboyz +

• 7 x HQs – These are lovely models. There's a Warboss, Weirdboy, Banna wava and a couple of Mekboyz. While you could bundle them all onto a couple of bases to represent a Warboss or Warlord, I'd suggest keeping the Warboss and banna wava together as a Warboss, and have the others alongside some spare boyz or Meganobz to serve as 'normal' Nobz.

Six of the leaders – one seems to have wandered off during priming, presumably to give the boyz a kicking.

+ When I come to basing these models, I'll give a full rundown of what I've used, and how I suggest you assemble the box to tally up to the playtesting rules for orks in Legions Imperialis – you can find them in the files section of the +Death of a Rubricist+ Facebook group. +

+ Vehicles +

• 4 x Battle Tanks – These are large vehicles, roughly the size of new plastic Spartans. I suggest you use them as superheavies. While you could use them as the specific classic Epic Gibletgrindas or Skullhammas, I'd encourage their use as the catch-all Killfortresses, which are the modern equivalents. The rules for these allow for the variations shown. I'd suggest that (clockwise from top left), these could be Killfortresses with Supa-lobba, Quad Deffguns, Supa-kannon and Boom Gun respectively.

+ Alternatively, if you want to reserve superheavies for something really big, then you could use these simply as Gunwagons. If you want to use the specific units from older Epic editions, then I suggest the following, clockwise from top left again: Braincrusha, Bonebreaka, Braincrusha and Lungbursta. +

• 6 x Transport wagons – These could be used as Battlewagons with the turrets left off, or Gunwagons with the turrets in place.

• 3 x Trucks – Just visible in the background in the pict-capture above, these are slightly smaller than the Battlewagon proxies also shown, but I think they justify themselves as Battlewagons. Doubly so if, as suggested, you use the bigger ones as Gunwagons.

• 3 x flamer trucks – I think it'd largely come down to whether you've got existing old Skorcha models, in which case these larger ones will work as Bowelburnas. Otherwise, as they're roughly the same size as the buggy proxies (see below), they'd be brill as Skorchas.

• 3 x dragsters – Drawing inspiration from the old mekboy dragstas/speedstas, I haven't got these drafted yet, but now there are models available, I'll prioritise them. In the meantime, I suggest you use them as additional buggies.

• 5 x Buggies – ...and speaking of which, these are, unsurprisingly, great as Warbuggies.

+++

+ Whether you're interested in playtesting, or just fancy having a look to pick it apart, please do feel free to check out the playtest rules for orks in Legions Imperialis here. +

Oi, ya git! Stop writin' and get paintin'!

+ inload: Legions Imperial Ork Formations +

+ More on the mini-Waaagh: Formations +

+ This inload is part of a series on rules for Orks in Legions Imperialis. You can read the first here:[+noosphericinloadlink embedded+] +

Woss betta than a mob of orks? A whole shedload of orks!

+ With the infantry Detachments in place, I wanted to start hashing out the the Formations – the notes below are musings, and I'd very much like your input. +

+++

+ General concepts +

• In comparison with Legions Astartes and Solar Auxilia, Ork Formations should be relatively large and unwieldy.
  
• The point above should not be taken to the point that playing as Orks becomes frustrating.
• Using the 2nd ed Epic: Space Marine (SM2) cards for inspiration is a good place to start, but don't get wedded to the specifics.
• Formation special rules should highlight the Orky character, but not force the player into one-dimensional stereotypes for each clan.
• The player should have the option of old-school clan theme or a more all-purpose greenskin tribe.
• Future-proofing for other factions should be considered (i.e. don't make them too Imperial-focussed).
• Every decision should serve the fun of the game for all players.

+ A starting point +

Let's start by looking at the Space Marine Company Cards (the equivalent of the Compulsory Detachments of a Formation in LI). Translating this into LI terms, these Company Cards for a Space Marine Battle Company and a Space Marine Tactical Company represents the Compulsory Detachments of the Legio Demi-Company fairly closely. 

    

You've got an HQ Detachment (a single stand) and three Core/Support Detachments in each, plus Transport. Each of those Detachments is six stands strong, rather than the four we have in LI – but of course we can expand those with Upgrades in LI.

The takeaway is that the Space Marine Company cards are pretty similar to LI Formations, so I think working things out in those terms is a fairly good place to start. (For later reference, an Imperial Guard Tactical Company card was 30 infantry stands and 1 HQ stands).

Turning now to orks, the Deathskull Clan are the nearest thing to a 'basic' ork clan, as they're very middle of the road in terms of their composition, and their special rules revolve around being able to use Support Cards – an SM2 mechanic similar to LI's Optional Detachments – rather than altering the composition.

Ignoring the transports, both Space Marines and Orks have nineteen infantry stands. In my initial draft, Ork mobs start at Detachment size 6 (rather than the Marines' 4) and Nobz at Detachment size 2, so the card above would equate to two Nobz Detachments and two Ork Boyz Detachments, plus a single Boyz expansion (+3 stands).

+++

+ First draft +

That sounds about right to me... but having two HQ and two Core seems odd. We could adapt the Detachments as they stand in the list. Nobz could become HQ Detachments of 4-strong; while Boyz become 5-strong Core Detachments. That would then neatly be four Compulsory Detachments: 1 HQ and 3 Core. That's neater, making Nobz into a proper HQ, and also means that Nobz don't need to take a Morale check early on. 

You'd end up with a slightly larger minimum-sized Formation than the Space Marine equivalent – 19 infantry stands for the Orks vs 13 for the Marines, but that doesn't seem particularly problematic. If anything, that leans into the general concepts listed above well.

+ Problems +

The first problem with Option 1 is that the Warboss/Warlord now doesn't fit in very neatly – although that's easily fixed by having an Optional HQ Detachment. 

The second problem is that odd numbers of Ork stands doesn't seem to work very well for transports. Battlewagons are currently Transport (3), so you'd end up with five... Is that a problem? Well, sort of.

Changing Nobz to HQ of 4 stands and Boyz to Core of 5 stands works for Deathskulls, but rolling it out to the other Clans might cause some issues. Let's see...

      

Bad Moons are nice and simple; no different to Deathskulls; and likewise Snakebites are the same, except with additional Boarboyz, which can be resolved by adding a Core Detachment for them in the clan appropriate Formation.

Goffs likewise are much the same, except having twice the amount of Nobz – neat, we can simply have two Compulsory Detachments of four Nobz in this clan Formation.

... but then we run into snags:

 

Evil Suns pose some problems. The Boyz work surprisingly well – essentially having a Transport Detachment of 5 Battlewagons added as another Compulsory, but the Nobz are a problem if the Detachment size goes up to 4.

The Blood Axes are still more awkward, as they used Rhinos (Transport 2) rather than proppa Battlewagons. This is a thorny problem – while very fitting in the previous edition, these days I'd rather Rhinos were an option, rather than compulsory. For the moment, I'll shelve this (but happy to hear any ideas!) 

+ Solution +

Coming back to the matter in hand, I think the best move is to change the default Detachment sizes for Nobz from 2 to 3, and make them an Compulsory HQ Choice. This will resolve the Evil Sunz problem, and also neatly fits into the translation from SM2 to LI: just as the Tactical Company at the start of the discussion (remember that?) translates to a Core Detachment with an Upgrade, the same would be true for Nobz in the other Clans.

The various Clans then all work, with the outliers being resolved without recourse to special rules: Evil Suns fit into their Battlewagon; and Goffs can simply have two Compulsory HQ Detachments.

A nice side effect is that it also makes Nobz more resilient to Morale tests – currently a single stand will force a check, but at 3-strong, you'll need to wipe out more than half, and it's only one stand that will be affected. 

On the boyz, we have options:

• Option 1:  Change the default Detachment size for Boyz from 6 to 5 and have 3 Compulsory Core Detachments in each Clan Formation. Works for everyone but Blood Axes, and has a nice round feel to it – you can imagine orks counting on their fingers! It does potentially cause some problems with transport sizes.
• Option 2: Change the default Detachment size from 6 to 4 and have 3 Compulsory Core Detachments in each Clan Formation. Works for everyone (even Blood Axes), but again causes some awkwardness with the Transport (3) nature of the Battlewagon. Also means that there's a lot to track in terms of Morale, and feels 'Bitty'.
• Option 3: Leave the Detachment size at 6 and have just 2 Compulsory Core Detachments in each Clan Formation. (Assume the 'spare' boyz are upgrades, as for the Space Marines above.)

I'm leaning towards option 3 for simplicity, but keen to hear your ideas.

+++

+ TL;DR – Ork clan detachments first draft for feedback +

The following are rough drafts based on the Company Cards from Epic: Space Marine 2nd edition. 

Bad Moons

• Compulsory Detachments
  • One HQ – e.g. One Nobz Detachments (3 Models)
  • Two Core – e.g. Two Boyz Detachments (6 Models each)
    
• Optional Detachments
  • Two HQ
  • Three Core
    
  • [TBD]
• For this clan, Compulsory Detachments must be Nobz (HQ) and Bad Moons Boyz (Core)

Exclusive: None?

More access to: Weirdboy tower? Weirdboyz? Gretchin?

Deathskulls

• Compulsory Detachments
  • One HQ – e.g. One Nobz Detachments (3 Models)
  • Two Core – e.g. Two Boyz Detachments (6 Models each)
• Optional Detachments
  • Two HQ
  • Three Core
  • [TBD]
• For this clan, Compulsory Detachments must be Nobz (HQ) and Deathskulls Boyz (Core)

N.B. Optional Detachments should include option for one other Clan-specific Detachment. Consider phrasing.

Exclusive: None?

More access to: Lootas?

Snakebites

• Compulsory Detachments
  • One HQ – One Nobz Detachments (3 Models)
  • Two Core – Two Boyz Detachments (6 Models each)
  • One Vanguard – Snortas Mob Detachment (3 Models)
• Optional Detachments
  • Two HQ
  • Two Core
  • [TBD]
• For this clan, Compulsory Detachments must be Nobz (HQ) Snakebites Boyz (Core) and Snortas (Vanguard)

N.B. Exclusive: Squiggoths

More access to Snortas/Squighog; Gretchin?

Goffs

• Compulsory Detachments
  • Two HQ – e.g. Two Nobz Detachments (3 Models each)
  • Three Core – e.g. Two Boyz Detachments (6 Models each)
• Optional Detachments
  • Two HQ
  • Two Core
  • [TBD]
• For this clan, Compulsory Detachments must be Nobz (HQ) and Goff Boyz (Core)

N.B. Goffs have to have more Nobz, and have the option to max out at more overall than other Clans.

Exclusive: Lungburstas? Or simply easier access?

More access to Stormboyz? Skarboyz?

Blood Axes

• Compulsory Detachments
  • One HQ – One Nobz Detachments (3 Models)
  • Two Core – Two Boyz Detachments (6 Models each)
• Optional Detachments
  • Two HQ
  • Two Core
  • [Looted vehicles?]
    
  • [TBD]
• For this clan, Compulsory Detachments must be Nobz (HQ) and Blood Axe Boyz (Core)

(Brainstorm Transport/looted vehicles.)

Exclusive: Rhinos/ Chimeras? Imperial stuff. 

More access to Kommandos? Stormboyz? Perh. Looted wagons become generally available, but Blood Axes can have them as default?

Evil Suns

• Compulsory Detachments
  • One HQ – e.g. One Nobz Detachments (3 Models)
  • Three Core – e.g. Two Boyz Detachments (6 Models each)
• Optional Detachments
  • Two HQ
  • Two Core
  • Four Transport
    
  • [TBD]
• For this clan, Compulsory Detachments must be Nobz (HQ) and Evil Suns Boyz (Core)

N.B. Dedicated Transport compulsory (check wording for Rhinos and rephrase here). Ensure sufficient Optional Transport Detachments to transport the number of infantry possible. 

Exclusive: Bowelburna? Gobsmasha? Spleenrippa? Or simply easier access?

More access to: Meks, Speed Freeks.

+++

+ inload: Orks in Legions Imperialis +

+ Xenos in Legions Imperialis +

Waaagh! Where's me Epic-scale roolz, Games Workshop?

+ The latest iteration of Epic goes back to the classics, with Space Marine 2nd Edition (SM2) being an obvious reference point, and the action taking part in the Age of Darkness – that is, the Horus Heresy (HH). +

+ That's lovely, but what if you find a different army appealing? This project is my attempt to create playable and fun rules for various factions in Epic. I'll be starting with Orks and Eldar to go with the Bloodsong expansion rules for Adeptus Titanicus, but the project is intended to be open-ended. +

+ Creating new armies for a game – particularly a relatively undeveloped one like Legions Imperialis (LI) – takes a bit of time and effort, so please bear with me. If you're got any input or suggestions (particularly if backed up with playtesting experience) please share it on the +Death of a Rubricist+ Facebook Group. +

+ This project will be a slightly different take on things, but if you are after a set of rules ready to play right now, I suggest you try out Johan Piledset's Legions Xenos. +

+++

+ Top level stuff +

+ The aims of the project are:

• To create a fun experience for all players
• To bring in the character of the relevant faction
• To allow both existing and new players something to try.
• To make minimal additions and changes to the core rules.

+ A mob of Ork boyz – the sculpts are from Wake's Emporium +

+ The project will be set in the 41st Millennium, because of availability of background and models. You can, of course, use these rules against the existing HH-era armies. +

+ Mechanically, I'll be taking my cues from SM2, as GW seems to have done for LI. +

+++

+ Get to the good bits +

+ Enough waffling, here are the basic rules. A downloadable pack will be available from the Files section of the +Death of a Rubricist+ Facebook group. +

+ For the moment, here's the Army rules, HQ Detachments, Core Detachments and Transport Detachments. These are sized to A4 paper, so feel free to print 'em out and share. +

Needless to say:

For use with Games Workshop PLC's 

Legions Imperialis game.

No challenge is made to Games Workshop's IP. 

Not for commercial distribution.

+++

+ Mustering an army +

+ Army Selection Steps +

• 1. Declare Allegiance
• Requires new Allegiance (Orks)
• 2. Choose Primary Army List
• Requires new Army List (Waa-Ghazghkull)
• 3. Assemble Compulsory Formations
• Need new Formations
• 4. Complete the Army

+ The creation of a New Allegiance and new Army List provides a mechanism to play. Taking my cue from Epic: Armageddon, the rules are themed around a particular conflict in order to (slightly) rein in the scope. In the case of the orks, this will be the Second War for Armageddon, and the Army List is intended to reflect the sort of armies seen fighting there. +

+++

+ Further reading +

+ This inload cover notes on formations [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+] +

 

+ Next up will be tanks, kans and – depending on time – Gargants. +