Orc Mob
Grade: 1a
Source: Town Cryer #6 (PDF), revised in Mordheim Annual 2002
Setting: Mordheim
Author: Mark Havener
Orcs enjoy fighting and looting more than anything else. Because of this, an Orc’s life is spent in constant battle – either with his fellow Orcs or some other enemy. With its wealth of opponents and loot ready for the taking, Mordheim offers the perfect opportunity for an aspiring Orc Warboss to prove himself.
Among the races of the Warhammer world, none enjoy the prospect of a good looting more than Orcs and Goblins. For this reason many Orc warbands have been drawn to the city of Mordheim and the wyrdstone that lies hidden there. Of course, Orcs would much rather ambush other warbands and take their wyrdstone than collect it themselves, but their goals are the same as any other warband – collect as much treasure as possible!
These traits are reflected in the following special rules:
Special Rules
Distasteful Company. Many Hired Swords refuse to work for Orcs, as they know that Orcs are just as likely to eat them as fight alongside them. Orcs may only hire the following Hired Swords: Pit Fighters, Ogre Bodyguards or Warlocks.
Animosity. Orcs and Goblins enjoy nothing more than a good scrap, unfortunately they’re not always very discerning about who they scrap with! To represent this, at the start of the Orc player’s turn, roll a D6 for each Henchman who is either an Orc or a Goblin. A roll of 1 means that the warrior has taken offense to something one of his mates has done or said. Do not roll for models that are engaged in hand-to-hand combat (they’re already scrappin’!). To find out just how offended the model is, roll another D6 and consult the following chart to see what happens:
| D6 | Result |
|---|---|
| 1 | “I ’Erd Dat!” The warrior decides that the nearest friendly Orc or Goblin Henchman has insulted his lineage or personal hygiene and must pay the price! If there is a friendly Orc or Goblin Henchman or Hired Sword within charge reach (if there are multiple targets within reach, choose the one nearest to the mad model), the offended warrior will immediately charge and fight a round of hand-to-hand combat against the source of his ire. At the end of this round of combat, the models will immediately move 1" apart and no longer count as being in close combat (unless one of them fails another Animosity test and rolls this result again). If there are no friendly Orc or Goblin Henchmen or Hired Swords within charge reach, and the warrior is armed with a missile weapon, he immediately takes a shot at the nearest friendly Orc or Goblin Henchman or Hired Sword. If none of the above applies, or if the nearest friendly model is an Orc Hero, the warrior behaves as if a 2-5 had been rolled on this chart. In any case, the warrior in question may take no other action this turn, though he may defend himself if attacked in hand-to-hand combat. |
| 2-5 | “Wud Yoo Say?” The warrior is fairly certain he heard an offensive sound from the nearest friendly Orc or Goblin, but he’s not quite sure. He spends the turn hurling insults at his mate. He may do nothing else this turn, though he may defend himself if attacked in hand-to-hand combat. |
| 6 | “I’ll Show Yer!” The warrior imagines that his mates are laughing about him behind his back and calling him silly names. To show them up he decides that he’ll be the first one to the scrap! This model must move as quickly as possible towards the nearest enemy model, charging into combat if possible. If there are no enemy models within sight, the Orc or Goblin warrior may make a normal move immediately. This move is in addition to his regular move in the Movement phase, so he may therefore move twice in a single turn if you wish. If the extra move takes the Orc or Goblin warrior within charge reach of an enemy model, the warrior must charge into close combat during his regular movement. |
Choice of warriors
An Orc warband must include a minimum of three models. You have 500 gold crowns which you can use to recruit and equip your warband. The maximum number of warriors in the warband is 20.
- Boss: Each Orc warband must have one Boss: no more, no less!
- Shaman: Your warband may include up to one Shaman.
- Big ’Uns: Your warband may include up to two Big ’Uns.
- Orc Boyz: Your warband may include any number of Orc Boyz.
- Goblin Warriors: Your warband may include any number of Goblin Warriors, though it may not have more than two Goblins for each Orc in the warband (including Orc Heroes).
- Cave Squigs: Your warband may include up to five Cave Squigs. You may never have more Cave Squigs in your warband than you have Goblin Warriors.
- Troll: Your warband may include up to one Troll.
Starting experience
- A Boss starts with 20 Experience.
- A Shaman starts with 10 Experience.
- Big ’Uns start with 15 Experience.
- All Henchmen start with 0 Experience.
Orc Skill Table
| Combat | Shooting | Academic | Strength | Speed | Special | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boss | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Shaman | ✓ | ✓ | ||||
| Big ’Un | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Orc Special Skills
Orc Heroes may use the following Skill list instead of any of the standard Skill lists available to them.
’ard ead
The warrior has a thick skull even for an Orc. He has a special 3+ save on a D6 to avoid being stunned. If the save is made, treat a stunned result as knocked down instead. If the Orc also wears a helmet, this save is 2+ instead of 3+ (this takes the place of the normal helmet special rule).
waaagh!
Orcs are aggressive creatures and some are experts at bulldozing charges. The warrior may add +D3" to his charge range.
’ere we go!
Orcs often charge even the most fearsome opponents. The model may ignore fear and terror tests when charging.
da cunnin’ plan
Only the Boss may have this skill. The warband may re-roll any failed Rout tests as long as the Boss is not out of action.
well ’ard
The Orc has a thick, dark-green skin, possibly indicating Black Orc blood. Such is the toughness of the Orc that he may add +1 to any armour saves.
’eadbasher
Orcs have massive physical strength and some of them even learn to aim their blows at the heads of their opponents, with obvious results. Any knocked down results which the Orc causes in hand-to-hand count as stunned results instead.
Orc equipment lists
The following lists are used by Orc Mob warbands to pick their equipment.
Orc Equipment List
Hand-to-hand Combat Weapons
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Dagger | 1st free/2 gc |
| Club | 3 gc |
| Battle axe | 5 gc |
| Sword | 10 gc |
| Spear | 10 gc |
| Halberd | 10 gc |
| Double-handed weapon | 15 gc |
| Morning star | 15 gc |
Missile Weapons
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Bow | 10 gc |
| Crossbow | 25 gc |
Armour
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Light armour | 20 gc |
| Shield | 5 gc |
| Helmet | 10 gc |
Goblin Equipment List
Hand-to-hand Combat Weapons
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Dagger | 1st free/2 gc |
| Club | 3 gc |
| Sword | 10 gc |
| Spear | 10 gc |
| Ball & Chain | 15 gc |
Armour
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Shield | 5 gc |
| Helmet | 10 gc |
Miscellaneous
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Squig Prodder | 15 gc |
| Mad Cap Mushrooms | 25 gc |
heroes
1 Orc Boss
80 gold crowns to hire
An Orc Boss is a tough and brutal warrior, who will throw his lads into any fight that he thinks he can profit from. He is the strongest, toughest and most barbaric member of the warband and if any of his Boyz think otherwise, the band may soon find itself with one less member!
| M | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Ld |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 8 |
Weapons/Armour: An Orc Boss may be equipped with weapons and armour chosen from the Orc equipment list.
Special Rules
Leader: Any warrior within 6" of the Orc Boss may use his Leadership characteristic when taking Leadership tests.
0 – 1 Orc Shaman
40 gold crowns to hire
Orc Shamans are outcasts from Orc society. They are gifted by the Orc gods Gork and Mork with powers they can neither understand nor completely control. Many join roaming Orc warbands where they are no longer shunned for their abilities, but respected for them.
| M | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Ld |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 7 |
Weapons/Armour: An Orc Shaman may be armed with weapons chosen from the Orc equipment list. An Orc Shaman may never wear armour.
SPECIAL RULES
Wizard: An Orc Shaman is a wizard and uses Waaagh! Magic.
0 – 2 Orc Big ‘Uns
40 gold crowns to hire
Orc society is a savage hierarchy where only the toughest survive and rise through the ranks (often atop the bodies of other challengers). Big ’Uns are such rising stars, and they carry out the orders of the Orc Boss. If the Boss ever falls, it is up to the Big ’Uns to decide on a new leader (usually through personal combat).
| M | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Ld |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 7 |
Weapons/Armour: Big ’Uns may be equipped with weapons and armour chosen from the Orc equipment list.
henchmen
(Bought in groups of 1-5)
Orc Boyz
25 gold crowns to hire
Orc Boyz are savage and tough. They fear nothing that they can get their bare hands on, though they are even more ignorant and superstitious than most other beings in the Warhammer world. They form the core of any Orc warband.
| M | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Ld |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 7 |
Weapons/Armour: Boyz may be equipped with weapons and armour chosen from the Orc equipment list.
Special Rules
Animosity: Orc Boyz are subject to the rules for Animosity (see Special Rules for details).
Goblin Warriors
15 gold crowns to hire
Goblins are often used as cannon fodder (as well as a food source in lean times!) by their larger Orc cousins. They are usually not as well equipped as Orc Boyz, having to make do with whatever the Orcs do not want or cannot use.
| M | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Ld |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 |
Weapons/Armour: Goblins may be armed with weapons and armour chosen from Goblin equipment list.
SPECIAL RULES
Animosity: Goblin Warriors are subject to the rules for Animosity (see Special Rules for details). Note: A Goblin Warrior who fails his Animosity test and rolls a 1 for the result will never charge an Orc Henchman, though he will still use any missile weapons to attack as normal. Goblins are far too afraid of Orcs to challenge them individually.
Not Orcs: Orcs don’t expect much from non-Orcs, and are therefore not unsettled if Goblins or Cave Squigs break or get cut down in battle. In fact, they expect as much from these weaklings! Therefore, when testing to see if an Orc Warband needs to take a Rout test, each Goblin Warrior or Cave Squig taken out of action only counts as half a model. Therefore, a band of 5 Orcs and 10 Goblins (15 models) would only have to take a test if 4 models fell (4 Orcs or 8 Goblins, or some combination thereof ).
Runts: Goblins may gain experience but if they happen to roll ‘That Lad’s got talent’ they are immediately killed by their Orc overlords for becoming too ‘mouthy’ (remove the Gobbo from the roster).
0 – 5 Cave Squigs
15 gold crowns to hire
Goblins raise the deadly Cave Squigs. These creatures are a curious blend of animal and fungus, and are composed mostly of teeth, horns, and a nasty temperament.
| M | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Ld |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2D6 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 5 |
Weapons/Armour: Big gob and brutality! Cave Squigs never use or need weapons or armour.
SPECIAL RULES
Movement: Cave Squigs do not have a set Movement characteristic but move with an ungainly bouncing stride. To represent this, when moving Squigs, roll 2D6 for the distance they move. Squigs never run and never declare charges. Instead, they are allowed to contact enemy models with their normal 2D6" movement. If this happens, they count as charging for the following round of close combat, just as if they had declared a charge.
Minderz: Each Cave Squig must always remain within 6" of a Goblin Warrior, who keeps the creature in line. If a Cave Squig finds itself without a Goblin within 6" at the start of its Movement phase, it will go wild. From that point on, move the Squig 2D6" in a random direction during each of its Movement phases. If its movement takes it into contact with another model (friend or foe), it will engage the model in hand-to-hand combat as normal. The Cave Squig is out of the Orc & Goblin player’s control until the end of the game.
Not Orcs: See Goblin Warriors entry for rules.
Animals: Cave Squigs are animals of a sort and so do not gain experience.
0 – 1 Troll
200 gold crowns to hire
Trolls are not intelligent enough to recognize the value of gold, but large amounts of food can often instill a certain loyalty in them.
| M | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Ld |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
Weapons/Armour: Trolls do not require weapons to fight but often carry a big club. In any event, Trolls can never be given weapons or armour.
SPECIAL RULES
Fear: Trolls are frightening monsters which cause fear.
Stupidity: A Troll is subject to the rules for stupidity.
Regeneration: Trolls have a unique physiology that allow them to regenerate wounds. Whenever an enemy successfully inflicts a wound on a Troll roll a D6, on a result of 4 or more the wound is ignored and the Troll is unhurt. Trolls may not regenerate wounds caused by fire or fire-based magic. Trolls never roll for Injury after a battle.
Dumb Monster: A Troll is far too stupid to ever learn any new skills. Trolls do not gain experience.
Always Hungry: A Troll requires an upkeep cost. This upkeep represents the copious amounts of food that must be fed to the Troll in order to keep him loyal to the warband. The warband must pay 15 gold crowns after every game in order to keep the Troll. If the warband lacks the gold to pay the upkeep, the Boss has the option of sacrificing two Goblin Warriors or Cave Squigs to the Troll in lieu of buying food (Trolls eat nearly anything). If this fee is not paid (either in gold or in warband members) the Troll gets hungry and wanders off in search of food.
Vomit Attack: Instead of his normal attacks, a Troll can regurgitate its highly corrosive digestive juices on an unfortunate hand-to-hand combat opponent. This is a single attack that automatically hits with a Strength of 5 and ignores armour saves.
Large Target: Trolls are Large Targets as defined in the shooting rules.