Homebrew Project Gangs of Armageddon versus Orks

[Brother Tyler]

During the Third War for Armageddon (Ghazghkull's second invasion), numerous hive gangs consented to support the war effort (not that they really had a choice once the greenskins came pouring into the hives). A listing of [some of?] these gangs can be found in The Battle for Armageddon.

I've re-created that listing below:

It occurred to me that this might be an interesting way to change Necromunda up a bit. Instead of gangs vs. gangs, it would be gangs vs. Orks in a desperate defense of their hives. This could easily extend to the enforcers defending their hives, "guilds" defending their wastelands, etc. The problem, of course, is coming up with rules. Since the Necromunda gang rules are quite varied, it would be far easier to create rules for Orks. Since I'm not an expert on the Necromunda rules (I have them, but I haven't played the game enough to even try my hand at homegrown rules), I thought I'd dangle this idea out in case any enterprising players want to try their hand at creating the rules before I (hopefully) get to it.

I know there were rules for Orks back in the 1st edition of the game. I don't recall seeing any for 2nd edition. I know there are a few sets of rules for Orks in the current edition of Necromunda floating out there in the wilds of the Internet.

What I'm looking at doing is creating a campaign of sorts, or possibly multiple campaigns so that the hives and "Ash Wastes" can be tackled separately. This might require either a flexible list for the Orks or multiple lists to cover different Ork boyz types, including speed freeks.

 

[Dosjetka]

It's certainly a neat idea. I'll see if I can come up with a basic profile for an Ork sometime soon and share it here for thoughts/feedback. That said, I'm also in the middle of organising the next camapign for my local community so free time is scarce!

[Arbedark]

Whilst (IMO) Orks have absolutely no place whatsoever in Necromunda particularly from a lore perspective, but also in terms of the scale of the rules (IMO strength and toughness in Necromunda are not directly comparable to 40k values, despite weapon analogues between the two settings sharing some stats), if one was so inclined to use the Necromunda ruleset to reflect a humans vs Orks setting, I would go about it in the following way:

• Use the Goliath ruleset exclusively for Orks (no humans using Goliath stats)
  • In particular, ensure that all Orks are genesmithed for S / T, and that Grot profiles (Forge born that don't ever get promoted) have negative S / T genesmithing
  • I would also houserule that Forge born don't count towards the gang composition rules, and are completely ignored for all nerve checks / bottle tests
• I would suggest that Orks are exclusively NPCs / Arbitrator tools, and income, etc. fudged by the Arbitrator to keep Ork gangs in line with human gangs, but I appreciate that may go against what you are looking for
• If you want Orks to be run by players, and not just as NPCs / Arbitrator tools then I would limit what they can / can't take at the trading post / black market, as well as modify the rules for captives etc. so that Orks and humans are effectively segregated (Ork gangs can rescue Ork captives from other Ork gangs, but not against human gangs and vice versa) - income could probably remain as-is to enable Ork gangs to grow as well
• This would also need some editing of the individual scenarios to reflect the different ambitions / objectives of the Ork gangs vs the human gangs
• For Ash Wastes, I haven't had much experience with those rules yet, but it feels like the base rules would work fine for Ork gangs as well, especially with the vehicle design element allowing for very Orky contraptions

Just some initial thoughts, but basing the Orks on existing rules would be more balanced and sensible than completely going off-piste and trying to come up with your own ruleset from scratch (I have seen some absolutely ridiculously OP homebrews for Orks in Necromunda...).

[Dosjetka]

Necromunda, from a lore perspective, has had Orks as a peripherial fixture since the very first days of the game so I don't think it's too outlandish to want to include them in a campaign set on the planet itself... but that's not the topic of this conversation.

Using the Goliath gang as a template/base is what I was thinking, too. I'm not completely sold on the idea of banning players from using the Goliath gang entirely but I do see the intent behind the idea.

[Antarius]

I think it's a great idea. I seem to recall making some primitive "AI" rules for a modified Necromunda ruleset. I'll see if I can find it again.

I would definitely use the Ork profile from the 8th ed 40K index. The Necromunda ruleset is basically the same as are most weapon profiles and if Orks are more or less as they are in 40k and they don't suffer from pinning (as they don't use silly human stuff like "ducking" when being shot at) they will be quite formidable, but still vulnerable to the weapons of a regular gang.

[Slave to Darkness]

Could bump up the Goliath 'S' stat and drop 'I' or 'Ld/INT' maybe?

 

Or try using Gorkamorka stats/rules alongside Necromunda. 

[Dr_Ruminahui]

Not sure if the Gorkamorka stats are the same as the 2nd ed stats (I would expect them to be, given the former is derived from the latter and the similarities between necromunda and 2nd ed. imperial guard stat lines), but if they are it likely wouldn't be a very good match.  If I recall correctly, 2nd ed. orks had stat lines much more in line with those of humans than those marines - they were T3, I think - so are unlikely to be a good match to the current imagining of orks.  Running them as tweeked Goliaths is IMHO likely the easiest way forward.