Ork Killy Squad

By Cheddah, in Rogue Trader Gamemasters

This is an encounter I'm planning on throwing at my players sometime during the campaign - I was hoping I could get some feedback and help balancing it. The group's profit factor is around 69 or so, and they have enough connections from the nature of their missions to gain a variety of weaponry from the calixis sector. Theres usually around 7 combat ready players.

=Killy Squad=

Ork Boyz Mob (taken from creatures anathema) (20):

WS : 37 BS : 19 S : 46 T : 44(8) AG : 30 INT : 24 PER : 32 WP : 26 FEL : 21

Talents: Basic Weapons Training, Bulging Bicepts, Crushing Blow, Furious Assault, Hardy, Iron Jaw, Melee Weapon Training, Pistol Weapon Training, Street Fighting True Grit

Traits: Brutal Charge, Mob Rule, Sturdy, Unnatural Toughness (x2)

Gear: Flak Armor, Shoota

Flash Gitz (Using Freeboota stats from RT manual with different gear) (6):

WS : 45 BS : 20 S : 50 T : 45(8) AG : 30 INT : 26 PER : 30 WP : 28 FEL : 22 Wounds: 14-16

Talents: Basic Weapon Training, Bulging Bicepts, Crushing Blow, Furious Assault, Hardy, Heavy Weapons Training, Iron Jaw, Melee Weapons Training, True Grit

Traits: Brutal Charge, Mob Rule, Resistance(Cold, Heat, Radiation), Sturdy, Unnatural Toughness(x2)

Gear: Looted Armor, Snazzgun, Fancy Shootin' Lense

-- Snazzgun

Heavy; 90m; -/-/20; 1d10+5 X; 1d10+2 Pen; 60 clip; Full Reload

Inacurate, Unreliable, Custom, Tearing, 'Best' Quality, Noisy

Noisy: The weapon makes a horrible grinding wail when firing. Any adjasent creatures (including the weilder unless protctive headgear is worn) must make a -0% toughness test ot be deafened for 1d5 rounds.

-- Fancy Shootin' Lense

Makes an orc feel more shooty. Weapon Loses the inacurate quality when worn.

Killa Kan (Vehicle) (2):

Type: Walker

Size: Hulking

Armor: Hull 16

Traits: Two Weapon Fighting; Ambidextrous; Unnatural Strength, Grot Rage

Narrative Speed: 8kph / 16 kph

Handling Modifiers: -

Crew: 1 Overconfident Gretchin

Access Point: -

Special: Own Ability Scores -- WS: 35 BS: 35 S: 50(10)

Gear: Combi Chain Weapon - Burna x2*

--Grot Rage

Sometimes Gretchin get tired of being pushed around! A Killa Kan may perform a full attack with both of it's burnaz after a normal charge.

*: Unlike most combi weapons, the burna component on each arm can be fired multiple times and has the same stats as a standard flamer, but may be treated like a pistol. When going for a full attack in melee, the Killa Kan may use a combination including either of the two weapons on either hand. Example: A full attack with both burnaz, a full attack with both chain weapons, or a full attack with a burna and a chain weapon. When firing both burnaz at once, the weapons are concidered dual linked and impose a -20% penalty on relevent agility tests to resist the weapon.

Big Mek (Leader) ( 1):

WS: 29 BS: 36 S: 35 T: 37(6) AG: 20 INT: 29 PER: 24 WP: 29 FEL: 22 Wounds: 20

Talents: (forthcomming)

Equipment: Power Claw & 'Best' Quality Bionic Arm; Looted Carapace Armor; Tellyporta; Orkyfield; Zappin' Pole; 'Best' quality Shoota, Balistic Bionic with Slugga

Big Mek's Tools:

The big mek's tools draw power from the same power source on it's back. Each tool can be used as a free action, but only one per round and an individual tool may only be used every other round. The Orkyfield may be in constant use, but on an overload, it too counts as a tool cooldown.

--Zappin' Pole

Projects a 20m cone of green lightning that ignores armor and deals 1d10+2 damage. Stuns opponents for 1 round unless a 0% toughness roll is made.

--Tellyporta

The big mek may make a +20% WP test to move to any spot within 24m that he can see. Failure gives 1 level of fatigue.

--Orkyfield

The big mek is protected by a green force field with simmilur effect to a rosarius. It provides a constant protection of 2d10 armor to all areas of the body against ranged attacks. If the armor reduction roll is doubles, the attack gets through. On a 00 the field overloads.

Fighta Bombaz (support):

The ork's airial support is too innacurate to actually fight in the battle unless the PCs bring a compliment of more than 20 NPC crew members to assist them. At that time the PC's army can be targeted with grot bombz, dealing damage equal to krak missiles.

The General Plan:

The Big Mek's fighta bombaz will try to divide larger groups of the PCs' crew up into more managable targets first off, going in for the kill when they are confused. The squad of boyz keeps any of the npc redshirts busy while the big mek and killa kans rush into melee. The flash gitz try to focus on the heavy hitters of the party.

Do the players have access to light combat vechicles (bikes, sentinels, speeders, etc.)? Do they have air cover (gunncutters, valkyries, etc.)? How about armsmen from their vessel(s) or mercenaries (like Kroot)? All of these can make a huge difference on how this would play out.

I dont want to go too deep into what they have, just in case they are reading. A lot of resources have been made at their disposal by their employer, but many in the group are new to the setting, so might not take advantage of all they could procure. They have a 40 skill crew that are well armed, and limited air support just recently procured.

What are the conditions of the conflict? Are the PCs going to be attacked while planetside (or in space hulk), or are they going to be the ones making the attack? This doesn't look like a subtle ork force, so it may have trouble approaching the PCs without the players bringing their ship guns to play unless you build the scenario just right.

The ork support is likely a bit too tough for most players to handle without some nasty losses. If you're OK with that, then go for it, otherwise I'd cut things back a bit. you might want to try for a platoon-sized unit of Blood Axe Kommandos that are picking apart whatever PC-backed red-shirts are on the planet/hulk and let the PC get pulled in to help boost sagging morale. It'll keep things on a more personal level.

Also, what is the AP of the 'Looted Armour' on the Flash Gitz?

The scenario can play out in a number of ways, but most likely I was going to hit them while they are exploring the surface of a planet. If they use redshirts I would have the orks ambush the exploration parties and pin them down, forcing a rescue attempt. If they go themselves Id have the ork rok chase their ship in orbit off, and have a landing party track them down.

The flash gitz are essentially freebootas with snazzguns so - AP: Body 5, Head 4, Arms 2, Legs 2.

Talking about this makes me realise the encounter will be very difficult... but I still may go through with it. Maybe I'll give the PCs the terrain advantage so they wont have to face all of the killy squad at once. The orks would be vunerable to psykers because of their low WP... so its all situational. It depends on what they do.

This encounter sounds extremely hard to balance without knowing what your Explorers are packing. Take, for example, the killa kans: Generally, they'll be pretty deadly. However, a melta will very likely one-shot them.

The rest depends very much on whether the characters are alone or take a team with them. If they're alone, I'd refrain from making this a stand-up fight as they're almost certain to be overwhelmed. However, if they manage to cook up some guerilla tactics, they may have a chance - but this would likely take the entire evening.

The one thing with Orks is their toughness bonus. Most RT characters are going to be packing a weapon with enough pen to punch through their armor. But pen isn't useful against TB which in this case is 8. Thus a 1d10+4 hellgun is going to not damage nearly as often as not. Boltguns are going to be in the same boat. So you better be sure the PCs are carrying heavier weapons before you spring this on them. Plasma weapons and melta would certainly be a deciding factor. Also with the orks low will a navigator giving them the eye could take out 2/3 of them.

Both bits of advice are helpful. Thanks.

Dalnor Surloc said:

The one thing with Orks is their toughness bonus. Most RT characters are going to be packing a weapon with enough pen to punch through their armor. But pen isn't useful against TB which in this case is 8. Thus a 1d10+4 hellgun is going to not damage nearly as often as not. Boltguns are going to be in the same boat. So you better be sure the PCs are carrying heavier weapons before you spring this on them.

Yeah, Unnatural Toughness is no joke. All the penetration in the world doesn't reduce it a bit.

Plasma weapons and melta would certainly be a deciding factor.

Great weapons and power fists too, although it's usual better to shoot greenskins than melee them.


Also with the orks low will a navigator giving them the eye could take out 2/3 of them.

Of course, he's got to be within 15m to do it, and that's pretty risky with orks. Fatigues you quickly, too. You'll want some bodyguards to fend off any who get through, but make sure they're looking at the back of your head when you open the Lidless Eye.

I might swipe a few of these ideas for my Campaign.

I was thinking of my group encountering a planet where a group of Orks were trying to repair their one and only KillKroozer so they could leave. The Orks happen to be Blood Axe clan, which opens up the PC's options in dealing with them.

Blood Axes, for those of you that don't know, are the one exception to the rule in Ork society.

They usually will hire out like Mercs and they prefer Imperial war technology instead of 'Teef'. They aren't 'FreeBooterz' though, as they have their clan, distinct traditions and will rarely renig on their end of a bargain. If you make a deal with Blood Axes, they'll hold to their end as long as the other party holds to theirs. Screw over the Blood Axes, and they will go out of their way to get their revenge.

They are not brilliant, but smarter than your average Ork, wear uniforms, use tactics and will do decidedly un-Orky things, like 'retreat' or 'hold their fire' or 'not charge immediately' if it is the sound tactical thing to do. That makes them a little more dangerous than the average Orks, since you can't predict them using 'Ork' standards and they tend to have better equipment, like Predators, Rhinos, and quite a few Bolters. They emulate Imperial Guard tactics and it is rumored that they actually follow the Emperor rather than Gork or Mork, as he's seen as 'more killy' and the 'Biggest 'Nob Dere Is!'

It is for these reasons that Blood Axes are mistrusted by most other Ork Clans. Once one of the largest Clans, the others banded together against the "Humie Luvers" for being "Un-Orky", broke their power and actively hunted them for centuries. Thus, Blood Axe warbands are few and scattered. They rarely band together with other Orks unless it fits with their agenda and their skill and equipment makes other Orks think twice before attacking them for no good reason, as most Orks have a very short racial memory.

Of course, I have a lot of Blood Axe Boyz painted up. Urban Camo, old-skool Shoulder Pads and WWII Nazi helmets from 35mm model kits. I even have "Da' Kommisar", chomping a cigar, sporting a peaked cap, kustom pistol and a Power Axe.... So I gotta use them somehow...

Blood Axes are also notable for their enthusiastic use of camouflage on clothing and vehicles. Far more camouflage than most humans would use. After all, if camouflage is good more camouflage is better. A carefull choice of contrasting colours also means that people can see just how well camouflaged you are from a long way away.

Of course, the more kunnin’ of them, especially the famed Kommandos, have taken to the sneaky taktikin’ of having the camouflage the same colours as the stuff found about them .

Heh heh. Mine are painted Grey/Black Urban Camo, which really contrasts nicely with their green skin....