Ok so I got to thinking about how the game was missing out on Ork Wierdboyz (not only NPC's but as playable options for Ork PC's as well). This got me thinking to "well why not just get the sorcerer talent" as sorcery is a way for Orks (since they're not psykers) to basically represent this (albiet quite different than a normal wierd boy still).

Then when reading over the sorcery rules presented into "Edge of the Abyss" I realized how broken this would be as the drawback for sorcery is that you gain 1D5+1 corruption per power taken in sorcery and add your total corruption to "perils of the warp" rolls. Now seeing as how Ork's can't gain corruption this would make them a bit... well overpowered indeed as it'd be essentially a talent that would be must have for any ork npc simply do to it being all benefit and no weakness. How would other GM's handle this? Would you allow it?

I'm considering allowing it, but changing the corruption to insanity points or possibly custom tailoring the rules to give the ork no psy rating but instead making his "rating" based off the number of other orks around him/her and make the ork required to essentially "drain off" psychic energy per round lest it cause them to roll perils should they fail to do so (to reflect the table top where wierd boys, if built with enough waaagh, can explode or harm those around them).

Changing it to insanity would be a great idea. I have yet to see any interpretation of a weirdboy who wasn't off his rocker.

I pondered this a while back. The basic idea was to make a Weirdboy Psy Rating 2 as standard and unable to Fetter or Push their powers, but to give them a special ability that let them use the Mob Rule trait that all Orks have on their Focus Power Tests. If the bonus gained from Mob Rule ever went above their normal Willpower, they automatically suffer Psychic Phenomena as if they were Pushing (with an extra +5 on the Psychic Phenomena and Perils of the Warp tables for every Ork within 10m), due to the dangers of controlling that much WAAAGH! energy.

Of course, they'd need their own powers to do things properly, but in a pinch the normal Telekinesis powers should serve well enough, using the Ork's adjusted Willpower Bonus (after adding the Mob Rule modifier) instead of his Psy Rating.

I'm actually going to develop a system that I'll post up, hombrewed given but I've been a long time game developer and have been shooting to get into a job making games like this so hopefully I'll be able to bring something creative that fits the fluff.

What I'm pushing together right now is that the Ork will gain 1 psy rating per Ork within x meters of him every turn. The psy rating can be used to manifest special ork powers (figure I'll just make this a career rank so the costs for these can be lain out).

The ork then may attempt to manifest a power and use as many points of this psy rating at unfettered (no push or fettered). If the power fails to manifest (or if he simply chooses not to make one) he makes a WP check with -5 per unspent psy rating. Failure means he rolls on a special chart (likely named WAAOOPS for humors sake). For every 1 psy rating he did spend however, this roll (should the power fail) will gain +10 (ie a missfire that used less psy rating will have a higher chance of occuring but the roll on the missfire chart will not be as severe whilst one that used more psy rating will have a lower chance of occuring but be more severe on the chart for sakes of checks and balances).

Oh and I'd of course throw in some special ruling for having the thing that allows mob rule to count humanoid allies (given to a smaller extent) since RT parties aren't often going to have more than one ork.

Dark Bunny Lord said:

I wouldn't. Wyrdboyz get a lot of their power from the Waaaargh energy of their fellow orks - humans and other non-orks wouldn't contribute to that at all.

MILLANDSON said:

True but would it not somewhat... make them pointless in a RT party unless you just happened to be playing one full of orks? Unless of course you extended the benefit to runtz. That's the only reason I considered it, I mean it'd work fine for mobs but not for players in the vast majority of party builds.

Mob rule after all can be used in cohersion with another talent (would have to look up the name but you get it pretty early on) to count humans to the mob rule effect (given it's 2 count as one ork but none the less it's there) and Mob rule somewhat reflects Orks being driven by the psychic waaagh buildup of their fellows to ignore fear no?

I'll also add that giving a bonus Psy Rating for *each* ork within X meters sounds really powerful. I mean, look at how many orks surround the typical Wyrdboy (not one running amok with a Rogue Trader). NPC Wyrdboyz with their basic bodyguard could easily get over 10 Psy Rating. I might change it to every 10 orks in 100 meters or something similar.

As for having this work for players, allow the Wyrdboy to take the Minion talent from Black Crusade. Build up their own Ork bodyguards (and consequently Psy Rating). Just make sure they don't accumulate tons of minions.

Or a rather simpler solution would be that they could use no more than double their WP bonus in psy rating, given that your normal Ork is going to have 30/40 tops that wouldn't be to bad (especially considering a botch would likely mean the weird boy killing himself if not greatly injuring himself and all his allied Orks). I'll look over the minion talent though, I've only glanced over the DW book thus far.

Nerdynick said:

You could make it a logarithmic function, so at 10 orcs it's 1, at 100 it's 2, at 1000 it's 3, etc. That would scale really well with a WAAAAGH. Then figure out the "bonus" to the self death roll for using that much power.

Alright so here's what I got worked up (given before the response just before this, was brewing some idea's at work and just jotting down notes so this is all very rough):

New Talent: Tap Da WAAAGH!

When Orks get excited they begin to generate massive amounts of psychic energy which specialized Orks known as Weird-Boyz can harness and mold into powerful psychic abilities. However unlike normal psykers this energy does not result in rending the warp, but rather the buildup often has explosive results such as causing the weird boyz head, as well as the heads of all those unfortunate enough to be near him, to explode with psychic energy or randomly everything within a few meters of the weird boy will suddenly transmission through the warp and wind up somewhere else entirely.

-Effect: Every turn the Ork Weird-boy is in combat (or Ork allies are otherwise being rowdy) he gains +1 Psy rating to spend during his turn for every Ork within 10 meters. Should the Ork possess "Da knekst Best Fing" talent he also gains +1 Psy rating for every 2 allied humans within 10 meters (to a maximum of double his WP bonus).
The Weird-boy may then choose to use any amount of this gained psy rating to attempt and manifest a “Favor or Mork” or “Favor of Gork”. He starts by naming one power from his Gork powers and one from his Mork powers and then rolls a focus power check (WP) with every 1 psy rating used adding +5 to the focus power roll as normal psychic powers do, however rolling doubles does not cause psychic phenomena. Rather if the roll is failed or if the Weird-boy chooses not to attempt a power (or simply is somehow refrained from using a power) they must roll a wp check with a -5 for every 1 psy rating not used. Failure means they make a roll on the “WAA-OOPS” chart. The Weird-boy add’s +10 to this roll for every 1 psy rating used meaning that attempting to use more psy rating lowers your chance of failure but increases your roll (and thus potential danger) should you fail on the WAA-OOPS chart whilst using less psy rating increases your chances of failure (and thus rolling on the WAA-OOPS chart) but decreases the potency of effect on said chart.

If successful however the Werid boy will manifest one of two powers, either the "Mork" power or the "Gork" power that they chose former to the roll. If they roll an odd number they manifest the Mork power and if they rolled an even number they manifest the Gork power.

Some Ork powers may be sustained. To do so the Wierd boy mus sacrifice some of the generated psy rating each round, no more however than was original spent on the power being sustained. If less is spent the powers effects are modified thusly and further rounds may not spend more than the amount spent sustaining it in the former round, and so on and so forth.

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The goal of these powers is to make them more powerful than Astropaths (but far less safe) and less powerful than imperial psykers (which seeing things like halocaust shouldn't be to hard)

Gork Powers (Again not set in stone, just throwing idea's around).

Fist of Gork:

A large fist of green swirling WAAAGH energy slams down on the Wierdboy's foes, grinding them into a fine paste.

-Effect: Deals 1D10 + Psy rating used damage. Blast X, x = degree's of success (Max 4)

-Range: 15meters

DAKADAKA:

The Weird boy excites his allies further causing their orky guns to far faster than normal.

-Effect: All ork weaponry within 10m gains + psy rating full auto fire rate. May be sustained.

Chopa Of Gork:

A massive glowing green choppa manifests in the wierd boys hand, arcing with green lightning and screaming with the sound of a thousand of the foul beasts.

-Effect: The weird boy creates a choppa with the stats - 1D10+Psy rating used damage, tearing, and warp weapon. May be sustained.

-Range: Personal

WAAAGH:

The Weird boy get's his allies frothing at the mouth in a rage, making them tougher, stronger, and worst of all more heedless of danger.

- Effect: 1 Ally per psy rating used within 10meters enters Fury. May be sustained.

Urty Ray:

A brilliant ray of green energy arc's out across the battelfield and distengrates whatever it strikes.

-Effect: Deal 1D10 damage +1D10 mroe damage per 2 degree's of success.

-Range: 30 Meters.

Mork Powers:

Ere We Go:

The Weird Boy and his mates vanish in a burst of green light only to reappear elsewhere, often in the midst of enemy lines and engaging them in bloody melee.

-Effect: The Weird boy teleports himself 3meters per psy rating used. He may also teleport one ally per psy rating used within 10meters of his original location to 10meters of his new location. Those teleported must be placed on stable ground and if this is not possible they are placed on the closest stable ground.

Tough Like Mork:

The orks flesh hardens, strong enough to shrug of bullets and tougher than the crude leathers they normally wear encouraging the greenskin to new stupid lengths of self endangerment.

- Effect: One ally within 10meters, +1 Ally per degree of success, gains 1 Point of armor per 2 Psy Rating used. This armor does not stack with normal armor but protects against psychic damage that normally ignores armor as well as normal damage. May be sustained.

Da Kunningest:

The wierd boy and his allies become much more aware of their surroundings, able to notice sneaky gits they couldn't before.

- Effect: The weird boy and one ally per 2 degrees of success gain +5 Awareness per psy rating used. May be sustained.

Scrappy Fings:

Scraps of metal, weaponry, sticks, and even garbage fly through the air and form crude barricades.

-Effect: The weird boy creates X walls measuring 1x1x1 meter. X = psy rating used. Each wall has Armour points equal to the psy rating used and a number of structure points equal to 10 + 5 per degree of success.

-Range: 10 meters

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I've started doing the "WAA-OOPS" chart as well but I still need a lot to do before I pitch even the rough version.

Larkin said:

That noted though the drawback is of course that if they don't, or can't cast a power it's the same as if they failed it and have to roll on their mishap chart do to the buildup becoming litterally deadly to the weirdboy so this weakness can make up for some of the power that the weirdboy would grant by limiting your options (I also introduced, in the post former to this, a randomizing power chart that gives you some control but again acts as a way of countering some of the power and adding to the general randomness of orks in general).