<>Brief
history of the origins of Black Orks
<>Black Orks come from isolated planets located deep in Ork space. Fought over for eons
and located deep in Ork territory, these planets has become massive battle arenas for this
warrior race. The surfaces of most of these planets are completely covered with the
wreckage of war, which has created a "hive" surface over twenty miles thick in
some spots. The oceans of many of these planets have long boiled away and now stay in the
polluted atmosphere, returning in great torrential down pours of water that flood huge
areas of the planet.
<>From these battle planets come the most dangerous and war like species of Ork, the
Black Orks. As a result of being exposed to thousands of years of constant warfare Black
Orks have evolved to the pentacle of Ork evolution. Their dark skin and huge bodies easily
recognize them. Black Orks are fearless in
battle and will eagerly attack any enemy that approaches them. Once in close combat Black
Orks are virtually unbreakable and will often fight to the death even when faced with
overwhelming odds.
<>Black Orks basically start out as feral mercenaries who are recruited into WAAAGHs by
space fairing Ork Warlords. This is the only way Black Orks can ever get off of the feral
battle planets they have evolved on. What happens to them after that is entirely dependent
on their experiences with the "new" Orks they encounter.
<>The battle planets Black Orks evolve on are usually so war torn the Orks there are very
feral. The planets are sort of the equivalent of Human Hive worlds except more primitive.
They have only the recourses and facilities to make only the most basic weapons and these
are very crude. Only after Black Orks are recruited into off planet WAAAGHs are they
introduced to the more advanced Ork equipment.
<>Most Black Orks quickly adapt to the new equipment they are exposed to. It all depends
on were they end up after they are picked up from their home world and by whom. Some are
equipped with new weapons and armor while others keep their native weapons. Most Black
Orks never survive long enough to gain any real power or acquire lots of war gear.
Surviving Black Orks get bigger, tougher and of course start to acquire more and better
war gear. Eventually some of them even lead their own war bands and hire themselves out to
Ork Warbosses and Warlords.
<>These mobs of Black Orks are highly sought after by Ork Warlords. Well equipped and
well lead these are some of the best troops a Warlord could ever hope to have in his
WAAAGH! Black Orks are known for their
steadfastness and tenacity in battle, fighting on even as other Orks run.
<>The Black Orks who remain on the home worlds are probably some of the most savage and
feral Orks in Orkdom. Ork Warlords who go to these planets land, recruit Orks, and then
take off again. Most have no interest in sticking around and "playing " with the
native population of the planet. As a result of this unique form of migration Black Orks
are now scattered throughout the universe. Fortunately for the rest of the known races
these are in only small numbers.
<>Black Orks in your army
<>The purpose of this appendix is to allow you to use the Black Orks you just read about
in your army. Because Black Orks are recruited off of feral planets and spread through out
Orkdom they can easily be worked into any armies theme. Simply use the standard Ork codex
to build your army and add the Black Orks into your force. They will take up the
appropriate slots in your army depending on the type of Black Orks you chose to field. Of
course your opponent and you must agree on using them.
<>Special Rules
<>All Black Ork units are subjected to all the normal Ork special rules. If an upgrade
and a special rule conflict then the upgrade is used.
<>Black Ork Upgrades
<>There are also several special upgrades (Battle Honors) that can be bought for the
Black Ork mobs. This gives you some control of how powerful (and expensive) you want your
Black Orks to be. These upgrades are listed below. The number and cost of the upgrades
allowed for a mob are listed in the mobs options column.
Hardened Fighters: <>These Black Orks are hardened combat veterans. The unit
may ignore negative modifiers for all Morale checks and tests (eg 50% casualties).
In effect, the unit will always have its standard moral for these tests.
Steadfast: <>The Black Orks may attempt to regroup even when below 50%.
Guerrillas: <>This mob has come from a planet that is covered with dense
under growth and difficult ground. As a result of this the mob can move through difficult
terrain much easier than other Ork mobs. The unit rolls an extra D6 when moving through
difficult terrain, and picks the highest for its movement as usual
Tank Hunters: <>The unit always passes any tests for tank shock and adds +1 to all armor penetration rolls.
Counter-attack: <>If a close combat involving this
unit is a draw, the side with this unit automatically wins the tie-breaker. If both sides
contain a unit with the counter-attack skill, then roll off as normal.
<>THE
BLACK ORK APPENDIX LIST
<>ELITES
<>0-1 Black Ork Veterans: 17 pts/model
<>Black Ork veterans are the battle-hardened survivors of many hard fought battles. They
are the best armed and armored of all the Black Orks. The leadership in these units is
very high, especially amongst the Nobs.
<>Black Ork Nob <>WS4
BS2 S4 T4 W2 I3 A3 Ld8 Sv4+
<>Mob: The mob consists of between 10 and 20 Black Orks.
<>Weapons: Sluggas, choppas, frag and krak stikkbombz.
<>Options: Up to three models in the mob can be armed with either a Big Shoota at +8 pts,
a Rokkit Launcha at +5 pts or a Burna at +6 points. The Mob may be given up to two Black
Ork upgrades. These cost +2 points for each Ork in the Mob for each upgrade.
<>Character: For an addional cost of +17 pts each two of the Orks may be upgraded to a
Nob. The Nobs may be given any equipment allowed by the Ork Armory. Only one of them may
have Big Horns/Iron Gob. This Nob is often called the “Big Boss”.
<>TROOPS
<>0-2 Black Ork Boyz 12 pts/model
<>Black Ork Boyz are tough, strong and well lead, these warriors are the best troops any
Warboss could hope to have. They will often fight on in the face of impossible odds long
after other Orks have ran off.
<>Black Ork Boyz <>WS4 BS2 S4 T4 W1 I2
A2 Ld7 SV6+
<>Black Ork Nob <>WS4 BS2 S4 T4 W2
I3 A3 LD7 SV6+
<>Mob: The mob consists of 10 to 30 boyz.
<>Weapons: Sluggas, choppas, and frag stikkbomz.
<>Options: Up to three models in the mob can be armed with either a Big Shoota at +8 pts,
a Rokkit Launcha at +5 pts or a Burna at +6 points. The Mob may be given one Black Ork
upgrade. This costs +2 points for each Ork in the Mob. No two mobs of the same troop type
in your army can have the same upgrade.
<>Character: For an additional cost of +10 pts each two of the Orks may be upgraded to a
Nob. The Nobs may be given any equipment allowed by the Ork Armory.
<>Designer’s Notes
<>Why Black Orks? <>Since the 1st version of 40K I have always wanted to bring the Black Orks from WHFB into the 40k universe. As a strictly Ork player I loved the concept of the Black Orks and always felt they should have been included in 40K. In the 1st version of Warhammer 40K it was actually quite easy to do this. But with the advent of versions two and three the troop types available to players became more rigid. It became difficult if not impossible to represent my beloved Black Orks on the battlefield with out them having some “flaw” that didn’t really fit their character (at least my idea of them anyways). To me Black Orks would represent the ultimate Ork warrior, tough to break, well equipped, well lead in battle and of course quite expensive to field.
<>I
also wanted them to be fair and not unbalancing to the game. All the rules I used for them
are out of the basic 40K rule book. Their are no new equipment or rules in this Appendix.
I simply moved old equipment and rules around to create the Black Orks. This should make
this Appendix acceptable to most all 40K players.
<>So enter this appendix for the Ork Codex. My purpose is to give Ork players a chance to
field a few Black Ork units in their WAAAGHs. I made their origins very versatile so they
can be placed into any army with out disrupting its theme. I also made it so that a player
can control how powerful and expensive a unit is by using an upgrade system for the Black
Orks.
<>Points values: <>The base point value of a Black Ork veteran is the
combination of a Skarboy (11) and an ‘Ard Boy (12) compared to the cost of a Slugga
Boy (9). I took the difference of the two (5 points) and added the difference to nine
(14). I then added three points for the stikkbombz (17). A Nob in ‘Eavy armor costs
28 points so for the Nob upgrade I added 11 more points (to 17) for the 4+ save and 6
points for the +1 increase of the leadership (the cost of Big horns/Iron Gob). This came
out to +17 points for a Black Ork veteran Nob upgrade. The Black Ork Boyz are basically
Skarboyz moved to the Troops slot with a point added for frag stikkbombz. To represent the
superior leadership and organization of Black Ork units I allowed them to have up to two
Nobs in a Mob (Remember the old Goff Mobs in 40K2?).
<>Black Ork upgrades: <>The upgrades are Infantry Battle Honors taken right
out of the campaigns section of the rules book (page 163). All of the upgrades give
their mobs different advantages in different situations. You can’t have them all (or
can’t afford them) so you must chose wisely.
<>I figured the points values for the upgrades to be worth 10% of the point value of the
Ork (rounded up). This is the same point value applied in the campaign section of the rule
book for Battle Honors. It was my intention to make them increase the cost of the Mob
substantially. I think I’ve managed to achieve that.
<>Painting Black Orks: <>For the troops use dark angles green as base (over a
black base coat) and highlight with a mix of DAG and goblin green. The Nobs should almost
appear black (very dark green). I use DAG mixed with black as a base and highlight with
DAG followed by a light hit of DAG and goblin green. Equipment can be any Clan scheme.
<>A little about me: <>I’ve been playing nothing but Orks in 40K, Epic and WHFB
for over 12? Years now. I enjoy making Ork models and vehicles from scratch and making the
rules for them. I even have a scratch built Black Ork Warboss in mega armor (Warboss
Gargnob). For the past year and a half the
Black Orks have been an on going project of mine and this is the latest result. I had made
a Black Ork codex but it was a bit much. I’m hoping that more 40K gamers will accept
the Black Orks into their universes in the form of this appendix to the Ork codex. I feel
that Black Orks would make a fun addition to an Ork player’s army and give veteran
Ork enemies a new challenge to have to deal with. If you have any comments or suggestions
you can contact me at: roak@dashlink.com
<>Enjoy and WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!
<>This codex appendix is completely unofficial and in no way endorsed by Games Workshop Limited. This appendix and ideas for it are made with the influence from bits of the game Warhammer 40000, which is property of Games Workshop Limited. Black Orks and several other terms and concepts are intellectual property of Games Workshop Limited and are used without permission. No challenge to their status is intended. This document is intended for private use by individual gamers to expand the hobby of miniatures gaming and is not intended to infringe on the IP rights of Games Workshop Limited. It is not intended for sale or to cause lose of profit from Games Workshop Limited. Games Workshop deserves all the credit for making such a wonderful game that has inspired me to create this appendix. Thanks guys.