Note on Squigz and Boars – In the ‘Ere Be Stuff expansion we use the term squig to refer to the units that Feral Ork Wildboyz can ride. Since these rules are based on the rules for Boar Riderz, also known as Snortaz, the two terms are used almost entirely interchangeably in this expansion. If you want your Feral Orks to ride pigs and sit atop a massive boar as they wade into battle, that’s also awesome.

Mightee Steedz

While plenty of squigs of various sizes and shapes grow around Mektown, the arid conditions aren’t even close to ideal for them. Up in the Howling Hills however, the cool air, more frequent rainfall and volcanic ash provide an environment that makes all things Orky grow a bit better and bigger. Mighty mushroom stalks like redwood trees came first, providing cool shade and then the squigs began to grow. And grow. And grow! Giant squiggoths roam the mushroom groves, eating the flora and fauna without discrimination. The Weirdboyz have found they can exert some degree of control over these behemoths and at Weirdboy’s direction, have put them to work in fighting the other denizens of Angelis, serving as mighty mounts carrying the squabbling Feral Orks into battle.

 

Squiggoth movement

Squiggoths are large and lumbering but can give a fair bit of speed if whipped enough as long as the driver doesn’t get too over enthusiastic and lose control of the beastie.
Squiggoths move like Ork traks, i.e. 6" gas engines, 5" thrust, however as soon as a thrust test is failed the driver has over done it and must roll on the Rampaging Squiggly Beast table.
Rampaging Squiggly Beast Table

• 1 – Rampage!
  The beast counts as having no driver for this turn (see pg. 34 of Da Roolz). Next turn the driver must pass a leadership test in order to regain control or the beast continues rampaging.
• 2 – Charges 2D6" in a random direction (roll the scatter dice to determine which direction)
• 3 – The beast bucks wildly, throwing any crew off (does not include the driver, who has reins to hold onto). Each crew member may attempt to stay aboard by rolling equal or under their Strength, if they succeed they are unaffected but can do nothing else this turn.
• 4+ – The beast lumbers 5" forward

Slow speed manoeuvres

Squiggoths may perform slow speed manoeuvres as detailed on page 32 of Da Roolz.

 

Ramming and Squashing Models On Foot

Squiggoths are snarling behemoths and their simple brute and ferocious nature is testament to that. They eat anything they can chew and headbutt everything else. This is represented in game terms in that it can ram like any other vehicle with one exception, in head-on collisions with other vehicle they simply are not as tough. In the case of a head-on ram with another vehicle (this does not apply to other Squiggoths…they’re quite soft-headed) it will only inflict D3 damage on its opponent, instead of the usual D6 damage.
While trukks, traks and buggies rely on their crew to inflict most of the damage, Feral Orks struggle to keep the Squiggoths from causing too much. Their snarling snapping maws often maul anyone foolish enough to stand too close. Models on foot that are run down, raked, or sideswiped by a Squiggoth will take a S5 hit, rather than the S3 hits as detailed on page 39 of Da Roolz.

 

Squiggoth Hit Location Table

1. Crew (randomly determined member) – Armour Value: 8
One of the ‘invaluable’ members of the crew has been hit. If there is more than one crew member, randomly determine which one it is before rolling on the table below for damage. Any warrior that goes down while on the vehicle, topples over the edge landing D3" away from it in a randomly determined direction, suffering a further S3 hit on the roll of 4+.
If there is no crew on the Squiggoth then the driver is hit instead.

• 1-3 Stray Shot! The crew member is lucky enough to dodge out the way. Unfortunately, none of his other mobsters are as aware of their surroundings. Randomly determine any model on the Squiggoth (except the driver). He takes a S3 hit.
• 4 Impaled! The crew member is jostled by the hit, falling back into some pointy shrapnel. He takes a single S4 hit.
• 5 Lost footing! The crew member struggles to remain standing and must roll under his strength on a D6 to remain on the Squiggoth. If failed, he falls, landing D3" away from the Squiggoth in a randomly determined location, taking a S4 hit.
• 6 Hit! The crew member takes the hit from the weapon as normal. In the event of a ram, swipe, rake, crash or collision, he takes a S3 hit.

2. Fixed Weapon – Armour Value: 8
The fixed weapon is hit! Roll a D6 to determine the results. In the event the Squiggoth has no fixed weapon, then the crew is hit instead.
If the Squiggoth has no fixed weapons then the crew is hit instead.

• 1 Me ‘and! The gunner (for Orky reasons) got his hand stuck in the dakka end. Getting it out was quick and painless for him, but the weapon needs a quick fix. The weapon cannot fire in the mob’s next shooting phase.
• 2 Bent! It is frustrating enough to aim one way and it to fire the other, but now the thing is bent, firing off to one side. The gunner may continue to use the weapon but does so at -1 BS for the remainder of the game (this penalty does not apply to firing any other weapons).
• 3 Blocked! The hit has dislodged a worky bit that keeps getting stuck when trying to reload. The weapon may still fire as normal, but takes a whole turn to reload. (The weapon cannot be used the next turn, but the turn after.)
• 4-5 Broken Trigger! The weapon is relatively undamaged, except that the trigger has broken off and nobody has realised…or even noticed. The weapon cannot be used for the rest of the battle.
• 6 TWANG! The tiny thread of rope binding the weapon together has snapped, flinging wood, squig bitz and bow strings everywhere! The weapon cannot be used for the rest of the battle and the Gunner receives a S2 hit.

3. Gubbinz – 8
If the Squiggoth has any Gubbins then randomise which is hit. On a 4+ it is damaged and can’t be used for the rest of the battle. It will be automatically repaired before the next game.
If there are no Gubbins then the Squishy Bitz are hit.

4. Legs – 8

• 1-3 Hamstrings are Gammy things! Its hard to run with bullets and shrapnel in your legs, so its no surprise that the Squiggoth slows down. It is at -1 Movement for both regular and thrusting movements. This is cumulative and if it reaches 0, it is immobilised and crippled.
• 4 Taken aback! The blow to the legs has sent the Squiggoth off balance. It swerves before rolling on the Rampage table.
• 5 ‘Urty Bitz! The hit gets the Squiggoth in a sensitive area that is agonizing. Roll on the Rampage table to see the results. On the result of 4+, instead of lumbering forward 5", it is immobilised and crippled, representing just how much damage was done on the inside.
• 6 Swept off ya feet! The Squiggoth’s feet are almost literally kicked out from under it and it falls flat on its face. It is immobilised (but not crippled).

5. Driver – 8
If there is no driver then the Squishy Bitz are hit instead.

• 1 Close Call! The shot buries itself in the driving seat without even touching the driver. It as no effect.
• 2 Whoops! It was such a close call that the driver wasn’t paying attention and must take a leadership to regain control. If failed, roll on the Rampage table.
• 3 Impaled! The crew member is jostled by the hit, falling back into some pointy shrapnel. He takes a single S4 hit.
• 4-6 Hit! The driver is hit by the weapon as normal. In the event that it was a collision, ram, rake, swipe or crash. He receives a S4 hit.

6. Squishy Bitz – 10

• 1 Buck! The Squiggoth rears up in pain. Roll on the Rampage table to see the effects. After the results, the Squiggoth is deemed crippled and immobilise.
• 2 Stagger! The Squiggoth goes into some sort of daze from the force of the blow. It staggers D6" in randomly determined direction before just lying down. It is the driver’s fun job of waking it up. Roll a D6 each time you are trying to get it to move.
  • 1 Roll on Rampage Table
  • 2-4 It remains still
  • 5 It can move, but no thrusters
  • 6 Immobilised and crippled.
• 3 Don’t Panic! The events of the battle are making the Squiggoth as stubborn as it is bad tempered. The driver has to whip it to get it to go anywhere. The Squiggoth can only move as if it is thrusting for the remainder of the game.
• 4 Hang on! The Squiggoth bolts forward as if its being whipped. It must thrust forward until the player fails a thrust test or it hits something.
• 5 ‘Ope dat wazn’t important… Something blue and wibbly is hanging out of the Squiggoth and oozing. Seeing as Red ‘Unz go fasta, it becomes clear that blu’ ‘unz slow you down. The Squiggoth slowly lumbers around before tiring, collapsing in a messy heap. It is immobilised and crippled.
• 6 Troublesome beast! The Squiggoth has been put off by all the action. The driver must pass a leadership test each time in order to control it. If passed, it acts as normal. If failed, it swerves and moves D6" forward.

Squiggoth Permanent Damage Table

• 11-13 Dead!
  • A combination of blood loss, organ damage and general mistreatment have caused the Squiggoth to die. If one mob bottled out, the other gains an extra 2D6 teef stripping the carcass for tasty meat if they leave a Boy (or equivalent unit) to strip it. The model left to strip the carcass doesn’t contribute anything else to the mob’s income this game.
• 14-16 Badly Mangled
  • The Squiggoth has taken severe damage and is barely alive. Roll a further D6 times on the permanent damage table, ignoring Dead, Captured, Furious Regeneration or Minor Injuries.
• 21-22 Tender Areas
  • The damage has made the Squiggoth more vulnerable to attacks. Reduce it’s armour over all areas by 1.
• 23-24 Exposed Nerves
  • The damage has exposed some nerve beds, making it easier to harm the Squiggoth . Any rolls on the Squishy Bitz table are at a +1
• 25-26 Numb Areas
  • The Squiggoth has numbed areas around where its reins are attached, making it harder for it to interpret steering commands. When making a leadership check to turn or swerve, its taken at a -1 penalty.
• 31-32 Stumbling Gait
  • The Squiggoth legs don’t quite move in sync any more, violently rocking all aboard. All ranged attacks made from the squiggoth are taken at a -1 penalty.
• 33-34 Gammy Leg
  • The Squiggoth has a hobbling limp and its movement is reduced by D3". Roll now to find out how much to subtract from its movement score.
• 35-36 Stubborn
  • The Squiggoth has a bad attitude as a result of being shot, rammed, burned and poked all the time. Before a battle, roll a D6. On a one, the squiggoth cannot be persuaded to behave and is not available for the battle.
• 41-56 Minor Injuries
  • The damage isn’t as bad as it could have been. A few delicious squigs and a tickle in just the right spot will make sure the beast is ready for the next battle.
• 61-63 Captured
  • The enemy mob has captured the squiggoth and is going to cut it up for food to eat and sell for which they will gain 2D6 Teef. The Feral Orks have one chance to recapture their squiggly beast before it ends up between two slices of fungus bread, using the normal vehicle recovery scenario.
• 64-65 Battle Scarred
  • The beast has many mighty slashes and scars all over it making it look tougher and scarier. All warriors on board the vehicle have +1 to Leadership, riding atop the seemingly invincible behemoth.
• 66 Furious Regeneration
  • The battle has triggered a flood of signal compounds which have activated a flurry of mitosis and cellular regeneration. The Squiggoth is healed of all permanent damage by the process and has no further effects.

Squig Ridin’

Squigz are wild, dangerous and at the best of times, utterly unmanageable. Still, occassionally mad Wildboyz will attempt to ride on the bigger squigz and with a little patience and lots of delicious yummies as incentive, the squigz can be persuaded to at least bite enemies before allies.

Becoming a Squig Rider

When a Wildboy wants to become a Squig Rider he must go off into the Howling Hills to find a Squig to call his own. When you purchase a Squig for him to ride, the Wildboy misses his next battle while he trains the squig not to kill him and to tolerate him riding it into battle. After one battle has elapsed, the Wildboy returns to your mob, dead chuffed as his new pet runs roughshod over his enemies. Squigz purchased at mob creation are available immediately without the one battle waiting period but any purchased subsequently must undergo the training period.

Movement

An Ork riding a Squig moves at 7". Squigz can charge and gallop in exactly the same way as muties, but since squigz are considerably less co-operative than Mutie Beasts, Wildboyz cannot fire on the gallop, or set Overwatch. Due to the roaring and slavering, Squig Riderz cannot hide.

Shooting from a Squig

Squig Riderz have a 90 degree fire arc to the front just like a footer. Feral Orks can use the following Ranged Weapons when mounted on a Squig: Boomerang, Spear, Sling, Bolas. Regular Bows and Crossbows can be used if the Ork passes a successful initiative check but if he fails, the Squig goes wild. See Squigz Wild!! for a description of how this functions.
Shooting at Squig Riderz: Shooting at a Squig Rider follows the same procedure as normal. If the Squig moves at over 10", there is an additional -1 to hit modifier due to the speed (and dustcloud!) Squig Riderz are not driven off by enemy fire like Muties are. In fact they’re more likely to charge the enemy!

Close Combat

Squig are brutal in close combat and give the Rider an additional attack in melee combat. When mounting a Wildboy on a Squig, be sure to add +1 to his attack statistic!
Saving Throws: Due to the shifting, rampaging nature of the Squig, Squig Riderz have a natural 6+ armour save, just like Muties.

Picking up and carrying Scrap Counters

Riderz must stop for a turn to pick up Scrap just like Muties, they suffer no movement penalty for carrying it and may only carry one counter.
Attacking Vehicles: Riderz do not dismount in battle. When they attack a vehicle they test initiative as normal, but do not board the vehicle. A Rider who successfully attacks a vehicle fights a crew member as normal, but the crewman will only fall off his vehicle if he goes down, and the Rider is simply moved out of contact with the vehicle if he loses, in addition to any wounds he may take. The vehicle may move away from the Rider in its next movement phase as normal, but may not sideswipe the Squig Rider.

Squigz and Forts

Squigz cannot climb fort walls, and therefore will need to destroy the gate of the fort to get in. Squigz count as footers when trying to get through holes in the gate.

Squigz Wild!!

While Wildboyz may claim to have "tamed" their squig, it couldn’t be further from the truth. The only thing keeping the Squig in any semblance of line is the reigns the Orks have crudely lashed to them. Dropping these for even a moment will be taken as an act of weakness (or deliciousness) and the squig will attempt to escape. The details of when this can happen are listed below.

• Rider goes down
  A Squig automatically Goes Wild if its rider goes Down. If the rider goes Out of Action, the squig runs away- remove the model as usual.
• Gets Bitten
  Wild Squigz bite everything in sight, including other Squigz!. If a Wild Squig moves within 1" of another Squig, then the rider must pass a Leadership test or his squig goes wild as well!
• Gets Rammed
  Any attempt to Sideswipe or Run Over a Squig Rider will not be taken well. Once the attack has been resolved, the rider must pass a Leadership test to control his Squig, even if the attack missed or did no damage.
• Grabbin’ Scrap
  Grabbing a Scrap counter means letting go of the reigns. Oops. The rider must test his Leadership after digging up some scrap. If he fails, the squig goes wild, but the Scrap is still collected.

Squigz Gone Wild

A Wild Squig moves D6" in a random direction determined by scatter dice at the start of the movement phase, Due to the delicate means needed to regain control through beating, yelling and biting, the Ork is too busy to engage in ranged combat until he regains control of his squig. During the Recovery Phase, the Wildboy can attempt to regain control of his squig by making a Leadership roll. If he passes, the squig will calm down a little and can be directed as normal again. If a Wild Squig moves into contact with an enemy model it immediately begins the happy task of chewing on the enemy and combat will proceed as normal with the Squig Rider counting as having charged the enemy.The squig will be under the riderz control again after the combat resolves. If the rider is down when this happens however, he is put Out of Action and the model is removed from play. Wild Squigz never willingly attack vehicles and stop 1" short of a vehicle if wild movement would bring them into contact with it.

 

Changing Riderz

Occasionally an Ork will no longer be suitable for riding a squig and the reins must be passed to another. To transfer ownership of squig to another wildboy, both the current and future rider must miss a battle while the current rider shares his secrets of how he got the squig to not kill him.

 

Death of a Rider

If a squig rider dies as a result of battle, there’s no time to pass on the secrets of what persuaded this particular squig to tolerate him and it runs off into the wilderness in the wake of its riders death.

Tags: Feral Orks

This entry was posted on Friday, July 22nd, 2011 at 19:17 and is filed under Campaign Stuff, Ere Be Stuff, Experimental, House Rules. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.