Welcome to the final week of Orktober. We’re going to be releasing the last of the Dust Rat rules in the next few days, and then a summary post to make it easier to find all the pieces.
The first part of these campaign rules can be found here.
Dust Rats in Campaign (continued)
Dust Rat Experience
Dust Rats gain experience just like other mobs - for surviving, kicking ass and doing other things that require nerves of steel. Each Dust Rat has a different starting level, representing the experience they have prior to joining the unit. Please note that this doesn't give them stat upgrades or skills, those are earned through additional experience earned during their time in the unit. For example, a Grunt may start with 34 experience points but will not gain an upgrade until he reaches at least 41 experience points.
| Type of Warrior | Initial Experience Points |
|---|---|
| Commanding Officer | 80+1D6 |
| Veteran | 60+1D6 |
| Grunt | 30+1D6 |
| Plank | 10+1D6 |
Dust Rats get all the normal Underdog and Experience bonuses that other mobs get. The table below indicates when a Dust Rats has earned enough experience for a roll on the Dust Rats Advances Table.
| Exp. Points | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 0-5 | Sprog | |
| 6-10 | Meatshield | |
| 11-20 | Plank | Starting level for Planks |
| 21-30 | Plank | |
| 31-40 | Grunt | Starting level for Grunts. Planks who reach this level become Grunts. |
| 41-50 | Grunt | |
| 51-60 | Specialist | |
| 61-80 | Veteran | Starting level for Veterans. |
| 81-100 | Sergeant | Starting level for Commanding Officers |
| 101-120 | Sergeant at Arms | |
| 121-140 | Staff Sergeant | |
| 141-160 | Gunnery Sergeant | |
| 161-180 | First Sergeant | |
| 181-200 | Master Gunnery Sgt. | |
| 201-240 | Sergeant Major | |
| 241-280 | Lieutenant | |
| 281-320 | Captain | |
| 321-360 | Major | |
| 361-400 | Lieutenant?Colonel | |
| 401+ | Colonel | Warriors who reach this level may not advance any further. |
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Dust Rat Advances
Advance rolls should be made after a battle so both players can witness the result. Roll 2D6:
| ADVANCE TABLE | |
|---|---|
| 2D6 | Result |
| 2 | Know-wots. Choose any of the skill tables and randomly generate a skill from it. |
| 3-4 | Know-wots. Select one of the standard skill tables for the mob and randomly generate a skill from it. |
| 5 | ‘Arder. Roll a D6: 1-3 = +1 Strength; 4-6 = +1 Attacks |
| 6 | ‘Arder. Roll a D6: 1-3 = +1 WS; 4-6 = +1 BS |
| 7 | ‘Arder. Roll a D6: 1-3 = +1 Initiative; 4-6 = +1 Leadership |
| 8 | ‘Arder. Roll a D6: 1-3 = +1 BS; 4-6 = +1 WS |
| 9 | ‘Arder. Roll a D6: 1-3 = +1 Wounds; 4-6 = +1 Toughness |
| 10-11 | Know-wots. Select one of the standard skill tables for the mob and randomly generate a skill from it. |
| 12 | Know-wots. Choose any of the skill tables and randomly generate a skill from it. |
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The maximum statline for a Dust Rat is listed below, just as with other mobs, if a characteristic increase would take the warrior above the maximum, the other option is raised instead. If the other one is also maxed out, you may choose one other to increase by 1.
| Max Value | M | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Ld |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DUST RAT | 4 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 9 |
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On a roll of 3-4 and 10-11 on the Advance Table a Dust Rat gains a skill, the table below indicates which skill lists they may choose from. On a roll of 2 or 12 they may ignore the table's restrictions.
| Muscle | Ferocity | Driving | Cunnin’ | Dakka | Odd | Tactical | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| COs | N | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Veterans | N | Y | N | Y | Y | N | Y |
| Grunts | N | N | Y | N | Y | N | Y |
| Planks | N | N | Y | N | Y | N | N |
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Tactical Skills
1. Spotter
A warrior with this skill may choose to sacrifice his shooting to spot for a friendly model within 2". If he does so, the affected model's weapon is given +1 to hit modifier regardless of range, on top of any modifiers the model may already incur for this shot (short or long range, positives or negatives, cover, large target, etc). This represents the warrior assisting a fellow comrade to increase the precision of his marksmanship. so instead of an increased short range, this may be substituted for a +1 to hit modifier when the affected model is shooting. Long range remains unaffected.
2. Ghillied Up
The warrior has learnt to blend into his surroundings through camouflage and field training. If an enemy model wishes to make a ranged attack against the model and the distance is 12" or more then a -1 to hit modifier applies. The warrior must be on foot to receive this bonus, and it is not affected by being Pinned or Down.
3. Show Some Backbone!
(Commanding Officers only) Any model within 6" of the warrior may roll an extra D6 when taking leadership tests for psychology (including headwounds) and choose the two lowest scores. This only applies if the CO is not down or pinned.
4. Field Medic
The warrior has been "promoted" and is now the unit's medic. He may sacrifice his entire turn to tend to a friendly model who has a flesh wound or is Down. On a 5+ the warrior successfully patches them up. Down models stay Down but if they roll a Flesh Wound in the recovery phase they get back up (without a flesh wound), although they can still go OoA on a 6, as it's not guaranteed - this ain't field surgery!
5. INCOMING!!
The warrior has a sixth sense for incoming enemy explosives and has learnt to take cover when he gets that feeling. Takes effect during the enemy shooting phase. Once the enemy has chosen the location to throw his grenade/stikkbomb, (assuming the warrior is in the affected area), he may take an initiative test to avoid being hit. If passed, the warrior moves D3" in a random direction determined by the scatter dice. Then the enemy throws it as normal, working out if it hits or scatters as normal.
6.Suppressing Fire
The warrior has mastered pinning enemies using firearms. If he chooses, the warrior may sacrifice his turn to pin down one enemy warrior within range. Roll to hit as normal to determine whether an ammo roll is required, but disregard the result otherwise. The chosen enemy model may not move or shoot this turn. If they become engaged in hand to hand they will fight back as normal, and frenzied models may not be pinned in this way. This skill may be used on Orks, even though they are normally immune to pinning.
Notes On Skills
Dust Rats benefit from skills exactly as they are written in Da Uvver Book. The one exception is Well 'Ard (Ferocity skill) - as stated in the skill description, only Orks may have this skill, so Dust Rats must re-roll if they get this result.