So, I'm starting some tenative work on an Orky Fandex that, when finished, I'll toss up in the fan rules section for proper disection that'll lead to a second draft. LONG way from being done mind you, but here are some early concepts in my head.
Warlord is roughly akin to a Space Marine Chapter Master. You only get one per army, but they're big-n-bad. Comes with an extra rule that they may lead a Detachment but not an Allied force (see below for more on this.)
Warboss is akin to the missing Space Marine Lieutenant, weaker (and cheaper!) than a Warboss. Your basic get stuck in, rock 'ard Ork leader.
Mekboss replaces Big Mek in name only (so all
HQ people will have 'Boss' or 'Lord' as a name for unity) and won't be as fighty as a Warboss but will be more shooty. WIll also have access to Mekboy only gear.
Painboss joins up as the final
HQ option, being like a Mekboss but with different gear options just for him.
The Warlord will have access to a "Nobz Mob" bodyguard, while the bosses will have a different, but similar, bodyguard option.
I'm debating the addition of a "Weirdboss" psycher
HQ option. We'll see how the rest develops, but it's a possibility.
From there, it's a lot of cleanup on the units, much of which is probably well known from years of discussion in the Ork ranks. I'm wanting to fiddle a bit with Clan rules, however, not unlike Chapter Tactics, that will give the Orks some more flavor. Goffs, for instance, get the blanket Feel No Pain 6+ rule on all Ork models, while Evil Sunz get Bailout (Save of 4+ against vehicles exploding nearby or when in a destroyed transport), and so on.
The biggest new rule will probably be "Tribal Allies".
The rough rule in my head for this is that INSTEAD of the normal Ally rule, Orks can take Tribal Allies. For every 500 points of the game, you may take one Tribal Ally, which is an Ork ally (1
HQ, 2 Troops, up to 1 each of the other three) as normal. This reflects a Warlord that's conquered smaller tribes and sewn them into one larger warband, encouraging more "fat" Ork armies. This'll also let people play with the Clan rules a bit more, as different Clan leaders will change the composition of the army somewhat. (Evil Sunz can take Trukkboys as troops, for instance) Thus, you can get themed "subgroups" in your overall force.
Lots of work to do on it yet, but it should be fun.