Basically, this idea came from a model I bought from
Arcane Miniatures for the Warmachine game. It cost £11.50 inc shipping.
It looked orky, but what could it be? Since it was a metal ball approx 2" in diameter that weighed more than a tray full of killa kans I knew I couldn't attach it to something, so I came up with this:-
Grot Rekkaz!
The downtrodden, miserable life of a grot is just like a sawn-off shoota - it is short, nasty and packed full of violence. The lucky ones get chosen to pilot the fearsome Killa Kans and wreak horrible vengeance on a cruel and uncaring world, but some Grots get to see just what the implantation process does to the not-so-lucky pilots and decide that maybe being put in a Killa Kan is not for them after all. So off they go to the scrap heaps behind the Mek shop, in the dead of night, and steal whatever strips and shards of metal they can. They labour in secret, building something strong, simple and fool-proof, but without any painful cutty bits or slicy probes to mangle their delicate gretchin bodies.
The end result is a Grot Rekka! A massive hamster-ball of bent and hammered scrap metal, with one tiny porthole through which a brave grot can climb. Feedback gyros built into the hull coupled with inertial reduction cogs and perpetual motion synthesizers ensure that the tiny grot inside can power this enormous sphere using only his legs and the vaguest sense of direction.
Some more practically minded Mekboyz, aware of the limitations of grot technical know-wots, stealthily position huge steam-hammers behind the Grot Rekkaz! to ensure they get off to a decent start. The effect the initial hammer-blow has on the grot inside is not an issue that troubles the Mekboy.
Many an Ork victory has been savoured with the dread sight of several unstoppable Grot Rekkaz! grinding relentlessly over the battlefield, crushing troops and vehicles alike. Due to the failure of the gretchin pilots to instal any windows, of course, the troops and vehicles are just as likely to be ork ones as enemy ones, but to the proud Mekboy watching his minions wreak havoc in the name of Mork (or Gork), it's all one.
Grot Rekka! 20 points
BS: 0
Armour
Front: 12
Side: 12
Rear: 12
Unit Composition: 1-3 Grot Rekkaz! may be chosen as a single Heavy Support choice. They are deployed as a single choice, but do not need to be placed together and operate independantly during the game.
Unit Type: Vehicle, Tank
Wargear: None
Special Rules:
DA Enemy Iz Dat Way!: After enemy deployment, the player must secretly write down a target location for each Grot Rekka! in his army. The Rekka! will start the game moving in a straight line towards that point, going at full Cruising speed (12" per Turn and no less!). The Rekka! will Tank Shock or Ram any unit or vehicle in its path, friend or foe! If the Rekka!'s movement in any Turn will take it past the target location then do not stop the Rekka! on the target location but complete the move as normal (ie. try and move the full 12"). Once the Rekka! reaches (or passes) the target location or if it performs a Tank Shock or Ram at any time as part of its movement, then the Rekka! moves randomly (see
Where'z 'E Goin'?) in all subsequent Turns.
Where'z 'E Goin'?: Due to their lack of any actual steering combined with a disoriented and potentially concussed grot pilot, Grot Rekkaz! have a tendency to roam the battlefield at random once their initial surge of speed has expired. Roll the scatter dice each Turn. In the Movement phase the Grot Rekka! must move 6+
D6" in the direction shown by the arrow on the dice. If you roll a hit, the grot pilot manages to sneak a glimpse of the battle through a crack in the armour plate and the player can then choose the direction of movement. All movement is in a straight line and the player must move the full distance. Resolve all Tank Shock and Ram results against friendly units as well as against enemy units.
Spiked Hamster-Ball of Grindy Death: Any Tank Shock made by a Grot Rekka! causes
D6 Strength 7 hits on the victim unit. If the unit elects to make a Death or Glory attack, it takes a further
D6 Strength 7 hits in addition to the usual effects. This does not apply to Ramming. Furthermore, the Rekka! may re-roll failed Dangerous Terrain tests. If the Grot Rekka! suffers a Weapon Destroyed result, reduce the Strength of the hits by 5. Once the Strength reaches 0 any further Weapon Destroyed results will count as Immobilised.
Pinball: If any vehicle Rams the Grot Rekka! then, once your opponent has worked out the results of the Ram and if the Grot Rekka! does not Explode as a result, immediately make a random move for the Grot Rekka! (see
Where'z 'E Goin'?) to represent it being knocked about the battlefield. If you get a hit result the Ork player may choose the direction of movement. If any move would result in the Grot Rekka! impacting the vehicle that Rammed it, then move the Grot Rekka! in the
opposite direction. Resolve any impacts on other units or vehicles as Tank Shocks or Rams as appropriate. Note that the result of the initial Ram still stands, so if eg. the Grot Rekka! was Rammed by a Land Raider and Destroyed - Wrecked as a result then it would pinball away from the collision with the Land Raider, possibly hitting other units, but would count as Wrecked thereafter.
Deep Strike: Sometimes, the Mekboy gets his mitts on the Grot Rekka! before the battle begins and decides to launch it into the middle of the enemy. The ork player may choose to deploy an entire unit of Grot Rekkaz! by Deep Strike. The unit is rolled for as one to come on from Reserves, but when they come on the player must treat each Grot Rekka! as a single unit for the purposes of Deep Striking. The Grot Rekka! will not suffer a Mishap it if lands on a friendly unit or vehicle or on or within 1" of an enemy unit or vehicle. Instead, the Grot Rekka! suffers an automatic Glancing Hit and you must also resolve the collision as a Tank Shock and/or a Ram (resolved against side armour, counting the Grot Rekka! as having moved 12") as appropriate. After Deep Striking all movement will be as per
Where'z 'E Goin'?.
Options:
May take any of the following:
Steam Hammer (+10 points): This makes the Grot Rekka! a Fast vehicle for the duration of the initial move only ie. while the Grot Rekka! is moving from its starting location to its target location. Once it reaches (or passes) the target location or performs a Tank Shock or Ram, the Grot Rekka! ceases to be a Fast vehicle. The Steam Hammer does not need to be represented by a model, since it is used before the game begins and plays no further part in the battle. The player cannot take a Steam Hammer if deploying the unit by Deep Strike.
Grot Squawker (+5 points): Some unusually intelligent (and violent) grots 'persuade' their comrades to act as spotters, allowing them to radio instructions to the grot pilot about where to go next. Allows the player to re-roll the scatter dice and/or the
D6 rolled for distance travelled each Turn, but the player must accept the re-rolled result(s).
Armour plates (+10 points): See Codex: Orks page 93.
Grot Riggers (+5 points): See Codex: Orks page 93.
Sholto
(FAQ: In addition to reaching or passing its target location or performing a Tank Shock or Ram, the Grot Rekka! will also stop its initial move and start random movement if it (i) hits impassable terrain or (ii) suffers an immobilised result and is later repaired by Grot Riggers. These events will also result in the Grot Rekka! losing the benefit of being a Fast vehicle, if the player took a Steam Hammer for it)
