Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Just had a funny idea for a unit: A Monsterous Creature Grot. Make it a lot bigger than a normal gretchin, of course, but in actuality its only really the size of a Nob maybe. Which of course would be monsterous for a grot. Give it a couple of guns and keep BS3 so it can take advantage of the Monsterous Creature rule for shooting more than one weapon.

Stats would be something like this:

FOC: Elites

Cost: maybe somewhere in the 20-25pts per model range (debatable), plus points for weapon upgrades (see below)

WS 3 BS 3 Str 4 T4 W2 I2 A2 Ld 7 Sv:5+/6++ (Maybe their normal grot cousins gave them some weak forcefield for an invuln save or something) (stats debatable)

Eq: Any combination of two of the following: CCW, slugga, shoota, burna (Maybe taking two of the same gun would make it twin-linked instead of two? Up for debate)

Squad size: 3-10, and if they have at least 5 in a squad they can take a (brave/stupid) Nob herder with normal nob upgrade choices. If they do, though, they lose Move Through Cover (A MC bonus) while he is alive.

Rules: Rage (or whatever the rule is that means they have to assault the nearest enemy). Monsterous Creature (and all the benefits that go along with it). Mob Rule (with each monsterous grot model counting as two "models" for purposes of mob rule?) and Furious Charge are debatable rules bonuses. (Maybe if they take a Nob Herder they gain one or both of these?). Also, for transport purposes they count as two models each.

Special Rules:
-Go Dis Way! Please?: If the squad has a Nob herder with them, they are not affected by the Rage special rule.

-Deys Gone Mad!: At the end of any assault phase (potentially including even the opponents assault phase?) that the Monstrous Grot squad has not been in an assault or shot at an enemy in the previous (owners) shooting phase, roll a D6. On a result of 1 (or even 1-2?), one model in the squad is immediately krumped with no armor or cover saves allowed (invuln allowed) as the monsterous grots get angry with no enemies to fight. If you must krump a model in this way and there is a Nob Herder with the group, roll another D6 before removing a model. On a 4+ (or even a 3+?) on this second D6 roll, you must remove the Nob Herder as the victim (no saves of any kind allowed) as the group turns against him for all his abuse! If the Monsterous Grot unit is in a transport, roll 2d6 for the chance of removing a model (but only remove 1, even if both results are 1 (or 1-2).) They don't like being so cramped!

-Dere's No Way!: No Independent Characters are allowed to join a Monstrous Grot Squad. You don't get to be a big Ork if you are that stupid!


Thoughts? Comments?

More meant to be a funny "what if" than anything

If you remove the "Dey's gone mad/no way" rules, they look remarkably similar to Ork Boyz. I would refine their stats a bit, even a hulking muscular Grot would not be as strong and tough as a S. Marine. Remove the Dey's Gone Mad rule. If you can make a good version of these guys, pm either me or Footslogging, and we could possibly incorporate them into the Grot Codex we have in progress

I think they are different enough from ork boyz to make them interesting but Close Combat enough to make them Orks... Their WS is not as good as even a Boy but their BS is better and they can potentially each take and shoot two guns to make them a fun/weird variant on your standard ork shooting unit.

Plus, the fact that they are monsterous creatures means that all of their hits in CC are power weapon equivalent, plus against vehicles they get to roll 2d6! That means these tenatious grots could potentially pummel a LR in close combat!

For their strength, I would say if you are worried about them being OP, either I can just remove the Furious Charge option, OR make them Str3 base and give them FC. I think its not unreasonable for a monsterous grot the size of a nob to have a base strength of 4 (as nobs themselves are).

In my head they are, fluff wise, giant mutated/experimental/chemically-enhanced/cross-bred grots that are just enraged, less directable and focused than even the normal Ork boy/nob. Hense the Rage rule with directability by a Nob Herder. So I think their special rules give them that crazy orky feel consistant with their fluff and offsets some of the insanity of a squad of monsterous creature pounding around the battlefield. And honestly, depending on how you would write the rules, its only a 1d6 per turn chance (maybe more) that they wound themselves which is saveable by their invuln, and it is only in effect if they are not in assault or even if they managed to shoot at someone that turn, so plenty of opportunity to avoid it.

In regards to Dere's No Way, I could see it being modified perhaps, to say only perhaps Warbosses/Ghazgull could run with them, but it doesn't make sense for a mekboy or weirdboy or other such ICs would risk running around with them. But honestly I like that rule and Dey's Gone Mad! as they stand, if only for balance and flavor. Because an ork unit running around with all those power weapon CC attacks needs to be balanced out with substantial risk/cost. And while they certainly need to be pricey on a per-model basis, it seems like some of that risk should come in the form of the risk of krumping one another, ork-style .

Or simply make the gretchin massive, like the size of a carnifex! Allow only 3 to a squad at maximum, and make them all follow monstrous creatures rules!

What would you use for models?

Well, i'm sure with enough ork bits, green stuff, and then Gretchin parts, combined with a little Creeeeeeed! modeling genius would come up with something.

I personally am not that kind of person.

Why was my first reaction 'isn't a monsterous Grot merely a Ork?'

But I quite like this unit for some reason. I am strangely freaked out by Str 4 MC's, but the idea of the mob of gretchins rending a land raider open is amusing.

But dosn't quite work IMO, but it does make you wonder, wouldn't you pick a Killa Kan over these if you had points and FOC spare?

Compared to a killa kan:

This has more variety for squad size, so its a bit more points flexible.

This is more kitted out to take on enemy infantry elite squads, with power weapon attacks. Kans can do that too, but if your enemy has more anti-vehicle weaponry a kan would be more at risk I suppose, and this unit would have a lot more attacks.

Plus, these guys could ride in a transport, depending on how you took them, making them a bit more mobile. A kan would be a bit slower, having to move and run/assault only up to 12".

A Kan has the benefit of standing up better to small arms fire and potentially having better ranged weaponry. But just imagine, if you could protect these guys well enough, they could take down most other infantry squads in melee (other than some of the super-elite melee units), they'd be a significant threat to horde armies if given enough firepower/flamers before charging in, and with the monsterous creature anti-vehicle bonus, would be a significant threat to any vehicle they came across as well. I guess it would just be a matter of keeping them alive, but so it goes for an Ork player

Chaos Lord Gir wrote:Why was my first reaction 'isn't a monsterous Grot merely a Ork?'

Haha, isn't it though?

There seem to have been a lot of these Grot designs lately, and they've all looked pretty good, though I'm on the boat with everybody else, S 4 is OTT.

See, I kind of like the idea of a Grot that's hulked out, but I don't know if they'd make a good MC for Orks - if you're gonna do something like that then make it a 'Uge Squig or a Squiggoth. Fits more into the fluff and does the same job as you're trying to do with the Monstrous Grots. Just my thoughts, though.

DiscoVader wrote:See, I kind of like the idea of a Grot that's hulked out, but I don't know if they'd make a good MC for Orks - if you're gonna do something like that then make it a 'Uge Squig or a Squiggoth. Fits more into the fluff and does the same job as you're trying to do with the Monstrous Grots. Just my thoughts, though.

Yeah, this is what I was kinda thinking, grots are scary in first place, them being bigger isn't that scary. I think this idea would be better with instead of a nob herder, a grot herder and instead of monstrous grots, make it Giant Squigs, so it kinda mocks the fantasy version..?

'uge grots- 100pts
Just give them a nob's stats (but BS3)
unit composition- 3 'uge grots and a big runtherd.
Wargear ('uge grots):
shoota
choppa
'eavy armour

wargear (big runtherd):
'uge grot prod (S6 power weapon)
slugga
'eavy armour

special rules (monstrous grots):
'dey's gone mad!: If they kill all enemy models in CC, roll a D6. on a failed Ld test, the unit immediately takes D3 wounds and has rage, furious charge and feel no pain for the remainder of the game.
'deres no way!: No IC's may join this unit.
MC

Options:
may have up to 7 additional 'uge grots- 25pts per model
'uge grots make replace thier choppa and/or shoota for:
'uge choppa 10pts
power klaw 25pts
Big shoota 5pts (one for every 3 monstrous grots in the unit)

I really like this idea but a though could be maybe merging them with a grot squad, kind of similar to like a Dark Eldar beastmasters squad were for every runtherd you could take either ten grots or one big grot and merge them as a group, this would make the leader necessary though.

Hi all.
I can vaugley remember in the old Freebooterz lists a
'Renagade Runtherd' with the options to take supa grotz ,and ferociuos squigs
And 'Bad Doc' Painboy with the option to take 'squig brained orks' and grot powered Dreadnought...

So having the option to 'upgrade' a standard Grot mob to a Renagade Runtherd Mob sounds good to me!

0-1
Renagade Runtherd.(Standard profile , but is armed with shoota and powerklaw.)

Up to 20 Supa grots...WS 2 BS 3 S3 T3 W1 I2 A1 Ld 5 Sv 5+ armed with grot shootaz. (Rnge 18" str3 Ap- assault 2)

5 Ferocius squigs. Ws 5 BS - S5 T5 W2 I3 A 3 Ld 2 Sv 5+

So the supa grots are a BIT more resilanat to damage.(Similar to 'umies...)
And the Ferociuos Squigs are the monserous creatures...

just a thought...

TTFN

Maybe this should be in another thread, and have both!
I recommend you PM footsloggin' about including it in C:grots.

As far as a model goes for a monstrous grot you could use a troll from WHFB. They look vaguely grot-like, and with greenstuff you could bulk them out to be even more monstrous.