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Hello everyone I have been working on a few homebrew codexs/datasheets of different sizes. these are all for 40k, they are focused around adding fluffy options to units, and adding new units.
The main idea behind all of these codexes is there should be a good reason to take every option besides just cost, and there should be a lot of options that each do something different, especially for weapons. IE a power sword would be as good as a thunder hammer but both would do something different, and a unit with heavy weapons would do something different than a vehicle with those same heavy weapons.
these changes however are not balanced around competitive 40k (as they could never even be used in competitive), they are also focused mostly on Power level due to that being what I mostly use, and each option being balanced around being as good as another option. However points could be added, and any help with adding them/balancing them would be appreciated.

There are two main things I am working on with this project which is "mega ork codex", and a "9.5 edition"

starting with the mega ork codex https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MiNTR5UOM1guoTFnPZ81zoB96NxuPk3c/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=102868284018921832021&rtpof=true&sd=true
(history of how it came to be)
This is a homebrew codex I have been working since late 7th edition.
When I first started this codex/the ideas within it, I had been playing guard for a bit and wanted to start a shooting army, so I thought Tau, or works. My experience with orks was the fluff, general look of them, and Deff Skwadron. So I thought works were an army full of ramshackle vehicles with a ton of different cool interesting options, and a ton O dakka. So when I look at both the tau, and ork codex I was extremely disappointed with how orks even in 7th seemed to have very little dakka, and options then tau. I understood tau having more accurate, and better shooting. But tau, and even guard seemed to have more options. So I started looking for a ork homebrew codex, the only one I could find was a pretty good one on waaagh.com. However my largest issue with the codex was that every weapon option for vehicles took an equal amount of space. So you could replace 25 transport capacity on a battlefortress with either a baneblade like cannon, or just a deffgun. I wanted mine to be that a deffgun would replace 5 transport space, while a baneblade like cannon would replace more.

(balance/idea of codex)
Like I said above I wanted options to be equal, and have reasons to take options besides just cost. So the codex is largely balanced around PL, and each option should have a reason to take it. for example, a nob choppa should be as good as a power klaw, but they each do different things. One of the main things I working on right now is finding a reason to take a warboss over a warboss in mega armor.
also a lot of vehicles have transport capacity, their capacity can be replaced with weapons. so 2.5 for eavy weapons (big shootas, rokkits, burnas, and etc) 5 for big guns (deffguns, Duel eavy weapons, lobba, and rattle kannons), and 10 for tanky gunz (duel big gunz, Uge kannon, Bubble chukka, and other weapons).
I also wanted units to have interesting abilities so lootas if the unit they shot at the turn is destroyed your army gains 1CP.

9.5 edition https://docs.google.com/document/d/1j5C0rnUrcXw-J6gV3_pXDOkG-j9EqKRAttVe-uc4sjc/edit?usp=sharing
I wanted to do an edition that gave more reason to bring some options, while not having to change any profile. so this can be added to any game of 40k without changing a single profile.
a few of the changes are
-LOS ignoring weapons receive -1 to hit a unit if no unit in their army has LOS to the target.
-units cant auto overwatch (same as 9th)
-auto hitting weapons can freely overwatch and for units within 3” of their unit. In addition the charging unit does not need to be within range of the auto hitting weapon when declaring the charge, for that unit to be overwatched (gives flamers more of a support role)
-units may advance and charge in the same turn however if they do so a single unit may freely overwatch them if they charge.

I'm also working on trying to add vehicle facing rules, without editing any profiles. this would come with weapons drawing LOS from their armor side instead of the weapon (unlike 7th).

I would appricte any help with making these rules from yall .

Automatically Appended Next Post:
And another thing, have you thought of maybe separating the grots into their own army list, there’s a ton of units in there and with strats kulturs and the like keywords could be a nightmare. Maybe make it so normal orks can bring all the standard grot units but there’s a grot army that you could ally with orks to bring in all the specialists, just a thought.

 Some_Call_Me_Tim wrote:
Some opinions on the wargear are:
Big shootas could maybe use a pip of Ap, as is they’re still meh
I think all burnas should be d6 shots tbh and keep the melee
The snipa should be more shots, or a devastating shot if kept at current stats. Right now it reads too much like other races snipers, not like an ork sniper rifle.
Zzappy rifle could be buffed to s6, would make it like volkite sorta, and would make it a little more preferable imo.
The kannon could be tuned up a bit I think, upping the shots on the profile, and maybe going for more reliable damage on the shell/increasing shots
Also, in this meta, d6 damage is eh, which is a shame cause I like it, but it just doesn’t cut it sadly.
Bubble chukka, change it to the index thing where you can roll 4 then assign all of them, maybe roll 5 and you can assign 2 to one stat, might be more chaotic

I have some work to get done so I’ll post some more on here later.

-Im thinking of keeping big shootas the same since I added the 5 shots at half range, and kept them assault. I feel that giving them AP would tread to much on the heavy bolter, and the big shoota should be hitting more due to my change to dakka dakka (6s generate an extra auto hit)
-I feel that if I add d6 then and have it with melee that would make it better than all other flamers, for the burna unit I might make it so it can D6 shots instead of melee for a turn, and with that increase there range to 12"-18" maybe.
-For the ork snipa I would add more shots but then that makes it just a slightly different big shoota, so I'm thinking 24" heavy 1 S7 ap-2 D2 mortal on 6, can shoot characters, add 1 to hit.
-for the zappy I'm thinking of in comparison to the SM Neo-volkite pistol of making the zappy S5 ap-1 D1
-The kannon is meant to be on par with the SM/IG missile launcher so that's why it has the D6 damage, but since it has lower range is more reliable hence the frag 2d3 shots, and shell reroll hit.
-I feel like if I did it as you can assign it would quickly become OP as you could just set it to the best stats for the target.

 vict0988 wrote:
Advancing 30" and charging with 6 units is a bit much with just 1 Storm Warboss. I'd recommend you change it to a flat 6" advance and ignoring the damage for charging after advancing. You also forgot to give the Storm Warboss the Full Throttle ability. The Storm Waaagh ability doesn't do anything since Full Throttle already allows units to Advance and Charge.

I am not really sure how I am supposed to find out what each unit's niche is. Have you done math to ensure you did not accidentally make one unit/weapon the best against everything among the units that you put in a similar category?

What is the purpose of allowing Weirdboyz to cast extra powers at greater risk?

"Keepin’ Order" is cut off without punctuation and isn't clan-locked. It's also a wimpy and time-wastey ability. "each time a Combat Attrition test is taken for that unit, ignore any or all modifiers’." would be faster to resolve and would have a more meaningful impact.

I haven't read your whole codex, but if you haven't reintroduced the 8th edition benefits of having big mobs of Ork Boyz in terms of Stratagems and extra attacks, you could make Mob Rule an ability that only Boyz get to give out a Ld buff to nearby units. Right now it works with Gretchin which I don't know whether is good.

Thank you for bringing these things up
-I fixed the storm warboss as you had said, I also give him the JUMP PACK, FLY keywords
-I have not done the math on any of the weapons, from playing the codex for the past 2ish years every week no weapon out matches the other weapons at everything (from what I have found, I could be wrong)
-Wanted Weirdboyz to be more powerful at a greater risk felt it fit the weirdboy fluff better. might make it so the weirdboy needs to be near boyz and does does not benfit from having more boyz around for the 2nd power.
-I suppose changing Keepin’ Order to "each time a Combat Attrition test is taken for that unit, ignore any or all modifiers" would give it more of a niche, although I would change it to be units within 3"
-For mob rule ill probably change it to gretchin cant benfit from it, and they can not give it out (ie 30 grots don't give LD30)

-In the codex I put big shootas as a eavy weapon equal to the special weapons list, so the Supa shoota is closer to a heavy bolter in the big guns list.
-I suppose I can do a mix of the thing from 7th ed were burnas could either shoot or melee, so Ill do the burna can shoot d6 or they can have their melee profile decision made on a per turn basis.
-What would you make the snipa without it just being a better big shoota/sighlty different big shoota?
-its still a bit different from the Primaris as it can "leap" to other models in that unit
-I agree it ain't great I suppose I could change shell to Damage 3+d3, but I think new dakka dakka+reroll failed hits already helps it a lot, or I could just make it 2 shots and get rid of the reroll, and make frag d6+d3, but then that just ends up with it being a better deffgun.
-I agree d6 ain't great, but its what the lascannon is it, and im basing this codex on midline codexs, although the bigger guns will have more interesting damage/abilites.
-For the bubble chukka im thinking you roll them in order same way it is now but you can then change 2 around, maybe each taking a -1 (to min of 1) if you do so. rolling 5 though and more interesting things I think would be better saved for a larger gun that cant be brought as easily, I dont want to stall the game to much.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
also I have started adding some crusade rules but they arent super well written yet, mostly just for a crusade I'm in right now.

Recently added yoofs to the codex, thinking of giving them some kind of shorter ranged shoota, so they arent just cheaper shoota boys with the same weapon. I'm thinking 12" assault d3 S3 d1.

 Blackie wrote:

 Morkak1 wrote:
Recently added yoofs to the codex, thinking of giving them some kind of shorter ranged shoota, so they arent just cheaper shoota boys with the same weapon. I'm thinking 12" assault d3 S3 d1.

I'd avoid random number of shots for the basic weapon of a unit of 10-30 dudes. Assault 2 instead of assault D3 for example.

that's true, I did not think about the time it would take to roll all of that. What do you think could be done to make them different weapons besides just making an already poor weapon just worst. Im thinking it could be an assault 3 12" S3 D1, like some sort of shotgun/smg.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Some_Call_Me_Tim wrote:
Internal balance is good, but a shoota boy right now is very terrible, getting them for cheaper wouldn’t be too bad external balance wise

do you mean boyz themselves being cheaper, or making so if you take shootas instead of choopas the unit is cheaper? I think shoota boyz are in an ok place right now since they give you a semi-decent shooting attack (due to dakka dakka) in exchange for one melee attack, and a pistol.