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THE ORC COLOSSES Version 1.2 By Scott Di Bartolo
Navigation
Index
Classification Fleet Restrictions
Movement Momentum Special Movement Ram Running Aground Pushing
Off
Colosses Template Combat Smash-Hammers
Iron Clawz Attacking The
Colosses Below Waterline Hits
Crew Boarding Actions
The Admiral Wizards and Magic
Mow and Kustom Kards Point Cost
Designer Notes
BACKGROUND
If you were asked to list the most renowned and reputable naval fleets in the Warhammer world, many names would come to mind. Surely the High Elves would be at the top of the list - for no one can out-sail the Elven captains racing across the seas in their sleek Dragon, Eagle and Hawkships. Next in line would undoubtedly have to be the Bretonnians, with their proud naval history secondly only to that of the Elves. What man would not be awed by the sight of a mighty Galleon with it’s great sails billowing in the wind or by the grace and beauty of a squadron of Corsairs performing maneuvers with impeccable precision? And what of the Imperial fleet? Although they may not have the speed of the Elves or the majesty of the Bretonnians, the Empire does have some of the most innovative and unique ships afloat - like the Hell-hammer and Ironfist to compliment their already potent fleet of Greatships, Wolfships and Wargalleys. Even the Dwarves could be on your list. Who would not be afraid to see a Dreadnought turning all of it’s guns to bear or maybe a Nautilus dropping beneath the waves to fire a deadly clockwork torpedo in your direction? And finally, let’s not forget the most dreaded sight of all, a Black Ark of Naggaroth, filled with monstrous beasts and unspeakable horrors seeking to destroy all that is good in the world.
But what about the Orcs you say? Can’t they wreck havoc on enemy ships with their lumbering Hulks? In some cases that would be true, but unfortunately, most of the time the Hulks are left to fight the battles on their own, as they get little or no support from the Bigchukka’s, and lose the Drillakilla’s in a comical attempt to sink the enemies man o’ wars. What little meat there is in an Orcish fleet is very lean indeed.
Well, all that has now changed. Embarrassed by countless losses in numerous conflicts, the Orc Enjuneerin Boyz set out making a ship that would instill fear in all who would see it. Enter the COLOSSES, - one of the biggest ships ever to sail the seas - large enough to compare to the massive part of a Black Arc that sits above the waterline. Utilizing all types of existing Orc naval weaponry, as well as having a few new twists to surprise the enemy, the Colosses is truly a ship to be feared.
Recently some Orc Kaptins had customized their ships with various things copied after ships from other fleets. Enemy grapeshot has always been a big pain in the butt (so to speak) to the Orcs, but wasn’t a viable option for their own use as gunpowder and Orcs don’t mix. So some other way of cutting down an enemy crew before a boarding action was needed. Some Kaptins had been keeping caged squigs onboard and releasing them during a boarding action. This was a good idea, but what if you could get the squigs on the ship before a boarding action? Thus the idea for the Squig Loaders was born. Another Kaptin had been having great luck with a crude ram he had mounted on the bow. It was causing great concern among the unfortunate Imperial Admirals who had come across this innovative Orc Kaptin.
As far as all the existing Orc weaponry was concerned, the Orc Enjuneerin Ladz settled on the credo "The more the merrier!" So, if one Smash-Hammer worked well, three were even better. Multiple Iron Claws and banks of Bigchukka’s were also figured into the overall plan. Better still was the addition of some crude rotating platforms for the fore claws and bigchukka’s - an idea stolen from the beardy gits!
Fitting all this onto one hull did prove to be a challenge, but after several complete failures, a modified hull was made from three Hulks. This gave the Colosses the distinction of being the largest ships afloat - baring the Black Arks of Naggaroth. The Colosses is as big as the part of a Black Arc that is seen above the water. Power came from three separate tread wheels with two being mounted on the sides so turning in place would be possible. Finally a ship of this magnitude would need an awful lot of Orc Ladz to crew it, but that would just mean that much more to fear from those who would attempt to board it.
All in all, the Colosses is a powerful addition to the Orc fleet. With all the field tests now complete, the only Colosses that exists is somewhere on the Sea of Claws, waiting for the real mission it was designed for - the annihilation of any who would dare face it!
CLASSIFICATION Back to Index
The Orc Colosses is a Man O’ War in every sense of the word. But instead of giving it the classification of a Man O War, a new class has been designated for a ship of this size - the Admiral Class. There can only ever be ONE Admiral class ship in a fleet. It will ALWAYS be the admiral’s ship when part of the Orc fleet. The wizard must also begin the game on the Colosses and if using the WAAAGH magic supplement, the most powerful Shaman must be on the Colosses. Man O’ War cards are given to the Colosses as per the normal rules, as well as the Kustom Kards if those optional rules are being used - which are very cool and I heartily recommend using them.
FLEET RESTRICTIONS Back to Index
An Admiral Class ship counts as a Man O War class ship for all other rules and requirements, but there may only ever be ONE Admiral Class ship in a fleet. The Orc Colosses represents the very latest from the Orc Enjuneerin Ladz. The amount of head scratching, fist pounding and chest thumping that went into the making of the Colosses is unparalleled in Orc naval history. It is the pinnacle of Orc technology and because of this there may only ever be ONE Colosses in an Orc fleet regardless of how many points per side are being used. As per the fleet requirements, an Orc fleet can’t have more MOW’s than SOL squadrons. Normally, the admirals ship does not count towards this total, but as the Colosses is equal in firepower and strength to three hulks, this would be unbalanced. To offset this, but still give the Orc player some leeway in building his fleet, the Colosses counts as TWO MOW’s - but only for fleet purchasing requirements
MOVEMENT Back to Index
The Colosses, like the Hulks, have two modes of movement - tread wheel and sail. Using its tread wheels it may travel up to 4". Under sail, the Colosses has a movement rate of 4" of if the wind is astern, 6". When making turns, the Colosses may either use the normal turn template, or turn in place - as long as its side tread wheels are intact. Because of its enormous size, the degree of rotation is different than other ships. Turning up to 45 degrees costs half its movement. It may also turn up to 90 degrees for it's full movement cost - but if turning past 45 degrees at all, no other movement is possible for that turn. The Colosses may reverse up to 3" as long as both fore and aft paddle wheel locations are intact. If one or the other is damaged, the reverse rate drops to 2". Turns are possible in reverse. Another factor contributing to the Colosses’s movement is MOMENTUM and is discussed in the next section below.
The summary for the movement of the Colosses
is listed below.
|
TREADWHEEL: |
(Momentum Movement is not shown) |
SAILS: |
|
|
Forward: |
4" |
Forward: |
4" (6") |
|
Reverse: |
3" - If both paddle
wheels locations intact. |
Reverse: |
May not reverse. |
|
Turn in Place: |
45 degrees - 1/2 move
|
Turn in Place: |
May not turn in place. |
MOMENTUM Back to Index
Barring the Black Arcs of Naggaroth (which have the majority of their bulk underwater), the Colosses is one of the largest vessel that sails the seas. Where as most ships have hulls the extend deep into the water, the Colosses is a huge barge, and therefore rests more on top of the sea instead of within it. Due to this tremendous size, the Colosses tends to keep moving once it gets going - changing directions and stopping are not the easiest things for the Colosses to do. This effect is called momentum and it is certain to both please and aggravate the Orc admiral during a battle.
To simulate the effects of momentum, the following rules will be used.
A few examples of momentum movement are described below.
The Colosses is moving under tread wheel and moves 4" straight. The Orc player places a 2" momentum marker next to or behind the Colosses so he knows to move those 2" next turn. This marker is pointed in the direction that the Colosses is moving during the 2" segment of movement. At the beginning of the Colosses’s next turn, he must first move the Colosses ahead 2" BEFORE any other movement can take place for the Colosses.
Another example… The Colosses is moving under sail and has 6" (wind astern) of movement. He moves straight ahead 2" (places a 1" momentum marker in the same direction), turns to port (for 2" - but not straight, so no momentum builds up), and then moves 2" straight again (and places a 2nd 1" momentum counter in this "new" direction he has just traveled). The Orc player has 2 separate momentum counters on the board for next turn, both in different directions. Once it’s the Colosses’s turn again, the Orc player MUST move the Colosses in the direction of the 1st marker (even though it now doesn't face in that direction, simply slide the WHOLE ship that direction 1 inch). Then the Orc player MUST move the Colosses in the direction of the 2nd, before any player movement for the Colosses as before.
REMEMBER that when you are moving the Colosses from momentum (in a direction that is not the same as what it is currently headed in) - you "push" the ship in the direction of the momentum arrow(s), (which may contradict with it’s current facing). This is just fine - you are simulating a "skidded" turn in a sense, and this is what makes it difficult for the Orc admiral to use the Colosses effectively. As you can see, momentum can be helpful when you want to keep moving in the same direction, but it can be a huge hindrance once you change it.
Here is an example where no momentum occurs. Moving under tread wheel, the Colosses goes 1" forward, turns to starboard for a 2" turn and then moves straight again 1". Because neither straight move was at least 2", no build up occurs.
It is important to note that even though momentum can be effectively "cancelled" by simply backing up, the momentum movement of the miniature MUST still take place, and then reverse from there. This allows all to see if any involuntary collisions occur, which may damage any of the involved ships.
It is possible to abuse the momentum rules
to the Orc admiral’s advantage. For
example, moving under tread wheel, he turns to port (2") and then thinks
about moving 2" straight to end his move and use his weapons. Realizing
that next turn he would have to move 1" ahead for momentum (which he
doesn’t want to do!) he makes a very slight turn (nearly straight) so
the momentum doesn’t build. This is bending the rules in your favor and is not
in the spirit of the game. A simple solution is to say that a turn must
be at least ½ of the turn template to cancel out the momentum. Hopefully, this
rule will not be needed in your games.
SPECIAL MOVEMENT Back to Index
Special movement covers both moving the
Colosses with ships that are grappled or in contact with it and/or moving
through wrecks. The chart below shows how the Colosses moves when it has
various sized ships in it’s Iron Clawz, or the size of the wreck(s) it is
trying to move through. Simply total up the purchase cost of all ships
grappled, in contact with or that are wrecks and look at the chart below.
|
Grappled ship(s) point total |
Movement effect on Colosses |
|
150+ |
Must push off to move.
|
|
75 -149 |
½ Movement, no push off needed. |
|
25 - 74 |
No effect on movement. |
To figure the point total for a single ship in a Ship-of-the-Line squadron, divide the total point cost by 3. Ex: Corsair squadron of 300 pts = 100 pts each, a Wargalley squadron of 150 points = 50 pts each.
RAM ATTACKS Back to Index
The Colosses is equipped with a heavy metal plate on the bow and may make ram attacks as described below.
|
Type |
Momentum Used |
Ram Table/Save |
|
|
Moved |
"3-4" |
No |
Normal/ Normal |
|
|
"3-4" |
Yes |
Normal/-1 |
|
|
"4-5" |
Yes |
Long Distance/Normal |
|
|
"5-6" |
Yes |
Long Distance/-1 |
|
Contact |
"0" |
No* |
Secondary/+1 |
|
|
"0" |
Yes* |
Secondary/Normal |
* These rams happen on the next turn after a ram has occurred if the target is still in contact with the Colosses. Momentum in these cases refers to if momentum had built up from the previous turn, not to whether or not momentum was used this turn to attack.
RAM TABLES
|
Normal Ram:
|
(Normal or -1 to |
Long Distance Ram: |
(Normal or -1 to |
Secondary Ram:
|
(Normal or +1 to |
|
1-2 |
1 Below Waterline hit. |
1 |
1 Below Waterline hit. |
1 |
0 Below Waterline hits. |
|
3-4 |
2 Below Waterline hits. |
2-3 |
2 Below Waterline hits. |
2-3 |
1 Below Waterline hit. |
|
5-6 |
3 Below Waterline hits. |
4-5 |
3 Below Waterline hits. |
4-5 |
2 Below Waterline hits. |
|
|
|
6 |
4 Below Waterline hits. |
6 |
3 Below Waterline hits. |
RUNNING AGROUND Back to Index
The Colosses is considered a barge and
therefore has a very shallow draft in the water. If the Colosses moves over any
terrain, the Orc player must make a Below Waterline save attempt. This save is
made at +1 due to the ship construction. If successful, nothing else happens,
and the Colosses may move away as normal. If the save fails, roll on the
special table below.
|
Roll |
Damage |
|
1 |
3 Below Waterline hits. |
|
2-3 |
2 Below Waterline hits. |
|
4 |
1 Below Waterline hits. |
|
5-6 |
0 Below Waterline hit. |
If damage was taken, the Colosses is considered stuck until it can break free. At the beginning of each battle phase for the Colosses, roll a die. Due to it’s size, the Colosses may only move away on a roll of "6". Each subsequent battle phase, add +1 to the die roll. No other damage occurs while stuck, and all weaponry may be used normally.
PUSHING OFF Back to Index
Pushing off is only needed when the Colosses is in contact with a ship that costs 150 points or over. If the ship is grappled, you may simply release it from the Iron Clawz and no push off is needed. Pushing off from enemy ships in contact is done normally but if pushing off from multiple enemy ships be sure that you move the ships in the correct direction to clear a path. This still costs ½ of your movement, regardless of how many ships you push off from. Special Movement rules take priority over the rules for pushing off. For example, you don’t need to push off from a single Wargalley, you may just move normally, Where a Greatship would have to be pushed off from (1/2 movement) before any other movement takes place.
COLOSSES TEMPLATE Back to Index
The template on the Colosses is unique from most of the other ships in the Warhammer world. Like other MOW class vessels, it is divided into High and Low areas, giving the enemy multiple sections to target. However, the Colosses is further divided into a Bow and Stern section, due to its long length on the water. This gives it four areas, which can be targeted by enemy ships. Because the Colosses is so long, a single range ruler is inadequate when placed along a broadside edge during combat. Since the template has a Bow and Stern section - each with their own complement of broadside Bigchukkas, it became evident that some fundamental changes would be needed when resolving combat with the Colosses.
The main change is that the Colosses has been given TWO range rulers for each side of the ship. Essentially, one for each side of the Bow section and one for each side of the Stern section, both of which can be used depending on where the enemy ships are. When using range rulers for the side weaponry, simply place the template on the appropriate side using the midpoint of the center treadwheels as a guide for the edge of either template. So, if you were to place both Bow and Stern range ruler templates down on one side of the miniature, they would be parallel and touching, centered to either side of the side wheel. The other changes that pertain to combat are discussed in more depth in the next section.
COMBAT Back to Index
The Colosses is equipped with a vast arsenal of weaponry onboard. The usual Orc array of Bigchukka’s, Smash-Hammers, and Iron Clawz are there, as well as a few new items like Squig Launchers and a Ram. As previously mentioned, what differs most on the Colosses from other ships is its fields of fire, which are shown by the range rulers (RR).
The Colosses has a total of 15 Bigchukkas facing in all directions around the ship. There are 2 facing fore, 3 to both left and right broadsides in the fore section, 3 to both left and right in the stern section, and 1 facing aft, or rear. Having dual broadside range rulers, a couple of changes in the way the Colosses targets enemy ships were needed. To figure what enemy ships can be targeted and which Bigchukkas can fire at them you need to place both broadside range rulers and determine which one the nearest enemy ship falls more into. If an enemy ship is more in the Stern RR, then only the stern Bigchukkas may fire at it. However, this ship then DOES NOT block line of sight for the Bow RR. Simply treat this ship as if it wasn’t there, and target the next nearest ship in the Bow RR. In other words, if a ship is a target in one RR, it is ignored in the other for targeting purposes.
The two fore Bigchukkas are mounted on turrets and have 90-degree fields of fire similar to a Dwarf Dreadnought. Both turrets may target the same ship if desired, providing it lies in both range ruler’s field of fire. Either turret may combine to the appropriate bow broadside attack if the Orc player chooses to do so. For the turreted attacks, roll a d6 before making your attack roll to determine the hit location. If a "1" is rolled, the turret has jammed and on subsequent turns may only fire straight ahead until it is un-jammed during an end phase. During each end phase (after Blaze Spreading rolls), the Orc Player rolls a die and if a 5-6 is rolled, the turret has been fixed and is free to fire normally. Note that this only affects the side that the "1" was rolled on, not both Bigchukkas. If a "1" is rolled during the actual die attack it is only a miss, not a jammed turret.
Resolving multiple bigchukka attacks are simply done one-by-one. Resolve each attack separately until either a save is made or the shot passes through the bottom of the ship as you would normally for Bigchukkas. All other bigchukka rules apply.
SMASH-HAMMERS Back to Index
The Colosses is armed with three Smash-Hammers, one to the front and one to each side of the Stern broadsides. The front Smash-Hammer is used just like one on a Hulk. Areas of attacks for the Stern section are the width of the Stern broadside range rulers, and attacks are carried out normally.
IRON CLAWZ Back to Index
There are a total of 4 Iron Clawz on the Colosses, two on the Bow and one on each side in the Stern section. The stern Iron Clawz follow the same procedure for laying out the range rulers as when using the stern Bigchukkas or Smash-Hammers. The two clawz on the bow however, have been modified slightly from their original design. Like the Bigchukkas on the bow, the Iron Clawz are mounted on turrets and can swivel up to 90 degrees to either side. After each Iron Clawz grab attack in a direction that is not directly ahead, roll a d6, on a 1 the turret on that Claw is jammed exactly like the Fore Bigchukka's that are turreted. Jammed Claws may be un-jammed only on a roll of 5-6 during the end phase (after Blaze Spreading rolls).
Each may grapple at any ships in range and in the appropriate 90-degree arc for that claw. The range rulers are placed in front of the Colosses (like the fore bigchukka) and do not interfere with each other for grappling attempts. Both clawz may pull a ship directly ahead if desired, but only the 1st is considered under the Smash-Hammer for attacks. They may not both grab the same ship. When winching models into the Colosses, "pull" them towards the appropriate side of the grabbing claw, so they end slightly off center of the Smash-Hammer. All other Iron Claw rules apply.
SQUIG-LAUNCHERS Back to Index
This new addition to the Orc fleet marks the first time that Squig Launchers have been standard equipment on an Orc ship. They have been available to Orc admirals in the past (Kustom Kroozer Kards from the Citadel Journal Rules), but those early launchers were only useful in boarding actions, where these new versions allow the Colosses to launch squigs from a great distance.
Cages of angry squigs are kept on board and placed onto the Bow broadside Bigchukkas - where they get flung through the air, hopefully to land on the enemy ship and break free.
The Squig attack is up to 2 die, which may be split, as the Orc player desires, between port and starboard Fore broadsides. The maximum range is only 6" as the Squigs are launched from the Fore Bigchukka’s operating at about 1/3 power. The Bigchukkas may fire the squigs - even if they have already fired regularly this turn, as the Bigchukkas only have to be winched a very small amount to launch the squigs.
The procedure for launching squigs is as
follows:
|
Roll |
D6 Result |
|
1 |
Misfire, some squigs are
set free, re-roll ignoring any roll of "1". |
|
2-4 |
The Squigs careen off the ship harmlessly. |
|
5-6 |
MUNCH! The Squigs eat some
of the crew! |
Also, when enemy fire hits the Squig Loader location and it fails its saving throw, roll on the table above. Remove an Orc crew counter on a 5 or 6 and place a damage marker on the Squig location on any other roll.
ATTACKING THE COLOSSES Back to Index
Attacks against the Colosses are made normally with the following exceptions. When the enemy player attacks, in addition to declaring High or Low, he must also determine if the shot is aimed at the Bow or Stern section. This is necessary because of the template for the Colosses. Align the range ruler for the attacking ship normally and see whether the Bow or Stern of the Colosses falls under the template first. The Colosses is split in half by an imaginary line running between the midpoints of the two center tread wheels. If the attacking ship is perpendicular to the center of a side of the Colosses and it is too close to determine which is closer, then the attacking player may choose which area he wants to attack.
BELOW WATERLINE HITS Back to Index
If you notice, the Colosses has two Below Waterline areas on its template, one for the Bow and one for Stern. Critical hits and other attacks that cause below waterline damage are marked off as normal with one exception, for each below waterline hit taken, roll a die. On a 5 or 6, the Orc player MAY mark the hit on the opposite side if he desires. Note that only 6 hits on EITHER side are all that are required to sink the Colosses.
CREW ON THE COLOSSES Back to Index
As the Colosses carries a tremendous amount of weaponry and equipment on board it also needs a rather large crew to operate everything. They are divided between the bow and stern sections and are subject to the following rules.
BOARDING ACTIONS Back to Index
As there are 3 Iron Clawz on board, it is possible to be in contact with several enemy ships at once, resulting in multiple boarding actions during the same turn. The modified rules for boarding actions are as follows.
GENERAL RULES:
COUNTER-BOARDING:
BOARDING ACTION EXAMPLE:
The Colosses has grabbed a Wolfship with the left stern Iron Claw and an Ironfist with the right stern Iron Claw. The Orc captain decides to commit 5 crew against the Wolfship and 1 against the Ironfist, leaving 2 in reserve - as he feels he may need them more against the Wolfship and would rather take his chances with the Ironfist. He attacks the Ironfist 1st, both sides have 1 crew, neither has any cannons for defense, so high roll wins.
Die Results: Orc 3, Imperial 3, both lose a crew, Ironfist is left abandoned.
Moving on to the Wolfship, Orc player has 5 crew for +5, Wolfship with 3 crew
& 1 cannon in defense for a total of +4.
Round 1 dice: Orc 1 (+5 crew) = 6, Imperial 6 (+3 crew/+1 cannon) =
10, Orc loses a crew. Imperial player fails to break away from Iron Claw.
Round 2 dice: Orc 4 (+4 crew) = 8, Imperial 2 (+3 crew/+1 cannon) =
6, Imperial player removes a crew. Orcs press on.
Round 3 dice: Orc 3 (+4 crew) = 7. Imperial 5 (+2 crew/+1 cannon) =
8, Orc loses a crew. Imperial player fails to break away again. Orc brings in
two reserve crew, (as he has lost 2 in this action).
Round 4 dice: Orc 5 (+5 crew) = 10, Imperial 2 (+2 crew/+1 cannon)
= 5, Imperial loses a crew (down to 1 crew and 1 cannon).
Round 5 dice: Orc 2 (+5 crew) = 7, Imperial 4 (+1 crew/+1 cannon) =
6, Imperial loses his final crew, and is abandoned.
ADMIRAL Back to Index
The admiral is free and must be aboard the Colosses at the start of the game. The admiral is considered to be on both sections of the Colosses for his bonus in boarding action(s). The admiral cannot be killed until all crew onboard are killed.
WIZARDS, SHAMEN & MAGIC Back to Index
If using the regular wizard rules, the Orc wizard must be onboard the Colosses at the start of the game along with the admiral. If using the WAAAGH magic rules, the most powerful shaman must be on the Colosses. A shaman on the Colosses is very powerful indeed due to the huge amount of crew aboard.
Wizards and shaman cannot be captured or killed in boarding actions until all crew in both sections are destroyed - just like the Orc admiral.
MOW CARDS & KUSTOM KARDS Back to Index
The Colosses gets a free MOW card for the admiral as normal and all other rules regarding MOW cards apply to the Colosses as well. Kustom Kards may also be given to the Colosses - if using those supplemental rules, but the free card for the admiral must be worth 25 points or else you must pay the difference in points. The "Pointy Bit" card will not work on the Colosses, but any of the other Kustom Kards may be purchased for use. When using the "Squig Launcher" Kard, it may be used during boarding actions only, unlike the onboard Squig Launcher, which is used as an attack during the combat phase. At this point I have decided that all MOW cards and Kustom Kroozer Kards are paid for at their regular point cost when purchased for the Colosses. I have heard logical arguments from friends saying that the cost should be more, as there is more ship to outfit with the extra ability - like "Heavy Timbering" for example. Although I agree with the statement in principal, you'll notice that the MOW cards for the Black Arc only cost 25 points - it's a 250-point ship remember, and having multiple prices for different ships simply complicates the game needlessly. After all, this is the first of many Admiral classed vessels planned and I think it is unnecessary to determine a "fairer" MOW cost for each, depending upon their point cost.
POINT COST Back to Index
Due to the massive size and capabilities of the Colosses, it costs 400 points. Remember that you may only ever have one Colosses, no matter how large of a fleet you have. It is also recommended that the Colosses only be used in games of at least 1000 points per side as it is roughly equal in strength and firepower of three Hulks and the ratio of Man O’ Wars to Ship of the Line squadrons is slightly unbalanced otherwise.
DESIGNER NOTES Back to Index
The designing of the Colosses was one of the most enjoyable tasks I’ve had yet to do past couple of years since I’ve started playing Man O’ War. Although the initial idea was far from what I ended up with, the Colosses still "fits" together very well. I feel that I really captured the essence of the Orcs and have made the "next step" for the Orc navy.
Originally, I had wanted to make a ship that had concentrated firepower in one direction to add some much-needed backbone to the Orc fleet. I had thought up the name "Splattapult Barge" and was trying to figure out a way to put six bigchukka miniatures onto a Skaven Doombringer hull to make a new Orc ship. In my mind, I envisioned the Splattapult as being a cross between the Imperial Ironfist and the Great Leveler Battlebarge of the Chaos Dwarfs.
No matter how I tried however, the rules I came up with always seemed a bit "forced" - like I was trying to create a weapon or ship beyond the Orc capabilities. Frustrated, I eventually gave up as all my sketches for the template didn’t work logically and I knew I’d be unhappy with the way the miniature would probably turn out, as the styles of the two parts clashed a bit.
About two weeks later, I was building a Hulk and I started playing around with the miniature. I grabbed another hull piece and started trying to see how I could combine the two into another ship. Two hulls seemed more along the line of what I wanted, but after looking at three together, I realized that I was so close to a great idea if I could just work it out. As I figured out where I could cut the hulls to join them, I figured out that I could have multiple bigchukka’s, iron claws and smash-hammers all on the same ship. I decided then to go the opposite way from my original thinking, LARGER, not smaller! I knew this ship would take three hulk miniatures to make ($27 bucks worth!) so I planned it out carefully before deciding to actually cut up the hulls. I could visualize the ship and I knew it was going to be awesome! I plunged into making the miniature and from that point on everything just came together perfectly.
The 1st thing I had to do was decide upon a name. I had quite a list going - Devastator, Annihilator, Destroyer, Obliterator, Demolisher, Ravenger and Krusher to name but a few, but Colosses really seemed to fit the idea behind the ship - a massive Man O’ War class ship packed with weapons and crew, challenging all on the seas! With the appropriate name picked out and the idea for the miniature completed, I began to flesh out the rules and template.
My thinking was that the Colosses would have nearly the same armament and capacities of three separate Hulks, but cost slightly less than the 3 purchased separately as the majority of the Orc fleet is over priced. The Colosses would therefore be a bit under-priced. As it worked out, this ratio was followed in almost every area of design. The chart at the end shows how close I kept the design to that idea. One thing that is very different is the Below Waterline area. Where 3 Hulks have a total of 18 BW hits, the Colosses is divided into 2 sections for the Bow and Stern, each with 6 hits. There is a 1/3 chance of a BW hit being marked in the opposite section (at the discretion of the Orc player), so statistically, this gives the Colosses a total of 8 BW hits on average, up to a maximum of 12 if he was really lucky. This still is less than the total of 3 Hulks would be. This makes the ratio of BW hits to point cost very low compared to some other MOW class vessels. It certainly looks harder to sink than it actually is as in actual game play, it has usually sunk with 8 or less BW hits total - although we did have one game where the template was literally covered with damage and blaze markers and the BW area was nearly untouched.
There were many questions that arose as I was designing the ship. For example, being equal to 3 Hulks, shouldn’t the Colosses have 15 crew? Would 15 crew be playable or would it unbalance the game? Would it make sense to have more crew than the Black Arc? If it costs more than a Black Arc, shouldn’t it be harder to sink? How much should it move? Should it be able to push through wrecks and ships? The list was nearly endless! One by one I resolved these issues.
Just dividing the ship into a Bow and Stern section answered a lot of these questions as well as solving a lot of design problems. I wanted the template to be unique yet similar to other large ships in the game. I had made an unusual template for my Dwarf Aircraft Carrier as it has one high area and two low areas (with a common number 2 location). For the Colosses, I would double the high area as well. I divided each into a Bow and Stern section with the number 2 location considered in both. This gave me 18 locations to work with. As it turned out, all were needed to fit in all the weapons and equipment the Colosses would have. The Colosses would have two locations that were common to the Bow and Stern - one high and one low. Since the miniature had tread wheels about midway on the ship, I figured that that would be a good thing for the common location on the low area. For weaponry, 3 Hulks have a total of 12 Bigchukka’s and I wanted to stay as close as I could to that amount for the Colosses. On a Hulk template, the front and rear Bigchukka’s share a location although they have separate damage boxes. The broadside location is for both the left and right bigchukka’s. It thus takes three hits to take out all the Hulk's bigchukka’s. If I simply multiplied the number in each direction I would have 12 Bigchukka’s total. From the miniature standpoint, there was no way to have 3 Bigchukkas firing in each direction, as it was much longer than wide, so I had to do some adjusting. I made it so the majority of the Bigchukka’s were on the broadsides and put just 2 to the front and 1 to the rear. This made more sense, both from the miniature standpoint and from a logical viewpoint. I put 3 broadside Bigchukka’s in the Bow section and 3 in the Stern section. In order to destroy all the Bigchukka’s on the Colosses, you have to hit 9 different locations - the same number required to destroy all the Bigchukka’s on 3 separate Hulks.
I also wanted to add some type of innovation to the Colosses weaponry. I wanted something simple, but also something that would be an improvement for the Orcs. I thought about a bunch of new types of weapons, but nothing seemed right. I then hit upon the idea of rotating platforms (or turrets) for the Bigchukka’s on the Bow. This seemed plausible and simple enough for the Orcs, but it added an extra element to the use of the forward firing Bigchukkas. After much debate, I did the same to the fore Iron Claws first as an experiment to be play-tested, but ultimately I left it that way as it didn’t seem to upset the balance of the game. Most of the players I’ve been up against seem more interested in sinking a ship as quickly as possible and aim low every time - and rightly so, instead of immobilizing it or taking out it’s weaponry. By making these Bow weapons turreted, the High section seems a bit more appealing as a target. All Smash-Hammers and Iron Claws were placed high to further that idea.
All the saving throws were taken off of the existing Orc ships with the exception of the "Squig Loader" and "Nuthin" locations, which I made myself. The "Nuthin" location is my attempt at Orc humor. After all, where else but on an Orc ship can you hit "Nuthin" and still do damage? There is actually a lot of truth to that statement as the "Nuthin" location has the worst saving throws on the whole ship. This was intended to be the Achilles heel of the Colosses, and it is entirely possible to sink the Colosses in 1 turn - believe it or not! Imperial players take note; this is exactly where you want to aim your Hell-hammers!
Deciding how the Colosses should move was somewhat difficult as I approached it from two angles. On one hand, it was huge and shouldn’t be any faster than a Hulk, on the other, it is a huge barge, and would be harder to stop or change direction once it got going. I thought about many ways to simulate this but decided on making some rules for momentum. Like all fair and playable rules, momentum had both a upside and a downside to them. The Colosses could get going up to 6" per turn if it moved in a straight line, however there is a definite disadvantage to changing directions as the ship will "slide" through turns, taking them much wider than you usually want. This is especially a problem when there is a lot of scenery on the board and clearances are tight. As a lot of our play-test games were repeated with the main players switching sides, we found that it’s a good idea to make sure your opponent is familiar with all the Colosses rules as often he will correct a move you thought you could make - usually to your detriment! I’ve personally found the momentum rules to be very useful early in the game, allowing you to get the Colosses into play quickly, but then they become a obstacle that you have to plan for or else you end up somewhere where you don’t want to be. Hopefully, your findings will be the same.
By far, the hardest part of writing the rules was for the boarding actions. They had to balanced, but also "realistic". Having two sections to work with allowed me to divide up the crew between them, getting the two sides down to more manageable numbers. It made sense that there would be around 15 crew, but if there were only one section for them, it would be near impossible to take over the Colosses. I divided them into two groups, 6 in the Bow and 8 in the Stern, lowering the overall amount to 14. Since there were multiple crew areas and Iron Claws, it seemed logical that the Colosses could be involved in multiple boarding actions. The Stern section could be involved in two boarding actions where the Bow could do only one. I made boarding action boxes so you could put the crew counters that you going to commit to each boarding action to avoid confusion. If involved in 3 boarding actions, the Colosses could commit 6 to the front one and divide the 8 in the stern between the other two as he wished. I made the reserve rule so the Orc player couldn’t commit all 8 against a single ship - making it impossible for the enemy to win in many circumstances. That’s one thing I don’t care for about the Skaven Doombringer, you can pile on the slaves and make it a very deadly ship in boarding actions. The reserve rule allowed the Orc player to use all 8, but not at once, thus giving the other player a chance. For example, against a Galleon (boarding from it's bow or stern where there is no grapeshot in defense), the Colosses would pretty much be guaranteed a victory as he would start with a + 4 and most likely win every round. The reserve rule only allows you to have 6 crew and you can’t add more until you’ve lost at least 2.
When having section to section boarding actions, we found it near impossible to take a fully crewed section away from the Orc player as the enemy never could get as many crews aboard as the Colosses had. The "crew transfer" rules for the enemy player solved this and I also added limits to the amount that could be committed between sections (on the template too). Now both players could add crews to boarding actions, making it a fair system for both. We’ve had some very interesting boarding actions too - 4 Orcs holding off 8 enemy crew (section to section), as well as 6 Orcs losing to a 3-crew attack from a Wolfship.
The one true weapon addition to the Colosses is that of the Squig Loaders. The Citadel Journal rules have a similar Kustom Kard that allows you to use the Squigs in a boarding action. I simply altered the rule to make it more of an offensive weapon instead of a defensive one - a natural evolution of this weapon for the Orcs it seemed. I did give it some bad kickback effects to balance it out as well.
Overall, I’ve found the Colosses extremely fun to design and play. Adding my own ships to the Man O’ War system has been very satisfying and rewarding. At conventions, people familiar with the game will want to know all about the new ship(s) and are usually very eager to play.
When the Colosses is on the game board, it draws a lot of attention from the enemy player(s) and they tend to throw a lot at it, often ignoring more serious threats elsewhere. The Orc player can usually use this to his advantage, bringing that Drillakilla squadron into contact with the enemy flagship or getting a Hulk into a great attacking position. I’ve found that if you can make a few saving throws on the Colosses and keep it moving, you can sink a small SOL class ship nearly every turn! Of course, it’ll take an awful lot of them at 25 or 50 points each to equal the value of the Colosses if you play too aggressive and get into a vulnerable situation.
One interesting tactic is to move the Colosses 1st each turn and grab any small ships nearby that you can - especially a Buccaneer or an Ironfist. They can be then Smash-Hammered and quickly boarded if needed. You don’t necessarily have to sink it though, especially if they’ve been hammered to the point where they can’t hurt you anymore. They then can act as shields from enemy fire as they fall under the range ruler first, not the Colosses! During the next battle phase, simply release them and move on, though you may need to push off. This is a tactic guaranteed to irritate your opponent, as he won’t get many shots at the Colosses. These abandoned ships that get left behind are perfect for scuttling by the any Bigchukka’s nearby.
Another fun thing to do is to sail the Colosses between two squadrons of Bigchukka’s, each in a line abreast formation spaced about 2 inches apart. The Colosses moves first as bait. The Bigchukka squadrons hit enemy ships that closed to attack this turn, and next turn, get attacked by the Colosses itself. Put a Hulk behind the Bigchukka's that can swing by to recycle the leftovers, keeping the formation moving whenever possible. It is very intimidating to have this well organized fleet coming towards you with impunity.
With all the convention games that I’ve had the Colosses in, one of the most frequent comments is on the point cost for it. Some think it’s too high as even though it’s packed with weapons, it can realistically be sunk with 6-8 BW hits. Others say that it doesn’t cost enough because it has so much offensive capability. I guess that there could be argument either way. I look at the actual capabilities onboard in relation to what other ships have that cost about the same. The Colosses is the only ship in the MOW game that costs 400 points so I had nothing to compare it to in that sense, so I had to decide how I was going to figure out the value of it.
This is now the second rewrite of the rules and a few changes have been made. The biggest is that the enemy no longer suffers a ram attack from being pulled in by Iron Claws over 3". Looking at this now I don't know where that thought came from, as the Hulks never had that ability so why should the Colosses? I also clarified the movement/pushing off rules so it makes more sense that you don't have to push off from smaller ships or from grabbed ships if you release them. I also re-did the Running Aground table as 4 Below Waterline hits seems kind of high, especially since it's more difficult to get clear as well. I have now made it possible for the Fore Bigchukka and Iron Clawz turrets to jam after a bad attack. I also have clarified that the Colosses is an Admiral class ship, and not a MOW.
Since my very first idea for the Colosses, I
have always maintained that it was designed to be equal in firepower and
capabilities to 3 Hulks and therefore, I think it should cost about the same. I
made up this chart to show just how close I stayed to that ratio.
|
ITEM |
3 HULKS |
COLOSSES |
|
# of Crew |
15 |
14 |
|
# of Below Waterline Hits |
15 |
12 Total, 8 Avg. |
|
# of Locations |
24 |
18 |
|
# of Damage Areas |
33 |
34 |
|
# of Bigchukkas Total |
12 |
15 |
|
Bow |
3 |
2 |
|
Stern |
3 |
1 |
|
Broadside |
6 |
12 |
|
# of Smash-Hammers |
3 |
3 |
|
# of Iron Claws |
3 |
4 |
|
# of "no damage" locations* |
6 |
2 |
|
# of "no effect" boxes* |
6 |
8 |
|
# of Battle Honors |
18 |
15 |
|
# of Initiative moves |
3 |
1 |
|
Point Cost |
450 |
400 |
* "no damage" refers to locations that although they can take damage, there are no weapons or equipment in that location - it is a "free" hit in essence. "no effect" refers to extra boxes in a location that must first be destroyed before the weapon or equipment is lost.
As you can see, the Colosses is inferior in many ways to 3 Hulks. It most likely will sink in only 8 BW hits, it has fewer crew, more bigchukkas are paired in broadside locations (lose two shots per damage box), fewer locations overall to spread out the damage, fewer "no damage" locations, and is a big disadvantage when it comes to initiative. With that said, would I ever NOT use one? No way!. Having the ability to concentrate 3 bigchukkas at an enemy ship is a big plus, as is the ability to claw, smash and board multiple ships if the enemy is too careless in his attack. The Colosses is powerful, but still very vulnerable - that’s what makes it so much fun to play. Being it’s template is so big, it will probably take several turns of big combat before getting to the point to where it might sink, but it’s ability to dish out as much as it can take is what makes it interesting no matter which side you’re playing.
I’ve always felt that the Orc fleet is, for the most part, overpriced. The Bigchukka’s are useful only as a shield (WHY can’t they move and fire?), and the Drillakilla’s sink themselves 1/3rd of the time (they should only cost 100 points a squadron). Only a Hulk seems to be worthwhile, but even then only if you can get the Smash-Hammer into play and be effective. I do, however, respect the original designers' wishes and play them the way they were made. That is why I’ve made the Colosses slightly under-priced at 400 points. I’ve always looked at the various fleets as a whole when comparing them, not on a ship by ship basis - a Great Leveller only costs 150 points? You know what I mean. So the Colosses is intended to tilt the scale back to a more balanced position when looking at the complete fleet. Looking at the chart, I could make a case that the Colosses is in fact still slightly over-priced - but I would like to avoid those who may say that I’ve made a ship that is blatantly advantageous to the Orcs and unfair to the rest of the races.
Overall, I feel that it is pretty balanced right now -especially since it has now been extensively play-tested and several changes have been made from it's original design, but I’d love to hear back from my fellow MOW players out there with any comments you may have. Get your miniature together and give the Colosses a try, you may never play Orcs the old way again.
SCOTT DI BARTOLO
scomar@pacbell.net
Classification
Fleet Restrictions Movement
Momentum Special Movement
Ram Running Aground
Pushing Off
Colosses Template Combat Smash-Hammers
Iron Clawz Attacking The
Colosses Below Waterline Hits
Crew Boarding Actions
The Admiral Wizards and Magic
Mow and Kustom Kards Point Cost
Designer Notes