Orc Raiding Party

*Orcs enjoy fighting and looting more than anything else, an Orc's life is spent in constant battle - either with his fellow Orcs or some other enemy. It didn't take much to convince aspiring Orc War Bosses to send in looting parties to Mordheim with its wealth of opponents and shiny stones..*

## Orc Raiders Traits

Compared to Reikland Mercenaries,

* Orc Boyz get...
	+ +1 Wound
	+ Same WS and +5 BS than Reikland Warriors.
	+ -10 Initiative
	+ +15 Defence
	+ Free Goblin handling ability (an invisible skill).
	+ Only access to Bow special shooting skills.
	+ Access to unique special Strength Skills.
	+ A 60% gold increase when hiring Orc Boyz.

## Leader: Orc Boss

*A tough and brutal warrior, who will throw his lads into any fight that he thinks he can profit from. He is the strongest, toughest and most barbaric member of the warband and if any of his Boyz think otherwise, the band may soon find itself with one less member.*

Leader: Leadership Range 6

## Henchmen: Orc Boy

*Orc Boyz are savage and tough. They fear nothing that they can get their bare hands on, though they are even more ignorant and superstitious than most other beings.*

 Known Skills

## Orc Raiding Party Weapons & Armours

Orcs have access to a limited selection of special Weapons and Armours,

#### Weapons

Most Orc weapons rely on increasing Critical Hit Chance to cause extra damage, since they don't have access to Bludgeoning Weapons.

* Stabba: the common dagger
* Shaman's Dagger: a slightly better dagger than the stabba
* Poka: like a normal spear
* Cutta: like a falchion gives some Critical Hit and Parry Chance
* Orc Halberd: like a normal halberd
* Choppa: a kind of axe that gives Critical Hit Chance
* Double Choppa: two Choppas that give 1 additional Attack and increased Strength.
* Big Choppa: a two handed axe that gives Strength, Critical Hit Chance and lowers Initiative
* Warboss Great Axe: a Choppa purchable with Fate
* Orc Bow: like a normal Bow
* Orc Shield and Orc Full Shield: two medium shields equal in all aspects except their graphics and name that give some Defence and some Parry Chance.

#### Armour

The highest set of protective wear an Orc can equip gives only +30/37 (if also wearing a shield) Defence. However due to their innate defence (15 Defence) and access to 2 Well 'ard skills (+10 Defence each), their lack of access to greater armours (Gromril Armour (+40Def), Full Plate (+35Def) or Heavy Cuirass (+30Def)) and Helms (Visored Helm (Def+10)) is somehow compensated.

* Shaman Hood: (only Shaman)
* Pan Helm: Def+3
* Pot Helm (ORP): Def+4
* Horned Helm: Def+5
* Warboss Helm: Def+5
* War Mask: Def+5
* Shaman Robe: (only Shaman)
* Studded Armour: Def+12 Weight:1
* Platted Armour: Def+25 Weight:2
* Warboss Armour: Def+25 Weight:2

## Levelling Orc Raiding Party Warbands

Orcs are like a slow boulder rolling down a hill. It takes them some time to get to the enemy but once there, they could easily crush them. They are best suited for hand to hand combat, since they have special skills that favours it. Furthermore, they have mediocre initiative, which means a bad range of sight, and bad Ranged weaponry, further leaning them towards hand to hand combat. However, it could be a good idea initially equiping your Orc Boss with an Orc Bow to give him a little more range and versatility.

#### Ranged warriors

The only ranged warrior an Orc Raiding Party should have is a Goblin Archer. Only because they are great for getting the wyrdstone shards that are lying around the ground.

#### Close Combat Fighters

##### Orc Boyz Recommended Initial Stats

* Wounds 6, less than 6 is a poor choice and a bad investment.
* Weapon Skill recomended 35 but at least 30 (Weapon Skill 40 is required to aquire Black Orc and stop suffering Animosity).
* Ballistic Skill does not matter (they are not going to be shooting).
* Strength recomended 35 but at least 30 (Strength 40 is required to aquire Black Orc and stop suffering Animosity).
* Initiative is going to be low no matter what so it does not matter a lot.
* Leadership at least 60 (Leadership 65 is required to aquire Black Orc and stop suffering Animosity).

##### Tanks

Orcs innate defence (15 Def) and access to two Well 'ard skill levels (+10 Def each) barely compensate their lack of access to high defence value armour, helms and shields; making them mediocre Tanks. Although they have 1 extra Wound and access to 'ard ead which makes them more difficult to stun. The maximum Defence and Orc warrior can get is 72/82(in combat) Defence (15 innated defence +10 Well 'ard level 1 +10 Well 'ard level 2 + 25 Platted Armour + 5 Horned Helm + 7 Orc Shield/Orc Full Shield + 10 Step Aside (only in combat)). And the maximum parry chance they could get is 25% (+10% Cutta, +5% Orc Shield/Orc Full Shield, +10% Web of Steel). While a Human Mercenary can have a maximum Defence of 75/85 (Gromril Armour + Visored Helm + Votive Shield + Resilient + Step Aside) with a 40% Parry Chance (Ithilmar Sword + Web of Steel). However, that innate defence and access to two Well 'ard levels gives them some extra defence as damage dealers 65/75 Defence vs the 60/70 Defence of Human Mercenaries.

##### Damage Dealers

Orc's close combat damage relies on Critical Hit Chance (maximum Critical Hit Chance of 55%, the same as Human mercenaries), as opposed to high Strength Bludgeoning Weapons. This has the downside of greatly increasing your warband rating and most times fighting at a disadvantage. On the other hand, as stated above Orcs as dedicated close combat damage dealers have a slightly higher defence than most warbands (all except Dwarf Treasure Hunters), 1 additional Wound and access to 'ard ead, which allows them to keep fighting a little longer than most warriors.

The best weapon for orc damage dealers is the Double Choppa. It causes more damage than the Big Choppa even though it has 10 strength less due to its extra attack. Additionally it is cheaper and does not lower the Initiative.

The best goblin to accompany an Orc Boy is the Goblin Warrior. They advance with the orcs and provide a little help attacking from behind them.

I recommend the following development for an Orc Boy: Strength Increase 1, Wounds Increase 1 (the Double Choppa greatly increase the warband rating and you need the extra protection and wound), Double Choppa, Weapon Skill Increase up to 40+, Leadership Increase up to 65+, Black Orc (you can do this a little later if you want, but I have suffered various losses due to animosity), Strength Increase 2, Wounds Increase 2, Fearsome, Armour Training, 'ard ead, Attack Increase 1, Well 'ard 1, Well 'ard 2, Strength Increase 3, Wounds Increase 3, , Weapon Skill Increase up to 50+, Attack Increase 2, Strike to Injure, 'eadbasher, Unstoppable Charge, Waaagh! (this two skills depend on charging the enemy which due to the low Initiative and movement can be a problem, so you can skip them), Combat Master, Strongman, Mighty Blow Weapon Skill Increase up to maximum, Step Aside, Advanced Weapons Master, Web of Steel.

### Hired Swords

Orc Raiding Parties can hire the following Hired Swords:

* Ogre gives some extra muscle to the warband and some needed mobility. He is like a large orc without green skin.
* Shaman gives them access to magic, mostly offensive in nature and without any means of higher mobility.

## Orc Raiding Party strategies:

* The best strategy is advancing through cover towards the enemy, charging them whenever is possible.
* Goblins can be of great help initially, increasing your numbers, but in middle late game they can become a hindrance slowing your games without adding any actual value.

## Why choose Orc Raiding Party?

* They look so cool.
* They are a little unreliable, so they present a challenge
* They have Goblins as pet creatures, each with its own AI comands and habilities.

*Back to Factions*