Ork Kroozer
Kroozers are the catch-all term for any Ork vessel that fits the size, tonnage and weapons analogous of the Imperial Navy's definition of a Cruiser. They all share the same attributes, which is loud, large, could ram stuff and shoots out lots of Dakka. The most famous of which are the Kill Kroozers, in which more information can be read below.
Class[edit]
Carrier[edit]
Terror Ship[edit]
Terror-class Kroozers or more commonly known as Terror Ships, are the Ork answer to Spacecraft Carriers, though in practice they're more like Aviation Cruisers, with a mix of Gunz and Launch Bays. After all, no self-respecting Ork sailor's gonna let the Flyboys have all the fun.
With this in mind, Terror Ships refuse to hang back and just throw planes at their problems like their cowardly Grot deck krews prefer, and instead throw themselves into the enemy with gusto, using their complements of attack craft as Escorts to cover their rear.
Like Kill Kroozers, Terror Ships're often constructed from Looted spacecraft, and it's an easy enough conversion to make, since they just cut out some big holes in the side and call it a day. They tend to carry a mix of Fighta Bommas and Assault Boats, the former to engage enemy vessels and ordnance with their Bomms, the latter to latch onto enemy vessels and initiate boarding actions. The Launch Bay's a Squig eat Squig world, as Flyboys jostle and even ram each other off the runways in order to be the first out, sometimes not even waiting for the Gretchin to finish reloading their birds first.
It is armed with 1 Mega-Kannon Artillery, 1 Gunz Artillery, 2 Gunz Battery Weapons and 2 Launch Bays carrying Ork Assault Boats, Landas and Fighta-Bommers.
- Length: 4.5km
- Mass: 30 megatonnes; approx
- Crew: 63,000 crew, 16,000 pilots and support staff; approx
- Acceleration: 2.7 gravities maximum sustainable acceleration
Terror Stompa[edit]
The Terror Stompa is the all specialist weapon option while also being the best long-range ship in class, at least relatively speaking as far as the Orks go. This is because the Torpedo rack and Launch Bays end up taking the places of the Mega Kannon and Heavy Gunz, both have miserable accuracy of 50% chance to hit within 4,500 units and can't fire beyond that range.
If you are facing faster fleets like the Dark Eldar or the Eldar that are less likely to allow you to maintain close range on their ships, it might be best to go for the Terror Stompa, since it's longer-range guns and Launch Bays give you better chances of applying damage at range, and gun wise, will probably match other vessels like the Killa in effective DPS since their short-range guns are likely to rarely ever land serious hits on the enemy in the long run.
As an alternative, you can also go for the Terror for a cheaper option that might be even better against the fast Eldar vessels, since Torpedoes are going to be hard to use anyways and while the Mega Kannon is unlikely to contribute much, it still might land a few shots on occasion. If the Mega Kannon doesn't land hits, the Terror still costs 50 less points for the privilege.
It is armed with 6 Torpedo Launchers, 1 Gunz Artillery, 2 Gunz Battery Weapons and 2 Launch Bays carrying Ork Assault Boats, Landas and Fighta-Bommers..
- Length: 4.3km
- Mass: 28 megatonnes; approx
- Crew: 59,000 crew, 15,500 pilots and support staff; approx
- Acceleration: 2.7 gravities maximum sustainable acceleration
Ordnance-Boat[edit]
Kill Kroozer[edit]
The most infamous of all Ork spacecraft, and the backbone of any self-respecting Ork fleet worth the name. Usually hammered together by Meks from the looted hull of another race's ship when they can get it, and festooned in guns of all sizes and types, lone Kill Kroozers on the prowl're a common risk to merchant traffic at the best of times, but during wars, whole armadas of these ramshackle crafts can be assembled from all the wrecked vessels the Orks've managed to salvage.
Favouring a propa scrap even in a space battle, Ork Kill-class Kroozers or more simply known as Kill Kroozers, are designed to slug it out in close-quarters, and carry far more firepower than any vessel of their size has any right to, Orks not caring for such things as adequate power requirements. They also have a penchant for ramming and boarding, both to try and nick the vessel and to finally get hands-on with the enemy, and Orks have no problems with abandoning their posts in order to join the melee, meaning an Ork boarding party can sometimes comprise the entire krew.
Inexperienced Ork Kaptins'll often charge right up the opposing gunline in order to bring their own weapons to bear, leaving their sterns vulnerable to counter-attack. Wiser (survived their first attempt) Kaptins know to stagger their attacks into several waves to cover this.
It is armed with 1 Mega-Kannon Artillery, 1 Gunz Artillery, 2 Gunz Battery Weapons and 2 Heavy Gunz Battery Weapons.
- Length: 4.5km
- Mass: 30 megatonnes; approx
- Crew: 72,000 crew; approx
- Acceleration: 2.7 gravities maximum sustainable acceleration
Killa Stompa[edit]
A variant of the Kill Kroozer. The Killa Stompa basically take the weapons loadout of the Kill Kroozer and start swapping torpedo and launch bay special weapons in - in different combinations you can choose from.
The Killa Stompa represents your "just give me some torpedoes" option, a preferable choice when you think you'll be facing slower fleets that can't outrun your Big Red Button burns towards them, allowing you to rake their ships with heavy torpedo or boarding torpedo salvos before coming in for the follow-up ram.
As a plus side, the Killa Stompa comes in at exactly the same point cost, maintaining its affordable cost, allowing the Orks to field a considerable number of Killa Stompas with room to spare in their fleet.
It is armed with 6 Torpedo Launchers, 1 Gunz Artillery, 2 Gunz Battery Weapons and 2 Heavy Gunz Battery Weapons.
- Length: 4.3km
- Mass: 28 megatonnes; approx
- Crew: 70,000 crew; approx
- Acceleration: 2.7 gravities maximum sustainable acceleration
Notable Kill Kroozers[edit]
Da Blacktoof[edit]
Kaptin Badrukk's flagship, see his page for the specifics.
Butcher[edit]
A Kill Kroozer active during the Gothic War, though this wasn't it's actual name, as Naval intelligence never learnt its native Ork designation, and it just sort of came to be known by this moniker due to its actions.
This vessel was single-handedly responsible for the loss of fifteen transport ships, seven Escorts of various classes, and even the Cruiser Admiral Lenox, during six successive attacks in the Quinrox Sound, as well as the looting of Bralutha Station. It was never caught.
Slaughta King[edit]
Another ship from the Gothic War, this one took advantage of the Imperial forces being distracted and drawn away by Chaos fleets, to lead an Ork flotilla out of the Cyclops Cluster and into the now-unprotected Moab System.
This fleet was engaged by the Fourth Cruiser Battlegroup, containing no less than Four Mars-Class Battlecruisers with Nova Cannons; Imperious, Hammer of Justice, Minotaur, and Lord Daros (the same one that had previously been rammed by a Brute Ram Ship). Admiral Haines was confident that their combined firepower would be more than enough to deal with some flying scrapheaps... He was wrong. Lord Daros was boarded and lost with all hands, the other three were all heavily-damaged and forced to withdraw, leaving the Civilised Worlds of Moab wide open for the Orks.
Others[edit]
- Krimrak's Killa
- Boomboss
- Gork's Grin
Notable Terror Ships[edit]
Mork's Blade[edit]
A Terror Ship that lead an ambush on an Imperial convoy en route from Eziam to Corilia via the perilous Quinrox Sound during the Gothic War, shepherded by a squadron of Sword Frigates under the command of Captain Jeril. Upon entering realspace and encountering some shipwrecks and Torpedoes, the convoy was set upon by two squadrons of Ork attack ships, hidden in a nearby asteroid field.
As the Imperial Navy vessels accelerated ahead to engage the Ork vessels and protect their charges, Mork's Blade emerged from hiding behind a small moon, revealing itself to the vulnerable flank of the six civilian Cargo Ships, with the Frigates unable to do anything but watch as five were overtaken by Assault Boats and one was blown to smithereens by gunfire. Three of the Swords joined the destroyed Cargo Ship a few minutes later, including the one Captain Jeril was on, as he bravely lead them on a frontal charge against Mork's Blade's prow Gunz.
Captain Jeril'd afterwards be posthumously court-martialled for his failure.
The Mirrobel Attack[edit]
The Imperial frontier resupply station at Mirrobel experienced the wrath of Terror Ships first-hand, when a pair of them and a half-a-dozen Escorts jumped in, intent on taking the supplies for themselves. Launching relentless waves of Assault Boats to overwhelm the garrison, all looked lost for the beleaguered defenders, when out of the blue a group of Imperial Navy signatures appeared at the edge of the system. As luck would have it, a longe range scout patrol had picked just that moment to stop for fuel, unaware of the ongoing Ork attack, and the two Dauntless Light Cruisers Abdiel and Uziel leapt to their defence, along with their four accompanying Firestorm Frigates.
Tl;dr, Abdiel was crippled, a Firestorm was lost, and the squadron was forced to retreat and abandon Mirrobel to its fate.
Others[edit]
- 'Ammer
- Klaw
- Deep Wound
Kill Kroozers in Battlefleet Gothic[edit]
In the original tabletop game, Kill Kroozers were as tough as Grand Cruisers, fitting in between Battleships and Battlecruisers in terms of how many Hits they could take, being Cruiser/10 to their Battleship/12 and Cruiser/8 respectively. Along with Terror Ships, they were the biggest vessels you could take without entering Rok or Space Hulk territory. They only had a single Shield and Turret though.
They were also very heavily armed for their size with a total of SIX batteries, three Gunz and three Heavy Gunz, with one of each covering its port, starboard, and prow facings. They weren't too strong compared to Imperial capital ship armaments however, at 4 Firepower for the Gunz and 1d6 for the Heavy Gunz, with the prow pair being 6 and 1d6+2. They were also very short range, with the prow Gunz being 45cm, the other Gunz only reaching 30cm, and Heavy Gunz half that at 15cm, compared to the 45cm and even 60cm ranges their Imperial equivalents could hit from. The prow Heavy Gunz Battery could also be swapped out for a Torpedo Launcha for free, with a Speed of 30cm and a Strength of 1d6+2, which could then be loaded with Boarding Torpedoes, reducing the Speed down to 20cm.
Kill Kroozers on Tabletop[edit]
In 9th Edition, Freebooterz have access to a Stratagem called Kill Kroozer Broadside, which once a game allows them to call down 1d3 shots from an orbiting Kill Kroozer, each shot must be more than 6" away from each other, and in line of sight of any of Your Dudes. Each unit (foes AND friends) within 3" of any impact zone takes 1d3 Mortal Wounds on a 5+, or 6+ if it's a character.
Which's actually pretty pathetic given how heavily-armed Kill Kroozers're suppossed to be, and it's not like Orks mind friendly fire... though presumably a few of those shots fly to the other side of the continent and cause wacky hijinks.
Terror Ships in Battlefleet Gothic[edit]
Terror Ships shared the same hull as Kill Kroozers, making them some of the 'ardest Cruiser carriers on the board. They even kept four of the Kill Kroozers' weapon systems, the three Gunz Batteries and the prow Heavy Gunz Battery, and like the Kill Kroozer they could replace their prow Heavy Gunz with a Torpedo Launcha that could also take Boarding Torpedos.
Where they differed was their two Launch Bays, which replaced the port and starboard Heavy Gunz. These could launch either Fighta Bommas, with a Speed of 25cm, or Assault Boats with a speed of 30cm, and each Launch Bay had a Strength of 2 Squadrons.
Terror Ships on Tabletop[edit]
If your forces planetside haven't set up ground-based airfields yet, say during the initial stages of a planetary assault, all your aircraft'll be coming from Strategic Reserve aboard orbiting Terror Ships; that's your Dakkajets, Burna-Bommers, Blitza-Bommers, Wazbom Blastajets, Fightas, and Fighta-Bommers.
Gallery[edit]
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Scarfist
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| Vessels of the Orks | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spaceships | ||
| Space Station | Attack Moon | |
| Battleships | Ork Battleship - Space Hulk | |
| Cruisers | Light Kroozer - Kroozer - Battlekroozer | |
| Escorts | Escort | |
| Logistics | Ork Transporter | |
| Roks | Rok | |
| Combat Spacecraft | Ork Assault Boat | |
| Landships | ||
| Armored Trains | Locomotive Battering Ram | |
| Titans | Stompa - Supa Stompa - Gargant Great Gargant - Mega Gargant Temple Gargant | |
| Superheavy Tanks | Battlefortress - Gunfortress | |
| Airships | ||
| Flying Fortress | Heavy Bommer - Mega Bommer Bommer Fortress | |
| Aerospace Vessels | Landa | |
| Seaships | ||
| Oceanic Battleships | Nautical Kroozer | |
| Maritime Escorts | Maritime Escort | |
| Submarines | Ork Submersible | |