Are painboys a type of nob?

[The Sovereign]

I know painboys can be added to a squad of nobz, and they have the same statline as a nob, but GW's model is obviously not a nob, it's the size of a regular ork boy. I'm curious for conversion purposes.

[Wolfshade]

No, they are a class of Oddboy rather than Nob. Though it would be concievable that a Dok could become the size of a Nob through violence, the same way Boyz become Nobz and then Warbosses.

[Kaptain Badrukk]

Oddboyz exist specifically outside of the standard orky social structure.
Mekboys, Painboys and Wiredboys are all "respected" because they can do stuff that other boyz can't.
There's also smartboys, who can think logically and "more importantly" use the letter H.

They can rise to be as potent as Nobz or even Warbosses, but they're still Oddboyz.
The Painboy in the Nobz unit is, using that statline as a guide, likely as important as one of the nobs.
Where the painboss found in IA is more like a warboss in his own right (although less potent physically).

[Nabterayl]

Yeah, "nob" and "warboss" are social terms. They don't describe size, except in relative terms. A very successful tribe might have nobs the size of another tribe's warboss, and even the warlord of a less successful coalition might be the size of a mere warboss or nob in a highly successful coalition.

So, as oddboyz, painboyz are outside the boy-nob-warboss-warlord social ladder. But they're still orks, so they still get bigger and stronger over time, and they still have an instinctive respect for size. That's why you can have things like "painbosses" and the like. A highly successful painboy can probably get just as big as a "regular" boy, and I imagine a large painboy could lord it over a smaller regular boy just fine.

"Oi, you! Get me a beer - I's operatin' soon!"

"Wot, me? Sod off; you ain't no proper nob."

<smack>

"Right you are, boss ... one fungus beer comin' right up."

[Kaptain Badrukk]

Bingo.

[Mr.Pickelz]

Something to Note, is the IA:8 unit entry of "Painboss", he still has Nob stat line but he's an IC and can give a unit Cybork bodies.

[SaveModifier]

Also the terms Boy > Nob > Warboss > Warlord are more likely a general Imperial way of trying to make sense of the chaotic (not Chaotic) nature of the Ork Tribes in a war senario (any time Orks are encountered) (except when those sneaky git Blood Axes are involved, but they're not really Orky so that doesn't count) by giving them a heriarchy that makes sense to humans, Orks aren't human, so the size or prowess of an individual is more important to an Ork that any other form of status, the harder you are, the more important you are, so its always in flux, a boss is only the boss as long as he can beat everyone else to keep them in line and a Nob is only a Nob if he can beat all the boyz and these things are liable to change at any moment.

Orks will also increase in size and stregth the more they fight and the better they get at fighting over a campaign, so, as Nabs has said, different tribes across the galaxy will have different sized Boyz, Nobz and Bosses depending on how well they are doing.

The Orks will however show an automatic respect to those bigger and harder than them, so, an ork boy wouldn't challlenge a Nob, unless he was growing to a comprable size, which would mean he'd be a better leader. If he becomes bigger than the Nob, they'd fight it out to see who was the hardest, the winner would then be the Nob of that particular mob of boyz.

Oddboyz seem to work in much the same way, the best Meks seem to get bigger and tougher the better they get at making gubbinz, which then leads lesser Mekboyz to veiw them with more respect and the boyz will respect them because they've gotten bigger and stronger, which is what leads to oddboy bosses.

Out there somewhere in the galaxy, there is a glorious Waaaghhhh lead by the biggest Brewboy you've eva seen, they pillage the worlds for ingredients for the best fungus beer

[Kaptain Badrukk]

Brewboyz! I'd forgotten about brewboyz!

[SaveModifier]

Brewboyz! I'd forgotten about brewboyz!

I think I know what the next add-on to my Ork Army is going to be, Brewboss Bragmug, leader of Waaagh! Bragmug!

[Houghten]

From an Ork's perspective, anyone bigger'n you (an' sufficiently green) is a Nob, with da biggest Nob around (for a variable value of "around") being Boss, an' anyone smaller'n you is a grot.

'S all't matters, when ya get down ta it.


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From a modelling perspective, a Painboy has a Nob's two-wound, S4 statline and if I were modelling one from scratch I'd want to start with a Nob's body, or else a lot of bioniks.