Every creature in the Warhammer World has a characteristic profile which lists the value of its different characteristics. In the Battle book you will find profiles for many of the races and monsters of the Warhammer World. The examples below show the profiles for an Orc and a Man.
| Troop Type | M | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Ld |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orc | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 7 |
| Man | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 7 |
As you can see, an Orc and a Man are very similar in many respects. They both move at the same speed - 4", and they both have the same Weapon Skill and Ballistic Skill which means they are very evenly matched in combat. Both have the same Strength value, so they can deliver blows with equal potency. When it comes to Toughness the Orc wins over the Man - the Orc's value is 4 compared to 3. This is not a huge difference, but it makes the Orc better able to withstand blows and gives it the edge in hand-to-hand fighting.
Both creatures have 1 wound, which is the normal value for man-sized creatures. The Orc loses out when it comes to Initiative. This is not a terrible disadvantage, but it does mean that the Man will strike his blows before the Orc when they get stuck into hand-to-hand fighting. Both races have the same Leadership 7 which is about average.