Post by Malcadon on May 17, 2017 20:58:52 GMT
Where Warhammer 40,000 is focused on a large force at the company-level, with soldiers operating in unison as a squad, Necromunda was more focused on gangs of a dozen fighters acting more or less as individuals. This change in combat required additional supporting rules to treat individual people who can change and develop form one game to the next, while also adding rules to support campaign gaming. While it is possible to play on-off games — the fact that starting gangs are handled as if their first game is their last — Necromunda is best played as a campaign as you have the most access to skills, rare equipment, and hired guns.
Game Contents
In the core box set, the only fighters you can field, out-of-box, are House Goliath gangs or House Orlock gangs — you have 12 figures of each, with interchangeable weapon/arms. Half of each House warriors are cast holding a combat knife in their left hand with the right arm missing for an interchangeable arm holding a pistol, while the other half are missing their right arm and left hand for the sake of an interchangeable arm holding rifle-sized firearm called a "basic" weapon. The weapons included are the most basic variety of firearms: (pistols) auto pistols, bolt pistols, lasguns, & stubguns; (basics) autoguns, boltguns, lasguns, & shotguns. For the sake of variety, there are two interchangeable arms for each figure.
For terrain, the game comes with large number of plastic "bulkheads" and sheets of thick, press-cut cardboard paper to make buildings and walkways. The plastic bulkheads are designed to clip over each other to make tall vertical support walls, and with slots along the edges to hold the cardboard floors, walkways and buttresses. In the middle of each bulkhead piece is a ladder on the side for climbing and some decorative piece that might be a doorway or window to provide cover or a sniper's nest, if not provide a solid wall. There are enough bulkheads and cardboard pieces to assemble: 3 buildings, 5 walkways, a loose platform, a mine entrance, and a freestanding "distiller" piece.
Playing aids include: 4d6 dice, 3d6 specialized dice (sustained fire, scatter and artillery), 24 counters (hidden, panic, run, overwatch & loot), 3 blast and 2 flamer temples, 2 rule reference sheets, and 2 red plastic rulers (called "baton rouge" by fans).
The game comes with a "Getting Started" rule pamphlet, a "Modeling Guide" booklet for assembling the the terrain sets with instructions for customization, and two softcover books: the Rulebook and the Sourcebook. The 80-page Rulebook has everything you'll need to play one-off games, and includes an extensive armory (most of the items are only usable in campaigns). The 88-page Sourcebook has what you'll need to play campaign games, and has the background fluff.
The Setting
Before I get into the rules, I need to explain the setting and backdrop.
Basically, Necromunda is an ash-covered planet that was the product of countless millennia of industrial pollution. Dotting the landscape are massive self-sustained dome-cities called "Hives". The capital hive of Necromunda is Hive Primus, notable for having a tall spire sticking out from the top. All together, Hive Primus is over ten miles high and around 6 miles long at the base! Where the ruling lords living in the opulent Spire, the bulk of the people live below in the wretched, rundown hive of scum and villainy called Hive City. Hive City is divided among six manufacturing families called Houses. They are the one who fulfill the arms contracts with the Empire. Necromunda is one of the largest produces of military hardware in the Empire, with massive about of arms being shipped off-world for galactic conquest to parts unknown. Getting and maintaining a government contract is a (figurative and literal) cutthroat business, that creates a level of animosity that runs deep into every House member. Building massive amounts of weapons for the far-flung Human Empire is the easy part: Finding raw materials to make them with the the tricky part! Beneath Hive City you'll find an even more dangerous place called the Underhive. Scattered throughout the Underhive are the raw materials the manufacturing houses need to keep up with production. But pulling it all out is really tricky. This place is a literal "concrete jungle" fulled with perpetual darkness, mutant and alien wildlife, dome areas that could collapses without warning, pools of acidic or toxic chemicals, and a wide host of scum and deviants.
Being largely outside of law, the Underhive attracts outcasts and heretics. There are hidden, outlining "Holesteads" of rat and fungus farmers who like to be left alone. There are tribes of primitive "Ratskins" who dwelt in the Underhive long before the Hive City settlers came down. They are so well-connected to the workings of the Underhive on a spiritual level, they see Hivers as clumsy and foolish for walking blindly into hazards. The Gilders run major trade hubs in settlements like Slag Town, Glory Hole, Dust Falls and Dead End Pass. It is places that that where gangs resupply and even kick back from time-to-time.
To safeguard the mining operations, slave-trains and trading of the Underhive, the Gilders will hire the help of gangs. Gangs are motivated to prove their worth within their House to be chosen as brave and capable leaders, or to get enough credits to retire in luxury in the Spire. Also, Space Marines often fill their ranks with those who were made tough within hive worlds.
Being vary much a world within the Empire of Man, in the old Warhammer 40,000 universe, life is short, cheap and grim! Might makes right; anything that strays form the norm is heretical; and the only one you can truly trust is you and your knife!
The Houses are:
House Orlock is known as the "House of Iron" because its foundations lie upon deep ferrous slag pits. They are the strongest House in Hive City as they have an exclusive contract with House Ulanti (one of the noble houses form the spire). They are considered the most balanced fighters, as they make-up an even amount of range and close-quarter fighters. Besides that, they are known for their toughness and determination. Their gangs tend to focus on skills that relate to combat, ferocity, and shooting.
They have a classic biker look about them with black boots, blue jeans, loinwrap, t-shirt, leather vest with metal plates, and slick-back hair with bandana headband.
House Goliath is made of physically powerful people. They consider other Hivers to be soft and slack, and take a stubborn pride in their ability to endure hardship. The other Houses see them as barbaric, and unpredictable. They love to showoff their powerfully-built bodies and will fight in scant leather garb. They favor heavy melee-weapons and range weapons with a lot of kick! Their gangs tend to focus on skills that relate to combat, strength and ferocity.
They look like '80s British punk rockers with free access to anabolic-androgenic steroids.
House Escher is strikingly different from the other houses, as their population is almost entirely made up of women. The few men that are there are shrivelled and imbecilic and play no part in the normal affairs of the Escher. Men are held in contempt and pitied by the Escher, especially those of House Goliath who are seen as simple, brutish and unsophisticated. They are fast-fighters with a preference towards melee weapons and pistols. Their gangs tend to focus on skills that relate to combat, agility, and stealth.
They have a punk rocker and biker-chink look about them with high-boots or legging with high-heels, leopard-skin tops and short-shaved hair with a mohawk or rows of braids or pigtails.
House Delaque are a shady house of spies and assassins. They have strong animosity towards House Orlock due to they way they took the House Ulanti contract from them. Due to their stealthy nature, they prefer attacking by ambush or form sniper's nests. Their gangs tend to focus on skills that relate to shooting, agility, and stealth.
Everything about them exudes "mysterious" and "shadowy", from their black trench coats, to they way they casually whisper everything. Due to the low-lighting conditions of their part of Hive City, they are pale and sensitive to bright light. As such, they wear visors, goggles or have light filters implanted into their eyes. Most have completely bald heads. These "Trench Coat Bandits" look like goons from The Matrix trilogy.
House Cawdor is the stronghold of the Cult of Redemption. For this reason all of the gangers wear masks in public to hide their faces from the 'infidels' of the other houses. They are known to hunt mutants and heretics to the point of fanaticism which bring them into conflict with gangs who would utilize them. Like House Orlock, they like to have a balance between range and close-quarter weapons, but with a preference towards the later. Their gangs tend to focus on skills that relate to combat, ferocity, and agility.
They are usually bundled-up in thick clothing with hoods and cloth masks.
House Van Saar is renowned for the quality of their technical products. Their technology is no more advanced than that of anyone else (progress being almost non-existent throughout the Imperium), but the manufacturing processes are precise and its finished materials are of the highest quality. The Noble Houses pay a premium for Van Saar goods, and as a result the House is probably the most wealthy in Hive City. They prefer using specialized weapons and using body armor. Their gangs tend to focus on skills that relate to tech, shooting and combat.
They are marked out by their tight-fitting body-suits which help to sustain them in the harsh hive environment. Such suits look like green versions of "Stillsuits" form the movie Dune. Older Van Saar are often seen sporting a neatly trimmed beard.
The Rules
This game is based the second edition of Warhammer 40,000 rules, but with a number of change to reflect the play-style of Necromunda.
The game plays in an area of no more than 4' by 4', populated by industrial buildings with connecting walkways. Such structures are open floors with few walls, supported by vertical bulkheads that provide some degree of cover. Unlike WH40k, which requires open ground for forces to maneuver, Necromunda is best played with a lot of terrain. If you are playing with few buildings too far apart, than you would get more buildings, as you are not playing the game right! It their is one thing that is really missing from the core set is the lack of barricades (thankfully, that gets rectified in Outlanders). Making a lot of terrain sets is a requirement with this game.
Each players has a gang of 3-12 fighters. A gang requires one Gang Leader: No more; no less! (This is your guy — you play as him.) You can have up to two Heavies. They are weapon specialists and help maintain the gang's weapons. They are the only ones who can use heavy support weapons. Up to half of your gang may be made up of Juvies. They are young, inexperienced gang members. They are limited to a hand weapon and pistol only, and their shooting skill means that they can't hit the broadside of barn! The only good thing about them is that they make great meat-shields (only Juvies panic at the sight of a fallen Juvy) and they can squeeze a few more advancements out of them than the fighters that started off as Gang Members. You can have any number of regular Gang Members. Unlike Juvies, they can use rifle-type weapons. They are also the workhorse of the gang, as they can work territory and hunt for rare items between games. A gang has a starting budget of 1,000 (guilder) credits to buy gang members (including the leader) and to arm them. You are limited to the weapons you can buy and armor and equipment are not available at the start. Everyone gets one knife for free and it is assumed that a figure is armed with a knife, even if disarmed.
In WH40k, shooting requires a to-hit roll, a to-wound roll, a save to avoid a would (due to armor, luck or dodging). This game adds rules for having to shoot the closest, prominent target, getting pinned by enemy fire, being able to fight even with injuries that would take WH40k out of the game, and the like. For movement, rules are added to account for dealing with elevated terrain, like: falling, climbing, jumping, dive charging, and so on. While shooting is geared towards slowing down the enemy's advance, hand-to-hand combat was retooled to be a bloody affair! The way melee combat is worked, a fighter can take a number of injures in a single round of combat! Leadership tests are critical, as it is trigger after seeing a fallen ally, to get a pinned fighter on its feet, and to be used on a Bottle Test: Where the leader makes a roll to see it the gang withdraws after 25% of the gang is taken out-of-action (due to the size of a gang, that usually means 1-3 men).
In between games, there is a Post-Game Sequence. Here you roll to see if any fighter that was taken Out-of-Action sustains permanent injuries on the Serious Injury Table. A fighter only has 1-in-6 change of dying, but the rest are grim, leaving them scarred and crippled. There is a 1-in-12 chance that a fighter might came out on top, surviving with a cool-ass scar or gaining more experience points from the ordeal. Gang members that fought acquire experience points based on they did in the scenario. After so many EP, a fighter gains an advancement with a characteristic boost or a new skill, and Juvies might graduate to become full Gang Members. Surviving Gang Members are set out to work territory for income. The Gang Leader and any extra able Gang Members can head into a settlement to restock up on supplies, buy new weapons and equipment, sell old items, hire new gang members or hired guns (mercenaries), and to hunt for rare and exotic items. And in the end, you have to recalculate the gang's Gang Rating — a measurement of a gang's power, based on the cost of the gang, and their experience points.
To maintain a balance of power, if a weaker gang takes on a stranger gang, then the weaker gang can get "Underdog Bonuses" for earned income and experience points based on the difference in Gang Rating.
Hired Guns include Underhive Scum, Bounty Hunters, and Ratskin Scouts. With them, you have an upfront cost to hire, and an upkeep to retain their services. Once you hire one, you roll a set number of advancements, and they already armed and equipped with their own gear. They do add to your Gang Rating, but not count towards the upper limit of your gang.
Scenarios are rolled randomly, but some scenarios are triggered by circumstance. For example, if you finished a game were your favorite Heavy gets captured due to what was rolled on the Serious Injury Table and you were unwilling to pay the ransom, than you can play Scenario 6: Rescue Mission to prevent the player form selling your Heavy into slavery.
In this version of Necromunda, the rules did not cover the dead of a Gang Leader. Loosing a Gang Leader was serious business, as they are the only character type that can make use of the Leadership ability, Bottle Tests, buy rare items, etc. Basically, the gang would be so crippled, the player would have to disband his gang! This problem gets rectified in Outlanders.
The Esthetics
This game is a mix of '80s cyberpunk and old westerns, with a Mad Max and techno-industrial gothic esthetic. Throughout the book, you'll find pages bordered with industrial beans, with unused areas taken-up by assorted heavy machinery or regular illustrations. You'll see a lot of images of gang members and assorted Underhive scum in dark, gloomy backdrops. Save for the cover pages, both books are in black & white, which really adds to the grim vibe of the setting. (The cover pages are just use to display miniatures and dioramas.)
Some of the best art in the game were made by John Blanche, who's first edition WH40k style really sticks out, as much of what they convey — like the many cyborg warriors — where not used in the initial game (although, they tried with Outlanders). Such things really stuck out, they really added a level of awesome that should have been in the game from the start! Although, much of what was shaped by the end product was by Mark Gibson. His art is the most iconic to the game, and is generally on-point with the miniatures. For a comparison, see this:
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| An image by John Blanche that established the early look of the Escher gangs. | An image by Mark Gibson that would be used for the final look of the Escher gangs. |
When it comes to artwork and esthetics, I could post 100+ pages for a game book that has none, and this game got plenty! But since I'm tired of writing this review, I'll leave off with this:
With its mix of first and second edition artists, and back when they were still thirsty for risk and experimentation, the art does not disappoint.
