How does the new necromunda compare to old necromunda?

[chapter master 454]

So I was always one of those people who loved necromunda back when it was a PDF you printed out and kept in a ring binder (you know, ancient STC that!) and to me that was kind of an awesome game but never a group to play with. Got bit when I attended a Games Days back in yore in one of the most comical events of all time, 2 on 2 with each team member rolling to see who gets what gang member...I ended up with all the special weapons including a lascannon and a heavy stubber...my team mate had to fend off a horde of gangers with nothing but pistols, pipes and hope! Was super fun.

 

So, lets wind that clock forward to now. I keep seeing this necromunda stuff. New stuff. New rules, new models that don't look like David Bowie walked onto the set of Mad Max and I am skeptical.

 

So I will state I don't know what has been kept, what has been removed and if there is even still rules for having a larger overarching campaign against other gangs. I loved the idea of progression, in the few games I got I have had only 1 moment of glory: Gang Leader merced by a juve (one level from being a ganger but all his level ups had rolled Weapon Skill...he was a weaponskilll 5 JUVE).

 

Is there still leveling, getting better gear and gaining skills in the game? Does combat feel good, as in visceral and meaty and not floaty? Is there vertical elements to the game (like getting knocked around could lead to a 1 step shortcut to the bottom floor?)

 

Not bothered about books, I have nearly all the codexes and such for 8th edition so don't need to worry there, if I need to get 15 books, I don't mind. In fact I kind of like that, I tend to enjoy my theorycrafting of possible combos.

Is it good? and how does it compare to old necromunda? (barring ofcourse the lack of certain factions...would love to see modern spyrers and scavs!)

[Gederas]

stuff

So, I never played Old Necromunda. I've played a few games of Newcromunda though.

 

So, lemme break down answers:

Is there still leveling, getting better gear and gaining skills in the game?

Yes, yes and yes.

 

Does combat feel good, as in visceral and meaty and not floaty?

Yes

 

Is there vertical elements to the game (like getting knocked around could lead to a 1 step shortcut to the bottom floor?)

There are and the higher up it goes, the higher the strength and damage.

 

Not bothered about books, I have nearly all the codexes and such for 8th edition so don't need to worry there, if I need to get 15 books, I don't mind. In fact I kind of like that, I tend to enjoy my theorycrafting of possible combos.

Currently you only really need two books to play Necromunda, the core rule book and Gangs of the Underhive. Everything else is expansions on those two (though the House of X books do so much for their specific gang they basically override the Gangs of the Underhive entries).

 

However, in CLASSIC GW, one of the campaigns, the Dark Uprising Campaign, is only in the Necromunda: Dark Uprising specific rulebook.... Yes, the super expensive Necromunda box set has an exclusive campaign in it. You don't NEED it, but if you ever wanted to play a hilariously painful, brutal campaign....

 

Goonhammer has an entire section on Necromunda, which answers a lot of your questions

[Lord_Caerolion]

There is absolutely campaign progression, in fact there's about 5 different sorts of campaigns now. I can't comment too much on the rules, having never really played but certainly paid attention to Oldcromunda, but the major step up that I like now is that the gangs are actually different now, instead of just different skill sets and equipment lists. There's more to Van Saar than "these guys get more energy weapons", more to Goliath than "these guys get solid shot weapons and combat skills". They have actual different stat lines now.

 

Plus, with the assorted House Of books coming out, the Gangs are only becoming more interesting.

[Firedrake Cordova]

The new version of Necromunda (N17) is "the same but different" - the really big differences are:

• it's switched from being "I go, you go", to alternating actions, although champions and leaders can activate nearby models with them
• there's the option to play it both on a traditional 3D table ("Sector Mechanicus"), or on a "2D" table ("Zone Mortalis" - although with Dark Uprising, this is a bit less 2D)
• Leaders, champions, and juves are "main cast", and gangers have been reduced to "supporting characters"
• exotic equipment is less uncommon (one ganger can start with a special weapon, and rare equipment is more available)
• there are extra stats (cool, etc), and the various gangs have different stat lines
• there is no overwatch (it's now a skill)
• no earning XP for wounding hits (only taking out of action)

There are some other minor changes, for example the "firepower die" (which combines both the role of a sustained fire die, and an ammo check indicator), and the introduction of multiple types of campaign (although you'll need the other books for these).

 

Unfortunately, N17 had a bit of a troubled birth, with a lot of bugs in the rules, and a vast swathe of expansions (the first year saw GW releasing 3 [i think] additional books to cover the main houses, which ultimately got rolled into the Gangs of Necromunda book and re-released, for example), although they seem to be finding their way a bit better now.  The underpinning game system is solid, but ... I think as a game I prefer Necromunda Community Edition (available from YakTribe's vault), although maybe that's nostalgia talking.  As a worst-case scenario, at least you can get new models now.

Edited September 9, 2020 by Firedrake Cordova

[Noserenda]

The core system is similar in design, though the mechanics are updated and the scope is a lot broader with bigger differences between gangs. Its not as tight or consistent though with a bunch of inconsistencies and sloppy rules in places which need a bit of house ruling tbh.

That said a game like Necromunda begats house rules anyway :D 

[Toxichobbit]

Seeing as what you've asked has already been answered, I'm going to play devil's advocate. Also, this is going to be long, because I keep on thinking of more stuff to add. You might want to read it in bits over several days. I think I'll save & refine this so I can use it for any other new players interested in the game. TLDR at the bottom.

 

The (IMO) most important question - Are you willing to house rule things in your games and campaigns?

 

Because if you're going to play Necromunda '17, you'll need to.

 

The Bad

 

The current rules are emmental cheese. Delicious, but full of holes. Some things will work so badly you'll wonder if the games designers have ever played the game. Other things will not work at all and you'll be convinced that they have in fact, never played the game.

 

As an example, in the latest book Escher have a skill that allows them to move and fire an Unwieldy weapon (Necro version of a Heavy weapon) without penalty. Which sounds fantastic if you're a 40k player. However, Necromunda has no penalty for moving and firing Unwieldy weapons* so that part of that Escher skill does nothing. Which of course massively devalues the skill to the point where you'd never consider it. However, if you're willing to do a simple house rule to the skill so that it does what it's clearly intended to do, rather than what some 40k rules writer who's never played Necromunda in his/her life wrote the skill to do, then you're grand.

 

* 95% of the time you just can't fire theavy weapons at all if you move, but that's due to the core mechanics of the game, not a penalty for firing heavy weapons - so the Escher skill has no effect on that.

 

Some other examples of sillyness is the new Escher rules now giving them access to a power knife, which had the stats of a power axe (Escher don't have access to a power axe**). Which was then errated to have the stats of a power knife but with some of the rules for a power knife missing. So it'll need errataing again. And probably a third time when the rules team realises that there is no model for an Escher power knife, but there is a model for an Escher power axe - i.e. the original stats were correct, it isn't a power knife with the wrong stats, it's a power axe with the wrong name .

 

** outside of the trading post, but the trading post is meant to represent rarer stuff that the gang can get, aka stuff that has no model options and you'll need to convert. Also, Gangers and Juves never have access to the trading post.

 

Or Slave Ogryn having access to Suspensors, which allow someone equipped with them to do the Necromunda equivalent of moving and firing an Unwieldy ranged weapon (and unlike the Escher skill mentioned above, they actually work with Necromunda rules rather than 40k rules). Slave Ogryn don't have access to any Unwieldy ranged weapons, not even from the Trading Post. So that's nice.

 

Sadly, this is far from an uncommon occurance. Every Necromunda release is riddled with mistakes and outright broken rules. It's fairly clear that the design team have passion and imagination propelling the game forwards, because you can see what they intend and quite frankly, the ideas and direction they want to take the game are amazing. But it's also clear that they have not been givien the resources to make this passion and their ideas a reality, because the actual rules to represent them are, in many cases, badly implemented and sometimes even feel like they've never been played. This is, IMO, pretty disgusting behaviour from GW, as they have the resources to polish this product and they're charging premium prices for it, but releasing something more akin to a beta test of the rules. And I'll keep on whining about this until they get their arses in gear, because I truly love this game and want it to be as good as it could be.

 

This isn't due to covid either, as other's have mentioned it's been going on since Necromunda was re-released in '17 and shows no sign of stopping. While they have improved and erratas are catching some of the mistakes, you're still going to have to fix the rules yourself in places to have a fully working system.

 

The other thing is you need to be willing to convert miniatures. I'm not just talking about the massive amount of options from stuff like the Trading Post and Black Market, where converting is the only way because expecting them to release models for everthing is unrealistic. I'm talking about the basic models a House has access to (specifically Guilds, Exotic Beasts and Brutes). This might be due to covid messing with Forge World's release schedule. I hope it is. But in the past their release decisions have been mind-boggling, so I'm not holding my breath. This only affects the Forge World side of Necromunda though - the GW releases are consistently on point.

 

The final major problem is with their supporting releases - stuff like card packs and dice. They do very limited runs which sell out quickly. Think Indomitus, but every time there's a release. Dice aren't really an issue, you can get by with just standard D6 and a chart, or you can get generic Necromunda dice seperately or in Dark Uprising. If you want gang themed dice though, you're going to have to get them quickly once they're available (usually sell out within a few weeks) or pay extortionate eBay prices. However, cards are an issue. While a lot of the cards are just convenient versions of stuff that's in the books, a couple of sets (Underdog set and more recently Open Hive War set) are not printed anywhere else. Both sold out within minutes. There's also older cards from the original Necromunda Underhive box game and the first House Tactics sets that are no longer available, but there's so many tactics cards been released now that it's not that bad. Now all these cards and dice are optional, you do not need them to play and importantly this issue DOES NOT affect model and book releases. So unless you're a completionist or want a very specific set of rules that were only available as cards, it's not a huge problem but more of an annoyance.

 

 

Release Schedule

I should probably mention the release schedule/how the books are split. So far the main rules and House gangs have had three different sets of rules. The main rules, Escher & Goliath were first in Necromunda Underhive, then the other Houses (Orlock, Van Saar, Cawdor & Delaque) along with the Turf War campaign, Trading Post & Hired Guns were added in the Gang War books (Delaque was actually a free booklet with White Dwarf).

 

Then just after Delaque released the rules were re-done and bundled together with new stuff for each House (Exotic Beasts, Brutes), Hangers-on & Hired Guns (both generic rules and named characters) in Gangs of the Underhive. The "current" Necromunda rulebook was released, including an updated campaign called Dominion and adding some new campaign rules called House Favours and House Sub-Plots (that can be used by any gang) as well as a load more scenarios, split between Zone Mortalis, Zone Mechanicus and Arbitrator (games master) Scenarios. This invalidated most of Necromunda Underhive and the Gang War books.

 

The Book of Peril, which added rules for Venator Gangs, Guild Allies, more named Hired Guns, more Trading Post items, Badzones Battlefields and Badzones Scenarios.

 

The Book of Judgement added the rules for Palanite Enforcer gangs, more named Hired Guns, Criminal Allies, the Law and Misrule campaign, more generic Hangers-on and the Black Market Trading Post.

 

The main rules were updated in Dark Uprising, which also has rules for Enforcers & Corpse Grinders (afaik they're the same as the rules in Judgement & Ruin respectively) and the Uprising campaign. I don't own this one yet so there might be stuff I missed.

 

And finally the Book of Ruin added updated rules for Genestealer Cult gangs (previously WD & WHC), updated rules for Chaos Helot Cult gangs (previously WD), Corpse Grinder Cult gangs, more generic Hangers-on, more named Hired Guns (what a shock), loads more scenarios, multi-player scenarios, gang specific favours, alternate versions of the Uprising campaign & some Arbitrator tools (including a Purestrain Genestealer, which is significantly scarier than they were in '95).

 

The House books started being released this year, with House of Chains (Goliath) & House of Blades (Escher) being out at this point. House of Iron (Orlock) and House of Artifice (Van Saar) have been announced, but delayed due to the pandemic. We still don't know what the Cawdor and Delaque books will be called. These books add new lore for the House, as well as a ton of new rules that pretty much replace any House specific and most generic stuff in Gangs of the Underhive. The actual gangs have been expanded with new Champions and Prospects. The House & generic Brutes are re-printed, as are the House Exotic Beasts (with Escher so far also having gained a new Exotic Beast). The generic Hired Gun rules are reprinted and new House specific Hired Guns have been added, including a new type called House Agents who are more likely to join underdog gangs, helping even out unfair fights. The generic Hangers On from Gangs of the Underhive are re-printed, as well as some new generic (House of Chains only) and House specific Hangers On being added. There's a couple of House specific scenarios and some House specific terrain. Each House has some unique special rules to further customise fighters - so far Goliath have gene-smithing and Escher have chem-alchemy. There's a new skill group for each House and finally some new House specific sub-plots and favours. Oh, and (new) guns. Lots of guns.

 

The House books are invalidating or re-printing the House gang, Hangers-on and generic Hired Gun/Brute/Exotic Beast rules in Gangs of the Underhive, but are not invalidating the named Hired Gun characters or the generic Exotic Beast (Caryatid) in there. So the most up to date place for those named Hired Gun characters & Caryatid to be found is Gangs of the Underhive.

 

Finally there's various bits that have been published in White Dwarf and WarCom. Sadly they've never done an Annual like they have done for some of the other ganes (Warcry, Blackstone Fortress, Kill Team etc) so it's all scattered about. There's rules for Perpetual Campaigns in WD May 2019, expanded rules for Zone Mortalis terrain in WD December 2019 and rules for resurrecting dead fighters in WD 453, but most of the other WD stuff is scenarios. For WarCom, there's some Tactics Cards, the rules for Cawdor exclusive Bounty Hunter and the rules for the now OOP Badzone Delta-7 tiles. Plus some downloadable tokens a (probably out of date) rules reference sheet and a gang roster.

 

The Good

 

I'm not trying to put you off, just to temper your expectations with a realistic view of the state of the game. And although there's plenty of issues with the rules, everything else is awesome. I'll give you a brief rundown of how things are now, so you can see the game's potential compared to Necromunda '95. Bare in mind that while it's not been confirmed, it's likely (IMO) that most of the stuff from Necro '95 will eventually make it's way into Necro '17, so it's probably safe to mentally add all that stuff onto what's already here.

 

Multiple Campaigns

There's currently three different campaigns and I fully expect more to come once the world has recovered from this pandemic and the Necromunda team finish their current planned releases (Codex style books for each of the main House gangs).

• The first is a basic old Necromunda style fight for territory, called the Dominion campaign.
• The second is a campaign around criminal enterprise and the law trying to stop it, called the Law and Misrule campaign. Gangs choose either a legal or illegal allignment, which affects where they can trade (Trading Post or Black Market), which Hired Guns they have access to and which organisations they can ally with (more on that in a bit).
• The third is the Uprising campaingn that chronicles the downfall of a section of the Underhive (of if you're feeling adventurous, the entire Hive) into Chaos. Rising Cults and Gangs being corrupted or fighting off corruption. Very much an apocalyptic feel to it.
• There's several variants of the Uprising campaign. For example, instead of the downfall being caused by Chaos, you can have it being caused by Genestealer Cults. There's one where a section of the Hive has been overun by Corpse Grinders who are eating everybody. One where the Uprising has already happened and you're now trying to survive in a post apocatlyptic campaign. And one that's a reverse of Uprising, where the Uprising has happened but now the Hive authorities are cracking down and order is being restored.
• Technically, there's a fourth campaign called Turf War. It's similar to Dominion, but was in the old Gang War booklets so has been OOP for a few years now.

 

New Gangs

There's already more gangs than there was in '95, more than are shown on the GW website even. Sadly, no Outlanders yet (I really want Ratskin Renegades back),

• There's the six House Gangs - Goliath, Escher, Orlock, Van Saar, Cawdor and Delaque.
• There's three other gangs supported with models - Enforcers (police/milita loyal to the ruling Imperial House), Corpse Grinders (literal butchers/meat factory workers turned to the worship of Khorne) and Slave Ogryns.
• There's three final gangs who are supported with official rules in the Necromunda books (so not just an article in WD or WHC) who have no Necromunda model support. But they can easily be made either by using a mix of Necromunda models, or 40k models. These are Chaos Helot Cults (standard Chaos Cultists), Genestealer Cults and Venators (a loose conglomeration of Bounty Hunters, some of whom can be ex-House gang members if you want).
• Ash Waste Nomads are on their way. There's been concept art for them shown and they're pretty fruity. When we'll see them though is unknown - I'd guess after they've done all the House gang books.
• Not really seperate Gangs, but you can corrupt your House gang by turning to Chaos Worship, or taint them by becoming Genestealer Cultists. This can be as simple as taking your House gang and just applying the relevant rules for the corrupted version, or you can go all in with conversions combining Chaos/Genestealer Cult kits with the House gang kits.

 

Gang Organisation

There's more options than just Leader, Heavy, Ganger, Juve, which makes the gangs more dynamic and interesting than their '95 relatives. At least for the House gangs. Other gangs are a bit more ad-hoc in what options they have. At least half of your Gang must be made up of Gangers and Specialists, with Juves and Prospects added to the list for gangs that have their House book. As the House gangs get their books the generic names are being replaced with thematic House specifc names e.g. Goliath Forge Tyrant or Escher Gang Queen instead of Goliath/Escher Gang Leader. They're all still organised into the following "classes" though;

• Leaders are similar to Necromunda '95. Huge range of options for melee, basic, pistol, special and heavy weapons. Full access to the trading post (or campaign specific equivalent) and they can have multiple equipment sets that they can switch between for games (but not in-game). You only get one.
• Champions are your veteran gang members, similar to Heavies. Every gang has a basic type of Champion, who is like a poor man's Leader, with access to a similarly wide range of weapons, multiple equipment sets and the Trading Post. As each House gets their own book, a second type of Champion is being added that is more House specific. So far we've had Goliath Stimmers and Escher Death Maidens, with Orlock Arms Masters coming soon. They have more limited access to weapons and the Trading Post, but more unique rules. You can have multiple Champions.
• Prospects are a more House specifc version of the '95 Juves being added in the House books. They are unique to their House, both model and rules wise. Their weapon options and Trading Post access is more restrictive than Champions, but they also get some unique weapon and in the case of Escher, a unique Exotic Beast. They can be promoted to Champions if they survive for long enough. So far we've had Goliath Forge Born and Escher Wyld Runners, with Orlock Wreckers coming soon. Lore wise they're young and inexperienced House members joining a gang to prove themselves. You can have multiple Prospects.
• Gangers are the same as they always have been - the rank and file of your gang. They have less weapon options than Leaders or Champions, but more than Prospects or Juves. They have no access to heavy weapons or (in the House books) special weapons and the Trading Post, as well as limited access to advancing (leveling up). They can be promoted to a Specialist. You can have multiple Gangers (obvious, but worth mentioning).
• Specialists are more like a "sub-class" of Gangers, in that they follow most of the rules and have the same unit entry as them. The difference is they get full access to advancing and special weapons, though still no heavy weapons and (in the House books) Trading Post. You can have one Specialist, but can gain more through promotions.
• Juves are an odd one at the moment, as they're two different things. They're the traditional Juves of '95, young inexperienced House members with limited weapon access and full access to the Trading Post. But as the House Books come out they're being changed to just inexperienced (but not necessarily young) House members who join gangs, with limited weapon lists and no access to the Trading Post. Think of it as Prospects are youngsters with potential joining a gang as their first "career", where as Juves are just normal House members (e.g. manufactorum workers) trying their luck with a gang. They can be promoted to Specialists. You can have multiple Juves.
• Exotic Beasts are the gangs pets creatures they take into fights. These are completely new for '17, though kind of the spiritual successors of Wyrd Beastmaster pets from '95. So far Goliath Sumpkrocks, Escher Phelynxs, Chaos Helot Cult Familiars and Genestealer Cult Familiars have models, with Orlock Cyber-Mastiffs coming soon. There are a lot more than that in the rules though - Escher Phyrr Cats, Van Saar Cybrachnids, Cawdor Sheen Birds and Delaque Cephalopod Spekters are awaiting models. There's also some unique generic Exotic Beasts that any gang can use - Caryatids (from way back in the Confrontation days), Gyrinx (kind of has a model), Hacked Cyber-Mastiffs (can just use Orlock Cyber-Mastiffs for them), Gappelhawks and the good old Necromunda Giant Rats. These also have no models. Sadly no Milliasaurs or Ripperjacks yet.
• Brutes are the final fighter "class". They're kind of a catch-all class for the unique big stuff that might accompany a gang. So far we've had Goliath 'Zerkers and the generic Ambots and "Jotunn" Servitor Ogryn. And like Exotic Beasts, Brutes have loads more options that don't have models. Escher Khimerix, Orlock "Lugger" Cargo Servitors, Van Saar "Arachni-Rig" Servo Suits, Cawdor Stig Shamblers and Delaque Spykers. There's also a third generic option, an Iron Automata (aka, the Man of Iron from Blackstone Fortress).
• Gangs have plenty of unique weapons now. Almost every gang has stuff only they have access to and most still have access to a lot of the generic stuff that was around in Necromunda '95.

 

 

Hangers-on

These are bascially non-combatant gang members, though they can still fight occasionally. Most of the time they're back at your gang's base, giving you buffs either in-game or during the stuff that happens outside of the game (rolling for scenarios, trading post, dealing with injuries etc). However, if you play a scenario where an enemy gang is attacking your territory directly, there's a chance some of your Hangers-on might get caught up in the fighting, so you'll need models to represent them.

• Gangs of the Underhive has some generic Hangers-on that can be hired by any gang. There's a Rogue Doc, Gang Lookout, Ammo Jack (keeps you supplied with ammo), Dome Runner (scout) & Slopper (cook). The Dome Runner and Ammo Jack have models. The Rogue Doc and Gang Lookout have models previewed and coming soon.
• There's two named Hangers-on, Bigby Crumb (Ratling Slopper) & Ragnir Gunnstein (Ammo Jack). They aren't in any of the books but come with rules. Because they're a Ratling and a Squat, it's not really appropriate to use them as the generic version who all have human stats. This isn't so bad for Ragnir, because he came out after the generic Ammo Jack. But Bigby was one of those mind boggling releases I mentioned. For some reason they decided to do a model for a Ratling Slopper who didn't have any rules and wasn't needed, but chose to ignore the generic Slopper who does have rules and has been waiting for a model for years. It's like the sculpters just do whatever they feel like regardless of what the rules team need models for.
• The Book of Judgement added Fixers (someone with connections and influence), Scabbers (a criminal fence), 'Narkers (spy), Proxies (a go-between) and a Propagandist (does propaganda stuff).
• The Book of Ruin adds a Cadaver Merchant, Heretek and Agitator.
• House of Chains adds two generics - Brute Handler & Chem Dealer. There's also a Goliath only Pit Trainer.
• House of Chains adds two Escher only - Apprentice Clan Chymist and Shivver (an oracle)

 

 

Gang Allies

Gangs can now ally with various organisations, with House gangs having stronger ties to specific organisations and access to a unique organisation. These organisations provide bonuses and disadvantages to the gang, but also provide a small group of fighters that will sometimes join the gang. This group of fighters is basically a gang within a gang, operating alongside but individually. They have their own leader, and usually 1-3 other members.

• Guilds are the legal allied organisation. There are rules for the Slaver's Guild. Promethium Guild, Water Guild, Corpse Guild, Iron Guild and Guild of Coin. It looks like each of these guilds will have stronger ties to a specific House gang, with Slavers/Goliaths and Escher/Water being confirmed so far. There's also two more Guilds in the lore which don't have rulesthe Electro Guild and the Air Guild. Sadly, only the Slaver's Guild has models so far.
• Criminal Alliances are the illegal allied organisations. There are rules for Cold (off-world void) Traders, Imperial Imposters, Rogue Factoria, Narco Lords, Fallen Houses and Psy-Syndica. Like the Guilds it looks like these will have stronger ties to specific House gangs, with Narco Lords/Goliath and Cold Traders/Escher confirmed so far. They have no models.
• Noble Houses are House gang specific allies, basically the Great Houses of the Upper Hive allying themselves with the Clan Houses of Hive City. So far we've got House Greim/Goliath and House Ulanti/Escher. We still don't know who the other Great Houses will be, but as there's five more mentioned in the lore (Helmawr, Catallus, Ty, Ko'iron and Ran Lo) it's likely it will be the four that aren't Helmawr. And you guessed it, they have no models.

 

 

Hired Guns

Hired Guns are in a weird place. They're too expensive to hire during a campaign unless you're rolling in creds. But if you're rolling in creds you don't really need them. They don't stay with your gang anymore or gain advances, you just hire them for a game (though Bounty Hunters can stick around for a few if you're lucky) then move on. There have been rules introduced for adding them to gangs through stuff like Underdog bonuses and House Favours. Some of these were in WD articles, some from OOP card packs and some in the House books. IMO this is the only way you're going to get much use out of Hired Guns and it's not a common thing to happen (usually a specific result on a 2D6 table). It's a shame because Forge World have made some very unique and cool miniatures for them and they're an integral part of Necromunda's background, but rarely see use. Venator gangs are obviously an exception to this, as all their members are Bounty Hunters.

• Underhive Scum - they have generic rules and a few named characters. No generic model but two named characters have models at least. Rejoice!
• Bounty Hunters - they have generic rules and named characters....so many named characters! No generic models, a decent amount of models for the named characters though not even close to all of them. Seriously, they went a bit mental with the amount of named Bounty Hunters they made. There's a beastman and squat who both have rules and a model.
• Gang specific Bounty Hunters, i.e. Bounty Hunters who can only be hired by gangs of a certain type. Don't get these confused with generic Bounty Hunters who are House members. There's an Escher and Orlock in Gangs of the Underhive - for some reason the Escher wasn't re-printed in House of Blades even though she's literally only available for Escher gangs. We'll have to see if the Orlock is re-printed in House of Iron. There's one Cawdor whose rules are on WarCom, and another Cawdor due for release sometime. There's a Corpse Grinder/Chaos guy whose rules are in The Book of Ruin and an Enforcer due for release sometime whose rules will presumably come with her model. In addition, there's also more gang specific Bounty Hunters in House of Chains and House of Blades and a Genestealer Cult bounty hunter in The Book of Ruin.
• Don't get too hung up on the term Bounty Hunter, Some of them are actual Bounty Hunters, but some are just named characters who use the Bounty Hunter rules. The Corpse Grinder one is kind of a high priest/slaughterer who's only connection to bounty hunting is he also kills stuff. One of the Cawdor ones is an executioner. The Enforcer is a high ranking officer. The Genestealer Cultist is a medic/scientist. None of these actually collect bounties in the lore, though they all use the rules for bounty hunters.
• House Agents - so far only for Goliath and Escher. There's a generic one for each House and one named for Goliath, two named for Escher. These can't be hired normally, but can be recruited by petioning the House for one (instead of rolling on the House Favours table), and hoping that you get a lucky petition roll.
• Ratskin Scouts, nope.
• Wyrds, also nope, though some Bounty Hunters and the Chaos Helot Cult Witch, Genestealer Cult Accolyte & Delaque Spiker do have Wyrd powers.
• Pit Slaves, nope, sorry.
• Hopefully one day we'll see another Hired Gun model that isn't a Bounty Hunter.
• Of the old named characters, only Kal Jerhico and Scabbs have made the transition to Necromunda '17. The other ones have neither rules nor models. So yeah, Bull Gorg has still not got a model. It's only been 25 years...

 

New Lore

The lore has been updated and is much more interesting and detailed. There's more lore about the planet itself, going beyond Hive Primus into the other Hives and even offworld into the orbital docks. Each House has had their role more clearly defined and their origins explained, some of them going back to the founding of the planet and having existed under various different names over the millenia.

• Goliath are gene-crafted ex-slaves and forge workers.
• Escher are all female and highly skilled chemists.
• Orlock are still miners and bikers (to protect the mining convoys).
• Van Saar are technologically superior, but universally suffer from a short lifespan due to cancer brought on by the partial STC and machinery they have access to.
• Cawdor are still highly religious, but are also now scrap merchants and recyclers, making use out of everything the rest of the hive throws away.
• Delaque are still information brokers and assassins, with close ties to the ruling House and an unknown origin.

 

 

Game Types & Battlefields

There's multiple "environments" you can play in. The basic two Game Types are Sector Mechanicus and Zone Mortalis, which can be further modified by different Battlefields. Some of these are things that happen and modify the rules, while some are terrain you put into play. I assume as they add more Battlefields we'll see them following a similar format to the current Badzones (see below).

• Zone Mortalis is the tunnels and sewers of the underhive. It's got little to no vertical options and is quite cramped. It was originally represented by the cardboard tiles found In Necromunda Underhive and the Badzone Delta-7 expansion. Some of those tiles had interesting (and deadly) features on them that had unique rules. Those have been replaced by the plastic Zone Mortalis tiles and walls. While these look really good, they're incredibly generic with no special rules or features.
• Sector Mechanicus is the traditional Necromunda, with walkways, platforms, ramps and ladders. It's got a lot more vertical options and is represented by the 40k Zone Mechanicus stuff.
• The only Battlefield we've had so far is the Badzones. It includes things like dangerous flora, smokestacks, ammo crates, fuel drums, Underhive ruins, abandoned machinery, industrial claws etc (represented by the 40k Death World Forest & Sector Mechanicus terrain/objectives).
• There's also a Badzone Enviroments table that modifies the board, depending on where you're fighting. Stuff like Sump Seas, Ancient Manufatorums, Warp Tainted areas etc.
• Finally there's an Badzone Events table to roll on for each campaign week, kind of like the old Arbitrator Events table.

 

 

Scenarios

There are a lot of scenarios, way more than Necromunda '95. They're not all balanced and some of them have wonky rules, but even taking that into account it's a lot better than just the 14 we used to have. Sadly, there's no modern version of The Purge yet.

• 7 Zone Mortalis scenarios (Introductory Scenario: Turf War, Tunnel Skirmish, The Trap, Forgotten Riches, The Marauders, Sneak Attack, Smash & Grab) in Necromunda: Underhive. These have specific maps using the tiles (and box) of the game, so unless you have the whole set they're not much use.
• 6 scenarios (Stand-off, Looters, Ambush, Border Dispute, Sabotage. Rescue Mission) in Gang War 1.
• 10 scenarios (Last Stand, Escape the Pit!, Downtown Dust-up, Shoot-out, Caravan Heist, Spook Harvest, In the Dark, Archaeo-hunters, Prison Break, Monster Hunt) & 2 multi-player scenarios (Gang Moot, Pitfight) in Gang War 3.
• 6 scenarios (The Hit, Settlement Attack, Escape!, Murder Cyborg, Escort Mission, Fighter Down) in Gang War 4.
• 6 Sector Mechanicus scenarios reprinted from Gang War 1 (Stand-off, Looters, Ambush, Border Dispute, Sabotage, Rescue Mission), 6 Zone Mortalis scenarios reprinted from Necromunda: Underhive (Tunnel Skirmish, The Trap, Forgotten Riches, The Marauders, Sneak Attack, Smash & Grab) 11 Arbitrator senarios reprinted from Gang War 3 & 4 (Last Stand, Escape the Pit!, Downtown Dust-up, Shoot-out, Caravan Heist, Ghast Harvest, Archaeo-hunters, Escort Mission, Fighter Down, Murder Cyborg, The Hit) & 2 multiplayer scenarios reprinted from Gang War 3 (Gang Moot, Pitfight) in the Necromunda Rulebook. The Necromunda: Underhive scenarios no longer have specific maps so you don't need the tiles from the original box.
• In the Dark, Prison Break, Monster Hunt & Settlement Attack from Gang War 3 & 4 have not been reprinted.
• 5 Badzones scenarios (Escape the Badzone, Manufactorum Raid, The Conveyer, Fungal Horror, Toll Bridge) from The Book of Peril.
• 12 scenarios (Show of Force, Hit and Run, Search and Destroy, Meat Harvest, Propaganda, Scavenge, Public Execution, Takeover, Hunt Them Down, Ritual, Blood Rites, Slaughter) and 6 multiplayer scenarios (Meeeeeeeeeat!, Daemonic Posession, Meat for the Grinder, Urban Renewal, War in the Shadows, Eng Times) in The Book of Ruin.
• 3 House Goliath scenarios (The Beatdown, Something to Prove, Feast of the Fallen) in House of Chains.
• 2 House Escher scenarios (khimerix Hunt, Back From The Dead) in House of Blades.
• 1 scenario (Claim the Spire) in WD January 2018, 1 scenario (The Gauntlet) in WD Febuary 2018, 5 mini-campaign scenarios in WD October 2019 (Night Falls, Burn Them Out, Infiltration, The Challenge, Hold Until Dawn), 4 raid scenarios (Daylight Robbery, Mercator Storehouse Heist, Clandestine Rendevous, Bar Brawl) in Necromunda: Gang Raids (WD Dec 2019).

 

 

Upcoming Stuff

There's quite a lot of stuff they've said that they're working on, but hasn't been released yet.

• They want to explore more areas on Necromunda. The first mentioned area was the Badlands, which they've now done.
• Hive Secundus, which is currently infested with radiation-mutated Genestealer Cults and walled off from the rest of the world by the PDF.
• Hive Mortis, overrun by Plague Zombies and Poxwalkers.
• Hive Arcos, overrun by Khornate cults. This may possibly have morphed into Dark Uprising.
• Ash Wastes, campaigns outside the Hives invloving vehicles, shanty towns, convoys & guilder cargo rigs.
• Sump Seas, basically the Moby Dick spider story from Necromunda '95.
• Polar Spoil Mountains, something about searching for riches among frozen mountains of industrial spoil.
• The Eye of Selene, aka the orbital docks and defences of Necromunda. Zero G combat, cargo cultists, Ur-Ghul infestations, pirates and smugglers.
• As mentioned earlier, they're doing an Ash Wastes Nomad gang.
• No mention of Spyrer, Ratskin Renegade, Redemptionist, Scavvy or Pit Slave gangs yet.
• Also no mention of rules/models for the original named Hired Guns (execpt for Kal & Scabbs).

 

Hopefully this has give you a good overview of the game, both good and bad. While I firmly believe the good outweighs the bad and there's loads more potential for the game than was explored in Necromunda '95, I think it's still important that anyone considering the game is aware of it's faults.

 

 

TLDR: the game has SO much potential, but bad rules quality means you're going to have to do some house ruling if you want to unlock it all.

[Lord_Caerolion]

I wouldn't be surprised if we see an eventual book about the Hive Spire, given there have been a handful of references of Gangs that aren't just Law-Abiding, but "allied to the Imperial House (House Helmawr)". If this is true, it also wouldn't surprise me to see Spyrers included in there.

[chapter master 454]

So basically the rules are just like old necromunda, rules barely held together by a hope, dream and a frigate worth of duct-tape! Nothing new with necromunda being waylaid by GW and left to just tick over on whatever it has.

 

I decided to grab the rule book, the gang book (the one where they are all collated together) and the book of judgment. Bit of a big toe dip but wanted to get a good look at whats going on in the guts of the rules. Personally, the biggest weakness is that the 2D element of the game seems supported when what I remember of Necromunda is having those fights that rage from walkways, rooftops and that suddenly see gang members spiral to their demise to the ground below. I'll need to make a note that this game NEEDS terrain to be fun but that was always the case.

 

However I am happy to see the rules are as dense as I remember from original necromunda. Dense being both a positive and negative. Dense means the rule makers (toxi points this out) can have hard time remembering what they did where and what does what and that also goes for players but it leads to a lot of discovery and intrigue imo from players being able to feel good about finding unique pieces of gear and letting it rip no matter what it is. Sure there are misfires (like that heavy weapon issue. Not a hard fix and in Necromunda, RAI tends to be the best fit imo) but from what I am being told and from what I have read, seems like the game is a good bit of fun that really does capture what I would love about necromunda.

[Gederas]

So basically the rules are just like old necromunda, rules barely held together by a hope, dream and a frigate worth of duct-tape!

I mean... Isn't that GW rules in general though? :lol:

 

I decided to grab the rule book, the gang book (the one where they are all collated together) and the book of judgment. Bit of a big toe dip but wanted to get a good look at whats going on in the guts of the rules. Personally, the biggest weakness is that the 2D element of the game seems supported when what I remember of Necromunda is having those fights that rage from walkways, rooftops and that suddenly see gang members spiral to their demise to the ground below. I'll need to make a note that this game NEEDS terrain to be fun but that was always the case.

 

However I am happy to see the rules are as dense as I remember from original necromunda. Dense being both a positive and negative. Dense means the rule makers (toxi points this out) can have hard time remembering what they did where and what does what and that also goes for players but it leads to a lot of discovery and intrigue imo from players being able to feel good about finding unique pieces of gear and letting it rip no matter what it is. Sure there are misfires (like that heavy weapon issue. Not a hard fix and in Necromunda, RAI tends to be the best fit imo) but from what I am being told and from what I have read, seems like the game is a good bit of fun that really does capture what I would love about necromunda.

I mean, if all else fails, the Necromunda books are AMAZING fluff-wise. Seriously, these books have better fluff in them than any of the 40k Codices/Supplements I've read.

 

Also, yeah. In Necromunda terrain is mandatory. I can explain the model thing in Necromunda: You don't need the Gangs at all to play Necromunda. But you NEED terrain. A LOT of terrain.

 

And no, the 2D element is for the Zone Mortalis games. Which are a whole other kettle of fish when it comes to the shenanigans in them. Yeah, you don't have much in the way of worrying for falling (outside of ZM games that use the higher-level set pieces), but.... Line of sight blocking corridors and windy passageways? Melee gangs love it, and Van Saar cry because of it (GOOD)*. But the standard Sector Mechanicus missions are perfectly fine and have all the things to mentioned.

 

 

* Van Saar in Newcromunda/Necromunda17 are notoriously considered OP because they're ridiculously shooty and have very good guns and very good Ballistic skill. Seriously, their Leader has native BS2+ iirc and the Specialists can have BS3+ base. Combine that with a ton of very good, long-range guns and you've got a recipe for disaster....

[chapter master 454]

oh great, my favourite gang is the best one...sounds first world problem but I generally don't like using top of the line, tend to enjoy seeing what I can do with middle ground...meh, might just focus then on the police and making a parody of rainbow 6! (Smog 5?)

[Lord_Caerolion]

 

* Van Saar in Newcromunda/Necromunda17 are notoriously considered OP because they're ridiculously shooty and have very good guns and very good Ballistic skill. Seriously, their Leader has native BS2+ iirc and the Specialists can have BS3+ base. Combine that with a ton of very good, long-range guns and you've got a recipe for disaster....

 

 

Champions and Leaders have BS2+, all Gangers have BS3+, Juves have BS4+. It's this, combined with their awesome gear lists, and amazing Skill access, that can make them OP. You can still play them and have fun, just don't min-max everything.

 

This is partly where one of the other issues with the game is, in that the Skills are all over the place in usability. Van Saar? Skill access perfectly complements them. Cawdor? Shooty Champions (WS4+/BS3+) that only have starting access to Brawn/Combat skills that don't complement them at all.

[Gederas]

* Van Saar in Newcromunda/Necromunda17 are notoriously considered OP because they're ridiculously shooty and have very good guns and very good Ballistic skill. Seriously, their Leader has native BS2+ iirc and the Specialists can have BS3+ base. Combine that with a ton of very good, long-range guns and you've got a recipe for disaster....

Champions and Leaders have BS2+, all Gangers have BS3+, Juves have BS4+. It's this, combined with their awesome gear lists, and amazing Skill access, that can make them OP. You can still play them and have fun, just don't min-max everything.

 

This is partly where one of the other issues with the game is, in that the Skills are all over the place in usability. Van Saar? Skill access perfectly complements them. Cawdor? Shooty Champions (WS4+/BS3+) that only have starting access to Brawn/Combat skills that don't complement them at all.

Yeah, pretty much this. Van Saar are in the awkward spot of they synergize very well between their stats, gear and skill access and can be very easy to break.

 

Like, I was going to be running a campaign (then Covid happened) and one of my players, solely by just picking what he thought seemed cool and fitting, made a basically unbeatable Van Saar gang at creation for other players. I pointed that out to him and he goes "Oh.... That's not what I meant to do....".

 

Essentially, don't min-max and you're good, but do pay attention because it's easy to UNINTENTIONALLY min-max them :lol:

[Lord_Caerolion]

And don't take Overseer.

[Interrogator-Chaplain Ezra]

And don't take Overseer.

Or do, and giggle like a maniac. "Forth, my pets! Forth! For the Emperor!"

 

[laughs in Cawdor heavy crossbow]