New Year, New Gang! - What are your 'munda plans for 2021?

[Xenith]

I dont think we should be using special characters/equivalent at the outset of a campaign with quite new players, no?

 

Or is Kal the equivalent of a warband on his own?

[ThePenitentOne]

2021 will be the year I get into Necromunda, though the main reason I'll be doing it is because I intend to use the models as 40k cultists.

 

Specific plans:

 

Escher Gang: Threshers (ie. Agriworld Civilians), which can be recruited by either GSC or Chaos

 

Escher Expansion set: The two undead-ish Escher are already chaos; they are followers of the Grain Maiden, who was the diety that most farmers followed

                                     prior to the Age of Apostasy. 

 

Delaque: 2 models to be converted with an Espern Locarno head and a modified Espern Locarno head to build other members of House Locarno for a special

                Kill Team. Others will be additional Threshers/ Crime Lords for chaos or GSC to recruit

 

Palatine Enforcers: Inquisitorial Acolytes (Note: might buy the Palatine expansion gang too- like the shields)

 

Cawdor: Ministorum Preachers/ Imperial Cultists/ Frateris Militia types

 

Orlock Gang: These are a maybe. They'd make great Threshers/ Chaos/ GSC recruits

 

Add to this that I already have 10 classic metal Escher and 10 Classic metal Delaques to paint. These had been previously painted, but I stripped them a few years ago and never got around to repainting.

 

So obviously if I'm going to have this many Necromunda models, I might as well get the necessary rules so I can also use them in Necromunda. The best models are the ones that do double or even triple duty. Some of my BSF models have roles in my 40k armies AND Kill Team in addition to their use in BSF- they are the hardest working models in my collection.

[Chaeron]

My plans are primarily terrain based this year - excited to get a multifunctional Zone Mortalis 4x4 sorted... and ideally use gangs as a palette cleanser. Far too many have been neglected - and I really want to change that! 

 

Really excited as ever to see what everyone else does. ^_^

[Brother Bahram]

New to Necromunda.

Have 10 Cawdor’s to paint.

Next is to build some terrain

[Squark]

I've got some Zone Mortalis stuff in need of painting, and I think that'll be my first priority.

 

 

Speaking of which, the Thermic Plasma Conduits are nigh impossible to find nowadays unless you shell out for Dark Uprising (Which I don't care to, since I don't like the Corpse Grinders or Enforcers). Does anyone know if the plasma conduits from the new Battlezone: Manufactorum kits are to scale with the ZM kits?

[Dosjetka]

Looks like this year it'll be Enforcers for me!

They're ready to go up against a bunch of Goliaths tomorrow in my first game of Necromunda!

I've also got my list converted over to BBCode (thanks, Tyler!) so I've added it in the tab below in case anyone's curious how they're kitted out.

Hidden Content

Dos' Palanite Enforcer Squad

Name	Type	Equipment	Skills	Cost	Status
Palanite Captain	Leader	Enforcer shotgun, shock stave, stub gun, flak armour, armoured undersuit, magnacles	Team Work	225	Assembled
Palanite Sergeant	Champion	Shock stave, stub gun (w/ dumdum rounds), flak armour, armoured undersuit, magnacles	Restraint Protocols	130	Assembled
Palanite Sergeant	Champion	Stub gun, sniper rifle, flak armour, armoured undersuit, magnacles	Got Your Six	135	Assembled
Palanite Patrolman	Ganger	Stub gun (w/ dumdum rounds), flak armour, armoured undersuit, photo-lumens, magnacles	N/A	90	Assembled
Palanite Patrolman	Ganger	Stub gun (w/dumdum rounds), flak armour, armoured undersuit, magnacles	N/A	75	Assembled
Palanite Patrolman	Ganger	Two stub guns (both w/dumdum rounds), flak armour, armoured undersuit, magnacles	N/A	85	Assembled
Palanite Patrolman	Ganger	Enforcer shotgun, stub gun, flak armour, armoured undersuit, magnacles	N/A	130	Assembled
Palanite Patrolman	Ganger	Enforcer shotgun, stub gun, flak armour, armoured undersuit, magnacles	N/A	130	Assembled

[CaptainDangerous]

I’m a bit late to the party, but I plan on making at least two gangs this year:

a Cawdor Gang kitbashed with pox walkers with a sprinkling of guard. They will belong to the Cult of Hive Guys (burger and fries)

and a Van saar Gang kitbashed with fantasy beastmen!  I’m aiming for a strong contrast visually ....and I hate Van saar!

im not sure what I’m doing with the Van saar torsos yet, maybe fallout vault suits? But I don’t want to commit to them just yet!

 

my non mini resolution is to try to post more here!  There’s some very talented folks around here and I really look forward to seeing what 2021 brings!

[Widowmaker82]

I'm currently working on my Cawdor gang. I completed one ganger as a test of the colour scheme about a year ago and I've started working on the rest of the starting gang members recently. I'd love to get the lot of them done in time for the House of Faith release, just in time for me to have to change the starting gang to accommodate the new stuff!!

 

I've also been working on my Orlocks gang, converting up some more gang members including an Ambot. Not sure when I'll get round to painting more (again I have done one ganger as a test of the colour scheme). 

 

Maybe I should start a thread to post up my progress and provide some impetus to work on all of them?

[Dosjetka]

Starting a thread is a good move, even if things are a little quiet around here. It can only help to get more people browsing this little corner of the forum. :tu:

 

Perhaps it's also time to organise another event to drum up some mojo and traffic? I'll have a chat with Ranulf and see if we can get something rolling.

[Squark]

Starting a thread is a good move, even if things are a little quiet around here. It can only help to get more people browsing this little corner of the forum.

 

Perhaps it's also time to organise another event to drum up some mojo and traffic? I'll have a chat with Ranulf and see if we can get something rolling.

Sounds like fun!

[Xenith]

Listening to my heart over my head, I went and shoved a rad cannon into my starting gang. Keeping 8 members, I'm a little underequipped, but priorities are mesh armour on the important dudes, a shield on the Prime, and a lasgun or second pistol on the last tek. 

 

Prime - plasma pistol, overseer

Autek - plasma gun, fast shot,

Autek - rad cannon, munitioneer

Tek - Lasgun

Tek - Lasgun

Tek - Lasgun

Tek - Lasgun

Tek - Laspistol

[Dosjetka]

So you're running them without armour at first? A bit of a bold move, if so!

[Xenith]

Is that a bad idea? Not played Munda, just Mordheim where armour really doesn't matter - can the nooks shield the main people?

[Squark]

Is that a bad idea? Not played Munda, just Mordheim where armour really doesn't matter - can the nooks shield the main people?

Models default to the closest target, but can choose a different target if it's an easier shot or if they pass a cool check.

 

Going without armor will lead to significantly more injuries, which means more credits spent patching them up and replacing them. Juves and some gangers/prospects can go without, but you should never neglect your Leader and Champions' armor.

 

If you drop your prime to a lasgun or laspistol (Overseer leaders really shouldn't have more than a backup gun anyway), I think you'd be most of the way to giving the three of them Mesh Armor.

Edited March 8, 2021 by Squark

[Xenith]

Ah, good, thanks - Can he not make another shooting action in addition to the overseer action? I think I'd rather have a leader who can do stuff rather than telling others to. 

 

Is it more important to have the armour, on key models, or 8 guys to start?

[Dosjetka]

The Order action from the Overseer skill is Double so you won't have any actions left to make your Leader shoot, so there's little point in investing creds into weaponry that will barely be used.

 

With regards to armour, do what feels right. I'd suggest armour on your Leader and Champions, and then it's up to you to decide whether or not your gangers need it at gang creation. I'd lean on the side of "yes, they do" because Van Saar models are expensive and if you lose more than one in your first game… it'll hurt badly. Even losing one can prove to be problematic given your relatively low numbers. That said, if leaving armour off your gangers allows you to have more models in your gang at creation, perhaps it's worth it as long as you're then careful with how you position your models during your first few battles. Good use of cover is essential!

[Squark]

Ah, good, thanks - Can he not make another shooting action in addition to the overseer action? I think I'd rather have a leader who can do stuff rather than telling others to. 

 

Is it more important to have the armour, on key models, or 8 guys to start?

As Dosjetka says, Overseer is a double action, so models with it tend to do nothing but shout orders. It's why some people don't like the skill; it's very powerful, but it also takes what should be your coolest fighter and leaves them with nothing to do but shout. That being said, if you have your heart set on running that rad-cannon at the start of the game, you probably need an overseer to allow the bearer to reposition.

 

As for armor vs bodycount... They're both very important. Running 8-10 models at the start of a campaign gives you the reserves you need to keep a full roster each mission even if several people are in recovery, while armor protects your big investments. Also, as the saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure; A suit of mesh armor is 15 credits, while a visit to the doc is 2d6x10- an average of 70 credits!

 

I think the issue is that rad cannon- heavy weapons are huge investments that force you to make serious compromises elsewhere during campaign gang creation (As well as making Overseer near-mandatory unless you're playing GSC). I'm not saying don't run it (If throwing out those pie plates is what seems most fun to you, then do it!), but you should be aware your gang is going to have a real glass jaw unless you can get a few easy early wins. You may also want to tailor your other choices towards improving your credit flow- Taking Fixer instead of Munitioneer or Fast Shot or allying to get extra credits (especially if that alliance comes with a retinue you can use as meatshields!) You might also consider hiring a Fixer hanger-on to get the Fixer skill and make those alliances easier to maintain, if you have access to The Book of Judgement.

Edited March 9, 2021 by Squark

[Widowmaker82]

Listening to my heart over my head, I went and shoved a rad cannon into my starting gang. Keeping 8 members, I'm a little underequipped, but priorities are mesh armour on the important dudes, a shield on the Prime, and a lasgun or second pistol on the last tek. 

 

Prime - plasma pistol, overseer

Autek - plasma gun, fast shot,

Autek - rad cannon, munitioneer

Tek - Lasgun

Tek - Lasgun

Tek - Lasgun

Tek - Lasgun

Tek - Laspistol

 

Nice Astra Militarum infantry squad... ohhhh, it's a gang. [/sarcasm]

 

Sorry, I couldn't resist!  

All joking aside, I'm not sure you'll win many friends in a campaign with a gang like that. It's up to you whether that concerns you at all and everything I'll say is purely personal opinion.

 

Van Saar are often cited as one of the most powerful house gang lists. I do commend you for taking the Rad-cannon at least (you could have just gone for another plasmagun for peak effectiveness), but the rest of the gang is ticking many of the "reasons your opponents will not enjoy playing you" boxes.

• Overseer isn't something I've ever used myself, but I think many people consider it borderline broken (part of the reason I've never used it).
• The lasguns don't hit hard but they hit often (on a Tek they hit on a 2+ in the open at up to 18" range, without having to aim) and they will keep most of an opponent's gang pinned for half the game. Any melee oriented gang is going to have minimal chance to engage you.
• The fast-shot plasmagun is your real damage dealer. WIth overseer giving him another chance to act he can potentially shoot 4 times. That's going to wreck most opposition.
• The rad-cannon is a much more esoteric choice (I heartily approve!) but is still a threat and will stop an opponent bunching up at all and probably do most of his damage through stacking flesh wounds.
• Contrary to what has been said above, you do actually have armour on all of your gang already. Van Saar gang members all come with an armoured bodyglove which is included in the cost. You can purchase additional armour to wear on top of this to provide additional protection (with Mesh Armour you'll have a very respectable 4+ save). I'd still aim to get armour on your leader and champions early on, but it's less of a necessity to start with it.

You may be able to tell I'm somewhat biased against Van Saar. I love their models and background but I think GW have made mistakes in their gang list. Specifically, being able to field multiple BS 2+ gang members with powerful weaponry at the outset is poor design in my opinion, and they have very strong skill choices (except the tech skills - they're a bit poo) and weapon options (including some with discounts). They also don't actually pay for the armoured bodyglove they start with, even though it's included in their cost (it's a slightly improved Armoured Undersuit available to other gangs at a cost of 25 credits - knock 25 creds of the starting cost of Van Saar gang members and they're stupid cheap). It's very easy to do exactly what you have done and build a somewhat unfriendly starting gang without realising it. Assuming you don't realise it.

 

There's several things you could do to soften the gang a little bit but maintain a competitive gang:

• Mix-up the weapons given to your Teks. This is the biggest thing for me personally - I'd find a gang like that to lack personality and basically be a bit boring. The other basic weapon options available to Teks are really decent, though they do cost a few extra creds. You could even go crazy and give someone a melee weapon 
• Take 1-2 Subteks or Neoteks rather than Teks. Van Saar juves are some of the best in the game.
• Swap one of the Augmeks for an Archeotech - they have a similar stat-line but are more up-close-and-personal with their weapon options and skill options. Or...
• Only take one champion to start with. This is a huge change, but it would open up a lot more credits for the rest of the gang to play with.

Understandable if you don't necessarily want to take Archeoteks or Neoteks as they're a separate kit to buy.

 

It's all up to you ultimately. If you disagree or don't care, you can write-off everything I say as the ravings of a Van Saar hating mad man!!   

 

I just know that if I ever do a Van Saar gang myself I'd go in a very different direction.

[Jolemai]

A bit late to this, but the answer is Delaque.

[Xenith]

 

 the ravings of a Van Saar hating mad man

 

Thoughts definitely appreciated! I know the problems of Van Saar in the game, which is why it took so long to pull the trigger. They just look the best. If Orlocks had been more miners than Biker gang, or if Delaque was more...dynamic like the older models instead of a baldy goth rave, I'd have gone with them! 

 

I do want the gang to be fun to play against, but also not to the point of crippling me. I checked out Goonhammer for advice...but they have a kind of WAAC approach to narrative games, so used them as more a guideline. I do love the rad cannon, the rad gun seems fn, but I think I need at least one plasma gun in there to actually do some damage. 

 

I'm keen to get a hell of a lot of terrain on the table, so hopefully playing a good chunk of zone mortalis, which should banace things out? I'm in two minds on overseer, and not committed. I prefer my leader to lead by example, so whats the best skill for a plasma pistol + shield guy? Hip shooting?

 

No Archaeotek or Neotek models yet, but aim to tget them as they look great. Working from Yaktribe as I dont have the HoA book yet. 

[Widowmaker82]

 

 

 the ravings of a Van Saar hating mad man

 

Thoughts definitely appreciated! I know the problems of Van Saar in the game, which is why it took so long to pull the trigger. They just look the best. If Orlocks had been more miners than Biker gang, or if Delaque was more...dynamic like the older models instead of a baldy goth rave, I'd have gone with them! 

 

I do want the gang to be fun to play against, but also not to the point of crippling me. I checked out Goonhammer for advice...but they have a kind of WAAC approach to narrative games, so used them as more a guideline. I do love the rad cannon, the rad gun seems fn, but I think I need at least one plasma gun in there to actually do some damage. 

 

I'm keen to get a hell of a lot of terrain on the table, so hopefully playing a good chunk of zone mortalis, which should banace things out? I'm in two minds on overseer, and not committed. I prefer my leader to lead by example, so whats the best skill for a plasma pistol + shield guy? Hip shooting?

 

No Archaeotek or Neotek models yet, but aim to tget them as they look great. Working from Yaktribe as I dont have the HoA book yet. 

 

 

Well you are playing them for all the right reasons! I have to agree the models look fantastic. GW did a great job on the update from previous editions.

 

Honestly, as powerful as it is, I'd still be all over the plasmagun toting champion with fast-shot if I played Van Saar. He is like a slam dunk of stats, skill and weapon that were just clearly meant to be. Even making efforts to tone the gang down a little, I think it's fair enough to still have someone like that in the gang. And as good as he is, he's one failed ammo roll away from being a paperweight (plasma weapons have scarce trait so cannot be reloaded). So one of your early priorities should be to get him a backup weapon, even if it's just a laspistol; you can give the laspistol all sorts of extra doodads during the campaign to make it quite decent.

 

As for the prime, he has the option of leadership, shooting and savant skills for primary (so for a starting skill). From leadership, I thing Inspirational is an excellent skill - I took that on my Cawdor leader and it saved my bacon numerous times during a campaign. I think Mentor is a good skill too as experience can be quite slow to accrue and anything to boost that is good. Iron Will isn't flashy, but it's a good skill for smaller gangs to help stop you bottling. 

 

Shooting skills are pretty good across the board - having said that some of them (gunfighter/trick shot) just improve your chances of hitting in certain situations, which a guy with BS 2+ doesn't really need. Fast shot is great, but he will often need to move to get the plasma-pistol in range/LOS. Marksman and Precision Shot are ok, but you need to fish for 6s and the plasma pistol already has reasonable damage and AP as it is. Though I do think the idea of pulling off a 6 to hit with Marksman on a maximal plasma pistol shot (for 6 damage) is hilarious and will vaporise pretty much anything you will meet in Necromunda!

 

Hip shooting offers something else and would be a good skill if you're looking for your your leader to lead from the front, and helps overcome one of his weaknesses (slow movement). Just a note of caution on that though; it's can be a risky strategy having your leader lead from the front, especially as his melee capabilities leave quite a lot to be desired. He will get horribly beaten to death against any competent melee character (Escher leaders and death maidens, Goliath leaders and stimmers etc.). If this is your plan for him (and I'm all for it), you probably want to give him some back-up. Perhaps a sacrificial subtek to act as meat-shield in case your leader runs into a perfect position, rolls a 1 to hit and is staring down the barrel of a sound thrashing.

 

Savant is a weird skill set with really solid if unspectacular skills (fixer, savvy trader), a couple that just don't do enough to feel worthwhile (medicae, connected) and one that's just not good (ballistics expert), especially on a guy with BS2+. Munitioneer is a great skill when you have weapons with bad ammo rolls and scarce (aka plasma weapons) but as it's an aura you don't really need it on more than one guy, especially at the start. Fixer and savvy trader are both ways to keep the creds flowing which is always good; fixer is basically an extra 10-30 creds each game, as long as the guy with it isn't captured or in recovery. Doesn't sound like a lot but it will build up nicely over the course of a campaign. Savvy trader arguably makes you just as much money because it's a 20 cred saving on one purchase from the trading post each game (you'll almost always be buying stuff from the trading post) plus a bonus on the rarity roll. 

 

That covers pretty much all the skills he can start with. I think you've nailed it if you want someone to lead from the front and be a bit flashy. If you want someone to be a bit more cautious, there's several leadership or savant skills to choose from.

 

The terrain will definitely level things up, and I think playing with plenty of it is really important to give melee gangs a chance. Van Saar will certainly be less threatening in Mortalis where they can't always leverage their superior shooting due to lack of LOS. Though melee threat ranges are quite low in general I find (except Escher death maidens; they can get into melee scary quick), so you shouldn't be left unable to compete.

 

You could go for something like this as a gang:

 

Prime, Plasma Pistol, Mesh Armour (Hip shooting or a more cautious skill option)

Augmek, Plasma Gun (Fast Shot)

Augmek, Rad Cannon (Munitioneer)

Tek, Lasgun

Tek, Suppression Laser

Tek, Las Carbine

Subtek, Laspistol x2

Subtek, Lasgun

 

I think that maintains the core of your gang, but honestly I think it is more interesting. The subteks (along with everything else) can be built from the basic Van Saar gang box. They're allowed to take lasguns as of House of Artifice - you'd probably want to do something to differentiate them from teks, like a slightly different spot colour or maybe leave off the neural-purgers; those mecha-ponytails, which neoteks don't have, and the background indicates are for the more veteran gang members to counteract rad-phage as they age.

 

Early purchases I'd be making during the campaign includes a shield for the leader (I would be happy for you to model the leader with it from the start as long as you tell them he doesn't have it pre-game and intend to buy it ASAP, and I expect most people are the same), back-up weapons for the leader and augmeks, suspensor for the rad-cannon (so you can move and fire it) and armour for the augmeks. That's 155 creds of equipment minimum, so probably a couple of games if you're lucky.

 

Anyway, good luck whatever you plan to do 

[FormelyKnownAsSmashyPants]

House Orlock gang, Redemptionists gang, and Emperor willing we get new IG for 40k, then a PDF/IG deserters themed Venator gang. Also want do some Sector Mechanics terrain up, which will also double for 40k and SWA. For Shadow War Armageddon I want do an IG killteam, and put together and paint some T'au Pathfinders for my brother so he'll have a force for SWA also. Edited March 21, 2021 by Captain Smashy Pants

[Xenith]

Had my first game last night, I went with:

Prime, Plasma Pistol, Mesh Armour, Mentor.

Augmek, Mesh, Plasma Gun, Fast Shot.

Augmek, Mesh, Rad Cannon, Munitioneer

Tek, Lasgun

Tek, Lasgun

Tek, Lasgun

Subtek, Laspistol x2

Subtek, Lasgun

I was playing against an 8 model Corpse Grinder Cult with a lot of really nasty weapons, on a 2'x2' board, stand off(?) mission, so we were starting ~12+" apart, which is not a lot.

We forgot about some stuff like pinning on models that got shot, until turn 2, however I was plagued by terrible luck, and the end result was that my opponent killed more of his models than I did with recovery rolls - this was the same in Mordheim where I can stun, but not kill stuff.

The star of the show was definitely my Rad Cannon, which hit consistently and kept flesh wounding things, taking one champion down to T1, and crippling others. The plasma gun champ was a let down - did absolutely nothing, failing to wound twice then failed an ammo roll before getting chopped up by his gang leader. My own leader wasn't much better - A coprse grinder champion managed to get to the bottom of the terrain my leader was on, inevitable 1" charge next turn, so my leader overcharges plasma, then rolls a 1 to hit, missing from an inch away and rolling the ammo dice. Thankfully I passed the unstable roll so he didn't go OOA.

I severely injured a bunch of stuff, leaving them crawling about with flesh wounds, but then my opponent took them out of action with poor roles in the recovery phase. I took 2 of his gangers OOA, while he took out 3 of his own (does the ganger who put them in serious injury state get any XP if they subsequently go OOA in recovery?).

Corpse grinders were tricky. Key characters have masks that force will checks to shoot or fight them, and even the basic guys seem to get 5+ saves from the mask and basic armour, and their melee weapons are monstrous - paired chaincleavers are what - rending, shred, paired? The enemy leader was getting 6A on the charge, and they have a rule where wounded models go OOA with no rolls - that guy killed half my warband!

In the end I'd lost 7 models to their 5, and we both failed bottle tests, and I volunarily bottled to avoid losing more models.

After the game, I thought we were starting a campaign, but my opponent had brought a one game army - we rolled for injuries, characteristically, I rolled poorly and all his guys were ok, he got crititcal injuries on my leader and plasma champ, meaning see the doctor or die. With the average cost to keep them alove being 140 creds, and me getting 10 for losing...it wasn't good for them. My warband is basically crippled. In addition to two key model deaths, a juve lost an eye, and a tek was humiliated. After that, I think I can't really do much but delete this gang and start again!

Deployment - I'm proxying Chaos Cultists as my Van Saar until I get the models made.

LoS from the site I planned to make my last stand.

End of turn 2.

Also, are there any low-admin Necromunda campaign styles? My opponent said Dominion is really labour intensive. Is the dark uprising one simpler? I'm coming from a Mordheim background, where there was none of this territory stuff, a campaign was just the period in which all the warbands in a group that fought against one another, the winner being the highest gang rating at the end. Would something like that work also - say we have 4 people, play games each week, after 4- 8 games each, highest gang rating wins?

[Widowmaker82]

I was playing against an 8 model Corpse Grinder Cult with a lot of really nasty weapons, on a 2'x2' board, stand off(?) mission, so we were starting ~12+" apart, which is not a lot. 

 

We forgot about some stuff like pinning on models that got shot, until turn 2, however I was plagued by terrible luck, and the end result was that my opponent killed more of his models than I did with recovery rolls - this was the same in Mordheim where I can stun, but not kill stuff. 

 

Honestly, it sounds like you got a bit of a raw deal in this game. The small board size is inevitably going to favour the melee gang, and Corpse Grinders are a tough gang. As much as I have shown I had it in for Van Saar, Corpse Grinders are arguably as nasty for their own reasons. I've never had to face them myself, but I've read the rules enough times, along with Goonhammer's review (even they suggest toning down their potential build if you want to be friends with everyone else in the campaign). The protection afforded to their leader and champions via the masks is really strong and the potential threat ranges on the charges, especially the leader, are eye-watering. Plus the fact that you forgot about pinning doesn't help because the best way to stop a melee gang is to pin them so they can't perform a charge (double) action and therefore cannot engage you without versatile weapons (watch out for the rotary flensing saw).

 

As you're a new Necromunda player, I can empathise with getting roughed up badly by them. There are ways to counter them if you plan ahead:

• Pin them - they can't charge if pinned and have minimal ability to overcome pinning (no agility skill access, ferocity only as a secondary). Pinning also reduces their armour saves.
• Templates and blasts - Templates don't target a fighter, so the butcher/cutter masks don't force a will check. You can target a point on the ground with blasts so again avoid the will check.
• This is definitely not something you should try, but you could be a complete rules-lawyer and say your plasmagun champion doesn't have to test will to target them either; fast shot means he makes shoot (simple) actions, the masks specify fight (basic) and shoot (basic) actions. You could double down on the rules lawyering and apply the same to your Rad-cannon (which requires a shoot (double) action).
• They have strong armour saves, which is slightly perverse in my opinion. They come with plate mail and the masks as basic equipment, which is a 5+ save, increased to a 4+ if you are in their front arc. Try shooting guys out of arc, remembering pinned fighters have no arc (though you check if your in their arc at the start of the shooting sequence, so it only works if you pin the fighter and then follow up with someone else shooting them while they're down). Also, the butcher has a slightly odd mask that doesn't combine with his plate mail, but does mean he always gets a 6+ save at worst. So he is actually only a 6+ save, improved to 5+ in front arc.
• Target priority - you have to shoot the nearest target unless you pass a cool check, the closest guy is seriously injured or a further target is easier to hit. This presents the Corpse Grinder player with a bit of a conundrum as he can either choose to run his best fighters upfront to force the most will checks (a risky ploy) or run his skinners and initiates up front to act as shields. Either way, Van Saar have relatively good cool to select their targets whatever he chooses. How you use that is up to you - you shouldn't have a huge problem dealing with the skinners and initiates, but the cutters and butcher are the big threat.
• These are small things, but they have mediocre initiative and intelligence stats. Things like ledges (falling on a failed initiative check) and locked doors (need a modified Intelligence check to open) might stymie them for a while, so you may be able to use the battlefield to your advantage.
• This applies to any opponent, but if things are looking really bad voluntarily bottle out and flee the battlefield. No game rewards are worth losing your leader and champions for. You're supposed to roll Lasting Injuries at the point they go out of action, which means you can gauge how beat up your gang is from turn to turn (rather than old Necromunda where it was all saved for end of game).

 

 

I severely injured a bunch of stuff, leaving them crawling about with flesh wounds, but then my opponent took them out of action with poor roles in the recovery phase. I took 2 of his gangers OOA, while he took out 3 of his own (does the ganger who put them in serious injury state get any XP if they subsequently go OOA in recovery?).

 

Sadly, no they don't. You only get the XP for rolling an OOA result, taking the enemy down to toughness 0 by flesh wounds or performing a Coup de Grace. I personally dislike this rule; actually the way XP is gained in general is something I'm not satisfied with, and it's especially telling in campaigns with small numbers of players.

 

 

 

The enemy leader was getting 6A on the charge, and they have a rule where wounded models go OOA with no rolls - that guy killed half my warband!

 

Yeah they are absolutely brutal in melee. It's not even kind of close - they are the best melee gang in the game by far. Their weapons are equally savage. It is only the heavy chain cleavers (with the sever trait) that cause automatic OOA results; and they're too expensive to spam. Honestly though, even if he'd just seriously injured you he gets a free Coup de Grace at the end of the combat anyway (assuming he's not still engaged with someone else), so it's not doing that much. Melee is much more final than shooting, as it should be given how hard it can be to get into melee for most gangs.

 

 

 

After the game, I thought we were starting a campaign, but my opponent had brought a one game army - we rolled for injuries, characteristically, I rolled poorly and all his guys were ok, he got crititcal injuries on my leader and plasma champ, meaning see the doctor or die. With the average cost to keep them alove being 140 creds, and me getting 10 for losing...it wasn't good for them. My warband is basically crippled. In addition to two key model deaths, a juve lost an eye, and a tek was humiliated. After that, I think I can't really do much but delete this gang and start again!

 

That's a little naughty. Your leader essentially had no skill as mentor is pointless in a one-off game. Though I suppose it did you good in the end as you're not going into game 2 with a completely mauled gang. You did get very unlucky there with injuries, though I'd say in a campaign you should never let yourself get to the point of getting so many people OOA. And a rogue doc should be an early doors purchase for most gangs to give you a free chance to avoid death from critical injuries.

 

 

 

Also, are there any low-admin Necromunda campaign styles? My opponent said Dominion is really labour intensive. Is the dark uprising one simpler? I'm coming from a Mordheim background, where there was none of this territory stuff, a campaign was just the period in which all the warbands in a group that fought against one another, the winner being the highest gang rating at the end. Would something like that work also - say we have 4 people, play games each week, after 4- 8 games each, highest gang rating wins?

 

Gah! Blasphemy!

 

Seriously, the post-battle stuff is some of the most interesting stuff that happens. I love that part of the campaign. I've only played Dominion so far and it's kind of the standard campaign type. The first campaign type that came out was Turf War which was more basic (there wasn't individual territories like Dominion, turf was basically just a number representing the size of your gang's patch), but it sounded really boring to me. I can't remember what that was in - Gang War I think, so probably hard to find. The Book of Judgement contains the Law & Misrule campaign which looks slightly more complicated than Dominion. I don't know about the Dark Uprising campaign in any detail, but it might be slightly simpler because it focuses on survival over things like gaining territories.

 

You can do whatever you like for a campaign as a group though. You'd maybe want some sort of mechanic to generate income other than just mission rewards I think; otherwise it may be too punishing for people that lose a game (especially multiple games) and you'll have stunted gang growth generally. Maybe randomly generate a couple of territories each at the start of the campaign but don't fight over them and/or gain new ones? Or just say each gang gains a certain/random number of credits (plus rewards) after each game - e.g. 2D6x10 credits each? The credit gain could be linked to position in the campaign (gang rating being the common identifier or relative power) after each round of games, so the person doing worst gets more credits, representing their house patron putting more money in to keep their gang competitive? That might be something like 2D6x10 for the person in 1st and each person below that adds 1 to their 2D6 roll for each position below 1st they are in (so someone in 4th adds 3 to the 2D6 roll, guaranteeing an extra 30 creds).

 

Anyway, it honestly sounds like you did ok in that game in a fairly rotten match-up. You learn more from defeats than from victories as well!