HomeNecromunda is another fast paced skirmish game developed by Warhammer (then Games Workshop) in 1995, currently in a new ruleset (2023) that keeps to the core of the game. That is: you pick a gang, select their gear, their names (as they are an ongoing roster) and fight scenarios.
In a normal game of Necromunda, there is a pre-game phase, the game itself and then a post-game phase.
The pre-game phase consists of selecting your roster, their abilities and any buffs they may or may not get before a mission, for example you can roll on a table for ‘house favours’ which can grant you an extra gang member to play with, some extra credits to buy equipment with or nothing at all. You’ll also select a scenario which can be anything from fighting through an underhive tunnel system to escaping a burning market, or even racing through the dangerous dunes of the planet. There’s so many unique events in Necromunda that no game is ever the same.
The fight phase itself is quite simple with both players selecting their gang, you take alternating turns per model similar to Kill Team, and you get a rating which is basically the total cost of each gang member plus equipment – you want to meet a total of 1000 as your average rating in a skirmish game. If you’re playing a campaign setting, you may find that one gang will exceed naturally with their rating whereas the other player may have less, and the person with less of a rating is given extra stuff from an Underdog list to even the playing field. You also get access to gang tactics cards which are unique cool things your gangs can do, examples range from being able to deploy someone differently to the rest (Infiltrate) or start with extra health.
Once the fight is over your have the post-battle phase, this phase is used during campaigns and usually determines the long term effects of the game; it allows you to heal gang members who may have been injured during the fight (and you’ll roll on a table to determine what type of injury they have and how that affects them), you will award XP which can be used to enhance skills and gain new abilities, trade and even manage territories. Most gangs have access to vehicles, as some scenarios allow for them. Once all of this is done, you’ll have an updated gang roster for the next event.
It's a narrative game, not a competitive one
So, now you know the core basics of how the game works, the one thing I really enjoy is the style of game. It’s not just turn up and shoot, it’s about a whole story. I’m in a really good group who enjoy wargaming and general TTRPG’s and in the server we’re in, we have a dedicated channel for the narration. Once each game is finished, one of the players will write up what happened from the perspective of their gang. I am currently playing the Ash Waste Nomads, think of Tusken Raiders from Star Wars, they’re good at tech-scavenging and making things work outside of the actual underhives of Necromunda, with little sympathy for those who ruin the planet in the name of profit. One cool thing they get during the pre-battle phase is a roll on a die to unknown deities which gives them unnatural (but not evil) buffs to help turn the tide in the fight.
Ayway, my friend and I had a fight which, when rolled, was a Duneskuttler scenario. This meant we were fighting each other but the aim of the game was to take down a Duneskuttler, a big creature native to the wastelands of the planet. First one to take it down wins. So, after an epic but short battle, firing shots with my snipers at his Squats (space Dwarves for those not in the know) and all of us running around poking totems to summon it, the Squats took it down and I wrote the following within our narrative channel:
“Chieftain, I wanted to show you something. The Duneskuttler the small folk took down, I have been looking after it, training it, it listens and knows we mean to protect the dunes of the wastes just like it does.”
Sëtt took Chieftain Suggma to the old scene of the fight against the Squats. There was a cave, and with a beautiful whistle, the Duneskuttler emerged, a giant bug with natural carapace and sharp barbed bones all over the legs. It meant no harm… not to the Nomads.
“Let us take him back to our settlement Sëtt”
The gang walked off into the wastes, the dusty wind unnaturally covering their path.
That Duneskuttler was something I knew I was going to buy for my gang roster later on, so we wrote this very scenario into the narrative for when I did eventually buy it. The same can be said for injuries and situations, they aren’t just cool scars or poor/amazing dice rolls, they are rich elements we’ve all thought about and written into the narrative which make up what this campaign is about. It’s something I can laugh about over a beer in a year’s time with someone.
The Gangs
Necromunda prides itself with the variety of gangs they have available for the game with each one bringing something unique to the table. Generally, you’ll have a gang leader, a couple of champions, and the rest are regular gangers or cheaper weaker versions called juves. For me, the Ash Wastes are fun because they look cool, it’s that simple. They specialise in long-range tactics and can have native bugs as pets such as Spinewyrms and Ashwing Helamites and of course, the aforementioned Duneskuttler.
I can’t do it justice, but Wellywood Wargaming is a channel dedicated to Necromunda on YouTube who has been playing this game for a very long time – I highly recommend you check him out. But, in my short, simple words, here’s my best to describe each one:
House Goliath: Vat-grown big lads who are super tough, slow and stupid
House Van Saar: Tech-loving maniacs who excel in shooting and have superior armour but suffer from radiation-related debuffs
House Escher: Fast, man-hating girls who love to poison everyone and everything, they play the long game
House Delaque: Creepy stealthy intelligent weirdos in trench coats who use mind games to mess with you
House Orlock: The standard gang, versatile, reliable and jack-of-all-trades who like shotguns and balanced tactics
Palanite Enforcers: Heavily armed lawmen who police the underhives with great gear
Corpse Grinder Cults: You ever heard of corpse starch? These guys collect the ingredients
Ash Waste Nomads: Bug loving reclusive druids native to Necromunda who will shoot you for any reason they see fit
Genestealers: Your favourite Xenomorph cult doing what they do best for no reason other than because they’re dicks
Ironhead Squat Prospectors: Tough but slow space Dwarves, very good gear
Venators: Custom built gangs good for beginners who usually consist of outcasts and bounty hunters, you can mix and match with this gang
Spyrers: Elite rich kids in high-tech gear who want to make a name for themselves by killing those they see lesser than themselves
Like I said, if you want a real in-depth read on each gang, Wellywood Wargaming is a good start. Another thing to mention, you can get ‘hangers-on’ and other cool additions to your gang, so basically you pay to add things like doctors who may help with healing or cyber-mastiffs as pets, as well as the really cool Ambot which is a big brute of a robot, or unsacntioned Psykers who can do cool things like push people off ledges telepathically. This is great if you love miniatures, I found myself printing and painting rogue doctors and a mechanic to help repair my vehicles. The game is fun, with janky rules, fun narrative games and silly mishaps which shape the course of a campaign.
The game has a bunch of unique dice specifically for it too, the injury roll dice and shooting dice – sometimes you can run out of ammo whilst firing most guns which can make for a funny situation, and sometimes you can fall off things and injure yourself and your allies. Remember, these aren’t specially trained guardsmen, they’re bottom of the hive gangers who use ruthless tactics and survival instincts to get by, siding with a gang for a better chance at living another day within the squalid and weird lower levels of a mean sci-fi city-spire built around thousands of years of decay, ruin and mystery.
The wrap up: Who is this game for?
Honestly, this game is for anyone. I’m lucky to have a good group of friends who are experienced, but I can see myself having equal amounts of fun with people who have never played this before and want to give it a bash. My advice is, don’t go in this wanting to min-max or win, this game is about having fun and making those janky rules work for you as a group. The arbitrator in a campaign should ideally be someone who is fair and care-free (cheers Alec) but either way, anyone can pick up this game and roll with it, it has everything from beautiful models to some fun thematic scenarios to play through, so if you’re not one for caring about what happens to your ganger, Kiwi, because she went in knives-blazing on the wrong day and ended up losing a leg, then you’ll find Necromunda fun. If your gang leader ends up being captured and you have to spend an hour of your weekend freeing him in a prison-break mission, you’ll enjoy this. If you enjoy hanging out with your friends and having a blast reading through 5 books to find one obscure rule, and your arbitrator isn’t there to help, then Necromunda is the game for you!
That reminds me, the community have really driven this game and kept it alive, there are resources out there such as NecroRAW which is a simple website with the rules as written, making it easier to search for things, and Munda Manager – a really handy tool for tracking both gangs and campaigns, it has saved us a lot of time that’s for sure.
I went into Necromunda buying one 10 man squad of cool looking miniatures, as I thought it would pass the time this spring and I ended up fully invested with two full house gangs and other unique miniatures. The game is great, the people I’ve played with are fun, the play style is different and the models are *chefs kiss*
Give it a try!
– Rabs, The Saucerer