Necromunda: Battles in the Underhive

Necromunda: Battles in the Underhive Rulebook

Table of Contents

Adeptus Arbites
- Arbites Patrol Team (900 credits)
- Arbites Shock Troops Team (1,100 credits)
New Weapon: The Arbites Combat Shotgun
- Special Rules
Arbites Experience
- Skill Types Available
- Loss of Fighters
Extra Equipment
Scenario Ideas
Blind Fighting
Designer's Cut: Event Cards
- How to Use the Cards
- Event Cards
Home Defence
It Came From the Sump
Tales from the Underhive
The Heist
- The Heist Scenario
- Choosing The Heist
- Terrain
- Gangs
- Starting the Game
- The Crate Counters
  - Ammo
  - Trap
  - Guns
  - Gear
- Ending the Game
- Experience
- Payment
Necromunda Scenario: Toll Bridge
Arbitrator Scenario: Triple Cross

Adeptus Arbites

The Adeptus Arbites are also known as Imperial Judges, or commonly among the inhabitants of Necromunda as Judges. Every hive on Necromunda is divided into precincts, each with its own fortified courthouse and a substantial number of Judges. Necromunda is a vital planet to the Imperium, but population pressures mean that it is in constant danger of devolving into anarchy and civil war. The Judges maintain a constant vigilance for signs of disloyalty and subversion from Spire to Underhive. Their duty is to uphold the law of the Imperium and they are not subject to Lord Helmawr's authority, indeed, he is the subject of their closest scrutiny. The Imperium is an organisation where rebellion and defiance of the Imperial will are classed as crimes against humanity.

The Judges are the grim and uncompromising reminder of the Imperium's presence on Necromunda. They cannot be bought off, threatened, corrupted or negotiated with. Indeed, the Adeptus Arbites goes to great lengths to ensure that those recruited into their ranks do not serve on their own home worlds nor anywhere within a dozen light years of home. They do not communicate with the citizenry unless absolutely necessary and only leave their precinct courts on official business.

Apart from the Judges, there is no single, all-encompassing official planetary law enforcement agency on Necromunda. The peace is kept by the Houses within their own territories. Certain kinds of lawlessness such as incessant feuding is tolerated by the Houses, but other crimes are dealt with by the Houses themselves. In the Underhive gangs related to the House which has been offended will deal with the offenders. The Judges are present on Necromunda to enforce Imperial laws which are to be upheld throughout the Imperium, rather than the local laws of Necromunda.

The most important work for the Judges on Necromunda include hunting for certain drugs and archeotech devices which are under Imperial mandate, rounding up psykers and subversives intent on stirring up rebellion against the Imperium, escorting important Imperial officials and assisting the Imperial House in maintaining order when required. Individual Arbitrators, particularly grizzled veterans which have been hardened by years of dispensing justice, act as law enforcers within some settlements in the Underhive. These are tough, no nonsense characters who command the local Watchmen and direct freelance bounty hunters in the constant battle against outlaws and outlanders. They also monitor local loyalties and the activities of the Merchant Guild to ensure that the Imperial codes of law are maintained even on the frontiers of anarchy.

Other than individual Arbitrators the two most commonly encountered Arbites tactical units on Necromunda are the Arbites Patrol squads and the Arbites Shocktroop squads. Patrol squads are the standard law enforcement teams which can be seen patrolling hive levels around Imperial establishments and important areas of the Underhive. Shocktroops can be called in to quell serious disturbances, such as mob riots, or to suppress unruly gangs and poorly equipped Deviant Scum.

"Hive cities are little more than unlit bonfires. They need only the sparks of lawlessness to burn."

Judge Traggat, Selected Sayings, Vol II, Chapter IX

Arbites Patrol Team (900 credits)

Profile	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld
Proctor	4	4	4	3	3	1	4	1	8
Judge	4	3	3	3	3	1	3	1	7

Squad: An Arbites Patrol Team consists of four Judges and one Proctor.

Weapons: The Proctor and the Judges are armed with bolt pistols and Choke grenades.

Armour: Carapace armour (4+ save). The carapace armour includes a helmet with a respirator, photo visor and infra goggles. The Arbites do not suffer any Initiative modifiers for wearing carapace armour as they have been trained in its use since childhood.

Wargear: Any model in the squad may be equipped with a boltgun for 35 credits each, or an Arbites combat shotgun for 30 credits each. Up to one Judge may be equipped with a grenade launcher for 130 credits.

The following grenades may be bought for the grenade launcher:

Frag grenades ... 30 credits
Krak grenades ... 50 credits

The Judge's Choke grenades may be used with the grenade launcher.

Skills: The whole Patrol team has the Nerves of Steel, True Grit and Iron Will skills. Due to their fearsome reputation all members of the patrol squad cause fear in Gangers and terror in Juves.

Ammo: The weapons and equipment of the Arbites are better maintained than those available to the population of the hive city. Consequently the Adeptus Arbites never need to make Ammo rolls.

Arbites Shock Troops Team (1,100 credits)

Profile	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld
Proctor	4	4	4	3	3	1	4	1	8
Shocktroop	4	3	3	3	3	1	3	1	7

Squad: An Arbites Shocktroop team consists of four Shocktroops and one Proctor.

Weapons: The Proctor and the Shocktroops are armed with a power maul, suppression shield and Choke grenades.

Wargear: Any member of the squad may be equipped with Scare grenades for 20 credits per model.

Skills: The whole Shocktroop team has the Nerves of Steel, True Grit and Iron Will skills. Due to their fearsome reputation all members of the Shocktroop team cause fear in Gangers and terror in Juves.

Ammo: The weapons and equipment of the Arbites are better maintained than those available to the population of the hive city. Consequently the Adeptus Arbites never need to make Ammo rolls.

New Weapon: The Arbites Combat Shotgun

The Arbites combat shotgun is a simple shotgun with a number of adaptions which allow it to fire a special ammunition type available only to the Adeptus Arbites. In addition to the standard solid and scatter rounds fired by ordinary shotguns the Adeptus Arbites labs have developed the "Executioner" adamantium-tipped armour piercing round to seek out and destroy the toughest targets. This sophisticated shell has a tiny robot brain which locks onto the target's energy pattern and seeks it out with unerring accuracy. This variety of ammunition types makes the Arbites combat shotgun a uniquely flexible weapon.

Special Rules

Solid shells have a strength of 4. Scatter shells have a strength of only 3 but also have a 1" radius blast marker. Executioner rounds have a strength of 4 and -2 save modifier.

Because it locks onto a target's energy signature the Executioner shell may even be fired at hidden targets providing they have already been detected. The Executioner round is unusual in that it receives a +1 to hit modifier at long range and a -1 to hit modifier at short range. This is because the shell's tiny brain cannot lock onto its target until it has travelled several metres.

Arbites Combat Shotgun	Short Range	Long Range	To Hit Short	To Hit Long	Str	Dam	Save	Ammo	Special
Solid	0-4	4-18	-	-1	4	1	-	4+	-
Scatter	0-4	4-18	-	-1	3	1	-	4+	1" blast, ignores cover
Executioner

Arbites Experience

The hive is divided into precincts each with its own court house and large numbers of Arbites. Each courthouse is responsible for patrolling and enforcing Imperial law in its area. If you are using Adeptus Arbites teams regularly in your games you could use an Experience point system to give character to the local team that patrols your gang's territory.

Arbites Patrol and Shocktroop teams are not meant to be used as gangs. Giving Arbites Experience points is mainly meant to spice up campaigns and give the teams a bit more character. Costs have been included so players can calculate the gang rating of their Arbites teams. This will hopefully ensure that one five-man Arbites team will not face a huge gang armed to the teeth.

The table below shows the starting experience for members of Patrol and Shocktroop teams and the skills available to them.

Type of Fighter	Initial Experience Points
Proctor	60+1D6
Judge	20+1D6
Shocktroop	20+1D6

Adeptus Arbites use the standard advancement table in the Necromunda Sourcebook.

Skill Types Available

Skill type	Proctor	Judge	Shocktroop
Agility
Combat	*		*
Ferocity	*	*	*
Muscle	*		*
Shooting	*	*
Stealth	*	*
Techno	*

Loss of Fighters

If any Arbites are killed in combat then the squad will be reinforced by the garrison of the courthouse. Before the next battle the dead fighter is replaced and the replacement starts with the initial profile, weaponry and experience points for a fighter of his type (Proctor, Judge or Shocktroop).

Extra Equipment

The Adeptus Arbites are equipped to deal with any situation that demands their attention. Each courthouse has a large armoury that includes equipment available in the hive and some from other Imperial worlds. If the Arbites are performing a special mission, then they will be equipped with any relevant equipment. If, for example, the Arbites were attempting a rescue then all their weapons would come with silencers and they would take some screamers as well. What extra equipment and how much the Arbites take is up to players to decide. It is tempting to give them everything, even a Mung Vase each, but they should only carry items that will be specifically useful in their mission.

Scenario Ideas

Adeptus Arbites teams uphold Imperial law and keep the peace in the hive. Minor fights are generally ignored by the Arbites so they will pay little attention to the skirmishes of rival gangs. The Arbitrator scenarios in Outlanders are particularly suited to Arbites teams, especially the Storming the Barricades scenario.

It is always a good idea to create your own scenario to use Arbites teams in so you can create a story line to fit the models you have available. Any scenario in which a gang goes against Imperial law or causes unrest in the hive is perfect for Arbites. An attack on a Merchant Guild, a huge riot, or even an attempt to steal a spaceship and escape from the hive are all events in which the Adeptus Arbites would take a part.

Fighting in the shadows of the underhive.

This venerable article originally saw the light of day way back in 1996, in Journal 14. It was reprinted in Battles in the Underhive the following year, but since then it's been unavailable, and I think that's a shame. As Spyrers and other such dubious characters have been on my mind of late, I decided that more shadows for them to hide in would be a good thing so I dug it out again and here it is.

Even in the darkest depths of the Underhive, where sunlight is nothing but a memory to some and little more than a myth to others, the inhabitants still try and live their lives as if they were ruled by the rising and setting of the sun. They spend their 'days' under the constant dull glow of powered lighting whenever they can find sufficient energy, or by torchlight and the flickering light of fires. Later they like to set aside a few hours when the lights can be dimmed, or sometimes even switched off completely, in order to allow them to get some much-needed, though probably somewhat restless, sleep. And strangely enough, this period of rest, known as 'Lights Out', coincides almost exactly with the rising and setting of the sun in the world outside.

And just as the people still seem to be affected by the movements of the sun, so too do some of the inhabitants appear to be affected by the phases of the various moons which orbit their planet. Wild beasts and monsters crawl out from their dark hiding places in order to hunt for easy prey, strange ghost-like figures are seen out of the corner of the eye, only to vanish as soon as they are noticed....

It goes without saying that even when it's pitch black and you can barely see past the end of your lasgun, the average Underhive gang fighter is always ready to fight. Over the years the gangs have learnt that the darkness can not only be a dangerous enemy, but also a valuable ally, and they have devised various new weapons and items of equipment to help them deal with what they call 'blind fighting'. And of course, if they can't see the enemy, presumably their enemy can't see them - or can they...?

By and large, the fighters of the Underhive are already well-versed in fighting in conditions of poor light. However, poor light is still a good deal better than no light, and even the most battle-trained veterans think twice before venturing out to fight in an area of total darkness.

Pits and craters, broken walkways, rubble strewn about across the ground - all these and more are potential disasters waiting to happen for a fighter trying to run when he can't see more than a few feet in front of him. And what use is a long-range weapon when you can't even see what you're trying to shoot at?

In order to try and recreate these problems, the following rules can be used if any scenario is being played in conditions of total darkness. This will happen either by rolling a 'Pitch Black' result on the Treacherous Conditions Table (see later in this issue), or by playing one of the two following scenarios (Escort and Monster Hunt) which are specifically designed for these conditions.

Movement

Whenever a fighter runs or charges, there is a chance that he might trip up on some unseen piece of debris along the way. To represent this, once the figure has completed its move, roll a D6:

D6	Result
1-2	Oops! The fighter has lost his footing and taken a tumble. Roll a further D6 and place the figure on its back that many inches from its starting point. If the number rolled is more than the total distance travelled, (for example, if the fighter was charging an enemy 4" away and rolled a 5 or 6), then he manages to stay on his feet after all and may fight as normal.
3-6	Made it! The fighter has managed to avoid any unseen hazards and may continue as normal.

A fighter who trips and falls in this way may do nothing else for the remainder of the turn, but may then clamber to his feet in the recovery phase as if he had been pinned.

Models equipped with infra-goggles will never trip and fall while running or charging. Those wearing photo-visors or contacts will only trip and fall on a roll of 1.

Shooting

When fighting in pitch black conditions the visibility for shooting is reduced to 8" and spotting fighters is so difficult that models may not use the shooting skills Fast Shot, Rapid Fire and Marksman.

Models equipped with infra-red goggles or sights are unaffected by the darkness, and may fire as normal. Models with photo-visors or contacts can see at double range (16").

Any weapon fitted with a red-dot laser sight may still fire up to its normal range, and will still be at +1 to hit. However, the darkness will make it much easier for the potential victim to spot the dot and so he will be able to avoid the hit on a roll of 4-6 on D6.

New Equipment

Rocket Flare

The rocket flare is a one-off, self-contained missile. Once fired, it will shoot high up into the air and then drift slowly back down to the ground on its own tiny parachute, burning with a dazzling white light as the chemicals contained inside it react with the surrounding air. The light given off by a rocket flare is so bright that all penalties for fighting in the dark will be negated for as long as the flare continues to burn.

To use the rocket flare, a fighter must be standing in a position from which he can fire the rocket directly upwards into the air (so he may not fire the rocket if he is standing beneath any piece of scenery, for example). The rocket flare is treated in the same way as a basic weapon, so a fighter may not run, or fire another weapon, during the turn in which he fires the rocket. When the rocket flare is fired, roll D6.

D6	Result
1	It's a Dud! The rocket fires, but the flare fails to ignite and no benefit can be gained from it. However, this is treated as a failed Ammo roll, so any relevant saving throws will apply (eg, Auto-repairer, Weaponsmith, etc). For gangs with an Armourer, the rocket flare will be taken as having a 6+ Ammo roll.
2	Fizzle, Fizzle. The flare works, but only for a short time. The light will fade at the end of the opponent's next turn.
3-6	Let There be Light! The flare works perfectly and will continue to burn until the end of the player's following turn.

Special: If a fighter becomes desperate, he can use the rocket flare as a weapon, though a player must remember that it can only ever be fired once.

Range Short	Range Long	To Hit Short	To Hit Long	Str.	Damage	Save Mod.	Ammo Roll
0-6	6-12	-	-	2	1	-	Auto

Note: The rocket flare may only be used in scenarios that are fought in open spaces, and so will be unsuitable for the Shoot-out scenario or any battles fought in a confined space (inside a mine or drinking hole, etc).

Tracer Bullets

This type of ammunition can be made for most automatic, projectile-firing weapons at a relatively low cost and is used to help show the weapon's user where he is firing in conditions of poor light. Each fifth bullet fired is actually a tiny flare which burns during flight, thereby creating a visible trail in the air along which the fighter can aim.

Fighters using tracer bullets in Pitch Black or Grim Darkness conditions may fire at any target within the weapon's usual range limits, but must suffer a -2 penalty to hit on top of any standard range penalties. In conditions other than these, tracer bullets will have no added effect and the weapon will be fired as normal.

Blue Light

A blue-light is a small torch designed to be attached to the side of a fighter's weapon, thereby enabling him to see and keep both hands free for shooting at the same time. The light it produces is a soft blue colour and will only light up the few feet directly in front of it (so it will not help pick out targets for the fighter to shoot at). It will, however, enable him to see where he's going and avoid many of the trip-hazards along the way.

Fighters equipped with a blue-light will only trip and fall on a roll of 1 when running or charging in conditions of total darkness.

Price Chart

Item	Cost	Availability	Ammo Roll
Blue-Light	5	Common	-
Rocket Flare	20	Common	Auto
Tracer Bullets:
Autopistol	5	Common	4+
Bolt Pistol	15	Common	6+
Autogun	5	Common	4+
Boltgun	15

Scenario 1: Escort

From time to time, the Houses of Hive City send representatives down into the Underhive on 'business'. When this happens, they will usually contact one or other of their gangs, paying them to act as bodyguards until their mission is completed and they can return to Hive City. Of course in the Underhive, rumours spread faster than jag plague, and it's not uncommon for other Gangs to hear about such missions and realise that snatching these agents would do much to boost their own reputations and possibly provide a nice little bounty along the way.

Night: This scenario is designed as a night-time mission and should be played in Pitch Black conditions. Other treacherous conditions may still be rolled for as normal.

Terrain: Each player takes it in turn to place a piece of terrain, either a ruined building structure, a connecting walkway or a barricade.

Gangs: Each player rolls a dice and the highest scorer chooses which table edge he will begin with. His opponent will begin with the opposite edge.

Important note: Neither side may use tunnels or vents in this scenario.

The attacker sets up first, deploying 2D6 randomly chosen members of his gang to represent all the fighters that could be found for the attack at short notice. The attacker must deploy all his fighters within 8" of his table edge.

The defending gang may choose any four fighters to act as the escort. In addition he must take a model for the House representative. The agent has the following characteristics:

	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld
Agent	4	2	2	3	3	2	3	1	8

Weapons: The agent carries a laspistol and dagger and cannot be given any other weapons.

Armour: The agent wears mesh armour.

Special: The agent will only shoot at targets within short range (8") and may never choose to charge an enemy.

Starting the Game: The game begins with the defender's models moving onto the table top.

Ending the game: The only way the attacker can win is if the defender chooses to bottle out, or if all four of the defending fighters go out of action.

The defender wins if the attacker fails a Bottle test or chooses to bottle out, or if the agent escapes off the attacker's table edge.

As the defending gang's reputation is on the line, it never has to make Bottle tests. However, if the defender chooses to bottle out at any point and the agent has not gone out of action, he will be abandoned and automatically captured by the attackers.

Experience

+D6 Survives: If a fighter survives the battle then D6 points are earned, even for fighters who are wounded and taken out of action.

+5 Per Wounding Hit: A fighter earns 5 points for each wounding hit he inflicts during the battle.

+10 Winning Gang Leader: The gang leader of the winning side earns an extra 10 Experience points.

+D6 Gotcha! If the agent is killed, all attacking fighters who survive gain an extra D6 points each.

Special: If the defending player wins, the agent is so impressed with his escort that he will give them a huge reward. Work out income from territory as normal, but then multiply the total by D3+1 before working out expenses and hire fees, etc.

If the attacker wins, then the agent will either have been captured or will have gone out of action. If he was captured, the defending gang must pay the ransom in order to free him. They may not attempt the Rescue mission and they may not allow the agent to be sold to the Guilders as a slave. The ransom is 2D6x10 creds.

If the agent went out of action, roll D6:

D6	Result
1-2	Captured: (see above).
3-5	Close Shave: The agent makes it back home in one piece, but is none too pleased with his escorts and so does not feel the need to repay them in any way.
6	Dead: The agent is zombie-food! Each surviving attacker receives an extra D6 Experience points as noted above.

Notes: It is possible for the defending player to win the battle, but still end up with agent being captured or killed. In this case, follow all the above rules, but the gang leader will not get his +10 points bonus.

Scenario 2: Monster Hunt

Occasionally in the Underhive, a particularly vicious beast turns up, hunting for food in an area just a little too close for comfort for the surrounding gangs. When this happens, gangs are forced to swallow their pride and work together in order to defeat the creature and keep their settlements safe. Large Guilder rewards are usually offered for killing such creatures, but no amount of creds can stop most gangs from turning against their allies at the first possible opportunity...

Night: This scenario is designed as a night-time mission and should be played in Pitch Black conditions. Other treacherous conditions may still be rolled for as normal.

Terrain: Each player takes it in turn to place a piece of terrain, either a ruined building structure, a connecting walkway or a barricade. The tabletop represents an area of no-man's land in which the monster has taken up residence. To decide what type of area it is, roll a D6:

D6	Area
1-3	Old Ruins
4-5	Mine Workings
6	Spore Cave

Gangs: Each gang may send as many fighters as it wants to hunt for the monster. Write the name of each fighter present on a separate piece of paper and place them in a cup. Each player then rolls D6. Starting with whoever scores highest, the players take it in turns to nominate a specific point anywhere among the scenery (including positions above ground level) and pick out one of the pieces of paper from the cup. The chosen fighter is then placed in the chosen spot. This continues until all fighters are placed, at which point all the names are put back into the cup.

Starting the game: The player who chose last during the set-up now picks out another name from the cup. This is the fighter who is first attacked by the monster. Place a miniature to represent the monster beside the fighter. It is assumed that the creature has leapt out from the darkness and is now engaged in hand-to-hand combat.

Panic fire: As soon as the monster reveals itself, the fighter lets out a desperate scream which draws the attention of all the other fighters. Turn all the figures so that they are facing the monster, even if they cannot actually see it from their position.

At this point, all the fighters with line of sight to the monster will shoot at it, regardless of distance or modifiers for cover. The nearest fighter will shoot first, followed by the next closest, and so on, until all those with line of sight have fired or until the monster has been killed. The fighter who is in contact with the monster may not fire.

Note: All fighters will be firing at models in hand-to-hand combat so any hits will only hit the monster on a 4-6. On a 1-3 they will hit the other fighter instead.

If both the monster and the fighter survive, they now fight their hand-to-hand combat. The monster will not receive a charge bonus for this attack.

The Big fight: At this point, regardless of what is happening with the monster, all the wild shooting convinces both gang leaders that they have been set up and the whole thing is just a trap. A gang fight breaks out.

Both players may now move any or all of their fighters up to 4", though they may not shoot or charge into hand-to-hand combat with any opponents (including the monster). Decide randomly who will move first.

Once this is done, the monster will take its turn. If it is in contact with another figure, it must fight it in hand-to-hand combat, otherwise it will charge towards the nearest fighter and attempt to attack. Resolve any hand-to-hand combat if necessary and then each player rolls D6. The highest scorer will take the first turn.

From this point on, the game will proceed as a standard Gang Fight, and all rules for that scenario will apply. However, the monster moves and fights after each player's turn, and will continue to attack all fighters until it is killed or until both gangs have bottled out.

Ending the game: As with Gang Fight, the object of the game is to force the opposing player to bottle out. However, a player cannot win the game unless the monster is also killed (by either gang).

Experience

Fighters who take part in Monster Hunt earn Experience points as noted below.

+D6 Survives: If a fighter survives the battle then D6 points are earned. Even fighters who are wounded and taken out of action receive experience for taking part.

+5 Per Wounding Hit: A fighter earns 5 points for each wounding hit he inflicts during the battle. Note that any flesh wounds inflicted against the monster do count as wounding hits for this purpose.

+10 Winning Gang Leader: The gang leader of the winning side earns an extra 10 Experience points.

+10 Monster Bonus: The fighter who eventually kills the monster receives a bonus of 10 Experience points.

Special: If the monster is killed, the winning gang may claim its stalking ground as a new territory. Whichever area was rolled for at the start of the game will be added to the winning gang's list of territories.

Also, there is a substantial reward offered for defeating the monster. However, regardless of who actually killed the monster during the game, the winning gang will be the only ones in a position to retrieve the carcass, and so may take it to the local Guilders who will pay them 100 creds which should be added to your income before working out expenses!

The monster

The monster is one of an as-yet unidentified species and is known only as the Night Crawler.

	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld
Monster	5	5	-	4	4	1	6	2	10

Weapons: The Night Crawler fights with its two powerful claws.

Special: The Night Crawler can never be pinned, and will never suffer a down result. Each time it suffers a wound, roll D6:

D6	Result
1-5	Flesh wound (WS -1)
6	Dead

Psychology: The Night Crawler is immune to all psychology. It never tests for fear, terror, or any of the other psychological factors described in the Necromunda: Underhive rulebook.

Designer's Cut: Event Cards

If you have a copy of Outlanders, you can play Necromunda with the annoying intervention of vicious Genestealers, various beastly monsters and dozens of other deadly denizens. You do need a Campaign Arbitrator though - what if he can't make it to the game, or you aren't even playing in a campaign? Well we have just the thing for you - Necromunda Event cards!

David Moretti from Rome sent us his ideas for using Event cards in Necromunda and we really liked them. When we mentioned this great idea to Jervis and Andy they said they'd had the same idea for Necromunda when playtesting first began. The Events deck was going to be a major part of the game. Unfortunately we couldn't physically fit anything else into the boxed set which meant the idea had to be dropped. However, Jervis and Andy's work on the cards has not gone to waste as we combine David's work with that of our games designers to produce a deck of cards which will make your games of Necromunda even more exciting!

How to Use the Cards

At the beginning of each game, after having decided which scenario is going to be played, each player takes D3 cards from the Necromunda Event deck and keeps them secret from their opponent until the card is played. Each card has a full explanation of its use and effect upon the game.

At the bottom of each Event card is an indication as to when the card can be played. The three different categories of card are 'Before', 'After' and 'Event'. The exact duration of the Event card is given with the rules on the card.

Before: The card is played immediately after it is drawn and its effects will generally last for the entire game.

After: The card will be played at the end of the game and its effects will usually alter the post battle sequence.

Event: The card may be played at a specific moment and causes something to happen - an event. Usually the effects of this card are resolved instantly.

Note: For some cards you will have to note down where on the table they are. For example, the Dangerous Walkway card needs a walkway somewhere on the table noted down to prove the walkway is dangerous and may collapse. Make notes such as this after all terrain has been placed but before the gangs deploy for battle.

Event

Play this card on an enemy model that has just suffered a flesh wound or been taken down or out. As the model staggers back and collapses it trips over a live power cable. With a blinding flash thousands of volts of electrical energy course through the model, killing it instantly.

Giant Rat

Event

Play this card in the close combat phase on a model that is NOT engaged in hand-to-hand combat. The model has accidentally disturbed a Giant Rat, which attacks. See the Outlanders rulebook for full rules on Giant Rats. The Giant Rat will run off once the combat is resolved.

Dangerous Walkway

Event

The player who draws this card secretly notes down any walkway on the table as "dangerous". During the game, when a model moves over the walkway, you may declare it dangerous. Roll a D6 and add the model's Toughness. Add a further +1 if the model carries a special or a heavy weapon.

If the total is 8 or less, the walkway holds. On a total of 9 or more, the walkway collapses, along with any model/s using it. Falling models take a hit in the usual way. The walkway falls straight down. Any models fully or partially under the debris must make an Initiative test. Models that fail are injured automatically. Roll straight away on the Injuries Table. Remove the fallen walkway from play.

Secret Target

Before

At the beginning of the fight, before placing the gangs, secretly note down the name of one enemy fighter. The first time that fighter is hit and wounded during the game, the fighter causing the hit gains an additional D6 Experience points.

Keep this card until the target model is shot and wounded, then discard it.

Disheartened

Before

The enemy gang has been beaten by yours several times in the past and is not as confident as usual. All of their fighters suffer -1 to their Leadership tests and Bottle tests for this game.

Bounty Hunter

Before

A Bounty Hunter is after a dangerous outlaw who he believes is fighting with the gang you are just about to face. The Bounty Hunter promises you half the reward money for the outlaw if you help him capture the renegade. The Bounty Hunter joins your gang for one game free of charge. Randomly determine one member of the enemy's gang. If the Bounty Hunter captures him split the reward money in half and add the money to your stash.

Aim High

Home Defence

Have you ever wondered what Spyrers get up to when they aren't being sinister and deadly killers? Perhaps you have occasionally mused over what their home bases look like? You may even be contemplating just what would happen if a resourceful ganger was to follow a Spyrer, somehow managing not to be detected, and check out their headquarters. Wouldn't it be great if you could make a daring assault as they sleep? If they sleep.

Sit up and pin back your ears for some cautionary advice on letting sleeping Spyrers lie. You might just live longer!

As any canny Hiver will tell you, Spyrers are something more than human. They don't eat like us, they don't sleep like us, and their world revolves around an arcane and immensely powerful battle suit whose origins are shrouded in the mists of time. Let those who have understanding of such things not forget that these devices seem to learn by themselves, and increase their destructive potential with the passing of the days spent on the hunt. And when the blood craving is briefly satisfied? Then is the time for the very armour itself to become dormant and assimilate it's experiences. During this time the Spyrers enter a state of sleep of sorts, becoming limp and immobile for about a day. Do not be fooled, for they are far from vulnerable...

Contained within a Spyre Hunter's suit is a miraculous set of devices which are fully capable of preventing serious harm befalling the occupant of the armour as it lies in its unnatural slumber. Through the extensive researches of Guild Technicians, some of the secrets of this mechanism have been revealed. It is known that when the Spyrer shuts down to absorb its recent experiences, certain functions of the suit remain active. Life support obviously, but there is also another system which is only ever seen when the Spyrer is in this state. Millions of microscopic machines, tiny enough to be able to manipulate the very molecules of substances they come into contact with, flood from vents in the armour to pour across the floor of the Underhive. The refuse and scrap in the general area is rapidly transmuted into a nest of wires and conduits linking the recumbent Spyre Hunter to a number of small silver globes. Each of these devices contain a single defence system to be activated when an unwelcome visitor strays too close. And these range from a big gun which blasts the intruder into the middle of next week, to an alarm routine triggering the awakening of a highly irate Spyrer itching to have a word with the unfortunate individual responsible. Each type of suit contains its own unique set of defences, some of which are linked into the weapon systems on board. The following set of rules details their uses in a scenario depicting a raid on a Spyrer home base as they sleep.

"I know where you live.."

This scenario may be played if the Spyrer's opponent gets choice of scenario.

Setup

The Spyre Hunter player sets up the scenery and deploys their forces in hiding within a six inch radius of the exact centre of the board. Then place defence counters (see below).

The attacking player then chooses which side of the board they wish to approach from and deploys along that table edge. Since the terrain here represents the nerve centre of the Spyrers' territory, security is thorough and the attackers may not use any means of infiltration.

Attackers

Since this scenario requires a great deal of stealth and subterfuge on behalf of the attacker to actually follow the Spyrers all the way to their hideout without being spotted, only a small assault force can carry out the job. Therefore, the attackers are limited to 1D6 gang members on this mission. The attackers may not use any special detection equipment to spot the Spyrers in their hiding places, since the anti-surveillance devices of the Spyrers put anything the Underhive has on offer to shame. Sleeping Spyrers can only be spotted by models within a range equal to their Initiative in inches. Shooting, but failing to injure a sleeping Spyrer will automatically wake it up! The Spyrer may be used normally from the next turn onwards. This is the only way Spyrers can become active, aside from the triggering of an alarm.

Orrus Defence Systems (Roll 1D6)

Malformed Construct. The globe contains nothing more than a puddle of unresolved goo and wires. No effect!
Alarm! The Orrus awakens and may be used from the next turn onwards.
Sentry Gun. A cluster of bolt launchers mounted on a turret springs from the globe, and fires as if on overwatch. It will do this every turn, shooting at the first target within range and line of fire, and uses the same BS, ranges, and bolt launcher power boosts as the Orrus.
Frag Belt. This device hurls 1D6 small explosive mines towards whatever activated it. Roll the Artillery dice and place a frag grenade marker that number of inches away from the counter in a straight line between the Frag Belt and the source of its activation. Now roll the Scatter dice for each extra minelet and place a blast marker 1D6 inches away in the direction shown by the arrow. Each minelet has the same profile as a normal frag grenade.
Improved Alarm! As 2, above, but will also awaken a second Spyrer of your choice on a roll of 4, 5, 6 on a D6.
Piggy Back System. Make two rolls on this table ignoring further rolls of 6.

Jakara Defence Systems (Roll 1D6)

Malformed Construct. The globe contains nothing more than a puddle of unresolved goo and wires. No effect!
Alarm! The Jakara awakens and may be used from the next turn onwards.
Mirror Shield Unit. This defence can only be activated when it is fired on by intruders. Rather than being destroyed, it may reflect missile fire directly back at its assailant, exactly like the mother system which it works off. It uses the same BS and mirror shield power boosts as the Jakara.
Energy Sink. When activated, the panels dotting the surface of this device quickly convert energy emissions in its surroundings into plasma. This weapon then fires in exactly the same way as a normal plasma gun and uses the Jakara's BS. As with the Orrus' Sentry Guns above, it shoots as if on overwatch, attacking the first target to move within range and line of fire. The shots fired by this plasma gun are all considered to be low power.
Improved Alarm! As 2, above, but will also awaken a second Spyrer of your choice on a roll of 4, 5, 6 on a D6.
Piggy Back System. Make 2 rolls on this table, ignoring further rolls of 6.

Malcadon Defence Systems (Roll 1D6)

Malformed construct. The globe contains nothing more than a puddle of unresolved goo and wires. No effect!
Alarm! The Malcadon awakens and may be used from the next turn onwards.
Sentry Gun. A turret sporting a set of spinners springs from the globe and fires as if on overwatch. It will do this every turn, shooting at the first target to move within range and line of fire, and uses the same BS, S, ranges, and web spinner power boosts as the Malcadon himself.
Nasty Surprise! Using Malcadon spinner technology, this device has trapped one of Necromunda's Underhive critters. It has been kept trussed up like a turkey and in a bad mood, waiting just for you to come by and release it! Roll a D6 on the following table: 1-2 Necromundan Rat, 3 Milliasaur, 4 Ripperjack, 5 Giant Spider, 6 Dead! No Effect. The enraged beast will always move towards the nearest target, charging if possible.
Improved Alarm! As 2, above, but will also awaken a second Spyrer of your choice on a roll of 4, 5, 6 on a D6.
Piggy Back System. Make 2 rolls on this table, ignoring further rolls of 6.

Defenders

The Spyrers have, by the point at which the attackers strike, entered temporary shutdown to assimilate new information regarding their suit's running. They may do absolutely nothing until specifically awakened by either getting shot at, as detailed above, or by an Alarm defence function as detailed in the following section.

Each Spyre Hunter suit may run up to 1D3 defence routines when it is first worn. Although all the information for all the upgrades are contained in the suit, like the weapons subsystems, the Spyrer can only access more through experience. The difference is that the defence routines are chosen randomly by the suit every time it is used in this way, and are rarely the same twice. The only limiting factor is the amount of defences the suit can muster at any one time. When the Spyrer gains a power boost from the experience table, you may choose to take this advance on your defence system rather than on the normal power boost tables. This has the effect of increasing the amount of defences you can run by one. These defences are represented in the game by defence counters, which are placed within a twelve inch radius of the Spyrer at the beginning of the scenario.

The counters are activated if an enemy model moves within six inches of them. They can be shot at, counting as small targets (-1 to hit) and have a Toughness of 5 with 2 Wounds. A defence counter that is hit but not destroyed will be activated automatically. The destruction of a counter will awaken the Spyrer it is linked to, in the same way as an alarm, if the Spyrer player can roll a 5 or a 6 on a D6.

You can use pretty much anything you feel is appropriate to represent defence counters - pennies, pieces of card, bits of coloured plastic, or whatever. The more adventurous amongst you might even consider modelling your own, like we did.

When you place the counters you must keep track of which defence belongs to which Spyrer. Then, as they become activated, roll for their effect on the appropriate table.

Yeld Defence Systems (Roll 1D6)

Malformed Construct. The globe contains nothing more than a puddle of unresolved goo and wires. No effect!
Alarm! The Yeld awakens and may be used from the next turn onwards.
Sentry Gun. A turret armed with a duplicate of the Yeld's laser gauntlet pops up and fires as if on overwatch. It will do this every turn, shooting at the first target to move within range and line of fire, and uses the same BS, ranges, and laser gauntlet power boosts as the Yeld.
Psychotropic Gas. When activated, the hallucinogenic fumes distilled from Hive fungi are squirted at the intruder (use a flamer template). Anyone caught in the cloud should be treated as if they suffered a hit from an hallucinogen grenade (Necromunda Rulebook, p59).
Improved Alarm! As 2, above, but will also awaken a second Spyrer of your choice on a roll of 4, 5, 6 on a D6.
Piggy Back System. Make 2 rolls on this table, ignoring further rolls of 6.

Ending the Game

The game continues until either one side bottles out, or has no remaining gang members who can fight. The Spyrers will not bottle whilst any of their number remain asleep, and therefore do not have to make tests until they have all been awakened.

Experience


+10	Winning gang leader
+5	Per wounding hit
+1D6/+2D6*	For each surviving gang member

*Special: If the Spyrers lose this battle, they gain no experience and must generate a new territory due to the capture of their base camp. However, winning the battle gains them an additional +1D6 each.

Editor's note: the printed experience line reads "+1D6/+2D6" with no label showing which value applies to which side. It is transcribed as printed.*

It Came From the Sump

It's not often that I get as much feedback from an article as I did from last month's Tales From the Sump. Ever since I finished it people have been coming up to me with suggestions for all kinds of weird and wonderful new scenarios based around their own favourite B-movies. This all got me so enthused that I just couldn't resist carrying on the theme in this month's article!

You might remember that last month, I mentioned some scenarios that I'd been playing which had gangs being hunted down by a Lictor. Well, this got me thinking about what other sorts of horrific and terrifying creatures might inhabit the deepest, darkest corners of the Underhive. The bestiary section of the Outlanders book gives a whole host of Hive denizens, but I wanted something more - an horrific mutant monstrosity, independently capable of taking on a whole gang, or even several gangs at once. Something like the horror from the film The Thing, where the creature is shot, axed, burned, and even savaged by dogs - but still keeps on coming. After bouncing a few ideas around the rest of the White Dwarf crew, a suitably nightmarish plot began to form...

The first thing to do would be to create the monster itself. This could perhaps be a giant arachnid, like the beast from Tarantula, a foul reptilian that lived and bred deep in the sludge of the Sump like the Creature from the Black Lagoon, or maybe a swarm of smaller creatures that existed as a single colony, a plague of insectoids that could strip the flesh from a living target in seconds, like Them. Eventually, however, I decided that the monster would be an amorphous, tentacled blob. This seemed to me to be just the sort of thing that might live in the depths of the Sump, carrying itself further Uphive in its constant search for food.

This time I wanted something more than just a one off scenario. I wanted something that would become more of an inherent part of the campaign. Again, after trying out a couple of ideas, and throwing some suggestions around the rest of the crew, I'd worked out how this was going to happen.

The Thing from the Sump is moving Uphive, and has started entering your players' territories. Each week, at the same time that you generate a random campaign event, roll randomly to see which gang's territory the Thing has moved into that week. You should also select one of their territories, which is the one that the Thing has turned up in. The gang cannot claim any income from this territory this week unless they manage to drive off the monster. If they fail to drive it off or kill it (using the special scenario rules given below) then it will destroy that territory completely - cross it off the gang's list! If they drive it off, they may keep the territory and use it normally from that point on. However, the Thing is still alive and still hungry, and in the next week it will move into another territory - or perhaps even back into the same one!

The Scenario

The Thing from the Sump is a unique and extremely tough creature. Being largely made up of slime and gunk, it is completely immune to most normal weapons. The best you can hope for with a regular weapon is to drive it back slightly. The only way the gangs can think to destroy it is by submerging it in a particularly noxious toxichem pool. Fortunately for the gangs such pools are not uncommon amongst many parts of the Underhive. The only problem is how to push it in...

This scenario should be played whenever a gang tries to fight off the Thing from the Sump, with the Arbitrator setting up the table and controlling the Thing. When setting up for this scenario you should place something to represent the toxichem pool that the gang is trying to drive the Thing in to. This should have several gantries and walkways overhanging it for the Thing to be blasted off - it's not so stupid that it will just walk into the pool! The toxichem pool should be placed about in the middle of the gaming area. Anything falling into the toxichem is instantly killed, and any equipment is lost permanently!

Randomly select a table edge - the Thing will start in the middle of this edge. The gang may then set up anywhere within 8" of the opposite table edge. The gangers have two objectives. Ideally, they would like to destroy the creature, so that they can claim the bounty on it, and not have to worry about it attacking any more of their territories. However, if they cannot destroy it, they at least want to drive it off out of their territory. The Thing is destroyed if any hit forces it back so that it cannot avoid falling into the toxichem. It is driven off if any hit forces it off a table edge and out of the playing area. See the following section for rules on driving the Thing back with weapon hits. The gang must take bottle tests as normal when they have suffered 25% casualties, but must also test each time the Thing devours one of the gang.

The Thing just wants to eat as many gangers as possible. It always takes the first turn in this scenario.

The Thing from the Sump

A number of special rules apply to the Thing from the Sump, making it a unique adversary.

Wounds: The Thing from the Sump starts with six Wounds. In fact its entire profile starts at six. However, every time it suffers a Wound its entire profile gets reduced by one, so that the whole profile will always remain at the same level as the number of Wounds it has remaining.

	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld
The Thing	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6

Regeneration: The Thing from the Sump can regenerate Wounds (and the rest of its profile) during the recovery phase. During each if its recovery phases (as printed), roll a dice for each Wound that the Thing currently has missing. On a roll of 4, 5, or 6, the Wound is regenerated. Remember that the rest of the profile will also regenerate at the same time. The Thing from the Sump will continue to regenerate even if reduced to zero Wounds. The only way it can be killed is by submerging it in the toxichem.

Movement: The Thing from the Sump can neither run nor charge. It therefore always moves at its Movement characteristic speed. Note, however, that this will drop if the Thing suffers any wounds. The Thing may freely move over any obstacles without penalty, and may climb up or down walls as if they were ladders.

Pinning: The Thing from the Sump cannot be pinned. Nor can it be taken man down, man out, or suffer flesh wounds. The only way to stop, or damage, it is by the methods described above. Also, it need never take agility tests to avoid falling off heights if hit.

Shooting: The Thing from the Sump may lash out with one tentacle for each of its Attacks. Note that this means that as it suffers wounds it will be able to throw out fewer tentacles each turn. Each tentacle has a range of 12". Roll to hit as normal. For each hit, pull the target 1" closer to the Thing. If it is pulled into contact, then fight as normal in the hand-to-hand combat phase. These attacks can pull gang members off high levels. Any hit by a tentacle will cause that gang member to become pinned, even if it does not pull them into the Thing itself. The Thing has a 360° line of sight.

Hand-to-hand combat: The Thing from the Sump cannot charge. Instead, it automatically fights a round of hand-to-hand combat against anything that it is in contact with during the hand-to-hand combat phase. However, both the Thing and its hand-to-hand opponents may move off freely in their movement phases - they are not locked in combat. Any gang member unfortunate enough to be absorbed by the Thing is lost permanently, along with all his weapons and equipment!

Push-backs: Every time the Thing from the Sump suffers a hit (even if it can't damage it), from shooting or hand-to-hand combat, it is driven back 1". It is particularly susceptible to hits from flamer weapons, which drive it back 1D6" instead of just 1". Move the model of the Thing directly away from the attacker. If this pushes it over the edge of a high level, then it will fall to the ground and suffer damage as normal.

Feeding Frenzy: When the Thing from the Sump senses food nearby, it will sometimes go into an uncontrollable frenzy to get to it. Roll 1D6 at the start of each Thing turn. On a 1, 2, or 3, it is controllable and may be played as the Arbitrator wishes. However, on a roll of 4, 5, or 6, the Thing is affected by its Feeding Frenzy. It must move at full speed towards the nearest visible gang member, but will always select a target in the open over one in cover. The Thing will always lash with as many tentacles as possible at this one target. Note, however, that even when in a frenzy the Thing will not move into a toxichem pool voluntarily, and will try to move around it. The only way to force it into a toxichem pool is to blast it there!

Leadership: The Thing never bottles out and is immune to all psychology. It is assumed to automatically pass any Leadership test it is required to make, and so its Leadership value is never actually used.

If They Survive

As the Thing stomps and slimes its way around the Hive, bounty on its metaphorical head gets bigger and bigger. Every time the Thing is involved in a battle which it survives (whether it gets driven off or not) its bounty increases by the roll of a dice times ten. This amount is added to the income of whichever gang eventually manages to kill it.

Experience is awarded to gang members fighting the Thing as follows:

+D6 Survives. Each surviving gang fighter earns D6 experience points. Even fighters who are taken man down or man out receive experience for taking part.

+D6 Driving off the Thing. If the Thing is driven off, each surviving gang member gets a further D6 experience points, on top of the D6 for surviving. This bonus is also awarded if the Thing is killed.

+10 Killing the Thing. If the Thing is killed, the gang member who blasted it into the toxichem pool gains 10 experience points.

More Things

During playtesting of this scenario one thing became clear - the Thing is tough! Most novice gangs got two or three gangers taken out without any chance of killing the Thing! For this reason you can allow more experienced gangs to come hunting for the creature. If a novice gang can find someone to fight the scenario for them, in exchange for cash or purely for the glory and bounty, then you may allow them to try and fight off the Thing instead of the appointed gang. Note that the territory under attack does not change, so if they fail to drive off or kill the Thing it is still the original gang that suffers the loss.

Also during playtesting we played around with a few other ideas that you might like to try. One of the most dangerous was having the Thing split into several smaller Things if it got hit by a particularly high Strength weapon, such as a lascannon. These would then quickly regenerate into full-sized Things, which could each go off and attack other territories! Another idea was to have the Thing grow larger and tougher every time it consumed a gang member, with its profile permanently increasing by one for each victim devoured. Note that both these abilities make the Thing even more deadly, so should only be considered if you have a lot of very experienced gangs in your campaign.

Other Monsters

Of course, there's no reason why you have to make your monster B-movie scenarios the same as mine. There are all sorts of other creatures that you could use instead, and all sorts of different ways of incorporating them into your Necromunda campaigns. Adrian had a whole host of ideas for having a more sinister, hidden creature hunting gang members over the course of a campaign, which he's outlined below. You can take any of these ideas as a starting point for your own campaigns - just let your imagination run wild. Necromunda is the perfect setting to capture that sense of dark foreboding that is such an essential component of any B-movie, so make the most of it!

Adrian's Monster on the Loose Scenarios

Adrian: Steve and I were talking about the It Came From The Sump scenario and the conversation triggered off a whole load of ideas for alternative scenarios you could try based on other B-movies. My favourite idea was for a more sinister plot, with an unseen creature preying on gang members. The monster attack could be a random event, or organised by the Arbitrator. Every game there is an increasing chance of a single ganger being snatched and killed during any turn, with both gangs immediately bottling out when the killing happens. Perhaps the event is triggered when one of the gangs bottles out. The beast lashes out as the gang runs for it, enraged at the cowardice being displayed (how like a Khorne Bloodletter or a Spyrer to slay a coward, for example), cutting down a random gang member. Whichever way you do it, the beast's actions have no apparent pattern to them (at least to start with), in order to increase the tension. The creature doesn't have to be something you invent yourself - it could be a Genestealer, a Bloodletter, a Spyrer, a Psyker or even a mysterious plague of some kind!

The deaths could increase in regularity as the campaign continues and the gangs become subject to psychological effects such as fear or frenzy. Gangers are reduced to gibbering wrecks or transformed into blood-mad fiends desperate to uncover the beast responsible for the deaths. Suspicion is rife on all sides. Convinced that the other gangs are somehow involved in the attacks, full scale war breaks out between Houses. Fighting is fierce as gangers set upon gangers, but still the deaths go on. The level of fear amongst the gangs would become very real.

Yet another idea is for the Arbitrator to finally reveal the monster through clues left over the course of several games, or a single event during a normal game. A reward is posted for the death or capture of the beast, the gangs competing to track it down as quickly as possible. Maybe, as more and more games are played, gangs acquire clues, a glimpse of the beast, a footprint, anything that might give the gang an idea about the creature. The gang with the most clues earns the right to try to capture or kill the monster. In order to lure the creature out into the open a lone juve is used as bait, the rest of the gang either trapping it with web pistols or blasting it with a lascannon, dependant on how greedy they are or how desperate they are to see it dead!

Tales from the Underhive

Among the many diversions that the White Dwarf crew find to entertain themselves, one of the favourites is "cult" science fiction and horror movies. There's just something about a gang of Mutant Radioactive Zombie Bikers from Hell (or whatever) stomping their way through ninety minutes of roller-coaster cinematic action that attracts us. Necromunda has always seemed to me to be a good setting for this kind of gratuitous fun, and so I started thinking about a few scenario ideas, based around some of my favourite B-movie cliches.

Watch the Films

The best way to start if you want to create and play this sort of scenario, is to watch a few appropriately low-budget films. Old black and white movies are always being shown on late night television (although you should only bother with the horror and science fiction movies, ignoring the Cary Grant comedy romances and the subtitled French art house flicks), and these can give you some great plot ideas. If you need some of our personal recommendations, try the Thing from Another World or Fiend Without a Face (Adrian's favourites), the Thing (Ian's top choice) or the original Night of the Living Dead (my pick, but only really suitable for our more mature readers). Forbidden Planet is another classic that's well worth watching. A lot of the old episodes of programmes like Doctor Who or the Twilight Zone can also be excellent sources for plot ideas.

Over the next few pages I've taken some of my favourite B-movie themes and plots, and suggested ways that they can be used and adapted for Necromunda. I've also taken one particular theme, the classic Zombie fest, and developed it into a full blown Arbitrator scenario, Hive of the Living Dead. Enjoy, and remember, be afraid...

Hive of the Living Dead

An individual or group who are suddenly isolated from normal civilisation is one of the most common themes in horror B-movies. Frequently, the main characters are cut off from society as they know it, where they are forced to confront their worst fears. My first scenario idea came about from this type of theme. Many situations can arise which will cause gangers to become separated from their gangs, and in the Underhive this is not a pleasant situation to be in at the best of times. Unfortunately, times have a nasty habit of seldom being at their best when you want them to be...

Into the Depths

There are several ways of getting into this scenario. The most straightforward way is to simply grab one or more players who want to take part. Roll a dice and add two to the result (giving a value between three and eight) to determine how many gang members will take part in total. If you have more than one player involved then divide this number as equally as possible among all the players. The actual gangers involved should be determined randomly.

However, the second way of getting into this scenario is much more interesting, and much more fun! Wait, and bide your time until a suitable occasion arises. Many of the Hazardous Conditions, especially Hive Quakes, are excellent for this. As the ground begins to tremble and quake, gantries collapse and great rends are torn beneath the gangs' feet, plunging random gang members into the depths of the Hive. Again, you can decide the gang members randomly as above, or choose them appropriately (for example, instead of gangers going out of action from a Hive Quake, have them plunged into the horrors of this scenario instead!) However they get there, the selected gangers soon find themselves very lost, in a place they most definitely do not want to be.

Where Are They?

After tumbling and falling through sewer ducts and air shafts, down garbage chutes and sludge pipes, the gangers have ended up in the depths of the Hive Bottom. No other life is visible, and even by Necromundan standards the area they are in is ruinous and inhospitable. As they begin to realise their predicament, they notice shambling figures shifting through the shadows. Things are about to get a whole lot worse...

The object of the scenario is for the players to fight their way out, past the hordes of Plague Zombies that are closing in on them, and escape back uphive. This is not easy. Not only is no one quite sure of the way, but for every Zombie blown away or dismembered another two seem to appear to take its place. Pustulant hands claw at the gangers' feet as they flee, the rotting victims of the Zombie Plague eager to feed upon fresh flesh. And the gangers only have so much ammo...

Setting Up the Table

The Arbitrator should set up all the terrain for this scenario himself. There are several terrain features that should be placed during this stage. Firstly, there must be an escape point somewhere on the table. This can be anything you like, perhaps a hatchway on a piece of terrain, or a large open pipe leading off out of sight. Make sure that it is something quite definite, though, rather than just a point on the table. This is the only way the gang members can escape. Unfortunately, at the start of the game, none of the players know where this point is. Only when one of their models approaches within eight inches of the escape route should you reveal its exact location. Note that there are no bottle tests in this scenario - none of the gangers would know where to run. Neither can the gangers escape off any table edge. The only way out is through the designated escape route.

Secondly, you should define a "sanctuary" in the middle of the table. This is an area that the Zombies are unable to enter. Perhaps light shines down from uphive on this particular spot, or maybe the strange, ancient looking obelisks that circle it create an aura that the Zombies fear. While we were playtesting the scenario I used a ruined temple as the sanctuary - I felt that this gave the right sort of feel to the game, creating a sort of holy "sacred zone".

The players must deploy first. The unfortunates must be placed anywhere inside the sanctuary at the start of the game. Roll a dice to see how many Zombies the Arbitrator (or Zombie player) starts with. These may be deployed anywhere outside the sanctuary, but no closer than 8" to any gang member.

The Horror Begins

The gangers always get the first turn. If more than one player is participating, then either let them sort out their own turn sequence, or decide randomly if they are unable to do this (tut, tut! They'll have to learn to co-operate sooner or later... ). The Arbitrator then takes his turn normally. However, at the end of each Zombie turn the Arbitrator may roll a dice and place that many extra Zombies on the table. These are deployed just like the initial Zombies, anywhere outside the sanctuary, but no closer than 8" to any gang member. In addition, they have the extra restriction that they must be placed within 8" of a Zombie already on the table. If there are no Zombies on the table already then the new ones may ignore this restriction.

The game continues until all the gang members involved have either been taken out of action or have managed to escape.

At the end of the game, instead of rolling on the normal injury table for gangers taken out of action, roll on the Zombie Plague Table below.

Zombie Plague Table

D6 Roll	Result
1	Zombie Food! Hordes of Zombies fall on the helpless body of the ganger, tearing their body apart and feeding on the still living flesh!
2	Lost in the Depths. The ganger quickly succumbs to the Zombie Plague. Brain death occurs within hours, and the new Zombie remains in the depths of the Underhive.
3	"I heard you were dead... " The gang member manages to escape back uphive uninjured. However, the other members of the gang, fearing that he has already contracted the Zombie Plague open fire immediately upon seeing him! Randomly select one other gang member and roll to hit as if firing at close range with the highest strength weapon the they own. Resolve wounds/injuries as normal.
4	One of them! The gang member manages to crawl back uphive, but unfortunately the Zombie Plague has still infected the hapless ganger. Make a roll on the regular Zombie Plague table in the Outlanders rulebook. If the ganger survives, make a roll on the Serious Injury table as normal.
5	Survive! The gang member manages to fight off the effects of the Zombie Plague and escape back uphive. You must still make a normal Serious Injury roll, but you may re-roll results of 11-16 (Dead) or 61-63 (Captured).
6

Make no mistake, surviving this scenario is (or at least should be) very difficult. Anyone who survives and makes their way back uphive will, without a doubt, earn a reputation as one of the most iron-hard, tough gangers in the Hive. Instead of acquiring experience for escaping from the Zombie lair, any surviving gang members should make a roll on the "I survived the zombie lair!" table to find out the benefits of their outing.

"I Survived the Zombie Lair!"

D6 Roll	Result
1	Killer Rep. Stories of the gang member's brutal and bloody escape from the Zombie lair quickly spread through the Hive. The gang member automatically gets the Killer Reputation skill.
2	Discovery. Crawling their way back uphive, the gang member stumbles upon an ancient and well-hidden opening. Roll another dice to determine what sort of territory the opening leads to. The gang may add this territory to those it already possesses. 1-2 Old Ruins; 3 Spore Cave; 4 Tunnels; 5 Vents; 6 Archeotech Hoard
3	Archeotech. During the battle against the Zombies, the gang member stumbled across a strange and ancient looking device. The ganger may add this item of Archeotech to his equipment list. Roll on the Archeotech table in the Outlanders rulebook to find out exactly what sort of device it is.
4	Iron Will. Having faced the horrors of the Zombie lair, little that the Hive has to offer now will perturb this gang leader. The gang leader automatically acquires the Iron Will skill. Re-roll this result for any gang member other than the gang leader.
5	"I remember when... " Your gang member now has some truly frightening first hand anecdotes to keep the Juves in line. After each game that this gang member participates in, instead of working for income or searching for rare trade items, they may try and impress some Juves enough to join the gang. Roll a dice, and on a roll of 6 you may add a new Juve to your gang just as if you had a territory.

I Will Survive

As it stands, this scenario is designed for fairly novice gangs. However, it is a simple matter to make it easier or tougher for the players. If you feel the need to make it easier, the most straightforward way is to limit the maximum number of Zombies on the table at one time. Making the sanctuary larger, or making the escape route closer to the sanctuary, or more obvious, are also effective changes.

Conversely, to make the scenario more difficult, you can make the sanctuary smaller, and hide the escape route away in a distant corner of the table. To make it more difficult still, you could tell the players that during their tumbling journey into the Underhive, they lost ammo supplies, so that they must now make ammo checks on a roll of five or six, instead of just the normal roll of six. To make it really, really tough, you can always introduce some extra enemies other than the Zombies. Perhaps there are also some Scavvies or Scalies lurking amongst the shadows, or maybe even Karloth Valois himself is guiding the Zombies? Additionally, you can make the sanctuary slightly less safe - maybe you could allow the Zombies to enter this area if they can pass a leadership test, or say that after a fixed number of turns the Zombies overcome their fear of the sanctuary and may then enter it freely.

This scenario can also be played solo or without an Arbitrator quite easily. Shuffle together eight or ten playing cards, one of which is an ace. Scatter these at suitable locations around the table top. Whenever you get within eight inches of one of these cards you may turn it over, the ace representing the escape route. Each turn the Zombies will move at full pace towards the nearest ganger. When placing new Zombies, determine randomly where they are placed as follows: randomly select a Zombie already on the table. Then roll a normal dice together with a scatter dice to determine how far and in which direction the new Zombie is placed from the existing one. You can even team up with several of your mates to play the scenario together in this way. You can each take it in turns to move and fight with the Zombies. It helps if one of the players has a Warhammer Undead army, so that you can borrow all his Zombies to use!

Remember that these events are terrifying and unusual even by Necromunda standards, so they should only really be run as a one off. This sort of scenario is much too dangerous for regular play! Once you've played it through, you can always try and devise some follow on scenarios to carry on the theme (yes, just like with the movies, you too can have several cheesy sequels!) Perhaps after returning uphive the gang decides to mount an expedition back down to the depths to recover any gang members who didn't manage to escape. Or maybe the Zombies manage to follow the gangers after they escape, finding a route to the Gang's base! Pretty soon total carnage erupts as the Zombie plague spreads throughout the hive, with armies of brain-dead flesh-eaters fighting against the massed gangs defending their homes...

Necromunda Chronicle, 995.03.11 M41: "Terror Sweeps the Underhive"

New outbreak of the dreaded Zombie Plague: Lock your doors, trust nobody! Already the settlement of Market Spire has succumbed to this new outbreak of brain-eating Zombies. Bands of these beasts are roaming the Underhive, and have encroached upon the outskirts of Castle Rock. Boil your water, take your vitamins and keep your heavy rubber handy. (One randomly selected member of EVERY gang must make a roll on the Plague table to see if they are infected. Apply the results immediately!!!)

Source note: the clipping's remaining column text (the Crusade item) is illegible in the scan and is not transcribed.

Andy's Cyborg Assassin

This is the thing responsible for bombing the trade delegation uphive. He is hiding out in your gang using his remarkable morphing powers - pick one of your gang members for him to impersonate (not a Juve). His true nature will be revealed when he takes a wound - replace the gang member with a servitor model.

Profile	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld
Cyborg	4	5	4	5	6	2	4	2	10

Weapons: The assassin is armed with the weapons of the gang member he replaces.

Armour: The Cyborg has an armour saving throw of 4, 5 or 6 on a D6.

Equipment: The Cyborg is equipped with filter plugs and photo contacts.

Skills: Hurl Opponent, True Grit, Nerves of Steel. Immune to nerve rolls.

Do It Yourself

Of course, there are still countless other variants and ideas that you can steal from your favourite B-movies. Rather than develop these into full blown scenarios, I've just given some basic plot outlines that you can work up properly yourselves. You can use Hive of the Living Dead as an example of how to do this sort of thing. It's really not very difficult to create your own scenarios once you get into it, so why not give it a go?

It Came From the Sump

Another situation that arises as the central theme of countless horror and science fiction movies is where the main characters are trapped and hunted down, one by one, by something deadly, huge, and usually unseen until the very last reel. The Thing from Another World or Fiend without a Face are perhaps the best examples of this sort of plot and, as we have already seen, are particular favourites of Adrian's.

You can quite easily create a scenario where the players' gangs are trapped in a secluded and abandoned section of the Hive. Abandoned, that is, except for a single horrific monster. The gangers cannot know how it got there - maybe it was a genetic experiment gone wrong, or perhaps it stowed away on board a cargo vessel travelling from a distant world. You can pick a creature from the Underhive bestiary section of the Outlanders rulebook, or even just invent a monster yourself. This second option is particularly good if you can convert a suitably horrific model to use. I've recently been trying out using creatures from Warhammer 40,000 in some Necromunda games, and have even had a couple of gangs going up against a Lictor(!). Rather than having to kill the monster, all the gangers had to do was survive until a time-locked door opened, sparing them a truly horrific fate. Perhaps in a future scenario they'll get the opportunity to go back and finish the job off (or perhaps the Lictor will get that chance!)

Cameo Appearances

You don't even need to create a full-blown scenario to be able to capture the cult movie feel in your games. You can have cameo type sub-plot that run through your campaign and find their way into games when the players are least expecting it. When Andy Chambers was running the Studio campaign we had a sub-plot going on for several weeks with a Cyborg Assassin hiding out in the Underhive. The Cyborg could change shape freely, so you could never know who it was disguised as at any one time. I've included the rules for the Cyborg Assassin (on the previous page) just as Andy wrote them, so you can see how simple it is to work this kind of thing into your games. The trade delegation bombing that Andy mentions refers to an event that had happened the previous week in our Studio campaign.

There are also countless ideas that you can add to your basic theme to add even more depth, and make it even more terrifying. How about making a scenario where the gang's Juves are cut off from the rest of the gang and forced to survive against some truly terrifying monstrosity (maybe a Spyrer?). Perhaps the gang's weapons have been rendered ineffective for some reason, or the creature they face is simply immune to them. They will have to improvise ways of fighting their way out instead.

Just remember that there are hundreds upon hundreds of films that you can take ideas from, and not nearly enough space here to describe all of them. So if you ever need more inspiration, then go and find yourself an old black and white B-movie. Let's see, Fiend Without a Face, I haven't seen that one yet... Gangers beware!

The Heist

Gav: A short while ago we received a letter detailing a new scenario for Necromunda. The letter was from James Ball, who's a big fan of the game. His basic idea for a raid on a warehouse appealed to us and we've given it the White Dwarf treatment to present to you. Hopefully, we'll be presenting more new Necromunda scenarios in the future, so if you have any in mind, please write in and let us know. Well here it is, the Heist scenario...

The Heist Scenario

To survive in the forbidding darkness of the Underhive a gang must constantly find sources of food, ammunition and new weapons. Occasionally a gang will be so desperate and short of creds it will attack a Guilder caravan or, as this scenario represents, raid a storage facility belonging to the vengeful Guilders. One gang is attempting to make off with valuable arms and equipment while the other gang has been hired by the Guilders to stand watch and guard their stash of goods before they are shipped out to other settlements.

Choosing The Heist

If a normal or Outlaw gang rolls a "may choose" result on either the Scenario table or Outlaw Scenario table, the player may opt to play The Heist, in which case the player who chooses the scenario is the attacker. Note that The Heist is an Outlaw scenario, so any rolls on the Outlaw table (due to being reported to the Watchmen) should be modified accordingly. If both gangs are Outlaws you may still play this scenario, it is assumed that the defenders are working for renegade gunrunners or some other illegitimate traders. Outlanders cannot be the defenders.

Terrain

Starting with the attacker, the players take it in turn to place a piece of terrain, either a ruined building structure or a connecting walkway. Once all the other pieces of terrain have been placed, the defender may place up to five barricades and the watch-tower. When all the terrain has been placed, the defender puts all the crate counters face down and takes 2D6 of them at random. Neither player may look at these. The defender must place the crate counters on the table, no closer than 8" to a table edge and no closer than 4" to another crate counter.

Gangs

The defender sets up first and may deploy his gang as he wishes, as long as each model is 8" or more from any table edge.

The attacker must randomly select a table edge and deploy his gang within 4" of that edge.

Fighters with the Infiltrate skill may use their skill, whether they are attacking or defending. Defending Infiltrators are assumed to use their skills to hide while the enemy spy out the defenders' positions before launching their assault, rather than moving into position after the attackers have burst in.

Starting the Game

The attackers go first, smashing through the warehouse doors shouting "Nobody moves an' nobody gets hurt!" or similar...

The Crate Counters

Only the attacking gang has any interaction with the crates - the defender cannot move or open the crates for fear of damaging the goods they are supposed to be protecting. The attacker, on the other hand, is only there for the crates!

Each crate counter indicates on the back what it contains - either Ammo, Guns, Gear or Trap. Gun and Gear counters have no immediate effect on the game, since they may need to be assembled, cleaned or whatever before they can be used. Ammo counters can be used straightaway if needed (see Ammo below), while Traps will go off the moment a fighter opens the crate! A model may pick up a crate counter by simply moving over it. An attacking model can carry a crate counter without affecting its shooting, close combat or movement in any way. Obviously, Underhive denizens and other types of creature cannot carry or open crates...

A model may open a crate by ending its movement carrying the crate counter. The model may not shoot in the same turn, and may not open a crate if engaged in hand-to-hand combat. When the model opens the crate, the attacking player may look at the back of the counter. Depending on what the counter represents, refer to the relevant section below and note down what each counter represents on a scrap of paper.

Fighters who go out of action drop any crate counters they are carrying wherever they happen to be at the time. Remove the model, but leave the counter in place. Models can transfer crates to other models in base-to-base contact during the shooting phase, but neither model may shoot that turn.

Ammo

Ammo counters represent a spare magazine, power pack or whatever for a weapon. When the counter is turned over, roll a D6 on the following table to see which type of weapon the Ammo counter is for:

Roll	Weapon Reload
1	Lasgun
2	Autogun
3	Shotgun - man-stopper shells
4	Bolter
5	Shotgun - bolt shells
6	Heavy Stubber

See the Necromunda Rulebook (page 69) for details of weapon reloads.

Trap

The Guilders are nobody's fool and often include booby-trapped crates amongst their hordes - as much to discourage the guards as anything else! Roll a D6 to see what effect the trap has on the unfortunate fighter. Trap counters should be discarded immediately after they have been resolved.

Roll	Trap and Effects
1	Frag! A frag grenade detonates. Centre the template on the model opening the crate and follow the normal rules.
2	Incendiary! Treat the opening model as if it had been hit by a hot-shot shotgun shell.
3	Net! A massive net springs out of the opened crate - the model counts as man down until it can roll equal to or under its Initiative at the start of its turn.
4	Screamer! As the fighters open the crate, they are knocked reeling by an intense ultrasonic scream which can shatter ear drums and burst blood vessels. Any models within 2D6" must roll equal to or under their Initiative or suffer a single Strength 3 hit with no armour saving throws allowed.
5	Choke bomb! Treat as if a choke grenade has exploded, centred on the model opening the crate (page 59 of the Necromunda Rulebook).
6	Flash Flare! Treat as if a photon flash flare has been detonated, centred on the model (page 60 of the Necromunda Rulebook).

Guns

Guns counters represent, yes you've guessed it, guns! These must be cleaned up and assembled and cannot be used until the next battle. Roll a D6 on the following table to find out what type of gun was in the crate.

Roll	Weapon
1	Laspistol
2	Autopistol
3	Bolt pistol
4	Autogun
5	Shotgun (with solid and scatter shells)
6	Lasgun

Gear

Gear represents some other item of equipment, such as a gunsight or (in the case of Outlaw Guilders) a cache of combat drugs. Roll on the Rare Trade Chart to find out what is contained inside the crate. If the defending gang are Outlaws, roll on the Outlaw Trade Chart, treating results of combat drugs (Spook, 'Slaught, etc.) as D6 doses with no chance of contacting a fixer. Re-roll "Special" results on the Outlaw Trade Chart.

Ending the Game

The Heist scenario continues until one gang is driven off or the attackers have all of the crate counters in their possession, as described below.

If all of the crate counters are being carried by attackers within 8" of the table edge they entered on, the game ends immediately with a victory for the attacker.

If the defender bottles out, the attacker gets any remaining crate counters. In addition, the extra time the gang has allows them to discover and deactivate any remaining Traps. Traps counters should simply be discarded.

If a gang fails a bottle roll, or one player voluntarily bottles out, the game ends immediately. The defending gang is being well paid for protecting the stash and is unlikely to get similar employment in the future if they desert their posts. For this reason, the defending gang does not have to start making bottle rolls until it has suffered 50% casualties, rather than 25%. The gang that bottles out loses and the winner is left in possession of the battlefield.

Experience

Fighters who take part in this scenario earn experience points as noted below.

+D6 Survives. If the fighter survives the battle then D6 points are earned. Even fighters who are wounded and taken out of action receive experience for taking part.

+5 Per wounding hit. A fighter earns 5 points for each wounding hit they inflict during the battle. Make a note on the gang roster every time the fighter scores a hit and wounds their target. Although it is possible to inflict several Wounds from one shot using some weapons, only 5 points are earned when this happens, not 5 points per actual Wound inflicted.

+1 Per crate counter. For every crate counter the fighter is carrying at the end of the game, add 1 experience point to their total.

+10 Successful defence. If the defending gang wins, their Leader earns 10 points.

Payment

The defending gang gets paid by the Guilders for guarding their warehouse. In addition to any normal income, the defender earns 5 creds for each Wound inflicted on the attacking gang, and 5 creds for every unopened crate counter still on the table at the end of the battle.

Necromunda Scenario: Toll Bridge

By Gary and Mark James. The opening story on the first page of the article is flavour fiction and is not transcribed.

Terrain

Before you play this scenario for the first time you will need to do a little preparation and make a swing bridge and a couple of boats. Instructions for making these are given later in this article. You will also need to represent the course of the infamous Sump River, which you can do with a strip of paper or cloth. Look in the How to Make Wargames Terrain book for more detailed modelling ideas.

Set up the terrain as normal, but leave a continuous gap through the middle for the river. This foul-smelling, viscous watercourse flows from one edge of the table to the opposite edge. Place the swing bridge so it spans the river and reaches the buildings on either side.

Each player places a rowing boat on the river and takes it in turns to place D6+1 Sump Spiders in the river as well. The bridge starts the game in its connected position (ie, touching the buildings).

Sump River is highly toxic and any poor, unsuspecting gang member ending up in it (for example by falling from the bridge) will immediately go out of action.

Gangs

Each player rolls a dice. The low scorer chooses which table edge he wants to set up on, and places all of his gang fighters within 8" of that edge. His opponent then sets up within 8" of the opposite table edge. Note that you may not use any method to deploy gang members on the bridge (vents, infiltration etc.) unless you have the Toll Bridge territory. If you have the Toll Bridge territory then one gang member may be deployed on the bridge.

Starting the Game

This special scenario starts in the same way as a Gang Fight. Each player should roll a D6. The highest scoring player takes the first turn.

Ending the Game

The game ends in the same way as a Gang Fight with the following additions: If the bridge is in its unconnected position when the game ends, some gang members may be temporarily trapped on the bridge. These gang members will continue to fight even if one of the gangs has already bottled out. If the bridge turns and connects again during this fight, the members of the broken gang will immediately flee and the game will end.

Special

This replaces the special section of the Gang Fight scenario. If a winning gang has at least one member left on the bridge at the end of the scenario (including any fight-out on an unconnected bridge) who is not down then the gang will gain control of the bridge and may add the Toll Bridge territory to their gang roster (see below). If any gang member has collected spider eyes by killing Sump Spiders these will add D6x10 credits per spider to the gang's income for the scenario.

Experience

Fighters who take part in the Toll Bridge scenario earn Experience points as noted below:

+D6 Survives. If a fighter survives the battle then D6 points are earned. Even fighters who are wounded and taken out of action receive experience for taking part.

+5 Per Wounding Hit. A fighter earns 5 points for each wounding hit he inflicts during the battle. Make a note on the gang roster every time the fighter scores a hit and wounds his target. Although it is possible to inflict several wounds from one shot using some weapons, only 5 points are earned when this happens, not 5 points per wound.

+10 Winning Gang Leader. The winning Leader earns an extra 10 Experience points.

+10 Crossed Bridge. Each surviving fighter who is on the opposite bank at the end of the game earns an extra 10 Experience points.

+1 Spider Killer. Any gang member who takes a spider out of action in hand-to-hand combat earns an extra Experience point.

Special Stuff

For this scenario you will need to construct a swing bridge and some boats.

Swing bridge: To make a swing bridge you will need a cardboard tube (from a cooking foil roll or something similar), and some stiff cardboard. Firstly you should cut the cardboard tube to the height you want the bridge at (two or three bulkheads high). Cut a 4-inch square piece of cardboard, fix it to the bottom of the tube as a base and weight it if necessary - you don't want the bridge falling over in the middle of a game, do you? Next you should cut a long rectangle of cardboard to become the bridge itself. Remember to make the bridge wide enough to span the river and the width should be that of a plastic bulkhead. Simply attach this to the top of the tube and there you go, a swing bridge!

Boats: As for the boats, just cut two boat shapes 2 bases wide and 3 bases long from cardboard, and place the models on these when they are in the boats.

Using Rowing Boats

Boats can be rowed by one or two gang members and can carry four people including the rowers. Rowers can take no other action. Boats move in the movement phase and their movement is measured from the pointed front of the boat.

Roll an Artillery dice and a Scatter dice. Halve the Artillery dice roll and subtract the result from the strength of the rower, or the combined strength if two are rowing, treating a misfire result as 0. This is to simulate the eddies and currents of Sump River.

If the strength score is higher than the Artillery dice score then the boat moves a distance equal to the difference between the scores in inches in a direction specified by the player. If the Artillery dice roll is higher than the rowers' strength then the boat drifts a distance equal to the difference in scores, in the direction indicated by the Scatter dice.

For example, two S3 gangers are rowing and the Artillery dice rolls a 10. The boat drifts 2 inches in the direction of the Scatter dice. Next turn the Artillery dice rolls up 4. The boat moves 4 inches in the direction desired by the player. There is no movement penalty for turning.

If a boat drifts right off the edge of the gaming table then the members can take no further part in the scenario but are otherwise not harmed any more than they may have been at the point of departure.

You may swap rowers instead of taking any other action with the gang members involved. This will almost certainly cause the boat to drift that turn.

You cannot hide in a boat. Shooting from a boat that was controlled that turn suffers a -1 to hit penalty. Shooting from a drifting boat suffers a -2 to hit penalty. All boat members gain a -1 to hit penalty for shots against them. For simplicity, the boats themselves cannot be targeted.

Controlling the Bridge

The gangs do not control the bridge's movement. Commencing with Turn 3, at the beginning of each player's turn roll a D6. On a score of 5 the bridge turns 90 degrees clockwise. On a score of a 6 the bridge turns 90 degrees anti-clockwise. When the bridge is turned the ends are cut off from the buildings and gang members on it are temporarily stranded.

Sump Spiders!

The noxious river flowing beneath the Toll Bridge is infested with Sump Spiders (part of the reason for there being a bridge). The spiders are aquatic variants of the Wolf Spider described in the Outlanders Bestiary. At the start of each player's turn each spider moves a distance in inches equal to the roll of an Artillery dice, in the direction rolled on a Scatter dice (treat a misfire as zero). Spiders will not leave the Sump River and if they reach the bank or table edge they will stop.

If at any time during or at the end of the move the spider passes within 'spider initiative distance' (1 inch) of a boat it will immediately charge the nearest gang member in the boat. If a 'hit' is rolled on the Scatter dice the spider immediately charges an occupied boat up to the distance indicated on the Artillery dice. Randomise the choice of boat if necessary.

If a boat ever moves within spider initiative distance of a spider the spider will immediately charge the boat, even if it has already moved (because it is only 1 inch away).

Deal with all hand-to-hand combat with spiders during the next hand-to-hand phase. If hand-to-hand combat with a spider endures to another turn the gangers can row the boat (excluding the ganger fighting the spider!) but the spider will pursue until the combat is resolved.

Sump Spider (Rating 40)

Profile	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld
Spider	7	3	0	4	3	1	1	1	5

Armour: Sump Spiders receive an armour save of 6 on a D6 against any damage to represent their thick chitin hides.

If a spider is killed or taken out of action flip the miniature upside down and leave it where it was. Any fighter who can move into contact with a down or dead spider can cut the valuable crystals from its carcass in the recovery phase. Spider bodies will drift in the current at the start of each player's turn, just like boats with no rowers.

New Territory: Toll Bridge

The Toll Bridge territory yields 2D6x10 credits to the gang that controls it.

Your gang extorts money from other gangs and traders who wish to use the bridge. On a roll of double 6 for income the bridge has broken down catastrophically in the unconnected position. You get no income from the Bridge in this game and must now either pay 2D6x10 credits to get the bridge repaired (roll again) or abandon the bridge and cross it off your territory list. You may get a quote for the repair (ie, make the roll) before making your decision.

On a roll of double 1 for income, a passing trader offers you a rare item for purchase. You get no income for the bridge in this game. Generate the item from a trading post list - roll a D6. On a 1-4 you are offered an item from the standard trading post list, on a 5-6 you are offered an item from the Outlaw trading post list. This applies to Outlander as well as non-Outlander gangs and represents the varied nature of traders using your bridge. You may accept this single item even if you do not or cannot go to the trading post normally for any reason.

The other gangs do not like paying a toll to go about their business. To represent this, any gang which holds a Toll Bridge territory and plays the Gang Fight scenario can be forced to play the Toll Bridge scenario instead at the choice of the opposing gang. This represents gangs rebelling against the toll and trying to take the bridge back.

Outlanders

If an Outlander gang gains control of the bridge then they must choose to keep the Toll Bridge territory (ie, make their camp there) and discard their previous piece of territory or keep their original camp. Remember that Outlander gangs may never hold more than one territory.

If, in a subsequent battle, an Outlander gang loses its Toll Bridge territory to another gang then it must immediately roll up another territory on the Outlaw Territory Chart to see where they find to re-settle.

Arbitrator Scenario: Triple Cross

By Andy Chambers.

Triple Cross is a three-sided battle cunningly disguised as a two-sided one. One gang (the dealers) has persuaded another gang (the raiders) that they know of some crystallised metals and slag that they can transport out of Underhive and get a good price for. They are cutting the raiders in for half the profit if they'll just get the loot and bring it to an arranged pick-up point. From there the dealers have the contacts to sell such valuable goods. Just as the raiders reach the pick-up point a third gang (the usurpers) shows up and tries to muscle in on the deal. The loot is worth a small fortune, but is anyone going to be alive to claim it?

Arbitrator Hints

When you are telling the players about this battle, remember just to tell them what they would know. For example, tell the raiders' player that he is ambushed (nothing mentioned about the double-crossing dealers) and don't tell the dealers that the usurpers are going to turn up. The usurpers will probably know pretty much everything, though you might like to let them think the raiders and dealers could gang up on them. Of course, the players themselves may want to strike impromptu bargains too if they think about it!

Gangs

In this scenario the raiders gang should ideally have a lower gang rating than either of the other two. Outlaws may participate in this scenario in any role, but Ratskins and Scavvies may only play the raiders or usurpers. Spyrers or Redemptionists can only play the usurpers, each for their own unique reasons of course.

Setting Up

The Arbitrator should set up the terrain as required. The raiders start out carrying six Loot counters, split between the gang as the player wishes (but note a model may not carry more than one counter). The raiders start 20" from any table edge and at least 24" away from the dealers' transports which are waiting to carry the booty out of the Underhive. There should be one or two transports for the dealers, depending on availability of models. These are placed 24" from the table edges. The dealer gang starts within 8" of their transports.

The raider gang starts within 4" of any one table edge. Roll to see which gang deploys first, second and third. Tunnels and Vents may not be used by any of the gangs (the dealers and raiders think the rendezvous is pretty safe).

Roll to see which gangs get first, second and third turns. Play then proceeds as normal (well, pretty much... ).

Transports

These could be trucks, railway carriages, barges or whatever. You may like to improvise some rules for them moving around and their Toughness and Wounds in case they are shot at, but they are basically included for colour and to give the dealers some much-needed cover (the drivers flee as soon as the shooting starts).

Loot

The loot in Triple Cross is much bulkier than normal (it's crated up, stuffed in sacks or generally just too big to sling in your pocket). For this reason, the rules for loot are different from those in other scenarios.

In this scenario a model may only carry one Loot counter at a time. If a model carrying a Loot counter is taken down or out they drop the counter where they fall. If a model takes out a fighter carrying a Loot counter in hand-to-hand combat they may take the counter as they scrag their opponent. A dropped Loot counter may be picked up by any model passing over it during the movement phase. A model carrying loot cannot fire a ranged weapon and must drop it to fight in hand-to-hand combat. If they are charging they must drop the loot at the start of their charge to give them time to ready their weapons.

Loot can be removed from any table edge by moving a model carrying it off the table. Models carrying off loot may not return, however. Gangs which bottle out drop their loot which is still on the table.

Each Loot counter is worth D6x10 credits and goes straight to the gang's stash rather than being added to their income (there are advantages to illicit dealing).

Ending the Game

Gangs take Bottle rolls individually, after taking 25% casualties as usual (models that have moved off the table with loot do not count as casualties). Once the first gang has bottled out roll a D6 each gang turn. On a roll of 1-4 nothing happens; on a roll of a 5 the local militia (see below) turn up and on a 6 an Adeptus Arbites patrol team (see elsewhere for details of these) arrives on a random table edge. Once local troops have turned up, there is no need to continue rolling each turn. These are under the control of the Arbitrator and will shoot up the battling gangs with callous indifference (possibly targeting models who are trying to escape before others).

You may want to allow the first gang who bottled out to control some or all of the authority forces (snitching has its rewards). Once all gangs have bottled out (either voluntarily or through failed Bottle rolls) the game ends. If all the Loot counters are removed the game ends immediately. If one gang is left in possession of the table they automatically get any counters left behind.

Whatever the result of the battle, all the gangs involved may collect income from their territory as normal (or forage in the case of Outlaws and Outlanders). Roll for injuries as normal; captured gangers will be taken by a randomly determined enemy gang. If the local militia or Arbitrators showed up there is a chance that captured gangers will have been taken into custody (for example, roll a D6, on a 1-2 Gang 1 captures them, 3-4 they are held by Gang 2 on a 5 or 6 the Watchmen are holding them). You may like to fight a modified Rescue scenario against the Watchmen forces as a later Arbitrator scenario if this happens.

Local Militia

The local militia squad will comprise ten men, usually armed with lasguns and wearing flak armour (Imperial Guard models are good for this). They have the profile given below and must take a Bottle test like a gang if they are reduced by 25% casualties. Militia squads do not have to make Ammo rolls, they are kept well supplied. Alternatively, the local militia may be the campaign Watchmen gang (if there is one) or at least some of their members.

	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld
Militia	4	3	3	3	3	1	3	1	7

The Watchmen

The Guilders take a dim view of this type of illicit trading and anybody reported to their Watchmen for being involved in such an affair is likely to be given little mercy. There is a -1 modifier to the dice roll for any gang reported to the Watchmen for this battle. In addition, if a squad of Adeptus Arbites turns up, all the squads are automatically reported to the Watchmen (with the additional -1 modifier for taking part in a Triple Cross).

Experience

During a Triple Cross gang fighters will gain Experience points as listed below.

+D6 Survives battle (even if wounded).

+10 For the gang leader whose gang gets the most loot.

+5 Per wounding hit (remember that wounds on fighters already down do not count, and this is for each hit, not each wound inflicted).

+5 For carrying a Loot counter off the table (If you have rules for moving transports, nobody gets experience for loot removed this way).

Necromunda: Battles in the Underhive

Necromunda: Battles in the Underhive Rulebook

Table of Contents

Adeptus Arbites

Arbites Patrol Team (900 credits)

Arbites Shock Troops Team (1,100 credits)

New Weapon: The Arbites Combat Shotgun

Special Rules

Arbites Experience

Skill Types Available

Loss of Fighters

Extra Equipment

Scenario Ideas

Blind Fighting

Blind fighting

Movement

Shooting

New Equipment

Rocket Flare

Tracer Bullets

Blue Light

Price Chart

Scenario 1: Escort

Scenario 2: Monster Hunt

Designer's Cut: Event Cards

How to Use the Cards

Event Cards

Unsafe Ladder

Shakedown

Blood Feud

Treasure Stash

Wandering Doc

Out of Ammo

Lucky Find

Archeotech

Live Wire

Giant Rat

Dangerous Walkway

Secret Target

Disheartened

Bounty Hunter

Aim High

Poison Cloud

Race Against Time

Scout

Honour Debt

Loot

Genestealer!

Sickening Fungus

Slippery Surface

Toxic Waste

Scrag

Gas Pocket

The Oldest Trick

Fragile Roof

Spare Clip

Reward

Power Cut

Fresh Turf

Slave Worker

True Grit

Lucky Escape

Special Merchandise

Personal Challenge

Reward

Home Defence

"I know where you live.."

Setup

Attackers

Orrus Defence Systems (Roll 1D6)

Jakara Defence Systems (Roll 1D6)

Malcadon Defence Systems (Roll 1D6)

Defenders

Yeld Defence Systems (Roll 1D6)

Ending the Game

Experience

It Came From the Sump

The Scenario

The Thing from the Sump

If They Survive