86. Cauldron of Lies
RAW ✔️ House of Shadow, p108
While the scenarios presented here have been designed specifically for House Delaque gangs, there is no reason that, with the permission of the Arbitrator, they might not be used for any gang.
Cauldron of Lies lends itself well to multi-player games – where multiple gangs must fight in a chaotic free-for-all as the very win conditions they are fighting for changes from round to round.
Intelligence Gathering is the perfect opportunity for a gang to test its skill, not just measuring its strength by the size of its crew or the firepower it can muster, but by its ability to survive long enough without taking out the foe to get the info it needs
Victory is forever moving just out of reach.
Battlefield
This scenario uses the Battlefield Set-up guidelines, as described in the Necromunda Rulebook.
In addition, after the battlefield has been set up, each player places five Loot caskets anywhere on the battlefield, at least 8" from a battlefield edge.
Crews
This scenario uses the standard rules for choosing a crew, as described in the Battlefield Set-up & Scenarios section of the Necromunda Rulebook.
Both players use the Custom Selection (6) method to choose their crew.
Deployment
This scenario uses the standard rules for deployment as described in the Necromunda Rulebook.
Gang Tactics
Each player may choose two gang tactics from those available to their gang. If, during the pre-battle sequence, the total credits value of fighters in one player's starting crew is less than their opponent's, they may randomly determine one additional gang tactic for each full 100 credits of difference.
Ending the Battle
The battle ends either when one gang meets its victory conditions (as described opposite) or only one gang has fighters remaining on the battlefield.
Victory
The gang who completed their victory condition is the winner, otherwise all gangs are considered to have lost.
Rewards
Experience
Each fighter who took part in the battle earns 1 XP.
The leader of a crew who completes their victory condition earns D3 XP.
Reputation
The victorious gang gains D3 Reputation.
If either gang bottled out, they lose 1 Reputation.
Hidden Truths
The true motives of the gangs are hidden and simple confrontation might not be an end unto itself. At the start of the battle, after crews have been deployed, both players choose an agenda from the following list for their gang, keeping it secret from their opponent. By fulfilling their agenda, the gang fulfils its victory conditions:
Kill Them All! – The gang is looking to inflict as much pain on their rivals as possible.
The gang must take five enemy fighters Out of Action.
Escape the Underhive – The gang wants to get its fighters to safety as swiftly as possible.
The gang must get five fighters into base contact with the battlefield edge opposite their deployment area.
Hidden Treasures – The gang is searching for a lost artefact.
The gang must get five Loot caskets back to its deployment area.
Unseen Influence
During the course of the battle, victory conditions can be influenced by the gangs themselves. At the start of each round each player chooses one of the three agendas. The chosen agenda no longer counts as a victory condition for the enemy gang during this round and, should the enemy player achieve it at the end of this round, they must play another round. A player may not choose the same agenda two rounds in a row. In a multi-player game, all players secretly vote on one of the agendas to be nullified and in the case of a tie a random agenda is nullified.