70. Gateway to Hell
RAW ✔️ White Dwarf 459, Going Out With A Bang!, p122 (12/2020)
Multi-player Games
End Game scenarios work best when they are multi-player games. While it might be appropriate for a single powerful gang to see if they can break free of the underhive, take down the local warlord or escape into the wastes, these games will be more memorable and more exciting if all the players have a stake in the outcome rather than watching from the sidelines. Fortunately, Necromunda is a game that lends itself well to multi-player games, and guidelines for running Necromunda with more than two players can be found in the Necromunda Rulebook, covering such things as determining Priority when there is more than two players and limiting the number of fighters each player can field in especially large games in order to keep the action moving. The End Game scenarios presented in this article are all designed with multiplayer gaming in mind.
A gang tries to escape from the authorities into the wastes - though the hive will not let them go so easily.
Attacker and Defender
In this scenario, one or more gangs are the attacker and one other gang is the defender. The defender is always the gang with the highest Gang Rating, and, while this scenario can be played one-on-one, it has been designed for a single powerful gang to face multiple, weaker gangs.
Battlefield
This scenario uses the Battlefield Set-up guidelines, as described in the Necromunda Rulebook. After the battlefield has been set up, the defender chooses one battlefield edge to represent the Ash Gate.
Crews
This scenario uses the standard rules for choosing a crew, as described in the Necromunda Rulebook. The attacker uses the Custom Selection (10) method to choose their crew, while the defender uses the Custom Selection method to choose – meaning they can field their entire gang. If there are three attackers, they each use the Custom Selection (7) method, while if there are four or more attackers, they each use the Custom Selection (5) method.
Deployment
The defender places their entire crew anywhere within 6" of the centre of the battlefield. Then the attacker(s) sets up their fighters anywhere on the battlefield. Attacking fighters must be set up at least 9" away from any defending fighters and out of line of sight if possible.
Gang Tactics
Each player may choose two Gang Tactics from those available to their gang.
Ending the Battle
The battle will end either at the end of round 9, or when the defender has less than a third (rounding down) of their crew remaining on the battlefield, or when only one gang has fighters remaining on the battlefield.
Victory
If at least a third (rounded down) of the defender's fighters managed to escape the battlefield via the Ash Gate battlefield edge, they are victorious. Otherwise, their attacker(s) are victorious.
Outcome
Win or lose, the defender's days are numbered: if they are victorious, they head out into the wastes (perhaps starting their own settlement or rising to rule an ash wastes tribe). If they fail in their bid to escape the hive, well, the gears of the great gate aren't greased by oil alone …
Rewards
Experience
Each attacking fighter that took part in the battle earns 1 XP.
Reputation
Each attacking gang gains 1 Reputation.
If the defender bottled out, each attacking gang gains an additional 1 Reputation.
The Ash Gates
The gangs are fighting in the shadow of one of the great ash gates that ring the base of the hive. The defender must hold out until this mighty seal opens enough for them to make their escape – though this wait, and the approach to the gate itself, are not without peril as the gates are well-defended and the mechanisms that work them are potentially deadly.
Ash Clouds
As the Ash Gate opens, clouds of choking, blinding dust roll into the hive, driving some fighters to the ground and reducing visibility.
In the End phase of the third round, the Ash Gate begins to open. In this End phase, and each subsequent End phase, all fighters within 12" of the Ash Gate battlefield edge (as described previously) and with a line of sight to that battlefield edge, must make a Strength check:
- If this check is failed, they are moved D6" directly away from the Ash Gate battlefield edge, blown by the strong winds (note they will stop if they come into contact with impassable terrain, but this movement may cause them to fall off ledges).
- Once this movement is complete, the fighter must make an Initiative check. If this check is failed, they become Pinned by the strong winds (note that fighters that passed their Strength check do not risk being Pinned).
Additionally, at the end of the third round, and at the end of each subsequent round, visibility across the battlefield becomes reduced as the ash clouds thicken:
Ash Storm Visibility
| Round | Maximum Visibility |
|---|---|
| 3 | 36" |
| 3 | 24" |
| 5 | 18" |
| 6 | 12" |
| 7 | 9" |
| 8+ | The Pitch Black rules are in effect |
Escaping The Battlefield
During their activation, a fighter can attempt to escape the battlefield via the Ash Gate, if their movement takes them into contact with that edge of the battlefield.
Roll 2D6 and subtract the fighter's Strength from the roll:
- If the result is equal to or less than the number of the current round, the fighter escapes and is removed from the battlefield.
- If the result is higher than the number of the current round, the fighter suffers a Strength 4, Damage 1, AP - hit and is moved D6" directly away from the Ash Gate battlefield edge.
Arbitrating The Scenario
As noted previously, the Arbitrator may wish to modify the attacker's crew size, increasing it as they see fit (and possibly decreasing it if lots of gangs have shown up to take on the defenders).
In addition, this scenario is ideal for an end of campaign, multi-player battle that pits all the surviving gangs against the Arbitrator. Enforcers, Guild watchmen, Bounty Hunters, plague zombies, Redemptionists, hive critters, Murder Cyborgs or anything else the Arbitrator has in their collection come on each round from the battlefield edge opposite the Ash Gate edge. These adversaries then keep on coming until either the gangs escape through the gate or the battle ends. The Arbitrator might even run the scenario in reverse, with the gangs fighting amongst themselves as enemies pour in from the wastes, and they must hold out as the gate slowly begins to close – reduce the enemies arriving each round – and the hive's air scrubbers clear away the dust and restore visibility.