71. The Long Night
RAW ✔️ White Dwarf 459, Going Out With A Bang!, p124 (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.
Gangs must fight to survive a sector-wide shutdown, battling darkness, cold, critters and each other until the artificial dawn comes.
Battlefield
This scenario uses the Battlefield Set-up guidelines, as described in the Necromunda Rulebook.
Crews
This scenario uses the standard rules for choosing a crew, as described in the Necromunda Rulebook. All players use the Custom Selection (10) method to choose their crew, with the exception of the player whose gang has the highest Gang Rating, who may field their entire gang. If there are four gangs they each use Custom Selection (7) method, while if there are five or more gangs they each use Custom Selection (5) method – once again with the exception of the players whose gang has the highest Gang Rating, who may field their entire gang.
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.
Ending the Battle
The battle will end either at the end of round 9 or when only one gang has fighters remaining on the battlefield.
Victory
The gang with the most fighters remaining on the battlefield at the end of the battle is victorious.
Outcome
Win or lose, this long night will mark the passing of a gang into legend. If the gang with the highest Gang Rating wins this scenario, they have survived the Long Night and will wander off into the dark of the underhive, never to be seen again (though tales will be told about them for some time). If they lose, well, the bones of the great look much like everyone else's!
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.
Deepest Darkness, Freezing Cold
In an act of desperation, or perhaps local sabotage, power to this entire section of the hive has been shut down. Darkness descends as lumens fail, cold sets in as thermal vents close, and critters gather as automated settlement defences power down.
This scenario uses the Pitch Black rules from the Necromunda Rulebook. In addition, such are the plummeting temperatures, fighters are in danger of succumbing to the numbing cold if they do not keep moving. If a fighter does not perform at least one Move (Simple) or Charge (Double) action during their activation, they must take a Toughness check at the end of the activation:
- If this check is passed, the fighter is able to ward off the biting cold.
- If this check is failed, the fighter immediately suffers a Flesh Wound.
Fighters that are currently on fire (i.e., fighters that are subject to the Blaze condition), do not need to make this check. Running around and rolling on the ground as they attempt to put the flames out keeps them warm enough.
Monsters Everywhere
With the darkness comes the monsters, and in the darkness of the underhive, there are many monsters. When a player activates a fighter, they must roll two D6. Choose the higher of the two rolls and consult the table below:
| D6 | Result |
|---|---|
| 1 | The fighter suffers a Strength 6 hit with an AP of -1 and a Damage of 2. If they are Seriously Injured as a result, they are dragged away into the darkness and taken Out of Action. |
| 2-3 | A nightmarish creature emerges from the shadows, seeking easy prey. The fighter cannot make any actions during this activation as they are too busy fighting for their life. |
| 4-5 | The fighter hesitates, hearing a noise in the darkness. They can only make one action this turn. |
| 6 | The fighter goes unnoticed and can act normally. |
Arbitrating The Scenario
Instead of, or in addition to, the rules presented above, the Arbitrator may choose to add actual monsters to the darkness. These can be almost anything the Arbitrator can imagine, from swarms of hive rats or plague zombies, to crawling xenos horrors or even warped Daemons. Players with access to Necromunda: The Book of Ruin could use its section on Scenario Complications.
These monsters should act as fighters controlled by the Arbitrator, and can move and attack in the End phase.
For added horror, the Arbitrator can have these monsters appear and disappear from one round to the next, the players never quite sure where or when they will show up.