Necromunda

In Necromunda, players control rival gangs battling each other in the Underhive, a place of anarchy and violence in the depths below the Hive City.

As in its parent game Warhammer 40,000, Necromunda uses 28 mm miniatures (approximately 1:56) and terrain (in this case, the Underhive – a heavily polluted, underground industrial environment).

Gangs that frequently win games acquire more credits (money) and fewer injuries and so are able to grow throughout a campaign.

Necromunda also stands out by having a more three-dimensional table layout, with buildings generally having multiple floors, interconnecting walkways, and bridges.

In the game of Necromunda, the eponymous setting is a world covered in polluted ash wastes, the result of thousands of years of heavy industry with no kinds of environmental safeguards whatsoever.

Scattered amidst these seas of effluent and unstable continents of compacted dross and ash are between six and nine (the source material is inconsistent) "hive cities".

So large that they break through the upper atmosphere and can serve as tethering points for starships, the hive cities are described as housing over a trillion people each.

The notable exception to these good relations is House Delaque who are bitter over the loss of the Ulanti Contract, but they only share a mile-long border.

[5] From a player perspective, Orlock is considered the "default" house with no notable strengths or weaknesses, with their gangers getting access to Combat, Ferocity, and Shooting skills.

They are known to hunt mutants and heretics to the point of fanaticism (part of the Redemptionist influence) which brings them into conflict with gangs who would utilise them.

From a player perspective, House Delaque are the ranged specialists, with their gangers having access to Shooting, Agility, and Stealth skills.

In truth all hivers are naturally robust, being inured to the toxins and deprivations which they accept unquestioningly as part of normal life.

Goliath institutions such as the fighting pits and the Feast of the Fallen do nothing to dispel the impression of a violent people inimical to their neighbours.

Modelled closely after the Adeptus Arbites, the Enforcers apply the laws set down by the High Lords of Terra with an iron fist.

A nod to Laserburn—the 15 mm tabletop game Warhammer 40,000 evolved from—the Redemptionists have an extreme hatred of mutants and deviants from the Imperial creed.

From a player perspective, the Redemptionists are chiefly known for two things; the one-shot flamers they can buy cheaply and put in two-handed weapons and the ability for the Priest leading many such gangs to convert captured enemies.

In Scavvie gangs, the very dregs of society scrape out an existence robbing guilder caravans, raiding isolated settlements, and just generally scavenging whatever they can to survive.

Young nobles from the Spire come down to hunt underhive gangsters and thereby prove their worth in a world of ruthless politics, plotting, and assassination.

In addition to the gang types supported by the rulebooks, various Games Workshop publications have introduced new groups, sometimes supported by mail-order only model ranges, including Ash Waste Gangsters, Imperial Guard, various Chaos Cult gangs, Genestealer Cults, Ork warbands, and Squat Miners.

It was set on the hive world of Necromunda but made no reference to houses and such, instead of concentrating on the various types of gangs: clan warriors from the spires, brat 'poseurs' from the upper levels which went 'down' to experience the thrills of lowlife, undercity mutants, diseased scavengers from the toxic wastes and the Adeptus Arbites ever-ready to deal swift and summary "Judge Dredd"-like justice.

The game background also included some elements later re-used in Necromunda, such as the 'spook' psychic drug, and some which were disregarded, such as the 'caryatids', largely unexplained blue-skinned cherubs which were presented as unique and integral to Necromundan life.

Compared to the current Necromunda, Confrontation had a more complex system for resolving combat, particularly firing—portions of which were similar in style to Laserburn, a miniatures game that had influenced Warhammer 40,000.

Models for Necromunda that are for sale at Forgeworld range from unnamed "hive scum" and "dome runners" and other no-names who make a living serving the various gangs of Necromunda; to various characters and "specialty" models, such as the Mercator Slavers Guild, Kal Jericho, and Scabbs, and the Orlock Road Warrior Slade Merdena and his Cyber Mastiff, Macula amongst many others.

In March 2019, the Ambot kit was released, giving players the chance to field powerful close combat 'androids' for the first time.

The box set saw an ambitious start package for new players which included models for the Palanite Enforcers and Subjugators squaring off against the Corpse Grinder Cult.

These books were expected to adhere to a quarterly release, but complications stemming from the global COVID-19 pandemic delayed the development of these volumes.

Spanning three books released at different points throughout the year, the Aranthian Cycle focused on the attempted murder of Lord Helmawyr, and the chaos that ensued after.

The saga is covered over the course of three titles, each one serving as an "act" in the larger story and including threads for players to follow to accommodate a major narrative event within the world.

As the story goes, the resources and treasures still present in the ruin have attracted the attentions of Spyre hunters, as well as the last remaining heir to the Helmawr dynasty.

[15] Donald comments that "It's a spawn of the Warhammer 40,000 universe and the family resemblance is marked, but this time there's a rumble in the concrete jungle.