Warhammer TV 2nd August on Gang War 4
Andy Hoare, studio head, and Owen barnes, studio writer, worked together in main design studio and works on SG game, background, campaign scenarios, etc., with Ceri interviewing.
GANG WAR 4
Bionics
Cawdor Owen wrote background, Tom did miniatures, someone else did rules (sorry for not catching name!).
Bionics – when gangers injured – then can fix effects of injuries but taken further. Strong part of 40k and also necromunda – see lots of bionics in artworks – lots of Cawdors, but not so great bionics.
2 levels – more expensive, fixing lasting injury, repair certain effects, as long as functioning. If don’t have creds, then can get mundane bionics – dug out from a servo skull lying in bin, fixing some of problem.
If you take a lasting injury on a place with a bionic, it might absorb it – but if roll a 1 the bionic is damaged or destroyed.
But the bionics help you fix lasting injured exceptional gangers.
AH’s Escher gangers – leader took a lasting injury first game – and then avoided combat – finally corrected now.
Cheaper than buying advances to correct an injury.
This is introductory – more will come definitely come later (so not written yet?) – these don’t give advances better than correcting the injury – no super strength or seeing in the dark. They will increase rating of gang – wargear.
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Skirmish
More to playing Necromunda than playing basic gangers – so this is taken from tournament packs – context of saying we will play 1.1 or 1.2 million blood bowl team and allow a certain number of advances. Codify and do the same for Necromunda – expanded skirmish for 1 off games and for events. AH and John French playing a lot of these lately, buying rare up to a certain value and certain advances. Play up the character of that house.
Added a load of additional content Owen says – so unfair that weapons, brutes and pets, etc, only available during a campaign. Also allows you to create best fits – states of fighters that taken a long to develop – but you can just create them. Building an army for other games similar too.
We wrote these in Jan, and then sent out to contacts in events world, and got feedback, and so these have been tried out in the wild. These should form basis of organised play onwards – not dictating it, but a foundation to build on.
Exotic beasts
Sheen bird – repeat of two weeks ago.
House Brutes
Introduced in GW3, that any gang can take, and these extended to specific houses. Exemplifying characteristics of those houses.
House Escher – a chimera – genetic splice, from Escher’s famous experimentations, from things they like mixed together, with claws, feather, fur, man y colours, very attractive, acid, toxic gas, etc. Face inspired by clawed fiends of dark elder, for example. Mharaid loves drawing monsters – worked alongside designers – one day will be a mini – and they are recruiting designers now.
Zerker – jacked up – too many steroids – he’s completely expanded and swelled up into massive combat drug fuelled muscle. Goliath gone wrong.
Orlock Lugger – guard trade routes and the lugger is armed servitor for convoy missioin, take a bunch with them. A good example of kind of things appearing in necromunda – lots of things used by gangs are officially manufactured to be weapons. Put guns on servitors on servitors that don’t have business having weapons on them because tough and useful.
Arachnarid – pushed beyond normal limits of human-machine engineering – huge spider multiarmed servosuit – influential member of house or one of those vansaars so old – pushing 30 - bodies so wasted and ruined by radiation – that you get one and lock yourself into it and pretend god of battle and crawl up walls. Can re[lace servo arms with other guns. Dave Thomas designed actual van saar plastics very keen to make this.
Cawdor – Stig Shambler – saw a bit last week. Stigs because they bear stigmata – a semi-mutation just about tolerated – ie no weird bits – big dim-witted shambling monstrosity with little guy on back shooting machine gun. Slaw-jawed behemoth, put a sack on head, couple of nails, a guiy with gun and you are away. Idea from original round of concepts in late 2016, mark Bedford did a whole lot of concept sketches including leaders and bounty hunters, including this one – mark called this grandad and initial idea, these collect stuff – relics – and that idea taken forward.
Dominion campaign (dc)
GW1 turf war (tw) – gonna be first format of campaign and this is second one – tw is designed to be simple league structure like with blood bowl – number of games, with final. All quite simple. This idea – no wne winner, multiple prizes, different objectless for gangs, carving out territories in underhive complementing gang. Deck of gangs – including in book so don’t need cards – but useful as arbitrator at beginning of campaign determines no of territories and deals out pool of cards, each representing a territory to be fought over. Start with one card – this cant be taken from you. Bonus from it. In first phase of campaign all cards not dealt are unclaimed and so play games for a card to claim it (eg refuse tip), and territories have benefits for all gangs and enhanced benefit for specific gang types. Fight for number of games, and end of campaign, winners are in different categories – kills, territories, reputation, etc.
In Turf War – turf represented by abstract number – but special territories small bonuses.
In DC, essentially creating area you are fighting over. Cards at start depending on number of players – essentially a dome in underhive and everyone turned up.
In second phase of campaign, every game a challenge for a territory. Fun and interesting part – the different abilities the cards have – bonus money or reputation, others more interesting – tactical bonuses – the wastes doesn’t give anything, however it allows you when someone challenges you to choose which territory they go after – you can make them fight them over sump sea rather than refuse tip. Orlock toll bridges adds priority which can be sold to other gangs. Narrative detail. Plus inspiration for boards for games. Use Gangwar 2 hazards – what are appropriate for different missions in the campaign. Rather than one winner 4 or 5 categories – warmonger winner of no of battles, creditor who earns most, dominator most territories, slaughterer most kills, power broken highest reputation.
Background – written by John French – based on campaign he and his group did in evenings some years ago. This format thus does work. Orig 40K campaign but this works and played through to conclusion. 5 dif criteria, you don’t know who is necessarily or what they are going for – so different levels. Lots of really characterful stuff – iconic parts of necromunda. Gives scale of Necromunda – all these settlements around surviving however they can.
AH and Owen hope everyone enjoys it.
Scenarios
Included because people want more scenarios – these more narrative scenarios that people do put effort into.
The Hit – little bit like ambush – risky ambush. Isolated valuable fighter and trying to kill them. This one – attacker gets bonuses – closeness to target, first shot, downside – only small crew to start with. Opponent has a few more on table and start to get reinforcements. Race against time.
Settlement attack – fun one – one side paid to defend settlement, so wall with hefty defences, traps, mines, etc – other gang trying to break in. Essentially knock through wall, to win loot
Escape – one gang trying to escape, like Ceri and Ben played two weeks ago.
Murder Cyborg – AH’s fav – cyborg hiding in gang, as soon as one fighter taken OOA, the cyborg sheds disguise and see what their mission is. AH played many times – seems to always be his gang – making a model to represent an escher turned into cyborg. Using an assassin model, sprayed silver.
Escort – uphive agent trapped in hive, get back to his people, other people try to take him/her out.
Fighter Down – pone of fighters wounded and separated start of seriously injured and you must rescue before other gang find them. Plus rules for carrion creatures who might eat your downed fighter.
Bounty Hunters
Betrum Arturos – noble/guilder bounty hunter
Ortruum 88 – psyhound – works for Lord Helmawr. Andy loves the model. First psyker using new psyker rules. 1
Psychic rules
Basic foundation – Ortruum 88 uses that
Very soon will update GSC and Chaos cult rules – to bring them into line with this system.
Includes perils of the warp.
Introduces manifest psychic power action. ALso focus action – like aim for guns – focus so as to prepare then manifest power to get bonuc.
Uses willpower, higher better.
Abilities – some double actions, some single actions. More powers as they go forward. Otram 88 has own; Magus and cult leaders will have their own powers in future revisions.
Rather than staritng off with restrictive list, will keep adding more and more.
Finish off
2 page reference in skills tables. Psast books was for in games, this for when designing characters.
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Q. Are these books required
AH – says no. They add more to it, with each part layering extra options on top.
Q. Almanac of gang war?
AH say it is ‘on the cards' but stresses there is no specific date planned.
