N18 Personal Narrative Escher Gang List

[Boates Worldbuilder]

Hello everyone.
New to Necromunda and like the setting.
Thinking of running a more narrative style gameplay by myself since currently there are very few people around me that play Necromunda.
My first gang list of four is an Escher gang totaling to about 900 credits for campaign (For now I want to start at 900 as opposed to a 1,000)
The question that I am primarily asking isn't if this list is optimized, I am asking if it is understanble and playable (Since I am still very new.) And if you were running this list what options might make it more thematic for an Escher gang narratively.

The Gang Queen brings a Chainsword/Plasma Pistol Combo with a Smoke Grenade.
Has Mesh armor.
(Skills are randomly rolled, so she has rolled for the Inspirational Trait.) 230 Credits

The Gang Matriarch carries a Needle Rifle. Autopistol for backup and Stiletto Knife for Melee.
She has Mesh armor and a Chem-Synth.
(Rolled for Catfall Trait.) 195 Credits

The Specialist Carries a Shotgun with Acid Ammo and Stiletto Sword for Melee
Also has Mesh Armor 140 Credits

Two Gang Sisters with Lasguns a single melee weapon (Fighting knife/Stiletto Knife) and Flak Armor 165 Credits

Two Juvies.
One with a Laspistol Stiletto Knife Combo
Flak armor and a stun grenade 85 Credits

The Other with twin Laspistol/ Stub Gun +Dumdum rounds
a Fighting Knife flak armor and a Photon Flash Grenade 80 Credits.

Curious if there are any horrible errors with the gang list which should total 900 credits (Hopefully I can still do math) and that everything in the list goes together in a way which is understandable from the table.

 

[MysticWolf]

List looks legal to me!

I plan on doing the same thing as you, just building my cast of characters (plethora of gangs). So I'm so stoked to hear other people regularly play with toy soldiers by themselves!

 

[MrAndersson]

Curious if there are any horrible errors with the gang list

There are, IMO.

First of all, you never want to use flak armour. Mesh armour is so much better, and only marginally more expensive.

Second, you will want to equip a fighter either for shooting or for close combat, not for both. Giving a melee weapon to a ranged fighter is just wasting cash. Same with a ranged weapon on a melee fighter. The exception (specifically for Escher) might be the lasgun, since it's so dirt cheap.


And I don't know who came up with the idea to roll random skills, but it's a terrible one. It's just going to give some gangs an unfair advantage over others.

 

[Boates Worldbuilder]

There are, IMO.

First of all, you never want to use flak armour. Mesh armour is so much better, and only marginally more expensive.

Second, you will want to equip a fighter either for shooting or for close combat, not for both. Giving a melee weapon to a ranged fighter is just wasting cash. Same with a ranged weapon on a melee fighter. The exception (specifically for Escher) might be the lasgun, since it's so dirt cheap.


And I don't know who came up with the idea to roll random skills, but it's a terrible one. It's just going to give some gangs an unfair advantage over others.

So what do you do if a ranged combatant gets charged in close combat?
And the side arm trait makes it so you can use both ranged and melee combat with pistols correct?

 

[Vonvilkee]

Correct pistols have a rule allowing use in both situations. Note that only a single melee attack can be assigned to the pistol.

As for what do you do without a melee weapon, you punch, kick and claw! You roll the fighters stats (strength and attacks) as damage 1 and no AP. I think it actually works out better than the maul. There is little reason to pay the creds for a melee weapon for shooters, turn any extra into mesh upgrades for the flak. I'd maybe keep the stiletto with the needle rifle cuz you already have a chem synth. Something to know about combat is it very heavily favors the charger so any fighter that actually equips for melee won't leave their opponent standing for retaliation. This is why keeping shooters cheap is the recommended way.

 

[Boates Worldbuilder]

Correct pistols have a rule allowing use in both situations. Note that only a single melee attack can be assigned to the pistol.

As for what do you do without a melee weapon, you punch, kick and claw! You roll the fighters stats (strength and attacks) as damage 1 and no AP. I think it actually works out better than the maul. There is little reason to pay the creds for a melee weapon for shooters, turn any extra into mesh upgrades for the flak. I'd maybe keep the stiletto with the needle rifle cuz you already have a chem synth. Something to know about combat is it very heavily favors the charger so any fighter that actually equips for melee won't leave their opponent standing for retaliation. This is why keeping shooters cheap is the recommended way.

Honestly I feel it a bit Cheesey that unarmed attacks are seen as a viable melee alternative.

 

[mateyboy3000]

So what do you do if a ranged combatant gets charged in close combat?
And the side arm trait makes it so you can use both ranged and melee combat with pistols correct?

There is a high chance that the charger in this scenario is a melee specialist and will have some 90%+ chance of taking your shooter ooa before you can react making that melee weapon you brought useless

 

[Vonvilkee]

Honestly I feel it a bit Cheesey that unarmed attacks are seen as a viable melee alternative.

I'd counter with it is very narrative for Escher to be "unarmed" for melee. Women fight dirty when up close and personal.

 

[MrAndersson]

So what do you do if a ranged combatant gets charged in close combat?

If a proper melee fighter charges a ranged fighter then they are dead. Having a stiletto knife is not going to save them. Better to save the cash, so that you can get more ranged fighters into your gang, giving you a better chance of preventing the enemy from charging you in the first place.

 

[MakaroniFresser]

Two Juvies.
One with a Laspistol Stiletto Knife Combo
Flak armor and a stun grenade 85 Credits

The Other with twin Laspistol/ Stub Gun +Dumdum rounds
a Fighting Knife flak armor and a Photon Flash Grenade 80 Credits.

Your list is legal and playable, though I am really not a fan of these juve builds. I understand you might use the disposable juves to run up and toss grenades, but their terrible BS means they won't often hit where you want them too. I'd move those to other fighters. I'm also of the "armor on juves is not worth it" mindset. If you want a CC weapon on low rank fighters, don't sleep on the basic Sword. You can't take them at creation, but they're easy to find at the Trading Post, and give a +1 to hit, -1 to AP, and can parry an incoming attack. All for 20 creds.

And I don't know who came up with the idea to roll random skills, but it's a terrible one. It's just going to give some gangs an unfair advantage over others.

Yes, and you rolled up some particularly bad ones. Catfall is nice to have if you are going to always play 3D games, but it's still one of the last ones in the Agility list I'd willingly pick.

So what do you do if a ranged combatant gets charged in close combat?

I feel that I've played enough games to give a viewpoint on this. It's not that your fighter might get charged, and potentially survive a series of bad rolls to remain alive for reaction attacks (that will happen from time to time), it's that you really can't predict how things will shape up over the course of a game. Perhaps after 4 rounds, the ranged attacker you had perched somewhere providing covering fire is now the only one on that half of the board, with no targets in sight but a lone enemy right around the corner? Maybe she ran out of ammo on her gun and it's now melee or nothing for her continued contribution to the battle? I don't kit out every one with melee weapons, but a few here and there mean if I deploy in small groups, at least one fighter in each group has better odds in melee than unarmed. Stiletto knives aren't what they used to be, but man is it fun to roll up that single Skull result after charging a multi-wound model with a low rank fighter.