Shadow War : Armageddon - Hive Gangs & Outlaws

[hreikin]

There was a BOLS article a while ago which referenced GW saying you could theoretically drop in the gangs from Necromunda and use them in Shadow War. I have been thinking about it ever since and today i finally managed to get some stuff on to paper.

If anyone could provide any feedback i would love to hear it. I have tried to change as little as possible and didn't need to change much overall.

The purpose of these rules is to allow you to play as a Hive Gang in your games of Shadow War : Armageddon. Below you can see a few notes regarding how the rules have been constructed.

• Most of the content in this document comes directly from the ORB version of Necromunda. It is only replicated here to keep books/paperwork to a minimum.
• I have not included any content from the ORB version of Outlanders yet, i plan to in the future as long as time permits.
• I have only included the profiles/stats for weapons and equipment which are not available in SW:A in this document.
• All stats and profiles come from the ORB version of Necromunda unless the same weapon/equipment is available in SW:A with different stats/profile. If this is the case then the stats/profile from SW:A have been used.
• All costs are from the ORB version of Necromunda. There are some differences with the same weapon in SW:A - i have kept them this way to represent the varying accessibility of weapons on a war torn hive planet.
• Hive Gangs don’t have access to sights and other miscellaneous equipment that are not listed below. I have listed the equipment available from the ORB Necromunda recruitment phase only. This is to help balance the access to heavy weapons that hive gangs have.
• All skill tables have been swapped with their equivalent skill table in SW:A with the exception that Techno has been replaced by Guerilla.
• All gang names are from Necromunda until i can replace them with appropriate alternate names.

If you would like to help contribute to the development of these rules or even if you just notice a mistake please post below and join in the discussion. Alternatively you can comment and make suggestions on the WIP document by following the link below.

WIP Document - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zRGJ0ig1W5_Y7ke6mlGsv5OpbCrJQsEo_Fng6wprn-I/edit?usp=sharing
Finished Document - https://yaktribe.games/community/vault/shadow-war-armageddon-hive-gangs.831/

 

[hreikin]

Version 0.2 is now available, here are the changes.

VERSION 0.2

• Cost fixes - If a weapon, ammo or piece of equipment features in both Necromunda and SW:A and a cost is provided by SW:A then that cost is used.
• Added basic weapon access to heavies.
• Hotshot ammo now has the Catches Fire special rule.
• Miscellaneous equipment added.
• Max gang size increased to 20.
• Credits added.
• Changelog added.

WIP Document - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zRGJ0ig1W5_Y7ke6mlGsv5OpbCrJQsEo_Fng6wprn-I/edit?usp=sharing
Finished Document - https://yaktribe.games/community/vault/shadow-war-armageddon-hive-gangs.831/

 

[hreikin]

Version 0.3 is now available, development of 0.4 has already begun which will include the beginning of the Outlanders port.

VERSION 0.3

• Remove descriptions from gang and special operative entries.
• Typo fixes.
• Flak armour added to miscellaneous.
• Carapace armour added to miscellaneous.
• Added knives to all types of fighter.
• Formatting ready for any future addition of content from Outlanders.
• Split grenades into own category to mirror SW:A.
• Quick reference chart added.
• New contributor added.
• Heavy Plasma Gun - Profile changes.
• Special rule added for hive gangs to match kill teams in SW:A.

WIP Document - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zRGJ0ig1W5_Y7ke6mlGsv5OpbCrJQsEo_Fng6wprn-I/edit?usp=sharing
Finished Document - https://yaktribe.games/community/vault/shadow-war-armageddon-hive-gangs.831/

 

[hreikin]

Version 0.4 is now available, it includes the initial port of the Outlanders content.

VERSION 0.4

• Initial Outlanders port.
• Scavvies added.
• Redemptionists added.
• Ratskins added.
• Spyrers added.
• Design notes updated.
• Armoury updated.
• Quick reference updated.

WIP Document - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zRGJ0ig1W5_Y7ke6mlGsv5OpbCrJQsEo_Fng6wprn-I/edit?usp=sharing
Finished Document - https://yaktribe.games/community/vault/shadow-war-armageddon-hive-gangs.831/

 

[Insurgent]

Though the BOLS article (http://www.belloflostsouls.net/2017/04/shadow-war-armageddon-hunting-the-hunters.html) confirms a lot of what I think. It doesn't go into much detail about how that would happen. Their statement that it would take any gamer less than 10 minute to integrate the two systems is right on. I hate to spam it again but here is my take on integrating Necromunda and SWA.

Business As Usual: Eazy rules for Gangs in Shadow War Armageddon.
https://yaktribe.games/community/threads/easy-rules-for-gangs-in-swa.5819/

 

[hreikin]

The 2 systems do integrate extremely well however there are a few quirks between the 2. In the end i believe it is all down to what you want to play and how you want to play it. Personally i enjoy SW:A, it isn't Necromunda by a long shot but it is still a good game.

I also believe you are missing the point of the document - it was created purely to use your hive gangs and outlaws in SW:A not for anything else, as is stated at the beginning of the design notes. The game you play is still SW:A. I could have made the document 1 or 2 pages by simply listing the differences in stats/costs between weapons/skills and telling people to use the books but i included all the relevant information needed instead.

 

[Insurgent]

I think we are just coming at this from different perspectives. There isn't anything wrong with your system at all. It's just I approached the issue from the other end.

 

[hreikin]

Indeed we are. I did see your rules before i started work on the hive gangs port and thought it wasnt what i wanted to achieve. I dont want to mix the 2 systems, I like the amazing simplicity of SW:A but it is also its downfall in certain areas.

The rules i have "made" are essentially just the recruitment sections from Necromunda/Outlanders with a few tweaks to bring them inline with SW:A. I have used the hired guns/characters as special operatives but they are still basically copies of the originals.

 

[Insurgent]

Territory, Injury, Equipment, Skills: I look at these and think they work perfectly with the old system. The one that is giving everyone problems is Experience. That is the only place where things don't line up. At the end of the day I don't think Experience is that big of a difference and it is balanced out if you account for all the other things Necromunda gangs deal with.

I like the old injury chart because it is more deadly and gangs don't have the triage that armies do.
I like the territory because it invests me in the setting and gives grounding for a gang's operations. I prefer it more than the scavenging system of Mordheim.
I like the skills because..., well I don't really care about the skills and everyone hates "Quick Draw". Is this enough reason to mess with the post battle sheet? Nah.
I like the Equipment most of all. The market bizzar of Necromunda is probably the coolest thing about the game. Its gritty but it's still sci-fi. It's enough diversity to keep people interested in the game for a lifetime. Can it be bigger and weirder? Maybe, if there were a way to access xeno markets, but now we are talking Inquisimunda.

 

[hreikin]

VERSION 0.5

• Add basic equipment (knife) to redemptionist gangs.
• Add basic equipment (knife) to ratskin gangs.
• Pit Slave added to special operatives.
• Wyrd added to special operatives.
• Special Operatives moved to own section to remove content duplication across gangs.
• Special Characters section added.
• Bestiary added.
• Design Notes updated.

 

[hreikin]

VERSION 0.6

• Typo fixes.
• Pit Slaves added.
• Arbites/Enforcers added.
• Armoury updated.
• Quick Reference updated.
• Design Notes updated.