N18 Starting a Newbie Campaign with 2019 Comprehensive Rulebook PDF, need some guidance

[Emrys]

By golly gosh, fellow hivescum, might I say what a gloriously disugsting day it is down here in the sump!

So I got hard into Necro 18 when it first released and ran a few campaigns with a core group over 2018-20 - but then pandemic, had to move, yada yada, so am now starting a new campaign in a new city with a new group but am kind of overwhelmed by the sheer amount of rules bloat/options. All I can say is thank God(Emperor) for you guys and this thriving community.

I was thinking for the sake of everyone's sanity (particularly the newer players who aren't well versed in tabletop wargames) the Deepfriedbar/aarhun 2019 community pdf seems the most comprehensive/undaunting option with no other supplementary books needed. It's a shame we lose Squats and Ash Waste Nomads but oh well.

I was hoping I could throw a bunch of questions, blunderbuss style, at you all as I'm having trouble differentiating other threads based on particular rulesets:

1. Is the 2019 community pdf (specifically v7.03, the one you get by googling 'Necromunda comprehensive rules pdf') supported by this website's awesome gang manager tool?
2. Is there a ruleset name for just using this rulebook? Like N18?
3. Are there any major balance issues/popular house rules I should be aware of going into a campaign with this rulebook?
4. Would rolling up squats/ash waste nomads with this website's tool completely unbalance the campaign in favour of those gangs?
5. There are 3 campaign rulesets in this book: Dominion, Law/Misrule, Uprising - are any considered the 'best' one? Or is it all just personal taste? And if there's been a newer campaign style released since that you think is better, would it also work with this rulebook RAW?
6. Any other recommendations?

Thanks for taking the time to read, hivechums!

 

[almic85]

@TopsyKretts any chance you can help this fellow hive scum out?

@Emrys the pdf you are talking about is good, but is out of date, and as usual with GW on the game there are a number rule changes from rulebook to rulebook that aren’t covered in their official errata.

The PDF basically ends with the old hard back rulebook and the old Gangs of the Underhive book, which is a decent stopping point and you can run a good campaign with it using the site tools and the GOTU gangs.

The site tools labelled Underhive effectively have the rules as up to date as possible (there are some ash wastes and vehicle bits not working) but can run the old N18 rules or the more current N22/23 updated version of the rules.

Current game essentially needs you to buy the new hard cover rulebook and then a House of book for your gang and they can do almost everything except have their gang custom vehicles. If players are sharing rulebooks then everyone just needs to pick up their House of book.

If you want the gang specific vehicle rules it gets a bit worse as you need to start buying the new Aranthian succession books specific to your gang.

And if you want to play a non-house gang you need to get the relevant Book of book for them instead of a House of book.

I hope that makes sense.

 

[TopsyKretts]

Yeah I was reluctant to answer this one cause I'm biased towards staying up to date with the latest version. That may not be the most sane path forward, but it is what most people are doing. If you stick to the rules around 2018, that's fine too, but as mentioned, there are many updates since then. And some of them are quite good IMO, particularly the rulebook last year (2023).

Here is a list of updates, some of which I would consider crucial:

N18 - Collected Errors/Typos in N23 Rulebook

A book that supposedly includes "every major aspect of the rules" with "all the FAQs and Errata from previous book". Additionally, there are many rules updates, most of which should be welcome (some have been discussed as far back as 2018 and many similar house rules have been proposed). Let's...

yaktribe.games

 

[libratorr]

I was hoping I could throw a bunch of questions, blunderbuss style, at you all as I'm having trouble differentiating other threads based on particular rulesets:


3. Are there any major balance issues/popular house rules I should be aware of going into a campaign with this rulebook?
4. Would rolling up squats/ash waste nomads with this website's tool completely unbalance the campaign in favour of those gangs?
5. There are 3 campaign rulesets in this book: Dominion, Law/Misrule, Uprising - are any considered the 'best' one? Or is it all just personal taste? And if there's been a newer campaign style released since that you think is better, would it also work with this rulebook RAW?
6. Any other recommendations?

Thanks for taking the time to read, hivechums!

3. The trading post prices for equipment in the Comprehensive and occasionally Yaktribe can sometimes differ from the trading post(s) in the official supplements - if you can't get a hold of the usefully consolidated price + stats version in the 2023 Core Rulebook you can always look for the freely available one on the Warhammer Community site.

4. You might find it troublesome to run the Squats and Nomads without the Book of the Outlands which has their rules along with the vehicle rules. Nomads are very underpowered in non-Ash Wastes games (and arguably underpowered in Ash Wastes too), especially since one of their unit types needs to be played with their mount which is a no-go in underhive, unless you want to house rule it).

5. Dominion is more supported and less likely to run into problems if you have non-standard gangs running around - Enforcers need a bit of houserule rework to keep them competitive. Uprising Isa very different campaign closer to a survival horror setting and is not really for newbies. Ash Wastes (via bookof the outlands) is fun but unsupported by Comprehensive.

6. Seek terrain. Larger, more vertical terrain. Seek the ceiling, that is the only way. Lest the painting of miniatures swallow your time...

 

[daveh]

4. Would rolling up squats/ash waste nomads with this website's tool completely unbalance the campaign in favour of those gangs?

squats are top heavy and naturaly unbalanced , hard to roll up but easy to roll down slope.
good luck with the campaign

 

[TopsyKretts]

If you want the latest Trading Post, look no further than yaktribe!

N17 - Trading Post, Armoury & Traits

Complete

yaktribe.games

It is complete and correct, unlike anything GW ever released. On the other hand, does this add any more 'value' to the game than the one you already have? More items, sure, but is it more than bloat?

 

[Tiktaalik]

In theory it is a good idea to run an older Rulesset to help teach new players the ropes. With my group it’s hard to do; many people in general are used to always using the newest version of everything and it’s hard to convince them otherwise.