TEXT: CONFRONTATION 
  
  1 
  CONFRONTATION..................................................................................................................................... 3 
  An introduction to the new skirmish wargame set in the 41st millennium .............................................. 3 
  THE COMBAT SYSTEM .................................................................................................................... 3 
  THE BACKGROUND.......................................................................................................................... 4 
  NECROMUNDA.......................................................................................................................................... 5 
  IMPERIAL HIVE WORLD ..................................................................................................................... 5 
  WORLDS OF THE IMPERIUM.......................................................................................................... 5 
  HIVE WORLDS ................................................................................................................................... 5 
  NECROMUNDA.................................................................................................................................. 6 
  LORD HELMAWR .............................................................................................................................. 7 
  LANDSCAPE ............................................................................................................................................... 9 
  SOME NECROMUNDIAN CLUSTERS...................................................................................................10 
  The Palatine.........................................................................................................................................10 
  Trazior Hive ........................................................................................................................................10 
  Acropolis Hive ....................................................................................................................................10 
  The Temenos.......................................................................................................................................10 
  Quinspirus Cluster ..............................................................................................................................11 
  The Skull.............................................................................................................................................11 
  THE ASH WASTES...............................................................................................................................12 
  THE SLUDGESEAS ..........................................................................................................................13 
  ANATOMY OF A HIVE............................................................................................................................14 
  THE SPIRES.......................................................................................................................................14 
  THE SHELL.......................................................................................................................................14 
  HEAT SINKS .....................................................................................................................................15 
  HAB LAYERS ....................................................................................................................................15 
  THE FACTORY LEVELS .................................................................................................................16 
  OLD FACTORIES ..............................................................................................................................16 
  THE UNDERCITY.............................................................................................................................17 
  THE FORBIDDEN CITIES ...............................................................................................................17 
  SPOOK................................................................................................................................................18 
  THE SHANTIES.................................................................................................................................19 
  GANGS.......................................................................................................................................................20 
  General Characteristics of Hive Gangs...............................................................................................20 
  CLAN WARRIORS ............................................................................................................................21 
  BRAT GANGS ...................................................................................................................................22 
  TECH GANGS ...................................................................................................................................23 
  SCAVVIES .........................................................................................................................................24 
  NOMADS ...........................................................................................................................................25 
  UNDERCITY GANGS.......................................................................................................................26 
  MUTANT GANGS .............................................................................................................................26 
  PSYKER GANGS ..............................................................................................................................27 
  TRADING EQUIPMENT..........................................................................................................................29 
  TRADED EQUIPMENT ....................................................................................................................29 
  HOW TO TRADE BETWEEN GANGS ...........................................................................................30 
  TRADING CONTACTS ....................................................................................................................30 
  THE TRADING CHARTS .................................................................................................................31 
  
  2 
  TRADING MODIFIERS ....................................................................................................................31 
  TRADING CHARTS ..................................................................................................................................33 
  Creating a gang ...........................................................................................................................................38 
  GANG GENERATION SUMMARY.....................................................................................................38 
  CHOOSING A GANG.......................................................................................................................38 
  THE TYPE OF GANG.......................................................................................................................38 
  GANG DETERMINATION CHART................................................................................................39 
  THE SIZE OF THE GANG................................................................................................................39 
  GANG MEMBERS CHART..............................................................................................................39 
  GENERATING FOLLOWERS ..........................................................................................................39 
  PROFILES ..........................................................................................................................................40 
  GENERATING PROFILES ...............................................................................................................40 
  GANG TYPE VARIATIONS.............................................................................................................41 
  GENERATING EQUIPMENT...........................................................................................................42 
  LEADER’S INITIAL EQUIPMENT.................................................................................................44 
  HENCHMAN AND HARDENED GANG FIGHTER INITIAL EQUIPMENT...............................45 
  RAW RECRUITS INITIAL EQUIPMENT.......................................................................................46 
  STASH................................................................................................................................................46 
  AUTO WEAPONS .....................................................................................................................................47 
  AUTOCANNON................................................................................................................................47 
  AUTO GUNS......................................................................................................................................47 
  AUTO PISTOLS.................................................................................................................................47 
  BOLTERS ...................................................................................................................................................48 
  BOLT PISTOL....................................................................................................................................48 
  BOLT GUN.........................................................................................................................................48 
  HEAVY BOLTER..............................................................................................................................48 
  CONVERSION BEAM PROJECTOR...................................................................................................49 
  DISTORTION CANNON......................................................................................................................50 
  FLAMERS ..................................................................................................................................................51 
  HANDFLAMER.................................................................................................................................51 
  FLAMER ............................................................................................................................................52 
  LASER WEAPONS....................................................................................................................................52 
  LASCANNON....................................................................................................................................52 
  LASGUN ............................................................................................................................................53 
  LASPISTOL........................................................................................................................................53 
  MULTI-LASER..................................................................................................................................53 
  
  3 
  CONFRONTATION 
  An introduction to the new skirmish wargame set in the 41st millennium 
  Ever since Warhammer 40,000 was published 
  players have been asking if a more detailed role 
  playing version was over going to appear. Well, 
  the idea was there right from the start - and in a 
  sense the 40,000 book provides sufficient 
  information for any innovative and reasonably 
  experienced gamer to develop a system if they 
  wanted to. I thought we’d probably never get 
  round to producing a special role playing version 
  as we’d simply been too busy working on the 
  main WH40,000 game. Then about a year ago 
  Bryan Ansell suggested that we revamp a game 
  he had designed some time ago - originally to 
  simulate World War 2 and contemporary combat 
  but later extended into a futuristic setting. 
  The idea was appealing as Bryan’s game already 
  had a detailed model-based combat system and 
  rules for progressing characters. Taking this 
  system and adapting it into the WH40,000 
  environment would give us a new game which 
  would combine elements of role playing and 
  skirmish wargaming. At the same time we could 
  take the opportunity to write more about the 
  WH40,000 universe by describing one planet in 
  particular. Finally we decided that because the 
  game would be a cross between WH40,000 and 
  role playing it would be released by Flame 
  Publications who currently publish material for 
  Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay. 
  THE COMBAT SYSTEM 
  We didn’t have much time as many other 
  projects were pressing - not the least of which 
  was (he new Realm of Chaos book The Lost and 
  the Damned - a massive tome which would lake 
  up months and months! The work was divided 
  up between myself (Rick Priestley) and fellow 
  designer Nigel Stillman. I was to sort out the 
  combat rules and convert details of weapons and 
  equipment from WH40,000 while was to Nigel 
  concentrate 
  on 
  the 
  background, character 
  development and scenario generation. The 
  game’s title -Confrontation - was established 
  early on, and it was decided that the setting 
  should be a crowded warfare-ridden hive world 
  called Necromunda. 
  The combat system was completed fairly 
  quickly. Like Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay the 
  game uses a percentage system to establish 
  whether weapons hit their target and hits 
  penetrate armour. By adopting the D100 existing 
  WH40,000 weapons could be given far more 
  detailed and different effects. It also gave us a 
  broader spread of possible ability levels for the 
  characters. This is the main advantage of using a 
  percentage system - it immediately increases the 
  range of dice results from 1-100 rather than the 
  very restrictive 1-6 on a D6. With vast and 
  highly detailed weapon and situation modifier 
  charts Confrontation is a very sophisticated 
  game indeed. As we anticipated players would 
  be using only a dozen or so models a side this 
  relative complexity didn’t worry us too much. 
  The benefit of using detailed systems was to 
  make the game very directly realistic. To put this 
  into perspective - if you can do something in real 
  life then a character can do it too because the 
  rules allow for literally any actions on behalf of 
  your characters. The result is a game which will 
  appeal to experienced players as well as those 
  who are prepared to invest a bit of extra effort in 
  the interests of a more detailed and realistic 
  simulation. Of course, this extra detail means 
  you have to think more than in the average game 
  - you must record and conserve your ammunition 
  rather than just blasting away, and you’ll find 
  that 
  wounds 
  have 
  an 
  inconveniently 
  incapacitating effect on your heroes’ actions. 
  
   
  4 
  THE BACKGROUND 
   
  The background was evolved by Nigel Stillman 
  working closely with Bryan Ansell - the 
  introductory section is printed in this White 
  Dwarf and other material will probably appear in 
  future issues as it is readied for publication. We 
  decided that it would be futile to attempt to 
  provide rules and details to cover the entire 
  Imperium - so it was decided to set the game 
  entirely on one world and to concentrate on 
  developing the cultural background to this world. 
  This would allow us to explore the relationship 
  of individual worlds within the Imperium, and 
  we would have to delve more deeply than ever 
  before into the way that Space Marines, 
  Inquisitors and other Imperial troops operate on 
  specific worlds of the Imperium. 
  We wanted a world where warfare was endemic 
  -where characters could indulge in mutual 
  conflict without any fear of too many social or 
  legal constrictions. The world we settled on is 
  called Necromunda. Necromunda has developed 
  into a background not only for Confrontation but 
  also for forthcoming WH40,000 novels, short 
  stories, and some tremendous artwork by John 
  Blanche. 
  
   
  5 
  NECROMUNDA 
  IMPERIAL HIVE WORLD 
  The Imperium of Man stretches across the 
  galaxy from rim to rim, encompassing over a 
  million habitable worlds and untold billions of 
  people. It is the most extensive and populous 
  empire that has ever existed in the history of 
  humanity. It is ruled as it has been for the last ten 
  thousand years by the Divine Champion of Man 
  and Protector of the Human Race, the Emperor 
  of Mankind. 
  The Emperor is the greatest of all human 
  psykers, his mental energies are godlike and his 
  powers incomprehensible to ordinary humans. It 
  is 
  his 
  mind 
  alone 
  which 
  projects 
  the 
  Astronomican throughout the galaxy, the psychic 
  homing beam which enables spacecraft to 
  navigate through the fabric of warp space. 
  Without the Emperor the Imperium would 
  collapse and human unity would be destroyed, 
  leaving the remaining pockets of civilisation 
  isolated and vulnerable to the infinite enemies of 
  mankind; creatures that seek to destroy or 
  enslave the human race. 
  The Emperor has long since ceased to live in any 
  normal sense. Ten thousand years ago, following 
  his titanic battle against the rebel Warmaster 
  Horus, Primarch and Arch-Champion of Chaos, 
  his mutilated and barely alive body was installed 
  inside a sophisticated life-support machine 
  known as the Golden Throne. 
  The Emperor can no longer speak and it is 
  doubtful if he comprehends events which take 
  place in the material universe, as his powerful 
  mind stalks through that nefarious region of pure 
  energy known as the Realm of Chaos, hunting 
  the 
  enemies 
  of 
  mankind. 
  The 
  actual 
  administration of the Imperium is therefore 
  undertaken by a vast bureaucracy known as the 
  Adeptus Terra - or Priesthood of Earth. 
  WORLDS OF THE IMPERIUM 
  Even 
  the 
  Adeptus 
  Administratum, 
  the 
  administrative branch of the Adeptus Terra, does 
  not know for certain the exact number of worlds 
  within the Imperium. There are approximately a 
  million, but the treacheries of space-travel, the 
  process of time distortion, and the effects of 
  warp storms which can isolate worlds for 
  centuries, make an accurate count impossible. 
  In addition, the galaxy is a dangerous and 
  warlike place, whore worlds are constantly under 
  threat from alien invaders, internal rebellion, and 
  treachery by governors. Also, new worlds are 
  constantly being added to the Imperium: virgin 
  worlds ripe for colonisation or old human worlds 
  which have been rediscovered after long periods 
  of isolation. 
  The worlds of the Imperium take many different 
  forms. Some are sparsely populated agricultural 
  worlds whose sole purpose is to provide food for 
  less productive and more highly populated 
  planets. Other worlds are dedicated to specific 
  functions, such as mineral-rich mining planets, 
  barren research stations, military observation 
  planets, and so forth. Most worlds of the 
  Imperium have a reasonably mixed economy and 
  are in most respects self-sufficient. The Adeptus 
  Terra has very little to do with such worlds so 
  long as their governors continue to pay their 
  tithes and impose the Imperial laws which 
  control and contain the emergence of mutant 
  psykers. 
  HIVE WORLDS 
  Hive worlds are another extremely important 
  type of world. Hive Worlds are planets which, in 
  all but a few cases, were settled thousands of 
  years ago, often before the time of the Imperium, 
  during the Dark Age of Technology when 
  mankind first spread throughout the galaxy. 
  A Hive World has a population which far 
  outweighs its own ability to feed or support it, 
  often exceeding a thousand billion people on a 
  planet the size of Earth. Such vast numbers of 
  people exert such pressure upon the environment 
  
   
  6 
  that few hive worlds can sustain life naturally. 
  Many have no free ground surface left because 
  they are entirety built over, with new buildings 
  constructed on top of old ones, to the extent that 
  the planet is no more than a huge urban 
  conglomeration. 
  Hive Worlds are tough places: little value is 
  attached to human life and air, light and food are 
  often precio us and rare commodities. Because 
  the populations or Hive Worlds are so large they 
  are almost impossible to control. As a 
  consequence it is generally the case that hive 
  societies are extremely brutal and dangerous. 
  Violence is often institutionalised and accepted, 
  and upholding the law is commonly a matter of 
  exerting personal power and influence. In such a 
  situation a man depends upon his friends and 
  family, those whose livelihoods depend on him 
  and those to whom he can promise support. 
  Every hive world has its unique environment, 
  history, and circumstances. Confrontation is set 
  upon the hive world of Necromunda. This 
  volume contains copious details about the planet 
  of Necromunda, its hives, and its teeming 
  population. Necromunda is merely one of the 
  hundreds of such worlds scattered throughout the 
  galaxy. 
  NECROMUNDA 
  Necromunda was founded 15,000 years ago as a 
  mining and manufacturing colony. The ensuing 
  millennia have not changed its basic purpose 
  very much; Necromunda is still a world of 
  mines, factories, refineries and processing plants. 
  The planet is a vast powerhouse of industry, 
  making thousands and thousands of different 
  items for use throughout nearby planetary 
  systems. 
  Nothing which can contribute to the planet’s 
  output has been left untouched. From the tops of 
  the highest mountains to the depths of the 
  oceans, the wealth of Necromunda has been 
  ripped out. Mountains have been reduced to 
  rubble for the ore they contain; oceans have been 
  turned into little more than chemical sludge 
  ponds. The once fertile plains have disappeared 
  under huge urban developments of great housing 
  and factory blocks, forming new ranges of man-
  made mountains every bit as tall as the long 
  since flattened natural land features. These huge 
  towering urban complexes are known as city 
  hives, or simply as hives, and their individual 
  peaks or towers are called city spires or spires. A 
  close group of hives is known as a hive cluster. 
  Between the hives deserts of industrial ash cover 
  the surface of the planet with a mobile, corrosive 
  skin. Over this desert lies a cloud layer of 
  airborne pollution, so that the great spires of the 
  city hives rise from a drifting mist of tainted 
  vapour like islands out of the sea. 
  Despite being reduced to such a hellish state, 
  Necromunda is still a valuable world to the 
  Imperium. Although little of Necromunda’s 
  original resources remain, the waste-heaps of 
  previous generations have become a new source 
  of riches. Necromunda lives on the accumulated 
  wastes of its past: its people have learned to 
  scavenge, reclaim and recycle everything in 
  order to squeeze a living from their exhausted 
  world. 
  Over 
  the 
  millennia, 
  the 
  population 
  of 
  Necromunda has increased well beyond the 
  planet’s capacity to support it. As a consequence 
  it is wholly reliant on synthetic and imported 
  food. Each hive has its recycling plants which 
  convert used organic matter into synthetic food. 
  Real food is imported from off-planet, but is an 
  expensive luxury which only the most wealthy 
  and prestigious Necromundans can afford. 
  As generation after generation adds to the 
  building and rebuilding of the hives, new layers 
  of habitation are created and the hives continue 
  to grow upwards. These towering hives dominate 
  the wasteland around them like clusters of 
  impossibly gigantic termite hills. Beneath the 
  hives and extending around them under the 
  wasteland itself lies a honeycomb of ancient 
  disused factories and a labyrinth formed from the 
  sewers and service tunnels of an earlier age. 
  Necromunda’s 
  population 
  has 
  never 
  been 
  counted and the chances are that it never will be 
  because the number of people involved is simply 
  
   
  7 
  too large. There are probably more people on 
  Necromunda than have ever lived in the entire 
  history of Terra up until the end of the twentieth 
  century. An attempted census of Trazior Hive 
  four thousand years ago revealed an estimated 
  population of a billion in the upper habitation 
  levels alone - no further attempt has been made 
  to count Necromunda’s population in Trazior or 
  any other of the several thousand hives on the 
  planet. 
  The society of Necromunda is reasonably typical 
  of larger Hive Worlds. No attempt is made to 
  enforce central administration upon the entire 
  population; indeed such a thing would prove 
  impossible on a world where most people remain 
  unrecorded by any authority. Instead, a kind of 
  feudal system has evolved by which individual 
  people owe loyalty to others, who in their turn 
  owe their loyalty to other increasingly more 
  powerful members of the hierarchy. Among the 
  more stable elements of the population these 
  loyalties are owed on a family basis, and closely 
  related families all support each other under the 
  hegemony of the most powerful member of their 
  family group. 
  This form of urban feudalism tends to be self 
  regulating. Weaker clans naturally seek the 
  protection of more powerful neighbors whose 
  powerbase then expands until it reaches the limit 
  whereby its numbers and resources are simply 
  too few to allow it to expand further. Where rival 
  clans meet it is inevitable that their power will be 
  tested in combat; the ability of a clan to exert its 
  power being the only true measure of its 
  influence. The endless feuds between the warrior 
  gangs of these clans are the setting for the game 
  of Confrontation. 
  LORD HELMAWR 
  The governor and ruler of all Necromunda is 
  Imperial Commander Lord Helmawr. His 
  ancestors are known to have reigned for the past 
  seven thousand years at least, records of 
  government before that time having long since 
  disappeared. Even the arehives of the Adeptus 
  Administorum, the bureaucracy of the Imperium, 
  are 
  remarkably 
  silent on the history of 
  Necromunda during the early days of the 
  Imperium. 
  Lord   Helmawr   occupies   the   very   top   of 
  the Necromundan feudal hierarchy. The society 
  he rules over is divided into many factions which 
  continually compete and co-operate with each 
  other, giving rise to endless changes in the feudal 
  hierarchy. 
  Lord 
  Helmawr 
  is 
  completely 
  unconcerned with the activities of lesser 
  powerbrokers. He deals directly with the most 
  powerful factions, offering them support in 
  return for their loyalty. If a major player in the 
  power game proves weak or treacherous it is a 
  simple matter for Helmawr to withdraw his 
  support. The very rumour that he might be about 
  to do this is often enough to encourage a feudal 
  inferior’s enemies to turn against him and 
  destroy him. 
  The Adeptus Terra leaves Lord Helmawr to 
  govern his domain as he pleases, as it leaves all 
  Imperial Commanders free to administrate their 
  worlds. The Imperial Commander forms a link in 
  the feudal chain which extends throughout the 
  galaxy to the heart of the Adeptus Terra. So long 
  as Helmawr fulfils his feudal obligations to the 
  Imperium his position remains secure. 
  Helmawr’s main obligation to the Imperium is to 
  provide a tithe which takes the form of a 
  percentage of all the goods Necromunda 
  produces. As the entire production capacity of 
  the 
  world 
  is 
  given 
  over 
  to 
  providing 
  manufactured goods for the Imperium the tithe is 
  taken as a straight discount on the revenue 
  earned. So long as Necromunda continues to 
  meet these responsibilities, and so long as its 
  production capacity is sufficiently high, the 
  Imperium remains quite satisfied. Of course, 
  should the Necromundan economy begin to 
  show signs of flagging then Lord Helmawr’s 
  position would be very different indeed. 
  Hive worlds like Necromunda provide the 
  Imperium with another useful resource - namely 
  its people. Necromunda produces generations of 
  tough youths with a strong sense of self-reliance. 
  They are highly valued as recruits for the 
  
   
  8 
  Imperial Guard and even for some of the Space 
  Marine Chapters. Providing recruits in vast 
  numbers is another of Lord Helmawr’s feudal 
  obligations. Recruitment brings officials from 
  the Imperium to Necromunda to inspect and in 
  some cases conduct recruiting drives amongst 
  the fighting gangs. Helmawr himself is obliged 
  to provide troops from his personal guard, 
  usually a whole regiment at a time. 
  Because the planet supplies so many troops for 
  the Imperial Guard the name of Necromunda is 
  known throughout the galaxy, even by people 
  who know nothing about the planet itself. Over 
  the centuries Necromundan Regiments have 
  fought with distinction in the Imperial Guard and 
  have earned a fearsome reputation on many 
  battlefronts. 
  Another important obligation is that Lord 
  Helmawr successfully controls the numbers of 
  dangerous psychic  mutants. These psykers, or 
  witches, are a mutation which is becoming 
  increasingly common on all worlds in the 
  Imperium. On most worlds they can be dealt 
  with fairly easily, but on a hive world like 
  Necromunda with its vast population the matter 
  is much more difficult. 
  Psykers are very dangerous indeed - probably 
  more so than even they realise. Although some 
  are able to control their powers and use them for 
  the benefit of society, the majority are unable to 
  control their powers properly with disastrous 
  results. Some become host to daemonic powers 
  from warpspace, while others attract psychically 
  sensitive aliens or psychic diseases which can 
  then hop into the minds of ordinary people. If 
  psykers were to go unchecked throughout the 
  Imperium human society would soon collapse. 
  Indeed, this is one of the reasons why the 
  Emperor clings so tenaciously to life, as only he 
  understands the true dangers of possession and 
  psychic destruction. 
  
   
  9 
  LANDSCAPE 
  Necromunda is very similar to many other hive 
  worlds of the Imperium. It is a planet devoid of 
  any remnant of its original natural beauty; its 
  surface reduced to a wasteland of windblown ash 
  and accumulated industrial waste. Throughout 
  this wasteland lie the hive cities which give such 
  planets their distinctive character and their 
  collective name of hive worlds. 
  The hives are grouped into clusters comprising 
  up to a dozen or so individual hives all linked by 
  a network of overground travel tubes and 
  subterranean 
  passages. 
  These 
  clusters 
  are 
  scattered over the cloud-strewn surface of the 
  planet. From the top of any hive it is possible to 
  see the tips of distant hive clusters projecting 
  from the seas of poison mists like far-flung 
  islands. 
  Hive clusters are connected together by roads 
  across the wastes and transportation tubes 
  supported on pylons and suspended from cables. 
  With its forest of towering hives interconnected 
  in a network of tubes, the landscape resembles a 
  petrified forest entangled in the web of some 
  enormous spider. Indeed, the spider and the 
  spider’s web are very powerful symbols to the 
  inhabitants of Necromunda. 
  The hives are the result of thousands of years of 
  constant demolition and rebuilding. The original 
  cities of Necromunda lie beneath the hives, 
  many hundreds of yards below the current 
  surface of the planet’s ash wastes. Dark, 
  forbidding ruins, often crushed by the weight of 
  the hives above them, these old cities preserve 
  the layered history of Necromunda. It is a 
  popular tale that the lowest layers of some hives 
  are built from the original transport barges which 
  brought humanity to Necromunda all those 
  millennia ago. 
  Each hive takes the form of many huge spires 
  which rise from the base of the city. From a 
  distance, a hive resembles a mass of stalagmites 
  rising from the cloud strewn wastes. Each hive 
  covers an approximately circular area some fifty 
  to a hundred miles in diameter. The tops of the 
  spires can rise to a dozen or more miles above 
  the ground surface, piercing the festering clouds 
  that surround the lower levels of the hive. The 
  spires usually merge into each other at their 
  bases, and smaller spires will sometimes grow 
  out and upwards from just above the base, 
  branching like a cactus and forming multiple 
  spires. 
  The spires are only the top part of the hive, 
  comprising the upper hab zones with factory 
  layers on or above the current ground surface. 
  The older and partially ruined factory and hab 
  layers still exist, although they are buried 
  beneath the ash wastes. Though they are hidden, 
  Factories and habs are rarely abandoned until 
  they are utterly derelict or polluted beyond use 
  even by Necromundan standards. 
  The hive-cities of Necromunda retain the ancient 
  names of the cities and settlements from which 
  they grew. Each spire within a hive is also 
  known by a local name. There are approximately 
  a thousand hive clusters on Necromunda. A few 
  of the most important and some typical examples 
  of the various kinds are described below. 
  
   
  10 
  SOME NECROMUNDIAN CLUSTERS 
  The Palatine 
  The largest and oldest surviving hive on 
  Necromunda is the dynastic home of Lord 
  Helmawr, Imperial Commander of Necromunda, 
  known across the planet as The Palatine. The 
  cluster it belongs to is known as the Palatine 
  Cluster. The central and tallest spire of the 
  Palatine hive forms the palace of the Imperial 
  Commander Lord Helmawr. 
  The Palatine boasts some of the most grandiose 
  and magnificent architecture on Necromunda, 
  and also has the only shipyard and landing field 
  large enough to take orbital carriers. It is thus the 
  planet’s only spaceport, a physical expression of 
  Helmawr’s monopoly in off-planet trade. The 
  fortress monastery of the Adeptus Astartes 
  contingent and the headquarters of the Adeptus 
  Arbites on Necromunda are also located in the 
  Palatine Hive. 
  On the edge of the hive is a special spin, - set 
  aside for the aliens and abhumans who come to 
  Necromunda from time to time in order to trade. 
  Both Squats and Eldar are among these visitors 
  and they are housed on separate levels of this 
  spire. The Palatine is thus by far mo most 
  cosmopolitan of all the hives of Necromunda. 
  Trazior Hive 
  Trazior means Three Sisters in the local 
  Necromundan dialect. It is so called because of 
  its has three huge spires which can be seen from 
  a long way off by any traveler coming across the 
  wastes from the south. Trazior is located on the 
  edge of the Great Equatorial Waste and is the 
  southernmost “frontier” hive of the great 
  Palatine Cluster. 
  Many important merchant clans are based in this 
  hive and it is the main trading depot for convoys 
  going to or arriving from the southern hive 
  clusters. The nomads who live out in the wastes 
  and raid the convoys are a constant source of 
  annoyance to its inhabitants. The clans and 
  gangs of Trazior are described in detail later. 
  Trazior was also the scene of one of the most 
  prolonged and vicious gang wars in the recent 
  history of Necromunda. 
  Acropolis Hive 
  This is another old and elaborate hive in the 
  Palatine Cluster. It is located at a very important 
  intersection of several great road tunnels and has 
  always been a major centre of trade on 
  Necromunda. The Acropolis hive is home 
  territory for some of the most powerful merchant 
  clans, whose widespread trading network 
  extends 
  across 
  many 
  of 
  the 
  hives 
  of 
  Necromunda. The Acropolis Hive attracts a 
  number of large and sprawling shanties clustered 
  around its base. 
  The Temenos 
  This is another hive in the Palatine Cluster. One 
  spire forms the headquarters of the Ecclesiarchy 
  on Necromunda, while another spire forms The 
  Temple of the Emperor Deified. Colleges, 
  libraries and chapels occupy parts of the other 
  spires. A priory of the Adepta Sororita is located 
  in one of the outer spires. This spire is often 
  called the Sisters Tower as a consequence. 
  The population of Temenos hive are among the 
  most pious and devout followers of the Imperial 
  Cult. Many of the resident clans manufacture 
  ritual items for the priesthood while others work 
  in the scriptorium, translating the wisdom of the 
  priesthood 
  into 
  the 
  many 
  dialects 
  of 
  Necromunda. 
  The Temple spire is an architectural wonder: its 
  interior is a warren of naves, chapels and crypts, 
  vaulted ceilings and pillared halls. The diffused 
  light is stained by refraction through crystal. 
  Incense and the sound of chanting drift across 
  the chambers. Here and there statues and 
  holograms of the Emperor reside in secluded 
  shrines. From here Confessors and missionaries 
  
   
  11 
  are sent off to frontier worlds in the nearby 
  systems. 
  Quinspirus Cluster 
  The Quinspirus Cluster is situated on the edge of 
  a virtually solidified sludge sea called the 
  Worldsump Ocean. At one time, when the sea 
  was still navigable, the area included vast 
  dockyards. These now remain buried deep within 
  the undercity of the centrally located Quinspirus 
  Hive. This hive has five great spires - hence the 
  name which means five towers in the local 
  dialect and which gives its name to the whole 
  cluster. The cavernous warehouses of the ancient 
  waterfronts have been the scene of many savage 
  gang wars. 
  The Skull 
  This derelict hive is the largest of a cluster of 
  three remote ruined hives. It is pierced by great 
  holes and from a distance looks like a great skull 
  lying in the wastes. It is a famous landmark and 
  perhaps even worshipped by the local nomads. 
  These three gigantic ruins are all that remains of 
  the hives that were captured and occupied for a 
  time by Ork raiders. All contact with the cluster 
  was lost for several years before the rest of 
  Necromunda realised what had happened. In the 
  end a campaign was mounted to clear them. This 
  was the original reason for despatching a Space 
  Marine contingent to Necromunda, which has 
  since become a permanent establishment. 
  The hives were besieged and destroyed during 
  the campaign. Now the tops have caved in and 
  they lie abandoned and choked with dust. No one 
  knows what fearful things have made their home 
  amid the ruins, and even the nomads and 
  scavvies fear to go near the m 
   
  
   
  12 
  THE ASH WASTES 
  The hives of Necromunda are separated by the 
  forbidding ash wastes: areas of land covered in 
  an abrasive and highly corrosive ash, the end 
  product of fifteen thousand years of industry. 
  This desert covers every inch of Necromunda’s 
  land surface that is not protected within a hive. 
  In densely populated parts of Necromunda, hives 
  may be separated by only fifty or a hundred 
  miles of waste. On other parts of the planet the 
  wastes may stretch for a thousand miles between 
  hives. 
  In some places the ash is miles deep, forming 
  shifting ranges of dust dunes which can bury 
  roads and transport tubes, and erode the base of a 
  hive when swept along in one of the frequent 
  dust storms. The funnel-shape of the hive spires 
  is designed to strengthen the hive against the 
  worst ravages of the dust, but even so they are 
  often buried to half their height or more by ash. 
  This is stabilised and held in place by the fresh 
  wastes which pour from the drains of the hive 
  factories. 
  The ash wastes are mostly composed of metal 
  oxides, 
  powered 
  plastics 
  and 
  inorganic 
  chemicals which take millennia to reduce. As 
  with many hive worlds, the wastes are an 
  inhospitable environment. The ash corrodes 
  equipment and poisons organic life, although a 
  surprising variety of creatures do survive. No 
  unpolluted air, food or water can be found in 
  these dead lands, although there are fungi, algae 
  and bacteria which live on the waste itself. These 
  are believed to be responsible for the limited free 
  oxygen content of Necromunda’s atmosphere. 
  The ash wastes are a striking and colourful if 
  somewhat lurid environment. The nomads of the 
  waste and even most hive-dwellers who see them 
  would call them beautiful. The ash occurs in 
  many different, often vivid hues such as 
  sculpture yellow, citric green, cobalt blue, pink, 
  mauve, as well as various shades of grey, and it 
  varies in texture from fine dust to crystalline 
  clinker. The creatures and nomads that live there 
  are equally colourful, the better to blend into 
  their surroundings. 
  The most dangerous hazard of the wastes is the 
  ash storms. These terrible storms can blow their 
  payload of toxic ash from the equator to the 
  poles. A moderate ash storm will strip an 
  unprotected man to the bone in seconds, and then 
  reduce his bones to a handful of dust. A serious 
  storm 
  is 
  something 
  that 
  everyone 
  on 
  Necromunda fears. These can be so strong that 
  they have been known to destroy entire hives. 
  Ruined spires are occasionally revealed in the 
  wake of one storm only to be covered over again 
  by shifting waste in the next. In some areas, ash 
  has been blown away to reveal the scarred 
  bedrock of the planet. During Necromunda’s 
  calmer season, which coincides with the planet’s 
  long extinct summer, liquid pollutants rise to the 
  surface, forming slick-lakes and short-lived 
  blind-rivers. Streams meander across the land, 
  vanishing into sinkholes in the dust only to rise 
  elsewhere. Imperial scholars who have studied 
  dust ecologies believe that there may be currents 
  and tides within the ash surface. 
  These transient rivers and lakes can dry out, 
  forming a hard pan on the surface of the dust. 
  These dangerous areas conceal deep seas of fine 
  dust beneath them. The nomads who travel the 
  wastes avoid such places, because to fall through 
  the crust of a pan is certain death. Anyone who 
  docs so is suffocated and then corroded to 
  nothing by the ash. 
  In hotter weather, when Necromunda’s sun 
  breaks through the planet’s cloud cover, noxious 
  vapours rise up and form poisonous mists and 
  fogs. Mists are invariably followed by toxic rain 
  storms, laden with particles of deadly ash dust 
  and other contaminants. 
  However, despite their perils, the ash wastes of 
  Necromunda conceal treasures. Much remains 
  hidden beneath the surface, ready to be 
  reclaimed and used: derelict spires from lost 
  hives; buried convoys; wrecked stratoplanes, 
  aircrafts and spaceships; long-abandoned mine 
  workings; and even, in places, raw materials 
  from the bedrock of the planet. There are a few 
  places where, thanks to some mysterious natural 
  
   
  13 
  sorting of the wind and ash itself, veins of pure 
  oxides and chemicals have accumulated. Such 
  concentrations, or ash pockets, are worth mining 
  in themselves. They are a rich raw material 
  which can be reprocessed. 
  THE SLUDGESEAS 
  Necromunda never enjoyed large expanses of 
  open water, but now the planet’s original seas 
  and rivers are filled with liquid chemical waste. 
  Choked with ash, thick with chemicals and 
  poisoned by heavy metals, Necromunda’s sludge 
  seas are all that remains of the ancient oceans. 
  The consistency of the sludge varies from a thin, 
  chemical soup to a viscous polluted mud. Near 
  the equator, the sea’s surface has solidified into a 
  crust of sludge, baked hard by the sun. 
  Conventional 
  ships 
  are 
  useless 
  in 
  such 
  conditions and only flyers or hover vehicles 
  cross the seas. It is even rumoured that some 
  mutants even live in these areas, utterly isolated 
  from the rest of Necromunda. 
  The sludge seas, however, also support their 
  quota of hives. Some are built on massive piles, 
  driven deep into the sea floor. Other, relatively 
  small hives have been constructed on massive 
  floating islands which are anchored in position. 
  On more than one occasion a floating hive has 
  broken free during an ash storm and sunk or 
  capsized. Survivors of such a disaster are rare. 
  
   
  14 
  ANATOMY OF A HIVE 
  THE SPIRES 
  From a distance, when the clouds lift from 
  around a hive, its spires look like a cluster of tall, 
  tapering termite mounds. They rise from a broad 
  base of outlying structures to near-vertical 
  towers. Their gigantic scale is such that it almost 
  denies human involvement in their construction 
  and they look as though they might have 
  sprouted up out of the ground by themselves, 
  like some great organic growth. Few human 
  constructions can rival their awesome size. 
  Although no two spires are exactly the same, 
  they all share common characteristics and are 
  constructed in a similar fashion. 
  A section cut through a spire is not a whole 
  circle. A spire is divided into a series of 
  segments, like wedges of a cheese, which are 
  joined at the centre. Deep gullies or slits in the 
  spire, crossed by communications tubes, separate 
  the segments. These gullies are supposed to 
  admit light and air to the spire, but their size 
  makes 
  this 
  impractical. 
  Every 
  added 
  communications tube also adds its shadow to the 
  darkness of the interior. 
  The areas close to the core are far removed from 
  the outside world. Their only illumination is 
  provided by glow globes and massive cables of 
  optic fibre or flexible glass, which run down into 
  the core of the hive from the sunlit pinnacles of 
  the spires. These create weak shafts of light that 
  penetrate the dim catacombs of the hive and light 
  it in the same way as the nave of a Gothic 
  cathedral. 
  Fresh air enters the inner recesses of the hive via 
  great ducts from the upper layers. It is drawn in 
  through huge wind intake fans and filtered 
  through dozens of purification plants to remove 
  the fumes accumulated as it passes down the 
  height of the spire. In the deepest parts of the 
  hive and especially in the old factories and 
  undercity layers, the air ducts no longer function. 
  Here fumes and stale air accumulate and 
  personal respirators must be worn at all times. 
  The many airducts and vents are infested by 
  strange creatures called caryatids. These are 
  small, blue, winged humanoids which exist in 
  great 
  numbers 
  throughout 
  the 
  hives 
  of 
  Necromunda. Many hive-dwellers see them as 
  good luck charms because they often attach 
  themselves 
  to 
  powerful 
  and 
  successful 
  individuals, and in fact seem to be particularly 
  attracted 
  to 
  the 
  soon-to-become-powerful. 
  Conversely, the departure of a ‘pet’ caryatid is 
  seen as an omen of doom - its former companion 
  is then regarded as a man waiting for death. 
  THE SHELL 
  The outer shell of a hive is its skin and defence. 
  Though the cliff-like shell of a spire appears to 
  be quite solid, its surface is pierced with deep 
  vertical and angled shafts. These shafts are small 
  compared to the bulk of the spire, but are 
  important because they admit additional light 
  and air into the core of the hive. They are all 
  protected by a series of massive covers which 
  can be moved into place when required. 
  The shell is where the majority of the inter-spire 
  travel tunnels and tubes begin and end. Tunnel 
  stations and gateway fortresses, convoy parks 
  and garrison blocks are all located in it, where 
  they can contribute to the regulation and defence 
  of traffic between and within the hives. 
  The shell is also the first line of a hive’s active 
  defences against planetary invasion. Giant 
  defence lasers, each capable of hitting an 
  orbiting target, are mounted at many points. 
  These are used to defend the hive against human 
  or alien spacecraft. However, against the fierce 
  ash storms that sometimes ravage Necromunda, 
  the shell’s surface forms its only defence. 
  Although some people do live within the hive 
  shells, the storms are an excellent reason to find 
  accommodation deeper within the spire. Being 
  able to experience direct sunlight or feel a fresh 
  draft of air from the duct is a status symbol 
  almost as important as having a good diet, but a 
  
   
  15 
  single ash storm can make such status symbols 
  meaningless. 
  A heavy storm is quite capable of stripping off 
  the shell’s outer layers, including a spire’s laser 
  defences, travel facilities and shell-dwellers. 
  Shells must be constantly refurbished by work-
  gangs, otherwise the next ash storm could easily 
  penetrate the tunnels, shafts and catacombs of 
  the main spire and rip it apart. 
  HEAT SINKS 
  At the heart of every spire there is a single 
  vertical shaft known as the heat sink. From the 
  topmost levels of the spire the heat sink reaches 
  far below the lowest levels of the hive, down 
  through the geological crust of the planet itself. 
  A heat sink can be several miles across. It is a 
  vast, hollow, sealed tube made from dense 
  plasteel. Along the length of its thick plasteel 
  walls there are buildings, chambers, shafts and 
  service tunnels. 
  The sink takes heal from the planet’s core and 
  turns it into power for the spire. At intervals 
  throughout the length of the heat sink there are 
  generator stations which convert the raw heat 
  into 
  usable 
  energy. 
  The 
  power 
  is 
  then 
  transmitted to the factories and hab layers around 
  the core. There are no power stations in the 
  lower levels. The heat sink passes through these 
  levels and provides only a constant warmth. 
  This, however, is infinitely preferable to the 
  damp chill of the remainder of the lower hive. 
  As is the case with all things Necromundan, the 
  power generation systems are controlled by the 
  clans into whose territory they fall. These clans 
  receive a considerable income from all who use 
  their power, so possession of the heat sinks is 
  one of the chief marks of a powerful clan of the 
  inner core. Other clans might control territory 
  between the power stations and the users, and 
  they often extract their own tolls from both 
  factories and power producers to protect the 
  transmission lines. In this way the feudal clans of 
  Necromunda operate as producers, suppliers and 
  consumers in a thriving economy. Only in the 
  upper hab layers of the spires is there a regulated 
  service. There, power is drawn from stations 
  controlled by the government - in effect by the 
  troops belonging to Helmawr’s own clan. 
  Access to the heat sink is usually very difficult. 
  Many levels have no access at all, and on others 
  access ports are sealed and guarded. On some of 
  the older levels, however, many seals are ruined 
  or insecure and access is possible although 
  dangerous. 
  HAB LAYERS 
  The upper layers of each spire are called 
  habitation areas or hab layers. Here the bulk of 
  the hive’s human inhabitants live in conditions 
  which range from relative luxury to dismal 
  squalor. 
  Where a family lives in a spire reflects its social 
  standing and importance. The topmost layers of 
  the spire are populated by the elite households of 
  the hive. This hive nobility live in relative 
  comfort enjoying the luxury of natural light, 
  fresh air and real food imported from nearby 
  agricultural worlds. Below lie the twilight levels, 
  inhabited by the rest of the population. 
  Conditions on the twilight hab layers are 
  considerably less pleasant than in the habs 
  above. Natural daylight is dim, fresh air is 
  unknown, and most of the food has been eaten 
  and recycled many times before. 
  Below the twilight layers is the darkness of the 
  undercity. Here, the only light comes from 
  artificial glowglobes. Everything, even the air, 
  on these levels has been used before and 
  reprocessed several times. On a typical hive 
  world  air and water pass through, on average, 
  287.3 other people before reaching the lips of 
  those who inhabit the undercity. The proteins 
  and minerals in the universal synthdiet are 
  reclaimed from human bodies that no longer 
  have need of it. On Necromunda, everything that 
  can be recycled is recycled, including the people 
  themselves. 
  
   
  16 
  THE FACTORY LEVELS 
  The industrial complexes built into the spires 
  produce all kinds of different items which are 
  traded to other planets in return for the food 
  which Necromunda so desperately needs to feed 
  its teeming millions. 
  In the hives, the factory levels extend from 
  below the lower habs down to the surface of the 
  ash wastes and beyond. Over the millennia, the 
  waste exuded from the factories has solidified 
  around the base of the hives, affecting the ever-
  rising layer of ash waste which covers the 
  surface of the planet. As the level of the ash 
  wastes rises, so the lower factories find 
  themselves buried below the ground. So long as 
  it remains possible to pump effluent up to the 
  surface, these factories can still continue to 
  function. 
  The new factory levels are a network of waste 
  pipes, gutter-shafts and gas-drains which bleed 
  poisons and noxious wastes away from working 
  areas. These drains stick out of the lower flanks 
  of the hives, flaring off dangerous gas, belching 
  out fumes into the filth-ridden air, or pouring 
  poisonous liquids and solid waste onto the 
  polluted ash below. 
   
  Industrial production is controlled by the many 
  clans. Each producer fits into a pattern of feudal 
  obligation - supplying other clans and taking raw 
  materials, components and power from others. 
  Large, powerful clans act as clearing houses for 
  the goods and services provided by their feudal 
  inferiors. 
  This 
  industrial 
  feudalism 
  of 
  Necromunda regulates demand and supply in a 
  thoroughly efficient manner. 
   
  Clans will often rise in power and importance, as 
  lesser clans in related industries come together in 
  uneasy alliances. Sometimes conflict of interests, 
  territorial rights and clan rivalry lead to inter-
  clan feuds. This is one of the main causes of 
  gang warfare on Necromunda. 
   
  Workers usually live in or very near the factories 
  where they work, and are as much a resource as 
  the machines they tend. In some cases, workers, 
  especially Techs, are surgically adapted to 
  perform specialist functions. Such physical and 
  mental enhancements are expensive lo finance, 
  which makes such workers very valuable. 
   
  OLD FACTORIES 
   
  As the surface of the wastes rises it becomes 
  increasingly difficult to service the factories on 
  the buried levels. Huge vacuum pumps lift the 
  countless tons of filth up above surface level for 
  venting outside the hive, but even these have 
  their limits. There is a point in each spire below 
  which disposing of the factories’ rubbish is 
  impractical. When the cost of disposing of a 
  factory’s waste is no longer outweighed by the 
  value of its output, it is closed down and 
  abandoned. 
   
   
  As the lower levels fall below the level of the 
  ash waste and are abandoned to low-life scum, 
  lower hab layers are converted into new 
  factories, and the upper hab levels are extended 
  upwards. In this way the spires of the hive world 
  are being continually renewed. 
   
  The old factory layers are filled with abandoned, 
  machinery and hab levels and often reach as far 
  below ground as the spires stretch up above it. 
  The lowest parts of the old factory levels are 
  little more than rubble, having collapsed under 
  the weight of the hive, or been deliberately filled 
  in to make foundations for later building work. 
  The abandoned factories and hab levels arc 
  infested by scavvies, gangs who roam the dead 
  layers of the hive scavenging for anything they 
  can use or trade. 
   
  
   
  17 
  THE UNDERCITY 
   
  Below the hive’s foundations lies a honeycomb 
  of ancient tunnels, ruins, and buildings from 
  Necromunda’s long-dead past. Those ruins lie at 
  the very bottom of each spire, far below any 
  factories and the ash wastes: they are the 
  undercities, the oldest and deepest parts of 
  Necromunda’s hives. 
   
  Undercity zones predate the hives by many 
  centuries, even millennia. They are remnants of 
  Necromunda’s true cities, built before the 
  planet’s natural ecology was destroyed, when 
  there were no encroaching ash wastes. It is quite 
  possible that the remains of the colony barges 
  that first brought mankind to the planet still lie 
  beneath some hives. 
   
  The undercities are infested with fugitives, 
  outcasts and mutants who are regarded by the 
  upper hive-dwellers as little better than the 
  animal vermin which are also found there. Life 
  in the undercity is even more violent and 
  difficult than life in the spires above. Many of 
  the most ruthless hive gangs have origins in the 
  undercity. At the bottom of the hive, upward 
  mobility is more than an abstract concept. The 
  strong, the lucky and ruthless can rise to the top, 
  in terms of actual location in the hive as well as 
  in status. It is not unknown for survivors of the 
  undercity to reach high status as officers in the 
  Imperial Army, schooled and tempered by the 
  terrible necessities of survival. 
   
  THE FORBIDDEN CITIES 
   
  The military tunnels which link the hives of 
  Necromunda run deep beneath the ash wastes, 
  cut into the very bedrock of the planet. This 
  travel network was constructed so military forces 
  could be moved quickly around the planet, 
  enabling them to concentrated wherever they are 
  needed. 
   
  Access to the hive is via great ramp-shafts 
  guarded by gatehouses, but unauthorised persons 
  are able to gain entry through the heat sinks and 
  air-vents. Under the hives, and linked to this 
  underground tunnel network, are cavernous 
  storage depots and bunkers, used for stockpiles 
  of synthetic food and raw materials in 
  anticipation of war or some other disaster. 
   
  The tunnel system and its associated bunkers are 
  very ancient, dating to a time before the hives 
  had grown to the massive size that they are now, 
  As the system is continually being renovated or 
  enlarged, many tunnels and bunkers have been 
  bypassed or disused and sealed up. Over the 
  millennia, these unused tunnels and bunkers 
  have been forgotten and lost. 
   
  Since the discovery that these places are the only 
  source of the valuable drug spook, they have 
  been secretly re-colonised and are now known as 
  the “Forbidden Cities”. If they’ve heard of them 
  at all, most Necromundans don’t believe they’re 
  real, thinking their existence to be yet another 
  urban fable. 
   
  It is in these ancient bunkers that the decayed 
  synthdiet deposits are found which are used to 
  make the psychic drug spook. It is likely that 
  officials of the Lord of Necromunda discovered 
  the distinctive green deposits while they were 
  supervising work on the tunnel network. Since 
  then, the nobility and the ruling dynasty of 
  Necromunda has always had a hand in the 
  production and trade in spook. Only the nobles, 
  with their ability to call on the services of 
  subordinate clans, techs and paramilitary forces 
  have the diverse resources needed to process the 
  decayed synthdiet into spook. 
   
  The cavernous vaults of the Forbidden Cities are 
  extended and embellished with the wealth 
  
   
  18 
  brought in by spook. Pillared halls are cut from 
  the rock, polished stones and mosaics adorn the 
  floors, ceilings and walls. They become palaces 
  of archaic decadent splendour. 
   
  The cities’ workforce is recruited from the scum 
  of the undercity, supervised and guarded by 
  savage undercity gangs. If they cannot find 
  enough 
  willing 
  workers 
  they 
  will 
  incite 
  undercity gangs to make slave raids into the 
  lower hab layers or offer to buy captives from 
  nomad slavers. Once introduced to the decadent 
  life within the Forbidden City, most slaves are 
  reluctant to ever be free again. 
   
  Spook exploitation brings in incredible wealth. 
  This wealth helps to maintain the privileged 
  lifestyle of those noble families secretly involved 
  in its manufacture and trade. These are the so 
  called Lords of the Forbidden Cities. Some  are 
  of noble origin, others are adventurers of obscure 
  origin who have connections with the nobility. 
  Frequently 
  they 
  are 
  members 
  of 
  noble 
  households who have gone into exile because 
  they are suspected psykers or wish to escape 
  from political enemies. They simply disappear 
  from the upper spires, setting up court in the 
  hidden bunkers where the spook is processed. 
   
  SPOOK 
   
  While there are many decaying foodstuffs down 
  in the bunkers, only a certain type degenerates 
  into the spook lode: the vestigial remains of the 
  oldest kind of synthdie t made on Necromunda. 
  The decayed synthdiet deposits are now nothing 
  more than a lurid green powder, having been 
  acted on by mutant fungi for thousands of years. 
  It contained a high proportion of recycled human 
  protein, and it is this human essence which is 
  likely to account for its dramatic effects on the 
  human psyche. 
  The drug spook is taken in liquid form - the 
  ultimate magic potion. When drunk in small 
  amounts, it awakens the imbiber’s psychic 
  abilities. When drunk in quantity it opens the 
  channel between a person’s physical body and 
  their soul in the warp. If the individual has a 
  strong soul, it will be drawn into his material 
  body; if he has a weak soul, all psychic energy 
  will be instantly sucked out of him and lost in 
  the void. It is for this reason that spook is a very 
  dangerous substance, and its use viciously 
  repressed by the Imperium. 
   
  In hive-world society, people are constantly 
  seeking ways to exploit anything they discover. 
  The people who stumbled on the unusual green 
  deposits investigated ways of turning them into 
  wealth, as they would have done with any 
  substance, and in the process discovered spook. 
  Being ignorant of matters of the human soul and 
  the danger inherent in mankind’s metamorphosis 
  into a psychic race, spook was seen as just 
  another substance to be recycled and exploited 
  for profit. 
   
  There has always been a massive demand for 
  drugs in hive-society, mainly to supplement the 
  diet and ward off sickness. Spook became 
  popular among the nobility who revelled in its 
  exotic effects and it has slowly filtered down 
  throughout hive-society. 
   
  The noble households which exploited this 
  resource naturally kept the trade secret and 
  confirmed to grow rich. The household of the 
  Lord of Necromunda himself was involved in the 
  business and was able to organise off planet 
  trade of spook. This had to be accomplished 
  using smugglers, since the Imperial fleet 
  conducts all legal trade in space. 
   
  No-one knows or can predict where the spook 
  deposits are to be found, but whenever one 
  comes to light, the officials of Lord Helmawr’s 
  officials who are part of the spook ring are 
  informed, and mining and processing can begin. 
  Trusted 
  noble 
  households 
  with 
  a 
  close 
  
   
  19 
  connection to the ruling dynasty will get the 
  concession to exploit the deposit. 
   
  Small quantities of spook are also found and 
  traded by scavvies who stumble on eroded 
  deposits during their delvings. This accounts for 
  a small amount of wild spook that is traded in 
  the undercity and shanties. Imperial agents trying 
  to track the spook to its source usually end up  
  following the scavvy spook and thereby miss the 
  main source. Of course, there is nothing to link 
  the nobility or the Lord of Necromunda to the 
  scavvy spook. 
   
  The most significant outlet for spook is the 
  secret cults that lurk in many hives. These 
  cultists need a regular supply of this psychic-
  enhancing 
  substance. 
  The 
  Immortals 
  in 
  particular require vast quantities for their rites 
  and the expansion of this cult is certainly the 
  single greatest factor in the growth of the spook 
  trade. Most of the spook lords who rule the 
  Forbidden Cities are probably already members 
  of this cult. 
   
  Spook is easily distributed via the various 
  undercity, scavvy or nomad gangs who ask no 
  questions and only know of the next link in the 
  chain. 
   
  THE SHANTIES 
   
  Shanty towns are built outside the hives, 
  clustered at the outer edge of the shells of the 
  spires. They are inhabited by all kinds of hive 
  world scum who cannot cope with life within the 
  hives. The spires, at least, offer a limited 
  protection against the poisoned rains and 
  corrosive ash. The best shelter a shanty dweller 
  can hope for is one or two layers of packing 
  material, or an abandoned vehicle. To make 
  matters worse, much of the factories’ toxic 
  effluent pours directly down onto the shanties. 
   
  If a shanty remains in existence for any length of 
  time and somehow escape’s being swept away 
  by a storm, the inhabitants will excavate caves 
  and cellars into the solidified sludge and 
  compacted dust. These dwellings can be 
  reinforced by sludge baked by the sun into crude 
  bricks. By retreating into those refuges, some 
  shanty dwellers survive the ash storms that 
  sweep away the more flimsy parts of their 
  homes. When the storm abates, they force their 
  way through the wind-blown dust to the surface 
  and attempt to rebuild the shanty out of the 
  wreckage of the old one. 
  Conditions in the shanties are worse than 
  anything in the hives, yet for most shanty-
  dwellers even their crude home is preferable to 
  wandering the ash wastes, where they would fall 
  victim to the creatures and nomads if the heat, 
  corrosive dust and freak storms did not get them 
  first. 
  No-one from the hives bothers shanty-dwellers 
  very much - they have little worth taking. 
  Furthermore, the sprawling settlements are home 
  to vicious gangs of shanty-dwellers, scavvies and 
  nomad bands that have come to the shanty to 
  trade. 
  
   
  20 
  GANGS
  The number of gangs on Necromunda almost 
  certainly runs into millions, ranging from small 
  gangs which control no more than a section of 
  corridor to the private armies of large and 
  powerful clans which dominate whole spires. 
   
  The Imperium does not dictate to the Imperial 
  Commander how the planet should be run - as 
  long as it is loyal to the Emperor, its factories 
  produce what they should and it pays its tithes 
  they do not interfere. The retinue of Lord 
  Helmawr is in effect the largest gang on 
  Necromunda. His status as Lord of Necromunda 
  is hereditary and his household controls all 
  offplanet trade, including the import of real food 
  from nearby agricultural worlds. 
   
  General Characteristics of Hive Gangs 
   
  The word “gang” describes many different types 
  of armed bands on Necromunda. Gang is a 
  generic term which includes clan warriors, bands 
  of ash nomads, savage gangs and mutant bands 
  from the undercity, scavvies from the shanties, 
  armed bands of techs, bands of fugitive psykers, 
  unruly brat gangs of the upper hab layers, as well 
  as sanctioned gangs and professional bounty-
  hunters, guards and retainers such as the 
  Venators and Custodians. 
   
  Although gangs may be drawn from large groups 
  such as a hive clan, noble household or nomad 
  tribe, a typical gang will include around a dozen 
  members. This is an ideal strength for 
  skirmishing and raiding in the corridors and 
  tunnels of the hive. Gangs must be able to 
  infiltrate the territory of rival gangs undetected 
  to mount successful raids. In order to set 
  ambushes they will have to hide in the dark 
  recesses and among the pipes and conduits of the 
  road tunnels. Small groups are simply much 
  more effective in this environment than large 
  armed mobs which are far too conspicuous and 
  easy to track down. 
   
  Each gang is led by the warrior with experience, 
  skill and considerable powers of leadership. 
  Other warriors are naturally attracted to these 
  strong and inspiring individuals. 
   
   
  Each territory has its own gang drawn up from 
  the toughest youths of the clan. The gang leader 
  and his henchmen, often several years older than 
  most of the warriors and due to settle down as 
  respected clan members will select the best of 
  the youths and let them prove themselves 
  through the gang initiation rite. Most initiations 
  are pretty tough and brutal and in this way the 
  gang recruits the toughest among the youth to be 
  the clan warriors. 
   
  The ambition of most young clan members is to 
  run with a gang, similarly most young nomads in 
  the ash wastes are expected to fight for the tribe 
  as warriors. The youth of a hive-clan will tend to 
  group together for protection, and might well 
  become involved in skirmishes in defence of 
  their home territory. 
   
  Other types of gangs recruit suitable new 
  members into their ranks in a similar way. 
  Scavvies, Brats, Mutants, Techs and Psykers will 
  naturally only consider their own kind or those 
  sympathetic to them. Undercity gangs will only 
  accept savage masters of the art of survival who 
  
   
  21 
  can prove their eligibility by combat. 
   
  All gangs impose some sort of initiation rite on 
  their recruits, intended to mark gang members 
  for life and weed out those who might be a 
  liability. Recruits must often prove themselves 
  by taking a trophy in their first skirmish with the 
  gang. This usually means cutting off a finger, ear 
  or taking a scalp from a fallen enemy. 
  Attempting to take a trophy from a living enemy 
  is even more admired, but reckless in the 
  extreme. The practice of trophy-taking is 
  generally known among the gangs as 'scragging'. 
   
  The habit of taking part of an enemy corpse as a 
  trophy is related to a common Necromundan 
  ritual. Clan members who fail in their duties and 
  obligations atone by cutting off one of their own 
  fingers or, more rarely, one of their ears. This 
  severed piece of flesh is then presented to the 
  clan leader as a token of reborn loyalty and 
  commitment. 
   
  This custom is practised by gangs in hives all 
  across Necromunda. It is also common for good 
  fighters to hold up their hands in greeting, palms 
  outwards and fingers spread. By doing this, a 
  fighter shows any potential opponents that he has 
  all his fingers. By extension, he has never been 
  defeated or made a mistake. He is, therefore, a 
  man to be feared. 
   
  Gangs trade among themselves for weapons, 
  ammunition and equipment. Anything they 
  cannot obtain by trade they will capture from 
  enemies or raid arms depots. If the gang is hired 
  by Helmawr's officials, a noble household or a 
  powerful clan, they may be rewarded with 
  sophisticated 
  weaponry. 
  Techs 
  can 
  make 
  advanced weapons and wealthy social groups 
  can purchase or obtain them by corrupt means. 
  Many scavvies, undercity warriors and nomads 
  have to make do with crude improvised 
  weaponry until they can capture or loot 
  something better. 
   
  CLAN WARRIORS 
   
  The most common type of gang on Necromunda 
  are the gangs of young clan warriors. 
   
  In the hives every manufacturing process, 
  industry, service and transaction is the concern 
  of one clan or another. The pressures of 
  competition for limited resources - even such 
  basics as good food, air and water - mean that 
  every clan must sometimes resort to armed force 
  lo secure its survival. 
   
  Every clan, and groups of related families within 
  each clan, have their own territory or concession, 
  often carved out and defended by their own 
  gangs of young clan warriors. In this way, 
  forests have been replaced by a jungle of metal 
  and concrete, and society is ordered along tribal 
  lines. 
   
  For many ordinary Necromundans running with 
  a gang comes as part of the life cycle. Young 
  members of the clan are expected to play their 
  part in defending the clan territory and upholding 
  the honour of the clan. Youths in their early 
  teens are initiated into the gang by various rites 
  of passage. From then until their mid twenties 
  they fight for the clan in the same way that 
  young warriors would fight for their tribe in, a 
  primitive feral world society. 
   
  After several years with the gang, a warrior gains 
  the respect and status of his family and other 
  clan members and gains the right to found his 
  own family and take part in the clan business. 
   
  The struggle for supremacy between clans is 
  ceaseless and often violent. Clan gangs fight 
  each other openly, gang leaders are assassinated 
  and kidnapped, or, most commonly, a clan’s 
  
   
  22 
  resources, its techs, workers and factories, are 
  destroyed in endless raids. Lord Helmawr and 
  the nobles of Necromunda do little to interfere. 
  They simply wait and then do business with the 
  winners. 
   
  Neither Helmawr nor his officials concern 
  themselves with inter clan rivalry, as long they 
  fulfil their quota of goods and deliver them on 
  time. Lord Helmawr extracts tolls on all business 
  through offworld shipping and handling charges, 
  recruits the best gangs into the Planetary 
  Defence Force and leaves the hives to manage as 
  best they can. It is an arrangement that suits 
  everyone of consequence. 
   
  The co-operation between the clans and Lord 
  Helmawr is an accepted part of life. It operates at 
  many levels, with gangs recruited into the 
  Planetary Defence Force, given semi-official 
  status as Venators and Custodians, or secretly 
  used for Helmawr's hidden dealings. 
   
  The gangs are necessary for the government’s 
  dirtier tasks, and they are glad to do the work at 
  the right price. The commonest use for hired 
  gangs is to profit the nobility and Helmawr, as 
  ruler, takes the lion's share. He charges high 
  rates for his monopoly on offplanet transport, 
  and he enforces his monopoly by troops and 
  sanctioned gangs. Helmawr maintains his power 
  by a subtle policy of divide and rule over the 
  rival 
  households, 
  clans 
  and 
  gangs 
  of 
  Necromunda. 
   
  Social Croup - Young clan members aged 
  between early teens and mid twenties. Most of 
  the population of Necromunda belongs to a clan 
  and clan warriors form the most common type of 
  gang. Each group of closely related families 
  living in a distinct close-knit territory will have a 
  gang to protect them. A typical clan can include 
  hundreds of such gangs. 
   
  Territory - the workshops, factories and 
  associated living areas of the families in the clan 
  are the territory of the local clan gang. Other 
  clans, gangs and strangers will be challenged if 
  they 
  violate 
  the 
  gang 
  territory 
  without 
  permission or payment of tribute. 
   
  Ritual - Youths are initiated into the gang by 
  various initiation rites. Some must prove 
  themselves worthy by acts of reckless bravery 
  such as scragging an enemy (cutting off an ear or 
  finger as a trophy), others must endure ritual 
  scarification without flinching. Most gang 
  warriors receive ritual scars or tattoos of some 
  kind. After a time running with the gang, young 
  warriors will have gained enough respect and 
  status to found their own families and take up the 
  clan business. 
   
  Armament - Clan warriors can often be quite 
  well armed through trading with other gangs. 
   
  Motives - Gangs of young clan warriors protect 
  the clan territory and other members of the clan 
  as they go about their work. These gangs also 
  make it their business to uphold clan honour, 
  which will often lead to long standing feuds 
  between rival clans. Gangs wish a good 
  reputation may be hired by other clans, noble 
  households or Lord Helmawr's officials for 
  various tasks. Exceptional clan warriors may be 
  recruited into the Planetary Defence Force, 
  Imperial Guard or even the Adeptus Astartes. 
   
  BRAT GANGS 
   
  Although the noble households are outside the 
  Clan structure of Necromunda, they are not 
  immune to the influence of the pervading tribal 
  culture of the hive world. Like clans, noble 
  households have their own ancient and bitter 
  rivalries which sometimes explode into violence. 
  The root causes are often more to do with 
  honour, traditional enmity, and dynastic disputes 
  
   
  23 
  than the mainly economic and territorial causes 
  of gang warfare in the lower levels of the hive. 
   
  The idle and decadent youth of the nobility 
  emulate the young clan warriors by forming their 
  own Brat gangs, which make it their business to 
  look after the honour of their household. Many 
  young nobles run with the Brats for a time before 
  they succeed to holding office and can then 
  continue to further the interests of their own 
  household by more subtle means. 
   
  The Brats are always in the forefront of any new 
  fashion or cult that sweeps through the upper 
  levels of the hive. Young nobles are privileged, 
  wealthy, inquisitive, rebellious and open to 
  wider influences than are available in the lower 
  levels of the hive. Brat gangs sport fantastic, 
  elaborate costumes and hairstyles, and flout the 
  conventions of hive life as openly as possible. 
   
  In the upper hive layers Brats run together in 
  packs but they do not limit their predations to 
  their home territories. They frequently drop 
  down the spires into the lower habs, where their 
  wealth can be used to obtain any drug or 
  weapon. Once in the lower habs, the Brat gangs 
  terrorise the Techs and workers, safe in the 
  knowledge that they can return to the upper habs 
  whenever they want to. 
   
  Social Group - Brats are recruited from the 
  unruly, discontented and rebellious youth of the 
  nobility. 
   
  Territory - The estates of the noble households 
  in the Upper Hab layers. 
   
  Ritual - Brats go in for bizarre tribal rituals 
  imitating those of other hive gangs. Initiation 
  rites, scars, tattoos, hairstyles and extravagant 
  rather than practical clothing characterise these 
  gangs. 
   
  Armament - Brats can be quite well armed due 
  to wealth and access to imports. Exotic 
  weaponry is especially favoured. 
   
  Motives - Brat gangs are mainly concerned with 
  upholding the honour of their households. They 
  also assume responsibility for 'protecting' their 
  territory from uncouth lower hive dwellers. Brat 
  gangs like to create a reputation for themselves 
  by raiding other gangs. They also get up to 
  various rebellious, subversive and anarchic 
  activities including involvement with cultists and 
  psykers. 
   
  TECH GANGS 
   
  Tech gangs and associations are more common 
  than supposed. Techs often form collectives to 
  protect themselves from exploitation by other 
  groups. From passive protection and defence, 
  such associations often mature into gangs that 
  are as aggressive, in their own fashion, as any 
  other in the hives. Tech gangs have a pool of 
  skills which means that they can often trade for 
  materials from the factory levels. They deal in 
  drugs, chemicals and weapons, trading these 
  goods for interesting technological relics and 
  rare 
  raw 
  materials 
  scavenged 
  from 
  the 
  undercities. Tech gangs are not noted for crude 
  ferocity but they are widely respected for their 
  expertise with weapons and equipment, and it is 
  foolish indeed to cross a Tech gang without 
  reason. 
   
  Social group - Techs belong to clans, either 
  forming a distinct group within a large clan or 
  forming separate tech clans. Techs form gangs to 
  protect themselves and their bus iness interests. 
   
  Territory - Tech gangs protect the workshops, 
  industrial plants and associated living areas of 
  the tech families that work there. 
   
  
   
  24 
  Ritual - Tech gang warriors undergo initiation 
  rites which might involve technological implants 
  or advanced forms of tattooing. 
   
  Armament - Techs have access to unusual and 
  technically advanced weaponry due to their 
  skills and great bargaining power. 
   
  Motives - Tech gangs are concerned with 
  protection of their territory and tech business 
  interests from the predations of envious rivals. 
  There are many who will resort to lawless means 
  to obtain advanced technology. Tech gangs are 
  often hired by Helmawr, noble households or 
  other clans for tasks which require their expert 
  technical skills and sophisticated weaponry. 
   
  SCAVVIES 
   
  The shanties and derelict factories of the 
  undercity are homes to the Scavvies, who scrape 
  a living from scavenging materials and trading 
  them with clans who can make a profit from 
  recycling. In the old factories there are rich 
  pickings to be found among the rubbish and 
  abandoned 
  machinery 
  for 
  those 
  who 
  are 
  desperate enough to hunt there. 
   
  The Scavvies trade what they find - machines, 
  scrap, raw materials, even spook caches in return 
  for food and weapons. The relationship is uneasy 
  at best, because many Scavvies are diseased. 
   
  Scavvies develop sores and scabs on the skin due 
  to delving among dangerous pollutants. This has 
  earned the Scavvies the alternative name 
  Scabbies, and like mutants they are often 
  persecuted as subhuman beasts. Wherever they 
  are found, Scavvies are driven from levels 
  occupied by normal humans. 
   
  Many Scavvies make a good living as 
  spookhunters, prospecting for the precious lodes 
  of raw narcotic spook. For the Scavvy gangs this 
  is a valuable substance, worth many times its 
  weight in real food and fresh water. A carefully 
  guarded lode of spook can keep a gang in 
  relative comfort for years, if they manage to 
  avoid becoming addicts in the meantime. 
   
  Naturally, much raw spook makes its way to the 
  secret factories of Lord Helmawr. For this 
  reason, if for no other, Scavvies are a necessary 
  part of Necromunda’s economy. Without them to 
  find and mine the raw spook, one of Lord 
  Helmawr’s principle sources of income would 
  vanish. 
   
  Other Scavvy gangs specialise in preying on 
  fugitives and patrols from the upper spires, and 
  those who fall victim to them are lucky if they 
  are slain outright. It is even said that Scavvies 
  eat their prisoners. Such fresh meat supplements 
  their normal diet which includes the verminous 
  creatures of the undercity and the shanties. 
   
  Social Group - Scavvy gangs include all kinds 
  of fugitives, outcasts, refugees, members of 
  dispossessed clans and scum shunned even by 
  the undercity gangs. Many shanty-dwellers are 
  hereditary Scavvies. 
   
  Territory - Scavvies carve out gang territories in 
  the Shanties, among the old derelict factories and 
  heavily polluted parts of the undercity. 
   
  Ritual - Scavvy gang ritual is similar to 
  undercity gangs. Human bones are often used as 
  decoration or primitive armour. Trading with 
  Scavvies is a ritualistic and frequently risky 
  business. 
   
  Armament - Scavvies use crude improvised 
  weapons supplemented by captured and traded 
  items. Rare scavenged materials can sometimes 
  be exchanged for quite sophisticated equipment. 
   
  
   
  25 
  Motives - Survival by means of scavenging is 
  the prime motive of most Scavvy gangs. Good 
  scavenging grounds will be fiercely protected. 
  Scavenging, looting and all forms of furtive theft 
  are highly respected talents. 
  NOMADS 
   
  Nomad bands wander the ash wastes which lie 
  between the hives. Their skills to survive in the 
  hostile ash wastes mark them as special among 
  the people of Necromunda. They manage, much 
  to the horror of hive dwellers, to live in the open, 
  unprotected by the walls and ceilings of a hive or 
  the armour plate of a convoy carrier. Indeed, few 
  true nomads use vehicles, preferring to carry 
  only as much as they can load onto their own 
  backs. In this way, every nomad is a fighter and 
  a bearer, ready to defend his own part of a 
  caravan. 
   
  Nomad gangs ambush convoys from the hives 
  and other nomads when they can. They 
  frequently attack travel tubes and disrupt trade 
  between the hives. The nomad routes cross the 
  planet and bands migrate from one hive cluster 
  to another, following the good weather and 
  trying to stay ahead of the fierce seasonal ash 
  storms. A gang’s long wanderings can take it to 
  many hives and their surrounding shanties, and 
  the nomads make a living carrying trade goods 
  between the hives. The goods they carry are 
  small, usually exotic and always costly: rare 
  drugs, special ammunition, strange things found 
  in the ash wastes and secret messages from 
  distant hives. Many gang leaders prefer to use 
  nomad couriers, valuing secrecy above the speed 
  and ease of using road tunnels. 
   
  The nomads are seen as dangerous undesirables 
  by hive dwellers. Helmawr’s soldiers and 
  merchant gangs attack nomads on sight because 
  of the danger they pose to road tunnels and 
  convoys. Nomads have also been known to raid 
  the hives themselves on occasion, infiltrating 
  deep beyond the spire shells and retreating into 
  the ash wastes before any resistance could be 
  organised. Nomads sometimes get into the 
  undercity via derelict tunnels uncovered in the 
  ash wastes, and any storm that breaches the shell 
  of a hive will give rise to anxiety in expectation 
  of an imminent nomad raid. 
   
  Social Group - Nomads form a distinct social 
  group on Necromunda. It's possible that they 
  were the descendants of rural settlers who were 
  long ago reduced to nomadic scavenging 
  existence due to the pollution of their lands. 
  They dislike and despise hive-dwellers, and the 
  feeling is mutual. 
   
  Territory - Territory tends to be wherever the 
  nomad band are at the time, although certain 
  caravan routes, ruins, expanses of waste and 
  water holes may be regarded as the territory of a 
  specific band. 
   
  Ritual - Nomads have their own ritualistic and 
  tribal society which is distinct from the clans of 
  the hives. Rites of passage, ritual scarification 
  and tattooing, scragging and trophy-taking are all 
  known in various forms. Some nomads make 
  extensive use of body-painting as a means of 
  protecting their skin from the sun and the dust as 
  well as decoration. 
   
  Armament - Simple weaponry supplemented by 
  captured 
  and 
  traded 
  items. 
  Sophisticated 
  weapons are a status symbol. 
   
  Motives - Nomad gangs are naturally concerned 
  about protecting their territory or trading 
  caravans. Tribal and personal honour are 
  extremely 
  important. 
  Nomads 
  indulge 
  in 
  continual warfare and inter-tribal feuding for 
  amusement and gain. Raids on merchant 
  convoys crossing the wastes are commonplace, 
  but some nomad bands are audacious enough to 
  make slave-raids on shanties and even hives, if 
  
   
  26 
  they can get in through damaged transport tubes 
  or the ravaged hive shell after an ash storm. 
  Nomads obtain sophisticated goods by trading 
  and prospecting in the ash wastes for valuable 
  raw materials and relics. 
   
  UNDERCITY GANGS 
   
  These gangs are made up of the many types of 
  scum that inevitably end up in the undercity of 
  each hive. Such gangs are small, tightly knit and 
  very territorial. They fall outside the clan system 
  and are independent, ruthless and resourceful. 
   
  Undercity gangs soon learn that to survive they 
  must raid the factory and hab levels above them. 
  If a gang is successful, it may even carve out a 
  territory in the higher levels. By taking over a 
  single factory or part of a hab level, the gang 
  could begin its climb out of the undercity. 
   
  The 
  undercities 
  are 
  among 
  the 
  toughest 
  environments on Necromunda and the undercity 
  warriors are often regarded as the best fighters in 
  the hives. Survival of the fittest is the rule and 
  the survivors grow stronger and tougher. Many 
  undercity gangs will only accept competent 
  warriors into their ranks. 
   
  A prospective recruit will be expected to prove 
  his worth by scragging an enemy - tearing off an 
  ear, a finger, part of a scalp or some other part of 
  an opponent. The bloody trophies gained are 
  worn as a sign of gang membership: a necklace 
  of dried ears or fingers is sometimes favoured by 
  undercity gangs. 
   
  When such marks are combined with distinctive 
  costumes, ritual scarring, insignia and tattoos, 
  gang members present a collective identity to 
  their rivals, friends and enemies. 
   
  Social Group - Fugitives and outcasts from hive 
  society, often those who have dishonoured their 
  clan, offended their clan leader or simply foil out 
  with their original clan gang. Criminals and 
  rebels wanted by Lord Helmawr or the Imperium 
  frequently turn up causing trouble in the 
  undercity. 
   
  Territory - Gang territories are carved out 
  among the dark labyrinthine catacombs of the 
  undercity and the derelict factories. 
   
  Ritual - Undercity gangs are perhaps the most 
  ritualistic 
  of 
  all 
  gangs. 
  Initiation 
  rites, 
  scarification, tattooing, and body decoration are 
  taken to extremes. These gangs are the urban 
  equivalent of feral world savages. Leadership  
  disputes are decided with brutal ritual. Scragging 
  of enemies and trophy-taking is common 
  practice. 
   
  Armament - Undercity gangs use crude 
  improvised 
  weaponry 
  supplemented 
  with 
  captured and traded items. 
   
  Motives - Gangs of undercity scum band 
  together to savagely defend their territory from 
  outsiders and indulge in regular raiding and 
  pillaging of Factory levels and even hab levels. 
  Indeed, those clans holding territory adjacent to 
  the undercity are literally defending the 'frontier' 
  of the hive against the barbarians of the 
  undercity. This frontier zone is subject to 
  constant raiding and skirmishing. 
   
  MUTANT GANGS 
   
  Mutants are feared by everyone on Necromunda, 
  from the highest administrator in Helmawr's 
  court to the lowliest unskilled worker in the 
  process vats. Most hive dwellers do not 
  understand that mutation is an inevitable part of 
  life on a planet as irredeemably polluted as 
  
   
  27 
  Necromunda. Mutants are branded as evil, 
  corrupted by their own wickedness and greed, 
  and tainted by witchery of the foulest kind. 
   
  As a result mutants are persecuted and driven 
  into the undercities. In the depths they fall victim 
  to the undercity gangs and the Scavvies. Most 
  mutants do not survive for very long once they 
  have been discovered. Those that manage to run 
  and hide often band together in gangs of their 
  own, usually in the most inaccessible and 
  heavily polluted sections of the undercities. 
   
  Once established, mutants interbreed and their 
  offspring, often more mutated than their parents, 
  replenish the gang. Over the course of 
  generations new mutations arise in the gangs, 
  some of which may even be survival traits. The 
  bottom of the hives are unhealthy places, and 
  any mutation which helps its owner to live is 
  naturally passed on to his descendants. 
   
  Social Group - Mutant gangs include fugitive 
  mutant outcasts from normal society and their 
  mutated descendants. 
   
  Territory - Mutant gangs lurk in the worst parts 
  of the undercity. 
   
  Ritual 
  - 
  Ritual 
  is 
  crude 
  and 
  savage. 
  Scarification, scragging and cannibalism have 
  been reported. 
   
  Armament - Crude improvised weaponry 
  supplemented by captured items. 
   
  Motives - Survival and spiteful revenge against 
  non-mutants. 
  PSYKER GANGS 
   
  On Necromunda, as elsewhere in the Imperium, 
  psykers are persecuted and feared. Their witch-
  talents 
  and 
  unnatural 
  ways 
  make 
  them 
  dangerous: they are open gateways for darkness 
  and wickedness. Folk tales of psykers confirm 
  the worst: they can cause madness with a touch 
  and summon daemons. In turn, many psykers, 
  tormented beyond endurance, lash out at the 
  persecutors, using their powers to destroy. The 
  legends are merely proven by such actions. 
   
  Life is hard for psykers on Necromunda, as it is 
  throughout the Imperium. Some fall prey to 
  daemonic possession. More fall victim to the 
  witch-hunting Venators and bounty-hunting 
  gangs. The remainder may manage to escape 
  detection, or flee to the undercities. Everyone in 
  the undercities has something to hide, so the 
  secretive behaviour of psykers attracts little 
  attention. The 'witches' form their own gangs for 
  mutual protection, always making sure to recruit 
  only their own kind, or true sympathisers. Most 
  psyker-gangs 
  include 
  a 
  few 
  non-psykers, 
  relatives or close friends who have chosen to 
  share the psyker’s exile. 
   
  By far the most dangerous psyker gangs on 
  Necromunda are the secret covens of the cult 
  known as the Immortals. The background of this 
  sinister cult and the tale of its founder is narrated 
  in detail later on. 
   
  Social Group - Fugitive psykers who have fled 
  from persecution and relatives who have 
  accompanied them. Those who seek arcane 
  power 
  by 
  associating 
  with 
  covens 
  and 
  worshipping Chaos may also be found in some 
  psyker gangs. 
   
  Territory - Psyker-gangs can be hidden 
  anywhere in the hive, even in the upper hab 
  layers, though most lurk in the undercity. 
   
  Ritual - Psyker gangs practice bizarre occult 
  initiation rites. Captives may be taken for 
  sacrifice in cult rituals and a sinister occult 
  
   
  28 
  aspect pervades all gang activities. 
   
  Armament - Psyker gangs use simple weaponry 
  augmented by more sophisticated equipment 
  captured, traded or obtained through influential 
  contacts. 
   
  Motives - Psyker gangs are motivated by 
  survival and the protection and continued 
  secrecy of any cult they may practice. Many 
  psykers are obsessed with revenge against their 
  persecutors, while others secretly try to spread 
  their insidious influence throughout the hive. 
  
   
  29 
  TRADING EQUIPMENT 
   
  Gang fighters are useless without some sort of weapon. Most gang fighters start out with stolen or home-
  made weaponry or with weapons which are relatively common. More exotic weapons are costly and often 
  hard to obtain. As well as weapons there are other kinds of equipment which will be useful in combat 
  such as armour, communications gear and combat drugs. Weapons and other equipment are described in 
  detail in the Armoury section of Confrontation - here we're concerned only with determining the type and 
  quantity of equipment which belongs to your gang. The gang's initial equipment is generated randomly as 
  already described. Further equipment can be bought by bartering the gang's existing stash or buying with 
  credits. 
  TRADED EQUIPMENT 
   
  Many of the clans of Necromunda represent extensive trading empires whose influence may extend 
  throughout a hive and even beyond. Necromunda actually manufactures equipment for the Imperium, but 
  most of the output leaves the planet, destined for the regiments of the Imperial Guard and other forces. A 
  small quantity of weapons is used to equip the Planetary Defence Force and Helmawr's other troops. 
  Clans actively involved in the arms trade have little difficulty redirecting weapons into the hands of their 
  own gangs. Those clans not engaged in the armaments trade can only obtain equipment by trading, by 
  capturing existing stocks, or by manufacturing their own 'unofficial' supplies. Generally, the gangs of 
  different upper-hive dwellers are better armed and equipped than gangs from lower levels, while those 
  from the lowest levels of all are likely to have the least and the simplest equipment. 
  It is usually easier to obtain weapons than to find the ammunition for them, and this factor imposes a 
  practical limit on the firepower of any Necromundan gang. For example, power packs for laser weapons 
  are manufactured under the tightest security and their circulation to Helmawr's forces is very closely 
  monitored. In order to control this process further, power packs have a deliberately engineered life-span, 
  deteriorating over time and therefore making it impossible for potential enemies to stockpile supplies. 
  Bolt ammunition is especially difficult to manufacture and so is naturally fairly rare. Conventional 
  ammunition for autoguns is much easier to make and is made illegally by many clans. However, 
  ammunition from an unknown source must be regarded with suspicion because some manufacturers will 
  put booby-napped ammo onto the market in order to discourage Undercity Gangs and other low-hive 
  dwellers from using the more potent weapons. 
  The main agents for trade are the gangs themselves. Different gangs find it easier or more difficult to 
  obtain commodities or credits to trade with other gangs. For example, the Scavvy Gangs live in the 
  ancient abandoned factories and exist by scavenging from the rubbish piles of the past- inevitably they 
  turn up the occasional treasure which they can trade for weapons and food. Some technical items can only 
  be made or properly maintained by techs, and naturally Tech Gangs tend to accumulate these items so 
  that they can trade them for basic supplies or for exotica from the lowest levels. 
  
   
  30 
  HOW TO TRADE BETWEEN GANGS 
   
  If players wish, they can swap equiprnent between their gangs, either at their usual value as indicated on 
  the Trading Charts or at any mutually acceptable trade rate. It is ironic that gangs may find their own 
  traded weapons turned against them in subsequent encounters, hut such is the nature of things in the hive 
  world. There is no restriction on trading of this kind, and players may trade with other players during any 
  convenient time between encounters. This does not prevent the gang also trading with other sources as 
  described below. 
  Although local gangs sometimes trade with each other for their mutual benefit, it is unlikely that they 
  already possess a sufficiently large pool of equipment between them. It is therefore necessary to obtain 
  new equipment from other sources. These other sources are represented by the Trading Contacts Chart 
  given below.  
  TRADING CONRACTS CHART 
   
   
   
   
   
   
    
    
  D6 Dice Roll 
    
    
  Trading Chart 
  1 
  2 
  3 
  4 
  5 
  6 
  Chart 1: Hand-To-Hand 
  Weapons 
  1 
  1 
  1 
  2 
  3 
  3 
  Chart 2: Guns 
  1 
  2 
  3 
  3 
  4 
  5 
  Chart 3: Heavy Weapons  
  1 
  1 
  1 
  1 
  2 
  3 
  Chart 4: Ammunition 
  1 
  2 
  3 
  3 
  4 
  5 
  Chart 5: Grenades 
  1 
  1 
  2 
  2 
  3 
  3 
  Chart 6: Missiles 
  1 
  1 
  2 
  2 
  3 
  3 
  Chart 7: Armour 
  1 
  1 
  1 
  2 
  3 
  3 
  Chart 8: Equipment  
  1 
  1 
  2 
  3 
  3 
  4 
  Chart 9: Drugs 
  0 
  1 
  1 
  1 
  1 
  2 
  This chart shows the cost in credits of various types of equipment. When you roll on this chart, you're 
  representing the gang leader himself, getting in touch with his contacts, arranging secret meetings and 
  dealing with other gangs. 
  A gang may attempt to trade once when it is first generated. Thereafter, the gang may trade once after 
  playing a tabletop encounter. This means that gangs are quite severely limited in the amount of trading 
  they can do, so it is vital that players consider their strategy carefully. However, players may also trade 
  between themselves at any time between encounters, so equipment and weapons already in circulation 
  can be passed around fairly freely. 
  TRADING CONTACTS 
   
  If you wish to trade, first roll on the Trading Contacts Chart shown below. Choose which of the 9 
  separate Trading Charts you wish to use. Each chart represents a 'contact' who specialises in a different 
  kind of commodity, for example a dealer from another gang, an agent from a manufacturing clan, a 
  corrupt Planetary Defence Force Officer or an independent smuggler. It is recommended that you study 
  the charts before deciding on one. Roll a D6 and cross references the result on the Trading Contacts Chart 
  to find out how many further rolls you can make on your chosen Trading Chart. In the case of chart 9 
  (drugs) it is possible to obtain a result of 0 rolls, in which case nothing is available for trade at this time. 
  
   
  31 
  THE TRADING CHARTS 
   
  The Trading Contacts Chart indicates the number of items available for trade at this time in terms of the 
  number of dice rolls on your chosen Trading Chart, Refer to the chart and roll a percentage dice (D100) 
  the number of times indicated to determine which items are available for trade. Remember to note the 
  result after each roll as you make it. Once the trade items have been determined, the player may chose to 
  buy any or all of the items by expending credits or exchanging items of at least equivalent value from the 
  gang's stash. You don't have to buy any of the items offered for sale if you don't want to do so. 
  In most cases a dice roll indicates a single item, but some results indicate that a batch of several items is 
  available. Typically this might be D6, D6xl0 etc. In these cases the value shown is the cost per item and 
  you may choose to buy none, some or all of the batch depending on what you feel you can afford. 
  Ammunition is usually traded in this way. 
  Weapons acquired by trade are empty - they have no ammunition. Ammunition is likely lo be as difficult 
  to obtain as the weapon itself and lends to be expended quickly. A newly-generated gang must ensure that 
  it has a good stock of ammunition, and it is recommended that gangs use their initial trading opportunity 
  to obtain ammunition. If a gang is forced to trade for ammunition after its first game, it will lose its 
  chance of buying other weapons. 
   
  TRADING MODIFIERS 
   
  Different types of gang have varying access 10 sources of equipment, reflecting their differing social 
  roles and associations. Techs, for example, are adept at finding or even manufacturing unusual 
  equipment. Similarly, Brats have little difficulty finding the weaponry they want. By contrast Mutants, 
  Scavvies and Nomads have less opportunities to trade and are more rarely able to find sources of 
  sophisticated equipment. Many gangs are reluctant to trade with Mutants at all and regard them as 
  unclean. Psyker gangs survive by being very secretive, which makes trading with other gangs difficult 
  and risky. The majority of gangs have reasonable access to a wide variety of equipment. 
   
  To reflect these differences modifiers are applied to the player’s D100 trading roll as shown on the chart 
  below. 
   
    
  Trading 
   
  Chart 
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  Gang Type 
  1 
  2 
  3 
  4 
  5 
  6 
  7 
  8 
  9 
  tech gang 
  +5% 
  +10% 
  +5% 
  +10% 
  - 
  +10% 
  - 
  +15% 
  +5% 
  brat gang 
  - 
  +5% 
  - 
  - 
  - 
  +5% 
  - 
  +5% 
  +10% 
  clan gang 
  - 
  - 
  - 
  - 
  - 
  - 
  - 
  - 
  - 
  undercity gang 
  - 
  - 
  -5% 
  - 
  - 
  - 
  - 
  - 
  - 
  nomad gang 
  - 
  - 
  -5% 
  - 
  - 
  - 
  - 
  -5% 
  - 
  scavvy gang 
  - 
  -5% 
  -10% 
  - 
  - 
  - 
  -5% 
  -5% 
  - 
  mutant gang 
  - 
  -10% 
  -10% 
  - 
  - 
  - 
  -10% 
  -10% 
  - 
  psyker gang 
  - 
  -10% 
  -10% 
  - 
  - 
  - 
  - 
  - 
  - 
  Techs belong to families where mechanical and electronic expertise is passed from generation to 
  generatio n: making, maintaining and repairing sophisticated devices comes as second nature to them. 
  
   
  32 
  They can make and use several unique devices, and they are far more likely than other gangs to have 
  combi-weapons - multiple-barrelled weapons combining the effects of several different weapons. Since 
  they have the expertise to build these weapons from basic or even scrapped components, a Tech Gang 
  may always choose to give up one random roll on any Trading Chart in favour of building a combi-
  weapon. 
   
  Because Scavvies are constantly searching through the debris in the old factory levels they sometimes 
  uncover hoards of weapons, ammunition or grenades secreted there in years past. To represent this, if a 
  Scavvy player rolls an even double on any of the Trading Charts he may chose to disregard the result, and 
  instead ge nerate a hoard. A hoard consists of: 
  D6 items from chart 4 - Ammunition 
  D6 items from chart 5 - Grenades 
  1 item from chart 8 - Equipment 
  Plus there is a chance of there being additional items as shown below: 
  25% chance of D6 items from chart 2 - Guns 
  25% chance of 1 item from chart 3 - Heavy Weapons  
  10% chance of D6 items from chart 6 - Missiles  
  25% chance of 1 item from chart 7 - Armour 
  5% chance of 1 item from chart 9 - Drugs 
  Unfortunately, not everything the Scavvies find as they search through the debris of the factory levels is 
  useful or safe - there is ever-present danger of finding unstable ammunition, not to mention the risks of 
  disturbing deadly mutant creatures or of releasing poisonous che micals. 
   
  Therefore, on the roll of an odd double on any Trading Chart the Scavvies have found something 
  dangerous rather than the item indicated. Not only does the gang not receive the item from the Trading 
  Chart but on a D6 roll of 6 a randomly-determined gang member is injured or hurt. Roll a D100 to 
  determine the extent of his injuries: 
  01-25 
  Minor flesh wound caused by exploding ammunition or volatile vapour. The individual misses the 
  next gang fight while he recovers from the injury. 
  26-50 
  Mild poisoning caused by escaping gases, fluids or chemical dust. The individual misses the following 
  gang fight automatically. He may only rejoin the gang once he has rolled a 4, 5 or 6 on a D6 prior to a 
  following fight. 
  51-75 
  Maimed by exploding ammunition, collapsing floor sections, toppling buttresses, or dangerous mutant 
  creatures. The character misses the next gang fight but may rejoin the gang thereafter with a -D6 
  reduction in his initiative. 
  76-90 
  Seriously injured. The individual is seriously hurt as a re sult of a bad fall or a tunnel collapse. 
  Although dragged free he misses the next gang fight and may only rejoin the gang once he has rolled a 
  6 on a D6 prior to a following fight. Thereafter the character suffers a -D6 reduction in his initiative. 
  91-00 
  Killed. The individual is killed outright. Accidents of this kind are all too common in the dangerous 
  old factories where Scavvies can be crushed by structural collapse, blown apart by exploding 
  chemicals, poisoned by an unexpected release of gas or dust, killed by mutant creatures, burned or 
  suffocated by sudden tunnel fires, or boiled alive by heat sink bursts. 
   
  
   
  33 
  TRADING CHARTS 
    
  CHART 1: HAND-TO-HAND WEAPON 
    
  d100 
  weapon 
  cost 
  01-05 
  knife 
  2 
  06-20 
  muzzle-blade 
  2 
  21-40 
  sword 
  5 
  41-55 
  chainsword 
  25 
  56-70 
  power axe 
  50 
  71-80 
  power sword 
  50 
  81-00 
  power glove 
  150 
  101+ 
  choose 1 of the items above 
   
   
    
  CHART 2: GUNS 
    
  d100 
  gun 
  cost 
  01 
  handbow 
  5 
  02 
  stub gun 
  5 
  03-04 
  shotgun 
  15 
  05-15 
  laspistol 
  10 
  16-20 
  autopistol 
  10 
  21-25 
  autogun 
  15 
  26-35 
  bolt pistol 
  15 
  36-45 
  boltgun 
  20 
  46-50 
  flamer 
  20 
  51-55 
  hand flamer 
  20 
  56-65 
  lasgun 
  15 
  66-68 
  melta gun 
  50 
  69-71 
  needle gun 
  15 
  72-74 
  needle pistol 
  10 
  75-76 
  plasma gun 
  50 
  77-80 
  plasma pistol 
  40 
  81-85 
  shuriken catapult 
  100 
  86-90 
  shuriken pistol 
  50 
  91-92 
  web gun 
  20 
  93 
  graviton gun 
  20 
  94-00 
  combie-weapon - see below 
    
  101+ 
  choose 1 of the items above 
   
  Combl-Weapons are customised weapons which combine parts of several other weapons. These have 
  between 2 and 6 barrels which may fire different kinds of shot. Whe n a combi-weapon is purchased, roll 
  to determine the number and type of barrels 
   
  roll d6 to determine number of barrels 
  1-3 
  2 barrels 
  4-5 
  3 barrels 
  6 
  d6 barrels 
   
  roll d100 to determine type 
  01-15 
  lasgun 
  16-30 
  boltgun 
  31-45 
  heavy stub 
  
   
  34 
  46-50 
  autogun 
  51-55 
  autopistol 
  56-60 
  shotgun 
  61-70 
  shuriken catapult 
  71-75 
  flamer 
  76-80 
  melta gun 
  81-85 
  plasma gun 
  86-95 
  grenade launcher 
  96+ 
  choose 1 of the barrel types above 
  The cost of a combi-weapon is equivalent to the cost of each barrel if it were a separate weapon. So a 
  combi-weapon with a lasgun barrel, a shotgun barrel and a melta gun barrel would cost 80 credits or the 
  equivalent in traded goods. 
    
  CHART 3: HEAVY WEAPONS 
    
  d100 
  heavy weapon 
  cost 
  01-05 
  heavy stub 
  100 
  06-15 
  grenade launcher 
  150 
  16-30 
  heavy bolter 
  150 
  31-45 
  autocannon 
  350 
  46-50 
  beamer 
  500 
  51-53 
  distortion cannon 
  400 
  51-55 
  heavy plasma gun 
  750 
  56-60 
  heavy web gun 
  200 
  61-75 
  missile launcher 
  300 
  76-80 
  multi-laser 
  400 
  81-85 
  multi-melta 
  500 
  86-90 
  shuriken cannon 
  500 
  91-00 
  lascannon 
  900 
  101+ 
  choose one of the items above 
   
   
    
  CHART 4: AMMUNITION 
    
    
  d100 
  ammunition 
  number 
  offered 
  cost 
  01-05 
  handbow arrow 
  d6*50 arrows 
  1 per 10 
  arrows 
  06-25 
  boltgun ammo 
  d10*15 bolts 
  1 per bolt 
  26-40 
  conventional ammo 
  d10*50 rounds 
  1 per 5 
  rounds 
  41-45 
  armour-piercing ammo 
  d6*10 rounds 
  1 per 2 
  rounds 
  46-48 
  flechette ammo 
  d6*10 rounds 
  1 per 2 
  rounds 
  49-52 
  explosive ammo 
  d6*10 rounds 
  1 per 2 
  rounds 
  53-56 
  flamer canister 
  d10 canisters 
  10 per 
  canister 
  57-60 
  needler chemical canister 
  d10 canisters 
  10 per 
  canister 
  61-80 
  power pack 
  d10 power 
  packs 
  10 per pack 
  81-95 
  shuriken disc ammo 
  d10*5 discs 
  1 per disc 
  96-00 
  web chemical canister 
  d10 canisters 
  10 per 
  
   
  35 
  canister 
  101+ 
  choose 1 of the items above 
   
   
  Needier chemical ammunition can be identified by the colour coding on the canister pack. Although 
  different manufacturers make use different coding, and some defunct types may use obsolete markings, it 
  is fairly easy to tell what kind of chemical the canister contains. If offered chemical canisters, roll 3 D6 lo 
  determine which types there are: 
  d6 
  number of types of chemical canister 
  1 
  neurotoxin 
  2 
  sedative 
  3 
  intoxicant 
  4-5 
  2 types are offered - roll a d6 
   
  1-2 neurotoxin and sedative 
   
  3-4 neurotoxin and intoxicant  
   
  5-6 sedative and intoxicant 
  6 
  3 types are offered 
  If more than one type is on offer there will be equal quantities of each – dice randomly to establish the 
  type of any oddments. 
    
  CHART 5: GRENADES 
    
    
  d100 
  grenade  
  number 
  offered 
  cost per 
  item 
  01-05 
  Anti-Plant 
  1 
  10 
  06-10 
  blind 
  d6 
  2 
  11-15 
  choke gas 
  d6 
  1 
  16-20 
  krak 
  d6 
  3 
  21-25 
  frag 
  d6 
  2 
  26-30 
  hallucinogen gas 
  1 
  5 
  31-35 
  haywire 
  1 
  10 
  36-40 
  knock-out gas 
  d6 
  1 
  41-45 
  melta-bomb 
  1 
  2 
  46-50 
  photon 
  d6 
  2 
  51-55 
  plasma 
  1 
  3 
  56-60 
  rad 
  d6 
  5 
  61-65 
  scare gas 
  d6 
  2 
  66-70 
  smoke 
  d6 
  1 
  71-75 
  stasis 
  1 
  50 
  76-80 
  stumm gas 
  d6 
  1 
  81-85 
  tanglefoot 
  d6 
  2 
  86-90 
  toxin gas 
  d6 
  2 
  91-92 
  virus 
  1 
  30 
  93-97 
  vortex 
  1 
  100 
  98+ 
  choose 1 of the types above 
    
    
  The chart includes only grenade types in circulation on Necromunda - it does not include psyk-out 
  grenades which are very rare and issued primarily by Inquisitors. The only way for a hive world gang to 
  get one would normally be when an Inquisitor is slain or captured. Consequently they are not included on 
  the charts. Other grenades may be expensive because they are rare rather than because of their particular 
  effect. For example, Anti-Plant grenades are tremendously rare and of limited use on Necromunda - if 
  you want one you must have some very unusual purpose in mind and you're going to have to pay far more 
  than the grenade is really worth. 
  
   
  36 
    
  CHART 6: MISSILES 
    
    
  d100 
  missile 
  batch 
  cost per 
  item 
  01-05 
  Anti-Plant 
  1 
  20 
  06-10 
  blind 
  d6 
  4 
  11-15 
  choke gas 
  d6 
  2 
  16-20 
  super krak 
  d6 
  10 
  21-25 
  frag 
  d6 
  4 
  26-30 
  hallucinogen gas 
  1 
  10 
  31-35 
  haywire 
  1 
  20 
  36-40 
  knock-out gas 
  d6 
  2 
  41-45 
  melta-bomb 
  1 
  4 
  46-50 
  photon 
  d6 
  4 
  51-55 
  plasma 
  1 
  6 
  56-60 
  rad 
  d6 
  10 
  61-65 
  scare gas 
  d6 
  4 
  66-70 
  smoke 
  d6 
  1 
  71-75 
  stasis 
  1 
  100 
  76-80 
  stumm gas 
  d6 
  2 
  81-85 
  tanglefoot 
  d6 
  4 
  86-90 
  toxin gas 
  d6 
  4 
  91-92 
  virus 
  1 
  60 
  93-97 
  vortex 
  1 
  250 
  98+ 
  choose 1 of the types above 
    
    
   
    
  CHART 7: ARMOUR 
    
  d100 
  armour part 
  cost 
  01-10 
  Helmet (basic melal or synthetic type) 
  5 
  11-15 
  helmet with photo flash visor and 
  communicator 
  20 
  16-20 
  carapace body armour 
  50 
  21-40 
  flak body armour 
  30 
  41-45 
  mesh colf (balaclava helmet shape) 
  30 
  46-55 
  mesh body armour 
  40 
  56-60 
  plate body armour (primitive type) 
  10 
  61-70 
  choose any one item (01 -60) above 
   
  71-73 
  power armour helmet 
  100 
  74-75 
  power armour back and chest piece 
  100 
  76-77 
  power armour arm sections 
  100 
  78-79 
  power armour leg sections 
  100 
  80-81 
  power armour suit including harness 
  600 
  82-85 
  power shield 
  50 
  86 
  complete terminator suit including harness 
  1200 
  87-90 
  power harness for power armour 
  100 
  91+ 
  choose one of the items above (01-90) 
    
  Power armour is useless in itself - it can only be worn effectively in conjunction with a harness which 
  carries the power lines and power pack which enables the suit to function. A single arm or leg set, helmet, 
  or chest piece could be used without the rest of the suit so long as the wearer has a harness. 
    
  CHART 6: EQUIPMENT 
    
  
   
  37 
  d100 
  item 
  cost 
  01-05 
  bionic arm (choose left or right) 
  300 
  06-10 
  bionic eye 
  100 
  11-15 
  bionic leg (choose left or right) 
  300 
  16-25 
  bionic implanter 
  300 
  26-30 
  cameleone blanket or cloak 
  10 
  31-35 
  communicator 
  5 
  36-38 
  conversion field device 
  50 
  39-40 
  displacer field device 
  50 
  41-45 
  d6 fuses (proximity) 
  1 each 
  46-50 
  d6 fuses (time) 
  1 each 
  51-55 
  grav-chute 
  20 
  56-60 
  infra visor 
  10 
  61-65 
  medi-pack 
  50 
  66-70 
  photo flash visor 
  5 
  71-75 
  power pack (may be used as ammo) 
  10 
  76-78 
  rad counter 
  30 
  79-80 
  refractor field 
  30 
  81-85 
  respirator 
  5 
  86-87 
  scanner 
  15 
  88-90 
  suspensor 
  10 
  91-95 
  targeter 
  50 
  96-00 
  web solvent (canister) 
  10 
   
    
  CHART 9: DRUGS 
    
    
  d100 
  drug type 
  doses 
  offered 
  cost per 
  dose 
  01-50 
  blitz 
  1 
  20 
  51-70 
  doze 
  1 
  5 
  71-90 
  stimm 
  1 
  50 
  91-00 
  spook 
  1 
  50 
   
  
   
  38 
  Creating a gang 
  In Confrontation each player represents a gang led by a charismatic leader. To create your own gang 
  together with its leader you generate the type of gang, its leader, the number of members it has, the 
  personal fighting skills of each member, and their weaponry and other equipment. This section of 
  Confrontation explains how to generate your gang. As you go along you will need to record details of 
  your gang, stash, and other pertinent details. Make sure you have paper and pencil handy to record the 
  information as you generate it 
  GANG GENERATION SUMMARY 
  1. Randomly determine which type of gang you are going to control by rolling on the Gang 
  Determination Chart. Alternatively players may choose to represent Clan gangs, the most common 
  type of gang in Necromundan hives. 
  2. Generate the gang leader’s prestige and determine the number of additional gang members by 
  cross-referencing this score on the Gang Member Chart. 
  3. Roll on Prestige and Status Table to generate prestige points for each additional member of the 
  gang. The same dice roll is also used to determine their status: Raw Recruit, Hardened Gang 
  Fighter or Henchman. 
  4. Determine the profile of each gang member by rolling for Initiative, Weapon Skill and Ballistic 
  Skill on the Profile Generation Chart. Use the Gang Modifiers Chart to modify each individual 
  profile. 
  5. Generate weapons and equipment for each member of the gang by rolling on the appropriate 
  Equipment Chart. For each ranged weapon, roll to determine how many shots it has remaining in 
  the magazine. Generate the gang’s stash by rolling on the Stash Chart. 
  6. Determine the amount of credits the gang has in their stash by rolling on the Chart Table. 
  7. Determine whether any of the gang members have any special skills by rolling on the Skill 
  Generation Chart. 
  8. Establish if characters with high prestige have Caryatids. 
  9. Organise the gang by exchanging weapons, ammunition and equipment between members and 
  consigning unused equipment to the gang’s stash. Make sure that you have recorded all the details 
  generated so far, and especially that you have noted down details of each gang member’s 
  armament. Equipment and credits stashed by the gang must be noted separately – stash is not 
  carried into action and so is not available during the game itself. 
  CHOOSING A GANG 
  There are two ways of selecting which sort of gang you want. The first is to choose a Clan gang. The 
  second is to randomly determine a type of gang using a chart below. This second method introduces 
  some less common but more interesting gangs, but still allows for the possibility of generating a Clan 
  gang. Clan gangs are an accepted part of life on the hive world and can operate overtly. Psyker gangs 
  on the other hand are relatively rare and very secretive. 
  THE TYPE OF GANG 
  To randomly generate a gang use the chart below. Roll a D6 – a score of 3 or 4 indicates that you 
  have a Clan gang, scores 1 or 2, or 5 or 6 indicate that you should roll again. Your second D6 roll will 
  
   
  39 
  either give you a gang type or a third dice roll which will determine your gang. So, an initial roll of 5 
  indicates that you have generated an undercity gang. 
  GANG DETERMINATION CHART 
  1st roll 
  2nd roll 
  3rd roll 
  gang type 
   
   
  1 
  psyker gang 
   
  1-3 
  2 
  mutant gang 
  1-2 
   
  3-6 
  scavvy gang 
   
  4-6 
   
  nomad gang 
  3-4 
   
   
  clan gang 
   
  1-3 
   
  undercity 
  gang 
  5-6 
  4-5 
  1-3 
  brat gang 
   
   
  4-6 
  tech gang 
   
  6 
   
  venators 
  THE SIZE OF THE GANG 
  Once you have established the type of gang you have you are ready to determine how many fighters it 
  contains. First generate the prestige value of the gang’s leader: 6 plus the score on D6 (6+D6). 
  Prestige is important because it defines the level of respect and authority the leader commands; the 
  higher the leader’s prestige the better leader he is and the more followers he is likely to have. To 
  determine the initial number of followers in the gang roll a D6 and read the score against the leader’s 
  prestige on the Gang Members Chart on the opposite page. 
  For example a leader with 7 prestige points rolling a 6 will start with 5 followers (therefore a total 
  number of fighters in the gang including the leader will be 6). 
  GANG MEMBERS CHART 
  d6 
  leader 
  prestige 
  value 
   
   
   
    
  7 
  8 
  9 
  10 
  11 
  12 
  1 
  3 
  3 
  4 
  4 
  5 
  5 
  2 
  3 
  4 
  4 
  5 
  5 
  6 
  3 
  4 
  4 
  5 
  5 
  6 
  6 
  4 
  4 
  5 
  5 
  6 
  6 
  6 
  5 
  5 
  5 
  6 
  6 
  7 
  7 
  6 
  5 
  6 
  6 
  7 
  7 
  7 
  The leader starts off with the number of followers indicated on the chart, which may be less than his 
  prestige points total. Henceforth the prestige value of the leader determines the maximum number of 
  followers he can lead. 
  For example, a leader with a prestige value of 12 can have up to 12 followers in his gang, a leader 
  with a prestige value of 8 can have up to 8 followers, and so on. A gang may always include fewer 
  members that its leader’s prestige value would permit, but it never contains more. Once a gang has 
  fought a battle there will be opportunity to recruit more followers. The prestige value of the leader 
  may also fall or rise depending upon his success in battle. 
  GENERATING FOLLOWERS 
  Now you have determined the number of followers in your gang it is necessary to establish the 
  personal prestige value of each of them. Just like your leader, every gang member has his own 
  
   
  40 
  prestige value which reflects his combat experience and hence his position within the gang. For each 
  follower roll D6 to determine his prestige value. Individuals with low value (1 or 2) are raw recruits, 
  those within average vale (3 or 4) are hardened gang fighters, while those with high value (5 or 6) are 
  the most experienced fighters of all: henchman. 
  PRESTIGE AND STATUS TABLE 
  d6 prestige 
  value 
  gang member 
  1-2 
  raw recruit 
  3-4 
  hardened gang member 
  5-6 
  henchman 
  PROFILES 
  Each character in the gang will differ from any other. Some will be good marksman, and some may be 
  good all-round fighters while others are generally inexperienced. A character’s fighting prowess is 
  defined by his profile. The profile consists of three characteristics: Initiative, Weapon Skill and 
  Ballistic Skill. Each of these characteristics is expressed by a number – the higher the number the 
  more accomplished that individual is within the field of expertise. 
  Initiative defines the character’s reactions, agility and awareness on the battlefield. Characters with 
  high initiative are quick-witted and have speedy reactions, those with low initiative are slow witted, a 
  bit clumsy or maybe just inexperienced. 
  Weapon Skill defines the character’s prowess in hand to hand combat. A character with high weapon 
  skill is an experienced and probably savage hand-to-hand fighter, those with low weapon skill are 
  inexperienced or lack aggression. 
  Ballistic skill defines the character’s ability to shoot or throw a weapon accurately. Characters with 
  high ballistic skill are skilled marksmen; those with low ballistic skills are relatively poor shots. 
  GENERATING PROFILES 
  To generate the profile of your gang members consult the chart below. As you can see there is a 
  column for the gang’s leader, and a corresponding column for Henchmen, Hardened Gang Fighters 
  and Raw Recruits. 
  Start by generating the gang leader: his initiative equals the score of D6 plus 8 (D6+8), his weapon 
  skill equals the total score of four D6’s multiplied by 10 and his ballistic skill equals the total score of 
  5 D6’s multiplied by 10. Once you have generated the profile for your leader work through each gang 
  member in turn rolling dice as indicated. 
   
  PROFILE GENERATION 
  CHART 
  GANG FIGHTER 
    
  CHARACTERISTICS 
   
  initiative 
  weapon 
  skill 
  ballistic 
  skill 
  LEADER 
  d6+8 
  4D6*10 
  5D6*10 
  HENCHMAN 
  d6+6 
  3D6*10 
  4D6*10 
  HARDENED 
  GANG FIGHTER 
  d6+4 
  2D6*10 
  3D6*10 
  RAW RECRUIT 
  d6+2 
  D6*10 
  2D6*10 
  Example 1. A gang leader’s initiative is D6+8 – rolling a 4 his initiative would be 4+8=12. His 
  weapon skill is 4D6*10 – rolling 1, 3, 5 and 5 his WS would be 14*10=140. His ballistic skill is 
  5D6*10 – rolling 2, 2, 4, 5, and 6 his BS would be 19*10=190. 
  
   
  41 
  Example 2. A Henchman’s initiative is D6+6 – rolling a 5 his initiative would be 5+6=11. His weapon 
  skill is 3D6*10 – rolling 2, 3 and 6 his WS would be 11*10=110. His ballistic skill is 4D6*10 – 
  rolling 4, 4, 5 and 6 his BS would be 19*10=190. 
  Example 3. A raw recruit’s initiative is only D6+2 – rolling a 3 his initiative would be 5. His weapon 
  skill is D6*10 – rolling 4 his WS would be 4*10=40. His ballistic skill is 2D6*10 – rolling 2 and 4 his 
  BS would be 6*10=60. 
  Note that it is perfectly possibly to have a Raw Recruit with characteristic higher than that of a 
  Hardened Gang Fighter, Henchman, or even (in extreme cases) the gang leader himself. This is 
  perfectly acceptable, representing talented young individuals with specific natural abilities and 
  lacking only experience. Obviously the more experienced gang members will tend to have the higher 
  overall characteristic values, even though talented young bucks may, in some cases, be better. 
  GANG TYPE VARIATIONS 
  As indicated already there are different types of gang on the hive world, composed of very different 
  kinds of people. Each type of gang tends to consist of individuals with slightly different combinations 
  of talents and abilities. This is naturally reflected in their characteristic values. 
  For example, the savage Scavvies tend to be good at hand-to-hand fighting, but are often poor shots 
  since they are less likely to use sophisticated ranged weapons and find them difficult to operate as 
  their hands are rather gnarled and covered in sores and scabs. Nomads tend to be very quick-witted 
  due to the hardships of life in the ash wastes and this is reflected by their higher than average 
  initiative values. 
  Every type of gang is unique in some way. Clan gangs are good all round with no drastic weaknesses 
  or strengths. To represent the differences between gangs modifiers are applied to the profiles of the 
  gang. 
  These modifiers are applied to the characteristic scores of the relevant gang type. Note that there are 
  two kinds of modifier included on the chart. The first kind is simply an overall penalty or bonus 
  which is applied to the initiative, for example  +1, -2, etc. this initiative modifier is simply added to or 
  subtracted from the individual’s characteristic value. 
  A Scavvy Gang leader who generates an initiative of 12 adds +3 to his score making a total value of 
  15 for example. The second type of modifier applies to WS and BS and is made to each D6 dice 
  rolled. For example, for members of a Tech Gang -1 is subtracted from each D6 dice rolled for WS, 
  so a Henchman rolling 4, 5 and 5 actually scores 3, 4 and 4 making total of 11 giving a final value of 
  11*10=110. 
  An Undercity Gang Henchman, on the other hand, adds +1 to each D6 dice rolled, so his score of 4, 5 
  and 5 becomes 5, 6 and 6 = 17 giving a final score of 17*10=170. these differences reflect the 
  individual strengths and weaknesses of different types of gang. 
  While some gangs might appear to be at disadvantage (such as Brats who suffer a -1 per D6 to WS 
  and BS) bear in mind that they may have other advantages such as wealth or access to exotic weapons 
  and equipment. 
   
  GANG MODIFIERS CHART 
   
  gang type 
  I 
  WS 
  BS 
  comments 
  clan gang 
  - 
  - 
  - 
  good all round 
  undercity gang 
  +1 
  +1 per 
  d6 
  - 
  quick and savage 
  nomad gang 
  +3 
  - 
  - 
  very quick witted 
  scavvy gang 
  +1 
  +1 per 
  d6 
  -1 per d6 
  savage fighters 
  but poor shots 
  
   
  42 
  mutant gang 
  profile 
  can be  modified 
  by 
  mutations 
  vary from as 
  discussed later 
  tech gang 
  -2 
  -1 per 
  d6 
  - 
  cautious and reliant 
  on technology 
  psyker gang 
   
  - 
  - 
  rely on psionics 
  brat gang 
  -1 
  -1 per 
  d6 
  - 
  rely on exotic 
  weaponry 
  venators 
  +1 
  - 
  - 
  bounty hunters with 
  specialist equipment 
  GENERATING EQUIPMENT 
  Gang fighters are useless without weapons. Most gang fighters start out with stolen or home-made 
  weaponry or with weapons which are relatively common on the hive world. More exotic weapons are 
  costly and often hard to obtain. As well as weapons there are other kinds of equipment which are 
  useful in combat such as armour, communications gear, and combat drugs. 
  Weapons and other equipment are described in detail in Armoury section – here we are concerned 
  only with determining the type and quality of equipment which the gang has. The gang’s initial 
  equipment is generated randomly, more equipment can be bought by trading or obtained by raiding as 
  explained later. 
  Generate the equipment for each gang member in turn, starting with the gang’s leader as its most 
  prestigious fighter. First refer to the Leader Equipment Chart. As indicated on the chart 4 dice rolls 
  are allowed – each dice result will generate a piece of equipment. If you roll a duplicate result you 
  have the option to keep it or reverse the dice score to give an alternative. For example, a roll of 57 
  becomes an optional roll of 75. this reversing of the dice score is only an option for a duplicate result. 
  Note down each character’s equipment as you generate it. Some equipment can be pooled or 
  redistributed throughout the gang as described later, so it is a good idea to use scrap paper to note 
  down the equipment generated at this stage. 
  Without hesitation, Haro and Rest flung themselves straight at the Scavvy, giving him no time to rise 
  and fire his stub gun. Underneath the filthy wrappings the Scavvy was supple and Wiry, strong 
  enough to hold off both the youths. He was more savage than anyone they had ever fought before, 
  attacking with the great ferocity. 
  Even at the odds of two to one, Haro and Rest were having to fight for their lives. Backing under he 
  Scavvy’s blows, Rest tripped over a piece of debris and fell to the floor, pulling his opponent down on 
  top of him. The Scavvy redoubled his efforts, slicing at him with a vicious dirty knife, slashing him to 
  the face and shoulders. Haro had avoided being pulled to the floor, and was trying to attach Scavvy 
  from the rear, only to be smashed aside by a powerful blow. 
  Face to face with the Scavvy Rest see the inflated sores and pustules that covered his skin, smell the 
  foulness of his breath. His blackened teeth have been filed into points, and tufts of coarse hair 
  sprouted from his neck and ears. Rest couldn’t hold out much longer. He couldn’t attack effectively 
  because he was too busy trying to stop the Scavvy from strangling him. The disgusting face bore 
  down, blotting out everything else, then there was a loud crack, a flash, and the Scavvy’s body jerked 
  up and down on top of him. 
  At the last moment, Haro had managed to retrieve the Scavvy’s stub gun and shoot it through the 
  head. He pried the Scavvy’s hands away from Rest’s throat, and pulled his friend out from under its 
  limp body. Rest’s head swam from the shoot, and he staunched the painful flash wounds the Scavvy 
  had inflicted upon him. He was proud to have received his first real combat scars. 
  
   
  43 
  They were still in danger, so it was important to leave quickly. Haro cut off one of the Scavvy’s 
  thumbs, taking care to leave the wrappings intact. They took the Scavvy’s knife and stub gun for the 
  gang stash, small trophies of their achievement. Their scrag procured, all they had to do now was get 
  safely back to Red Spider territory. 
  
   
  44 
  LEADER’S INITIAL EQUIPMENT 
  The leader is entitled to 4 or 3 roll from the chart as indicated below. Cross reference the dice score to 
  type of gang. The type of gang influences the kinds of equipment the leader has. 
  d100 
  CLAN 
  TECH 
  VENATORS 
  SCAVVVIES, NOMADS, 
  PSYKERS, MUTANTS, 
  UNDERCITY GANGS 
  rolls 
  4 
  4 
  4 
  3 
  00-05 
  sword 
  stub gun 
  las pistol 
  sword 
  06-10 
  handbow 
  shotgun 
  las pistol 
  sword 
  11-15 
  stub gun 
  shotgun 
  las pistol 
  handbow 
  16-20 
  stub gun 
  autogun 
  bolt pistol 
  handbow 
  21-25 
  shotgun 
  las pistol 
  bolt pistol 
  handbow 
  26-30 
  shotgun 
  las pistol 
  lasgun 
  stub gun 
  31-35 
  autogun 
  bolt pistol 
  lasgun 
  stub gun 
  36-40 
  autogun 
  bolt pistol 
  powersword 
  shotgun 
  41-45 
  las pistol 
  lasgun 
  powersword 
  shotgun 
  46-50 
  las pistol 
  lasgun 
  bolt gun 
  autogun 
  51-55 
  bolt pistol 
  powersword 
  bolt gun 
  autogun 
  56-60 
  bolt pistol 
  powersword 
  hand flamer 
  las pistol 
  61-65 
  lasgun 
  bolt gun 
  plasma pistol 
  las pistol 
  66-70 
  lasgun 
  bolt gun 
  plasma pistol 
  bolt pistol 
  71-75 
  powersword 
  hand flamer 
  auto pistol 
  lasgun 
  76-80 
  boltgun 
  plasma pistol 
  needle gun 
  powersword 
  81-85 
  hand flamer 
  auto pistol 
  needle gun 
  boltgun 
  86-90 
  plasma pistol 
  chainsword 
  needle gun 
  hand flamer 
  91 
  auto pistol 
  respirator 
  needle gun 
  plasma pistol 
  92 
  auto pistol 
  respirator 
  needle gun 
  plasma pistol 
  93 
  auto pistol 
  communicator 
  needle gun 
  auto pistol 
  94 
  auto pistol 
  communicator 
  needle gun 
  shield 
  95 
  respirator 
  flak armour 
  needle gun 
  shield 
  96 
  shield 
  flak armour 
  respirator 
  shield 
  97 
  flak body 
  armour 
  helmet 
  flak body 
  armour 
  shield 
  98 
  helmet + 
  communicator 
  +photo visor 
  helmet + 
  communicator 
  +photo visor 
  helmet + 
  communicator 
  +photo visor 
  shield 
  99 
  chainsword 
  mesh body 
  armour 
  cainsword 
  respirator 
  100 
  mesh body 
  armour 
  mesh body 
  armour 
  mesh body 
  armour 
  flak body 
  armour 
   
  
   
  45 
  HENCHMAN AND HARDENED GANG FIGHTER INITIAL EQUIPMENT 
  Henchmen and Hardened Gang Fighters are entitled to either 3 or 2 rolls as indicated below. Cross 
  reference the dice score to the type of gang – the type of gang influences the kinds of equipment the 
  character has. 
  d100 
  CLAN 
  TECH 
  VENATORS 
  SCAVVVIES, NOMADS, 
  PSYKERS, MUTANTS, 
  UNDERCITY GANGS 
  rolls 
  henchman 3 
  fighter 2 
  3 
  3 
  henchman 3 
  fighter 2 
  00-05 
  sword 
  sword 
  autogun 
  sword 
  06-10 
  sword 
  handbow 
  las pistol 
  sword 
  11-15 
  handbow 
  stub gun 
  las pistol 
  sword 
  16-20 
  handbow 
  shotgun 
  bolt pistol 
  handbow 
  21-25 
  stub gun 
  autogun 
  bolt pistol 
  handbow 
  26-30 
  stub gun 
  las pistol 
  lasgun 
  handbow 
  31-35 
  shotgun 
  las pistol 
  lasgun 
  stub gun 
  36-40 
  shotgun 
  bolt pistol 
  powersword 
  stub gun 
  41-45 
  autogun 
  bolt pistol 
  needle pistol 
  shotgun 
  46-50 
  autogun 
  lasgun 
  needle pistol 
  shotgun 
  51-55 
  las pistol 
  lasgun 
  web gun 
  autogun 
  56-60 
  las pistol 
  powersword 
  web gun 
  autogun 
  61-65 
  bolt pistol 
  powersword 
  needle gun 
  las pistol 
  66-70 
  bolt pistol 
  bolt gun 
  needle gun 
  las pistol 
  71-75 
  lasgun 
  bolt gun 
  needle gun 
  bolt pistol 
  76-80 
  powersword 
  hand flamer 
  bolt gun 
  lasgun 
  81-85 
  bolt gun 
  hand flamer 
  bolt gun 
  powersword 
  86-90 
  hand flamer 
  plasma pistol 
  hand flamer 
  bolt gun 
  91 
  plasma pistol 
  auto pistol 
  plasma pistol 
  hand flamer 
  92 
  plasma pistol 
  auto pistol 
  plasma pistol 
  plasma pistol 
  93 
  plasma pistol 
  auto pistol 
  plasma pistol 
  auto pistol 
  94 
  plasma pistol 
  auto pistol 
  plasma pistol 
  respirator 
  95 
  plasma pistol 
  auto pistol 
  plasma pistol 
  shield 
  96 
  auto pistol 
  chainsword 
  auto pistol 
  shield 
  97 
  auto pistol 
  respirator 
  auto pistol 
  shield 
  98 
  respirator 
  flak body armour 
  respirator 
  shield 
  99 
  shield 
  flak body armour 
  flak body armour 
  shield 
  100 
  flak body armour 
  communicator 
  communicator 
  shield 
   
  
   
  46 
  RAW RECRUITS INITIAL EQUIPMENT 
  Raw Recruits are entitled to either 1 or 2 rolls as indicated below. Cross reference the dice score to the 
  type of gang – the type of gang influences the kinds of equipment the character has. 
  d100 
  CLAN 
  TECH 
  VENATORS 
  SCAVVVIES, NOMADS, 
  PSYKERS, MUTANTS, 
  UNDERCITY GANGS 
  rolls 
  1 
  2 
  2 
  1 
  00-05 
  sword 
  sword 
  sword 
  improvised weapons 
  06-10 
  sword 
  sword 
  sword 
  improvised weapons 
  11-15 
  sword 
  sword 
  handbow 
  improvised weapons 
  16-20 
  sword 
  handbow 
  handbow 
  improvised weapons 
  21-25 
  handbow 
  handbow 
  stub gun 
  improvised weapons 
  26-30 
  handbow 
  handbow 
  stub gun 
  sword 
  31-35 
  handbow 
  stub gun 
  shotgun 
  sword 
  36-40 
  handbow 
  stub gun 
  shotgun 
  handbow 
  41-45 
  stub gun 
  shotgun 
  autogun 
  handbow 
  46-50 
  stub gun 
  shotgun 
  autogun 
  handbow 
  51-55 
  stub gun 
  shotgun 
  las pistol 
  stub gun 
  56-60 
  shotgun 
  autogun 
  las pistol 
  stub gun 
  61-65 
  shotgun 
  autogun 
  las pistol 
  shotgun 
  66-70 
  las pistol 
  autogun 
  needle pistol 
  shotgun 
  71-75 
  autogun 
  las pistol 
  needle pistol 
  autogun 
  76-80 
  las pistol 
  las pistol 
  bolt pistol 
  autogun 
  81-85 
  las pistol 
  bolt pistol 
  lasgun 
  las pistol 
  86-90 
  bolt pistol 
  bolt pistol 
  web gun 
  bolt pistol 
  91 
  bolt pistol 
  bolt pistol 
  needle gun 
  lasgun 
  92 
  bolt pistol 
  bolt pistol 
  needle gun 
  lasgun 
  93 
  lasgun 
  bolt pistol 
  needle gun 
  shield 
  94 
  lasgun 
  bolt pistol 
  needle gun 
  shield 
  95 
  lasgun 
  lasgun 
  needle gun 
  shield 
  96 
  lasgun 
  lasgun 
  needle gun 
  shield 
  97 
  respirator 
  lasgun 
  needle gun 
  shield 
  98 
  shield 
  lasgun 
  needle gun 
  shield 
  99 
  shield 
  respirator 
  respirator 
  shield 
  100 
  shield 
  communicator 
  communicator 
  shield 
  STASH 
  All gangs acquire extra equipment, weapons, and ammunition which it could not hope to carry with it 
  all the time. This equipment called Stash, is kept in some safe location known only to the gang leader 
  and his most trusted henchmen. 
  When new members are recruited they are equipped from the stash, which also forms a reserve of 
  weapons and ammunition which can be used to equip gang members or to trade. When equipment is 
  captured or traded it may be added to the stash. Players keep a record of their gang’s stash, preferably 
  on a separate sheet of paper, and can use it as they see fit. 
  The Stash Chart (see over the page) is used to determine gang’s initial stockpile of stash. Where the 
  chart specifies a type of ammunition the number following is the number of rounds or shots. For 
  
   
  47 
  example, Conventional Ammo (50) is 50 rounds of conventional ammunition, Power Pack (50 points) 
  is a power pack with 50 power points of charge, 
  AUTO WEAPONS 
  AUTOCANNON 
  Type: Heavy (Initiative modifier -5) 
  Shots & ammo : 3 magazines with 50 rounds each 
  Fire modes: automatic(-10x shot number to hit) 
  To hit modifier -2%/inch 
  Penetration modifiers: 
  Range: 0-2.5": +40%, 2.5-5”: +20%, 5-10”: +10%, 10-25”: +0, 25"+. -10% 
  Armour: Primitive: +100. Physical: +100,Energy: +25, Cover: +100 
  Damage Chart: 4 or by ammo type 
  The autocannon is an automatic, self-loading cannon firing a high-velocity hail of solid shells. It can be 
  loaded with up to three magazines of 50 shots each. Only one magazine may be fired from during the 
  turn, but it is possible to switch from one magazine to another (taking 1 action! Each magazine may be 
  loaded with different ammo types, and magazines may be removed while others are left in place. 
  AUTO GUNS 
  Type: Basic (Initiative modifier -3) 
  Shots & ammo: 50 rounds/magazine 
  Fire modes: automatic {-10x shot number to hit) 
  To hit modifier -4”/inch 
  Penetration modifiers: 
  Range: 0-2.5": +5%,2.5-5”: +0, 5-10”: -5%, 10-25": -10%,25”+: -20% 
  Armour: primitive: +10, Physical: +l0,Energy:+0, Cover: +10 
  Damage Chart 2 or by ammo type 
  Autoguns are comparable to 20th century automatic rifles in both appearance and operation. They are 
  popular weapons, and widely regarded as a good alternative to a bolt gun. They can fire special ammo 
  types, but only from pre-loaded magazines in the same way as auto pistols. The magazine carries 50 
  shots. 
  AUTO PISTOLS 
  Type: Pistol 
  Damage Chart: 2 or by ammo type 
  Shots & ammo: 20 rounds/magazine 
  
   
  48 
  Fire modes: automatic (-10x shot number to hit) 
  To hit modifier: -8%/inch 
  Penetration modifiers: 
  Range: 0-2.5" +5%, 2.5-5”: +0, 5-10": -20%, 10-25": -35%, 25"+: -50% 
  Armour: Primitive, Physical, Energy and Cover +0 
  The auto-pistol is a light-weight but bulky automatic pistol. It fires a rapid burst of bullets from its 20 shot 
  magazine. Auto-pistols can fire special ammo types, but these must be pre-loaded into magazines. It is 
  not possible to load a single shot directly into the breech as it is with a shotgun, for example. 
  BOLTERS 
  BOLT PISTOL 
  Type pistol 
  Shots & ammo : 15 bolts/magazine(+1) 
  Fire modes: single shot or semi-automatic{5x shot number to hit) 
  To hit modifier: -6/inch 
  Penetration modifiers: 
  Range: 0-25" -5%, 2.5"+: 0 
  Armour: Primitive- +30, Physical +30, Energy: 0, Cover +30 
  Damage Chart: 3 
  BOLT GUN 
  Type: Basic (-3 initiative) 
  Shots & ammo : 15 bolts/magazine (+1) 
  Fire modes: Single shot or semi-automatic ( -5x shot number to hit) 
  To hit modifier -4/inch 
  Penetration modifiers: 
  Range: 0-2.5” -5%,25"+0 
  Armour: Primitive +30, Physical +30, Energy 0, Cover +30 
  Damage Chart: 3 
  HEAVY BOLTER 
  Type: Heavy (-5 Initiative) 
  Shots & ammo : 2 magazines with 15 bolts each, (+1) 
  Fire modes: semi- or fully automatic (-5 or -10x shot number to hit) 
  
   
  49 
  To hit modifier: -2/inch 
  Penetration modifiers: 
  Range: 0-25”: -5%, 25”+: 0 
  Armour Primitive: +30, Physical: +30, Energy 0, Cover: +30 
  Damage Chat: 3 
  The term Bolters includes bolt pistols, bolt guns, and heavy bolter. All these weapons fire small, self-
  propel led missiles known as: bolts. Bolts are relatively large (two or three times the size of a rifle bullet), 
  and a magazine therefore holds relatively few. This is outweighed, however, by the astonishing armour-
  penetrating power of the bolt's adamantium tip, complemented by an explosive charge contained within 
  the bolts core. This charge is mass reactive and so will not explode until the bolt has penetrated some way 
  inside its target. When fired, a bolt accelerates rapidly for the first 5 metres of flight, holding a constant 
  velocity almost as far as its maximum range. As a consequence, it is very good at penetrating armour 
  even at long ranges. 
  All bolters fire the same bolt ammo in a standard magazine containing 15 shots. In addition, a single shot 
  can be loaded directly into the breech, so a fully loaded bolter may have 16 rather than 15 shots. 
  Bolt pistols are large and cumbersome pistol weapons with a characteristic big-bore barrel. They are the 
  preferred side-arm of most serious Fighters and would be far more common were it not for the cost and 
  scarcity of ammunition. 
  Bolt guns are standard issue to Space Marines and to many elite troops. 
  Heavy bolt guns are upgraded versions of the bolt gun. They are heavy weapons but highly respected for 
  their accuracy and increased ammunition capacity. A heavy bolter may be loaded with either one or two 
  magazines, each containing 15 bolts. It is possible to remove and replace one magazine at a time, a useful 
  feature in combat. 
  CONVERSION BEAM PROJECTOR 
  Type: Heavy weapon (-5 Initiative) 
  Shots & ammo : 1 /power pack 
  To hit modifier: -2/inch 
  Damage Chart: see below 
  Conversion beam projectors are commonly known as 'beamers'. They project a beam of radiation which 
  can energise solid matter, causing the first solid object in its path to fragment in a burst of explosive 
  energy. Conversion beamers can only be used when they are absolutely stationary. Any attempt to use 
  them while moving would cause beam interference resulting in the weapon itself exploding. In fact, 
  beamers have built-in safety mechanisms which automatically shut down the beam generation cell while 
  they are moved. 
  The potency of the weapon varies according to the range. Unlike most weapons, however, it becomes 
  more powerful at longer ranges. At the same, time, the beam gradually diverges as the range increases. 
  The beam is 10% as wide as the target range. At 20" range, the beam is 2" wide, at 40" range the beam is 
  4" wide, and so on. 
  
   
  50 
  To fire a beamer, trace a line of sight to the intended target. Roll to hit as normal. If the score indicates 
  the target is hit, the beam is on target. Draw a line of sight to the target with tape and check that the 
  diverging beam does not hit some other object or character in between the firer and target. The beam 
  automatically hits the first thing in its path. Once the beam has struck something its energy is dispersed 
  and the beam cuts out. 
  If the score indicates a miss, the player should place a ruler or other straight edge behind the target, and at 
  90° to the line of sight. Now roll a 
  D10 and count this many inches to the right of the target. Roll a second Dl0 and count this many inches to 
  the left of the target. This indicates the new target point lying along the straight edge and either side of the 
  original target. Trace the path of the beam as before from the firer to the new target point. The first object 
  in the beam is automatically hit. It is possible for the beam to go off target and yet still hit the original 
  target if the beam is wide enough. It is not possible, however, for a beamer to miss its target and fail to 
  explode altogether. If it fails to hit anything at the target range, simply extend the line of fire until it hits 
  something or until maximum range (80m/40") is reached. 
  Beamers are powered from a standard power pack. A single shot uses up 50 power points, so a fully 
  charged power pack gives enough energy for 1 shot only - the weapon will automatically eject used 
  power packs once they are spent. 
  No armour provides protection from a hit by a conversion beam so there is no need to check for 
  penetration, simply proceed straight to damage calculation. The damage caused varies with range. The 
  chart opposite shows the appropriate damage chart to use according to range. 
  range 
  Damage chart 
  range 
  Damage chart 
  0-10m 
  1 
  30-40m 
  4 
  10-20m 
  2 
  40-50m 
  5 
  20-30m 
  3 
  50m+ 
  6 
  DISTORTION CANNON 
  Type: Heavy (-5 Initiative) 
  Shots & ammo: 1 shot/10 power packs 
  Fire modes: single shot 
  To hit modifier: -2/inch 
  The distortion (or 'D') cannon is an unusual and lethal weapon developed by the Eldar from warp space 
  technology and is sometimes called a 'warper' as a result. The weapon works by shifting its target out of 
  the material universe and into warp space. It is a large, heavy and cumbersome weapon, ideally suited to 
  attacks on buildings and other large constructions. 
  D-cannons are heavy weapons. They are powered from standard power packs, but use up 500 power 
  points every time a shot is fired, and so require 10 power packs. Each power pack must be loaded into the 
  D-cannon individually. Used power packs are automatically ejected. 
  When fired, the weapon emits a low droning noise which builds in pitch and intensity to a high-pitched 
  shriek before spewing a beam of impenetrable blackness towards its target - a momentary rift between 
  real space and the warp. 
  
   
  51 
  When firing the D-cannon, nominate the target point and roll to hit as normal. If the target point is hit, 
  position a 2" radius circular template with its centre over the target point to represent the warp area. Any 
  models whose bases are wholly within the area are temporarily transported into warp space For a few 
  moments before their corpses rematerialise. Warped characters are always killed immediately; even if 
  they are nut torn apart, the shock to the system is too great for anyone to survive. Many warped casualties 
  are horribly mangled by the warping process which can churn their biological structure, clothes and 
  equipment into an unrecognisable protoplasmic blob. Terrain features in the warp area are similarly 
  affected, and should be regarded as destroyed. Building walls hit by a D-cannon are breached and 
  destroyed, while vehicles which are even partially hit are damaged beyond repair. 
  Models whose bases lie only partially within the warp area may either be warped and destroyed, or caught 
  by the secondary effect of spatial movement, moving them several metres from their current position Roll 
  a D6 for each model. 
  D6 
  Result 
  1 
   
  Warped and killed 
  2-4 
   
  Moved D6" in a randomly determined direction 
  5-6        
  Moved  2D6"  in a  randomly determined direction 
  Any model moved into the same area as a vehicle, another character, or any solid object is destroyed 
  instantly. Any character moved into by a displaced model is killed, and any vehicle is damaged beyond 
  repair. 
   
  If a model is displaced 2D6" and the result is a double, the model is displaced vertically as well as 
  horizonticaly. Roll a D6 to determine whether the displacement is up or down. 
  D6 roll Result 
  1-3 
   
  Into the air 
  4-6 
   
  Below ground 
  Models displaced into the air immediately fall to the ground, taking an automatic randomly located hit on 
  Damage Chart 5. Any model immediately below the falling character also take an automatic hit on 
  Damage Chart 5, but any hit to the legs is considered to strike the head. 
  Models displaced below ground are killed automatically. The resulting collision of matter causes an 
  explosion resulting in a crater 1" in radius. Any scenic features above are destroyed, and any model 
  within the crater area takes an automatic randomly located hit On Damage Chart. 
  If a D-cannon misses its target point, the shot automatically deviates by D6" in a random direction. The 
  template is repositioned and casualties worked out as described above. 
  FLAMERS 
  HANDFLAMER 
  Type: Pistol 
  Shots & ammo: 1 shot flame chemical canister 
  
   
  52 
  Fire modes: single-shot 
  To hit modifier: -12/inch 
  Penetration modifiers: 
  Range: 0-2.5": +10%, 2.5-5": -10%, 5"+: -50% 
  Armour: primitive and Physical +0, Energy: +20%, Cover: +10 
  Damage Chart: 2 
  Flamers can be either pistols or basic weapons. They are compact, highly efficient flame-throwers 
  projecting a self-igniting chemical which adheres to the target and continues to burn until extinguished. 
  The canister of chemical it fitted into an armoured jacket to protect it from stray hits, but even so it is a 
  volatile and highly dangerous material. 
  FLAMER 
  Type: Basic (-3 Initiative) 
  Shots & ammo; 5 shots/flame chemical canister 
  Fire modes; Single-shot 
  To hit modifier: -6/inch 
  Penetration modifiers: 
  Range: 0-2.5”: +10%, 2.5-5": +0, 5-10": -25%, 10"+: -50% 
  Armour: Primitive +10%, Physical +10%, Energy: +50%, Cover: +20% 
  Damage Chart: 2 
  Flamers are basic weapons requiring two hands to use. The flame chemical is contained within a canister, 
  providing enough chemical for 5 shots. 
  Hand flamers have a shorter range than their bigger cousin. They have a built-in fuel supply good for only 
  one shot, and must be refuelled from a standard flame canister, taking 1 action. 
  A flamer hit which penetrates its target will cause damage immediately, and will continue to cause 
  damage at the beginning of each successive turn sequence until it is extinguished. The victim may do 
  nothing other than attempt to heat out the flames, which he will successfully do on the D6 roll of a 6 
  made during his turn. While rolling around beating out the flames, the model will move at walking pace 
  in a random direction. Any friendly models within half an inch may help the victim during their own turn, 
  providing they end their turn within half an inch of the afflicted model and do nothing else during the turn 
  other than move. Each helper will extinguish the flames on the D6 roll of a 5 or 6, but will catch fire 
  himself on the roll of a 1 and will then take damage as if hit by a flamer. 
  A single flame canister contains enough chemical for 5 shots. 
  LASER WEAPONS 
  LASCANNON 
  Type Heavy (-5 Initiative) 
  
   
  53 
  Shots & ammo: 1 shot/power pack (holds 10) 
  fire modes: single-shot 
  To hit modifier -2/inch 
  Penetration modifier: 
  Range: 0-2.5": +50%, 2.5-5": +25%, 5-10": +15%, 10-25": 0, 25"+: -10% 
  Armour: Primitive +100, Physical: +100, Energy: +75, Cover +50 
  Damage Chart: 6 
  LASGUN 
  Type: Basic (-3 initiative) 
  Shots & ammo: 50 shots/power pack 
  Fire modes: single-shot or semi-automatic (-5x shot number to hit) 
  To hit modifier: -4/inch 
  Penetration modifiers: 
  Range: 0.2.5": +10%, 2.5-5": +0, 5-10”: -5%, 10-25": -15%, 25"+: -20% 
  Armour: Primitive +15, Physical: +15, Energy: -5, Cover: -10 
  Damage Chart; 3 
  Laser weapons fire concentrated 'bullets' of energy. As a shot strikes solid matter its energy is released, 
  causing an explosive reaction at its surface. Because of this, lasers are superficially damaging rather than 
  penetrating weapons, although a laser hit to exposed flesh is often more dangerous than a hit from a 
  projectile weapon. The most notable feature of the laser is its inability to pierce thick armour. Laser shots 
  can also be weakened by intervening cover, and even thick loaf cover can release the shot's energy, 
  considerably reducing its effect. The main advantage of the laser is that it is cheap to produce and easy to 
  maintain, hut more importantly, lasers are powered by rechargeable power packs. 
  LASPISTOL 
  Type: Pistol 
  Shots & ammo: 50 shots/power pack 
  Fire modes: single-shot or semi-automatic (-5x shot number to hit) 
  To hit modifier: -6/inch 
  Penetration modifiers: 
  Range: 0-2.5": +10%, 2.5-5": +0, 5-10": -10%, 10-25": -20%, 25%: -40% 
  Armour: Primitive: +10, Physical: +10, Energy: -10, Cover: -20 
  Damage Chart: 2 
  MULTI-LASER 
  Type: Heavy (-5 Initiative) 
  
   
  54 
  Shots & ammo: 5 shots/power pack: (holds 10) 
  Fire modes: semi- or fully-automatic (-5 or -10x shot number to hit) 
  To hit modifier: -2/inch 
  Penetration modifiers: 
  Range: 0-2.5": +30%, 2.5-5": 0, 5-10”: -5%, 10-25": -15%, 25”+: -20% 
  Armour: Primitive: +30, Physical: +30, Energy: +10, Cover: 0 
  Damage Chart: 4 
  Lascannon are large, cumbersome, but extremely powerful weapons ideally suited to taking out vehicles 
  and buildings. A single shot uses 50 power points, so 3 standard power packs provides critical energy for 
  only 1 shot. A laser cannon is capable of holding up to 10 power packs at once, and redundant packs are 
  automatically ejected as they are used. Fresh power packs may be loaded in as used ones are ejected (4 
  actions). 
  Lasguns are standard issue to the Imperial guard. They are cheap, mass-produced weapons noted for their 
  reliability. A standard power pack contains sufficient energy for 50 shots. 
  Las pistols are compact, highly efficient and very versatile weapons. A standard power pack contains 
  sufficient energy for 50 shots. 
  Multi-lasers pack a combination laser chamber capable of firing very rapidly Multi-lasers are very good 
  at taking out closely packed bodies of infantry, or for giving covering fire. Like the lascannon, a multi-
  laser is a heavy, cumbersome weapon. Each shot uses 10 power points, so a power pack provides 
  sufficient energy for 5 shots. A multi-laser is capable of holding up to 10 power packs at once, and 
  redundant packs are automatically ejected as they are used. Fresh power packs may be loaded in as used 
  ones are ejected (4 actions). 
   
   
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Warhammer/40k/Necromunda/01 Confrontation - Proto-Necroumda (1990)/Confrontation (pre-Necromunda) 1990.pdf