I’ll shove that bat up your ass and turn you into a popsicle.
We celebrate the release of Games Workshop’s Shadow War: Armageddon by going back to where it all started: 1995’s Necromunda!
One of the favourites from our gaming of the 90s, Will and I have played many games of Necromunda, but it’s been a long, long time since we set up the underhive on the table. But here’s that first game in years, preserved for posterity and presented for your pleasure!
Ironically, in this video I mention the advent of more ‘streamlined’ rules sets in contemporary times, and only a few weeks later Games Workshop released Shadow War: Armageddon, (such an annoying name!) which features virtually exactly the same rules from Necromunda. The new set (sold out moments after its release) has new plastic terrain and less interesting factions (instead of characterful gangs, we have the standard array of Warhammer 40,000 factions). The good news is, the rules are so similar that I’m sure the old gangs can still be used (the new GW may even see fit to release a rules PDF for the them).
It just goes to show that those of us who have been clamouring for the re-release of these old games for years and years were right all along: there’s still a big market for them.
That said, it’s still the constant six-sided dice rolling GW is famous for: to hit, to wound, armour save; and in this case, rolling for injuries too!
Necromunda has always been a spectacularly visual game, and in this battle report we pull out a truckload of terrain old and new to create a little slice of the underhive. Warriors, come out to play!
That reminds me a lot or Warhammer Fantasy Battle 2nd Edition. So many d6 rolls… attack, wound and damage. We ended up switching to d10 I think, as it was so frustrating rolling a handful of dice and failing to do a single damage.
We did have fun though and it is still lurking in a cupboard along with Ravening Hordes. Might be worth digging it out one day for a bit of nostalgia…
Oh great, Thx for playing and sharing this!! Danke schön and greeting from germany!
Bitte!
Very nice table! Are those stat cards your creation? Did you publish them?
Yes they are, but I never made them available as they feature pictures of my own models, and I only ever made them for three of the gangs.
So…did you play without scenario on purpose? That would normaly balance the close combat against shooty gang thing a bit.
And the most fun thing of this game is the campaign part…the advancement of your gang always told so hilarious storys 🙂
No, I don’t think we’ve ever played with scenarios – did they have them in Necromunda?
I was disappointed to hear that they’ve changed the scenario system in SWA; I agree, it was great fun, and while fiddly, that was part of the charm.
Yes, there were definitely scenarios: Gang Fight, Shootout, Raid, Rescue, several more that escape my memory at the moment. There was a table you rolled on, and often the gang with the lower rating got to choose the scenario. Some missions included an attacker and a defender. The Outlanders book included several more scenarios.
Damn, I forgot!
So a proper rematch is called for 😉
As I understand it they did not cut the campaign entirely…the simplyfied it greatly though. Just like they cut down the equipment stuff ect. So all in all it looks like they made a cross between an entry-level skirmish game for beginners and their kill-team alternate play mode for vets in one game…I will try it when they release the book only…no interest in scouts or orks…and the terrain is not my cup either.
I’ll probably just get the book too, as I have plenty of models I can sub in. In fact, if the stats are the same for both systems, there’s no reason why I shouldn’t just keep playing Necromunda, only with some different factions.
Wow! That table is fantastic!!! I am enjoying Shadow War Armageddon so far but I never had the pleasure of Necromunda. It looks like it plays very similarly. I picked up the SWA rulebook and use some models I already have. A few proxies here and there. The campaign has some janky rules though. eg, you gain 100 points to spend between missions. That’s not enough to reinforce a Tyrannid Warrior or a Grey Knight so you need to spend a hard earned promethium cache to get an extra 100 points. It feels a bit off. But the game is a lot of fun with lots of dice and the falling rules are interesting.
I wish my table looked this good.
The rules are almost the same apparently, with one or two small changes and additions. Amazing they stuffed up the new campaign rules when really all they had to do was copy the old ones.