Mobile, hostile, agile

So now to weaponry.

I am starting with my Leader and  contemplating what direction to take.

I think of him as my main support. I have given him Commanding Presence so I see him traveling with a group and shooting. I don't want him in hand to hand really.

He starts with a BS of 3+

A the beginning I gave him a Shotgun with salvo and scatter. I wanted him to have something with a bit of punch. The salvo rounds have a range 12" with a S4 doing D2, causing Knockback and it is Rapid Fire (1) which gives the potential for more damage.

Shredder is a Template weapon causing D6 wounds but only has a S2. I see it being good in a crowd to maybe pin a few people and then use Group Activation to really cause a bit of chaos.

Going forward I have been thinking about a Boltgun. The Boltgun is S4 with a range of 24". Its short range is 12", so decent, and there is a +1 modifier to Hit making it a 2+ to hit on the move. Aim gives a +1 modifier to Hit. This means that even at distance it can be a 2+ to Hit provided you stand still and make the Aim.

Boltgun

The main downside that I can see is the 6+ ammo check roll. There is a 1:6 chance of failing an ammo roll and then you would need to roll a 6+ to get ammo back. These are not good odds.

I would need to have a decent second weapon in reserve. Maybe I should keep the Shotgun?

I don't fancy giving him Heavy Weapons because it would change the play style and I have two Champions already so they should be up to that task.

The Grenade launcher looks cool and could be a good second weapon, giving lots of variety options.

Plasma weapons with scarce - hmm. When they run out of ammo thats it for the game. Can't be reloaded. High risk.

What about a close combat weapon? In the old days the trusty Power Sword was always sought after. There is much to consider.

Each character can only have 3 weapons. I wonder if grenades are considered to be a weapon? I like the idea of chucking a grenade when things are getting too close and then running away ;-)

All thoughts and suggestions welcome.

Orlock Savant Skills

The next set of skills to review is Savant. These are available to both the Leader and the Champions.

Orlock Champion

Ballistics Expert - this is a pretty cool skill. If you make an Aim action you get the opportunity to make an Int test, if passed you get a +1 modifier to the hit roll. That is significant. I have given this skill to 'Rivits', one of my Champions and in the first few games it worked out very well. Champions Int is 6+ and the Leader is 5+. A skill well worth having.

Connected - this is a post battle skill and allows an extra Trade action. I dismiss out of hand any skill that doesn't impact on the battlefield playing.

Fixer - another post game skill. You gain D3 x 10 credits if the character is not captured or in recovery. Dismissed again on the basis that it doesn't impact on the battlefield. Credits are good but its boring.

Medicae - Assist a fighter who is making a Recovery test, re-roll Out of Action one time. Due, dull, dull ;-)

Munitioneer - Re-roll ammo check. Now thats what I am talking about. It also applies to any model within 6". I have given this to 'Leveller', my champion with the Heavy Stubber. This weapon is Rapid Fire (2) which means that you roll 2 ammo dice increasing the chance of running out of ammo. This skill made a big difference in the recent games. Kept the big guy in the game. I was very happy to have it.

Savvy Trader - Another post game skill but it does looking interesting. When making a Trade action add 1 to the result to see if the item is available and also reduce the cost by 20 credits (to a minimum of 10 credits)

In summary I think that both the 'in game' skills are excellent and the Munitioneer is a top skill when using any weapon with increased ammo dice increase the chance of running out of ammo. I like the Ballistics Expert skill and it would be worth considering for the Leader if the plan is to operate at range. You have to stand still to get the best benefit though because you need to Aim. So that is a consideration. I usually move the Leader around a fair bit so to support ongoing actions. He offers more threat if the opposition sees him on the move.

Orlock Leadership Skills

For the first game that we played I had not chosen starting skills before setting up. In order to get going I quickly chose some skills immediately before we started but I didn't have a chance to read my options fully. I have had a chance since, so this is the start of a short review.

Orlock Leader

Leader

I have learned that the Leader is a pretty important guy. He has 3 wounds so he can take a bit of punishment. He has Mesh armour giving a 5+ save. He has No equipment restrictions - none!
With group activation he can activate 2 other models at the same time. He can take 3 weapons.

Basically you need to decide to use him in combat or for shooting and then tool him up accordingly.

I have decided that Shooting is the way to go.

Skills

The Leader starts with a skill.
Primary = Skills are Ferocity, Leadership and Savant
Secondary = Shooting

The Leader is the only character to have access to Leadership as his Primary skill. So what options does he have? Lets have a look: -

Commanding Presence - for group activation add +1 model. This means a Champion can activate 2 models or the Leader can activate 3 models. Now this could be very useful and make for a very high impact turn.

Inspirational - If a fighter within 6" fails a Cool check then make a Leadership check, if passed then so is the Cool test. Not likely to be used much I think.

Iron Will - subtract 1 from any Bottle rolls when this model in on the field and not Seriously Injured. This seems very situational and specific to me.

Mentor - make a Leadership test for this fighter each time a fighter within 6" gains 1 XP. If passed then the fighter gains 2 XP. I like the idea of this but 6" is a very short distance. It could be a nice way to boost XP though especially in medium term.

Overseer - A fighter within 12" can make two actions and get his ready token back. Even the ready token was used they can take 2 actions. This is an extra turn. 12" is a good distance and having an extra turn would be amazing. There are no restrictions but I assume this would be once per round or once per game otherwise you could spam it. This is well worth considering.

Regroup - This is a Leadership test and if passed all Broken models within 6" recovers from being Broken. Again 6" is a very distance and this would be very situational.

My own choice here is probably Overseer. I think that having a model take an extra 2 actions is a really big deal. I would need to be clear about how often it can be used though. Commanding Presence would run it close. The thought of being able to focus 1 + 3 characters on getting a job done seems like a great tactic.

Necromuda returned Woot Woot!

Well now we have just completed our first three games of Necromunda. Wow, what a blast. It was great to get back into it.

So first off I had to make some changes because at least 50% of the gang needed to be Gangers. I stayed with the two champions concept but now it was more challenging, credits wise. I also decided to take Blasting Charges. They have a bit more punch and I just was not sure what the scenarios might throw at me. They have a S5 making them the most impactful thing I have. Range is really low but still at least they are there, if needed.

I had to choose some starting Skills for my Leader and Champions. This was done in a hurry, but I like my choices.

1. My leader, 'Nighthawk' went for Commanding Presence. This allows him to activate one more person in group activation. I have learned that this can be a cool tactic in other games. When the time is right you send in a couple of guys to put someone down and then the last one does the finishing off. It can be devastating.

2. My Champion 'Leveller' has the heavy Stubber and this has Rapid Fire (2). He can be amazing but  he runs the risk of running out of ammo. A big problem to be sure. To overcome this I gave him Munitioneer. It means he can re-roll ammo checks. Anything to keep him in the game and dishing damage at distance.

3. My other Champion 'Rivits' only had a Autogun. Well I had no credits left so ..... He has a decent BS of 4+ so I thought I would boost this with Ballistics Expert which means that if he can pass an Int test he is +1 to hit. Now that is a pretty big deal!!

The Dark Templar had been busy with the scenery. I mean seriously.

Love it

This kit is from Red Beam Design and comes with magnets to hold it all together. I was seriously impressed. Really cool and very good value. I will be checking them out for sure. It was great to play on and gave the much desired height that you need in Necromunda.

There are always stories and as I look back, my Juve 'Frankio' had a great game. He was involved in everything.

The first game was a straight forward 'go at one another' game. The Dark Templar came steaming in and launched himself onto the platform with his leader and some support. Very intimidating. I sent 'Frankio' up to have a look see.

Frankio on the prowl

He was great. Stub gunning away. People being 'pinned'. It was just great fun. In truth he was well supported both from distance and relatively close range. Nighthawk was a beast and took out two of the opposition - DEAD. I 'bottled' early and took the victory points. Cool start.

In the pub that night the story was all about 'Frankio'.

The second game was a funny affair in that we started on top of one another, only 2"'s apart, and we were tasked with taking out a piece of enemy scenery, we used old fashioned gene stealers :-). We started with a small number on the table and then it was supposed to build with reinforcements.

Nighthawk opened up early dishing out the damage before getting hit himself. Frankio came to the rescue, again. It was cool.

Frankio to the rescue

However we both lost people in the first round and both failed bottle tests so the game was over before it started. Amazing!

And so to the third game. Oh wow.

The entire Goliath gang were on the assault. I had 5 sentries. The sentries were randomly moved depending on who rolled the highest dice. I mean this was mad! In the first two turn I controlled the sentries once!! I mean seriously.

I was surrounded as the Goliaths crept closer and closer. Their aim was to take down a centrally positioned structure. It was starting to look really cruel at one point and then 'Frankio' got his shit together. I had control of him twice in a row and he sounded the  alarm by facing down the opposition leader, go 'Frankio'.

I see you!

The rest of the boys came running and what followed was carnage. I mean blood on the floor. The mother of all battles. The Goliaths did what they had come to do but paid a high price! We had our own troubles too. A great game full of emotion with ebbs and flows. I have missed Necrumunda and I glad it is back in my life.

There are lessons to learn and credits to spend but this is for another day.

Tonight in the pub there will be stories to be told of heroes in the field and 'Frankio' has made his name. He was first to face down the Goliaths, he was first to pin one of them, he recused Nighthawk in the second game and raised the alarm in the third. I raise a glass - to 'Frankio'!