Site hosted by Angelfire.com: Build your free website today!
Necromunda Weapons
By Scott McMillan

 
What follows is a list of all the weapons available in Necromunda, I have written a short review of each. I have tried to point out the various aspects of each weapon. Necromunda is a finely balanced game, no small part of that is do to the subtle differences and advantages of the various weapons.

Here I have described the weapons in terms of their usefulness in the game. However I would like to say, for me it has always been more fun to paint a great miniature regardless of how it performs in the game. Fortunately in Necromunda you can often have both, with gangs being so small you should have plenty of resources (both time and money) left after assembling your gang for a few choice conversions. A nice conversion will not only be unique and look great, but also may give you that slight advantage in the game.

Hand-to-Hand Weapons

Knives
While I rarely buy additional knives for my gang members they are never the less a very important part of any gang. Never forget that all fighters in Necromunda are assumed to have a knife. This means that you don't have to buy a ganger an extra pistol or close combat weapon for them to get an extra dice in hand to hand. As a matter of fact I usually only equip my starting gang members with just one weapon. If I intend for the fighter to engage in hand to hand then I give them only a pistol, that along with the free knife gives them two dice in melee. If all goes well the other gangers equiped with just basic weapons will never need to use their knives.

Swords
There is no doubt that the sword is one of the most powerful and cheapest hand to hand weapons. This all springs from the fact that the sword lets you parry attacks. This ability can be combine with other abilities including other parries to create some truly awesome results. The sword is such a great value in Necromunda that the question is not weather to buy swords, but how many you can buy without becoming to cheesy!

Clubs, Mauls & Bludgeons
These weapons are alright as a second weapon after a pistol. If you play some of the other games from Games Workshop you may forget that in Necromunda these weapons add a +1 to your strength in combat. You can even use them for pounding on those darn water stills and gateways.

Chainsword
Chainswords combine the parry ability with a strength of 4. Which is not a bad thing starting out. If the ganger using the chainsword ever gains an increase in strength though you should just give them a normal sword as the strength of 4 will be wasted on someone that already has it. At that point a club (maul or bludgeon) wouldn't be a bad option as a second weapon.

Chains & Flails
For the price not quite as good as the sword, but it is an excellent counter measure to an opponent whose gang has a lot of parries. For example I have a Goliath gang in which five gang members have the Parry skill. Not to mention all the swords they carry. Chains and Flails are a good cheap way for a weaker gang to take away that advantage.

Massive Axe, Sword or Club
A strong gang member armed with one of these can really damage things. In exchange for the increase in strength (and corresponding save mod.) you lose the ability to use two weapons and any other abilities those weapons may have. Just the same its a lot cheaper to buy one of these for the occasional water still then pay for a Melta Gun.

Power Sword
It parries like a normal sword, but with a strength of 5 and a -3 save modifier. This weapon is great for leaders and times when the combat really counts.

Power Axe
A versatile weapon indeed, you can use it single handed for most jobs, but on those especially tough tasks you can use it two handed.

Power Fist
The Power Fist is more than a little bit of overkill for most games of Necromunda. It could come in real handy if you were playing in an Arbitrator Campaign and got to fight things besides other gangs. A Power Fist will go through pretty much anything vehicles, mutant beasts, aliens, you name it, the Power Fist can handle it.

Power Maul
Perhaps the rarest of all power weapons the Power Maul is a fearsom implement. You will most likely see it in the hands of Adeptus Arbites. Avoid getting into hand to hand with anyone that wields a Power Maul. If they win the combat then you will be hit with a series of strength 5 blows, it only takes one of these to wound a fighter and they go out of auction even in a multiple combat.

Eviscerator
Carried by Redemptionist fanatics the Eviscerator is a devastating weapon. You can't parry it and its strength is three greater then that of the user who is most likely frenzied! Anyone wielding one of these is definitely going to draw fire.

Pistols

Autopistol
The autopistol has to be my favorite pistol. When ever I buy a Necromunda weapons pack the first thing missing from the sprues are the autopistols. No pistol has a better accuracy or range, some more expensive ones equal it, but none surpass it. While it maybe a little under powered all you have to do is pin someone. A pinned opponent is no threat for one round, during that time you can finish them off. The closer you get the easier it is to hit, though the Autopistol is still good at long range to. It's ammo rolls aren't that bad. Don't forget either that it's the best weapon to mount a Silencer on.

Bolt Pistol
The Bolt Pistol is just not worth it, while it is high performance one ammo roll and your done. Not to mention the propensity of all bolt weapons to explode!

Hand Flamer
I have mixed feelings about the Hand Flamer. On the down side it has no range and its first shot could be its last. On the positive side it automatically hits and will either wound or immobilize a target. Then again at that range most other pistols can hardly miss either. I would recommend giving a Hand Flamer to a juve. It makes up for their low BS and is a good substitute to engaging in hand to hand with a possibly better opponent.

Laspistol
Laspistols are good solid weapons with average damage, fair accuracy and great ammo rolls. They make nice back up weapons for Heavies and Leaders, people you don't want to be defenseless after their primary weapon jams. The only real problem with them is the minus to hit at long range. To some people this isn't that big of a deal, to me it's a major drawback.

Needle Pistol
If one of these turns up for sale and you can afford it, buy it. It doesn't matter what your Toughness is when you get hit by a Needle Pistol, plus it has it's own cruel little Injury Table. As if that wasn't enough its also silent and great for taking out sentries.

Plasma Pistol
The Plasma Pistol is sort of an interesting weapon. It has two settings neither of which are accurate, one has nice range but only works half the time. Usually by the time you can use a pistol the enemy is very nearly on top of you. I would hate to miss a crucial round of shooting at an advancing enemy because I was waiting for my weapon to recharge. By the same token I wouldn't want to miss a chance to engage an enemy because they weren't inside my limited range. You can buy Plasma Pistols when you first start, I don't usually find a use for them then or later.

Stub Gun
Ah the ubiquitous Stub Gun, what would Necromunda be without it? Yes it's cheap, but as ever, you get what you pay for. If you would like to do some simple conversions that will make a big difference in how a miniature performs, then start by replacing Stub Guns with Autopistols. Pistols in Necromunda have two main advantages, you can use them in close combat and it's almost impossible to miss with one at close range. Unfortunately the Stub Gun has no bonus to hit at close range and it can't hit at long range. Stug Guns are often given to Juves because they're so cheap. Don't fall into this trap! With a BS of 2 a Juve needs all the help they can get to hit a target. Some people say that Stub Guns are good if you buy Dum-dum rounds for them. Don't believe it. Dum-dum bullets have a little more power, in return one out of every twelve shots will cause the gun to explode! For the cost of buying Dum-dums just get an Autopistol or a Laspistol. However, you can't ignore the fact that Stub Guns are just plain cool looking. I've got more than a few miniatures that would benefit greatly by having thier Stub Guns replace with another choice of pistol. I don't change them because the miniatures just look to good with Stub Guns. One other thing the Stub Gun has going for it is the fact that it's one of two weapons that you can attached a Silencer to. Once again though, you would be better off using an Autopistol for the same purpose.

Web Pistol
The Web Pistol is one of the more expensive rare weapons you may encounter in the Underhive. It has some truly unique capabilities, but you'll have to pay dearly for them. The Web Pistol costs more than a Heavy Stubber, has almost no range, and its not very accurate. On the good side all you need to do is just hit your target and they're down. I say forget trying to shoot people with it, just use it in hand to hand. All in all the Web Pistol is an expensive luxury. If you need the credits for something else then don't waste your time on it.

Basic Weapons

Autogun
The Autogun is just a good solid weapon. Infact its sort of the baseline that all the other basic weapons are measured against. It has good range, average power, fine accuracy, and average ammo rolls. The chief difference between it and the Lasgun are ammo rolls. But for 5 credits less it seems like a fair trade off.

Boltgun
The Boltgun delivers unparalleled performance compared with any of the other basic weapons. It's no wonder why the Space Marines carry it as their primary weapon. The Bolter has the same range and accuracy of other basic weapons. Its strength of 4 and minus one save modifier give it lethal take down power. The only problem with the Boltgun is that it's hard to take care of and get ammo for such a weapon in the underhive. This means that jams and even explosions are far more common than with other weapons. Many feel that the these problems are worth living with for the high performance the Boltgun offers. I'm not one of them.

Lasgun
Just as the Autopistol is my favorite pistol, the Lasgun is my favorite basic weapon. It does everything that the Autogun can do plus it almost never jams. The reliability of Lasguns means that you can depend on a ganger with one to keep up a steady stream of fire even in long battles. As for weapon explosions you can expect one, maybe two, Lasguns to ever blow up in the career of a gang. Also don't forget that the Lasgun has a minus one save modifier (not that many gangers have armor).

Shotgun
The Shotgun is a handy weapon for any gang. It's not a high performance weapon, infact it's sort of low performance. It's the versatilaty of the Shotgun that makes it so highly recommended. Arming a ganger with a Shotgun is almost like arming him with several weapons. The ability to choose the type of ammo to use for each shot is not unique to the Shotgun, but no weapon does it better. When your gang is first starting out buy Man-stopper shells for each of your Shotguns. As your gang progresses you can experiment with some of the other types of shells.
       Solid Slug: Alright in a pinch, better to have bought Man-stopper.
       Scatter Shot: Good at point blank range or for taking pot shots at people in cover.
       Man-stopper: Simply manditory for all Shotguns.
       Hot Shot: Sort of a gimick, but fun when it works.
       Bolt: An expensive option with some benefits.

Special Weapons

Flamer
The Flamer is the cheapest weapon that you can give a Heavy that will set then apart from the rest of your Gangers. Unlike a lot of the nasty things that a Heavy can carry the Flamer isn't a move or fire weapon. Its range isn't great, however this is made up by the fact that it's a template that you can place as you see fit. Flamers run out of ammo quickly and a Heavy armed with one may not gain experience very fast. But they will make hand to hand gangs think twice before charging. Flamers can also be nice to have in the Shoot-out scenario.

Grenade Launcher
The Grenade Launcher is sort of like a huge unweildy Shotgun. Its quite expensive, accepts different ammo, has a long range, and it's move or fire. The move or fire part is the worst aspect of the weapon. Because of it you will often have to waste a turn getting into a good position before you can start firing. Its long range is almost wasted in the cramped battle fields of the underhive. However the effectiveness of the weapon could increased if you could get some of the rarer types of grenades for it. Also the Grenade Launcher is very prone to running out of ammo.

Melta Gun
Needle Rifle
Plasma Gun
Heavy Weapons

Auto-Cannon
Heavy Bolter
Heavy Plasma Gun
Heavy Stub Gun
Lascannon
Missile Launcher
Grenades

Krak
Frag
Melta Bomb
Plasma
Photon Flash Flare

Back to Creating a Gang

BACK TO MAIN