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
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