Necromunda as a RPG

[Graf of Orlock]

Sorry to co-opt the thread, but I think this fits into this discussion. Has anyone thought about or tried a combination of Warhammer Quest and Necromunda? I thought about it the other day and it seems like it could be fun, if things can be merged properly (or built from scratch using WQ as inspiration only).

[Adlan]

I tried to run a Necromunda campaign as a semi-freeform Play by Post RPG on the GITP forums. I underestimated how complexx roleplaying a whole gangs battles would be, even with good freeform writers, we got through one battle, and it really wasn't what people were expecting, which was to be able to see their gang advance and grow and develop rivalries between each other and personality in their gangers.

I've restarted and I hope by replacing the battle with a simple 2d6+n roll from each side which decides the result (n being various modifiers for gang ability, player plans and writing) to keep the campaign fast paced, and I'll be introducing various plot elements which effect the settlement as a whole, like a neurone plague or a Caravan to Raid, even a pit fight free for all, which will build a world and an overarching story of the gangs struggle for power and position.

This is what I wanted out of a Necromunda RPG. A Necromunda setting is cool, but there are so many systems out there, you might as well co-opt one for the game. If you want table top, I can recommend =][= as a great narrative battle game. I know several of my fellow conclave members frequent the Inquisitor section of this forum, and I think a 54mm Necromunda gang would be very cool.

Or for a pen and paper RPG, a system like D20 Modern or the Serentiy RPG could work really well (Everything is already priced in credits )

[Nymie_the_Pooh]

I think Necromunda would have to see quite a bit of alteration before it became viable for one model per player style of play. The reason being is it is too easy to lose that one model early in a game session then be out of the game until the post game sequence.

I've been toying with the idea of doing a 40K mod of WHQ, but Necromunda could work for the setting. The problem is the game is normally four to six heroes against large numbers of enemies. Once you get past say level two it becomes harder to believe that the heroes are gangers. For instance, at the end of one campaign we were running a party of six heroes taking on three greater daemons with minions sprinkled in rather liberally all at the same time. You go from being cautious of every snottling early in the game to taking on armies of Daemons by the time you finish.

I love the concept of Inquisitor and games can be great fun, but it fluctuates quite a bit and sounds like it might be a tad bit more complicated than what you are looking for. Going with a Necromunda setting can help with the fluctuation issue however. If you do play it then I suggest two models per player minimum. There is always the chance of losing one model early in a session like with Necromunda, but it is less likely so two is normally enough to get through most of a scenario. Due to the level of detail I wouldn't run games with more than eight or ten models in total and that includes GM controlled models. I am usually in full support of at least trying the 54mm route for Inquisitor. My biggest reason is it helps get everyone on the same page and out of the 40K mindset. The fact models at that scale are fun to work is my other reason. That being said, I think if everyone knows they are gangers in Necromunda then there should be no problems playing it at the 32mm range. It should avoid the problem of some players trying Inquisitor because they want a 40K skirmish/RPG game where they can play what they already know from 40K.

I like the ideas of GURPS or the 40K RPGs. Dark Heresy is the closest in terms of power levels to what I would expect from a Necromunda setting, but I think the rules are a bit better in the other settings. If Inquisitor looks to be more complicated than what you are looking for then both of these may be as well. I think both of these RPGs are a smidge less crunchy than Inquisitor, but that may just be me. My reasoning is that there are so many modifiers for everything that even when I became fairly comfortable with the system I was still referencing charts to make certain I had all the modifiers right.

One of the d20 game systems might be something to look at depending on your players. Having players that already know a system can be a help (or depending on the player a hindrance). This can make getting the game rolling easier, but would take quite a bit of conversion work unless using something like d20 Modern or Alternity. Alternity was great for 40K RPG gaming, but is out of print now so probably isn't the easiest thing to get one's hands on.

So, I am going to throw another suggestion into the mix with Savage Worlds. I've found it to be one of the easiest games to prepare for and run. The game can be lethal similar to GURPS which I feel fits the Necromunda setting. There seems to be at least one close call with each fight, but I've found actual death to be somewhat rare over the course of a campaign. The game aims at being more cinematic than realistic so if you want realism then it probably is not what you are looking for.

The basic system is that each stat and skill has a die tied to it (d4 to d12 with bonuses). When you perform a task roll the associated die. A 4+ is a success on most things. Player characters and important NPCs roll a d6 in addition to the relevant die. If either result is a 4+ (don't add them together) then that character succeeded. Rolling the max number on a die lets you roll another of the same type and add it to the die. There are success stages if such a thing is called for in the situation where every four over the target number (again, normally 4) is a step. As a character takes damage they take penalties to their role based on how damaged or weary they are. Order of initiative is handled by each player being dealt a card from a regular playing deck then counting down with jokers getting some bonuses. Add in bennies (short for benefits which work similar to fate points) and the target number on an attack being the target's dodge value and not a 4 and I have basically given you the ruleset in a paragraph so if you understood this paragraph you should have no problem playing.

The part of the rules I feel does not work at all is chase scenes so would look to other games for that if going with Savage Worlds. They have tried a couple of different versions where they are going for dramatic, but end up with a mess. I think the new Warhammer Fantasy Roleplaying game has some decent rules for chases so maybe look there if you foresee chase scenes of some sort. Savage Worlds evolved out of a miniature skirmish game so can be played with minis, but it can easily ignore them as well as positioning doesn't matter overly much to die rolls like it does with Inquisitor or D&D 4e.

I guess I am not done with suggestions. The more I think about it, the more I want to muddy the waters by adding Shadowrun to the list. The setting itself is reminiscent of Bladerunner with Orcs using automatic weapons mixed in. It utilizes a dice pool mechanic similar to World of Darkness, but with six-sided dice so if you have any players that played a World of Darkness game they should be familiar with the idea. A test adds the relevant skill and stat then roll that many dice. Normally any result of a 5+ is a success. Sometimes the number of successes matter and sometimes all that is needed is one success. There can be modifiers to both the dice pool and the target number, but that's the basic breakdown. If half the dice come up ones then it is a glitch which is essentially a fumble. Their version of fate/bennies is called edges. All of these are slightly different, but work on the same core concept. A player can use upwards of a dozen dice in one roll so that should give you an idea of how many dice you may want to have on hand. Much of the time it will be less, and there are cases where they may go a couple of dice more, but two dozen for opposed tests (or a dozen per player if each player wants their own dice) is a good number to have on hand.

There are rules in Shadowrun to cover things like hacking right out of the main book which I like better than the old rules because the old hacking systems normally meant the hacker having a completely separate adventure from the other players. Again, it's not perfect. You would likely want to limit the metatypes (races). I think Trolls could work as Ogryn if you want them around. Magic/psychic powers are a little on the high end for what I normally think of with Necromunda. The 20th anniversary book includes things like Bounty Hunter, Enforcer, Gunslinger Adept, Hacker, Smuggler, Street Shaman, Technomancer, and Sprawl Ganger as sample characters for a few examples of what the system is usually used for.

I realize the OP was written months ago so this is probably all wasted. I would love to hear how things went and if you got things going or not.

[Demoulius]

Wouldnt adding RPG elements to the basic NM game make a pretty fun game in itself? Maybe it wouldnt be a full blown RPG and all but not everyone wants that I feel.

Adding things like crates that you can search or Initiative tests to spot hidden items/npcsc would add a certain level of depth to the game Alternativly the current scenarios in Necromunda are already pretty cinematic I feel. Adding things like a sudden third party joining in or parts of the hive collapsing and such can also add to the narrative. Or isent this what you guys are after?