Buckle your seatbelts and strap into your mining rigs – the Ironhead Squat Prospectors are coming to Necromunda. This gang of abhuman assayers are short, grumpy, and toting enough finely-tuned firepower to make a Van Saar wince.
Let’s clear one thing up. Unlike the Leagues of Votann, these guys are called Squats. They came to Necromunda as a clean-up crew in the wake of the Horus Heresy, and they’ve been here ever since – what can we say, the Heresy needed a lot of cleaning up. In the millenia since, the Ironhead Mining Clans have had minimal contact with their cousins in the galactic core.
While they might lack the truly prodigious weapons technology of the Leagues, or their helpful robot partners, the artisanal armaments of the Mining Clans still pack quite a punch – especially in comparison with the rest of the scavenged junk most Underhivers think of as guns.
No-one knows quite how many Squats make their home on Necromunda – there are dozens of clans living a semi-nomadic life in great land trains, striking out across the ash wastes in search of valuable debris left by millennia of industry. These great, crawling cities will plunder a dig site for months or years until its riches are depleted, while gangs of Ironhead Squat Prospectors guard the excavation sites or set off into the wastes in search of further loot.
Needless to say, they don’t take kindly to ambushers.
These parties are led by Charter Masters, Squats with centuries of experience – and all the accompanying obduracy. These canny old prospectors have Leadership, Brawn, and Shooting as their Primary Skills – and can access Wisdom of the Ancients as a Secondary.
And while they might be a little sluggish compared to fleet-footed Ash Waste Nomads, they have access to some of the finest weaponry on the planet.
Yes, that’s right – a meltagun with Rapid Fire. There’s more where that came from, and none of it’s nice – unless you’re a Squat. You can even wield some weapons hands-free, mounted on your snazzy Power Pack!
The Charter Masters are ably supported by Drill Masters, Champions who keep the rest of the Squats in line. These guys prefer to work at range, and have access to a similarly deluxe armoury – plus primary access to Wisdom of the Ancients.
Then there are the Drill-kyn, the rank-and-file Gangers who make up the bulk of any prospecting party, and Diggers, your greenhorn Juves with barely four or five decades behind them – the eagerness of youth! As with all Squats, these fighters have a doughty Toughness 4.
Finally there’s the small matter of the Vartijan Exo-driller, a majestic brute weighing in at a cool 250 credits. This mobile weapons platform is equipped with a sensor suite to improve visibility out in the wastes, a seismic crusher for pounding rocks and enemies to dust, and offers a choice of heavy flamer or heavy bolter.
The Ironhead Squat Prospectors will be available to pre-order soon along with the Book of the Outlands, the definitive guide to Necromunda’s Squats, Ash Wastes Nomads, vehicles great and small, and all manner of frantic desert battles. Sign up for our newsletter to learn exactly when these hardy fighters will be available.