The next expansion for Necromunda is nearly here, and it’s essential for any serious ash wastes gearhead. The Book of the Outlands is absolutely bursting with crucial rules – including two complete gangs, expanded vehicle rules, and a few surprises yet to come.
In case you’d prefer to drive straight out of the showroom, this book contains stats and upgrades for standard Imperial vehicles such as Wolfquads, Achilles Ridgerunners, and Goliath Rockgrinders. You can turbo-charge their engines, festoon them with spikes, boarding cages, and boobytraps, or just bolt on extra weapon hardpoints.
But even that element of customisation pales in comparison with the raw possibilities of the Wasteland Workshop – a new system which lets you build almost anything short of a banjaxed Baneblade, slam it into top gear, drive it right out onto the ash wastes and start shooting (or racing, or ramming, or boarding, or…)
For a system that’s so flexible, it’s actually incredibly simple. First, pick a chassis size – small, medium, large, or walker. This will govern how many weapon hardpoints and upgrade slots you can cram on, as well as key stats like toughness, hull points, and speed.
Second, add some hardware. There’s a huge range of stuff, from wheel scythes and extra armour to headlights, escape hatches, and plasma engines. Not to mention guns. You can strap on pretty much any weapon you can find on the Trading Post, all you have to do is decide who’s operating it and where it’s pointing.
Third, choose how you’re getting around. There are four locomotion types to pick from:
Wheels are moderately manoeuvrable, but don’t enjoy rough terrain
Tracks are a bit slower but a bit hardier in the dirt
Legs are very agile, but they’re a little wobbly
Skimmers zip serenely above the fray,* but first you’ll have to find them on the trading post (and at Rarity 10, or 8 for Van Saars, they’re not exactly commonplace)
Finally, you’re ready to go. There’s just one thing to remember. Custom vehicles all have the jury-rigged special rule because they’re cobbled together from whatever junk has been lying around the surface of Necromunda, so repairs cost twice as much as they would for standard configurations.
The Book of the Outlands will be with us very soon, alongside a whole convoy of other cool kits for the ash wastes. Sign up to the newsletter to hear more.
* Yes, you absolutely can bolt an anti-grav unit to a Leman Russ to see what happens.