While wealthy explorers delve into Hive Secundus in search of loot, the tribes of the ash wastes aggressively defend their domains from the convoys tearing through the dunes. These unknowable denizens of the open wastes are a mysterious and ever-present thorn in the side of hive-dwellers travelling across Necromunda, and now a new expansion book finally shines a light on their lives and history in Tribes of the Wastelands.
The book opens with a wealth of new lore presented as extracts from three of the greatest works ever compiled about the Ash Waste Nomads: On the Subjekt of the Nomade, Apocrypha Necromundus Addendum IX, and Tales around the Gunk Tank. These cover a broad range of topics from the first appearances of nomads on Necromunda, their strange technology resembling Dark Age weaponry, and the menagerie of local fauna used in battle.
It also contains a comprehensive history of nomad activity on the planet, starting with early rumours in the 31st Millennium and running right up until the recent rebellions of the Aranthian Succession.
Updated rules for building Ash Wastes Nomads gangs add profiles for new miniatures such as the Sha’dar Hunters and Arthromite Spinewyrms, as well as a new Trading Post exclusively for nomad use. They also get their own crop of Hangers-on and Hired Guns, as the regular rogue’s gallery don’t want anything to do with them.
Players creating a nomad gang can now choose for them to hail from one of four particular tribes, each of whom reveres a distinct group of six Warrior Spirits echoing important elements of the area they inhabit. At the start of each battle a random assortment of these spirits will be chosen, which Leaders and Champions can then invoke to gain powerful abilities, such as the Sump Spirit Cha’hau – worshipped by the Oilrun Stalkers – who lets its devotees move through impassable terrain.
BAAK’HAU WARRIOR SPIRITS
D6: Result
1: Cha’hau (Sump Spirit): The fighter channels the Sump Spirit of Necromunda and its ability to seep into every location. For the duration of this activation this fighter may pass through impassable terrain, though it may not end its activation with its base overlapping impassable terrain.
Two new scenarios designed specifically for Ash Wastes Nomads gangs reflect two common situations: a daring raid on a passing convoy, and a hunt for vicious native fauna. The Duneskuttler Hunt in particular is a perilous endeavour where two gangs battle for the killing blow on a monstrous foe, all while avoiding the snapping jaws of creatures tunneling just below the surface.
ARTHROMITE WARRENS
The Battlefield Surface is located upon a twisting warren, home of the wild Duneskuttler. After each model’s activation, roll a D6 for them; on a result of a 1 they change their Status to Prone and Pinned if a fighter, or must make a Loss of Control test if a vehicle.
Tribes of the Wastelands will be coming out later this year, so keep an eye on Warhammer Community for more information – and come back tomorrow when we chat to the Necromunda design team about the new nomads.
