Striking a Deal...Making deals, breaking deals and plain old double-

crossing in the Underhive.By Dalga Faik u)itbfellout conspirator Nick piacbaud

Dalga, from Southgate London, describeshimself and his partner in crime, Nick, asboth being fine and upstanding teenagersdespite being a little nuts! They've beenplaying Necromunda since it came out allthose years ago and are self-confessedaddicts. They're both a little partial to

GorkaMorka as well and practice their'Vroom! Vroom!' sound effects until theeady hours of the morningl Dalga loveswesterns and gangster movies especiallywhen they've got a central theme ofconspiracy and double-cross.

.W'e, of

course, would have never of guessed...

In Necromunda, two gangsmaking deals with one anotheris not unheard of. in fact. it's away of life. One gang wants towipe out its enemies and willoften enlist the help of anothergang to do it.

Making a deal could occur inthe post-battle sequence or inthe special scenario later on inthis afticle. If two players wishto make a deal then they canfollow these special rules. If amember of either gang has aBitter Enmity against amember of the other gang,then you can pretty much kissthe prospect ofa deal goodbye.

Trying to strike a deal couldresult in several things: adouble cross, a legit dealincluding a one scenario dealor a long term deal. TheDouble-Cross is outlined in thescenario that follows. Deals,howeveq can be made veryeasily, they don't require awhole game, just a simplemeeting of the two leadersconcerned (unless you want toutilise 'The Meet' scenario)

THE SET UPIn order to set up the deal thetwo Leaders must meet. Theseare often tense affangements,with itchy trigger ffngers andbrash shows of bravadopermeating the unfriendlysilence. Set up a small skirmisharca l6"xL6" with a clearcentral area containing somesignificant terrain (crates orsuch like). Each gang shoulddeploy on the edges (entqetc. may not be used) and intheir movement phase theGang Leaders should convergeon the central terrain to talk.The less weapons a Leader hasthe better show of good faith.Details must be disclosedwhen they meet ipr iorarfangements can be madestipulating this, it is entirely arthe discretion of the players).

Only D6+2 members of eachgang may taken as bodyguards.Heavies may not be takenbecause if things go souq thegangs aren't going to want torisk losing a healy weapon.

By the time the two leadersmeet, the players should have

in mind whether they want romake a deal or not. At anypoint during their move aplayer may attack the othergang if they wish to @ut it willcertainly get them a bad nameto say the least!). The leadersmay also join in.

If combat commences, then gostraight to the Double Crossscenario. If this isn't the casethen follow these rules:

STRIKING A DEALThe two leaders must be facingeach other from across thecrates. The players roll a D6and apply the resultimmediately.

D6 Roll Resultl-2 The gang with thehigher rating refuses to dealwith the other gang becausethey consider them to bebelow them and thereforescum.

3-4 A one scenario dealhas been made. At thebeginning of the scenario, theplayer with the gang with thehighest rating rolls a D6 and

writes it down hiding the result(in these circumstances it isalways wise to have animpaftial observer), on a 1-3the deal sticks but on a 4-6 thedeal is broken. The higherrated gang may attack or leavethe gang it is supporting at anytime during the scenario on abroken deal result. The deal isended and m y not beattempted again if thishappens. However, if the dealgoes down for the whole gameanother deal may be struck.

5-6 A long term deal hasbeen made and the two gangsbecome friends. Roll a furtherD6 at the beginning of eachgame either gang takes part in.On a L-4, the higher rated gangcontinues to honour the deal,on a 5-6, the higher rated gangleaves but on good terms. Ifthis type of deal falls through,it can be attempted again butany results on subsequent rollsmust be adhered to.

The following gangs may notmake deals:

. Escher and Goliath

. Redemptionist only withCawdor

. Splrers and Ratskins withanybody

YOU OWE ME..,The purpose of striking a dealwith another gang is simple -

you gel extra manpower inyour up-and-coming fights.Provided that the deal wassuccessful, the next time agang fights they may call uponDl*2 gangers as 'allies' fromthe gang that they are inbusiness with (chosen by thegang 'hiring out'). These alliedrufftans are controlled by theplayer whose gang-fight it isand not the player whose gangthey are from (unless of

course, the Gang Leaderhimself decides to fight). Forall intents and purposes(experience, Bottle Test, erc.)these gangers are treated aspart of the gang they are allied

to.

Gangs are honour-bound totheir allies and can only'stabthem in the back' if the dealwas broken (see earlier).Striking a deal with anothergang can be a very lucrativearrangement, albeit a riskyone-

THE MEETIhe two gangs in question arenxeeting, and you uant tbisjob to go off tuitbout a hitcb.You adjust your sigbts andutait for tbern to get closetYour leader bas beard abouttbis deal going doun betuteentbe otber tuo gangs and said itsbould be put to an end, so begatbered bis boys and tookyou to tbe meeting place.Except, be's bidden you in tbesbadous aboue tbe groundand gaue you a sigbt for yourrtfle. Notr, you just baue toutait. The hto leaders aregetting closer and sueat is

starting toform on your brout.You take a bead on the rnorereputed leader and uait. He'sgetting closer, anotber step.Bingo!

You squeeze tbe trigger..

StartingThe two gangs in this scenariomust have agreed to Strike aDeal and may not fire at eachother unless indicated later.They may have D6*2 gangmembers along with theirleaders. In addition, a thirdgang has tumed up at the siteto stop the deal going down.They also tum up with theirleader and D6f2 gangers; noHeavies may be taken. Thisgang, the Ambushers, may setup Hidden...

fs6ainThe terrain must be set up withbuildings on either side with atleast two stories to them.There should be a channeldown the centre where a pileof crates or something can beset up for the meeting to takeplace (as in the Set Up).Treacherous Conditions can berolled. anv conditions that

mean the table top cannot beused do not count (e.g. the PitofDespair result should not beapplied because the table topis needed for the game). lt is aneutral place so territorycannot be lost.

SetupThe two gangs attempting toStrike a Deal set up onopposite sides of the table,four inches in from the tableedge facing each other downthe central valley. The thirdgang howeveq vu.rll be Hi.ddenin the upper levels of thesurrounding buildings or inthe shadows of the gantries. Assoon as they fife, howeveq theywill break ftom being Hidden.

Special RulesAs the two Leaders approachwithin four inches of eachother, the ambushing gang mayfire upon the either Leader intheir turn. The fire will ofcoufse cause the othef twogangs to panic and so theymust adhere to the Panic Firerules below. The leaders,howeveq may not be so easilyfooled, providing both are stillon their feet by the end of the

firing turn. If neither arepinned or wounded, then thedeal may still be struck usingthe rules above. If either leaderis pinned or wounded, thenthe one left standing (if there isone) will adhere to the PanicFire rlules.

Itchy Thigger Finger...The ambushing gang must takeLd tests every turn to see if theyfire early. Use the leader's Ld. Ifthe test is passed, then theyhold their fire. If they fail,however, then they open fireearly and are no longerconsidered to be Hidden.

Panic FireAs soon as the ambushing gangfire, make a special Panic-Firetest for the leaders of each ofthe other two gangs. Roll 1D6:on a score of 1-4, the gangleader spors the Ambusbersand orders his gang to fireupon them (note: obviously ifthe ambushing gang come inroclose combat they will beautomatically recognised). Ona roll of 5-6, the Gang Leaderhasn't spotted the ambushinggang and orders his Gangers tofire upon the gang they were

making a deal with, suspectingfoul play.

Not yet convinced?It will eventually dawn on thegangs taking part in the dealthat they have been duped andare being ambushed by mutualenemies. Each turn that a ganghasn't noticed the Ambusbersand when a gang member ofthe friendly gang is hit, gerspinned or anlthing moresevere, then roll a D6. On a rollof 7-4, the gang spots theAmbushing gang and may takeaction accordingly On a 5-6result, they still haven'trealised and assume that theirone time business partners afeall scummers and should beshot!

Agreement under Fire?lf the two gangs are still rryingto strike a deal whilst thebullets are flying, it's quiteobvious that the two Leadersmight be a little too busy firingoff shots to close the deal. Ifthere was a 5-6 result by eitherparty to the Panic Fire roll thenno deal can be struck.Otherwise they can still try tonegotiate over the noise of thegunfire (all the besr moviedialogue happens mid-scrap!).To see if they will talk roll a D6.On a 1-3 t}le leaders crouchbehind some cover, laugh atthe irony of it all and try tostrike a deal - roll on the Dealtable. On a 4-G the two leadersare far too pre-occupied firingand avoiding being shot to payattention. lf a deal is not goingto be struck, then the gangsdecide to get the hell out ofthere.

Ending the GarneAs soon as a deal (if any) isstruck, one of the gangsattempting to strike a deal fails

its Bottle Test or the two gangsleave an1'way. The game is over.lf a deal is struck, theambushing gang immediatelyruns having failed theirmission. If the two gangs beganffring upon each other due toPanic Fire but recovercomposure and still negotiatea deal, there will be a -1

modifier on the results table. Ifthey both fired upon theambushing g ng they get a'false sense of camaraderie andthere will be a *1 modifier onthe results table.

Expedence*10 for each Gang Leader

that fulfils their mission, e.g.made the deal or broke up thedeal.

+5 per wounding hitcaused.

*D6 each Ganger thatsurvives.

-1 for firing at the otherfriendly gang.

THE DOUBLE.CROSSAs your leader aPProacbes,you tigbten your gri? on yourrifTe and pray be makes itthere. These suckers won't

belieue utbat bit tbenx. He'sgetting real close nout and tbe

suckers are buying it. You

can't belieue it. Tben, in a blur

of motion, your comrades

whip their tueaqons into line.

Your rifle snaPs uP to sboulder

hetgbt and your breatbing

deepens. Tben your leader

flings bis trencbcoat oPen andgrabs tbe two Bolt Pistols

bidden tbere. He starts

blazing...

The Double Cross is a mixture

of 'Gang Fight' and my 'deal

making' rules. If you wish to,

then this scenario can befought instead of 'The Meet'.

TerrainSee Tbe Meet.

Set upBoth gangs deploy as in 'The

Meet' facing each other. The

game commences in exactlythe same mannef as in 'The

Meet'. The gang with the lower

rating however, is about to

double cross the other gang in

an attempt to upset the power

balance and steal a little for

themselves.

Special RulesThe special rules from 'The

Meet' appl ln addition up tohalf of the gang designated todouble-cross may be set upHidden.

Itchy Thigger Finger...Being dirty double-crossers,the lower rated gang must takeLd tests each turn. If a test isfailed then that particularGanger prematurely opens fireand gives the whole game away(note: this takes everyone bysurprise, even his comrades,who are too shocked by hisstupidity to fre until their nextturn by which time of course itmay be too late). ff by the timethe leaders meet in the middle,nobody has failed the test, thenthe lower rated gang mayattack in their turn.

The higher rated gang mayonly open fire or attack in closecombat in the turn after theyhave been attacked themselves.From then on, the two gangsact like a Gang Fight.

Obviously, under nocircumstances may a deal bestruck between the two gangs.

Experience*10 for the winning Gang

Leader

+5 per wounding hitcaused.

*D5 for each Ganger thatsurvives.

-l for a Ganger that firesprematurel

BATTLE REPORTHere's a report on the gamethat Nick and I played whentesting out these rulesalthough you will have toforgive us for our choice ofgang names!

@ Van Saar

Q Delaqueu%u

@

#%"d@w

,#ffi

Tl e Double CrossZeus, Ieader of tbe'Olympiads'

of HouseDelaque, bad arranged ahush-busb ,neeting uith bisopposite number atFrontierstoun: Wyatt Earp,(Groan... Start tbe cbeesyu,estern nxusic! - Ed) leader of'Earp's Immortals' of HouseVan Saar. Botb bad been uyingfor pozaer and lucratiuetrading rights to be bad fromtbe Guilders. Tbere bad beens e u er a I ineffe ctual skirrni s b e stbat bad cost botb gangs deanIt uas time to put a stop totbat. If tbeJ) could utorktogether botb gangs couldmake a bealtby sum, cease tbefigbting and perbaps euendriue sorne of tbe otber localgangs out of town.

If tbey could u.tork togetber...

In this scenario the Delatruesare the Ambusbers following along-held tradition of back-stabbing, double-crossing,ripping-off, and selling faultyvacuum cleaners to lrrlnerableold ladies. All the special rulesfor'Double-Cross' apply.

The Terrain was set-upaccording to the 'Double-cross'

Scenario (see map) with a clearcentral area, apart from a pileof crates in the very middle(the agreed meeting place),this was surrounded by plentyof coveq towers and walkways.This gave the opportunity forboth gangs to start in cover andwatch the proceedings.

The Gangs:'Earp's Immortals', HouseVan Saar (Dalga) Wlatt Earp(1 Leader), Butch Cassidy (2

Ganger), Billy the Kid (3 Juve),Johnny Ringo (4 Ganger),Sundance Kid (5 Ganger),Cisco Kid (6 Juve) and DocHoliday (7 Ganger).'The Olympiads', HouseDelaque (Nick) Zeus (1Leader), Hermes (2 Juve),Hephaestus (3 Ganger), Boreas(4 Ganger), Hades (5 Ganger),Eros 16 Juve) and Asskleepius(7 Ganger).

Turn 1: The Delaque leaderapproached his prospectivebusiness partner walk ingcasually down the dankcorridor leading to the meetingplace. Zeus's coat billowed inthe artificial breeze providedby the vent-shafts high above.

Meanwhile, hiding from pryingeyes, the Delaques stayed outof sight on either side of the

clearing. Some were hidingbehind old, rusty barrels atground level whilst otherswere hidden in the gloom highup on the walkways. Theshadows and their long coatsallowing them to fade into thedarkness. They clutched theirweapons with growing unease,but their nerve held.

Turn 2: As the Van Saar Leaderapproached the designatedmeeting place, he noticed theDelaque Leader's eyes movingshiftily. Frowning, andclutching his Plasma Pistol iusta little tighter he walkedcautiously onwards and hailedhim, feeling more than a littleuneasy.

Zeus looked, around, makingsure all of his boys were out ofsight and hoped that none ofthem would lose their nerveand stan firing until the timewas right. When the time wasright, he would strike. Whilstin the gloom, the Delaque boysstarted to ease off safetycatches and rack bolts.Asskleepius sighted along thebarrel of his Autogun bringingWyatt Earp's head into focus.He curled his finger aroundthe trigger...

Turn 3: AsWyatt Earp reachedthe crates he watched Zeusapproaching slowly. TheDelaque was hunched both ofhis hands were hidden beneaththe folds of his trench-coat.

The Delaque man appearedthrough the smoky gloom andnodded to W?att Earp, a slightsmile creasing his lips. WyattEarp must have known thatsomething was wrong whenthe Delaque Leader smiled, hissuspicions were confirmedwhen the bald man pulled akrak grenade from under hiscoat. In one fluid motion hehurled the already primed

grenade at the stunned VanSaar. The contained explosionblewWyatt Ea4l offofhis feetto land in a bloody mess theother s ide of the c lear ing(Good start, one man down,and that was my Leader -Dalga)

Hades, hiding just to rheDelaque Leader's left, pulledthe trigger of his Shotgun noteven bothering to aim. More byluck than skill, the shell blastedil;rto Billy tbe Kid's sromach,hurling him backwards off ofthe building on which he wasstood and (not surprisingly)taking him out of action as hehit the hard ceramite below.

Asskleepius pulled the triggeron his Autogun, sending astream of bullets into JobnnyRingo's chest. He was slammedinto the metal wall where heslid to the ground, leaving a

shouldered his Autogun andfred a torrent of 9mm caselessacross crates and bulkheads.The intended tatget, Zeus,dodged the erratic spray oflead and kept his head down.Much to his annoyance,Holiday heard the sharp 'click'

of an empty magazine. Most ofthe other Van Saars fared asimilar fate as guns wereemptied left, right and centre!(Oh arse! - Dalga.)

Butcb Cassidy pumped theslide on his shotgun and ffred aHotsbot Shell into thedarkness. It struckZezs squarein the chest causing his longtrench-coat to burst rnroflames. However, to his shockand horror, the DelaqueLeader had managed to stay onhis feet and glared up atCassidy snarling with rage andfrustration.

thick trail of crimson behindhim. Despite this low-downbetrayal and having three oftheir number down includingtheir leader, the Van Saarsstood their ground.

Turn 4: Moving to a betterposition, Doc Holiday

Tutn 5: The Delaque Juves,Hermes and, Eros, ran towardstheir burning leader throwingtheir long coats over him.Using the cloth to beat out theflames, the Juves extinguishedthe flames as the fight ragedaround them.

Hades spotted the gangerresponsible for his leader'shumiliation and fired aHotsbot Sbell his way The shellca.ugl:t Cassidy in the side andexploded into flames turningthe unfortunate into a humantorch! (Ouch... another onedown! - Dalga.)

Holiday knew he had nochance with his leader down,Cassidy on fire and most of thegang out of ammunition, hescreamed for the Van Saar's tofetreat.

Nick: '7be Delaques bauedone it again!'

lalgaz Yeab, yeab, just keep

tbinking tbat, buddy!'

Nick:'Okay, so bou come I'ueu)on so rnany games tben, eb,EH?!'

Dalga: 'I don't u,ant to talkabout it. Look, just sbut 4)!Honestly, beginner's luck Isa!.'

Nick: 'Beginner's luck?!!! I'uebeen playing for ttuo years!Some people just blame it allon luck, wbile I knout for suretbat tbe? haue tbe tacticalskills of a stuffed gerbil.'

Dalgaz 'Enougb small talk!Anlxaay, you're sidetracking.What you haue just read is adisplay of poor nerue bold.ingby tbeVan Saars and pure skillby tbe Delaques. Ihis battlereport proaes just bout sbortthese scenarios can be andbou tbe tension can reallybuild up not knouing ubenyou're gonrut get it!''Ob, and just bou,' mad tbe twoofus are!'

0a froolz BogzHave you got a rules query? Do you want tolanow if we still have classic Citadel miniaturesavailable? lf the answer to both thesequestions is 'yes!'or if you want to discuss anyaspect of the Games rilirrkshop hobby youshould contact the Roolz Boyz, today!