Apocrypha Optional Rules
The wilds, wastes and badzones of Necromunda are filled with legends and myths of every colour and kind imaginable. Some of them are even true. Wander into any drinking hole in Hive Primus and crack open a bottle of Wild Snake (or Second Best if you’re a little light on creds) and within moments some crusty-faced local will be bending your ear with a tale or two. Maybe their little corner of the underhive was once the site of a showdown between the notorious Carrion Queens and the equally nefarious Irontree Reavers, or perhaps the legendary bounty hunter Kal Jericho drank at the very bar you’re sitting at now and they got close enough to touch the hem of his duster. Whatever the yarn, you’d do well to listen carefully, for hidden in every story is at least a grain of truth, and maybe even a lesson or two that might keep you alive when you’re next out wandering the badzones looking for trouble…
Apocrypha Necromunda is a series of small releases that have been published in Warhammer Community (not to be confused with the book publication of the same name). These each contain a short story, some form of additional rules, and a new scenario - each with a narrative variant to emulate the story. While these are 'stand-alone' stories, the rules should be seen in context of the larger Necromunda timeline. For example, rules being released here expand on Ash Wastes content, as do the Aranthian Succession books published at the same time.
Their rules have been incorporated into Necro-vox where applicable, otherwise they are published below.
List of Apocrypha Necromunda with their rules focus
Designer’s Commentary: New Black Market Items
Presented below are the rules for additional items available on the Black Market that will allow you to recreate the events described in Apocrypha Necromunda: Blood in the Spire. If the Arbitrator wishes, these items may be available from the Black Market during a campaign.
Source: Apocrypha Necromunda: Blood in the Spire
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The staggering wealth of the spire means its noble residents can afford almost anything their hearts desire. On a world as cruel and dangerous as Necromunda this often means custom crafted blades, esoteric off-world weaponry and cunning defensive wargear – all intended to protect the wearer from assassination. These artefacts were never intended to leave the spire, though sometimes the impossible happens, and a genuine article falls into the hands of an underhive gang leader.
| Item | Type | Price | AL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Archeo duelling pistol | Pistol | 120 | R13 |
| Barbed flabellum | Close Combat | 80 | I12 |
| Camoelean elixir | Equipment | 75 | I10 |
| Digi-multi lasers | Pistol | 100 | R11 |
| Draconic scales | Equipment | 250 | I14 |
| Haemophagic blade | Close Combat | 150 | I13 |
| Mirror Aegis | Equipment | 125 | I12 |
| Psychofamile pheromone | Equipment | 150 | I12 |
| Vortex grenade | Grenade | 500 | I16 |
Programming Automata
resented below are the rules for programming Enforcer Sanctioner Automata and Hardcase Cyber-mastiffs (see Necromunda: The Vaults of Temenos), allowing you to represent the guard automata of Zalktraa. If the Arbitrator wishes, Enforcer gangs can use these new rules in their campaign.
Most Sanctioner Automata and Hardcase Cyber-mastiffs follow standard Enforcer protocols, allowing them to respond to a variety of combat situations. Sometimes, Enforcers will alter the programming of the automata to focus their abilities to a specific task, such as guarding or hunting. This focus makes the robots more deadly in their chosen task, though at the expense of versatility.
At the start of a scenario, an Enforcer player may choose to enact Enforcement Programs on any or all of the Sanctioners or Cyber-mastiffs in their crew. The player then selects a program for each Sanctioner or CyberMastiff in their crew and notes it down. When activated, these fighters will now act according to their chosen programming, only able to select a limited range of actions, as detailed on the Enforcement Programs table below. The exception to this is they may always take the Reboot action.
Reboot (Double): This fighter’s activation ends. The next time they activate, before performing any actions they may choose a new Enforcement Program.
Enforcement Programs
| Program Available | Actions | Benefits |
|---|---|---|
| Hunt | Move (Simple), Shoot (Basic), Aim (Basic) | At the start of each End phase, move this fighter D6" closer to the nearest enemy fighter. Cyber-mastiffs with this program have to end their activation within 6" of their owner rather than the normal 3". |
| Intimidate | Move (Simple), Charge (Double), Fight (Basic) | At the end of this fighter’s activation, all enemy fighters within 2" of them must make a Nerve test. |
| Guard | Shoot (Basic), Fight (Basic), Aim (Basic) | When making attacks outside of their activation (i.e., Reaction or Got Your Six attacks), add a +1 modifier to both this fighter’s hit and wound rolls. |
| Capture | Charge (Double), Fight (Basic) | If this fighter takes an enemy fighter Out of Action with a Fight (Basic) Action, roll a D6. On a 4+, that fighter is Captured. If any fighters are Captured in this way, do not roll to Capture fighters in the post-battle sequence. |
| Kill | Charge (Double), Shoot (Basic), Fight (Basic) | This fighter counts both the Shoot (Basic) and Fight (Basic) actions as Simple actions. |
| Rescue | Move (Simple), Fight (Basic) | If this fighter is within 3" of a friendly Prone and Seriously Injured fighter in the Recovery phase, that fighter is considered to have automatically rolled a Flesh Wound when rolling to recover – there is no need to roll the Injury dice. |
Spiders of the Sump
Sump Sea Vehicles
Designer’s Commentary: Battles On The Sump Seas
Presented below are the rules for Sludge Barges, Scrap Skiffs and Sump Sea Environments, allowing you to recreate the events described in Apocrypha Necromunda: Spiders of the Sump. If the Arbitrator wishes, these new rules may be included in their campaign.
There are almost as many vehicles that ply the sump seas and run-off rivers of Necromunda as there are on its dusty plains and wind-blasted ridgeways. The following vehicle construction rules can be used alongside the Wasteland Workshop rules found in Necromunda: Book of the Outlands allowing players to create vehicles capable of traversing the black seas of Necromunda.
Note: Some of the upgrades available to vehicles presented in the Wasteland Workshop might not be appropriate for Sludge Barges and Scrap Skiffs (such as wheel scythes or tyre claws, for instance), though as always the Arbitrator can decide which ones they wish to include in their campaign.
Locomotion Special Rules
Waterborne: Waterborne vehicles can only be used in Sump Sea environments (see below). These vehicles also build up momentum as they move, and can be difficult to turn or slow down quickly. When a Waterborne vehicle is activated, but before it takes any actions, it must roll for its Drift Movement. Scrap Skiffs Drift D3" directly forward, in the direction they are facing, while Sludge Barges Drift D6" directly forward, in the direction they are facing. Drift Movement does not use any of the vehicle’s actions, though it may still cause collisions, etc.
Sump Sea Environments
The sump seas, whether they are in the midnight realm beneath a hive or the storm-lashed expanses of the surface, are deadly and unforgiving environments. If a battle takes place on the sump seas then the entirety of the Battlefield Surface (see Necromunda: Book of the Outlands) is considered to be Sump. The Sump has the following rules:
- Only Waterborne or Skimmer vehicles can traverse the Sump. Tracked, Walker or Wheeled vehicles cannot be fielded in a sump seas environment.
- Fighters subject to the Mounted condition are considered to be riding on small craft, grav-cutters, sump creatures, etc, that can operate in a sump seas environment.
- If, for any reason, a fighter not subject to the Mounted condition starts their activation not on either a piece of terrain or a vehicle with the Waterborne or Skimmer rule (and they themselves do not have a special rule such as flight that allows them to ignore terrain), then they must test to see if they drown (see below).
- As soon as a fighter who is not subject to the Mounted condition falls or moves onto the Sump then their activation ends.
- Fighters on the Sump are considered to be in Full Cover and cannot become Prone and Pinned (note, this means that fighters subject to the Mounted condition are not affected by the “I Get Knocked Down…” rule). If a fighter on the Sump ever becomes Prone and Seriously Injured, they are instead taken Out of Action.
- Fighters that fall onto the Sump do not take falling damage.
Drowning
If a fighter begins their activation on the Sump, they must check to see if they start to drown. Make a Strength check for the fighter. If they pass, they may move D6" in any direction (which may get them back onto a vehicle or terrain piece). If they fail, then they remain in place and suffer a Flesh Wound. In both cases their activation immediately ends.
Age of the Gang Kings
Presented below are the rules for running battles set in the Age of the Gang Kings, before the rise of the Clan Houses and the line of Helmawr. These rules allow you to recreate the events described in Hive of Blood. They are not designed to be used alongside a Necromunda campaign. If the Arbitrator wishes they may run an Age of the Gang Kings campaign, though significant changes will need to be made in order to make it work.
In the aftermath of the Imperium’s conquest of Necromunda, a period of lawlessness endured for many centuries. This time was known as the Age of the Gang Kings and saw a greater number of large scale conflicts than later millennia. Before Martek Helm’ayr and his descendants ratified the Clan and Noble Houses and restricted such open war, the hives and the wastes between them were the site of bloody battles the equal of any Imperial war zone.
Due to the scale of the fighting in Age of the Gang Kings battles, the forces involved are much larger than typical games of Necromunda, with many fighters operating in close-knit units rather than as individuals. Games set in the Age of the Gang Kings use the Outland Armies and Wasteland Warfare rules presented here.
Lost Houses and Ancient Empires
During the Age of the Gang Kings the Clan Houses and Noble Houses, as they are known at the end of the 41st Millennium, did not yet exist. While this means Goliaths, Escher, Cawdor and similar gangs are not suitable, their gang lists could be used to represent a progenitor to their House – such as the followers of the Blades who would, in time, become the foundation of House Escher. The Outcast Gang list, from Book of the Outcast is also very appropriate to this setting, as it allows players to field diverse collections of fighters to suit a variety of themes.
Outland Armies
When creating an Age of the Gang Kings force, the normal rules for founding a gang are not used. Instead, players construct their forces using the following guidelines:
- Increase the starting gang credit limit to 5,000 credits. As always, the Arbitrator may increase or decrease this amount if they wish.
- The force must include one model with the Leader special rule.
- Up to 25% of the total credits may be spent on models from a different gang list to your Leader.
- One model without the Gang Fighter (X) rule may be included for every three models with the Gang Fighter (X) rule.
Wasteland Warfare
Games set in the Age of the Gang Kings use a limited version of the core Necromunda rules to speed up play, as well as the addition of a new rule: Coordinated Attacks:
- The following rules are NOT used when playing Age of the Gang Kings scenarios:
- “I Get Knocked Down…”, Pinned and Seriously Injured, the Broken, Out of Ammo, Blaze, Blind, Concussion, Intoxicated, Insane and Webbed Conditions, Bottle Checks, Recovery Tests and Rally Tests, Stray Shots and Injury Dice.
- The following Weapon Traits are NOT used; count weapons with these Traits as not having them:
- Backstab, Blaze, Concussion, Knockback, Limited, Plentiful, Rad-phage, Scarce, Seismic, Single Shot, and Web.
- All fighters are considered to have a 360° vision arc.
- When resolving damage against vehicles, they lose a number of Hull Points equal to the weapon’s damage. If a vehicle is reduced to 0 Hull Points, it is removed from play.
- Fighters reduced to 0 wounds are removed from play.
Coordinated Attacks
In Age of the Gang Kings, players may activate fighters (not vehicles) with the Gang Fighter (X) special rule in groups, provided they are close to each other. When a player activates a fighter with the Gang Fighter (X) special rule, they may also activate any other friendly fighters with the Gang Fighter (X) special rule within 6" of that fighter (treat this as if the fighters had been activated using a Group Activation).
This does not affect Group Activations made by Champions and Leaders.