Welcome back, scummers, to the second part on our progression series. If you’ve checked out Part One – Advancements (which you can refresh yourself on by clicking here), you’ll already have an idea of how to spend your Experience. Today, we’ll be delving into the Trading Post, offering suggestions on how you can squeeze the most bang out of your hive-bucks!
Spending Your Credits
We’re of the mind that while weapons define an archetype, wargear refines it. So, when it comes to buying wargear and equipment, there tends to be a bit of overlap. Some items are great for multiple archetypes thanks to similar optimal ranges and/or playstyles, and there are many items at the Trading Post (and Black Market) that are fantastic purchases regardless of class.
If you happen to be playing in a Law & Misrule Campaign that has opened up the Black Market, remember that you can visit both the Black Market as well as the Trading Post, regardless of your gang’s current alignment. Sure, you’ll have to pass a Cool or Intelligence check and your rarity roll will be at -2, but don’t let a pesky restriction like that keep you away from the gear of your dreams!
Last week we broke our fighters into a series of classes that best outlined the roles we found our gangers and champions growing into over the course of our campaigns. To reiterate…
Our Archetypes are:
- Brawler: A boiler-plate front lines sort of fighter, devastating at closer ranges and equipped to weather the blows from an extended scrum.
- Assassin: Deadly up close, but with a focus on dealing damage and escaping. Not equipped to survive long in an extended direct firefight or melee.
- Sniper: Looms over the battlefield as a constant threat, capable of safely picking off long-range targets. Not typically capable of much beyond shooting and scooting, but that’s enough.
- Heavy: Predictably; the biggest guy with the biggest gun. Whether it’s due to the size of the rounds or the sheer volume of fire they’re capable of unloading, Heavies can dish out an ungodly amount of damage and rapidly become the priority target, drawing fire as the rest of your crew advances.
- Crowd Control: The master of the blast and the flame template, these fighters concern themselves primarily with auto-hitting (and thus autopinning!) weaponry to slow down opponents and keep them ducking. Injuries are a welcome bonus, but restricting enemy movement is their primary goal.
- Scout: It’s not always going to be Stand-Offs and Tunnel Skirmishes. Scouts are weedy, quick gangers who can give you an edge when it’s time to sabotage a target or defile a rival gang’s relic.
- Support: More focused on being a force multiplier than a killer in their own right, a Support ganger keeps your other fighters up and running with judicious use of smoke, medicae kits, and other defensive items.
Gear By Archetype
Maybe not for everybody, but devastatingly effective in the right hands.
Scrap Shield 15 Credits Common
- Though officially in the Armor category rather than Equipment, the Scrap Shield can be worn in addition to a base suit of armor in the same manner as an Undersuit. The bonus defense against Reaction Attacks is a clear benefit to Brawlers in an extended fight! Keep in mind that Reaction Attacks are also incurred during Retreat actions, so the Shield may be a cheap defensive tool for archetypes trying to pull away from protracted engagements as well, such as Assassins and Scouts.
Cameleoline Cloak 35 Credits Rare(9)
- Granting a -2 to hit penalty against anyone attempting to shoot at the target, provided they didn’t perform a Move action this turn. Beating the Holochromatic Field in both price and legality, the stationary requirement makes the Cloak an incredible item for Snipers, and useful for other classes that tend to activate in a reactionary manner later in a turn, such as Supports.
Falsehood 40 Credits Rare(9)
- With a Falsehood, a fighter is treated essentially as a friendly model until they make an openly hostile move against an opponent, or until the start of the third turn. This is the current final stage of the Smoke/Photogoggle escalation, in that equipping a fighter with one of these is the ultimate method of traversing the battlefield without danger. Scouts can waltz right past their enemies, Brawlers and Assassins can set up the perfect position to strike, and Supports can do their pseudo-medic shtick right out in the open without fear of being gunned down.
Ammo Cache 60 Credits Rare(8)
- Having a +2 to ammo checks while standing next to a Cache is tremendously useful if you can expect to find yourself in range, so these tend to be far more valuable to Snipers in their nest than to other classes. They’re also one of the few ways outside of the Lucky Find Tactic Card to reload a scarce weapon, so consider dropping one on the front line of your deployment zone if your Crowd Controller is using some of the more exotic rounds in their Grenade Launcher.
Chem-Synth 15 Credits Rare(12)
- Toxin weapons are commonly seen on Assassins and Snipers, and the Synth essentially gives a +1 to the success roll for the auto-injury effect. The high rarity means that they won’t be available every trip, but they’re cheap so stock up when you can!
Grapnel Launcher 25 Credits Common
- Though limited to a straight line, the 12” movement of a Grapnel is often faster than a fighter’s typical double move, with the free vertical movement as a bonus on top of that. Scouts can zip across firing corridors into their next bit of cover, Snipers can fly from rooftop to rooftop in search of a better positions, and Supports lagging behind can catch up easily to the rest of their gang. If you’d rather roleplay as a Luchador, combine the Grapnel with a Grav Chute and elbow drop onto your unsuspecting prey.
Full/Partial Servo Harness 160/130 Credits Rare(12)
- Any equipment that boosts Strength and Toughness is going to be eyed hungrily by your Brawlers and Heavies, especially since they have Suspensors built in to help with lugging around Unwieldy weapons! As the Partial Harness reduces Movement and Initiative slightly, we recommend splurging on the full suit if you intend on charging into combat.
Grenades and Ammo Varies
- You’ll notice that there’s a lack of distinct gear for Crowd Controllers. While they can take advantage of plenty of equipment, much of their power and more exotic options comes from the varieties of Special Ammunition and Grenades, which we’ve gone over in this article right here!
Medicae Kit 30 Credits Rare(9)
- The defining piece of gear for any self-respecting Support, grab a Kit off the Trading Post as soon as you can. You’ll be generating so many recovery dice that you’re bound to roll a Flesh Wound sooner or later!
Web Solvent 25 Credits Rare(8)
- Once Webbers hit the field, they tend to leave an impression. Anything that ignores half of the saving rolls in the game and skips directly to serious injuries is going to be strong, so mitigate that damage by bringing some Solvent for your Supports. It’s usable even if the equipped fighter is webbed themselves, but doubly so if they’re using it on a friend.
Universal Equipment
If you’ve got the credits, here’s the loot. This is the good stuff, right here.
Light/Heavy Carapace Armor 80/100 Credits Rare(10/11)
- Simply the best base armor that credits can buy, though pricey enough that you’ll likely reserve it for champions and your leader. Offering a 4+ save (with a 3+ within a fighter’s vision arc for the Heavier style) is an immense amount of survivability for your average brawl, though gangers can get by with the 5+ save of Mesh if you need to scrimp.
Armored Undersuit 25 Credits Rare(7)
- Rather similar to the Bodygloves worn by Van Saar, Undersuits are a relatively cheap +1 to any fighter’s armor save. Combine them with Mesh, Flak, Carapace, anything, and you’ll be able to keep pace with the arms race without breaking the bank. These beauties should be a priority purchase for any gangs looking to keep their fighters alive!
Ablative Overlay 20 Credits Common(What.)
- Introduced in the Book of Judgment, the Overlays go on top of your armor, which inevitably goes on top of your Undersuit. Overlays are incredible, almost excessively so, granting +2 to your armor save on your first roll, then +1 to the save the next time you roll, and then no bonus for the rest of the game. Considering that most shots fired in Necromunda fail to make it to the save roll in the first place, this downside is almost negligible for a 20 credit common item. (Really though, this item is excessive. A 60 credit investment of Mesh, an Overlay, and an Undersuit will have a ganger walking around with a 2+ save at the start of a gang. That’s insane. If your group has figured out a more appropriate price/rarity for the Overlay, please let us know!)
Blind Snake Pouch 60 Credits Rare(12)
- Gives a fighter a 6+ chance to dodge any attack, and improves the chance to 5+ if they already have the Dodge skill. While this won’t save you from being pinned like a minus to hit effect, it’s incredible for general survivability. Also increases to a 4+ against Overwatch shots, which could come in handy against more cunning opponents.
Holochromatic Field 100 Credits Illegal(9)
- Low toughness and weak armor saves don’t matter if your enemy can’t draw a bead on you in the first place, and with a -2 to be hit from ranged attacks (and -1 in melee) you’ll be hard to target in one of these suits. Illegality and a steep price will prevent them from being doled out too liberally, and the Always-Revealed side effect will make the wearer an easy mark when facing Delaque.
Mastercrafted Weapons Varies (125% of Usual Cost)
- For a tax of 25% above the listed price of a weapon, Mastercrafted items gain the coveted ability to re-roll a single miss once per round. Note that purchasing a Mastercraft is one of the few ways for a fighter to discard a previously-equipped weapon, as the original is returned to the Stash as they replace it with the upgrade.
Hotshot Las Pack 20 Credits Common
- The humble Lasgun and Laspistol are ubiquitous in the Underhive, reliable weapons plinking away and pinning their targets, but often without much damage to show for it. If you’ve got gangers with Lasguns, toss them a couple of Hotshots and they’ll be blasting away at a respectable Strength 4.
Photo-Goggles 35 Credits Rare(9)
- It’s a certainty that at least one gang you’re facing is going to have discovered the wonder of Smoke Grenades. You don’t need to invest in Goggles for everybody, but a few key fighters with vision will keep your sneaky foe on their toes! (Yes, technically the Goggles improve your defense against being Blinded from Flash effects. No, that’s almost certainly not the way it’s intended to work. Check with your opponent to make sure you’re both on the same page about it, pre-game!)
Infra-Sights 40 Credits Rare(8)
- Imparting similar abilities to the Photo-Goggles, the Sights also allow targeting through Smoke provided they’re able to be mounted to a weapon that passes certain restrictions. (Rapid Fire and Blasts are forbidden.) In addition, they also reduce their target’s cover bonus, should they be obscured.
Mnemonic Inload Spike 100 Credits Illegal(12)
- Remember our critique of the Skill System the other week? Turns out there’s a solution, and it’s on the Black Market. While not recommended to install until you’ve got the spare credits to invest in bionics or an emergency trip to the doc (though admittedly there is a one in thirty-six chance of instant death), the Spike is the only way in the game for a fighter to gain virtually any skill of their choosing. The possibilities are endless, people! Also worth mentioning is that the Spike is removed from your Stash after it’s used, so and Law-Abiding guilds that acquire one can go about their business afterwards without worrying about triggering Alignment checks.
Stimm-Slug Stash 30 Credits Rare(7)
- Generally dismissed as the domain of the Brawler and Goliaths, Stimm-Slugs are a useful tool for any fighter in that they are one of the few ways in the game to remove a Flesh Wound. If you’re injured on the ground after having been wounded down to Toughness 1, having a Stash handy is your only chance of ever standing up again.
Second Best & Wild Snake 15/30 Credits Common
- The other method of removing Flesh Wounds: drinking until you forget it hurts! The trade-off for your recovery is a steady slide into intoxication, with penalties to your BS, bonuses to Cool, and other consequences and buffs as your fighter becomes completely shitfaced. If you ever needed reassurance that you are in fact playing the correct skirmish game, let us remind you: Necromunda has two separate Intoxication Tables to represent different styles of being drunk.
Conclusion
The Trading Post is a confusing and daunting bazaar, sprawling statlines and prices across multiple sections of multiple books. It is also the true heart of the Necromunda experience, a wonky emporium allowing players to customize their gang to levels unfathomable by any other game in the GW library. It’s weird, and it’s not always particularly balanced, and we love it.
That’s all for this week, friends! Check back next week for part three of our initial progression series where we’ll be covering pets, brutes, and hangers-on, as we dive into the final campaign marker; Reputation.
The Trading Post is a big place, so we’re sure we missed even more than usual this time around! Let us know in the comments or hit us up at contact@goonhammer.com. We’d love to know what you’ve found to be effective in your campaigns! Is there going to be any info on Dark Uprising and the Corpse Grinders at SPIEL this week? We don’t know! We’re excited!
