Hand to Hand in the Dirty Hive

 Recently, we were asked about the alternating action mechanism we use to play Necromunda mentioned here.  In answering that query, we realized that we never really explained the hand to hand rules we had to create to make the alternating activations work. So let’s remedy that. 

Each turn is essentially divided into three phases: the all actions but hand to hand phase, the hand to hand phase, and the end of turn actions phase.   The first phase covers movement, shooting, and general actions.  The third phase covers morale checks, recovery and bottle tests. The middle phase gets a bit more tricky. This is how we do hand to hand.

The Movement Phase

1- During phase one any model can declare a charge when activated following the normal charge rules. Measure to determine if the charge is in range, and if it is, move the charging model into base to base with model(s) being charged. Place a small die next to the charging model with the number “one” showing. This will be important later.  Normal rules for charging closest models and charging in the most direct line are in effect. 

       Any model that successfully enters hand to hand, and any model successfully charged are now locked in and cannot be the target of on purpose shooting or other ranged base attacks, but can be hit by deviating fire in which case any area affects have a chance of hitting one or more of the models locked in.  If any of the models is touched by a deviating area effect template then each model in the hand to hand is hit on a 4+ (roll separately for each model.) Swirling melee means that even if a specific model is not touched by the template there is still a chance they are hit.  

If a model is taken out and there are no other friendly models in hand to hand, then the hand to hand is effectively over before it started.  Any charging model who is left standing with no opponent is immune to all firing for the remainder of the turn.  Any model that was charged and hasn’t activated yet for the turn can activate as normal if they have no opponent left.  Pinning hits are ignored.

NO ACTUAL HAND TO HAND COMBAT OCCURS UNTIL THE LATER HAND TO HAND PHASE 

If a model goes down but not out in the above situation, they remain locked in hand to hand.  If no other friendly models come to their rescue by joining the hand to hand before the hand to hand phase, the downed model  will be automatically be taken out as per the normal rules for charging a downed model. 

2- Further models may charge into a hand to hand during the movement phase. Models can even charge into an existing “locked” hand to hand combat.  The second model to charge into an existing hand to hand combat will place a die showing a “two.” A third model charging will place a die marked “three” and so on.

Example: In a fight between Orlocks and Goliaths, a Goliath charges an Orlock successfully.  

The fight starts..ignore the Escher for now

Move the Goliath in to base to base contact with the Orlock and place a die with the number “one”next to the Goliath. Note that the originally charged Orlock will have no die next to him  

 Later in the turn a Orlock decides to help out and successfully charges the Goliath that had already entered hand to hand combat.  Move the Orlock into base contact with the Goliath and place a die marked “two” next to hm

Another Orlock charges.  Move that Orlock into contact with the Goliath and place a die marked “three” next to him 

 Finally, a Goliath charges in to improve the odds.  Move the charging Goliath into base contact with the closest Orlock and mark the Goliath with a die showing “four”.

In all instances above, there must be room for the charging model to be placed in base contact for a charge to be successful.

3-In the bloody and sneaky Underhive there may be times when a third or even fourth gang jump into a hand to hand between multiple gangs.  In these cases, declare a charge as normal and move into base contact with model you want to attack. Place the appropriately numbered dice next to the charging model.  The charge must be against the closest model of the gang declared the enemy.  An Escher who wants to attack a Goliath can run past an Orlock as the Orlock is not the declared enemy in this case, but must choose the closest Goliath   

Example- In the combat above, a sneaky Escher decides to use this opportunity to jump on the Goliaths and declares a charge.  If successful, move the Escher model into base contact with the closest Goliath and place a die marked “five” next to the Escher. 

The Combat Phase

Some general rules 

1. Any model who charges on the turn that the hand to hand takes place is given the +1 charge bonus in all combats that turn even if subsequently charged.by another model. This represents that the combat is simultaneous and all charging models are crashing in. This also prevents punishing models that charged early in the movement phase. It is possible for two models fighting each other to both get the charge bonus  

2. Models never gain the bonus for being second model attacking if the other model attacking the same foe is not from the same gang.  

(Example- An Orlock and a Delaque fight a Goliath.  The Orlock fights and is unsuccessful in taking out the Goliath.  The Delaque then fights.  The Delaque does not get the second model in bonus)

3-If a charging model causes fear, only the target model(s) take a fear test. A model causing fear can still try to charge multiple opponents but there may not always be room to make contact with multiple models.

4-In the case of a combat with multiple combatants from each side, models must pair off starting with the lowest dice number picking an opponent followed by the next lowest  this is usually obvious by model placement  

The Hand to Hand Process

Hand to hand is completed as follows:   Any models that were locked in hand to hand from the previous turn fight first in the order they fought in the previous turn. 

Then the model who is marked with die showing “one” declares an opponent in which it is in base contact. This combat is fought. Next, the model who is marked with the die showing “two” chooses an opponent in base to base contact to fight with the exception of a model with whom it already fought.  If a model who is next in line was already taken down or out, skip to the next number. Do this until all combats have been fought.  All models get the normal bonuses such as charging or going second) 

Follow ups are done in the order of  those that were already fighting the previous turn followed by lowest dice markers and then  any unmarked fighters going last  

Example-Going back to our example fight above : Goliath one fights one of the two Orlocks in which he is engaged-the  Orlock three  has to pair off with  Goliath four who charged)  Goliath one decides to fight the original Orlock he charged. The  Escher is engaged with Goliath four and will also get a charge bonus 

The combat ensues with  Goliath one getting the charge bonus.   Goliath one takes down the unnumbered Orlock   

Note that the downed Orlock is not immediate out 
because a fellow ganger is still engaged. 

Next Orlock two, who is also in base contact with Goliath one has to choose Goliath one because that is the only model in which he is in contact. Orlock two gets a charge bonus and a +1 and extra die for going second  Orlock two dispatches Goliath one.

The photographer apologizes for not placing the 

Down fighter face down like it should be. 

Goliath one is removed as he has no friends in base
To base contact with his opponents so down equals out 

  Next Orlock three is locked in with Goliath four. Both Orlock three and Goliath four get the charge bonus. They fight to a draw. Both models remain standing  

Finally, the sneaky Escher five fights Goliath four.  Both get the charge bonus but Escher five does not get the second model  bonus as she is not from the same gang as Orlock three who already fought Goliath four   Goliath four takes down Escher Five  

Escher five is removed as she has no friends in base to base with Goliath four. Orlock two gets first choice of follow up as he has the lowest remaining die and follows up into Goliath four.  Orlock three and Goliath four remain locked in with each other.  

In the next turn’s hand to hand combat, Goliath four and Orlock three will fight first   Then Orlock two will fight Goliath four  unless either Goliath four is down or a  new Goliath charges in with no additional Orlocks charging in. In this case  The charging Goliath will peel off one of the Orlocks depending on who he makes contact with on the charge  

To avoid confusion you can use different color dice for a new batch of chargers who join an existing hand to hand from the previous turn. 

This may all seem  like a confusing mess, and it may well be, but we were able to gain an understanding pretty quick and we aren’t that bright, so hopefully it works for anyone using it.  

The (Attempted) Rescue Part 2

 Things did not look good.  The sneak was fumbled badly and now chaos was the game.  After failing to gain any advantage through stealth, the three attacking gangs were slowly being munched by the Emperor’s Getaway Guardian Service and Waste-Side Bears.  

Game Note-The Hive Master was in a bit of a conundrum.   If the attacking gangs had even the minimal amount of success in sneaking onto the towers and positioning themselves to strike with surprise and force, they would likely have the upper hand. The attacking gangs walked toward one of only three guards on the lower levels, who should have easily been avoided. They were spotted so early in the fight, that they were disadvantaged in every way possible.   The defenders had higher ground.   Reinforcements would arrive much sooner.   The attackers would have to push up ladders that would become choke points.  This had the potential to be ugly.  The Hive Master could only reduce reinforcements and punish bad tactics. -End of Game Note

The three attacking gangs implemented three distinct strategies.   The Pale Veil bolted for the two towers in hopes of securing cover and cutting off the prisoner caravan.  The Mischievous Misbehaviors crawled amongst the empty market and exchanged fire with the EGGS and Bears above.  The Wastoids sort of lingered at the back taking the occasional shot and advancing towards the Central Tower slowly.

The Misbehaviors’ miserable marksmanship made for a mess.  The Bears and EGGS above negated the green boys’ cover and knocked them around with well aimed bolt and autogun rounds.  The Veil infiltrators had  been all but wiped from the Ventus Lautus tower but the remaining gangers climbed the Central Tower.  The Wastoids followed. 

 

The marketplace erupted with the sounds of clanging armor and clacking hooves.  Two Cavaliers, Osala Thickoak and Haoran the Fleet charged into several Misbehaviors and two young (and slow) Veils.  Thickoak alternated shooting down Orks and clubbing Veilers.  Haoran, the better brawler, charged into a hapless Veiler who had just failed to hit him with a hand flamer.  It was a glorious day for the horsemen who ran down and eliminated a combined seven opponents before the day was out.  Two of those opponents would die. 

The Veilers on the Central Tower climbed. Their fast beast- known as Creature- bounded ahead and surprised two Bears and a Monkey.  Creature blew flame in the face of a Bear, knocking him out, before the second Bear charged.  Creature and the Bear would lock horns/clubs/teeth for several tense rounds of combat.  Eventually, reinforcements helped the purple beast drag down the Bear. They slapped around the monkey for good measure.

Time was running out.  The prisoners crossed the bridge and were prodded, poked and cajoled onto the wooden gallows.  Barrister McVallek speechified to the gathering denizens of Blightwater Borough. 

Down below the Veil was fighting upward.  Two Guardians barely slowed the stealthy boys down and were stabbed and clubbed for their effort. 

Wastoids, Misbehaviors and Veilers dropped in increasing numbers.  No attackers remained standing in the market and the defenders controlled the ladders to the roof.  A Bear flamed a Wastoid who tried to climb up.   The hopeless rescue was over.

The Prisoners stood at their doom. 

Barrister McVallek looked around.   Wastoids, Pale Veil and Mischevious Misbehaviors lay wounded and dying.  His militia, with help from the Bears had performed even better than he could hope.  It was time for mercy.   Playing to the crowd, McVallek announced that the thieves had paid for their crimes against Emperor’s Getaway.   He pardoned the condemned. He led the crowd in a sing along of some old drinking song. No hanging would happen today. 

Even though the condemned kept their lives, the bridge of death was full.  The Pale Veil gave the most but each attacking gang was represented.  Two would die, several would lose fingers, others would limp, and a monkey would gain impressive scars.  

The (Attempted) Rescue Part 1

After the ambush of three gangs by the Emperor’s Getaway Guardian Service with help from the Waste-Side Bears, and the capture of several of the gang members, Emperor’s Getaway was all abuzz with excitement.  The prisoners were dragged back to Blightwater Borough just in time to be special guests at the Blightwater Beer Bonanza.   There was going to be justice for the theft of cultural items from Hethel’s Bowl…not that the denizens of Blightwater Borough cared about the theft or had any particular grievance towards the prisoners, they just wanted to be entertained.

The gallows were built with care (sort of) and Barrister Kowlis McVallek, leader of Blightwater Borough was making last minute changes to his speech. His how many Squats does it take to screw in a luminary globe was not testing well with his council or the members of the Luminary Guild.  McVallek would be kicking off the Beer Bonaza with a rousing oration and a hanging. The occasion even brought out McVallek’s old armor from his brawling days, and the aging leader could still buckle his straps.

While the Barrister discussed security with Captain Howl Neckbreaker, leader of the EGGS, the prisoners awaited their fate in a pen atop the Ventus Lautus tower under the watchful eye of EGGS guards. 

Other EGGS and Luminary Auxiliaries kept vigil in the area.  The Waste-Side Bears were also present and  waiting to finalize their deal for helping the EGGS at the ambush.  The festivities were only hours away and it was shaping up to be glorious.  

The Pale Veil, Wastoids and Mischievous Misbehaviors, unbeknownst to the EGGS were present as well.  In fact they were sneaking up in hopes of pulling off a daring rescue. 

The gangs had decided to collaborate.  The Misbehaviors and Veils were fresh off their stomping of the Bears and Shrouded Path in a gunfight at Grave’s Posttown, and figured they would continue to team-up with the addition of the Wastoids. 

The three gangs developed a plan to go for the pen atop the Ventus Lautus tower where they would rescue their comrades and fight their way out.  Three Veilers even infiltrated onto a lower level of the tower in preparation for the attack.  Not all the EGGS, Bears, or auxiliaries were in the immediate area so the attacking gangs could count on numbers if they could stealthily gain the tower and overwhelm the defenders.  

The gangs could not stealthily gain the tower. The rapidity of the gangs’ cover being blown was truly breathtaking.   The three gangs converged on the tower and either didn’t see the Luminary guard or were confident that they could sneak a dozen gangers right under the Squat’s eyes and ears. Baldur Mossfinder was posted up alone on the second level of the tower and pondered the intricacies of the lumiglobe and its practical applications in bringing light to Emperor’s Getaway.  He paced back and forth with the occasional glance out across the empty market stalls below, while trying to decide if the Emperor was more of a soft light or white light kind of guy, when he noticed a very large green ganger attempting to tip toe past him on the level below.  

Baldur wasn’t sure what he was seeing at first, but he definitely caught the words “quiet” “idiot” and “gonna shove this auto pistol up your green behind.”  Baldur knew what he had to do.

“Alarm!  We are under attack”

The response from the defenders was instantaneous.  Thia Blustream, quickly gaining a reputation with her trusty bolter leaned over the edge of the main bridge and dropped a Veiler with one shot.  Two Bears, also on the bridge, joined in, shooting the big green who had first blown the attackers’ cover.  The big boy fell slightly wounded but wasn’t out of the fight.  Another Misbehavior was pinned from the fire. 

The Misbehaviors fired back, wounding a Bear and pinning another, while the Veilers and Wastoids bolted for the tower.   The defenders continued to throw bolts and slugs at the attackers who were at a severe disadvantage due to the inability to fully hide from the elevated attackers. 

McVallek immediately made the decision to expedite the opening ceremony.   He strode to the front of the platform with the Caller and her Vox Staff hustling to keep up, and signaled the guards on the other tower to drive the prisoners towards the gallows.  Using the Vox Staff, McVallek would call the citizens of Blightwater Borough to come to the speech just a bit earlier than expected.   The Barrister  was ready to give them a show. 

The attackers watched in horror as the prisoners marched towards their demise.   The EGGS prodded their reluctant charges forward.   The Wastoids had a plan.  A lone Wastoid with a long rifle climbed an adjacent tower and carefully aimed at the lead guard.  “Pop”   The guard, Zolena Sunrise, turned in time to throw up her shield and absorb the attack.   She was stunned but not injured.  The EGGS returned fire and drove off the Wastoid sniper.  

The Pale Veil were also making their move.  The three infiltrators hurried forward in hopes of catching the tail of the prisoner conga line.  The unexpected sounding of the alarm rushed their plans, causing them to throw out caution and sprint towards the top of the tower.  They paid for their mistake.  A Bear dropped through a hatch and down a ladder to within yards of two of the Pale crew, pulled out his hand flamer and let them have it.  The flamer was ineffective.  The second Bear and his pistol were more effective.  He shot and dropped one Veiler and another Veiler broke and ran.  The third sneaky boy calmly walked up shot both Bears down with his rapid firing.  He failed to wound either, but they were pinned and at his mercy. 

The prisoners clambered onto the bridge while gun battles raged around them.  McVallek, ignoring the chaos continued to call for the local residents to come forward to hear his speech. 

The attackers changed tactics. Veilers, Wastoids and Misbehaviors now ran to the Central Tower where the gallows and the Barrister stood.  There was some shock when the greens and ashers noticed that the Pale Veil’s little beast was not so little anymore. 

The blue beast was not only larger but was also fast.   Several sprints carried the not so little beast onto the Central Tower and directly at two Bears who were not happy to see him (her?).    Not only had the little blue dude (dudette) grown, his flaming breath could now vomit further.   A huff and a puff, and a gout of flame washed over the surprised bears.  They were surprised because both remained unharmed when the doorway that stood between them and fiery pain blocked most of the blast.  

The rapid firing Veiler on the Ventus tower charged the pinned Bears and realized too late that shooting was easier than clubbing.  The Veiler fell to one of the bears in ferocious hand to hand fighting. 

The final performance in the first act of the unfolding drama was by two Cavaliers who, hearing the alarm, galloped into the market.   Swinging clubs and axes, the armored anachronisms smacked a Misbehavior and the Wastoids’s Hydra into oblivion.   

The rescue was looking shakey.  The sneak didn’t work.  The prisoners marched to their doom. Could they be saved?  These questions, and possibly the one about the Emperor and the lightbulb would be answered soon. 

 

Brawl at the Market.

After the ambush by the Emperor’s Getaway Guardian Service, the gangs hiked it back to civilization-or what counts as civilization near the bottom of the EG-in varying moods.  The Waste-Side Bears carried their freshly earned credits provided by the EGGS for their turncoatism. Fresh off the betrayal at the hands of the Waste-Side Bears and Shrouded Path, the Mischevious Misbehavios and Pale Veil trudged out minus comrades whom were captured by the Barrister’s militia.  The Misbehaviors and Path found themselves in a scrappy mood when they encountered the traitors at the trading post known as Grave’s Posttown where the gangs stopped to re-supply before heading home.  

Grave’s Posttown, or the Grave Post for short is a popular trading post for the less established, more unlawful groups   It is tolerant of mutants, and the head proprietor Marne Lamplighter tends to look the other way when the more wanted types show up to deal.  Violence rarely flares up in the trading post because customers don’t want to be banned.  The Pale Veil and Mischievous Misbehaviors were not thinking about bans when six of their crew closed in on a small group of Avians and Bears in the central market.   It was going to be a shootout.

The shops and stalls that line the main thoroughfare emptied as the two gangs slowly walked towards each other.   The Bears and birds possessed confidence. They did just watch the Emperor’s Getaway Guardian Service haul away several of their rivals   The Veilers and Greenies were focused.  They had been betrayed and they were out to collect scalps. 

The two groups slowly moved in.  Two straight lines closing, hands on triggers.  They faced off only feet apart.  Eyes narrowed. Sweat pooled  (except on the Kroot. Kroot don’t sweat.)  Tension tightened grips.

The Greens and Unseens blinked.  One of the newly recruited little pointy ears fumbled for his gun. The Pathers were quicker.  A Kroot pulled his auto pistol and fired the first shot. He missed.  A second bird drew and fired knocking down the little grot but couldn’t wound him.  A Bear fired his  newly acquired plasma pistol and shot down a Veiler. Another Bear fired his autogun but missed.  One of the bigger Misbehaviors had the foresight to pack his flamer and swept a gout of flame, burning one bird and barely missing the other.  The much slower Pale Veilers pulled guns last but dropped a Bear injured to the ground.

The shooting was decidedly poor.   Gangers hit gangers but injuries were minor..for now.   A Bear decided that his ammo was not going to cut it and charged a juvenile sneaker.  The older, more experienced Waste-Bear clubbed the youngster and knocked him out.  Further along the line, the torched (fried?) bird recovered long enough to stand up and be hit again by the flamer.   This was too much and the Kroot passed out.   The jittery juvenile greenie who had triggered (or didn’t trigger in his case) the shooting, jumped up and howled as he charged the one standing Pather.  The Avian was not standing long.  The little dude clubbed the more skilled, but less ready bird, knocking him out.

Soon, the noise and violence brought more combatants to the brawl from each gang.  The last remaining Kroot of the showdowners was unceremoniously shot down  by a long gun toting Veiler who had managed to climb a nearby hab block.  Another Pather was shot and killed by a newly arrived little green Juve. This would be the only death on the day.

The Bears braced for a bad beating.  A Mischievous big green ran up a flamed two Bears who had been pinned down by overwhelming Misbehavior firepower. Other Bears who had arrived and fired suppression shots to keep the greens at bay either ran out of ammo or watched shells harmlessly bounce off their opponents.   The Shrouded Path tried to fight back but were outclassed by the more skilled Veil and Misbehaviors. 

It was soon obvious that the day was won by the better armed and better skilled avengers.   The gangers of the Shrouded Path and Waste-Side Bears slipped away from the trading post and missed the two for one sale on socks.  The Pale Veil and Mischievous Misbehaviors claimed their vengeance and got a good deal on some very soft pillows and matching duvets. 

  

Hard Boiled EGGS part 2

 When we last left our protagonists they were being squeezed by the Emperor’s Getaway Guardian Service.

The EGGS were pushing the gangs into a cul de sac. The gangs were retreating up into a large manufactorium intending to make a stand. 

The EGGS were inching forward but were inexperienced and most were armed with shorter ranged guns.  An excitable Cavalier dropped a Pale Veiler but ran out of ammo.  One of the squat auxiliaries lugging a heavy bolter also wounded a Veiler, but the sneaky boys were pulling back out of range.  The Wastoids were screened by the manufactorium and the Waste-Side Bears were already on top of the giant structure.

The Mischievous Misbehaviors were more aggressive.  They had already come up against the EGGS and one of their little lads had been captured by Foot Sergeant Oliver Oakwood, who bonked the lad over the head after a fellow Guardian Thia Bluestream had shot him down with a bolt gun. 

The EGGS had a serious problem.  The retreating gangs were fleeing high.  This left the Cavaliers unable to follow on their horses.  The Cavaliers were each armed with rifles but could never get an angle on the elevated enemy.  Billy Bot had the same issue.   Giant clunky metal boxes don’t do ladders. 

It was up to the foot troops.   The Guardians crossed a bridge that connected to the upper levels of the tower while the squats climbed out of a giant warehouse and closed in from the flank.  The EGGS also had a an ace up their frilly sleeves.   

If you will recall, two gangs decided to turn over the looted items to the Blightwater leadership instead of selling it to Aidus Johipok. The Shrouded Path had already snuck away from the trap.  The Waste-Side Bears was the other gang and was the trap.  Foot Captain Howl Neckbreaker spoke the code phrase through the Vox Staff and the Bears turned. 

“Run Burp Chickens Run”

Throughout the early stages of the scenario the Pale Veil loudly and persistently pointed out that the Bears had taken the deal and not to trust them.  They told anyone who would listen and did so repeatedly.   So it was ironic that when the Bears pounced it was the Veil that was situated closest to the traitorous tricksters.

One of the Bears immediately charged an unsuspecting Veiler and routed him due to having a killer reputation.   The Veils wormy beast, who ignored psychology counter charged.  Soon one other Bear and one other Veiler were locked in. 

The hand to hand was short and bloody.  The Bear dropped the Veiler and the beast.  The human was captured and the beast went to the bridge of death for judgment. (He would fully recover.)

The Veil immediately sought revenge, and an angry Veil charged the Bear monkey (monkey bear?). The fight was over quickly as the ape had sustained a chest wound in the last fight and was just a fresh faced young monkey with a reduced toughness.  “Bonk”. The monkey was out.

Things between the two gangs only became more vicious.  A Veiler with a hand flamer torched two Bears and a Bear shot a Veiler.   Another Bear roped in the Wastoids by flaming two of them.  One of the poor Wastoids lost his footing and plummeted from the fifth floor to the ground with a flaming splat. 

Meanwhile the Misbehaviors were doing all the heavy lifting against the EGGS and Auxiliaries.   Five separate hand to hand struggles were playing out across several bridges and the smaller tower.  

The Misbehaviors were taking a beating but were dishing it out. The most protracted struggle and ultimately the deadliest occurred on the middle bridge where one EGG had already been shot down by a little green, and another had been flamed out.  Old Arthur, the eldest of the Guardians had sprung forward to cover Molly Mudgummer-daughter of reknown slag collector Enron Mudgummer-who was the shot down Guardian and who was crawling back down the bridge. 

 One of the not so little green Misbehaviors pounced on Arthur  with an assist by a mechanical dungeon bowl ball that the Misbehaviors had found in Hethel’s Bowl. 

The hand to hand was ongoing and Arthur was holding his own. The ball stabbed at Arthur’s shins with a sharpened appendage, and as Arthur lowered his shield to block the strike, the large green menace brought down an axe and struck Arthur a killing blow.

     Elsewhere a battle of the short legs ensued.  A Luminary named Baldur Mossfinder was charged by a newly recruited Misbehavior.   The two tangled until Mossfinder shot the green down and captured him.

..

The Bears were taking hits and the EGGS were dropping.   Foot Captain Neckbreaker’s  Guardians captured five scofflaws and shot down several more.  It was time to pull back.  The newly formed militia hadn’t set the world on fire with its first action (The Bears and  Veil did that) but it held its own. The EGGS could be proud that they had brought in members of each of the thieving gangs.  Old Arthur was dead, and he would be honored.  The scaffolds in Blightwater Borough would be seeing action.