Necromunda: When the Environment Won the Fight
We had one of those very Necromunda stories recently: technically a win, practically a comedy of errors, and absolutely the kind of game we’ll remember longer than any clean tactical masterclass.
It all started with a small but important observation: apparently there still isn’t a proper Necromunda logo in the set someone was looking at. A tragic oversight, obviously. There are, as we established, at least a couple of grimdark systems too many there if Necromunda didn’t make the cut.
But the real highlight was end3r’s latest campaign game. His gang is growing nicely, and the latest victory came in a mirror-ish match: Squats versus Squats. Or at least, that was the theory.
According to end3r, neither player really knew what they were doing. His opponent at least had the rulebook, which should have been an advantage — but Necromunda being Necromunda, the battlefield had other plans. Fuel barrels kept exploding in the other guy’s face while he was trying to collect them, and that was pretty much what handed end3r the win.
So yes, as Michał very accurately summed it up: this was less “end3r beat another gang” and more “the environment beat that guy.”
And honestly? That feels perfectly on-brand for the underhive.
The best part is the image of both gangs plodding around and taking potshots at each other with very limited success. As end3r described it, they were basically shooting at each other like short-legged, slow-moving dwarfs, and the actual hitting part was not going especially well. Which makes the exploding barrels even funnier: when the guns don’t do the job, the scenery steps up.
There is also a very hobby-side twist to all this. The gang may have started life as “Squats”, but in practice end3r is currently running them with Kharadron models as proxies. The actual Squats are not assembled yet, because the current painting focus is on Kill Team — specifically Salamanders.
The plan, at least in theory, is simple enough: finish painting the Salamanders, then build the Squats, then maybe paint them too. That would be useful, because painted models mean more XP in the campaign. In reality, though, we all know how these things go, and end3r seems fully aware that this probably means the entire campaign will be played by “Squats” who have quietly been renamed to “Kharadroni”. New name, new profile picture, same practical solution.
And really, we respect that. Proxy gaming while the proper gang waits for its turn on the hobby desk is one of the most honest traditions in this hobby.
The Salamanders, meanwhile, are staying Salamanders — especially because that dark green scheme is just too good to give up.
So this battle report is a little different from the usual blow-by-blow recap. No turn-by-turn tactical breakdown, no deep strategic insight. Just a perfect little Necromunda anecdote: two players learning as they go, dice refusing to cooperate, barrels becoming the deadliest combatants on the table, and a gang that is spiritually Squat but physically Kharadron.
In other words: the campaign is going exactly as it should.