How Micromunda came about

I admit it, I resisted the change. I refused to even try any newer versions of the 40k rules, based upon the aweful
glimpse of third edition I had wa y back when, but then something happened that softened me a little - both of my
sons got a little older and both expressed an interest in playing and it became clear that 2nd edition is a little too full
of exceptions and areas that are a bit to grey to teach.

So I hopped on the auction site and found an orphaned rulebook for sale cheap and I snatched it up and began
reading. Admittedly, it's a bit abstract, especially when compared to the 'Skirmish' version of the second edition
rules that Necromunda employs, but there are alot of ways that it brings some elegance to the rules that certainly
makes for speedier play.

That being said, I present a snapshot of how we (My sons and I) have tweaked the 5th edition rules for Gang warfare
in the Underhive.

THE MOVEMENT PHASE

The major differnce in the movement phase is centered on the fact that we have elected to keep the Movement (M)
characteristic as part of our rosters. I understand WHY it was removed in the larger scale 40k game, but the classic
movement system works better in Necromunda. I personally find it easier to keep up with, as opposed to tracking
spearate movement in the movement, shooting and assault phase. Listed here are some changes we employed in our
games:

· All movement, including charging into close combat occurs in the movement phase. Models that move
more than their (M) characteristic are considered to be running and are marked as such.
· Models are not required to stop 8" away from an enemy when moving.
· Difficult terrain is handled in the following way: Roll 2 sustained fire dice and add the results together -
this is the distance you may move through difficult terrain (moving more than your movement
characteristic will still count as running). Any 'Jam' symbold that turn up count as zero (0). If both dice turn
up 'Jam' than your character has in jured himself/herself while moving - resolve the injury immediately -
the charcter will become pinned automatically and will suffer a wound on a roll of 4+, regardless of
toughness.

THE SHOOTING PHASE

The shooting phase for Micromunda is largely unchanged from 40k 5th edition, with the exception of weapon
classes. The weapon classes are a hybrid of 40k 5th edition and the original Necromunda. This was done largely to
keep the weapon selections faithful to the original (i.e. Leaders may use special weapons, etc.) The classifications
are as follows:

· Pistols - all pistols may be used in hand to hand combat and all share a range of 12"
· Basic weapons - these are the 'rifle' weapons that are typically wielded by gangers, most have a range of
24"
· Special weapons - these are the unique weapons that Heavies and Leaders can wield (Flamers, Plasma
Guns, Meltaguns, etc)
· Heavy Weapons - these are the big guns that heavies can exclusively carry all of these weapons are move or
shoot weapons

I purposely left out the 5th edition classification as 'rapid fire' or 'assault', becuase these would counteract alot of
specific rules and skills that exist as advances in Necromunda. I have prepared a separate Weapons list (in xls form)
that details the modified attributes of the weapons for Micromunda play. There are also a few MAJOR differences in
Miscromunda from 5th edition

· Grenades can be thrown in the shooting phase - treat as a blast weapon with a range of (S)x2"
· Blast weapons will use the older set of templates (1", 1.5", 2" radius) as opposed to the small and large
 template.
· There is no 'Go to Ground' rule, as the original Pinning rules are maintained - with some changes (see
below)

THE ASSAULT PHASE

The assault phase sees the most changes as it is borrows a little from both parent systems. No movement can take
place, as all charges were made in the movement phase. The combat is resolved as follows:

· The number of attack dice is determined the same as in 5th edition, except for a few skills that will add
attack dice that are unique to Micromunda
· The 'hits' are determined by referencing a WS chart, just as 5th edition
· The models count the number of hits + Initiative (I); there are NO criticals or fumbles, although parries,
disarms and similar mechanics are still allowed
· the totals are compared - the difference is the number of strikes the winner lands on the loser(s)
· If there are multiple opoonents, the strikes may be distributed accross multiple opponents
· The winner chooses the weapon to inflict the damage and makes 'To Wound' rolls for each succesful strike -
if a pistol is selected, any six (6) rolled will incur an ammo check

This system took a while to work out, but I've been really satisfied the way it handles 'ganging up' on an opponent - I
was never really happy the way a single ganger could fend off a horde of enemies one at a time - Now a leader
might think twice about facing four enemy juves at once!

A FEW CHANGES THAT ARE HOME-BREWED

There are some rules changes that are simply house rules - things that I have done outside of the 5th edition
implements.

· Pinning is different. In my games, any model is ALWAYS allowed to escape pinning, but must make a
leadership test, not an Initiative test. This is just a preference that makes a little more sense (to me
anyways) as it represents a bit more 'shellshocked' behavior. It also makes Ld a little more desirable
characteristic when advancing.
· Just becuase my brain just always assumes that higher is better, I have reversed recovery rolls so that 1=
Out of Action, 2-5 = down and 6=flesh wound.

Thanks for browsing my variant. If you have questions about gaps (I'm sure I created more than a few) or have any
suggestions/house rules that you feel may mesh, please Message me (BGG user aquilaprime)

-Enjoy.