Provided below are the House rules we use for Spyrers gangs.
Spyrers are scions of the unimaginably wealthy Noble Houses
that claim the highest reaches of the spires of Necromunda as their domain, who have decided to
alleviate their pampered boredom by descending into the dark depths of the hive for the thrill of the hunt.
But while boar and fox were sufficient to slake the bloodthirst of ancient man, these noble spawn stalk
fiercer prey...the dangerous sentient denizens of the underhive.
If that's all it was, pampered ponces slumming and pretending at being dangerous, there'd be little to worry of. But, no. These aristocratic sociopaths come armed with bizarre and deadly Hunting Rigs, incredibly advanced suits of powered armor with integrated weapons, secondary systems...even field generators in some cases. Their wealthy Houses can afford the very best of everything, and fighting gear is no exception.
The Hunting Rigs are a hybrid of Archeotech and likely Xenotech, that rival and even exceed the capabilities of other armor suits used within the Imperium, by the Tau, and even those of the Eldar. In addition to being equipped with amazing weapons and secondary systems, the Hunting Rigs are hermetically sealed, providing life support, waste disposal, and protection from even the most serious of injuries. They are cybernetically calibrated to their specific pilot, and once donned are taken off only with great difficulty; Spyrers live in them until they return home or die trying.
Where the armor is purchased from is a secret closely held by the aristos. It is known that the Tau are familiar with these kinds of powersuits, as their language includes several words almost certainly derived from the names of each type of rig; but these suits have been known on Necromunda for centuries and their technology exceeds what the Tau are generally thought capable of producing. More credible rumors abound that they may be Jokaero in origin, made available to
the ultrarich of Necromunda (and perhaps elsewhere) by one or more Rogue Traders who secretly trade with the
apelike aliens for these and other technological marvels.
In a practice that has passed into cultural ritual, the most aggressive and hawkish aristos of the up-spire Noble Houses
will sometimes form into small hunting parties, get fitted with Hunting Rigs, swear to a Hunters Pact, and enter into
temporary exile in the underhive to fulfill their vow. Spyrers who complete a Hunters Pact and return
are lionized and gain status and influence for themselves amongst the aristocracy.
While on their hunt, by tradition the Hunting Party is incommunicado and will receive no assistance or reinforcement from outsiders, and
cannot return from the underhive until they have fulfilled their Hunters Pact.
No new members can join the Hunting Party once the Hunters Pact has been sworn, and if one of the members of a Hunting Party dies they cannot be replaced.
They are on their own, kill or be killed, succeed at their Hunters Pact or remain exiled from the stately spires and pleasure domes that their noble birth
priveleges them to reside within.
A Spyrers gang (aka a Hunting Party) must follow these rules when it is founded.
A starting Spyrers Hunting Party is founded by hiring Spyrers chosen from the following fighter types. In the most typical Skirmishes of 1000 credits and campaigns that start at 1000 credits, the classic and optimal arrangement for a Spyrer Hunting Party is still held to be four Spyrers with one of each kind of the four most common types of Hunting Rig: the brutal Orrus, the spidery Malcadon, the glittering Jakara, and the winged Yeld.
However any arrangement is allowed; a Hunting Party might consist of all Malcadon or a mixed pair of two types of Hunting Rigs, for instance. And in Skirmishes or campaigns that allow more than 1000 credits for a gang, multiples of at least one type of Hunting Rig is normal.
A Spyrer Hunting Party may select Tactics Cards from the
Spyrer Tactics Cards
list by default, though campaign and / or scenario specific guidelines may modify this.
A Spyrer Hunting Party is available on a case by case basis depending upon the type of campaign, and when they are available campaign specific rules nearly always apply due to the special nature of Spyrers within the setting. Consult the Arbitrator or campaign write up to determine if a player may run a Spyrer Hunting Party and what restrictions, exceptions, or guidelines might apply.
If a Spyrer Hunting Party is allowed in a type of campaign, in addition to any other campaign specific rules that may apply to them the following requirements and restrictions apply and must be adhered to.
Hunters Pact
When making a Spyrers gang to play in campaign mode, a player must select one (and only one) Hunters Pact. The Hunters Pact chosen is possibly the most important decision about the gang the player will make and it should be considered carefully. The Hunters Pact must be selected from the following options:
A player of a Spyrer Hunting Party and their opponents should keep track of whenever
a fighter in the Hunting Party makes progress towards their goal during the course of a battle.
For instance if a Spyrer on a Caste-sworn Hunting Party takes an enemy fighter Out of Action,
in addition to the normal tracking of XP, the controlling player should also add 1 to a running
tally on the Spyrer's fighter card keeping track of how many enemy Out of Action results that fighter has gotten
over the course of the campaign.
Hunters Pact Acheived
At the end of the Post-Battle Sequence after the battle in which a Spyrer Hunting Party acheived the goal of their Hunters Pact, the gang disbands. This occurs even if the campaign is still ongoing.
The player of the disbanding gang has the option to start a new Spyrer Hunting Party and continue to play in the ongoing campaign with the new gang. If they do so, the new Spyrer Hunting Party is made using however many credits are available for a starting gang in that type of campaign, plus an additional 250 credits for each consecutive time the player has successfully completed a Hunters Pact since the beginning of the ongoing campaign.
For instance, if a player who had successfully completed two Hunters Pacts were starting their third Spyrer Hunting Party during a long running campaign which allowed 1000 credits for starting gangs, that player would have 1500 credits to make their new Spyrer Hunting Party with.
When making a new Spyrer Hunting Party after successfully completing a Hunters Pact, the player may hire new Spyrers with 0 XP in the normal fashion, but they may also hire experienced Spyrer fighters from any of their own previous Spyrer Hunting Parties that successfully completed their Hunters Pact by paying the current credit value of the experienced Spyrer(s) they opt to hire.
For instance, if a Spyrer from a previous Hunting Party had earned XP allowing them to gain various Advancements and risen to a rating of 300, that Spyrer could be hired on to the new Spyrer Hunting Party for 300 credits.
Additionally, the player's new Spyrer Hunting Party starts with Repuation equal to half of the disbanding Hunting Party's Reputation rounded up.
For instance, if the Hunting Party that is disbanding after successfully completing a Hunters Pact had 15 Reputation, the player's new Spyrer Hunting Party would start with 8 Reputation.
The new Spyrer Hunting Party must choose a new Hunters Pact to attempt; this can be the same Hunters Pact as the disbanding Hunting Party, or a different one as the controlling player prefers.
All Spyrers Dead
If all of the members of a Hunting Party die, the gang disbands. The player may choose to make a new Spyrer Hunting Party with however many credits are available for a starting gang in that type of campaign but they may not hire on experienced Spyrers or carry over any Reputation from their previous Spyrer Hunting Party.
Campaign End
If a campaign ends and a Spyrer Hunting Party has not completed their Hunters Pact yet, if Offshoot gangs are being allowed in the next campaign the Spyrer Hunting Party may keep going in that campaign in their current state and continue to work towards completing their Hunters Pact. If only new gangs are being allowed in the next campaign, the Spyrer Hunting Party should be set aside in its current state; perhaps they can be played in a later campaign that allows experienced gangs.
Turf Size and Special Territories
A Spyrer Hunting Party has a Turf Size of 0 and never gains or loses Territories.
Stash and Credits
A Spyrer Hunting Party has no Stash. Anything that would go to the gang's Stash, including credits,
are instead lost. After gang creation a Spyrer Hunting Party loses any credits not spent, and will never gain
any credits after the campaign begins.
Equipment
A Spyrer Hunting Party doesn't use equipment of any kind, other than their Hunting Rig's integrated
weapons and systems. If a Spyrer Hunting Party would gain equipment it is instead lost. Spyrers
also cannot use Tactics Cards that give a fighter an item such as the Frag Trap or Trusty
Backup Tactics Cards even if a scenario or campaign grants them access to such Tactics Cards.
Injury
The Injury rules are slightly modified for a Spyrer Hunting Party; when a Lasting Injury roll is made for a Spyrer use the Spyrer Lasting Injury table instead of the normal Lasting Injury table.
Bottle Tests
Spyrers take Bottle tests normally as indicated by a campaign or scenario, but each Spyrer starts with the Iron Will skill, which stack with one another. This helps to mitigate the small roster size of a Spyrer Hunting Party.
Out of Action
When a fighter takes a Spyrer Out of Action, that fighter gains 2 XP plus 1 XP for every 5 Advancements the Spyrer has, rounded down. For instance a Spyrer with between 5 and 9 Advancements is worth 3 XP when taken Out of Action by an enemy.
Capture
If a Spyrer is Captured, even if the capturing gang somehow managed to get the Spyrer's Hunting Rig off of them, the technology is encoded to only work for its owner.
The Guilders have no official collective position regarding Spyrers, to avoid potentially angering the ultrarich and powerful Noble Houses. Unofficially however the scourge of a Spyrer Hunting Party upon a sector is nearly always bad for business, and thus if the Sell to the Guilders Post-Battle Action is available to the capturing gang, the Guilders will pay 250 credits under the table to any non-Outlaw gang that hands over a Captured Spyrer and their Hunting Rig...no questions asked. Spyrers sold to the Guilders are never heard from again (treat as a killed result).
Any gang may simply kill a Spyrer they have Captured after the Spyrer's Hunting Party has been given the opportunity to mount a Rescue mission (or equivalent) to free them. Gangs that do this gain D3 Reputation immediately. The Spyrer's Hunting Rig self destructs but remnants can be salvaged and sold for 2D6 x 10 credits.
If a Spyrer Hunting Party opts to not attempt to rescue a Captured member, the fighter is lost and must be deleted from the Hunting Party's roster.
As incredibly capable as the Hunting Rigs are when newly activated, the truly amazing thing is that they get even better, enhancing existing capabilities and developing entirely new ones. This is represented by Advancements that Spyrers can gain.
In total, each Spyrer has 36 Advancements available to them; 24 General Advancements and 12 Hunter Rig specific Advancements. These are the only Advancements that a Spyrer may ever gain. Some of these Advancements are like those gained by normal fighters, improving a characteristic or gaining a new Skill. However, others improve a Spyrer's weapons or armor, or even unlock new integrated systems.
Spyrers gain an Advancement for every 5 XP they have accrued. For each Advancement a Spyrer fighter has earned, the controlling player rolls a D6 on the Spyrer Advancement Table, and then rolls again on the indicated secondary table to determine what Advancement is gained.
For instance, a Jakara fighter who gained enough XP in a battle to bring them from 23 XP to 25 XP gets a new Advancement. First the controlling player rolls on the General Spyrer Advancements Table and gets a 5 which instructs them to roll again on the Jakara Hunting Rig Advancements Table. Rolling again on that table the player gets a result of 4: add Blaze Trait to Monomolecular Sword. The player updates their fighter's card to add this new Weapon Trait to the Monomolecular Sword and increases the fighter's rating by +10 points, as indicated.
A Spyrer fighter may only gain each distinct Advancement line item available to them in their relevant Advancement tables one time each. For instance, the "improve Strength of primary weapon by one step" Advancement on the General Spyrer Advancements table may only be gained by the same fighter once ever.
If a fighter type specific table offers an Advancement that is also on the General Spyrer Advancements table, a fighter of that type can gain that Advancement once from each table. For instance, the "improve Strength by 1 step" Advancement is available on both the General Spyrer Advancements table and the Orrus Spyrer Advancements table; thus an Orrus fighter may gain that Advancement up to two times if they get lucky enough to roll both results over the course of their "career".
Though Spyrers don't have a formal Characteristics Maxima, since the Advancements available to them are not open ended, each type of Hunting Rig effectively has its own Characteristics Maxima determined by which Advancements can be taken by a Spyrer who wears that type of armor.
General Spyrer Advancements
All types of Spyrers use this chart to determine what kind of Advancement they gain.
1-2
Roll on the General Spyrer Advancements Table
3
Roll on the General Spyrer Skills Table
4-5
Roll on the relevant Hunting Rig Advancements Table
6
Roll on the relevant Hunting Rig Skills Table
General Spyrer Advancements Table
All types of Spyrers can gain the following Advancements.
Roll D66 on the following table to determine which Advancement a Spyrer gains. Each slot may only be gained by an individual once; re-roll any Advancements that a Spyrer has previously gained. In the unlikely event that a Spyrer already has all of the General Spyrer Advancements, the Spyrer may choose any other Advancement that they do not already have available to them from another table.
Roll D66
Advancement
Rating
11-12
improve Movement by 1''
+10
13-14
improve Weapon Skill by 1 step
+10
15-16
improve Ballistic Skill by 1 step
+10
21-22
improve Strength by 1 step
+10
23-24
improve Toughness by 1 step
+10
25-26
improve Wounds by 1 step
+10
31-32
improve Attacks by 1 step
+10
33-34
improve Initiative by 1 step
+10
35-36
improve Leadership, Cool, Willpower, and Intelligence by 1 step
+20
41-42
improve Armor save by 1 step
+10
43-44
improve Ammo check of Ranged weapon by one step
+10
45-46
improve AP of primary weapon by one step
+5
51-52
improve Strength of primary weapon by one step
+10
53-54
improve Damage of primary weapon by one step
+10
55-56
add Intimidating Trait to Melee weapon
+10
61-62
add Power Trait to Melee weapon
+25
63-64
gain new Integrated System: Enviro Support
+10
65-66
gain new Integrated System: Ultrasonic Disperser
+20
General Spyrer Skills Table
All types of Spyrers can gain the following Advancements.
Roll D6 on the following table to determine which Advancement a Spyrer gains. Each slot may only be gained by an individual once; re-roll any Advancements that a Spyrer has previously gained. If a Spyrer already has all of the General Spyrer Skills Advancements, the Spyrer may choose any other Advancement that they do not already have available to them from another table.
Roll D6
Advancement
Rating
1
gain Combat Focus skill
+10
2
gain Determined skill
+10
3
gain Fast Learner skill
+10
4
gain Fearsome skill
+10
5
gain Tactician skill
+10
6
gain Unstoppable skill
+10
Jakara Hunting Rig Advancements Table
Only Jakara Spyrers can gain the following Advancements.
Roll D6 on the following table to determine which Advancement a Jakara gains. Each slot may only be gained by an individual once; re-roll any Advancements that a Jakara has previously gained. If a Jakara already has all of the Jakara Hunting Rig Advancements, the Jakara may choose any other Advancement that they do not already have available to them from another table.
Roll D6
Advancement
Rating
1
improve Movement by 1''
+10
2
improve AP of Monomolecular Sword by one step
+5
3
improve Mirror Shield unmodified save by one step
+10
4
add Blaze Trait to Monomolecular Sword
+10
5
add Rending Trait to Monomolecular Sword
+5
6
gain new Integrated System: Thermal Shielding
+10
Jakara Hunting Rig Skills Table
Only Jakara Spyrers can gain the following Advancements.
Roll D6 on the following table to determine which Advancement a Jakara gains. Each slot may only be gained by an individual once; re-roll any Advancements that a Jakara has previously gained. If a Jakara already has all of the Jakara Hunting Rig Skills, the Jakara may choose any other Advancement that they do not already have available to them from another table.
Roll D6
Advancement
Rating
1
gain Escape Artist skill
+10
2
gain Impetuous skill
+10
4
gain Mighty Leap skill
+10
6
gain Step Aside skill
+10
Malcadon Hunting Rig Advancements Table
Only Malcadon Spyrers can gain the following Advancements.
Roll D6 on the following table to determine which Advancement a Malcadon gains. Each slot may only be gained by an individual once; re-roll any Advancements that a Malcadon has previously gained. If a Malcadon already has all of the Malcadon Hunting Rig Advancements, the Malcadon may choose any other Advancement that they do not already have available to them from another table.
Roll D6
Advancement
Rating
2
improve AP of Claws by one step
+5
3
improve Armor save by 1 step
+10
4
add Entangle Trait to Claws
+5
5
add Toxin Trait to Claws
+10
6
gain new Integrated System: Lariat
+10
Malcadon Hunting Rig Skills Table
Only Malcadon Spyrers can gain the following Advancements.
Roll D6 on the following table to determine which Advancement a Malcadon gains. Each slot may only be gained by an individual once; re-roll any Advancements that a Malcadon has previously gained. If a Malcadon already has all of the Malcadon Hunting Rig Skills, the Malcadon may choose any other Advancement that they do not already have available to them from another table.
Roll D6
Advancement
Rating
1
gain Backstab skill
+10
2
gain Bushwacker skill
+10
3
gain Escape Artist skill
+10
5
gain Infiltrate skill
+10
6
gain Nerves of Steel skill
+10
Orrus Hunting Rig Advancements Table
Only Orrus Spyrers can gain the following Advancements.
Roll D6 on the following table to determine which Advancement a Orrus gains. Each slot may only be gained by an individual once; re-roll any Advancements that a Orrus has previously gained. If a Orrus already has all of the Orrus Hunting Rig Advancements, the Orrus may choose any other Advancement that they do not already have available to them from another table.
Roll D6
Advancement
Rating
1
improve Ballistic Skill by 1 step
+10
2
improve Strength by 1 step
+10
3
improve Toughness by 1 step
+10
4
improve Armor save by 1 step
+10
5
improve long range of Twin Linked Bolt Launchers by 6'' and short range by 3''
+10
6
gain new Integrated System: Autoloaders
+10
Orrus Hunting Rig Skills Table
Only Orrus Spyrers can gain the following Advancements.
Roll D6 on the following table to determine which Advancement a Orrus gains. Each slot may only be gained by an individual once; re-roll any Advancements that a Orrus has previously gained. If a Orrus already has all of the Orrus Hunting Rig Skills, the Orrus may choose any other Advancement that they do not already have available to them from another table.
Roll D6
Advancement
Rating
2
gain Fast Shot skill
+10
3
gain Hip Shooting skill
+10
4
gain Iron Jaw skill
+10
5
gain Nerves of Steel skill
+10
Yeld Hunting Rig Advancements Table
Only Yeld Spyrers can gain the following Advancements.
Roll D6 on the following table to determine which Advancement a Yeld gains. Each slot may only be gained by an individual once; re-roll any Advancements that a Yeld has previously gained. If a Yeld already has all of the Yeld Hunting Rig Advancements, the Yeld may choose any other Advancement that they do not already have available to them from another table.
Roll D6
Advancement
Rating
1
improve Movement by 1''
+10
2
improve Weapon Skill by 1 step
+10
3
add Knockback Trait to Talons
+5
4
improve Strength of Laser Lance by one step
+10
5
improve long range of Laser Lance by 6'' and short range by 3''
+10
6
gain new Integrated System: Improved Cameleoline Mesh
+10
Yeld Hunting Rig Skills Table
Only Yeld Spyrers can gain the following Advancements.
Roll D6 on the following table to determine which Advancement a Yeld gains. Each slot may only be gained by an individual once; re-roll any Advancements that a Yeld has previously gained. If a Yeld already has all of the Yeld Hunting Rig Skills, the Yeld may choose any other Advancement that they do not already have available to them from another table.
Roll D6
Advancement
Rating
1
gain Backstab skill
+10
2
gain Escape Artist skill
+10
3
gain Exfiltrate skill
+10
4
gain Hit and Run skill
+10
5
gain Infiltrate skill
+10
6
gain Overwatch skill
+10
Unlockable Integrated Systems
The following integrated systems are unlockable as Advancements.
General
Enviro Support
This fighter's Toughness is increased by 2 when defending against Gas, Radiation, Shock, Toxin and similar effects that test against their Toughness.
Jakara
Thermal Shielding
This fighter is immune to the Blaze, Radiation, and Shock traits and gains +2 Toughness for purposes of being wounded by attacks that have any of those traits.
Malcadon
Lariat
Roped: A target hit by this attack must make an Initiative check with a -1 penalty (if able). If this check succeeds, the target escapes the lariat and this attack has no further effect. It his check fails or cannot be made, the target is ensnared, and the attacker rolls to wound. If the target is not taken Out of Action or destroyed, the attacker can attempt to drag the target towards themselves. If they do, roll a d6; if the result is equal to or higher than the target's Strength (or in the case that the target is a carryable object, equal to or higher than 3) the target is dragged D3'' straight towards the attacker, stopping if they hit any obstruction; the 1'' rule does not apply during this movement. This can cause the target to fall, if pulled off the edge of an elevated surface. Additionally, an ensnared target is also affected by the Web trait.
Orrus
Autoloaders
The Twin-linked trait is modified for this fighter's Twin Linked Bolt Launchers; when an ammo check is made for the weapon two dice are rolled and the higher die is kept instead of the lower die. Additionally, this fighter may take a free Reload (Simple) action when activated to reload the weapon if it is Out of Ammo.
Yeld
Improved Cameleoline Mesh
If this fighter is in Partial cover versus a ranged attack, they are treated as being in Full cover versus that attack.
Additionally, there is a -1 penalty to Detect this fighter.
Considerations
In earlier versions of Necromunda Spyrers were thought by some to be, depending upon local parlance, overpowered, beardy, cheesy, and so on. Some play groups would even go so far as to ban Spyrers from their campaigns altogether. These guidelines try to retain the core ideas of Spyrers and their general intimidation factor and uniqueness, but in a way that is not unfair to players of other types of gangs, or unbalancing to the game in general. Some points for consideration of various mitigating limitations, disadvantages, and restrictions suffered by Spyrer gangs follow.
We Few, We Very Few
Spyrer gangs will usually consist of four fighters in most campaigns, and even in campaigns that have higher starting funds their individual expense keeps their numbers few. While each Spyrer fighter has Iron Will, which helps with Bottle tests, Spyrer gangs will nearly always be outnumbered. Additionally, though Spyrers don't suffer from Lasting Injury in campaign play (due to the custom Spyrer Lasting Injury Table provided herein), they can go into Recovery or be killed as normal. And as dead Spyrers cannot be replaced, attrition can be a serious problem for a Spyrer gang in a campaign.
No Group Activation
By default, Spyrers cannot Group Activate as they have no Leaders or Champions with such abilities, do not have access to the Commanding Presence Skill (or similar abilities), and do not have access to Tactics cards that would permit it. A scenario or campaign specific effect might allow two or more Spyrers to Group Activate on a case by case basis, but for nearly all intents and purposes Spyrer gangs simply cannot Group Activate. This can be a serious tactical disadvantage, particularly in critical melee engagements.
Random Advancements
While Spyrers can get some impressive upgrades via Advancement, it's all very randomized, and it can be quite frustrating for some players to repeatedly roll the less exciting / more utilitarian Advances. In fact, part of the challenge of playing a Spyrer gang over the course of a campaign is finding ways to make the most of whatever set of random Advancements the fighters have rolled up.
Nearly Non-existent Post Battle Options
Perhaps the biggest down side of playing a Spyrer gang is the total lack of Post Battle options available to Spyrers in most campaign formats. The impact of this varies across campaign formats, but in almost all cases it's a net negative situation for a Spyrer gang.
No Other Equipment
While Spyrer Hunting Rigs are excellent gear, the inability to acquire or use any other kind of equipment can become a serious tactical disadvantage over the course of a campaign as some other gangs get increasingly well kitted out with more expensive and powerful gear.
Hunters Pact
Which Hunters Pact a given Spyrer gang has made and their progress towards accomplishing it is public knowledge. Consequently other players can adjust their playing styles to interfere with an opposing Spyrer gang's attempts to accomplish their Hunters Pact goal. Conversely in campaigns that are ultimately won or lost by Reputation or Win / Loss records opposing players might actually attempt to accelerate a front runner Spyrer gang's progress towards achieving their Hunters Pact to force the Hunting Party to disband and thus eject them from the final run up to win the campaign.