I keep fiddling with Necroworlda because, well, I love my little monster. It's not without problems (actually, it has more than a few) but I keep coming back to it all the time. It must be the feeling that Necromunda was the game that could be but was not.

 Eventually, I will make a bigger version with more stuff. This article is based in a series of articles I wrote before I had to republish the game due to some download problem with NECROWORLDA (in capitals) which is not available whereas Necroworlda 2.0 is available. They are the same game, there was just some technical issues.

The problems within the game are several (lethality, prices of everything) but in the end it all comes to a lack of catch-up features: players that lose early have no chance to recover. Most of the improvements aim to to improve this by increasing the amount of resources (territories, money, weapons...) that come into the game, reducing the lethality of certain actions (mainly, those Gang Wars fought to the last man that usually leaves two crippled gangs: realistic, yes; fun, not that much).

Here are some reflexions:

Gangs will start with a few territories (three instead of one). With just one, the game degenerates quickly in ruthless battles for the (very limited) resources, gangs end up badly and have big trouble recovering. The chances of finding new territories when Going into the Wasteland have been greatly increased. This way, just with the basics, the resources increase a lot and with them, you can do things.

Accumulative scores: Gang Value will score every turn and those scores should be accumulative and the game will have a pre-fixated amount of turns. This way, we avoid a loop situation when someone gets a higher GV and gets attacked by everyone else while acting the last and, even if you are mauled, you keep your score. As additional chance for late winners, the last two turns will score double. There are more ways of winning now (last standing gang with territories, certain levels of GV...).

Battles to the third casualty. Battles are really hard to win as people tend to hold the line to the end. Now, in the moment you lose a third ganger, your gang runs away (they are criminal scum, not trained soldiers).  Natural 12 and 2 give automatic victory to one side.

I have expanded the territories up to 36 options, many of them with special rules that can make the game much more diverse. I should create pictures for all of them in order to make a deck of cards, which is quite a good asset for the game.

I will likely increase the number of available gangs and their special skills as well. 

Another important new feature are the new available resources: Explosives and Vehicles (one of the names I thought for the expansion was simply BIKES AND BOMBS).

EXPLOSIVES

1 point of Explosives can be purchased for $1. 

Explosives can be used for:

• Give +3 to a Covert Mission to destroy a territory. 
• Be used in a Gang War (must be declared when using Weapons). The first time the opponent loses 1 Ganger, he loses 1d6 Gang members instead. If a 6 is rolled, you also lose 1d6, the target (be it a territory or booty) is destroyed and the battle ends in a draw. 

VEHICLES

1 point of Vehicles can be purchased for $2. They can be used for:

• As an Attacker in a Gang War, to increase a die roll result by one level (from 6- to 7-9 or from 7-9 to 10+). You can't increase a natural 2 nor increase a 10+ to 12 this way.
• To withdraw from a Gang War. Reduce any casualties you would suffer by one (if Explosives were used, subtract one from the die).
• Add +2 to a Going into the Wasteland roll. If successful, add +2 to the die roll to determine what you find. 

Before the Production phase, roll 2d6 and apply the result for the turn:

And last, but not least, I have been working in a huge event chart (36 possibilities) to flesh out the games. I have tried this and it really adds interest to the game as, apart of the gangs fighting, they create small scenarios where players might be fighting other enemies, surviving the next horrible danger that the toxic environment is throwing at them or the planetary authorities interfere with the territories. Here is a simplified version I have been using with just a few options (I noticed yesterday that there is no five!).

2-Mutant invasion: The mutant population has grown too big and is starting to become a problem. All gangs with territories (including mutant gangs) must fight a Gang War (as attacker) against the invaders as an action this turn. The mutants have 3 Gang members and, if they win, take a random territory.

3-Smog: +2 to all Covert Ops rolls. No Weapons may be used in Gang Wars. All gangs roll 1d6. Those who roll 1 lose 1 Gang member. 

4-Reward: A random gang has a Gang member who has committed a crime. A price of $2d6 has been placed on his head. To collect the bounty:

• Can be chosen as the target of a Covert Mission. If successful, the target gang loses a Gang member. 
• Can be chosen as the target of a Gang War. If the defender retreats due to casualties, the Gang member has been captured. 
• His own gang may turn him in as a Dodgy Business option.

6-Rain of ashes: The dark sky gives way to a dirty rain that paints everything grey. Gang members splash around in the muck. No effect.

7-Scorching heat: Necroworlda's greenhouse effect causes a terrible heat wave. Gang members sweat profusely. No effect.

8-Infect wind: An unhealthy wind brings the stench of Necroworlda's seas of waste. Gang members must put handkerchiefs over their faces. No effect.

9: Cockroach plague: Necroworlda suffers one of its usual cockroach plagues. Some can be eaten. No effect.

10-Traders: Players who do Dodgy Business get an extra element of whatever they buy (example: 2 gang members for $1 or gain $2).

11-Prisoners: All players roll 1d6. The player with the highest score has captured 1d3 Gang members from the player with the lowest score. They can be recovered by paying a ransom to be agreed after Production or with a Covert Mission (add "Prisoner Rescue" to the options). If prisoners are not rescued in some way, they are executed.

12: New territories: A neigbour gang has mysteriously disappeared and its territories have been left empty. Generate 4 territories randomly. All gangs may choose to occupy one as an action. If a player claims a territory that someone else has already occupied, resolve a Gang War as an attacker. 

As you can see, some of them are harmful, others are harmless and others are beneficial. This adds a lot of flavour to the game as players should not forget that they are trying to survive in an industrial inferno...