Full credit for this post goes to reader Justin who mentioned that models that were no longer playable in their original gangs might make fine models as Venators.
This is not just a good idea but a great idea. After all, Venators don’t need to match kit. They each came from somewhere… else. They won’t be dressed alike in gang colors. They’ll be dressed as individuals. So if I want to have my Sinking Blue grenade launcher girl be dressed in her Sinking Blue Escher kit while standing next to a Western Star Orlock… this can happen!
It’s made even more possible by the fact that Venator gangs get most of their weapons from the house lists of their fighters but can, also, spend some points at the Trading Post to get some rarer items. So, maybe the grenade launcher isn’t available on the Escher list (spoiler alert: it’s not) but spending some Trading Post points could land the gang one.
Especially for gangers that are no longer allowed, like the Escher grenadier, this can prove to be a life-line so they can keep playing.
Even more interestingly, if a player has enough miniatures made obsolete through book or journal changes, this could actually make for a more interesting Venator gang as those members will now be carrying very unusual weapons that will also prove to be unusually dangerous, both to their ex-housemates and to any who oppose them.
Where I find myself especially interested in this idea isn’t with one mini here or there. I’ve mentioned them before but I’ve had a gang concept in my head for a long time that I only got around to piecing together back in May or June. There were rumors of a new edition on the horizon but the rumble of thunder was still so distant, I wasn’t thinking it would be here today or tomorrow. And it seemed like the perfect time to use some of the more obscure weapons that came in the old resin champion’s weapon kit. (That didn’t fare well…)
They are called the Roses of Saint Sydrena and the concept is simple. They’re an Escher gang that found a slaughtered Sororitas squad down in the underhive. Seeing an opportunity for fun, profit, blasphemy… they stripped the dead of their armor, repaired the vestments with what the Escher girls had lying around, and started running around screaming, “For the Emperor!”
The thing is, they started to hit a little more often. Stub rounds weren’t taking their fellow sisters down as often as they used to. And the women began to wonder… “Is this real…?”
By the time the Roses are on the table, no one is sure if they’re for real or if they’ve just bought into a long con. My plan was always to play them straight. They’re the real deal, Escher who have found the God-Emperor in their hearts and they’re coming for your heretic ass. But are they doing that because they really just want your stuff? That’s for my opponents to decide.
This inspired me to kitbash a bunch of Escher heads and weapons onto Sororitas bodies and I think the result is pretty fucking cool. But, as discussed, a lot of it is now “illegal” in terms of what’s allowed on a house list. So… Venators to the rescue?
Turning the Roses into a Venator gang would actually solve a lot of my problems. With Trading Post access, I could get a grenade launcher. I could get a plasma cannon. They don’t have juves and all fighters have a skill now so I could field a fighter with Gunfighter, thus my novitiate with two las pistols can take the field. With House Legacy rules, I could still field a chem-thrower. I have some choices to make in terms of armor and their stats won’t be as good as baseline Escher but…
Suddenly, the gang concept I thought was dead has new life. And, even if I didn’t want to run them exactly as my old concept, they could form the base of a new Venator gang, one that includes a normal Escher sister with a grenade launcher or an Orlock cowboy with a (legal again, now) plasma pistol.
When one thinks about it, it’s a fun way to re-use all the miniatures you’ve painted along the way. That poor Ironhead Squat Claim Jumper? Yeah, even he could get a second lease on life, re-invented with his power pick and his power fist. I’m seriously thinking about a hybrid Orlock/Escher gang now, united to take down a Goliath tyrant or something fun story-wise. The potential for new gangs from even a small collection is almost endless.
With Venator gangs as a release valve, there’s now a corollary to the phrase “every miniature is potentially a Necromunda miniature” and that is “no model is a dead model in Necromunda until you decide not to play with it any longer.”
