Van Saar Terrain
Source: House of Artifice
Gangs often make use of cunning terrain in their battles against their rivals. Sometimes this is whatever is lying around the underhive battlefield, such as barrels for cover or boltholes from which to launch ambushes. Other times they bring the terrain with them, setting up fixed weapon platforms, defensive barricades or piles of ammo crates within easy reach of their fighters.
Van Saar gangs can call upon a number of specialist terrain features to include in their gang. These pieces of terrain are bought from the Trading Post during the post-battle sequence. Once bought, they are added to the gang’s stash, and can be fielded in any battle the gang takes part in unless noted otherwise.
Placing Gang Terrain
Gang terrain is placed on the battlefield before any fighters are deployed. A gang can place its terrain in its own deployment area, or, if noted, in no-man’s-land (i.e., anywhere outside their opponent’s deployment zone and their own deployment zone). Some pieces of terrain (as noted in their descriptions) can only be used if the gang is the defender in a scenario with an attacker and a defender.
Van Saar Terrain
| Terrain | Cost | Availability |
|---|---|---|
| Rad Cannon Emplacement | 145 credits | Rare (8) |
| Thermal Mine | 70 credits | Rare (11) |
| Energy Sink | 60 credits | Rare (10) |
| Rad Casters | 40 credits | Rare (10) |
| Archaeo-relic | 80 credits | Rare (9) |
Hidden Traps
Some traps are cunningly hidden among the gloom and debris of the underhive, fighters not knowing if a pile of rubble is just more rubbish or a deadly surprise. If a trap uses the Hidden Traps rule then it is represented on the battlefield by not one but six markers. These markers can be tokens, or appropriate terrain elements on 25mm bases. When preparing these markers, one out of the six is the real trap (mark its underside, or secretly make a note to determine which one is real), the others are false traps. When a fighter triggers a trap, as detailed in the trap’s description, it is revealed. False traps are discarded while the real trap remains on the battlefield. Note that even when the real trap is revealed, other false traps remain on the battlefield until they have been interacted with – this is important if more than one trap is in play, as it will keep the enemy guessing as to just how many traps remain to be discovered.
Rad Cannon Emplacement
The signature weapons of House Van Saar are those which utilise the same deadly radiation that blights the very existence of the Van Saar themselves against their enemies. To the Van Saar, such weapons hold little terror – they are accustomed to wearing protective gear that shields them against this invisible poison, and spend their lives enduring the painful treatments required to purge their thin blood of radiation – but to outsiders, the debilitating after-effects of Rad weapons are fearful to behold.
Van Saar gangs can only include a Rad Cannon Emplacement if they are the defender in a scenario with an attacker and defender. A Rad Cannon Emplacement uses the following profile:
| Weapon | Rg S | Rg L | Acc S | Acc L | Str | Ap | D | Ammo | Traits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rad Cannon | 24" | 48" | - | -1 | 2 | -2 | 1 | 3+ | Blast (5"), Fixed, Rad-phage, Unwieldy |
Thermal Mine
A Thermal Mine is a larger, more powerful version of a melta bomb. When set off, the area within several metres of the mine is rapidly heated to temperatures high enough to melt rock. The effect on living organisms is profound, to say the least!
Thermal Mines are traps, and use the Hidden Traps rules. Thermal mines can be set up anywhere on the battlefield outside of your opponent’s deployment area.
When an enemy fighter moves within 2" of a Thermal Mine marker, they must immediately stop and make an Initiative check. If this check is passed, they can continue their movement as normal. If it is failed, flip over the marker to see if it is the real trap as per the Hidden Traps rule. If it is a false trap, discard the marker. If it is the real trap, it explodes immediately with the following profile. Note that when a Thermal Mine explodes, every fighter that is currently within 6" of the marker is hit, whilst those that are within 3" of the marker are not only hit, but suffer the effects of the Melta trait.
| Weapon | Rg S | Rg L | Acc S | Acc L | Str | Ap | D | Ammo | Traits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Melta trap | 3" | 6" | - | - | 8 | -4 | 3 | - | Blaze, Melta |
Energy Sink
An Energy Sink works by drawing power from its immediate environment to charge power cells. Prohibited across most of the Imperium due to how easily they can be misused to collect ‘free’ energy, House Van Saar seemingly cares little, utilising Energy Sinks to power their own weapons and disarm their enemies.
An Energy Sink can be represented by either a marker or a piece of terrain on a 25mm base. An Energy Sink can be set up anywhere on the battlefield outside of your opponent’s deployment area.
Any fighter, friend or foe, that attempts to make a ranged attack with a las or plasma weapon, or a weapon with the Melta trait, or that attempts to make a close combat attack with a weapon with the Power trait whilst too close to an Energy Sink will find its Strength reduced:
- If the fighter is within 3" of the Energy Sink, reduce the weapon’s Strength by D3, to a minimum of 1.
- If the fighter is within 6" of the Energy Sink, reduce the weapon’s Strength by 1.
Rad Casters
Rad Casters hung from low ceilings or doorways slowly release deadly radiation into the air. They can be represented by either a marker or a piece of terrain on a 25mm base, and can be set up anywhere on the battlefield outside of your opponent’s deployment area.
In the End phase, a fighter within 3" of a Rad Casters must make a Toughness check, adding +1 to the roll for each item of Wargear and armour that protects against weapons with the Rad-phage trait. If this check is failed, or the roll was a natural 6, the fighter suffers an immediate Flesh Wound.
Rad Casters can be thrown by a friendly fighter in base contact with them, just as if they were a grenade. Work out this attack as normal, counting the Rad Casters as a rad grenade. Once the attack has been worked out, remove the marker from the battlefield.
Archaeo-Relic
House Van Saar relics are shrines to the wonders of technology. Strange structures that combine together advanced cogitation devices, weird power sources, and bizarre sensor arrays. Such devices are so alien in design to outsiders that they could easily be mistaken for being xenos in origin, and their disturbing appearance, combined with the strange waves of static and pulses of white noise, can deeply affect even the most unflappable of underhivers.
An Archaeo-relic counts as a Gang Relic (see the Necromunda Rulebook). In addition, enemy fighters who end their activation within 3" of an Archaeo-relic must make an Intelligence check. If the check is passed, nothing happens. If, however, the check is failed, the fighter immediately becomes subject to the Insane condition (as described in the Necromunda Rulebook).
Van Saar gangs can only include an Archaeo-relic if they are the defender in a scenario with an attacker and defender. An Archaeo-relic can be represented by an appropriate marker or a suitably impressive piece of industrial terrain, painted in the colours of the gang and modelled to represent advanced technology utilising unnatural and dangerous energy sources.
Note that if the Archaeo-relic is defiled (see the Necromunda Rulebook), it loses the bonuses it provides to Cool and Leadership checks, but retains its other benefits.