The Underhive

  In case you missed it (and many actually did), Games Workshop finally got around to releasing that game I love so much.  It's the game that commissioned me as a lifelong GW fanboy and segued me into the grimdark universe that eventually took over all things gaming.  It's the game that I recruited many an unwary friend and developed their need for 'the versus' as well. 

  And no, this isn't about some Trolls in the Pantry .  Oh no, this is much more serious.  You see, the grimdark is all about the galactic struggle of mankind in an uncaring galaxy beset on all sides by foes unimaginable and incessant.  But what about the local struggles of that same mankind against foes that are wholly predictable and downright exhausting?  That's where this game comes in.  That's where the setting takes on a much more personal feel, especially if those persons are the forgotten masses of wannabe punks at the literal bottom of society.  If you haven't figured it by now, I'm talking about Necromunda. 

Is my personal 'rabbit hole'

  When I was much younger, I begged my Dad for the greatest game I'd ever seen.  Despite his obvious disdain for all things gaming (I had long before worn him thin with my nerdy addictions to comics, D&D, and Star Trek), he relented and gifted me with the core game for Christmas.  Of all the things he's ever done for me, this was probably the most influential (it directly led to a career, for Emprah's sake!), and I rode that horse until it fell dead right under me. 

  Obviously, the game died and I moved on to such pursuits as 40k.  I had collected many of the gangs, painted more than my fair share of Orlocks and Van Saars, and even hoarded and built multiple terrain sets from the game and its expansion.  That terrain (and more gifted to me by an awesome buddy) still sits in a box in my garage.  I even occasionally opened it up to investigate the usability and condition.  But I never went back to it.  I graduated high school, dropped out of college a couple of times, and started my time in the Emprah's service across the U.S., and just never got back to it.  Imagine my surprise when I discovered that the plastic bulkheads that make up that terrain was actually worth quite a bit to some people.  I never sold it, but I still didn't use it.  

(pic stolen from Google Images, not mine); hi-tech 90's terrain!!!

   I really loved Necromunda.  I could spend a ridiculous amount of time waxing on about the gangs and the setting's storyline, and I could shoot a ton of wind describing all the ridiculous scenarios I saw (like using an autocannon to smite a gang leader from across the board and through about a dozen buildings, or my buddy wiping out gang after gang as he stood at the upper levels and littered the ground with live grenades, much the chagrin of his opponents).  But that's not what I'm interested in right now.  The thing that really has me geeked is the terrain, and you'll understand why in a bit. 

  But let me back up just a bit.  See, GW actually released a new version of Necromunda a couple of years ago.  The game was called Shadow War: Armageddon (or SW:A for short) and used the same rules as Necromunda, but focused on 40k Kill Teams instead of the dystopian punk gangs that we were used to.  Obviously, everyone like me but far more vocal of their disappointment railed on and on against this as they expected the old game totally resurrected.  But there was a part of it that we all really liked- the terrain.  It was beautiful and made the price of that box worth it all day.  Moreover, it was a very limited release, and even more limited for the terrain itself.  The internet exploded with aftermarket negotiating. 

  Little did we know, GW would release the terrain later on and we would be able to buy it all in pieces and with some new accessories to add to it, labeled as 'Sector Mechanicus' .  At the time, I was very happy that I'd gotten my hands on the game and its terrain while everyone else gnashed their teeth.  I even considered buying more from eBay, but I was too poor to make that a reality. 

(again, stolen from Google Images, not mine) I've gotten just a bit further than this...

  Okay, now we're caught up to last year.  Sooooo, last year GW released the actual Necromunda.  In a crazy twist of irony, it has different rules but uses the old gangs from before.  In fact, this new version is a board game!!!  Again, the interwebs vomited all the complaints from those with more cause to shout than me because it wasn't the former game we all loved.  The models were fantastic (and I'm serious, they are really good and deserve a post if I ever get around to building them) and the box contained enough to enjoy the game without being the Necromunda savant that some of us claim to be.  But it didn't have everything.  It didn't have rules for all the old gangs, the campaign rules that kept us wrapped in it for years and years, or even the simple concept of playing on that 3D terrain that made the whole thing 'revolutionary' back in the 90's.  Luckily, that was all solved with two things- a sourcebook that expanded the game to include those campaign rules and playing in that old not-a-flat-boardgame style that we missed, and the terrain to take advantage of that sourcebook.  

Oh the glorious glory that is the Mechanicus terrain!

   Of course, I bought it all.  I bought the new game, the expansions, more models, more objective markers, and obviously more of the terrain.  All told, I now have two full sets including all the accessories and another set waiting at my local comic shop (owned by someone else but there for public use should the opportunity arise, and it will...).  What was very rare and sought after due to limited release and compliments of an unpopular game is now available widely and should be the centerpiece of many a 40k battlefield. 

  Notice I didn't mention using it for Necromunda?  That's right, I purposely did that because THIS ISN'T NECROMUNDA TERRAIN!  The cardboard panels and plastic bulkheads from the 90's represented the twisting, dark realm of the Underhive where the gangs fought for dominance of the bottom of Necromunda's Hive Primus (yeah, that's alot of fluff squeezed into a single, almost run-on sentence, I know).  The Mechanicus terrain is amazing, but it does NOT represent the setting of Necromunda at all.  There's one level above the ground, no bulkheads or building walls to hide behind, and a definite focus on factory stuff when there should be more elements of ruined... well, just ruins.  The terrain is awesome!!!  But it's not what I envision when I play Necromunda.

  Luckily, an answer to my complaint has apparently arrived in the form of a Kickstarter campaign (yes, I've become one of those people, slowly ruining gaming companies everywhere by shifting my spending to investing rather than sustaining).  There's been a ton of companies that do wonderful MDF terrain that fits together and creates a similar set as the old Necromunda stuff, but I'm not a fan of that stuff.  I want my terrain to look good before I paint it, not like wood.  So I've patiently waited until something struck my Underhive-driven fancy. 

  That answer is called TinkerTurf, and you can find their campaign here.  The reason that I'm actually doing a blog post about this (other than describing why it excites me after all these years) is because I would like to drum up some more support for their product.  There's still two weeks left from this post for you to pledge and help bring the project to life, so check it out and consider that.  It's not that expensive, and I plan on getting two sets for that too!

 

Looks like an old Necromunda setup to me!

  So what is it?  Well, it's preprinted (so already colored) cardboard terrain that is put together to form textured and 3D terrain, including walkways, platforms, and even the blocking terrain of ruined walls and shipping containers.  A little white glue and a couple of minutes will see some very high-quality modular terrain for your games of Necromunda (or 40k, or Infinity, or any other sci-fi game you can think of, but I like my Underhive to look like this).  It's easy to break down and build up, so that makes it easy to store or build very attractive battlefields.  In other words, it's exactly what I was looking for and with an even greater level of convenience than the old stuff. 

  I have far too many other projects to spend much time on building and painting terrain anymore.  Between Bobby G taking forever (I'm just lazy, but I refuse to take the blame...) and the need to paint up entire armies, even the Mechanicus terrain had to disappear into a project box and under the worktable.  But this...  TinkerTurf is my new Underhive!  That is, of course, assuming that the project is fully funded.  Check it out and help me help that happen!