The new Escher Underhive Journal opens up a wealth of new options for those gangs aligned with the House of Blades. Join us as we take you through the book.
Underhive Journal: Escher – The House of Blades is packed full of lore and rules for House Escher. The background covers the House’s origins and history, storied gangs, and where they sit in the post-Aranthian Succession Hive Primus – a little uneasily, given that the head of their house was key to bringing back Ozostium Aranthus, and Lord Helmawr is watching…
The rules are broadly split into three categories – additions to existing Escher gangs that build on the rules in Gangs of the Underhive, two new variant gang archetypes, and extra rules that Escher gangs can use in campaigns.
There are two variant gangs in the journal – Wyld Hunts and Chymist Cults – and each trades a more restricted set of Fighter choices and equipment for access to new Fighter profiles that exemplify the way they fight. These new Fighters don’t have specific miniatures – they’re an opportunity to flex your kitbashing muscles* and craft some unique characters for your gang.
WYLD HUNTS
Wyld Leader
0-1 Gang Matriarch
0-1 Death-Maiden
0-3 Blade Maiden
0-3 Huntress
Big Sister
3+ Wyld Runner
0-1 Khimerix
Alpha Phelynx
2+ Phelynx
CHYMIST CULTS
Chem Mother
1+ Clan Chymist
0-1 Gang Matriarch
Death-Maiden
0-3 Blade Maiden
2+ Chem Wytch
0-3 Gun Maiden
Apprentice Chem Wytch
Khimerix
Phyrr Cat
Wyld Hunts
Part of the training for Escher Fighters is to spend a few grand cycles** out in the wilds of the underhive or ash wastes honing their skills as a Wyld Runner. Some enjoy the freedom so much that they never return, rejecting the traditional house structure in favour of furthering Escher goals in the badzones. They form gangs known as Wyld Hunts, led by a Wyld Leader in place of the traditional Gang Queen.
ESCHER WYLD LEADER (145 CREDITS)
M | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Sv |
6" | 3+ | 3+ | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 5+ |
Ld | Cl | Wil | Int |
8 | 8 | 7 | 7 |
Type | Starting XP |
Fighter (Leader) | 73 |
Skills: An Escher Wyld Leader has the Catfall and Infiltrate skills.
Equipment: When added to a Gang Roster, an Escher Wyld Leader may purchase weapons and wargear from the Wyld Hunt Equipment List:
During the course of a campaign, they may be given additional weapons and wargear purchased from the Wyld Hunt Equipment List and from the Trading Post.
The Wyld Leader has a slightly higher Movement, representing her training and agility as she traverses the dangerous badzones, and comes with two innate skills – Catfall and Infiltrate – alongside Inspiring and the choice of a Primary skill that all Leaders get – which can include the new Finesse skills (more of which later). This combination makes her perfect for deploying deep into the battlefield atop some towering scenery and dropping down to ambush unwary foes – very dangerous indeed.
The Wyld Hunts equipment list leans more into Primitive Weapons than the general Escher list, giving wyld bows a whole range of arrow types with some, ahem, wyld effects.
WYLD BOW - ACID ARROWS
SR | LR | Str | AP | L |
9" | 18" | 3 | - | 1 |
Traits |
Ammo (4+), Assault, Blaze (5+) |
WYLD BOW - EXPLOSIVE ARROWS
SR | LR | Str | AP | L |
9" | 18" | 2 | - | 1 |
Traits |
Ammo (4+), Assault, Blast (3"), Unstable |
Chymist Cults
The Chymist Cults are influential in the Escher hierarchy – and rightly so with chems being the house’s signature export. It’s rare for a Chymist Cult to venture into the underhive, but when they do it’s usually to train new members, or to find exotic flora and fauna to either test chems and toxins on, or to experiment on to form new concoctions. When they venture out, these bands also attract the sinister resurrected Death-Maidens, who rely on chems to stay something approaching alive.
Chymist Cult gangs replace the usual Escher increased agility with a pair of rules that represent their mastery of toxins and resurrection chems.
DEADLY POISONS
All weapons with the Toxin (X+) trait and without the Shred (X+) trait wielded by Chymist Cult Fighters gain the Shred (6+) trait.
RITES OF THE MORAEGAN
Chymist Cult Fighters may perform the Death Rites Post-cycle Action.
Increasing the lethality of the many, many toxin weapons carried by the cult members is rather handy, and as for Rites of the Moraegan, it stops death being the end for a Champion, Ganger or Prospect who’s killed in action, turning them into a Death-Maiden for the low, low cost of 60 credits and an Intelligence check.
New Fighters and Equipment
The observant among you may have noticed the Blades of the Matriarch from the new Core Set in the variant gang lists, and might be wondering if you can add them to regular Escher gangs as well. Yes, you can! The journal includes profiles and credit costs for the four new Ganger types – Blade Maidens, Chem Wytches, Gun Maidens and Huntresses – and their signature equipment as additions to the lists in Gangs of the Underhive. Archery fans will also be pleased to hear that wyld bows can now be taken on any Fighter, and even include a few of the special arrow types mentioned above – though if you want all of them, you’ll need to commit to a Wyld Hunt.
Campaign Rules
The rest of the journal’s rules let you add some Escher flair to your campaigns, with exclusive Gang Tactics, Territories and Side Jobs that you can use in place of those in the Core Rulebook, along with a new Finesse Primary skill table, which lets your fighters somersault around, dodging enemy attacks and showing off their acrobatic skills. Our favourite? Shooting after combat with Let’s Dance.
LET’S DANCE (FIGHTER ONLY)
After this Fighter performs a Fight action, instead of making a Consolidate move they may perform a Shoot action with a weapon with the Light trait as a Free action.
Most exciting for aspiring chymists are Chem-alchemy Elixirs, including various stimms, gaseous ammo, and poisons. Want to make your gas grenades into Hallucinogen, inflicting Insanity on anyone who breathes it in? Go for it. Or why not add a poison to your needle rifles that will literally make the enemy explode when they go Out of Action?
EXPLODING (20 CREDITS)
Effect: If a Fighter is taken Out of Action by a hit from a weapon with this poison applied, before removing them from the battlefield place a 3" Blast marker over that Fighter, with the marker’s hole centred on their base. All models touched by this Blast marker suffer an immediate Str -, AP -, L1 Hit as if from a weapon with the Gas and Toxin (3+) traits.
Underhive Journal: Escher – The House of Blades goes on pre-order this Saturday, alongside a card pack, and the Escher Matriarchs and Phyrr Cats set. If you’re planning to get it, be sure that you also have a copy of Gangs of the Underhive, as you need it to use the rules in the journal.
* The Escher Underhive Crew box is packed with appropriate parts.
** The Necromundan year, based around work cycles and the two seasons the world has, both of them deadly. Lovely place for a holiday, Necromunda.
