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 Kid_Kyoto wrote:
But I can't recall a single ill word about the Ratskins.

I saw plenty of mewling about noble savages, r ed atskin name, being 'primitive', scalping people, becoming drunks regularly, being native american themed at all (background and models), them being oppressed by later colonisers (and working for them as trackers).

This is GW who were too feeble to give a Necromunda model a capriote. There's no way they're doing Ratskins.

Ratskins are tribal guys with giant sewer rat as totem. A shamanistic tradition that guard and hide away the destructive technology that will destroy civilisations. Trying to live by the guidance of the mystic spirits of the hive city.

Surely there are enough themes in the old gang to make them more 40k than hinting at stereotypes..

Lean harder on the techno-cult aspect. Imply that the “great spirits” are the machine spirits of the various hive systems. Or just straight up drop the allusion and call them “great machine spirits” and make the ratskins specifically have beef with the power and water guilds because they keep messing with the hive to get more.
Give the “shamans” mechadendrites wrapped in rat-tail leather to disguise them.

Necromunda back then was pretty gnarly with their Native America. Looking ratskins and the KKK vibes of the Redemptionists. I am glad GW kinda moved away from that without losing the spirit of that faction.

 Lord Damocles wrote:

 Kid_Kyoto wrote:
But I can't recall a single ill word about the Ratskins.

I saw plenty of mewling about noble savages, r ed atskin name, being 'primitive', scalping people, becoming drunks regularly, being native american themed at all (background and models), them being oppressed by later colonisers (and working for them as trackers).

This is GW who were too feeble to give a Necromunda model a capriote. There's no way they're doing Ratskins.

Necromunda is also one of their more Modern Audience games. I've never seen as many girl bosses, female protagonists etc as in the new Necro background.

Been years if not decades since I read the ratskin fluff

Was it really written that they were drunkard and that they were primitives? I honestly dont recall it, but If so, yeah, this would have to go. But besides that, I dont think theres anything controversial with their background.

Not so much primitive, as choosing to eschew modern toys. I’ve interpreted that as a decision to better avoid Hivers, and maintain their own ways.

After all? Lasgun or Autogun, it needs ammo. And so you need to trade. More basic weapons you can make your own bolt or shot for.

The drunkard thing was specifically for the Hired Gun Ratskin Scout, who were often tribal outcasts.

So…. Not so much “all Ratskins are drunkards”, so much as “most Underhivers will only encounter the Outcasts, who tend toward petty vices due to their social isolation”

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
The drunkard thing was specifically for the Hired Gun Ratskin Scout, who were often tribal outcasts.

So…. Not so much “all Ratskins are drunkards”, so much as “most Underhivers will only encounter the Outcasts, who tend toward petty vices due to their social isolation”

It was stated that the shamans didn't like young braves trying 'firewater' since then they'd go renegade, implying that anyone that tasted the stuff was going to get addicted.

Weirdest Ratskin fact is that Scabbs, Kal Jerico's mouldy sidekick, is 'half-Ratskin'. One wonders which half.

The thing to remember is that gw is fine with stereotypes so long as they are positive ones that reflect the typecast culture that way.

Space Wolves are depicted as party drinkers rather than depressive alcoholics. They are also not rapists and theives like the Vikings actually were.

There are plenty of positive aspects that can be tapped into. The SG redo 18 years ago used the coup sticks as a way to gather more xp for the ganger for example. It reflected their bravery and skill.

Now you can also just drop those things entirely, but it's more the negative stereotypes that are problematic.

Ratskins are more then likely going to have a revamp, based on the setting.
There is no way that the original Ratskins can stand toe to toe with the current iteration of gangs/ other groups. And seeing how Cawdor took up the mantle of the Rat, Your new Ratskin gang/ faction seems to be filled by the Ash Waste Nomads, as seen in this new iteration of the game.

I do have a substantial batch of them from back in the day, but honestly, they're not a faction in current material that would last long. MAYBE, as characters, hirelings/ gang hangers on, or part of a campaign, such as joining Lady Cypher, much like Mad Donna did, indirectly, but as a faction- They need a total reboot, based on a guerilla force of humans, closely related to the Ash Waste nomads, but based on Bottom level primitives and scavengers, much like the Morlocks in the movie, The Time Machine, or the Sewer Savages in Casterellai's 1990: The Bronx Warriors.

Back in Necromunda 1, the Outlander gangs didn't honestly get to catch enough of a breath to say much about them one way or the other, because GW was as quick to put it's attention to Gorkamorka, and Battlefleet Gothic, as a new version of Warhammer Fantasy was getting studio love. There wasn't a lot of time, either because we were scrambling for picking up the Pit Slaves and Metal Chaos Cultists that came out and disappeared almost as quickly.

Being an older guy, I see the ratskins as more of an Underhive gang, circulating "Down Below", and that they'd be more Neanderthals, or if the designers at GW really have to- go all in and go full French and Indian War Iroquois, or Algonquin, as a hit and run force that scavenges all the different house and faction's gear, but lack the technical knowledge to use the more complicated of equipment and weapons, such as stuffing nails and powder in using a Lasgun as a Blunderbus, or throwing Heavy Bolter rounds like grenades.
Maybe even having a Shaman, who does have the knowledge, that could tell the gangers how to use the weapons and equipment properly in a proper Guerilla force. pushing out the Uphivers out of thier ancestral territories in a war to keep thier holdings, as they originally came from a founding house that had been excommunicated from the Hive.

From the World Championship today

https://www.warhammer-community.com/en-gb/articles/o1rgb5xp/world-championships-preview-ozostium-aranthus-seizes-the-throne-of-hive-primus/

I really like the aranthus model, but him being in the game is another proof that necromunda is no longer the game I fall in love with..

The justiciars are also great models

The squats are simply atrocious though...

Well, there you go. I like the Squats and don't like the Justicars.

From the text on WarComm, it sounds like they already decided Lady Haera is going to win back the hives. However, if there is still no ebook, I won't be getting it.

These Necormunda models were the highlight of the reveal show for me. Love seeing more Squats

All very meh to be honest. The lack of metaplot was one of the most appealing things about Necromunda and it has sucked to have that change. It seems likely they will be hitting either the full or partial reset button and ending with one Helmawr or other back in charge. On the one hand, good, because Aranthus sucks. (The model is fine, in a different setting.) On the other, well, what was the point of all of this?

The Justicars are okay. The Squats seem awkwardly posed to me (as much of that range does) but good for their players to get more options.

No word on Delaque vehicles which is a tad bizarre if they really aren't there.

Very nice and appropriate models, but that's all Necromunda is these days without addressing the lack of solo-coop. What is surprising is that Necromunda is better suited to it than Kill Team with it's stronger narrative, more involved game mechanics and impressive array of individual characters and scenery.

Not saying that Necromunda should go mad on it, but a single book would turn heads and get more players invested. Hive Secundus was the perfect opportunity to implement this...

The Squat girl is just the cutest little thing.

Unless it's a Squat boy... in which case, he's still the cutest little thing.

That Aranthus model is just a must-have for me. And I love the walking corpse version. Very very grimdark.

That is a serious space pipe!

They have fun with the Necromunda models! They really tell a story.

 streetsamurai wrote:
I really like the aranthus model, but him being in the game is another proof that necromunda is no longer the game I fall in love with..

Yeah this. Who is doing street fights with robo zombie pharaoh???

Any chance the Justicars will be plastic?

I would imagine that everything shown today is plastic.

 lord_blackfang wrote:

 streetsamurai wrote:
I really like the aranthus model, but him being in the game is another proof that necromunda is no longer the game I fall in love with..

Yeah this. Who is doing street fights with robo zombie pharaoh???

Mmm. Petitioning Haera to come join your down-on-its-luck underhive gang was already a bit of a stretch, but petitioning Aranthus?!

Mind you they produce a lot of cool models for Necromunda without much thought to making them terribly usable in-game, and long may that continue.

 lord_blackfang wrote:
I would imagine that everything shown today is plastic.

That's awesome - depending on the price and contents of their box, if they are plastic, there might be a guard squad project in the future featuring these Brettonian-Mordian looking mashups...

Which does make me wonder, does Forgeworld still exist?

Forgeworld is no more and was closed a while back. It's now the Specialist Games Department.

At least externally - internally we've no real idea but I suspect its similar internally as well.

Specialist Games still does resin models for characters but I can't remember the last time we saw an Imperial Amor style vehicle from them.

 Malika2 wrote:
Which does make me wonder, does Forgeworld still exist?

As stated, they're Specialist Games now, but they still refer to resin models as "Forgeworld Resin".

 Kid_Kyoto wrote:
That Aranthus model is just a must-have for me. And I love the walking corpse version. Very very grimdark.

Y’know what he actually reminds me of? The bio weapons from Nausicaa. I wonder if that’s an homage or a hint…