Vampire Broods

Vampire Broods is a homebrewed Necromunda gang that takes a new spin on vampires for Warhammer 40k. This ignores the warp-spawned Vampyres in favor of a xenos concept mixed with the blood-drinking Necromunda mutants. Overall the concept was to make a more direct parallel with the Vampire Counts fluff-wise and crunch-wise; powerful undead monsters served by cannon fodder minions.

The Vampire

Since before the dawn of the Imperium have the hungry dead dwelt in the shadows of the galaxy. Lurking in cathedrals of power to gore-spattered lairs they have preyed upon Mankind for eons, spawning horrors beyond number and ruling from the darkness. Though they wear the guise of Man they are no longer humans but shapeshifting alien abominations, raised from the deceased in utter blasphemy.

The Vampire is a horrid nocturnal creature born of mad science in the distant past. They are undead, the xeno-blood flowing through them animating their necrotic flesh. Despite the fact each Vampire was raised to unlife from a previously human existence, retaining their personality and mind, the process remakes their very genetic structure and mutilates their soul until they are transformed into something obscene. Vampires are gifted with unholy powers but shackle to an alien hunger for blood in order to sustain their unliving flesh. This sanguine sustenance is the very crux of their existence, and though they can learn to control this vile thirst ultimately it enslaves them. However, if fed fresh blood regularly a Vampire can survive indefinitely, granting them an odious form of immortality.

To the unwary observer the Vampire appears human, perhaps even beautiful, albeit pallid and eerie. Yet this is but a mask, a human skin they wear over the darkness of their alien soul, and many Vampires bear predatory mutations that reflect the beasts they truly are: unnatural rot, large claws, distorted bat-like visage, boney spurs, vestigial wings, and more. Some have even thrown off the guise of Man entirely, willingly or unwillingly succumbing to the ravages of their blood, fully transforming into monstrous chiropteran beasts: massive, stooped and rotting with calcific protrusions, tattered membranous wings, and a savage fang-filled maw dripping crimson. If it can be said that Vampires have a true form, this would be it.

Drawn to their lies of immortality and power many have fallen sway to the Vampire, only to be used as pawns in their ambition... if not simply used as food. And yet some show true promise, or their Vampire patron has singled them out, and may be transformed into a new Vampire if deemed worthy. And so have the Vampire propagated and festered in the shadows of countless worlds.

A History Written in Blood

When the galaxy was shrouded in the darkness of the Old Night the first Vampires crept from the darkness. As with many things the difference between history and myth is greatly muddled in the Vampire’s origins. However, in the legends held upon rotting scrolls and crumbling dataslates there is one myth more common than any other.

Long ago a cabal of humans known as the Immortal Ones sought a means of eternal life. In their quest they committed untold atrocities, descending further into desperation and madness, yet the secrets of eternity eluded them. Until one day, upon a rotting world beneath a sunless sky, they found a nightmarish xeno-monster of immense power. This creature, who referred to herself as the Dark Mother, was an undead horror, her alien “biology” unliving yet undying. She had been alone for millennia, her people exterminated by the Lightbearers, cursing her with eternal isolation.

And so the two evils struck an unholy pact: in exchange for Dark Mother’s undying blood, the so-called Ichor, the Immortal Ones agreed they would become her children and slaves forever more, and together they would come to rule the stars. Through arcane science and bloody sacrifice the secrets of deathlessness were unlocked from the Ichor of the Dark Mother, and the they willingly took the curse into their flesh and souls. The Immortal Ones became the first Vampires, and with their Dark Mother carved an empire from the anarchy of the Age of Strife. Within their Realm of Night they enslaved humans to feast upon like cattle while driving them to construct unholy monuments to their insidious glory. In time they learned how to pass the Ichor onto new host through the freshly dead, and so propagated the first Bloodlines of the Vampire. For millennia the Vampires and the Dark Mother gorged themselves upon the blood of Man, their dark domain ruling many stars and sowing untold misery for Mankind.

But at last did salvation break over these benighted worlds, for the God-Emperor of Mankind at the head of his Great Crusade saw this wretched domain and deemed it beyond redemption. The war between the Emperor and the Dark Mother was apocalyptic, but ultimately the Emperor proved mightier, casting down this evil domain and putting it all to the torch. Yet some Vampires escaped the righteous onslaught and fled into the void, hiding among the shadows of many worlds. Slowly, silently, they wormed their way into the new Imperium that mankind had built, becoming a dark cancer in its very heart.

Genesis of Unlife

Vampires are parasitic undead beings whose feeding and reproductive cycles are debase blasphemies. While the true origin of the abominations might never be known it is certain they are completely predatory to humanity, yet inseparably tied to their host species. Scholars almost universally agree they are a bio-engineered race whose origin lies long ago during a godless time, making them yet another horror unleashed by reckless ancestors. What spurred the creation of such monsters is much debated, but it is generally accepted that the Vampire is either the dark fruit of an attempt at immortality or the abject failure of this endeavor, perhaps both.

Despite human origin and appearance the Vampire is truly alien. For one they rely exclusively on necrogenous to defile the dead and raise more of their kind, using their Ichor as a catalyst to reanimate corpses. The “parent” Vampire who gives the blood is called the Progenitor, while the raised “offspring” is called a Progeny; for indeed they are now related by blood. This process, called Ascension, is arduous and draining for both the Progenitor and Progeny, requiring extremely large quantities of blood over a long and painful ceremony. However, if successful, the Progeny rises as one of the undead, retaining the mind and soul they had in life but now chained to inhuman instincts.

Vampirism is inherent to the Ichor, the invasive genetic material rewriting the DNA of the host, slowly merging their genome with a xeno-beast until nothing human remains. Indeed, the Ichor even contains a psychic resonance, believed to be soul-shards of the Dark Mother herself, that warps the spirit and awakens latent psychic abilities. But this process takes time, and when first spawned a Vampire is little more than a reanimated cadaver taking their first bumbling steps as a true predator of the night. Assuming the fledgling Vampire survives through the slow metamorphosis, consuming enough blood and retaining their sanity in the face of alien instincts, the Ichor coursing through their veins will metamorphose their necrotic bodies more and more, transforming them until not a trace of humanity is left in their tattered alien soul. Ichor is unstable, however, and many Vampires suffer from bestial mutations, the weak-willed even completely devolving into feral monsters as their alien hungers override any vestiges of the human psyche.

Unholy Metamorphosis

Vampire hierarchy is based on the "Purity of Ichor", in other words how much they have metamorphosed from mere reanimated corpses into true xeno-monsters, as the greater the transformation the greater the Vampire's raw power and potential. As a Vampire transforms they pass through several stages of unlife, a slow process achieved over the course of long decades. An ambitious or crazed Vampire might seek a more rapid road to evolution, but such dark paths of wanton blood glutting and cannibalism more often than not results in failure as they spirals into insanity and loses themselves to their bestial nature.

• Thinblood is the fist stage of Vampirism, when the blood has only recently been infected with the Ichor. The fledgling Vampire is little more than a reanimated corpse, physically much the same as before their death, and while they may still have some remnants of their humanity they are already irredeemable. Vicious and enslaved to a hunger they cannot control, only time will tell if they survive the trials of unlife to evolve into true monsters.

• Halfblood is the second stage of Vampirism, when the blood has been completely replaced by the Ichor. At this point the process has begun remaking the Vampire's undead flesh, granting them increased stamina, strength, and speed while slowly twisting them in body and soul. Some internal organs have begun to meld or rearrange while others wither away, and it is at this stage where most vampiric mutations begin to appear. A Halfblood Vampire may attempt to create Progeny but it is unlikely to succeed.

• Pureblood is the third stage of Vampirism, when the entire being has been saturated with the Ichor. To survive to this stage the Vampire must be as cunning as they are strong-willed, a consummate predator and ruthless survivor. Their internal physiology has completely mutated even if they still appear human, and their unliving bodies have been empowered beyond human norms, able to rip a man apart and shrug off wounds that would fell mortal creatures. At this stage most Pureblood Vampires have also begun developing polymorphic abilities and psychic powers. A Pureblood Vampire can reliable enact Ascension to create Progeny, although it remains a difficult and dangerous feat.

Legends say there are stages of Vampirism beyond even the Pureblood, nightmarish abominations of unspeakable evil. It is said these elder-things are shapeshifters able to regenerate even from a pool of blood. That they possess otherworldly strength capable of tearing apart plasteel, and that they can move quicker than the eye can follow. That these profane creatures have great psychic power, able to whisper through the dark etheric echoes of the Ichor, manipulating their kind through planet-wide schemes from forgotten tombs. But surely such primeval horrors are naught but legend....

Broods and Bloodlines

While some Vampires are solitary predators most tend to cultivate Broods as a means of having loyal retainers and disposable pawns. These Broods are centered around a Progenitor and their Progeny, but also include other horrors to enact their dark schemes. With very little effort most Vampires can raise Ghouls: reanimated semi-sentient necrophages that are feral and ravenous but instinctively loyal to their masters. Vampires will additionally enslave mortals into their service via their strange powers and addictive blood, Thralls to act as agents in human society and daytime guardians of their crypts. There are other Vampiric creatures, horrors spawned through dreadful powers and alchemical Blood-Pits, but such things appear only in the most advanced stages of a Vampiric infestation and rarely among individual Broods.

Pureblood Vampires hold tyrannical authority over their Broods, enforced by their superhuman willpower and control over the Ichor, while younger and weaker Halfbloods and Thinbloods are subservient to them... for a time. A competent Pureblood can rule their Brood unchallenged for decades or even centuries, while an incompetent Pureblood that does not control their underlings is doomed to be devoured by the hungry fangs of a usurper. A wise Vampire recognizes when an underling has grown strong enough and knows it is time to send their Progeny elsewhere to start plans and Broods of their own, propagating their vile race.

If a Brood grows in numbers and influence it will begin to branch off into smaller Broods which in turn create Broods of their own, and so begets a Bloodline. Bloodlines can be as few as a couple generations of Broods to hundreds of infestations over entire worlds, but all share a common ancestor. Vampires from the same Bloodline might have radically different traits and mutations, perhaps even open hostilities between Broods, but they can all be united by the Ichor and the will of their elders.

Vampires of Necromunda

Even deep within Segmentum Solar have vampiric infestations arisen, festering in ancient crypts and layered behind conspiracies. In particular the world of Necromunda with its sunless skies, warrened hives, debauched aristocracy, and teeming underworld proved an ideal breeding ground for the vile undead. The Necromundan Bloodline of Vampires, known in legend as the Voasin, came to the planet countless millennia ago and infested all levels of society. Through their mortal pawns the Voasin ravenously consumed territory and resources in a bid to gain control of the planet. However, in 008M39 Inquisitorial agents discovered their true nature, and so together with vengeful Houses and a detachment of Imperial Fists they set about the systematic purging the Voasin wherever they were found.

Though their cleansing was through, almost destroying the Voasin utterly, a single Pureblood managed to flee into the shadowy depths of the underhive. There, hidden in the lawless depths, this Vampire found new and fertile darkness in which to propagate and thrive. Through the countless centuries its Broods have spawned Broods and so on over and over, but unlike the former incarnation of the Voasin Bloodline this Vampire, simply called “the Red Ancestor” by modern Necromundan Vampires, seems uninterested in unifying its descendants. Instead, the many Broods act largely independent of each other: a few have crept back into the upper hive manipulating the humans through webs of lies and treachery, while most have festered in the underhive ruling their territory as a tyrannical fiefdom. Still others seemed to have completely devolved, revealing only in their monstrous nature in the darkest recesses of the hive.

As it is with most Imperial worlds the existence of Vampires is now considered a myth on Necromunda: the populace is kept ignorant and even many within the Houses now believe them to be only folk-lore. However, House Helmawr knows the truth, and Enforcers are dispatched to mercilessly exterminate Vampires whenever found, if only to keep the Inquisition out of Necromundan affairs. If ever a Brood grows too bold for the Imperial House to handle it is only a matter of time until the Inquisition and Deathwatch descends upon them with fire and fury. Thus, the only surviving Broods upon Necromunda, at least those that survive for long, are those that have kept themselves well-hidden, ever keeping their nature from being exposed to the light.

The Obenous Clan is perhaps the most prolific gathering of Voasin Broods. They say their Ichor is thicker than any other, claiming to be founded by the first generation of Progeny spawned by the Red Ancestor. With tendrils wrapped infecting every House and Guild in Hive City, with mortal thralls and Vampiric agents in all levels of society, they have considerable hidden power and influence. Their ambition is nothing short of infecting the Noble Houses of the Spire and finishing what their Voasin ancestors began, but until then they skulk in the shadows. They send their fledglings into the underhive to form new Broods and collect territory, resources, and human cattle in a horrid parody of Clan Houses and their gangs. However, the Obenous are at risk in recent decades, as the agents of House Delaque have come dangerously close to uncovering their secrets on multiple occasions, while Escher alchymyst fleshteks somehow have managed to get samples of their Ichor.

However not all Vampires are interested in political power. The Coven Occulta, a large and secretive Brood festering deep in the underhive, is instead obsessed with the hoarding of esoteric knowledge. Lairing in a forgotten alchemical laboratory they seek knowledge as a means of power, and powerful they have become. While their Ichor curses them with the appearance of an emaciated walking corpse with a hideous bat-like visage, it also grants them remarkable psychic powers beyond most Vampires. This power and knowledge, combined with the horrors they spawn from their Blood-Pits, leads many to believe they are working to bring about some kind of master plan known only as the Umbral Eternity. Thus far they seem to be missing some key component, forcing the Coven Occulta to act bolder than ever by spawning new Broods to send out into the darkness to recover their unknown prize. However, this behavior has not gone unnoticed, and the local Cawdor have been whipped up into a frenzy over rumors of blood-sucking mutants. To make matters worse, the Coven Occulta have discovered a different xeno-contamination infecting the human herds and have sent word to their allied Broods; a shadow war between alien powers to claim the flesh and souls of Necromunda's people seems inevitable.

Other Vampires are not so subtle, such as the Stygian Broods of Hive Mortis. Ever since the disastrous plague that brought the entire hive to its knees the Stygians have exploded in number, revealing in the darkened corridors and feasting upon the accumulated dead. They keep up no pretense of being human, devolving into raging humanoids that embrace their vampiric mutations. The Enforcers and militias suppress these "mutants" to the Mortis underhive, but they have an unlikely ally in this struggle: House Goliath gladly hunts the Stygians as good sport. However, as many have learned too late, despite their appearance the Stygians are not mere beasts and are more than capable of planning and tactics. Indeed, some in the hive whisper that this will be their final doom: either an unending horde of "mutants" from below or, if not stopped, cleansing fire from above.

Vampire Gang Rules

Gang Composition

A Vampire Brood must follow these rules when it is founded and when new fighters are added to the gang:

• There must be one Leader (Vampire Pureblood) chosen when the gang is first founded.

• The total number of Vampire Thinbloods in the gang must always be equal to, or higher than, the total number of other fighters (Vampire Pureblood and Vampire Halfbloods) in the gang, not counting Hangers-On or Ghouls.

• The gang may include 2 Ghouls per Pureblood and 1 Ghoul per Halfblood in the gang.

• A fighter can be equipped with a maximum of three weapons. Weapons marked with an asterisk (*) take up the space of two weapons.

• Any fighter may take Wargear.

• Weapon accessories marked with a dagger (†) may not be combined together on the same weapon. If one such accessory is purchased for a weapon, another may not be added.

During a campaign, all gangs continue to follow the mentioned rules as new fighters are added to the gang. Additionally, the following rules apply:

• A gang founded for a campagin can contain no more than two Vampire Halfbloods. Additional Vampire Halfbloods may be added to the gang during the course of the campaign.

• During the course of a campaign, any fresh recruits added to the gang may be equipped with items currently held in the gang's Stash, rather than purchasing new equipment.

During the course of the campaign, gangs may gain new equipment, either by purchasing it from the Trading Post or as a result of Territory Boons. These items are added to the gang's Stash and may be distributed among fighters during any post-battle sequence:

• A fighter cannot be given a new weapon of a type not allowed by their entry within their gang list.

• Vampire Thinbloods cannot be given a new weapon if it would take them above the limit of three weapons carried.

• A Vampire Pureblood or Vampire Halfblood can be given more than three weapons as they can have multiple Fighter Cards, each representing a different "set" of equipment, as described on page 59 of Gang War Four.

• A fighter may discard any Wargear carried when given new Wargear. Discarded Wargear is placed in the gang's Stash.

Vampire Broods in Campaigns

In a Dominion Campaign, Vampire Brood gangs are treated just like any other. They begin the campaign with a Settlement Territory which they cannot lose, representing their base of operations. They can take control of unoccupied Territories during the Occupation phase and they can seize control of Territories from other gangs during the Takeover phase. Settlement Territories do not generate Juves; instead, if one of the D6 rolls is a 6, they generate a single free Vampire Thinblood. If both of the D6 roll a 6, this becomes a two free Vampire Thinbloods.

Despite their secret agenda, a Vampire Brood gang is seen as just another gang by most of the locals. They claim Territory Boons just like any other gang, but are treated as a Delaque gang for the purposes of Enhanced Boons.

Gaining Experience

Vampire Brood fighters gain Experience in the same way as fighters in a normal House gang. The Pureblood and any Halfbloods can have their XP spent on Advancements in the same way as a Leader or Champion. Thinbloods advance in the same way as Gangers, and can become Specialists if a 2 or 12 is rolled for their Advancement.

Ghouls cannot gain Experience or Advancements in any way.

Captured Fighters

If any member of a Vampire Brood gang is captured, the normal rules are followed. However, due to their alien nature, they are worth more when sold to the Guilders; the gang that is selling them receives their full value in credits, instead of half their value.

Post-Battle Actions

Each Vampire Pureblood and Vampire Halfblood in the gang can make one post-battle action in the same way as a Leader or Champion, respectively. Vampire Broods cannot make the Medical Escort action, the docs being unable to work upon their unliving alien physiology, but instead Vampire Broods may make a Feeding action to consume Captives to heal (see Feeding). They can still make the Sell to the Guilders action if they so choose.

Hangers-On, Hired Guns, and Dramatis Personae

Vampire Brood gangs may hire Dramatis Personae and Hive Scum in the same way as other gangs.

Additionally, Vampire Brood gangs may hire Hangers-on, but they use the following table:

Reputation	Maximum Hangers-On
Less than 5	1
5 to 9	2
10 to 14	3
15 to 19	4
20 to 24	5
Each additional 5	+1

Loss of a Leader

If a gang’s Pureblood is killed or is retired, a new Pureblood must be nominated from among the gang’s Halfbloods. If the gang has no Halfbloods, the new Leader must be a Thinblood, Specialist or otherwise.

In either case, an eligible fighter with the best Leadership must be selected as the new Leader. If more than one eligible fighter is drawn for best Leadership, use Advancements as a tie -breaker; if there is still a tie, the controlling player can decide.

When a fighter is promoted in this way, their Type is changed to Pureblood, and from now on they count as a Pureblood for determining which equipment and skill sets they can access. Their characteristics do not change.

Feeding

Vampires crave the blood of the living to sustain their unliving bodies. The consumption of blood, and blood-rich tissues such as hearts, livers, and cranial matter is digested into the xeno-blood Ichor that flows through necrotic flesh. Their inhuman metabolism is able to process this Ichor into "necrosynthesis", an impossible contradiction that even the cleverest of docs fail to understand, which can reshape their forms and heal wounds.

The Vampire Pureblood and Vampire Halfbloods can make the following post-battle action (see page 56 of Gang War Four) but the Brood benefits from the effect. This action can only be made once per post-battle sequence.

Firstly, a Captive is required. If the gang is holding a Captive that, if held by another gang would be eligible to be sold to the Guilders (see page 56 of Gang War Four) the Captive may be sacrificed for the Feeding. Alternatively, if no Captive is available, the Brood can select a Hanger-On to consume.

Once the sacrifice is selected they are devoured by some members of the Brood like sludge-piranha upon raw meat. Roll 2d6 and apply the following modifiers:

• +1 if the sacrifice has a Strength of 4 or more.
• +1 if the sacrifice has a Toughness of 4 or more.
• -1 if the sacrifice has any Lasting Wounds.
• -1 if the sacrifice has any Flesh Wounds.

The result is the number of Vampire Brood fighters in the gang that can benefit from Feeding upon the victim. Each fighter Feeds upon the victim can select 1 of the following options:

• Roll on the Medical Escort chart as if the fighter was taken to a Doc but with no Credit cost.
• Remove a Lasting Injury from the fighter.
• Immediately exit recovery; the fighter is available for the next battle.
• Gain +1 Wound for the next battle.

Vampire Brood Fighters

A starting Vampire Brood gang is made up of the following fighters:

Vampire Pureblood

	Credits	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld	Cl	Wil	Int
Vampire Pureblood	###	5	3+	3+	4	4	2	3+	2	4+	4+	5+	5+

Equipment List: The Vampire Pureblood starts with no equipment. They have no weapon restrictions and may select from Vampiric Equipment.

Skills: The Vampire Pureblood start with one skill chosen from their Primary skill sets.

Special Rule - Vampirism: Vampires are immune to damage from weapons with the Gas trait and they cannot be detected via Bioscanners or similar. Vampires also gain +1 when rolling on Critical Injury or Lasting Injury.

Vampire Halfbloods

	Credits	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld	Cl	Wil	Int
Vampire Halfbloods	###	5	3+	3+	3	4	1	3+	2	5+	5+	6+	5+

Equipment List: Vampire Halfbloods starts with no equipment. They have no weapon restrictions and may select from Vampiric Equipment.

Skills: Vampire Halfbloods start with one skill chosen from their Primary skill sets.

Special Rule - Vampirism: Vampires are immune to damage from weapons with the Gas trait and they cannot be detected via Bioscanners or similar. Vampires also gain +1 when rolling on Critical Injury or Lasting Injury.

Vampire Thinbloods

	Credits	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld	Cl	Wil	Int
Vampire Thinbloods	###	5	5+	5+	3	3	1	5+	1	8+	7+	7+	8+

Equipment List: Vampire Thinbloods starts with no equipment. They can be armed with Basic Weapons, Close Combat Weapons and Pistols. When the gang is created, one Vampire Thinblood can be armed with a Special Weapon. During a campaign, additional Vampire Thinbloods can also take Special Weapons as they are added.

Special Rule - Vampirism: Vampires are immune to damage from weapons with the Gas trait and they cannot be detected via Bioscanners or similar. Vampires also gain +1 when rolling on Critical Injury or Lasting Injury.

Ghouls

	Credits	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld	Cl	Wil	Int
Ghouls	###	5	5+	--	2	3	1	6+	1	--	--	--	--

Equipment List: Ghouls starts with no equipment. Ghouls can be equipped with Close Combat weapons but no other equipment.

Special Rule - Undead: Ghouls are immune to damage from weapons with the Gas trait and they cannot be detected via Bioscanners or similar.

Special Rule - Mindless Beast: The only actions a Ghoul can make are Move, Charge, Fight, and Coup de Grace. It can use Close Combat weapons but no other equipment. Any Cool or Willpower checks made for a Ghoul automatically pass, but any Leadership or Intelligence checks automatically fail.

Special Rule - Spawning: So long as the maximum number of Ghouls is not reached the Pureblood and any Halfblood can take a Post-Battle Action to raise a Ghoul at no Credit cost.

While performing the Ascension of a mortal into a Vampire is exhausting and fraught with danger, simply dripping a few drops of Vampiric blood down the gullet of a corpse brings it lurching to unlife. Such creatures are pitiful and feral, devoid of higher reasoning and enslaved to their ravenous hunger, controlled only by the will of their Vampiric masters. Although capable of basic tool use these Ghouls are good for little else besides shocktroops and fodder for the Broods.

Feral Vampires

If any Vampire ever gives into their hunger or loses all sense of self and higher reasoning (i.e. by losing all their Willpower or Intelligence) they devolve into a beast that immediately attacks another of the Brood; resolve the combat, and if not destroyed the Feral flees into the darkness of the underhive. Given time they will continue to feed and mutate, and if they survive long enough will metamorphose into a new monstrous form. Most Vampire Broods will view such beings not only as errant blood but threats to their very survival, for such unrestrained creatures draw unwanted attention to Vampiric infestations....

Skill Access

Vampire Brood figthers have access to the following Skills:

Vampire Brood Skills	Agility	Brawn	Combat	Cunning	Ferocity	Leadership	Shooting	Savant	Vampiric Powers
Vampire Pureblood		Secondary		Secondary	Primary	Primary			Primary
Vampire Halfblood		Primary	Secondary		Primary	Secondary			Secondary
Specialist - Vampire Thinblood	Secondary	Primary			Primary		Secondary

Vampiric Powers

Vampire Purebloods and Halfbloods, the Ichor having saturated their flesh and largely remade their very beings, can manifest the sinister mutations and haunting powers of their blasphemous genetic legacy. A Vampire Pureblood and Vampire Halfbloods have access to the Vampiric Powers list below as one of their Primary and Secondary skill sets, respectively.

• Dark Majesty: The Vampire commands through the dark resonance shared in the Ichor of the Brood. Whenever a Nerve or Willpower test is made for another fighter from the gang who is within 6” of the Vampire, use the Vampire’s characteristic value.

• Hypnotic Gaze: Through their unholy gaze the Vampire can dominate the minds of weaker-willed beings. Select an enemy fighter that is both within 6” and line of sight of the Vampire, and that has not been activated this turn. Roll a Willpower check to perform this action: if successful that fighter may only perform a single Move (Simple) action when activated this round.

• Unguis Blades: At a whim the Vampire can grow or retract razor-sharp claws, forearm blades, and/or a fang-filled maw. The Vampire effectively gains two Swords and has Dual Weapon dice in close combat. These do not count against the Wargear carry limit.

• Mortis Hide: The Vampire shapes their polymorphic flesh, hardening it into a leathery-chitinous hide that doesn't inhibit their movement. This grants a passive +1 to all Armour rolls.

• Flying Horror: At will the Vampire can morph or retract a large set of tattered membranous wings from their forearms, granting them to ability to fly around quickly and ascend levels. The Vampire can move in a 6" radius in any direction, including vertically onto a platform, completely unaffected by difficult terrain.

• Ghoul King: The Vampire's Ichor is dark and potent, able to call forth more minions to serve. They allow the Brood to have +1 Ghoul beyond the normal limit, and can create two Ghoul via the Spawning Special Rule.

Vampiric Equipment

As parasites leeching upon the masses of Mankind, the technology utilized by the Vampires and their minions is often of similar to Imperial designs or simply stolen technology. However, as part of their monstrous legacy, the Vampires have access to unique technologies all their own, exotic remnants from their long-lost Realm of Night: alien devices and blasphemous weaponry developed by inhuman beings bent on conquest of the stars.

Weapons

Basic Weapons	Credits
Autogun	15 Credits
Crossbow	10 Credits
Howl Rifle	15 Credits
Lasgun	15 Credits
Needle Rifle	40 Credits
Saw-off Shotgun	10 Credits

Close Combat Weapons	Credits
Blunt Weapon	10 Credits
Fighting Knife	10 Credits
Knife	5 Credits
Power Knife	25 Credits
Power Maul	50 Credits
Power Sword	50 Credits
Shockbaton	25 Credits
Stiletto Knife	25 Credits
Stiletto Sword	30 Credits
Sword	25 Credits

Pistols	Credits
Autopistol	10 Credits
Hand Bow	5 Credits
Laspistol	10 Credits
Needle Pistol	15 Credits
Shriek Pistol	10 Credits

Special Weapons	Credits
Sniper Rifle (Needler)	60 Credits
Sniper Rifle (Stub)	60 Credits
Web Gun	125 Credits

Heavy Weapons	Credits
Heavy Stubber	135 Credits

Wargear

Grenades	Credits
Choke Gas Grenades	40 Credits
Frag Grenades	30 Credits
Necrosis Grenades	80 Credits
Smoke Bombs	15 Credits

Armour	Credits
Flak Armour	10 Credits
Mesh Armour	15 Credits

Personal Equipment	Credits
Chemmesh Caul	30 Credits
Infra-sight	40 Credits
Ichor Goblet	10 Credits
Mono-sight	35 Credits
Photo-goggles	35 Credits

Exotic Beasts	Credits
Vampiric Familiar	35 Credits
Xeropterans	80 Credits

Vampire Brood Equipment

Sonic Weapons

Despite being less universal than other common weaponry Vampire Broods often prefer to arm themselves with sonic weapons. Such weapons often render victims unconscious or paralyzed yet still alive, perfect for harvesting warm blood from fallen foes. This dirge of sounds is the reason many enemies of the Vampire speak of the wailing moans and howling screams of the dead as they fight their unliving enemy.

	Short Rng	Long Rng	Short Acc	Long Acc	Str	AP	Dmg	Ammo	Traits
Shriek Pistol	8"	12"	+1	--	3	--	1	3+	Pistol, Knockout, Noisy

	Short Rng	Long Rng	Short Acc	Long Acc	Str	AP	Dmg	Ammo	Traits
Howl Rifle	18"	24"	+1	--	3	--	1	2+	Knockout, Noisy

Chemmesh Caul

A fibre-weave undersuit of unknown chemical composition. If a fighter with a Chemmesh Caul is hit by a weapon with the Radiation or Toxin traits, their Toughness is increased by 3 for the purposes of rolls to determine whether they are affected. They also gain a +1 to Critical Injury dice rolls.

Necrosis Grenades

	Short Rng	Long Rng	Short Acc	Long Acc	Str	AP	Dmg	Ammo	Traits
Necrosis Grenades	--	SX3	--	--	0	--	0	4+	Blast(3"), Gas, Necrosis

• Necrosis: The gas within is aerosolized with samples of blood and other unidentified xeno-toxins. Targets within Blast radius that have the "Vampirism" Special Rule can be (healing? TBD)

Ichor Goblet

A small cylinder containing a sample from a Blood-Pit: a viscous mixture of blood, Ichor, and necrotic chemicals. When an Active or Pinned fighter with the "Vampirism" Special Rule and Ichor Goblet is activated, they may choose to delete Ichor Goblet from their fighter card immediately and take the following action:

• Drink Ichor Goblet (Double): The fighter may immediately discard a Flesh Wound from their fighter card and if they are Pinned they may make a free Stand Up action. They also gain +1 to Strength and Toughness for the next activation.

Vampiric Familiar

Semi-sentient vermin gestated from an blood-cyst grown from a Vampire’s own flesh, they resemble lamprey-like bats the size of a small dog. They are slavishly loyal to their undead master and share a psychic bond with their creator.

	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld	Cl	Wil	Int
Vampiric Familiar	5	4+	--	2	2	1	2+	1	7+	7+	6+	7+

A Vampiric Familiar carries no weapons and will always make unarmed attacks.

Special Rule - Omen of Fortune: Whilst the Familiar is within 3" of its owner, that fighter may avoid one successful hit per turn by making a successful Willpower check. Make the check immediately after a successful roll to hit has been made against the fighter. If the check is failed, the attack hits as normal. If the check is passed, the attack counts as having missed and the dice roll is discarded. Templates and Blast markers are placed as normal for the purposes of determining hits against other models, but the Familiar’s owner is assumed to have somehow dodged clear.

Special Rule - Precognition: The gift of foresight possessed by the Familiar enables it to dodge and evade all but the most unexpected of attacks. This tremendous precognition grants the Familiar a 3+ save roll, which cannot be modified by Armour Piercing. Additionally, a Familiar may avoid being caught by a Blast marker or Flame template. If a Familiar is caught under a Blast marker or Flame template, the attacker should roll a D6. On a 4-6, the Familiar is hit by the attack. On a 1-3, the Familiar is able to dodge clear of the area of the attack. Leave the model where it is and assume that it has scuttled around to avoid the attack and returned to where it was.

Special Rule - Flying: The Familiar has the ability to fly around and ascend levels. The Familiar can move in a radius in any direction, including vertically onto a platform, completely unaffected by difficult terrain.

Skill Access: A Vampiric Familiar has access to the following skill sets:

	Agility	Brawn	Combat	Cunning	Ferocity	Leadership	Shooting	Savant
Vampiric Familiar	Secondary			Primary

Xeropterans

Brood lairs will often have at least one Blood-Pit from which they can spawn all manner of unliving horrors: gholams and chimerics mixed with the alien genetics of the Vampire. Perhaps one of the most common and easily created are the Xeropterans, creatures that appear to be mutated dire bats. Although mere beasts they instinctively obey the Brood that gave them unlife, crawling about their catacombs looking for bloody scraps or intruders to feed upon. When summoned to battle by their masters they fly overhead, using their superior senses to detect foes and descend upon them in a blood-mad fury.

	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld	Cl	Wil	Int
Xeropterans	7	4+	--	3	3	1	3+	1	--	--	--	--

Xeropterans carry no weapons and will always make unarmed attacks.

Special Rule - Beast: xxx

Special Rule - Preysense: Xeropterans counts as having a Bio-scanner.

Special Rule - Flying: Xeropterans have the ability to fly around and ascend levels. Xeropterans can move in a radius in any direction, including vertically onto a platform, completely unaffected by difficult terrain.

	Agility	Brawn	Combat	Cunning	Ferocity	Leadership	Shooting	Savant
Xeropterans	Secondary			Primary

Vampire Hunters

To the Imperium the Vampire represents a particularly insidious threat and unforgivable sin. They are the worst of traitors for having forsaken their very humanity and souls, turning their back upon the God-Emperor in exchange for immortality and power. There is no Vampire worthy of redemption for to have fallen so far there is nothing left that can be saved, only destroyed before they bring yet more suffering and ruin in their predations. In the hidden fortresses across the galaxy Inquisitors have arrayed many weapons capable of destroying a Vampire as well as vast libraries detailing them. They know their foe and countless Vampires have burned in the holy fires of the Inquisition.

• Stellus Bolts: Promethium harvested from the corona of a star, alchymically modified, and blessed by priests, this substance eats away at unholy flesh in a ravenous fury. Bolt shells tipped with this phosphor-like explosive ensures even powerful foes suffer horrendous damage that few can ever fully heal from.

• Condemnor Stakes: Blessed silver stakes engraved with sigils of disruption, primarily used as ammo for Condemnor Bolters, these can also be used as potent, if unwieldly, melee weapons. Vampires can be gravely harmed by Condemnor stakes, the psy-resonance of their Ichor reacting violently to such weaponry as it boils away their unclean blood. This causes catastrophic damage if the Vampire is struck in the sanguis-sac (stomach-heart dual organ); weaker Vampires might be reduced to ash while even powerful Vampires will be crippled.

• Hardlight Dagger: Incredibly rare devices that emit hyper-compacted photons formed into a small blade of pure light, they sear through any physical barrier and burn away corruption with their touch. A rare xenotech weapon, said to be the last remnants of the so-called Lightbearers, these weapons are as irreplaceable as they are deadly.

• Astran Grenades: Photo-cells bathed in the holy psychic light of the Astronomican itself. For all intents and purposes they act as flash grenades, but against the alien and warp-tainted they burn their flesh as surely as plasma conflagration.

• Other Equipment: Although not necessarily any more effective than against living targets, Flamer and Plasma weapons are also favored by those who fight against Vampires as the nocturnal undead have an instinctive disdain for fire and light. Likewise, they seem to be vulnerable to holy symbols and blessed weapons, although this might be more due to the inherent power of faith of the individual than a specific weakness of the Vampire itself. Finally, some rare herbs are said to be repulsive and even poisonous to the undead, but this is unconfirmed and may be mere legend.

Special Characters

The Red Ancestor

	Recruit	Creds	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld	Cl	Wil	Int
The Red Ancestor	N/A	N/A	8	2+	3+	7	7	5	2+	5	2+	2+	3+	3+

Equipment List: The Red Ancestor carries no arms or armour for it needs none. Instead, when battle is joined it uses its polymorphic abilities to grow the Ancestor's Claws (dual-wield Power Claws) and the Ancestor's Flesh (Carapace Armour).

Skills: The Red Ancestor has all Vampiric Powers. It also has (x,y,z) Skills.

Special Rule - Vampirism: Vampires are immune to damage from weapons with the Gas trait and they cannot be detected via Bioscanners or similar. Vampires also gain +1 when rolling on Critical Injury or Lasting Injury.

Special Rule - Blood Ritual: The Red Ancestor can only be summoned through a bloody sacrifice. The ritual is mechanically the same as Feeding, except no fighter can benefit from the action. If successful the Red Ancestor hears echoes through the Ichor, drawn to the Brood that dared summon it. It will remain so long as 1 Captive is sacrificed to it per Feeding rules in each post-battle sequence.

An ancient evil that has haunted the darkness of Necromunda for many centuries, this is the unholy source of all the Broods currently infesting the planet. Mysterious and powerful, the Red Ancestor seemingly cares little for the squabbles and machinations of its descendants. Yet some whisper this is but a ploy, and it to this day pulls at a web of intrigue that spans the planet, manipulating events to bring about the return of the Voasin Bloodline. Legend says that if it is presented a large enough blood sacrifice it can be summoned by its children to aid them for a time.

Brock Ericsson

	Recruit	Creds	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld	Cl	Wil	Int
Brock Ericsson	N/A	##	6	3+	3+	5	5	4	3+	3	4+	2+	3+	6+

Equipment List: Power Sword, Condemnor Bolter with Stellus Bolts, Condemnor Stakes, Astran Grenades, Respirator, Photo-goggles, Armoured Body Glove, Reinforced Flak Armour, and Rosarius.

Skills: (Add various appropriate Brawl, Combat, etc. Skills)

Special Rules: TBD - Essentially a Bounty Hunter exclusively against Vampire Broods.

A peerless warrior of incredible power and unmatched martial skill, Brock Ericsson is hellbent on the complete destruction of all Vampires in the galaxy. He is an unequaled as a swordsmen and a flawless marksman that can go toe-to-toe with the most powerful of Vampires. Some say this is because he himself is infected with Vampirism, yet somehow through serums and sheer force of will has never given into the Ichor, retaining his humanity and soul against the darkness. However, he will not work for just any job, and will only contract his services to those that fight against the undead.