Pit Slave
Pit Slaves are a Hired Gun and optionally an Outlaw Gang choice in Necromunda, consisting of human criminals who were involuntarily augmented with cybernetics for use as slave laborers, only to then somehow escape into the Underhive. Think the gladiatorial arenas from Nuceria but without the Butcher's Nails. The reasons behind each Pit Slaves' creation varies, some could be because they are unable to pay off debts which they owe a certain Guild, others due to committing some crime against them, or most commonly because they have been sold to the Guilders by one of the Hive's gangs or the Guid's Watchmen themselves.
Overview[edit | edit source]
The Guilders will almost invariably "modify" their newly acquired slaves to make them better suited for whatever task they will be put to. Limbs are removed without a second thought to be replaced by Rock Drills, Shears and Buzz Saws for those headed down the mines. Hands and feet will be replaced by Claws and Hooks for those who will be Pack Slaves. Most unfortunate of all are the Pit Fighters, destined to fight to the death in the Guilds' colliseums, and are armed with a myriad of Chain Weapons such as Chainsaws, Chain Spears, Chain Spears, Chainaxes, Chain Glaives, Chainswords, Chain Cleavers, Pulverizers, Axe-Rakes, and Eviscerators; they can end up looking more metal than flesh.
Universally, the technology which the Guilders chose to use on their Pit Slaves is not of very high quality. It has little in common with the high-end Bionics available to servants of the Imperium and the wealthy nobles living in the Spire. Pit Slaves therefore resemble nightmarish agglomerations, with wires, pistons, and even exhaust vents sticking out in all directions.
As Hired Guns[edit | edit source]
As aforementioned, those who somehow escape their predicament can utilise their own bionics for their own ends. Escaped Pit Slaves are outlaws and officially wanted by the Guilds' Enforcers, but few will work very hard to recover them.
Those that escape inevitably end up making their way to the Outlaw Trading Posts in the Badzones. There they can make money by pit fighting with other escaped slaves for a handful of credits, or if they are extremely lucky, attract the attention of one of the gangs, who may decide to hire them for protection or some specific job.
History[edit | edit source]
Originally, the Pit Slave appeared in the Outlanders expansion for OG Necromunda as a single hired gun. Andy Chambers would follow up with an article on playing whole gangs of escaped Pit Slaves in the pages of White Dwarf, which would later be updated and re-released in the online Necromunda netzine Gang War in the article "Blood and Iron Take 2" by Robert J. Reiner.
