Wheels of Fury
RAW ✔️ Apocrypha Necromunda: Wheels of Fury (2026), p6
Underhive Racing Rules
There are few reckless activities not indulged in by the gangs of the underhive. Perhaps the most ambitious of these are the conversion of entire hive zones into indoor race tracks for the entertainment of their inhabitants. Anything goes when it comes to winning one of these races, and generally if a gang can cheat, fight or blast their way to victory then they will.
Detailed below are rules for playing underhive racing scenarios. These are special kinds of games, where players build a racer and pit them against each other to see who will emerge unscathed (or in many cases, simply reach the finish line!).
Creating An Underhive Racer
Each player in an underhive race must create an underhive racer to represent their gang in the race. These are built using the Wasteland Workshop rules found in Necromunda: Book of the Outlands with the following guidelines:
- Players have 400 credits to create their racer.
- They must use a custom Medium vehicle as the basis for their racer (see page 62 of Necromunda: Book of the Outlands).
- Any crew may be chosen with the exception of the Corpse Grinder Cult Road-Initiate, Guild of Coin Haulier and Palanite Ranger.
- Any vehicle upgrades, up to and including Rare (10), can be purchased during creation, without the need to visit the Trading Post.
- Racers are usually crafted with loving care by their owners, and despite being custom vehicles do not have the Jury-rigged special rule. Players do not need to spend all their credits when creating a racer, though any unspent credits are lost once the process is completed. If a player chooses not to spend all their credits on their racer, they will gain a benefit to their priority during the race (see page 7).
Designer’s Note: Different Vehicle Classes
If the Arbitrator wishes, they can run races for different classes of vehicles. This can see Cargo-8 convoys smashing their way through the underhive or swarms of bikes and quads competing to reach the finish line.
All of the rules stated previously for creating an underhive racer apply as normal, with the exception of credit limit and base custom vehicle, which changes to one of the following:
Light Vehicles
Players have 250 credits to create their racer and must use a custom Light vehicle as the basis for their racer (see page 61 of Necromunda: Book of the Outlands).
Heavy Vehicles
Players have 600 credits to create their racer and must use a Custom Rig vehicle as the basis for their racer (see page 112 of Necromunda: Book of Desolation).
Setting Up A Track
With the racers created, the next step is setting up the track they will race on. Typically this job will fall to the Arbitrator, though players may generate the track randomly using the Underhive Race Track tables on page 6.
Track Sections
Each track consists of three track sections, numbered one to three, each measuring 4' by 2', with one short edge designated the starting zone and the opposite edge the finish line. The action will only ever be taking place in one section at a time, so a play area of 4' by 2' is fine for most races.
Each section will have its own rules and terrain guidelines as detailed on the Underhive Race Track tables. At the start of the game, set up track section number one following these guidelines.
During the race, when at least half of the racers have left the track (see below), the current round ends and the track section is changed to the next section in the sequence (i.e., one becomes two, two becomes three).
When a track section is changed, remove all racers and terrain. Then set up the terrain as detailed on the Underhive Race Track table for that section. Once terrain is set up, place the racers as detailed in Leaders and Stragglers.
Leaving The Track
The goal of each player is to get their racer from the starting zone of each track section to the finishing line – in effect, move them down the battlefield from one short edge to the opposite short edge. Racers may not voluntarily leave the battlefield, with the exception of the short edge designated as the finish line.
Leaders And Stragglers
When a racer moves off the track via the finish line, and there are still other racers on the track, they become a Leader. Place the racer to one side. In each subsequent turn that there are still racers on the track, place a token next to the Leader.
When the track is changed, any racers still on the track become Stragglers. After terrain has been set up for the next track section, place any Stragglers touching the short battlefield edge of the starting zone. Stragglers are placed starting with those who were the closest to the finish line when the track changed. Leaders are then placed next, starting with the racer with the most tokens. For each token the racer has, it can be placed 6" from the starting zone, up to a maximum of 24".
In both cases if a Leader or Straggler would be placed at the same time, roll off to see who is placed first.
Underhive Race Track
Each track section has three defining features: terrain, sides and special rules. When generating random track sections, players start by rolling twice on the table below to generate its terrain and sides.
Terrain And Sides
| D3 | Terrain | Sides |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dense | Impassable |
| 2 | Light | Cliff |
| 3 | Open | Open |
Terrain
The amount of terrain on the section. These are Dense (three terrain elements per 12" x 12" section), Light (two terrain elements per 12" x 12" section) or Open (one terrain element per 12" x 12" section). Note that, regardless of the density of terrain on a track section, no piece of terrain can be placed within 6" of the starting zone.
Sides
This represents what lies along the edges of the race track and can be Impassable, Cliff or Open (see page 202 of the Necromunda Core Rulebook). In the case of Open sides, rather than being Left Behind, if a vehicle moves off the edge it becomes a Straggler.
Special Rules
These represent any special rules that apply to this section of the track. After generating terrain and sides, roll once for each section to determine what special rules it might have.
| 2D6 | Special Rules |
|---|---|
| 2 | Flooded: The Movement characteristic for all tracked and wheeled vehicles is reduced by 2". Wheeled and tracked vehicles cannot be subject to the Blaze condition and lose the Blaze condition if they already have it. |
| 3 | Pitch Black: The Visibility (3") rule is in effect. |
| 4 | Ventilation Processor: When this track section is set up, randomly determine one of the long battlefield edges. In the End phase of each round, all racers are moved 1" directly toward this edge, unless they are skimmers, in which case they are moved 3". Note that this can move racers off the track. |
| 5 | Falling Debris: If a racer comes into contact with a piece of terrain, after working out the effects of the collision, roll a D6. On a 5 or 6 each player (in priority order) places a 5" blast marker anywhere on the battlefield and scatters it 2D6". After determining its final position, any racers under the marker suffer a S8, AP -, D3 hit. |
| 6 | Gunk Slick: When this track section is set up, each player (in an order determined by rolling off) places a gunk slick marker anywhere on the battlefield at least 12" from a short edge and 9" from an already deployed gunk slick marker. If a racer comes within 6" of one of these markers, it must make a Loss of Control test. |
| 7 | Underhive Gloom: The Visibility (D6x6") rule is in effect. Roll to determine the value of the Visibility rule during the Priority phase of each round. |
| 8 | Rats!: Each time a racer ends its activation on this track section, place a rat counter next to them. Rat counters have the following cumulative effects:
|
| 9 | Toxic Sludge: At the end of their activation, if a racer has moved less than 6" during their activation they suffer a S3, AP -, D1 hit as if from a weapon with the Blaze trait. |
| 10 | Mines: When this track section is set up, each player (in an order determined by rolling off) places a mine marker anywhere on the battlefield at least 12" from a short edge. If a racer comes into contact with one of these markers, it immediately explodes (count this as a demolition charge centred on the racer). Then remove the marker. If the vehicle is still able, they can then complete their activation. |
| 11 | Auto Turrets: If a racer ends its activation within 6" of a long battlefield edge, it will suffer D6 S4, AP -, D1 hits. |
| 12 | Inferno: The track is on fire. At the end of each racer's activation, roll a D6. On a 5 or 6 it catches fire and becomes subject to the Blaze condition. This condition persists until the vehicle leaves this track section. |
Race Day
An underhive race uses all the standard Necromunda rules and vehicle rules (as detailed in the Necromunda Core Rulebook) with the following additional rules to capture the feel of gangs racing their ramshackle vehicles through the claustrophobic tunnels of the underhive.
Starting The Game
Once each player has created their underhive racer, and the track sections have been determined, the race is ready to begin.
Start by setting up the first track section, as detailed on page 5. Then each player takes it in turn to place their racer touching the short battlefield edge of the starting zone, starting with the player whose racer has the lowest credit value. If more than one racer has the same credit value, roll off to see who places first. Racers cannot be placed within 1" of an already placed racer.
Once all the racers are in place, the race can begin. Each player then rolls for Priority as normal, with the player(s) whose racer has the lowest credit value adding 1 to the result of their roll.
Speed Demons
Vehicles cannot stop in an underhive race and must always be on the move. To reflect this, the following rules apply:
- Racers must always use at least one action to move and must always move the maximum distance allowed when performing this action.
- Vehicles cannot become Broken or Stationary (if they would be subject to either of these conditions they instead lose a Hull Point).
- All terrain that is not counted as difficult counts as flimsy.
Ending the Game and Determining the Winner
The race ends if, at the start of a round, there are no racers on the current race track section. The winner will be the racer that moved off the finish line first.
If the race was part of an underhive racing campaign, then there may be additional rewards for coming in second or third place, as detailed on page 8.
If the race finishes before the final track section is completed, each racer that has not been taken Out of Action is considered to have Completed the Race.
Underhive Racing Campaigns
While an underhive race can be an exciting one-off scenario, or even inserted into a standard Necromunda campaign as a special scenario, players can, if they choose, run a racing campaign.
Setting Up The Campaign
Running an underhive racing campaign is quite straightforward as it only requires each player to create and keep track of an individual racer, and can be played out over as few as three races.
The first step is for everyone involved in the campaign to create their own racer as detailed on page 4. They can then record the racer on its own roster sheet, much as players would keep track of a gang during any other Necromunda campaign. This will allow the players to note down any damage their racer sustains, repairs it might undergo or improvements between races.
The Arbitrator, or the players, should then determine the tracks that will be raced on during the campaign. As a general rule there should be at least three races, to give all racers a chance to improve or recover, with five being a good average number, though players can add more if they like.
Each race is then played out in order using the rules on page 7, with credits and experience rewards for those who participate.
Credit And Experience Rewards
Simply taking part in a race provides a racer with some credits and experience, but additional rewards are on offer for race winners or those who take out other racers. See the table below for a rundown on rewards (all rewards are cumulative).
| Reward | Credits | Experience |
|---|---|---|
| Took Part in the Race | 25 | D6 |
| First Place | 100 | 10 |
| Second Place | 75 | 7 |
| Third Place | 50 | 5 |
| Completed the Race | D6x10 | 3 |
| Each Racer Taken Out of Action | 50 | 5 |
Improving Racers
During the downtime between races, players may freely spend experience and credits to change their crew or racers, or repair their racers, as detailed in Necromunda: Book of the Outlands and Necromunda Core Rulebook. This can be done without the need to make Post-battle actions, simply buying items from the Vehicle Upgrades/Wargear lists. Weapons, for crew or Hardpoints, may also be purchased without taking a Post-battle action, from either the Trading Post up to Rarity (10), or Black Market up to a Legality (10).
In longer campaigns, the Arbitrator might allow players to change their racers between games. In this case, they can retire their existing racer and create a new one using the racer creation guidelines detailed previously.
Racing With Wrecked Vehicles
In an underhive race, it might transpire that a racer rolls the Write-off result on the Lasting Damage table and the player is unable or unwilling to repair it. It might also have suffered Lasting Damage that would normally prevent it from racing (e.g., rolling a 1 after having suffered the Unreliable Lasting Damage result). In these cases, the player can still choose to put their racer in the race, though it will put further strain on their already struggling vehicle. Note the vehicle has the Wrecked condition; this replaces it being In Repair as it would in a
Wrecked
At the start of each race immediately roll on the Lasting Damage table and apply the results, re-rolling results of Unreliable.
If a vehicle with the Wrecked condition is Wrecked again, do not roll on the Lasting Damage table, instead it is completely destroyed and the player must create a new racer and crew for any subsequent races.
The Wrecked condition remains until the vehicle is repaired using the Negotiate Repairs Post-battle action.