Venators
Venators are the bounty hunters down in the Underhive, have you always wanted to make your “Dog the Bounty Hunter” dreams come true on the table top? Or have you read Sinners Bounty a few to many times? Maybe you are, like me, obsessed with Abhumans and want to run the bigs, smalls and bleating denizens of the Hive.
Venators can be on the harder side to find all the rules for, between being published in the Book of Peril, updated in the Apocrypha Necromunda: Bonedry and Broke as well as referenced in the Book of the Outcast
What makes them different?
House Legacies
When you pick a fighter for your gang you get the option to pick a stat line (more on that later) and also a Legacy, this allows you to take weapons and wargear from that gang's leaders starting lists at the cost they would pay for it, so Escher Queens get Lasguns for 5 credits and so any fighter that has the Escher Legacy also gets Lasguns for 5 credits on creation.
So lets go through the house options, we have:
Cawdor Word Keeper
Delaque Master of Shadows
Escher Gang Queen
Goliath Forge Tyrant
Orlock Road Captain
Van Saar Prime
This doesn't mean you get access to the Gang specialist things like Genesmithing, Cybernetika etc, nor can you buy items from this list after creation, you only get access to this list when you buy the fighter, either on list creation or when you buy the fighter throughout a campaign.
Now onto what we are really here to see…
Abhumans!
The main reason I'm in love with the Venators, you can have as many Abhumans as you want! Two of these are already playable in other gangs, and we will cover them first, but the other two are unique to the Venators gang.
Ogryns -
Ogryns get to pick from the Overboss starting list, which gives you some incredible melee options, including the augmenting weapons, but more importantly there is no rule that says you are stuck with them for the rest of the campaign. So if you take an augmenting fist but want to replace it with a powerfist later down the line, now you can! The Ogryns are obviously the tough mamma jammas of the Venators, with Strength and Toughness 5 they can weather a storm and hit like a truck.
Unlike the Ogryns from the “Free” Ogryn gang, the Venators get access to ranged weapons which is a welcome change. They still can't hit the broadside of a Grox shed but it's funny to give one an autocannon just to see what happens, failing that grab a combat shotgun and they don't need a decent BS because of the template profile.
Squats -
Next up, the Squats, they get access to the Charter Master starting list, meaning they get the Ironhead Bolter or the Ironhead Melta, both of which are amazing weapons. Being Toughness 4, although still Strength 3, and with natively good BS they are a strong shooting platform that can weather some damage as well. Although they are slow to get in the fight I would definitely take at least 1 Squat in an Abhuman list to lay down the fire while (slowly) making their way up the board supporting your other fighters and using their superior mental stats to assist with bottle and nerve tests.
Ratlings -
Ratlings don't get a specific legacy starting list to pick from, and so have to use the trading post which all Venators get access to (wait for it, it's coming) but they do get some very interesting special rules. First let's look at “Slopping”, this rule lets you roll a d6 at the beginning of the game, and if your Ratling is in recovery, on a 6 they are allowed to be taken for the game. This is obviously a model specific rule basically ripped from the Slopper hanger on, it's noted however that if you have the Slopper hanger on as part of your gang, you get to re-roll this, giving you a second chance to get that 6. Next up is “Sniping”, if your Ratling is using a basic weapon, you can reroll hit rolls of 1 as long as you take the aim action. This is obviously quite good, there aren't many re rolls in Necromunda (unlike 40k) so even though it's only with basic weapons, pinning is winning, and Bolters are basic weapons… Now to round the Ratlings special rules off, we have “Sneaking” which increases your cover save by 1, so if you're in light cover it's -2 to hit you and heavy cover gives you -3 to be hit, which is amazing. The trade off for these special rules the Ratlings are toughness 2(!) which is a HUGE trade off. Nearly everything is wounding you on 3s at worst and a single flesh wound can basically make you die to a stiff breeze.
Beastmen -
I think that the Beastmen got the raw end of the deal in terms of special rules, the first one I love, “Feral Warriors” means that if they have suffered one or more flash wounds then you increase their attack characteristic by 1. I enjoy this rule. However there is discussion about whether if you manage to heal up that flesh wound, RAW would you lose the extra attack meaning you always have to be fighting at less than full health in order to get the best out of them, I still think it's a good thematic rule however.
The last rule for the Beastmen is “Frenzon Conditioning”, Beastmen never get the negative effects from taking Frenzon and thus can't get addicted etc. You want to know an easier way of doing this? Get a frenzon collar, not only do you get all the benefits of this rule but you also only have to pay for it once, if they said it was “Chem Conditioning” and you just didn't have to deal with the negative effects of any Chems I would love this rule but alas, it was not meant to be.
House Lists and access to the Trading Post on creation
As I have alluded to earlier, once you start a campaign you no longer get access to the House lists for items to buy as you are no longer affiliated with them and are striking out on your own, the only exception to this is when you buy a new fighter as they are taking their equipment from their previous gang and joining the Venator gang. This means that if there is something you are wanting that isn't available on the trading post then after their first game you no longer have access to it. For example, if I have an Ogryn in my list, and want to give them augmetic fists but dont have the credits in my starting list then I would need to decide whether I want to hold off on the purchase all together until I can afford them and the weapon or if i just want the fighter and replace the augmetic fists later on with something else, like power fists from the trading post.
In addition you can buy directly from the trading post before the Campaign starts, Leaders get to pick from Weapons and Wargear from the Trading Post up to Rare 11, now this rule was implemented before the Trading Post and the Black Market was merged together so I think that RAI its supposed to only be on “legal” weaponry and equipment but check with your Arbitrator. Champions get access to Weapons and Wargear up to Rare 10 and the Hunters get up to Rare 8, this lets you take specialised equipment and weapons for whatever theme or campaign you are playing.
More credits for capturing/killing enemy fighters
Normally when you capture an enemy fighter and sell them to the Guilders you gain half that fighters worth back in credits (rounded up to the nearest 5 credits), the Venators are master negotiators and so they gain the full amount the fighter is worth instead and if the opponent has to delete a fighter off their gang roster during the “post battle sequence” after fighting with the Venator gang, you can claim up to half that fighters cost (rounded up to the nearest 5 credits) as they claim the bounty on them as dead instead of alive. So many opportunities for credit injection to spend on new fighters and toys!
Territory Enhanced Boons based on leaders legacy
Depending on what Legacy your leader has taken will depend on what territory boons your gang would gain during a Dominion campaign, this is to depict the leaders experience before they became a Bounty Hunter manifesting in their ability to run territories as would have been taught from an early age. Annoyingly this means that if you take a Ratling, Ogryn or Beastman leader then you wouldn't actually get any Enhanced Boons which is rude in my opinion. Ironhead Squats get their Enhanced Boons from the Chem Synth as if they were Escher and the Mine Workings as if they were Orlock and obviously the House legacies follow their House Enhanced Boons.
I really think it wouldn't be too much work to give the Abhumans, that miss out, their own Enhanced boons (and this is definitely not official so check with your Arbitrator), so im going to do it for you.
Beastmen should get enhanced boons from the Fighting Pit as if they are Goliath and Bone Shrine as if they were Cawdor, this shows off their more savage upbringing as well as the religious fervour they are often indoctrinated within the Abhuman Regiments of the Astra Militarum.
Ogryns should get their enhanced boons from the Slag Furnace and Smelting works as if they were a Goliath gang, this again follows their background as they are often brought up in the Furnaces and Smelteries of Necromunda as cheap muscle and labour.
Finally Ratlings should get enhanced boons from the Stinger Mould Sprawl as if they are an Escher gang and the Tunnels as if they are an Orlock gang, this shows off the Ratlings ability to find good ingredients for their foods that help people recover quickly and their innate knowledge of the passages and routes needed to avoid others and appear where they need to be to get the drop on their targets. I was tempted by the Needle Ways instead of the Tunnels, but infiltrating 6 models separately is incredibly strong so it's up to your Arbitrator.
Again this is not official and is just my opinion, take it or leave it at your discretion.
In addition, a Venator gang may not hire Hangers-on, Brutes or Dramatis Personae who only work with certain gangs, regardless of the gang legacy of any of their fighters. Again the Venators have left their previous gangs in search of fame and fortune with whatever they had on them, so calling in an old favour may be a step too far,
Skill access
Another big difference between the Venators and “standard” gangs is the Venators get to pick their own skills for the gang, this is obviously even more customisable and amazing for building thematic gangs. So let's have a quick look at how it all works, you pick 4 skill trees from the Core Rulebook, so none of the gang specific ones, and rank them 1-4. Rank 1 should be the skill tree that most embodies the gang's play style, each fighter from this point on gets access to these skills following their roll within the gang. So Leaders get rank 1 and 2 as primary skills along with Leadership and 3 and 4 as secondary. Champions get ranks 1,2 and 3 as primary and 4 and Leadership as secondary and finally the Hunter Specialists get 1 and 2 as primary with 3 and 4 as secondary. Simples, so if were to pick Agility, Savant, Ferocity and Shooting as ranks 1-4 in order my leader could pick from Agility, Savant and Leadership on creation as their free primary skill and buy Ferocity and Shooting skills as secondaries as the campaign progresses.
Not all Skill Trees are made equal, my personal favourites are Agility and Savant, maybe with Cunning thrown in for good measure. Just make sure that when you are choosing skills you think with your narrative brain, not your power gamer brain, as it's easy to make a monster.
Wyrd Leaders
Just like Bounty hunters the Venator Leaders get the option to become a Wyrd on list creation for a 35 credit fee, this is a great idea for nearly any Venator gang as they can pick from the universal powers list from the get go, giving the fighter a skill and a power on creation as well as letting them take Wyrd powers as a primary skill option in addition to the others (Book of the Outcast, page 52). There are some amazing powers to choose from in the Universal Powers List, and there are some superb benefits to sticking to one power discipline, like being immune to Blaze if you only have Pyromancy powers.
Venators don't share credit
Venator gangs are loose teams of experienced fighters working together for fame and fortune, because of this Venators wont work with Bounty Hunters other than Dramatis Personae, they can however hire Hive Scum the same as normal gangs because they are being brought in as contractors for a set price, not a share of the profits.
Fighters
Hunt Leaders
There are 4 profiles for generic Hunt Leaders (and Champions as well), for ease we will number these 1-4 from top to bottom. Each profile has a slight difference that makes them better at one thing over another but are all 120 credits. In addition to the many profiles you can pick for your leader you can also make them a Wyrd (Book of the Outcast, page 52) for an additional 35 credits which can be incredibly helpful.
House Hunt Leaders - 120 Credits
Profile 1 is a general all rounder, with Movement 5, WS and BS 3+, Strength and Toughness 3 but with 3 wounds (which is a nice bonus), 4+ initiative and 2 Attacks this profile can do pretty much anything “well enough”, you include 6+ Leadership, Intelligence and Willpower and 5+ Cool its a hard profile to beat for a solid all round leader.
Profile 2 starts with Movement 4, 3+ WS and BS but with S4 and T3, 2 Wounds, 3+ Initiative and 2 attacks. This profile seems to lend itself towards a melee fighter but 4” movement really drops this profile into “counter charger” territory, which is a bit of a shame. For Mental stats the 2nd Profile has a Leadership and Cool of 6+ and Intelligence and Willpower of 5+ making them a tempting Wyrd.
Profile 3 looks to me to be the Shooting profile, again with a Movement of 4” they also get a BS of 2+, WS of 4+, Strength and Toughness 3, 2 wounds, 4+ initiative and only 1 attack, you really don't want this model to get stuck in melee but with a heavy weapon you could lock down an area fairly handily. The other upside to this profile is the mental stats, 5+ for Leadership and Cool, 6+ for Willpower and 4+ intelligence.
Profile 4 is a quick fighter with Movement 6” and WS of 3+, BS 4+ Strength and Toughness 3, 2 Wounds and with a fantastic Initiative of 2+ and 3 attacks, I love this profile for a nasty melee fighter (the only way to fight) and while the mental stats aren't quite as good as the other profiles but with Leadership and Willpower 7+ and Cool and Intelligence 6+ its still nothing to sniff at.
Now we can move onto the Abhuman leader profiles (where the true fun begins)
Ogryn Hunt Leader - 155 Credits
Ogryn Leaders get Movement 5”, WS 3+, BS 5+ (but unlike the Overboss in the Ogryn gang you can actually take ranged weapons!) Strength and Toughness 5, 3 Wounds, Initiative 3+ and 3 Attacks. Now the mental stats are 8+ Leadership (not great for a leader model), a wonderful 5+ Cool, Willpower 9 and 8+ Intelligence, it's the exact same profile as the Overboss.
Squat Hunt Leader - 130 Credits
This is my favourite Abhuman leader profile, sure they are slow at Movement 4”, WS and BS 3+ Strength 3, Toughness 4, 3 Wounds, Initiative 5+ and 2 attacks they have a decent fighter profile but its their Mental stats that make the difference Leadership, Cool and Willpower all 5+ and Intelligence 6+ your Squat leader can keep the rest of your gang from bottling on their own, and if you are thinking about bringing a Wyrd Leader then the Squat Leader is a good profile for it.
Ratling Hunt Leader - 95 credits
The gambler's choice, slow at movement 4” (2025 FAQ), WS 4+, BS 2+, but Strength and Toughness 2(!), 3 Wounds, 2+ Initiative and 2 Attacks, I wouldn't be recommending this model as a melee fighter. The mental stats are alright though with 6+ Leadership, Cool and Willpower, and 5+ Intelligence there is a play where you use the rules Ratlings get to hide away from the enemy and play the sneaky leader, buffing everyone around them.
Beastman Hunt Leader - 150 Credits
A good all rounder if a little slow at Movement 4” the Beastman has WS and BS 3+, Strength and Toughness 3, 3 Wounds and Attacks and a 3+ Initiative they can hold their own in a fight. Mental stats are alright, 7+ Leadership, Willpower and Intelligence with a 5+ Cool which is a nice bump. This profile would make a really good melee fighter as it's basically a Goliath Tyrant with an extra wound.
Hunt Champions
Quite obviously the Champion choice for the Venators, the Hunt Champions follow the same profiles as the Leaders but with a few tweeks.
House Hunt Champions - 90 Credits
I wouldn't usually show stats wholesale but because the Champions fighter profile is so similar I have really struggled to portray the changes in a way that's not just stats soup, so here is a table to show the changes compared to the Leaders House profiles.
Profile 1 is still the all rounder, the only changes in stats is they have 2 wounds rather than 3, and all their mental stats are 1 worse as well. I would say this is very much the “standard” stats for champions most gangs would build from.
Profile 2 has increased movement by 1 to 5”, dropped the WS to 4+ from 3+, only 1 wound, Initiative is now 5+ not 3+ and 6+ WP instead of 5+. This profile is probably my least favourite, if nothing else because it only has 1 wound, and that's a death wish on a 90 credit base cost champion.
Profile 3 hasn't changed much outside of its mental stats, the main take away is they have the 2+ BS and have gained a 2nd attack (for some reason). If you want a shooty champion this is definitely worth considering.
Profile 4 is still the best choice for melee champions, sure you lose an attack vs the leader, but they're still movement 6” and have a 3+ Initiative.
Now they are out of the way, let's look back to the Abhumans for some excitement.
Ogryn Hunt Champion - 125 Credits
The only change the Ogryn Champion gets from its leader counterpart is 4+ WS instead of the previous 3+ and 2 Wounds, not 3. Unfortunately this does make them more expensive and weaker then the Underboss the Free Ogryn gangs get, the up side is the Venator version can take weapons and wargear unrestricted, which I think is a fair exchange.
Squat Hunt Champion - 95 Credits
For 10 credits more then the Drill Master from the Squat book, the Squat Champion has the exact same stats, basically you are paying a Venator tax to have access to rare 10 wargear and weapons on creation. It's still a solid choice for any Venator gang to have.
Ratling Hunt Champion - 50 Credits
Probably the cheapest Champion in the game, the Ratling Champion loses its 2+ BS but it's not the end of the world, it's sat on a 3+ now so if you aim its back on to hitting on 2s re rolling 1s with basic weapons. For some reason the Ratling leader profile has a movement of 6”, that's gone from the champion (and later the Ratling Hunter as well) and instead they get a movement of 4” as their little legs try to keep up to the rest of the gang. The Ratling Champion does get the 2 wounds you would expect a champion to have, even with its Toughness 2, an initiative of 3+ instead of 2+ and only 1 attack. The 1 attack is a nothing issue in my opinion, the chances of you wanting to get a Ratling into close combat are slim (but never 0, a Ratling assassin maybe?), you are more likely to give this fighter a decent ranged weapon, either a heavy weapon to capitalise on the 3+ BS or a basic weapon for reliability.
Beastman Hunt Champion - 100 Credits
Again a decent melee profile and acceptable shooting profile, the Beastman Champion is still a decent Fighter with 2 Wounds, Strength and Toughness 4 and 2 attacks and Decent cool of 6+ but with a movement of 4” its slow. The Beastman is a fighter I would definitely consider giving a melee weapon and pistol to to apply pressure but at the same time for 25 credits more you could have an Ogryn and they are just stronger, and faster.
Consider slapping Slaught into the Goat and letting them rush forward or get a grapnel launcher for the movement boost and keep them round with a melee weapon and a ranged weapon like an Autogun or Lasgun (or Bolter) keeping heads down until it's time to counter charge and get the work done.
Hunters
House Hunters - 50 Credits
For 50 credits the House Hunters are not a bad investment at all, compared to the Champion profiles the changes are highlighted.
Profile 1 basically has the profile of a Hive Scum but with better mental stats
Profile 2, slow at movement 4” this fighter has the “Beastman Problem” of being stated for melee but not being quick enough to get there nor do they have the toughness to keep them in the fight long enough to deliver them there.
Profile 3 is now quite slow with 4” movement but when your BS is a 3+ I think you are likely to make this fighter a shooting ganger so it's not the end of the world. BS 3+ is actually quite good for a ganger and if you aim you're hitting on 2’s before you take into account range modifiers etc.
Profile 4 is quick but lacking in BS to really do much once they get there. Really this profile is suited to melee because its got a better chance of getting into combat, but I would pop a combat shotgun or another template weapon on this fighter so the BS doesn't matter and they can run about being a menace and then give them a melee weapon to charge in with after they run out of ammo or you get bored, whatever comes first.
Ogryn Hunter - 105 Credits
A bit on the expensive side, the Ogryn Hunter is not much different from the Ogryn Champion, 1 less wound (2) and 1 worse WS at 4+, they are still well worth the price compared to the Brute version but I would rather pay the extra 20 credits for a champion that has an extra wound and pick another profile for the ganger choice.
Squat Hunter - 55 Credits
Exactly the same profile as the Drill-Kyn from the Ironhead Prospects but for 5 credits more you can equip them with trading post weapons from creation, that is the Venator tax for you. It's a great addition to the Venator list because they are a strong shooting base with access to some great weapons on creation.
Ratling Hunter - 20 Credits
20 credit gangers can come across as incredibly cheap, especially when they are -1 to be hit and can re-roll 1’s to hit with basic weapons, but I need to remind people who think that they are toughness 2 and thus will fall over to a papercut. I will still take a bunch of these grubby hobbits to fill out numbers on the cheap if nothing else, but they are also good ranged fighters. I'm a big fan of Ratling Hunters with Lasguns, you get 18” short range at +1 to hit and because they re-roll 1’s to hit with basic weapons if you aim you are hitting on a 2+ re rolling 1’s. Just be careful to keep them out of danger because you will be bottling in no time if your opponent gets a shot off on the Ratlings, when your toughness 2 even an Autogun or Lasgun is wounding on 3’s and everything stronger is wounding on 2’s, not only that but you also have the issue that if they get a Fleshwound or Serious Injury roll you need to get them assistance or they won't recover before they bleed out.
Beastman Hunter - 60 Credits
The Beastman hunter is a great ganger for its cost, With 3+ WS, 4+ BS, Toughness and Strength 4 it can dish out some damage in melee and tank some damage that comes in. The main down side is its movement 4”, which is a problem, but with a little investment they can be a great addition to the gang. I would look at grapnel launchers or Slaught to get them across the battlefield and in to position ready to slaughter anyone who gets in the way of their bestial glory.
Starting lists
Abhuman Allstars
This list is designed to get in your opponents face and make them suffer for it, the Skills trees we have picked in order are:
Agility
Savant
Shooting
Ferocity
It also uses nearly all the little tricks the Venators have access to (short of using the house profiles).
Squat Hunt Leader with 2 Handed Power Pick, Stone Burner, Mesh Armour, Sanctioned Psycher upgrade, Quickening and Fixer - 325 Credits
Now I know this leader is a bit on the expensive side, but there is a method to the madness.
The Squat Hunt Leader has great mental stats so will assist with any bottle checks etc but also has a superb willpower of 5+, we are going to use that to cast Quickening. Quickening increases your movement by 3”, WS, BS and Initiative by 1 to a max of 2+, this means that your Squat has not got a movement of 7”, BS and WS 2+ and an Initiative of 4+, letting them rush up with the melee fighters to dish out the pain. As for weapons, to begin with I have chosen the 2 handed Power Pick for the S+1 and AP-3 with Damage 2, Power and Pulverise, this means that you will never need to upgrade your Melee weapon and combined with the Stone Burner you are doing 2 attacks (3 on the charge) plus your single additional S5, Ap-2 Damage 2 attack from your sidearm melta gun. Armour means nothing when this fighter gets into Melee. The benefit to being in the Biomancy skill list as well is (as long as that's the only set of powers you take) you get the Biomancer special ability, Fast Heal, this lets you roll an additional injury dice and choose one to discard, this is superb and can be paired with a Bio-Booster later on for double the fun.
Ratling Hunt Champion with Bolter, Mesh Armour and Marksman - 120 Credits
If this fighter gets shot they are going to hit the dirt harder then a Russian Politician speaking out against Putin, but if you keep them hidden in cover and away from template weapons you can pop off shots that are hitting on 2+ even in light cover at 24” and 2+ in heavy cover against fighters within 12” short range re-rolling hit rolls of 1 (all requires you to aim) with any 6’s to hit being double damage on one hit on your rapid fire dice and be able to ignore target priority. Truly a glass cannon.
Ogryn Hunt Champion with Furnace Plates, Greatsword, Combat Shotgun and Sprint - 240 Credits
Another melee threat, but now with added firepower. The Ogryn Hunt Champion is a solid tank with Strength and Toughness 5 and 2 wounds, add the incredibly cheap 5 credit Furnace plates gives them a 5+ save from the front and 6+ everywhere else just in case and you are brushing off most small arms fire. The Greatsword hits at S+1 meaning your hitting at 1” versatile (for the +1 to hit as well) at strength 6 with AP-1, damage 1 and Sever… when you get into versatile range you have 2 attacks/3 attacks on the charge, hitting on 2’s at Strength 6 and if you get to the injury dice, they are instantly OoA and you can consolidate towards your next victim. Until you can get into melee range you can also use the Combat Shotgun to pop a template down and scattershot anyone you see and cant charge without needing to worry about the poor BS until you can get them some BS improvements, or not if you want to focus on more skills or movement. Finally the Sprint skill means that if you spend 2 actions moving you can make a 3rd move, making you move 15” a turn toward your opponent, if that's not intimidating I don't know what is.
Beastman Hunter Specialist with Boltgun, Axe and Stub Gun - 135 Credits
The Beastman Specialist has a Boltgun to fire as they slowly trot up the board until they can get into melee with their Axe and Stub Gun. As you gain XP I would invest in movement and/or attacks before you look at skills so you can get them into the fight alongside your Ogryn Champion and Leader. Don't forget that if you take a fleshwound you get an additional attack so maybe it's worth taking one as you get closer to the frey so that the axe can start spilling blood.
Beastman Hunter with Lasgun, Chainsword and Autopistol - 110 Credits
The Ex Guardsman, this fighter is going to be supporting your melee fighters as they go up the board, keeping enemies pinned until you can get into charge range and start getting stuck in yourself.
Ratling hunter with Lasgun - 35 Credits
Rush forward until you get into range then start pinning targets as soon as you can, prioritising heavy hitters that could hurt your leadership models and also anyone who might come close to your Ratlings because they will fall over to even the weakest of attacks. Stay in cover for the additional cover bonus and avoid templates like the plague.
Ratling Hunter with Autogun - 35 Credits
Exactly the same idea as the Lasgun, just from a slightly closer range.
As this gang progresses I would look towards upgrading the armour of your Leadership and giving the mesh armour they have to the Hunters, then i would be looking to buy more fighters, another Ogryn wouldn't go amiss, especially if you can afford them paired Augmetic fists so you can smash your opponents into the rockcrete, and maybe another Squat with either a Ironhead Bolter or Ironhead Melta, funds depending. This gives you the best of all the Abhumans have to offer.
Heroes of the Houses
This is the closest thing you're likely to see from me building a House gang on this website… Unless someone pays me well, it's Necromunda after all.
The skills I have picked are;
Cunning
Agility
Shooting
Combat
The plan for this gang is to be mobile and adaptable and so I have picked skills that give you the option for shenanigans, I have also tried to include weapons and equipment that embodies the gangs aesthetic/vibe.
Hunt Leader (1) with Orlock Legacy, Boltgun, Mesh Armour and Iron Will - 190 Credits
The Orlock leader is the lunch pin that keeps the gang going, we have only got 1 fighter from each house and so It's worth taking Iron Will to keep your gang on the board and fighting.
Hunt Champion (4) with Escher Legacy, Lasgun, Needle Pistol, Stiletto Sword, Chem Synth, Mesh Armour and Spring Up - 180 Credits
Escher Legacy lets us take a lasgun for 5 credits and it would be rude not to really. The Needle Pistol and Stiletto Sword are obviously there to get you into close combat and start dishing out toxin hits to as many people as you can while Spring Up means that if you get pinned you can do an initiative test to jump back up for free (all while being pinned until you are ready and harder to hit) and make your charge.
Hunt Champion (3) with Van Saar Legacy, Lascannon, Armoured Undersuit, Mesh Armour and Evade - 285 Credits
When I was thinking about a Van Saar champ, I kept coming back to giving them either a plasma or las weapon and the more I thought about it the more it made sense to over commit.
This champ is hitting on 2+ and at long range will ignore light cover (because of its +1 to hit) meaning that once per turn you can say night night to one of your opponents models with a level of certainty, and if they manage to fire back you always are going to be at least -1 to hit thanks to Evade. You could also pick Infiltrait or Overwatch as decent skills for this fighter but I felt that was overkill.
Hunter Specialist (4) with Delaque Legacy and Webgun - 165 Credits
The 10 credit discount on a Webgun was too tempting, and fits the Delaque and how the Venators work it was impossible to say no.
I have picked the fastest profile for this fighter so you can get up the board and into template range asap, all while being covered by your other fighters.
Hunter (4) with Cawdor Legacy and Polearm/Blunderbuss - 90 Credits
The Cawdor Legacy lets us take the Blunderbuss and thats about as far as you need to go, you can fire your Purgagation shot to template Blaze anyone you come across until you run out of ammo (and as it has scarce you cant reload it) the switch to the Grape shot profile so yo can u get plentiful, scattershot, template weapon that although hits at strength 2 will definitely do the damage. But that's not all, if you get caught in melee you are hitting at strength 4 within 2”. Its a fantastic weapon.
Hunter (2) with Goliath Legacy, Chainaxe, Stub Gun and Furnace Plates - 85 Credits
Profile 2 gives you Strength 4, and a 4+ weapon skill, even though you are only movement 4”.
This fighter is more of a counter charge threat, there to follow the quicker members of the gang until someone either threatens your guys or you get close enough to charge in yourself. The chainaxe is +1 to hit so you are hitting on 3+ with that and the stub gun is just a handy thing to have for a chance at an extra attack or a pinning shot against a stronger melee threat.
This is a bit of a risk, with you only having 6 members of your gang straight away I would be thinking about getting some more fighters asap, maybe more Escher Lasguns or Cawdor Poles for cheap and effective bodies then you can start thinking about up armouring and increasing the damage output of your gang.
Campaign progression
Hangers-On
Tech Merchant - 80 Credits
Reducing the cost of a TP item is a post game thing but reducing the rarity isn't.
They cost 80 credits but if you buy one at creation it reduces the rarity of gear by 2. Giving you a wider variety of things to access at creation
Rogue Doc - 50 Credits
I'm not sure if I have ever recommended the rogue doc fully to a gang, and im only sort of doing it now. The Rogue Doc is often considered to be an autoinclude and as such I refuse to take one most of the time, but with a venator gang I would make an exception. Venators are bounty hunters in the Underhive, and it makes sense to me that they would have their own Doc on staff to assist them in their time of need. If they could take the Treatment Pouch that the Nomads get access to then I would take that instead and make a Medic fighter. Because of the expense of most of the Venator fighters a Rogue Doc is a good idea, just maybe consider something more fun instead.
Bullet Merchant - 75 Credits
When you have access to an abundance of weapons and equipment, why not get special ammo to go with it? The bullet merchant lets its gang treat all ammo available through the trading post or black market as common and any ammo that has the limited trait instead gains the scarce trait, meaning you don't have to replace it after going out of ammo on your first shot, potentially saving you a lot of money over the course of a campaign.
Combos
Combat Medic - Any quick champion profile with the Medicae skill and a Medicae Kit. Let them run round assisting seriously injured fighters recover, then help them regain wounds. This is really fun to play with as it keeps your champions up and running. I like to pair it with a tooled up Ogryn and force my opponent to decide if it's better to shoot the medic or the terrifying angry slab of muscle it's hiding behind.
Rampaging Beastmen - So this abusing the Beastmen Feral Warriors special rule so you should talk to your arbitrator about how they interpret the wording. Get a bunch of Beatmen together and a fighter with the Van Saar legacy and a rad grenade and a Medicae Kit. Use the Rad-phage to get a fleshwound onto the beastmen and get them the extra attack before healing it back up with the Medicae Kit. The wording of Bestial warriors is “ Beastmen fighters increase their Attacks Characteristic y 1 if they have suffered one or more Flesh wounds”, it doesnt meantion that it needs to keep said flesh wounds.
Invisible Ratling - Ratling (additional -1 to be hit with ranged weapons if in cover, so heavy cover is now -3 to hit) and Cameleoline cloak (-2 to hit if they don't move) For a total of -5 to hit.
BS 2+ are now hitting on 6s and that's not the end of it! If you make this Ratling your leader you could give them the Biomancy power, Chameleon and add -2 to that meaning even in the open they are -4 to be hit as long as they don't move. I can't stress how much I DONT want people to do this as it's janky as hell, but it could be funny for a skirmish game against a good friend (or one you don't mind losing). Just remember that template weapons don't care about you being hard to hit and when you only have toughness 2 even a stiff breeze can ruin your day.
Ratling Assassin - This will never work, but it is incredibly funny. Get a Ratling Champion, give them the same equipment as above but add 2 Wisperbane knives. Sneak up on un-suspecting fighters from behind to deliver as many scattershot attacks as you can get onto a target. The Champion is only 5+ WS but because the Wisperbane Knife is +1 to hit you’re hitting on 4s with 3 attacks and potentially 18 wound rolls… If you wanted to do the Invisible Ratling combo then adding the Wisperbane Knives so you have to get into melee seems like a fair trade off, just don't expect to survive.
Final thoughts
The Venators are incredibly fun to play, whether you like to go full Abhuman, Full House or a mix of the two you should have the best time playing. There are so many options to pick from, you should never see the same gang twice. With the massive range of fighters and modeling opportunities, you can really customise your gang to be exactly what you want them to be, in fact I will go as far as to say that the Venators are the perfect gang for players that want to play “their guys”, that gang that's based on fighters from gangs they have played in the past or a gang with reams of backstory explaining on who they are, where they came from and their motivations.
I love the Venators and encourage anyone to play them.
FIN
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