NECRONTYR THOUGHTS
I was once doing some work on some Necrons and decided to send my thoughts to the 40K IGCOM list to get some feedback. Below is the resulting collection of thoughts on Necrons from a few people. The author's name and e-mail is above their comments. All of my original comments are in italics.
I hope you will find these useful in doing your own work with Necrons. I'll be using them myself soon enough.
Necron Origins and Intelligence
Personally, I see Necrons as the remains of an ancient fallen race. For the most part, they are the warrior part of that society, controlled by their C'tan masters and programmed to obey their masters' will.
"Michael Reed" <reed@btinternet.com>
Taken as read; this is exactly how they wee described in WD230. What is open to debate is which Necrons are actually intelligent, and which are pure machines. The background of Karnandras in WD 236 describes their use of semi-sentient machines to defend their stasis chambers. Since we know that Warriors can be mass-produced (WD241), they are presumably in this category. What degree of intelligence Lords and Immortals have is another question. WD217's description suggests that Necron machines housing a former organic intelligence are not uncommon; in which case, the exceptionally tough Immortals and Lords (who, unlike warriors, are near-impossible to destroy outright) are good candidates.
Kaptin Gavrin <kgavrin@yahoo.com>
My personal thoughts are that the Immortals are simply an upgraded form of the basic Warrior, and may/may not have a high form of sentience. The Lords likely *do* have some sentience.
"Michael Reed" <reed@btinternet.com>
I must admit to liking the idea of having a few intelligent grunts around. A lot of my interpretation hangs off gameplay - in my experience, the warriors and destroyers tend to perform fairly menial but vital roles whilst the Immortals are usually the instrument of decisive action. Anyway, Lords being intelligent is a pretty universal consensus, it seems.
"k jp" <necrontyr99@hotmail.com>
I have mentioned before that I beleive that the Necron lord
is a C`tan and this has been refuted thats O.K. but I still think its correct and the
reasons I was given as to why their not I think actually reinforced that they are in
Inferno 20 the being that claimed to be a master of the Necrontyr (as opposed to being a
Necron himself)was trying to gain possesion of a staff of light witch I am now convinced
is what is used to control the Necrons.And the major reasoning as to why the Necron lords
arent C`tan was the described speed that the being in Inferno twenty possesed; I think
that the I4 and A3 that the lord posseses to a human would have that affect.
All of this leads into what I beleive is one of the major influences for the Necrons A)The
terracotta army of china and much closer to home for GW the Tomb Kings of Khemri.
I think the only really "Intelligent" Necrons are the lords Witch I think are
the C`tan
Mark Dunn <mark.dunn@pdl.co.nz>
I also think something along these lines.
The Necron supposedly went into those metal bodies because their existing bodies would not
survive the catastrophe that was about to befall them. What if some didn't submit to the
group and somehow avoided that holocaust. They'd then have fifty million years of
evolution and development ahead of them before their "ancestors" awakened again
from their sleep. Being considerably more advanced by this time (genetic enhancement and
technology enhancement) they enslaved the necrons to their own goals and tasks, though not
being so obvious about it because they still need co-operation. Thus we have a race of
Necrons that seem to have a completely different race controlling them and they submit to
it without question.
"Michael Reed" <reed@btinternet.com>
Well, going by GW's website, the C'tan will be the Necron
special characters. This presumably leaves the Lords to act as the 'basic' HQ choice.
IMHO, the descriptions of what are presumably C'tan - in Inferno and White Dwarf -
are lifelike, slender and agile. The Necron Lord, OTOH, is a traditionally clunking,
skeletal machine, who is categorically NOT impervious to plasma bolts.
Doesn't fit, really - the "C'tan" tomb in the Inferno story was at the heart of
the Necron pyramid (remember that at the end of the story, after his human exterior is
shot away, the Necron Master is identified as the thing from the tomb). It figures that
there must be some command level above the Necron Lords - the C'tan (or whatever they are)
fit it nicely.
"xopher@op.net" <xopher@op.net>
I'm going with a simpler explantion. The C'tan are both
a separate race AND those in control of the Necrons. The Necrons were awakened by
the C'tan, who now control them as a slave race, much as Abaddon awakened and controlled
the during the Blackstone Fortresses (also Necron technology) during the Gothic war.
The C'tan thus control the Necrons much as Vampires control their undead minions in that
other game...
Slaves
The Necrontyr are not above taking slaves and using them for experiments, or to do labor, or even to go forth and do battle for the C'tan. Being a highly advanced race, the Necrontyr probably have more than a few ways of controlling slaves. These slaves would be useful to provide a distraction for the enemy or act as a shield in a full battle, but probably would never be taken on raids.
"Michael Reed" <reed@btinternet.com>
In Gorkamorka, the Necrons appear to have come to some sort of arrangment with the human tribe known as the Wreckers - they recieved Necron backing in taking control of the human population, and apparently rule without interference. The Necron Master in Inferno 20 also remarks that humans make excellent subjects.
To be honest, the only time I can see the Necrons' servants fighting alongside them is when a tomb came under direct attack. The effort of transporting very fragile, unreliable humans into a battlezone would dictate against their use, especially when mass-produced Necron warriors are available to fill out the numbers. It's just not economical, much in the same way as Space Marines don't generally use their chapter serfs in battle, even though they're formidable fighters.
I'll still take issue with the use of slaves. Getting them into position would be obnoxiously difficult - they're far, far more vulnerable to the perils of the warp and vacuum than hardy Necron warriors, who still excel at the distraction/screening role on the battlefield. Sheer logistics dictates against their use. A human slave occupies as much cargo space as a Necron warrior, and presumably has a fair chunk of the mass. To be transported through the warp, he needs life support. Once in position, he needs to be catered for. He tires and gets demoralised. In other words, he's extremely inefficient.
Kaptin Gavrin <kgavrin@yahoo.com>
I was under the assumption that there may be times when not enough Warriors can be produced or placed into battle-ready status soon enough.
There are suggestions floating around that Necrons don't use
the Warp, but may use something like the Webway.
Fair enough. But they're still useful in the event that Necrontyr warriors may not
yet be plentiful enough. I'll just change it to suggest that once there is no longer
a need for them the slaves are rounded up and slaughtered. Does that work for you?
"Michael Reed" <reed@btinternet.com>
Exactly. If the Necrons are going looking for a fight, they'll use their own resources.
If, on the other hand, they come under attack and can get a few of the locals to help...
well, that's a different matter.
[Use of Warp] This will hopefully be clarified in the Necron fleet rules. Based
on what I picked up at the GWHQ open day, one of their special tricks is to drop out of
the warp directly into combat - which does rather imply the use of some sort of
conventional warp travel. After all, if their tech is advanced enough to do so safely and
accurately, why bother with something as restrictive as a webway?
[Slaves] Hummm. Not really - the existing background suggests that the
Necrons/C'tan are more interested in domination rather than extermination (their
relationship with the Diggas of Gorkamorka being the case in point). I expect that
subjugated populations would be used as a workforce, but probably not entrusted with
significant weapons or used as warriors. Coerced, poorly equipped slaves would probably be
more of a liability that anything else for the mobile, hard-hitting approach of the
Necrons.
"k jp" <necrontyr99@hotmail.com>
I fully agree using fleshy slaves in combat just seems wrong
for menial work hell yes (but then I see them using some sort of Cybernetic device to turn
their slaves into obedient zombies and makes them respond to the staff of light. (see
above)
This could be true and I had been tossing the idea around of a Cyber-Zombie unit that
would provide a purpose for their taking slaves on the fluff side but more fore a cheaper
TROOPS allotment to bulk out the army.
Yes they use a system of circlar gates that you need one at each end that look like a wall
of water when you activate them.:)
The C'tan who control the Necrontyr know that the best way to rebuild their ancient empire is to use the tools at their disposal. Thus, they will sometimes take control of the populace, twisting their thoughts and causing them to "rebel" against their former loyalties - thereby hiding what is really going on. When the guise of this "rebellion" is no longer needed, the Necrontyr will slay any part of the population not deemed as necessary, and keep the rest as slaves.
"Michael Reed" <reed@btinternet.com>
Certainly. This is evidenced by their use of the Diggas and converted human manufacturing facilties.
This isn't leading to something with your "second age of
strife", by any chance? The contents of a Necron stasis tomb (a million or so Necrons
at the last figure) would certainly give even a small, rebel coalition a fighting chance
against anything the Imperium could throw at it. The Imperium's problems would be even
worse if the rag-tag rebel fleet was being covertly supported by the most powerful
warships in known space.
Well, it's an explanation for the advanced weaponry which suddenly appears.
Structures
The average Necrontyr structure form is the Pyramid. These Pyramids can house control centers, factories to produce new Necrontyr, sensor facilites, or the necessary equipment to perform any of a variety of required tasks. The Pyramid is carried over to the Necrontyr space craft, where sometimes they will be used for observation towers, control stations, or even weapon emplacements.
"Michael Reed" <reed@btinternet.com>
The only descriptions so far of their interiors only cover
stasis and defence facilties. Since these appear to occupy the bulk of the structures,
this would only leave a small space for the systems you describe - probably just enough to
get by until other facilities could be established.
We'll find out in a week's time. I was wondering whether the Necron battleships - with
their pyramid superstructures - had been concealed under the surface of dead worlds, with
only the obsidian pyramids visible above the surface.
Kaptin Gavrin <kgavrin@yahoo.com>
I like the idea of the Necrontyr using a single structure
form for most of their facilities. Sure, they have such things as obelisks, but the
Pyramid idea stands out.
I was under that assumption myself. I'm assuming that since they'll even have
battleships they should be able to perform all-out battles.
"Michael Reed" <reed@btinternet.com>
Yep. Lots of different sizes of the beasties, for different functions. I would
expect that most of the non-stasis chambers have been wrecked over time, though.
Please do. It is, after all, only a minor variation on the ideas in "Stargate".
"k jp" <necrontyr99@hotmail.com>
I like thi idea also and wouldnt be suprised If thats the case "want to use this
Necrontyr STARGATE anyone"
Battles
Necrontyr most often fight in small skirmishes, preferring to perform a hit-and-run raid to either capture, study, test, or destroy an objective. These raids are usually composed of a few dozen Necrontyr warriors and a Necron Lord to lead them. Sometimes the Necrontyr will need to perform more of an all-out assault. At these times their factories will create many heavy constructs designed for war. These heavy constructs will go forth with the Necrontyr warriors aboard the Necrontyr's starships and attack a planet, striking swiftly and not retreating unless absolutely necessary. Sometimes these battles will require the use of slave "warriors" as a distraction or shield.
"Michael Reed" <reed@btinternet.com>
The standard mission, in other words. I'd also come to this conclusion; it explains what
Scarabs are for, as well. As a pet theory, they're reconnaisance drones whose assault and
self-destruct capabilities are just a backup, intended more to stop them being captured
than anything else. Hence the rest of the army will fight on, as long as there are Scarabs
around to record the data from the engagement.
Quote. "There have been no reports of them engaging in a large scale battle with a
numerous foe". Of course, since they're getting cruisers and battleships, this is
about to change. It seems that the steady escalation of Necron capabilities in rules terms
matches their gradual reawakening.
There's not really any doubt about it - if the presence of a unit more powerful than the
Planet Killer doesn't qualify something as a major battle, not a lot does.
"k jp" <necrontyr99@hotmail.com>
I thought this was more a matter of the limited model range available; Even with how
useful a Necron force can be. As it stands, they fall apart in smaller games.
I truly hope its more a case of the closer we get to a Codex the larger the Necron forces become I really want the Necrons to have a fully fledged army with several vehicles and at the absalute minimum as many troop types as the Dark Eldar.