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Necromunda (planet)

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Targetdrone.gif This article is about the planet Necromunda. For other uses of Necromunda, see Necromunda (disambiguation).
Map Basic Data Planetary Image
Galaxy-Rift-Solar.jpg
Small cross.pngNecromunda
 Name: Necromunda[28a] Necromunda.jpg
Segmentum: Segmentum Solar[1]
Sector: Unknown[Needs Citation]
System: Necromunda System[1]
Population: Unknown[28a]
Affiliation: Imperium
Class: Hive World,[28a] Adeptus Astartes Recruiting World[2]
Tithe Grade: Unknown[Needs Citation]

Necromunda is a Hive World in Segmentum Solar, and a major producer of munitions for the Imperial Guard. Necromunda's forges produce lasguns, autoguns, shotguns and boltguns, among other weapons. The planet also levies huge numbers of troops for the Imperial Guard (most notably the "Necromundan Spiders"), as well as other supplies.[15] Necromunda is typical of most hive worlds, its hive cities rife with powerful gangs.[28a]

Orbital view of the planet Necromunda[29]

History

Pre-Imperium

It is rumored that long ago the Piscean xenos race were the first to arrive on Necromunda, which at the time still had large oceans. It is said they were both cunning and violent and viciously resisted Humanity's conquest of Necromunda years later. According to the legends of House Delaque, the Pisceans vanished shortly before Necromunda became consumed by industry and war. The Delaque believe the Pisceans did not leave Necromunda but instead took refuge in the subterranean oceans near the planet's core as Humanity first began to arrive.[13]

Colonization

Necromunda was founded 15,000 years ago as a mining and manufacturing colony. It used to be the capital of the Araneus Continuity, a small empire of Humans ruled by Techno-nobility, who submitted to the Imperium during the Great Crusade.[4]

Great Crusade and Horus Heresy

The planet were attacked by unknown Xenos arriving without warning from the system's Warp Gates, leaving only the capital Araneus, which was then renamed to Necromunda [4]. In M30 the planet was liberated from an Ork presence by the Imperial Fists, establishing the close ties between Necromunda and the Chapter.[3][7e]

According to another point of view, it was not Orks but rather a brief defiance of the former Necromunda's human colony against the coming of the Imperium that unleashed a war that made ash wastes from where hive-cities rise.[6] Necromunda was apparently devastated during the Horus Heresy, and the Ironhead Squats were vital in rebuilding the planet.[25]

Recent History

The ensuing millennia have not changed its basic purpose very much; Necromunda is still a world of mines, factories, refineries and processing plants. The planet is a vast powerhouse of industry, making thousands and thousands of different items for use throughout nearby planetary systems.[Needs Citation]

In the aftermath of the Great Rift's creation during the Thirteenth Black Crusade, a world-wide rebellion broke out on Necromunda. However it quickly ended sometime later, once word reached the Hive World that Lord Commander Roboute Guilliman's Indomitus Crusade was soon arriving to put down the rebellion.[5]

Geography

Eye of Selene

  • Eye of Selene — Orbital trade port, one of the busiest such localities in Segmentum Solar. The Ring is the only means by which goods are legally brought to or from Necromunda. Goods from the Ring are shipped to Hive Primus then sent out by land to other Hives in exchange for manufactured goods.[7a]

The Hives

The hive cities of Necromunda retain the ancient names of the cities and settlements from which they grew. There are several thousand Hives on the planet, some massive and populated by billions, while others are desolate and inhabited only by the dead.[7a] Each hive spire is also known by a local name. There are approximately a thousand hive clusters on Necromunda; each cluster is a group of up to a dozen or so individual hive cities, all linked by a network of overground travel tubes and subterranean passages.[Needs Citation] There are several thousand hive cities on Necromunda, some big and vast in scale, some decrepit and lost.[6]

Known Hives and notable locations on Necromunda include:

Western hemisphere

  • Palatine Cluster
    • Hive Primus — Largest and oldest surviving hive and planetary capital under Lord Helmawr. Hive Primus boasts the most magnificent and grandiose architecture on Necromunda.[7a][28d]
    • Hive Trazior — Known as the Three Sisters due to the three huge spires that can be seen from this great hive-city. Trazior is located on the edge of the Great Equatorial Wastes and is the southernmost "frontier" Hive of the great Palatine Cluster. Many important merchant clans are based in this hive.[28d] The Hive is dominated by House Orlock.[7a]
    • Acropolis Hive — Also known as Hive Acropolis,[18] Another old and ornate Hive in the Palatine cluster, located at a vital intersection of several great road tunnels. The Acropolis Hive is home to some of the most powerful merchant clans and is also home to massive shanty towns from those who hope to get a share of the wealth.[28d] House Delaque is the dominant force in the Acropolis.[7b]
    • Hive Temenos — This hive sees the headquarters of the Ecclesiarchy on Necromunda, and its population is said to be the most devout and pious. Many of the resident Clan Houses manufacture ritual items for the Ecclesiarchy while others work in their scriptoriums.[28d] Hive Temenos is a major powerbase for House Cawdor.[7b]
  • The Skull — This derelict hive is the largest of a cluster of three remote ruined Hives, once populated but abandoned due to Ork raiders many years prior.[7b][28d]
  • Hive Secundus — Originally the second greatest hive city on Necromunda, around a century ago it fell to Genestealer infestation due to unsanctioned Adeptus Mechanicus biological research. The Inquisition was forced to intervene and terrible destruction followed. Under intense fire from Necromunda's PDF defense batteries, the central spire was toppled. Despite this the Genestealers were not fully purged and remain alongside feral humans amongst the ruins, which are now guarded by a defensive line manned by Necromundan Conscripts and Penal Legion troopers.[7c]
  • Hive Arcos — A former Hive City, which was lost to a Corpse Grinder Cult rebellion, afterwards, the Hive City was abandoned and quarantined.[16a]
The Palatine Cluster - Eastern Quadrant[26]

Eastern hemisphere

  • Hive Mortis — Once an industrial lynchpin of the equatorial city clusters, it has now been reduced to a barely-populated wreck after a plague outbreak. Mortuary cults have since been created in the Hive, which subsist by harvesting and breaking down corpses. House Escher holds sway in Hive Mortis.[7c]
  • Gothrul's Needle — A spire rivalling Hive Primus, Gothrul's Needle was one of the first original spaceports on Necromunda. The Needle is rare because it is ruled by democracy and a council of elected representatives. Considered insidious, the Houses of other hives have tried to bring down the rulers of Gothrul for years, sometimes in the form of blockades while other times in the form of a campaign known as the shadow war. Gang warfare is prohibited in the needle, but criminal elements still run rife in the lower levels. These are combated by Gothrul's citizen protection officers.[7d]
  • Quinspirus Cluster — Located on the edge of the solidified sludge sea called the Worldsump Ocean. When the sea was still navigable, it was home to great dockyards now buried deep under the surface.[28d] The Hive has five great spires and is home to constant gang wars between House Orlock and House Delaque.[7b]
  • Hive Vosroth[23]
World Map of Necromunda[17]

The Ash Wastes

Cycles, Shifts and Seasons

On Necromunda, time is measured differently depending on where you reside within the hive cities. In the upper spire, closer to the Imperium of Mankind, traditional Imperial Standard units like hours, days, and months are used. However, for those in the lower levels, where life revolves around factories and habs, time is marked by three key measures:[25e]

  • Seasons: The Necromundan solar year is divided into seven segments, Each segment has ancient names like Solchem, Solsear, Solset, Orwyrd, Wyndawn, Wyndspyr, and Wyndloss, which transition from Fire to Change to Ash respectively.[25e]
    • Three Storm Seasons (or Seasons of Ash)[25e]
    • Three Dry Seasons (or Seasons of Fire)[25e]
    • One Season of Change[25e]
  • Cycles: Analogous to Terran days but adjusted to match the hive world's longer revolution, each Seasonal segment contains 100 Cycles.[25e]
  • Shifts: Each Cycle is further divided into three Shifts: Vigil, Laudate, and Magnificat, each covering a third of the day and distinguished mainly by the workforce operating during each period.[25e]

Timestamps on Necromunda combine these elements: in long form, Cycle and Season are used together, with Shift if necessary (e.g., Solset 034.2 for the second Shift of the thirty-fourth day in the third seasonal segment). In short form, this might be represented as 3.34.2.[25e]

Unlike the Imperial Standard, there is no specific unit for a year on Necromunda. The passage of time is marked by the cyclical nature of the Seasons, where one Great Cycle seamlessly flows into the next without the need for a defined annual measurement. For the people of Necromunda, each cycle resembles the last, reinforcing a perpetual sense of continuity in their lives.[25e]

Economy

Necromunda has been thoroughly exploited for its resources, transforming the planet's landscape drastically. Mountains have been dismantled for ore, and oceans have become polluted sludge ponds. Fertile plains have given way to massive urban developments called city hives, with towering peaks known as spires. Clusters of these hives are surrounded by industrial ash deserts and covered by a cloud of pollution, making the spires appear like islands in a toxic mist.[7f]

Despite its degraded state, Necromunda remains valuable to the Imperium due to its accumulated waste, which its inhabitants recycle and scavenge for survival. The planet's population far exceeds its capacity to support itself, relying heavily on synthetic and imported food. Recycling plants convert organic waste into synthetic food, while real food is a rare luxury. The population is vast, with a census of just one hive's upper levels estimating a billion people, highlighting the immense and uncounted numbers across the thousands of hives on Necromunda.[7f]

Administration

The planet's capital is Hive Primus (also known as the Palatine), one of Necromunda's many hive cities. The hive, the largest on Necromunda, is enormous in size, reaching from the surface to some 10 miles into the air, and from surface level to roughly 2.8 miles into the ground (although only the first 1.3 miles are habitable by humans), and possesses a population greater than some worlds. Hive Primus, and the planet as a whole, is ruled over by Lord Gerontius Helmawr of House Helmawr. The Hive's Houses are in a constant struggle to gain power and control of the Hive.[7a]

Notable Planetary Governors

Main article: List of Planetary Governors#Necromunda

Necromundan society

Necromunda's society operates under a feudal system typical of larger Hive Worlds. Central administration is impractical due to the unrecorded nature of most inhabitants. Instead, individuals pledge loyalty to others in a hierarchical structure, with families supporting the most powerful member of their group. This urban feudalism is self-regulating, as weaker clans seek protection from stronger ones until resource limitations halt further expansion. Rival clans inevitably clash, with combat determining their influence, making constant feuding between warrior gangs a fundamental aspect of life on Necromunda.[7f]

Ganger Houses

The great gang houses of Necromunda consist of:[10]

Crime

Like most Hive Worlds, Necromunda is home to huge amounts of crime. It might appear that large swathes of Necromunda are anarchic and lawless. This, however, is not true. Necromunda exists only because of its adherence to an ancient canon of rules laid down by the first true lords of the Helmawr line. These know now that if Necromunda is to survive, it must be allowed to war with itself. The Great Web of Necromunda must remain intact, facilitating the murderous competition that drives the houses to ever greater heights of productivity while at the same time, inter-house conflict is restricted to the proxy wars fought between gangs. But the balance between sanctioned violence and true anarchy is a fine one, preserved by institutions such as the Palanite Enforcers. There are however crimes not ignored by Imperial technologies, such as Heresy or engaging in A.I. research. These crimes are often dealt with the Adeptus Arbites as opposed to local enforcers.[9b]

Likewise, some are not content to merely rob settlements or Guilder caravans without the benefits of a Clan House blessing. These nefarious souls are the true criminals of Necromunda, and their crimes are crimes not against the decency or morality of human existence but against the absolute authority of the Houses themselves.[9b]

Other Elements

  • Ironhead Squats – A clan of Squat miners[25]
  • Cold Traders – Operate a web of black market goods and do business with all aspects of Necromundan society. Selling all sorts of contraband, xenos artifacts, and military hardware, they wage a constant battle against the authorities of the Adeptus Terra.[9b]
  • Imperial Impostors – Charlatans who impersonate Imperial authorities to gain wealth and power. Due to the massive and slow nature of Imperial bureaucracy, this crime is surprisingly simple to pull off. Criminal enterprises exist solely to falsify ones records and impersonate nobility. Usually, they attempt to steal as much as they can before discovery.[9b]
  • Rogue Factoria – Hereteks who operate networks of illegal manufactorums churning out non-STC approved designs. They exist in the depths of the Underhive, brutally working swathes of slaves in their factories. The most prominent Rogue Factoria syndicate is the Archwerks.[9b]
  • Narco Lords – Drug kingpins who oversee the trade of stimms. Without their drugs, the ruling elite could not extend their lives, work quotas would not be met, and the coffers of the ruling Planetary Governor would be lighter. Many of Necromunda's Ganger Houses, such as House Escher, are heavily involved in the narcotics trade.[10]
  • Rebel Lords – These are insurgent leaders, often from Fallen Houses that have since been removed from grace by Lord Helmawr. Rebel lords have high bounties placed on their heads and are formidable fighters, augmented with bionics and exotic weaponry.[9a]
  • Helot Cults – Such as the Corpse Grinder Cults[11] and covens of Rogue Psykers known locally as Psi-Syndica.[9b]
  • Genestealer Cults – Such as the Cult of the Slithering Star and Cult of the Second Son.[12a]

Imperial Fists

Necromunda is one of two official recruiting worlds of the Imperial Fists Space Marine Chapter, along with Inwit.[2] The Fists are based from the Spear of Dorn Fortress.[8]

Satellites

Necromunda has a moon called Juggerata.[20d]

See also

Sources

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