Necromunda

Outside the hives of Necromunda only the tough and resilientsurvive. The constantly shifting factory wastes, the sudden appearances of toxic sludge seas, and acid rain storms all compete to claim the unwary. Yet out of this inhospitable terrain come the Ash Wastes Nomads. House Catallus was once a proud house among the elite of Necromunda. Unrivaled by all save the ruling house of Lord Helmawr itself, until it was torn apart by internal power struggles that ultimately brought them low and cast out into the wastelands. It was supposed to be a death sentence, but their resiliency was under estimated and they have not only survived, but have thrived to the point where they must be reckoned with if one is to travel, trade, and sometimes even communicate across this toxic desert. Guilders acknowledge that if they need to make any movement across the Ash Wastes that the Nomads are a force to be reckoned with. The land that the Ash Wastes Nomads now occupy was once fertile plains, but millennia upon millennia of industrial wastes being dumped indiscriminately have in turn eaten away at every natural resource to the point where there is nothing but shifting dunes of toxic wastes left. On occasion thick mucus-like sludge rises to the surface to form slick-lakes, or short rivers or streams only to disappear back beneath the wastes - often leaving behind a crust like surface which is not to be trusted. Sink holes abound ever ready to reach out and take those that wander too close. And yet the Nomads, and even some hive dwellers if they were to ever to see it, would call the landscape beautiful. The abundance and variety of wastes allows for a wide variety of colors and textures, Sulphur Yellow, Cobalt Blue, Mauve, Citric Green, intertwined compounded resins that resemble a diseased tree (if any Necromundan outside of the ruling elite even know what one looks like), rock outcroppings, and much more. And yet the Ash Wastes Nomads must never let down their guard for the same things that create such beauty, can become equally deadly. An Ash Storm can whip up seemingly out of nowhere to strip an unguarded man to the bone and his bones into a handful of dust in minutes, or the very ground they walk upon swallow one up without a trace. Despite all this there are algae, fungi, bacteria, and even mutated animals that have survived alongside the humans. If the natural obstacles are not enough there are Guilder war parties (sanctioned by Lord Helmawr himself) and even Imperial Fists Space Marine patrols (ever on guard for the infiltration of xenos) that view anything not living within the massive hive walls as rogue and a threat. Thus the Ash Wastes Nomads must vie against even their fellow humans for survival. And yet the Ash Wastes Nomads wander this waste land and conduct trade among all the hives of Necromunda. The distances between such cities can be anywhere from a hundred to several thousand kilometers. They are the curriers, traders, and guards of things that cross the ash deserts. Things that someone can either not afford a more secure route, or would prefer to keep secret Still other Nomads conduct raids on the same Guilder caravans, and even upon the hives themselves. There is nothing that escapes their attention. Even with the sanctioned war parties of Lord Helmawr the Guilders know that if they need to cross the wastes – they will have to deal with the tenacious Ash Wastes Nomads – if they are to succeed with any regularity.