QUESTION OF THE MONTH - JULY 2003
Every month a message is plucked from the dozens sent to us to be answered in the newsletter. This month I've decided to answer the commonly asked question:
"Now that Necromunda is back out, are there any plans to re-release Gorkamorka?"
Necromunda Senior Editor Matt Keefe Replies:
"Once we have the Necromunda rules review up and running the sensible thing to do would be to use it to go over all the existing Ash Wastes material we have produced and slowly begin to make it all official. This will eventually lead us to a point where we can combine it into a stand alone supplement, acting as both a new setting for the game, and providing additional rules for vehicles. This will leave us in a position to deal with Gorkamorka...
I say the above with some hesitance because, to be brutally honest, Gorkamorka is years away from being something Fanatic will be in a position to support. The game just wasn't that popular first time around, so we've spent our (rather limited) time and resources supporting Necromunda instead, which has always been very popular. I know Gorkamorka has it's adherents - hello to everyone who has been systematically bombarding me with emails from the various mailing list and web communities out there - we do know you exist. The truth is, Gorkamorka won't ever get its own magazine, or a relaunch as a brand new game, but somewhere down the line we will probably be in a position to treat Gorkamorka in the same manner we do the Ash Wastes - as a new setting that uses the Necromunda rules. What this means is that we'll probably release Gorkamorka as a kind of sourcebook that can be combined with the Necromunda rules, throwing in all the background, gangs and campaign rules that appeared in Gorkamorka and Digganob. The book would be unnecessarily long (and costly!) if we were to reprint the basic game rules, so you'd need the basic rules from Necromunda: Underhive, and the new improved vehicle rules from the (eventual) Ash Wastes supplement to play.
I'm sure this approach won't please everyone, but in truth it's actually by far the best way of making Gorkamorka available again, since it will broaden its appeal by putting it into a format that is easily accessible to Necromunda players. The success of Mordheim's alternate settings (Lustria, Land of the Dead, the current Empire in Flames etc.) is a good indicator for how best to treat Gorkamorka in relationship to Necromunda. And, I say again just for clarity, this is all years away anyway."