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[[Image:John Blanche Nomad Concepts.JPG|thumb|right|500px|Nomads by [[John Blanche]]{{Fn|2}}]]

'''Nomad bands''' wander the [[Necromunda (planet)#Geography|ash waste]]s which lie between the hives of Necromunda.{{Fn|1a}} They form a distinctive social group on Necromunda, and have their own rituals and tribal society which is distinct from the clans of the hives. Rites of passage, ritual scarification and tattooing, [[scragging]] and trophy taking are all known to be practiced among them in various forms. Tribal and personal honour are extremely important.{{Fn|2}}

Few true nomads use vehicles preferring to carry only as much as they can load onto their own back. In this way, every nomad is a fighter and a bearer, ready to defend his own part of a caravan.{{Fn|2}} And when walking they waste do they not tether themselves together, since that is a good way for one person’s mistake to kill everyone.{{Fn|5}}

Among the nomads that employ vehicles are all types and sizes of vehicles are used: wheeled, tracked, walkers and even exotic skimmers. With some bands preferring to have a myriad of light buggies or bikes, believing speed and manoeuvrability. While others chose a single armoured, slow moving transport-crawler to protect them from worst of the weather.{{Fn|4b}}

Some nomads have turned to the mutated creatures which roam the wastes for mounts and/or beasts of burden. Those groups migrate with the heards, surviving by living off the creatures, hunting them for food. Such life is perilous, as many of the creatures are predators and a stray nomad makes an easy meal. Those beasts are occasionally traded with other nomad bands or shanty towns. Uses are found for most of the creatures, with many parts of them being eatable if prepared in the right fashion, bones can be used for crude weapons, hides make clothing and dung can be converted into fuel.{{Fn|4b}}

The nomad routes cross the planet and bands migrate from one hive cluster to another, following good weather and trying to stay ahead of the fierce seasonal [[ash storm]]s. For all the mutual dislike between nomads and hivers do many nomads make a living carrying trade goods between the hives, the goods they carry are small, usually exotic and always costly: rare drugs, special ammunition, strange things found in the ash wastes and secret messages from distant hives. Many gang leaders prefer to use nomad couriers, valuing secrecy above the speed and ease of using [[road tunnel]]s.{{Fn|2}} They also trade with the [[scavvies]] living in the shanties clustered around the hives,{{Fn|1b}} sell found items to [[Merchants Guild|guilders]] as raw material, and act as middlemen between traders. {{Fn|3a}}

===Warfare and raids===

Nomads indulge in continual warfare and inter-tribal feuding for amusement and gain. Nomad [[gang]]s ambush convoys from the hives and other nomads when they can. They frequently attack [[travel tube]]s and disrupt trade between the hives. Raids on [[Merchants Guild|merchant]] convoys crossing the wastes are commonplace, but some nomad bands are audacious enough to make slave-raids on shanties and even hives, if they can get in through damaged tubes or breaches in a hive’s shell. Any storm that breaches the shell of a hive will give rise to anxiety in expectations of an imminent nomad raid. Nomads have also been known to occasionally raid the hives by infiltrating into a hive and then retreating into the ash waste before any resistance could be organised, {{Fn|2}} or just blowing a hole in the wall with missiles.{{Fn|3a}} Sometime they get into the underhive via derelict tunnels uncovered in the ash wastes. Seen as dangerous undesirables by hivers, the nomads are attacked on sight by [[Helmawr]]’s soldiers and [merchant gang]s because of the danger they pose to road tunnels and convoys.{{Fn|2}}

In the toxic ash wastes is ammunition often hard to come by, especially rare ammo, and some weapons are completely worthless: for example are flamers of little use in high wind. For these reasons nomads tend to use laser weapons and those which fire at a slower rate with more effect, so there is as little waste as possible.{{Fn|3b}} A favoured weapon for nomads is the [[Long Rifle]], it’s long range being valuable in the wide open waste. The [[House_Catallus#Double-Bladed_Knife|double-bladed knife]] has become a common weapon of the nomads and a symbol of the Nomads' struggles.{{Fn|4d}}