Invent a New Warhammer Race

[Thrawn183]

I was thinking of Mechites. Essentially, self-replicating nanomachines that have decided that the purest forms of existence are mecha. Whether they're breaking all biological material on a planet down to from new hybrid control systems or simply converting the entire mass of the planet into a giant mothermech, all of their tech is based on this principle.

Somehow they have even accomplished the impossible: designing vacuum cleaner mecha.

[puppyavenger]

40K: Space Slaads. The skinks aren't fielded as soldiers any more save when piloting vehicles, the Kroxigors and other dinosaurs are extinct, so that means all the soldier work is covered by Saurians. There'd be limited genetic variety: a breed of gorilla-armed speedy chargers with arm blades, a breed with keen eyes and steady nerves for gunners, but nowhere near as crazy as Tyranids. They're vehicles would vary between two extremes: Small, swift scouting vessels that fire disruptive weapons like gas grenades or nets, and virtually immobile hovering platforms bearing either a Wave Motion Gun or a Slaad. They travel the stars by means of temporary miniature webway gates created by the sheer awesome that is the Slaad Psyker.

Why wait until now to reveal themselves? Everything was going according to the plans of the Old Ones to correct the Chaos problem and the C'tan issue until the Tyranids threw a monkey wrench in the mix.

didn't the old Necron codex mention that the decayed old-ones who stayed in the galaxy left descendants who are basically Lizard-men?

[Mx.Silver]

(Yes, I am trying to innovate Warhammer by putting a normal supertech race into it. What of it?)

Tau are fairly normal supertech. Pushing things too far that way risks losing one of things that sets 40k apart from the more typical sci-fi verses. You wouldn't be so much innovating it as banalising it.
Besides, this is missing the point that any nomadic civ fighting what is essentially a guerrilla war is going to struggle to develop super-advanced tech.

[Emperor Ing]

So, that's a real challenge... make a race the orks wouldn't like to fight.

Already written up.

Look up the Reasonable marines.

I always thought those were the Pretty Marines

[chiasaur11]

I always thought those were the Pretty Marines

Pretty Marines make fun noises when you hit them.

Reasonable Marines are negotiating when it's safe to do so, and bombing from orbit when it isn't. Neither of which qualifies as a scrap, zoggin' good or otherwise.

[Emperor Ing]

You could also argue that it's Angry Marines, because the warboss will have a Power Boot stuck [Censored by the Inquisition] before he can say that it is a scrap zogg-*SPLORTCH*

And if you lose to the Pretty Marines, the sheer irredeemable humiliation will make da boyz never wanna fight again.

[comicshorse]

SKAVEN. Given their technological bent these creatures deserve to be a power in the 40K universe.
Species targeted diseases from Clan Pestilens, genetically enginered war machines from Clan Moulder and god knows what from Clan Skyre. ( The thought of what they'd do when they get access to the Warp doesn't bear thinking about).
Lead by the immortal genius of the Council of 12 and with the personal aid of their actual god ( not some cannbialistic, corpse being), they have hid in the holes of the Warp for ages planning their final move aginst the galaxy, now the Warp rat-holes will open and the hordes will pour forth to bring the age of the Skaven top be.

[Indon]

Tau are fairly normal supertech. Pushing things too far that way risks losing one of things that sets 40k apart from the more typical sci-fi verses. You wouldn't be so much innovating it as banalising it.
Besides, this is missing the point that any nomadic civ fighting what is essentially a guerrilla war is going to struggle to develop super-advanced tech.

I guess I should've specified what I meant by 'supertech'.

I consider the Tau pretty tech-light, compared to what you can see in science-fiction environments. Spaceships and lasers are all well and good, but that was sci-fi bread and butter 50 years ago. Most WH40K factions are like that - their tech is awfully big and fancy and impressive, but it's not particularly good. The Tau trade big for impressive, but that doesn't make it less... pulpy? I get my WH40K info secondhand, so it's hard to really find accurate words for my thoughts along those lines.

This faction would be one with both big tech and effective tech. Their vehicles would probably tend to be expensive things that you build large forces around because they would have synergistic effects with other units, and their infantry would be relatively inexpensive and weak baseline but have a wide array of upgrade options.

[Ganurath]

That's the fun. Even if they were a totally balanced force, heck, even if they didn't have the firepower to drop the Tau, they'd still have the required "worse than ever before" fun that comes with every new race. Everybody'd hate them extra!

Imperium: Man's old sins come home to roost.
Adaptus Mechanus (Heh. AM, high tech and they oppress mankind.): Huh. Looks like the golden age had some issues. Oops.
Tau: Ah. Might want to reconsider those AIs.
Eldar: Crap! We did not see this one coming. At all. Our whole predicting the future game is not working here.
Dark Eldar: No souls, no pain sensors, no nothing to give the slightest relief from she-who-thirsts. Every second we're fighting them is a second closer to eternal torment.
'Nids: These guys taste awful.
Chaos: These metal boxes fear not the might of the chaos gods! This might be bad for us.
Necrons: They aren't life. No warp presence, no souls to feed to the C'tan... but still we want to kill each other because, you know, 40k.
Orks: Oy! This looks like a zoggin good place for a scrap!

Okay, maybe not the Orks. Everyone else though, the point stands.

Let's see how the Space Slaad do:

Imperium: They claim that humanity are the failed creations of foul xenos, and that they are the superior species? Blasphemy!
Tau: These schemers believe that the Greater Good is their plaything, and they must be enlightened.
Eldar: They taunt us with our past failures, mock our foresight by claiming credit for our successes... They should be accounted for.
Dark Eldar: The only ones with Warp sensitivity either blow themselves up before we can use it or are too well defended to be worth the effort. We can't waste time on these serpents!
Tyranids: Hey! Stop jamming our genestealer beacons with your fat frogs!
Chaos: Hey! Stop introducing order to the essence of our pantheon!
Necrons: Such potent beacons of the Warp... So much living energy... The custodians of our ancient enemy... They must DIE!
Orks: Oi! Dey's greener den us! Get 'em!

[Finn Solomon]

Giant psychic cannibalistic space hamsters.

[Mordar]

Hi all -

I like the Saurans (dinoSaurans, anyway) as distinct from the Slann/Lizard folk...or at least not guided by omniscent big fat toads...for 40K.

I also really like the idea of Skaven hitting the big warp.

As far as additional armies for WHFB, I have always wanted to see an African/Zulu army...Zebra cavalry, lions and rhinos as heavy hitters and totem magic. Alas, it will likely never be...

- M

[Oslecamo]

Some nice atempts, but the new WH40K race has already been decided.

CATGIRLS!

Here we have footage of one locked in combat with a space marine.

Spoiler

Show

As you can observe, catgirls will be unique in the way that they're seeking to crush the other factions with love and friendship. They are born out of rainbows and leap into melee bradishing their power flowers.

[Emperor Ing]

Let's see how the Space Slaad do:

Imperium: They claim that humanity are the failed creations of foul xenos, and that they are the superior species? Blasphemy!
Tau: These schemers believe that the Greater Good is their plaything, and they must be enlightened.
Eldar: They taunt us with our past failures, mock our foresight by claiming credit for our successes... They should be accounted for.
Dark Eldar: The only ones with Warp sensitivity either blow themselves up before we can use it or are too well defended to be worth the effort. We can't waste time on these serpents!
Tyranids: Hey! Stop jamming our genestealer beacons with your fat frogs!
Chaos: Hey! Stop introducing order to the essence of our pantheon!
Necrons: Such potent beacons of the Warp... So much living energy... The custodians of our ancient enemy... They must DIE!
Orks: Oi! Dey's greener den us! Get 'em!

For the Catgirls:

Imperium: Foul mutant abominations!
Astartes: [Censored by the Inquisition]
Tau: Foul mutant abominations! Enemies of the Greater Good!
Eldar: They are the embodiment of our past, and now they seek to finish us. We shall rend them into the place where our past shall remain!
Dark Eldar: Whowadawheretodawhatnow?
Tyranids: Ugh, they taste TERRIBLE!!! Who the warp brought these things to life?!
Chaos: Slaanesh is currently pending his attitude towards them. Though I do hear that Khorne is not pleased. Expect a continent-sized axe sometime soon.
Necrons: Souls for the C'Tan, oh wait, crap, they don't have souls. Well, they're slowing our Harvest down, so kill 'em anyway.
Orks: Deyz look like da hoomies! Deyz gots no dakka. WAAAAAAGH!!!!

[TSED]

SKAVEN. Given their technological bent these creatures deserve to be a power in the 40K universe.
Species targeted diseases from Clan Pestilens, genetically enginered war machines from Clan Moulder and god knows what from Clan Skyre. ( The thought of what they'd do when they get access to the Warp doesn't bear thinking about).
Lead by the immortal genius of the Council of 12 and with the personal aid of their actual god ( not some cannbialistic, corpse being), they have hid in the holes of the Warp for ages planning their final move aginst the galaxy, now the Warp rat-holes will open and the hordes will pour forth to bring the age of the Skaven top be.

This!

Although it'd be hard to do since they impeach on the Imperial Guard (what do you MEAN you got 700 units in a 500 point game?!) AND the orks (my supercannon explodes and demolishes everything within 60", str10 AP2. Oops?). The plague thing I'm not so sure about but I never liked that in fantasy anyways, and MAGIC CANNONS IN SPACE sounds like it would be very, very fun.

[chiasaur11]

I hear they get written out in the first combined assault of Angry and Reasonable Marines.

It turns out every time the Reasonable Marines use tactics or physics it kills catgirls.

Bullets work too. It makes the genocide quick.

[Piedmon_Sama]

T-Rexes with shotguns.

When I saw this post first, I figured it would be the best suggestion in the thread. I haven't seen anything to make me change my mind yet!

Seriously, a draconic race with advanced tech would be awesome. Make them hulking, armored figures with heads like this. You could make a cool species by emphasizing their lack of humanity--each is directed by a "reptilian mind" which has none of mankind's socializing instincts but relentless, calculating logic. This species acts in a semblence of a society because it's in their best interest, but really none of them has any fear of isolation or could develop any emotional attachment to comrades. It's both their strength and downfall. Their patience is limitless and individually they're tough bastards with hard hides, jaws strong enough to snap a log, and huge bore guns that any human would need a tripod to fire. The closest thing they have towards emotion is a self-preservation instinct, though it's not quite like the human emotion of "fear" in that it in no way deprives them of reason.

Oh, and they spawn hundreds of young in every female's clutch, most of which get eaten by the hungry mother in the first few minutes. The rest whittle themselves by ruthless competition to a half-dozen or so that survive to adulthood. That would get them in the right mindset straightaway.

[The Glyphstone]

I vote for the aquatic race, considering I already (a long, long time ago) tried to write said faction as a personal homebrew project....it never really went anywhere though.

[Oslecamo]

I hear they get written out in the first combined assault of Angry and Reasonable Marines.

It turns out every time the Reasonable Marines use tactics or physics it kills catgirls.

Bullets work too. It makes the genocide quick.

They tried that and this is what hapened:

Spoiler

Show

As you can see, not even the adeptus astartes stood a chance against the power of love and friendship of the xeno-kitties. They now fight ferociously to do their new mistresses biddings, forever lost to the emperium.

And the angry marines got the least horrible fate of both chapters.

What hapened to the reasonable marines strike force, it's best remain untold.
(the forum rules won't allow me to post the evidence)

[chiasaur11]

Nuking from orbit, actually.

Science and reason pretty much destroyed the 40k universe.

Also, we need to apply some physics to DnD, stat.

Commoner railgun!
Anti-osmium!

[Oslecamo]

Commoner railgun!

Inertia doesn't worck that way in D&D. The stone will just fall at the feets of the last commoner.

Anti-osmium!

Doesn't worck at all. Even if you could create anti-matter with fabricate or PoA(wich you can't, because it isn't matter), anti-osmium has such an high value that you can't create it anyway due to the "can't create valuable materials" clause.

Your D&Dfu is weack.

[SurlySeraph]

They tried that and this is what hapened:

Spoiler

Show

As you can see, not even the adeptus astartes stood a chance against the power of love and friendship of the xeno-kitties. They now fight ferociously to do their new mistresses biddings, forever lost to the emperium.

And the angry marines got the least horrible fate of both chapters.

What hapened to the reasonable marines strike force, it's best remain untold.
(the forum rules won't allow me to post the evidence)

[Berserk Monk]

Man-Bear-Pigs

[Cheesegear]

Bears with Lasers?

[Eldan]

So, since Skaven hiding out in sewer tunnels and digging mines under the atlantic isn't really something that would work in 40k, what about them infesting the webway? It would already set them up as enemies of the eldar, especially harlequin, and give them some of the stealth aspect they always had. Instead of tunnel teams, they could have webway teams.


Oh, and how would you translate the warpcannon? I mean, S10 is pretty monstrous in fantasy, but every race has that in 40k.

The bells would be fun too. Gigantic psionic artefacts that destroy morale. Useless against space marines, though.

[KjeldorMage]

Um....

Predators. A small hunting cadre of Predators.


Maybe you can have big-cat humans. Like Face and body hair like a big cat but a human body.

Eh eh?

[Talwar]

Zombies. Human, Eldar, Ork, Tau, Tyranid, Daemons, and whatever other undead critters shambled aboard the spaceship when it left the last planet, all cooperating in the slow pursuit of future brains.

[Talwar]

Zombies. Human, Eldar, Ork, Tau, Tyranid, Daemons, and whatever other undead critters shambled aboard the spaceship when it left the last planet, in one enormous horde.

In the grim darkness of the future, there are lots of brains.

[JellyPooga]

Whenever I think of Skaven in a 40k setting, I always imagine them being a flipside of what they are in Fantasy. Allow me to expand...

In Fantasy they are one of the most mago-technologically advanced races going; Elves have got magic down pat, Dwarves have got Tech, but Skaven bring the two together better than anyone else. Skaven are also extremely numerous.

In 40k I see them being a dying race that use archaic but highly arcane technology which draws heavily on the Warp for it's source of power. They are few and far between but highly specialised, and though their weapons suffer from a tendency towards the random and/or unreliable, they can be very powerful...think Ork-Tek meets Eldar Aspect Warriors. As a play style I see them being very maneuverable (teleport technology like that of an Eldar Warp Spider definitely being available), but somewhat fragile. They'd still suffer from their extreme narcissism and megalomania and think they deserve to rule the galaxy, except something has happened to drive them almost to the point of extinction; perhaps the encroachment of the Imperium of man.

[Matar]

One word.

Tentacles.

More then one word.

Sorta like in Gin'iro no Kami no Agito, with the whole living forest and stuff. Alien plants and lots of tentacles. See, all these living and bleeding things are really gross, so they want to kill them all and turn the whole universe into one huge "forest".

Vines extremly thick, reaching from infected planet to infected planet. In a huge spider web of warp hungry vines.

There roots reach deep inside a the planets core, and somehow they leach dirrectly off the warp itself, making warp powers or whatever extremly hard to use because of them draining so much from the area. Or something.

I dunno, it just needs tentacles. That is all.

[Bhu]

I'd bring back the weird orangutan race mentioned only briefly in one of the books several editions ago.