40K Skaven: How to do (if at all)?

[Evil Eye]

I'm rather fond of the ruinous rodents that are the Skaven, and I was thinking that it'd be pretty neat to make a little force of 40K Skaven in some form. However, there are two rather large issues- fluff and rules.

 

I'm not sure how I'd justify including them in the 41st millennium. I had a few ideas, notably:
>Making them Hrud (in days gone by the Hrud were literally space Skaven IIRC).

>Making them Chaos-corrupted abhumans.

>Making them actual Fantasy Skaven who, through a crazy invention of Clan Skryre and Warpstone/realmgate hijinks, had accidentally ended up catapulted into the 40k universe.

 

I'm also not sure what rules to use. I'm thinking Renegades and Heretics, Orks (with a large amount of Grots as troops) or possibly Genestealer Cults. I'd probably go with R&H so they could ally with my Chaos forces, but I'm not sure.

Any thoughts?

[Trevak Dal]

Renegades and heretics seem like a fit (both chaos). My first foray into 40k was with lizardmen, the idea is I'd write the backstory, my friend would sort the rules.

 

We went back and forth for a bit, but narratively I borrowed from the lizardmen book and that bit about the Cabal in Legion to say that for some reason, the Saurus saw the Emperor as Quetzalcoatl, a reborn lost god, over threw their slaan masters and bound them to their pyramid ships to be pilot/navigators.

 

So that's Stargate sg1, Halo, Farscape and Meso American history. Using Black Templars because I wanted an Arbiter figure (Emperor's Champion), which the Arbiter from Elite/Sanghelli lore did very...Emperor's Champion type things (before the covenant made it a mark of shame)

 

The nakai sought to protect the Quetzal's chosen race, humanity from the shadows, coming to their aid whenever hated chaos or their ancient nemesis the Necrons arose to challenge them.

 

We ran into problems mass producing the weapons so I ended up going into Tau instead (used a lot of their weapons and equipment as basis for weapons and armor)

 

Saurus in the lizardmen codex (can't say about the new much cooler Seraphon guys...order dinosaur daemons? Baller.) were basically the Old Ones' Space Marines, and were the foot soldiers against the Necrotyr and Necron forces along with Eldar and Orks.

[chapter master 454]

what about admech? The canticles would function to be their random elements and some of their weapons would fit nicely along with all the bio-altering the skaven do (including say like stormvermin).

 

Not sure if that is what you are asking but that is what I think.

[Iron Father Ferrum]

Back in 3rd edition a friend of mine kitbashed Skaven with IG. Got in WD for a diorama of some Skaven luring a rat ogre (aka ogryn) into the back of a Chimaera with a block of cheese.

[Xin Ceithan]

what about admech? The canticles would function to be their random elements and some of their weapons would fit nicely along with all the bio-altering the skaven do (including say like stormvermin).

 

Not sure if that is what you are asking but that is what I think.

I set up a fallen ForgeWorld in a subsector swallowed by the Warp in ages past as origin of the main adversary for my Dark Heresy Gaming group of mixed Ordo Hereticus/AdMech player characters. Among other things, they encountered chainweapons made with warpstone teeth and encountered a tech heresy by which the mutated beastwrights sought to acquire ogryn DNA to expand their breeding programs.

 

Once I finish my current project, I wanted to build a Nevromunda Venator build from that but maybe AdMech Killteam will do. Trans-Uranium Jezzails! Eshin with sonic claws! Castellan Rat Ogres! Strike the Great Bell thirteen times and invoke the glory of the horned Omnissiah!

[Grotsmasha]

I'll see if I can find it, but there's a thread in the Hall of Honour where someone has done 40k Skaven, I think he went AdMech route? Linky if I can find it...

 

Cheers,

Jono

[N1SB]

That sounds like a really fun modeling project, Brother.  I actually would go with Renegades & Heretics (but I really like the AdMech ideas).

 

My main reason is theme-related: Skaven, in the new Fantasy range (AoS), is now technically part of the Chaos faction, and it's such a shift I'd want to play with that idea, like a Chaos-allied Detachment.  As to the exact fluff details, I'd leave it open-ended.  If I had to forge-a-narrative (for a FLGS campaign, etc.), I'd write from the perspective of an Inquisitor uncertain if they're Hrud or Chaos-tainted Beastmen abhumans...carrying some sort of weird glowing (warp)stones, basically combining all those ideas you mentioned.  As Rick Priestley taught Andy Chambers taught us, it never pays to tie up loose ends.  Just leave it open to interpretation.

 

My supporting reasons are more game-play-related: imho they'd really fit the R&H Marauder and Ogryn rules in particular.  I'd use regular Skaven as Marauders due to their Stalker rule (+1 cover save AND -1 to hit them, while giving them Sniper Rifles for their jezails.  Then Rat Ogres as Ogryn or Plague Ogryns.  Even though this is some fancy modeling/proxying, it'd be completely intuitive to your opponent, yet something a little different (because not that many people use R&H rules even though they're so flavourful).

 

I'd probably use the Elites Detachment myself to go with a larger Chaos army:

 

HQ: Renegade Commander with Power Weapon (Warlord with converted power halberd or something)

 

Elite: MSU Marauder Squad w/ Stalker + 2 Sniper Rifles (2 Jezail Skaven with some other dudes to soak wounds)

 

Elite: MSU Marauder Squad w/ Stalker + 2 Sniper Rifles (2 Jezail Skaven with some other dudes to soak wounds)

 

Elite: Renegade/Plague Ogryns (Rat Ogres)

 

Maybe that's along the lines of what you're thinking, too.  I think it's a really fun idea, and a great excuse to use the R&H Marauder rules.

[Bulwyf]

You do know Mantic games has a 40k style game that has space skaven called something like Vry-men and space dwarves called Forgefathers?

[Xin Ceithan]

You do know Mantic games has a 40k style game that has space skaven called something like Vry-men and space dwarves called Forgefathers?

And where is the fun in that ?

;)

[Grotsmasha]

Found it, it was R&H, by McGibbs

 

LINKY

[Xin Ceithan]

Yup. Those are awesome!

[Exilyth]

Skaven are known for:

• worshiping nurgle
• digging tunnels
• building stuff from warpstone

 

So, for faction choice, you could go with:

 

A chaos faction would be my primary choice due to allowing nurgle worship and warp-twisted conversions, but the size difference between skaven and power armour troops is too big - leaving only cultists or renegades and heretics. Which would be a good choice imho. Rat Ogres could be Ogryn, warpstone weapons on vehicles and you're almost done with the army.

 

Genestealer Cults are known to use subterranean movement for ambushes and tend to worship chaos if it helps further their goals. Verminlord as Patriarch, Skaven as Neophytes and Rat Ogres as Aberrants could be a possibility, but what models would fit genestealers and acolytes?

 

Adeptus Mechanicus: Jezzails would make nice transuranic arquebuses. While Admech is an imperium faction, it could be played as 'dark mechanicum' force, fitting the chaos worship and warpstone-based inventions themes. Would be a good choice for a more 'mechanical horror' themed army.

 

Imperial Guard Astra Militarum seems to be a go to for converting beastmen regiments, but skaven are a bit smaller than the average guardsman model. Would be a good fallback plan though. Manticore/Deathstrike launcher firing warpstone missiles? Yikes!

 

Orks - now this is a really far out suggestion, but a 'gretchin revolution' style army could work. Ork vehicles are pretty weird already, a bit of warpstone wouldn't hurt them, right? Then again, this would be a really hard conversion project, requiring a lot of work to sell the idea. Also, Orks do not have their Codex yet.

 

T'au - more of a last chance fallback idea: almost anything can be made to be a T'au auxilliary one way or another. I'm not sure If Vespid/Demiurg/Kroot rules would fit Skaven though.

 

 

 

Anyway, take your time, consider your options and I wish you good luck & progress with the project!

[Harrowmaster]

You could always do a heresy militia force with the tainted flesh provenance, adding another (like warp cult for example) as suits. I know it's not 40k but it's pretty great for customisation.

[Preliminary Bombardment]

I think they would work in the Rouge Trader expansion of kill team.

 

If humans mutate into Nightmare Hulks after getting the Gellar Pox, maybe ship board rats could become skaven? The lore states that most human ships are ridden with rats after all.

[Xin Ceithan]

I think they would work in the Rouge Trader expansion of kill team.

If humans mutate into Nightmare Hulks after getting the Gellar Pox, maybe ship board rats could become skaven? The lore states that most human ships are ridden with rats after all.

I think Kill team is the easiest way of integrating them. And you have a pretty easy fluff explanation there!

[Charlo]

Tyranids :)

 

I know someone who did one and the possibilities are really expansive!

[El_Dicko]

They might be a little small but I always figured proxying plague monks as pox walkers would be rather appropriate. Maybe a bit slow for rats they just have knives and are an endless horde...