How might Squats return to the setting?

[venyak]

Hello all,

 

This is my first post in the forum and the topic that have me to create an account. I am spanish (forgive my english) and I am an enthusiast of eldar (I have a CWE army) but I also have dark eldar, arlequin and Innary miniatures (in fantasy I also have high elves and wood elves). However, I like also a lot dwarves and since I've been in warhammer for a while (2002) I remember good enough the squats. The thing is that in this post I have seen a lot of good ideas that I share to revive them and diagnosis of why the failed in the first moment, and I would like to put them alltogether in the more schematic way:

 

1. Lore:

 

Problems:

- The squats, as they were in the 4th edition (basically a mix between a gang of bikers and the imperial guard), do not feet in the grimm dark universe 40k is nowadays. The fact they are abhumans (less than humans in the 40k universe does not help).

- Their name is a joke.

- They were stated in a single line that they were all killed by the tyranids.

- Demiurgs were created as a xeno race to ocuppy their space but they were not developed. There are some drafts but the only official miniatures are those for their battleships of Gothic.

- In 40k universe there should be motives to be in war with everybody and I don't think that squats falling to chaos is a very good motivation to fight against the empire or even against themselve.

 

Solutions:

- The name squats might be a derogatory name used in the empire (squatz by thee orkz if you want) but they need to have a proper name (sort of dawi in fantasy). In that sense using demiurg can be a good solution. However, I think this name is not very supcetible to be copyrighted so I would rather go for a totally new one (kind of Aeldari). I think demiurgs should be the name that Tau have give to those who have relations with the Tau empire.

- They need a grimdark lore to fit in the universe, keeping as much lore as possible:

    - I think slight changes should be done to their origins -> They were humans that reach high and dense metal-rich planets and that evolve to adapt these environment, Ok. But they enforce this using genetics knoledge to the points they are no more phisically compatible with humans and they consider themselve better and more evolve than the rest of the humans, not feeling contempt for them but pity. Also, they do not workship  the emperor god but only their ancestors, more in a respect fashion that in a religion fashion. They need to keep the flavour of a proud old race that they have in the fantasy wold and even make it a little bit grimmer.

   - I think the tyranid invasion should be kept. Tynarids work a little bit as skavens in the 40k universe and the new squats must have flavours of a decadent race whose golden days are far in the past. Obviusly, the lore about this invasion should be more richer (not a random fleet with no name please). I would rather say something as "their words, once prosperous, were devastated by the war against the orkz and depleted by the Tyranids, making the survivor's refuge in the core of their planets, extracting the energy from them instead of from the starts, living on fungi and other food that does not need light (the tyranid invasion have leave their few remaining planets without atmosphere and life in their surfaces)". The race, once united, after a big time now have splitted into different surviving fortress words with their own government and agendas (and different flavours as the eldar craftworlds). Also, some asteroid miners brotherhood survived since they were far from home during the invasion, and now, without their homeplanets they wonder around the universe seeking for asteroids to mine. Some of them have side with the imperium (there are still loyalist squats) and some have do business with the Tau empire (demiurgs). However, most squats hate the empirium as they didnt assist them in their times of need (they should HATE everybody, like the grudge mechanic in fantasy but way grimmer). These give them reasons to fight everybody in the 40k universe. Now, with the gathering storm events they could have come out of their worlds and they bear a grudge against the empire for not aiding them so most of the remaining secceding wolds have declare their independance. Finally, to make them a little grimmer they could have adapt to leaving in the underground, adapting their sight and their skin to the circustances (they are good genetists) so they could have a way darker look. 

- I am not sure how to deal with the disformity but I think they might be resistant to it but somehow they have developed technology to travel through it without using psiquics.

 

2. Army concept:

 

Problems:

- As stated before, they were basically a mixture between a bikers gang and small imperial guards.

- Not much personallity.

- In the lore they had a way better technology than the imperium, but it did not seem this with the different units.

 

Solutions:

- More diggers and spacial miners units. Miners, boring vehicles,...

- Robotics and IA (they are not bounded by the Imperium laws). They could have robotic self-boring mines (similar to the widow mines on Starcraft). Aerial robotic drones, robotics mobile defense towers, robots...

- They should have some technologies the Imperiur armys do not dream to have. Maybe some magnetic fields technology or gravitional technology (but they should no appear to be eldars), more Plasma weapons..

- They should have bionic parts and heavy armors (as space dwarves they are in the end). I am thinking about a crazy squat full of wounds and bionic parts as some sort of 40k slayer concept (think of them instead of as honorable comitted to glory warriors as cyborg quats consumed by hate and pain that wish to die).

- I would erradicate the motorbikes totally for them. To me it does not make much sense that they are a fast army.

- Maybe some chainaxes as melee weapon, or mechanic diggers or mechanic grinders, but something different.

 

3. Esthetics:

 

I like the aspect of the new squat miniatures of Necromunda but yet, I would prefer to go something more dwarvish and not dwarves in empire clothes. In this sense, I am very into the demiurg concepts we have had these last years. In the lore fixes I proposed before there is space for empire loyalist squats (or at least squats living inside), which I think can justify the Necromunda characters.

 

I would like to end saying I think that there is a lot of possibilities for a space dwarves concept in 40k, there is only to work on it.

 

 

Well, a nice answer to the things I wrote (in bold)

 

https://www.warhammer-community.com/2022/05/10/the-lore-of-the-leagues-who-are-the-kin-and-where-do-they-come-from/

[Inquisitor_Lensoven]

Did I misunderstand that necromunda squat reveal, that indicates squats and kin are two separate species?

[phandaal]

Did I misunderstand that necromunda squat reveal, that indicates squats and kin are two separate species?

No, you did not. They are separate factions with the same distant ancestors.

[Inquisitor_Lensoven]

 

Did I misunderstand that necromunda squat reveal, that indicates squats and kin are two separate species?

No, you did not. They are separate factions with the same distant ancestors.

Nvm misread

Edited May 11, 2022 by Inquisitor_Lensoven

[Orange Knight]

But that does make them seperate. Ogryns have the same distant relative as humans.

 

The squats are not genetically designed for specific jobs, with engineered souls, as the Leagues of Votann are.

[phandaal]

Assuming Squats elsewhere in the galaxy are making more of themselves the old-fashioned way, they would simply be the "wild" version of the Kin from the Leagues of Votann.

 

Same product, different manufacturer.