Rinky-dink Retcons?

[Evil Eye]

Not exactly a retcon as it wouldn't require rewriting anything and would ultimately be very minor/inconsequential beyond opening up modelling opportunities but I would like some little namedrops of other patterns of Rhino hinted to exist in the galaxy. I really like the sheer lack of standardisation in the Imperium and I feel like a vehicle as ubiquitous as the Rhino chassis would be made by more than one forge world. Also it's an excuse for making/converting cool variant designs of everyone's favourite METAL BAWKSES, which is never a bad thing.

[Magos Takatus]

On 11/19/2025 at 10:59 AM, Evil Eye said:

Not exactly a retcon as it wouldn't require rewriting anything and would ultimately be very minor/inconsequential beyond opening up modelling opportunities but I would like some little namedrops of other patterns of Rhino hinted to exist in the galaxy. I really like the sheer lack of standardisation in the Imperium and I feel like a vehicle as ubiquitous as the Rhino chassis would be made by more than one forge world. Also it's an excuse for making/converting cool variant designs of everyone's favourite METAL BAWKSES, which is never a bad thing.

Yeah, the original Rhino model might as well have been an Ork kit by comparison, there were so many different ways to build it. While the newer version is larger and better sculpted, it has lost a degree of modularity. Apart from the pattern that the Sororitas use, the differences between Rhinos is minor.

[Evil Eye]

7 hours ago, Magos Takatus said:

Yeah, the original Rhino model might as well have been an Ork kit by comparison, there were so many different ways to build it. While the newer version is larger and better sculpted, it has lost a degree of modularity. Apart from the pattern that the Sororitas use, the differences between Rhinos is minor.

Exactly this; there's no version of the Rhino I don't love but given how versatile the old Mk1 kit was, and how much love the Leman Russ chassis got from Forge World with variant patterns, I'd have liked to have seen some more for the Rhino in the same vein. But heck, even little fluff or artwork tidbits hinting at the existence of patterns other than the Phobos and Deimos.

 

As it happens, I do find "it's a rare pattern/variant only produced in a small locale" quite a good explanation for conversions or unofficial models that fit with the setting's visual language but are quite different from what they actually represent on the tabletop. For example, there's a RhiNot STL I really like that I've printed off for my Chaos army and have come up with the following fluff for:

Spoiler

"The Mk. III Rhino was one of two competing designs to replace the ageing Mk. I "Deimos" Pattern. Whilst boasting superior protection and comparable mobility in spite of the extra weight due to its exotic engines, the Mk. II "Phobos" Pattern saw selection, as the Mk. III's greater weight made it unsuited to soft ground and weak bridges, and the added complexity of the engines made maintenance difficult- a fatal flaw for a successor to a design famed for its reliability and ease of repair. As such the design was mothballed after less than a hundred vehicles were built- many of these were lost in the madness of the end of the Heresy and beyond. Tragically the design was lost to the Imperium after the Vogler's World conflict- however, fragments of the plans were recovered by the Dark Mechanicum forge world of Molgan, which began to produce "Molgan Pattern" Rhinos. These vehicles are pale imitations of the original design, often manufactured to poor standards and with many of the more intricate elements replaced with easier to manufacture but inferior quality substitute mechanisms. Most Chaos forces avoid them for their reputation as counterfeits of a superior machine, but less well-equipped warbands have been known to use them, and traitor guard regiments frequently utilize the pattern; even an ersatz Rhino is a step up from the usual armour available to such rabbles."

 

(I still need to mount a combi-bolter)

 

[Magos Takatus]

7 hours ago, Evil Eye said:

Exactly this; there's no version of the Rhino I don't love but given how versatile the old Mk1 kit was, and how much love the Leman Russ chassis got from Forge World with variant patterns, I'd have liked to have seen some more for the Rhino in the same vein. But heck, even little fluff or artwork tidbits hinting at the existence of patterns other than the Phobos and Deimos.

 

As it happens, I do find "it's a rare pattern/variant only produced in a small locale" quite a good explanation for conversions or unofficial models that fit with the setting's visual language but are quite different from what they actually represent on the tabletop. For example, there's a RhiNot STL I really like that I've printed off for my Chaos army and have come up with the following fluff for:

  Hide contents

"The Mk. III Rhino was one of two competing designs to replace the ageing Mk. I "Deimos" Pattern. Whilst boasting superior protection and comparable mobility in spite of the extra weight due to its exotic engines, the Mk. II "Phobos" Pattern saw selection, as the Mk. III's greater weight made it unsuited to soft ground and weak bridges, and the added complexity of the engines made maintenance difficult- a fatal flaw for a successor to a design famed for its reliability and ease of repair. As such the design was mothballed after less than a hundred vehicles were built- many of these were lost in the madness of the end of the Heresy and beyond. Tragically the design was lost to the Imperium after the Vogler's World conflict- however, fragments of the plans were recovered by the Dark Mechanicum forge world of Molgan, which began to produce "Molgan Pattern" Rhinos. These vehicles are pale imitations of the original design, often manufactured to poor standards and with many of the more intricate elements replaced with easier to manufacture but inferior quality substitute mechanisms. Most Chaos forces avoid them for their reputation as counterfeits of a superior machine, but less well-equipped warbands have been known to use them, and traitor guard regiments frequently utilize the pattern; even an ersatz Rhino is a step up from the usual armour available to such rabbles."

 

(I still need to mount a combi-bolter)

 

I think that's the most characterful Rhino I've seen in years. Very nice.

[roryokane]

On 8/28/2025 at 12:26 PM, roryokane said:

My little thing, not a retcon per se:

 

Every space marine codex (including the big three supplements - BA/DA/SW) should list the current captains and chapter masters of the relevant chapters, with fluff explaining any changes since the last one.

 

I've thought of another one - when they made Titus canon, the messed around with the original order of succession of captains (3rd Ed Codex has, pre Battle of Macragge, Saul Invictus as 1st Company Captain, Severus Agemman as 2nd Company Captain, and Sicarius as 5th Company captain - when Invictus died, Agemman was moved to 1st Company to rebuild it, Sicarius was moved to 2nd Company, and Galenus became 5th Company captain). Titus could just have been written as Agemman's predecessor, but no, they had to mess with pre-existing canon, for no good reason. I know basically no one else will care about that, but it irks me.
Also - Idaeus (Uriel Ventris' predecessor) is also listed there as 4th Company Captain.

[Evil Eye]

Two Genestealer mini-retcons.

 

First I would suggest (though not confirm) that the reason Genestealers look different to other Tyranids is because they originated from a prey species before the Tyranids entered the galaxy. These protostealers had the ability to reproduce with any other race and would gradually usurp the genetic makeup of their partners, as their sentient DNA would gradually become more dominant in future generations even if no more protostealers were involved. They were eventually devoured by the Tyranids but that was not their end; the genetic corruption abilities coded into their very fibre were so powerful and fundamental to their being that it permanently rewrote the Tyranid genepool, causing the Hive Fleets to keep spawning more of them against its will. Eventually the Hive Mind was somehow able to "tame" their genome and incorporate it into their library of DNA, but the race was never truly eradicated and as long as the Tyranids exist, never will be.

 

The other retcon I would make is that Genestealers can infect basically any race, but usually via specialised purestrains. For example, an Ork predating strain exists which can overwrite their genes very quickly, and spores released on death will form Ork/Genestealer hybrids. However this strain cannot infect humans, as the process is so violent and the pathogen so powerful it would kill an Astartes, let alone a human.