# Rats in space?



## komanko (May 16, 2010)

Was looking it up a bit and I cant find any mentioning of Skaven in 40K, maybe they are not capable of building ships or weapons but anyway do they still exist in the 40k universe and if not dont you think it would be nice, lets say they can be recreated or mutate from rats in one of the bigger ships.
What do you think?


----------



## High_Seraph (Aug 28, 2009)

i think the 40k ratmen are called hrud. but thats all i know.


----------



## komanko (May 16, 2010)

I know what you are talking about, they are supposed to be some kind of replacement to skaven but they aren't, they are more like insects then mammals also.


----------



## High_Seraph (Aug 28, 2009)

yeah sorry i wasn't much help the. better luck next time i guess.


----------



## Ravingbantha (Jan 9, 2009)

Well depending on how your wanting to play them it is possible. I've never read much about the Skaven, but I don't see any reason you could not convert skaven minis and run IG rules (or something along those line) on them and give them some good background fluff to explain everything.


----------



## komanko (May 16, 2010)

yea is it possible just its weird how they just vanished from the records of history


----------



## Baron Spikey (Mar 26, 2008)

Well 40k and Fanatasy aren't set in the same universe so not everything in Fantasy will have an equivalent in 40k.


----------



## Iron Angel (Aug 2, 2009)

I would say Skaven would have rules more like Orks than IG and operate similarly.


----------



## Baron Spikey (Mar 26, 2008)

For once I agree with Iron Angel (shit the Apocalypse must be upon us!)- the horde=braver mentality that is present in the Ork Codex would work perfectly for Skaven.


----------



## Ravingbantha (Jan 9, 2009)

Baron Spikey said:


> Well 40k and Fanatasy aren't set in the same universe so not everything in Fantasy will have an equivalent in 40k.


Uh I would say that they are in the same timeline. I am willing to bet that fantasy is simply a world cut off by warp storms. Since you have 4 chaos gods active this suggests that the timeline of Fantasy can be no more then 10,000 years back given that Slaanesh did not exist before then. Also if you not the Elves worship in one form or another the same gods the Eldar so. In fact if you look at fantasy and 40k it's almost the same thing. I would say that the most likely prospect for the Fantasy world is one that was contested over by all the major races of the time (think Battle of Armageddon), and then a warp Storm cut it off. Give it a few thousand years or so and technology falls backwards as it is slowly lost. The Eldat trapped on world may have been exodites to begine with so they already had little technology. As for the Orks lacking any genetic memory of how to make and build technology: that could easily be explained in that the Orks on Planet were Feral/Snakebite orks, thus already possessing limited technology.

Basicly every race in one is represented in some form in the other.

If you really want to ponder something, ask yourself this. Why does the fantasy world look alot like ours? All the contents are the same with some minor changes that could occure with the addition of the High Elf kingdom.


----------



## Baron Spikey (Mar 26, 2008)

Valid theory if GW hadn't explicitly said Fantasy and 40k aren't in the same universe, sorry.

My belief is that the Chaos Gods are present in both universes is because the Warp is a buffer between the 2 realities, that would also explain how the Old Ones were able to visit the WHFB world and seed it with races similar to that found in 40k.

Edit: And it would explain why the Warhammer World resembles Earth/Terra because it's an alternate reality version.


----------



## komanko (May 16, 2010)

but then if you say that the chaos gods are present in both universes why not let their worshippers have a more powerful technology or teach them because technically they do know it from the other more advanced universe.


----------



## pariha (Dec 1, 2009)

to them its all a game, they want to see who will do more to please them.


----------



## komanko (May 16, 2010)

it is possible but who knows maybe its just a really really big plot hole


----------



## General Disarray (Apr 28, 2010)

As is the usual approach of the chaos gods they will only help their subjects as little as they think is possible to help themselves, hence the lack of inter-universal crossovers, its deemed unnessary for the world fantasy (pure conjecture, but what i like to think)

however back to the original post, i believe the hrud were intended as the 40k version of skaven, however they failed to become relevant/interesting enough in a 40k setting and were just abandoned as a concept like the squats


----------



## komanko (May 16, 2010)

i agree with the hrud thing not only this but the skaven were more like a major race in the fantasy warhammer but the hrud in 40k are just a minor unimportent race.
I think that if the orks could have adopted to space and using weapons( rifles, pistols...) so do skaven.


----------



## Talos (Aug 4, 2008)

You use to be able to give WFB chaos champions 40k style weapons and alot of the older artwork had Titans fighting in the background with Chaos Knights and warriors in the forefront but that was a long time ago.

The hrud fit skaven a bit but they seem to have insect like limbs but they do have a rat like tail.
I think either the IG codex or the ork codex would be a good counts as for them.


----------



## Count_the_Seven (May 19, 2010)

It was possible to play in early versions of WFB using both 40K (Lost in Space-stylee) and WFB minis.

The best example of this is the Warhammer Siege book, which had many references - plus picture examples - throughout IIRC.

As has been mentioned earlier, I understand that GW have publicly disavowed the link between the two game systems, but there are too many race-links for that to be a credible position for them longer term.

Having said that, the recently published Liber Chaotica - an omnibus of the Liber Chaotica books published a few years back - has references to dreams the "writer" has of a blasted future with great armoured monsters (illustrations and allusions clearly point to Chaos Space Marines). This book is based in the WFB world, so GW's own position is contrary to material they are currently selling!

Bottom line? If you have willing players, a good enough imagination and enough minis then why not mix the two game systems? It would be a great laugh...


----------



## effigy22 (Jun 29, 2008)

If you look far enough in the past you will find that WFB and 40K were linked. 

If any of you have any WFRP books you will know that there is a suit of power armour, a bolt gun AND a chain sword in the warhammer world.

Power Armour - High Elves have it
Chain sword - Lost in the chaos wastes
Bolt gun - I believe the empire have that (with no ammo)

In some 40k fluff (i mean old) a Mighty Chariot of the Gods of chaos came forth from the "Eye of the north" (warp portal) and was going to lay siege to the world and plunder, only the intervention of Morr (human god of death and gateways) stopped them and destroyed them, but in its wake left a new moon made entirely of Wyrd Stone (warp stone)


----------



## General Disarray (Apr 28, 2010)

the link between the two systems is undisputable, however it just seems some races seemed to not catch the imagination when put into a galactic environment, eg dwarves, skaven, which frankly is a shame, would've loved to try the hrud on the tabletop, 40k versions of warplightning cannon and jezzails anyone?

effigy22, would definatly like to look up those sources, how far back are they 1st, 2nd... edition fantasy?, cos i only started playin fantasy late 5th edition, likewise are the 40k ones old rogue trader sources?


----------



## unxpekted22 (Apr 7, 2009)

I've always thought the tyranids were their 40k replacement.


----------



## komanko (May 16, 2010)

why the tyranids? they have no real resemblance to the skaven, not even a slight one.
anyway this thread caught a little fire


----------



## unxpekted22 (Apr 7, 2009)

they certainly aren't rats in anyway, but they are the other horde army in 40k. Skaven are portrayed as vile creatures that spring up suddenly in huge swarms. They dont take over and consume worlds like tyranids but what I'm saying is that 40k has orks, the replacement for orcs, 40k has IG the replacement for the Empire. 40k doesn't have skaven but they do have tyranids.


----------



## Baron Spikey (Mar 26, 2008)

Ah but the Tyranids are known for being mindless beasts whose instincts are completely subservient to the Hive Mind, willing to march into lava or acid without flinching...Skaven=horde of cowards :biggrin:


----------



## komanko (May 16, 2010)

maybe in behaviour there is some resemblance anyway this is a discussion without end because it has no purpose  
Only unhappiness for lack of skavens

Thats true baron


----------



## ajchafe (Aug 13, 2009)

I agree with the point that the two worlds are not connected despite the obvious references/similarities and what not. But I just want to say that I always thought straight up Space Skaven would be awesome. Easy enough to justify fluff wise as well; race of alien rat men who stow away in the bowls of ships, or infest the sewers of hive cities. Technology powered by crystallized warp energy. Would be a great idea as far as I am concerned


----------



## Baron Spikey (Mar 26, 2008)

Now that sounds exactly like the Hrud, who infest the bowels of Star ships and live in large tunnel complexes.


----------



## komanko (May 16, 2010)

Ok maybe the Hrud *are* the replacement of skaven but still skaven are better and cooler, there is something in the way they run away screaming for their life that makes them so special


----------



## effigy22 (Jun 29, 2008)

MY Sources are from the 1st/2nd edition of Warhammer Fantasy Role Play (Before they got taken over by FFG), 1st and 2nd Edition Rule books. The fantasy universe was a planet cut off by warp storms. Theres even an extremely old story about a Gigantic Man with Fiery red hair appearing from the sky to fight the Daemon Infestation during the Fall of the old ones, who wield a Growling Sword, wore impenetrable armour and could fire cannon ball sized fiery bolts that exploded in the enemy ranks. Thus all these old stories are now gone from new books and GW purged and re wrote the back ground. 

It wasnt until 3rd edition that GW cut the tie between the 2 systems, mostly for simplicity sakes / They could be bothered to write more fluff! 

Tell you what, when i get the laptop back up and running and my scanner i will scan some pages of the fluff AND ONLY fluff in and show it, thats if the admins dont have a problem with it.


----------



## Varakir (Sep 2, 2009)

Sorry to derail this thread even more, but all i can think of when i read teh title is the muppet show.

and now.....

RAAAAAAAATTTTTTTSSSSSSSS IIIIIIIINNNNNNNN SSSSSSSSSSSSPPPPPPPPAAAAAAACCEEEEEEE!


----------



## komanko (May 16, 2010)

Actually that could work replace the pigs with skaven and here you have war 40k skavens


----------



## Turkeyspit (Jun 11, 2010)

komanko said:


> Actually that could work replace the pigs with skaven and here you have war 40k skavens


Pigs in space = Orks 

Don't believe me? Watch some old reruns of the Muppet Show and I'll guarantee you that if you close your eyes, you'll hear Ms. Piggy yell *WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!*


----------



## arhain (May 6, 2008)

How did you all miss it?

Ratlings are skaven in space, you know the silly looking rat like snipers the guard get.


----------

