Here comes the Imperium - get the toys out lads.

[Mr Mystery]

Yep.

I'm gonna go there.

So, it's the dawning of the 31st Millennium.

And there you, pootling about in your little Xenos enclave. The Boyz are having a great time krumpin' stuff, your brother Eldar are recovering from the disaster of The Fall. Your custom-designed Organisms are, so far as anyone knows light years away. The majority of your Tomb Worlds have once again managed to hit the snooze button. Your Sept? Well, let's be honest, you're probably still frolicking in the primordial soup, so you can sit this one out.

But oh noes! What's this?

IT'S THE SODDING IMPERIUM COME TO KICK ALL YOUR TEETH OUT IN THE NAME OF THE EMPEROR!

Goodness gracious there's a lot of them. Look at them. Swarming like a....like a swarmy stain type thing. They're organise, they've got more dakka than you shake a Squig at and they're a-comin' for you and yours.

Whatcha gonna do eh?

Well, when your stuck against a rock and a xenocidal force there's only one thing to do....

Get the toy's aht Ernie....we're goin' the full tickle.

Yep. It's a thread about what sort of filth might the Xenos of old have had when the Great Crusade turned out to have an inaccurate prefix if you weren't a weedy humie.

Spinning off from the 30k/40k thread, because I had a thought (I know, I've had a lie down already and now I'm feeling chipper). There's only about four xenos species that we know were, or could realistically have been, encountered by the Great Crusade - Craftworld Eldar, Dark Eldar, Orks (there's always Orkses!) and Necrons (albeit likely without the Imperium knowing just whose metallic teeth they were kicking out).

And none of those species have really change over the years - they're either already locked into a spiral of ennui (Eldars), never going to advance beyond Know-Wots (Orks) or a (not quite) living embodiment of cultural inertia.

So for the most part, the 40k ranges can be happily ported straight on over, though perhaps with point tweaks and squad cap enlargements.

Yet....that's not the whole picture.

For Orks? Well you're average Orky Empire would likely have been a lot larger, meaning biggerer, meanerer Warbosses wot make Ghaz look like a Weedy Grot. Remember, it took Horus and The Emperor to take down the biggest example known to the Imperium.

Eldar? Fall had just happened. For Craftworld Eldar, they might have had snackier toys eventually lost to the ages because of the Great Crusade following hot on the heels of their biggest tragedy. Craftworlds themselves might have made use of now-forbidden tech, on account it was absolutely 100% 'do it or we all die'. Dark Eldar? Well, the Haemonculi hadn't had a chance to get bored yet. Who knows what horrors they could make before that became boring?

Necrons? Well.....we already know they can chuck a Black Hole at you just because they can....

So, suggestions people. What sort of 'Heresy Era' tech (based on known background thank you) would you like to see?

[Morgrim]

Fabius Bile is the one human that has impressed the haemonculi enough to be taught by them (and more to the point, he's respected enough that he walked back out of the Tower of Flesh unhindered, which is something not even archons get to do). So clearly there must have been a coven that did particularly interesting things in a place that attracted his attention. I assume the particularly interesting things he did in return are likely to have been at the time of/shortly after the Heresy.

The models we see from the haemonculi are all hulking monstrosities with metal poking out. But surely there are some haemonculi with a better sense of aesthetics than that. Perhaps a circus of creatures with shining polished scales and rippling hides where every move is modelled off the elegance of wych's bloody dance. A mandrake inspired show of living shadows patterned with bio-luminescent claws that snickersnack as they lunge from the darkness. Brilliantly feathered grotesques fashioned from a pack of disloyal kroot mercenaries that whistle paralysing tunes as they tear their food apart.

That seems like the sort of thing that would attract a certain level of appreciation from the Emperor's Children, even if they are foul xenos.

[YorkNecromancer]

There's only about four xenos species that we know were, or could realistically have been, encountered by the Great Crusade - Craftworld Eldar, Dark Eldar, Orks (there's always Orkses!) and Necrons (albeit likely without the Imperium knowing just whose metallic teeth they were kicking out).

There's the very strong implication that the Imperium of the Great Crusade was significantly better at getting stuff done than the current Imperium. So it's not that there are only four xenos species we know of... It's that there are only four that weren't completely exterminated. Off the top of my head I can't quite remember, but I know there's definite references to a number of genocides committed by various Legions in the name of the Imperium - xenocides, if you will.

So, I think it'd be quite nice to see some of these 'lost' species as army lists, rather than simply reworkings of 40K's currently extant ones. Some species that's simply not around in the 41st Millenium because the Imperium killed it to death.

...

I'll be honest, all I really want is Mass Effect's Reapers in 30/40K and I'd be a happy bunny. Giant cybernetic Great Old Ones FTW!

[Rev. Tiberius Jackhammer]

Eldar: Aspect Warrior Shrines aren't as prevalent; all Aspects are Elites, the younger Warp Spiders and Crimson Hunters and the the lost Shadow Spectres aren't available. The Crimson Hunter flyer, the Nightshade, is available to Guardian pilots. Guardian heavy weapon squads and veterans are available, and Guardian squads gain access to Corsair special/heavy weapons where appropriate. For models, uses preexisting Corsair bits.

Dark Eldar: They've had less time to specialize, so perhaps Warrior squads are equipped along the lines of Corsair squads. Models: Corsair bits.

Orks: Warboss is bumped to S6/T6, and an "Übernob" class is introduced at S5/T5. All Nob squad leaders are replaced with Übernobs. Ork Boyz squads may be upgraded to Nob statlines for a pittance. Maybe introduce a Monstrous Creature Super-Warboss. Models: New resins for the Übernobs, bigger Warboss and Super-Warboss.

Necrons: Two Army Lists: Canoptek automated defenses and Triarch surveyors (as that class of 'crons never fell asleep).
-Canoptek: Scarab Troops, Command-Spyder HQ. This would be a good opportunity to introduce automated versions of the Annihilation Barge, Doomsday Ark and Doom Scythe. Resin bits for Command-Spyder and bits for Barge/Ark/Scythe.

-Triarch: Praetorians for Troops, introduce a Triarch Lord unit entry. Maybe give them access to standard Necron vehicles. No models needed, just stick Praetorian heads onto existing Lords/vehicles. Triarch Praetorians were known for instilling Necron values in lesser species, so maybe let them take humie tarpits.

C'tan: with the Necrons sleeping, this would be a great opportunity for free C'tan shards to be building up cults, ingratiating themselves with Hereteks etc.

Tyranids: Ymgarl Genestealer list/bits. Could be a fun opportunity to pump out a Genestealer cult list. I'd love to see Forgeworld try out Zoats, but the Heresy feels a bit early for them.

---

Beyond those preexisting forces, the Heresy line is an excellent opportunity to introduce kits for minor races such as Hrud, Slaugth, K'nib, Chuffians, Carnoplasm etc, with fluff along the lines of "They were threatening during the Crusade, but were beaten to the state of 'Minor Xenos' prior to M41".

[Psyfer]

For the Eldar, maybe a darker, more brutal version of the Striking Scorpions under the Dark Phoenix Arhas.

For the Dark Eldar, no Incubi, because Arhas hasn't swapped sides yet.

[Katharon]

Demiurg: Equal level of technology and will make people happy who miss the Squats.
Interex: A mix of goblinoid-dwarf like creatures known as 'Kinebrach' and humans. Tons of potential for cool kits, as they utilize ancient-looking weaponry that is actually quite potent (such as using composite bows that fire arrows of energy able to pierce power armor with relative ease!).
Humans: Other non-Imperium humans! You could dive into various ones mentioned in the HH series, such as the Auretian Technocracy. Some would be quite steam-punkish. Lot's of flavor to mix in that would separate them from the more regimented look of the Space Marine Legions or the Imperial Army.
Beastmen: With the degeneration of many human worlds during the Age of Darkness, lots of potential for mutant armies that deploy strong CC units and perhaps Dark Age of Technology weapons that are used without full understanding of them...

[url=http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/List_of_sentient_species#Other_species]Basically anything from this list.[/url]