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Post by RascalLeader on Dec 21, 2004 10:01:06 GMT -5
Whats the Official Position on having the Tyranids within the Anargo Sector at the present time? I have looked over the other threads and the existance has been skated over, with no real decision having been made. If I could make the case for them; Anargo is in the rimward edge of Segmentum (from what I last read) which is right in the path of the Hive Fleets. Its no streach what so ever that they have made it to Anargo in the current timeline. It would be strange if they had incountered no Tyranids at all, with them so rampant everywhere. I know its getting a bit like everyone and their mates are living and passing through the sector at the moment, and the line has to be drawn somewhere but the 'NIDS?
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Post by Sojourner on Dec 21, 2004 10:05:00 GMT -5
I get the impression that the presence of Tyranids in anargo would be a bit too apocalyptic at the present time. Tyranids eat whole sectors at a time so if we were to include them we'd be designing a sector entirely devoted to the Tyranic Wars. I think they're considered to be a 'future' occurrence.
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Post by RascalLeader on Dec 21, 2004 10:13:58 GMT -5
I not expecting a Hive Fleet the size of Kraken or Behemoth to come knocking; that would mess up things a bit.
However their are hundred of the Splinter fleets, some with only one or two vessels in their force. Their all currently making their way into the core systems, so they would pass through Anargo.
So we are not talking about total sector Armageddon situation but a snack here and their. With Genestealers already a part of the sector Tyranid ships are going to be drawn there anyway.
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Post by Destecado on Dec 21, 2004 10:50:37 GMT -5
I not expecting a Hive Fleet the size of Kraken or Behemoth to come knocking; that would mess up things a bit. However their are hundred of the Splinter fleets, some with only one or two vessels in their force. Their all currently making their way into the core systems, so they would pass through Anargo. So we are not talking about total sector Armageddon situation but a snack here and their. With Genestealers already a part of the sector Tyranid ships are going to be drawn there anyway. Before we going looking at having the Tyrabnids breezing through the Sector, we should first explore the idea of genestealer cults and where they may crop up in the Sector. It is after all these cults that allow the Hive Fleets to home in on populated worlds...IIRC.
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Post by malika on Dec 21, 2004 17:06:06 GMT -5
If we were to move a bit to the 'future' I think we should do something in the lines of increasing Genestealer Cult situations, and also the use of these living weapons which would possess the user. (I made a thread on it here, I dont know if it got deleted or not, but its a bit of the older fluff, you can find it online)
I would see more of that kinda stuff happening, instead of a Hive Fleet moving through the Sector.
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Post by CELS on Dec 21, 2004 19:02:20 GMT -5
This is getting mighty apocalyptical if we want to have Tyranids here, on top of the orks and Necrons. Not to mention that we have the ever present threat of Chaos lurking around every corner.
My opinion is that we should definitely build up some tension with Genestealer first. The arrival of the Tyranid should depend on the interest of members and visitors of our future website, but I'm thinking 999.M41.
And just a tiny, tiny splinterfleet. Not even enough to wipe out a planet.
But that's just my 10 cent. As you say, nothing has been set in stone. We just agree that there are no Tyranids in the Anargo sector in 470.M41
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Post by RascalLeader on Dec 21, 2004 20:04:49 GMT -5
I agree totally. After all they are what will one day draw the Tyranids towards suitable planets. These don't even have to be Imperial worlds since I am sure any Cult would hang with the Fringe element of the Sector. I'd admit it is getting a bit overcrowded but Genestealers = Tyranids. Its inevitable. It should between 994-6.M41 so that it becomes before Leviathan, since thats when the attack comes from a new angle. Althought it is quite possible a fleet could hit after that, I am basing the date on the assumption that the Spinter Fleets would the only suitable attacker. Not even a bite? But yes even a tiny, Miniscule spinterfleet would be better then nothing. One more thing - In the 3rd Edition Tyranid Codex I've noticed that it is not longer just Genestealers that are sent to inflitrate planets. Lictor and Gaunts are also surpost to appear when scout drones are sent out. So instead of a SpinterFleet it may be possible to have small scale inflitrations instead, perhaps to back or protect a genestealer Cult. What does everyone else thing?
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Post by Sojourner on Dec 22, 2004 7:45:27 GMT -5
I'd like to suggest an interesting plot hook for a Tyranid invasion.
An Imperial defence strategy. One that actually works. We know that hive ships are fairly dormant while moving through the stars, but 'wake up' when they find a planet to eat. So what we do is deliberately stir up a genestealer infestation on a 'bait' planet to make the signal as strong as possible. This draws many, many hiveships which proceed to invade. You let them get a foothold, exhaust their biomass and begin to consume more from the planet. Then you blow it up. All the hiveships in orbit have their metabolism going at breakneck speeds to replenish their hordes, and without food, they all die. Invasion blunted.
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Post by malika on Dec 22, 2004 9:50:24 GMT -5
But would the Imperium know about that? I mean do they know how Tyranids work, and about their tactics. it sounds more like an potential Eldar trick to me!
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Post by Zholud on Dec 22, 2004 10:18:49 GMT -5
We know that hive ships are fairly dormant while moving through the stars. Sorry to rain on your parade, but note that they are actually move in warp, thus question on how capture them remains open. They cannot do invasions described in the fluff without faster than light travel… Blowing up planets is possible for the Imperium (see St. J..n Hope), but I warn you that (a) Genestealers are not stupid, (b) ships remain on orbit and (c) you have to have a lot of biomass on one planet on their way and almost no biomass on other equidistant planets, so that hive mind choose that planet.
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Post by RascalLeader on Dec 30, 2004 19:45:30 GMT -5
Not all their ships use warp travel, its still stated in the current fluff that they have had ships traveling exclusivily in realspace to scout out suitable feeding grounds.
My guess is that these scout ships have been sent out along with genestealers thousands of years before the hive fleets reach the galaxy in order to inflitrate it. They travel in the warp so far then once returned to the materuim they let themselves drift untill they find what they are looking for.
Their not exactly geniuses, only the Patriarch have anything above animal cunning.
If a bunch of Stealers can get a foothold so that their phy beacon can be heard, I don't think the nutritional content of that planet matters. The Nids are not known for their tactical minds; they don't select planets that will give them the best meal. They are instinctual creatures even at the highest level. They want to eat everything, not just the best worlds!
The planets the genestealers find their way on to is rather random. Usally if the conditions are good they will flourish. If they have air, food and a hidding place they are happy.
Weirdly enoght however the best worlds for them are not backwater agri worlds, which would be better for the hive fleets to consume but the decaying hive worlds. Think about it. The conditions outside the hive may be awful but these places give lots of good hiding places in the underhive area and their is always fresh meat to feed on. A few hybrids among hundreds of thousands mutants would go uncontested. Plus their is so many sects down their that a genestealer cult will not be spotted untill too late.
Its actully a good plan. If the Imperials know that their is an infestation their they might overlook it so that they can draw the fleet their. Of course its very risky since it gives the Cult the opertunity to get some Genestealers off planet. If they simply blockcade it then they will know something is up. They would have to interdict them before they jump out, or send navy vessels to follow and take them out. It would be a drain on reasources. Also consider the cost of a planet, even amongst millions using an important planet as bait would not be exceptable. Its not like is going to give a crushing defeat to the Tyranids.
However it could still work. Say a small spinter fleet was making its way across several sectors, stopping only to eat on infested worlds, and its making its way towards the Anargo sector. Not wanting dozens of the sectors worlds to be consumed they come up with a 'cunning plan' ;D. The Inquisition know of a genestealer cult on a backwater world here. The decide that if they let it gain dominance on the planet that the fleet may be drawn to this world. Once it attacks they can then send in their own forces to surrond them, perhaps using nearly all of the fleet to do so. Killing them would not only safe guard Anargo but stop this splinter fleet moving futher in.
However this would make a very short campaign for wargames/RPG's so perhaps they stop off at another unimportant planet before they do this. After the attack it is also possible on ship could survive and make its way to another world, before it is destroyed it lands all of its troops and so a ground war begins.
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Post by Zholud on Dec 31, 2004 4:55:19 GMT -5
Not all their ships use warp travel, its still stated in the current fluff that they have had ships traveling exclusivily in realspace to scout out suitable feeding grounds. I doubt that their invasion was thought out thousand years ago. Especially considering that 2 Tyranid wars started in different places just several decades apart. While I fully agree that they do have non-warp scouts, etc, I am unsure whether they sent them millennia ago. Their not exactly geniuses, only the Patriarch have anything above animal cunning. For me infected ‘normal’ humans, who give the signal as well, are not less intelligent than they have been before the kiss. And I think that if fleets some thinking beings are used as well. If a bunch of Stealers can get a foothold so that their phy beacon can be heard, I don't think the nutritional content of that planet matters. The Nids are not known for their tactical minds; they don't select planets that will give them the best meal. This generally brings fully different can of worms, namely theories behind the Tyranids. The main hypotheses, one of which or the blend of which is the truth (IMHO) are the following: - No goal, only instinct – they are just quirk of universe, unstable system which exists in order to exist. Creates some idea of terror for other races and generally fits the dark universe.
- Gaia and antibodies – the galaxy is in some sense alive and it tries to stop the disease called sentient life or it dislikes warp-holes in its midst created by ships, etc. Tyranids are just a defensive mechanism of the galaxy, their goal is cleansing, not just eating.
- Old ones construct – either final/ultimate weapons created by them or equivalent of infinity circuit of the O.O., who now ‘live’ in enclosed pseudo-warp universe created by Tyranids – shadow in the warp.
Which way you are after?
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Post by Destecado on Dec 31, 2004 10:39:59 GMT -5
destroying a planet is childs play. I actually used the idea in a story that I wrote about trying to blunt the advace of the Tau during the Eye of Terror Campaign 2 summers ago. A small guard unit was left on the planet with a Grav Shell. In BFG rules, these shells creat small black holes. This would be more than enought to destroy a planet as well as anything in orbit.
That said, I think we are jumping the gun. There may be war with a Tyranic fleet in Anargo's future, but at this time we should only be at the foothold stage...infiltration of genestealer cults.
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Post by RascalLeader on Dec 31, 2004 19:33:24 GMT -5
My suggestion for the Story arc1. Cults rise to power on several small worlds. Some might be detected and planets may be envovled in a cival war for control. 2. Tyranid Scout ships arrive and spread some of the lower Guants speices ahead of the other fleets. These will renforce the Genestealer Cults and infest new worlds. This low level threat could be on going and last for a very long time. 3. Splinter fleet arrive in Anargo and is drawn to the genestealer beacons. This is the biggest threat. This tshould not last long, nor be hive ships many in number, in order to prevent them overrunning inter sub sectors. The 'bait planet' can be used if it is thought the Nids get to strong. You got me their This is my opinion, althought 'No goal' is slightly incorrect. Like every living being their goal is survival, for them its by absorbing all the most effective genetic traits into their own DNA theirfore increasing their chances. The other do not really fit. They can't be a creation of the old one; since when did they want to wipe out the universe of life? As for the Final Fantasy option its just a reinterpritation of the first, putting the universe out for revenge spin on things. For one thing that does not fit ether since at the end of it their will still be Tyranid life around after all others have been eaten. That a stupidly powerful weapon It would proberly cost more then several whole sector fleet to make otherwise every alien race in the Imperiums bad books would be wiped out. After all they have lots of resources, if they put the effort into it they could have millions of these grav shells rolling off the production lines. Thats why I prefer Anti matter as my planet killer of choice; it does not blow up the planet but ripps the atmosphere off. Much cleaner ;D
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Post by Kage2020 on Jan 1, 2005 18:19:04 GMT -5
The Tyranids will not be involved in the early history of the Anargo sector. I do not mind the odd Genestealer infestation, but any splinter hive fleet is not going to be showing up for several hundreds years. For the moment they can ge forgotten about.
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