Style Guide: Feral Tyranids

[Last Order]

VELON'S FERAL INFESTATION OVERVIEW There exists few details pertaining to Corinthe in canon but one of those few details is the mention of tyranids. In an old expansion to one of the various games, a splinter of Hive Fleet Moloch was destroyed in and around Corinthe, and little beyond a date was given. Alas, being as old as it is, the information is a bit out of date, and that date is older than the tyranid invasions in general - by a lot. To remedy this, I've elected to take a few liberties and suspend my own belief at least a little, and have established that this splinter of Moloch arrived early in the invasion and was destroyed in 998.M41, the established date of Moloch in general. Being that Corinthean Dawn takes place only a few years later, the current date puts the total time span between then and now at four years. That's not a lot of time.  However, this particular splinter is considered an advance fleet, forging its path well beyond the rest of the hive fleet, and its prompt destruction was a result of this over-extension.  The splinter became stretched thin and this allowed Imperial forces, and anything else in the area looking for a fight, to cut off, encircle, and eventually, destroy the fleet.  Because of the swift destruction, this splinter achieved little in its time. It did, however, manage to reach the Corinthe system and target Velon, the lush, jungle agri-world. The fleet, desperately trying to survive, fractured, died, and at least some of it crashed into Velon proper.  The destruction of the hive fleet in the area caused the synapse connection back to Moloch proper to disappear, leaving each and every tyranid fending for itself. While not many remained, enough survived on Velon to be a problem down the road. The tyranids, without their hive fleet, are left feral, acting on instincts and baser drives, doing their best to survive, and in a few cases, they band together in small swarms and packs. They face some major issues, however. Their ability to replenish numbers is greatly hampered, few larger entities survive to the current day, and without their ability to work together, the Imperials have little issue keeping them in check.  That could, however, change under the right circumstances... BEYOND THE HIVEMIND WHAT MAKES A FERAL, FERAL? When the hive fleets sustain sufficient losses, the hive mind can waver. Without the ability to extend from the bulk of the tyranid forces, it is possible for some tyranids to be left without this connection. Numerous reports from the Imperium have observed this phenomenon, where creatures never intended to have freedom suddenly found a strange sense of freedom, and without the guidance of higher intelligence, turned to their basic instincts. In most cases, this caused the bioforms to lash out, attacking anything in reach before what remained scattered or was destroyed by the Imperial forces. Observations pertaining to tyranids that were liberated from the hivemind but survived destruction are few, and who can say what is reliable? Those tyranids who escaped eradication on Velon are considered feral. They do not hear the hivemind because it is beyond their reach. Even if Moloch returned to the area, having gained independence, they would likely resist and merely become biomass as if they were anything other creature. So, what does this mean for these lucky few? Newfound Sentience The feral tyranids of Velon were never intended to exist on their own, but now they do! Each of them is an individual bioform, created for a specific purpose, but is still a living organism. The most basic bioforms can feel pain and even some emotions, and as they become more advanced and complex, they gain greater degrees of sentience - perhaps even sapience, the ability to think and understand.  Generally speaking, the smaller and simpler the tyranid, the less sentience it possesses, and the further away from sapience it is. There are, however, some exceptions. Namely, the characters you choose to create and play as may possess a higher degree of independence and a more complex personality than many of their fellows.  Gaunt bioforms, such as the termagaunt and hormagaunt are smaller, simpler bioforms. They posses a decent degree of sentience, but mostly act on instinct, rather than rationalization and though. However, individual gaunts could have some minor sapience, making them stand out among their peers.  Alternatively, warrior bioforms and the rare, larger bioforms, posses greater degrees of sentience and are even more likely to be sapient to some degree. This makes them far deadlier and more complex as adversaries when compared to others. Bioform strains such as lictors are even more noteworthy, as they were always intended to operate independently.  Playing a Feral With all of that said, there are details to keep in mind. First and foremost, tyranids are not humans. Most tyranids will not possess the same degree of sapience as humans, so when writing them it is important to keep in mind that they are significantly more likely to act on instinct than they are to act on thought.  Most will be reactionary in some capacity. When something happens, they have a fairly consistent reaction to it. Often, it is hardwired in them, and overwriting that instinct is difficult. As a player of a tyranid, your tyranid is expected to have a little more individuality than some, so there's plenty of leeway to work with. What about Synapse? A big part of what makes tyranids a cohesive and functional faction is the synapse, a psychic connection linking almost the entirety of the tyranid existence in an overwhelmingly potent hivemind. Well, you no longer have that hivemind. However, the synapse remains - after a fashion.  Synapse creatures, such as warriors, still maintain a synapse around them, though without the comprehensive nature of the hivemind it relies entirely on the warrior, or any other individual. Because of that, the synapse is not nearly as strong.  They have less range of influence, and what influence they have is so greatly diminished that it can hardly be considered such. The hivemind uses extreme power to outright override the individual personality of each tyranid and operate as a larger, singular organism - at least, that's how it likes to appear.  Each tyranid that emitted the synapse was effectively boosting the strength of the hivemind, and now they have only their self. Where the hivemind gave orders, these creatures merely make suggestions.  The synapse will connect the tyranids in the vicinity as it once did, and they can communicate through it, but they do so as willing individuals, and even if there is a general consensus, there may be outliers. Not all may act in unison, and thus, these synapse creatures lead and retain that leadership in much the same way another life form does: by being good at it.  Playing with the Synapse When playing a tyranid, the synapse will be a major component of play. It allows for easy interaction between numerous tyranids, and can allow larger bioforms to act as swarm leaders.  It is important to keep in mind that it does not allow complete control, or even much control at all. It just allows the swarm to process things together, potentially coming to a unified conclusion about how to act. But as each tyranid is now acting in their own interest and as an individual, it has more in line with a democratic process than the despotic one used by the hivemind.  This is perhaps a little less important when interacting with NPCs, but if two PC tyranids come together in some way and one or both are synapse creatures, then it is important to know how that even though one may be more powerful, and thus take priority on the synaptic network, it does not mean they can enforce their will on the other. REMNANTS ON VELON SUB-HEADER Amet facilisis magna etiam tempor orci eu. Enim eu turpis egestas pretium aenean pharetra magna ac. At in tellus integer feugiat scelerisque. Nec nam aliquam sem et tortor consequat id. Consequat nisl vel pretium lectus quam id leo in vitae. Urna molestie at elementum eu facilisis. Massa tincidunt dui ut ornare lectus sit amet est. Sodales ut eu sem integer vitae justo eget. Vestibulum sed arcu non odio. Orci nulla pellentesque dignissim enim sit. 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