So I have a scenario in mind where a small mining colony is infiltrated by genestealers and then cut off from pretty much everything due to a local warp storm.

The colony is self-sufficient but lacks the resources to expand beyond the planet they’re on.

Eventually the warp storm passes (taking roughly the amount of time it takes for a human colony in the right environment to ‘evolve’ into an ogryn colony) and the colony is once again part of the universe.

So my question is what do you think has happened over that time?

I’m fairly sure that the genestealers will have been able to completely supplant the colonists but what then? Genestealers are supposed to be intelligent and I assume they’re fairly stable genetically so they’re not going to have mutated or evolved but what about cultural evolution?

Would they just act like any other genestealer cult and wait for a ship to come by and offer to help them recrew with some of their own members or would they become something distinct from a vanguard tyrinid infection vector?

Well once a Genestealer cult has been around for long enough, they birth a Patriarch who's capable of summoning a splinter fleet to come and consume the planet. It's possible the Warp Storm would mute that call, and there may not be any Tyranids around to actually (immediately) come and consume them, but that is their long-term goal.

My assumption then is if there are no Tyranids around, they would just focus themselves on breeding and maintaining the illusion so that they could spread to other populations. They may even enter dormancy so that purebred humans can be birthed, and then infected before being carried out. I don't really see them evolving as their own culture, because any Hybrid can have their will completely subsumed by strong enough Synapse Creatures.

It's also entirely possible that if they actually conquered the entire planet, they may let the majority of their species die off, and allow nature to repopulate the planet (if possible) since that might increase the potential absorbable biomass. Otherwise if the planet is too industrialized for that to be practical, they may engage in Slaanesh-level orgies to produce as many life forms as possible so that there's more to be absorbed.

Hmm, a genestealer cult trapped by a warp storm, cut off from the hive mind and beset on all fronts by unknowable levels of boredom. In a last-ditch effort to alleviate their general misery, they turn to She Who Parties. Perfect justification for a Slaaneshi genestealer cult. That's *my* idea now. My players won't know what hit them.

I don't really see them evolving as their own culture, because any Hybrid can have their will completely subsumed by strong enough Synapse Creatures.

Hmm, a genestealer cult trapped by a warp storm, cut off from the hive mind and beset on all fronts by unknowable levels of boredom. In a last-ditch effort to alleviate their general misery, they turn to She Who Parties. Perfect justification for a Slaaneshi genestealer cult. That's *my* idea now. My players won't know what hit them.

This is actually something along the lines of what I am thinking but I'm just not sure what the logical conclusion would be. I've assumed they'd have a genestealer patriarch that would be both highly intelligent and able to exert large amounts of control over the rest of the genestealers through the brood telepathy but with the warp storm quelling the beacon the patriarch creates what happens then?

As I understand it the genestealers don't know exactly what happens when the hive fleet approaches but I suppose the patriarch could read the Imperial dogma that the colonists had and presumably the patriarch would be able to access even the colonist's most secure files over time so what then?

What do centuries of status quo do to an intelligent creature networked into thousands (perhaps millions) of other creatures all just waiting for something to happen?

Spread the brood via sublight ships to the nearest stars, maybe? If you reach the point where your colony cannot sustain any further people, and you still have the biological imperative to make your brood as large as possible, it's the next logical step.

Spread the brood via sublight ships to the nearest stars, maybe? If you reach the point where your colony cannot sustain any further people, and you still have the biological imperative to make your brood as large as possible, it's the next logical step.

The colony is self-sufficient but lacks the resources to expand beyond the planet they’re on.

In this scenario they cannot leave the planet without outside assistance. I'm haven't got it figured out totally yet but I'm thinking something along the lines of the planet is extremely rich in a valuable ore (hence the mining colony) but extremely poor in other materials needed for shipbuilding. That and when the colony was set up it was never set up with any technology that would allow easy shipbuilding.

I agree if expansion to other systems was possible that is the direction they'd take but without that option what then?

This. So much this. And when they get tired they start all over again!

But I have to agree with what has already been said. I think those that steal pants would attempt to maintain the facade of being a normal Imperial colony. Even after they hit critical mass and try to call the Hive Fleet to them.

But it would be interesting if the Patriarch figured out what happens when the Hive Fleet gets there and maybe tried to not call the Hive Fleet. Maybe even just to keep his community together and isolated so they don't get eaten.But I gather that is quite a bit against established fluff.

Well it's interesting to see, I'm sure no Generstealer cults have any idea what happens to them when the fleet arrives, simply believing that their Gods have come to help them ascend to the Heavens.

Hybrids in the Expanse are far away from any Hive Fleet influence and learning of their potential fate may decide they like it that way. The Patriarch may decide he likes ruling over his own cult of followers and has no intention whatsoever and being consumed to fuel the Tyranid war machine.

Remember too there is lots of established fluff, you could decide to go against the current thinking and go back to the early 40k where cults well outside the influence of Tyranids could fall under the influence of Chaos. The mutating power of Chaos could destroy the hive mind mentality and have the colony effectively following new Gods.

Or create something new, cut off by the warp they have developed their own sense of community with one leader using the his power over the cult to develop a people with a unified sense of self and purpose. How close they've come to that goal is up to you, though probably things will go down hill for them once those **** humans arrive with their xenophobic ways.

Never feel compelled to be drawn into the same old thinking, creative something unique and engaging for your players.

you could decide to go against the current thinking

Pardon, does the latest codex state that genestealer cults are immune to the influence of Chaos? Serious question - I stopped reading the codices back during 5th.

Or are you just referring to the general trend of everything except humans being immune to Chaos nowadays?

Oh I haven't read the codices since 3rd edition so I wouldn't have a clue. What I was referring too was the idea (in 2nd edition I believe) where you could play Genestealer cults who became allied to Chaos.

I've never really understood FFG's recent habit of making most Xenos largely immune to the affects of Chaos myself.

I've never really understood FFG's recent habit of making most Xenos largely immune to the affects of Chaos myself.

Because that would make sense and cause extra work.

*file redacted*

I understand some races being resistant/immune to Chaos. Full blown tyrinids with the force of the hive mind behind them should be largely immune to corruption and I get why Orks should be at least resistant to Chaos. In the first few editions Orks being corrupted was rare, sure there was the occasional group of Stormboys of Khorne but they were the exception not the rule. Heck Orkoids couldn't even be properly possessed so demons ended up trapped inside snotlings or wierdboys with only limited influence on their host. Still that was back in the day when Orks didn't breed till the end of their lives so only Orks that survived a long time would breed at all and they tended to do so in some sort of brood pouch.

Genestealers on the other hand I can imagine falling to Chaos, after all they don't have the full might of the hive mind shielding them and they need a degree of individuality and autonomy in order to be successful infiltrators.

That said I hadn't considered that to quell the boredom they might turn into giant party animals. Something to think about.

Oh, absolutely. Being tough makes you more resistant to mutation, so Orks should have an advantage. Being content makes you more resistant to corruption, so Orks should have an advantage, and tyranids (being more or less biological machines) should be extremely resistant to the whisper of demons - although I would argue that with all the mutation they do on purpose, tyranids should very much not be immune to that part, if reality happens to spring a leak when they're nearby. But being immune to the cosmic horror that makes the setting such a shithole in the first place, that's just a cop-out.

It has been some time since I last ranted about my PCs ruining my plans...

In our last game my pcs found a medieval human civilization in a tundra planet, at the same era as in which War Fantasy takes place. I was thinking of adding Genestealers to that civ, maybe controlling the monarchy.

Until the RT, decided to kidnap, charm and have sex with that civ's emperor (I showed her Karl Franz picture).

Seriously.

I gave up on using Genestealers. Not until my players are a little bit more mature (read suspicious) at least.

It has been some time since I last ranted about my PCs ruining my plans...

In our last game my pcs found a medieval human civilization in a tundra planet, at the same era as in which War Fantasy takes place. I was thinking of adding Genestealers to that civ, maybe controlling the monarchy.

Until the RT, decided to kidnap, charm and have sex with that civ's emperor (I showed her Karl Franz picture).

Seriously.

I gave up on using Genestealers. Not until my players are a little bit more mature (read suspicious) at least.

How dare you back out of this. Genestealer contamination is NOT the end of the world and can be reversed. With a good enough Medicae test. Otherwise your RT burns a fate point and learns a valuable lesson.

Note your players will not actually learn a lesson from this and will continue to kidnap and sleep with everyone claiming that they are just conducting Tyranid purity tests, but that's when you throw a Lacrymole or Slaugth who kills and replaces the Rogue Trader.

..... I was thinking of adding Genestealers to that civ, maybe controlling the monarchy.

Until the RT, decided to kidnap, charm and have sex with that civ's emperor (I showed her Karl Franz picture).

......

Actually, that would of been the perfect thing to do right then. Because she could have been carrying the offspring of a Genestealer hybrid. Can you think of anything more dramatic and horrifying than a PC asking "What is that thing growing inside me!!??"

Don't worry. Evilness comes with time. You will learn.

Yeah, man. She really walked into that one.

Oh I haven't read the codices since 3rd edition so I wouldn't have a clue. What I was referring too was the idea (in 2nd edition I believe) where you could play Genestealer cults who became allied to Chaos.

I've never really understood FFG's recent habit of making most Xenos largely immune to the affects of Chaos myself.

Everything else is immune to Chaos so that Chaos, like everything else, doesn't need to divie up its forces in the assault on Mankind. I can completely see Nids in service to Nurgle, have often wondered how ever-fighting Orks AREN'T in service to Khorne, Dark Eldar's debauchery should fuel Slaanesh like nothing else would, and on. However, the Hive Mind is too big for the Ruinous Powers, and the lesser servants are either mindless, or with primitive minds under the sway of the Hive Mind, and all of them are apparently soulless, so of no value to Chaos. Orks are protected by their twin gods, and I guess with so many Orks worshiping them, they are powerful enough to not get snapped in half, like every Eldar god did; I still don't know how no Orks serve Khorne. You can make some weak (sorry) case about how the Orks were made by the Old Ones, and so they might have some protection, but so were the Eldar, and they MADE a Dark God, who then ate all of theirs, for the mst part, easily, and without help. Necrons and Newcrons are unattached to the warp, and so they are immune to the Ruinous Power's influence. Tau get some weak cover, because everyone else had one when they came along, saying that they haven't developed much of a connection to the warp, even though they are alive, and whatnot; I hope one of their ships skipping across the boundary accidentally "sinks' in, just for a bit, and gives Chaos a chance to get their hands on some, to say how resilient they really are. Eldar don't seem particularly immune, but they DO know what's there, and they do take steps to shield themselves (Ghosthelms, spirit stones, and harsh lifestyle), while I still think that the Dark Eldar are so deep in Slaanesh's "nature's pocket" that they can never climb back out. Everything they do seems to feed the Prince of Excess, so whether they like it or not, I think they belong to her, and she likes their work.

No, I've always whined that so many races are immune to Chaos, or seem to be, IMO, while that just gives the servants of the Four all the more reason to strive to tear Man down. In the grimdark fuure, Mankind stands alone, both because they are stupid, and because everyone else only has reasons to fight THEM.

(Yes, I do know that the Nids fight the Eldar and the Tau, the Tau also fight the Orks, and whatnot. It's just that, with Humanity being the flagship race in 40K, from which the Space Marines arise, they get the most from EVERY other species, and their inability to make allies means that they always will, without fear of better troops, technological innovation, or whatever else Man could gain from the xenos neighbors (space herpes.)

Chaos Orks do exist, they're just incredibly rare. Orks have a sort of weird hive mind and fight generally for themselves, so they wouldn't have time to fight for someone else because that's just silly. The example of Gork and Mork fighting each other is the perfect example of the Orkish mind: As long as there's someone else to fight, why listen to anybody else? If you have a single Ork left on their own for awhile then I can see them falling to Chaos.

Chaos Eldar are a contradiction because anyone who gets that close to Chaos has their souls devoured by Slaanesh. There are examples of Dark Eldar who fall to worshipping She-Who-Thirsts because they think it will be a good idea for them, and it of course turns out to be a terrible idea for them.

Chaos Tau don't seem to exist because the Tau canonically cast very weak shadows, so it's harder (presumably) for them to be tempted to fall to Chaos. Also they die so quickly who cares.

There are also a lot of warp-worshipping Xenos and lesser races, but Mankind really is the dominant force in the Galaxy, so if you throw a dart and hit a species to corrupt you're probably going to hit Mankind.

I seem to recall old lore about pre-fall eldar worshiping Chaos. Don't they live on the crone worlds?

I can completely see Nids in service to Nurgle, have often wondered how ever-fighting Orks AREN'T in service to Khorne, Dark Eldar's debauchery should fuel Slaanesh like nothing else would, and on. However, the Hive Mind is too big for the Ruinous Powers, and the lesser servants are either mindless, or with primitive minds under the sway of the Hive Mind, and all of them are apparently soulless, so of no value to Chaos. Orks are protected by their twin gods, and I guess with so many Orks worshiping them, they are powerful enough to not get snapped in half, like every Eldar god did; I still don't know how no Orks serve Khorne. You can make some weak (sorry) case about how the Orks were made by the Old Ones, and so they might have some protection, but so were the Eldar, and they MADE a Dark God, who then ate all of theirs, for the mst part, easily, and without help. Necrons and Newcrons are unattached to the warp, and so they are immune to the Ruinous Power's influence.

Gork and Mork, canonically, are stronger than the four chaos gods and simply shrug off the attacks of the chaos gods. They are too focused on their own fighting though, so are more or less ineffectual. However, despite this being mentioned several times over the various editions of ork codices, it's one of those lesser known things.

Khorne has been described in older editions as having an Orkish face, and while modern references to this are scant it used to be that the Orks did indeed unintentionally feed Khorne in an indirect way. While they had their own gods (who were plenty strong and representing the 'proppa' orkish mindsight, of all the Chaos Gods Khorne was the #1 for Orks to convert to to.

Gork and Mork, canonically, are stronger than the four chaos gods and simply shrug off the attacks of the chaos gods.

As canon as 2nd edition fluff usually is, I suppose.

Gork and Mork, canonically, are stronger than the four chaos gods and simply shrug off the attacks of the chaos gods.

As canon as 2nd edition fluff usually is, I suppose.

Or you could look at page 15 of the 4th/5th edition Ork Codex too. Here's a quote!

"Gork and Mork are divine powerhouses, deities so strong they are never truly defeated. They simply shrug off the attacks of other gods with a raucous laugh. Gork grins, bears his long treeth, and lands a mighty blow on his adversary's head with a spiked club the size of a comet. Mork, the Master of cunning, waits until his foe isn't looking before clobbering him with a low blow."

Huh. I don't know what I was expecting.