Recently I completed work on another Character Guide, this one allowing for playable versions of some of the minor Xenos Races in the galaxy. I realized that I had yet to make a truly public placement of it, so here it is. At present the guide includes rules for playing:

Brachyura

Caryatid

Demiurg

Hrud

Jokaero

Lacrymole

Loxatl

Nicassar

Rak'Gol

Slann

Sslyth

Stryxis

Tarellian

Thyrrus

Vespid

The Rak'Gol and Stryxis also have rules for creating starships of their kind.

The guide can be found here at the bottom of the page. Any feedback is always appreciated, and if you have any questions, comments, or things you might like to see added, just get in touch with me here, on my webpage, or here in the forum and I will get back to you as soon as I can.

Ah, thank you for putting this on a new page! Am downloading now. Did you make up the Lacrymole and Loxatl, or were they an obscure reference you dug up and decided to fluff up?

No problem, I wanted to make sure that the guide could be found, otherwise it's kind of pointless!

Those particular Xenos are actually all detailed in the RPG books, the Lacrymole and the Loxatl being detailed in Mark of the Xenos from Deathwatch. They are definitely obscure, I don't think there's any other mention of them outside their couple of pages in that book. If there are any other obscure races that you'd like to see, just post them here, I eventually have a few more that I want to add in, but right now I'm busily fluffing up half of the the Abhumans of the 40k universe based on their paragraph or shorter descriptions.

Hello again everyone! I've just updated the Xenos Character Guide with new additions. It now includes rules for playing

Hrud

Jokaero

Nicassar

Slann

Vespid

As always any feedback regarding layout, typos, balance or any other concerns are always welcome! Get in touch with me here on the forums, via email, or at my website. Hope everyone enjoys the new additions!

Will you get to Demiurg, sometime?

I will add them on to the next batch of Xenos to add to the guide. Just need to figure out who I'm going to include in said batch and I'll be able to give an update. Thank you for the interest in the guide and the feedback!

Got any ideas for what is going in next?

AWESOME guides. Nice cover artworks and layout. Very spiff. Many thanks LodgeBlackman99 for some excellent guides.

I would seriously rework the Nicassar. The bit about Eldar converts to the Tau cause is just an absolute "never going to happen" scenario. Furthermore, very wise xenos who consider the longterm ramifications of their actions making independant contact with the IoM is equally unlikely. Something more plausible would perhaps fair better.

Eldar aren't ever going to convert to the greater good unless they're up to something. I can imagine some Ulthwey Eldar going and 'joining' the Tau on the orders of Eldrad, but them actually believing it? Not happening.

DeathbyGrotz:Can you explain why they would not be concerned with possible interactions with one of the largest, dangerous, and most powerful forces in the galaxy? According to the lore they have been largely isolated from contact with other races by the Tau, and Humanity has multiple examples of cooperation and peaceful interaction with Xenos, so it's not unreasonable to want to open lines of communication.

DeathbyGrotz and shadowclasper: If you look at the lore a good portion of the humans who joined the Tau joined because they were given no other choice and wanted to keep living, so why cant there have been Eldar who were under the same circumstances? Furthermore, what of those Eldar who worked with organizations like the Inquisition, and Cabal for their own reasons, or the Corsairs who indulge in their whims? Is it not possible that it could be a group of individuals who prefer the Tau mentality over their bretheren? Since it has been established that some Eldar reject the Paths, why can they not find solace in a different society?

If either of you can provide a reason beyond "They just wouldn't" that's fine, but the existing lore shows that something like this could indeed be possible. If you don't like it or disagree you are always free to alter the lore as you see fit as detailed in the final paragraph of the lore sections for each species.

Cobramax: Thank you for the compliment! I always love to hear when people like the guides.

filliman: At present I'm looking at the Demiurg, Tarellians, and Thyrrus, and I'm looking to add a couple more. I haven't had the time to do any additional work on the guides with applying for jobs and other responsibilities.

There is a distinct difference between the typical Eldar MO, namely manipulating someone for the benefit of themselves or their people, and allowing an extremely young race they barely even know access to the webway. The webway is their big thing, their secret, the thing they keep for Eldar alone, and viciously guard against everything else. An Eldar would work with the Tau, if it suited them, yes, but they would not convert to the "greater good". That would mean seeing the Tau as ultimately superior to themselves, and that is something Eldar ego does not do. They are old and proud, even in their decline. They would never genuinely convert, let alone share their civilisation's greatest secrets.

As for the Nicassar and the IoM, consider the status of xenos and the imperial creed, then consider that the Nicassar are described as extremely cautious decision makers. The risks of them being blammed and obliterated by humans simply because they are an unsanctioned alien nosing about on their turf by far outweigh the benefits of any cooperation, especially when they have a wall of Tau between them and the humans. The direct approach to a singular rogue trader who is a semi-independant, studiable and predictable entity, compared to an entire planet of xenophobic zealots, is a far more likely option.

Anytime my friend. keep up the good work! Besides....as with any RPG..the GM can alter things to suit their plans ( no game is ever 100% codex compliant afterall...lol I know mine never are ) so anyone that doesnt like a part of it....is free to forget about using it but there isnt any need to try to point out opinions on perceived errors in them. Grammar...yes..Syntax...ok...but if you have a baseline issue with something done...then ASK about it ( IE the difference of "i read the part about ( blah) in the file but what about what so and so put out in (insert book/article name ) about the same species but different take on things?" VERSES "that would never happen because..." )....dont just rip into it...c'mon folks the differences between CONSTRUCTIVE criticism and criticizing ..LodgeBlackman99 did alot of work on his own time for these...I dont see anyone else going to nearly these lengths to put together any game material thats being freely distributed....

Anytime my friend. keep up the good work! Besides....as with any RPG..the GM can alter things to suit their plans ( no game is ever 100% codex compliant afterall...lol I know mine never are ) so anyone that doesnt like a part of it....is free to forget about using it but there isnt any need to try to point out opinions on perceived errors in them. Grammar...yes..Syntax...ok...but if you have a baseline issue with something done...then ASK about it ( IE the difference of "i read the part about ( blah) in the file but what about what so and so put out in (insert book/article name ) about the same species but different take on things?" VERSES "that would never happen because..." )....dont just rip into it...c'mon folks the differences between CONSTRUCTIVE criticism and criticizing ..LodgeBlackman99 did alot of work on his own time for these...I dont see anyone else going to nearly these lengths to put together any game material thats being freely distributed....

This. For Miles. I'll be honest: this is good stuff. that isnt just me schmoozing for more, I genuinely think this is all very well done. I loved the Eldar one. Would have preferred some catguys instead of all catgirls in the Abhumans book, but we all know the internet: catgirls are probably all you will find, and i'm not brave enough to dig through /tg/ to find them for you, LodgeBlackman99. Actually lemme get a drink, I might. In any case, I can honestly see some Eldar feeling some kind of despair: I mean, your soulstone is the only thing stopping you from being devoured by Slaanesh upon your death. Your race is dying. What do you have left? Maybe a few have actually given into the Greater Good. The galaxy is a BIG place, it can happen. If you dont like it, feel free to ignore it. Isnt that how the rest of 40k works anyway?

Edit: Sorry Lodge, you arent getting catguys. Googling that was a soul-shattering mistake.

I guess you found male furry porn, huh? Poor guy, yea, that's an unpleasant thing to find when you aren't looking for it or otherwise seeking it out on purpose...

Deathbygrotz: I can see where you are coming from, but what of the Eldar who work with the Cabal and happily associate with all manner of races within? What about Farseer Macha's aiding of Gabriel Angelos against the forces of chaos during three separate campaigns, and their continued relationship with the Blood Ravens afterwards? What about when they warned Pedro Kantor after the assault on Traitor's Gorge? Several of these instances have occurred with nothing more than the best interests of the sector in mind, and not personal gain. It seems that the Eldar are happy to embrace other causes that they believe in, and are willing to aid and work with other species, so it does seem heavily implied that there could be (through some means) an Eldar association with the Tau. Additionally, their secret knowledge of the Webway is also known by the and utilized by the Slann, Necrons, Dark Eldar, Rogue Traders, and certain members of the Inquisition, so it does seem like the knowledge of it is more widespread than just the Eldar.

In regards to the Nicassar, the Inquisition openly employs use of the Jokaero, and there are methods a Xeno can undergo to become sanctioned and allowed within the Imperium. They might not be common, but there are examples of these kinds of peaceful interactions. Combine this with the fact that the Nicassar would probably be clever enough to realize that the Tau would not survive a focused assault by any other civilization, and wanted to look at other means of protection. Realizing that the Coreward worlds would likely be a lost cause, they would probably confer with the two most widespread interstellar races, the Humans and Eldar in the Jericho Reach area of the galaxy, and since they have been largely isolated by the Tau it would have to be ones who were a part of the Tau empire. Upon conferring, the only 'safe' place to attempt such an endeavor would be on the fringes of the galaxy, or beyond it. WIth the rediscovery of the Koronus Passage and the fact that it is renowned for it's lawlessness, coupled with the fact that there are an abundance of Rogue Traders who are allowed much more open dealings makes it an ideal place for such an attempt. After deciding to open negotiations they would have needed a way to get across the galaxy. With the warp so uncertain a path fraught with peril, they would logically have elected to utilize the safer method of the Webway.

It's a bit wordy, but that's how I came to the conclusion that I did about their presence. I know none of the work that I do is canon by any means, but I am trying to make lore decisions that are congruous with the lore of the universe, and I do feel that I remained faithful to the lore and created a viable way for the Nicassar to be in the Koronus Expanse. If you disagree you are free to change it up however you wish to make it fit within your game world! Whatever means you want to use to have them there is completely up to you. I understand how passionate people can be about the 40k universe and that is why I made sure to include the "If you don't like the the lore that I have created, feel free to change it" paragraph at the end of each section.

filliman and GavinFoxx: Yep, that was the problem I was dealing with. I got most all of those pictures from the 1d4chan page and an archived /tg/ thread in the end, great minds think alike it seems! There's been some pretty darn good fan art for them posted there surprisingly. I will say that I do believe the Felinid on page 16 is a male, and basically the only picture of one that I found so I made sure to include it. There is definitely a lack of gender equality in the available artwork though. Thank you for braving the internet to find such artwork! I really appreciate the effort, and apologize profusely for what was undoubtedly on the other side of that particular image search.

filliman and Cobramax 76: Thanks for understanding and the compliments, I appreciate that more than you know. Some of the people I used to play with were very militant in what "was" and "wasn't" 40k, which led to a very frustrating place for me as their GM. I can't thank you enough for accepting the possibility that the galaxy is a big place and it could be different in some parts, it really does make me feel a lot better.

For those who read this gigantic wall of words, an update: I'm working on narrowing it down to two of the last three choices: Brachyura, Byavoor, and Caryatid and then I'll get to work on the crunch. I'll be getting to work on them in the next few days. Does anyone have any other recommendations for other races they would like to see?

You could try looking up old Albedo art? From the furry sci fi comic book? That will show feline soldiers in modern looking gear?

Hear Ye, Hear Ye! I finally have had enough time to sit down and finish the most recent additions to the Xenos Character Guide! It now has rules for playing:

Brachyura

Caryatid

Demiurg

Tarellian

Thyrrus

Also included some minor revisions which are posted on the website. Sorry for the delay in this everyone, I hope you enjoy the additions!

Ohhh yeees! Always good to get a few more races! I'll have to download later, but sure it'll be good.

Also those names XD weird little aliens.

If I may ask, are you planning other updates?

I've noted that in the Disciple of the Dark Gods pag. 74 there are rules for an Hrud Fusil. Also on pag. 133 of Lure of the Expanse there is a new Psychic Power for a Farseer, Mind War. It's also on pag. 63 of Fallen Suns. Another Farseer Psychic Power could be Twist Fate on pag. 59 of the Outher Reach.

Hope this could be helpfull.

filliman: Thanks for the kind words, always appreciated!

aleandro01: I wasn't planning to add anything to this guide for a time, I've got some additions to the other guides to make first. If you have any requests just make them here and I'll see what I can do! Also thank you for the heads up about the Hrud Fusil, I didn't add it in as an option for them purely because I was trying to get the race details finished and it does take some time. I'll look into Mind War and Twist Fate but it will be some time before I get back to the Eldar Character Guide, when I do it's going to get a major revision.

And which additions and revisions are you planning?

I'm planning a major addition/revision of Legends of the Expanse, adding in additional ranks for the official Xenos Races and adding in a few new playable character paths with a full 11 ranks. If I'm not burned out from it I'll be adding in some new starship rules as well.

Nicassar's Void Ship Locomotion suffers from the same issue as the Die Hard talent- it's only ever useful in a very specific and quite unlikely situation. Unlike the (overpriced anyway) Die Hard talent, however, it's really expensive- it may cost as much as 1,500 xp if you are using a big ass ship. I would suggest either cutting it's cost down significantly (100 xp per level of VSL?), increasing it's speed (right now it's pretty much always slower than regular engines) or throwing in a bonus that makes the ship even harder to detect when on silent running and moving with VSL.