Just read a facinating article in wired magazine about how scientists have hypothesised that domestication-once believed to be purely an artificial process caused by human interaction with another species-appears to be occurring naturally in the wild with Bonobo chimps.

Bonobos are the "nice" chimps, the ones who don't tear baby monkeys to pieces for food, fight brutal battles for dominance or cannibalize the young of other chimp troupes. Bonobos get stressed by competition, seek consensus and cooperation, and solve social problems through copious amounts of sex. These guys seem to have the right idea about a lot of things!

Anyway, scientists are starting to believe that traits previously associated with domestication - increased tameness, reduced aggression towards other species, friendliness, a lack of hierarchical violence etc are clearly exhibited by the Bonobos. Natural selection appears to be favouring Bonobos who act like hippies at a love-in.

So self-domestication - being a genuinely nice, non aggressive species - can occasionally be a valid reproductive strategy.

So...to 40K. How about the concept of a race of xenos who have evolved to follow this principle to its logical conclusion? A race who are willing (indeed eager) to act as the friends, perhaps even servants, perhaps even slaves of incoming Rogue Traders simply to avoid any conflict? Or even to avoid upsetting the PCs? Imagine a race whose society is built upon ensuring cooperation, not through force of arms, but by consensus and deference. They wouldn't last 5 minutes against a race like the Orks...or perhaps they would! Perhaps they'd adapt seamlessly to becoming enslaved, the deference coded into their genes by natural selection. How would the PCs react to encountering an alien race who are the 40k equivalent of the care bears?

So you are talking about a species entirely made up of sycophants?

Yeah, I.. I don't really see those living all too long in the WH40k universe. If not because nobody would respect them enough not to use them as disposable footpads, then because of the rampant paranoia exhibited by the authorities. I swear, these "servants"; they can't be trusted!

Could work for the Tau, though, I guess.

from france

in the long list o mercenary race of the tau you just created their mercenary recreational race. and if they are polymorph an adopt human shape for example. they can be a gift.

Xenos: "We want to serve you!", Humanity: "Jump into this incinerator filthy xenos!"

I hope they encounter the Tau first (who will assimilate them before using them), or maybe the Eldar (who will just use them).

But a species like that sorta exist already, even in a bonobo like appearance: Jokaero

Actually humanity would find a use as slaves for such a race provided they were good workers or capable of working in a climate or area hostile to humans by it's nature. They'd be slaves and I doubt humanity would treat them very well, but stranger things have happened. After all, look at the Ogryn, human greed finds a way.

lurkeroutthere said:

When you say "stranger things have happened", the only thing that immediately comes to my mind is one of the early (and only) example(s?) of Half-Eldars.

Now that's strange.

I'm pretty sure Ogryn's are still human is the rationalization. But in my admitedly limited knowledge of the canon there's other examples. Heck the example endeavor for Lucien's breath in one of the books has you rounding up xenos wranglers to handle the population on the planet. That seems to have been reversed a bit by the planets write up in edge of the abyss so who knows.

lurkeroutthere said:

The example endeavour is entirely a Rogue Trader issue. Rogue Traders have the near-exclusive right to deal with xenos; they're far (very, very far) from being the norm of the Imperium, with individual Rogue Traders basically being peers of the Imperium, with special rights and freedoms comparable to individual Chapter Masters of the Adeptus Astartes, Inquisitors of the Ordos of the Inquisition, or Lord-Generals of the Imperial Guard.

Rogue Traders enslaving or making use of parts of a xenos species or perhaps even employing a full xenos race from any multitude of planets is one thing. To suggest that the Imperium would is entirely different. Xenos subjects of the Rogue Trader wouldn't even be able to pass into the Imperium without direct supervision, or they'd be shot out of the proverbial sky.

Ogryns being human isn't really a rationalization. They are human. They just happen to have evolved in a slightly different direction compared to the vast majority of the Imperium. Hell, Space Marines are technically humans too, even though they have extra organs and have been subjected to extreme genetic modifications.

Xenos aren't. That's what makes them Xenos.
And Xenos are hunted relentlessly because of the threats they pose, or could potentially pose.

I'd say the concept is a little too 'nice' for 40k. However Doctor Who played with a very similar concept with the Tivoli.

http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/Gibbis

I'd say that particular brand of sly submissiveness could work out quite well for a Xenos race in 40k