What is the lifespan of a Tyranid?

[overhive]

Nov 12, 2014 16:25:10 GMT danb said:

Nov 12, 2014 13:57:12 GMT termagant said:

Some may also have prefertilized eggs to support at least one new generation, parasitic reproduction or even functioning reproductory organs (hermaphrodites and males/females are both options for the hive, it all depends on what it wants and for which species) but as I stated self-reproducing tyranids are very rare and probably produced for particular cases (like desperate measures of a dying hive or specialized broods like genestealers)

I want to see Instinctive Behavior: Procreate in an official doc somewhere. That would make me smile for hours on end.

On a roll of a 6 the unit goes to ground and gains d6 models

[Threeshades]

Nov 12, 2014 16:51:37 GMT overhive said:

Nov 12, 2014 16:25:10 GMT danb said:

I want to see Instinctive Behavior: Procreate in an official doc somewhere. That would make me smile for hours on end.

On a roll of a 6 the unit goes to ground and gains d6 models

I want to see that on a brood of monstrous creatures.

[metrognome]

monstrous creatures can never go to ground... brood blocked!

[danb]

Nov 12, 2014 16:51:37 GMT overhive said:

Nov 12, 2014 16:25:10 GMT danb said:

I want to see Instinctive Behavior: Procreate in an official doc somewhere. That would make me smile for hours on end.

On a roll of a 6 the unit goes to ground and gains d6 models

On a roll of a 1, the unit is Pinned for the rest of the game and gains d3 models, all of whom do nothing but Lurk, listen to the latest from the Noise Marines, and complain about conforming to the rules of the Hive Mind.

[termagant]

what do you think gaunts do when they run outside the battlefield or inside cover?

hint:that's no fleshborer beetles they're shooting

[Threeshades]

Nov 12, 2014 17:52:58 GMT danb said:

Nov 12, 2014 16:51:37 GMT overhive said:

On a roll of a 6 the unit goes to ground and gains d6 models

On a roll of a 1, the unit is Pinned for the rest of the game and gains d3 models, all of whom do nothing but Lurk, listen to the latest from the Noise Marines, and complain about conforming to the rules of the Hive Mind.

That would be Instinctive Behaviour: Teenage Angst

[bredkooler]

For some reason this thread made me picture a gaunt humping the leg of a poor bewildered guardsmen

[ilovethenids]

While I'm only in my first college genetics course, I think that perhaps the reason they are able to "store" certain traits and express them in a new generation when necessary is due to a massive level of gene conservation amongst Tyranid organisms, as well as a high degree of polymorphisms for the same genes. For example, the mutation that gives gargoyles their wings could simply be a mutation of the hox gene that controls development of the two pairs of hind limbs seen in Hormagaunts and termagants. Thus, simply inducing that mutation (along with a gene responsible for the development of the tongue/digestive tract, for the blinding venom) would cause the offspring to develop wings instead of regular legs. Since most biomorphs/upgrades to units simply involve the replacement of one body part with another (ie replacing a fleshborer with a devourer), my guess is that Tyranid strains amongst the same and amongst closely "related" species simply involve one or more hox gene mutations.

However, that doesn't take into account the fact that weapon symbiotes might have their own genome, and depending on the type their ammunition might have ITS own. That'd be something to examine more in the fluff.

[arapaima]

Generally speaking the more complex the organism the longer it's lifespan. Mediums such as raveners can hibernate for a long time. Tyrants are pratically immortal. Even if their body is desteoyed, their consciousness gets uploaded into a new body.