Post by bayne on Feb 6, 2013 5:01:25 GMT
Ways to have Tyranid Protagonist:
1. Genestealers. Genestealers have over the majority of their fluff a telepathic web centred around the patriarch/broodlord and are not part of the hive mind itself. Some material suggests Genestealers are driven to flee from the Tyranids in order to keep driving them to spread an infect. So a protagonist might be a Genestealer hybrid (a Magus perhaps) recounting the invasion they are fleeing and trying to find a way to avoid following and absorbing them.
The Space Hulk Novel gave us a tiny bit from the Broodlords perspective, and even if just a paragraph or two it matters. The precedent has been set.
2. Lictors. Lictors have the capacity to think. They like genestealers need to act independantly functioning often seperated from synapse creatures. They also absorb peoples memories from brain-eating and use that knowledge to spread discord and use psychological warfare and so can learn human languages and reading and writing at a single snack. A self-reflective Lictor? Tyranid Propaganda? A surprising idea and a quite powerful one.
3. Termagants. What? Yes Termagants. All Tyranid troops are intelligent, they need to act in some way functionally away from synapse too. They are wired to become cunning nuisances when out of synapse range which means they need to be as intelligent as many animals, and many animals are very intelligent indeed and have been used as protagonists by authors before. Such a story could be done entirely 3rd person or 1st person.
4. Eavesdropping. Telepathic eavesdropping has been part of 40k background since 1st ed. We have had some unused concept art of Ultramarine 'Hive Mind Librarians' tapping into the Hive Mind for strategic advantage and while that isn't a very ultramarine thing to do so only the tyrannic war veterans were used from that lot of brainstorming. The Scythes of the Emperor would be a great chapter for that sort of thing as well as ad-mech etc.
1. Genestealers. Genestealers have over the majority of their fluff a telepathic web centred around the patriarch/broodlord and are not part of the hive mind itself. Some material suggests Genestealers are driven to flee from the Tyranids in order to keep driving them to spread an infect. So a protagonist might be a Genestealer hybrid (a Magus perhaps) recounting the invasion they are fleeing and trying to find a way to avoid following and absorbing them.
The Space Hulk Novel gave us a tiny bit from the Broodlords perspective, and even if just a paragraph or two it matters. The precedent has been set.
2. Lictors. Lictors have the capacity to think. They like genestealers need to act independantly functioning often seperated from synapse creatures. They also absorb peoples memories from brain-eating and use that knowledge to spread discord and use psychological warfare and so can learn human languages and reading and writing at a single snack. A self-reflective Lictor? Tyranid Propaganda? A surprising idea and a quite powerful one.
3. Termagants. What? Yes Termagants. All Tyranid troops are intelligent, they need to act in some way functionally away from synapse too. They are wired to become cunning nuisances when out of synapse range which means they need to be as intelligent as many animals, and many animals are very intelligent indeed and have been used as protagonists by authors before. Such a story could be done entirely 3rd person or 1st person.
4. Eavesdropping. Telepathic eavesdropping has been part of 40k background since 1st ed. We have had some unused concept art of Ultramarine 'Hive Mind Librarians' tapping into the Hive Mind for strategic advantage and while that isn't a very ultramarine thing to do so only the tyrannic war veterans were used from that lot of brainstorming. The Scythes of the Emperor would be a great chapter for that sort of thing as well as ad-mech etc.