What are the Tyranids? They don`t look like bugs at all!

[Wakim]

Really now... they don`t look anything like bugs :/
Or is it just me?

[Cagarner]

They are part of a super organism known as the Hive mind. The tyranids are not from this galaxy, but from another beyond the Great Void. It is theorised that the hive fleets are not the main force of the tyranids, mearly scouting parties in the search for more resources.

The tyranids are almost infinite in number. They sweep entire galaxies of resources, collecting genetic code in the process to improve their efficiency. The milky way, and its inhabitants are simply another source of food for the insatiable hunger of the hive mind.

The reason they are called tyranids, is because the first documented encounter with this race was on the now dead world of Tyran, on the eastern fringe.

I think that answers your question.

[Stubber]

Maybe you should add that to the librarium Cag...

[Cagarner]

Ha ha, I am actualy suposed to beworking on that, as I said I would. I just have not got round to it...

I could use that as the intro.

[Wakim]

Not at all.

I am talikng about nids ass a species, not a society.

I know all about their history

But i`m not very sure about their anatomy.
They really don`t look like bugs. And i`m saying this because everybody i`ve seen describing them said they`re bags *(followed by a starship troopers redirect).

But they are nothing like the starshipt troopers bugs... now those bugs,, were full fletched bugs, the looked like bugs, moved like bugs, died like bugs

From my point of view, nids are closer to "the thing" - a new and improved organism, rather than a bigger & improved version of a known organism.

[Cagarner]

Well, really they are more like the Xenomorph from.. Alien. All tyranids are characterised by 6 limbs, and 5 carapace plates on their head and another 5 on their back. They have black 'Blood' and black eyes. They also have an exoskelton (bones on the outside). All tyranid creatures have sufficent brain power to survive without the high mind, including advanced movement and problem solving skills. All lesser creatures have a weak connection to the hive mind, which is then relayed to Synapse creatures. Synapse creatures have increased number of nerve bundels within their brains which allows a more sensative and powerfull conetion to the hive mind. They also relay commands from the hive mind to the lesser crearures.

Genestealers are slightly different to other tyranid organisms. They are different in thier appearence, and their connection to the hive mind. Genestealers have the ability to be produced by other creatures. The spores that are released from myotic spores infest the air and water supplies, entering hosts. Once they enter their hosts, they alster the genetic code of the organism, so it eventually forms a Genestealer. This is also the explination of Genestealer cults, where people who are infested join together as they are consumed by the genestealer genes, and start to have the need to join with other of their kind. Genestealers are not directly linked to the Hive mind, but have their own Brood Telepathy. This allows them to function without the hive mind. Once the hive fleet reaches a planet, the genestealers seek to reconnect with the hive mind. Once this occurs, the hive mind directs them to the nearest digestion pool, which then allows the genes of the genestealer host to be absorbed into the hive mind.

Is that better. Do you require more information?

[Inquisitor Rosenadel]

I think the designers said they were more akin to dinosaurs, not bugs. But Cagarner's description is good.

[Cagarner]

No, they are not like dinosaurs. Though that may have been the initial design concept, the moder tyranids are far different. The closet comparison in the world today is probably an ant. The ant have excoskeletons, and are adapted to their jobs. Ant culture is similar to tyranids to. The single purpose of gathering resources for the colony, is like the vast hive ships searching the vastness of space, hunting down planets rich with life, simply to fulfill the hive minds insatiable appetite.

[experiment 626]

well, gw also wanted to give the 'nids a look of their own! (though much of that look is heavily influenced by the movie 'aliens'!)

the main reason for the reference of bugs is because that's what tyranid society, (odd concept!) most closely remembles; modern day social insect kingdoms!
- they are compleatly biological - even their weapons!
- they have the hierarchy of the queen ---> warriors ---> workers
- they use pharamones amongst other methods for comunication
- their sheer numbers! (the 'nids put locus to shame...) also their mass procreation...

hope this helps!
cheers!

[Cagarner]

Originally Posted by experiment 626

well, gw also wanted to give the 'nids a look of their own! (though much of that look is heavily influenced by the movie 'aliens'!)

the main reason for the reference of bugs is because that's what tyranid society, (odd concept!) most closely remembles; modern day social insect kingdoms!
- they are compleatly biological - even their weapons!
- they have the hierarchy of the queen ---> warriors ---> workers
- they use pharamones amongst other methods for comunication
- their sheer numbers! (the 'nids put locus to shame...) also their mass procreation...

hope this helps!
cheers!

As I said, their like ants. Ants use pheromones to show paths to food. The more pheromones on a path, the more popular the path, and the larger the amount of reasources at the end. They are are also produced in large numbers by a few large organisms, such as the hive shps and Nord Queens, just like the queens in an ant colony.

[Wakim]

I was only interested in their biology.

They looked pretty much like xenomorphs (ALIEN aliens ) to me but i was curious to see what they`re supposed to be.

[IVSothicIV]

It's you. They are bugs. Alien bugs. Just like Orks are mushrooms and eldar are probably monkeys like us.

[CHIAPETOFDOOM]

LOL

Convince the Eldar to take pride in their monkey past!!!

*New line of eldar warriors* "They'll come at you like SPIDERMONKEYS!"

"Hoot and hollar my brethren!"

[boundy]

Tyranids remind me of the bugs form starship troopers and the imperial guard remind me of well starship troopers lol the marines. If i ever see a battle it will remind me of that. Tyranids are a super being that follows the hivemind and its will.They are designed to feed on all life. Quite frankly i think of them as bugs, but caragner is right. They are not.

[Dan296]

tyranids arent bugs, but people call them that simply because they sort of look like the bugs from starship troopers. they follow bees and ants socially and viruses biologiclly. viruses because they change and adapt acourding to their enviorment. they arent anything like on earth that i can think of otherwise. theyre totally alien to us.

[WNxHasoroth]

I've always thought of it in simple terms to maintain my sanity and to explain to new people what they're basically about:

Their bugs, except infinitely more nasty. They consume eveything they see and it looks like some time in the past, they got a bit drunk and mated with the dinosaurs, hence what you see now.

Anyone noticed they look like the Zerg? I mean, the Zerg from StarCraft have the same "bug" like mentality yet look more like dinosaurs then insects such as the aforementioned Starship Troopers Movie bug.

[Azalar]

While we are on the subject of Tyranids.

There are Synaps Creatures --> Nord Queens --> Then what?

Theres got to be a Large Hive Mind, something bigger than a Nord Queen, Maybe a Planet that a Ship Crashed on, and has Completely taken over, and is now moving behind the Hive Fleets?

[Rogue_Banana]

Originally Posted by Azalar

While we are on the subject of Tyranids.

There are Synaps Creatures --> Nord Queens --> Then what?

Theres got to be a Large Hive Mind, something bigger than a Nord Queen, Maybe a Planet that a Ship Crashed on, and has Completely taken over, and is now moving behind the Hive Fleets?

I'm sure that there are much larger Tyranids out there. Of course the ships themselves qualify, but on the evolutionary line, I doubt they're higher up than Norn Queens.

I'm pretty sure we've established that the Hive Mind itself doesn't exist in the Materium, but is just a really powerful psychic presence. On the other hand, if it did physically exist, what would that be like?

The question is, what makes Norn Queens? I'd rather not think about it.

[Cagarner]

Well, the actual main Hive ships are the biggest tyranid organisms (that have ben recorded!). I think there may simply be no need for any larger organism. The tyranid way of thinking is; Many weaker bugs, over few stronger bugs.

Though, I think there may be a huge synapse node or something close, so it can communicate with the rest of the tyranids (or other nodes) in other galaxies. It is shown that the synapse fade away after a distance, so an "amplifier" for the hive mind would be needed. Im sure the tyranids would not need (or want) to use it in battle. It would be probably outside the galaxy, in The Great Void.

This is purly an hypothesis that I have created, and is not official.

But basically, after the hive ship, there is no official greater creature.

[Rogue_Banana]

What I meant was the Tyranid with the closest link to the Hive Mind. The Hive Ships may be the biggest, but are they really that connected to the Hive Mind, or is it just a humongous beast designed to get the swarm from Planet A to Planet B? Most 'evolved' in this sense would mean the creature that comes AFTER the Norn queens on the line.....not necessarily big in the literal sense, but big in a metaphorical sense.

There has to be something that creates Norn Queens, because if they were a finite race, the Tyranids would have a big problem. Can norn Queens createb more Norn Queens? That could be the only explanation outside of their being something higher up on the scale.

The 'broadcaster' node makes sense though, as the imperium hasn't encountered anything with enough psychic power to coordinate the entire race.


....am i making any sense here? I'm very tired at the moment.

woah....i guess i AM too tired right now.

Inquisitorial Agents will be by shortly to erase any evidence of this double post from your memory. Resistance will be met with lethal force.

[Cagarner]

The hive ship is the primary Synapse organism for the Hive. Thats why tyranid tactics in space use a meat sheild to protect the hive ship. The hive ship is the most important organism within a hive fleet. It is a common tactic used is to try and take out the hive ship, because once it is removed, the hive link with the hive mind is weakened or cut off altogether.

The Nord Queens are created within the hive ship. They rain down on a planet in small numbers in the peak of an invasion. Hord queens are a lesser organism to the hive ship.

Ha, the Broadcaster ship. I like that name.

[Inquisitor Ralei]

If you want a truly detailed picture of Tyranid anatomy then get Xenology, it gives indepth dissections of a Lictor, Warrior, Genestealer, and Ripper.

Fluff like that in Imperial Armour 4:The Anphelion Project suggest that some Magos Biologis thought that all Tyranid organisms derive from Rippers but was proven to be incorrect by Space Marine Scout parties.

In Xenology, Magos Biologis Darvus finds that the "Ripper Sac" is a common trait in all the Tyranid specimens he dissects and concludes that they are "the lowest common denominator" and thus the perfect place to start for a virus that would wipe the Tyranids out without them being able to adapt.
Of course, you then have the problem of the dying Norn Queen in that Hive Fleet sending out a psychic signal for other Queens to calve so you would need some sort of psychic disruption to prevent this.
Or you could just let it happen confident in the knowledge that no Tyranid organism can adapt to it since it targets such an integral part of their anatomy.

[Sushicat69]

Hey

I always thought people called them bugs because it's become trendy with starship troopers to refer to any mass swarming xeno with hive like socio tendacies as a "bug".

as far as the look From the old mini's look like a xeno dino kind of thing but the newer minis seem to pull heavy influace from "zerg" and "aliens". So I'd bet the mini design just changed as new influances guided them.

as far as the hive mind I always took it like the internet. It's not one big computer out there sending out signals but the voice of all the individual computer users swarming together. in the nid case this combind voice becomes the consiousness of the whole. like sentient self aware spam :P scary I know.

[Stubber]

Originally Posted by Sushicat69

as far as the hive mind I always took it like the internet. It's not one big computer out there sending out signals but the voice of all the individual computer users swarming together. in the nid case this combind voice becomes the consiousness of the whole. like sentient self aware spam :P scary I know.

And Tyrants, Norn Queens, etc. are the service providers.
That means with my crappy 32kbs dial-up I'd be a Ripper.