Forming a new ][ game with buds- Advice on Kroot pls

[Zhai Morenn]

Well, I managed to talk my buds into getting a campaign of ][ in 40k scale started instead of DnD. It looks like I will be playing as Kroot since Eldar don't get to appear this game. A few of my buds are phobic of Eldar- I think they've gotten spanked a few times too many in BFG and 40k by the pointys so I will be forced to pick a non-eldar race (big big sad face on my end).

So I chose Kroot Mercs, 3 of them under the shadowy employ of a Demiurg "Foreman". My buds like the idea and are encouraging me to use the Kroot models I've made that look like Predators. Odds are they will get enhancements or weapons of demiurg origin that fit their theme like shoulder mounted plasma pistols and collapsing fighting spears/blades (someone even proposed some sort of stealth field but I'm thinking I'll pass and stick with just stealthiness on that count), and since the other's are all getting roughly twice as many characters at least, we came up with this idea and I'd like everyone's opinions:

Each of my 3 Kroot will be shapers and will have specially evolved traits and adaptations (prolly gonna use stuff from the Xeno ability table). Now here's the idea- As the campaign progresses, if one of my Kroot dies, his comrades will attempt to retrieve his corpse and eat it to preserve his legacy to the species. In following battles, the surviving Kroot who consumed their comrade will begin to exhibit additional traits and abilities which their comrade had possessed. I'm thinking that one Kroot will be a Shaman (psyker), another will have chameleon skin & venom and the third will be tougher and stronger than average.

I'm still really new to the ][ scene so any advice or commentary would be wonderful.

[Ynek]

In order for a kroot to gain a selective trait from it's food, it requires repeated exposure to it, not just a one-off meal.

If a kroot ate an astropath, it wouldn't suddenly start exhibiting psychic powers. But if a kroot ate nothing but astropaths for a month or so, it would probably start showing signs of psychic ability.

This is best illustrated in the Xenology book. (Or xeno-biology. I can't remember the name, but it was a beautifully illustrated background book by GW.) The book is written as the diary of an Inquisitor studying xenos in a deserted inquisitorial palace.
Eventually, the medicae officer started to befriend a kroot carnivore who was a prisoner in the palace. He started to see him as a pet.
Over the weeks, the medicae officer started to let the kroot out of his cell at night to sweep the corridors, insisting that the kroot was harmless. However, one night, he snuck away and ate the Inquisitor's astropath.
So, the inquisitor had him shot, and dissected by the Medicae officer.
The medicae officer discovered that the kroot displayed an abnormally-high white blood cell count... A common trait of psykers (according to the book), but the kroot still did not appear to have any other signs of psyker-ability.

This displays that the kroot HAS adapted ever so slightly to be closer to a psyker, but it is only in a tiny degree. It would take months of eating psykers to start to develop psychic abilities.

So, in a nutshell, Kroot would need continuous exposure to a given genetic stimulus to be changed by it.

When I use kroot in campaigns, I tend not to use any rules for gaining genetic traits from their foes.... But I often do have kroot steal wargear from their fallen foes...

[Exitas-Acta-Probat]

true enough, they do need continued exposure in order to assimilate genetic traits, but hey, in the the interests of the spirit of the game, i think its a rockin` idea. my only regret is that you had had it first!

ps: i love the predator theme thing....any chance of a photo or two?

[Mike KK]

my mates are getting me into inq campaign at my local, the gm is store manager, and its my first time playing so im just getting the hang of the rules are and such, me and my mates share a warband with his crazed inq, that has uncanny bladed card throwing card skills :D, hes also going to be gd at bluffing ppl. he's teamed up with a rogue tau shas'ui in a customed stealth suit and two kroot. im into mainly for chance to scratch built the kroot and tau guy.

anyway i wanted a sniper kroot and a combat support kroot, was thinking of giving him mega fast reflexes to represent his strong sinew arms and maybe he ate lots of eldar. probs going to give him power weapon and weapon to the effect of a chainsaw.


just wondering what i can use to represent this?