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Tyranids are like smart people to stupid people, you will never understand them unless you are one.

They are easily understood, they are locusts. They exists in a constant state of consumption, using every resource to it maximum potentional. They are like soldier ants, their collective intelligance forming a hive mind capable of stategy and cunning.

My understanding is that tyranids operate psychologically using their natural instincts. As they don't have a personality to exploit, they cannot be corrupted by chaos. The collected consciousness of the tyranid race forms the hive mind, which evolves based on the input/experience of it's members.

The one exception is the swarmlord, it is self aware and its consciousness is preserved when it dies.

Mr Nobody wrote:The one exception is the swarmlord, it is self aware and its consciousness is preserved when it dies.

Yeah he is truly immortal. A semi independently acting conciousness that is still part of the hive mind. But every time defeated retains the memories of those fights and once regrown learns from those defeats. Like some sort of biological terminator..

The swarmlord is not unique. All synapse creatures are fully sentient and immortal. They are like Cylons: They get resurrected.
Basically, we are doomed.

KamikazeCanuck wrote:The swarmlord is not unique. All synapse creatures are fully sentient and immortal. They are like Cylons: They get resurrected.
Basically, we are doomed.

All Tyranids have degrees of sentience, but most of them are still slaved to the hive mind. Even the Swarmlord is, to a degree. To quote the 5th edition codex:

Indeed, the Swarmlord was created with the express purpose of out-thinking the enemy and developing new strategies. To this end, the Swarmlord possesses a glimmer of autonomy, moreso than any other Tyranid creature.

Maybe the tyranids will be so huge and out of control, they start to have a civil war WHILE all the other forces, xeno and man, gang together and start taking all of them out. That would be great

ironhand45 wrote:Maybe the tyranids will be so huge and out of control, they start to have a civil war WHILE all the other forces, xeno and man, gang together and start taking all of them out. That would be great

Improbable but would indeed be something to see.

ironhand45 wrote:Maybe the tyranids will be so huge and out of control, they start to have a civil war WHILE all the other forces, xeno and man, gang together and start taking all of them out. That would be great

NO! Did you not read any post before this one? They have something called a hive mind

KamikazeCanuck wrote:NO! Did you not read any post before this one? They have something called a hive mind

Exactly hive mind would just tell one Hive fleet to sit there and be eaten.

BUT! What if the hive mind tells them to do this? And then the tyranids form clans to kill each other! And maybe! The xenos and imperium thought it would be smart, just for a little bit, to join up and kill the tyranids to make life a little easier. Like the Chinese civil war when the communists and capitalist join together to defend against the Japanese invasion during World War 2.

Not Gonna happen IMO

But what if?

Id grab some popcorn and watch the show! sell tickets to it too!

Sure will!

It would be like deliberately sitting there, punching yourself in the face.

Emo tyranids? that doesn't make any sense.

Mr Nobody wrote:Emo tyranids? that doesn't make any sense.

Sigged

YAY!

Anyways, the only way Tyranid civil war would be plausible is if the species became spread out and multiple hive minds could be formed over extended periods of time. When they collide, they wouldn't mesh back together, basically a psychic case of speciation.

Bum. Just wrote exactly what Mr Nobody has posted above. Even thought of it as speciation.

But that's an easy way of getting anti-nid nids, which means a player could come up with their own colour scheme, a few characteristics to set them apart (antennae, spikes etc), and let all hell break loose.

Might be the way out for the galaxy.

Hive Fleets have been known to fight each other, but only so the weaker gets absorbed. A fight that has a net waste of 0%.

Mr Nobody wrote:Anyways, the only way Tyranid civil war would be plausible is if the species became spread out and multiple hive minds could be formed over extended periods of time. When they collide, they wouldn't mesh back together, basically a psychic case of speciation.

Can you cite a source for this "multiple Hive Minds" theory?

Xyptc wrote:

Mr Nobody wrote:Anyways, the only way Tyranid civil war would be plausible is if the species became spread out and multiple hive minds could be formed over extended periods of time. When they collide, they wouldn't mesh back together, basically a psychic case of speciation.

Can you cite a source for this "multiple Hive Minds" theory?

It's not a theory. It's an idea.

DA's Forever wrote:

KamikazeCanuck wrote:NO! Did you not read any post before this one? They have something called a hive mind

Exactly hive mind would just tell one Hive fleet to sit there and be eaten.

That kind of happens already, after a planet is defeated by the Tyranid the 'nids left on the ground stand there while the rippers eat them and everything else, super obedient I would say. Id be the Hive Tyrand slapping the around with my bonesword as long as I could to make a game out of it!

As Klawz said, Tyranid Hive Fleets have been known to fight each other (sadly, can't remember where I read this). The stronger fleet consumes the weaker one, absorbing all its biomass and any information accrued by the weaker fleet.

Gus_Papas wrote:As Klawz said, Tyranid Hive Fleets have been known to fight each other (sadly, can't remember where I read this). The stronger fleet consumes the weaker one, absorbing all its biomass and any information accrued by the weaker fleet.

I think these are when the main fleet has been defeated and there arent many synapse creatures. Since they are separated from the hive mind, they are absorbed into the dominant fleet for bio mass, they arent really a fleet so they get brought into the ACTUAL fleet.

A theory could develope here, but in rare cases could Tyranid be separated from the hive mind and after a while start developing a much less powerful hive mind? This would explain why they would fight the larger much more powerful fleet and not instantly fall in line to a synapse creature.

Something to think about maybe? A potential IoM created hive fleet controlled by the god emperor or LOTS of psykers!!!!!

There's a 4chan story where Eldrad uses his psychic abilities to simulate the Hive Mind and 'repurposes' a Hive Tyrant...