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Well, can they? Part of a developing idea of mine, and im pondering whether or not it would be possible. I mean, Kroot can be very picky about what they eat, so it wouldnt be from that, but saw the master shapers and the like were impregnated? Would that be the foundations of a workable Cult?

Thanks for your comments

....That would be weird.

It's an interesting idea, one that I don't think GW has approached yet. I personally don't see why not unless the Kroot have dedicated members of their society who give birth in which case it might need to be one of them who gets impregnated\infected by the genestealer.

To be fair, I don't see why not. After all, it's feasible, and that alone is reason to suspect it may have happened.

ComputerGeek01 wrote:It's an interesting idea, one that I don't think GW has approached yet. I personally don't see why not unless the Kroot have dedicated members of their society who give birth in which case it might need to be one of them who gets impregnated\infected by the genestealer.

This. Its an interesting idea indeed. Maybe a kroot war sphere ship checks out a derelict and wakes up a genestealer nest? Before they can separate the ships the ship becomes infested itself and eventually all the kroot on board become infected or killed. Then makes its way to the nearest suitable population center to infest.

If they have jeans, they can be stolen. Kroot just happen to wear very stretchy jeans that can be stained by whatever they happen to have been eating.
Jeanstealers don't care who the jeans used to belong to. They steal them.

Personally I don't think it would happen as the Kroot are very vigilant about their genetics and Shapers have a unique ability to identify genetic traits within their kindred.

So even if a Shaper and his kindred was infected they would probably be instantly recognised as tainted as soon as they got near another shaper or Kroot Kindred.

That's just what I think though.

That's a very good point. It'd have to all or 'shun'.

Arctik_Firangi wrote:That's a very good point. It'd have to all or 'shun'.

There is a specific story describing Kroot coming upon slain Tyranids, and their leader not allowed them to feast upon the corpses. Couldn't tell you when or where, either a Chapter Approved or the Tau Dex.

The incident is not a story but part of the novel "For the Emperor" by Sandy Mitchell (first Ciaphas Cain novel, best one on Tau so far).

And yes, Shapers smell the Tyranid taint and forbid their kindred to eat it. Every shaper is trained to do exactly that. While you might think it possible that one single shaper might fail epicly, not all shapers will ever be that incompetent. Other kindreds will kill a tainted kindred on sight.

BTW as both Genestealers and Kroot have biological mechanisms to extract and modify other's DNA, noone can tell what would happen in such a molecular war. Might as well be that the Kroot win, sounds highly instable in any case.

In the first cain book, a regular kroot was able to taste the corruption of the gene-seed by the genestealers.

A shaper would be far more capable of this. The gene-stealer infected kroot would be killed. Theoretically speaking, it's possible, but like with Orks it's highly unlikely that the infected individual would last long.

Melissia wrote:In the first cain book, a regular kroot was able to taste the corruption of the gene-seed by the genestealers.

Actually, he WAS a shaper, see page 301 bottom.

The Shaper would have the Kroot avoid any bad meat, so they can control the evolution of the Kindred. Now if the Shaper was killed while fighing Genestealers.....after eating the Genestealer meat would probably be gunned down As soon as another Shaper found them.

Warboss Imbad Ironskull wrote:Personally I don't think it would happen as the Kroot are very vigilant about their genetics and Shapers have a unique ability to identify genetic traits within their kindred.

So even if a Shaper and his kindred was infected they would probably be instantly recognised as tainted as soon as they got near another shaper or Kroot Kindred.

That's just what I think though.

I agree with Ironskull. At best, you might get a handful of infected running off and living away from the rest of the tribe until they die off from some cause or another. They would be completely incapable of using the normal genestealer cult tactic of infiltration.

Kroothawk wrote:

Melissia wrote:In the first cain book, a regular kroot was able to taste the corruption of the gene-seed by the genestealers.

Actually, he WAS a shaper, see page 301 bottom.

Ah. There were so many footnotes it's hard to remember all of them, heh.

What if the shaper becomes infectded and tricks the other kroot?

blood reaper wrote:What if the shaper becomes infectded and tricks the other kroot?

Possibly this could work but as stated. As soon as another shaper got near any infected they would sense the taint. Not impossible but kroot are likely one of the best prepared races to root out gene stealers.

Arctik_Firangi wrote:If they have jeans, they can be stolen. Kroot just happen to wear very stretchy jeans that can be stained by whatever they happen to have been eating.
Jeanstealers don't care who the jeans used to belong to. They steal them.

The question that pops up in my mind is what happens when the Hive Mind gets a big serving of Kroot? Does this mean Nids can evolve on the fly? For example, would a Termagaunt be able to eat a bird or two and sprout wings instead of having to be redigested and re-arranged by the Hive?

Lucid wrote:The question that pops up in my mind is what happens when the Hive Mind gets a big serving of Kroot? Does this mean Nids can evolve on the fly? For example, would a Termagaunt be able to eat a bird or two and sprout wings instead of having to be redigested and re-arranged by the Hive?

Except it doesn't work that way for Kroot either.

If the genestealers (jeanstealers) got all of the shapers in say, a mercenary group it would work, but then there would be no point, otherwise it wouldn't work.

Like previously mentioned, I think the Kroot as a species are uniquely prepared to withstand a genestealer infection/cult. The genetic deviance would be recognized and likely destroyed. If an individual or group went undetected somehow, they'd still be suspect within Kroot society and likely rooted out. I don't picture Kroot society as a large democratic civilization that allows dissenting bodies (which is what a cult usually manifests as publicly). Due to their genetic and societal safeguards, I'd say they are one of the least likely to get G-culted.

That's my opinion anyways.

For those who don't know a part of the Kroots genetic code is blank. This allows them to eat an organism and identify specific traits within their preys genetic code, if a shaper identifies a trait that is usefull (most likely by eating the flesh himself and examining it internally) he will command his kindred (or members within the kindred) to eat that specific prey and absorb the specific trait into their own genetic code. This dosen't manifest in the kroot emmediatly (such as the wing example given above), instead the shaper will have members of the kindred that have ingested that specific trait to breed passing it on to their offspring. It may take a few generations for the trait to physically manifest within the kindred.

Now I think the factor that would allow a kroot (of any kind but more specfically shapers) to sense a tainted Kroot is smell. The kroot do not urinate or defficate and anything that can't be digested is regurgitated or released through an oily swet. In addition to this Kroot can communicate their mood by altering their smell (in the old codex the example was given of a Kroot exuding a scent that was humorous to it's fellows but almost caused the Water Caste member nearby to hurl). So I think that if a kroot was tainted with genestealer genetics then those around it would litterally smell the taint.

Now as for what was said earlier about genestealers absorbing genetic material of a Kroot and being able to sprout wings it is possible under extreme circumstances in the case of the Ymgarl Genestealers who manifest spontanious physical alterations. Now if Ymgarl Genestealers reproduce the same way as other Genestealers by implanting their genetic material into a given creature then the Ymgarls could do so with a kindred (assuming that kindred was completly taken over and remained isolated from other kindreds) which would then breed giving birth to Ymgarl Kroot hybrids that could probably have the ability to sprout wings if the genetic trait was present in the parent Kroot.