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Since reading the Grey Knights codex, I've been toying with this idea exactly. What if a Grey Knight were implanted with genestealer DNA?

Being a potent but incorruptible psyker in his own right, would the Grey Knight be able to subvert a portion of the Hive Mind and thus form his own brood of Inquisitorial Genestealers? What would the Inquisition think of this? How would his own thinking about himself, his Chapter, his mission, his Emperor, change? Would he be a misunderstood hero, secretly striving to protect the Imperium even while being hunted by its agents? Would he be a deluded heretic, believing himself to be on the path of righteousness while in fact being an irredeemable villain?

I think that's a bastardization of the lore so foul Matt Ward wouldn't cross it.

From what i understand the hivemind would get him through toxins & what not as he was subverted via genestealer.

Now the idea itself i can see happening but only with a REALLY powerful Grey Knight. The average GK would likely fall prey to the hivemind but the baddest of them all could probably hold his own long enough to get it done.

Let's not forget that Genestealer cults are formed from the children of those infected with genestealer DNA.

A Grey Knight won't be having many of those, would he?

If knowingly corrupted, a Grey Knight would slit his own throat.

Their loyalty is such an absolute in 40K, its pretty much beyond question.

Varrick wrote: I think that's a bastardization of the lore so foul Matt Ward wouldn't cross it.

From what i understand the hivemind would get him through toxins & what not as he was subverted via genestealer.

Now the idea itself i can see happening but only with a REALLY powerful Grey Knight. The average GK would likely fall prey to the hivemind but the baddest of them all could probably hold his own long enough to get it done.

God DAMMIT, don't say things like that! Ward already has Draigo cavorting his way through Nurgle's Garden, we don't need the guy giving the Hivemind a psychic kick to the jewels!

If a Greyknight gets implanted with Genestealer DNA, one of two things happens.

1. He manages to kill himself before being mindcontrolled.
2. He becomes a pawn of the Hivemind.

A single being cannot withstand the might of the Hive Mind. That would be like a single Marine being able to withstand the might of 10 entire Chapters and all of their vehicles, serivtors and ships.

It's the children of the infected that are under the hive mind's influence not the original target the person normally doesn't realize what happened lives his life then his child is a monster.

Yer as already stated the genestealer cult doesn't work the way you think Feldenglas.

First a genestealer would have to get close to a grey knight:
why would a grey knight come into contact with one, they are designed to fight deamons, not aliens.

Second those infected by the genestealer do not show any signs of infection, they just breed and go goey eyed over their deformed offspring.

The genestealer infection takes successive generations to develop, grey knights do not breed in a normal sence so that is a massive flaw.

Grey knights would be regularly screened for biological, mental and psychic taint so any corruption would show up.

Genestealer cults need a genestealer prime as a nexus for the cult, it would be very hard for a genestealer to get onto a grey knight base/ship.

Also genestealer cults are only part of the hive mind for the brief time between the hive fleet entering the system and the world (and cult) being devoured.

BluntmanDC wrote:Yer as already stated the genestealer cult doesn't work the way you think Feldenglas.

First a genestealer would have to get close to a grey knight:
why would a grey knight come into contact with one, they are designed to fight deamons, not aliens.

Second those infected by the genestealer do not show any signs of infection, they just breed and go goey eyed over their deformed offspring.

The genestealer infection takes successive generations to develop, grey knights do not breed in a normal sence so that is a massive flaw.

Grey knights would be regularly screened for biological, mental and psychic taint so any corruption would show up.

Genestealer cults need a genestealer prime as a nexus for the cult, it would be very hard for a genestealer to get onto a grey knight base/ship.

Also genestealer cults are only part of the hive mind for the brief time between the hive fleet entering the system and the world (and cult) being devoured.

Actually, I could see a Grey Knight coming into contact with Genestealers in one of two fashions:

1. Raiding a Space Hulk to prevent a chaos incursion/retrieve artifacts.
2. Similar situation to one that was in the codex: Racing to grab a demonic artifact on a planet to stop a daemonic incursion while Tyranids are invading.

But honestly, you are correct about the issues with the Grey Knight hiding the infection. There is a wound involved with getting implanted and there's no way he'd be able to get away with hiding that wound. The other issues iwth breeding/etc may also cause problems.

To be honest, I can't recall of a situation in the fluff where any kind of Space Marine was infected by a Genestealer rather than killed.

Feldenglas wrote:Since reading the Grey Knights codex, I've been toying with this idea exactly. What if a Grey Knight were implanted with genestealer DNA?

Being a potent but incorruptible psyker in his own right, would the Grey Knight be able to subvert a portion of the Hive Mind and thus form his own brood of Inquisitorial Genestealers? What would the Inquisition think of this? How would his own thinking about himself, his Chapter, his mission, his Emperor, change? Would he be a misunderstood hero, secretly striving to protect the Imperium even while being hunted by its agents? Would he be a deluded heretic, believing himself to be on the path of righteousness while in fact being an irredeemable villain?

Dude, they are infused with EMPEROR'S DNA!!!
Their loyalty can be matched only by Custodes.
Marines can't have any kids and they would rather die then allow their flesh to fall upon corruption.
Now report to your local Commissar to get *BLAM* for even considering this.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

LoneLictor wrote:That would be like a single Marine being able to withstand the might of 10 entire Chapters and all of their vehicles, serivtors and ships.

Kaldor Draigo would ( want to bet )

LoneLictor wrote:A single being cannot withstand the might of the Hive Mind. That would be like a single Marine being able to withstand the might of 10 entire Chapters and all of their vehicles, serivtors and ships.

Lucius the Eternal could do it.

Hey, maybe that means a specially gifted Chaos tainted psyker could be able to undermine the Hive Mind!

the Genestealer hypnotizes its victims with its psychic powers.

Gks are resistant to psychic powers and don't reproduce in a manner that Genestealers could hijack(probably)


the Gk would likely hack the Genestealer to pieces before it managed to do anything.

If a genestealer somehow managed to implant the infection in a space marine, the space marine's body would probably fight it off. Or he'd see the apothecary and get treated. In either case the genestealer would be dead.

Besides, space marines are not good targets for infection in the first place. Poor people living in the underhive are good targets because they can't resist the genestealer, and the cult can remain hidden for a long time.

its impossible genestealers + grey knight = not possible

LoneLictor wrote:If a Greyknight gets implanted with Genestealer DNA, one of two things happens.

1. He manages to kill himself before being mindcontrolled.
2. He becomes a pawn of the Hivemind.

A single being cannot withstand the might of the Hive Mind. That would be like a single Marine being able to withstand the might of 10 entire Chapters and all of their vehicles, serivtors and ships.

but if their an Ultramarine they can....and would

wait what happens if the hivemind kills lucius, does lucius become the hive mind?

IIRC, DW states the modified body of a SM cannot be infected by Genestealer taint: not only their heightened immune system can easily fight off any sort of infection (and we can assume Gs inject some sort of virus bearing a recombining strain of DNA) (being able to overcome, up to a certain point, even warp-spawned plagues), but their genetic is incompatible with Gs DNA. And, as already stated, a SM wouldn't be the best carrier for the taint...

As for Lucius, isn't feeling some form of emotion at his killing required to be possessed and transformed into him? So, as multiple fluff sources state Tyranids have nothing in the way of emotions (as I doubt "hunger" can be considred a real emotion), I suppose that would be the end of him. Or maybe he would be reincarned/resurrected in some other way by his patron god.
On the other hand, if he was killed by a GS cultist, I suppose he could possess him/her(/it?) as they show, at least, some sort of parental affection towards their tainted offspring, so they would at least feel respite for having eliminated a menace for the brood.

Asherian Command wrote:wait what happens if the hivemind kills lucius, does lucius become the hive mind?

No, the Hivemind takes no pleasure in killing and Lucius stays dead.

LoneLictor wrote:If a Greyknight gets implanted with Genestealer DNA, one of two things happens.

1. He manages to kill himself before being mindcontrolled.
2. He becomes a pawn of the Hivemind.

A single being cannot withstand the might of the Hive Mind. That would be like a single Marine being able to withstand the might of 10 entire Chapters and all of their vehicles, serivtors and ships.

Why do I have the feeling that Draigo would be able to do this?

Personally, I think it would make a cool story...

LastCameTheRaven wrote:IIRC, DW states the modified body of a SM cannot be infected by Genestealer taint: not only their heightened immune system can easily fight off any sort of infection (and we can assume Gs inject some sort of virus bearing a recombining strain of DNA) (being able to overcome, up to a certain point, even warp-spawned plagues), but their genetic is incompatible with Gs DNA. And, as already stated, a SM wouldn't be the best carrier for the taint...

As for Lucius, isn't feeling some form of emotion at his killing required to be possessed and transformed into him? So, as multiple fluff sources state Tyranids have nothing in the way of emotions (as I doubt "hunger" can be considred a real emotion), I suppose that would be the end of him. Or maybe he would be reincarned/resurrected in some other way by his patron god.
On the other hand, if he was killed by a GS cultist, I suppose he could possess him/her(/it?) as they show, at least, some sort of parental affection towards their tainted offspring, so they would at least feel respite for having eliminated a menace for the brood.

This guy speaks the truth. SM cannot be infected by Genestealers. That all there is to this topic.

Alkasyn wrote:

LastCameTheRaven wrote:IIRC, DW states the modified body of a SM cannot be infected by Genestealer taint: not only their heightened immune system can easily fight off any sort of infection (and we can assume Gs inject some sort of virus bearing a recombining strain of DNA) (being able to overcome, up to a certain point, even warp-spawned plagues), but their genetic is incompatible with Gs DNA. And, as already stated, a SM wouldn't be the best carrier for the taint...

As for Lucius, isn't feeling some form of emotion at his killing required to be possessed and transformed into him? So, as multiple fluff sources state Tyranids have nothing in the way of emotions (as I doubt "hunger" can be considred a real emotion), I suppose that would be the end of him. Or maybe he would be reincarned/resurrected in some other way by his patron god.
On the other hand, if he was killed by a GS cultist, I suppose he could possess him/her(/it?) as they show, at least, some sort of parental affection towards their tainted offspring, so they would at least feel respite for having eliminated a menace for the brood.

This guy speaks the truth. SM cannot be infected by Genestealers. That all there is to this topic.

He doesn't even have to go that far. The child of the victim is the one that gets affected. Marines can't have children

Ayup. There's no feasible way, at all, for Genestealer Infected Astartes.

Could have sworn a Word Bearer was infected in the 2nd of the Word Bearer's novels. His fellows wised up pretty quick as did the infected Word Bearer. He asked to be put down, claimed he could feel his DNA being corrupted, and was quickly obliged.

Kaldor could probably pull it off and rip a second eye of terror into the universe escape out of it and simultaneously reroute every tyranid in existence into there to get there point bits jammed into the chaos legions squishy bits. Assuming Matt ward sticks around till the next Nid / GK dex.

so if I am not mistaken also, the hive mind shows up to psycher's, because they DON'T show up. know what I mean?

if you're looking at 10 people, but sense only 9 of them, then you kill the one you cannot sense. the hive mind blocks out astropaths, so an all psycher army like the GK, would be able to sense that block.

ANY GK would be able to sense this lack of presence. any genestealer cult near them in that close of a proximity would be destroyed.

although the Ordo Malleous is clandestined and bred to fight demons, bugs squish just as easy.

I think just about any GK candidate could fight off the call of the hive mind at least long enough to cry for death, or kill themselves one way or another.

an interesting theory, but its impossible unless they screw up the fluff any further.

The genestealer cult begins with the child of the infected one. So infecting a space marine would be pointless.

Rimmy wrote:so if I am not mistaken also, the hive mind shows up to psycher's, because they DON'T show up. know what I mean?

if you're looking at 10 people, but sense only 9 of them, then you kill the one you cannot sense. the hive mind blocks out astropaths, so an all psycher army like the GK, would be able to sense that block.

ANY GK would be able to sense this lack of presence. any genestealer cult near them in that close of a proximity would be destroyed.

although the Ordo Malleous is clandestined and bred to fight demons, bugs squish just as easy.

I think just about any GK candidate could fight off the call of the hive mind at least long enough to cry for death, or kill themselves one way or another.

an interesting theory, but its impossible unless they screw up the fluff any further.

Or that one person that the Psyker couldn't sense is a blank.

coolyo294 wrote:

Rimmy wrote:so if I am not mistaken also, the hive mind shows up to psycher's, because they DON'T show up. know what I mean?

if you're looking at 10 people, but sense only 9 of them, then you kill the one you cannot sense. the hive mind blocks out astropaths, so an all psycher army like the GK, would be able to sense that block.

ANY GK would be able to sense this lack of presence. any genestealer cult near them in that close of a proximity would be destroyed.

although the Ordo Malleous is clandestined and bred to fight demons, bugs squish just as easy.

I think just about any GK candidate could fight off the call of the hive mind at least long enough to cry for death, or kill themselves one way or another.

an interesting theory, but its impossible unless they screw up the fluff any further.

Or that one person that the Psyker couldn't sense is a blank.

exactly. I would imagine they would just shoot the blank.

of course, now that I think of it, if they sent in the grey knights into genestealer cults they could start weeding people out. gak we're been doing this all wrong! :lol

someone tell the Ordo Xenos to go get the Grey knights.......