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Hiya, working on a report for my RP group and I need to know what the genus group designation whatsit that is applied to navigators. I know Ogryn are HOMO SAPIENS GIGANTUS, Ratlings are HOMO SAPIENS MINIMUS and Squats are HOMO SAPIENS ROTUNDUS, but what about Navigators, whom are confirmed humans and a step in human evolution?

I'm not aware of any official name.

My take is that the variety designation is reserved for officially-recognized abhuman mutations (I think this has some support in the new rulebook). I speculate that the concept of "abhuman" itself originated during the Great Crusade, when Terrans found that humanity had changed among the stars. Navigators and astropaths were of course part of society before Terrans discovered (or rediscovered) these abhuman populations.

It seems likely to me that the official antipathy toward mutation developed during the Great Crusade as well, with abhumans earning a reputation for resisting compliance -- not to mention the stark horror of encountering mutated humans. The variety name would therefore indicate sanction by otherwise intolerant and suspicious "pure strain" humanity -- like an official adoption "back" into the human race.

As I said, navigators and astropaths would have been part of Terran society before the Great Crusade and, in my theory, the creation of the abhuman variety designations that signified sanctioned mutation. In this case, they would never have needed the "adoption" signified by a variety designation. And, given the ignominity of abhuman status, I doubt they would desire one, either. So while navigators and astropaths are clearly mutants, I would guess that they are established enough and powerful enough to escape this classification and the social prejudice (at least at the surface level) that goes along with it.

For RP purposes, I'd suggest that a navigator or astropath (or even a sanctioned psyker) would be gravely offended at the notion of having a variety designation other than sapiens.

Navigators are too important to be given an abhuman classification...they are Navigators, nothing more, nothing less. As for Astropaths...psykers represent Mankind's as-of-yet incomplete evolution, so they'd still be Human, seeing as all Humans would be psykers...eventually. If the Emperor were around, I'd say a few centuries...on current trends, millions of years. Not to mention the Emperor was a psyker...anyone who'd try to give an abhuman designation to the psykers would have to brand the Emperor an abhuman as well...he/she would be a dead man...if he/she was lucky.

Go with Fishmen, Brook! FISHMEN!

I think in Void Stalker Talos calls it Homo Sapien Occulus

Harriticus wrote:I think in Void Stalker Talos calls it Homo Sapien Occulus

Oooh, now that one I like and sounds plausible as well.

It's a tad blatant don't you think? I mean, it's not even a little witty, like the other names.

Manchu wrote:It's a tad blatant don't you think? I mean, it's not even a little witty, like the other names.

Who says it has to be witty?

I like it.

Homo Sapien Occulus just rolls off the tongue.

This isn't about being witty, I just need a scientific name that I can put in my report to my fellow Navy officers.

Oh then it doesn't matter, Homo sapiens occulus would do fine.

Believe me, if this was a regular Rogue Trader session and we had a navigator in the party I wouldn't be insulting him / her, for fear of getting the evil eye!

Yeah, calling the navigator an abhuman is not a good idea.

Mind, this isn't an abhuman designation, IIRC, Astartes get a sciency name of their own. Can't remember it, but they got one as well.