Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Hello. We are having a campain and we are requiered to send in some fluff piece.

Now, all tyranid fluff is always from the imperiel perspective. We see some Xenos conversations, often Ork, Eldar or Necrons in the books but newer tyranids. I understand that there is a linguistics barrier since they communicate telepaticaly.

However I got an idea when I play Dawn of War retribution. While they do not speak as sutch the hive mind gives very simple oneword instructions to the hive tyrant. The game breaks the "4th wall" when they give you ingame instructions for what to do on a mission. On one you need to get to an old digestive pool so you can quickly be reborn from another one. Aparantly your re-incarnation takes longer if you die. Now this makes sence as you are playing a Hive Tyrant and they do have a sentience about themself from the Tyranid 5th edition Codex. It would seem that the Hive Tyrant is a to component entety, his sentience and his body. When he gets re-incarnated his sentience is shaped into his body as he is hatched from whatever the Hive Tyrants are hatching in. I am going to go for a "rebirth pool" for now until somebody else sugest a better name.

I really like this concept. And while the rest of the hive mind is mindless one component monsters, that are a dime a dossen, only contributing to the hive mind web, the Hive Tyrants at least is something more then this. In essence the Hive Tyrant share a lott of atributes from Hindu religion/mythology with the soul returning to the source of where it came until it gets reborn again. (Something Matrix 2 was influenced from regarding the life of the various programs.)

My question is: Would it be OK to write a first person perspective fluff from the emergent thoughts if the Hive Tyrant as he is coming out of the pool? Or would that be unfluffy?

I, personally, would really like to see something like this

It would be hard to make work, and a lot of people would call it unfluffy but if you pull it off correctly it could be really good.

You could use it from the Swarmlords perspective....if anyone has sentience its that beast!

I think thats a pretty cool take on it. I say go for it.

Do anybody know a good word for "consume" besides consume? Is there a word for when food in the stomac stops being food and starts becomming part of you?

Well there's digest, integrate, I'd need to see the sentence you were using it in for context.

OK. I have a first atemt here. Please give me some critique and feedback. It is hard to write since I need to make so mutch of this up on the go. GW has not given us mutch to work with. The story takes place in the gehenna sector.

"I become aware that my organs are pumping fluids through my mass once again. The call of conflict has gifted my essence with mass. Churning inside the pods fluids the need of me is filling my void:

*Observe – Plan – Invade*

Once again am the nexus to orchestrate the great satiation. These extracorporeal will once again try to resist the envelopment, other vice I would not be here again. I am here to be the instrument for our will.

The tendrils of senses flowed into me as my essence returns to this world of form. As my organs develop I am growing aware of myself. And later on my senses develop. They tell me of the world around me. The birthing pool I am in is feeding me nourishment. I am growing slowly…hatching over a long time. This is not a time of great stress; we want me to be strong. The warm fluids infuse me with gifts. Lesser beings sub come to my command as our bodies’ fuses into one form.

This nirvana of growth is broken as I become aware of the passing of time. The synapses of form sparks me into consciousness. It begins to branch out to the other forms. The tendrils of our essence reveals to me secrets as my synapses are able to manage them. First I sense we are still in a void husk. I can feel the inside of this landscape. All of its organs are dormant. Its senses are flooding into me. The other void husks join my synapses. We are drifting through the void. Stretching the tendrils longer I sense the deluded once. They have made contacts, the first circulation of the envelopment. They call this place Gehenna. They have infiltrated it and they are now drawing us in. All will be enveloped. They know us as the Leviathan, I remember know. They have resisted before, and they have tireless guns to battle our tireless bodies. It matters not. A plan will be made.

I stretch out the tendrils of my synapse and realize that the deluded have showed us much. There are others here. Others are closing in. Even some of our siblings. Indeed it was wise to call me forth. I start to cycle my consciousness through the great network of essence. As I grow I manage to draw more and more into me and hold it for longer. The envelopment will go on and we will grow.

*Observe – Plan – Invade*"

interesting, without taking grammar into count (I never do) it is quite intriguing. I like it.

Hehe, I am a dysletix. Grammar is like an abstrakt background noice I am afraid. Ideas for what else that could make it better would be apreciated. Are the words used conprehensible. Do you understand what is going on or is it just a bunch of gibberish? For instance, is it OK to call genestealers for the deluded once?

Oh don't worry, I understand Dyslexia, my mother has it. and I've often wondered if my bad grammar is a result of that or poor education in that specific subject.

Tyranids dont have individual consciousness. There is no sentience outside the hive mind. In game terms, they had to make a mechanic where one could control character.

Tyrants or synapse creatures broadcast the hive sentience and help formulate the communal brain power of all the creatures. They are not individuals. Multiple tyrants will act as one. Synapse creatures dont control each other as much as think together. Even when tyranid hive fleets encounter each other they form a hybrid consciousness.

Zephoid: With the notible exeption of the 5th edition codex Hive Tyrants and the Swarm Lord. Possible others but I do not know the tyranid fluff enough.

Remember the golden rule of 40k, everything is cannon, yet nothing is. If you want to write a fluff piece from the perspective of a Tyrant, go for it.

And yes, there is evidence in source material that at the least the highest levels of the Tyranid Hive Fleet are capable of some degree of independent thought. Although it is cross-referencing fiction, it is sort of like why the Reapers allow Saren to retain so much individuality during the first mass effect. Fundamentally, the tighter you keep the leash, the less useful the pet. So it is entirely reasonable that high-level Tyranid organisms have at least some degree of independence while still being part of the hive mind. Also, because of instinctive behaviour, it is not unreasonable to assume that even lower level organisms are capable of independent thought, although only on the level equivalent to some sort of feral beast.

Perhaps it would be better to write it as a portion of a greater mind. Actually writing of things happening as if it was all one.

Think of the Borg only less logical more hungry.

Here's some fluff for you,

And the Great Devourer spake thusly,

OMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOM - Chapter VXI, Verse VI from the book of Nom

RegalPhantom wrote:
Also, because of instinctive behaviour, it is not unreasonable to assume that even lower level organisms are capable of independent thought, although only on the level equivalent to some sort of feral beast.

The way it's described in the codex is lesser beasts instinctive behaviour is basically 'do your job'. If they're meant to run headlong into the enemy guns, without synapse, that's all they'll do. If they're meant to sit around a capillary tower and defend it, that's all they'll do. Synapse is there to organise them into a fighting force, instinctive behaviour is there as a 'backup' so that, while not being able to think for themselves, they at least know their job, kind of like an automoton. If synapse is lost, the local swarm will at least be able to to its job at a fundamental level until synapse is restored.

Ther main issue with the hive mind is it's never actually described in any detail. It makes writing your own fluff hard because while they might leave it nebulous for this reason, it also makes it hard to do if you're trying to stay close to official fluff. Not knowing where the line is makes it hard to stay on the right side if that's what you want to do. Cruddace really changed the concept when he introduced slivers of free will into the Hive Tyrants and Swarmlord - this just wasn't something that was in the 3rd/4th edition concept of the race, either because he didn't understand it himself or because he didn't like it and wanted to stick it to Kelly.

Scrap the first and last sentence and maybe expand on the grammer in what is now the first paragraph. More "we" less "I".

That was actually a damnable good start. Took me by surprise.

Yep that was a great start, I would gladly read it when completed.

This I would definitvly read much more of! Great work.

 sfshilo wrote:
More "we" less "I".

This had me thinking. The Tyrant (while being a massive synapse node) is not the hive mind itself. Maybe, to help differentiate between other tyrants of the hive and your specific tyrant's underlings, you could use "we" and "I". Use "we" when talking of other Tyrants or the hive in general (as they are either "equal" or greater parts of the same organism) and use "I" when speaking of your specific tyrant and its underlings (as they are really just extensions of its mind).

This just reminded me of Spiderman and symbiotes. Most of them refer to themselves as "we" (the human and the symbiote's consciousness acting as one). I also remember how fethed up it was when Carnage referred to himself as "I" (mfw this = O.o).

The deathleaper is also a good choice for story telling. In the codex it displayed real intelligence and forethought by conducting psychological warfare to break an enemy before the hive fleet even arrived.

I think an interesting struggle in the character narrative would be the struggle between "I" and "we" The Swarmlord has his own intelligence and fighting ability but his commands are merely a conduit of the hive mind. Maybe if the link the the hive was broken they would switch to "I".

You could always tell the story as a third person omniscient point of view. This way you could write it not as any one character but you could convey the feelings and inner thoughts of everyone. Think of it as March of the Penguins but with tyranids and still narrated by Morgan Freeman.

Also don't turn it into slash fan-fiction. I don't want to see a love triangle form between the Swarmlord, Calgar, and Cato. Team Swarmlord all the way.

I love this, it's brilliant actually. Like the other posters, I only had a few quibbles, mostly just straightening out more clearly the division between the consciousness inside the tyrant and the consciousness of the hive. I tried my hand at editing and making some small changes, just for kicks, hopefully you don't mind!

"Awareness. Organs are pumping fluids through capillaries and ducts once again. The call of conflict has gifted me with flesh. Churning inside fluid-filled pods, a need is filling the void in my nascent consciousness:

*Observe – Plan – Invade*

Once again I am a nexus, orchestrating the great satiation. The extra-corporeal will once more try to resist the envelopment, otherwise I would not be created again. I am here to be the instrument for a greater will.

The tendrils of senses flow into me as my essence returns to this world of form. As my limbs and organs develop I am growing aware of myself, my senses are gaining awareness of the outside, of the other bodies that we inhabit. The birthing pools are feeding us nourishment. The warm fluids infuse us with gifts. This nirvana of growth is broken as I become aware of the passing of time. We are growing slowly… hatching over a long period. This is not a time of great stress; we want these bodies to be strong.

The synaptic links solidify, sparking me into our consciousness. The lesser beings submit to my will, our bodies grow as one. That consciousness branches out to myriad other forms. The tendrils of our essence reveal Its secrets. First we are still in a void husk, indeed we are the void husk. We can feel the landscape inside. Our major organs are dormant as we drift across empty space. Now sensations from across the void are flooding in. Thoughts racing along an unbroken stream of massive husks floating through open space. We are drifting, but we are slowing now. We must be growing near.

The tendrils of thought stretch farther along our path, to the Deluded. They have made contact with the extra-corporeal, made the first circulation of the envelopment. The extra-corporeal call this place Gehenna. The Deluded have infiltrated it and they are now drawing us in. All will be enveloped. The extra-corporeal know us as the Leviathan, we remember now. They have resisted before. They are so soft and weak, but they have tireless guns to battle our tireless bodies. It matters not. We learn, we adapt, we envelop.

Synaptic tendrils stretch across empty space. The Deluded have shown us much. There are many Others here, many extra-corporeals. The Others are closing in on Gehenna. Even some of our siblings. Indeed it was wise to call us forth so early, to let us grow so strong. It is worth the resources, for there will be plenty to reclaim.

Our consciousness cycles through the great network of essence. In this central body I remain, a tiny sliver, barely separable from the vastness of us. I manage to draw more and more of us into me, and hold it for longer. Even now we seem to stretch out to infinity. The envelopment will go on and we will grow.

*Observe – Plan – Invade*"