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So I'm just sitting here, wondering how I can add a little flourish to my Tyranid bases which are set on a planet that's already been consumed by them (purple dust/slate and puddles of orange goop) and consider adding some skeletal remains.

I can't think of any way to elegantly segue in to the question from here, so please, just read the thread title.

Your replies are much appreciated.

I see no reason why Tyranids wouldn't eat bones. They eat all biomass, bones are biomass.

They consume all bio-mass, so yes.

Yes they do. the Tyranids consume ALL biomass. bones, flesh, blood, grass, you name it they consume it.

Well, back to the drawing board.

With a consumed world, you're pretty much limited to rocks, tyranid digestive goop, and interestingly patterned dirt.

That said, there are some very interesting things you can do with rocks.

Depends. Most work with Space Marine's I've seen has had their bones left behind along with their armor, just everything picked clean. Likely due to the ceramic bones.

So your Nids could be standing on top of some unfortunate members of the Emperor's Scythes.

Ooh yeah, I didn't consider using armour. I've got a bunch of random Eldar that I will never play with absolutely under any circumstances whatsoever no matter what (I hate them so much) that I could use.

Edit: gak, Eldar armour is organic, isn't it?

Well, it depends on your definition of organic.

Is it based on carbon molecules? Maybe. But it was never part of a living creature in that respect - it's a crystal structure that 'grows' under the right stimulus.

Tyranids even consume the atmosphere and soil of the planets they devour, leaving nothing but lifeless bedrock.

On a world that has been "fully" scoured, there isn't going to be much left aside from rock, some dust and a few pools of digestive ooze. Nothing else, not even an atmosphere.

Even metals and various other "non-organic" elements are taken (to the point where the planet is noticeably smaller in mass after a thorough feeding session).

That said, particularly tough items, such as ceramite armour, perhaps Wraithbone, maybe even a fused rib-cage or two, may require a trip to a digestion pool or the attentions of a Pyrovore to properly finish off, so you could have resilient stuff laying around as decoration.

Far more interesting might be making use of Rippers (and any other interesting looking feeder organisms you can think of; the Tyranids use far more than just the basic Ripper) to depict the actual feeding process. Have a dead Marine with his limbs still encased in armour but his chest ripped open and some Rippers going to town on the flesh and bone?

Piles of partially digested corpses (borrowed from a Zombie set?) next to a digestion pool?

Loads of possibilities here.

They eat everything that has an organic composition, so yes, bones are happily consumed.

BrianDavion wrote:
Yes they do. the Tyranids consume ALL biomass. bones, flesh, blood, grass, you name it they consume it.

All I can think of is the tyranids invading a calm world that is just plant life,carnifexes tacking trees, trygons munching on grass. Just a bunch of these massive monstrosities gnawing on plants.

paranoidhawklet wrote:

BrianDavion wrote:
Yes they do. the Tyranids consume ALL biomass. bones, flesh, blood, grass, you name it they consume it.

All I can think of is the tyranids invading a calm world that is just plant life,carnifexes tacking trees, trygons munching on grass. Just a bunch of these massive monstrosities gnawing on plants.

That's very funny actually.

You could have the bodies of the last survivors (whole, diced or sliced up to you) and have them look like they have been dragged along the dirt.

Try give the impression that the last of the defenders have fallen and are being dragged back to the proccessors or whatever nids do.

On the same theme that Swastakowey points out above, you could also have a scenario where the Ordo Xenos or some other Imperial body has sent in teams to capture tyranid organisms. Perhaps a Magos Biologis has a theory about the end-stage Tyranid lifeforms and so a crack squad has been sent in to capture said gribbly. Unfortunately that doesn't stop them from also being captured and devoured for biomass but there are plenty of reasons to explain a few bones lying around that haven't been completely consumed in a digestion pool yet.

Considering WE eat bones, Nids would have no issues with it.

Another question, would be why the Tyranids are still kicking around on a "fully consumed" planet. I mean, whom are they fighting?

I agree with the above, that partially digested things, dead bodies, things being eaten by feeder organisms... all that good stuff. That would make for good bases.

 PrehistoricUFO wrote:

paranoidhawklet wrote:

BrianDavion wrote:
Yes they do. the Tyranids consume ALL biomass. bones, flesh, blood, grass, you name it they consume it.

All I can think of is the tyranids invading a calm world that is just plant life,carnifexes tacking trees, trygons munching on grass. Just a bunch of these massive monstrosities gnawing on plants.

That's very funny actually.

funny because it's true.

Well, not really - Rippers and Malanthropes are usually the only things hanging round on undefended worlds.

Another scenario is that the Tyranids have not completed the harvesting process. Perhaps one organism specializes in soft tissue, leaving the bones for another organism to clean up.