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I forget which of the GSC books mention it, but there's another large factor in why humanity is so susceptible to cults: Humanity still(for the most part) has family units. Other species don't have the same connection to their offspring as humanity does: T'au children are raised by the Sept, Eldar offspring are rare, Dark Eldar prefer to propagate through cloning to keep Trueborn lines "clean", Orks are raised by their clan, etc. As such, humanity as a whole is more willing to protect and hide hybrids, mutants, etc. even if they know they're illegal/hunted.

The Deathwatch short story "Machine Spirit" features a kroot kindred compromised by a genestealer cult. So that's an example of it happening.

Also, there is an example of a Tau stealer cult in the old Inquisitor board game - the Tau Water Caste Negotiator character's background included the following:

"Shortly after the Ria'tan Convocation, Por'la uncovered information relating to a nascent Tyrannic cult within the families of Tash'va. The cult had perverted the T'au life-ritual of the Ta'lissera, a sacred bonding ceremony, into something far worse that culminated in the Genestealer's kiss."

The cult in question can't have been too large, because the purge he led involved a carnivore squad "armed to the teeth" from a fire caste armoury, meaning it was of a scale that 20 dudes with pulse carbines could deal with it provided they didn't care about collateral damage.

 Ketara wrote:
There's one Eldar book where it turns out the locals turned into Hybrids so as to avoid having their souls swallowed by Slaanesh. Decent enough read. Shows that it's certainly possible.

A neat idea. Was it successful? I suppose they're protected by the psychic blackout, right?

It was successful on protecting them from Slaanesh.

Speaking of Chaos, while Daemons are immune for obvious reasons, Genestealer Cults can be successful on worlds that are controlled by Chaos and inhabited by Chaos aligned mortals.

 Tyran wrote:
It was successful on protecting them from Slaanesh.

Speaking of Chaos, while Daemons are immune for obvious reasons, Genestealer Cults can be successful on worlds that are controlled by Chaos and inhabited by Chaos aligned mortals.

And CSM too, right? Thanks for answering.

It's probably been said, but the GSC codex actually talks about this:

Eldar have a very long reproductive cycle, making it difficult for the cult to properly reproduce. They're also all innately psychic, making it near impossible for the cult & its members to mask their presence and avoid discovery.

Dark Eldar have the gestation problem but not the psychic one. But the gestation one is a really huge issue, so it's one they may not be able to viably over-come in as crazed and violent a place as the Dark City.

Orks are numerous and disorganized, but passively root out 'un-orky' individuals with extreme prejudice. So while good on the surface, it's difficult for a cult to properly take root or spread.

Tau are functional hosts, however the lack of squalor / friction within their society can make it difficult for a cult to properly recruit & spread.

Humans are numerous, individualistic, and horrifically oppressed. This combined with their physical aspects (relatively gestation, decent amounts of physical variance) makes them ideal hosts. It's incredibly easy for a cult to begin in the deepest parts of human civilization, and that cult is likely to encounter many willing converts as it spreads unnoticed to the byzantine organization of human society.

Basically most races can be converted into Genestealer Cults, but many of them are degrees of difficult (or non-feasible in the case of Eldar) while humans are near perfect.

 Don Qui Hotep wrote:

 Tyran wrote:
It was successful on protecting them from Slaanesh.

Speaking of Chaos, while Daemons are immune for obvious reasons, Genestealer Cults can be successful on worlds that are controlled by Chaos and inhabited by Chaos aligned mortals.

And CSM too, right? Thanks for answering.

Astartes of any stripe make for poor long-term hosts.

Not only do they not breed (stymying the overall infection, as Brood Brothers cannot create more Brood Brothers directly), but given the close bonds, any unusual behaviour would be detected. Chapters and Traitors are also likely better informed about the threat posed by Genestealers, so one assumes there is genetic testing etc done after every action - particularly where only a few survive against the odds.

An interesting question is what, if anything, the gene curse does to gene seed. I’ve either forgotten about or never read background relating to such. It may be that nobody knows because due to the assumed testing, it’s never really been allowed to come to fruition.

In general summary? For a successful infiltration, the nascent cult needs....

1. The initial infection
2. A reasonably dense populace
3. A species which propagates with reliable frequency
4. A society with a social structure to be influenced and infiltrate.

Humanity more than covers these four loose requirements. Even if the initial Brood Brothers don’t hail from a suitably dense populace, humanity is always on the move. So within a relatively short period, they can travel to a world perhaps better suited (even infecting the crew of a transport ship)

There’s also an entirely hypothetical 5 - a species already predisposed to psychic members. Because it’s through psychic channels that the Patriarch maintains its influence, and eventually summons the Hive Fleet.

Why hypothetical? When it comes to Hybrids, they’re of varying degrees of Genestealer, which are an inherently psychic species. But if the parent species isn’t psychic? Who knows what the end result might be. It could be non-psychic Hybrids, or it could be the Genestealer part takes care of it entirely. It may also be the infection needs to be spread far wider for the same desired effect in a naturally psychic species. And indeed everything in between.

Again, humanity fulfils that requirement in spades. Indeed, given how many psychics are outcasts, they provide decent candidates for the Kiss - and I think we can reasonably assume the Patriarch’s influence would be sufficient to stop them using their talents in more dangerous, warp rift opening ways. After all, it’s the gene they’re mostly after, rather than any individuals given ability with that gene.

I suppose there’s also an associated threat of infecting a species which is too psychic. I mean if there’s any kind of low level psychic connection between the species members, there’s a distinct risk the alien thoughts and impulses compelling the Brood Brother’s actions and behaviour.

Humanity. We’re just the Goldilocks zone for Genestealers.

And real galaxy brain thinking? It could simply be our prolifigation throughout the Galaxy has influenced the Purestrain Genestealer? Possibly locked them in on us as the ideal host, despite being (theoretically) more flexible in the past?

locarno24 wrote:
The Deathwatch short story "Machine Spirit" features a kroot kindred compromised by a genestealer cult. So that's an example of it happening.

Is that the one where they crash the Thuderhawk and the Techmarine wanders off?

So my big question: Can a Sister of Battle "purify" herself through an act of faith, and rid herself of the parasite organism?

FezzikDaBullgryn wrote:
So my big question: Can a Sister of Battle "purify" herself through an act of faith, and rid herself of the parasite organism?

Possibly - but would she want to? Even is she knows she's infected she'd be under it's influence...

There's a tech-priest in one of the Cain novels who's infected but doesn't consciously know - but still avoids diagnostics, scans, etc. that would reveal it.

Cult of the Spiral Dawn, and its prequel short story Casts a Hungry Shadow, have an infected Sister of Battle.

Faith alone is a poor shield against the kiss.

beast_gts wrote:

FezzikDaBullgryn wrote:
So my big question: Can a Sister of Battle "purify" herself through an act of faith, and rid herself of the parasite organism?

Possibly - but would she want to? Even is she knows she's infected she'd be under it's influence...

There's a tech-priest in one of the Cain novels who's infected but doesn't consciously know - but still avoids diagnostics, scans, etc. that would reveal it.

Indeed. Being able to do something about it, and actually doing something about it, let alone being willing, are quite different things. And I dare say a source of constant frustration for parents of teenagers

The Kiss goes further, as it is actively subverting the will of the infected.

If you cannot want to do something, you basically cannot do it.

beast_gts wrote:

locarno24 wrote:
The Deathwatch short story "Machine Spirit" features a kroot kindred compromised by a genestealer cult. So that's an example of it happening.

Is that the one where they crash the Thuderhawk and the Techmarine wanders off?

That's the one.

Faith alone is a poor shield against the kiss.

Best example is the short story Incorruptible.
In it, a grey knight kill team turns up heavy-handed because they have confused reports that a grey knight ship has been attacked, and during the attack the brotherhood champion has gone bezerk and started slaughtering his battlebrothers.

They're afraid this is a daemonic incursion and it was the first/only case of a grey knight falling to chaos. It wasn't: it was a stealer infestation and the 'corruption' not daemonic but a literal case of biochemical xenomatter in the guy's brain hijacking his nervous system

I would have thought that Ork reproduction would be an interesting twist and probably more useful to a genestealer. If the gs managed to smuggle an infected Ork onto a humie planet;

An infected Ork eventually dies and releases their spores propogating several (dozens/hundreds?) of new orkoid hybrids. When each of those die, they release more hybrid spores until eventually purestrain genestealers erupt from the fungal pods.

Just think you could have hybrid snots, squigs, grots, orks and Squiggoths.

Depends if the Genestealer’s seed pod thing can affect Orky biology in that way?

It can, Ork hybrids are a thing after all.

The issue is that healthy Orks can instinctively detect hybrids, but I guess if there are only infected Orks that wouldn't be an issue.

I wonder if the way orks reproduce might be a threat to Tyranids; orks reproduce at a very fast rate and any reproduction would come with a risk of mutation. It might be that imperfect Tyranid infestation could result in imperfect mutation before the Tyranid genes can fully take control. So you could end up with a bunch of hybrids that are controlled by neither parent race and yet which embody the powers and strengths of both.

 Tyran wrote:
It can, Ork hybrids are a thing after all.

The issue is that healthy Orks can instinctively detect hybrids, but I guess if there are only infected Orks that wouldn't be an issue.

Ork Hybrids were a thing. But, that was from the Rogue Trader era, where Orks reproduced at the end of their life, wandering off into the horizon, never to be seen again.

Since then we’ve had GorkaMorka, which explained the sporing method, which also explained the ‘Orkiforming’ of planets.

And in Rogue Trader, Squigs were all the Hive Mind could create with Ork DNA, as it had already been engineered (Brainboyz and/or Old Sloan) to such a heavy degree, it could be worked much further.

That last bit was changed in the......third, I think, edition Nid Codex, where it was at least postulated that Biovores were the result of Ork DNA being absorbed.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:

 Tyran wrote:
It can, Ork hybrids are a thing after all.

The issue is that healthy Orks can instinctively detect hybrids, but I guess if there are only infected Orks that wouldn't be an issue.

Ork Hybrids were a thing. But, that was from the Rogue Trader era, where Orks reproduced at the end of their life, wandering off into the horizon, never to be seen again.

They still are, the GSC codex had an Ork Gargant with four arms deploying a brood of Genestealers. And of course the Kryptman's Gambit was dependent on Genestealers being able to create Ork GSCs that would draw Leviathan into fighting the Orks.

Must’ve missed that.

To the library!

 Tyran wrote:

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:

 Tyran wrote:
It can, Ork hybrids are a thing after all.

The issue is that healthy Orks can instinctively detect hybrids, but I guess if there are only infected Orks that wouldn't be an issue.

Ork Hybrids were a thing. But, that was from the Rogue Trader era, where Orks reproduced at the end of their life, wandering off into the horizon, never to be seen again.

They still are, the GSC codex had an Ork Gargant with four arms deploying a brood of Genestealers. And of course the Kryptman's Gambit was dependent on Genestealers being able to create Ork GSCs that would draw Leviathan into fighting the Orks.

And one of the Cain books has Ork hybrids in a space hulk (and even Cain can spot there's something 'wrong' with them).

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:

 Don Qui Hotep wrote:

 Tyran wrote:
It was successful on protecting them from Slaanesh.

Speaking of Chaos, while Daemons are immune for obvious reasons, Genestealer Cults can be successful on worlds that are controlled by Chaos and inhabited by Chaos aligned mortals.

And CSM too, right? Thanks for answering.

Astartes of any stripe make for poor long-term hosts.

Not only do they not breed (stymying the overall infection, as Brood Brothers cannot create more Brood Brothers directly), but given the close bonds, any unusual behaviour would be detected. Chapters and Traitors are also likely better informed about the threat posed by Genestealers, so one assumes there is genetic testing etc done after every action - particularly where only a few survive against the odds.

An interesting question is what, if anything, the gene curse does to gene seed. I’ve either forgotten about or never read background relating to such. It may be that nobody knows because due to the assumed testing, it’s never really been allowed to come to fruition.

In general summary? For a successful infiltration, the nascent cult needs....

1. The initial infection
2. A reasonably dense populace
3. A species which propagates with reliable frequency
4. A society with a social structure to be influenced and infiltrate.

Humanity more than covers these four loose requirements. Even if the initial Brood Brothers don’t hail from a suitably dense populace, humanity is always on the move. So within a relatively short period, they can travel to a world perhaps better suited (even infecting the crew of a transport ship)

There’s also an entirely hypothetical 5 - a species already predisposed to psychic members. Because it’s through psychic channels that the Patriarch maintains its influence, and eventually summons the Hive Fleet.

Why hypothetical? When it comes to Hybrids, they’re of varying degrees of Genestealer, which are an inherently psychic species. But if the parent species isn’t psychic? Who knows what the end result might be. It could be non-psychic Hybrids, or it could be the Genestealer part takes care of it entirely. It may also be the infection needs to be spread far wider for the same desired effect in a naturally psychic species. And indeed everything in between.

Again, humanity fulfils that requirement in spades. Indeed, given how many psychics are outcasts, they provide decent candidates for the Kiss - and I think we can reasonably assume the Patriarch’s influence would be sufficient to stop them using their talents in more dangerous, warp rift opening ways. After all, it’s the gene they’re mostly after, rather than any individuals given ability with that gene.

I suppose there’s also an associated threat of infecting a species which is too psychic. I mean if there’s any kind of low level psychic connection between the species members, there’s a distinct risk the alien thoughts and impulses compelling the Brood Brother’s actions and behaviour.

Humanity. We’re just the Goldilocks zone for Genestealers.

And real galaxy brain thinking? It could simply be our prolifigation throughout the Galaxy has influenced the Purestrain Genestealer? Possibly locked them in on us as the ideal host, despite being (theoretically) more flexible in the past?

Gotcha, thanks for filling me in. I'm a bit out of the loop on GSC fluff, the only exposure I have is through the Vigilus books.

FezzikDaBullgryn wrote:
So my big question: Can a Sister of Battle "purify" herself through an act of faith, and rid herself of the parasite organism?

Probably not, but Sororitas's "faith" has been shown to be lore-breaking before (i.e. Pariah Nexus stuff) so who knows.

locarno24 wrote:

Best example is the short story Incorruptible.
In it, a grey knight kill team turns up heavy-handed because they have confused reports that a grey knight ship has been attacked, and during the attack the brotherhood champion has gone bezerk and started slaughtering his battlebrothers.

They're afraid this is a daemonic incursion and it was the first/only case of a grey knight falling to chaos. It wasn't: it was a stealer infestation and the 'corruption' not daemonic but a literal case of biochemical xenomatter in the guy's brain hijacking his nervous system

I've also read sources that state that the Astartes immune system fights off the kiss. So it may be a thing to do with changing fluff or authors who don't talk to one another.

I feel it is worth pointing out that 40k has countless sapient zeno species, most simply haven't expanded beyond a single system or even their home planet. It is reasonable to assume that a number of these have become GSC and subsequently devoured. But because their presence is so small this end point renders them extinct, and their presence on a galactic scale meant so little that it isn't even worth mentioning in the fluff.

Hecaton wrote:

locarno24 wrote:

Best example is the short story Incorruptible.
In it, a grey knight kill team turns up heavy-handed because they have confused reports that a grey knight ship has been attacked, and during the attack the brotherhood champion has gone bezerk and started slaughtering his battlebrothers.

They're afraid this is a daemonic incursion and it was the first/only case of a grey knight falling to chaos. It wasn't: it was a stealer infestation and the 'corruption' not daemonic but a literal case of biochemical xenomatter in the guy's brain hijacking his nervous system

I've also read sources that state that the Astartes immune system fights off the kiss. So it may be a thing to do with changing fluff or authors who don't talk to one another.

'Belisarius Cawl: The Great Work' also has kissed Marines.

Hecaton wrote:

FezzikDaBullgryn wrote:
So my big question: Can a Sister of Battle "purify" herself through an act of faith, and rid herself of the parasite organism?

Probably not, but Sororitas's "faith" has been shown to be lore-breaking before (i.e. Pariah Nexus stuff) so who knows.

locarno24 wrote:

Best example is the short story Incorruptible.
In it, a grey knight kill team turns up heavy-handed because they have confused reports that a grey knight ship has been attacked, and during the attack the brotherhood champion has gone bezerk and started slaughtering his battlebrothers.

They're afraid this is a daemonic incursion and it was the first/only case of a grey knight falling to chaos. It wasn't: it was a stealer infestation and the 'corruption' not daemonic but a literal case of biochemical xenomatter in the guy's brain hijacking his nervous system

I've also read sources that state that the Astartes immune system fights off the kiss. So it may be a thing to do with changing fluff or authors who don't talk to one another.

The sister's faith would be compromised; she would have faith but in the 'Star Gods' 'Four Armed Emperor' etc. She wouldn't view the infection as something to be purged in the first place.

As for marines being infected, consider that in real life people can have equal exposure to disease but very different results. Some individuals don't catch it because their immune system fights it off, others get sick. That such would apply to marines with genestealer infection makes perfect sense. I like that better than them being flat out immune/not immune.

locarno24 wrote:

beast_gts wrote:

locarno24 wrote:
The Deathwatch short story "Machine Spirit" features a kroot kindred compromised by a genestealer cult. So that's an example of it happening.

Is that the one where they crash the Thuderhawk and the Techmarine wanders off?

That's the one.

I thought they'd mutated due to eating 'Nids, but re-reading it they do get called hybrids... (but they also call flying Kroot Stingwings rather than Vultures - Stingwings are Vespids).

Hecaton wrote:
I've also read sources that state that the Astartes immune system fights off the kiss. So it may be a thing to do with changing fluff or authors who don't talk to one another.

Do you have them?

In addition to the ones already mentioned, Dark Disciple has a World Bearer infected and mercy killed. In The Emperor's Finests Cain theorizes about it, and Amberley further states that not only the Astartes but the geneseed would be infected.

Even if they are vulnerable to the Kiss, of course, they ain't going to be reproducing - leaves us with effectively Brood Battle Brothers, but no hybrid generations, correct?