Hrud

The Hrud in the Warhammer 40,000 fictional universe are a race of space faring figures, sometimes mistakenly characterised as space Skaven by fans. Their technology is based on plasma, such as their warp plasma gun from miniature game Inquisitor. A unique concept behind the Hrud is that they are capable of traveling through a dimension outside our own. Because of this it is theorized that they are able to phase in and out of their planes to infest a wide variety of areas. Other theories on their abilities of inter-planetary travel without the use of ships include the utilization of the webway often employed by the Eldar or something similar. They do have ships, but they are small compared to the vessels of other races. The first chronological reference to the Hrud is near the end of the Great Crusade, when the Iron Warriors Legion is noted for "cleansing the Hrud Warrens on Gugann" just prior to the Horus Heresy. It is safe to assume that sporadic encounters between Imperial and Hrud forces continued to occur over the next ten millennia.

Nonetheless, the Hrud are an enigmatic species. They appear in few sources, chiefly the background book Xenology in which a Hrud female is dissected and various scraps of information detail Hrud society and religion.

Some have asserted that the Hrud are based on the and Tusken Raiders from Star Wars. They are supposed to have originally come from a desert world, and they are small and shadowy-looking creatures who drape themselves in rags and cloaks. They also travel using large transport vehicles similar to a sandcrawler. It has also been suggested that the Hrud are meant to be Warhammer 40,000's equivalent of the Skaven, as they seem to share many characteristics inherent to the underworld-dwelling rat men that appear as a fully playable army in Warhammer Fantasy Battles. Points of note in this area include their use of warp plasma based weapons, and their rat-like features; including the distinguishable rat-like hands, tails, and faces shown within the only official picture of their race, which was included the Warhammer 40,000 3rd edition rulebook. For use in Inquisitor, Games Workshop personnel have also suggested using modified Rat Ogre models. The main difference lies in their role within the setting. Whereas Skaven are a large unified empire, are intent on dominance and destruction of other species, and have reflections of the four aspects of Chaos in their clans, the Hrud are scattered and disconnected, do not gather in clans, and seem to be benevolent at best and pests at worse.

There is speculation that they may return as adversaries of the Ordo Xenos when their Codex is released.

The first mention of them involved the Imperium venturing near planets that the Eldar had forbidden them to visit. The Imperial ships were fired upon by weapons hidden within the planet. The Imperial troops went to investigate and discovered the Hrud. From this it seems that the Hrud may be allies of the Eldar and perhaps another creation of the Old Ones. A fact which adds credibility to this idea is the similarity of the Eldar and Hrud mythology detailed in the book Xenology. However, in the new codex Eldar Eldrad Ulthran is noted as having saved Saim-Hann craftworld from Hrud infestation. Their mythology is almost the same: their god of the forge, like the Eldar god Vaul, was sealed away, and all the other gods either died or shared this fate with the exception of one.

Other information about the Hrud tells of the destruction of one of their original homeworlds. This planet was tragically close to a powerful warp storm, which may well have given them their original form. Their planet was rich in the warp crystals which are utilized in their technology. A warp storm came close to devouring their world, and so as many Hrud as could manage it fled the world. Those who left late became mutated and those mutations have carried on through the generations. The Hrud have no unifying government. They live as pirates, mercenaries and traders in the galaxy or in underground planetary colonies overheaded by their few psychic masters. Often colonies of other races are built on planets that are already inhabited by the Hrud without realizing they are there. Besides stealth and infiltration, the Hrud seem to be masters of two other things: the ability to salvage alien technology and put it to their own uses, and the ability to navigate impossibly difficult mazes. Chief weaknesses include an almost crippling inability to cope with bright lights.

Based upon the more recent background information being published, the Hrud have been moved away from the space Skaven appearance, yet still carry many rat-like features (nocturnal, stowaways on ships, unclean). Covered in filth and protected by armor plates, the Hrud also have a skeletal structure that allows for maximum flexibility (nicknamed "bendies" by ship crews). Furthermore they seem to be able to blend in with their surrounding, not so much like a chameleon, but instead a passing shadow that a viewer would dismiss as nothing. In Xenology, they are portrayed as slimy insectiods that are vaguely similar to the xenomorph in the movie Alien. However, it should be noted that this portrayal is clearly marked as 'speculative', and the images of the Hrud dissection do not include any portrayal of the creature's skin, which rapidly decayed after the subject's death.

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