Army Personality Defects

[DWest]

With all the Tyranid rumors floating around, I gave my bugs a second look, trying to figure out why they were packed away in a box when they had such a fat tally of kills, including scaring one fellow player away from GK because the boys in silver were "too underpowered and stood no chance against bugs".

Oh yeah, now I remember; the Tyranids have no personality. at all. They're just mindless eating machines. No personality quirks (that I know of), no specific doctrines or tactics, hell my Trygon Prime can't even keep the helmet of the GK Justicar who exploded trying to activate a psychic power in Shadow range and go "and this was Bob, who was nice enough to pre-roast himself for my convenience!"

So my question is, am I missing anything? Is there something I can do to at least give the 'nids the tiniest bit of personality?

[Kyban]

I think so, you just have to be a bit creative. I know a nid player who has a backstory for his that revolves around a Swarmlord he has named the "Queen of Blades" with a great conversion to boot.

[DrLove42]

Its a bit wierd.

The Swarmlord for instance is a "Character". But hes not the same matter on each planet. He is a "template" produced when hes needed.

But then things like Old Red Eye are the same?

Decorating bases with trophies can work.

They work the same way the Orks do. The rank and file are faceless and nameless,its the commanders that have the personalities

[-Tom-]

So my question is, am I missing anything? Is there something I can do to at least give the 'nids the tiniest bit of personality?

Yes, you're missing something :) - you're trying to attribute human-like personalities to something that isn't human.

You'll have to work out what is the tyrannid version of 'personality'... e.g. if it is a conversion representing a mutation, why does it have that mutation? Why specific colours versus other colours they could be?

[ElectricPaladin]

I agree that the Tyranids don't have a lot of personality. This is probably why I've never had any interest in them.

That said, there are things you can do to give them a little more personality. Maybe you can focus on Tyranids fighting a specific foe, and get bits from that foe's kits to decorate your bases. Or you can decide that your
'Nids have some particular quirk based on the planet they're eating, like metallic shells or aquatic adaptation.

[Anggul]

Some people like it.

I love the fact that my impersonal, non-heroic, uncaring tide of teeth and claws is going to swarm over the opponent's carefully chosen force of heroes, and not even have a feeling of triumph at the act, they're just going to keep on going. The opponent's previous glory means nothing to them, they just eat and kill and eat and kill, driving the planet into despair and death.

They aren't meant to have personality, they're a Hive Mind, and anyone trying to give them thoughts and feelings is missing the point.

It's different, and it's cool in it's own way. I like my Eldar, Dark Eldar and Tau for completely different reasons. They might not be to some people's tastes, but people have different ideas of what is cool. Space Marines don't have much personality either, they're just mentally conditioned super-humans who exist only to fight and kill, and yet people really like them. Even Chaos Marines don't usually have as much personality as some people like to think, they're still mostly just: 'Grr we hate the Imperium, let's kill them and worship gods and such.'

[YorkNecromancer]

They aren't meant to have personality, they're a Hive Mind, and anyone trying to give them thoughts and feelings is missing the point.

So I ran a Deathwatch game.

They were killing bugs, enjoying it all just fine, until they ran into a Hive Tyrant. Who didn't try to kill them - he spoke in perfect Low Gothic instead, and began discussing all manner of things.

That freaked them out. They didn't like having to talk to an entity (in this case, the Hive Mind) that had become personally aware of them and knew their names.

I ran Tyranids as the 40K version of this: http://whitewolf.wikia.com/wiki/Grandmother Long story short, alien doesn't have to mean "can't talk". Seriously, the only question that ever needs to be answered is: is it interesting? People will always say you "can't do" certain things, which is usually shorthand for "I can't imagine an interesting way to do this without contradicting what is already established".

Just try stuff out and see what works. If it's goofy, don't do it that way again. Find some other way to do it.

[phoenix01]

So I ran a Deathwatch game.

They were killing bugs, enjoying it all just fine, until they ran into a Hive Tyrant. Who didn't try to kill them - he spoke in perfect Low Gothic instead, and began discussing all manner of things.

That freaked them out. They didn't like having to talk to an entity (in this case, the Hive Mind) that had become personally aware of them and knew their names.

I ran Tyranids as the 40K version of this: http://whitewolf.wikia.com/wiki/Grandmother Long story short, alien doesn't have to mean "can't talk". Seriously, the only question that ever needs to be answered is: is it interesting? People will always say you "can't do" certain things, which is usually shorthand for "I can't imagine an interesting way to do this without contradicting what is already established".

Just try stuff out and see what works. If it's goofy, don't do it that way again. Find some other way to do it.

Heart of Rage had a similar idea. Take one Mechanicum Adept, add one injured hive tyrant, and boom: talking nightmare monster with lots of personality.

[ElectricPaladin]

So I ran a Deathwatch game.

They were killing bugs, enjoying it all just fine, until they ran into a Hive Tyrant. Who didn't try to kill them - he spoke in perfect Low Gothic instead, and began discussing all manner of things.

That freaked them out. They didn't like having to talk to an entity (in this case, the Hive Mind) that had become personally aware of them and knew their names.

I ran Tyranids as the 40K version of this: http://whitewolf.wikia.com/wiki/Grandmother Long story short, alien doesn't have to mean "can't talk". Seriously, the only question that ever needs to be answered is: is it interesting? People will always say you "can't do" certain things, which is usually shorthand for "I can't imagine an interesting way to do this without contradicting what is already established".

Just try stuff out and see what works. If it's goofy, don't do it that way again. Find some other way to do it.

Ah, Grand Maw. I really want to play Orpheus.

[Wildcard]

First thing that came into my mind was a Lictor (alpha?) that was created from digested ork weirdboy. The moment it was released to planet it gained a personality... of sorts.

Sneaky and paranoid hunter in the woods, eyes scanning wonders of new world (tall trees, smallest of insects etc) in a cartoonish caricature style :) Now that would be wicked Lictor with funny eyes.

Now imagine if that Lictor were made from Marbo: One box of green stuff wouldn't be enough to make all that grown muscle tissue :)

Or from space marine apothecary. Lictor tending a wounded warrior or gaunt :)

Possibilities for personalities are endless. Some of them with a twist of humor (as is apparent from the examples above). Some could come with a grim dark backround..

[walrusman999]

They work the same way the Orks do. The rank and file are faceless and nameless,its the commanders that have the personalities

You mean like the new Necrons :P

[YorkNecromancer]

Ah, Grand Maw. I really want to play Orpheus.

It's the best example of how you create a roleplaying game with a workable metaplot I have ever seen. A remarkable series, and no-one really knows of it!

In the meantime, Black Library are churning out endless 40K roleplay games with endless lists of guns but precious little personality, sad to say. :(

I wanted to like "Black Crusade" and "Only War" so much... :(

[Mr Mystery]

Story is in the hands of the teller, surely?

[Deadlift]

You mean like the new Necrons :P

Yeah but Necrons now have a sense of humour too, warped as it is. Nids not so much. Still you could always have some of the bigger bugs crapping out the remains of the previous army they munched modelled onto their bases. That's adding character I think ;)

[Learn2Eel]

When my Tyranids are done, I'll give them all nicknames based on my experience with them, how I perceive them performing during an invasion and the generic behaviour of each creature archetype. I won't bother with the swarms, but all the monstrous creatures will have names, of that I am sure. I'll try to make them sound as frighteningly realistic in the 40k background as possible, whilst also injecting humour into their stories wherever it is appropriate.

For example, I've already named one of my Tervigon's 'Bessy'.

[Mr.Pickelz]

Something that would add character to your nidz is having them "looted" by Orks. Your Swarmlord, or hive tyrant having a Mek's KFF Coil sticking out of his head or back, Ork Pilots riding/driving Carnifexes/Trygons, a Runthard or two proding, and feeding, a Tervigon forcing it to spawn, etc...
That sir, or lady, would add so much character to your Nidz. And might be the only way of explainning why Orks and Nids would be allies.... ;)

[Lunar Camel]

I always thought Tyranids are the truist army to their fluff. Where all armies, as the BRB says, your general represents you on the battlefield. For Tyranids, you are not the general, but the Hive Mind itself. You can see all, know all, and control all on the battlefield.

To me, that means you are not playing as the general with his army; you are actually playing as a god.

[KrewL RaiN]

With my bugs, I tend to make some stand out more with different mutations and signs of age. Synapse bugs I tend to give more "character" to.

My more intelligent commander bugs tend to host some unique adaptations, like hands with spindly fingers. Hands give off a very intelligent vibe, as well as smaller mouths. I did that to my Tervigons to make them look more intelligent and less beast like. One of them looks a bit ticked off, while the other one is in a more commanding stance.

I show age with some of my bugs with battlescars. One of my Trigons has one eye missing and a lot of damage to the one side of its face. It's also bursting out of the ground in a very aggressive manner, showing its rampaging "feed" instincts. My dakka tyrant has a more defined carapace riddled with some bullet holes, showing it has survived a few brawls. My angry Tervigon has a battle scared face as well, due to a little accident on the modeling table lol. I had to turn a mistake into something else, so the story there is she got a powerfist to the jaw and it re healed in a misshapen scar lol.

All my cannon fodder little guys dont get much done to them, as they are cannon fodder lol. Genestealers you could give some personality too, due to their sneaky nature. You can have them slinking around or preparing to leap out of cover. Lictors as well are fun to model due to their slinky predatory nature.

Just think of the biological nature of your bugs and grow from there. Don't think of human personality traits, think predator and pray, as well as swarm hierarchy. They are also your minions, as you are their Hive Mind. You can add a distinctive look to them to make them your own, like spines on carapaces or a third eye etc.

[ElectricPaladin]

You know, I've got to say, for a moment there I thought this was going to be a trollicious thread about what personality flaws one might have based on the army(ies) one plays. Like: Space Marines players are anal-retentive, Eldar players are shifty, etc. This is probably a more useful thread, but that would have been entertaining...

[Wildcard]

Here are couple of examples of the ork looted carnifexes:

http://i624.photobucket.com/albums/tt322/Kanvass/Tyranids/fexwip15.jpg

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2009/9/11/52756-Conversion,%20Looted,%20Orks,%20Tyranids,%20Warham mer%2040,000.jpg

[Wolfshade]

I really like those :)

[Nabterayl]

I don't know what level of personality you're looking for, but I am reminded of just how much personality the xenomorphs had that tyranids take so much inspiration from. The creepy thing about xenomorphs, to me, is how many ways they are clearly people without doing things like talking (though the DM in me loves the idea of a talking hive tyrant). Tyranids who act like people but never talk strikes the right balance between alien and interesting, in my opinion - how come they keep trophies? How come they seem to issue challenges? How come they act like they hold grudges, going after the same unit over and over?

They're animals, man!

As others have said, the fact that the Hive Mind isn't interested in politics and doesn't really perceive individual organisms doesn't mean that individual tyranid organisms can't be people. The hive mind doesn't think to itself, "Wow, resistance on Firth Three is intense; better deploy a Swarmlord" any more than we think to ourselves, "Wow, that infection is really tough; better manufacture more leukocytes." And because the hive mind doesn't really perceive the leaders of the swarms, who's to say they aren't people?

[DWest]

Thank you everyone for the useful replies. I think I might have stumbled onto something- the Tyranids will try anything once, twice if it works, right? We already know they know how to do psy-ops and infiltrate other cultures (via Deathleaper and the Genestealer cults), I'm thinking my chip off the Hive Mind would try manifesting a personality, with the goal of getting the enemy to betray itself with the false hope that we might be reasoned with.

[Dominic]

I think ironically that this can be an appeal of the Tyranids to some; they have no personality, just mindless killing 'machines'.

[Houghten]

you know, i've got to say, for a moment there i thought this was going to be a trollicious thread about what personality flaws one might have based on the army(ies) one plays. Like: Space marines players are anal-retentive, eldar players are shifty, etc. This is probably a more useful thread, but that would have been entertaining...
and ORK PLAYERS GOT NO INDOOR VOICE!

[DWest]

and ORK PLAYERS GOT NO INDOOR VOICE!
This. Dear God, this. The FLGS was plagued last couple of years by a very "special" Ork player. His stuff always looked top-notch, and he built about half the terrain we used, but when he called a WAAAUGH!!! it was physically painful to be standing next to him.

[Mr Mystery]

Thank you everyone for the useful replies. I think I might have stumbled onto something- the Tyranids will try anything once, twice if it works, right? We already know they know how to do psy-ops and infiltrate other cultures (via Deathleaper and the Genestealer cults), I'm thinking my chip off the Hive Mind would try manifesting a personality, with the goal of getting the enemy to betray itself with the false hope that we might be reasoned with.

To be fair, Eldar players are more whiney than shifty :p

Probably just my local area, but even including the 2nd Edition beardfest Codex, they've whined and whined about not being hard enough.

Though to be absolutely fair, 12" Catapults are a bit lame :p