History Characters / Warhammer40000GenestealerCults

* MultiArmedAndDangerous: Genestealers themselves have six limbs and this trait is occasionally inherited by genestealer hybrids, who will have anywhere between two to six limbs themselves. They keep these concealed beneath loose clothing and stay out of sight of non-cult members while the cult is still growing, but let their limbs act freely when committed to insurrection. As these extra limbs are often tipped with sharp claws, they can be an asset in close-quarters battle.

* DestinedBystander: The Genestealers were introduced early into the setting as a small piece of background lore. Once the Tyranids arrived, their role in the narrative was greatly expanded as being early elements of the Hive Fleet seeded into our galaxy. This was most likely a {{Revision}}, which involved a few minor {{Retcon}}s which relegated [[CharacterizationMarchesOn the original Genestealer conception]] with a minor offshoot of the race as a whole.

[[quoteright:290:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_genestealer_cults.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:290:Genestealers (behind) with a Genestealer Cult (foreground).]]

-->-- '''Magus Rheng of the Cult of the Fanged Deliverer'''

'''[[Characters/Warhammer40000ForcesOfChaos Forces of Chaos]]:''' [[Characters/Warhammer40000ChaosGods Chaos Gods]], [[Characters/Warhammer40000ChaosPrimarchs Chaos Primarchs]], [[Characters/Warhammer40000ChaosMarines Heretic Astartes]]\\

'''[[Characters/Warhammer40000Imperium Imperium of Man]]:''' [[Characters/Warhammer40000ImperialFounders Founders]], [[Characters/Warhammer40000Astartes Adeptus Astartes]] ([[Characters/Warhammer40000AstartesChaptersFirstFounding First Founding Chapters]], [[Characters/Warhammer40000AstartesChapters Other Chapters]], [[Characters/Warhammer40000AstartesCharacters Characters]], [[Characters/Warhammer40000PrimarisSpaceMarines Primaris Marines]]), [[Characters/Warhammer40000ImperialGuard Astra Militarum]], [[Characters/Warhammer40000Sororitas Adepta Sororitas]], [[Characters/Warhammer40000Inquisition Inquisition]], [[Characters/Warhammer40000Mechanicus Mechanicus]], [[Characters/Warhammer40000CurrentImperialFactions Other factions]]\\

* ACommanderIsYou: The tabletop army straddles the line between ''Ranger'' and ''Espionage'', having many abilites that allow them to deploy from hiding, mess with terrain features, pin down opponents with suppressive fire from multiple angles, and utilize HitAndRunTactics to always try and catch their opponents flat-footed and off-guard for when the Day of Ascencion comes. They have relatively little staying power in their base rules, and the rules for taking cult-infested Astra Militarum units puts a limit on how many of their larger and more durable units a cult can take, meaning that the best way to play Genestealer Cults is to be constantly moving, utilize your stratagems well, and always try to think two steps ahead of your opponent.

* ImprovisedWeapon: A few of the Genestealer Cults' weapons are originally mining equipment appropriated for use in the battlefield. Likewise, their vehicles (Dirtcycles, Achilles and Goliaths) were manufactured by the Imperium for civilian purposes, but in their hands are modified and upgraded to ad hoc military vehicles -- outside of the Genestealer Cults army list, they only show up as generic vehicles available to the gangs of TabletopGame/{{Necromunda}}, and are not used by any part of the Imperial military.

* NonhumanHumanoidHybrid: Half any-sentient-species hybrid. Genestealers have a curious reproductive cycle, where only a few early broods are birthed directly by the Hive Fleets, and all later members of the brood are born to host species that the Genestealers prey on. After infecting a host organism, that organism will be driven to reproduce, but any such offspring will be half the host species and half Genestealer. Naturally, such a creature is usually very misshapen as it [[MixAndMatchCritters combines traits of both species freely]]. However, later generations of hybrids will look progressively more like the host species, until by about the fifth or six generation they are completely indistinguishable from them. The children of ''that'' generation will then be more "pure" Genestealers and the cycle begins again.

'''[[Characters/Warhammer40000XenoRaces Xeno Races]]:''' [[Characters/Warhammer40000Eldar Aeldari]] ([[Characters/Warhammer40000CraftworldEldar Asuryani]], [[Characters/Warhammer40000DarkEldar Drukhari]]) | [[Characters/Warhammer40000LeaguesOfVotann Leagues of Votann]] | [[Characters/Warhammer40000Necrons Necrons]] | [[Characters/Warhammer40000Orks Orks]] ([[Characters/Warhammer40000OrksCharacters Characters]]) | [[Characters/Warhammer40000TauEmpire T'au Empire]] | [[Characters/Warhammer40000Tyranids Tyranids]] ('''Genestealer Cults''')]]-]]]

%%

[[caption-width-right:671:A third-generation Acolyte of the Four-Armed Emperor.]]

[[caption-width-right:584:Fourth-generation Acolyte of the Bladed Cog.]]

A cult hiding on the frings of Ultramar, the faithful of the Behemoid Undercult worship Old One-Eye, a legendary Carnifex entombed in ice.

* SigilSpam: Hivecult cells tend to display their bladed wyrm symbol as much as they can. Every member carries at least one cult icon on their person, and weapons such as knuckle dusters, throwing stars an daggers are often fashioned in its image.

* BattleTrophy: The Cult of the Bladed Cog's primary war-banner is adorned with the skeleton of the Tech-Priest Dominus Ovid Thrension, the ruler of their homeworld before the cult's revolt overthrew him.

%%!!The Cult Hydriac

Genestealers were have been a part of ''Warhammer 40,000'' since the 1st Edition of the game, where they were an alien race originally unrelated to the Tyranids, and have appeared in a number of [[GaidenGame spin-off games]] such as ''TabletopGame/SpaceHulk'' and ''Advanced Space Crusade''. Later lore made Genestealers a vanguard organism of the Tyranid Hive Fleets and they have been inseparable from the forces of the Great Devourer ever since. Genestealer Cults were initially introduced in ''TabletopGame/SpaceHulk'' before being introduced to the 1st Edition of ''Warhammer 40,000''. The Genestealer Cults were included as an appendix army list in the 2nd Edition ''Codex: Tyranids'' but, although they received a few unofficial and fan made army lists, they were relegated to a background-only faction until February 2016's board game ''Deathwatch: Overkill'' saw them face off against the alien hunters of the Deathwatch. The Genestealer Cults were reintroduced into the core ''Warhammer 40,000'' game in October 2016 with the release of their first codex sourcebook and a full range of models. The 8th Edition ''Warhammer 40,000'' version of ''Codex: Genestealer Cults'' was released in February 2019 with additional rules published in the February 2020 {{sourcebook}} ''Psychic Awakening: The Greater Good''.

[[/folder]]

!!The Bladed Cog

!!The Rusted Claw

!!The Pauper Princes

The Pauper Princes believe that greatness can only be found in self-sacrifice and humility. Zealous to the point of mania, they bring the edifice of the Imperium low to ensure the new order can thrive -- even if it costs every life save for the Primarch himself.

!!The Twisted Helix

!!Innerwyrm

!!Star Kindred

!!Sons of Jormungandr

!!The Blessed Wormlings

!!The Cult Hydriac

* PrimitiveClubs: Aberrants and Abominants are mutant Genestealer hybrids characterized by immense strength, aggression and stupidity, and tend to fight with mining equipment and uprooted street signs used as improvised mauls.

* ACommanderIsYou: The tabletop army stradles the line between ''Ranger'' and ''Espionage'', having many abilites that allow them to deploy from hiding, mess with terrain features, pin down opponents with suppressive fire from multiple angles, and utilize HitAndRunTactics to always try and catch their opponents flat-footed and off-guard for when the Day of Ascencion comes. They have relatively little staying power in their base rules, and the rules for taking cult-infested Astra Militarum units puts a limit on how many of their larger and more durable units a cult can take, meaning that the best way to play Genestealer Cults is to be constantly moving, utilize your stratagems well, and always try to think two steps ahead of your opponent.

* DishingOutDirt: The Undermine {{psychic power}}, made available to Cult of the Four-Armed Emperor psykers by the late 8th Edition {{sourcebook}} ''Psychic Awakening: The Greater Good'', allows the caster to open holes beneath the feet of an enemy unit, reducing their Movement as they carefully pick their way through the changing terrain.

* ImprovisedWeapon: A few of the Genestealer Cults' weapons are originally mining equipment appropriated for use in the battlefield. Likewise, their vehicles (Dirtcycles, Achilles and Goliaths) were manufactured by the Imperium for civilian purposes, but in their hands are modified and upgraded to ad hoc military vehicles--outside of the Genestealer Cults army list, they only show up as generic vehicles available to the gangs of TabletopGame/{{Necromunda}}, and are not used by any part of the Imperial military.

* MakeThemRot: The leaders of the Cult of the Rusted Claw are host to numerous metallophagic nano-organisms that cause any metal, including [[FantasyMetals adamantium]], to instantly rust with the lightest of touches. Their Entropic Touch Warlord Trait in 8th Edition increases the chance of attacks penetrating a nearby enemy's armour.

* NinjaPirateZombieRobot: Many members of the Bladed Cog are Cyborgs who view the blending of the machine in their ranks to be sacred, much like the Cult Mechanicus, going so far as to have painful surgeries in order to demonstrate the extent of their faith. Many in their ranks are even members of the Adeptus Mechanicus' own armies, the Skitarii. They worship the Clawed Omnissiah, a twisted cyborg Patriarch with mechanical limbs and cyborg enhancements interwoven into its body.

* PowerTattoo: The Mark of the Clawed Omnissiah is a rare electoo used by the Cult of the Bladed Cog. This electronic tattoo surrounds the bearer with a [[ElementalBarrier force field of static electricity]] that protects the wearer from harm (taking the form of an invulnerable save) and can electrocute nearby enemy models, inflicting mortal wounds.
* PrimitiveClubs: Aberrants and Abominants are mutant Genestealer hybrids characterized by immense strength, aggression and stupidity, and tend to fight with mining equipment and uprooted street signs used as improvised mauls.
* PsiBlast: The psykers of the Hivecult are able to collect the psychic residue released by their brothers and unleash it in a powerful blast of energy. Known as a Synaptic Blast, this {{psychic power}}[[note]]introduced by the 8th Edition {{sourcebook}} ''Psychic Awakening: The Greater Good''[[/note]] can cause numerous [[UnblockableAttack mortal wounds]] against enemy units depending on the number of Hivecult members close to the psyche when they manifest it.
* PsychoSerum: The Elixir of the Prime Specimen is one of the greatest achievements of the Cult of the Twisted Helix's Biophaguses. Created from the corpse of a powerful Tyranid organism, the Elixir boosts the muscle mass of those who ingest it (represented in the 8th Edition rules by a boost to the drinker's Attacks, Toughness and Wounds stats) but fills their mind with near uncontrollable bloodlust[[note]]although this isn't represented in the rules[[/note]]

* SelfHarm: Cultists of the Behemoid Undercult often ritually scar themselves around their right eye in honour of the infamous Carnifex Old One Eye, with the most devout even going so far as to gouge out their eye in imitation of the beast that they consider to be a prophet of their god.
* SerialKiller: The background material for the Hivecult mentions that when they were first establishing themselves in the hive cities of New Gidlam the cult's Magus, Vockor Mai, posed as a serial killer known as the White Creeper to kill those that stood in the way of the cult's rise to power.

* StrawNihilist: Members of the Cult of the Rusted Claw are described as extreme nihilists, thinking that all creatures in the universe are nothing but moving scraps of flesh destined to decay into the nothingness of the void. The Cult believe that they can only be saved when they are absorbed and remade by their unknowable gods.

The Hivecult are militant, organized, and hierarchal. They infiltrate not only the criminal underworlds and hive gangs of their host planets, but also the Astra Militarum regiments that recruit from them. To the Hivecult, it is a divine duty to be armed and dangerous.

The Pauper Princes believe that greatness can only be found in self-sacrifice and humility. Zealous to the point of mania, they bring the edifice of the Imperium low to ensure the new order can thrive - even if it costs every life save for the Primarch himself.