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Hrud

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The Hrud are an alien race. Their first appearance in WH40K was in the 3rd Edition Rulebook, where a "Nocturnal Warrior of Hrud" is depicted.

A picture of a Hrud from the book Xenology

Contents

Physiology and Biology

The "Hrud" is depicted as a crouched, diminutive creature swathed in rags, its face obscured by a hood, and possessing a rat-like tail.

It seems that the Hrud prefer darkness and are basically scavengers and tunnel-dwellers. They are found all over the galaxy, though never in large numbers. They are considered to be parasites, and when they are referred to it is usually as "infesting" a place.

Observing a Hrud is often difficult even within a well light room due to a distortion field of unknown origin emanating from the Hrud that prevents the eye from focusing on it. In addition the limbs of a Hrud have a bone structure similar to the human spine allowing the limbs to bend in any direction (hence the nickname "bendies"). They also exude various poisons from their skin. Their bodies liquefy rapidly upon death - conveniently making detailing the creature impossible.

Another notable quality amongst the race is that they produce innate entropic fields from their bodies. This has the side effect of aging their surroundings leading to objects such as crops turning to dust due to prolonged exposure and Humans suffering from premature aging.10

History

They were supposedly all but cleansed by the Iron Warriors during the Great Crusade. Obviously they still exist and widely infest the parts of the galaxy.

Later encounters between the Imperium and the Hrud include the Cinchare Hrud Infestation and the The Plague of Delphic.

A notable engagement with the Hrud came in 783.M41 during the Infestation of Ursula Spinal where an agri-world became subject to a migration. It quickly became infested with its plantations of hydro-crops turning to dust and its defenders aging fifty years over the span of a few months due to the Hrud's innate entropic fields. To combat the threat, six regiments of Valhallans make planetfall in order to purge the colony from the infestation. However, a full half of the regiments suffer from premature aging due to contact with the Hrud and are declared unfit for further duty.10

Society

The Hrud are meticulous record keepers and have compiled large libraries of data. The Hrud believe in a pantheon of gods called the Slah-Haii.

Based on the title of their original depiction ("Nocturnal Warrior of Hrud"), it might be assumed they were intended to be from "Hrud".

Religion

The Hrud worship a deity called Qah also known as "He who lingers" a god that was the protector of the Hrud during the times when they lived above ground in the sun. When the C'tan started warring with the Old Ones and the C'tan's forces started attacking the Hrud, Qah told them to move below ground and become the nocturnal warriors that they currently are. Sometime after Qah was destroyed by Slaanesh, split into many parts to create the Umbra but told his Hrud followers that he would return to defeat the Yaam-khoh(the meaning of which is still unknown).

Technology

Hrud technology is often scavenged from other races. A weapon of their own development is the Hrud fusil, a weapon based on warp-plasma technology.

Inspiration and Etymology

The Hrud first appeared as a simple illustration of "other dangerous aliens", along with early versions of a Kroot warrior, Necron, Tarellian dog soldier, etc in the 3rd Edition Rulebook.

The Skaven are humanoid rat creatures from Games Workshop's fantasy counterpart game to 40k, Warhammer. Both races have a similar unkempt, crouched appearance, scavenger culture, and both are depicted as having rat-like tails; both utilize warp-plasma based technology, which appears archaic but is technologically superior to other, contemporary engineering - the Hrud rifle is a "fusil" while the Skaven rifle is a jezail (a musket) - and finally both seem to have similar social habits being described as living in warrens or similar underground tunnel systems.

It could be presumed that the Hrud were originally meant to be Warhammer 40,000 counterparts to the Skaven. With the exception of the Skaven, most Warhammer fantasy races have a counterpart in Warhammer 40,000. Incidentally, early Warhammer 40,000 rules included a toxin called rodotoxin which was effective against Skaven9. However, Games Workshop have never stated that the Hrud and the Skaven are parallel races, and supposedly GW wants to move Warhammer 40,000 away from its origins as "Warhammer in space."

It should be pointed out at this stage, that the reader should be cautious when regarding information given to them about the Hrud unless referenced to official material that forms part of the official 40K universe. Because of the similarities between the Hrud and the very popular Skaven, fans have generated much of their own material.

Sources

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