Squat
From Lexicanum
Squats (Homo sapiens rotundus) were short, stocky and tough abhumans. Of all the abhuman types, they most closely resembled humans. Squats were the descendants of humans who colonised the worlds around the galactic core in the far distant past. These worlds are some of the oldest in the galaxy, formed when the laws of physics had yet to be stabilized.
The Squat ancestors were human colonists that reached the mineral rich worlds around the galactic core, during the time of the initial expansion beyond Earth's own solar system, long before the emergence of the Emperor. The colonization came at the right time, as Earth's own mineral wealth was depleted. The worlds at the galactic core were rich in rare and unique minerals, but in terms of life were barren and unsuited for colonisaton. These worlds are dark and bleak. Their gravity is great, usually two or three times that of Earth. Their atmospheres are either thin or non-existent. Even those planets with atmospheres are blasted by tremendous storms.
These planets became mining worlds. Colonists were forced to become self-sufficient, providing their own underground grown food. Due to the completely hostile nature of the surface the colonists formed underground societies. During the long isolation of the Age of Strife, the Squat race developed, evolving to suit their environment, becoming tougher, more resilient and physically shorter.
Some say the real history of the Squats begins in the Age of Strife when their worlds were cut off from Terra and the race developed, but their actual origins begin much earlier during the Dark Age of Technology, or as the Squats call it, the Age of Founding.
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Squat History
Squat history is divided into 5 ages, each marked by a dramatic change in both galactic conditions and Squat society. These ages are:
Age of Founding
The Age of Founding is equivalent to the Dark Age of Technology for humanity. This is not technically the first period of the Squats as they had yet to evolve, but is the time of the founding of the colonies that would become the Squat Homeworlds. Almost twenty thousand years ago contact between these planets and Terra was almost continuous, testament to the importance of these colonies. Terra also kept the worlds well supplied with that which they could not produce for themselves in adequate amounts, primarily food. This period lasted until the Age of Strife.
Age of Isolation
The Age of Isolation corresponds with the earlier part of the Age of Strife - around eighteen thousand years ago. The galactic core was cut off from the rest of human space by the devastating warp storms of the Age of Strife. Many worlds were swallowed by the warp and disappeared forever, others were trapped in stasis and became lost. Most survived although they were separated from Earth and all contact was lost with the rest of the galaxy. During this time of isolation and danger the Squat worlds still in contact with each other began to organise for their mutual defence. It was at this time that the Squats began to refer to their worlds as the Homeworlds.
The Homeworlds remained isolated for thousands of years and their inhabitants learned to survive in a universe that was becoming increasingly hostile. Those that survived grew and prospered. Settlements were enlarged and fortified into impregnable strongholds. They soon developed alternative technologies to make up for the lack of supplies from Earth.
During the isolation the Guilds were formed as a political and social part of Squat society, and the colonies joined together in Leagues formed from complex trade and political agreements. The engineers produced from the Guild were true engineers rather than the dogma-bound tech-priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus.
Age of Trade
The Age of Trade took place during a slight abatement of the warp storms during the Age of Strife and led to the Squats encountering other races, including Orks and Eldar.
At the beginning of the Age of Trade, some strongholds were attacked, but the aliens quickly realised that the Squats were determined and tenacious fighters, and that trade was a more practical arrangement. The Squats took full advantage of their tremendous mineral wealth, which they traded for weapons, foodstuffs and high-technology systems. To this day, Squat hydroponic plants, developed with Eldar help, are among the most efficient food sources in the Imperium. The Squats remained carefully neutral in the numerous conflicts between Eldar and Orks, maintaining trade links with both sides. There were inevitably small wars from time to time, but for the most part the Squats' complex structure of treaties and trade agreements maintained a stable peace.
Age of Wars
The Age of Trade lasted for nearly three millennia, but finally collapsed when an enormous Ork battle-fleet, under the command of Grunhag the Flayer, attempted a full-scale invasion of the Homeworlds. Losses on both sides were astronomical, with vicious tunnel-fights through the mine workings and bloody pitched battles in the Squats' underground settlements. The Squats appealed to their Eldar trading partners for help against the invading Orks, but none was received.
The Age of Wars, as it became known, is regarded by the Squats as the blackest chapter in their history, and the double betrayal by Orks and Eldar gave rise to a cultural enmity which still persists. Many strongholds were wiped out by the Orks, and the traditional epic ballad known as The Fall of Imbach commemorates one such destruction. Even today expeditions are mounted from the Squat Homeworlds in search of lost strongholds, and these expeditions are often accompanied by Adeptus Mechanicus priests, eager to rediscover lost Squat technology.
Age of Rediscovery
The Age of Rediscovery was the most recent phase of Squat history, corresponding to the Great Crusade and the current Age of the Imperium. As the Imperium recovered from the Age of Strife and began to reunite the scattered worlds of humanity, the Squat Homeworlds were rediscovered and contact with the Imperium was established.
The Imperium found that a distinct culture had developed on the Homeworlds, and that the Squats had moved outwards through the galaxy, extending their domains. Often they settled harsh planets similar to their own Homeworlds, but they also occupied more conventional worlds able to support normal Human civilization.
Age of the Imperium
The Squat Homeworlds were almost unique in the Imperium - though they were a part of the Imperium, they were not directly controlled by the Administratum. Instead, they are allowed a certain amount of autonomy, being ruled by their strongholds and Leagues just as they were before the Age of Rediscovery. The experiences of the previous millennia has left the Squats with a strong sense of cultural unity and a fiercely independent nature, and instead of rejoining the Imperium as subject worlds, the Homeworlds negotiated a series of treaties which enabled them to keep their independence. The racial character of the Squats - hard-working, tenacious, honourable, and inimical to alien races - was almost perfect from the Imperial point of view, and the Imperium was content to allow them a great degree of self-government.
In exchange for this freedom the Homeworlds provide troops for the Imperium and trade exclusively with them. This has made them very wealthy. They also allowed the Adeptus Mechanicus free access to their technology, there being several working STC systems and a higher proportion of working technology from this period than anywhere else in the galaxy. They were also expected to follow Imperial policy of external affairs, which is not a problem as they are a very inward looking society. The Squats do not follow the Imperial Cult, rather they worship their ancestors. When a Squat dies his spirit joins his ancestors. They make sure that their deeds in life give them credit in the afterlife. When the Squats fight alongside the Imperial Guard they often adopted the Emperor into their beliefs, as a guardian of their ancestors.
In war, the Squats used squads of motorcycles supported by massive artillery barrages from juggernaut war machines such as the Land Train, Colossus, Cyclops and Leviathan (Transport). They also used advanced armour, such the heavy exo-armour.
Extinction
Tyranids are not usually drawn to barren worlds such as those of the Squat Homeworlds; they were nonetheless consumed of what little life they possessed. The Squat race was destroyed, and the few remaining Homeworlds were annexed by the Imperium over the hundreds of years after the attacks. Only a few scattered and embittered remnants of Squats survive throughout the Imperium. Games Workshop's stance in current background is that the Squats never existed.
The Demiurg are a revitalization of the "Space Dwarf" concept. According to Jervis Johnson they will probably never be a major race, rather remaining in the background.
Despite this, certain miniature companies have been producing space dwarf models, and some players have even converted the rules of Warhammer 40K to allow them to play. However popular this trend has proven to be, the official ruling from Games Workshop is that only 40K races can be used in 40K.
Sources
Other Information
- Squat Structure army list/wargear section
- Wargear (Squat Armoury) army list/wargear section
- Squat Quotes Squat-related background quotes.
It should also be noted that anyone who mentioned squats on the Games workshop message boards (which clossed on Wednesday, 15th November, 2006) got permanently banned on the first offense with no warning.
