They may be short in stature but they are brave and loyal on the battlefield. Today we learn about the role that the mighty Squats play in the 41st millennium.
They may be absent from the tabletops at your local game store but their culture is deeply embedded in the world of Warhammer 40k. Let’s take a look at these awesome warriors.
Via: Lexicanum
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 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 colonization. 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 called it, the Age of Founding.
Relations with the Imperium
The Imperium first encountered the Squats during the age of reunification called the Great Crusade as the Emperor’s forces reached the worlds near the galactic core. Many of these worlds were the Squat homeworlds. Stubborn, insular and fiercely independent, war between the Squats and the Imperial forces was inevitable. High casualties suffered by the Space Marine Legions led to the development of the Mk. III Power Armour, suitable for the conditions being fought in – confined tunnel complexes with little cover.
The Squat homeworlds have long been part of the Imperium, but enjoy a level of autonomy greater than the ordinary self-governed Imperial world. The Homeworlds, while governing themselves without interference from the Adeptus Terra, are expected to follow Imperial policy on wider issues. The relationship between the Homeworlds and the Imperium is generally peaceful, although through history has been punctuated by bouts of war and bitterness. The Squats and the Imperium trade to their mutual benefit. Both races also share many enemies, especially Orks, making it in their best interests to cooperate. The Squats do not follow the Imperial Cult, rather they revere their ancestors. Squats fighting alongside the Imperial Guard often adopt the Emperor into their beliefs, as a guardian of their ancestors.
Squat technology is based upon the heavy mining equipment they brought with them to the Homeworlds. During their isolation from the rest of humanity they adapted it for other uses, notably exo-armor which was engineered from heavy mining suits. Squats continued to innovate and invent while humanity sank into a Dark Age. As a result, the Squats have developed technologies such as neo-plasma and warp cores far in advance of anything the Imperium owns. Some Squat technologies were absorbed into the Imperium, especially tunneling vehicles and weaponry such as the Termite.
In Warhammer 40,000 Squats had a similar armament to Imperial armies, coming with las and bolt weaponry as standard. Armies also included squads in exo-armor supported with bikes and trikes. Squats were characterized in Epic with colossal war machines, including the Land Train (which supported many different cars, including the Dragon Car, the Berserker Car, the Mortar Car and the Rad Bomb car), Leviathan (used as a mobile infantry transport, capable of holding almost a hundred squats within), Cyclops (a spaceship weapon mounted on a Colossus chassis and used originally to devastate rival Squat warlord’s war machines) and Colossus.
