
                                  Chapter 17 - Squats
                                  ===================

17.1  Introduction
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 The first Human colonists reached the worlds around the Galactic core in the 
far distant past  Here they found vast mineral wealth including compounds 
smelted in the furnaces of dying suns.  They discovered strange substances 
formed at the Galaxies birth before the stabilisation of the laws of physics.  
The discovery of these almost unlimited resources came at just the right time, 
for Earths own mineral wealth was by now long exhausted.  The exploration and 
exploitation of the Galactic core became imperative for Mankinds survival.  It 
was a gamble that paid off.  Thousands of specially adapted spacecraft were 
dispatched to reap the harvest and with them wet hundreds of thousands of 
miners, engineers, and explorers.  Soon the Galactic core became the most 
densely settled part of the Galaxy.

 The stars of the Galactic core are ancient and dim in comparison with the 
Terran sun and other stars of the spiral arms.  The worlds that spin around 
these core stars are huge and rocky, rich in minerals but in all other 
respects barren and lifeless.  Daylight levels are low so the worlds are 
shadowy, sombre places which are inimical to plant life and so impossible to 
terraform.  The gravity of these worlds is great, usually two or three times 
that of Earth and sometimes even more.  Grey, cheerless and inhospitable, it 
is hard to imagine anywhere less likely to nurture Human existence.

 The original colonists were hardy miners and explorers, though frontiers folk 
who dreamed of finding fabulous wealth and returning back to Earth.  They dug 
homes for themselves in the rocky landscape, creating self-contained 
communities from the tunnels and load-chambers of exhausted mines.  Although 
huge cargo ships brought food with the colonists, the only way to feed the 
growing population was to grow nutritive algae in artificially lit hydroponic 
tanks deep below ground (similar to the methods used by the inhabitants of the 
ice world of Valhalla).  Dried and processed, this provided a basic material 
that could be ground into flour, retextured into course synthetic foods, or 
even brewed into crude but highly potent ale.  Water, a rare commodity in the 
colonies was (and still is) condensed from what little is present in the 
atmosphere.  It is rationed and when colonists (and present day Squats) die 
the moisture in their their bodies is returned to the hydroponic storage units.

 The high gravity, harsh environment, and monotonous diet gradually had their 
effect upon the settlers.  They became tougher, more resilient, physically 
shorter and more compact.  The process must have taken many thousands of 
years, during which time the new race began to develop a distinctive cultural 
identity.  It also acquired a new name - Squats - which aptly described their 
rapidly evolving physique.


17.2  The Time of Isolation
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 At some time in the distant past the Galactic core was cut off from the rest 
of human space by devastating Warp storms - most likely the powerful and 
widespread Warp storms that foreshadowed the birth of Slaanesh.  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.  With 
their planets inaccessible to the Human fleets the Squats built their own 
spacecraft and developed their own weapons to fight off marauding Chaos 
warbands and plundering Ork Warlords.  Some of the Homeworlds were lost to 
invasion, others were destroyed by environmental instability, and a few were 
devastated by internal strife.  Those that survived grew and prospered.  
Settlements were enlarged and fortified into impregnable strongholds.

 Lerft to fend for themselves the Squats were obliged to develop their own 
technological base.  Not only had they to re-invent complex machines such as 
spacecraft and advanced weaponry, but they had to keep their life-support 
systems and hydroponic units active.  Without air, heat and food the Squat 
communities would not be able to survive, and such matters became a priority 
for them.  Fortunately the natural expertise of these hardy miners and 
engineers enabled them to exploit the materials at hand, and they quickly 
developed alternative technologies to make up for the lack of supplies from 
Earth.

 The Warp storms that isolated the Homeworlds lasted for many thousands of 
years and were only dissipated just over ten thousand years ago.  This freed 
Human and Squat spacecraft to travel to and among the Homeworlds again, and 
contacts were quickly re-established between the former colonies and the newly 
founded Imperium.

 During their isolation the Squats had changed.  They were no longer Human and 
their civilisation had taken a divergent path that gave them many advantages 
over the Imperium.  Today the Homeworlds and the Imperium trade for their 
mutual benefit and, for the most part, enjoy peaceful relations.  Squats and 
Humans share many common enemies, including Orks, so it is in both races 
interests to cooperate wherever possible.  However, relations have not 
been entirely peaceful by any means.  Squats are intensely proud, bluff and 
straightforward, they take great hurt at any slight to their honour or 
double-dealing (especially in matters of trade) and are likely to be stubborn 
in pursuit of retribution.


17.3  The Homeworlds
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 There are several thousand Homeworlds and it is very likely that there are 
worlds still awaiting rediscovery after the Time of Isolation.  Each world has 
one or more Strongholds, and each Stronghold is more-or-less an independent 
community with its own laws, traditions and armed forces.  If a world has 
several Strongholds, as most do, it is usual for one to be pre-eminent, so 
that it has nominal rule over the other lesser Strongholds.  Each of these 
communities is built over a labyrinth of mine workings which delve deep into 
the rocky planet.  Strongholds are vast and contain everything the Squats need 
to maintain their civilisation, including workshops, hydroponic plants, power 
generators, and atmospheric pumps.

 The size and inhospitable environments of the Homeworlds mean that their 
surfaces are mostly barren and uninhabited.  The Strongholds themselves are 
havens amongst plains of solid rock and seas of shale and dust.  Their 
atmospheres are mostly composed of inert gases (the so called "noble" gases - 
Helium, Neon, Xenon, Krypton, Argon, etc. - figure prominently), so it is only 
possible to survive inside the Strongholds, in the outposts dotted over the 
planet, or using pressurised environment suits.

 Outposts are built for many reasons.  Some are simply watch towers whose role 
is to observe the atmospheric approaches of spacecraft, others house batteries 
of huge lasers that defend the planet from attack.  The most common types of 
outpost are mines.  The Strongholds are situated over the original mine 
sites.  Although these can still be worked it is very time consuming and 
expensive to do so as the remaining deposits lie deep underground.  It is more 
practical for the Squats to build new mines in ore-rich areas.

 To reach their mines the Squats use huge mobile fortresses called Land Trains 
whose vast tracks enable them to cross the daunting continental shelves and 
seas of dust.  Also utilised are smaller boat like craft, skimmers, and heavy 
walkers - vehicles using a bipedal walking like motion with heavy "feet" and 
sophistocated balance mechanisms.  This is a dangerous business, for most of 
the Homeworlds have thick layers of finely pulverised rock which flow and move 
very much like water.  It is possible to cross these dust seas, but accidents 
are common, and Land Trains can sink without trace if they venture into deep 
dust.  The dust itself often has a high ore content and can be mined by 
factory Land Trains equipped with massive scoops and towing powered track-cars 
or ore, supplies, or living quarters.  The Iron Sea of Grindel is one such 
region, and the greatest single source of ferrous ore in the entirety of the 
Homeworlds.  Other dust seas are composed of chromium compounds, silica, or 
tiny mineral crystals.

 The weather systems of the Homeworlds are unpredictable and, like the planets 
themselves, on a massive scale.  Storms can whip the dust seas into abrasive 
winds that will reduce a man to bone within seconds and nothing but atoms in 
the wind within a few seconds more.  Such storms can spring up suddenly and 
without warning, and can last for days or even weeks on end.

 Occasionally a dust storm will cover a whole world, plunging it into darkness 
as the roiling clouds blot out the dim light of the sun completely.  At such 
times it is impossible for aircraft to fly or spaceships to land.  The Squats 
have become used to their harsh worlds and can sense the subtle changes in the 
breeze that herald a storm.  Deep below ground in their Strongholds the Squats 
are safe from the turmoil above and can survive for years if need be.


17.4  The 700 Leagues
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 Although each Squat Stronghold is independent they have developed relations 
with each other.  Some Strongholds have been allies for thousands of years, 
and interchange of peoples and cultures has made them virtually one nation.  
Others are loosely federated to their neighbours and share the duty of 
patrolling local space and defending outlying planets against the Orks and 
Chaos.  These alliances are usually formed for defence or trading purposes, 
but they also define power blocks within the Homeworlds, where the most 
powerful rivals gather together the other Strongholds into mutually supportive 
Leagues.

 Each League is led and dominated by a single powerful Stronghold, and 
includes other Strongholds which either rely upon their leader for trade and 
defence, or which identify themselves with their League on cultural or 
historical grounds.  There are currently approximately 700 Leagues in all, the 
most powerful being the influential League of Thor which includes over 300 
Strongholds.  The other Leagues are less powerful, and the smallest is the 
League of Emberg which lies close to the Maelstrom and includes only four 
Strongholds.

 Other Leagues include the League of Kapellar, which is actually the largest 
in size, and the League of Norgyr which lies closest to Earth.  Although these 
Leagues, and many others, are permanent institutions, others represent looser 
or temporary alliances between Strongholds.  The total number of Leagues 
therefore varies, but the most influential remain fairly constant and form the 
largest united political institutions of the Squats.

 Although the Squats have a strong sense of mutual preservation it has been 
known for rival Leagues to go to war against each other.  Such occasions can 
lead to lasting enmity, for Squats are inclined to remember deeds of infamy 
for many generations.  The League of Thor and League of Grindel fought an 
unusually bitter war some 2000 years ago when settlers from both sides clashed 
over the exploitation of the Lost Stronghold of Dargon.  The war that followed 
resulted in the destruction of several Strongholds and the capture of Thungrin 
and Bruggen by the League of Thor.  Peace only came with the huge Ork invasion 
of Grunhag the Flayer which obliged all the Leagues to cooperate against their 
mutual foe.  Although the war ended with the rout of the Orks the two Leagues 
have remained distrustful rivals and both sides consider themselves owed heavy 
debts of blood and honour.

17.5  The Guilds
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 When the civilisation was isolated from the rest of Human space the Squats 
found it necessary to preserve the engineering skills and knowledge they 
possessed for future generations.  Their lives depended upon maintaining their 
Strongholds, generating air and food, and defending their worlds from attack.  
To this end they evolved a complex system of Guilds.  The Guilds drew together 
all the information and knowledge available and set about recording it for 
future generations.  As the years passed the Guilds became the repositories of 
knowledge, and Guild training produced all the engineers, miners, and other 
specialists vital to keep the Strongholds running.  With the passage of 
centuries the Guilds spearheaded research into alternative technologies and 
invented many of the machines that remain unique to them.

 The Guilds extend across all Strongholds and Leagues allowing information to 
spread throughout the Homeworlds.  Initially this was necessary because 
knowledge and specialist skills were scattered throughout the Homeworlds and 
had to be drawn together just to enable the Strongholds to survive.  As the 
Guilds developed, they sought to maintain the free passage of information 
despite the rivalries of individual Homeworlds or Leagues.  Today the Guilds 
have become the common factor that unites all Strongholds, enabling each to 
benefit from advances in technology and discoveries of ancient knowledge.  
Although individual Squat Guildsmen are loyal to their own Stronghold and 
League, they also owe loyalty to their Guild and to the dissemination of 
knowledge.

 The Guilds have succeeded in developing several technologies which are 
exclusive to the Squats, and are not even understood by the Technomagi of the 
Adeptus Mechanicus on Mars.  These include the neoplasma reactor powered by a 
warp-core and held in thrall by a zero-energy containment field.  No other 
race has developed this technology, and the Adeptus Mechanicus gave up their 
experiments with warp-cores after the infamous Contamination of Ganymede.  
The Squats have mastered many other technologies, and have developed still 
others which they consider too dangerous to use.  Although the Guilds make 
their discoveries available to their own members they keep their knowledge 
from other races.  In particular the Squats regard the Technomagi of the 
Adeptus Mechanicus as little better than sorcerers wallowing in superstition 
and ignorance.  This is not entirely true, but the Squats have a practical and 
straightforward attitude to technology which is very different from the 
neo-arcana of the Imperium.


17.6  The Ork Wars
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 The Homeworlds lie close to two of the most dangerous adversaries in the 
Galaxy, the Chaos warbands of the Maelstrom and the extensive Ork empires of 
the Northern spiral.  The Squats have never relented in their struggle against 
Chaos, and lose no time in tracking down and destroying Chaos raiders.  The 
main threat from Chaos has always been in space, where Chaos warbands attack 
ships as they move through the Warp.

 The other great enemy of the Squats are the Orks, although this was not 
always the case.  At one time the Squats were content to leave the Orks alone 
and even to trade with them to some extent.  The Homeworlds were inhospitable 
to Orks in any case so there was never any great clash of interests between 
the two races.  This state of affairs did not last very long.

 The Squat records of their early history are confused and incomplete, but it 
is clear that after a short period of mutual trading the Squats found 
themselves suddenly attacked by massive Ork forces.  Caught by surprise 
several Strongholds fell to the Ork invaders, and only a last ditch defence 
eventually brought the green-skinned aliens to a halt.  The Squats were 
appalled at the massive loss in life but also by the unashamed treachery of 
the Orks.  The Squats have never forgotton this lesson.  Some of the more 
enduring Squat folk legends tell of the hopeless defence of a beleaguered 
fortress or a stranded Land Train during the Ork attack.  many wars have been 
fought against the Orks since the first Ork attack, all bitter conflicts 
fought to the last proud warrior.


17.7  Relations with Other Races
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 With races other than the Orks, relations are mixed.  The relationship 
between the Homeworlds and the Imperium have always been strained, and the 
history of the two peoples is studded with bouts of war and ill-feeling.  
Squats are not diplomatic by nature, their brutal manners and fierce tempers 
do not always inspire confidence in Men.  Eldar regard the Squats as little 
more than beasts and only barely preferable to Orks.  But the Squats care 
little for the effete ways of Men or the mincing delicacies of the Eldar.  
Squats are robust in body and bluff in manner, and consider other races 
fragile and lacking in the good, honest Squat virtues of comradeship and 
directness.


17.8  The Ancestor Lords
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 Squats typically live to a great age, often two or three times as long as a 
Human.  However, as few Squats live for many hundreds of years, and as they 
age they develop unusual powers.  At first these abilities are relatively 
modest psychic phenomena, such as second sight, intuitive telepathy, and mild 
psychokinesis.  As they get older their powers develop, and their minds become 
more closely aligned with the Warp.  Eventually the voices of dead Squats 
reach out and speak to them, and the ancient Squat becomes an Ancestor Lord.

 All the wisdom of the ages is his to command and his powers expand beyond 
comprehension.  The spirits of long dead ancestors gather around him, 
protecting him from the myriad dangers of the Warp, and whispering the secrets 
from ages past.  To his people he becomes a revered manifestation of the 
ancestors, a link between the material world and the Warp, and a Squat to be 
respected and feared.

 The Ancestor Lords are advisors to Kings and Guildmasters, the link between 
the Squat Strongholds and their inalienable past.  There are very few in all 
the Homeworlds, and they travel freely throughout the 700 Leagues, guiding the 
Squats in their dealings with their friends and foes.  Despite their age they 
are awesome figures of massive girth and strength.  They have great gnarled 
beards that are testament to hundreds of years of constant growth.  From 
beneath huge bushy eyebrows unflinching eyes stare out like dark pools filled 
with centuries of knowledge.


17.9  Squat Technology
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17.9.1  Exo-Armour
------------------

 Squat Exo-armour is very much like Terminator armour in that it combines a 
mobile exo-skeleton with heavy armour plating.  The Squats developed 
Exo-armour from the sealed environment suits they used in asteroid mining 
operations and other hostile surroundings such as plasma core reactor chambers 
and chemical storage tanks.  As the Squats were forced to defend themselves 
during the Age of Isolation they converted much of their civilian equipment 
into efficient wargear, with Exo-armour becoming one of the most abiding 
creations from that period.  Squat Exo-armour is lavishly decorated with 
precious metals and embellished with traditional designs or runes declaring 
the accomplishments, wealth and lineage of the wearer.


17.10  Profiles
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Squat Basic Profile (average):
  M  WS  BS  S  T  W  I  A  Dex Ld  Int Cl  WP  Fel
  3  41  21  3  4  7  20 1  21  51  31  51  51  21

Squat Engineer Guildmaster:
  M  WS  BS  S  T  W  I  A  Dex Ld  Int Cl  WP  Fel
  3  61  41  4  5  10 40 2  41  77  51  61  61  26

Squat Ancestor Lord:
  M  WS  BS  S  T  W  I  A  Dex Ld  Int Cl  WP  Fel
  3  81  51  6  7  14 50 4  41  81  51  67  67  26

