Abhuman


 * This article is about the races in the fictional Warhammer 40,000 universe. The term was also used by William Hope Hodgson in his novel The Night Land and his Carnacki stories.

Abhumans are races of fictional characters in the miniature wargame Warhammer 40,000. In the 41st millennium, abhumans are descendants of humans who have physically evolved after being isolated on worlds with various environmental conditions. The term may be short for "aberrant human", "abnormal human", or, less pejoratively, derived from the Latin term ab humanis, "from humans".

In an Imperium where genetic mutation and spiritual corruption are often viewed as interrelated, abhumans are a focus of much controversy in the 40k universe. In more liberal times under the Emperor, even markedly divergent abhumans such as the Beastmen could serve in the Imperial Guard. Since the Emperor's stasis however, only the lesser deviants, such as Ogryns and Ratlings, are allowed citizenship. However, they are still distrusted by the Puritan members of the Inquisition.

In recent editions of Warhammer 40,000, only Ogryns and Ratling Snipers are mentioned in the main rulebook. However, in US White Dwarf issue #302 (UK White Dwarf issue #303), an official article was published featuring Doctrines to allow Imperial Guard armies to take units of Abhumans, expanding on the Ratling Snipers and Ogryns of the rulebook. The article featured Beastmen (or Homo Sapiens Variatus), Mutant Slave Levies (ordinary mutant slaves rounded up for cannon fodder), Feral Ogryns (even nastier and more primitive than regular Ogryns), Nightsiders (originating from worlds of perpetual or near-perpetual darkness, little to no ability to see but perfect warriors for Night Fighting missions), Afriel Strain Soldiers (genetically engineered from DNA taken from great heroes of the Imperium, very unlucky and unpopular), Subs (relatively genetically stable but still hideously deformed mutant sub-breeds) and Gland Warriors (Imperial Guardsmen implanted with special organs and glands that secrete combat-useful chemicals, such as stimms and pain-killers).

Beastmen
Beastmen (Homo sapiens variatus) are horned, hoofed, hairy abhumans. They were formerly recruited for the Imperial Guard, where they used their bloodlust to fight for the Emperor and atone for the sin of being born mutants. They were led by individuals called packmasters.

In the current edition of the game, "pureblood" Beastmen are no longer seen in Imperial service, pushing overt mutants strictly into the forces of Chaos. Some lesser variants of the H.S.Variatus strain are allowed to exist in Imperial armed forces, still used for cannon fodder and expendable assault troops.

They are the 40K equivalent of the fantasy Beastmen.

Ogryns
The dim-witted race of Ogryns (Homo sapiens giganticus) evolved on high-gravity, low-temperature prison planets. They are huge and stupid, but extremely loyal once introduced to the Imperial Cult. Ogryns are used as shock troops, wielding heavy automatic shotguns called ripper guns, weapons simple enough for them to operate, although some feral specimens cannot fathom even them. They are also frequently used as bodyguards by Imperial Commanders.

Ogryns tend to be claustrophobic and thus are difficult to transport. They are typically led by "Bone'eads," who have undergone a procedure known as Biochemical Ogryn Neural Enhancement (hence the title), improving their intellect to near-human standards.

Sometimes, when speed is of the essence, the Imperial commanders with a fresh batch of conscripted Ogryns don't bother to teach them the comparatively complicated use of the standard Ogryn Ripper gun or the mental enhancement procedures as stated above, merely giving them another club and telling them to smash up the enemy.

As one might guess, the Ogryns are the 40K equivalent of the fantasy ogre.

Ratlings
Ratlings (Homo sapiens minimus) are small, loud, hungry and lecherous creatures (Rogue Trader) who serve as snipers in the Imperial Guard, a role in which they excel. Ratlings also serve as cooks, a skill they no doubt learned in order to feed their own stomachs, and also tend towards kleptomania, as Commissars report petty theft and illegal gambling rings increase substantially when ratlings are attached to a platoon or regiment. One named Ratling world is Ornsworld, which was attacked by Abaddon the Despoiler during the Gothic War.

They are a sub-branch on the human race, like the Ogryns. Due to their size they often bear the brunt of soldiers' jokes, although more than one soldier has been saved by the Ratlings' superior marksmanship. Essentially, Ratlings are the 40K equivalent of halflings / hobbits.

Squats
Squats (Homo sapiens rotundus) originated on high-gravity mining worlds towards the galactic core, making them short and tough. They seceded from the Imperium during the Age of Apostasy. They are said to have been mostly been wiped out by the Tyranids (the reasons for which are discussed in the Squats' own article).

The race is an equivalent of the fantasy dwarf.