Abhuman

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 was also used by William Hope Hodgson in his famous novel Night Land to name (apparently) several different species of intelligent beings evolved from humans who interbred with alien species or adapted to changed environmental conditions and were seen as decayed or malign by those living inside the Last Redoubt, who preserved artificially (to an unspecified extent) their human characteristics, though they were not fit fot the new environmental conditions.

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 White Dwarf issue #302, 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 (Homo Sapiens Variatus)
Beastmen 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; the Imperial creed having been made more xenophobic, 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.

Ogryns (Homo Sapiens Giganticus)
The dim-witted race of Ogryns 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.

Ogryns tend to be claustrophobic and thus are difficult to transport. They are typically led by "BONEheads," 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 abducted 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 (Homo Sapiens Rotundus)
Ratlings are tiny, hairy-footed abhumans 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.

Ratlings are the 40K equivalent of halflings / hobbits / gnomes.

Squats (Homo Sapiens Minimus)
Squats 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.