Zoanthrope

A Tyranid Zoanthrope

A Tyranid Zoanthrope unleashing its powerful psychic powers upon Imperial Guard troopers

Zoanthropes are perhaps the strangest and most bizarre of the Tyranid's myriad breeds. They are powerful psykers, apparently engineered from harvested Eldar DNA to form living conduits for the focused power of the Tyranid Hive Mind. So extreme is their development that their atrophied bodies and bulbous heads are entirely energized by psychic force. They can shoot an extremely powerful Warp blast and rival the Eldar in their psychic prowess. They can move only by psychically levitating themselves, drifting across the battlefield to rain bolts of incandescent psychic power on the enemy or relay the Synapse commands of the Hive Mind to its lesser breeds.

Zoanthropes are without a doubt one of the more effective psychic creatures in a Tyranid army. They are not without defense as their Warp blast psychic power can even kill the mighty Space Marines. Zoanthropes are a 'must have' unit in a swarm full of smaller Tyranid breeds as they have extended synaptic control and provide hard-hitting attacks. Despite their power, however, Zoanthropes sometimes seem to be victims of their own massive energy reserves and there have been numerous afteraction reports of Zoanthropes “burning out” in battle. After hurling numerous bolts or sustaining their shield for an extended period, their craniums have been observed to burst and bleed out, sending them crashing limply to the ground. Psykers who have witnessed these events liken it to the perils of the warp which normal psykers can suffer when psychic energy overloads their minds.

In addition to their ability to hurl terrible bolts of warp energy at their foes, Zoanthropes are also very difficult to destroy, especially considering how weak and feeble their bodies appear. This resilience stems from their ability to create a powerful warp bubble around themselves, shielding them from all kind of weapons and even turning aside blows in close combat. Like their ability to drift above the ground, the shield seems a constant part of the Zoanthrope and is always present as long as the creature lives. It has been noted that the shield seems to strengthen or coalesce around particularly powerful attacks, flashing bright for an instant to turn aside the blow before fading back to a uniform shimmer.

Zoanthrope Psychic Powers

The Zoanthrope, like many of the Tyranid bio-forms, possess potent psychic powers, manifested not from drawing power from the warp but by tapping into the vast gestalt will of the Hive Mind itself:

• Catalyst - The Zoanthrope can send out a signal from the Hive Mind that infuses lesser Tyranid creatures with an unnatural vitality.

• Death Shock - When a Zoanthrope is slain, its death sends a shockwave through the Hive Mind. All Tyranid creatures within synapse range will automatically break or flee as quickly as they can.

• Dominion - The Zoanthrope reaches into the depths of the Hive Mind and strengthens its links to the indomitable alien will, projecting a blanket of control and purpose through its synapse to all Tyranid bio-forms nearby.

• Hypnotic Gaze - The Zoanthrope can use its powerful gaze to snare the mind of a nearby warrior, holding it immobile and helpless as long as its stare remains unbroken. The Zoanthrope can affect a single enemy with this power, provided it can make eye contact with its intended target.

• Leech Essence - Using the raw power of the Hive Mind, the Zoanthrope creature tears the life-force from a nearby foe, devouring its essence and healing its own wounds.

• Onslaught - The Zoanthrope infuses a nearby brood with burning energy and the pitiless drive of the Hive Mind to devour all in its path.

• Paroxysm - Summoning the power of the Hive Mind, the creature assails its foes with crippling pain, tearing at their nerve endings and filling their minds with agony that makes it difficult for them to stand let alone fight.

• Psychic Scream - The Zoanthrope may let forth a terrible silent scream that echoes in the mind as a crippling shriek. All those sentient, living creatures (not soulless machines or daemons) within a 20 metre radius suffer a crippling blow.

• The Horror (Psychic Power) - The Zoanthrope unleashes a wave of horror that gnaws at the resolve of its enemies.

• Warp Blast - By sending out a burning bolt of warp energy, the Zoanthrope blasts an area with power. The Zoanthrope must choose a single creature within range as the target, through others nearby may be affected.

• Warp Lance - More focused than a Warp Blast, the Warp Lance is primarily used against heavily armoured targets and vehicles. Taking the form of a single concentrated beam of energy, it can strike a single target within range.

Sources

• Deathwatch - Mark of the Xenos - pp. 34-35, 53