Squats used to be very well integrated into the Imperium. In the days of Rogue Trader it is told that they were able to hold positions in the priesthood and the Inquisition. (though there were never any models). Later, as the background imagery was developed and the Adeptus Mechanicus were fleshed out, Workshop released a Squat Adeptus Mechanicus alongside the human Adepts.

Squats were always a mechanically apt race, with even the regular battlfield trooper being able to mend weaponry. They had a very pragmatic approach ot technology completely at odds with the quasi-religious awe it was held in in the Imperium. Their technologies were lorded over by the Engineer Guilds and the Guildmasters who fulfilled an identical role on the battlefield to Techmarines.

Given this, I never understood why squats would enter the Adeptus Mechanicus. Why would they dedicate themselves to the Machine God? The religious differences between the Squats and the Imperium were pretty major, as the Squats had a system of ancestor worship that didn't quite gel with the idea of a God Emperor and the Imperial Cult. Somebody bright (probably in the priesthood) managed to fudge this all together by saying the spirits of the Squat ancestors were watched over by the Emperor - and everyone was happy.



This whole affair is an illustration of why Squats were dropped from the game. Most of their ideas were lifted directly from the dwarf background, and didn't fit at all in the 41st millenium. I reckon that if the dwarf archetype ever returns to 40K then it won't be a part of the Imperium, and their philosophy will be as pragmatic as their technology.

Labels: Squats

Posted by Curis at 7:58 AM