So I haven't officially named my 'Nids yet as far as what Hive Fleet they are referred to by the Imperium. Any suggestions?? I am trying to come up with something that is similar to the rest of the fleets in so far as to name them after mythological beasts/creatures from ancient cultures. I have always personally called my 'Nids, Hive Fleet Apophis but apparently after this recent codex that fleet has already been taken and the scheme is radically different from how mine are colored.
Soooo... here is the challenge.
Whoever submits the coolest entry for a Hive Fleet name will get a small but cool prize (converted miniature of your choice)!
Let the competition begin!!
16 comments:
Hive fleet...
Wendigo (the cannibalistic embodiment of gluttony, greed, and excess from the Algonquian Native cultures. There is also a Cthulhian equivalent called Ithaqua)
Graboid (remember Tremors?)
Thoughts? Feedback?
Is there a specific vein or culture you prefer over others?
Actually, if you can add some pictures of your finished works we can try to work within the bounds of your color scheme too.
Give us some more background information on your bugs!
He's out of town in Chicago until later this week. :)
Lets see.....a name huh?
Cerberus?
Scylla?
And he doesn't check this site daily?
Ouch..... Of course I check it daily!!!!
I just discovered an app for my Driod to connect to this site so I won't miss a thing anymore!
As far as preferences I have always had a love of Egyptian mythology but I can't seem to find a monster/god that hasn't already been used that represents something evil, cunning, and destructive. Apophis/Apep was the only god within the pantheon that I had considered.
Here is a rough list of current Hive Fleets:
Major: Behemoth, Kraken, Leviathan
Minor: Colossus, Scarabus, Hydra, Moloch, Jormungandr, Naga, Gorgon, Medusa, Scylla, Charybdis, Magalodon, Apophis, Tiamet, Ouroboros, Harbringer, Dagon, Locust, Perseus, Ophidia
"Major: Behemoth, Kraken, Leviathan
Minor: Colossus, Scarabus, Hydra, Moloch, Jormungandr, Naga, Gorgon, Medusa, Scylla, Charybdis, Magalodon, Apophis, Tiamet, Ouroboros, Harbringer, Dagon, Locust, Perseus, Ophidia"
"Egyptian mythology...represents something evil, cunning, and destructive...Apophis/Apep"
Let's see then, Behemoth and Leviathan are biblical; Kraken, Hydra, Gorgon, Medusa, Perseus, Colossus are all Greek/Roman and Scylla, Charybdis are straight out the Odyssey; Jormungandr is, off course, the monstrous snake that kills and is killed by Thor during Ragnarok; Tiamat is the queen of the dragons; Magalodon is the name of the prehistoric GIGANTIC shark; Ouroboros is the serpent eating its own tail, Greek I think; Harbringer is merely a name; Scarabus and Locust are swarms of insects; the others: Moloch, Apophis, Dagon, and Ophidia I'm not familiar with.
But Egyptian? Hmm, evidently Apophis was Greek (or is the term Helenized?) version of Apepi, a pharoh during the 15th dynasty.
What about Serapis? After Alexander the Great conquored (or liberated from the Persians) Egypt the Greeks tried to combine Egyptian dieties with Greek ones. Serapis was the combination of (I think) Pluto and Anubis.
Or you could look at some of the Egyptian creatures: Sphinx. Or even some of the names of the rulers: Tutankhamun, etc.
Hive Fleet Sphinx might work? The backstory might involve the original sighting of your fleet in an area with predominant sphinx statues and the fleet was named thusly.
While an appropriate diety would be interesting I'd go more for the look and name then change the diety to match your own needs. For example you might like the names Set but like the look of Osiris. So your particular diety could be Oset, a local diety of cunning evil and destruction. While the planet was being invaded and Space Marine fleets were sent to combat it the local populace took to human sacrifice to placate Oset. The new cult believing that the Tyrannid fleet was the personification of wrath sent to destroy them for neglecting worship of Oset, a god of the underworld believed to bring about destruction and aided the activities of murderers and thieves. Space Marines were eventually pushed back and attempted to nuke the planet from orbit (the only way to be sure) but their ships were destroyed as many of the Tryannid forces piggy-backed on the retreating ships and destroyed the fleeing forces from the inside. The planet and Space Marine chapter, lost to the Tyrannids, is now Hive Fleet Oset's staging ground for further invasions. The orbital platforms are the ruins of the chapter's fleets.
Just an example, but you get the idea.
Apep is the Egyptian equivalent of Jormungandr. He was a giant snake/crocodile who would consume Ra and bring darkness to the world. Apophis is the Greek translation of Apep.
Dagon is a god from the Lovecraft Mythos.
In modern English usage, "Moloch" can refer derivatively to any person or thing which demands or requires costly sacrifices. In ancient times Moloch was a god of sacrifice worshipped by many cultures in early Mesopotamia, including the Hebrews, Canaaites, and Phoenicians.
I like the idea of using some of the syncretic gods of the Helenistic/Greek era. I will have to consider that...
So which names are we down to then :P
As far as 'Nid lore goes I have always been a fan of Hive Fleet Behemoth. The color scheme also has been one of my favorites as well. The fact that a single tendril of the Tyranid swarm was able to wipe out an entire Space Marine chapter and do catastrophic damage in one fell swoop has always been a mark of pride for me as a 'Nid player.
I would like to believe that my fleet is tendril or offshoot of the original fleet. Perhaps they show up centuries after Behemoth, following the remanants of their path across the stars to the Kingdom of the smurfs (Ultramarines). For that reason I like to envision my bugs as a sort of resurrected hive fleet. I was trying to tie them to a word that represented death, despair, the afterlife, and resurrection.
The fact that the Imperium may have dealt with Behemoth now a new threat has emerged. I see humans seeing this as the end of all things, the beginning of the end essentially. Where as Behemoth was a quick jab to the throat, my bugs are sort of the cleaning crew and will proceed to mop up the remanats. Or perhaps Behemoth wasn't a "major" hive fleet at all but was a tendril of my own fleet.
There is a little inspiration to help with the naming of the bugs...
I have discovered a few more names that might work...
Orcus
Hellmouth
Hades
I was poking around Egyptian mythology and looking their version of the underworld: Duat. As it goes Anubis would weigh the heart of the individual against Ma'at (the goddess of truth who, in this case, appears as a feather). If the person was evil then the heart was fed to Ammit.
Ammit wasn't a diety in as much as she (alligator head, lionness upper half and hippo lower half) was a destructive entity that people feared, a devourer of the dead.
As you were looking for a parallel to Behemoth or a revival of Behemoth I thought you could make a portmanteau using Behemoth itself and one of the dieties.
For example Behem-Ammit, indicating that this was the old Behemoth lineage but is a newer, more destructive force as referenced by Ammit. It also gives it an Arabaic flavor in my mind. But of course I'm talking out of my ass.
I do like Hellmouth though.
Hades would be good but I keep hearing James Woods' voice and seeing the Disney/Kingdom Hearts Hades.
Orcus makes sense but anyone unfamiliar with Grecoroman mythology isn't going to see the name of a diety they are going to see orc+us and think it is a reference to orcs. Although 40K spells it with an 'K' for some reason.
Total aside but this actually sounds like a worthwhile line of thought: when you kill an orc, ork, whatever, they release spores. These spores mature into new orcs and the cycle repeats itself. This means that when orcs assault a planet you're never going to be able to get rid of them unless:
1. You carpet bomb the entire planet into oblivion.
2. The Tyrannids drain it dry.
Either way you're left with a barren rock afterwards. But let's say one of the hive fleets starts to munch on several orc planets and decides, hey these guys are great! Let's be more like them!
So suddenly the Tyrannid force gets meaner, gets greener, their lower jaws jut out more, they develop more muscle volume. Their keratin plates grow more haphazardly. Food for thought really.
Back on topic:
We're down to:
Hellmouth
Hades
Orcus
New suggestion:
Behem-Ammit
Ammit/Ammut
Additionally you could make a reference for your target, the ultramarines.
I've actively ignored their lore thus far but you could see if there is a diety/concept within that chapter to reference.
Or how 'bout, 'the Doom of Ultrimar' or something of that nature.
The Scourge of Ultrimar.
The Scourge of Ultramar sounds like a special character that I should make!!
I'm really starting to like Hive Fleet Hellmouth.
I think that might be the winner, unless someone thinks of something that is better.
Well if Hellmouth is your choice then who is the winner of the "Name the Hive Fleet" competition?
Since B did't provide much input I would say that you are the winner J! Besides I'm already helping B with his painting of his vehicles. What kind of minature would you like me to build for you??
What kind of miniature?
Well damn, now I don't know what I want.
I started this huge rambling list of different things you could choose from but at the end of the day I like surprises.
Pick something you've never done before, an entirely random figure from any company, something you've wanted to work on but never bothered to pick one up and go nuts.
Even if it has nothing to do with any of the armies I play it will be displayed (someday, when I get a display case) prominantly with the rest of the awesomeness that I will (one day) fill that cabinet with.
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