Leagues of Votann

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200,000 clones are ready with a million more well on the way.

"Right after Mankind’s colonization of the galaxy came its first true golden age. Reared by machine prophets, the survivors of the Oedipal plagues built civilizations that equaled and even surpassed their Solar forbears."

– CM Koseman, "All Tomorrow's"

"So, we're talking about space dwarfs who need more RAM for their gods?"

– Anon

"building better worlds"

– The Weyland-Yutani corporation

"revolutionising safety for an uncertain future"

– Vault-tec corporation

"Bite my shiny metal ass!"

– Bender

The Leagues of Votann (also known as the Unsquatted Squats) is a ""new"" faction in the Warhammer 40,000 universe. They are gatherings of short abhuman clones called the Kin (more commonly known as Squats by the dirty Necromunda gangers), bound together by the Votann, super-cogitators from the Dark Age of Technology. Each League has its own Votann, and are organized in strongholds around it. They used the data stored to survive among the stars and maintain their culture across generations. Of course, since some factions are touchy about AI, the Leagues are very cautious when dealing with its closest ally, hence their secretive lifestyle.

However, because of the setting, everything is not that simple. Since Windows is not regularly updated anymore and issues that have arisen from having remained active for literal millennia, the Votann began to deteriorate. If they want to repair their computer, they must wage war with other shitcoin miners for more processing power, the Kin have to once more brave a galaxy full of danger.

History

Even the oldest living Kin don’t remember what their earliest days were like, though some undeniable “First Truths” remain constant in the Votanns’ data tracks. One such truth is that the First Ancestors departed from ancient Terra prior to the Unification Wars to harvest the untold riches of the galaxy with the first holds being settled near the galactic core. What became of these Ancestors is unknown, but curiously when the Ancestors begun to fade away…the Votann are first mentioned.

A second First Truth is that the Kin have always been a cloned people. The Ancestors used genetic systems called “cloneskeins” to manipulate and modify their race’s molecular structure, and continue to define their overall division of labor. Over time the Kin became squatter, denser, and stronger than an average human growing no more than five feet tall max. They’ve even been able to artificially neuter their psychic footprint to avoid the attention of Chaos, in a not too dissimilar to how the Tau souls work. Other examples of this engineering can be seen in the Hearthkyn Warriors, who often are also engineered with particular cloneskeins that allow them to specialise in combat – heightened senses, improved stamina, and the ability to see better in the dark, to name but a few. In contrast, others augment their bodies for battle with mechanical limbs and synthetic organs, with members of the powerful Cthonian Mining Guilds being noted as extensive users of these body modifications. This is not that unexpected as that particular guild (which is noted as being a particularly extreme embodiment of the usual belligerent acquisitiveness of the Kin) is willing to fearlessly locate, secure, and harvest resources for their race from environments so dangerous that even other Kin would baulk at their hazards leading to a need for extensive augmentation on their part. Because of all the above, some fans are now speculating that GW is tying the Men of Stone thread to the modern Squat civilization (either to the Squats themselves or to the Votann) given the Men of Gold and Men of Iron have already been speculated to be Perpetuals and abominable intelligence. With the reveal of the “Iron Kin,” their fully-mechanical and true AI robot social class, who were designed with a prerogative to help their meaty cousins, this theory of the Kin being the Men of Stone could bear all the more weight.

At some point during the reconstruction after the Horus Heresy, the ancestors of the Ironhead Squats arrived from the Leagues to help with rebuilding efforts on Necromunda, but for an unknown reason stayed on the world and regressed technologically.

With the formation of the Great Rift, the Leagues had lost a few holds and trade routes, pressuring them into expanding and gaining new trade routes, endorsing new colonization efforts, and slowly withdrawing from their semi isolated state.

Culture

In the modern day of the 41st Millennium, the culture of the Kin seems, according to the drip feed from WarCom, very egalitarian, with no distinction between male, female, machine or otherwise amongst its members. United in the guidance of the Votann, the Leagues of the Kin operate with seeming unity, with the Kin working in unison for the betterment of their Kindreds, or so it would appear to outsiders. The truth however is a little more complicated than that though.

The Leagues are semi unified conglomerates of "family states" (a cross between nation states and extended family) called Kindreds, guilds, Freelancers, and kinhost armies. While the Leagues are very communal and chummy with their fellow kin, this does not stop the dark influences of a past long gone from seeping into their civilizations.

Entire planets with ecosystems and civilizations stripped to the bone, regardless of the ethics. Ferocious competition between Guilds and freelancers, who have taken on the mantle from dark age corporations, merc groups, independent contractors, and cartels. While the Kin do live to serve their fellow kin, their societies, and their ancestors, they are also filled to the brim with societal wide greed and hunger. As individuals, they may or may not have such hungers, but as communities they will devour entire worlds. Not even the universe itself will be enough for their wants.

This does not mean they are the type to cut corners. Far from it. Like their many Dwarven counter parts in other media, one of the things they appreciate is fine ass Craftmanship. No planned obsolescence, shoddy piss water, and easy to break communicators here. Only the best in quality is acceptable (or at least, the best they can make). And this is not even such a difficult feat for them. High quality mass produced goods is the norm for League society, with their high technology and industrial society. Many of their holds are even live in factories, constantly churning out master crafted items at a constant pace.

But despite all their comforts and conveniences, they are still a hardy people who revere their ancestors and promote the importance of sacrifice.

Technology

Let's not beat around the bush here, their stuff is straight up better than the Imperiums. While they didn't retain everything after the collapse of the golden age of man, they retained far more than their Imperial counterparts, to the point where they can at least echo daot society and its tech.

They can edit their souls. They can make stable mutations and psykers. Their guns hit harder and faster, and even their basic infantry can prove to be trouble for your average space marine. Agri-worlds? Why grow your food using outdated primitive farming methods when you can grow, and make your foodstuffs in your factories, labs, and indoor facilities. Cybernetic implants and genetic modification is the norm, and advanced helper ai citizens walk the streets as equals. They advanced ion weaponry, something that terrified the shit out of the Imperium to the point where they just straight up banned it. And unlike the unstable, insecure, filthy, and crime infested hive worlds with their hive cities, Holds could be considered closer to actual fortified arcologies than the hive cities ever were. Like previously stated, strictly better.

Unfortunately for them, much of the tech they didn't retain was the top of the line tech, things like the Votanns. Due to this, while they can emulate most of past pinnacle human civilization, their development and research has slowed down to a crawl thanks to their big moai heads also slowing down (which does the work not many in the galaxy could ever do, thanks to their smarts). Until this is fixed (if it ever will be), they are stuck behind the eldar and the necrons technologically. But hey, at least they aren't on the Imperium’s level.

Aspects of League society

• Leagues: Conglomerates of family states united for better economic and defensive potential. Competitive, but not to the point of self destruction and to the point where it gets in the way of productivity. Looks down on the imperium. Hates the eldar because they are entitled bastards who are bad for business. Some are business partners with the tau and gives them ion guns and other goodies. Loves their Votanns to point of self sacrifice. Currently trying to fix up their broken trade routes after the great rift appeared.

• First Ancestors: The daot colonists (engineers, miners, etc) who journeyed to the galactic mineral rich core in generation ships as part of a large colonization effort. Not much else is know about them besides the fact they disappeared when the Votann first appeared...

• Votanns: super-cogitators, which contain Gestalt repositories of unimaginable inherited wisdom and knowledge, along with Ancestor Cores with their self-organizing datastacks and quantum infocores. They are currently breaking down and developing "personalities"

• Leadership:

— Guild Masters: Guild Leaders who have worked their way up through the Leagues meritocracy. Note that there can be multiple guild masters on the council.

— Grimnyr: Kin psykers that wield massive amounts of power. Capable of accessing "empyrically archived" Votann wisdom. They are probably deeply tied to the Votanns and represent them in their wing of the Leagues governments. Probably have very long beards.

— Kinhost commanders: Leaders of the Kinhost militaries.

• Kindreds: A combination between nation state and extended family, essentially the societies that make up the Leagues. Generally lives in holds (although it's population is encouraged to go travel throughout the galaxy and make their ancestors proud). They are very communal in nature, and their populations range from a couple dozen to the millions.

• Kinhosts: The militaries/militias of the Leagues, made after the kindreds united and combined their militaries. Soldiers are typically drawn from the civilian populous, but are not restricted to kinhosts only, as depending on their decision, the soldier may return to civilian life after they have done their service. Objectives range from protecting colonization efforts, protecting resources extraction operations and other guild/kindred interests, and overall defense to annihilating entire worlds because they know too much. Has a slightly overall civilian look to them (but are still more deadly than Imperial forces).

• Guilds: The overall backbone of the Leagues. Independent commercial groups. Builds holds and everything else. Regulates and manages almost everything. Does not like cutting corners. Very competitive and ruthless in general. Is unofficially apart of the government. Typically doesn't leave their own holds. Does not like Freelancers and outcasts (and the occasional rival guild).

• Freelancers: Independent contractors, mercenaries, traders, explorers, plumbers, etc. Does the same thing as the guilds except with less political influence and resources. Not too fond of guilds

• Holds: The homes of the Leagues and its organizations and populous. Typically enclosed and fortified, holds vary in type and size. Can range from underground tunnels and narrows, to fortified bunkers and live in factories, to hive cities and ecumenopolises. Also comes in the form of space stations, asteroid colonies, and ships. Industrial and high tech in nature, yet very cozy with a lot of empasis on community, closeness, and interaction. Essentially hive cities except not shit and on steroids.

• Kin: The general population of the Leagues. Mainly consists of ironkin and clonekin (although, there could be more). Tough as nails, and artificial in nature. Comes from "crucibles". Generally enhanced by both biological and cybernetic means. Very intelligent and industrious. Loves their ancestors to death. Loves their Kin and kindreds. Loves making their master crafts. Loves living in their fortified holds (but will go out into the galaxy to serve the ancestors, their guilds, and their communities).

• Outcasts: Hippies, probably.

Known Leagues

• Urani-Surtr Regulatess:

• Greater Thurian League: The probable poster boy League.
• Trans-Hyperian Alliance: The most puritanical in their worship of the Ancestors. Sacrifice has more importance to them than the other leagues.
• Kronus Hegenomy:

• Ymyr Conglomerate: A massive and ancient power bloc

• Seran-Tok Mercantile Leagues: Has risen to prominence and profited greatly from trade with the T’au Empire. Probably the Demiurg.

Relationship/interactions with other factions

Ironhead Squat Prospectors: See's each other as distant cousins who can share a pint in the pub and complain about the aeldari.

Tyranids: They very much don't like the Leagues in the same vain as the necrons and chaos. Any biomass the Leagues have is locked away behind metal, industry, advanced technology, and a bunch of fuck off guns. Even the populations encased in their holds aren't exactly good sources of biomass, with their wide spread use of cybernetics, and the Iron Kin populations. Don't expect them to enter League space too much unless they are being sneaky and cunning about it...

Tau: Views the Leagues as grand benefactors and business partners of the greater good and the tau empire (although they could certainly improve their view points and dedication). The Leagues see the Tau as great business partners/dipshits who let the competition get a leg up/a similar alien people/annoyances

The Imperium of man: Views the Leagues as useful and good enough for trade, yet sketchy abhumans who stray too far from the holy human form and are probably heretics. On the world of Necromunda at least, they are looked down upon as Squats despite all they've done for the world. Likewise, the Leagues views the Imperium as a bunch of disappointing dumbfuck competitors who gets into amusing antics and yet are still good enough for trade.

Aeldari: Guess

Dark Aeldari: Guess again

Aeldari Exodites: Guess thrice

Necrons: Not enough info, but it's probable they'll find each other somewhat amusing. But it's a guarantee the typical "get off my property" scenario with the necrons will play out.

Orks: considering they were forced to sign an actual peace treaty with daot civilization, it's very possible orks are not a big fan of even fighting the Leagues. Then again, the Leagues aren't quite up to the level of daot civilization. But then again, they'll still probably be a big irritation for the orks. The Leagues will probably see the orks as a fascinating, annoying, dumb green horde that needs to be researched.

Chaos: They will find the Leagues to be a major source of irritation. The Leagues actually have at least some idea on how to deal with chaos. They dimmed their souls, use soulless ai to pilot through the warp, have top notch security, and live high quality and comfortable lives in their holds. They see little to even no chaos corruption in the Leagues and will probably see more loses than wins with them.

The adeptus mechanicus: a series of mental breakdowns and cybernetic overloads will. Whether it's due to them seeing Heresy in the Leagues, or due to the many shinies the Leagues have doesn't matter, as they will see the Leagues as major competition regardless of the reason.

Speculation/Theories

A bit of speculation around the Votann is if anything else in the setting will be retconned into/explained as being one. The most obvious candidate is the House Van Saar STC, described as being "large building" sized and "damaged" in that its spewing out radiation, similar to the disrepair some Votann are said to be in albeit more extreme, and if it was a Votann it would explain why Squats are on Necromunda.

The Votann are fueled by alcohol.

Influences/Mythology/Aesthetic

What makes the LoV the LoV?

Forces of the Kin

GW is being coy about their reveal. For now we have one statline to go on. However, a large datacard leak pretty recently has revealed a number of new units that their roster will have. We also know their full forces are referred to as the Kinhosts with individual armies groups being called oathbands. Those units that we are unsure of will be listed with an asterisk, as what we know about them so far is based on flavor text and assumption.

• Warlord*: Retaining their names from the times of Rogue Trader, the Kin Warlords likely play a much similar role to their predecessors, being the military leaders of their leagues.

• Kâhl: Experienced battle hardened Generals who proudly wield the Leagues advanced weaponry, and are the final authority over an individual Oathband in the Kinhost militaries, Subordinate only to their Kindred’s ruling Votannic Council.Their most important role is to cast the Eye of the Ancestors over their foes — marking out priority targets and ensuring the most dangerous enemies are the first to feel the wrath of the Kin

• Brôkhyr: The engineers and lead craftsman of the Leagues, named after the dwarf of Norse mythology, Brokkr, who built Mjolnir. They just blow tech priests out of the water on every level, as not only do their (creatively named) A.N-vyl Terminals (just picture a 3D printer but for guns) have MANY full STCs inside that make all their guns all that and a bag of chips in comparison to those of the Imperium, but they're also not limited by dogma and orthodoxy when it comes to technological advancements, meaning they actively upgrade their shit.

• Grimnyr*: The predominant psykers of the Leagues. Gone are the days of Living Ancestors, as the Kin now name their dwarf wizards after the false identity Odin took while on a bet from Frigg, from Norse Mythology (or ripping off the WHFB dwarf god Grimnir. Still not sure how they role into the Leagues' society but we can assume that they intermediate between the Warlords and the Votann.

• Cthonian Berserks*: Hailing from the Cthonian mining guilds which are noted for venturing to environments even other Kin fear to tread, these furious and heavily augmented close combat murder machines are a sci-fi reimagining of Slayers from WHFB. These frontline fighters originally began as Kin who enhanced the physical capabilities of their cloneskeins with cybernetic upgrades and cyberstimms, all the better to extract precious minerals from rad-plagued nebulae, explosive asteroids, and fathomless ocean depths. Now tasked with dealing with their people’s enemies they eschew ranged weapons, instead charging into battle with modified advanced mining gear like heavy plasma axes, concussion mauls, and power fists all while wearing little or no armor besides that which their cyborg augmentations provides.

• Hearthkyn Warriors: Because replacing i's with y's is so sci-fi and trademark friendly. The Hearthkyn are essentially identical in terms of origin as the Guardian Defenders of the eldar, in that they are the core infantry force of the Leagues' military that were conscripted from their civilian populations. However, rather than being a militia roused during times of conflict, the Hearthkyn are instead closer to real-world militaries, in that the soldiery serve for an extended period of time before going home to their civilian professions. Serving in the Hearthkyn, anyone can enlist: male, female, flesh or metal, as Kin are Kin, after all. The units themselves are equipped with all manner of hullabaloo Squat guns depending on their specialization, on the lighter end there are the Autoch-pattern bolters used for assault and laying down covering/saturation fire, there are also bolt shotguns, and bolt revolvers. On the heavier side there are volkanite disintegrators, ion blasters (whose technology the Kin apparently gave to the Tau much to the Imperium’s ire) and HYLas auto-rifles all of which are used to sunder the defences of heavily-armoured opponents. Finally there’s also specialized heavy weapons such as L7 missile launchers, EtaCarn plasma beamers, Graviton blast cannons, and magna-rail rifles. All these ranged weapons are supported by smart tech integrated into Kin battlegear. The haptic utility nerve transmission recalibrator modules – HunTR for short – interface with their neural augmetics to establish a feedback loop between firearms and their users. This system projects minute gravitational pulses to maintain a stable firing platform even while running at full pelt – or zooming along on a flying trike. For close combat they got plasma blades, plasma axes, and concussion weapons like gauntlets, hammers, and mauls that amplifies the kinetic energy behind a Kin’s strike enough to launch an Ork boy into the air. As for protection they wear their own brand of power armor called Void armour comprised of hardened jointed segments which are hooked into a void suit beneath. The suit is fashioned from magnaferrite weave, and often reinforced with adamantine and enhanced with microfield generators for a level of protection that any Imperial Guardsman would give their left gonad to have!

• • Theyn: Sci-fi spelling for the old Anglo-Saxon Thegns/Thanes (Fantasy Dwarfs had Thanes as heroes, so another connection there). They are experienced warriors that serve as squad leaders in Hearthkyn and Einhyr Warrior squads of 10 to 20 warriors and are able to arm themselves with a variety of hand-to-hand combat weapons, including brutal concussion gauntlets, plasma blades, and vicious plasma axes in addition to high quality ranged weapons. Theyns communicate with their squad with the aid of cybernetic implants – relaying strategic instructions from the commanders of the Oathband to their units, and can be differentiated from the other kin by the fancy animal headed crest mounted on the back of their armor.

• Einhyr Hearthguard: Named after the Einherjar of Valhalla, they are the newly-christened Hearthguard Terminators of old, being the honored warriors selected from a Kinhold's most accomplished fighters, clad in Exo-Armour. They're armed with a shoulder mounted grenade launcher, a hand-held Volkanite Disintegrator, and either a power first with a retractable plasma blade or a Thunder Hammer. Like regular Hearthkyn Void armor the Exo-armor also has the HunTR system of micro gravity field generators built in to help keep their aim steady allowing them to fire on the move.

• Hekaton Land Fortress*: A (presumably) large armored vehicle that can double as a defensive emplacement.

• Hernkyn Pioneer: THE TRIKES RETURN! AS HOVERTRIKES! And with a female driver. It looks like a spider-tank tachikoma from Ghost in the Shell fucked a Harley and their baby came out a hoverbike. Hernkyn Pioneers are ridden by independently minded Kin who serve as scouts and outriders for the Kinhosts. They exchange the heavier armor of the Hyrthkin for lighter void suits backed up by armored trench coats, an old style pilot’s cap, and when necessary a gas or oxygen mask. Before you make the mistake of thinking they’re outlaw bikers though it should be noted that they are not seen like that at all amongst their own people. Rather in eyes of the Kin the Pioneers willingness to go off alone is considered courageous and selfless as they are putting their own lives at risk for the sake of their families, in effect making them the equivalent of the WFB Dwarf rangers. Anyway, to ensure they can keep riding for as long as possible the Pioneers make sure to carry any all equipment they might conceivably need with them at all times, from bedrolls to digging tools strapped to their rides. To aid them in scouting their trikes come equipped with multiwave comms arrays and pan-spectral scanners which are all quite useful for picking up strategically important data. Weapons-wise the riders can be armed with a bolt pistol, or a bolt shotgun, and a plasma blade for a backup, while the Trike itself was equipped with a magna-coil autocannon mounted on the front. In addition if the rider is willing to take along a passenger then it’s possible to mount another heavy weapon on the back of the vehicle like a rotary Hy-Las (high yield laser) cannon or whatever else might be needed. These weapons are linked to the driver and passenger’s implants via the HunTR system so they can fire on the move.

• Sagitaur ATV: A six wheeled infantry fighting vehicle, that takes its name from the centaur shaped constellation Sagittarius, the Sagitaur is used for surveying inhospitable alien terrain. The Sagitaur is a rapid-response ATV suited to scouting operations and lightning-fast armoured offensives alongside Hernkyn Pioneers. Its armoured carapace is durable enough to shrug off everything from rockslides to plasma blasts. Sagitaurs usually operate in pairs and are remarkably heavily-armed for their size, with a nose-mounted twin bolt cannon complemented by a swivelling turret weapon, such as a HYLas beam cannon, L7 missile launcher, or MATR autocannon. Once they’re right up in the enemy’s lines they will disgorge their troops, in the form of a full squad of infantry which can be split between the two vehicles, who can then go on to seize vital objectives.

• Ironkin: The League have Men of Iron now, or at least true AIs. Appears to be comparable to a Servitor, although distinctly described as being treated as equal to the fleshy Kin. The Ironkin can mimic their living counterparts’ every behavior and demeanor, but display no sense of ambition and are hard-wired with a desire to be helpful. Their bodies are all built for a unique purpose and cannot be easily replaced should they be damaged. One such purpose are the Wayfinders, which are the supercomputer, squatty equivalent of Imperial navigators, allowing the Kin to traverse the Warp without the need of psykers, and thus reduce the threat of daemonic incursions.

• Ironhead Squat Prospectors: An offshoot of the Kin lacking a Votann ancestor core that set up shop on Necromunda right after the Horus Heresy, and are busy doing dwarrowesque things, while also dealing with the locals that sometimes try to loot their stuff. While they're only distantly related to the Leagues with no direct affiliation, they're said to get along. There is a small but not high chance the'll be options on the table top as well since Kill team has a precedent for a small unit from one box being an option like the sister novitiate, at the very least make a good proxy/conversion.

• Cargo-8 Ridgehauler: the Squat land trains return! Well they have on Necromunda at least. These huge transport trucks with multiple trailers and strapped on weaponry are used by Squat prospectors and regular human folk to cross the ash wasteland and protect valuable shipments. They aren’t quite up to the standard of the old land trains but at least it’s something.

• Demiurg: Largely here because of non-direct confirmation, but WarCom confirmed that the Tau received their ion weapon technology from the Kin, whereas in Battlefleet Gothic they claim that it was from the Demiurg, another race of dwarf space-miners. Logically, the term "Demiurg" may just be what the Tau call the Kin, or the Demiurg may be another offshoot culture of the wider kin race like prospectors above. After all, their clone-skein’s capability in stressing divergent phenotypes means visibly different strains could possible (like different breeds of dogs or cats). Or they could be just a League that decided to throw in their lot with the upstart T'au Empire rather than being in the bottom of the Imperium's to-do list.

Gallery

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  They see me dworfin, they hatin', Patrollin', and tryna catch me ridin' dirty.

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  dorfy thicc dorfy brick

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  ‘Ye want a piece a' me, lad??’

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  Sagitaur ATV, the perfect vehicle for dropping off some Hearthkyn at the pub for some brewskies on a moons surface.

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  One of the many holds in the Leagues, in all it's industrial might

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  A humble Ironkin, ready to serve for their civilization

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  Just another day of cyberstimms and Cyberpsychosis...