Farstalker Kinband
Farstalker Kinbands are Kroot mercenaries that form warbands and spread themselves far and wide across the Galaxy unlike mainstay Kroots which stay with the Tau; seeking fresh strains of beneficial genetic material to bring back to their species' Shapers.
One such Kinband, use the first of their Warsphere to board the Space Hulk Gallowdark to carry out this duty, after having earned the right to do so. However, their mission was interrupted by the Imperial Navy, whose ships caused the Kinband's Warsphere to retreat. Now stranded aboard the Space Hulk, they must find a way to escape, while also contending with the Gallowdark's denizens and a team of Imperial Navy Breachers.
It should be noted that due to their vast trade across the galaxy, Kinbands are usually more technologically advanced than previous Kroot, with bionics and advanced weaponry everywhere.
Types of Farstalkers[edit]
There is a wide variety of these nomadic Kroots, but several of them have been pinpointed due to relative consistency. Alongside your typical Kroot Warriors, these specialists are:
Kill-Broker[edit]
Kill-Brokers are a type of Kroot commander in Farstalker Kinbands. They act as the leader of the group or team and are the ones directly responsible for any raid or dealership they make. Ergo, they are the most experience member of the flock.
Due to this, Kill-Brokers are not only expert tacticians but also capable fighters and negotiators, ensuring their kin receive a just and fair compensation for their missions.
They are equipped with a close-combat weapon, usually something like a machete or blade and Pulse Rifle.
On the tabletop, the leader comes with 3 ranged weapon options. The Kroot Rifle has a better hit chance, but lower damage whereas the Pulse Rifle has a lower hit chance, but higher damage. There's an option for a Pulse Carbine, but it has the same hit chance as the rifle, but less damage and no special rules so it is kind of pointless. Other than their pretty decent BS, they are also expected to have a 2+ WS on their knife.
They also have a couple of special rules, Call the Kill lets you allocate a visible enemy as the target, and your kill team can keep one hit whenever they attack that enemy, and Photon Grenade can reduce enemy operatives' movement. They are currently categorize under Kill Team as a Combat, Marksman and Scout.
Cold-Blood[edit]
Cold-Bloods are basically the veterans of the Farstalkers. Comparable to a lieutenant for most armies, Cold-Blood is so named not because they are actually cold-blooded, but because years of experience have made their attitude as cold and collected as ice. In terms of rank, these guys are the second-in-command, right below a Kill-Broker.
Due to their long-service experience, the knowledge they have gained makes them adept with different ammunition types, selecting the optimum shot for each kill of their weapon. Their long service also makes them heavily scarred from years of conflict; toughening their skin and flesh to the point that they are tougher than your typical bird bois.
Cold-Blood are usually armed with your standard Kroot Rifle but with some unique stuff.
On the tabletop, these veterans are armed with a Kroot rifle; they get piercing and toxin shots for free and also reduce all critical hits against them to normal hits. Likewise, this angry chicken is also pretty tanky at 9 wounds with the ability to degrade the damage of any incoming critical damage to only deal regular damage, though things like Stun and MW will still hurt hard however. They are currently categorised under Kill Team as a Staunch and Marksman unit.
Tl;dr, quite the tough nuts to crack especially in kill-team.
Kroot Heavy Gunner[edit]
Kroot Heavy Gunners are Kroots who specialise in...well...carrying a heavy gun into battle. Considered the Kroot's answer to the Devastator Squad, the Heavy Gunners are there to provide firing support for the more nimble kindreds. As such, they have a larger muscle bulk and are less manoeuvrable than their more lanky kin, but are also tougher as a result of said denser muscle tissue.
Heavy Gunners can be armed with either of the following. The first is the Londaxi Tribalest whilst the second is the Dvorgite Skinner. They are very tanky birds which can somewhat offset their limited mobility and being slow-as-molasses.
On the tabletop, the Heavy Gunner is the slowest of the lot as both his gun options have Cumbersome, so he won't be going anywhere as the guns he carries limit how far he can go before being unable to shoot; but the weapons he is packing should not be underestimated. As such, make preparations to hide behind any cover you find before you unleash your big guns.
The Dvorgite Skinner, which has a short range, but high accuracy and attacks, which can spread to other enemies nearby to the initial target, and the Londaxi Tribalest, which has slightly lower attacks and isn't as accurate, but has a higher damage output. The Heavy Gunner can therefore, lay a load of hurt within the first round of shooting. He is currently categorized in Kill Team as a Marksman unit.
Kroot Pistolier[edit]
A Kroot that has watched one too many Westerns.
These warriors are cool under pressure, and comfortable fighting at close range, dexterous and quick-thinking with their Kroot Pistols and the fusillades they can unleash. The Kroot Pistolier are range support units of the Farstalkers that offers a more defensive and 'bodyguard'-type playstile than the rest of his kindred. They are masters with the Kroot Pistol and go guns blazing akimbo style.
To further roleplay their Red Dead Redemption cosplay, they wear a poncho and a few ammo belts to make sure they never run out of bullets.
On the tabletop, the Pistolier is armed with short-ranged dual Kroot Pistols, and can shoot first if they are targeted by a ranged attack. Even though their pistols have a short range, they have good damage and Balanced with Lethal 5+ makes them more than effective for their job.
And with the Gunslinger Salvo special rule, it can perform two shooting attacks with one action using its dual pistols making them quite cost-effective when it comes to action points. Moreover, he can also fire back at an opponent who shoots at him once per turn which ends up making him a bit of a defensive marksman in the process. He is categorized under Kill Team as a Marksman and Scout unit.
Tl;dr, the most balance of the lot. The decent stats of the Kroot Pistol makes this unit capable in nearly any ranges save for long-range sniper duels. Given that the Pistolier behaves like a jack-of-all-trades, he isn't going to overpower any other unit too.
Long-Sight[edit]
Long-Sights are the snipers of the Kroot family. With genetics favouring them the eyes of a bird-of-prey, these chaps are the direct opposite of the muscle-bound Heavy Gunners not the CQC-specialist Cut-Skins. They are not to be confused with the Hunter Kindred as whilst the Hunter conceals itself and plays a role in ambush, the Long-Sight is a traditional sniper in the truest name.
Due to their nature as a sniper, the only weapon a Long-Sight can trust and use to its fullest potential is the Kroot Hunting Rifle.
Crunchwise, the sniper's hunting rifle has a low damage output but can dish out three mortal wounds on each crit making it usually a one-shot kill for unarmoured enemies and a crippling one for MEQs. For an action point, they can also ignore terrain features for line of sight, increase their critical hit chance, and also remain hidden when they shoot. Pretty nasty all-round. This gives the Long-Sight a decent work-around against any cover-spammers that you might come across while also being able to be stealthy like normal snipers. They are categorized under Kill Team as a Marksman and Scout unit.
Cut-Skin[edit]
The Yin to the Long-Sight's Yang. Cut-Skins are close-quarters melee specialists who have spent decades studying the blade. Therefore, these warriors fully embrace close-quarters combat and wield blades to cut down the enemy in quick motions. Due to their nature, they are genetically faster and more nimble than their counterparts at the expense of durability, with their muscles and skeletal structure becoming longer and more flexible in the process.
Due to the fact that they are knife-nuts. Cut-Skin only carry around daggers, knives and other assortments of light close-combat weapons.
They are equivalent to the Blooded Squad's Traitor Flenser and the Orks Slasha Boy.
Crunchwise, these close combat specialists can fight twice against the same operative with their Savage Assault special rule with their balanced and lethal Cut-skins blades which is made even more ridiculous when you consider that their knives get a decent damage with Balanced and Lethal 5+ each hit.
They also deal mortal wounds for any dice rolled against them that don't hit, so keeping your opponent locked in combat for multiple rounds will usually go in the Cut-Skin's favour eventually, even if you're not attacking them. This is absurdly powerful when facing high-wound enemies. They are categorized under Kill Team as a Combat unit.
Ergo, it is best that they are treated as frontline units since they lack any and all range weapons to compensate. Whilst they are monsters in close-combat; stun-locking the target until the opponent flips the entire fucking table, they are just as equally as vulnerable in being headshotted by any marksman or gunner before their turn even start.
Bow-Hunter[edit]
The Bow-Hunter are specialised elite Kroot Farstalkers who has mysteriously received a weapon from a completely different franchise all together. Seriously, just look at the damned thing; it is basically the Torque Bow from Gears of War, even the way it function is the same. And people bitch over the origins of the Lancer's chainsaw bayonet.
Anyways, the Bow-Hunter as its name implies, only carries the Accelerator Bow. Because of this and their unique weaponry, a Bow-Hunter should be treated slightly differently than a conventional marksman, as the Accelerator Bow isn't a one-hit headshot extraordinaire; being far more esoteric in its function. You can read more on how this thing works on tabletop right below.
On the tabletop, they are the sniper-like operative that trades in the high damage with versatility in its arrows, unlike say their Long-Sight brothers who are just specialized in one role. Ergo, the Bow-Hunters offer more flexibility in exchange for balls-out BOOM HEADSHOT!
Because of their unique weapons, these operatives have different arrows for different jobs. A fused arrow for standard armour piercing, a glide arrow for being a stealthy git, and the voltaic arrow for splashing mortal wounds on additional targets. They can also spend an action point to increase the critical hit chance of their arrows in case you really want that particular dude dead.
If you're looking to cash in on more crits, you can spend an action before shooting so the bow can add Lethal 5+ to any arrows it shoots. They are categorized under Kill Team as a Marksman unit. Overall, very versatile unit, but quite fragile when alone.