Editing Ratskins (section)

==Ratskin People==
[[File:Ratskin feathers art.jpg|right|300px]]
For their own part, the Ratskins call themselves the '''"Kuloq"''' which means "The People" and that their origin story was that their deity '''"Ku"''' got lonely at having no-one to share his planet with, and so:
''"in an act of grief and longing he laid himself down upon the planet and allowed his essence to seep into the soil"'' and that the people are the descendants of his left hand... I think that's enough said about that.

Unlike the raving bands of [[Scavvies]] who share the lower territories of the [[Hive World|hive]], the ratskins are NOT characterised by mutation, cannibalism or violence. As described, mainstream ratskins (largely derived from a pastiche of Amerindian and other tribal groups) are probably the closest thing to a society in the 40K universe who's ethics we might broadly approve of if you like pacifistic, [[Chaotic Good]]-ish people who mind their own business and revere, uh, "nature" (well, really, think about it, accepting the adage that humans are ''a part of "Nature"'', then after tens of thousands of years, the remnants of the Hive that are left unto themselves are as close to "Nature" as there is. <s>[[Chaos|Except for the other contender for "nature"]]</s> [[Extra Heresy|{{BLAM|'''''Heresy!''' Who let Lorgar in here?''}}]])

They do not interact or trade with the hivers in any way, finding their customs and behaviours [[Heresy|bizarre]] and [[RIP AND TEAR|strange]]. "Normal" [[Noblebright|Ratskin tribes do not engage in violent conduct]], arguing that the soul of a slain enemy will return to seek vengeance, thus if they ever encounter "normal" citizens of the [[Imperium]] they will get the FUCK out of dodge. You might never see them but they were there. Some Ratskin tribes ''do'' engage in violent conduct, but they are a minority and were added as optional extra rules to differentiate between different Ratskin tribes.

Away from the Preachers of the [[Ecclesiarchy]], the ratskins [[Heresy|do not]] share any of the same beliefs common amongst the normal citizens of the Imperium, instead they have formed an animistic form of [[Shaman|shamanism]] in relation to the hive. Coming to worship the spirits of the hive they treat the city as a living ecosystem prone to moods and tempers.

The hive guilds have placed bounties upon the ratskins, and they are not welcome amongst imperial society, mostly because this hippy crap offends the [[Emperor]].

Though they live primitive, self-sufficient lives the Ratskins do consider [[Adeptus Mechanicus|Archaeotech to be sacred]] and while they do not use ancient technology, they maintain that sites containing archeotech are favoured by the spirits. Thus locations containing archaotech are often the only static territories held by the nomadic ratskins.

===Shamans===
[[File:Ratskin shaman art.jpg|right|300px]]
Apparently, for unknown reasons the Ratskins have a higher than average occurrence of psykers in their communities. Those who develop powers are directed to become Shamans or Shaman-Adepts.

Despite being respected figures in their tribes, they don't take leadership positions, so if a player loses his gang leader the Shaman gets excluded from the running to the top job.

They have their own psychic power table, although they insist that their powers come from the Hive itself (and not the Warp), which has led them to be held under close scrutiny by the [[Ordo Hereticus]].

They also get the job of caring for archeotech that the tribe finds, and in rules terms this means they get to squirrel it away to curry favour from the spirits each time they do so, granting them an additional power from the Spirit Lore power chart.

===Totem Warriors===
The Totem Warriors are those amongst the ratskins who seek to purify themselves in the sight of the hive spirits. For this they are revered by the badskins as well as the more peaceful ratskin peoples. They are seen as wandering warrior-pilgrims who spend their time on quests or in prayer-trances to the spirits of the hive.

In their devotion to the spirits, the totem warriors believe that by slaying an opponent in close combat, they can absorb their enemy's soul, thereby avoiding the spiritual vengeance of their opponents as well as adding to their own power.

While Totem Warriors eschew ranged combat in all cases, their purification rituals and superstitions do invest themselves in their melee weaponry. When in the hands of the totem warriors they can [[Force weapon|inflict damage far beyond that of their normal type]]. Like the Shamanic powers, the totem Weapons are infused with the power of "spirits of the hive" ''(sounds like how [[Space Wolves]] view their psychic powers)''

===Ratskin Renegades / Badskins===
[[File:Ratskin art 2.jpg|right|300px]]
Aside from the peace-loving, nature-worshipping angle, Ratskins are also depicted as gambling, drinking, whoring good-for-nothings who mosey into the saloon and get evil looks from the inbred [[Cult of the Redemption|backward locals]].

Those ratskin tribesmen who come into contact with the hivers are shunned, as they are considered to be ''"tainted by civilization"''. These "Badskins" often become vagrants and troublemakers, though some do find legitimate work and can be hired by gangs in the [[Necromunda|tabletop game]] to serve as scouts, guides or trappers.

Occasionally drift together to form groups of "Ratskin Renegades", becoming violent and looting and stripping hive territories dry before moving onwards.

These ratskin renegade tribes are organised much like normal ratskin tribes, led by a Chief who is elected from amongst the warriors in the tribe, accompanied by the warriors and unexperienced braves armed with whatever they can loot or purchase from black-market dealers.

In a nutshell this means you get to use Ratskins Renegades as a playable faction in Necromunda.

===Ratskin Savages===
There is an another travelling warrior amongst the Ratskin tribes, the Savage. Though unlike the Totem Warrior they normally do not remain attached to gangs and only join in after receiving their hired gun fee and then leave after a short period.

This is fine because Savages can start with much higher statlines than Totem warriors (who progress in XP along with the rest of the gang). So they make for a good method of quickly buffing your force if you need an extra pair of hands.

What also distinguishes the Savage from the Totem Warrior is how they behave. The Savages are NOT seen as holy wanderers, rather they are seen as the absolute worst of the Badskins, who not only have been ''"tainted by civilisation"'' but want to see all of the hive dwellers get slaughtered and [[Barbarian|fall into unstoppable rages]] in order to get this done. In rules terms they focus entirely on close combat, and gain the two-weapon bonus [[What|even if disarmed]], they also cannot be parried in close combat on a 4+ due to the sheer ferocity of their attacks.

Finally, if they take an opponent '''out of action''' (models don't usually die straight away in Necromunda) then the Savage can descend on them and attempt to give them a rusty-bladed scalping if they can't get away in time, which will basically give the opponent's character some form of disfigurement (and a permanent penalty like being blinded or deafened... or DEAD).