Felinid
Felinids are a strain of Abhumans that reside on a very pimpish name for a planet; Carlos McConnell. They go by the scientific name Homo sapiens hirsutus. They are on the short list of 'tolerated abhuman strains' maintained by the Administratum, which means that at one point in the story of the Imperium someone high up (probably an Inquisitor with a furry fetish) decided they were a-okay and did not need to get purged (yet).
Thus ends the entirety of the canonical information on the Felinids. I wish I was kidding.
Judging by their name they might as well be Imperial Catgirls, if not full-on furries (hirsutus = hairy), although the idea on why humanity started growing feline-like traits is beyond the realm of contemporary science. Since almost nothing is known of them, nor their planet, the flood gates were opened for /tg/ to imagine up their relationship with the Imperium; as something only the Guys with fancy hats would have the permission to "Study" them. Although it would be quite the hilarity to vision a Space Wolf Wulfen chasing down a Felinid.
Speaking of Space Wolves, they may give an explanation as to why Felinids (and all abhumans in general) potentially exist. In Space Wolves fluff, there is a saying that there are no wolves on Fenris. Not to mention that it's implied that Fenrisian Wolves are former humans. And if we take into account the tech of the Dark Age, its quite possible that Felinids (and abhumans in general) are simply the descendants of human colonists who added and modified their genes to survive on the planets they lived on.
What their role in the Imperium is
Although almost nothing is known about the Felinids, we can speculate that they might be used as road (and book shelf) cleaners or construction workers or anything that has to do with civilian work, since they are never mentioned to be part of the military. Furthermore, due to their location on one planet, they might also be used as exotic dancers or sex slaves by your average Imperial Joe. "IF" they were in the Imperial Guard, then they could either be used as scouts, thieves or assassins, but this is mainly a stereotype of Cat-people so it might not be true. That said, they would have a PDF as the Emperor made it completely mandatory for all worlds.
Their Biology
There are three possibilities for Felinid biology, and they depend on their origin. First, as mentioned above, they could be the descendants of human colonists who altered their DNA to survive on their planet. That means we should expect more of an Imperial analogue to Catfolk, with specific biological changes depending on planetary conditions - improved night vision would be very probable, as well as claws, either optimized for speed, like a Cheetah, or for climbing, like most other cats. Other changes would very heavily depend on the cat or cats chosen - tiger felinids and lynx felinids would be fairly different, although both would probably have an unhealthy obsession with string.
Their scientific name, hirsutus, which means "Hairy" in Latin, could also suggest that they are Furries, although how hairy/furry their body could be is up for debate. But it must be remembered that even just a little hair would be hairy enough for the Imperium to call them "hirsutus" since they just need to be hairier than normal humans. This possibility has more credence based on the theory that Canis Helix was introduced to Fenrisians to make them hardier, resulting in latent wolf-like traits, some to the point of full wolf-like appearance. Though again, this isn't hard fact.
The second option is that given our own... fascination with catgirls, they could be a case of a high class member of society attempting to create the perfect Waifu, only to find out the Felinids did not like BEING the Waifu and eventually branched off, when their population became big enough, into another Abhuman race. This case would have the Felinds look more like the 10% on the graph down there rather since they were created with looks in mind, not functionality, just like dogs and cats on Terra in M2. In this case they would be much more human-looking, with only a few cat-like physical traits and mannerisms. Some fa/tg/uys have chosen to imagine them as catgirls with glam-rock hair, which given 40k's setting, is very likely. But seeing how grimdark this galaxy is, it can always be much worse.
The third option, of course, is that they're simply misclassified Beastmen, with the specific Beast of some sort of cat. Given the usual Beastmen aesthetic, that nearly guarantees a large cat was chosen - probably a lion or tiger, since they have the greatest reputation as "man-eaters" on Terra.
The species name for the felinids is Homo sapiens Hirsutus, which strangely implies that they have plant dna in their genetic mix since Hirsutus is actually a type of desert plant.
NOW WITH PROFILES AND RULES
Felinid "Cat's Paws" Squad (70 pts - Troops):
The most common Felinid Squad. Thanks to their natural capabilities, Cat's Paws require less training than the average Guardsman and are used in outflanking and surprising enemy formations.
| Name | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Ld | Sv |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Felinid | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 5+ |
| Felinid Weapons Specialist | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 5+ |
| Felinid Alpha | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 5+ |
Unit Type: Infantry. Felinid Alpha (Infantry, Character).
Unit Composition: 7 Felinids, 2 Felinid Weapons Specialists and 1 Felinid Alpha.
Wargear: Lasgun, Flak Armor, Frag Grenades
Special Rules:
- Outflank
- Crusader
- Cat's Eye
- Cat's Grace
Options:
- Felinid Alpha may take items from the Ranged Weapons list.
- Felinid Alpha may replace her Lasgun with a Close Combat Weapon and Laspistol for free.
- Felinid Alpha may replace her Close Combat Weapon for a Power Sword for 15 pts.
- Felinid Alpha may take Melta Bombs for 5 pts.
- Felinid Alpha may carry a Medi-pack for 15 pts.
- Felinid Alpha may replace her Flak Armour with Carapace Armour for 5 pts.
- Felinid Weapons Specialist MUST replace their Lasguns with the items from the Specialist Weapons List.
- The Squad may take Krak Grenades for 10 pts.
- One of the Squad members may carry a Vox Caster for 5 pts.
Tiger Squad (100 pts - Elites): A more aggressive breed of Felinid, these abhumans are born with a characteristic striped pattern to their fur and have a strong predatory instinct, unlike most Felinids. Tigers are notorious for savoring the effort in prying the can open to consume their prey.
| Name | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Ld | Sv |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tiger | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 5+ |
| Alpha Tiger | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 5+ |
Unit Type: Infantry. Alpha Tiger is (Infantry, Character).
Unit Composition: 9 Tigers and 1 Alpha Tiger.
Wargear: Flak Armour, Tiger Claw
The Tiger Claw is essentially an enormous chain-axe with the teeth replaced with torches.
| Name | Range | S | AP | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tiger Claw | Melee | X2 | 1 | Two-Handed, Unwieldy, Armorbane, Gets Hot |
Special Rules:
- Outflank
- Cat's Eye
- Cat's Grace
- Furious Charge
- Monster Hunter
- Tank Hunters
- Doctrine: Mobility: A model with Doctrine: Mobility treats all vehicles they are embarked upon as an Assault Vehicle.
- Tank Chasers: A model with Tank Chasers may reroll failed charges against Vehicles.
Options: The Squad may take a Taurox as a dedicated transport. If it does, the Taurox also gains Outflank, whether or not the squad chooses to begin the game embarked upon it.
Jaguar Squad (100 pts - Fast Attack):
Jaguars are characterized by black or very dark skin and fur. These abhumans are used as forward vanguards or assassins due to their natural affinity for stealth, by the few Guard Regiments that can afford these specialists. They are particularly fond of dipping their Jaguar Claws (extremely large monomolecular clawed gauntlets designed to separate flesh from bone with the ease of snapping one's fingers) in venom before deployment.
| Name | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Ld | Sv |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jaguar | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 5+ |
| Alpha Jaguar | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 9 | 5+ |
Unit Type: Infantry. Alpha Jaguar is (Infantry, Character). Unit Composition: 4 Felinid Jaguar and 1 Felinid Alpha Jaguar. May take up to 5 additional Jaguars for 20 pts/model.
Wargear: Flak Armour, Two Jaguar Claws, Sniper Rifle.
| Name | Range | S | AP | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jaguar Claw | Melee | User | - | Shred, Poisoned (4+), Rending, Specialist Weapon |
Special Rules:
- Crusader
- Cat's Eye
- Cat's Grace
- Crusader
- Fleet
- Infiltrate
- Scout
- Stealth
Options:
- Any Jaguar may carry a Medi-pack for 15 pts.
- Alpha Jaguar may take improved poison for 15 pts. This grants her close combat attacks the Instant Death special rule.
- Any Jaguar may replace their Sniper Rifle with any weapon from the Imperial Guard Specialist Weapons List at the specified cost.
- The entire Squad may replace their Stealth USR with Shrouded for 1 point per model.
Special Rules:
- Cat's Eye: Felinids have the Night Vision and Acute Senses USRs, and Preferred Enemy (anything with Toughness and Strength 2 or less).
- Cat's Grace: Felinids move exactly as though they were Beasts, despite having the Infantry type. When hit by a non areal weapon a unit of Felinids must take a Beast Reflexis test wich give them a 5+ invulnerable save.
Modeling
If you really want to field an army of catgirl guard, you'd better have an overabundance of free time, sculpting skill and greenstuff. Otherwise you're just SOL, because there's virtually nothing else to work with. No conversion bits, no kits from other games to convert, nothing. Not if you want an army of them. There are, however, plenty of individual catfolk models for RPGs and such, so Felinids could conceivably see the 40k tabletop as characters for Inquisitor warbands. Which, from a fluff perspective, is probably where their abhuman talents would see the best use anyway, as count-as death cult assassins or something.
Scratch all that, as of Fall 2018 the appearance of the Albedo Combat Patrol Miniatures Game has brought with it a cat conversion kit for 28mm models available from Sally 4th, so at long last you can finally have some proper Felinid Imperial Guard.
Gallery
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Please ignore how exposed cleavage contravenes the purpose of a gasmask.
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For the Emperor! Nyaaah!
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Almost Heresy, and you thought he was angry before.
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The Carlos McConnellan 51st Flying Pussyfoots always land on their feet!
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Making the enemies of Man go Daaaaawwwww....
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NO ONE CAN SAVE US FROM THIS GRIMDARK FUTURE.....NO ONE.....
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Felinid guardsman
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Power fists offer fantastic replacements for natural claws
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You wish your cat was even just half as awesome
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Felinids are sometimes used as effective squad morale booster!
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They're also pretty effective as Wulfen bait.
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The reason why Sisters of Battle don't recruit Felinids
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TAKE IT OFF
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A crack ship that can rival LIIVI and Taldeer's.
