Squats!

Welcome folks to this here hobby article on one of my favourite races ever to have existed in the 40k universe... The Squats. 

NB: A note before we begin... the miniatures presented in this soon-to-be small series of articles (sadly) aren't manufactured anymore, most of them have come from my personal collection, with a few gifted to me by some lovely folks for my "Squat Resurrection Project". The good news is, there are loads of alternative miniatures representing Space Dwarfs from different companies out there, so if you want to give something like this a go and see some space stunties roaming the fields of your favourite sci-fi war-game then read on, if not, read on anyway.

So, Squats?! A name shrouded in mystery and fuzzy lore. Most of the cool stuff was written in the early 90s in the pages of White Dwarf magazine and other compilation publications; Many of which you may find in the hallowed vaults of this very webstore! 

During the years after Rogue Trader was released, lots of experimental army lists were being published. An overly complex but loose-fitting points system was slowly being introduced too, and this would go on to become a solid cornerstone of GW's game design. The Squats were no exception to this; the limited troop types available to them was a little hampering and they initially shared the equipment and wargear list of the Imperial Army.  

As small revisions were made to the Squat 'army list', full squads and additional unit types would be able to be purchased for a points cost, giving form and structure to the army. This also gave wargamers the chance to field larger armies rather than small skirmishing forces. 

This change in the points system was presented in all the other races and factions, bringing balance and a little more of a competitive edge to this wonderfully narrative-driven game. In contrast to this popular move, the GM's role in the game was becoming slightly more redundant as players were fielding balanced lists and focusing on wargear loadouts and battle strategy, and undoubtedly this got the Games Workshop design team thinking about how the game could evolve.

Suffice to say, the Squats were a race that, unlike many from the early days of 40k's story, were far from the reach of the Imperium of man, and were slowly being re-established into the fold of the Emperor's service. Many of the homeworlds and colonies of the Squat race were rugged, heavy gravity worlds and their stature and equipment represented this in its style and design. Squats made excellent engineers and their innate ability to work with machines baffled even the most devout techpriests of the Adeptus Mechanicus (who interestingly wore white robes back in these heady days!). The Squat Legions would also often be accompanied to battle by advisors from the Imperial Army, usually in the form of engine-seers or commissars; the latter were there to look out for any trace of heresy or mutation because the Squats - as formidable as they were - were still susceptible to the damning whispers of the Chaos powers and entire homeworlds had been lost to their corrupting influence. 

But, as time in the grim darkness of the far future wore on, the Squats began to slip away from the safety of the Imperium. The gargantuan and impregnable homeworlds were separated by war, warp storms and galactic phenomenon. Before long, they passed into myth, then into legend. Eventually only the oldest records in the furthest reaches of the deepest Imperial archives, now possess the smallest mentions of these loyal warriors, only the barest snippet of the glory they earned and of the service they gave to the Imperium of mankind. A sad and dishonourable path to tread. But not all paths end...

The openness of the existing lore for the Squats leaves plenty of room for the imagination to run wild if you are planning an army for your 40k games. In the 31st Millenium, before the great age of enlightenment, the galactic core was largely unexplored, and by the time the 41st Millenium rolls around it remains in much the same state. A playground rich with potential for a budding or veteran Squat player.

The Squats have never been forgotten by the overlords at GW HQ, and over the years, they have left a trail of small 'breadcrumb' reminders that they may one day make a return; The range of Epic miniatures for 1st and 2nd Edition (including the awesome Land Train) were first to appear. Then, the White Dwarf subscription model wearing 'powered space armour', the release of the Demiurg for Battlefleet Gothic, more recently the Necromunda miniatures from Forge World, and of course the snippet of lore from an Adeptus Mechanicus deep space exploration vessel that started a lot of lips flapping. And these breadcrumbs have finally built up to make a decent loaf of lore that I'm getting behind with this article. The Squat Resurrection Project! 

Stay tuned for some modelling articles and paint guides, plus lore-building and story-honing that both respects and feeds from the incredible existing Squat lore. 

Stay safe, and happy gaming 

- Rogue