Duonian Tunnel Ghouls

For sure. I think even at their best they're probably still covered in dirt, since its a complete waste of time to remove it considering their living conditions.

Maybe this could be a nice base to build upon for the models? It's customizable.
regiments-designer.com

Maybe with these heads: victoriaminiatures.highwire.com/product/chem-mask-heads-x10

I might also recommend poking around in here:

anvilindustry.co.uk/Regiments/Regiments-Custom-Squad-Builder/regiments-custom-infantry-squad

The Brodie Helmet variants, particularly the gladiator one, might suit your needs pretty well.

Cool stuff! I like their background a lot.
Do you have conversion ideas/plans for the models?

At the moment not really. The dumb expensive idea is to buy forgeworld krieg stuff and alter the masks, but I might also do what suggested and grab some alt heads, though not entirely sure what style of mask I want to give them.

First, check these if you haven't already:

smithsonianmag.com/history/legends-what-actually-lived-no-mans-land-between-world-war-i-trenches-180952513/

gomovies.to/film/beneath-hill-60-14672/

Second, you have the chance to use human aspects of WW1 that neither Krieg or other regiments used, like pic related:

firstworldwar.com/features/slang.htm

firstworldwar.com/features/trenchlife.htm

BTW, a copper plate in the basement or water basins can make one figure out enemy digging.

Tunnels, trenches and caves are naturally damp and full of microorganisms. I can see these guys getting a lot of infections from minor scratches and trench foot. The nickname may come from it.

firstworldwar.com/atoz/trenchfoot.htm

neat, thanks.

and infection never even occurred to me so woops. I imagine bodies would also be a pretty big issue, so maybe they have soldiers who's whole purpose is to go into the tunnels after the fighting to 'clean' them, carrying out bodies to recycle gear and do whatever with the corpses.

Simple, the corpses are placed in special chambers where a smorgusborg of bioluminescent fungi break them down into biomass convertible to rations.

Also, consider the idea that Commissars assigned to the unit find personal hygiene as an effective form of disciplinary action.

youtube.com/watch?v=-T2luwLcfeg

You're welcome.

There would be mandatory body checks.

Go full ant. The bodies sustain fungus or yeast farms. The brackish water found underground could be piped into yeast pools which also act as natural filters to obtain clean water.

You might take ants as a motif and name your elite troops "Myrmidons", the peoples made out of ants by Zeus and which made up Achilles' warband.

More links:

subbrit.org.uk/sb-sites/sites/r/ridge_quarry/index.shtml

bldgblog.com/2007/08/derinkuyu-or-the-allure-of-the-underground-city/

bldgblog.com/2014/07/natos-underground-roman-super-quarry/

bldgblog.com/2012/06/various-forms-of-lithic-disguise/
>To interrupt the utility of bridges, tunnels, highways, railroads, Switzerland has established three thousand points of demolition. That is the number officially printed.

A concept for an underground hive:
bldgblog.com/2008/02/psychology-at-depth/

>Miners had expertise in the digging and shoring of tunnels that other civilians could not match, and it is a feature of siege warfare through the ages that the undermining of defenses was invariably attempted by men who were already miners by trade.

BTW, do you want an idea for a sunless rogue planet where life is only possible underground?

TUNNEL SNAKES!

Then yell "TUNNEL SNAKES RULE!" every time they dig their way up onto the battlefield.

Myrmidons would be a decent name for their elite, it also would contrast with the whole 'ghoul' thing they have going form them, as it sounds quite a lot more noble than the rest of their terminology, which I enjoy.

>BTW, do you want an idea for a sunless rogue planet where life is only possible underground?
Sure?

See, I thought about it, but if I had named them the tunnel snakes I would HAVE to have their uniform just be greaser outfits, its like... the law or something.

>beneath hill 60
Fucking this, sappers are cool as fuck (and I think OP will agree) and this is the best (and possibly only) movie about them.

Also, awesome concept OP.

I love this idea.

that is all

Just started reading it it is not bad

They'll have issues in warfare if they really hate loud noises

If you want them to look like the pic I think the best bet would be to grab these
maxmini.eu/gladiator -helmets-bits
and then greenstuff some hoses and air packs onto them.

It was something which I figured out might suit the squats once:

projectrho.com/public_html/rocket/weirdastronomy.php#id--Dark_Matter_Planet
>Dark Matter Planet
>Rogue planets wandering the cold depths of space far from any star are very romantic in a science fictional sort of way. However, such planets are highly unlikely to contain life, unless said life forms enjoy living at a chilly 3°K.
>But scientists Dan Hooper and Jason H. Steffen have an intriguing notion. One type of exotic particle (WIMPs) postulated as being behind the dark matter phenomenon would mutually annihilate other such particles, creating heat energy (i.e., WIMPs are their own anti-particle). WIMPs generally only rarely encounter each other, but they can be captured by the gravity of a planet. In the planet's core, WIMPs scooped up by the planet would quickly find other WIMPs and annihilate themselves, heating up the planet.
>Hooper and Steffen calculate that since Terra is in a WIMP poor part of the galaxy WIMP annihilation would contribute a totally negligible one megawatt to Terra's heat. By contrast, Terra absorbs 100 quadrillion watts of heat from the Sun.
>However, in the WIMP rich center of the galaxy, the heat goes up dramatically. They calculate that within 30 light-years of the galactic center, a planet with ten times Terra's mass could absorb enough WIMPs to generate 100 quadrillion watts. Thus such a rogue planet would be warm enough for life as we know it even with no sun nearby.

Lithotrophic endolith fungus or yeast using heat and rock to grow underground would be the basic vegetable life here. The original caves could be the result of million of years of metabolization. BTW, if you make the caves big enough, you get underground rain. Mobile gas pockets and telluric storms could also make part of this underground climate.

Also, sharpened shovels could be valued close combat weapons for these guys. Or just double axes with shovel-like blades.

added a thing about social interactions between them.

>This hierarchy vastly affects the social interactions that many Duonians will have with one another. To those above, it is expected to show signs of respect and subservience and to continue to do so unless the person above explicitly states otherwise. It is often the case that those below one's station are seen little above tools, and while this may seem harsh it is much less so than it would appear. To a Duonian, their tools are everything in the tunnels, to lose even a single piece of equipment could be the difference between life and death and because of this while those below are usually never shown signs of friendship or compassion, they are rarely sacrificed needlessly, and treated with the respect. Duonians of equal station are the most likely to interact outside of a professional circumstance, and the people of Duon are quick to make friends with one another, as space is limited and life is stressful. It is far easier to live through these conditions with many friends rather than many enemies.

>This warmth is never noticed however. As to the outsider a group of Duonian friends stand around, silently gesturing to one another, with only the slightest definition of a chuckle escaping their lips. It is an odd sight to most, and the Ghouls prefer it this way.

>This friendship is rarely, if ever, shown to those outside of one’s own brood however. Other Duonians who belong to a separate Brood are treated with respect, but usually kept at a professional distance, while all ‘top-worlders’ are ignored unless it becomes absolutely necessary to interact with them. This has lead to more than one inter regimental conflict, as many Ghouls will not give the respect that top-worlder officers believe they are entitled to.

first draft so kinda rushed, but I think it gets the idea I have for them across.

Damn OP, you made a regiment out of grime that outshines the Death Korps.

Also, you should call sub-broods something else, like clutches. Also, no mole transports? For shame.
Nah, ghoul sounds about right.

Ya, sub-brood's was more a working title, clutch isn't bad.

I like it. Adds an interesting social aspect to the whole 'underground Krieg' thing that you have going. More character too.

wouldn't a wide-brimmed helmet or hat get in the way underground?

Requesting the unnaground /k/ pasta. Top stuff though user, I like it.

Would be interested in seeing stuff about individual characters, the command staff, senior NCOs and such, Regimental Legends and Heros.

Say one who literally held a breech for 6 hours, physically holding a crossbeam upon one shoulder while firing with his lasgun from the other to prevent the loss of a whole section of tunnels.

Or a ghoul who crawls around in ravenor-infested tunnels for three days and nights (which might as well be an eternity when underground) finding his way back to the bunker with an armed grenade clutched in his hand the whole time.

>And was promptly executed by the Regimental Commissar on suspicion of being an enemy saboteur

Saboteur for the tyranids?

It's that kind of thinking that gets you shot for being a sympathizer.

Imagining a Commissar chasing an errant Trench Ghoul with a hose and emperor grade soap gun, thank you.

Do not question my authority, commissar, or I'll have to wear another hat.

Good luck catching me in the tunnels with them on!

Bringing up commissars does beg the question though, I imagine the ghouls go through them fairly quickly, since the tunnels are probably impossible to navigate save for the ghouls themselves, and having a squad abandon their commissar is probably a fairly common practice.

Would also have to be a special breed of man, being underground for significant periods of time is not an easy thing to do.

Big John the tunnel ghoul

Would commissars get any special training to better integrate? Or would they just be sent to the field? Because if its the latter I do not see these guys putting up with some new officer who can't even dig.

What if the Commissars were also Duonian? Granted, their culture generally works against it (schola progenium is topside shit) but would they be respected more than the average blammer assigned to the squads?

Maybe, I just used that art cuz I thought it looked cool. Haven't given much thought into what their uniforms actually look like.

Drat!

Artillery, target that general area. We'll show HIM who's best at digging the enemy out!

OP here. This is for sure a thing now.

The best place for a commissar to be is at the entrance to the tunnels. Can't run away with a hound at the entrance.

Oh! Another idea, OP: the slang for commissar is hound, or dachshund.

So essentially the Commissar is ferreting with armed ferrets? He counts them going in, gives them the scent/orders and waits for them to return with the prize/

what happens when a squad exits from a different entrance?

There will be a different Commissar stationed there in communication with other Commissars so they can coordinate total numbers.

Earthshaker rounds happen.

Commisars and veterans added.

>Commissars are another issue. As none of them will have the training or experience to properly navigate and survive in the tunnels, many of the commissars are stationed inside the bunkers that the Ghouls build throughout their tunnel networks. Only ever leaving when they are required to move to a different bunker. Because of this, and because most never bother to learn the Duonian sign language, many Ghouls have taken to calling commissars ‘Thumpers’ as they see their only use as attracting the enemy.

>The veterans of the Tunnel Ghouls are called the known as the Myrmidons. These men and women have lived through far more than any other Ghoul imaginable. When a certain level of experience is reached, many Ghouls are given the chance to return to Duon and to train the next generation of soldier. In this way, the every new generation is built upon the experience of the previous one.

>While the majority of Duonians given this opportunity take it, a rare few realize that their place is on the battlefield. These men and women are the Myrmidons, and they are some of the most well respected members of Duonian society. Delegated to the defence of the central bunkers for the majority of the fighting, save for specific missions, it is the Myrmidons that are first to breach the crust below the enemy during the final assault, and they are the last to leave. And each Myrmidon fights until the last, as they know that no Myrmidon shall ever leave the service alive.

The Morlockian Shadowguard

>that pick
you're supposed to bandage both eyes so they don't look around and exacerbate their injury

>I dig, I die, I dig again!

If the majority of the most experienced and respected soldiers continued to return tot he homeworld to train, the regiment would gradually die out.

The solid NCO core is the backbone of any large scale fighting force. It is the humble NCO that has won every war in our history. Tactics and grand strategy are indeed crucial, but ultimately worthless if the boots on the ground are not able to follow and fight.

so would it make more sense that some go back home to train, and most are given officer positions? And then the veterans are the ones who refuse both and want to be at the vanguard?

Or, what if the choice is given to those who have served in several battles as NCO's, winning great merit. they can continue to serve as an nco, return home to train the next batch of recruits or be put back to the heaviest of the actual fighting. Most people pick one of the first two, the rare few pick the third option?

IMO, would make the most sense for them to remain NCO's or SNCO and gain better perks.

>Most stress, directly responsible for mens lives under the dirt
>Most risk, directly in the firing line of enemies
>Most danger, attention divided between dozens of tasks and men
>Most responsibility, for the men below them and the officers above them, both are to be kept in mind
>Most underappreciated, typically lifted above the common soldiery and far far below the officer class
>Most hated, when things go wrong both soldiers and officers blame them

Give them Sergeant's Mess, exemptions to non-combat duties, whatever they ask for.

>And then the veterans are the ones who refuse both and want to be at the vanguard?
I kind of take a bit of issue with this, for 2 reasons. First, the "vanguard" or "Myrmidons" sounds a lot like the "Grenadiers" of the Death Korps, and the regiment already has a lot of similarities with them. 2nd, putting your veterans in the position where they are most likely to be killed is very wasteful. Any new grunt can charge through a hole and die, you need the veterans spread throughout the squads so that they hold together in battle. In fact, putting your veterans in the front will likely lead to massive morale loss, as the green troopers see almost every soldier who they looked up to and relied on die right before their eyes charging through a hole.

There should also be specialists that deal with water (digging/fighting submersed in water), messengers within the tunnels and probably guys up above who can relay where and how the enemy is fortifying their position.

could a regiment survive by having only NCO's? where in a real life military a rank would be given to a commision officer, instead its simply the next promotion. so instead of sergeant (or whatever rank is applicable) being the highest an nco can go they can still be promoted to Lieutenant then captain, etc. etc.? and it be the only way that a CO is actually created? Perhaps they return to Duon to receive proper training.

I see your point. Perhaps they are the ones that target key positions through subterranean assault while the rest of the army simply pushes and attempts to overwhelm the enemy during their final assault?

Yup, that'll do it. That's much better.

Seems very strange to do. Commissioned officers have a grander view of the battlefield and have a far different set of priorities, typically being concerned with a section (general area, not unit size) of the overall strategy.

Typically, at least in the Britbong army, when a newly minted officer comes out of the factory, they are quickly and efficiently trained by a Senior NCO, a Staff Sergeant or even Sergeant. The two have completely different set of skill sets, requirements and attract different people.

You are essentially telling the NCO to forget all the things that made him a good NCO and embrace the opposite.

>Force of personality, be it from charisma or intimidation
A NCO is entirely merit based, in theory, they are raised above the soldiery because of ability, officers are not, they are taught what they need by rote.

>How to -AVOID- useless tasks assigned by officers.
First thing a soldier learns is how to avoid useless tasks, or fake them, or bluff them.

>not wanting a wide brim hardhat to keep debris from striking your head AND shoulders

fixed the myrmidons up a bit

>The veterans of the Tunnel Ghouls are known as the Myrmidons. These men and women have lived through far more than any other Ghoul imaginable and will continue to do so until their deaths. Chosen for their excellence in the field, Duonian Myrmidons are given the best equipment and are awarded an incredibly high position in the hierarchy of their Brood. These benefits are due to the fact that once someone joins the Myrmidons, the only way they leave is through their death. No Myrmidon will ever retire, and because of this, they are seen as the exemplars of the Tunnel Ghouls.

>The actual duties of the Myrmidons are simple. Directly under the control regiment command, Myrmidon squads are given to platoons and companies as the need arises. These squads will defend the central bunkers until the final assault, where they will target key positions and personnel while the rest of the assault overwhelms the enemy. Often arriving by subterranean assault it is a rare event to see the Ghoul Myrmidons ascend from the depths below and live to tell the tale.

wouldn't that cause more noise? I would think you would want as little metal as possible.

true. give them plastic hard hats to dampen it

Anvil Industry heads are quite good. Ive used them in my own IG regiment. They are slightly smaller or realisticly proportioned compared to Cadian heads but not that it would bother me. Awesome stuff user!

>hate loud noises
War is all about loud noices. I'd recommend switching that to an aversion to sun-light which results in a preference for night-attacks.

Damn those would make a great writefaggotry.

Could be that they got "normal" commissar at first but when Departmento Munitorum noticed that they are burning through commissars like a motherfuckers due inexperience for underground life and warfare they started making Commissars out of Myrmidons. The amount of Commissars lost dropped 90% and everyone was pleased. No need to be supplying those pesky Duonian Tunnel Ghouls more commissars.

Or cover the hard hats with cloth. Would prevent to be shining as well so enemy lights wouldn't reflect from them making then extra sneeki breeki.

It's not that they can't stand sound, it's that they dislike to make lots of noise considering the fact that if they end up making too much, their entire position is given away

My dudes are basically identical to yours although I've set mine up so they're a little more Catachan than Krieg so they've got graffiti on their tanks and armour and some level of personalisation - mostly to increase morale and make them openly feel more human.

Most of my army is wearing the Pig Iron helmets because I dig the stalheim/gasmask look but I've also got dudes without or with variations.

I think he has enough human character, their a little one note I suppose, but that's all imperial guard regiments.