Rak'Gol

The Rak’Gol are a race of vicious xenos marauders that are a relatively new threat to the Imperium. This first recorded encounters took place around 700.M41 within the Koronus Expanse, a region of wild space bordering the Halo Stars beyond the Calixis Sector. The Ordo Xenos theorized that they originated from somewhere in or beyond the Alenic Depths, but their homeworld was never conclusively identified. By 200.M42, the Rak-Gol has spread to other remote parts of the galaxy by means unknown. It’s almost like they are slowly moving through the Halo Stars, unnoticed by the universe at large until they choose to strike, but this is, of course, impossible—the ancient halo stars are known to be virtually impossible to navigate, and travel times are exceedingly long.  

Rak’Gol technology is relatively primitive by Imperial standards. The Adeptus Mechanicus won’t touch any of it, except upon request from the Inquisition, considering it both inferior and irredeemably corrupt. The Rak’Gol favor simplicity and brutal efficiency in all their weapons and other wargear. Nowhere is this more apparent than in their ship design. Vessels are constructed around a cylindrical core, balanced upon a crude—but powerful—fission-pulse drive. Asymmetric extensions run fore and aft, with fins and pylons extending irregularly from the hull, areas of reinforced armor plating, and a veritable forest of defensive turrets. The vessels are extensively decorated with layer upon layer of crude warding symbols.

The Rak’Gol may have only recently discovered warp travel, possibly by scavenging warp drives from other races. All warp-drives that have been recovered from Rak’Gol are far more advanced than the race’s remaining tech, using strange crystalline technologies unknown to the Imperium, and show signs of being recent additions to old ships. Nothing resembling a Gellar field has been identified; it’s believed the Rak’Gol rely on their Techo-Shamans, talismans, charms, and symbols built into the hulls of their vessels to protect them from the Warp.

The fission-pulse drives used by the Ra’Gol are primitive but quite powerful. They are also only marginally shielded. This means that any Rak’Gol ship under drive will be instantly visible to any vessel within several void units. Word has spread that the best defense against a Rak’Gol attack is to flee at the first sign of an engine signature. The drives also subject the crews to unimaginable levels of radiation, enough to kill an unprotected human within minutes. Even wearing hazmat gear, Navy armsmen should spend no more than 30-60 minutes aboard a Rak’Gol ship with drives engaged. Astartes in sealed power armor are less exposed, but may required bio-regeneration if they spend more than a few hours on board or suffer armor breaches. Only terminator armor is wholly resistant to the rad danger.

Analyses of ships that have fallen prey to the Rak’Gol are remarkably consistent: they are stripped down to their cores. Any salvageable equipment is missing. Reports indicate that some Rak’Gol boarders take prisoners. Why they would do this is unclear, as human prisoners would quickly perish from the harsh radiation emitted by the fission engines.

The Rak’Gol themselves are horrific alien monstrosities, twisted and warped, like something out of a warp-nightmare. Vaguely reptilian in appearance, eight-limbed (4 legs and 4 arms), and over three meters long. Chalky white in color and mantis-like in bodily arrangement. Rak’Gol warriors favor cybernetic augmentation – veterans will have replaced all their limbs, covered their bodies in armor-plate, and more.

The Rak’Gol seem to exist only for slaughter, descending on voidships and isolated colonies like a plague, and disappearing again into the cold depths of the void. The underlying impetus for the Rak’Gol’s attacks remains a mystery, for those who suffer their predations rarely live to tell the tale.

Their rasping, screeching language remains incomprehensible, and no successful communication between the Rak’Gol and humanity has been recorded. No Rak’Gol has ever been captured alive by the Imperium. Indeed, even their name is taken from children’s stories of mythical monsters from the settlement of Footfall’s slums.

The Rak’Gol are primarily known through the ships crippled by the Navy or Rogue Traders. Several such wrecks have been investigated by naval analysts and the Ordo Xenos. Other tales come from survivors of planetary raids, or ship crew that has somehow survived attacks by the Rak’Gol and lived. The Imperium also located and eliminated a series of Rak’Gol outposts in the Koronus Expanse. The foul xenos were found to inhabit both planetary surfaces and orbital installations.

Several castes of Rak’Gol have been identified, based on their physical appearance and their function with a pack of raiders. The Ordo Xenos suspects that caste may be tied to the Rak’Gol lifecycle, which in turn is linked to battle prowess, but no conclusions can be drawn from such a small sample.

Carvers: These Rak’Gol are slightly smaller than their compatriots, though they still tower over humans. Built for speed over raw power and armed with savage melee weapons and crude automatics, they are seen spearheading large assaults. Carvers are at best lightly augmented—they’ve yet to prove themselves. Carvers are primarily found aboard the largest Rak’Gol vessels, sometimes on cruisers, but never on escorts.

Marauders: Marauders are the most common Rak’Gol encountered. Marauders are always augmented with cybernetics. Each warrior has its own unique combination of equipment and weapons, though most favor a combination of melee and automatic projectile weapons. In battle, try to overwhelm their opponents with speed and ferocity, but can adapt to and overcome any form of armed resistance. Marauders represent a real threat to Astartes, especially in melee.

Renders: Carvers are almost a breed apart from other Rak’Gol, thirty to forty-five percent larger than their lesser kin. Even more heavily augmented than other Rak’Gol, each Render is a nigh-unstoppable killing machine. In theory, a Render should be a match for a Space Marine in Tactical Dreadnaught Armor. They carry no weapons or use any equipment, save those integrated into their bodies: vicious blades, crackling with bio-energy, quick-firing auto-cannons, and radiation beams, capable of scambling technological equipment and killing bioforms both.

Clutchmasters: Clutchmasters are the lieutenants of a Rak’Gol force and take directions from the Broodmasters above them. They are often the captains of smaller (escorts) Rak’Gol vessels. Clutchmasters are veterans of many raids, and thus will be extensively modified with cybernetics. Many Clutchmasters also wield strange alien weapons seized from the hands of dead enemies. Unlike the troops under their command, Clutchmasters only enter melee as a last resort. But when they do, there a few that can stand against them.

Broodmasters: Broodmasters are the Rak’Gol commanders and lead the attack raids against the other races. They are distinguished from lesser Rak’Gol marauders by the number of cybernetic they possess, often resulting in them being more machine than flesh. Broodmasters are cunning warriors and expert leaders, both during space battles and the inevitable boarding actions that follow.

Abominations: Abominations are the leader-caste of the Rak’Gol and the least encountered. Each Abomination is heavily modified with cybernetics, even more so than the Broodmasters. Abominations also appear to be a sort of spiritual leader to the Rak’Gol, planning their raids across the galaxy.

Techno-Shamans: Resembling other Rak’Gol, Techno-Shamans are nevertheless very different creatures. Each Techno-Shaman is a kind of primitive tech-priest, versed in the corrupt machine mysteries of their race, but also a potent psyker. This may sound like a strange combination until you take into account the fact that it’s the shamans and their runes that keep the predators of the Warp at bay, while also making sure that the strange crystal Warp-engines keep working.

Rules for using Rak'Gol in BFG (because I'm a geek).