Rats in Spaaace!

It all started with a single picture on page 116 of Warhammer 40k's Third Edition rulebook, detailing "Other Dangerous Aliens"...

Along with several other xenospecies, including an early conception of a Kroot and a Necron (marked as "unknown"), is pictured the "Nocturnal Warrior of Hrud". Small and hunched over, its features are obscured by a ragged cloak, though it does seem to have a rat-like tail. This single image spawned a rapidly spreading and persistent speculation among players that the Hrud were intended to be the 40k counterparts of Skaven. It was even commonly suggested that the name "Hrud" came from "Humanoid Rodent Undergound Dwellers", in reference to the 80s cult horror flick C.H.U.D.s. Though it looks to me that Hrud was originally intended as the name of a planet or star system, not the xenospecies. 

Regardless, the parallels were many. The Hrud were described as scavengers, and carried Jezzail-like rifles called "Fusils". They used warp-plasma-based technology, and apparently lived in underground tunnel systems. At the time, I think it was very clear these were originally intended to be Space Skaven. 

Apparently even way back in the Rogue Trader era, Skaven were being seriously considered as an addition to the setting. In 2001 Black Library published The Gothic and the Eldritch: The Collected Sketches of Jes Goodwin, which included concept art for 40k Skaven (scans courtesy of Jon Boyce):

The 1989 Warhammer 40K Compendium (collecting articles from White Dwarf) even includes a poison called Rodotoxin that was noted as being effective against Skaven.

There is also a pic of an alleged prototype Hrud/Space Skaven by Jes Goodwin:

...but its similarity to c47-19 "Glave" from the Alpha 22 makes me a bit skeptical that this is anything besides a rather nifty conversion (image via Greblord):

And speaking of conversions, Orlygg of the seminal Realm of Chaos 80s blog offers this exceptional customization of the '89 0774406/01 musician "Gashowler":

Ferencz Kilian offered up some nice old school conversions from Goodwin Bloodbowl figures on his Plog Area 23:

While Uber_Kroot has done a fascinating Hrud army featured on the wargamerau forum

Games Workshop, however, never made the connection explicit, and no official Hrud models were forthcoming. As the 40K universe evolved, its connections to Warhammer Fantasy were greatly downplayed. In 2006, Black Library published Xenology, a book that retconned the Space Skaven out of existence. 

Xenology pictured a new type of Hrud, scientific name Troglydium hrudii:

The new Hrud were described as a parasitic race, with incredibly flexible bodies that excreted various venoms and toxins. They generate a "distortion field" that makes them appear constantly shrouded in darkness, leading to the nickname "shadow creepers". They also apparently exude an "entropic field" that causes accelerated aging and decay in all biological matter around them with prolonged exposure. 

Some very interesting ideas that don't seem quite fleshed out yet, but this effectively ended any chance of the Skaven showing up in the 40k setting for the time being.

But "when one door closes", as they say...

In 2000, Demonblade Games published Shockforce: Battles in the Remnants of America, a post-apocalyptic fantasy wargme. The rules themselves, by Aaron L. Overton, were not well received, but their accompanying minature line (based largely upon sculpts commissioned but not paid for by Grenadier) became quite popular, among these the Goth Rats sculpted by Chaz Elliott.

While the minis were quite well liked, a lawsuit from GW drove Demonblade out of existence. The Goth Rats line can be seen in its entirety on the Lost Minis Wiki.

In 2009 Mantic Games joined the miniatures market, offering a cheap alternative to Games Workshop with their Kings of War game. In 2011 they followed this up with a science fiction setting, Warpath, featuring the Veer-Myn, a Ratlike species of intergalactic scavengers. 

The Veer-myn were also featured in Project Pandora, a boxed miniatures Skirmish game very similar in conception to Space Hulk.

Who knows what the future holds? GW may one day revisit the idea of Skaven in space, either as the Hrud, or in some other form. It was certainly interesting to see the reference to the Lizardmen being in communication with The Eldar in the latest End Times volume, and with the surviving Slann taking off into space, rumours abound that they may be making their way to 40k. In which case, the distance between the two gamelines is getting smaller again, and the Ratmen may get the chance at some point to scavange the Imperium. In the meantime, custom Skaven-based Hrud armies continue to pop up online, and Mantic's Veer-myn provide a nice alternative.

And back in our world, NASA is making its own plans to get rodents up into the stars...

Coming Up (in no particular order): Schroedinger's Skaven, a look at the Ratmen's role in GW's boxed stand-alone games from HeroQuest to Mordheim; R is for Rat, a look at the Skaven language including a Skaven alphabet, and  The True Name of the Horned Rat, which will not only reveal the greatest secret of the Skaven's origin, but will also prelude the theme of my own Oldhammer Skaven army, currently in the works.