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1 / 4 · Click to enlargeLore & origins
Ratlings are a small abhuman strain, about half the height of a normal human. They are not strong and generally not brave, but they have keen eyesight and a natural talent for stealth. The Astra Militarum uses them as snipers and scouts. Their size helps them slip past sentries and settle into hidden firing positions.
Off the battlefield Ratlings are known as cooks. Some serve the Munitorum or Administratum entirely in support roles, turning dull rations and local wildlife into meals that soldiers actually want to eat. They also have a reputation for petty theft, trading and black-market dealing, and officers tolerate some missing stores in return for their cooking.
Ratling units are attached to Guard regiments. They are much loved by the troops, even if few would trust them with their rations.
Ratlings are a small abhuman strain. Their ancestors settled certain worlds in the distant past, and their size and character changed over the generations. They are short, fond of food and drink, and notorious for trading, gambling and 'acquiring' supplies. Wherever Ratlings are attached to a regiment, a black market tends to appear. Their gift is marksmanship. Their eyesight and patience make them among the best snipers in the Imperial Guard, and that is why they are tolerated. They have been part of the setting since the Rogue Trader era and have appeared in nearly every Imperial Guard codex.
Ratling snipers often decorate their rifles with trophies from notable kills, kill markings, inscribed prayers and filigree, making each rifle a reflection of its owner. Their success at near-impossible shots is so high that comrades sometimes see it as supernatural, or as proof of the Emperor's intervention. Off the battlefield, many Ratlings act as "Fixers," acquiring supplies through charm, diplomacy and quick wits. This can cause trouble for any supply officer in their way, but it earns them their comrades' loyalty.
Appearance & wargear
Ratlings wear cut-down flak armour and camouflage cloaks. They carry long sniper rifles fitted with targeting scopes, and laspistols or knives as backup. Many decorate their gear with souvenirs and pouches of food.
Ratlings are childlike in height, with large ears and eyes, and wear camouflage cloaks. They carry long-barrelled sniper rifles with scopes, plus knives, pistols and pockets full of contraband.
Weapons & Vehicles
The rugged, ubiquitous directed-energy laser rifle of the Astra Militarum—modest on its own, but capable of felling any foe in the gala…
The signature .75-calibre rocket-propelled mass-reactive firearm of the Adeptus Astartes, firing self-propelled explosive bolts that de…
Explore all 48 entries in the Weapons & Vehicles armoury.
Battlefield role & tactics
Ratlings infiltrate ahead of the army and pick off officers, heavy-weapon crews and other key targets from range. When the enemy closes in, they usually slip away rather than fight.
Ratlings infiltrate forward to pick off officers, heavy weapons crews and specialists, and they slip away before the enemy can respond. They are fragile and seldom brave in melee, but they are easy to underestimate and very hard to dig out of cover.
Ratlings are stealthy snipers. They pick off characters, heavy-weapon crews and specialists from cover, then relocate before the enemy can respond. They are very fragile and cannot hold up in melee.
Field Modifications, Sub-Faction Doctrines & Operational Idiosyncrasies
Within the strategic threat-indices of the Departmento Munitorum, the Ordo Xenos, and the high command savants of Astra Militarum, Ratlings are classified as a premier elites asset whose battlefield effectiveness stems from the tight integration of operator conditioning and specialized wargear. Governed by Departmento Munitorum siege tables, Commissariat summary discipline, and interlocking vox-net fire coordinates, Astra Militarum regiments offset human fragility with overlapping fields of las-fire, heavy ordnance, and unyielding trench grit. In active campaign theatres, Ratlings wear cut-down flak armour and camouflage cloaks. They carry long sniper rifles fitted with targeting scopes, and laspistols or knives as backup.
Veteran formations of Ratlings develop distinct sub-faction doctrines and field modifications over decades of continuous deployment. Ratlings had a presence in older game material too, from the Imperial Guard codexes of the 3rd edition onward to Battlefleet Gothic. Whether fighting in void-ship boarding actions, ash-waste tank duels, or ruined hive-city basilicas, experienced crews and squad leaders strip away parade-ground redundancies to maximize ammunition feed reliability, target-acquisition speed, and close-quarters survivability under extreme suppression.
Field maintenance and biological or machine-spirit recovery logs confirm that sustained combat exacts a heavy toll on both wargear and flesh, yet Ratlings maintain operational cohesion long after standard line units would collapse. Following every major engagement, recovery teams prioritize the immediate extraction of their core panoply, veterancy honors, and consecrated components so that the lineage and lethal institutional memory of the formation endure into the next warzone.
Heraldry, Battle-Damage & Community Artistry
Across the Warhammer 40,000 illustration, Golden Demon painting, and display-diorama community, Ratlings stand out as one of the most rewarding subjects in the Astra Militarum range. Artists and miniature painters focus intently on their signature visual hallmarks: mud-spattered Cadian olive flak-plate or Krieg trench-coat drab, stenciled white regimental numbers across chipped steel helmets and tank glacis plates, oil-stained tracks, and ruby-red las-fire highlights. Combined with the distinct silhouette described in field sightings—Ratlings wear cut-down flak armour and camouflage cloaks—every model and canvas painting offers a rich interplay of texture between rigid armour plates, weathered cloth or chitin, and gleaming weapon assemblies.
When depicting Ratlings at the height of battle, community artists and painters push contrast through sponge-chipped battle damage, directional mud and ash pigments across the lower greaves or hull tracks, and vivid Object Source Lighting (OSL) cast by active lenses, energy coils, or muzzle flashes. Sub-faction heraldry, campaign badges, and trophy details allow hobbyists to anchor each miniature or illustration in a specific canonical warzone—celebrating both the grimdark complexity of the Forty-First Millennium and the craftsmanship of the community that brings Astra Militarum to life.
Notable battles & users
- Spinward Front: Cadian Shock Troop formations arrived with their own abhuman detachments, including Ratlings and Ogryns.
- War Zone Damocles: Ratling snipers faced the T'au, who had to commit Stealth Teams to stop them.
- Ornsworld: a Ratling world invaded by Chaos forces seeking the Eye of Night, an ancient statue the Ratlings worshipped as a god.
Related
No profiled character is closely tied to this unit type yet.
