Spawn Subset Concept:
Saurus Earthblood
Saurus Skyblood
Saurus Starblood
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A counterpart to the Temple Guard, halfway between regular Saurus and Kroxigor in size with scales that much stronger then their smaller brethren, the Earthbloods are the sword to the shield of the bodyguards of the Slann. Their musculature structure however is someone in excess of a to scale individual Saurus of such a size, further indications of their might. Striding past the main lines in massed numbers, these super heavy shock infantry serve the role previously filled by Kroxigor, their superior martial instincts and natural ability at combat surpassing the larger builders. Their greater physiques give much greater physical ability, while the mental components of their souls are altered in their spawnings-where regular Saurus have an affinity for all aspects of warfare, the hulking Earthbloods is more specific, on the immediate battle in front of them.
The complex mental nuances of Saurus development precludes an enhancement of the growth rate of personal combat ability at the expense of strategic and tactical ability, but the Earthbloods do possess a razor sharp sense of opportunity, allowing them to detect with preternatural awareness openings and weak points in their section of the enemy battle lines. Moreover, heightened senses from a brain no longer concerned with the wider aspects of warfare makes up for the loss of agility and initiative creatures their size might otherwise have-thus, there is no loss in combat efficiency and the net growth in personal martial ability is entirely positive.
They are the tip of the spear, the first in, the line breakers. On the opening moves of an offensive their roars sound out with primeval echoing double-tones from powerful lungs, stirring the primal instincts of the Saurus and urging them into controlled ferocity.
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To understand the nature and origin of the Skybloods, one must know of the creature known as the vampire. While the essence of Dhar treads into the daemonic and thus is not to ever be included in the grand designs of the Lizardmen, never mind their species, studies into the dark arts to better combat them (of which the Lizardmen are most adept at given their incorruptibility and sureness of purpose), and Luthor Harkon's presence on their shores for many centuries and his depredations, along with the millennia of damage and destruction dealt by his kind, have nonetheless brought the unique specimens into examination.
The vampire is a creature whose soul is severed entirely from the Warp, and bound down to the individual cell of the body. As a result of this complete merging of spirit and flesh granting absolute control over the body at a metaphysical level, along with strength of mind, purpose, and will, their physical abilities are far beyond the base design-in this case, humans. Moreover, the complete binding of body and soul ensures a frankly unnatural level of durability as every single piece of the body is of the soul. Complete dismemberment would not result in death, only total annihilation or especially unique metaphysical violence might accomplish it. Biological immortality also sets in, with the lack of aging.
As a result of not receiving energy back and forth from the Warp, however, in time their souls can grow stale, their mind and body set into a state of torpor.
There are two ways around this, both involving the intake of aethyric energy. The void left by the severing of the soul from the Warp coalesces into an aethyric vortex in the absent space drawing in Warp energy. The accumulated energy mixes into a Chaotic merger that is corrosive, but allows the vampire's soul to remain energetic, if malformed and corrupted in image and essence. This is, in a sense, natural.
The other method is via sustenance, taking soul-force, typically via the draining of blood of living creatures, especially sapient ones.
The Skyblood is the Lizardman's answer to such. Sized as regular Saurus to not add disruptive equations to the spawning process, their soul is meshed into the very particles of their flesh in the spawning pool spell itself. As such, their soul, while absent from the Warp, does not contain any manner of vortex as it was not "removed" from the Warp but "born" as such. Though a base Skyblood is far superior in physical ability to a base Saurus, the lack of biological growth precludes any sort of physical advancement from the passing of time-though in some cases this doesn't matter, for even the least Skyblood's scales are equal to the hardness of many an Oldblood. However, their growth is limited to the realm of the natural instinct and ability, so they are often used on patrols rather than the relatively inactive role of the sentinel-there is nothing to be gained from using them as bodyguards as the Temple Guard, for example.
Skybloods are rarer than even Kroxigor, and adjustments to their mental faculties are necessary as even the indomitable wills and clarity of purpose of the Saurus is vulnerable to to the hyper-exaggeration of basic qualities, given their savage nature. They are more akin to Earthbloods in focus on purely personal combat over tactical and strategic issues. But they are worth it. Akin to armies of heroes worthy of myth and legend, they move like lightning, strike like thunder, and see the world in shades, hues and speeds in ways inset into their beings-a world slower, more detailed, bigger than to their Saurus brethren they rely on for direction on a strategic scale. Meanwhile, even wounds and injuries that would kill normal Saurus-an already very hardy species-a dozen times over are not even noticed; while a dead Saurus with teeth lodged deep into an enemy would need considerable force to remove even if the skull was severed, a Skyblood would continue to bite and gash with jaws unconnected to any spinal structure. Finally, the absence of Dhar removes any vulnerability to aspects relating to metaphysical properties.
Though their souls have no vortex drawing in energy to mesh it into a dark form, their is still an absence their that purpose can only alleviate. In that, the Geomantic Web is crucial, with the Web pulsing vital essence to be naturally expelled back by the body, resulting in a closed circuit loop. As a result, however, the Skybloods must remain in the aegis of the Geomantic Web, or not leave for very long less combat efficiency and vitality drop significantly.
Neither Earthbloods nor Skybloods could ever be called as simple as Kroxigors, but their base kin are undeniably broader of thought.
Combined with a lack of strong narrative that base Saurus might gain from their Warp-connected souls that results in a lack of standout Scar Veteran and Oldbloods, they tend to be as a whole what one might call, super elite garrison troops, enhancing the defense of held and secured territory. Between their overall superior physical ability and especially far superior reaction times and agility, they are excellent for quickly reacting to enemy assault and/or tearing apart breakthroughs and penetrations by opponents, or decisive counterattacks. Normally they are spread out as individuals and small units to support and supplement the greater quantities of regular forces, but massed counterattacks and defensive emplacements are far from uncommon under the masterful guidance of the Oldbloods.
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As rare to the Skybloods as the Skybloods are to basic Saurus, the Starbloods are the result of Geomantic energy not flowing in and out in the spawning process, but embedding itself into the soul of Skyblood. Starbloods are living monuments and nodes of the Geomantic Web, able to operate beyond the protective envelope of the Web not only without any negative consequences, but bringing the Web with them. Distance and geographics mean little to the metaphysical properties of the Geomantic Web, thus in a short radius about Starbloods the full effect of the Geomantic Web is felt. These rare Lizardmen are often used as focal points for assaults, but more than that serve as "duelists". The long history of the Lizardmen on Mallus has shown the importance of uniquely powerful individuals on the field of battle not only as commander and leaders, but as fighters and icons. Not only reaping large tallies, these heroes serve as rallying points and often the key to neutralizing enemy individuals of great power or importance, affecting the morale and direction of whole armies.
Lizardmen, especially Saurus, are not so vulnerable to the psychological affect of lost leaders and officers, but the importance of such among so many species, even daemons (if not for the same reasons as creatures of the materium) has made fighting that way a part of the Lizardmen doctrine. But although Saurus are nigh-unnaturally adept at reading even hints of command only long-experienced, battle-forged brothers in other species might pick up, they are no hive mind. Command is still important, and time and energy spent by Scar Veterans and Oldbloods killing their counterparts on the other side is time not spent leading.
The Starbloods thus take that role, freeing up the Saurus officers and elders to lead and command, improving tactical and strategic efficiency across whole battlefields, an increasingly important measure as such reach interstellar scales.
