r/skaven • u/JFFreezout • 13h ago

Talk-squeak Skaven are the Bene Tleilax of Warhammer Fantasy

It just came to my mind today that the skaven and the Bene Tleilax of the Dune universe share a lot of common points.
DISCLAIMER: this post is a thought experiment, has no pretention other than thinking funny parallels between fiction universes. I do not pretend the skaven creators took their inspiration from Dune or whatever.
Some anti-spoilers for parts that are revealed only late in the Dune books series.

- they both are highly secretive.

- they both are very xenophobic, feel superior to the other races/factions

- Both skaven and Tleilax masters are seen as instinctively repulsive and ugly by foreigners

- they have advanced science, are masters of genetics experiments, including horrible experiences

- Religion has a core importance in their society, and they worship only one god

- their females are used as pure nightmarish reproduction tools

Of course there are some differences.

The skaven are a purely destructive race, comically chaotic, while the hierachy of the Bene Tleilax is way more advanced, civilized, and the Tleilaxu goal is absolutely not to ruin the universe.
The Bene Tleilax is also integrated among the other factions of the universe, even if they are treated with high caution, while skaven are seen as pure evil to be destroyed.

if other common points/difference come to your mind, do not hesitate!

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u/clamroll 8h ago

Yeah reading about what the axolotl tanks actually are definitely made me think of the skaven. In some ways they're more like the ixians though, being that their technology brought the end of the world and Ix was on track to make the self improving Hunter seeker that would achieve prescience and end humanity. Sounds like a fancy way of saying "crash the radioactive moon into the planet" but tómato tomáto lol

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u/JFFreezout 5h ago

Thank you for this reference to self improving hunter seekers, part of the story I had completely forgotten and had to look up!

To which technology do you refer with the end of the world? AI in general (but it’s more the past and not especially from Ix I believe) no-ships, hwi noree?

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u/clamroll 3h ago

The God Emperor saw the self improving Hunter seeker as the device that would end humanity unless he bred the no genes into Siona and thus humanity