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In the Warhammer 40,000 universe, the Kroot are a species of humanoids who evolved from avian creatures.
The Kroot are mercenaries who will sell their services to anyone willing to pay them. Amongst the xenophobic races of the Warhammer 40,000 universe, this does not quite work out, and only the Tau regularly employ them.
The Tau are happy to oblige the Kroot with this work, as they are short on numbers and physically weak, tending to prefer long-ranged combat, whilst the Kroot enjoy melee. The primary weapon of the Kroot, the 'Kroot rifle', is fitted with multiple protruding blades to aid in this task.
Kroot are tall aliens (a good half-meter taller than most humans), their avian ancestry giving them a bird-like beak and long quills protruding from the backs of their heads. A unique feature of the Kroot is that they evolve by selecting traits of their defeated foes to absorb by eating them. Due to this, the many Kroot warbands across the galaxy often look radically different. Kroot leaders are known as Shapers; they are generally the Kroot with the best ability for recognising desirable traits in defeated foes and tell his Kindred (the word for a Kroot clan) what to eat to suit the task at hand. For instance, a Shaper who wants his Kroot to gain muscle mass will take on campaigns against orks to acquire the right DNA.
This eating of their foes ties in with the religious beliefs of the Kroot: they believe that when a warrior of any race dies, his warrior spirit should be kept, and the only way to do this is by eating his flesh.
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