Great Knarloc - Role: The Great Knarloc's natural characteristics make it useful to the Kroot mercenaries who serve the T'au Empire in a number of ways. They are most commonly used as beasts of burden to carry heavy equipment and supplies, because they are large and strong enough to bear heavy loads and possess the stamina to move over long distances, and are easily led once domesticated.The only drawback is that the beasts remain prone to sudden outbursts of extreme aggression. It is notable that Great Knarlocs in domestic service for the Kroot are always kept muzzled and chained.Occasionally, a Kroot baggage column might be caught up in a battle, for instance, if a Kroot column is ambushed. In this case, the Kroot handlers and the Great Knarloc will be forced to fight to defend themselves.Another common use for the Great Knarloc is on the battlefield where its Kroot handlers, called "Goads," will goad the creature into one of its aggressive outbursts, enraging it through the use of barbed Goad Sticks and excreted biochemicals. Once angered, the beast is then goaded towards the enemy lines to wreak havoc.But once its aggression has been unleashed, the animal will attack anything that comes within range of its claws or sharp beak, including other Kroot. The excretion of specific biochemicals and pheromones by the Goads means it is unlikely that the creature will attack Kroot since they are not its natural prey, but the Great Knarloc's mercurial nature means that many unwary Kroot handlers and Goads have become a Great Knarloc's next meal.The creature's basically placid nature also makes it useful as a Kroot riding mount. Several Kroot warriors can mount the animal and use it as a stable weapons platform for mounting Kroot guns, rifles or the Kroot Bolt Thrower, much like the more common Krootox.This function may be aided by the excretion of certain biochemicals to calm the beast in battle and make it more manageable. These weapon-mounted Great Knarloc are rarer than those used as beasts of burden, who are easier to train. They make effective assault troops supporting Kroot Carnivore squads, and are able to provide heavy weapons fire, or quickly advance and join an assault, using the Great Knarloc's natural predatory instincts and weapons for effective close combat.The Kroot Bolt Thrower often mounted on a Great Knarloc is a primitive but effective weapon, used by the Kroot since long before they encountered the T'au Empire. As with Kroot rifles and guns, the T'au have aided their auxiliaries by using advanced T'au technology to improve the Kroot's primitive weaponry. Instead of the basic sharpened wooden or metal bolts long used by the Kroot, the T'au provide impact-fused high explosive tips for each bolt, making them far more dangerous.These tips are a miniaturised version of the warheads used by the T'au's own missile pods. The Kroot Bolt Thrower is fired by a hand-crank system that drops bolts from the weapon's magazine into position and then quickly redraws the bow string, allowing it to keep up an unusually high-rate of fire for what is essentially a modified pre-industrial weapon.Great Knarlocs, used as both beasts of burden or combat mounts, accompany many Kroot mercenary forces aiding T'au operations and they have even been identified by Imperial forces fighting alongside the Kroot's great benefactors when they integrate Kroot contingents into their own Fire Caste's order of battle.