The Onager Dunecrawler owes its origins to the Mars Universal Land Engine (M.U.L.E). Fashioned by the techno-archaeologist Arkhan Land, the original M.U.L.E was inspired by a type of bad-tempered, insectile beast of burden that its maker believed walked Holy Terra in aeons long past. Intended as a workhorse that could escort its masters across the red desert wastes of Mars in relative safety, the machine proved so successful it was soon rebuilt as a weapon of war. It was renamed, outfitted with Emanatus Force Shielding, replicated by the million, and sent to the front line.