* I won nothing here. Credit goes to Games Workshop, Black Library, people who did the pictures/videos, any anyone else I am forgetting.
Heroes and
Leadership:
Archaon the Everchosen
Training/Experience: 9
Mobility:
7
Max Range:
Spell
Preferred Range: Melee
Role: Commander in Chief
Roughly 600 years prior
to the present timeline, the birth of Archaon, the bringer of the Apocalypse,
was prophesized by the mad monk Necromundo. When he heard Be’lakor the Dark
Master capitalized on the prediction, using the book to determine exactly when
and where Archaon would be born.
Roughly 130 years ago a
boy was born to a poor fisherman family who had recently suffered great hardship.
The wife had been raped nine months prior by a nameless chaos warrior, moved to
do so by Bela'khor. So draining and terrible was birth that the mother was
killed in the effort and the horrified family abandoned the child to a midwife,
who abandoned it by a Sigmarite shrine.
Archaon was taken in by
the local priest and swiftly rose to become a Templar; a holy knight of Sigmar.
Many times he nearly died during this period, only to be continually saved by
Be’lakor's swift and unseen magical intervention. However towards the end of it
he was one of the greatest knights of the empire, dedicated to rooting out and
purging all evil. Yet two events would conspire with each other to shift him
entirely into Chaos's embrace.
(This is actually the type of music Chaos would listen to.)
The first occurred in a
Beastman raid, in which unholy warpstone was sent directly into his skull. This
caused his thoughts to start to twist, which combined with a sudden and new
revelation of Necromundo's final prophecy in book form. Dutifully he turned the
prophecy in to his superiors, who responded by sending a death squad.
Distraught Archaon initially attempted suicide- foiled here by Belakhor, again unknowingly-
before inflicting the main Sigmarite temple in Altdorf. After at first pleading
with his god he then fell to wrath cursing the warrior-god with all his vitriol
and hate, egged on- for the first time directly, unseen still but not unheard-
by Belakhor.
Archaon fought through
small hordes of knights, defeating them all. A massive cannon was brought
forward to end them, however then a team of elite flying Chaos Warriors flew in
to steal him away. After this incident Archaon fled to the Chaos Wastes, slowly
building a army and slowly looking for how to become the Everchosen.
After gaining an army,
his first task had him fighting a huge army of Dark Elves alongside a rival
Chaos claimant. It was a vicious battle
in which quickly delved into a three-way contest. Eventually Archaon used his servant’s
sorcery to melt an iceberg to create a giant flood, and then through slaughter
and offering of an assassin's heart attracted Khorne's consort, Valkia. Valkia
then destroyed a Dark Elf sorcerer and helped route the rest.
Now Archaon personally
entered the Altar of Ultimate Darkness, battling hundreds of odd creatures and
giant crustaceans inside in the total absence of light. Once overcome him then received
the first blessing, and left Naggaroth (Dark Elven homeland) in a stolen ark.
For years he was a great pirate of the seas, getting the personal ire of the
emperors of both Nippon and Cathay. However he grew lethargic and was
betrayed.....by every single lieutenant of his at once, in separate and
unshared plans. After dying and being once again brought back by a Tzeentchi
underling, he had great vengeance on his underlings (who all fought at once)
before nearly being consumed by a Asiatic dragon that was sent by Tzeentch (he
is fickle!).
Archaon, having lost all
but his most dedicated bodyguards, fled to the South Pole where the massive
dragon followed. Fighting through the terrible daemons and Beastmen of that
realm he encountered and beaten the possessed armor of Morkar, the first
Everchosen, at that shrine. Then he finally turned upon the dragon and carved
him up from the inside, gaining the Eye of Sheerian. In this moment he finally
became aware of the nature of Be'lakhor through seeing with this magical
artifact, and vowed that none would control him.
Next he stole a
legendary Steed of the Apocalypse from a mighty Daemon Lord renowned for his
bestiary. Though the battle was brutal eventually Archaon broke the beast's
will to his own. Next he stole the Slayer of Kings, a mighty and powerful
sword, from the Dragon Ogre king Krakankrok, sacrificing his loyal follower to
do so.
The next item, the Crown
of Domination, took longer than any other item to find. For decades Archaon
hunted, frustrated, until eventually approached by the Tzeentchi sorcerer
Villitch, who offered its location in exchange for the sacking of a Brettonian
castle. Though suspicious, Archaon agreed and had his army help destroy the
Bretonnian baron of that realm, only to get betrayed as soon as the battle was done.
Archaon survived, and forced the sorcerer to reveal the location. Chuckling,
Villitch said one name: Be’lakor.
After finding an ancient
shrine, Archaon conducted a ritual to summon the great Daemon Prince. It is
unknown what was said between the two, the new Everchosen and the being who
sought the position more than any other, only that Archaon managed to impose
his independence and Be'lakor, forced by the Dark Gods themselves, to reveal
its location. Archaon traveled to the first Chaos Shrine ever constructed in
the world, where the First Man had bargained himself to Chaos. There he fought
elements of every God.
Archaon fought against
embodiments of Nurgle’s choicest plagues, overcoming torrents of wracking
disease with the blunt force of his will. He negotiated Tzeentch’s multi-dimensional
mazes of crystal, which would have trapped him for eternity had he not
blindfolded himself and trusted to instinct alone. Temptation of every sort was
paraded before Archaon by Slaanesh, but he refused the lures and marched
stolidly onwards. Khorne sent a bloodthirster at him on a narrow causeway where
Archaon could barely maneuver. After a grueling battle, Archaon strangled it to
death with its own whip. Finally the Dark God's approval was given, and the
Crown of Domination rewarded.
Archaon was then crowned
"Everchosen" by an extremely jealous Be'lekor, becoming the latest
and last Everchosen. With his position confirmed he marched down South for the
final time, stopping only to arrange a very lucrative deal with the Dawi Zhar.
It is at this point Archaon is snatched to participate in the tournament.
Later on his lore
however, Archaon would fight a massive campaign against the Empire, coming
closer than any other to destroy it. He would only be stopped by the combined
might of the Conclave (Empire/Dwarves/High Elves/Kislev/Brettonia) working
together, the efforts of the Skaven, Orcs and Wood Elves (though the former two
periodically allied with the Chaos force as well as betrayed it), and the final
coup de grace by Manfred Von Carstein, whose necromancer army cleverly waited
until countless thousands of bodies were on the battlefield before raising them
up. Nine different factions had to contribute to his loss. Archaon wasn't
killed still, and it is believed he is rebuilding his strength, but it is still
a fact this incursion is a failure.
Archaon of this
tournament comes from before that though, where his combined horde of tons of
various Chaos warlords is at its prime and strives to overtake the world. Now
Archaon must face enemies beyond those familiar to him and spread the glory of
the Dark Gods across the stars.
===LOADOUT===
Offensive: Slayer
of Kings: The second everchosen captured the greater daemon U’zhul in this
sword, which has become magically enchanted . This blade hungers for the blood
of regents or royalty above all else and
can ignore armor. Archaon can also choose to activate its power allowing him to
strike far faster, but must be cautious that the malevolent blade does not turn
on him.
Archaon is surrounded by
a elite group of seven or so Swords of Chaos, which count as heroic Warriors of
Chaos capable of flight. He is a moderate level wizard who
can wield spells from the Lore of Fire, Metal, Death, Shadow or Tzeentch. Thanks to the Mark of Khorne he can go into a
battlefield frenzy. Finally his skill is enough that he has yet been beaten 1 vs.
1, and can fight through hordes of knights or defeat a small warherd of dozens if not more Beastmen by himself. He has mastered or at least learned just about every style of combat, from bare fisted to swordplay, taught by man, elves and dwarves and knows the vital points to both those races and daemons/beastmen.
Defensive:
Armor of Morkar: Archaon wields the
armor of Morkar, the first Everchosen, which shields him from all but the
deadliest blows, like extreme magic or artillery. Then on top of that he has
the Eye of Sheerian, giving the
wielder visions and allowing him precognition in fights. This can be amplified by the mark of Tzeentch,
which gives him low-grade magic resistance, and Mark of Nurgle, which has him
surrounded by rotflies. Finally the Crown of Domination makes him give off a
aura of terror like a Greater Daemon, as well as make it so Chaos units don’t
route within his immediate presence (50m).
Even without armor he is extremely hard to kill, having taken numerous poundings, stabs, cuts and more from creatures in the past. Skaven and Dark Elf assassins have both tried to mob him and kill him, failing. Should be noted that as
Be’lakor is now mostly corporal, Archaon cannot be brought back if he dies.
===ADDITIONAL FACTORS===
Archaon is the
Everchosen, meaning he is the one by default who can command this massive force
with the smallest penalties (paragons, to be discussed in the additional
factors section, carries penalties) . He possesses all four Mark at once .
Slaanesh’s, the last one yet mentioned, makes him essentially immune to terror
or fear effects. Finally he rides the
mighty Horse of the Apocalypse, a gigantic Chaos War steed.
===X-FACTORS===
Adaptive Creativity: 64/100 : In a short story, Archaon once outwitted his foes through infiltration
and subversion, though as the Storm of Chaos campaign shows he does rely a lot
on brute force. Noneoftheless he possesses a lot of guile and has expertly used
tactics of the other Chaos followers before.
Tactics: 80/100:
Archaon rarely loses a fight and has fought countless hundreds of battles in
all sorts of climates, from the frozen North to becoming a huge pirate in the
sea around Cathay. Its mentioned that he excells at exploiting the weaknesses of enemies to achieve victory. He’s lost in the Storm of Chaos, but these are almost always
pyrrythic victories.
Strategy: 70/100:
Though Archaon is great at skillfully timing his thrusts, sometimes the
considerations of Chaos as a whole (his army tiring, Slaaneshi fighters getting
bored) force him to make thrusts that could succeed given more time.
Intuition: 70/100:
Helped here by the Eye of Sheerian.
Audacity: 80/100:
Has no problems sending his troops out to die, but not himself.
Psychological Warfare: 64/100: In one feat he managed to convince one of Sigmar’s holiest
warriors to join him, and he has used diplomacy, threats, and the liketo get
his way.
Experience: 78/100:
200 years of experience, against diverse foes.
Discipline: 75/100:
Inspiration: 77/100: While he gets props for being one of the only men in history
to convince unified Chaos to fight for them, his leadership starts taking hits
if he starts losing, and he has been betrayed in campaign.
Corruption: 98/100:
Archaon wants to wipe the entire world out, and destroy existence. Everything,
including the Chaos Gods.
"And pray to your dread gods?’ Giselle said, glassy-eyed.
‘No,’ Archaon said. ‘For I have none. Let the powers of darkness favour me if they will. Let them lend me their strength and draw strength from my victories, if that is their want. You will not see me kneel to them even as I kneel before you now. All gods are fickle. Don’t trust in them. I don’t. Believe as much as you need to or not at all. Ultimately, the only thing you can really believe in is yourself.’
‘You serve the Chaos gods…’
‘They serve themselves,’ Archaon said. ‘As do I. This world is not fit for man or god. The Empire and nations of old, the exotic lands beyond and even here – the cruel Wastes. All will fall and all will burn for me. I will be the Lord of the End Times. The harbinger of doom for all – man and god – for in a world of the slain, with no men, no savages, no ancients of the elder races to pray to them and erect their temples, what will become of these gods, their heroes and their daemons?’ - Archaon Everchosen
‘No,’ Archaon said. ‘For I have none. Let the powers of darkness favour me if they will. Let them lend me their strength and draw strength from my victories, if that is their want. You will not see me kneel to them even as I kneel before you now. All gods are fickle. Don’t trust in them. I don’t. Believe as much as you need to or not at all. Ultimately, the only thing you can really believe in is yourself.’
‘You serve the Chaos gods…’
‘They serve themselves,’ Archaon said. ‘As do I. This world is not fit for man or god. The Empire and nations of old, the exotic lands beyond and even here – the cruel Wastes. All will fall and all will burn for me. I will be the Lord of the End Times. The harbinger of doom for all – man and god – for in a world of the slain, with no men, no savages, no ancients of the elder races to pray to them and erect their temples, what will become of these gods, their heroes and their daemons?’ - Archaon Everchosen
Vadrek Crom, Herald of the Everchosen
Mobility: 4
Training/Experience: 7
Max Range: Melee
Preferred Range: Melee
Role: Strategic
Commander/Second in Command
Crom the Conqueror was born to the Kul Kurgan
tribe, and from the onset he was well-known as a warrior born. By his 20th
year of age he was already chieftain via trial by fire, and by age thirty he
was widely held to be one of the greatest Warlords of the Kurgan to ever live.
Night after night, Crom
dreamt of the future, of a world drowning in a tide of Chaos for the glory of
the Gods. He saw a dark figure silhouetted against a red sky, a blade sheathed
in golden fire raised above its head. The dreams became ever more vivid, and
Crom became convinced that it was a message from the Gods and a clue to his
destiny; but who was this figure? Was it his own destiny to claim the world for
the Gods, or was there another, even mightier than he? Obsessed with the
meaning of the dreams, Crom spoke with the sorcerers of his tribe but when they
could not provide him with answers; his mood became dark and brooding.
One day a stranger and
his retinue marched through Crom’s territory without permission or warning. Angered
by the slight to his sovereignty and made reckless by his infuriating dreams,
he immediately rode forth to challenge the intruders. Bellowing a challenge at
their leader, Archaon, he demanded they return the way they came. Archaon just
laughed and beckoned one of his champions towards Crom, who cut him down
instantly. Archaon repeated this process a dozen times, each duel ending in
Crom’s victory. Finally Archaon himself, amused by the king before him, entered
the fray. Quite angry that Archaon had made him slaughter through a dozen, if
powerful, minions, Crom didn’t even salute with his blade before charging in.
At first the dark knight
gave ground before the enraged king, beating aside the ferocious attacks with
his shield, seemingly unable to draw his own weapon in the face of such skill
and ferocity. Crom pressed on, believing that he had the measure of his foe,
but as Archaon reached the ring of knights, and he gave ground no further and
with a single sweep of his shield swept the blade from Crom's hand. Without
pause, Crom flung himself weaponless at his foe but as fast as he was, Archaon
was faster, his right hand closing in a vice-like grip about Crom's throat. As
he lifted the struggling Kul high off the ground, Archaon abandoned his shield
and drew his sword, the blade easing Iron the scabbard.
Struck with awe, Crom
instantly stopped his struggles, for the blade shone with a golden flame that
danced across runes inscribed so finely as to be barely readable. The serrated
edge of the sword seemed to move and flow even as he watched, and a faint
moaning emanated from the desperate struggles of an imprisoned daemon. Still
holding the king at arm's length, Archaon told him of the quest for the
treasures. The Sword he possessed already and the Eye and the Mark. Still he
needed the Steed, the Armor and the Crown. Crom had been tested and found to be
a mighty warrior; Archaon bade Crom accompany him for the remainder of his
journey. Crom realized that Archaon could truly be the figure from his dreams,
the chosen of the Gods and of the prophecy: he who would bring
about the Storm of Chaos. The Gods could not have given Crom greater honor and,
leaving his people, he joined Archaon's band, the Swords of Chaos, and Crom's
tale passed into the myths of the Kul. Over the decades spanned by that epic
quest, Crom's fervor and belief in Archaon grew ever stronger. Soon he became
the most loyal and devoted of his Lord's companions, travelling far and wide in
his lord's name - a herald for the Lord of the End Times.
Upon return he
immediately embarked on a greater spree of conquest than ever before, intending
to unite all of the Kurgan fully under the reign of the Everchosen. He
assembled the largest army ever seen in the plains, even bigger than
Tamurkhan’s, and then marched on the Old World. In the path, he bullied and
defeated the orcs under Grimgor Ironhide, leading to their participation in the
Storm of Chaos. Then he led an army that burst out of World’s Edge Mountains
which the Dwarves had sworn to hold. Though he took massive causalities in doing
so this is a phenomenal feat, as there are extremely few examples in history of
an army destroying the heavily fortified pass(much less in a month- his time!)
.
===LOADOUT===
Offensive: Sword and Axe: Despite his mundane, non-magical weapons, Crom is noted to be one
of the greatest duelists to ever live. He has only ever been beaten in single
combat by Archaon, and that was after exhausting him first. Other than that not
even the orc Grimgor could beat him in a direct duel (it ended in a tie). Such is his pride that Crom will never back
down from a challenge.
Defense: Chaos Armor, shield.
===Additional Factors===
Crom is a skilled
general whose battlefield record contains only a few defeats (though
unfortunately there is not enough information to do X-factors)
Be’lakor, the Dark Master
Mobility: 8 (flyer)
Training/Experience: 10
Max Range: Spell
Preferred Range: Melee
Role: Advisor/Tactical
Commander
Be’lakor holds the distinction of being the
very first mortal ever raised to daemonhood by the Chaos Gods. Not only that
but he was raised by all four gods at once, who all gave him a portion of their
godly power. No one quite knows what race Be’lakor was originally or what he
did to acquire the favor of all four at once (speculation in one novel suggests
he brought Chaos to the world in the first place), but it was known that the
Chaos Gods, like jealous children, all fought for control of Be’lakor’s soul,
each offering the Daemon Prince greater power to win his loyalty. As giving up
three powers for one was not in Be’lakor’s favor he fled to the mortal realm.
There he formed the first and possibly greatest kingdom of Chaos to ever exist. It was he who brought the primitive tribes of the North into the influence of Chaos. Leading enormous armies he fought against the Elves and Dwarves, and crushed many races whose names are now forgotten. Statues of ever shape and size were built to commemorate him, and at his height he may have even aspired to become the 5th god of Chaos.
Yet just as Be’lakor had first united the gods into giving him gifts, now he united them in hatred of him. The Chaos Gods made many champions into Daemon Princes, weakening Be’lakor’s power, and then these princes sought to challenge the First’s domain. So many wars were fought between these various Daemon Princes that Chaos’s overall cause was weakened, for whole armies were unable to be mustered to attack Ulthuan at the time the Elves were siphoning magic from the world in a bid to stop them. Be’lakor was sent screaming back to the Realm of Chaos, where vengeful gods awaited.
He was punished, denied the opportunity to leave the Realm of Chaos except when the Chaos Gods wished it. Even at the best of times he could only manifest as a shadow. ‘This was a boon they granted sparingly, and then only to crown a mortal as the Everchosen of Chaos – a ceremony which served to assure the celebrant of his Gods’ favor, and torment Be’lakor with his fall from grace. Each time the coronation was concluded, Be’lakor was compelled to visit his rage upon the world as advisor to the Everchosen. Infused with unwanted subservience, Be’lakor led daemonic armies at the command of this Everchosen, only to be banished once more when his unwanted mortal liege was defeated.
Yet once again, Be’lakor
proved his guile, and found ways to stretch forth his will upon the mortal
world. In his times of formlessness, he whispered through the dreams of madmen
and warlords, offering his service if only they would summon him into the
mortal realm. Too often, such men accepted Be’lakor’s promises, foolishly believing
that they could control the Daemon Prince for their own ends. Once given a
gateway to the mortal world, invariably Be’lakor slew his liberator, seized the
fool’s followers as his own and set them to rebuilding the glories of his
halcyon days. Yet such freedom seldom lasted long. Be’lakor’s power was but a
fraction of that which he had commanded in ancient days, and his ambition ever
outstripped his ability. Thus, time after time, a mortal champion laid Be’lakor
low and sent the Daemon Prince’s wounded spirit back to the Realm of Chaos,
there to plot another escape, or await the rise of the next Everchosen.’
Yet Be’lakor was crafty
and continually schemed to find new ways to be free of the curse. In one
instance he succeeded in possessing the body of a Everchosen, but before he
completed his last trial. The Chaos Gods intervened and then barred him from
completing it, laughing amongst themselves as Be’lakor roared in rage and
hatred. However Be’lakor eventually got
cunning, and sponsored several different schemes at once.
In Mordheim Be’lakor
first helped influence the corruption and then destruction of the city, then
attempted to use its magics to fully regain corporal form while sponsoring a
potential Everchosen there. He kidnapped Necrodurmo ages earlier and helped
prophesize the arrival of Archaon at the same time, and intervened quite a few
times in his life to stop Archaon from getting snuffed out prematurely. His
manipulations and that of his Dark Emissaries instituted the conflict of
Albion, again siphoning the magics there.
All of these were only
half-successful. In Mordheim he did indeed gain power but was foiled by
machinations of the heroic adventuring pair Gotrek and Felix, who slew his
potential everchosen and helped kill his army. In Albion the forces of good
ultimately won, but Be’lakor’s siphoned still more power and freed him from the
insanity that had been inflicted upon him periodically by the gods. In the case
of Archaon he did manage to become Everchosen, however he proved willful enough
that Be’lakor couldn’t possess him.
Yet for some reason he
can’t understand, his curse was lifted upon the crowing of the 13th
Everchosen, leaving Be’lakor to now free to scheme everything from a return to
his full glory (as powerful as he is now, he is a still a fragment of what he
once was) and potentially even his ascension to a higher form. He still desires the title of Everchosen, and
has recently even contacted Manfred Von Carstein, the great Vampire Lord,
warning him of his future slavery to a “unworthy master “ (which, based on
lore, is almost certainly Nagash, for he is the only necromancer who could
control Manfred) and saying “remember
that I warned you”. The passage hints a possible future alliance between the
two.
==LOADOUT==
Offensive: The
Blade of Shadows: “Be’lakor
wields an esoteric, daemonic blade, its ghostly form in eternal transience
between shape and shadow; solidity and silhouette. Mastery of this weapon
enables Be’lakor to scythe through armor, scale, flesh and bone without resistance,
its essence changing in an instant from formless shadow to murderous edge at
its master’s whim. Whether the weapon is a part of the Daemon itself, or
perhaps an ancient gift bestowed upon him by the Dark Gods that Be’lakor
somehow retained in spite of his fall from favor, none can truly say.”
Be’lakor knows every single spell in the Lore of Shadows in existence,
being a loremaster.
Defensive: Be’lakor is a being of shadows, able to go
incorporeal or corporeal at will. While incorporeal only magical weapons or
spells can hurt him.
===Additional Factors==
Be’lakor can actually
gain power from torment and terror like a Dark Eldar, causing him to get
magical energy upon enemy routs. He is a schemer whose servants (mainly the
still active Dark Emissaries) are perfectly willing to work with enemies of
Chaos in order to achieve his goals which seems to be either becoming the
Everchosen, revenge on the gods, becoming the 5th Chaos god, or some
combination thereof. At current position he is an advisor of Archaon, the man
whose life he has guided since before conception. His schemes continue from
that position.
===X-Factors===
Adaptive Creativity: 72/100: Be’lakor utilizes a number of schemes and plans that, while
usually half-successful, are very creative and audacious in goals.
Tactics: 58/100:
Unfortunately his grasp of battlefield tactics is relatively unknown, as his
early days have yet to be detailed in lore.
Strategy: 64/100:
Be’lakor is an enigma to allies and
enemies, a being whose manipulations have been omnipresent throughout
millennia. Though he doesn’t usually wholly succeed (as his foes are often
literal gods) his plans always aid him one step at a time in defying the gods.
Intuition: 53/100:
Audacity: 72/100:
Psychological Warfare: 79/100: Probably his greatest trait, Be’lakor has outwitted and
cheated the gods before, tricking each of them to granting him ever more
powers. This was after persuading all of them to turn him into the brand new
position of daemon prince. Even after his fall he has tricked and manipulated
countless mortals into servitude, even convincing mortal enemies to make deals
with him, as shown in City of the Damned. In the War in Albion his Dark
Emissaries, at his direction, allied and manipulated all world factions, even
sometimes the “good” factions, in order to try and ensure his goals were met.
Be’lakor looks out for himself first and foremost for himself in all endeavors
though.
Experience: 88/100:
Definitely 100s of years, however though he is several thousand years old his
experience is limited to what it should be thanks to the Chaos God’s curse.
Discipline: 68/100:
Inspiration: 66/100: The Dark Master is able to inspire awe in many mortals.
Corruption: 92/100:
“The Dwarf line met that
of the northlanders with a clamor that shook the valley. At once, the booming
war-song of the Dwarfs melded with the harsh cries of the plate-clad Chaos
Warriors. The clash of steel upon gromril and the first cries of the wounded sounded
soon after.
Be’lakor watched it all
from the top of the Magewrath Throne, and hissed with amusement. Of all mortal
creatures, Dwarfs were amongst his favorite to torment. Few creatures had such
brittle pride as the Children of Grungni, who refused to acknowledge the terror
Be’lakor evoked even as it consumed their will to fight.
The Daemon Prince did
not know how the Dwarfs had learned he sought to raise the throne, to release
the magics bound to his former glories, but he was glad they had come, nonetheless.
Be’lakor knew that Archaon would soon demand his presence once more, and
relished the opportunity for a malevolence of his own choosing.
With a guttural laugh,
the Daemon Prince drew upon the magic buried in his skull-borne eyrie. At once,
the shadows of the valley floor came to life. Some crawled across the withered grassland
as flickering tendrils, grasping at dwarfen legs, and holding the stocky
creatures fast as northlander axes hacked down. Others became vaporous clouds
that forced their way through close-set helms and smothered their victims.
Dwarfs dropped their weapons and clawed uselessly at their throats, ravaged
lungs gasping for air that would not come.
As the shadows struck
home, the trickle of terror became a flood, and Be’lakor drank it in like the
headiest of wines. He could feel the panic rising in the minds of his foes,
could sense limbs growing numb and reactions slowing as fear set in. Yet Be’lakor
saw a defiant soul spark brightly amongst the growing darkness. Consumed by indignant
wrath, the Daemon Prince took wing, resolving to slay the wretch himself.
A crack of handguns
sounded as Be’lakor sped across the battlefield, but the heavy bullets passed
harmlessly through his intangible form, skeins of smoke-like essence spiraling
in their wake. In response, the Daemon Prince called forth a great shadowy
scythe and sent it arcing through the Thunderers’ ranks. A dozen Dwarfs fell
dead as the blade passed through them, their bodies unmarked, but each face frozen
in a rictus of terror.
With a sweep of wings,
Be’lakor landed behind his chosen prey, a red-bearded fool who strode to battle
naked save for his tattoos. There was no sound to herald his coming, but the Dwarf
knew it all the same. Wrenching his axe free from the bloody ruin of a Chaos
Warrior’s skull, he spun on his heel and swung at the Daemon Prince. The runes
upon the axehead glowed blue as the blade touched Be’lakor’s billowing form,
and the Daemon Prince snarled in sudden pain. His return blow would have disemboweled
the Dwarf, had only it connected, but the Slayer had foreseen the attack, and
stepped out of the blade’s swing.
The Dwarf was laughing
now, making unlikely claims about the Daemon Prince’s parentage, and
besmirching his prowess in other endeavors. The insults mattered little to Be’lakor,
but the Dwarf’s continued defiance was another matter. The Daemon Prince could
sense the nearby warriors taking heart from their fellow’s courage – a malaise
that could not be permitted.
As the Slayer swung his
axe once again, Be’lakor caught the Dwarf’s strike on his own blade and willed
the shadows within his own daemonsword to life. They came at once, oozing from
the sword to entwine the axe-blade, locking it in an unbreakable grip. Thus,
when Be’lakor swept his sword away, the axe was torn from the Slayer’s hands,
leaving him defenseless before the Daemon.
Even then, the Dwarf did not lose his velour,
but came forward with meaty hands balled into fists. A moment later, he died as
defiantly as he had lived, the point of Be’lakor’s sword lancing through his
belly. Steaming, blood-slicked innards slid across the ground.
The Slayer made one
involuntary mewling noise, and then fell still. At once, the courage awakened
by the Slayer’s defiance was smothered like a candle flame beneath an ocean.
Be’lakor gave a savage smile, and took wing in search of fresh prey. There was
time for a little more torment yet, before the Everchosen summoned him.”
--Be’lakor, the Data
slate
Valkia the Bloody, the Gorequeen
Mobility: 5 (slow flyer)
Training/Experience: 10
Max Range: Melee
Preferred Range: Melee
Role: Tactical Commander
Born to a Northern tribe long ago, ever since
she was a child Valkia was known for her ferocity in battle. Indeed she killed
her beloved father when she felt he was making her tribe weak and assumed
control of a tribe where no female had ever ruled for more than three hours.
She would last a couple decades.
In this period of time
her tribe rose to dominate much of the Northern Wastes. Hundreds of tribes were
absorbed into her own, and for a while her rule was unquestioned. Yet so was
her beauty and it was such that she drew a servant of Slaanesh, a Daemon Prince
known as Locephax. When he came into
Valkia's hall and, smitten by her feral beauty, commanded that she abandon the
life of a monarch to service his depraved needs as a harem-girl, the proud
warrior-queen truly flew into the berserker rage and struck off the Daemon
Prince's very head with her barbed spear -- Slaupnir -- in a mighty
battle. Valkia affixed the severed but still whispering head of the daemon to
her shield, and swore before her tribe that she would carry it to
the Chaos Wastes and place it at the very foot of Khorne's throne.
With a thousand warriors
she marched north, fighting off Beastmen and Trolls all the while. Her troops
began to die off before her but Valkia’s ambition never sated. Eventually,
seeing her mad, they abandoned her but she continued ever on. Finally she
marched the very steps to the Realm of Chaos itself but alas was found and cut
down by Slaaneshi daemons, literally just feet away. However her tale was not
at an end, for her tenacity and rage had moved Khorne himself to intervene.
Khorne then took Valkia
in his burning grasp and twisted her into a more pleasing form -- forging her
anew in the fires of his wrath. He bent back great horns from her skull, gave
her the long, bestial legs of a Bloodletter and pulled back great,
bloody wings from the flesh and muscle of her shapely back. Reborn as a mighty
Daemon Queen, Khorne set upon her a new task: She would now descend every dawn
onto the battlefields of the mortal realms, and fight alongside those worthy
warriors of Norsca and beyond who served Khorne and from the ranks of
their dead she would bear warriors who died in glorious battle to the Halls of
Khorne where they would fight on the Blood God's legions for all eternity.
Thus, the Gorequeen, the Shield-Maiden of Khorne, was born.
She returned and avenged
herself on the tribe that betrayed her, massacring them all including her own
family. Eve rafter she had returned, again and again, to the realms of Mortal
man to inflict great bloodletting. She has despoiled Dwarf holds, sacked Empire
towns, devastated a Dark Elf force and replicated many more feats. Now she appears in the most bloodiest of
battles, eager to claim more for Khorne.
==LOADOUT==
Offensive: The
Spear Slaupnir: This mighty magical barbed spear can pierce almost any
armor and she wields it with deft ease. Her claws are also used in battle to
rip out throats. She is a master duelist, and has only ever been matched in
combat, never beaten yet.
Defensive:
DaemonShield:
The Daemonshield, which Locephax is forever a part of, gazes out with hypnotic
eyes that weakens all but the strongest enemy reactions. It can also give a
piercing cry to induce fear, though again the stronger willed (like Dwarf
Slayers) can ignore it.
Scarlet Armor:
This suit of armor bleeds blood when struck, shifting plates around to protect
the queen and saps the strength of the enemies striking her. Generally requires
magical weaponry or many blows to wound.
Special: Kormak the Destroyer: The one soldier that remained loyal to Valkia all those years ago, Kormak is Valkia's chosen chaos champion. A legendary warrior riding on juggernaut, this warrior has led the sack of countless villages and is a incredibly formidable warrior.
Special: Kormak the Destroyer: The one soldier that remained loyal to Valkia all those years ago, Kormak is Valkia's chosen chaos champion. A legendary warrior riding on juggernaut, this warrior has led the sack of countless villages and is a incredibly formidable warrior.
==Additional Factors==
Valkia usually does not
appear except for the bloodiest campaigns and battles. If she does appear she
will only lead Khornate and Khorne aligned creatures as part of her army. Everyone
within her presence gets inspired to fanatical devotion, however such is her
hatred of cowards that if an ally flees around her she will turn back and
strike him dead.
"Archaon looked from his bloody fist back up to the heavens, where the clouds had been rent asunder. From the swirling maelstrom above dropped a fireball that left a blood-murky trail of smoke. The witch lifted her staff. The drake’s slender maw opened wide. Archaon instinctively lifted his arms in front of his face. Instead of corrosive breath or a bladestorm of dark magic, the fiery heat of daemon hate washed over him. The fireball struck the dragon and its rider, slamming them into the mountainside with explosive fury. An inferno roared about witch and her monster. Peering through the gaps between the digits of his gauntlet, Archaon watched as some furious infernal entity fought through the flames. A daemon princess, of a terrible martial beauty, had descended. In crimson armour forged in Khorne’s own hate and bearing two great horns from her head, Archaon recognised the horrific creature as Valkia the Bloody – the Gorequeen sponsor of Gorath’s atrocities. The daemon had descended in celebration of the slaughter wrought in the valley below and in honour of her champion’s blood. Swinging a monstrous spear about her armoured form, she took the dragon witch’s head off, allowing the shock of its pale face and its lustrous length of hair to bounce down the wooded slope past Archaon." - Archaon: Everchosen
"Archaon looked from his bloody fist back up to the heavens, where the clouds had been rent asunder. From the swirling maelstrom above dropped a fireball that left a blood-murky trail of smoke. The witch lifted her staff. The drake’s slender maw opened wide. Archaon instinctively lifted his arms in front of his face. Instead of corrosive breath or a bladestorm of dark magic, the fiery heat of daemon hate washed over him. The fireball struck the dragon and its rider, slamming them into the mountainside with explosive fury. An inferno roared about witch and her monster. Peering through the gaps between the digits of his gauntlet, Archaon watched as some furious infernal entity fought through the flames. A daemon princess, of a terrible martial beauty, had descended. In crimson armour forged in Khorne’s own hate and bearing two great horns from her head, Archaon recognised the horrific creature as Valkia the Bloody – the Gorequeen sponsor of Gorath’s atrocities. The daemon had descended in celebration of the slaughter wrought in the valley below and in honour of her champion’s blood. Swinging a monstrous spear about her armoured form, she took the dragon witch’s head off, allowing the shock of its pale face and its lustrous length of hair to bounce down the wooded slope past Archaon." - Archaon: Everchosen
====X-Factors====
(Representative of Khornate X-factors)
Adaptive Creativity: 52/100:
Tactics: 44/100:
In her days prior to being a daemon Valkia was a skilled tactician who
conquered many tribes. However as a Daemon Queen her basic tactics usually just
involve endless slaughter upon slaughter rather than finesse.
Strategy: 34/100: Strategy? Khorne’s followers have no endgame
goal other than to inflict mass and continual slaughter in his name. They will
go to great lengths to ensure that however.
Audactiy: 97/100:
With the exception of Khorne there is probably no one who Valkia would hesitate
fighting. She does not care one wit about expending her warriors to die en
masse, and will kill them herself quite often.
Psychological Warfare: 51/100: Other then sheer terror through massed slaughter, her means of psychological warfare are a bit limited.
Experience: 90/100:
Though undated, she has fought for Khorne at least hundreds of years and an
unknown amount of time in the mortal realm.
Discipline: 45/100:
Valkia has more
discipline then the vast majority of her force, many of whom are howling
lunatics that barely reach a 25. She is patient to a point however and will
lose herself often to rage in battle.
Inspiration: 85/100: (Applies only to Khornates). Valkia, as the consort of the
blood god, inspires fanatical devotion among fellow Khornates, who know that
wherever her gaze is, so is that of her god. Thus they will rush blindly and
fanatically to their deaths with utmost zealotry to gain her favor. Furthermore
despite her bloodthirsty nature Valkia is not above using her feminine charms
on either her enemies or allies.
Corruption: 85/100:
Though not invoking great torture like the others, Valkia does kill everything
she encounters, even women and children. For Khorne cares not from where the
Blood flows, so long as it flows. Her respect can be earned at least by enemy
combatants who fight bravely or skillfully.
Sigvald the Magnificent
Mobility: 4
Training/Experience: 6
Max Range: Melee
Preferred Range: Melee
Role : Tactical Commander
Though he looks only 16
years of age, Sigvald has blighted the world for 300 years. Originally he was a
renowned warrior of a Norsican tribe, son of the chieftain and his own sister,
who was allowed to grow ever more decadent as the years went by. Eventually he
grew too decadent for even his sister-loving father, and was banished after
partaking in the consumption of human flesh. Immediately Sigvald and his reluctant best friend sought out a
local Slaaneshi champion who led them to a Slaaneshi daemon. Thus the deal was
struck, and by the night day his father was slain.
For the next couple
years Sigvald built a army and laid waste to many forces within the Chaos
Wastes, luxuriating in combat. Yet eventually he grew bored and retired to a
grand Golden flying palace that he captured architects to create. Originally it
was a view of perfection; however Sigvald quickly grew bored with the upkeep
and left it in disrepair.
In the events of Sigvald an Empire nobleman
came to him looking for help in one of the many civil wars down South, a
request Sigvald felt boring . Eventually this baron desired Sigvald’s beautiful
wife and told Sigvald that the nearby warlord of Khorne had a beautiful skull
that delivered “rage ecstasy” to those who wore it. Sigvald believed him and
attacked. Though he managed to surprise the men of Khorne and deliver initial
losses, predictably most of his force was destroyed. In desperation he sought
out the Slaaneshi daemon he originally made a pact with to get a Daemon army.
Said Slaaneshi daemon accepted, but ordered Sigvald to acquire him the ancient
Tzeentch dragon Galgruich , kill an immortal being, and meet personally with
Slaanesh. By luck Sigvald succeeded in the first and second task, but
disintegrated on the third.
However his story was
not yet done. So impressed was Slaanesh with his decadent lifestyle that he
made Sigvald a daemon prince, albeit one with an unchanged form. Sigvald was
sent directly to the battlefield with Khorne, who was assaulting his fortress,
and promptly began tearing through the blood god’s army, using his new-found
daemon-god ship, Slaanesh’s direct blessing (He was shining on him) and the
extra warping power of the Chaos Wastes to induce defections. Sigvald and his
“Decadent Host” won the battle.
With his ennui destroyed
Sigvald now went off to see the world, fulfilling whatever capricious and
fickle wim came to mind. Whole towns are destroyed because he saw their
inhabitant’s ugly, crude, irritating, or he just wanted to have some fun. In
one case he destroyed a major Brettonian town because the wine they created
“wasn’t to his taste”. In another
example he invaded the High Elves of Ulthuan because he was jealous they had
better hair then him.
==LOADOUT==
Offensive: Silverslash: A sword that was forged from
a sliver of his own blade, such was the favor provided to him. It moves faster
than many can track, often expertly finding gaps in armor. Sigvald himself is a
master duelist able to take down scores of lesser men. In fact in his novel the
only times he was nearly beaten was when a Khornate champion nearly overpowered
him or when a horde of Khorne warriors nearly overwhelmed him.
Defensive: Auric
Armor: The Auric Armor is a sculpted suit of plate mail forged from
enscrolled gold. Tendrils of Dark Energy constantly caress the wielded,
rejuvenating his flesh and closing wounds with a tender touch. This, when
combined with his mirror shield, make Sigvald incredibly difficult to damage,
for such is his skill that he is quite difficult to hit in the first place!
==Additional Factors==
Sigvald appears to have
a supernatural charm that gives him the aura of perfection. His feet hover an
inch from the ground so that they are never drenched in gore, the ground
reshapes himself as he passes over it, and indeed he appears in the eye of the
beholder to be supernaturally beautiful. In the Chaos Wastes where the veil
between the realm of Chaos and the mortal realm was sliver thin, he could
actually use this supernatural essence to cause defections among the
weak-willed of the enemy.
Sigvald is going to be
the main army commander for Slaanesh’s forces, both mortal and immortal. His
ability to inspire them to great feats of bloodlust and passion is legendary, as
is his battle skill. However at the same time the codex mentions that Sigvald
is extremely unmanageable as a sub-commander, too prideful to care for orders
and essentially the only way he would obey was if he was promised something
great at the end or bribed. By default he is an extremely capricious commander,
apt to cause disruptions via the pursuit of his unnatural obsession or, if he
gets angry with another Chaos commander, attacking them heedless of the
consequences.
====X-Factors====
(Representative of Slaaneshi x-factors)
Adaptive Creativity: 40/100: He can create sometimes a creative, usually terrible
solution. However generally this man is duped by other’s cunning rather than coming
up with his own.
Tactics: 34/100
: He might have a very rare moment of brilliance but usually most of the men
Sigvald commands ends up killed. And Sigvald is fine with that. To him the greater priority is having his
honor guard stop in the middle of the field, pull out mirrors, and make sure
that his face was still beautiful. Either that or calling random troops to him to pay him constant compliments! Once he got challenged to a honor duel, splitting up the Chaos force to watch, and refused to end it when the High Elves attacked, causing mass confusion and chaos among his ranks. Indeed despite the strength of their foes the High Elf codex itself concedes Sigvald would have won this battle had he actually commanded his forces (or done so effectively). Instead the entire army was crushed, with Sigvald being one of the only survivors because he lost focus and left the battlefield.
Strategy: 27/100: Doesn't seem to have any long term strategy.
He invades nations on whims with examples including the time he butchered a
whole city because he found their princess beautiful, invading the High Elves
out of jealousy that they had better hair then he, and sacking a Brettonian
town because the win there “wasn't to his taste”. In the assault on the High Elves he actually killed more of his sub-commanders then the High Elves through "disagreements " over certain leadership decisions he made, insults (intentional or unintentional) and because sometimes he just didn't like the look of them. This is a amazing feat as the High Elves were deliberately aiming to kill his sub-commanders while Sigvald was unintentional (and the High Elves were employing some of the best assassins in the world, the Shadow Warriors, to do so).
Intuition: 30/100:
Seems to have great difficulty predicting the schemes and plots of others, and
indeed spends much of the novel getting strung around. Often Sigvald only got
the point when one of his lieutenants pointed out of the fact….several times in
a row.
Audactiy:87/100
: Neither Sigvald nor his troops have fear of death for indeed it is a sensation to
be enjoyed…but anything that mars his face
in even the slightest fashion is horrifying!
Experience: 63/100:
Has led for several hundred years his horde, however much of it was spent
messing around in a pleasure palace.
Psychological Warfare: 72/100:Though not necessarily applying to Sigvald himself, Slaanesh
servants are very good at corrupting and manipulating the inner desires of
those who they face.
Discipline: 30/100
:
On the battlefield
Sigvald most personifies these battlefield passions and exaggerated emotions.
He will luxuriate in his emotions, even those dark ones like despair, even if
it is harmful to his health or those around them. In one instance he even
killed a noted friend of many years simply because he wanted to push his
emotional turmoil of the time to a further point. Though he later regretted his
friend’s death, he then used the opportunity to bask in his grief. Other
examples include taking out a mirror to look at in the middle of battle,
getting manipulated into battle with only a few choice words by a scheming
lieutenant, and generally being a slave
to his whims at the time. On at least one occasion he was distracted and left
the battlefield because of it.
However oddly enough
Sigvald is able to instill discipline in his men well enough, for they know
that if he wins he will let them indulge in every perverted desire they could
ever want. It is thanks to Sigvald’s ability to wave a treat in front of their
faces that he can instill a semblance of order….when he cares too.
Inspiration: 86/100: Perhaps his single, greatest, most important trait, Sigvald
can inspire fanatical devotion among his troops. Without a second thought they
will lay down their lives to protect their aloof commander, and can be
motivated into extreme fanaticism on the battle by just a few words spoken by
their prince. This is in part due to his inspiring presence and vision of
beauty, partially thanks to the clear favor Slaanesh has in him, but also
because these troops know that after battle is done Sigvald will allow them to
fulfill their most depraved desires free of intervention. However this only really applies to his followers, and allied warbands of other gods can and do question his army decisions at every opportunity, and not without cause....
Corruption: 91/100:
Randomly butchers whole populations at whims, allows his men to engage in
incredibly heinous acts.
Engrimm Van Horstmann
Mobility: 4 (8 on Dragon)
Training/Experience: 7
Max Range: Unknown, his plots run deep
Preferred Range: Spell
Role : Strategic Commander
Originally Engrimm was a child refugee on the
run with his little sister after his village had been pillaged. Along the way
they met a pair of traveling Light mages and begged for their assistance. These
mages instead threw the two of them in a snake pit to test the theory that the
innocent would be consumed by the snakes while the corrupt would be saved by
the snakes recognizing one of their own. They were right.
Horstmann burned with revenge, and spent
years planning with his already genius intellect. This boy didn’t just want to kill those two
mages in horrific fashions; he wanted to destroy all they represented. He
killed off an already dying Light Battle mage to find the Light College, where
he was let in by those who recognized his talent. In order to ensure this revenge he met with
Tzeentch himself, swearing everything but his soul in exchange for aid.
Tzeentch accepted, already plotting the acquisition of the latter too. From
this point while he was a light mage by day, he was a Chaos sorcerer by night.
With Tzeentch’s aid and
captured daemons Horstmann rapidly rose to power, engineering little conflicts
and power plays in the meantime. All of them ended nearly flawlessly for him,
however little by little paved suspicion among one of his subordinates named
Kant. When he became Patriarch of the
Light College he used his position to plunder ancient treasures hidden in the
vaults, plant seeds of corruption among
the students, and sow all sorts of nasty seeds in the department.
When Kant finally
convinced the Witch Hunters to track Engrimm down the Chaos sorcerer was ready.
He destroyed the battle mages and witch hunters sent to kill him through a
series of well-timed attacks and plots. At last he got revenge on his childhood
tormentors by having one of them locked away for an eternity to watch his world
turn to dust around him, and having the other infected with an extremely nasty
nurglite plague. In the moment of
ultimate triumph, he unleashed a Chaos Dragon that had been locked away for a
hundred years, riding him to the Chaos Wastes. Things nearly went perfectly
but….
…Tzeentch wasn’t done.
The God temporarily possesses one of his daemons to whisper into the air
“splintertree” . This caused the uncorrupted half of the chaos dragon to remember his name and attack,
subduing the other half and nearly killing Horstmann. It was then that an agent
of Tzeentch intervened, promising to spare Horstmann’s life in return for
servitude. Reluctantly, knowing he had been outmaneuvered, Horstmann agreed.
With his corrupted
acolytes Egrimm formed the Cabal, perhaps the mightiest of all the war bands of
Tzeentch. These sinister warrior-wizards of Tzeentch deemed Egrimm van
Horstmann as their master. Egrimm covets nothing less than dominion over the
entire world. He is a great conspirator, second only to his master Tzeentch.
His acolytes are everywhere, and many of the secrets, cults and covens in the
Old World are ultimately controlled by Horstmann. Such plots and schemes please
Tzeentch immeasurably, and he has rewarded van Horstmann greatly, making him
the most favored of his servants.
"‘There is no action you have taken,’ said van Horstmann, ‘or
that you will take from now on, that I have not foreseen. Think on the path
that led you here. What manner of demonologist would I be to show my hand so
early, by casting a host of daemons at you the moment you walked in through the
door? And what manner of a witch hunter would you be, if you did not storm down
here yourself, to lay down Sigmar’s law in person? Every step of that path, I
have set out for you. You are here because I have brought you here.’"- Van
Horstmann
==LOADOUT==
Offensive: Chaos Runeblade: Horstmann doesn’t
specialize in close quarters, but when he fights he has a powerful Chaos runeblade
that can ignore armor. He also rides the Chaos Dragon Baudros.
Defensive: Chaos Armor
==Additional Factors==
Horstmann is a schemer, and would rarely be
seen in direct combat, for such is not his way. With his small army of
Cabalites, including a large selection of Tzeentchi sorcerers, this sorcerer
will likely spend most of his time plotting how he can best manipulate fate to
benefit him. This might manipulation might be to the detriment of their allies,
as Tzeentch followers are perhaps the most likely to commit sudden betrayal,
and have a history of betrayal even when it comes to Archaon, who was betrayed
at least twice by two different followers of Tzeentch.
However the battles he
does participate in will be brilliantly planned and manipulated towards a
pre-destined outcome from the start. Only a few commanders, such as Horstmann’s
successor Kant, have ever gotten the better of him in combat- and even those
outcomes are uncertain. Even if he
doesn’t participate in a battle though, he will be constantly trying to set up
Chaos cults in neutral or enemy factions to undermine them from within. These
need not be dedicated solely to his patron, as the Cabal has shown its hand in
controlling cults dedicated to other Chaos gods as well.
===X-factors===
Adaptive Creativity: 83/100: The Forces of Tzeentch are always extremely creative with
the means they are given, whether it is that on their own force or the
enemies’, striving to work everything in their innumerable plots and plans.
Tactics: 75/100:
Generally Tzeentch followers have difficulty in predicting the chaotic motions
of a battlefield to perform their exact specifications, however Horstmann is
noted to be a tactical genius said to have a portion of Tzeentch’s cunning.
Enemy commanders feel like they are playing into his hands and only a few of
them, like the most stubborn or cunning, have been known to beat him. However
Horstmann (and Tzeentch masterminds) rarely
fights directly, but rather schemes from the rea, deploying expendable proxies when
necessary.
Strategy: 80/100: Any plan Horstmann participates in will be brilliantly devised and will likely incorporate strange and creative factors . Tzeentchi plans are as subtle as they are convoluted and are extremely difficult to guess. Perhaps a victory here was really a defeat, in the long run?
However Horstmann (and all Tzeentchi planners) suffers in that while he has innumerable schemes and plans, all really well thought out, there are very few end points, for that is against his or Tzeentch’s nature. Their schemes are always neverending, for to have an ultimate victory would end the constant cycle of change that they so desire. They rarely come true in full fruition or often take years to do so, and these schemes can sometimes strangle each other and result in disruptions of other plans. Tzeentchi followers are as fractious as the skaven, and though the best schemers are hard to displace the followers of Tzeentch must keep a eye out for the rest of the cult in addition to themselves. Factored into this is the fact that not even Tzeentch’s plans are infallible much less Horstmann, and that sometimes (if rarely in the case of Horstmann) Tzeentch himself betrays his followers and ruins their plans, in order to further his own –even if it means aiding the enemies of his followers, as Liber Chaotica notes.
However Horstmann (and all Tzeentchi planners) suffers in that while he has innumerable schemes and plans, all really well thought out, there are very few end points, for that is against his or Tzeentch’s nature. Their schemes are always neverending, for to have an ultimate victory would end the constant cycle of change that they so desire. They rarely come true in full fruition or often take years to do so, and these schemes can sometimes strangle each other and result in disruptions of other plans. Tzeentchi followers are as fractious as the skaven, and though the best schemers are hard to displace the followers of Tzeentch must keep a eye out for the rest of the cult in addition to themselves. Factored into this is the fact that not even Tzeentch’s plans are infallible much less Horstmann, and that sometimes (if rarely in the case of Horstmann) Tzeentch himself betrays his followers and ruins their plans, in order to further his own –even if it means aiding the enemies of his followers, as Liber Chaotica notes.
For example at one point
Horstmann set out to create a new more resilient breed of troll but failed,
instead creating a troll that could vomit up magic. Most of his Cabal died in
the fighting that followed, with Horstmann only barely escaping. However the
incident served Tzeentch’s purposes, for there is now a breed of troll that vomits up mutating magic everywhere.
Intuition: 76/100:
Tzeentch followers are masters when it comes to prediction, for option their
magic allows them to scry the future. Even without such divination their
planning can be of unfathomable brilliance, with Horstmann successfully
predicting nearly every event in his titular book. As a downside, should something unpredictable
occur as did in the end of said book Horstmann may struggle to react in time.
Audacity: 78/100:
The majority of the time Horstmann works his plans through pawns or his cabal,
but he will fight if required. He has no qualms expending pawns towards a goal.
Psychological Warfare: 77/100: Horstmann and the followers of Tzeentch weave around enemy
plans, incorporating them into their own. They can implant seeds that, although
they don’t take root immediately, nevertheless have great future significance.
Experience: 62/100:
Discipline: 86(68)/100: Thanks to various
magical spells Horstmann’s Cabal can operate under near perfect cohesion, as
Horstmann and his elite wizards can control these Cabalites like a player could
control his units in a RTS video game. This allows him a 20 point lead over the
normal Tzeentchi score.
Inspiration: 87 (66)/100: All those that join his small cabal are branded with the
rune of Tzeentch and cursed so that if they attempt a treasonous thought, they
die horribly. This score only
applies to his cabal though, and would
worsen significantly when commanding others of his ilk (Tzeentch followers) .
Corruption: 91/100:
Wulfrik the Wanderer
Mobility: 4
Training/Experience: 6
Max Range: Hurled Insults
Preferred Range: Melee
Role : Squad commander/anti-champion
Wulfrik the Wanderer is a warrior born, an
individual who even from his marauder days was killing champions and collecting
their skulls. One day he aided a scheming king in killing another within a
large battle, slaughtering the enemy king personally. At the victory banquet
held in his honor he drank so much mead that even the travelling ogres were
impressed. His boasts became ever more grandiose, from destroying half the
enemy army by himself to boxing in the ears of the emperors of Nippon, Cathay
and the Empire. Finally he said that no possible champion, either mortal or
immortal, could ever best him in a duel. Unfortunately for him the gods were
listening….
Through a dark emissary these gods, though
angered by the boast, gave Wulfrik the chance to prove his claim. He would
travel the world seeking out the rarest and most ablest champions , slaying
them and offering them to the gods. Grudgingly, knowing his soul was damned if
he didn't, Wulfrik carried out this task. From Khemeri to Norsica there were countless champions he slew, yet all the while he dreamed of freedom. He longed
to both be a king and to marry the love of his live, Hjoldis.
One day a mysterious
shaman arrived offering said freedom in exchange for potent magical artifacts.
Wulfrik, desperate for a bid of freedom, agreed. He fought through the pits of
the Chaos Dwarves for the first artifact, plowing through great numbers of Fire
Dwarves on the way, even defeating their king in personal combat. Then he went
to Ulthuan to seek a second artifact, killing a group of Eldar witches, who
turned out to be wives, in the process. It was then that this shaman revealed
himself to be a traitor (also secretly an Imperial Wizard) and, using
illusions, stranded Wulfrik and his group in the Elven lands. As a result
everyone but Wulfrik and one rival nearly died, with Wulfrik swearing revenge .
Wulfrik traveled back
home where he found the love of his life reluctantly married off to another man
at her father’s behest. Beyond furious, he nevertheless secured a massive
raiding force against the Imperial Wizard’s town. In one battle he personally
ended a baron, fought through hordes of troops, barely destroyed the wizard’s
automaton and ended the wizard himself in a grueling fashion. His revenge then
expanded further to include Hjoldis’s father, her would-be suitor, and even
Hjoldis herself. With no one left to kill he then fully dedicated himself to
becoming a true champion of the gods.
==LOADOUT==
Offensive: Hand weapons, with a heavy potential for taking
those magical. Wulfrik is an extremely capable combatant, with superhuman
agility, experience and even strength. He has taken down enemy Chaos Champions,
monsters and small legions of lesser troops before by himself. That said he is
not unbeatable and was nearly outmatched by a stone Tomb King statue the wizard
at the end used against him, only winning through conveniently finding acid at
the right time. In addition he can be worn down from attrition of wounds taken
in battle and has expressed reluctance to engage magic users by himself.
However as a slayer of champions there is perhaps none his equal save
skulltaker.
His most noted ability however is the
so-called Gift of Tongues. The
gift does not merely allow Wulfrik to speak and understand any language, but
allows his words to strike into a creature's very being and compel them to fight
him. Combined with the well-known Norscan aptitude for biting, albeit unsubtle,
insults, Wulfrik is able to goad his enemies into a reckless fury where they
are more likely to make fatal mistakes for him exploit, thus ensuring his
victory in battle all the more. He can do this to entire units, such as
the time he made the heavily disciplined Immortals unit of the Chaos Dwarves
break ranks and run at him out of fury.
““Men of the Empire!” Wulfrik called out, his voice like the roar
of a lion. “I would have words with your leader!” He waved his sword through
the air, Torgald’s head bouncing upon its tether. “Fetch him, that I may speak
with him!”
“I am Baron Udo Kruger!” a sharp voice rose from behind the
fortified face of the gatehouse. “Wisborg is under my protection and I have no
words to waste with heretic scum!”
Wulfrik laughed at the baron’s rebuke. “Protect your town then! I
only came here to see your wife and my children!”
There was an inarticulate screech of outrage from within the
gatehouse. Wulfrik retreated back to the safety of the shield wall as dozens of
arrows came shooting down at him. A few of the northmen cried out as handguns
were discharged and shot punched through their shields.
“Let me in, Kruger!” Wulfrik yelled. “It’s not right to keep the
baroness waiting!”
Wulfrik smiled as he heard the baron shrieking in fury, calling
for armor, demanding his knights saddle their warhorses. From his tone, it
seemed he wouldn’t be swayed by his advisors or his officers. He was determined
to answer the challenge Wulfrik had hurled upon him, the insult the Gift of
Tongues had torn from Kruger’s mind and placed on the hero’s lips."” –
Wulfrik
Defensive: Chaos Armor. Wulfrik’s durability is enough that he can
withstand dozens of arrow points and minor wounds sticking out of him
==Additional Factors==
Wulfrik is a champion
who specializes in taking out other champions, a head-hunter . He is aided in
this by Seafang, his magical flying ship that can traverse massive distances
via sailing the Winds of Magic themselves. Seafang can carry about 200 men
though this number is always reduced slightly by the time they reach the enemy,
courtesy of daemons luring his crew off the ship or else Wulfrik executing some
of his men for behaving like cowards. It is thanks to this ship that he can
suddenly appear 100s of miles away from his last reported location.
===X-factors===
* Note at most Wulfrik
will lead a couple hundred individuals.
Adaptive Creativity: 65/100: Wulfrik’s tactics, though crude, are often done in ways
wholly surprising to his enemies. He is aided greatly in this by his Gift of
Tongues.
Tactics: 61/100:
Wulkrik is an able tactician and combat leader, however many of the battles
that he has fought have only been won at the skin of his teeth and at the cost
of many men. To him however only the death of the enemy champion matters.
Strategy: N/A
Intuition: 48/100:
Wulfrik, though possessing good instincts, tends to rush into danger without
thought and is often surprised by some of the counter-measures his enemy brings
against him.
Audacity: 95/100:
Never backs down from a challenge or command, and only truly fears the 4 Chaos
gods. In one scene he actually attempted to challenge Hashtut himself to a
duel, much to the absolute horror of his men. Fortunately for them the Chaos
Dwarves were merely employing an image of Hashtut, and the real god wasn’t
there. Had he been even Wulfrik admitted he would have been overcome. Also does not care one wit among the causalities
he incurs among his men.
Psychological Warfare: 83/100: This extremely high score is thanks to the Gift of Tongues,
though its usually only limited to enemy commanders/champions.
Experience: 65/100:
Discipline: 52/100:
Inspiration: 71/100: Wulfrik is held in awe by his soldiers and is a legend
throughout the North.
Corruption: 82/100:
Wulfrik is a killer utterly dedicated to his gods, and is contemptuous of those
who don’t follow them. However he does have a savage code of honor and respect
among warriors.
Scyla Anfingrimm
Mobility: 5
Training/Experience: 6
Max Range: Melee
Preferred Range: Melee
Role : Anti-combatant
The Warrior known as
Scyla Anfingrim was once a legendary Norse champion of Khorne who was infamous
for raiding everything from the Ind to the Empire. In each case he would
slaughter the inhabitants in the name of Khorne until his very name became a
byword for massacre. As his fame and fortune grew so too did his standing among
Khorne’s favor.
Khorne was not subtle in
showing his favor. First he rewarded Scyla with hulking ape arms so that he
could pulverize his enemy. Then a serpent tail which attacked with a mind on
its own. In return for massacring a Chaos Dwarf delegation he received bony
spikes all along his body. Finally, after the subjugation of a powerful rival
tribe, Scyla received the mind of a ravenous beast and mutated into a Chaos
Spawn.
Now his former tribe keeps Scyla penned up when not on campaign. However though he is a chaos spawn, he is perhaps the only individual Chaos spawn who has not been abandoned by Khorne and still maintains his favor. In battle he is the equivalent of a hurricane, smashing through enemy lines and tearing apart even skilled Chaos Warriors as if they unarmored peasants.
“ Scyla roared. His
serpent-tail whipped around, striking the first warrior like a viper, tearing
the man’s throat out in a mess of bloody cartilage. Just as quickly, he
snatched up another with his massive pincers, the man’s armor squealing under
the strength of his grip.
Before the third could level a blow, the beast snapped his
companion cleanly in half, hurling the bisected body over the precipice and
leaping forwards with blinding speed. His jaws snapped open and he sank his
great fangs into the warrior’s skull.
Ruaddon stared, wide-eyed, as Scyla effortlessly tore the
man’s head away from his shoulders in a fountain of gore.
Dropping the mangled corpse, he turned to face Vhorgath and
Ruaddon, a sluice of blood and bone fragments drooling from his hairy chin.
‘Scyla hungers,’ Freya finally said. ‘He always hungers.’
-Talon of Khorne”
==LOADOUT==
Offensive: Scyla is a Chaos spawn with strength to
physically rip a man apart, a serpent tail capable of ripping out throats, jaws
to bite through skulls and of course huge talons.
Defensive: Scyla is extremely durable to damage thanks to his thick hide,
bony protrusions and sheer size. He also has near total magic resistance.
==Additional Factors==
Scyla is like most
Khornates extremely bloodthirsty and will be difficult to contain before battle
since his tribe has been massacred by another. However once in battle he forms
his own, one-beast wrecking ball on enemy lines.
Throgg the Troll King
Mobility: 5
Training/Experience: 6
Max Range: Several meters
Preferred Range: Melee
Role : Tactical Commander
Everyone, even the most
ignorant child, knows that trolls are bywords for stupidity. Yet among them
exists one troll who is different, one troll whose mutations were not of the
body, but of the mind. Throgg the troll king sits on his cold, lonely throne in
Troll country, attended by his drooling subjects. For many years rumors of a
super intelligent troll led many would-be champions to attempt to slay him.
Every attempt merely gave Throgg some dinner.
Yet eventually Throgg
grew tired of this near constant assassination attempts. Looking at the lands
of men with malice in his eyes he declared that if the race of man wanted to
fight him so badly, Throgg would let them.
He would fight them with every creature in Troll County at his back.
That night Throgg vowed
the destruction of the race of men. Marching southward as an aspect of the
coming Storm of Chaos, Throgg now controls a vast army of trolls, mutants,
madmen, and other horrific Chaos creatures. The Dark Gods are pleased by
Throgg’s intent, and have gifted him the ability to command these bestial
creatures.
The novel Kinslayer has Throgg as a powerful and ambitious warlord, one who wants to rule his own kingdom of Beasts and usher in a new age. He drove Aekold Hellbrass out of Praag after the Chaos warlord conquered it, and for a while fended off all attacks by various Chaos warlords. Though devoted to the Chaos Gods, his hatred of men prevented a Alliance with the Chaos human followers of those gods, and he was only really willing to consider a alliance with the Empire after his own empire finally started coming apart. However he was defeated by the adventuring pair of Gotrek and Felix after a pitched battle, and was thrown off a cliff. However such is the power of his regeneration that his death is left ambiguous.....
The novel Kinslayer has Throgg as a powerful and ambitious warlord, one who wants to rule his own kingdom of Beasts and usher in a new age. He drove Aekold Hellbrass out of Praag after the Chaos warlord conquered it, and for a while fended off all attacks by various Chaos warlords. Though devoted to the Chaos Gods, his hatred of men prevented a Alliance with the Chaos human followers of those gods, and he was only really willing to consider a alliance with the Empire after his own empire finally started coming apart. However he was defeated by the adventuring pair of Gotrek and Felix after a pitched battle, and was thrown off a cliff. However such is the power of his regeneration that his death is left ambiguous.....
==LOADOUT==
Offensive: Throgg wields a massive hammer in
battle, as well as his extreme troll-strength. For range he can project acidic,
short-ranged vomit at a foe, quickly eating through armor.
Defensive: Throgg is a troll, meaning in addition to his size he can
regenerate very easily. However like all trolls, he is weak to fire.
 |
| . |
X-FACTORS:
Adaptive Creativity: 69/100: Throgg has shown himself to be a rather excellent ambusher, utilizing midnight raids and his frost-like environment to his advantage. In Gotrek and Felix, he led the duo into a giant trap This is often surprising to his enemies that know of the trolls, for no other troll is clever enough to possess any sort of tactical acumen or creativity.
Tactics: 62/100: In part thanks to the nature of his army, with powerful trolls serving as the core of it, and in part thanks to his own intelligence Throgg is shown to be a creativie and skilled tactician, and even beat the armies of the Conqueror of Kislev (Aekold Hellbrass).
Strategy: 43/100: His strategic prowess is somewhat lacking, thanks to his megalomania,which prevented necessary strategic alliances. Indeed his end plan, to create a Age of the Beast, appears limited to the capture of wizards everywhere to try and make his beasts smarter.
Intuition: 61/100:
Audacity: 77/100: Has no qualms sacrificing large quantities of troops in most situations.
Psychological Warfare: 66/100: Throgg is good at breaking beasts and beast-like foes, and did manage to convince hundreds of wizards (of all WF races) to work for him after he traveled the world capturing them through threats, beatings, and guile.
Experience: 90/100 : Alleged to be near immortal and remembers the days before Chaos arrived, though only began leading a host relatively recently.
Discipline: 49/100: This is rather high for any Beast of Chaos, however he frequently loses his temper or gets afraid in combat, resorting and alternating between threats, boasts, insults, and bribes.
Inspiration: 83/100: Throgg is one of the few who can achieve almost unchallenged supremacy from Beasts of Chaos, even binding the fiercly independent Chimera to his cause.
Corruption: 81/100: Wants to completely destroy men and create a "Age of the Beast" in its place.
==Additional Factors==
Adaptive Creativity: 69/100: Throgg has shown himself to be a rather excellent ambusher, utilizing midnight raids and his frost-like environment to his advantage. In Gotrek and Felix, he led the duo into a giant trap This is often surprising to his enemies that know of the trolls, for no other troll is clever enough to possess any sort of tactical acumen or creativity.
Tactics: 62/100: In part thanks to the nature of his army, with powerful trolls serving as the core of it, and in part thanks to his own intelligence Throgg is shown to be a creativie and skilled tactician, and even beat the armies of the Conqueror of Kislev (Aekold Hellbrass).
Strategy: 43/100: His strategic prowess is somewhat lacking, thanks to his megalomania,which prevented necessary strategic alliances. Indeed his end plan, to create a Age of the Beast, appears limited to the capture of wizards everywhere to try and make his beasts smarter.
Intuition: 61/100:
Audacity: 77/100: Has no qualms sacrificing large quantities of troops in most situations.
Psychological Warfare: 66/100: Throgg is good at breaking beasts and beast-like foes, and did manage to convince hundreds of wizards (of all WF races) to work for him after he traveled the world capturing them through threats, beatings, and guile.
Experience: 90/100 : Alleged to be near immortal and remembers the days before Chaos arrived, though only began leading a host relatively recently.
Discipline: 49/100: This is rather high for any Beast of Chaos, however he frequently loses his temper or gets afraid in combat, resorting and alternating between threats, boasts, insults, and bribes.
Inspiration: 83/100: Throgg is one of the few who can achieve almost unchallenged supremacy from Beasts of Chaos, even binding the fiercly independent Chimera to his cause.
Corruption: 81/100: Wants to completely destroy men and create a "Age of the Beast" in its place.
==Additional Factors==
Throgg hates men, and his alliance with the Man-Dominated Chaos armies is only of conveniance and because they serve the same power. In campaign his army is entirely composed of trolls, beastmen, and other beasts of chaos. In addition it is said that as he moves his legions of
monsters the land warps behind him into a more wintry landscape that trolls
thrive on.
Galrauch, Master of Dragons
Mobility: 8
Training/Experience: 8
Max Range: Hundreds of meters
Preferred Range: ^^
Role : Rampaging monstrosity
Standing thirty feet
tall Galrauch, the first of the Chaos Dragons, was once a mighty defender of
Ulthuan, fighting alongside the High Elves in the first Chaos incursion of the
world. Such was the power of these dragons that it was said that only the
greatest of daemons could match them. In one such battle Galrauch challenged a
daemon lord of change to battle. It took but an instant for the great dragon to
fell the daemon, but unfortunately this was its plans. The Daemons corruptive
essence was absorbed into the dragon’s skin.
Moments later Galrauch
was wracked by terrible mutations. Leering faces forced themselves through his great bulk, spikes emerged and his head
split into two separate entities. Great was the dismay of the elves as both
heads suddenly turned against their lines, decimating them. Yet before the
elves could be pushed back one of the heads of Galrauch rebelled, viciously
attacking the other. By the time the chaos head was able to regain control the
battle had been won by the Elves, and it was forced to retreat.
Galrauch has emerged
many times since, each time to devastate the lands of men, dwarves and elves.
He has sacked entire cities and even burned an entire dwarf hold, as well as
has won numerous engagements for the Chaos forces. Yet even after nearly 7000
years the spirit of Galrauch still remains trapped- and fighting- against his
daemonic oppressor. Many a battle has suddenly ended with the great dragon
trying to kill itself.
==LOADOUT==
Offensive: One head breathes fire, or, rarely, the
very breathe of change which causes those hit to horribly mutate. Galrauch is
also a powerful sorcerer of Tzeentch, and can use all of his spells. Finally it
has a large mass, powerful talons and a whipping tail.
Defensive: Galrauch is both rather large and covered in thick, scaly skin
stronger then plate mail. Of course he can fly too.
==Additional Factors==
Galrauch is a mighty flying dragon whose will
still hasn’t been entirely subsumed by chaos. There is a chance every battle
that this mighty head might rebel, stopping the Chaos dragon from attacking
anything else as its body rebels. According to the novel Sigvald the chance of
this happening is amplified if he hears the sounds of elves, for that reminds
him of his ancient oaths to that host.
Kholek Suneater
Mobility: 7
Training/Experience: 9
Max Range: 300 meters
Preferred Range: Melee
Role : Combatant
‘I feel the
heartbeat of your world even as I slumber!’ bellowed Kholek, his voice louder
even than the thunder. ‘I feel the scum of your kind spreading! I hear their
cities fall and their graveyards spill over! And I have heard the same happen
to the elves of Ulthuan, and the sorcerer-lords of Nehekhara; the dwarfish
holds and the god kings of the lizardfolk. All grow, all wane, and all die. And
there has not yet been an empire that is anything more to Kholek than the
scrabbling of vermin underfoot!’
--The Second Sun
Kholek Suneater is one
of the oldest dragon ogres in existence, being the son of the one who
originally made the deal. His role in that alleged deal that damned their
entire race was apparently so terrible that it was rumored that the sun hid its
face from him and never looked back. Regardless of the truth to the detail it’s
known that Kholek’s appearance is always heralded by thunderstorms.
Kholek doesn’t waken but
once every eight generations, but when he does his return is always heralded by
some calamity. The last time he awoke, in the times of Magnus, he
single-handily smashed down the gates of Praag allowing for Chaos to massacre
the city. Then he went about the town meticulously destroying every temple he
could find before retreating.
Now he marches to war
once more under Archaeon. In his shadows march the various mountain tribes that
worship the great god-king, as well as hordes of other Dragon Ogres. It is his
belief, however false, that the end-times will usher in a second chance for his
race, one that will see the Dragon Ogres rule the world once more.
==LOADOUT==
Offensive: Kholek is a powerful, probably 30 feet
tall dragon ogre armed with the massive
Starcrusher hammer. Forged in the heart of a mountain, this hammer is adept at
felling monstrous foes or scattering numerous lesser foes with one blow. In
fact in the Great War of Chaos he smashed apart a steel city gate with the weapon.
He can command lightning bolts to strike singular targets. Finally he is big enough to just stomp foes
underneath, powerful enough to rip ogre sized beasts in two easily, and large
enough to eat enemies.
Defensive: Kholek is the mightiest dragon ogre who may call upon lightning
strikes to heal him. He is covered in brass armor and scaly skin, and monstrous
enough to where one extremely large/powerful strikes are going to take him
down.
==Additional Factors==
Kholek is going to be
the closest thing the dragon ogres have to a leader of their own, though he
himself doesn’t seem to command armies. His role thus is going to be limited to
an exceptionally mighty combatant.
Villitch the Curseling
Mobility: 4
Training/Experience: 5-6
Max Range: Spell
Preferred Range: spell
Role : Tactical Commander
Vilitch once lived
terribly at the hands of his tribesmen. One of the twin sons of the tribal
chieftain, Villitch grew scrawny and weak in a culture that prizes strength
while his brother became the pride of the clan. While Vilitch was scraping by
as a shaman’s apprentice his brother was leading raids a world away. Worse when
he returned his brother’s favorite past time was to beat Vilitch for the
slightest infraction.
Desperately Vilitch
prayed every night to Tzeentch for him to change their fortunes. Eventually the
Changer of Ways, who delights in anarchy, agreed. Vilitch awoke that night
fused to the form of his mighty brother, whose mind had rotted to little more than
an automaton. Cackling with glee, Vilitch set out to enslave or exterminate his
entire tribe.
However he spared the
warrior elite, using his sorcerous powers to enslave their minds. Now he
commands a small army in the Wastes, plotting and scheming in typical Tzeentch
fashion. Recently he has aided and then betrayed Archaon, leading the
everchosen to swear revenge….
==LOADOUT==
Offensive: His enslaved twin carries a flail and a
sword, while Villitch has a staff for close quarters combat. Furthermore
Villitch is a master sorcerer of Tzeentch, able to use those spells.
Defensive: Little defense, and indeed even his twin is depicted as
unarmored. Tzeentch’s favor does give him a slight ability to manipulate fate
in this regard.
==Additional Factors==
Even when the Winds of
Magic are not blowing Vilitch has a dark crucible that serves as an emergency
backup of magical energy. Villitch would normally be a commander of Tzeentch,
leading his servants against the forces of order (or whoever Chaos fights).
However Vilitch has made a huge enemy in Archaon, who has sworn revenge. If
Vilitch was smart he would lay low….
Festus the Leechlord
Mobility: 4
Training/Experience: 4
Max Range: Melee
Preferred Range: Melee
Role : Combatant/ Mad Doctor
Once, a long time ago, Doctor Festus was a
well-respected scientist and doctor in the province of Nordland. Compassionate
and skilled both, Festus cured hundreds of people each year and made it a point
to cure some of the most virulent diseases known in those parts. However then
came the Gnashing flu.
Festus locked himself
away in his tower, dedicating every ounce of his life to curing this new
illness. Nothing worked as all his test subjects wasted away. In desperation he
cried out for help. As one his formerly diseased test subjects arose and
promised every single detail of every disease known would be available to him
in exchange for everlasting servitude. In his desperation Festus agreed.
Nurgle honored the request, and Festus’s knowledge became second perhaps to Nurgle himself. However in doing so all traces of compassion were thrown away, leaving nothing but a desire to experiment. Now he travels the world force-feeding enemies his newest concoctions in his quest to bring ever more repugnant life into the world. It is staid that its far better to die on the battlefield then to be captured alive by the doctor.
==LOADOUT==
Offensive: Festus wields a plaguesword and is a minor
wizard of Nurgle. At times he also sometimes tries to physically force a foul
concoction down an enemy’s throat, killing them if their constitution isn’t
hardy enough to resist. Also any unit that he is placed in automatically has
poisoned attacks, courtesy of Festus’s concoctions.
Defensive: He and his entire unit can regenerate wounds by drinking one of
his potions. Festus can also drink his own terrible potion to heal.
==Additional Factors==
In the long run Festus
is going to be striving to constantly introduce new diseases into the campaign,
for that is his new prerogative in life.As Leechlord shows he travels the world with a makeshift laboratory that he uses to brew up more diseases!
‘Do you know what a plague wants?’ he asked. ‘What it desires the most?’
Von Sturm puzzled, rubbing his increasingly blurry eyes. The question made no sense to him. Given the pain rippling through his chest and his head, he could think of only one reply.
‘To kill?’ he wheezed.
Festus wagged his fat finger like a school teacher.
‘That is what a plague does, not what it desires,’ he answered. ‘Tell me, what would you say are the greatest plagues of all the ages?’
Again, von Sturm struggled to think, fighting through the delirium to force himself to consider.
‘I don’t know… Blacklegge. The ghoulpox. Gnashing fever, perhaps,’ he replied.
‘I treated them all,’ said Festus. ‘And they killed thousands, perhaps tens or even hundreds of thousands. The dead went uncounted.’ Festus drew in closer to von Sturm yet again. ‘Failures all,’ he whispered.
‘I don’t understand,’ von Sturm croaked. ‘If you mean to kill me, then get on with it. I should have died on the field, not like this.’
Still Festus paid his suffering no mind.
‘Can you guess why they failed, all those terrible plagues?’ Festus asked, continuing the exchange with little urgency.
Von Sturm shook his head. He was losing his strength by the moment.
‘It was not because they killed, but because of how they killed. Exactly because they were so very deadly,’ Festus replied. ‘The most successful plague is not the one that kills overnight. On the contrary, the pox that eats through its host too quickly is no use to me at all.’
‘Why are you telling me this?’
‘Because you aren’t dead,’ Festus replied.
‘By the gods, you really are insane!’
Festus shook his head. ‘A host,’ he said. ‘That is what every plague desires. A home where it can thrive, a strong specimen with enough resistance to stay alive long enough for the pox to grow, to mature. To spread. You see, my friend, the greatest plague of all is the one that can spread without killing, at least not until it has used its host for all that it has to offer, to spawn new disease swarms to continue on, and on and on. For that it needs a sturdy victim, such a rare thing to find. But when one does appear, there is no more wonderful pairing to be had. A perfect symbiosis – the most virulent of poxes spread by the most durable of hosts.’
Horrible realisation began to dawn on von Sturm. ‘No,’ he replied, his breath failing. ‘Kill me. Kill me now.’
‘Kill you? I must say, I fear that you have understood nothing I’ve told you,’ Festus replied. ‘No, in fact killing you is the last thing I mean to do, not when you’ve shown such natural talent. No, I mean to leave you even better than I found you. In my hands, you will become perfect.’
‘Perfect? I don’t understand,’ he wheezed. ‘Do you mean to heal me after all?’
‘I shall shortly bestow a great gift upon you,’ Festus said. ‘You’re a lucky soul – few who have crossed my path have ever been as fortunate as you. The gods have truly blessed you indeed. I intend to see that your blessing is not wasted.’
-Leechlord
‘Do you know what a plague wants?’ he asked. ‘What it desires the most?’
Von Sturm puzzled, rubbing his increasingly blurry eyes. The question made no sense to him. Given the pain rippling through his chest and his head, he could think of only one reply.
‘To kill?’ he wheezed.
Festus wagged his fat finger like a school teacher.
‘That is what a plague does, not what it desires,’ he answered. ‘Tell me, what would you say are the greatest plagues of all the ages?’
Again, von Sturm struggled to think, fighting through the delirium to force himself to consider.
‘I don’t know… Blacklegge. The ghoulpox. Gnashing fever, perhaps,’ he replied.
‘I treated them all,’ said Festus. ‘And they killed thousands, perhaps tens or even hundreds of thousands. The dead went uncounted.’ Festus drew in closer to von Sturm yet again. ‘Failures all,’ he whispered.
‘I don’t understand,’ von Sturm croaked. ‘If you mean to kill me, then get on with it. I should have died on the field, not like this.’
Still Festus paid his suffering no mind.
‘Can you guess why they failed, all those terrible plagues?’ Festus asked, continuing the exchange with little urgency.
Von Sturm shook his head. He was losing his strength by the moment.
‘It was not because they killed, but because of how they killed. Exactly because they were so very deadly,’ Festus replied. ‘The most successful plague is not the one that kills overnight. On the contrary, the pox that eats through its host too quickly is no use to me at all.’
‘Why are you telling me this?’
‘Because you aren’t dead,’ Festus replied.
‘By the gods, you really are insane!’
Festus shook his head. ‘A host,’ he said. ‘That is what every plague desires. A home where it can thrive, a strong specimen with enough resistance to stay alive long enough for the pox to grow, to mature. To spread. You see, my friend, the greatest plague of all is the one that can spread without killing, at least not until it has used its host for all that it has to offer, to spawn new disease swarms to continue on, and on and on. For that it needs a sturdy victim, such a rare thing to find. But when one does appear, there is no more wonderful pairing to be had. A perfect symbiosis – the most virulent of poxes spread by the most durable of hosts.’
Horrible realisation began to dawn on von Sturm. ‘No,’ he replied, his breath failing. ‘Kill me. Kill me now.’
‘Kill you? I must say, I fear that you have understood nothing I’ve told you,’ Festus replied. ‘No, in fact killing you is the last thing I mean to do, not when you’ve shown such natural talent. No, I mean to leave you even better than I found you. In my hands, you will become perfect.’
‘Perfect? I don’t understand,’ he wheezed. ‘Do you mean to heal me after all?’
‘I shall shortly bestow a great gift upon you,’ Festus said. ‘You’re a lucky soul – few who have crossed my path have ever been as fortunate as you. The gods have truly blessed you indeed. I intend to see that your blessing is not wasted.’
Valnir the Reaper
Mobility: 4
Training/Experience: 7
Max Range: Melee
Preferred Range: Melee
Role : Combatant
Over two hundred years
ago, the name of Valnir the Reaper was feared throughout the lands of Kislev
and the Empire. As a great warrior in the Tribe of the Crow, he took the path
over the Mountains of Dusk to the Realm of Chaos and became a Chaos
Warrior and then, in
time, a feared and mighty Champion of Chaos. Lord Nurgle made him the Reaper,
the gatherer of souls whose task was to slay in the name of the god of
Pestilence. He granted Valnir a daemonic weapon of great potency, a flail that
could take souls as easily as it could take lives. Great was the number of
innocents harvested by Valnir the Reaper.
When the Great Chaos War
came, Valnir answered the call to arms like so many other Champions of Chaos.
He fought for his patron at the siege of Praag and the titanic battle for the
Gates of Kislev. In the final cataclysmic melee he charged Alexis, the
Tzar of Kislev, but was
cut down, mortally wounded. Somehow he managed to stagger away from the battlefield.
His followers carried
his body back to the lands of the Marauders as was his final wish. The
Marauders of the Crow tribe built a great stone throne from where Valnir could
survey his ancestral lands. Thus it remained for over two hundred years. But Valnir's
work was not yet done. Over the years the black wind from the
Realm of Chaos grew
stronger, and one day his rotted, skeletal form lurched to its feet. Thus
Valnir stood tall once more, not dead, not alive, but a daemonic creature
sustained by the power of Nurgle, the god of pestilence. His soul had returned
to its
Carcass. Valnir the
Reaper stalked the land once more. The tribesmen of the Crow fell to their
knees when they saw him, and worshiped him as a demi-god. To them he was living
proof that the lord of Pestilence was with them.
Only Valnir and his
patron know how many souls he must gather before he can rest again. In the
passage of time Valnir has come to hate all living beings because they
stubbornly hold on to their souls and do not surrender them to his lord Nurgle.
His
Flesh has rotted almost
completely away. His Chaos armor is a shattered ruin. Maggots writhe in his eye
sockets. His entrails ooze through the gaps in his armor. Yet a terrifying
strength lives on in his skeletal frame. His grip is like iron, and no foe
Struck by his terrible
flail ever recovers. The more he slays, the greater his vitality grows. His
body has been crushed in battle many times, yet he has always risen again, ever
eager to slay more and leave their rotting carcasses empty of their essence, their
souls sent screaming to the realm of Nurgle.
==LOADOUT==
Offensive: Gatherer
of Souls : The Gatherer of Souls
is a massive rusted flail, charged with the corpulent power of Nurgle. Its
blows do not only kill, they consume the souls of its victims as well. Much of
this stolen energy is passed to Lord Nurgle, but it also strengthens Valnir,
making him stronger and faster in his task of collecting souls.
In
addition he has the slow magical ability to infect an enemy unit with either a
fast acting red plague, brain fever (which destroys the willpower of enemies
with massive fevers and brain worms) or the Black Rot which causes the flesh of the victims to
Turn
dark, their hair falls out and their skin becomes a leprous, putrefied mess.
Defensive: Chaos armor and troll-like regeneration. Though he can revive
himself after death, this usually takes several years so if he is ultimately
killed on this campaign he is down for good.
===Additional Factors===
Where Valnir walks, plague
and pestilence follow. Wells and fountains dry up and rivers and streams turn
foul. Animals become rabid and men sicken and die. Many-times has Valnir won a
battle before it has started, his fanatic Marauders cutting swathes through an
army of stricken and diseased men, weakened by the onslaught of the Breath of
Nurgle.
Dechala, the Denied One
Mobility: 4
Training/Experience: 8
Max Range: Melee
Preferred Range: Melee
Role : Combatant
Dechala is the mistress
of the Tormentors, the greatest of all of Slaanesh 's warbands to ever roam the
Chaos Wastes. She is as cruel as she is beautiful and as pitiless as she is beguiling.
The earliest records of the ravages of Dechala reach down through the
centuries. Some say that she was blessed with great age by Slaanesh, or maybe
the legends that she was once a High Elf princess are true.
Dechala is mutated
beyond recognition, making her a creature of Chaos more akin to a Daemon than a
mortal. Her skin is smooth and milk-white. Her legs have been replaced by the
lithe and sinuous body of a snake. Her multi-headed tail cracks like a whip,
and drips with poison. Her multitudinous arms grasp heavy-bladed swords and her
deep blue eyes glow with an inner light, promising terrible pain and pleasure
to any who dare to stand before her. She has beauty that only Slaanesh may
grant, but it is as unearthly and disturbing as it is irresistible. Her visage
evokes loathing as much as it arouses pleasure.
Dechala seeks the
ultimate self-indulgence and freedom from the shackles of law and order, but
she desires this pleasure only for herself: others can suffer and die as long
as her wishes are fulfilled. She is served by a host of slaves, victims of her
hideous poison that erodes both the will and the body.
In battle Dechala is an enchanting
sight, her snake-like body dancing to amuse her patron. And as delicate and as
sensuous as her movements are, they are nonetheless lethal to those who dare to
oppose her, and many an opponent has been cut to pieces while entranced by her
dance.
==LOADOUT==
Offensive: She has 6 arms, each armed with a deadly
sword, and is a master in melee combat. Her dances in battle have magical
connotation, making her harder to hit or making her hit faster.
Defensive: She has some Chaos armor wrapped around her form, and is
difficult to hit.
===Additional Factors===
Dechala is a spiteful creature, forever denied
the opportunity to become a daemon princess thanks to a plea by a rival keeper
of secrets to Slaanesh. She takes this hatred out on her enemies, and has
invented an incurable drug that can hopelessly addict with a single drop. She
will capture prisoners and force-feed them this drug, getting them to spill
their guts and utilize them as slaves. Eventually the cruel Slaaneshi releases
these prisoners, letting them die a slow and agonizing death from withdrawal in
the wildness.
Aekold Helbras
Mobility: 4
Training/Experience: 6
Max Range: Melee
Preferred Range: Melee
Role : Combatant
Once Aekold Hellbrass was a great and
idealistic knight, who desired to destroy the corruption of the world and lead
the land to justice. To that end he joined a secret brotherhood –unknowingly a
Tzeentchi cult- in the hope that through an association of like-minded
individuals they might better aid the world. The Cult was disrupted by Witch
Hunters, with Aekold’s participation revealed. In a day he lost his job,
friends, beautiful spouse, fame, fortune and nearly his life.
In desperation Aekold
headed where most desperate men of the setting head- North. After trekking the
great and warping dangers of the realm, beating a Minotaur in single combat,
and even beating his own mirror image Aekold finally arrived at the great dome
of the world. Near death he accepted the stewardship of Tzeentch, giving his
soul over to the Changer of Ways.
Aekold has been given a
most unusual gift – the gift that is known as the Breath of Life. Where Aekold
walks the grass springs green and meadow flowers blossom. When he walks upon
desert sands and stony rocks, the land bursts into life as he passes.
Any living thing he
touches springs into new and vigorous growth. The long-dead wood of doors and staves
takes root upon his touch. His touch can restore to health creatures that are
upon the threshold of death, for such is the power of the Breath of Life. His
touch is as indiscriminate as it is potent, behind him he leaves a trail of new
life and everything he touches is affected. While life giving is the gift of
Aekold, he slays his opponents without pity or care for their life, for he knows
all life is but an endless dance of change, dictated by Tzeentch, the Master of
Fate.
In Kinslayer it is revealed that it was Aekold, leading a relatively minor Chaos Warband that still possessed numbers in the many tens of thousands, that effectively destroyed Kisleve in a matter of weeks.
In Kinslayer it is revealed that it was Aekold, leading a relatively minor Chaos Warband that still possessed numbers in the many tens of thousands, that effectively destroyed Kisleve in a matter of weeks.
==LOADOUT==
Offensive: Windlash:
The
Windblade is the great double-handed broadsword of Aekold, granted to him by
his master, Tzeentch. Like all the favors given by the Changer of Ways, it is
an erratic and unpredictable weapon. It may give Aekold the ability to fly,
strike faster as his blade becomes as light as a feather, or be able to hurl it
like boomerang. Aekold is noted for being an excellent duelist and once defeated
5 knights in single combat.
Defensive: Chaos
Armor. He also has a bizarre gift called the “Breath of Life” that gives
regeneration to any character right next to him (including enemies) but also
makes it so he has regeneration. So good is it that if he dies there is even a
chance he can come back, albeit in a wounded state.
==Additional Factors==
Count Modrek the Damned
Mobility: 4
Training/Experience: 8-9
Max Range: Melee
Preferred Range: Melee
Role : Combatant
“Let Mordrek be a
warning to all those who would seek fame and life eternal from the daemon gods
of Chaos, for he has both of these things and yet he is damned. For he must
walk all the lands of the world at the whim of the Chaos Gods, always fighting,
always serving, never dying, yet never ascending to the realm of Chaos as
daemon or departed spirit. He has been slain countless times throughout the
centuries of recorded imperial history, and yet each time it is said that
Mordrek has been resurrected to serve his masters anew. Yes, Mordrek has endured
many deaths and lived for many, many lifetimes of mortal men, yet his unnatural
life is no blessing.
For Mordrek must slay in the name of his infernal masters, he is a pawn in their great schemes that they never tire of using. Beneath his all-encompassing and faceless armor, Mordrek's physical form changes constantly, ravaged by the terrible mutations caused by the power of his curse.
The legends say that Mordrek hopes one day to be freed of this curse of non-permanence and ascend to the peaceful rest of death. This is a dream of one in denial, for the gods shall never tire of their games. Surely he must envy even those victims that are transformed into grotesque spawn of Chaos by the touch of his sword, for they gain the oblivion he craves, but cannot have.
Such is the curse of Mordrek the Damned.”
For Mordrek must slay in the name of his infernal masters, he is a pawn in their great schemes that they never tire of using. Beneath his all-encompassing and faceless armor, Mordrek's physical form changes constantly, ravaged by the terrible mutations caused by the power of his curse.
The legends say that Mordrek hopes one day to be freed of this curse of non-permanence and ascend to the peaceful rest of death. This is a dream of one in denial, for the gods shall never tire of their games. Surely he must envy even those victims that are transformed into grotesque spawn of Chaos by the touch of his sword, for they gain the oblivion he craves, but cannot have.
Such is the curse of Mordrek the Damned.”
===LOADOUT===
Offensive: Sword of Change: This sword has the ability to warp those it hits into Chaos
Spawn, which then attacks nearby Chaos Foes. Only the tough and the durable can
resist the change- at least initially.
Defensive: Chaos Runeshield: The Chaos Runeshield negates magical weapons used directly
against him, making them factor in as normal un-magical ___.
===ADDITIONAL FACTORS===
Mordrek’s stats are
random, and depending on the whims of the gods might arrive stronger or weaker
than normal to a battle. These characteristics then fluctuate randomly in
battle. He is capable of resurrecting
himself after battle regardless of win or loss, and barring extreme magical
means probably cannot be permanently killed.
Harald Hammerstorm
Mobility: 4
Training/Experience: 6
Max Range: Melee
Preferred Range: Melee
Role : Tactical Commander/Scourge
of the Undead
In the tales of the
Norse and the Kurgan, there is a legend that concerns one of the greatest feats
of arms ever seen in the northlands. It tells of the great warrior Harald
Hammerstorm, known fondly to his followers as Harry the Hammer. Harald was
famed for killing the Daemon Mathrag Brainmangler during the Battle of
Khorsvold, having smashed the Daemon Prince’s head from his body with a single
blow of his hammer. On a cold midwinter day, as he led his warband across the
Chaos Wastes, Harry came across the outcrop of an old ruin jutting from beneath
the snows. Upon investigation, he located an ancient gateway leading into a
dark tunnel. Thinking that there might be treasure within, Harald and his
warriors descended into the crumbling
Vaults.
Their intrusion awoke
something long dead in the darkness beneath the snow. Ancient warriors sworn to
protect the secrets of the tomb-city were roused from their eternal slumber;
with rusted blades, bony fingers and eyes aglow with witchfires, they fell upon
the northmen. Stumbling out of the depths, Harald and his men were horrified to
see the Skeletons pursuing them still. The tumbledown ruins now glowed with
power and the melting snow revealed forbidding stones burning with magical energy.
The Chaos warband found themselves in the middle of a great settlement from the
dawn of time. Knowing that he had to fight his way free, Harald turned and
faced the advancing legion.
The favor of the gods
fuelled Harry as he fought; his hammer rose and fell with monotonous
destruction, smashing skulls and ribcages to powder. Harald’s followers pressed
in behind their leader and Harry formed the point of a wedge driving through
the skeletal warriors. After a day and a night of fighting, as dawn rose the
next day, the Undead were all but destroyed, piles of bones a story high left
in the wake of the Chaos Warriors.
Since that day, Harald
has held a special loathing for the Undead. So efficient and determined is
Harry at slaying the Undead that even their mindless spirits regard him with horror
– he is an elemental force who hurls back the Undead with his steely will. The
dead do not rest easy in the Chaos wastes, and Harald has no shortage of foes
upon which to vent his anger.
==LOADOUT==
Offensive: Harry’s
Hammer: Harry’s hammer is blessed
by the gods to banish the souls of those he strikes, and is powerful enough to
send back the raised spirits of the Undead.
Defensive: Armor
of Damnation: This ornate suit of
Chaos armor shimmers with the eldritch energies of the Chaos Wastes, distorting
the wearer's outline and clouding its foes' minds. He also carries a bane
shield that can reflect some attacks right back at the enemy.
==Additional Factors==
Harry the Hammer is
going to be mainly useful and active against the Undead and limited against
everyone else. ‘
Sayl the Faithless
Mobility: 4
Training/Experience: 5
Max Range: Melee
Preferred Range: Melee
Role: Tactical Commander/
Sayl the Faithless, of
the Dolgan tribe, got his name for his legendary deal-breaking, scheming, and
dishonorable nature. He made pacts and then broke them with daemons, beastmen,
men of Chaos and even Chaos Dwarves, earning him countless enemies. However so
successful was his politicking that he succeeded in taking over his powerful
Dolgan tribe, even though everyone in it hated him.
At one point he betrayed
his own sorcerous master Schalkain, convincing him first to slaughter three of
his other apprentices and then disrupted the ritual. This resulted in Schalkain
getting torn to pieces by daemons and the other three apprentices to get merged
into a monstrous Chaos Spawn known as Nightspawn. However as seeming punishment
for this treachery, Sayl’s mortal sight was lost and replaced by the daemonic
and hellish senses of the other-realm.
When the great warlord
Tamurkhan came seeking the Dolgan tribe’s aid- for they had many war mammoths
at their disposal- Sayl skillfully bargained to hand over his force without a
fight, as long as he became a major lieutenant in the army. Tamurkhan accepted
though to Sayl’s dismay he found they were not going directly South as he had
presumed (which would likely to them into Ind) but West, to the Empire.
Before this occurred, Sayl caused quite a bit
of stir by taking a force and raiding a Cathayan outpost, only to have much of
the Brayherd he commanded destroyed utterly. However Sayl narrowly and
skillfully avoided execution for this act by calling upon the gods themselves
to strike him down if even one of his Dolgans perished in the fighting (which
was true since Sayl refused to commit them at all, essentially using the
Beastmen as guinea pigs) and then cast blame on the Beastlords/Shaman of the
Brayherd. Though Tamurkhan knew this was a lie, Sayl had called upon the gods
who had let him live, and to strike him down now would go against their divine
will. Reluctantly, he let it go.
This probably proved the
wrong choice, as Sayl frustrated and slowed his entire expedition while
simultaneously proclaiming loyalty. In fact he became the unofficial though
mistrusted leader of the opposition. That said throughout the campaign his
magical and sometimes even tactical acumen greatly aided the overall force even
as he sewed seeds of mistrust.
Alas in the end Sayl
withdrew his forces from a key and vital position in a battle that, had victory
been won, would have resulted in Tamurkhan becoming a Daemon Prince. For this
the gods punished him, blinding him further and removing him from his position
of power. However Sayl was not done just yet, and its stated he is slowly
rebuilding his position for a span of conquests likely as grand as Tamur’s.
===LOADOUT===
Offensive: The Viperous Staff: Sayl’s staff is a foul heirloom of the Dolgan and is full of dark
iron vipers that come alive at the owner’s command. These vipers possess
formidable venom as they strike with formidable speed and power.
-Magic: Can use any spell from
the Lore of the Shadows or Heavens. Spells from the Lore of the Heavens include
--Iceshard Blizzard: with a range of 300-1 kilometer, this spell hurls shards of ice
from the sky to blind or dishearten an enemy ranged unit.
--Harmonic Convergence: Diving auspicious signs, the caster guides the minds of his
fellow warriors for one unit at 300 meters or all friendly units within 50.
This causes said warriors to be more durable and hit better thanks to
coordination.
--Wind Blast:
Seizing control of the winds, the caster violently pushes away an enemy unit
from his position, scattering them or sometimes even hurling them against other
units.
--Curse of the Midnight Wind: Calling upon a curse that was old when the world was young, this
spell targets either a single enemy unit at 300 m or all enemy units at 50. In
a sense this curse gives makes it so those afflicted must struggle to hit or
defend, usually failing in the act. So if a heavily armed shield wall was
afflicted its shields would break down at the worst possible moments, and many
counter strikes would also fail by being dodged or hitting a hard point in the
armor. However it only lasts as long as
the wielder doesn’t cast a another spell.
--Urannon’s Thunderbolt: The wizard conjures a almighty ball of lightning that can kill
six at once.
--Comet of Casandora: Probably the most often spell here, the wizard pulls a small
meteorite from outer space and has it crash on the battlefield. Fails half the
time due to scarcity of comets/meteors, but utterly awesome when it succeeds.
--Chain Lightning: Lightning launches from the wizard’s hands and leaps across the
battlefield, potentially running through dozens or more enemies.
Sayl rides Nightmaw, who
counts as a very powerful Chaos Spawn.
Defense: Chaos Armor. Nightmaw
deploys a shifting veil of darkness that makes it hard for the spawn or Sayl to
be targeted at range. Finally he has a magical artifact Schalkain’s Teeth that
would allow him to, if he ever messed up casting a spell, to shift the end
result onto someone else. So a random Chaos sorcerer nearby minding his own
business could suddenly be dragged to the warp through no fault of his own,
while Sayl giggles in the background.
===Additional Factors===
One of Sayl’s greatest attributes is that he
can see directly the winds of magic and the otherworld. This gives him multiple
advantages. It made him the man who conducted many rituals for Tamurkhan’s
Horde, giving them the will of their gods. It gives him some measure of
precognition and finally it allows him
to better utilize the magic of the Winds of Magic.
Egil Styrbjorn
Mobility: 4
Training/Experience: 8
Max Range: Melee
Preferred Range: Melee
Role: Tactical Commander
"I am Egil Styrbjorn, High Jarl of the Skaelings, slayer of souls and butchers of immortals. Hear my words! The blood of ten-thousand slaughtered enemies stains my blades. I have bested the nameless horrors of the northern wastes and have walked free to speak the tale. Alone, I speared a great wyrm of the underseas, battling it for a day and night before dragging it ashore and cutting its head from its neck. I have walked the smoking paths of the nightshades and have emerged unharmed. I have strangled Ice Trolls with my bare hands. I have run with the Ulfwerener, hunted with the Ymgir and feasted with the Bloodbeast. I have stood upon the Knife Peaks as the gods threw jagged bolts of lightning down upon me, and defeated one of the great dragon-kin wakened by the storm, cutting its still-beating heart from its chest. This and more have I done, I, Egil Styrbjorn of the Skaelings! Never have I asked for quarter from an enemy, and never have I offered it. Until now."
Egil Strybjorn is the personification of the dualistic Norse traits of savagery and honor, a chieftain of Khorne who was as known for his skill on the front lines as he was leading from the back. He is a legend among both his people- one of the largest tribes in Norsca- and his enemies. Even before his ascension he was well-known for such feats as destroying a Dragon Ogre Shaggoth in single combat and killing a great serpent under the sea. For years he dominated the scene in Norsca, killing countless would-be challengers.
In the events of Knight of the Realm he leads a invasion force of tens of thousands of Norscans to Brettonnia, seeking a cursed woman to give him a powerful daemon son for his legacy. His arrival heralded much bloodshed, for Strybjorn hates the weak gods of the South and their followers and desires nothing more to see them destroyed from this world. Multiple atrocities were committed, which resulted in the Brettons mustering 10,000 Knights and far more peasents to acquire vengeance.
To the surprise and delight of the Brettonians, it appeared that the Skaeling chieftain had no knowledge of tactics, for he chose a flat battlefield where their main force of knights and mounted archers would have great benefit over the grounded Norse force which, with one to be mentioned exception, was nearly entirely bereft of ranged attack. Indeed the battle appeared to be initially a slaughter for the Brettonians, whose 10,000 strong knight force charged as one into the center of the horde, which was composed of mostly lightly armored marauders.
Unfortunately for them Strybjorn took advantage of their arrogance, their belief that the "honourless Norsicans" would be too stupid to come up with a proper tactic. He placed heavy reserves of Chaos Warriors behind the center of his force to keep the charging knights occupied, while simultaneously moving hidden flanking forces around both sides. Yet at the same time he ordered his Chaos Dwarf hellcannon to open fire into the massed knights, killing hundreds with every shot.
The Norscans center, which had been composed of troops made to seem intentionally weak and disorganized from the front, held as the momentum of the Knights failed against the heavily armored wall of thousands of Chaos Warriors. Meanwhile Marauders assaulted the flanks and rear, entrapping the force as Strybjorn himself led a coup de grace into the Knights ranks; three heavily armored and massive 30 feet mammoths.
The result was the near total destruction of the Brettonian army, and a victory that pleased the Chaos Gods themselves. They blessed Strybjorn's attempt to gain a daemon son, and the resulting copulation would have been the end of it had not the Brettonians kidnapped his son and reluctant wife.
Enraged Stryjborn assaulted their main castle, a keep of such incredible reputation that in the 1500 years its walls had never once been breached. Strybjorn burst it open in a week, taking grievous causalities even to his force but utilizing great cunning. After his Hellcannon was destroyed, Strybjorn noticed that the perpetrators traveled under the water via magical means, and that more importantly the ford they traveled along with only 30 feet deep. Stryjborn ordered a general assault at the same time sending infiltrators up through the latrine chute to seize control of a vital tower to open a causeway. With this opened, the Norse cheiftan had his mammoths travel directly along the ford (for they were tall enough to put feet at the bottom and still be able to breathe at the top), surprising the Brettonians by emerging from the water to batter down their gates. Dragonships full of Beserkers prevented the defenders from effectively responding to the threat and with the gates destroyed the Brettonians were forced to retreat to the keep.
Then his son was born, and such was the power of it that its birth caused everyone to briefly cringe in their very souls. All except Stryjborn, who was just happy to finally have a son. Sensing that the defenders would kill the babe out of spite if he assaulted the keep, the Norse chieftain proposed a duel with the Grail Knight Relous. If the Norse won, his son would be handed to him and they would leave. If the Grail Knight won then Stryjborn would be dead and the Norse would retreat anyway.
This caused bewilderment and even anger among his followers, and Stryjborn first had to kill the most vocal of them, a Chaos Dwarf named Zummah, in a separate duel. Then came the main event. The duel with the Grail Knight Relous was long and brutal, with the Brettonnian boasting superior speed and finesse while the Norscan had power and durability. Indeed the latter was actually disembowled and had his hand cut off in battle, but ultimately through sheer strength of will prevailed. Relous was disembowled and the babe reluctantly handed over.
Stryjborn honored the agreement and left the Brettonians that day, but has vowed to return in the future, to bring final destruction to their people.
LOADOUT
Offensive: Garmr and Gormr: The twin hellforged battle-axes of the High Jarl of Strovengaard; ancient daemon weapons forged in the realms beyond flesh in honour of the bloody wolves said to accompany Khorne the Blood God on his wild hunts across the heavens, which drive the sun to cower and flee before the god's fury, creating the alternation of night and day in Norscan mythology. The axe heads are thus forged in the likeness of howling wolves, and are heavy with infernal power, possessing the captured essences of Bloodthirsters. Inset into their hafts are red stones the colour of blood, which serve as the eyes of the wolves. These gems burn with unholy power as the axes taste the blood of Styrbjorn's enemies, wailing and screaming with delight as they kill. The mighty weapons are capable of splitting fully armoured men in two from crown to sternum, and in Styrbjorn's hands can deliver truly mighty blows. He also has two throwing axes and when not dueling rides into battle on a Mammoth.
Defensive: Chaos Armor and blessings. Is durable enough to survive disembowlment.
===Additional Factors===
A vision by one of the main characters seems to imply that Styrbjorn is on the crusp of daemonhood.
X-Factors
Adaptive Creativity: 80/100: Frequently displays creative solutions to his battles, whether it be encircling the Brettonians or having Mammoths travel underwater.
Tactics: 77/100: Though often taking terrible causalities in his desire to win battles, he has won every battle he is shown to have fought in the novel. And won using brilliant tactics too, like a Cannae style encirclement.
Strategy: 61/100: Thanks to his limited vision his strategy is somewhat lacking, but he nevertheless composed a overall plan to lure huge Brettonian armies to a field of his choosing.
Intuition: 52/100: Though adept at turning bad situations around, he nevertheless is often suprised at first by the actions of his enemy.
Audacity: 87/100: Has no problem sending large numbers of his men, even his daughters, to their deaths if it means he can achieve victory. Indeed the Norse religon believes there is much glory to be won in battle. The only thing he wasn't willing to risk is that of his son and legacy.
Psychological Warfare: 66/100: Styrbjorn enjoys destroying enemy religious symbols, priests and elements of culture, believing them all worthy of only destruction. He also gruesomely kills those who don't fight.
Experience: 70/100:
Discipline: 65/100: Despite being one of Khorne's chosen, Strybjorn generally is pretty calm and does not blink to sending copius amounts of men to their glorious death, or for a upset to suddenly claim great causalities.
Inspiration: 77/100: Revered by his troops as a warrior-king who leads by example. Thus far, his troops have never retreated except when ordered and gleefully fought to the death.
Corruption: 82/100: Willing and eager to engage in countless atrocities to attract the god's attention, including indiscriminate butchery, rape, and defilement of women and children. However unlike most Norse he respects bravery and courage, and will give those who fight relatively quick deaths. He will also respect and honor a deal once commited to it.
To the surprise and delight of the Brettonians, it appeared that the Skaeling chieftain had no knowledge of tactics, for he chose a flat battlefield where their main force of knights and mounted archers would have great benefit over the grounded Norse force which, with one to be mentioned exception, was nearly entirely bereft of ranged attack. Indeed the battle appeared to be initially a slaughter for the Brettonians, whose 10,000 strong knight force charged as one into the center of the horde, which was composed of mostly lightly armored marauders.
Unfortunately for them Strybjorn took advantage of their arrogance, their belief that the "honourless Norsicans" would be too stupid to come up with a proper tactic. He placed heavy reserves of Chaos Warriors behind the center of his force to keep the charging knights occupied, while simultaneously moving hidden flanking forces around both sides. Yet at the same time he ordered his Chaos Dwarf hellcannon to open fire into the massed knights, killing hundreds with every shot.
The Norscans center, which had been composed of troops made to seem intentionally weak and disorganized from the front, held as the momentum of the Knights failed against the heavily armored wall of thousands of Chaos Warriors. Meanwhile Marauders assaulted the flanks and rear, entrapping the force as Strybjorn himself led a coup de grace into the Knights ranks; three heavily armored and massive 30 feet mammoths.
The result was the near total destruction of the Brettonian army, and a victory that pleased the Chaos Gods themselves. They blessed Strybjorn's attempt to gain a daemon son, and the resulting copulation would have been the end of it had not the Brettonians kidnapped his son and reluctant wife.
Enraged Stryjborn assaulted their main castle, a keep of such incredible reputation that in the 1500 years its walls had never once been breached. Strybjorn burst it open in a week, taking grievous causalities even to his force but utilizing great cunning. After his Hellcannon was destroyed, Strybjorn noticed that the perpetrators traveled under the water via magical means, and that more importantly the ford they traveled along with only 30 feet deep. Stryjborn ordered a general assault at the same time sending infiltrators up through the latrine chute to seize control of a vital tower to open a causeway. With this opened, the Norse cheiftan had his mammoths travel directly along the ford (for they were tall enough to put feet at the bottom and still be able to breathe at the top), surprising the Brettonians by emerging from the water to batter down their gates. Dragonships full of Beserkers prevented the defenders from effectively responding to the threat and with the gates destroyed the Brettonians were forced to retreat to the keep.
Then his son was born, and such was the power of it that its birth caused everyone to briefly cringe in their very souls. All except Stryjborn, who was just happy to finally have a son. Sensing that the defenders would kill the babe out of spite if he assaulted the keep, the Norse chieftain proposed a duel with the Grail Knight Relous. If the Norse won, his son would be handed to him and they would leave. If the Grail Knight won then Stryjborn would be dead and the Norse would retreat anyway.
This caused bewilderment and even anger among his followers, and Stryjborn first had to kill the most vocal of them, a Chaos Dwarf named Zummah, in a separate duel. Then came the main event. The duel with the Grail Knight Relous was long and brutal, with the Brettonnian boasting superior speed and finesse while the Norscan had power and durability. Indeed the latter was actually disembowled and had his hand cut off in battle, but ultimately through sheer strength of will prevailed. Relous was disembowled and the babe reluctantly handed over.
Stryjborn honored the agreement and left the Brettonians that day, but has vowed to return in the future, to bring final destruction to their people.
LOADOUT
Offensive: Garmr and Gormr: The twin hellforged battle-axes of the High Jarl of Strovengaard; ancient daemon weapons forged in the realms beyond flesh in honour of the bloody wolves said to accompany Khorne the Blood God on his wild hunts across the heavens, which drive the sun to cower and flee before the god's fury, creating the alternation of night and day in Norscan mythology. The axe heads are thus forged in the likeness of howling wolves, and are heavy with infernal power, possessing the captured essences of Bloodthirsters. Inset into their hafts are red stones the colour of blood, which serve as the eyes of the wolves. These gems burn with unholy power as the axes taste the blood of Styrbjorn's enemies, wailing and screaming with delight as they kill. The mighty weapons are capable of splitting fully armoured men in two from crown to sternum, and in Styrbjorn's hands can deliver truly mighty blows. He also has two throwing axes and when not dueling rides into battle on a Mammoth.
Defensive: Chaos Armor and blessings. Is durable enough to survive disembowlment.
===Additional Factors===
A vision by one of the main characters seems to imply that Styrbjorn is on the crusp of daemonhood.
X-Factors
Adaptive Creativity: 80/100: Frequently displays creative solutions to his battles, whether it be encircling the Brettonians or having Mammoths travel underwater.
Tactics: 77/100: Though often taking terrible causalities in his desire to win battles, he has won every battle he is shown to have fought in the novel. And won using brilliant tactics too, like a Cannae style encirclement.
Strategy: 61/100: Thanks to his limited vision his strategy is somewhat lacking, but he nevertheless composed a overall plan to lure huge Brettonian armies to a field of his choosing.
Intuition: 52/100: Though adept at turning bad situations around, he nevertheless is often suprised at first by the actions of his enemy.
Audacity: 87/100: Has no problem sending large numbers of his men, even his daughters, to their deaths if it means he can achieve victory. Indeed the Norse religon believes there is much glory to be won in battle. The only thing he wasn't willing to risk is that of his son and legacy.
Psychological Warfare: 66/100: Styrbjorn enjoys destroying enemy religious symbols, priests and elements of culture, believing them all worthy of only destruction. He also gruesomely kills those who don't fight.
Experience: 70/100:
Discipline: 65/100: Despite being one of Khorne's chosen, Strybjorn generally is pretty calm and does not blink to sending copius amounts of men to their glorious death, or for a upset to suddenly claim great causalities.
Inspiration: 77/100: Revered by his troops as a warrior-king who leads by example. Thus far, his troops have never retreated except when ordered and gleefully fought to the death.
Corruption: 82/100: Willing and eager to engage in countless atrocities to attract the god's attention, including indiscriminate butchery, rape, and defilement of women and children. However unlike most Norse he respects bravery and courage, and will give those who fight relatively quick deaths. He will also respect and honor a deal once commited to it.
Beastmen
Khazrak the One-Eye
Khazrak the One-Eye
Mobility: 5
Training/Experience: 6
Max Range: Melee
Preferred Range: Melee
Role: Co-commander
Of the great
Beastlords at current only Gorthor is more infamous then Khazrak. And even he
may be eclipsed soon, as more and more beastmen flock to the Foe-Renders
banner. With good reason to, for Khazrak is said to be the most cunning
beastman alive.
Khazrak began his
career as a bestigor under Beastlord Graktar. Unlike many ambitious bestigors,
who take the first opportunity they can get to challenge the beastlord, Khazrak
bid his time. He watched and learned how the beastlord operated, its general
tactics, potential improvement and the way it fought enemies. Khazrak was patient
and cunning. He knew that his beastlord was a formidable fighter, one who had
crushed countless rebellious bestigors beneath his hooves. For his part Graktar
seemed to recognize the threat Khazrak posed and tried to limit the threat he
posed by seeming to favor other bestigors. Yet in this Graktar was
outmaneuvered, and Khazrak quickly gained the favor of the local
Bray-shaman.
Noticing his beastlord
heavily wounded after a raid on a caravan, Khazrak seized this moment to
challenge him to a duel. It was a long fight but ultimately one that Khazrak
emerged victorious, keeping one of Graktar's horns as a trophy. Yet oddly he
let his former master live as Khazrak found him to be a worthy foe to challenge
wits against in the future.
This was just the
start of Khazrak's reign. Humanity quickly learned both his name and how
terrifying a commander he could be. Entire settlements were raised, caravans
destroyed, and military retribution was either eluded or led into terrible
ambushes. Eventually elector count Boris Todbringer, an eccentric and clever
count himself, got involved in the hunt. For a while Khazrak eluded even him
however eventually he was forced to battle. During that conflict Todbringer's
magical runeblade cut out Khazrak's eye after a terrible duel. Only the
intervention of Khazrak's trained hounds saved the Beastlord's life and allowed
him to flee.
Normally such a
wound would be a death sentence in Beastman society however Khazrak was clever
enough to ward off all such challenge while planning for revenge. For
many months he brooded in his lair and watched Boris from afar, patiently
plotting. Then when the time for battle arrived he expertly lured the count
into an ambush, killing most of his retinue and then, with slow deliberation, gouging
out an eye with his horn. Yet Khazrak liked matching wits with the count, so he
let him live.
In response the Empire
sent even more armies to hunt him. Those Khazrak hasn't eluded are never seen
again, their bodies and souls scarified to the dark gods. More and more towns,
forts and even castles continue to fall to his well-planned attacks.
Meanwhile Khazrak's influence grows and he now stands a real chance of
uniting all the beastmen of the old world.
==LOADOUT==
Offensive: Scourge: This magically enchanted
whip is wrapped in generations of bitter curses by Bray-Shamans, making it
especially potent. Its barbs are exceptionally proficient at tearing out great
junks of flesh and can attack multiple foes at once. He also uses a sword in
his other hand, and is noted to be a master duelist.
Defensive: The Dark Mail: This ancient
suit of armor, made countless years ago by a forgemaster, provides even greater
protection then the Chaos Warrior's vaunted chaos armor! Most attacks fail to
get through, and in addition to that this piece of mail has a special enchantment
that actually negates any magical weapons used right next to him. Older lore
also has it giving some minor magical resistance and can absorb a little bit of
power from those spells, transplanting it to Khazzak.
==Additional
Factors==
Khazrak is going to be
surrounded not only by beastmen but a small pack of exceptionally trained chaos
warhounds. As the most powerful Beastman currently, he is going to be the one
most beastmen gravitate for war leadership. Any ambushes he leads personally
should be considered to bypass Beastman tendency to get lost while doing so.
X-Factors:
Adaptive
Creativity/Resourcefulness: 60 /100: Khazrak has shown himself to be incredibly cunning and
elusive, winning him many great victories and sparing him losses. He is smart
enough to deliberately target and destroy the supply lines of the enemy. However his adaptions are mostly just
enlightened variations on the main Beastman tactic of surrounding and
slaughtering. Which normal Beastmen mostly use over and over again
Tactics: 69/100: Khazrak has achieved
massive success of the last few years thanks to his cunning, and is said to be
the most cunning Beastman ever lived. He is a master ambusher and any army that
he personally leads is going to be that much more skilled/successful at ambush
and the means to set one up from physical encirclement , luring, opportune
timing and feints. On at least one occasion he made like Hannibal at Cannae and
completely destroyed his foe. His ratio isn’t unbeaten however, and has
lost quite a few times to Count Todbringer.
Strategy: 53/100: Unfortunately his grand
plan has yet to come into fruition yet. Worse he keeps letting people live that
are clever and smart enough to hinder his plans severely.
Intuition: 67/100:
Audacity: 68/100: Though normally Beastmen
just love to charge in without thought, Khazrak has seemingly forgone such
tactics. When he does charge in it is usually after careful analysis and
observation. That said he is perfectly willing to be bold if he feels it will
win him the day.
Psychological Warfare: 64/100: Khazrak and the beastmen
realize fully that to humankind they are bestial, disgusting and menacing, that
the beast's desire to tear down civilization is extremely disturbing. For that
reason Beastmen live to befoul everything that humanity (or whatever race they
are fighting) sees holy in order to both enrage and demoralize.
Inspiration: 63/100: Though his leadership is far from unquestioned among the
Beastmen, he has managed to unite the largest Brayherd since Gorthor, and
commands a great amount of respect
Experience: 62/100
Discipline: 56/100 : Normally Beastmen are
given to random if powerful charges and infighting between different castes.
Khazrak is one of the few capable of controlling that to an extent.
Corruption: 82100
Malagor, the Dark Omen
Mobility: 5
Training/Experience: 9
Max Range: Magical spell range
Preferred Range: Magic
Role: Advisor/Tactical Commander
Known as the
Crow-father, Malagor is a being as revered by Beastmen as hated and feared by
man. For the Beastmen claim that he is ultimately the creature that will be
responsible for mankind's destruction. Among holy men he is the epitome of sin
for Malagor desires not just the destruction of the physical aspect of man but
also his works, civilizations, and religion. Ancient woodcutting statues with
his form reveal that he was feared even before the time of Sigmar.
When he was born it was
obvious to all that he was blessed, for he had been birthed with wings enabling
flight. Malagor is a bray shaman though not one dedicated to any single
Beastlord. Instead he seeks to counsel the entire Beastman race, providing
advice for all beastlords in a bid that increasingly sees Beastkind unified
under one purpose. When assaults are launched Malagor is at their head, flying
in with a thousand carrion birds at his back. Of all the vile rituals he
initiates and atrocities he commits nothing is more pleasurable then to see the
destruction of temples, to sacrifice priests/priestesses on holy alters and
drink their blood in mockery of their most holy sacraments.
It was Malagor who takes
the most delight in ripping in two the standards of the empire, who pushed a
massive statue of Sigmar onto a congregation below, drenched flaggelents in
fire to be set loose on half a town and who caused a river to boil as knights
crossed it. Perhaps worse is that once he wrecks these towns of man he has them
pounded into oblivion so that by the next moon cycle nothing remains. Recently
he has been spotted lending his counsel to Khazrak the One Eye.
==LOADOUT==
Offensive: Braystaff. Malagor is also an
exceptionally powerful wizard who can call upon spells from the lore of
beasts,wild, death or shadow. Worse for man is that every spell he successfully
cast the more powerful his ability becomes.
He possesses a series of
defied icons of just about every religion of man that not only enrage the
enemy, but inspire his followers to even greater acts of desecration. They
fight far harder, longer and more fearlessly then other beastmen.
Defensive: Not much, maybe some scavenged leather or
mail.
==Additional
Factors==
Malagor is going
to serve as adviser as Khazrak in this campaign. Given his favorite hobby, if
the enemy has any established religion, sacred icons, or established clergy, he
will likely direct his personal efforts on those. He can also fly.
Ghorros Warhoof, Sire of
a Thousand Young
Mobility: 5
Training/Experience: 9
Max Range: 50 meters
Preferred Range: Above
Role: Tactical Commander
Ghorros is an
immensely ancient and powerful Centigor, one that has slaughtered for centuries
and never succumb to his injuries. His vitality is legendary and despite his
age it is said that Warhoof has never had an idle moment. Whether it is getting
drunk, rutting or fighting Ghorros continues to make himself known in even the
modern era.
As
centigors are already legendary boasters, Ghorros strives to take this example
and beat it . He does so, claiming that not only did he sire a thousand young
but that all Centigors everywhere are drawn from him . Few challenge him, in
part because his rage is truly fearsome while drunk. Yet another reason is the
suspicion that it might actually be true, for Ghorros has an innate following
among the Beastmen.
When Ghorros goes to
war his entire extremely devoted clan goes with him. Devoted enough that they
would readily sacrifice themselves to save his life. The fields thunder and
shake with the sound of a thousand hooves as they ride, joined not only by
centigors but all manner of mutants and four legged creatures.
==LOADOUT==
Offensive: Mancrusher: Ghorros wields the
mancrusher, a great spiked mace that has slew countless of varied dynasties and
has enough enchantments that it functions almost as a power weapon.
Defensive: Skull of the Unicorn Lord: Long
ago Ghorros slew the a unicorn lord in Athel Loren in a deed that Wood Elves
are still trying to avenge. This magical creature's skull gives Ghorros heavy
magic resistance. In addition to this he wears light leather armor.
==Additional
Factors==
Ghorros is going to be a
sub-commander based primarily around mobile Centigors, mutants with equine
features, and other highly mobile foes. His bodyguards, the so-called
"Sons of Ghorros" , composes of a group of highly skilled veteran
sons who will not only fight to the death at his command, but also thrown
themselves in the path of imminent danger to save Ghorros. Should he die
however the act temporarily enrages all Beastmen causing them to fight
harder.
Morghur, the Master of
Skulls
Mobility: 5
Training/Experience: 10
Max Range: 50 meters
Preferred Range: Above
Role: Corruption Incarnate
Perhaps the most
fearsome of the Beastman heroes, Morghur has perhaps wrought the most carnage
of all during his long life. Indeed The Wood Elves first fought him
3 and a half millennium ago, and the Beastmen themselves claim him as a
progenitor of sorts. Beastmen from thousands of miles all flock towards him,
such is their respect for him. Most perish in the process. A few reach him but
are not strong-minded enough to withstand his presence. These go insane.
However for those very rare few who do not go insane and withstand the journey
, a lifetime of success awaits (successfully becoming a beastlord for one).
Morghur has so far
proven immortal. Every time he gets struck down-which is always a drawn out
affair. The first known instance of his death was the result of a giant
treelord seizing him so that one of the best mages of the world could
disintegrate him with magic. The second bound by much magical binding and then
torn apart by another Treelord. The third was more mundane, as he was pierced
by a 100 arrows. Though it takes him years to come back, none of these have put
him down for good. It is easy to tell when Moghur is reborn into this world,
for in his current incarnation he ripped his mother apart from the inside and
turned his father into a chaos spawn. When a travelling band arrived days later
they found the village humans , now half-animal, crawling around in the mud
with twisted limbs. The livestock now stood upright, spoke in unfathomable
tongues, and ran around eating everything.
So far only the Wood
Elven Ariel queen knows what Morghur's true nature is, and she is terrified it.
For he is corruption itself destined to return again and again until his foul
will is enacted. When he passes through forests trees shrivel, grass blackens,
and beasts grow even more wild. Even the treefriends and spirits of the Wood
Elves weren't immune, and it was frequent that, on the eve of victory, a part
of the Wood Elven army would rebel. With the very embodiment of
corruption now part of this beast army, those it rules will fight all the much
harder and wilder than ever before.
=LOADOUT==
Offensive: Bray Staff of Morghur and Stones of the
Skull Cave: The twisted staff of Moghur is an incredible conduit for
chaotic power when combined with the stones of skull cave, and it writhes
constantly as if living. This staff can make any wizard manipulating the Winds
of Magic to have an increased risk of turning into a chaos spawn.
As the spirit essence of
Chaos his very presence mutates those around him. Beastmen that follow too
closely may turn into chaos spawn, for they are already not too far away from
it. For the uncorrupted enemy this is harder to do, though not impossible.
Defensive: Skull-Weave: The skulls woven
into his hair and horns gibber and screech constantly, invoking fear in those
who see it.
Aura of
Transformation: Morghur's presence warps
reality. Cannonballs turn into puffs of smoke midair, missile attacks randomly
fall short, spells in showers of blood, creatures mutate horribly, and even
enemy soldiers are known to turn into a mass of tentacles or jelly. Sometimes
those that are not are turned mad, like the creatures of Athel Loren. Morghur
cannot be hurt in any way by anything that is not within 50 meters of him and
those enemy soldiers in striking distance are particularly susceptible to
mutation. As Guardians of the Forest shows us they must rely heavily on their own willpower to resist the transformation, not giving into it for a second. Even with all this his aura can be bypassed in short range and
he can certainly be killed, as the Wood Elves proved four or five times, but it
usually done as the result of many powerful attacks at once (Athel joining the
fray, 100 arrows from expert archers ect).
==Additional
Factors==
Moghur is a
massive morale factor for the Beastmen, a legend and very embodiment of
everything they look up to. His every thought and dream is of visions in which
order does not exist, progress ripped asunder and everything corrupted. His
hatred of civilizations is legendary and though incredibly insane he will do
everything in his power to ensure the brayherds are focused solely on the
destruction of enemy civilization, whether it be the keeps of the Empire or the
forest realm of Athel Loren. This hatred can spread through his forces like
wildfire, boosting up their rage and drive. His piercing roar can draw beastmen
to him from miles around, even causing those fleeing to suddenly scurry around
and join the fray.
Ungol Four-Horn
Mobility: 5
Training/Experience: 4
Max Range: 300m?
Preferred Range: Melee
Role: Tactical Sub commander (of Ungors)
Of the Ungors, few can
claim to have had it as bad as Ungol Four-Horn, for he has been cast out of two
societies, both beast and man. . As a child he was left in the woods by his
birth-parents for the crime of having two heads, which Beastmen who passed by
thought was unique enough that the child was spared, and raised by their kind.
However Ungol had small horns which was a sign of mockery in Beastman
society, and to make matters worse his two-heads resulted in much jealousy
among the Ungors. Friendless, beaten, mocked and bruised daily it was only a
matter of time until he snapped.
One night, bleeding from
a dozen wounds, he could take it no more. While the rest of the herd slept in a
drunken stupor Ungol first crept up and beat his chieftain to death with a
rock. Then he moved onto the shaman, strangling him. Not done he sawed off the
horns of both and attached it to his own head shouting and singing "Four
Horns! Four Horns! Four Horns!". He then evaded his vengeful tribe by
hiding in a cave system.
Though it drew him the
ire of Gors everywhere, the act finally gave him respect among the Ungors, who
admired him for being even more hateful then the norm. Now he leads an army of
Ungors, mutants and monsters all filled to the brim with hate. Any that falls
before him suffers and to be taken prisoner by such a force is a terrible fate.
However if forced together with other brayherds he likely isn't going to be
very happy of their presence, and they his (though Ungors will look to him as a
role model). However his main enemy if first and foremost men and order, so he
might try grudgingly to cooperate ...somewhat.
==LOADOUT==
Offensive: Two Hand weapons. He also wields the
magical "Crown of Thorns" which are the sawed off horns of the shaman
and beastlord. In battle this magical power manifests in him either becoming
stronger and more skilled with weaponry or becoming a minor wizard.
Defensive: Not much, maybe some scavenged leather or
mail.
==Additional
Factors==
Ungol's forces are by
nature going to be wary of cooperation with other Beastmen, given their past.
Even counting their mutual unity under Chaos. However even without them he is
shown to be a skilled and crafty commander of Ungors, carrying on raids
for many years and foiling both man and beastman attempts to destroy him.
Slugtongue
Mobility: 5
Training/Experience: 6
Max Range: 500m
Preferred Range: Melee
Role: Tactical Commander
Slugtongue invokes fear
just by looking at him. His body is host to hordes of tics, lice, worms and
cockroaches inhabiting every crevice. Centipedes pout out of his empty
eye sockets, slugs from his teeth. Worse still his stinking breathe coalesces
into terrible shapes on its own and he is perpetually surrounded by an aura of
chill.
While other
Beastmen enjoy the simple act of slaughter, Slugtongue has a more refined
taste. Embodying somewhat the aspects of Nurgle this Beastman wants to see his
enemy suffer first. Resenting mankind's domination over nature, Slugtongue
seeks to undo mankind's exalted position entirely. When he passes through a
land, no matter how fertile, it turns into a barren and freezing wasteland
crawling with vermin. At his command Locusts will tear across crop fields,
rivers turn to bile, maggots rain down upon freshwater lakes, harvested crops
turn to sludge and barrels of fine drink turn out to be infected spittle.
His plan is to starve
the enemy into desperate and foolhardy acts. As their families die and land is
utterly despoiled, hordes of the armies of man head to kill the one who
inflicted such punishment upon them in a desperate bid to end their curse. When
these starving, frightened armies meet Slugtongue's force they encounter hordes
of well fed, hot-tempered and battle ready Beastmen. Thus, for army battles,
Slugtongue is the enemy of the opposing force's logistics.
==LOADOUT==
Offensive: For melee, in addition to his disease
infested state, he wields a poisoned braystaff. He is level 2 wizard that
can generate spells from Lore of the Wild or Death.
His most potent power
though is his aura of famine that can affect everything within 500 meters of
him. Such a aura seems to affect each individual unit differently, with roughly
half experiencing nothing but disgust and maybe a little horror at the being before
him. The other half begins to weaker or even worse outright collapse before
this supernatural famine, which can affect even magical creatures.
Defensive: Nothing in terms of armor, he does have minor
regeneration however for when he is hit.
==Additional
Factors==
Given his special powers
and purview, Slugtongue is going to be focusing, as a sub-commander, directly
on enemy logistics. He will seek to weaken them through starvation and
dehydration. Fertile fields are going to be ruined, lakes and other natural
water sources poisoned, and stocks of enemy supplies ruined.
Moonclaw
Mobility: 6
Training/Experience: 7
Max Range: Melee
Preferred Range: Melee
Role : (Random) Tactical Commander
The creature known
as Moonclaw was not born of mortal parents . Rather when Morrslieb, the Chaos
moon, was at its peak this awful creature burst forth from its pale belly in
the form of a meteor. The impact wiped out everything for miles around, humans
and beastmen both. Only Moonclaw, hatching from a egg of pure warpstone,
survived.
Since then he has
wandered around the forest in no particular pattern, muttering to himself
backwards in a language only he can understand. His goat-like eyes glow with a
supernatural presence, and his shadows leave temporary dopplegangers. When
Beastmen catch sight of him they fall to the ground in worship.
However when Morrslieb
is closest, its power most manifest, Moonclaw undergoes a abrupt
transformation. No longer does he wander aimlessly but rather moves with
purpose. Gathering entire armies of insane Beastmen to his cause and summoning
a mysterious, two-headed riding beast Umbralok to his side, Moonclaw sets in
motion a frenzy of activity. Warpstones, those ancient relics that inhibit the
spread of Chaos energy, are deliberately sought out and destroyed. Enemy towns
are ramshackle and defending armies are bombarding by chunks of giant moon
warpstones and driven mad by waves of insanity.
==LOADOUT==
Offensive: For melee he generally wields a braystaff,
though his mount has claws to help in this. At long range during the full moon
he can call down showers of deadly, inherently corruptive warpstone
meteors.He is a minor wizard that can use a single spell from the Lore of
Shadow or the Wild. He has a fifty meter aura of madness that can drive any
insane inside, friend or foe. The resistance to this depends upon discipline,
training and mental conditioning.
During the full moon
this power magnifies itself. Not only can he call upon small meteor
showers but he becomes a more powerful wizard, his aura of madness much
more potent.
Defensive: Moonclaw has the protection of Morrislieb,
meaning he is heavily resistant to magic and has a protective aura around him.
==Additional Factors==
Though Moonclaw is
going to inherently serve Chaos's cause, I am uncertain if anyone but the
gods or the moon can truly control him due to his nature. This gives his
attacks a heavily random stance, even for Chaos.
Taurox the Brass Bull
Mobility: 6
Training/Experience: 8
Max Range: Melee
Preferred Range: Melee
Role : Rampaging Monstrosity
Once Taurox was a
exceptionally merciless doombull who lived to kill any and all he felt wronged
him. These could be enemies, friends, anyone who looked at him funny, random
wildlife ect. Any of them. After striking them to the ground he would then
devour them alive. This went on for some time until one day the Dark Gods,
impressed by his bloodlust, sent a emissary to meet with him. This emissary
looked at Taurox with its demonic eyes and was promptly devoured for the
affront.
Now as you can imagine
devouring a demon isn't the smartest decision, and quickly Taurox began to
convulse and retch. A vision seized him of a world awash with blood , gore and
corpses. A vision Taurox quickly tried to make a reality by slaughtering his
entire tribe at once - but this was only the beginning. For the next year and a
half he slaughtered all that came across his berserk, blood-crazed path. These
included other tribes of Beastmen, two-headed giants, Empire Patrols, proud
knights, nomadic caravans, covens of witches, mercenary ogres ect. All fell to
this monster of a beast. Towards the end of it he slew a entire large town,
creating a massive river of blood at his feet. Now exhausted, he collapsed.
Under a scarlet moon,
Taurox was reborn. Bellowing defiance to the world he looked down and saw that
where there was once flesh, now he had a solid brass body. The Dark Gods,
pleased with such bloodshed, had rewarded him with the ability to inflict even
more.Now the Brass Bull roams the Old World in its never-ending quest to
inflict slaughter.
==LOADOUT==
Offensive: Strong enough to rip people in half with
just his fists, the Brass Bull have carved his horns into swords, can step on
people with many tons of weight, and has such a powerful charge that he can
break through and scatter entire shield walls. Most potently he has two
daemonic two-handed weapons that he is strong enough to use. These axes are
magically enchanted axes constantly burn thus giving strikes fire damage. This
is in addition to ignoring armor.
Defensive: As a giant, moving brass statue the Brass Bull
is going to be so powerful that almost all mundane weapons are going to bounce
right off of him! Even cannonballs might just stagger him. Truly massively
powerful weapons or exceptionally potent magic are needed to put him
down....with one exception. In eating the dark emissary, the Daemon cursed
Taurox with a single weakness. On his throat there is a area which is still
flesh, and which may yield to a sword or arrow strike. Should this occur then
the Brass Bull is finally put down.
==Additional Factors==
Taurox is going to be a
difficult force to command, being legendary for his scorn of all those that
think they are his equal or superior.
DAEMONS
*Note: Daemons are not
gaurenteed to appear at once, and often have to be summoned in.
Skulltaker
Mobility:
5
Training/Experience: 10
Max Range:
Melee
Preferred Range: Melee
Role: Anti-warrior champion
Long ago, when Chaos first invaded the world, the Tong began their period of conquest, striking all before them. One Dolgan warlord, Vraks dared stand against them, leading a coalition to brief success before being routed by the Tong. In revenge the Tong warlord impaled him and left him for dead. Such was the hatred Vraks had for his tortmentor that he somehow worked through the pain and- inch by agonizing inch- pulled himself up the poll. Finally after a whole day of this Vraks succeeded, falling to the ground in a heap. As he lay dying he swore loyalty to any god that would give him the power to avenge himself.
Khorne, who was greatly angered by the Tong Warlord's desire to actually try and build a civilization instead of massacring absolutely everything, heard and agreed to Vraks request. The details that follow are hazy but it is known Skulltaker all but blunted the Tong's offensive single-handily, and eventually the Tong Warlord ordered his force to disengage rather then risk a crippled force. The Two fought a cataclysmic duel that ended with the Tong Warlord mortally wounded but triumphant, though only barely. Vraks, who had now adopted the title "Skulltaker" vowed to take his revenge on his descendants. Thousands of years later he would do so successfully, wiping out all 7 tribal leaders descended of those that once formed the Tong offensive. In this way he earned daemonhood, and the Tong were forever more a scattered people.
Skulltaker is the greatest of the bloodletters, a being who has earned the respect of the gods themselves. When not on campaign Skullater will seek out the warrior-champions of the greatest of mortals and daemons. He’ll dismount his juggernaut and below a great challenge for all to hear until finally someone from within accepts his request. Saluting them briefly, the Skulltaker surges forward to claim yet another skull.
Khorne, who was greatly angered by the Tong Warlord's desire to actually try and build a civilization instead of massacring absolutely everything, heard and agreed to Vraks request. The details that follow are hazy but it is known Skulltaker all but blunted the Tong's offensive single-handily, and eventually the Tong Warlord ordered his force to disengage rather then risk a crippled force. The Two fought a cataclysmic duel that ended with the Tong Warlord mortally wounded but triumphant, though only barely. Vraks, who had now adopted the title "Skulltaker" vowed to take his revenge on his descendants. Thousands of years later he would do so successfully, wiping out all 7 tribal leaders descended of those that once formed the Tong offensive. In this way he earned daemonhood, and the Tong were forever more a scattered people.
Skulltaker is the greatest of the bloodletters, a being who has earned the respect of the gods themselves. When not on campaign Skullater will seek out the warrior-champions of the greatest of mortals and daemons. He’ll dismount his juggernaut and below a great challenge for all to hear until finally someone from within accepts his request. Saluting them briefly, the Skulltaker surges forward to claim yet another skull.
Such contests almost
never end well for the mortal, for Skulltaker has skill borne from countless
millennia of experienced warfare. After ripping out the loser’s skull and
hurling it in his trophy pile, he’ll below out another challenge and another
until either he gets bored or the enemy wises up to realize they are wasting
champions. Either way this bloodletter then leaves in search of a new foe.
Skulltaker has fought and beaten an archtype of just about every mortal race in Warhammer Fantasy (and immortal Daemons), with only two confirmed losses. In the first instance he lost barely to the original Tong warlord after a extremely grueling fight thanks to the warlord's magical sword, and said warlord died later. In the second instance he lost to the legendary Sigmar after a vicious battle and for that reason he has had a grudge against the Empire ever since. This is in part because whenever he rips a skull out he inherits a portion of their strength, making Skulltaker extremely formidable.
==LOADOUT==
Offensive: The Slayer Sword: Skulltaker wields a sword
that contains a portion of Khorne’s own wrath, this sword blazes with unholy
fire energy and has the uncanny ability to find the enemies weakest spot. He is skilled enough to take on dozens, even hundreds of enemies at once (though in part because their weapon can't penetrate his armor) , beat down a sixty foot giant in single combat and fought in hundreds of engagements throughout history.
Defense: Cloak of Skulls: This
magical cloak offers some protection from enemy blows and spells, being
stronger then plate.Indeed most normal melee and ranged weapons bounce off it or fail to penetrate! Skulltaker also has scaly skin which is naturally durable
and innate, but not total, magic resistance. Finally he has regeneration.
==Additional Factors==
Skulltaker is a sublime
duelist, and specifically an anti-warrior one at that. He does not particularly
care for battling mages and the like due to the great disdain all Khornates
have for these magic users. Though armies may overwhelm him eventually, he would wreak a terrible toll if pitted solo against them. Skulltaker rides a juggernaut.
Karnak, Hound of Vengeance
Mobility:
7
Training/Experience: 10
Max Range:
Melee
Preferred Range: Melee
Role: Vengeance
Karanak is a Daemonic Flesh Hound who is the incarnation of Khorne's vengeance against those who
insult Khorne's pride or warriors that break Khorne's creed. It is fortunate
that Khorne only ever utilizes this hound for when a colossal, monumental
insult is unleashed, for there is perhaps no greater tracker in existence.
Karnak has three heads,
each capable of tracking a different aspect of the enemy. The first can track a
foe through space and accounts for all the different environments that one
might flee through. The second can follow the scent through time, back into the
past or the very creation of everything, or even forward until the end of the
universe. The third head tracks the quarry through his =own thoughts, pursuing
through dreamscapes and illusion. While the first two heads can be tricked,
only the insane can run beyond the trace of their own mind.
Karnak bolts through
time and space towards his enemy, gathering up more and more flesh hounds as he
runs. By the time he reaches his target there may be ten score following him.
Given the surprise and massive onslaught of dogs, few if any foes can fight him
off. Karnak will then return to the Realms of Chaos, handing the skull of the
slain to his master. The rest the demon chews on, eager for the next command.
==LOADOUT==
Offensive: Teeth
and claws. See Fleshhound, but bigger and with more heads.
Defense: Scaly skin and such
magical immunity that only a godlike being could hope to hurt him with magic.
==Additional Factors==
Karnak only appears when
someone of importance has offered a monumental insult to Khorne, the likes of
which surpass even many rival demons. Such as the Sigmarite who continually
tried to deny that Khorne existed and went throughout the Empire preaching so
for years. Sometimes idiot mages also summon this guy into existence and then
get killed when they realize that Karnak is nearly immune to magic, and thus
their binding spells don’t work.
Skarband
Mobility:
7
Training/Experience: 10
Max Range:
Melee
Preferred Range: Melee
Role: Mass Destruction
“From shadow, the daemon became a thing of solidity, a goliath
monstrosity of tattered pinions and leathery flesh. Massive thews rippled
beneath the daemon's scarred skin, strings of gore swayed from the tips of its
black horns. Plates of brass were bolted to the daemon's crimson skin, each
segment of armour scored with the Skull Rune of Skarbrand's fearsome lord and
master. In each of its mighty claws, the bloodthirster bore an immense axe of
dark, lustreless metal that seemed to writhe and howl beneath its gripping
talons, eager to taste mortal blood upon their sharp blades.
Skarbrand's hound-like face split in a baleful grin, its eyes
blazing with unbridled savagery.
The bloodthirster's cloven hoof smashed against the floor,
cracking the flagstones and causing the very mountain to shiver. The daemon's
laughter thundered through the dwarfhold, blood trickling from the ears of all
who heard it.”
Skarbrand was once the
greatest of Khorne’s greatest champions, a warrior without peer who destroyed
Slaanesh’s original palace and even led an army triumphed over the combined
armies of the other three gods combined. Yet what could not be won on the
battlefield, the other gods resolved to win via trickery. Such was Skarbrand’s
pride that it was effortless for Tzeentch to whisper in his ear that he was
better than Khorne himself.
One dark day, when
Khorne’s back was turned and his attention elsewhere, Skarbrand’s fierce pride
grew hot and, blinded by rage, he smote the Blood God a mighty blow. Only the
smallest of chinks was cut in the Blood God’s armour, but even this was
sufficient to draw the terrible fury of Khorne’s gaze. Incandescent with wrath, Khorne seized the
Daemon by the throat. The Blood God cursed Skarbrand’s name and choked all
personality from him, leaving only the bottomless rage that had caused him to
attack. Climbing the uppermost tower of the Brass Citadel, Khorne cast forth
his arm and hurled the Daemon deep into the Realm of Chaos, banishing the Bloodthirster
from his presence.
For eight days and
nights Skarbrand plummeted, a fiery comet of ill-omen streaking across the
unchanging sky. The impact of the Bloodthirster’s landing gouged a canyon in
the landscape and left his wings tattered and torn. Since that fateful day,
Skarbrand has wandered the mortal and immortal realms, drowning his sins in the
blood of the slain — though he no longer has the wit to fully understand why.
==LOADOUT==
Offensive: Slaughter and Carnage: Skarband wields two immense axes that he can
swing with both great skill and speed, capable of carving a dozen foes up in a
moment. Each axe contains the tortured spirit of another bloodthirster, and are
powerful enough to ignore all physical armor.
Bellow of Endless Rage: Skarband is wrath incarnate, able to induce massive
uncontrollable rage in both allies and enemies, causing them to all attack each
other incoherently. Fast friends and
firm allies tear at one another with wild abandon. Craven and brave beings
alike claw at their foes without regard for their own lives.Only those with
powerful willpower or divine blessing can fight such rage off, and then only
with difficulty.
At its crescendo
Skarband can yell a roar of such short-range intensity that it pulverizes flesh
and shatters buildings in his immediate presence (10 or so meters) .
Defense: See Bloodthirster with
brass armor and heavy magic resistance . In lore it usually takes a massive
effort to bring Skarbrand down. In one example an Empire army unloaded every
cannon and handgun in its possession directly into the bloodthirster at once.
In another the Dwarves used a powerful and enormous axe that had been directly
blessed by one of their gods to cave its head in two.
==Additional Factors==
Alone among the
Bloodthirsters, Skarbrand cannot fly thanks to its wings being torn off by
Khorne.
Rage of Skarband:
-Grey Seer Thanqoul’s Point
of View, Thanqoul’s Doom:
“No longer did the dwarfs hesitate, but targeted the ratmen with
enraged abandon. Warriors cried out in agony as the blades of their comrades
missed Thanquol and gouged their flesh. A crazed light burning in their eyes,
the stricken dwarfs fell upon their former friends, tearing at them with clawed
hands, cutting at them with knives and hatchets, gnashing their teeth as they
snapped at the throats of their kinsmen.
Thanquol scrambled away from the fratricidal fray. Even wracked by
the black hunger, he had never seen skaven overcome by such bloodthirsty
madness. The dwarfs attacked one another with the mindless ferocity of a
cornered wolf-rat. The grey seer watched as one old longbeard continued to
strangle the life from his younger enemy despite the axe stroke that had
disembowelled him. A leather-cloaked engineer drove a heavy mattock into
whatever came near him, uncaring of the red ruin dripping from his gouged eyes.
The grey seer could feel the same madness trying to snake its way
into his own mind, trying to seduce him into berserk self-destruction. He drew
upon every scrap of his occult knowledge to drive back the tempting cries of
the daemon, clinging to the tatters of his sanity as Chaos tried to consume
him.
Thanquol scrambled past a knot of fighting dwarfs, retreating into
the shelter between a statue's immense legs. The dark shadow beneath the dwarf
ancestor god seemed to welcome him, enveloping him in the protective embrace of
darkness. The grey seer rested his paws against the cold stone ankle, sucking
breath back into his panting lungs. If he could just concentrate, just recover
his strength…”
Dwarf Engineer Klarak’s
Point of View, Thanquol’s Doom
“Klarak just had time to see his words galvanise some of the
dwarfs into action before a wave of almost palpable malevolence smashed down
upon him. He could feel the daemon's rage slam into him, crushing him to his
knees. The feral howl of a bloodcrazed beast snarled through the corridors of
his soul. His body heaved with revulsion. When he looked back at the shadow, a
pair of immense eyes glared down at him, blazing like volcanic fires in the
gathering blackness.
Concentrated into the daemon's eyes was a quality of violence and
havoc that made Klarak's flesh crawl. He could see the fountainhead of all
atrocity, the nucleus of all carnage, the cornerstone of all brutality
smouldering behind the daemon's gaze. The lust of blood and destruction began
to grow inside him, feeding from his every memory. He saw the goblins who had
tortured and murdered his mother. He was there as his father was smashed
beneath the claws of a troll. He experienced the lynching of his grandfather by
human bandits as though wearing the skin of his long-dead ancestor. Each memory
cried out to him with a voice of wrath, urging him to vengeance, demanding
blood and slaughter as the price to wash away their pain.
The dwarf threw back his head, screaming in anguish. In that howl
of agony, Klarak embraced his pain. The daemon did not need the subtlety of
lies to fan the embers of rage in the engineer's soul. How easy it would be to
listen to its seductive voice, to cast aside reason and to wallow in the
mindless joy of wrath! Pain would be forgotten when the world was painted red
with the blood of the damned! Cast aside suffering and abandon himself to
battle unending!
No! It took all of Klarak's willpower to manage that single word,
that single spark of defiance. He was a dwarf! A dwarf was nothing without his
past, without his traditions and his ancestors, without the glories and the
sorrows of his race! The very pain which the daemon had evoked to seduce him,
to drag his mind down into a wallow of violence and massacre, now became the
dwarf's strength. What his kin had endured, what his race had endured, these
became like a sword in Klarak's fist, driving back the daemon's call to
carnage.
Blood streamed from Klarak's eyes as he fought free of the
daemon's influence. All about him, he could see other dwarfs shaking their
heads, wiping gore from their faces. There was a haunted expression in their
eyes, but they had managed to cling to their sanity.”
“A new horror gripped Klarak when he saw that his words went
unheeded. Studying the battle more closely, he could see that it was not a
simple matter of ratkin versus dwarf, but a confused melee that pit ratkin
against ratkin and dwarf against dwarf. The fighters slashed away, uncaring of
who they came against, cutting down their own as happily as they did their
enemies. The engineer remembered the horrible madness that had done its utmost
to overwhelm him. Nearer to the daemon, those he now watched had been unable to
resist the bloodthirster's call to battle. Only a small cluster of dwarfs
gathered about Thane Arngar and his oathstone appeared to still be in
possession of their faculties. They did their utmost to fend off their crazed
attackers without harming them, a restraint that went unreciprocated.“
The Blue Scribes
Mobility:
5
Training/Experience: 5-6 (purpose not fighting)
Max Range:
Spell
Preferred Range: Spell
Role: Spell Acquisition
Once, long ago, Tzeentch
held ascendency over all other gods with his sorcerous might. This caused their
ire and jealousy, and the other three temporarily united to put an end to his
might. In one climatic battle they broke him into a thousand fragments which
scattered throughout time and space. Though Tzeentch reformed, he did regain
the entirety of his former majesty.
To this end, Tzeentch created
two Daemons, P ’tarix andXirat’p, tasked with learning every spell in
existence. Though Blue Horrors in form and surly personality, the quest
required these Blue
Scribes to be more self-aware than others of their kind. Ever careful of
betrayal, Tzeentch bestowed this intelligence with care. P’tarix can transcribe
the magical syllables of any spell to parchment, but cannot read. Xirat’p can
read his brother’s scribblings, but cannot understand them. Judging his work to
be good, the Great Sorcerer sent his creations out into existence to complete
their quest.
The Blue Scribes ride
their Disc of Tzeentch through realms eternal and mortal, squabbling as they
seek lost fragments of their god to bind them with parchment and ink. P ’tarix scrawls
frantically with a quill crafted from a Lord of Change’s pinfeather. Xirat’p reads
the written words to check for mistakes; in so doing unleashing the power bound
within on any unfortunate enough to be nearby. The Blue Scribes’ mission often
draws them to battlefields, where the most destructive and powerful magics are
used. If threatened, Xirat’p starts reading at random from the accumulated scrolls,
trusting to the hand of fate, his master, to guide him to the correct scroll
for each occasion. This can have quitespectacular and bizarre results, with a
foe as likely to be struck by multicoloured lightning as he is to be drenched
by his own personal thunderstorm or transmuted to solid gold.
In truth, the Blue
Scribes can never complete their task, for magic has multiplied in the service
of mortals. This is well for Xirat’p and P ’tarix and for existence itself.
Should the Blue Scribes complete their task, Tzeentch would swallow them,
reuniting the lost fragments of his being and absorbing the extra power born
along the way. It is doubtful that any creature, mortal or Daemon, would
survive such a renewal.
==LOADOUT==
Offensive: Scrolls of Sorcery: If Threatened the Blue Scribes start reading off random spells in
the hopes they will do something. These can range from very weak attacks to
something massively powerful.
Defense: Some ability to
manipulate fate to avoid damage, but not much otherwise.
==Additional Factors==
Blue Scribes can steal
spells from the enemy upon their use, transcribing them immediately onto their
scrolls which inadvertently unleashes the spell’s power. Blue Scribes avoid
direct battle if they can, as their purpose is to gather up magic not fight,
however they will certainly engage if needed to. They ride a single Disc of
Tzeentch.
The Changeling
Mobility:
5
Training/Experience: 5-6 (purpose not fighting)
Max Range:
Spell
Preferred Range: Spell
Role: Dickish Prankster
The Changeling
personifies the part of Tzeentch’s psyche that is the meddler, the deceiver,
the trickster. He can take the form of other beings, from the tiniest of
insects to the most massive of Greater Daemons. None, save perhaps Tzeentch
himself, know the Changeling’s true form, for he goes cowled and cloaked when
in his own shape — perhaps even the Changeling himself has forgotten it.
Afflicted as he is with
a low tolerance for boredom, the Changeling exists to play malicious tricks
upon all about him. On one such occasion, taking the shape of a Daemonette, he stole
the silver apples of knowledge from Slaanesh’s palace.
On the edge of the Dark
Prince’s territory he then assumed the form of a Plaguebearer and slipped into
Nurgle’s garden, only to grow tired of the game and abandon the apples to rot amidst
the decaying fronds. When Slaanesh discovered the theft, he flew into a rage
and sent his armies to retrieve the lost treasures. So did Slaanesh and Nurgle
come to blows, the former believing the latter to be a thief, and the latter convinced
the former had engineered a pretext for invasion.
The Changeling was
already elsewhere — stealing Collars of Khorne from Flesh Hounds and melting
them down to create brass dioramas of the Blood God’s greatest defeats. So has
the Changeling passed through eternity, sowing mischief in his wake. It was he
who cut away Slaanesh’s hair while the Dark Prince slept, and from it wove the
cloak that Tzeentch presented to the mortal champion Egrimm van Horstmann. It
was the Changeling who sealed the doors of Khorne’s citadel while he was away
campaigning, forcing the Blood God to shatter his own proud gates when he
returned.
The Changeling’s handiwork
is always obvious after the fact — indeed, part of the prank is to make the
victim aware of his deceiver, but impotent to act against him. It is of little surprise
then that Tzeentch’s brother gods burn with desire to destroy the Changeling,
to tear him limb from limb and scatter his parts and pieces across reality; yet
somehow he always evades capture.
Though Tzeentch loves to
take credit for the Changeling’s schemes, only a handful of the Daemon’s
adventures are carried out at his patron’s direction. The Great Schemer is content
to let the Changeling roam wild throughout eternity, causing havoc where he may.
Each meddling opens up more possibilities in the Great Game, and Tzeentch
watches with amusement as the Changeling weaves his uneven tapestry of disruption.
That so many of his pranks have caused terrible wars is of no concern to the
Changeling. He loves the discord of conflict, for it breeds opportunity to
deceive and dismay like nothing else. His enjoyment begins even before armies
clash: impersonating messengers and generals to disrupt strategy wherever
possible. When battle begins, the Changeling is wont to adopt the shape and
skill of the most powerful foe, pounding the enemy to pieces with malicious enthusiasm
and borrowed muscle.
==LOADOUT==
Offensive: When
forced into battle the Changeling will morph into his toughest foe before
attacking, though never for long as he quickly gets bored of whatever form he chooses. He can also use a few spells from the Lore of Tzeentch.
Defense: Some ability to
manipulate fate to avoid damage, but his main defense is simply not being
caught.
==Additional Factors==
It is currently unknown
what exactly would allow someone to catch the changeling in the act, though it’s
possible that those who can see pure magic in and of itself would be able to
see through the Changeling’s guise. Fortunately for mortals the Changeling
doesn’t take commands from other forces of Chaos, even other forces of
Tzeentch( save Tzeentch himself) and indeed ¾ of the forces of Chaos would give
anything to murder it on sight. Fortunately the Changeling has yet to ever
commit a act utterly gamebreaking to a mortal force, and instead just causes
headaches with dickish pranks.
Kalros Fateweaver
Mobility:
5
Training/Experience: 5-6 (purpose not fighting)
Max Range:
Spell
Preferred Range: Spell
Role: Strategic Commander/seer
Kalros Fateweaver is the closest thing
Tzeentch has to a second in command. When Chaos first bust through the warp
gates over 8,000 years ago, it was Kalros who led Tzeentch’s effort in the
bitter centuries long vs. the lizardmen. It was he who helped sack their
greatest city and he who hurriedly tried to break Aenerion and Caledor’s
attempt to suck up much of Chaos. Only
in that last campaign did he meet failure, being destroyed by Aenarion in a duel.
Later on Kalros would be
assigned, forcibly, by Tzeentch to explore the mysterious well of eternity-
something even the Great Sorcerer couldn’t enter. And by assigned I mean
forcibly picked up and hurled down it.
Since he clawed his way
back from the Well after years uncounted within its depths, Kairos can see
things that are hidden even to Tzeentch. H is right head sees possible futures
as clear as day. No scheme is hidden from its sight and the infinite
possibilities of tomorrow crystallise into irrefutable fact. Kairos’ left head
sees the past without the petty colorations of perspective and bias. Past and
future pulse through a body shrivelled and twisted by its passage through the
Well. Valuable as this vision is, it comes with a heavy cost. Both of Kairos’ heads
are blind to the present; he cannot see time as it passes — only events that
are to come or whose time has already lapsed.
Kairos’ blindness to the
present makes him vulnerable to physical attack — the future does not reveal
itself swiftly enough to predict battle’s to and fro. Nevertheless,
Kairos unique vision
allows him to stay one step ahead of adversaries, pitting various assailants
against one another in time stream-straddling duels. In the arena of magic,
Kairos is unstoppable. He knows every spell in existence, every sigil, sign and
quirk of mystical power; though even he cannot marshal them all without a
modicum of preparation. Such ability makes him Tzeentchs favored agent. On the
occasions Fateweaver leaves the Impossible Fortress it is always in the service
of a dire task, be it the recovery of a magical artefact, the predestined
crushing of an army, or
Some other ineffable
purpose.
==LOADOUT==
Offensive: Kalros
Fateweaver wields the Staff of Tomorrow, allowing him to attempt to alter fate
so that a lucky opponent might have his luck severed, or a mediocre attack
becomes more devastating. This takes a bit of preparation however and fate
being fickle this alteration has the potential to be more underwhelming then
the original attempt!
Between the two heads
Kalros knows all eight of the main lores, as well as the lore of Tzeentch,
requiring only a little preparation to muster them.
 |
| Good artwork from 40k |
Defense: Kalros can manipulate
fate to avoid certain attacks, though even he struggles to do so as he cannot
predict the Chaotic actions on the battlefield.
==Additional Factors==
When Kalros appears,
it’s always a sign of Tzeentch’s personal interest in the engagement. Kalros will give Chaos some potent advantages thanks to his long-term farsight, once summoned.
Ku’gath Plaguefather
Mobility: 4
Training/Experience: 8
Max Range: 500
meters
Preferred Range: Testing Range
Role: Plague Experimenter
Whilst other Great
Unclean Ones work to spread the plagues already extant, Ku’gath, the Plaguefather,
is fascinated by the breeding of new and virulent life. Ku’gath aims to one day
breed a contagion that can infect the gods themselves. The Plaguefather prides
himself upon his detachment — after all, what concerns could possibly encroach
on this great work? So absorbed is he in his search for the perfect plague, Ku’gath
remains relatively untroubled by the shifting balance of power within the Realm
of Chaos, yet this is not to say that the Plaguefather does not play his part
in the Great Game. Ku’gath’s experiments are nothing without practical results,
and he is ever eager to test fresh creations on the battlefield.
The Plaguefather rides
upon a massive palanquin bedecked with alchemical paraphernalia: vials full of
seething powder, flasks of indescribable liquid and hessian sacks stuffed to bursting
with Nurglings. This great bulk is held aloft by a carpet of straining
Nurglings, and Ku’gath is attended on by countless others, all bred from the
Plaguefather’s pox vats. Ku’gath’s Nurglings are not merely servants — they are
also ammunition, for in battle Ku’gath is wont to hurl them into the enemy
ranks. The unwilling projectiles burst on impact, drenching the target with
disease-ridden fluids.
Ku’gath watches keenly
as each Nurgling’s pox takes effect. Should the plague achieve Ku’gath’s
expectation, he gurgles with a proud father’s delight. If the results do not
meet with approval, Ku’gath immediately brews a refined version of the plague,
dunks a fresh Nurgling, and lets fly once again.
Of all Nurgle’s Daemons,
Ku’gath is the most willing to enter the physical realm - his quest for more
efficacious plague-reagents knows no boundaries. A few drops of mortal blood
can turn a quiescent pox into a raging epidemic. Ku’gath has discovered that
ground Skaven bladder, for example, increases the virulence of Red Pox a
hundredfold. Thus, in the cause of experimentation, Ku’gath makes a point of
acquiring fresh specimens whenever he enters the mortal worlds. Indeed, the Plaguefather
keeps a variety of specimens, mortal and Daemon, caged in a dank chamber among
the sagging rafters of Nurgle’s decaying mansion, so that he always has a
suitable supply of ingredients to hand.
It is during forays into the mortal world that
Ku’gath has encountered the one race that has penetrated his scientific
detachment to kindle his rage - the Dwarfs. On a
Professional level, the
Plaguefather hates the creatures for their resilience to disease; on a personal
level, he is embittered by a truly ignominious defeat beneath the walls of
Karaz-a- Karak. Either way, there is no doubt in Ku’gath’s mind as to the first
test subjects when his perfect plague is prepared.
==LOADOUT==
Offensive: See
Great Unclean One, and counts as a minor wizard of Nurgle. Ku’gath is noted for
his Nurgling infestation even as a Great Unclean One, and they constantly pour
from every orfice. He can even pick one of these up and hurl it as a missile at
up to 500 meters.
Defense: See Great Unclean One.
==Additional Factors==
The Plaguefather's
hatred of dwarves has come to near pathological levels, having lost multiple
times even armed with his best diseases in trying to destroy their holds. In
one failed attempt he so embarrassed Nurgle that this daemon
was banished to the Forge of Souls as punishment. By default he will
attack them over all else given choice.
===X-Factors ===
Since the most obvious
choice of overall Nurglite representative, Tamurkhan, is dead, I have elected
to use Kur’gath to show general Nurglite x-factors.
Adaptive Creativity: 45 (39)/100: Nurgle is the polar opposite of change and adaptability that
signifies his rival, Tzeentch, and thus the patterns of Nurgle’s armies can be
predicted with a fair amount of ease. Occasionally they show creativity in
carrying out those plague attacks though,
or invent another plague. Kur’gath has personally shown willingness to spend
time creating that.
Tactics: 56/100: Nurglite tactics are generally very predictable but hard to
stop, for the pure amount of toxin and disease in the air is overwhelming to
many foes. Kur’gath unfortunately is more noted for his failures then
victories, particularly against those darn Dwarves.
Strategy: 70/100:
I give Nurgle’s forces high marks here as their main strategy- the spread of
plague- is all designed to incorporate new followers rapidly. Simplistic and
predictable but brilliant, as barring huge losses their numbers keep growing.
Intuition: 52/100
Audacity: 91/100:
Though Nurgle’s champions appear to care for their warriors on the surface,
they have no hesitation to expending them or even themselves in mass to achieve
an objective.
Psychological Warfare: 74/100: Nurgle’s greatest plagues are all about breaking the will of
the enemy and thus gaining their souls, incorporating them into Nurgle’s armies. Their servants themselves
are noted for putting on great parades and grotesque shows, appearing as
menacing as possible, to terrorize the enemy.
Experience: 98/100:
Is a Daemon champion and has pretty much been active since Chaos first burst
forward onto the Warhammer World.
Discipline: 85/100: Nurgle’s forces are utterly unafraid by the prospect of
death, though occasionally their greater daemons (like Kurgath) can be driven
to extreme rage.The loss of huge portions of armies scares them not.
Inspiration: 88/100: Though not all of their forces are mindlessly obedient
zombies, most of them would have no hesitation to lay down their lives for the
very personification of their Grandfather, Nurgle.
Corruption: 92/100
Epidermius, Nurgle’s Tallyman
Mobility: 4
Training/Experience: 8
Max Range: Battlefield
Preferred Range: Melee
Role: Tallyman
Epidemius is Nurgle’s
chosen Tallyman, one of the seven Proctors of Pestilence and the cataloguer of
all the Plaguelords diseases. Epidemius’ task is an unending one, and it
generates a great deal of paperwork, so he rides a palanquin to share the
burden — and to more easily force a path through Nurgle’s hordes. Two dozen
Nurglings attend the Tallyman’s every need, providing the parchment, operating
the death’s head abacus, excreting the ink for the quill pens and even
defending Epidemius from harm should a foolish enemy venture too close. These
Nurglings are uncharacteristically silent to give Epidermus the silence he
needs.
From his perch Epidermus
surveys Nurgle’s creations, making notes of causalities and infection rates as
well as secondary symptoms like change in color or mood swings. This information, properly collated and
distilled, is of incredible value to Father Nurgle, but must be recorded with
absolute precision and in a timely fashion to be of any use . Epidermus’s
appearances can be a bit random, as the tallyman goes where plagues are at
their greatest. This might mean the poor hygiene of an army or of the city
slums.
Above all else Epidermus
is interested in the departure of powerful souls. Nurgle’s
Greatest plagues do not
merely infest the physical form, they also run virulently rampant throughout a
being’ s soul, destroying his sense of self and moral direction as thoroughly as
they corrupt his fevered body. Observing this decline is a rare privilege, and
upon demise as a token of gratitude Epidermius’s entourage strikes bells and
gongs. This seems to give the potent strength of the owner to the fighters of
Nurgle nearby.
==LOADOUT==
Offensive: Plaguesword,
plus 2 dozen Nurgling bodyguards.
Defense: see Plaguebearer.
==Additional Factors==
Epidermius’s greatest
ability seems to be to infuse Nurgle’s minions around him with power based on how
well they are inflicting disease. This will first start with increased strength, toughness, making
their blows more powerful and finally making them magically harder to kill.These
effects end as soon as the Tallyman is dead. Generally he will only appear in
the places with the greatest examples of plagues.
The Masque of Slaanesh
Mobility: 8
Training/Experience: 9
Max Range: 50
meters
Preferred Range: Melee
Role: Eternal Dancer
“Once the Masque of
Slaanesh was the most favored of the daemonettes, a being whose dances could
soothe even the gods. Yet the Masque was undone when Slaanesh
suffered his most terrible loss in the Great Game, maneuvered by Tzeentch into
a war with Khorne and Nurgle that he could not hope to win.
Thinking to ease
Slaanesh’s mind and ills, the Masque danced for her dark lord. Never before had
she performed with such skill. She glided across that ballroom floor of broken
dreams and sundered promises, each sensuous and graceful motion flowing effortlessly
into the next. No mortal could have watched her dance that eve and remained unmoved,
yet Slaanesh was angry at his defeat, and his proud heart filled with the acrid
pain of humiliation. As he watched the Daemonette dance her faultless dance,
Slaanesh saw only a barbed jest at his expense, a subtle mockery aimed at his
wounded pride.
Slaanesh cursed his
daemonette, commanding her to dance evermore of Slaanesh’s greatest victories
and triumphs. So has the Masque been doomed ever since. She dances across the
mortal and immortal planes to music only she can hear, never able to rest. She
is drawn to places of sensory excess and is wont to appear before the high
table at great feasts, or during the closing act o f a fine opera. H er golden mask
flickers and changes as her dance progresses, taking the guise of the characters she portrays. Such
is the power of the Masque’s curse that all nearby are drawn into her unholy pageant.
Eternal Daemon or mortal man, all play their parts in her fluid pantomime as
flawlessly as if they had been rehearsing for the moment all their lives.
The dance’s tempo
changes as the story of Slaanesh progresses. In the Dance of Dreaming, where
the slumbering prince waits to be born, the Masque and her chorus drift in sedentary
and languid movements. Conversely, the Pageant of Pain, re-enacting one of
Slaanesh’s great victories over Khorne, is a tableau of spasmodic movements
that ends with the entranced cast tearing at each other’s throats and eyes. Not
all the dances are from the past — they are drawn from all points in time. The
power of the Masque’s curse allows her to recreate events yet to come, from the
caging of Loec and the purging with fire of Nurgle’s garden, all the way up to the
legendary Rhan’k’adanra, the final battle and twilight of the gods. Any who
survive these manifestations have only the scantest memories of what truly
occurred. They see only the ruin and death around them, and feel only the
bone-weary agony of a body pushed beyond its limits. Meanwhile and elsewhere,
the Masque dances on ...
==LOADOUT==
Offensive: Each
dance has a magical aura of 50 meters and can have a myriad of effects ranging
from the victim’s bones breaking from overexertion, the victims getting
extremely drowsy, weak, killing each other at random or other myriad effects.
In a fight the Masque is a quick and master duelist, armed with her claws from
her Daemonette days.
Defense: The Masque of Slaanesh
is extremely agile and hard to hit, even more so then a Keeper of Secrets.
==Additional Factors==
The Masque travels alone
and can appear randomly in any place where there is great excess.
N'Kari
Training/Experience: 8
Max Range: 50 meters
Preferred Range: Melee
Role: Anti-Elf
Long ago, when Chaos first came to the world, it was N'kari who was the first daemon to invade the realm of the Elves. When the Elves, who were then a innocent agrarian people, rose to meet them in combat N'kari had them slaughtered gruesomely to a man. For the next hundred years the daemon ran roughshod through Ulthuan, committing every manner of murder and rape and debauchery imaginable. Then the Elven Hero Aenarion, who had left Ulthuan even before N'kari arrived, returned and for the first time presented the Keeper of Secrets a real challenge. For Eighty years the Elf Hero and N'kari fought for control of Ulthuan in a great contest of armies, yet the Elves were slowly getting grounded down by the arrival of Chaos Warbands from elsewhere, having by now neutralized most of the Slann world empire.
In desperation Caledor launched his great warding plan, forcing N'kari to join forces with three other Chaos leaders to assault. All were defeated in single-combat by Aenarion. N'kari's soul was then trapped in Caledor's mighty vortex for nearly 6,000 years, spending the entirety of it slowly building up his strength and avoiding the potent ghost- archamge disciples of Caledor, who wielded enough power to destroy him utterly.
Finally when those 6,000 years were up N'kari managed to break free from his imprisonment and in his vengeance sought the the descendants of Aenarion. For a month he, using his knowledge of Old One webway-paths that were built into Ulthuan, went on a rampage and killed the vast majority of them in truly gruesome ways. Finally he assaulted the mighty Temple of Asuyren where the twins Tyrion and Teclis stayed. Though N'Kari butchered his way through the guards and nearly killed the twins, he played too long with the athletic twin Tyrion, allowing the crippled twin Teclis to gather enough energy to destroy him.
Finally when those 6,000 years were up N'kari managed to break free from his imprisonment and in his vengeance sought the the descendants of Aenarion. For a month he, using his knowledge of Old One webway-paths that were built into Ulthuan, went on a rampage and killed the vast majority of them in truly gruesome ways. Finally he assaulted the mighty Temple of Asuyren where the twins Tyrion and Teclis stayed. Though N'Kari butchered his way through the guards and nearly killed the twins, he played too long with the athletic twin Tyrion, allowing the crippled twin Teclis to gather enough energy to destroy him.
Banished for 100 years, N'Kari was then summoned up and bound by Witch King Maleketh in order to use the Daemon's knowledge of portals to invade Ulthuan. This initial invasion went very well thanks to portals allowing the Dark Elves to attack everywhere at once however N'Kari again ran afoul of Tyrion and Teclis, and though he nearly won the Daemon was again banished back to the nether.
However over the course of the conflict, the Witch King was also cast into the Realm of Chaos. For over a hundred years in real time (and a unknown amount in the Realm of Chaos) N'kari tried to slay the Witch King, coming close but ultimately failing. He then tried to kill the Witch King in his own homeland, besieging the city with a Slaaneshi army. He was again defeated by the Witch King in a great duel, leaving him to brood in the nether yet again.
==LOADOUT==
Offensive: See Keeper of Secrets, though N'Kari is said to be one of the best Keeper of Secrets to ever live, able to fight through dozens of elite Phoenix Guards and their Dark Elf equivalent. In addition he is a potent magician.
Defensive: See Keeper of Secrets
Defensive: See Keeper of Secrets
===ADDITIONAL FACTORS===
N'Kari does seem to have some knowledge of the Old One's Webway, at least around Ulthuan, and might help his troop's mobility through such means. As his role suggests he absolutely hates and despises the Elves, particularly Elven heroes, and will try to kill those he meets as slow as possible. Alas though said to be one of the greatest of one of the most potent Greater Daemon archtypes, he is as known for his frequent failures as he is success.
Azazel, Prince of Damnation
Mobility:
5.5
Training/Experience: 10
Max Range:
Dozens of meters (aura)
Preferred Range: Melee
Role: Tactical Commander
Long ago Azazel was once a early blood brother
of Sigmar himself, one of the mighty champions of the god-kings burdgeoning
empire. Yet Azazel carried bitterness in his heart, and one day betrayed
Sigmar, nearly killing him and successfully slaying Simgar's wife (and Azazel's
sister) before fleeing to the Chaos
Wastes. There he pledged himself to Slaanesh.
Azazel was greatly
favoured by his master, and rose quickly in his esteem. After slaying Arthar,
the exalted Champion of Khorne in single combat, Slaanesh turned his eyes upon
Azazel and elevated him to Daemonhood, making him commander of the Prince of Chaos'
daemonic legions.
It is said that the
beauty of Azazel is second only to his patron. But as irresistible as his
beauty is, there is a deadly edge to it. Those who have gazed upon him never
forget the sensual temptation his presence arouses. It is a beauty which evokes
loathing and a temptation that sickens the soul.
Azazel's hair is long,
jet-black, and as fine as flax. Two great lacquered horns crown his handsome
brow. His eyes are full of innocence and yet they are cruel, calculating and
without pity. His smooth skin is white, the colour of the finest porcelain, and
his movements are graceful, his limbs long and delicate. In his right hand he
carries an enchanted blade that writhes as if alive, and his left hand is a
long, chitinous claw,
delicate and yet deadly.
His wings are of the
purest white, their beauty unmatched by swans or other creations of nature. He soars
over the battlefield, sometimes sweeping low to strike his foes, and yet his
feet never touch the ground. Azazel dresses in robes made of the finest silks,
and his body is bedecked with gorgeous jewels and shining gems.
Azazel is the right hand
of Slaanesh, and one of his greatest commanders, leading his armies within the Realm
of Chaos. He is the equivalent of an Exalted Keeper of Secrets now, and thus
won't appear except when the Storms of Magic are at their greatest. Such is his
power that many who come into direct contact with him, all but the strongest
willed or most inspired/resistant, lose themselves over to his will. Even
though who can fight off often feel the bite of his influence in combat.
===LOADOUT===
Offensive: Azazel
is capable of using spells from the lore of Slaanesh, has a deadly daemonblade
that ignores armor, a crab-like claw and a double-headed tail. Azazel is a
incredibly skilled duelist, able to defeat even a champion of Khorne in single
combat or defeat some of Sigmar's greatest friends in combat (though not the
man himself). By far his greatest power is his sheer amount of influence, which
can lead mortals to bow before him and acknowledge him as master.
Defensive:
Azazel wields the dark halo of Slaanesh, and thus has constant magical
protection around his person.
Chaos Dwarves:
Zhatan the Black
Mobility: 3
Training/Experience: 7
Max Range: Melee
Preferred Range: Melee
Role : Tactical Commander
Under the dark tower of
Zharr Naggrund a million evil souls labor to the glory of Hashut Father of
Darkness. From a thousand burning forges come weapons of burnished iron and
corslets of ruddy bronze. It is the greatest city in the world and it is ruled
by the most black-hearted lords of all, the Chaos Dwarf Sorcerers.
Acts of the most cruel
and heartless nature are everyday occurrences in the lands of Zharduk. Thousands
of slaves endure unimaginable agonies in the pits of Zharr, mining out the
poisonous wealth amidst choking fumes and impenetrable darkness. In
the workshops of
Zharr-Naggrund untold slaves are worked to death in their chains so that their
masters can enjoy a lifetime of ease. The Hobgoblin overseers in
the Vale of Woe beat
their pitiful charges so that their flesh hangs from their backs like bloodied
rags. Even amongst such wanton cruelty there is one whose deeds
of brutality are
remarkable.
Zhatan serves the Chaos
Dwarf Sorcerer Ghorth the Cruel, most potent of all living Chaos Dwarf
Sorcerers. It is said that when Ghorth presides over the sacrifices of Hashut
the only sound louder than the screams of his victims is the gloating laughter
of Zhatan, his general. Zhatan is kept busy by his master's insatiable demand for
fresh slaves. The Chaos Dwarf has led many successful slaving expeditions to
the west, crushing every Orc army that has dared to stand up to him. All the
Goblin tribes between the Plains of Zharduk and Mount Grimfang have bowed
before his armies, sending thousands of their kind in tribute to the Lords of
Zharr Naggrund. The workshops and mines of Ghorth can scarce keep pace with
Zhatan's demand for weaponry. Every expedition he undertakes brings further
slaves whose labours fuel fresh conquests
==LOADOUT==
Offensive: Generally he carries a Warhammer for
combat, thoughhe can take magical weapons.
Defensive: Blackshard armor and any magical items he
chooses.
==Additional Factors==
May ride a Lammasu or
Great Taurus. This commander is also infamous for his cruelty and is said to
have a manic hatred of all things, obsessively waging war in part due to this
contempt. Though not as ambitious as Drazhoath he is nevertheless going to try
to lead from the front as much as possible.
Atragoth, High Priest of Hashut
Mobility: 1
Training/Experience: 8
Max Range: Melee
Preferred Range: Melee
Role : Inspirational Commander
“"I
stand here, atop the Ziggurat of Zharr-Naggrund, the Place of Fire and
Desolation. From where I stand, I can gaze across the plains of Zharrduk, and
what I see is pleasing to my eyes.
It is forever Dark under the sun here in the heart of the world.
The smell of sulphur and of burning oil fills the air. The cracking of whips and
the wailing of slaves drowns out the clatter of machinery.
This is the future. One day Hashut, the Father of Darkness, shall
rise from his slumber, and trample the world beneath his brazen hooves. The
dead shall outnumber the living, and those that remain shall be dragged in
chains to the pits of Zharr to toil for the greater glory of Hashut.
And all will be blessed Darkness."
-From the prophesies of Astragoth, the High Priest of Hashut-
Astragoth is the oldest
living Chaos Dwarf Sorcerer. When he was at the height of his powers he was the
most potent sorcerer to walk the Plain of Zharr in a thousand years. Now his
powers have begun to wane. His body is slowly succumbing to petrifaction. A decade
ago he constructed a mechanical device by which he is transported from place to
place. His legs have long ceased to work and even his hands have now turned to
stone. To an extent these have been replaced by the machinery grafted to his
body. This engine was constructed by his slaves to plans created by Astragoth himself,
and combines the undoubted skills of the Chaos Dwarf race with twisted dark
science.
==LOADOUT==
Offensive: Astragoth is a master of the Lore of
Hastut, and in addition he can carry a sword or axe. His machine significantly
boosts his power and ability, allowing him to sometimes kill in single blows.
Defensive: Blackshard armor and any magical items he
chooses.
==Additional Factors==
Due to his limitations,
he cannot ride anything. The Chaos Dwarf overall leader is unlikely to
participate much in campaign, again given his limiations and status within
Chaos Dwarf society. For that reason his presence will mostly be advisory,
giving potents and warnings as one might
expect of a high priest. Should be noted that Drazhoath has a major grudge
against him for exiling him years ago….
Gorduz Backstabber
Mobility: 4
Training/Experience: 5-6
Max Range: Melee
Preferred Range: Behind you!
Role : Tactical Commander
Hobgoblins are
backstabbing, double-dealing and ruthlessly treasonous creatures. Only the Hobgoblins
most efficient in the arts of treachery rise up through the mobs of such
despicable Goblinoids and then only the most sneaky or lucky can remain in
charge for any significant length of time. Fortunately for Gorduz Backstabber,
he shares all of the above talents along with an exceptional streak of
extremely good luck. Hence, Gorduz is the longest living and greatest Hobgoblin
Chieftain of all time, or so he claims!
All fame is fleeting and
all glory ultimately fades away. The renown of Hobgoblin chieftains tends to fade
more quickly than most, usually with the help of a dagger, poison or ‗nasty
accident‘. Gorduz Backstabber has outlived most of the other tribal leaders
thanks to a naturally distrustful disposition and lashings of low cunning. He has
also been lucky as the hardened scar tissue that criss-crosses his massive bony
shoulder hump testifies.
Gorduz is a traitorous
as all his kin, and thinks nothing of betraying his fellow Hobgoblins to his
masters in exchange for their favouritism – hence his epitaph. Unlike in almost
any other species, this does not lead to him being despised, but in fact
admired and respected by other Hobgoblins. In a race that has evolved a bony
hump on their shoulders
due to their predilection for clandestine assassinations, Gorduz stands as a
paragon of those dubious Hobgoblin values.
==LOADOUT==
Offensive: Axe and plenty of knives….
Defensive: Light leather armor, shield. His greatest
defense is his uncanny instincts that has allowed him to survive countless
battles and backstabbing, as well as a back-plate of course!
==Additional Factors==
He m ay ride a great
wolf into battle. Gorduz is going to be closest thing that the Hobgoblins have
to a central leader, and they will
presumably look up to him for whatever leadership their culture would provide.
Lord Drazhoath
Mobility: 3(Cinderbreath: 7)
Training/Experience: 5-6
Max Range: Spell
Preferred Range: Spell
Role : Tactical Commander
“For more than a
thousand years, the dark, burning spire of the Black Fortress has stood
sentinel over the crossing place of the River Ruin at the southern edge of the
Mountains of Mourn and guarded the border of the Chaos Dwarf Empire of ash and
suffering. It is a nightmarish place of soot, blackened iron and jagged rock,
and burning magma runs through it like lifeblood. For centuries the master of
this dark demesne and the warriors and slaves that inhabit it has been
Drazhoath the Ashen, a twisted, power-hungry-creature and potent sorcerer.
Drazhoath was first sent
to the Black Fortress in effective exile after losing favour in the brutal
politics of Zharr- Naggrund as a minor hell smith but has since risen to become
its lord through his innate cunning and bitter, ruthless ambition. In battle
Drazhoath is both a mighty sorcerer and an able warrior who leads his war hosts
from the fore mounted upon the Great Taurus, Cinderbreath, bringing fire and ruin
down upon the enemy. Drazhoath's power has grown over the decades, and there
are few sorcerers now in the service of Hashut who can match him in arcane
might or knowledge in the creation of war machines and daemon-binding. He also
has undisputed mastery of the Legion of Azgorh – a potent army of Chaos Dwarfs
and Hobgoblin slave soldiers based at the Black Fortress whose duty it is to
raid across the river and patrol the savage wastes of the southern Dark Lands
to maintain the Chaos Dwarfs' tentative dominion over the deadly,
monster-plagued expanse.
But for all his power
and the forces at his command, Drazhoath is all too keenly aware that he has
reached an impasse and his black-hearted ambition can take-him no further, for
the Black Fortress its many leagues away from the centre of the Chaos Dwarf
empire at Zharr-Naggrund and is ill-regarded. The voice of this lord of exiles
carries little weight with the great conclave of Hashut's priesthood, and in
particular none with Astragoth Ironhand, the oldest and most powerful living
Sorcerer of Zharr-Naggrund, and themaster who sent Drazhoath into internal
exile long ago. Astragoth is ancient beyond measure though, and at last his
powers have -begtin to wane. He is kept mobile only by sorcerous mechanisms of his
own dark design, and so Drazhoath's dreams of a triumphant return to
Zhair-Naggrund are slowly kindled in his spiteful breast. Drazhoath needs above
all a great victory to seal his prominence for whenAstragoth finally falls, and
a great flow of fresh captives and plunder into the coffers of the Chaos Dwarf
empire would go far to expand his influence beyond his own blighted domain.
This however is not proving to be such an easy
ambition for Drazhoath to achieve, thanks to the enemies which continually beset
the Black Fortress (which are after all its reason for existing) and he has
been left wanting. When dark rumours began to reach the Lord of the Bl-
Fortress of a monstrous horde rising in the cast and era before it, Drazhoath
consulted the flames and embers o sacrificial altars for what they portended.
He saw'in the dire peril and opportunity in the coming of Tamurkhan with the
malefic intent that so characterises his cold-he he drew his plans accordingly.
“
During the campaign
Drazhoath was initially so stubborn that, even knowing that the Chaos force
outnumbered his own by many orders of magnitude. He was defeated after a
awesome fight, but still managed to save the Chaos Dwarf core of his army
(sacrificing many, many Hobgoblins to do so). He then skillfully negotiated the
right to many slaves, materials, and the presteige of defeating the machines of
the men of the West (Steam tanks), in exchange for leading 1/3 of his force to
join Tamurkhan’s.
Throughout the campaign
Drazhoath fought skillfully, being tactically deployed mostly to break up
sieges. Despite a powerful Night Goblin ambush the Chaos Dwarf force, through
Drazhoath’s careful leadership, took less causialties then any other sub-force
and even managed to save Sayl the Faithless (much to his later regret). In the
campaign against the Empire, he focused on destroying their vaunted walls,
bombarding/destroying their cannons at superior range, and ultimately dealing
with their new Landships. However he retreated after Sayl betrayed the force. Though
he managed to preserve most of his force and thus lost relatively little on the
campaign, leaving Tamurkhan’s force to do so. Not that he cared of couse.
===LOADOUT===
Offensive:
Drazhoath carries The Graven Sepctre, a badge of rank that has been held by the
commander of the Black Fortress since the site was founded. This weapon allows
it to ignore or work around most types of armor. He also then carries
Daemonspite Crucible, which allows him to capture souls of wizards and use it
to empower his magic.
Finally he rides the
Great Taurus Cinderbreath.
Defensive:
Hellshard Amulet: Gives the wielder a bit of magical shielding, and makes it so
any close combat attack that gets through does some damage on the one who
caused it as the damage is reflected back.
===ADDITIONAL FACTORS===
Drazhoath is a
experienced, accomplished commander, and is a up-and-coming rival to Atragoth. Should the old Chaos Dwarf
leader die, through whatever means, the schemer Drayzoath may well one day
achieve his long-desired position of Chaos Dwarf society. In campaign Drayzoath
is known for being rather cautious of his own men, preserving them as well as
he can, while expending large amounts of “meat” (Hobgoblins, other Chaos
followers).
===X-factors===
*This page can be considered
representative of the Chaos Dwarves.
Adaptive Creativity: 66/100
Tactics:62/100:
The Chaos Dwarves, and Drazhoath in particular, are usually well-suited by
their order and strategems for victory. Even if they lose their core almost
always manages to get away, courtesy of expending hordes of hobgoblins and
slaves.
Strategy: 68/100
: The Chaos Dwarf overall strategy is carried out over centuries rather then a
mere campaign, with the Chaos Dwarves slowly expanding through trade, guile and
sheer calculated brutality. Usually, the Chaos Dwarves are most prepared for a
defeat as well, keeping backup garrisons and an open route to fall back if need
be. Thus in Tamurkhan’s campaign while most of the titular warlord’s force was
decimated, the Chaos Dwarves managed to retreat in good order.
Inspiration: 71/100: His army comprises many disciplined shock troops that are
either oathbound or too stubborn to retreat. However this isn’t so much
Drazhoath inspiring people as Chaos Dwarves being naturally stubborn.That said
it is noted in his codex that people within his immediate presence (50m) fights
harder and tougher.
Intuition: 62/100:
Psychological Warfare: 59/100:
Audacity: 72/100:
Chaos Dwarves normally have no problems wasting slaves, hobgoblins/allies and
underlings- in that order. However they do desire to preserve their own force
above all others, in order to continue to gaurentee their personal power and
protection, and thus will retreat or proceed cautiously in battles where they
might lose large chunks of their force.
Experience: 81/100:
At least several centuries in the zone that contains the most battles of any
part of the Chaos Dwarf empire.
Discipline: 82 (55)/100: Not only do Chaos Dwarves show great cool in regards to
losing causialties, they are also very cautious of falling into traps or
overextending themselves. The Chaos Dwarves themselves fight in near perfect
discipline (Hobgoblins significantly less, which lowers the average). Only
lowered down as Drazhoath temporarily lost his discipline in shock when he saw
the Marianburg landships.
Corruption:
92/100: Chaos Dwarves but they do want
to enslave and dominate everything. They are utterly sociopathic in their
outlook.
===Minor Chaos Heroes===
-Four Lieutenants of Archaon
--Strykaar:
Strykaar was a Norse cheiftan who was aqrose shortly before Archaon as a
champion of Slaanesh. Ever since birth he has been guided by a secret Slaaneshi
daemon, who orchestrated the events that led to his acquisition of the position
of chieftan of the tribe. In return Slaanesh merged the two in a bizzare
joining ritual that gave the combined vessel elements of both daemon and man.
Strykaar is a exemplary
fighter who, though not known for tactical brilliance, is extremely
inspirational to the army group that he commands, thanks to his otherworldy
charisma. He has recently joined Archaon's horde in order to ravage the lands
of the SOUTH. It is his hope that Slaanesh will notice these great deeds and
debauchery commited in his name, and ultimately raise Strykaar to daemonship.
--Feytor the Tainted: Feytor was a man of the Empire whose family survived a terrible
plague thanks to the then-boys accidental prayers to Nurgle. Unfortunately
Witch Hunters found and killed his family, leading to Feytor's undying
resentment. After being taken in by a native Norse tribe, he quickly rose to
leadership and began expanding.
Through biological
warfare, Feytor subjugated and incorporated many tribes, forming large armies
that devasted portions of the wastes. Eventually this attracted the attention
of Archaon, who drew Feytor into his horde.
--Haagoth the Bloodied One: Once a simple goatherd of one of the Graeling tribes, Haargroth
was chosen by the god Khorne for great and power. As a young lad, he happened
upon a beastkin warlord and in a rage, killed him with his own axe. By chance,
the weapon was marked by the Blood God and set Haargroth on the path to glory.
He took control of his tribe by sheer strength and will and dedicated himself
solely to the worship of the Norse warrior-god. Haargroth led his tribe to many
victories, assimilating many of the other clans of Norsca to his banner and
annihilating those who would not join him. The fearsome reputation of his
raiders became such that his tribe was later termed as 'the Slaughterers of
Haargroth'. Haargroth led his fellow Norscans on daring and bloody longship
raids, despoiling the Empire, Kislev and even the mangrove lined shores of
Lustria to the south. Eventually, while raiding in the Chaos Wastes, Haargroth
came into battle with Archaon himself. Howling and thanking his god for finally
sending him a worthy adversary, Haargroth fought Archaon, but even the Norseman
could not prevail against one so favoured by all four of the Chaos Gods.
Haargroth was laid low, but Archaon was sufficiently impressed with his skill
to offer him leadership of one of his armies. Haargroth accepted the offer,
becoming one of Archaon's Four Lieutenants.
--Melekh the Changer: An Aesling blacksmith and warrior whose wife died in childbirth,
after the tribal sorcerer, known as Gaerkoll attempted to use his magic to ease
the birthing process. Gaerkoll's drunkenness caused his spells to spiral out of
control and instead cause the infant within the woman's womb to mutate, thus
did Melekh father a monstrous mutant for a son. Seeing this as the sign of
favour from Tzeentch, the chieftain ordered much feasting in Melekh's and the
child's honour. Melekh was later charged by Gaerkoll to journey into the Chaos
Wastes and learn the true name of a Lord of Change. He accomplished this task
and later returned to his people, and found his son had murdered the shaman
outright, allowing his father to take leadership. Thus an ancient prophecy was
fulfilled of father and son uniting and the old falling by the hand of the new
-- recognizing this, Archaon rode down and offered both champions of Tzeentch
leadership of one of his hordes.
--Khorreg and Canto: Humorously enough, the Chaos version of Gotrek and Felix, only
heavily inverted. They aren't friends but they are business partners that
respect each other greatly, though akin to a more wary respect among murderers then anything else. Canto is one of the few Chaos champions who is
unsworn to any gods, and is known for his cleverness. Khorreg is a powerful
Daemonsmith among the Legions of Azgorth.
===Army X-factors===
-Morale: 75 (88)/100: The creatures of Chaos
normally have a extremely high morale, with only rare full on routes for a
combined force, and then only after victory is completely denied. That said if
something were to occur that were to make them feel like their gods were
watching, their morale would skyrocket to fanatical levels. Indeed the Malus Darkblade chronicles notes that during one siege the Chaos force had piles of dead all twelve feet high that lined the entire perimeter of the inner wall of a Druichi fortress city and with low rations, disease festering in their camps and unconquerable wall before them. Yet the Chaos force was still as fanatically battle-hungry as ever, unaffected by loss of food or extreme loss of life, and proceeded to storm the wall every hour of every day with the same extreme zeal as when they first started too. In the God's Demand, Beastmen were noted to impale themselves onto pikes to weigh them down, and they can weather a great deal of ranged fire before retreating.
Army Intimidation: 73 (Daemons in full force 89)/ 100 :Though terrifying enough while it is, with
daemons in full force the terror via their mere presence and auras becomes
something truly terrible. In addition
the environment itself rapidly begins warping around the Daemons, turning more
hellish. Blood will rain from the skies, voices from beyond will assault those
on the battlefield, rocks will roll uphills as reality is utterly subverted.
Though its possible (and been done by Empire/Brettonian armies ) for mortal
forces to fight in these conditions- even win- they will never be comfortable
doing so.
Discipline: 39/100
: Chaos forces, with the exception of the Chaos Dwarves who have their own
unique score (see Drazhoath), are mostly organized into loose warbands whose
leaders from a ever-changing form of command. Beastmen have little discipline
at all, being famously unruly and spending their nights drinking themselves into a stupor, while Men of Chaos can possess more but still be
given to charging randomly( depending on which god’s followers are represented).
Cohesion: 45/100:
The whole force distrusts each other and is dependent on the favor the gods
show the champion of the force, and the champion’s success in battle .
Infighting within segments is common and expected, though it usually does not
factor in on a strategic level unless truly dire. Still expect several
thousands (minimum ) of forces of Chaos to die from infighting alone during a
large campaign, as well as a few instances of desertion and/or mutiny.
Distrust, delays and the like do occur with some commonality.
Espionage: 59/100: on one hand Chaos invasions have been likened to natural
disasters with all the subtlety thereof, and plenty of warning is seen in
regards to the actual armies. On the other the powers of Chaos and Cults (see
Additional Factors) offers a means to infiltration in the long run that few can
claim, and perhaps none to the extent (including Skaven). For campaign
subtletuge they are so-so.
Logistics: 59/100:
It is speculated by the author of Darkness Rises that in the long run- when
stocked supplies run out, when the land can no longer be pillaged for food- the
Chaos force will run into severe logistical problems. To partially support this
theory, most Chaos invasions- with the exception of the very long Dawn War
waged almost entirely by demons- aimed for a swift knockout blow within a
couple months or a year.
However thanks to the
Chaos Dwarfs, who are expert at scrounging from the battlefield and even have
dedicated supply lines, they do now have better logistics then they did in the
Storm of Magic campaign. Beastmen and many Men of Chaos will eat everything,
including the dead, so they are good scavengers and, if need be, canabalizers.
Blockade: 59/100:
Ideally Nurglites will try to poison and pollute everything they can, however
this is just one aspect of the Chaos force. In addition if this is a sea zone the Norse are famous at blockading and raiding ports.
Reinforcement Rate:
-Beastmen :
Very High
-Men of Chaos
: Moderate-High
-Hobgoblins:
low
-Chaos Dwarves proper: Very Low
-Daemons : Variable
Of all the races in the
Warhammer setting, only the Skaven and the Greenskins can truly rival the Beastmen in terms of
reinforcement rate. They occupy every continent except Lustria, and are in
extreme numbers wherever Chaos is. The Warriors of Chaos however are a bit more
limited, and though there are a lot of tribes there is often difficulty
mustering them together, for they are extremely disunited. Even though Archaon
would have less problems doing so then anyone else they are still going to
number less then the Beastmen*. The Chaos Dwarves mainly send their hobgoblin
slaves to fight, and require extortionate prices for themselves to take to the
field.
Daemons are going to be
highly variable depending on the summoning mechanism and the flows of magic. They might be a bare few, or their rate might the
Men of Chaos.
*That said even if there
are technically less in numbers then Beastmen it is important to grasp just how
collosal a force the Northmen of Chaos has. Even as Archaon launched his
invasion of the south- a campaign that may well have had millions involved on
the Chaos side- another major Chaos force invaded Lustria, and another joined
the Dark Elves to fight in Ulthuan. More loose hints suggest simultaneous
invasions of Cathay and potentially Ind and Nippon as well. That was just in
1520-3. Many, many invasions- many serious- had been done the years before from
Tamurkhan’s to repeated assaults on Kislev. Also at least half of the Warrior
of Chaos heroes were not involved in that invasion, suggesting there is yet
more for Archaon’s inevitable Storm of Chaos, round 2.
So basically of the
suggested 50k per week expect 55-60% Beastmen, roughly 30-35% Men of Chaos and
Hobgoblins/Chaos Dwarves the remainder. Daemons will be variable depending on
summoning , sacrifices, and the Winds of Magic…..but can potentially grow to be
a massive force.
Means of Arrival: Typically, Chaos forces arrive in large warbands or brayherds, coming in either via longships (if Norse) or just wandering in on foot or horse. Chaos Dwarves will arrive via disciplined armored collumns led by their Iron Daemons. Daemons and other such summoned creatures usually must be summoned in directly to the Chaos central locations via sacrifices and summons ..Sometimes they will wander in via large hordes like the brayherds but this usually requires independent pockets of magic or a Storm of Magic situation.
Summoning refers to the means in which Daemons of Chaos may manifest themselves on the physical realm. Usually some potent rituals are needed to weaken the barrier holding back the realm of Chaos. This usually but not always requires human sacrifices to the gods. For example Morathi of the Dark Elves once held a "spectacularly orgasmic ritual" involving lots of sacrifice to summon "sixty troupes of six daemonettes" to unleash upon the enemy. In the Blade of Chaos series a low-level shaman used a vat of boiling blood, done through ritual, to summon 10-20 bloodletters. The higher the level of Daemons the more required to summon, and a bloodletter generally needs several days of simultaneous bloodletting and hundreds sacrificed in his name. A Keeper of Secrets would require sixty virgin sacrifices for example and done in a specific way. Animal sacrifices, specific ingredients, and knowing a daemon's true name can all factor into this.
Some mages can open up portals, again after much sacrifice, to summon large groups of low level daemons in at once. This is made far easier to do in a Storm of Magic situation, though high level daemons still require some sacrifices to get their attention. In a Storm of Magic situation there is no need to constantly mantain daemons with sacrifices, as would be required normally, and they continue to manifest until the Storm of Magic ends or the Daemon is forcibly banished back to its realm.
Means of Arrival: Typically, Chaos forces arrive in large warbands or brayherds, coming in either via longships (if Norse) or just wandering in on foot or horse. Chaos Dwarves will arrive via disciplined armored collumns led by their Iron Daemons. Daemons and other such summoned creatures usually must be summoned in directly to the Chaos central locations via sacrifices and summons ..Sometimes they will wander in via large hordes like the brayherds but this usually requires independent pockets of magic or a Storm of Magic situation.
Summoning refers to the means in which Daemons of Chaos may manifest themselves on the physical realm. Usually some potent rituals are needed to weaken the barrier holding back the realm of Chaos. This usually but not always requires human sacrifices to the gods. For example Morathi of the Dark Elves once held a "spectacularly orgasmic ritual" involving lots of sacrifice to summon "sixty troupes of six daemonettes" to unleash upon the enemy. In the Blade of Chaos series a low-level shaman used a vat of boiling blood, done through ritual, to summon 10-20 bloodletters. The higher the level of Daemons the more required to summon, and a bloodletter generally needs several days of simultaneous bloodletting and hundreds sacrificed in his name. A Keeper of Secrets would require sixty virgin sacrifices for example and done in a specific way. Animal sacrifices, specific ingredients, and knowing a daemon's true name can all factor into this.
Some mages can open up portals, again after much sacrifice, to summon large groups of low level daemons in at once. This is made far easier to do in a Storm of Magic situation, though high level daemons still require some sacrifices to get their attention. In a Storm of Magic situation there is no need to constantly mantain daemons with sacrifices, as would be required normally, and they continue to manifest until the Storm of Magic ends or the Daemon is forcibly banished back to its realm.
Reasons for Battle: Even beings as mighty as the Chaos gods crave one thing that they
cannot have; souls. Mortal souls are the
wellspring of their power, which grows statistically as more mortals are
corrupted or devoured. This is why they make war on the Material Realm- with their
followers obeying them in the hope of divine award or pure devotion. Though
other motivations do exist, such as the Beastman’s hatred of civilization or
the Chaos Dwarf’s desire to build a horrific industrial world-spanning tyranny,
this is by far the greatest reason.
Past Opponents:
Lizardmen
-Threat Level(in regards to Chaos) : Formerly Very High, now high-moderate
--Notable Wars: The Dawn War, numerous smaller conflicts
--Status:
A relic of what they once were, mustering for one last conflict
Basic Composition: The Lizardmen are a rather primitive faction in some ways
compared to the other races of the world. They do not wield guns, tanks or
steam powered ships. However their warrior caste is extremely tough and
numerous, armed with gruesome weaponry and though lacking anything heavier,
their blowgun armed skirmishers are chameleonic. Plenty of larger beasts exist
in the Lizardmen arsenal that are reminiscent to dinosaurs of our world. But by far the greatest and most potent of
the Lizardmen’s arsenal are the rare Slann. With time these super-powerful
magicians can move entire continents and level battlefields.
Past Conflict:The
Dawn War, or the Great Catastophe (to the Lizardmen)
When Chaos first burst
onto the scene 7,000 years ago, it was the full force of the Slann world
spanning empire that met them. Countless millions of Sauros and Slink fought
equal numbers of daemons across the breadth of the world . Though Chaos invaded
everywhere, the Lizardmen bore the brunt of the attack. To the surprise of
later observors, the Lizardmen were initially winning thanks in no small part
to the Slann. These Mage-Priests could create volcanic gysers, spawn tidal
waves, or create fissures to swallow entire hordes of daemons. At first so
successful were they, that the lizardmen considered their victory inevitable.
Yet as more magic seeped
into the world, the Slann’s magic got more unreliable and hundreds died or went
mad after a messing up a single syllable to a spell. Chaos began gaining mortal
followers around this time in the form
of primitive Northern tribes of men, adding to their numbers. Slowly the
Slann began getting pushed back, continent by continent, city by city.
In desperation the
Lizardmen used every trick they knew. Strange and powerful artifacts of the
unimaginably technologically advanced Old Ones were utilized to wipe out
thousands in an instant. Rivers were redirected and volcanic eruptions caused
just as daemonic legions marched past. When the Daemons reached Lustria, the
Slann pooled all their energies to make every aspect of the forest hostile to
the invaders, slowing them down immensely.
Yet that was all they
could do, and gradually the daemons fought past the natural defenses to besiege
their mightiest cities. One by one these great enclaves fell as their Slann
protectors were killed, though each battle killed countless thousands of
daemons. Yet hope was not lost, for the stubborn resistance provided by the
Lizardmen gave the High Elves valuable time
to complete their ritual which sucked up much of the Chaos energy in the
world in a mighty maelstrom(and, secretly, the Slann sent magical aid) .
Though the Lizardmen won after a 1100
year war (or,more accurately, every non-corrupted race working together at once
to foil Chaos) their power was forever
shattered and they are a fragment of what they once were. Chaos meanwhile just
bided its time, for the maelstrom was a temporary measure by their reckoning.
The Lizardmen and forces
of Chaos have fought numerous conflicts since- almost always with the Lizardmen
on defense in Lustria- with the forces of Chaos achieving many tactical
victories but few strategic ones . These battles are a far cry to the
catastrophic war that once was, and Chaos has yet to target the Lizardmen with
as big an army as was utilized in the Dawn War. Their focus is now mostly on
the new race of man, however that may change as the Lizardmen muster their
entire continent for one last massive campaign against Chaos. Whether they can
succeed where they failed even in their prime is unknown.
-Implications:
Chaos has experience against great hordes of tough, durable but primitive
troops that they Saurus represent. Dinosaur monsters such as Stegadons ,
T-rexs, raptors and other, more exotic, beasts can be added to this resume.
Guerilla and jungle warfare, the main type employed by the Lizardmen
(particularly the slink), are too aspects of war the Daemons are familiar with.
But perhaps their greatest gain here is experience with the Slann who utilized
the most powerful magics, from massively powerful elemental might, to raining
down comets, to turning a jungle alive and incredibly hostile to Chaos’s
presence. Thanks to the way Daemons function many in their number, such as
Kalros Fateweaver, have personal experience fighting the Lizardmen.
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