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Warhammer Chaos
The Chaos Gods The concept of Chaos Gods has been a more or less integral part of both Warhammer universes ever since they were first conceived. The Chaos Gods in Warhammer are essentially deities worshipped by various groups and that is what makes these groups followers of Chaos. In this idea there is evidently a strong influence from the British fantasy writer Michael Moorcock. Many different Chaos Gods were named in the various early miniature catalogues released by Citadel in the early eighties. But it was never clearly explained what the fictional pantheon looked like. The idea of "Four Great Powers of Chaos" i.e. Chaos Gods, was first introduced in the two Realm of Chaos sourcebooks released 1988 and 1990 respectively. To date these are the most detailed and defining pieces of work published by Games Workshop regarding Chaos. Both game worlds depict fictional fantasy and science fiction settings out of spiritual balance, where aspects (supposedly fed by emotions) of human nature in the real world are able to coagulate and gain consciousness in a mystical (or psychic) context in this parallel universe, the Warp or the Realm of Chaos. In the two game settings, Chaos represents the classic theme of Man vs. Himself, with the fantasy twist of giving these psychological struggles a physical form and influence. In both settings, Chaos is seen as a seductive force, capable of corrupting anyone. Current background material for both settings still state that there are many Chaos Gods, but the idea that there are four which are significantly more powerful than the rest is still there. The four great gods are often used as antagonists in their respective settings, frequently sparking great wars against other factions with the aim of gaining total domination over the entire setting. The names and aspects of these four great gods are: * Khorne - God of Hate, Rage, Blood, Violence, War, and Murder * Tzeentch - God of Change, Lies, Hope, Ambition, Manipulation, Scheming and Sorcery * Nurgle - God of Decay, Despair, Stagnation, Destruction, and Disease * Slaanesh - God of Decadence, Excess, Pain, Pleasure and Self-Indulgence Khorne Khorne is the Chaos God of blood, hatred, and war. He acts outwardly by seeking the deaths of others, preferring close combat over ranged weaponry, and the only things he respects are strength and martial prowess. As such, he is completely opposed to the hedonistic Slaanesh, an inwardly acting god who seeks pleasure in every act and experience. Khorne is described as an extremely well-muscled, hundreds of feet tall beast-headed monster sitting on a brass throne atop a mountain of skulls and wielding a terrible sword. The skulls are described as belonging to both his victims and his worshippers alike, as Khorne cares not whose blood flows, as long as it flows. Khorne's personal rune takes the shape of a stylised skull. Khorne's sacred number is 8. In Warhammer Fantasy Battle, Khornate champions are usually seen dressed in red and brass and typically carry large axes, although other weapons such as swords and spears appear occasionally. The Khornate rune is typically displayed prominently on their armour. The warriors of Khorne throw themselves mindlessly into combat, eager to harvest more skulls for Khorne's throne. They believe that a day without blood being spilled in Khorne's name is a day wasted, and thus they often fight each other if there are no other foes to be found nearby. Khorne despises spellcasting as the weapon of cowards and weaklings and has no Sorcerers in his ranks. In Warhammer 40,000, the Chaos Space Marines who worship Khorne are known as "Berserkers". They typically come from the World Eaters Legion but are not exclusive to that legion. Tzeentch Tzeentch is described as the Chaos god of change and corruption, personified by change and magic. Opposed to the stagnant Nurgle, Tzeentch excels in subtle machinations and is patron to schemers and conspirators of all sorts. Tzeentch is sometimes pictured as a cloud of Magic that constantly changes colour, a huge bird with multicoloured feathers, or an impossible creature that constantly changes form. More so than any other Chaos god, he is associated with spectacular and varied mutations, and his Daemons are typically depicted in outlandish, ever-shifting shapes. Tzeentch's personal rune looks like a stylised flame or serpent, usually blue in colour. Tzeentch's sacred number is 9. In Warhammer Fantasy Battle, champions of Tzeentch are known especially for their powerful wizardly abilities, and often dressed in blues and golds. Of all the servants of the Dark Gods the followers of Tzeentch are the ones with the most bizarre mutations. Tzeentch takes much more interest in the world of mortals than his brother Gods and has a great number of highly influential cults in the societies of the mortal races. These are often founded by scholars, wizards or other such individuals who thirst for more knowledge or power. In Warhammer 40,000, the Thousand Sons Chaos Space Marine chapter is dedicated to the worship of Tzeentch. Among them, Ahriman the sorcerer attempted to curtail the effect of his patron's gifts of mutation to better preserve the legionnaires' remaining humanity. While his spell did succeed in stopping the mutations and empowering the legion's psykers, most of the marines who lacked psychic potential were rendered mindless automatons, entrapping and sealing their souls within their power armour and removing what lingering humanity they had left, leaving only a handful of dust. These 'rubric' marines are led into battle by the remaining sorcerers. Nurgle Nurgle is the Chaos god of despair, personified by stagnation, entropy, disease and decay. He is the adversary of Tzeentch, whose dogma runs contrary to his. Nurgle is depicted as a large hulking figure covered in oozing sores and vivid marks of decay. His numerous Daemons all embody the same diseased aesthetic, from the powerful Great Unclean Ones to the gibbering hordes of tiny daemons known as Nurglings. Nurgle's rune, a stylised depiction of a fly that resembles three circles adjacent to one another, bears a strong resemblance to the international biological hazard symbol. It is Nurgle who creates and lets loose the decay and disease that plagues mortals. Nurgle's sacred number is 7. In Warhammer Fantasy Nurgle's Champions are little more than bloated men whose armour can barely contain their swelling stomachs, which are full of corpse gases. This makes them very difficult to kill, an opposing general or soldier would have to literally chop him into pieces before he gives up on life. Their chosen weapon is the Death Scythe, but some tend to use rotten halberds, rusted morning-stars or flails. Some even have been blessed with one of Nurgle's Plagueswords, weapons forged within Nurgle's own forge and coated in the juices of one of Nurgle's weeping sores. In Warhammer 40,000, Nurgle is revered especially by the Death Guard legion of Chaos Space Marines. Originally devoted servants of the Emperor, they fell to the worship of Chaos following a cataclysmic plague that threatened their very survival. In desperation, they turned to Nurgle for succour, and became his most devoted servants, the Plague Marines. A favoured weapon of Nurgle is the 'Plaguesword', that causes anything it touches to rot and decay. Slaanesh Slaanesh is the Chaos god of desire. A sensuous, hermaphroditic deity associated with hedonism and decadence, he is known by many colourful names such as The Dark Prince and The Feaster of Pain. Those who yield to temptation become his slaves. Slaanesh's followers revel in sensory excess, luxuriating in the varied pleasures of warfare, perversion, and the arts. The arch enemy of Slaanesh is the Chaos God Khorne whose mindless slaughter and war is an affront to the Lord of Pleasure's fine arts and emotions. Slaanesh is said to be able to choose which whether he will appear as a God or a Goddess. He is often depicted as a colossus which is male on one half and female on the other. Of all the Ruinous Powers, only he is said to be divinely beautiful. Slaanesh's devotees and Daemons reflect the androgynous beauty and grace of their Lord, as well as his hedonistic nature. Slaanesh's personal rune is a mixture between the two gender symbols. It is known by many adoring names. Slaanesh's sacred number is 6. In Warhammer Fantasy Battles the followers of Slaanesh regard their God as not just their Lord, but also their Lover. They take immense pride in the mutations bestowed upon them by their Master and create great monuments and splendid works in gratitude. In battle, they differ very much from the followers of the other Gods; instead of just mindlessly hacking down their foes, the devotees of Slaanesh kill their opponents in the most vile and tormenting ways. They capture lots of prisoners who they torture for days after battle to satisfy their dark souls. These inhuman warriors fear nothing on the battle field, for to die or be defeated would just be a new and exciting experience for them. Even in the lands of the civilised south, Slaanesh is widely worshipped in hidden cults made up of bored citizens and nobles, or people who strive for popularity or respect. In Warhammer 40,000 Slaanesh is the youngest of the Chaos Gods, given life at the Fall of the Eldar. His birth ripped the hole between dimensions known as the Eye of Terror. Slaanesh's primary followers come out of the Emperor's Children legion. Weaponry unique to Slaaneshi marines includes sonic blasters that are tuned to blow apart flesh, Blastmasters, amplified to destroy heavily armoured units, and Doom Sirens, which amplify the voices of their wearers to destructive levels. References While these gods distrust each other and in-fighting is common, each is also diametrically opposed by one of the other gods. Khorne is an outward acting deity, seeking the death of others; he is opposed by Slaanesh, who acts inwardly, seeking a life of unrelenting pleasure. Nurgle represents forces of decay, destruction, stagnation and random disease while Tzeentch represents constant building, evolving and planned change. Especially dedicated worshipers of the gods can be gifted with traits associated with their god; warriors blessed in such a manner are said to bear the "mark" of their god. The effect of this mark varies by game system, army and god, but is generally beneficial to the warrior in question. For example, in Warhammer 40,000, Chaos Marine worshipers of Nurgle become infected with a multitude of terrible diseases, which causes their bodies to rot and become resistant to pain and injury; their counterparts in Warhammer Fantasy are similar, but the rotting effect instead makes them appear frightening to their foes. Another example would be Khorne, whose followers in both settings are nearly uncontrollable, insane warriors who crave nothing more than to tear apart their foes in hand to hand combat. These marks can then lead to further boons from the patron god, known as "gifts" - these gifts can eventually turn the warrior bearing them into a powerful Daemon Prince. Other Chaos Gods Besides the currently four major gods, there have existed other gods, both major and lesser, in past editions. Other Chaos gods who have been mentioned in the Warhammer Fantasy and Warhammer 40,000 settings include: * An'sl, Mo'rcck, and Phraz-Etar - minor gods mentioned in older background material for Warhammer 40,000 (Johnson, 1999). Other than their names being puns on the last names of Bryan Ansell, Michael Moorcock, and Frank Frazetta and that they are minor gods, nothing is known of them. * Hashut - in the Warhammer Fantasy setting, Hashut is the god of the Chaos Dwarfs. He represents aspects of Industry, Fire, Volcanoes, Darkness, Hammers and Lightning, and shares some aspects of ancient Babylonian gods. * The Horned Rat - in the Warhammer Fantasy setting, the Horned Rat is the god of the Skaven. He represents aspects of Disease, Magic, the power of Chaos itself, Rats, and other characteristics of the Skaven race. * Malal - a renegade Chaos God, representing the paradox of Chaos fighting against itself. He is no longer mentioned in current background material. * Necoho - in Warhammer Fantasy, a renegade minor god known as the "Doubter", representing aspects of Agnosticism and Atheism. * Kweethul - in Warhammer Fantasy, a minor power similar to both The Horned Rat and Malal. Most recently mentioned as the Chaos God of Destruction. * Sarr'Kell- in Warhammer 40,000, he is the entity contacted by Erebus when Horus kills the Astropath Ing Mae Sing during the Horus Heresy. He calls himself lord of the shadows. * Zuvassin - in Warhammer Fantasy, a renegade minor god known as the "Great Undoer", representing a desire to foil the efforts of others. * Melkirth - mentioned in older background material for Warhammer 40,000. Melkirth was a minor chaos god described as "The god of evil, malice, and wanton cruelty and suffering." While Melkirth remains a minor god, it is said that the actions of the mortal races, particularly the Dark Eldar, are causing Melkirth to grow in power until he ultimately becomes the fifth major Chaos God. The daemons of Melkirth are described as being the colour of shadow and able to take on the appearance of any daemon, be it a daemon of Khorne, Nurgle, Slaanesh, or Tzeentch. It is debated that Sarr'Kell is in fact an Undivided Greater Daemon as opposed to a God of Chaos in its own right Aside from those listed here, there exists a multitude of other unnamed gods and cults Malal Malal is a renegade Chaos god in early editions of Warhammer Fantasy and Warhammer 40,000 Also known as "The Outcast God", "The Lost God" and "The Renegade God", Malal represents Chaos's indiscriminate tendency toward destruction, even of itself. The nature of Malal's powers is parasitic, as the Renegade God grows in power when the others do. Appearance In the Warhammer storyline, Malal was at some point cast out or separated from the rest of the Chaos Gods. Whether this was a self-imposed exile or not is not clear. Malal was perhaps the first of the Chaos Gods and seems to exist only to destroy the other gods and their followers. The Outcast God is both feared and loathed by the other Chaos Gods. Malal is described as being both lupine and crocodilian in appearance, yet still having a humanoid form. Depicted to have six fingers on each hand, five horns and three eyes on his head, Malal is also shown to have sets of teeth that resemble a mix of lions', shark, horse and rat. Malal's symbol is a skull bisected down the middle, one half white, the other half black. The term "Doomed Ones" also goes along with Malal, in the comics and WFRP they were the chosen human champions/followers of Malal. Dedicated to seeking out and destroying the followers of the other Chaos Gods, they would eventually become undead apparitions serving Malal when all their physical energy was spent. Malal is a harsh and demanding god and does not have many followers, few live long in its service. Those who do, however, supposedly become very powerful. Malal's sacred number is 11. Origins and Comics The concept of the Chaos god "Malal" was created by comics writers John Wagner and Alan Grant along with Malal's champion, Kaleb Daark, for the Warhammer Fantasy world in the Citadel Miniatures Compendium and Journals. In the comic strip adventure Kaleb Daark's mission allied him temporarily with the forces of good. He fights at the siege of Praag and confronts the followers of the Chaos God Khorne, and also finds himself at odds with the Skaven. Less mutated than other followers of Chaos, he is equipped with his soul-drinking daemon axe "Dreadaxe" with its pterodactyl-like head on a shaft of bone. His shield was shaped in the form of Malal's skull symbol, his armour was all-black with white details and his steed was a black mutant horse. Kaleb himself appeared pale, as the contact with Malal supposedly drained him of energy. His battle cry was "Dreadaxe thirsts for you!". There were three installments completed of "The Quest of Kaleb Daark" comic: * Part 1 : "The Quest of Kaleb Daark" - The Third Citadel Compendium 1985 * Part 2 : "The God-Slayer!" - The Citadel Journal Spring 86 * Part 3 : "Evil of the Warpstone!" - The Citadel Journal Spring 87 * Part 4 : "God Amok!" - Unprinted In the Spring 86 Journal there was also one additional page of Warhammer Fantasy Battle rules (and a small bit of Malal background) for including Kaleb Daark and his steed in games. This issue also saw the first advertisements for the miniature figure set including a foot and mounted Kaleb Daark. The Spring 87 Journal featured the miniature figure sets of the two Chaos Brothers, Jaek and Helwud, Kaleb's main adversaries in part 3. Part 4 "God Amok!" was also advertised in this issue, but it never saw print. It is uncertain how much of this 4th installment that was actually completed. The Mark of Malal With the introduction of Malal in the comics, it was inevitable that the deity would find its way into the Games Workshop Chaos mythos and thereby into other products. * The renegade ogre Skrag the Slaughterer was introduced as a follower of Malal. A short background story told his story as being cast out from his tribe for stealing a "starmetal" axe, with Malal subsequently guiding Skrag to a Chaos Dwarf hold, forcing them to forge him an armour and then slaughtering them all in the name of Malal. White Dwarf: UK Edition (83) featured a WFB mini-scenario "The Crude, the Mad and the Rusty", pitting the lone Chaos Dwarf survivor of this massacre, aided by two goblin fanatics and a mechanical warrior, against Skrag. Skrag has since been recast as a devout follower of the Ogre god known as "The Great Maw". * In the first editions of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay in 1986, Malal has a short paragraph along with Khorne and Nurgle and is mentioned as a renegade Chaos God dedicated to the destruction of the other Chaos Gods. * In the short story "The Laughter of Dark Gods" in the Warhammer anthology "Ignorant Armies", there is also a reference to an unnamed albino Malal Champion and his warband roaming the Chaos wastes. This champion is slain by the novel's main character. * The card game "Chaos Marauders" published in 1987 featured the "Claws of Malal" card. The unit represented in the game by this card was a warband of beastmen eager to fight, preferably against followers of the other Chaos Gods. Use of Malal in further Games Workshop productions ceased around 1988, the same year the first of the two "Realm of Chaos" background books were published. Malal is not referred to or mentioned at all in these. Additionally all the Artwork produced to depict Malal and his daemon pantheon was used by assigning to a new minor Deity named Kweethul. This is often attributed to the possibility of uncertainty as to who actually owned the rights to the concept of Malal - the comic's authors or Games Workshop. The one notable exception to this is in the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay supplement The Dying of the Light by Hogshead Publishing in 1995. This book features a sorcerer of Malal named Heinrich Bors who has struck a deal with Malal to escape from the Chaos God Tzeentch. Continued Existence As the further use of Malal was restricted, the authors of the "Something Rotten in Kislev" supplement for The Enemy Within- campaign introduced "Zuvassin - the Great Undoer" and later "Necoho - the Doubter", as two renegade Chaos deities, replacing the role originally intended for Malal in this campaign. However, the memory of Malal did not die with the ability of Games Workshop to use it. The idea of Malal was continued on in the 1990s by veterans of the Warhammer Role Playing scene primarily through the internet via BBS (bulletin board system) and stories (such as "Divine Judgment") so Malal continued to survive, occasionally becoming the choice deity of veteran players playing Chaos. Also in Warhammer Fantasy Battle and Warhammer 40,000, the occasional Malal themed army still surfaced. One of the strongest indirect references to the Renegade God from Games Workshop was made in the Warhammer 40,000 supplement Codex: Chaos Space Marines 2002. The first is the appearance of a daemon weapon called a "Dreadaxe", which is described as preferring to kill other daemonic entities. The other reference was in a picture showing other possible painting schemes for the models. One of the examples was a marine of a renegade chapter entitled the "Sons of Malice". The colors used for this chapter were the bisecting black/white design of Malal's symbol, and the word "Malice" is not too dissimilar from "Malal". More information on the Sons of Malice came in Games Workshop monthly publication White Dwarf issue 303 (issue 302 in the U.S.). The article mentioned that the Sons of Malice were exiled from the Imperium for a set of disgusting rituals that were reported to include cannibalism and were reported to be fighting in complete silence. The patron deity of the ritual was never revealed. And at the end of the article it was specifically mentioned that the Sons of Malice were noted to fight with ferocity against other followers of Chaos. The Shadowlord of Mordheim, Be'lakor, has by some been seen as a revival of the idea of the renegade/outcast Chaos power originally represented by Malal. Note however that Be'lakor is only a daemon, whereas Malal was a Chaos God. Chaos Undivided In addition to the individual gods, some followers of the Dark Gods worship Chaos in other ways. Some followers worship the gods as a pantheon rather than following one particular god. Other followers worship Chaos as a single great entity, with the various Chaos Gods simply manifestations of that entity's aspects. Still others may simply follow one god briefly and then switch allegiance to another, owing more to convenience than actual faith. Regardless of the nature of their worship, all of these are grouped together as Chaos Undivided; followers of Chaos Undivided may bear a mark, similar to the followers of the four great gods. Generals who bear the mark of Chaos Undivided, in both settings, have more freedom from the effects of the difficult relations between the Chaos Gods. As an example, while warriors who worship Slaanesh would not serve a general who worships Khorne, an Undivided general could potentially convince warriors of these gods to fight for him, without fear of reprisal from either. Also, other more specialised forms of the Mark of Chaos Undivided exist which are usually carried by extraordinary leaders. For example, Abaddon the Despoiler of the Warhammer 40,000 setting bears the mark of "Chaos Ascendant", which was specially gifted to him by the four greater gods due to his status as the major leader of the forces of Chaos. It is essentially the Mark of all four Chaos Gods, amalgamated into one incredibly powerful blessing. Archaon from the Warhammer Fantasy setting is similarly marked as the "Everchosen" or the "Lord of the End Times". He has collected magical artifacts, each having been once wielded by a favoured champion of one of the Chaos Gods. He has also earned the 'Crown of Domination', a badge of office showing his full favour with all four Chaos Gods. The Star Child In the origins given of the Emperor in Realm of Chaos, the Star Child is the nascent power of the Emperor's soul in the Warp as it is ebbed away from his dying body. The Star Child has its own champions (the Sensei), and could bestow powers on these individuals, and was said to battle the Chaos Gods within the warp. The Forces of Chaos The following are the typical servants of the Chaos Gods and the setting from which they come. * Beasts of Chaos - in Warhammer Fantasy covers the bestial servants of chaos including minotaurs, the goat-like "Beastmen", and other intelligent animal-like creatures * Chaos Dwarfs - in Warhammer Fantasy, corrupted Dwarfs who serve the god Hashut * Chaos Space Marines - in Warhammer 40,000, Space Marines who have been corrupted by Chaos * Daemons - in both settings, these are minor entities related to the Chaos Gods, frequently serving the gods * Hordes of Chaos - in Warhammer Fantasy, the mortal worshippers of Chaos * Skaven - in Warhammer Fantasy, a race of large intelligent rat-creatures serving their own Chaos God, the Horned Rat. * The Lost and the Damned - in Warhammer 40,000, various loose groupings of corrupted Imperial Guard, wildly mutated, beast-like humans, and various other traitors, sometimes led by Chaos Space Marines * Chaos Daemons - a new force being released in both Warhammer Fantasy and Warhammer 40,000 on 10 May 2008- new figures include remodelled Bloodletters and Juggernauts, new figures for Nurgle, Khorne, Slaanesh and Tzeentch and a heavy support choice for Warhammer 40k called the Soulgrinder |
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