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| “ | There are many theories as to where the Beastmen came from. Chaos tends to reflect our darkest fears and impulses. As with the Daemons conjured by Daemonologists, Beastmen could be the reflections of primitive fears and imaginations. Alternatively, they might be the product of Human exposure to Warpstone dust, or even a race created by the Ruinous Powers themselves. What is clear is that the Beastmen have threatened Humanity, and the Elder Races before them, for as long as history has been recorded. | „ |
| ~ Johanna Baer, Amber Magister |
The Beasts of Chaos, also called Beastmen, are an abominate, mutated race of animal-human hybrids from the setting of Warhammer Fantasy. They are the product of the warping power of warpstone and another faction that worships and advances the cause of chaos, alongside the Warriors of Chaos and the Daemons of Chaos. Wild and anarchic by nature, the Beastmen are often called the true Children of Chaos.
General[]
| “ | And in that time of darkness, man became beast and beast became man. | „ |
| ~ Unknown, Beasts of Chaos, 6th Edition |
Gors are far larger and stronger than men.
The Beastmen are the product of the warping powers of the Winds of Magic, sourced from the earliest ancestors of mankind. They are unnatural, one of the many monsters of chaos to be born when the Polar Gates fell. They are dread fusions of Beast and man, being generally humanoid in shape. However, as creatures of chaos, they come in endless varieties, with some beasts walking on two legs while others prance on four and others still bearing six limbs in total. Beastmen are just as prone to mutations as humans are, but unlike the societies of man where these stigmatas are shunned and persecuted, Beastmen see their mutations as gifts from the dark gods. The vast majority of them resemble cloven-hooved beasts such as goats, cows, and pigs, but more exotic beastmen such as those with insectoid, canine, and even feline features are known to exist.[1] In the Blackspine Mountains of Naggoroth, there is even a craggy-scaled cave-dwelling bipedal subspecies who could be yet another subspecies of Beastmen.[2]
Whatever form they take, all Beastmen have an instinctual hatred of society and civilization. Their oft herbivorious visages are marred by claw and fang and they thirst endlessly for the blood and gore of intelligent races, especially the men from which they hail. They have the intelligence of a man, but apply it with the base cunning of a wild animal.
Society and Subspecies[]
| “ | Beastmen are an entirely savage and warlike species, and their basic social unit reflects this. Every community of these creatures is in fact a fully active warband, or warherd, which is perhaps a more appropriate term. Warherds rarely seem to have a permanent base, but instead move through a series of temporary camps deep in the woods or in some hidden wilderness. | „ |
| ~ Liber Chaotica VIII, The Beasts of Chaos |
A Gor, the warrior class in a Brayherd.
Beastmen society is based on strength. They live in nomadic warbands called Brayherds, infesting the forests and wastelands of the world. Often, they make their camps and tribes next to human cities and settlements, so that they may strike out at their favorite prey: mankind. However, infighting is not strange to the warbands of the beastmen and these violent abominations of chaos fight with each other as often as they seige upon the lands of men.
Herds are led by a Beastlord or a Beast-Chieftan, invariably the strongest beastman in the entire Brayherd. On occassion, however, a Bray-Shaman may take up this role, though he is usually below the Chieftain in the hierarchy. Bray Shamans are seers and mystics said to speak directly with the Gods and present their will to the Herd and so no Gor dares to harm them, lest they suffer the wrath of the Ruinous Powers. They have odd-colored eyes and can use the Lore of Beasts and other magics to defend themselves.
A centigor, bearing a weapon.
A Beastman Ungor, low on the totem pole of power.
Bestigors are the toughest fighters of the Brayherd, being a more disciplined and well-armored group than their lesser-kin. A fortunate Bestigor may even be a chosen champion of the Gods.
Minotaurs are also powerful members of the Herd, but their wits are lacking behind that of men and even other beastmen.
Centigors are four-legged, two armed creatures who resemble a centaurs. They are strong and fleet, if not particularly agile, and bitterly resentful of "better formed" beasts.
Gors are perhaps the most numerous members of a Brayherd, being endlessly variable in their physical presentation. However, what they do have in common is their curling crown of horns. In beastmen society, the size and quality of ones horns are an important marker of power and status.
Thusly, the stub-horned Ungors are often mistreated and maligned by their bigger, stronger, and more intelligent Gor-brethren. Relegated near the bottom of the brayherd hierarchy with the Chaos Warhounds and Tuskgors, Ungors serve the herd by using their greater dexterity to craft weapons for everyone else.
At the very bottom of the pecking order are the Brays, Ungors who are particularly unlucky in that they were born with no horns at all.[3]
Females[]
Female beastmen exist within the Brayherd, though their ranking is unclear. Called does, beast-mothers,[4] beastwomen,[5] and she-gors[6], they are said to be timid and rare relative to the violent and numerous male beastmen. They carry the seed of the Herd's true-horns and mother the next generation.[7] These beastmen whelps may share in the ranking of their father; for instance, Ungor whelps are known to be beaten and otherwise mistreated.[8] It is unclear how beastmen court, or if they do at all, but it is known that during certain events, such as a celebration, the coming of the chaos moon morsliebb, or during debauched rituals with other followers of chaos, the next generation of the beastmen are conceived and so the cycle of chaos continues unabated.
Due to their heritage of Chaos, female beastmen are known to give birth to gors chosen by the gods. However, they are just as likely to give birth a chaos spawn instead, and will often die in the process as the creature rips itself free of her.[9]
Human-borne Beasts[]
| “ | Whilst Beastmen do seem to appear on their own, many come from traitors in our midst. The most well-intentioned mothers sometimes find it hard to destroy abominations born from their wombs. Instead of doing their duty for Sigmar and the Emperor, they give these foul spawn up to the Beastmen. This only increases their numbers and adds to the danger posed by these abominations. | „ |
| ~ Randolf Nuhr, Roadwarden |
A Beastman holding a Gave.
Not all Beastmen are born to beastmen parents. Humans, with their chaos tainted souls, are known to give birth to beastmen children. By Imperial law, such children are to be killed or surrendered to the authorities to be destroyed. However, many parents do not have the heart to kill their children, no matter how mutated they may be, and conceal the babe until it becomes impossible to do so (often with catastrophic results for the family). Others choose to abandon the newborns in the forests and let nature itself destroy the child. However, Beastmen are more likely to find these children first, for their ears are always open for the cries of their own kind. Abandoned Beastmen children are called Gaves and they are considered gifts from the gods. Regardless of what they grow into -- be that Gor, Ungor, or Bray -- Gaves are viewed in high-regard and have every opportunity to rise high in Beastmen society.[10]
An adult Gave Beastman, fully integrated into Brayherd life.
Finally, Turnskins are another type of beastmen, of the unforunate variety. Unlike the gave, which is abandoned at birth and raised as a gift by the herd, Turnskins are humans well into their lives that are suddenly overcome with mutation. Welcomed in neither the world of beastmen nor mankind, the life of a Turnskin is a miserable one and they are considered less than even brays by the beasts of chaos. Considered weak and worthless, a Turnskin may be accepted into a Brayherd because they add to it's overall strength, however little that addition may be.[11]
Other Subspecies[]
Though most Beastmen infest the forests of the Empire and the frozen, mutation-rife Chaos Wastes, they occur worldwide. In Ind, a more intelligent and graceful subspecies of felid beastmen exist called Tigermen.[12]
Behavior[]
A cult-aligned Beastmen, member of the Tzeentchian Red Crown Cult.
The Beastman are a violent species and, with few exceptions, it is might that decides the fate of a Warherd. A Beastlord comes into his position by challenging and ousting, or killing, the current Beastlord in a competition overseen by a Bray-Shaman. Some Beastlords rule with cunning; the best Beastlords have both brains and brawn to spare. Impulsive, ambitious, and bloodthirsty, patience is a rare trait to find in any of the Gors. When a Beast-Chief dies outside of a challenge situation, it is a time of great upheaval for the rest of the Herd. The passage of the Beastlord is mourned by a feast, dancing, and debauchery. His loyalest followers consume the body, with the elderly and most favored consuming the tenderest bits of the former-leader's body. The Beastmen believe the essence of a warrior lies in his heart. Thusly, the new Champion of the Herd consumes the heart of the old, to the uproarous approval of his kin. If the body is lost, destroyed, or otherwise unobtainable this is considered a bad omen and the Bray-Shaman is consulted for guidance.[13]
Beastmen have their own language, called Beast-Tongue. It is based off of Dark Tongue, the Language of Dark Magic and Chaos.
The Beastmen participate in an event called The Great Rut in which the males couple with the females, seeking to produce the next generation, namely sons. The inability to product a sufficient amount of sons precludes a prospective challenger from holding the position of Beastlord.[14] Rutting is also a behavior that can be haphazardly observed at their camps, amid brawls, drinking, and eating, and is by no means a seasonally restrictive behavior as it might be for seasonally breeding animals.[15]
Beastmen do not only desire human flesh, they need it in order to be at their healthiest. They can survive on the meat of lower animals and even be content with these non-human meals of flesh, but they were noticeably unhealthy due to missing this important part of their diets.[16]
They have no issues killing and eating their own kind, ritualistically or not, and will consume everything from the horns to the hooves. Beastmen consume a range of food items, from vermin and insects, to humans, which they consider a delicacy. Beastmen have been known to fight to the death over the arm or leg of a dead human.[17]
Of all the creatures of chaos, the Beastmen have a particularly close relationship with the Chaos Moon Morrslieb. When it is full, they engage in night-long orgies and other bloodthirsty debaucheries. Many new beast-spawn are conceived on these nights, thus ensuring the cycle of twisted and unholy life continues.[18]
Herdstones[]
The Beastmen consider few things sacred, but among these few things are Herdstones. Considered holy by the Beasts of Chaos, many tribes will camp by these structures and leave offerings to the Dark Gods in the form of weapons, armor, enemy banners, and bloody sacrifices. These are erected by the beastmen, often in areas many would find difficult to access. However, some are natural formations of the earth. Bray Shamans conduct rituals near these monoliths. Herdstones also serve as mustering points for Warherds, being a nuetral ground for normally hostile rival hordes to join together to overcome a powerful foe. This is done by a Herd Champion or Beastlord piling green weeds, brays, and captives, then lighting all of them on fire. The smell of charred wood and meat attract surrounding brayherds and once they all arrive, the Champion must convince them to take up his purpose and share in his attack. Once all is agreed, a battle between the leaders is held called a Gorfight. In this duel only the horns are used in battle.[19]
The winner is the last one standing.[20]
Other Races[]
Other Races that are known to live and fight alongside the Beasts of Chaos.
- Chaos Giants[21]
- Spawn of Chaos[22]
- Incarnate Elemental of Beasts[23]
- Chaos Ogres[24]
- Chaos Trolls[25]
- Dragon Ogres[26]
- Dragon Ogres share a lineage with the Beastmen, being related to them by blood as well as in their joint worship of Chaos.[27]
Beasts of the Gods[]
| “ | One might suspect that the lesser servants of darkness would be less blessed by the powers they serve than their noble counterparts, but this is not the case. The Marks of the Dark Gods are as evident among these foul creatures as any horde of debased men. Perhaps moreso, for these Beastmen, as they are known, seem to be embraced by their gods as parents might their children. | „ |
| ~ Richter Kless, Liber Chaotica |
When a Beastman gains a Mark of Chaos, he considered claimed by one of the gods. His mark may confer abilities and mutations specific to that gods and his new alliegance is often reflected in his appearance. The most exalted of Beastmen can even go on to become Daemon Princes.
Tzaangors[]
| “ | Tzaangors are savage, avian beastmen, transmogrified by Tzeentch's power from followers and foes alike. These mutants are unnaturally sensitive to omens and arcane power, chasing the winds of fate as they wield ensorcelled blades with vicious skill and lunatic energy. | „ |
| ~ Tzaangors, Age of Sigmar |
A pair of Tzeentchian Tzaangors.
Beastmen of Tzeentch are called Tzaangors or simply Tzeentchian Beastmen. They are chosen, either later in life or at birth, by the Changer to be one of his dark champions. Marked out from the rest of their kin, Tzaangors have oddly patterned fur and their horns resemble Tzeentch's sigil. They are often beaked, with colorful horns and fur, typically on the ears and face. The more mutated a Tzaangor is, the more 'touched by tzeentch' they are considered to be and thus, high in the sight of their companions they are considered. It isn't unknown for these beastmen to weild magic, bringing the Lore of Tzeentch into battle with them.
Tzaangors have an enduring hatred for Pestigors, the blessed of Nurgle.
Pestigors[]
A Nurglish Beastman.
With blistered skin and open, weeping wounds, these malodorous beastmen are chosen by Nurgle and bear his gifts of filth. They enage of acts of uncleanliness in service to their foul god and no foul act is beyond them. Feared by friend and foe, is it said Pestigors will target farms and other such human settlements, spoiling crops and making sick herd-beasts as well as spreading their dung around living areas. These beastmen are bloated, with sallow skin and jaundiced eyes. Their horns twist and warp in a parody of Nurgle's own wide horns. The most favored them are marked with the Tears of Nurgle, their eyes, noses, and mouths constantly oozing with unhealth secretions. Like Nurgle's own daemons, they can shrug off the nastiest of wounds while hacking the enemy to pieces with their own weapons.
Some Pestigors can use the Lore of Nurgle and some of these chosen few carry Nurgle's Rot, a disease that spawns Plaguebearers into Nurgle's Garden.
Pestigors are also called Nurgors.[28]
Slaangors[]
| “ | When the madness of battle descends upon Slaangor Fiendbloods, the carnage left in their wake is truly sickening. These gangly beasts are frighteningly strong and swift, and they fight with a frenzied disregard for their own survival. | „ |
| ~ Slaangor Fiendblood |
| “ | Slaangor Fiendbloods are beastmen in service to the Dark Prince. They wander through life in a glassy-eyed stupor, waited on claw and hoof by adoring Sybarites who venerate them as avatars of their god. | „ |
| ~ Slaangor Fiendbloods, Warhammer Community |
A Slaangor Fiendblood, from Age of Sigmar.
Slaanesh is beloved by the Beastmen of Chaos, viewed by them as the power that allows the Cloven Ones to swell the forests and wastelands with their numbers (save those who carry Khorne's banner of course). To these adorants, Slaanesh bestows his mark, and those beastmen are known as Slaangors or Slaaneshi Beastmen. They are distinguished from their other kin by their white or pastel fur and flesh. Their eyes are deep green and their horns are warped and shaped like the rune of Slaanesh. They ellicit attraction and revulsion from those who see them and are known to intermingle and ally with human chaos cultists within the borders of the Empire, with both groups taking their corrupted pleasures from one another. To non-Slaaneshi Beastmen, the Slaangor is a symbol of potentcy and power.[29]
Slaanesh favors Beastmen with caprine faces and horns. Like their master, Slaangors have a hatred of the followers of Khorne. Some are able to use the Lore of Slaanesh.
In Age of Sigmar they are referred to as Slake-Frays and are of contrary nature: loving civilization for the finery and luxuries that can be burgled from the corpses of the slaughtered civilized races, but overtaken by a deep self-loathing once the indulging is done.
Khorngors[]
| “ | Khorne enjoys that the beastmen are built for battle; whether it is the lowliest Ungor, or the greatest Doombull, the destruction caused by the cloven race can only further his cause. | „ |
| ~ Liber Carnagia: His Plots And Purposes |
Three Beastmen of Khorne.
Slaughter is second nature to the Beasts of Chaos, and so Khorne has many Beastmen warbands dedicated to his name. Called Khorngors or Khornate Beastmen, these creatures are mutated to have the features of a canid with snapping jaws and noxious saliva. They have reddish fur and stark white eyes, some with red pupils and some without. Brass and black fur is also common, with brass furred individuals have truly metallic fur in some rare cases. Horns are often, but not always, warped or carved to resemble Khorne's Skull rune. Khornate beastmen are the only beastmen who are not blessed with any kind of magical ability. Instead, they are given strength and the ability to enter bloodthirsty rageful frenzies.
Khorne finds the acts of brutality commited by the beastmen to be immensely pleasing.
Beastfiends[]
| “ | The continent was overrun by half-breeds and beastfiends:savage tribes of creatures that were dread fusions of animal and daemon. | „ |
| ~ Beastfiends of the Southern Wastes |
| “ | With no 'men' in the Southern Waste there were no true 'beastmen'...The creatures of the southern waste were an eye-stinging fusion of beast and lesser daemon, the infernal entities that plagued the benighted wilderness with their malevolence. They were Beastfiends, led by the foetid best of their kind. | „ |
| ~ Beastfiends of the Southern Wastes |
Beastfiends are a far-removed subspecies of Beast-hybrid that exist in the Southern Wastes of Chaos around the Southernmost Warpgate. Men do not exist here, and so Beastmen do not either. Instead of Beast and Man hybrids, the Wastes are home to Daemon and Animal hybrids; creatures with daemonic ancestry through blood-ties or fusions with the infernal creatures of the warp.[30]
The social units of the Beastfiends is largely indentical to the Beastmen who stalk the forests of men. Also called daemonkin, Slaaneshi Beastfiends and Khornate Beastfiends appeared to be the most prevalent. Also called Long-Snouts, the Beastfiends of Slaanesh worked for the Daemon Prince Agrammon as trappers and warriors of seemingly low rank. They were sickening of flesh, with entwining horns, and tapered snouts with which they trumpeted information to one another. They had white eyes and pincer-claws, holding bone-tridents or whips.
Notable Individuals[]
- Kloven Blood-gorge was a Beastlord responsible for the desolation and defilement of a Brettonian Fortress guarding a Damsel, including the death of that damsel herself. This would earn him the hatred of every knight in Brettonia.
- Khazrak The One-Eye, also called the Banebeast, was an unusually cunning Beastlord and the rival of Boris Todbringer. After usurping the position of the pervious Beastlord, Khazrak would go on to be the most successful Beast-Chief after Gorthor himself.
- Taurox The Brass Bull was a Minotaur of immense Bloodlust and a figure of terror. He would kill anyone who dared look into his eyes, including the daemonic messenger sent to him by the gods. He bit the head off the red-skinned daemon and was sent in a convulsing rage, emerging reborn a year later as the Brazen One. Blessed by the Chaos Gods, he was brass of body and all but undefeatable. However, beneath his throat lie a single weakness...
- Morghur The Shadowgave was born to human parents and would go on to be the most infamous and feared Gave alive. Ripping himself out of his mother's womb, his presence mutated the entire community. Considered an avatar of pure chaos by Beastmen and revered as such.
- Malagor The Dark Omen is a winged Beastmen of Chaos. He is the most famous and blessed of all Bray Shaman, his council sought and bestowed on the entire Beastmen race rather than any single herd.
- Ungrol Four-Horn was another Gave, adopted into the Manblight tribe for his twin-headed mutation. Mistreated by the entire warherd, he took his revenge by killing the chieftain and bray-shaman in the night and stealing their horns, earning him the name "Hornsthief".
- Ograx The Great was a Beastfiend of Chaos, sired by a fearsome Deathbringer of Khorne. He would join Archaon's warband in his quest for the treasures of Chaos, having very nearly defeated the Everchosen when he arrived in the Southern Chaos Waste. Ograx was the leader of the Skullfest Tribe and later revealed to be an agent of Be'lakor.
- Gorthor The Beastlord was the most famous Beastlord in Beastmen history, having united the largest Warherd known to men and, shockingly, slain a holy Bray-Shaman, fearing not the consequences.
- Urzo was an goat-headed, ogre-Sized Beastmen kept in a travelling Circus by Ringmaster Wolfgang. He was mutated, covered in armadillo-like plates. Massive and chronically ill, the passive beastmen was kept so by being fed constant meals by his master. In return, he growled and snarled and rattled the bars of his cage convincingly at circus-goers.
- Bhorgl the Obscene was a Slaangor Archaon recruited into his warband as he sought to build numbers for his quest in the Chaos Wastes. He was a Beastlord blessed by Slaanesh, shaven and done over in stolen jewerly, piercings, and tattoos. His followers worshipped Slaanesh, were able to brew ale and some were even musicians (though all of their songs were about relations with livestock). However, they tried to rape both Giselle and Father Dagobert, Archaon's lover and father-figure respectively. For this, Archaon had them fed to the Khornate Ogre he kept with his warband.
Other Man-Beasts[]
- The Skaven are another race of humanoid beasts and some draw tenuous connections between them and the Beasts of Chaos. However, where the Beastmen are Horned Abominations of Human and Animal, the Skaven are only rarely horned, have their own deity and are generally considered to be mutated rats who simply resemble men. It is unknown if their unnatural ancestry includes men at all.
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay: Tome of Corruption
- ↑ Warhammer Armies: Beastmen (6th Edition)
- ↑ Warhammer Armies: Beastmen (6th Edition)
- ↑ Warhammer Armies: Beastmen (7th Edition)
- ↑ Gotrek and Felix: Trollslayer
- ↑ Liber Mutatis: Book of Magic
- ↑ Total War: Warhammer III(Doe Follower [Beastmen])
- ↑ Total War: Warhammer III (Ungor Whelp Follower[Beastmen])
- ↑ Warhammer Armies: Beastmen (7th Edition)
- ↑ Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay: Tome of Corruption
- ↑ Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay: Tome of Corruption
- ↑ Warhammer Fantasy: Day of the Daemon
- ↑ Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay: Tome of Corruption
- ↑ Gotrek and Felix: Trollslayer (Blood and Darkness)
- ↑ Warhammer Armies: Beastmen (7th Edition)
- ↑ Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay: Enemy In The Shadows
- ↑ Warhammer Armies: Beastmen (7th Edition)
- ↑ Warhammer Armies: Beastmen (7th Edition)
- ↑ Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay: Tome of Corruption
- ↑ Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay: Tome of Corruption
- ↑ Warhammer Armies: Beastmen (6th Edition)
- ↑ Warhammer Armies: Beastmen (6th Edition)
- ↑ Total War: Warhammer III(Beastmen Roster [Shadows of Change DLC])
- ↑ Warhammer Armies: Beastmen (6th Edition)
- ↑ Warhammer Armies: Beastmen (6th Edition)
- ↑ Warhammer Armies: Beastmen (6th Edition)
- ↑ Warhammer Roleplay: The Creature Guide
- ↑ Total War: Warhammer Fantasy III (PC Game)
- ↑ Liber Ecstatica: Book of Pleasure
- ↑ Archaon: Lord of Chaos