| “ | From the harsh snowlands they come. Blond of hair they are, and blue of eye, and tattoed upon the arms and face and chest. Others are raven-haired, with cruel sneers, delighting in the pain and misery they herald. From the north and east come these savage marauders, with slaverying dogs on whipping leashes. | „ |
| ~ Liber Chaotica, Men of the North |
The Hordes of Chaos, also called the Warriors of Chaos, Followers of Chaos and Peoples of Chaos, are the mortal portion of the myriad of worshippers giving supplication to the fell Powers of Ruin. It is largely comprised of humans as these are the the favoured playthings of the Gods, but includes other humanoid races such as Elves and Ogres. They form one of the three primary groups of Chaos Followers, the other being the Chaos Daemons and the Beasts of Chaos. Unlike the daemons, mortal men do not need magic to sustain themselves in the material realm and unlike beastmen, their humanity allows them to hide amongst the enemy and do as their master's bid.
The Hordes of Chaos are one of the main antagonistic groups in Warhammer Fantasy and Age of Sigmar. Their 40k Counterparts are the Chaos Space Marines.
History[]
The Norsemen, also called Norscans and Northmen, are those tribes and clans of humans living under the Shadow Of Chaos. Before Chaos came to the world, these men were indistinguishable from humans found anywhere else in the world, but after the world was invaded by Daemons, the ancestors of the Norscans, the Norscii, made pacts with the unholy powers that lie furthest north in order to survive in the harsh, chaos touched land that was their home. Thus, the first Warriors of Chaos came to be and from them, the first Damned Be'lakor arose.[1] The Norscii would find enemies in the Teutogens, Ungols, and the Odoses tribes, but after being forced to fight and eventually resettled, they once again found a peace, however uneasy, with their neighbors. Much of this unease was due to religious differences between the tribes. While the Teutogens worshipped the wolf god Ulric and the nature god Taal, the Norscii paid homage to their ancestors, as well as the ancient forces of death and bloodshed. At odds with the other tribes for their strange gods and savage ways, eventually many of the Norscii fled far to the north.[2]
Sigmar, leader of the Unberogen tribe, would go on to unite the twelve tribes under his power and fight off the threat of the Greenskins, who had long plagued the races of men and dwarves. However, despite his bravery, not all were willing to bend their knee to this new war-chief. These Sigmar forced from his lands, the newly-made Empire, leaving them to find new homes.
These newly disaffected peoples, the earlier immigrants, the original inhabitants of the Northlands, and stranger men besides believed to be kint o those men who had been changed into the Beastmen of Chaos, are all collectively known as Northman. However, despite sharing a name, they are hardly a unified people.[3]
General Info[]
The Lands of Norsca.
The Northland is a hard and cruel land that breeds hard and cruel men. Covered permanently in ice and frost and largely unfit to grow crops or support farming endeavors, Norscans rely on raiding and pillaging in order to survive. Southerners, whom they consider soft and pathetic, are a common target but tribes of norscans will just as readily raid one another. There are frozen steppes and open plains upon which to hunt, but these are home to monsters just as often as potential meals for the Horsemen of the North.[4]
Though largely seen as evil by the men of the South, Norscans and their motivations are surprisingly varied. Many are antagonists and the most common interaction between a Southerner and Northerner is battle. Sometimes, this is motivated by survival-- Norsca is a land of scarcity and violence and so the Norse are more than willing to intimidate or outright take the resources of their much more provisioned southern kin. However, many times it is due to mere spite. Old grudges exist between these two groups of people, with Northmen believing Sigmar and his heirs to be thieves of their lands. On top of that, they view Southerners as weak, soft, honorless, and paying fealty to false, soft gods. Thusly, they view it as their duty to exterminate such weakness. Raiding is simply a part of life in Norscan society and a young man gains honor and status in the eyes of his peers by partaking in it. Finally, Norscans attack other settlements because their gods will it, and in these raids they take slaves and spill blood in order to appease the Fell Powers.[5]
But again, it isn't unknown for them to deal honestly and fairly with their neighbors. They participate in trading and commerce, even with their southern kin, working as mercenaries and even merchants. Among the ladies of the empire, great tales of romance are frequently spun about the men of the north and it is considered fashionable in some parts of the empire to keep one on as a personal guard. It is suggested that these relationships between guard and charge are known to become closer than professional.[6]
Norsemen are some of the finest seafairers in the world and there is no part of Malleus they have not touched with their ships. Famous for their speed and durability, the Norscan Wolfship is one of the finest sea-craft to sail the world's oceans. Norseman have a keen sense of direction and a natural wanderlust that has carried them even as far the jungle-continent of Lustria. Here, they would found Skeggi.
Norscan society is a classed one, with the lowest wretches of a given tribe being the thralls and slaves. These are people taken in raids or enemy warriors stolen from the field after a battle. They include men, women, and children and their lives vary according to whichever tribe they are enthralled to. Thralls are used in a variety of ways, such as labourers or concubines, but most of them end up as sacrifices to the Great Gods of Chaos. Some are disembowled before a raid or killed with impunity by tribe's Seer, their essence used to commune with the otherworld. While some thralls are treated decently, the majority face gruesome fates at the hands of their cruel masters.
Peasants are a step up from a thrall, reviled for their lack of ability at arms. It is their job to serve the Jarl, tend to the herds and thralls, farm, and craft. They do not have to prestige that warriors do, but it is understood that without them, Norscan society could not function.
Finally, at the uppermost rung of society are the warriors of Norsca. To be virile and murderous is to be the ideal person in Norse society. It is the warrior class that raid, hunt, pillage, and explore. It is the warrior class whom the tribe recounts in their tales to awestruck children, who wish to be just like them when they grow up. Chiefly, it is the warriors of chaos who come to the notice of the Dark Gods the most often, and the blessings of the Ruinous Four is a blessing beyond measure. Anyone can pick up a sword and fight, but only true warriors undergo the right of passage, which usually involves recovering a prized item, stealing a beautiful thrall, or slaying a dreaded beast.[7]
Jarls are a sub-class of warrior, a skilled battler who is loyal to the king. In exchange for this loyalty, the King grants him lands, warriors, treasure, and thralls. He is the absolute lord of his land, expected to be subservient only to the King who granted him his power. Should the time for war be upon a tribe, the Jarls come to aid their master and should he or she die without an heir, the surviving Jarls fight a bloody contest between themselves to determine the new King.[8]
The most powerful Norseman in any tribe is the King. In the North, the King is the victor of a bloody contest of arms always. In southern tribes, the title is more hereditary, similar to the Kingdoms of the Southlings. Most Kings bear the favor of one of the Gods of Chaos, having been marked in some way by them, and this mark is interpreted as a sign of favour and their right to rule.[9]
Norscan society is patriarchal and venerates the masculine. However, this does not mean women cannot rise high or hold power. If a Jarl dies with no sons, his wife will take his titles. Women can own property and it is her decision whether or not she marries or divorces. They are expected to remain behind during raids or in times of war, where it falls to them to protect their homes in lieu of their men. Therefore, most Norscan women are competent, if not outright skilled, warriors.[10]
Tribes of Norsca[]
The Character of a Norscan tribe is determined by it's closeness to the Chaos Waste. Tribes situated more northward are more prone to mutation and madness and are quite a bit more savage. This is because, among other reasons, of their constant run-ins with the Kurgan tribes. The southern tribes are more lax, relatively speaking. Though they still raid and pillage, they are more receptive to attempts at peaceful communication and are more interested in acts of heroism and adventure.[11]
A Tribe provides the identity of the Norscan, giving them their beliefs, purpose, security and a place to lay their heads. Angering one's tribe means exile. An exile may head further North, seeking the favour of the Gods in lieu of their home. However, some head South for the decadent life offered by the southlings. In any case, they are never welcomed back home, unless they go on and accomplish a particularly heroic quest.[12].
Northern Tribes[]
Varg[]
Graeling[]
Aesling[]
Southern Tribes[]
Sarls[]
Baersonlings[]
Bjornlings[]
Skaelings[]
Other Tribes[]
The Schwarzvolf[]
The Schwarzvolf were an ancient tribe and one who gained dominance over all others in antiquity. This was due in no small part to the military excellence and ferocity of it's chieftain, Valkia the Bloody. Few had the courage to challenge their supremacy and even fewer had the might to match them in battle. They subsumed another tribe of fearsome, crazed warriors called The Bloody Hand in a political marriage, marrying their raw strength to the numbers and stragetic superiority of the Schwarzvolf tribe. It was destroyed by Valkia after Khorne ascended her as a Daemon Prince.[13]
The Skaramor[]
The Skaramor are thousands of years old and are unique among the Northern tribes in that they have little interest in what foe they might find in the south. They venerate the Blood God, Khorne, the exclusion of all the rest and are some of the finest killers to walk the world. Viewing southern men as weak, the Skaramor only concern themselves with their fellow Northmen, looking to them for worthy enemies and glory in the eyes of the Brass Lord.[14]
The Skeggi[]
The Skeggi are a unique grouping of Norscans situated near Lustria, land of the Lizardmen, and Naggaroth, the home of the Dark Elves. It is a tropical, jungle-clime quite different from the frozen wastelands that Norsemen usually reside in. Skeggi Norseman direct their raids against the city-temples of the Lizardmen, attempting to steal the treasures of the jungle-continent. This brings them into conflict with the Children of the Old ones.
Kurgan Tribes[]
| “ | “There was so much killing and bloodletting that no one could number the dead. The Kurgan pillaged the temples and the shrines and slew the Priests and virgins. They so devastated this land that it will never rise again and be as it was before. | „ |
| ~ Marcia Naissus, “On the destruction of a city in the Border Princes” |
The Chaos Wastes.
The Kurgan prowl the eastern steppes, renowned as some of the most vicious of Northern Tribes. They live beyond the World's Edge Mountains, where no trace of civilization resides. They are indescriminate in their violence, believing there is nothing if there isn't war, and compete with other be they Kurgan or non-Kurgan. The most well known of the Tribes are the Dolgans, Gharhars, Tahmaks, Hastlings, Tokmars, Yusak, Khazags, Avags, Kvelligs and the fearsome Kul. Though they appear brutish and animalistic, the Kurgan are a warrior culture as complex as any other. They are deeply spiritual and see the hand of the gods in all things from the breeze in the grass to the whispers on the wind.[15]
The Ravening[]
The Ravening were a band of Kurgans who worshipped Khorne. They were cannabalistic and followed the leadership of an Ogre called the Great Spleen, who they worshipped as an incarnation of the Blood God. The Ogre was, in fact, a chosen champion of Khorne, tusked, gore-covered, and gifted with large hands in order to smash foes. He and his pilgrim-barbarians were constantly hungry for flesh and would follow Archaon in his queest to become the Everchosen of Chaos. Described as the Blood God's own wrath, the Great Spleen was kept in a stupor of sleep by soporific flowers found during Archaon's travels. Like dogs, his followers slept around him. [16]
The band and it's leader would perish in the battle upon the Druchii ship, Spite.
The Hung[]
| “ | The Kurgan tribes are not alone in the Wastes of Chaos. Far beyond the Eastern Steppes are a people of wanderers and vagabonds known as the Hung. Thankfully, they rarely find their way into the Old World, being content to fling themselves against the Great Wall of Cathay or to sell their lives in battle against the Druchii of Naggaroth. Though removed from the affairs of the Empire, the Hung are a vicious race and have, in the past, emerged from their distant land to lend their might to the armies of Chaos. | „ |
| ~ The Hung, Peoples of Chaos |
The Hung are another group of tribes that near the Umbra, the Realm of Chaos. Like the Kurgan, they are vicious, half-mad wanderers and riddled with mutations. They are seperated from the Kurgan by a great desert and busy themselves with menacing Grand Cathay or the Druchii of Naggoroth. They exist in a near-constant state of war, believing this to be their true purpose for existence. They ride stout, strong ponies instead of horses of the Kurgan cousins and a warriors carries everything he needs on his steed. The Hung make no distinction between the sexes and see all of their tribe members as equals. The individual tribes are known as the Yin, Chi-An, Tu-Ka, Mung, Aghols, Wei-Tu, Man-Chu, Dreaded Wo, and the Kuj. Famous for their treachery, they honor no promises and abide no pacts.[17]
The Hung have a taste for fine things, such as precious gems, metals, silks, and anything ornamental.
The Tong[]
The Tong are a third, less reknown group of tribes living near the Realm of Chaos. They are particularly fearsome raiders; not even the might Kurgan could stand against them. They rarely put in appearances, only deigning to join great Incursions to the south, and even so in no so great numbers. The Tong are a rarely-seen people who strike fear into even the other Peoples of Chaos. It is unknown even what they look like, but it is known that they are some of the most hideous and mutated people in the North.
The Empire[]
| “ | I harbour a special hatred of cultists, see. Mutants... disgusting things, true, but in most cases their affliction is through no fault of their own, see. No, cultists are special. See, we all have a choice in this world, ya see? We can stand in the light of Sigmar, embrace the Old Ways, or do whatever we have to do to stay out of a pyre. But them cultists, they don’t care, see? They hate the true Gods and follow the easy path of the false ones, see? That’s why we kill ‘em, see? | „ |
| ~ Witch Hunter Rudolph of the Empire |
The Hordes of Chaos do not only exist in the frozen north or the magic-infused far north. Even in the very cities of men, elves, ogres, and even dwarves, Cults of the Dark Gods, particularly in the Empire of Man, abound. Unlike the Northlands, the peoples of the south are civilized, law-abiding folks and so Chaos is somewhat limited in it's expression within the Empire. All the same, these cultists corrupt, subvert, and recruit within the Empire's very borders, eating their enemy from within while their warriors batten down the gates and siege the walls. For most Old Wolders, the threat of Chaos is a real, but distant doom. Few will ever see a Chaos Champion or Daemon or any other such darkling creature in their lifetimes, but it is not unknown for close relatives to have been found to be Cultist of Chaos and traitors to their family and the Empire. These, the Witch Hunters put to the torch.
A assembled cult of chaos.
Cultists of Chaos, like the warriors of chaos, are a fractious society. Even cults that worship the same god are not neccesarily amiable towards one another, particularly if they are followers of Tzeentch. They vary greatly in size, from a few misguided fools to a secret society numbering in the thousands. They hide, sometimes in plain sight, doubling as orphanages, temples, fraternities, and many more. The Old World is host to several hundred if not thousands of Cults, though the most pernicious of them are led by a Magus, a marked servant of one of the Chaos Gods. Too twisted to walk among normal humans, a Magus operates through his flock of faithfuls.
Cults mirror the rivalries of the Gods; followers of Tzeentch will attempt to undo those of Nurgle and servants of Slaanesh will destroy Khornate cults where they can. They have no qualms about siccing the Witch Hunters on an enemy cult, utilizing the law enforcement of the Empire as their own tools. But, when a city falls under the siege by other servants of Chaos, Cultists will put aside their enmity and servants of Khorne can be seen begrudingly working alongside those of Slaanesh or Tzeentch. They undermine the efforts of the besieged and ease the way for their chaotic allies.
Khornate Cults[]
Cults of Khorne are rare, as the Blood God disdains secrecy and murder is a difficult crime to hide for overlong in civilized society. Still, some Cults of Khorne exist, always in multiples of eight, where they venerate their god by killing daily. They are led by a Magus of Khorne, a vicious and bloodthirsty villain that exists only to spread bloodshed, violence, and destruction. It is hoped that by currying favor in this manner, the Magus will rise to the ranks of Daemon Prince. Finding it difficult to restrain their need for blood, most Khornate Magi flee the lands of man and find their fates in the Chaos Wastes.
Like the Blood God himself, Khornate Cultists hate mages and wizards and butcher them whenever they find them. However, some worshippers are more pragmatic, selling them instead to the Chaos Dwarves in return for finely made Chaos Armaments.[18]
The Crimson Skulls[]
The Crimson Skulls is the largest and well known Cult of Khorne, if rather recently founded. It was created from a dozen or so failed attempts to form a cult that served the Blood God's interest and has since invaded many of the warrior fraternities in the Empire, most notably the Brotherhood of the Axe.
Being oppossed to Sigmar, many of the cults recruits come from those who worship Ulric. These they seduce with violence, until the prospective recruit "accidentally" kills a priest of Sigmar (a murder orchestrated by the Cult Authorities). Only then do they reveal the truth of their allegiance, ushering the murderer into the cult of Khorne proper. Those who balk and object are slain, and then devoured.
The Brass Sisters[]
Founded by a woman named Maegin, the Brass Sisters were formed of widows of war and other feminine spoils of male conflicts. Instead of submit to selling their bodies to survive and turning their children over the orphanages, they took up blades in Khorne's name and turned to bloodshed for salvation.[19]
The Red Blade[]
The Red Blade is a Khornate Cult drawn from Imperial Regiments.[20]
The Flayed Blood[]
The Flayed Blood is south-dwelling Khornate Cult. It has more foresight and patience than it's patron and warrior-fellows to the North.[21]
The Wrath of Khorne[]
The Flayed Blood is south-dwelling Khornate Cult. It has more foresight and patience than it's patron and warrior-fellows to the North.[22]
Nurglish Cults[]
The Running Sores[]
A short lived Cult, the Running Sores were destroyed after the Purple Hand became aware of their existence and tipped off the Witch Hunters to it as well.
Children of Doom[]
Believing Sigmar to be slain and rotting, the Children of Doom proclaim Nurgle to be the only salvation the world has left. They believe is the hammer wielding man-god, not Nurgle, who is the source all disease and think that embracing Nurgle will spare them from succumbing to the illnesses that plague the world.[23]
Followers of the Foetid Maw[]
Founded by the cultist Reilla, the Foetid Maw resulted after she was captured and tortured for five days by a Champion of Nurgle. He released her at the end of this five days, commanding her to spread all she had learned while in his "care". Dazed and afflicted with disease, she turned to Nurgle and wandered in a daze. Nurgle provided her with followers, answering her plea and surrounding her with similarly afflicted people. They viewed Reilla as a savoir, bearing her upon a closed Palanquin and titled her the Foetid Maw.[24]
Covenent of the Crimson Plague[]
Founded after an encounter with a Great Unclean One, the Covenent of the Crimson Plague travel the Empire selling "medicines" that are in truth horrific diseases.[25]
Tzeentchian Cults[]
The Purple Hand[]
The Purple Hand are a highly active and deeply entrenched Chaos Cult. It is vast and well connected and it's members range from the priesthood to the knighthood. They deal in intrigue, knowledge, and corruption and have plans within plans. Their goal is to install their members into high positions of power in society. Their ultimate goal is to overthrow the Empire's government, installing in their places loyal puppets. This way, the Empire can be dismantled one province at a time.
The Red Crown[]
The Red Crown is an aggressive factions active within the Empire. They are less subtle than the Purple Hand, seeking destruction over subversion. They recruit mutants, Beastmen and believe brute force is the key to destroying Sigmar's heirs.
The Apostles of Truth[]
The Apostles of Truth cult is dedicated to Tzeentch and openly critizes the Witch Hunters. There is a concerted effort from the Witch Hunters to find evidence of heresy against them, but no search has turned up anything.
The Silver Wheel[]
Formed of cunning-men, hedge wizards, and village witches, the Silver Wheel is not made of students of the Colleges of Magic as most Tzeentichan Cults are. They keep in loose connection and only have large-scale conventions when they are planning something big. A low-key cult, Silver Wheel cultists use trace amounts of warpstone, words in the Dark Tongue, and ruinous symbols to increase the potency of their magic.[26]
Slaaneshi Cults[]
The Aesthetes[]
The Aesthetes are a Cult of Slaanesh based in Marienburg, the most beautiful and decadent city in the Old World. Their goal and focus is beauty and their aim is to increase the beautification of the city. The average member is an attractive, svelte individual, but others are rotund yet sultry and lascivious. They are popular, despite their many eccentricities, even amongst the poor whom they champion for in the city's offices. It is led by a voluptuous woman who appears to be in her thirties named Anetta van Klauser.[27]
The Jade Sceptre[]
Named after the jeweled rod carried by Slaanesh, the Jade Sceptre is one of the largest Slaaneshi cults. Obsessed with pain and torture, their goals are to break down social strictures and mores and allow every full, unrestricted expression of their bodies and desires. It was founded by Nobles only known as the Deviants & Decadents, numbering in the twenties but growing to spread to every town and city. They are a rival of sorts to the Purple Hand, who has gone so far as to organize the deaths of some of it's members.
The Bleak Society[]
The Bleak Society knowns Slaanesh as the Fulfiller of Desires and they were founded with the goal of unravelling the mystery of existence. However, when convential knowledge and debate failed to produce answers, they turned to darker tomes to obtain what they sought. They appealed to Slaanesh to help solve the mystery, but every answered spawned new questions and additional conundrums. Today, they are mutation-riddled creatures of chaos and many of the rare and suspicious books on sale throughout the Empire can be credited to them.
The Eternal Promise[]
The Eternal Promise was cultivated by the daemon Kelsydra and formed around assisting her escape from the Mirror of Desire.
The Sweetest Kiss[]
Present in small villages around the Empire, this cult meets with Beastmen and Mutants whenever Morsliebb is full to preform wild, orgiastic rituals in the Dark Princes name.[28]
Notable Chaos Followers[]
- Valkia the Bloody
- Vilitch the Curseling
- Tamurkhan the Maggot Lord
- Wulfrik the Wanderer
- Archaon the Everchosen
- Azazel the Damned Prince
- Arbaal the Undefeated
Notable Chaos Cultists[]
- Yefimovich, the glass-skinned, fire-muscled High Priest of Tzeentch. An Antagonist and agitator in Beast in Velvet.
Other Mortal Followers of Chaos[]
Fimir[]
The Fimir were the original favoured of the Chaos Gods. Then, humanity came along and so amused to the Dark Gods that they collectively abandoned the Fimir. Despite this, the Fimir retain their loyalty to the Chaos Gods, yet they have a burning envy of mankind. They reside in the Wastelands, a foggy land full of swamps and marshes, and are a declining race that only venture out of their home to raid and take slaves.[29]
Ogres[]
Ogres are known to fall under the pall of Chaos, to the slight apprehension of the non-aligned, non-mutated kin. Perhaps the most well known of the Chaos Ogres were the Plague Ogres, adoptees of the Plague God Nurgle and followers of the Maggot Lord Tamurkhan.
Elves[]
Elves are among some of Chaos' first followers. The Dark Prince, Slaanesh, takes a particular interest in them as they are a people who experience emotions intensely and half long-rich lives and thusly, rich and succulent souls when they at last die. Due to this, Slaanesh and his minions plague Ulthuan, Naggoroth, and anywhere else the Elves hold sway. Since worship of Slaanesh is banned in Elven societies, his cults operate in secret, trying to undermine the true Elven Pantheon.
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ Warriors of Chaos (8th Edition)
- ↑ Warhammer Fantasy: Tome of Corruption
- ↑ Warhammer Fantasy: Tome of Corruption
- ↑ Warhammer Fantasy: Tome of Corruption
- ↑ Warhammer Fantasy: Tome of Corruption
- ↑ Warhammer Fantasy: Tome of Corruption
- ↑ Warhammer Fantasy: Tome of Corruption
- ↑ Warhammer Fantasy: Tome of Corruption
- ↑ Warhammer Fantasy: Tome of Corruption
- ↑ Warhammer Fantasy: Tome of Corruption
- ↑ Warhammer Fantasy: Tome of Corruption
- ↑ Warhammer Fantasy: Tome of Corruption
- ↑ Warhammer Fantasy: Tome of Corruption
- ↑ Warhammer Fantasy: Tome of Corruption
- ↑ Warhammer Fantasy: Tome of Corruption
- ↑ Archaon: Everchosen (Warhammer Fantasy)
- ↑ Warhammer Fantasy: Tome of Corruption
- ↑ Warhammer Fantasy: Tome of Corruption
- ↑ Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay: Tome of Corruption
- ↑ Warhammer Fantasy RP: Old World Bestary
- ↑ Warhammer Fantasy: Liber Carnagia (Book of Blood)
- ↑ Warhammer Fantasy: Liber Carnagia (Book of Blood)
- ↑ Warhammer Fantasy RP: Tome of Corruption
- ↑ Warhammer Fantasy RP: Tome of Corruption
- ↑ Warhammer Fantasy RP: Old World Bestary
- ↑ Warhammer Fantasy RP: Old World Bestary
- ↑ Warhammer Fantasy: Liber Ecstatica (Book of Pleasure)
- ↑ Warhammer Fantasy RP: Old World Bestary
- ↑ Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (4th Edition: Core Rulebook)
