“ | Indeed the very process of construction and creation foreshadows destruction and decay. The palace of today is tomorrow's ruin, the maiden of the morning is the crone of the night, and the hope of a moment is but the foundation stone of everlasting regret. | „ |
~ The Lost and the Damned (about Nurgle). |
Nurgle (called Nurgleth in the Dark Tongue) is one of the main antagonists of the Warhammer Fantasy, Warhammer 40,000, and Age of Sigmar settings. He is a Ruinous Power and the Supreme Lord of Plague, Stagnation, Despair and Decay.
He is typically figured as the third eldest and most powerful of the Four Great Powers. Unique among his siblings, Nurgle views his followers with paternalistic affection, which has spawned many affectionate epithets from them such as Grandfather Nurgle and Papa Nurgle. He views his various maladies, parasites, and all manner of other foul thing as 'gifts' to be generously shared with the world so that the eternal cycle of birth, death, decay, and rebirth can continue unabated.
Nurgle was born from the mortal reactions to imminent suffering and death (the most common being despairing acceptance and morbidly cheerful fatalism), and embodies the eternal cycle of creation and destruction. He is the chaos god of death and rebirth to tenebrous life, despair and acceptance, rot and decay, and destruction and stagnation. His forces are infamous as legions of diseased followers and demons, which are invariably physically twisted with disease and horribly grotesque. An army loyal to Nurgle is a disgusting sight who takes their horrible conditions as a twisted "blessing". Despite his evil nature Nurgle is often considered the most paternal of the chaos gods who watches over his followers like children; though like all chaos deities, he is a twisted god whose blessings are hazardous at best.
While Nurgle and his daemonic legions are some of the most horrifying creatures to come from the nether realms, their dispositions, in contrast, are jovial and friendly. As a god of suffering, Nurgle and his followers delight in bestowing his "gifts" to enemies and unsuspecting populations, seeing (or perhaps interpreting) their cries of agony as gratitude.
The Plaguelord has a hated rival in the Changer of the Ways, Tzeentch, who is near to him in power. Tzeentch's aim of immediate, endless, and random change as well as clinging to hope in the face of all odds runs counter to Nurgle's belief in stagnation and perservering even in the face of despair. He shares his aspect of plague with the Horned Rat, the god of the Skaven race.
Characteristics[]
“ | Nurgle's physical aspect is truly hideous. He is a swollen mountain of blubber and pus, whose necrotic flesh crawls with buboes and seethes with lice. Filth and foulness drools from the rotting maws that dot his corpulent mass, and flies the size of boulders buzz around him in thick clouds, drawn by his stench. | „ |
~ Maggotkin of Nurgle |
“ | Nurgle embraces the downtrodden, the forgotten, and those with nothing else to live for, thinking to uplift them by bestowing the many blessings he has to offer. | „ |
~ Tome of Corruption |
“ | Though he is a source of fear and revulsion, Nurgle is a perversly paternal god, generous with his foul and gifts and proud of his worshipper's every disgusting achievement. | „ |
~ Maggotkin of Nurgle |
Nurgle is said to closely resemble his Greater Daemons, the Great Unclean Ones.[36] He is most commonly described as a massive carcass of an entity with greenish, leprous skin rife with signs of decay and infestation. His bloated, immortal frame is home to every malady and disease known to mortals and around his immense girth hang his guts and organs like rotten fruit. The stench that exudes from his form and the overall foulness of his being defies mortal comprehension, but his daemons rejoice about the form their father. Great Unclean Ones are as mites before Nurgle's massive body and burst forth from his rupturing organs, sucking and feeding on his juices as if they were the most miniscule of Nurglings. He is described as having an almost toad-like quality to his appearance, with his massive gut drooping over stumpy legs.[37] Nurgle has a flabby face, with ravaged rubbery lips, sat atop broad shoulders. He has flabby, leathern hands and a long, black serpentine tongue.[38] Unique among his siblings, the Plaguelord has broad antlers sprouting from his head and the skins of particularly diseased devotees hanging from them. Great Unclean Ones as are insects on a human to their foul god, scurrying about his body like lice. His skin is pocked in open-mouthed maws, leaking with rot and filth.[39] Beneath his fingernails, carrion feeders number in the billions, laying their eggs, which develop into cysts that burst periodically.[40]
Like all the Chaos Gods, Nurgle has multiple forms and the mortal mind can only conceive of his foulness to a certain extent. However, he has far fewer forms than his siblings, whose aspects can number in the hundreds or even thousands.[41]
During times of ascension, Nurgle's hide swells with so much power his leathery hide can barely contain it. However, when his plagues fall fallow, he hollows out and becomes a shadow of his former greatness.[42]
Despite appearing as the visage of death and decay, Nurgle is rarely sombre and near-constantly in good humor, grinning widely as he works diligently at his cauldron. To his fellow gods, he is garrulous and overfriendly, but this is a mask for his real opinions. With a patient and nurturing heart such as his, the destructive nature of Khorne upsets the Plague Lord. Conversely, the Blood God cannot fathom why Nurgle would not want to raze the enemy into a completely lifeless state, writing this off as an eccentricity of his brother. Similarly, the indolent nature of Slaanesh is met with disapproval, as Nurgle is always busy concocting this or brewing that.[43] While both gods enjoy 'play', their definitions (and aims) of it are quite different. Thusly, the Pleasure God and Plague God find the other most perplexing.[44] However, while Khorne and Slaanesh's antics are viewed merely as inconvieneces, Nurgle finds the meddling and warping nature of Tzeentch to be an irritating threat to his plans.[45]
Nurgle's decayed form is full of energy and a desire to organize and enlighten. He is described as one of the greatest showman of all the Chaos Powers, revelling in drama and spectable of battle.[46] Though often described as a god of death and figured as malicious by his victims, the truth is Nurgle is nurturing and far from having evil intentions. He is fascinated by fecundity and propogating life. It is only unfortunate that the phages, parasites, maggots, and other maladies he is interested in breeding are so inimical to other forms of life.... Only when ingrates refuse his gifts do Nurgle's intentions turn openly malicious.[47][48]
Of his siblings, Nurgle broadly eschews the politicking that goes on without ending within the Realm of Chaos. But should a good enough opportunity arise, he will seek accord with Khorne or Slaanesh, especially if it is to the detriment of hated Tzeentch.[49] Alliances with Tzeentch himself are not unknown, but the odds must be truly long for these bitter rivals to put their differences aside and stand as a united front.[50]
Followers[]
Death Guard[]
The Death Guard are Chaos Space Marines dedicated to Nurgle, lead by their Daemon Primarch Mortraion. The most dedicated members become the dreaded Plague Marines, their vile armor hiding bodies which are bloated with disease and corruption, often stinking of decay. Their weaponry and equipment may be pitted with decay and corroding away, but they are still terrifying opponents. They have an inhuman tolerance for pain, enduring injuries that would cripple other Marines, their nerves dulled by disease or even partly rotted away. Plague Marines normally appear armed with some manner of boltgun with which they unleash a steady rain of firepower, but may carry other weapons such as plague spewers and blight launchers. They also often arm themselves with some form of close-combat blade that can communicate Nurgle's Rot to the victim. They make up much of the numbers of the Death Guard Chaos Space Marine Legion, but not all Plague Marines are Death Guard; any Chaos Space Marine who dedicates himself to Nurgle may become a Plague Marine.
Champions Of Nurgle[]
A Champion of Nurgle is a warrior or sorcerer who has dedicated themselves to the service of the chaos god, motivated by greed or power-lust (amongst countless other mortal flaws) these people offer their body and spirits to Nurgle and only a few are accepted - to please Chaos an individual often has to perform a deed of considerable merit in the eyes of Nurgle to receive his Mark Of Chaos - from that day onward a Champion's life becomes a never-ending campaign of battle as they serve the will of their dark lord: as a "reward" for their continued service they are mutated continually throughout their service - eventually climaxing in the individual mutating into a mindless Chaos Spawn or ascending to the status of an immortal Daemon Prince.
Typhus, Herald Of Nurgle[]
One of Nurgle's most prized champions - please see Typhus for more information on this vile villain.
Skaven[]
As of Age of Sigmar the humanoid rat-monsters known as the Skaven are frequent allies of Nurgle. Some of them even worship the god directly (though many Skaven are still mostly loyal to the Horned Rat) - the affinity between Skaven and Nurgle (as well as his followers) was perhaps inevitable as both are concerned with spreading disease and thrive in dirty, unclean environments.
Daemons[]
Nurglings[]
Nurglings are vile little monsters fashioned after the Great Unclean Ones but so small they are dwarved by almost all other races - little most servants of Nurgle they are joyful and mischievious and love to attend to the Great Unclean Ones or Champions of Nurgle and make the care of their chosen masters a personal concern: however due to their mischievious nature they cannot be trusted on certain jobs as they often bicker and squabble.
Beasts Of Nurgle[]
Beast of Nurgle are huge, happy, slug-like creatures that slither across the battlefield leaving a trail of slime behind them. They incarnate the Plague Lord's bountiful excitement and show a friendy nature utterly at odds with the consequences it brings about. The beasts are propelled forward with undulating ripples and clawed flipper and include fronds of writhing tentacles that sprout from their blob-like heads and which expel vomit-inducing gases, clouds of flies and deadly fluids: these poisonous tentacles are used to hug and wrap the "playmates" they find in battles, unwittingly causing their deaths. When their "friend" lies dead or dying the Beast moves on - searching for a new subject to play with.
Plaguebearers[]
Plaguebearers are the Lesser Daemons of Nurgle and are born from the energy of mortals who have succumbed to Nurgle's Rot - they manifest as foul, cyclopean beings with rotten flesh who are surrounded by swarms of flies - each Plaguebearer chants the disease and plagues of Nurgle continually: if a mortal listens to this chant they often fall ill. Despite their diseased appearance Plaguebearers are extremely tough and lethal in battle due to their otherworldly nature. In battle Plaguebearers carry rusted, heavy blades known as plagueswords that are infused with foul daemonic infections and toxins that can make the merest scratch fatal.
Rot Flies[]
Rot Flies are daemonic flying mounts created when former Beasts of Nurgle mutate into insect-like creatures so abhorrent that it is said their very appearance can scar the mind.
Rot Flies are among Nurgle's most loathsome creations, and only the Black Library of Chaos speaks of the process by which they are created. Hatching from within the Garden of Nurgle, some Beasts of Nurgle develop bitterness at the rag-doll inactivity of their mortal playthings. This eventually leads to frustration and ultimately an aching resentment. Over the millennia, a seed of malice grows within the Beast's heart, and the final straw comes when the Beast is betrayed unto death by those it wishes to call its friends. Seeking reconciliation, the Beast will put side its doubts and charge at its mortal target. Should it fall in the attempt and be banished back into the Warp, where it is then dropped into the Garden of Nurgle out of despair it can not return to its mortal plaything festers into a cocoon that will eventually give birth to a putrid fly. These flies have a number of horrifying abilities, such as spraying corrosive acid onto victims to liquefy them, allowing their remains to be sucked up and digested.
Rot Flies are often used as mounts by high-ranking Plaguebearers, forming squadrons of Plague Drones.
Great Unclean One[]
Great Unclean Ones are the Greater Daemons of Nurgle. They are massive and bloated with disease and decay, their rotten, boil-covered flesh exposes open wounds, where their organs spill out, hanging across their form and adding to their terrifying appearance. They usually carry a blade known as a Plague Sword into battle. These massive, rusted blades are said to be dipped in the foul pus and disease at the base of Nurgle's throne.
They can endure tremendous amounts of damage before being defeated and many can't even bare to look at one, let alone fight them. Great Unclean Ones are unlike the Greater Daemons of other Powers, in that where the latter are essentially just immensely powerful servants, the Great Unclean Ones are each personfications of Nurgle himself, both physically and in terms of their personality. In other words, every Great Unclean One is also Nurgle - thus followers often refer to these daemons as 'Nurgle' or 'Father Nurgle'.
Despite their completely bloated and putrid appearance, Great Unclean Ones are not the stereotypical tyrants demons are painted as in other media, in stead they seem to have a twisted sense of sentimentality towards their followers: referring to them as their "children" and taking great pride in their many misdeeds.
Scabeiathrax the Bloated One[]
One of Nurgle's most powerful and favored Great Unclean One's is Scabeiathrax.
Ku'gath Plaguefather[]
Ku'gath Plaguefather is a somber Great Unclean One, a plague creator among mere plague-spreaders.
Rotigus Rainfather[]
After the Plague Wars and Ku'gath's fall from grace, Rotigus Rainfather took prominence in Nurgle's sight. He is the manifestation of Nurgle's generosity and fecundity.
Daemon Engines[]
Usually found supporting both the demonic legions and mortal followers of Nurgle are daemon engines. Daemon Engines can vary greatly in form and function, but they are all unified by one factor - the physical shells of the vehicles/walkers contain bound daemons which fully control their actions and movements. Daemon Engines have an insatiable bloodlust and revel in violence and destruction. They also exude an aura of death and hatred that can overwhelm lesser foes and typically possess vastly increased durability compared to a non-possessed vehicle. Nurglite daemon engines possess even more durability and are normally infested or swollen with all manner of warp-crafted diseases, making it deadly and otherwise quite risky for most beings (with the exception of Nurgle followers) to be close to these filthy creations.
Plague Hulks[]
Plague Hulks are daemon engines of Nurgle. It closely resembles the soul grinder, but with a more bloated, decayed appearance - as befitting a machine of the Plague Lord. Plague Hulks appear to be a direct hybrid of machine and Nurgle daemon and is said to be sickly to look upon. The chassis of the machine supports a maggot-ridden mass of daemonic flesh, at the center of which sits a maw capable of vomiting a tide of filth that can rot flesh and corrode metal. Additional weapons include an arm-fused rot cannon and an over-sized plague sword. Like many other Daemon Engines, these monstrosities also possess massively powerful limbs which can smash through the strongest armor. Worse still, any unfortunate victim that gets too close to a Plague Hulk must endure clouds of flesh-searing poison.
Plagueburst Crawlers[]
Plagueburst Crawlers are lumbering, formidable siege tanks whose huge ram-blades, thick armour plating and daemonic energies provide them with incredible resilience. Their fearsome plagueburst mortars boast a parabolic fire arc and terrifying range, while the shells they fire combine high-radius explosives with lethal clouds of corrosive spores. The drawback of this weapon is its inability to fire at targets that are closer than its minimum range. However, the remainder of the Crawler’s weaponry is intended to slaughter the foe up close, spraying noxious slime and hails of viral shells at any who approach.
Great effort is required to bind a Daemon within each Plagueburst Crawler, once installed the possessed entities tirelessly obey their masters. Plagueburst Crawlers are not swift vehicles, even running at full power. Yet their advance is as grinding and relentless as the Death Guard themselves. Intended to support infantry offensives, Plagueburst Crawlers plough forward like huge mechanical slugs, their mortars firing with metronomic regularity. An area under sustained bombardment from these weapons becomes so saturated with foul spore clouds that armour provides little to no protection, for the daemonic spores corrode the thickest adamantium plating. These hideous effects have made the Plagueburst Crawler a much-hated weapon of war.
Blight Drones[]
The Blight Drone (also known as Bilecyst) is a large daemonically-possessed drone of Nurgle. Seemingly a bizarre conglomeration of insect larvae, machine, and daemon engine, the hovering Blight Drone is armed with rapid-fire autocannons (which may or may not fire infectious shells) and a maw-like apparatus capable of spewing noxious poisons and acid which can eat through both metal and flesh within seconds. If a Blight Drone is destroyed in combat it invariably detonates in a shower of bile and pus, and is capable of causing extreme damage to everything caught within the blast. Blight Drones prefer to operate in swarms and are particularly drawn to battlefields with large amounts of dead.
The Blight Drone's seemingly squat and bloated form is also unusually resilient against attacks, especially for a skimmer of their size. This quality is attributed to the living flesh and rusted armour plating of the drone, as well as the warp entity that controls it.
Foetid Bloat-drones[]
Foetid bloat drones are aerial daemon engines of Nurgle. These hideous war engines bears monstrous weapons onto the battlefield to annihilate the enemies of the Death Guard. Clad in rusting plates of rot-iron armour, their hulls overflowing with flabby foulness, Foetid Bloat-drones can withstand ferocious amounts of punishment and still keep fighting. They are designed to hover in close, drifting lazily through the most treacherous of terrain to provide supporting fire.
Many Foetid Bloat-drones are equipped with a pair of plaguespitters. As the Daemon Engine floats over the battlefield, its trailing pipes and tubules suckle rot and filth with idol hunger to fuel these revolting weapons. The Bloat-drone slurps up diseased innards and maggot-thick mud until its putrid flesh is straining and pulsating, refining a hideous cocktail of hyper-concentrated toxic slime. Then, with a disgusting spasm of regurgitation, the drone squirts the resultant soup through its Plaguespitters, spraying it in great fans across the foe. No cover or defence can protect the target from this lethal rain of filth. Victims find their bodies convulsing and twisting in the grip of a thousand maladies, rotting and bloating until they collapse into a heap of decaying, highly-infectious matter. Many are still screaming when they do.
Other Bloat-drones are equipped for long-range bombardment. Fitted with a Heavy Blight Launcher, these Daemon Engines suck armour-piercing blight shells from their rusting drum magazines and fire them in rippling volleys. This rain of disease-ridden shells can reduce a battle tank to a corroded, collapsing wreck in moments, or bring whole squads of heavily armoured infantry to their knees.
The entities that possess Foetid Bloat-drones are more aggressive and spiteful than most daemons of Nurgle. Some are so wilful that they cannot be entrusted with ranged weaponry at all, their desire to smash themselves into the enemy ranks all too evident. These rebellious engines are instead fitted with the macabre devices known as fleshmowers. Heavy cylinders of rusted iron blades, Fleshmowers thrust out in front of the Bloat-drone on bulky arms and whir frenetically as it flies into battle. These weapons can be used in thrumming passes through the enemy ranks, or more deliberately pressed against resilient targets to rip them apart. Either way, the result is a hideous red spray and a mulched strew of body parts. The mashed remains of Fleshmower victims make excellent slop-fuel for those Bloat-drones armed with Plaguespitters, and so the two variants often form parasitic war packs.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Depending on the franchise's universes, the lore states Nurgle is said to be the oldest of the Chaos Gods or the third oldest Chaos God.
- The Liber Chaotica mentions several times Khorne is in fact the oldest of the Chaos Gods.
- Despite his loathsome appearance, Nurgle is the only Chaos God to take great delight in the work of his servants and has a rather avuncular personality which gave him the nicknames "Grandpa Nurgle" or "Papa Nurgle".
- He is also genuinely friendly to his followers and looks after them, as while Nurgle's blessings can be seen as horrifying and grotesque, it also makes the blessed incapable of feeling pain.
- Nurgle has become the subject of popularity among the meme culture and was associated with the COVID-19 pandemic of 2019-2020 due to being the Chaos God of plagues, diseases and illnesses. Warhammer fans would often make jokes on the Anti-Vaxxer Movement related to Nurgle.
- Nurgle's holy number is 7.
- Nurgle's name and concept is similar to the Mesopotamian deity Nergal, who is associated with war, death, and pestilence.
- Nurgle is the main antagonist of the Warhammer 40K: Inquistor Martyr video-game.
- Nurgle is one of the driving forces of Chaos in the Vermintide series, especially Vermintide 2, the other major antagonistic faction would be the Skaven race.
References[]
- ↑ Battletome: Slaves to Darkness (2019), Endless Pantheons
- ↑ Liber Chaotica (Liber Khorne)
- ↑ Battletome: Slaves to Darkness (2019), Endless Pantheons
- ↑ Battletome: Slaves to Darkness (2019), Endless Pantheons
- ↑ Tome of Corruption
- ↑ Warhammer Fantasy
- ↑ Warhammer Fantasy: Tome of Corruption
- ↑ The World of Warhammer (1998)
- ↑ The World of Warhammer (1998)
- ↑ The World of Warhammer (1998)
- ↑ Warhammer Fantasy: Tome of Salvation
- ↑ Warhammer Fantasy: Tome of Salvation
- ↑ Warhammer Fantasy: Tome of Salvation
- ↑ Warhammer Fantasy: Tome of Salvation
- ↑ Warhammer Fantasy: Tome of Salvation
- ↑ Warhammer Fantasy: Tome of Corruption
- ↑ Warhammer Fantasy: Tome of Corruption
- ↑ Warhammer Fantasy: Tome of Corruption
- ↑ The Lost and the Damned
- ↑ The Tome of Decay (Black Crusade)
- ↑ The Tome of Decay (Black Crusade)
- ↑ The Tome of Decay (Black Crusade)
- ↑ The Tome of Decay (Black Crusade)
- ↑ Warhammer Fantasy: Palace of the Plaguelord
- ↑ The Tome of Decay (Black Crusade)
- ↑ The Tome of Decay (Black Crusade)
- ↑ Warhammer Fantasy: Tome of Corruption
- ↑ Tamurkhan: The Throne of Chaos (Warhammer)
- ↑ Warhammer Fantasy: Tome of Corruption
- ↑ Age of Sigmar: Core Rulebook
- ↑ Age of Sigmar: Core Rulebook
- ↑ Total War: Warhammer III (PC Game)
- ↑ The World of Warhammer (1998)
- ↑ The Tome of Decay (Black Crusade)
- ↑ The Tome of Decay (Black Crusade)
- ↑ The World of Warhammer Fantasy (1998)
- ↑ Age of Sigmar: Core Rulebook
- ↑ Age of Sigmar: Malign Portents
- ↑ Age of Sigmar: Core Rulebook
- ↑ The Tome of Decay (Black Crusade)
- ↑ The Tome of Decay (Black Crusade)
- ↑ Battletome: Maggotkin of Nurgle
- ↑ Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay: Liber Infectus
- ↑ The Tome of Decay (Black Crusade)
- ↑ The Tome of Decay (Black Crusade)
- ↑ Warhammer Fantasty: The Lost and the Damned
- ↑ Warhammer Fantasy: Tome of Corruption
- ↑ Battletome: Maggotkin of Nurgle
- ↑ Total: Warhammer III (PC Game)
- ↑ Warhammer Fantasy: Liber Mutatis