Plague Monks

Diseased devotees of the Great Horned Rat, **Plague Monks** are the heart of the seething hordes of Clans Pestilens armies. Though inherently cowardly like the rest of their despicable race, the Plague Monks’ zealotry makes them brave – and extremely dangerous – in large numbers.[1a]

## Overview

Corrupt congregations of Plague Monks spill across the battlefield ina hideous tide. Ragged, robed figures scrabble over and around one another in their eagerness to sink fangs into flesh. A diseased stink precedes this horrific onslaught, while the squeals and gurgled chanting of the Plague Monks are harbingers of a hideous death. Weird religious trappings clang and flap in the winds of battle, scrolls nailed into flesh and unholy icons brandished aloft. As the Plague Monks crash into the enemy lines, their madness only intensifies. Their numbers alone are enough to blunt enemy attacks and overrun defences, while the plagues they bring cause enemies to sicken and die in droves.[1a]

The weapons these fanatics wield are vectors of disease in their own right – rusted cleavers and jagged, splintered knives that drip poisoned concoctions. A mere nick from such a weapon is enough to cause rampant infection to take hold, meaning that even those who survive battle with the Clans Pestilens soon shrivel and die if they have suffered even the most superficial wounds. Even worse are the arcane weapons of the Bringers-of-the-Word. These spiteful and ambitious beings are the aspirant underlings of the Plague Priests themselves, each attaching himself to the tail of whichever priest he believe scan expedite his climb to power. Bringers-of-the-Word further their priestly masters’ agendas and are rewarded for their efforts with potent plague scrolls and books of woes that, when read aloud, rot the enemy where they stand.[1a]

The battle madness of the Plague Monks not only makes them deadly aggressors, but also lends them frightening resilience. Beneath their rotting robes and filth-matted pelts, the zealots’ hides have been rendered leathery and tough by the cornucopia of diseases they have willingly subjected themselves to. Nerve endings are rotted, or dulled through leprous degeneration, so a Plague Monk may easily shrug off even the most agonising pain, at least until they realise the severity of their wounds and their over-developed instinct of self-preservation kicks in.[1a]

What Plague Monks lack in cunning and guile they more than make up for with blind religious fervour. Compared to most skaven, the warriors of Clan Pestilens are positively daring, and exhibit a surprising lack of cowardice in the face of battle, danger, or sudden loud noises. They are still skaven at heart though, and should battle begin to turn against the hordes of the Clans Pestilens they will cut and run just as quickly as their less feculent kin.[1a]

## Wargear

Some units of Plague Monks are armed with a pair of Foetid Blades, while others attack with a Foetid Blade in one claw and a Woe-stave in the other. The leader of this unit is a Bringer-of-the-Word. Some Bringers-of-the-Word choose to wield a Foetid Blade and carry a Plague Scroll; others bear a Book of Woes in one claw and a Foetid Blade in the other.Anyone in this unit may be an Icon Bearer. Some Icon Bearers carry Contagion Banners, while others bear an Iconof Pestilence. Anyone in this unit may be a Plague Harbinger. Some Plague Harbingers carry clanging Doom Gongs, whilst others go to war with dreaded Bale-chimes.[1b]

## Source

* 1 *Chaos Battletome: Skaven Pestilens*.

	+ 1a pg. 28
	+ 1b pg. 72