vizn3r/warhammer40k-lore huggingface dataset:
Khorne - Blood Legions: Of all the Chaos Gods' Daemonic armies, it is the Blood Legions of Khorne that are the most martial. Though they are savage and unrestrained creatures, Daemons of the Blood God occupy a strict hierarchical structure based on sheer might. Khorne's belief that the strongest of its followers should dominate has proven to be a simple but highly efficient organisational methodology.The legions of the Blood God have carved out the largest of all domains in the Immaterium through incessant war. In the brutal press of melee on the battlefield, Khorne's forces are unmatched by those of any other god, and the strength and ferocity each of its Daemons exhibits there decides where they rank in the god's armies.Highest in order are the Bloodthirsters. Clad in baroque armour, wielding fearsome brass axes and whips, each is a demigod of war. Were they simply warriors and nothing more, Khorne's Greater Daemons would be terrifying enough. The Blood God's foes are not so fortunate, however, for the Bloodthirsters are tasked with leading the Lord of Skull's Blood Legions on the battlefield; there they bark guttural orders to the ranks of Lesser Daemons around them, and assert their dominance and dedication to Khorne by defeating the mightiest of the enemies' combatants. Figures of awe amongst the servants of the Blood God, they often attract an entourage of Daemonic champions that follow them into glorious battle.Each Blood Legion is divided into eight cohorts, which are individually comprised of eight packs of Daemons led by a Herald of Khorne or a Daemon Prince. The exact composition of these cohorts, and the auxiliary formations and creatures that may fight alongside them, will often depend on the type of Blood Legion they belong to.For instance, the heart of the Red Tide Legions is made of Bloodletter cohorts that overrun the foe with waves of infantry attacks; such is the scale of death around them that they will often be followed by packs of carrion-feeding Furies.In contrast, the Hellfire Legions are siege specialists that prefer to engage the foe at range, and go to war in the shadows of Skull Cannons, Soul Grinders and, in the greatest of conflicts, the massive Daemon Engines known as Lords of Skulls.The Brazen Thunder Legions are the most mobile of Khorne's armies; the ground shakes beneath their Blood Thrones and the Bloodcrushers they lead, while Flesh Hound packs chase down any that attempt to flee.Exactly how many types of Blood Legion exist is known only to Khorne himself. At full strength, each Blood Legion is typically formed of eight cohorts, and each cohort is composed of eight packs of Khornate Daemons. These formations can vary for many reasons, although most commonly it is through the addition of auxiliaries or an influx or decrease in Warp energies upon the battlefield.It is also not unusual amongst the minions of Khorne for a cohort to subjugate the Daemon packs of another such formation, bringing them to their side by force during savage, and sometimes ritualized, infighting.
Khorne Daemonkin - Khorne Daemonkin: Khorne Daemonkin are fanatical devotees of the Chaos God Khorne and his brutal creed of killing for its own sake. Like-minded Chaos Space Marines and their mortal followers form these warbands dedicated to murder and destruction on a galactic scale.Many of these warbands begin as zealous but completely mortal hosts, each worshipping one of the terrible and mighty Greater Daemons of Khorne, known as Bloodthirsters.As the Daemonkin perform ever greater acts of violence and carnage, Khorne's Daemonic cohorts are gradually lured forth from the Realm of Chaos to take their place within the warband's ranks. When, eventually, the host is as much Daemon as mortal, one of Khorne's Bloodthirsters will burst forth into the material realm through one of his chosen vessels to lead them in glorious, never-ending slaughter across the stars.
Khorne Daemonkin - Origins: Roaring, blood-soaked butchers with an endless thirst for murder, the warriors of Khorne's Daemonkin carve a red swathe across the galaxy. These are the Blood God's true faithful, zealots who worship Khorne's Bloodthirsters as divine beings and who will pay any price to see them and their Daemonic legions unleashed upon realspace.United by their fanatical worship of the Blood God, a warband of Daemonkin is a frenzied mass of Heretic Astartes, Daemons, Chaos Cultists and monstrous Daemon Engines. The Daemonkin offer praise to Khorne through violence and war as they flood onto the battlefield in a chanting, gore-drenched horde.Their hymns are the screams of the dying, their prayer books the edges of their blades, for the only sacrament Khorne demands is bloodshed.The ultimate desire of the Daemonkin is -- through acts of bloodthirsty devotion -- to summon forth the Daemons of Khorne and fight in glorious battle alongside them. To this end, Khorne's faithful seek out arcane lore in order to better understand the beings they worship.Some hunt down ancient tomes that detail the names and nature of the Daemonic cohorts of Khorne, or seek to undertake horrific vision quests into the Blood God's own realm. Others capture lesser Warp entities in great brass cages, torturing from them the names of those Bloodthirsters most worthy of their devotion.Their bloody rituals do not go unnoticed by their patron. Though it may take solar months or Terran years for a sufficient offering to be made, the frenzied devotion of the Daemonkin acts as a summons for the foot soldiers of Khorne; the veil is sundered as blood-red Daemons spill into the material realm, and the remaining Daemonkin continue the massacre in enraptured vindication.Should one of their number prove themselves worthy, a mighty Bloodthirster of Khorne may even possess his mortal flesh, the supplicant giving his life gladly so that the lord of one of his master's legions can be set loose upon the galaxy.Though they begin their journey as a mortal force, the warriors of most Daemonkin warbands are eventually supplanted by the Warp-born Daemonic legions of Khorne. A favoured few will attain ascension, becoming immortal Daemon Princes, but many more willingly pay the martyr's price to prove their zeal.They care nothing for petty empire-building and ancient grudges; their only desire is to give themselves over, body and soul, to the eternal wrath of Khorne.
Khorne Daemonkin - Path to Glory: Most who treat with Daemons risk a violent death in the hope of gaining great power. The Daemonkin care not, for both outcomes are worthy to the followers of Khorne.When a Daemonkin warband first forms, it will be predominantly a mortal army. Renegade Space Marines and Khorne Berzerkers charge into battle amid masses of chanting Chaos Cultists, growling Daemon Engines stalking at their side. These are true devotees of Khorne, who praise the Blood God and his Daemons with every axe-blow, every blood spray, every bellowed war cry.Any powerful emotion of a sentient being in realspace causes a flare of psychic energy in the Warp, so the inferno of rage and devotion generated by the Daemonkin draws the attention of Khorne's daemons like razorfish to a fresh kill. Before long, monstrous, malformed fiends begin to appear amongst the Daemonkin's ranks.Their armour seethes with blood-wet muscle and plates of spike-studded brass. Their helms are deformed into fang-mawed horrors from which bestial horns curl. Their limbs are jagged blades or lashing, spiked tentacles.These are the Possessed, those whose living flesh and blood serve as crucibles for Khorne's Daemons. These changes are agonising, yet the Possessed welcome every surge of pain, knowing that each enables them to better shed blood in their god's name.Eventually, empowered by the Daemonkin's violence or by their deaths, the murderous daemonic warriors of Khorne's legions will cross over, coursing from the Immaterium like blood from a wound to fight alongside the mortal host. Called forth by the sacrifice of the Daemonkin, and sustained by their adulation, they do not require the succour of the Warp to maintain their corporeal forms in realspace, like most of the Neverborn.Thus are these Daemons able to fight in realspace alongside the Daemonkin -- and later their own, fully summoned cohort -- almost indefinitely. The faithful laud their appearance with howls of devotion; it matters little that many of them have died in the name of this dark miracle, for they know that Khorne welcomes bloodshed no matter its source.On occasion, one of the Daemonkin's Chaos Champions may achieve their ultimate desire, transcending their previous form to become an immortal Daemon Prince who fights in Khorne's daemonic legions.Most will fall in battle long before this, of course, but another destiny awaits a rare few. Should they achieve some titanic act of butchery, one of Khorne's Bloodthirsters, the generals of the daemonic legions, will reward their devotion by possessing their mortal flesh.The vessel is inevitably killed in the process, shed like a snakeskin by the monster emerging from within, but he will give his life gladly so that the Bloodthirster may be set loose upon the galaxy.Draining the last of its host's life force in one mighty draught, the Greater Daemon bursts from its enfolding prison of flesh to the roars of mortal and Daemon alike.
Khorne Daemonkin - The Ironghast Foundry: A planet-wide industrial hell that would destroy the sanity of most mortals, the Ironghast Foundry is a Chaos Hell-Forge sworn to the glory of the Blood God. Bristling with vast, brazen gun towers and spike-studded battlements, the Ironghast Foundry is all but impervious to invasion. Within its towering manufactorums, caged volcanoes provide near-limitless power to roaring furnaces that march away into the shadows.Brass conveyor belts clank and grind, bone pistons rise and fall with murderous speed, and everywhere boiling blood greases the cogs and gears of infernal industry while slave gangs labour beneath the lash of cruel daemons. A conclave of Warpsmiths rule over the Ironghast Foundry, led by a cruel and violent slave-driver known only as the Overseer. It is their oath that, while a single soul remains to man the machineries of their global factory, it will never cease churning out weapons for the Blood God's innumerable wars.The Foundry produces everything from Chainaxes and Helbrute sarcophagi, to vast Daemon Engines such as the Lord of Skulls and Lord of Battles. Their blood-encrusted runic circles flare night and day, dragging daemons from the Empyrean to be bound into rank upon rank of waiting Daemon Engines.This is a place of vast, horrific industry, and serves as the weapons factory for a great many Daemonkin warbands. The Overseer and his conclave maintain bloody pacts with such diverse Khornate hosts as the Skullsworn, the Brazen Beasts, and the Eightscarred. In return they demand raw materials, junked war engines, precious metals, and corpses harvested from the fields of war.
Khorne Daemonkin - Khorne's Infernal Legions: To wage bloody war is to offer praise to Khorne. The Blood God cares only for slaughter and butchery, craves only violence and death. Armies assembled for battle are his only true congregation, the battlefield his only shrine. So it is that, in this bloody age, Khorne is the mightiest of the Chaos Gods, and his daemonic legions the greatest.The daemon cohorts of Khorne march to battle with their brutal blades held ready for slaughter. Hissing Bloodletters advance behind gore-drenched icons, each band of warriors hungry to outdo its rivals in the taking of lives and skulls. Prowling around the Bloodletters' flanks come packs of Flesh Hounds, Juggernaut-mounted Bloodcrushers thundering at their fore.Roaring salvoes of fire are spat forth by clatter-limbed Soul Grinders, rumbling batteries of Skull Cannons, and the vast, terrifying Lords of Skulls. Meanwhile, above the brazen howl of war-horns, Daemon Princes, Heralds of Khorne and Bloodthirsters of Khorne roar commands at their frenzied cohorts.Such a throng of blood-hungry fiends may look, to the mortal eye, like Chaos in its rawest form. Appearances can be deceiving, however, for a rigid hierarchy governs Khorne's daemonic legions. This system revolves around the eight ranks of Bloodthirsters, for it is they who rule over the legions.Directly below Khorne are his eight Bloodthirsters of the first host. These are daemons of untold power who can crush entire armies of mortals single-handedly. Each of these Exalted Bloodthirsters commands eight Bloodthirsters of the second host, who in turn command eight Bloodthirsters of the host below them, and so on down to the eighth rank.It is the Bloodthirsters of Unfettered Fury, the Bloodthirsters of the Eighth Host, who command the daemonic foot soldiers, each ruling over a legion of eight cohorts led by attendant Heralds or Daemon Princes. These lesser lords each command eight packs of Bloodletters, Flesh Hounds and other daemons that form the bulk of Khorne's legions.Thus the Blood God's might is frighteningly vast, his servants virtually numberless. Each cohort has a name to evoke its particular strengths. The Skullharvest and the Gorekin march to war alongside the Bloody Butchers, the Skull Rippers, the Bloodgorgers, and many more. Some cohorts field a preponderance of one kind of warrior, and have earned particularly proud or unusual names that reflect their specialisations. So it is that forces such as the Skull Cannon batteries of the Gorethunder Cohort and the massed Heralds of the Bloodlords are infamous throughout Khorne's realm.
Khorne Daemonkin - Cohort Structure: Each Bloodthirster's daemonic legion comprises eight cohorts of daemons, each led by a Herald of Khorne or Daemon Prince. Some cohorts, such as the infamous Charnel Cohorts, boast a diverse array of Khorne's Daemonkin, while others will devote themselves to a single manner of dealing death on the battlefield.
Khorne Daemonkin - Organisation of a Charnel Cohort: Daemon Prince / Herald of Khorne8 packs of Bloodletters4 packs of Flesh Hounds4 packs of Bloodcrushers4 Skull Cannons
Khorne Daemonkin - Scriptures of Slaughter: The Daemonkin dedicate every axe-blow struck and skull taken to their wrathful god. The devotion of these fanatical murderers is such that many warbands even emulate Khorne's daemonic cohorts in their martial structure, hoping that to do so will bring them closer to the hellish entities they see as the Blood God's chosen warriors.Often, Daemonkin warbands will initially appear similar to any other band of Renegades or raiders. Such warbands comprise a core of battle-hardened Heretic Astartes, each drawn to follow a powerful leader haloed with the ruddy aura of Khorne's favour. Fanatical Chaos Cultists flock to fight and kill alongside the Renegades, and dark bargains are struck to secure the service of blood-crazed Khorne Berzerkers.As warbands grow in influence and purpose, however, many devote themselves further to Khorne by imitating the structure of one of his daemonic cohorts, until they eventually become twisted mirrors of their daemonic equivalents. The dark rites that make this transition possible are dictated by a brutal creed known as the Scriptures of Slaughter.Scrawled down by those raving madmen who have looked upon the Burning Books of Khorne, the scriptures describe the organisation of unholy crusading armies known as "Slaughtercults." The formation of these ritual military hierarchies resonates symbolically with Khorne's sacred number, usually taking the form of eight bands of eight Chaos Space Marines or Khorne Berzerkers, fighting beneath the Chaos Lord or Daemon Prince who leads the warband.These squads represent the Bloodletters that typically serve a Herald of Khorne or Daemon Prince in the Blood God's own cohorts. These bands will be joined by other mortal Renegades and twisted engines of destruction to form "Blood Hosts," gore-soaked armies of devoted slaughterers who massacre entire planetary populations in Khorne's name.Without exception, Khorne Daemonkin tolerate no Sorcerers amongst their ranks. They have no need of such loathsome psychic spellcraft; when a warband's bloody actions in the mortal plane attract the attention of the Blood God himself, their fervour alone is sufficient to summon forth a daemonic cohort from the Realm of Chaos.Furthermore, the Daemonkin's dedication to relentless violence and butchery in the name of Khorne allows the daemons to endure alongside the Slaughtercult in realspace without the sustenance of the Warp. Even the mightiest mortal armies quail in the face of such a cursed alliance, for it is a vision of hellish future in which blood, war and death is all.
Khorne Daemonkin - Structure of a Slaughtercult: Slaughtercults echo the structure of Khorne's daemonic cohorts -- eight units of the Blood God's fiercest warriors led by one of his fell champions, accompanied by lesser devotees and those truly blessed in Khorne's sight.Champion of Khorne - Each Slaughtercult is a led by a mighty Chaos Champion of the Blood God, fated either to die in battle or be horrifically warped into a daemon of Khorne.Favoured of Khorne - The Possessed are the Favoured of Khorne, savage hosts for his possessing Daemons.Anointed of Khorne - The Anointed are Khorne's footsoldiers, either bands of ferocious Chaos Space Marines or summoned packs of immortal daemons.Chaos CultistsChaos Spawn
Khorne Daemonkin - Chaos Lord: Whole worlds die upon the orders of the Chaos Lords that lead Khorne's Daemonkin. In their wake they leave oceans of spilt blood and great mountains of skulls, all to prove their worthiness in Khorne's eyes. These are atrocities the Lords of the Daemonkin gladly commit, for their fanatical devotion to the Blood God is terrible in its intensity. It is a Chaos Lord that forges each Daemonkin warband and ensures it holds true to its gruesome purpose. It is he who marshals his warriors according to the Scriptures of Slaughter, and who dictates which Bloodthirster his host will worship.The Lord must guide his frenzied horde to each new battle, and hack down those who foolishly think to challenge his rule. In this way he fulfils a role somewhere between warrior-king and demagogue, feeding the fervour of his followers with every new war. Whereas the fleeting glory of battle alongside Khorne's daemons is enough for many of their followers, Chaos Lords strive instead to ascend as a Daemon Prince of Khorne.Such a path is perilous, for the Lord is more likely to end their days as a horrific Chaos Spawn than to be raised up to daemonhood. Furthermore, there is always the risk that the Bloodthirster they worship will choose to honour its servant by using his flesh as its conduit into realspace. Should such a demand be made, it means certain death for the Chaos Lord and an end to all they have striven for. Still, most choose this glorious martyrdom in Khorne's name over the truly dreadful punishment they will suffer should their faith prove lacking at the last.
Khorne Daemonkin - Daemon Princes: Immortal avatars of the Blood God's wrath, recipients of the greatest boon a mortal champion can earn, the Daemon Princes of Khorne are ferocity given form. These daemonic champions tower over even the mighty Chaos Space Marines whom they command. Their strength is so great that they can smash down a fortress' gates with a single blow. Their unnatural resilience is such that they can stride heedless through thundering bombardments of fire.Yet for all this they are slaves as surely as any who follow the gods of Chaos, for with immortality comes an eternity of servitude. So lost to zealotry and madness are Khorne's Daemon Princes that they do not care. Embracing an existence of constant war, many take their place in the hierarchy of Khorne's daemonic legions. Others become the godlike leaders of the Khorne Daemonkin, beginning again the cycle of slaughter that saw them gain their own bloody ascension.
Khorne Daemonkin - Bloodthirster of Unfettered Fury: Ferocious killing machines capable of hacking apart whole armies of the foe, the Bloodthirsters of Unfettered Fury are the most numerous of Khorne's Greater Daemons. In one fist, these colossal, sulphur-wreathed fiends carry a massive axe of Khorne. This daemon-forged blade hungers for hot blood, and a single swing of its smouldering edge can carve a battle-tank in two or behead even the largest monster.In its other hand, the Bloodthirster wields a vicious lash of Khorne. Immense whips studded with brass spikes, these weapons slice through the air with a thunderous crack, breaking necks, entangling limbs, or smashing enemies off their feet.Clad in baroque armour and bellowing their wrath to the sky, Bloodthirsters of Unfettered Fury strike abject terror into all who witness them in battle. Too swift to outrun, too resilient to gun down, and far, far too strong to outfight, these godlike Daemons are the death of all who face them in battle. It is no surprise then that the Daemonkin worship these monstrous entities as demigods of war.
Khorne Daemonkin - Bloodthirster of Insensate Rage: Bloodthirsters of Insensate Rage are the most mindlessly savage of their kind. The fires of Khorne's forge fill their chests, stoking their fury to a state of apoplexy that renders them utterly incoherent with anger. So great is their ire-fuelled strength that these daemons are able to heft massive brass axes -- weapons as tall as the horrors that bear them.With these great axes of Khorne, Bloodthirsters of Insensate Rage are more than capable of hacking the leg from a Warhound Scout Titan with a single swing, or splitting the greatest mortal heroes in two from head to toe.The arrival of such an entity on the battlefield heralds the coming of the end. The beat of their wings shudders through mortal minds, causing waves of terror to roll before them. Those who fall beneath the Bloodthirsters' night-black shadow taste the sudden tang of ash and sulphur in their throats, and feel their will to live evaporate like mist. As the beast roars its endless fury, those of weak will simply collapse dead upon the spot. Yet even the brave do not have long to live...
Khorne Daemonkin - Wrath of Khorne Bloodthirster: Soaring through the skies on vast, leathery wings, Wrath of Khorne Bloodthirsters scour the battlefield for their prey. These arrogant huntsmen of the third host are charged by Khorne with a sacred duty. Each is given a quarry to track down, some braggart or hero who has earned the personal ire of the Blood God himself.Upon locating their prey, the Bloodthirster must humble them in battle; he must slaughter those who follow them, crush them in body and spirit, and finally drag their soul back to Khorne's realm for punishment by the Blood God himself. This is the task set before the Greater Daemon, and it is one in which he dare not fail lest Khorne's rage be turned upon him.Fortunately for these Bloodthirsters, they have many tools to aid them in their hunt. Each is armed with a mighty Axe of Khorne and a clattering bloodflail, a weapon that combines the reach of a lash with the crushing force of a sledgehammer. As if this were not enough, the Wrath of Khorne wear runic crowns upon their brows that ward off sorcery, and can breathe great gouts of hellfire upon their foes.
Khorne Daemonkin - Bloodletters: Bloodletters are the savage foot soldiers of Khorne's daemonic legions. Their lean bodies are corded with muscle, while their eyes burn like the heart of a furnace. As echoes of their master's endless rage, they are driven by the desperate desire to kill; a need that their hellblades and razor sharp claws and fangs leave them only too well equipped to fulfil.Even a single Bloodletter is a deadly foe, while a whole pack of these daemonic killers assembled for war is truly terrifying. Though they march to war in cohorts and obey the commands of their masters, Bloodletters are in no way strategic creatures. They care nothing for stealth and subtlety. Rage burns through their Warpborn frames, seething in every sinew and pumping like fire through their blackened veins.Bloodletters do not simply feel anger; they are anger personified, and they desire nothing more than to hack apart endless ranks of the enemies while bathing in their jetting blood. As such, unless guided by a higher intellect, Bloodletters simply hurl themselves toward the foe with their blades held ready. They care nothing for their own casualties, and will gladly charge headlong through the most intense storm of enemy fire if it means coming to grips with their victims that much sooner.When brought forth into the material plane by the efforts of a Daemonkin warband, packs of Bloodletters make good use of this innate fury. Loping forward with bolt shells and artillery blasts whipping around them, the daemons allow their mortal supplicants to provide covering fire while they set to the real business of Khorne -- hacking their enemies limb from limb in bloody close quarter combat.The Daemonkin, in their turn, are inspired beyond words by the manifestation of Khorne's unholy warriors. They scream their devotion as the Bloodletters tear their way through the veil into realspace. The mortals' fanaticism soars to such heights that they foam at the mouths and tear at their own flesh in religious ecstasy.Simply to summon such daemons from the Warp brings the Daemonkin to the edge of rapture; by comparison, fighting alongside these hissing, snarling terrors is enough to drive many warriors permanently mad. Some Daemonkin have even been known to attempt to emulate those Bloodletters they have witnessed in battle.They scarify their flesh to resemble scales, sharpen their teeth and nails to sharp points, and hammer broken jags of bone into their skulls like horns. The Bloodletters care nothing for such worshipful imitation, of course. Their only interest is in the slaughter of their foes, their only source of pleasure the feel of their hellblades hacking deep into mortal flesh.
Khorne Daemonkin - Heralds: Blood sprays in sheets and severed heads tumble from hewn necks wherever the Heralds of Khorne charge into the fray. Ferocious beyond mortal measure, these daemonic champions wield their Hellblades with blinding speed. Even the greatest warriors find themselves hard-pressed to keep pace with a Herald of Khorne in battle, for the skill and strength of these daemons is breathtaking.Worse, as daemonic entities, they neither tire nor waver, and their fury is inexhaustible. Countless duellists and vaunted heroes have fallen to the onslaught of a Khornate Herald, arms numbed by repeated hammerblows against their guard, spirit broken by the daemon's relentless hate, head finally lopped from their shoulders by its victorious strike.Heralds of Khorne are more than just warriors. They are exemplars of all that their bloodthirsty god demands, able not only to butcher their foes but to direct the fury of their lesser kin with a commander's strategic skill. Within the ranks of Khorne's legions these entities serve as ranking officers, directing the Daemon packs beneath them to enact the will of their ruling Bloodthirster. Thus they are the counterparts of the Chaos Lords who lead the Khorne Daemonkin, and will often fight alongside these mortal champions in the greatest slaughters.
Khorne Daemonkin - Skulltaker: Said to be Khorne's executioner, the Herald known as Skulltaker revels in the ritual duel. To refuse Skulltaker's bellowed challenge is a death sentence in its own right; those who try to flee the daemon's wrath will be hacked down and trampled into the filth of the battlefield for their cowardice.Still, these forgotten victims are perhaps the lucky ones. Those who stand and face Skulltaker find themselves on the receiving end of a whirlwind of blows, the Herald's brazen blade moving faster than the eye can follow. Skulltaker expertly dismembers his foe, lopping off one limb at a time and dedicating every hot spray of blood to his wrathful creator. Only when his victim writhes screaming and helpless upon the ground does Skulltaker end his ritual, tearing their skull free of their spine with a wrenching snap, and claiming it for Khorne.Heroes beyond number have fallen in this manner since Skulltaker began his endless war, and Khorne holds his appointed executioner in high esteem. So it is that a band of the greatest Bloodletters serve at Skulltaker's command. Known as the Cohort of Blood, this assemblage of Warp-spawned champions is selected by Skulltaker from amongst the daemonic legions' ranks. They are forced to fight each other regularly to weed out the weak, for Skulltaker will lead none but the mightiest to war.
Khorne Daemonkin - Chaos Space Marines: Bolters thundering and Chainswords roaring, the Chaos Space Marines of the Khorne Daemonkin hurl themselves at the foe with maniacal fury. Every enemy they hack to pieces is an offering to their wrathful god, every bloody deed one of sacred worship. These are Renegades who care nothing for revenge upon the Imperium. Instead, they devote themselves entirely to the murderous creed of the Blood God.Every Space Marine has within him the capacity to cast off the shackles of the Imperium in favour of following his own selfish desires. As warriors regarded with awe by Humanity, those Space Marines who turn Renegade fall far and fast, rebelling against a life of servitude with gross acts of betrayal. Some few Traitors throw off the leash of their masters altogether, owing no allegiance to any but themselves. However, though a Space Marine may declare that he is free, it is near impossible for him to fight against a lifetime of psycho-conditioning, which compels him to follow and obey.As such, many simply exchange service in the Emperor's name for worship of the Ruinous Powers, eschewing one brand of slavery for another without ever recognising the grim irony of their choice. So it is with the zealots of the Khorne Daemonkin, who believe themselves free to indulge their innate bloodlust. Instead they become ever more Khorne's slaves, their sanity wearing away until violent self-sacrifice in the Blood God’s name seems the most glorious reward the galaxy can offer.Ultimately, this tragic mania only makes the Renegade Space Marines of the Daemonkin all the more dangerous. Alongside genetically engineered strength and resilience, peerless martial training, and near-boundless courage, these Traitors possess a selfless fanaticism that drives them to the very edge of endurance. While caught up in the frenzied act of worship through war, Daemonkin Chaos Space Marines have been known to literally tear their enemies limb from limb.They will throw themselves into the attack no matter the odds they face, giving no thought to their own survival in their desperation to shed blood. In a normal human, such devotion would make them dangerous enough; in a Space Marine, it is absolutely terrifying. The Dengua IV Slaughter, the Butcher's Rampage on Zarathusican, the Magdal Atrocity; all of these infamous massacres were perpetrated by Daemonkin in the grip of fanatical frenzy, and all have entered Imperial records as examples of the horrifying atrocities that the worshippers of Chaos are capable of.
Khorne Daemonkin - Possessed: Monstrous howls herald the onset of the Possessed. Every swing of their taloned limbs sends sprays of blood fountaining into the air while, in return, the blows of the enemy rebound from armour thickened with daemonic sinew and scale. These are Chaos Space Marines with daemons bound to their souls, the true Daemonkin, and their savage onslaught is terrible to behold.Khornate Possessed are especially vicious examples of their kind, for the inherent fury of the possessor daemons infects their host bodies, warping each into a brutal mass of horns, fangs, blades and armour. The murderous rage of the daemon becomes manifest in the flesh of the Daemonhost, driving them on to kill again and again. All the while, the daemon feeds upon the psychic energies of death, finally becoming so saturated with power that it can burst forth onto the material plane.
Khorne Daemonkin - Berzerkers: Driven into battle by the frenzied need to kill, Khorne Berzerkers slaughter everything in their path and leave nothing but twitching corpses in their wake. These murderous lunatics have been ritually lobotomized to remove all trace of fear or compassion. In place of these emotions, the Berzerkers receive cortical implants that heighten their aggression to psychotic levels.These horrific augmetics amplify the adrenaline rush of combat to the point where fighting and killing become the Berzerkers' sole reason to be. The heart of battle is the only place in which a Khorne Berzerker feels truly alive. The release of butchery is so addictive for them that they will gladly turn their blades upon their allies, should they run out of foes to kill.For the Berzerkers, murder is all, for blood is all their god demands. There is great competition amongst the Daemonkin to attract bands of Khorne Berzerkers to their cause. After all, these are the holy warriors of the Blood God, and their presence upon the battlefield is certain to win Khorne's approval.So determined are many Chaos Lords to recruit these maniacs that they will fight furiously over the surgeons and facilities required to create berzerkers. For the Khorne Berzerkers' part, they care little whose banner they fight beneath. Their wars are fought for the Blood God alone, their victims slaughtered in his name, and the loyalties or causes of those they kill mean nothing to them.
Khorne Daemonkin - The Butcher's Nails: When the Chaos Gods snatched the nascent Primarchs from Terra, they flung them far and wide across the galaxy. The amniotic pod of Angron, Primarch of the World Eaters, came to rest upon the world of Nuceria. Seized by slavers while still virtually a child, the young Primarch was subjected to a horrific form of psycho-surgery.The Nucerians implanted Angron with an augmetic cortical implant whose design dated back to the Age of Technology known as the Butcher's Nails, an aggression amplifier that turned the Primarch into a virtual living weapon. For a time, Angron became the king of the Nucerian cyber-gladiatorial arenas, until finally his gene-coded greatness drove him to lead a pit-slave revolt against his masters.Angron would have died in battle at the head of his rebellion had the Emperor not snatched him away during their final, desperate battle. Consumed by a conflicting sense of resentment and inadequacy, Angron violently rejected his Legion at first. By the time he came to name himself their leader, the Primarch's gene-sons were desperate to win his approval.Angron, for his part, sought to transform the World Eaters into an approximation of his lost army of gladiators. Thus, in an act of the grossest betrayal, the father mutilated his sons, bestowing upon them the Butchers Nails so that their rage and aggression would echo his own. The degeneration of the World Eaters began upon that day, and it was not long before noble Legiones Astartes had become the first Khorne Berzerkers.This cruel form of psychosurgery has proliferated since those ancient days of the Great Crusade, with bastardised versions of the gory techniques involved spreading throughout the Eye of Terror and beyond. Still, it was the World Eaters and their Daemon Primarch who first loosed this barbaric practice upon the galaxy, and it is one that the Khorne Daemonkin hungrily exploit at every opportunity.
Khorne Daemonkin - Chaos Terminators: Guns blazing, servos whining like damned souls, the Chaos Terminators of Khorne stride into battle. The advance of these hulking killers is relentless and unstoppable. The thick plates of their Terminator Armour absorb or deflect anything the enemy can hurl at them, allowing them to push through even the heaviest bombardment.Meanwhile, the Chaos Terminators' weapons reap an ever-increasing tally of lives, one that climbs steeply once these ironclad butchers reach combat. Crackling Power Weapons scythe through flesh and armour, while Power Fists and Chainfists crush and mangle. Daemonkin Terminators decorate their armour with brazen spikes, chains and butcher's hooks. These hang heavy with the skulls of defeated foes, and are daubed with runes that praise the Blood God.Amongst the ritual organisation of a Blood Host, Chaos Terminators are the mortal equivalents of Khorne's Bloodcrushers, and the heavy, brutish Terminators have a twisted affinity with the trampling daemonic fury of the Juggernaut-mounted daemons. When a daemonic legion's Bloodcrushers emerge into realspace, the two units will often advance as a single wedge of brass-bound armour and crushing mass, punching into the enemy's ranks like the fist of Khorne himself.
Khorne Daemonkin - The Bloodtusk Brotherhood: Amongst the ranks of The Skullsworn warband there marches a group of Renegade Terminators whose deeds have become infamous. Calling themselves the "Bloodtusk Brotherhood," these brutish murderers have earned great favour with Khorne.It was during the Slaughterstorm of Icos IV that the Bloodtusk Brotherhood first rose to prominence. Amid the fire and madness of a teleport assault gone terribly wrong, the Bloodtusks fought their way clear of a Raven Guard ambush through sheer brute force. Ignoring wounds that would have seen most warriors dead on the ground, the Terminators waded through the fire of the Raven Guard and smashed into their lines with Power Axes swinging.After their Chaos Champion, Agorath, hacked down the Raven Guard Captain, the Bloodtusk Brotherhood were joined by a howling mass of daemons that clawed their way from the Warp to join the battle. A whole world's fate turned upon that deed, and as the massacre of Icos IV began, the dark renown of the brotherhood was assured.
Khorne Daemonkin - Bloodcrushers: Bloodcrushers of Khorne smash into the enemy like battering rams, heads lowered and piston limbs pounding madly. Foes fall screaming beneath the Juggernauts' churning hooves, or else are hacked apart by the Bloodletters that ride them. Tanks are smashed off their tracks and rolled onto their roofs amid showers of sparks as the Juggernauts plough past them. Barricades explode into showers of shattered masonry as the Juggernauts ram straight through them at full tilt.Nothing can stand before the devastating charge of these daemonic shock cavalry, the impact of which has been likened to an armoured avalanche sweeping into the enemy lines. Juggernauts are amongst the Blood God's most savage and belligerent daemons. Neither wholly machine nor entirely infernal beast, they are gifted as steeds to those daemonic warriors mighty enough to claim them. Once broken in by a sufficiently determined Bloodletter, the combination of daemonic rider and steed is terrifyingly effective.Within the ranks of Khorne's daemonic legions, these shock cavalry provide the sledgehammer force required to crack open even the most determined enemy defence staged by the foot soldiers of Khorne's infernal brothers. The Bloodcrushers' role is much the same when fighting alongside Khorne Daemonkin.Thundering in at the head of the warband's attack, packs of Bloodcrushers head straight for the toughest parts of the enemy battle line. Lowering their armoured heads, the Juggernauts slam straight through the enemy's midst, ripping gaping holes in the defences of the foe through which their mortal allies can pour toward victory.
Khorne Daemonkin - Chaos Spawn: Writhing masses of bloody muscle and pulsating horror, Khornate Chaos Spawn are as dangerous as they are revolting. Each Spawn is a unique vision of insanity, an impossible amalgam of flesh, bone and armour that was once a Chaos Champion of the Blood God. Wet muscle squirms, lipless mouths gape amid knots of bulging skin, fanged tentacles lash and twitch. All the while, unblinking eyes stare in horror from amidst the ruin of a mighty warrior now fallen from grace.Many Daemonkin warbands include Chaos Spawn amid their ranks, goading them into battle where they serve as expendable shock troops. Some are the god-cursed remnants of the Daemonkin's former leaders, those Chaos Champions who proved unworthy to become Daemon Princes. Others are gathered by the Daemonkin from the hellish worlds upon which they have fought, or are brought to the fight by Khornate Chaos Cultists who venerate them as blessed beings. Whatever the case, in battle the Spawn attack like the mindless beasts they have become. Hungry, savage, and utterly insane, these mutated horrors feel nothing but a furious aggression that sends them flailing into the midst of the foe. There they rend and tear until death takes them, or until there is nothing left to kill.Amongst the many warbands of Daemonkin, none make greater use of Chaos Spawn than the Bloodblessed. These fanatics round up great hordes of the mutated beasts, believing them to be the true form that Khorne desires for mortal man. Not only do the Bloodblessed accord Chaos Spawn the status of holy warriors but, stranger still, their own Champions aspire not to ascension but to Spawndom. Thus what is seen by most as a dire punishment for failure has become, to the Bloodblessed, the ultimate reward.
Khorne Daemonkin - Chaos Cultists: Ragged and wild-eyed, the Chaos Cultists of Khorne scream praises to the Blood God as they flood across the battlefield. Armed with chattering machine-rifles, crude bludgeons, or even just their bare hands, great hordes of Cultists fling themselves upon the foe in a desperate bid to prove their devotion.Their flesh seared with Khornate runes, their threadbare garb stained with blood, these lesser mortals are at just as fanatical as their Chaos Space Marine masters. Yet Khorne respects only strength, and so it is a rare Cultist indeed who succeeds in earning his wrathful god's favour.The Chaos Space Marines of the Daemonkin are no more forgiving of their Cultist followers than is Khorne himself. As such, they think nothing of driving thousands of Cultists to their deaths, simply to choke the guns of the foe.Many Chaos Lords will even butcher their Cultist underlings as blood sacrifices to Khorne, slaughtering them mercilessly when better offerings cannot be found. For all this, there is no shortage of Khornate bloodcults hidden throughout the Imperium, for even the most desperate grasp for power is better than the hopeless grind of Imperial servitude.
Khorne Daemonkin - Warp Talons: Slicing their way into reality with razor-sharp claws, packs of Warp Talons burst out of thin air to rip their prey limb from limb. Blazing with unnatural flame, shrieking like avian predators, the Warp Talons slaughter everything within reach before taking to the skies in search of fresh victims. Warp Talons were once Renegade Space Marines, though over time the Warp has twisted them into degenerate pack-hunting beasts of savage instinct.Naturally inclined to bloodshed and slaughter, many packs of Warp Talons are drawn to the debased worship of Khorne, for they sense in some crude way that he is their true patron. In turn, the Blood God welcomes their devotion, for the Warp Talons are able to hunt his chosen quarry through the Empyrean itself. As roaming predators, Warp Talons do not forge formal alliances with the Daemonkin.However, the psychic pyre of bloodshed created by a Slaughtercult at war draws the Warp Talons to it like vultures to a corpse. Thus, when a warband of Khorne Daemonkin is in the thick of battle, packs of Khornate Warp Talons will often tear their way into reality in order to join the carnage and slay their quarry for Khorne.The arrival of Warp Talons is considered almost as auspicious as the summoning of true daemons. After all, these empyric predators follow the same psychic blood trails as do Khorne's true warriors, and their sudden, shocking arrival often foretells the imminent onset of a Khornate cohort.
Khorne Daemonkin - Raptors: Plunging from the skies on trails of fire, the Raptors of the Khorne Daemonkin fall upon their prey with blades held ready. Arrogant and twisted, these airborne warriors venerate Khorne as the galaxy's ultimate apex predator, while believing themselves to be his most favoured servants. To show their devotion, the Raptors daub their armour in Khornate symbols or smear it with the lifeblood of their fallen foes.Gone are the terror raids in which most Raptors rejoice, replaced by a headlong plunge into the foe in search of blood and skulls. Though fervent in their faith, Khornate Raptors see themselves as aerial predators far superior to the worms who fight upon the ground below. This attitude leaves them ill-inclined to take orders from even the mightiest Chaos Lords.At the same time, Khorne Daemonkin are hesitant to include Raptors in their ranks, for their kind do not sit within the Scriptures of Slaughter. Yet there can be no denying the psychological impact that a band of these assault troops has upon the foe, and their strategic versatility makes them valuable. So it is that many Daemonkin Chaos Lords will grudgingly recruit mercenary packs of Raptors, winning their temporary allegiance with promises of war and glory.No warband makes greater use of Raptors than the mysterious Murderghosts. This bloody-handed host of Daemonkin are thought to have formed less than a standard century ago, yet already their lightning-fast raids upon outposts and shipping lanes in the vicinity of Fenris has won these piratical warriors quite a name.Their latest attack -- which has come to be known as the "Battle of Crimson Snows" -- saw one of Midgardia's principal cities left a collapsed ruin, and earned the personal ire of Wolf Lord Egil Iron Wolf. Twenty of Iron Wolf's finest warriors fell in Midgardia's defence, their heads taken as trophies by the Murderghosts, and the Wolf Lord has vowed to avenge this insult no matter the cost.
Khorne Daemonkin - Chaos Bikers: Engines roaring like wild beasts, the Chaos Bikers of the Khorne Daemonkin slam headlong into the enemy lines. Using the armoured bulk of their mechanical steeds, the riders plough through the press of the enemy ranks, grinding their victims beneath churning tyres or slashing off limbs with their bikes' scythe blades. By the time they burst back into the open, the bikers' armour is slick with gore, while the crude machine spirits of their vehicles snarl with pure savagery.Many armies in the 41st Millennium make use of bike-mounted warriors for reconnaissance or raiding, but the Daemonkin have no use for such subtleties. Instead, they deploy their bikers as fast-moving line breakers. The Khornate bikers carve through the enemy time and again, looping around after each pass with howls of bloodlust before gunning their engines and charging into the foe once more.Nowhere was this tactic more successful than during the Skullsworn attack upon the T'au colony of Ral'eth. Led by Agrand the Annihilator, hordes of Daemonkin fell upon the orbital defence batteries nestled amid Ral'eth's polar crags. They overran the garrisons they found there, before pouring out of the mountains toward the towns that dotted the tundra beyond. Here, however, T'au resistance suddenly stiffened to spectacular effect.Evacuating their civilian populace south with calm efficiency, the T'au then deployed swift mechanised Hunter Cadres against the invaders. Hitting and fading with practised skill, the T'au forces used the open terrain and the psychotic fury of their foes to their advantage. The Skullsworn were soon strung out across the icy grasslands. They chased furiously after T'au gunlines that rapidly deployed, fired several punishing volleys, then vanished once more like smoke on the breeze.Only when Agrand loosed a great wave of Chaos Bikers did the battle shift in favour of the Daemonkin. Racing forward through the T'au firepower, the Chaos Bikers drove their charges home before the foe could make their escape.Suddenly, the Hunter Cadres found their lines smashed and their transports crippled by the headlong assault of the bike-mounted Renegades. Soon enough, with their foes reeling, the main Daemonkin forces were able to amass once more and push forward, finally overrunning the cornered T'au upon the marshy Yl'aeth peninsula.