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Be'lakor - Herald of the End Times: Like a petulant firstborn son, Be'lakor has always had a bitter jealousy toward anything or anyone that wins the favour of the Dark Gods. For millennia, the Daemon Prince undermined the plots and schemes of the daemonic and mortal servants of Chaos. However, what Be'lakor mistook for free will, and a measure of revenge against those that have usurped his power, was merely the Great Game between the Chaos Gods.When the Daemon Prince brought down a Champion of Nurgle, invariably he was doing Tzeentch's bidding, and while laying a warrior of the Blood God low he was fulfilling the will of Slaanesh. Be'lakor remains blind to these manipulations of the Chaos Gods. His own thirst for power and the pleasure of proving his mastery over rival Champions of Chaos seems enough to make him forget the sorcerous tethers the Dark Gods continually try to wind tightly around his neck.In more recent times, rumours say Be'lakor has begun shadowing a new Champion of the Dark Gods: the Warmaster of Chaos, Abaddon the Despoiler. Supposedly, the Daemon Prince has spent centuries watching over him and influencing events as they ebb and flow around Abaddon, knowing on some level that their fates were bound. During each of Abaddon's Black Crusades, the Master of Shadows has been lurking in the background.During the 3rd Black Crusade, legends say that it was Be'lakor who manipulated the Daemon Prince Tallomin into aiding the Despoiler and ultimately assaulting Cadia. Be'lakor was also reputed to be the one who told Abaddon of the treachery of Drecarth the Sightless, leading to the destruction of the Sons of the Eye during the 6th Black Crusade.In both instances, Be'lakor's actions seem to have aided Abaddon's rise to power, though closer examination exposes possible darker motives at work. Though Tallomin exacted a terrible toll upon the armies of Cadia, he did so at the cost of numerous Black Legion warbands, much to Abaddon's ire, while Drecarth the Sightless could in time have proven a powerful ally for the Despoiler, had not Be'lakor fanned the embers of vengeance burning in Abaddon's heart.Hidden behind a veil of secrets and lies, it is impossible to know for sure if Be'lakor is doing the bidding of the Chaos Gods or working against them. However, his plots and plans have ultimately been instrumental in Abaddon's ascendance to power. As the End Times hurtle towards their terrible conclusion, Be'lakor once again stands in Abaddon's shadow. As the Warmaster of Chaos embarked upon his 13th Black Crusade against the Imperium, the Daemon Prince marched with him.With hatred and jealousy guiding his hand, the Daemon Prince worked his way close to the Warmaster of Chaos, earning a place in Abaddon's inner circle and making him believe he is the herald of the Ruinous Powers. Be'lakor is surely plotting against Abaddon in some way, seeking to undermine the victory intended for the Warmaster of Chaos by the Dark Gods and claim the power and glory of conquest for himself. Where and when this treachery will reveal itself is known only to Be'lakor himself.
Be'lakor - From the Ashes to the Fire: As the 13th Black Crusade unfolded in 999.M41, the Iron Warriors Warsmith Shon'tu and the Daemon Prince Be'lakor, united in their desire to see Abaddon's Black Crusade upstaged, launched an attack on Terra itself. Emerging from a Warp rift that appeared in the centre of the Imperial Fists Chapter's flagship Phalanx, the unholy allies aimed to corrupt that mighty vessel to their purposes and use it to bombard the Emperor's Imperial Palace.The newly-reformed Imperial Fists 3rd Company, under the command of recently promoted Captain Garadon, fought with a determination that belied their inexperience, and the accessways and halls of the great starship were soon choked with the broken corpses of myriad Daemons in what became known as the Battle of the Phalanx.Ultimately, Garadon delayed the daemonic incursion long enough for Phalanx to rouse its engines and enter the Warp, thus ending the immediate threat to Terra. The mighty vessel hurtled through the Immaterium, and neither side proved able to contact their allies in realspace. Garadon and his company gathered beneath the Banner of Staganda's tattered folds for one last effort, and Phalanx 's lower decks were consumed with raging fire as the spectral warriors of the Legion of the Damned suddenly joined the battle.Taking their arrival as a sign that victory might yet be theirs, the 3rd Company counter-attacked, and retook control of the mobile star fortress. Afterwards, they brought Phalanx through the Warp to aid in the defence of Cadia, including mortally wounding the Blackstone Fortress Will of Eternity. Despite all their efforts, that crucial Fortress World still fell to the Despoiler. However, Phalanx escaped the fall and helped Cadia's survivors flee the destruction of their world.
Be'lakor - Era Indomitus: Ever the opportunist, Be'lakor has been sighted fighting alongside the Daemon legions of each of the Chaos Gods since the opening of the Great Rift in ca. 999.M41 and the start of the Era Indomitus.He has pledged aid to several Renegade Space Marine Chapters and Heretic Astartes warbands, even fighting in the company of Abaddon the Despoiler and his Black Legion once more. Exactly what his winding plots seek to achieve is, like so much about the shadowy Daemon Prince, unknown.
Be'lakor - Charadon Campaign: During the Indomitus Crusade, Be'lakor became aware of the Nurglite Chaos Lord Typhus' invasion of the Charadon System and launched an invasion into that system as well with his personal union of several daemonic legions and Chaos Space Marine warbands known as the Disciples of Be'lakor. Allying with the Word Bearers Traitor Legion, Be'lakor began his own assault upon the Charadon Sector.During the Charadon Campaign of the Era Indomitus, while the bulk of House Raven's forces were away, Be'lakor succeeded in corrupting much of the House Raven garrison force remaining behind on their Knight World of Kolossi through the use of Sacristans under his sway to corrupt the Thrones Mechanicum of certain Knights. The Daemon Prince and his Disciples of Be'lakor launched an assault upon the world and managed to conquer it with the aid of the corrupted House Raven Knights.The Dark Master then used his sorcerous abilities to steal away the entire world of Kolossi through the Warp to a new location in the Imperium Nihilus. The Dark Master reshaped Kolossi into a shadowy Fallen Knight World he renamed Korvosi and transformed the corrupted House Raven Knights into the Chaos Knights of House Korvax, an Infernal house of the Dark Mechanicum.Since the fall of their homeworld, House Raven has pledged to fight on as a crusading house.
Be'lakor - Wargear: Blade of Shadows - Be'lakor wields a unique etherblade, its ghostly form in eternal transience between shape and shadow; solidarity and silhouette. Mastery of this weapon enables Be'lakor to scythe through armour, scale, flesh and bone without resistance, its essence changing in an instant from formless shadow to murderous edge at its master's whim.Malefic Talons
Beast House - Origins: Humanity hates and fears the alien. For Terran millennia this attitude has been taught and ingrained in each successive generation. Indeed, the very word "xenos" conjures up deep-seated feelings of horror and revulsion within the heart of the average Imperial citizen. However, there is a flip side to this ingrained loathing, a terrified fascination with the alien, and in the dark sub-levels of blood sport arenas and fighting pits, this dreadful attraction is played out for those that can afford the spectacle.In its most common form, such bloody entertainment and the arenas that provide it are quite legal. Bull thornox battle to the death in Iocanthos barter-kraals, and carnosaurs rampage against teams of Human gladiators upon Scintilla's many Red Circuses nightly. Yet, removed from the garish lights of such public entertainment, the rich and the jaded, not to mention the lowest of the low, crave more desperate, darker, and forbidden pleasures. Their preferred games feature unwilling fighters, innocents stalked for sport, and creatures so vile and dangerous that the Imperial authority forbids their use on pain of death. Within the Calixis Sector, the most widespread and powerful network of such illicit arenas have but a single, whispered name -- the Beast House.As long as there has been a Calixis Sector, it seems as if there has been a Beast House. It is not in any true sense a cult, rather it is closer to a criminal network. However, behind this façade worse things lurk than can be found at the heart of any narco-gang or underhive clan. So insidious has the Beast House become that the name and the role of this secretive organisation has become ingrained upon the psyche of Calixian civilisation -- the Beast House and the horrors it secretly contains go unobserved and unlooked for, hiding almost in plain sight.While local enforcers may raid an unlicensed arena linked to the group here or the Adeptus Arbites may break up a xenos-creature smuggling ring there, the Beast House goes on undiminished. Indeed, it is actually strengthened by the removal of those in its employ "weakenough" to fall foul of the authorities.Today there are Beast Houses on many worlds, but few realise just how far the Beast House has spread through the criminal underbelly of the Golgenna Reach sub-sector and how far its tendrils stretch into the dim stars beyond the Calixis Sector. The Beast House is more than a set of physical locations, a trade, or even a loose guild of hunters and dealers in proscribed creatures.The hidden truth is that the Beast House is a criminal empire that spans many worlds and is founded on blood and pandering to the very worst aspects of Human nature. Centuries old, it maintains its shroud of secrecy by working through layers of intermediaries and local agents, and it is growing stronger standard year by standard year. It hides many dark secrets the Inquisition is only just beginning to suspect, and for some in the Ordo Xenos, the realisation is dawning that they may have let a serpent of alien-tainted corruption coil around the very heart of the Calixis Sector.
Beast House - Blood Sports and Fighting Arenas in the Imperium: Aside from more sedate or spiritually worthy pleasures, the common Imperial citizen, particularly if they live in the crowded and heavily regulated societies found on most Hive Worlds, favours their public entertainments in the form of visceral and often violent spectacle. Fighting contests, from simple bare-knuckle brawls and displays of martial skill right up to the rare extreme of prisoners condemnedto battle as augmetic gladiators, are all popular in the low hives. Meanwhile, attending duelling schools, sponsoring champions for battle, and hunting dangerous prey are all common pastimes of the elite.Beast shows and games at the circus or carnivora are somewhat rarer than the more mundane Human fighting attractions. However, they are a long-standing tradition on some worlds whose own hazardous life-forms make for suitable opponents, or whose wealth allows such beasts to be imported from afar. In the Calixis Sector, Hive Sibellus on Scintilla has by far the greatest number of such arenas, as the hive city's position as capital and trade nexus for the Calixis Sector has long afforded it the ability to pack its circuses with a bewildering variety of beasts and creatures from across the sector.But without doubt, the pale pits of Hive Volg on Fenksworld have the undisputed crowning reputation as the most horrific, dragging up "things" from the polluted depths below to fight against Human combatants.Despite public demand for ever more exotic and ferocious battles, certain xenos creatures are forbidden or have their trafficking proscribed by Imperial Law. Some are simply judged too alien or too dangerous for public exposure, while others represent a threat that goes far beyond that of a mere loosed beast should they escape.This proscription, of course, does not prevent the desire to see such terrors for those willing to flout the law, and in the underhives and black markets of many worlds, all kinds of forbidden creatures and deadly games can be enjoyed by those with the money and stomach to do so.
Beast House - Fenskworld Xeno Conspiracy: Fenksworld has long been a breeding ground for cults and conspiracies, many of which have been known to spread out into the wider sector, and the notorious independence of its rulers has much to do with this. One collection of conspiracy tales persisted for solar decades about a shadowy group based in the dilapidated sections of Hive Nova Castillia's industrial underbelly, devoting themselves to obtaining illegal xenos specimens for the purposes of study and experimentation.This rogue cabal of xenophiles and Heretics persisted on the edge of the Inquisition's attention until three standard years ago when a junior Ordo Xenos Inquisitor called Layvan and his retinue undertook a close investigation of the circumstantial evidence.Layvan quickly discovered the group was little more than a front for a darker conspiracy. His last communiqué alleged that the conspiracy used a hidden facility somewhere in Nova Castillia to breed and augment a variety of vile alien and mutated creatures, which were then transhipped through the busy orbital port and out across the sector to various Beast Houses on other worlds.Shortly afterward, Layvan and his entire retinue disappeared, and despite the sudden and direct action by the Holy Ordos and a full Adeptus Arbites-backed operation to seek out and purge the suspected xenophile presence, no trace of Layvan or the xeno-lab was ever found.A standard year later, a raid on a Heretek workshop on the distant Hive World of Solomon recovered a damaged data-slate. Ordos officials reconstructed the dying and confused testimony of Layvan's savant Acolyte Urisa from the slate.The recordings contained on the slate show scenes of some hidden industrial centre given over to xenos flesh-craft, where Urisa alleges that hundreds had died in blasphemous experiments and that monstrous things walked. Clearly suffering from shock and blood loss, Urisa's testimony was garbled and rambling, but he clearly named the Beast House as the secret power behind the conspiracy.
Beast House - Outer Circle: The outer circle of the Beast House is made up of hired muscle, local criminal groups, and contacts developed through bribery and coercion to serve the Beast House's interests, acting as a legitimate cover (such as licensed arena or trader operations), keeping it safe from the authorities, or simply buying its services. Made up of largely ignorant intermediaries or individuals bribed or scared enough to keep their suspicions to themselves, the Beast House at this level appears to be no more or less than a criminal enterprise dealing in xenoscreatures and illegal blood sports with extensive off-world contacts.Such intermediaries may work for the Beast House without ever knowing they have done so. Others looking to enhance their reputation (and wealth) may well pick up numerous, often contradictory, rumours and dark tales that they are more than happy to spread. Of these hirelings and go-betweens, only those who show the uncommon bloodlust and particular talents the organisation favours will be chosen by the Beast House to be drawn further into its ranks.
Beast House - Inner Circle: The Beast House's inner circle is made up of those who directly control outward activities, primarily the capture and trade of illegal and proscribed aliens. Secretly they also control its hidden lairs and beast-pits, and assassination, torture, narco-dealing (particularly combat drugs), mass-murder, and slavery are sidelines many also indulge in.They are uniformly psychopathic, cruel, and callous individuals, selected for their brutality and skill. Rightly feared by those they deal with, a reek of darkness and a lurking feral madness hangs about them that even hardened recidivists are wary of. Consequently, few local criminals and gang leaders will cross them.Those who have direct dealings with the Beast House's inner circle may quickly develop grave misgivings about doing so despite the potential rewards. Conversely, for some, the first inklings of the horrific truth of what the Beast House is are a lure rather than a warning sign, and they soon fall into the depths of what the Beast House has to offer.
Beast House - Darker Activities: Very few know or dare suspect what lies at the Beast House's dark heart, and the Inquisition has never been able to glean anything more than a few scattered after-action reports by shocked Adeptus Arbites strike teams. Therefore, the Holy Ordos have not yet come to realise just how dangerous or powerful the Beast House is.Behind the scenes, the Beast House is steeped in blood and unimaginable savagery. Aside from trafficking in forbidden creatures, Solkarn Senk's true disciples conduct their own awful games and bloody entertainments, as well as creating utterly illegal fleshworks to satiate their lust for violence and sport. These include capturing alien beasts so terrible their mere presence threatens thousands of lives, fabricating murder gholams from living victims, and creating "forced" mutants and other transgenic blasphemies to serve their sick needs for spectacle and the hunt.Senk's inner circle are the true Beast House, and each one is a monster easily as terrible and deserving of death as any pure alien threat. Should this dark truth be fully uncovered, the Holy Ordos will be forced to strike immediately and resolutely to destroy the Beast House, but such is the widespread infiltration of Senk's followers into the underworlds and dark recesses of the Golgenna Reach sub-sector of the Calixis Sector that they are more than likely to survive to work their evils again.
Beast House - Behind the Mask: The Beast House focuses on the xenos elements of the beasts it uses and the evil and corrupt men and women who are involved in running it. The evil of the beast slavers is best expressed as an unrestrained bloodlust and the love of the hunt gone mad, with such attendant evils as slavery and the torture of lesser creatures for sport.The danger the Inquisition and Imperial law sees in this is not simply the crimes of those involved but also the myriad possible dangers presented by the xenos creatures themselves, both known and unknown. At the secret heart of the Beast House, this menace has gone so far as to enter the realms of the truly horrific, with hideous experiments and insane games where innocents are killed for nothing more than sport. It is also possible that at the Beast House's heart lies a connection to an intelligent xenos enemy of Humanity or to Chaos or some other Daemonic presence.
Beast of Nurgle - Beast of Nurgle: The Beast of Nurgle, also called a "Slime Hound," and "Nurgle's Lapdog," is a Daemonic Beast in the service of the Plague God Nurgle that is truly a horror on the battlefield.It has the soft, sticky and mottled body of a pallid slug, webbed feet that flap uselessly, a face of writhing green tentacles, and a whip-tail growth that bursts from its back and which wags constantly from side to side.The essence of mindless decay and horrid rot given putrid flesh, Beasts of Nurgle exemplify the Plaguelord's endless enthusiasm and excitement for forces of life and death. Thus, a Beast delights in discovering new things and making (to its very simple mind) new friends.When brought into realspace they act almost akin to a curious and inquisitive pet, investigating anything and everything in sight, and spreading illness and rot wherever they go.
Beast of Nurgle - Role: Immense slug-like monstrosities, Beasts of Nurgle crawl across the ground on their bellies, weakly propelled by clawed flippers, leaving a layer of stinking slime in their wake.While slow, the Beast is implacable in its advance, undeterred by all but the most fearsome of weapons, as relentless as the decay it embodies. Each is a nightmarish conglomeration of parts, with a lengthy neck holding a wide-eyed face of almost blissful idiocy.The gaping tooth-filled mouth houses a lolling tongue dripping with putrid saliva. Clusters of writhing tubes sprout from the Beast's neck and back, each one spewing forth swarms of buzzing flies, clouds of vomit-inducing gases, flesh-eating fluids capable of finding gaps in even the most secure of armour, or other foul gifts.The Beast of Nurgle is no less deadly than it is ugly, for its touch causes paralysis and its slimy secretions rot everything they cover. The very proximity of a Beast is sufficient to kill small animals and plants, and even larger creatures may age and decay perceptibly in its presence. Indeed, the Beast is the very embodiment of the universe's mindless decay.Despite its fearsome appearance and deadly attributes, the Beast is an affectionate creature that behaves in all respects exactly like an over-friendly and easily excited puppy. It craves attention, greeting newcomers by slobbering all over them with its slimy tentacles.Once they get thoroughly worked up they can rarely (if ever) contain themselves and leave little piles of acrid slime in their wake. All this attention is not a problem to other creatures and servants of Nurgle, but tends to kill mortals fairly rapidly.Unlike most Daemons, a Beast kills not with rending claws and ripping teeth, but with a strange form of kindness. Victims are caressed, petted, and stroked with the Daemon's multiple tentacles, while the long tongue delivers slobbery and slimy licks.In very short order, the victim is sickened, infected, dissolved, and then crushed, ground under the Beast’s vast bulk. The Beast, for its part, feels a touch of sadness at the inability of its now-dead friend to join in on the merriment, but quickly forgets about him as something (or someone) new attracts its attention.Once the Beast's new friend stops moving, its interest quickly shifts to another target, and in this way the creature excitedly and lovingly poisons and kills just about everything it touches. As the Beast has only the most rudimentary sense of intelligence it never anticipates the result of its boisterous behaviour, and registers only a slight sense of disappointment as each new friend goes still and boring.
Beast of Nurgle - Battle Tactics: When they manifest in battle alongside the Heretic Astartes of the Death Guard Traitor Legion, Beasts of Nurgle are cynically exploited as line-breaking units. The Death Guard have little time for the Beasts' attentions, and no more desire than most to be crushed under their galumphing weight.Thus they herd the Beasts toward the enemy as best they can, often baiting the creatures with speeding tanks -- which they delight in chasing -- or bands of hapless Chaos Cultists. Should the Beasts be torn apart by heavy fire, those shells are at least not falling upon valuable Death Guard warriors. If the Beasts of Nurgle successfully punch a hole in the enemy lines, Mortarion's sons waste no time in exploiting their advantage.A prime example of the destructive power of a Beast of Nurgle can be found on the Agri-world of Gabali III in Winterscale's Realm in the Koronus Expanse. There the province of Gevaudan suffered hundreds of casualties as a Beast wandered about the farm fields, destroying crops, herd animals, and buildings.Seemingly unstoppable, it took the combined efforts of Enforcers and local planetary militia units to finally destroy the Daemon. Even after death, however, its presence lingered, as crops grew sickly and many fields had to be torched to the bedrock to remove the diseased corruption.Another example was when the Death Guard used Beasts of Nurgle at the Third Battle for Tarran's Pass. When the Scourge Stars arose, Death Guard vectoriums launched strikes against nearby worlds, ensuring that no enemy was in a position to disrupt Mortarion's muster for the invasion of Ultramar in the Plague Wars to come.On the planet of Daxar, the Apostles of Contagion met stiff resistance from an Astra Militarum force built around the 56th Cadian Heavy Infantry. Though the Death Guard drove the Cadians back from the defences of Haldyon City before harrying them across the sulphur deserts beyond, at the mouth of Tarran's Pass the Imperial Guard dug in and resisted all conventional attacks.Conscious that his enemies were mustering their reserves for a concerted counterstrike, and that the will remained upon Daxar to disrupt Mortarion's plans, Death Guard Lord Thelugh Poxmaw commanded that a mighty summoning ritual be performed. As dark clouds spiralled overhead and the moons crawled backwards in the sky, several hundred Beasts of Nurgle were conjured into being and sent gambolling towards the Imperial defence lines.Dozens were blown apart by Cadian fire, dozens more hacked and blasted apart at close range, but the remaining Beasts ploughed on regardless, and the depleted Death Guard followed in their wake. With the barricades smashed, the pass ran red with Imperial blood, and Daxar fell soon after.
Beast of Nurgle - Rot Fly Origins: Though few know the truth, the putrid Daemonic creatures known as Rot Flies are, in fact, metamorphosed forms of Beasts of Nurgle who have given in to spite and despair.Over thousands of Terran years, even the simple joy of Beasts of Nurgle can be soured by their playmates' unwillingness. A seed of discontentment takes hold within some, a canker of bitterness and disillusionment that grows with every fresh rejection. Should such a doubting Beast be slain and banished back to the Garden of Nurgle in the Realm of Chaos, it will slump into the muck and filth with a resigned sigh and give in to its misery and despair.Eventually they are cocooned by a cloud of Nurgle's fattest Daemon flies, and when they finally emerge, a bloated Rot Fly rips its way free, fully formed and driven by all the hate and cruelty that soured the Beast of Nurgle's simple heart.These Daemonic insects act as aerial mounts for high-ranking Plaguebearers known as Plague Drones.
Beast of Nurgle - Sources: Codex: Chaos Daemons (4th Edition), pg. 38Codex: Chaos Daemons (6th Edition), pg. 48Codex Heretic Astartes - Death Guard (8th Edition), pp. 54-55, 83Rogue Trader: Koronus Bestiary (RPG), pg. 118Warhammer 40,000: Darktide (Video Game) (Image)
Beastmen - Beastmen: Note: This article discusses material that was once considered canon but whose canonicity is now questionable.Beastmen (sing. Beastman) (Homo sapiens variatus) are Abhumans descended from baseline Human stock who combine the physical appearances of Humans and certain Terran animals, usually ungulates like goats or rams.Beastmen do not necessarily look alike, and different animal traits can manifest themselves in each individual, but apart from this form of phenotypical variation they are a genetically stable Human subspecies, and are considered to be a form of Abhuman rather than an actual mutant.The origin of Beastmen is unknown, though it is likely that they are the result of experiments in genetic engineering stretching back to the Dark Age of Technology before the birth of the Imperium of Man, who proceeded to breed true. Other Imperial scholars claim that Beastmen are Abhumans whose unusual forms were the result of exposure to the unnatural influence of the Warp but that the subspecies somehow managed to maintain an unusual degree of genetic stability across generations, unlike other such mutants born of the power of Chaos.
Beastmen - Imperial Beastmen: In temperament as well as appearance these Abhumans are often bestial, and possess a reputation for crudity, aggression and bad discipline. Starting in the late 30th Millennium, Beastmen were often recruited into the ranks of the Imperial Army as part of the massive galactic expansion of the burgeoning Imperium during the Great Crusade, which began after ca. 798.M30. Beastmen in the Imperial Army were regarded as useful if highly undisciplined warriors, and were ideal for suicidal assaults where brawn rather than tactical intellect was required.Other Imperial troops disliked them intently as they were quite rowdy, unsanitary and generally unpleasant for baseline Humans to deal with. Following the events of the galaxy-wide civil war known as the Horus Heresy, and the subsequent restructuring of the Imperial armed forces by the Ultramarines Legion Primarch Roboute Guilliman according to the dictats of his magnum opus, the Codex Astartes during the Time of Rebirth, Beastmen regiments were retained in the newborn Astra Militarum, where they were often led by the largest and most powerful of their kind, known as "Packmasters."Those Beastmen who have been introduced to the Imperial Cult by the missionaries of the Adeptus Ministorum possess a simple but fierce devotion to the Emperor of Mankind and regard Him as a vengeful god who demands tribute in the form of the blood of His enemies. These fanatically religious Beastmen are driven by the need to atone for their original sin of being born mutants by fighting in service to the Emperor.In recent centuries there has been a political shift within the Imperium and Beastmen are no longer seen in Imperial military service; no doubt the more Puritan elements of the Inquisition convinced the Departmento Munitorum that Beastmen could not be so radically different from the genetic Human baseline without having been in some way affected by the taint of Chaos. In the 41st Millennium, Beastmen are often now classified as mutants and as a result are the subject of severe Imperial persecution and have been placed on the "Register of Proscribed Citizens" (Class A-G worlds) by the Adeptus Arbites.This effectively precludes them from settlement on, or transportation to or from, more than three hundred thousand worlds of the Imperium and forbids their conscription as part of an Imperial Tithe obligation. All of this is a sure sign that they may soon lose their official Abhuman status completely and be reclassified as true mutants. These creatures are often hunted down during anti-mutant pogroms conducted by the Adeptus Arbites on those worlds where populations of Beastmen are known to exist. This persecution, of course, has led many Beastmen to seek protection in the service of Chaos, thus in effect producing a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Beastmen - Chaos Beastmen: Beastmen are destined to become the outcasts of Imperial society. They are shunned and are often hunted down and killed as the Imperium has little tolerance for any who deviate from the perfection of the baseline Human form in mind or body. Mutation is considered a heretical crime against the Emperor by Imperial authorities because of its connection to sympathy with or worship of Chaos.As creatures of the Warp, these bestial warriors often fall to the service of Chaos as members of the Lost and the Damned as a means of escaping the persecution of Imperial society or are lulled into the service of one of the four Chaos Gods due to their inherent nature as creatures of Chaos.Whatever their true origins, there is no doubt that the Ruinous Powers look upon Beastmen with special favour, and Chaos "gifts" are often granted to those Beastmen who become Champions of Chaos even though they may serve no specific Chaos God. Champions who do follow Khorne, Nurgle, Slaanesh or Tzeentch individually often benefit from the relationship more readily than Human, Heretic Astartes or other mortal Chaos Champions, because they are closer to the true nature of Chaos.
Beastmen - Tzaangors, Beastmen of Tzeentch: True to the Changer of the Ways, the Beastmen of Tzeentch, known as Tzaangors, are spectacularly variable -- bright of colouration and sharp of intellect. Their raptor-like beaks clack as they chant blasphemous refrains in the Dark Tongue of Chaos, gimlet eyes glowing in their aquiline skulls. Their hunger for knowledge stems from a desire for power, and even in battle they look to transcend their base existences by seeking out arcane artefacts and priceless texts.In serving their sorcerer masters, Tzaangors may earn the chance to elevate themselves above their earthly stations, but in truth such occasions are rare, for a streak of cruelty lurks within the warlike soul of every Tzaangor. When given the opportunity, they will take their ire out on those who oppose them in inventive displays of blade-work -- or, when they put aside their artistic pretensions for the gratification of raw brutality, a gory display of violence.Beastmen of Tzeentch, like all of his mortal and Daemonic servants, hate all who are mortal followers of Nurgle, including other Beastmen like Pestigors who follow that patron god.
Beastmen - Bloodgors, Beastmen of Khorne: Those Beastmen who serve the Blood God Khorne are known as Bloodgors or Khorngors. The signature of Khorne is writ clearly upon the form of the Blood God's Beastmen. They have canine heads or faces, fierce snapping jaws, and teeth which drip with rank saliva. Their skin or fur is usually red and their eyes are all white with red pupils.Bloodgor Champions of Khorne often have fur which is especially impressive, either bright red, black with red flecks, or a strange, metallic, brassy colour. If the Beastman has horns these may be twisted into the shape of the skull-like rune known as the Mark of Khorne. The same rune is often painted or burned onto their skin or fur, and can be tattooed onto their exposed foreheads. Beastmen of Khorne always fight in their own units, although they can be led by a Beastman Chaos Champion so long as he does not follow any other Chaos God.These foul creatures, enslaved to the worship of the Blood God, populate many planets within the Eye of Terror. Dim-witted, cruel, unruly and easily startled, they are always keen to kill for their masters, usually Chaos Space Marines in service to the Blood God -- who are careless of their lives, sending Packmasters to whip them towards the enemy's guns.Beastmen of Khorne, like all of his mortal and Daemonic servants, hate all who are mortal followers of Slaanesh, including other Beastmen who follow that patron god. They also hate all enemy Chaos Sorcerers and other types of psykers. They do not hate enemy shamans who also follow Khorne, as they cannot cast sorcerous spells but have the power to nullify psychic abilities. The Bloodgors' hatred only applies to enemy troops, never to allies, even if they are followers of another one of the Ruinous Powers, including the Dark Prince.
Beastmen - Pestigors, Beastmen of Nurgle: The Pestigors, the Beastmen of Nurgle, have blistered and broken skins, often red with cracked flesh and sores which have been given to them by a generous master. Their fur is matted and coarse, and their bodies are riddled with all kinds of disease.Yet they retain the morbid vigour that characterises their master so their afflictions in no way mar their battle-worthiness. The Mark of Nurgle is carved into their armour, daubed upon their clothes, and sometimes etched onto their skin by the path of disfiguring disease. Many Beastmen of Nurgle carry Nurgle's Rot, although thanks to their loyalty to Grandfather Nurgle, that terrible arcane disease will not affect them.Beastmen of Nurgle, like all of his mortal and Daemonic servants, hate all who are mortal followers of Tzeentch, including other Beastmen who follow that patron god.
Beastmen - Slaangors, Beastmen of Slaanesh: Beastmen who worship or are born blessed by the Chaos God Slaanesh, known as Slaangors, have white or near-white fur and pale or pastel skins. Their eyes are green and are sometimes saucer-like in a similar way to those of the Daemonettes. The Mark of Slaanesh appears somewhere on them, painted onto their hides or carved into their armour, a bracelet or neck collar.Many of Slaanesh's Beastmen have the head or horns of a bull (known as Bovigors) just like the Greater Daemons of their patron god. They are often possessed of almost superhuman combat reflexes and are particularly skilled combtants with swords and other bladed melee weapons.Beastmen of Slaanesh, like all of his mortal and Daemonic servants, particularly enjoy targeting the servants of Khorne, including other Beastmen who follow that patron god. Slaangors will not assault Bloodgors or other servants of the Blood God who are allied to them, putting the greater interests of any Chaos host first, but are quite willing to humiliate Khorne's servants once the enemy is vanguished and the Great Game begins in earnest once more.
Beastmen - Other Beastmen Species: To the fearful eyes of Humanity all Beastmen appear the same -- an unruly mass of flesh, fur and teeth. In their ignorance they can discern no distinguishing characteristics that mark the different physical and social types, nor any kind of social hierarchy apart from the simple supremacy of the strongest.This is a mistake often made by Humans, whose judgement of Beastmen is overwhelmed by the brutal power and savagery of these creatures. In fact, Beastmen society is very precise and ordered, and there are several distinct levels of class and rank.
Beastmen - Minotaurs: An unusually large and aggressive strain of giant Beastman, Minotaurs are comparable in physical size and strength to an Ogryn. These creatures are massive, bull-headed monstrosities that constantly hunger for hot blood and red meat. Often growing to twice the height of a man and far greater in muscular bulk, their thick-skulled heads are broad and ugly, and their horns can eviscerate with a single thrust.Minotaurs are possessed of a terrible hunger for flesh, particularly the flesh of Mankind. Yet it is not the gnawing hunger a mortal feels when deprived of sustenance, but a deep thirst for the unholy exhilaration the Minotaurs experience when they consume the flesh of their enemies. In this state they join with the power of the Chaos Gods and share in part of their unholy glory.Minotaurs seem to be wholly creations of Chaos, and are never found in any Imperial military force.
Beastmen - Notable Beastmen: Gor Half-Horn - Gor Half-Horn is an infamous sanctioned Beastman bounty hunter who roams the underhives of the Hive World of Necromunda's capital hive city of Hive Primus in pursuit of his quarry.
Beastmen - Game History: Beastmen were initially part of Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader 1st Edition's Imperial Guard armies. They could later be used in Imperial Guard armies with the use of the Homo Sapiens Variatus Doctrine, and in the army list for the The Lost and the Damned, though these rules are now obsolete.The Beastmen were originally part of the Warhammer 40,000 universe because, like many of the other factions, they were direct ports of Warhammer's Beastmen. On the Warhammer World, the Beastmen are mutants born as the result of Chaos influence upon their purely Human parents.In later editions of the game, Games Workshop sought to take the Warhammer 40,000 universe farther away from its fantasy Warhammer roots and create more distance between both intellectual properties, resulting in the removal of Beastmen from the game; the same impulse was responsible for the removal of the Squats as a playable race in the Warhammer 40,000 universe because Games Workshop no longer felt that a species of "Space Dwarfs" was appropriate for their science fiction universe.However, Games Workshop eventually decided to bring the Beastmen back into Warhammer 40,000, with a mention in a list of recognised Abhuman strains in the Warhammer 40,000 6th Edition rulebook. This was eventually followed by the release of rules and models for using Tzaangors as part of the 7th and 8th Edition Thousand Sons army lists, and a Beastman special character, Gor Half-Horn, for the 2017 reboot of the Necromunda tabletop miniature skirmish game.
Beastmen - Sources: Codex: Chaos (2nd Edition), pp. 132-133Codex Imperialis (1st Edition), pg. 89Imperial Armour Volume Six - The Siege of Vraks - Part Two, pp. 135, 141Realm of Chaos: The Lost and the Damned (1st Edition), pp. 262, 274Realm of Chaos: Slaves to Darkness(1st Edition), pp. 262, 267Warhammer 40,000: Compendium (1st Edition), "The Imperial Guard", pp. 37, 54Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader (1st Edition), pg. 174Warhammer 40,000: Rulebook (8th Edition), pg. 279Warhammer 40,000: Rulebook (6th Edition), pp. 404-405War Zone: Fenris - Wrath of Magnus (7th Edition), pp. 144, 150White Dwarf 124 (UK), "Beastmen", pp. 60-73Necromunda Gor Half-Horn Rules
Beasts of Annihilation - Beasts of Annihilation: The Beasts of Annihilation are a warband of Chaos Space Marines that were once the Loyalist Space Marine Chapter known as the Annihilators. Corrupted beyond recognition, these once-proud warriors are sworn to the service of the Dark Gods, and allow the daemons of the Warp to possess their superhuman Astartes bodies. As a result, this warband fields an unusually large number of Possessed Chaos Space Marine squads.
Beasts of Annihilation - The Great Degeneration: The Beasts of Annihilation were once a Loyalist Chapter of Space Marines known as the Annhilators. After the unremitting violence of the xenocidal Quietus Campaign, the Annhilators Chapter finally succumbed to blood psychosis. Those of the Chapter still able to act rationally gathered at their fortress-monastery in the hope of finding absolution. Instead of redeeming their sins, however, their corrupted Chaplains lead them in an ancient ritual, leaving their souls wide open to daemonic influence. Every member of the Chapter was possessed over the course of a single moonlit night, shifting forms and devolving into armoured half-Daemon monstrosities. Calling themselves the Beasts of Annihilation, the Possessed Chaos Space Marines went to war again, though this time it was the Imperium that felt their wrath.
Beasts of Annihilation - Warband Colours: The Beasts of Annihilation wear blood red coloured Power Armour with gold trim. Their armour now features the various symptoms of possession, often melding with their flesh while sporting chaotic growths.
Beasts of Annihilation - Chapter Badge: The Beasts of Annihilation have no specific identifying symbol, instead incorporating the various blasphemous sigils and iconography of Chaos as their identifying marks.
Behemoid Undercult - Behemoid Undercult: The Behemoid Undercult is a Genestealer Cult that operates on the fringes of the Realm of Ultramar. This hidden organisation is of such cunning it has infested several Ultramarian worlds, despite continued attacks from the Ultramarines Tyrannic War Veterans trained by Chaplain Ortan Cassius.There are rumours the cult's founders worshipped a battle-scarred Tyranid monstrosity of Hive Fleet Behemoth trapped in ice on the world of Calth after the First Tyrannic War, and that they still revere that great beast alongside their own Genestealer Patriarch as a saint of their new order.That creature, a unique Tyranid Carnifex known as "Old One Eye" in the spacefarer tales that surround it, is of such totemic importance to the Undercult that they ritually scar and tattoo themselves, or even cut out their own right eyes, in homage to the creature, seeing it as a prophet of the xenos god they simply call "Behemoth."Believing in a creed of physical strength and aggression, the cult amasses hulking, armoured war engines and lumbering Aberrants to unleash on the day of ascension. These forces they release as a single overwhelming battering ram, seeking to destroy or be destroyed in their deity's name.
Behemoid Undercult - Sources: Codex: Genestealer Cults (7th Edition), pg. 50Codex: Genestealer Cults (8th Edition), pg. 32Codex: Genestealer Cults (9th Edition), pg. 36
Bekrin - Bekrin: Bekrin is a Cardinal World, the capital planet of the Ecclesiarchy diocese covering much of what is now the Achilus Crusade's Canis Salient in the Jericho Reach.Its clergy evacuated the world to escape the approaching Tyranids of Hive Fleet Dagon, and though the Tyranids were turned aside before they could reach Bekrin, the planet has never been resettled.The Adeptus Ministorum often petitions Lord Commander Sebiascor Ebongrave to reclaim Bekrin and install a new Cardinal to serve as the spiritual leader of the Canis Salient. Ebongrave, for reasons unknown, has bluntly refused at every turn, and has even proclaimed Bekrin a Quarantined World.No one knows why, though there is no shortage of speculation about what horrible sights might be found among Bekrin's fabled natural beauty and gilded temple-cities.To some, Bekrin is an example of Ebongrave's paranoia, but others insist that there must be something terribly wrong with the planet. In any case, no official word on Bekrin has been forthcoming in more than forty standard years.
Belacane - Belacane: BelacaneForge WorldCalixis SectorSegmentum ObscurusAdeptus MechanicusOnce known across the galaxy for its expertise in the manufacture of temporal Stasis Fields, the Forge World appears now to be dedicated solely to hoarding its technologies and jealously guarding its sacred scientific wisdom.
Belaphor - Belaphor: Belaphor is the current Master of the Rock for the Dark Angels Chapter of Space Marines, which makes him the equivalent of a Codex Astartes-compliant Chapter's Master of the Forge.Belaphor is cybernetically hard-wired into the systems of The Rock and is NOT a member of the Chapter's Inner Circle because of his shared allegiance to the Adeptus Mechanicus.
Belaphor - Role: Most Space Marine Chapters have a Master of the Forge: the most senior Techmarine within the Chapter. With deep understanding of the arcane sciences refined over many standard years of experience, the Master of the Forge is comparable to a Tech-priest of the Adeptus Mechanicus. The Dark Angels maintain a similar role within their Chapter known as the Master of the Rock, although there is an ominous difference.Upon ascending to the honoured position, the Master of the Rock follows his predecessors in the office by being permanently and cybernetically hard-wired into the control nave of Cogitators located deep within the asteroid base that serves as the Dark Angels' mobile fortress-monastery.It is his solemn duty to placate the most important Machine Spirits, directing the maintenance of the engines and Warp-Drive that allow the enormous asteroid to navigate the galaxy.It is his mind alone that perceives the workings of the force field that still shields the asteroid base. The previous Masters of the Rock, whose bodies of flesh and bone have withered, are left in place, their mechanical upgrades still functioning while their bones fall in dusty heaps below. Eventually, these bodies will be collected for display in the Alcoves of Honour.Because of their dual allegiance to the Chapter and the Adeptus Mechanicus, Techmarines are never inducted into the Deathwing. This includes the Master of the Rock; he is privy only to the secrets of the Dark Angels' asteroid base and its hoard of ancient technology, but never to the greatest secrets shrouding the Chapter's origins.