Clan Moulder

"Yes-yes Warlord Krizk - for a treaty-pledge of just 200 Slaves, 12 claws of warptokens, a Breeder and certain alliances and pledges, one of our very-very finest Clan Moulder Rat Ogres can be yours..."

- Clan Moulder Haggle-master

Clan Moulder is one of the Four Great Skaven Clans that specializes in the mastery of breeding, mutating and surgically creating one of the most horrific and fearsome war-beast to have ever existed. It is still unclear how these loathsome ratmen have managed to achieve such results in their expirements, for the Pack-Moulders are a greedy and jealous lot, but what is no secret is that the Clan is considered one of the wealthiest of the Skaven Clan within the entire Under-Empire.

From their powerbase within the crater-city of Hell-Pit, the Skavens of Clan Moulders have amassed within the confines of their capital, one of the greatest collection of monsters within the entire Old World. Captured from many exotic and equally dangerous lands, the Pack-Moulders would breed, mutate or otherwise surgically modify these already fearsome monsters into utter abominations. Such is the demand for their fearsome warbeast that the Clan can easily sell their merchandise at exorbitant prices.

Whilst many are jealous of their power and wealth, few would deny them openly and none in the wildest warp-dreams would wage war against them, for such is their military strength that none save perhaps the other Four Great Clans can deny them outright without being destroyed utterly. Such is the power and wealth that this clan has accumilated throughout their long and wealthy existence that their all-mighty clan leader, Lord Verminkin, Packlord of Clan Moulder, has cemented a position within the Council of Thirteen.

Overview
The majority of the clan currently lives with the vast city of Hell Pit. The mines of this crowded Skaven city is loaded with vast quantities of Warpstone, a precious and required material used to achieve excellent results in their horrible work. Given their exposure to mutation from the very same warpstone used in their experiments, Master-Moulders are more or something less, than typical Skaven. This has resulted with the Clan having a considerable percentage of mutants within the population-- especially the Moulders -- then other Skaven Clans, leading to many having boils or discolored skin, and at some occasions even small horns or a third arm.

Whilst these ratmen are mutants by consequence, the Master-Moulders are second to none in their field of expertise, using meat and bone like clay, attaching, sewing, and growing various limbs and appendages to create a large variety of different, but noticeably similar monsters. Master-Moulders frolic with the anatomy of the creatures in the same way Warlock-Engineers of Clan Skryre do with mechanical war machines, and the final results of these biological experiments are often just as terrifying, with Giant Rats and Rat Ogres as just two unfortunate examples of their horrible work.

Clan Moulder members are not only able to create monsters suitable for war, but are also exceptionally good at controlling them too. The handlers of these beasts, called "Pack-Masters" are skilled and proficient enough to be able to control and direct swarms of War-beast against enemy formations with relative ease. Outside the field of battle, Pack Masters would regularly train their war-beast to be better killers by simply making them fight against each other. The results ensures that only the strong ones survive, while the weak are injured, killed, and inevitable eaten.

Clan Moulder's mission is simple: create the ultimate living killing machine biologically possible, through the use of surgery, breeding and mutation. These beasts not only increase the ranks of Clan Moulders military, but has also sold them to other clans for the same purpose, where they could serve as pets, bodyguards, or shock troops in the Skaven armies. No doubt that the respect and awe that other clans feel to the Clan is well deserved.

Military
Whilst having the common armies of Clanrats and Stormvermins within their desposal, the most important unit within any Moulder army are the Pack-Masters, who directs the hordes of rats, Giant Rat or Rat Ogres against their enemies. Clanrats, which are the most common unit within many Skaven armies, are just complementary units in the armies of this clan. The beasts of Clan Moulder are the true back-bone of their military might. The hordes of these monsters are nearly endless, and shows a wide variety of mutated creatures and surgically altered animals or war-beast to be used in combat. Of course, the creatures that make the Clan so powerful are descendants of captured monsters, either within the lands of Troll Country or even the dreaded lands of the Chaos Waste.

As a consequence, the Pack-Masters of the Clan are highly trained to capture their prey alive, hoping to gain a profit once sold to the Master-Moulders to be used in their hideous experiments. There are even rumours abound that each of the biological horrors of Clan Moulder is created with a built-in safety mechanism that prevents harm to members of their native clan.

In addition, these creatures obey the Pack-Masters and Master-Moulders without question, an investments that should be dangerous for anyone wanting to buy one. If a customer becomes an enemy to the Clan, these Skavens are naturally weary of the beast they had previously bought from their former masters. The Council of Thirteen even considers Clan Moulder a valuable tool. Not only do their creations demonstrate an ability in the battlefield that few can even match, but can also inspire terror in the enemies of the Skaven that even fewer can sow. The hordes of Giant Rats and herds of hungry Rat Ogres can make a battle line tremble even before the creatures make contact. The Clan is very proud of the services they provide to the Warlords clans of the Under-Empire, but mostly its is due to the large quantities of wealth they accumulate from their Business. Many of their creations are on sale, and are proud to offer custom designs to those willing to pinch in a few more warp-tokens for their service. The Council of Thirteen benefits from these options as well, and most of the Lords of Decay are the proud holders of at least one Rat Ogre. Two or three members of the Councl even possess nightmarish creations that few have seen, except for the Moulders that created them.

Although their capabilities are dedicated to transforming bodies, Master-Moulder are ironically also experts in the healing arts. With the help of warpstone substances and experts at the studies of body anatomy, they can heal any wound and enhance any body they see fit. The older members of the Council have survived to their venerable age by the liberal application of the Clans alchemy into their body, ensuring them a very long, if not unhealthy, extended life within the Council.

Clan Moulder Infantry

 * Pack-Masters - The very essence of ensuring victory within any Moulder army lies within the cruel and ruthless coordination and taming of the Clans fearless Pack-Masters, the tamer and handler idealy suited to control the various war-beast that engulf much of the Clans armies. It is certainly required for any army to have atleast a handfull of these beast masters within their ranks, less the monsters they have hired from the Moulders would run amok, and at the very worst decimate the entire army if not put under strict control. As such Pack-Masters have to the best of the best when it comes to training and taming the creatures, as a fair amount of would-be Pack-Masters have unsuprisingly become a victim to one of their own creations.

Clan Moulder War-Beast

 * Giant Rats - The most common and cheapest Clan Moulder has to offer, these creatures might at a distance look like normal rats, but on closer expections they have a variety of mutations, a staple of Clan Moulders expertise. Long ago, these Master-Moulders have long unlocked the secrets of breeding, mutating and sergically augmenting the common rat into a fearsome beast. Standing bigger then the average dog, these rats have a variety of features that only increase their effectiveness in combat, such things include extra heads, over-sized incisors or claws, spiked tails, and even strong boney plate armour. The far more mutated ones have even exposed ribs, massive boils, and even skinless flesh.
 * Rat Ogre - The most infamous of Clan Moulders many creations, these beasts are one of the largest and most fearsome of the creations at their disposal. Larger than any human, these beasts stand taller then two man, and has enough strength and muscle to fight a whole company of soldiers. The ordinary Rat Ogre is a Skaven to a human, as an  Rat Ogre is to an Ogre. Rat Ogres are usually covered with stiches, their Clan Moulder masters frequently adding "modifications" to their already formidable bulk, either adding large saw-like blades, weapon attachments, or even an extra arm to those few Skaven Warlords willing to pay a few extra warp-tokens.
 * Hell-Pit Abomination - The greatest creation Clan Moulder has ever created, this monstrosity towers any creation Clan Moulder has ever made in their long diabolic history. A product of the masterful expertise of Throt the Unclean -- the most promising Master-Moulder within the clan -- Throt had made an expedition towards the waste to capture the legendary Blind Wyrmn, a creature Clan Moulder has long thought of capturing, but due to the creature naturally living within the depths of the world, these hunts proved unsuccessful. Once returning to his home-city, Throt had gained much honour within the Clan for being the first to capture this fine specimen. The Clan wasted no time, with the aid of Throt and several Master-Moulders, a great experiment had begun lasting for many days, stitching together multiple limbs to the torso to ensure the creature will be the ultimate killing machine. So much warpstone was used in the stitching process that production of other war-beasts ground to a halt. Suspecting plots against their clans, many Warlords began to clamour, sure that treachery was afoot. At one dark night, omnious signs preceded the final precedure for the creation of this creature. The Chaos moon hung low this night, and storms of impossible proportions raged at the tortured-wracked polar caps. The warp-lightning accumators that rose above the surface of Hell Pit whirred with supernatural power as they delivered the final jolt that shocked the now-completed creation alive. The Beast rampaged and slaugthered all in their path, killing untold hundreds of Skavens with the vicinity of the city. But the Skavens didn't care, for finally, they created the perfect killing machine. A massive beast, standing taller then 8 men, and many many times stronger, this engine of destruction is unstoppable in the battlefield, with many not even having the courage to even look at the hideous sight.

Source
Clan Moulder
 * Warhammer Armies: Skaven (7th Edition) pg 53 - 56

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