"My name? Long ago such worthless details fell from memory. I know only the lust for glorious battle -- for blood, for victory! I seek only the Eye of Tzeentch -- his favour, his grace, his Dark Gifts -- that through them, I may be remade -- reborn! Why do we raid your lands? Why do we burn your homes? Why do we flay your flesh? To serve the Lord of Change and his magnificent designs."
Chaos Chosen are those blessed few amongst the ranks of the Chaos Warriors who bear the favour of the Dark Gods far more than their fellows, but have not yet become strong enough to take on the mantle of a true Chaos Champion.
Chaos Chosen are also known as "Slaves to Darkness" for they are those mortals most committed to the ruination of the mortal world. The Chosen are among the most favoured of the Ruinous Powers' many mortal servants, alongside the Chaos Knights. It is not for nothing that the Chosen are so called, as it takes a special, extremely twisted being to serve the Chaos Gods with such fervour.[3]
Role
"Chosen are greater than their Chaotic brethren, more powerful and savage in close quarters, especially with great weapons."
- —Description of Chosen of Chaos in Total War: Warhammer.[3]
Known amongst their kind as "the Chosen," these Chaos Warriors are gifted with a variety of Daemon Weapons, Chaos Armour and other mutations as a reward for their faithful service to Chaos. These "gifts" can vary greatly, but most mutations tend to be useful as weapons that aid the Chosen in their quest to inflict devastation and misery upon their enemies. Even if a Chosen warrior bears no such stigmata, it is clear that they carry the grace of the Dark Gods simply from their ever-present aura of dark menace. Amongst the ranks of Chaos Warriors, the Chosen are truly the nobility of Chaos.[1a]
Chaos Chosen will always lead by example, fighting not as commanders but as elite warriors. In this way, the Chosen hope to attract yet more of their master's favour and ascend to the ranks of the truly exalted Champions of Chaos. They advance unflinchingly through blackpowder firestorms, hails of arrows and punishing artillery, their purposeful tread never faltering as they march ever closer to their prey.[1a]
Battle lines have buckled and broken at the mere prospect of a warband of Chaos Chosen closing in upon them, blades raised so that the methodical butchery of the foe can begin. Few can stand against the full onslaught of a Chaos Warrior, and even fewer can stand against the savagery of a single Chaos Chosen in combat.[1a]
As befits their name, the Chosen are the elite of the Warriors of Chaos' forces. It is they who can ascend to Daemonhood, or plummet into the oblivion of becoming a Chaos Spawn. It is the path of the Chosen to which all mortal followers of the Chaos Gods aspire, and it is from their ranks that the mightiest of Chaos Lords arise.[2][3][4]
These ironclad slaughterers often form the inner circle of a Chaos Lord's warband, or fight as elite Huscarls amongst the tribes of Norscan Marauder Chieftains. Every head claimed by their powerful weapons is met with a roar of bloodlust from those of their fellow Chaos Warriors nearby -- for they too seek to become the Chosen of the gods.[2][3][4]
Marked Chaos Chosen
While they may often fight for the glory of Chaos Undivided or venerate multiple Chaos Gods, Chaos Chosen may dedicate themselves to one of the four great Ruinous Powers: bloodthirsty Khorne, scheming Tzeentch, depraved Slaanesh and pestilent Nurgle. Bearing the Mark of one of the Chaos Gods, those who are this devoted to one of the gods will change in mind, body and soul to better match their divine patron's nature and will.
Chosen of Khorne
Those who are physically marked by the Blood God will have set themselves apart from their peers through the fellest of deeds, yet many will not have the mental fortitude to take on the gifts that come with being a Chosen of Khorne. Only the strongest avoid devolving into mindless, gibbering Chaos Spawn, instead becoming destined to grow free of their mortal shackles to gradually take on a more impressive form. Whatever the precise gifts bestowed, these mighty warriors are invariably filled with a mere portion of Khorne's rage, yet it drives them endlessly into combat like those possessed to reap skulls or die a glorious death.[5]
In battle, Chaos Chosen bearing the Mark of Khorne will often wield dual-weapons, the better to cleave through infantry in their never-ending quest to sate Khorne's bloodlust.[5]
Chosen of Tzeentch
Despite his position as the god of magic, Tzeentch, like His brother-gods, indulges frequently in warfare and favours some warriors over others. To his Chosen he grants not only augmented physical ability and arcane wargear, but also an innate awareness of strategy. Where Khorne's Chosen are supremely powerful and savage warriors intent on acts of unbound violence, the Chosen of Tzeentch are more effectively used as part of grand, complex strategies. They are highly cerebral warriors known to plot their manoeuvres so quickly and elaborately that it often appears to their enemies that every eventuality had been planned for ahead of the battle.[5]
In battle, Chosen bearing the Mark of Tzeentch will often wield ensorcelled polearms and halberds, the better to punish thoughtless charges from enemy cavalry.[5]
Chosen of Slaanesh
From amidst the nightmarish hosts of Slaanesh there are those whose deeds fighting in his service have been rewarded above most others. They are the Chaos Chosen of Slaanesh, who have laid countless lives and souls at his altars and brought ruination and debauchery to the forces of Order and Nature. Their skin bears his marks, their icons festooned with sigils and images of their devotion.[5]
But above all they become physically primed for war, their augmented, mutated frames covered in armour inlaid with empowering runes, and their mighty weaponry inscribed with blasphemous blessings of the Dark Prince. Slaanesh gifts boons generously, but only a select few resist being consumed by passions, obsession, and sin to become something more.[5]
In battle, Chosen bearing the Mark of Slaanesh will often wield Hellscourges, living whips of pure torment blessed by Slaanesh and laced with poison.[5]
Chosen of Nurgle
The sane shrink from the contagion of disease in all its forms, but those who become favoured by the Plague Lord are far from sane. When one becomes Nurgle's Chosen, his mark appears on the body as three circular lesions, typically weeping poisonous pus or infested with wriggling maggots. Despite this perceived displeasure, it is a blemish sought by and reserved for only his most loyal servants.[5]
Most individuals so "blessed" develop a supernatural tolerance to pain and immunity to disease, despite their festering flesh, allowing them to enjoy the slow degeneration without distraction. They also become inured to battle wounds, making it very difficult to slay them -- some have to be chopped to pieces before they die.[5]
In battle, Chosen bearing the Mark of Nurgle will often wield two-handed greataxes. Unwieldy weapons are favoured by the Urfather's Chosen, for whom succumbing to injury is a lesser concern.[5]
Notable Chaos Chosen
- Albodi the Scarred - Albodi the Scarred is a mighty Chaos Chosen in the service of Tzeentch.
Miniatures
Videos
Sources
- 1: Warhammer Armies: Warriors of Chaos (8th Edition)
- 1a: pg. 31
- 2: Games Workshop - Chaos Chosen
- 3: Total War: Warhammer (PC Game), Chaos Chosen description
- 4: Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning (PC Game)
- 4a: Tome of Knowledge: Chaos Chosen Class Description
- 5: Total War: Warhammer III (PC Game)