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"Is not the only constant in the universe change? One day all this will be dust, and even the stars above will flicker and grow dim. Your life is but a tiny candle in the darkness, and your death an afterthought, shorn of meaning by its insignificance. Come, little one, and let me show you how brightly your flame can burn..."

—Viltreska, Lord of the Flux[5a]
Warhammer Chaos Sorcerers

A Chaos Sorcerer unleashing a spell.

Chaos Sorcerers, also called simply sorcerers, are powerful wizards who use the raw Winds of Magic to cast spells and unleash Chaos Sorcery.

Those Champions of Chaos who seek mastery over the magical arts are known as Chaos Sorcerers, and they are madmen and malcontents all. They are amongst the most awful and depraved of all servants of the Ruinous Powers, for they long ago sold their souls in exchange for the heady elixir of pure power. Where many of the Known World's wizards, such as those taught by the Colleges of Magic in Altdorf, glean their arcane skill from long years of painstaking research, a Chaos Sorcerer's understanding of the Winds of Magic is often instant and innate. Without the patience and wisdom that such study brings, an inexorable descent into deformity, mutation and madness is nigh on inevitable.[7]

Chaos Sorcerers are masters of Dark Magic, and there is little beyond their might. They can transport themselves over vast distances, call upon the fires of Tzeentch, slaughter men by the scores, and more. But such magic comes at a terrible price. As they tap the energies of Chaos, their sanity withers whilst their bodies twist and mutate with the invoked energies.

Chaos Sorcerers may be found amongst the savage tribes of the Men of the North, serving as oracles and counsellors, but many also come from the civilised lands of the Empire and beyond. These individuals, finding the limitations on magic within the Imperial Colleges of Magic too restrictive, and lured by the power to be held by dabbling in daemonology, drift north to bring themselves closer to the source of their magic in the Chaos Wastes, learning through trial and error.

ChaosSorcererof Nurgle

A Chaos Sorcerer of Nurgle as depicted in Total War: Warhammer III, can master both the Lore of Death and the Dark Magic of the Lore of Nurgle[8].

What separates Chaos Sorcerers from other spellcasters, namely the Magisters of the Empire, witches, and warlocks, is that these individuals derive their power directly from the Chaos Gods. Thus, only mortal servants of Nurgle, Slaanesh, and Tzeentch may become Chaos Sorcerers. There are no sorcerers of Khorne, for the mortal servants of the Blood God abhor the use of magic as the weapon of cowards, like their divine patron.

According to Magister Patriarch Verspasian Kant, Chaos Sorcerers benefit from the guidance of their chosen Chaos deity, similar to a practictioner of Divine Magic, channeling and focusing the unbridled potentiality of the Aethyr through their Dark God rather than drawing upon the Winds of Magic directly. As such, the magic of a Chaos Sorcerer bears unique traits that are otherwise non-existent or unachievable using more usual methods of spellcasting.[6a]

Types of Chaos Sorcerer

Matthew-davis-chs-sorcerer-02

A Chaos Sorcerer as depicted in Total War: Warhammer

  • Maledictors - Maledictors are shamans and Witch Doctors, minor Chaos spellcasters at best. They dabble in the dark arts, but have little understanding of what it is that they do. A few join a northern warband in the hopes of gaining a better understanding of the true nature of Chaos.
  • Doomweavers - Doomweavers are distinct from the lesser Chaos Sorcerers because of their deeper understanding of the workings of magic. These spellcasters select one Chaos God patron to serve, and draw upon magic as granted by this profane god. Doomweavers often advise Chaos Champions, or at least, bind themselves to a powerful Chaos warlord.
Patrik-rosander-nurgle-plague-wave

A Nurglite Chaos Sorcerer unleashes the Plague God's unholy blessings.

  • Soulflayers - A Soulflayer barely resembles their former selves, as they are riddled with mutations. These individuals are warped by the magic they wield, becoming both more and less than what they were. Mighty spellcasters, Soulflayers are among the most potent servants of Chaos, eclipsed only by the Cataclysts. Most Soulflayers may command a coven of Maledictors, instructing them in the arts of Dark Magic.
  • Cataclysts - Cataclysts rival the Exalted Champions of Chaos in the sheer magnitude of their power. They can conjure up the most profane Daemons and level legions with their corrupt magical energies, becoming living vessels of the raw energy of Chaos. Their minds are blasted by the experiences they have endured, and they are mere shadows of their former selves. Cataclysts always employ Daemons to do their bidding and are valued members of any Chaos horde.

Nurglite Chaos Sorcerers

Hechicero del Caos de Nurgle (1) por Adrian Smith

A Chaos Sorcerer of Nurgle

Those Champions of Chaos who offer their souls to the Dark Gods in return for the mastery of forbidden lore achieve great power, at a cost. The raw Winds of Magic are often too much for their sanity to bear. Only the strong-willed can wield such fearsome magic.[4a]

Sorcerers devoted to Nurgle can inflict suffering and affliction at a whim, and are masters of both the Lore of Death and the Lore of Nurgle. Clad in decaying Chaos Armour and rotten robes, their body host to a hundred ailments, their incantations can cause flesh to blister and skin to slough from muscle. They can enchant worms to infest a victim's organs, consuming them slowly from within, and can rain down boiling bile from the sky.[4a][8]

They also have the power to regenerate injured flesh, scabbing over wounds in mockery of the blessings of the goddess of healing and mercy, Shallya.[4a] When at the helm of Nurgle's hordes they often seize prisoners for sacrifice, sparing their lives but infecting them with their patron's supernatural diseases so that they may spread plagues across the mortal world as refugees.[7]

Slaaneshi Chaos Sorcerers

Chaos Sorcerers are powerful and dangerous foes, using more of the Winds of Magic than their counterparts at the Colleges of Magic despite the risk of mutation, Chaos corruption, or even worse fates such as possession. Sorcerers of Slaanesh are powerful spellcasters capable of distorting and distracting the mind to cause seizures, frenzies, and delusions.[3a]

Some sorcerers of Slaanesh are former students and acolytes of the Imperial Colleges of Magic who have fallen and turned to Chaos. There are many reasons why a man or woman versed in magic may sell their soul to the Daemonic power of Slaanesh. Perhaps the wizard felt impotent in comparison to their peers or simply desired even greater power. Others, delighting in their creations and cantrips, have fallen into a pattern of excess, devolving over time into a devotee of Slaanesh until their greed transforms them into a mere puppet, a tool of the Dark Prince.[3a]

These depraved sorcerers take great joy in using their powers for destruction or pleasure, weaving the Winds of Magic with their minds and basking in pure Chaos energies.[3a]

Others still are individuals from the harsh north of the Chaos Wastes that have been raised to serve Chaos. Either through prayer, mutation, or sheer luck, these Slaaneshi sorcerers have become attuned to the Winds of Magic and are bestowed with the same great powers as their fallen brethren.[3a]

Tzeentchian Chaos Sorcerers

Sorcerer of Tzeentch

A Chaos Sorcerer of Tzeentch

Masters of the darkest magic, Chaos Sorcerers are rightly feared. To face one is battle is to know that your very soul is in jeopardy, but it is those that have dedicated themselves to Tzeentch that wield the greatest power. Champions as they are of the Master of Magic, the sorcerers of Tzeentch have the deepest knowledge of the dark arts, and possess the necessary skills to perform the greatest acts of Daemonic summoning.[2a]

Often found in an advisory position to powerful Chaos Champions and Chaos Lords seeking their gift of foresight, the scheming and manipulative nature of sorcerers of Tzeentch will usually leave little doubt who wields the true power behind the scenes, though their supposed masters usually remain oblivious to that fact.[2a]

A sorcerer of Tzeentch will traditionally be garbed in robes of deep blue, and will almost certainly bear signs of mutation, such as an avian head, tentacles, or hands and feet that end in razor-sharp talons. Some sorcerers wear lavishly detailed belts and shoulder plates of jewel-studded gold, whilst others wear baroque suits of skull-emblazoned Chaos Armour and ornate helmets.[2a]

All will carry a magic staff that blazes with evil power, engraved with runes of hate and disharmony that are an anathema to the witchsight of their rivals in magic. Particularly favoured sorcerers may receive the gift of a Daemonic Disc of Tzeentch to carry them into battle, offering them unrivalled speed and manoeuvrability -- a superb platform from which to unleash their devastating spells.[2a]

Sorcerer Lords

Even among the skilled and devoted Chaos Sorcerers of Tzeentch, some ascend to a level of arcane power that rivals the mightiest wizards the Imperial Colleges of Magic have at their disposal. These individuals are called "Sorcerer Lords," for in fact they are the equivalent of Chaos Lords who have specialised in sorcery. The magic they wield is truly frightening.[2a][7]

A Sorcerer Lord is a formidable opponent -- cunning, devious, and cruel. They may lead an entire warband of fellow disciples or Daemons of Tzeentch, manipulating the talents of their followers as easily as they manipulate the Winds of Magic in service of the Great Conspirator.[2a]

Though most Sorcerer Lords serve Tzeentch, some are devotees of the other Chaos Gods that also support the use of sorcery -- Nurgle and Slaanesh. Khorne will tolerate no magic-users among his followers.[7]

Miniatures

Sources

  • 1: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition: Tome of Corruption (RPG)
    • 1a: pg. 165
    • 1b: pg. 166
    • 1c: pg. 167
  • 2: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 3rd Edition: Liber Mutatis - The Book of Change (RPG)
    • 2a: pg. 26
  • 3: WWarhammer Fantasy Roleplay 3rd Edition: Liber Ecstatica - The Book of Pleasure (RPG)
    • 3a: pg. 16
  • 4: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 3rd Edition: Liber Infectus - The Book of Plague (RPG)
    • 4a: pg. 26
  • 5: Warhammer Armies: Warriors of Chaos (8th Edition)
    • 5a: pg. 27
  • 6: Liber Chaotica (Background book)
    • 6a: pg. 347
  • 7: Total War: Warhammer III (PC Game)
  • 8: Total War Blog: Thrones of Decay - Introducing Tamurkhan, the Maggot Lord
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