"They know how to fight. That's what you have to remember about them. People talk about the strength of their armour, or the ferocity of the Blood God's worshippers, or the intimidating look of the horns and the spikes. It's their sheer skill at war that wins them their battles though. They've been fighting since they were born -- fighting, mind you, not just practicing, and often to the death. Oh, the Bretonnian knights have been trained since they were children, but they don't have the sheer depth of experience that even the younger Chaos Warriors do. As for the older ones... some of them have pacts or gifts from the Ruinous Powers that mean they live for hundreds of years, if they remain undefeated on the field of battle. So, yes, they're good. Very good. If you come up against them, defend yourself as a first priority, and hope one of your mates can get behind him with a mace or a warhammer or something -- because it's true, that armour is damnably strong too."
- —Captain Schultz, Mercenary Captain[2a]
A Chaos Warrior who has forsaken his soul for a chance at achieving ultimate power in service to the Dark Gods.
Chaos Warriors, known among the Norscans as Huskarls or Huscarls[9a] are a select group of evil Men who have chosen to forsake their former lives and give themselves wholly to the service of Chaos to become instruments of ultimate destruction. Many, but not all, come from the ranks of the tribes of the Northmen that inhabit the Chaos Wastes and Norsca in the northern regions of the Old World.
Role
"Yet despite the momentum of their attack, the Elves were soon hard-pressed. Every Chaos Warrior was a purebred killer, his strength and capacity for slaughter augmented beyond mortal ken by the unholy blessings of the Dark Gods. Against these relentless slayers, the Elves were little match. Within moments, a dozen brave Asur had been carved to bloody ruin, their elegant scale mail scant protection against the terrible power of the Chaos Warriors..."
- —The Reaver Knights of Ulthuan encounter the Warriors of Chaos.[5]
A Chaos Warrior in battle with the weak men of the Empire.
Within tribal societies that worship the Chaos Gods, the most favoured warriors are often gifted with a suit of Chaos Armour as a reward for their service to their chieftain. In the hierarchy of Northmen armies, Chaos Armour is often used as a clear sign of status or rank. Only the most gifted and powerful warriors are allowed to wear such armour, with the majority of Champions often donning armour of their own. Such gifted Men are said to tread the path of the gods, and head in search of glory, power and, ultimately immortality.[1a][3][4]
A victorious Chaos Warrior
Chaos Warriors are fighters of great prowess, raised from strong Northmen stock, their skills honed over the years by constant battle amongst themselves and against other races. Their strength is infernal and their bodies are as tough as the Iron Mountains. Imbued with the power of Chaos and gifted with suits of Daemon-plate, a Chaos Warrior is equal in combat power to many mortal Men.[1a][3][4][7a]
Chaos Warriors are no longer truly Human, but living weapons, honed perfectly for the bloody tasks before them. A Chaos Warrior has no need of food, drink or sleep, for he is nourished by the carnage that he wreaks. They have nothing but contempt for the weak and the cowardly and go about the business of murder with a vengeance, for there is always a part of the warrior who was that rages against the Chaos Warrior he has become. To be a Chaos Warrior means to literally exchange your Humanity for a life of constant war in the name of the Ruinous Powers and the dark promises of power and immortality they have to offer. As a result of their prowess, Chaos Warriors are held in fear and awe by their fellow Northmen tribesmen, and as a result command respect and wield great authority within their communities in the far north.[1a][3][4]
Not all Chaos Warriors need be of the tribes of the Norscans, Kurgan, Hung or Tong. Answering the call of Chaos, many a great fighter has journeyed to the frozen north to throw in their lot with the hordes that muster in the Chaos Wastes. They do so because they feel a deep connection with the Ruinous Powers, evident by some form of corruption affecting the minds, bodies, or both.[3]
Chaos Warriors who leave their tribes generally congregate around others of their kind, often in warbands consisting entirely of Chaos Warriors who are sent into the thickest fray as powerful elite combatants. When roused to battle, a Chaos Warrior becomes a roaring, unstoppable force. Arrows and bolts patter from his hell-forged armour like hailstones upon a glacier as he strides into the enemy ranks. The thrusts of spear and halberd are deflected contemptuously, and the lifeblood of his foes spatters his armour as his jagged blade rises and falls.[1a][8a]
It is said that for every Chaos Warrior that lies dead in the ground, a circle of his enemies will also lie around him as a sign or testament to their ruthless skills in combat. For these mighty warriors, there are but three fates -- to die gloriously in battle against the enemies of their Dark Gods, upon which their souls shall rise to join the gods or else shall be reborn in some way to continue serving them. Some may be overcome with mutation and devolve into Chaos Spawn. While the lucky few may achieve that most elusive and difficult of all outcomes, to achieve such favour among the Dark Gods that they may ascend to a dark apotheosis and become Daemon Princes.[1a][8a]
Marked Chaos Warriors
"Is there one, single, greater threat to civilisation than these savages? Physically powerful, armed and armoured with both steel and sorcery, filled with evil intent. Are they even Human? All the evidence is that they are not; rather, these creatures are spontaneously generated deep within the Pits of Chaos in the Icy Wastes north of Norsca, born from the cosmic flux of creation that is primal Chaos..."
- —Albrecht Kinear, Professor Emeritus at the University of Nuln[2a]
While they often fight for the glory of Chaos Undivided or venerate multiple Chaos Gods, Chaos Warriors 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.
Chaos Warriors of Khorne
Chaos Warriors of Khorne in battle alongside other Khornate servants as depicted in Total War: Warhammer III.
The Chaos Warriors that follow the Blood God, as with all servants of the Ruinous Powers, are not limited to the primitive tribes of the north. His grasp can reach the heart of every soldier, every warrior, every life-taker. When a noble knight of Bretonnia or a templar of the Empire falls to his worship it is because they forget why they kill.
To change from killing for the common good to killing only because one wants to -- because the act is pleasing -- is when the righteous have fallen from their path. These are the warriors Khorne embraces, never to release. These are the converts that he savours.[6]
In battle, Chaos Warriors bearing the Mark of Khorne will often wield dual weapons, the better to cleave through infantry for the glory of the Lord of Rage.[6]
Chaos Warriors of Tzeentch
Chaos Warriors of Tzeentch are easily recognised by the sacred azure color and the Eye of Tzeentch which adorns their Chaos Armour.
Chaos Warriors of Tzeentch tend to be subtly individual, with many small differences between them. Typically their plate armour and shield will be engraved with intricately patterned sigils that radiate with raw power, or flow with blinking eyes or gibbering mouths, or are perhaps inscribed with a minute arcane text making the wearer literally a walking grimoire.[6]
Though it is not immediately visible, many will have mutated flesh, their Chaos Armour melting and reforming around the warped appendages of their bodies. They are deadly and unpredictable; they are warriors who have the favour of the god of magic. But whether they try to or not, the Warriors of Change never truly deviate from Tzeentch's will, for he knows every facet of their hearts and minds.[6]
In battle, Chaos Warriors bearing the Mark of Tzeentch will often wield polearms and halberds, the better to punish thoughtless charges from enemy cavalry.[6]
Chaos Warriors of Slaanesh
Chaos Warriors dedicated to Slaanesh are regarded by His lesser minions as walking avatars of their god. They truly walk the path of damnation and excess, the strongest fated to become his Chaos Chosen or mighty Champions if they survive their ordeals.[6]
Although armour-clad like their brethren, many leave portions of pale flesh bare as if to titillate opponents with the illusion of weakness, inviting them to attempt to strike at imagined weak spots. Consumed by their own dark passions, they appear distant and something other than Human. Their followers among the Chaos Marauders bathe in this otherworldly glory, driven by the need for the great warriors' approval to commit further atrocities.[6]
In battle, Chaos Warriors who bear the Mark of Slaanesh will often wield Hellscourges, living whips of pure torment blessed by the Dark Prince and laced with poison.[6]
Chaos Warriors of Nurgle
Nurglite Chaos Warriors as seen in Warhammer: The End Times - Vermintide II.
An unbearable stench always heralds the approach of the Plague Lord's Chaos Warriors. Their helmets often bear great, withered horns and they are clad in rust-tarnished plate armour which conceals vile conditions or mutations -- perhaps a slimy tentacle, or translucent, jelly-like flesh that reveals their decaying inner organs, or simply a body riddled with leprosy. Sometimes the corpulent meat of their bodies spills from the cracks of their armour. Whatever the case, Nurglite Chaos Warriors are deadly fighters who are near-impervious to pain and fight on despite receiving the most horrendous wounds imaginable.[6]
In battle, Chaos Warriors who bear the Mark of Nurgle will often wield two-handed greataxes, ready to pile the worm-riddled corpses of their enemies on Grandfather Nurgle's altars.[6]
Blasphemous Icons
"By planting an icon in the ground, a siren call is sent forth that Chaos Warriors must heed."
- —The Icons of Chaos[3]
Summoning the many minions of Chaos is a power even the lowliest servant of the Dark Gods can possess. Whether a Greater Daemon, a familiar, or the iron-clad warbands of the Chaos Warriors, there is always some method or ritual.[3]
For Chaos Warriors who are not led by or contain sorcerers within their ranks, one way is to plant a blasphemous icon of Chaos in cursed ground. A sonorous call will spread, drawing Chaos Warriors and fell Chaos beasts to its source.[3]
Notable Regiments
- Bloodshields - This is a regiment of Khornate Chaos Warriors who followed Skarr Bloodwrath but held little loyalty to him.
- Crowhunger Brethren - This regiment of Chaos Warriors got its name by feasting on the dead after the battle, believing they could gain the strength of the fallen.
- Fireborne - These warriors were one of the Champion of Tzeentch Vilitch the Curseling's first conquered peoples and were completely enthralled after years of arcane control.
- Great Vanguard - This absolutely massive horde of Chaos Warriors was comprised of over twenty different tribes from Norsca and was the main force of the Everchosen Archaon's army.
- Mirror Guard - These Slaaneshi Northmen served as the honour guard of the Chaos Lord Sigvald the Magnificent and possessed shimmering Chaos Armour that made it nearly impossible to land a blow on them, as well as allowing Sigvald to always see his magnificent reflection wherever he looked.
- Skullreapers - These Chaos Warriors were truly massive and served as elite regiments of Khornate Chaos Warriors drawn from the Skaramor tribe of the Northmen.
- Skulltakers - The Skulltakers are a warband of Chaos Warriors dedicated to the Blood God Khorne who are well-known in the legends of the Old World and who fought against the forces of the Old World during the Great War Against Chaos, among other conflicts.
- Sons of the Last Plague - These Nurglish Chaos Warriors were experts in finding new plagues to sample -- and spread.
- Sons of Nifflecht - Contrary to most raucous Northmen warbands, these Chaos Warriors are ever silent and unspeaking and pledge themselves to the service of Chaos Undivided.
- Sons of Stormdark - These brutes nominally served Vilitch the Curseling, but their true loyalties were to the thirteenth Everchosen Archaon, and they served as the Lord of the End Times' spies in the Curseling's army.
Miniatures
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Videos
Canon Conflict
Warhammer canon is contradictory on whether or not Chaos Warriors are permanently merged with their Chaos Armour. Most sources state that it is only an occasional "gift" from the Chaos Gods, one that eventually drives its recipient insane.
Yet several Chaos Warriors such as Vardek Crom, Sigvald, Wulfrik the Wanderer and Egil Styrbjorn have also demonstrated otherwise. Wulfrik, Styrbjorn, and Sigvald have shown themselves capable of fully removing their armour on multiple occasions, usually for the purposes of intimacy in their respective novels. Vardek Crom, in artwork, has shown himself able to remove his helmet, much like the 6th Edition Chaos Warrior miniature which includes a helmless Chaos Warrior head.
Sources
- 1: Warhammer Armies: Warriors of Chaos (8th Edition)
- 1a: pg. 31
- 2: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition: Bestiary of the Old World (RPG)
- 2a: pg. 9
- 3: Total War: Warhammer (PC Game)
- 4: Warhammer: Battle March
- 5: Warhammer Battle: Vanguard Clash
- 6: Total War: Warhammer III (PC Game)
- 7: Warhammer Armies: Warriors of Chaos (7th Edition)
- 7a: pg. 46
- 8: Warhammer Armies: Hordes of Chaos (6th Edition)
- 8a: pg. 24
- 9: Knight of the Realm (Novel) by Anthony Reynolds
- 8a: Prologue
Gallery
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