Bestigor

"Above the ordinary Gors of a beast tribe are the Bestigors, who tend to be larger, stronger, better-equipped, and better disciplined than most Beastmen. When a group of Beastmen carries out an ambush or other attack, the Bestigors are typically the front-line troops, closely supported by the Gors, with the Ungors harassing the enemy’s flanks."

—Heinrich Malz, High Priest of Verena^[3a]

Beastigors — A mighty Bestigor and his magnificent horns.

The Bestigors, called Baqsen-Gor in the Dark Tongue,^[5a] are the elite of the Beastmen tribes, mutant warriors blessed by the Dark Gods with the most spectacular horns, a mighty constitution and raw physical power that puts others of their kind to shame.^[2a] They constantly enforce their superiority upon the Gors and Ungors of their warherd with random acts of excessive violence.^[1a]

As well as being stronger than their fellows, however, Bestigors also tend to be more intelligent and more disciplined than their quarrelsome lesser brethren, forming more organised ranks in battle while restraining themselves from the average Beastman's more disruptive excesses. Even so, brutality and violence simmer just below the surface of the Bestigors as it does for all of the Children of Chaos, ready to explode outwards in a savage display of animal power at any moment.^[2a]

Role

TWW Bestigors — Bestigors marching to war.^[4]

Because of their size and ferocity, the Bestigors carve out a privileged position within the warherd, forming the chieftain's inner circle of retainers and enforcers. Theirs is a high honour, and they pledge to fight to the death for their Beastlord. However, their garrulous and aggressive nature compels them to strive for ever greater dominance amongst the tribe. The chieftain must be ever watchful for signs of a likely challenge amongst the Bestigors.^[1a]

Sometimes such a sign is manifested physically; a Bestigor's horns growing larger or more impressive, for example. Sometimes the first sign of rebellion will be when the Bestigor bellows a challenge and swings his axe at the chieftain's head. Any chieftain worthy of the title will detect such signs early and deal with the potential rival before he comes fully into his strength, though plenty miss the portent and find themselves the main course of an impromptu feast.^[1a]

The most favoured of all Bestigor may even bear the mark of one of the Chaos Gods, for, as children of Chaos, the Beastmen are close to their gods. Bestigor marked in this way are called Khorngors if they bear the Mark of Khorne, Tzaangors if they bear the Mark of Tzeentch, Pestigors if the bear the Mark of Nurgle or Slaangor if they bear the Mark of Slaanesh.^[1a]

Those Bestigors who have been chosen by one of the four major Ruinous Powers are amongst the most obscene creatures in the dark corners of the Old World. Vile Bestigor acts can take many forms, from the ritual devouring of prisoners of war to the despoiling of the sacred banners and religious icons of their foes. When such an icon is captured in battle, the Bestigors will befoul it and hold it on high, so that the rest of the warherd might look upon their deeds and know that the Bestigors are truly blessed in the eyes of the Dark Gods.^[1a]

Warfare

"The strongest, meanest Beastmen, Bestigors seek out elite foes to slaughter and dominate."

—Description of Bestigors in Total War: Warhammer.^[4]

Bestigors always wield the best weapons and wear the best armour available to the warherd, sometimes even using weaponry culled from the corpses of their enemies.^[2a] These items are stored in the treasure trove of a herdstone, and because Bestigors have the pick of the arms and armour laid before the herdstones, it is not unheard of for a band of the creatures to look almost like a coherent force upon the battlefield.^[1a]

Typically Bestigors carry massive, double-handed axes, crude in construction but large and heavy enough to split a man in two from shoulder to waist with a single swing. They wear solid, heavy plates of armour and chainmail, usually scavenged from the civilised races and beaten with fist and hoof until they fit the Bestigors' misshapen and stinking anatomies, and cover their faces with hoods, often of chainmail. This they adorn with all manner of grisly trophies taken from those that have put up a fight before being cut into pieces.^[1a]

Bestigors frequently engage in head-butting competitions that leave them addled but ready for bloodshed. In battle, they form a solid, armoured mass of muscle and iron that charges forward with a terrifying momentum. Most often the Bestigors will slam into the front of an enemy army where lesser Beastmen might not hold their nerve, while the other Gors and Ungors charge forward in unruly packs.^[1a]

One expression of the Bestigors' constant desire to prove their innate superiority is shown in their acts of desecration and defilement. They seek out the elite troops of the enemy army, who inherently challenge their dominant status. Then they wield their huge axes much as executioner's blades, hewing their foe limb from limb and trampling his broken body into the mud beneath their unshod hooves.^[1a]

Notable Regiments

Khorrok's Manrippers - The Manrippers are an elite unit of halberd-wielding Bestigors that acommpanied the Beastlord Khorrok Manripper in a conflict against Bretonnian knights in the southern Forest of Arden.

Miniatures

Videos

Warhammer- Vermintide II - Bestigor Sneak Peak

Sources

1: Warhammer Armies: Beastmen (7th Edition)
- 1a: pg. 41
2: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition: Tome of Corruption (RPG)
- 2a: pg. 100
3: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition: Old World Bestiary (RPG)
- 3a: pg. 12
4: Total War: Warhammer (PC Game)
5: Liber Chaotica (Background book)
- 5a: pg. 254