"We saw its approach through the darkened eaves, now crawling in the dirt, now flapping upwards, as if it could not decide if it was a snake or a sparrow. Then it came into the moonlight and we saw it true. Did we fight? I cannot say. All I recall is clotted fur and an embracing drool. Twisting limbs. Tearing rock. Rotting metal. Melting fingers. The stench of cadavers and burning honey. My eyes screamed, my tongue shook, my knees spewed. It ate my friends and drank my soul. It took my mind I know not where, for it is no longer here with me."
- —Interview with sole survivor of Reikwald forest patrol (one hundred men), incarcerated in Frederheim Sanitorium.[1a]
A vile Jabberslythe, among the most hideous of all Chaos beasts.
A Jabberslythe is amongst the most ancient and foul of all the creatures and mutant beasts of Chaos that dwell in the deep forests of the Old World. They are truly repugnant to look upon, having such grotesque and twisted features that even the clearest pools of water will not offer up their reflection.[1a]
A sickening fusion of toad, sludge-drake, and many-limbed insect, the Jabberslythe encompasses all that is unwholesome and vile about nature and magnifies it a hundredfold. Jabberslythes often go to battle alongside the warherds of the Beastmen, where they are directed at the foe by the magical abilities of the Bray-Shamans.[1a]
Quick Answers
What is the Jabberslythe's physical appearance like?
How does the Jabberslythe move?
What effects does the Jabberslythe's presence have on those around it?
What is the Jabberslythe known to eat?
What is the significance of 'the jabbers' in relation to the Jabberslythe?
Role
"Fear can so easily be twisted into madness."
- —Description of the Jabberslythe in Total War: Warhammer II.
A Jabberslythe
The most horrendous of all the Jabberslythe's weapons is its vile appearance. The Jabberslythe is a creature so unsightly, a monster so disturbing to look upon, that an aura of madness surrounds it. There is something so unearthly and unsettling about these Chaos beasts that even to set eyes upon one is to go immediately and permanently insane. To gaze at such a beast is to tempt fate -- for many who do have their sanity ripped asunder.[1a]
Those that look upon a Jabberslythe for too long find themselves clawing at their own eyes, crawling in tight circles, babbling nonsense rhymes in a gibberish tongue, shrieking with manic laughter, or even gutting themselves with their own weapons in their desperation to escape the nightmarish vision that has seared itself into their brains, forever haunting them. These unfortunates are easy prey for the Jabberslythe, which will lumber towards its hapless victims with acidic drool spilling from the upturned corners of its fang-ridged maw.[1a]
A horrific Jabberslythe seeking its next meal.
Ungainly and clumsy creatures, Jabberslythes have mutated all the better to catch agile prey, such as the flittering spites that buzz around their lairs or the occasional Ungor who strays too close. They have a thick, sticky, proboscis-like tongue that they can shoot out in the blink of an eye, capable of ensnaring and pulling a creature as large as a horse into the Jabberslythe's gaping mouth when it retracts.[1a]
The beating of the Beastmen's war drums often serves to draw Jabberslythes from their lairs, for they know that there will be rich pickings indeed at such times. The sounds of braying, shouting or even of celebration can be enough to bring a Jabberslythe lolloping and flapping from its lair, and they are always hungry. For their part, the Beastmen do their best to ignore the Jabberslythes, for even they are not immune to the madness of its curse.[1a]
A Jabberslythe being led to battle by a Beastmen warherd in Total War: Warhammer II.
Yet even the least experienced Gor will not drive a Jabberslythe away, for a gifted Bray-Shaman can ensure their erratic and ungainly flight takes them in the direction of the Children of Chaos' foes and not the warherd. The sight of a disciplined enemy battleline crumbling with terror and insanity as the Jabberslythe goes about its gory business is pleasing to the Beastmen indeed.[1a]
It's disputed by Imperial scholars how Jabberslythes reproduce. Reinholt Schent, who claims to be a "Scholar of the Fantastic" from the Imperial Zoo believes not only that Jabberslythes breed, but that there is a pregnant specimen near the town of Hallt in the western Vorbergland.[2a]
Concept art for the Jabberslythe created for Total War: Warhammer II.
Notable Jabberslythes
- Jabberslythe of Ostwald - This Jabberslythe was a much-feared monstrosity that terrorised the Imperial town of Ostwald. It was ultimately slain by the famed Bretonnian knight Calard, one of the many challenges he faced during his Quest for the Holy Grail.
- Vorbergland Broodmother - So concentrated is the spurting vitriolic bile leaking from this Jabberslythe's wounds that it eats through solid armour to dissolve the flesh below. It was this Jabberslythe that Reinholt Schent, who claims to be a "Scholar of the Fantastic" from the Imperial Zoo, identified as a pregnant female of its twisted species.[2a][3]
Miniatures
.jpg "Jabberslythe (2).jpg (122 KB)")
Videos
Trivia
The Jabberslythe may have been inspired by Alice in Wonderland's Jabberwock creature.
See Also
Sources
- 1: Warhammer Armies: Beastmen (7th Edition)
- 1a: pg. 50
- 2: Warhammer Fantasy Rolelay 4th Edition: Adventures Afoot in the Reikland (RPG)
- 2a: pg. 3
- 3: Total War: Warhammer II (PC Game)
Gallery
