"In the shadow of the besieged Marcher Fortress, I saw the Blood God's host in all its terrible glory. Yet it was the cannons upon the ridgeline that captured my attention. Lined wheel to wheel, they belched fire and gore at the lithe Daemons who sallied in the fortress' defense. I was certain no host, immortal or otherwise, could long endure such a fusillade. Moment later, I was proved correct as the defenders withdrew, leaving the charred remains of their fellows to the enemy’s scant mercies."
- —Excerpt from the Liber Malefic[1a]
The Skull Cannons of Khorne, known also as Hellforged Bellowers, the Bonegrinders or the Clinkerfiends, are massive Daemon Engines of Khorne. Legend tells that the Skull Cannons of Khorne were forged in the furnaces at the foot of the Blood God's Skull Throne and beaten into shape upon his mighty anvil. Some even believe that they might even have been forged by Khorne's own hand, so murderously efficient and callous are they. Like Khorne's Juggernauts, the Skull Cannons are monstrous fusions of a Daemonic spirit and hellforged machinery. Their twisted and clinkered veins burn with the desire to shed blood and crush bones, to exult Khorne's praises with every trampled foe.[1a]
A pair of Bloodletters ride atop the Skull Cannon, howling with rough joy and chanting Khorne's praises as their armoured steed rumbles towards the enemy. These are the same Daemons that oversaw its creation, and that are now charged to guide it in furtherance of the Blood God's unholy purpose.[1a]
Not that the Skull Cannon needs much in the way of encouragement to maim and slay -- the Khornate Daemon bound within its black heart is as wrathful and murderous as any in the Blood God's service. Indeed, a Skull Cannon is more tirelessly wilful and proud than even the wildest of Juggernauts, and it seldom pays heed to the snarling creatures of flesh that have harnessed themselves to its mechanical glory.[1a]
As the Skull Cannon grinds across the battlefield, its spiked wheels and rollers mangle everything in its path. The fortunate foes are those that dive out of its path or else die instantly as the engine rumbles over them. Those who somehow survive the initial onset of the grinders are fed screaming into the Skull Cannon's gaping maw, there to be roasted by Daemonic fire and ground to fragments. Most of the remains are ejected at the Skull Cannon's rear in a red wake of bone splinters and glistening blood. Only the skulls -- so beloved of Khorne -- are retained, and fed into the mighty cannon atop the machinery from which the Daemon Engine takes its name. Here, they are infused with the Blood God's endless and abiding wrath, until their empty eye sockets weep blood and their slack jaws gibber with rage.[1a]
Only then, with a roiling boom, does the Skull Cannon finally discharge its payload. The skulls catch fire as they are launched, and roar with booming laughter as they fly. They slam into the enemy ranks, scattering foes like ninepins and leaving a trail of scorched and blazing dead behind.[1a]
Sometimes, the skulls survive where the foe does not, and rest amongst the carnage spitting insults and threats at any who come near. Only by smashing the skull can the enemy end the torrent of abuse, but it is said that the warrior who deals the final blow is doomed to dreams of madness until the day they die.[1a]
Notable Regiments[]
- Hellforged Bellowers - While most Skull Cannons of Khorne fire a single shot, the Hellforged Bellowers are more akin to a mortal Blunderbuss, unleashing multiple projectiles on the enemy at once at the cost of a smaller range.[2]
Miniatures[]
Sources[]
- 1: Warhammer Armies: Daemons of Chaos (8th Edition)
- 1a: pg. 32
- 2: Total War: Warhammer III (PC Game)
Gallery[]
![A Skull Cannon of Khorne as depicted in Total War: Warhammer III.[2]](/wiki/File:Skull_Cannon_of_Khorne_TWWIII.webp "Skull Cannon of Khorne TWWIII.webp (23 KB)")