Khorne
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This WFB or WH40K-related article or section describes an aspect of the series in a primarily in-universe style. Please rewrite this article to explain the fiction more clearly and provide non-fictional perspective. |
In the fictional universes of Warhammer 40,000 and Warhammer Fantasy, Khorne is one of the four major Chaos gods. Like his brother gods, Khorne grew from a single survivalist emotion: in his case, the emotion was rage. Khorne is the Chaos god of hate, war, violence and killing; for this reason he bears sobriquets such as Blood God and Lord of Skulls.
Khorne acts outwardly by seeking the death of others, preferring close combat over ranged weaponry; as such, he is completely opposed to the hedonistic Slaanesh, an inwardly acting god who seeks pleasure in every act and experience. He has a strong distrust of wizards and sorcerers, whom he sees as cowards; this means he is also highly suspicious of Tzeentch, although they are not archenemies. In Warhammer Fantasy, these relationships affect the makeup of an army which is dedicated to Khorne. The only thing he respects is strength.
He is described as an extremely well-muscled, hundreds of feet tall beast-headed monster sitting on a brass throne atop a mountain of skulls in the middle of a sea of blood. The skulls are described as belonging to both his victims and his worshippers alike, as Khorne cares not whence the blood flows, as long as it flows. Due to the immense amount of violence and killing occurring throughout the universe, Khorne is the strongest of the Chaos gods. The colours associated with him are red, brass and black, and these colours feature prominently in his demonic hordes and are usually adopted by his followers. The correct adjective to indicate individuals and events related to this God is "Khornate".
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[edit] Cult of Khorne
[edit] Mortals
As the god of martial pride, honour, and a warrior's love for battle (as well as mindless rage and slaughter), Khorne's mortal followers in both settings are nearly uncontrollable warriors of exceptional martial skill. Khorne's followers share their god's straightforward philosophy on combat, preferring to run directly at their foes in order to engage and defeat them in hand to hand combat.
In Warhammer 40,000, the Chaos Space Marines who worship Khorne are known as "Berzerkers". They typically come from the World Eaters Legion but are not exclusive to that legion. These frenzied warriors generally wield chainaxes as their weapon of choice since the axe is Khorne's preferred weapon, but other close combat or short ranged weapons such as swords or pistols are also used. Also, it is stated that Khorne's preferred number is eight, thus squads of Berzerkers and Khornate daemons are typically eight, or a multiple of eight in number.
In Warhammer Fantasy Battle, Khornate champions are usually seen in red and brass and typically carry large axes, although other weapons such as swords and spears appear occasionally. The Khorne rune is typically displayed prominently on their armour.
Unlike the other three gods, Khorne's followers are stated as never building temples in his honour. Instead, they worship their god on the battlefield, praising him with battlecries along the lines of "Blood for the Blood God! Skulls for the Skull Throne!". However, four temples dedicated to Khorne do appear on Lorn V in Dawn of War: Winter Assault as well as Dawn of War: Dark Crusade - these were simply large pillars with pools of blood around them.
[edit] Daemons
Within the setting there are a number of daemons that are specifically associated with Khorne and may be included as part of a Khorne related force:
- Bloodletters are ugly, stooped horned humanoid daemons with cloven hooves who wield blood-drinking battleaxes or swords known as Hellblades, which are forged at the foot of the Throne of Skulls; and wear armour of daemonic brass. They enter horrific frenzies in battle, where they will destroy all and everything in their path. A Bloodletter can be mounted on a Juggernaut. A Bloodletter mounted in this manner is called a Bloodcrusher. Their Hellblades radiate so much daemonic energies that they are able to cleave through any armor.
- Flesh Hounds are monstrous and ferocious canine creatures, looking like a combination of wolf and lizard, in that they resemble a wolf or dog in size and shape, but are covered in scales and have lizard-like spines and crests. They are notorious for their ability to track down their chosen prey. They bear enchanted collars that make them highly resistant to magic or psychic influences.
- Bloodthirsters are the greater daemons of Khorne. Of all the Daemons, they bear the greatest resemblance to stereotypical western demons, having a human body, cloven hooves instead of feet, leathery bat-like wings and horned dog-like or humanoid heads. They wield a whip and a massive two-headed battle axe simultaneously in battle. As the greatest manifestation of the blood god, the dreaded Bloodthirster is one of the most powerful warriors that can be found on the battlefields of both Warhammer Fantasy and Warhammer 40,000.
- Juggernauts are massive four-legged creatures made of living metal whose blood is liquid fire. They are generally given as steeds to favoured champions of Khorne. They are also ridden into battle by Bloodletters.
[edit] War machines
A number of specifically Khornate war machines have appeared in versions of the Epic game for the Warhammer 40,000 setting. Some of these are part machine/part demon.
- Brass Scorpion
- Doom Blaster
- Blood Reaper
- Death Dealer
- Khorne Lord of Battle
- Cannon of Khorne
- Cauldron of Blood
- Tower of Skulls
[edit] Others
- Blood Slaughterer - a robot (Warhammer 40,000 only)
[edit] See also
- Realm of Chaos (Warhammer) - two volume book that first introduced the Chaos powers in depth
- Khârn the Betrayer - a notable member of the World Eaters legion of the Warhammer 40,000 setting.
- Angron - Primarch of the World Eaters legion in Warhammer 40,000.
- The Blood Pact - a warrior cult worshipping Khorne in the Warhammer 40,000 setting.
- Arbaal the Undefeated - Champion of Khorne in Warhammer Fantasy.
- Haagroth the Bloodied One - General of the Khorne army during the Storm of Chaos in Warhammer Fantasy.
- Ungorr le Sans-Pitié - Ungorr the Merciless, a chaos champion created by the french White Dwarf studio.
[edit] References
- Brunton, Mike; Forrest, Simon; Ansell, Bryan (1988). Realms of Chaos: Slaves of Darkness. Nottingham: Games Workshop.
- Thorpe, Gavin; Priestley, Rick; Reynolds, Anthony and Cavatore, Alessio (2002). Warhammer Armies: Hordes of Chaos. Nottingham: Games Workshop. ISBN 1-84154-222-9.
- Chambers, Andy; Haines, Pete; Hoare, Andy; Kelly, Phil, and McNeill, Graham (2002). Warhammer 40,000 Codex: Chaos Space Marines, 2nd Edition, Nottingham: Games Workshop. ISBN 1-84154-322-5.
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