The Lost and the Damned
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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 table-top wargame Warhammer 40,000, The Lost and the Damned are part of the forces of Chaos.
They consist of the scum of the Galaxy - traitors, heretics, cultists, mutants and other horrors too numerous to comprehend, such as the insane Chaos Spawn. Often it is traitor units of the Imperial Guard that make up the bulk of the Lost and the Damned, providing the firepower and led into battle by mighty Aspiring Champions - Space Marines who turned traitor millennia ago during the Horus Heresy.
Often entire companies of Guardsmen turn to Chaos, and take with them their vehicles, such as the Basilisk and Leman Russ. Mutants also make up the bulk of their armies, with many disturbing and disgusting mutations adorning their once-human bodies. Chaos Space Marines lead them into battle, and accompanied by the monstrous Defiler, the Lost and the Damned are a deadly foe to face, particularly when the Aspiring Champions may also call upon Daemons from the warp to do their bidding. Also at the forefront of many heresies and devastating treason are the Arch Heretics, who range from Rogue Psykers seeking revenge against an oppressive Imperium, or bribed and corrupted Cardinals and Planetary Governors seeking more personal wealth and glory by defying the Emperor's divine will. While not as dangerous on their own as a Chaos Space Marine, these individuals are far more numerous than the power-armoured heathens and, in concert, can wreak havoc upon the Imperium's control of whole planetary systems.
Lost and the Damned refers to all followers of Chaos that are not Chaos Space Marines, and are usually renegades and degenerate traitors that have fled Imperial rule, and lack discipline and heavy weapons. However in several instances there have been entire armies raised on Daemon worlds to serve the dark powers. Most infamous of these are the Blood Pact, formed and controlled by the Chaos Lord Urlock Gaur, and which was a key factor in Chaos overrunning the Sabbat Worlds. Blood Pact forces are disciplined and highly motivated, and as such are more than a match for many Imperial Guard regiments. Another force that has been mentioned is the Sons of Sek - a force similar in many respects to the Blood Pact, but sworn to the Chaos Lord Anakwanar Sek, and not Gaur. It is units such as this that give Imperial Strategists nightmares, as it shows that Chaos is now employing dedicated soldiers and not just ravening mobs of ill-trained fanatics.
The most recent army list for the Lost and the Damned currently appears on the Games Workshop website, but it has been deemed illegal for tournaments, now that the New codex has been released. What is to become of the army list remains to be seen - likely it will be updated in a future White Dwarf article. The current list will remain usable for non-tournament games.
Note that an army list representing an army consisting almost exclusively of traitor guardsmen appears in Imperial Armour vol. 5.
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[edit] Army Overview
Many Chaos Space Marines have fled to daemon worlds in the Eye of Terror. These marines are treated as champions amongst the vile mutants that inhabit the daemon worlds. Often only small warbands, led by champions, are found in Lost and Damned armies, although there are entire fleets that have joined the ranks of the Lost and the Damned. Chaos space marines often unite with mutants and traitors when they need support.
[edit] Arch-Heretic
Chaos Hordes are often led into battle by a notorious Demagogue, an ambitious Chaos Lord, a rogue Inquisitor or similar powerful servant of the Dark Gods. In game terms these individuals have the same capabilities as a Chaos Lieutenant or Sorcerer.
[edit] Chaos Spawn
Entire units of chaos spawn are fieldable in a Lost and the Damned army. Amongst these mutants are many aspiring champions. Those who fail their gods are cursed and became an overmutated chaos spawn. On the daemon worlds chaos spawns are much more common than in chaos space marine legions. Chaos Spawn are mindless and destined to die: either on the battlefield or from being torn apart by further mutations. They have lost all rational thought and sanity in their mutations and are akin to animals. Although stupid, they are powerful (if unpredictable) in close combat and extremely resilient to damage of all sorts.
[edit] Daemons
Like the closely-allied Chaos Space Marine army, the Lost and the Damned can include daemons. There are countless different types of these hideous beings, but the most commonly spotted are the Chaos Furies, the Bloodletters and Flesh Hounds of the Chaos god Khorne, the alluring Daemonettes of Slaanesh, the bizarre Horrors, Flamers and Screamers of the Chaos God Tzeentch and the ugly Plaguebearers and Nurglings of the Chaos god Nurgle. There are also larger and more powerful appearances of these things known as Greater Daemons; raw champions of the chaos gods themselves. Each patron god has their own type: Khorne has the Bloodthirster, Nurgle has the Great Unclean One, Slaanesh has the Keeper of Secrets, and Tzeentch has the Lord of Change. Daemons can also link themselves onto a living organism (usually to the servants of Chaos) by possessing them or turning their servants into amazingly powerful Daemon Princes (as a reward for services to the patron god). The lesser daemons have to be summoned onto the battlefield by traitors, mutants, chaos space marines or a greater daemon of that particular god of which the daemons are aligned to. Daemons can only manifest by these two conditions: By possession of a host, and by summoning them. In the game, both are willful actions. In Warhammer 40k fiction, daemons are notorious for entering the universe through untrained, rogue, and/or latent psykers. (Hence the Imperium's murderously repressive actions against unsanctioned psykers, thus contributing to rebellious anti-Imperial rule and feeding the growth of Lost and the Damned forces.)
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[edit] Mutants
The bulk of a Lost and the Damned army is usually composed of mutants. Mutants are similar to Orks in abilities - slightly weaker, but more numerous. They are capable of carrying long-range,but volatile, weapons called 'Firearms' or short range pistols, as well as the occasional Flamer or Heavy Stubber. They can be placed into broad types: Normal, Bloated (Better chance of survival), Brawny (Stronger), Hypnotic and/or brightly coloured (Scarier) or multi-limbed/flying (Faster). They are normally considered as expendable, but in large numbers they can easily swamp most units in the game. During the Eye of Terror Worldwide campaign Nurgle unleashed the Curse of Unbelief upon the Worlds near Cadia, creating millions of Plague Zombies. These can be represented through making mutants bloated (the blessing of Nurgle) and following some additional rules to capture the flavour of zombies - such as their shambling gait and lack of terror. Mutant bands are sometimes led in battle by a Chaos Champion aspiring to gain the favour of his patron god and one day rise to lead an army of his own. Some Mutants grow to massive proportions and in-game they form units of Big Mutants, who have capabilities similar to Imperial Ogryns. Some grow thick scales, giving them more protection at the expense of speed. Big Mutants are strong enough to use heavy weapons on the move.
[edit] Traitors
The Lost and the Damned army can include units of traitors to represent renegade Imperial Guardsmen that have joined the forces of Chaos. Along with squads of infantry, other Imperial Guard units can also be fielded, such as Rough Riders, Sentinels, Basilisks and Leman Russ battle tanks. They are described as being tainted by chaos, but haven't descended so far into madness that their skills are lost. Unlike their loyalist counterparts, they are not fielded in platoons, but have a larger squad size. Perhaps through fear of repercussions from their former allies or lack of discipline they are not as brave as loyalist Guardsmen. They can also be equipped for close combat and are able to use their treachery to infiltrate themselves into a better position before the battle begins. They are also able to ride in Guard-crewed Rhinos and Chimeras and like mutants are able to carry icons for summoning daemons to the battlefield. In general they have more equipment options than their loyalist counterparts.
[edit] Chaos Hounds
Chaos Hounds are hideously mutated packs of (usually) wolf-like beasts that are known for their speed and ferocity in close combat. They are much more common in Lost and the Damned armies than in Traitor Legions, and so may be fielded in units.
[edit] Gibbering Hordes
The dregs among the dregs, these units represent a horde of minor daemons, lesser mutants and similar chaos-spawned nastiness. While weak individually, these creatures band together into great hordes and pull down their opponents by sheer weight of numbers. Due to their small size and warp-spawned resilience, they are difficult to destroy, except by area effect weapons such as Flamers. In game terms their capabilities are akin to Nurglings, although they do not bear Nurgle's mark or attach themselves to his champions.
[edit] References
- Chambers, Andy; Hoare, Andy, and Kelly, Phil (2003). Warhammer 40,000 Codex: Eye of Terror. Nottingham: Games Workshop. ISBN 1-84154-398-5.
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