Hordes of Chaos

For the Kreator album, see Hordes of Chaos (album).

Warriors of Chaos is a Warhammer "Army Book," a supplement to the Warhammer Fantasy Battle tabletop miniature wargame. The book gives rules for playing an army of the human Chaos-worshippers from the Chaos wastes of the north, as well as in-game background information on such individuals. Within the game, the forces of Chaos were originally represented by a single army, but were later split into separate armies – daemons, warriors, and beastmen – that could contain models from each other's army lists, albeit not as core choices. This arrangement is no longer rules-legal, but the existence of a cannon crewed by Chaos Dwarfs in the current rules is a remnant of older editions.

Chaos wastes and history

In the fictional world of Warhammer Fantasy Battle, the inter-dimensional gate that brought the "Old Ones" to the world collapsed, ripping a hole in the fabric of reality. The hole was located at the worlds north pole, and led to the "realm of Chaos". From this realm came the energy known as magic, but also the beings known as Daemons. The daemons would have destroyed the world, but the Slann and High Elven Arch-mages were able to create a vortex to drain most of the magic away. Without magic the daemons faded back to the realm of Chaos.

The area around the entrance to realm of Chaos is known as the Chaos Wastes. Because the wastes are so close to the realm of Chaos, the laws that govern Order are fluid, the weather can change instantly and the wastes are full of monsters.

The humans that live in the wastes are savages compared to humans from the Old World. They tend to live in tribes that move from area to area. Each tribe has its own beliefs and customs, but all worship the four great gods of Chaos in some form. Life is hard in the wastes, tribes are always fighting monsters and each other, making them natural born fighters. They are tall and heavily built, often dressed in furs and scraps of armor. Their bodies are covered in symbols and runes, which they believe will protect them. Like all from the chaos wastes, they likely have some form of mutation, but see this as proof that the gods favor them.

The men from the north are great sailors, and during peace times they will trade with and fight for other races. Most of the time they will be raiding the other races for plunder, slaves or glory.

At times the hole to the realm of Chaos will expand, making the Chaos wastes unlivable. This forces the southern tribes to attack other races. These incursions are rare but difficult to defeat.

The Two incursions were:

The "Great war against Chaos" was an incursion led by Asavar Kul that nearly destroyed the nation of Kislev. The incursion was stopped by the armies of Magnus the Pious at the gates of Kislev city, but the city of Praag was warped in to a living nightmare and most of Kislev was destroyed.

The "Storm of Chaos" when Archaon, Lord of End Times led his army to destroy the city of Middenheim.

Army structure

Warriors of Chaos armies tend to be close-combat oriented, with few to no ranged capabilities, other than magic. Their primary tactic is simply to engage the enemy in close combat. When playing against a chaos army it is best to avoid contact via close-combat, and instead stay at a distance and utilize a gun line or magic. Almost all available units of the Warriors of Chaos may take a "Mark". A mark is a symbol that represents the one of the four gods of chaos that has granted favor upon the bearer. A marked unit gains an ability that is oriented with the mark of their God. In older editions of the army, all units were required to have the same mark.

"Marauders" are the savage tribesmen from the North, coming from the Norse race, predominantly, but also from the Kurgan realms. They are stronger fighters than the average human, and less likely to panic. "Marauders Horsemen" from birth share a destiny with their steeds, serving as a light cavalry.

"Chaos Warriors" are men who have sold their souls to the Chaos gods for power. They are one of the strongest units of the game. They wear Armour forged by the Chaos Dwarfs, that can never be removed due to the bonding of metal and flesh. The "Chosen" are the most favoured of the warriors. The Chaos gods will give them abilities like great strength and tough skin. The strongest will become "Chaos knights". They ride "chaos steeds" (strong mutant horses), and carry magical weapons. The most powerful will become "Exalted heros" and "Chaos lords". Some Chaos lords become a "Daemon prince". Some ride in Chariots or deamon steeds.

"Chaos Sorcerers" are warriors gifted with the ability to use magic. Their spells are some of the most destructive in the game, and unlike most wizards they are good in close-combat. Away from battle, they serve as priests to the Chaos gods.

The "Forsaken" are men who have been given mutations that reduce them to animal like intelligence (the men of the north see all mutation as a blessing from the gods). They serve as berseker troops. "Chaos Spawn" are those that have received one too many mutations. They look like large piles of flesh with flailing appendages and mouths. Most of them are insane or completely unaware of their own mortality. In battle they lurch towards the nearest enemy at random speeds.

The men of the north breed wolf-sized mutant dogs called "Chaos Hounds". In battle they are used to support other troops and chase down fleeing enemies.

They also use mutant versions of monsters like Trolls, Ogres, Giants, and Dragons. The army can also make use of half Ogre/half dragon monsters called Dragon Ogres.

They can use a Chaos Dwarf hellcannon.

Characters

References

    External links

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