Cult of Slaanesh

The Cult Of Slaanesh is an army addition for the 6th Edition Warhammer Fantasy campaign Storm Of Chaos.

Its a Slaaneshi army made up of Druchii, Mortals, and Daemons. This force is lead by Morathi, and the Sorceresses then Keepers Of Secrets blow below her. This came from the era when all of Chaos was one faction, Hordes of Chaos.

Sadly 7th Edition retconned Chaos Elves from existing, switching them all from Slaanesh to Elf gods that are Slaanesh in all but name, so the Cult Of Slaanesh only exists in old continuity.

Fluff

Origin

The Cult of Slaanesh, in-universe called the Cult Of Pleasure, began some time after Chaos first entered the Warhammer World. Previously, the Elves had a golden age where there was no misery of any kind (allegedly) where they were free to explore the world and pursue the refinement of martial skills, art, poetry, song, and so on. As the Warp Gates collapsed the Daemons ran amok through the world, and the creations of the Old Ones were first tested. Elves were skilled in combat, but had no experience as armies against anything but each other and without any background of strategy or tactics. They suffered greatly.

Each of the Elf Kingdoms of Ulthuan suffered, some more than others. The western side of the continent in general got the worst of it, in particular Tiranoc. Eventually, the hero Aenarion was blessed by the Elf god Asuryan and he set forth to become Elf Doomguy which caused the Elves of the time to unite and call a vote to create a new patriarchal position called the Phoenix King to match the existing matriarchal royalty their creator gods had established. Aenarion married the Everqueen of his day and had two children with her, but when Chaos attacked Avelorn the Everqueen animated the forest as Treemen while her children were carried to safety. What happened next isn't recorded, but is implied to have been terrible for the Everqueen and the Chaos forces, with her soul surviving and inhabiting her subsequent female descendants with all other Everqueens (this was retconned in The End Times, as it originally included Isha herself who was retconned into being a different character).

Aenarion, reeling from the loss of his entire family, went full-retard and traveled to the forbidden island of the Elf war god Khaine and drew the Widowmaker, a cursed weapon from their mythology that was involved in Khaine almost destroying the Elf race. The Widowmaker appears as a different weapon based on who views and wields it, and brings eternal ruin not just to the wielder but their entire line. By drawing the blade, Aenarion unknowingly damned himself and all his descendants to make really terrible decisions and come to bad ends, including his own children that survived that he never learned were alive.

Aenarion went on another Daemon-killing tour, this time saving a young Elf maiden named Morathi who was being harassed by Nurgle Daemons. She spent time with him, gradually seducing him (later retcons as of The End Times in fact had them both fall in love with each other, Morathi pining for him eternally and in her deeper madness confusing young Elf men of his bloodline for him). Aenarion decided to retire from the life of Daemon-killing, despite the fact that the fucking apocalypse was still raging all around the world, and carved a path of destruction to the westernmost nation of Nagarythe to settle down and marry Morathi. She gave birth to a son named Malekith who was doted on and spoiled, looking up to his father and dreaming of being a world explorer like his old man rather than the warlord he had later become. Nagarythe became a miserable place of lavish decadence under the leadership of the Morathi-intoxicated Aenarion while the rest of Ulthuan burned. Gigantic ornate palaces were carved, slaves from all the world suffered for the pleasure of the court, and every sin was indulged in.

Eventually Caledor The Dragontamer, Aenarion's old friend, went all-in by setting up a ritual to save the world which Aenarion would either join or destroy and damn them all. He chose the former (although initially planning the latter) and died in the process. Now without a leader, the Elves debated who would succeed Aenarion as Phoenix King and lead the united armies of Ulthuan (as the Phoenix King had no other job). Malekith put forward his name, but was turned down in favor of another who was believed could lead the Elves into a peaceful future rather than a warrior one (also, the Elves had decided that to lend legitimacy to the Phoenix King position he would always have one year to have sex with the Everqueen to give her a female heir, after which they were free to marry whoever they wanted, and the fact that Malekith would have been having kids with his half-sister was a little too Nagarythe for the rest of the Kingdoms).

Malekith sailed the world, setting up relations with Dwarfs and fighting against Chaos. In the Frozen Wastes Malekith got a vision of an apocalypse that would come from within the Elf race, and rushed home to root out corruption. He discovered that Slaanesh (called "Shornaal" by Elves) actually had worshipers within his race, that his home of Nagarythe was corrupted to the core, and his own mother was the High Priestess. He spared her life, and summoned all of the military and political leaders of his day other than the Everqueen to the Shrine of Asuryan, although some declined the summons after suspecting his motives. Sure enough, Malekith falsely accused the Phoenix King of Slaaneshi corruption and killed him on the spot, then attempted to prove his legitimacy as replacement Phoenix King by walking through Asuryan's holy flames, which burned his sinful form (The End Times retcon is apparently that he really was the legitimate heir and chosen of Asuryan, but felt fear in the flames and was burned to teach him a lesson which...did not go well). Morathi took command and killed the nobles, then summoned the high pries of the Elf smith god Vaul to forge him armor to keep him alive.

This began a horrible civil war, the worst of the Warhammer settings, between the High Elves and Dark Elves. Nagarythe was split between the freedom fighters not within the decadent nobility and those who were corrupted to the core. Khaine, previously banned from being worshiped but otherwise appeased out of fear, developed a cult which drew devotees from all Kingdoms and formed the largest chunk of Malekith's army. Meanwhile, Morathi and the Cult Of Pleasure largely revealed themselves (leaving spies within High Elf society that would plague them through the modern day) and became the highest ranks. As the Dark Elves were losing, they tampered with the Vortex that Caledor had created with Aenarion, causing massive tidal waves, earthquakes, Daemon invasions, and storms while the Dark Elves animated large chunks of Ulthuan called Black Arks to set sail west to the continent of Naggaroth that the Dark Elves claimed for their own.

Dark Elf society organized largely around the Cult of Khaine, with the Cult of Pleasure being outlawed and any found practicing it put to death...unless under the protection of Morathi, who Malekith gave free reign to do as she pleased so long as it didn't interfere with his own plans. In older continuity Malekith and Morathi were lovers who hated each other, mother and son always planning against each other when not fucking. Later continuity portrayed Morathi more as a manipulating mastermind also stricken with Alzheimers, caught between masterfully bending the politics of the world to her favor for the purpose of destruction and corruption in the name of the not-Slaanesh Elf god, and episodes of believing she was still in Nagarythe with Aenarion. Meanwhile Malekith cuckolded every nobleman in the Dark Elf race by demanding "access" to their wives and, in his words, making most Dark Elves his descendants (which passed the Curse of Aenarion race-wide, explaining why Dark Elves are insane Chaotic Evulz). Regardless of faith, Khaine or Shornaal, all Dark Elves are expected to bow first to the atheist Malekith, then to Morathi below him. While technically Witch Elves are devotees of Khaine who kill Slaanshi whenever they find them, the term is also used to describe Morathi's frenzied daughters of Slaanesh. The primary devotees are actually the Sorceresses, female-only because Malekith fears a prophesy about a male Elf sorcerer killing him. The sorority of Slaaneshi are the only magic-users other than Malekith allowed among the Dark Elves, and eventually created a new form of magic called Dhar or Dark Magic. This later became the basis of Necromancy when it reached the humans of Nehekhara and the priest Nagash.

The Cult of Pleasure acted the same as your standard Chaos Cult within the High Elves by corrupting society and summoning Daemons to wreak havoc, eventually getting so bad that a Phoenix King had to create an entire system of Witch Hunters called the Swordmasters of Hoeth as well as an information network spying on the entire world from the Tower of Hoeth to organize them to police the High Elf race.

Modern History

Whether her own hallucinations or guidance from Slaanesh, Morathi became obsessed with Lustria and any secrets of the Old Ones still remaining in the world. Morathi's first plan was to gain the loyalty of disposable humans, and brought a small force of elite loyal Slaaneshi Elves to the Frozen Wastes where foolish Warriors Of Chaos had raided the world, including weak Dark Elves settlements, for many centuries. She conquered small Chaos tribes and united them under the Hung tribe, which was large and had traditionally leaned Slaanesh (who they called Shaarnor). She found their fighters to be entranced by the forms of naked female Elves, willing to wear armor and carry weapons in defense against attacks but unwilling to actually engage in combat against them and instead stood still in the snow staring at Morathi's forces. Their Warlords and Wizards were unwilling to serve her but were just as unwilling to insult her as they believed she was what she claimed to be; the bride of Slaanesh himself.

To earn their loyalty, Morathi summoned sixty troupes of six Daemonettes which she sent to wipe out the Kurgan tribes. The Kurgan settlements were destroyed and their people devastated, forcing them to flee westwards for survival (note that this was quite some time before what humans would consider the modern era, as the Kurgan have repopulated since then).

Morathi has ever since held the loyalty of Hung forces, and used them on many occasions. She used these forces to invade Lustria and claim artifacts and knowledge, even a lobotomized Slann that was turned into living fireworks as a spectacle execution to celebrate a holiday in Naggaroth. She also used the Hung lead by a Champion of Slaanesh in a two-pronged assault of Ulthuan in the Defenders Of Ulthuan/Riders Of Ellyrion book series where she attempted to summon Slaanesh himself directly into the world via the Vortex while her army and Malekith's pure Dark Elf army both distracted the High Elves (she failed, and getting her brain directly blasted with enough Chaos to turn a thousand humans into Chaos Spawn drove her even more insane).

The last time the Cult of Slaanesh was active was in the Storm Of Chaos campaign where she invaded Lustria to wipe out the Lizardmen and claim all the Old Ones secrets, both for her own and the glory of Slaanesh. They were also active in the Albion Campaign, trying to claim the land of supercharged magics and unknown relics of the Old Ones.

Crunch

Army Rules

• The General is always a High Sorceress, or a regular Sorceress if no HS are present.
• The General must have a Mark Of Slaanesh.
• Units must remain purely Elf, Mortal, or Daemon. This includes characters joining Units.
• Chaos Marks function as normal. Dark Elves retain Hatred: High Elves and Cold Ones retain Stupidity regardless of having a Mark Of Slaanesh.
• Sorceresses with Mark Of Slaanesh use the Lore Of Slaanesh and have +1 to Casting.
• Dark Elves with a Mark Of Slaanesh can take Hordes Of Chaos "Models With Mark Of Slaanesh Only" Magic Items. Hordes Of Chaos models cannot use Dark Elf Magic Items.
• A Dark Elf Unit with Marks Of Slaanesh that can take Magic Standards may take a Rapturous Standard from Hordes Of Chaos.

Army

Lords

• Morathi

Same as Dark Elves, but with the following:

• • Always the General
  • Beloved Of Khaine replaced by Mark Of Slaanesh
  • Morathi chooses her spells instead of rolling for them from Lore of Slaanesh and Lore of Dark Magic

• High Sorceress

Same as Dark Elves, but with the following:

• • May take a Mark Of Slaanesh for 25 points.

• Keeper Of Secrets

Same as Hordes Of Chaos, but with the following:

• • Max 1 per army.

• Druchii Anointed
  • Cannot be General
  • Does not count as Daemonic, can only join Dark Elves Units
  • Uses a 20mm square base if on foot
  • M6 WS8 BS7 S5 T4 W3 I9 A5 LD9
  • Has Hatred: High Elves, Cause Fear, 5+ Anointed Ward Save (does not protect from Magic Attacks), Mark Of Slaanesh
  • Has Hand Weapon, Chaos Armor. May take either an Additional Hand Weapon for 6 points, a Halberd for 6 points, a Great Weapon for 6 points, or a Lance if Mounted for 6 points. May take a Repeater Crossbow for 15 points, and a Shield for 3 points.
  • May be a Sorcerer at Level 1 for 40 points or Level 2 for 80. Has access to the Lore of Slaanesh and the Lore of Dark Magic, and has +1 to Cast.
  • May ride a Cold One for 39 points, a Dark Steed for 18 points, a Barded Chaos Steed for 24 points, or a Steed Of Slaanesh for 40 points.
  • May take Anointed Daemonic Gifts, Dark Elf Magic Items, any Slaanesh Daemonic Gifts, and any "Models With Mark Of Slaanesh Only" upgrades to a grand total of 100 points

Heroes

• Noble

Same as Dark Elves, but with the following:

• • Cannot take Sea Dragon Cloak
  • Can take Chaos Armor for 10 points
  • May take a Mark Of Slaanesh for 25 points. If taken, may also take a Steed Of Slaanesh for 40 points.

• Sorceress

Same as Dark Elves, but with the following:

• • May take a Mark Of Slaanesh for 25 points. If taken, may also take a Steed Of Slaanesh for 40 points.

• Aspiring Champion Of Chaos

Same as Hordes Of Chaos, but with the following:

• • Cannot be the Battle Standard Bearer
  • Must have a Mark Of Slaanesh

Core

• Dark Elf Warriors

Same as Dark Elves, but with the following:

• • May take Marks Of Slaanesh for +20 points per Unit.

• Devoted Of Slaanesh (Witch Elves)
  • Must take at least one Unit of Devoted Of Slaanesh
  • 12 points per model
  • M5 WS5 BS4 S3 T3 W1 I6 A2 LD8
  • Unit Size 10+
  • Use Two-Handed Weapons, no Armor
  • Have Mark Of Slaanesh, Hatred: High Elves, Soporific Musk
  • May take a Musician for 6 points, a Standard Bearer for 12 points, and a Champion (Mistress, gains 1 more Attack) for 12 points
  • Mistress may be upgraded with Speed Of Slaanesh (Always Strikes First) for +10 points
  • May take a Magic Standard up to 50 points

• Shades

Same as Dark Elves, but with the following:

• • May take Marks Of Slaanesh for +10 points

• Marauders Of Chaos

Same as Hordes Of Chaos.

• Daemonettes Of Slaanesh

Same as Hordes Of Chaos.

Special

• Dark Riders

Same as Dark Elves, but with the following:

• • May take Marks Of Slaanesh for +10 points.

• Cold One Knights

Same as Dark Elves, but with the following:

• • May take Marks Of Slaanesh for +20 points.

• Mounted Daemonettes Of Slaanesh

Seekers Of Slaanesh, first introduced in Cult Of Slaanesh army lists and made useable for Hordes Of Chaos players with access to it.

• Warriors Of Chaos

Same as Hordes Of Chaos, but with the following:

• • Cannot be upgraded with Chosen
  • Must take Marks Of Slaanesh for +20 points

• Furies

Same as Dark Elves, but with the following:

• • Max one Unit per army

Rare

• Spawn Of Chaos

Same as Hordes Of Chaos, but with the following:

• • Must be upgraded to Fiend Of Slaanesh
  • May be taken in Units of two

• Repeater Bolt Throwers

Same as Dark Elves, but with the following:

• • May take Marks Of Slaanesh for +5 points
  • May be fielded in Units of two

• Knights Of Chaos

Same as Hordes Of Chaos, but with the following:

• • Cannot be upgraded with Chosen
  • Must take Marks Of Slaanesh for +20 points
  • Counts as two Rare selections

Magic Items

In addition to the items from the Dark Elves and Hordes Of Chaos Army Books, Cult Of Slaanesh AND ordinary Dark Elf armies have access to the following:

• Draich Of Dark Power: 50 point Magic Weapon. +2 Strength, Killing Blow, requires two hands.
• Blade Of Spite: 25 point Magic Weapon, To Hit rolls of 5 or 6 Wound automatically.
• Heart-stone Of Darkness: 45 point Talisman, grants an4+ Ward Save.
• Wand Of The Kharaidon: 40 point Enchanted Item, once per Magic Phase the bearer can cast Doombolt as a Level 4 Bound Spell. Each time it is used a die is rolled, on a result of 1 it stops working for the rest of the game.
• The Cloak Of Dark Souls: 25 point Enchanted Item, Character on foot gets Scout.
• Soul Shadows Standard: 50 point Magic Standard, Unit may Flee if Charged even if they have Immune To Psychology and if they outrun the enemy they automatically Rally.
• Quickening Blood: 25 point Anointed Daemonic Gift, grants Always Strikes First even if Charged or carrying an Always Strikes Last weapon. Strike at Initiative against other ASF foes.
• Avatar Of Slaanesh: 35 point Anointed Daemonic Gift, all Units within 12 inches including the bearer itself with a Mark Of Slaanesh reroll failed Break Tests.
• Allure Of Slaanesh: 25 point Anointed Daemonic Gift, models trying to Shoot the bearer or their Unit must pass a Leadership Test or cannot Shoot that turn.