Chaos Warband Creation Tables

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Inspired by the Space Marine Chapter Creation Tables from Fantasy Flight Games' Deathwatch Roleplaying Game, these tables are for generating a warband of Cultists, Traitor Imperial Guard, and Chaos Space Marines. If you're looking to make a CSM-only Warband, check out the Chaos Space Marine Warband Creation Tables. Also check out the Planet generator and System generator tables to fluff their home.

Warband's Origins

How did they start out?	D12 Roll
Imperial Guard: The warband was once a loyalist regiment, but received "friendly fire" one too many times for their liking.	1
Planetary Rebels: The planetary governor wanted the world, and decided that Chaos was a fine ally to help him or her do just that!	2
Isolated colony: After the 900th call to the Administratum for help against those Xenos raiders it was decided that perhaps the Imperium just wasn't worth helping out.	3
Pirates: A few enterprising souls in the vast darkness of space decided that they just want to kick back, relax, and enjoy the hard-earned efforts of others.	4
Warband offshoot: Things got a tad boring after the last pillaging, and a few of the boys decided that they'd make their own warband with blackjack and hookers.	5
Time Travelers: Perhaps they came from the Horus Heresy or from five seconds in the future, but either way this Warband is not from when they should be.	6
Chaotic Genestealers: Your Patriarch ate one too many Chaos Worshippers, and found out that serving Chaos was a lot more fun than only eating it.	7
Misbegotten Expedition: This Warband was looking for ancient STCs or long lost treasure, but either way found something far greater than they ever imagined.	8
Warp Madness: A Warp Storm caused the world's population to go batshit insane and decide that the only logical thing to do was burn down the nearest Shrine World.	9
Daemon World: Your warband was homegrown in the Warp itself on a daemon world, and finally got a chance to strike out on their own!	10
Astartes Cult: This cadre of heretics, aliens and worse amassed around a Warband of mighty chaos space marines.	11
Out of The Blue: No one knows why these otherwise fine citizens decided to rise up in unison against Imperial authority, only that within a day, none of their oppressors were left alive.	12

Warband's Alignment and Blessings

Chaos Allegiance	D100 Roll
Chaos Undivided (Or Hereteks)	1-35
Lesser God (Ex. Malice)	36-40
Nurgle	41-54, 77
Slaanesh	55-69 (Hehehe~)
Khorne	70-84, 88 (except for 77)
Tzeentch	85-100 (except for 88)

Blessings of the Gods

Frequency of Blessings	D100 Roll
Shunned: These Warbands are those that have great failure, the deities of chaos spurning them, and as such even their mightiest leader has remained untouched by their warping powers. Do not roll for any blessings on the Blessings Table.	1-20
Singular: This warband's leader has either earned the wrath or reward of the Gods, and has been changed forevermore. Roll once on the Blessings Table.	21-40
Few: A group of elite warriors, sorcerous coven, or elected priesthood have managed to all be touched by the gods in one way or another. Roll twice on the Blessings Table.	41-60
Several: The warband has managed to earn the favour of the gods quite often, and many within have been shown their power through fleshy mutations. Roll thrice on the Blessings Table.	61-80
Ascended: The warband has been able draw the attention of many warp spawned deities, and as such has had the ultimate gift bestowed upon them: princehood. Automatically select the Daemonhood blessing, and roll thrice, re-rolling if Princehood is selected.	81-100

Blessings	D100 Roll
Aesthetical Changes: Physical deformities that give nothing to the individuals other than a change in looks, and a sign that something greater watches over them. It could be possibly a set of short horns, useless tentacles, rotting skin, etc.	1-50
Deadly Protrusions: Once again numerous physical deformities run riot across the body; however, these deformities serve a purpose in combat. These mutations may be spiked limbs, large horns, enlarged tusks, or any number of marks which aid the blessed in slaughter.	51-55
Unnatural Luck: The gods are fickle beings, and their mood changes from moment to moment. A lasgun's blast might deflect harmlessly upon hitting the skin or manage to vaporize the target entirely, for such is the will of Chaos.	56-60
Vessel of the Impossible: Those blessed feel the power of the warp coursing, not through them, but through things which inhabit their soul like parasites on a great ocean beast whose presence could drain the occupant to dust or change the nature of their soul entirely.	61-65
True Sight: The most powerful weapon known to those of Chaos is truth, malign or beneficent, and those blessed can see events in the future, past, or even beyond what mortal minds are supposed to comprehend.	66-70
Unsound Mind: The blessed is no longer vulnerable to the Warp, the mind expanded beyond breaking, and is impossible to break again no matter the sight before them.	71-75
Divine Aide: The blessed have received a bondsman which carries the spark of a hostile reality within them, able to inflict great harm upon their enemies, but equally liable to betray their commanders at an opportune time.	76-80
Spawn-hood: The Gods are uncaring. Any attention from them they consider to be a gift, even if it is sorely unwanted as the soul is engulfed in a mass of twisted flesh.	81-90
Weapons of Chaos: The blessed have been given the trust of the Gods, a vessel of their power wrought for mortal glory, and as such is a relic unique in all the galaxy.	91-97
Princehood: The most revered of all gifts, it is to be truly unkillable through any means, and to earn it requires worlds to be burnt at the stake or an unholy work to be made in the name of the malign.	98-100

Headquarters

Base of Operations	D100 Roll
Infiltrated Shrine: The Warband has managed to hide amidst the faithful of the Corpse God, tricking priests and witch-hunters alike, while growing all the while.	1-5
Space Hulk: The Warband has taken residence within a drifting hulk, once filled with life, and now home to darker things then the void itself.	6-10
Xenos Temple: The Warband has either discovered or taken hold of a Xenos Temple, its alien idols torn down to be replaced with malign gods.	11-15
Daemonic Beast: The Warband has been able to survive within the confines of a great warp-beast, lurking amidst folds of unreal flesh, and living off its spoils.	16-20
Warp Storm: The Warband has found its home isolated within the Warp, and takes the opportunity to pillage the greater galaxy without fear of reprisal.	21-25
Chaos Warfleet: The Warband has scrounged up a ship to use as its home, and is able to hunt without limits across the vast expanse of space.	26-30
Chasm of Woe: The Warband has been able to somehow live within one of the various pocket dimensions which the Dark Eldar feed the Chasm of Woe with to survive.	31-35
Nightmare Host: The Warband occupies no "real" place, for it lives inside the mind of an insane individual, and nightmares are temporary gateways to reality.	36-40
Malign Augmentations: The Warband is not alive per se. Instead its members have become malignant pieces of scrapcode, and pillage in vast cybernetic hordes when enough unlucky or foolish people install them.	41-45
Forbidden World: The Warband has become so infamous or was spawned of a conflict so horrific that its very base has been quarantined from the Imperium at large.	46-50
Underhive: The Warband finds its refuge amongst the slave and the mutant where honest men fear to tread, leaving their efforts untouched by the Imperium at large.	51-55
Noble Spire: The Warband is kept safe within the confines of a noble spire through a rich supporter, and plot within the dining halls of the affluent.	56-60
Stasis-Crypt: The Warband either sleeps centuries away in its crypt or spreads bloody chaos throughout the Imperium, and finds doing anything else abhorrent.	61-65
Former Black Ship: The Warband was either once the wardens or prisoners, but either way the Black Ship now spreads the power of the Warp instead of containing it.	66-70
Chaos Bastion: The Warband sits within a vast stronghold, built by themselves or their peers, and can repulse any invasion that would dare threaten their borders.	71-75
Warrior Band: The Warband has no home. It moves from place to place, and carves a bloody swath across the galaxy as it does so.	76-80
T'au Embassy: The T'au are a naive race who at first extend an open hand to make peace, but find their "Greater Good" is no match for the eternal truth that is Chaos.	81-85
Warp Locale: The Warband has managed to carve out their own home within the Warp itself, unshackled by reality, and can talk with daemons in gardens or behind palisades.	86-90
Uncharted World: The Warband has found a home unknown to the Imperium at large, unexplored, and only a radius of death to tell that any life is there at all.	91-95
Eldar Craftworld: The Warband, through impossible deception or raw force alone, have managed to seclude themselves within the wraithbone spires of a doomed race.	96-100

Warband Structure

Warband Build	D100 Roll
No Masters, Only Gods: A vast tide of traitors belong to this Warband with no actual leadership heading the warband, instead it migrates across the stars in an anarchic horde.	1-5
Enhanced: A new member moves through rank after rank with a new modification, and its leaders are capable of ripping tanks in two with their unnatural strength.	6-10
Plague Master: The leader of such a throng has become host to a hundred different poxes, while most common in Nurglite warbands, a few strange cults such as those of Slaanesh take pleasure in the searing fire or icy chills a fever or cold brings, respectively.	11-15
Slayer of Souls: To kill the enemy is not enough, ambition is brought with the power to sear an enemy beyond recovery, and those who lead such warbands can remove any trace their enemies existed at all.	16-20
Hivemind: The Warband is led by a malign power which takes flesh-hosts to cloth its mind, and operates with the perfect precision that only a single guiding mind can bring.	21-25
Council of Psykers: A new recruit must demonstrate the power to commune with the Warp, and master its power before it burns their soul to a crisp.	26-30
Spawnling: The Warband plays host to a vast array of chaos spawn with each new mutation improving their rank, and it is said that the leaders of such impossible cults have even been able to lead their forces while changed beyond reason.	31-35
Warp's Toy: A new leader or rank is never "chosen" in this warband, and instead through the strings of fate will the gods allot each person into their required rank through "chance" alone.	36-40
Trial by Fire: A new member must endure soul-shriving trials to join, and must continue at them to keep their place within the warband.	41-45
Slaughter: A purge is enacted when a rank is left open to fill, and only the man or woman left standing alone among cowering peers will fill it.	46-50
Chosen One: A new hero or heroine will arise among the masses with unbridled hatred for the Imperial oppressors, and strike with all the force of a well-forged weapon.	51-55
Lottery: A sacred game of chance is held at one point or another, with each contestant offering their chance at glory. What happens to the losers when these games finish is best left unspoken.	56-60
Champion of Yore: The progenitor of the legion cannot die, at least by normal means, and will arise anew after death is repelled by whatever weird power has granted them favour.	61-65
The Tool of Warcraft: A single weapon, though not necessarily empowered by Chaos, selects a new leader through lethal trial and error to lead it to bloodshed.	66-70
Game of Shadows: An eternal cold war is waged within the warband to attain the position of leadership, and only the most cunning ever make it to the top.	71-75
Hidden Trophy: Unlike the a weapon or contest, the key to power has been scattered across the galaxy by a forebear, and to lead such a warband is to quest for artefacts of worth.	76-80
Survival: The warband follows whoever has the most resources to support them, rather than cunning or brute force or mystic power.	81-85
Council: A single leader is too easily killed, scattering a warband to the winds, and instead a council of elected officials leads the warband, though the election is not always a bloodless affair. Nurglite councils are filled with merriment and have excellent conduct as a standard. Khornate councils can be anything from whoever spilled the most blood to whoever is still alive deciding everything. Tzeentchian councils are filled with backstabbing and whoever is there for more than a few sessions is probably a very dangerous man. Slaaneshi councils can go through batches of toys and are so decadent that no actual work might get done!	86-90
Neverborn Chosen: The spawn of the Warp have taken an interest in this leader, and follow them to war under their banner. These warbands differ from those who are given servants by the gods; these Neverborn are there due to their own will, and can leave at a moment's notice if the tide of battle turns against them, leaving their hapless master without their claim to leadership.	91-95
The Mortal King: The Warband, through amassing a large force of Chaos Marines, xenos, and other abominations is led by a single mortal. The leaders of such Warbands are likely to be generals of the Imperial Guard, potent psykers, or seasoned warriors whose lack of eternal life has granted them the ambition to advance beyond their relatively immortal peers. A demigod might blanche at the thought of being led by such a tiny, fragile, short-lived thing, though when it comes time for war none question that they are a force to be reckoned with.	96-100

Recruitment Methods	D100 Roll
Homegrown: This Warband shuns outsiders as they are not as pure as they are, and instead rely on the tools nature or warpsmithing provide. A soldier might descend from a long line of heretics, and a mighty Astartes has had tainted gene-seed passed down for generations. These warbands are insular and clannish in nature, and as a result have fewer instances of the random backstabbing that their peers endure.	1-25
Safe Haven: A world might be declared Perdita Extremis, and so are its inhabitants forced to flee for their lives from an oppressive empire who seeks their death. These havens might be a world shrouded in mystery, accessible only by those with the connections to reach it, or a beacon for those on the run with a warm bed for those that make it. A haven will be accepting of newcomers who may not be purely aligned to Chaos, but this does allow them to quickly recover from losses that a vengeful Imperium would seek upon them.	26-50
Volunteer: The planets of Chaos are a vast tide that cannot be counted, and as a result some Warbands simply recruit from these worlds rather then strike into the Imperium. The average cultist belonging to these groups will likely be given training or some other incentive to join which results in a better armed overall force then those that have to scrounge for their weapons. The Warband might be misleading about the 666 thrones made of solid gold awaiting those that join them, and as a result while a more "impressive" offer might sway more recruits it also increases the chance of an uprising occurring once the new blood realises they've been had.	51-65
Kidnapping: The best recruits are those who have no past to tie them down, and as a result can be moulded into perfect killing machines. To be taken from birth is a large investment for a Warband, even if done through stealth, as said Warband must raise said offspring until they can fight in battle. The final product will be a soldier who fights with great loyalty to their false parents, but if this deception is found out then their faith may swing from fanatical to full rebellion against those that lied to them.	66-80
Mercenary: It is said that diversity is the spice of life, and these warbands have taken that message to heart. A talented cultist might be loaned off to another warband to serve them for a few years, learning new tactics, and will even sometimes return to the Warband with a few friends. This strategy allows the Warband to have a range of fighters with diverse experience, but those who have been loaned out might just decide that staying with their new Warband is a far better life then returning to their old home.	81-95
Final March: Death is final. Death comes for all. The Warband has suffered some great catastrophe: mass sterilization, ruined geneseed, or a battle so fierce as to make any chance of a recovery nigh impossible. Some may try to fight their fate through science or sorcery, but it does grant a great clarity to those within the Warband. A single battle might be their last. Each loss is irreplaceable, infighting has been snuffed out as a result, and each skirmish is fought with the rage of those who would stare death in the eye without a single shudder in their body.	96-100

Warband Tactics

Combat Doctrine	D10 Roll
For the Master: Those within the Warband have an unwavering loyalty to their leaders (at least on the battlefield), and as such their favored tactic is a massed rush upon the enemy lines with close range weaponry, rather than chance a single flesh wound upon their overlords. The masses of cultists and Chaos Marines will form vast lines to protect their leader, killing the chaff around enemy commanders, and allowing for only the truly worthy to face their champions. Those Warbands which have no leader or a council can re-roll, or follow another system such as electing a leader before battle or assigning a single duelist in the stead of a leader.	1
Blot out the Sun: To fight an enemy at close range is barbaric, and is a tactic for the uneducated loyalists who have yet to see the Eternal Truth. This Warband will lay waste to the enemy from leagues away with snipers and siege engines, without a single flesh wound to show for the destruction they wrought. Close range weapons are only used as a last resort, or is confined to a single shunned element of the Warband such as a freshly recruited cultist who is not worthy of a lasgun.	2
Grinding Assault: Infantry win firefights, tanks win battles, but artillery wins wars. At least, that was the case until this Warband showed up. To say that they have a slight tendency toward using vehicles is like saying that a Khorne worshipper has a slight tendency to be angry. The enemy faces a literal wall of vehicles which roll across the battlefield without a single gap between them, and anything that does not run or somehow break through will be crushed into pulp beneath their blood-soaked treads.	3
Anarchy: The Imperium might have the God-Emperor, but Chaos is an ally in and of itself. This Warband's members fight as they wish, obeying no dictates or overall tactical plan. Some hunt for the enemy commander. Others simply charge the enemy lines, seeking to reap a bloody harvest for the gods, while others commit acts of mayhem which seem to have no tactical purpose. The end result is that try as they might, no enemy can comprehend their motives or tactics, and as such the chain of command be forced to break down until the end result is an entire army at war with itself. A common practice for these Warbands is to simply collect all the survivors and move on, with Leaderless warbands being able to automatically select this.	4
Lightning Strike: This Warband makes war in the name of Chaos, and each second spent fighting is a second that could be spent in grateful prayer in the name of Chaos. The common tactic is to select kill teams of elite forces to engage with the enemy on objectives, and once secured leave as quickly as possible. A battle might result in casualties for neither side as they achieve their goals, and leave as quickly as they appeared to continue their propitiation of the gods. A Warband with the Stasis-Crypt headquarters can select this automatically.	5
Conversion: Each enemy slain is one who could have been brought to the Primordial Truth, and made to turn upon their former oppressors. The communication systems of the enemy are taken for the cause of the righteous, and daily broadcasts unveil malign truths which turn brother against brother in the name of Chaos. The Warband will often recruit more of their former enemies than could ever be lost in a battle, and will often increase their numbers ten-fold after a conflict is over. Volunteer and Safe Haven Warbands can automatically select this.	6
Overkill: There is no kill like overkill. The opening salvo of this Warband is the steady thunder of heavy artillery, the hiss and roar of flamers and meltas searing flesh from bone, and the annihilating light of nuclear payloads detonating inside hive cities. Merely killing an enemy is not enough; every trace of their existence must be purged from reality. If concerned with stealth then a Warband might instead slowly muddle the history of their foes until the supposed beliefs of their past are little more than figments created by the chosen of Chaos.	7
Maelstrom: To better embrace the power of Chaos, one must fully tap into the Warp, and what better way to do so than in the heat of battle? The Warband turns the battlefield into an unreal mess of flesh and metal, with the first casualty being the sanity of those involved. Those involved will often be of Tzeentchian alignment, but a few Khornate cults have been able to summon such great rage as to tear screaming rifts into the very fabric of reality itself. The end of a war will often be in alignment with a Warpstorm, and only when its power fades do the servants of Chaos leave the battlefield for a change of scenery.	8
Terror: The song of fear is a sweet melody, and it is best sung by those who thought themselves immortal. These Warbands will often kill in bursts, bloody massacres that claim the lives of many, and then simply stop for decades at a time. The price of victory is one they are willing to pay if they can make their enemy sing, and will often retreat from battles if only to deepen their enemies' fear. A Warband with the Nightmare Host locale can automatically select this, and can often result in a sleeping populace literally dreaming their fears into reality as potent warriors from ages past.	9
Hydra's Doctrine: Chaos is a multiform beast whose heads number in the thousands, and as such the devout of Chaos have multifarious ways of waging war. If selected then roll two dice, and select those results; if you roll this trait, roll again until either two more are selected or all are selected.	10

Legendary Champion

Warband’s Exalted Champion	D100 Roll
Daemon Prince	1-20
Chaos Lord	21-40
Sorcerer (If a Khorne-aligned warband, disregard this result and reroll)	41-60
Champion of Chaos (Ex. Possessed, Aspiring, Plague, Skull)	61-75
Aspiring Sorcerer (If a Khorne-aligned warband, disregard this result and reroll)	76-90
Chosen	91-100

Deed for the God(s)	D10 Roll
The champion is renowned for having defeated the forces of the Imperium in open battle several times.	1
The champion defeated a Chapter Master of a Loyalist Space Marine Chapter in one-on-one combat, and has gained the eternal enmity of that Chapter	2
The champion led a campaign against an important world of the Imperium, which brought the entire planet to Chaos	3
The champion led a glorious campaign of slaughter and sacrifice which brought an entire sector to its knees and reaped a mighty harvest for the gods	4
The champion discovered a xenos race and brought it to worship Chaos, further empowering the gods.	5
The champion led the warband to many a glorious campaign in the name of Chaos, exterminating those who defied their will and bringing many others into the light of true gods. The figure is highly favored by his/her patron god(s) for their actions.	6
The champion successfully led an action which resulted in the annihilation of a loyalist Space Marine Chapter. The warband claimed the gene-seed from the loyalist corpses and either utilized them for the warband or sacrificed them to their patron god(s)	7
The champion led a successful boarding action against an Imperial battleship which resulted in the takeover of the craft. The battleship now serves as a mobile fortress for the warband	8
The champion led a bloody and vicious raid upon an unsuspecting Imperial naval fleet and successfully destroyed many of the ships as well as taking over a few for the warband	9
The champion single-handedly wiped out the warband of a rival Chaos God (reroll if the warband is unaligned, Undivided, or following a lesser deity).	10