Warriors of Chaos

Vikings FTW!

"To the ordinary, we are unknowable. Fallen. Corrupted. Rightly feared. You cannot understand our orgins, our motives... the dawning realisation that we are not fallen. We. Are. Ascended."

– Archaon the Everchosen

"Moving up and fighting the best keeps me hungry."

– Nonito Donaire

"Then I saw when the Lamb broke one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying as with a voice of thunder, 'Come.' I looked, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer."

– Revelation 6:1-2

Remember when the followers of the Dark Gods were badass Viking warriors in awesome looking plate armour and weren't emo Space Marines under the thrall of an armless failure? Remember when they were led by completely fucking crazy motherfuckers who wrestled fucking Bloodthirsters to the ground as a bloody initiation ritual and rode around on chariots pulled by skinless bears and rode horses fed on human flesh and watered down with blood and had awesome beards rivalled only by Dwarfs? Pepperidge Farm remembers. These are the Warriors of Chaos (formerly Hordes), the granddaddies of all that is Awesome in the Chaos Space Marines, the original Champions of Chaos.

Additionally, every time the words "devout", "cruel", "savage", and synonyms of those show up in the following article, take a swig. I can guarantee that you will at least be drunk (unless you are, in fact, a chaos warrior yourself, in which case you would need to drink a gallon for every derp on the Derp page (enough to get 6 fully packed Yankee stadiums completely hammered, in case you're wondering)). As you should be, considering you're reading about Vikings.

Brief Foreword

Nostalgia aside, you can't truly call yourself a fan of Chaos or Warhammer in general without having at least a cursory knowledge of these guys. These guys are the very essence of Warhammer: baroque plate armour, skulls, Vikings, mutations, Michael Moorcock, J.R.R Tolkien, Hieronymus Bosch, H.P Lovecraft and Heavy Metal; everything that was put in together and left to boil to produce the two most grimdark settings in the history of mankind is encapsulated in these guys. The first edition of Warhammer Fantasy had one of them displayed proudly on it, for Odin's sake (the now legendary Harry the Hammer, the TRUE reason why Warhammer is called Warhammer, check out Harry's new model, it kicks ass). Like it or not, these guys were what forged Warhammer for a lot of people. To this day, no game based on it feels complete without dark armoured marauding warriors of the Nordic or sci-fi persuasion. So read on, and see their glory in full.

tl;dr: MOTHERFUCKING CHAOS VIKINGS, MAN!!!

If you watch some of the Viking shit that is part of the current minor renaissance in sword-and-longboat fantasy that's been going on in television lately, like The Last Kingdom, you might think that the portrayal of Vikings is not that far off. And arguably, it isn't; they got up to some pretty deranged Khornate shit. But of course, history was written by the people who they were murder-raping in the name of KhorneOdin. It's pretty much beyond dispute, though, that theirs was a culture very much centered upon raiding (literally what viking means, more or less) and being a badass warrior; you couldn't get to Valhalla unless you died by a weapon strike or childbirth. (Drunken accident? Old age? Getting poisoned or stabbed in the back? Too bad, it's off to Niflheim, the domain of Hel--one 'l', that's after the goddess who reigned there, and no, it wasn't hot, it was motherfucking cold.) Pretty fucking Khornate if you ask me.

They are also the only non-Imperial Guard army to have not been fucked over completely beyond all redemption by the foul Cruddace.

Fantasy Overview

In the beginning, the Old Ones came to the Warhammer World and set about doing their crazy magical genetic engineering bullshit. Then, for whatever non-reason the Polar Gates at the top and bottom of the world that they had constructed to ward off Chaos gave out and the world was corrupted and consumed by it. Depending on who you ask, either this event is what birthed Chaos and the Chaos Gods, or they came first and helped cause it. Who knows? The Old Ones fucked off, and left races of Dwarfs and Elves and Slaan. But a fourth creation also that was not fully equipped to resist the influence of Chaos, and of course, this was Man. Mankind was unfinished, and the warpstones that flew from the Northern polar wastes caused the acceleration of physical and cultural progress and, most importantly, of the human mind. The races of men gained a vigor and fire from the power of Chaos that drove them to great heights of glory and caused them to surpass the manufactured races of the Old Ones. In many ways, the history of Chaos is the history of mankind in the Warhammer world, serving as a dark reflection of what corrupted humanity can look like, the civilized soldiers and benevolent Order Gods of the South mirrored by the barbaric warriors and the cruel, fickle Chaos Gods of the North. It was only fitting that some tribes amongst Humanity would come to worship the various Gods of Chaos, namely the best-known four of them (and a long time ago some others that GW sadly forgot about and another they were contractually forced to forget about.)

The most notable of these was the Norsii. who would later be feared by all of the Old World as the fierce Norse, the most brutal and devout worshipers of Chaos. They were joined by their cousins as well, the brutal Kurgan of the Eastern Steppes and the squat and ferocious (yet anatomically gifted in certain areas) Hung. These are the three Great Races of Men, for it is they alone who are favored by the mighty Gods. Together, they are the Northmen, and they shall make the World tremble.

On the tabletop, the Warriors of Chaos tend to be unstoppable close combat powerhouses (as they should be, they're Vikings), with little in the way of ranged fire support. Very melee oriented, even their sorcerers can be thrown into melee and be expected to hold their own. They have very powerful magic that can be used to supplement their incredible power. They have extremely powerful Lord choices who might very well be the most powerful generic lords in the game. They have a pretty high points cost, though, so you're going to be outnumbered. On the other hand, that shouldn't bother you too much because they're badasses. The problem is that you have a predictable play style and are more or less ineffective if you can't get into melee. Movement phases are important, especially in fantasy, so think about how you move your forces. Despite it being a predictable play style, it's still easy to grasp and simple to use, which also makes the Warriors a good starting army. Also, because of the low model count since these guys have a large point cost, it doesn't cost that much by GW standards to put a good army together. So, if you like Vikings in spiky armor, get the Warriors.

The Men of the North

The twisted northlands of Norsca and the Eastern Steppes straddle the line between mere mortality and the realm of the immortal, for they the closest of the realms to the foul Chaos Wastes and the portal that leads to the realm of the Chaos Gods. Known as Rainsheim amongst the Norse, and a dozen other names amongst those others who dare to treat with Chaos; Northman or Southman. The power of Chaos has corrupted all the lands of the world, but as the distance from the pole decreases, the influence of Chaos increases. And so, the men of Norsca and the Kurgan realms are saturated with the power of the gods.

The men who dwell in the Northlands are, for the most part, barbarous and savage compared to those who live in the settled lands to the south. They are not physically unlike other men and, in times of peace, merchants from the Norse and Kurgan can be found trading their wares in the markets of cosmopolitan cities such as Marienburg in the west and the Hung can be found doing the same in Weijin in the east. Yet, in some other forms, they are unlike their fellows to the South. For they worship evil Gods of Blood, Decay, Scheming, and Debauchery and live brutal, primitive lives of war. Most lamentably, they all live directly under the shadow of Chaos and are slaves to its Will.

Depending on what version of the lore you go with, not all of Norsca is enthralled to Chaos. Old material mentions tribes and whole kingdoms living and coexisting with the Southlands, some even taking to worshiping other Gods like Ulric. Some of these tribes are even mentioned as fighting Chaos and trying to steer their brethren away from falling victim to it. Again, this varies quite a bit between editions and even within editions themselves.

The men of the Northlands have many different gods. Most are daemons and valorous dead or ascended Champions of Chaos deified by their tribes (a practice especially common with the Norse) or manifestations of the natural world (as is common amongst the Kurgan), but all the Northmen owe their highest worship to the Four Great Gods of Chaos, whom they readily recognize as the masters of these lesser deities. The Northmen do not think of the Chaos Gods as evil, as the superstitious men of the South are wont to. But as individuals, they are as unpredictable as mortals. Thus, the Northmen reasonably maintain that such powerful entities are beyond the moral judgment of men. It is thus every warrior's duty to honour the gods in all walks of life. Such things are self-evident. To deny the gods and not worship them would be foolish, their existence in the North is a simple fact of life; evident in the mark of Khorne proudly displayed by a Norscan marauder as he leaps from his longship to savage Imperial soldiers with his daemonic strength, or in the mark of Tzeentch borne by a Kurgan rider as he fells a Kislevite warrior with his new-found blade of bone in place of a hand. To resent this state of affairs would be like resenting the sunrise or the wind - What would it accomplish?

The Four are known by many names amongst the people of the North. Nonetheless, all the Gods are recognized by them. And it is not uncommon for the tribes to choose one god amongst them as a patron (the Norse tribes commonly take Khorne as theirs, while some tribes of the Kurgan may choose Tzeentch) - who is seen as the father and protector of their kindred. Lesser gods and daemons are also worshiped, along with great heroes peculiar to a particular tribe who are often chieftains who died such glorious deaths that they were raised to sit beside the god of their tribe in eternal glory.

Though they may seem barely civil in times of peace, the Norse, Kurgan and Hung are vicious races of bloodthirsty warriors. Used to battling amongst themselves - war is their natural state and they wage it without concern or prejudice. They rejoice in battle and strength at arms, and honour the brave of both sides while despising the cowards likewise. Yet they are willing to forget their differences when the Gods command them to fight on their behalf. For there is no greater joy than to fight and die in the armies of the immortals.

The Daemon Norse

"From the harsh snowlands they come. Blond of hair they are, and blue of eye, and tattoos upon arms and face and chest. Their eyes are mad with bloodlust, for blood they thirst for, driven forth on the whims of the Gods they seek to appease. Clad in but few garments and wielding clumsy, brutal axes and maces, they rage against the civilized lands of the south, burning, pillaging, looting all before them to offer up as sacrifice to their uncaring masters beyond the gates of hell in the Northern Wastes."

– The Liber Chaotica as penned by Richter Kleiss, former Priest of Sigmar

The Norse of Norsca are the most brutal, fierce and savage followers of the Chaos Gods in the Warhammer world. They are the tallest, most physically strong race in the Old World, raised amongst a culture that respects only strength and the ability to kill and closeness to the Primordial Gods. All of Norsca is in the thrall of Chaos, corrupting the mountainous wasteland with the essence of change that seeps not only into man and beast but the very ground itself. Mutations are so common as to be universal among the Norscans, seen as signs of blessings from the Chaos Gods. Mighty warbands prowl the mainland and the horrific mountain ranges that connects the lands of the Norse to the Chaos Wastes. The seas about Norsca are filled with massive longships mastered by the terrible Chaos Champions and their kinsmen who stride the seas searching for either artefacts, purchase by which they may wage war against the weak southlings as demanded by their Gods, or merely any other ship to vent their rage upon. When the call to war is given, the Norse are always at the forefront, tearing down all opposition and cleaving the way into the weak lands of Sigmar. The Norse are always on the warpath, launching continuous and brutal sea raids upon the heavily fortified coast of the Northern Empire and northern Kislev.

It should come as little surprise that the Norsemen are the most fiercely devout followers of Khorne, the God of War. And it is from the Norse that the majority of Khorne's followers are derived. Many Norse Champions of Chaos go on to be the most favored of Khorne's warriors; Cormac Bloodaxe, Scyla Anfingrimm, Hogan Headhacker, Haargroth the Blooded, Arbaal the Undefeated, Valmir Aesling, Hrothgar Daemonaxe, Urlfdaemonkin -- all savage Norse warriors who have risen to pre-eminence in the eyes of the Blood God. In fact, Khorne's own consort, Valkia the Bloody, has risen from the brutal clans of the Norse.

With such a track record, it was obvious that the Imperials would deny any idea that the Norse are even remotely human. Most theories tend to focus on their favour from the Dark Gods and use that as the bedrock for all kinds of claims. Due to them being incredibly strong, very tall and all warriors (at least, all those encountered commonly by the Imperials are such) and devoted to the Dark Gods, Imperials have come to the conclusions that the Norse are a race of superhumans, or that they are daemons shaped as men, or are half-giants. The truth, shaded in the fantastic as it is, is still more interesting.

Contrary to what the Imperials historians zealously claim; they are not the first ones to settle in the Reik basin. Even the Bretonnians and the Nehekharans have held a portion of the land that would later become the heart of the Empire, and the ancestors of the Norse were no different. Known as the Norsii, their ancestral homeland was indeed the frozen Wastes of Norsca. But some of their kinsmen migrated South to the lands that would become part of the Empire. The Norsii were ever the mighty and favored warriors of Chaos, as their descendants are. They were prone to waging bloody and terrible war upon the southern tribes, particularly the Udoses, Teutogens and Roppsmenn. The Norsii's reign of terror was only stopped by the hosts of the southlings gathering to drive them back to their frozen homeland. But from there they would rejoin their kinsmen who still dwelt in the North and return to continue their depredations. It was only Sigmar himself who managed to finally drive the Norsii hordes from the Empire. And only barely. It is a telling thing that the first defeat Sigmar ever suffered came at hands of the vicious Norsmen, led by the ancient Chaos Lord of Khorne: Cormac Bloodaxe.

The Norse are amongst the most fearsome and most devoted warriors of Chaos, but they are also devoted to their tribal affiliations. The tribe forms the very core of the Norse identity, as they are not a unified people by any means, and thus have no concept of nationality. A Norscan will never call himself such. He will identify himself based on tribe and parentage. A Varg will see his loyalties extend only to his immediate tribe and to a much lesser extent, others under the same confederation. After all, even amongst the various so called High Tribes, multitudes of lesser tribes and families will exist. For instance, under the Aesling High Tribe, there exists many other lesser clans owing allegiance to it; such as the Gorehunt, the Snaegr, Skrae and Untam. The various Norscan clans are divided into two main blocks for easy reference based on geography; the Northern tribes and the Southern tribes.

The Northern Norscan Tribes

• Aeslings: The most dreaded and terrifying and powerful of the Norse High Tribes are the Aeslings. They are the most savage and brutal men of Norsca. Even among the other Northernmost Northman tribes they are held in fear. Only favour from the Gods and strength and excellence at arms are valued. Thus, they are a people who respect only strength and infants who do not measure to their standards of physical perfection are murdered outright with little fuss. While reprehensible, this combined with their constant warfare on others has forged a race who are undoubtedly some of the greatest warriors of all the Northmen. Amongst the Aesling tribes, it is Khorne who is worshiped above all other Gods and it is not uncommon for tribes to dedicate themselves solely to him. For even amongst the Norsemen, the Aeslings are a people who thrive on war. While one Champion of Chaos may master a crew of marauders who bring ruination on Erengrad or Nordland, another might lead his people in slaughtering the Norse Dwarfs or even their own Norse kinsmen. Even the Kurgans to the east are not safe from the Aeslings' reckless thirst for death, for it is often that an Aesling Jarl will lead his murderous kinsmen in preying upon the many roving Kurgan tribes, slaughtering them and offering up their lives to the vicious Chaos Gods. Their lust for killing has won them no friends, what few allies they have are bound to them by only fear and intimidation, for much like the god they worship, the Aes care not whence the blood flows.

• Vargs: Another Northern tribe. The Vargs are the most twisted in body and soul of the Norse; they claim the Northern tundras as their lands and fought many horrific beasts to claim it, such as giants, beastmen and daemons of Chaos. They have managed to domesticate the fearsome mammoths of that area, and will often bear them to battle as beasts of war. The Vargs have a blood hatred of the Kurgans that dates backs to untold stretches of ancient history. Time has done little to dampen their hate, and they often mount massive raids into the Kurgan lands, which are joined by Aesling mercenaries, that wreak great devastation of the men of the Eastern Steppes. The Vargs are also dedicated warriors of Khorne, like the Aeslings, and are viciously devoted to his creed of death. The Vargs are said to have come from distant lands and settled in Norsca, led by their greatest and most legendary chieftain; a mighty Chaos Lord of Khorne known as Hrothgar Daemonaxe, who led them in conquering land and enslaving weaker tribes. Hrothgar later went deeper into the realms of the Gods and ascended to Daemonhood. The Vargs know Khorne by the name of Arkhar. One day, a band of horny Varg maraduers decided to trouble the southerners. So, they travelled from all the way from northernmost part of Norsca to Nordland, hellbent on giving them a huuge trouble. And they did. One of these maraduers saw a random fisherman's beautiful wife and thought By the Serpent, that woman is hot. I am going to have fun with her. So he did. The result was the birth of a certain devout Templar Knight of Order of the Twin-Tailed Orb. What was his name? His name was Diederick Kastnar. Sounds familiar? This makes the Vargs indirectly responsible for the destruction of Warhammer World. In the video game Total War: WARHAMMER, they have a faction up in the Northern Norsca led by a chieftain named Surtha "BEYOND YOUR COMPREHENSION!" Ek, who is known for slaughtering Southerners with the use of massive chariot tactics.

• Graelings: The last of the Northern Norse tribes and the most westerly of the Norse, close to Elven lands and prone to raiding those places. They come into conflict with Dark Elven corsairs frequently and the terror of the villages and fortresses of Klar Karond. Though it is also said that when they are not killing them, the Graelings sell slaves culled from the southern lands and Ulthuan to the Dark Elves. They do not gravitate to one Chaos God over another, but are, like most Northman tribes, prone to celebrating Chaos in all its glory. Haargroth the Blooded rose up from this tribe.

The Southern Norscan Tribes

• Skaelings: Sea raiders without equal, the Skaelings are perhaps the most cunning of the Norse. They are the closest of the Chaos worshipers to the southern lands, so it is not uncommon to find them raiding the South. During the Storm of Chaos, Skaeling sea-raiders were utilized to great effectiveness by the Lord of the End Times in harrying and diverting the fleets of Brettonia and Nordland. In addition to their veneration of the Chaos Gods, the Skaelings also worship another daemonic deity known as Mermedus, who some Imperial theologians consider to be a Norscan interpretation of Manann. Though there is little in common with the mighty Imperial sea-god and the abominable daemon the Skaelings make human sacrifices to. Others have considered Mermedus to be the Chaotic reflection of Stromfells, another ill-tempered deity of the sea. interestingly, their name is not a reference to the Vikings themselves, but to the people who lived around the north American colony of vinland, who they called the Skrælings. So the Skaelings may not be chaos Vikings, but rather Chaos Inuit.

• Baersonlings: A people who would not be odd living in the North of Norsca, the Baersonlings are tireless reavers who are proud of their martial prowess, which is truthfully legendary even amongst the Northmen. Though they are not quite as strong and fierce as the Aeslings, they war with them frequently. Their relations with the Kurgan tribes is similarly icy, and their lands often stretch into the fringes of the Eastern Steppes, which invites war. Not that this disturbs the Baersonlings, war is just another way to glorify the Chaos Gods. They are known for their copious body hair and a strange Chaos mutation that transforms them into unstoppable bear-like monstrosities. Beorg Bearstruck, a powerful Champion of Chaos, and his marauder tribe, the Bearmen of Urslo, are descended from this strain of the Norse nation.

• Sarls: The Sarls are rugged barbarian warriors. Mighty and indomitable and devoted to the Dark Powers, they have distinguished themselves in the armies of the Chaos Gods often. Wulfrik the Wanderer, one of the greatest Champions of Chaos and executioner of the Chaos Gods rose from these people. The Sarl also destroyed the last and most terrible of the treeblood, using the bark harvested from the creature to create the second Seafang of Wulfrik after the first was lost in a raid on the Elves. Oh and this clan was destroyed after Wulfrik fucked it up by killing the chieftain son and rival clan puppet leader to once again incite the civil war between the two.

• Bjornlings: Little is known of this tribe. But among them are the Crow Brothers, devout warriors of Nurgle.

• Rotbloods: A tribe of Nurgle worshippers, mentioned in Vermintide and an enemy faction in the sequel. A tribe driven to such desperation that they not only primarily worship Nurgle (rare for Norscans) but even thought it would be smart to ally with Skaven. The champion Bovarr Ribspreader leads their war parties in the south. Thanks to the Skaven created Skittergate, they got to give Helmsgart an early preview of the End Times during the fighting, though they got smashed in Vermintide 2 and Bödvarr was cut down.

Famous Norse Chaos Champions

"I pity you and all the world, for amongst all the races of men, the gods favour we Norse alone."

• Morkar the Uniter: The First Everchosen of Chaos; Morkar was the survivor of an Imperial raid upon his village in the aftermath of the defeat of Cormac Bloodaxe's horde at the gates of Middenheim. He rose up to become the greatest Champion of Chaos of his generation and united the Norse tribes in his quest to gain the mark of the gods. He reaped many great conquests and honour and fear were heaped upon his name. No foe could withstand his rage in battle and no enemy was beyond his keen mind to defeat. Eventually, he was crowned as the Eternal Conqueror of the Gods by Be'lakor and led the vengeful Norsemen and their Kurgan allies in unmaking the decadent Empire. He was only defeated narrowly in single combat with Sigmar himself (pre retcon it was Aenarion who killed him). After his death, his body was taken by his kinsmen and buried in a great cairn in the Chaos Wastes. A sliver of Morkar's spirit remained in the armour long after his death, left to brood over his defeat and to forever curse the name of the cowardly Sigmar who derailed his great conquest by his craven single combat. (Let it never be said that, whatever his badass credentials, Morkar was NOT a sore loser.) Morkar the Uniter's rest was disturbed millennia after by his successor, Archaon, who sought the legendary indestructible armour of the First Everchosen in his quest for the 6 Treasures of Chaos; even in death, Morkar was too great for the Lord of the End Times to defeat in open battle. It was only by shouting a curse in the long dead tongue of the Unberogen tribe, the people of Sigmar, that Archaon was able to immobilize the reanimated armour of the dead Champion and defeat it, casting the last part of his spirit back to the Realm of Chaos and take the legendary armour for his own. To this day, Morkar's Chaos plate protects the Lord of the End Times, granting him the same incredible invulnerability as it did its former wearer.

• Cormac Bloodaxe: One of the first great leaders of the Warriors of Chaos, and the first Champion of Chaos to be possessed by a greater daemon of Khorne. Cormac Bloodaxe, son of Varag Skulltaker, witnessed the rout of his people at the hand of the tyrant Sigmar. Though the Norsii fought fiercely and slew many despite their small numbers, Sigmar's forces were too numerous and his strange war-machines burned away the proud longships that carried the Norsemen in bringing ruination and desolation to the enemies of the Dark Gods of the North. The Norsii returned to their ancestral homeland of Norsca, and a molten core of hate and violence began to burn in Cormac's heart, which would lead him to becoming the greatest Chosen of Khorne and a force of such might and power that would reunite the tribes of Norsca into an unstoppable host that would crush the Empire of Sigmar. With the aid of the Norsii sorcerer, Kar Odacen, Cormac did bind the Norse tribes to his banner, reclaimed the ancient Chaos armour of his father, and bound a great daemon of Khorne to his axe. The eastern tribes of the Kurgan and Hung also prostrated themselves to the Norseman's banner and pledged their lives to his glory. Cormac's leadership saw the first decisive defeat the Imperials ever suffered, he had managed to match wits with Sigmar and defeated him utterly. At the behest of his sorcerer, Cormac was led to invade the City of the White Wolf. In spite of his better judgement which said to instead surround the city and isolate and pick off Sigmar's reinforcements from other southern tribes. Yet, Cormac was leader of the Norsii by the will of the Gods alone, and the Gods willed him to end the Empire with one fell stroke. Cormac's superior Norse warriors, drunk on the blessings of the Dark Gods, and strengthened with armies of daemons and beastmen assaulted Middenheim and victory was near. On the counsel of his shaman, Cormac offered himself up to become the sacrifice necessary to bring forth a Bloodthirster to break the final defenses of Middenheim. The Bloodthirster crossed blades with Sigmar and cast him down, readying for the killing stroke until Ulric himself intervened and cast the daemon into the Realm of Chaos. The Norsii later fled back to Norsca with this setback.

• Hrothgar Daemonaxe: A great Chaos Lord dedicated to Khorne, first chieftain of the Vargs, and said to be as powerful as a mighty Bloodthirster in battle. It was Hrothgar who led the Vargs out from the East to settle the northern tundras of Norsca, destroying and enslaving weaker tribes of Norse and Kurgan on the way. Bearing a great daemonic battleaxe forged in the visage of a howling wolf, Hrothgar's favour from Arkhar the Wolf (the Varg name for Khorne) was clear. After his many victories were completed, he went to the Chaos Wastes and ascended to Daemonhood. To this day, Hrothgar Daemonaxe is venerated by all Vargs as a lesser deity of Chaos. And is believed to stand at the right hand of Khorne where he sternly judges the exploits of his people.

• Valmir Aesling: King of the Aesling tribes, one time ally to Asavar Kul, self styled 'Emperor of Chaos' and bane of the Norse Dwarfs. Valmir Aesling was a ruthless and efficient leader of Men. Brooding and silent, save for the occasional and invariably fatal burst of temper. He was feared and renowned for punishing any insolence or slight with the most horrific tortures imaginable. When Asavar Kul was slain at the gates of Kislev (and there are rumours that Valmir himself might have done the deed, for a jagged blade was found impaled in Kul's skull), Valmir was fighting a secret, but no less bloody war against the Norse Dwarf holds. Valmir despised all the races of the Old World, except his own, and thus had long desired the destruction of the Dwarfs that hid in the southern mountains around his homeland of Norsca. Valmir swore an oath to Khorne: he would not rest until he had destroyed the Dwarfs by cutting out the heart of their nation, the hold of Kraka Drak. Valmir's Norse warriors faced the Dwarfs and soon both were locked in a vicious stalemate. But Valmir had planned the battle well, he had gained the allegiance of the Khornate Daemon Prince Aghask, who smashed aside the Dwarf's resistance in key areas, he had gained the aid of battalions of Chaos Knights from Troll Country who crushed the Dwarfen rearguard. Valmir himself charged across the field on his Chaos Chariot, pulled by six skinless bears, slaughtering all opposition to face the Norse Dwarf High King in battle. Valmir threw the severed heads of his champions before him and challenged him to single combat. Incensed at this barbarous affront to his people's honour, the Dwarf King accepted the Norse Lord's challenge. Both armies held their breath as their lords faced one another in a mighty duel. Though Valmir was more than thrice the Dwarf's height, he found himself evenly matched against the ancient, doughty king. Seeing that he could not defeat the Norse King, the Dwarf Lord shouted one word; "cannons!". Thus, did the Dwarfs fire the great canons of Kraka Drak, shattering the Norse Chaos Warriors and entombing both them and thousands of Dwarfs until the collapsed ruin of what was once the mightiest of the northern Dwarf cities. Both Valmir and the Dwarf King had fallen, slain not by each other's steel, but by snow and stone. Yet, the hold was indeed no more, and underneath the ruins, the hardened Norsemen continued on, methodically slaughtering the remaining Dwarfs. Valmir, albeit posthumously, had upheld his grim oath.

• Wulfrik the Wanderer: Perhaps the greatest warrior to rise up from the Sarl tribes is Wulfrik the Wanderer, whose name is spoken in fearful whispers. Once a champion of Chaos Undivided amongst the Sarls who thwarted the armies of a great Aesling tribe and slew their king, a mighty Champion of Chaos known as Torgald, Wulfrik had made a drunken boast at the battle's end that he was greater than any warrior in this world or the next. After passing out from quaffing no less than 7 barrels of mead, Wulfrik found his dreams visited by an emissary of the Dark Gods he worshiped. The emissary told Wulfrik that the gods were displeased with his boastful tongue, but had seen fit to allow him to prove his arrogant words. When he awoke, Wulfrik found he had been marked by not one, but all of the four great gods of Chaos, and his tongue was re-shaped into a flitting, forked thing that allowed him to speak in any language. Wulfrik claimed his legendary longship, the Seafang, from the hoard of a Skaeling Chaos Sorceror who he slew in combat. From then on, Wulfrik would be known as the Inescapable One, travelling the hinterlands of the world to slay the fiercest creatures at the whims of the gods. Wulfrik is perhaps one of the greatest warriors in all the world, for he has slaughtered giants, dragons and merwyrms like cattle and even daemons have cowed before him and begged his mercy. He is the Executioner of the Chaos Gods, and is one of their most devout followers. To Khorne he offers up the skulls of those he has slain, to Slaanesh he gives their still-beating hearts, to Nurgle the contents of their slit guts, and Tzeentch he honours with their final breath.

• Valkia the Bloody: The Sword-Maiden of the Blood God, the Bringer of Glory, the Chooser of the Slain and the Gorequeen of the Norse. Valkia is Khorne's servant who carries the spirits of worthy warriors so that they may fight on forever in the Blood God's Halls. The sagas of her people tell that she was once a mortal woman, a Norse queen of the ancient and long-dead Schwarzvolf tribe. She gained the favour of Khorne by slaying any who dared contest her claim in honourable battle and also by defeating the Champions of the lesser Chaos Gods. Foremost amongst these was Locephax, a daemon prince of Slaanesh who sought to enslave the warrior-queen. Valkia felt the berserker rage come upon her and she took up her great spear Slaupnir and struck down the daemon and affixed its severed head to her shield. Valkia then traveled to the uttermost North of the world and, with the fanaticism of the true believer, pledged herself utterly to the Axefather. Valkia almost succeeded in coming before her beloved god's throne, but was slain like countless others in the twisted hellscape of the realm of Chaos. Khorne was displeased, for he had great plans for the woman, and his bellowing fury was so thunderous that it shook the world and roused Valkia from death. Khorne was angry with her weak mortal form and remade her into a being more pleasing to him. A true vision of destructive power: great bloody wings tore out from her once shapely back, her legs were refashioned into those of a bloodletter and massive horns rose from her skull. Her only purpose now is to reap more skulls for her mighty lord and to choose the valorous Norsemen dedicated to Khorne who fall fight on at their god's side in the Realm of Chaos 'till his rage devours all that exists. When Valkia takes to the mortal skies, all the Norse tribes dedicated to Khorne march under her shadow, for they know that she will carry them to the realms beyond to be Khorne's chosen in the afterlife, a prize beyond all measure. Where she flies, whole lands are drenched in blood. Such is the power Khorne has granted her.

• Scyla Anfingrimm: The Saga of the Gorebeast is a long and terrifying one amongst the savage Norse clans, the fame of the Talon of Khorne lives long in the songs sung by the Skalds of many a Norscan meadhall and in the terrified ramblings of those few Imperials who have born witness to the unstoppable fury of Scyla and survived. Tales told of a hulking beast the colour of blood who wears a massive bronze collar and is festooned with the blasphemous ritual marks of Khorne, and who lays low all who stand against him with its unquenchable thirst for death. Yet, it was not always so. For the greatest of Khorne's Chaos Spawn was once a man, once a man, ONCESSSSE A MAAAANNRGABLFARBLLEHC----ahem--was once one of his greatest and most fearsome champions. Scyla Anfingrimm was the bane of the Old World from his homeland of frozen Norsca to the shores of distant Ind, his name synonymous with victory, slaughter and pillage. As a man, Scyla was marked by Khorne and elevated into the highest echelons of the god's favour; earning not only the respect of his tribesmen but all the raiders of the neighboring fjords. It was Scyla who single-handedly laid low the fearsome Jabberwock that plagued the River Voltag, and it was Scyla's daemonic greatsword that destroyed the tentacled beast that ruled the Bay of Blades. Every spring, he and his marauders would take to their longships and slaughter their way through the Empire, through Bretonnia and even as far south of Khemri. Returning from their raids drunk on blood and glory, the hulls of their ships filled to bursting with ancient treasures and slaves ready to be thrown upon sacrificial pyres dedicated to Khorne. The people of the Ironpelt would often chatter about how Scyla would soon ascend to daemonhood. They were right in a sense. After orchestrating the Massacre of Black Gulch, which caused the great chasm to run red with Skaven blood, Scyla was gifted with even greater physical strength and massive ape-like arms infused with the power of Chaos. Thanking the Axefather for his blessing, Scyla launched daring raids against the war-dhows of Dhuli armada, personally reducing their great flagship to splinters. This time, he was gifted a serpentine tail ending with a snapping maw. Scyla's merciless killing of the Chaos Dwarf delegation sent to trade with his tribe resulted in a great profusion of horn-like plates covering his mighty frame. After single-handedly annihilating the bestial Gorgers of the Undermountain, Khorne was so pleased with Scyla's might that he gifted the Champion with the mind of a ravenous beast. With that, Scyla's body spiraled out of control. His transformation into a Chaos Spawn was complete NO!!! GRISHIISOSKS. That day, Scyla fell from a feared and far-famed warlord. His warband fell to the leadership of his second-in-command and next most favoured of Khorne; Erlock One-Eye. Scyla was still afforded the same respect and honour from his companions, arguably moreso, for now he was a living sacrament to Khorne's power and might. Unlike other Chaos Spawn Not Again! GRAAAGH!, Scyla remains the favoured of Khorne; a testament to his greatness in his former life. Scyla exists as he did before, only to fight and slaughter for the pleasure of his fearsome god. His destiny is only to mete out death against those foolish enough to face him.

• Sigvald the Magnificent: Chaos Lord Joffrey. Though he appears no more than a boy of sixteen, Sigvald the Magnificent has blighted the Old World for three centuries. The inbred child of a great Norse Chaos Lord and his own sister, Sigvald was spoiled with all he ever wished, it was only after his cannibalistic tendencies were revealed that the tribe forced him out. Feigning dismay, Sigvald sneaked into the longhouse and murdered his own father while he slept, fleeing then to the Chaos Wastes. The personification of beauty on the outside, but as horrifying as the lowest Spawn on the inside, Sigvald rides as Geld-Prince of the Decadent Host; an army of amorous madwomen and men who seek to attend his every debased whim. Marked by the Prince of Excess and gifted with Sliverslash, a blade forged from a sliver of the Sword of Slaanesh, it is clear to all that Sigvald the Magnificent is the greatest Champion of Slaanesh to walk the world. Recently tried to kill all the high Elves on the grounds that they must die for having better hair than him. (Seriously, this guy is pretty much Joffrey from A Song of Ice and Fire; both were born from brother-sister incest, both are handsome blonde men, both are arrogant and morally repulsive shits. The difference is Sigvald is still alive and even more Grimdark)

• Vilitch the Curseling: Once upon a time, two twins were born. One of them was Thomin, a well-liked, well-built man who was a great warrior and whom everyone expected to become a great leader. The other was Vilitch, a twisted, decrepit freak whom everyone beat up and could only scrape by as some sorcerer's apprentice. Needless to say, Vilitch hated this setup and prayed to Tzeentch for him to switch the twins' destinies. Then, one Geheimnisnacht, the big bird answered and merged the twins together. Vilitch was now fused to Thomin's body and as a result became far smarter and more magically adept while Thomin became reduced to a braindead brute. The twin-abomination then decided to use this newfound power to murder all the people who made fun of him and used his magic to mentally enslave the mightiest warriors of his tribe.

• Festus the Leechlord: Doctor, plaguemaster, and one of Nurgle's favorite guys. Originally a good Nordland doctor who knew everything about how to cure diseases. He was then driven to insanity when he found himself incapable of curing a certain plague that swept the lands and in desperation, made a pact with the plague god in order to learn the knowledge needed to cure it. Sure, he got that knowledge, but he also turned so insane that he stopped caring about curing things and began a life of testing out all sorts of diseases and being a generally sick sack of shit (as most Nurglites are wont to). So he became basically the Dr Mengele of the Old World.

• Kholek Suneater: A FUCKING HUGE 4 legged dragon Ogre. He is a massive Beast armed with a HUUUGE THUNDER HAMMER who can crush dragons. He was a living battering ram who also managed to crush bloodthirsters.

The Kurgan Tribes

The Kurgans are nomadic horsemen who reside in the Eastern Steppes, distantly related to the Ungol and Gospodar peoples of Kislev (this shows in them calling their tribal chieftains "zar"). They are divided into many different tribes, but thousands of years ago they were briefly united into a mighty empire lead by the Great Kurgan. This empire lasted only a short time before tearing itself apart in infighting, as the Great Kurgan offered his four sons to the Chaos Gods thus leaving no heirs behind.

The Kurgans are notorious slavers, and often force their slaves to fight each other in dueling pits. However, they grant increasing freedoms and status as they win fights, eventually allowing the slave to become a full-fledged member of the tribe. In fact, it is not unknown for former slaves to rise to the rank of Zar.

Despite having the largest territory and being said to be the most numerous members of Chaos' mortal forces, they are generally sidelined in favour of Norscans (chalk it up to Old World bias).

• Khazags: They're known as the guys who had first tamed the War Mammoths. Actually refused to worship Chaos until a single evil member of the tribe conquered them and enslaved the giant mammoth they worshipped as their deity. Creatively named after Kazakh nation.
• Dolgans: That Guys of Kurgan. They hate every other Chaos-affiliated tribe as much as the southerners and prefer to kill everyone who isn't Dolgan on sight. Some of them, thankfully, managed to avoid the Gods' corruption and now live in Kislev, though their population is declining.
• Iron Wolves: An interesting tribe, because it's only partially Kurgan. These furries also have a Norse ancestry, descending from the vikings whose asses were kicked by Sigmar so hard they had to run to the Eastern Steppes. They are resented by both ancestral tribes and generally think of themselves as independent people.
• Kul: Yeah, those Kul. They're probably the strongest Kurgan tribe that constantly raids the shit out of the neighbours and have a well-developed slavery system. They're also interesting for their complicated religious views, as they do not swear themselves to one of four major Gods, instead praying to hundred gods and seeking the favor of all of them. So, pretty much these guys. Asavar Kul, Zar of the Kul, was the twelfth Everchosen of Chaos who fought during the Great War Against Chaos leading the Chaos forces. After Asavar died, his successor was usurped and murdered by Vardek Crom, who is the current Zar.
• Tahmaks, Tokmars, Yusak etc.: really minor tribes that are barely mentioned in the lore.

The Kurgan Characters

• The Great Kurgan: Genghis Khan of Kurgans who is only mentioned in Tamurkhan: Throne of Chaos supplements. He did the unthinkable and managed to unite all of the tribes, creating a truly gigantic empire that managed to beat Hung, Hobgoblins and Cathay. Impressive. He was also the first Kurgan chieftain to make a deal with Chaos to get their power on his side, though eventually they fucked him over.
• Asavar Kul: gets shit done. Managed to cripple Kislev for centuries way before both Archaon and Failbaddon even managed to do something meaningful.
• Tamurkhan: a Nurglite warrior riding a toad, who is a protagonist of the narrative-driven campaign of the same name. Claimed to be one of the four missing sons of the Great Kurgan.
• Surtha Lenk: minor Tzeenchite warlord and the commander of Archaon's vanguard. Took part in destruction of Kislev and Ostland during the End Times.
• Vardek Crom: current Kul chieftain (Zar) and the Herald of Everchosen.
• Sayl the Faithless: Ruler of the Dolgan tribe, named for the fact he refused to pledge allegiance to a single Chaos God and instead made deals with and betrayed patrons as suited his lust for power.

The Hung

"Them Kurgan is bad. But the Hung, they jus’ nasty."

– Gorg, famous Ogre Philosopher

"We make deal, yes?
You give us gold and women, we no attack.
You not give enough gold or women, so we attack.
We attack anyway.
We make deal, yes?"

– Average Hung diplomat, showing that even some orks from the different setting are better in negotiations than them

The least described Chaos race, mainly for three reasons: they operate in Naggaroth and Eastern Lands, and the incursions in those regions are described only in the short sentences of some backstory fluff; they're similar to their Kurgan brothers in almost everything; and finally, they're a pretty negative Mongolian stereotype, although the fact they're also located in northwestern Naggaroth also could paint then as Chaos Inuits as well, and GW certainly doesn't want another Pygmies.

Overall, from what we can gather Hungs are savages and barbarians to the extreme: while previous Chaos races at least have some sort of society and culture, these people only exist to kill, slaughter, rape and fight. All they need is a woolen tent, a choppa and a steed. Seriously, their love for horses ponies can only be rivaled by Bretonnians (so... Chaos Bretonnians?). Another faction which they resemble are Skaven: Hungs are insanely backstabby and have no honor at all, to the point that "A Word of Hung" in Cathay means a "Worthless Promise". Hell, they even abuse the dogs that they use for hunting. Bastards. Oh, and they're cannibals. And their religion mandates they never bathe or wash themselves.

With that being said, what do we have in the end? The Hung are insanely evil barbarians that have no respect for anyone or anything and are hated by every other faction (including fellow Chaos Warriors). Seriously, the Tome of Corruption for WHFRP 2e gave rules for playable Norscan and Kurgan characters, but straight up said that you shouldn't play Hung even in a Chaos-aligned party because they're too treacherous.They have no redeeming qualities and rival Skaven for being the most evil race in the entire game. So, it's probably good that GW downplayed them severely.

Despite their name, they don't seem to favour Slaanesh more than any other Chaos God. Though millions of Slaanesh-worshipping Hung were seduced by Morathi in order to fight alongside the Dark Elves in the invasion of Ulthuan.

The Tong

Besides Norscans, Kurgans, and Hung, there are also the Tong. The Tong are the Chaos Warrior people who lives closest to the entrance to the Realm of Chaos, and as such are the most mentally fucked up and physically mutated of the lot. Complete and utter psycho berserkers, they are featured in Total War Warhammer as being lead by a Chaos Champion named "Ragnar".

Skaramor

A migratory tribe of Khorne worshippers who view non-Chaos Worshippers as unworthy of having their skulls given to Khorne, and as such limit their raids to killing members of other Chaos Warrior Tribes like Norscans, Hung, and Kurgan. The Skaramor are worth noting as they were the tribe that Scylla Anfingrimm originated from in his mortal life. They were also the source of the Skullreaper and Wrathmonger units added in End Times.

Veigs

Another tribe of Khorne worshippers, who are cannibals and murderers, and loathed by the Kurgan, who they share a bitter enmity with.

Gallery

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  WE FIGHT THE HORDE, SINGING AND CRYING; VALHALLA! I AM COMING!!

• 

  KHORNE!! OPEN THE GATES OF YOUR HALL!!

• 

  Their main method of transportation.

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  Kjarl Deathaxe and the Blood Drinkers.

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  Wulfrik the Wanderer on a morning stroll.

See Also

• Warhammer/Tactics/Warriors of Chaos - A guide on how to lead these awesome barbarians to glory and bloodshed and the notice of the Gods.
• Chaos tactics for the glorious 6th edition
• Vikings - What they are based off. Just in case you forgot.
• Chaos Space Marines - Their 40K counterparts.
• Chaos - What did they worship again?

Playable Factions in Warhammer Fantasy Battle
Human Kingdoms:	The Empire of Man - Bretonnia
Elves:	High Elves - Dark Elves - Wood Elves
Dwarven:	Dwarfs - Chaos Dwarfs
Undead:	Tomb Kings - Vampire Counts
Heirs of the Old Ones:	Lizardmen
Greenskins	Orcs - Goblins
Ogrekind	Ogre Kingdoms
Servants of Chaos	Warriors of Chaos - Daemons of Chaos - Beastmen
Skavenkind	Skaven

The Champions and Lords of the Warriors of Chaos

Aekold Helbrass - Arbaal the Undefeated - Archaon - Asavar Kul - Beorg Bearstruck - Bödvarr Ribspreader Dechala - Egil Styrbjorn - Egrimm van Horstmann - Festus the Leechlord - Feytor - The Glottkin - Gutrot Spume Haargroth - Harald Hammerstorm - Lord Mortkin - Kaleb Daark - Kayzk the Befouled - Krell - Maggoth Lords Melekh - Mordrek the Damned - Sayl the Faithless - Scyla Anfingrimm - Sigvald the Magnificent Skarr Bloodwrath - Slambo - Styrkaar of the Sortsvinaer - Tamurkhan - Thorgar the Blooded One - Throgg Valkia the Bloody - Valnir - Vardek Crom - Vandred - Vilitch the Curseling - Wulfrik the Wanderer