2d4chan - User contributions [en]

Fen Worm

2022-09-12T04:00:35Z

2601:188:C300:64B8:D8A4:5D01:AEEC:D9D0:

[[Image: Fen_Worm.jpg]]
Fen Worms aren't worms, but are vast snakes in the Old World.

Even the smallest reach 10 paces in length and legends speak of beasts hundreds of feet long! Being so massive, Fen Worms are only found in bogs and fens and strictly avoid dry land.

Notable
Lady Scales: A favourite of children at the Imperial Zoo in Altdorf.

Religion
Fen Worms are associated with the Old Faith and the Elf goddess Atharti.

[[Category: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay]]

Fen Worm

2022-09-12T03:59:57Z

2601:188:C300:64B8:D8A4:5D01:AEEC:D9D0:

Fen Worm

2022-09-12T03:59:12Z

2601:188:C300:64B8:D8A4:5D01:AEEC:D9D0: Created page with "Image: Fen Worms aren't worms, but are vast snakes in the Old World. Even the smallest reach 10 paces in length and legends speak of beasts hundreds of feet long! Being s..."

[[Image:
Fen Worms aren't worms, but are vast snakes in the Old World.

Even the smallest reach 10 paces in length and legends speak of beasts hundreds of feet long! Being so massive, Fen Worms are only found in bogs and fens and strictly avoid dry land.

Notable
Lady Scales: A favourite of children at the Imperial Zoo in Altdorf.

Religion
Fen Worms are associated with the Old Faith and the Elf goddess Atharti.

Bog Octopus

2022-09-12T03:54:05Z

2601:188:C300:64B8:D8A4:5D01:AEEC:D9D0:

[[Image: Bog_Octopus.jpg]]
Most Octopi are relatively harmless (if not enchanting) aquatic creatures which live, for the most part, in tropical oceans. The Bog Octopus, however, is not of this ilk. It has the look of a huge Octopus, with eight tentacles, huge round eyes, and green skin - but there the resemblance ends. These creatures live in the cold and forbidding marshes and bogs of the Old World. Their entire lives are spent squelching menacingly around in stinking mud and quagmires, surfacing occasionally to drag down and eat some passing creature. Living in such a dense medium, they are incredibly strong and, once caught by a tentacle, it is very hard for all but the strongest creatures to escape.

In combat, a Bog Octopus may attack with all 8 tentacles each round.

Physique
These mud-coloured creatures resemble giant octopi, with a central body about six feet across and eight tentacles, each about twenty feet long; some may be smaller and will have reduced characteristics.

[[Category: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay]]

Tregara

2022-09-12T03:51:02Z

2601:188:C300:64B8:D8A4:5D01:AEEC:D9D0: Tregara

Tregara are underground dwelling predatory insects that are often used in stories by skavenslaves to scare whelps.

They resemble a huge mantis with long legs, an armoured thorax and a long abdoman, their head is angular with vicious mouthparts and glowing sapphire coloured eyes. Its front claws are large and powerful, hooked to grab and then allow it to tear its prey apart with its mandibles. Twice the weight of a fully grown skaven, they are well protected with thick chitin. It hunts its prey primarily by sensing movement.

Grey Seer Thanquol encountered one in the Maze of Merciless Penance but survived.

ADVERTISING

Some Dwarf Rangers use the sap from the organ that rapidly repairs the insects shell to coat crossbow bolts which enables them to more easily penetrate armour.

Locations
The greybeard Drumin Norgrimling of Karak Hirn believes that his home hold does not have a Skaven problem because of the large number of Tregara that dwell beneath it.

Quotes

Saw one’s mandibles cleave a Rat Ogre’s skull like it was a pastie.
~ Drumin Norgrimling.

[[Category: Warhammer Fantasy]]

Bog Octopus

2022-09-12T03:47:46Z

2601:188:C300:64B8:D8A4:5D01:AEEC:D9D0: Created page with "Most Octopi are relatively harmless (if not enchanting) aquatic creatures which live, for the most part, in tropical oceans. The Bog Octopus, however, is not of this ilk. It h..."

Most Octopi are relatively harmless (if not enchanting) aquatic creatures which live, for the most part, in tropical oceans. The Bog Octopus, however, is not of this ilk. It has the look of a huge Octopus, with eight tentacles, huge round eyes, and green skin - but there the resemblance ends. These creatures live in the cold and forbidding marshes and bogs of the Old World. Their entire lives are spent squelching menacingly around in stinking mud and quagmires, surfacing occasionally to drag down and eat some passing creature. Living in such a dense medium, they are incredibly strong and, once caught by a tentacle, it is very hard for all but the strongest creatures to escape.

In combat, a Bog Octopus may attack with all 8 tentacles each round.

Physique
These mud-coloured creatures resemble giant octopi, with a central body about six feet across and eight tentacles, each about twenty feet long; some may be smaller and will have reduced characteristics.

[[Category: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay]]

Bloodsedge

2022-09-12T03:46:04Z

2601:188:C300:64B8:D8A4:5D01:AEEC:D9D0: Created page with "The Bloodsedge is a plant which displays many characteristics more common amongst predatory animals. Although it cannot move its main root system, its branches are highly mobi..."

The Bloodsedge is a plant which displays many characteristics more common amongst predatory animals. Although it cannot move its main root system, its branches are highly mobile and very strong. It looks like an ordinary bush or shrub, but, should any creatures pass within five yards, it will burst into action, branches flailing about, searching for the source of the disturbance. As soon as a branch locates a solid body, it curls tightly around it and drags the victim towards the plant's sticky and noisome trunk. There, the victim is held fast while the plant's digestive juices get to work, transforming prey into mushy nutrients which are absorbed directly through the spongy bark or which enrich the ground at the plant's foot.

Physique
The Bloodsedge can appear as many different species of bush or shrub; only characters with Identify Plant skill can identify it before it attacks.

[[Category: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay]]

Lashworm

2022-09-12T03:44:45Z

2601:188:C300:64B8:D8A4:5D01:AEEC:D9D0: Created page with "Lashworms are small, carnivorous creatures which live in small fissures in walls, stones, trees, and so on. These are carefully disguised by the creature (using bits of moss,..."

Lashworms are small, carnivorous creatures which live in small fissures in walls, stones, trees, and so on. These are carefully disguised by the creature (using bits of moss, etc.) so as to be virtually invisible to all but the closest of inspections - and, even then, only the sensitive, hair-like "trigger" is normally visibile (at the gamesmaster's option, a character with Identify Plants skill may be able to recognise it for what it is). The trigger hairs can sense movement, such as a creature passing within 5 yards of the Lashworm's hole. This activates the lash, a saw-edged organ, 5 yards long, thin, and incredibly fast, which strikes its target, rasps away a portion of flesh, and then whips back into the crevice where the meal is digested. The Lashworm will not attack again for several hours.

Phsyique
There are a number of underground varieties, as well as those living in forests and jungles. A Lashworm has two distinct parts: the main part, or 'anchor', comprises the vital organs, including the mouth and stomach, and is used to secure the creature while it attacks with the other part - the 'lash'. This is usually curled up tightly within the creature's home crevice, until triggered by its sensitive hair-triggers, which are left outside the hole and which resemble moss or plant growth.

[[Category: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay]]

Goldworm

2022-09-12T03:40:29Z

2601:188:C300:64B8:D8A4:5D01:AEEC:D9D0: Created page with "Goldworms feed upon precious metals in the same way as earthworms feed upon soil, secreting an extremely powerful digestive enzyme which enables them to consume their food. A..."

Goldworms feed upon precious metals in the same way as earthworms feed upon soil, secreting an extremely powerful digestive enzyme which enables them to consume their food. A single Goldworm will quickly multiply if provided with sufficient nourishment, as the same time transforming a chest full of gold, for example, into a chest of slimy, evil-smelling, worm-ridden mush. Each Goldworm consumes about one gold or silver coin per day and will produce another worm each day, if fully fed. Once no food remains, the Goldworms will move away in search of more precious metal. They can survive for about a day without food, typically travelling no more than 100 yards before they die. They move entirely at random, recognising food only on touch.

A Goldworm can reach about 6 inches in length and is usually bright gold in colour. In appearance, it looks much the same as a normal earthworm.

[[Category: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay]]

Sunworm

2022-09-12T03:37:56Z

2601:188:C300:64B8:D8A4:5D01:AEEC:D9D0:

[[Image: Sunworm.webp]]
Sunworms are gross little vermin native to both Warhammer Fantasy and Warhammer 40,000.
==Warhammer Fantasy==
I recently came upon an account of Praag after Magnus and his forces liberated the city. It seems that festering in the carcasses of the Chaos Trolls, there were unusually large maggots. A soldier tried to skewer one on his sword only to be jolted by its foul energy. Thereafter, they were instructed to burn the dead.
REINHOLT SCHENT, SCHOLAR OF THE FANTASTIC

The Sunworm is a mutated maggot grown fat and oily with the power of Chaos. Unlike their natural kin, these creatures lack mouths and feed by rubbing their bodies against their meals and excreting their wastes through their pale, segmented hides. Strangely, these creatures supplement their diet by devouring sunlight. During the day, their undulating bodies writhe in the delicious energy cast by the sun. As a result of this light, they build up a charge of energy that allows them to survive through the dark hours. This energy can also be used defensively. If a creature comes within a yard of a Sunworm, the creature reflexively releases a jolt of powerful energy. Sunworms can grow as large as six feet in length.

Sunworms are blessedly rare, contained to the deserts of Khemri and the Chaos Wastes. The Empire's climate does not lend itself to these foul creatures. Still, some cultists use these creatures to eliminate rivals or particularly troublesome Witch Hunters.

==Warhammer 40,000==
Sunworm is a native creature of the Luther Macintyre IX (desert Death World).

It resembles a fat, large and oily maggots without eyes or any other sensory organs. They have a rudimentaly sense of touch, smell and hearing. The Sunworms absorb little food that it need directly through its own skin, excreting waste out materials in the same way. Sunworms evolved in unique way to feed upon solar energy. Every day they assumed a position partly in the direct light, partly - in shadows, making itself as living photo-electric cell. During the night Sunworms use this energy to survive the darknest time. They can use accumulated energy to defend themselves, instinctively directing an energy discharge to any creature that may pose a threat to them.

The question whether Sunworms could be domesticated to used as supply equipment, living quarters and life-support system remains open.

[[Category: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay]]

Sunworm

2022-09-12T03:37:25Z

2601:188:C300:64B8:D8A4:5D01:AEEC:D9D0:

Sunworms are gross little vermin native to both Warhammer Fantasy and Warhammer 40,000.
==Warhammer Fantasy==
I recently came upon an account of Praag after Magnus and his forces liberated the city. It seems that festering in the carcasses of the Chaos Trolls, there were unusually large maggots. A soldier tried to skewer one on his sword only to be jolted by its foul energy. Thereafter, they were instructed to burn the dead.
REINHOLT SCHENT, SCHOLAR OF THE FANTASTIC

The Sunworm is a mutated maggot grown fat and oily with the power of Chaos. Unlike their natural kin, these creatures lack mouths and feed by rubbing their bodies against their meals and excreting their wastes through their pale, segmented hides. Strangely, these creatures supplement their diet by devouring sunlight. During the day, their undulating bodies writhe in the delicious energy cast by the sun. As a result of this light, they build up a charge of energy that allows them to survive through the dark hours. This energy can also be used defensively. If a creature comes within a yard of a Sunworm, the creature reflexively releases a jolt of powerful energy. Sunworms can grow as large as six feet in length.

Sunworms are blessedly rare, contained to the deserts of Khemri and the Chaos Wastes. The Empire's climate does not lend itself to these foul creatures. Still, some cultists use these creatures to eliminate rivals or particularly troublesome Witch Hunters.

==Warhammer 40,000==
Sunworm is a native creature of the Luther Macintyre IX (desert Death World).

It resembles a fat, large and oily maggots without eyes or any other sensory organs. They have a rudimentaly sense of touch, smell and hearing. The Sunworms absorb little food that it need directly through its own skin, excreting waste out materials in the same way. Sunworms evolved in unique way to feed upon solar energy. Every day they assumed a position partly in the direct light, partly - in shadows, making itself as living photo-electric cell. During the night Sunworms use this energy to survive the darknest time. They can use accumulated energy to defend themselves, instinctively directing an energy discharge to any creature that may pose a threat to them.

The question whether Sunworms could be domesticated to used as supply equipment, living quarters and life-support system remains open.

[[Category: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay]]

Sunworm

2022-09-12T03:36:38Z

2601:188:C300:64B8:D8A4:5D01:AEEC:D9D0: /* Warhammer Fantasy */

==Warhammer Fantasy==
I recently came upon an account of Praag after Magnus and his forces liberated the city. It seems that festering in the carcasses of the Chaos Trolls, there were unusually large maggots. A soldier tried to skewer one on his sword only to be jolted by its foul energy. Thereafter, they were instructed to burn the dead.
REINHOLT SCHENT, SCHOLAR OF THE FANTASTIC

The Sunworm is a mutated maggot grown fat and oily with the power of Chaos. Unlike their natural kin, these creatures lack mouths and feed by rubbing their bodies against their meals and excreting their wastes through their pale, segmented hides. Strangely, these creatures supplement their diet by devouring sunlight. During the day, their undulating bodies writhe in the delicious energy cast by the sun. As a result of this light, they build up a charge of energy that allows them to survive through the dark hours. This energy can also be used defensively. If a creature comes within a yard of a Sunworm, the creature reflexively releases a jolt of powerful energy. Sunworms can grow as large as six feet in length.

Sunworms are blessedly rare, contained to the deserts of Khemri and the Chaos Wastes. The Empire's climate does not lend itself to these foul creatures. Still, some cultists use these creatures to eliminate rivals or particularly troublesome Witch Hunters.

==Warhammer 40,000==
Sunworm is a native creature of the Luther Macintyre IX (desert Death World).

It resembles a fat, large and oily maggots without eyes or any other sensory organs. They have a rudimentaly sense of touch, smell and hearing. The Sunworms absorb little food that it need directly through its own skin, excreting waste out materials in the same way. Sunworms evolved in unique way to feed upon solar energy. Every day they assumed a position partly in the direct light, partly - in shadows, making itself as living photo-electric cell. During the night Sunworms use this energy to survive the darknest time. They can use accumulated energy to defend themselves, instinctively directing an energy discharge to any creature that may pose a threat to them.

The question whether Sunworms could be domesticated to used as supply equipment, living quarters and life-support system remains open.

[[Category: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay]]

Sunworm

2022-09-12T03:35:58Z

2601:188:C300:64B8:D8A4:5D01:AEEC:D9D0:

Amphisbaena (Warhammer Fantasy)

2022-09-12T03:34:48Z

2601:188:C300:64B8:D8A4:5D01:AEEC:D9D0:

[[Image: Amphisbaena.jpg]]
I honestly have no idea how such a creature could exist without the touch of Chaos. This creature has all the characteristics of a normal serpent, but in place of its tail, it has a second head. Furthermore, it seems it has strong scales that deflect blows, somewhat akin to those found on a Dragon.
REINHOLT SCHENT, SCHOLAR OF THE FANTASTIC

An amphisbaena is a very large snake with a head at both ends. In combat, the creature can bite in any two directions at once, as well as being able to wrap itself around its victim and possibly pinning him or her. An amphisbaena can survive with only one head.

Like all snakes, amphisbaena have poor eyesight, but are able to sense warm-blooded creatures accurately within twenty yards.

A giant snake, with a head at either end. An amphisbaena can reach over twenty feet long and even a small one would be over ten feet.

Discovery
I always cut the head an’ tail from a snake. That way I know it’s dead.
LEVIN FIEGLER, HUNTER

The Amphisbaena is a rare creature originally found only in the darkest jungles of Lustria, where strange energies welled up from beneath the ground. It looks like a normal snake, but instead of its body ending in a tail, it sprouts a second head. When discovered by Tilean explorers in the early sixteenth century, they brought the creature back as a symbol of their excellence and as an example of the wonders found in the New World. However, on the way back to Tilea, the creature multiplied, and the new creatures slipped free from their cages. The Amphisbaena attacked the crew and killed everyone on board, causing the ship to smash against the rocks near Sartosa. Since then, these creatures spread throughout Tilea and the Border Princes, even creeping into the southern territory of the Empire. Few have had the bad fortune to see one of these creatures, but it’s well known that an encounter with the Amphisbaena spells one’s doom.

[[Category: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay]]

Amphisbaena (Warhammer Fantasy)

2022-09-12T03:33:52Z

2601:188:C300:64B8:D8A4:5D01:AEEC:D9D0:

I honestly have no idea how such a creature could exist without the touch of Chaos. This creature has all the characteristics of a normal serpent, but in place of its tail, it has a second head. Furthermore, it seems it has strong scales that deflect blows, somewhat akin to those found on a Dragon.
REINHOLT SCHENT, SCHOLAR OF THE FANTASTIC

An amphisbaena is a very large snake with a head at both ends. In combat, the creature can bite in any two directions at once, as well as being able to wrap itself around its victim and possibly pinning him or her. An amphisbaena can survive with only one head.

Like all snakes, amphisbaena have poor eyesight, but are able to sense warm-blooded creatures accurately within twenty yards.

A giant snake, with a head at either end. An amphisbaena can reach over twenty feet long and even a small one would be over ten feet.

Discovery
I always cut the head an’ tail from a snake. That way I know it’s dead.
LEVIN FIEGLER, HUNTER

The Amphisbaena is a rare creature originally found only in the darkest jungles of Lustria, where strange energies welled up from beneath the ground. It looks like a normal snake, but instead of its body ending in a tail, it sprouts a second head. When discovered by Tilean explorers in the early sixteenth century, they brought the creature back as a symbol of their excellence and as an example of the wonders found in the New World. However, on the way back to Tilea, the creature multiplied, and the new creatures slipped free from their cages. The Amphisbaena attacked the crew and killed everyone on board, causing the ship to smash against the rocks near Sartosa. Since then, these creatures spread throughout Tilea and the Border Princes, even creeping into the southern territory of the Empire. Few have had the bad fortune to see one of these creatures, but it’s well known that an encounter with the Amphisbaena spells one’s doom.

[[Category: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay]]

Amphisbaena (Warhammer Fantasy)

2022-09-12T03:30:18Z

2601:188:C300:64B8:D8A4:5D01:AEEC:D9D0: Created page with "An amphisbaena is a very large snake with a head at both ends. In combat, the creature can make a bite attack in any two directions at once, as well as being able to wrap itse..."

An amphisbaena is a very large snake with a head at both ends. In combat, the creature can make a bite attack in any two directions at once, as well as being able to wrap itself around its victim (this counts as a constriction attack) and possibly pinning him or her. An amphisbaena can survive with only one head.

Like all snakes, amphisbaena have poor eyesight, but are able to sense warm-blooded creatures accurately within twenty yards. Lanterns or torches will confuse them, reducing their I by D6 x 10 for that round.

Physique
A giant snake, with a head at either end. An amphisbaena can reach over twenty feet long and even a small one would be over ten feet.

Alignment
Neutral.

Psychological Traits
Amphisbaenae fear fire, but otherwise they are immune to all psychology rules. They cause fear in living creatures under ten feet tall.

Special Rules
Amphisbaenae may bite with either end or both heads or may constrict. Characters hit by a constriction attack must check to see whether their arms are free or not and can only escape either by making a test against S x 10 or by killing the creature. Bite attacks are venomous and characters failing a Poison test (T x 10) will die in 2D6 rounds.

[[Category: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay]]

Amoeba (Warhammer Fantasy)

2022-09-12T03:27:28Z

2601:188:C300:64B8:D8A4:5D01:AEEC:D9D0:

[[Image: Amoeba.jpg]]
It was over two years ago when I developed the Amoeba House at the Imperial Zoo. It was a simple setup, really: a large, metal bowl, no cracks for the Amoebae to escape through. The top of the bowl had piping attached through which steam was passed. As Amoebae shy away from heat, it worked well. I had it created at the emperor’s order by the Imperial Engineers. It made one hell of a racket, but it kept them in... most of the time.
WENZEL IMMELMAN, ZOO KEEPER.

Amoebae are huge, single-celled creatures with bodies made of soft, jelly-like protoplasm, hence their popular names of Jellies, Slimes, and Blobs. They flow over solid surfaces or swim through liquids with an undulating motion and can move over almost any surface, including walls and ceilings, seeping through even the narrowest of cracks and crevices.

Overview
Amoebae feed upon all forms of living matter, including fungi, mosses, plants, and animals. Their usual diet is dead animal tissue, but they will attack living creatures equally readily, flowing forward to engulf the victim. Food is absorbed directly through the cell wall and is digested by powerful enzymes. Amoebae have no capacity to absorb minerals or metals, which pass out of their bodies unharmed. They are not sensitive to light and sound, but can detect heat and are able to sense food by touch. They are drawn toward sources of heat, which they associate with food, but they will shrink from naked flame, once it has wounded them. Extremes of cold also repel them.

Amoebae are completely formless. They can reach almost any size, although they rarely exceed ten feet in length. Colours vary; most are grey or whitish, but many are transparent.

Amoebae are often confused with jellyfish, for the two creatures appear similar when viewed underwater. However, they could hardly be more different. Amoebae do not require water to suspend them, and often leave it when prey is scarce. Out of water, they are capable of sending out strands of their body to a surprising distance, and can prove to be implacable predators, absorbing anything organic in their path.

No matter how dangerous Amoeba can be to unsuspecting prey, they are utterly brainless and quite slow. This means they are simple to avoid if one is careful. Of course, it can be very hard to be careful enough, as Amoebae can get anywhere.

[[Category: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay]]

Amoeba (Warhammer Fantasy)

2022-09-12T03:25:59Z

2601:188:C300:64B8:D8A4:5D01:AEEC:D9D0: Amoebas in Warhammer

It was over two years ago when I developed the Amoeba House at the Imperial Zoo. It was a simple setup, really: a large, metal bowl, no cracks for the Amoebae to escape through. The top of the bowl had piping attached through which steam was passed. As Amoebae shy away from heat, it worked well. I had it created at the emperor’s order by the Imperial Engineers. It made one hell of a racket, but it kept them in... most of the time.
WENZEL IMMELMAN, ZOO KEEPER.

Amoebae are huge, single-celled creatures with bodies made of soft, jelly-like protoplasm, hence their popular names of Jellies, Slimes, and Blobs. They flow over solid surfaces or swim through liquids with an undulating motion and can move over almost any surface, including walls and ceilings, seeping through even the narrowest of cracks and crevices.

Overview
Amoebae feed upon all forms of living matter, including fungi, mosses, plants, and animals. Their usual diet is dead animal tissue, but they will attack living creatures equally readily, flowing forward to engulf the victim. Food is absorbed directly through the cell wall and is digested by powerful enzymes. Amoebae have no capacity to absorb minerals or metals, which pass out of their bodies unharmed. They are not sensitive to light and sound, but can detect heat and are able to sense food by touch. They are drawn toward sources of heat, which they associate with food, but they will shrink from naked flame, once it has wounded them. Extremes of cold also repel them.

Amoebae are completely formless. They can reach almost any size, although they rarely exceed ten feet in length. Colours vary; most are grey or whitish, but many are transparent.

Amoebae are often confused with jellyfish, for the two creatures appear similar when viewed underwater. However, they could hardly be more different. Amoebae do not require water to suspend them, and often leave it when prey is scarce. Out of water, they are capable of sending out strands of their body to a surprising distance, and can prove to be implacable predators, absorbing anything organic in their path.

No matter how dangerous Amoeba can be to unsuspecting prey, they are utterly brainless and quite slow. This means they are simple to avoid if one is careful. Of course, it can be very hard to be careful enough, as Amoebae can get anywhere.

[[Category: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay]]

Sunworm

2022-09-12T03:23:21Z

2601:188:C300:64B8:D8A4:5D01:AEEC:D9D0: Sunworm

I recently came upon an account of Praag after Magnus and his forces liberated the city. It seems that festering in the carcasses of the Chaos Trolls, there were unusually large maggots. A soldier tried to skewer one on his sword only to be jolted by its foul energy. Thereafter, they were instructed to burn the dead.
REINHOLT SCHENT, SCHOLAR OF THE FANTASTIC

The Sunworm is a mutated maggot grown fat and oily with the power of Chaos. Unlike their natural kin, these creatures lack mouths and feed by rubbing their bodies against their meals and excreting their wastes through their pale, segmented hides. Strangely, these creatures supplement their diet by devouring sunlight. During the day, their undulating bodies writhe in the delicious energy cast by the sun. As a result of this light, they build up a charge of energy that allows them to survive through the dark hours. This energy can also be used defensively. If a creature comes within a yard of a Sunworm, the creature reflexively releases a jolt of powerful energy. Sunworms can grow as large as six feet in length.

Sunworms are blessedly rare, contained to the deserts of Khemri and the Chaos Wastes. The Empire's climate does not lend itself to these foul creatures. Still, some cultists use these creatures to eliminate rivals or particularly troublesome Witch Hunters.

[[Category: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay]]

Cathay

2022-09-11T22:51:05Z

2601:188:C300:64B8:D8A4:5D01:AEEC:D9D0: /* Relations */

[[File:Warhammer-the-old-world-grand-cathay-580x334.jpg|thumb|right|580px|Insert Bamboo flute and Erhu music here.]]
{{Topquote|Goddamn <s>Mongorians</s> Hungs! Stop tearing down my shitty warr''!|What the Cathayans have to say roughly 12 times every hour or so}}
{{Topquote|Those in other nations may deny it, but all mortals desire control. To be controlled, that is. Why else would they conjure these northern Gods that obsess in dominating the very creatures that brought them into being?|Yuan Bo, The Jade Dragon, Ruler of the Central Provinces and the Celestial Court}}

'''Cathay''' is the uninspired name for the analogue to [[China]] in the [[Warhammer Fantasy]] universe. That said, it is at least marginally more inspired than their name for the Japan analogue (and only because [[Nippon]] is a better-known name for Japan than Cathay is for China in Europe).

Until 2021, we had next to no information about them beyond token mentions in old novels and rulebooks. This all changed with [https://www.totalwar.com/blog/total-war-warhammer-iii-faq/ Total War Warhammer 3] finally fleshing out the faction.

==Forge World Sneak Peak==
''[[Tamurkhan: Throne of Chaos]]'', a book from [[Forge World|Forge World's]] fantasy line, quite surprisingly contains a battle scene where the forces of Cathay are involved. This is the first time Cathay's forces are shown in a major way. A chaos sorcerer dupes a Beastman army into attacking the Tower of Ashshair, a Cathayan watchtower outpost at the edge of the [[Ogre Kingdoms]] which it uses to scry on the Old World. Its defenders included fancy bronze cannon that shoot harpoons, "crow-men", stone "temple dogs", elite warriors with back-banners and "thousand-folded" swords, and "Dragon-blooded Shugengan" who wield elemental magics (fire, water, earth, air and wood). In other words, your usual collection of oriental cliches, [[Derp|mostly Japanese]].

Prior to Total War: Warhammer III (and the faction's impending backport to The Old World), this was the closest thing we got to an official Cathay army list along with the mention of them having elementals under their control in the Vampire Genevieve books.

But then, things get interesting when the Tower's garrison started to get overwhelmed by the [[Beastmen]]'s numbers. The Tower turns the tide by dropping a frikking' [[Warhammer_Magic#Celestial: Wind of Azyr, Lore of the Heavens |Comet of Casandora]] into the horde, then starts sending "strange creatures of living stone" that can swim through the ground and minotaur-suplexing "living statues of onyx" to beat the shit out of the survivors.

==How come all this lore is new?==
Grand Cathay has been listed in Warhammer's Lore since the early days, a location that was referenced on numerous occasions. A vast human Empire standing against chaos on the Eastern End of the primary continent with a role in the history of the world. It is based on a real-life civilization whose history and mythology could easily be mined for inspiration as Medieval France or Early Modern Germany or Norse and Egyptian mythology and the general melange of 20th-century fantasy. The setting could have been easily expanded with new stories and armies by developing Cathay, all without upsetting the stuff which people liked.

But until 2021 Games Workshop did not.

Despite being both vast, wealthy and powerful Cathay was just a background element. A land which was almost exclusively referenced indirectly in regards to other races (Hellstorm Rocket Batteries were based on Cathayan fireworks, Cathay once sent a fleet to Lustria that fought the lizardmen, etc) and with only a few scant scraps of lore to itself. We did not even have as much as a mercenary unit in The Dogs of War.

Exactly why this was the case is up in the air. Maybe the original GW guys were not into Chinese history and mythology. Maybe they could not get worthwhile reference material (a large part of this was pre-internet and what print material you could get on Imperial China in the 1980s was not as good as what we have now). Maybe they had it in a to-do list that just kept growing. Maybe they did not feel that Cathay was particularly relevant to the stories they wanted to tell. Maybe they were afraid of it turning out like the [[Pygmies (Warhammer Fantasy)|Pygmies]]. Maybe it was some combination of these and other elements.

Similar to the world building of Song of Ice and Fire, where the further East on a map a location is the more strange and unknown things get, details about Cathay remained shrouded in mystery and speculation.

[[Awesome|Fortunately, this has now changed.]]

==Final Mentions in Rulebooks==
According to the eight ed BRB, the Kurgans once mounted a massive raid on Cathay's Great Bastion. Which is funny, because Kurgans are basically Chaos-Turko Slavs to the Norscan's Chaos Vikings. [[Derp|Funnily enough, even though TWWH3 is responsible for bringing the fluff to life for the first time, the Kurgans that attack the Great Bastion every 5 turns or so in-game are Norscan (complete with Mammoths), rather than the Turkic Chaos Warriors they're described as in fluff.]]

In the [[End Times|end times]], they are invaded by Chaos and [[skaven]]. Remarkably, the dragon emperor drives out the Skaven and stalemates the forces of chaos, but ultimately loses to [[Grimgor Ironhide|Grimgor's]] massive WAAAGH! The ruins of Cathay become the stage for an endless battle between the orcs and the remaining forces of chaos. Grimgor himself gets teleported away as he had become Incarnate of Beasts, and when the last effort to save the world fails, Cathay is destroyed along with the rest of the planet, revealed in [[Age of Sigmar]] to have been called Mallus. The exact fate of the Dragon Emperor and his family are unknown.

== Old Mentions from Novels ==
In the novel Beasts in Velvet, and the short story Red Thirst there is a Cathayan character named Dien Ch'ing(狄恩青). He is secretly a Tzeenchian cultist who impersonated a Cathayan ambassador (which he had murdered and taken the name from). He is also a celestial wizard and is capable of using the classic five elemental magic (which are Tzeetch demons who disguised as those elements). From the same novel, it also tells the story of how when the monkey king was but a young prince he was able to trick the 5 elemental demons into fighting one another.

According to the novel '''Guardian of the Forest''', the knight featured in the novel: '''Leofric Carrard''' traveled to Cathay and slew the '''Jade Dragon''' of the '''Emerald River''', and saved the wives of the '''Emperor Zhang-Jimou''' from decapitation by the Executioner Cult of the '''Jade Pearl'''.

In the [[Nagash]]'s novel, it was mentioned that back when Lahmia was not crawling with vampires, they were rich due to its geographic locations that they were able to trade with the Cathayan through seaborne. Notable items like silk were a common trade in Lahmia and were fancied among the Lahmian nobles and its royalties. The Cathayan eat spicy seafood just like in real life, and the Lahmians enjoyed their cuisine during important events.

The Cathayan were brilliant schemers that they made a deal with Neferata's dad '''Lamasheptra''', who was desperate to save his sister Neferem from Nagash by paying them lots of gold every year (or by land, the city of Lahmia if they couldn't pay) in exchange to acquire Cathayan's cutting edge gunpowder weaponry. As a result, the Cathayan not only profit from this, they made a new deal a few years later after Lamasheptra's death with Neferata now in charge, telling her that they had found a new gold mine in one of their provinces, forcing the Lahmian to pay more gold to keep up with the new deal.

Unfortunately for the Cathayan, Neferata had given some of her vampire potion to erase the debt. The man she gave the potion to: '''Prince Xian Ha Feng''', one of the Dragon Emperor's sons sent to negotiate with Lahmia, not only drank the potion but also bought some of it back to Cathay where the vampire corruption soon spread. With enough immortal bloodsuckers (and probably some of [[Ushoran]]'s spies), Xian started a civil war against his father. This angers the Dragon Emperor so much that he ordered them to close their borders with ALL foreigners. The Dragon Emperor apparently died in a freak accident sometime after the civil war according to Ushoran's spies (perhaps has to do with the monkey king? that or is just one of the dragon children since the original dragon daddy is confirmed to be absent during this period) and a new Emperor was enthroned because of this. Under this new Emperor's reign, the trade with the Nekeharan has opened once again because the new Emperor cares little about the [[Nehekhara|Nehekharans]]. Although Prince Xian Ha Feng was never heard of after this, the vampire corruption remains still in Cathay.

Many known vampires had at least travelled to Cathay once. [[Neferata]] had lived there for 7 years in order to infiltrate its bureaucracy and become a ruler of her own once again. However, Cathayan background politics is an "eye-opener" that she was forced to run away again. [[Abhorash]] was noted by Neferata to have probably been to Cathay (probably to study its local martial arts, unsurprisingly). [[Vlad von Carstein|Lord Ankhat]] had assumed the persona of an immortal sorcerer prince there who helped the Dragon Emperor to drive back the [[Norsca|Hungs]] from breaching the great bastion, but was forced to escape after his vampiric nature was found out by a secret society of courtesan (aka mama dragon's spy). [[Genevieve Sandrine du Pointe du Lac Dieudonné|Genevieve]] was said to have become a trader and travelled to Cathay through the Silk Road for a hundred years or so. There she met a '''Master Po''' guy and learned to control her bloodlust as well as martial arts from him. Master Po is said to be important enough that he went to teach Cathayan military officers afterwards.

==[[Total War: WARHAMMER|Total Warhammer 3 AKA: "HOLY SHIT WE'RE ACTUALLY GETTING SOMETHING FOR CATHAY"]]==
[[File:Total-war-cathay trailer map.png|thumb|400 px|A new challenger appear!]]
[[File:Cathay Warhammer 3.png|right|400px|thumb|Cathay finally arrives on the scene]]
During the announcement of Total Warhammer 3, CA confirmed that Cathay will be one of the 6 playable factions. They'd been working with GW in bringing the faction to life and making them one of the core races in the game. This is also great news for anyone hoping for Cathay in [[Warhammer: The Old World]]. More info pending, but this minor faction is finally getting the fleshing out it deserves. Perhaps the most enticing detail to surface is GW confirming they essentially wrote an entire Cathay army book according to 8th Edition rules, complete with characters and background lore. That's where most of the new info on this page comes from, but it has only come out in drips and drabs from interviews. So far GW has announced no plans to actually release the new army book, but one can hope it's coming. Between Cathay and [[Kislev]], this is all a lore [[grognard]]'s wet dream.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=033FWxL22A0 With the Reveal trailer], [https://www.totalwar.com/blog/total-war-warhammer-3-grand-cathay-faq/ the first CA FAQ] [https://www.warhammer-community.com/2021/09/14/watch-grand-cathay-come-to-life-in-an-epic-collaboration-for-total-war-warhammer-iii/ and GW discussion on Cathay's design + background] we finally get our first proper looks at Cathay.

Front and centre is [[Miao Ying]], daughter of the Celestial Dragon and his wife, and commander of the Northern Bastion (meaning that when Sayl attacked the wall it was her forces that drove him off). She's a dragon that can take a human form like her parents and its been shown that the Celestial Dragon spends his time in the Celestial city and overseeing Cathay while his children take direct control of different provinces (like a certain [[Emperor of Mankind|golden giant]] and his [[Primarch|kids]]) as her brother Zhao Ming commands the western province and will be the other playable lord.

In the trailer we see rocket batteries, war balloons and those suplexing statues from [[Tamurkhan: Throne of Chaos|the Tamurkhan book]], in addition to regular human infantry and some lady earth bending. To help establish Cathay's playstyle GW themselves made rules for each unit and for the army (using 8th edition) to aid CA to understand how Cathay should act in-game. [[Rage|Yes there are currently rules for 8th edition Cathay and GW are just sitting on them and not releasing them.]]

An interesting thing to note is that both [[Miao Ying]] and [[Zhao Ming]] seem to be based on the Four Dragons from Chinese mythology, who are four children born to the "King of the Dragons" each of whom were granted their own land in a cardinal direction and are associated with an element. Zhao is The White Iron Dragon and the ruler of the Western province (because metal is an element according to the ancient Chinese) and Miao is the Black Storm Dragon and ruler of the Northern province, both of these line up with the four dragons mythology.

The three other active Dragon children have since been named, while four others have been confirmed to be AWOL and used as juicy plot hooks for any future expansions. Yuan Bo rules the Central Provinces as the Administrator of the Realm, Yin-Yin rules the Eastern Provinces as the Admiral of the Grand Dragon Fleet, and Li Dao rules the Southern Provinces against the raids of the Monkey King and the Beastmen tribes from Ind.

==New Canon Lore==
===History===
So once upon a time, [[The Dragon Emperor]] and his wife lived on the world before the Old Ones came, where it was mostly a frozen wasteland. Eventually, the space hypnotoads came and did their thing, terraforming the planet and creating all of the little races of the Warhammer World. When humans started to show up, The Dragon Emperor learned to take human shape and gathered a few tribes under his banner. When Chaos eventually came, more tribes flocked to him in order to protect their new empire, eventually creating the Great Bastion himself and instilling a section of his magic in order to prevent the Chaos Hordes from breaking into Cathay. Once Cathay started to take shape, The emperor and his wife decided they were happy with the lands they have and decided to settle down to defend them.

The Dragon pair and their kids would eventually rule over the land and teach them the ways of Harmony, to be one with themselves and the land around them and find their natural place in the world. The Dragons aren't tyrants but act more like teachers and wardens to the humans that are beneath them, as they feel they need the humans on their good side to fight Chaos. They've gotten so used to being with humans that they spend most of their time in human form, only going dragon in an emergency. They don't wish to be worshipped as gods, but it usually happens anyway, and the people of Cathay [[Imperial Creed|treat them with such reverence]] that talking shit about them is a good way to get murdered, especially if you're a foreigner.

===Modern times===
Unfortunately for big D, while he seems to have done a decent job of instilling harmony in the people of Cathay, [[Primarch|he hasn't done a good job of it with his kids because they all fucking hate each other.]] There are a confirmed nine children, but four of them are missing who knows where.

Miao Ying the Storm Dragon is the most favoured and powerful of the Dragon kids, which has given her a massive superiority complex. She's been given the north to rule, which also happens to have Daddies very essence tied to it.

Zhao Ming, the Iron Dragon, is viewed as too experimental with his magic and many fear he is losing his mind due to how much time he spends around the Great Maw, snorting lines of warpstone and actually treating his subjects like human beings. He rules the west, and has the favor of his mother to back him up.

The Dragon of the South is called Li Dao. He is the Fire Dragon and despises Miao Ying as well. He constantly has to deal with invasions from the Southlands from the Monkey King and Naga.

The Dragon of the East is Yin Yin, the Azure Dragon, the only one with an expansionist mindset. She's the one who fought Dark Elves who made their way over the boiling sea. She also tried conquering Araby and once got stranded in Lustria, so Mrs Worldwide.

The Final Dragon we know of is the Jade Dragon, Yuan Bo, who rules the centre of Cathay and spends most of his time hating that he is surrounded by idiots and trying to tell his siblings to listen to Daddy. Evidently, they all spoil for mom and dad's attention and bicker a lot.

There is also the slight problem that Tzeentch cults hold a massive amount of power in the empire and has caused no shortage of problems. It's no help that even humans plot to either gain the favour of the dragons or usurp them.

This all came to a head when the Dragon Emperor and his wife disappeared, leaving the kids alone to watch the place. This resulted in Time of Darkness and Disharmony (Cathay's [[Horus Heresy|version of the Warring States]]), as they fight for the throne while Cathay endures an invasion from the North and South. The Dragon Emperor was also said to be working on his own [[Webway|secret project]], which may or may not help the people of Cathay against Chaos.

Eventually, the Dragon Emperor and his wife came home from their four-century vacation to find their kids fighting, Chaos armies rampaging in their lands and the throne occupied by a god damn monkey.

The Monkey King had used the chaos to take over the country and installed a Clan Eshin Warlord as one of his advisors. Appalled by the idea of Skaven of all things issuing edicts, this finally convinced the other Dragon kids to put aside their differences and fight him, until dad came home and won the war.

===Overview===
So on paper, we have a utopian society of harmony where Dragons and Humans act as one and stand defiant against the forces of Chaos in peace and tranquillity. Once you look closer though, we have a landmass led by spoiled children at each other's throats and only held in line by their parents, along with a fanatical population who are willing to kill any who so much as slightly criticize their rule, and is only held together because of the power and charisma of a single, semi god-like being.

Of other note is the extreme arrogance and pride of Cathay. It is mentioned in new lore and flavor text that the reason why the Ambassador to Altdorf has a crude grasp of Reikspeil is because the Empire is viewed as "barbaric, uncivilized and savage", and therefore it is likely that she never bothered to learn much Reikspeil at all. Cathay continues to be arrogant in it's lore, mentioning that the tiny cogs used in the clockwork crossbows of Cathay are "The envy of the world" according to the Cathayans themselves, and that "none other can match"; The Dwarfs would likely disagree.

Basically, Cathay is outmatched in a wide variety of technologies, but none can do it all like cathay does.

In other words, pretty much what the [[Imperium]] would have become if Big E wasn't put on the golden toilet seat, was smart enough to not just ban religion and redirect faith towards something else (ancestor worship), and was a slightly better dad/the primarchs hadn't been scattered.

==Geography==
[[File:Cathay Map-TOW.jpg|thumb|right|450px|The most accurate map on Cathay since 1990.]]
The country is huge (as in the case with a certain real-world country), much bigger than the Empire and the other western lands. To the north is the <s>Mongolian steppes</s> [[Eastern Steppes]] and regions of chaos, which are held at bay by the huge-ass Great <s>Wall</s> Bastion of <s>China</s> Cathay which prevents the hordes from pillaging. Why the Empire never took this up themselves isn't explained. Probably it's because the Elector Counts could not work together for long enough to get it built.

(IRL China's Great Wall isnt a single, continuous fortifaction, but a massive series of fortresses and successive (it's defence in depth, with fall back positions) walls; whenever possible, they built along and in addition to the highlands of Northern China, so you have mountains and impassable terrain, with fortresses dotted all over, and walls maybe connecting them if there's flat enough land for it. In contrast, Eastern Europe is very flat, with Poland the Ukraine being so relatively flat that the German and Russian Empires realized that in times of war, they needed Poland/Ukraine as a buffer, because anyone could roll straight through them if they tried hard enough. Fantasy Empire is the same, with Kislev being based on Russia, but is used as the Poland/Ukrainian buffer by the Empire)

To the west is the Mountains of Mourn, the [[warpstone]] deserts and the Great Maw. Incidentally, you can blame the Cathayans for the Great Maw’s existence as the Dragon Emperor had his celestial wizards summon the thing to punish the Ogres for eating some of his citizens. Although recently there has been some evidence Tzeentch had a hand in how tits up it went. To the south is a mysterious jungle where the lost city of the old ones is. Eastwards is the sea, with [[Nippon]] and the [[Lost Isles of Elithis]].

===Cities and Provinces===
* '''Northern Provinces''' - Consisting mainly of the Great Bastion and its supplying towns, its other notable aspect is being home to the river that in Cathayan mythos leads to the underworld. Rumoured to be trapped under this river is the lost Spirit Dragon, a child of the Dragon Emperor and the Moon Empress. Ruled by the Storm Dragon, Miao Ying.
**'''Nan-Gau''' – The major city of the north, known as the city of smoke. A 9 walled fortress city linked to the Great Bastion, it has never fallen to any invader. The Lords of Nan-Gau are not as deferent to the Dragons as the ruling classes in other cities. This is because the city is home to countless forges and workshops that furnish the armies of the empire with weapons and provide countless war machines for the defence of the Great Bastion. So, the Lords are powerful, granted more independence than most and have occasionally even dared to challenge Miao Ying, the Dragon nominally in charge. She does quickly exert her power to make them fall in line when needed.
**'''Po-Mei''' - Another manufacturing city in the north and Nan-Gau's main rival. While their rivalry used to be mostly friendly, things flared up when it came down to who would get the credit for inventing Cathay's flying warships. This lead to a political feud that lead to people being maimed, killed and airship prototypes "mysteriously" falling out of the sky. Miao Ying caught wind of this when the supplies for the Bastion started dropping and was NOT happy. So in the middle of an altitude race between the two cities, she caused a massive storm, slapped the two balloons out of the sky and told the cities to play nice or she'll get really angry next time. There seems to have been no blood between the cities since.

* '''The Great Bastion''' - The Great Wall of <s>China</s> Cathay. In history there is a mythic telling of how it was built by the dragons: Every brick fashioned by the Iron Dragon, breathed upon by the Fire Dragon, Blessed by the Emperor. In reality, thousands of people were used to build the wall. It has 10 small fortresses built into it, each a miniature city in scale and population. The Dragon Emperor has tied his very essence to the wall, so if it ever fell he would die too. He almost died when [[Lord_Mazdamundi|a certain hypnotoad]] slapped the plates of the planet around, causing the walls to be royally messed up for a while. Ruled by Miao Ying, showing the level of trust and/or favouritism the Dragon Emperor has for his number one daughter. has the claim of having never failed, but still got ''breached'' a few times by chaos forces.
**'''Dragon Gate ''' – The Centermost gate and the one closest to Po-Mei
**'''Snake Gate ''' – The Westernmost gate and the one closest to Nan-Gau. Due to its proximity to the city it gets constant restocks of weapons and supplies, making it extremely hardy. The part of the Bastion Miao Ying defends the most.
**'''Turtle Gate''' – The Easternmost gate and the one closest to Wei-Jin and the Celestial City.

* '''Imperial Provinces''' - Located just southeast of Northern Provinces. It is a region ruled by Emperor and Empress directly.
** '''Wei-Jin''' - The Capital of Cathay that normal mortals can enter. Oddly despite being the capital, it's the city we know the least about.
*** '''The Celestial City''' - in the clouds above Wei-Jin; Home of the Jade Court. Location of the Wu Zing Compass, through which the Emperor directs the winds of magic to strengthen different areas of the empire in need.

* '''Western Provinces''' – Other than the city of Shang-Yang and the Iron Dragon, there is a place called the Tower of Ashshair, which was featured all the way back in [[Tamurkhan: Throne of Chaos]], as well as the warpstone desert. In this desert, caravans have to use [[Sigvald|mirrored shields]] to protect from chaos radiation. Also home of the Great Maw.
** '''Shang-Yang''' - It is the largest city in the west, a bustling metropolis full of foreign traders despite its location in the middle of the Warpstone Desert. Sometimes invaded by Ogres, Hobgoblins and Skaven. The door between the Old World and Cathay; Estalians, Tileans and Empire travellers and ambassadors all have permanent quarters within the city. It also draws in cabals of alchemists and hedge wizards, who use the city as a base for their expeditions into the desert. Since it's all unofficial and unsanctioned, a lot of warpstone and other elements get used in ways that aren't exactly the safest. Home of the Iron Dragon.

* '''Central Provinces''' – Breadbasket of empire. Ruled by Yuan Bo. It is reasonably safe. If you want to live in the Warhammer world, this is a pretty good choice. [[Beastmen|Even here though, forests are risky]].
** '''Shang Wu''' - The most important city in Central Cathay. It is the seat of the Jade Dragon, Yuan Bo, who rules Central Cathay. Shang Wu lies where the Great River and other rivers meet and is also where the Broken Road and the Great Road meet, making it an incredibly important trade hub. The city is located near rich farmland.
** '''the Grand Observatory of Xing Po''' - A massive observatory where the kings astromancers are trained, study the heavens and divine the future.

* '''Eastern Provinces''' - The wealthiest region, with numerous major cities and lots of trade. It even has a large high elf population, as well as other races from across the world. Home of Dragon Fleets which guard against [[Dark_Elves_(Warhammer_Fantasy)|those pesky emos]] and Nippon. Ruled and protected by Yin-Yin the Sea Dragon.
** '''Fu-Chow''' - A cosmopolitan sea trade city located in the east. The palace of the Sea Dragon is there. This city is full of ghettos for different races. It's possibly the most metropolitan place in the world, eclipsing even Marienburg and Lothern.
** '''Bei Chai''' – Another eastern city, having a dark reputation for harbouring the cults of Tzeentch. Mention of a Cult of the Painted Skin growing here. Other chaos gods struggle to get a foothold in Cathay mainly due to this lot. Despite several attempts by Yin-Yin to purge the city, Tzeentch Cults somehow keep finding their way back. Why they don't just burn the whole place to ashes at this point is a mystery.

* '''Southern Provinces''' – lots of foothills rolling into the Mountains of Heaven. It contains lots of tribes and is an unruly region due to the Monkey Kings presence. Also, there is the "[[Furry|occasional tiger man village]]”. Home of the Fire Dragon, Li Dao.
**'''Fu-Hung''' - Known as the chanting city. It is the home of the Phoenix Temple, a great structure shaped like a giant vermilion warbird, close to the Mountains of Heaven. Whilst religion dedicated to deities and the Dragons isn't allowed, ancestor worship and veneration of local items of interest are tolerated. Vermillion warbirds are smaller phoenixes native to Cathay and very important in Cathayan culture.

*'''The Mountains of Heaven''' - Whilst technically in Cathay, it is functionally an autonomous region ruled by the Monkey King. The only reason for this is due to the constant threat from the [[Kingdoms_of_Ind|Kingdoms of Ind]] and the Naga from [[Khuresh|the Hinterlands of Khuresh]] which mean any invasion to deal with the Monkey King would result in the weakened army being taken out by Cathay's enemies. So he lives [[Farsight#Farsight_Enclaves|as an autonomous zone where the ruling class wish to destroy him. However, they cannot commit to destroying them without foreign invaders capitalising on the new war]].

==Who Rules Cathay?==

{{Topquote|Oh child, I watched your Emperor and Empress mate, I was there...drinking it in|N'kari, in Total War, reminding the rulers of Cathay they were there during their conception in the grossest way possible}}

The dragon emperor and his wife the moon empress (both of which were around when the Old Ones were alive) are the official rulers of Cathay, and both have equal say in how to run the nation. The Emperor is pretty hands-off, [[The_God-Emperor_of_Mankind|spending his time on some unknowable plan which he hasn't told his children about, because that has never bitten any other Warhammer character directly on the ass cheek]]. His wife likes to go around pretending to be a regular human to check on things, and also root out cults of Tzeentch (other chaos gods don't seem to have gained much sway in Cathay). The emperor has nine children and four are missing. One is strongly hinted to be trapped under a river in the north of Cathay, and another one is hinted to be the one [[Archaon]] ripped apart in older lore. '''Shen-Zoo''', the daughter that was responsible for maintaining the balance of Harmony, had disappeared somewhere in the [[Chaos Wastes]] ([[Sigmar|haven't]] [[Miska the Slaughterer|seen that]] [[Grimnir|before, huh]]), is the focus of Cathayan storyline in TWW3. One is still completely unaccounted for. The five remaining each rule a piece of Cathay.

===[[Miao Ying]]===
The Storm Dragon. She rules the north and [[Rogal Dorn|has the duty of protecting the Great Bastion]]. She's the oldest and is also daddy's favourite. This makes all her siblings jealous of her. She's known for being [[Lion El'Jonson|cold and aloof]], beyond the normal Dragon Children level, which might be from having to watch thousands of her subjects constantly die due to chaos attacking the Great Bastion every other Tuesday.

===[[Zhao Ming]]===
The Iron Dragon. [[Vulkan|The nice one who likes who smithing and might be going crazy.]] This guy rules the west which borders the warpstone desert. He has a green rock in his hat, right over his forehead. During an interview Andy Hall, lead writer of the [[Total War: WARHAMMER]] series, was asked if this rock was jade or [[warpstone]]. Andy refused to say which one it was. While his siblings are quite aloof towards their human subjects, Zhao is far more friendly and sociable to them and most of the Dragon-blooded trace their ancestry to him, [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIMwLxglN3E as well as all of the Longma]. Whether he legitimately cares for his subjects or just does it to piss off his siblings is unclear. Zhao also has an interest in alchemy. Fun fact: Real Life Daoist alchemists were interested in cinnabar (which was a frequent ingredient in their attempts to make an elixir of immortality), so Chinese alchemists messing around with poison stuff in ways they shouldn't do has real-life precedent. Also, Zhao's siblings think his mental health has declined, with his friendliness towards humans being considered some of the evidence of this. He's protected by his mother though, being her favourite. So you end up with a guy snorting lines of warpstone, partying with his subjects and getting it on with cute alchemist girls. A true hero of the Cathayan people. Has a friendship with [[Greasus Goldtooth]] on the basis of both of them having gigantic daddy issues.

===[[Li Dao]]===
The Fire Dragon (master of the burning winds and lord of the phoenix) - Male Ruler of the South, described as [[Perturabo|bitter that Miao Ying gets all the attention for defending the north when he has the challenging and thankless task of protecting the empire from Ind and Kuresh]]. Also has to deal with the Monkey King the most out of all the Dragon Siblings, who basically constantly trolls him from Warhammer Nepal. Being stuck as the second best and second favourite behind Miao Ying whilst constantly getting dunked on by some overgrown furry has left him with some [[Rage|unresolved issues]]. How original to make the fire-themed character a hothead (Even though that is literally the canon effect the Wind of Fire tends to channel in its users). According to an Andy Hall interview, he and the Jade Dragon teamed up to stop [[Ku'Gath]] from paying Cathay a little visit.

===[[Yin-Yin]]===
The Sea Dragon, Female Ruler of the East, admiral of the Grand Dragon Fleet. Apparently, she’s more impulsive than the others and has an oddly expansionist outlook (uh... I guess that makes her [[Jaghatai Khan]]? None of the primarchs were really known for having really impeccable naval skills). In the past, she led a failed naval invasion of the Southlands and Lustria, so she was in charge during the old lore where Cathay got absolutely destroyed by Lizardmen. She also got wrecked by Araby when she tried invading them. [[Perturabo|As a result of wasting so many Cathayan lives, she is the least popular of her siblings with both the parents and her brothers and sister]]. When not being defeated by every other faction, she spends most of her time dealing with the Dark Elves raiding her coasts and Nippon looking angrily at Cathay. [[Fulgrim|A quote in Warhammer 3 states that she wonders if the High Elf Dragonships are named after her, meaning she is either extremely arrogant, really dumb, or deliberately snubbing Ulthuan]].

In older lore, it was a different Dragon Emperor who supposedly led the fleet to the Southlands, but in the CA-written lore, it was retconned to her, while the older name of the Dragon Emperor ended up as one of Xen Huong's titles being misinterpreted in Imperial records.

===[[Yuan Bo]]===
The Jade Dragon. [[Roboute Guilliman|The boring middle child. He rules over central Cathay and is in charge of the main bureaucracy]]. He spends most of his time telling the rest of his siblings to shut up and listen to Daddy, whereupon the rest of his siblings tell him to shut his nerd ass up. He then cries to his parents who pretend to listen, and then send him back down because he's the only one who can be bothered to figure out all this 'administration' business that's needed to run a nation. Despite this, he is still the most 'liked' among the siblings, if only because no one truly hates him in comparison to some of the other sibling relationships. Considering that he prefers paperwork to fighting and rules over the part of Cathay with the least conflict he is likely the least powerful of his siblings, though he's still a dragon and can still whoop the ass of most mortal warriors. He's is quoted on the loading screens of TWW3, and they imply he is some sort of head propagandist in Cathay. Some other quotes attributed to him in WH3 paint him as one of the dragons most ambivalent towards humans, viewing them as expendable resources who yearn to be controlled. He's also stated to be the most magically gifted of the Dragon Siblings.

==Missing Dragons==
===Shen-Zoo===
Known as the 'Bringer of Light and Hope' she ventured into the mountains of Norsca and disappeared. She is younger than Miao Ying, but where this places her in the age range isn't narrowed down as Miao Ying is the oldest child. Cathay in Warhammer 3 gets involved in trying to save Ursun to interrogate the god to find this Dragon.

===The Spirit Dragon===
Currently unnamed, this dragon is rumoured to be trapped under the Dragon River. (Very creative names here). This river leads to the underworld according to Cathayan mythos. She was presumably involved with death rituals even before, considering her name and possible fate. The Warhammer Fantasy RPG mentions in the Doom of Kavzar that tells the Skaven were vomited out from the gigantic maw of the Great Black Dragon that lives coiled inside the earth, which could also possibly be her.

===First Unknown Child===
Possibly the Flamefang, Yien-Ya-Long, a massive serpentine Chaos dragon sworn to Tzeentch. Archaon spent many years hunting and being hunted by this dragon, eventually slaying it and claiming the eye of Sheerian from its body.

===Second Unknown Child===
The only dragon left with no lore hints. Possibly a chance for [[Your_Dudes|your own custom dragon sibling]].

Potentially could be Prince Xian Ha Feng, a supposed son of the Dragon Emperor who was sent to Lamia as an emissary and who Neferata wanted to use to get a foothold in Cathay, but ended up accidentally causing a civil war. Might explain why no one mentions him if he's dead and/or a vampire.

==Other Notable Characters==
These are characters who don't actually rule over any official part of Cathay, but still play an important role in their history and lore.

===Monkey King===
While not one of the official rulers of Cathay, the (currently unnamed) Monkey King rules over the Mountains of Heaven and the Monkey Warriors, the second largest population in Cathay. During the Time of Darkness and Disharmony, he took over the country while the Dragon Emperor was away and his kids were fighting, installing a Clan Eshin Warlord as an advisor. This pissed off the Dragon Kids for obvious reasons, and they unified against him and knocked him back to the Mountains when dad came home. Understandably, the Dragons all hate his guts and the only reason they haven't exterminated him and the rest of his furries is because it would weaken their forces against other, bigger threats to the south.

The Monkey King does help defend Southern Cathay alongside Li Dao, and by that I mean he annoys the fuck out of him, though it is implied his warriors also serve as mercenaries for others willing to pay for them. It is also unknown if he and his monkey warrior count as servants of chaos like all beastman, that or the fact it has four arms just like that monkey statue from [[Gotrek & Felix|Vampire Slayer]].

According to an in-game lore quote in Total War: Warhammer 3, the Monkey King is known for 4 depictions in different parts of Cathay that all sound Chaosy. [[Khorne|A Bloodthirsty Gorilla in the north]], [[Slaanesh|A beautiful Baboon with flowing blond hair whose always in heat in the west]], [[Nurgle| a fat Orangutan with boils on his stomach in the east]], and a [[Tzeentch| deceptive Spider Monkey in the south]]. According to Andy Hall, this is propaganda spread by Tzeentch to stop Cathay and the Monkey King from fully uniting. Fun fact, none of these animals live in real-life China.

===Shi-Hong===
Once a peasant living in the shittier parts of Nan-Gau, Shi-Hong had of hobby of making complicated mechanical toys to amuse his friends and family. The Artificer Guild in Nan-Gau thought he showed promise and took him in, where he quite rapidly rose through the ranks to become one of the Masters of the guild. He came up with an idea to ease the amount of strain the Bastion was facing against Chaos, mainly boiling down to "What if we just killed them before they actually got to the walls in sufficient numbers?" He installed mechanical platforms to allow Crane Gunners to snipe more accurately from further away and was credited for the creation of the weaponized airships. He is referred to as "The Blind Master", though whether he was born blind or was blinded in an accident or as an act of sabotage from a rival group is unknown.

== Relations ==
Cathay has always been a very insular and isolationist nation, as such they never really interact too heavily with foreign powers aside from trade unless they feel like they need to. That said caravans and ambassadors have been sent out to other nations of the world, and they have plenty of enemies at their borders, which gives us some clues as to how they view the rest of the world.

*'''Western Human Nations''': According to older lore (which may or may not be decanonised now), Cathay was first discovered by Tilean adventurer Marco Polare (sounds familiar, right?), who managed to establish trade between Cathay and [[Tilea]]. Like pretty much everyone else in the world, they trade with [[Marienburg]]... and that's pretty much it. The Nagash novel dispute the above statement by making [[Nehekhara#Devil.27s_Backbone|Lahmia]], a port city in the Nehekhara east to be their first trade partner in the ancient past (though granted, Lahmia and Nehekara in general had a [[Tomb Kings|teeny]] [[Vampire Counts|tiny]] pair of problems that precluded diplomatic stability).
**'''Empire''': Western Empire is easily the country with which Cathay interacts most, up to the point of having an official ambassador. Still, the distance between two countries essentially means that they are pretty much on their own most of the time.
**'''Bretonnia''': Not counting old Leofric Carrard novels (in which Bretonnian knight simply roamed the world searching for adventures), there is nothing to say about their relations.
**'''Kislev''': Same as Bretonnia, if you don't count [[Total War: WARHAMMER|Total War: WARHAMMER III]].
**'''Ancient Nehekharan''': According to Nagash novel, the Lahmians were the only Nehekharan Cathay has been interacted for the most part. From their trades, the Lahmian gained a lot of goodies from them like silks, spices, candles, incense, tea and firearms (that last one requires the entire city of Lahmia as payment if there were no gold left). Because of this, Lahmian were the foremost [[weeaboo]] nation ever existed in warhammer at that times. Although both gained a lot from the trade, it does not prevent them from scheming against each other, which results in Neferata having enough of their shit, convinced one of their officer into a vampirism, resulting the spread of vampirism in great Cathay. The Dragon Emperor (or whoever was in charged at the time) was pissed off of course, and cancelled the trade with Lahmian, only to re-sign the agreement after the said Emperor (once again, might not be the real one if the newest lore were to believe) was killed and replaced by his inheritor. However, we all knew how Lahmia got it ass handed to Alcadizzar and his armies, so no contacts were made after that. Though it was not mentioned if Alcadizzar ever tried to rebuilt Lahmia in order to trade with Cathay, but it doesn't matter since the entirely of Nehekhara were later nuked and its inhabitant replaced with [[Tomb Kings|ancient walking corpses]] by [[Nagash|that shitty manchild lich]]. Those with living fresh of course are smart to leave the walking dead alone, and Cathayans were no exception. Although it would be hilarious if they at least tried to trade something with them for a joke, and [[Khalida]] would be their most likely just because her city Lybaras positioned near the same east coast as Lahmia.
**'''[[Araby]]''': [[Araby]] was one of the targets for [[Yin-Yin|Yin-Yin's]] plan of Cathayan expansion, and, as you know, it ended badly.
**'''[[Kingdoms of Ind]]''': Ind are seen as some sort of threat for Cathay (probably because of the tiger beastmen living there), alongside [[Khuresh]].
*'''Eastern Human Nations''': [[Nippon]] is described as a rival naval nation, which isn't elaborated for now.
*'''Chaos''': Like any other Ordered civilization, Cathay hates [[Chaos]], to the point of building Great Bastion to protect their lands from Daemons and marauders (mostly Hungs and Kurgans). However, unlike most of the world, [[Tzeentch|Blue Weeaboo Bird]] is strongest here, corrupting aristocracy of some cities and creating weird cults. Oh, and also you can find [[Beastmen]] there.
*'''Dwarfs''': Both Cathay and Karaz Ankor are too remote and too isolated to have any meaningful collaboration between each other.
**'''Chaos Dwarfs''': Same as their non-Chaotic kin up to the [[End Times]], when they assisted Chaos in invading Cathay.
*'''Elves''':
**'''High Elves''': Cathay and Asur established trade with each other early, about 1700 years before End Times, but since then not much has changed in relations between these nations. High Elves are also the main minority living in the Eastern ports of the empire.
**'''Dark Elves''': Druchii (especially Fellheart family) are know to raid the shit out of everything, and Cathay is not an exception, with several cities being destroyed by Black Arcs. They are also easily the main naval danger for Cathayan fleet.
**'''Wood Elves''': Not much info on the Elves themselves, but evidently a group of ancient spirits from [[Athel Loren]] did use the World Roots to colonize a forest within Cathay, and they seem to have had a rather hostile relationship with the natives.
*'''Vampires''': Cathay has its own version of Vampires which were long a subject of canonicity debates - [[Jade-Blooded]]. And while they were confirmed to exist recently, their lore is so outdated that we can't say for sure how Dragon family feels about them.
*'''Skaven''': Aside from Ogres, this is the race that interacts (or interacted) with Cathay the most. [[Clan Eshin]] learned ninja technics here (or in Nippon), and Under-Empire has a major presence in Cathay, up to being co-rulers of it alongside Monkey King when Big D disappeared.
*'''Lizardmen''': Yin-Yin tried to invade [[Southlands]] during her expansion attempts, but failed. While they aren't outright hostile to each other, they aren't fond of one another either. The Dragons largely blame the Old Ones for why the world went to shit, and the Lizards don't considered the Dragon Emperor's shenanigans as part of the Great Plan.
*'''Ogre Kingdoms''': Ogres are very linked to Cathay - most of their backstory relies on Big D pulling a comet out of space to prevent them from eating his subjects. Ogres work as mercenaries there (especially in [[Zhao Ming|Zhao Ming's]] army), but generally they aren't interested in Celestial Empire due to their westward migration.
*'''Greenskins''': They mostly don't live in [[Eastern Lands]], and the only time they interacted beyond the occasional WAAAGH is when [[Grimgor Ironhide|Grimgor's]] horde destroyed Cathay in the End Times. The main exception being the Hobgoblin Khanate lead by Hobgobla Khan to the north of Cathay, who occasionally assault the Great Bastion, much like Chaos.

== Cathay's Army ==
[[File:Cathay-Warhammer-Fantasy-David-Gallagher.jpg|thumb|right|400px|thumb|Until 2021, this was literally the only image we had, except some White Dwarf conversions.]]
All that we know about Cathay's army comes from their [[Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Grand Cathay|army roster]] in Total War Warhammer 3 pre any DLC, so this probably isn't even their entire list. Given that they are coming to [[Warhammer: The Old World]] we'll split them up into Cores, Special and Rare units once we know who goes where.

===Generic Characters===
*'''Dragon-Blooded Shugengan Lord''': These guys are what happens when a member of the Dragon family gets really bored, spots one of their human subjects and decides "Meh, I'd fuck that." They're the highest ranking officials in Cathay aside from the Dragons themselves, being incredible spellcasters and warriors in their own right. They also tend to be arrogant twats and their lesser human nobles hate them out of envy. Sadly since they aren't full blooded Dragons they can't transform but they can use the Lores of Yin and Yang, which are exclusive to Dragons.

*'''Lord Magistrate''': The normal human nobles in Cathay, they are the high ranking generals or lords that run Cathay's cities. They aren't nearly as strong as the Shugengan but they are more numerous. They mainly specialize in commanding armies and directing their troops to perfection after years of practice. Important ones come into battle aboard a Sky Lantern in order to get a view of the battle from the air and to direct troops with flags and to bring out the best in their soldiers.

*'''Alchemists''': The secretive sorcerer cabal in Cathay, they flock to Shang Yang as Zhao Ming is the only dragon who wants to have them around. Guy pretty much runs his own cult of metal benders and only gets away with it because he's mama's favorite. They have grown into a surprisingly powerful cabal that while technically not allowed, still gets hired by generals due to their skill in the Lore of Metal and their potion making in order to assist troops in battle.

*'''Astromancer''': This is the actually accepted group of sorcerers in Cathay who specialize in Lore of Heavens, as it is the Dragon Emperor's favorite. The highest ranking officials spend much of their time assisting Big D with his secret project as often serve as his messengers and advisors. [[Fail|This is also the group who accidentally nuked the Ogres]] but when they aren't doing that they are assisting Cathay's armies with magic and the Wu-Xing War Compass.

==="Core"===
(Or at least our best guess given what we know)
[[File:Jade Warrior.jpg|thumb|right|400px|Your basic Cathayan Grunt, the Jade Warrior]]

*'''Peasant Long Spearman''': Also known as the "Warriors of Wind and Field", the Dragons realized that they have a crap load of people living in Cathay and said "Hey, we can use these guys!" They're only really used for numbers and are not only expected to run, but are often encouraged to so that the better warriors can deal with stuff they can't handle. Small towns who can't afford to have standing regiments of Jade Warriors mostly have these guys as defense.

*'''Peasant Archer''': Evidently the Moon Empress loves ranged weapons and young girls are taught how to use a bow at an early age to honor her. Again, pretty much only used to fill out numbers.

*'''Peasant Horsemen''': Due to the massive size of the country, Peasants often learn how to ride in order to carry information or commercial goods across massive territories. As such, they often fill the role of scouts or flanking harass in Cathayan armies.

*'''Jade Warriors''': These guys are the actual trained soldiers of Cathay. Their main job is to hold the front line so that the guns and ranged units have a chance to shoot. Can be equipped with Swords, Halberds and Crossbows. They mostly serve as the military and police in larger cities who can afford to house large numbers of them

*'''Jade Lancers''': The most common heavy cav in Cathay, they are slower but much tankier than most other knights.

===Others===
*'''Celestial Dragon Guard''': The Elites of the Cathayan Army, raised to a higher standard to the standard rank and file with better weapons and armor. Can be armed with swords, halberds or crossbows.

*'''Monkey Warriors''': The soldiers of the Monkey King. We don't know what they do or how they fight, but we know they exist.

*'''Iron Hail Gunners ''': Ladies with Chinese themed blunderbusses. Don't quite have the range of Empire guns but since they wield old timey shotguns they can rip apart enemy formations at a very close range.

*'''Crane Gunners''': Sniper teams with a long ass gun where one person mans the gun and the other mans a shield and reloads. Whether these guys ripped off the Skaven or vice versa isn't explained. However, considering the Skaven's habit of <strike> stealing </strike> appropriating stuff from other cultures, like Clan Eshin learning how to be ninjas from Nippon, there can be a case for the latter.

*'''Great Longma Riders''': Minor nobles who became nobles by their great-grandpa shtupping a dragon, who ride Dragon Horses. They're the elite cavalry force of Cathay and are usually used to give them aerial dominance and to cover for the war balloons.

*'''Terracotta Sentinels''': The Celestial Dragon Emperor's action figures that come to life to defend Cathay much like the Tomb Kings constructs. Said to [[Wraithguard|contain the souls of ancient warriors]] who fought for the Dragon during the first Chaos Incursion. Stand sentinel around Cathay until invaders comes.

===War Machines/Artillery===
*'''Sky Lantern''': A flying balloon piloted by sniper ladies, it acts as a forward scout for Cathay's armies. Also used by Magistrates to find enemy positions, discover ambushes and to provide motivation to the troops below.

*'''Sky-Junk''': A heavier flying balloon powered by a smaller phoenix, this acts as a mobile flying artillery piece. Armed with a Fire Rain Rocket and multiple bombs they can tear entire battle formations apart.

*'''Grand Cannon''': A cannon that is pulled by oxen making it surprisingly fast, that fires firey globes into the enemy.

*'''Wu-Xing War Compass''': A miniature version of the Celestial Compass which the Dragon Emperor uses to slap magic into various places of Cathay, it greatly boosts the magical capacity of mages riding one or simply its presence on the field.

*'''Fire Rain Rocket''': What inspired the Helstorm rocket battery in lore, it acts functionally the same. Fires multiple rockets at once that, while inaccurate, can cause devastation on the battlefield.

==Gallery==
Originally the only images we've had of Cathay and its people were a single picture in the Warhammer rule books and from a White Dwarf article where they showed off somebody's converted army. Suffice to say the converter did a great job, and the pictures are included below. Later on [[Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay]] and [[Total War: Warhammer]] had their own stabs at what Cathay should look like.
<gallery>
Cathay-Page-1.jpg
Cathay-Page-2.jpg
Cathay-Page-3.jpg
Cathay-Page-4.jpg
Cathay-Page-5.jpg
Cathay-Page-6.jpg
File:WFRP 4th-Yabo Chao.png|Yabo Chao, an ambassador from Cathay in [[Altdorf]].
</gallery>

==Links==
*[https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_Redi9cZJ5iLVNoQWR2MVBQWms/view Cathay fandex]
*[[Warhammer Army Project/Cathay/8th|Tactica of the above fandex]]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5G5v4W7omc Cathay's roster in a nutshell], because [[Fallout|Geedubs...]][[Space Wolves|Geeddubs never changes.]]

{{Regions and areas of the Old World}}
[[Category:Warhammer Fantasy]]
[[Category:Cathay]]

Gotcha Monster

2022-09-11T20:57:56Z

2601:188:C300:64B8:D8A4:5D01:AEEC:D9D0: /* D&D Gotcha Monsters */

[[File:Garfield Folio.png|thumb|right|300px|The Wolf-In-Sheep's-Clothing, one of the more <s>bizarre</s> awesome D&D Gotcha Monsters, in action.]]

'''Gotcha Monster''' is a slang term used in /tg/ circles to refer to any of the wide array of monsters whose hunting strategy revolves around disguising themselves or lurking in seemingly innocuous places and then trying to kill [[adventurer]]s the moment that they let their guard down even the slightest. The term is most associated with [[Advanced Dungeons & Dragons]] and [[Old School Roleplaying]], which gave rise to some of the most infamous species of Gotcha Monsters in existence, but the basic idea can be found pretty much throughout gaming circles. They are, at base, biological [[trap]]s.

There is a case to be made ''for'' Gotcha Monsters: the camouflaged-ambush type is a type that, in fact, exists in our real world. We'll make that case more fully in its own section; below all the (many, many, ''many'') mostly-fantasy examples. One serious case ''against'': they're just traps. Once you've introduced one example, like the Roper, the party knows that prototype exists, and if that party meets another of that type it's just ... ''boring'', you know.

A [[Game Master]] who relies on using Gotcha Monsters to excess is known as a [[That Guy|Killer Game Master]]. Or as a [[Tales_of_Eldrad_Ulthuan,_the_Dick|dick]]. Or else as a... designer of [[Gen Con|a 1970s tournament series]], where most of them started.

Eric Holmes and [[Tom Moldvay]] hated them and didn't permit (for a start) the Water Weird or the Roper [[Basic Dungeons & Dragons|up to Expert Set]]; [[Frank Mentzer]] more than agreed and would exclude them from [[Companion Set]] as well. Despite including a lot of ''other'' 1970s shit in there like the [[thoul]] and that [[What|Tarantella Spider]].

Some also argue that monsters which do not directly attack players, but damage their combat abilities in some way, such as [[Rust Monster]]s and [[Disenchanter]]s, also count as Gotcha Monsters.

Not to be confused with [[Yu-Gi-Oh|Gacha Monsters]].

==D&D Gotcha Monsters==
Aside from [[slime]]s, [[golem]]s, [[therianthrope]]s, [[Carnivorous Plant|carnivorous plants]], and [[shadow]]s, which can easily be portrayed in this way, D&D has a ''long'' list of Gotcha Monsters.

;'''[[Aballin]]''': A [[slime]]-like creature that resembles a mass of animate water, which it pretends to be before drowning and digesting anything that attempts to drink from it.
<gallery>
Aballin 2e.png
Aballin 3e.jpg
</gallery>

;'''[[Adherer]]''': A monstrous humanoid which looks like a mummy, but which is actually a living being covered in fibrous skin-strands that secrete a gluey resin. They use these to catch an adventurer's weapon and rip it out of his grasp, whereupon they can beat him to death. First appeared in [[Fiend Factory]] as the "Gluey".
<gallery>
Gluey WD 7.jpg
Adherer 1.jpg
Adherer 2.jpg
Adherer PF.jpg
Adherer PF MM.jpg
Adherer fight.jpg|A Pathfinder adherer fighting Carmen Sandiegorc.
</gallery>

;'''[[Tanar'ri#Alkilith|Alkilith]]''': A demonic ooze that has multiple ways to be a Gotcha Monster, from the subtle way of corrupting anyone that touches it to the instantly deadly way of opening a portal to the Abyss if it manages to surround a doorway or window frame with [[Rape|expected results]]. It might even pull you into that hellscape if you're not paying attention to if that doorway is actually surrounded by moss or not.
<gallery>
Alkilith 2e.png
Alkilith 3e.jpg
Alkilith 5e.png
</gallery>

;'''[[Animated Object]]''': Could be a table, a chair, or just about anything in the room waiting to surprise you.
<gallery>
Animated object.jpg
Rug.jpg
</gallery>

;'''[[Animator]]''': An invisible spirit from [[Ravenloft]] that possesses objects and has spellcasting abilities. Comes in three types: Minor, Common and Greater. The more powerful it is, the bigger the object it can possess.
<gallery>
Animator minor.jpg
Animator common.jpg
Animator greater.jpg
Animator DoD2.jpg
</gallery>

;'''[[Imp|Assassin Imp]]''': Looks like a normal imp and can be summoned as a familiar. It is obsessed with killing anyone it sees as a "threat" to its master, which invariably includes its master's friends and family.

;'''[[Bloodring]]''' (Ring-worm): A blood-drinking (or magic-eating) parasitic worm that disguises itself by pretending to be an enchanted ring, as it can extend its own innate magic resistance to any creature it is touching. Appears as the Ring-worm in ''Monstrous Compendium: Forgotten Realms Appendix II'', where it causes you to forget one spell the first day you wear it, two spells the second day, and so on.
<gallery>
Ringworm MCFR2.png
</gallery>

;'''[[Bowler]]''': [[Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies]], but the rocks are sentient.
<gallery>
Bowler.jpg
</gallery>

;'''[[Brain Mole]]''': An ordinary mole that happens to feed on mental energy, resulting in it draining away memories and potentially leaving its victims as drooling vegetables if they get too close to its den.
<gallery>
Brain mole 1e.png|ALL GLORY TO THE HYPNOMOLE
Brain mole PHBR5.jpg
Brain mole MM 2e.png
Brain mole 3.jpg
</gallery>

;'''[[Carbuncle]]''': An armadillo-like creature with a valuable ruby on its forehead that it promises to give to the party. It secretly uses its psionic powers to attract monsters or goad the party members into fighting each other, then leaves when the combat starts. If you kill it, the ruby disintegrates.

;'''[[Carrionette]]''': A sapient, marionette-type puppet that possesses independent motion and a malicious desire to kill people.
<gallery>
Carrionette MC Ravenloft.jpg
Carrionette 2e.png
Carrionette Dragon 339.jpg
Jumping carrionette.jpg
</gallery>

;'''Carrion Stalker''': It looks like a human ribcage filled with entrails, but the ribs are actually its legs, and the intestines are its slimy tentacles. It hides inside the mutilated bodies of its victims, waiting for someone else to get close.
<gallery>
Carrion stalker.gif
Carrion stalker DoD.jpg
</gallery>

;'''[[Chaos Imp]]''': An annoying [[imp]] subspecies native to [[Limbo]], which can "possess" inanimate matter and reshape it to their will, which they use to play potentially deadly pranks.
<gallery>
Chaos imp.jpg
</gallery>

;'''[[Cloaker]]''': A killer manta ray that disguises itself as a cloak to trick people into wearing it, which lets it eat them. From 3e onward they no longer disguise themselves as cloaks, and so aren't really gotcha anymore.
<gallery>
File:Cloaker 1e.jpg
File:Cloaker 2e.png
File:Cloaker 3e.jpg
File:Cloaker 4e.jpg
File:Cloaker 5e.jpg
</gallery>

;'''[[Cushion Fungi]]''': Carnivorous fungi that look like pillows and release soporific spores so people will sleep on them.
<gallery>
Cushion fungus.jpg
</gallery>

;'''[[Death Linen]]''': Killer pillow that smothers you in your sleep. Also comes in pajama and towel variants.
<gallery>
Killer pillow.jpg
</gallery>

;'''[[Disenchanter]]''': A creature resembling a blue camel with an elephant's trunk that sucks the magical energy out of magic items.
<gallery>
Disenchanter 1e.jpg
Disenchanter FOR8.png
Disenchanter wac.gif
Disenchanter 3e.jpg
Disenchanter PF.jpg
Disenchanter fight by Corbella.jpg
</gallery>

*'''Laraken''': A yellow ball with two tentacles. Same powers as the Disenchanter, but it can also suck spells out of mages and then use those spells itself.
<gallery>
Laraken MCAV1.jpg
Laraken 3e.jpg
</gallery>

;'''[[Dune Trapper]]''': A giant desert dwelling creature that buries itself in the sand and disguises its mouth as an entire oasis. Native to [[Dark Sun]].
<gallery>
Dune trapper.jpg
</gallery>

;'''[[Dusanu]]''': It looks like a [[Skeleton]], but it actually is a [[Fungus]] that animates bones and not an undead and so doesn't have their weaknesses and it is also infectious.
<gallery>
Dusanu X5.jpg
Dusanu MC Mystara.jpg
Dusanu AC9.png
Dusanu Dragon 339.jpg
</gallery>

*'''[[Goop Ghoul]]''': Basically the same as a dusanu, but the skeleton is being controlled by a [[slime]]. Has a paralytic touch.
<gallery>
Goop ghoul Dragon 198.jpg
</gallery>

;'''[[Ear Seeker]]''': A wood-eating insect that often infests dungeons doors, and will bore into the ears of anyone who tries to listen at those doors, because they like to lay their eggs in the ear canals of humanoids so their larvae can feed on living brain tissue.

;'''[[Executioner's Hood]]''': Predecessor of the [[darkmantle]]. It jumps onto your head and strangles you to death.
<gallery>
Executioners hood.gif
Executioners hood PF.jpg
</gallery>

;'''Explodestool''': Do I really have to spell it out for you? It's a mushroom that explodes when you touch it. Appeared in Dragon #89
<gallery>
Explodestool.png
</gallery>

;'''[[Eye of the Deep]]''': A relative of [[Beholder]]s that likes to fool people at sea with illusions of things like mermaids.
<gallery>
Eyeofdeep.jpg
Aquatic Beholder.png
Eye of the deep Dragon 93.jpg
Eyeofthedeep 3e.jpg
</gallery>

;'''[[Gambado]]''': A one-legged predatory monster that hides itself in a pit with just its head - covered in a seemingly abandoned skull - poking out. It then jumps out and tries to kill anyone who gets too close.
<gallery>
Gambado 1e.png
Gambado 1.webp
Gambado 2.webp
</gallery>

;'''[[Gargoyle]]''': A vicious predatory creature that disguises itself as a statue in order to attack prey when their guard is down.
<gallery>
Gargoyle 1e.jpg
Gargoyle 2e.gif
Gargoyle 3e.jpg
Gargoyle 4e.jpg
Gargoyle 5e.png
</gallery>

;'''[[Gas Spore]]''': A floating puffball [[fungus]] that disguises itself as a [[Beholder]]; when burst by a spear or arrow, it explodes in a shower of lethally poisonous spores.
<gallery>
Gas spore 1e.jpg
Gas spore 3e.jpg
Gas spore 4e.jpg
Gas spore 5e.jpg
</gallery>

;'''[[Genius Loci]]''': A living, malevolent piece of landscape.

;'''[[Giant Black Squirrel]]''': A 2ft-long, black-furred relative of the squirrel that inhabits "evil-dominated forests". Harmless, but likes to steal valuables from travelers.

;'''[[Goldbug]]''': A blood-sucking beetle that disguises itself as a gold coin to get close to its humanoid prey.

;'''[[Heart Tick]]''': An oversized tick that latches onto victims with its barbed legs so it can puncture their heart and siphon out the richest, most potent blood in their body.
<gallery>
Heart tick.gif
</gallery>

;'''[[Hearth Fiend]]''': Whenever a fire-based spell is cast in Ravenloft, there is a 1% chance that it will summon a hearth fiend, an invisible spirit that immediately possesses the nearest source of nonmagical fire. The flame then starts whispering to people nearby, attempting to ''charm'' them into doing evil.
<gallery>
Hearth fiend MC Ravenloft.jpg
Hearth fiend DoD2.jpg
</gallery>

;'''[[Heway]]''': An intelligent snake which hunts by climbing into wells or ponds and then shedding its skin, which transmutes the water into a toxic fluid; it then eats anything killed by drinking the fouled water.
<gallery>
Heway 2e.jpg
</gallery>

;'''[[Huptzeen]]''': An animated object that can't move but can cast spells.
<gallery>
Huptzeen.jpg
</gallery>

;'''[[Impersonator]]''': A slime that can assume the form of anyone it has killed.
<gallery>
Impersonator MC Ravenloft.jpg
Impersonator DoD2.jpg
</gallery>

*'''[[Oblex]]''': Basically the same as the impersonator, but it also has all the memories of the person it's impersonating, and can disguise itself as multiple people at once as long as they are all connected by little cords of slime.

;'''[[Lock Lurker]]''': A vicious invertebrate that resembles a gold coin, until it extends its legs and the lethally poisonous, scorpion-like stinging tail it normally hides in the [[Ethereal Plane]].
<gallery>
Lock Lurker 1.jpg
Lock Lurker 2.jpg
Lock Lurker 3.webp
</gallery>

;'''[[Living Wall]]''': A mass of undead flesh and bone melded together, which uses innate illusions to disguise itself as an ordinary stone wall until something living comes close, whereupon it tries to rip them apart and absorb them into its mass.
<gallery>
Living wall MM 2e.png
Living wall DoD2.jpg
Living wall Firestorm Peak.jpg
Living wall B4 PF.png
</gallery>

;'''[[Living Web]] (Duleep)''': A [[slime]]-like entity that disguises itself as a mass of abandoned cobwebs, then engulfs and electrocutes anything that touches it so it can consume them.
<gallery>
Living web.gif
Duleep.png
Living web MCFR.jpg
</gallery>

;'''[[Lurker]]''': A flattish monster, somewhere between a [[slime]] and a flying manta ray, that clings to the ceiling and then drops on people to smother them.
<gallery>
Lurker Above.jpg
Lurker 2e.jpg
Lurker Underdark 3e.jpg
</gallery>

*'''[[Trapper]]''': A bigger version of the Lurker, which disguises itself as a dungeon or cavern floor and then rises up to crush and devour anyone who steps on it.
<gallery>
Trapper 1e.jpg
</gallery>

*'''[[Miner]]''': A forest-dwelling variant of the Trapper, which hides itself on forest trails and waits until victims step on its back, stabbing themselves on its numerous paralytic poison-carrying quills so it can then smother and devour them.
<gallery>
Miner.jpg
</gallery>

;'''Magebane''': A bat-like creature that is invisible to everyone except the spellcaster it is currently fucking with. It follows the mage everywhere and drains the energy from any spells they cast, either lessening the spell's power or absorbing it completely.
<gallery>
Magebane RoMD.png
Magebane MCAV1.jpg
</gallery>

;'''Millikan''': Indistinguishable from a tree stump until it extends two tube-shaped orifices and becomes a living flamethrower, spraying oil out of one tube and setting it alight with a flame from the other. Appeared in Dragon #89.
<gallery>
Millikan Dragon 89.jpg
</gallery>

;'''<big>[[Mimic]]</big>''': A predatory [[slime]]-like creature which disguises itself as an inanimate object (most iconically a chest) to lure in humanoid victims. Larger mimics can disguise themselves as entire rooms or even buildings.
<gallery>
Mimic 1e.jpg
Mimic 2e 1.gif
Mimic 3e.jpg
Mimic 4e.png
Mimic 5e.jpg
Greater mimic.jpg
Househunter mimic.jpg
</gallery>

*'''[[Marble Pudding]]''': The evolutionary "missing link" between puddings and mimics. A [[slime]] that can harden its surface to disguise itself as a rock. Appeared in Dragon #251.
<gallery>
Marble pudding Dragon 251.jpg
</gallery>

;'''[[Palimpsest]]''': A piece of paper that absorbs anyone who touches it.
<gallery>
palimpsest CoS.jpg
Palimpsest.jpg
</gallery>

;'''[[Peltast]]''': Looks like an item made of leather, such as clothing or a backpack, but when you put it on it starts sucking your blood. First appeared in Dragon #89.
<gallery>
Peltast.png
peltast CoS.jpg
Peltast.gif
</gallery>

;'''[[Piercer]]''': A carnivorous gastropod which resembles a stalactite; it clings to cavern ceilings and then attempts to drop on anything that moves below, hoping to fatally impale them on its sharpened shell. In 5e they were retconned as the larval form of [[roper]]s.
<gallery>
Piercer cavern A3.png
Piercer 1e.png
Piercer shadow.jpg
Piercer MM 2e.png
Piercer rectum.jpg
Piercer 5e sketch.png
Piercer 5e.jpg
Piercer mini.jpg|Who would want a model of this thing?
</gallery>

;'''[[Pseudo-Familiar]]''': Whenever ''find familiar'' is cast in Ravenloft, you get one of these instead. They look like normal familiars, but they will magically drain hitpoints from their wizard and the other party members while they sleep. Gradually, they take over the minds of their wizards, who will then to try to kill the other party members.

;'''Pseudo-Undead''': Very obscure class of monsters from AD&D 1e that work just like undead, except they aren't really, so clerics can't turn them and any other undead-affecting spells or abilities simply don't work on them. We'd have allowed this for virus- or (maybe especially) fungus-affected still-living creatures like that dusanu; but noooo this template was allowed even for incorporeals, or for free-willed undead. It was just a terrible idea and thankfully, got shunted aside.

;'''[[Raggamoffyn]]''': A set of clothes that take control of your body if you put them on.
<gallery>
raggamoffyn CoS.jpg
Raggamoffyn 2e.gif
Raggamoffyn attack.jpg
</gallery>

;'''[[Roper]]''': A tentacled monster that disguises itself as a rock outcropping, boulder or stalagmite until victims get within range.
<gallery>
Roper 1e.jpg
Roper 2e.png
Roper 3e.jpg
Roper 4e.jpg
Roper 5e.jpg
</gallery>
*'''Bi-nou''': Pretty much identical to the roper in form and function, except it has two eyes and humanoid arms.
<gallery>
Bi-nou .jpg
</gallery>

;'''[[Rot Grub]]''': Voracious predatory maggots which infest mounds of dung and carrion, and which will leap to infest and devour living creatures that get too close.
<gallery>
Rot grub attack.jpg
Rot grub 1.jpg
Rot grub 2.gif
Rot grub swarm.png
</gallery>

;'''[[Rust Monster]]''': A giant beetle-like creature that feeds on metal, dissolving arms and armor in pursuit of food.

;'''[[Sand Vortex]]''': Another Dark Sun creature that buries itself in the sand. When it senses creatures walking above, it creates a whirlpool of sand that pulls them into its mouth.
<gallery>
Sand vortex.png
</gallery>

;'''[[Sheet Phantom]]''': A malevolent undead which possesses a thick blanket and uses it as a physical body to try and grapple, trap and smother living beings.
<gallery>
Sheet phantom.jpg
</gallery>

;'''[[Shrieker]]''': Mushrooms that scream really loudly and attract other monsters to you if you disturb them.
<gallery>
Shrieker 1e.jpg
Shrieker 2e.jpg
Shrieker 5e.jpg
</gallery>

;'''[[Skullrider]]''': A spider that can retract its legs and mandibles into its body, which happens to be the exact size and shape of a human skull. It also has the ability to hook itself up to the nervous system of a recently deceased creature and pilot it around like a goddamn mech.
<gallery>
Skullrider Dragon 198.jpg
Skullrider 2.jpg
</gallery>

*'''[[Head hunter]]''': Exactly the same as the skullrider except its skull is a fully fleshed human head. Native to [[Ravenloft]].
<gallery>
Head hunter MC Ravenloft.jpg
Head hunter DoD2.jpg
</gallery>

;'''[[Spanner]]''': An animated stone bridge that can talk and can throw you off or open a hole in itself to make you fall, so be polite.
<gallery>
Spanner.png
</gallery>

;'''[[Stunjelly]]''': A variant of the Gelatinous Cube which clings to a single section of stone wall and paralyzes anyone who touches it. Then it oozes over their body and eats them. First appeared in [[Fiend Factory]] as the "Living Wall" (not to be confused with the ''other'' Living Wall that appears in this list).
<gallery>
Stun Jelly 1e.webp
Stun Jelly 2e.png
</gallery>

;'''[[Slime|Symbiotic Jelly]]''': An ooze that partners with another monster and uses illusions to make the monster look like something less dangerous and lures in prey for the monster with illusions of things that they want such as treasure.

;'''[[Throat Leech]]''': A small leech that infests ponds and streams, and which prefers to feed by swimming down the throat of anyone drinking the water so it can attach itself to the inside of the throat and suck their blood, incidentally suffocating them as it swells up. First appeared in [[White Dwarf]]'s [[Fiend Factory]] series. They appeared in 5e's [[Tomb of Annihilation]], where they have been downgraded to microscopic parasites that give you the exhaustion status effect.
<gallery>
Throat leech WD 6.jpg|
Throat leech.jpg|The classic "throat leech in the canteen" prank
</gallery>

;'''[[Treant]]''': An intelligent tree which will rip you to pieces if it thinks you're destroying the forest. Fortunately, they're technically good guys, so you won't usually need to fight them if you aren't actually destroying the forest (unless you're in [[Ravenloft]], which has evil and undead treants).
<gallery>
File:Treant 1e.jpg
File:Treant TTotWF.jpg
File:Treant 2e.gif
File:Treant 3e.png
File:Treant 4e.jpg
File:Treant 5e.png
</gallery>
*'''Dark Tree''': A malevolent counterpart to the Treant.
<gallery>
Dark tree MCAV1.jpg
Dark tree 3e.jpg
Dark tree jason.jpg
</gallery>
*'''Noran''': Another malevolent version of the Treant which lurks in underground environments.
<gallery>
File:Noran.gif
</gallery>
*'''[[Singing Tree]]''': Yet another malevolent counterpart to the Treant, which uses hypnotically alluring songs to bring victims closer.
<gallery>
Singing tree.png
Singing tree MCAV1.jpg
</gallery>
*'''Quickwood''': ''Yet another'' evil version of the Treant, which attacks with its roots.
<gallery>
Quickwood MC Ravenloft.jpg
Quickwood DoD2.jpg
</gallery>

;'''[[Topiary Guardian]]''': That bush trimmed into the shape of a lion is actually a lion.
<gallery>
Topiary guardian.jpg
</gallery>

;'''[[Tunnel terror]]''': A huge stony psionic worm with a hollow body that pretends to be the walls of a tunnel to trick prey into walking inside it.

;'''[[Umbral Blot]] (Blackball)''': A construct with the appearance and properties of a [[Sphere of Annihilation]]. More of a "deterrent" gotcha monster, since a Sphere of Annihilation isn't something you should be messing with anyway.
<gallery>
Blackball MC Mystara cover.jpg
Blackball.jpg
Umbral blot.jpg
</gallery>

;'''[[Vampire Moss]]''': A mass of hanging, dense moss which passively drains the life force from any living creature that gets within 10 yards.
<gallery>
Vampire moss.gif
</gallery>

;'''[[Water Weird]]''': That filled-to-the-brim water well in the middle of the desert you've been praying to Allah for? IT'S A SNAKE! OOH A SNAAAKE.

;'''[[Wizard Lice]]''': Blood-sucking insects that would be merely annoying if they didn't strip the spells right out of the minds of spellcaster hosts.

;'''[[Wolf-in-Sheep's-Clothing]]''': It doesn't look like a Sheep, and it isn't a wolf either. It looks like a small rabbit like creature, but that is only a small lure on top of its body, which looks like a tree stump.
<gallery>
Barrier Peaks gotcha.gif
Wisc.jpg
</gallery>

;'''[[Xaver]]''': A ferrovorous creature which disguises itself as a sword in order to get closer to unprotected metal.
<gallery>
Xaver 1e.jpg
Xaver RoMD.png
Xaver MCAV1.jpg
</gallery>

;'''[[Hoard Scarab]]''': A recent addition from 5E, but something at home with OG DND tricks. They are disguised as gold coins, and often found in dragon hoards. If you disturb them, not only do you have to fight off a swarm of locusts but PC will get covered in Glowing dust that not only renders all invisible useless but also pings all [[dragon]]s in a 1-mile radius exactly where you are.
<gallery>
Hoard Scarab.png
</gallery>

;'''[[Creed]]''': A tactical geniu--Wait no, that's [[40k]].
<gallery>
Creed.jpg
</gallery>

;'''[[Gazebo]]''': Beware the dread gazebo.
<gallery>
Fey Gazebo.jpg
</gallery>

==Other Setting Gotcha Monsters==
Sand Clams
Chameleoleeches

== Real Life Gotcha Monsters ==

To some extent, ''almost every'' [[Wikipedia:ambush predator|ambush predator]] is a "Gotcha Monster". Just to name a few types:

* You have your "aggressive mimics", who pretend to be something edible, and turn around and eat those who would eat it; for example, several species of mantises and spiders looking like a flower (and sometimes waiting on one) and grabbing pollinators who show up, or the "alligator snapping turtle", whose tongue resembles a worm it can wriggle around to lure fish to it; the anglerfish uses a similar tactic, aided by a bioluminescent organ.
* There's trap-making animals, such as the antlion or web-making spiders.
* And then there's the camouflage and stealth approach, of which some varieties of [[cats]] are a common example.

The most likely one a D&D player (not character) might run into, are crocodiles and alligators; thanks to the old 'look like a log' trick. (Players, at least, don't worry about being dragged down to the depths in armor, like most of their adventurers.) This is why we stay indoors.

[[Category: Monsters]] [[Category: Gamer Slang]]

Squiggoth

2022-09-11T20:56:42Z

2601:188:C300:64B8:D8A4:5D01:AEEC:D9D0: /* In Dawn of War */

[[File:GargantuanSquiggoth.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Squiggoth charging through.]]
The Squiggoth (''Orkus prodigium'') is a particular breed of [[Squig]] that grows to massive proportions. Orks with a particularly low-tek bent, such as [[Feral Orks]] and the [[Snake Bites|Snakebites]] clan, make use of them as transports and/or heavy artillery embankments, steering the monstrous multi-ton quasi-dinosaur beasts into the enemy. Covered in ramshackle armor, bristling with turrets manned by desperate [[grots]] and more than willing to trample, gore, crush or eat anything in sight, Squiggoths are surprisingly effective.

Like all Orkoid species, the [[Magos#Types of Magos|Magos Biologis]] of the [[Adeptus Mechanicus]] have identified Squiggoths as [[Fungus|fungal]] lifeforms, though they are fairly rare in comparison to the more common Squig species.

The size of the Squiggoth is determined by the effectiveness of the feed-formula the breeder gives his creature. A Squiggoth's size ranges from that of a [[Leman Russ Battle Tank|Leman Russ tank]] to that of a small [[Titan (Warhammer 40,000)|Titan]], although generally they are somewhere between these two extremes of size. Squiggoths are reptilian in nature and resemble [[Terra]]n [[dinosaur]]s, although there have also been reports of [[Furry|woolly-mammoth-or-rhino-like Squiggoths]] adapted to cold climates that possess heavy fur and tusks (The "hair" on its body could be explained as cilia modified in a similar manner to the hair squigs', or perhaps even the beast simply being a large, boarlike squig infested with symbiotic hair squigs covering its fatty body, enabling it to survive on Ork Ice Worlds). It also shows the biological rivalry between the [[Tyranids]] and [[Orks]] as each species tries to one-up each other on who can be the biggest and strongest.

As such, Squiggoths are considered the pinnacle of a [[Runtherd|Runtherd's]]/Pigdok's art. Each Runtherd/Pigdok has his own special recipe of Squiggoth feed, and these recipes are constantly modified and tinkered with to eke out the maximum amount of growth possible.

Though they haven't been seen in Ork army lists since [[Chapter Approved]] did its entry on [[Feral Orks]], they have retained notability by being the ork Relic Unit in [[Dawn of War]]. There are three recognized sub-species of Squiggoths.

With 8th edition, Squiggoths are back, still no Orkeosaurus though.

===Big Squiggoths===
[[File:BigSquiggoth.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Big Squiggoth, the Ork's ultimate [[DISTRACTION CARNIFEX]].]]

The smallest (Though still quite large) and most common variety of Squiggoths. Big Squiggoths stand about the size of a Leman Russ tank or an Elephant. Their smaller size is the result of either youth or the poor breeding methods of their Ork caretakers. Hence, their inferior size means that they are the Ork's [[Rhino]] to the Gargantuan Squiggoth's [[Land Raider]]. They often travel in packs, particularly on worlds dominated by Feral Orks.

Either way, they are still large and powerful enough to smack light and medium vehicles like tin cans and devour entire [[Space Marines]] if given the appropriate chance and mood of these beasts of burden.

On the tabletop in 8th edition, the Big Squiggoth or otherwise simply known as the Squiggoth is a gargantuan creature that is cheaper than its larger brethren but subsequently weaker as a result. Therefore, some Ork players are known to use these beasts as a giant [[DISTRACTION CARNIFEX]] by packing a few of them and charging head long into enemy formation.

Because of this, the Big Squiggoth is a bit more limited than the Trukk in what it can transport, but it hits really hard in melee and can take a bigger beating with its 18 wounds. Units embarked on the Squiggoth as well as the Squiggoth's own gun can fire their weapons normally from it if it's got an enemy 1" or less away (i.e. in melee range with the Squiggoth), but can't target that particular enemy. Stampede! inflicts D3 mortal wounds on a 2+ to every unit within 1" at the end of a Charge as of the [[Forge World#Company|Forge World]] FAQs.

===Gargantuan Squiggoth===
[[File:GargSquiggoth.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Gargantuan Squiggoth, otherwise known as a [[Land Raider]] with teeth.]]

Gargantuan Squiggoths are monstrous creatures approximately the size of a small [[Imperial]] Titan. Their size is the result of their breeding using the special, high-quality feed formula of the Snakebites Clan. These giants are sometimes used as mounts by the most powerful of Ork [[Warboss]]es. This is the variety seen in the [[Dawn of War]] games and it is by far the more recognizable of all Squiggoth types.

Their charge is powerful enough to break fortifications and cause a severe case of [[Squad Broken]] as well as potential [[Rage|Rage.]] They are also potentially big enough to give the [[Hierophant]] the middle finger before tail slapping the overgrown tick into submission. Then again, the Squiggoth acts as a giant breathing [[Land Raider]], so it is best to prop up some [[Ork Boy|Boyz]], [[Lootas]] and [[Nob|Nobz]] and go on a shooting <s>rampage</s> joyride. Just don't let your giant dinosaur be turned into a overpriced [[DISTRACTION CARNIFEX]] though, it is not too resilient against the [[Dakka|wall of guns]] known as the [[Imperial Guard]].

In 8th edition the Gargantuan Squiggoth is basically a living, breathing [[Battlewagon]]. It has a transport capacity of 20, two Twin [[Big Shoota]]s and two [[Supa-Lobba]]s. You've got the option to buy up to four Big Shootas, and also to replace one or both Supa-Lobbas with a [[Killkannon]] or [[Big Zzappa]]. [[Murder|Absolute murder in melee with 8 attacks and an AP-4 D6 Damage melee weapon, and all of its guns can still shoot when it's in combat (except at the unit it's fighting) like the smaller Squiggoth.]] All for the low, low price of [[Cheese|450-500 points with guns,]] and don't forget you need to buy a unit to ride in it too (if you're going mad on points, try fifteen [[Tankbustas]] and 5 Bomb Squigs, fifteen Lootas, or two squads of ten [[Flash Gitz]]). Stampede! inflicts D6 mortal wounds on a 2+ to every unit within 1" at the end of a Charge as of the Forge World FAQs, rather than just on a 2 as originally written.

===Orkeosaurus===

[[File:Orkeosaurus.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Orkeosaurus. [[Carnifex]]? What Carnifex?]]

Orkeosaurus is the largest breed of Squiggoth that is used by the Orks. Looking more like a Dinosaurine Sauropod without the neck than the elephantine looks of its smaller brethren. The Orkeosaurus is larger than all other Squiggoths, including the Gargantuan Squiggoth. The creature is grown from the size of a regular Squiggoth up to its full size by the right fungus nutrients and tender loving care that is provided by a Feral Ork Pigdok.

The Orkeosaurus is usually found amongst Feral Ork tribes and is rarely, if ever, seen in use by the more technologically advanced Ork klanz. The massive creature is used as both a beast of burden and as a beast of war by the Feral Orks and the Orkeosaurus is highly valued not just for the carnage it can cause in battle but also for the prestige that it can bring to the Greenskin tribe that possesses one. During combat the Pigdok that nurtured the creature will sit proudly high atop the swaying howdah on its back, bellowing out orders as the scurrying gun crews load and fire their weapons. When the tribe marches off to war they are accompanied by the trumpeting calls and the thunderous tread of their mighty Squiggoths and Orkeosauruses.

The Orkeosaurus is capable of carrying up to 12 Orks (whether Boyz, Nobz or Wildboyz) and several units of [[Gretchin]] into combat upon its back-mounted deck. These Orks will man any weapons that are installed upon the armored decking attached to the creature's broad back. These weapons can include twin-linked Big Shootas and Big Gunz. The Orkeosaurus' hide is as thick and protective as armored plating, and can withstand tremendous amounts of punishment. The Orks augment this protection by attaching armoured plating to the creatures, giving them even more durability.

== In Dawn of War ==
The Big Squig isn't the most destructive thing around (those honors go to the [[Baneblade]] and [[Bloodthirster]]), and neither is it the fastest (Also, since it's so fat, it's prone to getting stuck in your base if you built Da Mek Shop in the back). It's best used as [[DISTRACTION CARNIFEX]] due to it's overwhelming size (it's fucking massive). It could almost be called a [[Land Raider]] with a mouth fulla teef an' stompin' feet, since it has two slots of transport capacity for Boyz getting stuck in. As you can imagine, this makes for incredible versatility, not in smashing things, but in dumping a threat straight on the opponent's head, and having another threat pop right out. [[Rip and tear|Rampage]] helps a lot with this, as well as making those puny otha gits fly errywhere and clearin' a path fer da [[WAAAGH]]!

==In Age of Sigmar==
Are mentioned in the lore of Rogue Idols, apparently the dung of Squiggoths is used as mortar to hold the Rogue Idols together. This is both gross, and shows that Squiggoths exist in the Mortal Realms.

== Gallery ==

<gallery>
File:DOWSquiggoth1.png|A fucking Squiggoth rampaging through some Orks.
File:DOWSquiggoth2.png|There's that fucking Squiggoth!
File:EpicSquiggoth.jpg|Squiggoth in [[Epic]].
File:FluffySquiggoth1st.jpg|The Woolly Rhino variant. ''It's so fluffy.''
File:Orkeosaurus_Size_Comparison.jpg|Size comparison between the Orkeosaurus and its lesser counterparts.
Image:Pimp_Ork_2.jpg|What non-Feral Orks do to their Squiggoths.
</gallery>

[[Category: Warhammer 40,000]]

[[Category: Epic 40,000]]

[[Category: Dawn of War]]

[[Category: Xenos]]

[[Category: Orks]]

[[Category: Feral Orks]]

[[Category: Squigs]]

[[Category: Megafauna]]

{{Template:Orks-Forces}}

Ghur

2022-09-11T20:54:55Z

2601:188:C300:64B8:D8A4:5D01:AEEC:D9D0: /* Bestiary */

{{AoS-Stub}}
{{NeedsImages}}
G’day mates. Welcome to the Australia of the Mortal Realms. Ghur is the Realm of Beasts and one of the most dead ‘ard places you’ll ever find.

Fun note; the name Ghur likely originates from the onomatopoeia for growling, which is "grrrr!"

==Overview==
On the surface, it appears to be absolutely pristine. Clear blue skies. Wide open savannas. Clean water. And herds upon herds of creatures and other magnificent fauna. But that’s only the physical attributes. In actuality, Ghur is what you get if you throw [[Fenris]], [[Flesh Tearers|Cretacia]], [[Nocturne]], and [[Catachan]] together in a foul bowl, add a small dosage of [[Chaos]], mix it together, then eat the whole fucking thing and shit it out.

It is a ''brutal, brutal'' realm, resulting in the creation of equally brutal inhabitants, from Humans and Orruks to creatures almost analogous to [[Tyranids]], even the land may want to get on the action. Mountains will shake to create avalanches in order to destroy a forest that took root there. Rivers slowly chip away at the land around it for more room to flow. Tectonic plates will grind against each other to produce rough and uneven terrain to prevent roaming warbands from traveling across them. Everything here is part of a giant food chain, and everything is simultaneously predator and prey.

The (crazy) people who live in Ghur are master survivalists, typically living in nomadic societies or building small easily movable structures. The few traditional cities tend to build massive spike-traps as moats around their city in order to skewer any giant monster that tries to renact a Godzilla film. If these traps work, the city typically gets enough meat to feed itself for a month. Seers and other mystics have learned how to read the realm’s constantly shifting landscape and create charts that map out when the land will change and how much it changes. Expectedly, said charts are quite expensive and typically only city officials, military commanders, and high level merchants can afford them.

Might makes right is the defining law of the Realm and you’d be a fool not to follow it. Expectedly, the forces of Destruction are the most prevalent here, being the birthplace of the Ironjawz Orruks, the home base for the largest [[Ogor Mawtribes]], and possessing the largest gatherings of [[Sons of Behemat|Gargants]] in any realm. Another noteworthy faction are the [[Beasts Of Chaos|Beastmen]] of the Allherd Greatfray, whose herds are spread to every corner of Ghur and beyond. On each continent of Ghur can be found herdstones or other ruinous glyphs depicting the conquests of the Beastmen, reminding everyone just how far their influence is.

Gorkamorka is in charge of this realm, but in this case it's less because of a harmonious bond - though Gorkamorka's primal nature resonates with Ghur - but due to the fact that Gorkamorka is the strongest being native to the realm.

Unsurprisingly, the majority of Stormcasts in the tribal and barbaric Astral Templars trace their former mortal lives to this Realm.

==History==
While the other Realms had near existential crises over the Age of Chaos, Ghur basically looked at the incoming Chaos hordes and said “Fuck yeah! Christmas came early!” The natives of Ghur were ecstatic to have fresh bodies to fight against and new food to hunt. Over time and numerous Chaos Vanguards, the people become stronger and hardier. This is best exemplified with the Orruks, who would become so strong and big that they would eventually become the very first [[Ironjawz]].

==Continents and Landmarks==

===Carcass Donse===
A long time ago, the landmass of Donse was home to the Drogrukh, a huge race of centauroid non-Chaos beings who nevertheless had a rather bestial appearance, despite not being Beasts of Chaos. These titanic beings carved their cities into a series of Plateaus and Mesas, and were rather peaceful despite their size and strength, having worked together with their neighbors, the Draconith, to push the Thunderscorn Dragon-Ogors out from their shared territory. But the son of the Drogrukh king, Kragnos, held a deep streak of aggression in his heart, and so was exiled by his father when Kragnos beat his own brother to a pulp for claiming the beautiful Drogrukh woman who Kragnos coveted. Accepting his exile, Kragnos and a warband of his closest friends decided to become a group of Murderhobos, hunting giant monsters and destroying early Empires of Men. Kragnos eventually gained the title of Godhood when he claimed his legendary mace and shield, the latter of which had managed to chip Gorkamorka's tooth when the Great Green God tried to eat it. Unfortunately, Kragnos decided to go to war against the Draconith dragons of Thondia, and when the dragons were able to kill his non-God adventuring party, he went into a deep Barbarian Rage, and killed many Draconith, and in his fury crushed many of the eggs of the Draconith into scrambled abortion. The Draconith, with the aid of Lord Kroak, managed to trap Kragnos in a mountain, and feeling a deep fury at the death of the majority of their species' unborn, decided to unleash their own genocide upon the innocents of Donse, murdering the Drogrukh race in a fiery genocide. Today, the Carcass Donse is a dead land, being slowly devoured by Thondia, the ruins of the Drogrukh civilization crumbling. Only the End of Empires, Kragnos, is left of the once-proud Drogrukh.

===Rhondol===
Nearly as old as Donse, Rhondol is described as a land of rivers and rage. The abundant rivers in this continent are infamous for their unpredictability, always shifting and changing and just as likely to drag you under as they are to over flow and drown a nearby town stead. Any place that isn’t a river or a mountain top is a fenlands, marshes, and swamplands. Such is the savage nature of these waterways that a common saying among Ghur’s inhabitants is “supping of Rhondol’s waters” when describing their surliest and oldest of warriors. The most fervent of Gorkamorka’s followers believe that the water in Rhondol is empowered by the green god’s wrath.
====Mountains of Maraz====
To the north of Rhondol lays a collection of jagged peaks and cavernous maws known as the Mountains of Maraz. It was here that Gorkamorka was trapped by the living avalanche [[Godbeast|Drakatoa]] and subsequently freed by Sigmar. The two deities brawled across the plains for twelve days, creating the mountains seem today. The Mountains of Maraz became a holy sight for early Sigmarite pilgrims, who constructed many temples and shrines nearby these hallowed lands. Of course when Gorkamorka called his First Great Waaagh!, many of them were demolished and torn asunder. Those that survived the tide of destruction where subsequently reduced to rubble in the Age of Chaos.
====The Tuskvault====
One of Sigmar’s many illusion hidden Stormvaults, built specifically to house the Basha Shard, a splinter of Gorkamorka’s club. No one knew of the vault’s location until the Necroquake fucked everything up. A coalition of Destruction led by [[Gordrakk]] and [[Skragrott]] assaulted the Tuskvault but were repelled by an alliance of Stormcast Eternals, Fyreslayers, and Sylvaneth. The Tuskvault was buried under a mountain’s worth of rubble and Loonstone, and the Basha Shard was lost once more.

===Thondia===
The largest continent in the Ghurish Heartlands and where the bulk of the current storyline takes place.
====The Gnarlwood====
A jungle of carnivorous plants created from a crashed Seraphon temple ship. The copious amounts of ancient magic and other treasures makes it a prime target for many wandering warbands.
====[[Ogor Mawtribes|The Great Gutfort]]====
The mountainous fortress of the Meatfist Mawtribe. While it’s of course a place of great reverence for the Ogors, most natives of Ghur will turn to face the gluttonous bastion in respect.
Warglutts and Alfrostuns regularly leave its gates on raids and then return with heaps of treasure and food. All the loot is gathered together by the Overtyrant Globb Glittermaw and then used to throw celebratory feasts to flaunt their wealth. The Gutfort itself has been targeted on numerous occasions by [[Slaves to Darkness|Chaos hordes]], [[Stormcast Eternals|Stormcast chambers]], [[Ossiarch Bonereapers|Ossirarch legions]], and even rival Mawtribes. Its defense is handled by the lesser tribes/gatherings of Ogors in the Meatfist; only the most prestigious are allowed on the mawpath alongside Globb, who is seldom actually seen at his own Gutfort since he’s constantly out raiding.

====[[Cities of Sigmar|Excelsis]]====
Home base of the Knights Excelsior and one of the most zealous places of worship to the Hammer God. It is a very “black and white” morality place where no quarter is given for even the tiniest hint of infidelity, and all loyalists must constantly prove their zealotry to the point where flagellants look rational in comparison. Funnily enough, the city has been targeted by several chaos forces, from Slaanesh manipulating the Stormcast garrison to “purge the city of all heretics” to break one of the chains imprisoning him, to numerous Tzeentch cabals plotting the city’s downfall. Most recently, the city was attacked from below by a Skaven invasion, before being besieged by the Great Waaagh! of Gordrakk and the newly awakened [[Kragnos]]. And while THAT was going down, a Slaaneshi cult rose up too and attacked the city from within. It was only thanks to the surprise arrival of Lord Kroak and Morathi-Khaine that the sea of enemies was parted, though Excelsis has since been decimated.

===[[Warhammer Underworlds|Beastgrave]]===
A colossal and ominous living mountain made from the corpses of (presumably) dead god beasts. Those who gaze upon its looming visage are filled with mixed feelings of curiosity and repulsion. It’s described as a Lovecraftian nightmare; an eldritch place with a will of its own that calls to many people far and wide through dreams/visions, beckoning them to come to Beastgrave to claim fame, fortune, or whatever it is that person wants most. Those hapless few that do heed the call will find themselves wandering endlessly in its cavernous interior, either killed by other adventurers or by Beastgrave itself and consumed. It’s kind of like FB’s [[Ogre Kingdoms|Great Maw]] in a sense, the comparisons becoming more apparent when you meet the primitive tribe of Neanderthals that live at the base of Beastgrave and regularly offer live sacrifices to the mountain. Most recently, the mountain has become even more treacherous when Nagash’s Necroquake shook the Realms and caused the cursed city of Shadespire to meld with Beastgrave. Now the immortal denizens of the Shyish city stalk the mountain, rousing long dead corpses within Beastgrave and drawing more potential prey into its insatiable insides. However, the sheer amount of death magic suddenly appearing in its cavernous guts caused Beastgrave to basically vomit up pools of viscous Amber, revealing its deepest and most treacherous passages collectively called Direchasm.

===Sascathran Desert===
A vast plain of shifting sand dotted with ruins of long past civilizations. The real point of interest though is what lies beneath, the hive-like catacombs and fortresses the Avengori Dynasty call home. From this underground kingdom, the Vengorian Lords strike out to hunt monsters and slake their thirst. Not too far out from the desert is the shattered remains of a free city called the Collonade, serving as a warning to anyone who tries to betray the Avengorii.

==Bestiary==
*'''Angujakkak''': Kaiju sized monsters, also called Grey Kings, that are apparently hybrids of Deepwater Troggoths and Mega-squids. One used to be the guardian of the City of Sigmar Nemisuvik in Ghur.

*'''Vulture-stings''': Named by Herdchief Groth the Rootcutter, these dog-sized bees will inject venom into live prey and then follow them until the prey expires. Then the droning insects feast upon the corpse. Additionally, like real insects, they are fond of sweet nectar like substances, like the blood-sap of [[Sylvaneth]]. They have some instinctive ‘honor system’, as when a vulture-sting chooses/stings a target, no other scavenger will attempt to steal its prize.
*'''Sankrit''': A species of humanoid reptilian beings with clawed knuckles. Once had an Empire at the northern edge of the Sea of Bones, but were slaughtered by [[Hamilcar Bear Eater|Hamilcar Bear Eater]], and their meat turned into rations.
*'''Snarlfangs''': Large wolves with venomous saliva they use to enfeeble prey. The Gitmob Grots will steal newborn snarlfangs and use them as savage mounts. Each wolf and rider are bound together when the snarlfang pup first meets its Grot rider. However this won’t stop the snarlfangs from turning on the grots should they be provoked enough.
*'''Puffed Spinetoad''': A venomous amphibian that secretes toxic slime from the row of spikes on its back. Said slime is commonly harvested for coating blades and arrow tips.
*'''Rhondholian Bamboo''': The bamboo that grows in Rhondol is covered in tiny biting mouths that have taken fingers and even whole hands from many a novice woodcutter.
*'''Grox''': The Imperium of Man's favorite food besides Soylens Viridians apparently also lives in Ghur. In particular, a Skaven Assassin named Flych Tattertail kept a Grox ear as a lucky charm.

==Trivia==
* The realmstone of Ghur is called Amberbone due to its cosmetic similarity to actual bones except for its faint glow. Being a manifestation of the realm's magic, Amberbone is capable of corrupting those who touch it. At the weakest, this might just channel some innate primal aggression, but its most extreme cases involve people transforming into savage monsters.

==Gallery==
<Gallery>
Ghurish Hinterlands.jpeg
Ghur map 2.jpeg
Ghur 01.png
</Gallery>
{{AoS-Realms}}

[[Category:Warhammer Fantasy]][[Category:Age of Sigmar]]

Ghur

2022-09-11T20:54:27Z

2601:188:C300:64B8:D8A4:5D01:AEEC:D9D0: /* Bestiary */

{{AoS-Stub}}
{{NeedsImages}}
G’day mates. Welcome to the Australia of the Mortal Realms. Ghur is the Realm of Beasts and one of the most dead ‘ard places you’ll ever find.

Fun note; the name Ghur likely originates from the onomatopoeia for growling, which is "grrrr!"

==Overview==
On the surface, it appears to be absolutely pristine. Clear blue skies. Wide open savannas. Clean water. And herds upon herds of creatures and other magnificent fauna. But that’s only the physical attributes. In actuality, Ghur is what you get if you throw [[Fenris]], [[Flesh Tearers|Cretacia]], [[Nocturne]], and [[Catachan]] together in a foul bowl, add a small dosage of [[Chaos]], mix it together, then eat the whole fucking thing and shit it out.

It is a ''brutal, brutal'' realm, resulting in the creation of equally brutal inhabitants, from Humans and Orruks to creatures almost analogous to [[Tyranids]], even the land may want to get on the action. Mountains will shake to create avalanches in order to destroy a forest that took root there. Rivers slowly chip away at the land around it for more room to flow. Tectonic plates will grind against each other to produce rough and uneven terrain to prevent roaming warbands from traveling across them. Everything here is part of a giant food chain, and everything is simultaneously predator and prey.

The (crazy) people who live in Ghur are master survivalists, typically living in nomadic societies or building small easily movable structures. The few traditional cities tend to build massive spike-traps as moats around their city in order to skewer any giant monster that tries to renact a Godzilla film. If these traps work, the city typically gets enough meat to feed itself for a month. Seers and other mystics have learned how to read the realm’s constantly shifting landscape and create charts that map out when the land will change and how much it changes. Expectedly, said charts are quite expensive and typically only city officials, military commanders, and high level merchants can afford them.

Might makes right is the defining law of the Realm and you’d be a fool not to follow it. Expectedly, the forces of Destruction are the most prevalent here, being the birthplace of the Ironjawz Orruks, the home base for the largest [[Ogor Mawtribes]], and possessing the largest gatherings of [[Sons of Behemat|Gargants]] in any realm. Another noteworthy faction are the [[Beasts Of Chaos|Beastmen]] of the Allherd Greatfray, whose herds are spread to every corner of Ghur and beyond. On each continent of Ghur can be found herdstones or other ruinous glyphs depicting the conquests of the Beastmen, reminding everyone just how far their influence is.

Gorkamorka is in charge of this realm, but in this case it's less because of a harmonious bond - though Gorkamorka's primal nature resonates with Ghur - but due to the fact that Gorkamorka is the strongest being native to the realm.

Unsurprisingly, the majority of Stormcasts in the tribal and barbaric Astral Templars trace their former mortal lives to this Realm.

==History==
While the other Realms had near existential crises over the Age of Chaos, Ghur basically looked at the incoming Chaos hordes and said “Fuck yeah! Christmas came early!” The natives of Ghur were ecstatic to have fresh bodies to fight against and new food to hunt. Over time and numerous Chaos Vanguards, the people become stronger and hardier. This is best exemplified with the Orruks, who would become so strong and big that they would eventually become the very first [[Ironjawz]].

==Continents and Landmarks==

===Carcass Donse===
A long time ago, the landmass of Donse was home to the Drogrukh, a huge race of centauroid non-Chaos beings who nevertheless had a rather bestial appearance, despite not being Beasts of Chaos. These titanic beings carved their cities into a series of Plateaus and Mesas, and were rather peaceful despite their size and strength, having worked together with their neighbors, the Draconith, to push the Thunderscorn Dragon-Ogors out from their shared territory. But the son of the Drogrukh king, Kragnos, held a deep streak of aggression in his heart, and so was exiled by his father when Kragnos beat his own brother to a pulp for claiming the beautiful Drogrukh woman who Kragnos coveted. Accepting his exile, Kragnos and a warband of his closest friends decided to become a group of Murderhobos, hunting giant monsters and destroying early Empires of Men. Kragnos eventually gained the title of Godhood when he claimed his legendary mace and shield, the latter of which had managed to chip Gorkamorka's tooth when the Great Green God tried to eat it. Unfortunately, Kragnos decided to go to war against the Draconith dragons of Thondia, and when the dragons were able to kill his non-God adventuring party, he went into a deep Barbarian Rage, and killed many Draconith, and in his fury crushed many of the eggs of the Draconith into scrambled abortion. The Draconith, with the aid of Lord Kroak, managed to trap Kragnos in a mountain, and feeling a deep fury at the death of the majority of their species' unborn, decided to unleash their own genocide upon the innocents of Donse, murdering the Drogrukh race in a fiery genocide. Today, the Carcass Donse is a dead land, being slowly devoured by Thondia, the ruins of the Drogrukh civilization crumbling. Only the End of Empires, Kragnos, is left of the once-proud Drogrukh.

===Rhondol===
Nearly as old as Donse, Rhondol is described as a land of rivers and rage. The abundant rivers in this continent are infamous for their unpredictability, always shifting and changing and just as likely to drag you under as they are to over flow and drown a nearby town stead. Any place that isn’t a river or a mountain top is a fenlands, marshes, and swamplands. Such is the savage nature of these waterways that a common saying among Ghur’s inhabitants is “supping of Rhondol’s waters” when describing their surliest and oldest of warriors. The most fervent of Gorkamorka’s followers believe that the water in Rhondol is empowered by the green god’s wrath.
====Mountains of Maraz====
To the north of Rhondol lays a collection of jagged peaks and cavernous maws known as the Mountains of Maraz. It was here that Gorkamorka was trapped by the living avalanche [[Godbeast|Drakatoa]] and subsequently freed by Sigmar. The two deities brawled across the plains for twelve days, creating the mountains seem today. The Mountains of Maraz became a holy sight for early Sigmarite pilgrims, who constructed many temples and shrines nearby these hallowed lands. Of course when Gorkamorka called his First Great Waaagh!, many of them were demolished and torn asunder. Those that survived the tide of destruction where subsequently reduced to rubble in the Age of Chaos.
====The Tuskvault====
One of Sigmar’s many illusion hidden Stormvaults, built specifically to house the Basha Shard, a splinter of Gorkamorka’s club. No one knew of the vault’s location until the Necroquake fucked everything up. A coalition of Destruction led by [[Gordrakk]] and [[Skragrott]] assaulted the Tuskvault but were repelled by an alliance of Stormcast Eternals, Fyreslayers, and Sylvaneth. The Tuskvault was buried under a mountain’s worth of rubble and Loonstone, and the Basha Shard was lost once more.

===Thondia===
The largest continent in the Ghurish Heartlands and where the bulk of the current storyline takes place.
====The Gnarlwood====
A jungle of carnivorous plants created from a crashed Seraphon temple ship. The copious amounts of ancient magic and other treasures makes it a prime target for many wandering warbands.
====[[Ogor Mawtribes|The Great Gutfort]]====
The mountainous fortress of the Meatfist Mawtribe. While it’s of course a place of great reverence for the Ogors, most natives of Ghur will turn to face the gluttonous bastion in respect.
Warglutts and Alfrostuns regularly leave its gates on raids and then return with heaps of treasure and food. All the loot is gathered together by the Overtyrant Globb Glittermaw and then used to throw celebratory feasts to flaunt their wealth. The Gutfort itself has been targeted on numerous occasions by [[Slaves to Darkness|Chaos hordes]], [[Stormcast Eternals|Stormcast chambers]], [[Ossiarch Bonereapers|Ossirarch legions]], and even rival Mawtribes. Its defense is handled by the lesser tribes/gatherings of Ogors in the Meatfist; only the most prestigious are allowed on the mawpath alongside Globb, who is seldom actually seen at his own Gutfort since he’s constantly out raiding.

====[[Cities of Sigmar|Excelsis]]====
Home base of the Knights Excelsior and one of the most zealous places of worship to the Hammer God. It is a very “black and white” morality place where no quarter is given for even the tiniest hint of infidelity, and all loyalists must constantly prove their zealotry to the point where flagellants look rational in comparison. Funnily enough, the city has been targeted by several chaos forces, from Slaanesh manipulating the Stormcast garrison to “purge the city of all heretics” to break one of the chains imprisoning him, to numerous Tzeentch cabals plotting the city’s downfall. Most recently, the city was attacked from below by a Skaven invasion, before being besieged by the Great Waaagh! of Gordrakk and the newly awakened [[Kragnos]]. And while THAT was going down, a Slaaneshi cult rose up too and attacked the city from within. It was only thanks to the surprise arrival of Lord Kroak and Morathi-Khaine that the sea of enemies was parted, though Excelsis has since been decimated.

===[[Warhammer Underworlds|Beastgrave]]===
A colossal and ominous living mountain made from the corpses of (presumably) dead god beasts. Those who gaze upon its looming visage are filled with mixed feelings of curiosity and repulsion. It’s described as a Lovecraftian nightmare; an eldritch place with a will of its own that calls to many people far and wide through dreams/visions, beckoning them to come to Beastgrave to claim fame, fortune, or whatever it is that person wants most. Those hapless few that do heed the call will find themselves wandering endlessly in its cavernous interior, either killed by other adventurers or by Beastgrave itself and consumed. It’s kind of like FB’s [[Ogre Kingdoms|Great Maw]] in a sense, the comparisons becoming more apparent when you meet the primitive tribe of Neanderthals that live at the base of Beastgrave and regularly offer live sacrifices to the mountain. Most recently, the mountain has become even more treacherous when Nagash’s Necroquake shook the Realms and caused the cursed city of Shadespire to meld with Beastgrave. Now the immortal denizens of the Shyish city stalk the mountain, rousing long dead corpses within Beastgrave and drawing more potential prey into its insatiable insides. However, the sheer amount of death magic suddenly appearing in its cavernous guts caused Beastgrave to basically vomit up pools of viscous Amber, revealing its deepest and most treacherous passages collectively called Direchasm.

===Sascathran Desert===
A vast plain of shifting sand dotted with ruins of long past civilizations. The real point of interest though is what lies beneath, the hive-like catacombs and fortresses the Avengori Dynasty call home. From this underground kingdom, the Vengorian Lords strike out to hunt monsters and slake their thirst. Not too far out from the desert is the shattered remains of a free city called the Collonade, serving as a warning to anyone who tries to betray the Avengorii.

==Bestiary==
*'''Angujakkak''': Kaiju sized monsters, also called Grey Kings, that are apparently hybrids of Deepwater Troggoths and Mega-squids. One used to be the guardian of the City of Sigmar Nemisuvik in Ghur.

*'''Vulture-stings''': Named by Herdchief Groth the Rootcutter, these dog-sized bees will inject venom into live prey and then follow them until the prey expires. Then the droning insects feast upon the corpse. Additionally, like real insects, they are fond of sweet nectar like substances, like the blood-sap of [[Sylvaneth]]. They have some instinctive ‘honor system’, as when a vulture-sting chooses/stings a target, no other scavenger will attempt to steal its prize.
*'''Sankrit''': A species of humanoid reptilian beings with clawed knuckles. Once had an Empire at the northern edge of the Sea of Bones, but were slaughtered by [[Hamilcar Bear Eater|Hamilcar Bear Eater]], and their meat turned into rations.
*'''Snarlfangs''': Large wolves with venomous saliva they use to enfeeble prey. The Gitmob Grots will steal newborn snarlfangs and use them as savage mounts. Each wolf and rider are bound together when the snarlfang pup first meets its Grot rider. However this won’t stop the snarlfangs from turning on the grots should they be provoked enough.
*'''Puffed Spinetoad''': A venomous amphibian that secretes toxic slime from the row of spikes on its back. Said slime is commonly harvested for coating blades and arrow tips.
*'''Rhondholian Bamboo''': The bamboo that grows in Rhondol is covered in tiny biting mouths that have taken fingers and even whole hands from many a novice woodcutter.
*'''Grox''': The Imperium of Man's favorite food besides Soylens Viridians apparently also lives in Ghur. In particular, a Skaven Assassin kept a Grox ear as a lucky charm.

==Trivia==
* The realmstone of Ghur is called Amberbone due to its cosmetic similarity to actual bones except for its faint glow. Being a manifestation of the realm's magic, Amberbone is capable of corrupting those who touch it. At the weakest, this might just channel some innate primal aggression, but its most extreme cases involve people transforming into savage monsters.

==Gallery==
<Gallery>
Ghurish Hinterlands.jpeg
Ghur map 2.jpeg
Ghur 01.png
</Gallery>
{{AoS-Realms}}

[[Category:Warhammer Fantasy]][[Category:Age of Sigmar]]

Grox

2022-09-11T20:51:58Z

2601:188:C300:64B8:D8A4:5D01:AEEC:D9D0:

[[File:Grox.jpg|thumb|250px|right|They look exactly as they sound like.]]
'''Grox''' are the primary livestock of the Imperium of Man and look pretty much like Grimdark Lizard Cows (there, a free awesome band name for you) or Morellatops from ARK. They're raised across countless number of worlds, because they can survive almost any environment, live on almost any plant food including driftwood and dead plants in soil, breed prolifically and (as a welcome deviation from the usual grimderp) are actually pretty damn tasty and nutritious. They're big (about 5 meters in length), agile and muscular. The only problem is that they're highly territorial, aggressive and generally need to be lobotomized to be wrangled, penned and bred. [[Leman Russ|They also smell bad]], but everything smells bad in the future. Also, your face'll probably end up ravaged by a carnifex at some point so it doesn't really matter.

[[Only War]] has rules for riding one as your "noble steed" in a cavalry regiment. /tg/ encourages this.

They are also mentioned offhand as existing in Ghur, the Realm of Beasts in Age of Sigmar. Flych Tattertail, a Skaven assassin, keeps the ear of a Grox as a lucky charm.

[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]]
[[Category:Food and Drink]]
[[Category:Xenos]]

Grox

2022-09-11T20:50:53Z

2601:188:C300:64B8:D8A4:5D01:AEEC:D9D0:

[[File:Grox.jpg|thumb|250px|right|They look exactly as they sound like.]]
'''Grox''' are the primary livestock of the Imperium of Man and look pretty much like Grimdark Lizard Cows (there, a free awesome band name for you) or Morellatops from ARK. They're raised across countless number of worlds, because they can survive almost any environment, live on almost any plant food including driftwood and dead plants in soil, breed prolifically and (as a welcome deviation from the usual grimderp) are actually pretty damn tasty and nutritious. They're big (about 5 meters in length), agile and muscular. The only problem is that they're highly territorial, aggressive and generally need to be lobotomized to be wrangled, penned and bred. [[Leman Russ|They also smell bad]], but everything smells bad in the future. Also, your face'll probably end up ravaged by a carnifex at some point so it doesn't really matter.

[[Only War]] has rules for riding one as your "noble steed" in a cavalry regiment. /tg/ encourages this.

They are also mentioned offhand as existing in Ghur, the Realm of Beasts in Age of Sigmar. So that's neat!

[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]]
[[Category:Food and Drink]]
[[Category:Xenos]]

Sand Clam

2022-09-11T20:48:15Z

2601:188:C300:64B8:D8A4:5D01:AEEC:D9D0: /* Warhammer Fantasy */

Sand Clams are ambush gotcha monsters from Warhammer Fantasy and Warhammer 40K.
==Warhammer 40K==
[[Image: Carnivorous_Sand_Clam.jpg]]
The Carnivorous Sand Clam is an aquatic life-form from the planet of Salutation.

This clams lies on the shallow coastal margins where they feed on semi-aquatic animals. Carnivorous Sand Clam consists of two large serrated valves approximately 2 metres across. Most of the time it spends submerged in the sticky mud. When their victim stumble near the Clam, it feels the vibration of the creature's movement and suddenly opens, drawing sand and victim into its shell. Though humans are too large for the Clam to crush and eat, their powerful jaws could break the human's legs and only breaking the creature's shell could help the prey escape.

==Warhammer Fantasy==
[[Image: Sand_Clam_Fantasy.jpg]]
The Sand Clam lives only in wet sand, usually by the sea shore or at the tidal margin. Although immobile, the Sand Clam is a voracious carnivore, preying mainly on seals and the larger seabirds. It lies buried under the sand and, whenever an unwary creature passes over it, the trap is sprung and the victim is caught by the jaw-like valves of its shell. Small creatures (under 2 feet) are crushed to death instantly, while larger victims are held fast and will usually be drowned by the tide.

[[Category: Warhammer Fantasy]]

Sand Clam

2022-09-11T20:47:59Z

2601:188:C300:64B8:D8A4:5D01:AEEC:D9D0:

Sand Clam

2022-09-11T20:47:41Z

2601:188:C300:64B8:D8A4:5D01:AEEC:D9D0:

Sand Clam

2022-09-11T20:47:07Z

2601:188:C300:64B8:D8A4:5D01:AEEC:D9D0: /* Warhammer Fantasy */

==Warhammer 40K==
[[Image: Carnivorous_Sand_Clam.jpg]]
The Carnivorous Sand Clam is an aquatic life-form from the planet of Salutation.

This clams lies on the shallow coastal margins where they feed on semi-aquatic animals. Carnivorous Sand Clam consists of two large serrated valves approximately 2 metres across. Most of the time it spends submerged in the sticky mud. When their victim stumble near the Clam, it feels the vibration of the creature's movement and suddenly opens, drawing sand and victim into its shell. Though humans are too large for the Clam to crush and eat, their powerful jaws could break the human's legs and only breaking the creature's shell could help the prey escape.

==Warhammer Fantasy==
[[Image: Sand_Clam_Fantasy.jpg]]
The Sand Clam lives only in wet sand, usually by the sea shore or at the tidal margin. Although immobile, the Sand Clam is a voracious carnivore, preying mainly on seals and the larger seabirds. It lies buried under the sand and, whenever an unwary creature passes over it, the trap is sprung and the victim is caught by the jaw-like valves of its shell. Small creatures (under 2 feet) are crushed to death instantly, while larger victims are held fast and will usually be drowned by the tide.

Sand Clam

2022-09-11T20:46:12Z

2601:188:C300:64B8:D8A4:5D01:AEEC:D9D0: /* Warhammer 40K */

==Warhammer 40K==
[[Image: Carnivorous_Sand_Clam.jpg]]
The Carnivorous Sand Clam is an aquatic life-form from the planet of Salutation.

This clams lies on the shallow coastal margins where they feed on semi-aquatic animals. Carnivorous Sand Clam consists of two large serrated valves approximately 2 metres across. Most of the time it spends submerged in the sticky mud. When their victim stumble near the Clam, it feels the vibration of the creature's movement and suddenly opens, drawing sand and victim into its shell. Though humans are too large for the Clam to crush and eat, their powerful jaws could break the human's legs and only breaking the creature's shell could help the prey escape.

==Warhammer Fantasy==
The Sand Clam lives only in wet sand, usually by the sea shore or at the tidal margin. Although immobile, the Sand Clam is a voracious carnivore, preying mainly on seals and the larger seabirds. It lies buried under the sand and, whenever an unwary creature passes over it, the trap is sprung and the victim is caught by the jaw-like valves of its shell. Small creatures (under 2 feet) are crushed to death instantly, while larger victims are held fast and will usually be drowned by the tide.

Sand Clam

2022-09-11T20:45:17Z

2601:188:C300:64B8:D8A4:5D01:AEEC:D9D0: /* Warhammer Fantasy */

==Warhammer 40K==

The Carnivorous Sand Clam is an aquatic life-form from the planet of Salutation.

This clams lies on the shallow coastal margins where they feed on semi-aquatic animals. Carnivorous Sand Clam consists of two large serrated valves approximately 2 metres across. Most of the time it spends submerged in the sticky mud. When their victim stumble near the Clam, it feels the vibration of the creature's movement and suddenly opens, drawing sand and victim into its shell. Though humans are too large for the Clam to crush and eat, their powerful jaws could break the human's legs and only breaking the creature's shell could help the prey escape.

==Warhammer Fantasy==
The Sand Clam lives only in wet sand, usually by the sea shore or at the tidal margin. Although immobile, the Sand Clam is a voracious carnivore, preying mainly on seals and the larger seabirds. It lies buried under the sand and, whenever an unwary creature passes over it, the trap is sprung and the victim is caught by the jaw-like valves of its shell. Small creatures (under 2 feet) are crushed to death instantly, while larger victims are held fast and will usually be drowned by the tide.

Sand Clam

2022-09-11T20:44:29Z

2601:188:C300:64B8:D8A4:5D01:AEEC:D9D0: Created page with "==Warhammer 40K== The Carnivorous Sand Clam is an aquatic life-form from the planet of Salutation. This clams lies on the shallow coastal margins where they feed on semi-aqu..."

Chameleoleech

2022-09-11T20:39:47Z

2601:188:C300:64B8:D8A4:5D01:AEEC:D9D0:

[[Image: Chameleoleech.jpg]]
Chameleoleeches are identical to ordinary Giant Leeches, except that they have the ability to mimic the appearance of both living creatures and inanimate objects - a chest full of treasure, a person, a monster, and so on. The creature seems able to respond to its environment in some unknown way, adopting whatever form would make it seem most inconspicuous. Since the mimicry is purely illusory (affecting visual senses only), the change in appearance is instantaneous. Often, several of the creatures may lair together, forming a multiple illusion that is especially dangerous for the unwary. Note that a Chameleolecch cannot reproduce spell effects, speech, or attacks. Illusions are limited in size to a minimum of one foot and a maximum of six.

[[Category: Vampire Counts]]

Chameleoleech

2022-09-11T20:39:16Z

2601:188:C300:64B8:D8A4:5D01:AEEC:D9D0:

[[Image: Chameleoleech.jog]]
Chameleoleeches are identical to ordinary Giant Leeches, except that they have the ability to mimic the appearance of both living creatures and inanimate objects - a chest full of treasure, a person, a monster, and so on. The creature seems able to respond to its environment in some unknown way, adopting whatever form would make it seem most inconspicuous. Since the mimicry is purely illusory (affecting visual senses only), the change in appearance is instantaneous. Often, several of the creatures may lair together, forming a multiple illusion that is especially dangerous for the unwary. Note that a Chameleolecch cannot reproduce spell effects, speech, or attacks. Illusions are limited in size to a minimum of one foot and a maximum of six.

[[Category: Vampire Counts]]

Chameleoleech

2022-09-11T20:38:42Z

2601:188:C300:64B8:D8A4:5D01:AEEC:D9D0: Chameleoleech

Chameleoleeches are identical to ordinary Giant Leeches, except that they have the ability to mimic the appearance of both living creatures and inanimate objects - a chest full of treasure, a person, a monster, and so on. The creature seems able to respond to its environment in some unknown way, adopting whatever form would make it seem most inconspicuous. Since the mimicry is purely illusory (affecting visual senses only), the change in appearance is instantaneous. Often, several of the creatures may lair together, forming a multiple illusion that is especially dangerous for the unwary. Note that a Chameleolecch cannot reproduce spell effects, speech, or attacks. Illusions are limited in size to a minimum of one foot and a maximum of six.

[[Category: Vampire Counts]]

Giant Leech (Warhammer)

2022-09-11T20:36:39Z

2601:188:C300:64B8:D8A4:5D01:AEEC:D9D0:

[[Image: Giant Leech.jpg]]
Aye, they wuz made by those vampires back inner wars, weren’t they? That’s what me da used to say when we was havin’ blood puddin’. They used ’em as starters before they gots to the mains. Aye, that’d be us: the mains. He reckoned, me da, that they jus’ used to be big slugs or summat, before ’em bastard vampires got to ’em!
GALTHEK ROGARSSON, BLACKSMITH

Giant Leeches are a common sight in the Old World. Some believe they are so widespread because, unlike smaller leeches, they can survive both in and out of water. They are also found underground, meaning that caves are not always the best place to shelter for the unwary. They come in a variety of sizes and range from black to bright crimson. Although smaller varieties of leech have broad ranging medicinal uses, larger ones are considered too dangerous to be directly applied to anything but an Ogre. They sometimes hang from wet trees, attaching themselves to any living tissue that brushes by.

Galthek Rogarsson, a blacksmith, believes they were bred from "normal" giant slugs by the Vampire Counts, to serve as a blood-stuffed appetizer before devouring peasants.

[[Category: Vampire Counts]]

Giant Leech (Warhammer)

2022-09-11T20:36:12Z

2601:188:C300:64B8:D8A4:5D01:AEEC:D9D0:

Giant Leech (Warhammer)

2022-09-11T20:34:49Z

2601:188:C300:64B8:D8A4:5D01:AEEC:D9D0:

Giant Leech (Warhammer)

2022-09-11T20:33:11Z

2601:188:C300:64B8:D8A4:5D01:AEEC:D9D0: Created page with "Aye, they wuz made by those vampires back inner wars, weren’t they? That’s what me da used to say when we was havin’ blood puddin’. They used ’em as starters before..."

Aye, they wuz made by those vampires back inner wars, weren’t they? That’s what me da used to say when we was havin’ blood puddin’. They used ’em as starters before they gots to the mains. Aye, that’d be us: the mains. He reckoned, me da, that they jus’ used to be big slugs or summat, before ’em bastard vampires got to ’em!
GALTHEK ROGARSSON, BLACKSMITH

Giant Leeches are a common sight in the Old World. Some believe they are so widespread because, unlike smaller leeches, they can survive both in and out of water. They are also found underground, meaning that caves are not always the best place to shelter for the unwary. They come in a variety of sizes and range from black to bright crimson. Although smaller varieties of leech have broad ranging medicinal uses, larger ones are considered too dangerous to be directly applied to anything but an Ogre. They sometimes hang from wet trees, attaching themselves to any living tissue that brushes by.

Lakemen

2022-09-11T20:29:48Z

2601:188:C300:64B8:D8A4:5D01:AEEC:D9D0:

[[Image: Lakemen.jpg]]
Lakemen are a variety of Beastmen found primarily in the Lyonen region of the Forest of Arden, though they swim out to plague the rest of southern Lyonesse with depressing frequency.

Lakemen all have a vaguely amphibian appearance, often with faces resembling frogs, pincers in place of hands, and gills allowing them to breathe underwater. However, they are more variable than normal Beastmen, and all Lakemen have at least one other mutation.

Lakemen prefer to attack from the water, as this gives them the advantage of surprise in most cases, but they are no more adept in water than any other skilled swimmer. Whilst they are as violent and bloodthirsty as Beastmen, the two groups have never been observed to cooperate and have even been known to fight each other for no readily apparent reason.

[[Category: Beastmen]]

Ymir

2022-09-11T20:29:14Z

2601:188:C300:64B8:D8A4:5D01:AEEC:D9D0: /* Fan Theory */

[[Image: Ymir_Fanart.jpg]]
The Ymir, also called Jeti, depending on the dialect of the Norse tribe, are great, white-furred behemoths who feature often in the tales of Norsca. The Norse Dwarfs substantiate these myths with their own accounts of encounters with titanic, white-furred, humanoid beasts.

The Ymir are believed to be an offshoot race of Beastmen. Savage and bestial, they are cunning hunters who prey exclusively on Humans. Unlike the Beastmen, Ymir are generally solitary creatures, only meeting with another to produce a few whelps. They have no formal language, communicating in guttural growls and grunts. An Ymir stands just over seven-foot tall and weighs over 300 pounds. Its entire body is covered in thick, shaggy, white hair that gains a yellowish hue towards its lower body. They have an unpleasant smell, stinking of sour milk and rotten flesh. Most Ymir have frozen chunks of blood and flesh caught in their fur, which they pry off to eat when hunting is scarce.

For the Norscans, these monsters fulfill an important role in the passage all men must undertake if they hope to be recognised as warriors in their tribe. These young hopefuls brave the swirling snow and freezing winds to track down and face these beasts in combat. If they return with its head, they are accorded a special place in their tribe -- those who don't, don't return at all.

==Fan Theory==
Perhaps the Ymir/Jeti are the results of Norscan Gors reproducing with captured Yeti from the Ogre Kingdoms?

[[Category: Beastmen]]

Ymir

2022-09-11T20:25:33Z

2601:188:C300:64B8:D8A4:5D01:AEEC:D9D0: /* Fan Theory */

[[Image: Ymir_Fanart.jpg]]
The Ymir, also called Jeti, depending on the dialect of the Norse tribe, are great, white-furred behemoths who feature often in the tales of Norsca. The Norse Dwarfs substantiate these myths with their own accounts of encounters with titanic, white-furred, humanoid beasts.

The Ymir are believed to be an offshoot race of Beastmen. Savage and bestial, they are cunning hunters who prey exclusively on Humans. Unlike the Beastmen, Ymir are generally solitary creatures, only meeting with another to produce a few whelps. They have no formal language, communicating in guttural growls and grunts. An Ymir stands just over seven-foot tall and weighs over 300 pounds. Its entire body is covered in thick, shaggy, white hair that gains a yellowish hue towards its lower body. They have an unpleasant smell, stinking of sour milk and rotten flesh. Most Ymir have frozen chunks of blood and flesh caught in their fur, which they pry off to eat when hunting is scarce.

For the Norscans, these monsters fulfill an important role in the passage all men must undertake if they hope to be recognised as warriors in their tribe. These young hopefuls brave the swirling snow and freezing winds to track down and face these beasts in combat. If they return with its head, they are accorded a special place in their tribe -- those who don't, don't return at all.

==Fan Theory==
Perhaps the Ymir/Jeti are the results of Norscan Gors interpreting with captured Yeti from the Ogre Kingdoms?

[[Category: Beastmen]]

Ymir

2022-09-11T20:25:22Z

2601:188:C300:64B8:D8A4:5D01:AEEC:D9D0: /* Fan Theory */

[[Image: Ymir_Fanart.jpg]]
The Ymir, also called Jeti, depending on the dialect of the Norse tribe, are great, white-furred behemoths who feature often in the tales of Norsca. The Norse Dwarfs substantiate these myths with their own accounts of encounters with titanic, white-furred, humanoid beasts.

The Ymir are believed to be an offshoot race of Beastmen. Savage and bestial, they are cunning hunters who prey exclusively on Humans. Unlike the Beastmen, Ymir are generally solitary creatures, only meeting with another to produce a few whelps. They have no formal language, communicating in guttural growls and grunts. An Ymir stands just over seven-foot tall and weighs over 300 pounds. Its entire body is covered in thick, shaggy, white hair that gains a yellowish hue towards its lower body. They have an unpleasant smell, stinking of sour milk and rotten flesh. Most Ymir have frozen chunks of blood and flesh caught in their fur, which they pry off to eat when hunting is scarce.

For the Norscans, these monsters fulfill an important role in the passage all men must undertake if they hope to be recognised as warriors in their tribe. These young hopefuls brave the swirling snow and freezing winds to track down and face these beasts in combat. If they return with its head, they are accorded a special place in their tribe -- those who don't, don't return at all.

==Fan Theory==
Perhaps the Ymir/Jeti are the results of Norscan Gors interpreting with captured Yeti from the Ogre Kingdoms?

[[Category; Beastmen]]

Beastmen

2022-09-11T20:24:33Z

2601:188:C300:64B8:D8A4:5D01:AEEC:D9D0: /* Other Critters */

{{Sick|Rape, and lots of it, as well as eating people.}}

{{Topquote|The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.|George Orwell, ''Animal Farm''}}

{{Topquote|Elia Martell...I killed her screaming whelp. Then I '''raped''' her. Then I smashed '''her fucking head in, like THIS'''.|Gregor Clegane, A Storm of Swords}}

{{Topquote|The only thing in my head Is five grams of cocaine, fly away alone To the edge of oblivion I have thoughts in my head When will all this end Whenever I'm not alone Because a white eel will fly in|2=[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSnDQjEquGA&t=1s Beastmen's official theme song]}}

[[File:Beastman.jpg|200px|thumb|right|A face that even mothers can't force themselves to love.]]
Where the [[Warriors of Chaos|Warriors]] are Chaos tanks and [[Daemons]] are Chaos cheese, the '''Beastmen''' are the true Chaos horde. The Beastmen call themselves the children of Chaos, descended from outcast mutants hurled into the cursed woods of the Drakwald. They are considered a mere nuisance by the Empire and the Bretonnians, but the Wood Elves know how dangerous they truly are. The favorite activities of most Beastmen include toppling waystones, erecting herdstones, [[Grimdark|kidnapping/raping/eating humans]], and, of course, plain old smashing shit! They hate absolutely anything built or anything that is pure and make it a priority to destroy and defile that which the civilized races cherish.

In short, they're a bunch of drunken anarchist fucktards that hang out in the woods, surfacing only to pillage and defile - which is actually kinda awesome if you're into that sort of thing!

==Print History==
The Beastmen weren't always "the Beastmen" as we know them today. For the longest time, they were actually part of a unified Chaos army, but due to the fact that people seemed to like to roll with either all beast, mortal or daemon army lists, [[Games Workshop]] in their infinite wisdom decided to gradually split off the armies. Despite getting split off into an army of their own, they still always play second fiddle to every other villainous faction in the setting. [[Skaven]] used to be under them.

===Runequest===
[[File:GW Special Broo.jpg|thumb|right|px|300|Behold, the first <strike>Broo</strike> Beastmen models.]]
In the early to mid 1980's, Games Workshop still produced miniatures for other games, including some they didn't even sell (similar to [[Reaper Miniatures]] today), and among them was the line of [[Broo]] for the [[Runequest]] game of the [[Glorantha]] setting.

Broo were the proto-Beastmen. Most of the visual style of modern Beastmen, particularly Ungors, is present in the Broo minis. Broo are specifically very similar to Beastmen, [[/d/|although most notably is their lecherous nature and their hyper-fertility to the point they can literally impregnate anything they jizz into, including other males (usually not of their own race), trees, rocks, even just dirt.]]

Games Workshop lost the rights to most of the third party IPs in the early 80's, since the contracts had run out and the IP owners had discovered there was alternatives (early GW had managed to sell itself on the idea it was the primary distributor of tabletop in <strike>The Old World</strike> Europe despite it originally being three young men in an apartment and later on about twenty of them in a small office). This left them with a fair amount of unsold inventory that they couldn't actually sell anymore, so they repurposed it all (with dubious legality) as other things and gave Brian Ansell the thumbs up to make his own game that they'd all have rules in...hence, Warhammer was born. Since Broo were generic enough, Games Workshop repurposed the existing miniatures as a set of models for the game, with very little actually changed aside from all the grey morality removed.

===Hordes of Chaos===
Way back when, they were just part of the single Chaos army where they fulfilled the role of chaff; they were squishier and quicker than other Mortal units and they were good at setting up charges, which Daemons couldn't really do. There were also a couple of special and rare units that were "beastly," but nothing much.

===Beasts of Chaos===
In 6th edition the Chaos army was split, making Beastmen their own army... sort of. They were pretty bad in this edition, essentially being the bitch of Chaos. Indeed, they had almost ''no'' redeeming qualities of their own, but to get into why we'll need to split apart the book and look at it in detail.

For starters, there's nothing the Beasts can do that Mortals or Daemons can't do better. At first this might seem odd since their Special and Rare choices could both be very powerful, however the Chaos books were rather unique in that Beasts, Daemons and Mortals could all be used alongside each other, and so each could take everyone else's Special and Rare choices. The main difference was in what counted as your Core, and a Chaos Core was divided into a Mortal, Beast and Daemon Core. [[Age of Sigmar|Whichever of the three types happened to be your General was the type that counted as your Core, while the other two counted as Special choices.]]

Suffice to say, outside of a few options/builds the Beast Generals were lacking compared to Mortal Generals and Greater Daemons, and so were their Core. Sure if you found a way to get Morghur in the middle of the enemy he could stop at least half an army on his own while Khazrak was hands down one of, (if not the best) monster killers in the game. He was able to get up to S10 and each successful wounding attack, before saves, generated a new attack (yes, even the new attacks did this) and the Beast's ambush rule was pretty cool, but those are the exceptions.

The Beast Core consisted of units that mixed low Toughness and low Leadership; they had lightly armoured Ungors with spears and tough, brawny brawlers in the form of Gors, alongside skirmishers that could scout. The only alternatives (if you wanted a full unit) was to supplement with Warhounds, who can't take a hit and didn't count towards your mandatory Core slots, or take a bunch of tough, strong Bestigors, who were overpriced and much slower than everybody else. If you wanted a Beasts General and mostly wanted to make use of your Special and Rare choices, then you'd probably get a few Tuskgor Chariots to fill your mandatory Core slots. They were significantly cheaper than their Mortal counterparts, did not do that much less damage and were also the only option that could consistently make their points back.

This is because when they were split from the Hordes of Chaos, the Core was nothing more than an unruly band of meat shields. In fact, because they could move faster, it was preferable to field a few beast packs to soak up arrow fire and act as distractions while fast-moving daemons got the flanks and warriors hammered the front ranks.

[[Derp|This does not make a competent, full army.]] Now if you were paying attention you might be wondering how they'd perform if had a Mortal or Daemon General and so could avoid a shitty Core, and that's where things get good. A Chaos army often had to skip out on important upgrades to certain units (specifically Warriors) because they wouldn't have enough to get a good General, a good frontline, and a good few heavy hitters that you'd normally need to collapse the enemy's formation. They were pricy, and so Beasts gave you the option of having a cheap Core and suddenly you had far more points to spend on units of Warriors and Knights.

Now to get into the cool Special and Rare choices, the Beasts gave Chaos the [[Troll#Fantasy_trolls|Chaos Trolls]] and [[Ogre_Kingdoms|Ogres]], [[Dragon Ogres|Dragon Ogres and Shaggoths]], etc. Combined with the Warriors (and saving points using Chariots or Ungor screens for Core) it made for a fairly strong United force, one that could hit like a truck and take solid hits in return.

Almost makes you wonder why they were ever split in the first place, since the only time the Chaos armies of 6th Ed were scary was when they had a united front (just like in the lore).

===Beastmen===
[[File:Beastmen-Warhammer-Fantasy.jpg|400px|thumb|right|Warrior goats with [[Ogre]]-style gutplates]]
Sometimes referred to as "the WEAK chaos army," or the "Powerful [[Chaos]] [[Skaven]]" it more or less resembles a normal horde style army in Warhammer Fantasy Battle with cheap, [[Imperial Guard|expendable]] troops, average leaderships and little immunity to psychology. The things they otherwise don't have are anything resembling armor or any kind relevant shooting, but they try to make up for it with Primal Fury which gives them hatred on a passed leadership test each round of combat on many of their units. The Herdstone magic item allows Beastmen wizards to score extra power dice for their spells, allowing Beastmen to pull off a little extra spell support to augment the cheap core units. They also excel in cheap chaff and redirectors in the form of Ungor Raiders, Razorgors, and Harpies, and fielding fairly costed chariots in core.

Unfortunately they also got fucked in pretty much every other area. Marks were taken away for no good reason, prices went up on models that already cost too much, models were introduced that made your own army worse, the Beastmen were given a piss-poor magic lore (compared to every other lore) in exchange for the other lores that could be occasionally useful, they swapped out mostly decent magic items for mostly shitty ones, or ones that made no sense (like a magic banner that could only be given to a unit who had heavy armour, and it took away their heavy armour without refunding the cost), the list goes on. All in all it made them one of if not the worst army in the game. It was still possible to win, but it would always be an uphill battle as their biggest advantages, like their heaviest hitters and ability to be combined with the other Chaos armies as one big force, were completely removed (with the one exception being Minotaurs who are overcosted compared to other models anyway).

===Real world Inspiration===
The standard way of creating a fantasy race or culture is to take one real world culture and base everything off of that. The Empire is early Renaissance Germany, Bretonnia is Medieval French fused with English Arthurian myth giving them a strong British feel as well. Dwarfs and Elves have their own sort of base line culture based on Tolkien and with a large part of Warhammer fantasy in it nowadays as well.

The Beastmen, however, are based on the popular conception of the barbarians who tore Rome down. First they have no interests other than smashing civilization apart for the sake of smashing it apart. They have in their background that they pay homage to large 'herd stones' which are similar to the Celtic shrines (think Stonehenge, although it is not actually a Celtic shrine). Lastly, they are Beastmen and satyrs are associated with paganism. Ever wonder why the Devil has cloven legs? Early Christians used the old Greek god Pan (the original [[satyr]]), as the devil because he was, among other things, a god of sex [[Fail|(and shepherds)]] and Christians are against recreational sex outside marriage due to the Bible's stipulation that God intends it for married couples, meaning Pan was a good framework for the devil and all that has really changed since then was turning him red and giving him a trident. Plus, Pan is also a god of the wild; very fitting reference for Beastmen.

Tactically the Beastmen also fit the Barbarian origin: many light troops that rely on ambush and surprise (more than one Roman legion was lost by this kind of ambush), chariots which the Britons used against the Romans and lastly they are like the Barbarians in that they are focused on skirmishing and raiding. Once upon a time all Beastmen were skirmishers, which while effective against isolated villages is less effective against armies, which is why it was changed.

So the Beastmen have some pretty interesting roots once you 'pop the hood' on their design.

==Occupy Drakwald==
The thing that pisses the Beastmen off is that something like 1% of life in Middenheim controls 99% of the land! There are so many freaky beasts living in the chaos woods, combined with big Empire pushing around the people of the woods and ruining the environment for their own economic interests. And so the Beastmen have taken to their eternal campout against the Empire and it's regional castellan pretty boy, Elector Count Boris Todbringer.

Another thing that really pisses them off is that it's stated in the Orcs and Goblins codex that [[Forest Goblins]] on their spiders tend to murder herds wandering in the woods. Technically this is because the Forest Goblins are the original occupants of Drakwald that have been trying to keep the Empire, Beastmen (born of Empire), and other greenskins out since the dawn of...well, the Old Ones creating all the races, but fuck those fucking fucks! They have fancier hats and more land, so they gotta go too!

And that's not where the similarities end. The Beastmen are a bunch of lazy, shiftless, filthy degenerates that eat babies - no literally! The Beastmen want nothing better than to just drink looted booze, eat/fuck other races and tear down everything that everyone has ever built - ever! (cough cough Chakats.)

==Origins==
{{Topquote|One might suspect that the lower forms of the servants of darkness would be less blessed by the powers they serve than their more noble counterparts, but this is not the case. The Marks of the Dark Gods are as evident amongst these foul creatures as in any horde of debased Men. Perhaps even more so, for these Beastmen, as they are known, seem to be embraced by their gods just as parents might their children. Spawned by the very darkness that enwraps them, they are closer to the heart of Chaos than any other creatures and are to be greatly feared because of it.|From the Liber Chaotica, penned by Richter Kless, Priest of Sigmar, declared insane.''}}

The Beastmen's origins seem to be something of a composite piece (and changes from edition to edition). On one account, they are descended from the myriad creatures that inhabited the Northern Wastes and migrated downward, accepting more stable forms from their reduced exposure from the polar fluxes of chaos and interbreeding with more magic resistant creatures. Another myth pins the Beastmen's origins as the mutated descendants of humans cast into the wild for being born a hideous half-man, half-beast creature (Now why the humans decide to throw all their mutant babies into the surrounding forest known to be populated with sadistic and vengeful goatmen born as mutants to humans and cast-off themselves is a bit of a mystery). The 6th ed Beasts of Chaos book says that when the polar gates collapsed, the Beastmen were made from animals mutating to be more human-like and humans mutating to be more bestial while the 7th ed Beastmen book says that when Chaos was first released to the world the "primitives" at the time went mad, fucked some animals, generations later their descendants are the Beastmen. Wood Elves seem to have less of a problem with mutants, either because they resist chaos more/better or they kill such offspring immediately and never talk about it again, but that's just like, you know, a cultural difference.

Age of Sigmar is more vague about the Beastmen's origins, stating that they were present in the Mortal Realms before Sigmar arrived (which is a enigma in itself, since all other forms of Chaos only arrived in the Age of Chaos). Three in-universe theories are presented; the standard "animals and men mutated by Chaos energy", one claiming that they're all descended from a primogenitor beast called the Gor-Father, and another saying that [[/pol/|they're the product of miscegenation between races]]. Since several Beastmen tribes appear to worship the Gor-Father, while there are other accounts of humans being mutated into Beastmen, its possible that all these theories have elements of truth to them.

Regardless, today's Beastman is more likely either the product of gangrape, spawned by a brief and unholy union from victorious Beastman raiders that managed to bring home some captive females from other races, usually humans, and it never ends well for the woman (tying into the inspiration for Beastmen, the [[Broo]], though this was downplayed; you know something's nasty when Games "In the GRIM DARKness of the far future..." Workshop says it's too much - before you bring up the Fimir, it was never part of them, only inferred by a typo and omission of lore), or they were spawned when a Beastman really loves a Beastwoman. We're not too sure how Beastmen "love" one another, but the fluff seems to imply that the Beastmen have to get really fucking hammered before hand with giant orgiastic feasts at their encampments around Beastmen Herdstones. However, as of Total War: Warhammer: Call of the Beastman, it is possible to recruit a female Beastman, or Doe, to your warband.

==Types==
Beastmen come in many varieties, usually denoted by a suffix and a prefix, making a chaotic race that hates organization and civilization into an easily organized and tidy group. In Oldhammer, mutants were included as Beastmen in advertising. After the Tony Ackland legal troubles when most mutants and the more creative types of Spawn were squatted, Beastmen remained pure beast men.

===Devoted===
Beastmen particularly devoted to specific Chaos Gods, usually because of mutations at their birth, being enslaved by devotees of a particular god, or blessing, are given the name of their god in their designation. Its worth noting that the armor of the godly Beastmen are more ornate, implying they are far less antagonistic to the idea of making things intentionally. Note that devoted is our word for organizing them. They were also out of the picture until VERY recently because Phil Kelly removed them from the 7th edition Beastmen book and retconned the fluff to destroy any and all traces of Beastmen that were devoted/enslaved/blessed by a single god, to the point where they couldn't even be given marks on both the tabletop and lore.

* [[Tzaangor]] are Beastmen of Tzeentch. Have white, yellow, and blue features usually as well as mutations giving them spindly limbs, extra arms, and an emphasis on bird and moon appearances.

* [[Slaangor]] are Slaanesh's Beastmen. The least described and depicted of all the Beastmen groups. Their mutations obviously trend more towards the lewd, with extra pectorals and nipples, and are known for being mostly albino with pastel skin. Their eyes are like those of Daemonettes, being large and either green or black. Their species are animals that are lithe or symbolically sensual, but with a large amount of them being non-Minotaur bovines (a Bovigor can be a Slaangor, not all Slaangor are Bovigor).

* [[Khorngor]] are Khorne's. Their fur is shiny and almost metallic, their eyes are white with red pupils, they always have canine heads and the most favored have their horns naturally grow in the shape of Khorne's skull symbol. They wear far more armor than most other Beastmen species.

* [[Pestigor]] are Nurgle's, breaking the prefix naming scheme of the others. Aside from being heavily diseased, something they don't really have exclusive among Beastmen, they have only one horn, their hide is particularly tough, and they wear far more armor than any other variety. Disappointingly, they were not named Nurggors.

===Herd Society===
[[File:Beast_tribe.jpg|300px|thumb|right|]]
Beastmen society is organized around herds and ruled by a system of might makes right. In other words, what the biggest, strongest Beastman says, goes. One would be forgiven in thinking that this automatically means that minotaurs would end up running the show since they are by far the biggest and strongest, but they're not the brightest thing on two hooves. Minotaurs specialize in wholesale slaughter, but aren't too keen on things like where to find food, who should keep watch or how to fix their shitty chariots. Lo, the Beastlord has his task cut out for him.

* '''[[Beastlord]]s''': The Beastmen in charge, the Alpha Male, they run the show for the other Beastmen with a combination of [[Mork|dastardly cunning]] and [[Gork|brute strength]]. They often delegate more benign tasks to their immediate inferiors, the Wargors.
* '''[[Wargor]]s''': The "trusted" (as far as Beastman loyalty goes) lieutenants of Beastlord, Wargors are pretty kickass leaders and fighters themselves. Often seen carrying battle standards or leading Bestigor herds, or both.
* '''[[Bestigor]]s''': Quite literally the best Gors. Strong, tough, heavily armed and armoured, the Wargors and Beastlords often arise from their ranks. They used to be the Chaos Undivided of the Beastmen, complete with the Mark (with the option of becoming [[Khorngor]]s, [[Tzaangor]]s, [[Slaangor]]s or [[Pestigor]]s) but then [[Phil Kelly|some asshole]] took away their marks and unique types.
* '''[[Bray Shaman|Bray-Shamans]] and Great Bray-Shamans''': Tribal elders and spiritual leaders of the Beastmen, they interpret the will of Chaos and determine the best course of action for the herd. They are also the herd's wizards, channeling the lores of Death, Shadows, Beasts and their unique Lore of the Wild, a corrupt offshoot of the Lore of Beasts. One of the very few rules Beastmen have is that you never harm a Bray-Shaman for any reason, ''ever'', if only because it's really hard for the Beastmen to get any kind of favour from the gods so those who are clearly favored cannot be cast aside lightly.
* '''[[Gor]]s''': The rank and file of the beast herd. Your average Gor is bigger, tougher and far nastier than your average human, and also far more stupid which explains why they haven't overrun everything. He's also an unguloid with furry legs and a face that's a blend of bestial and human features. ALL Gors also feature prominent horns and/or antlers on their heads.
* '''[[Ungor]]s''': The untouchables even in beast herds. They are pretty close in size to humans, yet still feature particularly bestial features such as furry unguloid legs with hooves, a semi-bestial face and two small horn buds. Sometimes band together in scouting parties of Ungor Raiders when not used as slave labour to fix all the shitty Beastmen gear.
* '''[[Bray]]s''': Beastmen with no horns, the lowest of the low in Beastman society (so low that they got no models). In a society where life is nasty, brutish, and short, their lives are by far the nastiest, most brutal and most especially shortest.

Beastmen are wild and crude creatures embodying all the negative aspects of animals combined with human-level intelligence. They are truly repugnant to behold, let alone to smell, for they are a twisted reflection of the base and barbaric aspects of nature. Beastmen are Chaotic Evil to their core (as one would expect from the OG children of Chaos), with literally the ''only'' thing resembling redeeming qualities that they have being their reverence of Bray-Shamans and the Chaos Gods. The carnage and despair they spread across the land is a malevolent and deliberate attempt to wreck anything beautiful or stable for the lulz. Bitterness and spite simmers in the heart of every Beastman; it takes little more than a few well-chosen words to spur a Gor into a frenzy of unrestrained rage. The sounds of distant battle will cause a Beastman to prick up his tufted ears in an instant; a fight or duel upon a woodland path will invariably bring dozens of Beastmen from all about in a very short space of time. Even when gathered in their torrid encampments the Beastmen spend their time fighting, fucking or feasting. The only time they don't is when a particularly strong Beastman knocks a sense of purpose into them (sometimes literally) or a Bray-Shaman calls on the Chaos Gods.

Beastmen have forms perfectly suited to their horrid nature. They have long, ridged horns with which to gore their foes, and the legs of cattle and goats with which to trample the bodies of their victims. Their matted hair is encrusted with blood and dung, a haven for fat ticks and colonies of fleas that keep the Cloven One in a constant state of agitation, for hygiene is one of those stable and beautiful concepts that Beastmen feel compelled to ruin. They're not even house trained and mark their territory whenever they feel like it even if it's on an enemy's corpse. Their drool-filled mouths are filled with sharp, wolf-like fangs for tearing the flesh of their prey, and their muscular, sweat-slicked bodies are ideally suited to the murderous desires that gleam in their blood-red eyes.

Above all, though, it is the trappings of progress and civilization that fan the embers of hatred burning within each Beastman's breast. A mere glimpse of bright colours, especially the colour red, will often be enough to get a Beastman's pulse racing with bloodlust. The sight of a proud flag or coat of arms, a pristine uniform or a magnificent statue elicits a powerful reaction in the Beastmen, for the things of order are anathema to the Children of Chaos. All caution is put aside in a desperate attempt to tear down and befoul the offending article, to stomp it into the mud, smear it with dung or rip it to pieces and chew on the remains. Woe betide those who take pride in such symbols of authority and order, for their end will invariably be messy, painful and humiliating. Though Beastmen find it far easier to destroy than to create they can be terribly inventive in the punishments they inflict upon their captives, and they have a sick and ribald sense of humor that leads to truly stomach-churning atrocities enacted upon those they can catch.

No Beastman is truly content unless visiting some manner of violence upon a hapless victim. The only tools they use are the tools of war, and even then they aren't too fussy. In the last edition of Fantasy they armed themselves with crude blades and axes that they call 'man-cleavers,' mostly cobbled together from the spoils of war, because Phil Kelly thought it would be a great idea to change the Beastmen so that they're unable to make their own equipment. He also altered them so that the warherds lack the resplendent weapons and baroque armour of the human servants of the Chaos Gods, saying that since the Beastmen already belong to the Ruinous Powers the gods have no need to bargain such trinkets in exchange for their souls, completely ignoring the fact that the gods are supposed to be petty, meaning even if their souls already belonged to Chaos, they'd still get marks to show which god they belonged to. This might have been a part of his plan to make the army the worst army in all of Fantasy, as the marks and armour also help the armies of Chaos win the fights they get into, so it should be no surprise that after Phil changed their lore, they don't do shit aside from being a punching bag for all the other races. He decided to leave in how they're great at raiding (though the actual rules for raiding were an entirely different story), pillaging and corpse-robbing even when they are not marching to war. Because of this they are never short of battered weapons and ragged suits of armor, albeit ones encrusted with clotted gore and riddled with rust. Such lack of quality is only a minor setback to the Beastmen, who compensate with sheer brute strength and determination.

The robust constitution of the Cloven Ones allows them to live upon the most meagre or unpleasant of diets. They prefer great chunks of meat above all but, unlike their larger Minotaur brethren, they do not care if it is fresh or if it is infested and maggot-ridden. Beastmen are cannibals who gorge themselves upon the corpses of their own kind without hesitation, entrails, hair, horns, hooves and all, and believe that to do so is to inherit the strength of the victim. This diet of dead meat is supplemented with grubs, hairy-legged spiders, poisonous centipedes, plump blowflies, and other vermin, as well as the occasional lost child or lone woodsman. It could be said that Beastmen are hunter-gatherers, though they mainly gather the body parts strewn around the place after a particularly vicious hunt. Human flesh is a delicacy to Beastmen, and rivals have been known to fight to the death over a single human arm or leg.

Of all the creatures of Chaos, Beastmen have an especially close relationship with Morrslieb, the Chaos Moon. Whenever Morrslieb is fullest in the sky the Beastmen will hold night-long, sprawling orgies where they indulge every base lust and bloodthirsty deed they can think of. Much blood is shed, much captured wine and beer is drunk, and many new beast-spawn are conceived, ensuring the cycle of twisted and unholy life is perpetuated. Though it is rumored that the witches and heretics of the Old World join the Beastmen in these frightening and confusing bacchanals, none have ever been able to say for certain, for to stumble upon a camp of blood-drunk Beastmen celebrating under the unclean light of Morrslieb is to plunge into hell itself.

====Beastwomen====
{{Monstergirls}}
{{Topquote|She doubted that she or it would have survived if she had not encountered the beastwomen in the forest; if they had not taken her in and guarded her and fed her. She remembered them as being oddly shy and gentle compared to the gors and ungors. | from the perspective of Justine, Chaos Champion. From ''Trollslayer''.}}
[[File:Canon Beastwoman.png|thumb|left|400px|Thanks to [[Blood Bowl]], specifically [[Spike! Magazine]], we now have a "canon" piece of artwork of a female Beastman (which is ironically ''less'' beastly than a lot of the fan-art).]]
[[File:FemmeGor Waifu Sketch.jpg|thumb|right|300px|One drawfag's interpretation of what happens when a Chaos Champion kills a Beastlord.]]
[[File:FemmeGor.png|thumb|right|300px|Fan-art of a hypothetical female Beastlord.]]
Naturally, some Chaos fans on /tg/ have speculated quite intensely about the possibility of Beastwomen/"gor-doe" waifus, particularly given old lore of human Chaos worshippers partaking in the bacchanalian feasting and rutting of Beastmen tribes. While it has been confirmed that Beastmen are not all male, very little canon information has ever been revealed about the female half of the Beasts of Chaos. As you can read in the above quote, William King, the author of the [[Gotrek & Felix]] novels, describes them as "calmer" than their male counterparts. Yet despite being apparently more restrained and rational than their menfolk, much like their human counterparts in the Northern tribes, gor-does are can still be capable warriors, as it is mentioned in the aforementioned novels the duo encountered beastwomen warriors during their battles.

[[Total War: Warhammer]] stuck its own oar in, claiming that gor-does are relatively rare among the Beastmen and as such the males will fight for the right to mate with one whenever it's breeding season. Meaning only the strongest members of a herd will get to mate with a pure female beastmen, while the less lucky males look to [[Rape|other means]] for producing more of their kind. Whether this is actually canon or not is unclear, so it's left to fans to decide for themselves how they prefer it... which of course leads to [[skub|the usual arguments]].

Other older lore has implied both that [[harpy|harpies]] act as females for beastmen, and that, much like the [[Fimir]], beastmen have been known to abduct human (or elf) women as corrupted breeding slaves they call "Beastmothers". For fairly obvious reasons, this piece of lore has since disappeared from official pubblications, only leaving the occasional unsettling implication.

Given the beastmen's origins as rip-offs of the [[Broo]], some fans also assume that many Beastmen reproduce by impregnating female livestock.

{{clear}}

====Beastman Champion Retinues====
Back in the days of [[Realms of Chaos]], Beastman Chaos Champions were able to take the [[Path to Glory]] once introduced in "The Lost and the Damned", and even had their own unique follower retinue table they rolled on, to emphasize the split between the beastmen tribes and the armies of Chaos-damned humans:
::01-020: 2d6 Beastmen (If the Beastman Champion has the Mark of Chaos, these are also Marked by the same Patron; [[Khorngor]]s, [[Pestigor]]s, [[Slaangor]]s or [[Tzaangor]]s - otherwise, they're just normal beastmen)
::21-40: 2d6 Beastmen
::41-60: Beastman Hero
::61-70: Beastman Shaman
::71-80: D6 [[Centaur]]s
::81-85: D3 [[Dragon Ogre]]s
::86-98: D6 [[Minotaur]]s
::99-100: Other (Roll on the Human Chaos Champion retinue table)

===The Bulls===
[[File:BeastmenMinotaurs.jpg|200px|thumb|right|]]
Nobody really knows why, but the Beastmen seem to be accompanied by a race of ferocious Minotaurs, not that they're complaining. When the Minotaurs aren't rampaging through the hardest parts of an enemy army, eating knights, drinking blood and shitting victory, they're often seen guarding caches of magic treasures deep in the Drakwald. They aren't a very bright group but their uncanny resilience, rape-tastic strength and general piss-your-pants scariness gets shit done for the Beastmen. There are also mutant varieties of the bulls that have long ago traded their sanity for fuck-off hugeness and other random shit.

* '''Doombulls and Gorebulls''': The closest thing the Minotaurs have to leaders, with the Doombulls being the larger, stronger and generally more daunting of the two, and Gorebulls functioning like Wargors or Skaven Chieftans.
* '''Minotaurs''': Giant, bull-headed monsters that fuck near can't be stopped once they get to smashing shit.
* '''Cygors''': 50 ft. tall, one-eyed Minotaur mutant that can only see magic things. Likes to collect gigantic pieces of magic rock (more commonly known as temple columns) and eating the souls of mages... unless those tricksy wee things are causing him trouble, whereupon he'll just throw one of his gigantic rocks at it!
* '''Ghorgon''': Minotaurs that get a flair for cannibalism turn into giant-sized, four-armed killing machines with two of their four arms ending in scythe hands. They also have a penchant swallowing things whole and magically reknitting any wounds they may have had.
{{clear}}

===Other Critters===
[[File:Beastmen-centrigor.jpeg|200px|thumb|right|A centigor, [[centaur]] in grimdark.]]
Being that the Beastmen are all a bunch of horrible monsters, they have a pretty high tolerance for other horrible monsters. Along with the minotaurs, the Beastmen's ranks are supplemented by other creatures used for various tasks from beasts of burden to cavalry to shock troops to cannon fodder.

* '''Warhounds''': Just like the ones starved and taunted by the warriors of chaos, but instead starved and taunted by Beastmen. Used for a fast and cheap screen
* '''Tuskgors''': What essentially look like warthogs, they're most often used to pull the herd's shitty chariots.
* '''Razorgors''': Bigger, nastier, mutant tuskgors. They are either loosed in packs or used to pull chariots. Why the Beastmen use pigs as pack animals and eat horses instead of the other way around is a bit bizarre, but might have to do with how flighty horses can get around large, carnivorous animals and that pigs occasionally indulge in carnivorism and predation.
* '''Centigors''': The torso of a Gor fused onto the body of a horse with three hooves per foot, by the looks of it. Totally ungainly and butt-hurt over it, they take to stealing beer, wine and spirits brewed and distilled by other races and getting shit-faced daily to forget that fact. They act as cavalry to the Beastmen, and are the setting's Centaurs.
* '''Harpies''': Identical to Dark Elf harpies, may or may not be the Beastwomen with which the Beastmen procreate. Used primarily as flying shock troops.
* '''[[Chaos Spawn]]''': Can be either heavily mutated Beastmen or just normal spawn, that which must not be named are goaded into battle... somehow. But this is chaos, so really anything can become a chFGHFGTYHAAAD{{BLAM}}
* '''Jabberslythe''': Arguably the ugliest thing in all of WHFB. Said that not even the clearest pools will reflect its image, or maybe they just don't stay clear for very long. Either way, this is yet another giant powerhouse of a monster using its ugliness as a shock weapon to get the Beastmen's enemies to kill themselves.
* '''[[Giant]]''': The warhammer giant is at the beast's disposal to jump up and down, yell at people and stuff them into its pants.
{{clear}}
*A type of amphibious beastmen known as "Lakemen" infest areas of Bretonnia. They appear as humanoid frog-fish with crab claws for hands, and all have at least one type of mutation furthering them from this basic form. Don't really get along with "normal" beastmen that well, either.
* There is a tribe of beastmen in Ind that have tiger heads. Local humans worship them as holy spirits and as such said locals prostrate themselves, even as they get killed by the 'holy spirits'. They're called the Bengal, because if you didn't guess it the first time, Ind is Warhammer India.
*The tribal societies of men, greenskin, and lizardmen in the Southlands have to deal with raids from the Apemen, a race of Beastmen that resemble humanoid gorillas.
*The Ymir are a solitary race of Norscan Beastmen who are similar to Ogre Yetis.
* Down in the Warhammer Antarctica, also known as "Southern Chaos Wastes", a pretty obscure Beastmen subrace called '''Beastfiends''' lives. They're actually non-human at all, instead being an unholy mix of Beast and [[Daemons of Chaos|Daemon]]. They're totally irrelevant and only appear in one [[Archaon]] novel.

==Notable Beastmen==
*'''[[Khazrak The One-Eye]]:''' One of the most legendary Beastmen in recent history, known for his use of actual tactics and military strategy. Has one eye (surprisingly) and a heated rivalry with [[Boris Todbringer]].
*'''[[Taurox The Brass Bull]]''': Violent bull-freak made of Brass after eating one of Khorne's daemons. He is a bad ass that likes to cut shit up and kill everything he sees. All in all total bad ass.
*'''[[Morghur the Shadowgave|Morghur]] the Master of Skulls''':The closest thing to a central leader the Beastmen have. This guy not only corrupts and mutates anything in his path, every time he's killed, he simply resurrects and starts all over again. He's considered the greatest enemy of the Wood Elves and the chosen prophet and champion of the Chaos Gods to his people. In Age of Sigmar gets his own faction called the Gavespawn that pretty much worships him as a minor Chaos God.
*'''[[Malagor]] The Dark Omen''': The Bray Shaman of all Bray Shaman, this Beastmen is not only a powerful sorcerer and a cunning manipulator he also has a pair of black raven wings that enable him to fly. He greatly resembles an old representation of old Nick called Baphomet.
*'''[[Gorthor]] the Beastlord''': The greatest Beastlord to ever live, he united all the Beastmen of the Middle Mountains, pioneered the use of chariots, brought down two provinces of the Empire and in addition to his fighting skills was a tactical and strategic thinker.
*'''[[Ghorros Warhoof]]''': The “Sire of a Thousand Young” is an ancient Centigor that is constantly fighting, drinking, or fucking. He proudly boasts to have fathered the entire Centigor race and have connections to every other beastman in the Old World. Like an alcoholic father who left home for a pack of cigarettes, he roams the land in a constant state of bragging, bashing, boozing, and banging, which makes him a somewhat beloved figure in many beast herds.
*'''[[Ungrol Four-Horn]]''': Also known as Blackheart, Hornsthief, and the Spurned One, Ungrol is a two headed Ungor that was fed up with the constant abuse he suffered from the bigger and meaner gors. So he slit the throats of his tribe’s Wargor and Shaman and severed their horns to tie onto his own. He fled from his understandably pissed off tribe and took refuge in a dark series of caves that would become known as the Labyrinth of the Spurned. The legend of Four-Horn spread amongst the herds, and soon Ungrol was the leader of a vast army of Ungors and other outcasts of beastman society.
*'''[[Molokh Slugtongue]]''': The closest thing you can have to a [[Pestigor]] special character in a book where pestigors officially don't exist. Disease-riddled skull-faced [[Bray-Shaman]] wielding pestilence and famine against his enemies, clearly suffused with the blessings of Papa [[Nurgle]].

==In 40k==
''See [[Beastmen (40k)]]''

==Warhammer: Age of Sigmar==
In Age of Sigmar, they're back, as the [[Beasts Of Chaos]]. Functionally identical, but with a larger scale and some tweaked lore, such as their reverence to Chaos as a primordial force rather than the Gods themselves (which better fits the idea of them as representing the darker side of nature and the wilderness).

==Non-Warhammer Beastmen==
Although the Warhammer Fantasy version of Beastmen is probably the most iconic use of the term on /tg/, it has surfaced in some other /tg/ settings as well, owing to the rather generic name. Even with Age of Sigmar's copyright-friendly rename-a-palooza, their name (Brayherds/Warherds) turns out rather generic in comparison to other names (e.g. Aelves, Orruks, Ogors)

In [[Glorantha]], the [[Broo]] are a race of Chaos-aligned/spawned monstrous humanoids who appear as haphazard amalgamations of human and animal traits, all further wracked by diseases and/or mutations. This race actually created the Warhammer Beastmen (long story short; [[Games Workshop]] had a deal to produce miniatures for [[RuneQuest]] Broo models, it fell through, and they decided to recoup their losses by reworking the models into a new Chaos species for their own game).

In [[Dungeons & Dragons]], the obscure [[Greyhawk]] setting has (or had, at least, during the days of [[Advanced Dungeons & Dragons]]) a race called the Beastmen. These were basically really hairy humanoids with vaguely feline faces who lived in forests and were Stone Age hunters with a Neutral Good alignment. The race has been pretty much forgotten about.

Beastmen is also used in many settings as a collective term (analogous to demihumans and humanoids) to the various, well, [[furry]] races: things like [[lupin]]s, [[minotaur]]s, [[gnolls]], [[catfolk]], [[ratfolk]], etc. Sometimes any "animal-based" race, like [[lizardfolk]], [[dragonborn]], [[aranea]]s, [[chitine]]s, [[aarakocra]]s, etc, will also be lumped in. To avoid confusion, /tg/ tends to prefer the blanket term [[Beastfolk]].

In [[Kings of War]] you get [[Kings_of_War/Tactics/The_Herd|the Herd]], which is Warhammer Beastmen with a few extra steps, such as adding werewolves and giant eagles, but losing the chariots and some of the GW-exclusive monsters. From a fluff perspective they are completely different though, being a neutral army created by a benevolent god called Kyron and related to the orcs (who were created by Kyron's malevolent half), and are thus their chaotic good counterpart. As such they are maybe closer to the idea behind the beastmen army as a force of nature rather than a servant of the dark gods. Also dem werewolves (lycans) are one of the top three units in KoW.

==See Also==
*[[Warhammer/Tactics/8th Edition/Beastmen|8th edition Tactics]]

{{Playable Factions in Warhammer Fantasy Battle}}

[[Category:Warhammer Fantasy]]
[[Category:Beastmen]]
[[Category:Furry]]

Ymir

2022-09-11T20:23:28Z

2601:188:C300:64B8:D8A4:5D01:AEEC:D9D0:

[[Image: Ymir_Fanart.jpg]]
The Ymir, also called Jeti, depending on the dialect of the Norse tribe, are great, white-furred behemoths who feature often in the tales of Norsca. The Norse Dwarfs substantiate these myths with their own accounts of encounters with titanic, white-furred, humanoid beasts.

The Ymir are believed to be an offshoot race of Beastmen. Savage and bestial, they are cunning hunters who prey exclusively on Humans. Unlike the Beastmen, Ymir are generally solitary creatures, only meeting with another to produce a few whelps. They have no formal language, communicating in guttural growls and grunts. An Ymir stands just over seven-foot tall and weighs over 300 pounds. Its entire body is covered in thick, shaggy, white hair that gains a yellowish hue towards its lower body. They have an unpleasant smell, stinking of sour milk and rotten flesh. Most Ymir have frozen chunks of blood and flesh caught in their fur, which they pry off to eat when hunting is scarce.

For the Norscans, these monsters fulfill an important role in the passage all men must undertake if they hope to be recognised as warriors in their tribe. These young hopefuls brave the swirling snow and freezing winds to track down and face these beasts in combat. If they return with its head, they are accorded a special place in their tribe -- those who don't, don't return at all.

==Fan Theory==
Perhaps the Ymir/Jeti are the results of Norscan Gors interpreting with captured Yeti from the Ogre Kingdoms?

Ymir

2022-09-11T20:21:22Z

2601:188:C300:64B8:D8A4:5D01:AEEC:D9D0: /* =Fan Theory */

The Ymir, also called Jeti, depending on the dialect of the Norse tribe, are great, white-furred behemoths who feature often in the tales of Norsca. The Norse Dwarfs substantiate these myths with their own accounts of encounters with titanic, white-furred, humanoid beasts.

The Ymir are believed to be an offshoot race of Beastmen. Savage and bestial, they are cunning hunters who prey exclusively on Humans. Unlike the Beastmen, Ymir are generally solitary creatures, only meeting with another to produce a few whelps. They have no formal language, communicating in guttural growls and grunts. An Ymir stands just over seven-foot tall and weighs over 300 pounds. Its entire body is covered in thick, shaggy, white hair that gains a yellowish hue towards its lower body. They have an unpleasant smell, stinking of sour milk and rotten flesh. Most Ymir have frozen chunks of blood and flesh caught in their fur, which they pry off to eat when hunting is scarce.

For the Norscans, these monsters fulfill an important role in the passage all men must undertake if they hope to be recognised as warriors in their tribe. These young hopefuls brave the swirling snow and freezing winds to track down and face these beasts in combat. If they return with its head, they are accorded a special place in their tribe -- those who don't, don't return at all.

==Fan Theory==
Perhaps the Ymir/Jeti are the results of Norscan Gors interpreting with captured Yeti from the Ogre Kingdoms?

Ymir

2022-09-11T20:20:51Z

2601:188:C300:64B8:D8A4:5D01:AEEC:D9D0: Ymir/Jeti

The Ymir, also called Jeti, depending on the dialect of the Norse tribe, are great, white-furred behemoths who feature often in the tales of Norsca. The Norse Dwarfs substantiate these myths with their own accounts of encounters with titanic, white-furred, humanoid beasts.

The Ymir are believed to be an offshoot race of Beastmen. Savage and bestial, they are cunning hunters who prey exclusively on Humans. Unlike the Beastmen, Ymir are generally solitary creatures, only meeting with another to produce a few whelps. They have no formal language, communicating in guttural growls and grunts. An Ymir stands just over seven-foot tall and weighs over 300 pounds. Its entire body is covered in thick, shaggy, white hair that gains a yellowish hue towards its lower body. They have an unpleasant smell, stinking of sour milk and rotten flesh. Most Ymir have frozen chunks of blood and flesh caught in their fur, which they pry off to eat when hunting is scarce.

For the Norscans, these monsters fulfill an important role in the passage all men must undertake if they hope to be recognised as warriors in their tribe. These young hopefuls brave the swirling snow and freezing winds to track down and face these beasts in combat. If they return with its head, they are accorded a special place in their tribe -- those who don't, don't return at all.

==Fan Theory=
Perhaps the Ymir/Jeti are the results of Norscan Gors interpreting with captured Yeti from the Ogre Kingdoms?

Iron Orcs

2022-09-11T20:16:13Z

2601:188:C300:64B8:D8A4:5D01:AEEC:D9D0:

[[Image: Iron_Orcs.png]]
Iron Orcs are a rare breed of Orc that apparently only exists in the northern slopes of the Irrana Mountains that border the Bretonnian Dukedom of Carcassonne.

In recent years, Carcassonnian knights have begun talking of the Iron Orcs of the mountains, obvious servants of Chaos who reinforce the normal Orc hordes and who are stronger even than the Black Orcs. So far, only natives of Carcassonne claim to have seen them. Even Tileans, with territory in the same mountains, have seen nothing. Many people think they are just a story to back up Carcassonnian demands for reduced taxes.

Iron Orcs are real enough, though it is unclear why only Carcassonnian natives have so far encountered them. At first sight they look like Black Orcs in plate armour but without a helmet, but closer encounters reveal the armour is set into their skin. They are faster, stronger, and better armoured than Black Orcs, but Iron Orcs are less intelligent and more savage. They normally serve under Black Orc leaders, and some accounts suggest that their numbers are increasing. This worries Duke Huebald a great deal.

They usually fight with big choppas, weapons even larger and more unwieldy than choppas, that must be used with both hands by any non-Orcs.

==Fan Theories==
One fan theory is the Iron armor is an organic iron shell adaptation of the orcs, growing from their skin like a crabs exoskeleton does, from eating meats high in iron.

Another theory is that they are artificially "upgraded" Orcs, created either by Chaos wizards or Skaven Clan Moulder in a deal with a particularly clever Orc Warboss. Upgrade their troops, and they'll krump the gitz they point them at.

[[Category: Orcs & Goblins]]

Iron Orcs

2022-09-11T20:13:15Z

2601:188:C300:64B8:D8A4:5D01:AEEC:D9D0: