Khorne

Background and Rivalries

Khorne is the Chaos god of anger, violence and hate. He is the mightiest of the four Chaos Gods. Every act of violence gives Khorne power, whether committed by his followers or by enemies. Slaanesh incurs most of Khorne's hatred; Tzeentch is hated, as the act of using psychic powers to kill is abhorrent to Khorne.

However, it must be noted that Khorne's followers seek not to cause pain - pain is the domain of Slaanesh, as is pleasure. They wish only to kill, because while the blood of their victims strengthens Khorne, their suffering empowers his nemesis.

Images of Khorne show it to be a mighty being, sitting upon a brass throne atop a mountain of skulls surrounded by an ocean of blood - made up of every skull his followers take and every droplet of blood they spill.

Followers of Khorne

Originally, like the other Chaos gods, Khorne didn't have a dedicated standing army until the Horus Heresy, when the World Eaters Chaos Space Marines dedicated themselves to him and his cause. The battle-cry of the followers of Khorne reflects his desire for wanton violence and is feared by all who hear it. 'Blood for the Blood God! Skulls for the Skull Throne!', sometimes more simply, 'Maim! Kill! Burn!'.

Also, on Lorn V the Chaos force that searched for the lost Titan were the Blood Legion of Khorne.

Daemons of Khorne

The Greater Daemon of Khorne is called the Bloodthirster (other names given to them in background are Blooded Ones, Lords of Skulls, High-handed Slayers and War Given Form). Of all the Daemons, they bear the greatest resemblance to stereotypical demons, having a human body, cloven hooves instead of feet, leathery bat-like wings and horned dogs-heads. An earlier model of the Bloodthirster replaced the dog-head with an ugly human face, but recently the model has gone back to its canine-featured roots. They wield a fiery whip and a massive two-headed battleaxe (possessed by another Bloodthirster in earlier editions) simultaneously in battle. They are the strongest and most combative of all Daemons. The mightiest Bloodthirster of Khorne is An'ggrath the Unbound, in the last 10,000 years he has only been summoned twice from the warp. Both successful summonings have resulted in great loss to the Imperium as many worlds fall to his terrible wrath.

The mainline Daemons of Khorne are called Bloodletters. They are ugly, horned humanoids with cloven hooves who tote blood-drinking battleaxes, similar in image to the Greater Daemons of Khorne. They are strong and expensive but armed with a Power weapon and an extremely good armour save for a daemon. They are known as the Warriors of Blood, the Teeth of Death and the Horned Ones.

The Daemon Beasts of Khorne are the Flesh Hounds, monstrous and ferocious vaguely-canine creatures notorious for their ability to track down their chosen prey. They are also known as Hunters of Blood and have claws to rend their foes apart once they catch them. They exist for the sheer thrill of the chase and the inevitable kill. By some accounts, the flesh hounds were loosed against cowardly warriors who attempted to hide from Khorne's wrath.

Another form of daemon is the Juggernaut and can be ridden into combat by Champions of Khorne. It is a huge, hulking half-daemon half-steel creature that bestows great strength on the rider.

Sources

• Realm of Chaos: Slaves to Darkness