Nassaq
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The Nassaq are a Necromundan Ratskins tribe, that reside in Hive Primus' Underhive.[1]
History
Their name means "black" in the Ratskins' language, but this does not refer to their attire, but instead to the tribe's demeanour. Each member of the Nassaq is a cold-blooded killer, who lives only for battle and seek to have a glorious death in battle. This is because the tribe believes they will be reborn afterwards and then be able to wreck terrible vengeance upon their killer. The Nassaq believe that to die otherwise, will condemn their spirits to wander the Underhive as shadows, for an eternity in shame. The tribe also worships blood thirsty bestial gods, who they sacrifice prisoners to. This is carried out by the Nassaq's shamans and the tribe takes great delight in having the prisoners ritualistically tortured before their lives are given to the gods. Their dark worship, influences the tribe heavily, as their warriors do not wear Ratskin hides when they go to war. Instead they fight bare-chested, with shaved heads and wear war paint that depicts stylized versions of their gods. By doing so, the Nassaq warriors believe this will increase their fighting ability and terrify their tribe's enemies as well.[1]
However the Nassaq's shamans are even more frightful, as their gods allow them to blast their foes with the unholy power and commune with the dark spirits that dwell in the Underhive. Before they engage in a battle, the shamans will attempt to appease these spirits by sacrificing one of the Nassaq's prisoners to them. If the spirits accept this, then the shamans' will become better leaders in the battle and their bodies will emit a power that causes nearby foes to become fearful of them. They will also use the sacrifice's blood to paint their face with, which is called the Mask of Brakar, who is the Ratskins' god of war and vengeance. Despite their blood thirsty nature though, the Nassaq will never sacrifice a fellow Ratskin to their gods. These lucky prisoners will instead be exchanged or ransomed back to their tribe or even sold off to someone. Spyrer Hunters are another exception, as the Nassaq consider the Hive Nobles to be too dangerous to hold and will quickly kill them instead. Also, because the punishment for nearly any crime a Nassaq commits is death, the tribe's Badskins population is all but non-existent.[1]
Trivia
- The Nassaq were created by the Games Workshop employee Andrew Stickland and appeared in The Citadel Journal 18.[1]
Sources
- 1: The Citadel Journal 18, pgs. 62-63 — Necromunda: Ratskins
