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And you thought normal Vikings were bad.

"Call us savages because we strike at you. But know this — it is we who are the closest to the Ruinous Powers. We most favored of the gods shall raid your lands, revel in your suffering and destroy you. Despair! For all that remains for you is the taste of northern steel and the end of your world. Such is the will of the gods."
—Hallbjorn, Norse Marauder

The "Warriors of Chaos" is a general term used to describe the three races of Chaos-worshiping barbarians who live around the dreaded Chaos Wastes. These three races are known as the Norscans, the Kurgan and the Hung. These savage devotees are the most intimidating of human warriors to stalk the earth, and the legends and first-hand accounts of their raids describe them as nigh-unstoppable. The Northern tribes are born into a harsh, arctic wilderness where mercy is replaced with terrifying violence and compassion with harsh, unforgiving justice. Their natural mettle further tempered by a lifetime of battle for the sake of sheer survival, not only against freezing blizzards and electrical storms, but against the tainted beasts that stalk the tundra in search of human prey. The greatest of their number are the true Chaos Warriors — mighty warriors and tribal chieftains clad in hellish iron armour as indomitable and implacable as their bloodthirsty will. Mightiest and most infamous among them is Archaon the Everchosen, the Champion of the Chaos Gods on the material world, fated to unite the tribes and turn the whole world into the Realm of Chaos.

The tribes that dwell in the shadow of the terrible Chaos Wastes are multitudinous and varied — be they tall, powerful Norscans, swarthy, robust Kurgans or lithe Hung. Regardless of their tribal affiliations, the men of the North are invariably thick-set and muscular, and possessed of ferocious battle-lust. Not due to some inherent blight of the soul, but rather due to their upbringing and the circumstances of the places they call home. The lands of the north are barren, hard and infertile, forcing the tribes to fight for food, ranging far and south in order to claim spoils of war. Thus, with each summer the raids of the north begin, whether it be the ferocious wolfship raids of the Norse, with whole clans of hulking Marauders pillaging and despoiling the coastlands of the world, or the thundering horse-charges of the Kurgan nomads down the formidable steppes. In comparison to true and terrible Chaos Incursions, these raids are but an ominous prelude, heralding those apocalyptic times of battle when thousands of Norse and Kurgan tribes rage down from the north to set the lands of the south ablaze for the glory of their Dark Gods.

In accordance to the lore, those Warriors of Chaos who decide to go south in order to fight other factions are few, and thus the Warriors of Chaos armies are composed of few but extremely powerful units. A Warrior of Chaos army is centered around its Chaos Knights, the best close-quarter combat unit in the game, or more numerous but lightly protected Marauders. The Warriors of Chaos have few shooting options, but have powerful magicians, terrifying monsters fighting by their side and the dark blessings of the Chaos Gods. In any case, the Warriors of Chaos will seek to close the distance and massacre their foes up close.

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General Tropes

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The Ageless: Chaos Champions are essentially immortal as the blessings of their dark gods mean that they will continue living until they are defeated and/or lose their patron's favour. Many of the most successful Champions can be centuries.
The Antichrist: The Everchosen is the greatest mortal champion of the Dark Gods and the warlord they entrust to bring about their eternal victory over the forces of Order. Only a single Everchosen exists at any one time, each a Dark Messiah who earned their title through force of arms, dark charisma and the favour of all the Chaos Gods. Morkar the Uniter, Vangel and Asavar Kul the Anointed being the only named historic Everchosen while Archaon is the Everchosen within the game's timeline.
Anti-Magic: Khorne, detesting magic, gives his followers the Collars of Khorne, collars made to repel magic and giving their wearer Magic Resistance (3), one of the highest one can have.
Ascended to a Higher Plane of Existence: Becoming a Daemon Prince is more or less synonymous with becoming a demigod. And the difference between a God and a Daemon in Warhammer largely depends on where one is standing at the time anyway.
Asskicking Leads to Leadership: How Chaos Lords and Marauder Chieftains get their positions. Wealth or noble birth have no real meaning in the Chaos Wastes and many a chieftain's son proved too weak to even reach adulthood. Anyone in the North, if they have the drive and the ability to split anyone's skull without dying, will become a leader in his own right.
Badass Army: The Northern Hordes are made up of warriors without equal. Their armybooks tend to take great pains to emphasize just how scary and badass the Norscans are compared to everyone else in the setting. Imagine an entire army of hulking Viking warriors, the strongest among them clad in thick steel plate forged in the fires of Hell, while even the weakest ones are still clad in the hides of the various monstrous beasts they've personally killed, and they all wield massive axes and swords.
Badass Cape: A common feature of Chaos Lords, signifying their status among Chaos Warriors.
Barbarian Longhair: A lot of the models have long hair, topknots and scalp-braids.
Barbarian Tribe: Hundreds of tribes live in the North, each with its own unique culture and pantheon. Chaos Marauders are formidable barbarian warriors wearing fur and whatever armor they can get, forming the bulk of the Northmen's forces when they attack. In game, they act as a cheaper alternative Core unit to Chaos Warriors, with better Weapon Skill than the average soldier but little armour to protect them.
Bald of Evil: Chaos Warriors tend to have these. Notable aversions, at least on the tabletop, are Wulfrik the Wanderer and Sigvald the Magnificent.
Beard of Barbarism: Unkempt thick beards are a common feature among them, highlighting their barbarism in comparison to well-groomed beards from the Empire or Dwarfs. Plus, it helps against the frost. Overlaps with Beard of Evil, as the Northmen are also bloodthirsty savages.
Bears Are Bad News: Back in the old Regiments of Renown days, there was a Chaos Warband called the "Bearmen of Urslo". Their leader, a Chaos Lord called Beorg Bearstruck, could turn into a massive, feral, mutant werebear. One particular background character by the name of Valmir Aesling was a Chaos Lord who rode a chariot pulled by 7 giant skinless, daemonically-corrupted bears.
Being Evil Sucks: Don't let all the talk about how badass they are fool you, as the Warriors of Chaos are a textbook example of this. Sure, the lucky few become immortal and godlike Daemon Princes, but the vast majority are doomed to become consumed by their emotions and end up as blood-crazed berserkers who live only to kill and die in battle, jaded hedonists who have to keep doing more and more depraved things simply to feel something, sorcerors who are forever driven to expand their knowledge in an attempt to reach an impossible goal, or disease-ridden husks who are kept alive by supernatural powers despite their bodies rotting away. That's all one can get, and that's even if you don't simply end up a mindless mass of be-tentacled gribblyness because of all the mutations you've been receiving, or get used by your superiors as: sacrificed as cannon fodder, as an experiment, to slate the hunger of ravenous daemons, as a sex toy to rapacious daemons or simply For the Evulz. Never mind the part where they live in a frozen wasteland populated by horrible Chaos-corrupted monstrosities on the whole, or that you will probably be killed point blank if you say a single thing against the Chaos Gods. Part of their drive to invade the Southern regions is so they don't have to live in the Chaos Wastes any more.
Beneficial Disease: The blessings of Nurgle act like this, corrupting the flesh and bloating it with pus, insects or other unpleasant stuff. However, not only does it make the bearer more resilient, the foul magic allows him to regenerate wounds. For instance, the Lore of Nurgle has the Bloated With Disease attribute that allows a Sorcerer to increase his wounds and Toughness on a lucky dice roll every time he successfully casts a spell.
The Berserker: Followers of Khorne tend to come most often from Norsca, and the Norscans are Vikings while Khorne is the god of rage. Do the math. In game, the Mark of Khorne gives its wearer the Frenzy rule, representing their savagery in combat at the cost of self-preservation. Moreover, Unbound Slaughterbrutes will attack anyone they cross paths with, and being hulking monsters that could give dragons a run for their money, is something to avoid entirely.
Black Mage: Chaos Sorcerers. Ironically, even though Dark Magic, the lore of mashing together all of the Winds of Magic into one unstable whole, is synonymous with Chaos, Chaos Sorcerers instead use Elemental Powers — Dark Magic is exclusively the province of the Dark Elves and Wood Elves.
- The precise array of powers varies from army book to army book; in 6th edition's "Hordes of Chaos", their first new codex in some time, they only had access to the Lores of Death, Fire and Shadow. In 6th edition's "Warriors of Chaos", Sorcerers could only cast Death or Fire magic and Exalted Sorcerers could cast Death, Fire, Shadow or Heavens magic. As of 7th edition's "Warriors of Chaos", they can all use Death, Fire, Metal or Shadow.
- In all army books, however, a Chaos Marked Sorcerer can use magic of their patron god; only Champions could bear Tzeentch's Mark (and thus cast Tzeentchian spells) in "Hordes of Chaos", but this changed afterwards. Pre-7th Edition, Marked Sorcerers had to use their Patron Magic spells, but 7th edition allowed them to instead use one of the elemental powers based on their patron god (Metal for Tzeentch, Death for Nurgle and Shadows for Slaanesh).
Blood Knight: Warriors of Khorne, particularly. All Northern tribes (but Norscan ones in particular) are comprised of this, as every tribe's warriors logically venerate Khorne. Also, being a Blood Knight is practically a survival mechanism in the North.
Body Horror: Living in a land where the raw stuff of Chaos seeps into the material plane invariably induces some mutations, which can be voluntarily given by the Chaos Gods as rewards. The Eye of the Gods mechanics allows some models who perform remarkable deeds such as killing a character to mutate, gaining boosts to stats or other bonuses as extra horns grow, the skin become hard as iron, and other changes rapidly occur. One mutation too far will turn a Chaos Warrior into a Forsaken, a feral humanoid monster whose mind is overwhelmed by his mutations, or even a Chaos Spawn that does not even look human anymore.
Bright Is Not Good: Followers of Slaanesh (Chaos god of hedonism and excess) are Sense Freaks who wear hideously garish clothing and choking perfumes at all times, being so blasé it's the only way they can feel anything.
Brutish Character, Brutish Weapon: The Warriors of Chaos generally use heavy metal axes, hammers, chain flails and large two-handed swords. A fair number, especially those devoted to Khorne, use two weapons and eschew shields. They are no-nonsense warriors and brutal vikings, with no interest in combat that doesn't involve ferocious close-quarters melee. They also have no traditional missile weapons beyond the odd throwing axe or throwing spear. Most of the weapons used by the Warriors of Chaos are forged by Chaos Dwarf smiths, and thus tend to be of high quality, and occasionally intricately detailed. Some of their heroes wield sentient weapons possessed by daemons.
Canis Major: Those hulking mutant wolves as large as small horses that occasionally march alongside Norscan armies. Ulfwerenar also count, essentially being bloodthirsty Chaos Werewolves. Followers of Khorne also incorporate wolf-imagery into their armour and weapons, as the wolf is said to be Khorne's favoured totem beast.
Chariot Pulled by Cats: Gorebeast Chariots are pulled by the brutal mutant beast that resembles a mixture of an ape and a lizard. Far stronger than even the mightiest of Chaos Steeds, the chariots pulled by these Gorebeasts are heavy and more powerful than regular Chaos Chariots, and few enemy battlelines remain intact when charged by one of these murderous war machines.
The Chosen Many: The Chosen are a special type of Chaos Warriors who are noticeably more favored by the Gods, being elite warriors among the already fearsome Chaos Warriors (indeed they have Weapon Skill 6 instead of the usual 5), and being allowed to immediately make a roll on the Eye of the Gods table.
Close-Range Combatant: Yes indeed, the Warriors of Chaos are all close-quarters beasts, with higher than average Weapon Skill, Strength and Toughness across the faction. In exchange for that sheer deadliness up close, they possess little means to attack at range, for instance only having the occasional javelin or throwing axe for Marauder Horsemen, and the very rare Hellcanons as the only artillery piece they wield; although Chaos Sorcerers may compensate for that to some degree.
A Commander Is You: Brute Force Elite faction. Model for model, they are the king in close combat thanks to their high all-around stats (certain specialized factions can outdo the Warriors in some things in close combat, Lizardmen have better leadership from their Coldblooded rule and Ogres hit harder, but nobody has high stats in all areas like the Warriors do) and heavy armor. Their Lords and Heroes are arguably the best in the game. All that comes at a heavy price; their units are very expensive for point values, and they are very lacking in the ranged combat department outside of magic and a few specialized units.
Cool Helmet: Seriously, look at the pic, you know you want those helmets.
Demon of Human Origin: Daemon Princes were once mortals who managed to impress the Chaos Gods enough to earn the privilege of becoming a real daemon. As such they are now immortal and more powerful than they could ever be as a mortal, although they are now forever tied to the Chaos Gods. In game, Daemon Princes are rightfully considered Daemons and belong to the Monster unit type. In addition, they get the Daemonic Invulnerability rule giving them a 5+ ward save.
- In older editions, daemon princes could arise from beings other than humans. This was ultimately phased out after 6th edition's "Beasts of Chaos" army book, which give daemon princes a cheap upgrade to represent an origin as a beastman, and thus let them more readily take beastmen units.
The Dreaded: Without doubt, the most feared race of humans in the setting. They regularly invade the Empire every year and have come perilously close to destroying the world several times, after all. The Aesling and Kul tribes get this treatment from among the Norse and Kurgan respectively.
Eldritch Abomination: The Warriors of Chaos can field a number of these. Most of the time, they are accompanied with Chaos Spawns, former warriors who were given the gift of mutation too many times and became feral creatures whose human form was replaced by a mass of flesh, tentacles, claws, and any random organ one can think of. Mutalith Vortex Beasts are even worse, being giant amalgams of flesh and magic, usually having six appendices as legs and whose head is a giant mouth full of teeth and tentacles.
Empowered Badass Normal: The Chaos Warriors and Daemon Princes pretty much all started as Northmen who impressed the Gods enough to earn gifts of mutations and become superhuman monsters. In game, the main gimmick of the Warriors of Chaos is the Eye of the Gods mechanics, allowing several models, among them normal Chieftains, to earn boosts in the form of mutations after performing a great deed like slaying an enemy character.
Equal-Opportunity Evil: Chaos welcomes anyone willing to damn themselves for power, and the Warriors of Chaos reflect the diversity of its mortal servants. Thus, alongside the human Marauders, one can witness Ogres, Dragon Ogres, Giants, Trolls, Dragons and other creatures who all either serve Chaos of their own volition or were broken by the Dark Gods' power to become beasts of war. This aspect is at its strongest in the original "Realms of Chaos" army books for 3rd edition, when not only could Chaos Champions have orc, goblin, skaven, dwarf, elf and gnome followers, but there were also rules to play beastman, minotaur, centaur and dragon ogre Chaos Champions.
Evil Weapon: Daemonblades are a powerful magic item, being weapons containing the essence of a Daemon and thus powered accordingly, although the blade will seek to harm its user as well. In game a Daemonblade grants D6+3 Attacks to its user but rolls of 1 are resolved against the wielder instead as the blade sweeps at the warrior.
Extra Eyes: Appearing in many editions of the game, the Helm of Many Eyes is a magical helmet that is studded with hundreds of living eyeballs. When worn, the Helm gives the wearer a near 360-degree field of vision, as well as visions of the immediate future, allowing them to react amazingly fast, so that they always strike first in combat. Unfortunately, the wearer can be overwhelmed by the amount of images that the eyes of the helm grant them, resulting in them being affected by the Stupidity special rule that could leave them unable to attack.
Fantasy Counterpart Culture: Predominantly, the army has a very heavy Germanic/Nordic feel to it as the resident Viking culture, the Norscans, are the most heavily featured in the canon. At least half of the Warrior special character list is made up of Norscans as well. And the universal Dark Tongue of Chaos used by all servants of the Gods is heavily influenced by Elder and Younger Furthark. That said, the Warriors are actually culturally diverse, being a coalition of various barbarian human races drawing upon influence from both Northern European and Eurasian warrior cultures.
- The Norscans, as you can probably tell, are daemonic Vikings, with the Vikings' bloodthirst and war-like nature and general badassery dialed up, with some Anglo-Saxon thrown in there as well. They are the fiercest and most devout of Chaos, and they often lead the Chaos Hordes into battle because of that. Khorne is seen as an Odin-like figure among the Norse who presides over a warrior afterlife. The Norse thus tend to be Khorne's greatest and most numerous followers due to this. The Norscans also have some Scottish influence.
- The Kurgan are daemonic Mongols and Turks, with some Slavic influences along with those people's historic savagery exaggerated to an extent that would be comical if it wasn't so horrifying. Filling a sort of Hordes from the East dynamic to the Warriors. They are also fiercely devoted to Chaos and form a great deal of Northman Hordes. Their name is a reference to a tumulus constructed throughout Europe and Asia.
- The Hung are daemonic Huns. Unsurprisingly. There's not much known about them, as they are furthest from the Old World where all the action in Warhammer goes on. They're busy waging war against Cathay on the other side of the world, or fighting the Dark Elves. They are notable as ardent followers of Slaanesh.
Fantasy Pantheon: Worship of the Chaos Gods is something of a folk religion for the tribes of the north, and each clan/ethnic group tends to put their own particular spin on it. In many ways, the manner in which Chaos is portrayed in Warhammer (as opposed to 40K) has a lot in common with a lot of pre-Christian pagan beliefs, particularly Norse paganism. For instance, rather than viewing the Chaos Gods as pure evil as is most Chaos Space Marines, the Norscans tend to see them (as real Vikings saw the gods) as incredibly powerful, often Jerkassy war-mongering spirits who should be respected because pissing them off really isn't an option.
Fat Bastard: Many, if not all followers of Nurgle are like this, although their bloated appearance may not be solely due to fat, but rampant infections, pus, or foul ichor. It usually makes them quite resilient at the cost of a bit of speed.
Godhood Seeker: The end goal for most, if not all, servants of Chaos is to become a Daemon Prince, a quasi-Physical God with immense physical and magical power after being ascended by one or all of the Chaos gods to wreak havoc on the world for all eternity. Fortunately, the vast majority die (or worse) long before they can even get close to that goal.
Grim Up North: It's not called the Northern Wastes for anything. Norsca is a place where no crops survive, many horrible monsters roam, and where barbarian men are ready to split your skulls in the name of their evil gods.
Had to Be Sharp: Thanks to living so close to the Chaos Wastes and thus, HELL, the Norse, Kurgan, and Hung have become the fiercest human warriors to walk the Old World.
The Hedonist: Usually what all Warriors of Slaanesh will amount to, being seekers of pleasures in all forms although it doesn’t make them any less deadly.
Hell Hound: Chaos Warhounds are dog-like creatures that can be fielded, acting as a mobile soft-hitting skirmisher unit. They can be upgraded/mutated to have somewhat better protection and get Scaly Skin or have Poisoned Attacks.
Hellish Horse: Chaos Steeds are a common mount for Chaos Warrior, being horse-like creatures that are in fact daemonic and said to be personal gifts from the Chaos Gods.
Horns of Villainy: A pretty much standard feature of Chaos Armours all around. They usually mimic some beast horns, but there are variations such as the Skullcrushers of Khorne whose helmet design is supposed to mimic the sigil of Khorne.
Horny Vikings: They can be best described as 'hulking, heavily armoured, demonic, superhuman Norse barbarians'.
The Horde: If Northmen come in numbers, it means that a Chaos Lord has decided that the men of the South shall exist no more and gathered his army accordingly. Thus, the usually scattered tribes of the North come in unified numbers, with thankfully rare accounts describing said armies as covering the land beyond the horizon.
Horse of a Different Color: Normal horses are not an option for Northmen. The most horse-like mount the Warriors of Chaos have are the Chaos Steeds, who are Animalistic Abominations who are pretty much daemonic animals. Depending on one’s allegiance one may ride the massive Juggernauts of Khorne, Steeds of Slaanesh resembling bidepal snakes.
Hufflepuff House: The Hung are listed as one of the three main Warriors of Chaos subgroups, but their actual presence in the fluff is negligible.
Humanoid Abomination: Plenty of creatures fielded by the Warriors of Chaos are this, from the Forsaken who barely look human to Daemon Princes who look fully monstrous. Somewhat horrifyingly, each of them Was Once a Man.
Irony: Their current leader used to be a Imperial Templar of Sigmar, this is both ironic for them and the Empire they fight. That the greatest servant of Chaos in the Old World is not a Norscan, Kurgan or Hung warlord, but a one-time worshiper of Chaos' greatest enemy.
Magically Inept Fighter: Warriors of Khorne are supreme warriors, but cannot be Sorcerers, as Khorne hates magic for considering it a cheap alternative to real fighting skill.
Magic Knight: Chaos Lords devoted to Tzeentch were required to be this in 6th edition (his mark could not be put on sorcerers at the time). For their part, Chaos Sorcerers and Sorcerer Lords are mostly feared because of their magical ability, being Wizards, but with Weapon Skill 5, Strength and Toughness 4 as well as a Chaos Armour, they will be able to massacre most character-hunting units. In game, they can wield the Lore of Fire, Lore of Shadows, Lore of Death, Lore of Metal, Lore of Nurgle, Lore of Tzeentch or Lore of Slaanesh.
Magitek: Hellcannons are a mix of blacksmithing and magic, being essentially cannons with the essence of a daemon sealed inside them. By feeding them corpses, the cannons can shoot a Doomfire bolt of energy borne of the corpse’s souls, a 60” range, Strength 10 to 5 shooting attack with the Move or Fire, Multiple Wounds and Slow to Fire rules.
Mark of the Supernatural / Mark of the Beast: One of the special rules of the Warriors of Chaos faction is the Mark of Chaos mechanics, representing a model swearing allegiance to a particular god, earning him special stigmatas or other symbols signaling to just whom he belongs, and giving him bonuses in game. Characters with a particular Mark of Chaos cannot join characters with other types of Marks. The Mark of Khorne grants the Frenzy rule; the Mark of Tzeentch upgrades the ward save of the bearer; the Mark of Nurgle forces a penalty to hit on enemies, and the Mark of Slaanesh can allow a bearer or unit to pass all Psychology tests.
Master of All: In terms of focus in close combat, the Chaos Warriors are the best Core close-quarter units in the game bar none. They cost a lot, but Chaos Warriors have Weapon Skill and Initiative 5, Strength and Toughness 4, and a natural 4+ Armour Save, and 2 Attacks. In short, they hit as well and usually as fast as Elves, are tough like Dwarfs, and hit like Ogres. And that is if one was ever foolish enough to not upgrade these Chaos Warriors with additional equipment and Marks.
Mind-Control Device: Slaughterbrutes can only be controlled by a complex system of runes engraved on the skin and magic swords that have been stabbed on the Slaughterbrute’s back, using Blood Magic to link a Champion to the beast and controlling it.
Our Centaurs Are Different: While they were written out of the game after 4th Edition, and later replaced by Centigors for the Beasts of Chaos, Chaos Centaurs resembled their mythological counterparts with the upper body of a heavily muscled, human torso atop the body of a horse. Living on the boarders of the northern wastes, Chaos Centaurs were violent, ill-tempered drunkards who resented the more dexterous and civilised races.
Our Giants Are Bigger: Chaos Giants may fight alongside the Northmen, being otherwise similar to most other Giants with the same rules and attacks. The only major difference is that these Giants made the terrible mistake of wandering north on their drunken meandering, getting heavily corrupted by the Chaos Wastes in the process.
Our Manticores Are Spinier: Manticores can be used as a Lord Mount. Being Weapon Skill, Strength and Toughness 5 Monsters that can Fly, they can be useful to bring a Chaos Lord where skulls need to be reaped the fastest.
Our Trolls Are Different: Chaos Trolls can be fielded by the Warriors of Chaos faction, coming from the piece of land known as Troll Country, situated between Kislev and the Northern Wastes. However, they do not have any real specialty compared to other Troll units.
Proud Warrior Race Guy: A decidedly wicked flavour. All Northmen look down on their southern kin for being soft, not having to fight to survive each day like they do. As such, they consider it their right to take away whatever food or riches those pansies down south have since they are obviously too weak to defend it, and Northmen raids against the Empire's northern borders are common.
Religion of Evil: Double subverted. They claim the Chaos Gods are not evil, maintaining that such powerful entities are beyond human judgement and should be venerated and respected for their power; the Kurgan and Hung hold similar views. And yet, their actions towards the other races and factions are this trope in full force. Khornates butcher armies and raze cities for bloodshed's own sake and treat non-combatants with open contempt, Tzeentchians manipulate anyone they meet and make it a point of pride to stab superiors in the back, Nurglites spread disease and decay in all its myriad forms in the demented belief that their work is good, and Slaaneshi embrace all three parts of Rape, Pillage, and Burn with equal abandon and relish.

The Chaos Warshrine, great unholy shrines that Chaos Shrine Bearers lift to battle, are special moving shrines that enable Warriors of Chaos to directly offer their tally to the Gods, reinforcing the ritualistic side of battle and making it more likely to have rewards. To represent this, their models on the tabletop have the Favour of the Ruinous Powers rule that allows to partially reroll the Eye of the Gods rolls, the Giver of Glory that is a bound spell allowed some models nearby to immediately roll on the Eye of the Gods table, and Protection of the Dark Gods giving it a 4+ ward save.
Religion is Magic: Norse, Kurgan and Hung holymen tend to be Chaos Sorcerers or tribal shamans who gained some divine power from the Dark Gods. Averted by followers of Khorne's faith, who slaughter any sorcerer or magician they encounter as a matter on principle. Khorne does have his own priests called 'Bloodfathers', who basically get by on warrior skill, but they are said to receive visions from their god. Particularly if those visions regard battles to come.
Religious Bruiser: The Warriors of Chaos are usually very eager to prove themselves to their gods, and if they are sworn to one in particular, fight in his name. That makes them generally very devout and hard to discourage, as they know the Gods are watching and rewards for exceptional feats of arms are as easily given as punishment for cowardice.
Scary Impractical Armor: Downplayed. Chaos Armour are forged in the Chaos Realms, and fuse with their wearer so that he becomes a Chaos Warrior. It is quite scary thanks to the foul runes, skull decorations, and other ornaments such as the standard Horns of Villainy. However, the impractical part is averted as it was made to be a second skin, allowing Chaos Warriors to still have Initiative 5.
Screaming Warrior: Northmen are usually quite passionate about what they want: BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!, THE SOUTH SHALL FALL!
Sigil Spam: The models usually mostly display the eight-pointed star of Chaos, one of the most famous symbols that represents Chaos as a whole and is guaranteed to not piss off ¾ of all Warriors of Chaos on sight.
Skeletons in the Coat Closet: Chaos Warrior models and variants usually have skulls somewhere on them, signalling that once a fool crossed their path.
Spikes of Villainy: They actually use the spikes on their armor and vehicles to impale the heads of slain foes/victims and eventually make a gruesome trophy rack. At least one Chaos army book has included "Spiky Bits" as a piece of equipment that makes its bearer more effective in combat. The Orcs & Goblins have also taken to referring to them as "spiky boyz" as a derisive form of Lampshade Hanging on this trope. The absolute example of it may be the Slaugherbrutes, covered in horns, spike, sharp claws and teeth.
This Is Your Brain on Evil: Anyone who worships Chaos will end up all kinds of wrong in the head.
Tin Tyrant: Chaos Lords and Exalted Heroes come with a set of Chaos Armour, with many more ornaments to make their status visible to all. However, Champions of Nurgle models may avert this trope and expose their putrefying flesh instead.
The Need for Mead: Northmen like drinking mead, so much so that it is even brought up in their codex descriptions because they're Vikings.
Undying Warrior: Many heroes of Chaos are blessed with a mild form of immortality so they can continue doing the work of their gods without falling to disease or old age, though they can still be slain in battle. Sigvald the Magnificent, the champion of Slaanesh, has been a 16-year-old sociopath for three centuries now. Worse still, the most successful of these champions may eventually be rewarded with ascension to the role of Daemon Princes, who are blessed with Complete Immortality.
Unstoppable Rage: The standard state of mind for Warriors of Khorne, sprinkled with a Proud Warrior Race Guy mentality and a little Honour Before Reason. Models and units with the Mark of Khorne gains the Frenzy special rule, making them extra deadly in close quarters.
War Elephants: Some Marauder tribes capture Mammoth calves to raise and use as beasts of war. These tribes will massive and mutated Chaos War Mammoths are fitted with rough howdahs and ridden into battle as powerful shock weapons that stomp, trample and eat the tribe's enemies.
The Warlord: Chaos Lords, the closest the Warriors of Chaos have to formal leaders, emerge when particularly accomplished Champions of Chaos manage to force together the local tribes, warbands and marauders together into a single horde through force of personality and military conquest.
Warrior Heaven: Khorne's domain in the Realm of Chaos is implied to be something like this for worthy warriors who die in battle. Once again playing off the heavy Nordic flavour of this army, this is more like War 'is heaven.
Your Soul Is Mine!: Hellstriders of Slaanesh have the Soul Hunters special rule giving them several bonuses as they kill more enemy models. It serves to represent Slaanesh rewarding the Hellstriders’ tally with empowering magic.

Northern Tribes

Norscans

The Norscans, also known as the Northmen or Norse, are the natives of the mountainous peninsula of Norsca, beyond Kislev and the Sea of Claws. They are fearsome warriors and fearless sailors, and the sight of their raider-crewed longships inspire dread across the northern coasts of the Old World. Their ancestors, the Norsii, were one of the many tribes who inhabited what would later became the Empire, and were infamous even then as raiders, warmongers and Chaos worshippers; when Sigmar came to power and united the Teutogens, Jutones, Ostagoths and all the others in a single nation, the Norsii were cast out and forced to retreat into the north.

Major Norscan tribes include the Bjornlings, Skaelings, Sarls, Baersonlings, Aeslings, Vargs, and Graelings, in addition to the independent port of Skeggi on the Lustrian coast.

Bold Explorer: The Norscans are among the best navigators in the world, and have travelled to, raided, and established settlements all the way from the deserts of Araby and the jungles of Lustria. In many cases, they were the first Old Worlders to ever set eyes on these places.
Born Under the Sail: The Norscans are exceptionally good sailors, and take a great deal of pride in this. Their ships range farther than any other Old World group's, often reaching to the shores of Lustria, and they are also deeply feared for their adeptness at both lightning raids from the sea and for ship-to-ship combat.
Horny Vikings: The Norscans are fantasy Vikings in imposing heavy plate and intimidating horned helmets who worship the Chaos Gods. They love battle, slaughter and warfare like the French love their wine. They also have a penchant for being marked by the Chaos Gods in various ways.
A Lighter Shade of Black: The Norscans are, at the end of the day, willing and eager servants of the Chaos Gods, and can be unspeakably savage barbarians and raiders. However, they are also depicted as the least far gone of the major Chaos tribal groups, and tend to retain interests other than just fighting, killing, and slaving — Norse explorers are a recurring theme in the setting, and there is occasional mention of Norscans being willing to work as mercenaries and even traders. A distinction is sometimes drawn between the tribes of the southern coast, the Bjornlings, Skaelings, Sarls, and Baersonlings, who are the likeliest to be on speaking terms with the rest of humanity, and the northern coast's dwellers, the Aeslings, Vargs, and Graelings, who are as bad as any other Chaos host.
Shrouded in Myth: The Norscans are debated by Imperial theologians and historians as being half-breed spawn of men and daemons but they are simply a race of men who migrated south from the Chaos Wastes and briefly lived in the Reik Basin, raiding and slaughtering all the surrounding tribes in the name of Chaos before Sigmar united said tribes drove them back to the North.
Vikings In America: The first human explorers to reach Lustria, the setting's counterpart to South and Central America, were a Norscan crew of the Bjornling tribe under the command of the adventurer Losteriksson. Skeggi, the town founded where they landed, remains the largest human settlement in Lustria in the present day.

Kurgans

A steppe people that roam the eastern wastelands beyond the World's Edge Mountains, north of the Dark Lands and the Mountains of Mourn. The Kurgans war endlessly against one another to gain the Dark Gods' favors, occasionally riding out against the Kislevites, Chaos Dwarfs, and Ogres. They only join together rarely, when a mighty warlord can unite sufficient tribes to lead a full crusade against the forces of order. They are ancestral kin of the Gospodars, the ruling caste of Kislev, who share their tradition of horsemanship. They split apart long ago, when the shadow of Chaos first fell upon the steppes. Many tribes embraced Chaos, forsaking their ancient gods and spirits to follow the Ruinous Powers. Those that refused to do so were slaughtered, except for a confederation of tribes under the Khan-Queen Miska that instead fled east, settling in the lands north of the Empire and founding the Tzardom of Kislev.

Major Kurgan tribes include the Avags, Dolgan, Gharhars, Hastlings, Khazags, Kvelligs, Kul, Tahmaks, Tokmars, and Yusak.

Born in the Saddle: The Kurgans are excellent horseman and horse archers, and spend most of their lives wandering nomadically from battle to battle on the backs of their fearsome Chaos steeds.
Bow and Sword in Accord: Kurgans, being a fantasy counterpart to the Turkish tribes, tend to favour the axe and bow combination.
Hordes from the East: They are nomads of the eastern steppes and wastelands, and usually alternate between raiding and pillaging Kislev and the Cathayans when they aren't fighting one another. They mostly operate in scattered bands and independent raiders but, when a major warlord rises, they invade Kislev and the Empire in full force, streaming through the northern passes of the World's Edge Mountains to raze and despoil everything in their path.
Horse Archer: The Kurgans are described as being fearsome horse-mounted archers. However in game, Marauder Horsemen only get javelins or throwing axes as shooting weapons.
War Elephants: While all Chaos tribes make use of war mammoths from time to time, Kurgan tribes such as the Dolgan are the most adept at catching, breaking, and training these beasts, jealously guard the methods by which they do so, and use them more commonly than anyone else.

Hung

Another nomadic tribe, the Hung roam the steppes of the farthest east, north of Cathay and Naggaroth. While they are as active and dangerous as their western kin, launching attacks on the Great Bastion and the Watchtowers of the Druchii as fearsome as any invasion of the Old World, few news of their doings make their way back to the Empire.

Major Hung tribes include the Aghols, Chi-An, Dreaded Wo, Kuj, Man-Chu, Mung, Tu-Ka, Veh-Kung, Wei-Tu, and Yin.

Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: They are infamous for their faithlessness and treachery, and make no pacts that they don't intend to break in short order.
Fantasy Counterpart Culture: They chiefly mirror the Huns and Xiongnu in style and dress and mostly war against Cathay and the Dark Elves, being seen in the Old World only very rarely.
Villain of Another Story: They are fully in the service of Chaos and would see all order and structure in the world torn down as gladly as all other Chaos Warriors. However, their immense distance from the primary setting means that they are functionally never seen among the Chaos hordes that invade the Old World. Instead, they war primarily against Cathay and the Dark Elves, creating campaigns as great as any Kurgan or Norse invasion of the Empire but which are simply not discussed in published work.

Dragon Ogres

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dragon_ogre.png

Dragon Ogres are an ancient race of monstrous centaur-like beings, with horned, humanoid torsos on the bodies of giant four-legged reptiles. They are some of the very few beings to persist from the nearly-forgotten times before the Old Ones came to the world, and survived to the present days by selling their souls to Chaos for immortality and power at the price of sterility. No new Dragon Ogres have been born since prehistory; the eldest of their kind, called Shaggoths, are some of the oldest living things in the world. Despite their name, they are neither true Dragons nor true Ogres, and in fact are on very bad terms with both races.

The Ageless: Part of their bargain with Chaos was that they never age or weaken, and simply grow stronger and larger as the ages pass, although sufficient violence can still put them down for good.
Draconic Humanoid: The Dragon Ogres are different from the usual fusion, since they're a centaur-like combination of an ogre torso on a dragon's lower body. They're some of the most powerful and ancient of all creatures, as well as followers of the Dark Gods, but they share full dragons' tendency to spend centuries sleeping.
Dying Race: Dragon Ogres cannot reproduce, and none have been born since they sold their souls to Chaos in the distant past. They are effectively immortal and extremely difficult to kill, but their numbers have slowly dwindled over the long ages as individual Dragon Ogres have died to battle or misfortune.
Energy Absorption: Dragon Ogres are invigorated by lightning and electricity in general. Direct exposure to it refreshes them, heals their injuries, and fills them with strength.
Fantastic Racism: Despite their name, Dragon Ogres have had historically very poor relations with both true Dragons and Ogres. The fought open wars with Dragons in the times before the Old Ones, when they contested for rulership of what became the Old World. In later times, they developed an almost instant enmity with Ogres, resulting in further violence that drove them out of the mountains that the Ogres claimed as their homelands.
Hybrid Monster: They are essentially centaurs with ogre instead of human and wingless dragon instead of horse.
Immortal Procreation Clause: Invoked. The ancient Dragon Ogres asked the Lord of Change for immortality. He granted it, but also rendered them sterile. Most of the still-living Dragon Ogres consider this to be Tzeench's idea of a joke.
Our Centaurs Are Different: Dragon Ogres resemble giant (some can look over city walls, and the oldest one is often mistaken for a mountain) horned humanoids from the waist up and wingless dragons from the waist down.
Our Ogres Are Different: Dragon Ogres are Chaos-aligned monsters resembling monstrous centaurs, with the body of a horned Ogre atop that of a wingless dragon-like beast. They are one of the oldest races in the setting, and perhaps the most dangerous Chaos minions. They aren't related to actual Ogres, as Dragon Ogres predate the arrival of the Old Ones while true Ogres were the last of the Old Ones' creations, and the two races have no fondness for one another. When they first met they instantly became enemies, and have fought many vicious wars over the ages, which culminated in the Dragon Ogres being driven out of the Mountains of Mourn where the Ogres live.
Stronger with Age: Dragon Ogres grow larger as they age. The youngest, who are still order than any human nation, are in the same size range as elephants. The true elders, who were ancient when the Old Ones came to the world, are immense. Kholek Suneater can look over city walls, and his father Krakanrok the Black was mistaken for a mountain at first (and even Archaon chose to sneak away from him rather than risk waking him up).

Champions of the Gods

Champions of Chaos Undivided

Archaon the Everchosen

Archaon, Lord of Chaos, the Everchosen

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/570px_archaon_book.jpg

I am the Anointed, the favoured Son of Chaos, the Scourge of the World.

The chosen champion of all four Gods of Chaos. A legend in his own lifetime. As the champion of Chaos, Archaon shares many similarities with his less successful Warhammer 40,000 counterpart, Abaddon the Despoiler.

The Ace: In game, Archaon's stats are one of the most terrifying stats a mortal could have, with Weapon Skill 9 to represent his supreme swordfighting skill, Strength and Toughness 5 as well as Initiative 7 to represent his Lightning Bruiser side, and the lore showing how much cunning Archaon had to demonstrate to gather his equipment.
The Antichrist: Archaon is the Everchosen of Chaos within the game's timeline, a Dark Messiah destined to unite the followers of the Dark Gods and lead them in the destruction of the world. In the 8th Edition rules, this is represented by the Chosen of the Gods and the Lord of the End Times special rules that give Archaon the powers gifted to all four of the Chaos Gods and is able to boost the Leadership of his followers at a far greater range than a regular Warriors of Chaos General.
Badass Cape: Extra points for being bearskin.
Big Bad Wannabe: In the Storm of Chaos timeline where his prophesized, long-awaited, and heavily-hyped invasion is beaten with comparative ease by the forces of Order in less than a year. While he was the most successful Everchosen, he did far less damage to the world than other notable villains like the Council of Thirteen or Malekith and was defeated much more quickly and decisively than they were. Even on a personal level this applies as despite being the World's Best Warrior he was bested in a straight fight by Grimgor (Though to be fair to him on that one Grimgor did jump him right after he and Valten had fought each other to standstill).
Black Knight: While wearing the armor of Morkar the Uniter. It further evokes his nature as The Dreaded and his status as The Antichrist, whilst also serving the practical purpose of enhanced defense and durability.
Child by Rape: A product of rape. His father was an unnamed Varg champion who forced himself on an Empire woman in a raid on the Empire town of Hargendorf. Later on, it turns out that his actual father is the Daemon Lord, Be'lakor, who raped Archaon's mother for the sole purpose of birthing him and bringing forth the End Times.
Combat Clairvoyance: The third Chaos Treasure, the Eye of Sheerian, is a powerful amulet that grants its bearer visions of the future, allowing them to predict and avoid enemy attacks. In-game this is represented by Archaon having a 4+ ward save that is further enhanced by the Everchosen’s Mark of Tzeentch.
Cool Crown: Archaon possesses the Crown of Domination, an artifact dating to the time of Morkar the first Everchosen of Chaos. Used to dominate the mind of lesser servants of Chaos due to its malicious aura, it grants Archaon the Terror special rule and allows all nearby units to reroll failed Break tests.
Cool Sword: The Slayer of Kings, an Evil Weapon having the Greater Daemon U'zuhl trapped in it, granting the blade awesome power. In-game, it ignores armor saves, and Archaon can unleash U'zuhl to double his attacks at the risk of hitting himself on a roll of 1 to Hit.
Despair Event Horizon: After finding out about his destiny, he went into the temple of Sigmar and begs his god to aid him, but received no divine aid. He takes this as a sign that it was hopeless to defy his fate and decides to become what he was destined to be.
Determinator: During his quest to obtain the Six Treasures of Chaos, Archaon went from one continent to another and multitudes of threats from Chaos and other races just to find them. Where others would succumb to the temptations and dangers of this task, Archaon never gave in to surrender, even going through the most daring of objectives created by the Chaos Gods just to collect the treasures and become the Everchosen.
Do Not Call Me "Paul": His real name is Diederick Kastner, but the events that plagued his mind and turned him into the Everchosen prompted Archaon to forever abandon his given name.
Dragon with an Agenda: As the Chaos Gods' chosen one, Archaon shares their desire to destroy the world and every one of its inhabitants. However, their reasons for wanting to do so differ as Archaon literally wants to kill everything as in even including the Chaos Gods as his misanthropy and nihilism have pretty much taken over his perspective and goals.
The Dreaded: This is the guy that the whole world fears.
Even Evil Has Loved Ones:
- Even after deciding to become Archaon, he traveled alongside his steed who served as a companion ever since he was a squire. When his horse was devoured by monsters, he went into an Unstoppable Rage and slew hundreds.
- He had a high amount of admiration towards Dagobert as he was raised by him and was the reason why he became a devout follower of Sigmar. Unfortunately, this wasn't enough to save him from Archaon's wrath when he found out about his destiny to become the Everchosen.
- He developed a romantic interest with a nun named Giselle Dantzinger after saving her from a Beastman. Even after his turn to serving Chaos, Archaon still had Giselle as a close confidant, even when their relationship had a number of vitriolic moments and it doesn't help that they became romantically involved after Archaon defected to Chaos. While Archaon would kill Giselle, it was only after she had become possessed by a Daemon, something that left him bitter.
Evil Overlord: Of the "invading army" variant; he's the prophecized leader of the Forces of Chaos who will lead them to their ultimate victory. However, instead of wanting to rule the world, Archaon seeks seeks to annihilate it, partly because of said prophecy and partly because as a misanthrope, he sincerely thinks the world is not worth salvaging.
Fallen Hero: He used to be a devout Templar of Sigmar named Diederick Kastner.
Freudian Excuse: After years of faithful service and becoming an exemplar knight, his own comrades start hunting him down because of his prophecy. He attempts to hang himself because he couldn't bear the truth of what he was destined to do but failed. He then went to Altdorf and prayed to Sigmar for aid, but his prayers received only silence. After receiving another confirmation that he was the Everchosen, he snapped and decided to destroy everyone that worshipped Sigmar, in order to show that his former god was a fake the entire time.
Grim Up North: Of mixed Norscan and Nordlander heritage.
Happily Adopted: In his days as a follower of Sigmar and as a templar, Archaon has a lot of respect for Hieronymous Dagobert as it was he who saved Archaon from being killed by a pack of wolves after being abandoned as well as bringing him up and teaching him values and ethics that would make Archaon a devout follower of Sigmar as well as a well-respected warrior. That is until he read about his prophecy and killed Dagobert out of unrestraint anger.
Hates Everyone Equally: Befitting for a misanthrope, Archaon hates every living being and wants to kill them all. Unlike the rest of the followers of Chaos, Archaon doesn't exclude the Chaos Gods nor any Daemons and followers of Chaos either.
Hero Killer: Befitting his role as The Antichrist.
Heroic Bastard: Started out as this, given that he was raised to be a templar dedicated to honoring Sigmar and his cause. Then the revelation that he was basically the anti-christ turned him into a Bastard Bastard.
Hellish Horse: Dorghar, the Steed of the Apocalypse. It is quite the beast, with the fastness of a Warhorse but with Strength and Toughness 5 as well as Daemonic Attacks.
Horny Vikings: His dad was a Norscan Chaos champion. His mother was a fisherman's wife from Nordland.
Human-Demon Hybrid: The real circumstances of birth are the result of this as the Norscan who raped Viktoria happened to be Be'lakor who took the guise of a Norscan and did the deed for the specific intent of Viktoria giving birth to the Everchosen.
Knight In Shining Armour: Used to be one when he was serving in the Order of the Twin-Tailed Orb. He was even regarded by the Grandmaster as the most skilled, courageous, heroic and devout member of the order.
Lightning Bruiser: When mounted on Dorghar, which makes him count as cavalry and ignore terrain penalties.
Made of Iron: Not counting some monsters, he's probably the hardest to kill unit in the game. He can only be wounded on 3 or higher (not auto-wounding), has a 1+ armor save, a 3+ ward save, magic resistance, and attacks against him have a minus 1 penalty on to hit rolls. In the 5th edition Champions of Chaos, he was even harder to kill, as anything with a strength rating had D3 subtracted from it.
Magic Knight: He is one of the most terrifying models in close combat, and is also a level 2 Wizard using the lores available to Chaos Sorcerers save that of Nurgle and Slaanesh, and has heavily enchanted weapons and armor.
Misanthrope Supreme: He might have a silver of affection for his pet steed, who fought alongside him for years before and after his defection, and he had a caring father figure and love interest. Beyond those three, Archaon sees everything and everyone as contemptuous and honestly thinks it's better to wipe out every living thing from existence than to allow it to live any longer. Despite his authority as the Everchosen, Archaon hates the Chaos Gods just as much and believes that by killing everything, he would starve them to death without having anyone for reverence and worship.
Naytheist: Ironically for the greatest champion of the Northern Gods, Archaon's abiding aim isn't to establish the world as an eternal kingdom of Chaos, but to utterly destroy it and leave none left alive to venerate and worship them, out of sheer spite.
Archaon: Your God-King does this to you. You feel the hopelessness of his failure. Abandon him as he has abandoned you.
Giselle Dantzinger: And pray to your dread gods?
Archaon: No. For I have none. Let the powers of Darkness favor me as they will. Let them lend me their strength and draw strength from my victories if that is their want. You will not see me kneel to them even as I kneel to you now. All gods are fickle. Don't trust in them. I don't. Believe as much as you need to, or not at all. Ultimately, the only thing you can really believe in is in yourself.
Giselle Dantzinger: You serve the Chaos gods...
Archaon: They serve themselves, as do I. The world is not fit for man or god [...] All will fall and burn for me. I will be the Lord of the End-Times. The harbinger of doom for all — man and god — for in a world of the slain, with no men, no savages, no ancients of the elder races to pray to them and erect their temples, what will become of these gods, their heroes, and their daemons?
Omnicidal Maniac: Archaon's goal is to destroy the entire world, a goal that he shares with the Chaos Gods and the previous four holders of the title of Everchosen. However, Archaon takes it further, extending his intended list of casualties to himself and even the Chaos Gods.
The Paragon Always Rebels: He was famed and celebrated as a warrior for the Order of the Twin-Tailed Orb and was seen as one of it's best members. Then he found out about his prophecy and he was driven mad. It didn't help that those who were once Archaon's former friends turned against him, forcing Archaon to fight and kill them and turn back against the very order that he fought for.
Parental Abandonment: His mother died giving birth to him and his stepfather responded by dropping him off in the snowy wastelands, wanting nothing to do with him. Had it not been for a traveling soldier for the Empire, he would have been killed by a pack of wolves who stumbled across him.
Praetorian Guard: Archaon often rides alongside his personal warband of Chaos Knights, the Swords of Chaos. When Archaon is fielded, one unit of Chaos Knight can be designated as the Swords of Chaos, gaining the Hatred and Immune to Psychology special rules. In a broader version, while his hosts include various Norscan, Kurgan, Daemonic, and Beastmen warbands, his personal army in the Storm of Chaos was called "Archaon's Horde", notable in that the rules had they composed almost exclusively of Chaos Warriors or better (especially Chosen and Chaos Knights).
Rage Against the Heavens: Most of his hatred towards the world derives from his rage against Sigmar, who he served faithfully for years but who didn't even bother answering his prayers when he was near the Despair Event Horizon.
Rape as Backstory: The fact that Archaeon was a Child by Rape is only mentioned during his backstory and otherwise doesn't really get any attention in his lore.
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: The dark truth that he discovered that made him turn to Chaos was he was prophesied to become the Everchosen of Chaos, and the revelation broke him so he resolved to make it come to pass as a form of vengeance. Going by the nature of the Chaos Gods, particularly Tzeentch, this could have been their plan all along.
Sign Of The End Times: Archaon's very existence is this trope, which is enforced by the fact that he would carry on from where the previous four Everchosen had failed in. Him collecting the Six Treasures of Chaos and being anointed by Daemons was what would eventually signify the End Times.
Straw Nihilist: After finding out about his prophecy and giving in to the temptations of the Chaos Gods, Archaon legitimately has a scathing perspective on the world and most of his comments about anything are pure venomous contempt. This is also one of the reasons why he wants to destroy the world rather than wanting to follow up on Chaos's prophecy if his desire to take the Chaos Gods down with him isn't indicative enough.
Tin Tyrant: Archaon never goes without the Armour of Morkar a magic armour that shields Archaon from the deadliest strikes. It grants a 3+ armour save and prevents anything from wounding Archaon on an easier roll than 3+.
Tragic Villain: In spite of his reputation, Archaon never wanted to become the Everchosen and was desperate in trying to avert this fate at first. His former friends and comrades turning against him once they caught wind of the situation didn't help matters either and instead furthered Archaon into becoming the Chaos God's most favored champion and a Straw Nihilist.
You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: After the conquest of Middenheim, Archaon, deciding that he needs Khorne's might more than Tzeentch's guile in consuming the world, executes Kairos Fateweaver, his dragon, and uses his blood to summon the Bloodthirster Ka'Bandha.
World's Best Warrior: What he had to become worthy of the title of Everchosen. His tabletop stats reflect this as he is quite possibly the single most dangerous entity in the game, more so than the Physical God characters. He's definitely the strongest melee-focused one. Though this is mostly a result of his equipment and skill rather than sheer power - he has the same Movement, Strength, Toughness, Initiative, and Attacks rating as a regular Chaos Lord, but his Weapon Skill is higher than theirs at 9 and, more importantly, his Armour of Morkar grants him a 1+ armor save while the Eye of Sheerian grants him a 4+ ward save and his Slayer of Kings greatsword completely ignores all armor saves of his enemies, no matter how high. While he retains regular stats in the Storm of Chaos, the End Times books boosted him even further. He gets a mount and goes from a Level 2 to a Level 4 wizard. He dueled three other contenders for this title in both the Storm of Chaos and the End Times (Be'lakor, Grimgor, and Sigmar reborn) and the results were mostly draws.

Vardek Crom

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/chaos_crom3.jpg

A powerful Kurgan chieftain and Archaon's herald.

The Dragon: He's serves as Archaon's herald and second-in-command.
Dual Wielding: Crom is armed with both an axe and a sword alongside his shield. The in-game rules for Crom allow him to switch between fighting with both weapons or fighting with a weapon and shield, both of which grant him superior bonuses to other warriors fighting with similar styles.
Red Baron: He's often referred to as the Conqueror.

Wulfrik the Wanderer

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/wulfrik.jpg

"You run when I tell you to run, now fight when I tell you to fight!"

A Norse warrior who made the mistake of boasting that he was the mightiest warrior to ever live. The Chaos Gods decided to amuse themselves by making him prove it, promising eternal damnation if Wulfrik couldn't back up his boast. He now wanders the world aboard his flying longship, challenging champions and heroes of all races to duel him and killing them for Chaos.

Badass Cape: Made of the fresh scalp of a giant he's personally killed, no less!
Badass Boast: He's made quite a few, but this habit totally backfired on him and caused his fate in the first place. Wulfrik's forced to prove his boasts for the rest of his existence now.
Be Careful What You Say: He boasted that he was the best warrior in the world. Now the Gods want him to prove it. Not that he particularly minds.
Blood Knight: He has a level of bloodlust that would make any Khornate champion take pause.
Challenge Seeker: Wulfrik is cursed by the gods to be this, although he takes it well since it means the Gods do pay attention to him. His Hunter of Champions allows him to nominate one character to be Wulfrik's target, and he gains +2 Strength against this character.
Cool Boat: His longship "Seafang" has literally ferried Wulfrik across the entire world, including the Realm of Chaos, where it sailed on the winds of magic themselves. Somehow, it didn’t forget that ordeal, and can now fly.
Cursed with Awesome: How he sees his curse. Sure, he has to fight an endless series of battles across the whole world or be damned, but he is uniquely favored by his Dark Gods and gets to fight an endless series of battles.
Omniglot: Wulfrik can speak any language perfectly. Which he uses to swear at, taunt, jeer and verbally abuse reluctant challenges into agreeing to fight him. In game terms, his Gift of Tongues rules makes it so characters he challenges can't refuse; this is because his mastery of their language lets him insult them in just the right way to piss them off.
Pirate: He's become one permanently since he must constantly travel the world, so he might as well do it rapidly on a ship. His longship the Seafang does fly after all, giving him and his unit the Ambushers rule.
Skeletons in the Coat Closet: Aside from the literal skeleton affixed to a pole attached to his armour, he is bedecked in the countless skulls of the creatures he has slaughtered. Including the massive skull of an Orc Warboss affixed to his breastplate.
Super-Strength: Wulfrik's sheer physical strength is noted to be exceptional, even amongst Chaos Champions. On special conditions, he will have Strength 7 on the tabletop.
Trash Talk: His mastery of languages is such that he can always give the perfect insult to piss anyone off to take him on.

Harald Hammerstorm

A legendary Chaos Champion, famous amongst both the Norse and the Kurgan, Harald is known and feared throughout the Chaos Wastes and beyond for his utter hatred of the undead; when a dungeon-delving expedition went sour and he and his warband were trapped by an entire city of undead warriors from the dawn of time, he led a counter-attack that lasted for a day and a night, leaving shattered bones piled a story high. To this day, he stalks the wastes and sometimes beyond, seeking out the restless dead and destroying them, little more than an elemental avatar of true death come to claim those who cheat it.

On the meta level, "Harry the Hammer" is a special character created in celebration of Warhammer Fantasy's 25th edition, derived from the Chaos Warrior smashing a skeleton warrior with his hammer that graced the cover of the very first edition.

Flanderization: Actually working in ol'Harry's favour; his vendetta against the undead came out of that original bit of artwork where he just happened to be smacking a skeleton.
Food Chain of Evil: Harald is so devoted to destroying the undead, and so good at doing so, that he's capable of actually inspiring Terror in them, despite the fact they're normally immune to this emotion.
From Nobody to Nightmare: Meta-textual; he's just a guy on the cover of 1st edition, upgraded to a badass undead-killing machine in 6th-7th edition.
Weapon of X-Slaying: Harald's trademark hammer, a monstrous weapon that looks like a corrupted Ghal Maraz, is capable of banishing spirits with its touch, making it extra nasty against undead and daemonic foes. Arguably this was the original "Warhammer" of the title before Ghal Maraz was created.

Count Mordrek the Damned

A Chaos Champion who offended the Gods and was cursed to mutate ceaselessly inside of his armor, whilst retaining his sanity. He was the first wielder of the legendary Sword of Change, which transforms those it slays into Chaos Spawn.

And I Must Scream: He constantly shifts uncontrollably through all manner of horrific forms, never able to sink into madness and unable to die; he's condemned to his existence for all time.
Body Horror: What's under his armour... isn't pretty. His Sword of Change can inflict this on those he fights.
Captain Ersatz: Of Gaynor the Damned from various works by Michael Moorcock.
Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Despite being one of several official Chaos special characters created in the setting's youth in the sourcebook Champions of Chaos, Count Mordrek hasn't appeared in any official sourcebook since. He didn't even manage to get the semi-official update for "Hordes of Chaos" in Citadel Journal #50 like Arbaal, Egrim, Aekold, Scyla, Dechala, and Azazel did!
Noble Demon: His first appearance has a quote from him, given to a dying Reiksguard Knight. In it, he prays for the dying man to find deliverance from the Daemons of Chaos and gently tells him to rest and sleep peacefully for eternity, as he is now free of the "withering clouds of war".
Undying Warrior: Cursed with Resurrective Immortality and is brought back every time he's killed (and he's not happy about it). Hero Killer Wulfrik the Wanderer has fought him twice and been victorious both times, which still hasn't kept him down.

Asavar Kul

Asavar Kul, the Anointed, was the High Zar of the Kurgan tribes and the Everchosen of Chaos centuries before the present setting. Much like his predecessors and his eventual successor Archaon, he led a great Chaos army south into the Empire, seeking the end of the world, until he was slain beneath the walls of Kislev city by Emperor Magnus the Pious.

The Antichrist: He was the Everchosen of Chaos, the greatest Chaos champion of his age and entrusted with the mission of tearing down civilization, setting the world aflame and giving creation over to the Ruinous Powers. Luckily for everyone else, he ultimately failed, but he came very close to achieving his goal.
Evil Is Bigger: He was a giant of a man, and illustrations of his battle against Magnus the Pious show him towering to nearly twice the height of his foe.
The Magnificent: He was known as Asavar Kul the Anointed.
Posthumous Character: He's over two centuries in his grave by the setting's present time.
Predecessor Villain: He was the previous Everchosen before Archaon, and like him bound together a great host of Chaos that he led in a bloody crusade against the world.
Sealed Evil in a Can: His Chaos-blessed body could not be destroyed and was potentially very dangerous if retrieved by the servants of Chaos, leading the Elves to entomb it on a hidden and ensorceled island.
Uncertain Doom: Downplayed. It's quite certain he was killed, but no one can agree on precisely how this happened.

Champions of Khorne

Scyla Anfinngrim

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/scyla.png

"KILL FOR KHORNE! KILL FOR KHORNE! KILL FOR KHORNE!"

Once a mighty Chaos Champion aspiring to great deeds in the name of Khorne, he exemplifies the folly of turning to the Gods, reduced to nothing more than a monstrous, ape-like beast for Khorne's savage amusement.

Amazing Technicolor Population: Scylla's body is bright red to signify his allegiance to Khorne.
Anti-Magic: Scylla has the Brass Collar of Khorne protecting it even further with a 6+ ward save and Magic Resistance (3).
Body Horror: Chaos Spawn. This comes with the territory. Specifically, he looks like a deformed gorilla body-bodybuilder with a steroid addiction, spiky armor plates growing on his back, sword-like talons (in his original art) or oversized, brutish fists, too-small legs, a chitinous tail ending in an eyeless, fang-toothed mouth, and a still human(ish) head. The precise depiction differs a little between his original artwork and his 2010s model.
Disney Villain Death: He meets his end at the hand of Ungrim Ironfist, who knocks him down from the ramparts of Averheim to the ground.
Feral Villain: The weight of his mutations has long since cost him whatever rationality, reason or higher intellect he might have had — there's nothing left of the former Champion now but undirected fury and bloodlust. However, he remains so deadly and violent that his mindless rampages still earn him Khorne's favor.
Gender-Blender Name: While this probably isn't the case in-universe, in real world terms, Scyla is named after a female monster from Classical Mythology.
Horny Vikings: Every Chaos warrior comes from Norsca.
It Can Think: Kinda. While he's become a Chaos Spawn, he's also still a Champion of Chaos, and as such retains a certain degree of self-will. He can still issue and receive challenges, for one.
Red Baron: The Scourgeborn, The Talon of Khorne are among his most well-known nicknames.
Spikes of Villainy: He is covered in spikes at the shoulder area and tail.
With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: He exemplifies what happens if you get too much of the Chaos Gods's attention; his many gifts from them eventually collapsed in on themselves. To represent the toll on his sanity, he now have Random Attacks (2D6) to represent how likely he is to strike a few times and get distracted by something, or unleash a true onslaught of punches as he focuses.

Valkia the Bloody

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/valkya2.png

"Khorne calls to your blood and must be answered in kind. Rise now and revel in the roar of battle once again."

A female Chaos warrior, Valkia once refused a Daemon Prince's suggestion that she become his concubine... by cutting his head off and nailing it to a shield. She entered the Chaos Wastes to present his head to Khorne, but was slain a year into the journey. Khorne raised her from the dead, giving her the task of shepherding the worthy to his realm.

Action Mom: A rather dark take. Valkia was this for a while, though her devotion to Khorne outweighed her love for her daughters, with eventual fatal consequences.
Authority Equals Asskicking: How she ended up leading her tribe after her father's death.
Back from the Dead: Valkia represents one of the very few times the Chaos Gods have ever resurrected someone.
Bash Brothers: With her lieutenant, Kormak, who stood by her to the end. She even resurrected him and made him a Champion of Khorne as a reward for his devotion and bloodlust.
Big Red Devil: She very much looks the part, with the horns, leathery wings, bright red color scheme and generally Hellish themes all present and accounted for.
Blood Knight: She revels in carnage and indiscriminate slaughter, befitting a champion of Khorne.
Child Soldier: She served as Shield Maiden and killed her first enemy when she was less than ten years old.
Dark Action Girl: She's described as a murderous and unforgiving warrior queen, and is also notable for being one of the few named female Warriors of Chaos.
Defiant to the End: As a human, she did not go down quietly when Slaanesh's forces overwhelmed and prepared to kill her, even using the last of her strength to roar Khorne's name. This prompted Khorne to resurrect her as a Daemon Princess.
Even Evil Has Loved Ones: One of her special rules is Consort of Khorne, and another of her rules lets her reroll results on the Eye of the Gods table... because Khorne can't stop watching her. Subverted with her own family, as she personally murdered her father, her daughter and her brother with no mercy and no regrets.
Fiery Redhead: Presumably in her youth. Some of the artwork depicts her with grey hair.
Horned Humanoid: During her transformation into a Champion of Khorne, her god caused a pair of long, sharp horns to grow from Valkia's brow.
Horny Vikings: Valkia was and yet remains a Norse warrior-queen, and has personally led the Norscans to bloody victories in the name of Khorne on many occasions. Its also up to her to bring the valiant dead of the Brass Halls of Khorne, so that they might feast, drink and fight for all eternity.
Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: She was a Shield-Maiden in her pre-Champion life, which meant her job was to take her position in the Norse shield-wall while the men charged forth into combat, killing everything with huge axes. Now she uses the Daemonshield which sports the horned head of a Daemon Prince. Its hypnotic gaze reduces the attack stats of all models in base contact by 1.
Mutual Kill: During the battle of Averheim, after a brutal combat against Ludwig Schwarzhelm, she meets her fate on the end of his broken banner pole as it pierces her heart at the same time she kills him, the two falling dead at the same time.
Named Weapons: Named her spear Slaupnir after a monster from one of her favourite childhood stories.
Offing the Offspring: She killed at least one of her daughters.
Pet the Dog: She resurrected her faithful servant Kormak after becoming a Daemon Princess and made him a Champion of Khorne.
Sadist: She immensely enjoys torturing and killing.
Self-Made Orphan: She killed her own father when she decided he was too weak to deserve his throne.
The Smurfette Principle: Female Champions of Chaos are uncommon, to say the least.
Tomboy and Girly Girl: The Tomboy to her childhood friend Kata's Girly Girl.
Til Murder Do Us Part: She killed her husband for being a selfish misogynist.
Time Abyss: The lore mentions that she was already active one millennium before the setting's present day.
Tin Tyrant: Valkia's own armour is the Scarlet Armour sapping the strength of enemies nearby. It grants her a 3+ armour save and reduces the strength of model in base contact by 1.
Unkempt Beauty: As a human. Being a female Norse raised to adore Khorne, she probably never cared much about her appearance. Yet Valkia possessed such feral beauty that made Locephax, a Daemon Prince of Slaanesh offer her to abandon her life as a monarch and join his harem instead. Naturally, she didn't take this well.
Valkyries: She acts in this capacity to the Lord of Battles, and is even explicitly stated to choose great warriors who die on the battlefield in Khorne's name to fight on the Blood God's halls. In case you weren't convinced the Warriors of Chaos are crazy Vikings.
Winged Humanoid: Of the hellish, demonic variety — she gained a pair of giant leathery wings when she became a Champion of Khorne. She gets the Fly rule thanks to them.

Arbaal the Undefeated

The greatest of all Khorne's warriors, Arbaal has slain thousands in battle and led a hundred Daemons in the assault on Praag. He rides the Hound of Khorne, largest and mightiest of all the Flesh Hounds.

Axe-Crazy: Wielding the Destroyer of Khorne, Arbaal on the battlefield can be best summarized as "whirling hurricane of bladed death".
Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Despite being one of several official Chaos special characters created in the setting's youth in the sourcebookChampions of Chaos, Arbaal hasn't appeared in any official sourcebook since. The closest he's gotten is an update to 6th edition Warhammer in the 50th issue of the Games Workshop-published magazine "Citadel Journal". He did make a brief lore appearance during the End Times... but only to be unceremoniously killed off.
Horse of a Different Color: He rides a flesh hound of Khorne.

Champions of Tzeentch

Vilitch the Curseling

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/vilitch_the_cursling.jpg

The Master of Misrule and the Twisted Twin

A mutated, stunted boy, eternally shunned and despised whilst his big, strong, healthy, handsome twin brother Thomin was glorified and accoladed. He pledged his soul to Tzeentch for revenge, and was physically grafted to his brother's body and stole his brother's mind, used the combination of his brother's might and his own magic to destroy his village and set out to become a great Champion of Tzeentch.

Abusive Parents: His dad abused him and preferred his handsome brother.
The Archmage: Vilitch is one of the greatest, if not the greatest mortal sorcerer on Tzeentch's payroll. Vilitch is a Level 4 wizard who is Loremaster in the Lore of Tzeentch.
Brains and Brawn: Vilitch as the brains and his brother Thomin as the Brawn, in a literalised rendition of how Tzeentch's doctrine favours the former above the latter.
Conjoined Twins: A horrific subversion. Their bodies (and minds) were fused together by black magic as adults, rather than being naturally joined at birth. Also Thomin is a drooling automaton under Vilitch's command.
Death by Childbirth: Their mother died giving birth to them and nursing them.
The Dog Bites Back: After being abused and tormented for his weakness, Vilitch destroyed his village as soon as he had the power to do so.
Energy Absorption: Vilitch was gifted with a magic artefact that siphons magic for him to use. The Vessel of Chaos allows Vilitch to steal the dice used for enemy casting or dispel attempts that failed and store them for later use.
Grand Theft Me: In the absolute worst way possible, only for it to be turned back against him by Thomin.
Irony: After spending so many years controlling his brother as a mindless puppet thanks to Tzeentch, the Chaos God turns this right back against him.
Merging Mistake: Vilitch was the downtrodden younger brother of Thomin, apprenticed to the tribe's shaman while Thomin received the best warrior training in preparation for his becoming the tribe's chieftain. Vilitch prayed to Tzeentch that their fates might be switched. Instead, Tzeentch melded their bodies together, Vilitch casting spells and Thomin's body removing nearby threats. Vilitch saw no problem with this, using his newfound strength to enact a Roaring Rampage of Revenge against All of the Other Reindeer.
Mind-Control Device: Vilitch is this thanks to his magic, though he's only used it against the Warriors of his tribe.
Puppeteer Parasite: Vilitch is effectively a conjoined parasite controlling his host's own body.
Sibling Fusion: Vilitch is a fusion of Vilitch (a scrawny Squishy Wizard) and his twin Thomin (a mighty warrior), created when Vilitch prayed that he would no longer be his brother's victim. Tzeentch answered his prayer, and Vilitch was bonded and given control over his brother's body.
The Un-Favourite: He was this to his father, his brother and the rest of the tribe.

Aekold Helbrass

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/aekold_hellbrass.jpg

"Death or life! Stasis or change! Stagnation or expansion. Since before the age of the Old Ones that has been the only choice that matters!"

A Tzeentchian Champion famous for his magical Windblade and his unnatural healing aura, which allows him to bring life with his mere presence. In most recent editions, has been reduced to a cameo, mentioning a trail of plant-life he left through thick deserts.

Blue-and-Orange Morality: He doesn't think in terms of good and evil conventionally, but what is good and evil by Tzeentchian standards, i.e. constant change and expansion and living vs. stagnation, stasis and death.
Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Despite being one of several official Chaos special characters created in the setting's youth in the sourcebookChampions of Chaos, Aekold Hellbrss hasn't appeared in any official sourcebook since. The closest he's gotten is an update to 6th edition Warhammer in the 50th issue of the Games Workshop-published magazine "Citadel Journal". He did make a brief lore appearance during the End Times... but only to be unceremoniously killed off.
Cool Sword: Aekold carries the "Wind Blade", which grants him the ability to fly, perform a boomerang attack with the sword or lets him strike first in combat. On the tabletop, the abilities the sword gives for that round is decided on a diceroll.
Fertile Feet: The Breath of Life boon means his presence brings life and healing. Injuries are restored, sicknesses cured, and barren desert blooms into fertile life where he steps.
Good Powers, Bad People: Despite his ability to heal all things around him, Aekold is an uncaring, unrepentant murderer.
Random Number God: Fittingly for an early-edition Champion of Tzeentch, his Windblade cycled randomly through three different powers; granting him the ability to fly, allowing him to always strike first, and being able to be thrown through the air to hit a foe before returning like a boomerang.

Egrimm van Horstmann

Former Grand Magister of the Order of Light, Egrimm secretly betrayed the Order by turning to the worship of Tzeentch, murdering several other wizards, destroying priceless arcane secrets, and freeing the dreaded Chaos Dragon Baudros from its prison beneath the Pyramid of Light.

Badass Bookworm: At least according to his Black Library novel. He's an incredibly powerful sorcerer, and despite his allegiance to Tzeentch, he managed to infiltrate the Order of Light, study their sorcery, destroy numerous precious artifacts and magical texts and eventually became their leader, despite the fact he built a secret room on the grounds and crammed dozens of daemons into it. Then he murdered his target, broke one of the most powerful Chaos Dragons ever to menace the world out from underneath their Wizarding School, hopped on its back, and rode it off into the Northern Wastes.
Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Despite being one of several official Chaos special characters created in the setting's youth in the sourcebookChampions of Chaos, Egrim hasn't appeared in any official sourcebook since. The closest he's gotten is an update to 6th edition Warhammer in the 50th issue of the Games Workshop-published magazine "Citadel Journal". He did make a brief lore appearance during the End Times... but only to be unceremoniously killed off.
Dragon Rider: He's the only official Chaos Champion who rides a Chaos Dragon, which further marks him as unique... but also makes him incredibly expensive to field in the game.
Evil Sorcerer: Like all Tzeentch worshippers, he's a powerful Black Mage. More unusual is that he started as a Wizard in the Imperial Order of Light, and then turned to Chaos, gaining warrior's skills and an enchanted sword out of it.
Freudian Excuse: According to his Black Library novel, he Used to Be a Sweet Kid; an orphan who lived a harmless life with his sister. Then a pair of Light Wizards took them both and subjected them to torturous experiments seeking to define the inherent morality of the soul. His sister died; Egrimm didn't. He swore his oaths to Tzeentch and infiltrated the Order of Light until eventually he was able to destroy the husband and wife couple who had murdered his sister and tortured him so long ago.
The Mole: Infiltrated the Order of Light to the point he became its Grand Magister, the single highest leader and most respected wizard in the entire order, all whilst secretly being a Tzeentch worshipper who wanted to destroy the Order. He didn't quite succeed, but he stole or destroyed countless magical artifacts and magical texts, broke out one of the most powerful Chaos Dragon from its prison beneath the Order's lair, and then escaped to the Chaos Waste to found his own Tzeentch Wizarding School.
Phlebotinum Breakdown: As Ungrim Ironfist, the Incarnate of Fire, dies, Egrimm van Horstmann attempts to absorb Aqshy into himself... within moments of gaining the wind, it bursts free of him and burns him to death in the process.

Champions of Nurgle

Festus the Leechlord

A noble and benevolent doctor who, driven to madness by a plague he was unable to cure, foolishly accepted a daemonic pledge to gain knowledge over all diseases. Now devoid of empathy, he exists only to develop new plagues and spread them across the world.

Bald of Evil: Festus is bald, and his baldness doesn't stop him from enjoying turning whole populations sick to death with plagues.
Deal with the Devil: His knowledge of disease came from a deal he made with Nurgle Daemons.
Despair Event Horizon: Lost his mind when every treatment he developed for the Gnashing Pox failed.
Fat Bastard: He's got this appearance, although it may have more to do with the foul bloated diseased tissue than any real fat.
Go Mad from the Revelation: The Daemons gave him knowledge of all the diseases in the world, but it was too much for his mind and drove him mad. He saw the sheer legions of disease that he would face as a doctor and gave up. In his madness, he lost his compassion and was left with an intimate knowledge of disease and a desire to experiment.
Healing Potion: The knowledge granted to Festus by Nurgle has increased his medical knowledge exponentially and he is able to create potions and elixirs that can cure almost any malady, for those blessed by the God of Plagues at least. In-game this is represented by the Healing Elixirs special rule, that allows Festus' unit to Regenerate lost wounds, and the Pestilent Potion magic item that can heal the Leechlord himself.
Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Vlad von Carstein impales him with a wooden stake, which the rampant life energies inside him cause to grow into a tree, splitting his body apart.
Mad Doctor: Will often cure his patients, but is equally likely to give them a deadly disease. Festus can force a model in base contact to drink one of his Pestilent Potions, possibly losing D3 wounds with no armour save allowed.
One-Winged Angel: During the battle of Altdorf in Geheimnisnacht of 2525, Festus, with the help of Ku'gath Plaguefather, opens the gate of Nurgle's garden spilling into the city. Nurgle rewards Festus with the immortality he desired, turning him into a new being swollen with his master's power (in-game this is represented by the Lord-level Festus Empowered profile replacing his normal Hero-level one), and would have become a Daemon Prince if not for Vlad von Carstein's timely intervention.
Plague Master: He is a sorcerer dedicated to the Plague God, giving him access to the desease-ridden Lore of Nurgle, and his Harbinger of Pestilence rule grants him and his unit the Poisoned Attacks rule.

Gutrot Spume

The betentacled monster known as Gutrot Spume is a mighty Chaos Lord, blessed by Father Nurgle for his bravery and tenacity. Once thwarted by the Emperor, Karl Franz, Spume has craved vengeance ever since.

Body Horror: Standard for all champions of Nurgle. His body is bloated and swollen by Nurgle’s power, wracked with all manner of mutations. Instead of a left arm, he has a morass of lashing tentacles, writhing, grasping things that look set to draw his victim into the gnashing maw where his armpit would be.
Combat Tentacles: Which give him D3 Attacks per close combat round.
The Faceless: His miniature, which has no option to be fielded without a full helm.
Pirate: Gutrot Spume is the master of the plague fleets, a foul and fearsome warrior who serves the vile god Nurgle with intense devotion.

Pox Maggoth Riders

Orghotts Daemonspew

Lord of the Icehorn Peak tribes and master of the pox maggoths, Orghotts Daemonspew was born of an unholy union between a Great Unclean One and a human witch. His one and only wish is to claim what he perceives to be his birthright by becoming a true daemon.

Cool Horse: He rides the pox maggoth, Whippermaw.
Dual Wielding: He wields two Rotaxes.
Half-Human Hybrid: His mother is a witch, and his father a Great Unclean One.
Too Many Mouths: Not Orghotts himself, but his pox maggoth, Whippermaw, has an extra mouth on its belly.

Bloab Rotspawned

The harbinger of fecundity and enemy of sterility, Bloab Rotspawned is a living vessel of Father Nurgle, a Chaos Sorcerer whose body has become a breeding ground for countless thousands of larvae and maggots which blossom and bloom into clouds of pestilent flies.

Cool Horse: He rides the pox maggoth, Bilespurter.
The Dog Bites Back: Nurgle was so outraged by his constant abuse of insects that he eventually empowered a swarm of carrion-flies to force their way down Bloab's throat and eat him alive from the inside out, with Nurgle's curse leaving Bloab alive and consciousness throughout the entire affair.
Evil Sorcerer: He's a powerful Chaos Sorcerer who wields the magical arts of Nurgle, allowing him to spread pestilence, disease and decay in spectaculare ways.
Kick the Dog: Ever since he was a child, Bloab has been fascinated by the smallest of life and how to kill it, often persecuting and waging 'war' on the most diminutive creatures.
The Worm That Walks: Though he used to be a tall, athletic warrior, now there's nothing left of Bloab's body but a sack of leathery skin filled with daemon-maggots.

Morbidex Twiceborn

Morbidex Twiceborn is a powerful, vengeful warrior of Chaos. As a baby he was born into flames and hideously scarred, only to be reborn in the image of Nurgle many years later beneath an avalanche of suppurating, Nurgling flesh.

Cool Horse: He rides the pox maggoth, Tripletongue.
Horned Humanoid: One of his more distinguishing features is a pair of gnarled, nasty-looking antlers.
Sinister Scythe: As with many other Nurgle-worshippers, he favors the use of a scythe in battle, which is an homage to Nurgle's (twisted) view of himself as a fertility and death god.

Valnir the Reaper

A great leader of the Crow Tribe, Valnir was Nurgle's Reaper, a soul-gathering killer championing death by pestilence with the aid of his dreaded flail, the Gatherer of Souls. Part of the horde that marched on Praag and attacked the Gates of Kislev, he was mortally wounded in battle against Tzar Alexis of Kislev, staggering away to die. His mortal remains entombed upon a great stone throne, for two hundred years his body rotted and his soul festered before Nurgle brought Valnir back, not quite a daemon, not quite a wight, and charged him with stalking forth as the Reaper once more.

Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Despite being one of several official Chaos special characters created in the setting's youth in the sourcebookChampions of Chaos, Count Mordrek hasn't appeared in any official sourcebook since. He didn't even manage to get the semi-official update for "Hordes of Chaos" in Citadel Journal #50 like Arbaal, Egrim, Aekold, Scyla, Dechala, and Azazel did!
Epic Flail: The Gatherer of Souls, three rusted huge weights of metal attached to the other end of a spear that devours the souls of its kills.
Healing Factor: Having died once, Valnir's undead/daemonic corpse shuns the grave, reknitting itself together in battle.
Horny Vikings: The Tribe of the Crow is from Norsca.
Plague Master: One of his special rules was determining if any enemy units had been affected by The Red Plague, Brain Fever or Black Rot before the battle began.

Tamurkhan, the Maggot Lord

A mighty champion of Nurgle who led a great Chaos horde south from the Wastes and through a long journey through the eastern steppes, the Mountains of Mourn, the Great Bastion of Cathay, the Dark Lands and finally the lands of men, culminating in a great battle beneath the walls of Nuln that saw his armies shattered and Tamurkhan himself brought low.

Body Horror: Tamurkhan has been warped by Nurgle's blessing into something that resembles a diseased maggot the size of a baby. It doesn't matter to him, though, because he retains his full intelligence and Father Nurgle has blessed him with abilities that compensate for this body's lackluster physical prowess...
Dragon Rider: He rides Bubebolos, a flightless toad dragon.
Grand Theft Me: A unique blessing from Nurgle allows Tamurkhan to burrow into the bodies of other beings and hijack the rotting carcasses to use for himself. During the campaign in which he appears, he is first shown wearing the body of a former rival Chaos Champion named Sargath, then possesses an Ogre Tyrant named Karaka Breakmountain after he destroys Sargath's corpse. There are even game mechanics for him to steal the bodies of other characters if his host-body is destroyed, which can potentially lead to Body Surf shenanigans if he hijacks multiple victims over the course of the battle.
Enemy Mine: Initially launches a bloody invasion of Chaos Dwarf lands, until he realizes he needs their expertise to besiege Nuln, and while he could defeat them, he'd decimate his own army doing so. Being willing to sell to pretty much anyone as long as the price is right, the Dawi-Zhar agree.
Killed Off for Real: He perishes when trying to possess Bruckner's body; the amulet the latter is wearing reacts violently with Tamurkhan's taint, and the Maggot Lord is annihilated body and soul.
No Historical Figures Were Harmed: Bears some similarities with the Turco-Mongol warlord Timur, most obviously his name (or nickname, rather).
Third Time's The Charm: He is killed three times during the story of his campaign, and the third time is the one that finally sticks — although, in classic Dark Fantasy fashion, his killer dies with him.

Champions of Slaanesh

Sigvald the Magnificent

The Geld-Prince

One of Slaanesh's most favored champions, a spoiled princeling born from an incestuous coupling between a Slaaneshi chieftain and his sister.

Agent Peacock: Yes, he's vain, foppish and ridiculously pretty. He's also a Combat Sadomasochist and a lethally skilled warrior whose cruelty is infinite.
Arson, Murder, and Admiration: When Baron Schuler betrays him and sends him on an elaborate quest in the hopes that he'd die, Sigvald is actually proud of this, since it proves that he was right that Schuler had potential to be depraved.
Bastard Bastard: He was born of Brother–Sister Incest, and is one of the most depraved people in the Old World.
Beauty Is Bad: Like all of Slaanesh's favored champions, Sigvald is astonishingly beautiful, to the point where he levitates off the ground at all times because the ground is too ugly to be graced with his beauty. He's also a top contender for being the most evil individual in the Old World.
Bling of War: He wears solid gold armor, and that's just for starters. His Auric Armour is a sculpted suit of plate mail made of gold after all. It also happens to grant him a nice 2+ armour save and the Regeneration special rule.
Captain Ersatz: Of Joffrey Baratheon from A Song of Ice and Fire. Both are blonde-haired bastards literally born from Brother–Sister Incest, are youthful and handsome, but also absolutely cruel, amoral and psychotic. Unlike Joffrey, though, Sigvald is an accomplished warrior.
Cool Sword: Sigvald wields the Sliverslash a rapier like sword that is said to come from a shard of Slaanesh's own blade. It grants him +2 attacks and the Always Strikes First rule.
Deathless and Debauched: A murderous, self-centered 16-year-old rapist and cannibal for more than 300 years, surrounding himself with a harem of beautiful women and taking multiple wives - all of whom eventually have their skin replaced with doll ceramic to prevent the aging process from offending Sigvald.
Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Averted Trope. Even though he showed some love to his first two wives, when they aged he ripped off their skins and replaced it with doll ceramic. Then his third wife gets abducted by his highest trustee (one Baron Schüler) and all he does is admire the ingenuity behind the plan (an Uriah Gambit to get Sigvald killed). Even his best friend from childhood is really more of a slave than, well, a friend. In short, Sigvald loves no one but himself.
Evil Is Petty: He once burned a city to the ground because their wine was bad. He also once went to war against the High Elves because he heard a rumor they had nicer hair than him.
The Fighting Narcissist: So narcissitic that on the tabletop he suffers from the Stupidity rule (though his high leadership means it's not a huge issue), as he can get distracted by his own beauty or wanders off in pursuit of a sudden whim. One White Dwarf campaign had him declare vengeance on the Empire because he once broke a nail on a priest's armor. There's an instance in the lore that has him invading Ulthuan to scalp as many High Elves as he can because their hair is nicer than his.
I'm a Humanitarian: He loves the taste of human flesh, and in fact his father originally expelled him from their tribe because he was repulsed by Sigvald's taste for human flesh. This prompted Sigvald to swear himself to Slaanesh and then overthrow his father.
Inbred and Evil: Sigvald's parents were brother and sister, and he's a very bad person.
Karmic Death: Beaten to death and pissed on by Throgg, whom Sigvald had insulted and tried to murder for being ugly.
Light Is Not Good: While his appearance seems almost angelic, his behavior is anything but.
Long-Haired Pretty Boy: As part of his "Evil Pretty Boy" motif, he is an extremely beautiful man with "youthful" features who wears his blonde hair in a long, flowing mane.
Narcissist: Exemplifies the Slaaneshi ideal of self-love to an insane degree. This is to the point that his narcissism actively interferes with his fighting prowess, and he's willing to wage bloody wars over perceived slights to his own beauty. That said, he's still The Fighting Narcissist and keeps his position through skill and bloodthirst.
Patricide: After his father banished him for his obscene excesses and cannibalism, Sigvald killed him while he slept with his own sword.
Power Floats: He drifts merrily across the battlefield due to Slaanesh's favor; in essence, he rejects the earth underfoot for being too ugly and the earth listens.
Really 700 Years Old: As with other favoured followers of the Chaos Gods, Sigvald is well over three hundred years old yet hasn’t appeared to have aged a day since he killed his father and dedicated himself to Slaanesh, the Chaos God of Beauty and Excess, at the age of just 16.
Red Right Hand: His only blemish is a birthmark in the shape of twin horns on the back of his neck.
Spoiled Brat: His father apparently spared the rod when it came to his son. Only cannibalism was considered taboo enough to punish Sigvald, who made his father pay with his life.
Too Dumb to Live: He put a mirror on his shield so he can look at his reflection on the battlefield. It's represented on the game as him being distracted and the owning player losing the ability to control where he moves.

Dechala, the Denied One

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dechala.jpg

A corrupted High Elf maiden who accepted the worship of Slaanesh, Dechala is now the leader of the greatest of all Slaanesh's mortal warbands, the Tormentors. Transformed into a six-armed monster with the upper body of an elven woman and the lower body of a daemonic snake whose multi-headed tail cracks like a whip and drips a poison called the Elixir of Damnation, she takes countless slaves, lovers and worshippers, though all ultimately come to the same end: used and discarded for her pleasure, for she seeks only the ultimate in self-indulgence and personal freedom from the shackles of law and order.

Beware My Stinger Tail: He tail is tipped with a scorpion-like stinger that secretes a paralytic venom.
Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Despite being one of several official Chaos special characters created in the setting's youth in the sourcebook Champions of Chaos, Dechala hasn't appeared in any official sourcebook since. The closest she's gotten is an update to 6th edition Warhammer in the 50th issue of the Games Workshop-published magazine "Citadel Journal". She has done better than many of her counterparts from that book in that she got some sizable lore entries in the Liber Chaotica sourcebook and the End Times.
Dance Battler: In battle, Dechala twists and weaves sensuously in praise of her patron god, never ceasing her dance until every enemy is dead. She can choose one of three dances to perform each turn, allowing her to either make herself harder to hit (Praise of Slaanesh), make it easier for her to hit her opponents (Dance of Destruction), or automatically deflect an opponent's attacks at the cost of her own (Daggerdance).
The Dreaded: Samael, originally a favored demon prince of Slaanesh, possibly even the most favored, was afraid to the point of panicking of Dechala's approach, and was possibly killed by her. Dechala also proves a challenge for Tyrion who, at the point of their duel, is a Physical God. As a reminder, even as a mortal Tyrion could defeat Greater Daemons, and it's implied he wouldn't be able to defeat Dechala as a mortal.
Fallen Princess: As the daughter of An-Toralis, a high elven lord, Dechala is a pretty literal example, with in universe legends outright describing her a princess.
Freudian Excuse: Dechala was sacrificed by her own parents to Samael, a daemon of Slaanesh, in return for leaving them alone. Samael used the hatred Dachala felt for being betrayed in such way, and her desire for revenge, to warp her into a monster similar to himself. Notably, the Parental Betrayal also caused Dechala to become The Unfettered.
Multi-Armed and Dangerous: Six arms, each carrying a wickedly sharp longsword, and with incredible speed, manual dexterity and skill in swordplay.
Parental Betrayal: She was given to a Slaaneshi daemon by her parents, and it's her Freudian Excuse.
Self-Made Orphan: She slaughtered her family herself for reason above.
Snake People: For her devotion to excess, Dechala has been gifted with a six-armed, snake-like form with a tail that drips paralyzing venom.
Snakes Are Sexy: As a servant of the god of pleasure and excess, she straddles the border between this and Reptiles Are Abhorrent.
The Unfettered: As with all Slaanesh-worshippers, Dechala religiously shuns the idea of denying or restraining herself in any way — her faith compels her to embrace desire to excess, meaning she literally will do anything that she feels like doing.

Others

The following three characters aren't mortal followers of Chaos, though in game terms they belong to the army.

Galrauch

Galrauch, the Great Drake

A powerful dragon originally from Ulthuan. In one of the early battles against Chaos (the one where the High Elves created the Vortex), Galrauch devoured a Greater Daemon of Tzeentch and was possessed by it, mutating into a hideous beast as his head split in two. It's said that Galrauch is the father of all Chaos Dragons and has brought woe to the world many times.

Berserk Button: The dragon Galrauch did not like having his friends harmed. After possession, two include stealing from him or killing his offspring post-possession.
Body Horror: The possession led to some nasty physical transformations.
"(His) scales flowed like water, forming to evil, leering faces that cackled maniacally in praise to Tzeentch. Foul tentacles and wicked spikes emerged from the Dragon's flesh, and finally the once-noble head of Galrauch split in two all the way down to the base of his neck. Where there was once one head, there were now two..."
Breath Weapon: A more twisted example of this than usual dragons. His Breath of Change forces hit models to pass a Toughness test instead of normally rolling for Wounds, as the breath is a magic mutagenic mist. Anyone who fails the test is removed from game, period.
Demonic Possession: A Daemon-possessed Dragon. However, the original Galrauch's spirit is still fighting.
Dragon Hoard: His was cursed to wake him up if even a single piece left the chamber where he slept, as King Thurgrim's Dwarfs found out the hard way when their teft of some of his gold woke him and drew him into their old, thus making an end to Karak Vlag.
Fighting from the Inside: The spirit of Galrauch, the original dragon, is still in the body as well. The spirit sometimes resurfaces and fights the daemon, causing the dragon to attack itself. In-game, this is represented by his Spirit of Galrauch rule, which requires him to pass a Leadership test each turn; if he fails, then the original dragon's mind manages to seize control of one head, which means that he cannot take move, cast spells, or use his breath weapons for the turn, and automatically spends half of his attacks against himself. In 6th Edition, if this test is failed on a natural 12, Galrauch's original mind takes full control and turns completely against the Chaos army until the daemon can regain control.
Hero Killer: "Hundreds of noble heroes have tried to slay him, but they have all failed..."
Magic Knight: Galrauch, or more precisely the Lord of Change possessing him, is a Level 4 Wizard in the lore of Tzeentch in addition to being an exceptionally strong and tough giant monster.
Monster Progenitor: Older fluff says that he fathered the Chaos Dragon race and many other unnatural creatures besides (such as Manticores and Cockatrices). Newer fluff downplays, though still implies, this.
Multiple Head Case: When he consumed and was consumed by the Daemon, his head split into two down its length and transformed into two independent heads atop two long, snaking necks. His original personality occasionally takes control of one of these, leading to his two heads fighting with one another until the daemon resumes control.
Number of the Beast: All his stats — except his Leadership of 9 — are 6s.
One-Man Army: Comes with being a dragon, but especially with the magical powers of the Daemon as well. In one case a battle between two armies woke him from sleep and he attacked everyone there, killing six Wyverns sent to kill him in aerial combat and survived the battle.
Roaring Rampage of Revenge: His entry in White Dwarf #274 describes him utterly annihilating a Bretonnian city whose duke had slain one of Galrauch's offspring and mounted its skulls upon the city's gate, as the sight sent him made with a rage that calmed only when the city laid in rubble.
Shout-Out: His name and nature as first of the Chaos Dragons are reminiscent of Glaurung, the first dragon in Middle-Earth.
Time Abyss: He's over 7,000 years old, predating the collapse of the Old Ones' Polar Gates.

Kholek Suneater

One of the oldest of the Dragon Ogres, and one of the oldest living mortal creatures in the Warhammer world. He was involved in the Dragon Ogres' pact wit the Chaos Gods that granted them their immortality.

The Brute: He's physically the biggest being in this faction, standing at over eighty feet tall. Moreover, he has Strength 8, one of the highest ever for a model on the tabletop.
Deal with the Devil: The Dragon Ogres made a deal with the Chaos Gods that in exchange for immortality, which is acquired through being struck by lightning (which rejuvenates them), they would fight for the Chaos Gods whenever they called, which would be through storms.
Feed It with Fire: Kholek can, like other Dragon Ogres, absorb lightning attacks and be reinvirogated.
Like a God to Me: Worshipped as a god by some people. It is unknown if that is how Kholek sees himself.
Named Weapons: He wields a Warhammer named Starcrusher.
Shock and Awe: He can use the lightning from the storm that shrouds him as a weapon. It has a chance to hit him, but that just invigorates him. His Lord of the Storm rule allows him to target enemy units nearby and hit them with lightning.
The Stormbringer: What he did in order to seal the pact with the Chaos Gods was said to be such an abomination, that the sun never looked upon him since then. Wherever he goes, a thunderstorm follows.
Time Abyss: Predates the mortal races of the Warhammer world and the arrival of the Old Ones, which happened over 15,000 years ago. The only living creature that might be older is Krakanrok the Black, his father.

Throgg, King of the Trolls

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A troll king in the northern wastes who seeks to destroy the realms of man with an army of monsters.

Acid Attack: In the Warhammer world, all trolls can vomit on foes near them, which both ignores armour saves and counts as magical attacks. Throgg naturallly have this, but also an advanced version, which he can use for ranged damage.
The Beastmaster: Throgg comes at the head of an army of monsters, his Wintertooth Crown allowing all nearby war beasts, monstrous beasts, monstrous infantry and monsters to use his Leadership.
It Can Think: Trolls are renowned for being stupid (to the point where they can be more interested in picking their noses than attacking an enemy in battle). Throgg is a clever tactician and capable of intelligent thought and speech. In fact, the reason he's come down into the Old World is because he grew extremely unsatisfied with his life and sought more power. For one thing, he doesn't have the Stupidity rule.
Large and in Charge: Throgg is very large for a troll, gets accordingly Strength 6 for his trouble.
Monster Lord: If he's the leader of your army, Trolls change from being Special (you can only have up to four of them in the army) to Core (as many as you want); he also makes other monsters more powerful.

Characters / Warhammer: Warriors of Chaos

Norscans

Kurgans

Hung

Champions of the Gods

Champions of Chaos Undivided

Archaon, Lord of Chaos, the Everchosen

Champions of Khorne

Champions of Tzeentch

Champions of Nurgle

Orghotts Daemonspew

Bloab Rotspawned

Morbidex Twiceborn

Champions of Slaanesh

Others

Galrauch, the Great Drake

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Index

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Characters / Warhammer: Warriors of Chaos

Edit Locked

Norscans

Kurgans

Hung

Champions of the Gods

Champions of Chaos Undivided

Archaon, Lord of Chaos, the Everchosen

Champions of Khorne

Champions of Tzeentch

Champions of Nurgle

Orghotts Daemonspew

Bloab Rotspawned

Morbidex Twiceborn

Champions of Slaanesh

Others

Galrauch, the Great Drake

Previous

Index

Next