"I have fought in countless battles. At first, it is the din of war that unsettles you - the hiss of arrows, the clash of steel on steel. Yet the one noise I can never grow inured to is the sound of those loathsome Spawn. Even I still shudder at their roar."
A former Chaos Warrior, overwhelmed by his mutations, is warped into a mindless Chaos Spawn.[7a]
A Chaos Spawn is a term used to describe a whole spectrum of mutated creatures warped into being by the corrupting influence of Chaos. The fickle nature of the Dark Gods means that any mortal creature which is granted too many "gifts" of Chaos will eventually succumb to madness and corruption.
As these mutations run out of control, the individual's mind and body warps, and a new Chaos Spawn is created. Most mortal servants of Chaos will ultimately devolve into Chaos Spawn unless they attain the ultimate prize of Daemonhood.[6a]
Role
"The Spawn of Chaos are the most horrific of all the Chaos-tainted Humans, for in appearance at least they live up to their name, seeming to have been created from an eruption of the raw stuff of Chaos into the world."
- —Vorster Pike, Witch Hunter[3a]
Chaos Spawn can come in many horrific shapes and sizes.
Once the first mutation takes hold, a mortal servant of Chaos now faces the inevitable dissolution of their mind and will, becoming something less than yet more than mortal. The fate that awaits nearly all surviving mutants is to become a Chaos Spawn, a gibbering abomination existing only to serve the whims of its infernal masters.[2a]
Although most mutants are doomed to become Chaos Spawn, few survive long enough to experience the transformation. With the possibility of accidents, bad circumstances, burning on a witch hunter's pyre, or succumbing to injury in one of the countless battles that rage all over the Chaos Wastes, the mutant is more likely to find death instead. However, some exceptional mutants -- those who know when to run -- may discover the glorious evolution that awaits them, to find the enveloping embrace that is Chaos, and become a Spawn of Chaos.[2a]
In appearance, these creatures vary widely. Some appear as the man who walks as a beast -- a once humanoid form that has sprouted and burst into an obscene and monstrous anatomy, mutated almost beyond recognition. The eyes of the original creature peer out, a glint of its former personality and intelligence barely perceptible amidst the fleshy ruin. Others appear more as the beast who walks as a man -- a twisted parody of Humanity moulded from the hairy, lumpen body of a forest creature.[1a]
Regardless of particulars, Chaos Spawn are creatures of unspeakable horror, their twisted bodies sporting an impossible array of spines, eyes and mouths. Some have the heads of overgrown insects, while others have skin that exudes poisonous slime. Some, due perhaps to the locations in which they lair, appear to be a part of the forest itself, their constantly mutating bodies having been joined with the rotten limbs of dead trees, their skin covered in dank moss.[1a]
Insane and mindless, they follow the forces of Chaos into battle, where they rampage amongst the enemy, causing carnage. Having no mind or self-will, a Chaos Spawn has no comprehension of danger and will keep attacking until it is slain. They are seen as useful but expendable assets by the Chaos Lords and Chaos Champions of the Ruinous Powers.[6a]
Transformation
"Then came one they called Gibberkin. No fouler thing have I ever witnessed."
- —Khargar of the Tribe of the Blooded Axe[1a]
Concept art for a Chaos Spawn from Warhammer: Vermintide II
Regardless of the cause, the effect of too many mutational "gifts" granted by the fickle Chaos Gods to their mortal worshippers is always the same. The mortal's body collapses under the unbearable weight of Chaos corruption and is infused with the raw power of Chaos, forcing all manner of strange and disturbing transformations.[2a]
Chaos Spawn lose what little remained of their original forms, becoming a shifting mass of tentacles and eyes. A rare few retain just enough of their original forms to become truly horrific. Upon the moment of devolution, the subject is wracked with agonising pain as their body ripples and undulates. The pain is so great it destroys the mind, erasing nearly every memory, all emotion, and the capability of forming a coherent thought, leaving behind an unreasoning husk of flesh and sinew.[2a]
Some unfortunates burst open like fleshy flowers, bloat like week-old corpses, or find tentacles or hairy arms that end in twisted mockeries of their own faces emerging from every orifice. Some grow into distended caricatures of natural beasts, with the heads of insects or predators pushing out from their chests and shoulders. Others find their rapidly swelling flesh covered in blisters and buboes that burst open to reveal great bloodshot eyeballs, horror and panic writ large in every one. Truly the beasts known as Chaos Spawn have a thousand faces and forms. The only thing that unites them is the repugnance of their new flesh.[8a]
Beastmen Chaos Spawn
A Chaos Spawn on the attack.[1a]
Some amongst the Beastmen are bestowed with an abundance of the Dark Gods' gifts, becoming a creature whose bodily form epitomises nightmare and unreason. Such a creature might once have been a great chieftain who called upon the favour of the Dark Gods one time too many. It might have been a Bray-Shaman who drew too deep of the power of Chaos, his form blasted beyond recognition by the raw power of magic. It may even have been one who strayed too close to Morghur, Master of Skulls, whose aura of transmogrification changes all. In some cases, the creature might simply have been born that way, in all likelihood slaughtering its beast-mother in the process.[1a]
Most Beastmen warherds accept these bloated, writhing, slavering creatures as fellow Children of Chaos. They are allowed to exist on the periphery of the warherd, surviving on scraps, incautious Ungors, the dung of Tuskgors or whatever they can catch in the surrounding woods.[1a]
When the warherd goes to battle, the Chaos Spawn come shambling from their lairs. The Beastmen have no control over a Chaos Spawn's actions, and it will behave in a largely unpredictable manner. The Chaos Spawn will move towards the enemy and crash flailing into his ranks; teeth, claws, and tentacles tearing men limb from limb in a shower of blood and ruination before it is finally put out of its misery.[1a]
Mindless and utterly beyond reason, Chaos Spawn relentlessly attack anything in their way, the blows of their enemies merely a strange relief to the endless insanity that is their miserable existence.[1a]
Northmen Chaos Spawn
A Chaos Spawn as depicted in Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning.
Those mortals among the many tribes of the Northmen who follow the path of Chaos are damned. The only question left to one who has put their fate in the hands of the Dark Gods is the nature of that damnation. Will they lose their reason, reduced to a cackling wretch who can do naught but praise the gods who robbed them of their sanity? Perhaps they will lose their Humanity, elevated to the ranks of the Daemon Princes to rule in the Realm of Chaos. Many lose their self-control, becoming little more than mad slaughterers that kill and kill until they themselves lie dead in the dirt. But even then there are worse fates than insanity and death. There are those who fall even further from grace, who lose everything and become gibbering mounds of mutated flesh.[8a]
Some Chaos Warriors manage to stave off this doom for a time, committing great and terrible deeds to gather the rewards and "gifts" of Chaos. But, for most, the fate of becoming a Chaos Spawn lies at the end of their dark and horrible road.[2a] This new life, so casually granted by the Chaos Gods, is always a short and painful one. It is the fate of the Chaos Spawn to die, either on the field of battle by axe or sword, torn apart in the wilds by a creature even more savage and desperate, or literally ripped asunder by the wild Chaos energies that course through its tortured body.[8a]
Chaos Spawn are not often exiled from their former tribe, but instead allowed to make their lairs nearby. Their relatives usually bring them bloody hunks of meat and even mead to sustain them. In battle, the Chaos Spawn are released as beasts of war, shambling and lurching towards enemy lines, sometimes slowly, sometimes with terrifying bursts of speed.[8a]
They fall upon the enemy with desperate energy, moaning and roaring in a mixture of rage and forlorn hope that a clean blow will put them out of their misery. Those who witness the rampage of a Chaos Spawn and survive would do well to heed the message it brings: that worship of the Dark Gods will lead to little more than pain, humiliation and death.[8a]
Types of Chaos Spawn
Aside from the more common Chaos Spawn of Chaos Undivided, some may exhibit the traits of a particular Chaos God, while others may bear unique mutations.
- Bloodbeast of Khorne - The Bloodbeast is a type of Chaos Spawn that has inherited the characteristics of its patron Chaos God. Like all aspects of Khorne, the Bloodbeast is a battle-maddened creature that lives only to take lives and harvest skulls in the name of the Blood God. Brimming with mindless fury, the Bloodbeast charges headlong into battle, not caring whom or what it is engaged with. Tentacles tipped with razor-sharp barbs, rippling with corded muscle and dripping with gore, whip and lash at foes as the creature charges its foes.[4]
- Plaguebeast of Nurgle - A seething mass of boils, lashing limbs, and diseased mouths, the Plaguebeast of Nurgle is a Chaos Spawn devoted to the Lord of Decay. Each "step" taken by a Plaguebeast leaves behind bubbling pools of acid that give off contagious fumes. Their bodies exude droplets of acid that will rapidly decay any living thing they touch.[4]
- Fiend of Slaanesh - Sinuous and twisted, the Fiends are the Chaos Spawn of Slaanesh. Their long, scaly bodies move with deceptive speed, often surprising opponents before they have time to react. Lightning-fast tentacles bristle from the serpentine body of a Fiend of Slaanesh as it slithers into battle. Each of its countless appendages ends in a stabbing weapon and each on drips with venom. They are not to be confused with the truly Daemonic Fiends of Slaanesh, which share the same name though they are actually Lesser Daemons.[4]
- Firewyrm of Tzeentch - Perhaps the most perfect example of the gifts granted by Tzeentch, the Firewyrm is a personification of its Chaos God. Its body is an ever-changing mass of pseudopods, tentacles and clawed limbs that spew multicoloured flames. Wherever the flames of Tzeentch strike, the power of the Changer of Ways is manifest. As the Firewyrm shambles, claws, and drags itself into battle, the eldritch flames that it constantly vomits wreak havoc on everything they touch.[4]
- Great Chaos Spawn - Some Chaos Spawn have a peculiar sensitivity to magic, feeding off it and absorbing its power until they grow to many times their original size. These Great Chaos Spawn are truly vast creatures. Once they gain momentum, they are nigh-unstoppable and even more unpredictable than their smaller kin. A Great Chaos Spawn has no way of unleashing the magical energy stored up in its body, and its unspeakably twisted frame can only contain so much mystic energy before it explodes with an ear-splitting (and distinctly soggy) roar.[6a]
- Wyrdspawn - Mutated beyond all recognition, this variety of Chaos Spawn is so infused with Chaos energy that it can release this pent-up power as discharges of mystical lighting.[5]
Notable Chaos Spawn
- Scyla Anfingrimm - Scyla Anfingrimm is a fearsome Bloodbeast of Khorne.[7b]
- Ghurek Glott - A titanic Plaguebeast of Nurgle and one of the three Glottkin brothers who serve the Lord of Decay.
- Nightmaw - The Nightmaw is a night-shrouded Chaos Spawn following Sayl the Faithless.
- Skrittar - Skrittar was the fearsome Skaven Grey Lord and Seer Lord of the Grey Seers during the era of the Black Death in 1111 IC who was transfomed into a hideous Chaos Rat Spawn through his own reckless overuse of warpstone.
Notable Units
- The Gutterlings - The Gutterlings were once Warriors of Chaos who had displeased the Champions of Nurgle called the Glottkin and were swallowed and spat out as Chaos Spawn.
Miniatures
Sources
- 1: Warhammer Armies: Beastmen (7th Edition)
- 1a: pg. 48
- 2: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition: Tome of Corruption (RPG)
- 2a: pp. 57-58
- 3: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition: Old World Bestiary (RPG)
- 3a: pg. 13
- 4: Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning (PC Game)
- 5: Warhammer: Mark of Chaos (PC Game)
- 6: Storm of Magic (8th Edition)
- 6a: pg. 115
- 7: Warhammer Armies: Warriors of Chaos (8th Edition)
- 8: Warhammer Armies: Warriors of Chaos (7th Edition)
- 8a: pg. 57
Gallery
