Chaos
And thanks to Moorcock, who's fault all this is. - Warhammer Fantasy, crediting Michael Moorcock.
Chaos is a concept which appears in various games, including 40k, WFRP, Warhammer Fantasy Battles and the Fighting Fantasy books. It means more than simple disorder, and incorporates elements of the Lovecraftian concepts of godlike tentacled abominations, evil cults and "things man was not meant to know" with a 1950s B-movie interpretation of nuclear radiation. There is even a material, warpstone, which is analogous to fissile material with regard to chaos.
Common features of Chaos include:
- Secrets that the ordinary man cannot be permitted to know.
- Knowledge that corrupts the bearer and leads him into the service of dark gods.
- Dark gods who capriciously reward and punish their followers.
- Daemons that may be summoned or escape from the Warp or the Realm of Chaos.
- Mutations both as a result of the radiation-like influence of chaos and as gifts from the chaos gods.
- Areas blighted by chaos (such as the Chaos Wastes or the Eye of Terror) and uninhabitable by right-thinking people.
- Roaming warbands or dark cults of chaos-worshipers.
- Insanity.
Chaos as 40kfags know it was inspired by Moorcock's ideas about Law vs. Chaos from the Eternal Champion series. Radiation-like qualities are likely the result of the games in question having been written during the Cold War, with the paranoia that entails.
Scientology is Chaos too.
Followers of Chaos
There are lots of followers of chaos.
Psykers: Guys who have psykic powers.
Warriors of chaos: Basically the fantasy equivalent to chaos space marines. They are badass evil mother-fucking vikings clad in armour that looks fucking awesome.
Chaos Space Marines: A bunch of guys whose leader had a few daddy issues with Empy. In war, they are led by Chaos Lord or a sorcerer or really anyone or anything capable of leading a couple of deranged, superhuman war incarnates in battle.
Daemons: A bunch of souls, who look like monsters.
and will ooh arr orton
Matt Ward: The Anti-Christ and so obviously loyal to the dark gods Ahem, Chaos can be cheeky and fun, Matt Ward is the opposite of cheeky and fun, there is nothing enjoyable about him, no one would make a tabletop figure of him. Therefor, he has to be something far worse than chaos.
Gods of Chaos
In both the 40k and Warhammer Fantasy settings there are four chief Chaos deities, and a number of minor gods.
Khorne
God of Hate, Rage, Blood, War, Battle, Strength, Wrath, Fighting and Killing, and Honor
Kharn the Betrayer (What a great guy!), a popular character in /tg/ drawfaggotry, is a devout follower of Khorne. Also stated as being the strongest Chaos God, due to all the violence in Warhammer 40K and the Chaos Gods themselves being nothing more than palpable manifestations of abstract emotion and philosophy; and thus are fed whenever these things are exerted in the real world.
Tzeentch
God of Change, Lies, Hope, Ambition, Manipulation, Scheming and Sorcery, Planning, Knowledge
Tzeentch is prone to utter the phrase "JUST AS PLANNED". Second strongest Chaos God for some reason. Probably because the oppressed peasantry and ambitious warriors are always hoping for food/death/glory. Respectively. Since the nature of Chaos is stated above.
Nurgle
God of Decay, Despair, Destruction, and Disease, Tolerance, Compassion, Empathy
Also known as "Papa Nurgle" or "Grandfather Nurgle", the bloated lord of disease arose from man's fear of death. His followers are afflicted with various awful plagues, but do not suffer or die of them. As well as this respite, he offers those who worship him a sense of family and belonging which is incongruous with the usual attitudes of the chaos gods and his own fearsome appearance.
Slaanesh
God of Decadence, Excess, Pain, Pleasure and Self Indulgence
Slaanesh gave us Daemonettes. PLEASE NOTE: Daemonettes are not as attractive in the canon as they are in the pictures on this site. In fact they only have one breast and have crab claws for hands thanks to Matt Fucking Ward. Prior to this, they only occasionally had crabclaws or Scytheblade hands and were pretty obviously female (often with multiple breasts).
No way one person can convince anyone else that Slaanesh isn't all sex, drugs and Rock and Roll.
Malal
A renegade Chaos God, representing the paradox of Chaos fighting against itself.
Malal has been reintroduced under the name of Malice through the Short story of the Sons of Malice: "Labyrinth". Long since removed from the setting ever since GW couldn't decide who owned the rights. JUST AS PLANNED.
See Also
Gallery
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