Warhammer 40,000/Characters/Forces of Chaos: Difference between revisions
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* [[Berserk Button]]—Don't invoke the Emperor's name in the presence of a daemon or Chaos Space Marine. It won't end well.
* [[Better to Die Than Be Killed]]: This pops up for people who fall victim to Chaos. Annihilating your soul is just one of the options available, and not even the worst at that.
* [[Big Bad]]/[[Bigger Bad]]—If something is causing the Imperium problems, it's usually Chaos. If it's not, they're just around the corner.
* [[Bizarrchitecture]]—Common on [[Eldritch Location|daemon worlds]], where the laws of physics are literally just another building material.
* [[Black Magic]]: As much as the Imperium would like to deny it, without Chaos it couldn't function. The Warp is the only means of faster-than-light travel available to humanity, and the Navigators that have the ability to guide vessels through the Warp can do this because of specific mutations created by Chaos.
* [[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. One Chaos Space Marine Legion devoted to Slaanesh wears pink and black armor for the same reason.
* [[Brown Note]]—Common side effects of looking at Chaos symbols are [[Vomit Indiscretion Shot|mild nausea]], [[Tears of Blood|slight bleeding]], and [[Go Mad
* [[Card-Carrying Villain]]—Anyone who's in deep with Chaos tends to wear this on their sleeve...or any other part of their body.
* [[Chronic Backstabbing Disorder]] - Chaos in general, but Tzeentch in particular.
* [[
* [[The Corruption]]—Both mental and physical.
* [[The Dark Side]]—Which manages to be darker than what passes as the "Light" side in this setting, no mean feat.
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* [[Drunk on the Dark Side]]—Don't stand too close to anyone powered by Chaos.
* [[Eldritch Location]] / [[Fisher King]]:
** Pretty much anywhere in the Eye of Terror or any place sufficiently tainted by Chaos.
** The domains of the Chaos Gods are like this, especially the ever-changing Maze of Tzeentch.
* [[Evil Is Deathly Cold]]—The presence of Warp energy usually involves the temperature dropping several degrees.
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* [[Genuine Human Hide]]—A popular source of clothing for Chaos followers, particularly Slaaneshi followers. Also what many of the [[Tome of Eldritch Lore|Tomes of Eldritch Lore]] are made from. And last but not least, we at [[TV Tropes]] are contractually obligated to remind you that Chief Apothecary Fabius Bile of the Emperor's Children wears a lab coat made of ''human skin''.<ref>Okay, we're not really required to remind you. We just enjoy [[Nightmare Fetishist|spreading the horror]]</ref>
* [[Haunted Technology]]—Chaos has a bad habit of corrupting, if not outright possessing, various bits of technology.
* [[Hearing Voices]]—It's a good idea to ignore them.
* [[The Hedonist]]—Slaanesh and his/her followers are ultimately about seeking pleasureful sensations. This typically starts out with sex, torture, and/or murder, but inevitably degenerates into seeking out ''any'' sensation and learning to find it pleasurable and unique, up to and including [[Insane Troll Logic|fighting wars to see what losing is like]] and extreme self-mutilation as pleasure becomes confused with pain.
* [[Insane Equals Violent]]—Generally the case with Chaos-inspired madness, though in most cases those afflicted were already violent.
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** In the spinoff game ''[[Battlefleet Gothic]]'', an entire ''starship'' gets a [[Madness Mantra]]: the Chaos cruiser ''Killfrenzy'' is so named because, whenever it draws near, all that can be heard on every comms frequency is its captain endlessly screaming +++KILLFRENZY KILLFRENZY KILLFRENZY KILLFRENZY KILLFRENZY+++
** In the novel ''Titanicus'', Chaos Titans are depicted as constantly screaming their names in corrupted code language.
* [[Negative Space Wedgie]]—They don't get more negative than the Eye of Terror, a tear in spacetime formed by the birth of Slaanesh which physically links the Milky Way to the Warp and has irredeemably corrupted every planet it touches, including the original Eldar homeworlds.
** There are also several minor Warp Rifts of a similar nature, like the Maelstrom or Screaming Vortex.
* [[Reality Is Out to Lunch]]—In the Eye of Terror.
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* [[Sense Loss Sadness]]—The only way to effectively torture Slaaneshi cultists is to stick them in a sensory deprivation tank. One crafty Inquisitor figured this one out.
* [[Time Dilation]]: Time moves differently in the warp, both move faster ''and'' slower than the rest of space. Justified because the Warp sneers at such things "causality" and "logic".
* [[Warrior Heaven]] - The Warp... okay, so a Warrior Hell.
** Heaven for the [[Blood Knight|Orks]].
{{quote|'''Great Boss Tuska''': Told yer I knew where da best fightin' woz.}}
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** These are just the most easily recognized motifs; background material, especially the older ones, note that many Chaos cults can be disguised as animal totemists because there are many possible animals that can be revered as befitting one or more of the Chaos Gods. For example, snakes can be seen as symbols of both Slaanesh and of Tzeentch, bulls as symbols of Slaanesh or Khorne, toads and slugs of Nurgle, etc.
* [[Bigger Bad]]—While it's debatable whether or not the Chaos Gods are the [[Big Bad]], they are a textbook Bigger Bad.
* [[Blue and Orange Morality]]: All of them, being the embodiment of abstract concepts, are prone to this.
* [[Cosmic Plaything]]—They view ''everything that has ever existed'' as this.
* [[Enemy Civil War]]—Though they have some interest in the Materium, the [[Forever War|Great Game]], the struggle for dominance in the Immaterium, is the main priority of the Chaos Gods. It's also [[Hopeless War|unwinnable]], because when one becomes stronger, the others gang up on him. And if one were to succeed, Chaos would ultimately stop being, well, Chaos.
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* [[Four-Temperament Ensemble]]: Khorne corresponds to [[Hot-Blooded|Choleric]] and Slaanesh to [[The Hedonist|Sanguine]] pushed to their logical extremes, while Tzeentch and Nurgle respectively twist [[Byronic Hero|Melancholic]] and [[The Stoic|Phlegmatic]].
* [[God Is Evil]]—And there's ''[[Four Is Death|four]]'' of them.
* [[Our Gods Are Greater]]—Are they ever.
* [[Gods Need Prayer Badly]]—Chaos feeds off the emotions of sentient races, but otherwise doesn't need it directed at them specifically.
* [[The Heartless]] - Even positive emotions such as Hope or Acceptance feed the Chaos gods.
* [[Mad God]] -- [[Four Is Death|All four]] fit the gold standard, but Tzeentch is especially... inexplicably illogical.
* [[The Omnipotent]]: Within their own planes of existence. Their influence in the materium, while still extremely palpable, is very limited by comparison.
* [[Pure Is Not Good]]
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* [[Teeth-Clenched Teamwork]]—Once in a while, the Chaos Gods will stop their infighting and work together. Fortunately, it never lasts long.
* [[Top God]]—What the Chaos Gods are constantly competing for. It's generally accepted that the top contenders are Khorne (given the [[Forever War|state of the galaxy]]) and Tzeentch (given that he has the least defeats).
** What's better than the least defeats? No defeats at all. Which goes squarely in Khorne's favor, as long as people fight and die and blood continues to flow, he will win from any engagement.
* [[Ultimate Evil]]—The legions of Chaos contest this position with various other factions, which is not a good sign. But as individuals, the Chaos Gods are likely the most triumphant example of this trope in 40k
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{{quote|''Blood for the Blood God! Skulls for the Skull Throne!''}}
The Blood God, the Brass Lord of Battle, Arkhar, Kharnath. Khorne is the most renowned and widespread of the Chaos Gods, and is an embodiment of hate, rage, wrath, violence and the urge to kill... but he is also comprised of martial pride, courage, the will to protect others, and honor. Khorne's commandments are simple; death and violence are what he exists for, and those who worship him strive only to kill in his name. The most common saying about Khorne is that he cares not from where the blood flows, only that it flows.
Khorne is described as resembling an impossibly huge and muscular warrior clad in bronze armor and wielding a monstrous waraxe, though he is sometimes portrayed as having the head of a monstrous horn-sprouting wolf. His sacred number is 8, and his associated Chaos Marine Legion is the World Eaters.
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=== Notable tropes include ===
* [[An Axe to Grind]]: As functionally the first real weapon of war created, the axe is symbolically very important to Khorne and his worshipers. He's often described as wielding a massive battleaxe, as well.
* [[Asskicking Equals Authority]]: This is a deeply held Khornate tenant. In a Khornate warband, you achieve prestige by proving you're the deadliest warrior, and by no other method.
* [[Arch Enemy]]:
** Khorne is fundamentally opposed to Slaanesh. Where Slaanesh is self-centered and its followers kill and torture to satisfy their own desires, Khornate dogma teaches spreading death and spilling blood freely for its own sake and that one should take no pleasure in anything. Khorne is also not big on torture, which is meaningless postponing of the kill.
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* [[The Berserker]]: Not only Khorne, but his daemons and followers.
* '''[[Badass]]''': Khorne and his followers are all supremely badass. Not only are his Champions often the mightiest warriors of Chaos and the deadliest fighters of the setting, Khorne himself is in fact the most powerful of all the Chaos Gods and is thus the most powerful being in all of Warhammer 40,000.
** [[Badass in Charge]]: By default, he's sorta the de-factor [[Top God]] of Chaos.
** [[Big Badass Wolf]]: In older editions, the wolf was the animal most frequently associated with Khorne, who was sometimes portrayed as having a wolf's head.
** [[Four-Star Badass]]: Khorne himself, being a God of War, is probably the originator for every tactic and stratagem of war ever created. Khornate Chaos Lords are also often this in ADDITION to being [[One-Man Army|unstoppable]] [[The Berserker|berzerkers]].
* [[Battle Cry]]/[[Catch Phrase]]/[[Madness Mantra]]: Khorne has what may be the most famous example of all three in the setting: BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD! SKULLS FOR THE SKULL THRONE!
* [[Blue and Orange Morality]]: Can a being of such power truly be judged by mortal ethics? Khorne is the embodiment of rage, to judge him harshly for killing and destroying is like judging a forest fire evil for burning.
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* [[BFS]]: He has a sword too. He once took it in a mighty rage and smote an endless, screaming crevasse in the warp that has never healed. Given that the Warp is an immaterial place of emotion that constantly shifts and turns and that this scar is one of the few things that has remained constant should go a slight way towards preparing you for how powerful Khorne is.
* [[Big Red Devil]]: Khorne's daemons fit this archetype, and Khorne himself is sometimes implied to also fit the archetype.
* [[Blood Knight]]: Khorne may care not from whence the Blood flows, but he does put appreciation on it flowing from hard won sources. So, both he and Khornate worshipers always love a good fight.
* [[Blood Splattered Warrior]]: BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!
* [[Determinator]]: Khorne isn't kidding when he says he'll give you a will to dominate all others.
* [[Expy]]: To an extent, of [[Norse Mythology|Odin]]. Both are War Gods, and their finest warriors are called Berserkers, and both are associated with the exhilaration and fury of battle. Furthermore, Khorne's Bloodletters are sometimes described as the 'blessed' souls of his foremost warriors in life, similar to the Einherjar of Valhalla. Lastly, the rune of Khorne does bear a passing resemblance to the Valknut, the slain warrior's knot, a Germanic symbol theorized to have connections with Odin.
* [[Evil Is Hammy]]: ''[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-gSJW3sHXE Ye gods...]''
* [[Flanderization]]: While he ''was'' the god of martial pride, with early editions of 40K and ''[[Warhammer Fantasy]]'' emphasizing that his followers would spare the weak or even non-combatants, he has slowly evolved into a god of mindless slaughter, who "cares not from where the blood flows, only that it flows."
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* [[Hellfire]]: His daemons often have weapons that burn with warpfire.
* [[Named Weapons]]: His sword has been called 'Warmaker' and 'The End of All Things'' at various points.
* [[Names to Run Away From Very Fast]]: Everything that has ever been associated with him ever has this. And very deservedly so.
* [[Odd Job Gods]]: Khorne's portfolio covers Death, Violence, Murder, Hatred, Rage, Destruction, Warfare and Bloodshed... but also Courage, Honor, Martial Pride, Protection and, one could argue, Compassion (do not kill those who are weak or unable to fight).
** [[Canon Discontinuity|Not anymore.]] Now Khorne [[Kill'Em All|cares not from where the blood flows]], only [[Blood Knight|that it flows.]] Compassion has now been handed over to Nurgle, [[It Got Worse|who puts his own special spin on that particular portfolio.]]
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* [[Proud Warrior Race Guy]]: His followers embody the archetype among Chaos. Khorne himself is pretty much the God of Proud Warrior Race Guys.
* [[Red Baron]]: The Blood God, the Lord of Skulls, the Brass Lord of Battle.
* [[Rated "M" for Manly]]: He's a [[War God|god of war, rage, strength, martial honour, battle and single combat]], and is depicted as an impossibly muscular warrior with a horned, wolf's head sitting atop a massive throne of skulls floating in an endless sea of blood and his plane of existence is basically a site of never ending conflict. And his worshipers are giant, axe brandishing, war loving [[Blood Knights]] who also tend to be the best melee combatants in the setting. Some would argue Khorne and his followers are tied only with the [[Space Wolves]] for the manliest faction in 40K.
* [[The Stoic]]: Khorne exists only to fight and slay, and is indifferent to anything else, which is part of the reason why he hates Slaanesh so much.
* [[Unstoppable Rage]]
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The Changer of Ways, the Great Conspirator, the Architect of Fate, Tchar. The manipulative one, the Dark God who sees all things that may be and redirects the future to serve his own inscrutable whims and goals. Tzeentch is the lord of Change, and sometimes considered the most powerful of the Chaos Gods, for Change and Chaos are synonymous. Born as the collective embodiment of the galaxy's hope and envy, Tzeentch is the patron of all who would seek change, in any form—but they may get more then they desired. Tzeentch exhorts his followers to bring change, in any form, to anyone and everyone, and psykers/sorcerers owe him particular allegiance.
Tzeentch is rarely described, but they tend to vary, which is fitting for the Lord of Change. One ancient portrayal is as a ghastly, dwarfish thing, with horns arcing up from either shoulder over a head sunken into his neck and many whispering mouths crawling over his body. Another is a serpentine figure with bird like features. His sacred number is 9, and his associated Chaos Marine Legion is the Thousand Sons.
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* [[Consummate Liar]]: He is called the Liar God.
* [[Eyes Do Not Belong There]]: If Tzeentch feels you need more eyes, you damn well are getting more eyes.
* [[Failure Is the Only Option]]: Taken to its extreme. Tzeentch will '''die''' if '''any''' of his myriad plans succeed, thus every one of his plans will fail because he sabotages them, and he has several plans that run completely contrary to his other plans by design (though, of course, not as the end). This is the ''real'' measure of his [[The Chessmaster|chessmastery]] skills, the fact that he has ''millions'' of these running, most extremely complex and many spanning centuries, and not one of them succeed even by ''accident'' because he is that damn good.
* [[For the Lulz]]: Tzeentch cannot be foiled, simply because he doesn't actually have a plan ''to'' foil. If Tzeentch ever actually "won", then he would probably cease to exist, because that would mean that nothing would ever be able to change any more.
* [[Great Gazoo]]: A villainous exemple.
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** Tzeentch is basically the patron god of anyone who hopes to pull off a [[Xanatos Gambit]], [[Xanatos Roulette]], [[Thanatos Gambit]], [[Last Plan Standing]], [[Take a Third Option]] or [[Xanatos Speed Chess]]. ''However'', he's ''also'' the patron god of [[Gambit Pileup]]s, anyone who is a [[Spanner in the Works]] or [[Unwitting Instigator of Doom]], and ensuring you [[Didn't See That Coming]].
* [[The Omniscient]]: It comes with being the god of knowledge.
* [[Red Baron]]: The Architect of Fate, the Changer of Ways, the Great Mutator, the Lord of Change.
* [[Status Quo Is God]]: Ironically for a god of Change, he is the greatest enforcer of this trope in-universe.
* [[Ubermensch]]: Tzeentch is the patron god of these: He constantly seeks to change, evolve, and discard old laws and restrictions in favour of making your own way based purely on your own will and vision. Nurgle, who wants to decay in the existing world, serves as the Last Man.
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* [[Abhorrent Admirer]]: Nurgle saved the Eldar goddess of life, Isha, from being eaten by Slaanesh because he is in love with her and he wants to marry her. Not only is Nurgle physically repellent in all the worst possible ways, his idea of expressing love is to keep her chained up in his kitchen/lab and force-feed her the latest plagues and diseases he has brewed to test their effectiveness; she heals herself, eventually, but she still suffers them. He does, however, apparently make no efforts to notice that she whispers cures to the diseases he has created to mortal kind.
* [[Arch Enemy]]: Of Tzeentch. Is also none too fond of Slaanesh, since Slaanesh is the god of self-indulgence and pain whereas Nurgle is the god of endurance and (in his own twisted way) community.
* [[Blue and Orange Morality]]: Maybe. He claims his horrific plagues to be gifts, and that the despair they cause you are your way of saying thanks to him.
* [[Body Horror]]: Nurgle's physical form, and what frequently happens to his followers and their victims due to his "gifts".
* [[Cool Old Guy]]: How his followers seem to view him , as Nurgle is the oldest of the Chaos Gods.
* [[Dead Weight]]: Though not necessarily technically "dead", many of Nurgle's more "blessed" followers and the most favored of his daemons otherwise fit into this trope. Taking the form of bloated abominations, their skin bursts with open wounds and sores they do not tend to, the stench of rot surrounds them, pus and maggots squirming within their oversized flesh, and they can take one hell of a pounding without being discouraged.
* [[Defeat Means Friendship]]: Twisted in a way only Nurgle can. No matter how hard you resist him, he will "love" you all the more, so that when you finally give in, you ''really'' have his attention.
* [[Despair Event Horizon]]: The god of this. When you have passed it, you are Nurgle's.
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* [[The Pig Pen]]
* [[Red Baron]]: The Plague Lord, the Fly Lord, the Plague Father, the Lord of Decay.
* [[Stepford Smiler]]: And HOW!
* [[The Virus]] - The "gifts" of Nurgle.
* [[Zombie Apocalypse]] - More than a few worlds have suffered one due to one of Nurgle's diseases.
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{{quote|''Long shall be your suffering. Joyous be your pain.''}}
The Dark Prince, the Serpent, Lashor, She Who Thirsts. The youngest of the Dark Gods of Chaos, Slaanesh was born from the collective decadence and depravity of the Eldar Empire; its birth-scream tore the [[Negative Space Wedgie|Eye of Terror]] open and it consumed the bulk of the Eldar race shortly afterwards. While the physically weakest of the Dark Gods, Slaanesh is perhaps one of the most popular to worship, as it preaches the indulgence of every whim and the seeking of every pleasure, and so it has a very wide power base. At its birth it was arguably the strongest, as it not only destroyed an entire star-spanning galactic empire, it proceeded to hunt down and massacre the pantheon of gods of that empire as well, a feat unequaled by any god in the setting, Chaos or otherwise. It is the embodiment of [[Squick]], love, lust, pleasure, pain, excess, hubris, pride and desire.
Slaanesh's sacred number is 6 and its associated Chaos Marine Legion are the Emperor's Children.
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* [[The Ace]]: One could make the case. Slaanesh is the God of Pleasure, so anything that one derives pleasure from falls under its domain, and it encourages you to find pleasure in absolutely anything, and in turn Slaanesh itself enjoys cultivating new skills and experiences. This includes ''losing''.
** It's actually noted that many Slaaneshi cultists turned to Slaanesh's worship to cultivate their skills to new heights. The desire to be the greatest duelist, painter, singer, sculptor, etc is just as welcome to Slaanesh as sheer hedonism.
* [[A Fate Worse Than Death]]: Unless an Eldar uses a special precaution - such as a soulstone or one of the various strategies of the Dark Eldar - his or her soul is forfeit to Slaanesh upon death, due to the fact that the decadence that gave birth to the god occurred in the center of the original Eldar civilization.
* [[All Men Are Perverts]]/[[All Women Are Lustful]]: Slaanesh is one or the other, or both of these at the same time.
* [[Arch Enemy]]: Of Khorne, whose mindless barbarism contains no thought of the self. Also a lesser enemy of Nurgle, who is similarly 'selfless' and focused on spreading his blessings to others instead of sating oneself.
** More generally, Slaanesh is viewed as the [[Arch Enemy]] by the entire Eldar race, even the Dark Eldar in a somewhat perverse way. Their entire lives are devoted pretty much to staving off death because they know that upon that death, they belong to Her.
* [[Beauty Equals Goodness]]: Subverted. Slaanesh is perhaps the cruelest, most callous and most self-centered of all the Dark Gods.
* [[Charm Person]]: Those who gaze upon Slaanesh can do nothing but fall down and worship its inhuman beauty. This extends to its daemons, though a powerful mind can resist their presence. With Slaanesh itself, however, it doesn't matter how powerful your mind is—unless you are a god or something equally powerful, you will falter and fall before it.
* [[The Dreaded]]: Apparently, even saying his/her/its name constitutes as the equivalent of profanity among the Eldar. They typically refer to Slannesh as "The Great Enemy" or "She Who Thirsts".
* [[Depraved Bisexual]]: There a fewer more depraved.
* [[Drugs Are Bad]]: [[Inverted Trope]], as Slannesh considers anything which heightens sensory experiences to be ''good''. Many of its followers will experiment with a wide variety of substances to better experience all the pleasures they can offer. Such followers are also one of the Chaos factions most likely to use combat drugs when going into battle.
* [[Evil Feels Good]]: Or, rather, "if it feels good, then it's not evil". Slaanesh encourages his followers to ignore all morality, sanity and any other impediments to feeling pleasure.
** Alternatively, if you gain pleasure by recognising something as evil and perverse and doing it anyway, or even doing it ''because'' it is evil and thats how you get your jollies, come join in the fun.
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* [[Horny Devils]]: Slaanesh and all its daemons are basically this.
* [[It's All About Me]]: It really is.
* [[It Amused Me|It Pleased Me]]: That they might receive pleasure from the act is the only reason followers of Slaanesh need to do anything.
* [[Kill the God|Kill The Gods]]: After bloating itself on the souls of trillions of the Eldar who spawned it, Slaanesh made a bee-line for the Eldar Pantheon and effortlesly (and elegantly) slaughtered every last one of them, save Isha the Goddess of Life (who was saved / kidnapped by Nurgle) and the Laughing God (who ran like Hell). Khaine, the Eldar God of War and Murder, was slain as well, but survived (so to speak) in the form of [[Literally Shattered Lives]], with countless pieces of himself reborn as Avatars throughout the cosmos.
* [[Love Goddess]]: In a [[Rape Is Love]] kind of way.
* [[Love Makes You Evil]]: It does when it is the love offered by the Prince of Excess...
* [[Odd Job Gods]]: Slaanesh's portfolio covers Excess, Depravity, Pain, Perversion, Pleasure, Love, Lust, Desire, Mastery and Beauty.
* [[Pleasure Planet|Pleasure Palace]]: The Palace of Slaanesh. Where every possible depraved act thinkable (and some that are unthinkable) are performed.
* [[Power Perversion Potential]] - Slaanesh is arguably an [[Inverted Trope|inversion]]. The powers he grants to his followers are intended to be used for perverse purposes, but in a pinch can be repurposed to serve more pragmatic needs. Perfumes that [[Love Is in the Air|cause bliss to inhale]] can incapacitate and fog the minds of foes, extra long tongues for tasting and stimulating can be [[Tentacle Rope|used to ensnare]], etc.
* [[Pronoun Trouble]]: Often used as a joke by the fandom.
* [[Red Baron]]: The Dark Prince, the Serpent, She Who Thirsts.
* [[Safe, Sane, and Consensual]]: [[Averted Trope|Completely averted]] and ''rejected''. The followers of Slaanesh consider [[Safe Word|safety]], [[With Great Power Comes Great Insanity|sanity]], and [[Rape Is Love|consent]] to be blasphemous concepts for getting between them and [[It's All About Me|what they want]].
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* [[So Beautiful It's a Curse]]: Slaanesh is described as so beautiful that merely glancing at it can make you fall in love with it, to the extent you will sell your soul to Slaanesh right then and there without hesitation. Slaanesh, of course, does not view this as a curse.
* [[The Perfectionist]]
* [[Wicked Cultured]]: Slaanesh is not just about physical sensations such as sex and torture, but also enjoying such things as art and music. Generally, though, Slaanesh and his/her followers gradually move more towards the "wicked" part than the "cultured" part as time goes on.
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* [[Alien Geometries]]: The shapes and forms of daemons typically take these.
* [[And Call Him George]]: Poor, poor, Beasts of Nurgle. With the personality and demeanor of an excited puppy, they just want to play with all the "friends" they meet on the battlefield. However, they are about six feet long, strong enough to crush a man under their bulk, and they secrete all manner of toxins and virulent diseases, so you can guess how well that goes.
* [[Artifact of Doom]]: Most notably in the form of [[Empathic Weapon|Daemon Weapons]], which tend to take possession of weak-willed wielders.
* [[Asteroids Monster]]: Pink Horrors of Tzeentch split into two Blue Horrors upon death, a rule that drove players crazy in previous editions. "[[Madness Mantra|Where once was one, now there is two, where once was pink, now there is blue]]."
* [[Axe Crazy]] / [[The Berserker]]: Khornate daemons, naturally.
* [[Big Red Devil]]: Bloodthirsters, the Greater Daemons of Khorne, are massive, demonic looking winged beasts.
* [[Demonic Invaders]]
* [[The Dreaded]]: Angrath, Khorne's most favoured Bloodthirster. So much so, that even the mightiest of the ''Grey Knights'' can only timidly whisper his name.
* [[Eldritch Abomination]] - With a 5+ Invulnerable save.
* [[Energy Beings]]—Daemons are these in the Warp, where they [[Hyperspace Is a Scary Place|attempt to break into spaceships traveling through it and devour the souls of everyone inside.]]
* [[Evil Makes You Monstrous]]—Daemon Princes.
* [[Fat Bastard]]—Great Unclean Ones, the Greater Daemons of Nurgle, are bloated, putrid beings.
* [[Feathered Fiend]]—Lords of Change, the Greater Daemons of Tzeentch, are often depicted with beaks and large, vibrant wings.
* [[Fighting a Shadow]]—You can defeat a Daemon, but only by imprisoning it in something or sending it back to the Warp.
* [[Hell Hound]]—The Flesh Hounds of Khorne, sent to chase down foes too cowardly to face Khorne in battle, particularly psykers.
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{{quote|''Let the Galaxy Burn!'' }}
At the height of the Emperor's Great Crusade, when humanity was entering a second golden age, a shocking betrayal nearly destroyed the human race. Horus, Warmaster of the Imperial forces, Primarch of the Luna Wolves, and the Emperor's most beloved son, led fully half of the Space Marine legions [[Rule of Symbolism|and a third of the Imperium's conventional armies]] into the embrace of Chaos and rebelled against the Emperor. During the Siege of Terra, Horus was finally cast down by the Emperor, but at a terrible price, and the battle left the Emperor confined to the life-support systems of the Golden Throne. The rebel Space Marines fled into the Eye of Terror, a gateway into the Warp itself, where they licked their wounds and planned terrible revenge on their foes. Ten thousand years later, these original traitor legions remain, granted unnaturally long life by their patrons as a reward for their faith, or perhaps as a punishment for their failure.
The Chaos Space Marines are very dangerous enemies, who were already [[Super Soldier|superhuman warriors]] ''before'' they [[Deal with the Devil|sold their souls]] to the Dark Gods for more power. Veterans of thousands of years of battle, they know every trick in the book, and may have helped write it in the first place. They still use the formidable wargear of the Adeptus Astartes, but it has been enhanced and [[Demonic Possession|twisted]] by the powers of the Warp into more lethal and hideous forms, and they can call upon the power of the Warp directly in battle by summoning units of daemons to the field. Chaos Space Marine heroes are both Chaos' greatest champions and its favorite playthings, who have been marked by their gods with powerful daemonic gifts that will either take them on a path to daemon princedom, or tear their bodies and minds apart as they degenerate into Chaos spawn. [[Fallen Hero|They once helped build the Imperium]], but now they want nothing more than to see the galaxy that cast them down burn.
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The tabletop Chaos Space Marines army plays very similarly to conventional Space Marines, for obvious reasons. But while the Space Marines are an army of generalists, Chaos Marines have access to units dedicated to the powers of the Warp, giving them fantastic assault troops in the form of Khorne Berserkers or deadly ranged units such as Slaaneshi Noise Marines. Chaos leaders are some of the most frightening opponents in the game, thanks to the daemonic gifts available to them, and units of daemons can be summoned for surprise assaults. The main drawback is that these upgrades come at a price, so a Chaos Space Marine army will likely field fewer models than even loyalist Space Marines.
Like the Space Marines, they can be split in terms of style among their founder legions:
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* [[An Axe to Grind]] - Many a follower of Khorne favors Chainaxes. Angron wielded two Chainaxes called "Gorefather" and "Gorechild", and later gave Gorechild to Kharn.
* [[Animated Armor]] - Almost all Thousand Sons marines have had their bodies rendered to dust by a spell, the only thing holding their soul to the mortal realm is [[Soul Jar|their armor]], which moves according to their will.
* [[Anti-Villain]]—Magnus the Red is revealed to be one in an exceptionally tragic way.
** Possibly also Alpharius/Omegon. Or not. It's confusing.
** Lorgar far more so than any other in the setting.
* [[Arm Cannon]] - Obliterators are Chaos Marines with a daemonic virus that fuses their bodies and armor, but also [[Shapeshifter Weapon|lets them "grow" whatever weapons they want]].
* [[Ascended to A Higher Plane of Existence]]: Chaos Space Marines who win favor with their patron God have the chance to ascend to become a Daemon Prince. All surviving Traitor Primarchs (with the possible exception of [[Ambiguously Evil|Alpharius/Omegon]], whichever one Guilliman didn't kill.) have ascended as Daemon Princes. Fortunately for the Imperium, they seem content to just [[Orcus on His Throne|hang out on their homeworlds]].
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* [[Axe Crazy]] - ... as they voluntarily undergo lobotomies to better focus on bloodshed. Though technically they're [[Chainsaw Good|Chain]]''[[Rule of Three|axe]]''[[Axe Crazy|crazy]]. Special mention must be made of [http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Kh%C3%A2rn Kharn the Betrayer], berserker of the World Eaters legion who, when a battle against the rival Emperor's Children legion was halted when the combatants took shelter from a blizzard, personally burned down an entire city and butchered everyone he could find. [[Memetic Badass|He's also the new commissar]] [[Memetic Mutation|and a pretty swell guy]].
* [[Big Bad]] - [http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Ezekyle_Abaddon Abaddon the Despoiler], the heir of Horus as Lord of the Black Legion and Warmaster of Chaos, is the main contender for the post of [[Big Bad]] of 40K.
* '''[[Badass]]''': They are the ''only'' army in the setting capable of matching the Space Marines blow for blow on equal terms.
** [[Badass Army]]: Chaos Space Marines are far more powerful combatants individually than their loyalist brothers due to their 'blessings' and experience. This is represented in the tabletop by them having one extra attack over their loyalist counterparts for all their units<ref>(with the exception of [[Death From Above|Raptors]])</ref> thus making them ''much'' better in a close-range assault. However, they don't have the same discipline and cohesion their loyalist counterparts do, lacking the Combat Tactics and And They Shall No Fear rules the loyalists have.
** [[Badass Longcoat]] We are contractually obligated to remind you that the Emperor's Children Chief Apothecary Fabius Bile has in his possession a lab coat made of ''human skin''.
** [[Badass Bandolier]]: Chaos Havoc models have these, in contrast to their loyalist counterparts. Justified, as they don't really have the same sophistication of technology.
** [[Badass Cape]]: And more generally, cloaks made of human skin are all the rage among Chaos Marines.
** [[Badass Biker]]: They have bikes too. And they put skulls on 'em, and spikes, and occasionally bind the souls of daemons to 'em.
** [[Badass Boast]]: They've made a few. Of note from Lord Zhufor the Impaler;
{{quote|'''"The gates that stand between the mortal world and immortal realms of Chaos lie open before us. That we will die having glimpsed eternity is better than never having stirred from the cold furrow of mortal life. We embrace death without regret, as we embrace life without fear."'''}}
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*** The Red Corsairs when attacking from the Maelstrom.
** [[Badass Preacher]]: Dark Apostles, who are far more brutal than their Loyalist counterparts, the Chaplains, if you can believe that.
** [[Badass Long Robe]]: Sorcerers and Dark Apostles, on occasion.
** [[Cultured Badass]]: How the Emperor's Children view themselves. At this point, though their activities place more emphasis on the ''Bad'' than the "Cultured".
** [[Four-Star Badass]]: More ambitious Chaos Lords, meaning those who lead Black Crusades. Yeah, Abaddon isn't the only one. There have been many others which are beside the big 13. They tend to be much more successful. If smaller in scale.
* [[Blood Knight]]: All followers of Khorne are this and the best example in the setting. While Khorne cares not from whence the blood flows, he does appreciate worthy sacrifices and mighty warriors serving him. As such, Khornate worshipers tend to prove themselves as great warriors for the esteem of their God and tend to kill something that may present a remote challenge first before moving on to killing the defenseless.
* [[Black Knight]] - Not all members of the Black Legion are former Sons of Horus - some have joined from other renegade Space Marines and renounce their old loyalties.
* [[Body Horror]] - Many due to mutations, but especially Obliterators. These men have a virus that forces them to meld with all technology they use. This ends with them essentially having their flesh interwoven with their armor and large lumps containing weapons, many of which poke out.
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* [[Dark Is Evil]]: The Black Legion.
* [[The Dark Side Will Make You Forget]] - After ten thousand years, some members of the Traitor Legions have forgotten why they rebelled in the first place, which doesn't dampen their hate in the slightest.
* [[Demonic Possession]] - Some traitor marines volunteer to act as daemonhosts, gaining supernatural powers at a terrible price.
* [[Enemy Civil War]] - Fortunately for the rest of the galaxy, the Traitor Legions have their own rivalries and grudges going nearly as far back to the Horus Heresy.
* [[Enfant Terrible]] - When Angron landed on his unnamed planet, he was attacked by what Imperial authorities believe were Eldar intent on stopping the rise of the future Daemon Prince. When humans finally found him, he was surrounded by their bodies.
* [[Enigmatic Minion]] - The Alpha Legion. Are they irredeemably corrupted? Or secretly [[The Mole]] for the Imperium? Where do they keep their forces between the Black Crusades? Why don't they operate from the Eye of Terror? Is their Primarch still alive, or not? It's possible they're not even a coherent Legion any more, just a collection of war-bands each operating under their own inscrutable motives.
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* [[Head Desk]]—Done in one battle report; a Chaos Space Marine leader wallbanged his metal forehead against the inner wall of a bunker, in response to his units' abysmal accuracy.
* [[A Hero to His Hometown]]: Kharn is admired by Khorne Berserkers of the World Eaters and Khornate worshipers in general...but no one else.
** Well, he's feared and loathed by all others. He probably thinks that's better than being admired.
* [[Heroic BSOD]]—Horus's BSOD was so epic, it ended up destroying the galaxy-wide empire he'd fought so hard to build in the first place.
* [[I Am Spartacus]] - The Alpha Legion's members shape their appearance to that of their Primarch and adopt his identity. This combined with the fact that Alpharius had an identical twin brother casts doubts on the Imperium's claims of killing him.
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* [[Mecha-Mooks]] - The Thousand Sons legion was suffering from high levels of mutation, leading one sorcerer to cast a spell to remove the problem. It succeeded too well, for now the rank-and-file are little more than animate suits of [[Powered Armor|power armor]] containing a bit of dust and the [[Soul Jar|trapped souls]] of their wearers.
* [[Musical Assassin]] - Some servants of Slaanesh become Noise Marines, who have overindulged their senses so much that only extreme cacophony has any effect on them. In battle they wield deadly sonic weapons that in earlier editions resembled [[The Power of Rock|electric guitars]].
* [[Nice Job Breaking It, Hero]]—Magnus the Red uses sorcery to try to warn the Emperor of Horus' rebellion. The Emperor, angry at Magnus both for using sorcery and for making such an accusation at his favorite Primarch, orders Leman Russ to go arrest him. Cue an entire Space Marine legion turning to Chaos.
* [[Offscreen Villain Dark Matter]] - Ten thousand years later, the Traitor Legions have yet to run out of boltgun rounds. Justified with Chaos forge worlds, supply raids, and the fact that the Warp sneers at concepts such as "causality" and "logic."
* [[Omnicidal Maniac]]:
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* [[Plaguemaster]]—The Death Guard Legion in a nutshell.
* [[Powered Armor]] - Festooned with [[Spikes of Villainy|spikes]], [[Nothing but Skulls|trophies]], and sometimes [[Demonic Possession|daemonically-possessed to boot]].
* [[Proud Warrior Race Guy]]: They have all the warrior pride of their loyalist counterparts, and Worshipers of Khorne in general take it to massive extremes that even both Traitor and Loyalists are in awe of.
* [[Rage Against the Mentor]] - Horus versus the Emperor, underhanded Alpharius against honourable Roboute Gulliman of the Ultramarines, siege expert Perturabo of the Iron Warriors versus fortifications expert Rogal Dorn of the Imperial Fists. Abaddon the Despoiler also has a hatred of his mentor Horus, and has sought to one-up the original archtraitor ever since the Heresy.
* [[Rage Helm]] - Which is made scarier by giving it horns or tusks.
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* [[Self-Fulfilling Prophecy]]—Horus rebelled against the Emperor because he had a vision of a dystopic future where the Emperor is venerated as a god. His rebellion resulted exactly in that.
* [[Sense Loss Sadness]]—While the Slaaneshis may be the most famous, this is ultimately why Chaos Space Marines hate to become Chaos Dreadnoughts. Deprived of the sensations of battle, Chaos Dreadnoughts succumb to built up psychosis (more than the average follower of Chaos will display) and attack both friend and foe in a blind rage. To keep them from destroying their Warband, most Chaos Dreadnoughts are restrained in chains (which have been blessed by the Chaos Gods to prevent them from being broken). For a Chaos Dreadnought to retain a sense of sanity is a major act of willpower on their part.
* [[Sex Is Violence]]—To the Emperor's Children. While they would take offense at the idea that they are as [[Blood Lust|bloodthirsty]] as Khorne's followers, they do take an almost sexual joy in engaging in combat. To them, war is like a beautiful symphony, a heart-rending ballad, and a stirring validation of themselves, and see it as one of the highest pleasures that they can experience.
* [[Shapeshifter Weapon]]—Chaos Obliterators combine this with [[Arm Cannon]] in an interesting way.
* [[Space Pirates]] - Some of the Traitor Legions turn to piracy as a way to acquire vital supplies and/or cause mayhem.
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** Angron was discovered in the midst of making a [[Last Stand]] after leading a [[Gladiator Revolt]]. Instead of coming to the rescue, the Emperor teleported Angron off the battlefield, leaving the Primarch to watch helplessly from orbit as his men were butchered. Angron never forgave him.
** Magnus the Red used his [[Psychic Powers|foresight]] to warn the Emperor of Horus' treachery, but used forbidden magicks to send the message, inadvertantly damaging the Emperor's work on a [[Portal Network|Webway Gate]]. The Emperor [[Cassandra Truth|refused to believe him]] and sicced the Space Wolves on the silver spires of Magnus' homeworld. Having been cast out despite the best intentions, Magnus sided with Horus.
** Mortarion joined Horus after being promised a new order in which [[Social Darwinist|the strong would rule the weak]].
** Fulgrim was a perfectionist and aesthete who became corrupted by a [[Evil Weapon|daemon sword]], allowing Horus to convince him that the Emperor was preventing humanity from reaching its full potential.
** Lorgar was one of the first to view the Emperor as a divine being, but was chastized after spending more time building cathedrals than conquering new worlds. The Chaos Gods provided a new focus for worship.
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*** It already began in his youth, when he [[Vigilante Man|started to terrorise his corrupt homeworld's criminals]]([[Complete Monster|his body count was so high the sewers were blocked by the corpses]]).
** Alpharius/Omegon was the last Primarch to be rediscovered and [[The Unfavorite|barely spent any time with the Emperor at all]], there's considerable debate over [[Fake Defector|if he even turned to Chaos at all]], or what his motives in doing so might be.
** Ezekyle Abaddon saw Horus as a God and chose to follow him where ever he went. After [[Dragon Ascendant|succeeding Horus]] as Warmaster of Chaos, Abaddon now hates his former mentor.
** Kharn was an adviser to Angron and a ''calming influence'' on his Primarch. Ten thousand years of service to the Blood God made him the [[Omnicidal Maniac]] he is today.
** Azhek Ahriman cast the Rubric of Ahriman to prevent the spread of mutations within the Thousand Sons that had killed his brother. One botched spell later, he's exiled for destroying his fellow Sons' bodies and sealing their souls in their [[Powered Armour]].
** Lufgt Huron was nearly killed when his rebellion failed and had to pledge the Astral Claws (Later to become the Red Corsairs) to Chaos to survive. Now, Huron Blackheart takes pride in raiding the worlds he once defended.
** The exact detail of Luther's fall is unknown, but it seems that it was due to feeling betrayed by Lion El'Johnson as he was left on Caliban while the Lion got all the glory of the Great Crusade, and also due to corruption from some tomes of eldritch lore he read.
*** If the details of Luther's fall is unknown, the mystery surrounding Cypher's fall and motives goes [[Up to Eleven]].
* [[Tank Goodness]] - Every tank available to the Space Marines is similarly available to their traitorous brethren. In many cases, their already formidable potency has been enhanced by daemonic possession.
** The Iron Warriors in particular have a vehicular fetish.
* [[Time Abyss]] - Many of the Chaos Space Marines encountered today were present at the Siege of the Emperor's Palace ten thousand years ago.
* [[Tin Tyrant]] - It is hard to find a Chaos Lord who does '''not''' fit this trope, considering that Chaos Space Marines eventually grow fused into their armor, and that armor twists and grows more wicked as they rise in esteem of the Ruinous Powers. The ones with particularly long and "blessed" careers fit right up there.
* [[The Unfettered]] - For all their superhuman power, Space Marines live in strict self-denial. When one goes renegade and gives in to his selfish, baser urges, the results can be terrifying.
* [[Unwitting Pawn]]: Poor Fulgrim.
* [[White-Haired Pretty Boy]]—Fulgrim, Primarch of the Emperor's Children, according to the lore.
* [[Wicked Cultured]]—Pre-heresy, the Emperor's Children were taught that things like art, literature, poetry, and music represented the height of humanity's excellence, and to safeguard them was to safeguard what was best in humanity. Post-heresy, their ideas of what constitutes beauty, truth, and brilliance have become so warped that no one else would recognize what they appreciate as "culture".
* [[With Great Power Comes Great Insanity]] - "Sanity is for the ''weak!''"
* [[You Have Failed Me...]] - An actual rule for Abaddon in ''[[Battlefleet Gothic]]''. If a friendly ship fails a command test, his flagship will fire upon it.
''See also [[Night Lords]], [[Word Bearers]], [[Iron Warriors]], [[Black Legion]] ''
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{{quote|''Fear not Chaos, for it is our salvation! Praise the sun that brings the dawn of our final doom, for is not destruction simply creation reversed in slow motion?''}}
The Imperium... [[World Half Empty|is not a happy place.]] It has been at war for the last ten thousand years, it has grown accustomed to think in apocalyptic terms: what is the value of life when faced with threat to their immortal souls? "We are at war for our very survival," goes another Imperial slogan, "No sacrifice is too great, no treachery too small." There are threats everywhere: cults fester in the hives, claiming dozens of planetary rulers in their membership, mutants and rogue psykers run for their lives from fanatical witchhunters, and humans in general hope for a better future.
As such, Chaos has no shortage of wretches for use as cannon fodder. The ranks of chaos are vast: traitor regiments of Imperial Guard, renegade Admirals of the the [[Battlefleet Gothic|Imperial Navy]], Jaded Nobility forming cults for thrills, abhuman and mutant underclasses living in the ghettos of Imperial cities, slave soldiers raised in hell worlds, hordes of reanimated zombies, fallen clerics of the Ecclesiarchy, entire Xeno races fallen to Chaos, vast mobs of peasants desperate for food, freedom fighters and revolutionaries who do not truly understand the price of their new, dark allies... they are all now the Lost and the Damned.
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* [[Demoted to Extra]] - Lost and the Damned didn't get an army codex for Fifth edition - unless you buy the [[Crack is Cheaper|Imperial Armour books]]
* [[Everything's Deader with Zombies]] - One of the troops choices is a 'plague zombie horde' fielded in units of up to 50 making it possible to field [[Zombie Apocalypse|up to 300]] in a normal army. Given the right support they prove suprisingly effective.
* [[Evil Is Not a Toy]] - Something many of these people should have remembered.
* [[Feel No Pain]] - Khorne's followers are too furious to notice, Nurgle's followers are too rotten and corrupt to notice, while Slaanesh's followers notice and enjoy it thoroughly.
* [[Genre Blind]] - Considering the (well publicized) fact that Chaos uses human sacrifice for anything more complicated than boiling water, it's a wonder anybody is dumb enough to join them. Which in turn gives you some idea of [[World Half Empty|just how awful]] life in the Imperium can get.
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* [[Mad Scientist]] - The members of the Dark Mechanicus. Free of all the restrictions of the Adeptus Mechanicus, they innovate much more than their loyalist counterparts. However some of those restrictions include "Do not put Daemons in your tech" and "Do not make evil killer robots".
** Psycho-fanatic killer [[Unwilling Roboticisation|cyberzombies]] made out of [[Body Horror|lobotomized criminals]] are [[Not So Different|perfectly okay for the Imperium to use]], though.
* [[Palette Swap]] - It is entirely possible (and often necessary in lieu of their own codex) to field a Lost and the Damned army of traitor guardsmen, using Imperial Guard rules, units, and equipment, different only in their allegiance to the Ruinous Powers. This is pretty reasonable in the setting, and offers a player some interesting options for converting and painting "profane" versions of normal Imperial Guard.
** [[Crack is Cheaper|If you have the money]], Forge World, a Games Workshop subsidiary, [http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/Warhammer-40000/Chaos/CHAOS_RENEGADES offers a good number of Chaotic counterparts to Loyalist Imperial Guard units], as part of a Vraksian Renegade Militia army list, but they can just as easily be used with the Imperial Guard codex.
* [[Zombie Apocalypse]] - Nurglite Plague Zombies are a troops choice.
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]]▼
[[Category:Characters]]
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