Beastmen (Warhammer Fantasy)

Revision as of 08:21, 25 August 2018

The Beastmen are a species that feature in Warhammer Fantasy.

History

The Beastmen or the Children of Chaos were unnatural creatures corrupted by the powers of Chaos that warped animals and humans to create these humanoid mutations. Their origins were traced to long ago during the early years of the Warhammer World when it was dominated by the Old Slann. It was during the end of the reign of that ancient race which saw their polar warp gate portals being destroyed that resulted in the fabric of the Realm of Chaos entering the material universe. Thus, clouds of warp-dust settled on the world resulting in mutations and saturating the atmosphere. It was this environment that resulted in conditions which brought about the birth of the various races of Beastmen and the Skaven. Since that time, they had lived on the edges of the civilised world where they grew stronger through their unending battles and multiplied across the Old World. (Realm of Chaos: The Lost and the Damned)

The Beastmen race (also known as the Children of Chaos) are a race of humanoid monsters. A fusion of animal and man that invaded the world when the Old Ones opened the warp gate at the far north of the world: their bodies are tough strong frames layered in knots of muscle.

Overview

In appearance, the term Beastmen referred to creatures that were part-man and part-beast giving them a physical appearance merging both races. Typically, they were humanoids that walked on two legs in an upright stance and had two arms, a torso along with a head. However, their physical forms could be twisted in a variety of beastial shapes as a result of their Chaos created mutations. The most common feature they possessed with humans was their intelligence which they combined with the cunning of wild animals. (Realm of Chaos: The Lost and the Damned)

The tangled fur of Beastmen are matted with dried blood, dirt, and gore that nest countless varieties of ticks and fleas: as a result of this, Beastman live in a state of agitation and rage that always seethes in the heart of every Beastman. Ram-like horns emerge from their goat-like heads (However Ungor Beastmen only have small stubs of horns), their mouths are chasms of sharp rotted teeth for tearing flesh and the feet of all Beastmen are cloven hoofed. The very stench of any Beastman is enough to make even the most seasoned warriors gag; their brays of bloodlust and the gleam of malice in their dark animalistic eyes can unsettle even the staunchest of troops.

All Beastmen are spiteful and mean-spirited creatures that revel in bloodshed and chaos and loathe order and the very concept of civilisation in all its forms. Beastmen are not creatures of nature for there is nothing natural about their existence. The Herdstones and rituals of the Beastmen corrupt the very essence of nature itself: it is for this reason Beastmen are especially loathed by the Wood Elves of Athel Loren who the Beastmen have been fighting a long grueling secret war with for centuries.

For the purposes of Warhammer Fantasy Battle they are subdivided into various levels reflecting their appearance, prowess and ability in battle.

• Beastlords are the largest and most brutal. They command the beast herds.
• Wargors are second in command to Beastlords.
• Bray Shamans are the spiritual leaders and advisors to the herd leaders. They are also powerful spellcasters.
• Bestigors are the most heavily armed and armoured Beastmen and rate as elite units.
• Centigors have the upper body of a Beastman and the four-legged lower body of an oxen.
• Gors and Ungors make up the majority of the infantry units or "Beastherds." The Ungors, however, due to their more human appearance (in comparison to other Beastmen) and smaller horns, are on the bottom of the herd hierarchy.
• Gors : the most common type of Beastman that were distinguished by the lower breeds by their horns. The number of horns were important with the preferably being on the head. Gors took pride in their horns which they polished, painted and decorated to enhance their lustre or shape. The lower breeds looked tot he Gors for leadership where they were praised during victory and blamed for defeats who grumbled behind their backs. Typically, most battle-leaders and top fighters among the Beastmen were the Gors. (Realm of Chaos: The Lost and the Damned) Their kind were divided into more sub-types distinguished by their horns:
  • Caprigors : goat-horned Gors that were the most common that had curling or straight horns that may have the entire head of a goat and more commonly had goat-like legs. Those that had only goat-like form and no other mutations were referred to as Caprigor Truegor that was a title with these being bigger, braver and more clever than the rest of their kin. (Realm of Chaos: The Lost and the Damned)
  • Bovigors : bull-horned Gors that were less common who had cattle-like horns noted for being competitive and thinking that they were superior to other Gors. Most prized brawn over brain with many being stronger yet at the same time were not very intelligent. Those that had a bull-like head and either goat-like legs or human legs were referred to as Bovigor Truegor. (Realm of Chaos: The Lost and the Damned)
  • Ungors : a term that translated to mean 'not quite right Gors' or 'other Gors' who had horns but not necessarily on their heads. These ones had a variety of different appearances and included Beastmen with various mutations leading to some having only a single horn whilst others had many. Most have scabby little horns or peculiar misshapen ones with a few Ungor having a spectacular number of them or a single fine one that made them the envy of other Beastmen. (Realm of Chaos: The Lost and the Damned)
• Brays : the majority of Beastmen who were not Gors came from this version whose name came from their braying, whinnying, whooping cacophony that came from their kind when they went to battle or during a feast. They lacked horns and had an inconsistency of appearance that marked them separate from a Gor. Brays were noted for being very brave, cunning and unusually lucky with some being able to rise to become a leader though this was uncommon. Gors do not like Bays giving them orders and a Bray that failed to show a Gor proper respect could face violence. (Realm of Chaos: The Lost and the Damned)

Beastmen use a variety of animals and monsters, either trained or broken into service that follow the warherds into battle, including "Tuskgor" which are very large boar-like creatures that they use to pull "Tuskgor Chariots". There are also the Tuskgors' larger cousins, the Razorgors, monstrously oversized boar-like monsters which Beastmen use to either pull stronger, larger chariots or to charge the enemy battleline in herds. Flocks of savage harpies, packs of feral mutated warhounds, gibbering Chaos Spawn (Beastmen twisted beyond recognition into terrible new forms by the will of the Chaos Gods) and roaming giants also follow the Beastmen horde.

They lived in roaming bands led by a Beastman Champion of Chaos though smaller groups were known to join warbands led by humans that followed Chaos. A title among their horde was that of a Truegor that referred to a member of their kind that had a specific animal form and no further mutations such as those that resembled humanoid goats or bulls. (Realm of Chaos: The Lost and the Damned)

Beastmen were known to had held a natural empathy towards Chaos. This overcame any antipathy they made have had to other races leading to them serving any form of Chaos Champion. (Realm of Chaos: The Lost and the Damned)

Recently Beastmen have learned to summon the Jabberslythes, abominations against nature that are a fusion of toad, slug drake and insectoid. Their massive bodies are borne aloft on ragged wings, and they secrete vile poison, their blood is acidic, their mouths house long chameleon-like tongues to ensnare their prey and their very appearance can break the enemy's sanity.

Minotaurs are bull-like humanoids twice the height and girth of a man and renowned for their enormous strength. Within the Warhammer setting they are known for pausing during battle to eat the bodies of their slain enemies (such is their blood greed). The most powerful among them are known as "Gorebulls" and "Doombulls" which act as leaders of the Minotaurs. In earlier versions of the game the phrase "Minotaur Lord" was used. Also, with the 7th edition rule book, new minotaur-like creatures have been included in the book such as the Ghorgon and Cygor.

The Ghorgon, not be confused with the Gorgons in Greek myth, are mutated four armed Minotaurs as tall as giants with swords of bones sprouting from two of the Ghorgons mutated arms, overcome and driven only by an overpowering desire to feed on and tear the flesh of the enemy. The Ghorgon is one of the most powerful monsters in the Warhammer world.

There is also the Cygor, a one-eyed gigantic relative of the minotaur that can only see the world in the winds of magic, and feeds upon the souls of its victims. The souls of wizards and magic users are a delicacy to these beasts. The Cygors are also used by the Beastmen horde to hurl massive boulders into the enemy ranks.

Because Beastmen worship the Chaos Gods they are sometimes granted marks just like their human/mortal counterpart. Gors that are changed in this way are given different names, always based on their patron god, to separate them from their normal counterpart.

Members

• Gorthor the Beastlord : Gorthor was the most powerful beastlord to have ever lived destroying one entire province and bringing two others to their knees
• Malagor, the Dark Omen : A Powerful Bray-Shaman born with huge raven wings
• Khazrak the One-eye : Khazrak is the most cunning beast lord to have ever lived and is the biggest living threat to the empire
• Ghorros Warhoof : a Centigor who was the bane of the unicorn prince and sire of a thousand young. Possibly the oldest Beastman to have ever lived.
• Morghur : The essence of mutation; just being close to him can break your mind; father of the spawn.
• Taurox, The Brass Bull : A Minotaur Doombull
• Moonclaw : son of Morrslieb
• Ungrol Four-Horn : An Ungor.
• Slugtongue :

Notes

• The Beastmen featured in the setting of Warhammer Fantasy.

In other media

Video games

• In Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning, the Beastmen appeared as antagonist NPCs in the MMORPG video game.
• In Total War: Warhammer, the Beastmen were introduced as a playable faction through DLC in the strategy video game.

Appearances

• Warhammer Fantasy:
• Realm of Chaos: The Lost and the Damned:

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