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Warhammer Total War: Warhammer III

34scell

Augur
Joined
Apr 6, 2014
Messages
384
Did GW incorporate more of the Daemon Engine concept into Daemons when they ditched Chaos Dwarves? Maybe we would have ended up with dwarf bikers.

Edit: Wait it's just a 40k model? :lol:
 

Aemar

Arcane
Joined
Aug 18, 2018
Messages
6,055
https://www.totalwar.com/blog/total-war-warhammer-3-kislev-roster-reveal/

Total War: WARHAMMER III Kislev Roster reveal

Welcome to the Roster Reveal for Kislev! Unthanked in their endless task of standing as the bulwark against Chaos to protect the Realms of Man, the men, women, and bears of Kislev are resolute in not allowing their homeland to become corrupted. From the lowliest farmer to the mightiest bear rider, the snow leopards that prowl the wastes to the living embodiment of the land itself and the people’s god – all are prepared to fight for every inch of territory and never allow Chaos to gain a foothold. Should they fall, all will surely follow.

Below you’ll find lore, notes, and the odd detail on every unit you can recruit in these northern lands. Note that Total War: WARHAMMER III is still in development and everything is subject to change – hence why we haven’t given you the exact damage and health values for everything below. Consider these guidelines and the odd tease, rather than set in stone, and prepare to lead Kislev to conquer their daemons.



Kislev Unit Roster

Kislev Legendary Lords

Tzarina Katarin

kislev-roster-reveal-katarin.jpg


Ascending to the throne and crown in the wake of her father’s bloody death fighting against the hordes of Chaos, Katarin has wasted no time cementing her grip upon Kislev. She is, in every way, a totalitarian ruler. She is stern and unflinching and will readily have rivals removed by agents of the crown if she cannot win them over with cold reason. The base of Katarin’s power, beyond hereditary right, is her extraordinary magical prowess. She is the greatest Ice Witch for generations, capable of magical feats more deadly and devastating than any other Ice Witch in Kislev.


The leader of the Ice Court, Katarin is more adept at training and maintaining the Frost Maidens who call it home and the Ice Guard who protect them. As the most powerful Ice Witch of her age she is unlikely to miscast, and as the ruler of Kislev she crushes rebellion and corruption wherever she goes.


Mounts: Warhorse or War Bear
Selection of unique spells, abilities, or skills:


  • Loremaster, Lore of Ice – Katarin is a complete master of the lore of ice, making her spells deadlier, cheaper, and faster.
  • Frost Fang – Katarin’s legendary blade, Frost Fang, bestows upon her a huge number of incredible powers, chief among them its titular, explosive spell.

Supreme Patriarch Kostaltyn

kislev-roster-reveal-kostaltyn.jpg


Ursun is not a vicious god (although he is both brutal and merciless in times of war). To his followers, he is fatherly and large. Kostaltyn is the Supreme Patriarch of the Ursunite Cult and as the highest ranking clergy in the nation, the de facto leader of the Grand Orthodoxy. With wild hair, wilder eyes, and wither-thin limbs, Kostaltyn is a ghoulish figure, robed in the finery of the resurgent Ursunite faith.


He is a howling, angry firebrand, screaming furious rhetoric at the enemy and urging the warriors around him to fight on with a fearful mixture of encouragement and threat. For he is himself fearless, able to recover from any wound quickly and thus inspire his flock to run pell-mell at foes that any sane person would flee!


With complete control of the faith that binds Kislev together, Kostaltyn whips his followers into a holy fervour. He despises the machinations of the Tzarina and her Ice Court and considers them usurpers and magic-wielding heretics.


Mounts: Warhorse or War Bear
Selection of unique spells, abilities, or skills:


  • Ursun’s Ward – Kostaltyn is an unkillable paragon of his people, and even the most mortal wounds simply power him to greater heights of ferocity as he faces down his enemies.
  • Man of the People – Kostaltyn’s fervor means he never lacks faithful, loyal warriors to send into battle.

Kislev Lords

Boyar

kislev-roster-reveal-boyar-improved-1024x576.jpg


Ranking nobles, Boyars are powerful men and women within Kislev. They each govern specific areas of Kislev, including scores if not hundreds of stanitsas, as well as larger towns and small cities. Especially large cities are governed by Boyars of singular prestige. This is a hereditary rank, although royal edict can raise one to the position. On the battlefield, they are tough and doughty fighters – the best in Kislev.


Boyars serve the people in battle as extraordinary warriors, leading their forces from the front and clashing with enemies of every kind. They are inspiring commanders and deadly foes.


Mounts: Warhorse or War Bear


Ice Witch

kislev-roster-reveal-ice-witch-ca.jpg


Kislev has no colleges of magic. Instead, its sorcery is derived from within the Ice Court, and invariably reflects the brutal winters of Kislev. It is from this body that the Ice Witches are drawn. Their Ice Magic is the raw, murderous power of cold, harnessed as a weapon – from frozen ground that binds the foe’s feet to lances of icy death. While all magic is drawn from the raging Winds, there is no doubt that Ice Magic is strongest when used within the borders of Kislev itself.

Lore of Ice, which specialises in disrupting enemy movement, freezing them to death, as well as encasing allies in protective barriers or equipping them with armour-piercing weapons.

  • Ice Sheet
  • Ice Maiden’s Kiss
  • Frost Blades
  • Death Frost
  • Crystal Sanctuary
  • Heart of Winter

Lore of Tempest, which speeds allies and sends enemies to a swift death, harried from all sides by incredible blizzards and the biting cold.

  • Gust of True Flight
  • Hailstorm
  • Swiftwing
  • Biting Wind
  • Hawks of Miska
  • Blizzard

Mounts: Warhorse or War Bear


Kislev Heroes

Frost Maiden

kislev-roster-reveal-frost-maiden-ca.jpg


When the Tzarina’s personal attention is not required, it falls to the women of the Ice Court to represent her might instead. Since the time of the Khan Queens there has been an Ice Court, a powerful political body devoted to preparing the noble daughters of Kislev to take on positions of power. It is from this body that the Frost Maidens – Ice Witches yet to complete their training – are drawn. Akin to an academy, the Ice Court schools the young women within its halls in matters of diplomacy, intrigue and sorcery.


Lores: Ice or Tempest
Mounts: Warhorse or War Bear


Patriarch

kislev-roster-reveal-patriarch-improved-1024x576.jpg


The sentinels of the Kislevite faith. Bombastic, loud, and proud of their creed, they exhort the warriors around them to acts of courage, protecting them with the power of faith. Patriarchs stride into battle bellowing the folk-songs of the Kislevite people with the cadence of battle-hymns – and mighty miracles of war are wrought by their belief. Bones of long-dead Kislevite heroes are carried in reliquary boxes, and those nearby take heart… although whether they hold any true magical properties remains a topic of speculation.


Ability selection:


  • Ursun’s Roar
  • Dazh’s Song of Winter Sunlight
  • Tor’s Battle Hymn
  • Salyak’s Lullaby

Mounts: Warhorse or War Bear


Kislev Units

Kislev Missile Infantry

Kossars

Kossars are the mainstay of the Kislevite armies, regiments of grizzled and hardened fighters, drawn primarily from among the many thousands of foresters and trappers who keep Kislev’s stanitsas and cities fed. They fight with bows and axes, the two traditional weapons of the Kossars – symbolising the woodsman and the hunter. This ornate wargear is wrought to last a lifetime if well-cared for. Many is the wizened old Kislevite who has handed their axe down to their grandchild, telling tall tales of the countless Marauders or Chaos beasts it has slain.


While Kossars fight in regiments, they are not necessarily the most disciplined warriors, at least on the face of it. These hard-living layfolk of Kislev are fatalistic about the bitterness of warfare, drinking together by the fire at night and singing raucous anthems as they march, joking constantly at one another’s expense. They wear light armour, if any at all.


Variants:


  • Bow & Axe
  • Bow & Spear

Notable characteristics:


  • The backbone of the Kislevite army, cheap and easy to build.
  • As with all Kislev units, can keep their leadership in even the direst of circumstances.
  • Early access to both bows and spears allows for a hybrid, powerful army from the off.

Streltsi

kislev-roster-reveal-streltsi-improved-1024x576.jpg


The Streltsi were originally armed with bardiches and handguns, in order that they could rest their firearm upon the crook of their polearm and thereby achieve greater accuracy. However, in an effort to get ‘one more’ shot off before the enemy closed upon them, the warriors would often run out of time to effectively stow their gun and ready their bardiche. Instead, the heavy gun was often simply reversed and used as a bludgeon. Eventually, Streltsi captains took the radical step of embracing this alternative approach and had their rotas’ rifles modified to include axeblades on the gun stock.


Notable characteristics:


  • Their signature gun-greataxe represents both the coolest hybrid weapon in Warhammer history and one of the best.
  • Also based on a real 16th century weapon.
  • Armoured and armour-piercing, with decent melee abilities to go alongside their shooting prowess.

Ice Guard

kislev-roster-reveal-ice-guard-improved-1024x576.jpg


In Kislev, the voice of a woman is equal to that of a man, and the worth of a ruler is judged by the wisdom of their rule and their might in battle. Perhaps that, more than any other reason, gave rise to the unusual sisterhood known as the Ice Guard. These are the warrior elite of the Ice court, a bodyguard for the Ice Witches, and who are imbued with the same magical power as their mistresses. They are fearsome and fearless, conditioned to put Kislev first and to face the vilest horrors of the Old World without hesitation.


The Ice Guard is staffed by formidable warrior women, sent to the Bohka Palace before they reach adolescence. These youths are then sorted for their aptitude for magic. Those with the gift begin a training regimen that will enable them to take their place within the Ice Court, a clandestine place of intrigue and power, typically headed by the senior matriarch of the Kislevite royal family. Each weapon these women wield is imbued with ice magic, glowing with its own inner light.


Variants:


  • Bow & Dual Sword
  • Bow & Glaive

Notable characteristics:


  • Fearless and stout, the women of the Ice Guard will face any foe.
  • Frostbite consumes targeted enemies, slowing them.
  • Anti-infantry and anti-large variants make them another useful, hybrid unit for Kislev armies.

Kislev Infantry

Armoured Kossars

kislev-roster-reveal-armoured-kossars-ca.jpg


Armoured Kossars are full-time soldiers, either paid by the crown or simply supported by their wealthy families. As such, their time is spent entirely either training or carousing. They are dour, grim-faced killers on the battlefield, but after the battle is done, they are the most belligerent, boisterous, and hard-drinking of all the celebrants at a victory feast. Arrogance, reinforced by undeniable results – these are warriors as good as an ordinary man can hope to become. They wear heavy armour above the waist, and sturdy reinforced boots, though their legs are clad only in baggy trousers.


Variants:


  • Pistol & Axe
  • Pistol & Greatmace

Notable characteristics:


  • Pistols, while limited in ammunition, give Armoured Kossars a great first punch.
  • Greatmaces crush skulls and smash armour to pieces.
  • Love a post-battle drink.

Tzar Guard

Regiments of hardened warriors, formed of lesser nobles and veteran soldiers elevated to higher status from the ranks of the Kossars, the Tzar Guard are formidable, durable melee troops. Originally, they were instituted to serve as the Tzar’s personal retinue, and while he would invariably travel with a large warband of Tzar Guard at his back, almost every army of Kislev now boasts a regiment or two of these hardened warriors. This is because every Boyar and Marshal needs a steady core to their army – veteran warriors able to act as the bulwark of the Kislevite battle line.


Variants:


  • Sword & Shield
  • Greatsword

Notable characteristics:


  • The most elite fighting force and personal guard of Tzarina Katarin.
  • Hardy, difficult to kill, armoured, and with the option of carrying greatswords into battle.
  • While slower than their less-trained peers, make up for it with incredible battle capabilities.

Kislev Cavalry

Kossovite Dervishes

Much of Kislev is known as the Oblast, a huge, open wilderness. It is said that one’s horse is one’s life when on the Oblast – this is not a joke or an old wives’ tale, but rather the cold, hard truth. If a Kislevite rider is freezing, they warm their steed first. If they are thirsty, it drinks before them. Why? Because without a horse, if the hunters of the Dark Gods don’t catch them, the Motherland’s wintery embrace will make an orphan of their children just as readily.


Notable characteristics:


  • Can sneak up to enemy lines for Vanguard Deployment.
  • Incredible speed from well-bred, cared-for horses.
  • The quintessential hit-and-run attacker – don’t leave them in a straight fight for long.

Winged Lancers

kislev-roster-reveal-winged-lancer-ca.jpg


Every settlement large enough will support a rota of Kislevite Winged Lancers, a cavalry squadron of hardy, well-trained warriors who form the offensive heart of almost every Kislev army. They are also a potent psychological weapon, for at full gallop they cause the very air to shudder and roar. Becoming a Kislev Winged Lancer takes dedication and effort… and a great deal of money to afford the thoroughbred steed, mail coat, breastplate and helm. Only skilled warriors are accepted into their ranks, for a stanitsa can ill-afford to equip layabouts, cowards or dolts in such a manner.


Notable characteristics:


  • Their powerful charges strike fear into all the enemies of Kislev.
  • Slower but more devastating shock cavalry than their Dervish brothers.
  • Faster but otherwise weaker than the Gryphon Legion.

Gryphon Legion

kislev-roster-reveal-gryphon-legion-ca.jpg


The Gryphon Legion are a standing force of highly-experienced Winged Lancers, notable for their improved wargear, as well as their prodigious skill at arms. The first loyalty of these warriors is to the throne of Kislev – they place their duty to the queen above all other obligations. They often serve as a mercenary army for allied powers, at times when Kislev is not currently fighting a war. This gives them a wealth of experience fighting different foes, and ensures that their warriors can never grow lax or allow their skills to dull from lack of use.


Notable characteristics:


  • The most powerful charge Kislev can deliver, decimating backlines and striking enemies stuck on the anvil of infantry.
  • Rival the most powerful cavalry of the southern territories.
  • Not riding bears.

War Bear Riders

Just as the people of Kislev worship Ursun, Bear-God of the Motherland, so too do they respect his kin which dwell in the wild lands and forests. These are no slave beasts to be whipped or abused – their riders honour them, and they return this honour. Only in this way can man and bear join their might to drive the hated slaves of Chaos howling back into the oblast.


Notable characteristics:


  • Riding bears.
  • Vastly superior to most cavalry at staying in a fight after they engage, overpowering enemies with their weapons (and bears).
  • Can take on almost any foe, mostly due to all the bears.

Kislev Missile Cavalry

Horse Archers

Horse Archers are often the only elements of a Kislevite army the foe encounters. They patrol the oblast constantly, ensuring roads are clear of bandits and roving enemies, and watching constantly for incursions from the north and east. Bands of Horse Archers are welcome wherever they go, for all know that they will fight ceaselessly to protect any Kislevite settlement from invaders. That said, being a Horse Archer is not necessarily a lofty calling – respected but not greatly envied, except by those who long for the freedom of the open plains and cold nights beneath starry skies.


Notable characteristics:


  • Similar speed and vanguard deployment capabilities to Dervishes.
  • Additional power from ranged attacks makes them even more deadly.
  • Despite their preference for bows, can hold their own in melee once their ammunition is exhausted or if they’re caught unawares.

Light War Sleds

kislev-roster-reveal-light-war-sleds-improved-1024x576.jpg


In times of winter, the armies of Kislev must still range far and wide across brutal, snow-blasted terrain. For this reason, the Kislevite armies are often supported by War Sleds. Loaded with supplies, especially black powder and shot, they trail behind rotas of Winged Lancers or regiments of Kossar warriors. War Sleds are crewed by sturdy veterans who can be trusted to stand their ground, drawn from the ranks of the Streltsi and Kossars alike.


Notable characteristics:


  • Like chariots, only with a large number of angry men tied to the back of several bears.
  • Just as capable of charging the enemy to rout them with the angry smash of bear-impact (bearpact) as they are to pepper them with long-range fire.
  • A faster, less armoured option for the commander on the move.

Heavy War Sleds

The heavier War Sleds of Kislev are the Motherland’s answer to the Empire’s War Wagons. They are beautifully carved from timbers harvested from the great forests and reinforced with metal scales to protect their occupants. A combination of mancatchers, poleaxes, glaives and spears grant them deadly impact in melee combat, while handguns ensure that they can pack a punch at range. These War Sleds also carry an abundance of extra shot for prolonged campaigns.


Notable characteristics:


  • Like Light War Sleds, only absolutely covered in armour, with heavier bears.
  • This slows them down but makes them hardier in combat and more likely to survive should they ‘accidentally’ charge an enemy back line.
  • One of the best bear-per-capita returns in the army.

Kislev Monsters & Beasts

Snow Leopard

kislev-roster-reveal-snow-leopards-1024x576.jpg


With the Tzarina at the head of the Ice Court, storms of death await for invading armies, and the beasts of Kislev stalk the forests and oblast, seeking out her foes. One such creature is the Great Sabre-toothed Snow Leopard, a fierce battle-cat that can be trained to protect the women of the Ice Court. Snow Leopards’ natural prey are wandering herbivores, but in times of famine they have been known to consume Chaos beasts, taking savage delight in chomping down a Troll or Minotaur when the need arises.


Notable characteristics:


  • More than capable of taking down humongous creatures in a large enough pack.
  • Adorable snow cats, which is worth a lot on its own.
  • Extremely fast and very capable at taking on any enemy that finds itself lagging behind the main force.

Elemental Bear

kislev-roster-reveal-elemental-bear-improved-1024x576.jpg


Some say that Kislev is alive, a Motherland which cares for its people and defends them in times of war. Outsiders call these claims old wives’ tales – but those who have seen the land literally rise up and fight know better. Elemental Bears are creatures of magical wrath, brought into sentience by the faith and devotion of the Kislevite people, and imbued with the spirit of the land. Massive, terrifying and crackling with magical energy, they are a brutal force of nature rising from the earth to fight beside Kislev’s children.


Notable characteristics:


  • Biggest bear around.
  • As happy beating down the doors of a castle as it is causing terror among all the tiny bipedals below it.
  • Unbreakable, irresistible, and the hardiest thing on the battlefield.

Kislev Artillery

Little Grom

Kislev is not known for massed artillery. In fact, at many points throughout its history, the Boyars and Druzhina have been expressly forbidden from maintaining their own. In the reign of Tzar Alexis a dozen new cannons were commissioned, under the orders that “their roar would drown out the hordes of Chaos like the thunder of gods”. The Thunderers, as they were known, made a great difference in the battles that eventually saw the legions of Chaos thrown back into the northern wastes. By the time the fighting was over, most of the twelve Thunderers were lost… but a precious few remain.


Notable characteristics:


  • Long range, powerful, single artillery piece.
  • Pulled by two bears as capable of ravaging enemies in melee as their brothers.
  • Can charge and collide with enemies in a pinch.
 

Nathir

Liturgist
Joined
Aug 3, 2017
Messages
1,090
That Boyar art looks comical, like a Disney version of Russia. They could have used armor like this:

9db4e8dcc5c87e222748108ebb1f3071.jpg


But hey, everything is rimmed with fur, because cold, and russia and... The whole faction aestethic is mildly dissapointing, to say the least.
 

Seethe

Arbiter
Joined
Nov 22, 2015
Messages
967
Have to agree, Kislev looks too Disney. They really overdid the bear thing too. Very uninteresting faction until now, their hybrid units remind me of High Elves, who are currently far more interesting. Waiting for Tzeentch reveal.
 

Hobo Elf

Arcane
Joined
Feb 17, 2009
Messages
13,999
Location
Platypus Planet
The translation from concept art to (3D) models can make or break the designs so I'll holdout on any opinions until then, though I do like the concept art as well. Especially the Ice Guard and Patriarch.
 

tabacila

Augur
Joined
Nov 2, 2011
Messages
326
Agreed. Overdid the bears, especially having the single artillery piece be basically a bear chariot.
Also Why the does CA insist giving melee focused mounts to pure caster lords?
Why the hell should we choose a boyar since we can choose an Ice Witch, put her on a war bear and get a pretty good melee lord that can also cast magic. This is almost as idiotic as the arcane phoenix they gave Teclis.
Honestly they should have just taken the model from their sleds unit as use that as the top mount choice for caster lords/heroes.
No unique mounts for the legendary lords. Seems like only one named item per LL. Weak.

Overall meh. Sad because these were the human guys I wanted to see the most since I have no interest in fantasy Coronaland. Maybe we'll get lucky and the preorder dlc race will be Southern Realms conquistadors/condottieres chads.
Otherwise I'm just gonna play Nurgle and rape Cathay over and over as payback for 2020 until the big combined map comes out.
 

jac8awol

Arbiter
Joined
Feb 2, 2018
Messages
408
I like how the elemental bear is caught mid shit as it slowly squeezes an icicle out of its anus.
 

kris

Arcane
Joined
Oct 27, 2004
Messages
8,836
Location
Lulea, Sweden
Actually, after the promo material I seen I expected more bears.

They seem quite wellrounded, but the only outstanding to show is another school of magic. (although most magic do same things)
 

tabacila

Augur
Joined
Nov 2, 2011
Messages
326
Khorne roster reveal https://www.totalwar.com/blog/total-war-warhammer-3-khorne-roster-reveal/
TOTAL WAR: WARHAMMER III KHORNE ROSTER REVEAL
TOTAL WAR: WARHAMMER III
Ben Barrett
June 17 2021

Welcome back to the roster reveals for Total War: Warhammer III. The Blood God thirsts, the Skull Throne hungers, and the forces of Khorne venture to the battlefield for harvest. They are single-minded, bloody, and potent, defined by a distinct hatred of and resistance to magic. The cowardice of ranged combat has little appeal, beyond the exception of cannons which broadside enemies with the skulls of those Khorne has consumed. The mortal races cannot hope to match his army’s ferocity, and the other Chaos Gods cannot survive in a toe-to-toe fight. Should they run rampant, Khorne’s forces will cleave the heads from all they find in the never-ending quest to please their god.


Below you’ll find all the details on each unit you can recruit as a servant of Khorne. As our first roster reveal for one of the Daemon factions, you will see some things you recognise from other Chaos factions, but also plenty of completely new Lords, Heroes, and Units. Total War: WARHAMMER III is still in development so what you’re seeing may be subject to change, and that’s exactly why we haven’t given precise details for each stat.


Don’t forget you can pre-order Total War: WARHAMMER III today. Also check out the Kislev roster reveal from earlier this week for more lord, hero, and unit goodness.


全面战争: 战锤3 恐虐兵种名册展示


KHORNE UNIT ROSTER

KHORNE LEGENDARY LORD

SKARBRAND

khorne-roster-reveal-skarbrand-1024x576.jpg


The Bloodthirster Skarbrand was once the greatest of all Khorne’s Daemons. No other had piled so many skulls before the Skull Throne. One dark day, Skarbrand’s fierce pride grew hot and, blinded by rage, he smote the Blood God a mighty blow. Incandescent with wrath, Khorne cursed Skarbrand’s name and choked all personality from him, leaving only the bottomless rage that had caused him to attack. Since that fateful day, Skarbrand has wandered the mortal and immortal realms, drowning his sins in the blood of the slain – though he no longer has the wit to fully understand why.


Skarbrand is a ludicrous force on the battlefield, a titan of blood and rage. Even in his disgraced state, his incredible commitment to Khorne makes Skarbrand ferocious in his pursuit of enemies, near-impervious to magic, and a legendary commander of the demonic hordes of Khorne. He is constantly on the warpath, seeking only that which is detailed in the battlecry: Blood for the Blood God, Skulls for the Skull Throne.


Unique abilities & skills:


  • Wrathful Reaper – Skarbrand, once in the midst of battle, will not be distracted, and will kill until the killing is done. Nothing will stand before his fury.
  • Rage Embodied – All those who see the Exiled One in battle are drawn to the ferocity of his combat. They will join him, even if it means their death.

KHORNE LORDS

EXALTED BLOODTHIRSTER

khorne-roster-reveal-exalted-bloodthirster-1024x576.jpg


Exalted Bloodthirsters are not only the deadliest of Khorne’s Daemons, but the mightiest of all Daemonkind. A single such beast is a harbinger of bellowing death, destructive beyond telling, and lives only to slaughter, maim, and destroy all that it encounters. It is the fury of war given form, the unfettered primal rage of the world made manifest. And such should be expected of a beast whose master is the Dark God of Bloodletting, Slaughter, and Murder.


Second only to Skarbrand in their power both on and off the battlefield, Exalted Bloodthirsters are monstrous, destructive, and incredible forces of nature. Terrifying, flying, blood-fuelled deathbringers, they lead only the mightiest of warhosts.


HERALD OF KHORNE

khorne-roster-reveal-herald-of-khorne-1024x576.jpg


Most feared of all amongst the Bloodletters are the dread Heralds of Khorne. To hear their call is to know your skull will be collected in mere moments by the deliberate, merciless leaders of Khorne’s armies. As a Herald’s rage grows, all nearby Daemons of Khorne become gripped by an irresistible fury that lends further intensity to the carnage. They hack and cleave their foes until there is nothing left save a mound of corpses and another victory for the Blood God.


Occasionally, a particularly favoured Herald of Khorne is granted a Juggernaut, mighty beasts of groaning iron and brass, taller than a man and possessed of crushing mass, to better pursue his master’s goals. Such a pairing is far deadlier than the sum of its parts. Should a foe survive the frenzied biting and goring, they are likely to be crushed beneath its brass body or cut down by the rider.


Those who go above and beyond the call to slaughter may be granted a Blood Throne. A mighty Daemon Engine armoured in brass and driven into battle by iron-shod wheels which crush and mangle all who stand in its path. From atop his macabre throne, the Herald searches for foes whose skulls will make the most audacious offerings. Those plundered from cowards are fed into the Blood Throne’s baleful workings, consumed in fire to bring the Daemon Engine fresh vigour. Those taken from the valiant are claimed by the Herald and fused with the throne itself, to stand throughout eternity as grim monument to the futility of opposing Khorne.


Mounts: Juggernaut or Blood Throne


KHORNE HEROES

CULTIST OF KHORNE

The Cults of Khorne can be found across the world. Less fond of the clandestine trappings that accompany the other Dark Powers, the blood cults quickly take hold in arenas and fighting pits, although secret martial lodges dedicated to the Lord of Skulls have been discovered in the higher echelons of society.


It is the Cultists of Khorne that establish and propagate such sects, roaming far and wide to serve their god, spreading corruption in their stead. Their methods are as often insidious as they are direct, from founding illicit fighting dens to causing all out riots. Strong cultists are constantly hunting out rivals to fight, with the victor claiming the slain’s warriors as their own. Some will aspire to rise and become true champions of Khorne, but there are plenty eager supplicants who simply wish to murder and slay in the Blood God’s name and so spread the cult’s influence far and wide.


Some ride a great warhorse – a sign of status for only the best warriors. The steeds ridden by these tribes are powerful beasts, foul-tempered and strong of limb. Once a rider has broken such a horse, it will remain loyal to him until death, but remain vicious and unruly should a stranger approach. Fed on a diet of human flesh and watered-down blood, these snorting, high-spirited steeds have a glint of intelligent menace in their eyes, and will trample, kick and bite as if berserk when engaged at close quarters.


Mount: Chaos Steed


BLOODREAPER

Bloodletters who have proven their devotion and legitimised their existence, Bloodreapers are some of Khorne’s most deadly individual fighters. Each carries a Hellblade, a jagged iron sword whose blackened blade glows with heinous enchantment. A wound from one of these weapons can slay even the hardiest hero, draining their soul and sucking dry their shrivelled corpse. The Hellblade is formed from the Bloodreaper’s own essence and can never be discarded nor torn from its grasp. Each life taken by it strengthens the Bloodreaper, fuelling both its power and rage. As such, a Bloodreaper is even more terrifying at a battle’s close than its start, having gorged itself on the slaughter it has caused.


If that were not enough to crush and terrify the foe, a deadly combination of battlefrenzied Bloodreaper and the unstoppable crushing mass of a Juggernaut of Khorne can appear. There are also those that sit atop a mighty Blood Throne as a mark of status – a physical manifestation of the Blood God’s favour. The Bloodreaper that resides atop its pinnacle does not rest or repose as would another in its position, but prowls restlessly as the chariot advances, eyes and tongue twitching madly in anticipation of the next kill.


Favoured by their god, Bloodreapers are the locus of any fight they charge into. Bringing the energy of their god and his fury together, they can inspire those around them to ever-increasing ferocity, hardiness, and murder.


Mounts: Juggernaut or Blood Throne


KHORNE UNITS

KHORNE INFANTRY

CHAOS WARRIORS OF KHORNE

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A Chaos Warrior of Khorne has no need of food, drink or sleep, for he is nourished by the carnage that he wreaks. He has nothing but contempt for the weak or the cowardly and goes about the business of murder with a vengeance, for there is always a part of the man who was that rages against that which he has become. A Chaos Warrior’s only solace is in slaughter – the fulfilment of his new existence as an instrument of his blasphemous god’s will, and at battle’s end, his armour is spattered with the lifeblood of the slain.


Chaos Warriors of Khorne are fighters of unmatched prowess. Their strength is infernal and their bodies are as tough as the Iron Mountains. Imbued with the power of the Blood God and encased in suits of hell-forged armour, a Chaos Warrior is equal to several battle-hardened mortal men. They are no longer truly human, but living weapons, honed perfectly for the bloody tasks before them.


Variants:


  • Axe & Shield
  • Dual Axes
  • Halberds

Notable characteristics:


  • Like many of Khorne’s chosen, enter a frenzy so long as they are enjoying the battle – blood, death, and the promise of victory.
  • Berserkers, with their dual axes, are brutal and terrifying anti-infantry warriors who will tear unsuspecting foes limb-from-limb.
  • Khorne has few non-Daemon followers in his armies. Whether that makes them cattle or commanders is up to you.

BLOODLETTERS OF KHORNE

khorne-roster-reveal-bloodletter-of-khorne-1024x576.jpg


The Daemon hordes of Khorne consist of ferocious Bloodletters, deadly warriors believed to have been foremost amongst the Blood God’s followers in mortal life and whose will is as implacable and blood-hungry as Khorne himself. When loosed to the fray, Bloodletters sprint from one enemy to the next, hacking the foe apart before springing away in search of new victims. With each fresh kill, the Bloodletters loose great shouts of victory that echo across the battlefield and chill the souls of all who hear.


Notable characteristics:


  • An advancing pack of Bloodletters is a fearful sight for any and all mortals.
  • Gain power as they kill, infusing their hellblades with the blood, gore, and screams of the slain.
  • As with all Daemons, will disintegrate and flee to the Chaos Realms when their leadership is broken.

EXALTED BLOODLETTERS OF KHORNE

Khorne’s Chosen – the Naked Slayers, the Takers of Skulls, deadly warriors believed to have been foremost amongst the Blood God’s followers in mortal life and whose will is as implacable and blood-hungry as Khorne himself. Exalted Bloodletters gather in regiments, chanting their brutal praises to Khorne. In the fashion of the warriors they are believed to have once been, each unit marches beneath a gore-soaked banner upon which the names of their victims are inscribed.


Notable characteristics:


  • The bigger, badder, more murderous brothers and cousins of the Bloodletters.
  • Share many of the same traits, only stronger, more accurate, and hardier.
  • While a straight upgrade, more expensive and later in the tech tree.

KHORNE CAVALRY & CHARIOTS

GOREBEAST CHARIOT OF KHORNE

khorne-roster-reveal-gorebeast-chariot-1024x576.jpg


Gorebeast Chariots are even heavier and sturdier than other Chaos Chariots. No normal beast would have the strength to pull such a massive instrument of war, and they are therefore pulled into battle by a Gorebeast – a muscular creature renowned for its violent temperament. These grunting brutes strike their prey with such shocking force that those not impaled upon jutting armour spikes are torn apart by the impact. Even the lowliest of beasts recognise the bulky shape of a Gorebeast as synonymous with death. Each iron-clad chariot drawn by one of these formidable mutants is thus followed, at some distance, by circling carrion crows and slinking scavenger hounds waiting to feast on the bloody remnants of a Gorebeast’s grim harvest.


Notable characteristics:


  • Those Gorebeast Chariots ridden by followers of Khorne are constantly in a frenzy from the thrill of the hunt and the kill.
  • This puts them at a disadvantage when it comes to defense, something they don’t tend to worry about.
  • The cheapest option for cavalry of the Khornate horde, but still an absolute force on the battlefield.

BLOODCRUSHERS OF KHORNE

The most favoured of all Bloodletters are granted the honour of becoming Bloodcrushers. Bloodcrushers are Khorne’s shock cavalry, a deadly combination of battle frenzied Bloodletter and the unstoppable crushing mass of a Juggernaut of Khorne. When the Daemonic legions go to war, bellowing hordes of Bloodcrushers stampede across the battlefield, trampling Khorne’s foes into unrecognisable pulp. When battle begins, Bloodcrushers relentlessly hurl themselves at the strongest point of an enemy’s lines. Here they hack, maim and gore their way through the strongest troops the foe can muster, exulting Khorne’s name with savage joy for each enemy slain.


Notable characteristics:


  • Powerful, Daemonic shock cavalry – providing additional physical resistance.
  • As Daemons, vulnerable to banishment, but unable to rout.
  • Technically a Daemon riding another Daemon into battle, which is fun.

SKULLCRUSHERS OF KHORNE

khorne-roster-reveal-skullcrusher-1024x576.jpg


Exalted in the eyes of Khorne, these murderous Knights are gifted with Juggernauts to carry them to war. These massive Daemonic mounts are made of living metal and pure rage; they are dealers of untold destruction who grind their foes beneath steel sinews and brass hooves. As the blood-crazed Knights bellow their battle cries, their fearsome mounts snort steam and paw out divots the size of shallow graves before stampeding towards the ranks of their prey and flattening anything in their way.


Notable characteristics:


  • The most powerful human force in a Khornate army.
  • Their powerful steeds stoke fear in the hearts of their enemies.
  • One of the most terrifying, powerful charges in the Old World.

KHORNE MONSTERS & BEASTS

CHAOS WARHOUNDS

In Norsca, wolves and hounds prowl in the flickering shadows of the campfires made by the barbarian tribespeople of the frozen lands. The further north the tribe dwells, the more likely it is that the hounds that follow them will be mutants, their bodies swollen by the energies of Chaos. Brutish and bloodthirsty, the Warhounds of Chaos are natural killers built of muscle and fang that lurk in the wilderness in ravening packs. They will even charge a spearwall with total abandon, their only concern the moment when their slobbering jaws sink into juicy, yielding flesh.


Notable characteristics:


  • Exceptionally quick and good for tearing down low-armour units in the enemy backline.
  • The lowest tier unit in the Khorne army, but poor fodder to hold a frontline – puppers.
  • Khorne-specific Flesh Hounds fulfil a similar role later in the tech tree.

CHAOS FURIES (KHORNE)

Furies are yowling shards of malevolent energy – Chaos in its purest form. With little in the way of intelligence, they are utterly subservient to the whims of the Dark Gods, and shift in aspect and power as the balance of the dark pantheon alters. They are easily subjugated by other Daemons, whom they regard with a mix of dread and awe. Furies swarm at the edges of the battle, avoiding the thickest fighting if they can. Only when they sight a vulnerable victim do they descend, a wailing mass from which there can be no escape.


Notable characteristics:


  • Extremely fast-moving, if lightweight, flyers.
  • Able to deploy ahead of the frontlines to harrass the enemy.
  • The Mark of Khorne confers additional spell resistance and a more powerful charge over Furies dedicated to other gods.

FLESH HOUNDS OF KHORNE

khorne-roster-reveal-flesh-hounds-of-khorne-1024x576.jpg


Flesh Hounds are Khorne’s foremost tool of vengeance. When a being – mortal or Daemon – rouses the Blood God’s ire, he rises from the Skull Throne and sounds a single sonorous note on a great brass horn. This blast echoes through the mortal and Daemonic realms alike as a peal of portentous thunder, rousing Flesh Hounds from their slumber and loosing them upon the hunt. Few can survive gory pursuit by these relentless carnivores, for Flesh Hounds are faultless and instinctive trackers, able to harry their quarry across fen, forest, and stone without once losing the scent.


Notable characteristics:


  • Powerful jaws and a scent for blood make these powerful, fast units.
  • Collars of Khorne give them incredible spell resistance, above and beyond normal Daemons.
  • You can call them “little cavalry” because you’ll never have to speak to them face-to-slavering-teeth.

SPAWN OF KHORNE

A grisly death is not the worst fate that one who has trod the path of Khorne can suffer, for the Blood God is inhuman and whimsical, and he makes no distinction between a beneficial or disadvantageous gift. Even the most vaunted Chaos Lord can find himself disfigured in an instant, his body wracked by a multitude of debilitating mutations. Should Khorne continue to pile on his dubious gifts, the recipient will devolve into a mindless, hideous creature known as a Chaos Spawn.


Notable characteristics:


  • No regard for human life, much less their own.
  • Will run completely out of control once engaged and injured – fire and forget.
  • As happy bashing down a castle door as they are bashing skulls.

MINOTAURS OF KHORNE

khorne-roster-reveal-minotaurs-of-khorne-1024x576.jpg


To the Minotaurs of Khorne, a battlefield is a place of maddening excess. The scent of gore in their flaring nostrils drives them wild and they bellow their hunger for all to hear. They charge with a thundering impact, horns lowered to impale, then strike blow after blow against their hapless enemy. Once their victims have been hacked apart, the Khornataurs slake their thirst by tearing at raw flesh with their gore-encrusted nails and gulping down great hunks of steaming meat even whilst the battle rages on around them.


When called to war, these beasts reach into the piles of weapons and armour heaped in offering before the herdstones, equipping themselves with the largest and most formidable weapons they can find. These weapons were laid in celebration of victory, their erstwhile owners slain upon some forgotten battlefield. In amongst the rusted blades can sometimes be found those once carried by the warriors of long-lost empires, crafted using methods and metals no longer known to any of the peoples of the world, fragments of tarnished armour that might have been made for the guards of long-dead, forgotten kings.


Variants:


  • Dual Axes
  • Great Weapons

Notable characteristics:


  • Fueled by the scent of blood, their power increases with every slain enemy.
  • Pledged to Khorne due to their relentless need for fresh meat.
  • Armoured, armour-piercing, fearless, and destructive.

SOUL GRINDER OF KHORNE

khorne-roster-reveal-soul-grinder-of-khorne-1024x576.jpg


When a Daemon’s physical body is slain, he can surrender his true name to the Forge of Souls. The dark bargain sealed; his crippled essence is bound to a mighty Warp-metal hulk. Thus is he reborn as a Soul Grinder. A Soul Grinder’s clanking tread shakes the ground with every step, and it is devilishly fast for a creature its size, able to scuttle swift as a horse’s gallop, or even faster should the scent of battle touch its nostrils. Piston-driven legs thud home with sickening force, crushing to bloody paste those beneath.


Notable characteristics:


  • A truly horrific amalgamation of metal and flesh that causes terror.
  • Can fire its extremely powerful weaponry while on the move and charging the enemy.
  • Highly resistant to physical and magical harm and really, tremendously awful to kill.

BLOODTHIRSTER

Those far enough away from Bloodthirsters to survive their onslaught commonly recall an overwhelming impression of vast size and unchecked barbarity, of roaring and snarling death riding upon stygian wings that eclipse the sun. A Bloodthirster’s ruddy skin is covered with coarse fur and brass armour, slick and gleaming with the blood of innumerable victims. This armour is forged upon the Daemon’s flesh by Khorne himself and thereafter becomes a living part of the Daemon, even whilst maintaining a brutal intelligence of its own. As such, even the Bloodthirster’s armour is wrathful and longs for slaughter.


Notable characteristics:


  • Flight, even on tattered wings, is still flight.
  • Flaming, magical attacks that can roast men, crush larger creatures, and destroy gates.
  • As one of the largest, most terrifying beasts on the battle, has an advantage versus almost everything.

KHORNE ARTILLERY & WAR MACHINES

BLOOD SHRINE OF KHORNE

Mounted upon a carnage-fueled daemon engine, the Blood Shrine judders, spins and zooms across battlefields at great speeds, desperate to be smothered in gore and so draw the gaze of their mighty patron – the Blood God and his most powerful servants. The Blood Shrine is a mobile altar that will empower Kharneth’s daemons to greater heights of butchery and wanton slaughter.


Notable characteristics:


  • A massive, near-living chariot designed to grind lesser creatures beneath its wheels.
  • Heals every moment it is in melee combat with the enemy.
  • Boosts morale for nearby allies as they rally to its terrifying cause.

SKULLCANNON

khorne-roster-reveal-skull-cannon-1024x576.jpg


As the Skull Cannon grinds across the battlefield, its spiked wheels and rollers mangle everything in its path. Those who somehow survive the initial onset of the grinders are fed screaming into the Skull Cannon’s gaping maw, there to be roasted by Daemonic fire and ground to fragments. Only the skulls – so beloved of Khorne – are retained and fed into the mighty cannon atop the machinery from which the Daemon Engine takes its name. They slam into the enemy ranks, scattering foes like ninepins and leaving a trail of scorched and blazing dead behind.


Notable characteristics:


  • Khorne’s answer to battlefield artillery is still a deadly force in melee combat.
  • Harvests their enemy’s skulls for more ammo once locked in combat.
  • Can fire and move to keep the enemy on the backfoot.

WAR, HONOUR, COURAGE, RAGE, STRENGTH, HATE…

If you’re looking for an army to unleash your rage and fury upon an enemy, to make true total war with and burn all around it to the ground with little regard for allegiances, you may be able to stop reading our roster reveals here. Oh, but what delights and mysteries you may miss, eh?


The Khornate forces require precise planning and strategy to make up for their clear weaknesses, but once an enemy is caught, they are doomed. Keep to the battlecry:


BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD. SKULLS FOR THE SKULL THRONE.
 

Nahel

Arcane
Joined
Feb 12, 2015
Messages
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Khorne Roster seems boring. Would expect a champion growing in power not a greater daemon as LL. Warhammer 3 seems like a DLC for the moment....
 

jac8awol

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Feb 2, 2018
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The artwork looks a bit amateurish in some of those mock-ups. And shouldn't demons look intimidating, not like conehead/Ken doll hybrids?
 

Seethe

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Fedora Master

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There's a difference between difficulty and making the game unwinable you nigger.
Orcs being massively OP since the Grom DLC is a well known fact.
 
Self-Ejected

underground nymph

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Strap Yourselves In
More options to set difficulty levels will be nice. I like legendary for not being able spamming save games, but I really hate rank 9 multiple doom stacks being constantly vomited out of one city factions. I also don’t like stupid penalties to diplomacy.
 

Jaedar

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There's a difference between difficulty and making the game unwinable you nigger.
Early war on VH is really dangerous. You need to strike hard and fast before the AI has a chance to shit out 3-4 stacks and bunch them up. Especially if you don't have a lot of ranged units or a good spellcaster to win fights flawlessly.

But yeah, it is dumb how quickly the ai can raise armies, and how many they can make early game.
 

AwesomeButton

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More options to set difficulty levels will be nice. I like legendary for not being able spamming save games, but I really hate rank 9 multiple doom stacks being constantly vomited out of one city factions. I also don’t like stupid penalties to diplomacy.
What would actually be nice is human-like AI. But CA are not into making a good game, they are into selling 3d models and producing CGI trailers for them.
 

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