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This article is about fantasy roleplaying. For other uses, see Chaos (disambiguation)

In Games Workshop's Warhammer 40,000 and Warhammer Fantasy fictional universes, Chaos refers to the often stereotypically malevolent entities which live in a parallel universe, known as the Warp in Warhammer 40,000 and as the "Realm of Chaos" in Warhammer Fantasy. The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game or Lord of the Rings SBG rather than Lord of the Rings when Warhammer 40000 (informally known as Warhammer 40K or just 40K) is a tabletop miniature wargame in a Science Warhammer Fantasy is a Fantasy setting created by Games Workshop, in which many games of that company are set the best known ones being Warhammer A fictional universe is a self-consistent fictional setting with unique background elements such as an imaginary history or geography and possibly fantasy or science Parallel universe or alternative reality is a self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own The term can refer to these warp entities and their influence, the servants and worshippers of these entities, or even the parallel universe in which these entities are supposed to reside. This article refers to the religious act For the album by Michael W The most powerful of these warp entities are those known as the Chaos Gods, sometimes referred to as the "Dark Gods" or the "Ruinous Powers". They are very similar to and may have been influenced by the concept of Chaos from Michael Moorcock's Elric saga[1], and the godlike extra dimensional Great Old Ones of horror writer H. P. Lovecraft's novels. Law and Chaos are the dominant metaphysical forces in the Fantasy stories of Michael Moorcock, which he derived from Poul Anderson (especially Michael John Moorcock (born 18 December 1939, in London) is an English writer primarily of Science fiction and fantasy who has also A Great Old One is a type of fictional being in the Cthulhu Mythos based in the stories of H Howard Phillips Lovecraft ( August 20, 1890 – March 15, 1937) was an American author of horror, fantasy

Both game worlds depict fictional fantasy and science fiction settings out of spiritual balance, where aspects (supposedly fed by emotions) of human nature in the real world are able to coagulate and gain consciousness in a mystical (or psychic) context in this parallel universe, the Warp. The word psychic (ˈsaɪkɨk from the Greek psychikos—"of the soul mental" refers to the claimed ability to perceive things hidden from the normal senses In the two game settings, Chaos represents the classic theme of Man vs. Himself, with the fantasy twist of giving these psychological struggles a physical form and influence. Conflict is a necessary element of Fictional Literature. It is defined as the problem in any piece of Literature and is often classified according to In both settings, Chaos is seen as a seductive force, capable of corrupting anyone; even the most strong-willed and goodly-inclined follower will gradually be corrupted and become another follower of Chaos. This corruption is not just spiritual, but also physical - followers of these Chaos Gods frequently find themselves being mutated by their masters.

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The Chaos Gods

The concept of Chaos Gods has been a more or less integral part of both Warhammer universes ever since they were first conceived. The Chaos Gods in Warhammer are essentially deities worshipped by various groups and that is what makes these groups followers of Chaos. In this idea there is evidently a strong influence from the British fantasy writer Michael Moorcock. Michael John Moorcock (born 18 December 1939, in London) is an English writer primarily of Science fiction and fantasy who has also Many different Chaos Gods were named in the various early miniature catalogues released by Citadel in the early eighties. But it was never clearly explained how the fictional pantheon looked like. The idea of "Four Great Powers of Chaos" i. e. Chaos Gods, were first introduced in the two Realm of Chaos sourcebooks released 1988 and 1990 respectively. Realm of Chaos is a two-volume publication by Games Workshop concerning the forces of Chaos. To date these are the most detailed and defining pieces of work published by Games Workshop regarding Chaos. These Chaos Gods were described as being enormously powerful, and were constantly seeking to extend their power into the real world, the realm of mortals. They would do this by attracting followers amongst mortals by promising power, wealth, immortality, or whatever else the potential servant desires. Those mortals who wish to do such business with the dark gods must in return give their own souls to Chaos. Meaning that when or if they die their souls are taken to the area of the Warp controlled by the dark god they worshipped. These places are very similar to the modern western idea of Hell. Here the soul suffers for all eternity at the hands of the dark gods to feed Chaos upon the soul's energy. Servants of Chaos that have failed their god in a particularly irritating way from their masters point of view may look forward to extra hard suffering. This idea of selling one's soul seems to be inspired by the medieval myths of mortals selling their soul to the devil for power or pleasure. The soul, according to many religious and philosophical beliefs is the self-awareness, or Consciousness, unique to a particular living A deal with the Devil, pact with the Devil, or Faustian bargain is a cultural motif widespread wherever the Devil is vividly present most familiar

The gods are portrayed as capricious, selfish and vain, demanding absolute loyalty from their servants and rewarding deeds when they wish, in whatever ways they deem appropriate. Still, the Chaos Gods are nought but reflections of the strongest human (And those of other races, too) emotions. So, as the currently strongest emotions are negative, the Chaos Gods are also negative. But it is hinted at in the background that Chaos can be good, if the strongest emotions in the warp are positive. But this is only hinted at. And as the state of the Warhammer world is dark and gloomy even without the Chaos Gods, this is unlikely to happen. But as the current Chaos Gods creates more and more despair and dark emotions, it grows stronger. So the more negative emotions there are in the Warhammer world, the stronger Chaos will become. So one could say that the only way to fight Chaos is to be positive. But as Chaos has been destructive throughout the ages, this theory is uncertain.

Current background material for both settings still state that there are many Chaos Gods, but the idea that there are four which are significantly more powerful than the rest is still there. The four great gods are often used as antagonists in their respective settings, frequently sparking great wars against other factions with the aim of gaining total domination over the entire setting. The names and aspects of these four great gods are:

While these gods distrust each other and in-fighting is common, each is also diametrically opposed by one of the other gods. God is the principal or sole Deity in Religions and other belief systems that worship one deity. Anger is an emotional state that may range from minor irritation to intense rage Blood is a specialized Bodily fluid that delivers necessary substances to the body's cells such as nutrients and oxygen—and transports Waste products War is an international relations Dispute, characterized by organized Violence between National Military units Murder is the unlawful killing of another human person with Malice aforethought, as defined in Common Law countries Magic, sometimes known as sorcery, is a Conceptual system that asserts human ability to control the natural world (including events objects people and Decomposition (or spoilage) refers to the break down of tissue of a formerly living Organism into simpler forms of matter A disease is an abnormal condition of an organism that impairs bodily functions and can be deadly Decadence can refer to a personal trait or to the state of a society (or segment of it Khorne is an outward acting deity, seeking the death of others; he is opposed by Slaanesh, who acts inwardly, seeking a life of unrelenting pleasure. Nurgle represents forces of decay, destruction, stagnation and random disease while Tzeentch represents constant building, evolving and planned change.

Especially dedicated worshipers of the gods can be gifted with traits associated with their god; warriors blessed in such a manner are said to bear the "mark" of their god. The effect of this mark varies by game system, army and god, but is generally beneficial to the warrior in question. For example, in Warhammer 40,000, Chaos Marine worshipers of Nurgle become infected with a multitude of terrible diseases, which causes their bodies to rot and become resistant to pain and injury; their counterparts in Warhammer Fantasy are similar, but the rotting effect instead makes them appear frightening to their foes. In the table-top Wargame Warhammer 40000, the Chaos Space Marines or Chaos Marines, are Space Marines who serve the Another example would be Khorne, whose followers in both settings are nearly uncontrollable, insane warriors who crave nothing more than to tear apart their foes in hand to hand combat. Hand-to-hand combat (sometimes abbreviated as HTH or H2H is a generic term for Close quarters fighting, particularly when the outcome is potentially fatal as in Melee These marks can then lead to further boons from the patron god, known as "gifts" - these gifts can eventually turn the warrior bearing them into a powerful Daemon Prince. In the Warhammer Fantasy and Warhammer 40000 Fictional universes the Daemons are malevolent spirits born out of the destructive power

Other Chaos Gods

Besides the currently four major gods, there have existed other gods, both major and lesser, in past editions. The other Chaos gods who have been mentioned in the Warhammer Fantasy and Warhammer 40,000 settings include:


There are a multitude of other unnamed gods and cults. In the Warhammer 40,000 setting, for example, the Chaos Space Marines called Raptors and Obliterators each have their own cults, the natures of which are virtually unknown. In the table-top Wargame Warhammer 40000, the Chaos Space Marines or Chaos Marines, are Space Marines who serve the Also in the Warhammer 40,000 setting, the fallen Dark Angel known as Cypher is protected by an unknown entity of great power, although it is unclear if this entity is a Chaos God. This page lists the most notable Chaos Space Marines, a faction within the fictional universe of Warhammer 40000. Background material for Warhammer Fantasy mentions many other minor gods with very little background beyond their names and aspects, such as Khakkekk (goblin god of blood), Atagro (god of beasts), Meneloth (elven god of pleasure), Obscuras (god of shadows and hidden things) and Mermedus (god of the sea). Mermedus is a fictional god (or god-like creature in Games Workshop 's Warhammer Fantasy world setting It has been hinted that these lesser deities are deceptive alias' of the four major Chaos Gods. For example, Khakkekk draws parallels with Khorne, both in name and aspect.

Chaos Undivided

In addition to the individual gods, some followers of the Dark Gods worship Chaos in other ways. Some followers worship the gods as a pantheon rather than following one particular god. A pantheon (from Greek Πάνθειον - pantheion, literally "a temple of all gods " neut Other followers worship Chaos as a single great entity, with the various Chaos Gods simply manifestations of that entity's aspects. Still others may simply follow one god briefly and then switch allegiance to another, owing more to convenience than actual faith. Faith is a Belief in the trustworthiness of an Idea. Formal usage of the word "faith" is usually reserved for concepts of Religion, as in Regardless of the nature of their worship, all of these are grouped together as Chaos Undivided; followers of Chaos Undivided may bear a mark, similar to the followers of the four great gods.

Generals who bear the mark of Chaos Undivided, in both settings, have more freedom from the effects of the difficult relations between the Chaos Gods. As an example, while warriors who worship Slaanesh would not serve a general who worships Khorne, an Undivided general could potentially convince warriors of these gods to fight for him, without fear of reprisal from either.

Also, other more specialised forms of the Mark of Chaos Undivided exist which are usually carried by extraordinary leaders. For example, Abaddon the Despoiler of the Warhammer 40,000 setting bears the mark of "Chaos Ascendant", which was specially gifted to him by the four greater gods due to his status as the major leader of the forces of Chaos. This page lists the most notable Chaos Space Marines, a faction within the fictional universe of Warhammer 40000. It is essentially the Mark of all four Chaos Gods, amalgamated into one incredibly powerful blessing. Archaon from the Warhammer Fantasy setting is similarly marked as the "Everchosen" or the "Lord of the End Times". Archaon is a Fictional character in Games Workshop 's Warhammer Fantasy Battle Wargame. He has collected magical artifacts, each having been once wielded by a favoured champion of one of the Chaos Gods. He has also earned the 'Crown of Damnation', a badge of office showing his full favour with all four Chaos Gods.

The Star Child

In the origins given of the Emperor in Realm of Chaos, the Star Child is the nascent power of the Emperor's soul in the Warp as it is ebbed away from his dying body. The Star Child has its own champions (the Sensei), and could bestow powers on these individuals, and was said to battle the Chaos Gods within the warp.

The Forces of Chaos

The following are the typical servants of the Chaos Gods and the setting from which they come.

See also

References

  1. ^ Warhammer 1st Edition
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