Khorne (WAR Lore)
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Khorne, the Blood God, is the god of blood and battle. Within the Realm of Chaos his domain covers the most basic and brutal emotions and actions, such as hate, anger, rage, war and killing. He is also known as the Lord of Skulls.
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Manifestation
Khorne is described as an extremely well-muscled, beast-headed monster sitting on a throne atop a mountain of skulls, in the middle of a sea of blood. The skulls and blood are described as belonging to all of the victims who are slain by his worshipers, members of the Cult of Khorne.
Cult of Khorne
Mortal followers of Khorne
Khorne has an immense following among mortals, his radiance of raw power and strong emotion beckons all who lust for battle to his side. Worship of Khorne is especially embraced by the more primitive and primal tribes of Norsca and the Chaos Wastes.
The followers of Khorne are almost all uncontrollable fighters, who excel at the art of killing. His warhosts count many savage Northmen and Beastmen warriors among their numbers. Khorne's followers share their god's straightforward philosophy on warfare, preferring to charge directly at their foes in order to defeat them in close combat. As such, Khorne's followers are generally berserkers that pay little heed to tactics or defense in their frenzy for blood. Khorne frowns upon the use of sorcery and trickery, and those pursuing the magical arts look elsewhere to find a patron for their studies.
Unlike the other gods, Khorne's followers do not go to great lengths to build temples in his honor. Instead, they worship their god on the battlefield, praising him with battle cries such as "Blood for the Blood God!" or "Skulls for the Skull Throne!" His followers also offer him praise and attempt to win his favor by savagely attacking each other when there are no other battles to be fought -- and some times even when there are. It is said that Khorne is the easiest Chaos god to worship, because while worship of most of the other gods requires rituals, altars, and sacrifices, Khorne's demands are simply that his followers spill fresh blood and collect skulls in his name.
Those favored by Khorne often receive his chaotic blessings; sometimes of great strength or beast-like visage, sometimes of frightening mutations, horns or claws. Regardless, these are displayed proudly and serve both as visible reminders of the Blood God's existence and as targets for those who have not yet won his favor.
Daemons of Khorne
As a Chaos God, Khorne counts various daemons and other beasts among his army. All are savage and brutish like their Lord.
- Bloodletters are ugly, horned humanoids with cloven hooves who tote blood-drinking battle axes or swords known as Hellblades, which are forged at the foot of the Throne of Skulls; and who wear armour of daemonic brass. They enter horrific frenzies in battle.
- Flesh Hounds are monstrous and ferocious vaguely canine creatures, notorious for their supernatural ability to track down their chosen prey. They bear enchanted collars that make them highly resistant to magic or psychic influences.
- Bloodthirsters are the greater daemons of Khorne. Of all the Daemons, they bear the greatest resemblance to stereotypical demons, having a human body, cloven hooves instead of feet, leathery bat-like wings and horned dog-like or humanoid heads. They wield a whip and a massive two-headed battle axe simultaneously in battle. As the greatest manifestation of the god of war, the dreaded Bloodthirster is one of the most powerful warriors that can be found on the battlefield.
- Juggernauts are massive steeds made of living metal whose blood is liquid fire, generally gifted as mounts to favored champions of Khorne.
Miscellaneous
There exists an ancient rivalry amongst the Lords of Chaos. Khorne's arch enemy is Slaanesh; Khorne is a spartan god who acts outwardly, killing others. He hates the hedonistic Slaanesh, an inwardly acting god who seeks to pleasure himself with every act and experience. Also, Khorne favors a straightforward approach to combat, and considers any form of sorcery as cowardly. Thus he is also generally distrusting of Tzeentch.
Khorne's sacred number is eight. His primary colors are red, black and brass.