The Champions of the Scions of Gorechild

Hey there Chaos fanatics and cultists! I have been doing a good share of painting and modeling for my up and coming World Eater Khorne Bezerker army. The other day I posted some pics of my new Khorne bikers. Today, I wanted to share with you my Khorne Bezerker Chaos Champions.

First, I must confess that I have never been much good at creating extensive backgrounds for my armies. I have seen 40K people create all kinds of complex and compelling story lines for their forces- conflicts that they have been involved in, great deeds that they have performed, praises and rewards earned, and the lasting hostility of embittered foes. I think it is amazing, but I have never been able to do that so well. Some of my Plague Marine champions have names, but that is about it.

Last fall, I had been so inspired by Campaign of Fire that I tried my hand at writing a campaign of my own. I did indeed finish it, but I don't know if I'll ever get the chance to play it. I did however, generate a bit of background for my Bezerkers in this campaign, who are called the Scions of Gorechild. Since I had Kharn, I wanted to reflect his presence or influence with this particular warband. Being the Scions of Gorechild, it may be pretty apparent that they are indeed quite bloodthirsty and savage.

The Scions of Gorechild are led by Lord Korlath. This arch-traitor was present at the gates of the Imperial Palace itself, taking part in the darkest battle of the Horus Heresy. He remembers the bitterness of that defeat, and he has vowed to drown the galaxy in the blood of those that follow the false emperor. His warband contains both "old school" World Eaters, renegades from other traitor legions, and other more recent Space Marines that have since yielded to the call of Khorne. After these new traitors prove their worth and their loyalty to Korlath, the lord has his surgeons preform the psych-surgery on these new recruits, making them Khorne Bezerkers. With such warriors at his call, Korlath has led many assaults against the Imperium. He seeks neither plunder nor conquest- he and his warriors simply want to spill the blood of those that worship the false emperor. With his twin lightning claws, he leads his Bezerkers into battle, collecting skulls for the skull throne.

Well, that takes care of the Lord, but what about his champions? Well, I have crafted 6 such champions- if I take that many squads, or perhaps one would head up a squad of havocs or something. For each, they have been placed on a skull base from Armorcast I think... I had put ALL my Khorne Daemons on such bases, and I discovered that I had a few small bases left so- bam! That made them for my champions. Let's take a look at these guys:

Valten: This champion of the Scions is shrouded in mystery. Even many in the scions itself are unsure of this champion. He certainly was not a member of the World Eaters originally, and it is unclear to many in the warband just when Valten joined them. He has, however, proven to be a strong asset to Lord Korlath. Valten has an uncanny knowledge of modern Imperial defenses, and has given his knowledge to Lord Korlath, enabling the Scions to plan devastating raids on Imperial worlds. Valten has also been a fierce if coldly calculating warrior in battle, defending his Lord while laying waste to whole cities. Currently, Inquisitor Bonniface of the Ordo Malleus has been seeking Valten specifically. Just why Valten is of such interest to the Inquisition remains a mystery also, however, it may have something to do with his cloak and power fist- both bearing the markings of the Ultramarines. Is Valten a vicious killer who stole trophies from an Ultramarine that he murdered or is he maybe, just maybe, an Ultramarine who succumbed to the lure of Chaos?

Gladiator: This champion has been at the side of Lord Korlath since the days of the Great Crusade. He is simply called "Gladiator"- his real name has been forgotten in the millennia since, known perhaps only by Lord Korlath and, perhaps, Galdiator himself. In the days of the Great Crusade, Gladiator had been deeply inspired by the story of Angron's fight in gladiator duels, and Gladiator became one of the first to embrace Angron's psycho-surgery and the Butcher's Nails. Gladiator became a savage, maddened fighter, a prototype for what the legion would become. His "luck" in battle is legendary, almost equalling Kharn himself in "near misses". Lord Korlath believes that Gladiator is indeed blessed by Khorne. In battle, Lord Korlath often orders Gladiator and his men into the very front of the line, knowing that Gladiator's blood lust and skill with his blades will ensure that the enemy will be overwhelmed and destroyed.

Eratex: He is certainly defined by his singular, overwhelming hatred for the Space Wolves, more than any other in the warband. Eratex was present when Angron fought Leman Russ so many thousands of years ago. Eratex has never forgotten the shame and frustration of that day, and when the Horus Heresy came Eratex yearned to destroy the dogs of Russ once and for all. Although that victory did not happen during the Heresy, Eratex still feels that anger and rage. He joined Lord Korlath when he promised that his warband would seek out the sons of Russ and make them pay. The Scions of Gorechild did indeed make bloody war on worlds protected by the Vlka Fenryka, and Eratex was always the first to hurl himself at his hated foe. In the intervening years, Eratex has taken many trophies from his fallen enemies. In order to increase his anger and blood lust, Eratex wears one of these spoils into battle, and he imagines that every foe is a hated Space Wolf. Woe for any mortal to be on the other end of Eratex's sword!

Sincline: Khornate warbands are fragile things, with groups forming and breaking apart quickly, with members of the same warband falling upon each other just prior to the dissolution of the warband. Sincline has been in many such warbands, and has killed friend and foe alike, for Sincline believes in Khorne's mantra: "I care not from where the blood flows, as long as it flows". It was only a matter of time before Khorne blessed him for his devotion. In a savage battle, Sincline lost his left arm (and his weapon) to a Dark Angel Chaplain. Enraged, Sincline took a nearby rock and slammed the Chaplain in the head. Knocking him to the ground, Sincline continued to rain blows upon his enemy, and ended the fight by ripping off the Chaplain's arm AND head! After the battle, Sincline refused to have a mechanical arm grafted on. However, Khorne had indeed blessed Sincline, and within a night in the warp Sincline grew a new and much stronger daemonic arm! Eventually, Sincline's former warband broke up, and he came to be with the Scions of Gorechild. Sincline quickly rose in Lord Korlath's esteem, and has become one of his champions, earning himself the name "The Strong Arm of Korlath". But Sincline knows it is only a matter of time- this warband will also break up in violence. It is simply the way of Khorne.

Ignav: Lord Korlath knows the old saying: keep your friends close and your enemies closer. At one point, Ignav had been the second in command for Lord Korlath. However, Ignav had his own ambitions, for he sought to show Khorne his strength and be worthy of leading the Scions of Gorechild. He had performed many deeds to get the Lord of Skulls' attention, in order to receive his blessings. Finally, confident that he was ready, Ignav challenged Korlath to single combat in the arena on Korlath's ship. Korlath knew this was coming, and welcomed the chance to once again show his dominance. They fought without armor or weapons- only bare hands. The fighting was vicious, but it was clear that Korlath was going to emerge the victor. At this point, Ignav tried to run- a mistake and a clear sign of weakness. Korlath grabbed the fleeing Ignav, and cursed him: "I will not kill you, for you are a coward, and your skull is NOT worthy of being laid upon the throne of skulls. You will be my slave- doing my will without honor, without glory. You are lower than a mortal, and your very soul belongs to me!" Locked in a dungeon, Ignav had to live with his disgrace. Over the decades, Ignav began to mutate. He never quite became a spawn, but he lost most of his intelligence and ambition, though his mutations made him a vicious combatant, nor did he lose his cunning in battle. Seeing Ignav's fate, Korlath decided to allow him to fight once more- Korlath knows the value of example, and Ignav is the perfect example to ensure discipline within the Scions of Gorechild.

Praevarik- during the days of the Horus Heresy, Praevarik was the loyal second in command to
Korlath. However, while most of Korlath's followers became bloody minded bezerkers, as did most of the World Eaters, Praevarik believed that Khorne did not simply demand blood- he demanded martial skill, honorable killings, bravery, and more- he lamented the legion's decline into bloodthirsty madness. This attitude set Praevarik at odds with the rest of the Scions, and many have challenged him for being weak. In such duels, Praevarik proved them wrong, quickly killing all who fought him. Despite his "unorthodox" views, he retained the favor of Korlath, due to his skill with a blade and his long-time loyalty. While Praevarik refuses to kill unarmed civilians (since they cannot fight back, they are not worth fighting), Korlath uses Praevarik as a battering ram against Imperial forces. Praevarik views Space Marines as dishonorable fools, worth being put to the sword and flamer.


For the record, I used some pieces of The Foresaken Fantasy set for some of the bits on my Champions. The box is a bit pricey (thanks to my wife for getting it for me), but there are a TON of cool bits in this kit- I will be using more in the future. It is awesome for conversions!!

Well, that's my stab at creating a background, for now. I'll need to develop more background for the Scions... We shall see. Hope you enjoyed this bit of fluff (and the pics as well). Until next time...