One of the projects that I have been working on over the last few months is a Slaanesh Chaos force. I’ll do some separate posts on the entire force, and how things are painted, but as I have a 2nd edition gaming weekend in a couple of days, I felt that giving the force some background would be quite fun…
Kruult Lewdmaimer, Lord of the Menagerie of the Damned, a warband of vile Emperor’s Children Space Marines who sold their souls to Slaanesh millennia ago. While Lord Kruult is often considered a cruel despot, he disputes this terminology as outdated Imperial dogma “Spewed from the mouths of corrupt priests, incompetent planetary governors and their lackspittle underlings”. Lord Kruult also points to his patronage of the arts of a sign of his benevolent rule to wider society: the Menagerie has assembled the finest flesh-shapers, bone-sculptors and blood-artisans outside of Commorragh.
Clavius the Mindfondler, Kruult’s right hand … opportunist. Clavius was once a high-ranked librarian of the Emperor’s Children Legion before the Horus Heresy. When the use of psychic powers was banned by the Emperor, Clavius took his experiments in mental manipulation into test chambers and experimental procedures, far from the view of others outside the Legion. Outright rebellion against the false Emperor allowed him a much wider pool of test subjects. The Mindfondler is renowned for his ability to tear memories from the minds of others, a useful skill for Lord Kruult when raiding worlds.
Unlike his “comrades” Thygmor Bladegrip was not originally a member of the Emperor’s Children Legion, and remains unusually taciturn about his origins. He is, however, an absolute sadist, enjoying nothing more than inflicting pain on other, lesser, creatures, which has meant that the Menagerie has accepted him without much question. Thygmor leads Squad Havoc, a band of veteran Emperor’s Children. Vistt Daemonbane and Horth One-Eye are the squad’s two heavy weapon troopers; Vistt manning a skull faced missile launcher, and Horth an archaic heavy bolter. Squad legend has it that Vistt’s helm is forged from a hated servant of Khorne, though how such a feat is possible is questionable. The remaining members of the squad, Ghorik Skullface, Vork Bullhorn and Drak Crowbate wield ancient boltguns. The Havocs are known for their infiltrating abilities - Lord Kruult often sends them ahead to scout out enemy positions and to find an appropriate spot to rain down fire upon their foes before the battle begins.
Squad Slaughter consists of a trio of terminator armoured “brothers”: Halkor Flamefist, Demicius the Vile, and Corrak Flatfoot. Flatfoot is, unfortunately (for his part), the centre of much mockery within the Menagerie - having sustained serious injuries in the Isstvan III massacres at the start of the Horus Heresy, he has since walked with a pronounced limp, even with the exo-skeleton of his terminator armour repaired. This does not stop him from crushing the skulls of those he (eventually) closes with however, and he is considered a skilled opponent in melee with his power glove. Halkor Flamefist wields a crudely designed heavy flamer, and relishes the screams of those that he sets aflame. Demicius “leads” the trio, and has shown cruel artistry with his power sword in using it to flay skin and flesh from Squad Slaughter’s victims.
Squad Carnage make up the remaining tactical dreadnought armoured brethren of The Menagerie: Brothers Alicon Voidhand, Bortus the Impressionist, and Gharvil Doomblast. Voidhand is another marine who was not part of the Emperor’s Children originally, but a much more recent addition, hailing from Ultramar. Quite what deeds resulted in his corruption and betrayal of the Ultramarines are unknown, but his impatience for bloodwork is not in alignment with Guilliman’s creed. Bortus is equally skilled with his chainfist and the paintbrush, and is considered the finest artist within the Menagerie. Many bulkheads within the warband’s fleet of raiding ships are daubed with his works, and some say that anyone that views them may glimpse events that have not yet occurred. Gharvil Doomblast is a much more straightforward killer than his comrades, joyfully mowing down enemies, plants, animals and whatever else he can with his reaper autocannon.
Xuvis “the Mad” was once an exalted champion, and a rival to Lord Kruult himself. A leadership challenge gone wrong resulted in horrific injuries, but his combat prowess was still considered too great to squander, particularly since the warband is fairly small in number. As punishment, Lord Kruult decreed that Xuvis was to be interred within an ancient Dreadnought, and the experience has driven Xuvis, already not the sanest of the Menagerie’s marines, deep into a madness that consumes his every thought and action. While a mad dreadnought may not make for the most reliable resource, the increase in firepower and the corresponding delight in this “upgrade” that Xuvis has obtained has meant that he takes his frustrations out on the enemy more than the Menagerie, so is considered an asset rather than a liability.
Heavy support is provided by The Hecatomb, a Predator Battle Tank. The crew of the Hecatomb are unknown to all within the warband, as they never emerge from the tank, and mysteriously, it never seems to lack for ammunition or fuel. Members of the Menagerie have, on times, tried to pry open the armoured hatches to investigate, as they can hear the voices and movement of the crew within, but to no avail. While the warband feels that a Predator tank is a useful tool, they are constantly frustrated by the incompetence of the gunners, who regularly miss clear kill shots.
At the edges of vision, shapes writhe and dance. The Menagerie is often accompanied by a lithe pack of Deamonettes, known as the Debauched Ones. These voidborn creatures descend upon the battlefield where the slaughter is greatest, and vanish quickly after the bloodletting ends. Kruult regards such creatures as carrion, and unworthy of the opportunities provided to torture and maim living creatures, but admits that they are useful as distractions for his foes.
