"When the hordes of Nurgle have grown great and the area is thick with the stench of disease and the slime of mutation, the Slime Hounds of Nurgle will crawl out from the depths to feed. Taking the form of a massive, black-spotted slug, the monster is a terrible amalgamation of razor sharp teeth, useless limbs, and barbed tentacles. It seems as if whatever mutations were left after creating his Spawns, the Father of Flies gifted these terrible creatures."
- —Description of the Beasts of Nurgle[3]
A Beast of Nurgle
A Beast of Nurgle, also known as a Slime Hound, Putrid Bouncer or even a Tentacled Plaguehound, is a massive, lumbering Daemon of Nurgle that is as stupid as it is ugly -- and they are hideously ugly.[1a]
The product of too much Chaos corruption becoming rampant in an area, these Daemons combine the features of several different creatures, creating a terrifying Daemonic abomination. Though somewhat uniform in appearance, the Beasts of Nurgle are heavily corrupted and sport many mutations and alterations, giving these creatures a wide array of unpredictable abilities and features.[2a]
The Beast of Nurgle's body is that of a massive, black-spotted slug that glistens with dewy excretions and is topped by a massive head with a large, drooling, fang-filled mouth ringed in tentacles that drip a paralytic toxin. Growing all along the length of its moist body are razor-sharp spines that stick out in random places. About midway down the trunk, a pair of useless legs ending in clawed and webbed feet flop about uselessly. The thing's body ends in a long tail fitted with a sharp stinger.[2a]
Role[]
These Lesser Daemons of the Plague God Nurgle seem to serve no purpose whatsoever. They are unreliable on the battlefield, crushing their own forces as much as their enemies with their flailing. The things move very slowly, and everything dies that touches the pestilential slime trails they leave. In fact, so great is their stink that birds fall from the sky, trees wither and die, and grass for scores of feet all around turns to ash.[2a]
A Beast of Nurgle as depicted in Total War: Warhammer III.
Beasts of Nurgle congregate in herds near the edge of the swirling darkness that marks the border between the Umbra and the Realm of Chaos, feeding on Nurglings and other Daemons that spill out from the Aethyr. Only rarely do these herds slip south into the Northern Wastes, into the hunting territory of the Kurgan and Hung where many of these creatures wind up as food for the cook pots.[2a]
Some of the most disgusting Champions of Nurgle actually desire these creatures, hoping to ride them into battle. Agents for such a villain might hire mercenaries to track the thing down, all the while being followed by the Champion and his retinue, who hope to use them as a food offering to gain the Beast's service. Amongst the Kurgan and Norscans, hunting Beasts of Nurgle is an act of extreme courage, and those warriors who survive the experience are counted among the best in the tribe.[2a]
Beasts of Nurgle are excitable creatures that behave in the most unpredictable ways. Imperial scholars believe that Beasts of Nurgle are only seen during Chaos incursions into the mortal realm, and that reports on the friendliness of these things are but the wildly spun stories of liars and madmen.[2a]
In reality, despite their grotesque appearance, the Beasts of Nurgle are extremely friendly and playful creatures, yet due to their natures as carriers of disease, they inevitably kill those that wish to be their friend. Indeed, the one thing these creatures truly desire is a companion and they are as benign as any Daemon of Chaos can ever truly be.[2a]
Sources[]
- 1: Warhammer Armies: Daemons of Chaos (8th Edition)
- 1a: pg. 47
- 2: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition: Tome of Corruption (RPG)
- 2a: pp. 227-228
- 3: Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning (PC Game)
Gallery[]
