"Above the ordinary Gors of a beast tribe are the Bestigors, who tend to be larger, stronger, better-equipped, and better disciplined than most Beastmen. When a group of Beastmen carries out an ambush or other attack, the Bestigors are typically the front-line troops, closely supported by the Gors, with the Ungors harassing the enemy’s flanks."
- —Heinrich Malz, High Priest of Verena
A mighty Bestigor and his magnificent horns
The Bestigors are the hardcore elite of the Beastmen tribes, warriors that are blessed with the most spectacular horns and possess of a mighty constitution and raw physical power that puts others of his kind to shame. As well as being stronger, they tend to be more disciplined, forming more organised ranks in battle than their quarrelsome lesser brethren, and they restrain themselves from their more disruptive excesses. They always wield the best weapons and wear the best armour available to the herd, sometimes even using weaponry culled from the corpses of their enemies.[2a]
Because of their size and ferocity the Bestigors carve out a privileged position within the warherd, constantly enforcing their superiority upon the Gors and Ungors with random acts of excessive violence. This is a high honour, and the Bestigors pledge to fight to the death for the Beastlord.[1a]
Overview
Bestigors form the chieftain's inner circle of retainers and enforcers, but their garrulous and aggressive nature compels them to strive for ever greater dominance amongst the tribe. The chieftain must be ever watchful for signs of a likely challenge amongst the Bestigors. Sometimes such a sign is manifested physically; a Bestigor's horns growing larger or more impressive, for example. Sometimes the first sign of rebellion will be when the Bestigor bellows a challenge and swings his axe at the chieftain's head.[1a]
Any chieftain worthy of the title will detect such signs early and deal with the potential rival before he comes fully into his strength, though plenty miss the portent and find themselves the main course of an impromptu feast. Brutality and violence simmer in the Bestigors, just below the surface but ready to explode outwards in a savage display of animal power at any moment. Bestigor frequently engage in head-butting competitions that leave them addled but ready for bloodshed. The most favoured of all Bestigor may even bear the Mark of one of the Great Powers, for, as Children of Chaos, the Beastmen are close to their gods. Bestigor marked in this way are called Khorngors, Tzaangors, Pestigors or Slaangors after the Chaos Gods, and are amongst the most obscene creatures in the dark corners of the Old World.[1a]
Such deeds take many forms, from the ritual devouring of prisoners of war to the despoiling of the sacred banners and religious icons of their foes. When such an icon is captured in battle, the Bestigors will befoul it and hold it on high, so that the rest of the warherd might look upon their deeds and know that the Bestigors are truly blessed in the eyes of the Dark Gods. Most often the Bestigors will slam into the front of an enemy army where lesser Beastmen might not hold their nerve, while the other Gors and Ungors charge forward in unruly packs.[1a]
Warfare
A hulking Bestigor equipped with an assortment of crude armor and weaponry
Bestigors will be equipped with weapons and armour stored in the treasure trove of a herdstone. They typically carry massive, double handed axes, crude in construction but large and heavy enough to split a man in two from shoulder to waist with a single swing. They wear solid, heavy plates of armour and chainmail, usually scavenged from the civilised races and beaten with fist and hoof until they fit the Bestigors' misshapen and stinking anatomies, and cover their faces with hoods, often made of chainmail.[1a]
This they adorn with all manner of grisly trophies taken from those that have put up a fight before being cut into pieces. Because Bestigors have the pick of the arms and armour laid before the herdstones, it is not unheard of for a band of Bestigors to look almost like a coherent force upon the battlefield. One expression of the Bestigors' constant desire to prove their innate superiority is shown in their acts of desecration and defilement. In battle, the Bestigors form a solid, armoured mass of muscle and iron that charges forward with a terrifying momentum. They seek out the elite troops of the enemy army, who inherently challenge their dominant status. Then they wield their huge axes much as executioner's blades, hewing their foe limb from limb and trampling his broken body into the mud beneath their unshod hooves.[1a]
