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Today I got to introduce some kids to Warhammer 40k, was in the process of looking threw some Berserker stuff so naturally I ended up showing it to one of the kids who instantly became interested. My one problem and purpose for starting this thread is this.
He started asking questions..
Personally I don't know all that much beyond...Ya know.. Being berserk.. And the lobotomy thing.
He kept asking if they could talk, had personalities and if they couldn't how could one be a 'chaos lord' since taking charge and being a mindless brute doesnt add up.
I really didnt know what to say, I'm kinda scared of running into him again and not knowing what to say lol. So if someone could lend me their know-how I'd appreciate it.

Lobotomised, fairly berserk.

Yes, they can still speak. Not sure about the personalities part, though I'd guess it's all about the blood for them. And on the Chaos Lord bit, take a look at lord Crull, and every Ork Warboss ever. "The killyest will lead us" is their motto.

"MAIM! KILL! BURN! MAIM! KILL! BURN!" - Kharn the Betrayer

Proof that even the most bezerk, battle crazed maniac of Khorne's mortal servants can speak They do have personality, but when they are so fundamentally driven by blood lust and a desire for combat, the vast majority of Bezerkers seem pretty similar!

Bezerkers are by no means the only Khornate warriors though, unfortunately they seem to be the only aspect that is really played up in the current CSM book.

Interestingly, the way the character Uzas (I think that's his name) works in ADB's Night Lord books is that whenever he's not in battle, he's slower and more sluggish than the other marines, as it's implied that after berserking out, they suffer from fatigue. However, when in combat and in a rage, he effectively loses his personality and awareness that he is in danger.

Thanks alot for the answers so far it's really helped, Im surprised to learn that they could be some variation of 'normal' when not in a frenzy. Are there any books that gives more focus to the berserkers?

(thanks for the audio henners91, very interesting )

DeathRex wrote:Are there any books that gives more focus to the berserkers?

Kind of.
The book Storm of Iron contains a character who's almost a berserker of Khorne but not quite. He's a good example of what Khornate leaders might actually be like.

There was a battle report in an old WD where the narrative part pictured the leader of the berserkers as a competent warlord, except that he had to struggle to retain coherent thought process long enough to ponder tactical considerations and give orders.

Reminds me I must re-read Storm of Iron. I haven't read a lot of BL stuff, but this one was a good pick.

DeathRex wrote:Today I got to introduce some kids to Warhammer 40k, was in the process of looking threw some Berserker stuff so naturally I ended up showing it to one of the kids who instantly became interested. My one problem and purpose for starting this thread is this.
He started asking questions..
Personally I don't know all that much beyond...Ya know.. Being berserk.. And the lobotomy thing.
He kept asking if they could talk, had personalities and if they couldn't how could one be a 'chaos lord' since taking charge and being a mindless brute doesnt add up.
I really didnt know what to say, I'm kinda scared of running into him again and not knowing what to say lol. So if someone could lend me their know-how I'd appreciate it.

Well, I'm sure they talk and live normal chaos space marine lives when they aren't in battle, although I'd imagine they would be really rage-y amongst themselves, and it would be hard not to slaughter your comrades

I can imagine they work similar to the way normal space marines work, where the unit command is loose, so everyone can do someone else's job if they're a casualty. I don't think it's unreasonable to assume that a berserker can rise to a commanding position, but it might take a while.

Certainly, as with any IRL army, there are people who are just incapable of leading others, so I'm sure not a few of them are just mindless brutes.

In "the skull games" which takes place after Storm of Iron and Dead sky, Black Sun, is short story and one of the antagonists is a Berserker lord that is actually fairly calm(and is ALL the more dangerous for it) this is noted as unusual but not unheard of, because most lose themselves to the fury.

What about reading the current Codex? It may help

This is from the Khorne Berzerkers entry (page 36):
“I salute you! For though our path has been long and bloody, you have served our Lord with unflinching courage and the honour of true warriors. We have seen many fall today and must remember, even as we die, that our blood too is welcome…”

There is even more in page 45.

Berzerkers are not one-dimensional characters. They have been blessed by the God of War. They value honour above anything else. There is a “gladiator” feeling inside them. The partial lobotomy (called Butcher´s Nails) do not turn them into lunatics or idiots.

The Internet tends to oversimplify things. Ask someone who have the Codex (or Black Library books) or get one.

Go to 1d4chan and look up Kharne.

Kharn himself wrote those entries while trying to draw a boat.

Berzerkers are basically space marines that you've done the space marine treatment to a second time. You take a normal person and make them undergo surgery and intense psychological conditioning to make them a space marine. Then you take a space marine and give them more surgery and more psychological conditioning (along with a dose of the warp), and you get basically a super space marine.

Except, by the time you get there, they become only slightly controllable, and by slightly controllable, I mean totally berzerk.