Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Do they exist? If so what are some examples. Ive been wanting to convert a harlequin-esque slanneshi chaos lord, sort of like a slanneshi clown of excess but Im not sure how fluffy it is. (Obviously not an actual harlequin just as a frame of referance)

Absolutely. Humans get most of the attention (from GW) but xenos can fall to Chaos and gain the favour of the Ruinous Powers too. They might experience xenophobia from some human Chaos warbands but if they good enough and strong enough they'd be able to make deals.

There are old references to Chaos Eldar being some of the most powerful Chaos follwers. The Chaos Eldar are Eldar that lived on the Crone Worlds and somehow survived the fall and chose to follow Chaos, unleashing their hideous psychic potential without risk. They were very few, and likely unfriendly, so would be found as a single Chaos Eldar leading a host of devoted or mind controlled servants.

So while not a Chaos Lord you could convert up a Mastery Level 3 Sorcerer to be an Eldar and that'd hold up.

They do exist. The "Arch Heretic" from the original Eye of Terror Campaign book used the profile of the "Chaos Lieutenant", which was effectively the lesser Chaos Lord (the lieutenant was to the lord as the current SM Captain is to a Chapter Master). There was nothing that hinted that the Arch Heretic was a Space Marine of any kind.

EDIT: I thought you said non-SM. NEVERMIND. However the Daemonhunters Codex stated that there could be chaos-infected Orks and one conversion article had a Tau of all things being possessed by a Greater Daemon, so it's understandable that anyone can be a chaos lord so long as they sell their soul to one of the gods.

A lot of the really old fluff, even the good stuff like Lost and the Damned and Slaves to Darkness, was written at a time when 40k was still very much "warhammer in space," and Warhammer was very much a gritty reboot of D&D. So, there were chaos elder, because of course 40k would have Drow! As time as gone forward, the game has become both more focused on the Imperium, and also increasingly told from the Imperium's point of view.

In general, the biggest casualty in 40k's transition from pseudo RPG to company scale wargame is the minor and one off alien races. I'm guessing plenty of the minor races would have chaos adherents. Of the playable races, Eldar clearly both have psykers and a complicated relationship with the chaos gods. While tau have minimal to no psychic connection, I'm not sure that would preclude tau cultists. Kroot do have psykers, which seems to indicate that chaos kroot could be a thing.

 ALEXisAWESOME wrote:
There are old references to Chaos Eldar being some of the most powerful Chaos follwers. The Chaos Eldar are Eldar that lived on the Crone Worlds and somehow survived the fall and chose to follow Chaos, unleashing their hideous psychic potential without risk. They were very few, and likely unfriendly, so would be found as a single Chaos Eldar leading a host of devoted or mind controlled servants.

So while not a Chaos Lord you could convert up a Mastery Level 3 Sorcerer to be an Eldar and that'd hold up.

The last book about Inquisitor Czevak had Chaos Eldar, if I'm not mistaken. It was released a couple years ago.

Also the old Daemonhunters codex had ideas for why excatly the GK would fight faction X, and some of them was, of course, Warp corruption.

Shame there are no models tough.

 Polonius wrote:
A lot of the really old fluff, even the good stuff like Lost and the Damned and Slaves to Darkness, was written at a time when 40k was still very much "warhammer in space," and Warhammer was very much a gritty reboot of D&D. So, there were chaos elder, because of course 40k would have Drow! As time as gone forward, the game has become both more focused on the Imperium, and also increasingly told from the Imperium's point of view.

In general, the biggest casualty in 40k's transition from pseudo RPG to company scale wargame is the minor and one off alien races. I'm guessing plenty of the minor races would have chaos adherents. Of the playable races, Eldar clearly both have psykers and a complicated relationship with the chaos gods. While tau have minimal to no psychic connection, I'm not sure that would preclude tau cultists. Kroot do have psykers, which seems to indicate that chaos kroot could be a thing.

Definitely all of the above. There are entirely chaos-dominated species in the RPGs and novels. The Yu'Vath and Rak'Gol from FFG's RPGs are clearly tainted at a species level, as are the Saruthi from Eisenhorn: Xenos.

And whilst there are no Tau Psykers, sorcery (ritual and daemon-manipulation) has many of the same practical effects and does not necessarily require the sorcerer to be a psyker.

Chaos eldar sound amazing.

Its a diversity chaos needs. And there if you untap there powers
You unleash a powerful storm, smaller, lighter.

Yet ph so so so dangerous.

locarno24 wrote:

And whilst there are no Tau Psykers, sorcery (ritual and daemon-manipulation) has many of the same practical effects and does not necessarily require the sorcerer to be a psyker.

I was thinking this but couldn't remember where I read that sorcery doesn't require Psychic powers. A Tau could in theory use it. So could a Necron presumably (unless you still need a soul of some kind).

Laer were definite Chaos worshippers, and I'm presuming the Kinebranch were, seen as they made the Anathame. I don't remember seeing it stated that they had any "Chaos Lords," but it'd only be natural if they had some equivalent.

 ChazSexington wrote:
Laer were definite Chaos worshippers, and I'm presuming the Kinebranch were, seen as they made the Anathame. I don't remember seeing it stated that they had any "Chaos Lords," but it'd only be natural if they had some equivalent.

I'm hesitant to agree about the Kinebranch, if memory serves, they were actually allied with the Interex, both of whom were aware of chaos and its nature and were attempting to combat it one way or another.

SomeRandomEvilGuy wrote:

locarno24 wrote:

And whilst there are no Tau Psykers, sorcery (ritual and daemon-manipulation) has many of the same practical effects and does not necessarily require the sorcerer to be a psyker.

I was thinking this but couldn't remember where I read that sorcery doesn't require Psychic powers. A Tau could in theory use it. So could a Necron presumably (unless you still need a soul of some kind).

Its chaos. In theory they could make them one.

Codex: Deathwatch mentions Slaanesh worshipping Sslyth (pg.27).

 Lord Damocles wrote:
Codex: Deathwatch mentions Slaanesh worshipping Sslyth (pg.27).

Well the Sslyth are probably descendants of Laer refugees who fled into the webway to escape the Emperor's Children so...

 King Pariah wrote:

 ChazSexington wrote:
Laer were definite Chaos worshippers, and I'm presuming the Kinebranch were, seen as they made the Anathame. I don't remember seeing it stated that they had any "Chaos Lords," but it'd only be natural if they had some equivalent.

I'm hesitant to agree about the Kinebranch, if memory serves, they were actually allied with the Interex, both of whom were aware of chaos and its nature and were attempting to combat it one way or another.

Aye, I'm going by presuming as they forged the weapons. They must at least have had a working knowledge, but it seems weird to forge maybe the deadliest blade in existance with help from Chaos without in some way being aligned with Chaos.

Weren't there supposed to be some Chaos cults among the Ork Stormboys or did I hear wrong?

 sing your life wrote:
Weren't there supposed to be some Chaos cults among the Ork Stormboys or did I hear wrong?

Khorne Stormboyz were definitely a thing, I remember them from Freebooterz waaaaaaaaay back when

How would the imperium perceive a chaos xenos?

Would they just be another filthy xenos and the chaos aspect ignored?

They'd get extra-super-purged. Maybe used as propaganda, in a limited way so as to not inadvertently corrupt Imperial citizens: 'look! Xenos using the foul power of the Warp!'

There's not much left of the Yu'Vath beyond isolated ruins and dangerous artifacts, but the RPGs seem to make it pretty clear that the Imperium saw them as especially horrific.

 Skinflint Games wrote:

 sing your life wrote:
Weren't there supposed to be some Chaos cults among the Ork Stormboys or did I hear wrong?

Khorne Stormboyz were definitely a thing, I remember them from Freebooterz waaaaaaaaay back when

Looks like that was what I was thinking off, not read any of the newer Ork fluff so I can't confirm if GW retconned them or not, though.

There are definitely chaos followers who are not Human. They aren't as common, because the most populace races in the galaxy are Humans, Orkz,(resistant) and 'Nids(immune)

Most beings do not turn to Chaos, less than 1% of humans are Chaos worshipers. Take a small population like Tau or Slyth and even if they fall to chaos at the same rate, there just arent going to be that many of them.

Also while they may exist, you have to remember how Xenophobic Humans are. You might find a bunch of cultists ruled by an alien(strong rule the weak), but you are not going to find Chaos Space Marines ruled by an alien chaos lord. Chaos Space Marines are still Space Marines, they spent the great crusade fighting aliens and are not going to bend the knee to one no matter how powerful.

 Exergy wrote:
Chaos Space Marines are still Space Marines, they spent the great crusade fighting aliens and are not going to bend the knee to one no matter how powerful.

I dunno about that. Chaos Space Marines respect strength and cunning, and certain xenos (such as Sslyth) are able to compete with them in both regards.

It would not be common, and it is true that many would detest it, but it would be possible.

 Ashiraya wrote:

 Exergy wrote:
Chaos Space Marines are still Space Marines, they spent the great crusade fighting aliens and are not going to bend the knee to one no matter how powerful.

I dunno about that. Chaos Space Marines respect strength and cunning, and certain xenos (such as Sslyth) are able to compete with them in both regards.

It would not be common, and it is true that many would detest it, but it would be possible.

Well Chaos is Chaos, nothing is impossible.

But Space Marines are basically immortal gods among men, the only thing that are truly stronger than them are daemons and gods.

I wouldn't agree with that. CSM are more powerful than many daemons - I'd argue all lesser daemons, actually - but there are definitely xenos who can compete with CSM. Sslyth is a maybe as they do not seem very smart, but there are sure to be others.