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.

So, I'm new to the Chaos Daemon lore and I've been trying to read heavily into it all but there are a few things I don't understand.

Are daemons sentient? as to say do they have feelings, wants or desires? or are they just simply the manifestation of the will of the big 3, maybe it could be a bit of both? From what Ive read it seems as though they have some seminance of personality, although it seems like their personalities themselves may be part of the manifestation of the gods' will eg. A great unclean one having a nurturing and a more benevolent personality compared to the bloodthirsty Bloodthirster similar to Nurgle and Khorn.

Can daemons have independant goals? So can daemons of Nurgle grow a flower garden? Or daemons of Slannesh horde gold?

And if daemons don't have any of this free will can they even have fluff? you would have to abide so strickly to whats already written and writing anything that strays from whats written would literally be defying the will of the Gods.

Im not sure about all this and am keen to hear your thoughts.

They are sentient, yes, but they are not "intelligent" in the sense that humans are. They are the embodiments of a very narrow range of emotions (based on whatever god they are a daemon of). Certain Greater Daemons can have somewhat personal goals, but not so much that they run counter to the god that created them.

A Daemon of Slaanesh will horde gold as a matter of course, such things (greed, gluttony, pleasure, vice) are well within the purview of Slaanesh.

"Fluff" is just fiction that describes a given aspect of the setting, so it's very possible to have "Daemon Fluff". Just because Fateweaver is bound to the will of Tzeentch does not mean that Fateweaver cannot be an interesting character. Kharne the Betrayer is a slave to Khorne's insensate rage and bloodlust, and yet is an interesting character.

Awesome, time to make an army of daemonettes themed around greed

Go for it.

One question: Big 3? Oo What about #4? And which one didn't you count!?

Slaanesh is pretty perfect to build a greed themed daemon army around. Now to answer the other questions:

Reavas wrote:
So, I'm new to the Chaos Daemon lore and I've been trying to read heavily into it all but there are a few things I don't understand.

Are daemons sentient? as to say do they have feelings, wants or desires? or are they just simply the manifestation of the will of the big 3, maybe it could be a bit of both?

Yep, it's both. Think of it this way, daemons have sentience but no free will. Many Greater Daemons, such as Lords of Change in some stories, form personal (usually adversarial) relationships with mortals, show emotions, and demonstrate that they are aware of themselves and their place in the universe when they communicate. Now typically the more powerful the daemon, the more sentience he/she has. Bloodletters usually don't have much of a personality, but a Blood thirster is more likely to.

Can daemons have independant goals? So can daemons of Nurgle grow a flower garden? Or daemons of Slannesh horde gold?

They can and do. However, their goals always fall into their god's "domain". A Slaaneshi daemon's goal will always be about taking things to excess. A Nurgle daemon will spread disease through that garden. Etc, etc.

And if daemons don't have any of this free will can they even have fluff? you would have to abide so strickly to whats already written and writing anything that strays from whats written would literally be defying the will of the Gods.

Sure they can. No free will doesn't mean no personality, or no relationships with other people. Especially since the daemons' masters aren't rational beings, but massive bundles of pure emotions. Think of it like this, a Slaaneshi daemon would never betray Slaanesh, but this isn't out of loyalty. It's because, by nature, EVERYTHING THAT SLAANESHI DAEMON WANTS TO DO GLORIFIES AND FEEDS SLAANESH. A Slaanesh daemon cannot become a big advocate for temperance and self-restraint. It is mentally, physically, and emotionally incapable. Daemons don't work for their gods because they're mindless drones, it's because whatever their god is master of, that is what they desire. It's inherent in their nature. It's what they are.

You could have a Nurgle daemon who loves to watch things grow, and another who loves to watch things die. One might be very philisophical and laid back, while the other might be a giggling maniac. See how it works?

Yeah it makes a lot more sense now, I love the lore behind Nurgle, I would build an all nurgle army with plaguebearers and Great unclean ones if it was viable on the battlefield, I like the nurturing nature of Nurgle. Slannesh is my second favourite partly due to khorn not having a too interesting personality

Skarbrand did attack Khorne via being tricked by Tzeentch. He got beat down hard for it but it shows that demons can attack their patron god. Ultimate they will lose that fight but it shows that they can form an independence to the point of active rebelling.

Daemons are both embodiments and contradictions. For example all Daemons of Nurgle are the embodiment of Decay and Death, but are also a host of living bacteria, bugs and pests. It is part of their nature and as long as their base nature remains consistent, anything and everything goes.

Like, the reason the Blue Scribes exist is because Tzeentch created the notion of magic when he shattered his own staff. The entire passage talks like a metaphor and yet is very literal as well.

Speaking of "daemon fluff", I cannot believe I did not think of this earlier:

"The Screwtape Letters" by C.S. Lewis.

Think of Demons like metal or wood.

You can make chairs, weapons, tools or whatever you want out of them but in the end they will still be metal / wood.

Demons of Khorne? Well he can be any aspect of war/fighting you please but they can't be peacefull because then they would no longer be war/fighting.