What do daemons look like to xenos?

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**master of asgard**

Some fluff suggests that a daemon's appearance is constantly changing, flickering in and out of reality, and is based heavily on the mind of the person seeing it.

Model-wise, what we get are some pretty tame humanoid(ish) monsters with horns, tentacles, claws, teeth, as well as various superfluous eyes and mouths sprinkled on to taste. Even the Tzeentchian daemons, which are supposed to be constantly morphing, are pretty standard.

But what about a species that doesn't have eyes, teeth or even mouths? Would they find that scary?

How would a cyanide-based jellyfish alien be seduced by a daemonette's sexy legs and multiple boobs? Why would it be impressed by skulls?

So are there any references in the fluff as to how alien races perceive daemons? Or does anyone have any speculations on the subject?

**Nurglitch**

Daemons essentially use a psychic trick (one apparently employed by the Emperor in Master of Mankind) to dredge up an appropriate appearance from their victim's minds. The Sisters of Silence, by contrast, perceive the weird color-out-of-space goo they're actually made of when extruded into reality. I'd imagine they'll take on the appropriate scary/seductive/gross/weird tropes appropriate.

I myself made an army of Plague Bearers out of Tentacles from Flying Frog Productions' Shadows of Brimstone, supplemented with a resin copy of Hastur from Cthulhu Wars by Fenris Games. And then the local TOs decided that to get ITC support they needed official GW miniatures... I even did things like give some of the tentacles bells, icons, and whatnot to represent command, and decorated the terrible casting of Hastur with zombie heads. Nonetheless...

**ArcaneHorror**

Nurglitch wrote:
Daemons essentially use a psychic trick (one apparently employed by the Emperor in Master of Mankind) to dredge up an appropriate appearance from their victim's minds. The Sisters of Silence, by contrast, perceive the weird color-out-of-space goo they're actually made of when extruded into reality. I'd imagine they'll take on the appropriate scary/seductive/gross/weird tropes appropriate.

In the book The Emperor's Legion, it's shown that the SoS simply see the physical forms of daemons without all of the hellfire, lightning, and other Warp accoutrements and thus don't feel the same existential dread that others feel when they see daemons (though creatures like bloodthirsters are so foreboding that a small portion of their emotion-driven Chaos energy does have a slight effect on the Sisters).

**AegisGrimm**

Yeah, Plaguebearers without the existential dread are pretty much like fighting more intelligent Zombies.

**slave.entity**

Wonder what daemons would look like to tyranids. I like to think nids already see everything in heat-sensing predator-vision but maybe since it's 40k it'd be warp-based instead?

Since all tyranids are psychically linked to the hive mind, perhaps they'd simply see daemons as not-so-tasty warp signature.

**ishpeck**

When a 'Nid sees a demon, it looks like Winnie the Pooh.

**Iracundus**

Humans and humanoid lifeforms are the dominant lifeforms in the 40K galaxy, so the Chaos gods' daemons might follow suit and adopt humanoid forms for that reason.

Also, for many alien species, humans are a nightmare given the Imperium's bigotry and xenocidal policies. The human form may well be the eldritch horror for all these other aliens.

**Dakka Flakka Flame**

I think it would be a fun joke project to model some daemonettes as seen by orks as really snazzy shootas, flashy bikes, a gigantic toof, etc.

**Grimskul**

Dakka Flakka Flame wrote:
I think it would be a fun joke project to model some daemonettes as seen by orks as really snazzy shootas, flashy bikes, a gigantic toof, etc.

I think it would make more sense to see them as some sort of squig, like something really bouncy to ride on or a succulent version of the squigs they eat. Just to coincide more with their non-tech nature.

**Lance845**

slave.entity wrote:
Wonder what daemons would look like to tyranids. I like to think nids already see everything in heat-sensing predator-vision but maybe since it's 40k it'd be warp-based instead?

Since all tyranids are psychically linked to the hive mind, perhaps they'd simply see daemons as not-so-tasty warp signature.

When the nids first encountered the deamons they ignored them as not food. It wasnt until the hive mind realized they were corrupting the food supply that the hive mind acted. And then it made a firing line of biovores exocrines and other artillary beasts that circumvented the globe and marched forward blasting anything that got into range until they annihilated every shred of deamonic energy and closed the gate they were using to enter reality.

Basically... The hive mind is simply not amused.

**slave.entity**

Lol. TIL tyranids view daemons as nothing more than food spoilage.

**Maréchal des Logis Walter**

Would necron anti psychic pillars collapse and let a deamon jore slip into reality, would they look like the C'tan or the Old ones to the necrons? Or maybe like eldars?

**Mad Doc Grotsnik**

It Depends!

Exactly what has the most influence on a given Daemon's appearance isn't entirely clear.

First, we have the perception of an individual, where that single entity's psyche colours it.

Second, we have societal perception. This means members of a given species are likely to have a common perception.

Third? Well, what I'm not 100% on is whether mankind being the dominant, psychically potentialled species has sufficient warp presence to mean it's man's common perception that influences the Daemon look, wherever the Daemon happens to be manifesting.

Automatically Appended Next Post:
It is mentioned in the Horus Heresy background that the Mechanicum's Thallax infantry were quite effective at combatting Daemons, due to their unique nature.

Daemons confuse Machine Spirits by being 'only kind of there'.

Daemons confuse mortal because, well, their Daemons. That's what they do.

But Thallaxi are just the right blend of the two that the human parts can rationalise the Daemon's existence, whilst the Machine parts keep the Thallaxi coldly logical.

**beast_gts**

From Lexicanum (referencing Codex: Tau Empire (6th Edition) & Farsight Enclaves - A Codex: Tau Empire Supplement):

The Molochite Tragedy wrote:Arthas Moloch was the latest in a long string of Ork-held worlds Farsight was bent on conquering. However on this world, things began to go bizarrely. At an eight-pillared temple dubbed the Great Star Dais by the Air Caste, a disc of multi-colored light began to move into the sky as millions of Orks on the planets surface battled the Tau. The disc erupted in a gout of energy, revealing a swarm of horned crimson aliens that ripped the Orks to pieces with black swords. After finishing with the greenskins, the creatures moved onto the Tau, blasting them with streams of multi-colored flames that mutated all it touched into stone, water, or statues of screaming bones.

Horrified, Farsight ordered a retreat as a rip in the fabric of reality formed at the location of the floating disc. Ignoring pleas by his commanders to flee, Farsight stared into this portal and within it saw a trillion terrible deaths. The experience changed O'shovah forever, he realized that he was observing a threat far greater than any the Tau had seen before. Suffering a mental breakdown, Farsight collapsed into unconsciousness.

When Farsight awoke, he found the situation on Arthas Moloch had become critical. Fortunately for the Tau, the Greenskins were hurling themselves at the fearsome creatures appearing at the Great Star Dais, distracting them. Farsight immediately ordered an end to the evacuation of the planet, instead ordering that whatever the Tau had awoken here would be dealt with. Farsight immediately launched a counterattack at the Great Star Dais, facing three great wing beasts with brass axes speaking in a hideous language that even hurt to hear, though the shouts of "Blood for the Blood God!" were recognized. The Tau took heavy casualties, but the worst loss came when two Ethereals Aun'Los and Aun'Diemn were discovered dead. Mass disorder broke out through the Tau ranks, and Farsight struggled with not only the approaching enemy but also maintaining discipline in his ranks. Ordering that all three active Tau battlegroups converge on his position, Farsight rearranged his battle plan in an instant.

Farsight had one unit battle the remaining Orks around the Great Star Dais while a force of Battlesuits engaged these terrifying new enemies at the crackling disc itself, while a third group would bring Farsight hexagrammatic medallions discovered at the temple. Above all else Farsight ordered that no blood could be spilt at the Dais, he had come to understand that blood at the temple was somehow powering these creatures. If a soldier was hit, he would withdraw immediately from the Dais. Farsight then ordered that Flamer-armed Battlesuits wash their flames upon the Dais, drying up any remaining blood. This drove the beasts into a frenzy, and they soon dove at Farsight himself.

As the creatures charged towards Farsight, O'Shovah took up a mysterious blade he had discovered at the Dais. Attaching the gathered medallions to his blade, Farsight was able to unleash a blast of energy that closed the portal and caused every one of the vile creatures to disappear.

Automatically Appended Next Post:

Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
It is mentioned in the Horus Heresy background that the Mechanicum's Thallax infantry were quite effective at combatting Daemons, due to their unique nature.

Daemons confuse Machine Spirits by being 'only kind of there'.

Daemons confuse mortal because, well, their Daemons. That's what they do.

But Thallaxi are just the right blend of the two that the human parts can rationalise the Daemon's existence, whilst the Machine parts keep the Thallaxi coldly logical.

The original RT Imperial Robot rules said something similar - their cortex was organic enough to recognise daemons but cybernetic enough that they didn't care about them.

**Racerguy180**

I miss programming the robots...said no one ever!

There is a point of contention with how dominant humanity's influence on what the warp produces is.

Not sure which one is right, both? neither?

**Voss**

Well, the Path of the Eldar series is entirely Eldar POV and they seem to describe Slaaneshi daemons in the exact same standard way.

**Hellebore**

Voss wrote:
Well, the Path of the Eldar series is entirely Eldar POV and they seem to describe Slaaneshi daemons in the exact same standard way.

It's probably more accurate to say that humanity adopted the Eldar POV, as they basically invented them in their current Form

**Grey Templar**

Voss wrote:
Well, the Path of the Eldar series is entirely Eldar POV and they seem to describe Slaaneshi daemons in the exact same standard way.

Eldar and humans are highly similar in most ways. Certainly in the ways that are relevant to Slannesh. So it makes sense that they would appear identical.