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I was wondering if there were any fluff sources on a normal Bob joe cultist climbing the ranks of power in chaos to eventually be more powerful than a CSM or such through gifts of chaos.

Read Flesh and Iron by Henry Zhou. It deals with a Chaos insurgency and looks closely at how Chaos cultists are formed from disenfranchised Imperial subjects as well as how "promotions" work within the Chaos ranks.

My experience so far with Cultists and their role within the Armies of Chaos is they act as harbingers and criers. It seems they do get promoted, however each promotion isn't really a "promotion" like a CSM becoming an Aspiring Champion or Chosen, but more like what they are going to do is more important than what other cultists may be tasked to do (like feeding a Bloodthirster, lets say).

Sometimes this means being the vessel of possession or sacrifice to a rift and sometimes this means being the catalyst to setting off a planetary uprising. Sometimes they are tasked with diabolical deeds, as was the case when an Alpha Legion "agent" was made to look like an Inquisitor they were hunting.

The Warp is Fickle.

To my knowledge, no. The only way a human cultist is ever important in the first place is if they're a powerful psyker, have leverage, are a powerful political figure, or a powerful logistical/industrial figure. But Jim-Bob the farmer probably isn't ever going to be notable no matter what he does, besides maybe becoming Daemon food.

The best I can think of is maybe them getting elevated as rank if they're in a militia like the Blood Pact if they're good enough. Like from what's equal to a guardsmen to a special weapons team or a commando team. But beyond that, your cultist is just a footnote.

If your Cultist does well he becomes a cultist champion. If he then somehow kills an enemy character he can become a daemon prince.


Thats how it works for mortals, they get more powerful sure, but they dont because space marines. It's better human, better human, much better human, daemonhood.

In the last of the justicar Alaric books he goes to a daemon world where he gets slapped around by a guy who wasn't a space marine but is now a powerful chaos champion. Also in some iron warriors book I read (the one with the war smith) a woman pledges herself to khorne and gets buffed into a powerful champion who slaps around warsmith kroeger

Wouldn't it depend on the chaos-god in question, that the cultists follow?

I mean rising amongst tzeentchians would mean a hell of alot of manouvering and manipulating, while under khornes gaze... well, its all KILL MAIM BURN! KILL MAIM BURN! KILL MAIM BURN!

... and Slaanesh.... well...

The Renegades and Heretics army has non-Space Marine HQs, so it is possible for cultists to rise in rank for whatever reason. Of course, the ultimate rank is the same as Chaos Space Marines (Daemon Prince), which is possible, if a bit rare, for a cultist to achieve (such as Mammon, the instigator of the Siege of Vraks).

In Flesh and Iron a low ranking Imperial Guard officer came to lead a vast invasion fleet tasked with obtaining a weapon that could destroy Terra or Cadia.

In Shadow point a mortal Nurgle worshiper commands a battleship and reaks havoc on the Imperials.

In one of the Cain books a Mortal Chaos lord leads a fleet and commands traitor guard, sisters of battle and nearly gets an artifact that would end the Imperium and possibly the milky way galaxy.

In another Cain book a slaaneshi cultist leader becomes a demon princess.

Their was Cherabdia ruling over a demon world.

Cyrene during the Horus Heresy.

Moriana who is abbadons chief advisor.

Yea quite a bit of reference to mortals who have risen through the ranks, their mostly portrayed as villians so we have an incomplete picture of them.\

Almost forgot about the BloodPact and the Vraksian Militia.

In 40k, we don't have many rags-to-riches stories. The status quo is deeply entrenched on every side of the conflict.

There are some people who manage to claw their way to the top, but not many.

I think your best shot at this would be if a navy guy incited mutiny and brought over a cruiser or battle ship to chaos. Consider how stupidly difficult that is, and consider that's your highest probability chance of not getting prolapsed by a greater demon and you've got the core of a pretty good anti chaos PSA I feel like.

Charybdia was just a cultist and she became a queen. What about the Imperial Guard Lt who formed the Ironclads and nearly captured a superweopon that could have destroyed Terra. The Cultist that are used for replacement of astartes(yes its confirmed that fabious does this). Despite everyone acting like their poor victims octiavia and septimus probably have more influence over their lord then most of his brothers and lord over the mortal crew in the same way the Night Lords do.

Within the Eye the Traitor Legions fight constant wars amongst themselves for gene-seed, slaves, resources, or martial honour. New Chaos Space Marines are recruited from the most dangerous heretics that are drawn into the Eye by the lure of Chaos, or else selected from the masses of slave-warriors who fight eternal battles for the amusement of the Dark Gods. The implantation of recruits is a brutal affair, quite unlike the carefully measured program of development used by Imperial Space Marines. Whether the candidate lives or dies is left to the will of the Chaos Gods. Initiation rites are similarly debased and savage, ensuring that only the toughest initiates ever survive.

p. 19, 2nd edition Chaos Codex.

If you are skilled enough, they can be chosen to be made into CSM. But there is nothing stating Champions must be CSM so a sufficiently skilled and powerful enough cultist could be chosen as a Champion themselves directly if their god wishes.