Khorne

In the fictional universe of Warhammer 40,000 and Warhammer Fantasy, Khorne is the Chaos god of rage, blood, hate and war. Khorne's daemonic number is eight, favors red, brass and black, and abhors magic and psychic powers. The first Chaos god, Khorne was accidentally created at the end of the War of the Heavens.

Within the Chaos pantheon, Khorne's antithesis is Slaanesh; Khorne seeks the mindless slaughter of mortals, while Slaanesh's followers desire the pleasure of the experience of killing. Additionally, Khorne is distrustful of Tzeentch for his use of sorcery and trickery to achieve his goals.

Khorne's manifestation is described as a muscular, beast-headed being clad in black armor and wielding a massive blade who sits on a brass throne upon a mountain of skulls belonging to both those slain in his name and those who slay in his name, which is surrounded by a sea of blood of the same origin.

Cult of Khorne

Names

As with his Chaotic brethren, Khorne is praised by many names. Those who know him as Khorne may also refer to him as the Blood God or Lord of Skulls. Barbarians of the Warhammer world know him as Arkhar or Kharnath, and some consider the Elven god Khaine to be a manifestation of Khorne as well.

Followers

Unlike the followers of his fellow Chaos gods, Khorne devotees built no temples, chosing to give tribute in the form of bravery, martial prowess and conquest. The followers of Khorne often prefer axes and offer the battlecry, "Blood for the Blood God! Skulls for the skull Throne!" in reference to Khorne's seated depiction.

In the Warhammer realm, Khorne's followers consist of northern tribes of barbarians and knights of the Chaos Wastes.

In the Warhammer 40,000 universe, Khorne cultists are found amongst human colonists, but are most widely known in the form of Chaos Space Marines, exemplified by the World Eaters.

Khorne's daemons

As a Chaos god, various daemons are available to Khorne's forces:

Bloodletters, the Daemons of Khorne, are ugly, horned humanoids with cloven hooves who tote blood-drinking battleaxes and wear armour of daemonic brass. They enter horrific frenzies in battle.
Flesh Hounds, the Daemon Beasts of Khorne , are monstrous and ferocious vaguely canine creatures, notorious for their ability to track down their chosen prey. They bear enchanted collars that make them highly resitant to magic or psychic influences.
Bloodthirsters, the Greater Daemons of Khorne (other names given to them in background are Blooded Ones, Lords of Skulls, High-handed Slayers and War Given Form). Of all the Daemons, they bear the greatest resemblance to stereotypical demons, having a human body, cloven hooves instead of feet, leathery bat-like wings and horned dogs-heads. An earlier model of the Bloodthirster replaced the dog head with an ugly human face, but recently the model has gone back to its canine-featured roots. They wield a fiery whip and a massive two-headed battleaxe (possessed by another Bloodthirster in earlier editions) simultaneously in battle. They are the most combative of all Daemons and arguably the mightiest of all troop types available, although there are rivals to this claim, such as the C'tan and the Eldar Avatar.
Juggernauts are what particularly favoured champions ride on; massive steeds made of living metal whose blood is liquid fire. In Warhammer 40,000, their charge is capable of ramming through the side of a tank.
Bloodcrushers are Juggernauts mounted by Bloodletters.
Chariots of Khorne are composed of two Bloodletters on a chariot, pulled by one or two Juggernauts of Khorne.

References