Realm of Chaos (Warhammer)

"Realm of Chaos" is a two-volume publication by Games Workshop concerning the forces of Chaos. The hardback books contain background material and rules for "Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay" (1st edition), "" and "Warhammer Fantasy Battle" (3rd edition).

It consists of the 1988 book "Slaves to Darkness" and the 1990 follow-up "The Lost and the Damned". Each of the two volumes describe the background and associated rules for a pair of antagonistic Chaos gods but each also had material that was germane to Chaos in general in the game settings.

Both were written by Rick Priestley, Bryan Ansell, Mike Brunton and Simon Forrest although many more people contributed material, both writings and illustrations. The cover art of Slaves to Darkness was painted by John Sibbick and The Lost and the Damned by Les Edwards. The process in sketching and designing the cover for The Lost and the Damned was investigated within the volume. This was not the case for Slaves to Darkness.

"Slaves to Darkness"

"Slaves to Darkness" features extensive descriptions of the gods Khorne and Slaanesh, complete with a pantheon of their Daemons and rules for including these in tabletop battles as demonic armies.

It also features rules on the creation of Chaos Champions and their warbands, Daemon weapons, demonic possession and the Horus Heresy of WH40K. To give flavour for the background and attributes of followers of Chaos it contained material such as a list of over 120 "Chaos Attributes" - mutations that the followers of Chaos were often afflicted by. This included some mutations that were advantageous, such as those that made the mutant extra strong or taller, and those that confer a disadvantage, such as ones that made the mutant small, weak or stupid. Other mutations were purely cosmetic, such as giving the mutant brightly coloured skin or eyes on stalks, whilst some mutations were clearly comical, such as one that gave the mutant a silly walk (possibly inspired by the Monty Python sketch The Ministry of Silly Walks) and even a mutation that bestowed the 'gift' of uncontrollable flatulence.

It introduced the Imperium's Daemonhunters of the Ordo Malleus and their associated Space Marine chapter - the Grey Knights.

"The Lost and the Damned"

"The Lost and the Damned" covered the background material and Daemons for the other two major Chaos gods Tzeentch and Nurgle. In addition, it contains rules that allow players and game masters to create their own gods and appropriate Daemons. The additional section introduced important elements for Warhammer 40,000, giving background on the early life of The Emperor as well as rules for the Sensei, immortal children the Emperor fathered during his thousands of years of life before he ascended the Golden Throne, who are champions of the cause of "good". The Sensei have since been written out of the Warhammer 40,000 background, although an explanation for their extermination was given as an Easter egg of sorts in the third edition of the Warhammer 40,000 rulebook.

Both volumes also have army lists for Chaos armies and painting guides for miniature figures. They also introduce the idea of daemonic Battles, which consist of armies formed primarily from daemons and other immortal followers of Chaos and fought within the realms of Chaos itself.

Each was heavily illustrated and were interspersed with many short stories related to Chaos. "The Lost and the Damned" featured the tale of the Horus Heresy's climax and an illustration of The Emperor's climactic battle with Horus. [http://www.games-workshop.es/warhammer40k/campanas/horus/images/horus_vs_emperor.jpg]

The two books contained a significant amount of violence and sex (although the latter was more implied than explicit), particularly "Slaves to Darkness", which featured Khorne, the god of violence and killing, and Slaanesh, god of pleasure and sensation. Though in the UK "Slaves to Darkness" carried the note "suggested for mature readers" on its cover, "The Lost and the Damned" did not. Labelling it as "Mature Content" was a guide for vendors as sales to minors was not legally restricted.

"Slaves to Darkness" featured grotesque illustrations by artists such as Ian Miller, Adrian Smith, John Blanche, Tony Ackland and Tony Hough. As the subject matter of the book focused on the gods of violence and pleasure, the illustrations were likewise violent or perverse. "The Lost and the Damned" featured much more toned down artwork, although some was reused from "Slaves to Darkness".

Games Workshop stopped publishing the books within a few years. It is possible that this was because, in the mid-1990s, Games Workshop began to try to appeal to younger gamers, rather than adults, and the explicit violence of the "Realm of Chaos" books was seemingly inappropriate for the younger market. The books are consequently quite rare. The rules contained in them would now be out of date as the various Warhammer games have since undergone several revisions. For more extended and deeper reference lore material on the nature of the Hordes of Chaos both books "The Lost and Dammned" and "Realms of Chaos" have been replaced by the newer reference book called "The Liber Chaotica". The book "The Liber Chaotica" is published by "The Black Library" a publishing house that is a subsidiary of Games Workshop charged with the creation of reference material, novels and lore for the Warhammer fantasy and Warhammer 40,000 game worlds.

References

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External links

* [http://www.strike-to-stun.com/Reviews/RoC1.htm Review of "Slaves to Darkness"]
* [http://www.strike-to-stun.com/Reviews/RoC2.htm Review of "The Lost and the Damned"]