Post by Fadril Adren on Feb 19, 2018 17:55:42 GMT -5
Daughters of Khaine: Part 1 – Who are the Daughters of Khaine?
A shadow is falling on the Mortal Realms – the Daughters of Khaine have come. Infused with sadistic cruelty and holy purpose, these brutal zealots will soon be yours to command thanks to a new battletome, new units and of course, Morathi herself! In the first of a multipart preview series, we’re looking into just who these savage warriors are – and how their unique abilities are represented on the tabletop.
The Daughters of Khaine are an army of aelven zealots combining the Khainite worship of their kin from the world that was with strange new powers drawn from the Realm of Shadow. Led by Morathi, they may serve Order, but their methods are extreme, and they think little of butchering the innocent populations of the Mortal Realms as they persecute the endless crusade for the shards of their shattered god.
The Daughters of Khaine came into being following the capture of Slaanesh. Morathi, having escaped the god’s clutches through magical means, helped weave the enchantment that caught Slaanesh, with Malerion, Teclis and Tyrion – ancient aelven warriors reborn as Gods of this new age – also providing aid. Together, they were able to free the aelven souls within Slaanesh, and each was rewarded with a portion to shape as they wished. Combining powerful magic with the sacrifice of her own blood, Morathi forged a new aelven race, and the Melusai and the Khinerai are the first among them.
While the Daughters of Khaine crave bloodshed and murder, they serve alongside the forces of Order – albeit tenuously. As builders of cities and civilisations, the Daughters of Khaine have little truck with the rampaging forces of Destruction, while the cold chill of Death holds little appeal to a race brought back from the brink of extinction. As for Chaos, few hate it more than the Khainites, prosecuting their crusades with particular violence against the servants of Slaanesh.
Morathi’s armies are viewed askance by the other inhabitants of Order. Rumours persist of strange, shadowy mutants among their number, and indeed, many find themselves unfortunately slain in the Khainite’s grotesque rituals – whether they come from the Chaos Wastes or are snatched from the streets of the free cities…. As they stand, the Daughters of Khaine are more tolerated than accepted, existing in a shadowy twilight, too useful to cast out.
Establishing temples across the Mortal Realms, the Daughters of Khaine scour the Mortal Realms for blood sacrifice – essential for creating more of their number – and the shards of their god, scattered across the Realms. Morathi claims to speak for Khaine, wielding his unbreakable iron heart, but none know that Morathi’s power is a lie, and Khaine is dead; the prayers that her daughters scream and the ritual offerings they make only serve to enhance her own power, not Khaine’s. Indeed, as long as Morathi bears the last vestiges of his power, there is little hope for his revival.
The Daughters of Khaine were written by studio legend and long-time writer and designer Jeremy Vetock. We managed to grab him to find out more about how he transformed this shadowy cult into a fully formed army:
On the battlefield, the Daughters of Khaine are part iron-disciplined warrior order and part fanatical cult. As battle progresses, they whip themselves into a frenzy, ignoring wounds and becoming steadily deadlier. This is represented by two new allegiance abilities. The first of these is Fanatical Faith:
This simple but effective allegiance ability helps your lightly armoured troops survive longer, as well as providing some very welcome insurance against mortal wounds. Where the Daughters of Khaine really come into their own, however, is through the Blood Rites battle trait.
The longer the Daughters of Khaine fight, the deadlier they become, as each benefit is cumulative. Get to round 5 or higher, and your army will be re-rolling 1s to run, charge, hit, wound AND save – and they’ll ignore battleshock to boot! Games against the Daughters of Khaine are going to be particularly thematic, as while you may be able to whittle their forces down, those left are only going to get stronger – and angrier.
That’s terrifying enough on a Witch Aelf, but on a combatant like Morathi, it’s deadly indeed. We’ll be taking a look at the Shadow Queen in detail tomorrow, so make sure to come back then! In the mean time.. check out some preview pics!
THE SHADOW QUEEN
Morathi is one of the most tenacious of the survivors of the world that was, saved not by the patronage of a god or ascension to godhood itself, but by sheer furious determination, crawling from the belly of Slaanesh and founding a new cult of Khaine in the Mortal Realms. Soon, you’ll be able to bring this shadowy magus to your battlefield at the head of your Daughters of Khaine army:
However, there’s more to Morathi than initially meets the eye…
That’s right – the monster you glimpsed in our earlier preview wasn’t a servant of Morathi but Morathi herself, resplendent and terrible in her true form! Twisted by the depredations of Slaanesh, Morathi is gifted with horrifying physical might when transformed, shifting from a master mage and tactician into a deadly combatant in her own right.
In-game, you’ll need both models to use Morathi (but don’t worry, they come in the same kit!). While you’ll start each game with Morathi in her form as an aelven queen, you can choose to transform her in any of your turns, while damaging her can cause her to lose control unexpectedly – much to your enemy’s misfortune. We’ll be taking a look at Morathi’s rules in detail later in the week with a full preview, but rest assured that if you’re collecting the Daughters of Khaine, this is the ideal commander for your collection.
While Morathi’s warscroll will be free, if you’re looking to make the most of your Daughters of Khaine army, make sure to pick up Battletome: Daughters of Khaine – your guide to this shadowy sisterhood of killers. Inside, you’ll find the history of the aelves in the Mortal Realms following the capture of Slaanesh, the story of Morathi’s escape and rise to power in the Realm of Shadow, and an in-depth look at how the cult of Khaine operates, hunting across the realms in search of blood to feed their murderous god – and the Shadow Queen herself…
A shadow is falling on the Mortal Realms – the Daughters of Khaine have come. Infused with sadistic cruelty and holy purpose, these brutal zealots will soon be yours to command thanks to a new battletome, new units and of course, Morathi herself! In the first of a multipart preview series, we’re looking into just who these savage warriors are – and how their unique abilities are represented on the tabletop.
The Daughters of Khaine are an army of aelven zealots combining the Khainite worship of their kin from the world that was with strange new powers drawn from the Realm of Shadow. Led by Morathi, they may serve Order, but their methods are extreme, and they think little of butchering the innocent populations of the Mortal Realms as they persecute the endless crusade for the shards of their shattered god.
The Daughters of Khaine came into being following the capture of Slaanesh. Morathi, having escaped the god’s clutches through magical means, helped weave the enchantment that caught Slaanesh, with Malerion, Teclis and Tyrion – ancient aelven warriors reborn as Gods of this new age – also providing aid. Together, they were able to free the aelven souls within Slaanesh, and each was rewarded with a portion to shape as they wished. Combining powerful magic with the sacrifice of her own blood, Morathi forged a new aelven race, and the Melusai and the Khinerai are the first among them.
While the Daughters of Khaine crave bloodshed and murder, they serve alongside the forces of Order – albeit tenuously. As builders of cities and civilisations, the Daughters of Khaine have little truck with the rampaging forces of Destruction, while the cold chill of Death holds little appeal to a race brought back from the brink of extinction. As for Chaos, few hate it more than the Khainites, prosecuting their crusades with particular violence against the servants of Slaanesh.
Morathi’s armies are viewed askance by the other inhabitants of Order. Rumours persist of strange, shadowy mutants among their number, and indeed, many find themselves unfortunately slain in the Khainite’s grotesque rituals – whether they come from the Chaos Wastes or are snatched from the streets of the free cities…. As they stand, the Daughters of Khaine are more tolerated than accepted, existing in a shadowy twilight, too useful to cast out.
Establishing temples across the Mortal Realms, the Daughters of Khaine scour the Mortal Realms for blood sacrifice – essential for creating more of their number – and the shards of their god, scattered across the Realms. Morathi claims to speak for Khaine, wielding his unbreakable iron heart, but none know that Morathi’s power is a lie, and Khaine is dead; the prayers that her daughters scream and the ritual offerings they make only serve to enhance her own power, not Khaine’s. Indeed, as long as Morathi bears the last vestiges of his power, there is little hope for his revival.
The Daughters of Khaine were written by studio legend and long-time writer and designer Jeremy Vetock. We managed to grab him to find out more about how he transformed this shadowy cult into a fully formed army:
On the battlefield, the Daughters of Khaine are part iron-disciplined warrior order and part fanatical cult. As battle progresses, they whip themselves into a frenzy, ignoring wounds and becoming steadily deadlier. This is represented by two new allegiance abilities. The first of these is Fanatical Faith:
This simple but effective allegiance ability helps your lightly armoured troops survive longer, as well as providing some very welcome insurance against mortal wounds. Where the Daughters of Khaine really come into their own, however, is through the Blood Rites battle trait.
The longer the Daughters of Khaine fight, the deadlier they become, as each benefit is cumulative. Get to round 5 or higher, and your army will be re-rolling 1s to run, charge, hit, wound AND save – and they’ll ignore battleshock to boot! Games against the Daughters of Khaine are going to be particularly thematic, as while you may be able to whittle their forces down, those left are only going to get stronger – and angrier.
That’s terrifying enough on a Witch Aelf, but on a combatant like Morathi, it’s deadly indeed. We’ll be taking a look at the Shadow Queen in detail tomorrow, so make sure to come back then! In the mean time.. check out some preview pics!
THE SHADOW QUEEN
Morathi is one of the most tenacious of the survivors of the world that was, saved not by the patronage of a god or ascension to godhood itself, but by sheer furious determination, crawling from the belly of Slaanesh and founding a new cult of Khaine in the Mortal Realms. Soon, you’ll be able to bring this shadowy magus to your battlefield at the head of your Daughters of Khaine army:
However, there’s more to Morathi than initially meets the eye…
That’s right – the monster you glimpsed in our earlier preview wasn’t a servant of Morathi but Morathi herself, resplendent and terrible in her true form! Twisted by the depredations of Slaanesh, Morathi is gifted with horrifying physical might when transformed, shifting from a master mage and tactician into a deadly combatant in her own right.
In-game, you’ll need both models to use Morathi (but don’t worry, they come in the same kit!). While you’ll start each game with Morathi in her form as an aelven queen, you can choose to transform her in any of your turns, while damaging her can cause her to lose control unexpectedly – much to your enemy’s misfortune. We’ll be taking a look at Morathi’s rules in detail later in the week with a full preview, but rest assured that if you’re collecting the Daughters of Khaine, this is the ideal commander for your collection.
While Morathi’s warscroll will be free, if you’re looking to make the most of your Daughters of Khaine army, make sure to pick up Battletome: Daughters of Khaine – your guide to this shadowy sisterhood of killers. Inside, you’ll find the history of the aelves in the Mortal Realms following the capture of Slaanesh, the story of Morathi’s escape and rise to power in the Realm of Shadow, and an in-depth look at how the cult of Khaine operates, hunting across the realms in search of blood to feed their murderous god – and the Shadow Queen herself…