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This mini-codex for the 8th edition of Warhammer 40,000 was included in the boxed set for Kill Team: Rogue Trader, and introduced the Gellerpox Infected as a playable faction.
That which is malignant festers in secrecy, crawling through veins and souls alike, growing strong before revealing itself in an attempt to spread. That which is contagious exists only to disseminate, to infect, to imbue its own gifts upon its unwitting host. So does the Gellerpox worm its way out of the warp transmitting its mutagenic madness to both man and machine.
Feel the machine pulse - it feeds the tumours within us. Do not fear these new growths, for they make us stronger. Feel the machine thoughts, they meld with your own. Listen to the engine's rhythm, and heed the voice that is calling. Bow before that which speaks from beyond, that which gives us purpose. Rise up, brothers and sisters - our time has come.
— Vulgrar Thrice-Cursed, leading the Ritual of Acceptance
A never-before-seen type of techno-mutant has lurched out of the darkness to claim its piece of the dilapidating Imperium of Mankind. Flesh and machine alike succumb to the insidious call of the Gellerpox Infected, victims of the corrupting powers of Chaos. They seek to spread their disease, and to make others of their befouled kind.
The Imperium-wide stigma against mutation exists for good reason. Some mutants are distorted in their physical forms, but others are as malformed in thought as they are twisted in frame. Many in their right minds grow embittered, and become obsessed with taking revenge against those whose resentment and fear have caused them life-long suffering, but that pales in comparison to those who have been corrupted in consciousness as well as in body. With their mores and moral compasses curdled into hatred and murderous rage, those most infected by the Ruinous Powers of Chaos seek to sow destruction. It is Nurgle, the Chaos God of Decay, who specialises in disease, and his unnatural creatures plague the galaxy.
There are many ways in which Mankind might become mutated. Some catalysts of change - such as radiation poisoning - are predictable in their alterations to the human body. The mutations of Chaos, however, are anything but natural, and far from rational. Such transmutative energies come from warp storms, daemonic possession, forbidden lore, dark disease, and open worship of the Ruinous Powers.
Those known as the Gellerpox Infected bear mutations from a vile strain of daemonic disease that corrupts flesh and metal. Gellerpox is a mutative malady that spreads via contamination of Geller field generators, devices that protect the ships of Humanity against the horrors of the warp. They are so regularly monitored and tested that even the most cautious of Tech-Priests assume that any malfunction would be immediately discerned.
The effects of the Gellerpox are slow to build, beginning with disturbing dreams and gradually escalating. Those working with and around an infected Geller field generator find themselves drawn to the device, eager to venerate its life-saving powers, willing to do anything to placate its will. Simple superstitions, such as rubbing the machine's protective glyphs to ensure a safe voyage or knocking on the machine for good luck, have a cumulative effect, wearing down the effectiveness of the protective wards and strengthening the twisted machine spirit.
Eventually the corruption grows strong enough that the voices head in dreams become discernible in waking hours. Afflicted workers and drew are compelled to dismantle machine parts or remove symbols of warding. Mutating energy slowly escalates, warping the minds and bodies of those nearby. The victims submit willingly, still positive that the strange and debased rituals they perform upon the Geller field generator are to everyone's benefit. These unfortunate souls become so corrupted that they leave their humanity behind, transforming into shambling grotesques who can turn a brave man's guts to water.
The bulk of the Infected are known as Gellerpox Mutants, their minds and bodies twisted in disturbing fashion. Some absorb more energy still, becoming hugely swollen with dark vitality but losing their minds entirely - these are the very powerful, but slavishly dim, Nightmare Hulks. Live living tanks, the enormous mutants can withstand entire volleys of las-fire, and they are mighty enough to stand toe-to-toe with an enraged Ogryn and emerge victorious. Those Gellerpox Infected strong enough to hang onto their intellect and willpower whilst their bodies mutate beyond all recognition usually rise to become the masters of their kin. They are the Twisted Lords, abominable tyrants who rules over entire enclaves of degenerates. Even when slain, such leaders leave an indelible mark on the minds of the local populace. Legends of the Great Biter, the Blister-Man and the Blubberdark persist in the Ultima Segmentum, despite the laws passed against speaking of them.
The transmutative power of the Gellerpox is not limited to humans, or even flesh and blood. Ships whose crew have fallen victim to the disease have been discovered in varied states of mutation, with metal turned into organic tissue. The lower decks of such vessels resemble the innards of some enormous beast, and their warp engines and Geller field generators continue to pump out mutating waves of foul energies, polluting all around them. At least one such ship - the Argonaut - was last seen joining the Plague Fleets of Typhus, the Herald of Nurgle.
Even the smallest of parasites are not spared. Such life forms are all too common aboard starships, as the long journeys and crowded living quarters are the perfect breeding conditions for a large number of tiny bloodsuckers. With the eruption of the Gellerpox, these diminutive creatures feed upon corrupted humans long enough to suffer their own maladies. Those not instantly curdled by the contaminated blood grow vast in size. Most Infected warbands are joined by swarms of these crawling, flying and bounding horrors.
At the height of an outbreak, the Gellerpox virus opens a tiny rift into the warp. From this pulsating hole emerge Glitchlings, Daemon-mites known for their joy of contaminating machinery. Although small in size and strength, the strange entropic fields the Glitchlings emante cause guns and equipment to sporadically malfunction, robbing enemies of their chance to bring low the shambling hordes of Infected before they fall upon them with horrifying and merciless fury.
Since the Great Rift yawned wide across the firmament, mutation has become more rife than ever. The Gellerpox Infected have been seen working in conjunction with other Chaos forces, including Heretic Astartes and Daemon hordes. Several cults have already begun to worship the Gellerpox Infected, building shrines around corrupted Geller field generators.
Wherever the Gellerpox Infected hordes rampage, they spread before them a wave of terror, anarchy and destruction, and leave only mangled corpses and mutated corruption in their wake.
One two three, I yearn for thee, three four five, I'll eat you alive...
— Alleged feeding song of the Blubberdark
Twisted, shambolic and utterly horrifying, the Infected emerge from the engine decks of space-faring ships to wrest control of the entire vessel. They are driven by an insane urge to propagate, to spread their disease. How many Infected ships ply the spaceways of the Imperium is unknown, but the number is growing.
Amstein Vulg was once a strapping engine-master in comand of the engine decks of the starship New Dawn, but the Gellerpox virus changed all that. Now he is a Twisted Lord, better known as Vulgrar Thrice-Cursed or simply 'Old Boilerguts'.
While the corrupted Geller field generator bestowed many darksome gifts upon the engine crew, none were granted more than Vulg. The engine-master swelled massively in size, his new form supported by bulging muscles and a dark, pulsating vitality. In a disturbing ceremony, the writhing bodies of his two first mates became absorbed within his own flesh, and thus did Vulg become the three-headed Vulgrar. Horrific to look upon, the Twisted Lord sprouted new limbs and developed an ability to skin-graft weapons into his body, merging man and machine with gruesome results.
Not all the crew of the New Dawn accepted their gifts willingly. In combat against such non-believers, Vulgrar proved more than a match for even the most veteran amongst them, his multiple weapon-tipped limbs pummelling and ripping apart any who dared oppose him. Yet Vulgrar saved his most dangerous weapon until he was confronted by two dozen Voidsmen-at-Arms. Shrugging off lasgun fire, the Twisted Lord exposed his distended gut to reveal a raging fire burning within. His belly had become a disease-furnace that was stoked by hatred. With a grunt, Vulgrar issued forth a gout of corrupting fire, an unnatural inferno that engulfed his enemies. None survived, and their blackened bones now help fuel the flickering flames that still burn within the Twisted Lord.
Vulgrar is a boisterous leader, looking after not only those mutants beneath him, but also the infected Geller field generator that gifted him with his new abilities. It was he who first succumbed to its call, and who gathered others of the crew to perform debased rituals. Those that dissented from this new path were quickly shown the error of their ways. At first the Infected had been like a carbuncle on the underbelly of their host culture, but eventually it was they who ruled the ship. In all his zealous actions to grow his beloved cult, Vulgrar still shows elements of his old engine-master self - cooing over well-made mechanisms and expressing appreciation for the solid craftsmanship of the machines and mutations that surround him.
Bearing great gifts from ever-generous Nurgle, Vulgrar Thrice-Cursed has risen to lead the Gellerpox Infected of the New Dawn.
The Gellerpox virus elevates an enginarium crew's reverence for the life-saving technology they maintain to a new and disturbing level, and before long they come to worship the Geller field generator. Throughout their escalating veneration, they fail to realise that the drive has been compromised and now hosts a vile warp entity.
Over time, the crew absorbs baleful emanations emitted from the corrupted machinery and become mutated. In a final submission to Chaos, the bewitched crew rest their heads upon the Geller field generator's housing, the better to commune with the animus inside. The steel of that giant machine flows like quicksilver around their heads, encasing their craniums in immaterium-tainted metal. When struck in battle, those Gellercaust masks flash, sending warp-saturated energy bursts outwards with enough force to shred the sanity of anyone in close quarters.
In addition to these disturbing masks, the mutants are afflicted with foul boils, horrifically bloated bellies, necrotic skin and malformed limbs - often one or more of which take the form of tentacles, scythes or other weird, lumpen shapes. Strangely, the Gellerpox disease can affect machinery, and will often fuse man with machine, grafting weapons into mutant appendages. The speech of Gellerpox mutants is garbled, muffled by masks but also made near-intelligible by mechanical whirs, bleeps and static. In a similar fashion to others blessed by Nurgle's dubious gifts, bearers of the Gellerpox are notoriously resistant, and can shrug off what would otherwise prove to be mortal wounds.
Lumbering from the underdecks of the New Dawn came a gruesome horde. Mechanics and mates that had once served Vulg had been transformed into Gellerpox Mutants who answered to Vulgrar Thrice-Cursed. They were the Vox-Shamblers - Grummax, Pugglox, and the Herg - twisted variants of their former selves who now acted as the Twisted Lord's apostles, spreading the virus aboard the New Dawn. Those unblessed by Nurgle were beaten and given one last chance to bow before the sickly coloured Geller field generator, one final chance to recognise the divine machinery that pulsed before them.
In battle the Vox-Shamblers are terrifying and tenacious foes. As they march, from beneath their masks comes a garbled speech that mixes words given shape by swollen, cyst-covered tongues with bursts of static machine code, vox signals and mechanical whirs and clicks. They can absorb prodigious amounts of firepower, barely even slowing in their efforts to get close and deliver their own devastating blows.
Lord of Entropy and Disease, joyous Bringer of Plague, Nurgle is one of the four Gods of Chaos. His is the cycle, from fecundity to morbidity and then beginning all over with rebirth. He is the creator of the worst contagions to sweep the galaxy, but he is not a morose or grim god, but rather a jolly one, affectionately known by many of his followers as Grandfather or Papa Nurgle. Indeed, he dotes over his favoured like an indulgent father, yet his wrath is terrible when roused.
It is Nurgle's wish to spread his horrific diseases, and in doing so extend his domain both in the Realm of Chaos and in realspace. To this end he is constantly creating new contaminations, as well as directing his Plague Legions to deliver his foetid gifts. The Lord of Disease delights in corrupting mortals, and the Gellerpox Virus is but one of the latest of many such creations. Ultimately, Nurgle longs to emerge victorious in the Great Game between himself and the other Chaos Gods, and his own standing amongst the Ruinous Power waxes and wanes as his diseases blossom and run their course in realspace.
With bursts of disease-garbled static emitting through their Gellercaust masks, the Vox-Shamblers advance into the fray.
Glitchlings are small Daemons, close cousins to the entities known as Nurglings. A fusion of machine-plague and electrostatic energy, the mites were first reported in M32, shortly after the Daemon Primarch Perturabo made a pact with Nurgle that saw him pervert the eight rituals of possession and turn them against the forge world of Toil. That planet was conquered not only by the Iron Warriors, but also by the Tech-Priests' own machines, their trusted engines becoming nightmarish cybernetic horrors that were as much daemonic flesh as metal. Waddling amongst the machine-beasts were plump, diminutive creatures that cackled in scrapcode and glowed with baleful energy. Even as the guns of the forge world's defenders focused on larger targets, the Glitchlings ran wild. Their disruptive aura caused cogitators, electro-lumens and machine spirits to falter or go haywire. In their moment of greatest need, the defenders found their weapons stuttering and flickering as the machine plague took its toll.
Similar strange anomalies have been recorded across the galaxy since the fall of Toil. Wherever the Glitchlings bounce forth, long-cherished guns in fine working order suddenly fail, the most reliable servitors stumble to a grinding halt, and tanks in pristine condition suddenly rust as if aged hundreds of years in the blink of an eye. Such is the Glitchling's true purpose - to bring entropy and disease to machines, infecting circuitry, contaminating mechanical parts and degrading metal rather than bringing plague to creatures of flesh and blood.
Although their greatest joy is disrupting the technology of the mortal races, Glitchlings are malicious creatures, and they find it immensely entertaining to stab or bite foes that are distracted by their weapons malfunctioning. Although small and relatively puny, the Glitchlings secrete a noxious substance that covers their claws, teeth and blades, so that any wounds they cause are full of infectious disease.
Burbling nonsensical words and emitting spark-filled belches, the gregarious Glitchlings bound across the battlefield in small packs. They take extraordinary glee in spreading mayhem, and express puerile behaviour in the form of rude gestures, suggestive capers, and destruction they leave in their wake. They mock and mimic the curses or looks of shock that come over defenders as their trusted weapons inexplicably falter at precisely the worst moment.
The exact connection between the Glitchlings and the Gellerpox virus is unknown, but each breakout thus far recorded has been accompanied by a host of the diminutive mischief-makers.
Bite, bite, chew, chew, your gun won't work and I'm coming for you!
— Irritating rhyme chanted by a group of Glitchlings
There is no sight more disturbing than that of the pox-ridden Daemons of Nurgle. When they tear out of the warp to invade realspace, they seek to spread the myriad blights that their own foul bodies writhe and bloat with, or else cultivate entirely new strains of disease with which to decimate entire worlds.
These beings take many forms, but all are putrid and terrifying, for they are plague made manifest. Some are small, bounding creatures - such as Nurglings or Glitchlings - while the rank and file of Nurgle's legions - the Plague Bearers - are roughly man-sized. There are tentacled slime-creatures and mutated, fly-like Daemons of prodigious size. The largest of all are the Greater Daemons, those abominable Great Unclean Ones who lead the Plague Legions. They all consider their diseases to be a gift to mortals from Grandfather Nurgle, and the last gasps of their victims are interpreted as thankful praise.
Bounding forwards and gibbering rude words and scrap code, the Glitchlings attempt to overwhelm a foe.
Some warp-born mutations are more pronounced than others. Those referred to as Nightmare Hulks have reached the apogee of transformation that a mortal frame can withstand before it bursts apart in a fountain of gore or becomes a Chaos Spawn.
Each over ten foot tall and weighing well over a ton, Nightmare Hulks are so far past the limits of normality that only the tiniest shreds of sanity and intellect are left to them. Such lumbering mutants are much prized in the vassal hosts of Chaos, for they are past notions of fear, and exist simply to rend and tear in the manner of a frenzied beast. Many a headlong charge against an Imperial fortress has been led by a line of rampaging Nightmare Hulks; eyes bulging and muscles straining, heedless of their own force's casualties, they smash into bunker doors and crush ferrocrete with their jagged claws and grasping tentacles.
The sheer hideousness of the Nightmare Hulks is a weapon in itself, for they boast all manner of diseased deformities, growths, and disgusting features. Extra mouths gnash, tentacles writhe, plentiful folds of skin sway and bulge ominously as if something inside was writhing its way out. The sight of these monstrosities alone can drive a spike of crippling fear into even the most stalwart of hearts. Many are the foes that dropped weapons and fled in horror at the approach of something so gruesome and unnatural.
Permanently enraged, Nightmare Hulks hurtle towards the nearest foe, eager to smash their victims to bloody paste. Some carry crude weapons, but most prefer to attack with their powerful claws, throttles with their sucker-lined tentacles, or even swallow adversaries whole. The largest and most powerful of their kind are known as Colossal Hulks, and their ferocity is second to none.
Aboard the New Dawn, the outbreak of the Gellerpox virus did not affect all crew members equally. Most of the infected became Gellerpox Mutants, while some simply devolved into sentient flesh puddles. A select few, however, rippled with warp-enhanced muscles, growing into Nightmare Hulks. These massive mutants were strong enough to punch through the plasteel of the hull, hence their new name -; the Hullbreakers.
Only Vulgrar Thrice-Cursed can command the lumbering behemoths. They are sent to clear out resistance, smash down locked bulkheads and rip through the walls to get those that hide from the glory of the infected Geller field generator. The Vox-Shamblers have begun to identify each of the Nightmare Hulks by their names. Gnasher-Screamer is an amalgamation of several crew, their mouths eternally shrieking or chomping. Big Spike once stuck his armoured protrusion through a plasteel door and skewered three men with the same blow, and the Writher is named for his profusion of disturbingly waving tentacles.
Surging forward like living tanks of putrid flesh, the Hullbreakers smash down foes with contemptuous ease.
It is not Mankind alone that suffers mutation due to the twisting powers of Chaos. A long list of parasites have plagued those that travel the stars, but when subjected to enough of the vile energies of the warp, such organisms grow from disturbing nuisances to the most vile of predators.
A variety of freakish creatures scamper, buzz and slither amongst a mutant horde. These organisms were once parasites that suckled unseen upon Humanity, but after being bathed in warp energy, they have grown to the size of canids. As their statures have increased, so too have their appetites - they charge headlong towards prey, hissing and chittering as they seek to sate their never-ending hunger.
The dirty-bodied flies that buzz from the corpses of Chaos-infected cadavers are often imbued with a tiny portion of warp energy. These insects become steel-sharp of proboscis and swollen of abdomen, their spindly legs like barbed needles that sink into the skin of their targets. Eyestinger Swarms are fast, able to dart, dodge, and change direction in mid-air, making them extremely difficult targets. They are amongst the most feared warp parasites, for they attack their victims' faces, knowing that to blind and terrify their prey is to ensure a far easier meal. With a repellent droning, the mutated flies will work in unison, their proboscis stabbing at their victims' eyes. Those whose skin has been punctured during the attack soon find their flesh rippling and ocular organs bulging outward. Noxious maggots emerge from their bodies within seconds, burrowing their way out to reveal a foul new brood of Eyestingers.
The hopping, leaping insects known as Cursemites were once miniscule blood-drinkers that were little more than a painful nuisance. However, having fed upon the distorting powers of Chaos, such parasites grow huge. They are still drawn to the scent of gore, and they spring forwards with shocking swiftness to bowl over their prey. Once their stabbing mouthparts find an artery, Cursemites can drain a man-sized host of blood in seconds. As they feast, the parasites' bodies balloon, swelling in size even as they turn crimson. Only after draining a foe of every drop of blood will they fall off, but this sated state lasts mere seconds before they are bounding off again in search of another living meal.
The leech-like creatures known as Sludge-Grubs are swollen and grotesque. They slither from dank hiding places to batten on their victims, their fang-lined maws capable of delivering a deep and nasty bite. Once attached, Sludge-Grubs are all but impossible to remove. It is dangerous to even try, for in bursting their soft bodies, one risks being splattered by their extremely caustic innards. Mutated by the warp, Sludge-Grubs are filled with an acidic fluid that can burn through any armour. The loathsome parasites can spit small sticky globules of this substance a short distance, allowing a pack of them to fell larger prey upon which to feed.
What is that infernal buzzing?
— Last words of Inquisitor Arken
If your army is Battle-forged and includes Vulgrar Thrice-Cursed, you have access to the Stratagems shown below, meaning you can spend Command Points to activate them. These help to reflect the unique tactics and strategies used by the Gellerpox Infected on the battlefield.
Gellerpox Infested Stratagem
Notoriously difficult to fully eradicate, these loathsome parasites keep coming back.
Use this Stratagem at the end of your Movement phase. Choose a unit of Mutoid Vermin from your army that has been destroyed. Set up this unit anywhere wholly within 12" of a friendly Gellerpox Infected unit and more than 9" from any enemy models.
Gellerpox Infested Stratagem
With a swollen belly packed with explosive and contaminated fuel, Vulgrar's end will be a messy one.
Use this Stratagem when Vulgrar Thrice-Cursed is slain. Before removing him from the battlefield, roll a D6 for each unit within 6"; on a 4+ that unit suffers a mortal wound.
Gellerpox Infested Stratagem
Contamination permeates every diseased breath drawn by the Gellerpox Infected.
Use this Stratagem at the start of the Fight phase. Choose an enemy unit within 3" of a Gellerpox Infected unit from your army. Until the end of the phase, add 1 to all wound rolls made for Gellerpox Infected models from your army when they target this enemy unit.
Gellerpox Infested Stratagem
The amount of toxic bile that accumulates within the bloated bellies of the Nightmare Hulks is staggering.
Use this Stratagem in your Shooting phase. Choose a Hullbreakers model from your army, then choose an enemy unit within 6" of it that is visible to it. Roll three D6; for each roll of 5+ that enemy unit suffers a mortal wound.
Gellerpox Infested Stratagem
Not even the surest of machine spirits can withstand the burbling, static-spewing Glitchlings.
Use this Stratagem after a unit of Glitchlings from your army has fought in the Fight phase. Choose an enemy Vehicle unit within 1" of that unit and roll one D6 for each model in your unit; for each roll of 4+ the enemy unit suffers a mortal wound.
Gellerpox Infested Stratagem
With a loud crack, the Gellerpox Mutants known as the Vox-Shamblers can shift themselves, moving along the same transmission methods as vox calls.
Use this Stratagem before you move the Vox-Shamblers in the Movement phase. Instead of moving this unit normally, it can make a Gellershift. Remove this unit from the battlefield, then, at the end of the Movement phase, set it up again anywhere that is more than 9" from any enemy models.
Gellerpox Infested Stratagem
The all-sseing creatures of the warp are always close to hand when the Gellerpox Infected mass for battle.
Use this Stratagem at the start of the enemy Psychic phase. Until the end of the phase, subtract 1 from Psychic tests taken for enemy Psykers whilst they are within 18" of Vulgrar Thrice-Cursed.
Gellerpox Infested Stratagem
Living, crawling scab-creatures have ben known to emerge out of Nightmare Hulks in order to patch themselves over their host's worst wounds.
Use this Stratagem at the end of your Movement phase. Choose a Hullbreakers model from your army. That model regains one lost wound.
Vulgrar Thrice-Cursed and his Gellerpox Infected join forces with other followers of Nurgle, including Typhus, Herald of the Plague God, and a Great Unclean One leading a Plague Legion. Such was the gathering of corrupted might that it could not help but draw the attention of the Imperium, forces of the Daemon-hunting Grey Knights Chapter sent to do battle.
With the fate of newly discovered star systems hanging in the balance, the Gellerpox Infected assail the Elucidian Starstriders.
dedicated to the Great Corruptor 