White Dwarf 119 (Nov 1989), p26 — Plaguebearers

Lesser Daemons of Nurgle (Aghkam'ghran'ngi)

Plaguebearers, Tainted Ones, Maggotkin, Rotbearers, Nurgle's Tallymen

Nurgle's gift to the world is Nurgle's Rot, a progressive disease combining the worse qualities of all the plagues that infest the living. It is a curse that is all the more horrible because it does not end with death, for it is a contagion of daemonic and not mortal kind, and it infests the soul as well as the body. When a mortal dies of Nurgle's Rot his soul is forfeit to Nurgle, and from that soul-stuff Nurgle fashions his Lesser Daemons the Plaguebearers. It is specifically to avoid this fate that many sufferers of the Rot undertake death quests, hoping for a clean and mortal end by this means.

The Plaguebearer carries the marks of Nurgle's Rot throughout eternity. Its skin is tinged with green or the colour of mud, running sores cover its whole body, pus and blood run continuously from its single eye, and unmentionable filth cakes its clawed hands and feet. It is the Plaguebearer's everlasting role to organise and herd the daemonic forces of Nurgle, to keep stock of the diseases, to allocate appropriate fates to each new victim, and to try and keep order amongst what is a naturally chaotic horde. Just as the living attempt in vain to impose order and meaning upon their lives, so the Plaguebearers' task is an impossible one. This is most obviously characterised by the constant counting as they try to calculate the ever changing needs and aims of their master. The Plaguebearer's voice is a deep, bass monotone. The multitude of Plaguebearers all counting at once produces a sound so sonorous and penetrating that unsecured objects will vibrate in an unholy harmony. The counting of the Plaguebearers achieves very little because it is impossible to count anything amidst such chaos; however, this in no way discourages their efforts. They are the daemonic embodiment of the need of the living to impose meaning upon a meaningless and uncaring world.

Plaguebearers

Alignment: Chaos (Nurgle).

Special Psychological Traits: Hates all Daemons and Champions of Tzeentch. Otherwise standard for Lesser Daemon.

Magic: A unit of Plaguebearers has 1 randomly determined level 1 spell for every Daemon in the unit. A normal unit of 7 will therefore have 7 spells.

Magic Items: A Plaguebearer may carry a randomly generated Chaos Weapon instead of its Plaguesword.

Special Rules: A Plaguebearer has 1 gore attack and 1 weapon attack with its Plaguesword. The Plaguebearer also receives an additional gore attack from its horn in the turn in which it charges into close combat. Horn attacks are resolved with a +2 to hit bonus.

Any living creature engaged in hand-to-hand combat against a Plaguebearer risks catching the dreaded disease Nurgle's Rot.

Plaguebearers are surrounded by a cloud of flies which buzz around them and their combat opponent. They do not affect the Plaguebearer, but they distract its foe by buzzing into his mouth, nostrils and eyes. A Plaguebearer's close combat opponent therefore suffers a -1 to hit modifier on all his attacks.

The Plaguebearer's toughened necrotic skin and mass of body-slime gives him a D6 saving throw of 6 against damage.

WFRP - the Plaguebearer has 1 armour point on all hit locations.

WFRP - the body-slime of a Plaguebearer is a deadly poison combining the effects of Manbane, Elfbane, Blackroot and Beastbane. Any opponent damaged by a Plaguebearer gore or Plaguesword attack will suffer from infected wounds.

Profile - Warhammer Fantasy Battle and WH40K

M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld	Int	Cl	WP	PV
4	5	5	4	3	1	6	2	10+3	10+3	10+3	10+3	85

Profile - Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay

M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Dex	Ld	Int	Cl	WP	Fel
4	50	42	4	3	5	60	2	89	89	89	89	89	01