Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (1st ed, 1986), p318 — Beasts of Nurgle

These monstrous creatures are approximately 5 feet tall, conical and without legs. Their lower bodies are covered with suckers and ooze a sickly, foul smelling goo. They propel themselves along a three-feet wide trail of self-generated slime. A bundle of immensely powerful, ghastly white suckers is used to attack their victims.

They attack with D6 suckers per round of combat; armour isnot taken into account when determining damage. As well as normal damage, each sucker injects a paralysing poison. On each successful hit, the victim must make a Poison test or be paralysed. The beast, having paralysed a victim, will do nothing during the following round while it wraps the catch securely with its lasso-like tail. When a quiet hour or two is available the Beast will secrete digestive acids and gradually dissolve the helpless captive. Only the first opponent is ensnared, the rest will be paralysed but not carried off.

Anyone who chooses to cross the Beast's trail of noxious slime without making a Leap across it, has a 5% chance of slipping and receiving 1 Wound from the powerful acids and a 5% chance of infection with the Rot. The gamesmaster should keep track of where the Beast has moved, and where the trail is left.

White Dwarf 119 (Nov 1989), p28 — Beasts

Creatures of Nurgle (Gu'nagh'ghyran)

The Beasts, Slime Hounds, Nurgle's Lapdogs

The Beast of Nurgle looks like some horrendous mish-mash of creatures. It has the soft and sticky body of a pale brown slug, webbed feet that flap uselessly, a face of writhing green tentacles, and a whiptail growth that bursts from its back and which wags constantly from side to side. The Beast is no less deadly than it is ugly, for its touch causes paralysis and its slimy secretions rot everything they cover. The very proximity of a Beast is sufficient to kill small animals and plants, and even larger creatures may age and decay noticeably in its presence. The Beast is the very embodiment of decay.

Despite its fearsome appearance and deadly attributes, the Beast is a friendly and effectionate creature behaving in all respects like an over-friendly and easily excited puppy. It craves attention, greeting newcomers by slobbering all over them with its slimy tentacles. Once they get thoroughly worked up they can rarely if ever contain themselves and leave little puddles of acrid slime behind them. All this attention is not a problem to other creatures of Nurgle, but tends to kill mortals fairly rapidly. Once the Beast's new friend stops moving, its interest quickly shifts to another target, and in this way the creature excitedly and lovingly kills and destroys just about everything it touches. As the Beast has only the most rudimentary sense of intelligence it never anticipates the result of its friendly behaviour, and registers only a slight sense of disappointment as each new playmate goes all still and boring.

In battle the Beasts bound all over the place in their eagerness to meet new friends, constantly rolling over and inviting the Plaguebearers to scratch their backs and pop their pustules. The Plaguebearers try to maintain order, encouraging the Beasts to move in certain directions or to attack or hold back as appropriate. As the administrators and leaders of the Nurgle horde, the Plaguebearers are seen by the Beasts as their masters and special friends. Beasts are intensely loyal creatures and always eager to please, so they usually attach themselves unshakeably to a particular Plaguebearer.

The Beasts

Alignment: Chaos (Nurgle).

Special Psychological Traits: Beasts fear troops bearing fire and attacks by flaming missiles. They are otherwise completely immune to psychology.

Special Rules: The Beast attacks models directly to its front with D6 sucker strikes. Suckers secrete a paralysing mucus which seeps through armour, so an opponent's armour saving throw is ignored. If a model is hit by one or more sucker attacks during combat a D6 is rolled for each hit; if the total score is greater than the target's Toughness the model is paralysed. Paralysed victims are immediately grasped by the Beast's single tentacle. Paralysed victims are carried in this manner so that they can be eaten once the fighting is over or playfully presented as an offering to a Plaguebearer. If a Beast is slain it will release its victims, but they remain paralysed for several hours. WFB and WH40K players should remove paralysed models as casualties during the game.

As the Beast moves along the ground it leaves a slimy trail like a slug or snail. Contact with this slime whilst it is fresh causes Nurgle's Rot. Any model directly behind and within 4" of the Beast is adjudged to have stepped in or touched the slime trail.

Any creature engaged in hand-to-hand combat with a Beast also risks catching Nurgle's Rot.

Realm of Chaos: The Lost and the Damned (1990), p20 — Beasts

Creatures of Nurgle (Gu'nagh'ghyran)

The Beasts, Slime Hounds, Nurgle's Lapdogs

The Beast of Nurgle looks like some horrendous mish-mash of creatures. It has the soft and sticky body of a pale brown slug, webbed feet that flap uselessly, a face of writhing green tentacles, and a whiptail growth that bursts from its back and which wags constantly from side to side. The Beast is no less deadly than it is ugly, for its touch causes paralysis and its slimy secretions rot everything they cover. The very proximity of a Beast is sufficient to kill small animals and plants, and even larger creatures may age and decay perceptibly in its presence. The Beast is the very embodiment of decay.

Despite its fearsome appearance and deadly attributes, the Beast is a friendly and effectionate creature behaving in all respects like an over-friendly and easily excited puppy. It craves attention, greeting newcomers by slobbering all over them with its slimy tentacles. Once they get thoroughly worked up they can rarely if ever contain themselves and leave little puddles of acrid slime behind them. All this attention is not a problem to other creatures of Nurgle, but tends to kill mortals fairly rapidly. Once the Beast's new friend stops moving, its interest quickly shifts to another target, and in this way the creature excitedly and lovingly kills and destroys just about everything it touches. As the Beast has only the most rudimentary sense of intelligence it never anticipates the result of its friendly behaviour, and registers only a slight sense of disappointment as each new playmate goes all still and boring.

In battle, the Beasts run backwards and forwards in their eagerness to meet new friends, constantly rolling over and inviting the Plaguebearers to scratch their backs and pop their pustules. The Plaguebearers try to maintain order, encouraging the Beasts to move in certain directions or to attack or hold back as appropriate. As the administrators and leaders of the Nurgle horde, the Plaguebearers are seen by the Beasts as their masters and special friends. Beasts are intensely loyal creatures and always eager to please, so they usually attach themselves unshakeably to one particular Plaguebearer.

Special Psychological Traits: Beasts fear troops bearing fire and attacks by flaming missiles. They are otherwise completely immune to psychology.

Special Rules: The Beast attacks models directly to its front with D6 sucker strikes. Suckers secrete a paralysing mucus which seeps through armour, so an opponent's armour save is ignored. If a model is hit by one or more sucker attacks during combat a D6 is rolled for each hit; if the total score is greater than the target's Toughness the model is paralysed. Paralysed victims are immediately grasped by the Beast's single tentacle. Paralysed victims are carried in this manner so that they can be eaten once the fighting is over or playfully presented as an offering to a Plaguebearer. If a Beast is slain it will release its victims, but they remain paralysed for several hours. WFB and WH40K players should remove paralysed models as casualties during the game.

As the Beast moves along the ground it leaves a slimy trail like a slug or snail. This slime trail is represented by six 1" diameter circular counters. As the creature moves, counters are placed behind it to indicate its path. Counters are removed from the end of the slime trail as they are needed, so the trail always indicates the path taken by the creature during its previous 6" of movement. Contact with this slime whilst it is fresh causes Nurgle's Rot. Any model which touches the counter trail is adjudged to have stepped in or touched the slime while it is still dangerous (see Nurgle's Rot for details of the test to be taken).

Any creature engaged in hand-to-hand combat with a Beast also risks catching Nurgle's Rot (see Nurgle's Rot).

Chaos Attributes: A Beast may be given up to 7 Chaos Attributes. It may be given fewer than 7, or even no attributes at all. The player decides the number and rolls each attribute randomly. A unit of Beasts may all have the same number and type of attribute.

White Dwarf 132 (Dec 1990), p21 — Beasts of Nurgle

Lesser Daemons

Beasts of Nurgle have a fearsome appearance: a slug-like body topped by a fringe of fat writhing tentacles which constantly ooze slimy secretions. This is belied by their apparently friendly and energetic character as they bound from oen group of newcomers to the next, excitedly licking at their new friends and leaving little puddles of caustic slime behind them. The touch of the Beast of Nurgle is deadly to mortals, though they do not appreciate this and only register vague disappointment as each new playmate quickly becomes still and boring.

Notes: none.

Daemonic Abilities

Beasts are immune to panic except when attacked by fire (not plasma, no lasers, not meltas - just fire) which causes an automatic panic test.

Renegades (1992), p64 — Beasts of Nurgle

Beasts of Nurgle have a fearsome appearance: a slug-like body topped by a fringe of fat, writhing tentacles constantly oozing slimy secretions. This is belied by their apparently friendly and energetic character as they bound from one group of newcomers to the next, excitedly licking at their new friends and leaving little puddles of caustic slime behind them. The touch of the Beast of Nurgle is deadly to mortals, though they do not appreciate this and only register vague disappointment as each new playmate quickly becomes still and boring.

Like Plaguebearers, Beasts of Nurgle are surrounded by a huge buzzing cloud of flies. Anything engaged in close combat with a Beast of Nurgle must take a morale test exactly as noted above in the rules for Plaguebearers.

Citadel Journal 12 (1995), p37 — Nurgle Palanquin

Beasts of Nurgle are gigantic slug like Daemons which leave a deadly slime behind them. The Beast's paralysing attacks leave victims stunned and when they reawaken they wish they were dead.

Codex: Chaos (1996), p58 — Beast of Nurgle

The head of this huge and slug-like daemon is fringed with fat tentacles from which oozes a paralysing slime. A creature overcome by this sticky slime will be collected after the battle and carried away to feed the broods of Nurgle.

Special Rules

All the special rules for daemons apply as described earlier. In particular, note that the Beast of Nurgle has a daemonic aura which gives it a saving throw of 4+.

Fear
The monstrous appearance of the Beast of Nurgle is as nothing compared to the stench of its foulness. The Beast causes fear as described in the Warhammer 40,000 rulebook.

Attacks
The Beast of Nurgle has D6 Attacks in hand-to-hand combat from its tentacles. This is determined every combat round. The slime automatically penetrates any armour that the victim has, so no armour saving throw is permitted for models wounded by the Beast.

Slime Trail
As the Beast moves it leaves a slime trail behind it. This makes it impossible for a large number of foes to attack the Beast without becoming caught up in the slime trail. To represent this factor, multiple attackers do not receive the usual bonuses when attacking the Beast: they do not receive the +1 extra Attack for each opponent after the first, nor the +1 close combat modifier for each opponent after the first.

Codex: Chaos Space Marines (1999), p28 — Chaos Gifts

Beast of Nurgle: The model is accompanied by a Beast of Nurgle. The characteristics for the Beast are shown below. The creature will attempt to remain within 2" of his master at all times. In effect the two form a special unit and must obey all the Unit Coherency rules.

Special Rules: The Beast of Nurgle has an Invulnerable save and D6 attacks in close combat. Roll to see how many attacks the Beast may make each time it fights a round of close combat.

Warhammer Armies: Beasts of Chaos (2003), p28 — Spawn of Chaos

A creature which is visited by too many gifts of the Dark Gods eventually succumbs to madness and mutation and becomes a Spawn of Chaos. Amongst the inhuman Beastmen, the line between heavy mutation and spawnhood is a fine one, and most warherds accept these bloated, writhing creatures into their ranks. The fate of a Spawn is to die, either on the field of battle by axe or sword, torn apart in the wilds by even more savage creatures, or literally ripped asunder by the Chaos energy that continues to course through its twisted body.

Some Spawn of Chaos are even more remarkable, possessing particular traits of the gods. The Beasts of Nurgle drip with slime that burns the ground, their lashing tentacles and rasping tongues infecting their foes with a single caress.

Codex: Chaos Daemons (2008), p38 — Beasts of Nurgle: Slithering Vessels of Contagion

The Beasts of Nurgle are the embodiment of their creator's boundless enthusiasm and revel in the joy of decy. Leaving a foul trail of abominable slime behind them, they slither excitedly across the battlefield, eager to lavish affection on others and receive their loving attention in return. They often accompany the Plaguebearers, gurgling mirthfully as they bounce back and forth to attract the attention of Father Nurgle's favourite sons, hoping for a pat on the back or a rub of the belly. The Beasts of Nurgle are incarnations of the Plague Lord's own bountiful excitement, in turn a manifestation of all mortals' desire for energetic life, social interaction affection and fertile endeavour.

This terrifying enthusiasm is made all the more nightmarish by the Beast of Nurgle's appearance. They are gigantic, slug-like creatures propelled forward with undulating ripples and clawed flippers. They have wide maws lined with rows of needle-like teeth, and bulging, excited eyes that drip with filthy lacrimation. Fronds of writhing tentacles sprout from their blob-like heads and along their back. Each is a waving tube of foulness that expels clouds of vomit-inducing gasses, clouds of flies and squirts of sour fluids that can seep through any armour and digest the tissues underneath.

It is these poisonous tentacles that a Beast of Nurgle wraps so affectionately around a newly-found playmate. Lavising slobbery, deadly kisses from these waving members, the beast overwhelms its target with its great bulk and with its paralysing ichor and poisonous fumes. Soon the victim succumbs to this deadly assault and falls silent and still, quickly decaying under the influence of Nurgle's poxes. The Beast of Nurgle, disappointed by its new friend's lack of spirit, will quickly grow bored of its game and will leap onwards, searching for a new subject upon which to lavish its lethal devotion.

Unit Type:

Infantry.

Special Rules:

Daemon, Slow & Purposeful, Feel No Pain.

Random Poisoned Attacks. In close combat each Beast has D6 Attacks - roll every time they are about to attack. These attacks are poisoned (wounding on 4+, as described in the Warhammer 40,000 rulebook).

Daemon Hunter (2011), p98 — Beasts of Nurgle

These foul, slug-like beasts trail slime behind them wherever they go. They often appear in packs alongside Plaguebearers, and their needle-like teeth and massive jaws are as sharp and dangerous as Plagueswords. Excited by the decay and destruction that follows in their wake, they rush at targets gleefully, playing with them like a dog might. Their "playful" attacks, however, are no less deadly for their casual appearance.

Move: 1/2/4/8

Wounds: 30

Traits: Daemonic (TB 10), Fear 2, From Beyond, Improved Natural Weapon, Natural Weapon (Teeth), Size (Hulking), Warp Instability.

Armour: None.

Weapons: Teeth (1d10+5 R, Toxic); A victim who suffers damage from a Beast of Nurgle's bite must pass a Toughness Test or contract a virulent disease (see Diseases and Infections Sidebar on page 99).

Threat Rating: Malleus Majoris.

The Koronus Bestiary (2012), p118 — Beast of Nurgle

The essence of mindless decay and horrid rot given flesh, Beasts of Nurgle exemplify the Plaguelord's endless enthusiasm and excitement for forces of life and death. Thus, a Beast delights in discovering new things and making (to its very simple mind) new friends. When brought into real space they act almost akin to a curious and inquisitive pet, investigating anything and everything in sight, and spreading illness and rot wherever they go.

Immense slug-like monstrosities, Beasts of Nurgle crawl across the ground on their bellies, weakly propelled by clawed flippers, leaving a layer of stinking slime in their wake. While slow, the Beast is implacable in its advance, undeterred by all but the most fearsome of weapons, as relentless as the decay it embodies. Each is a nightmarish conglomeration of parts, with a lengthy neck holding a wide-eyed face of almost blissful idiocy. The gaping tooth-filled mouth houses a lolling tongue dripping with putrid saliva. Clusters of writhing tubes sprout from the Beast's neck and back, each one spewing forth swarms of buzzing flies, clouds of vomit-inducing gases, flesh-eating fluids capable of finding gaps in even the most secure of armour, or other foul gifts.

Unlike most daemons, a Beast kills not with rending claws and ripping teeth, but with a strange form of kindness. Victims are caressed, petted, and stroked with the daemon's multiple tentacles, while the long tongue delivers slobbery and slimy licks. In very short order, the victim is sickened, infected, dissolved, and then crushed, ground under the Beast's vast bulk. The Beast, for its part, feels a touch of sadness at the inability of its now-dead friend to join in on the merriment, but quickly forgets about him as something (or someone) new attracts its attention.

A prime example of the destructive power of a Beast of Nurgle can be found on the agriworld of Gabali III in Winterscale's Realm. There the province of Gevaudan suffered hundreds of casualties as a Beast wandered about the farm fields, destroying crops, herd animals, and buildings. Seemingly unstoppable, it took the combined efforts of Enforcers and local planetary militia units to finally destroy the daemon. Even after death, however, its presence lingered, as crops grew sickly and many fields had to be torched to the bedrock to remove the diseased corruption.

Movement: 2/4/6/12

Wounds: 25

Armour: None.

Total TB: 12

Skills: Awareness (Per), Climb (S).

Talents: None.

Traits: Crawler, Daemonic (TB 12), Daemonic Presence†, Dark Sight, Fear (3), From Beyond, Improved Natural Weapon, Regeneration, Size (Enormous), Spewing Tentacles††, Sturdy, Trail Of Slime†††, Warp Instability.

†Daemonic Presence: Living things with 20 metres of a Beast feel ill and nauseous. Plants wither, turn black, and die. All creatures take a -10 penalty to Willpower Tests.

††Spewing Tentacles: The mass of tentacles and tubes on a Beast's back can emit different substances each Round. The substances have a range of 10 metres and the Beast must succeed on a Ballistic Skill Test to hit its target. The options are:

• Clouds Of Flies: Effects equal to a smoke grenade for 1d5 Rounds.
• Foul Gases: All targets within 10 metres of the Beast must make a Difficult (-10) Toughness Test or become Stunned for 1d5 Rounds.
• Noxious Fluids: The target may Dodge the jet of fluid, but cannot Parry it. Targets struck must make a Difficult (-10) Toughness Test or take 1d10 I points of Damage, ignoring Armour Points.

†††Trail of Slime: Creatures who come in contact with the Beast's slimy trail must make a Difficult (-10) Toughness Test or any current wounds become infected as they had been caused by a Toxic weapon.

Weapons: Claws, Teeth (1d10+5 R; Pen 0; Toxic).

Codex: Chaos Daemons (2013), p48 — Beasts of Nurgle

Slithering Vessels of Contagion

The creatures known as Beasts of Nurgle are so ugly that a mere glimpse of their diseased forms is enough to make a mortal vomit. However, it is an appearance that is totally at odds with their friendly and energetic demeanour. This is because Beasts of Nurgle are incarnations of the Plague Lord's own bountiful exuberance, which is in turn a manifestation of all mortals' desire for vigorous life, social interaction, affection and fertile endeavour.

In character, Beasts of Nurgle are much like energetic, attention-starved puppies. They often accompany Nurgle's Legions into battle, fly-blown tongues lolling out of putrid mouths as they bounce back and forth to attract the attention of Grandfather Nurgle's favourite sons, hoping for a pat on the back, a rub of the belly or some other scrap of attention. When happy, Beasts of Nurgle wag their slug-like tails back and forth. When over-excited (which is most of the time) they leave little puddles of caustic slime behind them. Beasts of Nurgle are affectionate creatures that love nothing more than to bound up to potential new playmates and slobber all over them. Those who foolishly run away from the Beasts of Nurgle in an attempt to escape only serve in rousing the creatures' instinctive enthusiasm, for they simply cannot resist a good game of chase, bounding after their panicked friends with phlegm-choked barks of excitement.

Unbeknownst to the cheerful but dim-witted Daemons, their bodies are dripping with a whole host of virulent plagues and contagions. Even the proximity of a Beast of Nurgle is enough to spell death for small animals and plants. The mere touch of a such a creature is quickly fatal to most mortals, causing aggressive diseases to run rampant through their bodies at an accelerated pace. Soon the victim falls silent and still, already decaying under the malign influence of Nurgle's infections.

The Beasts of Nurgle only register a fleeting sense of disappointment at their new friend's lack of spirit, and will quickly grow bored of their game, eagerly searching for new playmates upon which to lavish their lethal devotion. More gruesome still are those times when the simple-minded Beasts of Nurgle mistake their victim's convulsive throes for a new game - eager to join in the fun, they quickly drop to the ground to roll around as well, crushing their poor friends' ravaged bodies to a pulp in the process. When the Beasts of Nurgle finally right themselves, they find that their playmates have mysteriously disappeared from sight. Assuming that they've been abandoned, they set about a pathetic, heartfelt whimpering - that is until they are distracted by the pool of gruesome fluids that has inexplicably appeared about them, which they set to lapping up with relish.

Unit Type: Beast.

Special Rules: Daemon of Nurgle (pg 26), Daemonic Instability (pg 26), Deep Strike, It Will Not Die, Poisoned (4+), Very Bulky.

Attention Seeker: At the end of any enemy Charge sub-phase in which one or more of your units has been the target of a successful enemy charge, choose a friendly unengaged unit composed entirely of Beasts of Nurgle that is within 12" of at least one enemy unit that has successfully completed a charge this phase. The Beasts of Nurgle unit must immediately declare and resolve a charge against that enemy unit, even though it's the enemy Charge sub-phase!

Note that this special counter-charge can only be done in the enemy Charge sub-phase. If the Beasts of Nurgle unit is within 12" of two or more enemy units that have successfully completed a charge this turn, you may choose which of these units the Beasts of Nurgle attempt to charge (you may not declare a multiple charge). In either event, next choose another friendly unit entirely composed of Beasts of Nurgle (if there is one) and repeat the process.

Slime Trail: A unit that successfully charges one or more models with this special rule is always treated as having made a disordered charge.

The Tome of Decay (2014), p15 — Servants of the Great Paradox

Beasts

Nurgle's Lapdogs, Slime Hounds, Bombastic Contagions

Each of Nurgle's daemonic minions takes delight in doing its part to bring to fruition the Plaguefather's grand vision for the collapse and rebirth of the universe. There is much to do, from counting the death toll of each newly unleashed plague, to filling the pus pits with fresh rot. The effort is ceaseless, but not without joy. As the Daemons go about their work, they will sometimes be interrupted by an unexpected, but always appreciated, visit from one of the Lord of Decay's most wonderful creations - a Beast of Nurgle. Propelled by stocky legs and a bile-coated, slithering tail, these enthusiastic Slime Hounds bound about the Garden, constantly seeking playmates. Their putrescent tongues wrap around Plaguebearers, drawing them toward the Beast's noxious maw. They crash headlong into meticulously organised piles of limbs, heads, and other rotted body parts, causing the Tallymen to have to begin their counts anew. Nothing embodies the joyful nature of Chaos in quite the same way as a Beast of Nurgle. Though they undo some work that has been done, not one Plaguebearer, Great Unclean One, or Nurgling ever complains, for these Beasts are the physical realisation of their God's will to bring energy, vitality, and joviality to the universe. They remind the other minions why it is they serve their master.

This boundless enthusiasm for play and unquenchable thirst for attention also serves the Lord of Decay when his forces march to conflict. A Beast of Nurgle could go thousands of years never knowing the greater world outside of the Garden. When taken to the mortal realm and sent toward Nurgle's enemies, the excitement a Beast of Nurgle feels is impossible to restrain. They lunge into the ranks of the enemy, trying to find new friends and different playmates. Armour rots instantly upon contact with the caustic goo that coats the Beasts. Bones and weapons shatter under their bulk as they roll around on top of their newfound companions. When the unfortunate victims cease moving, the Beast of Nurgle pauses briefly, feeling a touch of sadness that his friend will not play anymore, before setting off to find someone new.

The Tome of Decay (2014), p114 — Mire

Beast of Nurgle

These bulks of festering Daemon-flesh are barely more intelligent than Chaos Spawn, but equally as playful as their diminutive cousins. They ooze across the battlefield, gleefully wrestling the nearest opponent; once they have succumbed to affliction or been crushed to death, the Beast of Nurgle moves to the nearest target to resume its ghastly sport.

Movement: 2/4/6/12

Wounds: 25

Armour: None

Total TB: 12

Skills: Athletics (S), Awareness (Per).

Talents: None.

Traits: Crawler, Daemonic (3), Dark Sight, Deadly Natural Weapons, Fear (3), From Beyond, Natural Weapons, Regeneration, Size (6), Spewing Tentacles†, Sturdy, Toxic (2), Trail of Slime††, Unnatural Toughness (5), Warp Instability.

Weapons: Tentacles (Melee; 1d10+5 R; Pen 0; Toxic [2]).

Daemonic Presence: All enemies within 20 metres of a Beast of Nurgle suffer a -10 penalty to Willpower Tests.

†Spewing Tentacles: Beasts of Nurgle bear a mass of tentacles on their backs. As a Full Action, a Beast of Nurgle can make a Ballistic Skill Test to unleash one of the following effects:

• Clouds of Flies: The Beast of Nurgle unleashes a cloud of biting flies. This has the Smoke (7) Quality (see page 151 of the Black Crusade Core Rulebook), centred on the Beast.
• Foul Gases: Incredibly noxious fumes spew forth from the Beast of Nurgle. Each living creature within 10 metres of a Beast of Nurgle must make Difficult (-10) Toughness Test be Stunned for 1d5 Rounds.
• Noxious Fluids: The Beast of Nurgle sprays a jet of fluid that eats through anything it strikes. One target within 10 metres must make a Difficult (-10) Toughness Test or suffer a single hit that inflicts 1d10 Impact Damage (ignoring armour).

††Trail of Slime: Beasts of Nurgle leave a wake of disgusting slime wherever they walk. Any character who walks through an area so defiled must make a Difficult (-10) Toughness Test or suffer 1d10 Impact Damage (ignoring armour and Toughness Bonus) from the carcinogens in the rotting path.

Enemies Beyond (2016), p118 — Bringers of Decay: The Pantheon of Nurgle

Beast of Nurgle

As Grandfather Nurgle's other children brew their poxes, count each other's boils, and tend to the suffering of festering souls, his Beasts crash about playfully, their massive, tentacled frames leaving trails of slime and upturned soil behind them. Though their reckless bounding creates havoc, none mind it, for the enthusiasm and glee the Beasts display reminds all of Nurgle's Daemons that theirs is a joyful burden.

While many Beasts spend their entire existence playing only in the great Garden, those who enjoy their master's special favour may be allowed to venture in the mortal realm. Here they eagerly crash into new playmates, rotting even the strongest steel in seconds as their poisoned tongues burn flesh. As they latch on to their newfound companions, their tentacles and sheer bulk shatter bones and rip limbs from sockets. Inevitably, their unfortunate victims stop moving. When this happens, the Beasts may whimper or sniff for a moment, but soon spot a bit of motion nearby and shuffle off to greet their new friends. This can result in the befoulment of entire cities, as was seen when a single Beast began the infamous Pustulance of Hive Kallin.

Wounds: 25

Armour: Head 13, Arms 14, Body 16, Legs 14

Movement: 4/8/12/24

Threat: 13

Claws: Class Melee, Rng -, RoF -, Dmg 1d10+5^SB (R), Pen 0, Clip -, Rld -, Wt -, Avl -, Toxic (3)

Tentacles: Class Melee, Rng 3m, RoF -, Dmg 1d10+10^5+SB (I), Pen 0, Clip -, Rld -, Wt -, Avl -, Corrosive, Flexible, Toxic (2)

Skills: Athletics (S), Awareness (Per)

Talents: Thunder Charge

Traits: Baneful Presence (10), Crawler, Daemonic (3), Dark-sight, Fear (2), From Beyond, Nauseating, Regeneration (2), Size (6), Spewing Tentacles†, Sturdy, Toxic (2), Trail of Slime††, Unnatural Toughness (3), Unnatural Willpower (2), Warp Instability

† Spewing Tentacles: As a Full Action, a Beast of Nurgle can unleash one of the following effects from its tentacles:

• Clouds of Flies: The Daemon unleashes a mass of flies, which create a cloud centred on its location with the Smoke (3) quality lasting 1d5 rounds.
• Foul Gases: Noxious fumes spew forth from the Daemon; each character without the Daemonic or Machine trait who is within 10 metres of the Beast must make a Challenging (+0) Toughness test or be Stunned for 1d5 Rounds.

†† Trail of Slime: Beasts of Nurgle leave a wake of disgusting slime wherever they crawl. Any character who walks through an area so defiled must make a Difficult (-10) Toughness test or suffer 1d10 Impact damage (ignoring armour and Toughness bonus) from the diseases in the rotting path.

Codex: Chaos Daemons (2016), p122 — Rotswarm

Bounding and buzzing, flopping and flapping, the bestial Daemons of Nurgle lurch awkwardly to war. They are herded by a Herald of Nurgle bearing the dubious title of Mouldsire of the Rotswarm, whose task is far from an enviable one. While they can impale a man with every proboscis stab, Plague Drones are spiteful, wilful Daemons that wish only to hurt other living things. The Beasts of Nurgle are all but impossible to herd, being lolloping simpletons whose joy at the sight of new playmates deafens them to even the most desperately bellowed commands. Despite these challenges, when the Mouldsire succeeds in herding the Rotswarm into the enemy's ranks the Daemons become a foul wall of corrosive slime and crushing bodies that swiftly reduces its victims to bubbling corpse-sludge.

Formation

• 1 Herald of Nurgle
• 7 units chosen in any combination from the following list:
  • Plague Drones of Nurgle
  • Beasts of Nurgle

Restrictions: None.

Special Rules

Harbinger of Nurgle: If the Herald of Nurgle from this Formation is a Lesser Locus of Virulence, Greater Locus of Fecundity or an Exalted Locus of Contagion, the special rules associated with that locus affect all units from this Formation that are within 12" of him. If such a unit is also affected by another locus, they will receive both benefits.

Corrosive Slime: All units in a Rotswarm have the Hammer of Wrath special rule, and these attacks have the Poisoned (4+) special rule.

Dubious Command: At the start of each of the controlling player's Assault phases, the Herald of Nurgle from a Rotswarm can attempt to direct a single unit from his Formation that is within 12" of him. To do so, he must take a Leadership test. If the test is passed, the directed unit can re-roll failed charge rolls and all models in the unit can make 3 additional Attacks until the end of the turn; if the test is failed, the directed unit must attempt to charge the nearest enemy unit in this Charge subphase, but is otherwise unaffected.

Codex Supplement: Traitor Legions (2016), p117 — Chaos Artefacts of the Death Guard

Plaguebringer — 35 Points

The hooked blade Plaguebringer once bore the souls of a trio of Beasts of Nurgle. Once the sword sprayed the virulent, infected spittle of these overexcitable Daemons with every swing. However, those entities were trapped so long in the rusted artefact's confines that their lethally potent enthusiasm has drained away, replaced with something even worse. After a long period of sulking, the blade's inhabitants became something else entirely; it now contains the malignant souls of three Rot Flies that take every chance to inflict a terrible wasting disease on those around them.

Replaces one of the bearer's Melee weapons.

*See Codex: Chaos Space Marines.

Index: Chaos (2017), p67 — Daemon Hierarchy

Index: Chaos (2017), p88 — Daemons of Nurgle

The sky darkens with noxious clouds and the land sickens and withers as the Daemons of Nurgle lumber into battle. Unnatural plagues billow about them. Slime and toxins drip from their blades and claws. Warped bells toll and bloated flies buzz, filling the air with a droning din as the hideous slaughter begins...

Nurgle's Daemons spill into realspace in thronging masses, surrounded by swirling clouds of bloated plague flies. The endless droning of these insects provides a fitting accompaniment to the constant muttering of thousands of Plaguebearers, as they attempt to catalogue the full breadth of the Lord of Decay's manifold concoctions. Unhurried and uncaring of the enemy fire that splatters off their corpulent forms, they march towards the foe with implacable menace. Cackling Nurglings caper about the ankles of their larger fellows - once battle is joined these diminutive Daemons spill over the enemy in an irrepressible tide, giggling and chortling to each other as they bite and scratch at mortal flesh, before dribbling their infectious toxins into open wounds. Grossly malformed creatures covered in caustic slime and rippling with virulent poxes, Beasts of Nurgle bound playfully alongside the plague-ridden Tallybands, while Plague Drones wheel overhead, mounted upon their monstrous Rot Flies. In the midst of this poxridden tide lumbers the colossal, bloated bulk of a Great Unclean One, its flyblown, pus-dripping body an embodiment of the Plague God's fearsome constitution. The slug-like tongue of this Greater Daemon lolls from its gaping maw as it chortles in delight, urging its children onwards to spread Nurgle's bountiful maladies amongst the unenlightened masses.

The Plague God

[...]

A Nurgle Daemon infestation often begins with a single, luckless victim becoming infected with a mysterious ailment. The exact horrors wrought upon the bearer's body differ depending on the strain that was contracted, but in all cases the results are as excruciating as they are deadly. Every cough and pus-choked scream sends clouds of Daemon-spores swirling into the air. With horrifying speed the disease begins to spread amongst the populace, mutating and evolving into ever more horrific strains as it does so. Before long the streets are piled high with swollen corpses, and clouds of flies blot out the sun. It is then that the bells begin to toll, and the Tallybands of Nurgle erupt from the gasblown carcasses of the dead. Those ragged survivors still capable of bearing arms against these putrid invaders are swiftly overcome, and the least fortunate of all are taken alive for experimentation. Gleeful Nurglings chortle and applaud as these fresh subjects are dunked into foetid pools of caustic slime, or hurled the slavering maws of slime-covered beasts.

Codex: Chaos Daemons (2018), p60 — Beasts of Nurgle

Slithering Vessels of Contagion, Slime Hounds

The creatures known as Beasts of Nurgle are so ugly that a mere glimpse of their diseased forms is enough to make a mortal vomit. However, it is an appearance that is totally at odds with their friendly and energetic demeanour. This is because Beasts of Nurgle are incarnations of the Plague Lord's own bountiful exuberance, which is in turn a manifestation of all mortals' desire for vigorous life, social interaction, affection and fertile endeavour.

In character, Beasts of Nurgle are much like energetic, attention-starved puppies. They often accompany Nurgle's Legions into battle, flyblown tongues lolling out of putrid mouths as they bounce back and forth to attract the attention of Grandfather Nurgle's favourite sons, hoping for a pat on the back, a rub of the belly or some other scrap of attention. When happy, Beasts of Nurgle wag their slug-like tails back and forth. When over-excited (which is most of the time) they leave little puddles of caustic slime behind them. Beasts of Nurgle are affectionate creatures that love nothing more than to bound up to potential new playmates and slobber all over them. Those who foolishly run away from the Beasts of Nurgle in an attempt to escape only serve in rousing the creatures' instinctive enthusiasm, for they simply cannot resist a good game of chase, bounding after their panicked friends with phlegm-choked barks of excitement.

Unbeknownst to the cheerful but dim-witted Daemons, their bodies are dripping with a whole host of virulent plagues and contagions. Even the proximity of a Beast of Nurgle is enough to spell death for small animals and plants. The mere touch of a such a creature is quickly fatal to most mortals, causing aggressive diseases to run rampant through their bodies at an accelerated pace. Soon the victim falls silent and still, already decaying under the malign influence of Nurgle's infections.

The Beasts of Nurgle only register a fleeting sense of disappointment at their new friend's lack of spirit, and will quickly grow bored of their game, eagerly searching for new playmates upon which to lavish their lethal devotion. More gruesome still are those times when the simple-minded Beasts of Nurgle mistake their victim's convulsive throes for a new game - eager to join in the fun, they quickly drop to the ground to roll around as well, crushing their poor friends' ravaged bodies to a pulp in the process. When the Beasts of Nurgle finally right themselves, they find that their playmates have mysteriously disappeared from sight. Assuming that they've been abandoned, they set about a pathetic, heartfelt whimpering - that is until they are distracted by the pool of gruesome fluids that has inexplicably appeared about them, which they set to lapping up with relish.

'By the time ye bones begin to rot,
Gribbleworms are still there,
But you are not...'

— Nonsense rhyme of Gryst, the ill-fated Sloppity Bilepiper