White Dwarf 121 (Jan 1990), p17 — The Palanquin of Nurgle

Great Unclean Ones are Daemons with a sense of the dramatic. They enjoy the decorative trappings of power almost as much as they enjoy power itself. The Palanquin of Nurgle is an ornate and mobile throne that allows the Great Unclean One to be carried aloft by a tide of surging Nurglings. The tiny creatures propel the Palanquin wherever their master wishes. From his elevated position the Greater Daemon is able to speak to his slaves, or strike at his foes, confident that he will remain the centre of attention at all times. The Palanquin itself is decorated with mouldered finery, while the Great Daemon rider sits casually upon a mound of decaying cushions. Palanquins may also be gifted to Champions and Plaguebearers.

Cloud of Flies

The Palanquin is surrounded by a cloud of flies which buzz and swarm around it. If the Palanquin is carried into hand-to-hand fighting the cloud of flies will buzz into the eyes and ears of all engaged enemy models, reducing their D6 to hit roll by -1. If the rider is a Plaguebearer, then his own cloud of flies merges with that of the Palanquin, but the combined effect is still to reduce the D6 to hit roll by -1.

The cloud of flies has another effect, for each insect embodies a tiny fraction of protective magic. The cloud thus represents a onsiderable protective spell. The palanquin and its rider cannot be affected by a magical spell of any kind. Both are affected normally by a hand-to-hand combat blow struck by a magical weapon, but not by spells cast by such a weapon.

Movement and Combat

During a turn, the Palanquin moves up to 6" and can charge into combat just like any normal model, doubling its maximum movement to 12" as it does so. The rider can fight from the Palanquin and strike the enemy in any direction, whether they lie to the front, sides or rear. The Nurgling bearers also fight in hand-to-hand combat, automatically causing D6 hits with a strength of 3. The Nurgling bearers cannot be struck as such, indeed their very numbers would make this a futile business, but the Palanquin can be attacked. The attacker has the choice of striking blows or aiming missiles at either the rider or the Palanquin. Blows against the Palanquin hit automatically. The Palanquin has a toughness of 5, and once it has sustained 3 wounds it is completely destroyed, dissolving into an unpleasant slippery mass along with its attendant Nurgling bearers.

Sticky Pools

As the Nurgling bearers move across the battlefield, small pools of something unpleasant and sticky form behind the Palanquin. These pools of filth contains pus, excrement, urine and other foul substances which are produced by the Nurglings. The sheer quantity of Nurgling bearers makes these pools very dangerous! Roll a D6 when the Palanquin moves, and on the roll of 6 the Nurglings have produced a sticky pool as described. A sticky pool is represented on the games table by a card circle 1" in diameter. These pools remain in place for the remainder of the game. Any model moving over a sticky pool may be unfortunate enough to catch Nurgle's Rot as described already under Nurgle's Rot.