It’s an exciting time to be a devotee of Morathi-Khaine. Even as the living goddess sends her prized Shadeborn to uncover the dark mysteries of the Nethermaze, her forces across the Mortal Realms are feeling the swell of her burgeoning power thanks to the upcoming Battletome: Daughters of Khaine.
Sharpen your sacrificial knives and break out the bandages – the holy rites of bloodletting are about to get even bloodier.
For the uninitiated, Blood Rites are an allegiance ability unique to the Daughters of Khaine, representing the sacred, sadistic, and frankly unsanitary ceremonies performed by these murderous aelves before each battle. As the fighting intensifies and the battlefield is washed with blood, Khaine’s blessings grow stronger – providing a new, cumulative bonus with each passing battle round.
Most of these rites previously granted the ability to re-roll dice – now, they instead add 1 to various rolls. Simpler and more powerful – what’s not to love?
Quickening Bloodlust adds 1 to run rolls from the very first round, while Headlong Fury adds 1 to charge rolls starting from round two. In concert, these give your Daughters the speed to surge into an early lead – whether you’re rushing Doomfire Warlocks into the fray or soaring your Khinerai toward objectives.
As the game heats up and enemy blood flows, however, the Rites become ever-more soaked with gore.
As we head into the meat-and-potatoes* of the game, your abilities focus more on hacking and slashing – just in time for a congregation of Witch Aelves and Scáthborn to fall on their foes in a revelry of arterial spray. Come the third battle round, Zealot’s Rage adds 1 to hit rolls in melee, followed by Slaughterer’s Strength doing the same for wound rolls in a display of truly ecstatic strength.
Of course, you can’t combine multiple hit or wound roll modifiers above +1, but the new High Gladiatrix gets around that. Her Paragon of Slaughter ability changes the To Wound characteristic of nearby gladiators to a 3+, so you can still stack it with Slaughterer’s Strength on your Sisters of Slaughter!**
The buffet of blessings comes to a climax at round five, when Unquenchable Fervour boosts the ward of 6+ enjoyed by all Daughters of Khaine to a fanatical 5+. This extra longevity is great for claiming victory at the end of a long and bloody struggle – at this point, both sides may be haemorrhaging units in an effort to claim their objectives once and for all.
The new battletome includes a few ways to accelerate the blessings of the Bloody-Handed God. Returning Khainites may recognise some – such as Daughters of the First Temple, the subfaction ability that allows Hagg Nar*** armies to pick up new abilities a round early. Others are brand new – the Bloodwrack Medusa has gifts in store for her Melusai sisters…
Battletome: Daughters of Khaine will be available to pre-order very soon. In the meantime, subscribe to our newsletter for more rules previews in the lead-up to its release – and if you’re ready to show Morathi your devotion even sooner, you can lend your aid to her cause in Warhammer Underworlds this weekend by commanding her fearsome Shadeborn through the Nethermaze.
* Or in the Cult of Khaine’s case, extra-rare steak, hold the potatoes.
** You might be noticing a slaughter-y theme, here.
*** As their ability’s name suggests, Hagg Nar was the first of Morathi’s temple sites – and it’s home sweet home for Morgwaeth’s Blade-coven.