The Mortal Realms are home to creatures great and small, and among the biggest of all are the gargants. Those who call themselves the Sons of Behemat, paying homage to their godbeast ancestor, are natural disasters on legs who terrorise the punier inhabitants of the realms, whether they’re the Sigmarite faithful or the Darkoath tribes.Gargants have been stomping around since the Age of Myth, sleeping, eating, belching, and tussling – typically with other gargants, for they see the smaller races as little more than pipsqueaks. Size is an almost holy quality to the Sons of Behemat, so little ‘uns are seldom treated as more than playthings to poke, prod, and squish – revelling in the funny little noises they make – or as snacks.
Despite their physical stature and immense strength, gargants do not have easy lives. Hated by many, exposed to the elements, and almost always hungry, lone gargants – or tribes, known as “stomps” – trace long-established paths that take them through some of the most dismal places in the realms. The promise of battle sparks rare joy, for conflict is a chance to demonstrate their strength and superiority over the teeming upstarts who swarm around them – and enjoy some well-earned loot.
Overview
Despite their oafish reputation, the Sons of Behemat maintain a deep tradition of storytelling, their tribal matriarchs weaving a sprawling and frequently-embellished oral mythos that stretches back to before the arrival of Sigmar. Central to many of their tales is the godbeast Behemat, son of Ymnog, dubbed the Father of Gargants.
Behemat, also known as the World Titan, had a legendary friendly rivalry with the twin-headed god Gorkamorka, the two challenging each other to perform ridiculous feats like drinking entire oceans and flattening mountain ranges. Chafing at the bitter constraints of Sigmar’s pantheon, Gorkamorka came up with a true challenge for Behemat – inviting him to do what he could not, and defeat Sigmar in combat.
In a battle that rocked Ghyran to its foundations, Behemat and the God-King battled until a crushing hammerblow finally knocked out the World Titan. As he slipped from consciousness, it is said that he vomited the first of his spawn, mirroring his own escape from his father’s gut. As Behemat slumbered, gargantkind found their own stomping grounds across the Mortal Realms, even forming a megalithic skybound nation in Ghyran’s Harmonis Veldt.
Archaon had other plans. The Age of Chaos laid low any remnants of gargant civilisation, and even as Sigmar’s Tempest broke, the Everchosen concocted a plot to awaken Behemat, driven mad by sorcery, and force him to smash down the Gates of Azyr. Just as he began to rouse from his slumber, Behemat was slain by the Celestant-Prime – a loss sensed, it is claimed, by every living gargant.
In the wake of Behemat’s demise, a change has swept gargantkind. Some fell into a deep melancholy, while others were whipped into a great fury. Larger stomps gathered than ever before, and some gargants became suffused with primal power, growing into mighty Mega-Gargants who towered over even their kin. A theory began to form within the tribes – as Behemat had supplanted Ymnog, so too could one gargant grow to such a size that they would overtake Behemat. There must always be a World Titan – and so the Sons of Behemat set about the realms, to manifest this prophecy by stomping any challengers flat.
Whether employed by mercenaries, defending their own territory, or simply showing off their might, the sight of a stomp of gargants inspires fear in all but the most foolhardy. They carry a deep enmity for the edifices of civilisation, for they are the Sons of Behemat, and everything must crumble before their almighty strength.
Battle Traits
The Sons of Behemat come with a selection of powerful RAMPAGE abilities that use their size to great effect – each of your towering titans can use one of these abilities per turn. A Gargant Charge unleashes all the terrible momentum of a high-speed gargant, inflicting mortal damage on an unwary target.
Once in combat, the Sons of Behemat have even more ways to RAMPAGE. They can Jump Up and Down on smaller, squishier enemies, suplex a giant-sized enemy with a Colossal Slam, or utter an Earthshaking Roar that bursts eardrums and deafens the foe to commands. Even in death, they are an epicentre of destruction – a falling gargant will crush smaller creatures nearby, flattening foes even as they yell Timberrrrr!
Battle Formations
Each gargant stomp has its own way of life, defined by the obsessions of its Big Heel. They bring these predilections to battle – those who form a Taker Tribe are hoarders, muttering More Stuff For Me Collection as they shove yet another priceless magical artefact into their loot sacks.
Three other battle formations are included in the Faction Pack – Breaker tribes whose besieging tactics let them shield each other from enemy attacks, Stomper tribes who rejoice in smearing whole armies underfoot, and Boss tribes that rely on bellowing at a rabble of Footslogga underlings.
Arcana and Invocations Shiny Stuff We Found
Most Sons of Behemat don’t have the wherewithal to go about chanting prayers or casting spells, but they do have a keen eye for objects imbued with magical power. Each of these Titanic Trophies is treasured, often as much as the Extra-Calloused Feet of a particularly stompy gargant.
Other such tchotchkes include the Glowy Shield of Protectiness, which reflects damage back on those who strike it, the Amberbone Totem infused with the bestial hunting speed of Ghur, and the Glowy Lantern, which is good for summoning living magic from one of the universal manifestation lores.
Unit Focus
King Broddwas one of the few Mega-Gargants to witness the legendary godbeast Behemat reawaken during the Age of Myth, and was there to see him die. Since then, the prophet of the World Titan has been on a mission of revenge against the followers of the God-King.
He wields the Power of Behemat, and can bless his allies with one of three powers on a chanting roll of 5, activating two effects at once if he builds up to 10. The Might of the Earth can heal friendly units, while calls to Shatter the Mountains and Pummel All to Dust provoke the Sons of Behemat to haste and violence.Brodd is a proud Son of Behemat, and inherits his father’s titanic vitality. This ability is shared by all Mega-Gargants, and makes it impossible to simply slay them outright – foes will have to climb that mountain of Health, one damage point at a time.
Gatebreaker Mega-Gargants are the most sinister of all of Behemat’s descendants, filled with an insatiable loathing for the defiant towers and teeming cities raised by followers of Sigmar. With a swing of their fortcrusha flail, these cowled colossi can level almost any structure, which they Smash Down with righteous zeal.
Should they find themselves particularly incensed, Gatebreakers may attempt to annihilate the inconvenience with one single Pulverising Strike. Instead of fighting normally, they roll a dice with a chance to deal 4D6 mortal damage to their target.
In contrast to the ill-tempered Gatebreakers, Warstomper Mega-Gargants thrive in the thrill and passion of battle, throwing themselves upon massed ranks with vicious aplomb. They swing their Titanic Boulderclub with such force that entire units are sent flying – veteran Warstompers possess an inkling of tactical nous, and understand the principle of quantity over quality, when it comes to smashing.
Their strategic abilities extend to understanding that sometimes those puny ones over there need dealing with at the same time as the little folk swarming their feet. A swiftly Hurled Body from the current brawl is an efficient answer to this combat conundrum.
Though they have yet to reach the awe-inspiring size of Mega-Gargants, Mancrusher Gargants are still formidable opponents, towering over the puny types of the realms.
Every bit as enthusiastic as their much larger kin, these Footsloggas are goaded with bellowing yells of Keep Up! to ensure they match pace with their long-legged allies, allowing them to run and charge in the same turn while near a MEGA-GARGANT.
The Word from the Studio
Jimbo: "Mega-Gargants are big, and it therefore makes sense that their Faction Pack has lots of abilities with big effects! Their battle traits provide a smorgasbord of devastating RAMPAGE abilities that they can inflict upon their enemies after lumbering into combat.
“Each Mega-Gargant is also designed for a particular role. For example, if you want to smush some faction terrain into the ground in one giant swing, then a Gatebreaker is the gargant for you. If you instead need to squish lots of tiny (well, to a Mega-Gargant) enemy infantry, then look no further than the Warstomper, who can sweep whole units aside with his titanic boulderclub. We've got you covered with a gargant (mega or otherwise) for every situation.”
Spearhead Spotlight
Mancrusher Gargants who become tired of life under the heel of surly or braggadocious Mega-Gargants may splinter off into a Wallsmasher Stomp, wandering free to claim food and territory of their own. Conveniently, both can be earned by finding settlements to joyously smash to splinters.
This Spearhead is made up of three Mancrusher Gargants – two of whom are subordinate to the Bullstomper – who can use the Bellowing Roar and Grab Those Rocks and Chuck ‘Em! battle traits to provide defensive and offensive buffs.
With no Mega-Gargants to follow around, these Mancrushers don’t need to worry about keeping up with anyone, freeing up precious attention to focus on stuffing enemies in their bags for chowing down later. What’s more, with the REINFORCEMENTS keyword, both of the Bullstomper’s lackeys will be returning when slain…
Next, we’ll be shifting gears from the rambunctious and unruly to the cold and clinically regimented, as the martial forces of the Ossiarch Bonereapers march into their Faction Focus.
