The Slaves to Darkness are one of the most formidable fighting forces in all the Mortal Realms, their vast legions made up of the Darkoath tribes that worship the Ruinous Power in all but name, armoured veterans that serve Archaon the Everchosen, and the secretive cells pledged to Be’lakor, the First Prince.
Battletome: Slaves to Darkness permits you to craft an army to represent any of these factions – and Be’lakor also receives his very own daemon-packed Army of Renown – but the mortal followers of the Dark Gods have received incisive changes from their faction pack. Eye of the Gods is still the primary Battle Trait, but you must now choose a single non-unique Hero as the focus of the burning gaze of the gods.
Every time this aspiring champion pleases the gods by using a Fight ability, they will earn d3 Apotheosis Points – or 2d3 if they have the Deathmonger Heroic Trait and manage to fight both times. They’ll get d3 additional points if they are outside of your territory and are contesting an Objective at the end of your turn.
EYE OF THE GODS
Once Per Battle (Army), Deployment Phase
The mortal champions of Chaos seek to attract the notice of the gods by performing great deeds in battle.
Declare: Pick a friendly non-Unique Warriors of Chaosor Darkoath Hero to be the target.
Effect: During the battle, the target gains Dark Apotheosis points as follows:
Each time the target uses a Fight ability, it gains D3 Dark Apotheosis points.
At the end of each of your turns, if the target is contesting an objective that is wholly outside friendly territory, it gains D3 Dark Apotheosis points
Cash in eight points to undergo a Dark Apotheosis, swelling with power as the gods grant an Aura of Chaos which heals and provides a Ward (5+), or transforming into a towering Daemon Prince with the same enhancements and Pledge to Chaos as the original hero.
DARK APOTHEOSIS
Once Per Battle (Army), Any Hero Phase
Favoured by the Dark Gods, this champion is bestowed with fell glory.
Declare: Pick a friendly unit with 8 or more Dark Apotheosis points to be the target.
Effect: Pick 1 of the following:
Aura of Chaos: Heal (X) the target, where X is the number of damage points allocated to the target. In addition, the target has Ward (5+) for the rest of the battle.
Daemonhood: Set up a Daemon Prince within 1" of the target. Then, remove the target from the battlefield. If the target is your general, the Daemon Prince becomes your general instead. If the target has any enhancements, the Daemon Prince has those enhancements instead. If the target has a Pledge to Chaos keyword, the Daemon Prince has the same keyword. Otherwise, pick 1 Pledge to Chaos keyword for the Daemon Prince to have for the rest of the battle.
What’s a Pledge to Chaos, you ask? Let us whisper dark promises in your ear… Once per turn, a Slaves to Darkness unit can swear their mortal soul to one of the four Chaos Gods to earn a passive benefit that lasts the rest of the battle. For instance, those Pledged to Khorne grain an extra attack, while warriors Pledged to Slaanesh can chuck an extra dice in with their charge rolls.
PLEDGE TO CHAOS
Once Per Turn (Army), Your Hero Phase
The Slaves to Darkness forsake their souls by pledging to the Dark Gods.
Declare: Pick a friendly non-Unique Slaves to Darkness unit that does not already have one of the keywords below to be the target.
Effect: Pick 1 of the following Pledge to Chaos keywords:
Pledged to Khorne
Pledged to Tzeentch
Pledged to Nurgle
Pledged to Slaanesh
The target has that keyword for the rest of the battle.
PLEDGED TO KHORNE
Passive
The Blood God instils a blind rage in his most frenzied adherents.
Effect: Add 1 to the Attacks characteristic of melee weapons used by friendly Pledged to Khorne units.
PLEDGED TO SLAANESH
Your Charge Phase
The thrill of battle drives these warriors to charge at spectacular speed.
Effect: For the rest of the turn, add 1 to the number of dice rolled when making charge rolls for friendly Pledged to Slaanesh units, to a maximum of 3.
Gaunt Summoners, the Mutalith Vortex Beast, and the Slaughterbrute already have the relevant Pledge to Chaos Keywords, while a Daemon Prince also gets to pick a pledge at army creation.*
There are other ways to attract the favour of one of the four Chaos patrons. One Infantry or Cavalry unit with the Standard Bearer keyword in your army can have an Ensorcelled Banner. The Dread Banner is your basic, catch-all standard for the indecisive warlord, which prevents enemy units from using commands while they are in combat with the bearer. The Banner of Screaming Flesh unlocks Pledged to Slaanesh, providing units with the benefit of an extra attack on melee weapons. The Eroding Icon on the other hand grants the resilience of Nurgle, and negates critical hits that target the unit, other banners offer even more thematic boons from your chosen patron.
ENSORCELLED BANNERS
An Ensorcelled Banner is a unique enhancement that can be given to Slaves to Darkness Infantry and Cavalry units with the Standard Bearer keyword. A unit can only have 1 Ensorcelled Banner.
Khorne
Nurgle
Tzeentch
Slaanesh
THE DREAD BANNER
Passive
Marked with sigils of each of the Dark Gods, the bearers of this banner strike fear into those who oppose them.
Effect: While this unit includes any standard bearers, enemy units cannot use commands while they are in combat with this unit.
Keywords: Ensorcelled Banner
THE BANNER OF SCREAMING FLESH
Passive
Fashioned from flayed aelven faces that scream in perpetual agony, the exhilarating pitch of this banner heightens the senses of the followers of the Dark Prince.
Effect: This unit has the Pledged to Slaanesh keyword.
In addition, if this unit charged this turn, for the rest of the turn, add 1 to the Attacks characteristic of this unit’s melee weapons.
Keywords: Ensorcelled Banner
THE ERODING ICON
Passive
As this fell icon arrives upon the enemy line, warriors find their weapons corroding and crumbling to rust.
Effect: This unit has the Pledged to Nurgle keyword.
In addition, while this unit includes any standard bearers, attacks that target this unit cannot score critical hits (treat them as regular hits instead).
Keywords: Ensorcelled Banner
We’ll have more coverage of the Armies of Renown and other dark promises kept in the pages of Battletome: Slaves to Darkness tomorrow.
* These enterprising and hardworking leaders are also eager to pledge themselves to other Chaos armies, through a new Regiment of Renown.
