Beastman
Beastmen (Homo sapiens variatus) are bestial abhumans combining the forms of animal and human.
Overview
Beastmen are known to have first appeared during the Age of Strife.[8] At some point in their ancestry they merged with animal strains. In general they have cloven hooves, digitigrade legs (legs that appear to be backwards jointed, like the hind legs of a goat) and faces that resemble animals. Their arms and hands are usually similar to a standard humans, allowing them to use human weapons and tools.[6]
They were formerly recruited for the Imperial Guard, where they were valued mainly for their bloodlust; they fought for the Emperor in order to atone for their sin of being born mutants. They were led by Beastmen called Packmasters.[7] However, Beastmen are no longer seen in Imperial service. They are now subject to severe Imperial persecution and have been placed on the Register of Proscribed Citizens (Class A-G worlds) by the Adeptus Arbites. As such, they are effectively precluded from settlement on, or transportation to or from, more than three hundred thousand worlds of the Imperium and are forbidden from being conscripted as an Imperial Tithe obligation.[4] These restrictions are a sure sign that Beastmen will soon lose their abhuman status completely and be reclassified as Xenos Horrificus and marked for eradication.[6]
Many Beastmen worship the Chaos Gods and frequent the armies of the Lost and the Damned.[2] Of these corrupted Beastmen warriors, those that worship Khorne are known as Bloodgors, those that worship Tzeentch are known as Tzaangors, those that worship Slaanesh are known as Slaangors[5], and those that worship Nurgle are known as Pestigors.[3a]
There is also an unusually large and aggressive strain of giant Beastman known as a Minotaur. It is comparable in strength to an Ogryn.[1a]
Notable Beastmen
Images
Beastmen miniatures[1b]
Tzaangor miniatures (7th Edition)
Beastman miniature (Blackstone Fortress)
Epic Scale Beastmen
Sources
- 1: Warhammer 40,000: Compendium
- 2: Imperial Armour Volume Six - The Siege of Vraks - Part Two, pg. 135
- 3: Realm of Chaos: The Lost and the Damned, pg. 174
- 3a: pg. 261
- 4: Warhammer 40,000 8th Edition Rulebook, pg. 279 - Appendix Abhumans
- 5: White Dwarf 124 (UK), pg. 69
- 6: Liber Xenologis, pgs. 30-31 - Abhumans: Beastmen
- 7: Warhammer 40,000 6th Edition Rulebook, pg. 404
- 8: Warhammer 40,000 10th Edition Rulebook pg. 47 - Ages of Mankind
Uncited
- Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader
- Codex Imperialis (Background Book)
- Codex: Eye of Terror (3rd Edition)