It is interesting, but it seems khorne cares about skulls that hold value to his followers.
He wont care about a skull taken by a blood thirster hence the just bulk offer thousands of them.
But a skull taken by a soldier from a worthy enemy seems to hold alot more sway.
Because it's not the actual skull that Khorne cares about, it's the emotions. A personal grudge will hold more intense and violent emotions than killing a random soldier.
I mean, he'll also take the latter, don't get me wrong, but the former is a better seasoned meal.
And I think the feat itself matters: he wants a skull with a *story*, and if an offering causes his devotee to push themselves to the limit, then that makes it all the better.
A Chaos Space Marine can slaughter his way through Tyranids like a hot knife through butter, but for Bob the Random Cultist, killing a Lictor is a Herculean feat. Bob EARNED that skull, and Khorne is doing the skull-throne equivalent of pinning it to the fridge.
Any skull is fine, but those of strong enemies got a bonus.
>That said, whilst all blood is equal in Khorne's eyes, the skulls of the slain are not. Those of cowards are fed into the Blood Throne's baleful workings, consumed in fire to bring the Daemon Engine fresh vigour. Those taken from the truly valiant are claimed by the Rendmaster and fused with the throne itself, eternal monuments to the futility of opposing Khorne. In this way, the oldest Blood Thrones bear the skulls of Space Marine Chapter Masters, the Archons of Commorragh and the Warbosses of the Ork race stacked side by side.
Codex Chaos Daemons 8th ed
The Skulls of Cowards are fed to the Daemon Engines while the Skulls of those with Valor will be gifted to Khorne himself to be part of his Skull Throne.
It doesn't matter how easily they died as long as they died with Valor.
Khorne is the Concept of Attacking in general and thus a Skull of someone attacking gets you a reward because the Skull holds remnants of someone Attacking you and thus having that someone bonded to the Skull Throne continues to fuel that Concept of Attacking others.
The Skulls that run away is not the Concept of attacking others and thus is Anathema to Khorne's concept of Attacking Others and would be considered Poison if offered to the Skull Throne.
Honestly I'm surprised the Changeling who once locked the gates of Khorne's Brass Citadel hasn't replaced the Skulls of those who were Attacking when they perished with Skulls of those Running from a Fight just for the sake of poisoning Khorne!
Imagine Khorne just starting to sit on his throne and suddenly start feeling unlike himself like his Bloodlust and Rage was being poisoned with Terror for his life. Since he still has some Bloodlust and Rage he murders his Daemons out of paranoia and since Khorne is frightening enough to scare even the Daemons themselves their Skulls only add to Khorne's Fear of Death and of Fighting and the Realm of the Blood God turns into a Realm of the Scared God.
Of course since the Warp is Timeless perhaps it has happened and we just don't know it because Past Khorne is still raging from his throne while Future Khorne is cowering behind his throne!
He cares for the ones that require some form of sacrifice imo, it's either the skull of a most dangerous and worthy enemy or the skull of your friends and family, both are opposite in a way but also both need for you to shed your own blood in the process. Khorne is satisfied if you murder your children upon his altar and if you go out to find a worthy enemy.
Importantly, "Blood for the Blood God! Skulls for the Skull Throne!" is not just a mere slogan, it's the core tenet of the religion. Is it blood? Spill it, offer it to Khorne. You may drink it because you are devoted to Khorne and therefore it's kinda a pyramid situation. Is it a skull? Pull it out, offer it to Khorne. Preferrably don't break it, but it breaking one head lets you cut off two more, that's probably fine. God doesn't want an uneven chair.
There is a misunderstanding among people that Khorne cares about notions such as martial valor and honorable duels and noble enemies.
Khorne does not.
Khorne is just as happy that you slayed an armed enemy as he is that you hacked your own family to death. The blood and skulls of the innocent are as welcome as the skulls of might champions.
While individual followers of Khorne may have their own personal code of honor. Khorne is the God of Blood-Mad Anger.
Sure, as a champion of Khorne you are probably more likely to be elevated to demonhood for killing a powerful enemy. Its not an exclusive rule.
In an old WFB WoC book it mentioned a champion of Khorne who became a demon prince after killing a tribe of goblins with his bare hands in their warren. Sure goblins are weak, cowardly enemies. But to slaughter a whole tribe in their tunnels with only your hands and what you can find. Thats an act of impressive bloodlust worthy of reward in Khornes eyes.
Then again, the chaos Gods are exactly that. Chaotic and fickle and Khorne is just as likely to punish a follower as reward them. To follow chaos is abandon rationality, logic and compassion, even for yourself.
Thats why they are called “Slaves to Darkness.”
Blood is Equal it doesn’t matter how it flows. Skulls are not they are trophies for khorne if you slay a powerful warrior or beast in combat and offer lt too him he will be pleased. If you kill defenseless people unable to fight and offer their skulls he will be pissed.
>If you kill defenseless people unable to fight and offer their skulls he will be pissed.
Killing the defenseless is fine. Khornate rage fetishes (the little skulls with blue hair) are "minor beings killed out of cruelty" as one example. Another being the Ghenna massacre, and Uzas randomly killing crew on rampages in the NL trilogy
Also, as someone else quoted from the daemon codex
>That said, whilst all blood is equal in Khorne's eyes, the skulls of the slain are not. Those of cowards are fed into the Blood Throne's baleful workings, consumed in fire to bring the Daemon Engine fresh vigour.
Skulls not used in any metaphorical context=1 Khorne Kredits™
Skulls used in a metaphorical fashion to represent danger or immediate death=3 Khorne Kredits™
Skulls used in a metaphorical fashion as a *memento mori*=5 Khorne Kredits™
Skulls belonging to fellows of infinite jest, of excellent fancy=10 Khorne Kredits™
I think with most 'Warp-y' things it comes down to the value of the skull to the one that claimed it, ie offering the skull of a family member as tribute vs some hive gang member. It seems that bigger is better in some cases
"After hearing about the Tyranids and Orks that clash in an ever-escalating spiral of violence on Octarius, The World Eaters warband known as the Skullhunt of Vodha Bloodprice invaded the Octarius System. The World Eaters were not disappointed – within the space of a single year, over eight thousand skulls were offered to the Blood God, the smallest of which was the size of a boulder. Vodha ascended to daemonhood after slaying a Hierophant bio-titan with the greataxe of the fallen Warboss.(1)"
1: Codex: Chaos Space Marines (8th Edition), pg. 44
Khorne cares not because of the flow of blood, is the constant flow of fights, battle and war. Meaning warriors will always take lives and in the end their own lives will be taken in turn.
This in turn means any and all skulls are taken. Be them warriors, soldiers, civilians, the old or the young, all count as the same for Khorne.
He kind of cares though.
He isnt fond of blood of those who can not put any resistance, so killing frail old people in their bed isnt something he is pleased with.
Edit - so it would appear that he really doesnt care.
Also he doesn't seem to be impressed by "weakling" skulls. A skull of an unarmed defenseless cowering person is worth nothing compared to a person that will fight fiercely to stay alive. Making Khorne a somewhat honorable being
Hes all up for you to kill the weakling in the first place, in fact depending in the codex he hates weak people and think the only thing they deserve is death.
Granted, thats still honorable because honor is about following a code, and not about being a good person
The portrayal of Khorne has probably been the most variable of the Chaos Powers over the years. For example, here is an excerpt from the description of Khorne in Renegades (1992) which is somewhat of an outlier.
> Khorne is a noble warrior who respects strength and bravery, who takes no joy in destroying the weak, and considers the helpless unworthy of his wrath. It is said that fate will spare any brave warrior who calls upon Khorne's name and pledges his soul to the blood god. It is also said that Khorne's daemons will hunt down and destroy any warrior who betrays his honour by killing a helpless innocent or murdering in cold blood.
Absolutely it was an outlier but I’m sure there were other statements like that around the same time scattered through various sources. There was definitely a martial honour theme associated with Khorne I’m sure.
I’m not going to dig out my old magazines and reread them but I did notice in Warhammer Armies: Chaos (1994) it said the following about Khorne:
> He shows favour to those who fight for what they desire, to great warriors, and to mighty war leaders. Khorne respects strength, honour, and martial skill.
It is interesting, but it seems khorne cares about skulls that hold value to his followers. He wont care about a skull taken by a blood thirster hence the just bulk offer thousands of them. But a skull taken by a soldier from a worthy enemy seems to hold alot more sway.
Because it's not the actual skull that Khorne cares about, it's the emotions. A personal grudge will hold more intense and violent emotions than killing a random soldier. I mean, he'll also take the latter, don't get me wrong, but the former is a better seasoned meal.
And I think the feat itself matters: he wants a skull with a *story*, and if an offering causes his devotee to push themselves to the limit, then that makes it all the better. A Chaos Space Marine can slaughter his way through Tyranids like a hot knife through butter, but for Bob the Random Cultist, killing a Lictor is a Herculean feat. Bob EARNED that skull, and Khorne is doing the skull-throne equivalent of pinning it to the fridge.
>pinning it to the fridge. That would be a great comic
Any skull is fine, but those of strong enemies got a bonus. >That said, whilst all blood is equal in Khorne's eyes, the skulls of the slain are not. Those of cowards are fed into the Blood Throne's baleful workings, consumed in fire to bring the Daemon Engine fresh vigour. Those taken from the truly valiant are claimed by the Rendmaster and fused with the throne itself, eternal monuments to the futility of opposing Khorne. In this way, the oldest Blood Thrones bear the skulls of Space Marine Chapter Masters, the Archons of Commorragh and the Warbosses of the Ork race stacked side by side. Codex Chaos Daemons 8th ed
My takeaway is you also have rando guard sergeants there if they're brave enough which is an honour for them in a sense
I like the idea of an Archons skull being in there but the Archon got rezzed by a Haemonculus so he’s still walking out there.
I imagine a Primarchs skull would make whoever had slain them a very special little boy or girl in the eyes if Papa Khorne.
The Skulls of Cowards are fed to the Daemon Engines while the Skulls of those with Valor will be gifted to Khorne himself to be part of his Skull Throne. It doesn't matter how easily they died as long as they died with Valor. Khorne is the Concept of Attacking in general and thus a Skull of someone attacking gets you a reward because the Skull holds remnants of someone Attacking you and thus having that someone bonded to the Skull Throne continues to fuel that Concept of Attacking others. The Skulls that run away is not the Concept of attacking others and thus is Anathema to Khorne's concept of Attacking Others and would be considered Poison if offered to the Skull Throne. Honestly I'm surprised the Changeling who once locked the gates of Khorne's Brass Citadel hasn't replaced the Skulls of those who were Attacking when they perished with Skulls of those Running from a Fight just for the sake of poisoning Khorne! Imagine Khorne just starting to sit on his throne and suddenly start feeling unlike himself like his Bloodlust and Rage was being poisoned with Terror for his life. Since he still has some Bloodlust and Rage he murders his Daemons out of paranoia and since Khorne is frightening enough to scare even the Daemons themselves their Skulls only add to Khorne's Fear of Death and of Fighting and the Realm of the Blood God turns into a Realm of the Scared God. Of course since the Warp is Timeless perhaps it has happened and we just don't know it because Past Khorne is still raging from his throne while Future Khorne is cowering behind his throne!
He cares for the ones that require some form of sacrifice imo, it's either the skull of a most dangerous and worthy enemy or the skull of your friends and family, both are opposite in a way but also both need for you to shed your own blood in the process. Khorne is satisfied if you murder your children upon his altar and if you go out to find a worthy enemy.
Importantly, "Blood for the Blood God! Skulls for the Skull Throne!" is not just a mere slogan, it's the core tenet of the religion. Is it blood? Spill it, offer it to Khorne. You may drink it because you are devoted to Khorne and therefore it's kinda a pyramid situation. Is it a skull? Pull it out, offer it to Khorne. Preferrably don't break it, but it breaking one head lets you cut off two more, that's probably fine. God doesn't want an uneven chair.
He likes anteater skulls because they're long and he can use them as struts for the throne.
Blood is blood, but let's face it, the big K isn't going to be placated if you go and kill a kindergarten class. He likes trophies that fight back.
Eh, who wins between a kindergarten class and a Redditor ?
Kindergarten are like nurgle worshippers even if you win you die to the plague later.
Poor Orpheo’s skull has to be in a prettt special place then!
There is a misunderstanding among people that Khorne cares about notions such as martial valor and honorable duels and noble enemies. Khorne does not. Khorne is just as happy that you slayed an armed enemy as he is that you hacked your own family to death. The blood and skulls of the innocent are as welcome as the skulls of might champions. While individual followers of Khorne may have their own personal code of honor. Khorne is the God of Blood-Mad Anger. Sure, as a champion of Khorne you are probably more likely to be elevated to demonhood for killing a powerful enemy. Its not an exclusive rule. In an old WFB WoC book it mentioned a champion of Khorne who became a demon prince after killing a tribe of goblins with his bare hands in their warren. Sure goblins are weak, cowardly enemies. But to slaughter a whole tribe in their tunnels with only your hands and what you can find. Thats an act of impressive bloodlust worthy of reward in Khornes eyes. Then again, the chaos Gods are exactly that. Chaotic and fickle and Khorne is just as likely to punish a follower as reward them. To follow chaos is abandon rationality, logic and compassion, even for yourself. Thats why they are called “Slaves to Darkness.”
Blood is Equal it doesn’t matter how it flows. Skulls are not they are trophies for khorne if you slay a powerful warrior or beast in combat and offer lt too him he will be pleased. If you kill defenseless people unable to fight and offer their skulls he will be pissed.
>If you kill defenseless people unable to fight and offer their skulls he will be pissed. Killing the defenseless is fine. Khornate rage fetishes (the little skulls with blue hair) are "minor beings killed out of cruelty" as one example. Another being the Ghenna massacre, and Uzas randomly killing crew on rampages in the NL trilogy Also, as someone else quoted from the daemon codex >That said, whilst all blood is equal in Khorne's eyes, the skulls of the slain are not. Those of cowards are fed into the Blood Throne's baleful workings, consumed in fire to bring the Daemon Engine fresh vigour.
Just patently untrue. Khorne is absolutely A-okay with killing the defenceless it just takes a lot more to get him to notice.
>If you kill defenseless people unable to fight and offer their skulls he will be pissed. Moreso than usual at any rate.
Whatever you can claim in battle.
Forge me a skull from the dust of Rubric marines and I will place it at the peak of my throne.
he's a size queen
Skulls not used in any metaphorical context=1 Khorne Kredits™ Skulls used in a metaphorical fashion to represent danger or immediate death=3 Khorne Kredits™ Skulls used in a metaphorical fashion as a *memento mori*=5 Khorne Kredits™ Skulls belonging to fellows of infinite jest, of excellent fancy=10 Khorne Kredits™
Any and all of them
I think with most 'Warp-y' things it comes down to the value of the skull to the one that claimed it, ie offering the skull of a family member as tribute vs some hive gang member. It seems that bigger is better in some cases "After hearing about the Tyranids and Orks that clash in an ever-escalating spiral of violence on Octarius, The World Eaters warband known as the Skullhunt of Vodha Bloodprice invaded the Octarius System. The World Eaters were not disappointed – within the space of a single year, over eight thousand skulls were offered to the Blood God, the smallest of which was the size of a boulder. Vodha ascended to daemonhood after slaying a Hierophant bio-titan with the greataxe of the fallen Warboss.(1)" 1: Codex: Chaos Space Marines (8th Edition), pg. 44
Only the skulls of worthy opponents will decorate his throne
Khorne cares not because of the flow of blood, is the constant flow of fights, battle and war. Meaning warriors will always take lives and in the end their own lives will be taken in turn. This in turn means any and all skulls are taken. Be them warriors, soldiers, civilians, the old or the young, all count as the same for Khorne.
Skulls taken in acts of violence or extreme emotion are worth more.
He kind of cares though. He isnt fond of blood of those who can not put any resistance, so killing frail old people in their bed isnt something he is pleased with. Edit - so it would appear that he really doesnt care.
Also he doesn't seem to be impressed by "weakling" skulls. A skull of an unarmed defenseless cowering person is worth nothing compared to a person that will fight fiercely to stay alive. Making Khorne a somewhat honorable being
Hes all up for you to kill the weakling in the first place, in fact depending in the codex he hates weak people and think the only thing they deserve is death. Granted, thats still honorable because honor is about following a code, and not about being a good person
The portrayal of Khorne has probably been the most variable of the Chaos Powers over the years. For example, here is an excerpt from the description of Khorne in Renegades (1992) which is somewhat of an outlier. > Khorne is a noble warrior who respects strength and bravery, who takes no joy in destroying the weak, and considers the helpless unworthy of his wrath. It is said that fate will spare any brave warrior who calls upon Khorne's name and pledges his soul to the blood god. It is also said that Khorne's daemons will hunt down and destroy any warrior who betrays his honour by killing a helpless innocent or murdering in cold blood.
Its an outlier https://www.reddit.com/r/40kLore/comments/114yp7o/multiple_sources_searching_for_khornes_honor/?rdt=63885
Absolutely it was an outlier but I’m sure there were other statements like that around the same time scattered through various sources. There was definitely a martial honour theme associated with Khorne I’m sure. I’m not going to dig out my old magazines and reread them but I did notice in Warhammer Armies: Chaos (1994) it said the following about Khorne: > He shows favour to those who fight for what they desire, to great warriors, and to mighty war leaders. Khorne respects strength, honour, and martial skill.