Summary
In the grim darkness of theWarhammer 40ksetting, humanity is on the verge of destruction and is beset on all sides.Dangerous xenos, bloodthirsty heretics, and destructive daemoniccreatures seek to wipe out every last living soul. Watching over this destruction are numerous gods. From the malevolent Chaos deities to the last remnants of the Aeldari Pantheon, the gods ofWarhammer 40kinfluence and manipulate their followers with uncaring ease.
While some gods rule supreme, wielding unfathomable power, others are shattered versions of once-powerful deities. Like the many factions in the setting, the gods are equally at war, plotting and scheming for absolute control over the mortals who worship them.
11Khorne
The Strongest Of The Chaos Deities
Khorne currently sits at the top of the Pantheon of Gods. He is the god of war, anger, hatred, blood, and violence. He demands little from his followers except that blood must be spilled. The four chaos gods constantlyfight for dominancein what they call the Great Game, and currently, Khorne wields more influence than any other. With the galaxy broken in two, where war is everywhere, blood is spilled daily.
Khorne’s followers roam the stars, filled with hatred and rage, spilling blood wherever they find it. None exemplify this brutal existence more than Angron, the Daemon Primarch of Khorne. Leading his World Eater Chaos Marines into battle, Angron is a rage-filled monster that carves through his enemies with a fury few can stand against.
10Tzeentch
The Changer Of Ways
Tzeentch is the chaos god of plotting, intrigue, sorcery, and change. His mind is a tangled web of plotting and schemes that none other than him could fathom. In the current setting, where the galaxy is split in two,war ravages every corner, and mortals battle for power. Tzeentch’s influence spreads far and wide.
Tzeentch may be the most adept at the great game. With his legion of followers, Tzeentch whispers into the ears of mortals, influencing their minds and actions. For humanity, whose greed often overrides their morality, Tzeentch is the perfect deity.
9Slaanesh
Scourge Of The Aeldari
Slaanesh is the chaos god of excess, indulgence, pain, lust, and greed. Known as the Prince of Pleasure, followers of Slaanesh are seekers of experience, pushing the boundaries of excess to obscene levels of depravity. Slaanesh is the youngest of the chaos gods after being born from the collective negative psychic build-up of the Aeldari race.
This event, known as The Fall, destroyed the once dominant Eldar empire and killed off the majority of their race. It also ripped a hole in real space into the warp, known as The Eye of Terror. At the moment of its birth, Slaanesh was the most powerful of the chaos gods, having gorged on an entire civilization. In the current setting, Slaanesh sits in third place in the chaos pantheon.
8Nurgle
A Dethroned God Of Rot
Nurgle is the chaos god of rot, stagnation, disease, and rebirth. He spends his days concocting various plagues and diseases in his Realm of Chaos, the Garden of Nurgle. Unlike the other chaos gods, Nurgle enjoys an affectionate relationship with his daemons and followers and is known as Grandfather Nurgle. This god takes away the pain and suffering from his followers, who are often grotesque monsters heavily plagued with all manner of diseases. Nurgle is more interested in the circular nature of death and rebirth.
His followers are often noted to have broad grins on their faces. As rotted and deformed as they may be, Nurgle’s followers genuinely seek to spread his gifts to all. In the current setting, Nurgle has fallen from the very top of the chaos pantheon, after theDaemon Primarch Mortarionfailed in his mission to bring Ultramar and Roboute Guilliman into the Garden. Through the Ultramarines Primarch, The Emperor of Mankind sent forth powerful flames that burnt large areas of Nurgle’s Garden, temporarily weakening him.
7Gork And Mork
The Greenskin Gods
Little is known about the true nature of Gork and Mork as they have little influence outside the Ork race. However, as the Orks number in untold billions, these greenskin gods hold significant power across the galaxy and warp. While Gork is brutal but kunnin’, Mork is kunnin' but brutal, although even the Orks may get this mixed up.
Their very existence is likely due to the Ork’s ability to will something into being. When enough Orks believe something, that thing often becomes true. Almost all Ork technology works like this. With vehicles, guns, and other contraptions thrown together with scrap, it’s only the Ork’s unified belief that makes them work. As more Orks spread out looking forbigger and better fights, Gork and Mork hold a stronger sway in the warp, guiding every Waaagh! safely to new corners of the galaxy.
6Ynnead
The Last Hope Of The Aeldari
The Aeldari is one of the oldest civilizations in the40ksetting. Once the greatest power in the galaxy, the Eldar would eventually fall in a single cataclysmic event. The Aeldari Pantheon of gods was completely consumed by the newly born chaos god Slaanesh, all except for three.
However, in the modern setting, another Aeldari god has emerged. Newly created from the life force contained within the many Craftworld infinity circuits, and with the added help of Farseer Eldrad Ulthran, Ynnead is the Aeldari God of the Dead. Upon awakening, Ynnead would choose the former Corsair and Gladiator of Commorragh, Yvraine, as their prophet. Yvraine would form a new faction, the Ynnari, who seek to once again reunite all the Eldar under one banner. It is said in thefinal conflict against Chaos, Ynnead will battle Slaanesh and save the souls of the Aeldari once and for all.
5Cegorach
Deity Of The Harlequins
Cegorach, also known as the Laughing God and the Great Harlequin, is one of three surviving gods of the old Aeldari pantheon. He is the god of trickery, creativity, and deception, which allowed him, during the fall, to escape into the webway. His followers, known as Harlequins, are some of the most dangerous warriors of the Aeldari race and are protected by Cegorach from Slaanesh. These enigmatic jesters work as traveling performers, acting out the grand stories of their race, while battling chaos wherever they can.
Cegorach is the only Aeldari god to escape unscathed from Slaanesh, and remains free within the Webway, working toward the final battle, known as the Rhana Dandra. His trickster ways have concealed him from the chaos god and allowed him to grow in both influence and followers. It is said he walks freely among the Eldar, hidden as a Harlequin. As more Eldar join the deadly troupes known as Masques, it is said the final days are approaching and the Rhana Dandra has already begun.
4Goddess T’au’va
The Newest God Of The Warp
While the Tau species are one of the least psychically active in the40ksetting, many of the species that follow the Tau’s doctrines have a greater presence in the warp. This psychic manifestation recently emerged as the Goddess T’au’va.
She is the embodiment of the Greater Good and has begun to appear before her followers, such as Commander Shadowsun, on numerous occasions. While her influence is small, it is slowly growing as she gains more worshipers within the empire. Goddess T’au’va has actively aided the Tau Empire and helped to form the Startide Nexus, a stable dimensional pathway through the warp. She was also instrumental in defeating an invading force of Death Guard with Commander Shadowsun.
3Isha
The Imprisoned God Of Healing
Isha is another of the Aeldari gods to escape death at the hands of Slaanesh during the fall. Isha is the god of life, nature, and fertility and genuinely cares about all living things, mortal or not, a rarity among the gods. During the fall, Slaanesh was moments from consuming Isha when Nurgle intervened, capturing Isha for his own purposes.
In the modern setting, Isha is still trapped within the Garden of Nurgle. Held in a rusty cage, Isha has become a tool for Nurgle, who uses her powerful healing abilities to test his many infectious diseases. If Isha uses more power to heal, then Nurgle has created something strong. However, it is said even now that Isha whispers the cures of each disease out into the universe, saving millions of lives every time. While Isha is a prisoner of Nurgle, she is still a powerful god, and if saved, would be a strong ally for the Aeldari. Attempts to rescue Isha have failed, as no one can enter the Garden and survive without Nurgle’s aid.
2Kaela Mensha Khaine
Broken But Not Defeated
Kaela Mensha Khaine is one of the three Aeldari gods to escape death after the birth of Slaanesh. Khaine The Bloody-Handed is the god of war, wrath, and destruction and was the second strongest in the Eldar Pantheon after Asuryan.
During the fall, Khaine battled with Slaanesh but was unable to defeat the powerful chaos deity, who had already absorbed many of the other gods and billions of Aeldari souls. Before Khaine could be defeated, Khorne would attempt to claim his soul for himself and would battle against Slaanesh for the prize. During this conflict, Khaine managed to escape into the material world, his essence shattering into a thousand pieces. In the modern setting, Khaine’s broken soul lives on in the infinity circuits of Craftworlds. During times of war, these Craftworlds can summon a small part of Khaine temporarily to inhabit an avatar that marches into battle with fury and vengeance.
