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The Hordes of Chaos is the first of two recent "Warhammer Army" books detailing the armies of Chaos in the world of Warhammer Fantasy for the Warhammer Fantasy Battle game. Hordes of Chaos is devoted to "Mortals," which are the human worshippers of Chaos (the brutal tribesmen referred to in-game as "Marauders") and the devoted worshippers ("Chaos Warriors" & Champions), the Daemonic legions, and Chaos Magic.

Hordes of Chaos follows in a line of books detailing the forces of Chaos - the earliest being Realm of Chaos in the late 80s early 1990s.

An army can be constructed in either of two ways:

• A "daemonic" army of daemonic units (Khorne Bloodletters, Nurgle Plaguebearers, Tzeentch Horrors, and Slaanesh Daemonettes) led by a Daemonic leader (a Daemon Prince or a Greater Daemon of the Ruinous Powers) with the possibliity of units of mortal followers attached.

• A mortal army led by a mortal follower of Chaos (a Lord, Champion, or Sorcerer of Chaos) with mostly mortal units (Chaos Knights, Chaos Warriors, Marauders) and a few daemonic units attached.

On top of this an army can be extended with units from the Beasts of Chaos book which details non-human servants of the Chaos powers, with the exception of the "Archaon's Horde" army as listed in the "Storm of Chaos" campaign book.

Hordes of Chaos lists several special characters:

• Galrauch, First of the Chaos Dragons: The two-headed Chaos Dragon is said to be the father of many of the hideous monsters that prowl the Chaos Wastes.
• Vardek Crom, Herald of Archaon: Also known as Crom the Conqueror. A powerful warlord of the Kul tribe, Vardek Crom is allied with Archaon. During the Storm of Chaos, Crom led his army to attack the Empire from the east while Archaon attacked from the north. Crom also defeated Waaagh! Grimgor in the beginning of the campaign, thus earning the honor of being the first mortal to fight Grimgor to a draw in single combat.

• Archaon, Lord of the End Times: A former Sigmarite templar, Archaon read a forbidden tome and learned the hidden secrets of his faith. He renounced his allegiance to Sigmar and quested for six powerful Chaos artefacts, becoming the Everchosen of Chaos and leading a massive army against the Empire.
• The Four: Archaon's generals during the Storm of Chaos were known as the Four, and they were all exceptionally powerful servants to their respective Gods. They were known as Haargroth, the Blooded One (champion of Khorne), Feytor the Tainted (champion of Nurgle), Styrkaar of the Sortsvinaer (champion of Slaanesh) and Melekh the Changer (champion of Tzeentch). Of these four, only two survived the campaign, with Haargroth being slain by Ar-Ulric Emil Valgeir, and Melekh being executed by Archaon for failing to advance his troops fast enough across the Middle Mountains (to the north of Middenheim). Melekh was then replaced for the rest of the campaign by his son, Cyspeth.

In adidtion there is a character featured in the "Storm of Chaos" book

• Be'lakor, the Dark Master: The first daemon prince, Be'lakor spent thousands of years in an insubstantial state for angering the Chaos Gods. Upon returning to a physical form, Be'lakor was forced to crown Archaon the Lord of the End Times. Be'lakor's battle standard has the broken, reanimated body of Volkmar the Grim pinned to it. Following the campaign, Be'lakor was banished to the Realm of Chaos by the magic of Teclis.

• Hordes of Chaos