Lesser daemon of Malal..?

Has anyone else seen this?

It belongs to us now. It's all ours. Over at netherwerks they're generous people. And creative. Look at their other blogs.

It's an unnamed monster with no stats in any system. The idea is to fix that, see how many ways it could be done. I'm getting beserker, daemon, spaceman...

How about a new kind of lesser daemon for Warhammer 40,000, maybe for that mysterious Chaos god, Malal? Back in the early days of the 1980s there were mentions, but we've long settled down into the standard quartet of Khorne, Nurgle, Tzeentch and Slaanesh.

We don't know very much about Malal, but axes are suggestive, given the Dreadaxe and starmetal axe in the stories of Kaleb Daark and Skrag the Slaughterer. In a 1987 card game the god was represented by a warband of beastmen, and that ties in here too. We understand Malal is an outcast or renegade and aims at destroying the other four.

To fit the image into this space, we might assume the mask worn is a result of retreat to isolated and even less hospitable spaces in the darker recesses of the Warp, or maybe that of an executioner, or even just a symbol of the mystery at the heart of the concept.

The structure of the creature's leg is similar to that of a bloodletter or daemonette so we might bring in a new idea, that Malal uses the tools of the other gods against them. Then the mask might actually be a Slaaneshi veil, or protection against the pestilences of Nurgle which the lesser daemon of Malal may not quite be immune to, or it could even provide or boost a psychic ability reflective of Tzeentch. The clothing has a Tzeentchian sorcerous look about it too. The axe would then become a reflection of Khorne.

Here are some possible stats, unoffcial of course, aiming at a blend of that Khornate martial skill, Nurgly contagion, Tzeentchian magical power and Slaaneshi temptation.

TROOPS

Heterodox of Malal

Cost: ?     Type: Infantry     Size: 5-20

5  3  4  3  1  4  2  10  4+

Daemon, Mask of Malal (as Daemonic Gaze), Starmetal Axe (as Fury of Khorne); Perfidy's Purlieu (as Aura of Aquiescence) and Corrupting Encompass (as Aura of Decay, but 6" range becomes contact)

A few notes. The stats most reflect the bloodletter, with the horror's skill at range; the slow and purposeful of the plaguebearer is cancelled by the fleet of the daemonette. Perfidy's purlieu represents both the shield and the sudden questioning of purpose the heterodox brings. The points cost is definitely up for discussion, especially given the time since the daemons codex was released and the arrival of the new Grey Knights.

Anyway, you could do far better. You probably have half a dozen ideas already. Go right ahead. Beyond even a take for Warhammer, this is just the start. It could be any other system, whether wargame, skirmish game or roleplaying game, old school or new.

Leave a comment at the original post to let them know and they'll link through to you.

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