Independent Daemons in WFRP 4th Edition
Before the two Realm of Chaos volumes presented the four Ruinous Powers of Chaos, Demons (as they were spelled then) in Warhammer and Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay were not too dissimilar from the demons that could be found in any other fantasy setting of the time – although some, usually described as “Chaos Demons,” were stranger.
I touched on the question of independent Daemons in my previous post on Gargoyles, so here is a rough treatment of them for WFRP 4th edition. Needless to say, what follows is in no way official and should be considered a fan work. No challenge is intended to copyrights or trademarks held by Games Workshop, Cubicle 7, or anyone else.
Independent Daemons
Instead of pledging themselves to one of the Ruinous Powers, some follow Chaos Undivided: the force of which, in their view, each of the Chaos Gods is merely one part. This is as true of Daemons as it is of mortals.
Although each Daemon is rendered unique by its combination of mutations and optional Traits, scholars divide them into four main classes:
Imps, also known as Least Daemons, are the smallest and least dangerous of their kind. They may serve Daemonologists as familiars and assistants, or devote themselves to causing trouble whenever the opportunity arises.
| M | WS | BS | S | T | I | Ag | Dex | Int | WP | Fel | W |
| 4 | 35 | 45 | 25 | 45 | 60 | 45 | 45 | 25 | 45 | 25 | 12 |
Traits: Claws, Corruption (Moderate), Daemonic 9+, Fear 1, Night Vision, Size (Small), Unstable, Weapon +5
Optional: Clever, Cunning, Fast, Hardy, Mental Corruption, Mutation, Spellcaster (Chaos), Stealthy, Tail +5, Tough
Lesser Daemons are the mainstay of Daemonic armies, and are also summoned by Daemonologists and others to perform specific tasks. Occasionally, they may be brought forth from the Realm of Chaos by a magical accident, or overpower and kill their summoner. In this case they will rampage uncontrollably until banished or destroyed.
| M | WS | BS | S | T | I | Ag | Dex | Int | WP | Fel | W |
| 4 | 50 | 35 | 40 | 30 | 60 | 40 | 30 | 25 | 50 | 15 | 15 |
Traits: Claws, Corruption (Moderate), Daemonic 8+, Fear 2, Night Vision, Unstable, Weapon +9
Optional: Belligerent, Brute, Champion, Distracting, Elite, Flight 60, Frenzy, Horns +5, Mental Corruption, Mutation, Spellcaster (Chaos), Tail +7
Greater Daemons are powerful beings, and can only be controlled by the most powerful Daemonologists. They are constantly looking for ways into the material world, and are capable of summoning other Daemons to do their bidding. Their plans have been long in the making, and involve far more than simple destruction. Often they hope to enslave mortals and create a daemonic nation of their own, with themselves as absolute rulers.
| M | WS | BS | S | T | I | Ag | Dex | Int | WP | Fel | W |
| 6 | 70 | 35 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 80 | 50 | 100 | 100 | 80 | 80 |
Traits: Corruption (Major), Daemonic 7+, Night Vision, Size (Large), Terror 2, Unstable, Weapon +15
Optional: Armour 1-4, Belligerent, Bite, Champion, Dark Vision, Distracting, Flight 60, Frenzy, Horns +10, Leader, Mental Corruption, Mutation, Spellcaster (Chaos), Tail +10
Greatest Daemons, sometimes called Daemon Princes, are the most powerful of the daemonic beings. No mortal can control them, though some may be able to make deals with them. On the whole,though, they have mortal servants rather than mortal masters. They appear only rarely, either at the head of a vast daemonic army or as the power behind a conspiracy to destroy a nation or an entire continent.
| M | WS | BS | S | T | I | Ag | Dex | Int | WP | Fel | W |
| 6 | 90 | 95 | 110 | 120 | 100 | 95 | 90 | 110 | 120 | 90 | 114 |
Traits: Corruption (Major), Daemonic 6+, Dark Vision, Size (Large), Terror 4, Unstable, Weapon +20
Optional: Armour 5-7, Breath +10 (Fire), Dark Vision, Die Hard, Distracting, Flight 50, Frenzy, Hardy, Horns +10, Immunity to Psychology, Leader, Mental Corruption, Mutation, Painless, Rear, Size (Enormous), Spellcaster (Chaos), Tail +10, Venom (Very Hard)
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Graeme Davis 
Dear Graeme,
how do you think, do all the gods have their own daemons (or demons), for example, Ulric, Taal, Shallya, or maybe even Solkan, Alluminas, and Arianka, etc.?
Best,
Radek
If you look at the post on the Viydagg, I began to explore the idea of avatars, as a non-Chaotic equivalent to Daemons. I am still working on this idea, but I hope to post about it some time in the future.
I actually read it. The author of the first comment, Radek, it was me. 🙂 I even answered my question. I will be looking forward to reading your post about avatars, independent daemons, then.
Best,
Radek
I started writing an article for Warpstone called ‘Servants of the Gods’, which sadly I never finished. The idea was that all the gods had a set of servants what were built on the Daemonic model of Beast/Steed/Lesser/Greater/Prince model we saw in the original Realm of Chaos Books. For example, the servants of Ulric were a parody of the four werewolf forms of White Wolf’s Werewolf: The Apocalypse. Ranald had two Beast Servants, Magpies and Black Cats, while Shallya had her Doves. Morr had his Ravens, as well as Lesser Servants called Undertakers, who took the form of creepy old men that specialised in taking down necromancers, but often worked through mortal agents (PCs). You get the idea. However, the intention was to focus on the Beasts, and only add the other types where something made sense or I had a decent idea.
The background to this was that fear and hatred of anything remotely linked to Chaos and the Daemonic has become so reinforced by the hostility of the cult of Sigmar, that even the other cults dropped overt reference to such beings long ago. This is why there no mention of such beings in the game any more.
That’s a quick, rushed version. I’d written about 4000 words before I stopped, following the end of Warpstone. It’s an idea worth pursuing though. I was aiming for all the entities to have good, useful reasons for interacting with PCs that could be turned into adventures or goals. I think games that have a strong religious theme would benefit from something like this.
This sounds interesting. I’m sure a lot of people would like to see a finished version – I know I would. As I’ve been toying with the idea of avatars, some similar thoughts occurred to me, too. I can see how, consciously or otherwise, I set it up with the various animals associated with different gods. Maybe I’ll get to it sometime.
Thanks. Having had a read, I’m tempted to go back to it. The trouble is it’s just one of a number of articles I need to go back to. I lost a lot of motivation to write with the demise of Warpstone – the ideas are there, but I need to a reason to write and I’d rather see my longer pieces in printed rather than electronic form.
It’s got me thinking about Haendryk again, though. As a younger, modern (post-tribal) god, he might not have any such entities. Or perhaps they’re notably weaker: his Beasts are a Money-spider, his Greater Servants a handful of very young Dragons with very small hoards. Or, perhaps he has his origins in an older, tribal god associated with a concept of prosperity that was tied to livestock, and so has inherited cattle, sheep and horses as his Servants!
Dear Robin, it seems you have at least two readers. 🙂 Maybe you could finish your article first even if only to wait in a drawer. Maybe some WFRP journal will be launched soon and you can publish it. I’d love to translate your article into Polish as well.
Best,
Radek
I’m definitely going to have a serious look at it again, so you never know, it may appear at some point. Thanks, Radek.
Maybe I add that, in my opinion, all gods should have their own demons. As in our world, especially in Christian theology, there is talk of a hierarchy of angels (there is even a branch of theology such as angelology). The circles of hell are pretty obvious, vide Dante. I think that the “good” and “neutral” gods sometimes send their supernatural servants to help priests and zealous followers. This is my vision of the Warhammer world as GM and as a player.
Best,
Radek
That certainly makes logical sense, though I don’t know whether it will ever be part of official Warhammer canon.
But you are one of its creators, you have all the means to create that world, whether will it be official or not. You have the authority and you can influence the canon. And I hope you will do it more than once.
Best,
Radek
Hello Graeme,
It will be ok for you if i translate your bestiary posts to spanish?
I would post them in https://decenasdemundos.com/ with all the credits for you of course.
Thanks a lot for you awesome entries 🙂
Feel free! But please include a link to the original English version of each, and do not neglect to mention that, although I wrote them, they are unofficial and not approved by GW and C7.