Chaos god question (WH40K)

[Lord Revan]

Do the dark powers accept indirect offerings, for example if a general would command his forces into an obvious trap to try gain favor from Khorne would that work or would he have to go chopping heads of to gain favor?

[Lord Relvenous]

Oh yeah, that'd fly. Despite the best efforts of some of the writers of 40k, the Chaos Gods actually have some subtlety to them (even Khorne). Worship of Khorne can start as simple as unhealthy fascination with warrior honor or a particular fondness for in-close combat (that isn't to say you've just lost your soul to Khorne, but it can be how worship and corruption can start). So I'd say intentionally leading your forces in a meat grinder that would soak the ground red in their blood would actually be a very good offering to Khorne.

[Ted C]

Do the dark powers accept indirect offerings, for example if a general would command his forces into an obvious trap to try gain favor from Khorne would that work or would he have to go chopping heads of to gain favor?

Taking action to create a conflict is something that would almost certainly gain favor from Khorne.

[Sinewmire]

Yes. The Chaos gods are more about the emotions than the actual physical product, it is speculated.
Khorne, for example, famously cares not from whence the blood flows.

[Cykeisme]

Khorne's nutritional gain is probably directly proportional to the total volume of blood spilt through warfare, but the actual favor the Khornate petitioner gains is likely magnified greatly if it the said sanguine fluid is spilt by his/her own hands.

For example, Kharne the Betrayer is famous for spilling vast amounts of his foes' blood by directly engaging and (messily) defeating them in close combat with his chainaxe, bolt pistol and bare hands (possibly other portions of his anatomy such as fists and feet as well).
Other Chaos warlords may have vast hosts that may spill equivalent amounts of blood in their campaigns, but I believe the offering is not considered equivalent.

To some extent, Khorne prefers direct violence rather than trickery, so if you're using some sort of deception to accomplish those goals, it could taint the offering somewhat. I believe if you do not get your hands dirty (bloody) at all, the Blood God's gaze may actually be of the unfavorable sort. While Khorne is not directly opposed to Tzeentch, feats of trickery are probably best directed toward the patronage of this god.

[Irbis]

Yes. The Chaos gods are more about the emotions than the actual physical product, it is speculated.
Khorne, for example, famously cares not from whence the blood flows.

You know, after reading this quote, I've always wondered how armies worshiping Khorne continue to exist. If you need to spill the blood constantly, they would all kill each other while in transit on troopship to next world

[Black Admiral]

Yes. The Chaos gods are more about the emotions than the actual physical product, it is speculated.
Khorne, for example, famously cares not from whence the blood flows.

You know, after reading this quote, I've always wondered how armies worshiping Khorne continue to exist. If you need to spill the blood constantly, they would all kill each other while in transit on troopship to next world

They do tend to suffer a notable attrition rate because of fratricide, yes. That said, most Khornate warbands usually keep the Berzerkers - those who are prone to just killing anyone within reach - chained up until the time is appropriate to unleash them on someone.

[Simon_Jester]

Yes. The Chaos gods are more about the emotions than the actual physical product, it is speculated.
Khorne, for example, famously cares not from whence the blood flows.

You know, after reading this quote, I've always wondered how armies worshiping Khorne continue to exist. If you need to spill the blood constantly, they would all kill each other while in transit on troopship to next world

There are always degrees with chaos-worshippers: some are saner than others. The craziest Khornates have to be kept locked up in transit, while the less crazy ones are at least capable of sitting around and waiting for the next war zone, even if they desperately want to spend as much time fighting as possible.

Also, there's a 'positive' side to each of the Chaos gods, something that allows them to actually engage with human beings- ambition, aesthetics, endurance in the face of suffering, and in Khorne's case, the bond of loyalty among fellow warriors. So typical Khornates will, influenced by this bond, be less batshit about turning on each other. The extremes are exceptions to the rule, Kharne the Betrayer being the infamous example.

[Lord Revan]

well there's a reason he's called the "betrayer" and he got that name not from the imperium but his fellow CSM.

playing DoW got me thinking would the stunt pulled by the big bad of DoW2 (well the 2 expantions anyway) be possible according to current "lore".

[Irbis]

There are always degrees with chaos-worshippers: some are saner than others. The craziest Khornates have to be kept locked up in transit, while the less crazy ones are at least capable of sitting around and waiting for the next war zone, even if they desperately want to spend as much time fighting as possible.

That begs the question how exactly you tie them up if when the battle ends, and time of tying comes, they're most likely to turn on you to keep the blood flowing. IIRC, in Codex:CSM, there is story about Khornate Champion who hacked off his own head because Khorne demands skulls constantly, and one minute since last offering proved to be too much for him, and already mentioned Kharn, who was pissed off because his Legion decided to stop fighting for a night (so freezing fighting was impossible anyway) so he went and kicked the crap out of so many of his allies his Legion ceased to exist that day. IMHO, Grimdumb GW tried to write last decade went too far in case of Khorne, armies dedicated to him would either need to shot their best (unnaturally gifted by their god) members on sight or be killed by them for not getting enough skulls.

[Bladed_Crescent]

....IIRC, in Codex:CSM, there is story about Khornate Champion who hacked off his own head because Khorne demands skulls constantly, and one minute since last offering proved to be too much for him....

I know the story you're talking about.

It's actually because he was shot full of holes and couldn't keep fighting; the story is from the perspective of the daemon bound into the berserker's weapon and it feels the sudden change in its bearer's health and it realizes that he's taken too much damage to survive; the berserker then cuts off his own head as a final offering to Khorne, since he's unable to fight any longer, not because Khorne needed a skull-fix right that second.

Khornate champions do tend to be rather... straightforward in their methodology, but Khorne is also the god of martial honour, courage and warfare. It's not always about the skulls - there are Khornate fleet commanders, for example. I would like to see more of that aspect of Khorne myself - I keep meaning to convert a model into a "Bloodpriest" (inside joke) who extols the virtues of honour in battle and sees that as the way to worship the Lord of Skulls.

[Imperial Overlord]

You don't even need to worship them to provide Chaos Gods nourishment and be rewarded with their favor. The Fall of the Eldar is the best example, an entire psychic race annihilating itself and giving birth to a new Chaos God through too much decadence. If you're a bloody handed slayer who loves to kill and not devoted to another god, Khorne might very well take a shine to you even if you've never heard of him.

[PainRack]

Doesn't that mean some Marine units are constantly offering gifts to Khorne?

[Imperial Overlord]

Doesn't that mean some Marine units are constantly offering gifts to Khorne?

Possibly. The Emperor is the focus of their devotion and he is a warp god so he's probably getting most of their warp energy. Khorne is probably getting some juice from them. There are plenty of related situations. What happens when a manipulative Tzeentchian schemer sets up an orgy to get nice blackmail pics of certain guests, but enjoys the festivities? Or a Plague Marine who enjoys hacking his enemies down in hand to hand combat? The Ruinous Powers represent key parts of human and alien psyches and can be diminished, but are unlikely to ever fade away. Unless the Tyranids eat everyone in the galaxy or a similarly catastrophic event occurs. Which being 40K, it might in the far distant future where GW will never go.

[Vendetta]

playing DoW got me thinking would the stunt pulled by the big bad of DoW2 (well the 2 expantions anyway) be possible according to current "lore".

Dunno. I mean he's a psyker who attempts to devote himself to Khorne, who in the normal course of things wouldn't piss on psykers if they were on fire. But then given how he switches allegiance between Chaos Rising and Retribution at the faintest sniff of temptation they could just be fucking with him because he's not really worth the effort.

[Cykeisme]

Well, you see, if you're devoted to no one, violently dismembering your enemies on the battlefield feeds Khorne.

However, Astartes and most Imperial troops including Guardsmen and PDF forces are devoted to the Emperor, in varying degrees, at any rate. Thus the fruits of their actions will primarily go to the Emperor.

[Alkaloid]

Soooort of. Part of the reason chaos is so difficult to defeat is that the gods are literally a reflection of living beings personality and emotion, so while Khorne is bloodshed and slaughter, he is also honour and single combat. As long as war continues to happen, it will feed him and make him stronger, just as plotting against tzeentch will feed him even though the plot is counter to his interests. It's one of the more insidious ways chaos cults can form, a band of warriors form a brotherhood, lots of talk about honour and trials by arms etc, and that starts to link them to Khorne, and through that link he can corrupt them so that they reflect his darker side as well, the slaughter for the sake of slaughter, so you can get a fully fledged cult worshipping Khorne, maybe by another name, but still Khorne, without anyone ever happening across someone who has even heard of him. Your actions can still feed the gods, but they wont get your soul when you die if you are genuinely devoted to the Emperor like they would if you were devoted to them, so your death doesn't make them stronger.

[dragon]

Do the dark powers accept indirect offerings, for example if a general would command his forces into an obvious trap to try gain favor from Khorne would that work or would he have to go chopping heads of to gain favor?

Taking action to create a conflict is something that would almost certainly gain favor from Khorne.

Hum wonder if he likes politicians as they are always causing conflict granted at least our polticians don't go around headbutting fellow members like the brits do.

[Eternal_Freedom]

Do the dark powers accept indirect offerings, for example if a general would command his forces into an obvious trap to try gain favor from Khorne would that work or would he have to go chopping heads of to gain favor?

Taking action to create a conflict is something that would almost certainly gain favor from Khorne.

Hum wonder if he likes politicians as they are always causing conflict granted at least our polticians don't go around headbutting fellow members like the brits do.

Given that Khorne also is the god of martial honour I doubt he would approve too much of politicians, even if they are war mongers (which pretty much everyone in the Imperium is I suppose).

[Lord Revan]

Well one things that seems to remain consistent is that Khorne hates cowards, so I suspect that if you went about causing conflict, while making sure you were always safe no matter what the outcome was, it suspect it would more in line with Tzeench or Slaanesh then Khorne.

the way I've figured it (and wanted to be sure about) was that it doesn't matter if you caused the blood to spilt indirectly as long as you are willing to fight and spill blood directly should the need arise.