Drukhari Wych Cults

Cult of Strife

Having risen to the apex of power through the mastery of elegant excruciation, the Cult of Strife’s arenas attract more patrons than any of their rivals, and it is both in these arenas and on the battlefields of realspace that the Cult’s reputation for excessive violence is writ large. They forge a spectacle of every conflict, never failing to leave their onlookers or their victims breathless.

OBSESSION: THE SPECTACLE OF MURDER

Whether enthralling spectators in the arena or slaughtering their way through an enemy army, the Cult of Strife have developed a penchant for bombastically violent opening manoeuvres, always striving to ensure they get the honour of striking the first blow.

• At the start of the Fight phase, if a unit with this Obsession is within Engagement Range of any enemy units, it adds 2 to its Initiative characteristic.
• Each time you declare a charge for a unit with this Obsession, if there are no other units from your army within Engagement Range of any of the enemy units selected as targets of that charge, add 2 to the charge roll.

WARLORD TRAIT: BLOOD DANCER The Succubi of the Cult of Strife are renowned for their expertise at close-quarters combat within the arenas of Commorragh. The skills they display before the baying crowds on the blood-soaked sands are equally as deadly on the battlefield. This WARLORD's melee attacks gains the Sustained Hits 2 special rule.

RELIC: THE PHIAL BOUQUET

Worn decoratively on the wrist or shoulder, the Phial Bouquet contains a cocktail of artisanal combat drugs, decanted into the Succubus’ spinal column over the course of a battle. CULT OF STRIFE SUCCUBUS model only. Roll one D6 at the start of each battle round. Until the end of the battle round, the bearer gains the associated effect from the Combat Drugs ability table. This effect can be one that the bearer is already affected by and is cumulative.

Cult of the Cursed Blade

The Cursed Blade thrive on the mistrust and treachery at the heart of their own Cult, seeing betrayal as the ultimate tenet for honing their deadly arts. Woe comes swiftly to those who accept the welcoming smile and hand of friendship offered by their Wyches - beneath the smile there is a smirk of anticipation, and concealed within the hand is a killing blade.

OBSESSION: ONLY THE STRONG WILL THRIVE

There is no place for frailty amongst the Cult of the Cursed Blade, for they teach that weakness exists only to be exploited by the strong. Those Wyches who survive in the Cults arena are the physical embodiment of this philosophy.

• Add 1 to the Strength characteristic of models with this Obsession.
• Each time you make an unmodified saving throw of 6 for a model with this Obsession against a melee attack, after the attacking model’s unit has finished making its attacks, before any models are removed, that enemy unit suffers 1 S4 AP6 hit.

WARLORD TRAIT: TREACHEROUS DECEIVER The Succubi of the Cult of the Cursed Blade are cunning and treacherous, exploiting any opportunity to wrong-foot and deceive their foes before striking them with concealed weapons. Each time you make an unmodified saving throw of 4+ for this WARLORD against a melee attack, after the attacking model’s unit has finished making its attacks, that enemy unit suffers 1 S4 AP6 hit. This is in addition to the second part of the obsession.

RELIC: TRAITOR’S EMBRACE

The Traitors Embrace comprises a pair of metal rods that are sewn into the skin. At the moment of death, these rods cause their bearer’s bones to explode outward, rapidly growing into a jagged cage. CULT OF THE CURSED BLADE SUCCUBUS model only. If the bearer is destroyed by a melee attack, roll one D6: on a 2+, after the attacking model’s unit has finished making its attacks, it suffers 2d6 S5 AP4 hits.

Cult of the Red Grief

With acrobatic expertise and attacks so swift that few see them coming, the Cult of the Red Grief revel in their capacity to slay on the move, never stopping until all is bloody ruin. They strike, kill and move on in the space a few desperate breaths, taking to extremes the philosophy that the greatest defence is simply not to be there when the opponent’s blade falls.

OBSESSION: THE SPEED OF THE KILL

Wyches of the Cult of the Red Grief revel in high-speed murder, and there is fierce competition amongst their ranks as to who can butcher their victims the quickest.

• You can re-roll charge rolls made for units with this Obsession.
• Add 2 to Advance rolls made for units with this Obsession.

WARLORD TRAIT: HYPERSWIFT REFLEXES The Succubi of the Cult of the Red Grief believe the best defence is simply not to be there when the opponents blade falls. Such are their reflexes that they dodge blows with supernatural speed. Each time a melee attack is made against this WARLORD, an unmodified hit roll of 1-3 for that attack fails, irrespective of any abilities that the weapon or the model making the attack may have.

RELIC: THE BLOOD GLAIVE

Forged by Organghast the Haemomancer, the Blood Glaive absorbs the viscera of those victims it slays. Sloughing off parts of its blade that have become nicked in battle, the freshly harvested gore is used to rehone its crimson edge. CULT OF THE RED GRIEF SUCCUBUS model equipped with an archite glaive only. This Relic replaces an archite glaive and has the following profile:

WEAPON	TYPE	S	AP
The Blood Glaive	Melee	+4	2

Other Cults

If your chosen Cult does not have an associated Cult Obsession above, you must instead create their Cult Obsession by selecting two of the Obsessions from the lists below. An All-consuming Obsession counts as two selections.

Acrobatic Display

This Cult favours spectacular gymnastic displays. Its fighters are never still, springing from one foot to the other and flipping over the blows of their foe with ease. Each time a unit with this Obsession consolidates or piles in, models in that unit can move horizontally through other models and terrain features (they cannot finish a move on top of another model, or its base).

The Art of Pain

Some Wych Cults elevate gladiatorial battles to another level by creating a spectacle that maims and cripples in order to draw out the moment of the kill, heightening the pleasure they derive before the final blade falls. While a unit with this Obsession that has the Power From Pain ability is within Engagement Range of any enemy units, treat the current battle round number as being one higher when determining what effects the Power From Pain ability has.

Berserk Fugue (All-consuming)

This Cult’s warriors enter a killing trance when the moment of combat is joined, ripping their foes apart in a flurry of blows that owes nothing to grace and everything to bestial fury.

• Each time a model with this Obsession makes a melee attack, if that model’s unit made a charge move, was charged or performed a Heroic Intervention this turn, their melee attacks receive the Sustained Hits 1 keyword.
• Each time a model with this Obsession would lose a wound as a result of a psychic power, roll one D6: on a 5+, that wound is not lost.

Precise Killers

This Wych Cult is known for the meticulous skill of its warriors. Even the thickest armour is no defence against their assault, as blades plunge through eye lenses and slice through vulnerable seams. Each time a model with this Obsession makes a melee attack, that attack benefits from the Blade Artists ability on an unmodified roll of 5+ instead of 6.

Slashing Impact

The warriors of this Wych Cult are highly adept at using their bladed armour and equipment to plunge into the foe, opening up veins and slashing throats. Models with this Obsession receive the Hammer of Wrath special rule.

Stimulant Innovators

Not for this Cult the banal stimulants of their peers. Its fighters believe in trying ever-more interesting and dangerous concoctions to fuel their displays. From Ambull adrenal gland distillations to pheromonic infusions derived from the Ethereals of the Tau, these warriors will try anything to give themselves an edge over their opponents, the potential for metabolic meltdown only adding to the thrill. Once per battle, in your Command phase, you can declare that units with this Obsession will use their experimental concoctions. When you do so, roll one D3 on the Combat Drugs table. Every unit with this Obsession that has the Combat Drugs ability gains this additional ability (which is cumulative with any abilities they already have) until the end of the turn.

Test of Skill

This Wych Cult is driven to test its bladecraft against the largest and most dangerous foes in the galaxy. They are easily bored by slaughtering lesser opponents, but when faced with a truly monstrous quarry, they attack and dismember it with surprising speed and delight. Each time a model with this Obsession makes a melee attack that targets a MONSTER or VEHICLE unit, add 1 to that attack’s wound roll.

Trophy Takers

Taking a token from each defeated foe, the members of this Cult are bedecked in patches of flayed skin, bones and skulls that proclaim their many victories. Each time a LD test is taken for an enemy unit that had any models destroyed by a melee attack made by a unit with this Obsession, roll one additional D6 and discard the lowest result.

Agile Hunters (All-consuming)

Training extensively among the haunted spires above their arenas, and renowned for dizzying extravaganzas that dangerously test their speed and reactions, these stimm-fuelled warriors are adept at chasing down the most elusive and mobile prey.

• Each time a model with this Obsession makes an attack that targets a unit that can FLY, add 1 to that attacks hit roll.
• If a unit with this Obsession with the Combat Drugs ability has the Hypex ability, add 4" to that unit’s Move characteristic instead of 3".