40K Lore: Neither Man Nor Beast
Bounty hunters remain more fascinating than corpse-starch–apparently–this week, a look at the lore of the abhumans known as beastmen.
Evidently one week wasn’t enough for the two-fisted justice dispensed by Hive Primus’ hardest hitting, action-packed Bounty Hunter team. And since we’ve all apparently decided to abandon our regularly scheduled lecture on the importance of nutrition and its effects on the body when it is processed into corpse-starch in favor of this…explosion-fueled shot of adrenaline right to the ocularum, we may as well learn something.
“When you’re in the Underhive, it’s learn…or be learned. With explosions.”
So without further ado, Loremasters, we present the Beastmen of the Galaxy.
Beastmen (Homo sapiens variatus) are the most bestial and inhuman type of Abhumans.
Their bodies combine the features of both human and animal. Beastmen are much more variable in form than other abhuman types. They are considered Abhumans rather than ordinary Mutants, as individual Beastmen conform to a general physical and genetic standard and are no more prone to further mutation than normal humans. Beastmen warriors which worship the Chaos God frequent the armies of the Lost and the Damned. Of these corrupted Beastmen, those that worship Khorne are known as Bloodgors, those that worship Tzeentch are known as Tzaangors, and those that worship Nurgle are known as Pestigors. There is also an unusually large and aggressive strain of giant Beastman known as a Minotaur. It is comparable in strength to an Ogryn.
Those Beastmen who have been introduced into the Imperial cult possess a simple but fierce devotion to the Emperor, regarding him as a vengeful god which demands tribute in the form of the blood of his enemies. They are driven by the need to atone for the sin of being mutants by fighting for the Emperor.
Within the Imperium however, Beastmen are subject to severe persecution and have been placed on the Register of Proscribed Citizens (Class A-G worlds) by the Adeptus Arbites. As such, they are effectively precluded from settlement on, or transportation to or from, more than three hundred thousand worlds of the Imperium and are forbidden from being conscripted as an Imperial Tithe obligation. These restrictions are a sure sign, that Beastmen will soon lose their Abhuman status completely and will be reclassified as true Mutants.
Possibly heretical mutants.
As you can see, these Beastmen are a threat–but!–still technically not heretical. Even if they are reclassified as mutants, they’ll still be merely some kind of xenos threat and talking about them won’t be heresy. And while, it’s true, the Inquisition is not run on technicalities, it’s important to cling to what victories you can. And since our previous record has been sealed, we’re making sure that going forward there’s not even a trace of heresy. Now that that important disclaimer is out of the way, let us focus on the Beastman you’re all here for: Gor Half-Horn.
Gor Half-Horn is a Necromunda Beastman bounty hunter, who offers his service in Hive Primus. No one knows where the mysterious Gor came from or how a Mutant was able to attain a bounty hunter license. Gor Half-Horn is a mutant of the strain Homo Sapiens Variatus – and as such is possessed of horribly animalistic features and an unpredictable and violent temperament. These characteristics serve to make Gor a figure of dread in the underhive, but equally, they make him a target for every raving zealot he encounters. As a sanctioned Bounty Hunter, Gor is entitled, in theory at least, to go wherever he will in pursuit of his targets; in reality, he has often found himself the quarry, though so far none have bested him.
Because it is so rare for a Beastman to be sanctioned as a Bounty Hunter, Gor has become the subject of numerous legends throughout the underhive. Some say he was once a member of an Abhuman Auxilia attached to an Astra Militarum regiment, and the sole survivor of a battle of apocalyptic proportions. Others whisper that he was once in the employ of an Inquisitor, whose service he fled for a life among the damned. Some have even claimed that he was not born an Abhuman at all, but a noble scion who developed hideous mutations in his adolescence and fled downhive lest he be put to death by his own kin.
Now, hopefully we can leave this bounty hunting nonsense, appealing to the 18-35 demographic though it may be, behind us and get back to what’s important. Corpse Starch.
Corpse starch is a proud sponsor of Lethal Hunt: Justice At Dawn ‘The Hunt in the Spire Never Ends’ seasons 1-3, 7, 9, and 26.
