First off, I created the initial home rules to help give an idea of how one would be an Unaligned Daemon Prince. It bugged me that, after dedicating so much time to balancing between Chaos forces, there wasn't any payoff aside from psychic powers (assuming your even a Psyker). So I wrote up the following to answer what should have been relatively basic. It's not complete, and you may find something better on the web, but this was just my shot at it. Also note that I'm thinking of special, particular Daemonic Gifts that one could earn by only being dedicated to Chaos Unaligned (while still retaining different prerequisites to fit differing characters). Any tips of how to improve would be beneficial.
Playing Chaos Unaligned should be considered "hard", compared to dedicating oneself to a singular power. I specifically wanted it to represent the potential to - in essence - allow the character to reach a "Minor God"-like status. As for how long anyone is willing to tolerate it, I'd recommend that once the Character reaches a set Favour, they essentially "ascend" to that unplayable state (assuming you want to end it).
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Rules for Apotheosis of Chaos Unaligned Heretics
By {Redacted}
The following are a brief subset of rules that, upon the approval by your game’s GM, can be implemented to reward those who have stayed themselves from the temptation of appeasing any one Chaos God. This is a difficult path to walk for many and for the few who successfully walk this path, there are three methods of which the Heretic may garner their ultimate power while having absolute freedom to serve their own agendas. Such methods include: Appeasement, God-Slayer, & Ritualistic Odyssey.
Appeasement
The act of pleasing the Chaos Gods in their entirety is impossible without contradiction. However, to obtain the tokens of acceptance or vouching trophies of their Greater Daemons is only nigh-impossible. The Appeasement of these Greater Daemons are considerably difficult, usually resulting in a deep compact with each Daemon. Even worse, sometimes reaching these compacts could be the reward of yet another compact. Regardless, a token of acceptance is never awarded easily, as it is something that a daemon must attribute itself to fully and with its entirety. If a Khorne Bloodthirster gives his token of acceptance to a psyker, the witch must have proven himself worthy of it by completing the relevant task without the use of their psychic powers or force weapons, being just one example.
In Game terms, the type of compact that would garner the “vetting” of a Greater Daemon needs to be, in of itself, a great rarity or even reward. Typically, as daemons see themselves above mortals, the Heretic needs to have earned the attention of such a daemon or impressed them to such a degree.
Inverse-Appeasement
Typically the act of forcing a daemon to obey you and take from it what it would devour your soul for. Such acts as obtaining a daemon’s true name can also forcibly draw such a creature to obey your very command (at your own peril). Gathering the True Name of Four Greater Daemons may actually be far harder than Appeasing them, but it may be necessary for even the most stalwart of Greater Daemons that may abhor you for whatever reason, such as a powerful Bloodthirster absolutely rejecting the idea of the witch seeking its favor (akin to the previous example – it is up to your GM as to how any given Daemon feels toward their absolutely hated opposite).
All things considered, it is advised that, should a Player take this route, they should be allowed to use both Appeasement & Inverse-Appeasement. It is also strongly advised that such interconnectivity with sources of the daemonic and the highly garnered secrets of powerful daemons should involve a plethora of incredibly power champions, epic battles, elusive secrets, and countless other “high adventure” concepts should come into play at this incredibly high-end endeavor.
God-Slayer
Among many, the greatest of servants to the Chaos Gods are considered gods in of themselves to the mere mortal. They shape their own realms, hold vast armies on the slightest whisper, and wield enormous power capable of sweep across entire worlds with ease. They stand as the greatest paragons of Chaos, regardless of the God. And yet, few mortals have ever bested one, and fewer still ever known to vanquish such a creature. The God-Slayer is not simply one such individual, but if successful, easily capable of becoming a legend among friend and foe alike. To not only vanquish one Greater Daemon, but Four – one from each Chaos God. The God-Slayer seeks to prove themselves not only to the Chaos Gods, but to the very immaterium itself. By vanquishing each of the Chaos God’s greatest lieutenants in their vast armies, the God-Slayer has effectively earned his Apotheosis without question; either by the will of the Chaos Gods, or by the very Warp energies that infuse within him from such deeds of legend.
Absolute Death (Optional – GM Choice)
Only when power is taken from the powerful shall a God bleed. For the God-Slayer that truly hates their foes, or absolutely seeks to be remembered as the God-Slayer without question, one must first inscribe the True Name of God upon thine weapon and not invoke the name – not until the end. Once thine God has been brought on lo, only upon the final strike shall the name be bellowed with all one’s being – thrice. Each time the name is finished, invoke thine name – the name of the Slayer. And once the name is finished, withdraw the blade and let die the once-fold god.
Ritualistic Odyssey
The greatest of endeavors or travels are poultry compared to the Ritualistic Odyssey. The Heretic expands their horizons not only to the Screaming Vortex, but to all of the Galaxy. They search for powers capable of empowering their very being; body and soul. Vile and Cursed Artefacts of Chaos, Sigils of power psychic energies, Exuberant Psychic-Xenos sacrifices, and a plethora more. The Ritualistic Odyssey is, first and foremost, a grand journey that will span much of the known space and force the Heretic to encounter a countless number of adversaries, friends, obstacles and beasts. Either through fulfilling an ancient widespread prophecy or fulfilling the Heretic’s personal volitions, the Heretic tests themselves in the galaxy against challenges of all kinds, gathering of trophies, artefacts, and powers beyond their former possibilities.
Secondly, after the journey is complete and the Heretic believes that they have ascertained enough powerful pieces for their Apotheosis, they may then make preparations for a powerful ritual that will ensure their change. By extensively planning out the correct date, time, conditions, proper sacrifices, inscriptions, and countless other factions, the ritual rarely goes unimpeded by external forces. Either by a roaming Ork Waaagh!, Eldars seeking to prevent yet another rising force in the Warp, rival warbands & daemons, former enemies, and even the Imperium will often seek to prevent this ritual. For if the ritual is completed, it is certain that an unchained force of Chaos that possesses unknown possibilities and potential will be unleashed.
In-game terms, it is advised that the Heretic be required to attain a dozen or so physical/abstract things across the galaxy, encounter dangers all along the way. Then, after this is complete, the Heretic should have to fulfill several conditions for a special ritual, such things might include: bathe a non-daemon world in an ocean of blood, break the will of several champions of faith belonging to the enemy, scry the sigils of a forgotten language across the ritual site, have everyone on a planet ritualistically sacrifice themselves while whispering your name, etc. In general, the circumstances must be hard to ensure they are unabridged by anyone particular. This would likely greatly involve the fellow Heretics in the warband to accomplish, while also allowing the perfect betrayal of a fellow Heretic.
Daemon Prince Abilities
The Chaos Undivided (Unaligned) Daemon Prince gains all the benefits of the typical Daemonic Stature, but gains the following special rules for being Unaligned.
Daemonic Presence – The Daemon prince effectively grants the same penalties to those within its ranges, but as for its effect in-game it is best to negotiate how this penalty is bestowed upon those affected (as with Daemon Prince of Khorne and the sense of uncontrollable rage).
Chaos Empowerment – Gain a +10 to any two Characteristics of your choice. They may not be the same.
No Strings On Me – The Daemon Prince imposes a -10 to all Tests made by Aligned Chaos Daemons within 20 meters, and -20 to all Tests made by Mortals within 20 meters, which are opposed/Hostile to the Daemon Prince.
Free Reign (Choose Two) – The Daemon Prince may re-roll failed tests using the chosen Characteristics, must take the second roll.
Unshackled Form – The Daemon Prince may change their Appearance and Size at will while in the Warp. If in destabilized reality: +20 WP to perform. If in stable reality: -10 WP to perform.
Earning Favor (Gods, Mortals & You)
A Daemon Prince of no particular alignment sparsely earns Favor from all/any of the Chaos Gods, and while it possible for forming compacts and deals to earn Favor, it is never as much as those truly devoted. Favor earned from any Chaos God is halved . However, Favor may be earned from external sources, such as the devotions of Mortals. This is earned in a different way than from the Chaos Gods as Mortals benefit the Daemon Prince from directly witnessing their epic deeds and thus empowering their prayers to you.
In effect, the earnings of an Unaligned Daemon Prince are cut in half, rounded up, from the Chaos Gods while the Favor earned from Mortals is considerably on par with the typical rewards – however are not earned unless the actions are witnessed or carry great effect to the Mortals who beseech the Daemon Prince’s name, or simply Mortals who come to heed you in one way or another (Friend and Foe alike).
However, for Favor to be lost from those who lay claim to being their own master, it is somewhat different. Unaligned Daemon Princes may only lose Favor while servicing another Chaos God’s forces, or has the benefits of said Chaos God, and even then the losses are halved, rounded down (min. 0) . But when Favor would be lost in front of Mortals, the loss is the full value . Such losses in Favor may be far different than the typical Daemon Prince, but general failings are to be considered typical losses in Favor (such as failing objectives, being defeated, having plans being foiled, etc.).
As for how a Daemon Prince would directly earn such Favour given their Unaligned status, consider general acts of Infamy, but far amplified in scope and course. While a Heretic may seek to form a Cult and fell a world to the Whispers of Chaos, a Daemon Prince may seek to start a religious insurrection on a Shrine World that is home to fanatical believers and past saints, maybe even a home world for a sect of Battle Sisters. If a Heretic would seek to dedicate the bloodshed of war during a skirmish between factions by assassinating key figures on the battlefield, a Daemon Prince would either introduce another faction to make the bloodshed more rampant, or even ensure the violence continues by securing reinforcements for both groups and then seeing to the war’s zero-gain results; effectively making for a promisingly long, drawn-out discourse for the enemies of Chaos.
In essence , the actions of an Unaligned Daemon Prince should both further their own goals while, at the same time, being far more grand in scope than the acts of aspiring Heretics.
NOTE (How Unaligned Daemons Gain Power)
Daemon Princes who are essentially untied from any Chaos God also must derive their power from the very same form that the Chaos Gods benefit from themselves; effectively making a Daemon Prince a Minor God with only themselves to support their power – unlike other Daemon Princes. For this to be so, the Daemon Prince essentially must either spread the worship of Chaos in its most general form (to feed from in a small, indiscriminate format), or spread the worship of themselves directly (usually conflicting with other Chaos Gods & their followers).
As such, an Unaligned Daemon Prince typically must see to their continued worship and that their power base grows. This is usually done by accomplishing grand deeds and pursuing power still – for no immortal is truly that.
Mechanically speaking, these formats should be one-in-the-same, however they may take assorted differences in how they are done, depending on the Daemon Prince. It is advised to work with your GM as to how to go about doing this.
Daemonic Minions
Either choose some particularly unaligned daemons or create your own. Work with your GM to refine this into having the most ideals spawn reflect your Daemon Prince’s most ideal qualities (typically the one’s chosen upon becoming a Daemon Prince). I may seem lazy here (because I was), but it is pretty straight forward considering your own character and their personality.
Daemonic Gifts
Daemonic Gifts belonging to the Unaligned category may be purchased at half price, rounded down. However, every other Daemonic Gift (of assorted Chaos Gods) has its cost increased by 5, but are available for purchase for an Unaligned Daemon Prince.
However, if such a Daemon Prince wishes to purchase a Chaos God’s Favour, they must instead earn it as a Compact reward – as their individual Favor cannot earn such a sought prize of even the Chaos God’s greatest champions. The Compact must be dedicated to the chosen Chaos God you seek to earn the favour of. You cannot earn the chosen God’s favour by dedicating the compact to all/any other Gods.
I am trying to think of some diverse and respectfully mutual Unaligned Daemonic Gifts that would be exclusive to Unaligned, such as items that tend to different or more concentrated ideals within Chaos or in general. Open for suggestions.
NOTE
For gifts that would rely on a dedicated alignment, or would require choice, the Unaligned Daemon Prince may pick any Alignment – this doesn’t not effect the Daemon Prince’s alignment.
Edited by Inquisitor Balthazar J. Skult