The Plague Tower, also known as the Plague Tower of Nurgle or just a Tower of Nurgle, is a large Daemon Engine of Chaos that is completely dedicated to the service of Nurgle, the Chaos God of pestilence and decay.
The Plague Tower is a huge construction of rotting timbers and rusting metal that carves its way across the battlefield leaving a trail of death and contamination in its wake.
Enemy fire bounces off its heavy armour, whilst inside the tower diseased followers of Nurgle wait impatiently, ready to spring into frenzied assault once the drawbridges have been dropped.
This assault is often led by a Greater Daemon of Nurgle, a Great Unclean One, whose massive, maggot-ridden bulk is barely constrained within this twisted engine of war. The war machine is constructed by Nurgle's acolytes, using thousands of twisted and corrupted slaves who toil to build the awesome machines of destruction that will spread the plague of Nurgle to a hundred worlds in the Plague Father's name.
When the grotesque Plague Tower is complete, the sorcerers in charge of its construction sacrifice the slaves, their bound souls driving the daemonic machine with their raw emotion.
The Plague Tower is cunningly designed to allow troops to disembark quickly and easily, allowing its cargo of plague-rotted infantry and Daemons to quickly spill forth after its main weapons have cleared their way. The towers also serve as transports for large numbers of crazed followers. It is no wonder that these hulking engines of war are often seen as harbingers of a grisly end.
Role[]
While many warlords prefer to lay waste to a planet from orbit, some prefer to make an example of their conquests. Disciples of Khorne and Nurgle usually follow this path, and while Khorne usually prefers large-scale battlefields where blood flows freely and skulls are piled, Nurgle's followers have a unique reputation for laying siege to a population where it thinks it is safest.
At the height of these sieges, Plague Towers are an all-too common sight; looming, rolling battle-towers from a long-dead age, covered in flayed human skin, and carrying disease and filth. Created from a massive pustule summoned by sorcerers or Warpsmiths upon their arrival, these hulking creations are filled with the virulent gifts of Nurgle, ready to be bestowed upon new hosts.
Armament[]
The Plague Tower is armed with numerous heavy weapons, including two forward-firing, wall-breaching Demolisher Cannons to fire upon enemy structures, fortifications, and walls. With such heavy firepower at its disposal, the Plague Tower has little difficulty shattering a city's defences.
This Daemon Engine also features large vats of virulent slime distilled from rotting, plague-ridden corpses mounted behind the rear portion of the tower. These large vats are used to feed the machine's main weapon, a massive Bile Cannon located on the front of the vehicle's chassis. The weapon is connected to the corpse vats via large bulging pipes which fill the weapon with a horrendous concoction of disgusting toxic and corrosive slime.
The Bile Cannon is designed to rid the initial breach of defenders by blasting them with a foul stream of pus and ichor. Those not instantly killed are covered in oozing rashes and sores as the corrosive liquid works its way through armour.
Those enemies who are killed or captured by Chaos forces using a Plague Tower, will eventually have their corpses added to the vehicle's plague vats, ensuring a steady stream of foul corrupted fluids to be used as ammunition.
The tower also features a top mounted Plague Mortar. The Plague Mortar is a massive mortar cannon that fires diseased munitions. Any enemy forces that foolishly try to assault the stinking behemoth in close combat will find that the vehicle's internal spaces and external cracks are infested with hordes of Nurglings, the tiny Lesser Daemons of the Plague God.
Nurglings will engage any forces that come near to the Plague Tower. If the Plague Tower itself takes enough damage in combat, its corrupted form may explode in a catastrophic explosion, spreading its toxic and infectious gifts of Nurgle even further into the enemy forces.
All Nurgle-aligned forces and Daemons caught by the attack of the Pus Cannon as it fires upon the enemy or within the radius of the tank's explosive demise will be immune to the effects and will actually enjoy bathing in the new toxins and diseases sacred to their lord.
Ordo Malleus Departmento Analyticus Technical Specifications[]
The Ordo Malleus has not yet determined the technical specifications for this Daemon Engine, if such a thing is even possible.
See Also[]
Sources[]
- Black Crusade: The Tome of Decay (RPG), pg. 98
- White Dwarf 188 (UK) "Plague Engines of Nurgle," by Gav Thorpe, pp. 26, 28
- Games Workshop: Plague Tower of Nurgle Datacard
Daemon Engines | |
---|---|
Chaos Undivided | Calamity Engine ā¢ Death Wheel ā¢ Decimator ā¢ Defiler ā¢ Forgefiend ā¢ Heldrake ā¢ Infernal Bombard ā¢ Maulerfiend ā¢ Soul Grinder ā¢ Venomcrawler ā¢ Wirewolf |
Khorne | Blood Reaper ā¢ Blood Slaughterer ā¢ Blood Throne of Khorne ā¢ Brass Scorpion ā¢ Cauldron of Blood ā¢ Death Dealer ā¢ Doom Blaster ā¢ Kytan ā¢ Lord of Battles ā¢ Lord of Skulls ā¢ Skull Cannon of Khorne ā¢ Tower of Skulls |
Nurgle | Blight Drone ā¢ Contagion ā¢ Foetid Bloat-drone ā¢ Myphitic Blight-hauler ā¢ Plague Hulk ā¢ Plague Tower ā¢ Plagueburst Crawler |
Tzeentch | Ćther Ray ā¢ The Auruntaur ā¢ Doom Wing ā¢ Fire Lord ā¢ Mirrorfiend ā¢ Silver Tower |
Slaanesh | Hell-Knight ā¢ Hell-Scourge ā¢ Hell-Strider ā¢ Questor Scout Titan ā¢ Subjugator Scout Titan |