The Tower of Skulls known as the Lord of Murder
The Tower of Skulls is a massive Daemon Engine used by the forces of Chaos that is dedicated to the service of the Chaos God of war and bloodshed, Khorne.
The Tower of Skulls is hammered out of arcane Warp-forged brass and black iron at the very foot of the Blood God's mighty throne located within the Realm of Chaos and infused with the essence of countless damned souls.
Each and every Tower of Skulls is the equivalent of a small and terrible army in its own right. There are sixty-four Towers of Skulls, each one named for an aspect of Khorne's beloved bloodletting.
Legend tells that they roam the great arid wastes before the Blood God's citadel, unleashing their bellowing cannons to reap enemy and ally alike in Khorne's unholy name.
It takes a slaughter on a truly cataclysmic scale to draw a Tower of Skulls forth into the Materium. To the worshipers of the Blood God, a Tower of Skulls' arrival is tangible proof of Khorne's favour. To the enemies of the Blood God, it is a sign that an already terrible battle is about to descend into carnage on an unimaginable scale.
The only hope of victory for those facing a Tower of Skulls is to fell it in battle, yet this no simple task. Each and every soul claimed by the Tower of Skulls infuses it with unholy power, allowing the machine to reknit even the most catastrophic damage.
The war engine is powered by a Warp-spawned device known as a Doomsday Engine, a form of Daemon-forged Chaos technology that generates tremendous amounts of power for a Daemon Engine by burning the souls of the victims trapped within the war machine's mass of collected skulls located within its tower.
Armament[]
The Tower of Skulls is one of the most heavily armed Daemon Engines ever encountered by the forces of the Imperium. The great and terrible war machine is armed with with an armament befitting a small army, and its gargantuan chassis and massive tower bristles with weaponry.
The vehicle's main weapon is its great, forward-firing Balemaw Cannon, a ballistic weapon of extreme power.
Further up the tower's height are two hull-mounted Skullreaper Cannons, large hexa-barrelled weapons. The engine is also armed with two top sponson-mounted Doomfire Cannons and two sponson-mounted twin-linked Skullshredder Cannons for anti-infantry defence.
In addition to its potent firepower, the Tower of Skulls is capable of crushing infantry and vehicles with its considerable bulk and bladed hull.
The Tower of Skulls normally takes advantage of its formidable armaments and armour by plunging directly into the midst of enemy formations -- blasting away with its cannons and crushing foes under its blood-smeared treads.
The Tower of Skulls, like many other Khornate Daemon Engines, is inscribed with the Runes of the Blood God, granting it added defence against psychic powers, acting as a reflection of the hatred that Khorne and his followers display for those who practise such arts.
Known Tower of Skulls[]
The following is a list of all Tower of Skulls Daemon Engines known to the Inquisition:
- Lord of Murder - The Lord of Murder is a Tower of Skulls that has been sighted on many battlefields in the galactic southwest, namely on Chirea, Starlois V, and in the Forsalkios asteroid belt.
Ordo Malleus Departmento Analyticus Technical Specifications[]
The technical specifications of the Tower of Skulls have not yet been determined by the Ordo Malleus of the Inquisition.
See Also[]
Sources[]
- Warhammer 40,000: Apocalypse Reload, pg. 53
- White Dwarf Magazine #148 (UK), "Space Marine: Daemons & Chaos War Machines - Daemon Engines of Khorne," by Andy Chambers & Rick Priestley, pg. 23-24
- Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II - Retribution (PC game)
| Daemon Engines | |
|---|---|
| Chaos Undivided | Calamity Engine • Death Wheel • Decimator • Defiler • Forgefiend • Heldrake • Infernal Bombard • Maulerfiend • Soul Grinder • Venomcrawler • Wirewolf |
| Khorne | Blood Reaper • Blood Slaughterer • Blood Throne of Khorne • Brass Scorpion • Cauldron of Blood • Death Dealer • Doom Blaster • Kytan • Lord of Battles • Lord of Skulls • Skull Cannon of Khorne • Tower of Skulls |
| Nurgle | Blight Drone • Contagion • Foetid Bloat-drone • Myphitic Blight-hauler • Plague Hulk • Plague Tower • Plagueburst Crawler |
| Tzeentch | Æther Ray • The Auruntaur • Doom Wing • Fire Lord • Mirrorfiend • Silver Tower |
| Slaanesh | Hell-Knight • Hell-Scourge • Hell-Strider • Questor Scout Titan • Subjugator Scout Titan |