Soulbound: Champions of Chaos - Darkoath Chieftain Archetype Focus
To celebrate the release of the new Champions of Chaos book for the Age of Sigmar RPG Soulbound we’ll be releasing a handful of articles going into details on a number of playable archetypes (or classes) available in the book. You can see our review of the Champions of Chaos book here.
Today we’ll be looking at the more feral and survivalist elements of Chaos. Drop your heavy armour plating and prep your fur-linings and wraps, it’s time to swear an oath to Chaos with the Darkoath Chieftain.
Darkoath Chieftain
Survivors of the harsh wastelands, the Darkoath are furious warriors who hurl themselves into the fray.
Within the desolate dominions of Chaos, only the ruthless survive. Among the tribes known as the Darkoath, callous strength is seen as a divine trait and is embedded into their very way of life. The hierarchy of the Darkoath is built upon this, as the Chieftains who lead the Darkoath tribes are exemplars of this merciless might. Aspirants and champions of the Darkoath must impress their kin through deadly monster hunts and ritual combats, and also devote themselves completely to single-minded killing, damning their very souls to gain the favour of the Dark Gods.
Mark of Chaos - Undivided
Rather than swearing fealty to one of the Chaos gods, the Darkoath Chieftain acts in the name of Chaos as a whole, an entity unto itself. Those who tread the path of Chaos Undivided understand the power in embracing all the elements of Chaos at once.
The Darkoath are a little different still, in that they don’t strictly worship the gods of Chaos as entities. The Darkoath have been left to live in the wilderness throughout each of the Mortal Realms and simply surviving is an almost insurmountable challenge. The only way they’ve been able to sustain any remote form of life is by offering sacrifices and oaths to the gods of Chaos in exchange for gifts and boons. They do not worship the gods of Chaos for a sense of greed or accelerating power, but because if they don’t they would surely not survive. Darkoath Chieftains are responsible for the survival of their whole tribe and so the choices and sacrifices made by Chieftains are often more spiritually and physically taxing than any other. As they grow in power from the gifts of the Chaos gods, it’s all too often that these Chieftains begin to see the appeal of worshipping the gods and thus their Path to Glory begins.
Core Skill and Talent
Skill - Weapon Skill - Another Weapon Skill specialist?! Well, these are the Champions of Chaos - fighting is pretty much expected. Surviving in the wastelands of the Mortal Realms means that Darkoath Chieftains have spent years defending their tribes from outside threats, as well as from inside threats within the tribe itself. Darkoath Chieftains have marshal prowess that, whilst probably not standing shoulder to shoulder with one of the god-devoted counterparts, has at least allowed them to fend off the countless enemies, monsters and daemons throughout their homelands.
Talent - Oath of Murder - The moment your blade first tastes blood, you swear an oath to the Gods of Chaos that you shall hunt down only the mightiest tributes for them. When in the same Zone as a Champion or Chosen creature, your Melee increases by one step for each Wound you currently have.
Oath of Murder is a sublimely apt Talent as Darkoath survive by swearing their oaths and fulfilling them to gain power, so having this represented in Champions of Chaos is very much expected and welcome. This Talent rewards a Chieftain by giving them a higher chance to deal damage against the strongest enemies based on how much damage the Chieftain has sustained in Wounds. This works brilliantly in prompting the Darkoath Chieftain to go for glory against the mightiest enemies but keeping them in with a fighting chance should the conflict not go their way to begin with.
Available Skills and Talents
Skills - Athletics, Crafting, Cults, Determination, Fortitude, Intimidation, Might, Nature, Survival, Weapon Skill
Everything listed above is par for the course. Crafting for creating necessary gear to survive in the vicious wastes, Nature for knowing the surrounding lands and picking up the signs of what is nearby, Determination to harness the sheer grit that a Darkoath eminates in order to survive. You cannot go wrong here should you wish for your Chieftain to be a toe-to-toe combat master, or a tracker/hunter for your party. Even having them lean into Cults would be a nice touch as they feel the draw and temptation of actual worship inching closer with each fulfilled oath.
Talents - Alley Cat, Hunt the Betrayer, Fearless, Orientation, Spoil Guerrilla, Stalker of the Wastes, War Leader
There are plenty of Talents here we haven’t touched on in the other focus articles. “Spoil Guerrilla” represents an aptitude in fighting amidst the Bloodwind Spoils, allowing once per turn for the Chieftain to move to an adjacent zone after dealing damage to an enemy. “Hunt the Betrayer” grants an increase to Melee and Accuracy against servants of Sigmar due to the Darkoaths seething hatred of the Azyrites. “War Leader” is a great utility Talent as the Chieftain can choose a nearby ally to attack in their stead, having the Darkoath Chieftain direct and guide allies in how and what is best to attack based on their experience.
Recommended Role
The Darkoath Chieftain could well be a swiss army knife of the group. They can handle weapons capably and deal plenty of damage, especially to the more powerful enemies thanks to their Oath to Murder Talent. They could also don a shield to increase their survivability in a fight. Furthermore, their intimidation and leadership could also have them be particularly proficient party leaders, mantling the burden of responsibility and keeping the band of murderous brutes on-track and on-target.
Of all of the archetypes we’ve covered, I feel the Darkoath Chieftain could be one of the most fun to roleplay heavily. They are jaded, bitter souls harbouring a hatred of Sigmar that could put even the Khornate rabble to shame, but they must keep their wits about them and forgo outright bloodshed in order to consider the needs and survival of their tribe. Of all of them, the Darkoath Chieftain has the most to lose and the most precarious, steepest plunge should they set a foot wrong.
Miniatures
As the sun sets on this article the moon crests the horizon on its way up. What’s that silhouette that we see?! It looks to be a massive fighter, wielding a gigantic shield and bellowing deafening a warcry from its horned helmet…