Oldhammer fans, we are turning the clock back three decades to see the original Greater Daemons of Chaos.
The Greater Daemons of Chaos are amongst the most potent and feared of foes in the Grimdark. But today’s plastic Chaos powerhouses had humble beginnings. Today we are going all the way back to the late 1980s, to the original Realm of Chaos books to look at the original Greater Daemons of the four Ruinous Powers, in their first incarnations.
Slaves to Darkness (1988)
Look at that amazing 1980s cover art. This is the tome that gave us Khorne and Slaanesh. Almost everything that defined these eternal foes, from their background to their pantheon of daemonic followers, to their dedicated legions, both Warhammer Fantasy and 40K came from this book. Let’s take a look at their respective daemons:
The OG Greater Daemons
Just look at those amazing big metal daemon miniatures in the back row of the three spreads. Then note the crazy mix of fantasy and sci-fi followers up front. these would one day grow into the respective Warriors of Chaos (WFB) and Chaos Space Marines (40K) for their respective systems. But back in 1988, there was a free mixing of the fantasy and sci-fi universes.
A LOT of different head options was standard in the early days for GW “big” metal minis. You can just see the inspiration for the three different types of Bloodthirsters in the modern plastic kit from these fellows. Then you have a set of choices to make for your whips and axes. The legacy of Tolkein’s Balrog in the Bloodthrister’s design is unmistakable.
Onto the Keeper of Secrets, it’s all bull heads all the time, with your choice of horns. With the lower limbs, you get arms up or arms down, with my personal favorite the accusatory pointing finger.
The Lost and the Damned (1990)
Two years later in 1990, GW would give us Tzeentch and Nurgle in Realms of Chaos: The Lost and the Damned. Again this brought us the Chaos gods’ lore pantheon of daemons, plus full lists for their fantasy and 40K followers. Of course as with the first tome, there were a LOT of amazing early 1990s miniatures.
Early Tzeentch was perhaps more colorful than even today. Even in it’s earliest incarnation, you can see the mushroom and bird motifs popping up.
Welcome to the first Lord of Change. Note the early “proto Fateweaver” dual-head bit up there. The skeletal and pterodactyl heads are an interesting theme that did not survive to the modern era. Also note the lack of a staff, headress, or any of the Egyptian motifs that would get added to Tzeentch later.
Moving over to Nurgle however, note they have gotten a bit browner and less bright green over time. GW and the ‘Eavy Metal team really did love a highly saturated color palette back in early days – even for Grandfather.
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Hello little Great Unclean One. He has not just heads but plenty of gross belly options. This guy weighed a TON in metal. I’m so happy that the giant mouth “BELLY 3” made its way into the new plastic kit. There were also a lot of Nurgle “mouth full of tentacles” back in the day that disappeared down the memory hole.
Fast Forward to Today’s Greater Daemons
We’ve come a LONG way in 30 years. Modern technology has given us the giant new plastic Bloodthirsters, Lords of Change, Great Unclean Ones, and the Keeper of Secrets, perhaps the most tempting of them all.
Honorable Mention – Be’lakor
The jury is still out on whether Be’lakor, The Dark Master is above, equal, or stronger than a traditional Greater Daemon of the Ruinous Powers. But without a doubt, he, too got a glorious glow-up from his ancient and teensy miniature, from way back in White Dwarf 268, in 2002.
~Which one’s do you still have hitting the tabletop or sitting on dusty shelves to this day? Are you using them as Daemon Princes now?
Dad, Gamer, Publisher, Pilot, Texan. All games all the time since junior-high.
I started BoLS Interactive in 2006. I’m a lifelong tabletop & RPG gaming enthusiast, and internet publisher working to entertain and inform my readers every day.
I’ve been playing RPGs and Tabletop Games since the 1970s. I’m been playing and covering Warhammer and Warhammer 40K for over 35 years.