Tzeentch

The Mark of Tzeentch.

Tzeentch, also known as the Changer of Ways, is the Chaos God of Change, Evolution, Intrigue and Sorcery in Games Workshop's Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000 tabletop games and their related materials. A master manipulator, Tzeentch is unique amongst his fellow gods in that, when it comes to the Great Game (the name the Gods of Chaos give to their eternal quest to subjugate the mortal world), he is the only god not playing to win. As his domain is based on subterfuge and scheming, victory in the Great Game would also constitute defeat, as his schemes would be brought to an end.

Tzeentch's primary rival amongst the gods is Nurgle, with the Plaguefather representing despair and stagnation and the Changer of Ways representing hope and evolution. He is also known to be antagonistic towards Khorne, fueled by the Blood God's hatred of magic in all forms and Tzeentch's habit of using Khorne in his schemes, whether as a tool or a target. In Warhammer specifically, it is said that he was the first and most powerful of the Chaos Gods, but his brothers, in a rare show of allegiance, declared war on him. The outcome of this battle was Tzeentch's defeat, as he was thrown from a mountain peak and shattered into ten-thousand pieces, each shard representing a single spell in the mortal realm.

Appearance

Like all gods of Chaos, Tzeentch's true form is incomprehensible to mortal beings. However, unlike the other gods, Tzeentch retains this incomprehensibility when he does deal with mortals in person, though such an event is rare. Most dealings with Tzeentch involve the god speaking either through an intermediary - usually one of his daemons or mortal followers - or, when he does appear directly, through subtle whispers and suggestions. The closest thing to an accurate depiction of Tzeentch's true form comes from the novel Ahriman: Unchanged, written by John French. In a particular scene of the novel, French describes a meeting of the Court of Change, the most powerful of Tzeentch's daemons, where they discuss Ahriman's actions to come. Tzeentch, after interrupting their arguments, is described as follows:

"Magic and fate coiled around it like fog winding around a tower. Countless mouths opened and closed across its skin. Tongues licked lips. Fangs glistened. Beaks snapped at the air. [...] Each mouth spoke the same words, but each used a different language and intonation.

Followers of Tzeentch

Daemons of Tzeentch

Tzeentch's daemons aren't like the daemons of the other gods. Where Khorne, Nurgle and Slaanesh each have humanoid beasts serving them, most of Tzeentch's servants are anything but. The footsoldiers of Tzeentch, creatures known as Horrors, are amorphous blobs of flesh, with several arms jutting out randomly and a gaping maw in the center of this mass. Horrors come in three varieties, Pink, Blue and Brimstone Horrors, with each spawned when the 'parent' is slain - a pink horror will split into two blue horrors upon death, and should either of these die, they will again split into two brimstone horrors. Similar in appearance to the horror is the Flamer of Tzeentch, a daemonic creature with four mouths, one at what would be its neck, another at the base of its body, and the final two at the end of each arm. These creatures either float along the ground, or ride in chariots pulled by another type of daemon, the Screamers of Tzeentch, spewing flames from their mouths at any foolish or unlucky enough to get close to them.

The aforementioned screamers are the daemonic beasts of Tzeentch, and are similar in appearance to manta rays. They also serve as daemonic steed, in the form of Discs of Tzeentch. These are a mix of daemonflesh, metal and magic, and require either the Changer of Ways' favour or an exceptional amount of skill and luck to capture the screamer and force into the form of a disc. As screamers, these daemons attack with their fangs, biting into those who face them, whilst as discs, they are rendered incapable of violence, though they constantly spew warpfire underneath them that can serve as an additional weapon for their rider. The final daemon of note that serves Tzeentch are the Lords of Change. Greater daemons of the Changer, Lords of Change are colossal humanoid hybrids of reptile and avian, with the wings and head of a bird, and a neck akin to a snake's body. Each Lord of Change is a master of magic, well beyond the abilities of mortals.

Warhammer

Tzeentch was, at one time, worshiped extensively by the people of Cathay, under the name Tsien-Tsin. However, prior to the destruction of the World-That-Was, this worship had died down in favour of the cult surrounding the Celestial Dragon Emperor. Outside of Cathay, Tzeentch has cults all across the Old World, the most notable of which is the Purple Hand. There aren't any Norscan tribes worth mentioning that worship Tzeentch exclusively, though a powerful warband known as the Cabal, led by the former magister of the Empire's Light Order of wizards, Egrimm van Horstmann. Those that serve Tzeentch generally wear elaborate mask helms that conceal their faces. Beastmen are also known to serve Tzeentch, with those bestigors marked by him being creatures known as Tzaangors.

Warhammer 40,000

Tzeentch's nature as a god of magic makes it very easy for him to corrupt psykers, oftentimes corrupting those who the Imperium fails to capture in time. Additionally, he possesses the loyalty of the Thousand Sons legion of Space Marines. Unlike the legions loyal to the other powers of Chaos, the Thousand Sons have been reduced in their numbers, following the ritual known as the Rubric of Ahriman. As a result, only a few dozen astartes remain, with the vast majority of this once-proud legion being Rubric Marines - suits of ancient power armour animated by the souls of the space marines that once wore them into battle. These suits are incapable of moving of their own accord, requiring the power of a psyker and knowledge of their original name to be brought to war. As such, they are rarely seen outside of the Thousand Sons and their splinter warbands, and even when they are, rarely without a former psyker of the Thousand Sons leading them.

Age of Sigmar

Tzeentch's followers are known as the Disciples of Tzeentch, and are split into several smaller groupings. Those daemonic servants of Tzeentch are known as Changehosts. Amongst his mortal followers, Tzeentch has three major groups following him. The first is the Arcanites, representing the mortal men in service to the Changer. Following this are two different beastmen groupings, the Tzaangor Warflocks and the Twistfrays. A powerful cult amongst Tzeentch's followers is the Jade Obelisk, who seek to destroy temples which refuse to worship their god, the Speaker in the Stone. Additionally, though not classed as servants of Tzeentch anymore, there exists another daemon unique to the Mortal Realms known as the Gaunt Summoners. These humanoid beings, though still loyal to Tzeentch, have found themselves bound to the service of the minor Chaos God Archaon.

It is important to note that, despite still being beastmen, the tzaangors of Age of Sigmar are not the tzaangors of Warhammer. Whereas the tzaangors of the Old World were bestigors dedicated to Tzeentch, the tzaangors of the Mortal Realms are bird-like humanoids, closer in appearance to the Lords of Change than the goat-like gors that make up the majority of beastmen. This alternate depiction of tzaangors also appears in Warhammer 40,000, marching to war alongside the Thousand Sons.