Warhammer: The Great Horned Rat Is Going To Force Changes To Chaos

The Great Horned Rat has risen to godhood in the chaos pantheon in Age of Sigmar. But what does that mean for chaos in the future?

With the events happening in the Mortal Realms we’ve seen a rather massive shake-up on a narrative level for Warhammer: Age of Sigmar. The god of the Skaven, the Great Horned Rat has finally become a member of the chaos pantheon proper. That means in AoS there are now five chaos gods at the table. What sorts of impacts will this have down the line? Well, here’s a few questions I have about this change and what it means for the future of Warhammer.

Will The Chaos Star Need A Redesign?

Let’s start with a really basic question about chaos: Will the symbol of chaos need a redesign now? The eight-pointed chaos star is kind of an iconic image for the followers of chaos. But now that there are five chaos gods to worship, will the icon need to get some points added to it? Or even removed? I don’t know! Does that symbol secretly mean that we need 3 more chaos gods added to the pantheon to round it out again? It’s a subtle thing…but I do wonder about it.

Is Archaon Still The “Main” Champion of Chaos?

Archaon is the Everchosen because he gained the favor of the four chaos gods but bowed to none of them. So, now that there are five of them, what does that mean?! Does he have to do something to win the favor of the Great Horned Rat? Are his powers somehow incomplete now? Dorghar only had 3 heads to begin with (well, at least in this form) so are we going to need a new version with a Rat-like head or something added? I have questions for sure!

Are the Eightpoints Still “The Eight Points”?

Since we’re on the topic of Archaon, what about his realm? The nexus of the Mortal Realms, aka the Eightpoints? I know the Skaven have basically summoned their own pocket dimension and forcefully vomited it forth with the rise of the Vermindoom. I like the idea that the Great Horned Rat was able to “tunnel” his way around the Mortal Realms and then corrupt the ley lines to cause all this to happen.

But, what does that mean for the Eightpoints now? Will Archaon need to add another “point” to the Skaven underrealm? It really does change the landscape of the Mortal Realms in some seriously big ways.

What Impacts Will This Have On 40k and the Warp?

And finally, and probably the BIGGEST question I have now is: what does this mean for Warhammer 40,000, the Warp, and the Chaos Gods of 40k?

Let that sink in for a moment. We all know how the AoS/40k chaos gods are essentially 1:1, right? Heck, you can run a Daemon army with the same models in either system, too! But this can only mean one of two things:

1) Age of Sigmar and 40k are finally going to split and have different chaos pantheons

or

2) Skaven are about to show up in 40k

To be fair, Mantic Games already beat GW to the punch with their Veer-myn race in the Warpath Universe. I do wonder if GW is going to pull that trigger and create 40k Skaven at this point. And before you think I’m coming at this completely out of left field, I’d like to point one thing out I’ve noticed.

Take a close look at the Mortal Realms map above. Now, take a look at the Great Rift map of the 40k galaxy:

You know, if you flip the Mortal Realms map, and remember that we’re not looking at a “top down” view, it’s almost like those green line could fit right over the top of the Cicatrix Maledictum…

Hmm. That’s probably just a coincidence, right? Two “galactic maps” with astral bodies and a giant scar across them… yeah, purely coincidental.

I’m just saying that if GW wanted to do something that fans have been wanting for a LONG TIME, having the Skaven cross over to 40k in a proper way would be a pretty big chaos announcement, wouldn’t it?

Yeah…probably just a coincidence. But what if it’s not?

Writer, Editor, Texas Native, and now Tex-Pat, Adam covers all things Tabletop Gaming. Which includes Warhammer 40,000, Age of Sigmar, D&D, Board Games and everything else that involves dice, boards, cards and a table.
A hobbyist, player, and collector of miniatures and games, Adam’s current obsession are his Death and Chaos Armies for Age of Sigmar, his Blood Angels and Tyranids for 40k, an expanding collection of Marvel: Crisis Protocol minis, and his ever growing Arkham Horror: The Card Game Collection.

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