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Plaguebearers are the lesser daemons of Nurgle, also called "Maggotkin" and "Tallymen". They try to keep an exact count of every plague that Nurgle has released into the galaxy. The task is impossible, because the Grandfather of Plagues keeps inventing new diseases, so the Plaguebearers chant their endless counts under their breath as they fight.
Plaguebearers are slow but almost impossible to kill. Their rotting bodies shrug off wounds, and their plagueswords carry deadly infections.
Plaguebearers, also called Maggotkin or Tallymen of Nurgle, are born from mortals who die of Nurgle's Rot. That disease slowly turns its victim's soul into a daemon. Their purpose is to count: each tries to tally every disease and symptom in the galaxy. That task is impossible, because new plagues appear faster than they can be counted, so they lose count and start again, droning numbers endlessly.
Many believe that Plaguebearers form inside the victims of Nurgle's Rot, growing as their hosts die and then climbing out of the piled corpses. Their constant counting is not cruelty but devotion: an appreciation of Nurgle's work and of the decay that awaits everything. Mortal Death Guard sometimes summon them deliberately. At other times, the despair spread by a Death Guard army tears the veil of reality and they appear on their own. Notable sources of Plaguebearers include the daemon world of Bubonicus and the gardens of Nurgle's domain.
Appearance & wargear
Plaguebearers are thin, green-grey daemons with a single eye and a single horn, bloated, rotting stomachs and swarms of flies around them.
They are gangling, one-eyed and one-horned, with withered limbs, swollen stomachs and wide mouths full of broken teeth. Clouds of flies surround them. Each carries a plaguesword, a rusted blade coated in contagion.
A cloud of huge black flies surrounds every Plaguebearer, and a unit buzzes with their wings as the daemons drone a mournful dirge. They have a single eye and a single horn, and their gangling limbs carry rusted plagueswords.
A unit of nine to twenty-nine Plaguebearers is led by a Plagueridden. It may carry an Instrument of Chaos, an artefact forged from daemonic essence.
Weapons & Vehicles
The corroded, pus-dripping combat blades of the Death Guard Plague Marines, so saturated with Nurgle's supernatural contagions that a s…
The colossal, rust-pitted two-handed battle scythe of Daemon Primarch Mortarion, forged on Barbarus and steeped in the soul-rotting pla…
Tiny, mischievous daemons of Nurgle that swarm over the battlefield, biting, tripping and smothering their foes.
The lesser daemons of Khorne, red-skinned horned warriors who hack down their foes with burning hellblades.
Explore all 48 entries in the Weapons & Vehicles armoury.
Battlefield role & tactics
Plaguebearers are tough objective-holding infantry for daemonic armies.
Plaguebearers are the most organised daemons on the battlefield. They shuffle forward in packs called Tallybands, absorb fire with their rotted bodies, then hack their foes apart. They are hard to kill and steady under fire, but slow. Their calm, solemn manner frightens mortals more than their looks.
Plaguebearers are slow and very hard to kill. Their job is to advance steadily, take fire and hold ground. Their plagueswords rust metal and rot flesh. Death Guard commanders let them wear down the enemy, then bring their own troops in for the kill. Their weaknesses are low speed and low damage output. They win by outlasting the enemy, not by killing quickly.
Notable battles & users
- Nurgle's legions: the Plaguebearers are the rank-and-file of Nurgle's armies.
Related
Characters (2)
Grandfather Nurgle · Chaos God of Disease, Decay and Despair; the Plague Father
Ku'gath Plaguefather · Great Unclean One of Nurgle
