Khârn has dedicated his millennia-long existence to unleashing bloody carnage upon anyone and anything within reach. He is drawn by the scent of war like a hungering hound and it has become impossible to tally his slaying. Even in the great crusade when he fought in the assault companies of the World Eaters Legion he was known to be a brilliant but unstable warrior. Indeed the whole World Eaters Legion was viewed as excessively bloodthirsty and dangerously over-zealous in the suppression of planets which had not even defied the Emperor’s will. When the Heresy came Khârn gladly led his warriors against his Brother Marines, most notoriously in the drop site massacres on Istvaan V.

In the siege of the Imperial palace he was at the forefront of every assault. When Horus was defeated Khârn already lay dead and horribly mangled upon a mound of corpses at the walls of the inner palace. His fellow World Eaters carried his corpse away with them as they fought their way back to their ships. Once on board they discovered that by some dark miracle Khârn still lived. Whether Khorne himself breathed life back into the Berzerker’s body or whether the relentless clamour of war revived his indomitable spirit remains a mystery, but since the Heresy, Khârn has survived the bloodiest battles of his age and never come so close to death again.

He is called the Betrayer because he will slay those that follow him almost as readily as those that oppose him. The World Eaters Legionaries learned that bitter lesson shortly after they reached the Eye of Terror as they fought against the Legion of the Emperor’s Children for possession of a Daemon World called Skalathrax.

On Skalathrax howling winds carved and re-carved an endless landscape of black rock and white ice. Stark black cities of twisting towers clutched at the leaden skies like winter-struck trees. The Legions fought and the World Eaters drove the Emperor’s Children back from city after city with their bloody assaults. At the last and greatest city the World Eaters sensed that victory was near, they need only inflict one more defeat on the Emperor’s Children to claim the planet as their own. The battle needed to be won soon, before Skalathrax’ long, dark night drew in and froze victor and vanquished alike if they were not in shelter.

Flames lashed the skies and blood ran in the streets as the World Eaters hurled themselves at the foe. Every arched door and slitted window seemed to spit fire at the berserk warriors but they stormed onward, chain-axes biting into armour and flesh as they overran their foes. Sonic blasters swept streets clear again and again but the chosen of Khorne fought on with the strength of madmen until only a few pockets of resistance survived. There the attack was halted as darkness fell.

Khârn cursed his fellow warriors for seeking shelter while their enemies still lived. Seizing a flamer, he span around and torched the nearest buildings in a gesture of contempt. When his brother Marines tried to stop him he cut them down like corn and disappeared into the gloom, the serpent’s tongue of his flamer bursts licking out again and again to consume the city. The howling winds spread the fires quickly and soon pure anarchy prevailed as the Legionaries fought each other and the fires for what shelter remained. Through the mayhem strode Khârn, slaughtering any that he found, friend or foe, the bright flames flickering from his blood-splattered armour as he wielded his shrieking chain axe in an arc of whirling death.

After that night of madness the World Eaters were scattered into separate companies fighting all across the Eye of Terror. Many still bear a burning hatred of Khârn for his actions but others admire his single-minded devotion to slaughter. Khârn has led warbands of Khorne Berzerkers and other forces in uncounted battles. Victory is always his but his followers seldom survive to see it. Now only the most dedicated, or insane, warriors will follow him, but this is of no consequence to Khârn the Betrayer, who lives only to slay in Khorne’s name.

A Chaos Space Marine army may include Khârn as long as it also includes at least ten Khorne Berserkers. If you decide to take him then he counts as one of the HQ choices for the army. He must be used exactly as described below and may not be given extra equipment from the Chaos Armoury. Also he may only be used in a battle where both players have agreed to the use of special characters. Khârn is an independent character and follows all the Independent Character special rules as given in the Warhammer 40,000 rulebook.

Wargear: Plasma pistol, bolt pistol, frag & krak grenades, Chaos armour, Gorechild. Mark of Khorne (bonus included below), Collar of Khorne.

Furious Charge: Such is Khârn’s ferocious enthusiasm to get to grips with the enemy that he may add +D6" to his move in the assault phase. However, he can only use this bonus if it will actually get him into hand-to-hand combat that turn and it may not be used if he can not reach the enemy.

Gorechild: Khârn’s huge and ancient chain-axe, Gorechild, is an artefact from the Great Crusade when the Space Marines reaved across the galaxy. Gorechild’s jagged whirring teeth were torn from the jaws of mica-dragons on Luther Mcintyre, its haft is forged of adamantium and its head is a full three spans across. It is a deadly weapon capable of splitting an armoured Space Marine from head to crotch with one blow and is doubly dangerous in the hands of Khârn. He is so skilled with Gorechild that in hand-to-hand combat the enemy’s WS is ignored and all his close combat attacks hit on a roll of 2+. This aside, Gorechild is treated as a normal power weapon.

The Betrayer: Khârn may attack anyone nearby in his berserk fury, friend or foe alike! To represent this, roll to hit, but then each player takes it in turn to distribute the hits, starting with the Chaos player (ie, the Chaos player allocates and works out the effect of the first hit, his opponent allocates and works out the effect of the second hit, and so on). The normal restrictions for allocating hits apply, so they must be allocated against models in base contact with Khârn first, then on models within 2" of him if all models in base contact are slain. Within these restrictions a hit may be allocated against any model, including Chaos models, so it makes sense for the Chaos player to keep Khârn as far away from models on his own side as possible!

Fearless: Khârn is completely fearless and automatically passes any Leadership based tests he is called upon to take. In addition he cannot be pinned by enemy fire.