Grimdark Slaanesh themes?

[Lord Kallozar]

Slaanesh forces are typically and stereotypically used and seen as sexual, perfection, pristine, artful and beautiful in combat. But 40k is meant to be very dark and gritty but I don’t quite see that vibe from Slaanesh forces. So what kind of befitting Slaaneshi themes could be real grimdark and scary? Thanks.

[Marshal Haduwig]

When its taken to its extreme i dont see why this can't be dark and gritty, the idea of perfection for example, taking a practiced cut to the point a chaos "surgeon" could skin someone alive without leaving a single flaw in the removed skin.

 

Pleasure can be anything, a glutton can derive pleasure from eating, taken to its absolute extreme this could be an ability or desire to consume everything, including enemies.

 

Slaanesh stuff can be as dark as you want it to be.

[ElDuderino]

Angel Exterminatus has some chapters focusing on newly corrupted emperors children, think body horror and cacaphony instead of pristine armor and hermaphrodites. I'm no slannesh expert though, there's probably others who can add more examples and thoughts

[MyD4rkPassenger]

I still think Hellraiser, Event Horizon body horror type imagery.  Taking pleasure from pain and the excess of torture etc.  Makes a lot of sense in my mind considering it's the DE's schtick and we all know the intimate relationship between eldar and Slaanesh.  This is not to say I exclude the other types of excesses celebrated by Slaaneshi followers, just that one really takes the forefront in my mind and honestly I think it's the easiest to convey on the table model wise.

[WarriorFish]

Slaanesh is probably the easiest to work in I think, as excess comes in many forms without much effort. The classic theme is mostly from the Emperor's Children so that tends to be in the forefront. You could have an excess of killing for example, so your Slaanesh worshippers could be carving a path of destruction that would make World Eaters blush

[Isengrin]

Whenever I'm trying to get a feel for a legion I like to take a look back in time and examine what others have done with the same guidelines, so flicking through old WD issues or WIP threads helps tremendously. In WD 276 Phil Kelly presented Vaust, the Bull who serves as chosen for Lucius and deviates a bit from usual expectations for a worshipper of Slaanesh. Maybe that's what your looking for.

[Slan Drakkos]

Slaanesh is already terrifying.

 

An excess of pleasure is more than just sexual. It can extend to the pleasure that is felt when killing someone. Can you image how horrifying it would be to see an eight foot tall superhuman running at you whilst covered in the blood and gore of hundreds of others while screaming at the top of his lungs "More. More. MORE!!!".

 

It also extends to pain. Think of how scary it would be to see someone giggling after getting disemboweled by a chain sword. Or for someone to laugh at getting a leg chopped off.

 

Anybody that's read Fulgrim can tell you that the art angle has already been touched upon and can be legit scary.

 

This also goes for the usage of drugs for slaaneshi forces. I recently read through Lucius: The Faultless Blade, and there's section where

A slave is given a drug called ambrosia and he hallucinates that he's running around in a field of flowers, playing with this cute girl, etc, when in reality, he chopped up five people with a rusty knife

[Trevak Dal]

I have an antagonist force of Slaaneshi Iron Warriors warband called the Seige Dancers. They use the obliterator virus to become "perfect" male/female hybrids and have past times such as ahem...'Forcing sex onto anyone/thing that does not want to have sex to the point of death as a sacrifice for "the goddess"'. (That is, they beat people to death, especially eldar, gender doesn't really matter, they just beat them until they are broken and die) Their battle cry is "Let the :cussing commence".

 

They are led by a daemon princess whose ultimate goal is to have a child, and they abduct women-particularly Sisters (of course) who are made into daemonacublas. The Daemon Princess is focused on a possessed sorcerer and his perpetual Dark Angel friend (who is a living Anathame), the Siege Dancers capture the sorcerer who she intends to wed. The Perpetual goes against the Warmaster's orders to rescue his friend from a fate worse than death and ends up (with intervention from their own warband) sundering the Siege Dancers, and scattering them to the wind, but in doing so have earned the ire of the Warmaster, endebting their warband to him, or risk destruction (a situation the Perpetual had tried to avoid, ordering the others to stay and let him face them alone-being immortal), through a surprising bit of loyalty (their warband is very atypical for space marines, loyalist or traitor) they move in.

 

There was also a khornate daemon prince who was basically "What if Sam Kineson was a Word Bearer Dark Apostle" who helped-he'd known the Dark Angel earlier and the Perpetual had adventured with his warband, saving his life before he was ascended.

 

Theres a lot of psychology wrapped up in this story.

[Panzer]

Slaanesh is already terrifying.

 

An excess of pleasure is more than just sexual. It can extend to the pleasure that is felt when killing someone. Can you image how horrifying it would be to see an eight foot tall superhuman running at you whilst covered in the blood and gore of hundreds of others while screaming at the top of his lungs "More. More. MORE!!!".

 

 

Or even worse ... laughing like he has the time of his life. You don't see Marines laughing usually. Especially not like that. Especially not while killing people left and right while working his way towards you.

[Xenith]

Whenever I'm trying to get a feel for a legion I like to take a look back in time and examine what others have done with the same guidelines, so flicking through old WD issues or WIP threads helps tremendously. In WD 276 Phil Kelly presented Vaust, the Bull who serves as chosen for Lucius and deviates a bit from usual expectations for a worshipper of Slaanesh. Maybe that's what your looking for.

I remember Vaust & I think he was in a Warhammer monthly at some point? Or someone similar was. There was a Slaanesh worshipper who loved killing, but causing blood flow and single combat/martial prowess pleased Khorne, so he tried to kill with as little finesse and as blood as possible, smashing people to pieces with a giant hammer. One blow, skull destroyed to annoy Khorne.

[Johanhgg]

Ive always pictured Slaanesh as the mind of the psycho in the movie ”the cell” with Jennifer Lopez - disturbing in so many ways.

 

I think Slaanesh is the worst of them all. I would rather get charged and killed outright by a Khorne Berserker than be a victim of a slaaneshi giggeling sociopathic treatment

[DuskRaider]

I can think of some things... 

 

Like how about an Astartes who enjoys flaying himself and pinning his own hide to his power armour? Perhaps model him without a helm so you can see his skinned face sans eyelids, lips or ears but have it all pinned to the helm, then go with the rest of the armour, maybe in strips or something. Kinda like Buffalo Bill but instead of making a woman suit out of other people, this guy likes to make a suit out of his own flesh.

 

Or one who's installed himself in some sort of pain engine where he's suspended by countless hooks and whatnot going into his flesh. I know suspension is a thing, but consider it on steroids. Model a Daemon Engine that looks like one of the old Hellstriders but containing the suspended Astartes in it's gut area or something. 

 

I'm not sure how to properly model this, but perhaps one that derives pleasure from amputating his own limbs. He could be little more than a torso with perhaps one remaining arm but have him being carried on a palanquin or something by Cultists. 

 

You could always somehow go the Albert Fish route, someone who likes embedding nails and needles in their flesh. 

[Panzer]

I can think of some things... 

 

Like how about an Astartes who enjoys flaying himself and pinning his own hide to his power armour? Perhaps model him without a helm so you can see his skinned face sans eyelids, lips or ears but have it all pinned to the helm, then go with the rest of the armour, maybe in strips or something. Kinda like Buffalo Bill but instead of making a woman suit out of other people, this guy likes to make a suit out of his own flesh.

 

Or one who's installed himself in some sort of pain engine where he's suspended by countless hooks and whatnot going into his flesh. I know suspension is a thing, but consider it on steroids. Model a Daemon Engine that looks like one of the old Hellstriders but containing the suspended Astartes in it's gut area or something. 

 

I'm not sure how to properly model this, but perhaps one that derives pleasure from amputating his own limbs. He could be little more than a torso with perhaps one remaining arm but have him being carried on a palanquin or something by Cultists. 

 

You could always somehow go the Albert Fish route, someone who likes embedding nails and needles in their flesh. 

 

I ... think I need to repurpose a Penitent Engine for my Emperor's Children project. I really hope they get a new awesome model for it now!