The Disciples of Khaine

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Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning Career Mastery Paths
Dark Elven Disciple of Khaine

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Official information from EA Mythic
One of the major parts of any MMOG is that the gameplay has to fit your playstyle. If it doesn't then you can bet that you won't be playing that game for long. Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning is no exception, regardless of how good it might be. When a game doesn't make sense to you with how it plays or it has that "same 'ol same 'ol" feel to it, it can be boring, frustrating, confusing, (insert appropriate adjective here). One way game designers overcome that feeling in a game is to allow you, the player, to take some modicum of control over your character and choose how he/she will specialize for your playstyle in whatever game you're playing. If you want to do more damage, you can specialize in skills that will add to your DPS. If you like being able to take the pain, then skills that stress damage mitigation are key. If you're a healer, then you obvioulsy want to boost your healing ability (unless you're like I am,then you go for more damage and toss your friends to the wind!). And the list goes on and on.

Back in December, EA Mythic announced that they were adding a Career Mastery tree to each class in Warhammer Online so that each player could customize his/her character's playstyle. It's a similar idea to the Talents trees in WoW, the AA lines in Everquest 2, or the feats from Age of Conan.

New to the Warhammer genre, the Disciple of Khaine is born of the Cauldron of Blood, an ancient artifact that is used by the Hags to maintain their youthful appearance during the Death Night.

Disciple of Khaine



Career Masteries

Dark priests of the Bloody Handed god, The Disciples of Khaine can be found on the frontline of any Druchii assault. In combat, the Disciple is a master of shifting the balance of a fight, for what they reap from their enemies they give to their allies - what was once your strength will soon become their own. Disciples must be watched carefully and their fell magic countered in short order or you will find your very essence trapped in servitude to Khaine.

Using wicked ritual blades, a Disciple harvests the essence of their enemy and offers it to Khaine in exchange for blessings and dark powers. These dark gifts allow the Disciple to tend to the needs of the Dark Elven host, mending bones, suppressing pain, and even raising critically injured warriors to fight again.

Disciple of Khaine Masteries




Path of Ritual

The Path of Ritual is focused on the healing gifts that Khaine grants to his faithful priests. A master of this path will be able to focus more power into the essence that they tear from their enemies, greatly empowering their healing abilities.

Path of Torture

The Path of Torture is a pious Mastery focused on worshipping Khaine - of course, Khaine demands this worship at the edge of a knife, and hears prayers only when bolstered by the screams of his enemies. A specialist in this Mastery has practiced long and well with their brutal sacrificial blades, and has trained themselves as a deadly warrior.

Path of Sacrifice

The Path of Sacrifice is a deceptive Mastery that simultaneously damages enemies and strengthens allies. Instead of focusing quite as much on either building or consuming essence, a master of this path favors attacks that not only damage the enemy but also momentarily steal away a portion of their strength.

[Moderator]

The Disciples of Khaine: Chosen by the Bloody Handed God

It is well that the worship of Khaine is proscribed within the Empire, lest our own folk have to suffer yet more atrocities at the hands of the dark gods. While laws themselves do little to prevent the spread of dark heresy and evil cults, one may hope that most folk fear these powers enough to wish little to do with them. For the rest, we trust to the Order of the Cleansing Flame and the numerous Witch Hunters to purge such filth from our land.

Already I have spoken of the Brides of Khaine, those warrior women who are devoted body and soul to their dark god. However in recent days the new has come to me of a new threat from the Cult of Khaine, those mortals more directly touched by the power and the malice of this dark god. Among the Dark Elves there is a great ritual by which victims are offered up to Khaine in great cauldrons of blood during their Death Night revels in honor of their murderous god. Very few survive this ritual, as it is a death sentence for most; Khaine is a ruinous power after all, a devourer and claimer of all those souls and lives offered up to him.

Yet there are those bare few who not only emerge from the cauldrons, but who have been touched by the power of Khaine in the process. The eyes of these select few are changed forever, becoming colored like molten brass and filled with a fell light. The temperament and personality of these folk are forever changed as well, for their very souls have been touched by their dark god and marked as some of his most favored. Why some are chosen for this great honor and some are not, none outside of the Cult of Khaine are likely to ever know. Who are we to attempt to know the mind of a god?

Those so marked are inducted into the Cult of Khaine and become his Disciples, fanatic devotees to the creed and prestige of the Lord of Murder. Like many of the other initiates of the cult, these Disciples are well-trained in the arts of murder, torture and battle. However their power and prestige is further enhanced, for they are some of the select few blessed by Khaine with the gift of his magic. They hold the power of life through death, of sacrificing their enemies in dark rites to fuel their powers and honor their god. Little is known of the dark magic used by these Disciples, for few that encounter them even at a distance have lived to tell of them.

Those reports and stories we have received speak of the Disciples being skilled practitioners of the arts of pain, even in the thick of battle. Like the Witch Elves these chosen of the Blood God carve a bloody swath in times of war, pledging themselves and their fallen enemies to the glories of their dark god. With every drop of blood that they spill, their power seems to grow. Often these energies are utilized for malicious purposes, but rumor also speaks of the power these Disciples possess to aid those they hold in high favor, those worthy allies to whom the blessings of Khaine may be given.

Against these fell champions of this god most foul, we must bend all our might to destroy should their kind ever threaten our lands. Their faith and their dark ways must not take root here or be allowed to imperil our way of life. Hold strong to your faith in Sigmar and the other gods of man and their strength shall be our own as we battle against these fell denizens of a cold and cruel land.