Skaven Plague Monks are not something you want to run into anywhere in the Realms of Sigmar unless you want all the plagues!
The clans of the Great Horned Rat are varied, to say the least, but some of the most interesting and craziest for the Plague Monks. While they wouldn’t be very fun to see in real life, they are great to see on the tabletops. Get out your dirtiest robe and let’s learn about some lore.
In the World
The Great Horned Rat has many devoted followers among the Skaven, spread across many clans. The hordes of Pestilens Clans are made up of the most diseased of them all: Plague Monks. Plague ridden Skaven warriors ridden with disease and rot. Their zealous nature makes them behave differently than most Skaven. While still cowardly and prone to breaking, their religious fervour can spur them into acts of dangerous bravery. Rushing into enemy lines with reckless abandon not seen anywhere else. Combining their zealotry with large numbers make them a foe worthy of attention.
Their zealous feats of bravery and daring combine with a berserker nature in battle, making Plague Monks aggressive to the point of madness. In addition to this, they are also disgustingly resilient. At first glance they might look like your average weak Skaven, just wearing silly robes. But underneath those silly robes is a leathery and tough skin. Made hard by dozens of plagues the Plague Monks subject themselves to. Rotten nerve endings and dead flesh. These things make them easily shrug off wounds and pain. The Skaven’s giant self-preservation instinct will only kick in when the Plague Monks actually realise what has happened to them. Sending them scurrying off like the rest of their kind.
Just because you survive or even “win” a battle against a horde of Plague Monks. That doesn’t mean you’re safe. These zealous hordes carry all kinds of diseased weapons, whose lasting effects are usually worse than the wound itself. Rusting cleavers and poison-tipped knives and swords covered in disease and other viruses. Even just a small cut of one of these weapons could infect a warrior with a deadly and rotting disease. Causing them to succumb to a wound mere hours after a battle. The chaotic nature of the Plague Monks makes it easy for one to miss when they are hit. Dooming them to a painful and horrific death.
On the Field
On the Tabletop of the Mortal Realms, Plague Monks are a common unit in a lot of Skaven armies. Even better is that they are a battleline unit should the entire army be made up of Clans Pestilens units. Making them a viable screen of plague-ridden rats capable of keeping the enemy busy while other units bring in the hurt. They are also dirt cheap, 10 Plague Monks cost only 80 points. Which means you can quickly fill up a list with dozens of them. Adding to that the fact that you can take them in hordes of 40, the entire board can quickly be covered by them.
Plague Monks carry a variety of weapons which are grouped into two categories. Pair of Foetid Blades and Foetid Blade and Woe-stave. To compare, the addition of a Woe-stave gives the Plague Monk extra range at the cost of a 4+ to hit instead of a 3+ for the Pair of Foetid Blades. Their Foetid Weapons can bring extra pain if you’re lucky too. An unmodified wound roll of 6 doubles their attacks, causing the foe to roll extra save rolls. Plague Monks are also into charging. Frenzied Assault gives them all an extra attack in a turn where they also made a charge move.
Each unit of Plague Monks is led by a Bringer-Of-The-Word, a monk who aspires to climb the hierarchy by any means necessary. He carries a Book of Woes, a plague tomb that can call upon the Horned Rat to cast mortal wounds on the enemy. One in every ten models can be chosen to be a Standard Bearer, every casualty can lash out one final time. Rolling a dice before the model is removed, on a 6 one enemy unit within 3″ suffers a mortal wound. Lastly one in ten can also become a Plague Harbinger, adding 1 to any run and charge rolls the unit makes.
These pestilent ridden rats will surely wreak havoc among the enemy.
