Krakmarrow sneered in disgust, grateful at the moment for the pitted, brutish helm that enclosed his ruined face and head. He half-turned to glance at his fellow Plague Marines. They were impassive in their ancient, ichor-spattered armor, but doubtless they shared his sentiment. Behind him, Typhus continued talking. Outside the bunker, the ever-present winds of the Rictus Moon howled furiously.
“And so I will be assuming command of the Maggot Magnates, for the duration of this campaign,” the Herald rumbled. “The mysteries of Caluphel must be exploited by the legions of the Death Guard, and kept from the miserable curs of the Corpse-Emperor. We shall use your garrison here on the Rictus Moon as our staging area.”
Typhus paused and regarded the other Chaos lord. “I trust, Krakmarrow, that this arrangement will not cause … consternation?”
Krakmarrow allowed himself a beat before responding. His foul armor was emblazoned with the death’s head regalia of the Death Guard, and blessed by the arcane sigils of Nurgle. A rich harness, to be sure, and suitable for a lord of contagion like Krakmarrow. But to be seconded to the Herald of the Plague God himself was a both a humiliating indignity — and a startling opportunity. “No, Lord Typhus. We are Mortarion’s to command. If he sees fit to place you amongst us, the Maggot Magnates will receive you as a long-lost brother.”
“Excellent,” Typhus purred, his glottal voice distorted by his rusted helmet. “Our first task is to see to the defense of the Rictus Moon. Muster your serfs and set them to digging trenches!”
The Maggot Magnates are a band of vile renegades dedicated to Nurgle, the God of Decay. Nominally a vectorium operating as part of the vast 7th Plague Company, the Maggot Magnates tend to find themselves trailing behind the advancing plague armies, reaving and pillaging after the bulk of the army has passed through an area.
As a result, the Maggot Magnates under the leadership of Lord Brasque Krakmarrow have developed a reputation as reavers and cutthroats. They are known for raising vast, bloated hordes of poxwalkers from the newly slain victims in each warzone they encounter. These reanimated corpses then follow behind the Maggot Magnates as they continue the advance — creating a stumbling, moaning train of freakish monstrosities that stretches for miles behind the advancing Plague Marines.
During the 13th Black Crusade, the Maggot Magnates found themselves taking part in the campaign to seize the Scourge Stars — that trio of worlds near the Realm of Ultramar that became the launching point for Mortarion’s campaign against the Ultramarines. In support of this mission, the Magnates were deployed to take and hold the Rictus Moon, a wind-ravaged former mining colony on the eastern flank of the Scourge Stars.
The assignment kept them far from the primary thrust of the campaign — but all of that changed when Caluphel Prime blinked into existence in the Eastern Fringe, a casualty of the crackling warp storm known as the Cicatrix Maledictum. Initial observations were shocking, indicating that Blackstone Pylons had erupted from the planet’s surface. The Rictus Moon was suddenly a strategically important location as the forces of Nurgle began rushing to exploit the newly arrived Caluphel system before the bealeagured forces of the Imperium could muster a response.
With the arrival of Typhus to assume command of the warband, the Maggot Magnates suddenly find themselves at the vanguard of the assault…
Comrade's Wargames 