Many races are known for their keeping of slaves - Dark Elf raids are
feared more for their enslaving than their destruction, and the Chaos
Dwarfs entire empire relies upon a massive collection of slaves 
numbering into the millions.  Necromancers can gather a huge number
of skeletal slaves given time.  Skaven enslave their own kind and use
them as cannon fodder...
The warbands of chaos also take slaves, but put them to a more sinister
purpose...

Amongst the great armies that have assailed the known world from the
chaos wastes, there have always been warriors that were neither
beastman nor daemon, chaos warrior nor marauder.  Often they have
been mistaken for cultists, but cultists have never numbered so many.  
By the time the chaos incursion has been beaten off, few have had time
to survey the enemy, but those who have have found a horrible truth -
the ravagers of chaos do not always slay those they overcome.  Khorne's
forces do indeed tend to slaughter everything they encounter, but it
is not always so, and the servants of the other gods are even less 
likely to kill all before them.

Those unlucky enough not to die in the initial charge have only one fate
before them - slaves to the forces of chaos.  Driven before the horde,
these lost souls die for the benefit of the chaos army, fighting those 
they once called friends, family, and countrymen.



You must have the permission of your opponent to use chaos slaves in
a battle, just like special characters.  They are an unofficial troop
type, and may have an unbalancing effect on the game.  You have been
warned.


A chaos warband may spend up to 25% of its points allowance on chaos
slaves.  Chaos slaves may have no characters.  Units may have standards
and musicians, but may not have magic standards.  No chaos character
will deign to lead a troop of slaves.



Chaos slaves may be of any troop type at all, from any army, with the 
following rules:

Slaves may not include characters of any sort.  These generally cause
trouble, and so are killed.  Quite often in imaginative ways as examples
to the rest of the slaves.

War machines may not be included, not even those usually purchased from
the regiments section of an army list.  These are far too cumbersome and
awkward for a warband, and are generally distrusted anyway.

Missile weapons may also not be used.  The gods, for whatever reasons
they have, take a dim view of such things.

*designer's note - missiles and war machines would unbalance a chaos
 force, and are therefore a no-no*

For every unit of cavalry, there must be two units of infantry (their
chaos masters don't care about horses - what good are they except as
food?  Come to that, what good are these slaves except as...).

Magic equipment is confiscated and replaced with the mundane equivalent;
Magical abilities are destroyed by the dark gods;
Special abilities are disregarded - infiltrators are kept on a tight
leash, and the slaves are far too badly mistreated and underfed to 
perform any tricks.

*designer's not - this ought to discourage elite slaves - they are simply
 not worth it.  Wardancers without their dances and their dispersed
 formation, with a leadership of 4, and still costing 21 points?*

All leadership is halved - the slaves are almost completely demoralised
by their treatment and lack of life expectancy.

Should a unit flee for any reason, they will be struck down by the
gods of chaos for their cowardice, disobedience, and uselessness.  Struck
down means that they all die.  Perhaps not instantly, but they do die...

Each unit of slaves may be driven by a slave master.  This is a chaos
warrior, equipped as a normal chaos warrior leader, with a flail.  Should
the slaves waver, he will lash out at the nearest to remind the rest what
will happen should they displease him.  The slave master, though not a
character, may answer challenges (but he cannot issue them).  He is not
the unit's leader, and the unit may not use his leadership.  The slave
master is considered to be separate from the unit when testing for 
psychology in order to use his own leadership.  He may use the general's
leadership, and the bonus of the battle standard.  He is placed at the
rear of the unit, outside it's formation.  He can not leave the unit
unless he should flee for some reason.
If a unit of slaves loses a combat, the slave master may kill any number
of slaves, gaining the unit a +1 bonus for each killed when taking it's
break test.  

*designer's note - as well as these three paragraphs being in character
 for chaos, they are intended to encourage large units of slaves*

Slaves may not get any benefit from the general's leadership or the
battle standard.  Neither are particularly inspiring for someone who
is being sent to die fighting their own people.

Slaves may not be equipped with extra weapons and / or armour - they
have only what they start with in their respective army list.


Each god, though he cares not for the slaves, will aid them as part
of winning the battle.  The god of the general will bestow a gift upon
each unit of slaves, according to his nature:

Khorne will grant each slave unit the ability, once per battle, to
attack twice in a round of combat.  This second wave of fighting will
take place after all other combat.

Tzeentch will allow each unit, once per battle, to ignore any magical
effect.  This is not a dispel - the magic simply does not effect the
slaves.

Nurgle bestows upon his slaves, once per battle, preternatural stamina
and stature, allowing the unit to discount 1d6 wounds inflicted upon
it that turn from any source.

Slaanesh, once per battle, will numb the minds of the slaves enemies
for full turn.  Select a unit within 8 inches of the slaves - it may
do nothing whatsoever that turn, and counts as WS 1.

The slave master does not gain these benefits.

*designer's note - mostly just for character, but it does make your
 choice of general a bit more important*



**
This is the first revision.  Nothing has been removed, only added.

The restrictions on special abilities probably aren't good enough - the
intent is to allow, say, wardancers, but not their dances or their
dispersed formation.  Scouts or gutter runners could skirmish, but
neither could infiltrate, and the gutter runners weapons would not be
magical or have their nasty effects.  Lizardmen can keep their scaly 
skin, and I suppose that 3d6 won't help them much with halved 
leadership.  I class special saves as magical abilities.  
Can anyone come up with a better way to phrase this as a rule than I 
have?

Any suggestions?