Nurgle, the Plague Father, is the Chaos God of disease, decay, despair, and paradoxically, life and fecundity. He is the most jovial of the Chaos Gods — a vast, bloated figure who genuinely loves his followers in his own terrible way, gifting them with plagues and mutations as expressions of his affection. His realm is a garden of pestilence and rot, teeming with life even as it decays.

Nurgle's influence waxes and wanes with the great plagues that periodically devastate the Old World. The Black Plague that nearly destroyed the Empire was Nurgle's greatest triumph in the Old World. His daemons and mortal followers spread disease wherever they go, and his Chaos Warriors are bloated, near-unkillable monstrosities who feel no pain. The Glottkin and other great champions of Nurgle have led devastating invasions.

Nurgle's forces are defined by resilience and attrition. Plaguebearers are daemonic infantry that are nearly impossible to kill, their bodies riddled with disease yet still fighting. Nurglings are small, mischievous daemons that swarm enemies. Beasts of Nurgle are enormous slug-like creatures that embrace enemies in a deadly hug. The Great Unclean One — Nurgle's Greater Daemon — is a massive, jovial monster of immense toughness.

Nurgle's followers embrace decay as a form of liberation — by accepting disease and rot, they transcend the fear of death. His mortal champions are bloated, disease-ridden warriors who feel no pain and are nearly impossible to kill. The Cult of Nurgle operates in plague-ridden cities, offering false hope to the desperate. Nurgle himself is oddly paternal, viewing all living things as his children — whether they want to be or not.

• ✦The Garden of Nurgle — his realm in the Realm of Chaos, a paradise of rot and life
• ✦The Mansion of Nurgle — his home within the Garden
• ✦The Blighted Marshes — corrupted lands in the Old World touched by Nurgle's power
• ✦Festus the Leechlord's domain — a mortal champion's plague-ridden territory