Chaos gods (tradition)

In classical and comparative mythological treatments the category comprises figures that function as personifications of primordial chaos — cosmological forces present at or before creation and invoked in cosmogonies to explain disorder and the origins of the world (supported by encyclopedic listings). Separately, in modern fictional-franchise treatments discussed in fandom sources (chiefly Warhammer 40,000 community discussion), 'chaos gods' are described as arising within a parallel immaterial realm (the Warp/Immaterium) when concentrated negative emotions or psychic energy coalesce into sentient, godlike intelligences.

Traditional mythological sources catalog chaos-deity figures primarily as conceptual or symbolic actors in cosmogony rather than fixed visual types; cross-cultural lists emphasize variability rather than a single morphology. Modern fictional portrayals (fandom discussions of Warhammer 40K) characterize chaos gods as metaphysical powers capable of producing mutable daemonic manifestations, but the provided sources do not give a single canonical visual description.

As a category in myth, chaos deities represent disruptive, disordering, or formative primordial forces in cosmology. In the modern fictional framing found in fandom sources, they are described as emerging from aggregated emotional/psychic energy, producing subordinate beings (daemons), and engaging in persistent rivalry and conflict with other gods — behaviours framed as intrinsic to their nature in those fictional settings. The degree and particulars of such powers vary by source and setting; the provided notes separate the mythological personification use from the franchise-specific mechanics.