The Genestealer Patriarch in Warhammer is the central figure and mastermind of a Genestealer Cult, a sinister and highly manipulative xenos entity that infiltrates and subverts human worlds. As the oldest and first Genestealer to infect a population, the Patriarch grows in power and size over time, becoming a monstrous creature with immense psychic abilities. It serves as the focal point of the cult, influencing its members with its powerful psychic presence, turning the infected into loyal hybrids that obey its every command. The Patriarch is often depicted as a corpulent, multi-limbed terror, with a visage that combines both the alien and grotesque. Its strength lies not only in its physical power but in its ability to manipulate entire populations into rising against the Imperium from within.
A Genestealer Patriarch is a cunning strategist, using its followers to sow discord, sabotage infrastructure, and eventually incite full-scale rebellions that often culminate in a planet’s downfall just as the Tyranid Hive Fleets arrive to consume the world. While it acts as a physical threat on the battlefield, ripping through enemies with its razor-sharp claws, its real danger is its psychic influence. It can dominate minds, inspire fanatical devotion, and even cloud the thoughts of its enemies. The Patriarch is the keystone of any Genestealer Cult, and as it grows in power, it mutates further, becoming an ever-greater threat to the Imperium and all who stand in its way.