Grand Alliance of Order | Grand Alliance of Chaos
Grand Alliance of Death | Grand Alliance of Destruction
Nagash, the God of the Dead, attempts to claim the souls of all mortal beings after death and sees it as his right to mould them as he sees fit, forging them into armies of the undead to make his dream of a kingdom of the dead that stretches across all the Mortal Realms a reality.
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General Death Tropes
- Bat Out of Hell: Terrorgheists are giant bat-like creatures with a thirst for blood rivalling that of their masters.
- Breath Weapon: A Zombie Dragon's breath is a cloud of death magic, which withers flesh and saps life from the living.
- Dracolich: Zombie Dragons are animated from the remains of dragons.
- Dragon Rider: Some Vampire Lords and Abhorrant Ghoul Kings are able to bind mighty Zombie Dragons to their will and ride them into battle. In exchange for its hefty points cost, the Zombie Dragon massively boosts the Vampire or Ghoul King's speed and power in combat and allows them to fly.
- Necromancer: It was Nagash himself who first developed necromancy and all magic users aligned to the Grand Alliance of Death are practitioners of the profane art to some extent or other, with the greatest amongst them able to raise and control entire kingdoms of corpses.
- Non-Human Undead: The dead are not selective about who joins their ranks, as long as there is something to be reanimated. No creature of flesh, bone and blood is beyond the power of necromancy.
- Super-Scream:
- The mournful wail of banshees is capable of freezing the blood of, instantly killing all but the most strong-willed of foes.
- Terrorgheists' Death Shriek can cause skulls to burst from the monstrous air pressure or simply stop the heart of the cowardly, causing multiple mortal wounds on a target unit.
- Taking You with Me: When a Terrorgheist is killed, a swarm of bats emerge from its corpse to feast on those nearby.
- Token Heroic Orc: As expounded on by Soulbound, the undead are the most likely to side with Order if they break free of Nagash's influence. That is an admittedly pretty tall order (to the point where a Nighthaunt even showing enough Heroic Willpower to do so would probably qualify them for being Bound to living Soulbound), and there is no guarantee a free undead won't just remain a Wild Card, but the dead were once alive and people of Order—it's relatively easier for them to remember who they once were and seek redemption and reconnection with the living.
- Wreathed in Flames: Some practitioners of the necromantic arts from Aqshy, the Realm of Fire, have been known to cover their undead minions with ever-burning flames to terrify their enemies during battle.
Nagash, Supreme Lord of the Undead
"Nagash is death, and death is without mercy, honour or pity!"
The God of Death and the absolute master of all undead creatures, Nagash was once the mightiest undead magician of the world-that-was and the very creator of necromancy. A jealous god, Nagash claims dominion over the souls of all mortal creatures that die within the realms and despises anyone who would deny him his due, be they the Dark Gods of Chaos or the God-King Sigmar. From his throne within the fortress-city of Nagashizzar at the heart of Shyish, the Realm of Death, Nagash makes his plans to spread the absolute order of death to all the Mortal Realms.
- The Archmage: As the God of Death, and the original inventor of necromancy, Nagash is the unrivalled master of death magic who is capable of unleashing a barrage of soul-destroying spells in the time it takes a normal magic user to babble a single incantation. In the rules, he knows and can cast more spells than any other Death Wizard.
- Attack Reflector: Morikhane, Nagash's suit of arcane armour, is enchanted to rebound powerful blows back at the attacker, giving it a chance to reflect mortal wounds back on the unit that inflicted them.
- Berserk Button: Nagash considers the souls of those that die in the Mortal Realms to be his, and woe betide those that try to steal what is his divine due, whether they be the Chaos Gods, Sigmar, the Idoneth Deepkin or the aelven gods. The fate of Shadespire, the Mirrored City, stands as a warning to all those that attempt deny Nagash their mortal souls, trapped forever in a sub-realm of twilight, the souls of its inhabitants cursed to an eternity of madness while trapped within the shadeglass that they had created to give them eternal life.
- Big Bad: Nagash was the primary villain of the Malign Portents Worldwide Campaign, something that continued through the Time of Tribulations and Soul Wars periods of the game's timeline as the Supreme Lord of the Undeath attempts to regain the souls of the dead that he believes have been stolen from him.
- Composite Character: When originally revived by Sigmar, Nagash was just one of many Death Gods. He spent the greater part of the Age of Myth conquering the various kingdoms of Shyish and devouring their gods until he was the last one left. This not only made him more powerful, but their personalities were incorporated into his own.
- Deadly Gaze: Nagash is able to kill his enemies with a single glance as those who meet his gave find their blood freezing in their veins and their hearts giving out from sheer terror, giving the God of Death a powerful ranged attack in-game.
- Deity of Human Origin: Nagash was originally a mortal priest from the world-that-was who became a supremely powerful undead being before ascending to become the God of Death and the ruler of the countless underworlds where the souls of the dead gather. Some background material, however, indicates that due to his extreme age and megalomaniacal madness, Nagash has little to no memory of his time as a mortal and believes that he has always been a god.
- The Dreaded: Nagash is death incarnate and one of the most terrifying beings in existence that even immortals such as the God-Emperor Sigmar and the Chaos God Slaanesh are implied to fear on some level.
- Everybody Hates Hades: Justified, Nagash is an Omnicidal Maniac who wants to kill all life so he can rule it.
- Evil Is Petty: Nagash despises people others stealing souls because as the God of the Dead he sees those as his rightful property and while there those who literally steal souls from him, Nagash also considers healers saving people from otherwise fatal injuries or diseases to be a form of soul-theft.
- God of the Dead: After being freed by Sigmar, Nagash claimed Shyish, the Realm of Death, as his rightful domain, sending his undead minions to conquer the realm's many many underworlds and personally consumed the death gods that ruled them until he became the undisputed God of the Dead. Nagash takes this role very seriously and considers all souls to be rightfully his. As a consequence, he hates everything he perceives as a robbery of his property, including both resurrection and Soul Eating. He's also a deity of undeath, and rules over immense legions of walking dead, necromancers and restless spirits.
- Horrifying the Horror: Nagash's plan to turn all the Mortal Realms into a vast kingdom of emotionless animated corpses is one of the few things that can alarm the Chaos Gods with Slaanesh, the god of pleasure and excess, in particular finding such a thing utterly horrifying.
- Karmic Death: Had Nagash not abandoned Sigmar during the Battle of Burning Skies the rising power of Chaos could have been slowed, if not stopped, and he would have had allies to come to his aid when Archaon, the Everchosen of Chaos, came to destroy him at the dawn of the Age of Chaos.
- Kill the God: Nagash became the Supreme Lord of Undeath by killing and devouring every other Death God. He plans to this to the Gods of Chaos as well, but they prove to be beyond him.
- Large and in Charge: As with the other gods and god-like beings in the game, Nagash is always depicted as towering over his lieutenants and minions. His model is one of the largest in the game despite not coming with any form of mount.
- Long Game: As an ancient undead god, Nagash is willing to put plans in motion that take countless mortal lifespans to come to fruition. His plan to reverse the flow of magic within the Realm of the Dead, for instance, involved countless skeletons carry the sand-like realmstone of Shyish from the realm's edge to its centre a single grain at a time so that he could build a massive floating pyramid. The Great Necromancer ordered Arkhan, his greatest servant, to begin this mammoth task during the Age of Myth and it wasn't until two ages later that it was completed.
- Magic Knight: While he considers melee combat to be beneath him, preferring to rip the souls of his enemies apart with his arcane might, the Great Necromancer has had countless lifetimes to perfect his bladework and is a skilled swordsman.
- Mighty Glacier: As is traditional for the undead, Nagash is comparatively the slowest of the major lore characters with a Move characteristic almost half that of models such as Alarielle the Everqueen. To balance this, however, Nagash is extremely durable with a massive pool Wounds and a reasonable Save and has high offensive abilities, able to deal serious damage in melee and has a combat spell that inflicts a One-Hit Kill if successful. He also has the abilities and spells that allow him to heal and summon reinforcements, making him even stronger.
- Nominal Hero: During the Age of Myth, Nagash only joined with Sigmar's pantheon to bring stability to the Realm of Death and consolidate his position as the sole God of the Dead. Nagash ultimately abandoned the God-King as soon as the fighting got serious as he believed he was powerful enough to withstand the coming Age of Chaos alone.
- Not So Omniscient After All: A variant; It's often noted that while Nagash has in theory control over all undead throughout the entirety of the Mortal Realms due to being the god of undeath, since he himself isn't omniscient and omnipresent he has to delegate virtually all of his forces to that of various undead minions (such as the Soulblight Gravelords), and in practice most intelligent undead that he doesn't have a direct hand in creating (i.e., the various Deathrattle Kingdoms that arose thanks to storms of death magic naturally resurrecting them) don't really have to expect being controlled by Nagash. However, since the possibility of Nagash directly puppeteering them is still possible, most intelligent and independent undead groups live in constant fear & paranoia over Nagash suddenly appearing and controlling them all en masse.
- Omnicidal Maniac: His ultimate goal is to kill all existing life and, in so doing, starve the beings of Chaos to death, leaving the cosmos empty of all but himself.
- Pay Evil unto Evil:
- After returning to unlife following his defeat by Archaon, Nagash announced his return to the fortress-city of Nagashizzar by crucifying the Chaos Lords that the Everchosen had left in charge of the area and trapping their souls in their undead husks to burn forever.
- As the God of the Dead it is Nagash’s duty to punish the souls of those that committed evil deeds in life. Those that were once irredeemable criminals are cursed to become Chainrasps, forever bound by the chains of their crimes, while Lady Olynder, the uncaring queen who pretended to feel sorrow for her subjects, was cursed to feel the suffering feel all the miseries of the Mortal Realms.
- It is heavily implied that the reason Nagash imprisoned Mannfred in a realm with entropic magic that keeps everything, including his body, in a state of constant decay but unable to die was as punishment for the actions he took that led to the destruction of the world-that-was.
- He trapped the soul of Sigvald the Magnificent in a mirror of shadeglass as vengeance for Sigvald slaying his Mortarch, Krell.
- People Puppets: Nagash is able to take direct control of any of his undead minions, including those with wills of their own, should he choose to, as demonstrated when he used Neferata to communicate with the Stromcast Eternals who helped liberate Nulahmia.
- Power Copying: As a simple way to represent Nagash's vast knowledge of death magic, his 1st Edition rules gave him the ability to cast any spell known by other Death Wizards on the battlefield. This ability was removed in 2nd Edition, in exchange for Nagash knowing all spells from some lores of death magic.
- Pragmatic Villainy: In a rare moment of practicality, he accepted Katakros' surrender and offer of servitude despite Katakros having resisted the former's attempts to annex his afterlife (an act of defiance that Nagash would have subjected anyone to an horrific fate). Nagash likely recognized Katakros' military genius, and reasoned that he needed talented generals if he were to conquer the Realm of Shyish and the realms beyond.
- Rapid Aging: Nagash's touch is able to cause even the most powerful foes to age and die in seconds with a mere touch.
- Resurrective Immortality: As the God of the Dead, Nagash's divine essence is immortal and he has resurrected himself countless times whenever his physical body has been destroyed.
- Skeletons in the Coat Closet: Morikhane, Nagash's black plate armour, incorporates the bones of the dead, particularly spines and skulls, into its design to reflect his position as God of the Dead.
- Tome of Eldritch Lore: Penned by the Supreme Lord of the Undead himself, the Nine Books of Nagash contain the entirety of his near-endless arcane knowledge and are the greatest works of necromancy ever written. Nagash carries these profane tomes with him at all times, allowing him to cast and unbind a number of extra spells every turn.
- Took a Level in Kindness: Heavily downplayed. Nagash is still an Omnicidal Maniac, but he's far more reasonable and less absurdly petty/cruel than he was before the End Times. Justified, as he's a Composite Character of Nagash and several other, probably nicer, Death Gods.
- Too Important to Walk: Nagash is carried across the battlefield by a swirling storm of spirits that have been bound to his will. These spirits allow him to fly, and count as a mount for rule purposesnote .
- Touch of Death: Nagash is so suffused with necromantic energy that his merest touch can age mortals centuries in an instance. This is handled differently in the lore and the game, with the background material indicating that it is a phenomenon inherent to his existence, while the rules use the unique Hand of Dust spell.
- Villain Has a Point: Combined with Right for the Wrong Reasons. As petty and treacherous as Nagash is, Sigmar is technically subverting his authority as God of the Dead by stealing heroic souls for the Stormcast Eternals.
- We Used to Be Friends: Nagash was once Sigmar's most trusted ally, but chose his own desires over his alliance with the God-King.
Soulblight Gravelords
The Soulblight Gravelords are the legions and dynasties of undead led by Soulblight Vampires. On those cold and misty nights where the skies are darkest and winds are howling, the Gravelord host rise from their coffins and crypts and march under the eerie glow of the realms moons with the sound of shrieking bats and howling wolves. Directed by the will of their deathless counts, they are a constant scourge upon the living. They serve as (more or less) the Age of Sigmar counterpart to the Vampire Counts of Warhammer Fantasy.
General Tropes
- Auto-Revive: The Ring of Immortality Artefact of Death gives the wearer a chance of reviving after being slain, returning a random number of Wounds at the same time. The power of the ring is then expired and cannot be used again until the next moonrise.
- Clown-Car Grave: To represent the great necromantic amounts of necromantic magic that surrounds the Soulblight Gravelords, they have the Unquiet Dead Allegiance Ability, which allows the player to deploy any number of Summonable unitsnote from one of four marked gravesites on the battlefield. Added to this, the Command Ability Endless Legion allows the general to return a destroyed Summonable unit to the battlefield from a gravesite meaning that a Soulblight Gravelords player can raise a near limitless number of corpses from the gravesites, as long as they deploy within its bounds.
- Counter-Attack: If the wearer of the Chiropteran Cloak takes a mortal wound, the cloak feeds on their blood and has a chance of inflicting mortal wounds against the attacker.
- Counterspell: The Amulet of Screams, an Artefact available to Heroes of the Legion of Blood, is able to fill the minds of the enemy with the howls of damned souls, terrifying them and breaking their concentration so that they are unable to cast their spells. This is represented in-game by a once per battle chance to totally negate the spell an enemy Wizard attempts to cast.
- Life Drain: The Tomb Blade, an Artefact of Death, gives the bearer a small chance to heal a wound whenever they cause one in combat, representing them stealing the life of the enemy.
- Living Clothes: The Artefact of Night known as the Chiropteran Cloak has a strange life of its own, lashing out with its claws at its wearer’s opponents.
- Mind-Control Device: The wearer of the Ring of Damnation (an artefact of the Legion of Blood) is able to use the power of an ancient vampire to dominate the minds of others.
- Nemean Skinning: The Terrorgheist Mantle, an Artefact of the Grand Host of Nagash, is a tattered cloak created from the hide of one of the gigantic bats from which it takes its name. The magic that saturates the cloak allows the wearer to unleash a weaker version of the lethal sonic screech that Terrorgheists are famous four, doing multiple mortal wounds against the target unit.
- Our Banshees Are Louder: Bloodseeker Palanquins and Mortis Engines are constantly surrounded by a cloud of spectral banshees that kill the living with their terrifying screams.
- Power Nullifier: The Oubliette Arcana is an Artefact of the Legion of Blood that can consume magical energy so that it cannot be used by the enemy, giving its bearer a chance to negate an enemy spell and prevent its use for the rest of the game entirely.
- Psychic-Assisted Suicide: A Hero with the Ring of Damnation can make an attack with their opponent's weapon to represent them forcing the foe to stab themselves.
- Super Smoke: The Cloak of Mists and Shadows Artefact of Death allows the wearer to transform themselves into a dark mist so that they can travel swiftly and safely across the battlefield. In-game, this is represented by the wearer to instantly travel a short distance to get themselves out of combat.
- Tome of Eldritch Lore: Powerful Artefacts of Death, the Cursed Books are evil Spell Books that are filled with the malign knowledge of the vilest necromancers to ever practice the dark arts. Such is the evil power contained within their pages, the mere presence of a Cursed Book can weaken the spirit of the living. Enemy models near the Cursed Book's owner become unnaturally exhausted and receive a penalty to their hit rolls.
Vampires
Soulblight vampires stand amongst the elite of Nagash's Legions. Once mortal beings, these aristocrats and knights have been afflicted by the Soulblight Curse becoming powerful undead creatures that retain the illusion of their former life. Granted increased speed, strength, magical power and eternal life by the Soulblight Curse, these vampires suffer from a terrible thirst that can cause them to devolve into hideous monstrosities if they are unable to imbibe enough fresh blood.
- Bat People: When a Soulblight vampire is denied blood for too long they devolve into towering, bat-like humanoids with fang-filled jaws known as Vargheists. While these devolved creatures are often created as a punishment, some Soulblight societies, such as the Avengorii of the Realm of Beasts, create Vargheists from willing volunteers who wish to become monstrous weapons for their fellows.
- Bat Out of Hell:
- Swarms of bloodthirsty bats tend to follow the armies of Soulblight vampires, blocking out the light of the sun and descending on the vampire's enemies to drain them of their lifeblood. Some even believe that these horrific creatures are themselves afflicted by the Soulblight curse.
- Fell Bats are massive carrion-feeders larger than an adult human. Possessing large teeth and strong jaws, Fell Bats feast on the corpses left in the wake of the armies of the dead, and can be driven into a feeding frenzy by the merest smell of gore.
- Bloody Murder: Some powerful Soulblight vampires have the ability to use their magical abilities to manipulate the blood of their enemies to cause them serious harm. The Vampire Lord on Zombie Dragon, for example, is able to boil the blood of his enemies in their veins (causing at least one mortal wound), while the Sanguinarchs that ride upon Bloodseeker Palanquins are able to draw the blood from their opponents' bodies with the Blood Syphon spell (giving them a chance of causing multiple mortal wounds).
- Damage Discrimination: The Bloodseeker Palanquin's Blood Siphon spell can only target enemy Heroes and is useless against rank-and-file enemies.
- Egomaniac Hunter: Askurgan Trueblades scorn mortals as unworthy foes, the province of less capable hunters, instead venerating the hunt of terrible monsters. Other undead may entreat their aid by appealing to their pride and insisting that only they can triumph over a monster.
- Empathic Weapon: The Soulblight Artefact, the Slaking Blade has a sinister and selfish mind of its own and will only grant its wielder a measure of its own power once it has gorged itself on the blood of the enemy.
- Evolving Weapon: The Slaking Blade heals its wielder and deals extra damage once it has caused enough wounds.
- Face–Monster Turn: Soulblight vampires are able to pass their curse, turning them into bloodthirsty monsters who invariably turn on their former friends and allies. Before this ability was removed with the release of the Death Battletome: Legions of Nagash sourcebook, the Vampire Queens who ride into battle on the Coven Thrones had a 50% chance of turning any enemy Hero they kill into a Vampire Lord under their control.
- Feral Vampires:
- Vargheists are vampires who have been overwhelmed by their thirst for blood and become little more than beasts who viciously tear at any prey in sight.
- Not all Askurgan Trueblades can resist the feral urges they repress. The Cursebloods are vampires who have lost the battle against their baser instincts and transformed into beasts.
- Flechette Storm: The Lore of Vampires spell Blades of Shyish creates numerous glowing spirit blades that spread out from the caster and slice through nearby enemies like a whirlwind of death, inflicting mortal wounds.
- A Glass of Chianti: The Sanguinarchs that ride into battle atop Bloodseeker Palanquins Invoke the image of a villain drinking red wine as battle rages around them by tasting the blood of enemy Heroes killed near them and sharing it with their minions. Their A Fine Vintage ability invigorates nearby Soulblight units.
- Hellish Horse: The fearsome vampire cavalry known as Blood Knights and some Vampire Lords ride into battle in the manner of mortal knights upon dread steeds known as Nightmares. These hellish steeds can take a number of forms, such as having skeletal body parts or forelocks wreathed in spectral flame, but all are highly aggressive and more than capable of crushing their rider's enemies with their hooves or goring them with their teeth.
- Hungry Weapon: The Slaking Blade possesses a terrible sentience that is constantly thirsting for the blood of the living and refuses to unleash its full power until it has drunk its fill.
- Life Drain:
- The Hunger ability allows vampires to heal a wound if they slay an enemy in close combat, since drinking the blood of a mortal victim invigorates vampires and will heal even the most serious of wounds.
- The Lore of Vampires contains the Vile Transference spell, allowing a vampire to restore lost wounds to a friendly unit for each mortal wound the spell causes as it drains the consciousness and will of its target.
- Noble Demon: Kastelai Vampires can be this, at least more often than other Soulblight vampires; they see themselves as noble warriors bound to a strict code of honor, and while for some it's only an affectation, others are serious about it. The vampires in The Last Volari, for instance, were actually beloved by the mortals they ruled over as saviors and guardians, and while the Volari didn't exactly care for the mortals, they took their vow of protection over them very seriously, only feeding on condemned criminals and outside invaders.
- Once Done, Never Forgotten: Even if a Curseblood successfully controls their bestial nature and return to humanoid form, the marks of transformation never fade. Pariahs, as they become known, are marginalised, enduring self-imposed denial and penance.
- Rain of Blood: By releasing a drop of blood from the magical Ruby Vial, a Soulblight vampire is able to call down a blood rain that weakens the resolve of the enemy, slowing their charge as they dredge through bloody muck.
- Reduced to Dust: The Amaranthine Orb spell from the Lore of Vampires unleashes a sphere of necrotic magic that will instantly reduce anything it touches to ash, dealing a random number of mortal wounds against units it hits.
- Right-Hand Attack Dog: The Crimson Wing is a Soulblight Artefact that takes the form of a bat-shaped familiar. Vampires use these fell creatures to attack their enemies as they will track their pray over any distance. In-game the Crimson Wing's attack is represented by a ranged attack with a long range that causes a mortal wound if it hits.
- Super Smoke: The Mist Form Soulblight Command Trait allows a vampire general to dissolve into smoke, making it easier for them to withdraw from combat. In game terms, the vampire can move as if they can fly when they retreat, and ignores the restrictions on charging for retreating models.
- Vampiric Draining: Soulblight vampires are cursed with an unnatural thirst for the blood of mortals. Drinking fresh blood not only sustains a vampire's unlife, but also invigorates them, heals their wounds and allows them to maintain their intellect so that they do not devolve into the monstrous beasts known as Vargheists.
- Warrior Monk: The Askurgan Trueblades are an ascetic order of warrior monks who practise self-denial and live in seclusion in the mountains of Ghur.
- Warrior Undead: Blood Knights are vampires who have dedicated their immortal lives to knightly arts. They are massive egomaniacs and no less bloodthirsty than their kin, but hide this under chivalric pageantry, forming knightly orders with their own traditions. A few fight alongside the living through a warped sense of honour, though most view mortals, with the exception of the most skilled warriors, with utter contempt.
- Willfully Weak: When they are drawn into combat with pathetic mortals, the Askurgan Trueblades refuse to use magic and often disdainfully fight with one hand behind their back or with their eyes closed. Only when the enemy is sufficiently numerous or monstrous do the Trueblades remove their proverbial fetters.
- Winged Humanoid: The Amethystine Pinons spell, from the Lore of the Vampires, allows the caster to crow a pair of purple wings, granting the vampire the fly rule for a turn, and boosting their Move characteristic.
Deathmages
The scholars and mystics who seek power through the mastery death magic, Deathmage necromancers use the secrets of the Realm of Shyish to fulfil their own dark desires. Whether they originally intended to bring a dead loved one back to life, or to raise armies of the dead to destroy their enemies, they soon become infused with the magic of death, developing a loathing of all living things and giving up their mortal soul to Nagash in exchange for fearsome power.
- Age Without Youth: Despite the life extending effects of dabbling in necromancy, the bodies of Deathmages will be corrupted by the deathly magic they wield until they look like little more than walking corpses themselves.
- Amplifier Artifact: Mortis Engines contain the remains of ancient and powerful necromancers who are so infused with necromantic energy that they boost the abilities of all those capable of manipulating the magic of death within their presence. Any Death Wizards attempting to cast a spell near the Mortis Engine benefit from a bonus.
- Haunted Fetter: The Mortis Engine is surrounded by a cloud of ethereal spirits and banshees that a necromancer has bound to the arcane construct. These spirits carry the profane engine into battle and attack their master's enemies with spectral blades and blood-freezing cries.
- Healing Shiv: The Mortis Engine's The Reliquary ability releases the powerful necromantic energies stored within the Engine's reliquary, unleashing a wave of death magic that heals nearby undead while inflicting mortal wounds on all other creatures.
- Life Drain: The Deathmage spell Soul Harvest sees the necromancer summon a deadly scythe that causes mortal wounds against nearby units, each of which has a chance of healing one of the Deathmage's lost wounds.
- Our Liches Are Different: Should they survive for long enough, the necromanic magic that sustains a Deathmage's life will build up to such an extent that their heart will stop beating and they will become a lich-like creature, their corrupted souls bound to their decaying bodynote .
- Sinister Scythe: The scythe summoned by Lore of Deathmages spell Soul Harvest is a spectral weapon constructed from death magic that can separate a mortal's soul from their body.
- Wizards Live Longer: A side effect of dabbling in necromancy is that the bodies and souls of Deathmages become suffused with death magic, extending their lifespan beyond that which is typical for their race. This extended life isn't without its side effects, however, as the necromancer's hair thins, their teeth yellow and their skin turns cold and pale.
Deadwalkers
The most common form of undead to plague Mortal Realms, Deadwalker zombies are raised by Deathmage necromancers and Soulblight lords to act as cannon fodder in their armies of death. Large concentrations of death magic can also cause uncontrolled packs of Deadwalker zombies can also be found shambling across the landscapes of the Mortal Realms, their numbers growing whenever they encounter the living.
- Amplifier Artifact: The deathly energies that surround the macabre Corpse Carts that follow undead armies into battle invigorate any Deadwalker zombies nearby, the Vigour Mortis ability increasing a unit's combat abilities.
- Beast of Battle: Packs of Dire Wolves typically stalk the flanks of undead armies and are used as macabre hunting dogs by Soulblight vampires.
- Improvised Weapon: Some of the Corpsemasters who ride the macabre Corpse Carts into battle carry a long lash that they use to both drive forward their zombies that pull the cart and to strike at any enemies that get close with multiple, quick attacks.
- Our Zombies Are Different: Deadwalker zombies are totally mindless undead creatures raised from freshly dead corpses by those who practice the necromantic arts, or naturally occurring concentrations of death magic. Slow, clumsy and only as strong as they were in life, Deadwalker zombies are nonetheless remorseless, fearless and feel no pain so that, once set upon an enemy by their master, they will bury the living under a tide of dead flesh, clawing limbs and rotting teeth.
- Raising the Steaks: Deadwalker Dire Wolves are the mortal remains of great lupine hunters that have been reanimated by the dark magic of death.
- Soul-Cutting Blade: The Cryptswords wielded by some Corpsemasters are baleful weapons capable of impaling a mortal's soul, which gives it the chance of inflicting a mortal wound when it strikes.
- The Virus: The Newly Dead special rule ensures that those slain by a herd of Deadwalker zombies during a game will soon rise to their feet and join their former foes as the death magic that saturates the walking corpses infect the bodies of their victims. From the lowliest foot soldier to the mightiest general, all those who fall to the Deadwalkers will join their ranks whether there is a necromancer around to raise them or not.
- Zerg Rush: An individual zombie is slow, clumsy and poses little threat to most warriors in the Mortal Realms. When assembled into a horde, however, Deadwalker zombies are able to bring down almost any foe, their Dragged Down and Torn Apart ability boosting their combat abilities when a unit consists of a large number of models.
Deathrattle
The undead remnants of ancient empires, the Deathrattle Kingdoms wage war against the living that now inhabit their former territories. The skeletal legions of these empires are driven to battle by the undying ambitions of their Wight Kings as they attempt rebuild the former glory of their lost kingdoms.
- Dem Bones: The Deathrattle Kingdoms are populated by the skeletal remnants of their long dead populations. The majority of these Deathrattle skeletons are the reanimated remains of average citizens raised as near mindless workers and warriors who serve as slaves and cannon fodder for their masters, while the elite Grave Guard and Black Knights were once noble warriors and minor nobles who retain much of their martial skill and wield weapons saturated with baleful magic.
- Enemy Mine: It's occasionally mentioned that many of the Deathrattle Kingdoms willingly work with the Soulblight Gravelords in order to be exempted from the Tithe of Bone enforced by the Ossiarch Bonereapers.
- Jousting Lance: Black Knights and mounted Wight Kings carry cursed lances which can push enemies' souls from their bodies and smash through defensive lines when on the charge.
- The Necrocracy: The Deathrattle kingdoms are ruled by the proud Wight Kings, the animated remains of mighty warriors and conquerors who continue to rule over their skeletal subjects with an iron will undiminished by death.
- Our Wights Are Different: Wight Kings/Queens/Monarchs and other Wights are self-aware and intelligent Revenant Zombies raised by necromancy. While typically they are raised to serve as Elite Mooks for a necromancer, other times they are raised when their tombs become saturated in necromantic magic or they come into contact with a powerful necromantic artefact. Notably, part of their resurrection imbues them with enough necromantic power that they themselves can raise up Grave Guard, Black Knights and hordes of undead to serve as soldiers and citizens.
- Revenant Zombie: Wights are the skeletal versions of this, being people who had goals so strong in life they forced themselves back into their bodies (though occasionally with a little necromantic help) and picked their bones up right where they left.
- Skeletal Musician: Deathrattle units are often accompanied by skeletal Hornblowers, the ethereal notes of their ancient instruments compelling their fellows to greater speed when they charge into combatnote .
- Turned Against Their Masters: Overlapping with both Dragon Ascendant and Klingon Promotion, many Wight Monarchs are initially raised by necromancers and/or Soulblight vampires to serve as powerful muscle and/or lieutenants. However, as Wight Monarchs still possess free will and intelligence, they can kill their masters and earn their own freedom (if sufficiently crafty and/or powerful) so they can re-establish their own kingdoms.
- Undead Laborers: When not waging war, the skeleton thralls of the Deathrattle Kingdoms work ceaselessly to rebuild their ruined civilisations for the glory of their masters, their tireless nature meaning that they will endlessly continue their menial tasks until they crumble to dust.
Characters
Mannfred von Carstein, Mortarch of Night
The traitorous lieutenant.
The Mortarch of Night, Mannfred von Carstein is a cunning and ruthless Soulblight vampire who rules the underworld kingdom of Carstinia. Chafing under Nagash's rule, Mannfred has betrayed the Great Necromancer on a number of occasions and has suffered harsh punishment for his impudence, only to be returned to his former position as his skill on the battlefield proves invaluable. Leading the Legion of Night, Mannfred spreads terror across the Mortal Realms in the name of Nagash, all the while continuing to plot against his master.
- Can't Kill You, Still Need You: Mannfred has betrayed Nagash many times but, while he is usually severely punished, the God of the Dead always has never killed him as his abilities make him far too useful a tool to lose.
- Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Mannfred is an entirely self-serving manipulator who will betray anyone if he believes it will advance his goals or ensure his survival. This is shown in The Realmgate Wars: The Hunt for Nagash series when, despite his many betrayals of Nagash in the past, Mannfred sells out the Stromcast Eternals he had been working with, claiming he brought them to the God of the Dead as a gift to get back in his good graces.
- Depending on the Author: In most stories he's an unrepentantly treacherous monster; in the stories written by Josh Reynolds... well, he's still an evil treacherous monster but is capable of having some moments of nobility (notably forming a genuine friendship with Tarsus Bullheart and his companions, and genuinely working with the Hallowed Knights to save him).
- Egopolis: Mannfred von Carstein rules Carstinia, an underworld kingdom of eternal night and deep forests created in the image of the kingdom he once ruled on the world-that-was.
- Humiliation Conga: Before and during The Realmgate Wars: The Hunt for Nagash series of audio dramas Mannfred suffers a series of humiliating misfortunes including: being imprisoned by Nagash in a realm with entropic magic that keeps everything, including his body, in a state of constant decay; escaping from his prison only to be captured and tortured by Khorne worshippers; forced to ally with the Stormcast Eternals to recapture his mount, escape and find Nagash.
- Magic Knight: Mannfred is both a powerful warriors and a mighty necromance, more than capable of tearing his enemies apart in melee while blasting them with powerful death magic. He is even able to boost both his magical and combat abilities, with his Mortarch of Night rule meaning that successfully casting a spell makes him better in combat while his Sword of Unholy Power boosts his spellcasting abilities.
- Morality Pet: Is shown to be genuinely fond of Tarsus to the point that he not only feels guilt for betraying him, he also goes back to aid the Hallowed Knights in saving him.
- Odd Friendship: His relationship with Tarsus. Tarsus is a heroic Stormcast warrior, and Mannfred is the most treacherous being in existence. Against all odds they become genuine friends to the point Mannfred actually goes back to save him.
- Pet the Dog: Even though he's the one who sells them out during The Hunt for Nagash series, Mannfred still tries to convince Tarsus Bullheart to escape with him rather than die pointlessly trying to convince Nagash to ally with Sigmar. While Mannfred does abandon him after Tarsus’ refusal, it actually seemed like he really wanted Tarsus to come with him. He also uncharacteristically comes back at the climax of Hallowed Knight to help aid the heroes in saving Tarsus.
- The Rival: Mannfred and Neferata have been plotting and fighting proxy wars against each other for power and influence, with Mannfred even supporting rebels trying to overthrow the Mortarch of Blood during the Age of Myth. Arkhan suspects that Nagash is deliberately encouraging the rivalry, and the God of the Dead is the only one able to get the two vampires to work together.
- The Starscream: Mannfred desires to overthrow and replace Nagash but has learned through bitter experience that to overtly move against the Great Necromancer results in severe punishment and now contents himself with patience and secret plots. Nagash is well aware of Mannfred's treacherous nature, but keeps him around because he is a truly talented commander, and because his scheming prevents Nagash from becoming complacent. Nagash also uses Mannfred to motivate Arkhan by spurring the latter to counter the former's treachery, uses Mannfred and his schemes to act as a rival and stumbling block for Neferata and her schemes and because Nagash enjoys inventing new ways to torture Mannfred for failing him.
- Überwald: Mannfred has shaped his domain of Carstinia into a kingdom of deep forest and ominous castles shrouded in perpetual night to reflect his lost homeland of Sylvania from the world-that-was.
Queen Neferata, Mortarch of Blood
Beautiful as she is deadly.
The powerful and seductive Neferata was the first vampire, and the ultimate origin of the Soulblight curse, who remembers a time on the world-that-was when the Great Necromancer still lived a mortal life. Neferata rules over the kingdom of Neferatia with subtlety and manipulation, encouraging the vampires of her court to indulge in intrigue and conspiracy to keep any one of them from becoming too powerful. While she prefers to fight with lies and illusions, Neferata doesn't shy from battle capable, personally leading the Legion of Blood against the enemies of Nagash while using her transfixing beauty and necromantic might to defeat her opponents.
- Build Like an Egyptian: Neferata's realm of Neferatia in general, and her capital of Neferatia in particular, is said to be built according to her memory of the city of Lahmia that she once rules on the world-that-was, with place names, architectural styles and some fashion trends echoing the long-lost Egyptian-themed realm.
- Egopolis: As is fitting for a somewhat vain vampire queen, Neferata has named her personal fief within the Realm of Death Neferatia, and moulded the country in her image.
- The Hedonist: Neferata regally uses seduction to get what she want, has had many lovers throughout her long existence and encourages the members of her court to live a hedonistic lifestyle. Neferata's reputation for such hedonism has even lead to powerful followers and daemons of Slaanesh, the Chaos God of passion and excess, attempting to claim her personally more than once.
- Kicking Ass in All Her Finery: As a proud queen, Neferata always tries to look her best. Even her battlefield outfit is designed to reflect her position, being a combination of plate armour and gem-studded formal gown.
- Lightning Bruiser: While it isn't shown in her tabletop rules, some of the background material and novels featuring Neferata show that she is both blisteringly fast and powerful in combat, even when compared to the likes of Aelves and daemons of Slaanesh, and was only outpaced during the siege of Nulahmia by a Slaaneshi Chaos Lord's surprise attack.
- Manipulative Bastard: Neferata was a master manipulator during her life as a mortal on the world-that-was and she has honed her craft considerably in the aeons since. Through her lies, illusions and intrigue, Neferata is able to get subjects of questionable loyalty willing to die for her, while her extensive network of spies and conspirators she is able to manipulate events throughout the Mortal Realms. A good example of her manipulations is in the novel Neferata: Mortarch of Blood, where she plays all the events and factions around her to her advantage, including tricking a rebellious vampire nobleman into thinking she had no control over him so that he could gather all her enemies to his cause and lead his armies against her, only for Neferata to finally take control of him and make him hold still while she killed him as a show of power.
- Pragmatic Villainy: While Neferata doesn't truly care for her subjects, seeing them as little more than tools to manipulate, she still makes sure that they live in luxury, and don't realise how she really sees them, so that they will willingly perform great deeds in her name, and are less likely to defy her will.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: While still primarily concerned with her own interests, Neferata is a far more a reasonable and considerate leader than they hyper-loyal Arkhan, the treacherous Mannfred or her sociopathic master Nagash as she was willing to ally with the Stormcast Eternals to save her city and proves to be genuinely generous to those who serve her well.
- The Rival: Neferata has been competing against her fellow Soulblight vampire, Mannfred von Carstein, for centuries, the two mighty Mortarchs competing against each other for power and influence. Due to this mutual enmity only Nagash himself is able to get the two to work together.
- Silk Hiding Steel: Queen Neferata is the epitome of aristocratic grace and beauty who prefers to let others work for her glory. Although she prefers to manipulate others into fighting for her, the Mortarch of Blood is still one of the most powerful Soulblight vampires in existence and a mighty sorceress who can kill even the great warriors with ease.
- The Vamp: Neferata is a seductress beyond compare, using her deathless beauty to manipulate allies and enemies alike. This was demonstrated during the siege of Nulahmia where she used all her seductive wiles to ensure the loyalty of her general, Lord Harkdron, and to convince him to stand fast against the vastly superior Chaos forces.
Prince Vhordrai, Lord of the Crimson Keep
A powerful Soulblight general, Prince Vhordrai attempted to destroy Nagash during the Age of Chaos but failed and was imprisoned for his treachery. After Nagash's resurrection, the God of Death released the half insane vampire, cursing him to be bound to the Crimson Keep, a dread castle that can appear anywhere within the Mortal Realms. Now Vhordrai is forced to fight the enemies of Nagash wherever the Keep materialises, only capable of leaving the fortress for a single day to destroy the living before returning and traveling to the next battlefield.
- And I Must Scream: For his treachery against Nagash during the Age of Chaos, Arkhan entombed Vhordrai in a sealed coffin made from grave-sand, the solidified form of death magic. Denied the taste of blood, yet kept from death or devolving into a Vargheist by the Shyishan realmstone, Vhordrai had become half-insane from thirst by the time Nagash released him millennia later.
- The Brute: While he was once a cunning general, the punishment inflicted upon Vhordrai and his resulting insanity have left him little more than a blunt instrument of slaughter that Nagash unleashes against those who have earned his ire.
- Dragon Rider: Vhordrai rides into battle atop Shordemaire, a mighty zombie dragon whose Breath Weapon is far more powerful than those of its peers.
- Let No Crisis Go to Waste: During the Age of Chaos, Vhordrai attempted to use Nagash's defeat at the hands of Archaon as a means of freeing himself from his control by feeding Nagash's physical remains to the Chaos Gods, killing him for good. His plan was foiled by the efforts of Arkhan the Black.
- The Paragon: Many of the vampiric Blood Knights see Prince Vhordrai to be a dark version paragon of slaughter, treating the insane Soulblight lord as a virtual saint and undertaking a pilgrimage to his cursed fortress so that they can fight beside him and share in his bloody carnage.
- The Unishment: While Vhordrai is forever bound to his traveling fortress and is unable to leave it for more than a day without suffering from Critical Existence Failure, the insane count still revels in the death and destruction he is able to bring to Nagash's mortal enemies, even if he despises having to do the Great Necromancer’s bidding.
Cado Ezechiar
- Ancestral Weapon: Cado still keeps his ancestral blade, an heirloom from his old kingdom.
- Arch-Enemy: The Burning Hand, a Tzeentchian Sorceress who destroyed his kingdom and slaughtered his people at the dawn of the Age of Chaos. He's been hunting her ever since (and any other Chaos worshippers he finds), but always one step behind.
- The Fettered: Extremely so; despite being a vampire, Cado has a very strict moral code he refuses to break under any circumstances. He'll only feed on the followers of Chaos, even if it means nearly starving. He won't kill or permanently harm anyone he considers innocent, even if they're threatening his life (which they do a lot, since he's a vampire). He's more than powerful enough to solve most situations he gets into through severe violence (as most Soulbights would), but isn't willing to compromise his morals to do so.
- Friendly Neighbourhood Vampire: For a spawn of Neferata, he's probably one of the most moral and unambiguously heroic characters in the Mortal Realms. Even if he is a bit grumpy about it.
- The Good King: In life, near the end of the Age of Myth, Cado Ezechiar was a revered, just, and moral king, albeit one blind to the corruption in his kingdom.
- Knight in Sour Armor: He frequently muses on how meaningless acts of justice are, how hopeless the Mortal Realms have become, and how the efforts of mortals to save themselves are ultimately futile, right before jumping in to heroically save said mortals from some threat or another.
- Spirit Advisor: The Court Of The Lost; the spirits of nine of Cado's immediate family and friends, who advise him on his quest. The most commonly seen of these is Sonia, his tutor in life, whose knowledge of the Mortal Realms is incredibly vast and makes for a convenient Ms. Exposition whenever needed.
Ivya Volga
- Cannibalism Superpower: After feeding on many arcane beasts, Ivya's bat companions have developed limited witchsight, allowing them to perceive the ley lines crossing the realms.
- Egomaniac Hunter: Ivya has spent her immortal life hunting all kinds of ferocious predators, and now seeks new challenges to test her strength in the Era of the Beast.
Flesh-eater Courts
ARGLARGHARAGAH!Translation
The degenerate, cannibalistic remnants of nations that fell to ruin during the Age of Chaos, the Flesh-eater Courts are morbid reflections of the glorious civilizations that they once were. Infected by the insanity of their cursed vampiric monarchs, the Flesh-eater Courts consist of twisted sub-human cannibals and monsters who believe that they are the noble knights and soldiers of their lost civilization kingdoms, protecting their citizens against beasts and invaders.
General Tropes
- Anti-Villain: They really aren't evil, just hopelessly disconnected from reality — they have no idea that the invading barbarians they're killing are defenseless innocents, and would likely be horrified if they did. They're not malevolent just deluded.
- Ax-Crazy: Infected with the madness of their Abhorrant monarchs, the mordant hordes of the Flesh-eater Courts believe that they are noble warriors fighting in a world of savages and monsters when in reality they are twisted creatures who throw themselves against their enemies with the savagery of ravenous beasts, tearing apart anything in their path with their clawed hands and devouring the bloody remains.
- Bad with the Bone:
- Many mordant models are depicted as wielding bones as clubs, and some of the more powerful mordants, such as the Crypt Ghast and Haunter courtiers, can deal more damage with the bone than their claws thanks to their strength and speed.
- The Keening Bone, a Noble Heirloom Artefact of Power, is an enchanted bone club that will return to its owner's hand when thrown.
- Bat People: Varghulf Courtiers, the champions and war leaders of the Flesh-Eater Courts, possess massive bodies covered in matted fur, grotesque bat-like heads, and winged forearms.
- Battle Trophy: Crypt Ghast Courtiers rip gory trophies from their defeated opponents to inspire their Crypt Ghoul soldiers, believing them to be medals that will be gifted to the bravest warriors. In game, this gruesome habit allows Crypt Ghast Courtiers to boost the Attacks of nearby Ghouls after killing enemy models.
- Black Speech: The Abhorrant Cardinal's prayer Speak in Tongues is a stream of gibberish that seeps into the minds of enemies, maddening and distracting them.
- Cool Chair: Charnel Thrones are hideous creations of bones and magic that the mordants of the Flesh-eater Courts believe to be wonderfully wrought throne of precious metals. Charnel Thrones not only solidify an abhorrant's rule over their carrion kingdom, inspiring their followers and terrifying their foes, they also act as a conduit for their madness, infecting all mortals that see it with their delusions.
- Cool Crown: The Decrepit Coronet is a bone-wrought crown that is worn by some abhorrants of the Morghunt Grand Court. All members of the Grand Court see these hideous crowns as a symbol of leadership and will follow the wearer into battle with insane courage, ignoring battleshock tests when close to the wearer.
- The Emperor: Abhorrant Archregents are ancient and powerful Ghoul Kings who rule over vast domains consisting of multiple Flesh-eater kingdoms, each with its own Abhorrant Ghoul King who are all infected by the Archregent's madness. Abhorrant Archregents rarely rule their domains directly, merely accepting the loyalty and tribute of their Ghoul King subordinates, and often only leave their bloodstained throne rooms when a great threat menaces their kingdom.
- Enemy Mine: Nagash still holds the Flesh-eater Courts responsible for the destruction wrought by Ushoran, but that doesn't stop him from pressing the ghouls into his service many times.
- Enemy Summoner: All Flesh-eater Courts Heroes are able to summon extra models to the battlefield by calling upon mordants skulking on the fringes of the battle. Courtiers can only add models to units already on the table, while royal Abhorrants' Command Abilities allow them to call new units to the battlefield.
- The Executioner: The Royal Decapitator is an expert executioner who keeps the beheadings on pace, when almost every crime is punishable by death. In battle, their axes have a chance to instantly kill any Hero grazed by them.
- Genuine Human Hide: Royal Flaymasters wear mantles of skin torn from their choicest victims.
- Healing Factor: The blood of an Abhorrant is saturated with the dark life energy of a vampire, allowing them, as well as the Crypt Haunter Courtiers and Crypt Horrors who imbibe their blood, to regain a few wounds every turn.
- Healing Potion: The Blood-river Chalice Artefact of Power is a gruesome cup of magical blood that abhorrants can drink during a battle to heal even the most serious of wounds.
- Horse of a Different Color: Morbheg Knights are shock cavalry who ride the nightmarish bat-like monstrosities called Nightshriekers.
- Hyperactive Metabolism: Consuming the flesh of their victims allows Varghulf Courtiers to heal injured bodies, their Victory Feast ability allowing them to heal a random number of Wounds at the end of any combat phase where they slew an enemy model.
- Infectious Insanity: The insane delusions that afflict the Flesh-eater Courts originates from the Carrion King himself, and from there spread to his courtiers and lesser followers who went on to become Abhorrant Archregents and Ghoul Kings in their own right, spreading the insanity to even more cannibals. Once this delusion takes hold of an individual, they soon come see themselves as noble retainers rather than the rag clad degenerates they actually are. This insanity can grow so powerful that it can even effect those the Flesh-eater Courts fight—many Crypt Ghast Courtiers used to be great warriors or sorcerers who stood against a horde of mordants before succumbing to their insanity.
- It Can Think: While they may not be the tactical geniuses that their insanity can lead them to believe they are, many Flesh-eater Courts leaders have bestial cunning at odds with their frenzied cannibalism, and underestimating them has led to more than one army being consumed by the mordant hordes.
- Magic Eater: Varghulf Courtiers feed on the dark magic of their Abhorrant master, ingesting the residual arcane energy from their master's spells to invigorate their bodies, and gain re-rolls during the game.
- Magic Wand: The Carrion Wand Artefact of Power was made from the femur of an Abhorrant Ghoul King and is still saturated with arcane energy, allowing a Courtier who wields it to cast Arcane Boltnote .
- Make Me Wanna Shout: Crypt Flayers are mordants that have eaten the flesh of a Terrorgheist mixed with the blood of an Abhorrant, and have inherited the ultrasonic scream of the great beast. While not as powerful as a true Terrorgheist, the Death Scream of a Crypt Flayer can still cause a mortal’s heart to stop in terror, causing multiple mortal wounds against a target unit.
- Mix-and-Match Critters: The transformation into Offal Hounds twist their bodies into something between simian, chiropteran and slavering canine.
- Our Ghouls Are Creepier: Known as mordantsnote , the ghouls of the Flesh-eater Courts are mutants, devolved but still living descendants of great civilisations that fell to cannibalism as a means to survive the Age of Chaos and become infected by the cursed insanity of the Abhorrant descendants of the Carrion King. Hunchbacked and twisted mordants possess sharp teeth and claws, and are filled with a near insatiable hunger for flesh.
- Our Vampires Are Different: Abhorrants are a devolved strain of vampire created from the bloodline of the Carrion King. Looking more like their mordant subjects than traditional vampires, Abhorrants possess hairless, hunchbacked, and heavily muscled bodies, sharp teeth, monstrous features and pointed ears. As with other strains of vampire, Abhorrants are saturated with the magic of the Realm of Death and have an instinctive ability to manipulate arcane energies, even if their madness means they do not realise they are using such magic. In addition to this, the cursed blood of an Abhorrant can be used to strengthen and mutate their servants, creating the powerful Courtiers that serve as the Abhorrant's lieutenants and battlefield commanders.
- Precision-Guided Boomerang: The Noble Heirloom known as the Keening Bone is a grotesque bone club filled with necromantic energies that, once thrown, it will return to the hand of the last mordant to have eaten its marrow.
- Prefers the Illusion: Occasionally, when the madness breaks and the ghouls become aware of what they've become, they inevitably flee back into their ignorant delusion, because knowing they exist as such monsters is something too much for anyone to bear.
- Raising the Steaks: Flesh-eater magic users are able summon a herd of rotting horse during a battle. Known as Corpsemare Stampedes, these Endless Spells run wild across the battlefield, trampling anything that gets in their way into a bloody pulp by doing multiple mortal wounds.
- Skeletons in the Coat Closet: Alongside their rags and loincloths, many mordants garb themselves in bones collected from graveyards and battlefields. Impaled through their flesh like macabre piercings, the insane Flesh-eaters believe these bones to be medals, fine jewellery and accessories.
- Sprint Shoes: The Deranged Transformation spell from the Flesh-eater Court's Lore of Madness allows the caster to increase the speed of their allies by lengthening their limbs, boosting their Move characteristic for a turn.
- Swallowed Whole: The magic of the Ghurish Mawshard, an Artefact of Power used by the Gristlegore Grand Court, allows the user to distend their jaw once per battle so that they can devour their prey whole, killing them instantly.
- Was Once a Man:
- The first mordants were humans who, during the war and famine of the Age of Chaos, turned to cannibalism for survival before becoming infected by the insanity of an Abhorrant. Over the centuries since, the mordants have devolved into twisted, hunchbacked creatures living out a hideous parody of their ancestor's civilised past.
- Such is the power an Abhorrant's madness, those that fight against the Flesh-eater Courts can begin to believe in their enemy's delusions, slowly becoming the cannibalistic monsters they fought against. Crypt Ghast Courtiers in particular were often heroic champions and learned wizards before becoming infected by the madness of a Ghoul King.
- Winged Humanoid: Crypt Flayers, and their Crypt Infernal leaders, are massively muscled and mutated mordants that poses large, leathery winged forearms. Created when a ghoul is fed the flesh of a great winged monster mixed with the blood of an Abhorrant Ghoul King, these flying nightmares sore through the air above the armies of the Flesh-eater Courts, acting as scouts and hunters for their land-bound fellows.
- Wings Do Nothing: Abhorrant Archregents have small, bat-like wings sprouting from their forearms. These vestigial wings add to the Abhorrant's monstrous appearance but do not allow them to fly.
Characters
Ushoran, Mortarch of Delusion
Known by many names throughout the Mortal Realms, the Carrion King was once one of the most loyal and favoured followers of Nagash who, nonetheless, fell afoul of the Great Necromancer's temper and was transformed into a hideous and twisted creature. In retaliation for this curse, the Carrion King turned against the God of Death and was eventually imprisoned for the destruction he caused within Nagash's domains. Driven mad by his imprisonment, the Carrion King was inadvertently released by Sigmar during the God-King's invasion of the Realm of Shyish at the beginning of the Age of Chaos, and he soon began rebuilding his royal court, spreading his madness to his followers and the mortal cannibals that he came across.
As the Age of Chaos wore on, the followers of the Carrion King became prospered, but the mad monarch himself was seen less and less and none now know where he resides. In the wake of the Shyrish necroquake, however, deranged rumours of a mighty lord with many names ruling a kingdom on the edge of the Realm of Death have begun to circulate.
- I Have Many Names: In addition to his real name Ushoran, the Carrion King was known by many names and titles by those various civilisations of the Mortal Realms before he was cursed by Nagash and became the first Abhorrant. Some of these names include the Blood Rose Prince and Sumeros Summerking.
- Monster Progenitor: The Carrion King was the first Abhorrant, a powerful vampire cursed to take on a monstrous form before being imprisoned and driven mad by reflected lies. Upon his escape, the Carrion King began to spread both his curse vampirism and his madness, creating the Abhorrant strain of vampire that lead the Flesh-eater Courts.
- Obfuscating Insanity: Downplayed; he still suffers from the same delusions as any other Abhorrant, but he's far more lucid than most — some of the time, at least — a fact he conceals from the Nulhamians his sister placed in his court.
Grand Justice Gormayne
No mere bookish laureate, Gormayne is also an inspiring rhetorician. In the halls of New Summercourt, the domains of distant lords, and even on the field of war, he delivers stern proclamations divined from the fundamental precepts that underpin the kingdom’s constitution. Thus, the Grand Justice ensures that those who transgress are harshly reproved – their fate is, alas, a necessary example, the price of law and order.
- Heroic Willpower: He's able to resist the influence of Ushoran's Infectious Insanity and remain lucid for much of the time, something even Stormcast Eternals struggle with. Granted, he has to constantly focus in order to do so, and being in Ushoran's immediate presence can overwhelm even him.
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Lawful Evil: Even when he's lucid, he still genuinely believes in and worships Nagash, seeing the Necromancer as the pinnacle of uncompromising law and unyielding order. - Obfuscating Insanity: Even during his lucid periods, he has to play along with the Summercourt's delusions, or else he'd end up on the chopping block.
Nighthaunt
The malignant spirits of the Nighthaunt hosts are a plague upon the Mortal Realms. These armies of ethereal undead howl across the land, searching for fresh souls to send to the underworlds that they themselves have escaped.
General Tropes
- Amazon Brigade: Dreadscythe Harridans are exclusively transformed from women devoted to easing suffering and prolonging life.
- And I Must Scream:
- The spirits of the Soulblight vampires who occupy Black Coaches are trapped forever within their coffins as punishment for having the audacity to attempt to enter the underworld.
- In life, Dreadscythe Harridans were healers who enraged Nagash by denying him is tithe of souls. As punishment, they are cused with scythes for hands and turned into frenzied berserkers. They retain their minds and memories, but cannot control their gosthly bodies and so can only watch as they mercilessly slaughter and main.
- Anti-Magic: Myrmourn Banshees can unbind enemy spells and dispel endless spells as if they were wizards, which also give their daggers bonus attacks (although they'll suffer wounds as well if they dispel an endless spell).
- The Berserker:
- Grimghast Reapers are frenzied, indiscriminate murderers, blind to their foe, and attack with wild, unfocused slashes.
- Bladegheist Revenants fight with the desperate frenzy of a drowning man reaching for air, exacerbated by the presence of those that they perceive as captors.
- Blade Below the Shoulder: The hands of the Dreadscythe Harridans have been twisted into the shape of scythes.
- Chain Pain: Chainrasp Hordes bludgeon enemies with the chains and manacles that bind them in service to the Grand Necromancer.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: Bladegheist Revenants met particularly tormenting ends, and their last living thoughts were a horrible desperation to break free, preserved forever by Nagash's terrible curse.
- Deal with the Devil: Knights of Shrouds have sold their souls in exchange for command over a powerful undead host.
- Familiar: The Covetous Familiar swirls around its master’s essence and lashes out at any other soul that draws too close.
- Hellish Horse: Hexwraiths ride upon ghostly steeds that can gallop over and through obstacles to pursue their master's enemies.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: One of the endless spells exclusive to the Nighthaunt is Shyish Reaper, which is a big scythe that deals a mortal wound to those models it passes over provided that a die rolls higher than the target's armour save. Coincidentally, the Nighthaunt are a whole army with high saves, so the Shyish Reaper potentially hurts your own forces more than the enemy's.
- Hunting the Most Dangerous Game: In life, Glaivewraith Stalkers hunted men for sport and pleasure. In undeath, that's their job in their servitude to Nagash.
- I Did What I Had to Do: Each Knight of Shrouds tells themselves they had no choice in their betrayal, that anyone else would have done the same in their position, but a little doubt forever remains to gnaw at them.
- Ironic Hell: Nagash has a cruel sense of humor, and many Nighthaunt forces are burdened with torments tailored to their deeds in life.
- Executioners who knowingly killed the innocent are bound to the souls of their victims, who harangue and torment them for eternity.
- Healers are cursed with bloodlust and scythes for hands, so that the hands that used to heal now harm; they retain their memories and knolwedge, but can only watch helplessly as their spirits rage and slaughter. Their crime? Preventing people from dying, thus denying Nagash his tithe.
- Improvised Weapon: Rather than weapons, the Nighthaunt wield instruments of torture, or simple implements from their former lives, like the clubs and daggers of the Chainrasp Hordes.
- Increasingly Lethal Enemy: The Black Coach absorbs death magic, having a chance to gain up to 3 levels of power (which all stack and last for the rest of the battle) every battle round.
- Ironic Hell: The Nighthaunts were directly shaped by Nagash himself in some cruelly ironic way linked to their life or death. The Chainrasp Hordes were imprisoned criminals who waited for death as an escape only to find themselves bound by more chains than ever, while the Dreadscythe Harridans, who spent their lives healing and nurturing, find themselves with no desire other than wanton destruction. Nagash finds the twisted irony he has inflicted to be naught but poetic justice.
- Life Drain: One of the spells in the Lore of the Underworlds is Lifestealer. For each mortal wound that this spell inflicts, the caster can regain one wound.
- Life Drinker: The Knight of Shrouds' Sword of Stolen Hours can pilfer lifespan from a foe and use it to increase his own.
- Light 'em Up: Each Guardian of Souls carries a nightmare lantern burning with the light of Nagashizzar that can invigorate the souls of the Nighthaunts that it illuminates, or summon more spirits of the dead.
- Magic Eater: Myrmourn Banshees haunt the Realms in search of arcane magic to devour.
- Our Banshees Are Louder:
- Tomb Banshees are the souls of women who have been slighted and betrayed who have returned to the Mortal Realms to take revenge on the living. Their piercing scream is enough to freeze the life of any they encounter.
- Myrmourn Banshees are the souls of wizards who didn't pay proper respect to Nagash in life and were cursed to devour the magic of others.
- Our Ghosts Are Different: The Nighthaunt hosts consist entirely of spectral undead, from powerful Cairn Wraiths through the knightly Hexwraiths to the swarms of lesser Spirit Hosts.
- Sickly Green Glow: The light of Nagashizzar emanating from the nightmare lantern of a Guardian of Souls is a sickly green.
- Sinister Scythe: Wraiths of all types wield a variety of scythes, often wreathed in spectral flames, so that they can reap the souls of their enemies.
- Slave Mooks: Each Chainghast maintains an inexplicable yearning for freedom, yet they can never act on it, being bound to automatically obey each and every command of their Spirit Torment.
- Soul Eating: Mournguls are monstrous, inhuman spirits driven by a ravenous hunger to devour not only the flesh of the living but their very souls as well. The souls of their victims nourish the Mourngul, healing its wounds and sustaining its unholy existence.
- Supernatural Fear Inducer: Facing off against the Nighthaunts means confronting the stark reminder of the horror that Nagash's enemies suffer after death, and can terrify even the most stoic soldiers, who lose 1 point of Bravery when within 6" of enemy Nighthaunt units.
- The Swarm: Spirit Hosts are clusters of souls merged into one spirit cloud.
- Teleportation: Dreadblade Harrows can fade away and reappear anywhere on the battlefield that is not too near an enemy.
- Tome of Eldritch Lore: Only the lifeless can read the spells inscribed upon the black pages of the cursed Midnight Tome.
- Touch of Death: The slightest touch of a Spirit Host or Black Coach crew's spectral claws is enough to stop the heart of all but the mightiest of foes.
- Wardens Are Evil: Spirit Torments used to be pitiless jailers in life.
- Your Soul Is Mine!: Spirit Torments seek out those souls that Nagash deems his and locks away their souls after beating them up with their padlocks.
Characters
Lady Olynder, Mortarch of Grief
"Do not resist. Death is inevitable. The more quickly you succumb, the sooner your suffering will be over. Come to me, and be mine for evermore..."
In life, Olynder was a famously beautiful woman who came to rule the Shyishan empire of Dolorum after her fiancee and father-in-law died under mysterious circumstances. When Dolorum came under attack by the forces of Nurgle during the Age of Chaos, Olynder tried to bargain with the forces of the Plague God only for Nagash to transform her into a ghostly spectre who would continually feel the grief of the dead from across the Mortal Realms. After the Necroquake, Nagash raised the Vailed Lady to the rank of Mortarch and granted her command of the Nighthaunt spirits.
- Asshole Victim: She was a manipulative, greedy and murderous person who killed for selfish gain and played the victim of a grieving widow. In death, Nagash makes her constantly feel all the grief in the realms (given that this a Warhammer setting, that's a lot) and has enslaved her to be one of his top lieutenants.
- Black Widow: Olynder would marry her husbands, only to have them killed for her own personal gain.
- Brown Note: What Olynder's face has become in undeath. If she lifts her veil, whoever sees her face will die of grief with an expression of horror on their own.
- Carry a Big Stick: Olynder wields the Staff of Midnight, an ornate staff said to be able to steal the life of her foes and doubles as her badge of office.
- Emotion Bomb: She is possessed of such misery that it projects from her in vast, deadly waves and those who fight her often lose hope and accept the grim inevitability of death.
- The Eeyore: Due to her evil deeds in life, Olynder was cursed by Nagash to feel all the grief in the Mortal Realms. This has reduced her to a sobbing wreck.
- Fairytale Wedding Dress: Olynder invokes this imagery, albeit a dark take; while her dress looks like a wedding dress complete with a veil, instead of a bouquet a throny vine with flowers growing from it weaves around her body and her bridesmaids are banshees.
- Fate Worse than Death: Olynder was cursed by Nagash to fell all the grief in the Mortal Realms because of her actions in life.
- Fertile Feet: As Olynder advances, grave-roses instantaneously sprout before her, their flowers rapidly blooming and dying in order to lay a path of fallen petals beneath her.
- Gold Digger: Olynder chose powerful or wealthy men for her husbands, and her motivation for having them killed was to claim their wealth and power for herself.
- Ironic Hell: Olynder secured her power through assassinations and betrayals, leaving trails of broken hearts behind her and masking the joy she took in her murders behind grand displays of public grief. After her death, Nagash forced her to forever feel the grief of all the dead in the Mortal Realms, and tied this to her very power by making her the Mortarch of Grief.
- Lady of Black Magic: In undeath, Lady Olynder became a powerful wizard.
- Mysterious Veil: Part of her bridal ensemble includes a plain white veil.
- Unholy Matrimony: After dying and becoming the Mortarch of Grief she was married to the undead Kurdoss Valentian. Neither of them love each other, and it's heavily implied to be a cruel joke of Nagash against both of them (since marrying for power and murdering her husbands was how she earned her punishment).
Kurdoss Valentian, the Craven King
An ambitious and highly competent strategist, the living Kurdoss Valentian betrayed his way to the throne only to be struck dead by Nagash for worshipping the God-King Sigmar. As an undead wraith Kurdoss retained his limitless ambition, eventually impressing the God of the Dead enough that Nagash bound him to Lady Olynder, Mortarch of Grief, to act as her general.
- Asshole Victim: He was a scheming, power-hungry murderer in life. In undeath he became an undead lieutenant cursed never to be in charge himself.
- Berserk Button: Not being able to rule, something that Nagash used to his advantage by forcing him to be Number Two to Lady Olynder for eternity.
- Cain and Abel: His brothers were among Kurdoss Valentian's victims during his quest for the throne.
- Carry a Big Stick: He wields the Sepulchral Sceptre into battle.
- Cool Chair: He rides into battle on a stone throne held aloft by dark magic.
- Death by Irony: Killed by Nagash himself at the moment of his coronation.
- The Dragon: Kurdoss was cursed to never to know true rulership by Nagash, so he was appointed as Olynder’s husband and second-in-command. He also obeys her orders.
- Green-Eyed Monster: He holds a particular hatred for authority figures because Nagash's curse has denied him the chance to experience rulership himself.
- If I Can't Have You…: "If I Cannot Rule, None Shall Rule!" This spiteful bitterness even allows him to steal commands out of the mouths of enemy generals.
- Ironic Hell: In life, he desired power above all other things and freely backstabbed his way through life in order to secure it for himself. Nagash struck him dead at the moment of his coronation and bound him to the Lady Olynder, ensuring that he will always be a servant bound to obey, with ultimate power always in sight but out of his grasp. Additionally, the guards who attended him in life are bound to him as tormentors, killing his foes before he can claim the glory of victory himself, while his former heralds now mock him by crying out his evil deeds and insulting titles.
- It's All About Me: In life, Kurdoss was a ruthless betrayer who deceived, killed, and betrayed his way to a throne.
- The Quiet One: Kurdoss Valentian seldom talks and his curse prevents him from raising his tone or volume over a whisper.
- Stealth Insult: He is accompanied by two wraith heralds, but they were appointed by Nagash to mock and goad him by crying aloud his wicked deeds and some defamatory titles for all to hear.
- Unholy Matrimony: After dying and becoming the Mortarch of Grief he was married to the undead Lady Olynder. Neither of them love each other, and it’s heavily implied to be a cruel joke of Nagash against both of them (since scheming and killing his way to try and become a king was how he earned his punishment).
Reikenor the Grimhailer
Once a powerful wizard-king with a deep understanding of death magic, Nagash trasformed Reikenor into a powerful wraith who hunts down those that have incurred the wrath of the Great Necromancer.
- Cast from Hit Points: He can draw on the energies that sustain him, inflicting a mortal wound on himself to increase the power of his magic.
- Hellish Horse: He rides an undead, bat-winged nightmare.
- Herd-Hitting Attack: He can swing his scythe with enough force to mow through a rank of soldiers at a time.
- Immortality Seeker: It was his efforts to become immortal that earned him Nagash's ire.
- In the Hood: He wears dark robes similar to a cairn wraith, but he also wears a metal skull mask.
- Light 'em Up: In life he was a powerful Light wizard from the realm of Hysh.
- Magic Knight: He is a powerful wizard and very skilled at using his scythe in combat, especially against large hordes of enemies.
- Sinister Scythe: He wields a large scythe decorated with candles and chains.
Awlrach the Drowner
A ferryman from Aqshy, Awlrach made his living by ferrying travelers between the islands of Aspiria... and then throwing them into the sea once he was paid. Drowned by a furious mob, he came into Nagash' power and was made to sail his boat forevermore, dredging up wayvard spirits to add to the processions of the Nighthaunt.
- The Ferryman: In life, he ferried people across the seas... or at least claimed to, but in actuality drowned them once far from shore. In death, Nagash sends him and his ghostly boat to retrieve lost souls to add to Nighthaunt forces.
- Ironic Hell: Awlrach was a boatman infamous for his habit of offering passage to desperate travelers and then throwing them overboard to drown after he was paid. When his soul came into Nagash' clutches, he was bound to his boat and sent to retrieve souls from the deeps with which to bolster the armies of the dead.
- Karmic Death: He used to toss travelers in the drink after being paid. After his deeds came to light, an angry mob threw him into the sea to drown as well.
Ossiarch Bonereapers
"The Tithe has come. Will you pay? Or will you serve?"
Artificial constructs of bone possessed by modified souls, the Ossiarch Bonereapers are a form of undead specifically designed for war. Created during the Age of Myth as Nagash's perfect warriors, but they were not fully unleashed until the Necroquake flooded the Mortal Realms. Now the Ossiarch legions march to war and the only way to stay their hand is to pay the Tithe of Bone and surrender the skeletal remains of the dead.
General Tropes
- Abnormal Ammo: Rather than simple boulders, the osseous catapults known as Mortek Crawlers have a choice of three arcane forms of ammunition: Cauldrons of Torment, which contains a mass of tortured spirits whose screams drive their victims mad; has three principal types of ammunition; Cursed Stele that unleash a deadly hex upon those who have harmed the Crawler; and a cluster of Necrotic Skulls that unleash the magic of the Realm of Death against the enemy.
- Beware My Stinger Tail:
- Each Kavalos steed possesses a spike-tipped prehensile tail that they use to attack any enemy that attacks their flanks or rear. On the tabletop-however, this attack is rolled in with the attacks from their hooves and teeth.
- The massive Gothizzar Harvesters have a prehensile, spine-like tail that it can use to smash into the enemy with bone crushing force and cause just as much damage as the Harvester's weapon limbs.
- Cool Chair: Mortisan Soulmasons traditionally ride into battle on Mortek Thrones, large, bipedal thrones from the Grand Audience Hall of the tome-city of Gothizzar that will kick and gouge enemies that threaten the Soulmason. The bone chair is also saturated with arcane power channelled from Nagashizzar that can boost the arcane abilities of its rider.
- Dash Attack: When they charge into the enemy, Kavalos Deathriders, and their leaders, use the great size and weight of their steeds to knock the foe from their feet and trample over them until they become nothing more than a bloody pulp. In-game, the Liege Unstoppable Charge ability, and the Deathrider Wedge command ability of the Kavalos Deathriders themselves, give the Ossiarch heavy cavalry the chance to cause mortal wounds against their opponents.
- Defeat Equals Explosion: As they represent the flames of Nagash's wrath, the Crematorians Legion have been enchanted to burn with an internal fire that will violently explode then its vessel is shattered, doing mortal wounds to nearby units.
- Elite Army: The Ossiarch Bonereapers were created to be Nagash's perfect soldiers, outfitted with high quality equipment and allowed a modicum of sentience so that they can use their millennia of battlefield experience. While the basic Mortek Guard unit can struggle against an equal number of the elite troops from other races, they are a cut above most other Death troops.
- Eye Beams: The statue that towers above a Bone-tithe Nexus has four faces, each of which can unleash arcane energy from their eyes to punish those who break contracts with the Ossiarchs. Each of these magical gazes has a different effect, causing debilitating agony, loss of intelligence, weakness or death depending on the seriousness of the infraction.
- Exact Words: The Bone-Tithe is sustainable in-theory, but the Ossiarchs are known to twist the meaning of their agreements to get as much from the living as possible.
- Fantastic Caste System: Ossiarch society is ordered into several castes, each with its own identity and role dictated by Nagash's decrees. The highest caste in this system is the Mortach caste, consisting of Katakros and Arkhan, and their authority is second only to Nagash himself. Below the Mortachs are the Mortisans of the Emissarian caste and the liege commanders of the Panoptic caste, who deal with organising the Bone-tithe and battlefield command respectively. The bulk of Ossiarchs are part of one of the third ranked castes, be they the elite warriors of the Priad caste, the labourers of the Ossifact caste, or the soldiers of the Thorac caste. The absolute lowest caste is the Parrha caste, consisting of outcasts and exiles who have lost the favour of Nagash and are now considered to be lower than slaves. An individual Ossiarch can never move be promoted beyond their caste, but they can be punished with demotion for repeated failure.
- Fearless Undead: Unlike many other self-aware undead creatures, the soul-crafting process used to create an Ossiarch has made them incapable of fear, granting them the Ranks Unbroken By Dissent Battle Trait that makes them immune to battleshock tests.
- Flechette Storm: The Shard-storm spell, unique to Mortisan Boneshapers, allows the caster to unleash a cloud of incredibly sharp bone-shards at the enemy that cause multiple mortal wounds.
- Haunted Technology: The arcane catapults known as Mortek Crawlers has been imbued with its own are as much creatures as they are machines, possessing their own composite spirit that allows it to move itself on dozens of skeletal legs and fire while moving, without any loss of accuracy.
- Merger of Souls: The souls that animate the Ossiarchs, and their constructs, are formed from numerous souls that have been rendered down to their constituent parts before being combined once again. This process allows a Soulmason to create a perfect soul from many sources, removing weaknesses such as fear and disloyalty.
- Multi-Armed and Dangerous:
- Necropolis Stalkers and Immortis Guard are large bone constructs that sport four arms. The offensive Necropolis Stalkers wield a large blade in each of their four hands. The defensive Immortis Guard, meanwhile, use their multiple arms to brace their massive Nadirite Battle-shields against enemy attacks, and increase their the strength they can put behind the strikes of their Dread Halberds.
- Gothizzar Harvesters have multiple smaller arms positioned around its body that relentlessly sort the remains of the Harvester’s victims so that its primary weapon arms continue the slaughter unabated.
- Multiple-Tailed Beast: The Kavalos steeds ridden by Liege-Kavaloi typically sport three barbed, bone tails that give the mount three times the number of Attacks on their stat line than a regular Kavalos steed.
- Resistant to Magic: As they were primarily created from bones infused with arcane energy, the Ossiarchs of the Null Myriad legion are highly resistant to magic and are even able to survive the inhospitable Perimeter Inimical of a Realmsphere. In the lore, the warriors of this legion are tasked with the conquest of the magic saturated edges of each real, while their unique Eldritch Nulls ability gives them a chance to ignore the effects of spells and endless spells.
- Shield Bash: Liege-Kavaloi and Immortis Guard are able to use their Nadirite Battle-shields as a melee weapon with the characteristics comparable to a Nadirite Spear. The defence optimised Immortis Guard also possess abilities that provide extra attacks with their shields.
- Sinister Scythe: The most sinister members of the Mortisan Order, Soulreapers are equipped with Soulreaper Scythes. Often depicted as wreathed in spirit energy, Soulreapers use these lethal weapons to harvest the souls of their enemies.
- Soul-Cutting Blade: The scythes wielded by Mortisan Soulreapers are enchanted with necromantic energy so that even the slightest scratch can cut a soul from a body, giving it the chance to cause mortal wounds.
- Spell Blade: Empower Nadirite Weapons, a spell in the Lore of Mortisans, enhances the life-stealing power of Bonereaper weaponry so that they have a greater chance of causing extra hits on their targets.
- Stance System: Each Necropolis Stalker contains the soul of four mighty warriors, one for each face, each a master of a different form of combat: the aggressive but controlled blade-strike style; the defensive blade-parry style; the precision style that can pinpoint the slightest chink in an opponen's armour; and the powerful destroyer style. During a battle, a Necropolis Stalker will change its fighting style to suit its opponent, rotating its Quadrarch Mask so that the soul with the most appropriate style is facing the enemy.
- Taking the Bullet: The Immortis Guard have been created to be the guardians and sentinels who will protect their masters from enemy blows, even if that means taking the attack themselves, their Soulbound Protectors ability giving them a chance to take damage for any nearby any Ossiarch Hero nearby.
- Your Soul Is Mine!: Whether it is with the edge of their Soulreaper scythe or their unique Soul-blast spell, Mortisan Soulreapers rip the souls of enemies from their bodies and store them within arcane soul-traps for their Mortisan Soulmason colleagues to refine into new Ossiarchs.
Deathlords
Answering to none but the Supreme Necromancer himself, the Deathlords are Nagash's mightiest lieutenants and the commanders of his Legions. Mighty warriors, magic users and rulers in their own right, and protected by the Morghast royal guards, the Deathlords are a terror on the battlefield but all are bound to the Supreme Lord of the Undead through his powerful magic, existing only to bring about his greatest wish, the creation of a kingdom of unlife across all the Mortal Realms.- Absurdly Sharp Blade: Forged from spectral energy, the Morghast Archai's spirit halberds can cut through flesh with horrific ease due to their a high Damage characteristic and a decent Rend stat.
- Bodyguarding a Badass: The Morghasts are monstrous undead creatures created to act as bodyguards, heralds and executioners for Nagash and his greatest lieutenants. With Nagash being a full-fledged god, and his followers all very powerful in their own right, they do not truly need protection but the Morghasts tasked with defending their charges while they concentrate on mighty works of magic, and execute them if they displease the Great Necromancer.
- Co-Dragons: Second in power only to the Great Necromancer himself, the Mortarchs are the greatest servants of Nagash and the generals of his Legion. While they may rule their own sub-empires within Shyish, the Mortarchs are subservient to the Lord of Undeath, carrying out his demands and enforcing his will throughout the realms.
- Dual Wielding: Many of the Morghast Harbingers, the elite undead constructs Nagash unleashes on those that have angered him, are equipped with pair of spirit swords that they use to attack their targets with a speed and skill unusual for the undead.
- Horse of a Different Color: The dread abyssals ridden by the original Mortarchs are large, monstrous undead steeds that can ride through the air and consume the bodies and souls of their riders enemies.
- Praetorian Guard: The Morghasts, particularly Morghast Archai, act as heralds and bodyguards for Nagash and his Deathlord minions, protecting them while they cast great works of necromancy and carving through the ranks of enemies at their master's slightest command.
- Winged Humanoid: Morghasts are large, monstrous humanoids created from the bones of the dead that sport a pair of skeletal wings. Despite their skeletal nature, a Morghast's wings allows it to carry through the air like a carrion bird, swooping into the midst of the enemy to slaughter them with their deadly weapons. In the game, they have the Fly ability.
Characters
Arkhan the Black, Mortarch of Sacrament
The loyal servant.
Nagash's most trusted and loyal follower, Arkhan was one of the Great Necromancer's followers when they were both mortal humans on the world-that-was and is privy to many of his master's greatest secrets. As an undying liche, Arkhan is second only to Nagash in necromantic ability and serves as his most trusted general, leading the Legion of Sacrament or the Null Myriad, his personal legion of Ossiarch Bonereapers, on the most delicate of missions for the Lord of Undeath.
- Affably Evil: Arkhan is generally rather polite and reserved around friend and foe alike. It's just that he's The Dragon to an Omnicidal Maniac Mad God that does him in.
- The Archmage: Only Nagash himself surpasses Arkhan in terms of arcane might and the Mortarch of Sacrament is able to cast more spells per turn than any other Death Wizardnote except the Supreme Lord of the Undead.
- An Arm and a Leg: When fighting the traitorous Mannfred von Carstein and the Lord-Celestant Tarsus Bullheart in The Realmgate Wars: The Hunt for Nagash series, Arkhan loses his sword hand. As he's ambidextrous, however, he simply drops his staff and switches the sword to the other hand and keeps fighting.
- Brutal Honesty: When he confronts the Mortarch Mannfred and the Stormcast Eternals during The Hunt for Nagash audio dramas, Arkhan is upfront that Nagash is a merciless god who despises Sigmar and will not ally with him. He also warns them that he will kill them at Nagash's behest if they don't leave immediately.
- Creative Sterility: For all his power and intelligence, even Nagash has admitted that Arkhan's absolute loyalty has limited his imagination and ability to see the big picture.
- The Dragon: Arkhan has been Nagash's foremost lieutenant and confidant since before the Mortal Realms came into existence. Nagash will often send his loyal servant on the most important of missions and the God of the Dead has even allowed his loyal servant to share some of his greatest secrets.
- Obfuscating Stupidity: He plays the loyal servant so well that the other Mortarchs, and occasionally even Nagash himself, forget that he's his own person and not just an extension of Nagash's will. This allows him to get away with making his own moves in the endless politicking of Nagash's court almost entirely undetected. He himself Lampshades it in Soul Wars.
- Rapid Aging: Arkhan's unique spell Curse of Years can causes entire regiments of young warriors to die of old age in mere momentsnote .
- Undying Loyalty: Arkhan has served Nagash since before the creation of the Mortal Realms and continues to be unflinchingly loyal to the God of the Dead no matter what, to the point that even his fellow Mortarchs sometimes think of him as nothing more than an extension of Nagash's will.
- Unexplained Recovery: During Warhammer: The End Times Arkhan purposely annihilated himself completely by combining the dark magic that powered him with the light magic of the curse he was carrying in a last-ditch effort to keep some spark of the world alive after defeat became inevitable. In Age of Sigmar, however, Arkhan has is once again Nagash's greatest servant, despite the fact that his death in the world-that-was supposedly destroyed his soul utterly. Things are complicated even further as while the 2017 novel Nagash: The Undying King hints that he's not the original (as unlike the other Mortarchs he can't remember life on the world-that-was), the 2019 Death Battletome: Ossiarch Bonereapers states that he intentionally keeps the fact that he was once a mortal from the world-that-was a secret.
Orpheon Katakros, Mortarch of the Necropolis
"You will pay Nagash's Tithe, or your bones will serve us forevermore!"
A mighty warrior and masterful general in both life and death, Katakros once fought against Nagash's forces before willingly submitting to his rule when he faced the Great Necromancer himself. Impressed by Katakros' genius, and lack of ambition beyond the field of tactics, he elevated the general to the rank of Mortarch and granted him strategic command of his armies. Katakros fought against Sigmar when the God-King invaded Shyish at the dawning of the Age of Chaos and was imprisoned within the Midnight Tomb Stormvault until he was freed by Lady Olynder in the wake of the Necroquake. Returning to his master, Katakros was given command of the Ossiarch legions, and now leads them against the enemies of the God of Death.
- Critical Status Buff: From a game mechanic perspective, Katakros becomes more powerful as he takes wounds: increasing his attacks and eventually being able to use his shield to strike the enemy. In lore terms, however, this is to represent his companions being killed, forcing him to fight for himself.
- Four-Star Badass: Despite Katakros' preference for staying out of combat and concentrating on strategy and tactics, he is still a Mortarch with physical power and martial skill greater than any mortal. Katakros was even able to duel Sigmar for some time before the enraged Sigmar shattered his undead form and imprisoned his spirit.
- Know When to Fold 'Em: When Nagash sought to claim the afterlife of Ossiach, Katakros led its defence and was so successful that Nagash himself was forced to take direct command of the invading forces. Knowing he couldn't stand against the might of the Supreme Lord of the Undead, Katakros surrendered and offered to serve as the Great Necromancer’s finest general.
- Nothing Personal: During the third Ossiach Bonereaper trailer, Katakros claims that he takes no pleasure or despair over forcibly collecting the Bone Tithe from unwilling mortals. At the end, however, he concedes that he's likely deluding himself and he indeed feels some joy.
- The Spymaster: Katakros makes extensive use of spy networks and is always accompanied into battle by an Aviarch Spymaster who uses his contacts to disrupt the enemy and deny them command points.
- Suicide Mission: When Sigmar invaded the Realm of Shyish during the Age of Myth, Nagash ordered Katakros to battle Sigmar's armies. Katakros knew that he would stand no chance against the enraged Storm-God, but nonetheless obeyed Nagash's command. Even Sigmar couldn't fully destroy Katakros' essence, however, and had to imprison his soul in the Midnight Tomb Stormvault for millennia until he was freed by Lady Olynder.
- Undying Loyalty: Katakros is totally loyal to Nagash as being remade as a Mortarch has allowed him to dedicate himself fully to the perfection of military strategy as he dominated the Mortal Realms in the name of the Great Necromancer.
- Wolfpack Boss: Katakros enters battle accompanied by a band of trusted retainers (a Gnosis Scrollbearer, a Prime Necrophoros, an Aviarch Spymaster and a Liege-Immortis), all of whom count as a single model despite having their own attacks and special abilities. Warhammer-Community
describes him as 'not so much a Hero as a mini-boss fight for your enemies'.
Arch-Kavalos Patru Zandtos
The Dark Lance of Ossia
When he was alive, the mortician-assassin Patu Zandtos was Katakros' second-in-command, and most talented generals. The Mortarch of the Necropolis valued his lieutenant so much that when he was remade as a mighty Liege-Kavalos, Katakros allowed Zandtos to retain the majority of his personality intact. Zandtos possesses an eternal hatred of the living and fights to eradicate every mortal within the Realm of Death.
- Due to the Dead: A mortician as well as an assassin, the living Zandtos would personally prepare and bury his victims, always treating them with the upmost care and honour.
- Motive Decay: Zandtos' original goal was simply to force the living out of the Realm of the Dead to restore the peace of the grave but the magical effects of the Dark Lance. This arcane weapon focuses its wielder's goals onto a single desire, strengthening their conviction with each life they take. As such, Zandtos is now obsessed with ending all life, forgetting that his original goal had been to restore order and peace to Shyish.
- Number Two: Both in life and in death, Zandtos is Katakros' most trusted lieutenant due to his tactical knowledge, martial skill, and hatred of the living. The Mortarch of the Necropolis trusts Zandtos so much that he has even allowed him to keep his personality intact, as he lacks any ambition to usurp his master.
Vokmortian, Master of the Bone-Tithe
Given great authority by Nagash himself, Vokmortian is charged with organising and overseeing the Bone-Tithe, a tax Nagash has imposed on the living for their continued existence. As one of the God of Death's most favoured emissaries, the Master of the Bone-Tithe commands an elite Tithe Legion with which he wiped empires from the face of the Mortal Realms.
- Battle Trophy: Vokmortian ties the heads of lords and kings whose kingdoms refused to pay the tithe to his staff as a warning to all those who think they can defy the will of Nagash. These grim trophies do their job well, unnerving the enemy to such an extent that enemy units near to Vokmortian suffer a penalty to their Bravery characteristic.
- Eye Beams: Vokmortian is able to unleash beams of pure necromantic magic from his eyes that can strip the flesh of his enemies in moments.
- Multiple-Choice Past: There are numerous theories about Vokmortian's origin with some thinking, for example, that he was the first Bonereaper ever created, while others believe that there are really multiple Vokmortians, each a shard of a powerful undead being residing in Nagashizzar.
- Touch of Death: Vokmortian's unique spell, Mortal Touch, allows him to surround his fingers with necromantic energies, giving him the chance to instantly slay a single opponent if he can touch them.
