| 1 | !!![[Characters/TotalWarWarhammer Click here to return to the main character page]] |
| 2 | |
| 3 | [[center: [-[[{{Characters/TotalWarWarhammer}} Main characters index]] | [[Characters/TotalWarWarhammerTheEmpire The Empire of Man]] | [[Characters/TotalWarWarhammerTheKingdomOfBretonnia The Kingdom of Bretonnia]] | [[Characters/TotalWarWarhammerTheTzardomOfKislev The Tzardom of Kislev]] | [[Characters/TotalWarWarhammerTheEmpireOfGrandCathay The Empire of Grand Cathay]] | [[Characters/TotalWarWarhammerTheDwarfenKingdoms The Dwarfen Kingdoms]] | [[Characters/TotalWarWarhammerTheHighElves The High Elves]] | [[Characters/TotalWarWarhammerTheDarkElves The Dark Elves]] | [[Characters/TotalWarWarhammerTheWoodElves The Wood Elves]] | [[Characters/TotalWarWarhammerTheLizardmen The Lizardmen]] | [[Characters/TotalWarWarhammerTheVampireCounts The Vampire Counts]] | [[Characters/TotalWarWarhammerTheTombKings The Tomb Kings]] | [[Characters/TotalWarWarhammerTheVampireCoast The Vampire Coast]] | [[Characters/TotalWarWarhammerTheDaemonsOfChaos The Daemons Of Chaos]] | [[Characters/TotalWarWarhammerTheWarriorsOfChaos The Warriors of Chaos]] | [[Characters/TotalWarWarhammerTheNorscanTribes The Norscan Tribes]] | [[Characters/TotalWarWarhammerTheChaosDwarfs The Chaos Dwarfs]] | [[Characters/TotalWarWarhammerTheBeastmen The Beastmen]] | [[Characters/TotalWarWarhammerTheGreenskins The Greenskins]] | '''The Skaven''' | [[Characters/TotalWarWarhammerTheOgreKingdoms The Ogre Kingdoms]] ]]-] |
| 4 | ---- |
| 5 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tv_tropes_skaven.png]] |
| 6 | [[caption-width-right:350:''"Die man-things! Yes-Yes!"'']] |
| 7 | |
| 8 | ->''"All decent folk find the common rat repulsive. Harbinger of disease, it scavenges on our waste-heaps and frightens our children. How immeasurably worse then is the foul Skaven -- standing on its hindlegs in foul parody of a human. Rats as tall as man, and blessed with the most vile intellect and cunning. They are the dark side of our souls, come to destroy us for our sins."'' |
| 9 | |
| 10 | The Skaven, sometimes known as the Ratmen, the Ratkin or the Children of the Horned Rat, are a malevolent and diabolical race of large humanoid rat-creatures that inhabits a massive inter-continental underground empire known in their tongue simply as the Under-Empire, where at the very heart of Skavendom lies the horrific city of Skavenblight, the species capital city and the probable birthplace of the Skaven race. The Skaven as a whole are a cruel, treacherous and highly numerous species that have since spread their loathsome corruption to the farthest corners of the Warhammer World. From deep below the earth, these scavengers have built a vast Empire, whose military power and incomprehensible numbers has the potential to smother the kingdoms of the Old World in a seething tide of violence and anarchy. It is believed by all of Skaven-kind that the world is destined to be theirs, for they consider themselves the Supreme Master Race, undeniably superior in every way to all the other races of the World. |
| 11 | |
| 12 | This unwavering belief stems from the promises made by their horrificly malevolent deity, known by many legendary names, but his most well-known title is that of the Horned Rat. The Horned Rat is known as the Harbinger of Corruption and Disease, the embodiment of all things the Skaven are or ever will be, and whose worship over the Under-Empire is both supreme and absolute. Within the cruel hierarchy of the Under-Empire, the wishes and demands of the Horned Rat is issued and maintained by the ruthless tyranny of the Council of Thirteen, an organization that consist of the twelve most powerful Warlords within the Under-Empire, whilst the thirteenth seat is reserved for the Horned Rat himself. It is due to the Council's harsh tyranny that the Under-Empire remained unified in some shape or form for centuries, for none could ever hope to overcome the legions of warriors the Council has under their iron-fisted rule. |
| 13 | |
| 14 | Out of all the mortal civilizations within the greater world, no single race, neither the ruthless Barbarian tribes of the North, nor the savage Greenskins of the East can be compared in terms of instability to that of the Skaven Under-Empire. The Skaven race as a whole is extremely divided, often far more divided than perhaps any other race known in existence. Such disunion and ruthless lack of cooperation stems from the Skaven's insatiable need to survive, thrive and reign tyrannical over his other brethrens. To the Skaven there are no such things as pity, remorse, compassion, or cooperation. There is simply survival, survival in a turbulent society that only spares those that possess the brute strength, extreme cunning, and the vicious instinct to outmaneuver and kill the opposition, no matter the cost or the body count of either friend or foe. Though no matter how divided their race may be, they are nonetheless unified in a single cause, and that cause is to conquer the surface world and bring about the Great Ascendancy, where it is said that the Horned Rat's children will swarm across the face of the earth and claim all of it as their own. |
| 15 | |
| 16 | Introduced in ''VideoGame/TotalWarWarhammerII'', the Skaven are playable in custom/multiplayer games, the ''Eye of the Vortex'' campaign and the ''Mortal Empires'' super-campaign. In ''VideoGame/TotalWarWarhammerIII'', they are playable in the ''Immortal Empires'' combined mega-campaign for owners of ''II'' and ''III''. |
| 17 | ---- |
| 18 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 19 | |
| 20 | [[folder:General Tropes]] |
| 21 | [[quoteright:256:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/wh2_main_skv_clan_mors_crest.png]] |
| 22 | [[caption-width-right:256:Clan Mors]] |
| 23 | [[quoteright:256:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/wh2_main_skv_clan_pestilens_crest.png]] |
| 24 | [[caption-width-right:256:Clan Pestilens]] |
| 25 | [[quoteright:256:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/clan_rictus.png]] |
| 26 | [[caption-width-right:256:Clan Rictus]] |
| 27 | [[quoteright:256:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/clan_skryre.png]] |
| 28 | [[caption-width-right:256:Clan Skryre]] |
| 29 | [[quoteright:256:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/wh2_main_skv_clan_eshin_crest.png]] |
| 30 | [[caption-width-right:256:Clan Eshin]] |
| 31 | [[quoteright:256:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/wh2_main_skv_clan_moulder_crest.png]] |
| 32 | [[caption-width-right:256:Clan Moulder]] |
| 33 | |
| 34 | * AchillesHeel: |
| 35 | ** Because of how heavily they rely on overwhelming numbers, they can be greatly harmed by spells that [[HerdHittingAttack cover a great area]], such as breath spells and vortex spells. They have a similar issue when it comes to factions that have large artillery arsenals. Their leadership is also so abysmal (see below) that in addition to the casualties, a direct hit by a spell or artillery blast can cause a skaven unit to rout. |
| 36 | ** They are also easily affected by Fear and Terror due to their cowardly nature giving them low morale. As a whole, Skaven armies tend to rout much easier than other factions due to their inherent cowardice; if they're not winning at least slightly, they're more concerned with saving their own hides than winning the fight for you by risking their lives. |
| 37 | * AdaptationalBadass: Faction-wide. In the tabletop, their units (particularly the Skryre ones), like all factions, were subject to [[RandomNumberGod the luck of the dice]], which carried a heavy risk (such as Doomwheels firing at random units or going in a random direction whenever they took damage, or even their more powerful fireteams self-destructing on a bad roll,) which was a key part of keeping them balanced. Here, they have no such drawback, and as such the Skaven (and Skryre in particular) are considered a GameBreaker. |
| 38 | * AdaptationalIntelligence: Rat Ogres. In the lore the beasts paid for their great strength with utterly pathetic brains. On the tabletop this was so bad that every turn they started outside of combat a rat ogre unit had to roll to see if they could actually act that turn or if they'd forget what they were supposed to be doing and stand around staring into the middle distance. In a real time game this would naturally be very difficult to model. |
| 39 | * AlwaysChaoticEvil: Possibly more so than any other ''Warhammer'' race. You'd be hard pressed to find a single redeeming or sympathetic feature about them -- they're all hateful, backstabbing, savage monsters. They worship a GodOfEvil who encourages betrayal and cruelty, they practice WeHaveReserves to the ''extreme'' and make heavy use Chaos-based sorcery and [[{{Magitek}} magitek]], and their ultimate goal is to wipe out or enslave "the surface races" (read: everyone) and claim the world for themselves. To illustrate how foul the Skaven are, it's best to compare them to the other Destruction factions: Vampires will enslave whole populations to use as food and servants, but are capable of feeling very genuine love and even a sense of noblesse oblige toward their "flocks". Dark Elves are cruel and have a culture based on torture and slavery, but are more driven more by historical grievances than innate nature and some of them can even potentially become questionably heroic. Orcs are violent brutes, but they'll develop what could be considered friendships and attachments to their fellows, and even the most brutal Black Orc will cry if his pet squig dies (though not in front of the other boyz because that just makes him look like a runty git). The Beastmen may be savage animals that want to destroy civilization but they have a tragic FreudianExcuse of being discarded for their mutations and deformities as well as not having free will. Even the Dark Gods of Chaos can draw from humanity's positive attributes as well as the negative ones.[[note]]Khorne can represent martial bravery and skill, Slaanesh can represent love and joy, Tzeentch can represent knowledge and hope, and Nurgle can represent emotional and physical endurance[[/note]] Skaven hate everyone and everything: they are more cowardly and paranoid than any goblin, crueler and more hostile than Dark Elves, and more fractious than Chaos. [[EvenEvilHasStandards Some Chaos Champions and Dark Elves even openly consider the skaven scum.]] Love, friendship, and honor are completely alien to the Skaven's psyche. |
| 40 | * AppliedPhlebotinum: Warpstone, which powers pretty much anything weird they've got (of which they have a lot of). |
| 41 | * ArchEnemy: Skaven are the enemy of all, even other Destructive factions, but they hold a particular enmity for mankind, for the simple reason that they gravitate towards their dirty, sprawling cities and wish to possess them. Skavenblight is really what they have in mind for every man-thing settlement. They are also not fond of the Dwarfs for very similar reasons, although the Dwarfs don't have the luxury of pretending they don't exist. |
| 42 | * AxCrazy: Sanity is a trait most Skaven do not possess, being a very cowardly yet incredibly murderous race. Skaven units on the battlefield will be cruelly jeering, laughing, and waving their arms around jubilantly. |
| 43 | * BadassArmy: Despite their cowardice, The Skaven get by with single-minded zeal to overwhelm the enemy until they lay broken before the children of the Horned Rat. They make use of their extremely advanced technology when sheer numbers aren't enough, and can deploy Weapon Teams that fire green warp-lightning that turns anything it touches touch to ash, or unleash monstrous abominations created with mad science to wreck enemy formations. |
| 44 | * BatmanGambit: [[spoiler: The entire plot of the Vortex campaign was kickstarted by them. They tricked the other races into action, which only end up powering the Skaven, and make it possible for the Horned Rat to be summoned into the mortal plane.]] |
| 45 | * BeneathTheEarth: Where they call home, dwelling below even the holds of the Dwarfs. |
| 46 | ** This has been ''heavily'' expanded with the Under-Empire mechanic, which was added in a post-launch patch. Essentially, to represent the fact Skaven live practically ''everywhere'' in the Old World, it's possible to build a ''fully functional'' city underneath any settlement. They're not only always spreading a large amount of Skaven corruption, they are fully upgradable, and these Under-Cities have a huge variety of building options, including Warp-Stone workshops, mushroom farms, secret armouries, and more. There are several special options available, such as letting the player spawn an entire army above the Undercity to be used in sieges. One must be careful when developing them, however, as if they're ever detected, they can be razed by the owner of the settlement above the Undercity. |
| 47 | * BigBad: [[spoiler:For the ''Eye of the Vortex'' campaign. The Skaven used a warpstone rocket to create a fake Twin-Tailed Comet, [[BatmanGambit in order to freak out the other races enough that they would start fighting over the Great Vortex and destabilize it with their rituals]]. Once the Vortex is near collapse and the other factions are weakened from the constant fighting, the Grey Seers swoop in to seize the Isle of the Dead and attempt to accomplish their true goal -- summoning the Horned Rat himself to the mortal world.]] |
| 48 | * BizarreSexualDimorphism: Male Skaven are bipedal rodents of vaguely human size and intellect. The females, or broodmothers, are by contrast huge, bloated, barely sapient creatures who function solely as [[BabyFactory baby factories]], each one churning out a veritable horde of Skaven during her lifetime. Strictly speaking, this isn't a natural example of this trope. The Skaven deliberately expose their females to an obscene amount of mutating warpstone, changing them into their current forms. There's no depiction of what a "natural" Skaven female would look or even act like, and it's unlikely that even the Skaven themselves have any idea at this point. |
| 49 | * BlackMagic: As one would expect, Skaven magic is divided into the Lore of Ruin and the Lore of Plague, and both are as malevolent as the ratmen themselves. Few of their spells do anything but curse enemies or blow them to smithereens. ''Shadow and the Blade'' added a third; the Lore of Stealth. A secret art mastered in Nippon in which, in contrast to the above two Lore, grants the elite Eshin operatives tons of utility rather than direct damage. |
| 50 | * BodyHorror: ''Everywhere''. From the grotesque mutant warbeasts to the plague ridden disciples of Clan Pestilens. |
| 51 | * CanonImmigrant: Several units in Clan Eshin's armylist, including its elite Triad units, Sorcerers, Assassin Lords and the Lore of Stealth itself -- spring from the separate, non-canon ''Storm of Chaos'' campaign from the tabletop's sixth edition. |
| 52 | * CanisMajor: They aptly named Wolf-Rats are a particularly dangerous breed of Giant Rats bred by Clan Molder; having ''very'' canine features to them, it's known the Skaven combined the blood of Skaven and Wolves to create these miniture abomination. |
| 53 | * CannonFodder: The Clanrats and the Skavenslaves, though the former at least have pretty decent armor, whilst the latter are very poorly armed and wear barely anything. Skavenslaves are even considered Expendable by the ''game engine'', making them an exception to the norm in that most other units won't be stressed out by seeing Skavenslaves butchered or panicking except for other Skavenslaves. Completing a certain research option in a Skaven campaign grants clanrats this trait as well. |
| 54 | * ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: Almost considered a virtue in their society. There are plenty of times when the Skaven might have taken over the world but ruined it for themselves for one single reason. That reason is because Skaven society is one built almost entirely on self-interest, betrayal, doublecrossing, dishonesty and backstabbing, which has a tendency to lead to important plots going down the drain at the worst possible times. Hell, the few times they have ever managed to remain united and loyal to each other for an extended period of time can be counted on two hands. In-game, this is reflected in public order problems and a loyalty meter for generals. |
| 55 | ** There's an in-game dilemma over one of your Skaven generals being loyal. ''Too'' loyal perhaps-maybe? He must be planning-scheming! So this can basically result in you mildly backstabbing a loyal general solely because of [[ProperlyParanoid (not unduly regarding Skaven) paranoia]].[[note]]The options then are to [[EyeScream take one of his eyes]] (causing other lords local to the region to have a chance of gaining loyalty every turn), [[EveryManHasHisPrice promise him warpstone snuff]] (giving him experience & loyalty at the cost of a lump sum of cash), [[ShootYourMate have him slay his least treacherous underling before you]] (giving a temporary public order boost to all provinces at the cost of making your lords have a chance of losing loyalty each turn), or spray him with your musk (improving his leadership aura's size, effect, and giving an Untainted and public order boost to local territory).[[/note]] |
| 56 | ** As a further hint of how ingrained backstabbing is to the Slaven, prior to the mechanic being renamed control in ''VideoGame/TotalWarWarhammerIII'', the Skaven were one of two factions whose Public Order is referred to as Public Obedience - they don't measure how content their citizens are, just that they are reminded of their place and don't get uppity. Only the Vampire Counts share this naming convention. |
| 57 | ** Perhaps the most damning example of this trope is how other evil factions handle loyalty - Dark Elf and Vampire Coast Lords also have loyalty, but they eventually get the option to take a trait that removes this mechanic. Skaven never do, because no matter how much power and authority they are given, they will always want more. |
| 58 | * ChurchMilitant: The Skaven have their own twisted version of this; Clan Pestilens and their zealous Plague Monks, who dedicate themselves to spreading poxes and plagues with a religious zeal both off and on the battlefield. In combat, they wield noxious censers like they were flails, smashing them into enemies and spreading their virulent contents as a weapon of terror. |
| 59 | * ColdSniper: What essentially the infamous Warplock Jezzail teams are, ratmen carrying long-barred rifles with scopes firing warpstone bullets. There exists rather hilarious stories of Jezzail teams racking quite impressive kills, such as Natty Butoc of Clan Mors, who managed to kill a Dwarf Engineer who was watching Natty with a bullet through the Engineer's telescope and then killed several other Dwarfs who tried looking through the same telescope, unable to believe a ratman would be so precise. Not only are they protected by a pavise shield (that the spotter carries and also doubles as a brace for the incredibly-long rifle), they have a ridiculous ''300'' range for their armor piercing bullets, making facing them an utter nightmare for heavy cavalry, elite infantry, monsters, and characters. The only weakness they have is their slow rate of fire, but that's not much of an issue when a Jezzail team can have 20 plus members, and every shot they make is going to hit cause of their insane accuracy. And then there are the aforementioned Natty's own crew of snipers, '''Natty Buboe's Sharpshooters''', who not only have better stats, but also have the Stalk and Snipe trait, meaning you won't even see them when they pick your troops apart. |
| 60 | * CombatPragmatist: The Skaven have no honor and are more than likely to stab their opponents in the back (literally and figuratively) than face them head on. If they do face them head on, it is always in overwhelming numbers. If numbers won't do it alone, the Skaven will use bizarre but deadly technology to destroy their opponents. |
| 61 | * ACommanderIsYou: |
| 62 | ** A ''Spammer/Technical'' faction. Probably the most prominent example of a ''Spammer'' in the franchise, the Skaven have the largest unit sizes in the game, and their tactics encourage sending waves of Slaves and Clanrats to bog down and distract the enemy, while using much more powerful elite infantry, monsters and war-machines to deal serious damage. They even have an in-battle mechanic that lets them periodically spawn entirely new units of clanrats from underground, who can be placed literally anywhere in the battle map. |
| 63 | ** The Skryre subfaction heavily emphasizes the Technical, with a unique CraftingMechanic that lets them improve all the war machines of the Under Empire, a very heavy focus on Weapons teams, and construct ''nuclear'' weapons. |
| 64 | ** Clan Eshin's subfaction also adds a healthy dose of ''Guerilla'' into the mix, due to their specialization in taking missions to sabotage other factions in exchange for rewards as well as their plentiful bonuses for their Runners and various units who can ambush and be deployed in vanguard. |
| 65 | * TheCorruption: The Skaven can spread their own form of provincial corruption, which increases the number of times [[WeHaveReserves Menace From Below]] can be used in battle, on top of typical public order penalties. The catch, however is that the public order penalty for high corruption even applies [[WeAreStrugglingTogether to the Skaven's own settlements]]. |
| 66 | * CriticalStatusBuff: Most Skaven units get bonuses to their speed after taking casualties. This reflects both their [[DirtyCoward cowardice in the face of a superior foe]] as they run away, but also their propensity for an unfair fight as they [[CombatPragmatist eagerly circle around to a more vulnerable target]]. |
| 67 | * DeadlyGas: Poisoned-Wind Globadiers, elite units of chemical warfare specialists. They attack by [[ThrowDownTheBomblet throwing impact-shattering crystal globes]] filled with aerosolized [[GreenRocks warpstone powder]] while wearing [[GasMaskMooks protective breathing gear]]. Not only is this gas [[HerdHittingAttack effective against dense clusters of enemies]], but even [[ArmorPiercingAttack the most resilient armour is no protection against it]]. However, being hand-thrown means their range is limited, and being so specialized in their equipment means their numbers are few, so they are vulnerable to concentrated arrow or musket fire and require other units to cover them as they get in position.[[note]](Said other units often find themselves in range of the Globadiers' warpstone gas, but this is [[WeHaveReserves a small sacrifice compared to the damage they can inflict]] on the enemy.)[[/note]] |
| 68 | ** Then there is the upgraded version, the Poison-Wind Mortars, that may have smaller unit sizes, but make up for this by possessing far larger projectiles that are shot from a much safer distance and angle (i.e. less chance of them throwing it at the back of your infantry's heads). |
| 69 | * DeathFromAbove: The Poison-Wind Mortars are especially powerful variants of this trope. Carried by Skyre Weapons Team, Poison-Wind Mortars launch globes of Poison-Gas filled glass containers that explode on impact; debuffing units with morale penalties and dealing horrifying damage, with the added benefit of not requiring line of sight. The ''Avalanche Mortars'', a special regiment of them, have globes that explode ''in the air'' raining a torrent of purple poison down on anything unlucky enough to be caught in their blasts. It deals so much damage it's commonly used for ''erasing'' elite units. |
| 70 | * DemotedToExtra: Exaggerated. Supreme Warlord Kratch Doomclaw of Crookback Peak is the leader of Clan Rictus, a member of the Council of Thirteen and one of the most powerful Skaven alive. How powerful? He outranks Grand Nightlord Sneek, leader of Clan Eshin and Deathmaster Snikch's boss, and is considered equal to Arch-Plaguelord Nurglitch VII, leader of Clan Pestilens and Lord Skrolk's superior. He (or an IdenticalStranger bearing his name and ruling his territory) appears ingame as Chief Doomclaw, the generic warlord leader of minor faction Rictus Clan-Nest in Mortal Empires. |
| 71 | * DirtyCoward: A near universal Skaven trait, with a few notable exceptions such as [[BloodKnight Queek Headtaker]]. The faction's mechanics actively encourage that players act in this manner with their Stalk stance. Stalk allows Skaven armies a chance to avoid a fair fight by ambushing an opposing army, even if said army is near its allies. It's reflected in their units as well: Skaven units get faster and faster as they lose bodies or get scared, making it almost impossible to actually pin them down and keep them from escaping. It's not unusual for a Skaven unit to flee, regroup, and charge back into a fight multiple times during a battle. This even extends to the campaign map, as most Skaven factions possess the "Spineless" trait. Such Clans talk tough if they're more powerful than you and quickly become sniveling toadies if they aren't. Bullying them into doing your bidding is quite easy, though how easily cowed they are gets a bit muddy if they're being dragged into a war against another more powerful faction. |
| 72 | * DoomyDoomsOfDoom: Almost to the point of being a RunningGag. We have the [[MonowheelMayhem Doomwheels, Doomflayers,]] the Scheme of DOOM that provides the player with a [[ActionBomb DOOM Engineer]], [[FantasticNuke Warpstorm Doomrockets, and the Doomsphere]]. |
| 73 | * EarlyBirdCameo: They were mentioned a few times in the first game, once as part of one of Grimgor's quest speeches, the others in various loading screen quotes, but they were only properly introduced in the second game. |
| 74 | * ElaborateUndergroundBase: Skaven settlements are built beneath ruins, enabling them to be hidden from view on the campaign map. ''The Prophet and the Warlock'' introduces Undercities, which are smaller-scale skaven settlements that can be created inside the cities of other races, adapted from the Vampire Coast's 'Pirate Cove' mechanic. |
| 75 | * EliteMooks: The Stormvermin, who are picked from birth should they possess black fur, and are given better provisions, better armor and weapons and extensive training. As such they are larger, healthier, more muscled and deadlier than the average skaven. |
| 76 | * TheEmpire: The Skaven Under-Empire, which stretches throughout most of the ''Warhammer'' world. Though, like the Empire of Man, it is strictly speaking more a loose federation of perpetually squabbling clans "united" under an equally quarrelsome ruling body, rather than a true empire. |
| 77 | * EvilIsPetty: The Skaven can set up gold mines in settlements with gold deposits. They do this for literally no other reason than to keep other races who actually value gold from getting it. |
| 78 | * EvilSorcerer: |
| 79 | ** The Grey Seers, the priest caste of the Skaven and their primary magic users. Regarded as favored by the Horned Rat, they are marked by their distinctive grey fur and the horns which sprout from their heads. Grey Seers are some of the most powerful and influential individuals in Skaven society and their leader, Seer Lord Kritislik, holds the greatest seat on the council of thirteen. |
| 80 | ** The plague priests of Clan Pestilens also qualify for this trope. |
| 81 | * EvilerThanThou: The Skaven are so evil that they've routinely betrayed even the other evil factions for their own personal gain. Their crowning achievement was working for Nagash right up until he started getting powerful enough to scare them. This is {{Deconstructed}}, as in modern times everyone who knows of the Skaven despises them thanks to their history of treachery. Where other evil armies can ally, few would take on the Skaven as an ally unless they were really desperate, and even then one should expect a knife in the back sooner or later. |
| 82 | * ExplosiveBreeder: So much so that one of their main ways of keeping their numbers under even the slightest form of control is to eat each other, especially the kids. |
| 83 | * FantasticCasteSystem: |
| 84 | ** The Clans are divided into Greater Clans (consisting of Clans Skryre, Moulder, Pestilens and Eshin), Warlord Clans and Thrall Clans (who pledge themselves to either the Greater Clans or Warlord Clans because they are not strong enough to keep themselves safe in the cutthroat world of Skaven politics and seek the stronger clans' protection). |
| 85 | ** In terms of social structure and military rank, [[EvilSorceror Grey Seers]] more-or-less run Skaven society, with [[KingMook Warlords and Chieftains]] beneath them, then [[EliteMooks Stormvermin]], then [[{{Mooks}} Clan Rats]], then [[SlaveMook Slaves]]. |
| 86 | * FantasyCounterpartCulture: Actually averted, in that unlike all the other factions, the Skaven don't have any distinct similarities to real-world cultures. The closest they come (and even then it's a less overt example than others) is to Nazi Germany, with their disregard for lives other than their own, reckless use of new technology, and blind belief in their own racial supremacy. |
| 87 | * FantasticDrug: Some Skaven consume warpstone, possibly crushed into a dust for further parallels, which increases their magical powers. And you better believe it is addictive and causes them to lose what little sensibilities they had in the first place. |
| 88 | * FantasticNuke: Two flavors are introduced in ''The Prophet and the Warlock'': Warpstorm Doomrockets, which are missile-delivered tactical nukes that can be manufactured and then deployed in a battle during the campaign, and the Doomsphere, a BigBulkyBomb which Clan Skryre alone can build as a structure chain in Undercities, immediately razing the settlement above upon completion. Both of these weapons have ''devastating'' effects, the former being able to annihilate entire units of enemies (or with a lucky shot, most of ''an army''). |
| 89 | * FantasticRacism: In addition to looking down their snouts at all other races, even among Skaven fur color tends to come with stereotypes about their value or lack thereof. Thanks to Skaven with particular fur colors being selected at birth for special roles, training, and feeding, those stereotypes tend to be a SelfFulfillingProphecy. |
| 90 | * FireBreathingWeapon: The Warpfire Thrower, which fires what is essentially {{Hellfire}}, making these weapon-teams ''devastating'' against low armored units. In a serious case of DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything, Warpfire is specifically said to stick to anything and cannot be doused -- it's fantasy-napalm on steroids and Chaos. |
| 91 | * FlamingSword: '''Clan Vulkn Tailslashers''', a Regiment of Renown for Clanrats with Shields, have somehow learned how to put their swords on fire. Sure, this also led to most of them suffering horrific burns, but that somehow also makes them almost immune to fire damage. |
| 92 | * FleshGolem: Clan Moulder's specialty is making ''hideous'' deformed monstrosities that take BodyHorror up to eleven, mostly in their laboratory-city Hell Pit (which is represented in Mortal Empires). |
| 93 | ** The first, and by far the most common, is the Rat Ogre. A brutish, hulk of pure muscles, stitches and savagery that few can match. The biggest insult to ''actual'' Ogres is that, for all their strength, Rat Ogres are notoriously stupid, and only obey the commands of their Clan Moulder Masters. Wielding various weapons surgically attached to their arms, each Rat Ogre is its own unique work of art. Rented out to other clans for various boons, Rat Ogres are a vital part to the Skaven war host. Incredibly fast, they act more like shock cavalry than actual monsters. |
| 94 | ** The ''Mutated'' Rat Ogres take the BodyHorror nature of the previously mentioned unit, crank it up a few notches, make them ''slightly'' smaller than Giants, and graft countless Warp-Infused weapons, a few new limbs and adornments to them. The cream of the Rat Ogre creations in Clan Moulder's possession, they are giant single-unit monster brawlers rather than coming in packs due to their colossal size, who excel at butchering infantry clumps and killing armored units. |
| 95 | ** The Hell Pit Abomination is considered the pinnacle of all Clan Moulder's skill in fleshcraft, and is one of the most horrifying things in the entire Old World. A nightmarish ''monstrosity'', the Hell Pit Abomination is an amalgamation of warpstone, cogs, pale flesh, ''dragons'', and dozens of still ''living'' Skaven, stitched up together and turned into an massive behemoth. Thankfully they are very rare, and seldom seen, for the effort/expense to create one is a nightmare unto itself. On the battlefield, they utterly demolish infantry clumps and destroy enemy leadership. |
| 96 | * {{Foil}}: |
| 97 | ** They are a pretty strong one to the Dwarfen Kingdoms, as they are both technologically-advanced civilizations who live underground. Their contrasts are plenty: |
| 98 | *** The Dwarfs rely on elite troops with small unit sizes, which encourages slow-moving and defensive tactics. The Skaven rely on cheap but plentiful units that can easily be thrown into the meatgrinder with reckless charges. |
| 99 | *** The Dwarfs prefer technology that is rather safe to use and often free from magic, obsessively testing and tweaking their creations for decades or even centuries before letting them be used widely. The Skaven, on the other hand, use risky slipshod technology powered by warpstone, going through many different designs in their pursuit of power, which can easily be as much of a threat to its user as it is to its target. |
| 100 | *** The Dwarfs, despite their tendency to make enemies with races on the surface, at the very least try to forge alliances with other races. The Skaven see all other races as tools to be cast aside when convenient. |
| 101 | *** The Dwarfs put loyalty and honor before all, even common sense, while the Skaven see betrayal and dishonesty to be cornerstones of their culture, and consider the concept of a front-line general downright freakish. |
| 102 | *** The Dwarfs worship a pantheon of well-respected ancestor-gods, while the Skaven are monotheistic and generally venerate the Horned Rat out of fear. |
| 103 | *** The Dwarfs are ruled by a singular [[TheHighKing High King]] who almost always have his people's well-being as his highest priority, right next to settling grudges. The Skaven are ruled by [[OmniscientCouncilOfVagueness the Council of Thirteen]], most of whom are more interested in squabbling among themselves and jockeying for positions of prominence instead of furthering Skaven society in the slightest. Further, while the High King is perfectly willing to fight and die for his people on the battlefield, the members of the Council of Thirteen do almost anything in their power to ensure that they never have to do any fighting of their own. And despite being an active combatant, the High King tends to live on for hundreds of years wile the members of the Council of Thitreen are almost constantly changing due to their members getting killed off by eachother or by their underlings looking for a quick powergrab. |
| 104 | *** The Dwarfs use outwardly plain but safe runecrafting, and generally shun other forms of magic. The Skaven use the destructive and dangerous Lores of Ruin, Stealth and Plague, and make extensive use of GreenRocks to power their society and its weapons. |
| 105 | *** Dwarf units are very resistant to magic attacks, especially vortex spells, while the Skaven's lightly-armored hordes are very vulnerable to area-of-effect spells. |
| 106 | *** Dwarf units tend to have high morale and are thus very hard to frighten from the field, even when you kill their leaders. Some of them, such as The Slayers, will even fight to the very end. Skaven, however, consists almost entirely of cowards and are very easy to defeat with units that cause fear and terror. |
| 107 | *** The Dwarfen roster consists of slow units and are vulnerable against cavalry charges without Slayers or cannons. Skaven consist mostly of fast-moving units and have plenty more ways to deal with cavalry than the dwarfs have. |
| 108 | ** To the Chaos Dwarfs as well, as another evil race worshiping a minor Chaos Deity. Whereas the Skaven are [[ChaoticEvil backstabbing to the extreme, reckless, cowardly and treacherous]], Chaos Dwarfs are [[LawfulEvil cold, pragmatic, and have a strict social hierarchy and society]]. The difference can be best exemplified by their war machines: Skaven engineers think [[NoOshaCompliance of safety regulations as jokes]] and see no problem making extremely powerful but unreliable machinery as long as they personally aren't in the vicinity when the devices ineviatably malfunction, and any other Skaven that die are considered a benefit ([[ChronicBackstabbingdisorder either a superior is killed, giving an opportunity to climb in ranks, or an underling or rival dies, removing a potential threat to their power]]). Chaos Dwarfs retain their uncorrupted kin's perfectionism in their craft, pride themselves on making reliable instruments of murder and abhor taking the life of another Chaos Dwarf (hell, getting a fellow Chaos Dwarf killed by one's creation is one of the quickest ways to the [[LegionOfLostSouls Infernal Guard]].) |
| 109 | * ForDoomTheBellTolls: A great bell features prominently in Skaven mythology (one which you can hear in the trailer) and Grey Seers often ride into battle on a wagon with a mounted Doom Bell, an enchanted bell capable of evoking various magical effects, shattering enemy leadership, and providing various buffs to the Skaven battle line. |
| 110 | * FragileSpeedster: While exceptions exist, in general Skaven tend to be small and underfed and thus lack the muscles and dense bones that would make them as strong as many other races. However, they do tend to be extremely agile, able to scramble and clamor around and across difficult terrain with ease and move with a speed born of desperation. It helps significantly, as they don't have access to regular cavalry. |
| 111 | * FourIsDeath: The four Greater Clans are the most powerful and deadliest of all. They consist of: |
| 112 | ** '''Clan Skryre''': The {{Magitek}} Clan who create deadly (but unstable) warpstone-based weapons and war-machines. |
| 113 | ** '''Clan Moulder''': The Clan that excels in beastmastery and creating [[BodyHorror horrific frankenstein-like abominations]]. |
| 114 | ** '''Clan Pestilens''': A Clan of religious fanatics whose goal is to spread disease and corruption throughout the lands. |
| 115 | ** '''Clan Eshin''': The Clan that specializes in stealth, murder, poison and assassination. Their units act as powerful, if fragile, StealthExpert. |
| 116 | * GameplayAndStorySegregation: Two big ones, both of which contribute to making the Skaven [[GameBreaker ridiculously powerful]] because [[AntifrustrationFeature having them in-game would make a pretty bad experience]]: |
| 117 | ** In-lore, Skaven technology is famously [[NoOshaCompliance unreliable]] because, besides making things extremely powerful, Skaven don't really care if it's consistently made or it [[HoistByHisOwnPetard blows up in the user's face]] (as long as that user isn't themselves) after they sell it to someone else, which means that their machinery could act in unexpected ways, malfunction, or just plain explode anytime it is used. But because having your artillery[=/=]weapons teams risk killing themselves (or anyone near them) with every single shot they fire would be pretty awful to play, in-game they are entirely reliable and will murder your enemies without ever backfiring on you (hell, they even get the exact same "will not fire because a friendly unit is in the way" as other races, whereas in tabletop they'd fire into a mob anyway). |
| 118 | ** While their ChronicBackstabbingDisorder is somewhat implemented with the loyalty system, it ''severely'' downplays how treacherous Skaven are, because if it did, your Legendary Lords would also be subject to the loyalty mechanic, confederation would be impossible, all of your lords would almost constantly go rogue, you wouldn't be able to hold a large territory without constant rebellions popping up, etc... (the only moments Skaven are willing to genuinely work together are either [[GodzillaThreshold when the very survival of Skaven-kind is at risk]] or when their God himself appears to tell them to get their shit together or die horribly by his hand). |
| 119 | * GatlingGood: Skryre weapon teams can carry [[IncrediblyLamePun ratling guns]], multi-barrel gatling cannons that rapidly deliver dozens of warpshards a second at incoming enemies, using a warpstone-heated steam engine to drive it. Not only does it have an insane firerate, its missiles are armor-piercing, being very capable of shredding apart both chaff and elite soldiers alike, and to top if all off it has a suppression effect, meaning any unit unlucky enough to be under its barrage will be considerably slowed down, making it particularly effective against fast units. |
| 120 | * GeoEffects: Skaven settlement structures spread "Skaven Corruption", which represents the proliferation of the ratmen in the surrounding landscape. While corruption is low, there's plenty of space and resources to go around and everyone is happy. When corruption is high, meanwhile, the skaven are so numerous that pickings are slim and they're driven to fight each other, weakening public order across the province. [[PowerAtAPrice However]], the more rats are present, [[WeHaveReserves the more frequently the "Menace From Below" army ability can be used in individual battles]]. Overall, the Skaven benefit from maintaining low corruption in their own territory while working to spread it in regions they don't fully control, undermining other empires and strengthening their own armies. |
| 121 | * GlassCannon: The Clan Eshin units are this doubled as StealthExpert, such as the elite Deathrunners, and can be easily whittled down by ranged units, or head on attacks... unless they get a flanking charge off, which ''melts'' anything, from basic grunt to elite infantry, due to their Weeping Blades bypassing and reducing armor. |
| 122 | * GreaterScopeVillain: Twice over in various expansions. [[spoiler:Their scheme to disrupt the Great Vortex awakens the Black Pyramid in Nehekera, setting the Tomb Kings into their race for the Books of Nagash. In ''The Twisted and the Twilight'', the Vortex's fluctuations weaken the veil to the point of manifesting a portal to the Dreaming Wood along the worldroots, putting Athel Loren at risk of a full-scale daemonic invasion.]] |
| 123 | * GreenRocks: Warpstone -- [[MadeOfEvil raw Chaos energy in solid mineral form]] -- is the foundation of skaven society, serving as a currency, drug, fuel, sorcerous foci or even an emergency food source. Bonus points for literally being rocks/crystals that have a perpetual SicklyGreenGlow. |
| 124 | * HatedByAll: Order factions along with almost every ''villainous'' faction despise the skaven, and it's extremely rare for any faction to not have a massive diplomacy penalty towards them. The Greenskins, the Norscans, the Warriors of Chaos, and even ''Daemons of Chaos'' consider the skaven utter scum. |
| 125 | * TheHeavy: None of the playable skaven characters are the rulers of their respective clans, instead being [[TheDragon favored minions of the Lords of Decay]] (who are altogether too paranoid to take to the field themselves). |
| 126 | * HorrorHunger: From the moment of their birth to their dying breath, all Skaven are gripped by the Black Hunger, a constant, gnawing ache that drives them half-insane with the need to feed. Consequently, the Skaven have a very, ''[[ImAHumanitarian very]]'' loose definition of "food" and will eat anything or anyone they can get their paws on. It's quite common for pups to eat their smaller litter-mates, and even taken as a mark of greatness if a Skaven is particularly cannibalistic. |
| 127 | * IntelligentGerbil: Well, intelligent rats, at any rate -- Skaven are rather straightforward roughly humanoid, sapient animals. |
| 128 | * {{Irony}}: A Skaven getting the Exterminator trait is a very odd occurrence in itself. |
| 129 | * ItsAllAboutMe: Fitting for their FantasticRacism, this is the standard attitude of any Skaven -- if the universe was as it should be, the Skaven would be its masters and the specific Skaven in question the uncontested ruler of the entire race. No Skaven would ever give up something of theirs to help someone else unless they planned to benefit from it, and no Skaven has ever been shown to regret the death of another being unless it also entails them losing a benefit. |
| 130 | * LawOfChromaticSuperiority: The Skaven certainly believe in it, favoring those born with certain fur colors with benefits and status within society. Black-furred pups are fed more and better food, allowing them to grow larger and stronger, eventually being inducted into the elite Stormvermin by virtue of their size and strength. Meanwhile, grey- and white-furred pups are believed to be the chosen of the Horned Rat, and are taken to become Grey Seers, destined to rule over the rest of their species. Everyone else is considered an expendable meat shield. |
| 131 | * MadScientist: The Skaven have more than a few, though their disciplines are generally divided by clan: |
| 132 | ** Clan Skryre create {{Magitek}} contraptions, powered by [[GreenRocks Warpstone]] and almost as dangerous to their operators as to the enemy ([[WeHaveReserves to say nothing of friendlies near the enemy]].) |
| 133 | ** Clan Moulder, who conduct experiments in deliberate Warp-mutation (also via [[GreenRocks Warpstone]]), selective breeding, and vivisection to create horrifying [[BeastOfBattle Beasts of Battle]] and FleshGolem monstrosities to unleash on the battlefield. |
| 134 | * MadScientistLaboratory: The stronghold of Hell Pit is essentially a ''city-wide'' version of this trope. It's the capital city of the MadScientist Clan Moulder and located North of Kislev, just on the foot of Norsca in the GrimUpNorth of the world (the reason it was built there was due to its very close proximity to both the Chaos Wastes and Troll Country, both of which produce some of the fiercest and most powerful monsters in the entire Old World). As the name suggests, the City is modeled after ''{{Hell}}'' itself, and is divided into nine different districts; the torture and increasingly ''horrific'' experiments getting progressively worse as you descend deeper into the underground complex. The City would be best described as a mix between a ''giant'' holding pen and a laboratory, where new species are brought to be experimented on, broken, and turned into a new hulking BeastOfBattle for the glory of the Underempire. In-game, Hell Pit grants considerable buffs to Rat Ogres and Hell Pit Abominations when developed enough. |
| 135 | * MagikarpPower: The Skaven have, without question, the weakest starting roster in the game; any Skaven faction will be relying almost entirely on pure numbers of weak units to overwhelm their enemies rather than any actual power. However, once you start to unlock later units like Stormvermin, Abominations and the Doomwheel, and establish an economy to support them, the situation begins to rapidly reverse itself as now the Skaven not only have numerical superiority, but units that are just slightly behind the elite units of the other races. |
| 136 | ** This only applies to their campaign map expansion and economy: The Skaven economy is absolutely ''pitiful'' at the start, since while every building gives you money, it's all an absolute pittance. However, the Energy type buildings that can be built in provincial capital will boost your economical output, increasing the money gained from buildings by a given percentage until you earning double what the listed value is for any given structure. |
| 137 | ** As for food, the Skaven initially have limited means of acquiring it, relying largely on raiding and a special commandment that is a risky venture as it also increases Skaven Corruption, which eventually start inflicting Public Order penalties. Since more food is consumed not just through settlements but armies as well, this means that rapidly expanding too far and too fast will eventually leave your food supply stretched thin, and you'll start incurring some hefty penalties. However, certain Technologies and Special Buildings grant extra food and during the periods where your surplus is ''really'' high, Skaven expansion can increase tenfold -- Skaven can spend food to make it so a settled ruin or conquered settlement is occupied at a higher development level than normal. Of course, be wary, since that surplus will only last for so long, and there is not enough to make food a non-issue all game... |
| 138 | ** With the Under-Empire mechanic this has been ''completely'' played straight. Now, while slow to build up, the Under-Empire can ''super-charge'' the Skaven economy, with food and gold being a practical non-issue when layed out properly. In addition, with the ability to build fully functional cities anywhere, the Skaven can now snowball on the campaign, and become a massive threat if not dealt with in time. |
| 139 | * {{Magitek}}: One of the many applications of warpstone is to power the Under-Empire's wide variety of [[SchizoTech surprisingly-advanced]] weapons and war machines, including (but not limited to) [[FireBreathingWeapon warpfire-throwers]], [[MonowheelMayhem doomwheels]], [[LightningGun warp-lightning cannons]], and [[spoiler: spacecraft]]. |
| 140 | * MechanicallyUnusualClass: |
| 141 | ** Skaven settlements are not visible to other races on the campaign map, being hidden underneath seemingly-normal ruins. This means the Skaven build cities and amass their forces beneath other factions' notice, until they try to colonize or explore the region. |
| 142 | ** Skaven must balance food supplies to feed their armies and purchase certain things, such as the use of Menace From Below in battles or occupying new settlements at higher tiers than normal. They can gather food by [[IAmAHumanitarian winning battles]] or completing certain quests, and will experience factionwide bonuses or penalties depending on how much food is on hand. Skaven as a whole ''cannot'' hope to positively sustain food like public order for other factions, leading them to be [[NoPartyLikeADonnerParty frequently forced to chomp down on dead rebels]]. |
| 143 | ** The Skaven's ChronicBackstabbingDisorder manifests in several ways. For starters, Skaven can spread their own form of TheCorruption, but it'll cause public order penalties even in their own territory. Skaven Lords also have a Loyalty meter, which can lead to entire armies going rogue [[YouLoseAtZeroTrust if their loyalty falls too low]]. |
| 144 | ** In addition they can build cities underneath foreign controlled territory, as long as they have the gold to do so. |
| 145 | * MonowheelMayhem: |
| 146 | ** The Doomwheel. Essentially a gigantic hamster wheel powered by warpstone in conjunction with swarms of rats running inside it, equipped with a FixedForwardFacingWeapon that fires [[LightningGun bolts of searing hell-lightning]]. |
| 147 | ** ''The Prophet and the Warlock'' introduces Doomflayers, which are a much smaller version of the Doomwheel outfitted with threshing blades to serve as the Skaven equivalent of cavalry. |
| 148 | * MonstrousCannibalism: Skaven will eat anything, including their own kind. Just winning a battle as a Skaven faction against another Skaven faction will have you indulge in this, since Skaven always get a supply of food from a victory. |
| 149 | * MoreDakka: They, and in particular Clan Skryre, are pretty much unrivalled in this, with even the Dwarfs and the Empire paling in comparison. Not only can they cover the battlefield in so much pyrotechnic fire from Ratling Gunners, Jezzails, and Warpstone Cannons that they make it look like you're playing a BulletHell game, they can use poison gas and ''goddamn nuclear weapons'' on their enemies. |
| 150 | * ANaziByAnyOtherName: Though not as overt as other examples in fiction, the Skaven are very analogous to ThoseWackyNazis; with their wonder-weapons, horrifying experiments, rune iconography, disregard for human life, FantasticRacism (which they even apply amongst themselves), plan to conquer the world by killing anything they consider worthless (i.e: ''everyone else''), and the predominately [[RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver red-and-black colour scheme (with the occasional white thrown in) of Clan Mors]]. Not to mention the fact that their elite units are called [[PuttingOnTheReich Stormvermin]]. |
| 151 | * {{Ninja}}: Clan Eshin learned the arts of ninjutsu in a FantasyCounterpartCulture of Japan, Nippon, and Skaven Assassins, Gutter Runners, and Death Runners can all be regarded as rat ninjas. Clan Eshin itself was made playable in the ''Shadow and the Blade'', with a host of stealthy campaign goodness, and several more special units of ninja, including ninja mages and ninja Stormvermin. |
| 152 | * NintendoHard: The relative inferiority of Skaven melee infantry (even their best infantry, Stormvermin, can't trade up well to high-tier equivalents) means that they can suffer greatly in Field Battles, Siege Assaults, and Siege Defence if their opponent has even a decent number of good-quality infantry like the Lizardmen with their Saurus Warriors. They have to lean heavily on their ranged options to annihilate or at least severely weaken the opposing force before being committed to fight at sword-point, and even then will probably have to rely on swarming enemy units from all sides to finish elite units off. Because of this, the situation can go horribly awry if the enemy rushes forward with everything while the Skaven are being prevented or unable to utilize their firepower effectively. A preventative campaign strategy to this issue requires having one quality army with Stormvermin, Weapons Teams and Siege Weapons that is backed by at least two full stacks of Skavenslaves with some Clanrats. |
| 153 | * NoCanonForTheWicked: The plot setup for ''Warhammer III'' implies that neither the Skaven nor Dark Elves were victorious in the Vortex campaign, [[spoiler:particularly given that the Skaven campaign ends with the Horned Rat taking over the world]]. |
| 154 | * NotSoOmniscientCouncilOfBickering: The governing body of the Under-Empire is the Council of Thirteen. Eleven of the thirteen seats are held by the warlords of the most powerful clans, with the Grey Seers' representative holding the twelfth, and the thirteenth symbolically belonging to the Horned Rat(since the Grey Seers are said to interpret his will, they functionally get two seats with this). Officially, the Council gathers a few times a month, or as the situation calls, and votes on matters of state, with the majority winning. Unfortunately, due to their ChronicBackstabbingDisorder, the membership has a tendency to be in constant flux, and each individual member will generally just vote in the way that benefits their own faction (or sometimes just themselves). This has benefited the upper world in the long run, and has severely hurt Skaven ambitions. For a little perspective, it got so bad once that the Horned Rat himself had to step in, and stop their bickering. |
| 155 | * NukeEm: ''The Prophet and the Warlock'' adds a ''nuclear arsenal'' to the Skaven's list of ridiculously insane weaponry, though only Clan Skyre can utilize it. |
| 156 | * OpenSecret: Warhammer canon goes back and forth on just who knows about the existence of the Skaven. While it's clear that the dwarfs, lizardmen, elves and certain human factions know about them, part of the Empire seems to regard them as just another flavour of beastmen, with scholars that postulate the race's existence being ridiculed (and possibly slain by Clan Eshin assassins). Just how precisely a race that outnumbers humanity and subsists mostly on raiding can remain hidden is generally handwaved. This was the go-to marketing joke during the months up to release of the second game, as Creative Assembly would constantly deny the Skaven's existence during videos and interviews. |
| 157 | * OurDemonsAreDifferent: As the Great Horned Rat is a minor Chaos deity, he can only manifest one type of daemon, a towering rat-like Greater Daemon known as a Verminlord. While they aren't playable (yet), [[spoiler: a very powerful Verminlord known as [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast the Screaming One]] appears in the Skaven cutscenes, directing the verminous horde to destroy the Vortex in the hopes of releasing it.]] |
| 158 | * PlagueMaster: Clan Pestilens is a whole clan of these, to the point that they see spreading disease in the name of The Horned Rat to be a religious duty. They're particularly effective in combat, as well; the foul contagions spread by Plagueclaw Catapults and Plague Monks inflict major leadership penalties on enemy units they touch, making them far more likely to break and run. |
| 159 | * RatMen: Kind of obvious at this point, as the Skaven are practically the TropeCodifier. |
| 160 | * ReligionOfEvil: The Skaven worship a twisted and malicious deity called The Horned Rat, a minor chaos god who could perhaps be likened to a CompositeCharacter of [[ManipulativeBastard Tzeentch]] and [[PlagueMaster Nurgle]]. The exact origin of this being is up for debate, but what is known is that he is one of the few things all Skaven hold absolutely sacred. If mostly out of fear. The 13th seat on the Council of Thirteen is actually left perpetually vacant, as it is said to belong to the Horned Rat himself. |
| 161 | * ResourcefulRodent: The Skaven are an entire species of intelligent rats living in underground cities who can make technologically advanced devices such as the Ratling by using the Warpstone. The only reason why they haven't succeeded in taking over the known world of ''Warhammer'' is because they are infamously treacherous. |
| 162 | * RodentsOfUnusualSize: They have plenty of giant rats alongside the regular RatMen, something that they can use for additional swarm-tactics or even as mounts. |
| 163 | ** The biggest of the lot are Rat Ogres -- hulking, misshapen humanoid rats who tower over lizard man Saurus warriors -- and Hell Pit Abominations -- biomechanical horrors stitched together out of Skaven, regular rats, machines and who knows what else and pumped full of Warpstone, resulting in a squirming ratlike horror as big as a large dinosaur or dragon. |
| 164 | ** The second variant are the Wolf-Rats. A Moulder "best-seller", Wolf-Rats are renowned for their cheapness, alongside their reliability. They are a special breed of giant rats made to be a quick and hard hitting shock force, having the traits of Wolves, including a thick pelt of fur, sharp-canines, and razer sharp claws. These ravenous monsters are neither rat nor wolf, but an aberrant amalgamation of the two, both lean and insatiably hungry. In-battle they act as powerful "wardogs", good at attacking flanks, hunting archers/skirmishers, and routing war-machine crews, though both variants, ones with posion and ones with ''arnmor-piercing'' provide invaluable niches. |
| 165 | ** The third, and most ''horrifying'' are the utterly nightmarish Brood Horrors; ''giant'' Rats who devoured their entire brood-litter and as a result, alongside a few careful mutations bloat to such huge sizes they become these horrors. ''Very'' fast (with the special rule itself), with regeneration, Armour-Piercing, and terror, these are equally a nightmare on the battlefield, though they are GlassCannon and must be used as shock monsters. They come as monster units, as well as a mount option for Warlords who can afford to play Moulder's exorbitant price. |
| 166 | * SeenItAll: The Council Guard, a Regiment of Renown for Stormvermin with Halberds, were picked among the best Stormvermin in the Under-Empire in order to serve the Council of Thirteen directly and shown the most horrific and nightmarish visions by the Grey Seers, highly implied to be the Warp itself. Those who did not [[FrightDeathtrap die from a heart attack]] or GoMadFromTheRevelation instead became so jaded towards everything that nothing can scare them anymore, including death. This is represented by having the Unbreakable trait, making them the bravest of all Skaven by far. |
| 167 | * SicklyGreenGlow: A major motif, as green is the color of the Warpstone. The arcane material passively gives off green light, [[{{Magitek}} devices powered by it]] crackles with green electricity, and Skaven burrows and fortifications are shrouded in a sickly green gloom. |
| 168 | * TheStarscream: The Skaven are an entire ''civilization'' of Starscreams. They're one of three factions with a loyalty mechanic, with Skaven generals who've been snubbed one too many times potentially turning on their superiors and taking their armies with them. Fittingly enough, Skaven Lords can't be upgraded to have UndyingLoyalty like the Vampire Coast's Admirals; they always want more power, no matter what the Skaven Lords already have. |
| 169 | * StealthExpert: All of Clan Eshin's units count in one way or the other, as they belong to a Clan specifically known for producing some of the best assassins in the setting. Master Assassins and Master Assassin Lords are Heroes and Lords that excel at killing single-unit enemies and wield a variety of StockNinjaWeaponry, such as shuriken, daggers, and shuko claws. All their units have Stalk and Vanguard, alongside other stealthy traits that allow them to remain unhindered. Eshin Sorcerers wield the Eshin-unique Lore of Stealth, which allows them to aid their operatives with buffs and disruption tools, alongside having the same stealth traits as the above. Triad's are Special Forces Eshin Stormvermin that can act as both frontline infantry as well as ambushers, having Stalk, alongside Concealment Bombs that make them practically invisible while activated. All of Eshin's special units also get Weeping Blades, warp-forged weapons that automatically confer a fifty percent debuff to whoever they attack. |
| 170 | * SufferTheSlings: Slings are the only general-issue range weapon that is readily available in Skaven society because it would be too much work for them to find fresh wood, craft it into a bow, use and preserve it properly. As expected, slingers have very long strike range but very low damage output. |
| 171 | * SwarmOfRats: The preferred method of attack by the Skaven is to exhaust the enemy by throwing thousands of Slaves at the enemy, followed up by stronger and better equipped Clanrats. If the Clanrats fail to secure the victory, elite and heavily armored Stormvermin enter the fray to strike the decisive blow. In-game, Skaven players will routinely outnumber the enemy and the faction's mechanics encourage this approach. |
| 172 | * TakingYouWithMe: The Warp Bomb ability sacrifices an entire unit that is below half Health by blowing it up with a massive explosion that delivers massive damage to nearby enemies. It is mostly used by throwing either expendable Skavenslaves or cheap Clanrats against much more valuable and stronger foes, taking them all out in the process. Of course, this being Skaven society, they sure as hell are not doing this willingly, [[BadBoss but at the demand of their lord]]. |
| 173 | * ATasteOfTheLash: Skavenslaves have highly visible lash marks on their backs, heavily implying this. |
| 174 | * ThirteenIsUnlucky: Their [[NumerologicalMotif holy number]], which can be found in quite a few places, such as the Council of Thirteen (the thirteeth council seat symbolically occupied by the Horned Rat) and the "thirteenth spell". In the reveal trailer, you can hear the Screaming Bell ring thirteen times. Finally, the Skaven were the thirteenth race to be revealed for the ''Total War: Warhammer'' trilogy. Quite a few things in-game are tied to the number as well, such as certain upgrades for Skaven Lords being available at level 13 and the Temple of the Horned Rat building providing 13+ to Public Obedience, just to name two examples. [[spoiler:It will also take thirteen gongs of the Horned Rat's bell in order to summon him from the Vortex and end the world.]] |
| 175 | * ThisIsADrill: The Warp Grinders, an early tier Weapons Team, use massive drills of warpstone to not only tear apart armor and settlement walls, but they are also capable of casting powerful spells that lock enemies in place, and do terrible damage to low-tier units in an aoe effect. |
| 176 | * ToServeMan: The Skaven, like the Greenskins, Lizardmen, Ogres and Beastmen, can replenish their casualties by devouring captives after battle. They can also take them as slaves, adding them to their food stockpile to be consumed later. |
| 177 | * TunnelKing: Virtually the entirety of their holdings are below ground, and they are very good at digging rapidly (if not safely). This is reflected mechanically in the "Menace from Below" ability, which causes a unit of Clanrats to burst out of a tunnel in the middle of a battlefield to reinforce a flagging area or flank an opposing formation. They can also travel using the Underway, like the dwarfs and greenskins. |
| 178 | * UselessUsefulStealth: Not the case for their actual in-game battles, where their infiltrating/hidden units can really turn the tide of battle if used well, but this unfortunately comes into play during the strategic campaign. One of the touted advantages of playing Skaven is that their settlements will appear as ruins to all other factions, and need to be scouted by Agents or armies to safely find the Skaven lurking within. On paper, being able to hide in relative safety and ambush unwary foes looking for new territory are considerable advantages, but this is rendered totally useless by a number of factors. To begin with, a large swath of unoccupied ruins are extremely suspicious in most circumstances; AI factions readily settle ruined settlements, and even just three empty cities in one area is a giant red flag. Computer opponents already [[TheAllSeeingAi know you're there without scouting]], and human opponents only need ten seconds to look for a high level of Skaven corruption to guess where Skaven are hiding. The final nail in the coffin is that moderate to high levels of Skaven corruption will result in obvious signs of Skaven inhabitation (signs, burrows, Warpstone boulders, etc.) appearing on the campaign map, announcing your supposedly hidden presence loud and clear to anyone with a working pair of eyes. This was downplayed with ''The Prophet and the Warlock'' expansion, as Skaven can create undercities underneath other factions' fully intact cities without being detected, only being discovered if the skaven player is careless about building or the foreign power puts effort into finding them. |
| 179 | * VerbalTic: Skaven often use similar words in twos while using a verb, along with speak-talking in a way that tends to repeat certain words twice in a row-row. And they often put the suffix of -thing when describing other beings, such as man-thing, elf-thing, dwarf-thing etc. |
| 180 | * WeHaveReserves: Skaven are generally very willing to throw away each others' lives in battle, and Skavenslaves and Clanrats are built for this. They're cheap, have among the largest unit sizes in the entire game, and exist only to die in droves so your superior units can do the real work. The special mechanic Menace From Below allows a player to instantly summon ''more'' Clanrats anywhere on a battlefield map, to boot. |
| 181 | * WorthlessYellowRocks: Played with. The Skaven use warpstone as currency and have absolutely no use for gold. That said, they know that it's highly sought after by other races, [[EvilIsPetty and depriving those other races of something they want is given as the reason why skaven can build gold mines in-game]]. |
| 182 | * {{Wutai}}: Clan Eshin, who are basically rat ninjas in an otherwise western themed (if rat flavoured) race. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] in-universe by the explanation that centuries ago Clan Eshin wandered off east and learned their skills in Nippon, the Warhammer world's [[FantasyCounterpartCulture version of Japan,]] before coming back. |
| 183 | * YouDirtyRat: The Skaven are this trope taken to its logical extreme. There is not a single one of them that is not an irredeemable and unapologetic bastard. |
| 184 | * ZergRush: They utilize this tactic more than any other faction in ''Total War: Warhammer'' due to numbering in the billions at least and the unit sizes to match, with worthless slaves and soldiers being plenty and disposable. Let's put it like this; where the Orcs and Vampires, the former masters of the ZergRush, could sport over 2000 unit models (maybe 3000 if they focus on disposable units), the Skaven can bring along at least ''5000'' with just a standard army! |
| 185 | [[/folder]] |
| 186 | |
| 187 | !Legendary Lords |
| 188 | |
| 189 | [[folder:Queek Headtaker]] |
| 190 | !! Queek Headtaker, Great Warlord of Clan Mors |
| 191 | [[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/21319158_1604839646257896_6211776365030579843_o_2.jpg]] |
| 192 | [[caption-width-right:320:''"Squirt musk of fear, vermin, for the Headtaker comes before you!"'']] |
| 193 | ->''"Who is Queek? Queek is warlord here, not grey ones from far away. He claim he come from Council. He claims his good intent, but Queek is not stupid-slow, Queek know grey seers and their treacherous ways. White-fur will never be warlord here! He is never free of Queek's sight. Queek sees him always."'' |
| 194 | |
| 195 | Warlord Queek Headtaker is the legendary and much-feared Lord of the City of Pillars, Great Warlord of Clan Mors and the personal right-claw of Warlord Gnawdwell, the one and true Grand Ruler of Clan Mors. Queek has been groomed by Gnawdwell from the moment of his birth to be the ultimate warrior, providing with the best armour and weapons, protecting him from the other Lords of Decay, and also staging assassination attempts to keep him on his toes. Queek is an uncommonly bloodthirsty and egotistical warrior whose need to conquer even the most impossible challenges has since earned him an infamy amongst the annals of Skaven history as the legendary Headtaker, the Dwarf-Smiter, the greatest Warlord to have ever graced the tunnels of Skavendom. |
| 196 | \ |
| 197 | Queek's temper is infamous amongst both his enemy and allies, having fought, defeated and survived almost every challenge that was thrown against him. Upon his trophy rack consists of the heads of all those that have challenged Queek in the past, such as King Krug Ironhand of Karak Drazh, Warlord Ikit Scratch of Fester Spike, Warlord Sleek Sharpwit of Clan Mors and the hand of Baron Albrecht Kraus of Averland amongst other noteworthy challengers. |
| 198 | \ |
| 199 | Within his powerbase underneath the once majestic stronghold of Karak Eight Peaks, Queek had been fighting a never-ending war of attrition against the battle-hardened Dwarf armies of King Belegar Ironhammer and the Greenskin hordes of Warlord Skarsnik. A powerful warrior in his own right, Queek's deeds have since garnered him the respect of the Orcs, the fear of the Goblins and the eternal hatred of the Dwarfs. |
| 200 | \ |
| 201 | Queek Headtaker leads the sub-faction "Clan Mors". |
| 202 | ---- |
| 203 | * ArchEnemy: The vengeful Dwarf King Belegar Ironhammer and the cunning Goblin Warboss Skarsnik, both of whom Queek has fought with for control of Karak Eight Peaks for many years. In ''Mortal Empires'' and ''Immortal Empires'', all three have campaign goals and victory conditions that include taking Karak Eight Peaks and wiping the other two's factions out. Queek's personal skill grants him and his army a 10% bonus to Melee Attack and Weapon Strength when fighting Dwarf or Greenskin armies, further representing his rivalry with them. |
| 204 | * AxCrazy: Even by Skaven standards, Queek is ''nuts''. To the point that he actually talks to his battle trophies. In combat, he's noted to be a ''raging lunatic'' cackling madly as he cuts down foes. In-game he can get the Frenzy ability. |
| 205 | * BadBoss: Even compared to other Skaven, Queek is infamous for the casual disregard for his minions, often personally killing them solely to make an example of them to the rest of his men. One of his unique skills is aptly titled "Make Example!" which increases Queek's leadership effects, and makes Warlords more loyal to him, at the cost of further loyalty penalties from Grey Seers. |
| 206 | * BattleTrophy: Has a fondness for collecting the remains of his notable enemies and proudly displays them on the trophy rack on his back. These range from skulls or severed hands to the entire spine of a dead skaven. |
| 207 | -->'''Queek:''' ''[When selected on the campaign map]'' N-need to restock my trophy-rack! |
| 208 | * TheBerserker: When fighting, Queek is nothing more than a raging furball of death. |
| 209 | * BloodKnight: Skaven are cowardly creatures as a rule, and whilst some might be occasionally braver than others, Queek is notable for being unnaturally courageous by Skaven standards. This is entirely due to Queek's love of violence, and he is so eager to kill that he chooses to lead from the front, ''very'' unusual in a society that regards a leader's place to be ''at the back''. |
| 210 | * TheBrute: While he's hardly stupid, he's still a direct, temperamental individual who prefers leading armies and killing enemies in battle to the schemes and politicking of his fellow Skaven, a trait he ''utterly despises''. His master is more than fine with this, using Queek as an attack dog and enforcer, sending him to take care of threats to his power that require no subtlety. |
| 211 | * CoDragons: In the quest for the Vortex, Queek Headtaker and Lord Strolk both work at the behest of the Council of Thirteen. |
| 212 | * DoesNotLikeMagic: Queek hates Grey Seers because he despises playing politics and doesn't respect their authority. In-game this is represented by all Grey Seers in his faction starting out at -2 loyalty. |
| 213 | * TheDragon: To Lord Gnawdwell, leader of Clan Mors and a member of the Council of Thirteen. |
| 214 | * TheDreaded: Queek inspires dread in those that know him, but arguably it's his ''own troops'' that are most afraid of his antics, due to his BadBoss tendencies. |
| 215 | * DualWielding: Wields a sword in one hand, and '''Dwarf Gouger''', an ancient magical maul, in the other. |
| 216 | * EliteMooks: Queek is infamous for his personal company of crimson-armored Stormvermin, the Red Guard, which is represented by a handful of special skills. |
| 217 | * EvilLaugh: Cackles like Skeletor after backstabbing a Dark Elf sorceress in the Skaven reveal trailer. |
| 218 | * FantasticRacism: He hates Dwarfs above all other races, and a good number of the trophies on his back are Dwarfen skulls. Greenskins as well. Both are partially influenced by his rivalry with Belegar and Skarsnik. |
| 219 | * GameplayAndStoryIntegration: He is one of the few Skaven willing to stand up to the Council of Thirteen and the Grey Seers, and in the Skaven intro of the Vortex campaign he can be seen arguing with Vulscreek about being sent to Lustria when he would much rather be attacking the Dwarfs at Karak Eight-Peaks. Ingame, his disrespect translates to a loyalty penalty for any Grey Seers in his army. |
| 220 | * GameplayAndStorySegregation: |
| 221 | ** Like the other two would-be rulers of Karak Eight Peaks, Queek doesn't start his campaign in Karak Eight Peaks. This is explained in the Skaven intro by him being ordered by the Council of Thirteen to aid in their efforts to take the Great Vortex. In the ''Mortal Empires'' Campaign, however, he too is on a race to capture Karak Eight Peaks from whoever is holding it at the moment. However, with the release of ''The Prophet and the Warlock'' and the implementation of the Undercity mechanic, [[GameplayAndStoryIntegration Clan Mors is granted a pre-existing undercity beneath Karak Eight-Peaks to represent the City of Pillars that the clan rules.]] |
| 222 | ** Unlike other Skaven, Queek is a complete BloodKnight and doesn't benefit from the Verminous Valour rule in tabletop. In-game he's just as able to obtain the skill as any other Warlord. |
| 223 | * HairTriggerTemper: Queek is notorious for his horrible temper, lashing out at a moment's notice when things go wrong. There's a very good reason why Skaven tend to be far away when this happens. |
| 224 | * IncomingHam: His very first line of dialogue in the ''Eye of the Vortex'', presuming the tutorial isn't active. |
| 225 | -->'''Queek:''' Squirt Musk of Fear, vermin, ''for the Headtaker comes before you!'' |
| 226 | * LargeAndInCharge: Queek is notably large and powerful for a Skaven, to the point of being the largest of his litter, who, being black-furred Stormvermin, were all very large, to begin with. |
| 227 | * LeakedExperience: He has a trait that allows him to skim off the experience earned by the lords under him, leeching their glory to feed his own. This helps him to send his armies off reaving and pillaging aggressively and still benefit even if he is not personally leading them. |
| 228 | * TheMagnificent: Queek ''Headtaker''. |
| 229 | * MeleeATrois: Subverted in the Eye of the Vortex campaign. You'd expect him to be fighting Belegar Ironhammer and Warlord Skarsnik for control of Karak Eight Peaks, but he's on orders to fight for control of the Vortex, so it's not a factor. Played straight in ''Mortal Empires'' and ''Immortal Empires'', which move him closer to Eight Peaks and gives him the same "Take Karak Eight Peaks" overarching mission Belegar and Skarsnik have, with a unique building chain available to him once he takes it just like them. |
| 230 | * MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch: A decidedly evil example of this trope. Unlike most Skaven, he has no problem with putting himself in danger and relishes a good fight. Also, while he isn't stupid, he's not the schemer you'd expect from a Skaven and is generally blunt and to the point. It's what makes him such a wildcard in Skaven politics, and why the Council of Thirteen fears him. |
| 231 | * NothingButSkulls: Notably {{averted}} for someone who calls himself "Headtaker". Queek has some poor Skaven's entire spine embedded onto his back as well as a pair of disembodied human hands. |
| 232 | * OffWithHisHead: As you may expect from his name, Queek is a maniac obsessed with killing and collecting more worthy heads for his trophy rack. In-game, he will always decapitate infantry or non-Legendary Lords when he deals the final blow. |
| 233 | * ProperlyParanoid: Even though this is something all Skaven are, Queek is considered incredibly paranoid by the standards of his race. Then again his own master pays Clan Eshin to try and kill him to keep Queek from getting complacent or ambitious. To speak nothing of the many other Skaven who try to assassinate him to keep him dead, the dwarves who hate him for turning Karak Eight Peaks into a festering three way no-man's land and the goblins who also want Karak Eight Peaks to themselves. [[spoiler: When the Council of Thirteen has been revealed to have turned against him, his paranoia becomes completely justified.]] |
| 234 | * RedIsViolent: He wears armor the color of blood to reflect both [[HotBlooded his temperament]] and his [[BloodKnight favored activity]]. Notable, this is ''not'' a case of BringMyRedJacket, as Skaven have ''[[AlienBlood black]]'' blood. The color is of the blood of ''other races''... |
| 235 | * SiblingMurder: He apparently devoured ''all'' of his litter brothers after being born, but this is relatively normal Skaven behavior. The only reason it attracted attention was that the litter was born stronger and healthier than most. |
| 236 | * SoProudOfYou: In a loading quote Queek's ParentalSubstitute Lord Gnawdwell invokes this. Presumably, he takes pride in his pet project growing up to be a ruthless and powerful warrior in the same way a blacksmith takes pride in a well-made weapon, but still, it's possibly the nicest thing a Skaven has ever said of anyone else that wasn't them. |
| 237 | -->'''Lord Gnawdwell:''' You were so magnificent when I found you, the biggest in your litter, and they were all large before you ate them. I raised you, I fed you the best dwarf-meat and man-flesh. And you have become even more magnificent. Such courage. There is none other like you, Queek. You are unnaturally brave. Others think you freakish for leading from the front, not the back. But I do not. I am proud of my Queek. |
| 238 | * SpikesOfVillainy: His warpshard armor pauldrons are covered in crimson, jagged spikes. |
| 239 | * TinTyrant: Ruler of the cruel Skaven of Karak Eight Peaks, BloodKnight extraordinaire, and covered in some of the most elaborate armor Skaven have ever forged. |
| 240 | * UndyingLoyalty: One thing that sets him apart from other Skaven is his eternal loyalty to his master, Warlord Gnawdwell. A ''very'' rare trait for a Skaven to have. [[SubvertedTrope However]], his loyalty does have its limits, as when [[spoiler:he finds out that the Council of Thirteen, and by extension Gnawdwell, have decided to sacrifice the entirety of Clan Mors to summon the Horned Rat, he revolts against it and his master. By the time of the battle at the Vortex, he's decided that a change in leadership is in order.]] |
| 241 | -->'''Queek:''' [[spoiler:Clan Mors victorious, with me-me at its head!]] |
| 242 | * VillainousValour: Queek, unlike practically ''every other Skaven warlord'', fights in the frontlines alongside his Stormvermin, and is a genuinely brave, [[AxCrazy albeit completely insane]], warrior. |
| 243 | * VocalEvolution: One that appears to have happened early in development: In the campaign intro of the ''Eye of the Vortex'' campaign, Queek's voice is noticably [[EvilSoundsDeep quite deep and gravelly]], compared to his more typically-skaven nasal pitch in gameplay. |
| 244 | * WeHaveReserves: Even more so than other Warlords, Queek cares little for his men, besides his Stormvermin, and sends them out to die in droves. One of his unique skills emphasises this, increasing replenishment, and significantly buffing up [[SlaveMook Skaven Slaves]] and [[{{Mook}} Clan Rats]]. |
| 245 | * WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: As it turns out, Queek is rather uncomfortable being on water. Ordering his army to travel across the seas will frequently elicit whining complaints about how sea travel is "not natural!" |
| 246 | * WorthyOpponent: The Crooked Moon Greenskins, one of his two arch enemies, deeply respects him for his extreme skill in combat, though that respect is also deeply rooted in ''fear''. |
| 247 | [[/folder]] |
| 248 | |
| 249 | [[folder:Lord Skrolk]] |
| 250 | !!Lord Skrolk, Plaguelord of Clan Pestilens |
| 251 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/21316279_1604839746257886_7293472495683584011_o.jpg]] |
| 252 | [[caption-width-right:350:''"Such a paradise! Unblemished. Pure. It must be gifted the touch-touch of Pestilens!"'']] |
| 253 | ->''"Brother-under-the-fur. Ha! Now you are brother-true. Reject false-words of seers and embrace true face of the Horned One! Bring Skrolk to the Wormstone, and you will be plague priest. Betray, and you become pus-bag."'' |
| 254 | |
| 255 | Lord Skrolk is one of the most legendary disciples of decay within Clan Pestilen and one of the 9 legendary Plaguelords. That Lord Skrolk walks the world is an affront to nature and a sign of the power of the Great Horned Rat. Plants wither and die where Skrolk treads and the very air seems to congeal and darken, as if stained by his baleful presence. Skrolk is ancient, having existed many spans of even the most long-lived of his foul kind. Rather than weakening with age, Lord Skrolk is possessed with a diabolic vitality that belies the years and the heaped diseases he carries. |
| 256 | \ |
| 257 | Indeed Skrolk is bent and gnarled by the weight of countless corruptions. The flesh that is not hidden by his tattered shroud is leathery and covered in a layer of dripping buboes. Even worse, the mysterious hunching growths promise something still more virulent. Each new pox only toughens the aged Plague Monk, who himself has become a disease that walks. Lord Skrolk is one of the Plaguelords, the rulers of Clan Pestilens under the direct command of Arch-Plaguelord Nurglitch, he-who-is-tenth on the Council. It was the sight of the radiant corruption of the Arch-Plaguelord that caused Skrolk to claw out his own eyes, as he wished to see no other vision to obscure that last glimpse of perfection. Despite empty sockets, Skrolk moves assuredly and claims a magical sight that sees in vivid hues of decay. Despite his seeming blindness Skrolk's reflexes are rather amazing. |
| 258 | \ |
| 259 | He can catch a fly out of the air -- or rather, he could if any flies were able to enter the aura that emanates from his loathsome hide. Insects literally drop dead from the noxious fumes surrounding Skrolk, and only extreme devotees can abide his presence. In battle Lord Skrolk leads from the front so he can unleash his rabid fury. He bears the Rod of Corruption, a dreadful staff of spiderwood, iron-capped with spikes and covered in writhing runes of power. Many censers hang from its chains, wafting foul vapours. Lord Skrolk occasionally carries plague scriptures with him, and on occasion will bear one of the sacred volumes of the Liber Bubonicus, the toxic tome of ultimate disease. |
| 260 | \ |
| 261 | Lord Strolk leads the sub-faction "Clan Pestilens". |
| 262 | ---- |
| 263 | * {{Ambadassador}}: As a special envoy of the Council of Thirteen, Skrolk is fairly respected by the rest of Skavendom, and is a fairly (for a Skaven...) decent diplomat, as reflected by his special skill "Envoy of the Thirteen", which gives a moderate boost to diplomacy with all other Skaven. |
| 264 | * AuraVision: With no eyes to see anymore, he perceives the world around him in vivid "colors" of entropy, seeing the decay and rot of the things around him. |
| 265 | --> "My eyes gone, but I see." |
| 266 | * BattleAura: Skrolk is so disease-ridden he travels with a constant miasma of foul diseases and plagues, all of which lowers the melee attack of all enemy units around him with his "Aura of Pestilence" skill. |
| 267 | * BeneficialDisease: Each new pox that infects Skrolk only toughens the aged Plague Monk, who has himself become a disease that walks. While not initially present as a game mechanic, a later update made it so that Strolk's faction gains a variety of bonuses when their units and cities are infected by the Pestilent Scheme plague. |
| 268 | * BlindWeaponmaster: Even though he no longer has eyes, Skrolk's reflexes are still amazing, and he swings his Rod of Corruption with great strength and skill. |
| 269 | * BodyHorror: Skrolk's flesh is leathery and covered in a layer of dripping buboes, not to mention the fact he's missing his ''eyes'', giving him the general appearance of a giant, nightmarish plague rat. Upgraded skills can amplify the effect so much that he starts projecting a short-ranged Terror effect, which can force enemy units to break and rout far sooner than their morale would otherwise cause. |
| 270 | * CoDragons: In the quest for the Vortex, Queek Headtaker and Lord Skrolk both work at the behest of the Council of Thirteen. |
| 271 | * DisabilitySuperpower: Every disease he is infected with just makes him tougher, every weight of age just makes him quicker, even gouging out his own eyes only made his perception sharper. |
| 272 | * TheDragon: To Arch-Plaguelord Nurglitch. |
| 273 | ** DragonAscendant: Unlike Queek who has genuine loyalty to his master, Skrolk has no love for Nurqlitch, and states in his intro he wants to usurp him from power. [[spoiler: Which he achieves by the ending.]] |
| 274 | * EpicFlail: His weapon is the '''Rod of Corruption''', a disgusting censer, is this mixed with a staff. |
| 275 | * EvilCounterpart: Is this to Volkmar, both being the head of a zealotic ChurchMilitant organization, and fanatically devoted to its god, one just and noble, with the other wretched and cruel. |
| 276 | * EvilSmellsBad: Skrolk smells ''horrible'', and is so disgustingly putrid his smell causes ''public order'' drops in enemy territory, with his "Herald of Decay" skill. |
| 277 | * EyeScream: Clawed out ''his own eyes'', leaving nothing but empty sockets behind. |
| 278 | * GeniusBruiser: Crossed with MagicKnight. Not only is Skrolk a cunning sorcerer, he's a fairly decent melee fighter. |
| 279 | * GoodScarsEvilScars: Skrolk's flesh consists of ''nothing but scars'', and definitely lands on the "evil side" of this trope. |
| 280 | * HandicappedBadass: He might be blind, but he's still a force to be reckoned with, and he can make a decent showing for himself if forced into melee against most regular units. |
| 281 | * NightmareFetishist: As mentioned above, the reason he pulled out his eyes with pleasure was because he knew he would never see anything more wonderfully putrid and rotten than his boss, the only one in the clan more disease-ridden than himself. |
| 282 | * PlagueMaster: One of the most powerful ones in an entire clan of Plague Masters, and a powerful wielder of the Lore of Plague. In gameplay, like most Legendary Lord casters, he's significantly stronger than even a generic caster warlord of his type. Coupled with Skaven casters also being extremely strong in their own right, Skrolk is fully capable of wiping out multiple enemy units per battle singlehandedly just by blasting away. He even has a spell ''called'' Plague, which his unique quest relic, the "Liber Bubonicus," gives enormous bonuses to casting. |
| 283 | ** Later updates adjusted the Plague mechanic so that Skrolk's faction can actively use their diseases to their advantage. His faction ''[[BeneficialDisease benefits]]'' from being infected by Plague, with his armies getting strong buffs (casualty replenishment rate and all units in the army getting Frenzy), and his cities getting growth and income bonuses while infected. Skrolk's Under-Cities can develop a Plague Cauldron that causes a permanent source of Plague in the city above it until the Under-City is destroyed, allowing him to cause wide swaths of the map to become diseased and any armies in the affected areas growing weak (and probably spreading the Plague further). |
| 284 | * ReligiousBruiser: As a Plague Monk Skrolk is fanatically devoted to serving the Horned Rat, and even whispers dark prayers to him every night. He heavily buffs any fellow Plague Monk in his army as a result of his zeal and status. |
| 285 | * SuperReflexes: Do not let his hunched posture and hobbling gait deceive, he is ''unnaturally'' quick to react. |
| 286 | * SuperToughness: That which does not kill him only makes him more resilient, and he actively seeks out [[BeneficialDisease diseases that do exactly that]]. |
| 287 | * TomeOfEldritchLore: He wields the '''Liber Bubonicus''', an ancient, and foul book filled with recipes and rituals of horrid plagues and diseases. |
| 288 | * WalkingWasteland: Even the air itself blackens and gets polluted with disease wherever he walks, mass killing plant and animal life in his way. |
| 289 | [[/folder]] |
| 290 | |
| 291 | [[folder:Tretch Craventail]] |
| 292 | !!Tretch Craventail, Grand Chieftain of the Deep Warrens |
| 293 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/byvkg2l02fpl.jpg]] |
| 294 | [[caption-width-right:350:''"Lucky, maybe -- but I take credit-glory, yes-yes!"'']] |
| 295 | |
| 296 | As one of the heads of the smaller Clan Rictus, Tretch has gained quite the reputation for being a backstabber and traitor whenever it suits him, even by Skaven standards. Having started his rise to power through a plot involving Mad Cap Mushrooms, he has time and time again used his mastery of trickery and ambushes in order to keep his position within the clan, even if he is the only survivor of his many quests for glory. |
| 297 | \ |
| 298 | Added through free downloadable content, Tretch Craventail leads the sub-faction "Clan Rictus". |
| 299 | ---- |
| 300 | * AdaptationalBadass: Was originally only a hero choice in the tabletop game, but was promoted into a Lord for this game. Notably, due to the lack of RNG mechanics in this adaptation, he has become an absurdly sturdy character who can survive almost anything thrown at him. |
| 301 | * BlackComedy: Few Skaven can exemplify their hilarious piles of backstabbing, cowardice and self-interest in their lives quite like Tretch can. |
| 302 | * BlatantLies: Most of his diplomacy lines gives the impression that he's about to backstab you the moment your back is turned. Which, to be fair, he is. |
| 303 | * BornLucky: Infamous for his absurdly good luck that borders on the supernatural. {{Subverted}}, however, as it's heavily implied his insane luck is brought on by his magic Skullhelm, not any inherent ability. |
| 304 | * ChronicBackStabbingDisorder: This is considered a virtue for Skaven to have, but Tretch's gameplay mechanics ''encourage'' this, gaining a moderate public order boost to his cities whenever he breaks a treaty. In the third game, this is changed to a set of useful bonuses that last for three turns after a new war is declared, encouraging the player to sue for peace, [[ISurrenderSuckers only to immediately declare war again]]. |
| 305 | * CombatPragmatist: Even by Skaven standards, Tretch is acknowledged to have a knack for fighting dirty. Not only does he give his entire army vanguard deployment, all of his buffs are focused on giving his units a dirty edge in certain situations (ambushes, or [[CorneredRattlesnake fighting after being attacked after retreating]]). |
| 306 | ** The third game gives Tretch's faction a number of bonuses for a short time after declaring a war, including Vanguard Deployment for all units, higher ambush chance and slower enemy reinforcements, which encourages blitzkreig-esque sudden invasions and [[ISurrenderSuckers false ceasefires]]. |
| 307 | * CorneredRattlesnake: As expected of Skaven who never fight until they're utterly sure they'll win or they have to, his army gets a large bonus to melee attack if attacked after retreating (which in gameplay terms means they actually ''really'' have to fight to survive now -- defeat at this point will cause the entire army to be always utterly destroyed). |
| 308 | * DirtyCoward: Considered ''the'' DirtyCoward of an entire race of them. Unlike Queek, who is motivated to stay in battle due to his bloodlust, or Skrolk, who is motivated to stay due to his religious fanaticism, or Ikit, who is motivated to stay due to his desire for further scientific knowledge, or Snikch, who is motivated by his need to prove himself as the best assassin in the world, or Throt, who is motivated by his insane hunger... Tretch doesn't have any such motivation, being very prone to leaving his armies for dead the moment he sees a good opportunity to run for it. |
| 309 | ** In the game this extends to the entire army under his command, who gain a extraordinary +13 bonus to Melee Attack if they either manage to ambush their target or if someone corners them and it is impossible to flee. |
| 310 | ** His unique skills and items are all themed around his cowardice as well. Almost all of his unique skills encourage guerilla warfare, and making sure that the fight is supremely in Tretch's favor before attacking. Stormvermin units close to him get combat bonuses, but only if they're already winning. He can also turn himself nearly invisible in order to "get help". When his leadership is low the Lucky Skullhelm will give him a large bonus in damage resistance to help him survive escaping. |
| 311 | ** In the third game, the armies of Clan Rictus have an improved version of [[ScrewThisImOutOfHere Scurry]] that provides additional speed and a 10% bonus to all damage resistance, suggesting that Tretch has begun to rub off a bit on his followers. |
| 312 | * DiscOneNuke: In the Vortex campaign Tretch begins the game with a Tier 5 Doomwheel, one of the most powerful Skaven units, but has no food-producing territories near him unlike Skrolk and Queek. While he'll expand a lot faster, he'll hit food shortages a lot faster too. |
| 313 | * DualWielding: Triple-wields a war-fork, a staff and a tail-mounted blade. |
| 314 | * {{Foil}}: Clan Rictus is one of the big rivals to Clan Mors which makes Tretch a fitting opposite to Queek. Queek is unnaturally courageous (by Skaven standards) and excels in close-quarters combat, lending himself to a punchy playstyle where he takes on all comers. Tretch exemplifies Skaven cowardice and betrayals, is more focused on keeping himself alive over killing the enemy, and is meant to be played using underhanded ambushes and assaults against already weak enemies. |
| 315 | * FrontlineGeneral: Well, [[AvertedTrope not really]]. Tretch isn't really meant to fight, being more suited to standing just ''behind'' the front line, where his skills improving his Stormvermin can kick in under his supervision. He also has a ability to run for his life the moment things are going to get dicey. |
| 316 | * GameplayAndStoryIntegration: Tretch is doubtlessly a very [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder Sk]][[DirtyCoward av]][[CombatPragmatist eny]] Skaven (aside from the unusual luck), and his faction's bonuses basically make it the most Skaven faction among the Skaven factions. All of his mechanics encourage being a cowardly scheming backstabber that treats promises and pacts as a joke, much like Skaven do. |
| 317 | * GoYeHeroesGoAndDie: Gives what starts off as a rather RousingSpeech for the final vortex battle, before adding that he needs a better look at the battlefield and scarpers off to find a better vantage point away from his army. [[SubvertedTrope This doesn't bother Skaven]], because they'd all do the same in his situation too. |
| 318 | * HypocriticalHumor: If approached diplomatically by a friendly Lizardmen faction, his two lines are either [[NeverSmileAtACrocodile saying that they have too many teeth]] or that they smell bad. This, coming from ''a Skaven''. |
| 319 | * InTheBack: In the third game, Tretch's personal army gains the Devastating Flanker trait, which doubles a unit's charge bonus when attacking an enemy in the sides or rear. |
| 320 | * ISurrenderSuckers: In the third game, Clan Rictus gains a number of useful tactical bonuses whenever the player declares a new war. In protracted conflicts, this encourages insincere offerings of peace followed by re-declaring war. |
| 321 | * KarmaHoudini: Despite having failed many times and had many of his squads completely wiped out, he always seems to find a way to escape punishment or justice. Not only that, but he somehow manages to almost always come out on top while his rivals (and pretty much every Skaven near him, really) end up dead. Much of it seems to do with his lucky charm helmet. |
| 322 | * KlingonPromotion: Noted to have gained his chieftain title by assassinating his predecessor, which he achieved [[ZanyScheme by disguising himself as a stalactite and dropping onto his head]]. |
| 323 | * LogicalWeakness: Since Tretch's army boosts depends on him either succeeding in an ambush or being pushed into CorneredRattlesnake mode, his army cannot gain any boosts in quest battles such as the final Vortex Battle, or during sieges if he can't lure the enemy out of their walls. |
| 324 | * LovableTraitor: Even by Skaven standards, he is a backstabbing bastard. Yet his clan seems to love him for it, displayed ingame by public order temporarily rising whenever he breaks an agreement or pact with another faction. |
| 325 | * MechanicallyUnusualClass: His subfaction treats frozen areas as Habitable and jungle areas as Uninhabitable, a reversal from Skrolk and Queek. |
| 326 | * PowerUpLetdown: Tretch's faction bonus in the second game, which gives +4 Public Order for breaking a treaty, has been thoroughly evaluated as completely useless because the tradeoff is simply not worth it: You're getting a very insignificant "reward" for a universally deplorable action that will bring serious consequences upon you in the long-term. And it takes a very, very long time to get your reliability rating back up to a level where other factions, including Skaven ones, will want to be friendly and trusting towards you. When the third game came along with ''Immortal Empires'', the mechanic was replaced with a completely different set of bonuses, instead gained by simply declaring war. |
| 327 | * PunnyName: Tretch Craventail is both treacherous and a craven. |
| 328 | * SkeletonsInTheCoatCloset: His helmet, the '''Lucky Skullhelm''', is not only a protective piece of armor made from the head of one of his rivals, but it also seems to be the source of his supernatural luck. |
| 329 | * SkullForAHead: Gives off the appearance, with his skullhelm. |
| 330 | * SoleSurvivor: Skaven tend to die like flies...yet even when they do, Tretch out of them all still makes it out alive. |
| 331 | * StealthExpert: His "stay here, I'll get help!" makes Tretch invisible and boosts his movement speed temporarily, so as to aid in escape. It also boosts nearby friendly units' morale because they apparently believe him (''suckers''). |
| 332 | * StoneWall: A modest anti-large bonus aside, Tretch's greatest asset is his near immunity towards getting killed. In between his massive Melee Defence, access to Regeneration, the ability to turn invisible the moment he escapes combat, and his Lucky Skullhelm's various buffs, Tretch is very difficult to put down but can't match Queek or a generic Warlord in raw damage potential. |
| 333 | * SurprisinglyEliteCannonFodder: The Warlords of Clan Rictus have attempted to kill Tretch via UriahGambit innumerable times, and yet somehow he keeps coming back as the SoleSurvivor. |
| 334 | [[/folder]] |
| 335 | |
| 336 | [[folder:Ikit Claw]] |
| 337 | !!Ikit Claw, Chief Warlock Engineer of Clan Skryre |
| 338 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ikit_claw1.png]] |
| 339 | [[caption-width-right:350:''"I gather all Warpstone, build biggest bomb ever!"'']] |
| 340 | ->''"Tell-say that Ikit Claw, Chief Warlock of Clan Skryre, Master of the Warpstorm, Flayer of Forgemaster Gharhakk Bloodtongue, Butcher of Chicomecoatl, Gutter of Jarl Alfhild Daemonkin, Burner of Magister Klaus von Doenhoff, Razer of Helwigstadt..."'' |
| 341 | ->'''Voiced by:''' Toby Williams |
| 342 | |
| 343 | Ikit Claw, Chief Warlock Engineer of Clan Skryre, is one of the most ambitious and talented Warlock-Engineer of his age and the infamous Right-Fang of Lord Morskittar, the one true ruler of Clan Skryre. Ikit Claw has taken Clan Skryre's mix of science and sorcery to new levels of complexity and depravity. Entire legions of Skavenslaves have been blasted to bits in the name of Ikit's experimental new weapons, a small price to pay for the sheer power and killing might that Ikit has added to Clan Skryre's deadly arsenal. |
| 344 | \ |
| 345 | In his quest for knowledge, lkit has traveled the world, stealing secrets from the mystics of Cathay, studying the dimension-spanning machines of Lustria, and toiling for years alongside the cruel Forgemasters of far off Zharr-Naggrund. Upon his return, Ikit found the warpforges of Clan Skryre woefully under-developed. It would take centuries to fully implement his grandiose changes. It was during the great Civil War that Ikit seized his opportunity. As the newly assigned lead emissary of Lord Morskittar, the ruler of Clan Skryre, lkit Claw ordered massive warpforges, and unrivaled armories to be gnawed into the stone beneath Skavenblight. Infernal devices and diabolical weapons were soon being assembled on a level never before seen. Should nothing stop this mad tinker-rat from continuing on in his research, he may create a weapon so powerful and diabolical that it could threaten the very world to total annihilation. |
| 346 | \ |
| 347 | Added by the DLC pack ''The Prophet & The Warlock'', Ikit Claw leads the sub-faction "Clan Skryre". |
| 348 | ---- |
| 349 | * AceCustom: He has his own heavily modified Doomwheel and Doomflayer, which he can ride into battle with. Not only does it use ''liquefied Warpstone'' as fuel (making him go at insane speeds), its wheels are covered in the material itself, making it just that more damaging on the charge. He also has his own take on the Warp Lightning Cannon, '''Ikit's Zzzzap-Zzzzap''', that can greatly screw over enemy magicians by constantly putting their spells on cooldown. |
| 350 | * AnimationBump: CA went pretty all out with his combat animations to say the least. He incorporated a Jet Pack into his Iron Frame that he uses to charge attack with, fights with both his halberd and flamethrower in melee. In general, Ikit has more unique animations than most other Lords in the series thus far. |
| 351 | * ArmCannon: Ikit's left arm ends in a mechanical claw with an [[FireBreathingWeapon integrated warpfire thrower, that he can use at will.]] While it has a slow reload time, it does both magical and fire damage, and hits in a very wide arc. |
| 352 | * AtomicHate: Ikit's greatest creation -- and obsession -- is the Doomsphere, the ''Warhammer'' world's ''[[FantasticNuke equivalent of the Atom Bomb]]''. Ikit has attempted to perfect the Doomsphere and detonate it beneath major urban centers for years, though he is often thwarted at the last moment by intrepid heroes or backstabbing rivals, with his specific aim being to recreate the Time of Woes, and slaughter the Dwarfs in the millions. In the campaigns, Clan Skryre can create a Doomsphere as [[BigBulkyBomb a building chain]] in undercities, which obliterates the settlement above upon completion, turning into a smoldering pile of ruins, and exterminating any garrison or army unlucky enough to be inside the city. On a smaller scale, Ikit also invented the Warpstorm Doomrockets, which are more akin to ''tactical nukes'' with the warhead being very capable of annihilating entire units caught in its blast radius, and Clan Skryre begins the campaign with a Doomrocket already completed. |
| 353 | * BloodKnight: Seems to having the time of his life in his trailer, while facing down the Cult of Sotek, one of the ''very'' few Skaven to enjoy a good scrap. |
| 354 | * CanonImmigrant: Before ''Warhammer II'', the Warpstorm Doomrocket didn't formally exist in the tabletop lore. Since then, it fast became a popular and defining feature of Ikit Claw. |
| 355 | * ClothesMakeTheSuperman: Ikit was crippled in an experiment gone wrong. He wears the '''Iron Frame''' to stay mobile, which also gives him super-Skaven strength. |
| 356 | * TheDragon: Is the right hand rat of Lord Morskittar, Lord of Clan Skryre and member of the Council of Thirteen. |
| 357 | * EvilGenius: One of Clan Skryre's greatest inventive minds, with all that genius focused on weapons design and death dealing. |
| 358 | * EvilLaugh: Lets out an insane cackle at the end of his trailer, just as his Doomrocket is about collide with the Lizardmen army. |
| 359 | * EvilOldFolks: Like most of the Skaven overclass, Ikit's (ab)use of Warpstone has extended his life radically and his age is counted in centuries. Unlike those of the Grey-Seers, Ikit's white fur is because of his age, and he's ''no less'' sinister than they. |
| 360 | * FrontlineGeneral: In contrast to most [[DirtyCoward Skaven]] Ikit leads from the front, and his trailer shows him leading an expedition into Lustria, and taking part in a Skryre gunline, before rushing into melee combat. |
| 361 | * HandicappedBadass: He has only one good ear but still manages to be a competent Warlock Engineer. |
| 362 | * JumpJetPack: Was never mentioned to have a jet pack in the lore or on the Tabletop, but CA gave him one in this game because both they and GW (who okayed the idea) [[RuleOfCool thought it would be cool]]. It is of the hover variety so he is not an actual flying unit, with him using his flamethrower to (barely) help stabilize himself in his short bursts of flight. |
| 363 | * MagicKnight: Ikit is an adept spellcaster of the Lore of Ruin, but his PowerArmor grants him a truly insane level of durability, and his Storm Daemon makes him no slouch in combat. |
| 364 | * MadScientist: ''Warhammer's'' crowning example. A Mad Engineer at any rate, Ikit has provided the Under-Empire with countless diabolical war-machines across his lifetime, most famously the [[MonowheelMayhem Doomwheel]] and [[FantasticNuke Doomsphere]]. And yes he's AxCrazy even by Skaven standards, and during his trailer, he lets out a stereotypical MadScientist laugh when he's witnessing the destructive power of his Doom Sphere. He treats battle as field testing for his various weapons of war and explicitly refers to the enemy as test subjects. |
| 365 | * MadScientistLaboratory: His unique faction mechanic is based on this, the Clan Skryre laboratory. It consists of gathering Warp-Fuel from quests/battles, and other resources to bankroll his research into Skaven weaponry, allowing the player to give a variety of ''insanely'' powerful buffs to all Weapon Teams and War Machines, to the extent it makes the faction an intentional GameBreaker. In addition, it allows Ikit to construct his infamous Doom Rockets, recruit a set of campaign-only Regiments of Renown in the form of SuperPrototype Clan Skryre weapon teams, and gather unique ancillaries. |
| 366 | * MagicVersusScience: {{Inverted}}. Ikit is the greatest scientific genius in the Underempire ''and'' one of its most powerful mages, and he has no issues blending the two together to make his weapons more deadly. |
| 367 | * MarkOfTheSupernatural: As a result of his heavy Warpstone use, Ikit has green eyes. This is in contrast to every other Skaven in existence, who are all red-eyed. |
| 368 | * OldSoldier: Very old by Skaven standards, but fully capable of kicking ass, and unleashing truly horrifying weapons of mass destruction upon those who would oppose his plans. |
| 369 | * PowerArmor: His infamous Iron Frame is essentially the fantasy version of this trope. It's a SuperPrototype compared to the armor his Arch Warlocks wear, which are more primitive versions of his original design, with the exception of them having ''Jetpacks''. |
| 370 | * ShockAndAwe: Storm Daemon's blade fires warp lightning bolts, and Ikit's close combat animations involve stabbing it into the ground, creating a literal shockwave around himself. |
| 371 | * VillainousValour: Like Queek, Ikit may be insane but he's no coward, and will happily engage enemy forces with his engineers right at the front. To reflect this he has very good leadership for a Skaven character. |
| 372 | [[/folder]] |
| 373 | |
| 374 | [[folder:Deathmaster Snikch]] |
| 375 | !!Deathmaster Snikch, Chief Assassin of Clan Eshin |
| 376 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/deathmaster_snikch.png]] |
| 377 | [[caption-width-right:350:''"Attack in silence, cover tracks. Quick death, they shall have."'']] |
| 378 | |
| 379 | Deathmaster Snikch is the Chief Assassin and prime agent of Lord Sneek, Lord of Decay and Nightlord of Clan Eshin. His infamy is only exceeded by the mystery which surrounds his whereabouts at any particular time. Lord Sneek ensures that this is the case -- as long as no one knows the location of his chief assassin no one can feel safe. Deathmaster Snikch has appeared all over the Old World at one time or another, seldom being seen but always leaving his distinctive symbol traced in blood beside the decapitated heads of his victims. |
| 380 | \ |
| 381 | No one truly knows what horrors the Deathmaster has perpetrated during his long and mysterious existence, how many ships have been sunk or foundered with mysterious leaks or severed rigging, how many towns have been consumed by fire or pestilence released from the sewers below or even how many people the Deathmaster has killed in his lifetime. It is only on the battlefield that the Deathmaster's presence can at least been known to dwell, stalking his victims, concealed beneath the magical Cloak of Shadows, its ensorcelled power strong enough to make a mockery of the most intricate defences. Where the stealthy tread of Deathmaster Snikch falls, no prince or warlord is safe from his blades. |
| 382 | \ |
| 383 | Added by the DLC pack ''The Shadow & The Blade'', Deathmaster Snikch leads the sub-faction "Clan Eshin". |
| 384 | ---- |
| 385 | * AdaptationalBadass: Just like Tretch, Snikch was strictly a hero choice on the tabletop. The developers apparently felt that having Snikch be the faction leader for Clan Eshin would be more recognizable and welcomed by the fans than some preexisting or new Eshin Warlord that no one has ever heard about. |
| 386 | * ArmorPiercingAttack: His Weeping Blades automatically confer a debuff of ''fifty'' percent to any unit he engages, making him a nightmare to heavily armored opponents. |
| 387 | * AxCrazy: He hides it beneath a veneer of near-silence, but Snikch is considered madly homicidal even by the standards of his race. He's infamous for butchering a group of one hundred Stormvermin and building a pyramid from their heads all stacked on each other, with their rebellious leader high on the top. |
| 388 | * BadassCape: His '''Cloak of Shadows'''. A black cape dark as the abyss, Snikch's unique item is made from stolen human hair and spider silk, and it makes the Deathmaster nigh-invisible in darkness. |
| 389 | * BloodKnight: It's said that Snikch doesn't kill for money, but only for the pleasure of being able to murder victim after victim. |
| 390 | * CombatPragmatist: He doesn't even loosely understand the concept of a fair fight, fittingly for what amounts to a rat shinobi. He has used many unorthodox methods in his countless assassinations, in a fight he always coats his blades in poison, and he readily fights dirty when confronted. Clan Eshin as a whole embraces this mentality even more than the other Skaven clans. |
| 391 | * CripplingOverspecialization: Clan Eshin's faction bonuses are geared towards the mass use of Runners and Assassins at the cost of making everything else that's non-Eshin too expensive to field in large numbers. In other words, you can have a small army that's great at running circles around opponents and kiting them non-stop but might not be so great in other situations such as endurance and sieging. [[DownplayedTrope That being said,]] the bounty mechanic is designed to help alleviate this problem by granting bonuses for each Clan contract you complete, though it'll likely take a while to build up. |
| 392 | * DarkIsEvil: He wears a set of black clothing alongside a dark cloak, has dark fur, is associated with shadows, and a venerable StealthExpert. He's also one of the cruelest and most dangerous assassins known to the world at large. |
| 393 | * DemonicPossession: Ending his Vortex campaign sees Snikch [[spoiler:taking T'zarkhan from Malus--just as his master, Nightlord Sneek, intended]]. |
| 394 | * TheDragon: As chief assassin he serves as this to Lord Sneek, Nightlord of Clan Eshin and Lord of Decay. Clan Eshin as a whole serves this role to the Council of Thirteen, acting as their primary enforcer and tool of terror to keep the Skaven population in line. In return, Clan Eshin is able to act with a greater degree of autonomy, enjoys a high spot in the Skaven hierarchy and is even allowed to field its own sorcerers. |
| 395 | * TheDreaded: Snikch scares the living shit out of everyone that knows of his existence. Scheming Warlords are cowered into submission by the mere prospect of him paying them a visit, he's practically an unending wellspring of UrbanLegends spoken of with great reverence and fear by Skavendom, and the Council of Thirteen is ''afraid'' to use him, less he be used against them at a later date. Snikch is such a terrifying figure that '''Malus Darkblade''', one of the cruelest and most feared Dreadlords in the history of the Dark Elves, is forced into a VillainousBreakdown and a huge OhCrap moment when he knows Snikch's coming for him. This entire mythology surrounding him has been carefully crafted by Clan Eshin to intentionally invoke this. |
| 396 | * DualWielding: Not just dual, ''triple''; he holds three poisoned blades, two in his hands and one in his tail. |
| 397 | * GlassCannon: Snikch is one of the deadliest duelists in the game, with an enormous melee attack and the ability to lock down enemy characters so they cannot escape him. As is traditional of an Eshin assassin, however, he wears no armour whatsoever. He might be able to slaughter anyone one on one, but if he gets surrounded by the enemy, he'll quickly go down for the count. |
| 398 | * HeroKiller: Whenever Clan Eshin needs to have a particularly powerful and important enemy figure dead, Snikch is often the best rat for the job. [[spoiler: During ''The End Times'', he managed to kill Thorgrim Grudgebearer without the mighty High King being able to put up any sort of fight against him, a testament to how dangerous he can be against even the strongest fighters if he gets a single good hit on them.]] |
| 399 | * MasterSwordsman: His unique fighting style makes Snikch quite possibly the greatest swordsman in the entirety of Skavendom, and one of the most skilled individuals in the entire ''Warhammer'' world. It's the '''Whirl of Weeping Blades''', a secret art he's mastered, and it lets him make use of three envenomed swords at all times, two in both hands and on with his tail. He wields these blades with extreme proficiency, using finesse, strength and lighting-fast speed, to the extent that during his trailer he looks like a literal whirlwind, carving up an entire group of Black Guard so fast that it almost looks like he killed them in a single stroke of his blades. Combine it with his mobility, and his target (along with everyone standing in his way) is already as good as dead. |
| 400 | * McNinja: A very strange variant, as he isn't even human, but Clan Eshin learned its tools of the trade from Nippon, a mysterious island nation and the ''Warhammer'' equivalent of Japan, and the Deathmaster was taught there. In this case, he's a non-Nipponese ''Ratman'' {{Ninja}}. |
| 401 | * NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Has the title of '''Deathmaster'''. Along with a name ''that is the sound of a knife slitting a throat''. Put the two together. |
| 402 | * {{Ninja}}: A decidedly sinister example, but a strong one nonetheless. He wears pitch-black clothing, covers his face with a hood, serves a Master, was trained in the ''Warhammer'' world's equivalent of Japan, acts as an assassin both on and off the battlefield, wields large blades, and is master at stealth. |
| 403 | * OneManArmy: Especially shown in the trailer, with the Assassin carving through a good chunk of Malus' army without the support of his army and effortlessly tearing apart a group of Black Guard with nothing but his blades. |
| 404 | * PrehensileTail: Snikch wields a third sword with his tail. |
| 405 | * ProfessionalKiller: What he is, and a ''damn good'' one we may add. He's probably the premier assassin of the series, and quite possibly the most skilled out of all of them. Clan Eshin's portfolio as a whole is this, their numbers are filled with skilled Assassins and non more so than the Deathmaster himself. |
| 406 | * RedEyesTakeWarning: His eyes glow a luminous shade of red. |
| 407 | * ShroudedInMyth: [[NothingIsScarier His most terrifying aspect]]. Every Skaven knows about him, but that is all. Almost ''nothing'' is known about his past, what made him this relentless grim reaper, or anything else about him for that matter. Many of the most impressive and terrifying Eshin operations are attributed to him, but Nightlord Sneek knows that keeping silent will only increase Snikch's reputation and power to scare his rivals. |
| 408 | * StealthExpert: Like any Eshin operative. A master assassin, Snikch is capable of remaining virtually undetected in broad daylight, and is able to hide himself from view by staying in the shadows. He has both Stalk and Vanguard Deployment on the battlefield. |
| 409 | * SuperSpeed: His speed, as seen in the trailer, is outrageously great. He's so fast, in fact, that none of the Druchii he slew could react in time to the Deathmaster (even the Black Guard of Naggarond were too slow for him) before he had already carved them up. He's barely even ''visible'' to the naked eye, aside from a handful of slo-mo frames and when he actually stops moving. Other than that, he's just a blur of fur and blades that leaves cleaved bodies in its wake... |
| 410 | * UndyingLoyalty: Clan Eshin is disciplined enough that he is the only Skaven Lord who doesn't have to deal with the loyalty mechanic. |
| 411 | * VillainRespect: Unlike other Skaven, Snikch is unusually respectful and courteous when approached in diplomacy by most non-Skaven factions that are friendly with Clan Eshin, even the Lizardmen. Considering that Clan Eshin learned their craft from Cathay, along with their role as ProfessionalKillers, his respectful demeanor makes sense. |
| 412 | * WorldsBestWarrior: Well, ''Assassin'' in this case, but Snikch is a strong contender for being the most skilled assassin to have ever walked (or crawled) in the Old World. His skill is to the point that Malus Darkblade himself thinks he's no match for him in a straight fight, and he more than proves his reputation by carving up Dark Elf lines on his lonesome. |
| 413 | * ZorroMark: He leaves these after killing a target in order to sow terror. |
| 414 | [[/folder]] |
| 415 | |
| 416 | [[folder:Throt the Unclean]] |
| 417 | !!Throt the Unclean, Master Mutator of Clan Moulder |
| 418 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/total_war_thrott.png]] |
| 419 | [[caption-width-right:350:''"THROT SO HUNGRY!"'']] |
| 420 | ->'''Voiced by:''' Will Handford |
| 421 | |
| 422 | Throt the Unclean is one of the most twisted and ingenious Master Mutators of Clan Moulder and has exploited that success to position himself as one of the nine Lords of Hell Pit. The effects of a lifetime's work with warpstone can be seen, as bone spines protrude out of Throt's back and a third arm sprouts out of his bloated, but powerful frame. His left eye, torn from its socket in a struggle with a rival, has been replaced with a shard of warpstone crudely hammered into place, feeding its baleful influence directly into Throt's brain. |
| 423 | \ |
| 424 | Over several self-developmental experiments, Throt has rapidly sped up his metabolism and now grows ravenously hungry after exertion. He requires constant nourishment and gluttonously crams tremendous amounts of food into his eternally unsatisfied gut. It is the Black Hunger, only worse. Eating more than four times his own body weight daily, Throt maintains such a pace to avoid being ravaged by his own warp-enhanced constitution. Surly at the best of times, when deprived of food (meaning the instant he stops chewing) Throt becomes mindlessly ferocious. |
| 425 | \ |
| 426 | Throt's rise to power has been marked by an ability to create and lead to battle any number of bloodthirsty creatures, along with a knack for capturing new beasts on which to experiment. Whether it is obtaining Blindwyrms, discovering the applications for Trollspleen, or cultivating the best "growing juices" to increase the size of Rat Ogres, few can match the deeds of Throt. Throt is active in advancing Clan Moulder's status and it is not unusual to find Throt, accompanied by packs of war-beasts, joining many Skaven battles. When Throt personally joins the fight he wields Creature-Killer, a modified things-catcher of his own design that can grab and throttle beasts the size of even a Rat Ogre. Additionally, Throt carries the Whip of Domination, a special whip made from Minotaur-hide and cured in Troll digestive juices. Even the hunchbacked and mutated things that scuttle throughout the warrens of Hell Pit fear its stinging pain. |
| 427 | \ |
| 428 | Added by the DLC pack ''The Twisted & The Twilight'', Throt the Unclean leads the sub-faction "Clan Moulder". |
| 429 | ---- |
| 430 | * AxCrazy: He's possibly the most insane out of all the Skaven Legendary Lords, right up there with Queek. He hammered a shard of warpstone into his eye socket, which influences his mind. His waking hours are filled with twisted studies and experiments while his time sleeping has his mind filled with demented dreams that send him into greater depths of delerium. |
| 431 | * TheBeastmaster: ''The'' Beastmaster of all of ''Warhammer'', and his clan in general are some of the finest monster breeders in the entire world. As a Master Mutator of Clan Moulder, Throt is both a creator of foul monsters and a master of handling and controlling them. He also has a Brood Horror, basically a massive, ravenous mutant rat, as a mount option. All of his bonuses are about buffing up the Monstrous units within the Skaven army, abilities that are focused on healing and aiding allied monsters, and providing benefits towards creating more of them. |
| 432 | * CriticalFailure: As you would expect of "Skaven-grade reliability", Throt's Augmentation Process isn't 100% foolproof: there is a chance (that grows ever higher with each new augment) that a modification will end up being unsuitable, which will then cause the affected unit to slowly suffer a biological breakdown and eventually die (indicated by a red aura on their unit card). The lowest level of this penalty causes a unit to quickly lose 25% of its health in battle and suffer a replenishment penalty; the highest almost entirely removes replenishment for the unit and makes it basically impossible to keep them alive long enough to actually use them in a fight. |
| 433 | * DealWithTheDevil: Any non-slave Skaven who allow themselves to get a modification from Throt have already begun gambling with their own lives. If the mods are compatible, then they became better and more valuable than normal Skaven, opening up a lot more prospects for them and being more likely to survive in Skaven society. But if the mods turned out to be incompatible, then their lifespan has been cut significantly and they will either end up being recycled or spontaneously explode during a battle. |
| 434 | * EvilLaugh: The DLC's trailer has him laugh maniacally right after he snaps some poor Wood Elf's neck with his Creature-Killer. |
| 435 | * EyeScream: Throt lost his left eye in a fight with a rival. His [[AxCrazy "solution"]] was to jam a shard of warpstone into his empty eye socket so that the chaotic energy could feed directly into his brain and help him with his experiments. |
| 436 | * FatBastard: Throt is incredibly fat from his work with warpstone and the resulting agonizing starvation caused by his supercharged metabolism. A feast for a group of lesser ratmen is barely enough to keep him satisfied for an hour, let alone for the day. |
| 437 | * {{Foil}}: To Ariel. Both are associated with life and growth, but Ariel represents the natural world while Throt's methods of life and growth are extremely unnatural. While Throt loves to use his gifts to play God, even calling himself such while reveling in his accomplishments, Ariel actually is a goddess but doesn't openly flaunt it unless someone angers her. In combat, Ariel is a rather fragile mage while Throt is a tanky melee fighter. And finally, while Throt is not the leader of Clan Moulder but desperately wants to be, Ariel already is the leader of her people. |
| 438 | * GeniusBruiser: In contrast to his Skrye counterpart Ikit Claw, Throt fights wielding close quarter weapons and using his immense strength alongside his creations. He has also been instrumental in creating many Skaven horrors, including doing most of the leg work for creating Stormfiends in ''The End Times'', experimenting, trialling and even coming up with solutions that Ikit Claw didn't think of. |
| 439 | * HealingFactor: Throt's abuse of warpstone has given him this ability; he slowly regenerates while not in combat but it has the unintended effect of making him very weak to fire. |
| 440 | * HyperactiveMetabolism: Due to his self-inflicted mutations and enhancements, Throt is in a constant state of ravenous hunger and always eating or chewing something, and needs to eat four times his already massive size daily. This is the driving force for his conflict with Wood Elves, as he believes that they possess the magic to put an end to his agonizing hunger, which would leave him with a superior body like he originally intended. |
| 441 | * HorrorHunger: Even more so than other Skaven, who already suffer from the Black Hunger after combat or high physical exertion. Throt's mutant metabolism plagues him with a constant, gnawing hunger, and he is known to lose control of himself and simply grab the nearest living thing -- including other Skaven -- and devour it on the spot. |
| 442 | * HunterOfMonsters: Ironically, his profession has made him ''very'' skilled at this, his aptly named "Creature Killer" has been specifically designed to allow him to depose of failed test subjects personally. When used it gives all units around him immunity to psychology, as well as a large bonus to anti-large. |
| 443 | * LargeAndInCharge: He is massive for a Skaven, towering over a Wood Elf in the trailer for ''The Twisted and the Twilight'', as a result of his mutations. |
| 444 | * MadScientist: Throt is the standout example of this next to Ikit Claw, although he's a MakerOfMonsters instead of advanced weaponry. His best creations include the Hell Pit Abomination and [[BrainTransplant Ghoritch]], a Rat Ogre with the brain of a Norscan berserker. |
| 445 | * MadScientistLaboratory: Similar to Ikit Claw's Workshop, Throt's unique campaign mechanic is the '''Flesh Laboratory''', which basically allows him to augment his infantry and monster units with "mutagens" that he can apply to each individual unit. The more mutagens they have, the more unstable they become to the point they will start incurring penalties to their stats. Mutagens are primarily produced in the "Growth Vats", which accumulates whenever Throt fights and wins battles or when he [[HumanResources "recycles" unwanted Skaven units]]. |
| 446 | * MakerOfMonsters: The best example of this in the ''Warhammer'' world. Throt can be directly credited for creating many of the Clan Moulder creations, with the Hell Pit Abomination being his greatest yet. |
| 447 | * MultiArmedAndDangerous: As a result of constantly working with warpstone, Throt has grown a third arm. He uses his three arms to carry Creature-Killer, the Whip of Domination and a sword. |
| 448 | * {{Mutant}}: Throt's work with warpstone and self-experimentation has mutated him to something far more monstrous than the average Skaven. Throt has a third arm, increased size, a large gut with unending ravenous hunger, incredible strength, regeneration and a lifespan far beyond his natural one. |
| 449 | * NeckSnap: A favourite move of Throt is to grab an enemy (or Rat Ogre) by the neck with his '''Creature-Killer''', a heavily-modified spiked catchpole, and proceeding to snap or throttle them. Due to his mutant strength, he can break the necks of his Rat Ogres with ease. |
| 450 | * OffingTheOffspring: Being Skaven, Throt's offspring have no loyalty to him and he has killed many of his brood that have dared to threaten his position. |
| 451 | * OldSoldier: Throt is the second-oldest Skaven in Clan Moulder next to his master Lord Verminkin, who is [[MultipleHeadCase even more mutated]] than Throt. He is still able to lead armies and snap necks with ease. |
| 452 | * ThePatriarch: Throt pays regular visits to the clan's Brood Mothers. So regular are these visits that most of Hell Pit is directly related to him, making him sort of a dark patriarch for the clan. |
| 453 | * PromotedFanboy: Throt's voice actor Will "[[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCM1MD6LchDjf8Q4Oly4FwYA VoiceSnacks]]" Handford recorded [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-A-WSiSt98 an unofficial fan voice for then unreleased Throt]]. CA were so impressed by his work that they reached out to him to do Throt's official voice. |
| 454 | * RandomNumberGod: Yes, it is possible to have an army full of perfectly augmented units that are fully enhanced with complementary mutations, ''and'' have no adverse side effects. And it will naturally take a lot of time and luck (and SaveScumming) to make each unit for creating one such army. |
| 455 | * SuperStrength: One of the side effects of his mutations is that he's incredibly strong for a Skaven, being able to throttle Rat Ogres and, in the trailer, easily pick up and snap the neck of a Wood Elf with his Creature-Killer. |
| 456 | * SupportPartyMember: Whilst Throt is an accomplished warrior, his ''true'' value lies here. His special rule, "Master Controller", gives melee defense and leadership to units around him, "Packmaster" that allows him to summon ''two'' free units of Rat Ogres on the battlefield ideal for supporting a line or attacking a flank, along with "Remolded", which gives a massive bonus to leadership, melee attack, and healing to any monster unit around him. He's at his finest when surrounded by monsters in a melee. |
| 457 | * TooAwesomeToUse: Naturally, a perfectly augmented unit is several times better and more cost-effective than a normal, unenhanced unit. The biggest problem is that they can be very hard to replace if they get annihilated (a stable combination is harder to get with more upgrades) and thus should never be treated as expendable, even in dire circumstances. |
| 458 | * VillainousGlutton: Is infamous for his voracious appetite, which includes practically ''anything'' on hand. One of his casual animations is him guzzling down a ''giant shard of warp-stone'', and then grabbing another immediately afterward. |
| 459 | * WhipOfDominance: He is a Skaven [[TheBeastmaster Master Mutator]] whose unique weapon is the [[NamedWeapons Whip of Domination]], a special whip made from Minotaur-hide and cured in Troll digestive juices, that causes a drop in Leadership for the victim. He uses it both as a weapon and to control his [[BeastOfBattle mutated beasts]]. |
| 460 | [[/folder]] |
| 461 | |
| 462 | !Legendary Heroes |
| 463 | |
| 464 | [[folder:Ghoritch]] |
| 465 | !!Ghoritch, Castellan of Hell Pit |
| 466 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/qzj3rxu.jpeg]] |
| 467 | [[caption-width-right:350:''"Monster with mind!"'']] |
| 468 | |
| 469 | Like many who are devoted to the Blood God, Ghoritch was once a frenzied Norscan berserker who loved the thrill of battle and the tang of fresh blood upon his tongue. He once served Archaon, but the creed of his bloodthirsty god ran strong in his veins, and Ghoritch led a foolhardy attack on an Empire artillery train, despite express orders to the contrary. His tribe was cut down almost to a man. Though Ghoritch slew a score of men that day and lived to tell the tale, his punishment was swift and inventive. Like many who had failed, Ghoritch was given to the Master Mutators of Clan Moulder for their unholy experiments. |
| 470 | \ |
| 471 | Even shackled and bound with thorn-ropes, Throt could see Ghoritch was of exceptional stock, and singled him out for the climax of a series of experiments. The experiment was an unparalleled success, transplanting Ghoritch's mind into the body of a heavily modified Rat Ogre without driving him mad in the process. Escaping from Throt's laboratory, Ghoritch scrambled his way up to the arena at the heart of Hell Pit, where he fought off the tide of Throt's creations sent after him. His skills did not go unnoticed by the Master Mutators, who recognised his combination of intellect and strength as perfect for controlling the more rebellious of their troops. Ghoritch worked his way into the rank of Chieftain, and was soon entrusted with the command of Clan Moulder's unique standing army. Throt is less than pleased at the meteoric rise of his creation, and works hard on clandestine schemes to bring about his downfall. |
| 472 | \ |
| 473 | Ghoritch is a Legendary Hero exclusive to the Clan Moulder sub-faction. |
| 474 | ---- |
| 475 | * AbsurdlySharpClaws: His left hand has an absolutely ''massive'', Warp-tipped Power Claw attached to his forearm, allowing him to tear through armor like a knife through butter. It's very similar to an [[TabletopGame/Warhammer40000 Ork Warboss's Power Klaw]]. |
| 476 | * AdaptationalWimp: A minor example; as his ''Total War'' incarnation gives him a host of new, powerful rules he never had in tabletop, but he was explicitly a Lord character in his ''White Dwarf'' armylist, here's he's been downgraded to a Hero. |
| 477 | * AnimalSpeciesAccent: {{Averted}}. Because he is a human, Khornate berserker brain in a Rat Ogre body, he does not speak like a Skaven, who repeat the same or similar words (steal-take, kill-kill etc), use broken speech, or refer to other races as "things" (death-things, lizard-things etc). Because he speaks like a human, he has the clearest and most grammatically correct speech pattern out of all the Skaven characters. |
| 478 | * AscendedExtra: Ghoritch was a semi-official character originating from a ''White Dwarf'' article, had a kit-bashed model, and got no other mention in the fluff. He gained a [[EnsembleDarkhorse cult following]] over the years for being such a cool concept, and was turned into a full-on Legendary Hero for ''Total War: Warhammer II''. |
| 479 | * AxCrazy: ''Oh yeah''. Ghoritch was already a half-insane Khornate berserker during his human days, and is said to have gotten even worse after his transformation. He has the Fury special rule to reflect his raging bloodthirst. |
| 480 | * AdmiringTheAbomination: He was the subject of this during the climax of his one-ogre assault on Hell Pit. While Throt, his creator, was undergoing a VillainousBreakdown and a very rare MyGodWhatHaveIDone moment, the other Mutators were impressed by the Chaos Champion's sheer skill and intelligence, so much so that rather than letting Throt drown him in a tide of bodies, they ''offered him a job'' as a Moulder Chieftain. The only caveat was that he had to pledge his eternal service to Hell Pit. |
| 481 | * BarrierWarrior: He carries a warp-powered shield generator on his back; his '''Blood Shield''', and it allows him to confer magic resistance to himself and allies around him when activated. |
| 482 | * TheBerserker: In his human days, Ghoritch was a literal berserker, a high ranking Chaos Warlord serving Archaon, and a follower of the Blood God. As a Rat Ogre, Ghoritch is just as bloodthirsty and frenzied in combat, but with piston-powered claws rather than axes in his hands and a far stronger body to use them. His "Evisceration" Special Ability has him unleash a flurry of massive, destructive hits in an endless rage to smash everything to a bloody pulp allowing him to tap into the Red Rage of Khorne, and it ''destroys'' elite units, and anything unlucky enough to be around him when he enters this state. He even gets the Norscan Special Rule, which increases his combat stats the longer he remains in combat. |
| 483 | * BloodKnight: He was a former Champion of Khorne who was disgraced in the first place for allowing his bloodlust to cloud his tactical judgement and he disobeyed a direct order from the Everchosen, because he couldn't control his thirst for violence. As a Khorne-worshipping Skaven, his appetite for violence hasn't waned in the slightest. |
| 484 | * BrainTransplant: Ghoritch is the result of Throt successfully transplanting the brain of a Norscan berserker into the body of a heavily modified Rat Ogre. |
| 485 | * CallForward: His redesign is seemingly one to the infamous Skaven Stormfiend, a horrifying Rat Ogre {{Cyborg}} developed by an unholy alliance with Clan Skyre to be used as the Under-Empire's most powerful weapon. Stormfiends arrived during the ''End Times'' and it seemed Ghoritch was a SuperPrototype for them. |
| 486 | * CanonImmigrant: Ghoritch originates from a semi-official ''White Dwarf'' armylist, the Horrors of Hell Pit, which the game draws both him and his Mutated Rat Ogres from. |
| 487 | * CoDragons: As he answers only to the Nine Lords of Hell Pit, he's technically this with Throt, being the Commander of Clan Moulder's standing army, while Throt is its most senior breeder. However, this arrangement is despised by both of them; Throt considers Ghoritch his greatest mistake and sees him as a rival who can topple his position, while Ghoritch still wants to kill Throt for what he did to him. |
| 488 | * {{Cyborg}}: His Rat Ogre body has a large variety of Clan Skryre cybernetics attached to its frame, making him almost more machine than Rat Ogre. |
| 489 | * TheDreaded: Ghoritch was originally an infamous Norscan berserker, but now he truly qualifies this; as the Castellan of Hell Pit, Ghoritch terrifies all of Skavendom. ''Throt'', his creator, is absolutely terrified of him. He causes both Fear and Terror to go along with this. |
| 490 | * FourLegsGoodTwoLegsBetter: Unlike other Rat Ogres, Ghoritch walks and runs on two legs. This can be attributed to his human brain, granting him greater control over his motor functions. |
| 491 | * FourStarBadass: The Castellan of Hell Pit, as well as the supreme commander of Clan Moulder's forces, Ghoritch is both a very powerful warrior and a highly-gifted tactician. |
| 492 | * GameplayAndStorySegregation: It goes without saying that Throt and Ghoritch would most likely try to kill each other if they were put in the same room together. But in this game, having Throt and Ghoritch in the same army is perfectly alright, although this could also be interpreted as TeethClenchedTeamwork. The game explains the teamup as Throt being able to keep Ghoritch's rising star controlled out in the field, and Ghoritch being mollified by being able to take to the battlefield again instead of staying in Hell Pit. |
| 493 | * GeniusBruiser: Khornates may be AxCrazy, but Khorne is the god of ''strategic'' warfare as well, meaning that his followers are often [[FourStarBadass skilled generals as well as masterful warriors]]. Ghoritch is one of them, and he lost ''none'' of his tactical acumen when being transplanted into a Rat Ogre, meaning he's now a masterful general in command of a living hulk of mutated muscle. His campaign skills are divided evenly between his berserk rampages and his tactical acumen, such as training an army or providing cover from magical attacks. |
| 494 | * GoneHorriblyRight: The creation of Ghoritch via transplantation of a Norscan's brain into one of the best-made Rat Ogre bodies is both a noteworthy point of great success and great regret for Throt the Unclean: he essentially made an arch-rival that can equal or surpass him and bring about his downfall, ''and'' is fully motivated to do so. |
| 495 | * ItCanThink: One of the key benefits of having a human brain transferred into a Rat Ogre body. Other Master Mutators in Clan Moulder noticed Ghoritch's intellect and strength, and made him a Chieftain and commander of their standing army, much to Throt's chagrin. |
| 496 | * LargeAndInCharge: A modified Rat Ogre with the intellect of a Norscan warrior made for the perfect combination to lead Clan Moulder's standing army. Ghoritch also ''dwarfs'' other Rat Ogres, all while being far more intelligent than them. |
| 497 | * OneManArmy: As soon as Ghoritch awoke after his surgery, he made a mad dash for the surface, ''slaughtering'' anything in his way as he literally tore through an army of {{Flesh Golem}}s on his lonesome. He got all the way to Clan Moulder's blood arena, and was surrounded...and then proceed to butcher everything thrown at him, and was ''winning'', until he was offered a leadership position in the forsaken fortress. In-game he has a powerful statline to match, making him an infantry mulching powerhouse. |
| 498 | * RedIsViolent: Parts of his robotic body are crudely painted red; fitting for a berserker of Khorne. |
| 499 | * ReligiousBruiser: He was a devoted follower of the Blood God in life, and his FlavorText states he ''still'' worships and receives much favor from Khorne, so much he's able to beseech the Dark God to onset a blood rage within him. |
| 500 | * SkullForAHead: Ghoritch has a fleshless Rat Ogre skull for a head with glowing warpstone "eyes", a sign of how heavily modified his body is. |
| 501 | * SpinAttack: When he activates Evisceration, he plants his rotating claw into the ground and rapidly spins himself in place while stretching out his other claw, slicing apart anything in his reach. |
| 502 | * TheStarscream: While Ghoritch is technically Throt's subordinate, Ghoritch is also bluntly honest about the fact that he ''hates'' Throt for what he did to him, and openly plots to humiliate Throt and cast him down. |
| 503 | * ThisIsADrill: He wields a giant, Steam-Powered, Warp-Stone Power Drill outfitted to his offhand as a way to puncture through the skulls of his enemies. |
| 504 | * UnstoppableRage: As a Khornate berserker at heart, Ghoritch is an extremely violent individual prone to fits of murderous rage. |
| 505 | * VillainousValor: As a follower of the Blood God, Ghoritch lacks the cowardice that most Skaven have, and has good leadership stats to reflect this. |
| 506 | * WasOnceAMan: Ghoritch was originally a Norscan warlord and one of Archaon's top generals, until a mistake in judgment saw Archaon sour on him and turn him over to the Skaven as punishment. Throt transplanted his brain into the Rat Ogre body he has now, and he proceeded to butcher his way into the good graces of Clan Moulder. |
| 507 | [[/folder]] |
| 508 | |
| 509 | !Others |
| 510 | |
| 511 | [[folder:The Great Horned Rat]] |
| 512 | !!The Great Horned Rat, God of the Skaven. |
| 513 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/horned_rat.png]] |
| 514 | [[caption-width-right:350:''"Clever child..."'']] |
| 515 | |
| 516 | The Horned Rat is the supreme god of the Skaven, and he brooks no other gods before him. Though not affiliated with the Lords of Chaos, the Horned Rat is almost certainly a distant relative of those foul, nebulous beings. He represents all things the Skaven are, or wish to be. Undying and eternally scheming, this cunning deity patiently awaits the day of the Great Ascendancy, when his children will swarm across the face of the world, devouring it from within. Entropy is his mantra; decay is his stock in trade. All things must rot, figuratively or literally, and the Horned Rat and his offspring are the worldly reality of this simple truth. |
| 517 | ---- |
| 518 | * BadBoss: The Horned Rat cares nothing about the Skaven, who worship him out of fear. His brief manifestations in the mortal plane after each ritual step involve him literally scooping up and consuming thousands of his followers like fist-fulls of popcorn, and he requires immense daily sacrifices to appease his wrath. |
| 519 | * TheBadGuyWins: If playing as Skaven, completing the final Great Vortex ritual and winning the final battle will unleash the Horned Rat upon the world. |
| 520 | * BigBad: He takes this role for ''Total War Warhammer 2'''s "Eye of the Vortex" campaign, as the final mission of the High Elves, Dark Elves and Lizardmen is to stop the Grey Seer Clan from summoning him. |
| 521 | * BigBadWannabe: The other Chaos gods regard him as pathetic, inasmuch as they're aware of him at all. Much of his motivation can be read as trying to do one over the big league with a race of unwanted vermin that are like him in every way. Though he is only a Wannabe in comparison to the four Great Powers; the Horned Rat being summoned into the material realm would very much be an End Times scenario to the planet. |
| 522 | * DirtyCoward: Ultimately just as much of a simpering bully as his children; in the end of the Cult of Sotek campaign, Sotek gives him such a sound thrashing that his newfound fear of the god causes ''all Skaven'' to be terrified of Lizardmen. |
| 523 | * EvilGloating: He appears to the faction leaders when they have completed most of their objectives, he reveals to to them that he had orchestrated everything. The [[spoiler: fake comet made by the Skaven]], and the magic of the rituals are used to fuel his ritual to summon him into the mortal plane. He will also gloat to the other factions in the final battle. |
| 524 | * GenericDoomsdayVillain: His only motivation is to despoil and destroy the world the only living creatures left are his "Children". But even they are not fully safe from him. |
| 525 | * GodOfEvil: He is easily one of the strongest forces of evil in the setting that isn't a Chaos God. The Horned Rat is the embodiment of decay, entropy, and [[YouDirtyRat everything the Skaven are]]. [[ReligionOfEvil Clan Pestilens]] specifically reveres him in his aspect of the {{Plaguemaster}}. |
| 526 | * JustBetweenYouAndMe: In the Vortex Campaign, he reveals his plan to whoever has completed the fifth ritual, just for the sake of gloating. |
| 527 | * SummoningRitual: This is what the Council of Thirteen wishes to do with their complicated plan. By having the Vortex be destabilized by not only [[spoiler:the fake twin-tailed comet they made out of warpstone]] but also all the other factions messing around with it in their own rituals, they will be able to build a great bell that will make sure that the Horned Rat is summoned into the world, right in the middle of the Vortex! |
| 528 | [[/folder]] |
| 529 | |
| 530 | [[folder:Vulscreek]] |
| 531 | !! Grey Seer Vulscreek |
| 532 | [[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/vulscreek_5.png]] |
| 533 | [[caption-width-right:300:''"Comet makes Elf-Things weak! Council wants power of the Vortex!"'']] |
| 534 | |
| 535 | An agent of the Council of Thirteen who oversees the activities of Clan Mors and Clan Pestilens in the New World. |
| 536 | ---- |
| 537 | * BadBoss: To the Scribe. In the intro, he demands that he flays himself for his impertinence. Later, he sends the scribe to the lair of the Verminlord known as "The Screaming One" rather than going himself in case of danger. |
| 538 | * BondVillainStupidity: [[spoiler: You'd really think a Grey Seer of all people would have had a bit more than just threats at his disposal to make sure that Sneek would go along with sacrificing his own clan to finish the ritual that will bring about the Horned Rat through the Vortex. This lack of preparation costed him his jugular veins and the entire Grey Seer clan.]] |
| 539 | * CanonForeigner: He's an original character created for the game's storyline. |
| 540 | * EvilSorcerer: As a Grey Seer, this is a given. |
| 541 | * MissionControl: For the Skaven Campaign, after a fashion. |
| 542 | * SupportingLeader: The various Legendary Lords manage the forces of their respective clans, but they both receive missions from Vulscreek, and by extension the Council of Thirteen. |
| 543 | * UnknownRival: ''All Tunnels Lead to Skavenblight'' implies that he's one to Thanquol. |
| 544 | [[/folder]] |
| 545 | |
| 546 | [[folder:Sneek Scratchett]] |
| 547 | !! Sneek Scratchett, the Skaven Scribe |
| 548 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/scribe_tropes.png]] |
| 549 | [[caption-width-right:350:''"Skaven confirmed!"'']] |
| 550 | ->'''Voiced by:''' John Wark |
| 551 | |
| 552 | Vulscreek's put-upon assistant. |
| 553 | ---- |
| 554 | * AlliterativeName: '''S'''neek '''S'''cratchett. In official videos, meanwhile, he's usually referred to as just the '''S'''kaven '''S'''cribe. |
| 555 | * CanonForeigner: He's an original character created for the video game. |
| 556 | * TheChewToy: As a lower-ranking Skaven, he is the primary recipient of Vulscreek's abuse. This abuse ranges from simple insults to being forced to go down into an ancient temple that houses a Verminlord of immense power known as "the Screaming One". |
| 557 | * DealWithTheDevil: Indirectly. [[spoiler:Murdering Vulskreek and hijacking the Grey Seer Clan's scheme leaves Sneek the primary debtor of the Screaming One's assistance, and the verminlord's price is implied to be quite severe.]] |
| 558 | * TheDogBitesBack: [[spoiler:Literally! When ordered to sacrifice his adopted clan to summon the Horned Rat, Sneek finally snaps and tears out Vulscreek's throat, sacrificing the Grey Seer's clan instead and becoming one of the favored of the Horned Rat along with Skrolk and Queek.]] |
| 559 | * EyeGlasses: Wears one. It's unknown if they're purely for reading, or because the scribe is actually visually impaired. |
| 560 | * MissionControl: Like Vulscreek, he gives the player assignments and other general info. |
| 561 | * SeriesMascot: Has been gradually developing into one for ''Total War: Warhammer II'', by [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmwGUa1_Kbs MSTing the game's introduction]] and later [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLSezK6_N5w narrating the debut trailer for the Laboratory Mode]]. |
| 562 | * SmarterThanYouLook: Not by very much, but he's a good deal more intelligent and learned than a mere "scribe-slave" should be. For starters, he can interpret the arcane markings on the Black Pillar, a prized religious relic of the Horned Rat, and thus has a strong grasp of the prophecy regarding the Great Vortex and the Screaming One. Vulscreek seems impressed enough that he refrains from punishing the scribe and even talks to him more openly about the prophecy, despite heavily implying that a non-grey-seer reading the Pillar is a serious transgression (though he still orders Sneek to flagellate himself for it after the fact). |
| 563 | * YankTheDogsChain: [[spoiler:His murder of Vulskreek is presented as a triumphant usurpation, with victory in the final battle seeing Sneek uplifted as the Horned Rat's chosen prophet. Unfortunately, he discovers soon afterwords that [[DealWithTheDevil he's now in debt to the Screaming One]].]] |
| 564 | [[/folder]] |
| 565 | |
| 566 | [[folder:The Screaming One]] |
| 567 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/krttekd.jpeg]] |
| 568 | |
| 569 | A verminlord sought out for knowledge of the Vortex. |
| 570 | ---- |
| 571 | * DealWithTheDevil: Indirectly. [[spoiler:Murdering Vulskreek and hijacking the Grey Seer Clan's scheme leaves Sneek the primary debtor of the Screaming One's assistance, and the verminlord's price is implied to be quite severe.]] |
| 572 | * MrExposition: The skaven seek him out to learn the rituals needed to corrupt the Great Vortex. |
| 573 | * OurDemonsAreDifferent: He's a verminlord; the Horned Rat's equivalent to the greater daemons of the Chaos Gods. The first ritual of the skaven campaign runs double-duty as a summoning and scrying spell, so the Screaming One can manifest in the mortal world and be tracked down. |
| 574 | [[/folder]] |
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/context.php
FollowingContext Characters / TotalWarWarhammerTheSkaven
Go To
- Show Spoilers
- Night Vision
- Sticky Header
- Wide Load
