Undead (Warhammer)

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The Undead of the Warhammer Fantasy Tabletop Wargame (Games Workshop ltd.), were introduced to the game in its very earliest editions. The term itself can refer either to the undivided and all inclusive army--ranging from ghosts and vampires to skeletons and mummies--or to the separate components which make up the two: The Tomb Kings of Khemri, and the Vampire Counts. Originally, the concept meant only the prior, and it was only recently that Games Workshop actually divided the two to represent the chaos which Nagash created when he cast his Spell of Awakening to begin his assault on the lands of the living.

As in-game legend goes, Nagash was a priest in the courts of the land of Nehekara, and after learning Dark Magic from prisoner Dark Elves, developed his own twisted form of Magic which he termed Necromancy. This magic gave him the power to command the dead, and ultimately he cast a powerful spell from his tower, with the intent of raising all the dead of Nehekhara, thus creating a titanic army of mindless Undead. The recent dead joined with the enslaved Tomb Kings of ancient Khemri to begin their march to Nagash's tower. They would not complete their journey, for Nagash was slain through the machinations of the Skaven and their pawn, the escaped captive King Alcadizaar. The ratmen, who had grown jealous of Nagash's hoard of Warpstone, gave to Alcadizaar a sword which could cut down the mighty sorcerer: The Fellblade. While the act did not destroy Nagash, it banished him from the material world for more than 10 centuries, collapsing most of Undead horde that his sorcery had raised, and leaving the Vampires to pursue their own ends as his unwitting progeny. With Nagash's death, the Tomb Kings retained their unlife, but had regained their individual will.

Upon Nagash's first return from death, the Tomb Kings revolted against him, and swore vengeance upon his head and upon any of his followers. This is the reason that the two types of Undead exist--because of their loathing of Nagash and his evil magic the Tomb Kings have separated themselves from such atrocity. No necromancer is safe in the deserts of Araby or Nehekara, for the kings of old lie in wait to destroy all of Nagash's minions.

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[edit] Distribution

The undead can be found in many parts of the Old World, however there are areas where the dead simply cannot (or do not) rest easily. Chief among these places would be Sylvania, the province of the Empire ruled by the Von Carstein Vampires. Also noteworthy would be the deserts of Araby and Nehekara, and of course Nagashizzar, the fortress of the Black Master, Nagash.

[edit] Development of the Undead in the Warhammer setting

As described earlier, the origins of the Undead can ultimately be traced back to Nagash, the first Great Necromancer. The Tomb Kings and their legions were reanimated as a result of His attempts to raise a massive army of mindless corpses, and the Vampires arose because of the Elixir of Life, which Nagash had discovered could bestow everlasting life--for a price. Queen Neferata of the ancient city of Lahmia, discovered this secret within Nagash's nine books, and so became the first vampire.

Within the development of the Warhammer Fantasy battle game Nagash did not appear as a fully described character until 1994 with the release of the first Warhammer Armies: Undead book. Before then the undead and a number of "Undead Army" characters had been described but not with any great amount of background.

[edit] The Legions of Undead

Several staple character types are represented by the game of Warhammer, and several others besides those which are readily recognized and accepted. Among the undead, the following are included:

  • Necromancers: Men who have turned to the dark arts in a desperate attempt to preserve their own flesh beyond that which is normal. Though living themselves--even if only just--they are generally the masters of the undead, for it is their magic which binds the corpses to the material plane.
  • Liches: This is what becomes of a successful Necromancer. The soul is bound to the body, so the sorcerer can not die a natural death, but can still be destroyed by a determined opponent. Liches resemble walking corpses, and many - such as Nagash himself - mere skeletons wrapped in their vestements.
  • Wights: These are long dead kings and warriors of renown which have been raised by powerful magic. Stronger than the typical skeleton warrior, Wights carry with them powerful weapons which are enchanted to bring death with the slightest scratch. It takes a necromancer of incredible power to bind such warriors.
  • Banshees: These are the spirit-fragments of women who are heralds of woe and death. Their scream is the harbinger of death, and when people hear the banshee's wail, they tremble with fear.
  • Wraiths: If a necromancer does not achieve the level of mastery required to become a liche, this is what becomes of him. Wraiths are terrifying creatures who no longer possess a physical body, but whose fear of dispersing into oblivion within the Chaos Realm binds them to the physical realm, in a hollow existence of endless torment.
  • Ghouls: Though not strictly undead, or even dead at all, ghouls are cannibals who have been reduced to grave-robbing and following in the wake of battle to feed their unnatural thirst for human flesh. They operate in packs, very much like ravening wolves. They seem to have no humanity left to them whatsoever.
  • Vampires: There are few beings out there with as much power to themselves as a vampire. Many of them are centuries old. Some are older, and they continue to grow in power as they age. Blessed with a natural affinity for Nagash's Necromancy, they are very often found leading the undead into open war.
  • Skeletons and Zombies: These are the corpses of fallen warriors which have been animated by a necromancer to do the master's bidding. They have no conscious thought, and they are not adept fighters. Their only advantage is that they are not alive. They do not feel pain, hunger, cold, heat, wind, rain, nothing. They simply continue on their crusade until the master decides otherwise.

Most all of the true undead cause "fear" or "terror" within the structure of the Warhammer Fantasy battle game and some can only be attacked by magical means. Another important factor within the game is that of "instability"; being for the most part creatures animated by magical means they are dependent on the controlling sorcerer (the army general in Warhammer Fantasy Battle) and the flow of magic within the game. In some editions of the game this meant that the loss of the army general effectively led to the possibility of instant destruction of most of the undead units.

[edit] Undead characters

  • Heinrich Kemmler, the Lichemaster
One of the oldest undead characters in WFB, having been the subject of two scenarios for the earliest Editions of WFB: Terror of The Lichemaster (a boxed set for 2nd ed in 1986 complete with card buildings) and in an edition of the Citadel Journal in a three way fight with Skaven and warrior monks of Taal (and a robot) as his enemies (called "The Battle for La Maisontaal". There was also Lichemaster for Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (WFRP) in 1990 and a scenario for Warmaster that returned to the theme of this battle of "La Maisontaal". More recently (White Dwarf 309) he appeared for later versions in Return of the Lichemaster.

Kemmler was a master Necromancer, leading huge legions of the undead, with his own corte of ambitious appretinces. As they grew they became rivals and one day attacked their master. Kemmler fled them, nearly breaking his body and mind in the process. For years he wandered the World's Edge Mountains on the run, until he stumbled upon the tomb of Krell, a powerful champion of Chaos in life, and later returned to Undeath by Nagash himself to become one of the 'Dark Lord of Nagash'. Krell was defeated after Sigmar's banishing of his master and entombed in a secret location. There Kemmler struck a pact with the Chaos gods to restore his power in return for spreading death and destruction in their name. They also granted him Krell as a gift--a powerful Wight Lord accomplice and bodyguard. Now the name of the Lichemaster once again strikes fear into the hearts of mortals, though with the shadowy hand of Nagash guiding them from behind the scenes... A Recent event involing the two was the infamous battle at la Masiontaal abbey where a Bretonnian monk stole a warpstone artifact from Skavenblight, home of the ratmen. Kemmler seeing the warpstone as potentially being very helpful in his own sorceries attacked the monk's home abbey at the same time as the Skaven did, seeking to take back their property. With the arrival of Bretonnian reinforcements the famous three way battle ended with the Skaven taking their property back and Kemmler driven off by the knights of Bretonnia. Even more recent was the 'Winter of Woe', a campaign against the Wood Elves where Kemmler tried to harness the power of the ancient standing stones in their woodland home. Attacking during winter, when the gods incarnate of the Wood Elves were in hibernation, gave the Necromancer great advantage over his living foes. Thanks to the assistance the famous treeman Druthu and other native spirits of the wood, the Necromancer was driven off, but not before causing serious damage to the forest.

Nagash is the first and greatest of all Necromancers. His power is unrivaled, and his knowledge vast, spanning the course of centuries. His lair is Nagashizzar, a region where the living fear to go. Because of the effects of centuries of Warpstone consumption, Nagash stands well over 15 feet tall. He carries the great sword Mortis, and wears armour fashioned himself out of Meteoric Iron, called the Black Armour of Nagash. Nagash was originally taught the basics of the Black Art from captured Dark Elf sorceresses of Dark Magic who were marooned on the coastline of ancient Nehekhara.
  • Krell

A gift from the Chaos gods to Heinrich Kemmler, Krell was once a Chaos warrior, and now he serves the Lichemaster in a terrible mockery of life. More fearsome now than he was in life, Krell serves as Kemmler's bodyguard.

  • Arkhan the Black
The first general and most powerful pupil of Nagash. He was slain covering Nagash's retreat from the city of Khemri. The beauty of Necromancy means though that he was brought back later by Nagash's foul craft.
  • Genevieve Dieudonné - a vampire who appears in a number of novels by Jack Yeovil
  • Von Carstein vampires
    • Vlad - Probably the most notable of the Von Carstein Counts, he was a very noble, but very cold man. He waited for hundreds of years for the perfect time to strike the Empire, and when he marched on Altdorf, his victory looked assured. His army was massive. Vlad's crucial mistake was taking the Grand Theongist on in single combat. The night before, Empire operatives had managed to steal Vlad's talismanic ring, the ring it is said, that while he possessed he could not be killed. The battle ended when the Grand Theongist thrust himself into Vlad, dragging him from the battlements of Altdorf in a deathly embrace. The two were impaled on the the moat of stakes which had been placed around the city.
    • Isabella - The devoted wife and lover of Vlad von Carstein, she was as noble as Vlad, but also more cruel. She regarded the living with a level of contempt which her sire did not. Upon receiving news of Vlad's final death, rather than spend an eternity alone, she cast herself from the walls of Drakenhof.
    • Konrad - The second most powerful of Vlad's gets, Konrad greedily assumed the throne after Vlad died, as Mannfred, Vlad's firstborn, mysteriously vanished following the incident. Konrad was a terrible ruler, he had respect for no one, and nothing. He was given to a terrible temper as well. While he ruled at Drakenhof, there was a terrible waste of blood. The devoted servants of Sylvania, whom Vlad had treated well--indeed, they felt graced to be chosen as Vlad's meal--became little more than 'cattle' to the new count. He eventually became so paranoid that the other vampires would destroy him that they eventually were left with no choice but to prove him right. He was killed at the battle of Grimm Moor, by a White Wolf of Middenheim whom Vlad had inducted into his inner circle.
    • Mannfred - Vlad's first get. Mannfred was actually first in line to take the place of Vlad, however he mysteriously disappeared after the Count's untimely death. For many years Konrad was allowed to rule Sylvania, but as it turns out, Manfred had not been idle. He had gone on a quest to retrieve some very powerful artefacts from the lands of the Tomb Kings. When he returned, nearly more than 100 years after Vlad's death, Manfred was equipped with one of Nagash's nine books, a powerfully enchanted staff, and a cloak which rendered him nearly impossible to hit in combat. Additionally, he had become a very accomplished wizard, and this allowed him to do what Konrad could not--to march on the Empire without any fear of defeat. However, when Mannfred finally stood at the gates of Altdorf, as his sire had done so many years ago, yet another crushing defeat waited for him. All that was visible on the walls of the great city was the figure of Grand Theongist Kurt III. The tiny man had open in his hands Nagash's Liber Mortis, and he began reciting the spell of unbinding from its pages. Rage took Mannfred, but as his army began to crumble to dust, he was in no position to continue the assault. He was driven back, and finally cut down at Hel Fenn, though his body was never recovered...
  • Constant Drachenfels, the Great Enchanter
First appearing in the novel Drachenfels by Jack Yeovil and subequently in Castle Drachenfels for WFRP Drachenfels is a magician who cheats death by taking over the mind and soul of one of those at the killing and subsequently uses them to kill the others who were there and taking body parts to complete the transformation but who is killed by an actor/playwright (Detlef Sierck invoking Sigmar and using a war hammer) and Genevieive.

[edit] Liber Necris

"Liber Necris" - "Book of the Dead" (from Latin "liber" and Greek "Necris", although correct Greek would have been "Necros"), is a source of background material describing the different kinds of Undead creatures and concepts of necromancy that appear in the Warhammer Fantasy setting. Written and compiled by "Marijan von Staufer", it was first published by The Black Library, an imprint of Games Workshop's publishing division BL Publishing, in June 2006.[1]

Liber Necris is a fictional book written in an entirely in-setting style, purportedly by Mannfred von Carstein, one of the Vampire counts as his own encyclopaedic description of his kind.

There have been a number of books of the dead mentioned in the background material - the nine "Books of Nagash", the "Liber Mortis" of Vanhal - but none of these has ever appeared as more than passing references or small passages. Liber Necris was originally going to be written and released as Liber Mortis, from the narrative POV of Vanhal, but when AD&D released a book the previous year called "Libris Mortis" the decsion was made by BL Publishing to change the name of their book to Liber Necris.

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Catalogue entry on The Black Library's web site. www.blacklibrary.com. The Black Library. Retrieved on 2007-01-11.

[edit] References

[edit] See also

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The Old World · Araby · Cathay · Lustria · Ulthuan · The Southlands · Naggaroth · Dark Lands · Albion · Tilea · Estalia · Bretonnia · Kislev · Norsca · Khemri · Ind · Khuresh · Athel Loren · Sylvania · Nippon · Badlands · Chaos Wastes · World's Edge Mountains
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