Lustria
Encyclopedia
In the Games Workshop
's Warhammer Fantasy
fictional universe
, Lustria is a region located to the south of the Naggaroth
, modelled in many ways on the pre-Columbian
Americas
.
, whose cultural trappings are based upon the Maya
, Aztec
, Inca and Toltec
people. The rain forests of Lustria are full of brightly coloured birds, large reptilian creatures and many poisonous insects that make human habitation difficult.
The other inhabitants are all recent arrivals who have come to Lustria from their homelands in the Old World. Their major settlements are along the Eastern coast, though there is at least one group of immortal women descended from the Norse living in the jungles. These women are known as Amazons
, a direct reference to the warrior women who lent their name to the real world geographical equivalent of Lustria (see Amazon Rainforest
). Another group of inhabitants are the Pygmies who are long time enemies of Slann. It is unknown if any pygmies are still alive.
In gaming terms, adding Lustria to the Warhammer world allowed the Games Workshop to explore several new armies and provide a backdrop for several existing genres of adventure, from the conquistador
raids to Indiana Jones
style hunts for lost treasures (particularly in Warhammer Quest
).
, just as real world South America
was attached to Africa
. As part of the Old Ones plan, the two were separated and changed from barren wastelands into fertile jungles. It was around this time that most of the Lizardmen Temple-Cities were founded and populated.
Skaven
were the first of the younger species to vie for control of Lustria. There Clan Pestillens infected many Lizardmen, particularly the larger species, with a plague that weakened their power and caused many of their cities to fall into ruin. This was only reversed with the rise of the snake god Sotek, around the Imperial Year 0, who drove the Skaven out of Lustria.
Before the discovery of Lustria by the Norse, a trading vessel from the Old World was caught in the fierce currents off the coast of Araby and swept into the swirling waters of Ulthuan. The wrecked ship was washed up months later on the south eastern shore of Lustria. Unbeknownst to the crew, one of their passengers, Luthor Harkon, had been a vampire
and although all the humans died in the disaster, the vampire and his off-spring lived and founded a new realm of undead
in the New World, known as 'the Vampire Coast'.
The first human to reach Lustria (and survive) was the Norse seafarer Lost Erik, who recorded landing on an island just off the coast of Lustria and looting gold from Lizardmen. He failed to realize the extent of the land and it was drawn on maps as a small cluster of islands. This story is based on an amalgamation of real world events that led to the European
discovery of the Americas; first the Norse
expeditions to North America
, and the voyage of Christopher Columbus
, who failed to realize he had discovered a new continent.
Lost Erik's son, named Losteriksson, was the first Old Worlder to reach the mainland of Lustria. After trekking inland in search of treasure, Losteriksson and his men left Lustria as rich men, only to return and settle down where they first landed, naming the settlement Skeggi, after Losteriksson's daughter, the first human to be born in the New World. The name 'Skeggi' is perhaps a joke by the writers on the name of the British
coastal resort of Skegness
, often referred to as 'Skeggy'.
Since Losteriksson returned with gold and riches, Lustria has been a popular destination for adventurers seeking to make a fortune and this has resulted in several Lizardmen cities being looted. The increase in traffic to Lustria has also increased the number of ships wrecked on its coast, which has served to swell the number of helpless victims the undead of the Vampire Coast can add to their ranks.
The stifling air is so hot and humid that any warm-blooded intruder will quickly weaken and become sick. The ancient, thick canopy and dense mass of vegetation on the jungle floor quickly result in any sense of direction being quickly lost. Lustria is home to a massive array of poisonous and deadly species, from the tiniest bloodmaggot, to monstrous predators similar in size and temperament to the ferocious drakes of the Old World. The quagmires and bogs that pervade Lustria harbour pockets of poisonous gas and further deadly creatures. Worse still are the strains of deadly diseases laced through the mud and decaying plant matter on the ground.
At night, the jungle resounds to the hideous roars and earth-shaking footsteps of its monstrous denizens, making sleep all but impossible. Those who have somehow found respite or collapsed with exhaustion often awake to find some of their number missing, dragged away in the night by silent predators.
Clustered with great edifices and perpetually lashed by tropical rainstorms and violent cyclones, the megalithic temple-cities of the Lizardmen are sometimes visible from the few areas of jungle where it is possible to see the storm-wracked sky, clearings preceded by abandoned monuments and totems that break the unending ocean of vegetation.
Hexoatl is the city in which the oldest living Slann, Lord Mazdamundi resides.
Itza is the oldest of the Lizardmen cities and the first to have been founded by the enigmatic Old Ones. The Slann of the first spawning, as well as Skinks, Saurus and Kroxigors, were all created by the Old Ones so that they could participate in the building of Itza, each race being responsible for a separate aspect of the city's construction.
Quetza is a ruined Lizardmen city which became infested by the Skaven of Clan Pestillens. From here, plagues spread virulently through the jungle, devastating many other cities.
Chaqua was the Lizardmen city where the rise of the serpent god Sotek was first prophesied. A great migration of Skinks spread the cult among the other cities.
The Vampire Coast, which is inhabited by the above mentioned undead, lies on the Southern coast of Lustria, and is ruled by a ruthless vampire pirate named Luthor Harkon, a mad vampire of the Von Carstein
bloodline. He is the reason for the name "the vampire coast".
Games Workshop
Games Workshop Group plc is a British game production and retailing company. Games Workshop has published the tabletop wargames Warhammer Fantasy Battle and Warhammer 40,000...
's Warhammer Fantasy
Warhammer Fantasy (setting)
Warhammer Fantasy is a fantasy setting, created by Games Workshop, which is used by many of the company's games. Some of the best-known games set in this world are: the table top wargame Warhammer Fantasy Battle, the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay pen-and-paper role-playing game, and the MMORPG...
fictional universe
Fictional universe
A fictional universe is a self-consistent fictional setting with elements that differ from the real world. It may also be called an imagined, constructed or fictional realm ....
, Lustria is a region located to the south of the Naggaroth
Naggaroth
Naggaroth is a fictional land in the Warhammer Fantasy fictional universe. Geographically, it corresponds closely with North America in the real world, but mostly the Hudson's Bay and Great Lakes regions of Eastern Canada and upper New England...
, modelled in many ways on the pre-Columbian
Pre-Columbian
The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents, spanning the time of the original settlement in the Upper Paleolithic period to European colonization during...
Americas
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
.
Overview
The principal inhabitants of Lustria are the LizardmenLizardmen (Warhammer)
The Lizardmen are an army in Warhammer Fantasy Battle-Development history:In earlier versions of the setting there was a separate Slann army based in Lustria...
, whose cultural trappings are based upon the Maya
Maya civilization
The Maya is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as for its art, architecture, and mathematical and astronomical systems. Initially established during the Pre-Classic period The Maya is a Mesoamerican...
, Aztec
Aztec
The Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the late post-classic period in Mesoamerican chronology.Aztec is the...
, Inca and Toltec
Toltec
The Toltec culture is an archaeological Mesoamerican culture that dominated a state centered in Tula, Hidalgo in the early post-classic period of Mesoamerican chronology...
people. The rain forests of Lustria are full of brightly coloured birds, large reptilian creatures and many poisonous insects that make human habitation difficult.
The other inhabitants are all recent arrivals who have come to Lustria from their homelands in the Old World. Their major settlements are along the Eastern coast, though there is at least one group of immortal women descended from the Norse living in the jungles. These women are known as Amazons
Amazons
The Amazons are a nation of all-female warriors in Greek mythology and Classical antiquity. Herodotus placed them in a region bordering Scythia in Sarmatia...
, a direct reference to the warrior women who lent their name to the real world geographical equivalent of Lustria (see Amazon Rainforest
Amazon Rainforest
The Amazon Rainforest , also known in English as Amazonia or the Amazon Jungle, is a moist broadleaf forest that covers most of the Amazon Basin of South America...
). Another group of inhabitants are the Pygmies who are long time enemies of Slann. It is unknown if any pygmies are still alive.
In gaming terms, adding Lustria to the Warhammer world allowed the Games Workshop to explore several new armies and provide a backdrop for several existing genres of adventure, from the conquistador
Conquistador
Conquistadors were Spanish soldiers, explorers, and adventurers who brought much of the Americas under the control of Spain in the 15th to 16th centuries, following Europe's discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus in 1492...
raids to Indiana Jones
Indiana Jones
Colonel Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr., Ph.D. is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Indiana Jones franchise. George Lucas and Steven Spielberg created the character in homage to the action heroes of 1930s film serials...
style hunts for lost treasures (particularly in Warhammer Quest
Warhammer Quest
Warhammer Quest was a fantasy dungeon, role playing, adventure board game released by Games Workshop in 1995 & set within the background of their fictional Warhammer world...
).
History of Lustria
The Slann record that Lustria was originally attached to the SouthlandsThe Southlands (Warhammer)
The Southlands are a mythical location in the Warhammer Fantasy universe, closely corresponding to real world Central Africa. The Southlands lie south of the Land of the Dead and are dominated by dense swamplands and rain forest...
, just as real world South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
was attached to Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
. As part of the Old Ones plan, the two were separated and changed from barren wastelands into fertile jungles. It was around this time that most of the Lizardmen Temple-Cities were founded and populated.
Skaven
Skaven
Skaven are a race of man-sized anthropomorphic rat-creatures in Games Workshop's Warhammer Fantasy setting. They were officially introduced as a new Chaos race in 1986 by Jes Goodwin....
were the first of the younger species to vie for control of Lustria. There Clan Pestillens infected many Lizardmen, particularly the larger species, with a plague that weakened their power and caused many of their cities to fall into ruin. This was only reversed with the rise of the snake god Sotek, around the Imperial Year 0, who drove the Skaven out of Lustria.
Before the discovery of Lustria by the Norse, a trading vessel from the Old World was caught in the fierce currents off the coast of Araby and swept into the swirling waters of Ulthuan. The wrecked ship was washed up months later on the south eastern shore of Lustria. Unbeknownst to the crew, one of their passengers, Luthor Harkon, had been a vampire
Vampire
Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...
and although all the humans died in the disaster, the vampire and his off-spring lived and founded a new realm of undead
Vampire Counts
Vampire Counts are one of the two factions of the Undead playable in the tabletop wargame Warhammer Fantasy Battle, the other being the Tomb Kings, from the sixth edition onward when Games Workshop divided the old Undead forces...
in the New World, known as 'the Vampire Coast'.
The first human to reach Lustria (and survive) was the Norse seafarer Lost Erik, who recorded landing on an island just off the coast of Lustria and looting gold from Lizardmen. He failed to realize the extent of the land and it was drawn on maps as a small cluster of islands. This story is based on an amalgamation of real world events that led to the European
European ethnic groups
The ethnic groups in Europe are the various ethnic groups that reside in the nations of Europe. European ethnology is the field of anthropology focusing on Europe....
discovery of the Americas; first the Norse
Norsemen
Norsemen is used to refer to the group of people as a whole who spoke what is now called the Old Norse language belonging to the North Germanic branch of Indo-European languages, especially Norwegian, Icelandic, Faroese, Swedish and Danish in their earlier forms.The meaning of Norseman was "people...
expeditions to North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, and the voyage of Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the Republic of Genoa, in northwestern Italy. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents in the...
, who failed to realize he had discovered a new continent.
Lost Erik's son, named Losteriksson, was the first Old Worlder to reach the mainland of Lustria. After trekking inland in search of treasure, Losteriksson and his men left Lustria as rich men, only to return and settle down where they first landed, naming the settlement Skeggi, after Losteriksson's daughter, the first human to be born in the New World. The name 'Skeggi' is perhaps a joke by the writers on the name of the British
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
coastal resort of Skegness
Skegness
Skegness is a seaside town and civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. Located on the Lincolnshire coast of the North Sea, east of the city of Lincoln it has a total resident population of 18,910....
, often referred to as 'Skeggy'.
Since Losteriksson returned with gold and riches, Lustria has been a popular destination for adventurers seeking to make a fortune and this has resulted in several Lizardmen cities being looted. The increase in traffic to Lustria has also increased the number of ships wrecked on its coast, which has served to swell the number of helpless victims the undead of the Vampire Coast can add to their ranks.
Lustrian overview
The jungle continent of Lustria is the most hostile environment outside the northern wastes of Chaos.The stifling air is so hot and humid that any warm-blooded intruder will quickly weaken and become sick. The ancient, thick canopy and dense mass of vegetation on the jungle floor quickly result in any sense of direction being quickly lost. Lustria is home to a massive array of poisonous and deadly species, from the tiniest bloodmaggot, to monstrous predators similar in size and temperament to the ferocious drakes of the Old World. The quagmires and bogs that pervade Lustria harbour pockets of poisonous gas and further deadly creatures. Worse still are the strains of deadly diseases laced through the mud and decaying plant matter on the ground.
At night, the jungle resounds to the hideous roars and earth-shaking footsteps of its monstrous denizens, making sleep all but impossible. Those who have somehow found respite or collapsed with exhaustion often awake to find some of their number missing, dragged away in the night by silent predators.
Clustered with great edifices and perpetually lashed by tropical rainstorms and violent cyclones, the megalithic temple-cities of the Lizardmen are sometimes visible from the few areas of jungle where it is possible to see the storm-wracked sky, clearings preceded by abandoned monuments and totems that break the unending ocean of vegetation.
Cities, settlements and locations of Lustria
Skeggi is a Norse settlement at the Northern coast of Lustria.Hexoatl is the city in which the oldest living Slann, Lord Mazdamundi resides.
Itza is the oldest of the Lizardmen cities and the first to have been founded by the enigmatic Old Ones. The Slann of the first spawning, as well as Skinks, Saurus and Kroxigors, were all created by the Old Ones so that they could participate in the building of Itza, each race being responsible for a separate aspect of the city's construction.
Quetza is a ruined Lizardmen city which became infested by the Skaven of Clan Pestillens. From here, plagues spread virulently through the jungle, devastating many other cities.
Chaqua was the Lizardmen city where the rise of the serpent god Sotek was first prophesied. A great migration of Skinks spread the cult among the other cities.
The Vampire Coast, which is inhabited by the above mentioned undead, lies on the Southern coast of Lustria, and is ruled by a ruthless vampire pirate named Luthor Harkon, a mad vampire of the Von Carstein
Von Carstein
The Von Carsteins are a vampiric bloodline in the fictive setting of Warhammer Fantasy, including the Warhammer Fantasy Battle tabletop wargame...
bloodline. He is the reason for the name "the vampire coast".