Undead (Warhammer)
Encyclopedia
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
. Up to and including the fifth edition of Warhammer Fantasy Battle
, the Undead represented the combined forces. For the sixth edition, Games Workshop
divided the Undead into two separate armies 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.
Out of the two offshoot armies, the Vampire Counts have access to strong heroes and much of the troops from the old Undead, making it more of a successor to the formerly unified army.
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.
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.
liber "book" and Greek
nekros "dead"), 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.
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 decision was made by BL Publishing to change the name of their book to Liber Necris.
Tomb Kings
In Games Workshop's Warhammer Fantasy fictional universe, Tomb Kings is the name given to a series of kingdoms, and an army in the Warhammer Fantasy Battle game. Up until and including the fifth edition of Warhammer, there was an all-inclusive Undead army, with the skeletons and mummies being the...
, and the Vampire Counts
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...
. Up to and including the fifth edition of Warhammer Fantasy Battle
Warhammer Fantasy Battle
Warhammer: The Game of Fantasy Battles is a tabletop wargame created by Games Workshop. It is the origin of the Warhammer Fantasy setting....
, the Undead represented the combined forces. For the sixth edition, Games Workshop
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...
divided the Undead into two separate armies to represent the chaos which Nagash
Nagash
Nagash may refer to*Stian Arnesen, Norwegian musician*Nagash - a character in the fictional Warhammer Fantasy game setting*Negash, a village in northern Ethiopia, with important Muslim associations...
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
Dark Elves (Warhammer)
In Games Workshop's Warhammer Fantasy fictional universe, the Dark Elves are a race of harsh, warlike and vicious Elves. They are also known as the Druchii in most Warhammer fiction books. They cruel, sadistic raiders with much disdain for all other races, especially their lighter kindred the High...
, developed his own twisted form of Magic which he termed Necromancy
Necromancy
Necromancy is a claimed form of magic that involves communication with the deceased, either by summoning their spirit in the form of an apparition or raising them bodily, for the purpose of divination, imparting the ability to foretell future events or discover hidden knowledge...
. 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
Warpstone
Warpstone is a fictional mutagen found in the Warhammer world, and also in the Warhammer 40,000 universe during the first and second editions. Humans and most other races in Games Workshop’s campaign game Mordheim refer to it as Wyrdstone....
, 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.
Out of the two offshoot armies, the Vampire Counts have access to strong heroes and much of the troops from the old Undead, making it more of a successor to the formerly unified army.
Distribution
The undead can be found in many parts of the Old World, however there are areas where the dead simply cannot 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.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. Her progeny became known as the Lahmian vampires.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.
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 - were mere animated skeletons wrapped in their vestments.
- WightWightWight is a Middle English word, from Old English wiht, and used to describe a creature or living sentient being. It is akin to Old High German wiht, meaning a creature or thing.In its original usage the word wight described a living human being...
s: These are long-dead kings and warriors of renown which have been raised by powerful necromantic 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.
- WraithWraithWraith is a Scottish dialectical word for "ghost, spirit", see Ghosts in European culture.Wraith or The Wraith may also refer to:-Entertainment:*Wraith: The Oblivion, a role-playing game*The Wraith, a 1986 movie starring Charlie Sheen...
s: If a necromancer does not achieve the level of mastery required to become a lich, 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.
- GhoulGhoulA ghoul is a folkloric monster associated with graveyards and consuming human flesh, often classified as undead. The oldest surviving literature that mention ghouls is likely One Thousand and One Nights...
s: Though not strictly undead, or even dead at all, ghouls are mortal cannibals, once human, who have been transformed by necromancy and reduced to grave-robbing and following in the wake of battle to feed their unnatural hunger 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 on the Warhammer world 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 mindless 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 their 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.
Undead characters
- Nagash
- Nagash is the first and greatest of all Necromancers and is known as the father of Necromancy. His power had no equals but the high elf loremaster Teclis, the dark elf sorceress Morathi and the Ancient Slann of Lustria. His lair is Nagashizzar, a region where the living fear to go. Nagash was once human but due to his experiments with dark magic coupled with the effects of centuries of warpstone consumption, Nagash now stands well over 15 feet tall . His body is little more than bones covered with occasional mummified flesh, he carries the great sword Mortis, and wears armour fashioned by himself out of Meteoric Iron, called the Black Armour of Nagash. Nagash while still human was originally taught the basics of the Black Art from a captured Dark Elf warlock and his companion sorceresses (Malchior, Drutheira & Ashniel) who were marooned on the coastline of ancient Nehekhara. From their knowledge Nagash combined dark magic with the ritual embalming magic of the priests of Khemri to create the blasphemous art of Necromancy. Nagash is infamous throughout the history of the warhammer world, he caused widespread destruction and ruin where ever he and his armies marched.
- 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 Lichmaster (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 SkavenSkavenSkaven 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....
and warrior monks of Taal as his enemies (called "The Battle for La Maisontaal"). There was also Lichemaster for Warhammer Fantasy RoleplayWarhammer Fantasy RoleplayWarhammer Fantasy Roleplay is a role-playing game set in the Warhammer Fantasy setting. Over the years, it has been through a number of phases and different publishers, most of which were related in some way to Games Workshop...
(WFRP) in 1990 and a scenario for WarmasterWarmasterWarmaster is a ruleset for tabletop wargames written by Rick Priestley, published by Specialist Games , and set in the Warhammer Fantasy setting. It is different from Warhammer Fantasy Battles in both appearance and gameplay. It is intended for 10 –12 mm miniatures. Basic troops are based on...
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 court of ambitious apprentices. 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 a '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 involving 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. He returned to life later in history and a zombie horde led by him besieged castle Reikland only to be this time thwarted by the Dwarf Slayer Gotrek Gurnisson and his human companion Felix Jaegar.
- 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.
- Dieter Hellsnicht, Doomlord of MiddenheimMiddenheimMiddenheim is a fictional city in the province of Middenland in the land called The Empire in the Warhammer Fantasy setting.Commonly known as The City of the White Wolf, is second only in size and influence to the Empire's capital Altdorf. The city stands upon a sheer pinnacle of rock, five hundred...
- Genevieve DieudonnéGeneviève DieudonnéGeneviève Dieudonné is a character appearing in a number of works by Kim Newman.-Overview:According to Newman, there are three versions of Geneviève for each series of his . Each has a different middle name but each is a "trans-continual cousin"...
- a vampire who appears in a number of novels by Jack YeovilKim NewmanKim Newman is an English journalist, film critic, and fiction writer. Recurring interests visible in his work include film history and horror fiction—both of which he attributes to seeing Tod Browning's Dracula at the age of eleven—and alternate fictional versions of history...
- Von CarsteinVon CarsteinThe Von Carsteins are a vampiric bloodline in the fictive setting of Warhammer Fantasy, including the Warhammer Fantasy Battle tabletop wargame...
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 threw himself into Vlad, dragging him from the battlements of Altdorf in a deathly embrace. The two were impaled on 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. After Vlad's death she was captured and held prisoner in a temple. She denied Vlad's death, claiming that he would return to her. After some time she was convinced that he was truly dead, and ended her own life by stabbing herself with a stake.
- 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 and a ring that could bring him back from any death. It is this ring that allowed his sire Vlad to continue his war for so long. 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 by the White Wolf, the once grand master of the order of the white wolf then turned undead. He took the ring and with the help of a dwarf hid himself for all time in the badlands to keep the ring from returning to evil hands.
- Constant Drachenfels, the Great Enchanter
- First appearing in the novel Drachenfels by Jack YeovilKim NewmanKim Newman is an English journalist, film critic, and fiction writer. Recurring interests visible in his work include film history and horror fiction—both of which he attributes to seeing Tod Browning's Dracula at the age of eleven—and alternate fictional versions of history...
and subsequently 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 SigmarSigmarSigmar Heldenhammer is a fictional deity in the Warhammer Fantasy setting. He is the patron deity of The Empire. Before he became a god, Sigmar was a man, albeit an exceptional, perhaps even superhuman one...
and using a war hammer) and Genevieive.
Liber Necris
Liber Necris, or Book of the Dead (from LatinLatin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
liber "book" and Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
nekros "dead"), 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
Black Library
The Black Library is a division of Games Workshop which is devoted to publishing novels and audiobooks set in the Warhammer Fantasy Battle and Warhammer 40,000 fictional universes...
, an imprint of Games Workshop
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 publishing division BL Publishing
BL Publishing
BL Publishing is a division of Games Workshop, and is split into three sections:* The Black Library publishes novels, art books, background books and graphic novels set in the Warhammer Fantasy world and the Warhammer 40,000 universe....
, in June 2006.
Liber Necris is a fictional book
Fictional book
A fictional book is a book that sometimes provides the basis of the plot of a story, a common thread in a series of books, or the works of a particular writer or canon of work. A fictional book may also be used as a mode of conceit to illustrate a story within a story.-Prominent fictional...
written in an entirely in-setting style, purportedly by Mannfred von Carstein, one of the Vampire counts
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...
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 decision was made by BL Publishing to change the name of their book to Liber Necris.