From a Dead World (Skaven Quest)

[Xantalos]

The world is ending.

It has been foretold by every sage, mystic, and fortune teller from the Southlands to cold Kislev to far Cathay: the Time of Endings is upon the planet. The tides of Chaos wax strong once more, and the Empire of man wearily turns north to face the one known as Archaon. It is a time of greatness, where the stars of the mortal races will shine a brilliant, if brief, light upon the world. Weapons long kept locked away in sacred vaults will be opened for battle once more. Men and women of legend, relegated to the background of history in times of peace, will surge to the forefront. The world will know the sound of dragons again before it dies.

Of course, you don't care about any of that. You'll either wrest this world from the arms of oblivion or flee and start anew. But who are you exactly?

[X] Skaven
Now-now is the time of your ascension! For years your people have scurried underneath the other species, fool-fools that they are, lulling them into a false sense of security, waiting for the perfect time to strike and take-take what is yours. And now is that time! Your clanrats stand strong, their fur sleek and thick. Your rat-ogres are ready to tear weak manthings limb from limb, and your stormvermin eager to pillage the homes of the high and mighty elfthings and dwarfthings. You'll show them what Skaven superiority is! For the Horned Rat himself has decreed that all Skaven must cease their ... opportunistic climbing of the ranks for the time being, instead presenting an endles tide of bared tooth and sharp claw to the surface world! The Under-Empire will stand victorious before any other, whether it be the manthings with a thousand gods, those hungry-hungry ogres in the mountains, the blind-blind people that call themselves an Empire, or, yes-yes, even those scaly ... things in the cursed jungle.

Maybe you'd burn-burn it down with warpfire, see how they feel then. But enough pondering. Go forth, loyal* minions, and conquer! For the Horned Rat!

*For a given definition of loyal

Religion: Horned Rat
Magic: Dark Magic, generally warpstone-powered
Starting Date: ~2522 IC

Benefits:
-Skaven Breeding: A significant reason that the Skaven are the best species in the world (aside from their innate superiority to everything) is their immense numbers. The females breed quickly, and the hordes march forth for the Under-Empire! (Massive population growth if you have the food for it)
-Skaven Intelligence: Skaven don't shrink from radical experimentation like the other fool-fool races! So what if a few underlings die during the process, no one really cares about them anyway. (Greatly incresed avenues of research, higher chances of consequences both hilarious and infuriating)
-Skaven Gods: The Horned Rat would not leave his children without guidance. His servants the Verminlords guide the Skaven along the proper path, and perhaps other manifestations of His will could be called forth? (Daemons and daemon-related effects are summonable. Excersise appropriate caution)
-Warpstone: While this substance is depressingly common in areas touched by Chaos, only the Skaven are insane- ahem, brave - enough to mine and utilize it on a large scale. (You have access to warpstone. This is both beneficial and insane.)

Detriments:
-Skaven Morale: Skaven are confident in their inevitable victory - if numbers are on their side. Once battle starts going against them, their courage drops swiftly. (Sharply increased morale drop if battle goes awry)
-Skaven Loyalty: The loyalty of a Skaven's underlings is legendary! Well, legendarily lacking. (Expect backstabbing)
-Skaven Lifespan: The Skaven live life like a furry rocket: quick and bright! Emphasis must be placed on the quick part. (Named characters, barring some exceptions, have short lifespans and will have to be replaced often)

Unique:
-Council: Barring things going exceptionally wrong, you will play as the Council of Thirteen, and thus will not 'die' if Council members are assassinated. However, disorder penalties will be applied to appropriate rolls if too many happen. Similarly, stability bonuses will be applied if you manage to keep the same council members for a while.

Spoiler: Some other fool-fools

[ ] Lizardmen
The eldest race. You were here when your makers and masters the Old Ones shaped this world, and you are present at its end. There is a good reason for this, as your people are among, if not the, mightiest in the world. Your Saurus are the betters of warriors from Ulthuan to Cathay, your Kroxigor build cities that could make a dwarf green with envy, and your Slaan leaders make even the dread greater daemons of Chaos tremble in dread when they take to the field.

Yet you remain sequestered in Lustria, and slowly, inevitably, with oceans of blood drawn for each inch, you are being pushed back. The geomantic web holding back the realm of the dark gods is in disrepair, and with each passing century it it fails further. The foul forces of the ratmen, so recently appeared as to have been an eyeblink to your senses, still linger in the far east, and you know they will strike at you again. And with each passing day, the Great Plan that your masters so long ago decreed for this world becomes a little more impossible.

But you are still the mightiest force on the planet, far off course as you are. You yourself may not know the course the future will take, but you will ensure it is a one paved with the corpses of your enemies.

Religion: Old Ones worship (and Sotek)
Magic: Yes
Starting Year: ~2520 IC

Benefits:
-Untouched by Time: Your people were made immortal by your masters the Old Ones, even moreso than the vaunted elves claim. You will not die of old age or ever suffer the degredations of time; indeed, you will only grow stronger with age. (Units won't die of old age and get stronger at certain age intervals.)
-Untouched by Corruption: Unlike the malleable humans, brutish ogres, and stalwart dwarves (though they'd never admit it), your race will never succumb to the degredations of Chaos or dark magic. The purpose of the Old Ones is engraved into your very souls, and none shall sway you from that path. (No chance of chaos corruption in your population)
-Untouched by Fear: Listen, and understand. Those lizardmen are out there. They can't be bargained with. They can't be reasoned with. They don't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And they absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are dead. (Greatly decreased/nullified morale loss)
-Touched by Magic: The followers of Tzneetch boast of their prowess in sorcery, but have they ever shattered an intercontinental empire via copious amounts of earthquakes and volcanoes as a side effect of what they were trying to do? Didn't think so. (Increased chances of pretty much anything related to magic, including researching new schools of magic entirely)
-Obsinite: This stone has all the sharpness of obsidian and the strength of steel. It is fortuitous indeed that the Old Ones taught your kind the process that creates it. (Unique material)

Detriments:
-Pillar of Order: You're about the greatest threat to the forces of destruction there is, and they recognize that. (Chaos will go hard on you. Skaven will go hard on you. Any Destruction-oriented factions will tend to focus on you)
-Ordained Births: Your people do not breed, instead being spawned from the sacred Spawning Pools under your temple cities. Now if only you knew how to build more... (Your population growth comes from spawning pools; if they're destroyed you're stuck with what you've got. Very slim possibility of building more in the far future)
-Tech? Wozzat?: Your people have never needed to depend on much other than your own natural abilities, and thus your advancement with conventional technology is somewhat lacking. (Start with a low techbase, slower rate in researching nonmagical technology)

[ ] Dwarves
To be a dwarf is to endure. To never compromise the traditions your Ancestor-Gods set down for you in the distant past, and to make any who have recieved a grudge be repaid in full for their crime against the dwarven people. Regardless of whatever foe sought to claim your holds, be it the brutal greenskins, the cowardly Skaven, or the shabby manlings from the north, you would never retreat. Never surrender even an inch of your ground to them without an ocean of bodies and a note to take it back as toll.

Until now.

You are High King Thorgrim Grudgebearer, and now is the time that Thungni foretold to you all those years ago, when even the mountains your people have made their homes in would be despoiled by the touch of foul magic and all your legacy would be trampled underfoot and forgotten, but for one hope of salvation. Fierce Grimnir long ago paved a path to the Chaos Wastes with the skulls of his enemies, and even now the Warp itself recoils in fear from the path the Slayer-God's wrath took. If enough dwarves could be sent along that path to the Migration the gods spoke of, perhaps the race of dwarves might still live. Of course you will not live to see it; you are High King, bound by oath to your people and allies, sworn to avenge every last Grudge in the Book of Grudges. You will see every last one crossed off those sacred pages before you die, and even if you fail your son has memorized every last one of them - should you not complete your mission, he will.

Religion: Ancestor-Gods Worship
Magic: Runes
Starting Date: ~2520 IC

Benefits:
-Runes: Even the mighty lizardmen rely on (mostly) impermanent spells for their spellwork. No other people have a system with such surety, permanence, and widespread useability as the craft of the Runepriests. No, those shoddy Chaos runes don't count. (You have runes)
-Honor: It seems only your people understand the meaning of the word. When empires of lesser races have turned to dust from time, when man and elf have forgotten their old promises, you will never forget. (Various effects - alliances are harder to break, you will be regarded as more trustworthy than other factions, etc.)
-Children of Stone: Much like the mountains you live in, your people are sturdy and hard for the winds of magic to warp - particularly the touch of Chaos. (Increased endurance, toughness for all units. Unless you gain powerful enemies in the warp or settle in a contaminated area for a very long time, you won't be corrupted/mutated. It is not impossible, however)
-Discipline: There is no one in all the world who can hold a battle line like a throng of dwarves. The word 'rout' only came into Khazalid at the approximate time the Empire of Man rose, and it's only ever used with dwarves as the subject when discussing things that would never happen. (Decreased rate of morale loss in combat, bonuses to defensive actions and general coordination)
-Technology: Unlike some others you could name, dwarven engineering is stable, reliable, and practical. And it still stands above the ridiculous dark-magic powered bullshit those others "design". (Research projects are safer, resulting tech is more easily applied. Starting high tech base)

Detriments:
-Grudges: Along with your memory of alliances and old boons comes with an unforgiving recollection of every wrong ever perpetuated on your people. You can neither forget nor forgive until recompense is paid - in lives if need be. (Very difficult to make peace with factions you're at war with, internal conflicts can become very damaging, etc. Fun times)
-Dwarven Fertility: Of all the gifts your people were given, fecundity is not one. (Low population growth)
-Conservatism: Dwarves could be called cautious resarchers if you were being generous. (Slower research rate, small number of projects to start with)


[ ] Chaos Dwarves
Glory to Hashut! For millennia, your people have built up in the Dark Lands, further fortifying the great tower of Zhar Naggrund, and raiding the lands outside of your home for slaves to fuel your slowly expanding war machine. One day the entire world will lay subservient beneath your feet, and you will turn your gaze elsewhere for the glory of your dread god. One day you will finally have vengance upon your bretheren in the Karaks for the wrongs they inflicted upon you all those centuries ago...

Or so your dark dreams go. Recently, events have happened that make you doubt that sweet dream will ever come to pass. The entrails of sacrifices have lately been foretelling only doom and disaster, the orc slaves seem more riled up than ever, and to top it all off, one of your attendants recently mutated into a hellish visage of the Lord of Domination himself, which spoke to you of horrible events that will come to pass in the future, events that cannot be stopped and will eradicate your people.

Hashut will not have that. The Pact he made with your people all the long years ago has not been fulfilled, so in his beneficence he will once again grant you the means to your salvation. All that remains is to grasp it, and there are none more worthy than you, for you are Dawi Zharr, and your destiny is to conquer!

Religion: Hashut
Magic: Hashut magic, as well as volcano/magma/fire/earth stuff
Starting Date: ~2500 IC

Benefits:
-Daemonic Engineering: Your people know well the art of binding daemons into both war machines and other machinery, and have more success with it than others. (Safer and easier - relatively - to bind daemons into stuff, future research can unlock more possibilities)
-CHAFF: Each Chaos Dwarf is precious because of your relatively low numbers. Fortunately you own literal tons of greenskins to do your fighting for you. (You have greenskin auxiliaries, including hobgoblins, orcs, and goblins, in huge numbers)
-Unbound by Tradition: Your dwarf cousins claim themselves superior, yet they pale in comparison to your engineering marvels! They are hidebound by superstition and cowardice, while you stride ahead into the future!
Of course you don't do things unwisely fast. You're not ratmen. (Faster research rate, increased array of projects, starting high tech base)
-Mages: Oh, just another thing your idiot bretheren don't have – MAGIC! Spells! Who needs inefficient runes when you can spew magma out of your hands?! (You have mages – also various beneficial mutations like the Bull Centaurs)
-Bio-Engineering: Whether it be twisting regular cattle into the hellish Bull Centaurs or making the Black Orks (the dawi zharr responsible for that was thrown headfirst into Hashut's throne), your people seem to have a talent for making living things more … dangerous. (Options to biologically enhance creatures will be available. Chance of backfiring)

Detriments:
-Low Birthrate: About the only shared problem you and your cousins have is that you just don't breed very fast. The hostile and suspicious culture of your people doesn't help matters. (Low birthrate, for both biological and cultural reasons)
-Sorceror's Curse: Dwarves, even examples as far-flung as you, were never meant to wield magic, and attempts to do that end badly – often the ultimate fate of a master mage is to be a statue in the waiting room of his/her former apprentice. (Mages will gradually turn to stone as they use magic)
-Downright Un-Orky: Apparently your extensive efforts at enslaving the greenskins has garnered you a bit of a reputation among them. Unfortunately it's that of a hated tyrant what needs a good krumping. (Outside factions of greenskins hate you)
-Grudge-borne: You despise your conservative cousins with a seething hate hotter than the magma you use in your forges. The feeling is mutual. (Dwarves hate you forever)

Unique:
-Arms Dealers: You are known to the forces of Chaos as a good source of high-quality, reliable gear. They are often repeat customers, which is good for you. On the other hand, having the attention of Chaos is always a risky proposition… (Chaos factions will come looking for you … to do business! Yep. Just business.)
-Slave Economy: Your people are inundated in wealth to the extent that it doesn't really measure the way your society functions – instead your wealth is better estimated by how many slaves you have to ferret out the wealth from the earth. (You literally run on slaves – options have costs in slave lives instead of gold/currency)

 

[Xantalos]

​

Thanquol​

Titles: Grand Underlord of the Underempire, Commander of the Engineers of Skyre, Leader of the Assassins of Eshin, Director of the Beastmasters of Moulder, Chief of the Plaguedoctors of Pestilens, Exalted of the Grey Seers, Chief Stockholder of the Warpfang Bank, Boss of the Squeakless Snouts, Master of the Bones of Rictus and Wielder of the Scalpels of Horripila, General of the Army and Fleetmaster of the Navy, Prophet of the Horned Rat and Leader of the Council of Thirteen, Master of Magic and the Arcane Arts, Conqueror of Nuln, Unraveller of Dwarfen Mysteries, Vanquisher of the Daemonclaw's Host, Unmaker of Zharr-Naggrund, Lord of the Dark Lands, Father of Drillfiends, Grandmaster of Azgorh, Herald of Victory, Despoiler of Magritta, Out-Witter of Myrmidia, Defiler of Bilbali, Grand Admiral of the Western Coasts, God-Breaker, Master Of Chittering Shadows, Gnawer Of Nations, The Wise One, Arch-Rat of All Skavendom, The Humble

The skaven chosen by the Horned Rat to lead his race through the End Times, Thanquol is perhaps the classical image of skavendom - he is intensely paranoid and cowardly, yet simultaneously enormously arrogant, vindictively cruel, and has a habit of launching villainous monologues at crucial moments. He possesses a low cunning and a fierce ambition, which is typically undone by his pathological inability to trust or relate to anyone else.

The security of life and limb afforded by his position as Underlord has allowed a new facet of his personality to surface irregularly - at times of great stress, Thanquol becomes possessed of an unshakable air of confidence and grim determination. It almost seems like a split personality from the outside, as he stands taller, the cadence and tone of his voice changes, and his awkward, stuttering manner of speech is replaced by a calm, assured, and extremely malevolent vocabulary. Thanquol himself is unaware of the degree of these shifts.

Traits:
Chosen of the Horned Rat: Thanquol has been blessed by the Horned God, increasing his lifespan, boosting his magical potency, and granting him a supernatural aura of authority that affects weak-willed skaven, causing them to naturally capitulate to his orders.

Magical Savant: Thanquol is innately talented at matters of the arcane. He learns new spells and lores at a prodigious rate, and his magical strength is enough to best many of the strongest human wizards. He is able to greatly increase the speed of any magical research project he is assigned to.

Warpstone Addict: Having achieved the hazardous feat of becoming addicted to the crystallized dark magic that is warpstone and surviving, Thanquol has grown adept at channeling the boosts of power the substance gives him. When performing actions he may ingest amounts up to Moderate without risk of overdose. The scale of warpstone usage for this game goes thusly:

Tiny - Small - Moderate - Large - Huge - Insane

The risk and consequences of overdosing depend on the circumstances and the amount taken.

Fate's Bitch: ???

Equipment:
Staff of the Horned Rat: The symbol of office fora Grey Seer, this staff channels magic much more potently when used in spells that invoke the Horned Rat.

Amulet of Ruin: An ancient amulet of warpstone dating back to the first days of the Under-Empire. Grants the wearer passive resistance to all hostile magic, being particularly effective against Dhar. It has a 1/3 chance to deflect any one incoming hit per battle.

Boneripper Mk. 13: Thanquol's latest rat-ogre bodyguard, converted into a cyborg due to unfortunate circumstances. Fights ferociously in his master's defense, and will take the first guaranteed deathblow for Thanquol if in his presence.

Magical Lores Known:

Lore of Ruin: The dark magic of the Grey Seers, characterized by its focus on somewhat explosively corroding and corrupting whatever it touches. Thanquol possesses a great mastery of this magic that hasn't been seen in many centuries.

Lore of Stealth: The shadowy magic of Clan Eshin, granting its wielders abilities of concealment and manipulation of darkness, among other, more esoteric uses. Thanquol aquired mastery of this lore in the year after he became Underlord, and harnessed its power easily, although he lacks the physicality necessary to perform the supernatural acrobatics practitioners of this lore usually enjoy.

Lore of Plague: The spells of Clan Pestilens, which do as the name suggests, spreading virulence and plague to all affected by them. This lore requires devotion to the Horned Rat in his aspect as the plaguefather, and while Thanquol possesses great proficiency in the arcane aspect, he is not pious enough to unlock its full potential.

Lore of Azgorh: The secular magic of the dawi-zharr, it focuses on manipulating earth and fire, often in tandem. It requires great personal constitution to effectively channel, due to the intake and expulsion of molten rock from the body in several spells. Thanquol has picked it up easily nonetheless.

Whiff of the Grave: Thanquol knows how to sense and identify necromantic energy, if not how to manipulate it. This is the first step on the road of true necromancy, however.

 

[Xantalos]

Standing Members of the Council of Thirteen - importance goes from top to bottom

13. Underlord Thanquol
----
1. Arch-Economist Skrisnik Goldfang of the Warpfang Bank - Great Clan
12. Seerlord Kritislik of the Grey Seers - Great Clan
----
2. Lord-Warlock Morskittar of Clan Skyre - Great Clan
11. Nightlord Sneek of Clan Eshin - Great Clan
----
3. Arch-Despot Gnawdell of Clan Mors - Great Clan
10. Packlord Verminkin of Clan Moulder - Great Clan
----
4. Warlord-General Paskrit of the Unified Skaven Army
9. Plaguelord Nurglitch of Clan Pestilens - Great Clan
----
5. Surgeon-General Morbag One-Eye of Clan Horripila
8. Admiral 'Cap'n' Vrisk Ironscratch of the Royal Skaven Navy
----
6. Bonelord Kratch Doomclaw of Clan Rictus
7. Lord Thugclaw of the Squeakless Snouts Mercantile Enterprise

Great Clans are comprised of an enormous collection of lesser clans or clan-like groups that all owe allegiance to a central command structure. This decentralized expansion from a Warlord Clan enables each Great Clan to conduct additional actions on its own each turn, with the number of actions dependent on a variety of factors including current Council seating, number of settlements occupied, technology, and others.

 

[Xantalos]

The following is a representation of the extent of the Under-Empire. Occupation in a region denotes the concentration of skaven within that region. Infiltration indicates how aware the Under-Empire is of events taking place in that region. Both proceed on a scale:

None - Very Light - Light - Moderate - Heavy - Very Heavy - Total

Spoiler: Infiltration Effects

None: No information is given.
Very Light: Very general information on the broad events happening in the region are given.
Light: General information on the region is provided, and significant events may be alluded to.
Moderate: Detailed general information is given, and hero units present in the region are mentioned unless concealing themselves.
Heavy: Detailed information is given on general events as well as some more covert events, and the activities of hero units in the region are given.
Very Heavy: All of the preceding, and a short range of Authority required to conquer the region is given.
Total: Nearly every event in the region is revealed, the exact number of Authority required to overrun it is given, and all hero units besides those supernaturally skilled in concealment are revealed regardless of whether they attempt to hide themselves or not.

A * denotes that that particular rating is higher than normal, but not high enough to reach the next rank, so it acts as a sort of inbetween/halfway point.

Settlements may have various clans listed in them. These indicate which major clans maintain a major presence in the settlement.

Overrun Regions: These are regions that the skaven have completely overrun, and driven out or killed any other significant group that formerly lived there.

Dark Lands
Occupation - Very Heavy*
Infiltration - Very Heavy*
Major Settlements:
- Crookback Mountain - Rictus
- Glassvault - Warpfang Bank, Grey Seers, Horripila, USA
- Uzkulak - Mors, Horripila
- Tower of Gorgoth - Skyre, USA, Horripila
- Black Fortress - Moulder, Horripila, USA
- Daemon's Stump - Pestilens, Horripila
- Mount Grimfang - SS, Horripila
- Gates of War - USA, Horripila
- Boot Camps scattered around the Dark Lands

Dragon Isles
Occupation - Very Light
Infiltration - Very Light
Major Settlements:
- Burnt Warren - Minor Clans (Infurnal Legion)

The Vaults
Occupation - Heavy
Infiltration - Very Heavy
Major Settlements:
- Fester Spike - USA, Minor Clans
- Foul Peak - USA
- Putrid Stump - USA, Minor Clans

Estalia
Occupation - Very Heavy
Infiltration - Very Heavy
Major Settlements:
- Under-Tobaro - Skyre, Mors, Navy
- Magritta - Mors
- Bilbali - Mors, Skyre
- Irrana Mountains - Squeakless Snouts Cells
- Vizeaya - Mors, Pestilens

Occupied Regions: These are regions that the Under-Empire has a presence in. Other polities may also reside here.

Empire of Man
Occupation - Heavy
Infiltration - Heavy
Major Settlements:
- Under-Nuln - Skyre, Moulder
- Under-Altdorf - Grey Seers, Skyre, Moulder, Warpfang Bank, Eshin, Pestilens
- Under-Middenheim - Skyre, Moulder
- Under-Marienburg - Warpfang Bank
- Under-Talabheim - Moulder, Skyre

Tilea
Occupation - Very Heavy
Infiltration - Very Heavy
Major Settlements:
- Skavenblight - Grey Seers, Skyre, Every Other Clan
- Under-Miragilano - Skyre, USA
- Under-Remas - Skyre
- Under-Luccini - Skyre
- Very Heavy Trading Ring (Adjacencies: Estalia, Border Princes, Vaults. Special: Bretonnia, Empire, Araby. V. Light info: Ulthuan)

Southlands
Occupation - Moderate
Infiltration - Moderate
Major Settlements:
- Malariad - Pestilens
- Bubonicus - Pestilens
- Yersine Pestis - Pestilens
- Ebolag - Pestilens

Cathay
Occupation - Light
Infiltration - Moderate
Major Settlements:
- Under-Ca Li - Eshin
- Spice Warren (Under-Julun) - Squeakless Snouts
- Under-Wei-jin - Eshin
- Under-Xianbei - Eshin
- Under-Nan Gau - Eshin
- Light Trading Ring (Adjacencies: Khuresh, Great Steppes, Mountains of Mourne - Ind unlocked at Heavy)

Nippon
Occupation - Heavy
Infiltration - Total
Major Settlements:
- Funakoshi - Eshin
- Ghost Claw - Eshin
- Shadowfang - Eshin

Karaz Ankor/World's Edge Mountains/Black Mountains
Occupation - Very Heavy
Infiltration - Very Light
Major Settlements:
- City of Pillars - Mors
- Karak Azgal - Minor Clans - this location is contested with goblin tribes
- Black Crag - Only a spy garrison is located here
- Karak Varn - Mors
- Bonestash - Mors
- Karak Ungor - Minor Clans - primarily warpstone mining operations as this Karak is primarily owned by night goblins

Bretonnia/Grey Mountains
Occupation - Moderate
Infiltration - Moderate
Major Settlements:
- Black Chasm - Pestilens
- Under-Mousillon - Pestilens, Moulder

Norsca
Occupation - Very Light
Infiltration - Very Light
Major Settlements:
- Hell Pit - Moulder, Horripila, Pestilens
- Scalpel Spire - Horripila, Moulder

Araby
Occupation: Moderate
Infiltration: Moderate
Major Settlements:
- Vulture Mountain - Moulder, Eshin
- Warren of Mirage - Minor Clans

Mountains of Mourne
Occupation: Very Light
Infiltration: Moderate
Major Settlements:
- The Headquarters - Squeakless Snouts
- Light Trading Ring (Adjacencies: Cathay, Dark Lands, Chaos Wastes - Ind unlocked at Moderate)

Border Princes
Occupation: Light
Infiltration: Heavy
- Heavy Trading Ring (Adjacencies: Badlands, World's Edge Mountains, Empire, Tilea)

--
Unoccupied Regions: The following are lands that the skaven have no presence in. Unless otherwise indicated, at least some access to that area is possible currently.

Kislev
Occupation: None
Infiltration: None

Badlands:
Occupation: None
Infiltration: Very Light

Athel Loren
Occupation - None
Infiltration - None

Khuresh Hinterlands
Occupation - None
Infiltration - Light

Chaos Steppes (North of Cathay)
Occupation - None
Infiltration - Light

Nekehara
Occupation - None
Infiltration - None*

Ind
Occupation - None
Infiltration - Very Light

Naagaroth
Occupation - None
Infiltration - None

Ulthuan
Occupation - None
Infiltration - None - No Access

Albion
Occupation - None
Infiltration - None - No Access

Northern Chaos Wastes
Occupation - None
Infiltration - None

Southernmost Continent
Occupation - None
Infiltration - None - No Access

Lustria
Occupation - None
Infiltration - None

 

[Xantalos]

Spoiler: Grey Seers

Tech Focus: The Grey Seers focus their research efforts on the pursuit of ever-greater heights in their destructive magic, the production of fell artifacts composed of pure warpstone, and the study of how the Horned Rat may transfer his servants into the mortal world.

Clan Technology:
- Verminlord - The greater daemons of the Horned Rat, they resemble colossal rodents crowned with grey horns and green runes burning in their skin. They wield a variety of weapons, but most commonly swords that burn the eyes of those who behold them. What appear to be multiple different varieties of Verminlord have been summoned over the years, but this phenomena has never been investigated due to the hazards inherent in summoning them, rendering it somewhat random what 'type' of Verminlord will respond to the summons.
- Screaming Bell - Gigantic brass bells blended with warpstone and arcane secrets during their forging, the intonations from this bell nullify negative morale effects for any skaven who hears it. The bell also acts as a focusing array for any Grey Seer who rides atop it, allowing them to cast spells easier, as well as being able to be used as a tether to summon Verminlords for long periods of time.
- Lore of Ruin - A specialized variant of dark magic wielded solely by Grey Seers, this school of magic focuses primarily on deadly warp-themed elemental attacks, including warpfire and warplightning, and calling forth the divine favor of the Horned Rat, which often takes the form of summoning swarms of rats from nowhere or sending those around the caster into a berserk rabidity. There exists a subset known as the Burning Ruin wielded by a small subset of physically apt Seers. Adapted from exotic fire magics, the Burning Ruin channels destructive energies within the earth and fire through the body of the caster, manifesting as dark, corroding flame and smoke, as well as the ability to manipulate the earth around them.
- Warpstone Equipment - The Grey Seers are capable of composing items from pure warpstone, whether that be amulets, suits of armor, or swords. These often have mutating effects on whatever they're exposed to, and are often supernaturally resilient, or can be used as magical foci.
- Scrolls of Ruin - These artifacts have a single spell from the Lore of Ruin scribed into them, and can be used by a non-magically gifted skaven.
- Broodmother - One of the reasons the Seers hold the amount of influence they do, the Broodmothers are gigantic female skaven, bloated to the size of small houses, birthing new skaven daily that compete for access to its many teats. They are created via a special ritual that only the Grey Seers have the capability to perform, and they charge heftily for the privilege.

Spoiler: Skyre

Tech focus: Clan Skyre produces powerful and destructive magitech, contraptions of metallic death powered by the emerald well of potency that is warpstone.

- Warplock Guns - One of Skyre's principal products is fearsome warpstone-powered guns, known as the Warplock line. There are as many eccentric varieties as there are engineers in the clan, but three of them are what the Clan exports in bulk to the various Warlord clans: Warplock Jezzails, a powerful and long-ranged sniper rifle requiring two skaven to operate. It is rarely seen outside of warlord clans that have close dealings with Skyre. Next is the Warp-Musket, a more conventional rifle able to be wielded by a single skaven, packing a punch at all ranges. Lastly, the Warplock Pistol packs explosive power at close range and is quick to draw and fire.
- In a class of its own is the fearsome Ratling Gun, relatively fresh out of the prototyping process. Still confined mostly to specialist forces due to the complexity of its construction, this beast packs a warpstone engine that uses cast-off steam to spin a collection of gun barrels around at tremendous speed, spitting out a flesh-shredding hail of bullets at unprecedented speeds. This weapon may very well change the shape of warfare.
- Doomwheel - Perhaps the most iconic skaven invention ever created, the doomwheel resembles a circular treadmill filled with a pack of slavering rats. Scampering toward a morsel of food, the rats turn the internal treadmill, powering the warp generator at the heart of the machine, which begins spewing out warp-lightning every which way. It can also crush and impale enemies on the numerous spikes lining its outside rim. Unpredictable, deadly, and explosive.
- Warpfire Thrower - Essentially a flamethrower, only it sprays warpstone napalm. Thanks to research it's become less prone to exploding at random, though it still tends to overheat quickly.
- Warp-Grinder - A device that creates short tunnels within minutes by boring away at the ground with a beam of warpstone-powered energy. The tunnels created are prone to sudden cave-ins, but are still immensely useful on a tactical scale. There is a larger version that can create strategic-scale tunnels, but it is currently too unreliable to be used.
- Warp-Lightning Cannon - One of the most devastatingly powerful weapons in clan Skyre's arsenal, this arcane cannon can unleash a coruscating bolt of emerald lightning powerful enough to melt a castle wall in one shot, or incinerate dozens of unlucky enemies.
- Warp-Blade - Skyre's analogue to the traditional wizard's staff, these techno-arcane devices double as swords and are often bolted directly to a warplock engineer's flesh. When properly activated, they can channel warpstone energy to send a bolt of lightning reeling towards the target.
- Poison-Wind Deployment - The skaven have no empathy for other races that would hinder them from deploying such horrific technologies as this. Within these glass orbs lies a warpstone-infused toxic gas that corrodes any biological material it comes into contact with. The Globadiers that wield them will throw them into thickly-packed crowds of enemies and delight in the resulting choked screams. They themselves wear specialized Gas Masks that filter out the toxic fumes, though common clan-rats are not so lucky. For occasions when a throwing arm isn't enough, the Poison-Wind Mortar can launch larger globes of toxic gas much further distances. This device is now far more reliable and longer-ranged.
- Warp-Energy Accumulator - The warlock-engineers of Skyre often customize their personal weapons to suit their own preferences. With this backpack warp-generator that extracts energy from raw warpstone by slowly breaking it down into its component energies, they can use the excess power to overclock their weapons to ludicrous degrees or continue firing for far longer than they would otherwise have run dry.
- Warplock Optics - In high use by Jezzail teams, these specialized goggles are made from warpstone-infused glass that magnify what the user sees greatly when a small amount of electricity is applied to the glass.
- Blender Carts - Reverse engineered from dawi-zharr wargear, this is a shoddy metal cart with a series of rotating scythe blades attached to the front and sides that rotate as the cart is pushed, driven by gears. Best used by teams of two or more skaven or a rat ogre, they are useful for shredding formations of lightly armored infantry.
- Ratkit Launcher - Inspired by the dawi-zharr bazooka, this rocket launcher is less accurate, has less range, and is more liable to explode when fired than the design of the dark dwarfs. However, it's always present in great numbers and massed volleys of explosive fire are always useful.
- Shratnel Gun - Based off of the Inferno Gun of the dawi zharr, the Shratnel is a portable cannon capable of being carried by three skaven or one rat ogre that fires short-ranged blasts of superhot shrapnel - in essence a gigantic shotgun. The barrel does tend to warp or explode when used excessively.
- Deathflinger Mortar - Developed from the Dreadquake Mortar of the chaos dwarfs, the Deathflinger is a large device that does as the name implies, launching very big shells full of gunpowder very long distances. On occasion the shells detonate early, and the reload speed is generally slow due to common clanrats having to load the heavy shells rather than the expensive automated systems Skyre's richer members employ.
- Warp-Lava Cannon - A blend of the Warpfire Thrower and the Magma Cannon, this device is a cannon that sprays flaming warpstone goo onto whatever unfortunate targets happen to be near it. This is obviously hazardous to the operator as well, but it doesn't malfunction overly much.
- Deathsqueaker Rocket Battery - A complete overhaul of the Doomrocket supplemented by the expertise of Drazhoath Ash-Fur, the Deathsqueaker can launch individual missiles or a barrage of warheads at ground or air targets, though the missiles themselves lack much midair mobility, and they do occasionally crash into each other midair.
- Gnawmulcher Locomotive - A skavenified version of the dawi zharr Iron Daemon, the Gnawmulcher is a brute behemoth of metal that trundles its way across the battlefield, deflecting most attempts to harm it with its thick armor, though it is not quite as high quality as its progenitor. It is slow save for when it can build up momentum, and though it does not need rails, cannot move easily over rough terrain without them. Weapons may be mounted on it and additional storage cars may be hooked up to the primary engine to shuttle supplies.

Spoiler: Eshin

Tech Focus: Rather than focusing on creating external devices of destruction, Eshin hones each of its elite assassins into killing machines of legend. Some even say their capabilities are outright supernatural, and those suspicions may be correct...

- Lore of Stealth - This form of magic is not like most others; instead of being wielded by specialized wizards it is accessible by every Eshin assassin of sufficient seniority, and more comprises supernatural extensions of their already hard-earned stealth rather than extravagant displays of arcane power. It is accessed by training considered difficult and hazardous even by fully graduated assassins. Adepts in the art can cloak themselves in shadow, silence their movements, step from shadow to shadow without moving the intervening distance, and dissolve their kills into black mist, among other things.
- Shadow-Infused Gear - The few smiths of Eshin have created a method that items may be infused with a portion of the liquid shadow the high echelons of assassins wield. Items enchanted in this manner take on various properties from the Lore of Stealth, potentially amplifying already-present abilities.
- Night Runners - The first step on the brutal path to become an Assassin of Eshin, Night Runners are selected from the most talented of the mundane clanrats under Eshin's umbrella. They are organized into cohorts varying in size typically varying from fifty to ten, and most of them will die under the merciless attention of their instructors, on their first missions where they are often used to accomplish the more hazardous portion of their assigned tasks such as testing the defenses of a fortress, or on the battlefield, where they are utilized as skirmishers and for hit-and-fade attacks.
- Gutter Runners - Those Night Runners who survive long enough to merit advancement, Gutter Runners are a step up from their juniors in every aspect, from their combat capability to the hazardousness of their training. They are grouped into cadres that vary in size but are never larger than thirteen and sent on mission after mission, given little to no downtime inbetween and trained until their muscles tear and ligaments snap when they are not. A cadre is often enough to accomplish a mission on its own, and they are hired out to other clans or anyone who can pay their fee. When used in a war setting, they excel at unconventional and asymmetric warfare, sabotaging supplies and ambushing vulnerable personnel. Ironically, the greatest danger to a Gutter Runner is not the gruelling trials imposed by their masters or the hazardous missions they embark upon, but their fellow aspirants. Competition is vicious in the cadres to the point that it is not uncommon for two thirds of the casualties from a particularly harrowing assignment to be from the blades of their fellows. Their masters tacitly approve this, as it winnows out those who cannot be utterly self-reliant and aware of any threat, no matter how unexpected.
- Eshin Assassins - The much-famed and feared hidden knives of the Under-Empire, Assassins are chosen from those Gutter Runners that prove themselves worthy in the eyes of their masters. They are taken to secret places none but the eyes of Eshin have ever seen and taught secret arts of murder and stealth. If they survive, they become a fully-fledged Assassin, capable of breaching the most secure security systems without leaving a single footprint, of becoming one with the shadows around them and killing with a proficiency that goes beyond the boundaries of the physical realm, regarded by the common denizens of skavendom as a race of shadow daemons Eshin has bound to their service. Even this, however, is considered to be only the beginning of their real instruction, and an Assassin becomes only more lethal with age as they hone and refine their deadly craft to a razor's edge.
- Rat-Claws - A metal plate with a leather strap threaded to it that can be tied around a paw, with anywhere from one to five short blades extending out from the plate. Useful for augmenting the already deadly melee attacks of Eshin agents as well as climbing.
- Punch Dagger - Variations of this weapon exist, the most common being one or two piercing and curving blades attached perpendicularly to a handle, allowing it to be used in quick jabbing and slashing motions, hence the name. Like all Eshin weapons, they are often customized to their wielder's preference.
- Tail Blade - Small, light, and perfectly weighted for both throwing and conventional wielding, the tail blades wielded by Eshin are different than the common clanrat's dagger strapped to a tail in that their handles are designed to be held by a tail, a task that takes some getting used to. When properly trained, a skaven wielding a tail blade can become an unpredictable threat in a fight, tailblade darting in at opportune moments in between attacks from more conventional weapons.
- Blowgun - An ancient design, so honed by time that it needed little improvement for the assassins of Eshin. A slender tube in which various poisoned darts can be placed, to ensure kills that are silent but for the slight puff of air leaving the tube. Also useable as an air tube to allow an agent to hide underwater if need be.
- Smoke Bomb - Misdirection is as much of a weapon to Eshin's agents as killing power is, and with these cherry-sized balls that explode into a burst of thick black smoke when they strike a surface at high speed, controlling the vision of a target or ensuring a safe escape is made easier.
- Warpstone Star - These small green weapons, crafted in various shapes but most often a four-pointed star, hence the name, are forged of warpstone-infused steel, rendering their cutting edge impeccably sharp. Used as both a distraction in fullblown combat as well as a throwing weapon to carry out kills from a distance, the stars are possibly the ultimate utility weapon, for their function may be emulated by anything vaguely sharp, such as knitting needles, small plates, coins, or even pencils. They are also often used as improvised caltrops, imbedded in a floor so that whoever treads upon them injures their foot, negating any chance of escape.
- Nets - They're portable nets that unravel when thrown. Eshin agents of all stripes carry them for a wide variety of tasks, from ensnaring foes on the battlefield to rendering a target's home a deathtrap.

Spoiler: Moulder

Tech focus: Moulder became rich by breeding and selling deadly warbeasts to the rest of the Under-Empire, and it continues in this practice to this day, the Master Mutators churning out vile new spawn to rend and tear their enemies.

- Specimens - Moulder may create new varieties of creatures as they please. This is a list of creatures that they may use attributes from to engineer new creations, or unleash on their own should they be judged vicious enough. This is assumed to be in addition to typical creatures, ie lions, goats, horses etc.
- Rats: May stretch the definition of rat somewhat due to extensive experience
- Trolls
- Great Taurus: Lacks inner flame qualities, extremely limited numbers of living specimens
- Dragon Ogres: Lacks toughness + lightning manipulation, possesses electricity resistance, one living specimen
- Giant Wolf
- Geckamund
- Cave Viper
- Warp Bat
- Tregara
- Warpslime
- Bonechewer
- Lantern Worm
- Tunnel Rusher

- Rat-Ogre - The invention that propelled Moulder to prominence, and perhaps the most cost-effective invention in the Under-Empire. Rat-ogres are gigantic musclebound ogre-sized skaven, that lack sophisticated intelligence but are adept enough to follow relatively complex orders. Massively strong and with an inbred loyalty to their Moulder masters, rat-ogres are ubiquitous amongst the Under-Empire, serving as bodyguards, shock troops, grunt workers, and more.
- Hellpit Abomination - The second most distinctive beast produced by Moulder, Hellpit Abominations are a varied bunch. They generally have a torso, at least one head, and at least two limbs. Beyond that, the detail is up to the Fleshsculptor who creates it, and they are often regarded as works of art, or vanity projects. Whatever the Mutator deigns to put on their particular beast, they're universally large and very, very hungry.
- Giant Rats - The staple of those clans who are too poor to purchase rat-ogres in bulk, Giant Rats are what the name sounds like - aggressively bred rats the size of large hounds that hunt in packs. They're vicious, breed rapidly, and best of all are self-managing - if any escape, it's likely they'll die quickly due to their extremely high metabolisms.
- Warbeast Control Gear - Moulder uses a variety of tricks and techniques to control their monsters. Common minions use Shock Prods in great numbers, long metal poles that dispense an intense shock at the pull of a trigger. More senior Moulder officials use Electro-whips, flexible lengths of metallic cord with electric current running through them. These are also often used in battle. To restrain smaller beasts such as the giant rats, Thing-Catchers are utilized - long polearms with tong-like heads at the end lined with spikes on the inside.
- Pain Snail - Bred initially from an organism retrieved from the jungles of fearsome Lustria, this seemingly innocuous organism reveals its sinister purpose when placed upon soft flesh, whereupon it releases an acid that slowly turns flesh to mush so it can feed. The process is excruciating, and the creatures are a favorite of interrogators - almost no captives can withstand more than two of the creatures being applied at a time.
- Wolf Rats - A larger breed of giant rats as large as small horses, and with an appetite to match. They have potential, but are currently kept from full utilization by their uncooperative temperament and limitatingly high metabolism, as well as an unnerving tendency to chew through the bars on their cages when no one is looking. It's suspected by some they're more intelligent than they seem.
- Great Rats - An iteration of rat yet larger than the wolf rat, the Great Rat is the size of a human horse, and thrice as hungry. While not as intelligent as the Wolf Rat, it is constantly in a bad temper, and tends to attack whatever it sees on sight.
- Gilded Skittaur - Rat ogres twisted into centaurish shape, they stand 12 or more feet tall and have the upper body of a rat ogre, with the lower body of what looks like the hybrid of a rat and a horse. They have several twisted pairs of bull horns and their faces are not skaven, but twisted caracitures of a humanoid. Additionally, their flesh seems to be partially metallic somehow, granting them incredible durability to go with their insane bloodlust, which drives whatever intelligence they have away. There is also a Lesser Skittaur variant, which is smaller - 8 feet tall - has less horns, and its flesh is less tough, but is intelligent enough to follow basic orders.
- Mundane Nipponese Creatures - Some of the creatures recovered from Nippon are merely strange creatures that nevertheless obey most biological laws. Bioluminescent herons and sickle-clawed weasels, as well as a species of spherical mice that casts its fur off with explosive force when approached by a predator, are some examples of the odd variety of life found in Nippon.

Spoiler: Pestilens

Tech Focus: Pestilens functions almost like a twisted reflection of the Grey Seers, refining the study of plague and pestilence and their foul sorcery inspired by their alternate interpretation of the Horned Rat.

- Engineered Plagues - Pestilens is capable of breeding relatively short-lived plagues to devastate a target populace. These diseases, bred using partially magical rituals, can have almost any effect imaginable, though more complex effects take more time to create and are more prone to failure. Pestilens relies mostly on these concoctions rather than any specific strains, seeing them as more efficient to create. While it does mean that each plague must be constructed 'to order' and no samples can be kept of particular effects, though approximate recipes may be constructed, memories of the now-maligned Black Plague keep any efforts to concoct permanent strains to a minimum.
- Lore of Pestilence - This unimaginatively named lore of magic is wielded solely by the acolytes of Pestilens, and magically induces the symptoms of various natural and unnatural diseases in various targets. As a caster becomes more proficient, not only do their bodies become host to many of the same plagues they cast, but the number of effects they can call forth increases and the range of targets they can successfully cast upon broadens.
- Plague Furnace - A gigantic disease-ridden war altar with a wrecking ball-sized plague censer swinging back and forth on it. The censer constantly lets out a warpstone-tinged toxic haze that infects the acolytes of Pestilens with bloodlust yet burns the lungs of any other who breathe it. As the altar is brought closer to the front lines, the plague priests swinging the censer increase their pace, and at the peak of its swing, the chains holding the censer back are let loose, allowing it's spiked mass to crash into the middle of an enemy unit. It will continue to emit toxic fumes as it is hauled back into place. A Plague Furnace also allows plague priests that stand upon it to channel the Lore of Pestilence with greater ease.
- Plague-Claw Catapult - Much as the name implies, Plague-Claw Catapults are giant edifices of corroded metal that fling destructive payloads of plague-infested material into enemy lines. Due to Pestilens' lack of mechanical engineering knowledge, the ammunition, often sacks of decaying flesh held together by moldy cloth bags, often come apart in midflight, raining the contents down on Pestilens troops rather than the enemy. This doesn't have many ill effects on their hardy troops, so it hasn't been corrected. Additionally, its effective range is relatively short for a catapult.
- Plague Censers - In some ways the signature weapon of Pestilens, a censer is a hollow spiked ball attached to a handle by a length of chain. Within the ball is placed a shard of warpstone and various ingredients of contagion, which react with each other to create a hissing gas of sheer toxicity that can kill a grown human in moments. Wielded primarily by crazed plague monks at the head of battle formations, the censers are swung back and forth with crazed abandon, casting a pall of disease over the battlefield.
- Scrolls of Pestilence - Much like the Scrolls of Ruin made by the Grey Seers, these dread artifacts contain a spell of plague that can be activated even by those not skilled in the magical arts.
- Basic Clanrat Inoculation - The skaven under the umbrella of Pestilens are exposed to so much disease on a daily basis that they become immune to and often carriers of many varied plagues. Currently this is more of an incidental effect rather than a deliberate effort by the plague priests, and has no other effects other than reducing blowback from all but the most deadly diseases mistakenly escaping into the populace.
- Ork Pox - Helkic Stain's efforts to create a plague to wipe out all orks failed, but she did manage to create a pox that after repeated tests, affects individual orks, mostly bypassing their notorious resistance to most contagions. It creates blood-filled blisters on the skin of the afflicted greenskin, that when punctured ooze blood, only coagulating after several hours. It lasts for about a week before the disease fades.

Spoiler: Mors

Tech Focus: Mors doesn't commit itself wholly to any one approach, instead eagerly taking useful ideas from anywhere they are encountered. While this lack of specialization does mean the clan is not as effective in specific areas as other clans, their adaptability and focus on the use of combined arms still renders them a formidable threat.

- Gear of the Four - While lacking the knowledge to construct many of the more advanced devices and doctrines the four Great Clans use, Mors does possess some of their more basic gear in large quantities, and has the capability to produce them, though of lesser quality and quantity than their parent clans. These include the Warplock Guns - though not the Ratling Gun - with the ability to produce the Warp-Musket and Warplock Pistol in limited quantities, the Tail Blades and Punch Daggers of Eshin, breeding populations of Giant Rats, and a few rare samples of Plague Censers, which are rarely used due to the risk of widespread contagion. Other technologies are in use in Mors' armies including Rat-Ogres, but they are not reproduceable by the clan, and must be purchased from their respective producers.
- Weeping Blades - These are specially reinforced swords coated with a venom harvested from a vicious species of creature Mors captured in the underway in its early years. Blades coated with the venom inevitably degrade, but are able to cut through metal with a hiss.
- Rudimentary Runic Gear - Mors is a clan that even for the skaven has warred long and hard against the dwarfs. Inspired by the fearsome quality of the runic equipment the dawi occasionally deploy, Arch-Despot Gnawdell has in recent years directed her smiths to attempt to replicate the effects of them. So far no tangible results have been recorded, the most successful result being a sword that got midway through a rudimentary inscribing process of a single rune before exploding, killing all present.
- Stormvermin Program - Mors is distinct among warlord clans for the sheer number of stormvermin it produces. This is in large part due to a specialized eugenics program Gnawdell enacted after she rose to head of the clan, ensuring that the strong breed with the strong. While not nearly as quick as the Broodmothers, the program ensures that a sizeable percentage of Mors' population is ferocious black-furred stormvermin. They are equipped in higher-quality gear than the common clanrat, but at present have no different training regimen save for being able to access more food due to their naturally increased bulk.

Spoiler: Unified Skaven Army

Tech Focus: The Army puts all its efforts toward enhancing the potency of its military forces, whether that may be by researching new weapons or thinking up ingenious new doctrines.

- Enhanced Military Logistics - The Army has devised a number of policies that enable its supply trains to be much shorter than other skaven armies, enabling quicker strategic movement speed and longer intervals between resupplying.
- Boot Camp - So named for the polished black boots the drill instructors wear, boot camp is a specialized training course all USA personnel take. The sadistic sergeants ensure each skaven has basic competency in all weapons the Army utilizes, marksmanship high enough to compete with most Imperial gunners, and training in a quick and dirty fighting style designed to quickly take down opponents of equivalent size or smaller, as well as an ingrained fastidiousness and punctuality. The basis of USA's infamous loyalty is implanted here, for to endure the training the drill instructors put them through, the cadets must learn to rely on one another - anything else will lead them to fail.
- Officer's Academy - Much like boot camp, the officer's academy is an institution any skaven who leads others in the USA must attend. Here, depending on their position, they are drilled in everything from squad tactics to commanding a fullblown battlefield. They learn to effectively command all types of forces to complement one another, and are instructed in the tactics of enemies of the Under-Empire. The Academy trains everything from generals to squad leaders, and thanks to the core curriculum developed by Sleek Sharpwit, its progress has been standardized and streamlined.
- Specialist Forces - Some of the weapons wielded by the USA are so potent and complicated as to make their operation prohibitively expensive for every trooper to learn. To that end, specialist forces trained in their use have been constructed, to ensure that every weapon utilized by the Army can be used at peak efficiency.
- Every Weapon - The USA possesses every weapon the Under-Empire has in its ranks that aren't secret projects. While they don't have the capability to costruct a lot of them on their own, such as the Doomwheel, Warp-Lightning Cannon, or Rat-Ogre, they have large numbers of them and are proficient in the use of all of them.

Spoiler: Royal Skaven Navy

Tech Focus: Admiral Cap'n Vrisk Ironscratch's particular brand of madness seems to be infectious, as the Royal Skaven Navy's (so named despite the distinct lack of a monarchy) efforts are single-mindedly focused on ships and how to operate, construct, and crew them.

- Sea Rat - The Navy has a plethora of captured ships from other nations in storage, including Tilean and Arabyan pirates, Imperial galleys, and Cathayan junks. What they lack currently is the capacity to make any of these - instead the current mainstay of the Navy is a rickety ship class called the Sea Rat, a rather substandard affair that has decent maneuverability and better construction than ork vessels, but still sinks rather easily and doesn't offer much in the way of firepower, relying on 'board and sword' tactics. It can be produced rather easily as it is now, though.
- Nautical Navigation - Something that Vrisk inexplicably knows is how to navigate the seas using astronomical constants like the stars and Mannslieb. Most Navy crewrats are able to use this as well, ensuring they don't get lost on long voyages.
- Whaling Harpoons - No one knows where Cap'n Ironscratch got the idea for this, but it's speculated to have something to do with his missing eye and left foot, which he's replaced with a sharp peg. These cruel devices are a long length of metal with a cruel spike on the end, barbed to effectively gut any sea creature they strike. They're often used to kill whales and later sell the carcasses, helping to sustain the Navy amidst it's total lack of interest in managing its finances.
- Murines - What every Navy whelp wants to be when they grow up, the Murines are an elite group operating under the Admiral Cap'n's direct approval, trained harshly in the arts of piracy and stealth. They are expert boarders and counterboarders, can swim up drainpipes to assassinate the guards of a garrison, and also perform a perfectly coordinated theatrical song and dance routine at the drop of a hat.

Spoiler: Warpfang Bank

Tech Focus: The Warpfang Bank has one singular goal, to make a profit. Anything else falls by the wayside to them.

- Masterful Finance Manipulation - The source of the Bank's power over even the common clanrat, their financial officers have a dizzying repertoire of financial tricks and traps at their disposal, ready to ensnare an unwitting customer in unending layers of 'investment portfolios' and 'fiscal donations' and 'technical extortion'. The jargon used is so intricate as to almost be a language unto itself, and their effectiveness is legendary, capable of keeping even the most responsible skaven in debt for life, and seemingly generating money out of thin air at will. The Bank's lack of hesitance in editing their records if need be also ensures they can create debt where none previously existed.
- Collections Officers - Uttered with the same reverence as the phrase 'Eshin assassins', the Collections Officers of the Bank are decked out in the most elite gear the Under-Empire has to offer. Big, tough, exceedingly cruel, and punctual in the extreme, the Collections Officers are the primary means by which the Bank ensures its debts get repaid, and a handy fear of accruing too much debt in their clients.
- Basic Linguistic Nuance - The Warpfang Bank's brokers are exceedingly articulate for skaven. They've done business with near everyone under the sun, and though lacking any formalized training in diplomatic matters, have sufficient instincts to avoid offending anyone too badly.
- Debt Leverage - The Warpfang Bank enjoys significant leverage over those it has in its grasp, and not even the Great Clans are wholly immune from this. The Bank may use forces from the following clans in its operations without the clan itself actually being involved: Skyre, Moulder, Pestilens, Mors, USA, Horripila, Squeakless Snouts. They may pick which clan's forces to involve, and may pick multiple if they wish.
- The Glass Bowl - The only remains of the once great city of Zharr-Naggrund, this miles-wide streak of glass is suffused with an enormous amount of magical energy that is beginning to condense. In 3 turns, it will be the largest deposit of warpstone anyone knows of barring Morrsleib.

Spoiler: Rictus

Tech Focus: Ever since their eviction from Cripple Peak, Rictus has been focused near-entirely on acquiring the abilities displayed by the necromancers, as well as learning how to fight their creatures.

- Basic Necromancy - The Bonetails of Rictus have finally cracked the secret to raising the dead in the style of Nagash! Currently their knowledge is limited to raising the most basic Zombies and Skeletons in small numbers, but their mastery of the dread art will only increase!
- Undead Archive - Rictus has collected a prolific well of knowledge on most types of undead minions raise-able by the necromancers, and effective tactics for combating them, though they remain ignorant of the inner mechanics of a few of them, such as vampires.

Spoiler: Horripila

Tech Focus: Horripila differentiates itself from Moulder by focusing on advancing the capabilities of skaven without crossbreeding them with other creatures. The medics of the clan are always busy...

- Skalm - Skalm is a substance in use throughout the highest echelons of skaven society. Harvested from unborn fetuses inside Broodmothers, this clear paste extends the life of skaven who ingest it, though not beyond normal limits. It instead seems to drastically reduce the effect of old age upon a skaven, making various wasting diseases and brittle bones less of an issue. Horripila rose to the status it is currently at by cornering the market on producing it.
- Skavenbrew - Produced from distilled musks, skavenbrew is a potion capable of inducing various emotional states on skaven. Currently only the Fear variety is mass-producible, making enemies of Horripila hesitant to face them in open battle, but other variants are being researched.
- Basic Magnified Studies - At the insistence of Surgeon-General Morbag, studies have been made to construct high-powered magnifying lenses, to attempt to observe tiny organisms Morbag theorizes exist that he calls 'boktarya'. So far no success has been had, as the necessary magnification is not great enough.
- Hygiene - Pursuant to his theory of boktarya existing, Morbag has drawn up a rudimentary set of practices to ensure things remain uncontaminated when various surgical operations and such are being performed. He claims it would have additional benefits if disseminated to the larger population, but it is unclear if this is true. After field testing in the Dark Lands, the program has proven to have benefits, and Morbag has eagerly expanded it with the practical knowledge he now has. The program is followed more or less in any settlement that has Horripila present.
- Corpse Stitching - Horripila commonly stitches extra limbs onto their warriors, but as of late some projects have been made involving stitching entirely new creatures together out of skaven corpses. It's unclear if they'll be able to obtain any means of getting the resultant abominations animated, however.

Spoiler: Squeakless Snouts

Tech Focus: Lord Thugclaw made his split from the Warpfang Bank because he sensed opportunity - just as the Bank was formed by the most successful financial institution absorbing all the others, Thugclaw recognizes that the skaven criminal underground is currently almost entirely underground and unregulated, and hopes to replicate his parent organization's success.

- Enhanced Coercive Techniques - Each and every member of the Squeakless Snouts is very, very adept at getting information out of others. Their methods range from verbal to the physical, and even psychological, have a very high success rate at extracting accurate information from their subjects, and the ubiquity of them throughout the organization has the handy effect of discouraging treachery against the organization as a whole.

- Squeakish - Queekish is the language most skaven speak, but Squeakish is a variant that Lord Thugclaw invented himself that is near-impossible to decipher for those who don't understand it. Members of his organization use it to discuss sensitive topics in the presence of unwanted ears, and guard it almost as fiercely as the dwarfs do Khazalid.

- Clandestine Distribution - The Squeakless Snouts are not like most other skaven organizations, which sometimes resemble a monstrously complex and self-sabotaging family of sorts. Instead the Snouts are distributed into cells that are then assigned to a particular task or area. Members of a cell will only ever interact with or know the members of that cell, to preserve informational security. This cuts down on opportunistic backstabbing, as there are no ranks to climb save for Thugclaw at clan head, and also drastically reduces the damage that one possible snitch could do, since they would only know of their own cell's activities. They are maintained by Thugclaw's management, and are sent new members from the clan's Broodmothers as needed.

- Impounded Gadgets - The Collections Officers that founded the SS collected quite a lot of technology from virtually every clan in existence over the course of their duties, and they continue this practice under the guise of legitimacy. They may make use of most technologies, if not manufacture them themselves, barring those that their native clans take pains to keep to themselves.

- Trading Rings - An extension of the distributed cell system the SS runs on, a Trading Ring is effectively a group of Snouts 'traders' that has infiltrated someplace, most often via the criminal networks present in the area. They establish channels into and out of the region, allowing them to smuggle things into and out of the area, including unique technologies. They operate on the same None -> Total scale as regular infiltration does, but have several additional features:
- It costs less to establish a Trading Ring in a region that has one adjacent to it. Ex. If you have a Ring in Tilea it will cost less to establish one in Bretonnia.
- They give information on adjacent regions, though the information quality is two ranks lower than the size of the Ring - a Heavy will give Light information on adjacent regions, for example. This may be adjusted if the regions house entities that are universally hostile towards Skaven, or some other mitigating factor. It may also be adjusted upwards if subversive elements of some sort are present in said adjacent regions.
These are the Trading Rings currently in existence:
Cathay, Light
Mountains of Mourn, Light
Tilea, Very Heavy
Border Princes, Heavy

Spoiler: Superweapons

Superweapons are what set the Skaven apart from and above all other races - by pouring resources into a singular project, they can create weapons of fearsome power. The most famous example is of course the Fellblade, and the hordes of skavendom are filled with mad scientists eager to be the one to create the next legendary artifact.

- The Infinite Warren - The Horned Rat's daemonic lair, transplanted in a tiny fraction to the underground tunnels of Norsca. Guarantees that any attack on skaven-held territory in Norsca barring major hero unit actions will fail, but also inflicts significant casualties on any forces sent to Norsca. This may be corrected if the correct research projects are taken.

Spoiler: Collaborative Techs

These are technologies only possible to manufacture by the cooperation of two or more clans. This understandably limits their numbers.

- Warp Bombs - These dread devices function by puncturing the veil of reality at the point of detonation, opening up a localized warp rift that often sucks in anything around it before vanishing. Occasionally they manifest more sinister effects. The Brass Orb is a variant used by Skyre, while Infernal Bombs are used by Eshin on vitally important missions. (Grey Seers/Various)
- Drillfiend - A fearsome cyborg variation of a Hellpit Abomination, with a warp-grinder drill in place of a head, metal troop transport pods contained within it, and a booster rocket replacing its back end. Possessed of a ravenous hunger, these beasts scrabble through the earth with the assistance of whirring treads bolted into their flesh and dozens of arms possessing fanged maws in the palms. While they will eat skaven meat without hesitation if they're hungry enough, they're still extraordinarily effective troop transports, instrumental in the fall of Zharr-Naggrund. (Skyre/Moulder)
- Shadowrunner - Inspired by the formerly-unique case of Veskit, the Shadowrunners are an attempt by clans Eshin and Skyre to create what amounts to a fire-and-forget assassin. Created by taking an already skilled Eshin acolyte - from volunteers who wish to gain an edge over their kin, 'volunteers' who failed their missions and came back alive, to any random crippled skaven the project heads could find, deemed volunteers by virtue of not being able to escape the testing chambers - and replacing most of their bodies with cybernetic equivalents - bones with steel, the heart with a warpstone pump, blood with a warpstone-infused substitute, claws with extendable metallic variants, and multiple extra limbs mounting various weapons. Kept in stasis by the magic of the warlock-engineers until designated a target, the only organic parts left in a shadow-runner are the brain, nervous system, and various other glands and organs required to produce combat hormones. These are pumped full of adrenaline, the Battle Musk, and a concentrated version of the hormone that triggers the Black Hunger through sub-dermal implants, sending the Shadowrunner into an unstoppable killing frenzy. Meant to be deployed on packed battlefields and other environments where collateral damage is no concern, the Shadowrunner is wheeled out and let out of its various restraints, immediately beginning a catastrophic blender of death towards the enemy target, and everything near it. A powerful weapon, it is currently rendered near-unuseable by several issues.
-Firstly, the cybernetic parts have a high rate of rejection and infection, and average lifespan and performance of test subjects is abysmally low, even accounting for the majority of their time spent under stasis.
-Second, the process by which the target is implanted into their brains does not always succeed, and occasionally the Shadowrunner will go berserk and begin slaughtering members of its own force - often when it sees a skaven they knew before the process.
-Thirdly, and least severely, the cybernetic parts of the Shadowrunner, though constructed with quality in mind, often cannot stand up to the sheer stresses the assassin puts on them, and breakage is a common occurrence. Often it doesn't impair the assassin overly much, who will happily bludgeon their target to death with the stumps of their arms if required, but if they held together better they would no doubt perform better in the high-risk situations they are designed for. (Eshin/Skyre)
- Great Pox Rat - A temperamental beast engineered by Moulder and Pestilens after the second civil war came to a close, the Great Pox Rat is a bloated rat the size of a horse that serves as a combat mount for many wealthy warlords. It constantly drools, and its mouth is filled with diseases uncounted. These plagues also give the useful effect of dulling the beast's mind enough to be safely ridden. (Moulder/Pestilens)

Spoiler: Average Warlord Clan Equipment

This is a list of what an average warlord clan unaffiliated with any of the major clans in the Under-Empire will equip its forces with. It serves as a handy measure of what your technology baseline is.
- Common Clanrat - Essentially nothing. Some of them might be able to scavenge a sharp stick of metal or something. Used as chaff.
- Clan Warriors - The main military force of a clan, they will each have at least a hand weapon, though not of a particularly high quality. Some of them will have rudimentary armor scavenged from others, and a richer clan might be able to supply a few of them with shields.
- Stormvermin - These are the cream of the crop as far as a warlord clan goes, and each of them generally has a suit of armor and a hand weapon of fair quality. Shields are not uncommon, as are greatweapons.
- Warlord - The head of the clan, he or she has the best the clan has - mismatched steel armor, a fine hand weapon, perhaps a shield if they prefer. They generally have a large amount of spare knives stashed all over their person.

Spoiler: Exploitable Assets

Unique technologies obtained from other races, available for research by any clan, though certain clans will experience more success with some projects than others. When successfully researched, the topic will be added to the appropriate clan tab.

- Daemonbinding - The libraries of the chaos dwarfs contained much on the subject of binding the denizens of the warp into war machines. Drazhoath Ash-Fur has a great deal of expertise on this subject, and could assist in teaching it to others.
- Taurus Mutation Tree (Bull Centaur, Great Taurus, Lammasu) - The unique mutations displayed by the various bull-like creatures of the dawi-zharr are well noted for their strength and fiery powers. Drazhoath Ash-Fur knows much of how these creatures are made, and could help immensely in unlocking the secret to their creation. This technology is partially researched, and requires 1 additional Authority and the Scripture of Hashut tech to be fully unlocked.
- Chaos Dwarf War Machines - The war machines deployed by the dawi-zharr were amongst the finest in the world in both firepower and reliability. Drazhoath Ash-Fur is skilled in the operation, maintenance, and construction of these devices. He could speed up research substantially if assigned to it. This technology is partially researched, and requires 2 additional Authority and the Daemonbinding tech to fully unlock. Additionally, Chaos Dwarf Wargear must be unlocked, or failing that, one additional Authority must be invested, to unlock the quality bonuses the dawi-zharr possessed.
- The Labyrinth Beneath Uzkulak - Unknown things dwell in the darkness beneath Uzkulak. Perhaps they are capable of being utilized for the Under-Empire?
- The Tear Beneath the Daemon's Stump - Underneath the citadel named the Daemon's Stump is that rarest of things, a stable warp rift. Situated behind many layers of defenses, the danger it offers is second only to the dark treasures that might be recovered from it.
- The Port of Ruin - Situated by the sea at the mouth of the River Ruin is a hidden port where the dawi-zharr constructed dark mockeries of their western kin's ironclads, as well as other, more advanced designs. Now they're all for the taking. Vrisk Ironscratch has focused his attention, unsurprisingly, on these. He now captains one of the mighty vessels, with a conveniently-unnamed subordinate commanding a second, and has an estimate of how many resources it would take to fully unlock the potential of the designs: 3 Authority, or 2 if he is assigned to it. This likely has synergy benefits if other chaos dwarf techs are researched.
- Lore of Azgorh - Magic that wields both fire and earth through the bodies of its casters, this magic requires great personal constitution to cast but has great utility both in combat and other activities such as forging and construction. This magic is currently only wielded by the Underlord and some of the Grey Seers, but tomes still exist detailing its usage. It will spread to other sects of mages given time.
- Scripture of Hashut - Informally exiled from Zharr-Naggrund he may have been, but Drazhoath was still a sorcerer-prophet of the dawi zharr. He retains knowledge of virtually all of the rituals his people formerly used to invoke Hashut. Perhaps they could be turned to some use? This technology cannot be researched if Drazhoath is not assigned to it.
- Chaos Dwarf Wargear - Drazhoath Ash-Fur and his Infurnal Legion still possess the mastercrafted armor and weapons they owned as dawi zharr. If the secrets of their making could be spread to the rest of skavendom, the benefits would be enormous. Drazhoath is skilled in the forging of much of this, and would speed up research progress if he were assigned to researching it.
- The Black Fortress Lammasu - The Lammasu in the Black Fortress, the only-known living specimen of its kind, has learned the language of its skaven captors and is requesting to communicate with someone 'worthy' of it. Perhaps this could yield dividends?
- Yasei no Majo - In accordance with their deal with Eshin, the shoguns of Nippon have sent a gathering of woods witches to you in order to teach their magic, which primarily focuses on shapeshifting into and controlling the exotic creatures found on Nippon, various assorted curses and blessings, and some useful magical potions. This project requires 2 Authority to research, which is reduced to 1 if an appropriate hero unit is assigned. The project is made free if Thanquol is assigned on top of this.
- Supirittosheipā - A group of the reclusive spellsmiths has been sent to you by Nippon in accordance with their deal with Eshin. The spellsmiths, who wear concealing masks resembling daemonic faces and billowing robes that hide their bodies, are contracted to teach your skaven their art of infusing objects they create with one's own essence, or that of a spirit if it is willing. This project requires 2 Authority to research, which is reduced to 1 if an appropriate hero unit is assigned. The project is made free if Thanquol is assigned on top of this.
- Cold Ones - This hostile breed of lizard, captured in the Dragon Isles, secretes a venom from its skin that numbs all sensation and retards motor function on contact. Hunting in packs and standing taller than a manthing, they are deadly hunters, fast breeders, and are extraordinarily uncooperative.
- Razordons - Captured in small numbers in the jungles of the Dragon Isles, these ornery beasts have the bizarre but deadly ability to shoot out rows of spikes at deadly velocities.
- Self-Propelled Blender Carts - A side project that Ikit Claw began during his research of chaos dwarf weaponry but set aside due to time constraints, these are intended to be Blender Carts that can be 'wound up' to then propel themselves via gears a fairly long distance. Any hero unit may research this, though Ikit would obviously work best. It will cost 1 Authority to finalize the project on its own, or it may be bundled into the continuing research of Chaos Dwarf Wargear at the tradeoff of reduced customization/enhancement.
- Dragon Ogre Remains - The corpses of many dragon ogres were recovered in varying conditions from the operation in the Black Mountains. Perhaps studying them might reveal something of use? Research by Fleshmaster Stitch has raised the possibility that they may be able to be revived with sufficient amounts of electricity.
- Dragon Ogre Captives - Nearly all attempts to capture a live dragon ogre failed, and many that were successfully captured later broke out of their restraints and had to be killed lest they escape. As a result, there were only two live captives: one in relatively good condition, and one wounded so severely that it lies near death. The healthy one was recently killed in an escape attempt, and the injured specimen was subsequently healed to the point where it is not near death.
- Dragon Ogre Flesh Stockpile - During his experiments, Fleshmaster Stitch managed to build up a stockpile of miscellaneous dragon ogre flesh by harvesting small samples and bathing them in electricity. Perhaps they could be of some use?

The categorizations of Nipponese creatures below may be researched at a 2-for-1 Authority rate unless otherwise stated. The action of a suitable hero unit will also suffice for one. Verminkin may research 2 categories at once unless otherwise stated.

- Living Objects - A collection of Nipponese objects - teapots, swords, boots, it seems random - which seem to have become living creatures, complete with organs and circulatory systems adapted for each of their particular shapes. Their respective functions are not impaired by their alive status, and indeed they seem to be more useful than mundane items - some even possess the ability to think and speak. It's unknown how this happens, however.
- Chimeric Creatures - A wide array of Nipponese creatures that seem to be comprised of the features of many normal animals stuck together. They don't seem to be negatively affected by their oddly-placed features, and behave as normal animals do. It is unclear how hybridization of this degree occurred, and how it might be induced in other creatures.
- Mutated Humans - Some of the Nipponese creatures were otherwise normal humans that seem to have been altered in two ways: they have lost the capacity for most higher thought, and they always have some extremely divergent feature on their bodies. Some examples have been a preposterously extendable neck, extraordinarily long fingers, eyes that expand in size when their face is observed, and the ability to grow upon observation. They don't seem to be pledged to Chaos like most humans, and it is unclear if they reproduce or it is the result of mutation.
- Human Hybrid Variants - These differ from the humanoid mutants in that they are instead animals with the features of humans. Crabs with working human faces on their shells, bipedal creatures with the top halves of horses and the bottom halves of humans, cows with human heads, and tigers with human arms for limbs all occupy this category, among others. It's unclear if they are simply very mutated humans or actually self-propagating species somehow.
- Magical Creatures - These are creatures that possess some form of innate magic of sorts. The many-tailed foxes weave illusions and drink emotion, troupes of age-like creatures read minds and repeat the thoughts they see faster than they can be made, capricious humanoid reptilian creatures that can control water, animals that seem to be innate reservoirs and generators of certain kinds of magic, and other strange feats. They all seem to be intelligent as well, growing more powerful and clever with age. Unlocking their secrets costs 3 Authority. The assignment of either Thanquol or Verminkin will reduce this requirement by one. Verminkin may not research this alongside another category due to its complexity.
- Apparitions - These beings are a strange in-between of spirit and mundane, being creatures that manifest in otherwise biologically impossible forms in odd and specific circumstances. Some examples are of a whale skeleton that swims around in a certain area off the east coast of Nippon, a human skull that doubles itself once every few minutes when inside a castle, and a disembodied horse leg that dangles from trees and kicks at whatever passes near. They aren't daemonic, but neither are they wholly material, as they manifest again shortly after being destroyed. It is unclear how, or even if they are created. Investigating this fully costs 2 Authority, with Verminkin's supervision reducing it by 1. A suitable hero unit may reduce the cost further. Verminkin may not research this alongside another category due to its complexity.

- Estalian Warships - Looted from Myrmidia's navy in a daring series of heists, these 17 ships have vastly improved designs over the Sea Rat, and perform better in every way. Requires 1 Authority, or free if Vrisk Ironscratch is assigned.
- Estalian Steel - The steel used by the manthings of Estalia is famed for its lighter weight and superior structural integrity compared to the metal used by other human nations. Now the tools for puzzling out its making have fallen into skaven hands. Requires 1 Authority or the assignment of an appropriate hero unit.

 

[Xantalos]

Official Omake Policy:

I'd like to avoid the common trend in omakes where they're pumped out purely to benefit the performance of the player faction. As such, while you're free and encouraged to write omakes that happen to grant incidental benefits - detailing a technology you could research in the future, for instance - omakes that grant direct bonuses to the skaven... well, I'll still accept them, since fanwork is flattering in and of itself, but it won't do anything to affect the actual game, and probably won't be labeled canon. You can find omakes in the sidestories threadmark category, with the author and whether it's canon - keep in mind something can still be semicanon if it's not labeled - denoted in the individual threadmark.

Xantalos Tip For Guaranteeing Canonicity:

I know for a lot of you guys that seeing your omakes labeled canon makes the effort more rewarding to you. So I'll give you a fairly guaranteed way to make that happen: consult me. Seriously, I don't mind - if you have an idea for an omake or whatever and want to make sure it ends up canon, PM me with whatever idea you have and we'll hash it out so it stays within your vision and fits within the 'verse. My (metaphorical) door is always open.

This offer especially applies if you want to write stories about the things happening to the other factions in the background - if I could, I'd write about them, but I don't have the time, so I'd be very eager to help you write about those.

 

[Xantalos]

Deep in the twisting tunnels of the greatest empire ever to scurry across the surface of the planet there is a city unlike any other. In the center of the marshes just north of the manthing place called Tilea stands the birthplace of that most magnificent of species, sleek-furred, sharp-fanged, voracious and ambitious – the Skaven! And what a city it is, wondrous Skavenblight. It is a warren of nightmarish proportions, labyrinthine in construction and filled with so many unexpected ups and downs and hidden pockets filled with beady-eyed rats that any other race would be unable to even comprehend it! But the Skaven are not befuddled by its streets packed to the brim with other ratmen. Instead they thrive in the choked air and warpstone miasma that pervades the place. And in thriving they scheme and plot to rise higher in their intricate social hierarchy, for no Skaven is ever satisfied with their current spot in the pecking order.

Indeed ambition is the byword for the Skaven mindset, and no other position is looked upon with more awe, envy, and fear than the dreaded Council of Thirteen. This foreboding organization is the head of Skaven civilization, comprised of the twelve mightiest warlords and packleaders in all of the Under-Empire. And though none of the teeming throng within the horrific confines of Skavenblight know, the Council convenes this day, and it will be the last time in the world that was.

Their meeting place is not in a place one would expect for the ratmen. Their behaviour calls to mind images of a black obsidian chamber filled with scuttling obsequious servants and spikes of warpstone everywhere, living furniture from the stocks of clan Moulder, buzzing machinery from clan Skyre, the dread plague cauldrons of Pestilens, and the unseen vigilance of Eshin. Instead it is deceptively simple – a large chamber made plainly out of stone, a round table made out of some black material in the dead center. Around it sit thirteen ornate chairs – thrones is more of an accurate description of some of them – with one left empty.

The room is dimly lit, illuminated by the malevolent green glow of a colossal pillar of warpstone at the back of the chamber, casting strange exaggerated shadows across the room as its glow fluctuates and flickers across the etchings stretching all across its surface. Various servants and assistants stand at the very edges, scuttling into the shadows whenever the light glances onto them. Only the figures at the center stay illuminated, the warpstone giving their furred snouts a menacing glare.

"Speak your cause for calling Council so suddenly, Kritislik," snarled Lord Morskittar, the Lord-Warlock of Clan Skyre. "I have many-many projects that cannot be delayed for long, so speak-speak your drivel."

His opposite, Seerlord Kritislik of the Grey Seers, bared his teeth in response. "I would rather have you cease your fool-foolishness, Morskittar. We both know that it was you who called Council, and not I."

Morskittar twitched his snout in distaste and snapped his fingers. At the sound, an attendant scurried up, head bowed, and handed a compact paw-sized device with several buttons and a trumpet-shaped extension on it to the Lord-Warlock. Morskittar depressed one such button and a hiss of static rushed out, quickly dissipating to reveal Kritislik's voice speaking. "All Lords of Decay for an emergency meeting of the Council of Thirteen. Code Packrat Run-Run." The Lord-Warlock sniffed in triumph. "Where is your skaven-eradicating threat, oh perceptive Grey Seer?"

Kristslik drew in breath for a reply, but was interrupted by Lord Sneek of clan Eshin. "The Grey Seers sent no such message, Morskittar. Your gutter-runners have deaf-deaf ears. I was called here by Lord Skrisnik to discuss payment of big-big debts clan Mors owes the Warpfang Bank. Forced payment if need be."

Both the lord of clan Mors and the Arch-Economist of the Warpfang Bank, the primary skaven financial organization, squeaked in outrage. "I most certainly did not arrange this meeting, oh quiet-quiet Sneek," cried Skrisnik. "Our own lord Paskrit was the one who called council, to attend to military budgeting."

Close to him, Arch-Despot Gnawdell, the warlord of Clan Mors, puffed up her fur in indignation. "I would not utter such things when your clan is back-back on its payments, Sneek. It was your more warpstone-hungry brothers Moulder who called this council."

This went on for some time. The Warlord-General accused Nurglitch of Pestilens, Verminkin of Moulder named Kratch Doomclaw. Nurglitch blamed both Skyre and Mors, to which a counterblame was laid upon Pestilens and the Warpfang Bank, while Kritislik cast his suspicions upon Eshin. Vrisk Ironscratch, Fleetmaster of the paltry navy the Skaven possessed, claimed that he was the one who had done it, which was soundly rejected as he was both illiterate and insane in favor of blaming one of the two lords who's names are never quite remembered, who in turn cast the spotlight upon Kritislik yet again. Vrisk blamed the pirates.

This bevy of paranoia and blame was abruptly interrupted as a resounding creaking echoed through the chamber. All the Council turned in unison to look at the source of the noise, which had come from beyond the head of the table where a single seat was left empty.

Filthy claws the size of forearms clacked against the stone as their bearer walked forward. A noxious aura preceded its passing, and whatever servants that had not had the foresight to vacate the room dropped dead from the sheer malevolence emanating from the creature. There was a collective intake of breath as it came into the light of the warpstone pillar to reveal a furred snout, with ash-grey fur and blazing green eyes. Great horns curled magnificently on top of its head, and it clutched a dreadful sword that stung the eye to gaze upon. Tall, lanky, and sinewy, it stood a good five times higher than any skaven in the room.

Skreech Verminking, instrument and architect of the Horned Rat's will.

The daemon spoke softly, but its words burned themselves into the mind of all those present. "I am almost disappointed in how easy it was to drive the mighty Council of Thirteen to backbiting and snoutgnawing. It was I who arranged this council, yes-yes."

Leaning over – but not quite touching – the Horned Rat's chair and planting its massive forearms on the table, Skreech continued: "I have been brought into this den of inequity by the will of our lord the Horned Rat to deliver an irrevocable task to you fool-fools. Soon a storm will come to the world, a storm of big-big-big proportions, brought on by manthings and elfthings and dwarfthings and spikethings all at once! It will surely topple the weakling empires above the ground. But our lord is not content with that, no-no,", Verminking exhorted, slowly walking behind each council member in turn before arriving back at the head of the table.

"Only once-once before have the Skaven master race been truly united in purpose, and the instant that happened the doom of one of the greatest threats to the world was assured. Now our lord and master wills-wills this to happen again! You shall unify, and sweep aside the blind-blind twolegs which walk the surface above. Raze their fortresses! Enslave their spawn! Steal-steal their riches! The Under-Empire shall become the only empire to walk the face of the world! And then…" , the Verminlord's eyes glittered like vile emeralds, "Beyond."

In the labyrinthine archives of all Skaven librarians it is written that upon the beginning of the crusade to wipe the lesser races off the face of the world, Skreech Verminking, mightiest of all Verminlords, chose an agent to more fully channel the will of the Horned Rat. This overlord would command all skaven forces until the crusade's completion, and doubtless enjoy the favor of the Horned Rat if they served well.

Who did he choose?

[ ] Skyre

Seated directly to the left of the Horned Rat's chair, Skyre is one of the, if not the, most powerful clans of the skaven. Rich in warpstone and making extensive use of exotic and powerful war machines, is it any surprise that they were chosen to lead their race to victory?

Spoiler: Traits

Advantages:
-Skyre is a clan focused on the mechanical. Not only is the manufacture and production of guns, war machines, and other nefarious devices easier for them, research into better ways to construct these and other, more exotic, devices, goes quicker and with less casualties. Whether warpstone jezzails or gigantic doom lasers, Skyre is the best at providing.
-Skyre is very good at obtaining the warpstone to power its guns. It is very rich. (Income ++)
-Skyre is also proficient at obtaining good ideas from their foes – the looting of enemy war machines is common, and may even lead to reverse engineering.
-The Arch-Warlock of Skyre, Lord Morskittar shall lead this faction. Possessed of an unlikely amount of guns on his person, an astonishingly brilliant mind, and the competence you would expect of a skaven warlord in all other areas, he is truly the best option to lead his race! The rumors that he worships himself and not the Horned Rat are of course vile slander, false in every way.
-Overall, Clan Skyre is the clan most focused on the advancement of science and technology among the Skaven, and their approach to life reflects that. (Big bonus to all Learning rolls)

Downsides:
-The sacred cabal of the Grey Seers are fearful of your possible heresy contemptuous of your arrogance jealous of the great wealth of knowledge you possess. It will be difficult to proceed as naturally in brainwashing the masses utilizing the faith of the Horned Rat as it would be otherwise – research into the daemons of your god will be slower and more prone to failure, and worse, the Seers may meddle in your affairs without prior permission.
-Your fellow Great Clan Moulder is envious of you elevated position – they will doubtless withhold vital information about the finer arts of breeding their warbeasts, and may refuse your orders entirely if irked too much.
-Pestilens has always been wary of your prospective studies into hygiene. No doubt your research into weaponized diseases will go slower, and without your infallible eye on their secretive projects they may create something they cannot control. But the chances of another Black Plague are infinitesimally low, right?
-Clan Eshin, the enforcers of the quiet peace, may take issue with your star rising above their own. Certainly your own intelligence officers are not as subtle as theirs, and it would be wise not to anger them, just in case they decide they would better be in charge. Many a leader has met his end on the edge of an Eshin blade.
-GM gets to control Thanquol

[ ] Grey Seers

Seated directly to the left of the Horned Rat's throne, the 169 Grey Seers have long been the most loyal enforcers of the Horned Rat's will. Now at long last, their faith has been rewarded, and they shall accomplish their dread lord's will!

Spoiler: Traits

Advantages:
-A Grey Seer is the closest thing to the divine most Skaven will ever see. As a result, it is far easier to utilize the faith of the Horned Rat than others would find. (Big boost to all Piety actions)
-The Grey Seers have long been interested in exploring the possibilities of the daemonic their Lord offers them. They will find discovering and harnessing new types of daemons far easier than otherwise, and developing exotic projects like daemon-possessed common rats as spies, common daemons as troops, and the creative application of Screaming Bells will be accomplished with all swiftness.
-As servants of the god who by one of his tenets legally owns all of the warpstone in the material plane, the Seers have an easy time procuring it. (Income ++)
-Seerlord Kritislik heads the cabal – a skaven with a strength of faith legendary even among his order, a formidable spellcaster, and extreme competence in all other areas, is it any wonder he was the one chosen to lead the Skaven? Perhaps his lord and master might reward him with a touch of the daemonic if he does well…
-While the matter of higher treason is always on the table, smaller plots by the common skaven will be less of an occurrence – who are they to argue with their god, after all?

Disadvantages:
-The arrogant bastards Clan Skyre are envious of your rightful position at the top! You'll be on the lookout for their meddling paw in anything that goes wrong, for without a doubt it will be there behind it all.
-You've always suspected Clan Pestilens to be heretics – the 'other aspect' of the Horned Rat they follow has always rankled you as suspicious. Doubtless you'll have trouble with them down the road.
-There was that one errant grey seer you banished a while back that always seems to niggle at the back of your mind. You recall he swore vengeance upon you or some such. What was his name? Tarquin? Tank? Thanquol?

[ ] Eshin

Seated second at the Council of Thirteen, ever in shadow, but ever feared, Eshin is more than any the clan that keeps the Under-Empire together, with its famed assassins capable of silencing any voice who opposes them. The knives in the dark shall usher the Skaven forth into the light!

Spoiler: Traits

Advantages:
-The Skaven are the species with the greatest intrigue capabilities in the world, and Eshin are the greatest intrigue specialists of the Skaven. All matters of cloak and dagger come easier to them, and this comes with a myriad of benefits – when a rival clan begins stirring up a fuss, instead of going to war against them Eshin may simply dispatch an assassin to get rid of the belligerent. Their agents are extremely adept at covertly instilling fear where it is needed, persuading those who do not agree with their vision, and … taking care of those who do not cooperate. They`re very unlikely to be deposed as a result of this – how can you plot against the people who do your plotting for you? (Huge boost to all intrigue actions, and all that implies)
-The dread Nightlord Sneek heads Clan Eshin. He is an incredibly deadly combatant who could likely sneak into the most austere chambers of the Druuchi if he so wished and he is no slouch in any other area either. Perhaps even the rumors about him wielding shadow magic have some basis in reality…
-Overall, Eshin is a far more stable choice than any other, as their tremendous intrigue capabilities ensure any rebellion is strangled in the crib, and no enemy leader is safe from them.

Disadvantages:
-Though they would not dare voice dissent, Skyre is jealous of you. No doubt utilizing their areas of expertise will be less efficient than otherwise. If they get particularly airheaded they might even try their hand at counterplotting…
-The Grey Seers, despite being by far the greatest employers of Eshin's services, cannot help but wish they would be more pious. They'll be reluctant to share their discoveries about daemons, and if they perceive some great religious crime against them they may even encourage dissent.
-Clan Moulder has always been wary of Eshin, and their exotic warbeasts have always been too unsubtle for the assassins. Should you wish to utilize them, it'll be laden with extra fees, and perhaps they too may try their paw against you.
-The diseases of Pestilens have always been far too unreliable for Eshin's purposes – the two clans mostly ignore the other, resulting in any potential benefits gained from cooperating never coming into being. And of course there's always the risk of one of Pestilens' projects running out of control…
-As a result of being so proficient in the matters of hidden knives, Eshin has little time for finances beyond the payments for their assassinations. They receive no bonuses to their income.
-GM gets to control Thanquol

[ ] Pestilens

The cause of the first and second great Skaven civil wars, Pestlinens has grown strong off the savaging they received at the hands of the lizardmen in times past. In those fell jungles, ravaged by poison and claw and fang, they found true enlightenment into the nature of the Horned Rat, and mastery over the disease that cut away at their bodies. With this acknowledgement of their legitimacy, they shall reign supreme over all matters of the flesh!

Spoiler: Traits

Advantages:
-Pestilens has a frankly ridiculous amount of plagues at its disposal. It has maladies that cause infected to sprout fruit from their bodies, plagues that overproduce sweat to the point where the infected drowns in their own secretions, diseases that fill the infected with relentless hunger for flesh of their own species … almost any effect can be formulated in the dread plague cauldrons of Pestilens. Some examples below:
-Nor are the living the only afflicted. With research, Pestilens will be able to raise the bodies of the dead with the power of microscopic daemons and use them as cannon fodder, labor, or whatever use comes to mind.
-Pestilens' soldiers have become inoculated with so many diseases of natural and unnatural sorts over the years that they have become visibly tougher to put down, their flesh swollen with plague. With some development perhaps this could be spread to the rank and file.
-Plaguelord Nurglitch heads Pestilens, and his mastery of disease is such that he wields their effects in his dread sorcery. Additionally, his mind for learning and piety, while bested in each by the heads of Skyre and the Grey Seers, can compete with them both. Admittedly his talents for organizing most anything else are rather lacking, but who needs such things with what gifts he possesses?
-Overall, Pestilens tends towards a mix of the material sciences and the mysteries of the arcane to create their plagues rather than focusing on one or the other. (Learning/Piety boost, but not as high as Skyre/Seers)

Downsides:
-Clan Skyre has always regarded you with contempt, preferring the inefficient use of machinery over the intricate workings of plague. If you wish to use their war machines no doubt it'll cost more to produce them, and they may forget the inferiority of their fleshy bodies long enough to attempt a coup.
-The Grey Seers still suspect you of heresy, despite you ostensibly being more pious than they are! No doubt they'll be reluctant to share their daemonic research with you, and they may even attempt to depose you if their view of you grows clouded enough.
-Clan Moulder has always been wary of the effects your maladies could have on their precious warbeasts. It shall be more inefficient to attempt to procure them or research more, but the benefits…and of course they may decide they don't want you in charge. They are Skaven, after all.
-Clan Eshin has always rather forcefully ignored your clan, and you have done the same. No doubt actions of intrigue will be more difficult without their support, and they may even attempt an assassination.
-While its mastery of bioweapons is unmatched throughout the Under-Empire, the same cannot be said for Pestilens' mastery of finances. (Income -)
-GM gets to control Thanquol

[ ] Moulder

Residing in the great Hellpit in the north of the Under-Empire, the skaven of clan Moulder have always seen the folly of throwing their own soldiers into the fray heedlessly that the other clans do not. Against some foes such as the hordes of chaos, sheer numbers don't matter. This is why Moulder specializes in breeding massive numbers of vicious warbeasts, because those numbers matter more. Combined with their massive reserves of wealth, is it any wonder that they were chosen for the role of leadership?

Spoiler: Traits

Advantages:
-As the only major clan to really get into the study of breeding monsters, Moulder is able to produce warbeasts far faster, easier, and cheaper than otherwise.
-As masters of breeding monsters, Moulder is not limited to only breeding rat ogres. Whether it be modifying breeders to breed faster, attempting to breed mind control bugs, or interbreeding skaven with orcs, Moulder is capable of doing it.
-Moulder is the richest of the four Great Clans, as the primary fortress of the Hellpit allows them to stockpile and collectively use their wealth far easier. (Income +++)
-Packlord Verminkin heads Moulder, and while he is immensely fat and not as capable in physical combat as some others, he keeps a menagerie of strange beasts about him to compensate. In addition, his head for finances is among the best in the Under-Empire, and his skills are very well-rounded to compensate.
-Overall, due to the logistics of supplying its beasts, Moulder has an easier time with numbers than others. (Big Stewardship boost)

Downsides:
-Clan Skyre is rather contemptuous of Moulder's focus on breeding beasts, preferring to fiddle with cogs and gears. Gaining access to their technologies will be more expensive than it would be otherwise, and they may not always obey your orders.
-Clan Pestilens has always been envious of Moulder's monopoly on the warbeast market, and eager to obtain some samples for experiments. Without paying, of course. Relations are thusly cold between the two clans, and Pestilens may not always respect Moulder's newfound leadership.
-Warbeasts are anything but stealthy, and clan Eshin has always been wary of Moulder's economic prowess, despite happily accepting their money for jobs. They may attempt an assassination if they feel sufficiently threatened.
-The Grey Seers dislike Moulder being put in charge more on principle than any grudge against them; they will be reluctant to share their research on daemons, and may act without their explicit consent on issues they consider their discretion.
-GM gets to control Thanquol

[ ] Mors

A self-proclaimed rising star among the Council, Mors has recently ascended to the level of a Great Clan with the taking of Karak Eight-Peaks. However, due to their relative newness and perceived arrogance, the other Great Clans tend to look down their noses at them. They are enormous idiots for doing so, of course – for unlike the other Great Clans, who focus into one area of expertise and run down it to the exception of anything else, Mors keeps its options open and acts in all areas, as well as keeping the benefits from being a former Warlord clan. With this diversity in tactics, Mors shall triumph!

Mors

Spoiler: Traits

Advantages:
-Mors commits itself to being a Renaissance clan of sorts, focusing on an omnidisciplinary approach rather than being all guns or all assassins. As a result they make reasonable progress in all areas rather than focusing on one to the detriment of the others. (Middling bonuses in Learning, Stewardship, Intrigue, Piety, and Martial)(Able to access advanced research in all categories)
-Mors also keeps its finances responsibly tallied up, though it lacks some of the higher tricks and techniques of the bankers. (Income +)
-Mors retains the benefits of being a Warlord clan as well – a percentage of its forces are elite stormvermin, and with research this will be able to be broadly applied. Additionally, a force of actually loyal (for Skaven) bodyguards will accompany the Warlord at all times, increasing her personal safety.
-The Arch-Despot Gnawdell commands Mors, and it is thanks to her keen mind that the clan has rocketed to the heights it has. She is very skilled in all disciplines, though not to the extent of some specialists, and is deadly in personal combat, particularly with her elite stormvermin bodyguard.

Disadvantages:
-All four Great Clans, as well as the Grey Seers, see Mors as a childlike upstart infringing on their territories. Even this recognition by the closest thing to the Horned Rat himself is not enough to stave their indignation; they will balk at any command given to them and will doubtless all seek to undermine you. They may even cooperate with each other if pushed hard enough.
-GM gets to control Thanquol

[ ] The Unified Skaven Army
Formed on a past order of the Council and headed by Warlord-General Paskrit, the USA is a force of Skaven from all clans and all walks of life, dedicated to one thing and one thing only: the smashing of the enemies of the Council. With this promotion from the Horned Rat, the USA will balloon to encompass more than just an elite force at the Council's beck and call – it shall be a thing for all skaven, regardless of age or rank or cunning, a unified force ready to sweep over the surface world – a crusade like no other ever seen!

Spoiler: Traits

Advantages:
-The USA has weapons from all corners of the Under-Empire in its ranks, from the famed Doomwheels to rat ogre phalanxes to entire battalions of stormvermin. If it's a weapon, they have it – and they're incredibly good at directing research to get more weapons.
-As the closest thing to a pure army the Skaven possess, the USA's fighting instincts have been honed incredibly sharp. (Huge bonus to all Martial actions, better tactics acquired, etc)
-The comradely structure of the USA seems to perforate outwards whenever they're on campaign, and with the expansion it will start to have big benefits. Whenever the USA is participating in a war footing, rebellions of all sorts, from big to small, are much less likely to happen and are much less potent if they do.
-Paskrit treats her underlings well, and as a result her personal assistants are among the most loyal of all Skaven to their superior – it would require something very substantial to get them to backstab her.
-Warlord-General Patton Paskrit heads the USA, and she is perhaps the single greatest military mind the Skaven race has ever had. While she can't match the sheer power some of the sorcerers of her race put out, her fighting skills in person leave almost no one who ever meets her blade-to-blade in one piece. Admittedly her peacetime skills are lacking, but who ever said one runs out of enemies?

Disadvantages:
-The USA never really focused on 'peacetime activities' like the art of domestic intrigue, or running trade accounts, or building temples or anything of the sort. (Malus to all other categories when at peace)
-The USA is additionally not very good at handling money. (Income -, increased to -- when at peace)
-Paskrit is a stupendous general. However, a peacetime leader she is not, and the more plot-savvy clans will raise trouble if a peace footing is established.
-GM gets to control Thanquol

[ ] The Navy

As part of a convoluted series of compromises when forming the USA, a navy was also established despite the Skaven not having any ships at the time. This led to it mostly being ignored, which most people figure is how Fleetmaster (he prefers Cap'n) Vrisk Ironscratch got in charge. Now that the Horned Rat has (for some godsdamned reason) given command over the entire skaven race to … him, doubtless great changes will follow, if not necessarily sane ones. One thing has always been certain about the Navy…
'tis a silly place.

Spoiler: Traits

Advantages:
-The Navy gets a bonus to any action involving ships. Since not all operations take place on the sea, this can sometimes go to ludicrous extremes. For instance, all naval battles are more effective, but also having soldiers wear ship costumes makes them more effective in battle, arranging them into boat-shaped formations aids their speed, and on and on to any extreme end that can be thought of. Any end.
-Pirate jokes. All the pirate jokes and shipping jokes and puns the GM can possibly think of. Naval-related puns in thread are fully encouraged and may even give bonuses if clever enough.
-Fleetmaster (Cap'n for the initiated) Vrisk Ironscratch heads the Navy. A salty sea rat, he was born on the back of a whale, they say, and has spent his life honing his naval combat capabilities. In any naval battle he gains an immense boost in competence, and he performs inexplicably well when fighting on ships of any kind. He's also hard to predict in combat due to being insane.

Disadvantages:
-The interests of the Cap'n start and end at ships. Anything not related to them is neglected. (Malus to everything not involving ships)
-Unlike Paskrit, Vrisk's underlings can't trust him very well due to his errant moods. His personal underlings are more likely to backstab him than normal (for skaven) because of his insanity. This does extend to wider rebellions as well, although there's surely a way to fix this. Maybe replace their brains with boats…
-GM gets to control Thanquol

[ ] Rictus

An old clan, lasting through the last great regime change, back when Council members were still called Grey Lords. Rictus found its greatness in Cripple Peak, Nagash's ancient bastion, rich in warpstone and dark knowledge. Admittedly the supplies have gone dry, but no one knows that yet, and with what they have learned from fending off undead attacks for thousands of years, they will surely meet no resistance great enough to hold them back!

Spoiler: Traits

Advantages:
-Rictus is very familiar with the signs and workings of the Corpse Geometries, if only from study of its effects rather than actual implementation. Whether it be the best tactics for fighting a skeleton legion, the efficient usage of undead labor, or perhaps even research into necromancy itself, Rictus specializes. (Bonus to all undead-related actions)
-Rictus still retains the credit of all of the warpstone mined from Cripple Peak. While these are technically no longer valid, as long as they're used no more than once no one should notice. (Start with a large amount of unreplenishable money in another tally)
-By serendipity, the announcement that Rictus would lead the skaven to victory was immediately preceded by great news: the Corpse Geometries are useable by the greatest race! Of course it's only on the smallest of scales, but that will surely change soon. (Start with small amount of basic necromancers)
-Bonelord Kratch Doomclaw heads Rictus – he, as befitting his title, is a burgeoning necromancer, and is eager to advance his capabilities.

Disadvantages:
-Due to being somewhat secluded in Cripple Peak and focusing all their efforts on the pursuit of necromancy, Rictus is not very good at all at financial matters. (Base income --)
-While the skaven will no doubt be better at necromancy than any puny human, the one known as the First Necromancer is still a fearsome figure to the skaven. Should Nagash ever return he may subvert whatever legions you have raised if you're not adequately prepared.
-The Grey Seers are wary of Rictus' newfound necromantic powers. While matters are neutral for now, they will be watching to make sure they stay faithful.
-GM gets to control Thanquol

[ ] Warpfang Bank

The primary financial institution of the Skaven, the Warpfang Bank is a respected organization for the vital work it does to keep the charade of a stable economy from collapsing. No doubt with the Horned Rat's blessing*, the Bank will be able to manage hordes of stormvermin as well as it does ledgers.
*Provided the Seers pay the appropriate dues

Spoiler: Traits

Advantages:
-The Warpfang Bank is bar none the wealthiest organization among all the skaven. They are incredibly good at all things related to money. (Income +++++)
-Due to the unique nature of skaven finances, the Bank controls a surprising amount of background detail in the average skaven life. This can be leveraged to ensure rebellious plots are kept to a minimum.
-The Warpfang Bank is not as xenophobic as some of the other skaven. Provided they're willing to dive into the labyrinthine confines of skaven finances, the Bank accepts all comers. (Diplomacy bonus)
-The head of the Bank is the Arch-Economist Skrisnik Goldfang, named for his golden teeth. They're actually gromril he had made through a convoluted series of false identities, colored gold, but he tells no one this. Not that it'd help him much, he's a horrid fighter, but it pays to have an ace in your gums. His mind is brilliant in terms of finances, and he's used to dealing with other races due to the nature of his job. He's also no slouch in terms of spying. Don't ask him to do much else, though – if it's not paying, he's not praying.

Disadvantages:
-The Warpfang Bank is a bank. While it is very good at paying off other people to fight their battles, it doesn't actually have any experience on a war front. (Big malus to martial)
-The courteous system of credit the Bank uses to influence its clients only goes so far – should a clan be pushed far enough, it will simply claim its debts invalid. Of course a rebellion like this cannot be tolerated, but precedent is best kept.
-The Grey Seers have always been wary of the Warpfang Bank. Their lack of outward (and inward, though they'd never admit it) piety makes them suspicious.
-GM gets to control Thanquol

[ ] If not picked, becomes Skurvy
[ ] If not picked, becomes Skab

These options lead to a custom clan creation screen. All ideas are accepted, though not all may be implemented.

[X] Thanquol

The rat in the back of the room, the one who summoned Skreech Verminking in the first place. Thanquol has long been an object of perverse interest to fate, always having his best-laid plans laid to waste by strokes of chance yet always escaping with his life. Now Grey Seer Thanquol – no, Arch-Rat Thanquol has been appointed leader of his entire race, just as he always knew he deserved. Will his life fall to pieces yet again? Not if he has anything to say about it.

Spoiler: Traits

Advantages:
-Being united under one rat rather than an organization has let the Skaven work more fluidly than otherwise. (Small bonus to all rolls at start)
-The Council are not quite sure what to make of this dark horse – for now, none will act against him until they're sure of his intentions. (Start with all factions being at least neutral toward you)
-Thanquol is truly** as brilliant as he thinks – no subject is beyond his grasp! (Gain access to all research topics normally blocked off from one faction or another)
-Thanquol is perhaps the most formidable sorcerer the skaven have ever seen – if he wished he could blow away Kritislik with little trouble. This has only increased thanks to tangible blessings given by the Horned Rat. He is also a skilled battle commander, has a nose for sniffing out deceit, and is capable of delegating matters he doesn't know much about effectively. He's also very hard to kill and is unnaturally good at avoiding assassination attempts, whether on purpose or not.
-Skreech Verminking, mightiest of all Verminlords, has taken a special interest in Thanquol. He may be asked for advice on any topic once per turn, but beware, for the Shadow Council plays mysterious games and his advice may not always be trustworthy - by skaven measures, no less.
-Overall this option is the most diverse and yet united the Skaven become, with the strengths of all factions and the weaknesses of none. If it doesn't all fall apart on you that is.

Disadvantages:
-The Council members are political animals, and given time they will try to influence you to their favor. Depending on how you respond, this will change their stance towards you.
-Skreech Verminking, mightiest of all Verminlords, has taken a special interest in Thanquol. He may be asked for advice one any topic once per turn, but beware, for the Shadow Council plays mysterious games and his advice may not always be trustworthy - by skaven measures, no less.
Fate's Bitch: ??? May all the gods have mercy on you poor bastards because I sure won't
**kinda

 

[Xantalos]

Skaven females are often said to be nonexistent, and that the whole race is solely made up of males. They share this misconception with their enemies the dwarfs, who sometimes seem to be entirely bearded and gruff. In both cases, this assumption is false.

Skaven females come in two types: one is much the same as any male skaven, and indeed is often indistinguishable to those outside the species. They do possess reproductive organs, but rarely if ever breed, as the hostile culture of the typical skaven clan prevents them from searching for a mate that could be trusted, and the time and resources that a growing infant needs could spell death, or worse, missed opportunity, for an aspiring skaven. To that end, effective contraceptives are one of the few universal constants in the Under-Empire.

The skaven race must live on, however, and the Broodmothers are the reason why. Selected from the most docile females that are often purpose-bred, each Broodmother is a veritable mountain of flesh, kept in a semi-lucid state by drugs her body produces, near-continually spewing out infant skaven that immediately latch onto one of her many teats, or else are crushed and eaten by the mass of their siblings. They are created with a special ritual only the Grey Seers know, and it is occasionally used as the most cruel punishment for a failed female underling by a sadistic overseer. They are essential for the survival of a clan, but are very resource-intensive, requiring quite a lot of food, water, and maintenance to stay alive. Purchasing one is also quite expensive, and most clans take out a loan from the Warpfang Bank, the debt of which partially passes down to the breeder's offspring (a charge for use of services provided), ensuring many skaven are in debt from the moment they are born.

 

[Xantalos]

I'm gonna let the vote stew for a while because I'm a lazy bitch. In the meantime, I might as well drop my interpretation on how money works here.

Skaven Economics

Warpstone currency is nominally the standard currency of the Under-Empire, minted in warptokens. Of course this isn't what actually happens - warpstone itself is too rare and valuable to be used as currency by any other than the obscenely rich, especially since a passing Grey Seer could legally grab a handful of one's hard-stolen cash and eat it, and you couldn't even shank them since they'd blow your head off with the power it gave them.

Instead, what amounts to a complex system of IOUs is used. All Skaven keep a tally of the currency they currently have in their head, and are surprisingly dedicated to remembering exactly how much they have. They 'earn' money from whatever occupation they have, and either promise to owe warptokens to another Skaven when purchasing something, or just perform a task for them. Of course, being Skaven, cheating is rampant in this system, with ratmen left and right claiming to have much more than they actually have. This system becomes self-regulating when their angry debtors rip said boasters limb from limb and divide their theoretical profits amongst themselves. The risks of this generally ensure most cheating is kept to a predictable extent.

Keeping a hold on this chaotic mess is the Warpfang Bank, famous for always actually getting what they're owed back. There was consideration of making 'The Warpfang Bank gets its due' an official motto, but it was discontinued after several dwarf banks threatened to sue. Dwarven legal suits being perhaps the most feared weapon on the financial market, even the mightiest bank of the Skaven was unwilling to push the issue.
Rather than attempting to impose any sort of regulations on the market, the Warpfang Bank controls it by being the biggest rat in the sandbox - almost every Skaven in the under-empire owes the Bank money, some even from birth as their birth breeders were bought with loans from the Bank. With that level of control over the cashflow, and extremely vicious and well-equipped collection officers (often better-armed than most military forces due to the Bank's hefty involvement with the four Great Clans), the Bank indeed always gets its due, even if it can't say it in that exact sequence without a fine.

The IOUS can also be redeemed in other ways than material possessions or work - sufficiently useful tasks accomplished may be judged to be equal to the debt owed. Of particular note is the first Skaven Civil War, where the then-Council of Thirteen collectively dumped all their debt onto the newly-revealed clan Eshin, who promptly paid it all off by assassinating most of the warlords and clanleaders under Pestilens.

Of course, with such a fluid system as this it's perfectly possible to cheat it. With enough legalese a Skaven may be convinced that he or she owes the Bank much more than they actually do, and they aren't afraid to utilize this strategic records-editing to apply political pressure on their rivals. And it's generally tolerated, for no matter how exploitative the Warpfang may be, the alternative of a free market composed of Skaven is far worse.

 

[Xantalos]

AN: Booyah bitches, this is back! I've been trying to finish my other obligation for months now, but I've decided fuck it, I'm gonna actually move forward on this - helps that I got myself a chair so I can sit and write on my computer instead of entirely on my phone like I did the last update. I wrote it in around an hour, so if you see any typos or have any questions please notify me.

You are Grey Seer - no, no - Arch-Rat Thanquol, Eternal Emperor of the Under-Empire! Or mayhaps Almighty Sovereign? King of the Skaven? No, far-far too simple for your tastes. Lord of the Furred Ones? God-Emperor of Rat-Kind? That seemed too ostentatious. These and a hundred more flit through your mind at superluminal speeds, as they would with one of your intellect. Surely you'd have no trouble realizing what the common slave would hear you called in their nightmares?

[] (Pick a title for Thanquol - it can be whatever you wish, so long as it seems sufficiently grandiose for a megalomaniac in charge of a whole species of such)

Bah, you'll finalize your title later, you think. That was important business to be sure, but it could wait compared to what was at hand.

Finally. You'd been pushed around, unjustly accused, belittled, and in general treated absolutely horrendously by the Council of Thirteen for years now. They refused to see your talent and genius, instead blaming all the various acts of sabotage, divine aggression, twists of fate, subordinate incompetence and betrayal, and outright reality warping that turned your missions against you as your failures. Well you'd shown them, hadn't you! All the high and mighty lords and ladies of the greatest clans of the under-empire, and not a one of them had been chosen for the privilege of leading the Skaven to victory - instead the Horned Rat had seen his most gifted son and raised him up to his rightful spot atop the ratpile.

You cast your gaze about at the Lords of Decay. It's an empowering viewpoint from the Horned Rat's throne - the table is shaped in such a way that every skaven seated has to crane their necks uncomfortably to look at you properly, even those at the opposite end, accentuating your power over them. A motley bunch, you think to yourself as you enjoy making them wait for you to speak, And not very scary-scary either once you view them from this angle. Look-look at Goldfang, he's so fat! I'd bet a pretty-pretty warptoken that I could be on him before he blinked, chewing out his throat-throa-

You're interrupted by an incredibly awkward clearing of the throat coming from the far end of the table. It seems to have come from ... one of those two lords you don't know the names of. You can't tell which one, even as he, or she, continues speaking in what may be the worst way to interrupt your superior's self-indulgence you've ever witnessed. How did these ingrates get on the council? What are they even saying, it's not like it's important-

"-what title should we address you by, lord Thanquol?"

Fuck

You absolutely don't freeze up at this question and don't fumble for an answer, instead reaching within your mind and grasping your embarrasment indignation, using it to kickstart your formidable well of dark magic. Your eyes light up the room with a terrifying emerald glow that causes some of the attendants in the background to fall to the floor screaming with the inside of their mouth, esophagus, and guts burnt to a crisp as two beams of horrid green death leap from your eyes and zap the two offending lords into splatters of rancid, diseased meat that covers most of the room apart from you and the Council.

For a moment, you let silence reign, enjoying the background noise of Moulder's toothless trunked cleaning rats vacuuming up the mess. Then you speak. "That is the fate of those who dare to question me when I am contemplating important matters - matters that I will share-share with you all now, yes-yes. I trust that replacements will be seen to for the vacant seats?" you ask as you click your talons. A pair of professionally groomed rat-ogres obesquiously slink out of the shadows behind you, bearing on their shoulders a massive rolled-up piece of some kind of leather. With surprising gentleness, they lay the scroll on the table and unroll it, the skin fitting exactly to the contours of the table. Upon it was etched a map of the world, with some areas in more detail than others - the Old World had a multitude of rat-scratch on it, showing the locations of different major rat-holds and tunnels, as did Nippon and the northern Southlands, where Eshin and Pestilens made their burrows. While some areas, such as the Mountains of Mourne and the ork-held Badlands were only sparsely detailed, every continent had had some detail done to it - apart, of course, from the Cursed Continent, Lustria. There was only a stray scribble across the middle where some rat had written 'scaly-things here'.

"This map," you say, recapturing the attention of the Council, "Shows us what we hold, and what our foe-foes foolishly think belongs to them. As you see, we own near-near the entirety of the underground." You ignore the multiple bright red warning labels on certain areas saying 'do not go here ever'. "But the Horned Rat is dissatisfied with this state of things! It is time to go forth and take-take the surface from the fool-fools who call it home!
And this," you say, leaning forward slightly, a feral grin on your face, "Is what you will be doing."

First, roll 2 d100s to determine the replacement Lords of Decay.

AN: You have 13 dice to use, representing the 13 great clans of skaven society, and the fact that the Horned Rat likes the number 13. You can spend them on whatever aim you wish; if you want to lure the forces of Chaos into optimal backstabbing position an alliance like in canon, feel free, if you want to try to manipulate two factions into going to war against each other go for it, etcetera. Your ultimate aim, of course, is to conquer the world in the name of the Horned Rat. To that end, I'll provide a list of targets you can attack, and how difficult they are to conquer - an objective map, essentially. Note that these values only mean the resistance of that country/region to direct conquest - they can and should be modified by sabotage or reinforcement, and will as the game goes on - the Horned Rat spurred his children into action before most of the rest of the world, but the other factions will act on their own initiative to complete their own goals. This does include the skaven if you leave them lying about - you can assign one particular faction more than one dice, but in turn I'll let the clan you leave unattended to do their own thing. This may turn out helpful, or it might not. If you have any questions/clarifications, please ask.
Basically:
-Plan voting please
-Distribute 13 dice to doing whatever you want - attacking, building superweapons, sabotage, whatever
-Tell me which clan is doing what; you can leave clans unattended if you think that's a good idea
-Good luck, you'll need it

Very Easy Targets:
These hardly require any effort at all to overrun; they might even be taken in the process of conquering a nearby territory.
-Border Princes
-Subterritories of various nations (ie an individual Kislev boyar, a moderately-sized ork warband, certain Brettonian duchies)

Easy Targets
These places can easily be overrun with as little as one dice's worth of forces.
-Kislev
-Estalia
-Tilea
-Parts of Norsca
-Some Empire provinces
-Dragon Isles

Moderate Targets
Finally the surface-dwellers present some sport! These vary in the amount of dice they'll need to conquer, but expect at least 3.
-Araby
-Albion
-Norsca
-Brettonia
-Kurgan tribal lands
-Hung tribal lands
-Nippon
-Hinterlands of Khuresh
-Southlands (not including Nekehara)
-Some Empire provinces

Hard Targets
Could it be that these are a challenge? They vary from target to target, but expect 5 dice at the least.
-Empire of Man
-Grand Cathay
-Ogre Kingdoms
-Kingdoms of Ind
-Karaz Ankor
-The Badlands
-Laurelon + other subsidiary wood elf forests

Very Hard Targets
These are almost a match for the least of the Under-Empire! Imagine, surface-dwellers that put up a fight. At least 8 dice required for these targets.
-The Dark Lands
-Old Nekehara
-Naagaroth
-Athel Loren

Impossible Targets
This is the finest the surface can offer? Impressive, for non-skaven. At least 10 dice will be needed to take those in this category.
-Ulthuan
-The Southernmost Continent

Are You Fuckers Insane
Why the hell are you even risking awakening these giants? Surely it's a waste of forces to conquer here. Go somewhere else.
-Lustria
-The Chaos Wastes

Keep in mind that the required forces are the amount needed to conquer them in one turn; lesser forces may be committed and take multiple turns to take the territory.
My advice, as limited as it is? Strike while the iron is hot. The Horned Rat's scheming has bought you some time of relative freedom to act, but that will change quickly when the big boys come out to play, and the nations won't stay in their starting brackets - this is them in a state of unawares.