Warhammer Fantasy: A Dynasty of Dynamic Alcoholism

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torroar said:
Honestly? The only explanation I can reasonably think of for the map being like that in certain portions is straight up Chaos ridiculousness. In this case...something I've chosen to create is flesh hives, which are basically enormous chunks of mutated screaming flesh. Chaos Spawn who have mutated over and over again into enormous blobs of nearly immobile flesh which rapidly regenerate enough to feed their warpacks. Essentially carried about by the warpacks themselves, taken as prizes because once you've lost your flesh hive, your warpack will eat itself into nothingness. They regenerate because they run off of the energies of the warp, a terrible 'blessing' of the Great Darkness upon the unworthy who have failed it, and that's what sustains the tribes. There are few rules, same as Old World Beastmen such as no harming the bray shamans. But one is to not destroy the flesh hives, merely take possession of them.

As for where they come from, the usual fashion of rutting. But even the does of the Southern Wastes are a far cry from those in the Old World.
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But what about the Beastmen in the Old World, far away from the Chaos Portals? Like in the Empire? There's no nearly enough wildlife to support significant populations of hulking beastmen whom are constantly active. They have no agriculture, no infrastructure, and given that there doesn't seem to be any cases of beastmen herds deforesting swathes of land by eating them, I don't think they're herbivores either.

Of course, the same question applies to the skaven. It's not like you could grow that much in the way of mushrooms underground, nor is there any sunlight to support agriculture. "Breeding like rats" only works when there's an ample food supply to sustain such a population boom. By all rights, the skaven should have a very small population due to a dearth of food, with only pockets of concentrated populations in secluded areas above ground that have enough sunlight and soil for agriculture.

But as an aside, I imagine that the major factor preventing any chance of Beastmen herds from the Southern Wastes (and maybe Northern Wastes) overrunning the rest of the world is that once they move away from the flesh hives, they'd all starve to death (save for a small core of the strongest/luckiest beastmen).
 
SaltyWaffles said:
Of course, the same question applies to the skaven. It's not like you could grow that much in the way of mushrooms underground, nor is there any sunlight to support agriculture. "Breeding like rats" only works when there's an ample food supply to sustain such a population boom. By all rights, the skaven should have a very small population due to a dearth of food, with only pockets of concentrated populations in secluded areas above ground that have enough sunlight and soil for agriculture.
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Skaven grow some sort of black grain some where using slave labor and they eat pretty much anything ( but not to the extent like the Orge, they won't eat rock or metal)
 
SaltyWaffles said:
But what about the Beastmen in the Old World, far away from the Chaos Portals? Like in the Empire? There's no nearly enough wildlife to support significant populations of hulking beastmen whom are constantly active. They have no agriculture, no infrastructure, and given that there doesn't seem to be any cases of beastmen herds deforesting swathes of land by eating them, I don't think they're herbivores either.

Of course, the same question applies to the skaven. It's not like you could grow that much in the way of mushrooms underground, nor is there any sunlight to support agriculture. "Breeding like rats" only works when there's an ample food supply to sustain such a population boom. By all rights, the skaven should have a very small population due to a dearth of food, with only pockets of concentrated populations in secluded areas above ground that have enough sunlight and soil for agriculture.

But as an aside, I imagine that the major factor preventing any chance of Beastmen herds from the Southern Wastes (and maybe Northern Wastes) overrunning the rest of the world is that once they move away from the flesh hives, they'd all starve to death (save for a small core of the strongest/luckiest beastmen).
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If you're trying to get rational explanations for any sort of population figures out of a GW property you're barking up the wrong tree

If you thought about it even for a few minutes you spent longer then they did
 
GhostKing 666 said:
Interesting. But if I may ask a question, where do the Blood Nagas fit in?
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The snakemen and their Blood Naga Queens are their own thing. They're pretty malicious to all things, sort of like the Dark Elves of the bestial and beast-adjacent races. Terribly monstrous, and their own unique entities. They're happy to harvest the blood from the Frostlords as much as the human kingdoms of Khuresh. I've diverged a chunk away from the wiki - what little there is - specifically where they say that humans are no more than prey. Nah. In this universe, the Hinterlands of Khuresh are divided between the Serpent Realms and the Khureshi Kingdoms. Of the snakemen and the humans, respectively. The Serpent Realms worship Chaos openly, and the snakemen are all that remains of when they first helped Chaos overrun the world when the Gates were broken.

The Beastmen were created from the ancient humans alive when Chaos first broke into the world.

The snakemen came slithering out of the Realm of Chaos already formed and aligned to the Dark Gods. Age sort of like Lizardmen, in that they don't, but while the Lizardmen are pure meat robots created by the Old Ones, the snakemen are run on blood/souls, I suppose in a manner similar to vampires, really. Only they are absolutely alive, while vampires are undead. Also the whole Chaos alignment thing. The snakemen are not friends to the beastmen, and no matter what the beastmen say about them being the true heirs to Chaos, the snakemen were there just as they were. Only now the snakemen have been reduced only to Khuresh, and are quite bitter indeed about it. You would be too, if you came out in the first waves alongside the daemons. They hate humanity as well, as the beastmen do, for many of the same reasons. All of a sudden, the snakemen were no longer the most favored.

The closest relation the snakemen have in the Old World is the Fimir, who are more lizardy while the snakemen are more...well, you know. Snake-y.

Unlike the Fimir with their crude piles of rock, or the beastmen with their hovels and blood grounds, or the frost lords and their literal nothing [mostly they do that penguin thing where they show their backs to the winds in a big huddle during particularly bad weather], the Serpent Realms are, horrifyingly civilized. In that it is a society given wholly over to worship of the Dark Gods, though Khorne is pretty ascendant due to the proclivities of the Blood Naga Queens and their dominance. But there are also the Writhing Naga Queens, Sorceress Naga Queens, and the Plague Naga Queens. They have their enormous temples, their cities, and the coin is always in lives/blood. Either from snakemen, beastmen, animals, humans, or otherwise.

Cathay doesn't like them, but with its forces focused on internal matters, the Great Bastion, Nippon, the Khanates, ogre raids, rebellions, potentially skirmishes with Ind, Dark Elf raids, etc....they can't spare the resources it would take to tear down an entire civilization root and stem.

Plus, the Serpent Realms don't like the beastmen, and actively enjoy them rushing in their vast numbers, because that's more blood and souls for them to feed upon. They've never allied once, ever. I could imagine, say, an Everchosen pulling that off, but...it would likely go as well as Sigvald and Throgg did during the End Times.

SaltyWaffles said:
But what about the Beastmen in the Old World, far away from the Chaos Portals? Like in the Empire? There's no nearly enough wildlife to support significant populations of hulking beastmen whom are constantly active. They have no agriculture, no infrastructure, and given that there doesn't seem to be any cases of beastmen herds deforesting swathes of land by eating them, I don't think they're herbivores either.

Of course, the same question applies to the skaven. It's not like you could grow that much in the way of mushrooms underground, nor is there any sunlight to support agriculture. "Breeding like rats" only works when there's an ample food supply to sustain such a population boom. By all rights, the skaven should have a very small population due to a dearth of food, with only pockets of concentrated populations in secluded areas above ground that have enough sunlight and soil for agriculture.

But as an aside, I imagine that the major factor preventing any chance of Beastmen herds from the Southern Wastes (and maybe Northern Wastes) overrunning the rest of the world is that once they move away from the flesh hives, they'd all starve to death (save for a small core of the strongest/luckiest beastmen).
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Honestly, the Old World ones seems sustained on raids, and just not eating everything to excess entirely. The more intelligent Beastlords, or at least those listening to the shamans to show the modicum of restraint so that they can make war more effectively in the future. Storing things, perhaps crudely breeding creatures like razorgors not just for riding/warfare but also for eating. Magical sustenance, perhaps as well.

Skaven are...skaven, we could be here all day trying to puzzle them out.

Oh, Northern Waste Beastmen have much better opportunities/resources at hand, due to so many dang humans going up north with their weird ideas. Plus, like, actual vegetation and such exists there, while it exists not at all in the Southern Wastes. Sure, eating this patch of plants might cause you all to have spikes painfully poke out from your bones to outside your skin, but hey! Now you have a spiked hide, and are in horrible agony with every movement! Southern Wasteland Beastmen would struggle without flesh hives, but if they actually managed to start reaching a point where they could consume from the surrounding environment...it'd be pretty bad. But they largely go screaming towards Khuresh, mostly because they're not...really able to get their sea beasts to carry them as far as, say, the Southlands or Dark Lands. Plus, again, all they care for is mostly just the killing i.e. each other works just as well. There are warpacks in the Southern Wastes who have never done anything but fight each other, and think nothing of it.

Overall though, trying to figure out stuff like skaven/beastmen populations are always a bit of a struggle, because I can only stretch my brain so far before I have to add in 'Well, Chaos/warp stuff I guess'.

Orkus Majorkus said:
RIP Ind Princess we never knew ya :(
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She never existed, so...yes. That was purely an example of the GeNPC system, which I no longer make use of, because my brain doesn't want to and time requirements.
 
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torroar said:
Honestly? The only explanation I can reasonably think of for the map being like that in certain portions is straight up Chaos ridiculousness. In this case...something I've chosen to create is flesh hives, which are basically enormous chunks of mutated screaming flesh. Chaos Spawn who have mutated over and over again into enormous blobs of nearly immobile flesh which rapidly regenerate enough to feed their warpacks. Essentially carried about by the warpacks themselves, taken as prizes because once you've lost your flesh hive, your warpack will eat itself into nothingness. They regenerate because they run off of the energies of the warp, a terrible 'blessing' of the Great Darkness upon the unworthy who have failed it, and that's what sustains the tribes. There are few rules, same as Old World Beastmen such as no harming the bray shamans. But one is to not destroy the flesh hives, merely take possession of them.

As for where they come from, the usual fashion of rutting. But even the does of the Southern Wastes are a far cry from those in the Old World.
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SaltyWaffles said:
But what about the Beastmen in the Old World, far away from the Chaos Portals? Like in the Empire? There's no nearly enough wildlife to support significant populations of hulking beastmen whom are constantly active. They have no agriculture, no infrastructure, and given that there doesn't seem to be any cases of beastmen herds deforesting swathes of land by eating them, I don't think they're herbivores either.

Of course, the same question applies to the skaven. It's not like you could grow that much in the way of mushrooms underground, nor is there any sunlight to support agriculture. "Breeding like rats" only works when there's an ample food supply to sustain such a population boom. By all rights, the skaven should have a very small population due to a dearth of food, with only pockets of concentrated populations in secluded areas above ground that have enough sunlight and soil for agriculture.

But as an aside, I imagine that the major factor preventing any chance of Beastmen herds from the Southern Wastes (and maybe Northern Wastes) overrunning the rest of the world is that once they move away from the flesh hives, they'd all starve to death (save for a small core of the strongest/luckiest beastmen).
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I think the reasoning that Mallus just flat out has it's own set of physics that in a lot of cases work very differently IRL physics when considering all the crazy shit that exists in the Warhammer verses that defy real life physics and logic.
 
Fun fact, I just decided on all that Khuresh and flesh hive stuff as I was writing the posts about them. And now it's canon. That's the power of being the GM, I guess! The Indi stuff I had actual notes on from a while ago, though. Besides, it's not like there's much on Khuresh anyway. There's even less about them than there is for Cathay and Ind! A shame, I think.

EDIT:

Oh, and this hasn't come up yet, and likely won't for a bit, but I don't know why they made it be Ki-Rin, which is much closer to the Japanese version of the lightning cloud horse. It should be, even if we're keeping the dash, Qi-Lin, and it is now. So if it does come up in quest, lightning cloud unicorns are Qi-Lin, not Ki-Rin. I don't care what the wiki says.
 
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torroar said:
Fun fact, I just decided on all that Khuresh stuff as I was writing the post. And now it's canon. That's the power of being the GM, I guess! The Indi stuff I had actual notes on, though.
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Hail Great Torroar for he is mighty.

Whenever the stars are right he rises from the murky depths of the internet and enslaves our minds to his mighty quests.
 
torroar said:
The closest relation the snakemen have in the Old World is the Fimir, who are more lizardy while the snakemen are more...well, you know. Snake-y.
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Huh! Fascinating...
torroar said:
Fun fact, I just decided on all that Khuresh and flesh hive stuff as I was writing the posts about them. And now it's canon. That's the power of being the GM, I guess!
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Or, hey, thinking about another parallel/analogy/comparison to make -- perhaps... Dragon Ogres? Those are their own thing, and are Chaos-aligned, and are ancient, and aren't Beastmen.

That seems like a good "group"/"they're their own thing, with an identity" to point to and to compare to, maybe?

The Snakemen are not Beastmen in the same way that Dragon Ogres, Fimir, and Chaos Trolls are not Beastmen. Or how Chaos Dwarfs have their own culture and history and are not friends or allies of Beastmen.

Heh, in fact -- maybe some people have stories and creation myths about how the Snakemen are Dragon Ogres who had their legs removed or fused to their bodies and elongated. And probably given more arms.
 
Mmm, I meant it more in terms of age and age of worship. Dragon Ogres were one of the earliest races on Mallus, present when the Old Ones came to start terraforming things. They eventually swore to the Chaos Gods at some point after they'd arrived to prevent their race from declining utterly. The Fimir started while worshiping them, and had been for some time. I'd argue that the Fimir, given what information we have on them, were one of the first major races of the Ancient Times to worship Chaos. Possibly the first of the races of Mallus to start worshiping them. Before the beastmen were even born from mutating humans as the waves of the warp washed over the world. But in this case, in my little universe, the snakemen/naga slithered out of the warp fully formed and worshiping already. But in terms of age of worship, it's definitely Fimir and Snakemen who've been doing in the longest. Dragon ogres are so belligerent and tough, and the major blessing from the Dark Gods seems to have purely been in terms of longevity - based on lightning while the snakemen's are based on blood. But I also think that it is that same belligerence and toughness that they probably took a while to swear to the Dark Gods. They did, sure, eventually, but they tried to make a go of it without them for a while too.

Eh, look at that, I made some comparisons right then and there. But then, the Dragon Ogres don't really build anything anymore, or if they did the ruins are long dust and nothingness. The Snakemen on the other hand have cities, trade routes, merchants, commoners and nobility. Dragon Ogres mostly slumber when there isn't a storm nearby, while the snakemen are far more active.
 
Ah, a question.
torroar said:
A cleaver ship swung wildly in the water, a wave forcing it away from the war-junk it had grappled onto.

Johanna bared her teeth in savage joy, and leapt out into the air, straight into the black waters below.
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torroar said:
Instead she wandered across the deck of the ship, stepping close to the edge as she went. To be sure, she would be unmade if she were plunged into the ocean for too long, just as she would a river, but the chances of such a thing happening were quite low at the moment. More importantly, she needed to find a good patch of shadow which would keep the sun from beating down too heavily upon her. She was not as instantly fatally vulnerable as some, but she could not deny the weakness which could befall her as a result of the sun's rays.
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We see Johanna leap into the water, in order to ride the tides up and onto an enemy ship. Genevieve, on the other hand, muses about how if she spends too long in the ocean or river, she would be unmade.

Is that a sign of different weaknesses and levels of vulnerability (or levels of tolerance) between sire and child?

Or is it just two ways to show the same thing: that Johanna is just as vulnerable to dying in the ocean if she is lost in it, she's just willing to temporarily jump in and swim in order to achieve battlefield objectives. And so her narration talks about her leaping into the water and being slammed by a wave into a mast. Whereas Genevieve isn't in the middle of a fight or a mad dash towards an enemy ship, and instead is... almost lounging or waiting around, really, and so her perspective has her muse go"oh man, the water sure sucks" "oh man, the sunlight sure sucks."
 
torroar said:
So, Deva. Essentially warp entities who are worshipped. Not, themselves indiviually, on the level of Sigmar and thus like capital G Gods, but they are powerful entities. Akin to the daemonic patrons that Norscan villages can find, in certain cases I suppose. They can similar to Greater Daemons/Daemon Princes, but more focused beings not inherently connected to the Dark Gods. Ind is called 'The Land of a Thousand Gods' for a reason, yeah? The Deva are these gods. Dynasties, geographical areas, certain animals, etc. can be connected to some Deva or another. Four-armed Brahmir is said to be particularly horrifying...for those who worship Chaos. They fear and hate that Deva, and rightly so. But there are lesser Deva too, you know, the weevil god or mouse god and so on. Depending on the Deva, you've got basically just a spirit, or something which can warp the landscape around it and slam into a Greater Daemon and have a fair chance, because they, themselves, could be considered such by certain perspectives. Other times you'll have a Deva who is the equivalent of a particularly strong bloodletter or the like, and calls itself by its own individual name. Other Deva could draw upon their own armies of spirits/etc.

I recall once hearing about the blood of some Deva or another causing horrible acidic burning to the very essence of the daemonic.

The most powerful Deva hold these tournaments to find their most worthy, to empower them. They do this openly, because, well, it's tradition and they've been doing it for a hell of a long time. Two thousand years of worship and acknowledgement - not just by their specific devotees but by everyone else in Ind - means a certain...solidity...to the Deva. A man or woman from Ind could go their entire lives without seeing one manifest directly, but would attribute a million and one things in their lives to them. That's how ever-present the Deva are in the thoughts of the Kingdoms of Ind.

The religious systems of Ind are on an entirely different paradigm than the Old World.
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This stuff is really interesting and I'd be excited to hear stuff like this about Cathay and Arab...y? I forget the name of the second one.
 
Garlak said:
Ah, a question.


We see Johanna leap into the water, in order to ride the tides up and onto an enemy ship. Genevieve, on the other hand, muses about how if she spends too long in the ocean or river, she would be unmade.

Is that a sign of different weaknesses and levels of vulnerability (or levels of tolerance) between sire and child?

Or is it just two ways to show the same thing: that Johanna is just as vulnerable to dying in the ocean if she is lost in it, she's just willing to temporarily jump in and swim in order to achieve battlefield objectives. And so her narration talks about her leaping into the water and being slammed by a wave into a mast. Whereas Genevieve isn't in the middle of a fight or a mad dash towards an enemy ship, and instead is... almost lounging or waiting around, really, and so her perspective has her muse go"oh man, the water sure sucks" "oh man, the sunlight sure sucks."
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Different vampires have different "gifts" and different weaknesses.
Though they share the curse of undeath, Vampires are unique creatures with myriad abilities and traits. Some dedicate their immortal existence to mastering warfare, whilst others delve into arcane lore, create nations of Undead through political manipulations, or willingly succumb to their bestial nature.
Some characteristics are spread evenly across bloodlines, others may be confined to a single bloodline, and others still may be merely more represented in one bloodline than others.
Some Vampires live a hermit-like existence in the wilds of the Old World, interacting infrequently with others of their kind. Such recluses prefer their own company, although some maintain a circle of minions to tend their needs. Through extended isolation, the Vampire loses all vestiges of its humanity.

Ghoulkin: This Vampire has a strong kinship with Ghouls, using them as its eyes and ears in the wider world.​
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Spectral Form: By shifting its physical form into a vaporous state, the Vampire becomes invulnerable to mortal weapons and is almost impossible to destroy.​
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Supernatural Horror: This Vampire is hideous to look upon, having long since forsaken the trappings of nobility and beauty. The appearance of this Vampire reflects the evil in his veins a thousandfold. The true horror of the Vampire is open for all to see. The revulsion he causes in mortals vindicates his decision to embrace the beast within.​
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For those who desire mastery of the dark arts, the curse of Undeath grants many long centuries during which the secrets of Necromancy can be unlocked. Such study can be arduous and perilous, but many Vampires find its lure irresistible at some point in their unlives and will seek to increase their Necromantic powers. Necromancy is at the core of a Vampire's existence and to master it is to master themselves and their fate.

Dark Acolyte: All Undead creatures are steeped in Dark Magic, and Vampires are no different. Some Vampires have an affinity for necromantic magic beyond that of their peers, which only increases with age, study and practice. As even the lowliest Necrarch follows the long and difficult path of the Necromancer, this trait is especially common among them.​
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Forbidden Lore: Long must one study to gain knowledge of the netherworld, let alone several paths of magical teaching, but time is no worry to an undying scholar. This trait is especially common amongst Necrarchs.​
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Master of the Black Arts: What challenge do the winds of magic present to a being who sits outside the loop of time? What mortal creature can match the magical prowess of one so ancient that its teacher might have been the Great Necromancer himself? The Winds of Magic themselves present little challenge to this Vampire, so matchless is his magical prowess. This trait is especially well represented amongst Necrarchs.​
The curse of the Undead is not a stable thing, and many Vampires grow unable to control the red thirst, while others choose simply to not restrain their primal urges. Such beings swiftly devolve into terrible monsters, crazed and bestial things shunned by both the living and the dead, whose only drive is to feast upon mortal flesh and hot blood.

Flying Horror: The Vampire is able to take to the skies with great, membranous wings, by Dark Magic, or perhaps can even metamorphose into a monstrous bat.​
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Hunter in the Dark: Who knows what terrors lurk in the dark places of the world, biding their time until the moment to strike has come?​
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Infinite Hatred: Driven by bloodlust beyond mortal comparison, the Vampire fights with an intensity that turns aside the most skilled parry or stoutest shield. The Strigoi, who are most commonly associated with this trait, know no love; shunned by all, they brood in their solitude vowing death upon all they meet.​
The martial skills of a Vampire can be fed by the red thirst and honed through centuries, or even millennia, of warfare. Few foes can stand before a Vampire who has given over his existence to the arts of the slaughterer.

Avatar of Death: Trained by the best swordsmen of different periods and cultures, the Vampire has become a deadly warrior capable of slaying the most monstrous of foes.​
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Dread Knight: There are armour-clad Vampire Knights in the world, pursuing their martial glories with deathless vigour. This Vampire has followed the path of the warrior to its ultimate conclusion, taking up arms in dark mockery of a knightly vow. Most famous are the Blood Dragons, but not all the deadly horsemen of the Old World were trained within Blood Keep.​
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Red Fury: The Vampire enters the melee as he has always done in centuries past with a savage and unstoppable bloodlust. He won't stop until all his enemies lie dead on the ground. This trait is especially well represented amongst Blood Dragons.​
Eternal life brings ample time to refine the practices and manners that are the trappings of many Vampires recruited from the noble houses of the Old World. The taint of the Undead also gifts a will as strong as steel that few mortal creatures can resist.

Aura of Dark Majesty: The very greatest of Vampires project an aura of utter supremacy and poise that induces fear and awe in even the proudest of beings. To be in the presence of this Vampire is to truly know your own lowly place in the world. As they are the most authoritative of the Vampires, this trait is especially common amongst the von Carsteins, the best generals among their kind, but can also be found in Necrarchs.​
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Beguile: What brute would dare to attack such a vulnerable lady? The entrancing gaze of the Vampire traps the weak-willed. Mesmerised, the Vampire's victim can do nothing to ward away the inevitable deathblow. This trait is especially common amongst Lahmians.​
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Walking Death: So powerful is the unholy presence of the Vampire that mere mortals are forced to flee in dread and terror. This trait is especially common amongst Strigoi and von Carsteins.​
All Vampires can control the Undead through their innate power, but some turn their will to the domination of these creatures to the exclusion of all other goals. Such Vampires have near limitless legions at their disposal.

Lord of the Dead: An army of ancient warriors stand ready to fulfill the commands of their Vampire general. Rank after rank of armed Skeletons rise from their graves to answer the Vampire's bidding.​
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Summon Creatures of the Night: The Vampire howls into the cold night, and his cry is answered by the baying of countless dark creatures, wolves and bats bolstering its forces.​
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Summon Ghouls: The Vampire bellows a guttural cry which can be heard by his flesh eating minions. Easily dominated by a stern master, Crypt Ghouls worship this Vampire as a living god of death. Most commonly seen amongst Strigoi, to those with trait these creatures are slaves to the authority of the Ghoul Kings.​
Several powers are found amongst a variety of bloodlines, but are not directly associated with neither a particular archetype of vampire, nor a particular bloodlines.

Bat Form: Wrapping the power of darkness around him, the Vampire metamorphises into a giant bat. This power is especially common amongst Strigoi and Von Carsteins.​
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Blood Burst: Whilst you need blood to survive, your body does not process the fluid, so once you draw forth the nutrients from it, the excess fluid collects in pockets formed of your Undead flesh. Whenever you are sufficiently injured, one or more of these sacs burst, spraying gobs of old, tar-like blood at all adjacent creatures.​
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Blood-Sated: You may abstain from drinking blood for twice the standard period. This power is especially common for Necrarchs and Strigoi.​
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Carrier: Your indiscretions about feeding have infected you with a horrid contagion, most commonly Scurvy Madness.​
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Curse of the Revenant: So strong is the desire for some to continue living that they defy death. But this has a price – the eternal thirst for the blood of the living. Through magic, bloodletting or sheerfo rce of will, the strength of this Vampire to survive the centuries is beyond compare. This trait is especially well represented amongst Strigoi.​
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Defy the Dawn: Your will is so strong, you can overcome even the terrible power of the sun. This trait is especially common amongst Lahmians, Necrarchs, and Von Carsteins.​
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Fear Incarnate: This Vampire has a dread reputation. It is said that he has slaughtered thousands of would-be heroes over the centuries, and no right-minded warrior will seek battle with such a foe.​
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Host: Your body is host to a colony of vile insects and worms. They crawl through the rotten flesh of your body, feasting on the blood you ingest and the slippery flesh of your innards.​
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Honour or Death: Many mortal champions regret their rash pride after the valiant challenge they issued is accepted by a creature whose eyes are the eyes of death itself. This power is especially common amongst Blood Dragons and Von Carsteins.​
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Iron Sinews: After death the Vampire's muscles grow far greater than they ever could have been in his mortal life. The Vampire becomes a beast of pure muscular power. This trait is especially common amongst Strigoi and Blood Dragons.​
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Master Strike: So strong is the lord of the night, that a well-placed blow from his sword can bring low, sever a limb or decapitate the toughest opponents. This trait is especially common amongst Blood Dragons.​
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Malformed: Your body is twisted and grotesque, an abomination to behold. Worse, the ill-advised structure of your transformed body allows unsightly bulges to form, pressing out against the flesh until the skin thins so that it pops with a sickening wet splatter. Just as soon as the bubo explodes, the flesh knits back together again as another bulge begins to form elsewhere.​
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Mist Form: Some Vampires can change their shape to a whirl of mist. The mist is entirely magical, under their control, and does not behave according to nature. This trait is especially well represented amongst Lahmians and Von Carsteins.​
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Nehekhara's Noble Blood: The only thing the Necrarchs could take from their land was their necromantic lore. These secrets are found in the cursed scrolls hidden in the lairs of the oldest Lords of the Necrarch family. This trait can also be found in Lahmians.​
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Psychic Drain: It is not enough to sip the blood of your victims; your Undead form requires far more energy to sustain itself. You become an emotional sink, draining the will and emotion from living creatures around you.​
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Quickblood: Is it possible to dart aside and avoid a cannon ball? Is it possible to grab an arrow in fight with one's hand? It certainly is for these Vampires. The sword-strikes of even the most skilful men are but clumsy and childlike before the preternatural speed of the Vampire. This trait is especially well represented amongst Lahmians and Blood Dragons.​
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Ravenous: The scent of blood is enough to drive you into a mad frenzy.​
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Scent Blood: You have the uncanny ability to smell the blood of living creatures within 16 yards.​
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Silvered Blood: Through some twist of magic, the argent metal already courses in your veins. Rather than weakening your flesh, the presence of silver in your body makes you immune to its dreadful effects.​
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Stench: You exude the particularly loathsome stench of a charnel house. Those who are creative can circumvent your odour—Dwarfs are quite fond of wrapping scarfs soaked in their own urine around their nose and mouth, though such techniques often have a similar effect.​
​
Swarm Form: You may assume the form of a swarm of beetles, flies, ravens, or cockroaches. Whilst in this form, you may not attack nor may you be injured—stomping on your constituent roaches is definitely uncomfortable, even painful, but not lethal as you are Undead after all.​
​
Transfix: The Vampire is so beautiful that a mere mortal's will to fight immediately disappears before her. The eyes of the Vampire are two deep pits where a mortal can find his doom. The unfortunate victims can do nothing but stare entranced and helpless at the deadly hunter preparing to strike. This power is especially common amongst Lahmians and Von Carsteins.​
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Unbending Willpower: Some of these immortal hunters have crossed the oceans of time, commanded armies and ruled kingdoms in their everlasting undeath. There are few creatures that can avoid being overcome with awe and falling to their knees before them and the obedience they obtain from their servants is absolute. This power is especially common in Necrarchs and Von Carsteins.​
​
Unhallowed Soul: You are truly cognisant of your freedom from the spiritual realm, and thus, you fear no God or Daemon. You are immune to the repulsing powers of places or objects of faith, including those of the Chaos Gods.This trait is especially well represented amongst Blood Dragons, Lahmians, and Strigoi.​
​
Waterwalker: Your will is so strong you may overrule the curse on your blood and cross running water with immense effort. This trait is especially well represented amongst Blood Dragons and Strigoi.​
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Wolf Form: The Vampire can change his shape to that of a wolf. This trait is especially common in Blood Dragons and Von Carsteins.​
Call Winds: The anger of a von Carstein is so powerful that even the sky reflects it. You may call forth a huge and terrible storm, even from a completely blue and quiet sky.​
​
Persistent Image: The light of the sun has not rejected you. Your image is reflected in mirrors and any other reflective surface. You also cast a normal shadow from the sun or any other light source.​
​
Pure Blood: The ring of Vlad von Carstein is the ancient inheritance of the noblest of the Vampire bloodlines. Only they have the right to wear this holy relic, which is charged with the power to restore and resurrect a destroyed Vampire's body.​
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Summon Bats: The Vampire produces a bestial howl that awakens dark creatures and beckons them to his aid.​
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Summon Wolves: These beasts are slaves to the implacable will of the von Carstein blood.​
Blademaster: Trained by the best swordsmen of different periods and cultures, a Blood Dragon Vampire can easily deflect the blows from his puny enemies.​
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Doomrider: A knight and his horse share a very strong bond – so strong that sometimes it can continue even after death.​
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Heart Piercing: Using a combination of great strength and amazing speed, it is easy for the Vampire to create a gap in his opponent's guard.​
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Might of Arms: The Vampire has trained for centuries in the use of his favourite weapons, acquiring a skill that is rarely matched, even by the best of mortals.​
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Piercing Strike: Whenever you attack with a weapon, you put the full force of your might behind the swing, delivering gruesome injuries.​
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Warrior Pride: A Blood Dragon High Lord will be buried with his finest and most precious suit of armour.​
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Strength of Steel: Such is the Vampire's martial prowess that he is able to strike at the precise moment when it will cause the most carnage. Further, a true knight will never abandon his armour and sometimes the steel skin becomes part of his own body.​
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Terrible Blows: Your great strength and incredible speed allows you to rain blows of terrifying force on your enemies.​
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Unholy Regeneration: Your wounds heal at a startling rate.​
The Awakening: The Vampire can sense the remains of long-dead warriors and awaken them to bolster his unholy ranks.​
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Death Incarnate: The mere presence of an unnatural creature as a Necrarch Lord is enough to stop the heart of weak beings and cast despair into the strongest of souls.​
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Deathsight: You can see spirits and souls that are normally invisible, as per the Lore of Death spell of the same name.​
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Mastery Over Flesh: You are naturally gifted at manipulating and controlling the flesh of the dead.​
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Nehekharan Scrolls: You have preserved some of the ancient lore of the Land of the Dead.​
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Summon Ancients: You can sense the remains of long-dead warriors and call them to fight on your behalf.​
​
Unholy Cynosure: The Necrarch can focus his power into a different plane to forsee the future and change the present.​
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Wellspring of Dhar: Your soul is so corrupted with dark magic that it has become a natural pool of True Dhar.​
Massive Monstrosity: Such is the size of some of the more ancient Strigoi that a blow that would kill a normal creature is but a mere scratch to these gigantic beasts.​
​
Summon Vermin: You may call forth a tide of bats, rats, or other tiny creatures to attack your enemies. Alternatively, a crowd of giant vermin such as Vampire Bats or Giant Rats may be summoned.​
Aethyric Cipher: Your natural mastery over the Winds of Magic allows you to cloak and dissipate the Aethyric distortions around you.​
​
The Dead Walk Fast: This Sylvanian proverb could not be more true, especially for the swift and nimble Lahmian Vampires.​
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Domination: The eyes of the Vampire are two deep pits in which a mortal can find his doom.​
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Familiar Form: You may transform into any small animal of your choice.​
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Innocence Lost: These deceptive creatures look so inoffensive and vulnerable that naïve enemies lower their defenses. That is when they strike with all their supernatural strength, ripping apart armour and bodies with their seemingly innocent hands.​
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Lightning Reflexes: The body of a Vampire looks human, but is capable of reactions so fast that even the quickest swordsman would look clumsy in comparison.​
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Night Creature: Sometimes, in the uncertain light of the forest, a hunter can see a beautiful pale girl, but in the blink of an eye she disappears. If he is wise, he should realise that he is now the prey.​
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Seduction: How can a mortal resist the allure of a creature who has preyed on warm blooded males since the dawn of time? Who can refuse to become her willing slave?​
​
Swiftness: How swift and sure is the tread of these beautiful and arrogant maidens of Undeath!​
"Hawthorn bound and sharpened true,
Silvered blade the neck must hew,
Garlic, bloodwort, witchbane too,
Keeps thine flesh yet fair to view.
Blessed lance speared through and through
Holy verse will fiend undo.
If thou wouldst see dawn anew,
Harken well these lessons few." —Stirland proverb, as cackled by Ingrid One-Tooth.

All Vampire's suffer from the Blood Curse placed upon them by Nagash. The curse places the following six restrictions upon the Vampire. The most common involve the inability to cross running water, the inability to cast a reflection or shadow, the urge to drink blood, vulnerability to sunlight, weakness to certain herbs, and a weakness towards silver. However, as the bloodlines have crossed and become muddied, there is no guarantee that a Vampire has all of these weaknesses and may have others instead. All Vampires must drink blood, but the other weaknesses are not assured.

The Blessing of the Lady: The Lady of the Lake's holy blessing is anathema to the creatures of the night. Weapons that have been anointed in Sacred Lakes or the fonts of Grail Chapels can inflict debilitating wounds upon the unholy. The goddess's magnificent Grail Knights bear her permanent blessing, and vampires often find it painful to even look upon these living saints.​
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Barriers: This Vampire cannot enter any other structure not owned by him unless he is first invited. Once the Vampire is invited, he may enter and exit freely. The Necrarchs typically have this vulnerability.​
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Counting: These Vampires have a curious obsession with counting. Whenever confronted with a number of small objects, such as poppy seeds, coins, or pieces of string, the Vampire must use an act of strong willpower or be unable to resist the urge to count the objects—an act that usually takes one to ten minutes.​
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Daemonsroot and Witchbane: Some Vampires are repelled by Daemonsroot and Witchbane.​
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Fire: A few Vampires are vulnerable to purifying flame.​
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Garlic: Many Vampires have an unusual weakness for rare roots and plants, as can be seen with Daemonsroot and Witchbane. A few are saddled with vulnerabilities to more common plants such as garlic.​
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Gromril: The touch of Dwarfen Gromril is anathema to some Vampires.​
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Ithilmar: The silvery steel of the Elves is said to hold uncanny magical power. Whilst much of this material is used for armour and decorative items, the Elves are famed for their potent weapons wrought from this ore.​
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No Reflection: Many Vampires are cursed, so they can never behold their visage in the surface of a mirror or in a shadow cast by the moonlight. Mirrors or other reflective surfaces do not show the appearance of these Vampires.​
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Religious Symbols: The power of belief is quite strong in the Old World, and mortals who present icons and symbols of their Gods can sometimes repel Vampires.​
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Holy Books: There is a belief amongst Witch Hunters that Vampires will not come near holy books. In addition, reading passages from a holy book is thought to ward off Vampires.​
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Sawdust: A few Vampires can be repelled by the accoutrements of those who handle corpses, such as sawdust or embalming fluid.​
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Silver: The mere touch of silver burns the flesh of Vampires with this weakness.​
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Stakes: Plunging a stake through the heart of any creature is traumatic enough, but when used against Vampires with this weakness, any attack with a stake is enough to drive these creatures away. The stake must be fashioned from a special wood, such as ash, hawthorn, or rosewood.​
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Sunlight: A Vampire in direct sunlight halves all characteristics and receives injuries per minute of exposure, regardless of the toughness of themselves or their armour.​
​
Tears: A rare few Vampires cannot suffer the tears of a virtuous mortal, and therefore, they never feed on innocents, preferring instead to feed on the corrupt, the vicious, or criminal. These Vampires often pose a number of questions to their victims to assess the quality of their morals before attacking.​
​
Warpstone: Warpstone is particularly loathsome to these Vampires. They cannot tolerate its presence, and if they come into contact with the substance, they experience dreadful changes.​
​
Running Water: Some Vampires are unable to cross running water, receiving grievous damage if they attempt it. For the purpose of this curse, the water must be at least a yard across, a foot deep, and have a current. Simply splashing a Vampire with water is not enough, nor is rain, or dumping a bucking of water on a Vampire's head.​
Due to the immunities offered by the Blood Gifts, not every Vampire suffers from the full six curses. As well, Vampires are also vulnerable to many things that plague ordinary mortals. Vampires are immune to normal weapons or injuries, and they must heal at the same rate as any creature, though they can use both blood and necromancy to mend their wounds more quickly. Vampires can also die from their wounds just like a mortal. They are only unique in that, because they lack a true soul, their spirit does not depart for Morr's Garden or the fury of the Realm of Chaos, thus allowing them to be summoned back to this world more easily than any other creature.

Vampires are also vulnerable to Insanity, perhaps even more so than mortals.

Banquet of Blood: Vampires who gorge on blood often become addicted to it. If a Vampire drinks blood more than twelve times in one day, he risks gaining insanity.​
​
The Beast Returned: Weakened strength due to persistent denial of the urge to feed or very low resistance to the urge to feed itself both causes the bestial stage of the first feeding to return.​
​
The Blood Kiss: Receiving the Kiss often troubles weak minds.​
​
Critical Hits: Although they no longer fear death, they do fear the ending of their glorious un-life. Vampires gain insanity every Critical Hit they take from silvered or blessed weapons, fire, or sunlight.​
​
The Melancholy of Age: Vampires may gain some insanity for every century they live after being given the Blood Kiss. For each passing century, they progressively lose the will to fight this insanity. Time spent in hibernation does not count towards this.​
​
Other: Vampires are also likely to gain insanity from magical mishaps and encounters with Chaos entities. However, their closeness to death makes them immune to insanity caused by failing to withhold terror or fear. Likewise, they are typically inured to the horrors of extreme violence, torture, and suffering.​

All it means is that Johanna has different strengths and weaknesses then Genevieve, well besides the strengths they get from their Jade Dragon training.
 
@torroar just how many of these background pc you have running and how many have died at this point?

and where there some really epic ones we will never hear about?
 
torroar said:
The snakemen came slithering out of the Realm of Chaos already formed and aligned to the Dark Gods. Age sort of like Lizardmen, in that they don't, but while the Lizardmen are pure meat robots created by the Old Ones, the snakemen are run on blood/souls, I suppose in a manner similar to vampires, really. Only they are absolutely alive, while vampires are undead. Also the whole Chaos alignment thing. The snakemen are not friends to the beastmen, and no matter what the beastmen say about them being the true heirs to Chaos, the snakemen were there just as they were. Only now the snakemen have been reduced only to Khuresh, and are quite bitter indeed about it. You would be too, if you came out in the first waves alongside the daemons. They hate humanity as well, as the beastmen do, for many of the same reasons. All of a sudden, the snakemen were no longer the most favored.

The closest relation the snakemen have in the Old World is the Fimir, who are more lizardy while the snakemen are more...well, you know. Snake-y.
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They wouldn't happen to have 4 arms, spell their racial name with two ss and look some what like these guys:
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Would they?

torroar said:
Fun fact, I just decided on all that Khuresh and flesh hive stuff as I was writing the posts about them. And now it's canon. That's the power of being the GM, I guess! The Indi stuff I had actual notes on from a while ago, though. Besides, it's not like there's much on Khuresh anyway. There's even less about them than there is for Cathay and Ind! A shame, I think.

EDIT:

Oh, and this hasn't come up yet, and likely won't for a bit, but I don't know why they made it be Ki-Rin, which is much closer to the Japanese version of the lightning cloud horse. It should be, even if we're keeping the dash, Qi-Lin, and it is now. So if it does come up in quest, lightning cloud unicorns are Qi-Lin, not Ki-Rin. I don't care what the wiki says.
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So something like these?

Source.


Source.
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An artist named Furious-Ming over on the Total War subreddit has put together an entire collection of Cathay concept art in the hopes that we'll one day see Cathay in Total War: Warhammer 3. Even if it's not to your taste, there's a lot of good visual inspiration in their work.
 
In the grand scheme of things, does the Old World matter much compared to Cathay? What about just the Empire? I mean, it is where the Everchosens always go but the threats they face seem distinctly less than what Cathay faces.
 
Tbf, the empire is a lot easier target compared to Cathay too.

Conquering and demolishing the Empire would also slowly snowball them to build up before attacking Cathay as well over time.
 
NCRTrooper said:
The two go hand in hand tbh. Unless the Old World were to somehow unify into one state, no individual state would have the resources or manpower to build something as huge as the Great Bastion,
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You'd hope that at least the Empire and Kislev would be able to agree that their mutual dislike of chaos is strong enough to build said wall...

But, well my hopes and expectations are not that high.

Still theoretically if the Empire and Kislev build up and keep strong connections and don't collapse into civil wars (again in the case of the empire) theoretically it could harden enough that the next Everchosen will run straight into thousands of guns.

Like in general, as long as humanity is able to build up things seem...ok.
 
Doomed Wombat said:
You'd hope that at least the Empire and Kislev would be able to agree that their mutual dislike of chaos is strong enough to build said wall...

But, well my hopes and expectations are not that high.

Still theoretically if the Empire and Kislev build up and keep strong connections and don't collapse into civil wars (again in the case of the empire) theoretically it could harden enough that the next Everchosen will run straight into thousands of guns.

Like in general, as long as humanity is able to build up things seem...ok.
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To be fair Magnus has been doing a lot to ensure that doesn't happen after he dies and doing his best to secure the Empire it's whether his successor will be worthy is the question.

Also given he is planning a 'talk' with Marienburgs ruling body it should potentially nip that one point of contention in the bud assuming it's handled correctly
 
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