Vlad von Carstein

Think what you want, he's badass and not as mean as many think.

"Surrender and serve me in life, or die and slave for me in death." Vlad von Carstein

The first known Von Carstein Vampire. Whether he was the sire of that bloodline or not is unknown, leaning towards not. The series of books "Vampire Wars" has a few POV chapters for Vlad where he refers to his vampiric sire, and theirs for several generations back to Vashanesh, who is clearly not Vlad. However, see the spoiler below.

Appearance and Personality

He was described as a very tall, darkly handsome pale man, with "...a mane of black hair and piercing eyes." He was often well dressed, and went to war in some badass-looking armor, though what kept him alive was the Carstein Ring.

As described by "...those who met him and survived the encounter", Vlad was very intelligent (he manipulated his way into controlling Sylvania through a cunning series of events) with a "feral charm", but had an evil temper. He would get so mad if his plans were thwarted only his wife could calm him without blood being spilt. They went on to create a big vampire family (they had more offspring than Mannfred and Konrad, those two are just the most infamous).

Vlad was also able to single-handedly track down and understand one of the Books of Nagash. He accomplished this by tracking it to a temple where some humans were hiding from a Chaos army and, after the book was found, persuaded them to give it to him (just persuaded, he didn't kill them). This indicates he has some skill at persuasion and he's not a total murderer.

Aside from all this he was a devoted husband. He came to love his wife Isabella, and turned her into a vampire so she wouldn't die of illness. After the turning, Vlad gave her the standard talk he gave all his "gets" (people he turned into vampires). Yet he went even further had all reflective objects removed from the castle in case she was traumatized by no longer having a reflection. There was even a painting of her commissioned as a wedding gift so she'd always look the way she wanted.

Vlad is notable for actually giving a shit about the peasants under his banner. By protecting them from the dark things that lurk Sylvania's wastelands and putting bandits and invaders to the sword, Vlad ingratiated himself upon the people of his land. By sheparding the commoners, Vlad did more than simply guarantee a source of nourishment; his actions led to extensive loyalty from the populace, and his rulership is widely regarded as the best Sylvania ever had (which speaks volumes as to how badly the Sylvanians in general have it).

This, along with his actual giving a shit about the opinions of the other races in the End Times: Archaon, means that he is basically the one actually likeable creature in all of Warhammer fantasy battle. Period. And he's a badass.

History

Like the Joker, he has a multiple-choice past. Unlike the Joker, he's sane enough to remember it, but he never told anyone about it for a long time.

Spoiler (Vlad's past revealed); He was from Nehekhara but he went by the name of Vashanesh. He was Neferata's husband but they grew apart. After the destruction of Lahmia he laid low for awhile. Nothing is known except he chased down necromantic artifacts, until he arrived at Drakenhof.

He married Isabella for power, and used his charm to control her at times, though he ended up falling in love with her. When she lay dying of wasting sickness (Consumption, which is rarely called by that name and is known today as tuberculosis), Vlad made her a vampire so he wouldn't lose her.

When Mordeheim was struck by a comet, Vlad sent some of his agents to collect Warpstone. Then, he used a recovered book of Nagash to start a ritual to summon the dead of Sylvania in a giant army to fight the Empire and appoint himself emperor. He kept getting killed by heroes, and in one case a lucky shot from a cannon, but he had a ring that allowed him to come back from wounds that would permanently kill even a vampire.

During the epilogue of the book "The Return of Nagash", he is resurrected shortly after the titular characters return. His first act is kicking the ass out of Mannfred when the latter tried to Sindri him again, and only spares his life under orders of Nagash, stating that he still has use for him. While the rest of Nagash's forces and his Mortarchs except for the Nameless march on Nehekhara, Vlad is charged with fighting the forces of Chaos. He only agrees to work for Nagash on the condition that Nagash will bring back his wife Isabella.

Unfortunately for him, Nurgle brought her back instead. In revenge for how Vlad saved her from his diseases, she had been possessed by a daemon that convinced her that Vlad had never loved her in the first place and was given powers that were meant specifically to be used against Undead. She killed him but his ring did it's work, bringing him back now free of the Nurglite disease. Possibly inspired by this, during their last encounter at the battle of Middenheim, Vlad gave up his ring to her before killing them both, knowing that the resurrection process would free his beloved wife from the Plaguefather's clutches.

On The Tabletop

Vlad could be an effective special character if he was cheaper. His current incarnation gives him strength 6, 4+ ward, 4+ chance to heal a wound for every unsaved wound he deals and a chance to come back from being killed on a 2+.

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  Vlad, you marvellous bastard.