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Kragnos

2021-09-26T15:30:49Z

2406:3400:20F:FFC0:115F:A9BA:370A:AFE2: /* Worship */

[[File:Kragnos.jpg|300px|thumb|right|]]
'''Kragnos''', the god of earthquakes and a central leader for the warmongering tribes of destruction.

==History==
===Age of Myth===
Before Sigmar estalished himself as ruler of Azyr, Kragnos was born a mortal member of a race of [[centaur]]s living in Ghur called the Drogrukh. The Drogrukh carved caves and made a nation of mountain-sized cities called Donse. They were a fierce yet honorable people, only taking what they needed, and while proclaiming themselves the lords of Ghur, they got along with the Draconith (originally a race of reptilian humanoids, retconned to be GW's patent-friendly name for dragons), who worshipped Dracothion and had powerful magic. Together, the Draconith and the Drogrukh won a war that drove the Dragon Ogors out of Ghur before going their separate ways peacefully.

Kragnos was the son of the Drogrukh elder Gorgos and a greedy, short-tempered guy; unusual among the utilitarian yet honorable Drogrugk. One day Kragnos beat up his brother because they both wanted the same Drogrukh mare. When the Drogrukh elders reprimanded him for it, Kragnos got fed up and decided to strike out with his four best bros (likely not including the aforementioned brother), and thus began his violent path that unintentionally led to godhood.

Over the years he accomplished many legendary tasks, some by himself, some with his companions. Among them were crafting the Dread Mace out of the heart of a mountain (which knowing all the living mountains that are in [[Ghur]] is probably literal), climbing the Beastgrave peak and claiming the legendary Shield Involatile, which he made from a disc of rock that [[Gorkamorka (Deity)|Gorkamorka]] himself had broken a tusk on, leaving it with the power to eat spells. His actions earned him the attention and admiration of the Orruks, who named Kragnos "Da Boss Trampla" and his shield "Tuskbreaker". As Kragnos and co. wandered Ghur, he also started killing and eating every big and tough critter he encountered and wiped out any of the nascent Empires that were starting to emerge in Ghur, thus earning him the title of "The End of Empires".

The few local human tribes who survived his rampage began to see him as a god of Earthquakes, while the numerous races of Destruction quickly decided he was a pretty cool guy and began worshipping him in addition to Gorkamorka (aided by the fact that Gorkamorka himself developed a healthy respect for the guy after Kragnos' attack on the Draconine Empire, see below). Given how the power of belief works where Orruks are concerned, Kragnos being the god of Earthquakes became a self-fulfilling prophecy. Humans and Orruks started killing monsters and leaving them as sacrificial offerings to Kragnos - which he happily accepted, as Kragnos actually absorbed more strength from eating the remains of beasts along with offerings of Amberstone. He was happy to be worshipped as a god and co-exist with the greenskins, because the greenskins like him believed that "might makes right". The fact that this stopped the greenskins from attacking his kin back in Donse was lost on Kragnos.

Kragnos and his companions later arrived at the Draconine empire. While they'd never made an alliance following the defeat of the Dragon Ogors, there was a non-aggression pact between them and Gorgos along with mutual respect.

But at that point the proud and headstrong Kragnos didn't care about the accord anymore. He saw the Draconith as a challenging foe worthy of his new power. He and his four companions waged war on them, the act of aggression winning the approval of the belligerent god Gorkamorka. The war waged on, with many Draconith dying and Kragnos and his companions taking many wounds. Eventually the Draconith fell back before Kragnos' might... but they gathered their remaining strength to kill Kragnos' four companions, then withdrew from the ruins of their empire to wipe out the Drogrukh cities of Donse in revenge. Ignorant of the destruction of Donse, Kragnos was devastated and enraged by the deaths of his four companions and destroyed everything he could find of the Draconith, determined to erase them from history for the deaths of his friends. This reached such a boiling point that he even smashed Draconith eggs into scrambled abortion.

Kragnos' attempted genocide of the Draconith was the last straw for the forces of Order. Several Draconith sorcerers, including the brothers Krondys and Karazai, made contact with the legendary Lord Kroak. In exchange for giving Kroak the last of their eggs, Lord Kroak helped them deal with Kragnos. Kragnos was sealed away in a mountain, which was then isolated from the flow of time by an alliance of sorcerers led by Kroak himself. They had the backing of the godbeast Dracothion as well, who personally restrained Kragnos in his coils as the sorcerers and Kroak wove their spell.

===Soul Wars===
The only notable thing that happened at this time was that Nagash's Necroquake left residual energies that, when combined with their opposite in life, would have devestating consequences on Kragnos' prison.

===Broken Realms===
During the [[Broken Realms Saga|Broken Realms crisis]], the energies of Alarielle's Rite of Life reacted with the energy of the Necroquake. It also made the roots of trees on the mountain grow until they pierced the rock encasing Kragnos. These two things unintentionally broke the spell of Kragnos' prison, allowing him to gradually smash his way free.

Unaware that any time had passed since his imprisonment, Kragnos began a rampage across Ghur fueled by his anger at captivity and the desire to reunite with his people ASAP.

Along the way, Kragnos encountered a tribe of five Mega-Gargants, the two immediately attacking each other; the first of several Mega-Gargants to join Kragnos did so after he killed the other four. When Kragnos reached Donse, he found it a lifeless run and got a major sad. This turned to rage when he saw Gordrakk's WAAAGH! and the city of Excelsis in the distance... but first he and his Mega-Gargant groupies had to deal with Gordrakk's army. Both sides fought for a bit, with Kragnos fighting Gordrakk and his Maw-Krusha Bigteef before Kragnos triggered a rockslide that buried the three of them. After fighting their way out, Kragnos - after a distraction from Skragrott and a timely appearance of the Bad Moon, shrugged and invited the Orruks to help him destroy Excelsis...something they were more than happy to do given they were already on their way to do just that when they ran into him.

Kragnos charged the Southern Wall of the city and tore down a large chunk of it while the defenders were distracted by Gordrakk's attack on the North Wall. After Gordrakk's battering ram was shattered by Lord Kroak's enchantment, Kragnos reached the main gate, reared up and hit it with all his might using his front hooves and club simultaneously. Lord Kroak's enchantments couldn't withstand Kragnos' raw might, and the gate shattered with explosive force on impact. This combined with the city’s Ogor mercenaries revealing themselves to be agents of the Loonking and turning on the defenders allowed the Orruk's and their allies to flood into the city.

After Morathi's reinforcements dealt with Kragnos' Mega-Gargant supporters attacking the city docks, Morathi sicced her big serpentine body on Kragnos to distract him while her elven body sought Lord Kroak. But Kragnos was too powerful for any of them to kill, his shielding letting him harmlessly tank Kroak's spells while he beat down Morathi's serpent body. Barely saving herself from death at Kragnos' club, Morathi convinced Kroak to send Kragnos away where he can be someone else's problem. Kroak opened a massive portal which Morathi cast an illusion on to trick Kragnos into thinking it was a city of his sworn foes, the Draconith Empire (who Morathi knew about from studying their ruins in the Age of Myth). Being about as dumb as he is big, Kragnos fell for the illusion and - after promising to finish off Morathi and/or Excelsis - charged through the portal, which proceeded to drop him on the far side of Ghur. Without his presence in the city, the Orruk lines begin to crumble, allowing the defenders to push them back.

Meanwhile Kragnos, upon realizing he'd been duped, proceeded to take out his frustration on the local Chaos fortress while a bunch of local Kruleboyz Orruks, who happened to be an isolated tribe of Kragnos worshippers, looked on in awe at the spectacle. Shortly after finally quelling his rage, he was approached by an Orruk shaman who called himself Gobsprakk, the Voice of Mork. Surprisingly not only could the orruk speak his language but said that he had foreseen his arrival. Gobsprakk went on to say that he foresaw Kragnos at the front of a great army that would crush the realms under his hooves, and offered to be his intermediary and advisor in this endeavor. Kragnos, not immune to flattery and able to see the value in a strategist and translator, accepted the offer.

Following this Kragnos and his new herald Gobsprakk has taken up cause with other orruk waaaghs and is whipping up as many of them as he can to create a mighty horde. With Gobsrakk acting as an intermediary, Kragnos can actually command his followers as a functioning army, rather than them just following him like bunch of groupies. With more and more followers of Destruction flocking to his banner, Kragnos is shaping to be a true threat to the greater realms.

==Worship==
All the Destruction races have a reverence for Kragnos, some bordering on full on worship. The easy explanation for this being Gorkamorka’s own respect for the End of Empires, which flows down to his children. However each subculture/faction will have additional reasons for following him.

* Orruks of all breeds are the most common followers of Kragnos, who love getting into a good scrap alongside him. Ironjawz in particular follow him as the dead ‘ardest warboss around. The feral Bonesplitterz venerate his beastial appearance and how his godhood was attained via eating the bones of great monsters, literally the cornerstone of their own faith. The Kruleboyz meanwhile are an opportunistic lot who revel in the madness and chaos that ensue following Kragnos’ rampages. A perfect chance for their own sneaky schemes.
* The Grots of the Gloomspite Gitz have a similar mindset like the Kruleboyz; capitalizing on the insanity of Kragnos’ murder spree to pillage and backstab everything in their way.
* Troggoth minds are simple. They see Kragnos, and they know there’s gonna be food wherever he goes. Thus they follow him.
* Ogors of all sorts respect Kragnos’ “eating till you become a god” feat, especially the Gutbusters. The Beastclaw Raiders however focus on his many hunts of great beasts and draconic monsters.
* Gargants respect size above all else. Kragnos towers over Gargants, and although most Mega-Gargants are still head and shoulders taller than Kragnos, they recognize his ability to break their bones pretty easily. However not all Mega-Gargants respect him, chief among them King Brodd.

==Tabletop==
Kragnos can be taken by any {{AOSKeyword|DESTRUCTION}} aligned army.

This big boy is the epitome of the term "mighty glacier", moving only "10 but... read on. He has a 2+ save, 18 wounds and his shield Tuskbreaker to keep himself alive. Tuskbreaker makes it so if he beats the spells casting value on a 3D6, the spell won't work on him. Note, that’s casting ''value'', not casting ''roll'', so Teclis, Nagash, Kroak? None of their bonuses matter.

Despite his slow speed he hits like a runaway train, fitting for the god of earthquakes. His weapon, The Dread Mace, hits harder than Ghal Maraz itself, wounding on 2's, -3 rend and does 4 damage with each attack, and he has six attacks which doesn't diminish if he takes damage. He can also bash enemies with his shield for three Rend -2, D3 damage hits and hit with his hooves for 2 damage at -1 rend up to six times. He also re-rolls charges and hit rolls against units with the Stardrakes, Drakes, Dracoths and Dracolines keyword due to his hatred of dragons (but somehow not Zombie Dragons).

And then there's his ultimate ability "Rampaging Destruction". After the charge, roll a dice for each enemy unit within 1" or an enemy monster within 1"; if the former is chosen, on a 2+ each unit suffers D6 Mortal Wounds, but monsters get it worse if you choose a the latter. On a roll of 7 nothing happens, otherwise the monster suffers a number of mortal wounds equal to the numbers rolled on the dice multiplied... meaning a monster could potentially suffer '''36 MORTAL WOUNDS, AND THAT'S ''BEFORE'' KRAGNOS ATTACKS IN COMBAT!'''

As the god of earthquakes, he has a roar that can burst eardrums, level buildings and make Bloodthristers look like they have laryngitis. Whenever he suffers wounds, roll a dice for each unit and defensible terrain feature within 6". If the number is equal to or greater than the score on the table (the required score decreasing as Kragnos takes wounds), enemy units within 6" suffer D3 Mortal Wounds and that defensible terrain feature is demolished and no longer defensible (any models garrisoning it are slain if they roll a dice roll of 1).

He also buffs the bravery of all {{AOSKeyword|DESTRUCTION}} units within 12" by 1.

{{AoS-Gods}}
[[Category: Age of Sigmar]]
[[Category:40k and Fantasy Gods]]

Kragnos

2021-09-26T15:29:42Z

2406:3400:20F:FFC0:115F:A9BA:370A:AFE2: /* Broken Realms */

[[File:Kragnos.jpg|300px|thumb|right|]]
'''Kragnos''', the god of earthquakes and a central leader for the warmongering tribes of destruction.

==History==
===Age of Myth===
Before Sigmar estalished himself as ruler of Azyr, Kragnos was born a mortal member of a race of [[centaur]]s living in Ghur called the Drogrukh. The Drogrukh carved caves and made a nation of mountain-sized cities called Donse. They were a fierce yet honorable people, only taking what they needed, and while proclaiming themselves the lords of Ghur, they got along with the Draconith (originally a race of reptilian humanoids, retconned to be GW's patent-friendly name for dragons), who worshipped Dracothion and had powerful magic. Together, the Draconith and the Drogrukh won a war that drove the Dragon Ogors out of Ghur before going their separate ways peacefully.

Kragnos was the son of the Drogrukh elder Gorgos and a greedy, short-tempered guy; unusual among the utilitarian yet honorable Drogrugk. One day Kragnos beat up his brother because they both wanted the same Drogrukh mare. When the Drogrukh elders reprimanded him for it, Kragnos got fed up and decided to strike out with his four best bros (likely not including the aforementioned brother), and thus began his violent path that unintentionally led to godhood.

Over the years he accomplished many legendary tasks, some by himself, some with his companions. Among them were crafting the Dread Mace out of the heart of a mountain (which knowing all the living mountains that are in [[Ghur]] is probably literal), climbing the Beastgrave peak and claiming the legendary Shield Involatile, which he made from a disc of rock that [[Gorkamorka (Deity)|Gorkamorka]] himself had broken a tusk on, leaving it with the power to eat spells. His actions earned him the attention and admiration of the Orruks, who named Kragnos "Da Boss Trampla" and his shield "Tuskbreaker". As Kragnos and co. wandered Ghur, he also started killing and eating every big and tough critter he encountered and wiped out any of the nascent Empires that were starting to emerge in Ghur, thus earning him the title of "The End of Empires".

The few local human tribes who survived his rampage began to see him as a god of Earthquakes, while the numerous races of Destruction quickly decided he was a pretty cool guy and began worshipping him in addition to Gorkamorka (aided by the fact that Gorkamorka himself developed a healthy respect for the guy after Kragnos' attack on the Draconine Empire, see below). Given how the power of belief works where Orruks are concerned, Kragnos being the god of Earthquakes became a self-fulfilling prophecy. Humans and Orruks started killing monsters and leaving them as sacrificial offerings to Kragnos - which he happily accepted, as Kragnos actually absorbed more strength from eating the remains of beasts along with offerings of Amberstone. He was happy to be worshipped as a god and co-exist with the greenskins, because the greenskins like him believed that "might makes right". The fact that this stopped the greenskins from attacking his kin back in Donse was lost on Kragnos.

Kragnos and his companions later arrived at the Draconine empire. While they'd never made an alliance following the defeat of the Dragon Ogors, there was a non-aggression pact between them and Gorgos along with mutual respect.

But at that point the proud and headstrong Kragnos didn't care about the accord anymore. He saw the Draconith as a challenging foe worthy of his new power. He and his four companions waged war on them, the act of aggression winning the approval of the belligerent god Gorkamorka. The war waged on, with many Draconith dying and Kragnos and his companions taking many wounds. Eventually the Draconith fell back before Kragnos' might... but they gathered their remaining strength to kill Kragnos' four companions, then withdrew from the ruins of their empire to wipe out the Drogrukh cities of Donse in revenge. Ignorant of the destruction of Donse, Kragnos was devastated and enraged by the deaths of his four companions and destroyed everything he could find of the Draconith, determined to erase them from history for the deaths of his friends. This reached such a boiling point that he even smashed Draconith eggs into scrambled abortion.

Kragnos' attempted genocide of the Draconith was the last straw for the forces of Order. Several Draconith sorcerers, including the brothers Krondys and Karazai, made contact with the legendary Lord Kroak. In exchange for giving Kroak the last of their eggs, Lord Kroak helped them deal with Kragnos. Kragnos was sealed away in a mountain, which was then isolated from the flow of time by an alliance of sorcerers led by Kroak himself. They had the backing of the godbeast Dracothion as well, who personally restrained Kragnos in his coils as the sorcerers and Kroak wove their spell.

===Soul Wars===
The only notable thing that happened at this time was that Nagash's Necroquake left residual energies that, when combined with their opposite in life, would have devestating consequences on Kragnos' prison.

===Broken Realms===
During the [[Broken Realms Saga|Broken Realms crisis]], the energies of Alarielle's Rite of Life reacted with the energy of the Necroquake. It also made the roots of trees on the mountain grow until they pierced the rock encasing Kragnos. These two things unintentionally broke the spell of Kragnos' prison, allowing him to gradually smash his way free.

Unaware that any time had passed since his imprisonment, Kragnos began a rampage across Ghur fueled by his anger at captivity and the desire to reunite with his people ASAP.

Along the way, Kragnos encountered a tribe of five Mega-Gargants, the two immediately attacking each other; the first of several Mega-Gargants to join Kragnos did so after he killed the other four. When Kragnos reached Donse, he found it a lifeless run and got a major sad. This turned to rage when he saw Gordrakk's WAAAGH! and the city of Excelsis in the distance... but first he and his Mega-Gargant groupies had to deal with Gordrakk's army. Both sides fought for a bit, with Kragnos fighting Gordrakk and his Maw-Krusha Bigteef before Kragnos triggered a rockslide that buried the three of them. After fighting their way out, Kragnos - after a distraction from Skragrott and a timely appearance of the Bad Moon, shrugged and invited the Orruks to help him destroy Excelsis...something they were more than happy to do given they were already on their way to do just that when they ran into him.

Kragnos charged the Southern Wall of the city and tore down a large chunk of it while the defenders were distracted by Gordrakk's attack on the North Wall. After Gordrakk's battering ram was shattered by Lord Kroak's enchantment, Kragnos reached the main gate, reared up and hit it with all his might using his front hooves and club simultaneously. Lord Kroak's enchantments couldn't withstand Kragnos' raw might, and the gate shattered with explosive force on impact. This combined with the city’s Ogor mercenaries revealing themselves to be agents of the Loonking and turning on the defenders allowed the Orruk's and their allies to flood into the city.

After Morathi's reinforcements dealt with Kragnos' Mega-Gargant supporters attacking the city docks, Morathi sicced her big serpentine body on Kragnos to distract him while her elven body sought Lord Kroak. But Kragnos was too powerful for any of them to kill, his shielding letting him harmlessly tank Kroak's spells while he beat down Morathi's serpent body. Barely saving herself from death at Kragnos' club, Morathi convinced Kroak to send Kragnos away where he can be someone else's problem. Kroak opened a massive portal which Morathi cast an illusion on to trick Kragnos into thinking it was a city of his sworn foes, the Draconith Empire (who Morathi knew about from studying their ruins in the Age of Myth). Being about as dumb as he is big, Kragnos fell for the illusion and - after promising to finish off Morathi and/or Excelsis - charged through the portal, which proceeded to drop him on the far side of Ghur. Without his presence in the city, the Orruk lines begin to crumble, allowing the defenders to push them back.

Meanwhile Kragnos, upon realizing he'd been duped, proceeded to take out his frustration on the local Chaos fortress while a bunch of local Kruleboyz Orruks, who happened to be an isolated tribe of Kragnos worshippers, looked on in awe at the spectacle. Shortly after finally quelling his rage, he was approached by an Orruk shaman who called himself Gobsprakk, the Voice of Mork. Surprisingly not only could the orruk speak his language but said that he had foreseen his arrival. Gobsprakk went on to say that he foresaw Kragnos at the front of a great army that would crush the realms under his hooves, and offered to be his intermediary and advisor in this endeavor. Kragnos, not immune to flattery and able to see the value in a strategist and translator, accepted the offer.

Following this Kragnos and his new herald Gobsprakk has taken up cause with other orruk waaaghs and is whipping up as many of them as he can to create a mighty horde. With Gobsrakk acting as an intermediary, Kragnos can actually command his followers as a functioning army, rather than them just following him like bunch of groupies. With more and more followers of Destruction flocking to his banner, Kragnos is shaping to be a true threat to the greater realms.

==Worship==
All the Destruction races have a reverence for Kragnos, some bordering on full on worship. The easy explanation for this being Gorkamorka’s own respect for the End of Empires, which flows down to his children. However each subculture/faction will have additional reasons for following him.

* Orruks of all breeds are the most common followers of Kragnos, who love getting into a good scrap alongside him. Ironjawz in particular follow him as the dead ‘ardest warboss around. The feral Bonesplitterz venerate his beastial appearance and how his godhood was attained via eating the bones of great monsters, literally the cornerstone of their own faith. The Kruleboyz meanwhile are an opportunistic lot who revel in the madness and chaos that ensue following Kragnos’ rampages. A perfect chance for their own sneaky schemes.
* The Grots of the Gloomspite Gitz have a similar mindset like the Kruleboyz; capitalizing on the insanity of Kragnos’ murder spree to pillage and backstab everything in their way.
* Troggoth minds are simple. They see Kragnos, and they know there’s gonna be food wherever he goes. Thus they follow him.
* Ogors of all sorts respect Kragnos’ “eating till you become a god” feat, especially the Gutbusters. The Beastclaw Raiders however focus on his many hunts of great beasts and draconic monsters.
* Gargants respect size above all else. Kragnos towers over Gargants, and although most Mega-Gargants are still head and shoulders taller than Kragnos, they recognize his ability to break their bones pretty easily.

==Tabletop==
Kragnos can be taken by any {{AOSKeyword|DESTRUCTION}} aligned army.

This big boy is the epitome of the term "mighty glacier", moving only "10 but... read on. He has a 2+ save, 18 wounds and his shield Tuskbreaker to keep himself alive. Tuskbreaker makes it so if he beats the spells casting value on a 3D6, the spell won't work on him. Note, that’s casting ''value'', not casting ''roll'', so Teclis, Nagash, Kroak? None of their bonuses matter.

Despite his slow speed he hits like a runaway train, fitting for the god of earthquakes. His weapon, The Dread Mace, hits harder than Ghal Maraz itself, wounding on 2's, -3 rend and does 4 damage with each attack, and he has six attacks which doesn't diminish if he takes damage. He can also bash enemies with his shield for three Rend -2, D3 damage hits and hit with his hooves for 2 damage at -1 rend up to six times. He also re-rolls charges and hit rolls against units with the Stardrakes, Drakes, Dracoths and Dracolines keyword due to his hatred of dragons (but somehow not Zombie Dragons).

And then there's his ultimate ability "Rampaging Destruction". After the charge, roll a dice for each enemy unit within 1" or an enemy monster within 1"; if the former is chosen, on a 2+ each unit suffers D6 Mortal Wounds, but monsters get it worse if you choose a the latter. On a roll of 7 nothing happens, otherwise the monster suffers a number of mortal wounds equal to the numbers rolled on the dice multiplied... meaning a monster could potentially suffer '''36 MORTAL WOUNDS, AND THAT'S ''BEFORE'' KRAGNOS ATTACKS IN COMBAT!'''

As the god of earthquakes, he has a roar that can burst eardrums, level buildings and make Bloodthristers look like they have laryngitis. Whenever he suffers wounds, roll a dice for each unit and defensible terrain feature within 6". If the number is equal to or greater than the score on the table (the required score decreasing as Kragnos takes wounds), enemy units within 6" suffer D3 Mortal Wounds and that defensible terrain feature is demolished and no longer defensible (any models garrisoning it are slain if they roll a dice roll of 1).

He also buffs the bravery of all {{AOSKeyword|DESTRUCTION}} units within 12" by 1.

{{AoS-Gods}}
[[Category: Age of Sigmar]]
[[Category:40k and Fantasy Gods]]

Ossiarch Bonereapers

2021-09-26T15:19:56Z

2406:3400:20F:FFC0:115F:A9BA:370A:AFE2: /* History */

{{Age of Sigmar Faction|Faction=Ossiarch Bonereapers|Logo=Immortis-WC2.jpg|Alliance=Death|Motto=The Skeleton War is upon us! We ride against the [[Stormcast Eternals|fuckboys]]!}}

{{topquote|Two can play at that game!|Likely Nagash after learning how Sigmar makes Stormcast}}
{{topquote|Debt, an ingenious substitute for the chain and whip of the slavedriver.|Ambrose Bierce}}
{{topquote|The bones of the skeleton which support the body can become the bars of the cage which imprison the spirit.|J. Ruth Gendler}}

The latest addition to [[Nagash]]’s ever growing hordes (designed and sculpted by [[Maxime Corbeil]], a former dentist), the '''Ossiarch Bonereapers'''
(Also known as '''The Boney Boys''', '''Bonecast''', '''Tomb Kings 2.0''', '''Bonechads''', '''Nagash's Taxmen''', '''The Boney Bean Counters''', '''Ossiarch Bean Counters''' or '''The IRS''') are the result of an eons old plan by Big Bone Daddy.

Likely inspired by the [[Stormcast Eternals]], the Bonereapers are not mere skeletons given life by necromancy, but massive constructs of bone and countless warrior souls, making them all look impressively robust for undead. Since the Soulblight Gravelords are the mainstay, the Nighthaunt are the shock troops and the Flesh-Eater Courts are completely insane, these buff bone bruisers are the elite vanguard of the Grand Alliance. Given their themes of bones, undead constructs, priest characters, architect characters and skull-throwing catapults... they're currently the closest thing we've got to [[Tomb Kings]] in AoS.

They also carry out the Bone Tithe; in addition to going out and killing shit to get their bones, the Ossiarchs give settlements they encounter a contract: Give up a set amount of bones whenever we stroll by, or face annihilation now. Understandably, most choose the former. Being unable to pay or even being rude to them also provokes a slaughter.

Visually-speaking, they're what happens when Games Workshop decides to mix [[Tyranids]], [[Tomb Kings]], and [[Necrons]] into one army.

However, widespread dissatisfaction against them due to Petrifex list spamming in first edition tournaments, how they aren't GW darlings like [[Space Marines|everyone with]] [[Stormcast Eternals|pauldrons]] and GW's desire to shill the Lumineth are probably part of the reason the Bonereapers were worfed '''hard''' in the Broken Realms saga. Seriously, the amount of clout they lose in just one book is unthinkable (read "Broken Realms" below for more). This shows a possible chain of Worfing going on in AoS ("worfing" is having a supposedly powerful fighter be easily defeated to show how strong their opponent is - named after Worf from Star Trek, who was often on the receiving end). First the Stormcast worfed the Warriors of Chaos/Slaves to Darkness, then both were worfed by the Bonereapers, and then the Bonereapers were worfed by the Lumineth. Now it remains to be seen if the Bonereapers will get payback, restore those they lost... or at least we can wonder who will worf the Lumineth in future.

==History==
===Age of Myth===
[[File:Slaves to Darkness vs Ossiarch Bonereapers 01.jpg|right|300px|thumb|SKULLS FOR <s>THE SKULL THRONE</s> Nagash! And all the other bones too!]]
When Nagash was helping Sigmar build his cities he secretly began experimenting on undead, combining their bones and souls into newer, stronger undead warriors; the [[Morghasts/Hammurai|Morghasts]] and the first Bonereapers. Most were put into massive underground crypts Nagash secretly built beneath the cities of Order, but others were kept on the surface and brought into battle alongside the armies of the other gods.

The other gods saw the Bonereapers and really didn't like them because of how unnatural they were, even for undead. In response, Nagash sent these Bonereapers to the edge of Shyish to lay low until he called on them (these Bonereapers who would go on to form the Null Myriad). He also sent at least twenty of them to wander the Realms on a long-forgotten mission (these would go on to become the Petrifex Elite).

Strangely, none of the Order groups noticed until however long its been since the start of the Age of Myth that there were crypts full of undead warriors beneath their cities. Especially since they know about and need to defend against [[Skaven|enemies who specialize in creating massive complexes beneath your cities that they then invade from]] or ones who are just [[Gloomspite Gitz|well-versed in tunnel warfare]].

===Age of Chaos===
The Age of Chaos only affected the Bonereapers garrisoned at the edge of Shyish. By that time they had become resistant to magic, and they fought against demonic armies, their actions blunting the assault of Chaos on Shyish. During this time, Katakros led an army against Sigmar himself on Nagash's orders while the former was pursuing the latter for his betrayal. The battle resulted in the loss of Katakros' army, the Mortarch's defeat and subsequent confinement to a Stormvault.

===Age of Sigmar===
In the lead-up to the Soul Wars, Katakros was freed from the Stormvault by fellow Mortarch, Lady Olynder. The Bonereapers on the edge of Shyish acted as a military force protecting the skeletal work crews who carried grains of Shyishan realmstone to Nagashizzar for Nagash to use to build the Black Pyramid.

===Soul Wars===
After the Necroquake, Nagash decided the time was right to wake up everyone beneath these cities, who apparently marched back home, making them relatively pointless. In that respect, these tombs seemed to mirror the Stormvaults Sigmar had strewn about the Realms to contain various dangerous contraband like [[Katakros|said Mortarch]].

When the Bonereaper legions arrived in Shyish, Nagash got back to his pet-project of making super-skellies, and perfected the process. This involves taking souls and distilling them down to their most choice elements. This involves ripping apart their identity and keeping parts considered useful (such as skills, daring and knowledge) while discarding the parts that aren't useful (such as fear, compassion and loyalty to anything but Nagash) and replacing those parts with something "better" (like loyalty to Nagash), with the strongest-willed soul among them becoming the identity of the new Bonereaper. Then these fragmented and melded souls are put into specially crafted bone constructs. By doing so, he artificially created individuals who were warriors, leaders, bodyguards, artisans, architects, philosophers and sculptors all in one, [[Adeptus Custodes|which sounds a little familiar.]]

The Bonereapers subsequently had a meteoric rise, making their mark - and several enemies - across the realms. After establishing their powerbase in Shyish, the Ironjawz Warclan the Kryptboyz have focused their efforts on fighting the Bonereapers due to wanting to destroy their settlements and wear their bones as trophies. In Chamon, the Null Myriad encountered the Seraphon of the Thunder Lizard Constellation and got embroiled in wars for control of the realm's edge. The Ivory Host legion gained a foothold in Ghur, Katakros' realm of origin, and in building their cities they've positioned themselves for conflict with several Mawtribes and the free city of Excelsis. The Ivory Host also clashed with an [[Sons of Behemat|infamous Mega-Gargant who went on to become the mercenary known as One-Eyed Grunnock]].

This was followed by the Bonereapers most notable conflict; the War for the Eightpoints. Katakros led the Mortis Praetorians and detachments from other Legions into the Eightpoints alongside Olynder and a Nighthaunt army to take the Eightpoints for Nagash, the first invvasion of the realm since it had been captured by Chaos. They succeeded in capturing and fortifying the realmgate leading to Shyish, and established a fortified citadel around it as a base of operations. However, Katakros' campaign was halted by the sudden return of Archaon and a force of Varanguard plus a daemon army led by Be'lakor. Bolstered by the mortal and daemonic hosts, the Chaos armies routed Katakros' Nighthaunt allies and forced the Bonereapers to enact a tactical retreat, with Archaon personally slaying him after a lengthy duel. Katakros' soul returned to his stronghold, albeit wounded, and after Katakros' restoration in a new body, the conflict became a stalemate and a war of attrition.

===Broken Realms===
When Morathi entered the Eightpoints in her plan to secure Varanite, she secretly sent an envoy to Katakros, giving him several tonnes of bones infused with the magic of Ulgu in exchange for a Bonereaper attack on Archaon's holdings to distract the forces of Chaos. Knowing the forces of order will take losses in their unknown (to Katakros and the Stormcast) endeavor, Katakros accepted the bargain.

Book two saw some particularly grueling setbacks for the Bonereapers. Not content with making the entire Death faction a bunch of jobbers for the Lumineth, the Bonereapers got worfed like a 40k Avatar of [[Khaine]] fighting Ultramarines, so bad it's as if the author had some bad experiences playing against them on the tabletop.

Teclis confronted Nagash after repelling a Nighthaunt attack on Settler's Gain, and unsuccessfully tried to threaten him into backing down. Then Teclis enacted a master plan seeking to end the Soul Wars and make Nagash pay for the Necroquake. To start, he personally led a Lumineth army riding [[What|flying mountains]] on an invasion of Shyish to destroy three monuments in a symbolic victory to show people the Bonereapers weren't unbeatable. Despite fierce resistance, and a waring from Vokmortion, the Lumineth were able to match the Bonereapers in battle before destroying the monuments and <s>fleeing</s> going back to Hysh.

The Bonereapers replenished their losses with the dead of both sides and sought revenge. While undead armies led by Neferata and Mannfred invaded Chamon and Ghyran respectively, a Null Myriad army led by Arkhan himself invaded Hysh and press-ganged the local Mordant Courts to help <s>give the Lumineth a right proper boning</s> conquer Ymetrica by turning a realmgate in Hysh into a mini-Shyish Nadir. But a Lumineth army repelled Arkhan's first attempt, forcing him to flee and try again with a second realmgate on the edge of Hysh. Not only was this second attempt thwarted by a Lumineth army led by a vengeful Eltharion, the Bonereapers were wiped out, with Arkhan himself punted off the edge of Hysh by the Light of Eltharion and disappearing. The Lumineth burned their dead to limit the Ossiarch’s recruitment, forcing them to harvest the bones of their ghoul allies, causing more trouble as the Flesh-Eater Courts fought back.

Then Nagash personally arrived in Hysh to finish what Arkhan started and kill Avalenor in revenge, but was forced to do battle against Teclis, with each god’s respective army doing battle beneath their feet. Though both gods were roughly equal in magical might, Nagash proved to be a superior combatant and marked Teclis with his blade and death magic. But Teclis got the last laugh due to some unexpected allies in Alarielle and several Luminarks, culminating in the destruction of Nagash's nine books, Nagash himself having his body broken and his soul imprisoned in Nagashizzar and Teclis personally undoing the Necroquake.

With Nagash imprisoned (for the time being), Arkhan deader than ever before if not gone for good, and the other forces of death more fractious and likely to carve their own trails of carnage, the Ossiarch are the only active remnant of their master’s will. There is also a looming Slaaneshi invasion on the horizon, as the reborn [[Sigvald]] seeks to avenge his Shadeglass imprisonment by destroying Nagash's beloved pet project.

=== Age of Beasts/ The Dawnbringer Crusades ===
Katakros is fixated on his campaign in the Eightpoints, but still keeping tabs on what's happened elsewhere, calling out Neferata's power play when she criticized Olynder working with Be'lakor. Katakros himself didn't criticize Olynder's actions because they hurt Sigmar's plan, with Neferata accusing Katakros of still being salty over his first loss to Sigmar. Also, Mannfred expresses his thoughts that Arkhan will return, but not for awhile.

Meanwhile, Nagash has been slowly regaining his power and awareness and already begun working on his vengeance. He's got some sort of link to Teclis, even interrupting Teclis' meditation to promise reprisals.

==Society==
[[File:Ossiarch Bonereapers Society.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Adds a whole new meaning to the phrase "pyramid scheme".]]
All Ossiarch Bonereapers are built for a specific purpose and assigned a role based on the souls from which they’re formed. This is codified through a caste system, with Nagash at the top, then Mortarchs Katakros and Arhkan, then the highest ranking Ossiarchs underneath and various ranks beneath that. The Bonereaper caste system has a cartouche representing each caste (though Nagash's is just to symbolize him). While there is a Mortarch cartouche, only Katakros wears it because Arkhan predates the Bonereaper system (and everyone but Nagash) by several eons, and despite their alliance he's too proud to wear Katakros' symbol. While they're all obedient to Nagash and fearless, the Bonereapers used in battle are sapient and the characters at least have enough individuality to have names and some personality, though they tend to be pragmatic, work-oriented and elitist. Having said that, they are still capable of doubt and camaraderie which can make them question, regret or even challenge their orders.

While many Ossiarch Bonereapers are warriors, there are castes of groups such as crafters and preachers. There is movement between castes, but only downwards, and as a punishment for failure. A Liege Kavalos who fails in their mission, for example, may be remade as a Kavalos Deathrider. If the offense was major, they might get remade as a steed. The lowest caste are the exiles collectively referred to as Parrha, consisting of the worst offenders who get broken and remade into warped skeletal aberrations incapable of fighting and the Bonereapers value them less than the Imperial Guard values the life of its rank and file soldiers (for the uninitiated, that's really saying something).

The Ossiarch Bonereapers can be found all across the Mortal Realms, aiming to conquer everything from Azyr to the Eightpoints. At present, the majority of the Ossiarch Bonereapers are concentrated in Shyish, inhabiting the nations that surround the Shyish Nadir. This allows them easy access to a vast source of magical power and establishes them as a permanent garrison around this most valuable of territories. Apart from Shyish, the largest concentrations of Bonereapers are in Ghur and Chamon.

The Ossiarch Bonereapers build according to principles laid down in the Principia Necrotopia, a set of guidelines that ensure optimal construction:

In the first stages of colonizing a new region, the Ossiarchs will establish tithing sites. Presumably, this involves mapping out surrounding settlements and segments of the region into their own tributaries, with each section's inhabitants made to sign a contract to begin paying the Tithe. They contruct shrines known as Bone-Tithe Nexus, which act as locations for vassals to dump their bones and are enchanted to give out powerful curses to ward off any scavengers seeking to steal from it.

Next, they will fortify key territories with small fortifications, following up with a number of Mortisan workshops to fuel the next stage of their expansion. These small holdings will eventually develop into vast and imposing fortresses, growing ever upward as the Bonereapers’ numbers grow. These are not just barracks, but places of culture for the Ossiarchs.

Ossiarch scholars will endlessly study scrolls in charnel libraries, recording the details of cultures in the Mortal Realms they have subjugated and those they seek to subjugate. These vast citadel-states eventually resemble Nagashizzar itself.

===The Bone Tithe===
[[File:Bone tithe.jpg|left|300px|thumb|Put your spines into it. Literally!]]
The Bone Tithe is instrumental to their society and Nagash's way of setting himself up as mob boss of the realms. Upon arriving in an area, the Ossiarchs send out scouts to get the lay of the land. When they find a settlement they want tribute from, a representative - in practice usually a Mortisan - approaches and makes them an offer they can't refuse; give "x" by the deadline at regular intervals, or we kill you all now and take what we want. To communicate, the Bonereapers draw on prior research for the local language; it doesn't matter if the vernacular's out of date by a few centuries or so, as long as they can be understood. If that doesn't work, the Bonereapers use other means, including killing a local and using their spirit as a translator if all else fails. If the locals refuse, attack them or are rude enough, [[Grimdark|the Bonereapers make good on their threat, slaughtering everything in the settlement that has bones, right down to the last child and stray animal]]. If they are feeling "nice", the Bonereapers might only kill the dissenters or leave a fraction of the people alive, but with even more bones required from them.

When demanding the Bone Tithe, what/who the bones come from and the required amount depends on the situation and Bonereaper legion. Human bone is the most widely used, with ogor bones a close second; duardin bones are liked for their durability but aren't common enough, aelf bones are slightly more common but don't replenish fast enough and greenskin bones are very common but coarse, porous and prone to spontaneous fungal growth unless treated properly. While animal bones are also used - such as for Kavalos steeds or Gothizzar Harvesters - that's not always the case and it depends on the animal (Rhinoxen and Bleaklake crocodiles are popular choices). How the bones are acquired is irrelevant, the most common options ranging from emptying the local cemetery to [[Grimdark|having everyone eligible give a limb or holding a lottery where those chosen are killed and the bones taken from their corpses]].

The Bonereapers (though inbuilt or learned ability, it's not clear) CAN tell the difference between what race or species a specific bone comes from, so trying to cheat them with different kinds of bone doesn't work. They also respond to trickery the same way they respond to failure or refusal - immediate slaughter (as a human town learned to their cost when they tried to trick the Bonereapers by mixing pig bones in with human bones). Even other Death factions aren't exempt from the Bone Tithe, as the Bonereapers' laws consider their charge from Nagash to supersede any commonalities with his other followers (callous elitism isn't good for alliances, reflected in the rules by the Bonereapers not being able to take allies outside Drogg Fort-Kicka).

Sometimes things are even worse than the above. A particularly war-horny leader, most often from the Stalliarch Lords (more on them below), will give nigh-impossible demands to increase the chance of failure. What kinds of demands? How about asking a city's population for detailed records on everyone's family lineage going back to the founders and the condition of every bone in the city ''including bones still inside the living inhabitants''. Or maybe they ask for just one ton of bones ''every day'' (for extra lulz, the offer is made at night and has to be completed the next day). They might instead, or also, [[That Guy|arrive early to extract the Tithe just to get a good slaughter out of it]]. However it ends, the bones of the Ossiarch's victims are sorted through, the good bones taken for future use the sub-par ones discarded (same with their victims souls). Strips of skin and flesh from these unfortunates are hung from the Bonereapers' spears as a warning to anyone who considers not paying the Tithe.

Ultimately, they have a term related to the Bone Tithe called the “Terminus Concept”. This refers to the point where a society can't provide enough bones so they get slaughtered and their bones are taken. For the truth is that the Bone Tithe is ultimately unsustainable for the payers, and the Bonereapers know it. This all proves that, while Nagash is a pragmatic sort of fellow, he'll always find a way to be a <s>boner</s> [[Eldrad|huge skeletal dick]] about it.

==Forces==
[[File:Bonereaper army.jpg|right|500px|thumb|'''Angry Dooting Intensifies''']]
*'''Mortek Guard:''' Rank and file infantry of the Bonereapers. Well armored and shielded, they have the choice of swords or spears and optional greatswords as weapons. Their primary role is to create massive shield walls to protect their leaders.
*'''Morghast Harbingers and Archai:''' You know em, you love em. Nagash's original sculpted bone construct based on not-angels from the World-That-Was now served as prototypes to the current regime of spoopy skeltals. Flying blenders armed with either halberds (take these) or twin swords (dont take these). Harbingers are your chargey bois, while the Archai are bodyguard bois.
*'''Necropolis Stalkers:''' Four-armed skeletal constructs the size of Kurnoth Hunters with four faces, each one has the soul of four warriors, and switches between which one is dominant, altering their fighting style accordingly. Their name's ripped from the Necropolis Knights and the Tomb Stalkers.
*'''Immortis Guard:''' Four-armed <s>Grave Guard</s> <s>Tomb Guard</s> elite skellingtons armed with a halberd in one set of hands and a shield in the other. Like the Morghasts, Immortis are the bodyguard bois to the Stalkers' chargey bois.
*'''Kavalos Deathriders:''' Bony heavy cavalry rivalling Blood Knights for the position of "best undead cavalry", each one has the soul of dozens of warriors to draw on their knowledge and is proportionately arrogant. They have undead birds roosting on their banner poles that act as spies and messenger birds. For added creep factor, these guys normally walk at a slow and ominous trot, only sprinting when going into a headlong charge and don't bother to clean themselves while hunting a target.
*'''Mortek Crawler:''' Screaming Skull Catapult 2.0 with an obligatory patent-friendly rename. In addition to flaming skulls, it can also hurl a cauldron of Death Magic that works based on bravery or a cursed stone that gets more powerful the more damage the Crawler takes. It's also powered by a bone-made hamster wheel and multiple legs.
*'''Gothizzar Harvester:''' A big monster construct with weapon hands and half a skeleton for a codpiece that helps harvest bones. The Harvester uses them to make new constructs on the fly or repair damaged ones. Their weapon arms come with either enchanted maces or scything blades for hands.
*'''Mortisan Soulreaper:''' Your offensive caster for the Bonereapers with a scythe that doesn't like hordes.
*'''Mortisan Boneshaper:''' The healers/builders of the Bonereapers. Formed from the souls of artists, they’re in charge of building the extravagant bone cities and other architecture of the legions. They all possess a friendly rivalry with each other that pushes them to one up another’s artwork.
*'''Mortisan Soulmason:''' Miniature Arkhans with four arms who are in charge of hunting and fusing souls for their various constructs. They ride into battle on bony [[Fyodor Karamazov|thrones with chicken legs]].
*'''Liege-Kavalos''': Field generals with skeleton mounts placed in charge of leading the Bonereaper armies. They are forged as a cruel mockery of Sigmar’s Lord-Celestant on Dracoth.

===Famous Legions===
*'''Mortis Praetorians''': The 10,000 strong personal army of Katakros, created out of the souls of those he personally knew in life. They have gained a fearsome reputation for their tactical acumen, especially in Shyish. [[Ultramarines|The poster boys who are a jack-of-all-trades, big on tactics and led by an ancient leader who was the basis for future generations]]. They also have the only two Bonereapers with a single original soul; Katakros himself and Zandtos.
* '''Petrifex Elite''': Made up of nomadic armies crafted from prehistoric fossilized bones, they are known for being slow-moving and a near impenetrable wall of bone. While fossilized bone tends to be fragile, the Petrifex Elite enchant them to be tough and also include already supernaturally tough bones among them (ie; the bones of godbeasts). Led by Mortisans, [[Necrons|they only exist to slay and find ancient bones to build more of themselves and make themselves even deadlier]]. They have forgotten why Nagash wants them to do this, and their leaders eschew personal identity to the point of using titles instead of names, as mandated by their leader and most senior Mortisan, the Grand Necromystic.
* '''Null Myriad''': The first Ossiarch Bonereapers made during Nagash's experiments in the Age of Myth. The Null Myriad were later refined and bolstered using the bones and souls of the countless dead who helped construct Nagash’s Black Pyramid and the best of Arkhan's Black Disciples. They are a solemn yet prideful lot with high resilience to magic and were given to Arkhan to be his personal legion; they're so loyal to Arkhan that they defer to him even over Katakros himself. Their resistance to magic extends to the power of Chaos, so they're used to inhabit the most inhospitable parts of the realms. Recently Arkhan made an alliance with Katakros, and the Null Myriad's job is to secure magic-heavy locations in the realms so Katakros can control the sources of their magic. The Null Myriad forces in Chamon have come into conflict with the Seraphon of the Thunder Lizards Constellation who also dwell there.
*'''Ivory Host''': Outwardly, they appear as honorable warriors, but hidden away in their bodies is a monstrous frenzy that turns them into clawing slavering beasts. Fitting considering they are constructed from beast and monster bones. Tasked by Nagash to conquer Ghur, they overcompensate for their bestial anger by being meticulously clean and making everything of theirs as much of a work of art as possible. Also known for [[Tomb Kings|being the only Ossiarchs who build ships, use the color gold regularly in their attire and are led by a monarch]]. Currently they’ve claimed the realmgate of Greedmouth and established the Ivory Citadel in the southwestern corner of the Ghurish Heartlands, putting them awfully close to numerous [[Ogor Mawtribes]] and the [[Cities of Sigmar|free city]] of Excelsis.
*'''Stalliarch Lords''': A cavalry centric force who are [[Creed|skillful tacticians]] and like to make impossible demands so they have an excuse to raze cities and slaughter people (on the rare occasion that someone meets their outrageous demands they keep their word... but remember the Terminus Concept). They take the freshest remains whenever possible to maximize how much they're infused with essence of the slain, which gives them more speed and vitality than other Bonereaper Legions and often a blood-slicked appearance. Basically [[That Guy]] as a cavalry-loving undead legion.
*'''Crematorians''': These Bonereapers are burning with an internal fire to the point where some of them literally explode when killed. Some of them have recently realized that they don't really have a purpose other than to fight and explode, and aren't too happy about that. In fact, their leaders [[Noblebright|have made pacts of friendship to repair each other if any of them are destroyed and the chief Liege-Kavalos scours the libraries of everyone they encounter in the hopes of finding a way to undo their fiery curse, and is implied to be on the verge of a breakthrough]].

==Significant Skeletons==
* '''[[Katakros|Orpheon Katakros]], [[Mortarch]] of the Necropolis''': In life he was the greatest strategic genius in all the Mortal Realms, and undeath has done nothing to dull his mastery of military tactics. He's been given a new body of enscrolled bone by Nagash himself which looks like a [[Jojo's Bizarre Adventure|JoJo stand]] rather than a skeleton. He goes into battle surrounded by various attendants; the Liege-Immortis, the Aviarch Spymaster, the Gnosis Scrollbearer, and the Prime Necrophoros.
*'''[[Arch-Kavalos Zandtos]]''': A Liege-Kavalos and Katakros’ most trusted lieutenant. In life he was a refined, death-obsessed assassin who considered killing a sacred act that should be as clean as possible. In undeath, he gradually became a death-purist who wishes to “cleanse” Shyish of anything still living.
*'''Vokmortian, Master of the Bone-tithe''': The grim tallyman in charge of recording/judging the Tithe. He carries the severed heads of those foolish enough to refuse to pay the Tithe and has a coffin on his back, making him look like a giant beetle. Though officially he’s under Katakros and Arkhan in the OBR hierarchy, he’ll only receive/carry out orders from Big Bone Daddy himself...which might be a bit difficult now that Nagash was sealed away by Teclis.
*'''[[Arkhan the Black]]''': Yeah, he's part of the army despite technically being just an "average" liche as opposed to a bone golem thing. Likely because apart from Nagash, he's the most privy to understanding how they are made without being one. While he has his own private legion in the Null Myriad, his authority is recognized by all the Ossiarch legions. He was recently thrown off the edge of Hysh by the Light of Eltharion, with him and his Dread Abyssal disappearing in a burst of light magic. While it's unlikely that Arkhan is gone for good, he's deader than ever before.
*'''Xaramos''': A Mortisan Boneshaper of the Mortis Praetorians, skilled in both diplomacy and keeping the legion operating at full efficiency. He assisted Arkhan in his counter invasion of Ymetrica in Hysh, where he put his diplomatic skills to use in acquiring the assistance of the [[Flesh-Eater Courts|Vertigon Court]] to defeat the Lumineth aelves and formed an unexpected friendship with the Ghoul King Varshorn. When relations turned sour over the Bone Tithe, the personal forces of Xaramos and Varshorn battled amidst the gore-caked caverns of the Starfang Mont in a conflict later the Charnel War, with hints that Xaramos regretted fighting Vashorn. Xaramos died permanently in the last battle, personally decapitated by Vashorn.

==Spooky Melodies for your Bony Boys==

*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DsZivjop_s Spooky Scary Skeletons! a remix for a revamp]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKHAX1K4sKQ The Dead March returns for AoS!]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5n5qo8b1pA March for the Tithe!]

==Trivia==
* The architecture of the Ossiarch Bonereapers was likely inspired by the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sedlec_Ossuary Sedlec Ossuary] in the Czech Republic. The Sedlec Ossuary is a Roman Catholic church where the bones of thousands of people have been artistically arranged to form the decorations and the furnishings of the chapel (it's also called "the Bone Church"). This was done several centuries ago for creative interment reasons with many dead and not enough space to bury them on holy ground.
* On a comical note, "Kavalos", the name for Bonereaper cavalry, translates to "crotch" in Greek (the Greek word is "kaválos"). Makes more sense when you think of [[Katakros]]' defining trait lookswise, and how his name even sounds like the Greek word.

==Soulbound==
The [[Age of Sigmar Roleplay]] supplement Champions of Death would naturally introduce the Ossiarch Bonereapers as a playable race, though like their gold-plated counterparts they aren't so much Soulbound as much as they are outsiders made to join a Binding for some other agenda. For those bound to Nagash, the purpose is obvious enough: The Ossiarchs are the ultimate form of his perfect future and are (almost) unquestionably loyal, sometimes even researching the uses of Soulfire in order to perfect the process of making more of their own. Those who join an Order Binding find themselves in one of two camps: Either as allies of desperation for a common goal or as a haven to escape from their place as an outcast in the rigid society of the Ossiarch legions that would see them recycled due to either defects or defiance.

You can have your Ossiarch hail from the following Legions:
*'''Mortis Praetorians:''' The Legion of Orpheon Katakros himself, formed from the souls of his greatest soldiers and generals in life. They are the most determined of the legions, willing to use the bones of both friend and foe alike in order to bolster their ranks. That said, the demand for reinforcements are so frequent that there are those bodies that are made incomplete, subject to the whispers of waylaid spirits before being completely formed. Whenever Katakros sees interest in a Binding, he will often send a member of his Praetorians to accompany them and enforce order. Heroes from the Mortis Praetorians can spend an action to test Intuition against an opponent's Guile, allowing them to predict an enemy's move. In addition, all archetypes gain the Tactician talent.
*'''Ivory Host:''' A legion sent to conquer Ghur, famous for slaying mighty monsters. While they obviously show scorn towards the primitive and weak cultures of the mortal here, the influence of the realm is very obvious from the frequent use of amber and animal bones in order to complete their tithe to the clearly caged savagery they unleash in the heat of battle. Heroes from the Ivory Host deal extra damage for each point of damage they suffer. In addition, all archetypes gain the Battle Rage talent.
*'''Stalliarch Lords:''' A prideful band often formed from fresh bone and meat, the Ossiarchs of this legion are capable of some form of honor...just not in any way normal folk would understand. Often have they given near-impossible tasks for mortals to accomplish, either so they could claim their tithe or to see if the challenger can accomplish some greater goal worth the interest. That said, that latter part is often only carried out for amusement rather than any genuine respect. Heroes from the Stalliarch Lords can challenge an enemy, forcing the difficulty of all attacks to reach a high difficulty but making any hits against you deal double damage.
*'''Petrifex Elite:''' A legion of nomadic bonecast, formed from the remains of ancient civilizations and forgotten graves. This legion views the binding with particular interest, seeing the parallels in becoming a whole greater than the sum of it parts and their own process of erasing all identity and originality - sometimes an Ossiarch might even have the remains of a former Soulbound in their body. Heroes from the Petrifex Elite are better armored than other Bonereapers, but they can't improve their bony armor in any way and can only use a certain downtime activity to repair it. In additionally, they can double their training for either navigating ancient ruins or recalling ancient history.
*'''Null Myriad:''' Nagash's original legion, sent to keep watch on the realm's edges until the Necroquake forced them to return and be reinforced using fragments of the Black Pyramid so they could better resist magic. As outsiders among the Ossiarchs, they are the most-versed in dealing with threats from beyond the edges of a realm and their special properties allow them to protect the very nature of the Binding. Heroes from the Null Myriad can spell Mettle to ignore the effects of a spell and double their training when dealing with exploring, navigating or withstanding the edges of the realms.
*'''Crematorians:''' Ignited by the fires of the Shyish Nadier, the life of a Bonereaper here will often be short as the flames slowly consume their bony shells. This nature has led to many among their ranks questioning the wisdom of the skelepope's plans to make an army that can burn out, though they often cover it up with other purposes - such as studying the benefits of Soulfire and how it can sustain their bodies. Heroes from the Crematorians are constantly ablaze, letting them suffer a wound to restore Mettle. When they die, they explode and make the area where they stood a burning waste.

The Ossiarch Bonereapers have access to the '''Immortis Guard''', '''Kavalos Deathrider''', '''Morghast''', '''Mortisan''', or '''Necropolis Stalker''' archetypes

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Bonereaper vs Kharadron.jpg|Sky Pirates vs Bone Golems.
File:Cavalry-bonereapers.jpg|As if Blood Knights weren't bad enough, Bone Daddy brings out Kavalos Deathriders too.
File:Gothizzar Harvester.jpg|"Oh those bones, oh those bones, oh those skeleton bones. Oh mercy how they scare! With the toe bone connected to the foot bone..."
File:Bonereaper city.jpg|Welcome to Necrotopia. Please remember to remove all skin and flesh before you reach customs.
File:Skeleton sales pitch (comic by Baalbuddy).png|An alternate way to collect the Bone-Tithe.
</gallery>

==See Also==

*[[Nagash]], their jerk of a god whom they give their undisputed loyalty to (yes, really!)

{{Template:Playable Factions in Warhammer: Age of Sigmar}}

[[Category:Age of Sigmar]]

Ossiarch Bonereapers

2021-09-26T15:15:46Z

2406:3400:20F:FFC0:115F:A9BA:370A:AFE2: /* The Bone Tithe */

{{Age of Sigmar Faction|Faction=Ossiarch Bonereapers|Logo=Immortis-WC2.jpg|Alliance=Death|Motto=The Skeleton War is upon us! We ride against the [[Stormcast Eternals|fuckboys]]!}}

{{topquote|Two can play at that game!|Likely Nagash after learning how Sigmar makes Stormcast}}
{{topquote|Debt, an ingenious substitute for the chain and whip of the slavedriver.|Ambrose Bierce}}
{{topquote|The bones of the skeleton which support the body can become the bars of the cage which imprison the spirit.|J. Ruth Gendler}}

The latest addition to [[Nagash]]’s ever growing hordes (designed and sculpted by [[Maxime Corbeil]], a former dentist), the '''Ossiarch Bonereapers'''
(Also known as '''The Boney Boys''', '''Bonecast''', '''Tomb Kings 2.0''', '''Bonechads''', '''Nagash's Taxmen''', '''The Boney Bean Counters''', '''Ossiarch Bean Counters''' or '''The IRS''') are the result of an eons old plan by Big Bone Daddy.

Likely inspired by the [[Stormcast Eternals]], the Bonereapers are not mere skeletons given life by necromancy, but massive constructs of bone and countless warrior souls, making them all look impressively robust for undead. Since the Soulblight Gravelords are the mainstay, the Nighthaunt are the shock troops and the Flesh-Eater Courts are completely insane, these buff bone bruisers are the elite vanguard of the Grand Alliance. Given their themes of bones, undead constructs, priest characters, architect characters and skull-throwing catapults... they're currently the closest thing we've got to [[Tomb Kings]] in AoS.

They also carry out the Bone Tithe; in addition to going out and killing shit to get their bones, the Ossiarchs give settlements they encounter a contract: Give up a set amount of bones whenever we stroll by, or face annihilation now. Understandably, most choose the former. Being unable to pay or even being rude to them also provokes a slaughter.

Visually-speaking, they're what happens when Games Workshop decides to mix [[Tyranids]], [[Tomb Kings]], and [[Necrons]] into one army.

However, widespread dissatisfaction against them due to Petrifex list spamming in first edition tournaments, how they aren't GW darlings like [[Space Marines|everyone with]] [[Stormcast Eternals|pauldrons]] and GW's desire to shill the Lumineth are probably part of the reason the Bonereapers were worfed '''hard''' in the Broken Realms saga. Seriously, the amount of clout they lose in just one book is unthinkable (read "Broken Realms" below for more). This shows a possible chain of Worfing going on in AoS ("worfing" is having a supposedly powerful fighter be easily defeated to show how strong their opponent is - named after Worf from Star Trek, who was often on the receiving end). First the Stormcast worfed the Warriors of Chaos/Slaves to Darkness, then both were worfed by the Bonereapers, and then the Bonereapers were worfed by the Lumineth. Now it remains to be seen if the Bonereapers will get payback, restore those they lost... or at least we can wonder who will worf the Lumineth in future.

==History==
===Age of Myth===
[[File:Slaves to Darkness vs Ossiarch Bonereapers 01.jpg|right|300px|thumb|SKULLS FOR <s>THE SKULL THRONE</s> Nagash! And all the other bones too!]]
When Nagash was helping Sigmar build his cities he secretly began experimenting on undead, combining their bones and souls into newer, stronger undead warriors; the [[Morghasts/Hammurai|Morghasts]] and the first Bonereapers. Most were put into massive underground crypts Nagash secretly built beneath the cities of Order, but others were kept on the surface and brought into battle alongside the armies of the other gods.

The other gods saw the Bonereapers and really didn't like them because of how unnatural they were, even for undead. In response, Nagash sent these Bonereapers to the edge of Shyish to lay low until he called on them (these Bonereapers who would go on to form the Null Myriad). He also sent at least twenty of them to wander the Realms on a long-forgotten mission (these would go on to become the Petrifex Elite).

Strangely, none of the Order groups noticed until however long its been since the start of the Age of Myth that there were crypts full of undead warriors beneath their cities. Especially since they know about and need to defend against [[Skaven|enemies who specialize in creating massive complexes beneath your cities that they then invade from]] or ones who are just [[Gloomspite Gitz|well-versed in tunnel warfare]].

===Age of Chaos===
The Age of Chaos only affected the Bonereapers garrisoned at the edge of Shyish. By that time they had become resistant to magic, and they fought against demonic armies, their actions blunting the assault of Chaos on Shyish. During this time, Katakros led an army against Sigmar himself on Nagash's orders while the former was pursuing the latter for his betrayal. The battle resulted in the loss of Katakros' army, the Mortarch's defeat and subsequent confinement to a Stormvault.

===Age of Sigmar===
In the lead-up to the Soul Wars, Katakros was freed from the Stormvault by fellow Mortarch, Lady Olynder. The Bonereapers on the edge of Shyish acted as a military force protecting the skeletal work crews who carried grains of Shyishan realmstone to Nagashizzar for Nagash to use to build the Black Pyramid.

===Soul Wars===
After the Necroquake, Nagash decided the time was right to wake up everyone beneath these cities, who apparently marched back home, making them relatively pointless. In that respect, these tombs seemed to mirror the Stormvaults Sigmar had strewn about the Realms to contain various dangerous contraband like [[Katakros|said Mortarch]].

When the Bonereaper legions arrived in Shyish, Nagash got back to his pet-project of making super-skellies, and perfected the process. This involves taking souls and distilling them down to their most choice elements. This involves ripping apart their identity and keeping parts considered useful (such as skills, daring and knowledge) while discarding the parts that aren't useful (such as fear, compassion and loyalty to anything but Nagash) and replacing those parts with something "better" (like loyalty to Nagash), with the strongest-willed soul among them becoming the identity of the new Bonereaper. Then these fragmented and melded souls are put into specially crafted bone constructs. By doing so, he artificially created individuals who were warriors, leaders, bodyguards, artisans, architects, philosophers and sculptors all in one, [[Adeptus Custodes|which sounds a little familiar.]]

The Bonereapers subsequently had a meteoric rise, making their mark - and several enemies - across the realms. After establishing their powerbase in Shyish, the Ironjawz Warclan the Kryptboyz have focused their efforts on fighting the Bonereapers due to wanting to destroy their settlements and wear their bones as trophies. In Chamon, the Null Myriad encountered the Seraphon of the Thunder Lizard Constellation and got embroiled in wars for control of the realm's edge. The Ivory Host legion gained a foothold in Ghur, Katakros' realm of origin, and in building their cities they've positioned themselves for conflict with several Mawtribes and the free city of Excelsis. The Ivory Host also clashed with an [[Sons of Behemat|infamous Mega-Gargant who went on to become the mercenary known as One-Eyed Grunnock]].

This was followed by the Bonereapers most notable conflict; the War for the Eightpoints. Katakros led the Mortis Praetorians and detachments from other Legions into the Eightpoints alongside Olynder and a Nighthaunt army to take the Eightpoints for Nagash, the first invvasion of the realm since it had been captured by Chaos. They succeeded in capturing and fortifying the realmgate leading to Shyish, and established a fortified citadel around it as a base of operations. However, Katakros' campaign was halted by the sudden return of Archaon and a force of Varanguard plus a daemon army led by Be'lakor. Bolstered by the mortal and daemonic hosts, the Chaos armies routed Katakros' Nighthaunt allies and forced the Bonereapers to enact a tactical retreat, with Archaon personally slaying him after a lengthy duel. Katakros' soul returned to his stronghold, albeit wounded, and after Katakros' restoration in a new body, the conflict became a stalemate and a war of attrition.

===Broken Realms===
When Morathi entered the Eightpoints in her plan to secure Varanite, she secretly sent an envoy to Katakros, giving him several tonnes of bones infused with the magic of Ulgu in exchange for a Bonereaper attack on Archaon's holdings to distract the forces of Chaos. Knowing the forces of order will take losses in their unknown (to Katakros and the Stormcast) endeavor, Katakros accepted the bargain.

Book two saw some particularly grueling setbacks for the Bonereapers. Not content with making the entire Death faction a bunch of jobbers for the Lumineth, the Bonereapers got worfed like a 40k Avatar of [[Khaine]] fighting Ultramarines, so bad it's as if the author had some bad experiences playing against them on the tabletop.

Teclis confronted Nagash after repelling a Nighthaunt attack on Settler's Gain, and unsuccessfully tried to threaten him into backing down. Then Teclis enacted a master plan seeking to end the Soul Wars and make Nagash pay for the Necroquake. To start, he personally led a Lumineth army riding [[What|flying mountains]] on an invasion of Shyish to destroy three monuments in a symbolic victory to show people the Bonereapers weren't unbeatable. Despite fierce resistance, and a waring from Vokmortion, the Lumineth were able to match the Bonereapers in battle before destroying the monuments and <s>fleeing</s> going back to Hysh.

The Bonereapers replenished their losses with the dead of both sides and sought revenge. While undead armies led by Neferata and Mannfred invaded Chamon and Ghyran respectively, a Null Myriad army led by Arkhan himself invaded Hysh and press-ganged the local Mordant Courts to help <s>give the Lumineth a right proper boning</s> conquer Ymetrica by turning a realmgate in Hysh into a mini-Shyish Nadir. But a Lumineth army repelled Arkhan's first attempt, forcing him to flee and try again with a second realmgate on the edge of Hysh. Not only was this second attempt thwarted by a Lumineth army led by a vengeful Eltharion, the Bonereapers were wiped out, with Arkhan himself punted off the edge of Hysh by the Light of Eltharion and disappearing. The Lumineth burned their dead to limit the Ossiarch’s recruitment, forcing them to harvest the bones of their ghoul allies, causing more trouble as the Flesh-Eater Courts fought back.

Then Nagash personally arrived in Hysh to finish what Arkhan started and kill Avalenor in revenge, but was forced to do battle against Teclis, with each god’s respective army doing battle beneath their feet. Though both gods were roughly equal in magical might, Nagash proved to be a superior combatant and marked Teclis with his blade and death magic. But Teclis got the last laugh due to some unexpected allies in Alarielle and several Luminarks, culminating in the destruction of Nagash's nine books, Nagash himself having his body broken and his soul imprisoned in Nagashizzar and Teclis personally undoing the Necroquake.

With Nagash imprisoned (for the time being), Arkhan deader than ever before if not gone for good, and the other forces of death more fractious and likely to carve their own trails of carnage, the Ossiarch are the only active remnant of their master’s will. There is also a looming Slaaneshi invasion on the horizon, as the reborn [[Sigvald]] seeks to avenge his Shadeglass imprisonment by destroying Nagash's beloved pet project. Katakros is fixated on his campaign in the Eightpoints, but still keeping tabs on what's happened elsewhere, calling out Neferata's power play when she criticized Olynder working with Be'lakor. Katakros himself didn't criticize Olynder's actions because they hurt Sigmar's plan, with Neferata accusing Katakros of still being salty over his first loss to Sigmar.

Since then, Nagash has been slowly regaining his power and awareness and already begun working on his vengeance. He's got some sort of link to Teclis, even interrupting Teclis' meditation to promise reprisals.

==Society==
[[File:Ossiarch Bonereapers Society.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Adds a whole new meaning to the phrase "pyramid scheme".]]
All Ossiarch Bonereapers are built for a specific purpose and assigned a role based on the souls from which they’re formed. This is codified through a caste system, with Nagash at the top, then Mortarchs Katakros and Arhkan, then the highest ranking Ossiarchs underneath and various ranks beneath that. The Bonereaper caste system has a cartouche representing each caste (though Nagash's is just to symbolize him). While there is a Mortarch cartouche, only Katakros wears it because Arkhan predates the Bonereaper system (and everyone but Nagash) by several eons, and despite their alliance he's too proud to wear Katakros' symbol. While they're all obedient to Nagash and fearless, the Bonereapers used in battle are sapient and the characters at least have enough individuality to have names and some personality, though they tend to be pragmatic, work-oriented and elitist. Having said that, they are still capable of doubt and camaraderie which can make them question, regret or even challenge their orders.

While many Ossiarch Bonereapers are warriors, there are castes of groups such as crafters and preachers. There is movement between castes, but only downwards, and as a punishment for failure. A Liege Kavalos who fails in their mission, for example, may be remade as a Kavalos Deathrider. If the offense was major, they might get remade as a steed. The lowest caste are the exiles collectively referred to as Parrha, consisting of the worst offenders who get broken and remade into warped skeletal aberrations incapable of fighting and the Bonereapers value them less than the Imperial Guard values the life of its rank and file soldiers (for the uninitiated, that's really saying something).

The Ossiarch Bonereapers can be found all across the Mortal Realms, aiming to conquer everything from Azyr to the Eightpoints. At present, the majority of the Ossiarch Bonereapers are concentrated in Shyish, inhabiting the nations that surround the Shyish Nadir. This allows them easy access to a vast source of magical power and establishes them as a permanent garrison around this most valuable of territories. Apart from Shyish, the largest concentrations of Bonereapers are in Ghur and Chamon.

The Ossiarch Bonereapers build according to principles laid down in the Principia Necrotopia, a set of guidelines that ensure optimal construction:

In the first stages of colonizing a new region, the Ossiarchs will establish tithing sites. Presumably, this involves mapping out surrounding settlements and segments of the region into their own tributaries, with each section's inhabitants made to sign a contract to begin paying the Tithe. They contruct shrines known as Bone-Tithe Nexus, which act as locations for vassals to dump their bones and are enchanted to give out powerful curses to ward off any scavengers seeking to steal from it.

Next, they will fortify key territories with small fortifications, following up with a number of Mortisan workshops to fuel the next stage of their expansion. These small holdings will eventually develop into vast and imposing fortresses, growing ever upward as the Bonereapers’ numbers grow. These are not just barracks, but places of culture for the Ossiarchs.

Ossiarch scholars will endlessly study scrolls in charnel libraries, recording the details of cultures in the Mortal Realms they have subjugated and those they seek to subjugate. These vast citadel-states eventually resemble Nagashizzar itself.

===The Bone Tithe===
[[File:Bone tithe.jpg|left|300px|thumb|Put your spines into it. Literally!]]
The Bone Tithe is instrumental to their society and Nagash's way of setting himself up as mob boss of the realms. Upon arriving in an area, the Ossiarchs send out scouts to get the lay of the land. When they find a settlement they want tribute from, a representative - in practice usually a Mortisan - approaches and makes them an offer they can't refuse; give "x" by the deadline at regular intervals, or we kill you all now and take what we want. To communicate, the Bonereapers draw on prior research for the local language; it doesn't matter if the vernacular's out of date by a few centuries or so, as long as they can be understood. If that doesn't work, the Bonereapers use other means, including killing a local and using their spirit as a translator if all else fails. If the locals refuse, attack them or are rude enough, [[Grimdark|the Bonereapers make good on their threat, slaughtering everything in the settlement that has bones, right down to the last child and stray animal]]. If they are feeling "nice", the Bonereapers might only kill the dissenters or leave a fraction of the people alive, but with even more bones required from them.

When demanding the Bone Tithe, what/who the bones come from and the required amount depends on the situation and Bonereaper legion. Human bone is the most widely used, with ogor bones a close second; duardin bones are liked for their durability but aren't common enough, aelf bones are slightly more common but don't replenish fast enough and greenskin bones are very common but coarse, porous and prone to spontaneous fungal growth unless treated properly. While animal bones are also used - such as for Kavalos steeds or Gothizzar Harvesters - that's not always the case and it depends on the animal (Rhinoxen and Bleaklake crocodiles are popular choices). How the bones are acquired is irrelevant, the most common options ranging from emptying the local cemetery to [[Grimdark|having everyone eligible give a limb or holding a lottery where those chosen are killed and the bones taken from their corpses]].

The Bonereapers (though inbuilt or learned ability, it's not clear) CAN tell the difference between what race or species a specific bone comes from, so trying to cheat them with different kinds of bone doesn't work. They also respond to trickery the same way they respond to failure or refusal - immediate slaughter (as a human town learned to their cost when they tried to trick the Bonereapers by mixing pig bones in with human bones). Even other Death factions aren't exempt from the Bone Tithe, as the Bonereapers' laws consider their charge from Nagash to supersede any commonalities with his other followers (callous elitism isn't good for alliances, reflected in the rules by the Bonereapers not being able to take allies outside Drogg Fort-Kicka).

Sometimes things are even worse than the above. A particularly war-horny leader, most often from the Stalliarch Lords (more on them below), will give nigh-impossible demands to increase the chance of failure. What kinds of demands? How about asking a city's population for detailed records on everyone's family lineage going back to the founders and the condition of every bone in the city ''including bones still inside the living inhabitants''. Or maybe they ask for just one ton of bones ''every day'' (for extra lulz, the offer is made at night and has to be completed the next day). They might instead, or also, [[That Guy|arrive early to extract the Tithe just to get a good slaughter out of it]]. However it ends, the bones of the Ossiarch's victims are sorted through, the good bones taken for future use the sub-par ones discarded (same with their victims souls). Strips of skin and flesh from these unfortunates are hung from the Bonereapers' spears as a warning to anyone who considers not paying the Tithe.

Ultimately, they have a term related to the Bone Tithe called the “Terminus Concept”. This refers to the point where a society can't provide enough bones so they get slaughtered and their bones are taken. For the truth is that the Bone Tithe is ultimately unsustainable for the payers, and the Bonereapers know it. This all proves that, while Nagash is a pragmatic sort of fellow, he'll always find a way to be a <s>boner</s> [[Eldrad|huge skeletal dick]] about it.

==Forces==
[[File:Bonereaper army.jpg|right|500px|thumb|'''Angry Dooting Intensifies''']]
*'''Mortek Guard:''' Rank and file infantry of the Bonereapers. Well armored and shielded, they have the choice of swords or spears and optional greatswords as weapons. Their primary role is to create massive shield walls to protect their leaders.
*'''Morghast Harbingers and Archai:''' You know em, you love em. Nagash's original sculpted bone construct based on not-angels from the World-That-Was now served as prototypes to the current regime of spoopy skeltals. Flying blenders armed with either halberds (take these) or twin swords (dont take these). Harbingers are your chargey bois, while the Archai are bodyguard bois.
*'''Necropolis Stalkers:''' Four-armed skeletal constructs the size of Kurnoth Hunters with four faces, each one has the soul of four warriors, and switches between which one is dominant, altering their fighting style accordingly. Their name's ripped from the Necropolis Knights and the Tomb Stalkers.
*'''Immortis Guard:''' Four-armed <s>Grave Guard</s> <s>Tomb Guard</s> elite skellingtons armed with a halberd in one set of hands and a shield in the other. Like the Morghasts, Immortis are the bodyguard bois to the Stalkers' chargey bois.
*'''Kavalos Deathriders:''' Bony heavy cavalry rivalling Blood Knights for the position of "best undead cavalry", each one has the soul of dozens of warriors to draw on their knowledge and is proportionately arrogant. They have undead birds roosting on their banner poles that act as spies and messenger birds. For added creep factor, these guys normally walk at a slow and ominous trot, only sprinting when going into a headlong charge and don't bother to clean themselves while hunting a target.
*'''Mortek Crawler:''' Screaming Skull Catapult 2.0 with an obligatory patent-friendly rename. In addition to flaming skulls, it can also hurl a cauldron of Death Magic that works based on bravery or a cursed stone that gets more powerful the more damage the Crawler takes. It's also powered by a bone-made hamster wheel and multiple legs.
*'''Gothizzar Harvester:''' A big monster construct with weapon hands and half a skeleton for a codpiece that helps harvest bones. The Harvester uses them to make new constructs on the fly or repair damaged ones. Their weapon arms come with either enchanted maces or scything blades for hands.
*'''Mortisan Soulreaper:''' Your offensive caster for the Bonereapers with a scythe that doesn't like hordes.
*'''Mortisan Boneshaper:''' The healers/builders of the Bonereapers. Formed from the souls of artists, they’re in charge of building the extravagant bone cities and other architecture of the legions. They all possess a friendly rivalry with each other that pushes them to one up another’s artwork.
*'''Mortisan Soulmason:''' Miniature Arkhans with four arms who are in charge of hunting and fusing souls for their various constructs. They ride into battle on bony [[Fyodor Karamazov|thrones with chicken legs]].
*'''Liege-Kavalos''': Field generals with skeleton mounts placed in charge of leading the Bonereaper armies. They are forged as a cruel mockery of Sigmar’s Lord-Celestant on Dracoth.

===Famous Legions===
*'''Mortis Praetorians''': The 10,000 strong personal army of Katakros, created out of the souls of those he personally knew in life. They have gained a fearsome reputation for their tactical acumen, especially in Shyish. [[Ultramarines|The poster boys who are a jack-of-all-trades, big on tactics and led by an ancient leader who was the basis for future generations]]. They also have the only two Bonereapers with a single original soul; Katakros himself and Zandtos.
* '''Petrifex Elite''': Made up of nomadic armies crafted from prehistoric fossilized bones, they are known for being slow-moving and a near impenetrable wall of bone. While fossilized bone tends to be fragile, the Petrifex Elite enchant them to be tough and also include already supernaturally tough bones among them (ie; the bones of godbeasts). Led by Mortisans, [[Necrons|they only exist to slay and find ancient bones to build more of themselves and make themselves even deadlier]]. They have forgotten why Nagash wants them to do this, and their leaders eschew personal identity to the point of using titles instead of names, as mandated by their leader and most senior Mortisan, the Grand Necromystic.
* '''Null Myriad''': The first Ossiarch Bonereapers made during Nagash's experiments in the Age of Myth. The Null Myriad were later refined and bolstered using the bones and souls of the countless dead who helped construct Nagash’s Black Pyramid and the best of Arkhan's Black Disciples. They are a solemn yet prideful lot with high resilience to magic and were given to Arkhan to be his personal legion; they're so loyal to Arkhan that they defer to him even over Katakros himself. Their resistance to magic extends to the power of Chaos, so they're used to inhabit the most inhospitable parts of the realms. Recently Arkhan made an alliance with Katakros, and the Null Myriad's job is to secure magic-heavy locations in the realms so Katakros can control the sources of their magic. The Null Myriad forces in Chamon have come into conflict with the Seraphon of the Thunder Lizards Constellation who also dwell there.
*'''Ivory Host''': Outwardly, they appear as honorable warriors, but hidden away in their bodies is a monstrous frenzy that turns them into clawing slavering beasts. Fitting considering they are constructed from beast and monster bones. Tasked by Nagash to conquer Ghur, they overcompensate for their bestial anger by being meticulously clean and making everything of theirs as much of a work of art as possible. Also known for [[Tomb Kings|being the only Ossiarchs who build ships, use the color gold regularly in their attire and are led by a monarch]]. Currently they’ve claimed the realmgate of Greedmouth and established the Ivory Citadel in the southwestern corner of the Ghurish Heartlands, putting them awfully close to numerous [[Ogor Mawtribes]] and the [[Cities of Sigmar|free city]] of Excelsis.
*'''Stalliarch Lords''': A cavalry centric force who are [[Creed|skillful tacticians]] and like to make impossible demands so they have an excuse to raze cities and slaughter people (on the rare occasion that someone meets their outrageous demands they keep their word... but remember the Terminus Concept). They take the freshest remains whenever possible to maximize how much they're infused with essence of the slain, which gives them more speed and vitality than other Bonereaper Legions and often a blood-slicked appearance. Basically [[That Guy]] as a cavalry-loving undead legion.
*'''Crematorians''': These Bonereapers are burning with an internal fire to the point where some of them literally explode when killed. Some of them have recently realized that they don't really have a purpose other than to fight and explode, and aren't too happy about that. In fact, their leaders [[Noblebright|have made pacts of friendship to repair each other if any of them are destroyed and the chief Liege-Kavalos scours the libraries of everyone they encounter in the hopes of finding a way to undo their fiery curse, and is implied to be on the verge of a breakthrough]].

==Significant Skeletons==
* '''[[Katakros|Orpheon Katakros]], [[Mortarch]] of the Necropolis''': In life he was the greatest strategic genius in all the Mortal Realms, and undeath has done nothing to dull his mastery of military tactics. He's been given a new body of enscrolled bone by Nagash himself which looks like a [[Jojo's Bizarre Adventure|JoJo stand]] rather than a skeleton. He goes into battle surrounded by various attendants; the Liege-Immortis, the Aviarch Spymaster, the Gnosis Scrollbearer, and the Prime Necrophoros.
*'''[[Arch-Kavalos Zandtos]]''': A Liege-Kavalos and Katakros’ most trusted lieutenant. In life he was a refined, death-obsessed assassin who considered killing a sacred act that should be as clean as possible. In undeath, he gradually became a death-purist who wishes to “cleanse” Shyish of anything still living.
*'''Vokmortian, Master of the Bone-tithe''': The grim tallyman in charge of recording/judging the Tithe. He carries the severed heads of those foolish enough to refuse to pay the Tithe and has a coffin on his back, making him look like a giant beetle. Though officially he’s under Katakros and Arkhan in the OBR hierarchy, he’ll only receive/carry out orders from Big Bone Daddy himself...which might be a bit difficult now that Nagash was sealed away by Teclis.
*'''[[Arkhan the Black]]''': Yeah, he's part of the army despite technically being just an "average" liche as opposed to a bone golem thing. Likely because apart from Nagash, he's the most privy to understanding how they are made without being one. While he has his own private legion in the Null Myriad, his authority is recognized by all the Ossiarch legions. He was recently thrown off the edge of Hysh by the Light of Eltharion, with him and his Dread Abyssal disappearing in a burst of light magic. While it's unlikely that Arkhan is gone for good, he's deader than ever before.
*'''Xaramos''': A Mortisan Boneshaper of the Mortis Praetorians, skilled in both diplomacy and keeping the legion operating at full efficiency. He assisted Arkhan in his counter invasion of Ymetrica in Hysh, where he put his diplomatic skills to use in acquiring the assistance of the [[Flesh-Eater Courts|Vertigon Court]] to defeat the Lumineth aelves and formed an unexpected friendship with the Ghoul King Varshorn. When relations turned sour over the Bone Tithe, the personal forces of Xaramos and Varshorn battled amidst the gore-caked caverns of the Starfang Mont in a conflict later the Charnel War, with hints that Xaramos regretted fighting Vashorn. Xaramos died permanently in the last battle, personally decapitated by Vashorn.

==Spooky Melodies for your Bony Boys==

*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DsZivjop_s Spooky Scary Skeletons! a remix for a revamp]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKHAX1K4sKQ The Dead March returns for AoS!]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5n5qo8b1pA March for the Tithe!]

==Trivia==
* The architecture of the Ossiarch Bonereapers was likely inspired by the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sedlec_Ossuary Sedlec Ossuary] in the Czech Republic. The Sedlec Ossuary is a Roman Catholic church where the bones of thousands of people have been artistically arranged to form the decorations and the furnishings of the chapel (it's also called "the Bone Church"). This was done several centuries ago for creative interment reasons with many dead and not enough space to bury them on holy ground.
* On a comical note, "Kavalos", the name for Bonereaper cavalry, translates to "crotch" in Greek (the Greek word is "kaválos"). Makes more sense when you think of [[Katakros]]' defining trait lookswise, and how his name even sounds like the Greek word.

==Soulbound==
The [[Age of Sigmar Roleplay]] supplement Champions of Death would naturally introduce the Ossiarch Bonereapers as a playable race, though like their gold-plated counterparts they aren't so much Soulbound as much as they are outsiders made to join a Binding for some other agenda. For those bound to Nagash, the purpose is obvious enough: The Ossiarchs are the ultimate form of his perfect future and are (almost) unquestionably loyal, sometimes even researching the uses of Soulfire in order to perfect the process of making more of their own. Those who join an Order Binding find themselves in one of two camps: Either as allies of desperation for a common goal or as a haven to escape from their place as an outcast in the rigid society of the Ossiarch legions that would see them recycled due to either defects or defiance.

You can have your Ossiarch hail from the following Legions:
*'''Mortis Praetorians:''' The Legion of Orpheon Katakros himself, formed from the souls of his greatest soldiers and generals in life. They are the most determined of the legions, willing to use the bones of both friend and foe alike in order to bolster their ranks. That said, the demand for reinforcements are so frequent that there are those bodies that are made incomplete, subject to the whispers of waylaid spirits before being completely formed. Whenever Katakros sees interest in a Binding, he will often send a member of his Praetorians to accompany them and enforce order. Heroes from the Mortis Praetorians can spend an action to test Intuition against an opponent's Guile, allowing them to predict an enemy's move. In addition, all archetypes gain the Tactician talent.
*'''Ivory Host:''' A legion sent to conquer Ghur, famous for slaying mighty monsters. While they obviously show scorn towards the primitive and weak cultures of the mortal here, the influence of the realm is very obvious from the frequent use of amber and animal bones in order to complete their tithe to the clearly caged savagery they unleash in the heat of battle. Heroes from the Ivory Host deal extra damage for each point of damage they suffer. In addition, all archetypes gain the Battle Rage talent.
*'''Stalliarch Lords:''' A prideful band often formed from fresh bone and meat, the Ossiarchs of this legion are capable of some form of honor...just not in any way normal folk would understand. Often have they given near-impossible tasks for mortals to accomplish, either so they could claim their tithe or to see if the challenger can accomplish some greater goal worth the interest. That said, that latter part is often only carried out for amusement rather than any genuine respect. Heroes from the Stalliarch Lords can challenge an enemy, forcing the difficulty of all attacks to reach a high difficulty but making any hits against you deal double damage.
*'''Petrifex Elite:''' A legion of nomadic bonecast, formed from the remains of ancient civilizations and forgotten graves. This legion views the binding with particular interest, seeing the parallels in becoming a whole greater than the sum of it parts and their own process of erasing all identity and originality - sometimes an Ossiarch might even have the remains of a former Soulbound in their body. Heroes from the Petrifex Elite are better armored than other Bonereapers, but they can't improve their bony armor in any way and can only use a certain downtime activity to repair it. In additionally, they can double their training for either navigating ancient ruins or recalling ancient history.
*'''Null Myriad:''' Nagash's original legion, sent to keep watch on the realm's edges until the Necroquake forced them to return and be reinforced using fragments of the Black Pyramid so they could better resist magic. As outsiders among the Ossiarchs, they are the most-versed in dealing with threats from beyond the edges of a realm and their special properties allow them to protect the very nature of the Binding. Heroes from the Null Myriad can spell Mettle to ignore the effects of a spell and double their training when dealing with exploring, navigating or withstanding the edges of the realms.
*'''Crematorians:''' Ignited by the fires of the Shyish Nadier, the life of a Bonereaper here will often be short as the flames slowly consume their bony shells. This nature has led to many among their ranks questioning the wisdom of the skelepope's plans to make an army that can burn out, though they often cover it up with other purposes - such as studying the benefits of Soulfire and how it can sustain their bodies. Heroes from the Crematorians are constantly ablaze, letting them suffer a wound to restore Mettle. When they die, they explode and make the area where they stood a burning waste.

The Ossiarch Bonereapers have access to the '''Immortis Guard''', '''Kavalos Deathrider''', '''Morghast''', '''Mortisan''', or '''Necropolis Stalker''' archetypes

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Bonereaper vs Kharadron.jpg|Sky Pirates vs Bone Golems.
File:Cavalry-bonereapers.jpg|As if Blood Knights weren't bad enough, Bone Daddy brings out Kavalos Deathriders too.
File:Gothizzar Harvester.jpg|"Oh those bones, oh those bones, oh those skeleton bones. Oh mercy how they scare! With the toe bone connected to the foot bone..."
File:Bonereaper city.jpg|Welcome to Necrotopia. Please remember to remove all skin and flesh before you reach customs.
File:Skeleton sales pitch (comic by Baalbuddy).png|An alternate way to collect the Bone-Tithe.
</gallery>

==See Also==

*[[Nagash]], their jerk of a god whom they give their undisputed loyalty to (yes, really!)

{{Template:Playable Factions in Warhammer: Age of Sigmar}}

[[Category:Age of Sigmar]]

Ossiarch Bonereapers

2021-09-26T15:14:46Z

2406:3400:20F:FFC0:115F:A9BA:370A:AFE2: /* Broken Realms */

{{Age of Sigmar Faction|Faction=Ossiarch Bonereapers|Logo=Immortis-WC2.jpg|Alliance=Death|Motto=The Skeleton War is upon us! We ride against the [[Stormcast Eternals|fuckboys]]!}}

{{topquote|Two can play at that game!|Likely Nagash after learning how Sigmar makes Stormcast}}
{{topquote|Debt, an ingenious substitute for the chain and whip of the slavedriver.|Ambrose Bierce}}
{{topquote|The bones of the skeleton which support the body can become the bars of the cage which imprison the spirit.|J. Ruth Gendler}}

The latest addition to [[Nagash]]’s ever growing hordes (designed and sculpted by [[Maxime Corbeil]], a former dentist), the '''Ossiarch Bonereapers'''
(Also known as '''The Boney Boys''', '''Bonecast''', '''Tomb Kings 2.0''', '''Bonechads''', '''Nagash's Taxmen''', '''The Boney Bean Counters''', '''Ossiarch Bean Counters''' or '''The IRS''') are the result of an eons old plan by Big Bone Daddy.

Likely inspired by the [[Stormcast Eternals]], the Bonereapers are not mere skeletons given life by necromancy, but massive constructs of bone and countless warrior souls, making them all look impressively robust for undead. Since the Soulblight Gravelords are the mainstay, the Nighthaunt are the shock troops and the Flesh-Eater Courts are completely insane, these buff bone bruisers are the elite vanguard of the Grand Alliance. Given their themes of bones, undead constructs, priest characters, architect characters and skull-throwing catapults... they're currently the closest thing we've got to [[Tomb Kings]] in AoS.

They also carry out the Bone Tithe; in addition to going out and killing shit to get their bones, the Ossiarchs give settlements they encounter a contract: Give up a set amount of bones whenever we stroll by, or face annihilation now. Understandably, most choose the former. Being unable to pay or even being rude to them also provokes a slaughter.

Visually-speaking, they're what happens when Games Workshop decides to mix [[Tyranids]], [[Tomb Kings]], and [[Necrons]] into one army.

However, widespread dissatisfaction against them due to Petrifex list spamming in first edition tournaments, how they aren't GW darlings like [[Space Marines|everyone with]] [[Stormcast Eternals|pauldrons]] and GW's desire to shill the Lumineth are probably part of the reason the Bonereapers were worfed '''hard''' in the Broken Realms saga. Seriously, the amount of clout they lose in just one book is unthinkable (read "Broken Realms" below for more). This shows a possible chain of Worfing going on in AoS ("worfing" is having a supposedly powerful fighter be easily defeated to show how strong their opponent is - named after Worf from Star Trek, who was often on the receiving end). First the Stormcast worfed the Warriors of Chaos/Slaves to Darkness, then both were worfed by the Bonereapers, and then the Bonereapers were worfed by the Lumineth. Now it remains to be seen if the Bonereapers will get payback, restore those they lost... or at least we can wonder who will worf the Lumineth in future.

==History==
===Age of Myth===
[[File:Slaves to Darkness vs Ossiarch Bonereapers 01.jpg|right|300px|thumb|SKULLS FOR <s>THE SKULL THRONE</s> Nagash! And all the other bones too!]]
When Nagash was helping Sigmar build his cities he secretly began experimenting on undead, combining their bones and souls into newer, stronger undead warriors; the [[Morghasts/Hammurai|Morghasts]] and the first Bonereapers. Most were put into massive underground crypts Nagash secretly built beneath the cities of Order, but others were kept on the surface and brought into battle alongside the armies of the other gods.

The other gods saw the Bonereapers and really didn't like them because of how unnatural they were, even for undead. In response, Nagash sent these Bonereapers to the edge of Shyish to lay low until he called on them (these Bonereapers who would go on to form the Null Myriad). He also sent at least twenty of them to wander the Realms on a long-forgotten mission (these would go on to become the Petrifex Elite).

Strangely, none of the Order groups noticed until however long its been since the start of the Age of Myth that there were crypts full of undead warriors beneath their cities. Especially since they know about and need to defend against [[Skaven|enemies who specialize in creating massive complexes beneath your cities that they then invade from]] or ones who are just [[Gloomspite Gitz|well-versed in tunnel warfare]].

===Age of Chaos===
The Age of Chaos only affected the Bonereapers garrisoned at the edge of Shyish. By that time they had become resistant to magic, and they fought against demonic armies, their actions blunting the assault of Chaos on Shyish. During this time, Katakros led an army against Sigmar himself on Nagash's orders while the former was pursuing the latter for his betrayal. The battle resulted in the loss of Katakros' army, the Mortarch's defeat and subsequent confinement to a Stormvault.

===Age of Sigmar===
In the lead-up to the Soul Wars, Katakros was freed from the Stormvault by fellow Mortarch, Lady Olynder. The Bonereapers on the edge of Shyish acted as a military force protecting the skeletal work crews who carried grains of Shyishan realmstone to Nagashizzar for Nagash to use to build the Black Pyramid.

===Soul Wars===
After the Necroquake, Nagash decided the time was right to wake up everyone beneath these cities, who apparently marched back home, making them relatively pointless. In that respect, these tombs seemed to mirror the Stormvaults Sigmar had strewn about the Realms to contain various dangerous contraband like [[Katakros|said Mortarch]].

When the Bonereaper legions arrived in Shyish, Nagash got back to his pet-project of making super-skellies, and perfected the process. This involves taking souls and distilling them down to their most choice elements. This involves ripping apart their identity and keeping parts considered useful (such as skills, daring and knowledge) while discarding the parts that aren't useful (such as fear, compassion and loyalty to anything but Nagash) and replacing those parts with something "better" (like loyalty to Nagash), with the strongest-willed soul among them becoming the identity of the new Bonereaper. Then these fragmented and melded souls are put into specially crafted bone constructs. By doing so, he artificially created individuals who were warriors, leaders, bodyguards, artisans, architects, philosophers and sculptors all in one, [[Adeptus Custodes|which sounds a little familiar.]]

The Bonereapers subsequently had a meteoric rise, making their mark - and several enemies - across the realms. After establishing their powerbase in Shyish, the Ironjawz Warclan the Kryptboyz have focused their efforts on fighting the Bonereapers due to wanting to destroy their settlements and wear their bones as trophies. In Chamon, the Null Myriad encountered the Seraphon of the Thunder Lizard Constellation and got embroiled in wars for control of the realm's edge. The Ivory Host legion gained a foothold in Ghur, Katakros' realm of origin, and in building their cities they've positioned themselves for conflict with several Mawtribes and the free city of Excelsis. The Ivory Host also clashed with an [[Sons of Behemat|infamous Mega-Gargant who went on to become the mercenary known as One-Eyed Grunnock]].

This was followed by the Bonereapers most notable conflict; the War for the Eightpoints. Katakros led the Mortis Praetorians and detachments from other Legions into the Eightpoints alongside Olynder and a Nighthaunt army to take the Eightpoints for Nagash, the first invvasion of the realm since it had been captured by Chaos. They succeeded in capturing and fortifying the realmgate leading to Shyish, and established a fortified citadel around it as a base of operations. However, Katakros' campaign was halted by the sudden return of Archaon and a force of Varanguard plus a daemon army led by Be'lakor. Bolstered by the mortal and daemonic hosts, the Chaos armies routed Katakros' Nighthaunt allies and forced the Bonereapers to enact a tactical retreat, with Archaon personally slaying him after a lengthy duel. Katakros' soul returned to his stronghold, albeit wounded, and after Katakros' restoration in a new body, the conflict became a stalemate and a war of attrition.

===Broken Realms===
When Morathi entered the Eightpoints in her plan to secure Varanite, she secretly sent an envoy to Katakros, giving him several tonnes of bones infused with the magic of Ulgu in exchange for a Bonereaper attack on Archaon's holdings to distract the forces of Chaos. Knowing the forces of order will take losses in their unknown (to Katakros and the Stormcast) endeavor, Katakros accepted the bargain.

Book two saw some particularly grueling setbacks for the Bonereapers. Not content with making the entire Death faction a bunch of jobbers for the Lumineth, the Bonereapers got worfed like a 40k Avatar of [[Khaine]] fighting Ultramarines, so bad it's as if the author had some bad experiences playing against them on the tabletop.

Teclis confronted Nagash after repelling a Nighthaunt attack on Settler's Gain, and unsuccessfully tried to threaten him into backing down. Then Teclis enacted a master plan seeking to end the Soul Wars and make Nagash pay for the Necroquake. To start, he personally led a Lumineth army riding [[What|flying mountains]] on an invasion of Shyish to destroy three monuments in a symbolic victory to show people the Bonereapers weren't unbeatable. Despite fierce resistance, and a waring from Vokmortion, the Lumineth were able to match the Bonereapers in battle before destroying the monuments and <s>fleeing</s> going back to Hysh.

The Bonereapers replenished their losses with the dead of both sides and sought revenge. While undead armies led by Neferata and Mannfred invaded Chamon and Ghyran respectively, a Null Myriad army led by Arkhan himself invaded Hysh and press-ganged the local Mordant Courts to help <s>give the Lumineth a right proper boning</s> conquer Ymetrica by turning a realmgate in Hysh into a mini-Shyish Nadir. But a Lumineth army repelled Arkhan's first attempt, forcing him to flee and try again with a second realmgate on the edge of Hysh. Not only was this second attempt thwarted by a Lumineth army led by a vengeful Eltharion, the Bonereapers were wiped out, with Arkhan himself punted off the edge of Hysh by the Light of Eltharion and disappearing. The Lumineth burned their dead to limit the Ossiarch’s recruitment, forcing them to harvest the bones of their ghoul allies, causing more trouble as the Flesh-Eater Courts fought back.

Then Nagash personally arrived in Hysh to finish what Arkhan started and kill Avalenor in revenge, but was forced to do battle against Teclis, with each god’s respective army doing battle beneath their feet. Though both gods were roughly equal in magical might, Nagash proved to be a superior combatant and marked Teclis with his blade and death magic. But Teclis got the last laugh due to some unexpected allies in Alarielle and several Luminarks, culminating in the destruction of Nagash's nine books, Nagash himself having his body broken and his soul imprisoned in Nagashizzar and Teclis personally undoing the Necroquake.

With Nagash imprisoned (for the time being), Arkhan deader than ever before if not gone for good, and the other forces of death more fractious and likely to carve their own trails of carnage, the Ossiarch are the only active remnant of their master’s will. There is also a looming Slaaneshi invasion on the horizon, as the reborn [[Sigvald]] seeks to avenge his Shadeglass imprisonment by destroying Nagash's beloved pet project. Katakros is fixated on his campaign in the Eightpoints, but still keeping tabs on what's happened elsewhere, calling out Neferata's power play when she criticized Olynder working with Be'lakor. Katakros himself didn't criticize Olynder's actions because they hurt Sigmar's plan, with Neferata accusing Katakros of still being salty over his first loss to Sigmar.

Since then, Nagash has been slowly regaining his power and awareness and already begun working on his vengeance. He's got some sort of link to Teclis, even interrupting Teclis' meditation to promise reprisals.

==Society==
[[File:Ossiarch Bonereapers Society.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Adds a whole new meaning to the phrase "pyramid scheme".]]
All Ossiarch Bonereapers are built for a specific purpose and assigned a role based on the souls from which they’re formed. This is codified through a caste system, with Nagash at the top, then Mortarchs Katakros and Arhkan, then the highest ranking Ossiarchs underneath and various ranks beneath that. The Bonereaper caste system has a cartouche representing each caste (though Nagash's is just to symbolize him). While there is a Mortarch cartouche, only Katakros wears it because Arkhan predates the Bonereaper system (and everyone but Nagash) by several eons, and despite their alliance he's too proud to wear Katakros' symbol. While they're all obedient to Nagash and fearless, the Bonereapers used in battle are sapient and the characters at least have enough individuality to have names and some personality, though they tend to be pragmatic, work-oriented and elitist. Having said that, they are still capable of doubt and camaraderie which can make them question, regret or even challenge their orders.

While many Ossiarch Bonereapers are warriors, there are castes of groups such as crafters and preachers. There is movement between castes, but only downwards, and as a punishment for failure. A Liege Kavalos who fails in their mission, for example, may be remade as a Kavalos Deathrider. If the offense was major, they might get remade as a steed. The lowest caste are the exiles collectively referred to as Parrha, consisting of the worst offenders who get broken and remade into warped skeletal aberrations incapable of fighting and the Bonereapers value them less than the Imperial Guard values the life of its rank and file soldiers (for the uninitiated, that's really saying something).

The Ossiarch Bonereapers can be found all across the Mortal Realms, aiming to conquer everything from Azyr to the Eightpoints. At present, the majority of the Ossiarch Bonereapers are concentrated in Shyish, inhabiting the nations that surround the Shyish Nadir. This allows them easy access to a vast source of magical power and establishes them as a permanent garrison around this most valuable of territories. Apart from Shyish, the largest concentrations of Bonereapers are in Ghur and Chamon.

The Ossiarch Bonereapers build according to principles laid down in the Principia Necrotopia, a set of guidelines that ensure optimal construction:

In the first stages of colonizing a new region, the Ossiarchs will establish tithing sites. Presumably, this involves mapping out surrounding settlements and segments of the region into their own tributaries, with each section's inhabitants made to sign a contract to begin paying the Tithe. They contruct shrines known as Bone-Tithe Nexus, which act as locations for vassals to dump their bones and are enchanted to give out powerful curses to ward off any scavengers seeking to steal from it.

Next, they will fortify key territories with small fortifications, following up with a number of Mortisan workshops to fuel the next stage of their expansion. These small holdings will eventually develop into vast and imposing fortresses, growing ever upward as the Bonereapers’ numbers grow. These are not just barracks, but places of culture for the Ossiarchs.

Ossiarch scholars will endlessly study scrolls in charnel libraries, recording the details of cultures in the Mortal Realms they have subjugated and those they seek to subjugate. These vast citadel-states eventually resemble Nagashizzar itself.

===The Bone Tithe===
[[File:Bone tithe.jpg|left|300px|thumb|Put your spines into it. Literally!]]
The Bone Tithe is instrumental to their society and Nagash's way of setting himself up as mob boss of the realms. Upon arriving in an area, the Ossiarchs send out scouts to get the lay of the land. When they find a settlement they want tribute from, a representative - in practice usually a Mortisan - approaches and makes them an offer they can't refuse; give "x" by the deadline at regular intervals, or we kill you all now and take what we want. To communicate, the Bonereapers draw on prior research for the local language; it doesn't matter if the vernacular's out of date by a few centuries or so, as long as they can be understood. If that doesn't work, the Bonereapers use other means, including killing a local and using their spirit as a translator if all else fails. If the locals refuse, attack them or are rude enough, [[Grimdark|the Bonereapers make good on their threat, slaughtering everything in the settlement that has bones, right down to the last child and stray animal]]. If they are feeling "nice", the Bonereapers might only kill the dissenters.

When demanding the Bone Tithe, what/who the bones come from and the required amount depends on the situation and Bonereaper legion. Human bone is the most widely used, with ogor bones a close second; duardin bones are liked for their durability but aren't common enough, aelf bones are slightly more common but don't replenish fast enough and greenskin bones are very common but coarse, porous and prone to spontaneous fungal growth unless treated properly. While animal bones are also used - such as for Kavalos steeds or Gothizzar Harvesters - that's not always the case and it depends on the animal (Rhinoxen and Bleaklake crocodiles are popular choices). How the bones are acquired is irrelevant, the most common options ranging from emptying the local cemetery to [[Grimdark|having everyone eligible give a limb or holding a lottery where those chosen are killed and the bones taken from their corpses]].

The Bonereapers (though inbuilt or learned ability, it's not clear) CAN tell the difference between what race or species a specific bone comes from, so trying to cheat them with different kinds of bone doesn't work. They also respond to trickery the same way they respond to failure or refusal - immediate slaughter (as a human town learned to their cost when they tried to trick the Bonereapers by mixing pig bones in with human bones). Even other Death factions aren't exempt from the Bone Tithe, as the Bonereapers' laws consider their charge from Nagash to supersede any commonalities with his other followers (callous elitism isn't good for alliances, reflected in the rules by the Bonereapers not being able to take allies outside Drogg Fort-Kicka).

Sometimes things are even worse than the above. A particularly war-horny leader, most often from the Stalliarch Lords (more on them below), will give nigh-impossible demands to increase the chance of failure. What kinds of demands? How about asking a city's population for detailed records on everyone's family lineage going back to the founders and the condition of every bone in the city ''including bones still inside the living inhabitants''. Or maybe they ask for just one ton of bones ''every day'' (for extra lulz, the offer is made at night and has to be completed the next day). They might instead, or also, [[That Guy|arrive early to extract the Tithe just to get a good slaughter out of it]]. However it ends, the bones of the Ossiarch's victims are sorted through, the good bones taken for future use the sub-par ones discarded (same with their victims souls). Strips of skin and flesh from these unfortunates are hung from the Bonereapers' spears as a warning to anyone who considers not paying the Tithe.

Ultimately, they have a term related to the Bone Tithe called the “Terminus Concept”. This refers to the point where a society can't provide enough bones so they get slaughtered and their bones are taken. For the truth is that the Bone Tithe is ultimately unsustainable for the payers, and the Bonereapers know it. This all proves that, while Nagash is a pragmatic sort of fellow, he'll always find a way to be a <s>boner</s> [[Eldrad|huge skeletal dick]] about it.

==Forces==
[[File:Bonereaper army.jpg|right|500px|thumb|'''Angry Dooting Intensifies''']]
*'''Mortek Guard:''' Rank and file infantry of the Bonereapers. Well armored and shielded, they have the choice of swords or spears and optional greatswords as weapons. Their primary role is to create massive shield walls to protect their leaders.
*'''Morghast Harbingers and Archai:''' You know em, you love em. Nagash's original sculpted bone construct based on not-angels from the World-That-Was now served as prototypes to the current regime of spoopy skeltals. Flying blenders armed with either halberds (take these) or twin swords (dont take these). Harbingers are your chargey bois, while the Archai are bodyguard bois.
*'''Necropolis Stalkers:''' Four-armed skeletal constructs the size of Kurnoth Hunters with four faces, each one has the soul of four warriors, and switches between which one is dominant, altering their fighting style accordingly. Their name's ripped from the Necropolis Knights and the Tomb Stalkers.
*'''Immortis Guard:''' Four-armed <s>Grave Guard</s> <s>Tomb Guard</s> elite skellingtons armed with a halberd in one set of hands and a shield in the other. Like the Morghasts, Immortis are the bodyguard bois to the Stalkers' chargey bois.
*'''Kavalos Deathriders:''' Bony heavy cavalry rivalling Blood Knights for the position of "best undead cavalry", each one has the soul of dozens of warriors to draw on their knowledge and is proportionately arrogant. They have undead birds roosting on their banner poles that act as spies and messenger birds. For added creep factor, these guys normally walk at a slow and ominous trot, only sprinting when going into a headlong charge and don't bother to clean themselves while hunting a target.
*'''Mortek Crawler:''' Screaming Skull Catapult 2.0 with an obligatory patent-friendly rename. In addition to flaming skulls, it can also hurl a cauldron of Death Magic that works based on bravery or a cursed stone that gets more powerful the more damage the Crawler takes. It's also powered by a bone-made hamster wheel and multiple legs.
*'''Gothizzar Harvester:''' A big monster construct with weapon hands and half a skeleton for a codpiece that helps harvest bones. The Harvester uses them to make new constructs on the fly or repair damaged ones. Their weapon arms come with either enchanted maces or scything blades for hands.
*'''Mortisan Soulreaper:''' Your offensive caster for the Bonereapers with a scythe that doesn't like hordes.
*'''Mortisan Boneshaper:''' The healers/builders of the Bonereapers. Formed from the souls of artists, they’re in charge of building the extravagant bone cities and other architecture of the legions. They all possess a friendly rivalry with each other that pushes them to one up another’s artwork.
*'''Mortisan Soulmason:''' Miniature Arkhans with four arms who are in charge of hunting and fusing souls for their various constructs. They ride into battle on bony [[Fyodor Karamazov|thrones with chicken legs]].
*'''Liege-Kavalos''': Field generals with skeleton mounts placed in charge of leading the Bonereaper armies. They are forged as a cruel mockery of Sigmar’s Lord-Celestant on Dracoth.

===Famous Legions===
*'''Mortis Praetorians''': The 10,000 strong personal army of Katakros, created out of the souls of those he personally knew in life. They have gained a fearsome reputation for their tactical acumen, especially in Shyish. [[Ultramarines|The poster boys who are a jack-of-all-trades, big on tactics and led by an ancient leader who was the basis for future generations]]. They also have the only two Bonereapers with a single original soul; Katakros himself and Zandtos.
* '''Petrifex Elite''': Made up of nomadic armies crafted from prehistoric fossilized bones, they are known for being slow-moving and a near impenetrable wall of bone. While fossilized bone tends to be fragile, the Petrifex Elite enchant them to be tough and also include already supernaturally tough bones among them (ie; the bones of godbeasts). Led by Mortisans, [[Necrons|they only exist to slay and find ancient bones to build more of themselves and make themselves even deadlier]]. They have forgotten why Nagash wants them to do this, and their leaders eschew personal identity to the point of using titles instead of names, as mandated by their leader and most senior Mortisan, the Grand Necromystic.
* '''Null Myriad''': The first Ossiarch Bonereapers made during Nagash's experiments in the Age of Myth. The Null Myriad were later refined and bolstered using the bones and souls of the countless dead who helped construct Nagash’s Black Pyramid and the best of Arkhan's Black Disciples. They are a solemn yet prideful lot with high resilience to magic and were given to Arkhan to be his personal legion; they're so loyal to Arkhan that they defer to him even over Katakros himself. Their resistance to magic extends to the power of Chaos, so they're used to inhabit the most inhospitable parts of the realms. Recently Arkhan made an alliance with Katakros, and the Null Myriad's job is to secure magic-heavy locations in the realms so Katakros can control the sources of their magic. The Null Myriad forces in Chamon have come into conflict with the Seraphon of the Thunder Lizards Constellation who also dwell there.
*'''Ivory Host''': Outwardly, they appear as honorable warriors, but hidden away in their bodies is a monstrous frenzy that turns them into clawing slavering beasts. Fitting considering they are constructed from beast and monster bones. Tasked by Nagash to conquer Ghur, they overcompensate for their bestial anger by being meticulously clean and making everything of theirs as much of a work of art as possible. Also known for [[Tomb Kings|being the only Ossiarchs who build ships, use the color gold regularly in their attire and are led by a monarch]]. Currently they’ve claimed the realmgate of Greedmouth and established the Ivory Citadel in the southwestern corner of the Ghurish Heartlands, putting them awfully close to numerous [[Ogor Mawtribes]] and the [[Cities of Sigmar|free city]] of Excelsis.
*'''Stalliarch Lords''': A cavalry centric force who are [[Creed|skillful tacticians]] and like to make impossible demands so they have an excuse to raze cities and slaughter people (on the rare occasion that someone meets their outrageous demands they keep their word... but remember the Terminus Concept). They take the freshest remains whenever possible to maximize how much they're infused with essence of the slain, which gives them more speed and vitality than other Bonereaper Legions and often a blood-slicked appearance. Basically [[That Guy]] as a cavalry-loving undead legion.
*'''Crematorians''': These Bonereapers are burning with an internal fire to the point where some of them literally explode when killed. Some of them have recently realized that they don't really have a purpose other than to fight and explode, and aren't too happy about that. In fact, their leaders [[Noblebright|have made pacts of friendship to repair each other if any of them are destroyed and the chief Liege-Kavalos scours the libraries of everyone they encounter in the hopes of finding a way to undo their fiery curse, and is implied to be on the verge of a breakthrough]].

==Significant Skeletons==
* '''[[Katakros|Orpheon Katakros]], [[Mortarch]] of the Necropolis''': In life he was the greatest strategic genius in all the Mortal Realms, and undeath has done nothing to dull his mastery of military tactics. He's been given a new body of enscrolled bone by Nagash himself which looks like a [[Jojo's Bizarre Adventure|JoJo stand]] rather than a skeleton. He goes into battle surrounded by various attendants; the Liege-Immortis, the Aviarch Spymaster, the Gnosis Scrollbearer, and the Prime Necrophoros.
*'''[[Arch-Kavalos Zandtos]]''': A Liege-Kavalos and Katakros’ most trusted lieutenant. In life he was a refined, death-obsessed assassin who considered killing a sacred act that should be as clean as possible. In undeath, he gradually became a death-purist who wishes to “cleanse” Shyish of anything still living.
*'''Vokmortian, Master of the Bone-tithe''': The grim tallyman in charge of recording/judging the Tithe. He carries the severed heads of those foolish enough to refuse to pay the Tithe and has a coffin on his back, making him look like a giant beetle. Though officially he’s under Katakros and Arkhan in the OBR hierarchy, he’ll only receive/carry out orders from Big Bone Daddy himself...which might be a bit difficult now that Nagash was sealed away by Teclis.
*'''[[Arkhan the Black]]''': Yeah, he's part of the army despite technically being just an "average" liche as opposed to a bone golem thing. Likely because apart from Nagash, he's the most privy to understanding how they are made without being one. While he has his own private legion in the Null Myriad, his authority is recognized by all the Ossiarch legions. He was recently thrown off the edge of Hysh by the Light of Eltharion, with him and his Dread Abyssal disappearing in a burst of light magic. While it's unlikely that Arkhan is gone for good, he's deader than ever before.
*'''Xaramos''': A Mortisan Boneshaper of the Mortis Praetorians, skilled in both diplomacy and keeping the legion operating at full efficiency. He assisted Arkhan in his counter invasion of Ymetrica in Hysh, where he put his diplomatic skills to use in acquiring the assistance of the [[Flesh-Eater Courts|Vertigon Court]] to defeat the Lumineth aelves and formed an unexpected friendship with the Ghoul King Varshorn. When relations turned sour over the Bone Tithe, the personal forces of Xaramos and Varshorn battled amidst the gore-caked caverns of the Starfang Mont in a conflict later the Charnel War, with hints that Xaramos regretted fighting Vashorn. Xaramos died permanently in the last battle, personally decapitated by Vashorn.

==Spooky Melodies for your Bony Boys==

*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DsZivjop_s Spooky Scary Skeletons! a remix for a revamp]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKHAX1K4sKQ The Dead March returns for AoS!]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5n5qo8b1pA March for the Tithe!]

==Trivia==
* The architecture of the Ossiarch Bonereapers was likely inspired by the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sedlec_Ossuary Sedlec Ossuary] in the Czech Republic. The Sedlec Ossuary is a Roman Catholic church where the bones of thousands of people have been artistically arranged to form the decorations and the furnishings of the chapel (it's also called "the Bone Church"). This was done several centuries ago for creative interment reasons with many dead and not enough space to bury them on holy ground.
* On a comical note, "Kavalos", the name for Bonereaper cavalry, translates to "crotch" in Greek (the Greek word is "kaválos"). Makes more sense when you think of [[Katakros]]' defining trait lookswise, and how his name even sounds like the Greek word.

==Soulbound==
The [[Age of Sigmar Roleplay]] supplement Champions of Death would naturally introduce the Ossiarch Bonereapers as a playable race, though like their gold-plated counterparts they aren't so much Soulbound as much as they are outsiders made to join a Binding for some other agenda. For those bound to Nagash, the purpose is obvious enough: The Ossiarchs are the ultimate form of his perfect future and are (almost) unquestionably loyal, sometimes even researching the uses of Soulfire in order to perfect the process of making more of their own. Those who join an Order Binding find themselves in one of two camps: Either as allies of desperation for a common goal or as a haven to escape from their place as an outcast in the rigid society of the Ossiarch legions that would see them recycled due to either defects or defiance.

You can have your Ossiarch hail from the following Legions:
*'''Mortis Praetorians:''' The Legion of Orpheon Katakros himself, formed from the souls of his greatest soldiers and generals in life. They are the most determined of the legions, willing to use the bones of both friend and foe alike in order to bolster their ranks. That said, the demand for reinforcements are so frequent that there are those bodies that are made incomplete, subject to the whispers of waylaid spirits before being completely formed. Whenever Katakros sees interest in a Binding, he will often send a member of his Praetorians to accompany them and enforce order. Heroes from the Mortis Praetorians can spend an action to test Intuition against an opponent's Guile, allowing them to predict an enemy's move. In addition, all archetypes gain the Tactician talent.
*'''Ivory Host:''' A legion sent to conquer Ghur, famous for slaying mighty monsters. While they obviously show scorn towards the primitive and weak cultures of the mortal here, the influence of the realm is very obvious from the frequent use of amber and animal bones in order to complete their tithe to the clearly caged savagery they unleash in the heat of battle. Heroes from the Ivory Host deal extra damage for each point of damage they suffer. In addition, all archetypes gain the Battle Rage talent.
*'''Stalliarch Lords:''' A prideful band often formed from fresh bone and meat, the Ossiarchs of this legion are capable of some form of honor...just not in any way normal folk would understand. Often have they given near-impossible tasks for mortals to accomplish, either so they could claim their tithe or to see if the challenger can accomplish some greater goal worth the interest. That said, that latter part is often only carried out for amusement rather than any genuine respect. Heroes from the Stalliarch Lords can challenge an enemy, forcing the difficulty of all attacks to reach a high difficulty but making any hits against you deal double damage.
*'''Petrifex Elite:''' A legion of nomadic bonecast, formed from the remains of ancient civilizations and forgotten graves. This legion views the binding with particular interest, seeing the parallels in becoming a whole greater than the sum of it parts and their own process of erasing all identity and originality - sometimes an Ossiarch might even have the remains of a former Soulbound in their body. Heroes from the Petrifex Elite are better armored than other Bonereapers, but they can't improve their bony armor in any way and can only use a certain downtime activity to repair it. In additionally, they can double their training for either navigating ancient ruins or recalling ancient history.
*'''Null Myriad:''' Nagash's original legion, sent to keep watch on the realm's edges until the Necroquake forced them to return and be reinforced using fragments of the Black Pyramid so they could better resist magic. As outsiders among the Ossiarchs, they are the most-versed in dealing with threats from beyond the edges of a realm and their special properties allow them to protect the very nature of the Binding. Heroes from the Null Myriad can spell Mettle to ignore the effects of a spell and double their training when dealing with exploring, navigating or withstanding the edges of the realms.
*'''Crematorians:''' Ignited by the fires of the Shyish Nadier, the life of a Bonereaper here will often be short as the flames slowly consume their bony shells. This nature has led to many among their ranks questioning the wisdom of the skelepope's plans to make an army that can burn out, though they often cover it up with other purposes - such as studying the benefits of Soulfire and how it can sustain their bodies. Heroes from the Crematorians are constantly ablaze, letting them suffer a wound to restore Mettle. When they die, they explode and make the area where they stood a burning waste.

The Ossiarch Bonereapers have access to the '''Immortis Guard''', '''Kavalos Deathrider''', '''Morghast''', '''Mortisan''', or '''Necropolis Stalker''' archetypes

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Bonereaper vs Kharadron.jpg|Sky Pirates vs Bone Golems.
File:Cavalry-bonereapers.jpg|As if Blood Knights weren't bad enough, Bone Daddy brings out Kavalos Deathriders too.
File:Gothizzar Harvester.jpg|"Oh those bones, oh those bones, oh those skeleton bones. Oh mercy how they scare! With the toe bone connected to the foot bone..."
File:Bonereaper city.jpg|Welcome to Necrotopia. Please remember to remove all skin and flesh before you reach customs.
File:Skeleton sales pitch (comic by Baalbuddy).png|An alternate way to collect the Bone-Tithe.
</gallery>

==See Also==

*[[Nagash]], their jerk of a god whom they give their undisputed loyalty to (yes, really!)

{{Template:Playable Factions in Warhammer: Age of Sigmar}}

[[Category:Age of Sigmar]]

Ossiarch Bonereapers

2021-09-26T15:05:14Z

2406:3400:20F:FFC0:115F:A9BA:370A:AFE2: /* Broken Realms */

{{Age of Sigmar Faction|Faction=Ossiarch Bonereapers|Logo=Immortis-WC2.jpg|Alliance=Death|Motto=The Skeleton War is upon us! We ride against the [[Stormcast Eternals|fuckboys]]!}}

{{topquote|Two can play at that game!|Likely Nagash after learning how Sigmar makes Stormcast}}
{{topquote|Debt, an ingenious substitute for the chain and whip of the slavedriver.|Ambrose Bierce}}
{{topquote|The bones of the skeleton which support the body can become the bars of the cage which imprison the spirit.|J. Ruth Gendler}}

The latest addition to [[Nagash]]’s ever growing hordes (designed and sculpted by [[Maxime Corbeil]], a former dentist), the '''Ossiarch Bonereapers'''
(Also known as '''The Boney Boys''', '''Bonecast''', '''Tomb Kings 2.0''', '''Bonechads''', '''Nagash's Taxmen''', '''The Boney Bean Counters''', '''Ossiarch Bean Counters''' or '''The IRS''') are the result of an eons old plan by Big Bone Daddy.

Likely inspired by the [[Stormcast Eternals]], the Bonereapers are not mere skeletons given life by necromancy, but massive constructs of bone and countless warrior souls, making them all look impressively robust for undead. Since the Soulblight Gravelords are the mainstay, the Nighthaunt are the shock troops and the Flesh-Eater Courts are completely insane, these buff bone bruisers are the elite vanguard of the Grand Alliance. Given their themes of bones, undead constructs, priest characters, architect characters and skull-throwing catapults... they're currently the closest thing we've got to [[Tomb Kings]] in AoS.

They also carry out the Bone Tithe; in addition to going out and killing shit to get their bones, the Ossiarchs give settlements they encounter a contract: Give up a set amount of bones whenever we stroll by, or face annihilation now. Understandably, most choose the former. Being unable to pay or even being rude to them also provokes a slaughter.

Visually-speaking, they're what happens when Games Workshop decides to mix [[Tyranids]], [[Tomb Kings]], and [[Necrons]] into one army.

However, widespread dissatisfaction against them due to Petrifex list spamming in first edition tournaments, how they aren't GW darlings like [[Space Marines|everyone with]] [[Stormcast Eternals|pauldrons]] and GW's desire to shill the Lumineth are probably part of the reason the Bonereapers were worfed '''hard''' in the Broken Realms saga. Seriously, the amount of clout they lose in just one book is unthinkable (read "Broken Realms" below for more). This shows a possible chain of Worfing going on in AoS ("worfing" is having a supposedly powerful fighter be easily defeated to show how strong their opponent is - named after Worf from Star Trek, who was often on the receiving end). First the Stormcast worfed the Warriors of Chaos/Slaves to Darkness, then both were worfed by the Bonereapers, and then the Bonereapers were worfed by the Lumineth. Now it remains to be seen if the Bonereapers will get payback, restore those they lost... or at least we can wonder who will worf the Lumineth in future.

==History==
===Age of Myth===
[[File:Slaves to Darkness vs Ossiarch Bonereapers 01.jpg|right|300px|thumb|SKULLS FOR <s>THE SKULL THRONE</s> Nagash! And all the other bones too!]]
When Nagash was helping Sigmar build his cities he secretly began experimenting on undead, combining their bones and souls into newer, stronger undead warriors; the [[Morghasts/Hammurai|Morghasts]] and the first Bonereapers. Most were put into massive underground crypts Nagash secretly built beneath the cities of Order, but others were kept on the surface and brought into battle alongside the armies of the other gods.

The other gods saw the Bonereapers and really didn't like them because of how unnatural they were, even for undead. In response, Nagash sent these Bonereapers to the edge of Shyish to lay low until he called on them (these Bonereapers who would go on to form the Null Myriad). He also sent at least twenty of them to wander the Realms on a long-forgotten mission (these would go on to become the Petrifex Elite).

Strangely, none of the Order groups noticed until however long its been since the start of the Age of Myth that there were crypts full of undead warriors beneath their cities. Especially since they know about and need to defend against [[Skaven|enemies who specialize in creating massive complexes beneath your cities that they then invade from]] or ones who are just [[Gloomspite Gitz|well-versed in tunnel warfare]].

===Age of Chaos===
The Age of Chaos only affected the Bonereapers garrisoned at the edge of Shyish. By that time they had become resistant to magic, and they fought against demonic armies, their actions blunting the assault of Chaos on Shyish. During this time, Katakros led an army against Sigmar himself on Nagash's orders while the former was pursuing the latter for his betrayal. The battle resulted in the loss of Katakros' army, the Mortarch's defeat and subsequent confinement to a Stormvault.

===Age of Sigmar===
In the lead-up to the Soul Wars, Katakros was freed from the Stormvault by fellow Mortarch, Lady Olynder. The Bonereapers on the edge of Shyish acted as a military force protecting the skeletal work crews who carried grains of Shyishan realmstone to Nagashizzar for Nagash to use to build the Black Pyramid.

===Soul Wars===
After the Necroquake, Nagash decided the time was right to wake up everyone beneath these cities, who apparently marched back home, making them relatively pointless. In that respect, these tombs seemed to mirror the Stormvaults Sigmar had strewn about the Realms to contain various dangerous contraband like [[Katakros|said Mortarch]].

When the Bonereaper legions arrived in Shyish, Nagash got back to his pet-project of making super-skellies, and perfected the process. This involves taking souls and distilling them down to their most choice elements. This involves ripping apart their identity and keeping parts considered useful (such as skills, daring and knowledge) while discarding the parts that aren't useful (such as fear, compassion and loyalty to anything but Nagash) and replacing those parts with something "better" (like loyalty to Nagash), with the strongest-willed soul among them becoming the identity of the new Bonereaper. Then these fragmented and melded souls are put into specially crafted bone constructs. By doing so, he artificially created individuals who were warriors, leaders, bodyguards, artisans, architects, philosophers and sculptors all in one, [[Adeptus Custodes|which sounds a little familiar.]]

The Bonereapers subsequently had a meteoric rise, making their mark - and several enemies - across the realms. After establishing their powerbase in Shyish, the Ironjawz Warclan the Kryptboyz have focused their efforts on fighting the Bonereapers due to wanting to destroy their settlements and wear their bones as trophies. In Chamon, the Null Myriad encountered the Seraphon of the Thunder Lizard Constellation and got embroiled in wars for control of the realm's edge. The Ivory Host legion gained a foothold in Ghur, Katakros' realm of origin, and in building their cities they've positioned themselves for conflict with several Mawtribes and the free city of Excelsis. The Ivory Host also clashed with an [[Sons of Behemat|infamous Mega-Gargant who went on to become the mercenary known as One-Eyed Grunnock]].

This was followed by the Bonereapers most notable conflict; the War for the Eightpoints. Katakros led the Mortis Praetorians and detachments from other Legions into the Eightpoints alongside Olynder and a Nighthaunt army to take the Eightpoints for Nagash, the first invvasion of the realm since it had been captured by Chaos. They succeeded in capturing and fortifying the realmgate leading to Shyish, and established a fortified citadel around it as a base of operations. However, Katakros' campaign was halted by the sudden return of Archaon and a force of Varanguard plus a daemon army led by Be'lakor. Bolstered by the mortal and daemonic hosts, the Chaos armies routed Katakros' Nighthaunt allies and forced the Bonereapers to enact a tactical retreat, with Archaon personally slaying him after a lengthy duel. Katakros' soul returned to his stronghold, albeit wounded, and after Katakros' restoration in a new body, the conflict became a stalemate and a war of attrition.

===Broken Realms===
When Morathi entered the Eightpoints in her plan to secure Varanite, she secretly sent an envoy to Katakros, giving him several tonnes of bones infused with the magic of Ulgu in exchange for a Bonereaper attack on Archaon's holdings to distract the forces of Chaos. Knowing the forces of order will take losses in their unknown (to Katakros and the Stormcast) endeavor, Katakros accepted the bargain.

Book two saw some particularly grueling setbacks for the Bonereapers. Not content with making the entire Death faction a bunch of jobbers for the Lumineth, the Bonereapers got worfed like a 40k Avatar of [[Khaine]] fighting Ultramarines, so bad it's as if the author had some bad experiences playing against them on the tabletop.

Teclis confronted Nagash after repelling a Nighthaunt attack on Settler's Gain, and unsuccessfully tried to threaten him into backing down. Then Teclis enacted a master plan seeking to end the Soul Wars and make Nagash pay for the Necroquake. To start, he personally led a Lumineth army riding [[What|flying mountains]] on an invasion of Shyish to destroy three mounuments in a symbolic victory. Despite fierce resistance, and a waring from Vokmortion, the Lumineth were able to the Bonereapers in battle before <s>fleeing</s> going back to Hysh, as the destruction was to send the message that the Bonereapers aren't unbeatable.

The Bonereapers replenished their losses with the dead of both sides and sought revenge. A Null Myriad army, led by Arkhan himself, invaded Hysh and press-ganged the Mordant Courts hiding in Avalenor's mountains to join Nagash and <s>give the Lumineth a right proper boning</s> help conquer Ymetrica by setting up a mini-Nadir in Hysh and kill Avalenor to get back at Teclis. But a Lumineth army repelled Arkhan's first attempt, and his second attempt on the edge of Hysh saw him purused by a Lumineth army led by a vengeful Eltharion. The second battle saw the Bonereapers get wiped out, with Arkhan himself punted off the edge of Hysh by the Light of Eltharion and disappearing. The Lumineth burned their dead to limit the Ossiarch’s recruitment, forcing them to harvest the bones of their own ghoul allies, causing more trouble as the Flesh-Eater Courts fought back.

Then Nagash personally arrived in Hysh to finish what Arkhan started, but was forced to do battle against Teclis, with each god’s respective armies doing battle beneath their feet. Though both gods were roughly equal in magical might, Nagash proved to be a superior combatant and marked Teclis with his blade and death magic. But Teclis got the last laugh due to some unexpected allies in Alarielle and several Luminarks, culminating in the destruction of Nagash's nine books, Nagash himself being beaten and imprisoned in Nagashizzar and Teclis personally undoing the Necroquake.

With Nagash imprisoned (for the time being), Arkhan deader than ever before if not gone for good, and the other forces of death more fractious and likely to carve their own trails of carnage, the Ossiarch are the only active remnant of their master’s will. There is also a looming Slaaneshi invasion on the horizon, as the reborn [[Sigvald]] seeks to avenge his Shadeglass imprisonment by destroying Nagash's beloved pet project. Since then, Nagash has been slowly regaining his power and awareness and already begun working on his vengeance, even interrupting Teclis' meditation to promise reprisals.

==Society==
[[File:Ossiarch Bonereapers Society.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Adds a whole new meaning to the phrase "pyramid scheme".]]
All Ossiarch Bonereapers are built for a specific purpose and assigned a role based on the souls from which they’re formed. This is codified through a caste system, with Nagash at the top, then Mortarchs Katakros and Arhkan, then the highest ranking Ossiarchs underneath and various ranks beneath that. The Bonereaper caste system has a cartouche representing each caste (though Nagash's is just to symbolize him). While there is a Mortarch cartouche, only Katakros wears it because Arkhan predates the Bonereaper system (and everyone but Nagash) by several eons, and despite their alliance he's too proud to wear Katakros' symbol. While they're all obedient to Nagash and fearless, the Bonereapers used in battle are sapient and the characters at least have enough individuality to have names and some personality, though they tend to be pragmatic, work-oriented and elitist. Having said that, they are still capable of doubt and camaraderie which can make them question, regret or even challenge their orders.

While many Ossiarch Bonereapers are warriors, there are castes of groups such as crafters and preachers. There is movement between castes, but only downwards, and as a punishment for failure. A Liege Kavalos who fails in their mission, for example, may be remade as a Kavalos Deathrider. If the offense was major, they might get remade as a steed. The lowest caste are the exiles collectively referred to as Parrha, consisting of the worst offenders who get broken and remade into warped skeletal aberrations incapable of fighting and the Bonereapers value them less than the Imperial Guard values the life of its rank and file soldiers (for the uninitiated, that's really saying something).

The Ossiarch Bonereapers can be found all across the Mortal Realms, aiming to conquer everything from Azyr to the Eightpoints. At present, the majority of the Ossiarch Bonereapers are concentrated in Shyish, inhabiting the nations that surround the Shyish Nadir. This allows them easy access to a vast source of magical power and establishes them as a permanent garrison around this most valuable of territories. Apart from Shyish, the largest concentrations of Bonereapers are in Ghur and Chamon.

The Ossiarch Bonereapers build according to principles laid down in the Principia Necrotopia, a set of guidelines that ensure optimal construction:

In the first stages of colonizing a new region, the Ossiarchs will establish tithing sites. Presumably, this involves mapping out surrounding settlements and segments of the region into their own tributaries, with each section's inhabitants made to sign a contract to begin paying the Tithe. They contruct shrines known as Bone-Tithe Nexus, which act as locations for vassals to dump their bones and are enchanted to give out powerful curses to ward off any scavengers seeking to steal from it.

Next, they will fortify key territories with small fortifications, following up with a number of Mortisan workshops to fuel the next stage of their expansion. These small holdings will eventually develop into vast and imposing fortresses, growing ever upward as the Bonereapers’ numbers grow. These are not just barracks, but places of culture for the Ossiarchs.

Ossiarch scholars will endlessly study scrolls in charnel libraries, recording the details of cultures in the Mortal Realms they have subjugated and those they seek to subjugate. These vast citadel-states eventually resemble Nagashizzar itself.

===The Bone Tithe===
[[File:Bone tithe.jpg|left|300px|thumb|Put your spines into it. Literally!]]
The Bone Tithe is instrumental to their society and Nagash's way of setting himself up as mob boss of the realms. Upon arriving in an area, the Ossiarchs send out scouts to get the lay of the land. When they find a settlement they want tribute from, a representative - in practice usually a Mortisan - approaches and makes them an offer they can't refuse; give "x" by the deadline at regular intervals, or we kill you all now and take what we want. To communicate, the Bonereapers draw on prior research for the local language; it doesn't matter if the vernacular's out of date by a few centuries or so, as long as they can be understood. If that doesn't work, the Bonereapers use other means, including killing a local and using their spirit as a translator if all else fails. If the locals refuse, attack them or are rude enough, [[Grimdark|the Bonereapers make good on their threat, slaughtering everything in the settlement that has bones, right down to the last child and stray animal]]. If they are feeling "nice", the Bonereapers might only kill the dissenters.

When demanding the Bone Tithe, what/who the bones come from and the required amount depends on the situation and Bonereaper legion. Human bone is the most widely used, with ogor bones a close second; duardin bones are liked for their durability but aren't common enough, aelf bones are slightly more common but don't replenish fast enough and greenskin bones are very common but coarse, porous and prone to spontaneous fungal growth unless treated properly. While animal bones are also used - such as for Kavalos steeds or Gothizzar Harvesters - that's not always the case and it depends on the animal (Rhinoxen and Bleaklake crocodiles are popular choices). How the bones are acquired is irrelevant, the most common options ranging from emptying the local cemetery to [[Grimdark|having everyone eligible give a limb or holding a lottery where those chosen are killed and the bones taken from their corpses]].

The Bonereapers (though inbuilt or learned ability, it's not clear) CAN tell the difference between what race or species a specific bone comes from, so trying to cheat them with different kinds of bone doesn't work. They also respond to trickery the same way they respond to failure or refusal - immediate slaughter (as a human town learned to their cost when they tried to trick the Bonereapers by mixing pig bones in with human bones). Even other Death factions aren't exempt from the Bone Tithe, as the Bonereapers' laws consider their charge from Nagash to supersede any commonalities with his other followers (callous elitism isn't good for alliances, reflected in the rules by the Bonereapers not being able to take allies outside Drogg Fort-Kicka).

Sometimes things are even worse than the above. A particularly war-horny leader, most often from the Stalliarch Lords (more on them below), will give nigh-impossible demands to increase the chance of failure. What kinds of demands? How about asking a city's population for detailed records on everyone's family lineage going back to the founders and the condition of every bone in the city ''including bones still inside the living inhabitants''. Or maybe they ask for just one ton of bones ''every day'' (for extra lulz, the offer is made at night and has to be completed the next day). They might instead, or also, [[That Guy|arrive early to extract the Tithe just to get a good slaughter out of it]]. However it ends, the bones of the Ossiarch's victims are sorted through, the good bones taken for future use the sub-par ones discarded (same with their victims souls). Strips of skin and flesh from these unfortunates are hung from the Bonereapers' spears as a warning to anyone who considers not paying the Tithe.

Ultimately, they have a term related to the Bone Tithe called the “Terminus Concept”. This refers to the point where a society can't provide enough bones so they get slaughtered and their bones are taken. For the truth is that the Bone Tithe is ultimately unsustainable for the payers, and the Bonereapers know it. This all proves that, while Nagash is a pragmatic sort of fellow, he'll always find a way to be a <s>boner</s> [[Eldrad|huge skeletal dick]] about it.

==Forces==
[[File:Bonereaper army.jpg|right|500px|thumb|'''Angry Dooting Intensifies''']]
*'''Mortek Guard:''' Rank and file infantry of the Bonereapers. Well armored and shielded, they have the choice of swords or spears and optional greatswords as weapons. Their primary role is to create massive shield walls to protect their leaders.
*'''Morghast Harbingers and Archai:''' You know em, you love em. Nagash's original sculpted bone construct based on not-angels from the World-That-Was now served as prototypes to the current regime of spoopy skeltals. Flying blenders armed with either halberds (take these) or twin swords (dont take these). Harbingers are your chargey bois, while the Archai are bodyguard bois.
*'''Necropolis Stalkers:''' Four-armed skeletal constructs the size of Kurnoth Hunters with four faces, each one has the soul of four warriors, and switches between which one is dominant, altering their fighting style accordingly. Their name's ripped from the Necropolis Knights and the Tomb Stalkers.
*'''Immortis Guard:''' Four-armed <s>Grave Guard</s> <s>Tomb Guard</s> elite skellingtons armed with a halberd in one set of hands and a shield in the other. Like the Morghasts, Immortis are the bodyguard bois to the Stalkers' chargey bois.
*'''Kavalos Deathriders:''' Bony heavy cavalry rivalling Blood Knights for the position of "best undead cavalry", each one has the soul of dozens of warriors to draw on their knowledge and is proportionately arrogant. They have undead birds roosting on their banner poles that act as spies and messenger birds. For added creep factor, these guys normally walk at a slow and ominous trot, only sprinting when going into a headlong charge and don't bother to clean themselves while hunting a target.
*'''Mortek Crawler:''' Screaming Skull Catapult 2.0 with an obligatory patent-friendly rename. In addition to flaming skulls, it can also hurl a cauldron of Death Magic that works based on bravery or a cursed stone that gets more powerful the more damage the Crawler takes. It's also powered by a bone-made hamster wheel and multiple legs.
*'''Gothizzar Harvester:''' A big monster construct with weapon hands and half a skeleton for a codpiece that helps harvest bones. The Harvester uses them to make new constructs on the fly or repair damaged ones. Their weapon arms come with either enchanted maces or scything blades for hands.
*'''Mortisan Soulreaper:''' Your offensive caster for the Bonereapers with a scythe that doesn't like hordes.
*'''Mortisan Boneshaper:''' The healers/builders of the Bonereapers. Formed from the souls of artists, they’re in charge of building the extravagant bone cities and other architecture of the legions. They all possess a friendly rivalry with each other that pushes them to one up another’s artwork.
*'''Mortisan Soulmason:''' Miniature Arkhans with four arms who are in charge of hunting and fusing souls for their various constructs. They ride into battle on bony [[Fyodor Karamazov|thrones with chicken legs]].
*'''Liege-Kavalos''': Field generals with skeleton mounts placed in charge of leading the Bonereaper armies. They are forged as a cruel mockery of Sigmar’s Lord-Celestant on Dracoth.

===Famous Legions===
*'''Mortis Praetorians''': The 10,000 strong personal army of Katakros, created out of the souls of those he personally knew in life. They have gained a fearsome reputation for their tactical acumen, especially in Shyish. [[Ultramarines|The poster boys who are a jack-of-all-trades, big on tactics and led by an ancient leader who was the basis for future generations]]. They also have the only two Bonereapers with a single original soul; Katakros himself and Zandtos.
* '''Petrifex Elite''': Made up of nomadic armies crafted from prehistoric fossilized bones, they are known for being slow-moving and a near impenetrable wall of bone. While fossilized bone tends to be fragile, the Petrifex Elite enchant them to be tough and also include already supernaturally tough bones among them (ie; the bones of godbeasts). Led by Mortisans, [[Necrons|they only exist to slay and find ancient bones to build more of themselves and make themselves even deadlier]]. They have forgotten why Nagash wants them to do this, and their leaders eschew personal identity to the point of using titles instead of names, as mandated by their leader and most senior Mortisan, the Grand Necromystic.
* '''Null Myriad''': The first Ossiarch Bonereapers made during Nagash's experiments in the Age of Myth. The Null Myriad were later refined and bolstered using the bones and souls of the countless dead who helped construct Nagash’s Black Pyramid and the best of Arkhan's Black Disciples. They are a solemn yet prideful lot with high resilience to magic and were given to Arkhan to be his personal legion; they're so loyal to Arkhan that they defer to him even over Katakros himself. Their resistance to magic extends to the power of Chaos, so they're used to inhabit the most inhospitable parts of the realms. Recently Arkhan made an alliance with Katakros, and the Null Myriad's job is to secure magic-heavy locations in the realms so Katakros can control the sources of their magic. The Null Myriad forces in Chamon have come into conflict with the Seraphon of the Thunder Lizards Constellation who also dwell there.
*'''Ivory Host''': Outwardly, they appear as honorable warriors, but hidden away in their bodies is a monstrous frenzy that turns them into clawing slavering beasts. Fitting considering they are constructed from beast and monster bones. Tasked by Nagash to conquer Ghur, they overcompensate for their bestial anger by being meticulously clean and making everything of theirs as much of a work of art as possible. Also known for [[Tomb Kings|being the only Ossiarchs who build ships, use the color gold regularly in their attire and are led by a monarch]]. Currently they’ve claimed the realmgate of Greedmouth and established the Ivory Citadel in the southwestern corner of the Ghurish Heartlands, putting them awfully close to numerous [[Ogor Mawtribes]] and the [[Cities of Sigmar|free city]] of Excelsis.
*'''Stalliarch Lords''': A cavalry centric force who are [[Creed|skillful tacticians]] and like to make impossible demands so they have an excuse to raze cities and slaughter people (on the rare occasion that someone meets their outrageous demands they keep their word... but remember the Terminus Concept). They take the freshest remains whenever possible to maximize how much they're infused with essence of the slain, which gives them more speed and vitality than other Bonereaper Legions and often a blood-slicked appearance. Basically [[That Guy]] as a cavalry-loving undead legion.
*'''Crematorians''': These Bonereapers are burning with an internal fire to the point where some of them literally explode when killed. Some of them have recently realized that they don't really have a purpose other than to fight and explode, and aren't too happy about that. In fact, their leaders [[Noblebright|have made pacts of friendship to repair each other if any of them are destroyed and the chief Liege-Kavalos scours the libraries of everyone they encounter in the hopes of finding a way to undo their fiery curse, and is implied to be on the verge of a breakthrough]].

==Significant Skeletons==
* '''[[Katakros|Orpheon Katakros]], [[Mortarch]] of the Necropolis''': In life he was the greatest strategic genius in all the Mortal Realms, and undeath has done nothing to dull his mastery of military tactics. He's been given a new body of enscrolled bone by Nagash himself which looks like a [[Jojo's Bizarre Adventure|JoJo stand]] rather than a skeleton. He goes into battle surrounded by various attendants; the Liege-Immortis, the Aviarch Spymaster, the Gnosis Scrollbearer, and the Prime Necrophoros.
*'''[[Arch-Kavalos Zandtos]]''': A Liege-Kavalos and Katakros’ most trusted lieutenant. In life he was a refined, death-obsessed assassin who considered killing a sacred act that should be as clean as possible. In undeath, he gradually became a death-purist who wishes to “cleanse” Shyish of anything still living.
*'''Vokmortian, Master of the Bone-tithe''': The grim tallyman in charge of recording/judging the Tithe. He carries the severed heads of those foolish enough to refuse to pay the Tithe and has a coffin on his back, making him look like a giant beetle. Though officially he’s under Katakros and Arkhan in the OBR hierarchy, he’ll only receive/carry out orders from Big Bone Daddy himself...which might be a bit difficult now that Nagash was sealed away by Teclis.
*'''[[Arkhan the Black]]''': Yeah, he's part of the army despite technically being just an "average" liche as opposed to a bone golem thing. Likely because apart from Nagash, he's the most privy to understanding how they are made without being one. While he has his own private legion in the Null Myriad, his authority is recognized by all the Ossiarch legions. He was recently thrown off the edge of Hysh by the Light of Eltharion, with him and his Dread Abyssal disappearing in a burst of light magic. While it's unlikely that Arkhan is gone for good, he's deader than ever before.
*'''Xaramos''': A Mortisan Boneshaper of the Mortis Praetorians, skilled in both diplomacy and keeping the legion operating at full efficiency. He assisted Arkhan in his counter invasion of Ymetrica in Hysh, where he put his diplomatic skills to use in acquiring the assistance of the [[Flesh-Eater Courts|Vertigon Court]] to defeat the Lumineth aelves and formed an unexpected friendship with the Ghoul King Varshorn. When relations turned sour over the Bone Tithe, the personal forces of Xaramos and Varshorn battled amidst the gore-caked caverns of the Starfang Mont in a conflict later the Charnel War, with hints that Xaramos regretted fighting Vashorn. Xaramos died permanently in the last battle, personally decapitated by Vashorn.

==Spooky Melodies for your Bony Boys==

*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DsZivjop_s Spooky Scary Skeletons! a remix for a revamp]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKHAX1K4sKQ The Dead March returns for AoS!]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5n5qo8b1pA March for the Tithe!]

==Trivia==
* The architecture of the Ossiarch Bonereapers was likely inspired by the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sedlec_Ossuary Sedlec Ossuary] in the Czech Republic. The Sedlec Ossuary is a Roman Catholic church where the bones of thousands of people have been artistically arranged to form the decorations and the furnishings of the chapel (it's also called "the Bone Church"). This was done several centuries ago for creative interment reasons with many dead and not enough space to bury them on holy ground.
* On a comical note, "Kavalos", the name for Bonereaper cavalry, translates to "crotch" in Greek (the Greek word is "kaválos"). Makes more sense when you think of [[Katakros]]' defining trait lookswise, and how his name even sounds like the Greek word.

==Soulbound==
The [[Age of Sigmar Roleplay]] supplement Champions of Death would naturally introduce the Ossiarch Bonereapers as a playable race, though like their gold-plated counterparts they aren't so much Soulbound as much as they are outsiders made to join a Binding for some other agenda. For those bound to Nagash, the purpose is obvious enough: The Ossiarchs are the ultimate form of his perfect future and are (almost) unquestionably loyal, sometimes even researching the uses of Soulfire in order to perfect the process of making more of their own. Those who join an Order Binding find themselves in one of two camps: Either as allies of desperation for a common goal or as a haven to escape from their place as an outcast in the rigid society of the Ossiarch legions that would see them recycled due to either defects or defiance.

You can have your Ossiarch hail from the following Legions:
*'''Mortis Praetorians:''' The Legion of Orpheon Katakros himself, formed from the souls of his greatest soldiers and generals in life. They are the most determined of the legions, willing to use the bones of both friend and foe alike in order to bolster their ranks. That said, the demand for reinforcements are so frequent that there are those bodies that are made incomplete, subject to the whispers of waylaid spirits before being completely formed. Whenever Katakros sees interest in a Binding, he will often send a member of his Praetorians to accompany them and enforce order. Heroes from the Mortis Praetorians can spend an action to test Intuition against an opponent's Guile, allowing them to predict an enemy's move. In addition, all archetypes gain the Tactician talent.
*'''Ivory Host:''' A legion sent to conquer Ghur, famous for slaying mighty monsters. While they obviously show scorn towards the primitive and weak cultures of the mortal here, the influence of the realm is very obvious from the frequent use of amber and animal bones in order to complete their tithe to the clearly caged savagery they unleash in the heat of battle. Heroes from the Ivory Host deal extra damage for each point of damage they suffer. In addition, all archetypes gain the Battle Rage talent.
*'''Stalliarch Lords:''' A prideful band often formed from fresh bone and meat, the Ossiarchs of this legion are capable of some form of honor...just not in any way normal folk would understand. Often have they given near-impossible tasks for mortals to accomplish, either so they could claim their tithe or to see if the challenger can accomplish some greater goal worth the interest. That said, that latter part is often only carried out for amusement rather than any genuine respect. Heroes from the Stalliarch Lords can challenge an enemy, forcing the difficulty of all attacks to reach a high difficulty but making any hits against you deal double damage.
*'''Petrifex Elite:''' A legion of nomadic bonecast, formed from the remains of ancient civilizations and forgotten graves. This legion views the binding with particular interest, seeing the parallels in becoming a whole greater than the sum of it parts and their own process of erasing all identity and originality - sometimes an Ossiarch might even have the remains of a former Soulbound in their body. Heroes from the Petrifex Elite are better armored than other Bonereapers, but they can't improve their bony armor in any way and can only use a certain downtime activity to repair it. In additionally, they can double their training for either navigating ancient ruins or recalling ancient history.
*'''Null Myriad:''' Nagash's original legion, sent to keep watch on the realm's edges until the Necroquake forced them to return and be reinforced using fragments of the Black Pyramid so they could better resist magic. As outsiders among the Ossiarchs, they are the most-versed in dealing with threats from beyond the edges of a realm and their special properties allow them to protect the very nature of the Binding. Heroes from the Null Myriad can spell Mettle to ignore the effects of a spell and double their training when dealing with exploring, navigating or withstanding the edges of the realms.
*'''Crematorians:''' Ignited by the fires of the Shyish Nadier, the life of a Bonereaper here will often be short as the flames slowly consume their bony shells. This nature has led to many among their ranks questioning the wisdom of the skelepope's plans to make an army that can burn out, though they often cover it up with other purposes - such as studying the benefits of Soulfire and how it can sustain their bodies. Heroes from the Crematorians are constantly ablaze, letting them suffer a wound to restore Mettle. When they die, they explode and make the area where they stood a burning waste.

The Ossiarch Bonereapers have access to the '''Immortis Guard''', '''Kavalos Deathrider''', '''Morghast''', '''Mortisan''', or '''Necropolis Stalker''' archetypes

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Bonereaper vs Kharadron.jpg|Sky Pirates vs Bone Golems.
File:Cavalry-bonereapers.jpg|As if Blood Knights weren't bad enough, Bone Daddy brings out Kavalos Deathriders too.
File:Gothizzar Harvester.jpg|"Oh those bones, oh those bones, oh those skeleton bones. Oh mercy how they scare! With the toe bone connected to the foot bone..."
File:Bonereaper city.jpg|Welcome to Necrotopia. Please remember to remove all skin and flesh before you reach customs.
File:Skeleton sales pitch (comic by Baalbuddy).png|An alternate way to collect the Bone-Tithe.
</gallery>

==See Also==

*[[Nagash]], their jerk of a god whom they give their undisputed loyalty to (yes, really!)

{{Template:Playable Factions in Warhammer: Age of Sigmar}}

[[Category:Age of Sigmar]]

Stormcast Eternals

2021-09-26T14:50:19Z

2406:3400:20F:FFC0:115F:A9BA:370A:AFE2: /* Broken Realms */

{{Age of Sigmar Faction|Faction=Stormcast Eternals|Logo=Ae7063ba280b6a7f3c9ec61c2bfa2d45-768x1000.png|Alliance=Order|Motto=[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DCU-80FT28 Cue the power-metal.]}}
{{topquote|To punish the oppressors of humanity is clemency; to forgive them is cruelty.|Maximilien Robespierre}}
{{topquote|Much is demanded of those to who much is given.|Stormcast Saying (they got it from [https://www.biblegateway.com/verse/EN/Luke+12:48 Jesus])}}
{{topquote|Justice, like lightning, ever should appear; to a few men ruin, but to all men fear.|Thomas Randolph}}
The '''Stormcast Eternals''' (aka '''Sigmarines''', '''Ground Marines''', '''Fantasy Marines''', '''Stormcunt Eternals''', '''Stormchad Eternals''', '''Adeptus Sigmartes''' and '''Sigmar Males''') are the primary type of soldiers used by [[Sigmar]] in order to fight Chaos during the [[Age of Sigmar]], and thus are the posterboys of the new line.

As will be made evident many times over, they're literally just Space Marines transplanted into the Age of Sigmar, in purpose (An elite military force of engineered super-soldiers grouped into color-coded divisions, personally designed by a god-ruler to be his warriors to combat unfathomably terrifying Lovecraftian horrors that normal men would simply despair at), model design (bulky dudes in all-enclosing, easy-to-paint armor with huge [[pauldrons]] for kids to freehand designs on to make themselves feel special), story role (elite members of the main protagonist faction that are renowned or reviled throughout the setting) and being shoved down the throats of the entire hobby by GW's marketing department. Three more strikes for (or against, depending on your view) them are the fact that some of them have crossbows that resemble bolters, some of their weapons are literally thunderhammers with a fantasy twist and the winged ones resemble some of the Blood Angels models.

Their fluff origins, on the other hand, do give them ''some'' important differences from the autistic warrior monks we all know and tolerate. Instead of distant super-warriors that are barely even humans, Stormcasts function more like a nation-spanning order of knights under Sigmar, who performs his will where needed - [[Ultramarines|they are all warriors, but can have regular functions like being administrators and nobles]], but also builders, artisans and guards. They consider themselves largely apart from the common folk, but not by much; more like a stronger version of a human but with more responsibility to use it well. In other words, they are Space Marines with a Custodian’s mind and an Ultrasmurf's purpose.

For all everyone enjoys making fun of them, they really are pretty cool and their art and models are genuinely awesome. But, hey, give the Internet something to bash and we'll come swinging with thunderhammers.

Also, the apparent global dislike and perceived disdain towards the golden boys out of the "lack of grimdarkness" from them have probably a part in why the books who are currently advancing the settings, "Broken Realms", has turned into "let's see who shit harder on the stormcast for appeasing the fans". Seriously, in 4 books the amount of pain they suffer is unthinkable; they lose many Stormcasts in the Eightpoints and Anvilard who aren't recovered for the greater part, the city of Anvilgard is taken over by Morathi, the Lumineth steal their thunder (heh) as "good guys who achieve something" by worfing ''the entire Death faction'' from the Ossiarch Bonereapers to Nagash himself, Vindicarium and Excelsis are nearly destroyed, the Hallowed Knights and Celestial Vindicators are severely depleted, the entire Sigmarite Brotherhood stormhost is wiped out to the last with Olynder claiming their souls and Chaos storms have emerged that can block Stormcast souls from returning to Azyr. Stormcast fans can only dread what may comes next, because those fucking neckbeard [[Edgy|grimdark fappers]] can't get enough of it apparently.

==History==

===Age of Chaos===
So the Age of Chaos left Sigmar in a really bad position. His proposed alliance between the gods against Chaos was shattered with Nagash's betrayal and the others going off to do their own thing. For his part, Sigmar collected as many people as he could and shut off the Realm of Azyr to the rest of the mortal realms. Worst of all, the loss of Ghal-Maraz meant that he couldn't really fight at his fullest.

As the forces of Chaos ran rampant across the realms, Sigmar tried to focus his energy towards making a special project with [[Grungni]], an army forged by the God-King for his own purposes rather that relying on the other gods to help him out. To this end, he plucked the souls of countless worthy heroes from the grasp of the skelepope and made them all manner of fancy golden armor using the remains of the Old World. All the while, Teclis and Malerion's magics kept his projects a secret from all outsiders, giving him precious time to prepare his armies. While he couldn't accomplish all he set out to do and he had very valid fears that the flaws in his reforging would prove to be their undoing, he had to throw them out all the same.

Indeed, Sigmar knew very well that he was in a race against time. Little by little, what few pockets of civilized and uncorrupted land remained in the other Mortal Realms was being overrun and consumed by the hordes of Chaos, and there was a fear that the Realms would be beyond the point of no return for Order if they waited any longer in Azyr. However, a window of opportunity presented itself; After centuries of steamrolling the Realms, the thousands of Chaos warlords and daemon princes had begun to run out of powerful enemies to fight. As such, as Chaos tends to do, with no external enemies to pounce upon, they began to turn on each other, splintering into their petty squabbling war bands as their patron Gods schemed and plotted against each other. With his foes distracted and beginning to lose cohesion, Sigmar decided it was now or never.

He gave the order...and the Realmgate Wars began...

===The Realmgate Wars===
When the Stormcast emerged, they did so in brute force, bursting through the many realmgates to reclaim the mortal realms from the forces of Chaos. Though their forces were limited, the victories they claimed were critical to helping reform the [[Cities of Sigmar]], who tended to establish around the realmgates.

The Hammers of Sigmar touched down in Aqshy, the Realm of Fire, and immediately began mauling the massive Khornate horde known as the Goretide, led by [[Korghos Khul]]. Meanwhile, the Hallowed Knights made their way into Ghyran to help Sigmar's ally goddess Alarielle.

Perhaps the most important of their victories during this time was in Chamon, where Lords-Celestant Vandus Hammerhand and Thostos Bladestorm managed to discover the location of Ghal-Maraz inside a massive Tzeentchian fortress. After smashing through the various fractious armies and traps, Vandus finally reclaimed it and returned it to the God-King.

Sigmar would use his legendary hammer to awaken the Celestant-Prime, a super legendary project that he had been unable to finish without the hammer. With the help of this super-Stormcast, the forces of Order would manage to save the realm of Ghyran from Nurgle's clutches and re-awaken Alarielle so she could reinvigorate the Sylvaneth to kick the pusbags out.

===Malign Portents/ The Soul Wars===

===Broken Realms===
The [[Broken Realms Saga]] saw some particularly grueling setbacks for the posterboys of the franchise.

The first major battle is during ''Book 1: [[Morathi]]'', where the titular villain (now elevated to full-godhood by siphoning some stuff from Slaanesh) laying siege to the free city of Anvilgard. The stormcast stationed on the city were defending the city with everything they had, even when they were also beset by a raiding party of Idoneth mercenaries. People had thought the battle was over the moment the Celestant-Prime swooped down to fight Morathi, but that hope soon turned to despair when they went to parley and the Celestant-Prime actually ''conceded'', ordering all the Sigmarite elements of Anvilgard to pack their shit up and go home. What the conversation was about, nobody knows.

Fight number 2 was during ''Book 3: [[Be'lakor]]''. In that one, the First Prince of Chaos decided to lay siege to the free city of Vindicarum in Chamon. Not only were they already battered by [[Lady Olynder]]'s forces, all part of a deal with Be'lakor, but then the forces of Chaos under his thrall began smashing into the gates. Not helping things was the fact that the skies above the realm were clotted with dark sorcerous storms and the realmgate had collapsed - all the result of some other fuckery he had ordered. The end result was a matter completely alien to the Stormcast: actual vulnerability. The skies no longer allowed the souls of the Stormcast to reach safe ground in Azyr and be reforged, but they were instead devoured by the clouds. The losses they suffered here were permanent and it wasn't until some fleets of Kharadron had arrived (with Grungni himself among them) that they were able to push back the Dark Master's legions. Even then, though, the skies remained bleak, blocking most attempts to return to their maker, and the Celestial Vindicators stormhost was practically annihilated. Worse, the entire Sigmarite Brotherhood stormhost was wiped out, with all their souls being captured and given to Lady Olynder.

The last fight was in ''Book 4: [[Kragnos]]'', where the free city of Excelsis was besieged not only by the forces of destruction, led by Gordrakk and Kragnos himself, but also the legions of Slaanesh under his newborn twins. After this, the Celestant-Prime put Morathi, now Morathi-Khaine, on trial for what she did to Anvilgard. But he was told to give her clemency by ''Grungni'' of all people saying that they had bigger problems.

===Age of Beasts/ The Dawnbringer Crusades===

Hearing about what Be'lakor did obviously distressed Sigmar. If the forces of Chaos had a way to block his soldiers from being reforged, then he was going to lose his warriors even faster than they were already going.

He contemplated on ways to do get past this handicap, but fortunately he had found Grungni again after hearing about the hidden dwarf god's actions in Excelsius. Together, they decided to make Stormcast armor that was even tougher than before and enchanted to create a massive explosion upon the wearer's death. This would become the Thunderstrike Chamber, the newest and most elite of his forces. Also reinforcing the ranks are the Draconith, dragon-children of Dracothion himself who were kept by the Slann for such a dire situation like [[Kragnos|a certain ancient god breaking free]].

The Dawnbringer Crusades were called to bring order back to the realms after such a mess and hunt down any coming threats from Ghur. The forward base of Amberstone Watch would be their first exposure to the new forces in play: The Kruleboyz.

==Reforging==
{{topquote|Look. See. Memories are wounds in the psyche, Little Spirit. They leave deep scars and tell stories. You were born in this Realm, as all living things are born only to die, and you recognized that truth in your torment. You sought to find peace in the dark of Creation's light. Was that not your right? Did you not deserve it? You served, and fought and died, and now only desired peace. Silence. Oblivion. Not to burn and become someone new...someone else. But they would not stop. Again, and again and again. They tried to drag you back. They took those you loved from you, and then, when that was not enough, they sought to take all memory of them. To leave you empty, save for the Storm. Bow, and become greater than that which was lost. Bow, and justice will be yours. Bow, and see again the faces of the forgotten...Now, sleep and be made whole...|Nagash to a lost Stormcast soul, from ''Soul Wars'' by Josh Reynolds}}

Under Construction...

==Rank and Military==
When each mortal is reforged, they are immediately put into a strenuous training ritual meant to hone them into superhuman hammer-swinging engines of holy war. Once the big man is satisfied, he then groups them into Stormhosts, and there they train with each other in a massive coliseum that [[Malekith|Malerion]] gifted him back when there was an alliance. These Stormhosts are then broken into Chambers with each having several conclaves organized by specialty. The Strike Chambers consist of your standard boring troops (divided further into Warrior, Harbinger and Exemplar Chambers based on exact makeup), the Extremis Chambers consist of riders of Dracoth and Stardrake cavalry, the Vanguard Chambers consist of outdoorsy ranger types and the Sacrosanct Chamber consists of priests and magicians. In addition, there are three known Chambers Sigmar has yet to unveil to the world; the Ruination, Covenant and Logister Chambers.

Each Stormhost is lead by a Lord-Commander, a supreme leader through which Sigmar's will is realised. As of now, there is currently one Lord Commander in playable miniature form, that being Bastian Carthalos of the Hammers of Sigmar. Supporting the Lord Commander are the Chamber Command, who governs each individual lesser Hosts, of which there are between 3 to 9 Retinues (squads), each with between 6 to 20 Stormcasts. For example, the Hammers of Sigmar Chamber has 301 Stormcasts of 7 Commanders, 36 Paladins, 180 Liberators, 18 Prosecutors (yep; half as many jumpies as elites) and 60 Judicators.

*'''Strike Chamber Command:'''
**'''Lords Celestant:''' The top dogs in the Supporting Chambers, these are the mightiest of heroes among the Chambers, gifted a larger portion of Sigmar's power in order to become great leaders. Some opt to fun with hammers and swords, while other find Dracoths (Large wingless dragons that shoot lightning) to ride like horses or Stardrakes (Even larger dragons with wings that can also cause meteor showers).
**'''Lords Relictor:''' These guys are priests, and are able to see the spiritual realm and all the spooky souls that swirl around in it. Their job is to use their skeletal relics to anchor the Stormcasts to Azyr so their souls don't accidentally end up as Daemon chow or part of Nagash's kingdom of skellingtons. Off-duty they function much the same as a [[Chaplain]], warding the relics a Chamber finds and guiding their members in matters of faith.
**'''Lords Castellant:''' The [[Paladin]] to the [[Warlord]] and [[Cleric]] above. Their initiation tests involving conquering their fears by traveling some mountains in Azyr and befriending a Gryphound. If successful, they get special warding lantern that illuminates his fellow Sigmarines and incinerates Chaos. As "Castellants", they each oversee a Stormcast Hold or Free City; they don't generally take to the battlefield unless necessary for the protection of their castle. Some of them don't have castles to babysit and instead act as their Lord Celestant's right hand man.
**'''Lords Veritant:''' The resident anti-magic specialists of the Stormcast. Hunts down enemy spell casters, and also removes their corrupting influences from the land. Is accompanied by a graph hound, like the Castellant.
**'''Knights Heraldor:''' These guys have giant horns that shoot lightning. Because STORMS. Their helmets are weirdly segmented around the mouths; assumed so the warrior inside can actually blow the fucking horn.
**'''Knights Vexillor:''' Unlike the other jobs, these guys are actually chosen in a contest. A shitton of Stormcasts enter the Coliseum, smack each other to not-quite death (The Coliseum makes sure everyone leaves refreshed because... Malerion didn't have a mood swing when he made it. Or did he, recent lore states that he actually has treacherous intentions towards Sigmar and his Coliseum has a sinister purpose). The winner gets to hold an awesome standard, or a big plate with a glowing orb on it that can be used to throw around fuckin' comets.
**'''Knights Azyros:''' The closets thing to Scout Leaders, these guys have lanterns to help illuminate the realms so Sigmar can see all the way from his palace. Also, the lanterns burn chaos.
**'''Knights Venator:''' Shootier flying Sigmarines, these guys are master archers with magical arrows and own pet <s>Star-Eagles</s> Articunos. One of their Stormsurgeboltthunderblowsuperarrows can kill almost any regular leader character in one shot.

*'''Strike Chamber Troops:'''
**'''Liberators:''' The ground-floor. The goons. The average Liberator is a walking tank, capable of wielding either melee weapons or shields to protect his pals from anything deadlier. They use either swords or hammers, sometimes dual wielded, or Grandhammers and Grandblades (Bigger versions of the usual Hammers and Swords).
**'''Judicators:''' [[Tactical Squad|Warriors skilled with both sword and bow who put to use their uncanny shooting ability in the ranks of the Justicar conclave.]] They wield devastating long-range weaponry (Skybolt Bows or Boltstorm Crossbows). Some even get luckier and get a mega-bow that fires thunderbolts. THE BOWS ARE MAGIC! YEEEEEEEEEEAH!!!! They also hit Chaos-stuff better, because fuck those guys.
**'''Prosecutors:''' They're like Liberators, but they got wings. They tend to spearhead the assault with their speed, throwing either magical reforging hammers or magical reforging spears. Or they could just smash with hammer and sword weapons. Like the Liberators, they can wield big-ass weapons like two-handed axes or war hammers.
**'''Retributors:''' Massive piles of Sigmarite who serve in the Paladin Chambers. These guys carry massive hammers to squash things, which has Rending +1 which can completely remove everything not a leader or monster in a turn. These guys love to pummel anything with more than one Wound, since they do two Damage standard, and can turn that into Mortal Wounds. There's really not something these motherfuckers can't do. Well okay, they don't stand up to high Rend or MW shooting, but then again that's an SE problem in general.
**'''Protectors:''' Despite the name, these Paladins only wield glaives. Glaives that are actually capable of generating magical force fields, and cut down big-ass monsters, should they get close. They are also very, very long range, so put them behind a Liberator wall and skewer that Mawkrusha something fierce while the goons get slaughtered.
**'''Decimators:''' Paladins with fuck huge axes, these things are made to make sweet murder out of hordes. These guys have a massive range on their axes, which is important - because they each get as many attacks as they have enemies within range - because fuck Reaver Hordes amirite. They are also very scary, so people take more heavy Battleshock casualties. Don't try to axe the knee of a Monster or Hero, though; with only one attack, their axes are laughably weak.

*'''Extremis Chamber'''
**'''Drakesworn Templars:''' Usually a second-in-command for a Lord-Celestant, a Templar is one of those few fortunate Sigmarines to encounter a Stardrake. Their loadout is more versatile.
**'''Fulminators:''' Paladin Protectors on Dracoths.
**'''Concussors:''' Paladin Retributors on Dracoths.
**'''Desolators:''' Paladin Decimators on Dracoths, same as the rest.
**'''Tempestors:''' Paladins with crossbows riding Dracoths.

*'''Vanguard Chamber'''
**'''Lords Aquilor:'''Recon Commander riding on a Gryph-Charger (giant wingless hippogryph-things).
**'''Knights-Zephyros:''' Dual axe wielding Stormcast assassins. They magically imprint themselves upon their chosen quarry, and ride aether wind currents to teleport/move at super speeds.
**'''Vanguard Hunters:''' Liberators with small crossbows, cloaks and utilizing infiltration tactics.
**'''Vanguard Raptors:''' Elite Sharpshooters with Longstrike Bows or Hurricane Crossbows (Elite Versions of Judicators). They also have aether-wings to bite and harass enemies that get too close.
**'''Vanguard Palladors:''' Vanguard Hunters on Gryph-Chargers. Armed with javelins. Can ride magical aether wind currents to teleport/move at super speeds.

*'''Sacrosanct Chamber'''
**'''Lords Arcanum:''' Wizard lords of the Sacrosanct chambers. Sometimes ride Gryph-Chargers, Dracolines (dragonoid big cat things), or Tauralons ([[Derp]]-faced pegasi).
**'''Lords Ordinator:''' Builders of Sigmar's works and babysitters of his artillery.
**'''Lords Exorcist:''' Wizard Stormpope.
**'''Knights-Incantor:''' Stormcast wizards without Lord rank. Can use magical soul flasks to suicide bomb surrounding enemies.
**'''Evocators:''' Magical paladins with a few spells at their disposal. Some ride Dracolines.
**'''Castigators:''' Magical Judicators whose crossbows shoot flasks of Dracoth breath.
**'''Sequitors:''' Liberators with maces and a self buff to either their weapons or shields. Not having the Prime take a great weapon actually has a benefit, giving them a ranged soul vacuum that hurts nearby Chaos and Death units.
**'''Celestar Ballista:''' Lightning ballista with options for either rapid fire or one big blast.

*'''Thunderstrike Chamber:''' So due to certain shenanigans in the [[Broken Realms Saga]], Sigmar realized that the whole "die to be reforged in Azyr" deal wasn't all-encompassing when the realm of Chamon was cut off thanks to [[Be'lakor]] being a fucker. To combat this and with the hope that they won't keel over so quickly, he decided to make what essentially amounts to Stormcast [[Primaris Space Marines]]. Fuck, and these models weren't even a decade old...
* (Honestly, that last point is probably wrong. Based on the admittedly vague description, they sound more like the equivalent to a veteran company than Primaris Marines. The new Thunderstrike Armor gives off a powerful burst of lightning magic upon the Stormcast's death, in the hope that it'll be enough to punch through Be'lakor's ritual and allow the soul to make it back to Azyr to Reforge...with mixed results. Now, there is no guarantee Stormcast souls can all be recovered, resulting in a steady attrition of Sigmar's warriors.)
**'''Lords Imperitant:''' Strategist-leaders who have gryph-hound companions like Lord-Veritants.
**'''Knights-Arcanum:''' The big question right now is "How do these mages differ from Lords-Arcanum and Knights-Incantor?"
**'''Knights Vexilor with Banner of Apotheosis:''' Knights Vexilor with a banner containing a fragment of the Anvil of Apotheosis, fortifying nearby Stormcast in a similar manner to the Anvil proper.
**'''Vindictors:''' The basic foot soldiers, each carrying a spear and shield.
**'''Annihilators:''' The equivalent of Gravis-marines, these are big bulky walls with big shields. Apparently, their size also allows them to channel their momentum when charging.
**'''Praetors:''' Cloaked bodyguards carrying halberds. Presumed to not share the same proclivities as Roman Praetorians.

===Notable Stormhosts===
*'''[[Hammers of Sigmar]]:''' The first Stormhost. They wear [[Ultramarines|Blue and Gold and pride themselves on being the posterboys of AoS]]. With the release of second edition, the posterboys finally have a personality! With the people of the realms seeing them as the foremost stormiest, they now fear that any unsavory rumor or failing on their part will lead to the undoing of Sigmar's plans. Those amongst them who die too many times are now plagued with visions and generate lightning around themselves. Vandus is awesome.
*'''Hallowed Knights:''' The fourth Stormhost. They wear silver and blue and are [[Grey Knights|pretty zealous about killing Chaos]]. They're known for their DETERMINATION and incredible faith in Sigmar, making them the ideal choice for jobs like wading through Nurgle's horrifying and disgusting kingdoms despite all the filth and plagues that pollute the lands. This Stormhost is in general one of the more popular Hosts, with their metal armors and very faith-based culture. Also, have a cool battle cry ("ONLY THE FAITHFUL!"). They are having their own novel series done by [[Josh Reynolds]]. Some of them have been infected by Nurgle's plagues, however their faith is so strong that it purifies their skin, causing their armor to be melted and permanently fused to them. They are occasionally aided by a winged, androgynous being called the Silver Saint who manifests from lakes and pools of water (aka [[Lileath]] trying her Lady of the Lake gimmick again).
*'''Celestial Vindicators:''' The Sixth Stormhost. ''Angry.'' They're vengeful motherfuckers who declared vengeance back as mortals, and then had 500 years to brood while they waited for Sigmar to find his front door keys. Their armour is turquoise with white trim, so the blood reaaaaally stands out. They also tend to kick it with the duardin, so that's pretty cool. Also, they have a sword fetish and revere a spirit called the Father of Blades, heavily implied to be the manifestation of the [[The Empire (Warhammer Fantasy)|Empire]]'s Runefangs combined into one being. Each Vindicator seeks to become a living weapon. Some of the better known herobros include Thostos Bladestorm and Arkas Warbeast.
*'''Celestial Knights:''' A Stormhost that is on a constant crusade to bring the light of Sigmar to all benighted lands. Pretty much these [[Black Templars|guys]].
*'''Lions of Sigmar:''' Rocking the bronze gold and purple look there is little-known about this Stormhost save for their heraldry and thunderous roar in battle. Most people auto-assume "[[Dark Angels]]" from hearing the word Lion, though the connection is iffy. The Dangles weren't the only chapter to keep to themselves to that degree.
*'''Knights of the Aurora:''' Sporting grey armour with green and gold trimmings, this Stormhost are claimed to strike more quickly and are masters of rapid assault, overall having the need for [[White Scars| speed]].
*'''Knights Excelsior:''' This Stormhost run around in white armour with blue and gold trimmings. These guys are said to have built up a fierce reputation for totally massacring their enemies so brutally that even other Stormhosts think its a bit excessive. Their claim to fame is that they stepped up to bail the Hallowed Knights out when a Lord of Plagues was about to capture Alarielle, with their Knight-Azyros, a pretty fly badass called Diomar, personally charging the powerful Nurgle lord. They have a massive hard-on for Order and see most attempts at individuality or freedom as dangerously Chaotic. Recently featured in the Malign Portents short story collection massacring unwell civilians in their attempt to instill uncompromising authority in the Realm of Life, despite the fact these civilians were loyal to Sigmar in the first place. One of their number, the White Reaper, is used by the Order of Azyr as the bogeyman to make rebellious nobles stay in line, to say it works extremely well gives you an idea of how scary these guys have become. When an order aligned human has a less than flattering opinion of the stormcast it's usually because they had a run in with these guys. [[Marines_Malevolent|Their extreme black and white morality and habit of slaughtering the innocent by the thousands seems to be turning popular opinion against Sigmar himself. Great job, guys.]]
*'''Celestial Warbringers:''' A Stormhost made entirely from the uplifted survivors of one human tribe who Sigmar really liked the look of. They wear burgundy armour with white trim. They have some prophetic juju going on that lets them see the hour of their death, which means if they're fighting in a battle that they didn't dream themselves get torn to shreds in, they fight with no fear. They're also pretty good fun to be around, feasting and drinking like frat boys at an all you can eat murder buffet. Remarkable insofar as they're the first host of the second striking, which means they get different shields and shoulder guards, because reasons. They also have more Sacrosanct Chambers than usual.
*'''Astral Templars:''' If you're tired of holy knights, go no further; these fuckers have taken to like it in the Realm of Ghur, and has become one with the beasts. Their color is purple, and their armor is adorned with pelts, bloody markings and other tribal stuff. To be allowed into the Templars, a warrior must be a hunter of beasts and monsters, which honestly isn't a big deal when they all come from Ghur, the Realm of Beasts! The [[Space Wolves]] to the Hammer's Ultramarines, but with less wolfs and more barbarians. They honour a godbeast called Ursricht, a giant white bear though he is often depicted as a white haired man. So an expy of [[Ulric]] and Ursun than.
*'''Tempest Lords:''' Donning the Ultramarine blue with an addition of white shields and shoulders are the Tempest Lords. They're described as the most regal and proud Stormhost, probably because every single one of these guys was a monarch, lord, or other such noble before being chosen by Sigmar. Despite this, they're actually pretty baller and down to earth guys, being perhaps the most selfless of all the Stormhosts, flat-out seeing it as their duty to protect those less fortunate than themselves (which is basically everyone,) often inspiring downtrodden mortal tribes to break their chains and fight Chaos alongside the Tempest Lords. They're also pretty literal it seems, because Sigmar once joked that the Stormcast were each worth twelve mortal men in a fight and since then the Tempest Lords have kept count of how many kills they score before dying, taking it as a massive personal disgrace if they don't reach twelve kills. That said, they do a pretty damn good job of reaching that score, leaving them as one of the hardest Stormhosts to kill simply due to their sheer pride refusing to let them die. Each one of these stormcast is a native of Hysh and follow the teachings of [[Myrmidia]], who they revere as much as Sigmar.
*'''Anvils of the Heldenhammer''' The Anvils of the Heldenhammer are a Stormhost of the Stormcast Eternals, wearing black armor. The warriors of the Anvils of the Heldenhammer are dark and brooding, as they aren't made from recently-dead heroes but from long dead warriors who've been resting in tombs and barrows for ages. Most of them are from Shyish as well, so death is central to their mindset - They see themselves as bringers of death, and if turned around against them, death is just another step in the defence of Sigmar's domain. Now that Papa Bones Nagash is getting his spotlight, the Anvils have to deal with him specifically... until Teclis and the Lumineth stole their thunder in the Broken Realms saga and trapped Nagash in his capital city.

===Notable Fan-created Stormhosts===

Help us expand this list:

*'''[[Forgesworn Eternals]]:''' A [[Dwarfs (Warhammer Fantasy)|Duardin]] Stormhost wearing silver and red.

*'''Wardens of the Ember:''' A Stormhost composed of mortals who died standing firm against the most insurmountable Chaos incursions. Former priests cut down mid-prayer, standard bearers who fought and died rather than abandon their colours, musicians who played songs of hope until their very last breath - stoutness of heart is often more important than strength of sword-arm in deciding whether a mortal is bound to this Stormhost. They wear grey armour with black and orange trim, and are notably more jovial than other Stormhosts; it is not uncommon to hear rousing speeches and booming laughter as these heroes urge their mortal comrades onwards.

==Notable Stormcasts==
*'''The Celestant-Prime:''' The alpha, the first Eternal ever forged by Sigmar. It's unknown just who he might be, but it's said he was a mighty king from the past (making people immediately guess <strike>either [[Settra the Imperishable|Settra]], or</strike> [[Karl Franz]]). Despite how much power he put into it, the process was still incomplete, so Sigmar decided to put him in a chamber to preserve the project because he spent too much as it is. However, once he recovered Ghal Maraz, he was able to finish the process and get a giant golden angel to join the ranks armed with the warhammer. Needless to say, he can easily wipe out any <strike>Chaos Lord</strike> Greater Daemon who has the misfortune of facing him. Recently got ganked by Nagash's newest Mortarch, Lady Olynder, while trying to keep an ancient evil and ally of Nagash contained. Not someone to fuck with, seeing as it took a personal champion of Nagash to take him down for the first time while he was busy with an Eldritch Abomination. Also this beast one-shot a Daemon the size of a country with supernova-level force.

*'''Vandus Hammerhand:''' The first named hero among the Eternals, a Lord-Celestant of the Hammers of Sigmar who rides a Dracoth. Apparently, he once fought off against a Khornate Lord known as Korghos Khul as a mortal and almost died before being forged, and instead became a giant gold-plated badass instead of just a human one. He's considered the hero of the Starter Set and is responsible for finding Ghal Maraz. Also, he was the first one to tame a Dracoth. Currently having visions where he sees his future self, who has been Reforged so many times that he has lost all physical form and become an emotionless being made out of pure lightning (what the Stormcast call a lightning gheist), warning him about what would happen if the Stormcasts cannot fix their flaw.

*'''Bastian Carthalos:''' The Lord Commander of the Hammers of Sigmar.

*'''Neave Blacktalon:''' The first female stormcast released for the setting. Neave Blacktalon is basically an eversor with tits, with the mentality of a vindicare. As a mortal she was raised from childhood by a particularly vicious Tribe of Sylvaneth. They basically raised her to be an assassin and all around mean bitch ala Xena warrior princess. Unfortunately, her first target was a chaos lord way out of her league and she would have died had Sigmar not decided she'd make a great stormcast.

*'''[[Gardus Steel-Soul|Gardus Steel-Soul]]:''' Lord Celestant of the Hallowed Knights Stormhost. The best (by fan-view, not author fiat) of the Lord Celestants. What makes Gardus great is that he was no great lord, but a common man. Born Garradan, he was a hospice worker (a doctor for young uns) in the port city of Demesnus. When the forces of chaos invaded the city, he worked tirelessly to heal the defenders, spending whole nights without sleep. As the forces of Khorne shattered the walls and attacked the hospital the tired hospice worker took a chandelier (showing brass balls in the process) and tried to save his patients with good old ultra violence. The rest... is history.

*'''Lorrus Grymn:''' Former Lord Castellant of the Hallowed Knights, and a close friend to Gardus Steelsoul. The only other Hallowed Knight to fight Gardus to a standstill in the Gladitorium Arena, Grymn was a master defensive strategist and often an instructor for many fellow Knights. Fought in the Realmgate Wars during the Hallowed Knights' conquests against Nurgle in Ghyran. Helped lead the defense of Vindicarum when Be'lakor besieged the city during the Broken Realms Saga. Is snatched up by Be'lakor and killed in front of Gardus. His soul is not beamed back to Azyr due to Be'lakor's storm of Chaos, and is permanently dead. RIP.

*'''Yndrasta''': One of several renowned Stormcast personally forged by Sigmar himself, like [[Idoneth Deepkin|Teclis did with the Cythai aelves]] and his hunting champion. She ranks below the Celestant-Prime but far above most Stormcast, and is considered near-mythical. Unlike most Stormcast, her wings look completely avian and she lacks a descriptive last name. She rocks some ornate armor personally made by Grungni, making her look awesome depending on how you feel about Half shaved hairstyles. In her mortal life, Yndrasta was a warrior queen from Ghur, skilled with sword and spear and a renowned monster hunter. During the Age of Chaos, a Chaos army attacked her hometown and she soloed the Chaos Lord leading it in an attempt to save them. But despite getting a good hit with her spear he was too much for her and would've died if not for Sigmar. Recently, she's been tasked by Sigmar himself with killing the newly freed Destruction god, Kragnos. Ironically, she's got a few things in common with Khorne's waifu, Valkia, as both are spear-wielding warrior queens reformed after hopeless battles into immortal, inspiring winged warriors by an Odin-esque god. She behaves like a cat, bringing trophies from her kills and throwing them at Sigmar's throne during meetings then leaving without saying a word.

*'''Thostos Bladestorm:''' Footslogging Lord Celestant of the Celestial Vindicators. Impulsive jackass. Died a couple of times so now Nagash has part of his soul, he still wants to give Chaos a beating. During a battle with a Chaos Lord Varash, Thostos was hit with extremely powerful lighting bolt which triggered a powerful reforging and the results of it was the return of his memories, emotions and a name he once was - Prince Caeran of Wolf Keep (this happening is more proof of Nagash being made of much fail, seriously, how did this ever happen?). Apparently he is now the first Stormcast to be renewed, healed and with fresh purpose but not the last. In the final days of the Realmgate Wars he fought in the Battle for the All-Gates and crossed blades with Archaon, it went as well as you'd expect it to and Thostos is officially lost forever.

*'''Tarsus Bullheart:''' Footslogging Lord Celestant of the Hallowed Knights, leader of a warrior chamber named after him. Broody guy who's obsessed with duty and lets his hammer do the talking for him. Once a human from the realm of Shyish called Tarsem, he lived in a place called Helstone. During the Age of Chaos he fought alongside Mannfred Von Carstein but Mannfred fled leaving Tarsem to get ganked by a Bloodthirster before Sigmar saved him. Sigmar later sent him and some of his warriors to Shyish to parley with Nagash. Along the way they found Mannfred and freed him from a Khornate warband in exchange for his assistance. After entering the underworld and an incident with Arkhan, Nagash appeared before them. This goes as well as you'd expect and all the surviving Stormcast save Tarsus were killed by Nagash. Tarsus managed to distract Nagash and free their souls, but then Nagash killed Tarsus and captured his soul to [[Grimdark|torture him for dirt on Sigmar, and by the time Nagash was done Tarsus was a gibbering wreck]]. Eventually Ramus, Gardus and freaking Mannfred broke into Nagasshizar and demanded Tarsus's Freedom. Nagash freed Tarsus, who was of no more use to him, and Tarsus was promptly mercy killed in the hope that reforging would cure his madness. The novel "Soul Wars" revealed that as Tarsem he had a fiance, and said fiance was so mad about him being Sigmarined that upon her own death she let Nagash turn her into a Nighthaunt executioner to get revenge for losing him.

*'''Ramus of the Shadowed Soul:''' Lord-Relictor of the Bullhearts warrior chamber and protagonist of the second set of Realmgate Wars audio-dramas. Once voice of reason to Tarsus and completely trusting in Sigmar and his grand plan, after Tarsus was lost to Nagash Ramus has been pressing for a mission to rescue his soul, despite the fact that at the moment Nagash and Sigmar are allies. The other Hallowed Knights are trying to get him to leave it alone and trust in Sigmar, but he hasn't been able to thus far. With Malign Portents pretty much destroying any alliance between Sigmar and Nagash, Ramus gets his chance to rescue Tarsus after all and puts aside his grudge against Mannfred with much difficulty.

*'''Tornus the Redeemed:''' Once known as Torglug the Despised, servant of Nurgle and Lord of Plagues, his soul was redeemed by Sigmar at the height of the last battle at Blackstone Summit in the realm of Ghyran when killed by Ghal Maraz in the hands of the Celestant-Prime. During his brief life as a mortal, Tornus was a righteous believer in Sigmar and his faith was unmatched by those that fought with him during the Age of Chaos against the nurgle invaders. At some point he was captured and left in a pit of filth and due to his stubbornness, faith and pride lived for many weeks only to succumb to the lies that Nurgle spoke to him during those months of captivity. Even then his soul, although corrupted and twisted, held out a spark of hope that his faith in Sigmar was not a lie and was rewarded with a chance for redemption as a Knight-Venator in services of the Hallowed Knights, <strike> [[Awesome|this is so far as we know the first comeback from Chaos ever done in any of GeeDubs franchises]].</strike> Captain Leonatos of the Blood Angels (Read the Blood Quest Trilogy) actually did it first, but this is the first time it has happened outside 40k. Is currently forming his own group of ex-Chaos Stormcasts, much to the suspicion of other Stormcasts, including his own Lord Castellant Grymn.

*'''[[Hamilcar Bear Eater|Hamilcar Bear-Eater]]:''' Astral Templars' Lord Castellant turned Knight-Questor. Hamilcar is, to put it short, a lovely braggart, claiming even Sigmar was impressed the result of his stormcasting, also, it seems like he has an uncanny resemblance with the God-King. Currently he's on a hunt for Mannfred Von Carstein over backstabbing Tarsus. Got his own series by his creator David Guymer! Did we mention he beat a gatling-gun-armed skaven killakan while under sniper fire?

*'''[[Balthazar Gelt|Balthas Arum]]:''' An Anvils of the Heldenhammer Lord-Arcanum. Revealed to be [[Balthazar Gelt]] reborn as a Stormcast, which was heavily suggested in the novel and he is explicitly recognized as such by Nagash (who said that he looks forward to the possibility of having Aurum serve him [[The End Times|a second time]]). He still has his arrogance, mount Quicksilver, and a preference and talent for C[[JoJo's Bizarre Adventure|hamon Magic]] over any other. Considered to be the best mage of all the Anvils of the Heldenhammer and possibly all the Stormcasts, which makes some sense given who he used to be. His only real friend is Tyros Firemane of the Hallowed Knights who Balthus felt an instinctive kinship with despite being a surly loner around everyone else. Tyros is a Lord-Arcanum who specialises in fire magic, has a fiery red beard, and prefers to get his hands dirty exploring lost tombs and ancient cities rather than study. Like Balthas though, he feels a connection with the World-That-Was and thinks he may have lived there in a past life. This guy was most likely Thyrus Gormann, Gelt's friend/rival from the Old World. Pretty cool huh? Did Sigmar arrange it so that these two would meet again or are souls from the old world instinctively drawn to one another? Perhaps somewhere in the realms Kurt Hellborg and Ludwig Shwarzhelm are fighting side by side again in fancy new Stormcast duds.

*'''Settrus:''' A Lord Celestant leading a chamber called the "Imperishables" and who holds a massive grudge against Nagash. [[Settra the Imperishable|Three guesses who this guy use to be]]. Has a reputation for getting shit done and commands the respect and obedience of guys like Hamilcar Bear-Eater through sheer gravitas and force of will alone. Currently on route to reinforce Glymmsforge in Shyish. Almost certainly doesn't remember much of his past life, as that's the only way he would serve ''anyone''.

*'''Gavriel Sureheart:''' A named Lord Celestant of the Hammers of Sigmar who GW started selling one day and didn't bother explaining his deal until 2nd Edition. Grew up as a gladiator slave named "Grub" at the Khornate fortress of Ratspike. One month into his gladiator career, he killed Ratspike's king with a spear chuck and kicked off a short-lived rebellion, being saved by Sigmar at the last moment (like most Stormcast). Currently the only sword-and-board foot LC and known for never wearing a helmet (and looking like Tommy Wiseau).

*'''Arkas Warbeast:''' A Lord Celestant of the Celestial Vindicators and one of two protagonists in Gav Thorpe's ''Warbeast'' novel. Sent back to Ghur and the tribes he once ruled as the mortal Arka Bearclaw, he has a huge, angry boner for smashing skaven to bits, especially one Verminlord who withered his mum to death. A self proclaimed brute with some special connection to the energy of Ghur, his chamber has a reputation for being wild and ill disciplined. He gets even more RAAAAGE after his beat down, but is at least able to control and direct it productively, unlike Thostos.

*'''The Shadespire Warbands:'''
#'''Steelheart's Champions:''' A Liberator Prime and his two flatmates who went into [[Warhammer Underworlds|Shadespire]] to get a cure for the Reforging issues that plague the Stormcasts, but never made it out. The Champions are Obryn the Bold, a massive dude who's into his third Reforging and has become silent and brooding as a result, and Angharad Brightshield, a female Liberator and former smith who took to smashing in faces with hammers instead of smashing swords and metal.
#'''The Farstriders:''' A warband of three Vanguard Hunters in Shadespire. The Prime, Sanson Farstrider, has an accompanying star falcon, whereas his subordinates, Almeric Eagle-Eye and Elias Swiftblade, wield a shock axe and storm sabre respectively.
#'''Stormsire's Cursebreakers:''' Two Evocators and their Knight Incantor leader, set to Shadespire to seek out a cure for reforging-induced flaws. Averon Stormsire is a specialist of breaking curses, Rastus the Charmed fights with fathomless contempt, and Ammis Dawnguard treats her role with holy reverence.
#'''Ironsoul's Condemnors:''' Named versions of the Easy Build Sequitors. (more details when Dreadfane drops)

==Soulbound==
Stormcast Eternals naturally were a playable species from the get-go in [[Age of Sigmar Roleplay]]. Unusually, though, they are technically distinct from the Soulbound adventurers who make up the other playable species - Stormcast Eternals are already spiritually bound to [[Sigmar]] himself, and as such can't undergo the soul-melding Rite of [[Binding]] that creates a normal Soulbound adventurer... who, in turn, can never become a Stormcast Eternal themselves. For this reason, Stormcast Eternals are always, in a sense, outsiders to the adventuring parties of Soulbound (or "bindings" as they are known) - they are allies who join the Binding for their own reasons (or, more likely, are ordered to join) and this can leads to a certain amount of distrust. But not always. For every Stormcast Eternal who wonders why such "great heroes" weren't simply made into Stormcast Eternals, there is another who embraces their similar-yet-different allies with open arms, content to trust Sigmar's judgment and admiring heroism no matter the form it takes.

The ''Champions of Order'' supplement includes the following stormhosts for a Stormcast hero to hail from:
*'''Hammers of Sigmar:''' Naturally, the posterboys of the Stormcast are frequently assigned to aid a band of Soulbound in overcoming particular trials that would otherwise trouble them. They are also incredibly stubborn, incapable of yielding. Heroes of the Hammers of Sigmar have been reforged additional times, considering how they were among the first stormcast to have been made. In addition, if they are reduced to 0 toughness, they and nearby allies add extra die equal to the hero's Determination to all attacks, which is doubled when the hero is mortally wounded.
*'''Hallowed Knights:''' Being the most devout of the Stormcast, the Hallowed Knights constantly seek to test their faith against the most grueling of trials. Though their insistence to emulate their god-king irks other Soulbound, their dedication to withstanding any manner of trial earns the undying support of their companions and other peoples they help. Heroes of the Hallowed Knights know a single miracle (either universal or of Sigmar) that they can use despite not having the Devoted talent, though the talent is now available to all archetypes.
*'''Celestial Vindicators:''' Being a very violent and vengeful Stormhost means that they do not often find themselves assigned to join the Soulbound on any adventures. However, those that do join tend to cage up their simmering anger, often to the point where they can explode into a bloodthirsty rage once in combat. Heroes of the Celestial Vindicators must select one type of enemy to hate - they deal +1 damage to enemies of that type. In addition, the Old Enemy talent is now available to all archetypes, but it must be against the enemy they chose to hate.
*'''Anvils of the Heldenhammer:''' This Stormhost are often made of ancient heroes legendary warriors plucked from the realm of Shyish, much to Nagash's ire and to the frequent curiosity of the Soulbound they fight alongside (who tend to think that these guys are reincarnations of ancient ancestors or something). Because of this ever-present threat, these Stormcast are more than a little open-minded and seek to avoid dying if they can help it. Heroes of the Anvils of the Heldenhammer ignore the stunned condition that being mortally wounded entails and have an easier time dealing with Death tests. However, if they fail a Death test even once, they die immediately as the skelepope gobbles their soul up again.
*'''Knights Excelsior:''' This Stormhost excels at the application of total warfare, seeking the utter decimation of the enemy by throwing absolutely everything at them. This also means that they adopt a very myopic viewpoint of things, viewing others as either good or evil with very little middle-ground, and even those Stormcast that join Soulbound have been known to hold their mortal allies to such high standards that they may even execute those allies that fall short. Heroes of the Knights Excelsior that undertake any endeavor or action to reduce Doom reduces it by an additional 2. However, they suffer a serious disadvantage on Guile or Intuition checks when dealing with a particularly shady individual, and may in fact outright refuse to deal with such folks.
*'''Celestial Warbringers:''' Due to the vast Sacrosanct chambers of this Stormhost, they are more adept at reading particular omens, often allowing them to predict when their deaths may come. Many of them are brought to the Aqshian city of Brightspear, where they clash with the forces of Tzeentch. These troubles often see them join hands with Soulbound looking to make a difference in the war effort. Heroes of the Celestial Warbringers can predict if a day will not spell their doom. Doing so improves their melee and accuracy by one step for the day. However, if they are mortally wounded, they will fear that the portents went awry, and Death tests become more difficult.

Stormcast Eternals have access to the following archetypes in the corebook: '''Knight-Azyros''', '''Knight-Incantor''', '''Knight-Questor''', '''Knight-Venator'''. The ''Champions of Order'' splatbook adds the '''Knight-Zephyros''' as an archetype.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Ugh_Oaf_Ziggy_Scale.jpg|Compare and contrast.
Sigmarine_Stormbanner.png|[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-MzNpMD1K8 GROUND MARINES! CHARGE!]
Sigmarine_by_kimplate-d92h94a.png|Only thing missing are pseudo-bolters and they're officially Sigmarines, [https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/catalog/product/600x620/99120218002_StormcastEternalsJudicators012.jpg then you remember that they do.]
THIS_IS_SIGMARON!.png|[http://1d4chan.org/images/c/cc/Cato_Fall_of_Damnos.JPG This looks oddly familiar.]
Sigmarine_Jetpacks.png|Ground Marine [[Assault Squad]]s.
Sigmarines_VS_Khorne_Again.png|In the grim darkness of the far past, there is only war.
Sigmarine_VS_Khorne.png|Ground Marines vs Chaos Ground Marines.
Stormcast_Victory.png|Victory for the [[God-Emperor of Mankind|God Empero-]]..err, [[Sigmar|God-King of man!]]
Sigbrarian.jpg|A Ground Marine Lord Relictor.
Sigmarine_Logical_Conclusion.jpg|The venerable Lord Celestant Boreale, giving one of his glorious speeches.
SpaceEternals.png|One of these is not like the others...
Stormcast_eternal_by_kinmonon.jpg|You can now have your canonical Stormcast waifu, drawn by one Kinmonon.
Female-prosecutor.png|Isn't it great that unlike Emprah Sigmar has no problems allowing girls in his elite forces?
KnightAzyros.jpg|"I will Lamp you....with a Lamp!!!"
</gallery>

==See Also==
*[[Age of Sigmar/Tactics/Order/Stormcast Eternals|Tactics/Stormcast Eternals]]
*[[Space Marines]] - Their 40K counterparts. Compare and contrast.
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmGeTjz49bo A quick overview on the stormcast eternals]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hs-Jli8DkIs The price of immortality]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-MzNpMD1K8 Birth of the Stormcast Eternals]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9We2XsVZfc If you're using the Sacrosant chamber and versing Nighthaunt armies, play this for maximum lulz.]
{{Template:Playable Factions in Warhammer: Age of Sigmar}}

[[Category: Age of Sigmar]]

Stormcast Eternals

2021-09-26T14:48:22Z

2406:3400:20F:FFC0:115F:A9BA:370A:AFE2: /* Broken Realms */

{{Age of Sigmar Faction|Faction=Stormcast Eternals|Logo=Ae7063ba280b6a7f3c9ec61c2bfa2d45-768x1000.png|Alliance=Order|Motto=[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DCU-80FT28 Cue the power-metal.]}}
{{topquote|To punish the oppressors of humanity is clemency; to forgive them is cruelty.|Maximilien Robespierre}}
{{topquote|Much is demanded of those to who much is given.|Stormcast Saying (they got it from [https://www.biblegateway.com/verse/EN/Luke+12:48 Jesus])}}
{{topquote|Justice, like lightning, ever should appear; to a few men ruin, but to all men fear.|Thomas Randolph}}
The '''Stormcast Eternals''' (aka '''Sigmarines''', '''Ground Marines''', '''Fantasy Marines''', '''Stormcunt Eternals''', '''Stormchad Eternals''', '''Adeptus Sigmartes''' and '''Sigmar Males''') are the primary type of soldiers used by [[Sigmar]] in order to fight Chaos during the [[Age of Sigmar]], and thus are the posterboys of the new line.

As will be made evident many times over, they're literally just Space Marines transplanted into the Age of Sigmar, in purpose (An elite military force of engineered super-soldiers grouped into color-coded divisions, personally designed by a god-ruler to be his warriors to combat unfathomably terrifying Lovecraftian horrors that normal men would simply despair at), model design (bulky dudes in all-enclosing, easy-to-paint armor with huge [[pauldrons]] for kids to freehand designs on to make themselves feel special), story role (elite members of the main protagonist faction that are renowned or reviled throughout the setting) and being shoved down the throats of the entire hobby by GW's marketing department. Three more strikes for (or against, depending on your view) them are the fact that some of them have crossbows that resemble bolters, some of their weapons are literally thunderhammers with a fantasy twist and the winged ones resemble some of the Blood Angels models.

Their fluff origins, on the other hand, do give them ''some'' important differences from the autistic warrior monks we all know and tolerate. Instead of distant super-warriors that are barely even humans, Stormcasts function more like a nation-spanning order of knights under Sigmar, who performs his will where needed - [[Ultramarines|they are all warriors, but can have regular functions like being administrators and nobles]], but also builders, artisans and guards. They consider themselves largely apart from the common folk, but not by much; more like a stronger version of a human but with more responsibility to use it well. In other words, they are Space Marines with a Custodian’s mind and an Ultrasmurf's purpose.

For all everyone enjoys making fun of them, they really are pretty cool and their art and models are genuinely awesome. But, hey, give the Internet something to bash and we'll come swinging with thunderhammers.

Also, the apparent global dislike and perceived disdain towards the golden boys out of the "lack of grimdarkness" from them have probably a part in why the books who are currently advancing the settings, "Broken Realms", has turned into "let's see who shit harder on the stormcast for appeasing the fans". Seriously, in 4 books the amount of pain they suffer is unthinkable; they lose many Stormcasts in the Eightpoints and Anvilard who aren't recovered for the greater part, the city of Anvilgard is taken over by Morathi, the Lumineth steal their thunder (heh) as "good guys who achieve something" by worfing ''the entire Death faction'' from the Ossiarch Bonereapers to Nagash himself, Vindicarium and Excelsis are nearly destroyed, the Hallowed Knights and Celestial Vindicators are severely depleted, the entire Sigmarite Brotherhood stormhost is wiped out to the last with Olynder claiming their souls and Chaos storms have emerged that can block Stormcast souls from returning to Azyr. Stormcast fans can only dread what may comes next, because those fucking neckbeard [[Edgy|grimdark fappers]] can't get enough of it apparently.

==History==

===Age of Chaos===
So the Age of Chaos left Sigmar in a really bad position. His proposed alliance between the gods against Chaos was shattered with Nagash's betrayal and the others going off to do their own thing. For his part, Sigmar collected as many people as he could and shut off the Realm of Azyr to the rest of the mortal realms. Worst of all, the loss of Ghal-Maraz meant that he couldn't really fight at his fullest.

As the forces of Chaos ran rampant across the realms, Sigmar tried to focus his energy towards making a special project with [[Grungni]], an army forged by the God-King for his own purposes rather that relying on the other gods to help him out. To this end, he plucked the souls of countless worthy heroes from the grasp of the skelepope and made them all manner of fancy golden armor using the remains of the Old World. All the while, Teclis and Malerion's magics kept his projects a secret from all outsiders, giving him precious time to prepare his armies. While he couldn't accomplish all he set out to do and he had very valid fears that the flaws in his reforging would prove to be their undoing, he had to throw them out all the same.

Indeed, Sigmar knew very well that he was in a race against time. Little by little, what few pockets of civilized and uncorrupted land remained in the other Mortal Realms was being overrun and consumed by the hordes of Chaos, and there was a fear that the Realms would be beyond the point of no return for Order if they waited any longer in Azyr. However, a window of opportunity presented itself; After centuries of steamrolling the Realms, the thousands of Chaos warlords and daemon princes had begun to run out of powerful enemies to fight. As such, as Chaos tends to do, with no external enemies to pounce upon, they began to turn on each other, splintering into their petty squabbling war bands as their patron Gods schemed and plotted against each other. With his foes distracted and beginning to lose cohesion, Sigmar decided it was now or never.

He gave the order...and the Realmgate Wars began...

===The Realmgate Wars===
When the Stormcast emerged, they did so in brute force, bursting through the many realmgates to reclaim the mortal realms from the forces of Chaos. Though their forces were limited, the victories they claimed were critical to helping reform the [[Cities of Sigmar]], who tended to establish around the realmgates.

The Hammers of Sigmar touched down in Aqshy, the Realm of Fire, and immediately began mauling the massive Khornate horde known as the Goretide, led by [[Korghos Khul]]. Meanwhile, the Hallowed Knights made their way into Ghyran to help Sigmar's ally goddess Alarielle.

Perhaps the most important of their victories during this time was in Chamon, where Lords-Celestant Vandus Hammerhand and Thostos Bladestorm managed to discover the location of Ghal-Maraz inside a massive Tzeentchian fortress. After smashing through the various fractious armies and traps, Vandus finally reclaimed it and returned it to the God-King.

Sigmar would use his legendary hammer to awaken the Celestant-Prime, a super legendary project that he had been unable to finish without the hammer. With the help of this super-Stormcast, the forces of Order would manage to save the realm of Ghyran from Nurgle's clutches and re-awaken Alarielle so she could reinvigorate the Sylvaneth to kick the pusbags out.

===Malign Portents/ The Soul Wars===

===Broken Realms===
The [[Broken Realms Saga]] saw some particularly grueling setbacks for the posterboys of the franchise.

The first major battle is during ''Book 1: [[Morathi]]'', where the titular villain (now elevated to full-godhood by siphoning some stuff from Slaanesh) laying siege to the free city of Anvilgard. The stormcast stationed on the city were defending the city with everything they had, even when they were also beset by a raiding party of Idoneth mercenaries. People had thought the battle was over the moment the Celestant-Prime swooped down to fight Morathi, but that hope soon turned to despair when they went to parley and the Celestant-Prime actually ''conceded'', ordering all the Sigmarite elements of Anvilgard to pack their shit up and go home. What the conversation was about, nobody knows.

Fight number 2 was during ''Book 3: [[Be'lakor]]''. In that one, the First Prince of Chaos decided to lay siege to the free city of Vindicarum in Chamon. Not only were they already battered by [[Lady Olynder]]'s forces, all part of a deal with Be'lakor, but then the forces of Chaos under his thrall began smashing into the gates. Not helping things was the fact that the skies above the realm were clotted with dark sorcerous storms and the realmgate had collapsed - all the result of some other fuckery he had ordered. The end result was a matter completely alien to the Stormcast: actual vulnerability. The skies no longer allowed the souls of the Stormcast to reach safe ground in Azyr and be reforged, but they were instead devoured by the clouds. The losses they suffered here were permanent and it wasn't until some fleets of Kharadron had arrived (with Grungni himself among them) that they were able to push back the Dark Master's legions. Even then, though, the skies remained bleak, blocking most attempts to return to their maker, and the Celestial Vindicators stormhost was practically annihilated. Worse, the entire Sigmarite Brotherhood stormhost was wiped out, with all their souls being captured and given to Lady Olynder.

The last fight was in ''Book 4: [[Kragnos]]'', where the free city of Excelsis was besieged not only by the forces of destruction, led by Gordrakk and Kragnos himself, but also the legions of Slaanesh under his newborn twins.

===Age of Beasts/ The Dawnbringer Crusades===

Hearing about what Be'lakor did obviously distressed Sigmar. If the forces of Chaos had a way to block his soldiers from being reforged, then he was going to lose his warriors even faster than they were already going.

He contemplated on ways to do get past this handicap, but fortunately he had found Grungni again after hearing about the hidden dwarf god's actions in Excelsius. Together, they decided to make Stormcast armor that was even tougher than before and enchanted to create a massive explosion upon the wearer's death. This would become the Thunderstrike Chamber, the newest and most elite of his forces. Also reinforcing the ranks are the Draconith, dragon-children of Dracothion himself who were kept by the Slann for such a dire situation like [[Kragnos|a certain ancient god breaking free]].

The Dawnbringer Crusades were called to bring order back to the realms after such a mess and hunt down any coming threats from Ghur. The forward base of Amberstone Watch would be their first exposure to the new forces in play: The Kruleboyz.

==Reforging==
{{topquote|Look. See. Memories are wounds in the psyche, Little Spirit. They leave deep scars and tell stories. You were born in this Realm, as all living things are born only to die, and you recognized that truth in your torment. You sought to find peace in the dark of Creation's light. Was that not your right? Did you not deserve it? You served, and fought and died, and now only desired peace. Silence. Oblivion. Not to burn and become someone new...someone else. But they would not stop. Again, and again and again. They tried to drag you back. They took those you loved from you, and then, when that was not enough, they sought to take all memory of them. To leave you empty, save for the Storm. Bow, and become greater than that which was lost. Bow, and justice will be yours. Bow, and see again the faces of the forgotten...Now, sleep and be made whole...|Nagash to a lost Stormcast soul, from ''Soul Wars'' by Josh Reynolds}}

Under Construction...

==Rank and Military==
When each mortal is reforged, they are immediately put into a strenuous training ritual meant to hone them into superhuman hammer-swinging engines of holy war. Once the big man is satisfied, he then groups them into Stormhosts, and there they train with each other in a massive coliseum that [[Malekith|Malerion]] gifted him back when there was an alliance. These Stormhosts are then broken into Chambers with each having several conclaves organized by specialty. The Strike Chambers consist of your standard boring troops (divided further into Warrior, Harbinger and Exemplar Chambers based on exact makeup), the Extremis Chambers consist of riders of Dracoth and Stardrake cavalry, the Vanguard Chambers consist of outdoorsy ranger types and the Sacrosanct Chamber consists of priests and magicians. In addition, there are three known Chambers Sigmar has yet to unveil to the world; the Ruination, Covenant and Logister Chambers.

Each Stormhost is lead by a Lord-Commander, a supreme leader through which Sigmar's will is realised. As of now, there is currently one Lord Commander in playable miniature form, that being Bastian Carthalos of the Hammers of Sigmar. Supporting the Lord Commander are the Chamber Command, who governs each individual lesser Hosts, of which there are between 3 to 9 Retinues (squads), each with between 6 to 20 Stormcasts. For example, the Hammers of Sigmar Chamber has 301 Stormcasts of 7 Commanders, 36 Paladins, 180 Liberators, 18 Prosecutors (yep; half as many jumpies as elites) and 60 Judicators.

*'''Strike Chamber Command:'''
**'''Lords Celestant:''' The top dogs in the Supporting Chambers, these are the mightiest of heroes among the Chambers, gifted a larger portion of Sigmar's power in order to become great leaders. Some opt to fun with hammers and swords, while other find Dracoths (Large wingless dragons that shoot lightning) to ride like horses or Stardrakes (Even larger dragons with wings that can also cause meteor showers).
**'''Lords Relictor:''' These guys are priests, and are able to see the spiritual realm and all the spooky souls that swirl around in it. Their job is to use their skeletal relics to anchor the Stormcasts to Azyr so their souls don't accidentally end up as Daemon chow or part of Nagash's kingdom of skellingtons. Off-duty they function much the same as a [[Chaplain]], warding the relics a Chamber finds and guiding their members in matters of faith.
**'''Lords Castellant:''' The [[Paladin]] to the [[Warlord]] and [[Cleric]] above. Their initiation tests involving conquering their fears by traveling some mountains in Azyr and befriending a Gryphound. If successful, they get special warding lantern that illuminates his fellow Sigmarines and incinerates Chaos. As "Castellants", they each oversee a Stormcast Hold or Free City; they don't generally take to the battlefield unless necessary for the protection of their castle. Some of them don't have castles to babysit and instead act as their Lord Celestant's right hand man.
**'''Lords Veritant:''' The resident anti-magic specialists of the Stormcast. Hunts down enemy spell casters, and also removes their corrupting influences from the land. Is accompanied by a graph hound, like the Castellant.
**'''Knights Heraldor:''' These guys have giant horns that shoot lightning. Because STORMS. Their helmets are weirdly segmented around the mouths; assumed so the warrior inside can actually blow the fucking horn.
**'''Knights Vexillor:''' Unlike the other jobs, these guys are actually chosen in a contest. A shitton of Stormcasts enter the Coliseum, smack each other to not-quite death (The Coliseum makes sure everyone leaves refreshed because... Malerion didn't have a mood swing when he made it. Or did he, recent lore states that he actually has treacherous intentions towards Sigmar and his Coliseum has a sinister purpose). The winner gets to hold an awesome standard, or a big plate with a glowing orb on it that can be used to throw around fuckin' comets.
**'''Knights Azyros:''' The closets thing to Scout Leaders, these guys have lanterns to help illuminate the realms so Sigmar can see all the way from his palace. Also, the lanterns burn chaos.
**'''Knights Venator:''' Shootier flying Sigmarines, these guys are master archers with magical arrows and own pet <s>Star-Eagles</s> Articunos. One of their Stormsurgeboltthunderblowsuperarrows can kill almost any regular leader character in one shot.

*'''Strike Chamber Troops:'''
**'''Liberators:''' The ground-floor. The goons. The average Liberator is a walking tank, capable of wielding either melee weapons or shields to protect his pals from anything deadlier. They use either swords or hammers, sometimes dual wielded, or Grandhammers and Grandblades (Bigger versions of the usual Hammers and Swords).
**'''Judicators:''' [[Tactical Squad|Warriors skilled with both sword and bow who put to use their uncanny shooting ability in the ranks of the Justicar conclave.]] They wield devastating long-range weaponry (Skybolt Bows or Boltstorm Crossbows). Some even get luckier and get a mega-bow that fires thunderbolts. THE BOWS ARE MAGIC! YEEEEEEEEEEAH!!!! They also hit Chaos-stuff better, because fuck those guys.
**'''Prosecutors:''' They're like Liberators, but they got wings. They tend to spearhead the assault with their speed, throwing either magical reforging hammers or magical reforging spears. Or they could just smash with hammer and sword weapons. Like the Liberators, they can wield big-ass weapons like two-handed axes or war hammers.
**'''Retributors:''' Massive piles of Sigmarite who serve in the Paladin Chambers. These guys carry massive hammers to squash things, which has Rending +1 which can completely remove everything not a leader or monster in a turn. These guys love to pummel anything with more than one Wound, since they do two Damage standard, and can turn that into Mortal Wounds. There's really not something these motherfuckers can't do. Well okay, they don't stand up to high Rend or MW shooting, but then again that's an SE problem in general.
**'''Protectors:''' Despite the name, these Paladins only wield glaives. Glaives that are actually capable of generating magical force fields, and cut down big-ass monsters, should they get close. They are also very, very long range, so put them behind a Liberator wall and skewer that Mawkrusha something fierce while the goons get slaughtered.
**'''Decimators:''' Paladins with fuck huge axes, these things are made to make sweet murder out of hordes. These guys have a massive range on their axes, which is important - because they each get as many attacks as they have enemies within range - because fuck Reaver Hordes amirite. They are also very scary, so people take more heavy Battleshock casualties. Don't try to axe the knee of a Monster or Hero, though; with only one attack, their axes are laughably weak.

*'''Extremis Chamber'''
**'''Drakesworn Templars:''' Usually a second-in-command for a Lord-Celestant, a Templar is one of those few fortunate Sigmarines to encounter a Stardrake. Their loadout is more versatile.
**'''Fulminators:''' Paladin Protectors on Dracoths.
**'''Concussors:''' Paladin Retributors on Dracoths.
**'''Desolators:''' Paladin Decimators on Dracoths, same as the rest.
**'''Tempestors:''' Paladins with crossbows riding Dracoths.

*'''Vanguard Chamber'''
**'''Lords Aquilor:'''Recon Commander riding on a Gryph-Charger (giant wingless hippogryph-things).
**'''Knights-Zephyros:''' Dual axe wielding Stormcast assassins. They magically imprint themselves upon their chosen quarry, and ride aether wind currents to teleport/move at super speeds.
**'''Vanguard Hunters:''' Liberators with small crossbows, cloaks and utilizing infiltration tactics.
**'''Vanguard Raptors:''' Elite Sharpshooters with Longstrike Bows or Hurricane Crossbows (Elite Versions of Judicators). They also have aether-wings to bite and harass enemies that get too close.
**'''Vanguard Palladors:''' Vanguard Hunters on Gryph-Chargers. Armed with javelins. Can ride magical aether wind currents to teleport/move at super speeds.

*'''Sacrosanct Chamber'''
**'''Lords Arcanum:''' Wizard lords of the Sacrosanct chambers. Sometimes ride Gryph-Chargers, Dracolines (dragonoid big cat things), or Tauralons ([[Derp]]-faced pegasi).
**'''Lords Ordinator:''' Builders of Sigmar's works and babysitters of his artillery.
**'''Lords Exorcist:''' Wizard Stormpope.
**'''Knights-Incantor:''' Stormcast wizards without Lord rank. Can use magical soul flasks to suicide bomb surrounding enemies.
**'''Evocators:''' Magical paladins with a few spells at their disposal. Some ride Dracolines.
**'''Castigators:''' Magical Judicators whose crossbows shoot flasks of Dracoth breath.
**'''Sequitors:''' Liberators with maces and a self buff to either their weapons or shields. Not having the Prime take a great weapon actually has a benefit, giving them a ranged soul vacuum that hurts nearby Chaos and Death units.
**'''Celestar Ballista:''' Lightning ballista with options for either rapid fire or one big blast.

*'''Thunderstrike Chamber:''' So due to certain shenanigans in the [[Broken Realms Saga]], Sigmar realized that the whole "die to be reforged in Azyr" deal wasn't all-encompassing when the realm of Chamon was cut off thanks to [[Be'lakor]] being a fucker. To combat this and with the hope that they won't keel over so quickly, he decided to make what essentially amounts to Stormcast [[Primaris Space Marines]]. Fuck, and these models weren't even a decade old...
* (Honestly, that last point is probably wrong. Based on the admittedly vague description, they sound more like the equivalent to a veteran company than Primaris Marines. The new Thunderstrike Armor gives off a powerful burst of lightning magic upon the Stormcast's death, in the hope that it'll be enough to punch through Be'lakor's ritual and allow the soul to make it back to Azyr to Reforge...with mixed results. Now, there is no guarantee Stormcast souls can all be recovered, resulting in a steady attrition of Sigmar's warriors.)
**'''Lords Imperitant:''' Strategist-leaders who have gryph-hound companions like Lord-Veritants.
**'''Knights-Arcanum:''' The big question right now is "How do these mages differ from Lords-Arcanum and Knights-Incantor?"
**'''Knights Vexilor with Banner of Apotheosis:''' Knights Vexilor with a banner containing a fragment of the Anvil of Apotheosis, fortifying nearby Stormcast in a similar manner to the Anvil proper.
**'''Vindictors:''' The basic foot soldiers, each carrying a spear and shield.
**'''Annihilators:''' The equivalent of Gravis-marines, these are big bulky walls with big shields. Apparently, their size also allows them to channel their momentum when charging.
**'''Praetors:''' Cloaked bodyguards carrying halberds. Presumed to not share the same proclivities as Roman Praetorians.

===Notable Stormhosts===
*'''[[Hammers of Sigmar]]:''' The first Stormhost. They wear [[Ultramarines|Blue and Gold and pride themselves on being the posterboys of AoS]]. With the release of second edition, the posterboys finally have a personality! With the people of the realms seeing them as the foremost stormiest, they now fear that any unsavory rumor or failing on their part will lead to the undoing of Sigmar's plans. Those amongst them who die too many times are now plagued with visions and generate lightning around themselves. Vandus is awesome.
*'''Hallowed Knights:''' The fourth Stormhost. They wear silver and blue and are [[Grey Knights|pretty zealous about killing Chaos]]. They're known for their DETERMINATION and incredible faith in Sigmar, making them the ideal choice for jobs like wading through Nurgle's horrifying and disgusting kingdoms despite all the filth and plagues that pollute the lands. This Stormhost is in general one of the more popular Hosts, with their metal armors and very faith-based culture. Also, have a cool battle cry ("ONLY THE FAITHFUL!"). They are having their own novel series done by [[Josh Reynolds]]. Some of them have been infected by Nurgle's plagues, however their faith is so strong that it purifies their skin, causing their armor to be melted and permanently fused to them. They are occasionally aided by a winged, androgynous being called the Silver Saint who manifests from lakes and pools of water (aka [[Lileath]] trying her Lady of the Lake gimmick again).
*'''Celestial Vindicators:''' The Sixth Stormhost. ''Angry.'' They're vengeful motherfuckers who declared vengeance back as mortals, and then had 500 years to brood while they waited for Sigmar to find his front door keys. Their armour is turquoise with white trim, so the blood reaaaaally stands out. They also tend to kick it with the duardin, so that's pretty cool. Also, they have a sword fetish and revere a spirit called the Father of Blades, heavily implied to be the manifestation of the [[The Empire (Warhammer Fantasy)|Empire]]'s Runefangs combined into one being. Each Vindicator seeks to become a living weapon. Some of the better known herobros include Thostos Bladestorm and Arkas Warbeast.
*'''Celestial Knights:''' A Stormhost that is on a constant crusade to bring the light of Sigmar to all benighted lands. Pretty much these [[Black Templars|guys]].
*'''Lions of Sigmar:''' Rocking the bronze gold and purple look there is little-known about this Stormhost save for their heraldry and thunderous roar in battle. Most people auto-assume "[[Dark Angels]]" from hearing the word Lion, though the connection is iffy. The Dangles weren't the only chapter to keep to themselves to that degree.
*'''Knights of the Aurora:''' Sporting grey armour with green and gold trimmings, this Stormhost are claimed to strike more quickly and are masters of rapid assault, overall having the need for [[White Scars| speed]].
*'''Knights Excelsior:''' This Stormhost run around in white armour with blue and gold trimmings. These guys are said to have built up a fierce reputation for totally massacring their enemies so brutally that even other Stormhosts think its a bit excessive. Their claim to fame is that they stepped up to bail the Hallowed Knights out when a Lord of Plagues was about to capture Alarielle, with their Knight-Azyros, a pretty fly badass called Diomar, personally charging the powerful Nurgle lord. They have a massive hard-on for Order and see most attempts at individuality or freedom as dangerously Chaotic. Recently featured in the Malign Portents short story collection massacring unwell civilians in their attempt to instill uncompromising authority in the Realm of Life, despite the fact these civilians were loyal to Sigmar in the first place. One of their number, the White Reaper, is used by the Order of Azyr as the bogeyman to make rebellious nobles stay in line, to say it works extremely well gives you an idea of how scary these guys have become. When an order aligned human has a less than flattering opinion of the stormcast it's usually because they had a run in with these guys. [[Marines_Malevolent|Their extreme black and white morality and habit of slaughtering the innocent by the thousands seems to be turning popular opinion against Sigmar himself. Great job, guys.]]
*'''Celestial Warbringers:''' A Stormhost made entirely from the uplifted survivors of one human tribe who Sigmar really liked the look of. They wear burgundy armour with white trim. They have some prophetic juju going on that lets them see the hour of their death, which means if they're fighting in a battle that they didn't dream themselves get torn to shreds in, they fight with no fear. They're also pretty good fun to be around, feasting and drinking like frat boys at an all you can eat murder buffet. Remarkable insofar as they're the first host of the second striking, which means they get different shields and shoulder guards, because reasons. They also have more Sacrosanct Chambers than usual.
*'''Astral Templars:''' If you're tired of holy knights, go no further; these fuckers have taken to like it in the Realm of Ghur, and has become one with the beasts. Their color is purple, and their armor is adorned with pelts, bloody markings and other tribal stuff. To be allowed into the Templars, a warrior must be a hunter of beasts and monsters, which honestly isn't a big deal when they all come from Ghur, the Realm of Beasts! The [[Space Wolves]] to the Hammer's Ultramarines, but with less wolfs and more barbarians. They honour a godbeast called Ursricht, a giant white bear though he is often depicted as a white haired man. So an expy of [[Ulric]] and Ursun than.
*'''Tempest Lords:''' Donning the Ultramarine blue with an addition of white shields and shoulders are the Tempest Lords. They're described as the most regal and proud Stormhost, probably because every single one of these guys was a monarch, lord, or other such noble before being chosen by Sigmar. Despite this, they're actually pretty baller and down to earth guys, being perhaps the most selfless of all the Stormhosts, flat-out seeing it as their duty to protect those less fortunate than themselves (which is basically everyone,) often inspiring downtrodden mortal tribes to break their chains and fight Chaos alongside the Tempest Lords. They're also pretty literal it seems, because Sigmar once joked that the Stormcast were each worth twelve mortal men in a fight and since then the Tempest Lords have kept count of how many kills they score before dying, taking it as a massive personal disgrace if they don't reach twelve kills. That said, they do a pretty damn good job of reaching that score, leaving them as one of the hardest Stormhosts to kill simply due to their sheer pride refusing to let them die. Each one of these stormcast is a native of Hysh and follow the teachings of [[Myrmidia]], who they revere as much as Sigmar.
*'''Anvils of the Heldenhammer''' The Anvils of the Heldenhammer are a Stormhost of the Stormcast Eternals, wearing black armor. The warriors of the Anvils of the Heldenhammer are dark and brooding, as they aren't made from recently-dead heroes but from long dead warriors who've been resting in tombs and barrows for ages. Most of them are from Shyish as well, so death is central to their mindset - They see themselves as bringers of death, and if turned around against them, death is just another step in the defence of Sigmar's domain. Now that Papa Bones Nagash is getting his spotlight, the Anvils have to deal with him specifically... until Teclis and the Lumineth stole their thunder in the Broken Realms saga and trapped Nagash in his capital city.

===Notable Fan-created Stormhosts===

Help us expand this list:

*'''[[Forgesworn Eternals]]:''' A [[Dwarfs (Warhammer Fantasy)|Duardin]] Stormhost wearing silver and red.

*'''Wardens of the Ember:''' A Stormhost composed of mortals who died standing firm against the most insurmountable Chaos incursions. Former priests cut down mid-prayer, standard bearers who fought and died rather than abandon their colours, musicians who played songs of hope until their very last breath - stoutness of heart is often more important than strength of sword-arm in deciding whether a mortal is bound to this Stormhost. They wear grey armour with black and orange trim, and are notably more jovial than other Stormhosts; it is not uncommon to hear rousing speeches and booming laughter as these heroes urge their mortal comrades onwards.

==Notable Stormcasts==
*'''The Celestant-Prime:''' The alpha, the first Eternal ever forged by Sigmar. It's unknown just who he might be, but it's said he was a mighty king from the past (making people immediately guess <strike>either [[Settra the Imperishable|Settra]], or</strike> [[Karl Franz]]). Despite how much power he put into it, the process was still incomplete, so Sigmar decided to put him in a chamber to preserve the project because he spent too much as it is. However, once he recovered Ghal Maraz, he was able to finish the process and get a giant golden angel to join the ranks armed with the warhammer. Needless to say, he can easily wipe out any <strike>Chaos Lord</strike> Greater Daemon who has the misfortune of facing him. Recently got ganked by Nagash's newest Mortarch, Lady Olynder, while trying to keep an ancient evil and ally of Nagash contained. Not someone to fuck with, seeing as it took a personal champion of Nagash to take him down for the first time while he was busy with an Eldritch Abomination. Also this beast one-shot a Daemon the size of a country with supernova-level force.

*'''Vandus Hammerhand:''' The first named hero among the Eternals, a Lord-Celestant of the Hammers of Sigmar who rides a Dracoth. Apparently, he once fought off against a Khornate Lord known as Korghos Khul as a mortal and almost died before being forged, and instead became a giant gold-plated badass instead of just a human one. He's considered the hero of the Starter Set and is responsible for finding Ghal Maraz. Also, he was the first one to tame a Dracoth. Currently having visions where he sees his future self, who has been Reforged so many times that he has lost all physical form and become an emotionless being made out of pure lightning (what the Stormcast call a lightning gheist), warning him about what would happen if the Stormcasts cannot fix their flaw.

*'''Bastian Carthalos:''' The Lord Commander of the Hammers of Sigmar.

*'''Neave Blacktalon:''' The first female stormcast released for the setting. Neave Blacktalon is basically an eversor with tits, with the mentality of a vindicare. As a mortal she was raised from childhood by a particularly vicious Tribe of Sylvaneth. They basically raised her to be an assassin and all around mean bitch ala Xena warrior princess. Unfortunately, her first target was a chaos lord way out of her league and she would have died had Sigmar not decided she'd make a great stormcast.

*'''[[Gardus Steel-Soul|Gardus Steel-Soul]]:''' Lord Celestant of the Hallowed Knights Stormhost. The best (by fan-view, not author fiat) of the Lord Celestants. What makes Gardus great is that he was no great lord, but a common man. Born Garradan, he was a hospice worker (a doctor for young uns) in the port city of Demesnus. When the forces of chaos invaded the city, he worked tirelessly to heal the defenders, spending whole nights without sleep. As the forces of Khorne shattered the walls and attacked the hospital the tired hospice worker took a chandelier (showing brass balls in the process) and tried to save his patients with good old ultra violence. The rest... is history.

*'''Lorrus Grymn:''' Former Lord Castellant of the Hallowed Knights, and a close friend to Gardus Steelsoul. The only other Hallowed Knight to fight Gardus to a standstill in the Gladitorium Arena, Grymn was a master defensive strategist and often an instructor for many fellow Knights. Fought in the Realmgate Wars during the Hallowed Knights' conquests against Nurgle in Ghyran. Helped lead the defense of Vindicarum when Be'lakor besieged the city during the Broken Realms Saga. Is snatched up by Be'lakor and killed in front of Gardus. His soul is not beamed back to Azyr due to Be'lakor's storm of Chaos, and is permanently dead. RIP.

*'''Yndrasta''': One of several renowned Stormcast personally forged by Sigmar himself, like [[Idoneth Deepkin|Teclis did with the Cythai aelves]] and his hunting champion. She ranks below the Celestant-Prime but far above most Stormcast, and is considered near-mythical. Unlike most Stormcast, her wings look completely avian and she lacks a descriptive last name. She rocks some ornate armor personally made by Grungni, making her look awesome depending on how you feel about Half shaved hairstyles. In her mortal life, Yndrasta was a warrior queen from Ghur, skilled with sword and spear and a renowned monster hunter. During the Age of Chaos, a Chaos army attacked her hometown and she soloed the Chaos Lord leading it in an attempt to save them. But despite getting a good hit with her spear he was too much for her and would've died if not for Sigmar. Recently, she's been tasked by Sigmar himself with killing the newly freed Destruction god, Kragnos. Ironically, she's got a few things in common with Khorne's waifu, Valkia, as both are spear-wielding warrior queens reformed after hopeless battles into immortal, inspiring winged warriors by an Odin-esque god. She behaves like a cat, bringing trophies from her kills and throwing them at Sigmar's throne during meetings then leaving without saying a word.

*'''Thostos Bladestorm:''' Footslogging Lord Celestant of the Celestial Vindicators. Impulsive jackass. Died a couple of times so now Nagash has part of his soul, he still wants to give Chaos a beating. During a battle with a Chaos Lord Varash, Thostos was hit with extremely powerful lighting bolt which triggered a powerful reforging and the results of it was the return of his memories, emotions and a name he once was - Prince Caeran of Wolf Keep (this happening is more proof of Nagash being made of much fail, seriously, how did this ever happen?). Apparently he is now the first Stormcast to be renewed, healed and with fresh purpose but not the last. In the final days of the Realmgate Wars he fought in the Battle for the All-Gates and crossed blades with Archaon, it went as well as you'd expect it to and Thostos is officially lost forever.

*'''Tarsus Bullheart:''' Footslogging Lord Celestant of the Hallowed Knights, leader of a warrior chamber named after him. Broody guy who's obsessed with duty and lets his hammer do the talking for him. Once a human from the realm of Shyish called Tarsem, he lived in a place called Helstone. During the Age of Chaos he fought alongside Mannfred Von Carstein but Mannfred fled leaving Tarsem to get ganked by a Bloodthirster before Sigmar saved him. Sigmar later sent him and some of his warriors to Shyish to parley with Nagash. Along the way they found Mannfred and freed him from a Khornate warband in exchange for his assistance. After entering the underworld and an incident with Arkhan, Nagash appeared before them. This goes as well as you'd expect and all the surviving Stormcast save Tarsus were killed by Nagash. Tarsus managed to distract Nagash and free their souls, but then Nagash killed Tarsus and captured his soul to [[Grimdark|torture him for dirt on Sigmar, and by the time Nagash was done Tarsus was a gibbering wreck]]. Eventually Ramus, Gardus and freaking Mannfred broke into Nagasshizar and demanded Tarsus's Freedom. Nagash freed Tarsus, who was of no more use to him, and Tarsus was promptly mercy killed in the hope that reforging would cure his madness. The novel "Soul Wars" revealed that as Tarsem he had a fiance, and said fiance was so mad about him being Sigmarined that upon her own death she let Nagash turn her into a Nighthaunt executioner to get revenge for losing him.

*'''Ramus of the Shadowed Soul:''' Lord-Relictor of the Bullhearts warrior chamber and protagonist of the second set of Realmgate Wars audio-dramas. Once voice of reason to Tarsus and completely trusting in Sigmar and his grand plan, after Tarsus was lost to Nagash Ramus has been pressing for a mission to rescue his soul, despite the fact that at the moment Nagash and Sigmar are allies. The other Hallowed Knights are trying to get him to leave it alone and trust in Sigmar, but he hasn't been able to thus far. With Malign Portents pretty much destroying any alliance between Sigmar and Nagash, Ramus gets his chance to rescue Tarsus after all and puts aside his grudge against Mannfred with much difficulty.

*'''Tornus the Redeemed:''' Once known as Torglug the Despised, servant of Nurgle and Lord of Plagues, his soul was redeemed by Sigmar at the height of the last battle at Blackstone Summit in the realm of Ghyran when killed by Ghal Maraz in the hands of the Celestant-Prime. During his brief life as a mortal, Tornus was a righteous believer in Sigmar and his faith was unmatched by those that fought with him during the Age of Chaos against the nurgle invaders. At some point he was captured and left in a pit of filth and due to his stubbornness, faith and pride lived for many weeks only to succumb to the lies that Nurgle spoke to him during those months of captivity. Even then his soul, although corrupted and twisted, held out a spark of hope that his faith in Sigmar was not a lie and was rewarded with a chance for redemption as a Knight-Venator in services of the Hallowed Knights, <strike> [[Awesome|this is so far as we know the first comeback from Chaos ever done in any of GeeDubs franchises]].</strike> Captain Leonatos of the Blood Angels (Read the Blood Quest Trilogy) actually did it first, but this is the first time it has happened outside 40k. Is currently forming his own group of ex-Chaos Stormcasts, much to the suspicion of other Stormcasts, including his own Lord Castellant Grymn.

*'''[[Hamilcar Bear Eater|Hamilcar Bear-Eater]]:''' Astral Templars' Lord Castellant turned Knight-Questor. Hamilcar is, to put it short, a lovely braggart, claiming even Sigmar was impressed the result of his stormcasting, also, it seems like he has an uncanny resemblance with the God-King. Currently he's on a hunt for Mannfred Von Carstein over backstabbing Tarsus. Got his own series by his creator David Guymer! Did we mention he beat a gatling-gun-armed skaven killakan while under sniper fire?

*'''[[Balthazar Gelt|Balthas Arum]]:''' An Anvils of the Heldenhammer Lord-Arcanum. Revealed to be [[Balthazar Gelt]] reborn as a Stormcast, which was heavily suggested in the novel and he is explicitly recognized as such by Nagash (who said that he looks forward to the possibility of having Aurum serve him [[The End Times|a second time]]). He still has his arrogance, mount Quicksilver, and a preference and talent for C[[JoJo's Bizarre Adventure|hamon Magic]] over any other. Considered to be the best mage of all the Anvils of the Heldenhammer and possibly all the Stormcasts, which makes some sense given who he used to be. His only real friend is Tyros Firemane of the Hallowed Knights who Balthus felt an instinctive kinship with despite being a surly loner around everyone else. Tyros is a Lord-Arcanum who specialises in fire magic, has a fiery red beard, and prefers to get his hands dirty exploring lost tombs and ancient cities rather than study. Like Balthas though, he feels a connection with the World-That-Was and thinks he may have lived there in a past life. This guy was most likely Thyrus Gormann, Gelt's friend/rival from the Old World. Pretty cool huh? Did Sigmar arrange it so that these two would meet again or are souls from the old world instinctively drawn to one another? Perhaps somewhere in the realms Kurt Hellborg and Ludwig Shwarzhelm are fighting side by side again in fancy new Stormcast duds.

*'''Settrus:''' A Lord Celestant leading a chamber called the "Imperishables" and who holds a massive grudge against Nagash. [[Settra the Imperishable|Three guesses who this guy use to be]]. Has a reputation for getting shit done and commands the respect and obedience of guys like Hamilcar Bear-Eater through sheer gravitas and force of will alone. Currently on route to reinforce Glymmsforge in Shyish. Almost certainly doesn't remember much of his past life, as that's the only way he would serve ''anyone''.

*'''Gavriel Sureheart:''' A named Lord Celestant of the Hammers of Sigmar who GW started selling one day and didn't bother explaining his deal until 2nd Edition. Grew up as a gladiator slave named "Grub" at the Khornate fortress of Ratspike. One month into his gladiator career, he killed Ratspike's king with a spear chuck and kicked off a short-lived rebellion, being saved by Sigmar at the last moment (like most Stormcast). Currently the only sword-and-board foot LC and known for never wearing a helmet (and looking like Tommy Wiseau).

*'''Arkas Warbeast:''' A Lord Celestant of the Celestial Vindicators and one of two protagonists in Gav Thorpe's ''Warbeast'' novel. Sent back to Ghur and the tribes he once ruled as the mortal Arka Bearclaw, he has a huge, angry boner for smashing skaven to bits, especially one Verminlord who withered his mum to death. A self proclaimed brute with some special connection to the energy of Ghur, his chamber has a reputation for being wild and ill disciplined. He gets even more RAAAAGE after his beat down, but is at least able to control and direct it productively, unlike Thostos.

*'''The Shadespire Warbands:'''
#'''Steelheart's Champions:''' A Liberator Prime and his two flatmates who went into [[Warhammer Underworlds|Shadespire]] to get a cure for the Reforging issues that plague the Stormcasts, but never made it out. The Champions are Obryn the Bold, a massive dude who's into his third Reforging and has become silent and brooding as a result, and Angharad Brightshield, a female Liberator and former smith who took to smashing in faces with hammers instead of smashing swords and metal.
#'''The Farstriders:''' A warband of three Vanguard Hunters in Shadespire. The Prime, Sanson Farstrider, has an accompanying star falcon, whereas his subordinates, Almeric Eagle-Eye and Elias Swiftblade, wield a shock axe and storm sabre respectively.
#'''Stormsire's Cursebreakers:''' Two Evocators and their Knight Incantor leader, set to Shadespire to seek out a cure for reforging-induced flaws. Averon Stormsire is a specialist of breaking curses, Rastus the Charmed fights with fathomless contempt, and Ammis Dawnguard treats her role with holy reverence.
#'''Ironsoul's Condemnors:''' Named versions of the Easy Build Sequitors. (more details when Dreadfane drops)

==Soulbound==
Stormcast Eternals naturally were a playable species from the get-go in [[Age of Sigmar Roleplay]]. Unusually, though, they are technically distinct from the Soulbound adventurers who make up the other playable species - Stormcast Eternals are already spiritually bound to [[Sigmar]] himself, and as such can't undergo the soul-melding Rite of [[Binding]] that creates a normal Soulbound adventurer... who, in turn, can never become a Stormcast Eternal themselves. For this reason, Stormcast Eternals are always, in a sense, outsiders to the adventuring parties of Soulbound (or "bindings" as they are known) - they are allies who join the Binding for their own reasons (or, more likely, are ordered to join) and this can leads to a certain amount of distrust. But not always. For every Stormcast Eternal who wonders why such "great heroes" weren't simply made into Stormcast Eternals, there is another who embraces their similar-yet-different allies with open arms, content to trust Sigmar's judgment and admiring heroism no matter the form it takes.

The ''Champions of Order'' supplement includes the following stormhosts for a Stormcast hero to hail from:
*'''Hammers of Sigmar:''' Naturally, the posterboys of the Stormcast are frequently assigned to aid a band of Soulbound in overcoming particular trials that would otherwise trouble them. They are also incredibly stubborn, incapable of yielding. Heroes of the Hammers of Sigmar have been reforged additional times, considering how they were among the first stormcast to have been made. In addition, if they are reduced to 0 toughness, they and nearby allies add extra die equal to the hero's Determination to all attacks, which is doubled when the hero is mortally wounded.
*'''Hallowed Knights:''' Being the most devout of the Stormcast, the Hallowed Knights constantly seek to test their faith against the most grueling of trials. Though their insistence to emulate their god-king irks other Soulbound, their dedication to withstanding any manner of trial earns the undying support of their companions and other peoples they help. Heroes of the Hallowed Knights know a single miracle (either universal or of Sigmar) that they can use despite not having the Devoted talent, though the talent is now available to all archetypes.
*'''Celestial Vindicators:''' Being a very violent and vengeful Stormhost means that they do not often find themselves assigned to join the Soulbound on any adventures. However, those that do join tend to cage up their simmering anger, often to the point where they can explode into a bloodthirsty rage once in combat. Heroes of the Celestial Vindicators must select one type of enemy to hate - they deal +1 damage to enemies of that type. In addition, the Old Enemy talent is now available to all archetypes, but it must be against the enemy they chose to hate.
*'''Anvils of the Heldenhammer:''' This Stormhost are often made of ancient heroes legendary warriors plucked from the realm of Shyish, much to Nagash's ire and to the frequent curiosity of the Soulbound they fight alongside (who tend to think that these guys are reincarnations of ancient ancestors or something). Because of this ever-present threat, these Stormcast are more than a little open-minded and seek to avoid dying if they can help it. Heroes of the Anvils of the Heldenhammer ignore the stunned condition that being mortally wounded entails and have an easier time dealing with Death tests. However, if they fail a Death test even once, they die immediately as the skelepope gobbles their soul up again.
*'''Knights Excelsior:''' This Stormhost excels at the application of total warfare, seeking the utter decimation of the enemy by throwing absolutely everything at them. This also means that they adopt a very myopic viewpoint of things, viewing others as either good or evil with very little middle-ground, and even those Stormcast that join Soulbound have been known to hold their mortal allies to such high standards that they may even execute those allies that fall short. Heroes of the Knights Excelsior that undertake any endeavor or action to reduce Doom reduces it by an additional 2. However, they suffer a serious disadvantage on Guile or Intuition checks when dealing with a particularly shady individual, and may in fact outright refuse to deal with such folks.
*'''Celestial Warbringers:''' Due to the vast Sacrosanct chambers of this Stormhost, they are more adept at reading particular omens, often allowing them to predict when their deaths may come. Many of them are brought to the Aqshian city of Brightspear, where they clash with the forces of Tzeentch. These troubles often see them join hands with Soulbound looking to make a difference in the war effort. Heroes of the Celestial Warbringers can predict if a day will not spell their doom. Doing so improves their melee and accuracy by one step for the day. However, if they are mortally wounded, they will fear that the portents went awry, and Death tests become more difficult.

Stormcast Eternals have access to the following archetypes in the corebook: '''Knight-Azyros''', '''Knight-Incantor''', '''Knight-Questor''', '''Knight-Venator'''. The ''Champions of Order'' splatbook adds the '''Knight-Zephyros''' as an archetype.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Ugh_Oaf_Ziggy_Scale.jpg|Compare and contrast.
Sigmarine_Stormbanner.png|[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-MzNpMD1K8 GROUND MARINES! CHARGE!]
Sigmarine_by_kimplate-d92h94a.png|Only thing missing are pseudo-bolters and they're officially Sigmarines, [https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/catalog/product/600x620/99120218002_StormcastEternalsJudicators012.jpg then you remember that they do.]
THIS_IS_SIGMARON!.png|[http://1d4chan.org/images/c/cc/Cato_Fall_of_Damnos.JPG This looks oddly familiar.]
Sigmarine_Jetpacks.png|Ground Marine [[Assault Squad]]s.
Sigmarines_VS_Khorne_Again.png|In the grim darkness of the far past, there is only war.
Sigmarine_VS_Khorne.png|Ground Marines vs Chaos Ground Marines.
Stormcast_Victory.png|Victory for the [[God-Emperor of Mankind|God Empero-]]..err, [[Sigmar|God-King of man!]]
Sigbrarian.jpg|A Ground Marine Lord Relictor.
Sigmarine_Logical_Conclusion.jpg|The venerable Lord Celestant Boreale, giving one of his glorious speeches.
SpaceEternals.png|One of these is not like the others...
Stormcast_eternal_by_kinmonon.jpg|You can now have your canonical Stormcast waifu, drawn by one Kinmonon.
Female-prosecutor.png|Isn't it great that unlike Emprah Sigmar has no problems allowing girls in his elite forces?
KnightAzyros.jpg|"I will Lamp you....with a Lamp!!!"
</gallery>

==See Also==
*[[Age of Sigmar/Tactics/Order/Stormcast Eternals|Tactics/Stormcast Eternals]]
*[[Space Marines]] - Their 40K counterparts. Compare and contrast.
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmGeTjz49bo A quick overview on the stormcast eternals]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hs-Jli8DkIs The price of immortality]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-MzNpMD1K8 Birth of the Stormcast Eternals]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9We2XsVZfc If you're using the Sacrosant chamber and versing Nighthaunt armies, play this for maximum lulz.]
{{Template:Playable Factions in Warhammer: Age of Sigmar}}

[[Category: Age of Sigmar]]

Stormcast Eternals

2021-09-26T14:44:54Z

2406:3400:20F:FFC0:115F:A9BA:370A:AFE2: /* The Realmgate Wars */

{{Age of Sigmar Faction|Faction=Stormcast Eternals|Logo=Ae7063ba280b6a7f3c9ec61c2bfa2d45-768x1000.png|Alliance=Order|Motto=[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DCU-80FT28 Cue the power-metal.]}}
{{topquote|To punish the oppressors of humanity is clemency; to forgive them is cruelty.|Maximilien Robespierre}}
{{topquote|Much is demanded of those to who much is given.|Stormcast Saying (they got it from [https://www.biblegateway.com/verse/EN/Luke+12:48 Jesus])}}
{{topquote|Justice, like lightning, ever should appear; to a few men ruin, but to all men fear.|Thomas Randolph}}
The '''Stormcast Eternals''' (aka '''Sigmarines''', '''Ground Marines''', '''Fantasy Marines''', '''Stormcunt Eternals''', '''Stormchad Eternals''', '''Adeptus Sigmartes''' and '''Sigmar Males''') are the primary type of soldiers used by [[Sigmar]] in order to fight Chaos during the [[Age of Sigmar]], and thus are the posterboys of the new line.

As will be made evident many times over, they're literally just Space Marines transplanted into the Age of Sigmar, in purpose (An elite military force of engineered super-soldiers grouped into color-coded divisions, personally designed by a god-ruler to be his warriors to combat unfathomably terrifying Lovecraftian horrors that normal men would simply despair at), model design (bulky dudes in all-enclosing, easy-to-paint armor with huge [[pauldrons]] for kids to freehand designs on to make themselves feel special), story role (elite members of the main protagonist faction that are renowned or reviled throughout the setting) and being shoved down the throats of the entire hobby by GW's marketing department. Three more strikes for (or against, depending on your view) them are the fact that some of them have crossbows that resemble bolters, some of their weapons are literally thunderhammers with a fantasy twist and the winged ones resemble some of the Blood Angels models.

Their fluff origins, on the other hand, do give them ''some'' important differences from the autistic warrior monks we all know and tolerate. Instead of distant super-warriors that are barely even humans, Stormcasts function more like a nation-spanning order of knights under Sigmar, who performs his will where needed - [[Ultramarines|they are all warriors, but can have regular functions like being administrators and nobles]], but also builders, artisans and guards. They consider themselves largely apart from the common folk, but not by much; more like a stronger version of a human but with more responsibility to use it well. In other words, they are Space Marines with a Custodian’s mind and an Ultrasmurf's purpose.

For all everyone enjoys making fun of them, they really are pretty cool and their art and models are genuinely awesome. But, hey, give the Internet something to bash and we'll come swinging with thunderhammers.

Also, the apparent global dislike and perceived disdain towards the golden boys out of the "lack of grimdarkness" from them have probably a part in why the books who are currently advancing the settings, "Broken Realms", has turned into "let's see who shit harder on the stormcast for appeasing the fans". Seriously, in 4 books the amount of pain they suffer is unthinkable; they lose many Stormcasts in the Eightpoints and Anvilard who aren't recovered for the greater part, the city of Anvilgard is taken over by Morathi, the Lumineth steal their thunder (heh) as "good guys who achieve something" by worfing ''the entire Death faction'' from the Ossiarch Bonereapers to Nagash himself, Vindicarium and Excelsis are nearly destroyed, the Hallowed Knights and Celestial Vindicators are severely depleted, the entire Sigmarite Brotherhood stormhost is wiped out to the last with Olynder claiming their souls and Chaos storms have emerged that can block Stormcast souls from returning to Azyr. Stormcast fans can only dread what may comes next, because those fucking neckbeard [[Edgy|grimdark fappers]] can't get enough of it apparently.

==History==

===Age of Chaos===
So the Age of Chaos left Sigmar in a really bad position. His proposed alliance between the gods against Chaos was shattered with Nagash's betrayal and the others going off to do their own thing. For his part, Sigmar collected as many people as he could and shut off the Realm of Azyr to the rest of the mortal realms. Worst of all, the loss of Ghal-Maraz meant that he couldn't really fight at his fullest.

As the forces of Chaos ran rampant across the realms, Sigmar tried to focus his energy towards making a special project with [[Grungni]], an army forged by the God-King for his own purposes rather that relying on the other gods to help him out. To this end, he plucked the souls of countless worthy heroes from the grasp of the skelepope and made them all manner of fancy golden armor using the remains of the Old World. All the while, Teclis and Malerion's magics kept his projects a secret from all outsiders, giving him precious time to prepare his armies. While he couldn't accomplish all he set out to do and he had very valid fears that the flaws in his reforging would prove to be their undoing, he had to throw them out all the same.

Indeed, Sigmar knew very well that he was in a race against time. Little by little, what few pockets of civilized and uncorrupted land remained in the other Mortal Realms was being overrun and consumed by the hordes of Chaos, and there was a fear that the Realms would be beyond the point of no return for Order if they waited any longer in Azyr. However, a window of opportunity presented itself; After centuries of steamrolling the Realms, the thousands of Chaos warlords and daemon princes had begun to run out of powerful enemies to fight. As such, as Chaos tends to do, with no external enemies to pounce upon, they began to turn on each other, splintering into their petty squabbling war bands as their patron Gods schemed and plotted against each other. With his foes distracted and beginning to lose cohesion, Sigmar decided it was now or never.

He gave the order...and the Realmgate Wars began...

===The Realmgate Wars===
When the Stormcast emerged, they did so in brute force, bursting through the many realmgates to reclaim the mortal realms from the forces of Chaos. Though their forces were limited, the victories they claimed were critical to helping reform the [[Cities of Sigmar]], who tended to establish around the realmgates.

The Hammers of Sigmar touched down in Aqshy, the Realm of Fire, and immediately began mauling the massive Khornate horde known as the Goretide, led by [[Korghos Khul]]. Meanwhile, the Hallowed Knights made their way into Ghyran to help Sigmar's ally goddess Alarielle.

Perhaps the most important of their victories during this time was in Chamon, where Lords-Celestant Vandus Hammerhand and Thostos Bladestorm managed to discover the location of Ghal-Maraz inside a massive Tzeentchian fortress. After smashing through the various fractious armies and traps, Vandus finally reclaimed it and returned it to the God-King.

Sigmar would use his legendary hammer to awaken the Celestant-Prime, a super legendary project that he had been unable to finish without the hammer. With the help of this super-Stormcast, the forces of Order would manage to save the realm of Ghyran from Nurgle's clutches and re-awaken Alarielle so she could reinvigorate the Sylvaneth to kick the pusbags out.

===Malign Portents/ The Soul Wars===

===Broken Realms===
The [[Broken Realms Saga]] saw some particularly grueling setbacks for the posterboys of the franchise.

The first major battle is during ''Book 1: [[Morathi]]'', where the titular villain (now elevated to full-godhood by siphoning some stuff from Slaanesh) laying siege to the free city of Anvilgard. The stormcast stationed on the city were defending the city with everything they had, even when they were also beset by a raiding party of Idoneth mercenaries. People had thought the battle was over the moment the Celestant-Prime swooped down to fight Morathi, but that hope soon turned to despair when they went to parley and the Celestant-Prime actually ''conceded'', ordering all the Sigmarite elements of Anvilgard to pack their shit up and go home. What the conversation was about, nobody knows.

Fight number 2 was during ''Book 3: [[Be'lakor]]''. In that one, the First Prince of Chaos decided to lay siege to the free city of Vindicarum in Chamon. Not only were they already battered by [[Lady Olynder]]'s forces, all part of a deal with Be'lakor, but then the forces of Chaos under his thrall began smashing into the gates. Not helping things was the fact that the skies above the realm were clotted with dark sorcerous storms and the realmgate had collapsed - all the result of some other fuckery he had ordered. The end result was a matter completely alien to the Stormcast: actual vulnerability. The skies no longer allowed the souls of the Stormcast to reach safe ground in Azyr and be reforged, but they were instead devoured by the clouds. The losses they suffered here were permanent and it wasn't until some fleets of Kharadron had arrived that they were able to push back the Dark Master's legions. Even then, though, the skies remained bleak, blocking most attempts to return to their maker, and the Celestial Vindicators stormhost was practically annihilated.

The last fight was in ''Book 4: [[Kragnos]]'', where the free city of Excelsis was besieged not only by the forces of destruction, led by Gordrakk and Kragnos himself, but also the legions of Slaanesh under his newborn twins.

===Age of Beasts/ The Dawnbringer Crusades===

Hearing about what Be'lakor did obviously distressed Sigmar. If the forces of Chaos had a way to block his soldiers from being reforged, then he was going to lose his warriors even faster than they were already going.

He contemplated on ways to do get past this handicap, but fortunately he had found Grungni again after hearing about the hidden dwarf god's actions in Excelsius. Together, they decided to make Stormcast armor that was even tougher than before and enchanted to create a massive explosion upon the wearer's death. This would become the Thunderstrike Chamber, the newest and most elite of his forces. Also reinforcing the ranks are the Draconith, dragon-children of Dracothion himself who were kept by the Slann for such a dire situation like [[Kragnos|a certain ancient god breaking free]].

The Dawnbringer Crusades were called to bring order back to the realms after such a mess and hunt down any coming threats from Ghur. The forward base of Amberstone Watch would be their first exposure to the new forces in play: The Kruleboyz.

==Reforging==
{{topquote|Look. See. Memories are wounds in the psyche, Little Spirit. They leave deep scars and tell stories. You were born in this Realm, as all living things are born only to die, and you recognized that truth in your torment. You sought to find peace in the dark of Creation's light. Was that not your right? Did you not deserve it? You served, and fought and died, and now only desired peace. Silence. Oblivion. Not to burn and become someone new...someone else. But they would not stop. Again, and again and again. They tried to drag you back. They took those you loved from you, and then, when that was not enough, they sought to take all memory of them. To leave you empty, save for the Storm. Bow, and become greater than that which was lost. Bow, and justice will be yours. Bow, and see again the faces of the forgotten...Now, sleep and be made whole...|Nagash to a lost Stormcast soul, from ''Soul Wars'' by Josh Reynolds}}

Under Construction...

==Rank and Military==
When each mortal is reforged, they are immediately put into a strenuous training ritual meant to hone them into superhuman hammer-swinging engines of holy war. Once the big man is satisfied, he then groups them into Stormhosts, and there they train with each other in a massive coliseum that [[Malekith|Malerion]] gifted him back when there was an alliance. These Stormhosts are then broken into Chambers with each having several conclaves organized by specialty. The Strike Chambers consist of your standard boring troops (divided further into Warrior, Harbinger and Exemplar Chambers based on exact makeup), the Extremis Chambers consist of riders of Dracoth and Stardrake cavalry, the Vanguard Chambers consist of outdoorsy ranger types and the Sacrosanct Chamber consists of priests and magicians. In addition, there are three known Chambers Sigmar has yet to unveil to the world; the Ruination, Covenant and Logister Chambers.

Each Stormhost is lead by a Lord-Commander, a supreme leader through which Sigmar's will is realised. As of now, there is currently one Lord Commander in playable miniature form, that being Bastian Carthalos of the Hammers of Sigmar. Supporting the Lord Commander are the Chamber Command, who governs each individual lesser Hosts, of which there are between 3 to 9 Retinues (squads), each with between 6 to 20 Stormcasts. For example, the Hammers of Sigmar Chamber has 301 Stormcasts of 7 Commanders, 36 Paladins, 180 Liberators, 18 Prosecutors (yep; half as many jumpies as elites) and 60 Judicators.

*'''Strike Chamber Command:'''
**'''Lords Celestant:''' The top dogs in the Supporting Chambers, these are the mightiest of heroes among the Chambers, gifted a larger portion of Sigmar's power in order to become great leaders. Some opt to fun with hammers and swords, while other find Dracoths (Large wingless dragons that shoot lightning) to ride like horses or Stardrakes (Even larger dragons with wings that can also cause meteor showers).
**'''Lords Relictor:''' These guys are priests, and are able to see the spiritual realm and all the spooky souls that swirl around in it. Their job is to use their skeletal relics to anchor the Stormcasts to Azyr so their souls don't accidentally end up as Daemon chow or part of Nagash's kingdom of skellingtons. Off-duty they function much the same as a [[Chaplain]], warding the relics a Chamber finds and guiding their members in matters of faith.
**'''Lords Castellant:''' The [[Paladin]] to the [[Warlord]] and [[Cleric]] above. Their initiation tests involving conquering their fears by traveling some mountains in Azyr and befriending a Gryphound. If successful, they get special warding lantern that illuminates his fellow Sigmarines and incinerates Chaos. As "Castellants", they each oversee a Stormcast Hold or Free City; they don't generally take to the battlefield unless necessary for the protection of their castle. Some of them don't have castles to babysit and instead act as their Lord Celestant's right hand man.
**'''Lords Veritant:''' The resident anti-magic specialists of the Stormcast. Hunts down enemy spell casters, and also removes their corrupting influences from the land. Is accompanied by a graph hound, like the Castellant.
**'''Knights Heraldor:''' These guys have giant horns that shoot lightning. Because STORMS. Their helmets are weirdly segmented around the mouths; assumed so the warrior inside can actually blow the fucking horn.
**'''Knights Vexillor:''' Unlike the other jobs, these guys are actually chosen in a contest. A shitton of Stormcasts enter the Coliseum, smack each other to not-quite death (The Coliseum makes sure everyone leaves refreshed because... Malerion didn't have a mood swing when he made it. Or did he, recent lore states that he actually has treacherous intentions towards Sigmar and his Coliseum has a sinister purpose). The winner gets to hold an awesome standard, or a big plate with a glowing orb on it that can be used to throw around fuckin' comets.
**'''Knights Azyros:''' The closets thing to Scout Leaders, these guys have lanterns to help illuminate the realms so Sigmar can see all the way from his palace. Also, the lanterns burn chaos.
**'''Knights Venator:''' Shootier flying Sigmarines, these guys are master archers with magical arrows and own pet <s>Star-Eagles</s> Articunos. One of their Stormsurgeboltthunderblowsuperarrows can kill almost any regular leader character in one shot.

*'''Strike Chamber Troops:'''
**'''Liberators:''' The ground-floor. The goons. The average Liberator is a walking tank, capable of wielding either melee weapons or shields to protect his pals from anything deadlier. They use either swords or hammers, sometimes dual wielded, or Grandhammers and Grandblades (Bigger versions of the usual Hammers and Swords).
**'''Judicators:''' [[Tactical Squad|Warriors skilled with both sword and bow who put to use their uncanny shooting ability in the ranks of the Justicar conclave.]] They wield devastating long-range weaponry (Skybolt Bows or Boltstorm Crossbows). Some even get luckier and get a mega-bow that fires thunderbolts. THE BOWS ARE MAGIC! YEEEEEEEEEEAH!!!! They also hit Chaos-stuff better, because fuck those guys.
**'''Prosecutors:''' They're like Liberators, but they got wings. They tend to spearhead the assault with their speed, throwing either magical reforging hammers or magical reforging spears. Or they could just smash with hammer and sword weapons. Like the Liberators, they can wield big-ass weapons like two-handed axes or war hammers.
**'''Retributors:''' Massive piles of Sigmarite who serve in the Paladin Chambers. These guys carry massive hammers to squash things, which has Rending +1 which can completely remove everything not a leader or monster in a turn. These guys love to pummel anything with more than one Wound, since they do two Damage standard, and can turn that into Mortal Wounds. There's really not something these motherfuckers can't do. Well okay, they don't stand up to high Rend or MW shooting, but then again that's an SE problem in general.
**'''Protectors:''' Despite the name, these Paladins only wield glaives. Glaives that are actually capable of generating magical force fields, and cut down big-ass monsters, should they get close. They are also very, very long range, so put them behind a Liberator wall and skewer that Mawkrusha something fierce while the goons get slaughtered.
**'''Decimators:''' Paladins with fuck huge axes, these things are made to make sweet murder out of hordes. These guys have a massive range on their axes, which is important - because they each get as many attacks as they have enemies within range - because fuck Reaver Hordes amirite. They are also very scary, so people take more heavy Battleshock casualties. Don't try to axe the knee of a Monster or Hero, though; with only one attack, their axes are laughably weak.

*'''Extremis Chamber'''
**'''Drakesworn Templars:''' Usually a second-in-command for a Lord-Celestant, a Templar is one of those few fortunate Sigmarines to encounter a Stardrake. Their loadout is more versatile.
**'''Fulminators:''' Paladin Protectors on Dracoths.
**'''Concussors:''' Paladin Retributors on Dracoths.
**'''Desolators:''' Paladin Decimators on Dracoths, same as the rest.
**'''Tempestors:''' Paladins with crossbows riding Dracoths.

*'''Vanguard Chamber'''
**'''Lords Aquilor:'''Recon Commander riding on a Gryph-Charger (giant wingless hippogryph-things).
**'''Knights-Zephyros:''' Dual axe wielding Stormcast assassins. They magically imprint themselves upon their chosen quarry, and ride aether wind currents to teleport/move at super speeds.
**'''Vanguard Hunters:''' Liberators with small crossbows, cloaks and utilizing infiltration tactics.
**'''Vanguard Raptors:''' Elite Sharpshooters with Longstrike Bows or Hurricane Crossbows (Elite Versions of Judicators). They also have aether-wings to bite and harass enemies that get too close.
**'''Vanguard Palladors:''' Vanguard Hunters on Gryph-Chargers. Armed with javelins. Can ride magical aether wind currents to teleport/move at super speeds.

*'''Sacrosanct Chamber'''
**'''Lords Arcanum:''' Wizard lords of the Sacrosanct chambers. Sometimes ride Gryph-Chargers, Dracolines (dragonoid big cat things), or Tauralons ([[Derp]]-faced pegasi).
**'''Lords Ordinator:''' Builders of Sigmar's works and babysitters of his artillery.
**'''Lords Exorcist:''' Wizard Stormpope.
**'''Knights-Incantor:''' Stormcast wizards without Lord rank. Can use magical soul flasks to suicide bomb surrounding enemies.
**'''Evocators:''' Magical paladins with a few spells at their disposal. Some ride Dracolines.
**'''Castigators:''' Magical Judicators whose crossbows shoot flasks of Dracoth breath.
**'''Sequitors:''' Liberators with maces and a self buff to either their weapons or shields. Not having the Prime take a great weapon actually has a benefit, giving them a ranged soul vacuum that hurts nearby Chaos and Death units.
**'''Celestar Ballista:''' Lightning ballista with options for either rapid fire or one big blast.

*'''Thunderstrike Chamber:''' So due to certain shenanigans in the [[Broken Realms Saga]], Sigmar realized that the whole "die to be reforged in Azyr" deal wasn't all-encompassing when the realm of Chamon was cut off thanks to [[Be'lakor]] being a fucker. To combat this and with the hope that they won't keel over so quickly, he decided to make what essentially amounts to Stormcast [[Primaris Space Marines]]. Fuck, and these models weren't even a decade old...
* (Honestly, that last point is probably wrong. Based on the admittedly vague description, they sound more like the equivalent to a veteran company than Primaris Marines. The new Thunderstrike Armor gives off a powerful burst of lightning magic upon the Stormcast's death, in the hope that it'll be enough to punch through Be'lakor's ritual and allow the soul to make it back to Azyr to Reforge...with mixed results. Now, there is no guarantee Stormcast souls can all be recovered, resulting in a steady attrition of Sigmar's warriors.)
**'''Lords Imperitant:''' Strategist-leaders who have gryph-hound companions like Lord-Veritants.
**'''Knights-Arcanum:''' The big question right now is "How do these mages differ from Lords-Arcanum and Knights-Incantor?"
**'''Knights Vexilor with Banner of Apotheosis:''' Knights Vexilor with a banner containing a fragment of the Anvil of Apotheosis, fortifying nearby Stormcast in a similar manner to the Anvil proper.
**'''Vindictors:''' The basic foot soldiers, each carrying a spear and shield.
**'''Annihilators:''' The equivalent of Gravis-marines, these are big bulky walls with big shields. Apparently, their size also allows them to channel their momentum when charging.
**'''Praetors:''' Cloaked bodyguards carrying halberds. Presumed to not share the same proclivities as Roman Praetorians.

===Notable Stormhosts===
*'''[[Hammers of Sigmar]]:''' The first Stormhost. They wear [[Ultramarines|Blue and Gold and pride themselves on being the posterboys of AoS]]. With the release of second edition, the posterboys finally have a personality! With the people of the realms seeing them as the foremost stormiest, they now fear that any unsavory rumor or failing on their part will lead to the undoing of Sigmar's plans. Those amongst them who die too many times are now plagued with visions and generate lightning around themselves. Vandus is awesome.
*'''Hallowed Knights:''' The fourth Stormhost. They wear silver and blue and are [[Grey Knights|pretty zealous about killing Chaos]]. They're known for their DETERMINATION and incredible faith in Sigmar, making them the ideal choice for jobs like wading through Nurgle's horrifying and disgusting kingdoms despite all the filth and plagues that pollute the lands. This Stormhost is in general one of the more popular Hosts, with their metal armors and very faith-based culture. Also, have a cool battle cry ("ONLY THE FAITHFUL!"). They are having their own novel series done by [[Josh Reynolds]]. Some of them have been infected by Nurgle's plagues, however their faith is so strong that it purifies their skin, causing their armor to be melted and permanently fused to them. They are occasionally aided by a winged, androgynous being called the Silver Saint who manifests from lakes and pools of water (aka [[Lileath]] trying her Lady of the Lake gimmick again).
*'''Celestial Vindicators:''' The Sixth Stormhost. ''Angry.'' They're vengeful motherfuckers who declared vengeance back as mortals, and then had 500 years to brood while they waited for Sigmar to find his front door keys. Their armour is turquoise with white trim, so the blood reaaaaally stands out. They also tend to kick it with the duardin, so that's pretty cool. Also, they have a sword fetish and revere a spirit called the Father of Blades, heavily implied to be the manifestation of the [[The Empire (Warhammer Fantasy)|Empire]]'s Runefangs combined into one being. Each Vindicator seeks to become a living weapon. Some of the better known herobros include Thostos Bladestorm and Arkas Warbeast.
*'''Celestial Knights:''' A Stormhost that is on a constant crusade to bring the light of Sigmar to all benighted lands. Pretty much these [[Black Templars|guys]].
*'''Lions of Sigmar:''' Rocking the bronze gold and purple look there is little-known about this Stormhost save for their heraldry and thunderous roar in battle. Most people auto-assume "[[Dark Angels]]" from hearing the word Lion, though the connection is iffy. The Dangles weren't the only chapter to keep to themselves to that degree.
*'''Knights of the Aurora:''' Sporting grey armour with green and gold trimmings, this Stormhost are claimed to strike more quickly and are masters of rapid assault, overall having the need for [[White Scars| speed]].
*'''Knights Excelsior:''' This Stormhost run around in white armour with blue and gold trimmings. These guys are said to have built up a fierce reputation for totally massacring their enemies so brutally that even other Stormhosts think its a bit excessive. Their claim to fame is that they stepped up to bail the Hallowed Knights out when a Lord of Plagues was about to capture Alarielle, with their Knight-Azyros, a pretty fly badass called Diomar, personally charging the powerful Nurgle lord. They have a massive hard-on for Order and see most attempts at individuality or freedom as dangerously Chaotic. Recently featured in the Malign Portents short story collection massacring unwell civilians in their attempt to instill uncompromising authority in the Realm of Life, despite the fact these civilians were loyal to Sigmar in the first place. One of their number, the White Reaper, is used by the Order of Azyr as the bogeyman to make rebellious nobles stay in line, to say it works extremely well gives you an idea of how scary these guys have become. When an order aligned human has a less than flattering opinion of the stormcast it's usually because they had a run in with these guys. [[Marines_Malevolent|Their extreme black and white morality and habit of slaughtering the innocent by the thousands seems to be turning popular opinion against Sigmar himself. Great job, guys.]]
*'''Celestial Warbringers:''' A Stormhost made entirely from the uplifted survivors of one human tribe who Sigmar really liked the look of. They wear burgundy armour with white trim. They have some prophetic juju going on that lets them see the hour of their death, which means if they're fighting in a battle that they didn't dream themselves get torn to shreds in, they fight with no fear. They're also pretty good fun to be around, feasting and drinking like frat boys at an all you can eat murder buffet. Remarkable insofar as they're the first host of the second striking, which means they get different shields and shoulder guards, because reasons. They also have more Sacrosanct Chambers than usual.
*'''Astral Templars:''' If you're tired of holy knights, go no further; these fuckers have taken to like it in the Realm of Ghur, and has become one with the beasts. Their color is purple, and their armor is adorned with pelts, bloody markings and other tribal stuff. To be allowed into the Templars, a warrior must be a hunter of beasts and monsters, which honestly isn't a big deal when they all come from Ghur, the Realm of Beasts! The [[Space Wolves]] to the Hammer's Ultramarines, but with less wolfs and more barbarians. They honour a godbeast called Ursricht, a giant white bear though he is often depicted as a white haired man. So an expy of [[Ulric]] and Ursun than.
*'''Tempest Lords:''' Donning the Ultramarine blue with an addition of white shields and shoulders are the Tempest Lords. They're described as the most regal and proud Stormhost, probably because every single one of these guys was a monarch, lord, or other such noble before being chosen by Sigmar. Despite this, they're actually pretty baller and down to earth guys, being perhaps the most selfless of all the Stormhosts, flat-out seeing it as their duty to protect those less fortunate than themselves (which is basically everyone,) often inspiring downtrodden mortal tribes to break their chains and fight Chaos alongside the Tempest Lords. They're also pretty literal it seems, because Sigmar once joked that the Stormcast were each worth twelve mortal men in a fight and since then the Tempest Lords have kept count of how many kills they score before dying, taking it as a massive personal disgrace if they don't reach twelve kills. That said, they do a pretty damn good job of reaching that score, leaving them as one of the hardest Stormhosts to kill simply due to their sheer pride refusing to let them die. Each one of these stormcast is a native of Hysh and follow the teachings of [[Myrmidia]], who they revere as much as Sigmar.
*'''Anvils of the Heldenhammer''' The Anvils of the Heldenhammer are a Stormhost of the Stormcast Eternals, wearing black armor. The warriors of the Anvils of the Heldenhammer are dark and brooding, as they aren't made from recently-dead heroes but from long dead warriors who've been resting in tombs and barrows for ages. Most of them are from Shyish as well, so death is central to their mindset - They see themselves as bringers of death, and if turned around against them, death is just another step in the defence of Sigmar's domain. Now that Papa Bones Nagash is getting his spotlight, the Anvils have to deal with him specifically... until Teclis and the Lumineth stole their thunder in the Broken Realms saga and trapped Nagash in his capital city.

===Notable Fan-created Stormhosts===

Help us expand this list:

*'''[[Forgesworn Eternals]]:''' A [[Dwarfs (Warhammer Fantasy)|Duardin]] Stormhost wearing silver and red.

*'''Wardens of the Ember:''' A Stormhost composed of mortals who died standing firm against the most insurmountable Chaos incursions. Former priests cut down mid-prayer, standard bearers who fought and died rather than abandon their colours, musicians who played songs of hope until their very last breath - stoutness of heart is often more important than strength of sword-arm in deciding whether a mortal is bound to this Stormhost. They wear grey armour with black and orange trim, and are notably more jovial than other Stormhosts; it is not uncommon to hear rousing speeches and booming laughter as these heroes urge their mortal comrades onwards.

==Notable Stormcasts==
*'''The Celestant-Prime:''' The alpha, the first Eternal ever forged by Sigmar. It's unknown just who he might be, but it's said he was a mighty king from the past (making people immediately guess <strike>either [[Settra the Imperishable|Settra]], or</strike> [[Karl Franz]]). Despite how much power he put into it, the process was still incomplete, so Sigmar decided to put him in a chamber to preserve the project because he spent too much as it is. However, once he recovered Ghal Maraz, he was able to finish the process and get a giant golden angel to join the ranks armed with the warhammer. Needless to say, he can easily wipe out any <strike>Chaos Lord</strike> Greater Daemon who has the misfortune of facing him. Recently got ganked by Nagash's newest Mortarch, Lady Olynder, while trying to keep an ancient evil and ally of Nagash contained. Not someone to fuck with, seeing as it took a personal champion of Nagash to take him down for the first time while he was busy with an Eldritch Abomination. Also this beast one-shot a Daemon the size of a country with supernova-level force.

*'''Vandus Hammerhand:''' The first named hero among the Eternals, a Lord-Celestant of the Hammers of Sigmar who rides a Dracoth. Apparently, he once fought off against a Khornate Lord known as Korghos Khul as a mortal and almost died before being forged, and instead became a giant gold-plated badass instead of just a human one. He's considered the hero of the Starter Set and is responsible for finding Ghal Maraz. Also, he was the first one to tame a Dracoth. Currently having visions where he sees his future self, who has been Reforged so many times that he has lost all physical form and become an emotionless being made out of pure lightning (what the Stormcast call a lightning gheist), warning him about what would happen if the Stormcasts cannot fix their flaw.

*'''Bastian Carthalos:''' The Lord Commander of the Hammers of Sigmar.

*'''Neave Blacktalon:''' The first female stormcast released for the setting. Neave Blacktalon is basically an eversor with tits, with the mentality of a vindicare. As a mortal she was raised from childhood by a particularly vicious Tribe of Sylvaneth. They basically raised her to be an assassin and all around mean bitch ala Xena warrior princess. Unfortunately, her first target was a chaos lord way out of her league and she would have died had Sigmar not decided she'd make a great stormcast.

*'''[[Gardus Steel-Soul|Gardus Steel-Soul]]:''' Lord Celestant of the Hallowed Knights Stormhost. The best (by fan-view, not author fiat) of the Lord Celestants. What makes Gardus great is that he was no great lord, but a common man. Born Garradan, he was a hospice worker (a doctor for young uns) in the port city of Demesnus. When the forces of chaos invaded the city, he worked tirelessly to heal the defenders, spending whole nights without sleep. As the forces of Khorne shattered the walls and attacked the hospital the tired hospice worker took a chandelier (showing brass balls in the process) and tried to save his patients with good old ultra violence. The rest... is history.

*'''Lorrus Grymn:''' Former Lord Castellant of the Hallowed Knights, and a close friend to Gardus Steelsoul. The only other Hallowed Knight to fight Gardus to a standstill in the Gladitorium Arena, Grymn was a master defensive strategist and often an instructor for many fellow Knights. Fought in the Realmgate Wars during the Hallowed Knights' conquests against Nurgle in Ghyran. Helped lead the defense of Vindicarum when Be'lakor besieged the city during the Broken Realms Saga. Is snatched up by Be'lakor and killed in front of Gardus. His soul is not beamed back to Azyr due to Be'lakor's storm of Chaos, and is permanently dead. RIP.

*'''Yndrasta''': One of several renowned Stormcast personally forged by Sigmar himself, like [[Idoneth Deepkin|Teclis did with the Cythai aelves]] and his hunting champion. She ranks below the Celestant-Prime but far above most Stormcast, and is considered near-mythical. Unlike most Stormcast, her wings look completely avian and she lacks a descriptive last name. She rocks some ornate armor personally made by Grungni, making her look awesome depending on how you feel about Half shaved hairstyles. In her mortal life, Yndrasta was a warrior queen from Ghur, skilled with sword and spear and a renowned monster hunter. During the Age of Chaos, a Chaos army attacked her hometown and she soloed the Chaos Lord leading it in an attempt to save them. But despite getting a good hit with her spear he was too much for her and would've died if not for Sigmar. Recently, she's been tasked by Sigmar himself with killing the newly freed Destruction god, Kragnos. Ironically, she's got a few things in common with Khorne's waifu, Valkia, as both are spear-wielding warrior queens reformed after hopeless battles into immortal, inspiring winged warriors by an Odin-esque god. She behaves like a cat, bringing trophies from her kills and throwing them at Sigmar's throne during meetings then leaving without saying a word.

*'''Thostos Bladestorm:''' Footslogging Lord Celestant of the Celestial Vindicators. Impulsive jackass. Died a couple of times so now Nagash has part of his soul, he still wants to give Chaos a beating. During a battle with a Chaos Lord Varash, Thostos was hit with extremely powerful lighting bolt which triggered a powerful reforging and the results of it was the return of his memories, emotions and a name he once was - Prince Caeran of Wolf Keep (this happening is more proof of Nagash being made of much fail, seriously, how did this ever happen?). Apparently he is now the first Stormcast to be renewed, healed and with fresh purpose but not the last. In the final days of the Realmgate Wars he fought in the Battle for the All-Gates and crossed blades with Archaon, it went as well as you'd expect it to and Thostos is officially lost forever.

*'''Tarsus Bullheart:''' Footslogging Lord Celestant of the Hallowed Knights, leader of a warrior chamber named after him. Broody guy who's obsessed with duty and lets his hammer do the talking for him. Once a human from the realm of Shyish called Tarsem, he lived in a place called Helstone. During the Age of Chaos he fought alongside Mannfred Von Carstein but Mannfred fled leaving Tarsem to get ganked by a Bloodthirster before Sigmar saved him. Sigmar later sent him and some of his warriors to Shyish to parley with Nagash. Along the way they found Mannfred and freed him from a Khornate warband in exchange for his assistance. After entering the underworld and an incident with Arkhan, Nagash appeared before them. This goes as well as you'd expect and all the surviving Stormcast save Tarsus were killed by Nagash. Tarsus managed to distract Nagash and free their souls, but then Nagash killed Tarsus and captured his soul to [[Grimdark|torture him for dirt on Sigmar, and by the time Nagash was done Tarsus was a gibbering wreck]]. Eventually Ramus, Gardus and freaking Mannfred broke into Nagasshizar and demanded Tarsus's Freedom. Nagash freed Tarsus, who was of no more use to him, and Tarsus was promptly mercy killed in the hope that reforging would cure his madness. The novel "Soul Wars" revealed that as Tarsem he had a fiance, and said fiance was so mad about him being Sigmarined that upon her own death she let Nagash turn her into a Nighthaunt executioner to get revenge for losing him.

*'''Ramus of the Shadowed Soul:''' Lord-Relictor of the Bullhearts warrior chamber and protagonist of the second set of Realmgate Wars audio-dramas. Once voice of reason to Tarsus and completely trusting in Sigmar and his grand plan, after Tarsus was lost to Nagash Ramus has been pressing for a mission to rescue his soul, despite the fact that at the moment Nagash and Sigmar are allies. The other Hallowed Knights are trying to get him to leave it alone and trust in Sigmar, but he hasn't been able to thus far. With Malign Portents pretty much destroying any alliance between Sigmar and Nagash, Ramus gets his chance to rescue Tarsus after all and puts aside his grudge against Mannfred with much difficulty.

*'''Tornus the Redeemed:''' Once known as Torglug the Despised, servant of Nurgle and Lord of Plagues, his soul was redeemed by Sigmar at the height of the last battle at Blackstone Summit in the realm of Ghyran when killed by Ghal Maraz in the hands of the Celestant-Prime. During his brief life as a mortal, Tornus was a righteous believer in Sigmar and his faith was unmatched by those that fought with him during the Age of Chaos against the nurgle invaders. At some point he was captured and left in a pit of filth and due to his stubbornness, faith and pride lived for many weeks only to succumb to the lies that Nurgle spoke to him during those months of captivity. Even then his soul, although corrupted and twisted, held out a spark of hope that his faith in Sigmar was not a lie and was rewarded with a chance for redemption as a Knight-Venator in services of the Hallowed Knights, <strike> [[Awesome|this is so far as we know the first comeback from Chaos ever done in any of GeeDubs franchises]].</strike> Captain Leonatos of the Blood Angels (Read the Blood Quest Trilogy) actually did it first, but this is the first time it has happened outside 40k. Is currently forming his own group of ex-Chaos Stormcasts, much to the suspicion of other Stormcasts, including his own Lord Castellant Grymn.

*'''[[Hamilcar Bear Eater|Hamilcar Bear-Eater]]:''' Astral Templars' Lord Castellant turned Knight-Questor. Hamilcar is, to put it short, a lovely braggart, claiming even Sigmar was impressed the result of his stormcasting, also, it seems like he has an uncanny resemblance with the God-King. Currently he's on a hunt for Mannfred Von Carstein over backstabbing Tarsus. Got his own series by his creator David Guymer! Did we mention he beat a gatling-gun-armed skaven killakan while under sniper fire?

*'''[[Balthazar Gelt|Balthas Arum]]:''' An Anvils of the Heldenhammer Lord-Arcanum. Revealed to be [[Balthazar Gelt]] reborn as a Stormcast, which was heavily suggested in the novel and he is explicitly recognized as such by Nagash (who said that he looks forward to the possibility of having Aurum serve him [[The End Times|a second time]]). He still has his arrogance, mount Quicksilver, and a preference and talent for C[[JoJo's Bizarre Adventure|hamon Magic]] over any other. Considered to be the best mage of all the Anvils of the Heldenhammer and possibly all the Stormcasts, which makes some sense given who he used to be. His only real friend is Tyros Firemane of the Hallowed Knights who Balthus felt an instinctive kinship with despite being a surly loner around everyone else. Tyros is a Lord-Arcanum who specialises in fire magic, has a fiery red beard, and prefers to get his hands dirty exploring lost tombs and ancient cities rather than study. Like Balthas though, he feels a connection with the World-That-Was and thinks he may have lived there in a past life. This guy was most likely Thyrus Gormann, Gelt's friend/rival from the Old World. Pretty cool huh? Did Sigmar arrange it so that these two would meet again or are souls from the old world instinctively drawn to one another? Perhaps somewhere in the realms Kurt Hellborg and Ludwig Shwarzhelm are fighting side by side again in fancy new Stormcast duds.

*'''Settrus:''' A Lord Celestant leading a chamber called the "Imperishables" and who holds a massive grudge against Nagash. [[Settra the Imperishable|Three guesses who this guy use to be]]. Has a reputation for getting shit done and commands the respect and obedience of guys like Hamilcar Bear-Eater through sheer gravitas and force of will alone. Currently on route to reinforce Glymmsforge in Shyish. Almost certainly doesn't remember much of his past life, as that's the only way he would serve ''anyone''.

*'''Gavriel Sureheart:''' A named Lord Celestant of the Hammers of Sigmar who GW started selling one day and didn't bother explaining his deal until 2nd Edition. Grew up as a gladiator slave named "Grub" at the Khornate fortress of Ratspike. One month into his gladiator career, he killed Ratspike's king with a spear chuck and kicked off a short-lived rebellion, being saved by Sigmar at the last moment (like most Stormcast). Currently the only sword-and-board foot LC and known for never wearing a helmet (and looking like Tommy Wiseau).

*'''Arkas Warbeast:''' A Lord Celestant of the Celestial Vindicators and one of two protagonists in Gav Thorpe's ''Warbeast'' novel. Sent back to Ghur and the tribes he once ruled as the mortal Arka Bearclaw, he has a huge, angry boner for smashing skaven to bits, especially one Verminlord who withered his mum to death. A self proclaimed brute with some special connection to the energy of Ghur, his chamber has a reputation for being wild and ill disciplined. He gets even more RAAAAGE after his beat down, but is at least able to control and direct it productively, unlike Thostos.

*'''The Shadespire Warbands:'''
#'''Steelheart's Champions:''' A Liberator Prime and his two flatmates who went into [[Warhammer Underworlds|Shadespire]] to get a cure for the Reforging issues that plague the Stormcasts, but never made it out. The Champions are Obryn the Bold, a massive dude who's into his third Reforging and has become silent and brooding as a result, and Angharad Brightshield, a female Liberator and former smith who took to smashing in faces with hammers instead of smashing swords and metal.
#'''The Farstriders:''' A warband of three Vanguard Hunters in Shadespire. The Prime, Sanson Farstrider, has an accompanying star falcon, whereas his subordinates, Almeric Eagle-Eye and Elias Swiftblade, wield a shock axe and storm sabre respectively.
#'''Stormsire's Cursebreakers:''' Two Evocators and their Knight Incantor leader, set to Shadespire to seek out a cure for reforging-induced flaws. Averon Stormsire is a specialist of breaking curses, Rastus the Charmed fights with fathomless contempt, and Ammis Dawnguard treats her role with holy reverence.
#'''Ironsoul's Condemnors:''' Named versions of the Easy Build Sequitors. (more details when Dreadfane drops)

==Soulbound==
Stormcast Eternals naturally were a playable species from the get-go in [[Age of Sigmar Roleplay]]. Unusually, though, they are technically distinct from the Soulbound adventurers who make up the other playable species - Stormcast Eternals are already spiritually bound to [[Sigmar]] himself, and as such can't undergo the soul-melding Rite of [[Binding]] that creates a normal Soulbound adventurer... who, in turn, can never become a Stormcast Eternal themselves. For this reason, Stormcast Eternals are always, in a sense, outsiders to the adventuring parties of Soulbound (or "bindings" as they are known) - they are allies who join the Binding for their own reasons (or, more likely, are ordered to join) and this can leads to a certain amount of distrust. But not always. For every Stormcast Eternal who wonders why such "great heroes" weren't simply made into Stormcast Eternals, there is another who embraces their similar-yet-different allies with open arms, content to trust Sigmar's judgment and admiring heroism no matter the form it takes.

The ''Champions of Order'' supplement includes the following stormhosts for a Stormcast hero to hail from:
*'''Hammers of Sigmar:''' Naturally, the posterboys of the Stormcast are frequently assigned to aid a band of Soulbound in overcoming particular trials that would otherwise trouble them. They are also incredibly stubborn, incapable of yielding. Heroes of the Hammers of Sigmar have been reforged additional times, considering how they were among the first stormcast to have been made. In addition, if they are reduced to 0 toughness, they and nearby allies add extra die equal to the hero's Determination to all attacks, which is doubled when the hero is mortally wounded.
*'''Hallowed Knights:''' Being the most devout of the Stormcast, the Hallowed Knights constantly seek to test their faith against the most grueling of trials. Though their insistence to emulate their god-king irks other Soulbound, their dedication to withstanding any manner of trial earns the undying support of their companions and other peoples they help. Heroes of the Hallowed Knights know a single miracle (either universal or of Sigmar) that they can use despite not having the Devoted talent, though the talent is now available to all archetypes.
*'''Celestial Vindicators:''' Being a very violent and vengeful Stormhost means that they do not often find themselves assigned to join the Soulbound on any adventures. However, those that do join tend to cage up their simmering anger, often to the point where they can explode into a bloodthirsty rage once in combat. Heroes of the Celestial Vindicators must select one type of enemy to hate - they deal +1 damage to enemies of that type. In addition, the Old Enemy talent is now available to all archetypes, but it must be against the enemy they chose to hate.
*'''Anvils of the Heldenhammer:''' This Stormhost are often made of ancient heroes legendary warriors plucked from the realm of Shyish, much to Nagash's ire and to the frequent curiosity of the Soulbound they fight alongside (who tend to think that these guys are reincarnations of ancient ancestors or something). Because of this ever-present threat, these Stormcast are more than a little open-minded and seek to avoid dying if they can help it. Heroes of the Anvils of the Heldenhammer ignore the stunned condition that being mortally wounded entails and have an easier time dealing with Death tests. However, if they fail a Death test even once, they die immediately as the skelepope gobbles their soul up again.
*'''Knights Excelsior:''' This Stormhost excels at the application of total warfare, seeking the utter decimation of the enemy by throwing absolutely everything at them. This also means that they adopt a very myopic viewpoint of things, viewing others as either good or evil with very little middle-ground, and even those Stormcast that join Soulbound have been known to hold their mortal allies to such high standards that they may even execute those allies that fall short. Heroes of the Knights Excelsior that undertake any endeavor or action to reduce Doom reduces it by an additional 2. However, they suffer a serious disadvantage on Guile or Intuition checks when dealing with a particularly shady individual, and may in fact outright refuse to deal with such folks.
*'''Celestial Warbringers:''' Due to the vast Sacrosanct chambers of this Stormhost, they are more adept at reading particular omens, often allowing them to predict when their deaths may come. Many of them are brought to the Aqshian city of Brightspear, where they clash with the forces of Tzeentch. These troubles often see them join hands with Soulbound looking to make a difference in the war effort. Heroes of the Celestial Warbringers can predict if a day will not spell their doom. Doing so improves their melee and accuracy by one step for the day. However, if they are mortally wounded, they will fear that the portents went awry, and Death tests become more difficult.

Stormcast Eternals have access to the following archetypes in the corebook: '''Knight-Azyros''', '''Knight-Incantor''', '''Knight-Questor''', '''Knight-Venator'''. The ''Champions of Order'' splatbook adds the '''Knight-Zephyros''' as an archetype.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Ugh_Oaf_Ziggy_Scale.jpg|Compare and contrast.
Sigmarine_Stormbanner.png|[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-MzNpMD1K8 GROUND MARINES! CHARGE!]
Sigmarine_by_kimplate-d92h94a.png|Only thing missing are pseudo-bolters and they're officially Sigmarines, [https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/catalog/product/600x620/99120218002_StormcastEternalsJudicators012.jpg then you remember that they do.]
THIS_IS_SIGMARON!.png|[http://1d4chan.org/images/c/cc/Cato_Fall_of_Damnos.JPG This looks oddly familiar.]
Sigmarine_Jetpacks.png|Ground Marine [[Assault Squad]]s.
Sigmarines_VS_Khorne_Again.png|In the grim darkness of the far past, there is only war.
Sigmarine_VS_Khorne.png|Ground Marines vs Chaos Ground Marines.
Stormcast_Victory.png|Victory for the [[God-Emperor of Mankind|God Empero-]]..err, [[Sigmar|God-King of man!]]
Sigbrarian.jpg|A Ground Marine Lord Relictor.
Sigmarine_Logical_Conclusion.jpg|The venerable Lord Celestant Boreale, giving one of his glorious speeches.
SpaceEternals.png|One of these is not like the others...
Stormcast_eternal_by_kinmonon.jpg|You can now have your canonical Stormcast waifu, drawn by one Kinmonon.
Female-prosecutor.png|Isn't it great that unlike Emprah Sigmar has no problems allowing girls in his elite forces?
KnightAzyros.jpg|"I will Lamp you....with a Lamp!!!"
</gallery>

==See Also==
*[[Age of Sigmar/Tactics/Order/Stormcast Eternals|Tactics/Stormcast Eternals]]
*[[Space Marines]] - Their 40K counterparts. Compare and contrast.
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmGeTjz49bo A quick overview on the stormcast eternals]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hs-Jli8DkIs The price of immortality]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-MzNpMD1K8 Birth of the Stormcast Eternals]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9We2XsVZfc If you're using the Sacrosant chamber and versing Nighthaunt armies, play this for maximum lulz.]
{{Template:Playable Factions in Warhammer: Age of Sigmar}}

[[Category: Age of Sigmar]]

Stormcast Eternals

2021-09-26T14:42:25Z

2406:3400:20F:FFC0:115F:A9BA:370A:AFE2:

{{Age of Sigmar Faction|Faction=Stormcast Eternals|Logo=Ae7063ba280b6a7f3c9ec61c2bfa2d45-768x1000.png|Alliance=Order|Motto=[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DCU-80FT28 Cue the power-metal.]}}
{{topquote|To punish the oppressors of humanity is clemency; to forgive them is cruelty.|Maximilien Robespierre}}
{{topquote|Much is demanded of those to who much is given.|Stormcast Saying (they got it from [https://www.biblegateway.com/verse/EN/Luke+12:48 Jesus])}}
{{topquote|Justice, like lightning, ever should appear; to a few men ruin, but to all men fear.|Thomas Randolph}}
The '''Stormcast Eternals''' (aka '''Sigmarines''', '''Ground Marines''', '''Fantasy Marines''', '''Stormcunt Eternals''', '''Stormchad Eternals''', '''Adeptus Sigmartes''' and '''Sigmar Males''') are the primary type of soldiers used by [[Sigmar]] in order to fight Chaos during the [[Age of Sigmar]], and thus are the posterboys of the new line.

As will be made evident many times over, they're literally just Space Marines transplanted into the Age of Sigmar, in purpose (An elite military force of engineered super-soldiers grouped into color-coded divisions, personally designed by a god-ruler to be his warriors to combat unfathomably terrifying Lovecraftian horrors that normal men would simply despair at), model design (bulky dudes in all-enclosing, easy-to-paint armor with huge [[pauldrons]] for kids to freehand designs on to make themselves feel special), story role (elite members of the main protagonist faction that are renowned or reviled throughout the setting) and being shoved down the throats of the entire hobby by GW's marketing department. Three more strikes for (or against, depending on your view) them are the fact that some of them have crossbows that resemble bolters, some of their weapons are literally thunderhammers with a fantasy twist and the winged ones resemble some of the Blood Angels models.

Their fluff origins, on the other hand, do give them ''some'' important differences from the autistic warrior monks we all know and tolerate. Instead of distant super-warriors that are barely even humans, Stormcasts function more like a nation-spanning order of knights under Sigmar, who performs his will where needed - [[Ultramarines|they are all warriors, but can have regular functions like being administrators and nobles]], but also builders, artisans and guards. They consider themselves largely apart from the common folk, but not by much; more like a stronger version of a human but with more responsibility to use it well. In other words, they are Space Marines with a Custodian’s mind and an Ultrasmurf's purpose.

For all everyone enjoys making fun of them, they really are pretty cool and their art and models are genuinely awesome. But, hey, give the Internet something to bash and we'll come swinging with thunderhammers.

Also, the apparent global dislike and perceived disdain towards the golden boys out of the "lack of grimdarkness" from them have probably a part in why the books who are currently advancing the settings, "Broken Realms", has turned into "let's see who shit harder on the stormcast for appeasing the fans". Seriously, in 4 books the amount of pain they suffer is unthinkable; they lose many Stormcasts in the Eightpoints and Anvilard who aren't recovered for the greater part, the city of Anvilgard is taken over by Morathi, the Lumineth steal their thunder (heh) as "good guys who achieve something" by worfing ''the entire Death faction'' from the Ossiarch Bonereapers to Nagash himself, Vindicarium and Excelsis are nearly destroyed, the Hallowed Knights and Celestial Vindicators are severely depleted, the entire Sigmarite Brotherhood stormhost is wiped out to the last with Olynder claiming their souls and Chaos storms have emerged that can block Stormcast souls from returning to Azyr. Stormcast fans can only dread what may comes next, because those fucking neckbeard [[Edgy|grimdark fappers]] can't get enough of it apparently.

==History==

===Age of Chaos===
So the Age of Chaos left Sigmar in a really bad position. His proposed alliance between the gods against Chaos was shattered with Nagash's betrayal and the others going off to do their own thing. For his part, Sigmar collected as many people as he could and shut off the Realm of Azyr to the rest of the mortal realms. Worst of all, the loss of Ghal-Maraz meant that he couldn't really fight at his fullest.

As the forces of Chaos ran rampant across the realms, Sigmar tried to focus his energy towards making a special project with [[Grungni]], an army forged by the God-King for his own purposes rather that relying on the other gods to help him out. To this end, he plucked the souls of countless worthy heroes from the grasp of the skelepope and made them all manner of fancy golden armor using the remains of the Old World. All the while, Teclis and Malerion's magics kept his projects a secret from all outsiders, giving him precious time to prepare his armies. While he couldn't accomplish all he set out to do and he had very valid fears that the flaws in his reforging would prove to be their undoing, he had to throw them out all the same.

Indeed, Sigmar knew very well that he was in a race against time. Little by little, what few pockets of civilized and uncorrupted land remained in the other Mortal Realms was being overrun and consumed by the hordes of Chaos, and there was a fear that the Realms would be beyond the point of no return for Order if they waited any longer in Azyr. However, a window of opportunity presented itself; After centuries of steamrolling the Realms, the thousands of Chaos warlords and daemon princes had begun to run out of powerful enemies to fight. As such, as Chaos tends to do, with no external enemies to pounce upon, they began to turn on each other, splintering into their petty squabbling war bands as their patron Gods schemed and plotted against each other. With his foes distracted and beginning to lose cohesion, Sigmar decided it was now or never.

He gave the order...and the Realmgate Wars began...

===The Realmgate Wars===
When the Stormcast emerged, they did so in brute force, bursting through the many realmgates to reclaim the mortal realms from the forces of Chaos. Though their forces were limited, the victories they claimed were critical to helping reform the [[Cities of Sigmar]], who tended to establish around the realmgates.

The Hammers of Sigmar touched down in Aqshy, the Realm of Fire, and immediately began mauling the massive Khornate horde known as the Goretide, led by [[Korghos Khul]]. Meanwhile, the

Perhaps the most important of their victories during this time was in Chamon, where Lords-Celestant Vandus Hammerhand and Thostos Bladestorm managed to discover the location of Ghal-Maraz inside a massive Tzeentchian fortress. After smashing through the various fractious armies and traps, Vandus finally reclaimed it and returned it to the God-King.

Sigmar would use his legendary hammer to awaken the Celestant-Prime, a super-legendary project that he had been unable to finish without the hammer. With the help of this super-Stormcast, the forces of Order would manage to save the realm of Ghyran from Nurgle's clutches and re-awaken Alarielle so she could bring forth the Sylvaneth to kick the pusbags out.

===Malign Portents/ The Soul Wars===

===Broken Realms===
The [[Broken Realms Saga]] saw some particularly grueling setbacks for the posterboys of the franchise.

The first major battle is during ''Book 1: [[Morathi]]'', where the titular villain (now elevated to full-godhood by siphoning some stuff from Slaanesh) laying siege to the free city of Anvilgard. The stormcast stationed on the city were defending the city with everything they had, even when they were also beset by a raiding party of Idoneth mercenaries. People had thought the battle was over the moment the Celestant-Prime swooped down to fight Morathi, but that hope soon turned to despair when they went to parley and the Celestant-Prime actually ''conceded'', ordering all the Sigmarite elements of Anvilgard to pack their shit up and go home. What the conversation was about, nobody knows.

Fight number 2 was during ''Book 3: [[Be'lakor]]''. In that one, the First Prince of Chaos decided to lay siege to the free city of Vindicarum in Chamon. Not only were they already battered by [[Lady Olynder]]'s forces, all part of a deal with Be'lakor, but then the forces of Chaos under his thrall began smashing into the gates. Not helping things was the fact that the skies above the realm were clotted with dark sorcerous storms and the realmgate had collapsed - all the result of some other fuckery he had ordered. The end result was a matter completely alien to the Stormcast: actual vulnerability. The skies no longer allowed the souls of the Stormcast to reach safe ground in Azyr and be reforged, but they were instead devoured by the clouds. The losses they suffered here were permanent and it wasn't until some fleets of Kharadron had arrived that they were able to push back the Dark Master's legions. Even then, though, the skies remained bleak, blocking most attempts to return to their maker, and the Celestial Vindicators stormhost was practically annihilated.

The last fight was in ''Book 4: [[Kragnos]]'', where the free city of Excelsis was besieged not only by the forces of destruction, led by Gordrakk and Kragnos himself, but also the legions of Slaanesh under his newborn twins.

===Age of Beasts/ The Dawnbringer Crusades===

Hearing about what Be'lakor did obviously distressed Sigmar. If the forces of Chaos had a way to block his soldiers from being reforged, then he was going to lose his warriors even faster than they were already going.

He contemplated on ways to do get past this handicap, but fortunately he had found Grungni again after hearing about the hidden dwarf god's actions in Excelsius. Together, they decided to make Stormcast armor that was even tougher than before and enchanted to create a massive explosion upon the wearer's death. This would become the Thunderstrike Chamber, the newest and most elite of his forces. Also reinforcing the ranks are the Draconith, dragon-children of Dracothion himself who were kept by the Slann for such a dire situation like [[Kragnos|a certain ancient god breaking free]].

The Dawnbringer Crusades were called to bring order back to the realms after such a mess and hunt down any coming threats from Ghur. The forward base of Amberstone Watch would be their first exposure to the new forces in play: The Kruleboyz.

==Reforging==
{{topquote|Look. See. Memories are wounds in the psyche, Little Spirit. They leave deep scars and tell stories. You were born in this Realm, as all living things are born only to die, and you recognized that truth in your torment. You sought to find peace in the dark of Creation's light. Was that not your right? Did you not deserve it? You served, and fought and died, and now only desired peace. Silence. Oblivion. Not to burn and become someone new...someone else. But they would not stop. Again, and again and again. They tried to drag you back. They took those you loved from you, and then, when that was not enough, they sought to take all memory of them. To leave you empty, save for the Storm. Bow, and become greater than that which was lost. Bow, and justice will be yours. Bow, and see again the faces of the forgotten...Now, sleep and be made whole...|Nagash to a lost Stormcast soul, from ''Soul Wars'' by Josh Reynolds}}

Under Construction...

==Rank and Military==
When each mortal is reforged, they are immediately put into a strenuous training ritual meant to hone them into superhuman hammer-swinging engines of holy war. Once the big man is satisfied, he then groups them into Stormhosts, and there they train with each other in a massive coliseum that [[Malekith|Malerion]] gifted him back when there was an alliance. These Stormhosts are then broken into Chambers with each having several conclaves organized by specialty. The Strike Chambers consist of your standard boring troops (divided further into Warrior, Harbinger and Exemplar Chambers based on exact makeup), the Extremis Chambers consist of riders of Dracoth and Stardrake cavalry, the Vanguard Chambers consist of outdoorsy ranger types and the Sacrosanct Chamber consists of priests and magicians. In addition, there are three known Chambers Sigmar has yet to unveil to the world; the Ruination, Covenant and Logister Chambers.

Each Stormhost is lead by a Lord-Commander, a supreme leader through which Sigmar's will is realised. As of now, there is currently one Lord Commander in playable miniature form, that being Bastian Carthalos of the Hammers of Sigmar. Supporting the Lord Commander are the Chamber Command, who governs each individual lesser Hosts, of which there are between 3 to 9 Retinues (squads), each with between 6 to 20 Stormcasts. For example, the Hammers of Sigmar Chamber has 301 Stormcasts of 7 Commanders, 36 Paladins, 180 Liberators, 18 Prosecutors (yep; half as many jumpies as elites) and 60 Judicators.

*'''Strike Chamber Command:'''
**'''Lords Celestant:''' The top dogs in the Supporting Chambers, these are the mightiest of heroes among the Chambers, gifted a larger portion of Sigmar's power in order to become great leaders. Some opt to fun with hammers and swords, while other find Dracoths (Large wingless dragons that shoot lightning) to ride like horses or Stardrakes (Even larger dragons with wings that can also cause meteor showers).
**'''Lords Relictor:''' These guys are priests, and are able to see the spiritual realm and all the spooky souls that swirl around in it. Their job is to use their skeletal relics to anchor the Stormcasts to Azyr so their souls don't accidentally end up as Daemon chow or part of Nagash's kingdom of skellingtons. Off-duty they function much the same as a [[Chaplain]], warding the relics a Chamber finds and guiding their members in matters of faith.
**'''Lords Castellant:''' The [[Paladin]] to the [[Warlord]] and [[Cleric]] above. Their initiation tests involving conquering their fears by traveling some mountains in Azyr and befriending a Gryphound. If successful, they get special warding lantern that illuminates his fellow Sigmarines and incinerates Chaos. As "Castellants", they each oversee a Stormcast Hold or Free City; they don't generally take to the battlefield unless necessary for the protection of their castle. Some of them don't have castles to babysit and instead act as their Lord Celestant's right hand man.
**'''Lords Veritant:''' The resident anti-magic specialists of the Stormcast. Hunts down enemy spell casters, and also removes their corrupting influences from the land. Is accompanied by a graph hound, like the Castellant.
**'''Knights Heraldor:''' These guys have giant horns that shoot lightning. Because STORMS. Their helmets are weirdly segmented around the mouths; assumed so the warrior inside can actually blow the fucking horn.
**'''Knights Vexillor:''' Unlike the other jobs, these guys are actually chosen in a contest. A shitton of Stormcasts enter the Coliseum, smack each other to not-quite death (The Coliseum makes sure everyone leaves refreshed because... Malerion didn't have a mood swing when he made it. Or did he, recent lore states that he actually has treacherous intentions towards Sigmar and his Coliseum has a sinister purpose). The winner gets to hold an awesome standard, or a big plate with a glowing orb on it that can be used to throw around fuckin' comets.
**'''Knights Azyros:''' The closets thing to Scout Leaders, these guys have lanterns to help illuminate the realms so Sigmar can see all the way from his palace. Also, the lanterns burn chaos.
**'''Knights Venator:''' Shootier flying Sigmarines, these guys are master archers with magical arrows and own pet <s>Star-Eagles</s> Articunos. One of their Stormsurgeboltthunderblowsuperarrows can kill almost any regular leader character in one shot.

*'''Strike Chamber Troops:'''
**'''Liberators:''' The ground-floor. The goons. The average Liberator is a walking tank, capable of wielding either melee weapons or shields to protect his pals from anything deadlier. They use either swords or hammers, sometimes dual wielded, or Grandhammers and Grandblades (Bigger versions of the usual Hammers and Swords).
**'''Judicators:''' [[Tactical Squad|Warriors skilled with both sword and bow who put to use their uncanny shooting ability in the ranks of the Justicar conclave.]] They wield devastating long-range weaponry (Skybolt Bows or Boltstorm Crossbows). Some even get luckier and get a mega-bow that fires thunderbolts. THE BOWS ARE MAGIC! YEEEEEEEEEEAH!!!! They also hit Chaos-stuff better, because fuck those guys.
**'''Prosecutors:''' They're like Liberators, but they got wings. They tend to spearhead the assault with their speed, throwing either magical reforging hammers or magical reforging spears. Or they could just smash with hammer and sword weapons. Like the Liberators, they can wield big-ass weapons like two-handed axes or war hammers.
**'''Retributors:''' Massive piles of Sigmarite who serve in the Paladin Chambers. These guys carry massive hammers to squash things, which has Rending +1 which can completely remove everything not a leader or monster in a turn. These guys love to pummel anything with more than one Wound, since they do two Damage standard, and can turn that into Mortal Wounds. There's really not something these motherfuckers can't do. Well okay, they don't stand up to high Rend or MW shooting, but then again that's an SE problem in general.
**'''Protectors:''' Despite the name, these Paladins only wield glaives. Glaives that are actually capable of generating magical force fields, and cut down big-ass monsters, should they get close. They are also very, very long range, so put them behind a Liberator wall and skewer that Mawkrusha something fierce while the goons get slaughtered.
**'''Decimators:''' Paladins with fuck huge axes, these things are made to make sweet murder out of hordes. These guys have a massive range on their axes, which is important - because they each get as many attacks as they have enemies within range - because fuck Reaver Hordes amirite. They are also very scary, so people take more heavy Battleshock casualties. Don't try to axe the knee of a Monster or Hero, though; with only one attack, their axes are laughably weak.

*'''Extremis Chamber'''
**'''Drakesworn Templars:''' Usually a second-in-command for a Lord-Celestant, a Templar is one of those few fortunate Sigmarines to encounter a Stardrake. Their loadout is more versatile.
**'''Fulminators:''' Paladin Protectors on Dracoths.
**'''Concussors:''' Paladin Retributors on Dracoths.
**'''Desolators:''' Paladin Decimators on Dracoths, same as the rest.
**'''Tempestors:''' Paladins with crossbows riding Dracoths.

*'''Vanguard Chamber'''
**'''Lords Aquilor:'''Recon Commander riding on a Gryph-Charger (giant wingless hippogryph-things).
**'''Knights-Zephyros:''' Dual axe wielding Stormcast assassins. They magically imprint themselves upon their chosen quarry, and ride aether wind currents to teleport/move at super speeds.
**'''Vanguard Hunters:''' Liberators with small crossbows, cloaks and utilizing infiltration tactics.
**'''Vanguard Raptors:''' Elite Sharpshooters with Longstrike Bows or Hurricane Crossbows (Elite Versions of Judicators). They also have aether-wings to bite and harass enemies that get too close.
**'''Vanguard Palladors:''' Vanguard Hunters on Gryph-Chargers. Armed with javelins. Can ride magical aether wind currents to teleport/move at super speeds.

*'''Sacrosanct Chamber'''
**'''Lords Arcanum:''' Wizard lords of the Sacrosanct chambers. Sometimes ride Gryph-Chargers, Dracolines (dragonoid big cat things), or Tauralons ([[Derp]]-faced pegasi).
**'''Lords Ordinator:''' Builders of Sigmar's works and babysitters of his artillery.
**'''Lords Exorcist:''' Wizard Stormpope.
**'''Knights-Incantor:''' Stormcast wizards without Lord rank. Can use magical soul flasks to suicide bomb surrounding enemies.
**'''Evocators:''' Magical paladins with a few spells at their disposal. Some ride Dracolines.
**'''Castigators:''' Magical Judicators whose crossbows shoot flasks of Dracoth breath.
**'''Sequitors:''' Liberators with maces and a self buff to either their weapons or shields. Not having the Prime take a great weapon actually has a benefit, giving them a ranged soul vacuum that hurts nearby Chaos and Death units.
**'''Celestar Ballista:''' Lightning ballista with options for either rapid fire or one big blast.

*'''Thunderstrike Chamber:''' So due to certain shenanigans in the [[Broken Realms Saga]], Sigmar realized that the whole "die to be reforged in Azyr" deal wasn't all-encompassing when the realm of Chamon was cut off thanks to [[Be'lakor]] being a fucker. To combat this and with the hope that they won't keel over so quickly, he decided to make what essentially amounts to Stormcast [[Primaris Space Marines]]. Fuck, and these models weren't even a decade old...
* (Honestly, that last point is probably wrong. Based on the admittedly vague description, they sound more like the equivalent to a veteran company than Primaris Marines. The new Thunderstrike Armor gives off a powerful burst of lightning magic upon the Stormcast's death, in the hope that it'll be enough to punch through Be'lakor's ritual and allow the soul to make it back to Azyr to Reforge...with mixed results. Now, there is no guarantee Stormcast souls can all be recovered, resulting in a steady attrition of Sigmar's warriors.)
**'''Lords Imperitant:''' Strategist-leaders who have gryph-hound companions like Lord-Veritants.
**'''Knights-Arcanum:''' The big question right now is "How do these mages differ from Lords-Arcanum and Knights-Incantor?"
**'''Knights Vexilor with Banner of Apotheosis:''' Knights Vexilor with a banner containing a fragment of the Anvil of Apotheosis, fortifying nearby Stormcast in a similar manner to the Anvil proper.
**'''Vindictors:''' The basic foot soldiers, each carrying a spear and shield.
**'''Annihilators:''' The equivalent of Gravis-marines, these are big bulky walls with big shields. Apparently, their size also allows them to channel their momentum when charging.
**'''Praetors:''' Cloaked bodyguards carrying halberds. Presumed to not share the same proclivities as Roman Praetorians.

===Notable Stormhosts===
*'''[[Hammers of Sigmar]]:''' The first Stormhost. They wear [[Ultramarines|Blue and Gold and pride themselves on being the posterboys of AoS]]. With the release of second edition, the posterboys finally have a personality! With the people of the realms seeing them as the foremost stormiest, they now fear that any unsavory rumor or failing on their part will lead to the undoing of Sigmar's plans. Those amongst them who die too many times are now plagued with visions and generate lightning around themselves. Vandus is awesome.
*'''Hallowed Knights:''' The fourth Stormhost. They wear silver and blue and are [[Grey Knights|pretty zealous about killing Chaos]]. They're known for their DETERMINATION and incredible faith in Sigmar, making them the ideal choice for jobs like wading through Nurgle's horrifying and disgusting kingdoms despite all the filth and plagues that pollute the lands. This Stormhost is in general one of the more popular Hosts, with their metal armors and very faith-based culture. Also, have a cool battle cry ("ONLY THE FAITHFUL!"). They are having their own novel series done by [[Josh Reynolds]]. Some of them have been infected by Nurgle's plagues, however their faith is so strong that it purifies their skin, causing their armor to be melted and permanently fused to them. They are occasionally aided by a winged, androgynous being called the Silver Saint who manifests from lakes and pools of water (aka [[Lileath]] trying her Lady of the Lake gimmick again).
*'''Celestial Vindicators:''' The Sixth Stormhost. ''Angry.'' They're vengeful motherfuckers who declared vengeance back as mortals, and then had 500 years to brood while they waited for Sigmar to find his front door keys. Their armour is turquoise with white trim, so the blood reaaaaally stands out. They also tend to kick it with the duardin, so that's pretty cool. Also, they have a sword fetish and revere a spirit called the Father of Blades, heavily implied to be the manifestation of the [[The Empire (Warhammer Fantasy)|Empire]]'s Runefangs combined into one being. Each Vindicator seeks to become a living weapon. Some of the better known herobros include Thostos Bladestorm and Arkas Warbeast.
*'''Celestial Knights:''' A Stormhost that is on a constant crusade to bring the light of Sigmar to all benighted lands. Pretty much these [[Black Templars|guys]].
*'''Lions of Sigmar:''' Rocking the bronze gold and purple look there is little-known about this Stormhost save for their heraldry and thunderous roar in battle. Most people auto-assume "[[Dark Angels]]" from hearing the word Lion, though the connection is iffy. The Dangles weren't the only chapter to keep to themselves to that degree.
*'''Knights of the Aurora:''' Sporting grey armour with green and gold trimmings, this Stormhost are claimed to strike more quickly and are masters of rapid assault, overall having the need for [[White Scars| speed]].
*'''Knights Excelsior:''' This Stormhost run around in white armour with blue and gold trimmings. These guys are said to have built up a fierce reputation for totally massacring their enemies so brutally that even other Stormhosts think its a bit excessive. Their claim to fame is that they stepped up to bail the Hallowed Knights out when a Lord of Plagues was about to capture Alarielle, with their Knight-Azyros, a pretty fly badass called Diomar, personally charging the powerful Nurgle lord. They have a massive hard-on for Order and see most attempts at individuality or freedom as dangerously Chaotic. Recently featured in the Malign Portents short story collection massacring unwell civilians in their attempt to instill uncompromising authority in the Realm of Life, despite the fact these civilians were loyal to Sigmar in the first place. One of their number, the White Reaper, is used by the Order of Azyr as the bogeyman to make rebellious nobles stay in line, to say it works extremely well gives you an idea of how scary these guys have become. When an order aligned human has a less than flattering opinion of the stormcast it's usually because they had a run in with these guys. [[Marines_Malevolent|Their extreme black and white morality and habit of slaughtering the innocent by the thousands seems to be turning popular opinion against Sigmar himself. Great job, guys.]]
*'''Celestial Warbringers:''' A Stormhost made entirely from the uplifted survivors of one human tribe who Sigmar really liked the look of. They wear burgundy armour with white trim. They have some prophetic juju going on that lets them see the hour of their death, which means if they're fighting in a battle that they didn't dream themselves get torn to shreds in, they fight with no fear. They're also pretty good fun to be around, feasting and drinking like frat boys at an all you can eat murder buffet. Remarkable insofar as they're the first host of the second striking, which means they get different shields and shoulder guards, because reasons. They also have more Sacrosanct Chambers than usual.
*'''Astral Templars:''' If you're tired of holy knights, go no further; these fuckers have taken to like it in the Realm of Ghur, and has become one with the beasts. Their color is purple, and their armor is adorned with pelts, bloody markings and other tribal stuff. To be allowed into the Templars, a warrior must be a hunter of beasts and monsters, which honestly isn't a big deal when they all come from Ghur, the Realm of Beasts! The [[Space Wolves]] to the Hammer's Ultramarines, but with less wolfs and more barbarians. They honour a godbeast called Ursricht, a giant white bear though he is often depicted as a white haired man. So an expy of [[Ulric]] and Ursun than.
*'''Tempest Lords:''' Donning the Ultramarine blue with an addition of white shields and shoulders are the Tempest Lords. They're described as the most regal and proud Stormhost, probably because every single one of these guys was a monarch, lord, or other such noble before being chosen by Sigmar. Despite this, they're actually pretty baller and down to earth guys, being perhaps the most selfless of all the Stormhosts, flat-out seeing it as their duty to protect those less fortunate than themselves (which is basically everyone,) often inspiring downtrodden mortal tribes to break their chains and fight Chaos alongside the Tempest Lords. They're also pretty literal it seems, because Sigmar once joked that the Stormcast were each worth twelve mortal men in a fight and since then the Tempest Lords have kept count of how many kills they score before dying, taking it as a massive personal disgrace if they don't reach twelve kills. That said, they do a pretty damn good job of reaching that score, leaving them as one of the hardest Stormhosts to kill simply due to their sheer pride refusing to let them die. Each one of these stormcast is a native of Hysh and follow the teachings of [[Myrmidia]], who they revere as much as Sigmar.
*'''Anvils of the Heldenhammer''' The Anvils of the Heldenhammer are a Stormhost of the Stormcast Eternals, wearing black armor. The warriors of the Anvils of the Heldenhammer are dark and brooding, as they aren't made from recently-dead heroes but from long dead warriors who've been resting in tombs and barrows for ages. Most of them are from Shyish as well, so death is central to their mindset - They see themselves as bringers of death, and if turned around against them, death is just another step in the defence of Sigmar's domain. Now that Papa Bones Nagash is getting his spotlight, the Anvils have to deal with him specifically... until Teclis and the Lumineth stole their thunder in the Broken Realms saga and trapped Nagash in his capital city.

===Notable Fan-created Stormhosts===

Help us expand this list:

*'''[[Forgesworn Eternals]]:''' A [[Dwarfs (Warhammer Fantasy)|Duardin]] Stormhost wearing silver and red.

*'''Wardens of the Ember:''' A Stormhost composed of mortals who died standing firm against the most insurmountable Chaos incursions. Former priests cut down mid-prayer, standard bearers who fought and died rather than abandon their colours, musicians who played songs of hope until their very last breath - stoutness of heart is often more important than strength of sword-arm in deciding whether a mortal is bound to this Stormhost. They wear grey armour with black and orange trim, and are notably more jovial than other Stormhosts; it is not uncommon to hear rousing speeches and booming laughter as these heroes urge their mortal comrades onwards.

==Notable Stormcasts==
*'''The Celestant-Prime:''' The alpha, the first Eternal ever forged by Sigmar. It's unknown just who he might be, but it's said he was a mighty king from the past (making people immediately guess <strike>either [[Settra the Imperishable|Settra]], or</strike> [[Karl Franz]]). Despite how much power he put into it, the process was still incomplete, so Sigmar decided to put him in a chamber to preserve the project because he spent too much as it is. However, once he recovered Ghal Maraz, he was able to finish the process and get a giant golden angel to join the ranks armed with the warhammer. Needless to say, he can easily wipe out any <strike>Chaos Lord</strike> Greater Daemon who has the misfortune of facing him. Recently got ganked by Nagash's newest Mortarch, Lady Olynder, while trying to keep an ancient evil and ally of Nagash contained. Not someone to fuck with, seeing as it took a personal champion of Nagash to take him down for the first time while he was busy with an Eldritch Abomination. Also this beast one-shot a Daemon the size of a country with supernova-level force.

*'''Vandus Hammerhand:''' The first named hero among the Eternals, a Lord-Celestant of the Hammers of Sigmar who rides a Dracoth. Apparently, he once fought off against a Khornate Lord known as Korghos Khul as a mortal and almost died before being forged, and instead became a giant gold-plated badass instead of just a human one. He's considered the hero of the Starter Set and is responsible for finding Ghal Maraz. Also, he was the first one to tame a Dracoth. Currently having visions where he sees his future self, who has been Reforged so many times that he has lost all physical form and become an emotionless being made out of pure lightning (what the Stormcast call a lightning gheist), warning him about what would happen if the Stormcasts cannot fix their flaw.

*'''Bastian Carthalos:''' The Lord Commander of the Hammers of Sigmar.

*'''Neave Blacktalon:''' The first female stormcast released for the setting. Neave Blacktalon is basically an eversor with tits, with the mentality of a vindicare. As a mortal she was raised from childhood by a particularly vicious Tribe of Sylvaneth. They basically raised her to be an assassin and all around mean bitch ala Xena warrior princess. Unfortunately, her first target was a chaos lord way out of her league and she would have died had Sigmar not decided she'd make a great stormcast.

*'''[[Gardus Steel-Soul|Gardus Steel-Soul]]:''' Lord Celestant of the Hallowed Knights Stormhost. The best (by fan-view, not author fiat) of the Lord Celestants. What makes Gardus great is that he was no great lord, but a common man. Born Garradan, he was a hospice worker (a doctor for young uns) in the port city of Demesnus. When the forces of chaos invaded the city, he worked tirelessly to heal the defenders, spending whole nights without sleep. As the forces of Khorne shattered the walls and attacked the hospital the tired hospice worker took a chandelier (showing brass balls in the process) and tried to save his patients with good old ultra violence. The rest... is history.

*'''Lorrus Grymn:''' Former Lord Castellant of the Hallowed Knights, and a close friend to Gardus Steelsoul. The only other Hallowed Knight to fight Gardus to a standstill in the Gladitorium Arena, Grymn was a master defensive strategist and often an instructor for many fellow Knights. Fought in the Realmgate Wars during the Hallowed Knights' conquests against Nurgle in Ghyran. Helped lead the defense of Vindicarum when Be'lakor besieged the city during the Broken Realms Saga. Is snatched up by Be'lakor and killed in front of Gardus. His soul is not beamed back to Azyr due to Be'lakor's storm of Chaos, and is permanently dead. RIP.

*'''Yndrasta''': One of several renowned Stormcast personally forged by Sigmar himself, like [[Idoneth Deepkin|Teclis did with the Cythai aelves]] and his hunting champion. She ranks below the Celestant-Prime but far above most Stormcast, and is considered near-mythical. Unlike most Stormcast, her wings look completely avian and she lacks a descriptive last name. She rocks some ornate armor personally made by Grungni, making her look awesome depending on how you feel about Half shaved hairstyles. In her mortal life, Yndrasta was a warrior queen from Ghur, skilled with sword and spear and a renowned monster hunter. During the Age of Chaos, a Chaos army attacked her hometown and she soloed the Chaos Lord leading it in an attempt to save them. But despite getting a good hit with her spear he was too much for her and would've died if not for Sigmar. Recently, she's been tasked by Sigmar himself with killing the newly freed Destruction god, Kragnos. Ironically, she's got a few things in common with Khorne's waifu, Valkia, as both are spear-wielding warrior queens reformed after hopeless battles into immortal, inspiring winged warriors by an Odin-esque god. She behaves like a cat, bringing trophies from her kills and throwing them at Sigmar's throne during meetings then leaving without saying a word.

*'''Thostos Bladestorm:''' Footslogging Lord Celestant of the Celestial Vindicators. Impulsive jackass. Died a couple of times so now Nagash has part of his soul, he still wants to give Chaos a beating. During a battle with a Chaos Lord Varash, Thostos was hit with extremely powerful lighting bolt which triggered a powerful reforging and the results of it was the return of his memories, emotions and a name he once was - Prince Caeran of Wolf Keep (this happening is more proof of Nagash being made of much fail, seriously, how did this ever happen?). Apparently he is now the first Stormcast to be renewed, healed and with fresh purpose but not the last. In the final days of the Realmgate Wars he fought in the Battle for the All-Gates and crossed blades with Archaon, it went as well as you'd expect it to and Thostos is officially lost forever.

*'''Tarsus Bullheart:''' Footslogging Lord Celestant of the Hallowed Knights, leader of a warrior chamber named after him. Broody guy who's obsessed with duty and lets his hammer do the talking for him. Once a human from the realm of Shyish called Tarsem, he lived in a place called Helstone. During the Age of Chaos he fought alongside Mannfred Von Carstein but Mannfred fled leaving Tarsem to get ganked by a Bloodthirster before Sigmar saved him. Sigmar later sent him and some of his warriors to Shyish to parley with Nagash. Along the way they found Mannfred and freed him from a Khornate warband in exchange for his assistance. After entering the underworld and an incident with Arkhan, Nagash appeared before them. This goes as well as you'd expect and all the surviving Stormcast save Tarsus were killed by Nagash. Tarsus managed to distract Nagash and free their souls, but then Nagash killed Tarsus and captured his soul to [[Grimdark|torture him for dirt on Sigmar, and by the time Nagash was done Tarsus was a gibbering wreck]]. Eventually Ramus, Gardus and freaking Mannfred broke into Nagasshizar and demanded Tarsus's Freedom. Nagash freed Tarsus, who was of no more use to him, and Tarsus was promptly mercy killed in the hope that reforging would cure his madness. The novel "Soul Wars" revealed that as Tarsem he had a fiance, and said fiance was so mad about him being Sigmarined that upon her own death she let Nagash turn her into a Nighthaunt executioner to get revenge for losing him.

*'''Ramus of the Shadowed Soul:''' Lord-Relictor of the Bullhearts warrior chamber and protagonist of the second set of Realmgate Wars audio-dramas. Once voice of reason to Tarsus and completely trusting in Sigmar and his grand plan, after Tarsus was lost to Nagash Ramus has been pressing for a mission to rescue his soul, despite the fact that at the moment Nagash and Sigmar are allies. The other Hallowed Knights are trying to get him to leave it alone and trust in Sigmar, but he hasn't been able to thus far. With Malign Portents pretty much destroying any alliance between Sigmar and Nagash, Ramus gets his chance to rescue Tarsus after all and puts aside his grudge against Mannfred with much difficulty.

*'''Tornus the Redeemed:''' Once known as Torglug the Despised, servant of Nurgle and Lord of Plagues, his soul was redeemed by Sigmar at the height of the last battle at Blackstone Summit in the realm of Ghyran when killed by Ghal Maraz in the hands of the Celestant-Prime. During his brief life as a mortal, Tornus was a righteous believer in Sigmar and his faith was unmatched by those that fought with him during the Age of Chaos against the nurgle invaders. At some point he was captured and left in a pit of filth and due to his stubbornness, faith and pride lived for many weeks only to succumb to the lies that Nurgle spoke to him during those months of captivity. Even then his soul, although corrupted and twisted, held out a spark of hope that his faith in Sigmar was not a lie and was rewarded with a chance for redemption as a Knight-Venator in services of the Hallowed Knights, <strike> [[Awesome|this is so far as we know the first comeback from Chaos ever done in any of GeeDubs franchises]].</strike> Captain Leonatos of the Blood Angels (Read the Blood Quest Trilogy) actually did it first, but this is the first time it has happened outside 40k. Is currently forming his own group of ex-Chaos Stormcasts, much to the suspicion of other Stormcasts, including his own Lord Castellant Grymn.

*'''[[Hamilcar Bear Eater|Hamilcar Bear-Eater]]:''' Astral Templars' Lord Castellant turned Knight-Questor. Hamilcar is, to put it short, a lovely braggart, claiming even Sigmar was impressed the result of his stormcasting, also, it seems like he has an uncanny resemblance with the God-King. Currently he's on a hunt for Mannfred Von Carstein over backstabbing Tarsus. Got his own series by his creator David Guymer! Did we mention he beat a gatling-gun-armed skaven killakan while under sniper fire?

*'''[[Balthazar Gelt|Balthas Arum]]:''' An Anvils of the Heldenhammer Lord-Arcanum. Revealed to be [[Balthazar Gelt]] reborn as a Stormcast, which was heavily suggested in the novel and he is explicitly recognized as such by Nagash (who said that he looks forward to the possibility of having Aurum serve him [[The End Times|a second time]]). He still has his arrogance, mount Quicksilver, and a preference and talent for C[[JoJo's Bizarre Adventure|hamon Magic]] over any other. Considered to be the best mage of all the Anvils of the Heldenhammer and possibly all the Stormcasts, which makes some sense given who he used to be. His only real friend is Tyros Firemane of the Hallowed Knights who Balthus felt an instinctive kinship with despite being a surly loner around everyone else. Tyros is a Lord-Arcanum who specialises in fire magic, has a fiery red beard, and prefers to get his hands dirty exploring lost tombs and ancient cities rather than study. Like Balthas though, he feels a connection with the World-That-Was and thinks he may have lived there in a past life. This guy was most likely Thyrus Gormann, Gelt's friend/rival from the Old World. Pretty cool huh? Did Sigmar arrange it so that these two would meet again or are souls from the old world instinctively drawn to one another? Perhaps somewhere in the realms Kurt Hellborg and Ludwig Shwarzhelm are fighting side by side again in fancy new Stormcast duds.

*'''Settrus:''' A Lord Celestant leading a chamber called the "Imperishables" and who holds a massive grudge against Nagash. [[Settra the Imperishable|Three guesses who this guy use to be]]. Has a reputation for getting shit done and commands the respect and obedience of guys like Hamilcar Bear-Eater through sheer gravitas and force of will alone. Currently on route to reinforce Glymmsforge in Shyish. Almost certainly doesn't remember much of his past life, as that's the only way he would serve ''anyone''.

*'''Gavriel Sureheart:''' A named Lord Celestant of the Hammers of Sigmar who GW started selling one day and didn't bother explaining his deal until 2nd Edition. Grew up as a gladiator slave named "Grub" at the Khornate fortress of Ratspike. One month into his gladiator career, he killed Ratspike's king with a spear chuck and kicked off a short-lived rebellion, being saved by Sigmar at the last moment (like most Stormcast). Currently the only sword-and-board foot LC and known for never wearing a helmet (and looking like Tommy Wiseau).

*'''Arkas Warbeast:''' A Lord Celestant of the Celestial Vindicators and one of two protagonists in Gav Thorpe's ''Warbeast'' novel. Sent back to Ghur and the tribes he once ruled as the mortal Arka Bearclaw, he has a huge, angry boner for smashing skaven to bits, especially one Verminlord who withered his mum to death. A self proclaimed brute with some special connection to the energy of Ghur, his chamber has a reputation for being wild and ill disciplined. He gets even more RAAAAGE after his beat down, but is at least able to control and direct it productively, unlike Thostos.

*'''The Shadespire Warbands:'''
#'''Steelheart's Champions:''' A Liberator Prime and his two flatmates who went into [[Warhammer Underworlds|Shadespire]] to get a cure for the Reforging issues that plague the Stormcasts, but never made it out. The Champions are Obryn the Bold, a massive dude who's into his third Reforging and has become silent and brooding as a result, and Angharad Brightshield, a female Liberator and former smith who took to smashing in faces with hammers instead of smashing swords and metal.
#'''The Farstriders:''' A warband of three Vanguard Hunters in Shadespire. The Prime, Sanson Farstrider, has an accompanying star falcon, whereas his subordinates, Almeric Eagle-Eye and Elias Swiftblade, wield a shock axe and storm sabre respectively.
#'''Stormsire's Cursebreakers:''' Two Evocators and their Knight Incantor leader, set to Shadespire to seek out a cure for reforging-induced flaws. Averon Stormsire is a specialist of breaking curses, Rastus the Charmed fights with fathomless contempt, and Ammis Dawnguard treats her role with holy reverence.
#'''Ironsoul's Condemnors:''' Named versions of the Easy Build Sequitors. (more details when Dreadfane drops)

==Soulbound==
Stormcast Eternals naturally were a playable species from the get-go in [[Age of Sigmar Roleplay]]. Unusually, though, they are technically distinct from the Soulbound adventurers who make up the other playable species - Stormcast Eternals are already spiritually bound to [[Sigmar]] himself, and as such can't undergo the soul-melding Rite of [[Binding]] that creates a normal Soulbound adventurer... who, in turn, can never become a Stormcast Eternal themselves. For this reason, Stormcast Eternals are always, in a sense, outsiders to the adventuring parties of Soulbound (or "bindings" as they are known) - they are allies who join the Binding for their own reasons (or, more likely, are ordered to join) and this can leads to a certain amount of distrust. But not always. For every Stormcast Eternal who wonders why such "great heroes" weren't simply made into Stormcast Eternals, there is another who embraces their similar-yet-different allies with open arms, content to trust Sigmar's judgment and admiring heroism no matter the form it takes.

The ''Champions of Order'' supplement includes the following stormhosts for a Stormcast hero to hail from:
*'''Hammers of Sigmar:''' Naturally, the posterboys of the Stormcast are frequently assigned to aid a band of Soulbound in overcoming particular trials that would otherwise trouble them. They are also incredibly stubborn, incapable of yielding. Heroes of the Hammers of Sigmar have been reforged additional times, considering how they were among the first stormcast to have been made. In addition, if they are reduced to 0 toughness, they and nearby allies add extra die equal to the hero's Determination to all attacks, which is doubled when the hero is mortally wounded.
*'''Hallowed Knights:''' Being the most devout of the Stormcast, the Hallowed Knights constantly seek to test their faith against the most grueling of trials. Though their insistence to emulate their god-king irks other Soulbound, their dedication to withstanding any manner of trial earns the undying support of their companions and other peoples they help. Heroes of the Hallowed Knights know a single miracle (either universal or of Sigmar) that they can use despite not having the Devoted talent, though the talent is now available to all archetypes.
*'''Celestial Vindicators:''' Being a very violent and vengeful Stormhost means that they do not often find themselves assigned to join the Soulbound on any adventures. However, those that do join tend to cage up their simmering anger, often to the point where they can explode into a bloodthirsty rage once in combat. Heroes of the Celestial Vindicators must select one type of enemy to hate - they deal +1 damage to enemies of that type. In addition, the Old Enemy talent is now available to all archetypes, but it must be against the enemy they chose to hate.
*'''Anvils of the Heldenhammer:''' This Stormhost are often made of ancient heroes legendary warriors plucked from the realm of Shyish, much to Nagash's ire and to the frequent curiosity of the Soulbound they fight alongside (who tend to think that these guys are reincarnations of ancient ancestors or something). Because of this ever-present threat, these Stormcast are more than a little open-minded and seek to avoid dying if they can help it. Heroes of the Anvils of the Heldenhammer ignore the stunned condition that being mortally wounded entails and have an easier time dealing with Death tests. However, if they fail a Death test even once, they die immediately as the skelepope gobbles their soul up again.
*'''Knights Excelsior:''' This Stormhost excels at the application of total warfare, seeking the utter decimation of the enemy by throwing absolutely everything at them. This also means that they adopt a very myopic viewpoint of things, viewing others as either good or evil with very little middle-ground, and even those Stormcast that join Soulbound have been known to hold their mortal allies to such high standards that they may even execute those allies that fall short. Heroes of the Knights Excelsior that undertake any endeavor or action to reduce Doom reduces it by an additional 2. However, they suffer a serious disadvantage on Guile or Intuition checks when dealing with a particularly shady individual, and may in fact outright refuse to deal with such folks.
*'''Celestial Warbringers:''' Due to the vast Sacrosanct chambers of this Stormhost, they are more adept at reading particular omens, often allowing them to predict when their deaths may come. Many of them are brought to the Aqshian city of Brightspear, where they clash with the forces of Tzeentch. These troubles often see them join hands with Soulbound looking to make a difference in the war effort. Heroes of the Celestial Warbringers can predict if a day will not spell their doom. Doing so improves their melee and accuracy by one step for the day. However, if they are mortally wounded, they will fear that the portents went awry, and Death tests become more difficult.

Stormcast Eternals have access to the following archetypes in the corebook: '''Knight-Azyros''', '''Knight-Incantor''', '''Knight-Questor''', '''Knight-Venator'''. The ''Champions of Order'' splatbook adds the '''Knight-Zephyros''' as an archetype.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Ugh_Oaf_Ziggy_Scale.jpg|Compare and contrast.
Sigmarine_Stormbanner.png|[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-MzNpMD1K8 GROUND MARINES! CHARGE!]
Sigmarine_by_kimplate-d92h94a.png|Only thing missing are pseudo-bolters and they're officially Sigmarines, [https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/catalog/product/600x620/99120218002_StormcastEternalsJudicators012.jpg then you remember that they do.]
THIS_IS_SIGMARON!.png|[http://1d4chan.org/images/c/cc/Cato_Fall_of_Damnos.JPG This looks oddly familiar.]
Sigmarine_Jetpacks.png|Ground Marine [[Assault Squad]]s.
Sigmarines_VS_Khorne_Again.png|In the grim darkness of the far past, there is only war.
Sigmarine_VS_Khorne.png|Ground Marines vs Chaos Ground Marines.
Stormcast_Victory.png|Victory for the [[God-Emperor of Mankind|God Empero-]]..err, [[Sigmar|God-King of man!]]
Sigbrarian.jpg|A Ground Marine Lord Relictor.
Sigmarine_Logical_Conclusion.jpg|The venerable Lord Celestant Boreale, giving one of his glorious speeches.
SpaceEternals.png|One of these is not like the others...
Stormcast_eternal_by_kinmonon.jpg|You can now have your canonical Stormcast waifu, drawn by one Kinmonon.
Female-prosecutor.png|Isn't it great that unlike Emprah Sigmar has no problems allowing girls in his elite forces?
KnightAzyros.jpg|"I will Lamp you....with a Lamp!!!"
</gallery>

==See Also==
*[[Age of Sigmar/Tactics/Order/Stormcast Eternals|Tactics/Stormcast Eternals]]
*[[Space Marines]] - Their 40K counterparts. Compare and contrast.
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmGeTjz49bo A quick overview on the stormcast eternals]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hs-Jli8DkIs The price of immortality]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-MzNpMD1K8 Birth of the Stormcast Eternals]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9We2XsVZfc If you're using the Sacrosant chamber and versing Nighthaunt armies, play this for maximum lulz.]
{{Template:Playable Factions in Warhammer: Age of Sigmar}}

[[Category: Age of Sigmar]]

Grimdark

2021-09-26T14:27:10Z

2406:3400:20F:FFC0:115F:A9BA:370A:AFE2: /* Grimderp */

{{Grimdark}}
[[File:P23436_p_v10_aa.jpg|300px|right|thumb|If your protagonist or antagonist isn't at least this [[edgy]], then you're probably doing Grimdark wrong.]]
[[Image:Lovepeace.png|thumb|right|It's totally the opposite of this.]][[Image:Inspector Grimgadget.jpg|thumb|right|Inspector Gadget, reimagined with a grimdark feel.]]
[[Image:Grimdark.jpg|thumb|right|Grimdark versions of the TMNT. Their mentor is a Skaven.]]
[[Image:Grimdarkery.jpg|thumb|right|Grimdark means war, and always endless, brutal war.]]
{{topquote|We are not men disguised as mere dogs, we are wolves disguised as men|Captain Muroto, '''Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade'''}}
{{topquote|They say, 'Evil prevails when good men fail to act.' What they ought to say is, 'Evil prevails.'|Yuri Orlov, ''Lord of War''}}

{{topquote|Tᴀᴋᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ᴜɴɪᴠᴇʀsᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ɢʀɪɴᴅ ɪᴛ ᴅᴏᴡɴ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ғɪɴᴇsᴛ ᴘᴏᴡᴅᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ sɪᴇᴠᴇ ɪᴛ ᴛʜʀᴏᴜɢʜ ᴛʜᴇ ғɪɴᴇsᴛ sɪᴇᴠᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇɴ sʜᴏᴡ ᴍᴇ ᴏɴᴇ ᴀᴛᴏᴍ ᴏғ ᴊᴜsᴛɪᴄᴇ, ᴏɴᴇ ᴍᴏʟᴇᴄᴜʟᴇ ᴏғ ᴍᴇʀᴄʏ ᴀɴᴅ ʏᴇᴛ... Aɴᴅ ʏᴇᴛ ʏᴏᴜ ᴀᴄᴛ ᴀs ɪғ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ɪs sᴏᴍᴇ ɪᴅᴇᴀʟ ᴏʀᴅᴇʀ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ, ᴀs ɪғ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ɪs sᴏᴍᴇ... Sᴏᴍᴇ ʀɪɢʜᴛɴᴇss ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴜɴɪᴠᴇʀsᴇ ʙʏ ᴡʜɪᴄʜ ɪᴛ ᴍɪɢʜᴛ ʙᴇ ᴊᴜᴅɢᴇᴅ.|DEATH, [[Discworld|Hogfather]] (while explaining that since humans believe that it does, the way we believe Santa or the "Hogfather" does, we make it so it does.)}}

'''Grimdark''' is an adjective derived from the tagline for [[Warhammer 40k]], which states that "In the '''grim darkness''' of the far future, there is only war," and in some of the novels (at least a few of the [[Ciaphas Cain]] stories, for instance) it states straightforwardly, "in the '''grim dark''' future..." Whether this came after "grimdark" began to be popularly used as an adjective is not wholly clear (probably after). It is generally used to describe a dilapidated, dystopian "crapsack world" setting which it would really suck to live in, as say Somalia, North Korea, the North of England and the setting of Warhammer 40k itself. In fairness to the franchise and its defenders, this is because the published material primarily focuses on war and [[Chaos Gods|cults]] and other [[Daemonculaba|horrible things]]. There are supposed to be many pleasant and peaceful worlds and sectors in the Imperium, but they are mostly ignored as they are boring -- and when they DO appear in lore or fluff, they're usually to go from "0 problems" to "totally fucked", very quickly. It can also be used to describe artwork that has a ''grimdark'' feel, even if the setting itself would not normally be considered grim or dark, or something sinister or uncommonly threatening/intimidating in real-life. This often applies to fan-art and writefaggotry as well.

Depending on your own personal tolerances for grim darkness of course, it can be taken to the extreme, just like with all descriptive traits. There is a point in which it becomes more ridiculous than anything else, because everything is indefeasibly tragic all the time - the term for this being [[Grimdark#Grimderp|grimderp]], which is explained further below.

This is an accusation often leveled at Warhammer itself, and leads some to rail against "Grimdark" as a whole, decrying the concept as ridiculous attempts at [[edgy|edginess]] (typically by teenagers), and using the expression to refer solely to such over-the-top settings in a strictly pejorative manner. Others actually embrace this ridiculousness and run with it (including Warhammer 40K itself, due to being a much more obviously comedic setting [[Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader|in early editions]]), insisting that the detractors or even the creators who take it seriously are making a mistake. Some people embrace the grimdarkness and mix it up with some humor (like painting Necrons with bright colors to make them look like edible candy figurines), especially if they are Ork players. But the schism between taking Warhammer's grimdarkness seriously or not is mostly visible with races such as the Tau, who are noticeably less grimdark ''visually'' than most of the other races and are either loved or absolutely hated for it (when not hated for being overpowered as shit). Meanwhile, another sizable percentage postulate that Grimdarkness lends greater moral and ethical complexity to a setting, based on [[Edgy|the fallacy that darkness always equals depth]]. Such people usually cite the works of Dan Abnett and many other Warhammer 40K writers to lend credence to such suppositions; these people are clearly ignoring that fact that most writers tone the grimdark WAY down. What, you didn't think the fact that the Imperium being an effective government, civilians having normal happy lives on par with the Scandinavians, Commissars who never *BLAM* their troops was odd? Needless to say, grimdark is [[Skub|a rather polarizing subject whose discussion often leaves little room for a middle ground]].

Speaking of, the polar opposite of grimdark is [[Noblebright]], a deliberate inversion of grim and dark nature where honor, chivalry, happiness and high adventure rule the day, as opposed to dying in a ditch from a supernatural plague as you run out of potable water and can no longer wait for the logistics department to process your dead comrades into something slightly more palatable before you start eating them. Oh, and being {{BLAM}}ed by a Commissar for even starting to look a little sad from these thoughts.

Although, it could be argued that 40K proper is actually Nobledark. Although the lore claims one man cannot make a difference and heroes are meaningless (Grim), we see the complete opposite of that actually happening in the lore. 40K fluff (40K, not just 30K) is crammed to bursting with heroes who made major differences. If anything, 40K seems to be about the difference one man ''can'' make rather than showing one man cannot make a difference. Even the events revolve around the Great Man idea of basically superheroes and supervillains moving the galaxy (and it's not just actual superhumans doing this). It is nonetheless a very dark setting, though.

== Common grimdark themes ==
*[[1984|Massive, imperialist, overbearing, bureaucratic, dystopian dictatorships]]; e.g. [[Imperium of Man|Nazi Germany clones]], [[Tau|Soviet Union/China clones]], or straight out examples of [[Paranoia|"Big Brother is watching you"]].
*Constant, never ever-ending warfare, usually as a horrific combination of outdated tactics and technology (And sometimes overly advanced technology). E.g., sending line infantry armed with single-shot [[Lasgun|Lasguns]] against a [[Bolter|Heavy Bolter]] nest.
*Horrifyingly large death tolls are perfectly normal. Genocide is also perfectly normal, and in many cases encouraged and espoused.
*Slavery is also perfectly normal, and sometimes considered a great necessity. Massive constructs are often built via slave labor.
*Everyone is racist towards non-humans/[[Eldar|elves]]/[[Mutant|mutants]]/[[Orks|fungus]]/[[Rak'gol|lizards]]/[[Slaugth|worms]]/[[Necrons|robots]]/[[Tyranids|aliens]]/[[Chaos|each other]]. Vice versa for literally every race.
*Speaking of xenophobia towards every species, those who express sympathy for a hated race and/or intermingle with said race, are usually publicly humiliated, tortured, and usually purged.
*Daily dose of [[HFY]]. [[Astral Knights|And]] [[Awesome]].
*[[Shadowrun|The vast majority are poor people who literally live in shit, pollution, crime]], and a plethora of [[Nurgle|all kinds of filthy diseases]], except for a [[Monopoly|few greedy upper 1% who own 99.9% of everything]].
*You, a poor bastard, are being farmed for shits and giggles by said few greedy upper 1%.
*Most of the poor bastards are being forced to work 23 hours a day, seven days a week, fifty-two weeks a year, in factories and/or forced labour camps, until their bodies give out. Forever.
*They're probably making weapons and equipment for [[Imperial Guard|the military]] (which is where the rest of the poor bastards are).
*[[Age of Strife|Dark, disgraceful and recondite past]] covered with [[Alpha Legion|lies]] [[Imperium|propanganda]], [[Tzeentch|deception]] and [[Eldar|partiality]].
*The Higher Powers do indeed give you consideration, they're just malevolent as all fuck.
*Chronic backstabbing. Just like in real life relationships. (''Who hurt you?'')
*[[Ork Snipers|"Frie]][[Marines Malevolent|ndly]] [[Kharn|fire"]]
*[[Space Marines|Child]] [[Imperial Guard|soldiers]]. Just like in real life.
*Your morning alarm clock is the stray bullets you hope don't hit you, from [[Necromunda|the gangsters doing a drive-by on their enemy who happens to be in the same district]] to whom you don't even belong to or like.
*Status quo is god. [[Nurgle|Literally.]]
*[[Tzeentch|Change is worse]].
*[[Cyberpunk|Cybernetics and cyborgs]]; the less human, the better.
*[[Commissar|Daily forecasts reguarly call for a 80% chance or more of *BLAM*]].
*[[Judge Dredd|Police]] [[Adeptus Arbites|brutality]].
*Even minor crimes can have major punishments.
*[[Inquisition|Being innocent or even a victim of crime can be counted as a crime]]. All participants in a crime, whether perpetrator or victim, are charged.
*[[Inquisition|Government agencies that are always there to fuck you over]] at the slightest hint of [[heresy]].
*Did I mention that the [[Inquisition]] commits planetary genocide 24/7?
*The [[Erebus|cock]][[Dark Eldar|suckers]] responsible for most of the shittiness are not only getting away with it, but are surviving and thriving, without becoming major targets for the [[noblebright]] forces.
*Torture that makes the CIA look like saints.
*[[Call of Cthulhu|Sanity checks]].
*Criminally insane delusional psychotics tortured in filthy mental asylums (in case of no/failed SAN checks).
*[[H.P. Lovecraft|Disgusting, horrifying, tentacled eldritch abominations]] that are often the cause of aforementioned criminal insanity.
*Rape. Just like in real life. ([[/d/|And often by said tentacled Eldritch Abominations]].)
*Surgery without anesthesia.
*[[Cannibalism]], in three forms:
*# For power (embracing the myth of "you are what you eat").
*# For food value; sometimes this is concealed by callous authorities as some other kind of food; sometimes, it's just a biological, cultural or desperation thing.
*# For the sheer fun of it.
*Want chemotherapy or some other expensive treatment? Well, you have to eviscerate that old dropout student of yours in order to pay.
*In fact even surgery without anesthesia is a luxury available only to wealthy or important ones, as are all other forms of medicine. 99% of people are expected to die when they fall sick or get injured. That is when they don't get executed FOR falling sick or getting injured.
*[[Fleshcrafting|Human experiments]]. [[Fabius Bile|Sometimes willingly, but most of the time not]]!
*Zombie plagues.
*Ritual cult sacrifices.
*Massive amounts of blood, gore, guts, pain and hatred.
*No personal opinion or choice. Only the illusion of it, in which you probably end up an [[Magnus|unwil]][[Mortarion|ling]] [[Rubric Marines|sla]][[necron|ve]]. Or...[[Chaos spawn|something worse]].
*Anti-intellectualism.
*...and it's justified because even an instant of unprotected thinking risks mass destruction.
*PTSD.
*Nihilism.
* Racism is actually right.
*Gothic and emo aesthetics (with the help of tons of ''"decorative"'' skulls).
*There are no "good guys". Everyone's a jerk, including yourself. ''Especially yourself.''
* Everyone is evil either because they’re just plain monsters or because they are trying to survive which makes everyone evil to everyone else.
*[[Tau|The guys everyone refer to be "good" or "nice"]] are actually just ''the least'' evil bunch, and would still make your average high fantasy/sci-fi arch-villains look like saints in comparison.
*The REAL good guys are either [[Lamenters|the ones (usually) mostly hated, and are going to get fucked over beyond human recognition usually without any logical reason]] or [[Salamanders|too few to make any difference]].
*Aforementioned "good guys" are only "good" because they do care about their allies and civilians, and generally try to make the place less shitty for those they care for. But they still wouldn't hesitate a second before doing pretty horrible things like [[Shadowrun|terrorist actions against "The Man"]], [[Warhammer 40k|killing a defenseless xeno child]], etc...
* The aforementioned defenseless xeno-child needed to be killed either because it was guaranteed to grow up to be a monster, would grow to compete for resources needed for survival, would be corrupted, was already a monster, or any number of reasonable justifications that would leave a modern man in frustrated tears trying to justify not killing it. Welcome to Warhammer 40,000.
*Magic is [[Warp|inherently malevolent]] and actively seeks to [[Cenobites|corrupt]] and [[Khorne|destroy]] those unfortunates 'gifted' with magical abilities. And everything around them at the time.
*You either die a [[Sanguinius|worthy death]] or you live long enough to see yourself becoming something that [[Mortarion|you've]] [[Perturabo|always]] [[Fulgrim|hated]].
*Everyone will most likely die in the end. Especially the ones important to and including the main character.
*Always polluted, never sunny.
*No ice cream. No lollipops either.
*Death or suicide will only make things much, much worse in [[H.P. Lovecraft|Lovecraftian]] levels, as a hive of disgusting, incomprehensibly evil supernatural daemons are waiting patiently to eternally torment your un-life and roast your soul alive day and night forever and ever, again and again and again and again.
*Tremendous potential for offensive/dark comedy/[[lulz]].
*[[God-Emperor of Mankind|And if you ever, EVER try to change this shitty world or try to help one person just a little, you will probably suffer terrible consequences,]] because altruism is a dying philosophy. (And because your reasoning is flawed.)
*Life sucks.
*There's only war.
*You're probably going to get eaten by Tyranids.
*no gf
*Good luck and [[Dwarf_Fortress|have fun.]]
*Even using the wrong calendar is [[heresy]].

== Stuff considered Grimdark ==
{{cleanup}}
[[File:Tyrus.jpg|400px|thumb|A world where the only way to beat grimdark is by introducing something even grimmer and darker]]
[[File:The_grimdarkian_by_ironshrinemaiden_d1i73bl.jpg|400px|thumb|[https://www.deviantart.com/ironshrinemaiden/art/The-Grimdarkian-91030161| The Grimdarkian, by IronShrineMaiden]]]
* '''''[[Warhammer 40,000]]''''' (Naturally, coined the term).
* '''''[[Warhammer Fantasy Battle]]''''', <strike>but less than you'd think. It's a lot closer to nobledark</strike> until the world [[Derp|was]] [[Bullshit|actually]] [[End Times|destroyed]]. Now, [[Age of Sigmar]] continues it and is, slightly, better in so much that it is unlikely to be destroyed, though [[Warhammer Meta-Setting|that may imply an even worse eternal stalemate]].
* '''The World Wars''', especially the Western Front of WW1, the Eastern Front of WW2, and everything involving WW2 Japanese army/navy and PoWs/civies.
* '''The countless wars of the 1990s in Africa''', including, but not limited to: The Rwandan Genocide, Liberian child soldiers, Sierra Leonean amputations, slave labor in the Congo, etc.
** Post Colonial Africa in general until the 21st century and even then it is still not particularly nice.
* '''''[[Dwarf Fortress]]'''''
* '''''[[Dark Sun]]'''''
* '''''End of War'''''
* '''''Blood''''', The main character is a undead wild west gunslinger who has to bring down a dark god's cult!
* '''Shakespeare's tragedies''', especially ''Macbeth'' and ''Hamlet''.
* '''''[[1984]]'''''
* '''''Soylent Green'''''.
* '''''[[Paranoia]]''''' (though used for parodying 1984).
* The majority of the tragedy genre of stories.
* '''''[[RIFTS]]'''''.
* The '''''Half-Life''''' universe after the resonance cascade.
* '''''Portal''''' once you get past the memes.
* The Helghast from the '''''Killzone''''' universe.
* The '''Kerberos''' trilogy, but special mentions to '''Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade'''. A series of films that basically gave birth to Killzone singlehandedly (Seriously, look at the comparisons between the Helghast and the film's Protect Gear, [[Original character, do not steal|it is ''blatant'']]). Set in an alternate-history where Japan was occupied by Germany rather than America at the end of WW2. In Jin-Roh, the nation is constantly in social turmoil with left-wing communist terrorist guerillas using children as bomb couriers against two police force of Japan: the normal-looking police force (Backed by the Japanese KGB/CIA hybrid) and the '''ORIGINAL''' Helghasts called the Kerberos Panzer Cops. Jin-Roh is a political thriller film that largely talks about the problems of the "Good guy, bad guy" dichotomy and how juvenile it is for stories to portray these things in real life. All of the films have a downer ending, so if you are looking for a happy ending, you're gonna get dissapointed. Despite what [[/pol/|some people]] [[SJW|may argue,]] the Kerberos trilogy is a condemnation of all extremist ideas and actions. Its a Mamoru Oshii film of Ghost in the Shell fame, what do you fucking expect.
* Everything in '''''Gears of War'''''. The fact that the primary weapon in the series features a [[Chain Weapon|Chainsaw bayonet designed to utterly rip out the innards of anyone unfortunate to be at the receiving end]] is already by itself Grimdark.
* Everything in the Resistance universe.
* The MachineGames '''''Wolfenstein''''' games. The Nazis crushed the Allies in 1947 with insane technology and won World War II. The setting pulls no punches in depicting how nightmarish the world would become if the Nazis were free to enact their racist and reactionary ideology to its fullest. Manhattan was nuked off the earth, London is now a slum filled with humiliating monuments to the Nazi victory (and a giant robot that literally crushes any uprisings), indigenous peoples in Africa and South America are being exterminated wholesale, there are concentration camps on the Moon, Hitler has been deified, and untermensch live in hiding and constant fear for their lives.
* '''''[[Blame!]]'''''.
* '''''Devilman'''''. (especially CRYBABY)
* '''''[[Berserk]]'''''
* '''''[[Goblin Slayer]]'''''.(Pretty much [[Berserk]] if it was set in a Dungeons and Dragons world)
* '''''[[Emergence]]'''''. (177013)
* '''''[[Kingdom Death]]''''' (Makes 40k's setting seem pleasant and cheerful).
* '''''Eastenders''''' (especially at Christmas).
* '''[[Grimdark Songwriting]]'''
* '''''[[Don't Rest Your Head]]'''''
* '''''SLA Industries''''': Imagine if the Emperor was not only still walking around, but was a callous buisnessman with a permanent skeleton face and no bling armor. Imagine a civilization that exists almost entirely to strip mine itself in the name of consumerism, with snuff television being the primary source of entertainment and anyone trying to do buisness not on SLA's pay roll being branded a "Soft Company" to be exterminated. Oh, and truly horrid aliens that were thought extinct centuries ago are now making a comeback AND occult fuckery of varying flavours is manifesting in increasing amounts in Mort City, SLA's capital.
* '''''The Matrix'''''
* '''''[[World of Darkness]]''''', with special mention going to [[Wraith: The Oblivion]], a game so bleak it's rumored to have actually caused fits of chronic depression in players.
* '''''[[CthulhuTech]]'''''
* '''''[[Call of Cthulhu]]''''', depending on how you do it.
* Everything from '''''[[H.P. Lovecraft]]''''' and the '''''Cthulhu Mythos''''', though this can vary when you add in other Mythos writers like August Derleth.
* Playing mortals in '''''[[Exalted]]'''''
* '''''Neon Genesis Evangelion''''' (Especially End).
* '''''Muv-Luv''''' Often compared to 40k in how bleak and brutal the series is.
* '''''[[Midnight]]''''' setting for D&D.
* '''''[[FATAL]]'''''.
* '''[[Rebecca Black]]'''.
* '''''I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream'''''. Just the title itself should give you a clue on how horrific the game is. (The video game is terrifying, especially with its endings, and the short story it is based on is even more horrifying). Humanity has been wiped out except for five people, who are trapped inside a complex controlled by a misanthropic, reality-warping supercomputer keeping them alive to torture them.
* The '''Medieval Dark Ages''' that Warhammer 40,000 was originally based on.
* '''''[[The Witcher]]'''''. Racism, genocides, dozens of monsters that want to eat your face whenever you enter a random forest. Or cave. Or ruins. The video game adaptation even features a medieval Hitler running the [[Inquisition|Witch Hunters]], a fanatical order of [[Black Templars|racist scumbags dedicated to wiping out both mages and non-humans]] in the name of the Eternal Fire. Meanwhile, the neighboring empire starts a series of wars against northern kingdoms (where the series takes place), in which both sides descend into scorched earth warfare, all the while backstabbing their allies and generally being a colossal wall of dicks to the point that close to 70% of civilian population in war-zones died from raiding, famine and occasional outbreaks of extradimensional plagues. To add insult to injury, the whole world is doomed due to the (slowly) encroaching Ice Age, and the only person that could save it took two glances at this shitshow and decided to fuck off to a parallel universe and let them all die, ''because it would be a mercy''. (To be fair, though, she comes back, if only to save her adoptive mother and father from said Ice Age, as she still maintains her 'fuck the rest of humanity' attitude.
* '''''Dark Souls'''''. The entire ''world'' is ''dying''. Specifically, most of the population is undead, you die constantly, and you have to fight enemies larger and filthier than you are, [[Heresy|including a naked bitch with a spider vagina]]. Also, [[Extra Heresy|FAKE TITS]]. Stuck in an infinite loop where a hero constantly saves the world, and everything goes back to normal before hitting another grimdark cycle every thousand years. Compare with nobledark and check your mileage.
* '''''Drakengard''''' and its related franchise: '''''Nier'''''. Basically, the "god" in this setting is a massive dick so he infects humans with zombie aids out of boredom and watch them kill each other for the [[lulz]]. Caim (the player), the former prince of a fallen kingdom (due to his parents being killed by a black dragon) had to fight the zombie army. He unironically [[rip and tear|enjoys slaughtering any living things]] after waging a bunch of other conflicts and lost his ability to speak after he made a pact with a dragon in exchange for companionship and power (in Drakengard, making such a pact with another creature makes you lose a certain part of you). He had to team up with a blind pedophile priest, a baby eating elf witch, and a ageless shota. His sister unknowingly to him is a crazy incest bitch, driven mad by the pain she endures because she was forced to become a "Goddess of the Seal", some kind of administrator chosen by the "god" to maintain space and time. The job sucks, she had to be separated from her family and she's unable to kill herself because her caretaker would prevent that from happening. And to top it off her parents die tragically. And then you have the villains. Manah, an abused 8 year old child descended from one of the evil clone sister's brother from the prequel, was controlled by the eldritch forces of "the watchers" (read: the dick head "god" himself) who are in charge of the zombie armies with humanity's extinction being their goal. Due to the influence of the watchers group on the Empire kingdom of its setting, the world is engulfed in flames and corpses. The true ending for the game is that everyone except Caim dies and he somehow end up moving a magical doomsday device created by the god to other world (Tokyo Japan of our world to be exact), detonate it and doom the human race. It is said that Drakengard as a series has a fuck ton of timelines and a timeline was born from each of the endings with each ending being bad, or if not worse than the previous. Surprisingly the ending mentioned above is consider canon and it is where the sequel Nier took place (after 1462 years no less) with more grimdark ensuing. Drakengard 2 was pretty bright light since it was directed by a different director but is still part of branch timeline while Drakengard 3 is the prequel retelling how the god tries to destroy the world by sticking an evil parasite flower on some psychopathic girl. Each time the girl died it creates an evil clones of her that will try to rule the world with their evil song magic. Obvious, it's also grimdark since it led to the tragic grimdark rape sauce that is the plot of the first game.
** In '''''Nier''''', the world sets 1462 years into the future. After our "hero" and his dragon fucked up the world by killing and detonating the doomsday device, it release some kind of magical evil virus that mindraped and turned people into salt if they don't submit. After countless grimdark conflicts involving child soldiers, human experiments and more resource shortage, the scientist decided to separate the rest of the survivors souls (gestalt) from their bodies, hoping they could outlast the pandemic. But of course all these attempts are futile failure because Nier, our "hero" ended up killing the only thing that could save humankind, dooming them all to extinction.
*** Finally we have '''''Nier: Automata''''', 8480 years later, where new androids were created by the last human survivors. One of the Nier's companions Emil, a bizarre magical weapon created from some crazy experiment (he is over 8480 years old or so at this point) had to clone himself over 9000 times just to fight the aliens, which not only made him lose his mind and memories but also his sanity. Oh and the humans that escaped to the moons turn out to be long dead. When the rest of androids find out, they proceed to kill themselves in a batshit frenzy. To make this sound even more painful and tragic, the androids have the human concepts of pain and emotions programmed to them, making their death even more painful to be felt.
* '''''Mass Effect''''': While its universe overall is hardly grimdark overall, the Reapers and what happens to "harvested" individuals is some of the sickest forms of grimdark possible. During the Reaper War, billions of people across the galaxy were vaporized, dissolved slowly, and/or converted into cyber zombies or brainwashed slaves. And that's just the latest Reaper War. The Reapers have committed so much galactic genocide beforehand, they turned it into a scheduled event and made the galaxy their farm/laboratory.
** There are many other forms of Grimdark in the relatively Nobledark/Noblebright universe of Mass Effect, one of the most notable being the Genophage, a bioweapon deployed against the Krogan race as to halt the Krogan Rebellions. This bioweapon was basically a massive, permanent genetical Fetus Deletus that drove Krogan birthrates down extensively and creates a lot of stillborns, leaving them vulnerable to extinction.
* '''''Killzone''''', again. The Second Extrasolar War alone deserves its own page of Grimdark: Humanity and their alien descendants, the Helghast, engage in a near-racial war of genocide, more genocide, and even more genocide. Technology has devolved in many areas, and battles turn into endless slaughters as hundreds of thousands of men and women are thrown into a Verdun/Stalingrad hybrid scenario. What's even more horrible is how literally '''everyone''' is evil. Not just the Helghast. Literally all of humanity is warped. The Earth-based UCN? Corrupt and bureaucratic. They want to strangle all their colonies with an iron fist and they intentionally keep the colonial military, the ISA, weaker than it otherwise could be so the centralized military could easily crush them if they rebelled, (UCN cruisers for example are basically dreadnoughts in comparison to those of the ISA), which has caused more than a few problems for the ISA when fighting the Helghast. The Vektans? Hypocritically imperialistic, believing the Helghast deserve to perish for their militarism and (failed) invasion of their planet. The Helghast? Racist, imperialistic genocidal maniacs, believing themselves to be "superior" and even some thinking they need to kill every human in the universe, for "Helghast Purity".
** The Helghast are a literal representation of a society and people warped by Grimdarkery: The planet of Helghan is inhospitable, forcing almost all its inhabitants to wear gas masks. Society is highly fascist, militaristic, and any form of dissent is met with "reeducation" (A bullet to the head), while the government itself is highly nepotistic, where opportunistic scumbags manipulate Helghast Nationalism for their self-benefit. Also, technology and living standards in the civilian sector is extremely poor, as the majority of the advanced technology went over to the military.
** The fanbase of the series is certainly odd though due to the fact that this concept that everyone is evil has went completely over their heads and due to the blatantly unfair treatment of the Helghasts (kind that makes the Treaty of Versailles seem all fair and good by comparison) in the lead up and aftermath of the First Extrasolar War, they have a tendency to see the Helghast, despite being the antagonists, [[derp|as the good guys]]. Their totalitarian society and the fact that the Helghast commit more or less every warcrime known to man apparently didn't make it obvious that this is not so.
* '''''Gears of War''''', again. Decades of civil war, genocide and weapons of mass destruction has turned your home planet into a quasi-dead world. The human race is close to extinction, women are reduced to birthing machines, your government is an uncaring fascist scumbag, the weather is often rain consisting of razor sharp ice crystals that could cut you into ribbons, you're fighting a never-ending war with genocidal monsters from the underground and the world is literally '''dying''' from super fuel.
**To make matters even worse. Even before the Locust War, humanity was locked in a near 80 year war between two rivaling superpowers over the aforementioned super fuel. The COG and the UIR. Both governments are ruthless, imperialistic, fascistic, communistic bastards of a government whose war crimes will make the likes of the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany look like amateurs. When even the Locust have a point by calling us out for being exactly the same genocidal monsters as they are, you know Gears of War is fucked. Oh and the planet is called Sera, or Ares when said backwards.
* The '''''Resistance''''' series, again: Humanity is losing a brutal war of genocidal attrition against a parasitic alien species, the Chimera. Russia, Asia, and nearly all of Europe has been converted into a desolate wasteland, suitable for the Chimera species. Whatever is left of humanity has been driven into cave dwellings. Humans captured by the Chimera are converted into a Chimera Hybrid (Basically the Chimera equivalent of [[Arco-flagellant|Arco-Flagellants]]).
* '''''Hellgate London'''''.
* Most of '''David Bowie''''s songs about 1990.
* World Devastators in '''''[[Star Wars]]'''''. Seriously, if you read about them without knowing that they are from Star Wars, you could easily mistake them for something from 40k. And we're not talking about Star Wars Legacy and the genocide of the Mon Calamari.
* The first two '''''Hellraiser''''' movies
* '''''Event Horizon'''''
* '''''GANTZ'''''
* '''''[[Cyberpunk 2020]]'''''.
* '''''[[Shadowrun]]'''''. While not the worst in the grimdark department, Shadowrun definitely has its moments (the Renraku Archology Shutdown being a prime example); for instance the oppressive megacorporations reducing people to an identification number, with people not having one ([[Derp|for... reasons]]) don't exist legally.
* '''''[[Hellsing]]'''''... just all of Hellsing... Though it can easily slide into grimderp. (A little girl seeing her mother killed while hiding in a closet? Yeah that's intense. In a moment of desperation, shove a rod into the guy's eyeball, only for him to not be mortally wounded? That's pretty unfortunate. Said guy deciding to fuck the corpse as his smashed eyeball hangs from the socket? That's just silly.)
**'''''Drifters''''', by the same author. The protagonists are a bunch of [[murderhobo|kill-happy murderhoboes]] drawn from various psychos from all throughout history into [[Isekai|a generic fantasy world]] who have decided to [[Great Crusade|save the world by conquering it, one country at a time]]. One of the major powers of the setting turns out to have been founded by ''Adolph friggin' Hitler''. Even Joan of Arc, who IRL was noted for being a pacifist, is warped into a bloodthirsty psycho. The [[BBEG]], who wants to kill all humans (and is noted to be a step up from his subordinates, who want to kill [[Necron|everything]]) is all but outright states to be ''Jesus''.
* '''''Bioshock''''' and '''''Bioshock 2''''' (as well as '''''Bioshock Infinite''''', though it comes hidden behind a smiling facade of barbershop singing and the Fourth of July).
* Anything from the '''''[[Xeelee Sequence]]'''''.
** The Interim Coalition of Governance for example, is such a grim-ridden shit-hole that they make the Imperium of Man look like pussies filled with sun-shine and rainbows in comparison and make the [[Adeptus Custodes]] shit themselves in collateral fear. Despite achieving time travel, conquering the entire Universe through xenocide that would make the Necrons look like children and shooting Neutron Stars at .99c at the speed of light, The ICoG is still a minor nuisance compared to the Xeelee and their enemies, the Photino Birds. Stephen Baxter was able to construct the insignificance and petty malevolence of Man in a few books better than GeeDubs more [[Matt Ward|questionable]] [[CS Goto|authors]] did in decades. [[tl;dr]] the IoM wishes they would be as cool as the ICoG. A small example is a soldier, Pirius invents an incredible way of outmaneuvring the enemy and does a huge impact on the war: [[awesome|he captures a Xeelee ship]]. Turning back time and going to the past, he is...sent to a penal unit guaranteeing death. Literally for thinking outside the box.
** All of Steven Baxter's works arguably qualify. '''''Evolution''''' can be summed up as "humanity almost overcame its flaws, fixed the damage it did to Earth, and ushered in a [[noblebright]] future, and it might have worked, but [[Rocks_fall,_everyone_dies|just then a supervolcano erupted, wiped out human civilization, and everyone died]]. The end. There's even a chapter in the middle of the book outright stating it. Also that humans [[Imperium|are nothing but vicious bastards who rape, kill, and destroy everything they touch]] and have been ever since our ancestors were rats under the feet of dinosaurs, but other animals aren't much better.
* '''North Korea''', which is essentially [[1984|"Real Life Oceania"]], a totalitarian nightmare almost completely isolated from the rest of the world with a leader whose name you are literally forbidden from saying without the prefix "supreme leader". Universal conscription is in place for men with service lengths of over ten years from age 17 to 30 (for comparison, in South Korea, where compulsory military service length is also among the highest in the world, the service length is 21 to 24 months depending on the chosen branch). The country has no access to the internet and only has it's own intranet with government controlled websites. Long gone are the days when the government had any interest in making the country good. Now all they care about is simply staying in power, no matter how much poverty and how many famines the rest of the country has to suffer for it. And if you get on the government's really bad side, you and at least 2 other generations of your family get sent to prison camps to be executed or become the playthings of the prison guards until you die.
* '''''The Goon''''' comic series by Eric Powell (because circus hillbillies, werewolves with midget hand phobias, and the Zombie Priest are the least of it all).
* '''''Children of Men''''': A future where humans are no longer fertile and going extinct, and then someone finds a pregnant woman and nearly everyone in the world fights over her.
* '''''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]''''' AKA Game of Thrones: Good guys screw up monumentally or never win, the only people who get ahead are amorally manipulative assholes and everyone is going to be massacred and enslaved by the evil ice elf necromancers in the end. And if they somehow survive, then another war for the Iron Throne will happen after the winner gets their revenge-boner satisfied and later, their kids would need to clean up the wankstains.
* '''''Dishonored''''' - Grimdark, and steampunk. Only in the "Kill fucking everyone" ending though.
* '''''Dark Seed''''', Grimdark to the core! the first game is about the main character being fucked in the head. Hr giger's artwork helps too.
* '''''[[Humanity Fuck Yeah|X-Com]]''''' (The remake and the original, as a parody of the G.I. Joe Badass stereo type, you're struggling with funding and even your gods in human form, some of whom make certain chapters of Astartes weep, can get fucked over by Sectoids!)
* '''''Puella Magi Madoka Magica'''''. Being Meguca is suffering.
* '''''[[Adventure Time]]''''''s backstory.
* '''''Path of Exile'''''. The game's setting is basically a documentary on the corruption of [[Roman Empire]]. Basically there is this continent called the Wraeclast. [[Tomb Kings|The land is pretty much cursed with undeath]] and [[chaos|mutation]] due to Thaumaturgy aka magic in the form of gems that grants ability, which came from the beast, some kind of eldritch abomination living in the mountain and the source of all this evil magic shit. Many great Empire rose and fell on the continent with their own fucked up and downfall. [[Fall of the Eldar|The first empire: The Vaal were somekind of Aztec, Mayan inspired Empire who loves to sacrifice people for power, so much that they were responsible for corrupting the beast, which partly responsible for what Wraeclast is today]]. After that, a new Empire called "the Eternal Empire" was built on top the former and began outlawing Thaumaturgy and gems for the next 1000 years, until a tyrant was throne after he cheat a death maze trial and was killed in a rebellion staged by Voll, who is obsessed with the old purity ideal and decided to trust Malachai, a previous evil asshole Thaumaturgiest employed by the previous Emperor to destroy the beast, the source of all magic (in detail, Voll was convinced by Malachai into thinking that only those who study Thaumaturgy could destory Thaumaturgy). Obviously, [[Nagash|Malachai ended up betraying Voll as well as everyone in the Empire, as well as the godamn world by merge with the beast and unleash a series of cataclysm that made what Wraeclast is today, and the bastard achieve a twisted sense of immortality where he is now but a evil monster living inside the beast, who is obsessed with creating nightmarish monsters]].
**Despite the Voll's fucked up, part of the Empire survived in the form of an island nation south called Oriath. [[Imperium of Man|It was ruled under a Theocratic government. Following the laws of purity with an iron fist, where they reject impurity so much that anyone who reject their doctrines is met with either slavery, death or exiled to Wraeclast (which the player came to be)]]. [[Nazi|They are also racist, dressed in stylish uniform fashioned with eagle, gold and the typical red armband, all the more reinforce their real life counterpart]]. [[Roman Empire|Since they inherit the previous empire's slavery culture, they enslave a group of archipelago tribal minority known as the Karui, serving as the Rome equivalent of barbarian tribe slave race for Oriath and oh boy, how Oriath loves to oppress the shit out of them, using them for free labor, torture them, experiment them and putting them in the grand arena as gladiators entertainment]]. They also worship this golden figure with red eyed [[Emperor|called Innocence, who is the major god of Oriath, the Templar's most beloved GOLDEN subject of worship]] and they believe themselves to be the most pure and "innocence" while calling others like [[heresy|the karui and the heretics to be impure and "Sinned"]].
***As if things are not bad enough, later game where after the player killed the beast, it awoke the gods from the slumber. Gods, who were once mortal but sold their humanity for power in order to ascend. As a result, the gods are no better than the humans, most them were downright psychopath(there's a god called Yugul who was once a scholar obsessed with fear that he study about it so much he eventually ascend to godhood, became somekind of four leg walking mouth thing), mentally depressed ([[genestealers|there's this insect goddess called Ryslatha who is afraid of loosing her children that she makes everyone hers by having her parasite control everything that moves]]) or just a downright bloody warlords (the Karui wargod, who is the one to encourage his tribes man to stop being peaceful and tell them to go kill shit and babies, which are actually Ryslatha's and is therefore responsible for her ugly transformation). Although some gods were good, they ended up being corrupted by their followers for fuck how longs while the beast forcing them to slumbering away. After their returning, some human made contact with them through their mind radio advertisement, and were made to become their followers, where they were [[chaos|granted mutations (or blessing, some would say)]] and went on their own ape shit rampage across the world to claim their own territories or invade others. Most of the Karui slaves in Oriath ended up getting the worst mutation of all since [[Angron|they worship this Kitava god (an evil Karui god whom was repeatedly punished for his gluttony, yet despite its mouth being mutilated in such way for him to stop consuming anything, he still does and even managed to reach godhood) in order to free from their slavery and shitty treatment from their Templar tormentor]], [[Khorne|all the more powered up Kitava with their desires for vengeance and blood. The slave's faith for Kitava is so overwhelming that not one on Oriath is safe from Kitava's power]], even the Templar, after their god Innocence that had been recently decimate by the player are now vulnerable to Kitava influences, that they switched side without a second thought, easily giving up their old faith like the asshole heretic they had always been. The only god who managed to retain its sanity from all this madness is called Sin, Innocence's brother who is this creepy black winged figure that could make everyone thought of angels of death whenever he pops up. Despite this, he is smart enough to realized the danger of godhood and create the beast in order to force them asleep (this includes his wife and daughter, whom were also deities like him, and were also corrupted that they had to be put down by the player because even Sin finds it painful to kill his own kin and lover). Even after the player has killed all the gods, Wraeclast remains the same, Thaumaturgy and gems still exist, but at least Oriath is no longer rule by an extreme religious organization, right?
* '''''[[Space Station 13]]''''' : Space paranoia simulator. Some might not consider this game grimdark, but the lore is set in a dystopian future where capitalism and unforgiving bureaucracy rules the universe, your life is expandable, and the media is controlled; your only choice is working until you die, or getting killed by either rival corporate operatives, space wizards, cultists, deathsquads or spies posing as your co-workers.
* '''''Barotrauma''''' : Inspired by Space Station 13, centered on a submarine crew in the underground oceans of Europa. Crew members are expendable, you're ''always'' outgunned, the submarine is almost [[Death World|constantly under attack by massive sea creatures]], and most missions are much more likely to end in disaster than success. Also, you explode as soon as you step outside the sub.
* '''''LifeWeb''''' : A complex SS13 spinoff taking place in a cave forteress of a neo-medieval world in the far future, combat is more lethal, and it explores subjects like murder, corruption, rape, torture, cultism and general human suffering.
* '''''[[Pokemon Tabletop Adventures]]''''' (optionally).
* Original '''''Grimm's Fairy Tales''''' ("Hansel and Gretel", for example).
* '''''Alien''''' (as in the biomechanical, parasitic, acid-blooded brainchild of Ridley Scott and the late H.R. Giger).
* '''''[[Halo]]''''' (the setting of Halo is one grand scale of a Cosmic Horror Story centered around absolute hopelessness and bleakness of a Universe governed by hyper malevolent gods. Our good guys, the UNSC? It's a semi-authoritarian 'Big Brother is Watching You', fascistic style government that have no qualms dumping nukes on a civilian population if rebellion is sighted. The UNSC also have no problems dicking over their only alien 'friends' to benefit humanity, while also being bogged down in a political quagmire. The Covenant are ''much, much worse'', while anything from the Forerunner trilogy is just a high concoction of Nightmare Fuel inside a depressing milkshake.
**Now with [[Halo#Halo Fleet Battles and Ground Command|newly added fluff in the Tabletop Games and other books,]] Halo is going eerily straight down the WH40K route. [[Space Marines|Covenant now having different chapters and sects,]] [[Warp|Slipspace shifting more like space hell,]] [[Inquisition|the UNSC/UEG sending secret police to silence and torture innocents]] [[Abbadon|and an ancient Eldritch A.I. of malevolent aura that shares the same name to a certain armless failure.]] Seriously we ain't making this shit up!
* '''''[[Battletech]]'''''.
* '''''Factorio'''''. Subtle, but, lone human, aliens want to kill you, everything you do makes smog, and your goal is to cover the world in industry, concrete, machines, and gun turrets. The world isn't dead when you arrive, but you're damn well going to kill it yourself or die trying.
* '''''Kane & Lynch.''''' Sweet Emperor, Kane & Lynch. Forget your GTAs and Paydays. In it, you control two murderous middle-aged fugitives, one of which is explicitly mentally troubled, and not in a funny way. The kind of true underworld scum that can only be described as genuinely repulsive. That, plus the fact that nothing ever goes right for anyone in the story just adds to it.
* '''''Attack on Titan''''' (You cannot win, ever. And if you do, you've probably lost all your friends, who've been eaten by giant freaky Mutants, who don't even need food. Yeeeah).
** To put things bluntly, it turns out even the Titans are perpetually suffering, the whole setting runs on a system of human sacrifice and cannibalism that would make the Aztecs proud, this is a series where facing the apocalypse does ''not'' bring out the best in humanity but instead remains as fractious, self-destructive, and divisive as ever (which is honestly one of the points of the story), and the leaders of humanity make the [[High Lords of Terra]] look competent. Things are such a clusterfuck with no hope of change that one of the characters has decided the only way things can get better is to wipe out every human that isn't a member of their ethnic group, and what's worse the plot seem to be proving them ''right''.
* '''''Metro''''' series (both the books and games, but mostly in the books, where the last known humans are hiding in underground subway tunnels, and when not trying to finish each other off are fighting endless hordes of [[mutant]]s [[/b/|and other, much worse things]]. Also, if you're one of the stalkers, the few brave ones that head to the surface to [[Blood Ravens|loot anything they can find]], you risk [[Tyranid|being eaten by flying daemons]]. Hell, it even has [https://www.amazon.co.uk/Metro-2033-Dmitry-Glukhovsky/dp/0575086254 the same "abandon all hope" vibe in the intro], just like 40k. And that is just the tip of the iceberg.)
** Note as the books go on the grimdarkness does tone down by showing the areas outside of the city to be in much better living conditions and other metros.(though not all the books are written by the same author).
* '''''Madness Combat''''' - no regret, no remorse, no reason, only [[Khorne|madness]].
* '''''LISA the RPG.'''''
* '''''The Darkness''''' videogames. Fairly average if utterly spoiled gangster is almost killed and inherits an ancient lineage of shadow monsters that feed off of shadows. Said gangster then decides to go on a revenge-killing spree against his uncle who ordered the whole thing while also fighting off the will of the monsters and protecting his girlfriend.
* The first two '''''Hyperion''''' books.
* '''''Elfen Lied''''' (where the next step of the evolution of mankind is a group of schizophrenic homicidal mutant girls with invisible tentacle hands and a hair-trigger temper who will either kill you in the worst way possible or [[Genestealer|infect you with their gene to increase their numbers]].)
* Most of '''Stephen King's''' works.
** As the joke goes, some people say that Stephen King's works are so fucked up they should come with a content warning. The reply is that they ''do'' have a content warning, they have the words "written by Stephen King" on the front.
* '''''S.T.A.L.K.E.R.''''' You travel a desolate landscape filled with mutants in all the horrific varieties, failed science projects (courtesy of the secret cabal of scientist settled there after USSR' s dissolution), anomalies that you often can't see and kill you instantly and a lot of renegades/bandits/fanatics/zombies. Your gear breaks all the time, resources are scarce and your goal is to get to the [[Wikipedia:Chernobyl disaster|highly dangerous Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant]], which is also protected by lots of fanatics with the best gear available. If you make it through that hellish place that is The Zone, you'll likely get one of the 5 really grimdark endings, and if you paid a lot of attention to certain seemingly useless items along the way, you may get one of the other two grimdark endings. The rest of the world largely ignores what's happening inside The Zone, aside from a few scientists that study the deadly phenomena and the international military that maintains a cordon around The Zone so the nasty stuff doesn't get out and sometimes send expeditions inside, killing everything and everyone in sight. Also, [[Meme|A NU CHEEKI BREEKI IV DAMKE]].
* '''''The Slenderman Mythos''''' (HE ALWAYS WATCHES).
* [[Dante|Dante "you hurt my feefees so I'll put you in hell" Alighieri]]'s '''''[[Warp|Inferno]]'''''. Put simply short, God is a fucking Sadist. If you suffer from depression/PTSD so much that you commit suicide, God will mutate you into an immortal tree that still feels pain and is constantly torn apart by harpies forever. How merciful. Sinners who committed Gluttony are punished by being eaten/mutilated alive by Cerberus, who transforms your corpse into slowly regenerating shit mud, all while a costant snowy rain (or rainy snow) hits your head; after being whole again, thou art eaten while trying to flee in despair, and it starts anew.But that's not the worst punishment. How about being under constant fireball rain in a desert for loving a person of the same gender? And being annihilated by snakes, then rebuilt? Or you find funnier being stuck in the ice? For ever. Because some old dude called Minos decided so.
* The '''''F.E.A.R.''''' series (even the third vanilla-by-comparison game is fucked up).
* '''''Total War: Attila''''' (Unlike the previous Total War titles, which were about your faction's rise to power from small backwater city/tribe/country into a mighty empire able to boss around its neighbors into doing your bidding, this one is about the decline of your faction as you desperately try to survive the onslaught of the Huns, who's sole purpose in the game is to worship Tengri by burning, pillaging, and raping their way through the known world. Particularly if you are the Romans. Winning is defined by being the last guy standing who gets to clean up the rubble and dead bodies, trying to rebuild their world after Attila destroyed it. Seriously, even the music sounds depressing and foreboding as fuck.)
* '''''[[Darkest Dungeon]]'''''. Your ancestor awakened some kind of God that is pretty much Cthulhu's brother and sent you a letter before killing himself, asking you to mop up the huge mess he created. Enjoy sending parties of 4 adventurers ranging from badass lepers to sickle-wielding jesters to their deaths in cultist-infested ruins, sewers filled with mutated cannibalistic pigmen, sea caverns serving as anthropomorphic sea creatures and forests corrupted by evil. And I'm not going to talk about the Darkest Dungeon itself. Also, have fun dealing with those bandits that are raiding the Hamlet for which you spent a fuckton of resources in upgrades.
* '''''The Day After''''', and its worse Brit counterpart, '''''Threads'''''.
* '''''Lord Of War'''''. The worst is that it's based on real events.
*'''''Now and Then, Here and There'''''. The DARKEST [[Isekai]] ever made. Period. Imagine if you will, that you were isekai'ed into a world that took direct inspiration from the ''Rwandan Genocide''. Yeah, we are in that type of territory here boys. The setting takes place in an alternate world, ''10 billion years'' into the future where the sun is about to go into a red giant and whatever scraps of humanity are fighting each other for the last remaining sources of water. Expect a lot of child soldiers, child abuse, child torture, child rape and ethnic cleansing to a scarily realistic degree. This is a post-post-apocalyptic world that is designed to break the viewers. It is an anime darker than 40k despite the 'happy' ending due the sheer levels of nihilism and unforgiving horrors of human depravity. As such, it is one of the few isekais that /tg/ could respect.
* '''''[[SCP Foundation]]''''' universe as a whole is borderline grimdark, as many aspects of the Foundation are mixed between absurd comedy, derp, and pure grimdark. At its very worst, the SCP Foundation has things that make the [[Daemonculaba]] look nice by comparison. Above all: [[Inquisition|Secure. Contain. Protect. Imagine a semi-totalitarian world power, funded by world governments to capture and contain anomalous entities, objects and locations so that the rest of mankind can live in a world that makes sense.]] We're talking animate statues that move when you blink (predating that episode of [[Doctor Who]]) and a creature that kills anyone that sees its face in ''any'' form. One of the most Grimdark anomalies is a girl pregnant with something that could cause the end of the world if it is ever born and the only way to stop it from being born is to regularly put her through something unimaginably horrible (The author has said that they never will reveal what exactly it is but it probably involves [[Rape]]) and periodically erase her memories to make sure she doesn't get used to it. And not all of these threats can be contained or stopped and are roaming free to harm innocents. And some of the captured SCPs are not necessary hostile or evil, but are still imprisoned in a worse case scenario. Oh, and the apocalypse has already happened several times over, whenever it does humanity is replaced with clones, and they have lost track of how many times they have done this. You can't even escape by dying, as the most of the possible afterlifes are just as bad if not far worse. While the SCP Foundation tries to avoid being outright bad guys, they are willing to do ANYTHING to keep the world normal and most of the other factions are morally grey at best, and the few good guy factions tend to cause a lot of unintentional harm. But still, [http://www.scp-wiki.net/black-white-black-white-black-white-black-white-black-white Secure. Contain. Protect.] Just another day at the office.
* '''''Shisha no Teikoku''''', the Empire of Corpses. Steampunk, Grimdark, Zombies, Cross-References and Conspiracies everywhere. It has even become possible to ressurect the dead, giving them their soul and intelligence back, but only 2 characters profit from it in the end, while everyone else stays a slave.
* '''''[https://www.reddit.com/r/theeternalwar/ The Eternal War]''''', as the name suggests
* '''''[[Dystopian Wars]]''''', as the name suggests
* '''''Clockup Games''''' where you get a firsthand look a sex cult and their destructive side effects.
* '''''World War Z''''' (the book). After zombies overran most of the world, many people had it so bad that they simply lost the will to live. Fighting in the Paris Catacombs with weaker weapons that wouldn't cause a cave-in due to hazardous gasses everywhere. Russian soldiers rioting over unfair treatment and enforced secrecy ordered under pain of death to kill one in ten of their own squadmates - with rocks - to teach them the price of freedom and democracy. Which they then happily traded away. The survival of the human race hinged on governments following a plan including elements of eugenics and leaving settlements of people behind as zombie bait. People resorted to cannibalism to survive in Canada. North Korea entirely vanished without a trace. Pakistan and Iran nuked each other. After the war officially ended, there are still loose zombies wandering around, Russia has started a breeding program to deal with severe underpopulation, several species are extinct, and diseases thought to be wiped out are coming back en masse.
* '''''Space Runaway Ideon'''''
* '''''[[Isekai|Re:Zero]]'''''
* '''''Uzumaki'''''. Basically a Lovecraftian horror manga where a seaside town gets [[rape]]d by spirals. Not as weird as it sounds. Or maybe it is as weird as it sounds but not as bad. Also has enough body horror to put most [[Chaos Spawn]] to shame.
** Pretty much anything by [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junji_Ito Junji Ito.] Except ''Junji Ito's Cat Diary: Yon & Mu''.
* '''''[[Doom]]'''''. Demons from Hell have overrun Mars and Earth. You are the lone space marine capable of anything. Somewhat of a subversive case of grimdark: it's not you who is afraid of demons, [[awesome|it's the demons who are afraid of you]]. Commence with the [[Rip and Tear]].
* '''''Armored Trooper Votoms''''', an old-school mech anime. [[Humanity Fuck Yeah|Mankind has been at war for so long that even the computers created to direct strategy don't know what the goal is]]. War isn't glorious either, most of the first arc is about a squad that goes rogue and raids their own side's armory to find some loot. While the mech designs aren't pretty or fancy, they are more industrial and utilitarian than many contempoaries, being repurporsed exo-suits. The main character is a [[Perpetual]] done right, through a mix of natural regeneration abilities, skills and nigh supernatural luck; unlike, you know, [[Vulkan]], who was just handed something that should have probably belong to all Primarchs just so that he could make [[Horus|some]] [[Sanguinius|people]] [[Ferrus Manus|jealous]]. Take notes, [[Games Workshop|Gros Wotour]], take notes...
* The '''''Prototype''''' games. New York City is infected with a virus created by a generically-unethical corporation called GenTek that mutates people into mutant zombies and/or fucking huge deformed beasts. A secret division called Blackwatch is sent to brutally contain the virus, except it turns out they originally created the virus as a way to purge minorities. This may sound like Resident Evil but the resemblance ends here because you play as Alex Mercer (Prototype 1) and James Heller (Prototype 2), both of them infected by a strain the virus and became superhumans who can shapeshift and gain someone's memories by consuming them (read violently absorbing them into their bodies) and can grow weapons like claws or a blade arm.
* Saw: [[Cegorach|I just wanna play a game.]]
[[File:Digimon_Tamers_Nope_Nope_Nope!.jpg|300px|right|thumb|[[RIP AND TEAR|It was going to be a kids show they said. It was going to be as whimsical as Pokemon they said...]]]]
* '''''[[Digimon: Digital Adventures|Digimon Tamers]]'''''. (Digimon as a franchise is noted to be surprisingly dark and adult for a kids anime in the 'Mon' genre, but Digimon Tamers is exceptionally depressing even by the series standard. Children attempting suicide, child abuse, attempted murder on a child, multiple on-screen deaths of major characters, torture, psychological mind rape on a young girl, PTSD on said young girl, eldritch abominations, horror and psychological horror. You think Tamers would have a happy ending? Lolnope, Tamers has a bittersweet ending in which the main kids lose their Digimon partners ''for ever''. This is what happens when you allow a guy notorious in psychological horror anime to do a kids show. There is a reason why Tamers is considered the Neon Genesis Evangelion for kids.)
** '''''Digimon Adventure Tri''''' (aimed towards adult fans of the series) takes Tamers up a notch in just plain creepyness. Deaths, assisted suicide, infanticide of Digimon babies, psychological damage, grief-induced madness, corruption, attempted genocide, racial supremacy, racism, immense property damage with collateral damage and attempted rape from the series' former mentor and teacher becoming a creepy sexual predator molesting one of the main characters and choking another one to near death (Both female by the way). Digimon doesn't fuck around.
* Most good 'Real Robot' anime/video games. Further discussion will result in [[skub]].
* '''''Full Metal Alchemist''''': The World is coated by a side of Noblebright at the beginning but morphs into 1984 the more you watch/read. The world Amestris starts out as fine and dandy (despite being a fascist military Dictatorship (the head of state is literaly called [[nazi|führer]])), then it morphs into a world where the Main Country (Amestris.) is at constant war with almost all it's neighbors commits Genocides Left and right and Murder's anyone who finds out the dark truth.
* '''''Shin Sekai Yori''''' also known as From the New World is a novel by Yusuke Nishi (and it has an anime adaptation, which is freaking awesome, everyone should watch it). Basically it's a dystopian story with people using magic to run their society instead of machines in a world that has deliberately regressed to the medieval level. Every child who doesn't manifest magical abilities by a certain age is killed, and all existing non-magical humans have been genetically engineered into a slave-race of mole-people so long ago they've forgotten their origins. The magical people are instead engineered to commit unwilling suicide should they use their powers to harm another human (mole people are fair game, though), and those of them who are too strong and can't manage to control themselves become Lovecraftian abominations.
* '''''Bloodborne''''' or the love child of Dark Souls (gameplay) and Lovecraftian mythology (its main inspiration for setting and theme). Another masterpiece from FROM software and Hidetaka Miyazaki. TLDR, the game is a mix of elritch horrors, omnipotent creatures which are fundementally gods and Dark Souls, though this time there is no fire to link, only FEAR.
* '''''Bet On Soldier/Iron Storm''''': WW1 got extended by 80 years, leading to a world where war is everything (including a televised past time), peace is considered a horrifically dissident ideal and there is a shadowy cabal behind the scenes plotting to make the war last forever.
* Noir in general, from Raymond Chandler's novels to games like This is the Police.
* '''''Magical Girl Site''''' (so grimdark it makes Meguca look Noblebright)
* '''''Wanted'''''. A comic book series which inspired the 2008 action flick. The villains won the war against the heroes and completely erased them from reality. The world of Wanted is one of the most horrific comic book series as it deconstructs the 'action macho man' of the superhero genre and insults the reader (As in break the fourth wall) if they ever felt like rooting for the 'protagonist'. How bad is Wanted? Crime is not only rampant but is actually part of the law, enforced by the Fraternity (Justice League for bad guys), and the only way to even have the closest thing to a 'safe and happy life' is by murdering your next door neighbor out of paranoia. Furthermore, as the world is cut up into sections and ruled by different supervillains, you will most likely be born in a country ruled by either a psychotic bastard who shoots children for shits and giggles, a Lex Luthor archetype who hungers for more unrestrained power, a literal Nazi from the future who wants another Holocaust, or a megalomaniac and sociopathic Chinese emperor who makes Mao Zedong like a chump or a completely immortal 'President-for-Life' Mugabe expy that will probably rule for eternity.
** Our 'protagonist' is a sociopathic, violent, sadistic rapist who assassinates people in ridiculous violent manners that makes the Punisher, Konrad Curze and Batman look like Constable Care in comparison. His first 'character development' was shooting his neighbor in the face because he was too damned nice... yeah... our 'heroes' are literally no different than the villains at all. If you could even call them 'heroes'. While characters in WH40K and Gears of War commit atrocities usually because they have a reason, idea or dogma behind their actions, the villains of Wanted commit them because [[Lulz|they felt like it.]] Don't even get us started with the supervillains who are so repulsive that they are barely redeemable. Wanted is one of those franchises that just makes you ''feel'' like a bastard for even trying to root for anyone. In terms of the moral scale, if DC is the classical Black and White franchise and Marvel is the classical Grey and Gray franchise, than Wanted is the classical Black and Black franchise. [[Chaos]] wishes it could be this efficiently evil.
* '''''Grim Dawn'''''. In a world called Cairn there is magic, monsters, and humans using 19th century tech. A group of mages failed some sort of ritual and accidentally called in a ghost called an Aetherial, setting off a chain of events that would lead to the "Grim Dawn". They invaded the world by possessing many creatures and humans for their own world domination plan, and the ensuing chaos allowed the Cthontic Cult (Mix Khorne and Slaaneshi pain cults) to come out of the shadows just as the Aetherials started getting shit done. This results in a never ending struggle between humans and multiple otherworldly powers. An optional meeting with a god from the universe tells the player that there are many gods watching this world and none of them, him included, gave a shit about their followers since this is just one of many realities they observe and the tragic event is nothing more than a normal day for him. So players have to fight through undead ([[Tomb Kings|who are cursed to forever linger in the world, only to get back up as soon as they are defeated]]), a land corrupted by the aether's green shit that is as harmful as the warp itself, and a crimson forest filled with Cthonic Cultists. The factions of the 'Good Guys' aren't much better either. There is either a necrophiliac ice ninja that will enslave the dead or a pretentious templar order whose god is just as bad as the others. The only hope lies in survivors from the aetherial encounters that gained unnatural powers which may potentially corrupt them in the process. Nothing will ever change though since the world now is filled with horrifying creatures and humanity is reduced to pockets of bandits squabbling over the pitiful remnants of their civilization. Invasions are still going strong despite your efforts at the very end of game and other gods are ready to back stab, corrupt, raid and torment every living creature in the world for their own selfish needs.
** The new expansion '''''Ashe of Malmouth''''' adds more grimdark and even a rare instance of sick fuckery in modern video game. The city Malmouth is said to be the first place hit with Aetherials forces so the entire place is nothing but a fucked up zombie town with buildings made out of human flesh. But before the player can get to that "fun party" however, they would need to cross the jungle, bog place of Ugdenbog, a wild swamp and evil infested shithole filled with cannibals and witches that got gangbang from both the Aetherials and Cthontic forced during the grim dawn. You are even allow to side with the local cannibals in Barrowholm (a much lesser evil mind comapre to the Cthontic and Atherial mind you). Once you got to Malmouth, the true sick fuckery begin. The local Aetherials had spare a few human survivors just so they could hunt them down and replenish for their needs of flesh. What's worst is that they have abducted local females (especially younger one) and use them as breeding cattle to produce more "test subject" and "soldiers". Doesn't that sounds like [[Daemonculaba]]? It also means that the enemies like Aetherial Scamp and Aetherial Imp, those little shit that are the size of a child you fought are actually.....yeah, I'm done with this shit.
* '''Peter Watts'''. Brutal neuropunk sci-fi horror, as bleak as H. P. Lovecraft but with a list of scientific citations at the end to let you know just how realistic it really is. Hits you with a world-ending catastrophe and then manages to make it a thousand times worse -- an alien invasion DURING a hard-takeoff singularity, for example. Sociopathy and post-human augments abound. [http://www.rifters.com/real/shorts.htm Also, the books are free!]
* '''''Armored Warfare'''''. Terrorist/ultra-nationalist/anarchists with tanks, corporations that rule and enslave large portions of the world and the rest of the world might as well be a wasteland, as far as we know.
* Pandora from the '''''Borderlands''''' games. A whole planet covered in tonnes of rubbish, industrial equipment, pollution and debris from mining operations by huge intergalactic corporations. A classic example of unregulated capitalism where the few inhabitants (mostly from the abandoned mining operations) fight for survival against hideously mutated and highly dangerous wildlife and go completely mental in the process. What little rational civilisation there is is constantly under attack from all sides, including by the Hyperion corporation which wants to purge the planet of all life and start again from scratch. To do this the [[BBEG]] has built an army of robots and seeks to awaken an ancient, all-powerful, immortal, alien warrior ([[Derp|which, as it turns out, is very easy to kill]]). Pandora is essentially a [[Death World]]. [[Herp|And people still go and live in this shithole]] just to search for hidden caches of [[Pretend|ancient alien technology]]. TL;DR Australia on steroid with alienz lmao.
* '''''Call of Duty: Black Ops 3'''''
* '''''Homefront''''' (the game, not the similarly-named but unrelated movie)
* '''''Made in Abyss'''''. It is one of those [[Trap]] anime/manga that fools unsuspecting viewers into watching a cute, whimsical Studio Ghibli esque show filled full of wonder and adventure....what the series '''WON'T''' tell you is the amount of Grimdark it would throw at you at the most unsuspecting turn. You want to see cute moe loli children getting tortured, horribly disfigured, experimented on, brutally killed, discarded and abused? Made in Abyss got your back! You want to see a [[Deathworld]] so extreme it even kills you when you think of trying to escape? Made in Abyss is completely centered around that! You want to see a society run on child labor, in which death and injury is so common that a 12 year old knows how to amputate an arm and be unfazed by dead bodies? Made in Abyss is proud to include these! You want to see a [[Nazi|Josef Mengele Cosplayer]]/[[Awesome|Evil Daft Punk]]/[[Furry|Super Furry Loli Fetishist]]/[[Meme|Completely Best Dad EVAR!]] as the main villain? Made in Abyss is a proud sponsor of this! You want to have a deep and dark philosophy on how deep one's humanity can go before completely losing it and what counts as truly human before succumbing to the human excess of wants, needs and pride? Made in Abyss have plenty to showcase this! You want to see what would happen when Laputa's Flying Castle and Madoka Magica fucked Berserk? Made in Abyss is the end result of their sweaty lust! You want to hear absolutely beautiful music and see eye-poppingly gorgeous art which is contrasted against the raw, brutal and savage realities of the setting? Made in Abyss would win over you! You want to get emotionally attached to a bunch of [[Furry|moe furries]] and [[Fist of the North Star|cry manly tears]] without feeling too dirty? Don't worry, we in /tg/ can tolerate it... just about...
* '''''Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind'''''. A manga/anime film made by Hayao Miyazaki, yes you heard us right. The man who was the main founder of Studio Ghibli and gave us childhood gems such as Tortoro, Spirited Away and Ponyo, gave us a Science-Fantasy Epic of the brutality of war. Sure there was Princess Mononoke, but that was basically a spiritual sequel to Nausicaa. The setting of Nausicaa is centered around a post-apocalyptic [[Deathworld]] in which humanity had nuked itself back into the early renaissance via kilometer tall, biomechanical, nuclear-firing [[Exterminatus|GOD-WARRIORS.]] Most children don't make it to adulthood and the remaining human civilizations are on the verge of collapse due to scarcity of resources and the ever growing encroachment of the Sea of Death/Corruption, a forest of highly toxic fungal jungles and incredibly violent mega-insects that goes [[RAGE|completely anal if you dare pluck a 'Shroom or two.]] To make matters worse, [[Adeptus Mechanicus|the state of technology has been declining over the years either due to loss of knowledge]] [[FATAL|or the sheer amount of dead children failing to reach the proper age to spread such knowledge.]] Nausicaa, especially the manga, does not shy away from human slavery, biological WMDS, genocides, nuclear holocaust, a gratuitous amount of inferred and overt infanticides, inquisitorial purging and the likes. By far the most mature and grittiest of Miyazaki's works. The one main thing that Nausicaa stands out from the rest is its titular character. Princess Nausicaa is an actual pacifist and a self-impose Jesus archetype. Yet despite such [[Noblebright]] characteristics, she is an absolute '''''BADASS'''''. Nausicaa may hate fighting and war, but she is not afraid to split some heads open and gut your belly empty. She is also a surrogate mother for a giant walking WMD and a surrogate big sister for a psychic boy with the [[PROMOTIONS|assets to boot;]] this gives her extra brownie points for being [[Awesome]]. Seriously, Merida and other Princesses has nothing on this chick.
**Because of the fact that Nausicaa for all intents and purposes, kickstarted the foundation of Studio Ghibli in the first place, its influence had a profound impact on Ghibli's future works. It basically was the progenitor of every Ghibli trope imaginable. You got the strong female heroine and her equally strong and capable male deuteragonist? check. A setting based upon fantastical elements and a blatant anti-war/pro-environmentalist message? check. Giant, awesome planes? check. Scenery populated by eye-candy artwork? check. A quirky, animal side character? check. The bad guys being revealed to be either not so evil/misunderstood/have morally grey beliefs? check. Furthermore, Nausicaa influenced other works such as the Chocobos from Final Fantasy being a complete copy of Nausicaa's Horseclaws, as well as the God-Warriors being the main inspiration of the motherfucking ''EVAs'' (Seriously, the main creator behind Evangelion first got the idea after animating the God-Warriors for Nausicaa. Seriously look it up, the resemblance is uncanny).
** Another studio Ghibli film called '''''Grave of the Fireflies''''' is far worse. The plot of film is "A pair of orphans starve to death in Japan at the end of WWII." That is the entire plot. This movie utter torture to watch and a great reminder of why war may be fun in games but is the worst thing imaginable in real life.
*'''''[http://www.synthiciderpg.com/ Synthicide]'''''. "When robots are gods, killing humans is fair game." In the deep darkness of the far, post-mutagen virus future, Human life is worthless (Murder and theft against them and each other is entirely legal), murder of sentient bots (Who are given free-range to torment humans with impunity after being let go from service to the major faction that makes them), however is one of the greatest offenses, and one the PC's are bound to commit at some point in their careers. Also, everything has a black and white color pallete.
* '''''Destiny/Destiny 2''''''s backstory. Basically, there was a very short-lived race of people called "The Krill" which lived only ten years on a planet called Fundament (fair note, Fundament is a gas giant, and Jupiter's orbit takes 10 years. So the Krill may have lived to a few hundred). There was a ruler called the Osmium King, and a traitor named Taox killed him. His daughters, Xi Ro, Aurash, and Sathonna took a ship to the planet's core where they met the Worm Gods, or Ahamkara. What happened is that the [[Khorne|Worm Gods grant immortality, but in order to become immortal you have to kill or the worm will eat you]], this was called The Sword Logic, and the Krill were re-named The Hive after killing that fucking traitor Taox. They proceeded to exterminate every living thing in the galaxy, [[Xeelee Sequence|harboring xenophobia and militarism which would make the Imperium look tolerant and pacifist in comparison]]
* The aftermath of '''''Avengers: Infinity War'''''. After the [[Rubric Marines|battledust]] settles, no one really wins at the end of the movie.
* '''''Spec Ops: The Line''''', due to disguising itself as a run of the mill shooter, but disregard for orders and going in all guns blazing in quest of "becoming a hero" and "saving everyone", unlike most FPS, rather realistically leads from bad to worse, resulting in the player committing vile acts and outright war crimes. At the time of its release, its atmosphere and presentation made it a standout. Due to being heavily reliant on the player having no foreknowledge that it'll drown them face-first in the horrors of war, the game has undergone a sort of "Rosebud effect", and at worst can be considered grimderp. Granted, even then it's far less so than the examples below, and can be considered a period piece of sorts whose themes retain relevance.
* '''''The Suffering''''' and '''''The Suffering: Ties that Bind'''''. Two messed up stories about an unwell guy who may or may not have murdered his family tries to survive the worst prison in all of Maryland while it's being infested by nightmarish creatures symbolic of the countless atrocities committed on it (Being not only a prison, but also the former site of a WWII POW camp run by a paranoid lunatic, an old-timey mental institution run by an...eccentric who still haunts the place, and a puritan village that saw it's own recreation of the Salem Witch Hunts). The sequel sees the man in equally worse surroundings as Baltimore has it's own infestation of the monsters symbolic of the city's corruption and is now haunted not only by two deranged murderers, but also a figure from his past who supposedly know the truth about his family.
** In ''Ties That Bind'', it's implied that ''every'' city of decent size has the potential to be turned into a haunted hellscape. Because humans are shitty and have been doing shitty things to each other for all of recorded history, and hence ''every'' city has a number of bloodsoaked ghosts created by atrocities and desperate for vengeance.
* The first two seasons of '''''Animals of Farthing Wood''''', a animated series for kids ''infamous'' for having graphic depictions of violence and a death rate of major characters on par with Game of Thrones. Though somewhat at the low end of the Grimdark spectrum, the fact this show was for kids earns it major points for being grimdark. The third series noticeably toned down on the Grimdark elements and ended up being the least well regarded. Notable deaths in the series include but are not limited to:
** '''''The Pheasants''''', a couple of, well, pheasants who die at a farm in an extremely cruel manner. First, the wife is forced by her husband to take his watch and is spotted by the farmer, then shot. The husband, overcome with grief, elects to go back and find Adder, hoping to atone for causing his wife's death. Instead, he sees the cooked corpse of his wife and breaks down in tears, unable to pull himself together and is also shot dead by the farmer.
** Three baby mice are born in one episode. The very next episode they are all killed onscreen by a shrike, a bird infamous for impaling its prey, [https://cdn-static.denofgeek.com/sites/denofgeek/files/2016/10/9nsgawb.png/ as seen here].
** The hedgehogs, while trying to cross a road, have to fight not to curl up into a ball... but eventually, the husband goes crazy, unable to stop himself from curling up, and his wife elects to stay with him, leading to both their deaths when a lorry runs them over.
* '''''Ava's Demon''''', a webcomic who's cutesy style doesn't hide how fucking dark this world can be. For starters, in the opening itself, a planet is destroyed by Silent Scavengers, which are Tyranids and Necrons mixed together, then the main character ends up impaled when they crash land, her soul going to turn into space dust until she agrees to help the demon who's been possessing her since she was born to get revenge on TITAN, who can at best be described as the God-Emperor if he were every negative stereotype about the Imperium taken to the extreme and then some. How bad is TITAN? It's implied he turned a star into a black hole solely because of its planets inhabitants wouldn't do what he wants. And trust us, things can only get worse in this setting.
* '''''Dragon Ball Z: History of Trunks'''''. Could just be expanded to Trunks' timeline in general. Dragon Ball has always been known as a sort of noble bright anime, but ''this'', damn. Everyone is either dead, dying, or living in fear of two walking machines of pure evil. And then when Trunks does actually take care of his enemies, another more powerful one shows up and just sends everything back to the way it was. Even the parody of this movie is oddly depressing.
* '''''Power Rangers RPM''''' plays with this trope, being what is effectively ''Terminator'' meets ''Mad Max'' "for kids." It is still Power Rangers, and does still have its fair share of comic relief, but this is also the season where a young girl is brainwashed into becoming a child soldier for Skynet and HAL 9000's demented love child, while also having her humanity stripped away and replaced with cold metal. That's not even starting to mention the fact that most of the planet is wiped out, with billions dying over the course of what seems like a few weeks.
* '''''Postal'''''. Not the sequels, which play the violence for laughs and topical humor, or the crap Uwe Boll movie, just the first game and it's remake (''Postal Redux''). Once you get past all the shock and outrage of being a forefather of the [[Satanic Panic|"Ban Violent Video Games"]] movement, you'll realize that this game is genuinely fucked up with its imagery and the protagonist is a mentally unwell individual.
* '''''Resistance : Fall of Man.'''''
* '''''Romero's "Dead" series''''', especially the later entries. ''Night'' is grim for the heroes, even if the overall story ends somewhat happily with the zombies taken care of. On the other hand, ''Dawn'' and ''Day'' are much darker, with zombies overrunning society, and though both end on positive notes, the journey there is a grim fight for survival. Most of the heroes die in ''Dawn'' (all of them if you count the depressing alternate cut), and in ''Day'' most of the characters, even the heroes, are hateful, unhinged, and/or just plain crazy.
* ''''' Requiem for a Dream'''''. If you have seen this movie, this is self-explanatory.
* '''''Blakes 7'''''. The BBC broadcast this against coronation street. And it was written by Terry Nation. It opens with a show trial after the hero gets set up to join a terrorist cell post mind wipe, gets accuses of paedophilia, and then exiled to the world of warhammer where Brian Blessed is king of the cult of scientology. Then you get 4 seasons of basically terrorists fighting the evil space empire, with the worlds most sarcastic computer, special effects that make your mates larp when they were 14 years old look high budget (ffs the federation are armed with caulking guns and some pipe). It's fucking GLORIOUS.
* '''''The Promised Neverland'''''. An anime/manga about a bunch of cute children raised in a nice orphanage, that is really a farm set up by demons who raise the children as food. Hence the "Neverland" part of the title, the children don't grow up, because they are killed by monsters. A handful girls get to survive until adulthood by getting selected to act as mothers to children, but they are still prisoners who can't leave the farm. If they are unlucky they will have to watch over their own children until the day they are killed.
** The world outside the farms is even worse. A thousand years ago the world was divided between humans and demons. The children are in the demons' half. Demons used to hunt humans until the two sides made a truce where the world was divided in two halves to keep peace and humans were handed over to the demons to farm as food and the wealthy family of humans who made the deal are out to kill the escaped children to uphold it. Demons actually need to eat humans or they degenerate into mindless animals that attack everything in sight, except of the demon nobility thanks to them consuming blood that removed the need. And they still insist on hoarding the best quality human meat for themselves while leaving the commoners to feed on meat from humans raised on factory farms where the humans are force fed until they die. This inferior quality meat isn't enough to keep demons from degrading and so the demons' human allies are doing horrifying expirements to produce better quality meat. Something could have been avoided if the demon nobility didn't make sure that only they were free from dependence on human meat as means of maintaining their control with their supply of meat, because as you can probably tell, they don't care about the commoners.
* '''''Dorohedoro'''''. Described by its own author as "a song with really dark lyrics, but a melody that's so happy that you want to dance to it". So happy grimdark? The title can literally be translated as "from shit to shit". Seriously, the setting wouldn't look out of place among a 40k [[hive world|underhive]]. The entire setting is a massive slum, with horrible pollution, mass poverty, and human body parts polluting the waterways. Your options for living are being a normal human, living in poverty and treated like toys, lab rats, and livestock by the various magic users. Or being a [[psyker|magic user]], and either be lynched by the terrified normies or captured by other magic users and boiled down to make drugs. And if you're a magic user, regardless of how good you are when you die you're [[Warp|guaranteed to be sent to hell to be tortured by devils for all eternity]] ([[Daemon Prince|unless you become a devil yourself]]). Or being a devil, and worry about being [[Tzeentch|screwed over by your boss for shits and giggles]] or eaten by Store, who is implied to be an angel and treats devils the same way devils treat mortals. Or being said boss, [[Necron|and dick around with people for all eternity because you're absolutely bored with existence]], can't die, and are horribly lonely since you can't form a meaningful bond with anyone else. Of course "your options" being metaphorical in this sense, since you are either born a normal human or magic user and can't change who you are (which is a major plot point for several characters). Three of the most moral people in the entire setting are a mob boss and two different flavors of serial killer. Even when the normal people manage to fight back by [[God-Emperor|creating a god through the merger of thousands of souls of those killed by magic users]], it immediately tries to kill ''everyone'' just to end its suffering. The only time the weather changes in the series is when it rains, which causes magic users to fall sick because it's the manifestation of the will of said god and if you're a magic user it ''hates'' you. Well, at least the food is good.
* '''''Lobotomy Corp/Library of Ruina'''''. Two game made by a Korean game studio named Project Moon, known for its dark setting. [https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2098034966 I have decided to leave most of the detailed explanations to this guide here to avoid further paragraph bloat.] To put it simply, the first game: '''Lobotomy Corp''', is about a corporation trying to harvest energy from monsters that was extracted from human's mind: Abnormalities. Each Abnormalities has special powers to mess with people's mind or just straight up killing people in very gruesome way and the corp's employee has to suppress them. [[SCP Foundation|Does that sounds familiar?]] it gets worse. SPOILER ALERT: It turns out the energy is not to only used to power other corporation's devices, it is also used to power up some kind of positive energy beacon that spread its power aka light to everyone in the city just so they could feel hope and be "saved". The plan failed several times due to Abnormalities were failed to contained and suppressed. The reasons why the plan can be carried failed despite its constant failure was due to a certain time control technology that could rewind the time back before the incidents happened. As you can see, the guy that was managing this shithole has to go through this tiresome process, witness his employees' death again and again until he finally reached a satisfy conclusion. The employees that died were revived from every time rewind without ever remember their death, but not the managers, nor the Sephiroth, whom were brain jar robots that oversees their own department. As you can see, suffering from constant rewind has made them lose their mind with made them sometimes throwing fit, forcing the manager to tell them to calm their ass down. There was this robotic AI waifu assistant that were created to help managing the place. For some reasons, she was given the abilities to feel emotions just so she could experience the same cruel passage of time and the scenery of Abnormalities killing the employees, driving her nut. It was made all the painful for her since she can perceive time in even slower rate, making her torture all the more painful. So just why is it the corp decided to went through all this tragedies and tortures to save peoples that doesn't understood their suffering? why do the the city people needs to be saved?
** Now things gets interesting in the second game: '''Library of Ruina'''. Turns out everyone living in the city has become "ill", as in mentally depressed due the needs to meet certain demands for their jobs everyday, to the point they could not have any free will to do anything they like. *** The world they lived in is controlled by Corporations: '''Wings''', who holds the most power and they forced everyone to pay expensive taxes or else get fucked by their scheme. This unfair demand created a huge poverty circle, forming countless of '''Backstreets''' where death and crimes became the norm. In order to pay their unfairly expensive tax, people result other ways to earn steady incomes. Some becomes a '''Fixer''', mercenaries police man who would fight for anyone with money (Note: there are no functional police department in the setting). Some became part of the '''Syndicates''', Fixers' criminal counterpart who earn money by doing crime instead. Note that neither Fixers or Syndicates members has any choice but to keep climbing their rank. Sure the higher their rank, the better their living conditions becomes, but it is a never ending grind that will eventually results to their death or depression to the point of suicide due to the amount of killing they've done.
*** Move on to the upper class. Richer people lives in '''The Nest''' and are well educated. But like the Fixers and the Syndicates, they are not free from paying taxes and were also forced to climb their own social ladder in order to survive. Not to mentioned the dangers of Syndicates still exist in some isolated area of The Nest. Worse is that the corporations they've worked for often use them as test subject to test their super precious technology: '''Singularity''' and see how much they get fucked up. They are basically office wage slaves with higher mortality rate.
*** Speaking of Singularity, it is futuristic technology like nanomachines, devices so advance, it is as if they were taken from sci-fi movies. Despite their usefulness however, it has dark side to them, like REALLY DARK. For example, there are these trains that are capable of transferring passengers to other place in 10 seconds. What happened was that the passengers were actually stuck inside the train for 2000 fuckoff years. During that time, the passenger's body states just stopped functioning, like unable to feel pain as if the "time" for their body just stopped. After 100 days, they began tear eachothers' flesh parts out of boredom or insanity, to the point they eventually tearing themselves into flesh bits that merges with one another. By the time the train had arrived, the agents sent from the corp had to "restore the passengers" using time control Singularity power from the corp they've partnered with, restoring their body states back to when they were but 10 seconds on the train, as if [[Just as Planned|nothing ever happened]].
*** With such dangerous technology in their hand, who is there to control The Wing? meet '''The Head''', aka the shit head that put everyone in their misery. They are the one with the absolute power in the setting. Having the best combat force, the power over The Wings and being the giant rat that made all other rules. It is hinted that they intended for the humans to suffer under the stresses of survival and death, as if they were treating the humans in the city like test subjects inside a ecosystem they had created. Although it was revealed they have [[Imperial Truth|strong obsessions with philosophies that defines humanity]] and [[Men of Iron|dislike for machines that look and act like humans]]. Although not much about them has been revealed yet, those little details is enough to labled them as some kind of [[nazi|facist organization with an extremist ideology]]. They were known for shaping the world that is today with their armies of '''Arbiters''', [[Officio Assassinorum|Singularity-infused assassins]] who is so powerful, one of them could take on everyone in The Wing. Other than Arbiters, they have their own super fixers called '''The Claw''', who are comparable to a high grade Fixers but mass produced. They also have the '''The Eyes''', agents (or somekind of spirit/demon/telescreen hologram as it was revealed) that [[1984|report The Head for any potential tax evaders as well as any potential threats by surveillance the masses]]. No one fucks with The Head. NO ONE.
** And all these are just a tip of the ice berg to show how shitty life is in this setting. It gets potentially worse as '''Distortions''', Abnormalities monsters from the first game that were made in the city due to the failed result from the 1st games and are now roaming the city to further spike up the mortality rate, making everybody's live even more miserable. Despite that, the Fixers still demands payment to kill them (which a new association was created to deal with them according to the ending) and The Head refused to even lend a hand in dealing with them (because distortions is considered a product of humanity, which is much more tolerable when compared to robots who act like humans). Oh and it is impossible to not live in the city, for the outside lies the '''Outskirts''', where monsters, robotic death machines and other abominations created from fail experiments resides. It is a wasteland composed of pretty much everywhere but the city, caused by the constant resource wars from the past and it is literary impossible for humans to lived in there. Even if it could, it would be filled with hostile exiles, outlaws or whatever god fosaken engineered intelligent species.
*** Interetingly, the setting's coporation culture could be a nodd to the modern day capitialism in South Korea (It is a korean game afterall), and it general shows how shitty life is under capitalism with the taxes and all that.
* '''''Warframe's lore.''''' What's so dark about Warframe? You're a space ninja which just chops stuff up and shoots right? Oh you're DEAD wrong. The main characters, the Tenno, are children survivors of an accident when a ship tried to use a metaphysical realm called [[warp|The Void]] to perform a faster-than-light jump to Tau Ceti (which was previously terraformed for their arrival). And what do we know about using metaphysical realms to travel faster-than-light? It goes [[Gellar Field|fuckingly bad]], invest in a warp drive.
**The Tenno were discovered by the Orokin, [[that guy|pansy hedonistic little faggots]] which sent them there, and were treated like absolute shit. To get an idea of just how awful the Orokin were, imagine the repressiveness, feudal structures, and lack of regard for human life found in the Inperium of Man… with a tech level comparable to the Dark Age of Technology. The only person who treated the Tenno with absolute respect was a scientist called [[this guy|Margulis]]. When the robots sent to terraform Tau Ceti, the Sentients, evolved intelligence and came back to anally rape the Orokin, their built-in weakness was void stuff, which the Tenno were full of. After a victory over the Sentients, the Tenno [[rape|bitchslapped the Orokin and bludgeoned them like the fucks they are]].
***The Orokin are just a bunch of [[Marines Malevolent|shitbags in general]]. They treated Tenno, Lorist healers, and Grineer like absolute shit until they need their help. They execute scientists when they fail to produce results, because a GREAT way of increasing productivity is executing a scientist who is doing the work. And the way they maintain their immortality is by capturing children, and mind-raping them to download their own consciousness into theirs. The reason that they couldn't control the Warframes and needed the Tenno to do so is because they [[that guy|lack basic human empathy]], they just abuse and torture everyone under them.
**The Grineer were slaves to the Orokin which are now free, and are now absolutely terrorizing the system. They're a bunch of rotten clones which are highly augmented, and they kill everyone who isn't them, which aren't any better. Oh, and dialogue implies that they process their dead into corpsestarch.
***The Corpus are the second faction, being greedy money-grubbers who care only for profit, and imprison a colony of debt-bondage slaves called "Fortuna", just to rub it in, and so on. Oh, and said Solaris are people whos HEADS have been stuffed into their torsos so they can easily reposes their limbs and organs for dept that is passed through the generations. Oh, and ya not able to pay with your limbs alone? They will scoop your brain out of your skull and shelve it for a set ammount of time... or the rest of your natural lifespan. As you are awake and lost in your thoughts.
****And, of course, this is done to kids, severing their necks and replacing them with a connector to more esily stuff their heads into their scooped out torsos once they are old enough to lug around a wrench. Pretty much all Post-Orokin civilizations are pieces of shit.
***And if evil bureaucrats, and shitty clones who want to kill everything that isn't them bad enough, we have the Infected, which are a [[Tyranids|hive mind of twisted forms that kill everything they can stick their bloody tendrils into]], bottom line is, Warframe is a shitty place.
* '''''[[Unhallowed Metropolis]]''''', a game representing probably the outer limits of how Grimdark you can go without sliding into Grimderp.
* ''''Fragged Cyberpunk''''': A prequel to the more optimistic Fragged Empire. Fragged Cyberpunk focuses on the twilight years of humanity as Habsburgian levels of genetic erosion and degradation leave it only a few centuries of life, while the powers that be, that could cure it do not bother and instead focus their efforts on terraforming hospitable worlds for their new, engineered super species. All the while herding humans into cramped cities on dead planets that are effectively concentration/death camps for what remains of mankind.
* '''''Clive Barker''''' in general. His works include Hellraiser, Rawhead Rex where an ancient god of male sex eats kids, the Midnight Meat Train where an ancient cult feeds people to an underground society of monsters so New York isn't destroyed, and... let's just say there's a reason he's basically a BDSM enthusiast given way too much handle.
* '''''[[EYE: Divine Cybermancy]]''''' (Basically, Wh40k with French people)

== Grimderp ==
{{topquote| Why don't people band together to fix things? Because GRIMDARK. Why hasn't an external system supplanted the current, barely functioning one? Because GRIMDARK. How does such a woefully inefficient system manage the logistical nightmare of endless total war? Because I murdered a baby seal, that's why! You should feel bad.|Terrible Writing Advice (The GRIMDARK Episode)}}

Grimderp is what happens when a writer takes grimdark so far that it goes [[derp]]. The writer puts something in that makes the setting more grimdark, but it's generally reliant on at least one party involved [[Fail|suddenly abandoning all sense of reason and logic]], or else caused by a lack of forethought on the implications of how the element interacts with the world. Many long-runner grimdark works will become this sooner or later, as either the setting or the cast's morality (rather a usually extreme lack thereof) will induce complete and utter apathy in the audience and cause them to give up out of sheer pointlessness. Most "dark" anime/manga tend to be more or less grimderp, as attempts to attract mature audiences ends in violence, blood, and sex without consequence (at BEST, mind you. [[Rape|At worst...]]), all in gratuitous quantities.

To be clear, grimderp is not just that something is "dark" or that a character behaves stupidly. Human beings make dumb, short-sighted, irrational, and morally objectionable decisions all the time, just crack open about any book on human history. Grimderp is when a character breaks character to do something they would normally never do or engage in behavior that is logistically impossible [[Gav Thorpe|("there are as many elves as the plot demands")]], simply "because it's dark".

* The Last of Us: Part 2, the sequel to the critically acclaimed The Last of Us, is Grimderp in its purest form: Characters prolong suffering simply out of the blue. Basic logic is thrown out as countless characters dive headfirst into a rabbit hole of violence, suffering, and depression, often to the point of [[Edgy|literal edginess]].
* The Dothraki of "[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]". We are asked to believe that an entire culture can sustain itself by raiding settled people (when the Mongols and Plains Indians they're based on hunted and herded large animals), and then ''killing and not even selling or eating the livestock'', solve literally all their disputes with murder and defeat their enemies with mass charges (despite real nomads having small populations, and winning battles with cavalry skill and/or surprise). At the point where the author says that "a wedding without at least three deaths is considered a dull occasion" and mentions warriors casually raping dancers, the whole thing just looks like an [[edgy]] [[Magical Realm]] based on "hordes of eastern savages" cliches.
* [[My Little Pony|Fallout Equestria: Project Horizons]] is a fanfiction about magical ponies so grim, dark, and derp that it would almost be comical if it wasn't so fucking horrifying. With characters that get shit on (both figuratively and literally) more than the [[Lamenters]], and with a world so bleak (and missing the point of Fallout, FiM, ''and'' the original Fallout: Equestria) that an heroing <s>seems like</s> WOULD ACTUALLY BE the happiest ending (<s>Assuming it will end, it probably never will as long as there's enough cybernetics to keep rebuilding the constantly-dying protagonist)</s> HOLY SHIT IT ACTUALLY ENDED!), it's the prime example of how to make readers stop giving a fuck about the story at all.
* On that note, 90% of all grimdark fics are grimderp since writers are under the impression that [[Edgy|just making things dark makes it good writing]]. There are exceptions, but they are rare, because Sturgeon's Law is a thing. On the flip side, however, [[DOOM: Repercussions of Evil|certain examples]] have reached the apotheosis of Grimderp and become gut-bustingly hilarious.
* Warhammer 40,000 gets called out as this by some. Certainly it's a valid criticism of certain parts, but as we said earlier, [[Skub|you could argue about what is and is not grimderp in 40k for weeks without conclusion.]] For example, the Imperium is excessively self-destructive and tyrannical to its own people, but in the hands of a good writer, it's meant to underline how corrupt and desperate the Imperium has become without the Emperor's guidance, and how even those who are neither incompetent nor malicious still have to make brutally difficult choices. In the hands of a lesser writer, it's unnecessary evil purely for the sake of evil. We should call our next book "[[C.S. Goto|Darkness of Darkest Dark!]]"
** Historically, the Grail myths drift, not from [[Imperial Truth|Christian sources]], but Celtic ones (and beyond the Celts, older civilizations), and a typical feature of these myths happens to be the healing of a King through forces of restauration and regeneration (i.e. to put one in touch with his sources, with his roots), and the King was typically seen in agrarian societies as the King of a land, avatara of a Sky-Father, and [[Alarielle|the Queen as the Earth Goddess]]. The [[Warhammer 40,000/Tactics/Psychic 101|Geokinesis psychic discipline]] has a power called '''Earth Blood''' who would do just that; if only [[Adeptus Custodes|someone]] let Librarians enter the Imperial Palace to do some Perceval style healing.
**[[Khornate Knights]]
**The [[Grey Knights]] (who seem to get this a lot, really) equipment and how it is made. Specifically, every bolt shell that the Grey Knights use is consecrated by the blood sacrifice of a righteous man or woman in a borderline Khornate ritual (and it has to be a ''good'' person, not just anyone. How the Imperium determines if someone is sufficiently "good" or not remains an open question). Those Aegis armors? Made from thousands of psykers (including ''children'') burned in a furnace to channel their power to the armor. Thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of people have to die to make ''one'' Grey Knight combat-effective. This has caused a lot of [[skub]] as to whether it is grimderp or not, as it raises the question of where the Grey Knights find enough good people to consecrate all of the bolter rounds they go through every battle (especially in the 41st millenium, of all places).
**[[Gellar Field]]s being powered by the dreams of a comatose psyker being used as a battery (which also burns out and has to be replaced regularly). While very dark, it crosses the line into grimderp when one realizes 1) that Gellar Fields were said to be invented long before psykers began appearing among humanity, and 2) psykers are apparently rare enough in the Imperium that the Imperium has [[Black_Ships|an entire institution]] dedicated to rounding up psykers and bringing them back to Terra to make use of them, like making [[Astropath]]s or feeding the [[Astronomican]] and the [[Golden Throne]]. And according to recent editions the Black Ships are just barely meeting the quota to keep the [[Golden Throne]] going, so it's not like there are a lot of spare psykers around to be made into Gellar Field batteries.
**Originally, the [[Black Templars]] were treated as refusing to suffer the witch no matter who they were, to the point of refusing to ally with any Imperial instutition that made use of them. This got retconned to only hate ''enemy'' psykers in 6th edition after it was pointed out it would be really hard for the Black Templars to do anything if they refused to tolerate Astropaths or Navigators, and thus have no Warp travel or faster-than-light communication.
**[[Imperial_Worlds#Agri-World|Agri-Worlds]]. Seemingly in response to the common fandom sentiment that [[The_Imperium_of_Man#However.2C_is_the_Imperium_really_that_bad.3F|most worlds in the Imperium are actually quite decent places to live]], just so long as you don't get invaded by [[Orks]], [[Chris Wraight]] in ''Lords of Silence'' outlines a typical Agri-World, describing a horrific hellscape wracked by permanent Dust Bowl conditions and so much pesticides that the sky turns orange and it is not safe to walk around outside without a biohazard suit, and goes on to say that all Agri-Worlds are like this. This has caused a lot of [[skub]] within the community. Some say that this practice is perfectly acceptable grimdark, and that unsustainable farming practices aren't exactly unusual in human history (look at slash-and-burn farming practices in Brazil, or aquifer use in the United States). However, what people find issue with is the claim that ''all'' agri-worlds are invariably like this, when [[Your Dudes|the fact that conditions on various planets in the Imperium vary massively from world to world as needed for the plot and there is almost no standardization]] has always been considered one of the big selling points of the setting (not to mention contradicting descriptions of Agri-Worlds in [[Ciaphas Cain]] and the [[Last Chancers]]). The other aspect that people tend to find unbelievable is that the Imperium is claimed to not even use crop rotation in their Agri-Worlds, simply farming the same crop over and over again until the soil gives out and the planet becomes a [[Death World]]. The Imperium may have lost a lot of its ancient knowledge, but crop rotation as a practice goes back to the freaking ''Stone Age''. [[Derp|Its absurd to see knowledge that basic being lost in the horrors of Old Night]], or not been rediscovered in the time after. This also means the Imperium would literally have run out of planets thousands of years ago if this was true.
** The nature of how Imperial ships work has caused a great deal of [[skub]]. Namely the fact that the weapons of Imperial ships are loaded by hundreds of chem-bulked, rabid slaves dragging them into place while being whipped, the exertion being so great that many die frothing at the mouth by the effort or have their hands crushed by chains. They do this completely by hand, hauling the munitions across the ship with chains. This despite the fact that hydraulic power systems have existed since the 18th century. They don't even use inclined planes or levers, something which humanity has been using to haul large objects where they want them to go since the days of Stonehenge, the Pyramids, and Easter Island. Or they could literally just use a [[Chimera Transport|Chimera]] or a team of grox to do the job, you know, the reason why humanity built large vehicles and domesticated large animals? Meanwhile the [[Adeptus Mechanicus]] is using autoloaders, and is deliberately keeping the technology from the rest of the Imperium so they will have an advantage in case another civil war ever breaks out. Some say this is perfectly acceptable grimdark, others say that this is just too ridiculously inefficient to take seriously, even for the Imperium.
**The Marneus Calgar comic has caused a shitstorm with the recent revelations that the average life expectancy of the BEST place in the Imperium is in the mid-thirties, which is fucking [[FAIL|'''STUPID''']]. Because that means that the life expectancy of other non-Ultramar worlds are drastically shorter, which makes the machinations on how the Imperium is run, fucking unsustainable. If child mortality rates are ''that high'', then entire worlds would have quite literally run out of humans especially in warzones, while entire sectors' worth of economies would collapse or stagnate as more kids die before they grow up and be a productive member of society. This creates a drain in resources and long-term stability; it was already considered unsustainable during MEDIEVAL times, so you could just extrapolate this to a million worlds and the Imperium should collapse under its own inertia and weight by this point. I don't care how 'disposable' human life is, it is still a resource and the [[Emprah]] fucking hates wasting resources. We get that the comic writer is trying to shoehorn even more feudalist themes in the comics, but the problem is, this is not Krieg we're talking about, but fucking ''Ultramar''. So either the author does not know what sense of scale is, or that he does not understand the works of Guilliman, because Papa Smurf [[Rage|'''WOULD. NOT.''' let this shit fly under the radar.]] The author has confirmed, however, that it was added to make Ultramar feel more grimdark. To give you some context, Somalia in the mid 1960s has a higher life expectancy than this. This is not grimdark, this is just fucking stupid that breaks the suspension of disbelief. It is one of the few things that both 4Chan and Reddit concurrently agree upon as fluff breaking.
**To be honest, the whole idea of humans being the "teeming multitudes" faction [[Imperial Guard|winning battles by sheer weight of numbers]] and which [[Skaven|breed quickly and are easily replaced]] is kind of silly if you know anything about human reproduction. Among species on Earth, humans are notable for being one of the ''slowest'' reproducing species out there. It takes nine months for a human to gestate to maturity in the womb, more than any other animal aside from elephants and whales, and even after birth humans take longer to reach maturity even compared to our close relatives the Neanderthals and ''Homo erectus''. Additionally, it takes a huge amount of parental care to care for a child and raise them to functional adulthood, more than any other animal. On top of this, pregnancy is incredibly crippling for human females, and women have a one in three chance of dying in childbirth if giving birth without any external aid or midwives (as would be the case for a citizen of the underhives), something almost no other species has to deal with. The way our species generally works is we breed incredibly slowly but live an incredibly long time and invest a lot of resources to make sure those few that are born survive to adulthood, which basically makes us the [[elves]] of the animal kingdom. Barring some major technological breakthrough like artificial wombs or genetic engineering to reduce the crippling side effects of human pregnancy or long adolescence, humans are unlikely to be able to outbreed anything. And while some factions in the Imperium do have access to artificial wombs (like the [[Mechanicus]], most of humanity in 40k are shown to still reproducing the old fashioned way. Even if humanity starts out with a huge population it can throw at any problem, that population is going to be depleted pretty fast because humanity [[Eldar|can't replace their losses]]. Even if are the greatest resource the Imperium has, they're still trying to fight a war of attrition against [[Orks|the species that reproduces by fighting]], [[Tyranids|the one whose gimmick is being the rapidly reproducing horde of space locusts]], and the [[Daemons|ones who can't even be properly killed]], you’re going to lose horribly. However, fans tend to ignore this because of the whole “to be a man in such times is to be one amongst untold billions” thing that is part of the general lack of regard for human life that makes 40k 40k, so people give it a pass.
** Some 40k sources claim that millions if not billions of guardsmen are killed EVERY SECOND. Even with the scale of the imperium taken into the account, having many times the current population of the Earth die every minute would be ridiculous for the whole of Imperium, let alone just the Imperial Guard.
**[[Deathwatch|Watch Captain Artemis]] saying [[Heresy|better to let the galaxy burn and allow the Imperium to fall to Chaos than allow the xenos to live]], right before [[Battle_of_Coheria|fucking up an eldar ritual that would have awakened Ynnead early and fucked over Slaanesh]], indirectly [[Gathering Storm|causing all of the ruckus of 8th Edition]]. Granted, while this does come from the [[Deathwatch]], who tend to be rabidly anti-xenos even by the Imperium's standards, this is for ''Chaos'', the Archenemy, the [[Big Bad Evil Guy]] of the Warhammer 40k setting, the one faction that even the notoriously xenophobic Imperium will begrudgingly admit is a bigger threat than the xenos and will team up with them to fight against it. A loyalist saying they ''prefer Chaos'' over anything, even as the lesser of two evils, should be grounds for an insta-[[BLAM]]ing and a red flag for Chaos corruption. And no, Watch Captain Artemis was not [[BLAM]]-ed for this, nor is this treated as the beginnings of his corruption and a slow fall to [[Chaos]]. And so a loyalist Space Marine managed to [[Fail|single-handedly save Slaanesh]]. Seriously, Chaos champions have been elevated to [[Daemon Prince|Daemon Princehood]] for less.
** The whole thing reached the lowest point by 3rd edition, considered the Darker and Edgier version of 40k, this is when some of the silliest things mentioned in this wiki were added or accentuated, after that 40k required more than 5 EDITIONS of fluff update, novels, characters and additional background to finally come back from "we no longer care" to an actual war with stakes and actual chances for all sides involved.
* [[Star Wars]]: Although Star Wars is 40k's high fantasy twin. There has been a few grimderp things that came out recently in Canon that has given 40k a run for its money. According to Canon, specifically the novel Ashoka, the Galactic Empire forces farming worlds by gunpoint to harvest a particular breed of crop to be used as rations for their troops. The problem? These crops were specifically designed to [[Wat|soak up every bit of nurtients on the planet until it becomes sterile.]] Meaning that the particular farming world is only capable of harvesting the crops a few times [[FAIL|''AT BEST'']] before it becomes a sterile death world. Let's put this in context here, the Galactic Empire is currently fighting a galaxy-wide insurgency and being a galaxy-wide government, the GE NEEDS a sustainable way to produce food in order to keep its giant military well-fed for long-term camapaigns. So forcing farming worlds to produce crops that intentionally leave their worlds sterile after a few farming cycles is just fucking [[EPIC FAIL|'''STUPID'''.]] Because realistically, the GE would have quite literally, ran out of food in a decade, collapsing due to galaxy-wide famine. [[FAIL|This shit is so fucking stupid and retarded that it makes the abovementioned IoM agri-world farming practises look eco-friendly in comparison.]] Even if they did something somewhat reasonable like restricting this practice to worlds that sided with the Confederacy of Independent Systems during the Clone Wars as a punishment, it's just spiteful beyond all reason.
* [[Drowtales]]: The whole series is Grimderp on steroids, but there are a few particularly nauseating examples: nothing like the protagonist [[Mary Sue]] of innocence and purity blowing up the light elf MILF slave called Maya in an argument with a rival, an argument in which she feels morally justified right after buying a fighting slave which was doomed to die in underground Arenas even most Drow find disgusting, ran by a complete monster of a drow, regularly visited to watch slaves die, that's right, by the protagonist Ariel. Maya dies crying in her native tongue about "what she did to deserve this", crying she'll never see sunlight again. Protagonist feels a bit bad about a few days, and only that when she sees a few naked light elf slaves for sale, reminiscing Maya's face. Years pass and she thinks all the slavery and needless murder isn't so cool... just before visiting a surface colony who was taken from humans. She and her lesbian lover have an orgy on the settlement they just conquered by massacre. After a blissful after-sex sleep, the settlement is counterattacked by desperate humans coming to save their kin... which are promptly murdered by the half-light half-dark elf paladin of Sharess (Yes, a [[Mary Sue]] worshipping a total [[Baldur's Gate]] rip-off) who is all high and righteous when she is burning innocent humans who wanted to save their kin from slave traders about to buy the survivors. The protagonist's lesbian empath Drow (yes, with a length of purple hair paint, straight out of Deviantart) friend berates the cornered humans with a lame excuse line of "I feel your pain, why don't you take your survivors and run?!" when the said humans scream in desperation to save their families from the town's locked buildings, die horribly and our "I'm glad my clan Sarghress prevents slavery, let's shake hands and feast on the food we just plundered!" protagonist shakes hands on it. It's not even depressing, it's plain fucking logic diarrhea with enough depressive themes to OD an edgy 13 year old. (considering the authors were that old when they started...)
* Jeph Loeb's run on [[/co/|Ultimate Marvel]]: people dying brutally (most well known being Wasp getting eaten by the Blob) and completely gratuitously (Dr. Strange is killed the one page he shows up on and is completely forgotten afterwards), lore rape worst than anything Ward ever did (the heroic Pyro is now a rapist version of the mainline Marvel Pyro with no explanation, Thor going from new age hippie to mainline-style viking with no explanation... at least that last one is kinda cool). Overall it was so bad it effectively made the Ultimate Marvel universe (with the exception of Spider-Man and his cast) completely unusable. Small wonder that years later, Marvel thought smashing it and the main Marvel universe together would be a good idea.
* Koutetsujou no Kabaneri, an anime with a similar premise to the already-grimdark ''Attack on Titan'': It's set in (presumably feudal) Japan, where people are hiding behind walls and communicate with each others using trains to travel from town to town, and trades the giants and horses for guns and [[zombie]]s. Several of the characters have moments of team-killing ineptitude that end up prolonging the conflict far longer than it should:
**The [[samurai]] don't bother with armor and generally aren't very combat-savvy when it comes to zombies, and their [[Lawful Stupid]] tendencies turn any defense against a wall breach into an utter clusterfuck. The antagonist is [[Abaddon|an absolute failure AND wanted for crimes against humanity]], being a [[Edgy|pretentious Che Guevara wannabe]] [[Chaos Pretty Marines|with pink hair]] and wielder of an ugly-yet-somewhat effective [[Sword|sabre]]. He also has a devoted following despite being thoroughly unable to grasp the basics of warfare and its ethics (he thinks children are cowards for not being able to fight monsters that ambush and run through trained adult fighters with ease, and [[What|considers destroying one's own resources and castles to be a viable strategy]]). Meanwhile, the main protagonist has found not one, but TWO miracle solutions that would allow mankind to fight back against the zombie plague, but no one will listen to him, especially not the main antagonist, both because of the above and because ''of course they wouldn't'', it's <s>grimderp</s> GRIMDARK.
**Ironically, Ancient Shintoism (a main religion of that period) has the only known anti-[[Nurgle|zombie]] deities: ''Kukuri hime no kami'', a goddess of purification ([[Reasonable Daemonette|''despite'' being rather sado-masochist]]) whose followers would bind a corpse with ropes, place a big stone on the chest and bury it (coffins are optional). [[Humanity Fuck Yeah|Insane as it was]], it was the most common form of burial in the Jomon period, and never went completely out of date through all the medieval period. Despite the rites being a perfect defense against [[Dark Souls|an undead invasion]], apparently they didn't take in this setting. Three guesses why.
*Most dark fantasy/"Ryona" hentai like Redo of a Healer (see [[Edgy]] for details), Kuroinu, Maggot Baits and whatever bargain basement hentai game developer puts the heroines through horrifying rapes, tortures and debauchery with no way to escape, all for little more purposes than to degrade, humiliate and mind-break them.
* [[FATAL]]
* [[Black Tokyo]]
* Teenagers bad attempts at recreating stuff they like such as Creepypasta's.
* About half of Garth Ennis's work goes so far around the bend that, if you don't stop caring about anyone in the story and put it down first, it becomes compelling or hilarious. Practically all of his original stories are drowning in grimderp (and author ax grinding). Prime examples include;
** The Boys: Almost every superhero is an irredeemable sexual deviant and loose cannon whose only crime fighting accomplishments come from corporate PR lies, and the story's protagonists are little better.
*** Surprisingly averted with it's Amazon Prime adaptation. By actually making most of the heroes less unambiguously rotten, cutting down the childish silliness, making the violence less gratuitous and more justified, and making the Boys themselves more human, the series actually manages to be WAY darker than the comics. Hell, Billy Butcher actually contemplates MURDERING A CHILD in the series, which is something the way more psychotic Butcher of the comics would not.
** Crossed: One of his most infamous creations. Most of the world is dead or turned into [[Slaanesh|murder-raping sadists]] á la the Reavers from Firefly due to a virus with a visible symptom being boils forming a cross pattern on the infectee's face. Showing any courage will get you killed or turned into one of the aforementioned murder-rapists, and there are survivors that are just as fucked up as the infectees. Supposedly a dig at arm chair survivalists, it's now mostly remembered for being edgy for the sake of edginess and being overall boring as hell.
* Hatred: Remember how your family told you that GTA was breeding criminals and that games created "monsters"? Well, Hatred tries to cash in on that by making a game dedicated to killing innocent people and making a "parody" out of those reactions, but [[FAIL|fails miserably]] to do that. This is because not only is our main "hero" a complete asshole with literally nothing redeeming about him, but most of the gameplay consists on you shooting unnarmed civilians and members of the policy/military that are '''extremely''' easy to beat, and coupled with the monochrome colors the game becomes ''very'' boring in a ''very'' quick pace. And unlike these old games that caused oh so much controversy, Hatred doesn't even have that good old orkish humor and tries to [[Serious Business|take everything inside it seriously]], which makes the "Grimdark" aspect come off as ''very'' dumb.
* [[Carl Sargent]]'s total rape of the [[Greyhawk]] setting in ''[[From The Ashes]]''. Something of a unique case in that the grimdark was well-done; it's that he had to fuck over the game's oldest and most-beloved setting (see the article for details) to do it that made it Derp.
* Most of the anti-[[HFY]] content in the [[World of Darkness]], especially the unmitigated misanthropy in parts of [[Werewolf: The Apocalypse]]. Humans vary from 'Idiotic sheep permanently at the bottom of the food chain' to 'Apathetic fools responsible for most of the world's ills' to 'Cackling, moustache-twirling villains', civilization and all its fruits are EVIL!, and the tribe of bestiality-born werewolves that want to exterminate the human race down to pre-Stone Age levels are presented as heroes that're unequivocally morally justified in their actions (both in and out of setting, if some of the Apocalypse scenarios are anything to go off). [[FAIL|Yeah.]]
* Anything made by biggest hack in Hollywood, <s>Zack</s> Hack Snyder.

== Grim Tragedy ==
Naturally in a universe such as 40k, the grimdarkness of the setting would mean nothing if not tied into the ironic tragedy of the lore. This includes:

*[[Imperium|A species]] so afraid of the dauntless perils of Chaos that they will brutally harass and execute entire populations out of mere suspicion, all to stop the spread of ruin while indirectly strengthening those who seek to destroy them (''particularly'' Chaos). They, as a people, have progressed massively in population, technology and power since their species conception, yet they, more than anyone else, have lost one vital element: their humanity.

*[[Eldar|A race who]] was once at a zenith of civilization and prosperity, capable of bending the very Gods to their will. But by their own hand reduced themselves to scattered isolated fleets and colonies always on the run; their pompous and arrogant leaders hide behind a dwindling sense of security based in superiority over other races who are far more successful and perhaps destined to be greater than they ever were. [[Dark Eldar|A number among them]], after their unholy and insidious near-demise, continue (with oblivious glee) to empower [[Slaanesh|the very being that brought them to ruin]] in order to save themselves.

*[[Orks|A race of creatures]] who possess the brightest "potential"; with near mastery over the psychic, near-natural physical perfection and almost limitless numbers from their highly successful methods of reproduction... And yet they are genetically restricted by an unquenchable thirst for conflict which drives each to idiocy, leaving them hopeless of advancing beyond simple barbarians.

*[[Necron|An ancient people]] who were so envious of their neighbors' lifespans that they were ready to cripple the entire galaxy just for the sake of petty superiority - a superiority neutered by their unwitting transformation into metaphorical and literal automatons. They are now mindless machines who, bar few, care nothing of their past and seek only one thing: Conquest. And those who still have their personalities are either insane, demented, depressed, brooding, psychotic, or any combination of these in various proportions.

*[[Tau|A newborn race]] who innocently believes that there can be peace and acknowledgement among each other. Unfortunately the sinister methods they employ hoping that it is for [[Greater Good|something better]] is slowly, but steadily driving them into the decadence that plagues the other species. In doing so they become proof, both of the fact that [[Horus|anyone]], [[Emperor|no matter their intentions]], can be corrupted, and also of the kindness that the rest have forsaken for damnation and despair...

*The fact that, despite tens of thousands of years of knowing nothing but war, these peoples are woefully unprepared for what is to come. No matter how many regiments can be raised or Craftworlds restored, what is out there is [[Tyranids|all consuming, diabolical and numberless...]] Unless, they are themselves on the verge of extinction, and as such, desperately trying to cross over the great void between galaxies, which implies fighting against [[Ork|invincibles foes]] and [[Ultramarines|fate dodging cheaters]] unnaturaly empowered by the grief of an [[Games Workshop|unspeakable Eldritch Abomination beyond the cosmos]]. The good option is that there are a thousand galaxies worth of the fucking bugs; the bad option is that there are billions upon billions of galaxies worth of the fucking bugs. The worse option is that billions upon billions galaxies worth of what is essentially the perfect organism is running away from something worse.

== See also ==
*[[Noblebright]]
*[[Edgy]]
*[[Eversor]]
*[[Lamenters]]

== External Links ==
* [http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/grimdark KnowYourMeme has examples from outside of /tg/]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQAWBeFnkg8 Trope Talk: Grimdark], a analysis of the "Grimdark" style of storytelling and why it works (and why sometimes it doesn't)
[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]]

Grimdark

2021-09-26T14:01:21Z

2406:3400:20F:FFC0:115F:A9BA:370A:AFE2: /* Grim Tragedy */

{{Grimdark}}
[[File:P23436_p_v10_aa.jpg|300px|right|thumb|If your protagonist or antagonist isn't at least this [[edgy]], then you're probably doing Grimdark wrong.]]
[[Image:Lovepeace.png|thumb|right|It's totally the opposite of this.]][[Image:Inspector Grimgadget.jpg|thumb|right|Inspector Gadget, reimagined with a grimdark feel.]]
[[Image:Grimdark.jpg|thumb|right|Grimdark versions of the TMNT. Their mentor is a Skaven.]]
[[Image:Grimdarkery.jpg|thumb|right|Grimdark means war, and always endless, brutal war.]]
{{topquote|We are not men disguised as mere dogs, we are wolves disguised as men|Captain Muroto, '''Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade'''}}
{{topquote|They say, 'Evil prevails when good men fail to act.' What they ought to say is, 'Evil prevails.'|Yuri Orlov, ''Lord of War''}}

{{topquote|Tᴀᴋᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ᴜɴɪᴠᴇʀsᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ɢʀɪɴᴅ ɪᴛ ᴅᴏᴡɴ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ғɪɴᴇsᴛ ᴘᴏᴡᴅᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ sɪᴇᴠᴇ ɪᴛ ᴛʜʀᴏᴜɢʜ ᴛʜᴇ ғɪɴᴇsᴛ sɪᴇᴠᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇɴ sʜᴏᴡ ᴍᴇ ᴏɴᴇ ᴀᴛᴏᴍ ᴏғ ᴊᴜsᴛɪᴄᴇ, ᴏɴᴇ ᴍᴏʟᴇᴄᴜʟᴇ ᴏғ ᴍᴇʀᴄʏ ᴀɴᴅ ʏᴇᴛ... Aɴᴅ ʏᴇᴛ ʏᴏᴜ ᴀᴄᴛ ᴀs ɪғ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ɪs sᴏᴍᴇ ɪᴅᴇᴀʟ ᴏʀᴅᴇʀ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ, ᴀs ɪғ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ɪs sᴏᴍᴇ... Sᴏᴍᴇ ʀɪɢʜᴛɴᴇss ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴜɴɪᴠᴇʀsᴇ ʙʏ ᴡʜɪᴄʜ ɪᴛ ᴍɪɢʜᴛ ʙᴇ ᴊᴜᴅɢᴇᴅ.|DEATH, [[Discworld|Hogfather]] (while explaining that since humans believe that it does, the way we believe Santa or the "Hogfather" does, we make it so it does.)}}

'''Grimdark''' is an adjective derived from the tagline for [[Warhammer 40k]], which states that "In the '''grim darkness''' of the far future, there is only war," and in some of the novels (at least a few of the [[Ciaphas Cain]] stories, for instance) it states straightforwardly, "in the '''grim dark''' future..." Whether this came after "grimdark" began to be popularly used as an adjective is not wholly clear (probably after). It is generally used to describe a dilapidated, dystopian "crapsack world" setting which it would really suck to live in, as say Somalia, North Korea, the North of England and the setting of Warhammer 40k itself. In fairness to the franchise and its defenders, this is because the published material primarily focuses on war and [[Chaos Gods|cults]] and other [[Daemonculaba|horrible things]]. There are supposed to be many pleasant and peaceful worlds and sectors in the Imperium, but they are mostly ignored as they are boring -- and when they DO appear in lore or fluff, they're usually to go from "0 problems" to "totally fucked", very quickly. It can also be used to describe artwork that has a ''grimdark'' feel, even if the setting itself would not normally be considered grim or dark, or something sinister or uncommonly threatening/intimidating in real-life. This often applies to fan-art and writefaggotry as well.

Depending on your own personal tolerances for grim darkness of course, it can be taken to the extreme, just like with all descriptive traits. There is a point in which it becomes more ridiculous than anything else, because everything is indefeasibly tragic all the time - the term for this being [[Grimdark#Grimderp|grimderp]], which is explained further below.

This is an accusation often leveled at Warhammer itself, and leads some to rail against "Grimdark" as a whole, decrying the concept as ridiculous attempts at [[edgy|edginess]] (typically by teenagers), and using the expression to refer solely to such over-the-top settings in a strictly pejorative manner. Others actually embrace this ridiculousness and run with it (including Warhammer 40K itself, due to being a much more obviously comedic setting [[Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader|in early editions]]), insisting that the detractors or even the creators who take it seriously are making a mistake. Some people embrace the grimdarkness and mix it up with some humor (like painting Necrons with bright colors to make them look like edible candy figurines), especially if they are Ork players. But the schism between taking Warhammer's grimdarkness seriously or not is mostly visible with races such as the Tau, who are noticeably less grimdark ''visually'' than most of the other races and are either loved or absolutely hated for it (when not hated for being overpowered as shit). Meanwhile, another sizable percentage postulate that Grimdarkness lends greater moral and ethical complexity to a setting, based on [[Edgy|the fallacy that darkness always equals depth]]. Such people usually cite the works of Dan Abnett and many other Warhammer 40K writers to lend credence to such suppositions; these people are clearly ignoring that fact that most writers tone the grimdark WAY down. What, you didn't think the fact that the Imperium being an effective government, civilians having normal happy lives on par with the Scandinavians, Commissars who never *BLAM* their troops was odd? Needless to say, grimdark is [[Skub|a rather polarizing subject whose discussion often leaves little room for a middle ground]].

Speaking of, the polar opposite of grimdark is [[Noblebright]], a deliberate inversion of grim and dark nature where honor, chivalry, happiness and high adventure rule the day, as opposed to dying in a ditch from a supernatural plague as you run out of potable water and can no longer wait for the logistics department to process your dead comrades into something slightly more palatable before you start eating them. Oh, and being {{BLAM}}ed by a Commissar for even starting to look a little sad from these thoughts.

Although, it could be argued that 40K proper is actually Nobledark. Although the lore claims one man cannot make a difference and heroes are meaningless (Grim), we see the complete opposite of that actually happening in the lore. 40K fluff (40K, not just 30K) is crammed to bursting with heroes who made major differences. If anything, 40K seems to be about the difference one man ''can'' make rather than showing one man cannot make a difference. Even the events revolve around the Great Man idea of basically superheroes and supervillains moving the galaxy (and it's not just actual superhumans doing this). It is nonetheless a very dark setting, though.

== Common grimdark themes ==
*[[1984|Massive, imperialist, overbearing, bureaucratic, dystopian dictatorships]]; e.g. [[Imperium of Man|Nazi Germany clones]], [[Tau|Soviet Union/China clones]], or straight out examples of [[Paranoia|"Big Brother is watching you"]].
*Constant, never ever-ending warfare, usually as a horrific combination of outdated tactics and technology (And sometimes overly advanced technology). E.g., sending line infantry armed with single-shot [[Lasgun|Lasguns]] against a [[Bolter|Heavy Bolter]] nest.
*Horrifyingly large death tolls are perfectly normal. Genocide is also perfectly normal, and in many cases encouraged and espoused.
*Slavery is also perfectly normal, and sometimes considered a great necessity. Massive constructs are often built via slave labor.
*Everyone is racist towards non-humans/[[Eldar|elves]]/[[Mutant|mutants]]/[[Orks|fungus]]/[[Rak'gol|lizards]]/[[Slaugth|worms]]/[[Necrons|robots]]/[[Tyranids|aliens]]/[[Chaos|each other]]. Vice versa for literally every race.
*Speaking of xenophobia towards every species, those who express sympathy for a hated race and/or intermingle with said race, are usually publicly humiliated, tortured, and usually purged.
*Daily dose of [[HFY]]. [[Astral Knights|And]] [[Awesome]].
*[[Shadowrun|The vast majority are poor people who literally live in shit, pollution, crime]], and a plethora of [[Nurgle|all kinds of filthy diseases]], except for a [[Monopoly|few greedy upper 1% who own 99.9% of everything]].
*You, a poor bastard, are being farmed for shits and giggles by said few greedy upper 1%.
*Most of the poor bastards are being forced to work 23 hours a day, seven days a week, fifty-two weeks a year, in factories and/or forced labour camps, until their bodies give out. Forever.
*They're probably making weapons and equipment for [[Imperial Guard|the military]] (which is where the rest of the poor bastards are).
*[[Age of Strife|Dark, disgraceful and recondite past]] covered with [[Alpha Legion|lies]] [[Imperium|propanganda]], [[Tzeentch|deception]] and [[Eldar|partiality]].
*The Higher Powers do indeed give you consideration, they're just malevolent as all fuck.
*Chronic backstabbing. Just like in real life relationships. (''Who hurt you?'')
*[[Ork Snipers|"Frie]][[Marines Malevolent|ndly]] [[Kharn|fire"]]
*[[Space Marines|Child]] [[Imperial Guard|soldiers]]. Just like in real life.
*Your morning alarm clock is the stray bullets you hope don't hit you, from [[Necromunda|the gangsters doing a drive-by on their enemy who happens to be in the same district]] to whom you don't even belong to or like.
*Status quo is god. [[Nurgle|Literally.]]
*[[Tzeentch|Change is worse]].
*[[Cyberpunk|Cybernetics and cyborgs]]; the less human, the better.
*[[Commissar|Daily forecasts reguarly call for a 80% chance or more of *BLAM*]].
*[[Judge Dredd|Police]] [[Adeptus Arbites|brutality]].
*Even minor crimes can have major punishments.
*[[Inquisition|Being innocent or even a victim of crime can be counted as a crime]]. All participants in a crime, whether perpetrator or victim, are charged.
*[[Inquisition|Government agencies that are always there to fuck you over]] at the slightest hint of [[heresy]].
*Did I mention that the [[Inquisition]] commits planetary genocide 24/7?
*The [[Erebus|cock]][[Dark Eldar|suckers]] responsible for most of the shittiness are not only getting away with it, but are surviving and thriving, without becoming major targets for the [[noblebright]] forces.
*Torture that makes the CIA look like saints.
*[[Call of Cthulhu|Sanity checks]].
*Criminally insane delusional psychotics tortured in filthy mental asylums (in case of no/failed SAN checks).
*[[H.P. Lovecraft|Disgusting, horrifying, tentacled eldritch abominations]] that are often the cause of aforementioned criminal insanity.
*Rape. Just like in real life. ([[/d/|And often by said tentacled Eldritch Abominations]].)
*Surgery without anesthesia.
*[[Cannibalism]], in three forms:
*# For power (embracing the myth of "you are what you eat").
*# For food value; sometimes this is concealed by callous authorities as some other kind of food; sometimes, it's just a biological, cultural or desperation thing.
*# For the sheer fun of it.
*Want chemotherapy or some other expensive treatment? Well, you have to eviscerate that old dropout student of yours in order to pay.
*In fact even surgery without anesthesia is a luxury available only to wealthy or important ones, as are all other forms of medicine. 99% of people are expected to die when they fall sick or get injured. That is when they don't get executed FOR falling sick or getting injured.
*[[Fleshcrafting|Human experiments]]. [[Fabius Bile|Sometimes willingly, but most of the time not]]!
*Zombie plagues.
*Ritual cult sacrifices.
*Massive amounts of blood, gore, guts, pain and hatred.
*No personal opinion or choice. Only the illusion of it, in which you probably end up an [[Magnus|unwil]][[Mortarion|ling]] [[Rubric Marines|sla]][[necron|ve]]. Or...[[Chaos spawn|something worse]].
*Anti-intellectualism.
*...and it's justified because even an instant of unprotected thinking risks mass destruction.
*PTSD.
*Nihilism.
* Racism is actually right.
*Gothic and emo aesthetics (with the help of tons of ''"decorative"'' skulls).
*There are no "good guys". Everyone's a jerk, including yourself. ''Especially yourself.''
* Everyone is evil either because they’re just plain monsters or because they are trying to survive which makes everyone evil to everyone else.
*[[Tau|The guys everyone refer to be "good" or "nice"]] are actually just ''the least'' evil bunch, and would still make your average high fantasy/sci-fi arch-villains look like saints in comparison.
*The REAL good guys are either [[Lamenters|the ones (usually) mostly hated, and are going to get fucked over beyond human recognition usually without any logical reason]] or [[Salamanders|too few to make any difference]].
*Aforementioned "good guys" are only "good" because they do care about their allies and civilians, and generally try to make the place less shitty for those they care for. But they still wouldn't hesitate a second before doing pretty horrible things like [[Shadowrun|terrorist actions against "The Man"]], [[Warhammer 40k|killing a defenseless xeno child]], etc...
* The aforementioned defenseless xeno-child needed to be killed either because it was guaranteed to grow up to be a monster, would grow to compete for resources needed for survival, would be corrupted, was already a monster, or any number of reasonable justifications that would leave a modern man in frustrated tears trying to justify not killing it. Welcome to Warhammer 40,000.
*Magic is [[Warp|inherently malevolent]] and actively seeks to [[Cenobites|corrupt]] and [[Khorne|destroy]] those unfortunates 'gifted' with magical abilities. And everything around them at the time.
*You either die a [[Sanguinius|worthy death]] or you live long enough to see yourself becoming something that [[Mortarion|you've]] [[Perturabo|always]] [[Fulgrim|hated]].
*Everyone will most likely die in the end. Especially the ones important to and including the main character.
*Always polluted, never sunny.
*No ice cream. No lollipops either.
*Death or suicide will only make things much, much worse in [[H.P. Lovecraft|Lovecraftian]] levels, as a hive of disgusting, incomprehensibly evil supernatural daemons are waiting patiently to eternally torment your un-life and roast your soul alive day and night forever and ever, again and again and again and again.
*Tremendous potential for offensive/dark comedy/[[lulz]].
*[[God-Emperor of Mankind|And if you ever, EVER try to change this shitty world or try to help one person just a little, you will probably suffer terrible consequences,]] because altruism is a dying philosophy. (And because your reasoning is flawed.)
*Life sucks.
*There's only war.
*You're probably going to get eaten by Tyranids.
*no gf
*Good luck and [[Dwarf_Fortress|have fun.]]
*Even using the wrong calendar is [[heresy]].

== Stuff considered Grimdark ==
{{cleanup}}
[[File:Tyrus.jpg|400px|thumb|A world where the only way to beat grimdark is by introducing something even grimmer and darker]]
[[File:The_grimdarkian_by_ironshrinemaiden_d1i73bl.jpg|400px|thumb|[https://www.deviantart.com/ironshrinemaiden/art/The-Grimdarkian-91030161| The Grimdarkian, by IronShrineMaiden]]]
* '''''[[Warhammer 40,000]]''''' (Naturally, coined the term).
* '''''[[Warhammer Fantasy Battle]]''''', <strike>but less than you'd think. It's a lot closer to nobledark</strike> until the world [[Derp|was]] [[Bullshit|actually]] [[End Times|destroyed]]. Now, [[Age of Sigmar]] continues it and is, slightly, better in so much that it is unlikely to be destroyed, though [[Warhammer Meta-Setting|that may imply an even worse eternal stalemate]].
* '''The World Wars''', especially the Western Front of WW1, the Eastern Front of WW2, and everything involving WW2 Japanese army/navy and PoWs/civies.
* '''The countless wars of the 1990s in Africa''', including, but not limited to: The Rwandan Genocide, Liberian child soldiers, Sierra Leonean amputations, slave labor in the Congo, etc.
** Post Colonial Africa in general until the 21st century and even then it is still not particularly nice.
* '''''[[Dwarf Fortress]]'''''
* '''''[[Dark Sun]]'''''
* '''''End of War'''''
* '''''Blood''''', The main character is a undead wild west gunslinger who has to bring down a dark god's cult!
* '''Shakespeare's tragedies''', especially ''Macbeth'' and ''Hamlet''.
* '''''[[1984]]'''''
* '''''Soylent Green'''''.
* '''''[[Paranoia]]''''' (though used for parodying 1984).
* The majority of the tragedy genre of stories.
* '''''[[RIFTS]]'''''.
* The '''''Half-Life''''' universe after the resonance cascade.
* '''''Portal''''' once you get past the memes.
* The Helghast from the '''''Killzone''''' universe.
* The '''Kerberos''' trilogy, but special mentions to '''Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade'''. A series of films that basically gave birth to Killzone singlehandedly (Seriously, look at the comparisons between the Helghast and the film's Protect Gear, [[Original character, do not steal|it is ''blatant'']]). Set in an alternate-history where Japan was occupied by Germany rather than America at the end of WW2. In Jin-Roh, the nation is constantly in social turmoil with left-wing communist terrorist guerillas using children as bomb couriers against two police force of Japan: the normal-looking police force (Backed by the Japanese KGB/CIA hybrid) and the '''ORIGINAL''' Helghasts called the Kerberos Panzer Cops. Jin-Roh is a political thriller film that largely talks about the problems of the "Good guy, bad guy" dichotomy and how juvenile it is for stories to portray these things in real life. All of the films have a downer ending, so if you are looking for a happy ending, you're gonna get dissapointed. Despite what [[/pol/|some people]] [[SJW|may argue,]] the Kerberos trilogy is a condemnation of all extremist ideas and actions. Its a Mamoru Oshii film of Ghost in the Shell fame, what do you fucking expect.
* Everything in '''''Gears of War'''''. The fact that the primary weapon in the series features a [[Chain Weapon|Chainsaw bayonet designed to utterly rip out the innards of anyone unfortunate to be at the receiving end]] is already by itself Grimdark.
* Everything in the Resistance universe.
* The MachineGames '''''Wolfenstein''''' games. The Nazis crushed the Allies in 1947 with insane technology and won World War II. The setting pulls no punches in depicting how nightmarish the world would become if the Nazis were free to enact their racist and reactionary ideology to its fullest. Manhattan was nuked off the earth, London is now a slum filled with humiliating monuments to the Nazi victory (and a giant robot that literally crushes any uprisings), indigenous peoples in Africa and South America are being exterminated wholesale, there are concentration camps on the Moon, Hitler has been deified, and untermensch live in hiding and constant fear for their lives.
* '''''[[Blame!]]'''''.
* '''''Devilman'''''. (especially CRYBABY)
* '''''[[Berserk]]'''''
* '''''[[Goblin Slayer]]'''''.(Pretty much [[Berserk]] if it was set in a Dungeons and Dragons world)
* '''''[[Emergence]]'''''. (177013)
* '''''[[Kingdom Death]]''''' (Makes 40k's setting seem pleasant and cheerful).
* '''''Eastenders''''' (especially at Christmas).
* '''[[Grimdark Songwriting]]'''
* '''''[[Don't Rest Your Head]]'''''
* '''''SLA Industries''''': Imagine if the Emperor was not only still walking around, but was a callous buisnessman with a permanent skeleton face and no bling armor. Imagine a civilization that exists almost entirely to strip mine itself in the name of consumerism, with snuff television being the primary source of entertainment and anyone trying to do buisness not on SLA's pay roll being branded a "Soft Company" to be exterminated. Oh, and truly horrid aliens that were thought extinct centuries ago are now making a comeback AND occult fuckery of varying flavours is manifesting in increasing amounts in Mort City, SLA's capital.
* '''''The Matrix'''''
* '''''[[World of Darkness]]''''', with special mention going to [[Wraith: The Oblivion]], a game so bleak it's rumored to have actually caused fits of chronic depression in players.
* '''''[[CthulhuTech]]'''''
* '''''[[Call of Cthulhu]]''''', depending on how you do it.
* Everything from '''''[[H.P. Lovecraft]]''''' and the '''''Cthulhu Mythos''''', though this can vary when you add in other Mythos writers like August Derleth.
* Playing mortals in '''''[[Exalted]]'''''
* '''''Neon Genesis Evangelion''''' (Especially End).
* '''''Muv-Luv''''' Often compared to 40k in how bleak and brutal the series is.
* '''''[[Midnight]]''''' setting for D&D.
* '''''[[FATAL]]'''''.
* '''[[Rebecca Black]]'''.
* '''''I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream'''''. Just the title itself should give you a clue on how horrific the game is. (The video game is terrifying, especially with its endings, and the short story it is based on is even more horrifying). Humanity has been wiped out except for five people, who are trapped inside a complex controlled by a misanthropic, reality-warping supercomputer keeping them alive to torture them.
* The '''Medieval Dark Ages''' that Warhammer 40,000 was originally based on.
* '''''[[The Witcher]]'''''. Racism, genocides, dozens of monsters that want to eat your face whenever you enter a random forest. Or cave. Or ruins. The video game adaptation even features a medieval Hitler running the [[Inquisition|Witch Hunters]], a fanatical order of [[Black Templars|racist scumbags dedicated to wiping out both mages and non-humans]] in the name of the Eternal Fire. Meanwhile, the neighboring empire starts a series of wars against northern kingdoms (where the series takes place), in which both sides descend into scorched earth warfare, all the while backstabbing their allies and generally being a colossal wall of dicks to the point that close to 70% of civilian population in war-zones died from raiding, famine and occasional outbreaks of extradimensional plagues. To add insult to injury, the whole world is doomed due to the (slowly) encroaching Ice Age, and the only person that could save it took two glances at this shitshow and decided to fuck off to a parallel universe and let them all die, ''because it would be a mercy''. (To be fair, though, she comes back, if only to save her adoptive mother and father from said Ice Age, as she still maintains her 'fuck the rest of humanity' attitude.
* '''''Dark Souls'''''. The entire ''world'' is ''dying''. Specifically, most of the population is undead, you die constantly, and you have to fight enemies larger and filthier than you are, [[Heresy|including a naked bitch with a spider vagina]]. Also, [[Extra Heresy|FAKE TITS]]. Stuck in an infinite loop where a hero constantly saves the world, and everything goes back to normal before hitting another grimdark cycle every thousand years. Compare with nobledark and check your mileage.
* '''''Drakengard''''' and its related franchise: '''''Nier'''''. Basically, the "god" in this setting is a massive dick so he infects humans with zombie aids out of boredom and watch them kill each other for the [[lulz]]. Caim (the player), the former prince of a fallen kingdom (due to his parents being killed by a black dragon) had to fight the zombie army. He unironically [[rip and tear|enjoys slaughtering any living things]] after waging a bunch of other conflicts and lost his ability to speak after he made a pact with a dragon in exchange for companionship and power (in Drakengard, making such a pact with another creature makes you lose a certain part of you). He had to team up with a blind pedophile priest, a baby eating elf witch, and a ageless shota. His sister unknowingly to him is a crazy incest bitch, driven mad by the pain she endures because she was forced to become a "Goddess of the Seal", some kind of administrator chosen by the "god" to maintain space and time. The job sucks, she had to be separated from her family and she's unable to kill herself because her caretaker would prevent that from happening. And to top it off her parents die tragically. And then you have the villains. Manah, an abused 8 year old child descended from one of the evil clone sister's brother from the prequel, was controlled by the eldritch forces of "the watchers" (read: the dick head "god" himself) who are in charge of the zombie armies with humanity's extinction being their goal. Due to the influence of the watchers group on the Empire kingdom of its setting, the world is engulfed in flames and corpses. The true ending for the game is that everyone except Caim dies and he somehow end up moving a magical doomsday device created by the god to other world (Tokyo Japan of our world to be exact), detonate it and doom the human race. It is said that Drakengard as a series has a fuck ton of timelines and a timeline was born from each of the endings with each ending being bad, or if not worse than the previous. Surprisingly the ending mentioned above is consider canon and it is where the sequel Nier took place (after 1462 years no less) with more grimdark ensuing. Drakengard 2 was pretty bright light since it was directed by a different director but is still part of branch timeline while Drakengard 3 is the prequel retelling how the god tries to destroy the world by sticking an evil parasite flower on some psychopathic girl. Each time the girl died it creates an evil clones of her that will try to rule the world with their evil song magic. Obvious, it's also grimdark since it led to the tragic grimdark rape sauce that is the plot of the first game.
** In '''''Nier''''', the world sets 1462 years into the future. After our "hero" and his dragon fucked up the world by killing and detonating the doomsday device, it release some kind of magical evil virus that mindraped and turned people into salt if they don't submit. After countless grimdark conflicts involving child soldiers, human experiments and more resource shortage, the scientist decided to separate the rest of the survivors souls (gestalt) from their bodies, hoping they could outlast the pandemic. But of course all these attempts are futile failure because Nier, our "hero" ended up killing the only thing that could save humankind, dooming them all to extinction.
*** Finally we have '''''Nier: Automata''''', 8480 years later, where new androids were created by the last human survivors. One of the Nier's companions Emil, a bizarre magical weapon created from some crazy experiment (he is over 8480 years old or so at this point) had to clone himself over 9000 times just to fight the aliens, which not only made him lose his mind and memories but also his sanity. Oh and the humans that escaped to the moons turn out to be long dead. When the rest of androids find out, they proceed to kill themselves in a batshit frenzy. To make this sound even more painful and tragic, the androids have the human concepts of pain and emotions programmed to them, making their death even more painful to be felt.
* '''''Mass Effect''''': While its universe overall is hardly grimdark overall, the Reapers and what happens to "harvested" individuals is some of the sickest forms of grimdark possible. During the Reaper War, billions of people across the galaxy were vaporized, dissolved slowly, and/or converted into cyber zombies or brainwashed slaves. And that's just the latest Reaper War. The Reapers have committed so much galactic genocide beforehand, they turned it into a scheduled event and made the galaxy their farm/laboratory.
** There are many other forms of Grimdark in the relatively Nobledark/Noblebright universe of Mass Effect, one of the most notable being the Genophage, a bioweapon deployed against the Krogan race as to halt the Krogan Rebellions. This bioweapon was basically a massive, permanent genetical Fetus Deletus that drove Krogan birthrates down extensively and creates a lot of stillborns, leaving them vulnerable to extinction.
* '''''Killzone''''', again. The Second Extrasolar War alone deserves its own page of Grimdark: Humanity and their alien descendants, the Helghast, engage in a near-racial war of genocide, more genocide, and even more genocide. Technology has devolved in many areas, and battles turn into endless slaughters as hundreds of thousands of men and women are thrown into a Verdun/Stalingrad hybrid scenario. What's even more horrible is how literally '''everyone''' is evil. Not just the Helghast. Literally all of humanity is warped. The Earth-based UCN? Corrupt and bureaucratic. They want to strangle all their colonies with an iron fist and they intentionally keep the colonial military, the ISA, weaker than it otherwise could be so the centralized military could easily crush them if they rebelled, (UCN cruisers for example are basically dreadnoughts in comparison to those of the ISA), which has caused more than a few problems for the ISA when fighting the Helghast. The Vektans? Hypocritically imperialistic, believing the Helghast deserve to perish for their militarism and (failed) invasion of their planet. The Helghast? Racist, imperialistic genocidal maniacs, believing themselves to be "superior" and even some thinking they need to kill every human in the universe, for "Helghast Purity".
** The Helghast are a literal representation of a society and people warped by Grimdarkery: The planet of Helghan is inhospitable, forcing almost all its inhabitants to wear gas masks. Society is highly fascist, militaristic, and any form of dissent is met with "reeducation" (A bullet to the head), while the government itself is highly nepotistic, where opportunistic scumbags manipulate Helghast Nationalism for their self-benefit. Also, technology and living standards in the civilian sector is extremely poor, as the majority of the advanced technology went over to the military.
** The fanbase of the series is certainly odd though due to the fact that this concept that everyone is evil has went completely over their heads and due to the blatantly unfair treatment of the Helghasts (kind that makes the Treaty of Versailles seem all fair and good by comparison) in the lead up and aftermath of the First Extrasolar War, they have a tendency to see the Helghast, despite being the antagonists, [[derp|as the good guys]]. Their totalitarian society and the fact that the Helghast commit more or less every warcrime known to man apparently didn't make it obvious that this is not so.
* '''''Gears of War''''', again. Decades of civil war, genocide and weapons of mass destruction has turned your home planet into a quasi-dead world. The human race is close to extinction, women are reduced to birthing machines, your government is an uncaring fascist scumbag, the weather is often rain consisting of razor sharp ice crystals that could cut you into ribbons, you're fighting a never-ending war with genocidal monsters from the underground and the world is literally '''dying''' from super fuel.
**To make matters even worse. Even before the Locust War, humanity was locked in a near 80 year war between two rivaling superpowers over the aforementioned super fuel. The COG and the UIR. Both governments are ruthless, imperialistic, fascistic, communistic bastards of a government whose war crimes will make the likes of the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany look like amateurs. When even the Locust have a point by calling us out for being exactly the same genocidal monsters as they are, you know Gears of War is fucked. Oh and the planet is called Sera, or Ares when said backwards.
* The '''''Resistance''''' series, again: Humanity is losing a brutal war of genocidal attrition against a parasitic alien species, the Chimera. Russia, Asia, and nearly all of Europe has been converted into a desolate wasteland, suitable for the Chimera species. Whatever is left of humanity has been driven into cave dwellings. Humans captured by the Chimera are converted into a Chimera Hybrid (Basically the Chimera equivalent of [[Arco-flagellant|Arco-Flagellants]]).
* '''''Hellgate London'''''.
* Most of '''David Bowie''''s songs about 1990.
* World Devastators in '''''[[Star Wars]]'''''. Seriously, if you read about them without knowing that they are from Star Wars, you could easily mistake them for something from 40k. And we're not talking about Star Wars Legacy and the genocide of the Mon Calamari.
* The first two '''''Hellraiser''''' movies
* '''''Event Horizon'''''
* '''''GANTZ'''''
* '''''[[Cyberpunk 2020]]'''''.
* '''''[[Shadowrun]]'''''. While not the worst in the grimdark department, Shadowrun definitely has its moments (the Renraku Archology Shutdown being a prime example); for instance the oppressive megacorporations reducing people to an identification number, with people not having one ([[Derp|for... reasons]]) don't exist legally.
* '''''[[Hellsing]]'''''... just all of Hellsing... Though it can easily slide into grimderp. (A little girl seeing her mother killed while hiding in a closet? Yeah that's intense. In a moment of desperation, shove a rod into the guy's eyeball, only for him to not be mortally wounded? That's pretty unfortunate. Said guy deciding to fuck the corpse as his smashed eyeball hangs from the socket? That's just silly.)
**'''''Drifters''''', by the same author. The protagonists are a bunch of [[murderhobo|kill-happy murderhoboes]] drawn from various psychos from all throughout history into [[Isekai|a generic fantasy world]] who have decided to [[Great Crusade|save the world by conquering it, one country at a time]]. One of the major powers of the setting turns out to have been founded by ''Adolph friggin' Hitler''. Even Joan of Arc, who IRL was noted for being a pacifist, is warped into a bloodthirsty psycho. The [[BBEG]], who wants to kill all humans (and is noted to be a step up from his subordinates, who want to kill [[Necron|everything]]) is all but outright states to be ''Jesus''.
* '''''Bioshock''''' and '''''Bioshock 2''''' (as well as '''''Bioshock Infinite''''', though it comes hidden behind a smiling facade of barbershop singing and the Fourth of July).
* Anything from the '''''[[Xeelee Sequence]]'''''.
** The Interim Coalition of Governance for example, is such a grim-ridden shit-hole that they make the Imperium of Man look like pussies filled with sun-shine and rainbows in comparison and make the [[Adeptus Custodes]] shit themselves in collateral fear. Despite achieving time travel, conquering the entire Universe through xenocide that would make the Necrons look like children and shooting Neutron Stars at .99c at the speed of light, The ICoG is still a minor nuisance compared to the Xeelee and their enemies, the Photino Birds. Stephen Baxter was able to construct the insignificance and petty malevolence of Man in a few books better than GeeDubs more [[Matt Ward|questionable]] [[CS Goto|authors]] did in decades. [[tl;dr]] the IoM wishes they would be as cool as the ICoG. A small example is a soldier, Pirius invents an incredible way of outmaneuvring the enemy and does a huge impact on the war: [[awesome|he captures a Xeelee ship]]. Turning back time and going to the past, he is...sent to a penal unit guaranteeing death. Literally for thinking outside the box.
** All of Steven Baxter's works arguably qualify. '''''Evolution''''' can be summed up as "humanity almost overcame its flaws, fixed the damage it did to Earth, and ushered in a [[noblebright]] future, and it might have worked, but [[Rocks_fall,_everyone_dies|just then a supervolcano erupted, wiped out human civilization, and everyone died]]. The end. There's even a chapter in the middle of the book outright stating it. Also that humans [[Imperium|are nothing but vicious bastards who rape, kill, and destroy everything they touch]] and have been ever since our ancestors were rats under the feet of dinosaurs, but other animals aren't much better.
* '''North Korea''', which is essentially [[1984|"Real Life Oceania"]], a totalitarian nightmare almost completely isolated from the rest of the world with a leader whose name you are literally forbidden from saying without the prefix "supreme leader". Universal conscription is in place for men with service lengths of over ten years from age 17 to 30 (for comparison, in South Korea, where compulsory military service length is also among the highest in the world, the service length is 21 to 24 months depending on the chosen branch). The country has no access to the internet and only has it's own intranet with government controlled websites. Long gone are the days when the government had any interest in making the country good. Now all they care about is simply staying in power, no matter how much poverty and how many famines the rest of the country has to suffer for it. And if you get on the government's really bad side, you and at least 2 other generations of your family get sent to prison camps to be executed or become the playthings of the prison guards until you die.
* '''''The Goon''''' comic series by Eric Powell (because circus hillbillies, werewolves with midget hand phobias, and the Zombie Priest are the least of it all).
* '''''Children of Men''''': A future where humans are no longer fertile and going extinct, and then someone finds a pregnant woman and nearly everyone in the world fights over her.
* '''''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]''''' AKA Game of Thrones: Good guys screw up monumentally or never win, the only people who get ahead are amorally manipulative assholes and everyone is going to be massacred and enslaved by the evil ice elf necromancers in the end. And if they somehow survive, then another war for the Iron Throne will happen after the winner gets their revenge-boner satisfied and later, their kids would need to clean up the wankstains.
* '''''Dishonored''''' - Grimdark, and steampunk. Only in the "Kill fucking everyone" ending though.
* '''''Dark Seed''''', Grimdark to the core! the first game is about the main character being fucked in the head. Hr giger's artwork helps too.
* '''''[[Humanity Fuck Yeah|X-Com]]''''' (The remake and the original, as a parody of the G.I. Joe Badass stereo type, you're struggling with funding and even your gods in human form, some of whom make certain chapters of Astartes weep, can get fucked over by Sectoids!)
* '''''Puella Magi Madoka Magica'''''. Being Meguca is suffering.
* '''''[[Adventure Time]]''''''s backstory.
* '''''Path of Exile'''''. The game's setting is basically a documentary on the corruption of [[Roman Empire]]. Basically there is this continent called the Wraeclast. [[Tomb Kings|The land is pretty much cursed with undeath]] and [[chaos|mutation]] due to Thaumaturgy aka magic in the form of gems that grants ability, which came from the beast, some kind of eldritch abomination living in the mountain and the source of all this evil magic shit. Many great Empire rose and fell on the continent with their own fucked up and downfall. [[Fall of the Eldar|The first empire: The Vaal were somekind of Aztec, Mayan inspired Empire who loves to sacrifice people for power, so much that they were responsible for corrupting the beast, which partly responsible for what Wraeclast is today]]. After that, a new Empire called "the Eternal Empire" was built on top the former and began outlawing Thaumaturgy and gems for the next 1000 years, until a tyrant was throne after he cheat a death maze trial and was killed in a rebellion staged by Voll, who is obsessed with the old purity ideal and decided to trust Malachai, a previous evil asshole Thaumaturgiest employed by the previous Emperor to destroy the beast, the source of all magic (in detail, Voll was convinced by Malachai into thinking that only those who study Thaumaturgy could destory Thaumaturgy). Obviously, [[Nagash|Malachai ended up betraying Voll as well as everyone in the Empire, as well as the godamn world by merge with the beast and unleash a series of cataclysm that made what Wraeclast is today, and the bastard achieve a twisted sense of immortality where he is now but a evil monster living inside the beast, who is obsessed with creating nightmarish monsters]].
**Despite the Voll's fucked up, part of the Empire survived in the form of an island nation south called Oriath. [[Imperium of Man|It was ruled under a Theocratic government. Following the laws of purity with an iron fist, where they reject impurity so much that anyone who reject their doctrines is met with either slavery, death or exiled to Wraeclast (which the player came to be)]]. [[Nazi|They are also racist, dressed in stylish uniform fashioned with eagle, gold and the typical red armband, all the more reinforce their real life counterpart]]. [[Roman Empire|Since they inherit the previous empire's slavery culture, they enslave a group of archipelago tribal minority known as the Karui, serving as the Rome equivalent of barbarian tribe slave race for Oriath and oh boy, how Oriath loves to oppress the shit out of them, using them for free labor, torture them, experiment them and putting them in the grand arena as gladiators entertainment]]. They also worship this golden figure with red eyed [[Emperor|called Innocence, who is the major god of Oriath, the Templar's most beloved GOLDEN subject of worship]] and they believe themselves to be the most pure and "innocence" while calling others like [[heresy|the karui and the heretics to be impure and "Sinned"]].
***As if things are not bad enough, later game where after the player killed the beast, it awoke the gods from the slumber. Gods, who were once mortal but sold their humanity for power in order to ascend. As a result, the gods are no better than the humans, most them were downright psychopath(there's a god called Yugul who was once a scholar obsessed with fear that he study about it so much he eventually ascend to godhood, became somekind of four leg walking mouth thing), mentally depressed ([[genestealers|there's this insect goddess called Ryslatha who is afraid of loosing her children that she makes everyone hers by having her parasite control everything that moves]]) or just a downright bloody warlords (the Karui wargod, who is the one to encourage his tribes man to stop being peaceful and tell them to go kill shit and babies, which are actually Ryslatha's and is therefore responsible for her ugly transformation). Although some gods were good, they ended up being corrupted by their followers for fuck how longs while the beast forcing them to slumbering away. After their returning, some human made contact with them through their mind radio advertisement, and were made to become their followers, where they were [[chaos|granted mutations (or blessing, some would say)]] and went on their own ape shit rampage across the world to claim their own territories or invade others. Most of the Karui slaves in Oriath ended up getting the worst mutation of all since [[Angron|they worship this Kitava god (an evil Karui god whom was repeatedly punished for his gluttony, yet despite its mouth being mutilated in such way for him to stop consuming anything, he still does and even managed to reach godhood) in order to free from their slavery and shitty treatment from their Templar tormentor]], [[Khorne|all the more powered up Kitava with their desires for vengeance and blood. The slave's faith for Kitava is so overwhelming that not one on Oriath is safe from Kitava's power]], even the Templar, after their god Innocence that had been recently decimate by the player are now vulnerable to Kitava influences, that they switched side without a second thought, easily giving up their old faith like the asshole heretic they had always been. The only god who managed to retain its sanity from all this madness is called Sin, Innocence's brother who is this creepy black winged figure that could make everyone thought of angels of death whenever he pops up. Despite this, he is smart enough to realized the danger of godhood and create the beast in order to force them asleep (this includes his wife and daughter, whom were also deities like him, and were also corrupted that they had to be put down by the player because even Sin finds it painful to kill his own kin and lover). Even after the player has killed all the gods, Wraeclast remains the same, Thaumaturgy and gems still exist, but at least Oriath is no longer rule by an extreme religious organization, right?
* '''''[[Space Station 13]]''''' : Space paranoia simulator. Some might not consider this game grimdark, but the lore is set in a dystopian future where capitalism and unforgiving bureaucracy rules the universe, your life is expandable, and the media is controlled; your only choice is working until you die, or getting killed by either rival corporate operatives, space wizards, cultists, deathsquads or spies posing as your co-workers.
* '''''Barotrauma''''' : Inspired by Space Station 13, centered on a submarine crew in the underground oceans of Europa. Crew members are expendable, you're ''always'' outgunned, the submarine is almost [[Death World|constantly under attack by massive sea creatures]], and most missions are much more likely to end in disaster than success. Also, you explode as soon as you step outside the sub.
* '''''LifeWeb''''' : A complex SS13 spinoff taking place in a cave forteress of a neo-medieval world in the far future, combat is more lethal, and it explores subjects like murder, corruption, rape, torture, cultism and general human suffering.
* '''''[[Pokemon Tabletop Adventures]]''''' (optionally).
* Original '''''Grimm's Fairy Tales''''' ("Hansel and Gretel", for example).
* '''''Alien''''' (as in the biomechanical, parasitic, acid-blooded brainchild of Ridley Scott and the late H.R. Giger).
* '''''[[Halo]]''''' (the setting of Halo is one grand scale of a Cosmic Horror Story centered around absolute hopelessness and bleakness of a Universe governed by hyper malevolent gods. Our good guys, the UNSC? It's a semi-authoritarian 'Big Brother is Watching You', fascistic style government that have no qualms dumping nukes on a civilian population if rebellion is sighted. The UNSC also have no problems dicking over their only alien 'friends' to benefit humanity, while also being bogged down in a political quagmire. The Covenant are ''much, much worse'', while anything from the Forerunner trilogy is just a high concoction of Nightmare Fuel inside a depressing milkshake.
**Now with [[Halo#Halo Fleet Battles and Ground Command|newly added fluff in the Tabletop Games and other books,]] Halo is going eerily straight down the WH40K route. [[Space Marines|Covenant now having different chapters and sects,]] [[Warp|Slipspace shifting more like space hell,]] [[Inquisition|the UNSC/UEG sending secret police to silence and torture innocents]] [[Abbadon|and an ancient Eldritch A.I. of malevolent aura that shares the same name to a certain armless failure.]] Seriously we ain't making this shit up!
* '''''[[Battletech]]'''''.
* '''''Factorio'''''. Subtle, but, lone human, aliens want to kill you, everything you do makes smog, and your goal is to cover the world in industry, concrete, machines, and gun turrets. The world isn't dead when you arrive, but you're damn well going to kill it yourself or die trying.
* '''''Kane & Lynch.''''' Sweet Emperor, Kane & Lynch. Forget your GTAs and Paydays. In it, you control two murderous middle-aged fugitives, one of which is explicitly mentally troubled, and not in a funny way. The kind of true underworld scum that can only be described as genuinely repulsive. That, plus the fact that nothing ever goes right for anyone in the story just adds to it.
* '''''Attack on Titan''''' (You cannot win, ever. And if you do, you've probably lost all your friends, who've been eaten by giant freaky Mutants, who don't even need food. Yeeeah).
** To put things bluntly, it turns out even the Titans are perpetually suffering, the whole setting runs on a system of human sacrifice and cannibalism that would make the Aztecs proud, this is a series where facing the apocalypse does ''not'' bring out the best in humanity but instead remains as fractious, self-destructive, and divisive as ever (which is honestly one of the points of the story), and the leaders of humanity make the [[High Lords of Terra]] look competent. Things are such a clusterfuck with no hope of change that one of the characters has decided the only way things can get better is to wipe out every human that isn't a member of their ethnic group, and what's worse the plot seem to be proving them ''right''.
* '''''Metro''''' series (both the books and games, but mostly in the books, where the last known humans are hiding in underground subway tunnels, and when not trying to finish each other off are fighting endless hordes of [[mutant]]s [[/b/|and other, much worse things]]. Also, if you're one of the stalkers, the few brave ones that head to the surface to [[Blood Ravens|loot anything they can find]], you risk [[Tyranid|being eaten by flying daemons]]. Hell, it even has [https://www.amazon.co.uk/Metro-2033-Dmitry-Glukhovsky/dp/0575086254 the same "abandon all hope" vibe in the intro], just like 40k. And that is just the tip of the iceberg.)
** Note as the books go on the grimdarkness does tone down by showing the areas outside of the city to be in much better living conditions and other metros.(though not all the books are written by the same author).
* '''''Madness Combat''''' - no regret, no remorse, no reason, only [[Khorne|madness]].
* '''''LISA the RPG.'''''
* '''''The Darkness''''' videogames. Fairly average if utterly spoiled gangster is almost killed and inherits an ancient lineage of shadow monsters that feed off of shadows. Said gangster then decides to go on a revenge-killing spree against his uncle who ordered the whole thing while also fighting off the will of the monsters and protecting his girlfriend.
* The first two '''''Hyperion''''' books.
* '''''Elfen Lied''''' (where the next step of the evolution of mankind is a group of schizophrenic homicidal mutant girls with invisible tentacle hands and a hair-trigger temper who will either kill you in the worst way possible or [[Genestealer|infect you with their gene to increase their numbers]].)
* Most of '''Stephen King's''' works.
** As the joke goes, some people say that Stephen King's works are so fucked up they should come with a content warning. The reply is that they ''do'' have a content warning, they have the words "written by Stephen King" on the front.
* '''''S.T.A.L.K.E.R.''''' You travel a desolate landscape filled with mutants in all the horrific varieties, failed science projects (courtesy of the secret cabal of scientist settled there after USSR' s dissolution), anomalies that you often can't see and kill you instantly and a lot of renegades/bandits/fanatics/zombies. Your gear breaks all the time, resources are scarce and your goal is to get to the [[Wikipedia:Chernobyl disaster|highly dangerous Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant]], which is also protected by lots of fanatics with the best gear available. If you make it through that hellish place that is The Zone, you'll likely get one of the 5 really grimdark endings, and if you paid a lot of attention to certain seemingly useless items along the way, you may get one of the other two grimdark endings. The rest of the world largely ignores what's happening inside The Zone, aside from a few scientists that study the deadly phenomena and the international military that maintains a cordon around The Zone so the nasty stuff doesn't get out and sometimes send expeditions inside, killing everything and everyone in sight. Also, [[Meme|A NU CHEEKI BREEKI IV DAMKE]].
* '''''The Slenderman Mythos''''' (HE ALWAYS WATCHES).
* [[Dante|Dante "you hurt my feefees so I'll put you in hell" Alighieri]]'s '''''[[Warp|Inferno]]'''''. Put simply short, God is a fucking Sadist. If you suffer from depression/PTSD so much that you commit suicide, God will mutate you into an immortal tree that still feels pain and is constantly torn apart by harpies forever. How merciful. Sinners who committed Gluttony are punished by being eaten/mutilated alive by Cerberus, who transforms your corpse into slowly regenerating shit mud, all while a costant snowy rain (or rainy snow) hits your head; after being whole again, thou art eaten while trying to flee in despair, and it starts anew.But that's not the worst punishment. How about being under constant fireball rain in a desert for loving a person of the same gender? And being annihilated by snakes, then rebuilt? Or you find funnier being stuck in the ice? For ever. Because some old dude called Minos decided so.
* The '''''F.E.A.R.''''' series (even the third vanilla-by-comparison game is fucked up).
* '''''Total War: Attila''''' (Unlike the previous Total War titles, which were about your faction's rise to power from small backwater city/tribe/country into a mighty empire able to boss around its neighbors into doing your bidding, this one is about the decline of your faction as you desperately try to survive the onslaught of the Huns, who's sole purpose in the game is to worship Tengri by burning, pillaging, and raping their way through the known world. Particularly if you are the Romans. Winning is defined by being the last guy standing who gets to clean up the rubble and dead bodies, trying to rebuild their world after Attila destroyed it. Seriously, even the music sounds depressing and foreboding as fuck.)
* '''''[[Darkest Dungeon]]'''''. Your ancestor awakened some kind of God that is pretty much Cthulhu's brother and sent you a letter before killing himself, asking you to mop up the huge mess he created. Enjoy sending parties of 4 adventurers ranging from badass lepers to sickle-wielding jesters to their deaths in cultist-infested ruins, sewers filled with mutated cannibalistic pigmen, sea caverns serving as anthropomorphic sea creatures and forests corrupted by evil. And I'm not going to talk about the Darkest Dungeon itself. Also, have fun dealing with those bandits that are raiding the Hamlet for which you spent a fuckton of resources in upgrades.
* '''''The Day After''''', and its worse Brit counterpart, '''''Threads'''''.
* '''''Lord Of War'''''. The worst is that it's based on real events.
*'''''Now and Then, Here and There'''''. The DARKEST [[Isekai]] ever made. Period. Imagine if you will, that you were isekai'ed into a world that took direct inspiration from the ''Rwandan Genocide''. Yeah, we are in that type of territory here boys. The setting takes place in an alternate world, ''10 billion years'' into the future where the sun is about to go into a red giant and whatever scraps of humanity are fighting each other for the last remaining sources of water. Expect a lot of child soldiers, child abuse, child torture, child rape and ethnic cleansing to a scarily realistic degree. This is a post-post-apocalyptic world that is designed to break the viewers. It is an anime darker than 40k despite the 'happy' ending due the sheer levels of nihilism and unforgiving horrors of human depravity. As such, it is one of the few isekais that /tg/ could respect.
* '''''[[SCP Foundation]]''''' universe as a whole is borderline grimdark, as many aspects of the Foundation are mixed between absurd comedy, derp, and pure grimdark. At its very worst, the SCP Foundation has things that make the [[Daemonculaba]] look nice by comparison. Above all: [[Inquisition|Secure. Contain. Protect. Imagine a semi-totalitarian world power, funded by world governments to capture and contain anomalous entities, objects and locations so that the rest of mankind can live in a world that makes sense.]] We're talking animate statues that move when you blink (predating that episode of [[Doctor Who]]) and a creature that kills anyone that sees its face in ''any'' form. One of the most Grimdark anomalies is a girl pregnant with something that could cause the end of the world if it is ever born and the only way to stop it from being born is to regularly put her through something unimaginably horrible (The author has said that they never will reveal what exactly it is but it probably involves [[Rape]]) and periodically erase her memories to make sure she doesn't get used to it. And not all of these threats can be contained or stopped and are roaming free to harm innocents. And some of the captured SCPs are not necessary hostile or evil, but are still imprisoned in a worse case scenario. Oh, and the apocalypse has already happened several times over, whenever it does humanity is replaced with clones, and they have lost track of how many times they have done this. You can't even escape by dying, as the most of the possible afterlifes are just as bad if not far worse. While the SCP Foundation tries to avoid being outright bad guys, they are willing to do ANYTHING to keep the world normal and most of the other factions are morally grey at best, and the few good guy factions tend to cause a lot of unintentional harm. But still, [http://www.scp-wiki.net/black-white-black-white-black-white-black-white-black-white Secure. Contain. Protect.] Just another day at the office.
* '''''Shisha no Teikoku''''', the Empire of Corpses. Steampunk, Grimdark, Zombies, Cross-References and Conspiracies everywhere. It has even become possible to ressurect the dead, giving them their soul and intelligence back, but only 2 characters profit from it in the end, while everyone else stays a slave.
* '''''[https://www.reddit.com/r/theeternalwar/ The Eternal War]''''', as the name suggests
* '''''[[Dystopian Wars]]''''', as the name suggests
* '''''Clockup Games''''' where you get a firsthand look a sex cult and their destructive side effects.
* '''''World War Z''''' (the book). After zombies overran most of the world, many people had it so bad that they simply lost the will to live. Fighting in the Paris Catacombs with weaker weapons that wouldn't cause a cave-in due to hazardous gasses everywhere. Russian soldiers rioting over unfair treatment and enforced secrecy ordered under pain of death to kill one in ten of their own squadmates - with rocks - to teach them the price of freedom and democracy. Which they then happily traded away. The survival of the human race hinged on governments following a plan including elements of eugenics and leaving settlements of people behind as zombie bait. People resorted to cannibalism to survive in Canada. North Korea entirely vanished without a trace. Pakistan and Iran nuked each other. After the war officially ended, there are still loose zombies wandering around, Russia has started a breeding program to deal with severe underpopulation, several species are extinct, and diseases thought to be wiped out are coming back en masse.
* '''''Space Runaway Ideon'''''
* '''''[[Isekai|Re:Zero]]'''''
* '''''Uzumaki'''''. Basically a Lovecraftian horror manga where a seaside town gets [[rape]]d by spirals. Not as weird as it sounds. Or maybe it is as weird as it sounds but not as bad. Also has enough body horror to put most [[Chaos Spawn]] to shame.
** Pretty much anything by [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junji_Ito Junji Ito.] Except ''Junji Ito's Cat Diary: Yon & Mu''.
* '''''[[Doom]]'''''. Demons from Hell have overrun Mars and Earth. You are the lone space marine capable of anything. Somewhat of a subversive case of grimdark: it's not you who is afraid of demons, [[awesome|it's the demons who are afraid of you]]. Commence with the [[Rip and Tear]].
* '''''Armored Trooper Votoms''''', an old-school mech anime. [[Humanity Fuck Yeah|Mankind has been at war for so long that even the computers created to direct strategy don't know what the goal is]]. War isn't glorious either, most of the first arc is about a squad that goes rogue and raids their own side's armory to find some loot. While the mech designs aren't pretty or fancy, they are more industrial and utilitarian than many contempoaries, being repurporsed exo-suits. The main character is a [[Perpetual]] done right, through a mix of natural regeneration abilities, skills and nigh supernatural luck; unlike, you know, [[Vulkan]], who was just handed something that should have probably belong to all Primarchs just so that he could make [[Horus|some]] [[Sanguinius|people]] [[Ferrus Manus|jealous]]. Take notes, [[Games Workshop|Gros Wotour]], take notes...
* The '''''Prototype''''' games. New York City is infected with a virus created by a generically-unethical corporation called GenTek that mutates people into mutant zombies and/or fucking huge deformed beasts. A secret division called Blackwatch is sent to brutally contain the virus, except it turns out they originally created the virus as a way to purge minorities. This may sound like Resident Evil but the resemblance ends here because you play as Alex Mercer (Prototype 1) and James Heller (Prototype 2), both of them infected by a strain the virus and became superhumans who can shapeshift and gain someone's memories by consuming them (read violently absorbing them into their bodies) and can grow weapons like claws or a blade arm.
* Saw: [[Cegorach|I just wanna play a game.]]
[[File:Digimon_Tamers_Nope_Nope_Nope!.jpg|300px|right|thumb|[[RIP AND TEAR|It was going to be a kids show they said. It was going to be as whimsical as Pokemon they said...]]]]
* '''''[[Digimon: Digital Adventures|Digimon Tamers]]'''''. (Digimon as a franchise is noted to be surprisingly dark and adult for a kids anime in the 'Mon' genre, but Digimon Tamers is exceptionally depressing even by the series standard. Children attempting suicide, child abuse, attempted murder on a child, multiple on-screen deaths of major characters, torture, psychological mind rape on a young girl, PTSD on said young girl, eldritch abominations, horror and psychological horror. You think Tamers would have a happy ending? Lolnope, Tamers has a bittersweet ending in which the main kids lose their Digimon partners ''for ever''. This is what happens when you allow a guy notorious in psychological horror anime to do a kids show. There is a reason why Tamers is considered the Neon Genesis Evangelion for kids.)
** '''''Digimon Adventure Tri''''' (aimed towards adult fans of the series) takes Tamers up a notch in just plain creepyness. Deaths, assisted suicide, infanticide of Digimon babies, psychological damage, grief-induced madness, corruption, attempted genocide, racial supremacy, racism, immense property damage with collateral damage and attempted rape from the series' former mentor and teacher becoming a creepy sexual predator molesting one of the main characters and choking another one to near death (Both female by the way). Digimon doesn't fuck around.
* Most good 'Real Robot' anime/video games. Further discussion will result in [[skub]].
* '''''Full Metal Alchemist''''': The World is coated by a side of Noblebright at the beginning but morphs into 1984 the more you watch/read. The world Amestris starts out as fine and dandy (despite being a fascist military Dictatorship (the head of state is literaly called [[nazi|führer]])), then it morphs into a world where the Main Country (Amestris.) is at constant war with almost all it's neighbors commits Genocides Left and right and Murder's anyone who finds out the dark truth.
* '''''Shin Sekai Yori''''' also known as From the New World is a novel by Yusuke Nishi (and it has an anime adaptation, which is freaking awesome, everyone should watch it). Basically it's a dystopian story with people using magic to run their society instead of machines in a world that has deliberately regressed to the medieval level. Every child who doesn't manifest magical abilities by a certain age is killed, and all existing non-magical humans have been genetically engineered into a slave-race of mole-people so long ago they've forgotten their origins. The magical people are instead engineered to commit unwilling suicide should they use their powers to harm another human (mole people are fair game, though), and those of them who are too strong and can't manage to control themselves become Lovecraftian abominations.
* '''''Bloodborne''''' or the love child of Dark Souls (gameplay) and Lovecraftian mythology (its main inspiration for setting and theme). Another masterpiece from FROM software and Hidetaka Miyazaki. TLDR, the game is a mix of elritch horrors, omnipotent creatures which are fundementally gods and Dark Souls, though this time there is no fire to link, only FEAR.
* '''''Bet On Soldier/Iron Storm''''': WW1 got extended by 80 years, leading to a world where war is everything (including a televised past time), peace is considered a horrifically dissident ideal and there is a shadowy cabal behind the scenes plotting to make the war last forever.
* Noir in general, from Raymond Chandler's novels to games like This is the Police.
* '''''Magical Girl Site''''' (so grimdark it makes Meguca look Noblebright)
* '''''Wanted'''''. A comic book series which inspired the 2008 action flick. The villains won the war against the heroes and completely erased them from reality. The world of Wanted is one of the most horrific comic book series as it deconstructs the 'action macho man' of the superhero genre and insults the reader (As in break the fourth wall) if they ever felt like rooting for the 'protagonist'. How bad is Wanted? Crime is not only rampant but is actually part of the law, enforced by the Fraternity (Justice League for bad guys), and the only way to even have the closest thing to a 'safe and happy life' is by murdering your next door neighbor out of paranoia. Furthermore, as the world is cut up into sections and ruled by different supervillains, you will most likely be born in a country ruled by either a psychotic bastard who shoots children for shits and giggles, a Lex Luthor archetype who hungers for more unrestrained power, a literal Nazi from the future who wants another Holocaust, or a megalomaniac and sociopathic Chinese emperor who makes Mao Zedong like a chump or a completely immortal 'President-for-Life' Mugabe expy that will probably rule for eternity.
** Our 'protagonist' is a sociopathic, violent, sadistic rapist who assassinates people in ridiculous violent manners that makes the Punisher, Konrad Curze and Batman look like Constable Care in comparison. His first 'character development' was shooting his neighbor in the face because he was too damned nice... yeah... our 'heroes' are literally no different than the villains at all. If you could even call them 'heroes'. While characters in WH40K and Gears of War commit atrocities usually because they have a reason, idea or dogma behind their actions, the villains of Wanted commit them because [[Lulz|they felt like it.]] Don't even get us started with the supervillains who are so repulsive that they are barely redeemable. Wanted is one of those franchises that just makes you ''feel'' like a bastard for even trying to root for anyone. In terms of the moral scale, if DC is the classical Black and White franchise and Marvel is the classical Grey and Gray franchise, than Wanted is the classical Black and Black franchise. [[Chaos]] wishes it could be this efficiently evil.
* '''''Grim Dawn'''''. In a world called Cairn there is magic, monsters, and humans using 19th century tech. A group of mages failed some sort of ritual and accidentally called in a ghost called an Aetherial, setting off a chain of events that would lead to the "Grim Dawn". They invaded the world by possessing many creatures and humans for their own world domination plan, and the ensuing chaos allowed the Cthontic Cult (Mix Khorne and Slaaneshi pain cults) to come out of the shadows just as the Aetherials started getting shit done. This results in a never ending struggle between humans and multiple otherworldly powers. An optional meeting with a god from the universe tells the player that there are many gods watching this world and none of them, him included, gave a shit about their followers since this is just one of many realities they observe and the tragic event is nothing more than a normal day for him. So players have to fight through undead ([[Tomb Kings|who are cursed to forever linger in the world, only to get back up as soon as they are defeated]]), a land corrupted by the aether's green shit that is as harmful as the warp itself, and a crimson forest filled with Cthonic Cultists. The factions of the 'Good Guys' aren't much better either. There is either a necrophiliac ice ninja that will enslave the dead or a pretentious templar order whose god is just as bad as the others. The only hope lies in survivors from the aetherial encounters that gained unnatural powers which may potentially corrupt them in the process. Nothing will ever change though since the world now is filled with horrifying creatures and humanity is reduced to pockets of bandits squabbling over the pitiful remnants of their civilization. Invasions are still going strong despite your efforts at the very end of game and other gods are ready to back stab, corrupt, raid and torment every living creature in the world for their own selfish needs.
** The new expansion '''''Ashe of Malmouth''''' adds more grimdark and even a rare instance of sick fuckery in modern video game. The city Malmouth is said to be the first place hit with Aetherials forces so the entire place is nothing but a fucked up zombie town with buildings made out of human flesh. But before the player can get to that "fun party" however, they would need to cross the jungle, bog place of Ugdenbog, a wild swamp and evil infested shithole filled with cannibals and witches that got gangbang from both the Aetherials and Cthontic forced during the grim dawn. You are even allow to side with the local cannibals in Barrowholm (a much lesser evil mind comapre to the Cthontic and Atherial mind you). Once you got to Malmouth, the true sick fuckery begin. The local Aetherials had spare a few human survivors just so they could hunt them down and replenish for their needs of flesh. What's worst is that they have abducted local females (especially younger one) and use them as breeding cattle to produce more "test subject" and "soldiers". Doesn't that sounds like [[Daemonculaba]]? It also means that the enemies like Aetherial Scamp and Aetherial Imp, those little shit that are the size of a child you fought are actually.....yeah, I'm done with this shit.
* '''Peter Watts'''. Brutal neuropunk sci-fi horror, as bleak as H. P. Lovecraft but with a list of scientific citations at the end to let you know just how realistic it really is. Hits you with a world-ending catastrophe and then manages to make it a thousand times worse -- an alien invasion DURING a hard-takeoff singularity, for example. Sociopathy and post-human augments abound. [http://www.rifters.com/real/shorts.htm Also, the books are free!]
* '''''Armored Warfare'''''. Terrorist/ultra-nationalist/anarchists with tanks, corporations that rule and enslave large portions of the world and the rest of the world might as well be a wasteland, as far as we know.
* Pandora from the '''''Borderlands''''' games. A whole planet covered in tonnes of rubbish, industrial equipment, pollution and debris from mining operations by huge intergalactic corporations. A classic example of unregulated capitalism where the few inhabitants (mostly from the abandoned mining operations) fight for survival against hideously mutated and highly dangerous wildlife and go completely mental in the process. What little rational civilisation there is is constantly under attack from all sides, including by the Hyperion corporation which wants to purge the planet of all life and start again from scratch. To do this the [[BBEG]] has built an army of robots and seeks to awaken an ancient, all-powerful, immortal, alien warrior ([[Derp|which, as it turns out, is very easy to kill]]). Pandora is essentially a [[Death World]]. [[Herp|And people still go and live in this shithole]] just to search for hidden caches of [[Pretend|ancient alien technology]]. TL;DR Australia on steroid with alienz lmao.
* '''''Call of Duty: Black Ops 3'''''
* '''''Homefront''''' (the game, not the similarly-named but unrelated movie)
* '''''Made in Abyss'''''. It is one of those [[Trap]] anime/manga that fools unsuspecting viewers into watching a cute, whimsical Studio Ghibli esque show filled full of wonder and adventure....what the series '''WON'T''' tell you is the amount of Grimdark it would throw at you at the most unsuspecting turn. You want to see cute moe loli children getting tortured, horribly disfigured, experimented on, brutally killed, discarded and abused? Made in Abyss got your back! You want to see a [[Deathworld]] so extreme it even kills you when you think of trying to escape? Made in Abyss is completely centered around that! You want to see a society run on child labor, in which death and injury is so common that a 12 year old knows how to amputate an arm and be unfazed by dead bodies? Made in Abyss is proud to include these! You want to see a [[Nazi|Josef Mengele Cosplayer]]/[[Awesome|Evil Daft Punk]]/[[Furry|Super Furry Loli Fetishist]]/[[Meme|Completely Best Dad EVAR!]] as the main villain? Made in Abyss is a proud sponsor of this! You want to have a deep and dark philosophy on how deep one's humanity can go before completely losing it and what counts as truly human before succumbing to the human excess of wants, needs and pride? Made in Abyss have plenty to showcase this! You want to see what would happen when Laputa's Flying Castle and Madoka Magica fucked Berserk? Made in Abyss is the end result of their sweaty lust! You want to hear absolutely beautiful music and see eye-poppingly gorgeous art which is contrasted against the raw, brutal and savage realities of the setting? Made in Abyss would win over you! You want to get emotionally attached to a bunch of [[Furry|moe furries]] and [[Fist of the North Star|cry manly tears]] without feeling too dirty? Don't worry, we in /tg/ can tolerate it... just about...
* '''''Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind'''''. A manga/anime film made by Hayao Miyazaki, yes you heard us right. The man who was the main founder of Studio Ghibli and gave us childhood gems such as Tortoro, Spirited Away and Ponyo, gave us a Science-Fantasy Epic of the brutality of war. Sure there was Princess Mononoke, but that was basically a spiritual sequel to Nausicaa. The setting of Nausicaa is centered around a post-apocalyptic [[Deathworld]] in which humanity had nuked itself back into the early renaissance via kilometer tall, biomechanical, nuclear-firing [[Exterminatus|GOD-WARRIORS.]] Most children don't make it to adulthood and the remaining human civilizations are on the verge of collapse due to scarcity of resources and the ever growing encroachment of the Sea of Death/Corruption, a forest of highly toxic fungal jungles and incredibly violent mega-insects that goes [[RAGE|completely anal if you dare pluck a 'Shroom or two.]] To make matters worse, [[Adeptus Mechanicus|the state of technology has been declining over the years either due to loss of knowledge]] [[FATAL|or the sheer amount of dead children failing to reach the proper age to spread such knowledge.]] Nausicaa, especially the manga, does not shy away from human slavery, biological WMDS, genocides, nuclear holocaust, a gratuitous amount of inferred and overt infanticides, inquisitorial purging and the likes. By far the most mature and grittiest of Miyazaki's works. The one main thing that Nausicaa stands out from the rest is its titular character. Princess Nausicaa is an actual pacifist and a self-impose Jesus archetype. Yet despite such [[Noblebright]] characteristics, she is an absolute '''''BADASS'''''. Nausicaa may hate fighting and war, but she is not afraid to split some heads open and gut your belly empty. She is also a surrogate mother for a giant walking WMD and a surrogate big sister for a psychic boy with the [[PROMOTIONS|assets to boot;]] this gives her extra brownie points for being [[Awesome]]. Seriously, Merida and other Princesses has nothing on this chick.
**Because of the fact that Nausicaa for all intents and purposes, kickstarted the foundation of Studio Ghibli in the first place, its influence had a profound impact on Ghibli's future works. It basically was the progenitor of every Ghibli trope imaginable. You got the strong female heroine and her equally strong and capable male deuteragonist? check. A setting based upon fantastical elements and a blatant anti-war/pro-environmentalist message? check. Giant, awesome planes? check. Scenery populated by eye-candy artwork? check. A quirky, animal side character? check. The bad guys being revealed to be either not so evil/misunderstood/have morally grey beliefs? check. Furthermore, Nausicaa influenced other works such as the Chocobos from Final Fantasy being a complete copy of Nausicaa's Horseclaws, as well as the God-Warriors being the main inspiration of the motherfucking ''EVAs'' (Seriously, the main creator behind Evangelion first got the idea after animating the God-Warriors for Nausicaa. Seriously look it up, the resemblance is uncanny).
** Another studio Ghibli film called '''''Grave of the Fireflies''''' is far worse. The plot of film is "A pair of orphans starve to death in Japan at the end of WWII." That is the entire plot. This movie utter torture to watch and a great reminder of why war may be fun in games but is the worst thing imaginable in real life.
*'''''[http://www.synthiciderpg.com/ Synthicide]'''''. "When robots are gods, killing humans is fair game." In the deep darkness of the far, post-mutagen virus future, Human life is worthless (Murder and theft against them and each other is entirely legal), murder of sentient bots (Who are given free-range to torment humans with impunity after being let go from service to the major faction that makes them), however is one of the greatest offenses, and one the PC's are bound to commit at some point in their careers. Also, everything has a black and white color pallete.
* '''''Destiny/Destiny 2''''''s backstory. Basically, there was a very short-lived race of people called "The Krill" which lived only ten years on a planet called Fundament (fair note, Fundament is a gas giant, and Jupiter's orbit takes 10 years. So the Krill may have lived to a few hundred). There was a ruler called the Osmium King, and a traitor named Taox killed him. His daughters, Xi Ro, Aurash, and Sathonna took a ship to the planet's core where they met the Worm Gods, or Ahamkara. What happened is that the [[Khorne|Worm Gods grant immortality, but in order to become immortal you have to kill or the worm will eat you]], this was called The Sword Logic, and the Krill were re-named The Hive after killing that fucking traitor Taox. They proceeded to exterminate every living thing in the galaxy, [[Xeelee Sequence|harboring xenophobia and militarism which would make the Imperium look tolerant and pacifist in comparison]]
* The aftermath of '''''Avengers: Infinity War'''''. After the [[Rubric Marines|battledust]] settles, no one really wins at the end of the movie.
* '''''Spec Ops: The Line''''', due to disguising itself as a run of the mill shooter, but disregard for orders and going in all guns blazing in quest of "becoming a hero" and "saving everyone", unlike most FPS, rather realistically leads from bad to worse, resulting in the player committing vile acts and outright war crimes. At the time of its release, its atmosphere and presentation made it a standout. Due to being heavily reliant on the player having no foreknowledge that it'll drown them face-first in the horrors of war, the game has undergone a sort of "Rosebud effect", and at worst can be considered grimderp. Granted, even then it's far less so than the examples below, and can be considered a period piece of sorts whose themes retain relevance.
* '''''The Suffering''''' and '''''The Suffering: Ties that Bind'''''. Two messed up stories about an unwell guy who may or may not have murdered his family tries to survive the worst prison in all of Maryland while it's being infested by nightmarish creatures symbolic of the countless atrocities committed on it (Being not only a prison, but also the former site of a WWII POW camp run by a paranoid lunatic, an old-timey mental institution run by an...eccentric who still haunts the place, and a puritan village that saw it's own recreation of the Salem Witch Hunts). The sequel sees the man in equally worse surroundings as Baltimore has it's own infestation of the monsters symbolic of the city's corruption and is now haunted not only by two deranged murderers, but also a figure from his past who supposedly know the truth about his family.
** In ''Ties That Bind'', it's implied that ''every'' city of decent size has the potential to be turned into a haunted hellscape. Because humans are shitty and have been doing shitty things to each other for all of recorded history, and hence ''every'' city has a number of bloodsoaked ghosts created by atrocities and desperate for vengeance.
* The first two seasons of '''''Animals of Farthing Wood''''', a animated series for kids ''infamous'' for having graphic depictions of violence and a death rate of major characters on par with Game of Thrones. Though somewhat at the low end of the Grimdark spectrum, the fact this show was for kids earns it major points for being grimdark. The third series noticeably toned down on the Grimdark elements and ended up being the least well regarded. Notable deaths in the series include but are not limited to:
** '''''The Pheasants''''', a couple of, well, pheasants who die at a farm in an extremely cruel manner. First, the wife is forced by her husband to take his watch and is spotted by the farmer, then shot. The husband, overcome with grief, elects to go back and find Adder, hoping to atone for causing his wife's death. Instead, he sees the cooked corpse of his wife and breaks down in tears, unable to pull himself together and is also shot dead by the farmer.
** Three baby mice are born in one episode. The very next episode they are all killed onscreen by a shrike, a bird infamous for impaling its prey, [https://cdn-static.denofgeek.com/sites/denofgeek/files/2016/10/9nsgawb.png/ as seen here].
** The hedgehogs, while trying to cross a road, have to fight not to curl up into a ball... but eventually, the husband goes crazy, unable to stop himself from curling up, and his wife elects to stay with him, leading to both their deaths when a lorry runs them over.
* '''''Ava's Demon''''', a webcomic who's cutesy style doesn't hide how fucking dark this world can be. For starters, in the opening itself, a planet is destroyed by Silent Scavengers, which are Tyranids and Necrons mixed together, then the main character ends up impaled when they crash land, her soul going to turn into space dust until she agrees to help the demon who's been possessing her since she was born to get revenge on TITAN, who can at best be described as the God-Emperor if he were every negative stereotype about the Imperium taken to the extreme and then some. How bad is TITAN? It's implied he turned a star into a black hole solely because of its planets inhabitants wouldn't do what he wants. And trust us, things can only get worse in this setting.
* '''''Dragon Ball Z: History of Trunks'''''. Could just be expanded to Trunks' timeline in general. Dragon Ball has always been known as a sort of noble bright anime, but ''this'', damn. Everyone is either dead, dying, or living in fear of two walking machines of pure evil. And then when Trunks does actually take care of his enemies, another more powerful one shows up and just sends everything back to the way it was. Even the parody of this movie is oddly depressing.
* '''''Power Rangers RPM''''' plays with this trope, being what is effectively ''Terminator'' meets ''Mad Max'' "for kids." It is still Power Rangers, and does still have its fair share of comic relief, but this is also the season where a young girl is brainwashed into becoming a child soldier for Skynet and HAL 9000's demented love child, while also having her humanity stripped away and replaced with cold metal. That's not even starting to mention the fact that most of the planet is wiped out, with billions dying over the course of what seems like a few weeks.
* '''''Postal'''''. Not the sequels, which play the violence for laughs and topical humor, or the crap Uwe Boll movie, just the first game and it's remake (''Postal Redux''). Once you get past all the shock and outrage of being a forefather of the [[Satanic Panic|"Ban Violent Video Games"]] movement, you'll realize that this game is genuinely fucked up with its imagery and the protagonist is a mentally unwell individual.
* '''''Resistance : Fall of Man.'''''
* '''''Romero's "Dead" series''''', especially the later entries. ''Night'' is grim for the heroes, even if the overall story ends somewhat happily with the zombies taken care of. On the other hand, ''Dawn'' and ''Day'' are much darker, with zombies overrunning society, and though both end on positive notes, the journey there is a grim fight for survival. Most of the heroes die in ''Dawn'' (all of them if you count the depressing alternate cut), and in ''Day'' most of the characters, even the heroes, are hateful, unhinged, and/or just plain crazy.
* ''''' Requiem for a Dream'''''. If you have seen this movie, this is self-explanatory.
* '''''Blakes 7'''''. The BBC broadcast this against coronation street. And it was written by Terry Nation. It opens with a show trial after the hero gets set up to join a terrorist cell post mind wipe, gets accuses of paedophilia, and then exiled to the world of warhammer where Brian Blessed is king of the cult of scientology. Then you get 4 seasons of basically terrorists fighting the evil space empire, with the worlds most sarcastic computer, special effects that make your mates larp when they were 14 years old look high budget (ffs the federation are armed with caulking guns and some pipe). It's fucking GLORIOUS.
* '''''The Promised Neverland'''''. An anime/manga about a bunch of cute children raised in a nice orphanage, that is really a farm set up by demons who raise the children as food. Hence the "Neverland" part of the title, the children don't grow up, because they are killed by monsters. A handful girls get to survive until adulthood by getting selected to act as mothers to children, but they are still prisoners who can't leave the farm. If they are unlucky they will have to watch over their own children until the day they are killed.
** The world outside the farms is even worse. A thousand years ago the world was divided between humans and demons. The children are in the demons' half. Demons used to hunt humans until the two sides made a truce where the world was divided in two halves to keep peace and humans were handed over to the demons to farm as food and the wealthy family of humans who made the deal are out to kill the escaped children to uphold it. Demons actually need to eat humans or they degenerate into mindless animals that attack everything in sight, except of the demon nobility thanks to them consuming blood that removed the need. And they still insist on hoarding the best quality human meat for themselves while leaving the commoners to feed on meat from humans raised on factory farms where the humans are force fed until they die. This inferior quality meat isn't enough to keep demons from degrading and so the demons' human allies are doing horrifying expirements to produce better quality meat. Something could have been avoided if the demon nobility didn't make sure that only they were free from dependence on human meat as means of maintaining their control with their supply of meat, because as you can probably tell, they don't care about the commoners.
* '''''Dorohedoro'''''. Described by its own author as "a song with really dark lyrics, but a melody that's so happy that you want to dance to it". So happy grimdark? The title can literally be translated as "from shit to shit". Seriously, the setting wouldn't look out of place among a 40k [[hive world|underhive]]. The entire setting is a massive slum, with horrible pollution, mass poverty, and human body parts polluting the waterways. Your options for living are being a normal human, living in poverty and treated like toys, lab rats, and livestock by the various magic users. Or being a [[psyker|magic user]], and either be lynched by the terrified normies or captured by other magic users and boiled down to make drugs. And if you're a magic user, regardless of how good you are when you die you're [[Warp|guaranteed to be sent to hell to be tortured by devils for all eternity]] ([[Daemon Prince|unless you become a devil yourself]]). Or being a devil, and worry about being [[Tzeentch|screwed over by your boss for shits and giggles]] or eaten by Store, who is implied to be an angel and treats devils the same way devils treat mortals. Or being said boss, [[Necron|and dick around with people for all eternity because you're absolutely bored with existence]], can't die, and are horribly lonely since you can't form a meaningful bond with anyone else. Of course "your options" being metaphorical in this sense, since you are either born a normal human or magic user and can't change who you are (which is a major plot point for several characters). Three of the most moral people in the entire setting are a mob boss and two different flavors of serial killer. Even when the normal people manage to fight back by [[God-Emperor|creating a god through the merger of thousands of souls of those killed by magic users]], it immediately tries to kill ''everyone'' just to end its suffering. The only time the weather changes in the series is when it rains, which causes magic users to fall sick because it's the manifestation of the will of said god and if you're a magic user it ''hates'' you. Well, at least the food is good.
* '''''Lobotomy Corp/Library of Ruina'''''. Two game made by a Korean game studio named Project Moon, known for its dark setting. [https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2098034966 I have decided to leave most of the detailed explanations to this guide here to avoid further paragraph bloat.] To put it simply, the first game: '''Lobotomy Corp''', is about a corporation trying to harvest energy from monsters that was extracted from human's mind: Abnormalities. Each Abnormalities has special powers to mess with people's mind or just straight up killing people in very gruesome way and the corp's employee has to suppress them. [[SCP Foundation|Does that sounds familiar?]] it gets worse. SPOILER ALERT: It turns out the energy is not to only used to power other corporation's devices, it is also used to power up some kind of positive energy beacon that spread its power aka light to everyone in the city just so they could feel hope and be "saved". The plan failed several times due to Abnormalities were failed to contained and suppressed. The reasons why the plan can be carried failed despite its constant failure was due to a certain time control technology that could rewind the time back before the incidents happened. As you can see, the guy that was managing this shithole has to go through this tiresome process, witness his employees' death again and again until he finally reached a satisfy conclusion. The employees that died were revived from every time rewind without ever remember their death, but not the managers, nor the Sephiroth, whom were brain jar robots that oversees their own department. As you can see, suffering from constant rewind has made them lose their mind with made them sometimes throwing fit, forcing the manager to tell them to calm their ass down. There was this robotic AI waifu assistant that were created to help managing the place. For some reasons, she was given the abilities to feel emotions just so she could experience the same cruel passage of time and the scenery of Abnormalities killing the employees, driving her nut. It was made all the painful for her since she can perceive time in even slower rate, making her torture all the more painful. So just why is it the corp decided to went through all this tragedies and tortures to save peoples that doesn't understood their suffering? why do the the city people needs to be saved?
** Now things gets interesting in the second game: '''Library of Ruina'''. Turns out everyone living in the city has become "ill", as in mentally depressed due the needs to meet certain demands for their jobs everyday, to the point they could not have any free will to do anything they like. *** The world they lived in is controlled by Corporations: '''Wings''', who holds the most power and they forced everyone to pay expensive taxes or else get fucked by their scheme. This unfair demand created a huge poverty circle, forming countless of '''Backstreets''' where death and crimes became the norm. In order to pay their unfairly expensive tax, people result other ways to earn steady incomes. Some becomes a '''Fixer''', mercenaries police man who would fight for anyone with money (Note: there are no functional police department in the setting). Some became part of the '''Syndicates''', Fixers' criminal counterpart who earn money by doing crime instead. Note that neither Fixers or Syndicates members has any choice but to keep climbing their rank. Sure the higher their rank, the better their living conditions becomes, but it is a never ending grind that will eventually results to their death or depression to the point of suicide due to the amount of killing they've done.
*** Move on to the upper class. Richer people lives in '''The Nest''' and are well educated. But like the Fixers and the Syndicates, they are not free from paying taxes and were also forced to climb their own social ladder in order to survive. Not to mentioned the dangers of Syndicates still exist in some isolated area of The Nest. Worse is that the corporations they've worked for often use them as test subject to test their super precious technology: '''Singularity''' and see how much they get fucked up. They are basically office wage slaves with higher mortality rate.
*** Speaking of Singularity, it is futuristic technology like nanomachines, devices so advance, it is as if they were taken from sci-fi movies. Despite their usefulness however, it has dark side to them, like REALLY DARK. For example, there are these trains that are capable of transferring passengers to other place in 10 seconds. What happened was that the passengers were actually stuck inside the train for 2000 fuckoff years. During that time, the passenger's body states just stopped functioning, like unable to feel pain as if the "time" for their body just stopped. After 100 days, they began tear eachothers' flesh parts out of boredom or insanity, to the point they eventually tearing themselves into flesh bits that merges with one another. By the time the train had arrived, the agents sent from the corp had to "restore the passengers" using time control Singularity power from the corp they've partnered with, restoring their body states back to when they were but 10 seconds on the train, as if [[Just as Planned|nothing ever happened]].
*** With such dangerous technology in their hand, who is there to control The Wing? meet '''The Head''', aka the shit head that put everyone in their misery. They are the one with the absolute power in the setting. Having the best combat force, the power over The Wings and being the giant rat that made all other rules. It is hinted that they intended for the humans to suffer under the stresses of survival and death, as if they were treating the humans in the city like test subjects inside a ecosystem they had created. Although it was revealed they have [[Imperial Truth|strong obsessions with philosophies that defines humanity]] and [[Men of Iron|dislike for machines that look and act like humans]]. Although not much about them has been revealed yet, those little details is enough to labled them as some kind of [[nazi|facist organization with an extremist ideology]]. They were known for shaping the world that is today with their armies of '''Arbiters''', [[Officio Assassinorum|Singularity-infused assassins]] who is so powerful, one of them could take on everyone in The Wing. Other than Arbiters, they have their own super fixers called '''The Claw''', who are comparable to a high grade Fixers but mass produced. They also have the '''The Eyes''', agents (or somekind of spirit/demon/telescreen hologram as it was revealed) that [[1984|report The Head for any potential tax evaders as well as any potential threats by surveillance the masses]]. No one fucks with The Head. NO ONE.
** And all these are just a tip of the ice berg to show how shitty life is in this setting. It gets potentially worse as '''Distortions''', Abnormalities monsters from the first game that were made in the city due to the failed result from the 1st games and are now roaming the city to further spike up the mortality rate, making everybody's live even more miserable. Despite that, the Fixers still demands payment to kill them (which a new association was created to deal with them according to the ending) and The Head refused to even lend a hand in dealing with them (because distortions is considered a product of humanity, which is much more tolerable when compared to robots who act like humans). Oh and it is impossible to not live in the city, for the outside lies the '''Outskirts''', where monsters, robotic death machines and other abominations created from fail experiments resides. It is a wasteland composed of pretty much everywhere but the city, caused by the constant resource wars from the past and it is literary impossible for humans to lived in there. Even if it could, it would be filled with hostile exiles, outlaws or whatever god fosaken engineered intelligent species.
*** Interetingly, the setting's coporation culture could be a nodd to the modern day capitialism in South Korea (It is a korean game afterall), and it general shows how shitty life is under capitalism with the taxes and all that.
* '''''Warframe's lore.''''' What's so dark about Warframe? You're a space ninja which just chops stuff up and shoots right? Oh you're DEAD wrong. The main characters, the Tenno, are children survivors of an accident when a ship tried to use a metaphysical realm called [[warp|The Void]] to perform a faster-than-light jump to Tau Ceti (which was previously terraformed for their arrival). And what do we know about using metaphysical realms to travel faster-than-light? It goes [[Gellar Field|fuckingly bad]], invest in a warp drive.
**The Tenno were discovered by the Orokin, [[that guy|pansy hedonistic little faggots]] which sent them there, and were treated like absolute shit. To get an idea of just how awful the Orokin were, imagine the repressiveness, feudal structures, and lack of regard for human life found in the Inperium of Man… with a tech level comparable to the Dark Age of Technology. The only person who treated the Tenno with absolute respect was a scientist called [[this guy|Margulis]]. When the robots sent to terraform Tau Ceti, the Sentients, evolved intelligence and came back to anally rape the Orokin, their built-in weakness was void stuff, which the Tenno were full of. After a victory over the Sentients, the Tenno [[rape|bitchslapped the Orokin and bludgeoned them like the fucks they are]].
***The Orokin are just a bunch of [[Marines Malevolent|shitbags in general]]. They treated Tenno, Lorist healers, and Grineer like absolute shit until they need their help. They execute scientists when they fail to produce results, because a GREAT way of increasing productivity is executing a scientist who is doing the work. And the way they maintain their immortality is by capturing children, and mind-raping them to download their own consciousness into theirs. The reason that they couldn't control the Warframes and needed the Tenno to do so is because they [[that guy|lack basic human empathy]], they just abuse and torture everyone under them.
**The Grineer were slaves to the Orokin which are now free, and are now absolutely terrorizing the system. They're a bunch of rotten clones which are highly augmented, and they kill everyone who isn't them, which aren't any better. Oh, and dialogue implies that they process their dead into corpsestarch.
***The Corpus are the second faction, being greedy money-grubbers who care only for profit, and imprison a colony of debt-bondage slaves called "Fortuna", just to rub it in, and so on. Oh, and said Solaris are people whos HEADS have been stuffed into their torsos so they can easily reposes their limbs and organs for dept that is passed through the generations. Oh, and ya not able to pay with your limbs alone? They will scoop your brain out of your skull and shelve it for a set ammount of time... or the rest of your natural lifespan. As you are awake and lost in your thoughts.
****And, of course, this is done to kids, severing their necks and replacing them with a connector to more esily stuff their heads into their scooped out torsos once they are old enough to lug around a wrench. Pretty much all Post-Orokin civilizations are pieces of shit.
***And if evil bureaucrats, and shitty clones who want to kill everything that isn't them bad enough, we have the Infected, which are a [[Tyranids|hive mind of twisted forms that kill everything they can stick their bloody tendrils into]], bottom line is, Warframe is a shitty place.
* '''''[[Unhallowed Metropolis]]''''', a game representing probably the outer limits of how Grimdark you can go without sliding into Grimderp.
* ''''Fragged Cyberpunk''''': A prequel to the more optimistic Fragged Empire. Fragged Cyberpunk focuses on the twilight years of humanity as Habsburgian levels of genetic erosion and degradation leave it only a few centuries of life, while the powers that be, that could cure it do not bother and instead focus their efforts on terraforming hospitable worlds for their new, engineered super species. All the while herding humans into cramped cities on dead planets that are effectively concentration/death camps for what remains of mankind.
* '''''Clive Barker''''' in general. His works include Hellraiser, Rawhead Rex where an ancient god of male sex eats kids, the Midnight Meat Train where an ancient cult feeds people to an underground society of monsters so New York isn't destroyed, and... let's just say there's a reason he's basically a BDSM enthusiast given way too much handle.
* '''''[[EYE: Divine Cybermancy]]''''' (Basically, Wh40k with French people)

== Grimderp ==
{{topquote| Why don't people band together to fix things? Because GRIMDARK. Why hasn't an external system supplanted the current, barely functioning one? Because GRIMDARK. How does such a woefully inefficient system manage the logistical nightmare of endless total war? Because I murdered a baby seal, that's why! You should feel bad.|Terrible Writing Advice (The GRIMDARK Episode)}}

Grimderp is what happens when a writer takes grimdark so far that it goes [[derp]]. The writer puts something in that makes the setting more grimdark, but it's generally reliant on at least one party involved [[Fail|suddenly abandoning all sense of reason and logic]], or else caused by a lack of forethought on the implications of how the element interacts with the world. Many long-runner grimdark works will become this sooner or later, as either the setting or the cast's morality (rather a usually extreme lack thereof) will induce complete and utter apathy in the audience and cause them to give up out of sheer pointlessness. Most "dark" anime/manga tend to be more or less grimderp, as attempts to attract mature audiences ends in violence, blood, and sex without consequence (at BEST, mind you. [[Rape|At worst...]]), all in gratuitous quantities.

To be clear, grimderp is not just that something is "dark" or that a character behaves stupidly. Human beings make dumb, short-sighted, irrational, and morally objectionable decisions all the time, just crack open about any book on human history. Grimderp is when a character breaks character to do something they would normally never do or engage in behavior that is logistically impossible [[Gav Thorpe|("there are as many elves as the plot demands")]], simply "because it's dark".

* The Last of Us: Part 2, the sequel to the critically acclaimed The Last of Us, is Grimderp in its purest form: Characters prolong suffering simply out of the blue. Basic logic is thrown out as countless characters dive headfirst into a rabbit hole of violence, suffering, and depression, often to the point of [[Edgy|literal edginess]].
* The Dothraki of "[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]". We are asked to believe that an entire culture can sustain itself by raiding settled people (when the Mongols and Plains Indians they're based on hunted and herded large animals), and then ''killing and not even selling or eating the livestock'', solve literally all their disputes with murder and defeat their enemies with mass charges (despite real nomads having small populations, and winning battles with cavalry skill and/or surprise). At the point where the author says that "a wedding without at least three deaths is considered a dull occasion" and mentions warriors casually raping dancers, the whole thing just looks like an [[edgy]] [[Magical Realm]] based on "hordes of eastern savages" cliches.
* [[My Little Pony|Fallout Equestria: Project Horizons]] is a fanfiction about magical ponies so grim, dark, and derp that it would almost be comical if it wasn't so fucking horrifying. With characters that get shit on (both figuratively and literally) more than the [[Lamenters]], and with a world so bleak (and missing the point of Fallout, FiM, ''and'' the original Fallout: Equestria) that an heroing <s>seems like</s> WOULD ACTUALLY BE the happiest ending (<s>Assuming it will end, it probably never will as long as there's enough cybernetics to keep rebuilding the constantly-dying protagonist)</s> HOLY SHIT IT ACTUALLY ENDED!), it's the prime example of how to make readers stop giving a fuck about the story at all.
* On that note, 90% of all grimdark fics are grimderp since writers are under the impression that [[Edgy|just making things dark makes it good writing]]. There are exceptions, but they are rare, because Sturgeon's Law is a thing. On the flip side, however, [[DOOM: Repercussions of Evil|certain examples]] have reached the apotheosis of Grimderp and become gut-bustingly hilarious.
* Warhammer 40,000 gets called out as this by some. Certainly it's a valid criticism of certain parts, but as we said earlier, [[Skub|you could argue about what is and is not grimderp in 40k for weeks without conclusion.]] For example, the Imperium is excessively self-destructive and tyrannical to its own people, but in the hands of a good writer, it's meant to underline how corrupt and desperate the Imperium has become without the Emperor's guidance, and how even those who are neither incompetent nor malicious still have to make brutally difficult choices. In the hands of a lesser writer, it's unnecessary evil purely for the sake of evil. We should call our next book "[[C.S. Goto|Darkness of Darkest Dark!]]"
** Historically, the Grail myths drift, not from [[Imperial Truth|Christian sources]], but Celtic ones (and beyond the Celts, older civilizations), and a typical feature of these myths happens to be the healing of a King through forces of restauration and regeneration (i.e. to put one in touch with his sources, with his roots), and the King was typically seen in agrarian societies as the King of a land, avatara of a Sky-Father, and [[Alarielle|the Queen as the Earth Goddess]]. The [[Warhammer 40,000/Tactics/Psychic 101|Geokinesis psychic discipline]] has a power called '''Earth Blood''' who would do just that; if only [[Adeptus Custodes|someone]] let Librarians enter the Imperial Palace to do some Perceval style healing.
**[[Khornate Knights]]
**The [[Grey Knights]] (who seem to get this a lot, really) equipment and how it is made. Specifically, every bolt shell that the Grey Knights use is consecrated by the blood sacrifice of a righteous man or woman in a borderline Khornate ritual (and it has to be a ''good'' person, not just anyone. How the Imperium determines if someone is sufficiently "good" or not remains an open question). Those Aegis armors? Made from thousands of psykers (including ''children'') burned in a furnace to channel their power to the armor. Thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of people have to die to make ''one'' Grey Knight combat-effective. This has caused a lot of [[skub]] as to whether it is grimderp or not, as it raises the question of where the Grey Knights find enough good people to consecrate all of the bolter rounds they go through every battle (especially in the 41st millenium, of all places).
**[[Gellar Field]]s being powered by the dreams of a comatose psyker being used as a battery (which also burns out and has to be replaced regularly). While very dark, it crosses the line into grimderp when one realizes 1) that Gellar Fields were said to be invented long before psykers began appearing among humanity, and 2) psykers are apparently rare enough in the Imperium that the Imperium has [[Black_Ships|an entire institution]] dedicated to rounding up psykers and bringing them back to Terra to make use of them, like making [[Astropath]]s or feeding the [[Astronomican]] and the [[Golden Throne]]. And according to recent editions the Black Ships are just barely meeting the quota to keep the [[Golden Throne]] going, so it's not like there are a lot of spare psykers around to be made into Gellar Field batteries.
**Originally, the [[Black Templars]] were treated as refusing to suffer the witch no matter who they were, to the point of refusing to ally with any Imperial instutition that made use of them. This got retconned to only hate ''enemy'' psykers in 6th edition after it was pointed out it would be really hard for the Black Templars to do anything if they refused to tolerate Astropaths or Navigators, and thus have no Warp travel or faster-than-light communication.
**[[Imperial_Worlds#Agri-World|Agri-Worlds]]. Seemingly in response to the common fandom sentiment that [[The_Imperium_of_Man#However.2C_is_the_Imperium_really_that_bad.3F|most worlds in the Imperium are actually quite decent places to live]], just so long as you don't get invaded by [[Orks]], [[Chris Wraight]] in ''Lords of Silence'' outlines a typical Agri-World, describing a horrific hellscape wracked by permanent Dust Bowl conditions and so much pesticides that the sky turns orange and it is not safe to walk around outside without a biohazard suit, and goes on to say that all Agri-Worlds are like this. This has caused a lot of [[skub]] within the community. Some say that this practice is perfectly acceptable grimdark, and that unsustainable farming practices aren't exactly unusual in human history (look at slash-and-burn farming practices in Brazil, or aquifer use in the United States). However, what people find issue with is the claim that ''all'' agri-worlds are invariably like this, when [[Your Dudes|the fact that conditions on various planets in the Imperium vary massively from world to world as needed for the plot and there is almost no standardization]] has always been considered one of the big selling points of the setting (not to mention contradicting descriptions of Agri-Worlds in [[Ciaphas Cain]] and the [[Last Chancers]]). The other aspect that people tend to find unbelievable is that the Imperium is claimed to not even use crop rotation in their Agri-Worlds, simply farming the same crop over and over again until the soil gives out and the planet becomes a [[Death World]]. The Imperium may have lost a lot of its ancient knowledge, but crop rotation as a practice goes back to the freaking ''Stone Age''. [[Derp|Its absurd to see knowledge that basic being lost in the horrors of Old Night]], or not been rediscovered in the time after. This also means the Imperium would literally have run out of planets thousands of years ago if this was true.
** The nature of how Imperial ships work has caused a great deal of [[skub]]. Namely the fact that the weapons of Imperial ships are loaded by hundreds of chem-bulked, rabid slaves dragging them into place while being whipped, the exertion being so great that many die frothing at the mouth by the effort or have their hands crushed by chains. They do this completely by hand, hauling the munitions across the ship with chains. This despite the fact that hydraulic power systems have existed since the 18th century. They don't even use inclined planes or levers, something which humanity has been using to haul large objects where they want them to go since the days of Stonehenge, the Pyramids, and Easter Island. Or they could literally just use a [[Chimera Transport|Chimera]] or a team of grox to do the job, you know, the reason why humanity built large vehicles and domesticated large animals? Meanwhile the [[Adeptus Mechanicus]] is using autoloaders, and is deliberately keeping the technology from the rest of the Imperium so they will have an advantage in case another civil war ever breaks out. Some say this is perfectly acceptable grimdark, others say that this is just too ridiculously inefficient to take seriously, even for the Imperium.
**The Marneus Calgar comic has caused a shitstorm with the recent revelations that the average life expectancy of the BEST place in the Imperium is in the mid-thirties, which is fucking [[FAIL|'''STUPID''']]. Because that means that the life expectancy of other non-Ultramar worlds are drastically shorter, which makes the machinations on how the Imperium is run, fucking unsustainable. If child mortality rates are ''that high'', then entire worlds would have quite literally run out of humans especially in warzones, while entire sectors' worth of economies would collapse or stagnate as more kids die before they grow up and be a productive member of society. This creates a drain in resources and long-term stability; it was already considered unsustainable during MEDIEVAL times, so you could just extrapolate this to a million worlds and the Imperium should collapse under its own inertia and weight by this point. I don't care how 'disposable' human life is, it is still a resource and the [[Emprah]] fucking hates wasting resources. We get that the comic writer is trying to shoehorn even more feudalist themes in the comics, but the problem is, this is not Krieg we're talking about, but fucking ''Ultramar''. So either the author does not know what sense of scale is, or that he does not understand the works of Guilliman, because Papa Smurf [[Rage|'''WOULD. NOT.''' let this shit fly under the radar.]] The author has confirmed, however, that it was added to make Ultramar feel more grimdark. To give you some context, Somalia in the mid 1960s has a higher life expectancy than this. This is not grimdark, this is just fucking stupid that breaks the suspension of disbelief. It is one of the few things that both 4Chan and Reddit concurrently agree upon as fluff breaking.
**To be honest, the whole idea of humans being the "teeming multitudes" faction [[Imperial Guard|winning battles by sheer weight of numbers]] and which [[Skaven|breed quickly and are easily replaced]] is kind of silly if you know anything about human reproduction. Among species on Earth, humans are notable for being one of the ''slowest'' reproducing species out there. It takes nine months for a human to gestate to maturity in the womb, more than any other animal aside from elephants and whales, and even after birth humans take longer to reach maturity even compared to our close relatives the Neanderthals and ''Homo erectus''. Additionally, it takes a huge amount of parental care to care for a child and raise them to functional adulthood, more than any other animal. On top of this, pregnancy is incredibly crippling for human females, and women have a one in three chance of dying in childbirth if giving birth without any external aid or midwives (as would be the case for a citizen of the underhives), something almost no other species has to deal with. The way our species generally works is we breed incredibly slowly but live an incredibly long time and invest a lot of resources to make sure those few that are born survive to adulthood, which basically makes us the [[elves]] of the animal kingdom. Barring some major technological breakthrough like artificial wombs or genetic engineering to reduce the crippling side effects of human pregnancy or long adolescence, humans are unlikely to be able to outbreed anything. And while some factions in the Imperium do have access to artificial wombs (like the [[Mechanicus]], most of humanity in 40k are shown to still reproducing the old fashioned way. Even if humanity starts out with a huge population it can throw at any problem, that population is going to be depleted pretty fast because humanity [[Eldar|can't replace their losses]]. Even if are the greatest resource the Imperium has, they're still trying to fight a war of attrition against [[Orks|the species that reproduces by fighting]], [[Tyranids|the one whose gimmick is being the rapidly reproducing horde of space locusts]], and the [[Daemons|ones who can't even be properly killed]], you’re going to lose horribly. However, fans tend to ignore this because of the whole “to be a man in such times is to be one amongst untold billions” thing that is part of the general lack of regard for human life that makes 40k 40k, so people give it a pass.
** Some 40k sources claim that millions if not billions of guardsmen are killed EVERY SECOND. Even with the scale of the imperium taken into the account, having many times the current population of the Earth die every minute would be ridiculous for the whole of Imperium, let alone just the Imperial Guard.
**[[Deathwatch|Watch Captain Artemis]] saying [[Heresy|better to let the galaxy burn and allow the Imperium to fall to Chaos than allow the xenos to live]], right before [[Battle_of_Coheria|fucking up an eldar ritual that would have awakened Ynnead early and fucked over Slaanesh]], indirectly [[Gathering Storm|causing all of the ruckus of 8th Edition]]. Granted, while this does come from the [[Deathwatch]], who tend to be rabidly anti-xenos even by the Imperium's standards, this is for ''Chaos'', the Archenemy, the [[Big Bad Evil Guy]] of the Warhammer 40k setting, the one faction that even the notoriously xenophobic Imperium will begrudgingly admit is a bigger threat than the xenos and will team up with them to fight against it. A loyalist saying they ''prefer Chaos'' over anything, even as the lesser of two evils, should be grounds for an insta-[[BLAM]]ing and a red flag for Chaos corruption. And no, Watch Captain Artemis was not [[BLAM]]-ed for this, nor is this treated as the beginnings of his corruption and a slow fall to [[Chaos]]. And so a loyalist Space Marine managed to [[Fail|single-handedly save Slaanesh]]. Seriously, Chaos champions have been elevated to [[Daemon Prince|Daemon Princehood]] for less.
** The whole thing reached the lowest point by 3rd edition, considered the Darker and Edgier version of 40k, this is when some of the silliest things mentioned in this wiki were added or accentuated, after that 40k required more than 5 EDITIONS of fluff update, novels, characters and additional background to finally come back from "we no longer care" to an actual war with stakes and actual chances for all sides involved.
* [[Star Wars]]: Although Star Wars is 40k's high fantasy twin. There has been a few grimderp things that came out recently in Canon that has given 40k a run for its money. According to Canon, specifically the novel Ashoka, the Galactic Empire forces farming worlds by gunpoint to harvest a particular breed of crop to be used as rations for their troops. The problem? These crops were specifically designed to [[Wat|soak up every bit of nurtients on the planet until it becomes sterile.]] Meaning that the particular farming world is only capable of harvesting the crops a few times [[FAIL|''AT BEST'']] before it becomes a sterile death world. Let's put this in context here, the Galactic Empire is currently fighting a galaxy-wide insurgency and being a galaxy-wide government, the GE NEEDS a sustainable way to produce food in order to keep its giant military well-fed for long-term camapaigns. So forcing farming worlds to produce crops that intentionally leave their worlds sterile after a few farming cycles is just fucking [[EPIC FAIL|'''STUPID'''.]] Because realistically, the GE would have quite literally, ran out of food in a decade, collapsing due to galaxy-wide famine. [[FAIL|This shit is so fucking stupid and retarded that it makes the abovementioned IoM agri-world farming practises look eco-friendly in comparison.]] Even if they did something somewhat reasonable like restricting this practice to worlds that sided with the Confederacy of Independent Systems during the Clone Wars as a punishment, it's just spiteful beyond all reason.
* [[Drowtales]]: The whole series is Grimderp on steroids, but there are a few particularly nauseating examples: nothing like the protagonist [[Mary Sue]] of innocence and purity blowing up the light elf MILF slave called Maya in an argument with a rival, an argument in which she feels morally justified right after buying a fighting slave which was doomed to die in underground Arenas even most Drow find disgusting, ran by a complete monster of a drow, regularly visited to watch slaves die, that's right, by the protagonist Ariel. Maya dies crying in her native tongue about "what she did to deserve this", crying she'll never see sunlight again. Protagonist feels a bit bad about a few days, and only that when she sees a few naked light elf slaves for sale, reminiscing Maya's face. Years pass and she thinks all the slavery and needless murder isn't so cool... just before visiting a surface colony who was taken from humans. She and her lesbian lover have an orgy on the settlement they just conquered by massacre. After a blissful after-sex sleep, the settlement is counterattacked by desperate humans coming to save their kin... which are promptly murdered by the half-light half-dark elf paladin of Sharess (Yes, a [[Mary Sue]] worshipping a total [[Baldur's Gate]] rip-off) who is all high and righteous when she is burning innocent humans who wanted to save their kin from slave traders about to buy the survivors. The protagonist's lesbian empath Drow (yes, with a length of purple hair paint, straight out of Deviantart) friend berates the cornered humans with a lame excuse line of "I feel your pain, why don't you take your survivors and run?!" when the said humans scream in desperation to save their families from the town's locked buildings, die horribly and our "I'm glad my clan Sarghress prevents slavery, let's shake hands and feast on the food we just plundered!" protagonist shakes hands on it. It's not even depressing, it's plain fucking logic diarrhea with enough depressive themes to OD an edgy 13 year old. (considering the authors were that old when they started...)
* Jeph Loeb's run on [[/co/|Ultimate Marvel]]: people dying brutally (most well known being Wasp getting eaten by the Blob) and completely gratuitously (Dr. Strange is killed the one page he shows up on and is completely forgotten afterwards), lore rape worst than anything Ward ever did (the heroic Pyro is now a rapist version of the mainline Marvel Pyro with no explanation, Thor going from new age hippie to mainline-style viking with no explanation... at least that last one is kinda cool). Overall it was so bad it effectively made the Ultimate Marvel universe (with the exception of Spider-Man and his cast) completely unusable. Small wonder that years later, Marvel thought smashing it and the main Marvel universe together would be a good idea.
* Koutetsujou no Kabaneri, an anime with a similar premise to the already-grimdark ''Attack on Titan'': It's set in (presumably feudal) Japan, where people are hiding behind walls and communicate with each others using trains to travel from town to town, and trades the giants and horses for guns and [[zombie]]s. Several of the characters have moments of team-killing ineptitude that end up prolonging the conflict far longer than it should:
**The [[samurai]] don't bother with armor and generally aren't very combat-savvy when it comes to zombies, and their [[Lawful Stupid]] tendencies turn any defense against a wall breach into an utter clusterfuck. The antagonist is [[Abaddon|an absolute failure AND wanted for crimes against humanity]], being a [[Edgy|pretentious Che Guevara wannabe]] [[Chaos Pretty Marines|with pink hair]] and wielder of an ugly-yet-somewhat effective [[Sword|sabre]]. He also has a devoted following despite being thoroughly unable to grasp the basics of warfare and its ethics (he thinks children are cowards for not being able to fight monsters that ambush and run through trained adult fighters with ease, and [[What|considers destroying one's own resources and castles to be a viable strategy]]). Meanwhile, the main protagonist has found not one, but TWO miracle solutions that would allow mankind to fight back against the zombie plague, but no one will listen to him, especially not the main antagonist, both because of the above and because ''of course they wouldn't'', it's <s>grimderp</s> GRIMDARK.
**Ironically, Ancient Shintoism (a main religion of that period) has the only known anti-[[Nurgle|zombie]] deities: ''Kukuri hime no kami'', a goddess of purification ([[Reasonable Daemonette|''despite'' being rather sado-masochist]]) whose followers would bind a corpse with ropes, place a big stone on the chest and bury it (coffins are optional). [[Humanity Fuck Yeah|Insane as it was]], it was the most common form of burial in the Jomon period, and never went completely out of date through all the medieval period. Despite the rites being a perfect defense against [[Dark Souls|an undead invasion]], apparently they didn't take in this setting. Three guesses why.
*Most dark fantasy/"Ryona" hentai like Redo of a Healer (see [[Edgy]] for details), Kuroinu, Maggot Baits and whatever bargain basement hentai game developer puts the heroines through horrifying rapes, tortures and debauchery with no way to escape, all for little more purposes than to degrade, humiliate and mind-break them.
* [[FATAL]]
* [[Black Tokyo]]
* Teenagers bad attempts at recreating stuff they like such as Creepypasta's.
* Garth Ennis's "The Boys" (Almost every superhero is an irredeemable sexual deviant who's only crime fighting accomplishments come from corporate PR lies.)
** Surprisingly averted with it's Amazon Prime adaptation. By actually making the heroes less unambiguously rotten, cutting down the childish silliness, making the violence less gratuitous and more justified, and making the Boys themselves more human, the series actually manages to be WAY darker than the comics. Hell, Billy Butcher actually contemplates MURDERING A CHILD in the series, which is something the way more psychotic Butcher of the comics would not.
** About half of Garth Ennis's work goes so far around the bend that it becomes compelling or is goddamn hilarious. Below is one of his most infamous creations.
* Crossed: Most of the world is dead or turned into [[Slaanesh|murder-raping sadists]] á la the Reavers from Firefly. Showing any courage will get you killed or turned into one of the aforementioned murder-rapists, and there are survivors that are just as fucked up as the infectees. Supposedly a dig at arm chair survivalists, it's now mostly remembered for being edgy for the sake of edginess and being overall boring as hell.
* Hatred: Remember how your family told you that GTA was breeding criminals and that games created "monsters"? Well, Hatred tries to cash in on that by making a game dedicated to killing innocent people and making a "parody" out of those reactions, but [[FAIL|fails miserably]] to do that. This is because not only is our main "hero" a complete asshole with literally nothing redeeming about him, but most of the gameplay consists on you shooting unnarmed civilians and members of the policy/military that are '''extremely''' easy to beat, and coupled with the monochrome colors the game becomes ''very'' boring in a ''very'' quick pace. And unlike these old games that caused oh so much controversy, Hatred doesn't even have that good old orkish humor and tries to [[Serious Business|take everything inside it seriously]], which makes the "Grimdark" aspect come off as ''very'' dumb.
* [[Carl Sargent]]'s total rape of the [[Greyhawk]] setting in ''[[From The Ashes]]''. Something of a unique case in that the grimdark was well-done; it's that he had to fuck over the game's oldest and most-beloved setting (see the article for details) to do it that made it Derp.
* Most of the anti-[[HFY]] content in the [[World of Darkness]], especially the unmitigated misanthropy in parts of [[Werewolf: The Apocalypse]]. Humans vary from 'Idiotic sheep permanently at the bottom of the food chain' to 'Apathetic fools responsible for most of the world's ills' to 'Cackling, moustache-twirling villains', civilization and all its fruits are EVIL!, and the tribe of bestiality-born werewolves that want to exterminate the human race down to pre-Stone Age levels are presented as heroes that're unequivocally morally justified in their actions (both in and out of setting, if some of the Apocalypse scenarios are anything to go off). [[FAIL|Yeah.]]
* Anything made by biggest hack in Hollywood, <s>Zack</s> Hack Snyder.

== Grim Tragedy ==
Naturally in a universe such as 40k, the grimdarkness of the setting would mean nothing if not tied into the ironic tragedy of the lore. This includes:

*[[Imperium|A species]] so afraid of the dauntless perils of Chaos that they will brutally harass and execute entire populations out of mere suspicion, all to stop the spread of ruin while indirectly strengthening those who seek to destroy them (''particularly'' Chaos). They, as a people, have progressed massively in population, technology and power since their species conception, yet they, more than anyone else, have lost one vital element: their humanity.

*[[Eldar|A race who]] was once at a zenith of civilization and prosperity, capable of bending the very Gods to their will. But by their own hand reduced themselves to scattered isolated fleets and colonies always on the run; their pompous and arrogant leaders hide behind a dwindling sense of security based in superiority over other races who are far more successful and perhaps destined to be greater than they ever were. [[Dark Eldar|A number among them]], after their unholy and insidious near-demise, continue (with oblivious glee) to empower [[Slaanesh|the very being that brought them to ruin]] in order to save themselves.

*[[Orks|A race of creatures]] who possess the brightest "potential"; with near mastery over the psychic, near-natural physical perfection and almost limitless numbers from their highly successful methods of reproduction... And yet they are genetically restricted by an unquenchable thirst for conflict which drives each to idiocy, leaving them hopeless of advancing beyond simple barbarians.

*[[Necron|An ancient people]] who were so envious of their neighbors' lifespans that they were ready to cripple the entire galaxy just for the sake of petty superiority - a superiority neutered by their unwitting transformation into metaphorical and literal automatons. They are now mindless machines who, bar few, care nothing of their past and seek only one thing: Conquest. And those who still have their personalities are either insane, demented, depressed, brooding, psychotic, or any combination of these in various proportions.

*[[Tau|A newborn race]] who innocently believes that there can be peace and acknowledgement among each other. Unfortunately the sinister methods they employ hoping that it is for [[Greater Good|something better]] is slowly, but steadily driving them into the decadence that plagues the other species. In doing so they become proof, both of the fact that [[Horus|anyone]], [[Emperor|no matter their intentions]], can be corrupted, and also of the kindness that the rest have forsaken for damnation and despair...

*The fact that, despite tens of thousands of years of knowing nothing but war, these peoples are woefully unprepared for what is to come. No matter how many regiments can be raised or Craftworlds restored, what is out there is [[Tyranids|all consuming, diabolical and numberless...]] Unless, they are themselves on the verge of extinction, and as such, desperately trying to cross over the great void between galaxies, which implies fighting against [[Ork|invincibles foes]] and [[Ultramarines|fate dodging cheaters]] unnaturaly empowered by the grief of an [[Games Workshop|unspeakable Eldritch Abomination beyond the cosmos]]. The good option is that there are a thousand galaxies worth of the fucking bugs; the bad option is that there are billions upon billions of galaxies worth of the fucking bugs. The worse option is that billions upon billions galaxies worth of what is essentially the perfect organism is running away from something worse.

== See also ==
*[[Noblebright]]
*[[Edgy]]
*[[Eversor]]
*[[Lamenters]]

== External Links ==
* [http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/grimdark KnowYourMeme has examples from outside of /tg/]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQAWBeFnkg8 Trope Talk: Grimdark], a analysis of the "Grimdark" style of storytelling and why it works (and why sometimes it doesn't)
[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]]