2d4chan - User contributions [en]

Vlad von Carstein

2021-01-26T02:11:32Z

2406:3400:20F:FFC0:B56B:A748:CBE0:D623: /* As Lord Ankhat */

[[Image:VladCarstein.jpg|500x|thumb|right|Think what you want, he's badass and not as mean as many think.]]
{{Topquote|Surrender and serve me in life, or die and slave for me in death.|Vlad von Carstein}}
{{Topquote|Rules are for the obedience of fools and the guidance of wise men.|Harry Day}}

The [[Von Carstein]] Vampire, the first king (or Pharaoh anyway) of the Vampires.

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

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

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

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

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

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

==History==
Like the Joker, he has a multiple-choice past. Unlike the Joker, he's sane enough to remember it, but he never told anyone about it for a long time until he met Isabella. With the End Times and the tie-in novels, Vlad's past has been (retcons aside) somewhat revealed;

Vlad was originally a Nehekharan noble. However there is still divergence in the lore. In one version his name was Vashanesh and was Neferata's husband but they grew apart. The other version, according to the Time of Legends books, is that he was named Ankhat and was a noble attendant of Neferata. After the destruction of Lahmia he laid low for awhile. Nothing is known of this time except he occasionally married human women, somehow got Nagash to make him The Carstein Ring, looked down on Strigoi vampires and chased down necromantic artifacts until he arrived at Drakenhof.

=== As Lord Ankhat ===
In Lahmia, the man who was yet Vlad von Cartstein was a noble named Ankhat. He was born to an ancient and sacred bloodline, on par with W'soran's. Although he is shorter than the average Nehekharan man in height (but definitely taller than humans from the Empire), he was cunning and perceptive, yet both trait were hindered by his well known impatience. He was also a well known hunter, known for training and breeding hawks, hounds and steeds for hunting. He was part of Lamashizzar's cabal where they strive to achieve power over the Nehekharans through immortality by learning and mastering Nagash's dark art directly from one of his stolen books, and from interrogating one of his captured lieutenants, [[Arkhan the Black]].

Like many of the majority of the cabal members, Anhkat was so sick and tired of Lamashizzar's incompetence in the dark arts that he jumped ship and followed [[Neferata]] when she revealed her mastery of the dark arts. After Lamashizzar was assassinated by [[Arkhan the Black|Arkhan]] and [[Neferata]] took over the throne, Ankhat became her noble attendant.

To [[Neferata]], Ankhat was a reliable servant, a man who gets the job done. For example, to covered up the news where [[Arkhan the Black|Arkhan]] assassinated Lamashizzar, Ankhat made up a story where a priest of Sokth (Nehekharan god of thieves and scorpion) exacted vengeance upon the ruler of Lahmia for mistreating the refugees from Mahrak by assassinated the queen and the king with a poison needle and killed some of the female servants in the female palace along the way. In reality, it was but [[Arkhan the Black|Arkhan]] tried to resurrect neffy with dark magic, then went straight to kill the king, only to be decapitated by his champion [[Abhorash]]. The dead female servants were killed by Neferata upon her first awakening as a vampire (and Abhorash was in Neferata's pocket at the time, so he wouldn't spill the beans).

The story of [[Neferata]]'s resurrection was covered up as a miracle instead, to prove she has the divine bloodline flowing in her vein, allowing her reappearance to be accepted by the public. Ankhat also secretly arranged the corpse of [[Arkhan the Black|Arkhan]] to be buried in a nameless grave on the outskirts of Lahmia (despite [[Abhorash]]'s suggestion for cremation).

After Ankhat became a vampire, his charisma and his other attribute received a major boost, so much that his charisma is comparable to [[Neferata]]'s vampiric beauty. Still, Anhkhat remained royal to [[Neferata]], perhaps even as close to her as Naamia. Also despite being royal, Ankhat was still shocked at [[Neferata]] wanting to open an academy for the Nehekharan kings children, especially wanting to save Queen Rastraian from her pregnancy just so [[Neferata]] could perform wife husbandry on the Rastraian's son Alcadizzar. Ankhat rejected the idea, since he and other members knew it would risk uniting the other cities against Lahmia in a war that Lahmia would lose.

As Alcadizzar grew, Ankhat repeatedly warned Neferata to give Alcadizzar back to his father and kingdom or else the brat will be the cause to Lahmia's downfall. Each time, and often angrily, Neferata rejected Ankhat's warnings.

When Alcadizzar finally escaped, [[Neferata]] vengefully ordered the cabal (especially Ushoran because he is a spy master) to search for him. Lahmia was turned into a roach hotel in such a short time most of the members decided abandon the sinking ship, except this time they were on their own since the only ways out were to serve Nagash or leave Nehekhara. Ankhat wished to leave Lahmia and explore the world with his immortality, but he had no power to do so and knew Neferata and her vampire servants could hunt him down, and so he remained. Ankhat had his own vampire agent to observe Ushoran's every movement to ensure he remained loyal, which he didn't and was caught just before he ran away.

When Alcadizzar led a coalition army from other great cities and his own desert tribes to raze Lahmia, [[Neferata]] gathered every vampire she knew to fight back. Due to his strategic skill, Ankhat was in charge of the Lahmian living troops. Since Lahmian armies were inexperienced and weak, Ankhat had to personally take the fight to the frontline with his inhuman strength and agility.

Despite not achieving the same martial mastery as Abhorash, Ankhat's vampiric nature gave him a supernatural advantage against the living. Every warriors, be it Nehekharans or Northlanders, faced the same fate when they challenged him and he made short work of them, sometimes even killing them with his bare hands, or he just terrified them with his Vampiric appearence.

Despite doing well himself, his army did not and thus his line crumbled. Worst came when [[Neferata]] fell in a duel against Alcadizzar and Ankhat had to ordered every soldiers to her. Abhorash however came at the right time, killing the livings like flies and allowing every other vampires evacuate to the palace. When [[Neferata]] said she wanted to die with Lahmia, Ankhat was like "fuck ya, I ain't gonna die by these sons of bitches, I'm going to the north to be worshiped like a fucking god by those white skinned northman" and reminded her that they are fucking immortal, have all the time in the world, and that he should've explored the world a long time ago, rather than staying Lahmia, a place he had intended to never return to. After that, Ankhat left without a sound just before [[Neferata]] could leave him with a farewell.

=== As Vlad ===
Sylvania was a dangerous place, with the majority of the land covered in dark and ominous forests. Although it was an Imperial province, it was already reputed as a barbaric place where the dead did not rest easily and a refuge for evil necromancers and sorcerers (probably because the rough terrain and large forests provided plenty of hiding spaces). Many of its great castles and towers were built in places where dark magic was most abundant. To make things even worse for the Sylvanians, they were ruled over by the evil von Drak family, the ruler at the time of Vlad's arrival being Otto von Drak, father of Vlad's future wife Isabella. He was a deranged man that would order the execution of peasants simply to prove a point, and demanded unbelievably high taxes when he remembered to have it done in between bouts of violent madness. Fortunately he had as much influence over his realm as one of the peasants he terrorized as the petty nobles ignored his authority. Unfortunately they were nearly as bad as he was; his brother Leopold wanted to marry his daughter Isabella so he could get the province. Because nothing solves hereditary insanity quite like incest! However Otto hated his brother (and was likely disgusted by that Idea) So he wanted to marry Isabella off as quickly as possible. However he wouldn't marry her off to any Sylvanian Noble and no one outside the province wanted anything to do with her.

In the year 1797, on a dark and stormy night (cliche or not, got to respect the classics), Vlad arrived [[Just As Planned|right on time]] to ask for Isabella's hand in marriage while Otto was on his deathbed. Desperate to stop his rivals seizing his land on his death, Otto agreed, and Vlad and Isabella were married minutes before Otto died. Vlad thus seized the province; his first act ripping out Leopold von Drak's heart and hurling him from Drakenhof's battlements (at Isabella's request). Most of the other noble families objected to the thought of having an outsider rule them, but they were either won over by his charm or silenced. Under Vlad's iron grip the province of Sylvania prospered. The other Counts of the Empire looked on with indifference at the changes, since Vlad was a far better ruler than the old von Drak family even if they'd set the bar so low a dog would've been better.

Though Vlad had married Isabella for power, what had started between them as a marriage of convenience swiftly blossomed into unholy love. The pair had become confidants in each other and all but inseparable. Isabella begged Vlad to give her the Blood Kiss so they could be together for eternity, but Vlad was aware to the downsides of vampirism and loved her too much to subject her to that. When she lay dying of wasting sickness (Consumption, which is rarely called by that name and is known today as tuberculosis), Vlad made her a vampire so he wouldn't lose her. For two hundred years, Vlad ruled over Sylvania with Isabella by his side, using different names to avoid suspicion. However, Drakenhof's oldest woman found out his real name and figured out his age; she spread the word that her grandmother had been a little girl when Vlad came into power, upon which even the dimmest Sylvanian realized something unnatural was happening.

When Mordheim was struck by a comet, Vlad sent some of his agents to collect Warpstone. On the night of Gehinsnacht he threw a party for all of Sylvania's nobles, human and vampire (with fancy food on the humans' menu, and the fancy humans on the vampires' menu). After his vampires slaughtered the nobles, he used a recovered book of Nagash to start a ritual to summon the dead of Sylvania in a giant army to fight the Empire and appoint himself emperor. However something that even vampires found unnatural happened with Vlad during the war; every time Vlad was killed he came back. He was first decapitated with his own sword by captured enemy general Hans Schiffen, but came back and violently reasserted control of the vampires that same night. The second time he had his head smashed in by the hammer of the Templar Grand Master of Middenheim's knights, Jerek Kruger, only to return to attack Midddenheim a year later and drain Jerek of blood (while also turning him into a vampire in the novel). At another siege he was impaled by five lances and took a Runefang through the heart, but was back to normal and overseeing the crucifixion of his killers the next day. At a battle for a river crossing, a lucky cannon shot decapitated him, yet within the hour he was back on his feet and slaughtering the cannon's crew. This was because of his ring, a magical ring called The Carstein Ring that allowed him to come back from wounds that would otherwise permanently kill even a vampire.

In 2051, Vlad laid siege to Altdorf, his armies swollen during the long years of fighting Imperial armies. The siege lasted for many months. Though the emperor at the time was a pussy, Grand Theogonist Wilhelm the Third actually had some balls and refused to surrender, spurring the soldiers on for one more battle. The second last night of the siege, Wilhelm dispatched Felix Mann, the greatest thief of the age, to steal Vlad's fabled ring and source of his immortality (he had been covertly tipped off about the ring by a traitor within Vlad's own camp - [[Mannfred von Carstein|Mannfred]]). After slipping by the guards, Mann stole the ring, leaving Vlad vulnerable. When he woke the next day and found the ring gone, Vlad furiously ordered a final, full-scale assault on the walls. As the vampires swept aside all who stood against them, Wilhelm confronted the Vampire Lord atop the very walls of Altdorf. Vlad swiftly gained the upper hand, fatally wounding Wilhelm. The priest saw Sigmar's people beginning to waiver in the face of evil, and the Vampire before him howling with triumph. With a prayer to Sigmar on his lips, Wilhelm used the last of his strength to charge Von Carstein, resolving to destroy Von Carstein by sacrificing himself. Even as Wilhelm took Vlad's blade through his chest again, he seized Von Carstein and bore him over the ramparts. Man and vampire were impaled on the stakes placed below the battlements, Vlad landing first, Wilhelm landing on top, driving the vampire down further. With a terrible scream, the Count died, unable to come back without his magic ring.

Vlad's Undead army crumbled without his power to guide them, and the few surviving vampires apart from Isabella fled quickly to Sylvania. The casualties the vampires had inflicted on the forces of Altdorf were so horrific the Empire's forces couldn't pursue them. Vlad's camp was looted by the Imperials, and among the remains were found Vlad's copies of the Liber Mortis and the Book of Nagash that he had: these were taken by the Temple of Sigmar and locked away in the temple's deepest vaults (though Mannfred made off with a page of Nagash's book in the novel, and the ring, after taking them from Felix along with Felix's hands). The last casualty of the Siege of Altdorf was a distraught Isabella, who chose to kill herself with a stake rather than carry on through eternity without her beloved husband.

Vlad's corpse was found and put through all the treatments believed to keep vampires dead to make sure he wouldn't come back; breaking his knees, tying his corpse up with silver wire, garlic in the mouth and buried on sacred ground. Vlad was even buried under Wilhelm's corpse as an extra guarantee against his return. In the second Vampire Wars novel, the vampire Jerek Kruger - now Jerek von Carstein - strong-armed a human gravedigger into exhuming Vlad's remains to try and find The Carstein Ring. But it wasn't there, so Jerek abandoned the grave and the terrified gravedigger with no word on what happened to Vlad's remains.

==The End Times==
During End Times: Nagash, Vlad is resurrected by [[Nagash|big bone daddy himself]] shortly after the latter's return. Vlad's first act is kicking the ass out of Mannfred when the latter tried to Sindri him again, only sparing his life under direct order of Nagash, who still has use for Mannfred. Vlad only agrees to work for Nagash on the condition that Nagash will bring back his wife Isabella. While the rest of Nagash's forces and his Mortarchs march on Nehekhara, Vlad and the Nameless are charged with fighting the forces of Chaos. Despite the situation, Vlad still has his eyes on becoming Emperor so he covertly tried to ingratiate himself with the Empire. At first he tries to work with Balthazar, gifting him a copy of one of Nagash's nine books and even making Gelt his apprentice for a time. He allies with the forces of Altdorf when the Glottkin and their forces attack while Kurt Helborg is the regent of the Empire with Karl Franz missing. Vlad even gets Kurt to make him the legitimized elector count of Sylvania in exchange for the alliance. Vlad is killed again by Festus the Leechlord, but his ring does its thing and a fully-healed Vlad kills the near daemon prince Festus. He later fights Otto Glott but gets infected with a disease harmful even to Vampires after drinking some of Otto Glott's blood. Sickened and puking, Vlad turned into a swarm of bats and flew away, fortunately for him before Karl-Sigmar's rebirth purges evil magic from Altdorf.

Later the Empire, in a fit of desperation, sent emissaries to Nagash (who had just conquered and enslaved the Tomb Kings) to seek his help against the forces of Chaos. Nagash heard them out, killed them and forbade any of the undead from helping. Vlad, still struggling with the disease, heard the message since he was the one to bring the emissaries to Nagash (Nagash doesn't grant sick leave). When the latter was snoozing and Arkhan was buried in paperwork, Vlad disobeyed the order, summoned some undead troops went to help the Empire in the battle for Averheim. He got there just in time to see the forces of Chaos overwhelm Ungrim. Vlad gave them a moment's silence before turning his army around to rush back to Sylvania before Nagash finished his power nap. During this time, a combined force of undead led by the Nameless and nurgle daemons attacked Sylvania.

When he got back, he was forced to fight then force invading Sylvania alongside Mannfred and Luthor Harkon at Arkhan's orders. After a vicious fight he was reunited with Isabella, who had been brought back by the big 'N'. Unfortunately for him, then big 'N' this time wasn't [[Nagash]], but [[Nurgle]]. In revenge for how Vlad saved her from tuberculosis and out of his hatred for the sterility of the undead, she had been possessed by a daemon that convinced her that Vlad had never loved her in the first place and was given powers that were meant specifically to be used against Undead. She killed him, and Vlad swore revenge on Nurgle for what he did to her with his dying breath. His ring did its work, bringing him back now free of the Nurglite disease. Isabella's state understandably left Vlad upset, but he soldiered on regardless. When Nagash allied with the living he lived up to his Mortarch title and stays in the background, only emerging to fight, chide Mannfred or trade witty banter with Arkhan.

While staying in Athel Loren with the rest of the order side, Vlad bother both Tyrion and Emperor Karl Franz while the two of them were discussing the future of their kind. He sarcastic mocked Franz that both of them are now the only elector counts left, and should Franz fall in battle, he would surely be the Emperor. However, Karl coldly reply to him that is true only elector counts has the power to vote someone to become the Emperor, [[derp|only if the elector count is alive, and dead people can't vote]].

Vlad then introduce an Elven vampire princess to Tyrion as a form of sarcastic mocking against his kind. This former Elven Princess was named Eldyra of Tiranoc, who was one of Tyrion's squire's daughter as well as the same Princess that led the counter attack against [[Sigvald]]'s invasion force. She followed Eltharion to prevent against Nagash's resurrection, which they failed and the princess was turned to Vampire afterwards, an outcome she was unhappy with.

Afterwards, Tyrion took Eldyra at distance then mercy killed the vampire princess by her request, chopped off her head with his Sunfang, something Vlad is not happy with since he was going to sired her into a Vampire lord.

He heads to Middenheim with Nagash's forces and encounters Isabella telling Mannfred to go sit in a corner. Upon noticing Vlad's arrival Isabella immediately turns to face him and the two of them square off. Possibly inspired by his own rebirth purging the disease, Vlad gave up his ring to her before killing them both, knowing that the resurrection process would free his beloved wife from the Plaguefather's clutches. His body was last seen impaled on a spike with no sign of Isabella; she was rescued by Neferata but the world ended before she regained consciousness.

As his model has been renamed as a generic Vampire Lord, it looks like [[FAIL|Vlad will not be in Age of Sigmar]]. A moment's silence for one of the coolest vampires in the game. (Maybe... vampire adjournment is on the way, and old heroes are popping out likes mushrooms nowadays).

Not only are many of the Old World heroes returning, but Mannfred two old models are also renamed Vampire Lord and yet as we all (sadly) know he managed to return, so there is still some hope that Nagash will become so pissed at Mannfred's failure, that he will bring back other Von Carstein to torture him some more.

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

As Mortarch of Shadow, Vlad is the one most likely to survive a battle despite only having 3 Wounds (though as a Vampire he can heal those and gets a bonus to do so). His ring still gives him the chance to pop back to life, and thanks to the fact he's not on a ghost horse/dragon thing he can get Look Out Sir! rolls from a Unit. He's got Mortarch of Shadow special rule which gives everything a -1 To Hit (both shooting and in melee) against him [[Awesome|and his unit]] and a -1 to the Leadership of all models nearby him, and as a Terror-causer this can be beneficial when facing low Leadership armies. The -1 To Hit makes him even better in combat which, combined with his sword makes him the hardest to kill Mortarch. Aside from his equipment and Mortarch rule he's really just a generic Wizard lvl 3 Vampire Lord, with the added bonus of picking spells like Nagash from Death, Shadow, Vampire, or Undeath (this access to multiple Lores makes him a FAR superior choice to the generic Master Vampire when using Khaine magic rules). As a Vampire, he can restore Wounds lost if he deals an Unsaved Wound against an enemy, but thanks to his Magic Weapon (which also grants him +1 Strength) he gets that Wound on a 4+ instead of a 6+. He also has a 4+ Ward Save, and a 83-84% chance to come back to life with one Wound in a Unit 12 inches near him if he's killed. So is he worth it compared to the generic? ...Yeah. The problem is he's not a level 4 caster, which isn't terrible, and he isn't Red Fury, which also isn't terrible. The generic can be kitted out to either be a best possible spellcaster or have better damage, but Vlad mixes them in an acceptable way. The primary way to use Vlad is to kit him out fully in Lore of Death, since he'll be able to survive in the range that puts the lore to the best use.

Thanks to the buffs he confers to the unit he is with he can be a total nightmare on the battlefield: he isn't a magic monster like Nagash, Mannfred or Arkhan, nor a killing machine like Neferata, but he is intended to be more of a support character, and he is one of the best in the game. Add Vlad's spells to it (Miasma, Invocation of Nehek and Soul Leech are what you're guaranteed to have, and what great spells they are indeed!) and you have just doubled the fun.

== Total War: Warhammer ==
Confirmed as free downloadable content for the September 1st patch for Total War: Warhammer, Vlad returns as a legendary lord choice for the <strike>Vampire Counts; sharing that distinction with his son Mannfred, Heinrich Kemmler, and Helman Ghorst.</strike> (As of the Bretonnia DLC, Vlad and Isabella now form a seperate vampire faction to the immediate west) Of the five, he's the most dangerous melee lord with a tremendous potential for regeneration (though as of the current patch regeneration is hard capped at 60% of a unit's health it's easily modded out) and the best damage per second out of the four in close quarters. His spellcasting ability is of course, inferior to Mannfred's as Mannfred gets an additional lore and a special ability to boost his winds of magic recharge rate, and he isn't quite the army healing machine that Kemmler or Ghorst are; and lacks Ghorst's ability to summon high end units, but his magic is entirely serviceable and the lore of vampires is well worth investing into. He of course, trashes the two Necromancers (no surprise there given that they're inferior to some heroes in melee) in close combat and comes out on top against Mannfred quite handily and in singleplayer, you'd feel much safer committing Vlad into melee than the others; though of course he can't fly like Mannfred can, he does get a speed boosting skill that allows him to run down most infantry.

The most notable thing about him though; is his ability to have literally the entire army use the vanguard deployment status even if they're the last thing you'd ever think of when you hear the words "fast" and "stealthy", letting your enormous shrieking hordes of undead large and small pop up within spitting distance of the enemy army before they realize you're even there. Not just to Vlad's own army, but to *every* army you have, turning many quest battles into absolute jokes (the sword of unholy power in particular as the reinforcements the quest battle is balanced around will never arrive before you rout all the shamans) and letting you completely surround the enemy before the battle even starts. Or you can have troops camp the side of the map enemy reinforcements were supposed to come in through and slaughter them piecemeal; and since they're on the edge of the map any routed troops are instantly gone. He can also immediately attack a city without waiting for siege equipment, allowing you to conquer the world that much faster. In other words, he's gone and somehow learned [[Creed]]'s tricks, using his skill as an UNPARALLELED PRACTITIONER of necromancy instead of Creed's mastery of his TACTICAL GENIUS when commanding the legions of mankind.

It's recommended that you use him as your starting lord, not only because of his monstrously powerful traits if picked as leader, not only because he gets fucking Vargheists and ''Blood Knights'' as starting units, but also because he's the hardest Vampire Counts lord to unlock if not chosen to begin with. Mannfred and Ghorst are trivial to unlock; only needing the conquest of Sylvania (only two provinces and since they already have maxed out vampiric corruption you should conquer them first anyway) and choosing the dominate option after a victory ten times (basically just fighting ten battles, and since this replenishes losses you'll do it anyway) for Mannfred and Ghorst respectively. Kemmler's a bit more annoying as he needs an expensive late game structure in the Forbidden library but it's something you'd build anyway and shouldn't take too long. Vlad though, Vlad requires you to sack or raze (not conquer) Altdorf, which requires taking the Empire's capital (and if you want Vlad before chaos arrives; within a hundred or so turns), and not conquering a high level city or even having to rebuild it from scratch. Starting with Vlad is really just the most efficient option. This is no longer the case now that he and Isabella are their own faction; whichever you start with the other is available from the beginning of the game, at a discount no less. It's generally a good idea to have both as early as possible, since they give each other a significant buff when one is reinforcing the other.

"When did that entire undead army get there while I was looking away for five minutes? The commander of this army must be some unparalleled practitioner of the dark ar-VLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD!"

=== Tales of Vlad ===

==== Franz's bad day ====
Emperor Karl Franz was having a bad day. Middenheim so recently brought back into the fold of the empire still grumbled, albeit now only when they thought his spies weren't looking. Rumors of Chaos stirring in the North were confirmed as valid from Karl's most noble allies in Kislev, Vlad Von Carstein the Tactical Genius of Sylvania had returned and now; it was time for his absolutely loathed weekly psychiatric appointment.

"It's just insane!" Bellowed Franz to his psychologist as he went on about the stresses of being Emperor of a empire constantly under threat. "I mean, the orcs were right there! Why did Marienburg attack us? I mean sure we would have to bring Marienburg into the fold eventually anyway, but what good is your independence when the orcs are literally on your door step!".

His psychologist was unusually quiet, ordinarily by this time he'd be telling Franz about the wonderful job he is doing as Emperor and how all of the empires lands would've been butchered by one foe or another if it weren't for him. While a benefit to his ego it hardly lowered Karls stress. Nevertheless Franz took the silence as indication to keep going.

"Oh and Thogrim contacted me, he broke our alliance. For no reason! Oh hey nevermind this ancient pact from before our Empire was even founded and forget the symbol of eternal friendship we gave you. We're done, don't wana be around you anymore. Nope. I mean isn't Grimgor ironhide enough of a uniting force to demonstrate the need of our alliance?"

It was at this point when his psychologist still hadn't responded that Franz began to grow suspicious. He looked and saw that his psychologist had suddenly been replaced with a full 20 stack of units, causing Franz to yell

"VLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD!"

==== Volkmar's fall ====
The Battle was nearly over. All around him, Vlad's puppets crumble. "FOR THE EMPEROR!" Volkmar the Grim cries, as he brings his mighty Warhammer down upon a crypt ghoul, spraying bloody viscera in all directions. With Sigmar's guidance, the Grand Theogonist thought, today would ring the final death knell for the wretched Von Carstein line. Through the din of battle, barely in his peripheral vision, Volkmar notices a pebble move, and a branch fall. Then, the soft sound of a moan is carried across his ears. Pausing for a moment to contemplate this happenstance, when all of the sudden, the shrieks of the Grand Theogonist's men breaks the air. "No. This is not possible!", he Roared. Volkmar jerked his head up, and gazing around him he saw that his victory had been denied. Hordes of tens of thousands of zombies poured down the slopes of the valley where he had been fighting. All the Grand Theogonist could get out in his rage before being swallowed by the rotting wave was, "VLAAAAAAAAAAAD!"

==== Mannfred gets reminded who's the boss ====

The high tower's balcony afforded Mannfred a view far beyond the walls of Castle Drakenhof, across the newly created plains and into the mist-shrouded forests beyond. In the courtyard below, his undead armies waited silently for their master's orders, looking none the worse for the hasty forced march he'd imposed. That was the advantage of the tireless dead and no sooner had they arrived, he had them clear out and prepare the forest surrounding the castle to grant him forewarning of the enemy approach.

And this was neither petty necromancer nor thin-blooded whelp who marched against him. It seemed that whilst the stirring of Shyish had enabled his awakening, it had also awakened his challenger, a particularly powerful vampire count, so his mortal sources told him. And this opponent was cunning, taking advantage of his conflict with the Templehof weaklings to cross his borders.

No matter, he thought, idly skimming a finger over the cover of the Liber Necromonica. The unholy pages had granted him the plethora of devastating magical traps he'd laid scattered around the new clearings, from the Black Pyramid itself. A sinister smile spread across his face, as he imagined his rival’s army torn to shreds before even reaching the walls, and as he begged for his life at Mannfred’s feet he would-Movement caught his eyes at the main gate, and the colourless orbs widened as the towering doors shook with a muffled boom. Far below, two figures dressed in ornate vampire armour struck the gate again as a host of zombies and skeletons advanced. Fell bats and snarling vargheists circled overhead, and a flash of crimson armour betrayed a squadron of Blood Knights at the rear.

Mortar cracked as he slammed his fist against the balcony wall. Impossible! How did they get past his wards and traps? Only an unparalleled practitioner of the dark arts could overco-He froze, supernatural eyesight giving him a clear view of the lead vampire as it returned his gaze. It was unmistakeable, the sword, the ring, the wrathful eyes; the face of his sire. A terrible roar tore itself from his throat, “VLAAAAAAAAAD!”

== Gallery ==
<Gallery>
Image:Vlad Isabella Old.jpg|The old models of momma and dadda Von Carstein. Works well as their "posing as human" forms.
Image:Vlad New Model.jpg|His new model. The metal version had an extra ghost coming off the cape that the Failcast lacks.
Image:C7f54fc10ea0e963e2fe16a382fb642a.jpg| Vlad, you marvellous bastard.
Image:Vlad1.jpg|Vlad when the shit hits the fan
Image:Bigdaddyv.jpg|Now THAT is a real fucking vampire. [[Awesome|Note how he's killing an enemy soldier with his empty hand while fending off two others with his sword]].
Image:Sylvania Court.jpg|Vlad putting down uppity nobles. Only Isabella prevents him from slaughtering the room.
File:Vlad von Carstein end times.png
</gallery>

[[Category: Warhammer Fantasy]] [[Category: Vampire Counts]]

Isabella von Carstein

2021-01-26T02:09:30Z

2406:3400:20F:FFC0:B56B:A748:CBE0:D623: /* The End Times */

[[File:Isabella.jpg|thumb|right|400px|Mommy brought your sippy cup, Konrad.]]
{{Topquote|Happy is the man who finds a true friend, and far happier is he who finds that true friend in his wife.|Franz Schubert}}

The wife of [[Warhammer Fantasy|Warhammer Fantasy's]] resident Vlad the Impaler proxy, [[Vlad von Carstein]]. Unlike her counterparts however, Isabella is THE woman for her man. The "wives of Vlad" here simply refers to Isabella's many party dresses. She's stated to be one of the most beautiful humans to have ever (un)lived, and together with Vlad founded the [[Von Carstein]] Bloodline.

==The Legend==

A long time ago, in the [[Empire]] there was a land called [[Sylvania]]. Sylvania was known for two things: decadent nobility that bordered on [[Slaanesh|Slaaneshi]] debauchery and peasantry so oppressed that even [[Bretonnia|Bretonnian]] peasants would order them around with noses in the air (as befitting the French).

The Elector Count of the region was a man named Otto von Drak, known for being a batshit insane asshole who thought he was [[Valten|Sigmar reborn]] and would cheer himself up after a hard day of drinking and grousing about how shitty his homeland and everyone in it with having random servants and peasants tortured to death and impaled. Not exactly a sweet guy if you got to know him either, the only person he didn't dislike was his only child, his daughter Isabella von Drak. Isabella was a very beautiful woman, and a tomboy in her interests; though she rocked the traditional dresses she spurned the traditional hobbies of women (sewing, singing, cooking) because she liked traditional men's hobbies better (hunting, falconry, swordplay). Otto proved unable to have any other children, which caused a problem since law dictated only males could inherit Otto's position; he couldn't or wouldn't change the law so Isabella could be his heir, Otto deemed all eligible Sylvanian nobles unworthy of her and her flouting of cultural norms and Sylvania's bad rep abroad meant no foreign suitors wanted her.

Isabella was with her father at his deathbed; Otto himself shunned the administrations of priests and instead spent his final days cursing his misfortune, claiming famously he would rather marry Isabella von Drak to a [[Daemon]] than let Leopold succeed him. Not long after this, a man claiming to be a member of distant Empire nobility (with an accent that those of the court believed to be of [[Kislev]] origin) appeared and presented himself to Otto. He said his name was [[Vlad von Carstein]], and after giving his self-introduction asked to marry Isabella. Otto accepted out of desperation and his put-upon priest, Victor Guttman, married them that night with Otto dead by morning. Leopold's body was also found, having mysteriously fallen off the highest tower at the von Drak estate around the same time making Isabella the last von Drak.

Vlad immediately dismissed Victor Guttman, and repurposed the von Drak chapel. This continued village to village, until the worship of Sigmar was all but gone from the realm barring peasant shrines. Although the Sylvanians distrusted him due to being a foreigner who had eccentric habits such as only coming out at night and dining alone, he gained popularity by purging the nobles that were incompetent or [[Chaos]] [[Cultist-chan|worshippers]] and ridding the land of bandits and outlaws. Peasants still disappeared from time to time, but for the first time Sylvania had a ruler who wouldn't decorate his fence with the heads of men, women, and children because he stubbed his toe or demand all of people's life savings in taxes. Vlad quickly became beloved by the masses, and with the disappearance of every embezzling nobleman Sylvania became more prosperous. What was once the poorest province became the wealthiest, and throughout the Empire jealousy and admiration were inspired at the mention of the name von Carstein. Anytime Vlad visited nobility that didn't die from mysterious disease during his stay (symptoms include bloodlessness and a broken neck) they would pick up his little eccentricities and be graciously given the right to consider themselves a member of his ever-expanding line. Previously well-behaved nobles would sometimes require a second visit if they saw this gift as an excuse to return to old family habits; these spoiled children would find themselves put in a time-out. In their family crypt. With boulders trapping them in. See: Vargheists.

Having secured his position, Vlad and Isabella spent more and more time together. She knew he was a vampire from the start of course, but hated her position and her uncle so she sided with him from day one. She gave Vlad the names of the insubordinate nobles, he solved the problems. As time went on Isabella and Vlad grew closer.

She became very aware of herself aging next to him, realizing time was running out to be the same physical age category as her husband. She begged Vlad to vamp her, but he refused time and time again.

One night, while Vlad was away <strike>drinking enemies' blood like mixer shots</strike> paying a visit to his admirers (who tragically died while he was there) Isabella came down with tuberculosis and sent a message to her husband calling him to her deathbed. It's implied she may have instead poisoned herself, but either way Vlad crossed a nation in one night and from that point on, Isabella was a lady who enjoyed the night life. Shortly after this, the two of them visited a recalcitrant noble who turned out to be the leader of a secret Khorne-worshipping cult and slaughtered them all, with Isabella sifting through the skinned faces of noblewomen like a shopaholic at a mall, and by this point the two were actually and fully in love with each other.

After two hundred years of ruling Sylvania and improving it, Vlad and Isabella saw their chance to seize power. The Empire was in a state of civil war as three different claimants to the throne warred. Vlad called a feast with mandatory attendance for the remaining nobles - both human and vampire - that could not be trusted to not fuck up when he turned his head. Isabella led the turned nobility in a feast of the remaining human nobility while Vlad stood on top of the tower Leopold fell to his death from and read from a Book of Nagash, raising the dead of Sylvania. Vlad and Isabella's army of zombies and skeletons marched alongside the living armies of Sylvania, loyal to the only masters they'd ever known (seen as liberators from the past tyrants).

Every army, city, town and village their armies encountered were given an ultimatum. Swear fealty to Vlad and be unharmed (although their cemetery would be emptied for reinforcements) or be slaughtered to the last and become reinforcements themselves. They were quick to deliver upon their promise and be gone whichever was chosen.

In some battles, Vlad was seemingly killed. The first time this happened, the vampire Herman Posner fought his way to dominance and tried to claim Isabella but she refused him. Later that night Vlad returned and humbled Herman in a duel, and in the novel Isabella requested that she be the one to kill Herman, which Vlad granted. Vlad's magic ring provided him with the ability to tether his spirit to the world while Isabella (who mostly stayed with their loyal Necromancers as something of a medic) oversaw the welfare of the loyal vampires they ruled.

In the final battle at Altdorf, Vlad's only legitimate rival to the throne Ludwig was preparing to surrender when the Grand Theogonist (Sigmar pope) Wilhelm the 3rd was granted a vision showing the ring as Vlad's source of invulnerability. After months of siege, Wilhelm sent the greatest thief of the age to steal Vlad's ring. During the days battle, Wilhelm tackled Vlad off the ramparts of the city and they both fell on defensive stakes used by infantry, killing him permanently. Isabella, hearing what had happened, killed herself similarly to be with him. Ludwig's forces were withdrawn in order to deal with the invasion of the two remaining claimants, letting the remaining von Carsteins (notably [[Konrad von Carstein]] and [[Mannfred von Carstein]]) as well as the surviving undead retreat back to Sylvania.

===[[The End Times]]===
Vlad was resurrected by [[Nagash]] and declared to be the greatest vampire who had ever lived, much to Mannfred's frustration. Vlad only agreed to serve Nagash on the condition that Isabella was resurrected, proving that Vlad's only true motivation in life is Isabella. Along the way, Vlad actually DEFENDED Altdorf and was made official Elector Count of Sylvania in return for his service.

During the End Times Isabella was restored to unlife by the Dark God Nurgle, who warped and twisted her into an ideal tool so Nurgle can have his vengeance against the undead. Nurgle hated the sterility of the undead as he loved to create life; particularly the life that is harmful to the living. It's also implied he didn't like how Vlad saved her from disease when Nurgle is all about disease. So after raising her she was possessed by a daemon, and given a power that works against undead. It doesn't help that the daemon also twisted her memories and pushed the story that she was actually date-raped by Vlad and was his trophy wife rather than beloved partner, driving her mad and hateful against the Undead. In conjunction with the fact that most undead leaders, apart from Vlad, had either treated Isabella like dirt or meant nothing to her because she didn't know them (such as Krell and Arkhan), this gave Isabella a burning hatred of other undead. What resulted was her becoming the only Lords choice for the Daemons of Chaos that wasn't larger than a brick shithouse (Oh, and the Grand Legion of the Everchosen army too, but we had normal-sized models there).

She encountered Vlad in battle in Sylvania, and the daemon offered Vlad a chance to be reunited with her by serving the Chaos Gods. Vlad showed badassitude worthy of Settra, and refused to serve Chaos and was horrified by what they'd done to Isabella. The possessed Isabella killed Vlad, who put up no fight because he'd rather die than strike her down. Though she was possessed and her memories had been altered, something in her still recognized Vlad as the man she loved and thus she felt some regret for his death. She was present at the battle of the Black Pyramid, her most notable feats being killing Arkhan (though he put up a serious fight and almost won) and distracting Nagash - who proved immune to her anti-undead powers - long enough for the Skaven to blow up the Black Pyramid.

In the end, they met again at the Battle of Middenheim, and despite their conditions both were united in their contempt of Mannfred. After a duel, Vlad gave Isabella his ring that kept him immortal right before killing both of them, sacrificing his own life so his love could be free. The ring's resurrection power brought Isabella back while death removed the demon. She was then discovered in a near-comatose state by Neferata (one theory is that Isabella knew what had happened, that she'd killed Vlad and that Vlad gave his unlife to save her, and was so horrified by this that she passed out), who carried her off to Castle Stierniste, where Nef and Khalida stood with the last few halflings and undead stood. Of course, everything was wiped out, but at the very least, both of them died as themselves.

Isabella and Vlad finally suffered a true death, as neither returned in [[Age of Sigmar]]. Their models were renamed as generic characters, and the only returning named von Carstein Vampire is their piece of shit son Mannfred, who is directly responsible for Isabella's death.

==On The Tabletop==
Isabella is part of the infamous Vlad/Isabella combo where if one dies, the survivor becomes more powerful (unlike their fluff). Said survivor tends to be Vlad after Isabella is used as a sacrificial lamb due to his superior killyness and resurrection powers, once again breaking lore.

The problem with Isabella by herself was being essentially a weak Hero level Vampire with no important upgrades. Her only benefit was a magic item chalice allowing her to let another vampire in her unit drink from it and restore a Wound. She paid too much for an iffy power, and thus was in no way worth using unless the plan was to buff Vlad with her death.
With the End Times 50% character allowance this strategy is more viable (ironically).
If one wishes to use a "V+I 4ever "army, using Isabella's model (as a generic Vampire Lord) in an Undead Legion list with Mortarch Vlad is the only viable way.
A proper von Carstein list of the era should use Corpse Carts as Vlad and Isabella were the first to use them, Black Coaches as they are the mainstay of Sylvanian vampires, and Vargheists/Varghulfs as the von Carsteins created them by locking naughty vampires in tombs until they went feral from thirst. Be sure to include some Empire troops proxying things to represent the loyal living humans of Sylvania.

End Times Archaon brings her back as a confusing mix of her old self with some new tools for the Daemons of Chaos and Grand Legion of the Everchosen armies. Chief among them is now being a Level 3 Wizard with Lore of Vampires & Nurgle, which is a curious mix. She keeps her Undead and Vampiric rules, but also gains Hatred (Undead), which works as well since any undead she wounded have to take d3 additional unsavable wounds and everything in base contact with her during the Magic Phase takes an S1 hit that ignores armor. Her chalice was also changed, becoming essentially a grenade that forces anyone that was hit by it to test Toughness or die. The issue with this is that despite being tougher, she's now more vulnerable since she can only recover a wound through the Lore of Vampires trait (And three of the spells, one of which is the SIGNATURE SPELL, involved will likely be useless unless you also get Raise Dead). HOWEVER, on her own she is absolutely awful, as she lacks the daemonic instability rule, so she cannot join units of daemons, which is her HOME ARMY.

==Total War==
In [[Total War: WARHAMMER]] Isabella was added as the first female Legendary Lord at the end of February 2017. With her release, Vlad was moved out of Mannfred's faction and into their own; their first order of business is actually the destruction of Mannfred's forces.

In the TWW storyline Vlad and Isabella have both been resurrected for End Times (you'll almost certainly recruit the other ASAP, regardless of which one you're playing as). As a Lord Isabella and Vlad cannot be part of the same army, but get a massive buff to their combat abilities by being in the same battle. As a result you will spend most of the game using the two of them together and fielding an overwhelming combined force befitting ma and pa VC.

According to the TWW continuity, Isabella's chalice has a unique origin. After her resurrection she found that the Empire was sending a large army into Sylvania. After wiping it out and "interrogating" the survivors (she drained their blood, you dirty-minded wanker) she found out that they were actually after a particularly powerful [[Beastmen]] warband. After destroying said warband she found that they carried a horn always dripping blood, a gift from [[Khorne]]. Her Necromancers advised her to use a blood sacrifice so massive even she was shocked in order to bind the magic of Khorne's blessing, without any of the baggage of Chaos, to an object. She chose a Von Drak family heirloom, the chalice given to her by her great-grandmother Bathori (a obvious reference to supposed IRL vampire Elizabeth Bathory), and then wiped out two Empire cities to create the ultimate Vampire Crunk Cup (the 2000's called, they found your joke very funny) and give Archaon the middle finger at the same time. According to this canon Isabella's cup is a new thing, gained after her resurrection and invalidating anyone who replicated the Vampire Wars in a scenario using her rules (but let's be honest, who has ever actually done that?).

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Image:Vlad Isabella Old.jpg|The old models of momma and dadda Von Carstein. Works well as their "posing as human" forms.
Image:Isabella New Model GW.jpg|Her official model, 'Eavy Metal paintjob.
Image:Isabella Pro Paint.jpg|A much better paintjob.
Image:Sylvania Court.jpg|Vlad putting down uppity nobles. Only Isabella prevents him from slaughtering the room.
Image:C7f54fc10ea0e963e2fe16a382fb642a.jpg
Image:Isabella Fanart 1.jpg
Image:Isabella Fanart 2.jpg
Image:Isabella Fanart 3.jpg|A fanart redesign.
Image:Isabella Fanart 4.png
Image:Isabella Fanart 5.jpg
Image:Isabella Dont Take That Shit.jpg|Go ahead, say she's not a Lord within arms distance.
Image:Isabella Cosplay.jpg|Cosplay of Isabella, who goes by [https://www.facebook.com/pages/Clockwork-Dandy-Noodles/1384485345111908 Clockwork-Dandy-Noodles].
Image:Isabella Total War.jpg|Her Total War rendition.
File:Isabella von carstein end times.png
</gallery>

[[Category: Warhammer Fantasy]] [[Category: Vampire Counts]]

Isabella von Carstein

2021-01-26T01:54:31Z

2406:3400:20F:FFC0:B56B:A748:CBE0:D623: /* The Legend */

[[File:Isabella.jpg|thumb|right|400px|Mommy brought your sippy cup, Konrad.]]
{{Topquote|Happy is the man who finds a true friend, and far happier is he who finds that true friend in his wife.|Franz Schubert}}

The wife of [[Warhammer Fantasy|Warhammer Fantasy's]] resident Vlad the Impaler proxy, [[Vlad von Carstein]]. Unlike her counterparts however, Isabella is THE woman for her man. The "wives of Vlad" here simply refers to Isabella's many party dresses. She's stated to be one of the most beautiful humans to have ever (un)lived, and together with Vlad founded the [[Von Carstein]] Bloodline.

==The Legend==

A long time ago, in the [[Empire]] there was a land called [[Sylvania]]. Sylvania was known for two things: decadent nobility that bordered on [[Slaanesh|Slaaneshi]] debauchery and peasantry so oppressed that even [[Bretonnia|Bretonnian]] peasants would order them around with noses in the air (as befitting the French).

The Elector Count of the region was a man named Otto von Drak, known for being a batshit insane asshole who thought he was [[Valten|Sigmar reborn]] and would cheer himself up after a hard day of drinking and grousing about how shitty his homeland and everyone in it with having random servants and peasants tortured to death and impaled. Not exactly a sweet guy if you got to know him either, the only person he didn't dislike was his only child, his daughter Isabella von Drak. Isabella was a very beautiful woman, and a tomboy in her interests; though she rocked the traditional dresses she spurned the traditional hobbies of women (sewing, singing, cooking) because she liked traditional men's hobbies better (hunting, falconry, swordplay). Otto proved unable to have any other children, which caused a problem since law dictated only males could inherit Otto's position; he couldn't or wouldn't change the law so Isabella could be his heir, Otto deemed all eligible Sylvanian nobles unworthy of her and her flouting of cultural norms and Sylvania's bad rep abroad meant no foreign suitors wanted her.

Isabella was with her father at his deathbed; Otto himself shunned the administrations of priests and instead spent his final days cursing his misfortune, claiming famously he would rather marry Isabella von Drak to a [[Daemon]] than let Leopold succeed him. Not long after this, a man claiming to be a member of distant Empire nobility (with an accent that those of the court believed to be of [[Kislev]] origin) appeared and presented himself to Otto. He said his name was [[Vlad von Carstein]], and after giving his self-introduction asked to marry Isabella. Otto accepted out of desperation and his put-upon priest, Victor Guttman, married them that night with Otto dead by morning. Leopold's body was also found, having mysteriously fallen off the highest tower at the von Drak estate around the same time making Isabella the last von Drak.

Vlad immediately dismissed Victor Guttman, and repurposed the von Drak chapel. This continued village to village, until the worship of Sigmar was all but gone from the realm barring peasant shrines. Although the Sylvanians distrusted him due to being a foreigner who had eccentric habits such as only coming out at night and dining alone, he gained popularity by purging the nobles that were incompetent or [[Chaos]] [[Cultist-chan|worshippers]] and ridding the land of bandits and outlaws. Peasants still disappeared from time to time, but for the first time Sylvania had a ruler who wouldn't decorate his fence with the heads of men, women, and children because he stubbed his toe or demand all of people's life savings in taxes. Vlad quickly became beloved by the masses, and with the disappearance of every embezzling nobleman Sylvania became more prosperous. What was once the poorest province became the wealthiest, and throughout the Empire jealousy and admiration were inspired at the mention of the name von Carstein. Anytime Vlad visited nobility that didn't die from mysterious disease during his stay (symptoms include bloodlessness and a broken neck) they would pick up his little eccentricities and be graciously given the right to consider themselves a member of his ever-expanding line. Previously well-behaved nobles would sometimes require a second visit if they saw this gift as an excuse to return to old family habits; these spoiled children would find themselves put in a time-out. In their family crypt. With boulders trapping them in. See: Vargheists.

Having secured his position, Vlad and Isabella spent more and more time together. She knew he was a vampire from the start of course, but hated her position and her uncle so she sided with him from day one. She gave Vlad the names of the insubordinate nobles, he solved the problems. As time went on Isabella and Vlad grew closer.

She became very aware of herself aging next to him, realizing time was running out to be the same physical age category as her husband. She begged Vlad to vamp her, but he refused time and time again.

One night, while Vlad was away <strike>drinking enemies' blood like mixer shots</strike> paying a visit to his admirers (who tragically died while he was there) Isabella came down with tuberculosis and sent a message to her husband calling him to her deathbed. It's implied she may have instead poisoned herself, but either way Vlad crossed a nation in one night and from that point on, Isabella was a lady who enjoyed the night life. Shortly after this, the two of them visited a recalcitrant noble who turned out to be the leader of a secret Khorne-worshipping cult and slaughtered them all, with Isabella sifting through the skinned faces of noblewomen like a shopaholic at a mall, and by this point the two were actually and fully in love with each other.

After two hundred years of ruling Sylvania and improving it, Vlad and Isabella saw their chance to seize power. The Empire was in a state of civil war as three different claimants to the throne warred. Vlad called a feast with mandatory attendance for the remaining nobles - both human and vampire - that could not be trusted to not fuck up when he turned his head. Isabella led the turned nobility in a feast of the remaining human nobility while Vlad stood on top of the tower Leopold fell to his death from and read from a Book of Nagash, raising the dead of Sylvania. Vlad and Isabella's army of zombies and skeletons marched alongside the living armies of Sylvania, loyal to the only masters they'd ever known (seen as liberators from the past tyrants).

Every army, city, town and village their armies encountered were given an ultimatum. Swear fealty to Vlad and be unharmed (although their cemetery would be emptied for reinforcements) or be slaughtered to the last and become reinforcements themselves. They were quick to deliver upon their promise and be gone whichever was chosen.

In some battles, Vlad was seemingly killed. The first time this happened, the vampire Herman Posner fought his way to dominance and tried to claim Isabella but she refused him. Later that night Vlad returned and humbled Herman in a duel, and in the novel Isabella requested that she be the one to kill Herman, which Vlad granted. Vlad's magic ring provided him with the ability to tether his spirit to the world while Isabella (who mostly stayed with their loyal Necromancers as something of a medic) oversaw the welfare of the loyal vampires they ruled.

In the final battle at Altdorf, Vlad's only legitimate rival to the throne Ludwig was preparing to surrender when the Grand Theogonist (Sigmar pope) Wilhelm the 3rd was granted a vision showing the ring as Vlad's source of invulnerability. After months of siege, Wilhelm sent the greatest thief of the age to steal Vlad's ring. During the days battle, Wilhelm tackled Vlad off the ramparts of the city and they both fell on defensive stakes used by infantry, killing him permanently. Isabella, hearing what had happened, killed herself similarly to be with him. Ludwig's forces were withdrawn in order to deal with the invasion of the two remaining claimants, letting the remaining von Carsteins (notably [[Konrad von Carstein]] and [[Mannfred von Carstein]]) as well as the surviving undead retreat back to Sylvania.

===[[The End Times]]===
Vlad was resurrected by [[Nagash]] and declared to be the greatest vampire who had ever lived, much to Mannfred's frustration. Vlad only agreed to serve Nagash on the condition that Isabella was resurrected, proving that Vlad's only true motivation in life is Isabella. Along the way, Vlad actually DEFENDED Altdorf and was made official Elector Count of Sylvania in return for his service.

During the End Times Isabella was restored to unlife by the Dark God Nurgle, who warped and twisted her into an ideal tool so Nurgle can have his vengeance against the undead. Nurgle hated the sterility of the undead as he loved to create life; particularly the life that is harmful to the living. It's also implied he didn't like how Vlad saved her from disease when Nurgle is all about disease. So after raising her she was possessed by a daemon, and given a power that works against undead. It doesn't help that the daemon also twisted her memories and pushed the story that she was actually date-raped by Vlad and was his trophy wife rather than beloved partner, driving her mad and hateful against the Undead. It was compounded by the fact that most undead leaders, apart from Vlad, had treated her like dirt, while she didn't know the rest (such as Krell and Arkhan) so they meant nothing to her. What resulted was her becoming the only Lords choice for the Daemons of Chaos that wasn't larger than a brick shithouse (Oh, and the Grand Legion of the Everchosen army too, but we had normal-sized models there).

She encountered Vlad in battle in Sylvania, and the daemon offered Vlad a chance to be reunited with her by serving the Chaos Gods. Vlad showed badassitude worthy of Settra, and refused to serve Chaos and was horrified by what they'd done to Isabella. The possessed Isabella killed Vlad, who put up no fight because he'd rather die than strike her down. Though she was possessed and her memories had been altered, something in her still recognized Vlad as the man she loved and thus she felt some regret for his death. She was present at the battle of the Black Pyramid, her most notable feats being killing Arkhan (though he put up a serious fight and almost won) and distracting Nagash - who proved immune to her anti-undead powers - long enough for the Skaven to blow up the Black Pyramid.

In the end, they met again at the Battle of Middenheim, and despite their conditions both were united in their contempt of Mannfred. After a duel, Vlad gave Isabella his ring that kept him immortal right before killing both of them, sacrificing his own life so his love could be free. The ring's resurrection power brought Isabella back while death removed the demon. She was then discovered in a near-comatose state by Neferata (one theory is that Isabella knew what had happened, that she'd killed Vlad and that Vlad gave his unlife to save her, and was so horrified by this that she passed out), who carried her off to Castle Stierniste, where Nef and Khalida stood with the last few halflings and undead stood. Of course, everything was wiped out, but at the very least, both of them died as themselves.

Isabella and Vlad finally suffered a true death, as neither returned in [[Age of Sigmar]]. Their models were renamed as generic characters, and the only returning named von Carstein Vampire is their piece of shit son Mannfred, who is directly responsible for Isabella's death.

==On The Tabletop==
Isabella is part of the infamous Vlad/Isabella combo where if one dies, the survivor becomes more powerful (unlike their fluff). Said survivor tends to be Vlad after Isabella is used as a sacrificial lamb due to his superior killyness and resurrection powers, once again breaking lore.

The problem with Isabella by herself was being essentially a weak Hero level Vampire with no important upgrades. Her only benefit was a magic item chalice allowing her to let another vampire in her unit drink from it and restore a Wound. She paid too much for an iffy power, and thus was in no way worth using unless the plan was to buff Vlad with her death.
With the End Times 50% character allowance this strategy is more viable (ironically).
If one wishes to use a "V+I 4ever "army, using Isabella's model (as a generic Vampire Lord) in an Undead Legion list with Mortarch Vlad is the only viable way.
A proper von Carstein list of the era should use Corpse Carts as Vlad and Isabella were the first to use them, Black Coaches as they are the mainstay of Sylvanian vampires, and Vargheists/Varghulfs as the von Carsteins created them by locking naughty vampires in tombs until they went feral from thirst. Be sure to include some Empire troops proxying things to represent the loyal living humans of Sylvania.

End Times Archaon brings her back as a confusing mix of her old self with some new tools for the Daemons of Chaos and Grand Legion of the Everchosen armies. Chief among them is now being a Level 3 Wizard with Lore of Vampires & Nurgle, which is a curious mix. She keeps her Undead and Vampiric rules, but also gains Hatred (Undead), which works as well since any undead she wounded have to take d3 additional unsavable wounds and everything in base contact with her during the Magic Phase takes an S1 hit that ignores armor. Her chalice was also changed, becoming essentially a grenade that forces anyone that was hit by it to test Toughness or die. The issue with this is that despite being tougher, she's now more vulnerable since she can only recover a wound through the Lore of Vampires trait (And three of the spells, one of which is the SIGNATURE SPELL, involved will likely be useless unless you also get Raise Dead). HOWEVER, on her own she is absolutely awful, as she lacks the daemonic instability rule, so she cannot join units of daemons, which is her HOME ARMY.

==Total War==
In [[Total War: WARHAMMER]] Isabella was added as the first female Legendary Lord at the end of February 2017. With her release, Vlad was moved out of Mannfred's faction and into their own; their first order of business is actually the destruction of Mannfred's forces.

In the TWW storyline Vlad and Isabella have both been resurrected for End Times (you'll almost certainly recruit the other ASAP, regardless of which one you're playing as). As a Lord Isabella and Vlad cannot be part of the same army, but get a massive buff to their combat abilities by being in the same battle. As a result you will spend most of the game using the two of them together and fielding an overwhelming combined force befitting ma and pa VC.

According to the TWW continuity, Isabella's chalice has a unique origin. After her resurrection she found that the Empire was sending a large army into Sylvania. After wiping it out and "interrogating" the survivors (she drained their blood, you dirty-minded wanker) she found out that they were actually after a particularly powerful [[Beastmen]] warband. After destroying said warband she found that they carried a horn always dripping blood, a gift from [[Khorne]]. Her Necromancers advised her to use a blood sacrifice so massive even she was shocked in order to bind the magic of Khorne's blessing, without any of the baggage of Chaos, to an object. She chose a Von Drak family heirloom, the chalice given to her by her great-grandmother Bathori (a obvious reference to supposed IRL vampire Elizabeth Bathory), and then wiped out two Empire cities to create the ultimate Vampire Crunk Cup (the 2000's called, they found your joke very funny) and give Archaon the middle finger at the same time. According to this canon Isabella's cup is a new thing, gained after her resurrection and invalidating anyone who replicated the Vampire Wars in a scenario using her rules (but let's be honest, who has ever actually done that?).

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Image:Vlad Isabella Old.jpg|The old models of momma and dadda Von Carstein. Works well as their "posing as human" forms.
Image:Isabella New Model GW.jpg|Her official model, 'Eavy Metal paintjob.
Image:Isabella Pro Paint.jpg|A much better paintjob.
Image:Sylvania Court.jpg|Vlad putting down uppity nobles. Only Isabella prevents him from slaughtering the room.
Image:C7f54fc10ea0e963e2fe16a382fb642a.jpg
Image:Isabella Fanart 1.jpg
Image:Isabella Fanart 2.jpg
Image:Isabella Fanart 3.jpg|A fanart redesign.
Image:Isabella Fanart 4.png
Image:Isabella Fanart 5.jpg
Image:Isabella Dont Take That Shit.jpg|Go ahead, say she's not a Lord within arms distance.
Image:Isabella Cosplay.jpg|Cosplay of Isabella, who goes by [https://www.facebook.com/pages/Clockwork-Dandy-Noodles/1384485345111908 Clockwork-Dandy-Noodles].
Image:Isabella Total War.jpg|Her Total War rendition.
File:Isabella von carstein end times.png
</gallery>

[[Category: Warhammer Fantasy]] [[Category: Vampire Counts]]

The Orville

2021-01-26T00:52:59Z

2406:3400:20F:FFC0:B56B:A748:CBE0:D623: /* Season One */

[[File:The Orville.jpg|300px|thumb|left|The Orville from The Orville]]
'''The Orville''' is <s>[[Star Trek]] fanfiction with the serial numbers filed off</s> a comedy drama sci-fi television series that began as a homage to Star Trek, created by and starring Seth MacFarlane of [[Fail|''Family Guy'']] infamy-- [[Skub|No wait, come back!]]

The guy's a huge Trekkie, to the point of having a few cameos in Star Trek, who went to the FOX execs and pitched his idea for a loving comedic sendup of The Next Generation because he felt too many shows were going the grimdark route. Many of the executive producers and developers are notable industry Trekkies such as David Goodman (who wrote the ''Futurama'' Trek parody episode), or Trek alumni such as Brannon Braga. First airing in 2017, the series is about the strung-out not-Picard protagonist Captain Edward Mercer, played by MacFarlane himself, of the eponymous not-Enterprise spaceship "The Orville" ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wright_brothers#Orville likely named after one of the Wright Brothers]). His ex-wife Kelly is the first officer while the crew includes the beefy gay not-Worf alien Bortus, asshole not-Lore android Isaac, and John LaMarr and Gordon Malloy - an even more ridiculous parody of Harry Kim and Tom Paris. They explore the galaxy while dealing with personal problems and fighting various bad guys. The show has a mix of drama, comedy and commentary on real world issues.

==Season One==
The first season was supposed to have thirteen episodes but The Suits didn't like the episode revolving around (gay) porn addiction, so that got pulled.

The twelve episodes we got include the titular "Pilot" episode where Ed and Kelly begin their posting on the Orville while trying to build a professional relationship; "Majority Rule", with good (if heisted from ''Black Mirror'') commentary on social currency systems; "About a Girl", a Bortus-centered episode that explores his relationships during a vital part of his race's life cycle; and "Krill" - one of the season's three anti-religion episodes - this one named for the villainous alien race the crew have to study who follow a violently xenophobic religion.

Side note: Season 1 pushes anti-religious atheism hard enough to make Star Trek look like [[C.S. Lewis|The Chronicles of Narnia]] (even non-religious viewers complained about the heavy-handed slant, to say nothing of religious viewers).

The critics did their best to tank this season but most ''viewers'' liked it, a few recurring complaints notwithstanding; the show was greenlit for a second season.

==Season Two==
In the second season, the network got a little more confident in the show so, to save money, they aired Bortas' porno, held over from the previous one.

The main change here was writing out Alara a couple eps in. The character's actress, Halston Sage, was rumored to have briefly dated Seth MacFarlane, although it is just as likely that other factors such as her role on ''Prodigal Son'' or a desire for a pay increase could've contributed to or caused her departure. The dating rumor may have got the oxygen it did due to a later episode where Captain Mercer dates a too-young version of his own First Officer, showing that [[Derp|dating a co-worker and subordinate 20 years younger than you rarely ends well]]. This all may come back to haunt the showrunners as Alara was one of the better received characters. Don't worry though, Alara's character was immediately replaced with another alien of the very same race, gender, and profession... despite the lore establishing that Alara's career path as a security officer is unusual by her species' standards. Alara's final episode ''is'' a good sendoff for the character.

Throughout the Season Isaac gradually turned good, becoming the crew's not-Data member, and another episode relied on a plot hole where a Krill captured and imprisoned by Ed in Season 1 returned as part of a strike force targeting him with no explanation for her escape. Speaking of the Krill, they become the "lesser villains that need to team up with the good guys to fight worse villains" cliché, in possible asspull given all the villainous setup the Krill got so far (deliberately built around being violently religious and xenophobic with a sinister design invoking Nosferatu to the point of sharing his fatal weakness to sunlight). The team up happens because the rest of Issac's robotic race, the Kaylons, have gone [[Necrons|Full Skynet]] against organic life. The cast seems to be gelling better - rumored situation between Seth and Halston aside, the writers have a better idea of what the show should be and the humor is now used in service of the stories; again, Alara's loss aside, it's a step up overall.

==Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow==
The show is slated for a third season, but was cancelled by Fox and moved from TV to the streaming service Hulu. However, filming was delayed by the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Some commend The Orville as a well-made, witty breath of [[Noblebright|fresh air]] in an overly [[Grimdark|stagnant]] genre with a side of nostalgia. Others denounce The Orville as derivative, sophomoric, vain (some consider MacFarlane stunt-casting himself as the main character the height of vanity, especially given his tendency to push his views on the audience) and uncomfortable (eg; Ed's interactions with ex-wife character Kelly). Some think both sides have a point. Trekkies are equally divided on the show; many Trekkies [[butthurt]] over Discovery endorse The Orville, a significant number of Discovery fans hate The Orville, and a small and overlooked group quietly enjoys both.

As always, stay tuned for how this turns out.

== Would you like to know more? ==
*[https://orville.fandom.com/wiki/The_Orville Not Main Memory Alpha]. The wiki.

[[Category: Television]]