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Pirate

2023-02-03T17:24:19Z

2600:387:9:9:0:0:0:62: /* Famous Real Life Pirates */

{{Topquote|Yar har, fiddle di dee, Being a pirate is all right with me, Do what you want 'cause a pirate is free, You are a pirate!|LazyTown}}
{{Topquote|Oi! You'z lot! You'z part of my crew now. Any problemz with dat, you talk to da complaintz department. Dat'z me gun, by da way.|[[Bluddflagg|Kaptain Bluddflag]]}}
[[File:Pirate.png|300px|thumb|right|A pirate captain. The lack of limbs and eye just shows how hardcore he is.]]
'''Pirates''' are scavenging sea bandits that raid and loot anyone on their sight. Despite being the seaborn equivalent of muggers and car-jackers, they are a far more glamorous cultural icon. They were known to be pretty cool for having a ship with black skeleton flag, as well as being badass as fuck for fighting heavily armed navy on daily basis (or so the legend goes; while there were a number of impressive battles, pirates preferred easier marks like unprotected merchant convoys). Sadly, it isn't a profession with the best long-term benefits since they would most likely be hanged by the navy or died of scurvy [https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Easton (though there were exceptions of course)]. But if they did succeed, they became famous and feared by everyone, and soon that pirate's flag became something people fled as soon as they saw it.

Pirates, despite being a band of misfits, were quite varied. In real life they were cutthroats and bandits with ships or boats, while during later ages in fiction they were romanticized as something of a concept of freedom despite their infamy. In all cases, pirates are well known thanks to modern pop-culture depictions as anarchistic and anti-governmental. They opposed the oftentimes brutal authoritarian life in the navy and wanted to live out their own lives without others telling them what to do. The reasons were many and this resulted in pirates being (ironically) closer to the modern establishment. While in Europe kings and queens ruled through an absolutist system of rule, pirates had something akin to modern democracy (the crew choose a new captain from among themselves by voting). While slavery was normal and nations fought each-other, pirates did not care about racism as a whole as necessity and a desire for freedom meant a pirate crew could be multi-national and include slaves among their ranks. In fact, equality was common among pirates and slaves saw this as one of the few ways to feel free and equal. Some crews did not discriminate if you could do the job. They took in everyone who wanted to join. One particularly famous example was the Brethren of the Coast, a coalition of pirates and privateers who operated in the Caribbean. However, remember what they are; some pirates would force people to join their crew at times, had brutal punishments for those who broke their rules and some were known to trade slaves if the money was good enough.

A free(er) lifestyle is what attracted writers who presented pirates in a romanticized way, as misfits who seek out a life of freedom, portraying them as anti-heroes. This has some basis in truth, as some pirates began their careers as legitimate privateers in the service of their king until political winds changed, usually by end of a war leaving them effectively out of job. Others were genuine legends whose stories impress readers to this day.

TL;DR piracy is fucking awesome... unless you actually encounter pirates - usually in places like Burma, Nigeria, and Somalia.

==Famous Real Life Pirates==
*'''Edward Teach''' - Also possible Edward Thatch but better known as '''Blackbeard''', one of the original Golden Age pirates known for his [[Night Lords|intimidation tactics, which including exaggerating and weaponizing his fearsome reputation]]. His ''nom de guerre'' came from the fact that he had black hair with a long thick beard, put gunpowder and fuses in said beard and set it off to give himself a terrifying appearance (it helped that he was over six feet tall when most men of the time were about five and a half). He also often let his victims live to talk about their encounters with him. He was also quite smart, as he once raided a town (as in, blockaded the entirety of Charleston and held its sailors hostage) for medicine because [[Nurgle|most of his crew was riddled with diseases]] - [[Slaanesh|sexually transmitted ones]], then when some of the crew he sent to negotiate got drunk he marooned them in disgust. Another claim to fame was his flagship, a captured frigate he renamed ''Queen Anne's Revenge''; as an actual warship, this gave him another advantage over other pirates, who mostly used captured merchant ships, slave ships or schooners. He died in battle, [[awesome|fighting despite five gunshot wounds and nearly 20 sword slashes before being attacked from behind and having his throat cut. And not before severing three of his killer's fingers and breaking his sword]].

*'''Henry Avery''' - The most successful (and mysterious) pirate in history. How successful? He was named the king of pirates after looting the Mughal Emperor's treasure fleet, which was worth £52 million today, and seriously pissing off the East India Company. Shortly after, though, he vanished. Neither he nor his treasure was seen again. Some vidya speculate that he went on to found the pirate utopia of [[wikipedia:Libertatia|Libertalia]] in Madagascar.

*'''"Calico" Jack Rackham'''- A fairly unremarkable man by the standards of this list, who didn't do much major raiding and whose greatest act turned out to be the recruitment of Anne Bonny and Mary Read. While in life he may not have been much more than a mugger with a boat that provided a backdrop for the stories of those two women on his crew, he managed to leave his mark on history by flying one of the best Jolly Rogers out there ([[wikipedia:Calico_Jack#Jolly_Roger_Flag|or maybe not,]] but it's still a great flag).

*'''Anne Bonny and Mary Read''' - Two of the most famous female pirates. Here they get one entry as they have fairly similar life stories and worked together for a time: born in destitution, were disguised as boys early on in their lives, moved to the Caribbean where they took up piracy, and both became the lovers of Calico Jack plus renowned pirates in their own right. When Anne and Mary first met, both were disguised as men and Anne was attracted to Mary, so Anne confessed she was a woman, leading Mary to do the same [[PROMOTIONS|with rumors that they became lovers anyway with Calico Jack's approval]]. Despite their eventual capture, they only avoided execution because both were pregnant (although [[Grimdark|Mary died of a fever while in prison]] while Anne's fate is unknown except that she wasn't executed, with her either being released after giving birth to her child or also dying in prison), though that didn't stop them from [[awesome|fighting off their captors virtually alone, telling off Calico Jack for being a cowardly drunk]] and even [[Commissar|shooting a few of their crewwmates for being too drunk to fight in the battle that led to their capture]] (don't underestimate pregnant women).

*'''Edward "Davies" Davis''' - An English pirate active in the late 1600's who made a career of raiding Spanish silver shipments. Noteworthy for his opposition to slavery; Davies and his crew hit a number of slave ships, liberating their prisoners and recruiting some into his crew. Eventually paid off the British crown for a pardon and retired; part of his haul went into founding the ''College of William & Mary'' in Virginia, the second oldest university in the Americas after Harvard. Probably discovered Rapa Nui (Easter Island) although the records are disputed since he wasn't the first to actually report it to anyone.

*'''Walter Raleigh''' - One of the first English pirates; a minor lord who decided to try multiclassing as an Adventurer-Politician. Founded Virginia and a few other less successful colonies, and was obsessed with finding the mythical golden city of El Dorado. He'd rob Spanish treasure ships as needed to fund his antics, and then brag about it in front of the Spanish ambassador in Elizabeth's royal court. Even plundered the Queen's bedchamber, marrying one of Elizabeth's ladies in waiting. Eventually went from looting ships to looting Spanish settlements. The Spanish responded by telling King James that if he didn't have Raleigh executed, they would treat his attack as a sanctioned act of war. Raleigh was executed, but comported himself to the point of even chatting with and goading his executioner.

*'''Sir Francis Drake''' - The best illustration that the line between regular merchant, pirate, privateer and genuine military officer could be very tenuous at times. A full account of his long career can be found elsewhere, but let us just say that he started his career as a regular merchant occasionally getting rowdy with the Portuguese and the Spanish, then realized looting them for silver and gold was profitable and he became a full-fledged (and endorsed) raider. He was so good at liberating riches from them that he was awarded a knighthood by Queen Elizabeth, then later offered the post of vice-Admiral of the Navy when the Spaniards became fed up with the Anglos raiding them and spectacularly failed at trying to get even. Drake earned his warm reception in England (avoiding Raleigh's fate) by sharing the wealth to a spectacular degree. One time he put into port, the share of plunder he donated to Elizabeth was so vast that it was the '''largest revenue gain on the crown's balance sheet for that year'''. Also something about circumnavigating the Earth (Magellan would've been first had he survived the trip) but who cares, it's not piratey enough.

* '''William Adams''' - Served under Drake for long enough to get the title. More famous for going to [[Japan]] and becoming one of the few foreign-born [[Samurai]]. How's that for [[Multiclassing]]?

* '''Miguel Enriquez''' - Miguel Enríquez was a privateer from San Juan, Puerto Rico who operated during the early 18th century. A mulato born out of wedlock, Enríquez was a shoemaker by occupation before becoming a pirate. After working for the governor as a salesman he was recruited to defend the colonies of Spain, and commanded a fleet that intercepted foreign merchant ships and vessels dedicated to contraband. He was considered a pirate by Spain's enemies and became one of the richest men in the Spanish Caribbean the fact he was commercialy succesful despite being lowborn irked local nobility.

* '''Kanhoji Angre''' - An Indian privateer who spent 30 years forcing England and Portugal to pay him taxes. Probably the closest thing the world has seen to a pirate admiral, and considered today the ancestor of the Indian Navy. At the height of his career he had Dutch sailors coming to him for work hunting European merchants.

*'''Abduwali Muse''' - A well known modern pirate. Isn't as charming and heroic as the above but gets a mention due to being younger than all the above and the media coverage of his actions. Abduwali led small gang of teenage pirates from Somalia (he was 16-19 at the time, and the oldest among them) hijacking the ship Maersk Alabama, an unarmed container ship, from the Port of Salalah in Oman, with orders to sail through the Guardafui Channel to Mombasa, Kenya. Like almost every Somali pirate, he didn't have a good childhood due to living in extreme poverty, with food and work being scarce and poor quality; he turned to piracy to pay off a local warlord. When navy ships got involved, the gang took Phillips hostage and fled onto a lifeboat, resulting in Phillips' rescue and the deaths of every pirate save Abduwali himself, who got a 33+ year prison sentence in the U.S (still a serious upgrade in life standards compared to the hellhole of his home country, he even got a GED). Despite having no achievements that compare with historical pirates, his story did help create the film "Captain Phillips" - named for the Captain of the ship Muse tried to take - and a meme. (Look at him. He's the captain now.)

*'''Ching Shih/Cheng I Sao''' - Chinese Pirate Queen who not only led one of the biggest pirate fleets but also managed to successfully retire. She got her fleet through marrying a pirate, who gave her half his fleet. And when he died she got all of it by way of political maneuvering with her husband's family. The Chinese government tried to take her down, but she was so good that she stole their ships until they were forced to use fishing boats. She even created a set of pirating laws, including one that made rape of female captives punishable by beheading. She eventually beat the empire so hard that the Chinese Government had to sue for peace. She negotiated for amnesty for herself and any of her pirates that wanted to quit the life, so she retired from piracy to set up a gambling den and brothel.

*'''Cheung Po Tsai''' - Cheng I Sao's step-son and second husband, succeeding his stepfather's role and expanded the fleet. As with Cheng I Sao was granted amnesty and became a navy colonel. Often depicted in dramas and movies.

[[File:Serapis_Flag.png|250px|thumb|right|Totally legit, no pirates here.]]

*'''John Paul Jones''' - An angry Scotsman who sided with the colonists in the American Revolution so he could go on a big piracy spree up and down the English coast. At one point he showed up in the Netherlands and his ship was so badly shot up the flag was gone and the Dutch were like "you need a flag or we have to arrest you as a pirate" ''(also it wasn't his ship; HIS ship SANK in the battle where he captured the one the Dutch were now hassling him about)''. But they didn't like the English either so they looked the other way while Jones found someone to quickly sew a new flag ''([[Counts as|that looks nothing like an American flag and suspiciously like a Dutch flag cut into ribbons and sewn back together]])'' and he was free to go. He kicked so much ass and was so popular that one of the places that he raided actually gave him an official pardon in 1999.

*'''Gertrude Walton''' - A real life ghost pirate! The RIAA claimed that she uploaded pirated copies of over 700 songs despite her ''being dead''. Immortalized in a Weird Al song.

*'''Stede Bonnet''' - The "Gentleman Pirate," Steve was a former plantation owner from Barbados who got fed up with always being in debt and his nagging wife, so he decided to become a pirate. Bonnet is supposedly one of the pirates who originated "Walking the Plank." [[Noobs|Despite his gross inexperience]], he was able to attract a crew by promising a guaranteed wage as opposed to a share of plunder. Things went relatively well until he got bamboozled by Blackbeard (yes THAT Blackbeard) into giving up command of his ship and effectively became a hostage. He was later bamboozled again by Blackbeard and swore revenge, in which he surprisingly became a more competent pirate. But he was captured before he had the chance. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrGf4nJWVOU Dramatic Reenactment now included!]

*'''Felix von Luckner''' - Nicknamed "The Sea Devil", he is the best example of a Lawful pirate (okay, privateer) in RPG terms. Commissioned as an officer in the k.u.k. Kriegsmarine during WWI, he was given command of a three-master (at a time where most boats had switched to steam) with orders to do some commerce raiding and make himself a pain in the hindquarters of the Allies. And he did so. Beautifully. In less than one year, Luckner captured and sank no less than fifteen ships through guile and superior seamanship. And the best part? he did so barely ever firing a shot. Over his entire career, he and his crew killed only a single enemy soldier (a poor soul unlucky enough to be right next to a steam line that ruptured when Luckner ordered the enemy's radio shot). For the rest, he made sure everyone was safe and sound before sending his prizes to the bottom. And when he just became overburdened with prisoners, he ordered the latest his prizes to throw the cargo overboard and bring all his prisoners to a neutral country, and then they'd all be free. A pirate and and gentleman indeed, and a bizarre counterpoint to the way in which submarine warfare, the more modern way to attack shipping, was conducted in the 20th century.

*'''Klaus/Johann Stoertebeker''': One of the rare examples of pirates that predate the colonial era considerably and whose story survived the times. A German pirate captain hailing from Wismar, about whom barely anything is known other than that he entered public consciousness in the Hanseatic Cities Scandinavia and Northern Germany around the 1390s, when his gang was driven out of Gotland in the Baltic Sea and soon became a feared legend for Hanseatic seafarers that sailed the routes between Hamburg and Riga. According to legend, he was captured in 1401 by a Hamburgian fleet when a traitor aboard his flag ship disabled the rudder by pouring molten lead into its chains. When the Hamburgians dismantled his ship, they found that the three masts had been cast from Gold, Copper and Silver respectively and they used the metal to form the tip of the St Catherines Church in Hamburg from it. Stoertebeker himself was sentenced to death along with his crew of 77 men and his skull remains on display in Hamburg to this very day.

==Famous Fictional Pirates==

(For the sake of keeping things brief, we'll ignore Vidya pirates, and try keep it to Movie and Book pirates that your parents or nephews/nieces are likely to have heard of, depending on your age.)

*'''Long John Silver''', from ''Treasure Island''.
*'''Captain Hook''', from ''Peter Pan''.
*'''Jack Sparrow''' (''Captain'' Jack Sparrow, if you please), '''Hector Barbarossa''' and '''Davy Jones''' from ''Pirates of the Caribbean''.
** For that matter, the ride Pirates are of interest.
*'''Captain Blood''', from the book series and movie of the same name.
*'''Captain Harlock''', space pirate.
*''[[One Piece]]'' has a quite a few. We'll not list them, as it would take ''forever'', just like the manga.
*'''Captain Nemo''', from ''Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea''.
*'''Pirate Jenny''', from the song of the same name. Nemo and Jenny were then linked, as well as '''Captain Mors''' and '''Captain Robur''' in ''The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen'' comics.
*'''One-Eyed Willy''', from ''The Goonies''.
*'''The Dread Pirate Roberts''', from ''[[The Princess Bride]]''.
*Many, many advertising pirates.
*'''[[Luthor Harkon]]''', from ''[[Warhammer Fantasy]]''.
*'''House Greyjoy ''' and their ''' Iron Islanders''' from ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire|Game of Thrones]]''.

== Types of Pirate ==
[[File:Piratepainting.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Why do we bury our treasure? Why don't we spend it? On nice things? Or things we like?]]

'''Buccaneers''' - The first major Caribbean pirates, operating in large numbers throughout most of the 17th century until the empires became strong enough to drive them out. The buccaneers, or, to de-Anglicize the term, boucaniers, were named not for their raiding but for their use of boucans to smoke and dry meat. Largely situated on the island of Hispaniola, where the most profitable sugar plantations in the New World were situated, they lived in the jungles to the north, out of the reach of Spanish and French authorities. They were the outlaws of the New World, men and women who usually had no world to return to: deserters from warships and colonial militaries, criminals fleeing Europe, escaped slaves, everybody that needed a little bit more than just a job on a ship on a long voyage to hide. Originally, they just hunted and chilled out in the woods, raiding only occasionally when it was convenient, but when the Spanish started trying to wipe out the animals they lived on and trying to drive them off of the land, many of them moved to raiding full time, leading to:

'''The Pirates of the Caribbean''' - These guys are a little more complicated, so let's set the stage first. As soon as Columbus got back and the Spanish Empire, finished with the Moors and looking for someone else to beat up, really got going, the great Atlantic powers of Europe wanted to develop their own colonial empires in the New World. Unfortunately for everyone else, the Spanish and Portuguese crowns claimed everything they could stick a flag on, then claimed everything else just to be safe. This was about as enforceable as a speed limit in Texas. Spain was strong, but not strong enough that it didn't have to pick and choose what to defend, and England and France soon claimed large, also poorly defended chunks of the New World. While wars would rage between empires until Spain got its final colonial asskicking in the Spanish-American War, there was a constant low-key running battle between anyone and everyone in the Caribbean, as everyone was in easy striking distance of something and commerce raiding was easy. England, France, and whoever else could defend a fort and a flagpole for a few growing seasons relied mostly on commerce and plantation farming for their colonial revenue, but Spain had another, more pressing interest in the Caribbean. One of the first things that the conquistadors did once they got the Aztecs to stop sacrificing Mexicans to the gods was to start sacrificing Mexicans to the gold and silver mines. This revenue travelled across the sea to Spain in massive treasure fleets carrying absurd sums in bullion, coinage, and funny doodads stolen from temples. Stealing this money both funds your own operation and makes the financially unstable Spanish crown even more so, so the English began paying privateers to raid the Spanish whenever they were at war. As soon as the war ended(and, let's be honest, until it inevitably started again), there was a surplus of heavily armed ships and men who knew exactly how they could get very rich very quickly. Some colonial governors carried on an unofficial policy of "no peace beyond the line," turning a blind eye to raids as long as they weren't against their own nation's shipping. You can see where this is going.

A life of piracy in the Age of Sail was not fun. The utter chaos of exchanging fire at three hundred yards with guns that splinter twenty inches of layered oak then boarding another ship and beating the everloving shit out of everyone on it tends to result in nasty injuries of the kind that kill or maim permanently. Life at sea was hard; water and food went bad fast and you were stuck with a couple hundred other stinky fucks in a big wooden box that might sink if something, like a storm or a much bigger warship or some drunk idiot, fucks up the extremely complicated system of ropes and canvas that keeps it moving forward. To top if all off, if you were caught you were hanged, with not much change for reprieve. However, all of this was more or less the same in the merchant or naval service and being a pirate A. meant you wouldn't get flogged for not saluting some 12 year old kid whose father paid for him to be a midshipman, B. eliminated the danger of being raided by pirates, as you are, in fact, now a pirate, and C. paid WAY more than a sailor's wages and had a more equal distribution of prize money when a ship was taken than the navies at the time would give. For these reasons, piracy remained popular until the empires got strong enough to put a stop to it by force, and places like Port Royal, Tortuga, and Nassau, beyond the reach of the law or just being conveniently ignored by it, were filled with men who would get kicked out of the Disney Imagineering offices before the interview, even if they could sing perfectly. These are the pirates of pop culture, partly because of our enduring fascination with people who tell the biggest bullies around to suck it and survive, and also because these pirates encouraged ludicrous tales about their atrocities, as they made people surrender without a fuss (and probably impressed the whores), which would eventually blend with reality and become the tales that survive to this day of the lives of real pirates. They often used smaller, shallow-draft vessels that let them hide in swamps and rivers where bigger ships couldn't chase them, and the romantic images from Pirates of the Caribbean movies exaggerate quite a bit on how well-organized and well-armed they might be, but the flamboyant dress, fueled by frequent theft of expensive cloth bound for the colonial elite, was real, albeit probably extremely dirty. The Jolly Rogers, the black flags that said "Gimme ur shit n00b ill rek ur ass" to all merchant captains unlucky enough to see them, were real as well, coming in many forms but often featuring the same motifs: skulls and skeletons, hourglasses, swords, blood, etc. In regards to the popular legend of successful pirates burying their treasure; this was largely a myth perpetuated by Treasure Island. Pirates ended up taking most of their ill-gotten goods in the form of trade goods which had to be sold or bartered off, and the average pirate hand would piss away most of their gold on boozing and whoring. Occasionally, pirate captains who could accumulate large amounts of solid metal currency ''would'' bury treasure on occasion, usually just for insurance (and even then, it was only done sparingly): in the event that they were captured, they'd use their hidden loot as a bargaining chip to save them from the noose. This didn't work all the time, as the captors either couldn't be bribed or didn't buy the story. Still, the mystique of a lost and forgotten treasure trove just waiting to be discovered made for great stories in taverns full of adventurers, so legends about buried treasure persisted throughout the centuries in fictional writing. Plank walking is hardcore as fuck and cool and dramatic and completely imaginary, invented by authors and artists for those reasons. Why go to all that fuss when you can just stab the bastard and chuck him over the side? King George's Act of Grace, the actions of Woods Rogers, a pirate hunter as legendary as the pirates themselves, and the increasingly obvious fact that Britannia ruled pretty much every wave from Spithead to Montego Bay, mostly got rid of these guys, but they live on in our imaginations.

'''Privateers''' - Not pirates per se, but many pirates started out as privateers, or, in the case of those like Henry Morgan, waffled back and forth as the situation allowed. Roughly the naval equivalent to land-based mercenaries, these sailed on privately, (probably) legally owned ships who were employed by their home country to raid enemy supply lines (or in rare cases, rival nations that are not at war). Typically a privateer carried "Letters of Marque and Reprisal" to show the legality of their actions; it was only if they stepped outside the bounds of the letter or otherwise lost it that they'd become pirates. Some were even captained by commissioned officers of their host nation and provided access to naval facilities and supplies as de facto navy vessels. But even so, enemy nations would sometimes ignore the letters of marque (not without justification, since letters would often be rendered invalid or else forged easily enough to fool the illiterate) and hang captured crews as pirates instead of kept as prisoners of war. Nevertheless, there was rarely a shortage of eager sailors for privateering, as the potential pay for taking a ship as a prize was very lucrative. Of course the opposite was also true; under King George's Act of Grace, former pirates who renounced their ways would be pardoned and hired as privateers to raid the Spanish. Although they mostly did things like turn Port Royal into Ancapistan, raiding Spanish commerce at the encouragement of English merchants, some captains licensed as privateers did some pretty impressive stuff, usually combining their military obligations with the chances of huge personal enrichment. In a story too long to put here but worth reading, Henry Morgan himself organized multiple raids on Spanish cities, most famously assembling thousands of men and dozens of ships, all legally not pirates under his letters of marque, and sacking the city of Panama, making off with everything not nailed down, and living out a long, happy life retired inland on Jamaica, becoming one of the fat old bastards he once stole from and earning the respect and love of both sides of the law.

'''[[Vikings]]''' - Scandinavian pirates with badass beards. Despite common depictions, their helmets did not have horns. Existed long before the Caribbean pirates, and they sure made themselves famous all over medieval Europe. "Vikings" specifically were raiders, but the Norsemen often sailed their great ships through the rivers and seas of Europe on missions of trade and settlement, stealing, selling, and leaving graffiti as far away as Constantinople. Nevertheless, when they went raiding they were brutal, taking slaves, burning villages, and doing unspeakable things to sheep across northern Europe and the British Isles until the early Christian saints finally proselytized them into submission.

'''Corsairs''' - Also known as Barbary pirates. They mainly came from North Africa and most of their attacks were focused on capturing slaves rather than stealing loot, although they wouldn't turn it down if they found it. They operated primarily in the Mediterranean sea, but were known to sail as far north as Iceland, depopulating small islands that have yet to recover centuries later. Nations could avoid having their ships attacked if they paid a steep tribute to the Barbary states; it wasn't until the early 19th century, after the military revolutions in Europe created navies that could severely limit their operating range, that Western nations decided to fuck that noise and decided to shut them up for good. The young United States in particular participated in a number of campaigns over insults and stolen merchant ships, eventually launching a few attacks against the ports the pirates operated out of (One of these incidents is the source of "The Shores of Tripoli" bit in the US Marines' Hymn). The term usually refers to pirates in service to specific nations, as they were often employed as something in between a navy and a privateer fleet by the various kingdoms of North Africa.

'''Wokou''' - "Japanese" pirates that raided the coastlines of China and Korea from the 13th century to the 16th century. While initially Japanese their crew turned to be from all three mentioned nations (there's even Portuguese) and later the majority were Chinese. Wokou started dying down with Japan and Korea's collaboration efforts against pirates signed in the Treaty of Gyehae in 1443 and China's strengthened operations after the Jiajing wokou raids in the mid-1500s.

'''Sea Peoples''' - A hypothesized seafaring confederation that attacked ancient Egypt/Kemet and other regions in the East Mediterranean prior to and during the Late Bronze Age collapse. Nationality unknown, possibly from various places.

'''Modern Pirates''' - [[Grimdark|Mostly just poor 3rd world uneducated people who are survivors of various wars and regimes.]] Not too different from the boucaniers, really, they just got there by a different road. Their makeup is similar too: Former fishermen who had knowledge about the sea, war veterans who specialize in weaponry, or at least know where to get some, as well as technical experts who operates on electronic devices like GPS devices, [[Freebooterz|but they are still too green]] when compare to the [[Imperial Navy|actual navy]]. Not to mention the days when any wannabe pirate could find a merchant ship, arm her with some cannons and then go toe-to-toe with a genuine military ship have ''long'' since past. The US Navy, absurdly large since the end of WWII, is arguably singlehandedly preventing large-scale piracy from happening in the modern world, but even the Burger Fleets can't be everywhere. Today's pirates are armed with many modern-day weapons from assault rifles to rocket launchers that were salvaged from the conflict. They raid the Gulf of Aden, the Gulf of Guinea, the Straits of Malacca, and Indian Ocean using just skiffs and can travel hundreds of miles from home. Their targets tend to be two varieties: either slow commercial ships held hostage for steep ransoms, or oil tankers that they siphon raw petroleum to sell on the black market. They tend to be on the skinny side due to the lack of food and health care, and they tend to be serious and extremely determined, since most of them just want to survive and they had to turn to piracy when they have no choice due to the terrible living conditions in the war-torn countries they come from, you have to understand that most people under those circumstances are either begging drifters, ordinary criminals or turn to gang or terror organization membership. It takes a special kind of spiteful determination to go pirate in the Information Era. Modern piracy is still popular in places like Africa and Asia, and actually costs the companies anywhere from hundreds of millions to billions in losses. Due to this, its not uncommon to see heavily armed mercenaries aboard civilian freighters in high-risk shipping lanes to deter pirates from boarding and there are permanent international task forces deployed in areas with chronic problems. The modus operandi ranges from firing warning shots to force a surrender to straight up perforating the boat with CIWS fire. Cargo ships in turn have Private Military Contractors with sometimes better than military issue gear, water cannons and other deterrence factors. Occasionally a navy logistics ship gets mistaken for a cargo ship by pirates, leading to hilarity(for the warship, at least).

'''Internet Pirates''' - Hackers who "illegally" download foreign internet goods like manga scan, anime, books or newly released video games for free (though sometimes they do hack, acquire and release data that shady corporations want to hide or make certain douches pay for their crimes like Anonymous does from time to time). As technology advanced and the invention of 3D printer came along, the "pirate" is able to download miniature blue prints for 3D printers. These pirates, unlike their predecessors, need no romanticism to make them glorious antiheroes, fighting the reemergence of cable by swinging aboard servers and navigating hidden coves to evade the Copyright Law Navy. Unfortunately they do tend to smell the same.

'''Porch Pirates''' - people who steal other people's packages. Normally, these are just lazy douchebags who steal a package that's been left on someone's doorstep, and more often then not, the package isn't something worth stealing. More enterprising pirates, however, have gone so far as derailing cargo trains and looting them wholesale.

===The "Pirate Accent"===
We all know and love pirate-speak, what with all its "YAAAAR!"s and "YO-HO-HO!"s and all, but something to keep in mind, at least as far as historical pirates are concerned; most scholars agree that there is no universal "pirate accent," and that most of today's perceptions of it stems from the 1950 Disney film ''Treasure Island'', and the Dorset accent of Robert Newton's Long John Silver. While the West Country of England certainly has a long maritime history, keep in mind that pirates came from just about any sea-faring society, so you're more likely to see a blend of accents and even languages around busy trade routes and other piracy hotspots, such as the Caribbean or the East Indies. If you're doing voices for characters, the "pirate accent" is a good standby, but work up a few more English-speaking accents and throw in a little Spanish, French, West African, etc.

== Fictional Pirates ==
'''Swashbucklers''' - The Noblebright side of the Fantasy pirate coin. Swashbucklers actually overlap with genres outside of pirate fiction, such as with the Three Musketeers or Zorro, but there are plenty of pirate examples too. These guys are basically buccaneers who seek adventure and right wrongs. They may be exiled princes or other political fugitives forced into a life of outlawry. They are also masters of swordplay and trickery; so basically, they're more akin to musketeers or the legendary Zorro, but with ships of their own. Think of Dread Pirate Roberts from the Princess Bride or Captain Blood.

'''Dread Pirates''' - The [[Grimdark]] side of the Fantasy Pirate coin. Not to be confused with the legend that Dread Pirate Roberts cooked up for himself; these guys are the real deal. Take a buccaneer and mix in the supernatural or even eldritch. This type of Pirate frequently appears as the antagonist in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. See Ghost Pirates for a specific subset below.

'''Space Pirates''' - You know pirates, BUT IN SPACE! A seemingly possible concept. After all, the golden age of piracy happened because the naval powers in those day struggled to maintain power on the edges of their empire (new world) and the vast wealth they were extracting, which meant pirates had a reason to exist. Eventually, the great powers managed to extend control across the fullness of their empires and pirates ran out of room for safe harbors, ports and so on. In space however, it is infinite enough to run around from any Space Navy, and if there are enough valuables goods trades between planets, one could have a reason to do so. On paper piracy in space does seem possible, contingent of course on the idea of there being FTL drive of some sort, else our pirates have to be in stasis 99% of the time. Since space has no oxygen, pirates had to wear concealed power armor to board ships in order to loot and plunder. In some indie games like FTL, the crew can use teleportation device to board enemy ship without space suit, the same goes to the lighting strike ability in battlefleet gothic armada. And instead of making you walk the plank; they'll just throw you out the airlock. Another common convention is hidden bases on remote asteroids or space stations that don't orbit anything (which Star Wars dubs a "shadowport"). Despite rumors of this happening already, the only recorded crimes committed in space is a white-collar crime involving somebody illegally accessing their spouse's bank records during a divorce dispute, when US astronaut Anne McClain was accused by her estranged wife of
digital invasion of privacy while on the ISS.

'''Ghost Pirates''' - it is said if some pirates are too badass to die, they become ghost and continue to terrorize ships for fun. Some said it was the cause of some voodoo curses, other thinks they are just too tough to stay in hell. These dead pirate sail in literal ghost ships that are seemly broken pirate ships crawling with mosses and maggots while being seemly impervious to cannon fire. [[Vampire Counts|SPOOOOOKYYY]].

'''[[Airship|Airship Pirates]]''' - [[AWESOME|Piracy in the sky with steampunk technology]]. They'll still say "Yarr!" and "Avast!" but their clothing is decidedly more Victorian instead of Baroque, with lots of goggles and brass thrown in. [[Kharadron Overlords|Let's not forget the short-legged version]] for [[Age of Sigmar]]. There is exactly ONE example of [[airship]] piracy in history: when the German Zeppelin L23 captured a Norwegian schooner during the first world war. An instance of an airship ''privateer'' '''may''' have existed with the U.S. World War II blimp Resolute, which was reported in 1946 to have been the last use of the United States' power to issue a letter of marque, as part of a legal wrangling to put a civilian vessel into the chain of command rather than intending it loot anything, but no record of this mark being issued exists.

'''Warhammer Fantasy Pirates''' - A lot of pirates tend to operate either in the seas near Tilea or around Lustria, where there's always opportunities for gold-hungry adventurers (though death is also a high probability due to disease or dismemberment by dinosaurs). There are several different varieties:

* Most famously are the [[Warriors of Chaos|Norscans]] being the fantasy equivalent of Vikings, in that they like to wreck the Empire's shit by raiding their border and would also take the opportunity to explore the new world for plunder and destruction in the name of their gods. The Norscan are nature born sea faring adventurer that back in the old day, a Norscan by the name '''Losteriksson''' being the first old Worlder to settle in Lustria of the new world. There he became famous after plundered the shit out of it and founded a coast settlement named after his daughter that was born on this land: '''Skeggi''', then encourage even more Norscan to have a piece at the place despite its seemly high mortality rate from jungle disease, wild cold ones and Lizardmen. The Skaeling tribe in particular is famed for their seafaring. [[Wulfrik the Wanderer]] uses a magic longship to teleport anywhere whenever he wants or needs (because chaos gods) to go wreck some fools.

*[[Dark Elf]] Corsairs using Black Arks (which are city-sized FLYING ships) in their raids and like to take captives hostage to be sold into slavery. [[Lokhir Fellhart]] is a famous example, who likes to wear Cthulhu-looking mask that he likely looted from Lizardmen.

*The [[Zombie Pirates]] were a White Dwarf army list under the leadership of [[Luthor Harkon]], who formerly worked for [[Abhorash]] before striking out on his own for Lustria and establishing his own goddamn kingdom called the Vampire Coast. And with all the dead bodies of unfortunate sailors, he's got plenty of recruiting opportunities. Another undead admiral operating in the area is Captain Noctlis of the [[Dreadfleet]], a Von Carstein vampire who teleported his entire freaking castle into the Galleon Graveyard, and thanks to the mighty technosorceries of vydiagaems they are a fully-fledged faction in the Total Warhammer.

*There are also the Sartosan Pirates of the Principality of Sartosa (aka: AN ENTIRE NATION OF PIRATES) that lies south of Tilea. One of the most famous Sartosan pirates is the sea mutant [[Aranessa Saltspite]], rumored to be the daughter of the sea god himself.

'''[[Warhammer 40K]] Pirates''' - Ranging from [[Red Corsairs|chaos worshiper]], [[Dark Eldar|sadistic spiky ear slave trader]], [[Eldar Corsairs|cunning spiky ear glass cannon]] and the fucking [[Freebooterz|orks]], they are all badasses. [[Rogue Traders]] probably count as pirates too (corsairs would be the most accurate term), but they are first and foremost explorers of the Imperium (otherwise is [[HERESY]] and would probably be anally raped by inquisitions ship's nova cannon, or an [[exterminatus|cyclonic torpedo]]) but of course, unless they were pillage and plunder a Xeno ship, is fine lol. For /tg/ brewed 40K pirates, see [[Black Locks]] who are both pirates and [[Space Marines]]. There is also at least [[Space Sharks|one known loyalist chapter]] that does pirate things like abducting the entire population of a loyalist planet to bolster the ranks of their recruits and chapter serfs, but they work far from the Imperium, and don't really have the opportunity for easily recruited manpower. Desperate times...

'''[[Manga|One Piece]]''' - As the pirate king, Gold Roger, was executed, he told everyone that he hid his treasure at the ass-end of the world, kickstarting a golden age of piracy! Some are using this chance to amass riches or oppress the weak, others just want to be free from the dictatorial World Government. The world is vast and uncharted, people get anime superpowers by eating cursed fruit or training really hard, and there exist sea monsters that are bigger than your ship. [[Fun|Have fun]]!

'''[[Samus|Space Pirates from the Metroid Series]]''' - while not being human and lacking the Caribbean pirate stereotype, [[Rak'gol|they are aliens that like to raid and destroy vessels while trying to be the biggest of dicks to every other species, especially the Federation]]. They are led by Mother Brain with Ridley, a species of cyborg/gargoyle/dragon alien being their military commander. They all got shit on by [[Samus]] unfortunately...non-stop.

==Worldbuilding And Moral Considerations==

===Morality===
How evil a Pirate in a given setting defaults to has a few inputs that are worth considering:

* [[Slavery]] is a big one. If the people they're raiding practice slavery and the pirates don't, that's a very serious point in the favor of the Pirate (in fact, it was exactly this moral ambiguity that gave the Buccaneers what good press they had) especially if they free slaves. If it's the other way around (slave raiders on free peoples), the resulting pirates are probably evil villains, full stop.
**Keep in mind that many people adore Jack Sparrow for simply saying "People aren't cargo, mate!", which was Jack Sparrow's entire descent into piracy to begin with.
* How badly they treat captured crews. If they let them go once they've robbed the cargo holds, they probably are considered more "moral" than if they kill or enslave anybody who sees them. (Hostage taking may or may not count for this purpose; if it's purely for ransom, it's in a gray area, with the shade depending on how well the hostage is treated.)
** Enforced enrollment in the pirate crew is on the evil side, and also somewhat on the stupid side: having a bunch of people who don't want to be there as crew on a ship is usually a bad idea when mutiny is a problem. However even proper navies were known to do (and in some cases infamous for abusing) exactly that: the war of 1812 began in part over the British going overboard with forced enrollment. (Look up 'impressment', you'll get the idea.)
* How badly non-pirate sailors are treated by their captains: when the Navy press-gangs their crew into service and keelhauls/flogs wrongdoers around the fleet; a pirate ship is easily seen as a bastion of freedom in contrast.
* [https://youtu.be/XaWU1CmrJNc Pirates who don't do anything] are a thing in media. As they don't do the pirate thing, they usually don't count as pirates.
* How prone they are to mutiny is also a consideration; although any pirate crew is liable to mutiny, the causes of said mutiny can be important in determining morality. If you're sailing under Bill the Bastard has random crewmen flogged and branded for looking at him funny, stealing his hat while he's wearing it and original sin while never giving out a fair cut of the pay and hogging all the Grog from himself, mutiny is an extreme if understandable response.
* What do they spend their plunder on. Most pirates spend their booty on upkeep of their ship, cannons, guns, swords, booze, food, fancy things and, well, [[/d/|booty]]. But some will also spend it on their families while others decide to give some of it to an orphanage or school or something in their home port.
* Privateers, mentioned above, are usually considered more "moral" than their freelancing counterparts. ''Usually''.

Note that multiple kinds of Pirates can exist in a given setting, each with their own niche in the Alignment Chart (Even Lawful Good, Neutral Good and Lawful Neutral depending on where you draw the line between lawful navy executing 'commerce raiding' and piracy), although given the nature of Piracy, only a few Privateers will be Lawful of any kind.

===Worldbuilding Considerations===

The big one: Piracy is never a safe job, even when you're in port, and every action has a degree of risk to it. Pirates are criminals who endanger shipping, which makes people with money and power annoyed, which in turn leads to a good deal of energy being expended in getting rid of any pirate that causes too much trouble. Unless they're being backed up by another, similar power, or have decided to transition from just stealing shit to forming a functional republic with a navy and laws and borders, a pirate port is not stable. Even then it's not particularly stable either, although it's got a start on the climb to being a nation. Always remember: piracy comes with danger and is affected by politics much bigger than little ships with black flags. You'll present a more engaging setting if there's more to a pirate's life than you can see at Disney World.

With that in mind, pirates still need a safe port of some kind to operate. Ships require a lot of maintenance that can only be done when at rest, and the pirates need to be able to sell or trade their captured goods. This has many subtle implications, with a few possibilities:

* The Pirates are effectively sponsored by some port. This implies either full state sponsorship of some kind, or a state that effectively doesn't care about their raiding, usually because the Pirates in question only target the enemies of whoever owns the port. French Tortuga and Dutch Curacao were like this, being effectively surrounded by a target rich environment full of Spanish and ruled by governors who simply did not give a flip about what happened at sea. In particular, Curacao's natural harbor with a tight channel overlooked by a fort on a ridge made it practically impossible to raid from sea, so the Dutch DID NOT care how angry the Spanish got with them over piracy because nothing short of an invasion would dislodge them. Tortuga otoh got raided by the Spanish repeatedly, but there were just too many French and English on the island to suppress.
* The Pirates are disguising where their goods are coming from. This is harder then it sounds, as ships are usually easily identified, and any port that cares about contraband will almost certainly be interested in the origins of whatever goods are coming into it. This will be complicated and will probably require a reliable fence who can move the goods quietly and with the illusion of legitimacy.
* The Pirates are operating on a frontier, like the boucaniers did. Small colonies and settlements are usually much less concerned about the legitimacy of cargo if its something they can use. They may not be able to pay very much for it, but they often can pay in other ways such as provisions and repairs.
* Pirates who figure they can operate their own port are usually faced with the fact that most of the people who engage in piracy are not exactly reliable sorts, which is what is desperately needed in order to have a functioning port. <ref>See the (in my opinion, at least) fantastic series Black Sails for an idea of how that might work, or fail to work. If you can get past the first season being about 20% excessively long sex scenes with little plot relevance, that is. Thanks, Michael Bay. Seeing Charles Vane's sandy cock was not on my bucket list and it didn't really affect the story all that much.</ref>

For piracy to really catch on somewhere, there needs to be cargo worth capturing. A lot of stuff that gets shipped is very hard to sell, not just because it is the proverbial "hot goods", but because it is effectively worth money only to the right buyer (who is usually in one of those ports that care about contraband). You need something that is both valuable, and a commodity. Historically, sugar qualified, as did tobacco and other luxury goods; of particular interest here is exotic pets, such as monkeys and, yes, parrots (really any large feathered birds, since feather quills were used as pens). Whale oil (used in lamps) was another hot item, with whaling ships often making easy targets returning from hunts. But whatever the cargo, there is a fine line of intersecting interests, between the risks of accepting stolen goods, the risks of stealing them in the first place, and the potential profit. Of course, there's always robbing payroll ships, but if they were easy to hit everyone would do it.

For a nation whose government is fairly loose and rudimentary, the distinction between "Pirate", "Honest Trader" and "Navy" is sometimes difficult to make. Many pirates would prefer to go after foreign prey rather than people from their home ports. A down on his luck merchant captain might try to steal the stuff from a rival ship from a rival country if the choice is "make a profit, pay the crew, eliminate some of the competition and live to sail another day" or "starve to death/have a mutiny for unpaid wages/have the ship founder for disrepair/go bankrupt". Privateer work was common in times of war when said actions got sanctioned and sometimes a merchantman could have a few extra guns put on her and be made into a ghetto warship.

To complicate matters even further, even powerful and well-organized nations like France and England had 'prize money' laws in place that made capturing enemy vessels and their cargo a very attractive prospect: any ship captured at sea and its cargo became ''de jure'' property of the crown, but the king would generously compensate the crews with money/valuables once the prize was brought in. On top of that it wasn't uncommon at all for the winner of a naval engagement to quietly enroll any surviving sailor to replace losses and/or keep manning their now captured ship (the defeated sailors were generally down with this since the alternative was usually sitting in the hold in chains), no matter their nationality; so even a 'national' crew from an 'official' Navy ship could sound like a weird mix of freebooters hauling their capture in when coming into port.

If you get enough pirates in an area, they might come together and found a town. It starts off in some place with a natural harbor to shelter in storms and repair their ships between fights. Then crews begin swapping stuff if one of them has a surplus of gunpowder and the other has a surplus of food and similar. A couple of guys are left behind from each crew (as well as captives who could not be ransomed off) to collect timber, first when it's expected that there will be some damage taken in the near future and latter more regularly around a growing logging camp. A couple of docks go up to make things go more smoothly, as does a forge or two and a couple of vegetable gardens. If there are native peoples in the area they start showing up to trade, or occasionally raid necessitating some basic defenses.

Then some enterprising pirate cobbles together a pub, selling plundered Beer, Grog and Rum to passing pirates and shore-side workers at first and soon enough is brewing there own, especially when a few full fledged farms get going to provide produce. A still is not far behind. Soon enough the Pub has some prostitutes and by extension some bastards. Those pirates which had lost limbs to the job may settle down with their compensation package for an easier and steadier life ashore. Tents and lean-tos are replaced by shacks and shanties, then small cottages and after that houses. Workshops gradually come together and more and more of the population becomes permanent.

Soon you get a thriving and lively if disorderly and dangerous new settlement, which attracts the attention of whatever state power claims control over the area. A governor and garrison will be dispatched who start keeping out the roughest sorts, and things settle down into a more quiet and businesslike place much to the chagrin of old timers who miss the gold old days of loose women, hearty songs, exciting brawls and the odd knifings which made things dangerous and interesting.

==[[Pathfinder Second Edition]]==
{{dnd-stub}}
An archetype where you master the ins and outs of fighting on ships. It was originally a rather limited archetype that appeared on the 2018 playtest before vanishing. It would show up again in the Advanced Player's Guide, looking just as small when compared to other archetypes. This is likely because it's already relying on two other skills with feats that would otherwise overlap with it: Athletics (which helps with rope climbing) and Intimidation.

The prerequisites for entry pretty much boil down to "look scary" (read: trained in Intimidation) and in exchange, you can walk on boats without issue, learn lore about sailing and gain a special action that pretty much lets you go [[Errol Flynn]] and swing your sword while swinging on a rope.
[[List of Archetypes in Pathfinder Second Edition#Acrobat|see more]]

{{Pathfinder-2nd-Edition-Archetypes}}

==Mordheim Pirate Warbands==
One of the more popular "semi-official" [[Mordheim]] warbands, pirate warbands are based on the simple facts that a) there have always been pirates in the Empire, b) the Empire relies heavily on river-conducted trade, and c) this meant the titular city was a big port before the [[warpstone]] meteor hit. So now you have plenty of bold and/or crazy pirates sailing up to the ruined dock and daring to launch raids into the city.

As a warband, Pirates of Mordheim have the special rules ''Ship-Based'' (if you hire both [[elf]] and [[dwarf]] Hired Swords simultaneously, increase their upkeep by '''+20 gold pieces''', as the tight confines of the ship exacerbate their racial animosity) and '''Shanghai'''. This is their mainstay special rule, and what it means is that pirates can actually swell their own ranks by recruiting captured enemies or even the random survivors of Mordheim. Because there are several situations where a pirate crew can successfully shanghai a person, this rule gets complicated...
* Firstly: a Pirate Captain can only attempt to shanghai '''normal human''' warband members; nonhumans refuse to obey or are too dangerous even for pirates to keep, whilst Hired Swords and Special Characters have no interest in the pirate life.
* When an enemy Hero is Captured, instead of exchanging/ransoming them or selling them, the Pirate Captain can attempt to convince them to join the crew. Roll 2d6 and add the Leadership of the Captain, then do the same for the captured Hero, adding +1 to he roll of whichever side won the fight. If the Captain wins, then the Hero defects and joins his crew, becoming a normal Crewman - this includes resetting his ability scores and skills if necessary and swapping all his gear for stuff from the Pirate Equipment list. If the Hero wins, then the Captain simply pressgangs him; the Hero retains his original skills and stats, but loses all his gear for stuff from the Swabbie list and can be deployed as a Swabbie in subsequent battles. Presumably, if the Pirates Rout against a shanghaied Hero-turned-Swabbie's former warband, he rejoins them.
* When the Pirates win a battle against an enemy warband, roll a d6 for each enemy Henchman that was killed (1-2 on their post-game roll after being taken Out of Action); on a 4+, they actually weren't killed, but were instead dragged back to the pirate ship and patched up. The Pirate Captain can attempt to shanghai them in the same manner as a captured hero, as described above.
* If the Pirates discover a Straggler when exploring Mordheim, the Pirate Captain can attempt to shanghai the half-crazed survivor instead of the other options. This requires making a simple Leadership check for the Captain; if he passes, then you gain a free Swabbie (the Straggler is too bonkers to make it as a crewman).
* Similarly, if the pirates discover Survivors when exploring Mordheim, the Pirate Captain can attempt to recruit them. Roll a d3 to see how many survivors there are, then make a Leadership check for the Captain for each Survivor. If successful, the survivor eagerly joins and becomes a Crewman; they can either start a new unit as a basic Crewman, or be added to an existing unit, whereupon their Exp and Stats match their brethren. If the check fails, however, the Suvivor is reluctantly pressganged, and so becomes a Swabbie.

Like all Mordheim warbands, you start with 500 gold pieces to outfit your Pirate Crew, which can be no larger than 15 models.

A Pirate Warband's leader is, of course, the '''Pirate Captain''' - you must start with one of these guys! They start with 20 EXP and can gain special skills from all of the standard skill tables (Combat, Shooting, Academic, Strength, Speed) as well as the ''Pirate Skills'' table. They cost 60 gold, have the ''Leader'' rule, and start with M4, WS4, BS3, S3, T3, W1, I3, A1 and LD8.

'''Ship's Mates''' are your standard secondary hero; you can have 0-2 of these in your crew. Ship's Mates cost 35 gold to hire and start with 8 experience as well as M4, WS4, BS3, S3, T3, W1, I2, A1 and LD7. They have the ''Inheritor'' special rule; if your Captain gets killed, then one of the Mates will take over the warband, just like how the standard Mercenary warband uses Champions to take over. They can learn Combat, Shooting, Strength and Pirate skills.

'''Cabin Boys''' are the obligatory "bare-faced recruit" type hero. 0-2 of these guys, who cost 15 gold to hire and start with 0 EXP and M4, WS2, BS2, S3, T3, W1, I3, A1 and LD6. They can learn Combat, Shooting, Speed and Pirate skills.

Now, for Henchman... your standard henchmen are, of course, the humble '''Crew''' or "Crewmen". 25 gold to hire, and statted up with M4, WS3, BS3, S3, T3, W1, I2, A1 and LD7. You can have any number of crewmen you like.

'''Gunners''' are the ship's cannoneers and marksmen; you can only have 0-2 of these guys, and they have the same stats and cost as the Crew, but they get access to some more firearms - blunderbusses, handguns and swivel guns (aka miniature cannons), specifically, alongside the pistol and duelist pistols that regular crewmen and Heroes ca take. They technically have a special rule in "Swivel Guns is Dangerous, Matey!" but that's more a rule about the Swivel Gun - namely, you can only take 1 Swivel Gun in your warband, and the bearer splits off to form an independent unit, because nobody's stupid enough to stand too close to somebody carrying a miniature cannon that could go off like a bomb at any moment.

'''Boatswains''' are the ship's riggers, and make excellent scouts in Mordheim. They cost 32 gold, have the same stats as a Crewman, and you can only take 0-5 of them. They start play with a Rope & Hook and will never, ''ever'' part with it. They also have the special rule ''Expert Riggers'', which lets them reroll failed Initiative tests made to climb a rope, leap a gap, jump down, or perform a diving charge.

Finally, there are the '''Swabbies'''. You can have 0-5 of these, and you can only recruit them via the aforementioned Shanghai rule, though in a one-off game you get 2 Swabbies for free. Statwise, they have M4, WS2, BS2, S3, T3, W1, I3, A1 and LD6. They also have the largest amount of special rules of any model in the warband:
* ''Not Hired:'' You don't pay for Swabbies, you Shanghai them.
* ''Never Gain Experience''
* ''Rabble:'' You can give a unit of Swabbies any mixture of weapons that you like. Swabbies gained by capturing heroes do not benefit from spellcasting ablities or skills they had before.
* ''"Blimey, they got away!":'' If the Pirates Rout, all Swabbies who had left the table on previous turns successfully escape; remove them from the warband roster.
* ''"Don't mind them mates, they ain't true pirates!":'' Swabbies who run or get taken out of action don't count for the purposes of taking a Rout test.

The Pirate skill table consists of:
#: '''Sea Shanty Singer:''' At the start of Close Combat, the Hero can burst into song, forcing one opponent in base contact to pass an LD test or lose 1 attack for the turn. Doesn't work on non-living targets.
#: '''Sea Legs:''' If the Hero Falls, roll a d3; on a 4+, ignore all hits caused by falling. Additionally, if the hero is knocked down or stunned when within 1" of a precipice, they can reroll their Initiate test to avoid falling.
#: '''Cutlass Master:''' If the Hero is both equipped with a sword and in closed quarters (in cover, in a building, within 2" of a terrain feature, etc), then the Hero can Parry by rolling equal to the To Hit roll, as well as by rolling higher.
#: '''Booming Voice:''' Only Captains can have this skill; reroll for other characters. Once per turn, if on his feet and not engaged in close combat, the Captain can target a single pirate within 8" who has either faileds their test to see if they will flee combat or who failed their test to stop fleeing. The targeted pirate can immediately reroll their test.
#: '''Hardy Constitution:''' When the Hero takes a Critical Hit, roll a d6; on a 5+, the Critical Hit is downgraded to just a normal hit.
#: '''Swashbuckler:''' At the end of any Hand-to-Hand phase in which he is in base contact with an enemy model, his own or the opponent's, the Hero can make an LD test. If successful, the Hero can immediately make a normal movement away from the enemy without taking any hits.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
buccaneer MCV1.jpg
buccaneer MM 2e.png
Capt phip abud.gif| Abduwali Muse, a modern somali pirate, as portrayed by Somali-American actor Barkhad Abdi in film. Also a meme, apparently.
Abduwali Muse.jpg| The actual Abduwali Muse. Currently serving a 33+ years in U.S. federal prison.
</gallery>

==See Also==
*[[Dreadfleet]]
*[[Man O' War]]
*[[Poison'd]]
[[Category:History]]

Age of Enlightenment

2023-02-03T06:24:44Z

2600:387:9:9:0:0:0:62: /* Napoleonic Wars */

{{Skub}}
[[file:HMS Endeavour.jpg|300px|thumb|left|When you have tall ships like this you can reach across the world]]
The '''Age of Enlightenment''' (or often just '''The Enlightenment''') is a period of history from about 1600-1650 to 1800 in which Europe rose in prominence, strength and especially in knowledge. Roughly speaking, it was when ideas and events that were forming in the [[Renaissance]] came into their own. Maritime trade really took off during the Enlightement thanks to steady improvements in the art of shipbuilding and navigation, and new ideas on how to get a voyage off the ground as joint stock companies started to appear, to the point the era is often known as/overlaps with the Age of Sail. Instead of a ship's captain financing a long voyage or having a patron who funded it, both of whom could be ruined by failure, hundreds of people could invest in a company with a fleet of ships, spreading the risk about and lessening the financial impact should a ship or two be lost. This coincided with an increase in the population due to the introduction of New World crops and other such improvements in agriculture. Both of these led to the further growth of cities and the rise of literacy and the mercantile classes. These were people to whom education was of paramount importance, both for practical reasons (writing contracts, keeping inventory, managing a business empire, keeping track of world events that they could capitalize on, having a career in law) and because it was a way of accessing the nobility through marriage. Being a commoner didn't matter so much when you had a pile of money and could charm the local baron's son or daughter by acting in accordance with their increasingly complex fashions and etiquette which often involved studying the [[Classical Period]].

The result of all this was that there was a growing class of wealthy, politically marginalized people reading up on the latest developments in art, culture, science, and philosophy, then sharing their ideas through letters, meetings, and books and responding to others' ideas. Many of them began to question the established order of things and old dogmas such as the notion that the path to knowledge was through revealed truth and submission to religious and monarchical authority simply because they were the ones in power. From the classical age they drew upon ideals of reason, logic, and discussion, but rather than just blindly accepting the words of Aristotle or Plato or replicating the "pure discussion/rhetoric" form of philosophical discourse, they began backing up their claims with systematic observation and review by their peers. From their works and experiments gradually saw a new surge in natural philosophy which would gradually give rise to modern science and with it breakthroughs in in engineering.

Their efforts generated useful results in a variety of fields, which got them more patronage from the established powers. Science became popular with many monarchs of the time for practical and political gain, as who would not want to have an enlightened monarch with a keen eye for modernization? That said, the merchant class (or bourgeoisie) also extended its reach into the political sphere and promoted the idea that everyone (for a certain value of everyone) had legal rights. In England the House of Commons rose in prominence in the British government due to political dealings (including a coup by a pretender king that involved the British Army looking the other way) and dynastic squabbles. These ideas would be taken further a century later in England's colonies during the American Revolution and further still in the French Revolution.

This has been a rather rosy description of this period so far, though there is a fair deal that should not be overlooked. Spain and Portugal both ruled over huge chunks of South America, setting up garrisons, missions, mines, plantations, and ports to suck the regions dry of resources while the Dutch did similar horrible things to [[Dune|monopolize spice production]]. The notion of racial [[slavery]] arose as well as racial pseudosciences such as phrenology, all of which led to a formalization of prejudices that had gotten their start years earlier. The assholish "racism due to arbitrary differences" thing started here, rather than the entirely practical resource-related hatred in which [[Settlers of Catan|you hated those dickheads in the next country over because they were sitting on a giant stockpile of wheat and iron ore and refusing to trade for your sheep and lumber]]. Nations got into wars specifically to impose bullshit tariffs so they could screw each other over. The dominant economic outlook was mercantilism, which basically said that trade was a zero-sum game in which someone always got screwed over, therefore a country should always seek to screw over everyone else.

One particularly low part of the period was scurvy. This disease killed millions of sailors in a prolonged and horrible fashion, and nobody could identify the cause. Today we know that scurvy is caused by a lack of Vitamin C, but it took till '''1753''' for James Lind to publish a paper on how citrus fruit and acidic foods cured and prevented scurvy and even then he wasn't entirely sure ''why'' these things worked. It wouldn't be till the early [[Industrial Revolution]] that sauerkraut (which is preserved with salt and fermentation instead of heat) was issued to prevent scurvy. We now know that scurvy affected sailors because they ate entirely preserved food and, in addition to the general difficulty in preserving fruits and vegetables, heat destroyed the vitamin C. Further, vitamin C dissolves in water and is lost if the cooking water is discarded, which means that even if you did have preserved food with vitamin C, boiling vegetables (one of the most common preparation methods) outside of a stew/soup will kill the nutrition value. Still even if the exact reason why was unknown, citrus fruits and juices were ''eventually'' carried by ships to ward off scurvy. Lemons were generally the fruit of choice for this purpose, except for the British whose colonies instead grew limes, hence why the British to this day are known derogatorily or semi-derogatorily as "''Limeys''."

==The Golden Age of Piracy==
If you have ever seen a pirate movie, or read ''Treasure Island'', or seen ''Muppet Treasure Island'', then this is the period where it probably takes place. Between the 1650s and the 1730s, organized and legal privateering (authorized by a letter of marque and reprisal) became a very common weapon in the numerous wars between the colonial European powers in order to disrupt the movement of gold, spices, trade goods, and other stuff from the American colonies and Indian companies to the European mainland. This period was quite brutal for many colonies involved; for example, the settlement of Maracaibo (located in modern day Venezuela) alone was sacked 3 times in the span of just ten years.

This first golden age paled in comparison to the second, which lasted between 1707 and 1721. The end of the War of the Spanish Succession, the first major pan-European war of the century, left a lot of trained and press ganged seamen unemployed. In turn, these sailors used their newfound skills to take over several ships and plunder their way to endless riches. At least in theory. While being a pirate earned you a modicum of freedom when compared to your average European laborer at the time (or a lot in the case of blacks, a not insignificant number of pirates of that time were former slaves) life at sea was very harsh, and by the time the European powers started to crack down on piracy in earnest, the risks of piracy started to outweigh the benefits to many. It should be noted that your typical pirate crew was fairly democratic: when a pirate crew formed they laid out a charter with rules that were generally followed, pirate captains were elected by all crewmen and loot was split fairly evenly and there were even clauses for compensation for those guys who lost a hand or something in battle.

The end of the golden age is universally agreed to be around 1721, when the last former privateers that still operated from Madagascar were hunted down and mostly executed. The Barbary States of north Africa briefly attempted to revitalize piracy in the late 1700s to profit off the African slaves that were still in high demand in the US, where slavery was legal (even more so when the Great Powers of Europe one by one outlawed slavery in their colonies), but the Royal Navy and the newly formed US Navy stepped in pretty quickly to shut that down.

For more roleplaying and worldbuilding inspirations, consult [[Pirate|this page]].

== American Revolution ==
{{topquote|No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.|United States Constitution: Section 9, Article 8}}

From 1607 to 1776 England (both in terms of the English Crown and English people going to lands claimed by the Crown) had established a series of colonies on the eastern coast of North America which grew in population, wealth and general capacity. While the colonies were initially staunchly loyal to Britain, time and distance conspired to start driving a wedge between parent and child. The aftermath of the Seven Years' War threw the problem into sharp relief for a variety of reasons: new taxes were levied on the colonies that they had no say in to pay for said war; Parliament enacted mercantilist policies in which the colonists were forbidden from trading with anyone other than the British home islands and could not have any industry of their own and signed treaties with natives whose land the colonists wanted for themselves; the British Army was allowed to quarter its soldiers in people's homes; and the passing of laws which allowed Catholics to hold public offices in newly conquered Quebec. Unrest gradually built until it came to a head with the outbreak of war between the colonials and the English government and its loyalists. The colonials threw together a rag-tag government to train and mobilize and support a new army with support from the French and eventually managed to win out against the English forces and achieve independence. After a bit more political shuffling when it became obvious that a loose confederacy would not work the United States of America was born.

The important thing here was that the new United States was a nation fundamentally built on Enlightenment ideals. Socially speaking, not much changed in the immediate aftermath of the American Revolution. The Thirteen Colonies had been controlled by an elite group of wealthy, educated men who were subject to the crown but mostly handled local affairs on their own, and afterwards the early US was controlled by the same men alongside some representative government without having to deal with crown officials. However the system of government which was created was one which broke with the longstanding European tradition of hereditary [[monarchy]] backed by the church. The British had already started using some of these ideas in the Home Islands, and said ideas were transplanted to America along with the colonists, especially the Magna Carta. That said, America's Founding Fathers had no truck with kings or lords or the idea that the right to rule was bestowed on people chosen by God, which supposedly made them fundamentally better human beings. Instead, they believed that governments should be accountable to their people, and the Constitution and its appended Bill of Rights would be the ultimate law of the land that no ruler could overturn.

This is not to say that they got everything right the first go. The franchise was still limited to only white men of means and even then there would be some residual property requirements which would not fully fade away until about 1830. The issue of slavery in particular would fester until it came to a head in the American Civil War and was only abolished with the Emancipation Proclamation and the 14th Amendment. Even so, the US would be a prototype of democratic government which many people would seek to emulate elsewhere, to various degrees.

== Situation in Europe ==
Europe experienced drastic changes in this period in both positive and negative ways. Christian world dominance and the rapid rise of European powers that began with the Age of Colonialism was practically cemented in this time-period. New colonial powers, such as England, France, and the Netherlands started to participate in colonial expansion along with the established colonizing powers of Spain, Portugal and the often overlooked Denmark, whose colonial history actually preceded those of the former. Society and state structures became much more centralized as monarchs started to crack down on the privileges of feudal lords, building the first modern centralized nation states. As a side effect, the petty and middle-class nobility saw their importance and influence dwindle rapidly as they were being demoted from local lords of their own fiefdoms to being figureheads in political plays, all instigated by their monarchs to keep them from thinking too hard about this "being forced to hand power to the king" business. While this was the typical development for most of the western hemisphere, there were a couple of nations where this development didn't take place in the archetypical French way, with the biggest outliers being England, where Parliament became an instrument of commoners and nobles to negotiate with the king and vice versa and most notably Poland-Lithuania, where the local nobility resisted the idea of handing over power to the monarch so fiercely that they turned the game on its head and effectively seized total control of the state from the king, building one of the first rudimentary, if dysfunctional and easily corrupted, modern-style democracies.

This was also the time when the Ottoman Empire started its long, steady decline after the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent. The fact that they had a civil war due to a lack of succession protocols was a part of this, as was general conservatism, a bureaucracy which became increasingly prone to thinking exclusively in religious terms, a corrupt military and the rise of their European rivals. So naturally, everything changed when absolutism kicked in. This is also the period when [[Kislev|Tsardom of Russia]] emerged with a claim to being the Third and Final Rome and began giving regular beatings to the Ottomans. In particular, Peter the Great and Catherine the Great oversaw considerable modernization and expansion of the country, leading Russia to Great Power status in fairly short order. Much of the crisis also had to do with mismanagement and general non-uniform administration and maltreatment of the empire's Christian population. Also, despite being called "Turkey" anachronistically and historically, the Ottomans were an extremely elitist state, where even the word "Turk" was associated with nomadic Turkoman or Anatolian peasants and was used like we use the word "retard" nowadays. Due to this, the court elite were alienated from the common population of the Empire and ended up having revolts every time they didn't win a war and had to raise taxes to pay for their fuckup.
[[file:Louis XIV of France.jpg|250px|thumb|Right|King Louis XIV called himself the "Sun King" because he was the man around whom all the other kingdoms of Europe orbited and were bathed in his radiance. He and his court were not known for subtlety.]]
Undoubtedly, the star of the Enlightenment was France, which emerged as a global power player and the place from where practically every relevant ideology of the time originated. First thing to note is the aforementioned absolutism. Under Louis XIV, the power of the aristocracy was sharply curtailed in favor of a stronger central government and expanded French influence throughout the world via wars and diplomatic pursuits. Over time, however, absolutism practically begat the ideas of the Enlightenment, conceptualized by the French philosophers that opposed the tyrannical rule of the monarchs and supported democratic and free states along the lines of the classical societies they'd grown up studying.

That is to say, not everything was all well and good at the time. The rise of mass armies and the evolution of firearms into relatively reliable and efficient killing tools made wars larger, costlier, and bloodier. Numerous countries such as England experienced civil turmoil. France, after enjoying nearly a century and a half of glory and stability under the reign of two kings (the aforementioned XIV and his great-grandson Louis XV ''The Well-Beloved''), had become decadent, vain, and was beginning to have financial troubles that impacted the lives of the general populace (who increasingly resented the gross wealth of the aristocracy). The latter combined with Enlightenment ideals to lead to the events mentioned below.

== French Revolution ==
The French Revolution came about for various reasons: the spreading of new ideas, natural disasters, the effects of the Little Ice Age that increased the price of grain. However, the lion's share of the fault lay with the generally decadent and increasingly useless aristocracy. In a financial report by Jacques Necker, minister of finance under Louis XVI, [[Bretonnia|the largest part of the state expenses went to the pensions and salaries of useless nobles, financed by taxes and the labor of peasants and serfs that lived like shit]]. France faced a large financial crisis at the time, amplified by the country's participation in numerous wars.

To deal with the issue, Louis XVI invited the [[High Lords of Terra|Estates General]], the traditional representative body of all France, to assemble. However, there was a simple problem with the Estates: [[derp|it was retarded]]. French society was divided into three estates: the nobles, the clergy, and everyone else, and each got one vote in the Estates General. The problem here was that the nobles and the clergy together represented maybe two or three percent of the entire population, but they still got equal voting rights in the Estates. So yes, 98% of the population could not overcome the rest by voting. With that being said, some of the nobles and priests were also discontent with this rigged and illogical system, so when the Estates General failed, some joined the Third Estate when it refused to disband. That and the dismissal of the lowborn Necker led to increasing anger and unrest, culminating in the storming of the Bastille, which sparked off the French Revolution.

The revolutionaries at first sought the establishment of a constitutional monarchy, and they even guaranteed the safety of the king. However, the strongly negative and outright threatening reaction to the whole thing from the neighboring monarchies, combined with the fact that Louis XVI was a fucking moron who tried to flee the country, led to complete abolition of the monarchy and Louis being placed on trial and executed, with one vote deciding everything. Numerous revolutionaries actually opposed the execution, mostly citing that this would lead to wars with neighboring countries.

However, a more serious concern was the fact that executing the king would set a VERY negative precedent in general and would mark the start of much, much, much more political executions and repressions. This fear turned out to be entirely and sadly justified, as after Louis XVI's execution, everything went downhill. Once the provisional government fell under the sway of the most radical revolutionary faction, numerous revolutionaries were sent to the guillotine on flimsy pretenses, peasants and workers lynched former nobles, militant anti-Christians desecrated churches and cathedrals and strove to remove all Christian influence, which only reinforced the hatred of the pious Christian population towards the revolution which deepened the chasm in society, and in general chaos took over the country. It became obvious that an iron-fisted ruler was needed to bring back stability and order and such a ruler appeared in the form of a certain Corsican manlet.

== Napoleonic Wars ==
Napoleon Bonaparte came into power as a Consul after the coup d'etat, declaring "Gentlemen, Revolution is over". This marked the beginning of the Napoleonic era. Sadly, nowadays the much more noble deeds of Napoleon are ignored. He stabilized the country, created an effective administration, built up France's infrastructure and adopted and spread the metric system, much to the despair of later generations of freeaboos. His magnum opus was the Napoleonic Code that went on to become the legal basis for numerous modern day countries. On a personal level, he was known to be honorable and respectful even to his enemies. One example is his admiration of Pyotr Bagration, a Georgian general who served under the Russian Empire and engaged Napoleon at Borodino.

However, he is mostly remembered for his schemes and utterly devastating wars of conquest. He invented new doctrines of warfare that concentrated on extensive usage of artillery; he had been an artilleryman by trade prior to the Revolution and still regarded it as the pinnacle of warfighting technology. Later, he abolished the republic and proclaimed himself [[God-Emperor of Mankind|Emperor of France]]. Under his rule, France engaged in numerous wars against virtually everyone else in Europe. In short order he smashed the Austrian, Prussian, Spanish and Russian armies and saw most of the continent fall under his influence, with his brothers and other close relatives claiming half a dozen thrones across Europe. His families usurpation of the spanish throne an example of said expansion. He also blockaded Great Britain from continental trade and instigated the final collapse of the Unholy German Confederation (aka the Holy Roman Empire). For a while, it seemed like nothing and no one could stop Napoleon; the British were still fighting in Portugal and Spain, but nobody else in Europe thought that was going to end in anything other than another negotiated peace in France's favor. Then Napoleon fell victim to one of the classic blunders and decided it was time to invade the Russian Empire. While both sides engaged in battle at first, the [[Kryptman|Russians eventually realized that they couldn't beat Boney in a straight fight and turned to a scorched earth policy, burning their own farms and settlements to the ground as they retreated into the vast Russian interior. When Napoleon finally reached Moscow, he took an empty and burned city.]] Out of supplies, freezing, exhausted, and being raided by Russian [[Vostroyan Firstborn|Cossacks]] and guerrillas, Napoleon's Grande Armee was forced into a long, cold, and ugly retreat. Sources vary on exactly how big the Grande Armee was at the beginning and end of the invasion. The most famous number, given in an infographic by Charles Joseph Minaud, gives a total strength of 450,000 French troops going in and 10,000 coming out, while others give numbers as high as 650,000 initially and 70,000 survivors at the end of the campaign. Either way, Napoleon's magnificent army was in ruins, his reputation for invincibility had been permanently shattered, and France was drained of manpower. The French army was finally defeated by a coalition of forces at Leipzig despite the Emperor's determination.

Napoleon was forced to abdicate and was first exiled to the island of Elba off the coast of Italy, but after the whole Hundred Days incident where he came back to France and was instantly re-proclaimed Emperor before Wellington and Blucher slapped the bitch out of him at Waterloo, the British opted to ship him all the way to the island of Saint Helena, a tiny little speck in the middle of the far South Atlantic, where he spent the remainder of his life. Once the man that shook the very foundations of the continent, he now lived in exile and disgrace with his pride and confidence shattered. This marked the start of the Congress of Vienna, which acted as the foundation for European international politics until the outbreak of World War I a century later.

==Europe After Napoleon==
With the dawn of the Epoch, the Continent and the world was considerably changed. In this period, Europe became the dominant region of the world, but it was also wracked by constant turmoil. With the development of more efficient gunpowder and the adoption of Napoleonic tactics, warfare became even more deadly and unforgiving, with artillery being used more prominently. The new ideologies shook the old regimes and the French Revolution sparked later revolutionary and civil movements in other countries throughout the 19th century. The Congress of Vienna formalized the rule of five major powers throughout the world. After the Napoleonic Wars, although she retained her core territories, France became extremely weakened and was slowly overshadowed by the United Kingdom as it entered its Golden Age. [[Industrial Revolution|But that story continues elsewhere]].

==Notes==
* This period in military history has been called "the Age of Lace Trimmed Warfare". Between muskets and field [[cannon]]s, armor was gradually abolished due to the immense cost of the new standing armies that gradually replaced the mercenary armies of former periods, while the idea of giving every soldier in your army clothes that are all the same gradually caught on. The fancier the better, since an army which still looked well dressed after a month on campaign was obviously disciplined and professional; iconic examples included the French musketeers and the English redcoats. Big blocky formations gave way to lines of soldiers two or three ranks deep at most which could bring as many muskets to bear as possible, supported by cavalry with sabers, lances, and pistols.
** The way armies were fielded also changed dramatically. The Thirty Years War, while mostly fought on German soil, showed every participant how difficult it was to keep mercenaries in line, especially when the money dried up or there was nothing left to plunder. The big mercenary and levy armies of prior centuries gave way to the standing army, sworn to serve King and Country as a cadre of professionally trained and drilled soldiers and officers. Improvements in bureaucracy, more effective taxation and a population boom also made conscription a viable option, although it would be some time until that idea truly caught on. The military organization reforms introduced in these times also persist to this day, with terms like lieutenant, platoon, and division coming into common use for the first time.
* Newspapers! Technically they started up in the mid 1550s in Italy and there were government publications for the Imperial Chinese bureaucracy before that, but from the late 17th century onward in Europe every major city had a print shop which regularly stamped out broadsheet newspapers for general consumption by those who had a few spare farthing, allowing them to keep track of events both at home and abroad. In particular, newspapers used the story of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Hole_of_Calcutta Black Hole of Calcutta] to gather public support in England for the gradual conquest of India and later played a role in both the American and French revolutions.
* The Seven Years' War was fought during this period. This was the first truly global conflict in human history, as it saw fighting on every continent save Australia and Antarctica.
* Pretty much everywhere in the world would be affected in some way by the European powers by end of the Age of Enlightenment. India would fall under the control of the British East India Company, China's economy would become reliant on Western silver, Africa would be affected by the slave trade and the Americas and eventually Australia would be colonized and settled. Even the still-isolationist Japanese adopted a surprising amount of Western ideas through the Dutch, in what's known as Rangaku.
* Speaking of the British East India Company, corporate warfare and piracy were rife in this era, and the line between the two was vanishingly thin. The distinction between pirate and privateer was often a matter of one's point of view, and even the proper navies were down for a bit of prize-taking. The various trading companies were practically real-life [[Rogue Trader]] dynasties, with the power to raise armies and wage war in the name of profit. For example, in 621.M2 the VoC executed [[Exterminatus]] on the Banda Islands so they could import more [[Grimdark|cooperative slaves]].
* In England and France at this time a few engineers were looking into more effective ways of producing thread, making cloth, casting iron for cannons and sowing seeds with various contrivances. One particular issue they had to deal with in England in particular was the matter of fuel. Wood was becoming scarce during the Enlightenment as more people were burning it and more ships were being built. To save on wood, people began burning coal in large quantities instead, but their mines had a nasty tendency to flood and kill everyone who was down the pit. In 1712 Thomas Newcomen invented a machine which burned coal to pump the water out, which James Watt would refine and improve on fifty years later. These were developments which were easily overlooked at this stage, but gradually the stage was set for revolutionary change.
** Speaking of coal, the development of the process of turning coal into coke in 1714 was also a pretty big game-changer. Coke is coal that has been refined by heating it up to 1000°C and freeing it of sulfur, water and other substances that would contaminate raw iron. Coke quickly replaced charcoal as the primary fuel for furnaces (on the merit that it is far more efficient; you need a tenth of the amount of charcoal required to melt any given quantity of iron) which made the large-scale production of iron and later steel possible.
* Crops that originated in the New World included potatoes, tomatoes, corn, pineapple, pumpkins, peppers, tobacco, vanilla, and chocolate ([[Wikipedia:New World crops|among others]]). While not a crop, all but [[Wikipedia:Rhipsalis baccifera|one species of cactus]] (which doesn't even look like a cactus) are native to the New World. If you see any of these in a European setting prior to this era or a cactus in a European/Asian/African desert, feel free to call whoever wrote/designed/programmed it a fucking hack.

==The appeal of the Age of Enlightenment==
The Age of Enlightenment is the prelude to the modern world. Its basic ideas and features were taking shape and growing but were not quite there yet and are still largely overshadowed by the Ancient Regime (the old order of things with kings, nobles and the Church) and they were still constrained by many limitations which had been the case since the Bronze Age. Scientists (sometimes organized into bodies such as the Royal Society) were uncovering the world's secrets and making important discoveries in the areas of biology, astronomy and physics while kings set their sights on building empires on which the sun would never set and you had grand financial chicanery such as the South Seas Company, but people still relied on guys with ox carts to bring in their daily grain and take away their crap, law enforcement was handled by gangs of thugs hired out by rich people to keep the riffraff away from their properties, and in many places when people built buildings they still used literal rule of thumb. In spite of that there was a notion of historical transformation about. By the 18th century, an increasing number of people had become cognizant that they had in many ways surpassed their ancestors in numerous fields both practical and theoretical, and some of them foresaw that greater achievements were yet to come.

The Enlightenment was also the high point for the idea of absolute monarchy, realms where power had been consolidated in thrones to be distributed among nobles which had become less subordinate rulers and more components in the apparatus of government. With this came the idea of the enlightened [[monarch]], an educated and cultured man or woman who'd be up to date on natural philosophy with the strength and power to rationalize his/her kingdom, do away with superstition and bring in a new age of elegant humane efficiency.

This is also the height of the Age of Sail: tall ships of the line bristling with cannons, fast frigates and pirate ships raiding merchantmen on the high seas with all the action and swashbuckling therein. It's also a time of global reach, where a poor farmer's son might travel to burgeoning colonies, the ports of rival nations and to distant foreign parts with strange ancient civilizations if he winds up on a ship. The battles of the day with their line infantry, cuirassiers with a brace of pistols and sabers and field artillery are distinctive. The epoch was known for its massive battles and the advancement of artillery as a component of infantry engagements.

The inspiration derived by Napoleon deserves a separate mention. His entire history, from humble beginnings to the expedition in Egypt to the coup d'etat to becoming the Emperor that trashed everyone and everything in his path to his final exile, despair and disgrace has served as a great, great inspiration for people ever since.

==Enlightenment inspired Games, Factions and Settings==
* While not set in our world but the [[Age of Sigmar]], the lore of the [[Kharadron Overlords]] follows a certain pattern which caters to the Age of Enlightenment, with the coming of Chaos and the abandonment of their gods and allies being something akin to the religious wars, plagues and social strife which ravaged Europe during the late medieval ages, many duardin were forced to migrate to new territories, like the Europeans of the early modern age these refugees were forced to reevaluate their beliefs and culture, and, like them, they shifted from putting their faith no longer in traditional religious systems and absolute monarchs, but in technological development and plutocratic meritocracy. During the five centuries of the Age of Chaos the Kharadron Overlords not only survived the onslaught of the Dark Gods but thrived, building sky-cities and floating ports, developing scientific weaponry and tools based on the substance known as aether-gold and establishing tradelines among them, by the beginning of the Age of Sigmar they are arguably the most technologically advanced race of the setting, with energy-projected weaponry, armoured airships and a set of laws which allows them to pull back from doomed battles and democratically choose or demote, without shame or blood, their own leaders.
* As you might expect, there are plenty of tabletop games set during the Napoleonic Wars. Some of the bigger names are:
** Sharp Practice (a company-level game published by TFL, who have also recreated the original ''Kriegsspiel'' used to train Prussian officers)
** Black Powder (battalion-level game by [[Warlord Games]] that can be scaled up to army size if you're insane enough)
** Black Seas (Napoleonic naval combat, also by Warlord)
** Chosen Men (skirmish-level game by [[Osprey Games]])
** Bataille Empire (you know how those psychos that shat out [[FATAL]] claimed it was incredibly historically accurate and insanely detailed? This is what that actually looks like, but for the Napoleonic Wars. The book has rules to let you model every aspect of a Napoleonic engagement, down to tailored army lists for specific battles, and is designed to work with any collection of miniatures you might have.)

{{Time Periods}}
[[Category: History]]

Myrmidia

2023-02-01T11:42:56Z

2600:387:9:9:0:0:0:62:

[[File:Myrmidia battle.jpg|left|300px|thumb|Myrmidia guiding men into battle.]]
[[File:Myrmidia symbol.jpg|right|100px|thumb|The symbol of Myrmidia.]]
A goddess in [[Warhammer Fantasy]] worshiped by the men of [[Tilea]] and [[Estalia]], as well as the [[Empire]] in a reduced capacity. She's an outright knockoff of [[Athena]], being a goddess of strategy and the chain of command. Her followers are usually rivals of the main gods of the setting ([[Ulric]] and [[Sigmar]] respectively), who are mainly about going on human WAAAGH!s against [[Chaos]] worshipers and the Undead. She is the daughter of [[Morr]], the human god of the dead, and [[Verena]], the goddess of justice and scholars. According to 4th edition [[Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay]], a language 'Battle Tongue' used by human soldiers in, well, battle was created by Myrmidia herself. She has a number of knightly orders, but the most prominent is the Order of the Blazing Sun, which produces classically heavily-armored knights whose real claim to fame is being exemplars of her tenets that are some of the best tacticians/strategists around. Her sister is [[Shallya]], goddess of mercy and healing. She apparently managed to survive [[the End Times]] and live on into the [[Age of Sigmar]] as there is mention of a gender-neutral knightly order ”the Order of the Ardent Star” that once worshipped Myrmidia in their homeland of the Flamescar Plateau in the Realm of Aqshy. Said knights wore black and gold, rode into battle on giant murder lizards called demidroths (who sadly did not breathe fire like their larger magmadroth cousins) and took pride in a banner with a star on it that supposedly was given to them during the Age of Myth by the goddess (hence their order’s name). Also despite being relatively near to them geographically the order did not have particularly good relationship with the Fyreslayers of Hermdar lodge, something which would come back to bite them. See despite their battle cry being “Stella Invicti” or the “Unconquerable Star” and their past victories in a thousand battles beforehand, without any allied support they were all but obliterated by a horde of Khornate warriors lead by the female Khornate champion Sulkotha Godspite during the Age of Chaos. Godspite, wielding a spiked demonic chain whip, a cursed demonic blade and looking like she stepped out of a heavy metal album cover due to her wearing spiked armor with a breast plate etched with demonic faces with burning eyes, first broke the order’s fortress “the Redoubt” located at Drakemount before moving on and finally killing the order’s leader Sir Karon and most of his remaining subordinates at their last stronghold “the Chapel Fortress” which lay to the west of the Desert of Glass. The only survivor of the order’s massacre was a single female knight named Sir Anaea who managed to escape from the slaughter with the order’s sacred banner before hiding it in the mountains nearby.

Also she seems to be highly worshiped by the Tempest Lords Stormhost of the Stormcast Eternals, a bunch of nobles who actually got off their ass and did something with their lives, so she ain't out of followers for the time being.

In [[Warhammer 40k]] her closest equivalent is, or rather was, an obscure war goddess named Mythrus who was mentioned in one of the [[Siege of Terra]] books and who counted among her worshippers the grandson of one [[Ollanius Pius]]. Despite [[The Emperor]] having banned all religions and pseudo-religious systems (excluding his Imperial Truth and the Machine Cult) due to fear of them fueling the [[Chaos Gods]] Mythrus was apparently still being worshipped by secret groups in the [[Imperial Guard]] up till the [[Horus Heresy]] due to humans instinctively having a strong desire to look up to a higher power for guidance, something big E couldn't seem to comprehend despite his millennia of life. As an aside it’s possible the Emperor had some sort of connection with the goddess as the infamously disliked Ultramarine animated movie featured a similarly named book of warp magic called the Liber Mithrus that was supposedly entrusted to the Imperial fists for safe keeping upon their founding. However given the poor quality of the movie it’s possible the name was just an oversight on GW’s part. In any event at the end of the heresy [[Horus]] got killed, [[The Emperor]] got put on life-support, and the [[Imperium of Man]] replaced the Imperial truth with worship of [[The Emperor]] as a god leaving no room for the cult of Mythrus which was wiped out.
==Priests==
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==Knightly Orders==
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The [https://warhammerfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Myrmidons "Myrmidons"],[[Knights of the Blazing Sun]],and [[Knights of the Verdant Field]] have Myrmidia as their patron.

==In Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay==
One of the largest exposes on the Cult of Myrmidia in the context of [[Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay]] can be found in the [[splatbook]] "Up In Arms!", which examines the soldiers and mercenaries of the Old World. Here, the summary of the cult goes thus:
::Seat of Power: The Archecclesiastium, the chief temple in Magritta
::Head of the Cult: La Aguila Ultima Isabella Giovanna Luccelli
::Primary Orders: Order of the Blazing Sun, Order of the Eagle, Order of the Righteous Spear
::Major Festivals: No fixed holy days, but celebrations to Myrmidia are held at the beginning and end of campaigns and it is common practice to sacrifice to her before and after a battle
::Popular Holy Books: Bellona Myrmidia, Bellum Strategia, The Book of War
::Holy Symbols: A spear behind a shield, an eagle

Myrmidia's faith is described as being a confusing tangle of historical fact and pure myth, very akin to that of [[Sigmar]]; like Sigmar, Myrmidia is believed to have been a real god-queen who once presided over a great empire in the southern regions of the Old World, covering the lands now known as [[Tilea]] and [[Estalia]]. Interestingly, [[Wight]]-guarded barrows from the Old World ''have'' occasionally been looted to reveal what are obviously sacred statuettes depicting a warrior woman wielding stone arms and armor, so it's an indisputable fact that some kind of warrior goddess was worshipped in the pre-Sigmar cultures of the Old World... the debate is whether or not this goddess was actually Myrmida. For obvious reasons, Imperial theologians tend to be very dismissive of the legend of Myrmida, often going so far as to suggest that her legends are simply poor imitations of Sigmar's legends and that the "southern empire" is a pure fiction. The smart ones don't say ''that'' where any Tilean or Estalian can hear them!

One of the more interesting aspects of Myrmidia's faith is that there's actually a schism in it. Whilst her Cult is widely spread in both [[Tilea]] and [[Estalia]], these two nations have very different perspectives on several major views about the goddess and her lore, not helped by the fact that her three holy books each present very all different accounts of her origins and place varying emphasis on the importance of her story. Whilst such distinctions may be seen as pointless or arbitrary to outsiders, they are taken ''very'' seriously by Tileans and Estalians, and are the source of bitter contention, which keeps the cult on the verge of schisming. It has even led to everything from duels between champions of the rival sects to full-blown wars, and the fall of the Reman empire is sometimes attributed to the religious schism between Tilean and Estalian worshippers of Myrmidia. Is this perhaps a tongue-in-cheek nod to the split of Christianity between Catholics and Orthodox? Well, we wouldn't past them...

So, what are the big issues and the differing views? Well...

{| class=wikitable
!Issue ||Tileans || Estalians
|-
|Centre of cult authority ||L’Ultima Aquila Isabella Giovanna Luccelli is the head of the cult, and ought to move its centre to the High Temple in Remas||La Aguila Ultima Isabella Giovanna Luccelli is the High Priestess at The Archecclesiastium, the chief temple in Magritta
|-
|Legitimacy of ''Bellona Myrmidia'' ||Literal truth of Myrmidia’s life and achievements||A collection of folklore and fairy tales, of spiritual importance but not historical fact
|-
|Legitimacy of ''Bellum Strategia'' ||Apocryphal ramblings that may inspire the faithful but hold no true veracity||The holy revelation of Myrmidia’s manifestation as a goddess incarnate in Magritta
|-
|Legitimacy of ''The Book of War'' ||An important work in understanding the precepts a good Myrmidian ought to abide by, and an account of twelve battles fought under the generalship of Myrmidia||An important work in understanding the precepts a good Myrmidian ought to abide by, and an account of twelve battles fought under the guidance of generals inspired by Myrmidian principles
|-
|Myrmidia was previously a goddess of Civilisation and companion to Tylos ||Commonly understood to be fact, or at least a respected legend||Dismissed as a Tilean myth
|-
|Belief that a Myrmidian classical age... ||began in Remas, led by Myrmidia herself, and conquered Estalia|| began in Magritta, was either led by Myrmidia herself or those who were inspired by her, and conquered Tilea
|-
|Enjoy the favour of... ||the Order of the Eagle|| the Order of the Blazing Sun
|-
|Belief that Myrmidia spent time as a mortal... ||is hugely important and proper to all true Myrmidians|| is optional and of secondary importance to understanding what she represents
|}

Although facing resistance from the Cult of Ulric and the more hardcore Cultists of Sigmar (though the broader Sigmar church actually welcomes Myrmidia's faith, if largely to spite Ulricans), the cult of Myrmidia is spreading across the Empire, in particular gaining a lot of ground amongst the ''women'' of the Empire, which might be another Christianity reference; women were often the first to convert to that faith in reality. They appreciate Myrmidia's emphasis on fighting smarter, not harder, and her advocation of minimizing casualties. A common saying amongst Myrmidian women of the Empire goes "Sigmar takes you to war, but Myrmidia brings you back".

...Obviously, most Sigmarites get very grumpy at hearing this parable.

===Tenets of Myrmidia===
According to her writeup in "Up At Arms", the faith of Myrmidia fundamentally revolves around three central concepts; '''Honor''', '''Knowledge''' and '''Aesthetic Flair'''.

Of these concepts, the Myrmidian concept of Honor is the deepest and most complex - and the one most ridiculed by Ulricans and hostile Sigmarites, for Myrmidian honor champions efficiency and compassion over brute strength and martial pride. In Myrmidia's eyes, honorable behavor is to avoid wasting soldiers' lives, win battles quickly and decisively, extend respect to the dead, submit to one's master - but disobey them if they prove corrupt, redress wrongs, right injustices, and protect the weak.

Knowledge is sacred to Myrmidia, and her adherents both dedicate themselves to seeking out ancient or lost texts relating to the lore and art of battle, and strive to improve themselves and their combat abilities.

Finally, one's martial equipment should be crafted and cared for to bring it to the pinnacle of its beauty. Armor should be polished, blades honed to a razor's edge. No Myrmidian worthy of their faith would allow their gear to be rusty or subpar!

Boiled down to their bluntest, these are the Myrmidian commandments:
* '''Act with honor and dignity in all matters.'''
* '''Respect prisoners of war and never kill an enemy who surrenders.'''
* '''Show no mercy to the unrepentant enemies of Humanity.'''
* '''Obey all honorable orders.'''
* '''Preserve the weak from the horrors of war.'''

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Myrmidia.jpg
Myrmidia shrine.jpg
Warriors of Myrmidia.png|Warriors of the Cult of Myrmidia
Priestess of Myrmidia.jpg|A priestess of Myrmidia.
</gallery>

{{Empire-Gods}}

Leagues of Votann

2023-02-01T11:39:28Z

2600:387:9:9:0:0:0:62:

{{Infobox 40k Nations
|name=Leagues of Votann
|image=[[Image:‎NewLeaguetemplogo.jpg|300px|center]]
|Capital=Decentralized, Greater Thurian League being most powerful
|Official Languages= Squat Lexicon, High Gothic, Low Gothic
|Power=Great Power
|Size=Galactic Core, a third of Segmentum Solar, several thousand Mining Worlds, many Holds of various sizes
|Head of State=Decentralized, [[Votann|Votanns]] act as Head of State
|Head of Government=Votannic Councils (Hearthspake)
|Governmental Structure=Confederated Gerontocratic Supranational Union
|State Religion/Ideology=Ancestor Worship<br>Achievement Ideology<br>Mercantilism<br>A variation of Familialism
|Demographic=Kin ([[Squats]], Ironkin)
|Military Force=Kinhost Forces, [[Leagues of Votann Fleet|Prospector Fleets]]
}}
{{topquote|Right after Mankind’s colonization of the galaxy came its first true golden age. Reared by machine prophets, the survivors of the Oedipal plagues built civilizations that equaled and even surpassed their Solar forbears.| CM Koseman, ''All Tomorrows''}}

{{topquote|Better a soulless clone... than a souled roach.|David Mitchell, ''Cloud Atlas''}}

{{topquote|ROCK AND STONE! TO THE BONE!|The (Un)official motto of the League, ''[[Deep Rock Galactic]]''}}

{{topquote|This is very simple. We don't want your liver, your coin, or that junk you call technology. We want your world. We want the riches you didn't even realize you had, and that you definitely don't deserve. Leave while you have the chance. Or don't. Either way, we're coming to claim what's ours.|Ultimatum delivered by the Cthonian Guantlet Consortium, ''Codex- Leagues of Votann''}}

The '''Leagues of Votann''' or otherwise known as the '''Squat Homeworlds''' (Or if you're in /tg/; as the '''Domain of Squats, Squat Territories, [[Dwarf Fortress|SPESS DORF FORTRESS]]''' & Deeprock Galactic) is the areas in which one can find our beloved space midgets in the early days of 40k and its current modern reboot.

Back in the [[Rogue Trader (Sourcebook)|good old days,]] the then-named Squat Homeworlds, unlike other Imperial-aligned entities in the galaxy, enjoyed a significant degree of autonomy. Whilst de jure, the Squat Homeworlds were part of the [[Imperium of Man]], de facto as is its own self-sustaining and self-sufficient society unlike places such as [[Ultramar]] or the [[Adeptus Mechanicus]] which has an interdependent and semi-autonomous relationship with [[Terra]].

Of course, we all know how the Squats were Squatted soon after making the debut, with the [[Tyranids]] [[Derp|''SOMEHOW'' targeting <u>'''''only'''''</u> the Squat worlds whilst leaving the rest of the Imperium-controlled space right next door to the Squats largely untouched.]] This is ridiculous when taking into account that the territories of the Squats weren't some small specks like the [[Tau Empire]], but rather, a significantly large domain that took up half of the entire Galactic core. This is made worse when taking into consideration that [[Lolwut|it was completely out of character for the Imperium to stop and do nothing against such a large incursion of Tyranid forces in an area considered Astro-strategically important for them.]] [[Games Workshop|Games Workshop's]] [[Fail|shitty excuse/explanation in removing the Squats from cannon]] [[Rage|had never really stood well within the community,]] [[RAGE|much less among the Squat players.]]

However, their reintroduction as the Leagues of Votann has somewhat radically changed their origins whilst still keeping some old lore modernised. The '''Leagues of Votann''' (also known as the [[Squats|Unsquatted Squats]]) is now a [[retcon|""new""]] faction in the [[Warhammer 40,000]] universe. They are gatherings of short abhuman clones called the Kin (more commonly known as Squats by the dirty Necromunda gangers), bound together by the [[Votann]], super-cogitators from the [[Dark Age of Technology]]. Kin originate from far space and no knowledge remains about their origins [[Belegar Ironhammer|though they are increasingly approaching the idea of sending out expeditions rediscovering it]]. Each League has its own Votann, and are organized in strongholds around it. [[Powergamer|They used the data stored to survive among the stars and maintain their culture across generations]]. Of course, since some [[Adeptus Mechanicus|factions]] are touchy about AI, the Leagues are very cautious when dealing with [[Imperium of Man|its closest ally]], hence their secretive lifestyle.

However, because of the [[grimdark|setting]], everything is not that simple. Since Dorf Windows is not regularly updated anymore and issues that have arisen from having remained active for literal millennia, the Votann began to deteriorate. If they want to repair their computer, <s>[[Dwarf Fortress|they must wage war with other shitcoin miners for more processing power]]</s>, the Kin have to once more brave a galaxy full of danger. Aside from that they have a culture valuing wasting nothing, which is a fun way of saying they drain suns of energy and cooled minerals and at best economically enslave indigenous groups while at their worst they’ll mine your planet to dust around you and respond to resistance with military force. Imagine if Italian Corporatists, the Monopoly Man, and the Evil Mining Heads in fiction were merged with the seven dwarves.

==Rogue Trader Era Fluff==
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%">
Given the sheer extensive history between the old and the new. This section will contain all the fluff from the old Rogue Trader days. For the sake of preventing page bloat, this entire section will be put in a collapsible page.
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
===Historical Overview===
[[File:Squat-logo_banner.png|300px|right|thumb|The original emblem of the squats]]

The Squat Homeworlds were all worlds filled with rich mineral resources, which led the Human ancestors of the Squats to lay down, settle and mine the shit out of. Most of these were located within the galactic core where unique and rare minerals were found in abundance in exchange for being sterile and barren of life of course. But for the early Human colonists, it was a gold mine as [[Terra]] ran out of all of its resources, so the search for raw materials was needed. Their planet's gravity is great, usually two or three times that of Terra. Their atmospheres are either thin or non-existent. Even those planets with atmospheres are blasted by tremendous storms. But hey? Who gives a shit about all of that when you have all the resources to make you rich, and rich the Squats got.

Like the Gulf States, the Squats quickly took a monopoly on these minerals and started to get wealthy, and with money comes an increase in development and technological advancements. These planets became Mining Worlds and with the coming [[Age of Strife]], the Squats got themselves the good end of the stick by both inhabiting hostile worlds and cranking up the technological kazoo when the rest of humanity plunged into a galactic-wide [[shitstorm]].

Squat history can be split into several eras.

====Age of Founding====

The first is the Age of Founding, which is the Squat equivalent of the [[Dark Age of Technology]]. This is not technically the first period of the Squats as they had yet to evolve, but it is the time of the founding of the colonies that would become the Squat Homeworlds. Almost twenty thousand years ago contact between these planets and Terra was almost continuous, testament to the importance of these colonies. Terra also kept the worlds well supplied with that which they could not produce for themselves in adequate amounts, primarily food. This period lasted until the [[Age of Strife]].

====Age of Isolation====

The Age of Isolation corresponds with the earlier part of the Age of Strife - around eighteen thousand years ago. The galactic core was cut off from the rest of human space by the devastating Warp storms of the Age of Strife. Many worlds were swallowed by the Warp and disappeared forever, others were trapped in stasis and became lost. Most survived although they were separated from Earth and all contact was lost with the rest of the galaxy. During this time of isolation and danger the Squat worlds still in contact with each other began to organize for their mutual defense. It was at this time that the Squats began to refer to their worlds as the Homeworlds.

The Homeworlds remained isolated for thousands of years and their inhabitants learned to survive in a universe that was becoming increasingly hostile. Those that survived grew and prospered. Settlements were enlarged and fortified into impregnable Strongholds. They soon developed alternative technologies to make up for the lack of supplies from Earth.

During the isolation the complex system of Engineer Guilds developed. These Guilds were responsible for preserving technical knowledge and skills as well as training technicians, miners and other specialists necessary for the Strongholds. The Guilds transcended the Strongholds, allowing every Stronghold to benefit from the preserved knowledge as well as new advances in technology.

During this age the Leagues first began to develop from Strongholds allied for trading and defense purposes.

====Age of Trade====

The Age of Trade took place during a slight abatement of the warp storms during the Age of Strife and led to the Squats encountering other races, including [[Orks]] and [[Eldar]].

At the beginning of the Age of Trade, some strongholds were attacked, but the aliens quickly realized that the Squats [[RIP AND TEAR|were armed to the fucking teeth and prepared to go down fighting]], and that trade was a more practical arrangement. [[Just As Planned|The Squats took full advantage of their tremendous mineral wealth, which they traded for weapons, foodstuffs and high-technology systems.]] To this day, Squat hydroponic plants, [[Heresy|developed with Eldar help]], are among the most efficient food sources in the Imperium. The Squats remained carefully neutral in the numerous conflicts between Eldar and Orks, maintaining trade links with both sides. There were inevitably small wars from time to time, but for the most part the Squats' complex structure of treaties and trade agreements maintained a stable peace.

====Age of Wars====

The Age of Trade lasted for nearly three millennia, but finally collapsed when an enormous Ork battle-fleet, under the command of Grunhag the Flayer, attempted a full-scale invasion of the Homeworlds. Losses on both sides were astronomical, with vicious tunnel-fights through the mine workings and bloody pitched battles in the Squats' underground settlements. The Squats appealed to their Eldar trading partners for help against the invading Orks, but none was received.

The Age of Wars, as it became known, is regarded by the Squats as the blackest chapter in their history, and the double betrayal by Orks and Eldar gave rise to a cultural enmity which still persists. Many strongholds were wiped out by the Orks, and the traditional epic ballad known as The Fall of Imbach commemorates one such destruction. Even today expeditions are mounted from the Squat Homeworlds in search of lost strongholds, and these expeditions are often accompanied by Adeptus Mechanicus priests, eager to rediscover lost Squat technology to [[Blood Ravens|'burrow from'.]]

====Age of Rediscovery====

The Age of Rediscovery was the most recent phase of Squat history, corresponding to the Great Crusade and the current Age of the Imperium. As the Imperium recovered from the Age of Strife and began to reunite the scattered worlds of humanity, the Squat Homeworlds were rediscovered and contact with the Imperium was established.

The Imperium found that a distinct culture had developed on the Homeworlds, and that the Squats had moved outwards through the galaxy, extending their domains. Often they settled harsh planets similar to their own Homeworlds, but they also occupied more conventional worlds able to support normal Human civilization.

====Age of the Imperium====

The current phase in Squat history. It essentially details the various treaties between the Squats and the Imperium.

The experiences of the previous millennia has left the Squats with a strong sense of cultural unity and a fiercely independent nature, and instead of rejoining the Imperium as subject worlds, the Homeworlds negotiated a series of treaties which enabled them to keep their independence. The racial character of the Squats - hard-working, tenacious, honorable, and inimical to alien races - was almost perfect from the Imperial point of view, and the Imperium was content to allow them a great degree of self-government.

A detailed description of their relationship can be read below.

===Squat-Imperium Relations===
[[File:Squat-homeworlds-800px.jpg|480px|right|thumb|Galactic map of the Squat Homeworlds.]]
First contact with the Squats by the Imperium began during the [[Great Crusade]] as the Emperor's forces reached the worlds near the galactic core. Many of these worlds were the Squat Homeworlds and, Squats being Spess Dorfs and Spess Dorfs being just regular Dorfs with tech, conflict became inevitable. Suffice to say, the [[Space Marine]] legions [[Rape|got their shit kicked in]]. Who would have wondered, that 8-foot tall supersoldiers would have trouble trying to fight in 5-foot by 5-foot tunnels with no cover whatsoever. Here's a fun hint, Empy's forces got creamed so hard it led directly to the development of the Mark 3 [[Power Armor]].

The Emprah with all his infinite wisdom, decided that being on friendly terms with midgets all armed with D-Cannons and rapid-firing plasma machineguns is probably a good idea rather than engaging a war that might as well be the Imperium's Vietnam. So a treaty was signed to sweep the whole 'first-contact shenanigans' under the bus and get back to business.

The Squat Homeworlds as aforementioned, have long been part of the Imperium, but enjoy a level of autonomy greater than the ordinary self-governed Imperial world. Hell, the Squats are so autonomous that not even the [[Administratum]] can touch them. Instead, Squat Homeworlds are ruled by strongholds of leagues.

Nonetheless, the Homeworlds, while governing themselves without interference from the Adeptus Terra, are expected to follow Imperial policy on wider issues. Both the Imperium and the Squats benefit from this arrangement: the Homeworlds provide troops for the [[Imperial Guard]]. The Imperial Guard also provides military support to the Homeworlds when necessary, as they would any other threatened Imperial worlds (Space NATO). Additionally the Squats trade their mineral wealth exclusively with the Imperium in return for some sweet, sweet moolah. The [[Adeptus Mechanicus]] are highly interested in the Squats and the Homeworlds for several reasons: Squats possess a high level of technical expertise which seems to come naturally to the race. Additionally, the Homeworlds as a whole possess the greatest amount of surviving [[STC]] equipment in the Imperium. The Squats are said to allow the Adeptus Mechanicus free access to Squat technology. However it is also said the Squats keep their technology from other races, regarding the Adeptus Mechanicus as little more than sorcerers mired in superstition.

The relationship between the Homeworlds and the Imperium is therefore generally peaceful, although through history has been punctuated by bouts of war and bitterness. The Squats and the Imperium trade to their mutual benefit. Both races also share many enemies, especially [[Orks]], making it in their best interests to cooperate. The Squats do not follow the Imperial Cult, rather they revere their ancestors. Squats fighting alongside the Imperial Guard often adopt the Emperor into their beliefs, as a guardian of their ancestors.

Squat technology is based upon the heavy mining equipment they brought with them to the Homeworlds. During their isolation from the rest of humanity they adapted it for other uses, notably exo-armour which was engineered from heavy mining suits. Squats continued to innovate and invent while humanity sank into a Dark Age. As a result, the Squats have developed technologies such as [[Wat|neo-plasma]] and warp cores far in advance of anything the Imperium owns. Some Squat technologies were absorbed into the Imperium, especially tunneling vehicles and weaponry such as the [[Tunneling Transport Vehicles#Termite|Termite.]]

===Strongholds===
Strongholds are Squat settlement centres. They were generally founded during the original colonisation and those produced later are known as ''Newholds''. Strongholds also often join together under Leagues to form defensive pacts.

Generally a Stronghold develops around a mine and its associated living quarter although some later developments were not associated with mining. A hereditary Lord ruled each stronghold and was protected and supported by the [[Hearthguard]]. The [[Hearthguard]] were the elite of a Squat army and the servants to the Lord while also protecting the Lord when he went to war. Each Stronghold had a group of [[Squat Trooper|Brotherhood or War-Brethren]] which formed the core of the Squat armed forces for the Stronghold. Every Squat had an obligated 30-70 year service period although they may not be called upon to fight until they had sired two sons and raised them to maturity. This helped protect the continuity of the race from the Stronghold's military activities. A Squat could then retire from active duty with his honor and probably some wealth and take up a position of responsibility in his family's business.

The Brotherhood was often also seen as a mercenary force. In times of peace warriors were traded for resources to either fight for the Imperium or for other strongholds. Another member of the aristocracy was the [[Squat Warlord|Warlord,]] a close relative of the Lord who was there to be placed in control of the Brotherhood in order to prevent Lords from wielding too much power and sending their troops into battles they should not be fighting. Other Lords would send their Brotherhoods on expeditions which range from locating other ancient and lost strongholds to a campaign against an alien race or piracy. Some Brotherhoods had totally turned to piracy and become known as Squat Reavers. When they returned to their stronghold they distributed the booty between the pirates and the Lord of the Stronghold.

Squats had a requirement to provide forces for the Imperial Guard and this often took the form of a detachment of the Brotherhood.

===Leagues===

So what are Leagues? Well, in a nutshell, they are groups of strongholds working together for a common purpose - usually mutual defense - trade or dealings with the Imperium. Leagues varied greatly in size, the smallest consisting of four Strongholds and the largest consisting of over three thousand. The League of Thor was the most powerful and influential, including over 300 strongholds. The League of Norgyr was the league closest to Holy Terra. Now, under the new lore there exists the [[Leagues of Votann]], each formed around a [[Votann]] ancestor core. Votann-equipped leagues seem to be the only survivors as full scale polities in the Imperium, but at least some clans are known to have survived, usually working as engineers, miners and mercenaries.

A League usually encompassed the Strongholds on more than one planet with the latest extant being 700 known Leagues total. Each League was led and dominated by a single Stronghold. As some Leagues were virtually nations with distinct cultures, Squats often identified themselves with the League their Stronghold belonged to.

The Squats had a strong sense of mutual preservation, as it had been known for rival leagues to go to war with each another. Such occasions could lead to lasting enmity, as Squats were inclined to remember deeds of infamy for many generations much like the Book of Grudges from [[Warhammer Fantasy]]. The League of Thor and League of Grindel fought an unusually bitter war around 2,000 years ago when settlers from both sides clashed over the exploration of the Lost Stronghold of Dargon. The war that followed resulted in the destruction of several Strongholds and many key victories for the League of Thor including the capture of two other Leagues. Peace only came with the huge Ork invasion of Grunhag the Flayer which obliged all the Leagues to unify against their mutual foe. Although the war ended with the rout of the Orks, the two Leagues remained distrustful rivals and both sides considered the other side owing them debts of blood and honor.
</div></div>

==Reboot Fluff==
This section details the new and updated fluff from 2022 onwards. This deals with the Leagues and their similar but new background for the modern 40k narrative.
===History===
[[File:Votann meeting.jpg|500px|thumb|right|[[Star Wars|200,000 clones are ready with a million more well on the way.]]]]
Even though the oldest living Kin don’t remember what their earliest days were like, some undeniable “First Truths” remain constant in the Votanns’ data tracks. One such truth is that the First Ancestors departed from ancient Terra prior to the Unification Wars to harvest the untold riches of the galaxy with the first holds being settled near the galactic core. What became of these Ancestors is unknown, but curiously when the Ancestors begun to fade away…the Votann are first mentioned.

A second First Truth is that the Kin have always been a cloned people. The Ancestors used genetic systems called “cloneskeins” to [[Transhumanist|manipulate and modify their race’s molecular structure]], and continue to define their overall division of labor. Over time the Kin became squatter, denser, and stronger, growing no more than five feet tall max. They’ve even been able to artificially neuter their [[psyker|psychic]] footprint to avoid the attention of [[Chaos]], in a not too dissimilar fashion to how the [[Tau]] souls work. Other examples of this engineering can be seen in the Hearthkyn Warriors, who often are also engineered with particular cloneskeins that allow them to specialise in combat – heightened senses, improved stamina, and the ability to see better in the dark, to name but a few. In contrast, others augment their bodies for battle with mechanical limbs and synthetic organs, with members of the powerful Cthonian Mining Guilds being noted as extensive users of these body modifications. This is not that unexpected as that particular guild (which is noted as being a particularly extreme embodiment of the usual belligerent acquisitiveness of the Kin) is willing to fearlessly locate, secure, and harvest resources for their race from environments so dangerous that even other Kin would balk at their hazards leading to a need for extensive augmentation on their part. Because of all the above, some fans are now speculating that GW is tying the [[Men of Stone]] thread to the modern Squat civilization (either to the Squats themselves or to the Votann) given the [[Men of Gold]] and [[Men of Iron]] have already been speculated to be [[Perpetual]]s and [[Machine Spirit|abominable intelligence]]. It is also revealed the Leagues also have the “Iron Kin,” their fully-mechanical and true AI robot social class, who were designed with a prerogative to help their meaty cousins. This along the mention in some Kin myths of a “group of gleaming golden figures” relative to the first Votann (sometimes referred to as the the Gilded One), means this theory of the Kin being the Men of Stone could bear all the more weight.

At some point during the reconstruction after the Horus Heresy, the ancestors of the Ironhead Squats arrived from the Leagues to help with rebuilding efforts on Necromunda. However they somehow lost their Votann ancestor core in the process and so they ended up having to stay on the world long after the rebuilding was done so they could try and track it down, a search which still continues to this day and has resulted in them regressing technologically in the mean time. Maybe someone should tell them to go search Van Saar's basement.
On many other Imperial worlds, the Kin have even been states to show up in pre Imperial records, truly showing that the Leagues are a deeply ancient set of orders with even deeper roots that spread all across the galaxy.

With the formation of the Great Rift, the Leagues had lost a few holds and trade routes, pressuring them into expanding and gaining new trade routes, endorsing new colonization efforts, and slowly withdrawing from their semi isolated state.

They also have variety of beverages called Brü, which range from mainstay nutro-rations for soldiers and miners, to [[Josef Bugman|devastatingly alcoholic recreational beverages]]. None are recommended without a Kin constitution.

===Culture===

[[File:1657022781779.jpg|300px|thumb|right|I NEED MOAR]]

{{topquote|So, we're talking about space dwarfs who need more RAM for their gods?|Anon}}

In the modern day of the 41st Millennium, the culture of the Kin seems very egalitarian, with no distinction between male, female, machine or otherwise amongst its members. [[Greater Good|United in the guidance of the Votann, the Leagues of the Kin operate with seeming unity, with the Kin working in unison for the betterment of their Kindreds, or so it would appear to outsiders.]] The truth however is a little more complicated than that though.

The Leagues are semi unified conglomerates of "family states" (a cross between nation states and extended family) called Kindreds, guilds, Freelancers, and kinhost armies. While the Leagues are very communal and chummy with their fellow kin, this does not stop the dark influences of a past long gone from seeping into their civilizations.

Entire planets and even systems with ecosystems and civilizations stripped to the bone, regardless of the ethics. Global magna extraction and tectonic delving allows the Kin to harvest whole worlds, populated or not. Evacuation may be offered, but not always. Ferocious competition between Guilds and freelancers, who have taken on the mantle from dark age corporations, merc groups, independent contractors, and cartels and follow the philosophy of "When someone has what you want, why not take it." While the Kin do live to serve their fellow kin, their societies, and their ancestors, they are also filled to the brim with society-wide greed and hunger. As individuals, they may or may not have such hungers, but as communities they will devour entire worlds. Not even the universe itself will be enough for their wants. Negotiation is an alternative when dropping anchor and starting the harvesting would incur more cost in resources from defeating local resistance than a contract would entail, and the Kin have relocated species, traded technology, or taken more careful approaches to resource collection (read: not just shattering the planet and picking through the space dust for the minerals) in the past.

This does not mean they are the type to cut corners. Far from it. [[Grungni|Like their many Dwarven counter parts in other media, one of the things they appreciate is fine ass Craftmanship]]. No planned obsolescence, shoddy piss water, and easy to break communicators here. Only the best in quality is acceptable (or at least, the best they can make). And this is not even such a difficult feat for them. High quality mass produced goods is the norm for League society, with their high technology and industrial society. Many of their holds are even live-in factories, constantly churning out master crafted items at a constant pace. The Leagues overall conduct resource extraction, industry, and technology developments on a vastly larger scale, making the Imperium look puny in their developments by comparison. And unlike the imperium, they dont dig for the ore required, wasting time and lives (unless of course they actually have to occupy a world, then they'll mine, extract, manufacture, and bunker down to their hearts content on whatever occupied planetary body they are on). The Kin instead sees that whatever asteroid or world they are working on can just be torn apart, and the remnants plucked out the wreckage

But despite all their comforts and conveniences (when they aren't minimalists with cool toys), they are still a hardy people who revere their ancestors and promote the importance of sacrifice.

===Morals and Virtues===

The Kin are a highly conservative race who are extremely focused on preserving their territories and secrets, as well as the survival of their entire species. This is the primary driving motivation for the majority of all Kin. They can be implacable enemies and valuable allies, but securing their aid, let alone getting them to change their minds on a subject, is fairly difficult. If they deem the motivation of another group to go against their interests, they will be more likely to treat them as foes rather than make friends.

The ancestry of the kin as void-bourne miners has led them to develop an unforgiving moral code. They have no tolerance for laziness, wastefulness, or incompetence. In the cold darkness of space, a filter changed too late, a weak seam missed, or a leaking water tank could kill an entire crew. Despite all their technology, the Kin have retained this perfectionist worldview, and such behaviors are treated as deadly sins. Furthermore, the Kin have adopted an extreme survivalist mindset. Leaving resources unharvested is seen as another form of waste, and they would would rather pause to strip a stellar body bare than leave it behind for someone else to find. This has gained them a reputation as selfish hoarders among some other species, but for the kin its simply prudent.

The Kin prize efficiency, and this can be seen in the way they coldly and quickly dispatch targets on the battlefield. [[Book of Grudges |Yet, paradoxically, they will go to extreme lengths in an effort to settle a grudge, as happened during the Five Hundred Years' War against Waaagh! Morbok. The Kin don't see this as a waste, as leaving a particularly hated or dangerous foe alive is not only a danger to the entire race but an affront to the ancestors.]] While far less touchy than [[The Grudge Of Drong|their Fantasy kin can be]] the key to surviving with the Kin is to [[Thorgrim Grudgebearer|offer enough resistance to be worth talking to]] but [[Ungrim Ironfist|not successful enough to warrant permanent deletion from the universe.]]

The Kin are natural explorers, and their culture compels them to return new information to the Votann. The Hernkyn fulfill this duty by plunging into the dark and undiscovered portions of the galaxy. These acts allow the Kin to find new resources to exploit as well as threats to neutralize before they become a danger. Others travel beyond the Galactic Core in search of opportunities for trade or profit.

===Technology===
Let's not beat around the bush here; League technology is almost always a clear upgrade over the Imperium. While they didn't retain everything after the collapse of the golden age, they kept far more than their Imperial counterparts, to the point where they can at least echo DAoT society and its tech. While much of the Leagues' tech is reminiscent of the Imperium's in form and function, it is generally far more advanced, reliable and ubiquitous.

Kin gene-technology allows them to make stable mutations, psykers and even alter their souls. [[Cyberpunk|Cybernetic implants and genetic modification is the norm; advanced helper AI citizens walk the streets as equals.]] They have [[T'au|advanced ion weaponry]], something that terrified the shit out of the Imperium to the point where they just straight up [[Derp|banned it.]] Their guns hit harder and faster, so that even their basic infantry can prove to trouble for your average space marine. And unlike the Imperium's physically and politically unstable hive worlds with their overcrowded, polluted and crime-ridden hive cities, the League's Holds should be considered closer to actual fortified arcologies. Agri-worlds? Why grow your food using primitive farming methods when you could just grow your [[Meatbread|foodstuffs]] in factories, labs and indoor facilities?

[[Doom|Even Chaos avoids their territory.]]

Much of the kin arsenal makes use of exotic material not found outside the galactic core. This includes extremely hazardous materials like dark-star ore; the universal dampening field the material emits can halt all mechanical and organic functions making [[Grimdark|even the mildest of wounds lethal]]. Because of its inherent dangers, the material is mined and shaped with exceptional care and only wielded by those who can be trusted with such [[Plasma|tactically valuable yet dangerous weapons]]. Even their teleportation technology is almost flawless, standing in stark contrast to its incredibly risky Imperial counterpart and allowing Kin to be deployed [[Reasonable Marines|safely and tactically]].

Many kin weapons are augmented with HunTR modules, which connect to their neural implants to help [[Ork Snipers|bring about the best possible firing solutions.]] Their Brôkhyr have mastered the manufacturing of focusing lenses and other components necessary to produce a sustained stream of energy, leading to focused beam technology that can be used on and off the battlefield, such as their mining and excavation industries. Their exclusive Volkanite weapons are similar to imperial [[Volkite Weaponry|Volkite]] (and may even be closer to the ''original'' technology), with the key difference that they appear to be [[AWESOME|not only more powerful but also more common.]]

Ancestor Cores are so [[Bear Lore|big-brained]], in fact, that they actually shine in the warp, fulfilling a similar role to the astronomicon (albeit on a far smaller scale). The Leagues' warp drives and gellar field are also superior to those of the Imperium, but since they don't dive quite so headlong into the Warp their ships are generally slower than their Imperial counterparts. However, the kin's methods of warp travel are far safer and more predictable, which they feel outweighs the slower travel speed. And their ships are FUCK HUGE, to the point where they [[Dwarf|dwarf]] even the largest of the Imperium's interstellar vessels.

Shielding developments are also prevalent in the physical realm. Unlike conventional [[void shields]], weave-field generators employ techniques to overlap differing energy fields, interlocking over a range of frequencies and exotic energies. Weave field generators are compact, efficient and scalable, and can be used either as personal shields or projected onto entire areas, the latter of which which is useful for mining.

Other amazing devices include pan-specular scanners, which allow the Kin to find an enemy’s location not just physical objects, but through the warp. Even the most terrifying of galactic phenomena are reaped through atom-delving and transotheric resubstantiation; [[Tyranids|stellar siphons drain the stars themselves, as the cthonic mining guilds take whatever resources they need.]] They can even [[Necron|move entire planets.]]

Unfortunately, despite holding on to far more dark-age technology than most of humanity's other splinters, what the Leagues did lose was typically their knowledge of [[Golden Throne|how to make and maintain the really good stuff]] - things like the Votann themselves. Due to this, while they're closer to the technological pinnacle of dark-age humanity than the Imperium, the ongoing decay of the Votann cores threatens to sink them back to levels similar to their emperor loving cousins, while already slowing down much of their R&D to a crawl. As a result, they are stuck behind the Eldar and the Necrons technologically. But hey, at least they aren't on the Imperium’s level of decay, and are straight the Tau's supplier of Ion weaponry and other technologies.

Ironically, in comparison to both the adeptus mechanicus and their [[Thorek Ironbrow|Fantasy Counterparts, the Kin don't have a cultural problem with innovation and research,]] but rather a technical one thanks the Votann decaying and overloading. The traditions of the kin can be traced back to the dark age of technology, a time that was stated to have science as its god. As a result, their traditions call for more innovation and development, not less. Stubborn in favour of progress, not stagnation.

===Aspects of League society===
*'''Leagues:''' Conglomerates of family states united for better economic and defensive potential. Competitive, but not to the point of self destruction and to the point where it gets in the way of productivity. Looks down on the Imperium, but trades and sometimes even works with them. Distrusts the Eldar because they are entitled bastards who are bad for business. Some are business partners with the Tau and gives them ion guns and other goodies. Loves their Votann to point of self sacrifice. Their numbers greatly outnumber the populations of the upstart tau and the dwindling Aeldari, yet their population is still far fewer than the Imperium's obviously (they are still described as having formidable and vast interstellar empires however). Loves their Galactic core due to its crazy amounts of wealth and minerals, and it being quite inhospitable to the other races (which they were <ref><nowiki>Insert non-formatted text here</nowiki></ref>made to live in). There is no exact number of known Leagues, the Kin find no use in keep track of it. Can often be in nomadic fleets or living in spacefaring holds. Currently trying to fix up their broken trade routes after the Great Rift appeared. The Leagues are named in honour of the Votann themselves, who are also known variously as the Primal Ancestors, the Gilded Ones, or the Stoneminds. In some Kin myths, Votann was not one being but many, and is sometimes depicted as a group of gleaming golden figures, or a wheel of graven stone faces. In other myths, the Votann fashioned the first crucibles, then raised the Kin up and sent them sailing into the dark void - before oceans of fire and flesh rose to swallow the. Some myths speak of Votann as eldest and wisest of the First Ancestors, themselves shadowy presences ill-defined and shown in many different forms - both humanoid and otherwise - where they are depicted at all. With typical pragmatism, the kin accept that their myths are too contradictory, allegorical, and suspect to be cited as possessing a definite basis of fact.
*'''First Ancestors:''' The DAOT colonists (engineers, miners, etc) who journeyed to the galactic mineral-rich core in generation ships as part of a large colonization effort from old Terra. The first ancestors are cited to be agents of change, and held responsible for the majority of the stable mutations - collectively known as cloneskeins - that run through the kin gene pool. Why did they not return to the heartlands of their race is unclear. From the fact that so many Kin fleets plunged into the galactic core within a period of only a few centuries, it might be inferred that a deliberate choice was made. It is during this period that the last references to the first ancestors can be found. Not much else is know about them besides the fact they disappeared when the Votann first appeared...
*'''[[Votann]]:''' Super-cogitators, which contain Gestalt repositories of unimaginable inherited wisdom and knowledge, along with [[Spirit stone|Ancestor Cores]] with their self-organizing datastacks and quantum infocores. They communicate with the Kin via a tangle of arcane technology called a "Fane" and through the special class of Kin psyker priests called the Grimnyr. All members of the Leagues after they pass on are returned and recycled by the ancestor cores in somber ceremonies, both mind, and body. Even the ironkin are not immune to this fate, as while they are long-lived, they will eventually slow down to a crawl and breakdown. The minds and uploaded data are kept in the Votann, while the bodies are recycled to make new kin. They are currently breaking down and developing [[Machine Spirit|"personalities"]], with calculations that normally took hours taking decades, if not centuries to complete. However they can still be modified by the Kin (often at the Votann’s request). Curiously, they also serve another purpose of acting as mini [[Astronomican|Astronomicans]] for the Leagues, due to their vast intellect literally shining in the warp. Has been stated that the "Votann belong to the Kin as Kin belong to the Votann". Often act more like advisors and repositories (none of them have been leaders). Due to their degradation and age, some of the Votann have even lost the ability to produce more Kin (Brokhyrs and Ironkin Guilds can produce more ironkin, but they are of lower quality than what the ancestors could create). The ancestor cores have also been stated to have been on the first generation ships.
**'''Fane:''' The grimnyr interface in Arcane technological structures called Fanes. A space of timeless devices and quiet contemplation, at the heart of which lies a complex tangle of machinery that is part altar, part interface. It is said that these machines were simply nodes through which the wisdom of the Votann flashed with the speed of thought from one voidcraft to another. They still fulfill this practical purpose. Culturally though, Fanes have taken on a greater spiritual significance to the Kin, so that now they are viewed as places where one stands in full regard of the Ancestors, and where the presence of the Votann lies heavy and Sombre. Indeed, through arcane technological processes that even the Kin do not fully understand, there have been instances recorded of fanes miraculously developing artificial intellect in their own right, and joining the ranks of the Votann themselves. These occurrences of miraculous self awareness are cause for great honour and celebration amongst the Kin in whose Hold they occur. By comparison though, more than one Votann has degenerated in recent centuries until they have become little more than Fanes themselves. To witness such a decline is a terrible tragedy for the Kin.
*'''Grimnyr:''' Kin psykers that wield massive amounts of power. Capable of accessing "empyrically archived" Votann wisdom. They are probably deeply tied to the Votann and represent them in their wing of the Leagues governments. <s>Probably</s> Definitely have very long beards.

*'''Votannic Council:''' A League’s ultimate ruling body. Stubborn, and are slow to change their minds or come to decisions. Elections in the Leagues generally are extremely heated. Needed for full on wars (local conflicts excluded). The Votann are generally treated as part of the council, and they and their Grimnyr often serve as advisors. Every Kindred governs itself in a huge spherical chamber known as the Spakerönde. The ruling councils are called Hearthspake. The Hearthspake sees little of the politicking or self interested maneuvering that typifies man species political arenas. The Kin might be hard headed, but they are almost always earnest and honest in their desire to guide their kindred well.
**'''Guild Masters:''' Guild Leaders who have worked their way up through the Leagues meritocracy. Note that there can be multiple guild masters on the council.
**'''Brôkhyr Forge-Master:''' The absolute cream of the crop from the forges of the Leagues, they not only have proved their ability to create technological marvels,but over see their development as well. They also bring the fury of the Forge to the battlefield, delivering council to the warriors on the field as well.
**'''Lord Grimnyr:''' The ultimate representative of the Grimnyr, who embodies wisdom, guidance, and insight. The Lord Grimnyr acts as the voice of the Votann itself, acting as a walking conduit for both their lore and gestalt might. This role is not purely a ceremonial or advisory role, for it is incumbent upon the Lord Grimnyr to walk the battlefield as the eyes, ears, and voice of the Votann, dispensing wisdom to friends and allies, and unleashing the wrath of the Ancestors. It is not known how they are selected for the position.
**'''High Kâhl:''' The ultimate military commanders of the kinhost militaries. To be named High Kâhl is both a tremendous honour and a awesome responsibility. To be elected a High Kâhl, the incumbent must go beyond just a tremendously capable warriors ,and a indomitable battlefield leader. They must master the cruel calculus of war itself.
*'''Kindreds:''' A combination between nation state and extended family, essentially the societies that make up the Leagues. Generally lives in holds (although it's population is encouraged to go travel throughout the galaxy and make their ancestors proud). They are very communal in nature, and their populations range from a couple dozen to the millions. Each one is governed by a Votannic council. They have their own aspects which are called the Four Pillars:
*# Hearth: “the heart of the hold,” literally the heat and light their forges, recycle air, and let the kin thrive
*# Forge: Here everything the Kindred needs is built, from weapons to life-support systems
*# Fane: Where the Grimnyr interface with the Ancestor Cores
*# Crucible: Where new flesh and blood Kin are made, if not from a more natural method.
*'''Hearthspake:''' In a given hold, the Hearthspake is the governing body, no matter how big or small. They are a council comprised of Guild representatives of particular commercial groups, the hold's attendant Grimnyr, as well as the leaders of the hold's Kinhost, such as the Kahl.
*'''Kinhosts:''' The militaries/militias of the Leagues, made after the kindreds united and combined their militaries. Soldiers are typically drawn from the civilian populous, but are not restricted to kinhosts only, as depending on their decision (after they completed their oath of service to their Kâhl), the soldier may return to civilian life after they have done their service. Objectives range from protecting colonization efforts, protecting resources extraction operations and other guild/kindred interests, and overall defense to annihilating entire worlds because they know too much. Has a slightly overall civilian look to them (but are still more deadly than Imperial forces). The forces within the kinhosts militaries (called oathbands), are extremely flexible on what they consist of. Some of these oathbands can even consist entirely of mercenaries.
**'''Kinhost commanders/senior Officers:''' The military leaders of the Kinhost militaries that rank below the High Kâhl.
*'''Guilds:''' The overall backbone of the Leagues. Independent commercial groups. Builds holds and everything else. Regulates and manages almost everything, and oversees fair competition (but are not necessarily overbearing). Does not like cutting corners. Very competitive and ruthless in general. Is unofficially apart of the government. Typically doesn't leave their own holds. Does not like Freelancers and outcasts (and the occasional rival guild). Every aspect of life and production is affected by the guilds. Clonskin guilds exist and work to improve upon and stabilize cloneskins. Ironkin Guilds exist as well.

*'''Freelancers:''' Independent contractors, mercenaries, traders, explorers, plumbers, etc. Does the same thing as the guilds except with less political influence and resources. Not too fond of guilds

*'''Holds:''' The homes of the Leagues and its organizations and populous. Typically enclosed and fortified, holds vary in type and size. Can range from underground tunnels and narrows, to fortified bunkers and live in factories, to hive cities and ecumenopolises. Also comes in the form of space stations, asteroid colonies, and ships. Industrial and high tech in nature, yet typically very cozy with a lot of empasis on community, closeness, and interaction. Essentially hive cities except not shit and on steroids. Contains "Hearths", which act as the hearts of the holds, providing heat, light, and recycled air, and overall let the kin thrive. Hearths also act as reactors for the Kins holds, powering up all their electrical needs.

*'''Kin in general:''' The general population of the Leagues. Mainly consists of ironkin, fleshkin, and clonekin (although, there could be more). Tough as nails, and artificial in nature. Comes from "crucibles" (which they prefer due to regular reproduction diluting the genetic quality of offspring. Generally enhanced by both biological and cybernetic means. Very intelligent and industrious. Loves their ancestors to death. Loves their Kin and kindreds. Loves making their master crafts. Loves living in their fortified holds (but will go out into the galaxy to serve the ancestors, their guilds, and their communities). They get to pick their own names (excluding their family names, which they get from the names the crucibles has attached to it, and its considered rude to change), and gain more throughout their life from fellow kin like "Orkslayer". Loves their individuality and mutations (although some cloneskin templates and mutations can actually lower the lifespan of a clonkin, along with [[Star Wars|clonekins who had their production accelerated]]). Far from uncommon for them to get plenty of physical alterations. They were also made to resist and endure the warp and its corruptions, dampening their souls (note: they are masking their souls brightness, not actually dimming down their souls) for better protection. They also have high amounts of white blood cells, which allows them to greatly resist disease, imbibe higher amounts of alcohol, and heal swiftly. Some can see in infrared.

*'''[[Ironkin]]:''' The League have [[Men of Iron]] now, or at least true AIs. Appears to be comparable to a Servitor, although distinctly described as being treated as equal to the fleshy Kin. The Ironkin can mimic their living counterparts’ every behavior and demeanor, but display no sense of ambition and are hard-wired with a desire to be helpful. Their bodies are all built for a unique purpose and cannot be easily replaced should they be damaged. One such purpose are the Wayfinders, which are the supercomputer, squatty equivalent of Imperial [[navigator|navigators]], allowing the Kin to traverse the Warp without the need of psykers, and thus reduce the threat of daemonic incursions. All ironkin have a CU, or Cerebral Unit, and a mechanical body, both of which are unique to each individual ironkin. The CU's themselves are nigh indestructible (with microfield generators woven into the structure of the unit), and can send out distress beacons. Since Kin are Kin, these are high priority for recovery.

*'''[[COG|COGs]]:''' Are essentially the lower forms of AI, automata, and algorithms the Leagues possess. Akin to tau drones (yet still more advanced). Does much of the menial jobs and such in the Leagues, along with being utilized in combat as well, and overall helps automate the Leagues of Votann. Probably still treated better than servitors (especially considering they look like ironkin).

*'''Outcasts:''' Hippies, lone wolves, academic heretics, illegal experimenters, and other scourges of bureaucracy. They're either those who have had their entire faction [[Blackshield|wiped out]] or have been cast out of League society. Seeing how the philosophy and religion of the Leagues involve all Kin experience live before returning in mind and body to the Ancestor Cores, it's considered a death sentence the same way the Path of the Outcast and the Path of Damnation are to the Craftworld Aeldari.

===Known Leagues===
[[File:VotannMap.jpg|450px|right|thumb|Leagues of Votann Astrography of the Galactic Core.]]
*'''Greater Thurian League:''' One of the original founding Leagues and the poster boy League. Has a teal color scheme. Largest of the Leagues, spreading over a wide expanse of the galactic core and very influential on the other Leagues. Includes over 200 allied kindred holds, and it contains the biggest guild. Very wealthy and expansionist, they have a lot of military might and resources at their disposal and they want to expand their reach. Their members think they epitomize what it means to be Kin. Are uncompromising with their mercenary attitude. Apparently, their grim, methodical pragmatism is an inspiration to other Leagues. The Kin’s special character Ûthar the Destined hails from this League.
*'''Urani-Surtr Regulates:''' A determined League constantly being invaded by groups of Orks, Tyranids, and Necrons, despite this the League is determined to fight to the last person standing. Their colors are greens and brown. Their kin live on the minimum and are currently at war with the Necron Dynasty of Samnokh. Are stoic, pragmatic, and abhor waste like most other Leagues, though they are noted for being less concerned with the cost of lives and material for battle to prevent giving up ground. Likes to keep their population counts high for their oathbands. [[Slayers of Karak Kadrin|No kin admitted to the Urani-Surtr Regulates has ever left.]]
*'''Trans-Hyperian Alliance:''' The most puritanical in their worship of the Ancestors. Sacrifice has more importance to them than the other leagues. Their colors are mostly orange and white. They enjoy collecting data and new info for their Votanns. They are a nomadic league, spread out not only across the galactic core but beyond, into far space with their 3 Votanns being stored in heavily armed ships. Their prospectors are known for venturing the width and breath of the galaxy in search of resources, and the League’s Hernkyn Pioneer riders are extremely skilled and considered genuinely exceptional by the other Leagues. This lifestyle is driven by the requirement to enrich their Votanns, which for the Trans-Hyperian Alliance is a reward in and of itself.
*'''Kronus Hegemony:''' Also known as Kôrynn’s Kindred they are the most militaristic and aggressive league (to the point of being aggressive even to other leagues). Their color scheme is yellow and black. They are a relatively new league formed less than millennium ago. [[Awesome|Ork WAAAGH!s, Tyranid swarms, and many other threats have been broken by the mighty kinhost of the Kronus hegemony]]. They are known for having a harsh reputation, due to their strictness and quotas. The formation of their league was due to their League’s Fane (computer systems) achieving self-awareness and transforming into a full blown Votann which has subsequently been demanding the Hegemony should always be gathering resources; Kindreds that join have to pay a hefty price to join and then have to pay hefty tributes through conquest. They also already pissed off the other Leagues in territorial disputes. Despite their reputation, they are still seen as a boon for the other Leagues due to their defensive capabilities.
*'''Ymyr Conglomerate:''' A massive and ancient power bloc. Has a red color scheme. Few value quality craftsmanship more than the Ymyr conglomerate. They have long ventured beyond the core trading and operating all over the galaxy. They are the richest League, having the best living standards to boot. Even for the other Leagues, they appear decadent. They also have a higher amount of high-quality weaponry and equipment for their kinhosts.
*'''Seran-Tok Mercantile League:''' Has risen to prominence and profited greatly from trade with the T’au Empire. <s>Probably</s> confirmed to be the Demiurg.
*'''Grand Orion Compact:''' Their Votann was destroyed by Orks from WAAAGH! Morbok resulting in a grudge against the green skins and starting a 500 year long war of extermination against the members of that WAAAGH!
*'''Emberg Agnir Bloc:''' Destroyed by Tyranids. Their Votann absorbed their biomass to deny the Tyranids their prize as revenge, which drove the Votann mad, turning it into "The Mad Core", which causes fluctuations in the Warp impeding travel near their former hold, which brings up a lot of fluff questions of its own. How exactly does a mechanical supercomputer ''assimilate'' an entire hold/league? Was it something like [[Forge World|Lucius]], where the Mechanicus holed themselves up underneath the surface, [[Tomb World|using teleportation to send their forces up and retrieving the shatted out mechanical bits back later]]? Or is this some weird techno-vore thing [[Grimdark|where all the dorfs jumped into an acid vat so their biomass could be used by their god?]] Either way, their Votann may have been one of the few Cores left able to react quickly, not that it'll be of much use now. Probably a callback to the original demise of the Squats.
*'''Ghulo Industrial Complex:''' This League is forever adding new systems and planets to their impressive holdings, and are skilled in transforming even the most barren of worlds into productive and valuable assets. Pours almost all of their time and energy into maintaining trade routes, and keeping their convoys of heavy haulers and escort ships moving along them. This League contains several extremely large and powerful Cthonian guilds, whose influence in the Hearthspakes is such that they're virtually the defacto rulers of the Ghulo Industrial Complex as a whole.
*'''Typhon-Styx Protectorate:''' A League that is renowned for their indomitable fortifications. Their oathbands lean towards steady and relentless strategies, advancing from one position to the next, and allowing waves of enemy counter attacks to smash themselves apart against swiftly-raised ramparts and tanks, dug in as temporary bunkers. Their holds are exceptionally [[Imperial Fists|fortified]].
*'''Grendl Dominance:''' An overly warlike League.
*'''Jotun-Erydani Combine:''' A League that is renowned for their Craftmanship and forging. Is a strongly meritocratic and Brôkhyr centric society.
*'''Kapellan League:''' Had their ancestors degenerate into Fanes. Spent years mourning.
*'''Balor-Attal Conglomerate:''' Had their ancestors degenerate into Fanes. Spent years mourning. Is in the process of disintegrating.
*'''Tehys Expanse:''' A extremely wide spread League. It's Kindreds [[ComStar|maintain contact by means of a singularity potent interstellar communications network, whose proprietary technologies they will only lease to other Leagues for a substantial fee.]]
*'''Sigma-Drakoni Union:''' [[Saim-Hann|A martially inclined League that prizes honorable combat greatly. It's Kinhosts are held to a strict code of conduct at all times, and take an unusual degree of pride in their heraldy and decorative insignia.]]
*'''Pan-Telluric Commonwealth:''' A exceptionally egalitarian society.

===Known Kindreds===
*'''[[Deep Rock Galactic|Deep Rock Kindred]]:''' One of the kindreds belonging to the Greater Thurian League, the Deep Rock Kindred resisted the onslaught of the on-coming heretic astartes within War Zone: Orgvayr.
*'''Kindred of Vortun:''' Belongs to the Greater Thurian League. This is the Kindred Ûthar the Destined Belongs to.
*'''Khâld's Star Breaker Kindred:'''
*'''Kindred Crimson:'''
*'''Skâlfi's Kindred:''' Named after their ancestor core.
*'''The Kindred of Nârunn:''' Named after their ancestor core.
*'''Vykât's Kin:''' Named after their ancestor core.
*'''Kindred of Echodark:''' Named after a defining feature of their hold world.
*'''The Thousand Stars Kindred:''' Named after a defining feature of their hold world.
*'''Iron Canyon Kindred:''' Named after a defining feature of their hold world.
*'''Star-Delver Kindred:''' Named after its essential nature.
*'''Kindred of Ork Slayers:''' Named after its essential nature.
*'''Yôht's Black Pillars Kindred:''' A Kindred with a combination of name types
*'''The Kindred Stoic of Nightgulf:''' A Kindred with a combination of name types
*'''Kindred Six:''' A Kindred with a very basic name. Belongs to the Kronus hegemony, and is brutally direct. Prides themselves on their mastery of urban warfare. Are sometimes rivals with Sylâkh's Kindred.
*'''Kindred Eleven-D:''' A Kindred with a very basic name.
*'''Hold of Oriâkh's Irongate Kindred:''' Had their core destroyed by WAAAGH! Morbok. Belongs to the Grand Orion Compact.
*'''The Void striker Kindred:''' Swallowed up by Maelstrom Örgvayr.
*'''Lâkhryr's Kindred:''' Swallowed up by Maelstrom Örgvayr.
*'''Nôthka's Kindred:''' Belongs to the Trans-Hyperian Alliance. They maintain a Hold amidst the calamitous ruin-belt of the Broken Triplets, a trio of threatening worlds that were smashed during an ancient catastrophe.
*'''Orksbane Kindred:''' Belongs to the Ymyr Conglomerate. Owns the world of Tamâkh, which the Hold of Brôkhfyre is built upon. They control and capture the exotic and deadly spectra emanating from the world's nearby star, using mile high stellar vanes. These energies pour into their forge, which is amongst the greatest in the Leagues, as it is renowned for the weapons of war it can produce.
*'''Kârkyr Stellar Nursery:'''
*'''Yênna's Kindered:''' Another Kindred named after it's core. Is in possession of Balewind Harvester stations.
*'''Kindred of Aârnok:'''
*'''Kôrynn’s Kindred:''' Was originally apart of the now faltering Kapellan League. Broke away with several other Kapellan Kindreds to form the Kronus Hegemony when their Fane achieved self-awareness and became a newly ascended Votann. They gave become central to the Kronus hegemony, and receives portions of the Leagues spoils for their Votann's defense.
*'''Kindred of Liminus Crag:''' Belongs to the Trans-Hyperian Alliance. Are famed as shipwrights of the swiftest void craft and atmospheric gunships.
*'''Ukûlak's Kindred:''' Belongs to the Trans-Hyperian Alliance. Has every last one of their Kin serve at least a decade as Hernkyn in their early years to Honour their ancestors.
*'''Sylâkh's Kindred:''' A Kindred name after their Core. Favors massed artillery and siege warfare. Are sometimes rival with Kindred six.

===Known Holds===
*'''Obsyd Gate:''' A prominent hold of the Kindred of Vôrtun, which belongs to the Greater Thurian League. This the hold Ûthar the Destined Belongs to.
*'''Grand Hall:''' A prominent hold of the greater Thurian League.
*'''Hold Silver Six:''' A prominent hold of the greater Thurian League.
*'''Demmâk's Haven:''' A prominent hold of the greater Thurian League.
*'''Crimson Gulf:''' A prominent hold of the greater Thurian League. Renowned for its sheer size and impenetrable defenses.
*'''Ûrvymm's Bulwark:''' A prominent hold of the greater Thurian League. Renowned for its sheer size and impenetrable defenses.
*'''Cynder Span:''' A prominent hold of the Ymyr Conglomerate
*'''Delvegard:''' A prominent hold of the Ghulo Industrial Complex
*'''Sunder Stair:''' A hold belonging to the Nôthka's Kindred. Sits at the heart of the Broken Triplets.
*'''Hold of Brôkhfyre:''' Lies upon the world of Tamâkh, and is owned by the Orksbane Kindred.

===Known Mining Worlds/Zones===
*'''Törg:'''
*'''Darkstar Mines:'''

===Known Guilds===
*'''Cthonian Mining Guilds:'''
*'''Yngvâry Combined Logistics:''' Huge and wealthy.
*'''Star-Rider Mercantile Confederation:''' Huge and wealthy.
*'''Cthonian Guild of Kâdokh:''' Huge and wealthy.

===Regions/Warp storms===
To most species, the galactic core is uninhabitable. Only the hardiest of species and civilizations could ever dream to live here. But should they survive, the great riches of the core will open to them.

In contrast to the Imperium, the Kin do not recognize the name "The Great Rift", believing it would lend further superstitious menace to a already menacing threat. The appearance of these warp storms has caused much havoc in the galactic core, from swallowing up entire kindreds, to aggravating local core xenos. Some refugees from these swallowed up kindreds were able to make it out thanks to pan-spectral arrays, which gave some small warning to said kindred refugees. Those who escaped told of holds falling into complete madness, and right on their heels were hordes of ravenous Chaos war fleets. These storms have made the already extraordinarily dangerous core even more deadly. Each warp storm within the galactic core is named after a translation of an archaic Terran monster. Örgvayr, meaning "ogre" in low gothic, is the largest and most notable of them, and is located on the north-eastern fringe of the Greater Thurian League's territory, consuming both the Void Striker and Lakhryr's kindreds. Other warp storms are Cölosyk, Gëirokh, Töroll, Öggh, and Cyklöp.

===Xenos in/near League territory===
*'''Orks:''' The Orks have long-been an enemy of the Kin, their own species-wide durability and sheer refusal to go away making them perhaps the only other species able to comfortably withstand the crushing weight of the galactic core. Being the main neighbors of the Kin, coupled with Orks being Orks and wanting a good punch up, has resulted in their species perhaps being the only thing the Kin consider to be an arch-enemy. With the Five Hundred Years war with WAAAGH! Morbok resulting in the destruction of a Votann, the stellar fleets of Bogg da [[Freebooterz|Freeboota]] King invading in the lieu of some warpstorms, and the neighboring Ork Empire of Morzag, all these things have solidified the Orks as constant pebble in the Kin's boot.
*'''Tyranids:''' "The Bane", as the Kin know the Tyranids as, has become somewhat of an intense threat/material opportunity for the Leagues in recent millennium. Hive Fleet Leviathan wiped out the entirety of the Emberg-Aegnir Bloc, resulting in the Mad Votann, and so earning the ire of the species. But at the same time, the Leagues hunt down hive fleet tendrils to harvest them for organic materials (likely their bio-metals and acids). Ultimately, they're treated more as a hazard than a direct enemy to fight with.
*'''Minor Species:''' The typical one-off species that exist to pad out the Galactic Core to make it less empty. Nothing is known about them other than their names and that they are taking the Great Rift as an opportunity to get antsy. They include the Septeryx, the Chrobdyr Ferrophagites (rust monsters lol) and the ominous Cult of Ohn.
*'''Other Big Players:''' With the Great Rift opening and swallowing a shit ton of Holds, many Kindreds and some Leagues have opted to scarper out of the Galactic Core and find new steading elsewhere. This vacuum has allowed an opening for the Imperium, the T'au Empire, and the Craftworld Eldar to move in on the territory, kicking up dust as they do and transgressing on the Kin's holdings.

===Noteworthy Kin===
*'''Ûthar the Destined:''' A great Kahl from the Greater Thurian League that has a mysterious objective and destiny, prophesied to complete a great task. He’s a ruthless warrior armed with masterfully wrought weapons, including the legendary Blade of the Ancestors (which he got literally the day he was born on), and has a gift for assessing enemy foes.
*'''Yôht Grendok:''' An eager young up-and-coming Kâhl also from the Greater Thurian league. Yôht is armed with a unique, belt-fed Autoch-pattern combi-bolter and a forgewrought plasma sword. His gear is also noted as being decorated with fine gems, and topped by an ornate rampart crest decorated with leonine imagery. His miniature was among the exclusive merchandise released to commemorate the anniversaries of Games Workshop's Warhammer Stores in 2023 and Warhammer Legends rules allowed you to use his particular loadout in open, narrative, or matched play – or you could field him as a standard Kâhl.

===Relationship/interactions with other factions===

{{topquote|Alright listen to me, you mechadendrite molesting piece of shit. If you go any further with that rust stained trashcan lid you call a face, I'm gonna recycle your arse so hard, you won't be able to get hard in front of a toaster! I'm gonna shove my foot so far into your exhaust pipe, my foot is gonna have a free shoe polishing. Then I'm gonna shove that red hood in your face, and call you a hobo-copper. I will disassemble you with my fucking beard. And then I will reassemble you without your human parts! Because your flesh is weak, you twat!"<br>"... Sniff. That was uncalled for.| A typical Kin's greeting to a Mechanicus Skitarii}}

'''Galactic relations in general:''' The Kin will leave most of the denizens in the galaxy alone, so long as they aren't getting in-between what the Kin want. The Leagues of Votann trade outside the core through a range of names, though these are rarely of their choosing this has caused confusion and misunderstanding over who these mercenary adventurers really are. To those who are in their way however (unwillingly or not), the Kin are a tough nut to crack. Even far from the more secure area that is the galactic core, the Kin are a armoured, fortified, bunkered down, advanced, and tactical juggernaut. More often than not, the Kin succeed in their conflicts, and even the more major players of the galaxy find them difficult. On occasion, a resistant population may be deemed too strong for any conflict to be worthwhile, but most of the time any resistance will be swept aside or ignored. The Kin have no compunctions about tearing open the crust of a world whilst the population still dwells upon it, however sometimes a evacuation can be negotiated. To those on the kins good side, they are invaluable business partners. To those on their bad side, they are a force of ruthlessness and greed. As for the more esoteric side of things, the Kin look at the Emperor, Khaine, and the Chaos Gods in the same lens: “not my horse, not my race”.

'''Ironhead Squat Prospectors:''' See each other as distant cousins who can share a pint in the pub and complain about the Aeldari.

'''Tyranids:''' In the Imperium of Man, the Tyranids hunt ''you'', in the Leagues of Votann, the League hunt ''Tyranids''. Known to the Leagues as “The Bane” the Kin are wary of the Nids and have gain a grudging respect for their effectiveness and adaptability. Whilst the Nids still view the Kin as biomass ripe for devourment. the nids' themselves also stay clear away from them as the Leagues are known to scout out and hunt down ''entire Tyranid hive fleets'' to harvest their resource bounties. Moreover, the high technological levels and large presence of automatons makes fighting the League a sunk-cost fallacy for the Tyranids such as in one example with the Northstar cluster, where the bioforms exhibited an odd nesting behavior not seen elsewhere. They have proven difficult to eradicate and have brought devastation to the Urani-Surtr Regulates. The Kin see the danger of the Tyranids they pose to their territories, following the destruction of the Emberg Agnir Bloc. It was made up of a few dozen kindred and found themselves in the path of hive fleet Leviathan. The League was wiped out. The Votann was left untouched. It absorbed the bodies of its fallen Kin to deny the Tyranids the biomass, and was driven mad, becoming the mad core, and causing fluctuations in the warp that disrupt travel. Nevertheless, such endeavors still prove too risky for the Tyranids and, given the League's habit and skillful speacialty of hunting their fleets down like giant whalers; the Hive Mind has put the League on the same level as the Necrons in terms of GTFO or DIE!.

'''Tau:''' The Spess Dorfs are the China to the Tau progressive imperial japan. They view the Leagues as grand benefactors and business partners of the Greater Good and the Tau Empire - although they could certainly improve their viewpoints and dedication to the cause. They are also really happy with their new technology they received from the Leagues, with their ion technology being extremely popular among the Tau's forces. The Leagues see the Tau as a very naïve and young people, although they appreciate the value of the greater good as it shares similarities with their own philosophy, values, ethics and principles like putting the Kin first. The Tau is more than happy to pay the Leagues, though the Kin rarely share their more advanced tech and resorces. As an example, the Kin's ion tech is superior and far more compact than the Tau's. Thanks to the extreme naivety of the tau, the Tau actually think the few ships they see from the Leagues are all that is left of the Kin, following a invasion from the Tyranids. These rumors have been rebuffed by the Kin, much to the confusion of the Tau. The Kin see no value in enlightening them in this regard so long as they can continue to profit from trade with the naïve civilization. With the advances of the empire in the Chalnath expanse, there have been some minor clashes with the various factions of the Kin, which may have somewhat soured some local relations. Kind of. Nothing that money can't fix, though. Gold settles Grudges as easy as blood, even in space.

'''The Imperium of Man:''' View the Leagues as useful and good enough for trade, yet they think they are sketchy devianted abhumans who stray too far from the holy human form and are probably heretics, though they don't seem as quick or eager to put these ones down nor whip out any Exterminatus moves on them. On the world of Necromunda at least, they are looked down upon as Squats despite all they've done for the world. Likewise, the Leagues view the Imperium as a bunch of disappointing dumbfuck competitors - although they're still good enough for trade. Will surprisingly be honest about their usage of AI if pressed on it enough to come out and admit it (which of course it naturally pisses the Imperium off especially among the priesthood of the Mechanicus). On some Imperial worlds like Necromunda, the Kin have been there since their Imperial records started. Rogue traders are more than happy to deal with the Leagues, though their extravagant lifestyles are considered wasteful by the kin, and deals are made with governors of Imperial worlds and systems, for a suitable fee. The more zealous of the Imperium deem the Kin as entirely sovereign independent state of abhumans, if not Xenos. And at one point, the Demiurg had an automated mining facility that was infiltrated by the alpha legion. Overall, the Kin treat them as any other species.

'''Aeldari:''' [[Elf|Guess]]. They like to keep their meetings brief few and far between as the knife-ears aura of xenophobia, arrogance, pretentiousness and entitlement pisses the Kin off to no end, a humorous opinion given how the Kin can be just as greedily entitled towards “their resources” as any Eldar (See the ultimatum at page top).

'''Drukhari:''' [[Dwarf Fortress|Guess again]]. Unlike the Tau who were dumb enough to trust the S&M gimp suit wearing weirdass sick fuckheads at one point, the Kin are smart enough to not have wanted anything to do with the perverted pasty sweat goblins.

'''Harlequin:''' Weird creepy murderous chaotic clowns that are to be avoided if they can.

'''Aeldari Exodites:''' [[Avatar|Guess thrice]]. Although, the Kin actually do respect them for their more practical nature. Still more than happy to invade for resources though.

'''Necrons:''' The Necrons consider the Kin to be another upstart race, though with a level of trepidation. Not only are they considered remarkably dangerous foes to fight, but the Kin also delve deep into their worlds, breaking into tomb complexes, and plundering the rich harvest within. To the Kin, the metallic aliens are easy pickings while they sleep, and vicious foes when roused. Typically shoot on sight levels of diplomacy. They already war with the Urani-Surtr Regulates for control over one of its main worlds. The involved Necrons is the Samnokh dynasty.

'''Orks:''' The Orks are the Leagues most hated Foe, as not only are they pervasive, but they are also endlessly wasteful, fighting, destructive, mindlessly violent and ravaging what the Kin have built, and The Leagues have been as successful as every other civilization in eradicating the Orks. The Orks are not stopped by the dangers of the core regions, and Ork pirate raids are a particular concern, with Orks like Bogg Da Freeboota king and his numerous fleets pestering the Leagues. The Orks tendency to use whatever scrap they can get has led to the creation of the saying "a prize for a Ork", used to describe things or ideas that are worthless to the Kin. The 500 years' war was fought against WAAAGH Morbok after they overran the Grand Orion Compact's Hold of oriax iron gate kindred. The Votann in the hold was torn to pieces, the most widespread grudge in the history of the Kin was called, and the Compact spent the next five centuries hunting down every single Ork from WAAAGH Morbok.

'''Chaos:''' They find the Leagues to be a major pain in the ass as they actually have at least some ideas on how to deal with chaos unlike their Imperial counterparts. They dimmed their souls, use soulless A.I. to pilot through the warp, have top notch security, and live high quality and comfortable lives in their holds. They see little to even no chaos corruption in the Leagues and will probably see more losses than wins with them. The Kin of course are absolutely disgusted by them, and have little time for their gruesome and foolish activities.

'''The Adeptus Mechanicus:''' A series of mental breakdowns and cybernetic overloads occurs when Mechanicus members encounter the Leagues. Whether it's due to them seeing Heresy in the Leagues, or due to the many shinies the Leagues have, it doesn't matter. They will see the Leagues as major competition regardless of the reason and move to claim the shinies for themselves. To the Leagues, the Adeptus Mechanicus are rats scurrying around a scrap heap. Superstitious tech cultists living on the successes of their ancient betters whose ignorance makes them dangerous. The Kin avoid them whenever possible and are swift to eradicate them when needed, but only if deemed absolutely necessary.

===Speculation/Theories===
The LoV being as new as they are, there's a lot going on about them that we don't know about. Particularly, how can certain aspects of the setting be connected to them to better help them conform to the whacky-tobaccy universe that is 40k. Until we get lore confirmations, various speculations and conspiracies will be listed here.
*'''Votann out in the Wild:''' As the biggest part of the Leagues and their lore, the Votann naturally draw a lot of attention to themselves, especially since some parts of the lore can now be comfortably assumed to be a Votann.
**'''The Van Saar STC:''' A bit of speculation around the Votann is if anything else in the setting will be retconned into/explained as being one. The most obvious candidate is the [[House Van Saar]] STC, described as being "large building" sized and "damaged" in that it's spewing out radiation, similar to the disrepair some Votann are said to be in albeit more extreme, and if it was a Votann it would explain why Squats are on Necromunda.
**'''The Votann are fueled by alcohol:''' Naturally, being dorfs, the dorfs need to fill the dorf computers with dorf juice in order for them to give dorf advice. How else are they supposed to run? Fission batteries and solar energy? That's [[elf|leaf-lover]] hippy dippy shit.
**'''Basis of the Cult Mechanicus:''' Considering how old the religion of the Adeptus Mechanicus is, as well as the age of the Votann themselves, its not too far of a stretch to assume that the concept of the Machine God could have sprouted from a Votann built and buried on Mars.

===Influences/Mythology/Aesthetic/Complaints===
*'''The greater rage:''' The 2001 release of the [[Tau]] was spurred with anger, confusion, and revulsion. Even to this day in the year 2022, you'll still see swathes of the community that seethe at the mere mention of the Tau, deeming them as "weaboo space communists who aren't grimdark enough", or simply "another vile xeno who is irrelevant". And like its predecessor, the LoV is reaching similar levels of division and anger. But much like the decade that it was revealed in, the Leagues bring in a new scale of chaotic and unprecedented changes. This section is to help boil this down, and address complaints and confusion.
*'''Twentieth century futurism:''' There have been quite a few who have claimed that the LoV is "generic sci-fi" and "inconsistent in its design". To be quite frank, this is a bunch of nonsense hullabaloo. Anyone who has enjoyed enough fictional settings like that of [[Fallout|Fallout]] is going to tell you that the Leagues is full of [[Isaac Asimov|mid-centrury futurism]] and [[Arthur C. Clarke|classical sci-fi]], with the atv looking like a 1960s moon buggy, and the Hernkyn chopper looking like a mid-century 60s bike ([https://youtu.be/ySxEFuUrdio|for god's sake, look at its trailer]). While you will find some of dieselpunk in the LoV and its not entirely just mid-century aesthetics, [[atompunk|atompunk]] has asserted its dominance here, Giving them a more civilian look. This also includes the look of the Ironkin (and to a certain extent [[UR-025]] and the [[Kastelan Class Battle-Automata]] which look like mid-century robots). Fact is, the LoV is a love letter to classic sci fi. But that's not all.
*'''Western/wacky sci-fi:''' If you haven't noticed from the bolter revolvers, the abundance of words like "Pioneer", "frontier", "rugged", and "hardy", along with the fact that the first revealed ironkin looks a lot like a western blacksmith, the amount of "simple" practical tools the Kin often carry, the Leagues have a lot of western influences. They also seem to still retain an air of comedic relief from their previous Squat forms. Expect future [[Firefly|Firefly]] references, and a Votann answering with [[Approved Literature|"42"]].
*'''Mass produced goodness:''' Unlike their many Dwarven counterparts, the Leagues are by no means the top industrial powerhouse of the galaxy (the Necron and the Aeldari have them beat, along with most of the other species from around the time of the old ones). To be quite honest, they are more about industry as a theme rather than being the most industrious. However, one could say they are still the top non-prehistoric industrial in the galaxy. They could also be said to be the top powerhouse in the galaxy that is both operating at its full capability (Necron sleepiness), and still actively lives and colonizes the galaxy (Eldar and their hidey holes). And in comparison, to their "competitors", they are probably the most easily accessible due to them generally not wanting to instantly butcher you the second they even glance at you, or just tell you to get lost. As for the lower powers? The Imperium, while it's very industrial, is also incredibly inefficient and often...dumb with its capabilities in general (Agri-worlds, under use of auto loaders, crappy servitors). And the Tau, while smarter than the Imperium with their industrial capabilities, has far less potential with what they have.
**Moving on from their position in the galaxy, why the industrial aesthetic? Well, first off, they're dwarves. Second off, as mentioned above, the other industrial factions are either too insufficient to carry out certain ideas and concepts or are too hidey. The Leagues are in the perfect position to introduce potential new concepts to the universe, like not crap hive cities, dyson spheres that don't belong to the Necron, megastructures, and potentially much more. it's a nice change of pace to see an actually efficient industrial that isn't controlled by ancient aliens.
**Thirdly, you need a little grime and practicality to that atompunk, and efficient industry is the perfect way to do it. Doesn't mean you can't have your cleanliness (and I'm pretty sure they'd prefer to not have pollution in their holds), just adds a tad bit of realistic imagery to it.
*'''Cleanliness, kin, and old world blues:''' Besides the reasons above, there is a reason the Leagues look so clean, organized, and sleek. This comes from the more grimdark and evil side of the Leagues (which is a little weird and unique). As previously stated before, the Leagues are a meritocracy overseen by guilds, wise long-bearded psykers, military commanders, and the mighty moai heads themselves. Said guilds are very competitive and will not hesitate to strip to the bone entire planets with civilizations and ecosystems just to stay ahead.
**So are they capitalist? Maybe. But while they've shown how they can easily have conflicts with themselves, one of their mottos is "Kin are kin". They also seem to be very egalitarian within their societies. On top of this, we've had previous examples of society reaching post scarcity levels of comfort, including even some Imperial worlds, and the friggin lower tech tau. They also seem to put high importance on community and fellow kin. Even the guilds wouldn't be caught dead cutting corners and making shoddy products (they regulate much of League society).
**So socialists? Maybe. But really, the answer may be in-between (somewhat). Would certainly suggest looking up the guilds of post classical, classical, and pre-classical history to get a better perspective.
**But we do know that they generally have a comfortable life and are very egalitarian. The guilds are competitive, meritocratic, regulate much of League society, and still come to blow with each other. What we can tell is that Leagues inner society is generally at least decent for its citizens. As for those who are outside of League society...
**Expect to see a lot of neocolonialism, colonialism, client states, banana Republics, puppet states, potentially narco states, banana wars, and the 1893 overthrowing of the kingdom of Hawaii except 10x worse (and with more planetary genocide). As with their holds: dirty on the outside, clean on the inside.
*'''The mythological and the fantastical:''' This one is a total mashup. You got Celtic, Greek, Nordic, and other mythologies mashed in. The Leagues are named after Greek titans, and Nordic gods. The Votann are based off [[Odin]]. The Kin are Geri and Freki, odins greedy wolves. The leadership is based off odins ideal leadership (with the grimnyr being based off one of his disguise names).
*'''Too Human similarities:''' Way back in 2008 the now defunct game company Silicon Knights released a game called “Too Human” for the Xbox 360 after over a decade of it being stuck in development hell. The game was based on reimagining Norse mythology through a cyberpunk lens. While the game flopped miserably (so miserably in fact that Silicon Knights tried to sue the engine devs for sabotage, only for that lawsuit to backfire so hard that Too Human had to be deleted from existence) due to its clunky control system, some of its design elements seem suspiciously similar to the Leagues of Votann aesthetic including: exoskeleton-equipped berserkers, combat transports that resemble the Hekaton Land fortress, the whole mega corporation of the Aesir, and the fact that Odin was reimagined in the game as an AI called the “Organic Distributed Information Network” which bears a striking similarity to the idea of the Votann. Maybe someone in GW played the game and used it as inspiration for the Leagues? It wouldn’t be too surprising.
*'''[[Video games|Deep Rock Galactic]]:''' Similar to the above, the game "Deep Rock Galactic" may have spurred on GW's decision to reinvent the squats in some areas. Notably, the game is based on a company of the same name, which uses actual dwarves as their mercenary-miners to plunder a planet of all its wealth while fighting bugs. Themselves a corporatist, mercantile faction that prefers wealth over civility. Now, this game was released in alpha in early 2018, so it could be a little bit of a stretch to say if it's fully influenced much on the LoV, considering the lengthy design process GW has. It hasn't stopped WarCom from throwing in some tongue-in-cheek, potential references to the game, though. Plus, with all the "Rock and Stone"s and "For Kahl!"s that players will throw out, it probably won't matter anyway. Though the codex does mention an offshoot of the Greater Thurman League known as the Deep Rock Kindred
*'''Starcraft:''' Seriously their Hearthkyn armor looks like a mini ripoff version of Terran Marine armor. The Einhyr Exo-Suits make that comparison even more blatant.
*'''Transformers:''' their faction symbol looks like the Autobot logo and they worship giant godlike AIs that would probably get along quite well with Primus…less so with Unicron, despite doing his shtick themselves frequently.
*'''[[Dwarf]] technology & craftmanship:''' the Leagues represent a 40k take on the standard fantasy dwarf archetype which more often than not includes them having technology or at least craftmanship superior to all other factions save for “elder/precursor races“ if they are present, so it is no surprise that only the [[Eldar]] and [[Necrons]] beat them with the [[Tau]] being close contenders. Speaking more specifically of [[Warhammer Fantasy|the sister game]] the Dwarfs were the source of the better magic of the [[High Elves (Warhammer Fantasy)|Elves]] and the technology of [[The Empire (Warhammer Fantasy|The Empire]], have a culture revolving around settling all sleights [[Slayers|with blood or gold]], have such reliable magic that they can make doors/walls that even the strongest Daemons can't pass and Tzeentch himself cannot see through and can [[Arianka|can imprison a Chaos God in a box]], literally use the word human ("Umgi") as a description for inferior quality, and [[Chaos Dwarfs|even Chaos has to go to them for the good gear]]. In regards to weapons, just as Warhammer Fantasy players with big expensive models how they feel about Dwarf <strike>sniper missiles</strike> Cannons.

===Forces of the Kin===

*'''[[Kâhl]]:''' Taking the place of [[Squat Warlord]]s as leaders in their species’ military roster, they’re experienced battle hardened Generals who proudly wield the Leagues advanced weaponry, and are the final authority over an individual Oathband in the Kinhost militaries, they’re subordinate only to their Kindred’s ruling Votannic Council. Their most important role is to cast the Eye of the Ancestors over their foes — marking out priority targets and ensuring the most dangerous enemies are the first to feel the wrath of the Kin. Equipment wise they carry nifty ornate armor and weapons like the Kin equivalent to storm bolter, plasma axes, and Volkite equipped power fists. FOR KARL!!

*'''[[Squat Thunderers|Brôkhyr]]:''' The [[Guildmaster|engineers]] and lead craftsman of the Leagues, named after the dwarf of Norse mythology, Brokkr, who built Mjolnir. They just blow tech priests out of the water on every level, as not only do their (creatively named) A.N-vyl Terminals (just picture a 3D printer but for guns) have MANY full STCs inside that make all their guns all that and a bag of chips in comparison to those of the Imperium, but they're also not limited by dogma and orthodoxy when it comes to technological advancements, meaning they actively upgrade their shit. That being said while their specialty lies in engineering these folks are also more than willing to throw down with the best of them. When the Oathbands head to battle, the Brôkhyr will strap on powerful exo-frames to become the mighty Thunderkyn. Although not quite as scratch-resistant as the Einhyr Hearthguard’s exo-armour, since the powerful suits they wear were initially adapted from rugged engineering rigs, they can still take a hell of a pummeling and allow the Brôkhyr Thunderkyn to heft the heaviest man-portable weapons the Leagues can muster with ease. Hordes of their enemies fall before salvos unleashed from bolt cannons, while heavy infantry find themselves pierced by the unstoppable lances of SP conversion beamers, prospects that have made more than one enemy think twice before attacking them.

*'''Brôkhyr Iron-master:''' The Brôkhyr are the Leagues’ highly skilled techno-artificers, and the Iron-masters are the cream of their crop. They head into battle with a dutiful Ironkin assistant and a knack for repairing even the most beaten-up vehicles. Helping them are a gaggle of E-COGs – hardy combat and repair drones, lacking the intellect of a true Ironkin.

*'''[[Living Ancestor|Grimnyr]]:''' The predominant psykers of the Leagues, dressed like [[weeb|fucking wizards]] in an army full of voidsuits and armor. Wearing robes over their Power Armor to the point that [[Dark Angels]] themselves looks like normies. The Kin now name their dwarf wizards after the false identity Odin took while on a bet from Frigg, from Norse Mythology (or ripping off the WHFB dwarf god [[Grimnir]]). Are essentially the Votanns eyes, ears, limbs, mouth, etc. They are able to access directly the data stores of the Votann using psychic powers, and communicates its will and guidance to their Kindreds and Leagues. They are the closet you will see to a priest in the largely secular Leagues. They also use barrier tech to help them harness the raw power of the immaterium in battle – such as summoning two mechanical CORVs that often hover alongside them as familiars (very similar to the ability of the gene stealer cults to summon familiars). Essentially mystical wise old sages.

*'''[[Squat Berserkers|Cthonian Berserks]]:'''
:Hailing from the Cthonian mining guilds which are noted for venturing to environments even other Kin fear to tread, these furious and heavily augmented murder machines are a sci-fi reimagining of [[Slayer]]s from WHFB. These frontline fighters originally began as Kin who enhanced the physical capabilities of their cloneskeins with cybernetic upgrades and cyberstimms, all the better to extract precious minerals from rad-plagued nebulae, explosive asteroids, and fathomless ocean depths. Now tasked with dealing with their people’s enemies they charge into battle with modified advanced mining gear like heavy plasma axes, concussion mauls, and power fists all while wearing little or no armor besides that which their cyborg augmentations provides. They also have mole mortars/ grenade launchers (for mining purposes of course).

*'''Hearthkyn Warriors:''' Because replacing i's with y's is so sci-fi and trademark friendly. The [[Squat Trooper|Hearthkyn]] are essentially identical in terms of origin as the [[Guardian|Guardian Defenders]] of the eldar, in that they are the core infantry force of the Leagues' military that were conscripted from their civilian populations. However, rather than being a militia roused during times of conflict, the Hearthkyn are instead closer to real-world militaries, in that the soldiery serve for an extended period of time before going home to their civilian professions. Serving in the Hearthkyn, anyone can enlist: male, female, flesh or metal, as Kin are Kin, after all. The units themselves are equipped with all manner of hullabaloo Squat guns depending on their specialization, on the lighter end there are the Autoch-pattern bolters used for assault and laying down covering/saturation fire, there are also bolt shotguns, and bolt revolvers. On the heavier side there are volkanite disintegrators, ion blasters (whose technology the Kin apparently gave to the Tau much to the Imperium’s ire) and HYLas auto-rifles all of which are used to sunder the defences of heavily-armoured opponents. Finally there’s also specialized heavy weapons such as L7 missile launchers, EtaCarn plasma beamers, Graviton blast cannons, and magna-rail rifles. All these ranged weapons are supported by smart tech integrated into Kin battlegear. The haptic utility nerve transmission recalibrator modules – HunTR for short – interface with their neural augmetics to establish a feedback loop between firearms and their users. This system projects minute gravitational pulses to maintain a stable firing platform even while running at full pelt – or zooming along on a flying trike. For close combat they got plasma blades, plasma axes, and concussion weapons like gauntlets, hammers, and mauls that amplifies the kinetic energy behind a Kin’s strike enough to launch an Ork boy into the air. As for protection they wear their own brand of power armor called Void armour comprised of hardened jointed segments which are hooked into a void suit beneath. The suit is fashioned from magnaferrite weave, and often reinforced with adamantine and enhanced with microfield generators for a level of protection that any Imperial Guardsman would give their left gonad to have!
**'''Theyn:''' Sci-fi spelling for the old Anglo-Saxon Thegns/Thanes (Fantasy Dwarfs had Thanes as heroes, so another connection there). They are experienced warriors that serve as [[Squat Thunderers|squad leaders]] in Hearthkyn and Einhyr Warrior squads of 10 to 20 warriors and are able to arm themselves with a variety of hand-to-hand combat weapons, including brutal concussion gauntlets, plasma blades, and vicious plasma axes in addition to high quality ranged weapons. Theyns communicate with their squad with the aid of cybernetic implants – relaying strategic instructions from the commanders of the Oathband to their units, and can be differentiated from the other kin by the fancy animal headed crest mounted on the back of their armor which can grant them special abilities like acting as a teleporter.

*'''Einhyr [[Hearthguard]]:''' Named after the Einherjar of Valhalla, they are the newly-christened [[Hearthguard]] Terminators of old, being the honored warriors selected from a Kinhold's most accomplished fighters, clad in [[Exo-Armour]]. They're armed with a shoulder mounted grenade launcher, a hand-held Volkanite Disintegrator, and either a power first with a retractable plasma blade or a Thunder Hammer. Like regular Hearthkyn Void armor the Exo-armor also has the HunTR system of micro gravity field generators built in to help keep their aim steady allowing them to fire on the move.

*'''Einhyr Champion:''' Those who climb the ranks of the Einhyr that eventually became Champions. These warriors are clad in modified exo-armour fitted with mass-drivers for jump purposes and armed with vicious close combat weapons. They function as living battering rams, pulverising anything that gets in their way.

*'''[[Hekaton Land Fortress]]:''' A 300 point HECKA CHUNKY Heavy support tank that can also serve as a defensive emplacement and troop transport. This vehicle packs overwhelming firepower onto a rugged frame. Transport numbers vary depending on the nature of the troops inside. For instance it can lug around a hefty 12 models of Hearthkyn or Cthonian Berserks on the higher end, but only 6 of the more heavily armored Einhyr, and just 4 troops with the Exo-frame keyword like the Brôkhyr Thunderkyn. Still it can go toe-to-toe with some of the biggest and best battle tanks in the 41st Millennium thanks to its durable void armour. Weapons wise it can be equipped with a variety of hefty weapons for its main gun– from a cyclic ion cannon, to the very nasty heavy magna-rail cannon, or the devastating SP heavy conversion beamer. If needed a missile launcher with 3 different possible classes of devastating warheads (one kind for vehicles, one for bunker busting, and the last for dealing for infantry) can be added in exchange for removing the craft’s default pan-spectral scanner, though it will lose the ability to ignore light cover when firing. And if all that wasn’t enough it also has a rear mounted MATR autocannon, plus 4 bolt cannon ball turrets around the hull for dealing with swarms of smaller foes that can be swapped out for ion beamers if the user desires. As a side note the Hekatons are also mentioned to sometimes draw carriages in the codex.

*'''[[Magna-Coil Bike|Hernkyn Pioneer]]:''' THE [[Squat Trike|TRIKES]] RETURN! [[Skub|AS HOVERTRIKES!]] And with a [[-4 Str|female]] driver. It looks like a spider-tank tachikoma from Ghost in the Shell fucked a [[Squat Bike|Harley]] and their baby came out a hoverbike. Hernkyn Pioneers are 35 point vehicles ridden by independently minded Kin who serve as scouts and outriders for the Kinhosts. They exchange the heavier armor of the Hyrthkin for lighter void suits backed up by armored trench coats, an old style pilot’s cap, and when necessary a gas or oxygen mask. Before you make the mistake of thinking they’re outlaw bikers though it should be noted that they are not seen like that at all amongst their own people. Rather in eyes of the Kin the Pioneers willingness to go off alone is considered courageous and selfless as they are putting their own lives at risk for the sake of their families, in effect making them the equivalent of the WFB Dwarf rangers. Anyway, to ensure they can keep riding for as long as possible the Pioneers make sure to carry any all equipment they might conceivably need with them at all times, from bedrolls to digging tools strapped to their rides. To aid them in scouting their trikes come equipped with multiwave comms arrays and pan-spectral scanners which are all quite useful for picking up strategically important data. Weapons-wise the riders can be armed with a bolt pistol, or a bolt shotgun, plus concussion grenades and a plasma blade for backup, while the Trike itself was equipped with a magna-coil autocannon mounted on the front. In addition if the rider is willing to take along a passenger then it’s possible to mount a heavy weapon on the back of the vehicle in the form of a rotary Hy-Las (high yield laser) cannon or an ion beamer. These weapons are linked to the driver and passenger’s implants via the HunTR system so they can fire on the move.

*'''[[Sagitaur ATV]]:''' A 130 point six wheeled infantry fighting vehicle, that takes its name from the centaur shaped constellation Sagittarius, the Sagitaur is used for surveying inhospitable alien terrain. The Sagitaur is a rapid-response ATV suited to scouting operations and lightning-fast armoured offensives alongside Hernkyn Pioneers. Its armoured carapace is durable enough to shrug off everything from rockslides to plasma blasts. Sagitaurs usually operate in pairs and are remarkably heavily-armed for their size, with a nose-mounted twin bolt cannon complemented by a swivelling turret weapon, such as a HYLas beam cannon, L7 missile launcher, or MATR autocannon. Once they’re right up in the enemy’s lines they will disgorge their troops in the form of 5 troops from a 10 man squad of infantry with the other half being carried by a second vehicles. These can then go on to seize vital objectives. It should be noted though that the troops the Sagitaur Carrie’s cannot have the Exo-frame keyword so using them for things like Thunderkyn is a no-go unlike with the Hekaton.

*'''Colossus-class war engines:''' were briefly mentioned in a Warcom article where it’s stated the Ymyr Conglomerate Holds can wield more of them then any other league due to the Holds large number of skilled Craftsman and Engineers. Sadly we don’t have a stat line, nor do we have an image to confirm if these are indeed the same thing as the old Squat [[Colossus War Machine]].

*'''[[Ironhead Squat Prospectors]]:''' An offshoot of the Kin that set up shop on [[Necromunda]] right after the Horus Heresy, and are busy doing dwarrowesque things, while also dealing with the locals that sometimes try to loot their stuff. While they're only distantly related to the Leagues with no direct affiliation, they're said to get along. There is a small but not high chance the'll be options on the table top as well since Kill team has a precedent for a small unit from one box being an option like the sister novitiate, at the very least make a good proxy/conversion.

*'''[[Cargo-8 Ridgehauler]]:''' the Squat land trains return! Well they have on Necromunda at least. These huge transport trucks with multiple trailers and strapped on weaponry are used by Squat prospectors and regular human folk to cross the ash wasteland and protect valuable shipments. They aren’t quite up to the standard of the old land trains but at least it’s something.

*'''Chronos Pattern Ironcrawler: '''a gigantic tracked APC/pickup truck hybrid that’s favored by both the Ironhead Squats and the local Necromundans. The vehicle is even more heavily armored than the Ridgehauler and the cab is sealed to protect against radiation and ash storms. It comes standard with a cargo winch, two pintle mounted turrets, and numerous firing ports in the transport cage behind the cab so any extra troops it’s ferrying can fire on any nearby enemies.

*'''[[Demiurg]]:''' Outright stated in the League of Votann Codex to be Kin Prospect fleets that have been misidentified by Imperial and Tau observers alike to be a separate race. It’s also a common mistake for Imperial xenologists as said Prospect Fleets have also been misidentified as Grome, Gnostari, or Kreg species. Heck, even the Eldar known them as the Heliosi Ancients instead of their proper name. WarCom confirmed that the Tau received their ion weapon technology from the Kin, whereas in Battlefleet Gothic they claim that it was from the Demiurg, ''another'' race of dwarf space-miners. Logically, the term "Demiurg" is just be what the Tau call the Kin, with the Demiurg may be another offshoot culture of the wider kin race like prospectors above. After all, their clones-kin’s capability in stressing divergent phenotypes means visibly different strains could possible (like different breeds of dogs or cats). One example is the Seran-Tok Mercantile Leagues that decided to throw in their lot with the upstart T'au Empire rather than being in the bottom of the Imperium's to-do list.

*'''Space Craft:''' While a full list of space assets hasn’t dropped yet, the retcon regarding the nature of the Demiurg means we have some idea of what kind of vessels the Kin have. In addition to smaller autonomous mining craft that can be reconfigured as [[Automated Fighting Drone|fighters]], [[Automated Bombing Drone|bombers]], and [[Automated Barge Drone|assault boats]] the Leagues also wield two classes of rather impressive warp-capable ships that many fans have noted look like giant flying hammers. The first class is the [[Bastion-class Commerce Vessel]]s which seems to be an enormous asteroid mining vessel that can also act as a cruiser, though its firepower is enough to let it hold its ground against an Imperial battleship. They are typically manned by a single large clan/brotherhood and their robot navigators. Less common are the larger [[Stronghold-class Commerce Vessel]]s which are typically manned two or even three clans/brotherhoods and the previously mentioned robot navigators. These massive crafts both serve as stately battleships and factory/processor ships for the Kin mercantile clans. The mining lasers on both craft while short-ranged are noted to be incredibly powerful, something which is to be expected given they were originally used to cut through asteroids. They derive their power through the use of electromagnetic fields around the prow of the ship that serves as a Bussard Scoop that will absorb interstellar hydrogen. This hydrogen then undergoes fusion and whatever energy or particles isn’t used for powering the laser is then accelerated to the rear of the vessel to speeds near that of the speed of light to provide motive force similar to a ram-jet. As a side benefit the complex radiation shielding this process requires evidently produces numerous other defensive benefits for the starship and adds to its protection. The Mechanicus is noted to be very interested in getting their tendrils on this tech, but despite their best efforts they have yet to get a chance to examine it.

==See Also==
*[[Warhammer 40,000/Tactics/Leagues of Votann(9E)]]
*[[Kharadron Overlords]], their closest Age of Sigmar counterpart
*[[Dwarfs (Warhammer Fantasy)]]

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:VotannTrike.jpg|They see me dworfin, they hatin', Patrollin', and tryna catch me ridin' dirty.
File:CNiuMZPWWNpatQNt (1).jpg|dorfy thicc dorfy brick
File: FW1NodbWYAA-Gzh.jpg|‘[[StarCraft|Ye want a piece a' me, lad??]]’
File:Sagitaur ATV.jpg| Sagitaur ATV, the perfect vehicle for dropping off some Hearthkyn at the pub for some brewskies on a moons surface.
File:LeagueHold.jpg|One of the many holds in the Leagues, in all it's industrial might
File:Ironkin.jpg|A humble Ironkin, ready to serve for their civilization
File:Getbackintheironkinchen.png|"[[Weeb|UWU.exe]]: I wonder if [[Adeptus Mechanicus|our new friends]] will enjoy these muffins I baked for them? I should head over and see what they're up to!"
File:Votann Fanart by 流星R.jpg| Even space Dwarves can be cute.
File:CthonianBerserks.png|[[Cyberpunk 2020|Just another day of cyberstimms and Cyberpsychosis...]]
File:Wrathoftheancestors.jpg| [[Primaris Captain|Where have I seen that before?]] [https://1d4chan.org/wiki/File:Captain1.jpg Oh.]
File:Kâhl.jpg|Pictured: The '''real''' Space Vikings.
File:Gangoftrikes.jpg|If Mad Max had discovered hovercraft technology
File:VotannPioneer.jpg.webp|A Kin Pioneer negotiating with a Imperial
File:Leaguemining.jpg|It ain't no trick to get rich quick If you dig dig dig with a shovel or a pick
File:Leagueanvil.jpg|Remember Brokyr, the Ancestors are Always Watching
File:Thunderkyn.jpg|"Hey look buddy, I'm an engineer and that means I solve problems..."
File:LOV Army Shot.png|A Kin Oathhost about to tell the Black Legion to gtfo their lawn
File:Votann Grimnyr.jpg|Finally, the [[Space Wolves|fucking furries]] don't have the monopoly on sweet beards
File:LoV_shortstack.jpg|Shortstack lovers rejoice!
File:Power_armor_Kin.png|Gender equality sure look good, eh laddies?
File:Leagues-of-Votann-Codex-art.jpg|Channeling that good 'ol IoM energy, but now with 100% more dorfness.
File:Clone Mutant Ninja Dwarfs.png|[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles|Yaldi-bunga, dudes!]]
</gallery>

[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]]
[[Category:Dwarves]]
[[Category:Squats]]
[[Category:Abhumans]]
[[Category:Governments & National Powers]]
[[Category:Under Development]]

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{{40k-Governments}}

Archaon

2023-01-31T15:10:51Z

2600:387:9:9:0:0:0:62: /* Memes */

{{heresy}}
[[Image:Archaon Book.jpg|570px|thumb|right|A wallpaper version of his solo [[Black Library]] novel cover art.]]
<div style="font-size:1.10em;font-weight:bold;font-style: FFF Tusj ;font-family:serif;margin-top:1em;margin-bottom:1em"><span style='color:
#A57164;font-size:100%'> I AM THE TRUE CHOSEN OF CHAOS!<br> - Archaon teaching [[Abaddon|a certain armless failure]] on how to actually kick ass'''</span></div>
{{Topquote|Fear me, mortals, for I am the Anointed, the Favored Son of Chaos, the Scourge of the World. The armies of the gods rally behind me, and it is by my will and by my sword that your weakling nations shall fall.|Archaon the Everchosen, Lord of the End Times}}
{{Topquote|My hatred is a thousand times more powerful than all your good intentions.|Jim Goad}}
{{Topquote|The most dangerous creation of any society is the man who has nothing to lose.|James Baldwin, The Fire Next Time}}

'''Archaon the <S>Overchosen</s> Everchosen''', formerly known as '''Diederick Kastnar''', also known concurrently as '''The Three-Eyed King''', '''Lord of the End-Times''', '''[[A Song of Ice and Fire|Kingslayer]]''', and various other titles besides is the supreme Chaos Lord of [[Warhammer Fantasy]] and its successor, [[Age of Sigmar]], as well as in [[Total War: WARHAMMER]]. He is a successor of the Kurgan High Zar Asavar Kul, who previously held the title of Everchosen. Archaon, on the other hand, managed to successfully destroy the world during the [[End Times]] and defeated Grimgor in single combat (while the latter was high off becoming the Incarnate of the Wind of Beasts, no less) and, more importantly, wrestled with Sigmar Heldenhammer himself before falling with him into a Chaos Portal to fight over the titular Warhammer for which the settings of Fantasy and 40K are named, which he just barely lost.

In other words, he shits all over the [[Abaddon|other guy]] in terms of competency and skill. Supposedly, his name is Tilean, meaning 'Warhammer Italy'. Because GW Latin fetish. Depending on how you look at him, he's either a cool, [[awesome|badass]] legend of Chaos and terrifyingly powerful, or a lameass [[Mary Sue|Gary Stu]] and the obnoxious and [[edgy]] conclusion of GW's recent Chaos fapfest.

This is, of course, his newest iteration. Archaon's been around before and was the titular Lord of the End Times during the Storm of Chaos, though both the event and his character were retconned and brought back with heavy modification for 8th Edition. See the End Times article itself for skub surrounding that.

[http://myglobalmind.com/2015/08/25/interview-with-archaon-from-norwegian-death-metal-band-1349/ Also moonlights as a guitarist for Norwegian Black Metal bands].

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1a84RoIMa1Q In the latest of a long line of cool by GW, Archaon's sword, the Slayer of Kings, HAS BEEN MADE IN REAL LIFE]. This is in celebration of the new ''Everchosen'' contest, the flashy new international version of the [[Golden Demon]], and like the Slayer Sword, one fab enough painter gets to win this.

==The Legend==
[[Grimdark|Archaon was born to a Nordland townswoman after a raiding party of bloodthirsty Norscan Chaos Marauders visited the town and the leader of said party proceeded to rape her viciously before leaving her for dead amidst the burning husk of her village.]] His father is [[Be'lakor]], who had taken the shape of a mortal at the time because being an ambitious [[Daemon Prince]] of [[Chaos Undivided]] is clearly not enough villain cred and he felt like he had to see if his cock was still working or something. Of course, the village woman [[Indrick Boreale|did not die then, no,]] but was found clinging to life by her husband and children. After trying unsuccessfully to [[Grimdark|abort the pregnancy the Marauder champion had forced on her]], she died nine months later giving birth to the raider's bastard son. Rejected by the surviving family members, the midwife left the baby near the door of a Sigmarite church, where he was saved from a pack of hungry wolves by a Sigmarite priest who adopted in as a son and page for the local church, naming him Diederick.

Diederick grew up into a vigorous and devout lad, strong in the ways of Sigmar, and became a squire for the lecherous lout of a knight Sieur Kastnar. When the Sieur Kastnar ran afoul of some foes and died, Diederick, being a man of honor, took it upon himself to deliver the knight's ancestral sword to House Kastnar. The lady of the House, having been disregarded and despised by her husband, was touched by the young squire's dedication and integrity, and adopted him to her house, bequeathing the sword of Kastnar to him, along with the dead knight's horse Orberon. With her sponsorship, Diederick then entered into the prestigious Order of the Twin-Tailed Orb, becoming the greatest warrior of the Order on account of his (unbeknownst) Northern bloodlust and a paragon of the Order's knightly ideals. [[Grimdark|Which essentially means he was a Black Templar level fanatic who didn't think twice of killing children if they were born with the taint of Chaos]].

Later on his career, while questing about and slaying whole tribes of Beastmen single-handed, Diederick came across a group of the Sisters of Sigmar who were transporting a heretical tome. This tome would turn out to be Liber Celestior itself, penned by Necrodormo the Insane under the direction of Be'Lakor himself, and said to hold the prophecy of the Everchosen of Chaos, the final champion who would herald the End Times. The tome was to be transported to the Grand Cathedral of Sigmar in Altdorf, where it would be kept protected from a warband of Chaos Warriors intent on using it to find the Everchosen. This warband being the Swords of Chaos.

Of course, young Diederick had not even seen the prophecy for himself. And indeed, for so many years, had been much too fanatical and thick in the head to realize that he fit the perfect profile of a Norscan warrior, not an Imperial knight. This also did not come fully to him when his own Order of the Twin-Tailed Orb began hunting him, despite him having been the greatest exemplar of their Order's religious and military ideals. Diederick, being a <s>complete badass</s> fucking Mary Sue, made quick work of the knights and also managed to evade the Swords of Chaos, seeking refuge at the Kastnar estate only to find it having been burned to the ground. There, he conferred with the young Sister of Sigmar Giselle and the priest who had fostered him as to the reasons why the Empire had declared him a heretic and why the Swords of Chaos wanted to suck his cock. They came to the conclusion that he fit the bill as the Everchosen based on the fact that:

* A). He was obviously of Norscan descent (fucking racists...)
* B). He was a knight of the Empire, like the Everchosen was foretold to be.

That's essentially it, really. It's a pretty fucking vague prophecy. But in fantasy worlds, this is often convincing enough, and so Diederick, on the advice of his foster father, journeyed to Altdorf to gain some confirmation of his dark destiny at the Grand Cathedral of Sigmar. Of course, this was after he succeeded in hanging himself because he couldn't live with the truth. Ballsy of him, but the Chaos Gods went 'lolno' and brought him back to life to get on without; they really wanted the End Times to happen, the little shits. So, after he dragged his depressed ass to Altdorf he prayed before an altar to Sigmar to give him some sign or indication that he was not forsaken by the God-King and not damned to a fate he did not choose and did not want, and received stone silence in return... other than the obvious favor he's enjoyed from the epic ass-kickings he's been delivering as a Knight. And considering the powers of Warrior-Priests, Diederick probably already had shit tons of confirmation that he was, if anything, favored by Sigmar. This doesn't explain why ANY other Human, Elf or Dwarf God didn't appear to prevent End Times, or why Sigmar did fuck-all at the time since even a single act would've stopped the entirety of the End Times. [[Mary Sue|Diederick went batshit insane and managed to take down the entire knightly garrison of the Sigmarite Cathedral]] and even managed to cripple and capture the Grand Theogonist. Interrogating the Grand Theogonist by breaking his fingers individually, Diederick demanded to know how exactly the Knights of the Twin-Tailed Orb were so sure that he was the Everchosen; after all, there were countless half-Norscans running about in the Empire, and there were countless knights of the Empire who had fallen to Chaos. The Theogonist revealed that they weren't sure at all; they had been hunting everyone with his profile throughout the Empire just to make sure. The clincher was that the true Everchosen was prophesied to travel to Altdorf and ask that exact question.

So yes, if Diederick had ''not'' gone to Altdorf to find this out, he would not have fulfilled the prophecy. [[Just as Planned]]. This also means that if the Theogonist did nothing then the End Times also never would've happened, [[derp|and despite knowing this they chose to act.]]

Having finally been driven to Joker levels of genocidal insanity by this tidbit of information (and bad writing), Diederick's switch flipped from good to evil and he loudly denounced the God-King Sigmar and affirmed his allegiance to the Dark Gods of his father's race, swearing that he would bring the Empire crashing down and tear away the pageantry of Sigmar's religion to reveal the god for the craven liar and charlatan that he was. It was during this shouted oath of death and destruction that the Grand Theogonist gloatingly revealed that the entire Reikland army and pretty much the entirety of the Empire's gunpowder potential was primed on the Cathedral with the order to kill the Everchosen by any means necessary, including by destroying the Cathedral itself. Luckily for Diederick, the Swords of Chaos arrived and rescued him from the clutches of the Empire, fleeing northwards towards Norsca where the Everchosen could begin his journey. This is, of course, if you follow the later books. Originally he read the prophecy, lost his marbles, and ran off screaming in the night before deciding he'd go up north and join his new dark god daddies.

For such a popular badass among fans, you'd think his origin story wouldn't be so pathetic and stupid.

===Quest for the Six Treasures===

Alright guys, y'all know the story that came after this.

Taking on the name Archaon, the Everchosen traveled North; crossing into Norsca and the Chaos Wastes as he began his prophesied centuries-long journey seeking the Relics of Chaos - The Burning Mark of Chaos Eternal, which bestowed upon its bearer the ultimate favor all four of the Great Chaos Gods. The Armour of Morkar (shield included), the battle-scarred Chaos Plate born by the Norsii warlord and first and greatest of the Everchosen. The Slayer of Kings, the horrifyingly powerful regicidal greatsword forged by Vangel, the Second Everchosen; bound with the soul of U'zhul, the Fist of [[Khorne]]. The Crown of Domination, the ancient battle-helm borne by the first Northern warrior to bargain his soul to Chaos's Dark Lords. The Eye of Sheerian, which bestows upon its user prophetic powers (had it been the Mouth of Sheerian, it probably would have granted him a decent singing voice). And Dorghar, Steed of the Apocalypse.

Archaon got the first one by traveling to the Altar of Ultimate Darkness in Naggaroth where he single-handedly brought upon the genocide of the race of bloodthirsty, atavistic monster-men who infested the temple and who feasted upon the flesh of stray Dark Elves. In the novel and newer version, he also fought a Dark Elf army led by a dragon-riding Sorceress and was saved by Valkia when she arrived after he sacrificed a Dark Elf assassin to the Chaos Gods (strangely Valkia arrived when Archaon offered the assassin's heart even though Khorne's thing is skulls or just severed heads).

He earned the Armour of Morkar by travelling to the Norse King's cairn in the Southern Chaos Wastes and facing off against his vengeful spirit, and was nearly slaughtered by his predecessor then and there but for spitting out a 'yo mama' insult in the dead tongue of the Unberogens which managed to catch Morkar just off-guard enough due to its WTFness for Archaon to sucker-punch him and steal the armour. Actually, it turns out that Archaon said 'brinnan utva lioht', which means 'burn in the light', which if I'm being honest, sounds about as insulting as calling someone a scoundrel. In the novel, it only worked because it was Sigmar's language and the last thing Sigmar said to Morkar before concaving his head.

He claimed the Eye of Sheerian from Flamefang, the Claw of Tzeentch, a three-headed Chaos Dragon (a one-headed chaos dragon spirit that possessed and assimilated bodies to gain physical form in the novel). Archaon found it sleeping in its lair and woke it up by hitting one of its heads with his axe. There was an intense fight, which ended when Flamefang swallowed Archaon whole and flew all the way to the Southern Wastes. The armor prevented Archaon from being digested and he cut his way out of the dragon's throat from the inside, which naturally killed it. Archaon plucked the Eye of Sheerian from the belly of its corpse and hung it around his neck.

The next wasn't an item, but a being, the daemonic creature called Dorghar - also known as Ghurshy'ish'phak, Wsyorach and Yrontalie - the Steed of the Apocalypse. At the time Dorghar was being kept in the menagerie of a Slaaneshi Daemon Prince. He entered the stables by clinging to the underbelly of one of the monsters as it returned to its roost, a part man, part mammoth and part insect abomination. Once there, he broke in and tracked Dorghar by Dorghar's smell (originally) or using the Eye of Sheerian (post-retcon and in the novel) until he found the creature. He then jumped on Dorghar's back like a hellish rodeo - one where the mount burst into flame and changed shape while also fighting to dislodge and kill Archaon. Eventually he broke Dorghar's will and killed the daemon prince before riding back out of the Realm of Chaos.

He got the Slayer of Kings from a sleeping Krakanrok the Black, father of the Dragon Ogre race and a being the size of a mountain. The superstrong even for a follower of chaos Khornate Beastlord Ograx was ''just'' able to lift one of Krakanrok's fingers high enough for Archaon to grab the sword. It started screaming so loud that the mountain-sized Krakanrok began to stir and Archaon silenced the blade's screaming by impaling the Beastlord through the heart with it, thereby sating its regicidal thirst as Ograx was a Prince of the Southern Pole Beastmen, who are Beastmen directly fused with Daemons without humans drawing the attention away in the North.

The search for the Crown took longer than all the others combined, near a century in fact. But, as we know, he gained the Crown of Domination by travelling to the First Shrine of Chaos in the Northern World's Edge Mountains after Be'lakor was made by the Chaos Gods to appear and show him the way (and some directions from Vilitch in the retcon). Archaon entered and overcame tests set by all 4 of the Chaos Gods, including navigating through a maze made by Tzeentch (by blindfolding himself and going by instinct to avoid the distractions), fighting off every disease possible from Nurgle through [[awesome|sheer]] [[Humanity Fuck Yeah|willpower]] (being reduced to pulling himself across the floor with his fingers as his body melts away, to be restored to normal as if nothing happened in the next room), resisting temptations from Slaanesh in person as he/she/it manifested for a friendly chat, and finally Khorne sending Skarbrand to test his mettle. Skarbrand whom he then strangled to death with his own whip (actually required a fair bit more cunning, planning and daemonic intervention than the armybook versions of the stories would have you believe).

==The Storm of Chaos fiasco ==
And so Archaon got his swag. Eventually the Chaos Gods gave the order, and he led the most ferocious and largest army of [[Warriors of Chaos|Chaos Warriors]] ever assembled against the [[Empire]] during the [[Storm of Chaos]] campaign for 6th Edition. Before he reached the location where he was to end the world, he faced [[Valten]] (supposedly a reincarnation of Sigmar himself), who fought through the Swords of Chaos and killed Dorghar before pressing on to Archaon himself. Valten rushed in to strike Archaon after having dismounted him, but Archaon lunged out of the smoke left when Dorghar died and stabbed him in the chest; Valten pulled even closer though, and swung down, his hammer shredding through Archaon's armor and knocking him to his knees. But Valten let his guard down to un-impale himself on Archaon's sword, and the Lord of the End Times struck back and broke Valten's chestplate. In a moment of humanization and weakness, two things GW would make sure were removed from Chaos and Archaon later on, Archaon was fearful of a Sigmarite tattoo Valten had, and thought the big man himself had come to end him. Just then the [[Orcs & Goblins|Orc]] warlord [[Grimgor Ironhide|Grimgor]] smashed through the Chaos bodyguard single-handed, headbutted Arch in the junk, laughed at his sorry ass then went back to gather another army of greenskins.

The reason this bullshit happened? GW built the narrative around their battle reports, army by army. The problem is that Chaos kept losing. In fact, the good guys were winning so badly the only reason Archaon was pushing them back was due to plot. But GW had already pre-planned the story to become the grimderpofthe41stmilleniumwherethereisonlywar and make "End Times" be in the past tense. In the end, they resorted to having fans call-in the way they wanted the story to end, hoping that Warhammer Fantasy fans would pick the faction with the pointiest stuff on their armor.

They didn't.

They chose a faction that had been beaten in the last match.

Fans chose Orcs over Chaos.

GW had no backup plan.

Grimgor's entire army had been beaten by Crom while Valten and Archaon fought. Grimgor got sick of rallying his forces, went "ZOG DIS, I WANNA PIECE UV DA ACTION!" and charged in to sucker punch Archaon as he was about to deliver the final blow to Valten, shout for the silent and awed assembled armies of the world to hear that "GRIMGOR IZ DA BEST!", then went back home to rally his army. This resulted in the snide nickname of "Light Drizzle of Chaos." Archaon fled the field, somehow alive, but literally ran for the hills to escape Grimgor, who fucked off to who knows where, and the coming army of Karl-Franz.

With that pesky idea of "player agency" getting in the way of their attempt at a forced Chaos ending, GW went silent and further fluff never came. Later on, they retconned almost the entirety of Storm of Chaos and instead made it an alternate continuity. In the current narrative, <s>he's still amassing his army</s> the world ended, and this time, GW dropped the pretenses and didn't leave the ending up to the fans, and in response to complaints that Archaon was an Archy Sue, they amplified his power level through the roof.

So began the beginning of the end of the beginning of the end.

== Archaon's Posse ==
In first [[Storm of Chaos]] and now in [[The End Times]], Archaon isn't alone at the top of the hordes of chaos. He has some lieutenants to help him keep everyone organised. Closest of all is his Herald, [[Vardek Crom]], although officially Crom gets killed in a failed invasion.

In [[Storm of Chaos]], Games Workshop decided to go with the [[Your dudes]] approach, creating four lieutenants based on simply fluffing out the new Chaos Champion models for each of the four gods (save Khorne, who got a custom model based on an old Archaon head, Orc arms and an old Bloodletter body). Thusly, in [[White Dwarf]], we were introduced to:
* [[Haargroth]] the Blooded One, Champion of [[Khorne]].
* [[Feytor]] the Tainted, Champion of [[Nurgle]].
* [[Styrkaar]], Champion of [[Slaanesh]].
* [[Melekh]] the Changer and the sorcerous mutant-child Cyspeth, Champions of [[Tzeentch]].

The characters weren't received too well. So, perhaps realising their mistake, GW has revealed they're bringing back some of the big Chaos characters from their first ever Chaos Special Characters list:

* Representing [[Khorne]], it's [[Arbaal]] the Undefeated, giant Flesh Hound-riding army-butchering Chaos Lord.
* Representing [[Slaanesh]], it's [[Dechala]] the Denied One, corrupted High Elf turned six-armed poison-oozing snake-woman.
* Representing [[Nurgle]], it's [[Valnir]] the Reaper, undead soul-harvester.
* Representing [[Tzeentch]], it's [[Egrimm van Horstmann]], former Magister of the Light College turned dragon-riding daemon-commanding arch-warlock.

Unlike the others, these guys were at least respected enough to get cameos in [[The End Times]]. Two of them were even killed off, with Valnir being killed by Wulfrik in a novel and Egrimm being killed in End Times: Archaon after trying to bind the wind of Aqshy to himself. Dechala was mentioned to be in the final battle and it's said that Arbaal was krumped as well. Dechala is later confirmed to have been raised to full Daemon Prince by Slaanesh so she is the only survivor of the OGs.

[[The End Times]] made a similar plan as well with champions representing each of the Gods, and again, Crom appears and gets his ass handed to him by Valten. This time, however, the posse is made of actually known characters:
*[[Valkia the Bloody]] representing her hubby Khorne during the invasion of Naggaroth. She eventually gets a mutual kill.
*[[Vilitch the Curseling]] being the top champion of Tzeentch while Aekold Hellbrass is busy sacking Kislev. As of ET: Thanquol, he gets sent to drag in [[Karl Franz]] so Archie may kill him once and for all. In End Times: Archaon, he and Thomin switch places, with Thomin calling the shots and Vitlich being the mindless slave.
*[[Sigvald]] the Magnificent being the only person of note dedicated to Slaanesh. He gets his face rekt by the Wight King Krell and then got killed and pissed on by Throgg the troll king.
*The [[Glottkin]] taking the position of top 3 champions of Nurgle after the guy before them gets a Runefang to the face. They get beaten in the same book they appear in by a superpowered Karl Franz and are currently sitting the rest of The End Times out in Nurgle's Mansion.

==Retcon/The End Times==
[[File:archaon.jpeg|500px|thumb|right|The Everchosen doing a badass pose.]]
GW recently realized that pushing ChaosChaosChaos in Warhammer Fantasy only turns off fans who want THEIR faction to be important (as the setting has a fair number of megalomaniacs that would put comicbook villains to shame), and as a result the End Times are finally being ushered in... by [[Nagash]]. The resident Undead [[BBEG]], who aims to take over the world by rendering everyone into undead slaves then consume the Warp. In its entirety. At that time Archaon was seeking the [[Glottkin]], the [[Maggoth Lords|Maggoth Riders]], and [[Gutrot Spume]], and upon finding them gave them three jars of plagues custom-made by Nurgle himself (they also had [[Festus the Leechlord|a man on the inside at Altdorf]] who cooked up his own plague). Archaon's plan was to use the followers of Nurgle like a magical bioweapon; softening up the Empire before he came in to finish it off. Upon hearing that Naggy's stealing his thunder, Archaon prematurely led his forces to battle.

At the border of the Empire and what was once Kislev, he encountered the Auric Bastion, a gigantic wall of metal, magic and holy energy made by [[Balthazar Gelt]] that he and his troops could not cross. Then they came under attack and his army ended up in a stalemate against the forces of [[Vlad von Carstein]], the head of the Dracula Bloodline brought back from death by big bone daddy himself. Vlad's job was to keep Archaon busy while Nagash invaded Nehekhara. Naggy himself was planning to eliminate the [[Tomb Kings]] as they were one of the few forces that can challenge his rule, then subsume them into his armies and go on to kill every living thing in the world and reanimate them.

Gelt fell prey to the separate manipulations of Vlad von Carstein and the Changeling and was outed as an up-and-coming necromancer. After a misunderstanding, Gelt is declared a traitor to the Empire and flees. With Gelt's fall from grace, the Auric Bastion loses the support of the Sigmarite priests, who deem the wall tainted due to its inventor's involvement with necromancy. Soon after the Auric Bastion crumbles, giving Chaos the green light to invade the Empire. Eager to make up for lost time, Archaon leads his forces in and bulrushes his way to Middenheim. Archaon planned to defeat the god Sigmar worshiped as a symbol of his superiority. However, Ulric had enough power to resist him and Chaos had a hard fight until [[Teclis|a meddling elf wizard]], unbeknownst to everyone else, stole Ulric's flame, allowing the power of Chaos to ravage Middenheim. Archaon took on Valten, Sigmar's heir, until a Verminlord decided to be a kill-stealing prick and decapitated Valten, enraging Archaon. Eventually Archaon and his forces conquered Middenheim.

After this Archaon claimed Sigmar's hammer from Valten's body as a trophy and set up camp in Middenheim, putting his throne in the room where the Flame of Ulric once burnt. While there he schemed to have Karl Franz killed, sending [[Kairos Fateweaver]] after him. While waiting, Archaon discovered a secret weapon under Middenheim. Under even where the Flame of Ulric was is a device left by the Old Ones. If properly tended to, it could form a third Warp Rift that would combine with the other two and destroy the world so he sought to activate it, not caring that as far as he knew, it would destroy him too. Due to [[Games Workshop|plot armor]], Kairos failed and Archaon kills the former to summon Ka'Bandha to take out Karl Franz. But he and the other Khornate daemons champed at the bit to start the fight while Archaon camped in Middenheim so he permitted them to hunt Karl Franz and the Incarnates as long as they gave him Karl Franz's flayed skin. During this time he gets several people pledging themselves to his cause who get used as auxiliaries including [[Isabella von Carstein|a possessed vampire]], [[Sigvald|a preening Chaos Lord]], the entire Skaven race and [[Settra the Imperishable|a dethroned undead king]] (though the latter's in it cos "the enemy of my enemy..." and ultimately says "fuck this shit" to Chaos).

Due to the machinations of Nurgle and the Skaven, Nagash is reduced from contender for the main villain and a burgeoning god of undeath to that "lesser villain that needs to team up with the good guys to fight the true villain" guy. The Bone Daddy approaches the Incarnates and offers an alliance which they, ''very'' grudgingly, accept. Eventually the Incarnates come to Middenheim and a gigantic clusterfuck of a battle occurs. The Orcs led by Grimgor throw in their lot with the Incarnates after some skillful manipulation from Malekith and even Sigmar himself makes a comeback. Despite everything arrayed against them, it eventually ends up being ChaosChaosChaos anyways when they fail to stop Archaon's ace-in-the-hole; his custom-made, Old-Ones-inspired WMD... Largely because Mannfred decided to betray Nagash (along with the rest of the good guys) at the last moment. While everyone else either dies or gets warped into some chaos bullshit, Archaon and Sigmar fall into the Warp Rift while wrestling for the hammer.

Whatever anyone says, if there was to be an ending to Warhammer Fantasy Battle, this is it: The Big Good and Big Bad of the setting falling into oblivion wrestling over The Warhammer. Fucking <strike>sweet</strike> <strike>gay</strike> however you feel about it.

==Age of Sigmar==
So by now I imagine you're thinking "well bugger me, how can this guy get any more badass and/or mary sueish?" Well let me answer that for you, with a new model. Move over, [[Nagash]], there's a new giant model in town and he's coming for you.

After completing a brand new series of challenges set by the Chaos Gods, smashing them all with ease and without a shred of loyalty for the Unholy Quintet, and rejecting the newly ascended [[Great Horned Rat]]'s offer of a blessing by spitting in his verminous face, Archaon has been made the Grand High Marshall of Chaos. Which basically means that he can do whatever the fuck he wants without the Chaos Gods doing anything to stop him. He could go around and murder the shit out of each of the gods' best followers and get away with it, because fuck you, he's Archaon.

That said, however, not everyone unanimously accepts his claim, and there were those like the Gaunt Summoners of Tzeentch (A bunch of possibly-daemonic sorcerers with eyes all over their helmets) that put up a resistance against the Marshall, and end up getting a serious ass-whooping for their troubles. Once that was dealt with he went on a rampage through the realms. One of his harder battles was in the realm of Shyish. Archaon took on Nagash as he was the only one strong enough to defeat him. Archaon did at one point, striking him down and began to destroy his body. From there he proceeded to lock up the souls of the dead in a giant bone cage so Nagash couldn't access them.
However Nagash was the god of death and Archaon had killed him in the Afterlife, so where was we going to go, Detroit? Due to Nagash's powers - and Arkhan and Neferata retrieving his remains afterwards - Nagash returned to try and lay a vengeful beatdown on Archaon's army, only to fail again. He used his powers to break the bone cage and gain access to the souls Archaon had contained. The two dueled, again but Archaon called on the Bloodthirsters for backup, forcing Nagash to retreat. Archaon's only defeat came at the hands of Malerion in the realm of Ulgu, and he is now fascinated by Ulgu.

On top of his legions, he also controls his own order of knights, called the Varanguard. These guys replace Archie's old warband and serve as his presence in every campaign, and in those he does deign worthy of his direct intervention, they serve as his mightiest warriors. These guys are called from every walk of Chaos, and each of them find some omen compelling them to serve the Everchosen to which they follow so devotedly that they abandon their god's calling to serve him under pain of death. Those that pass the trials laid before them on their route to the Varanspire (his new castle in the Realm of Chaos) are then chosen to join one of his eight circles and gain a giant mutant thing that possibly used to be a horse. Also joined by some of Slaanesh's followers and daemons - the Invaders faction - who now worships him as their god.

And that's not even mentioning the new changes to his look.

For a start, Archaon is now rocking some badass new black armour that makes him look much more sinister, powerful, and imposing, though at the cost of the Northern Warlord look he used to have. Slayer of Kings is also different, now a gigantic on-fire sword with a much more ornate design than before, very cool. But the real change isn't even Archaon himself, but the horse Dorghar. Well, ex-horse, because Dorghar is now a gigantic chimera monster with three heads to represent Nurgle, Khorne, and Tzeentch (Slaanesh has vanished without a trace) and two tails as an homage to the Great Horned Rat. He's now gathering all the forces of Chaos together to launch a massive campaign against Sigmar and finish what he started in the Old World, and stands as the greatest threat that Order may ever have to face. Just like old times, huh? To GW's credit, Sigmar's also gotten a lot stronger, so it's beginning to feel less like some author's pet stomping over non-opposition, but who will ultimately win?

Archaon also nearly scored a major win for Chaos during the Soul Wars by finding and reaching Slaanesh's prison. He took his Varanguard, leaving the Chaos Lord Namos Saskarid in charge while he went to free the Chaos God. Unfortunately for him and fortunately for everyone not Chaos-aligned, Nagash chose that time to strike. The undead attacked through the Shyishian realmgate and captured it, with [[Lady Olynder]] personally killing Saskarid. Then [[Katakros]] and armies from four Ossiarch Legions moved in and fortified the gate, leaving part of the Allpoints under control of Nagash. From there Bonereaper and Nighthaunt armies ravaged the Eightpoints, even laying siege to the Varanspire itself. Upon learning of this, Archaon was forced to stop breaking Slaanesh's chains and led his forces in a mad rush back to the Eightpoints. Catching the undead in a three-pronged attack, the undead army was decimated, Archaon leading the charge and destroying many undead including slaying Katakros' lieutenant Zandtos. Soon the Everchosen and Mortarch met for the first time, immediately enaging each other in a vicious duel. Despite his attendants dying, Katakros did well against Archon until he got pinned by Dorghar and run through with the Slayer of Kings (though unbeknownst to Archaon, Katakros had planned for that and has lots of back-up bodies). Having repelled the undead but losing part of the Eightpoints to Nagash, Archaon decided that next time he crossed paths with Nagash, he'd finish him for off once and for all.

His dad is currently trying to win street cred in an attempt to usurp him, but given that this is Be'lakor we are talking about he is probably going to fail in some spectacular way. (Although surprisingly it has been working out for him well for him so far.) His latest attempt at this was featured in the new warcry box set ”Heart of Ghur” which has some of his troops fighting it out with troops belonging to Be'lakor, Nurgle, and [[Hashut]] of all things over a place called the Gnarlwood located on the continent of Thondia in Ghur. In addition to being filled with all kinds of nasty carnivorous plants that could be used to ruin someone’s day, the forest is also loaded with powerful Seraphon artifacts that were left there after a bunch of their ships crashed in the area. Seeing an opportunity to score a victory by gaining the artifacts and thus further convince people he deserves to be the true Everchosen, Be'lakor has sent his troops out to conquer the Gnarlwood which has forced Archaon to send in his own troops to stop them.

== On the tabletop ==

===Warhammer Fantasy===
In an interesting irony, though probably not intentional, Archaon is also in a lot ways the opposite of Abaddon, not in a bad way. Where as Abaddon tends to get changed fairly heavily each edition, Archaon stays mostly the same with each book, with the only changes to him being armor save's not including bonus for him being mounted, what his steed can do, or whether or not you can field him on foot. Also, where as Abaddon is characterized by his hitting power while being respectably tough to kill, Archaon hits hard (base attack ignores armor and can double attacks for the rest of the game, though if does any 1s on to hit rolls have to be directed at him or his unit) although his most impressive trait is how freaking hard he is to kill. While his statline is only slightly better than a normal Chaos Lord, he has a 1+ armor save, a 3+ ward save, all to hit rolls against him have a -1 and he can't be wounded on better than 3+. Sadly, while an indestructible death machine, his cost keeps him from getting much use. Afterall, [[Dwarfs|cannons]] are the solution to all problems in Warhammer Fantasy.

===Age of Sigmar===
Age of Sigmar continues this trend of indestructibility in style. Now rocking a 3+ Save that he can easily buff to a 2+, a 5+ Save against Mortal Wounds, and now ''20 FUCKING WOUNDS! HOLY SHIT, THIS IS MEANT TO BE THE GAME WHERE 1 WOUND IS THE AVERAGE, RIGHT?'' Yeah, new monster-riding Archaon is even more of a tank than he used to be, and that's saying a lot. And in addition to this, his new three-headed Dorghar can use one of three special abilities every turn he kills somebody in melee. This can range from vomiting up the remains of his victims all over the unit he's fighting, Nurgle style, to ''eating their skulls and heal D3 wounds!'' Fucking hell, and I thought he was a tank before he could regenerate. In addition to his insane defensive ability, he can also bring the pain too. He has access to Arcane Bolt (as well as the ability to gain the spells of any other wizard if he feeds the unfortunate wizard to the Tzeentch head), though Mystic Shield is always a better choice to up his defense, Dorghar can hit like a truck like any monster, and the Slayer of Kings returns as potentially one of the strongest weapons in the game with an easy To Hit and To Wound, and very heavy Rend and Damage. In addition, if you roll two 6's To Wound on the same Hero with the Slayer of Kings, then it instantly kills them with no saves of any kind allowed. Though with only four attacks, this won't happen too often. Still, with those stats he's easily going to live long enough to pull it off sooner or later.

==Total War: WARHAMMER==
Archaon appears as the faction leader for the Warriors of Chaos, the first DLC faction of Total War: WARHAMMER and though the campaign mechanics of said faction have been left in the dirt by newer and shinier factions to come out, Archaon still manages to be an absolute menace on the battlefield in a chaos campaign. At level 40 and with all of his quest items (of which he has 4, as many as you can have) he carries on the tabletop tradition of being an absolute tank, rocking an impressive 40% ward save combined with a 20% physical resist (which can be comboed with the Swords of Chaos' guardian ability, bringing the physical resist upto 35%), and a 15% magical resist resulting in a combined damage reduction of up to 75% for physical damage and 55% for magical damage. Couple this with the fact that you can easily get him to over 130 armor and over 100 of both melee defense AND attack, and he will stay in the fight for longer than most. Oh and he also gets access to the lore of fire and the Slayer of Kings, ensuring that he can dish out punishment as readily as he can take it.

However, as mentioned this is all in the chaos campaign. On multiplayer... well, he's a bit of a meme. Players have even given him the moniker of "Archaon the Neverchosen" due to the fact that more often than not people will elect to either bring Kholek or a generic Chaos Lord in favor of Archaon. There are a couple of reasons for this

* His tankiness in campaign is simply not as much a factor in multiplayer, though he does have 120 armor, 5000 hp, 60 melee defense, and 10% physical resist, he is still far more vurlerable to being gooned by other lords than Kholek or Sarthorael would be, largely owing to him not having nearly as high a mass as either of those two leading to him being unable to push his way out of dangerous situations. It also means that he is staggered more in combat, leading to him getting fewer hits in and is therefore less effective.
* And much like his tankiness is a non factor, his killiness is as well. He's got a single strong damage augmenting item, that being the Slayer of Kings, which albeit very killy, has a very long cooldown and more importantly only recharges if he's in melee, leading to you potentially only being able to use it once in a match if the opponent is avoiding him well.
* Speaking of avoiding him, he can be quite easy to kite despite being a mounted lord with a relatively high speed, and you might wonder why this is? Well, remember that mass problem he's got? If he does manage to get on top of someone's lord and pops his Slayer of Kings, all that lord has to do is find a handy unit of zombies, gobbos or whatever else expendable unit they have lying around and throw them at him while their lord runs away, leaving him to go fisticuffs with a unit that he will beat eventually, but a unit that he doesn't actually want to be fighting since it's a waste for him to do so.
* Speaking of wastes, let's talk about his cost. Stripping all his magic and items (though not Dorghar, what would he be without him) Archaon comes in at a premium at 2085 gold, just slightly more expensive than a Dragon Ogre shaggoth. Kholek meanwhile (being his primary contender) comes in at 2200, which albeit more expensive, gives you a lot more due to the fact that Kholek doesn't suffer from having low mass, nor does his combat buff, Starcrusher, recharge only in combat. It's admittedly a weaker buff in terms of raw damage potential, but it lasts longer and is available more reliably, therefore giving it the edge. And of course, if you don't want either Kholek nor Archaeon, you can always go for the dead cheap Chaos Lord or even Sigvald, who allow you to go for a wider build.

Maybe with game 3 being focused more on Chaos we'll see an update to the Warriors of Chaos and Archaon, that hopefully might make him a more lucrative pick, but at the moment he's just a bit lackluster compared to his competitors. However, pretty much the opposite started to happen instead, as with the reveal of your own customisable Daemon Prince Archaon once again fell out of favor, as many people regarded Daniel to be far more interesting, oh and also he has a roster composed of all Chaos Daemons with only minor restrictions. Time will tell, of course, but for now poor old Archaon is dumped on once again.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDhKpHUijtQ Or maybe not anymore]. The most recent information regarding the combined map game mode "Immortal Empires" presented by various Content Creators and Youtubers also gave the Warriors of Chaos, and thus Archaon, some time in the spotlight. Upcoming changes for him so far:

* Dorghar has received a visual overhaul and is now truly gargantuan, dwarfing even the massive chaos knights' steeds, who themselves dwarf your average horses now. No more Chaos ponies! Hopefully this mere size increase also brought better combat stats with it, otherwise he has just become an even more attractive target for any form of missile units and Anti-Large artillery.

* Archaon himself got a visual overhaul as well; the most notably thing so far is that his chin is not clipping 24/7 through his collar anymore. Along with that, he received new fighting animations both on foot as well as on Dorghar.

* In terms of actual gameplay changes, Archaon isn't a pure Lore of Fire caster anymore, but now has a mixture of the Lore of Death, Metal and aforementioned Fire. Which is somewhat of a mixed bag all things considered, literally and figuratively. He keeps Flaming Sword of Ruin and Flaming Skull, but loses access to Flamestorm (which was his primary method of dealing with armored infantry blobs) and instead received the Purple Sun of Xereus. Which, when compared to Flamestorm, is pretty much inferior in any way: Higher Winds of Magic cost, shorter duration and it deals too much damage per entity, meaning damage isn't efficiently divided between entities of a unit. Plus the new hard cap for Winds of Magic makes the higher cost of Purple sun even more bothersome. Bummer.
* Other than that, he reportedly gets Searing Doom, Transmutation of Lead and Spirit Leech (Another overpriced, underperforming spell from the god-awful and wrongly named Lore of Death. Seriously, you would think that a Lore of Magic that is called "Death" would actually excel at killing stuff. But no, can't have that apparently). Generally speaking, his spell selection got a whole lot less impressive.

All in all, Archaon is definitely going to be less devastating as a caster with this new Lore of Magic mix, but to compensate for that, he may be further improved as an actual melee combatant. If that is sufficient to make him stand out enough remains to be seen, but considering that the Chaos faction as a whole already has a plethora of powerful melee Legendary Lords (Skarbrand, N'kari and Kholek spring to mind), it is probably best to retain a healthy portion of skepticism when regarding the question if Ingame-Archaon will be able to live up to expectations.

And Immortal Empires came, and Archaon is pretty good, all things considering. It's less than getting more op on the battlefield, but more that he finally found a niche in the Warriors of Chaos roster. He's now the standart Warriors of Chaos campaign, with the Champions of Chaos taking a lot from their monogod brethren, Sigvald being halfway Slaaneshi, and Kholek doing Kholek things(SMASH), only Archaon and Be'lakor are truly Undivided, and they have different specializations. Be'lakor has no Gifted units cap, and he starts with all the Gifts slots unlocked. Archaon has to unlock them via the tech tree, but he's now the proper poster boy, in the sense that his mortal followers can follow every god. Plus Archaon gets to (violently) confederate every one of his faction buddies, like Be'lakor. In a sense he is similar to the Daemon Prince, in the sense that his campaign is whatever you make it to be. Given his start position he is well defended from external threats for a while, but he can find a proper challenge in his doorstep. He has a lot of Dark Fortresses available to him in the surrounding area, and he's not that far away from Kholek if you want to go that route.

So, all in all, Archaon is better than ever in Immortal Empires. He doesn't have the melee potential of Kholek, or the massive cheese of Vilitch's barrier, but on the other hand, he doesn't have to. His campaign is fun, and considering his long trek since being in the most boring faction in Warhammer I to this point, I think that's a solid win in my book.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Image: Original Archaon.jpg|Archaon, back in the early days of Warhammer Fantasy. He had a horsie.
Image: Archaon Old.jpg|Archaon's limited edition model, on-foot.
Image: Archaon New.jpg|Archaon's new model with his daemon horsie.
Image:ArchaonAOS.jpg|Archaon's newER model, now with a gigantic daemon chimera, the Evolved form of daemon horsie.
Image:Godbeasts.jpg|An evil, powerful warrior traveling from world to world, seeking further power from a godlike serpentine dragon... [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4vjJrGeh1c that sounds familiar].
Image: The three eyed king.jpg|Archaon ablazing.
Image: Archaon end times.png|Archaon's sword.
Image: Lord of the End Times.jpg|Archaon's sword ablazing.
Image: Archaon 3.png|Archaon in [[Total War: WARHAMMER]]
</gallery>

==Memes==
Of course what would a Warhammer character be without the memes?

Archaon is notable for a fair few, given the tendency of writers to keep at least his foot in the spotlight.
* ANIME: Thanks to his art and general JRPG villain actions in Age of Sigmar, Archaon has become the embodiement of ANIME (always caps).
*Archaon the never chosen: In total warhammer he is rarely ever a threat and a barely played lord with most players choosing order factions & chaos players choosing norscans or beastmen. Now with the release of Total Warhammer 3 even less players choose archaon as the chaos roster has been expanded.
* Horns: Archaon's helmet horns have grown in each incarnation, leading to humor a la Abby's armlessness about horn growth, and the increasing difficulty lifting or turning his head.
* Penguins: Archaon has described the Beastmen inhabiting the south pole as "true Beastmen", free from human taint. Since there is no combination of Daemon, man, mutant, or beast not present in the Old World some have come to the conclusion that Archaon is scared of penguins.
* Archaos: The creator of the Archaon character identified his original intended name as the even more ludicrous "Archaos", destined to fall on his sword in the final battle after realizing what he had done to the laughter of the Chaos Gods. Since then Archaos the teenage suicide victim bullied by the Four has become a preferred way to mock the character.
* [[Slambo]]: A generic miniature from Oldhammer that some see as the REAL Everchosen.
* Everchozen: He'll have this world.... kid. A purposefully bad Paint drawing of Archaon in the style of Coldsteel the Hedgehog, complete with massive horns and a bio reminiscent of a twelve year old's Naruto OC. Commonly used by critics of the End Times and/or GW's sudden masturbation of Chaos in general (and ''boy'' are there plenty of critics), and/or as "Neverchozen", referencing pre-retcon Archaon and his failure.
* On a minor note, two memes about [https://www.warhammer-community.com/2019/11/15/meme-hammer-youre-welcome/ Archaon failing to destroy the world of Warhammer from Geedubs themselves] after the news about [[Warhammer Fantasy Battle]] returned.

{{Chaos-Champions}}
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[[Category:Age of Sigmar]]
[[Category:Slaves to Darkness]]

Nagash

2023-01-31T15:07:05Z

2600:387:9:9:0:0:0:62:

{{cleanup}}
{{sick|The biggest douchebag in the entire setting is him & give or take the Chaos Gods.}}

[[File:Age Nagash.jpg|right|600px|thumb|What an [[Assholetep|asshole]] and a colossal skeletal dickhead.]]

{{Topquote|If a man can bridge the gap between life and death, if he can live after he's died, then maybe he was a great man. Immortality is the only true success.|James Dean}}

{{Topquote|If you won't '''bow''' before a sultan, '''THEN YOU WILL COWER BEFORE A SORCERER!!!'''|Jafar, Aladdin}}

{{Topquote|There will be no escape, no blessed oblivion. I can end your life as easily as I can extinguish a candle, and before your corpse is cold, I can reach out and grasp your soul. You will be my slave for all eternity, and I shall laugh at the depths of your pain. Such is the power of Nagash.|The man himself}}

40K has [[Erebus]], and Fantasy/Age of Sigmar has this asshole.

'''Nagash''' the Undying, also known as '''kreekar-gan''' (translation; The Burning Man) by the Skaven, Skelepope and Big Bone Daddy, is the <s>god of overly giant hats</s> first [[Necromancer]] and arguably the second <s>most evil character</s> <s>biggest asshole</s> most evil badass asshole character to ever curse the [[Warhammer Fantasy]] world. Ever. After the Chaos Gods and [[Matthew Ward]] of course.

Nagash has zero redeeming factors and was an obvious sociopath from day one (more on that below). His favourite food is chocolate ganache.

He went into hand-to-hand combat with the likes of [[Sigmar]], and has plans to kick [[Khorne]], [[Tzeentch]], [[Slaanesh]], and [[Nurgle]] (as of Age of Sigmar, the [[Horned Rat|Great Horned Rat]] as well) out of the [[Warp]] and become [[Chaos]] itself. Despite being the setting's main villain apart from [[Archaon]] and the Chaos Gods, he hasn't been directly involved in as much as you think. To be fair, he did destroy Nehekhara, nearly killed Sigmar (but successfully handicapped him until his ascension) and used his armies of undead to [[Awesome|fight THE ENTIRE SKAVEN EMPIRE to a stalemate]], but until the End Times (see below), his main mark on the setting was creating Necromancy and what his various [[Vampire Counts|fan-clubs]] and [[Tomb Kings|critics]] did with it. In [[Age of Sigmar]], he leads [[Grand Alliance: Death]].

==Early life==
Nagash was the firstborn son of King Khetep of Khemri. Unlike most places, in Nehekhara the firstborn sons of the royal family were given to the temples and the second sons became kings. Before he was forced to joined the Mortuary Cult, Nagash joined a Nehekharan war against Lizardmen who were attacking Lybaras. The Khemrian army was led by his father Khetep, but after Khetep fell ill during the campaign Nagash took command. He relentlessly pursued his father's campaign until the Lizardmen leader was finally killed in action. After that, Nagash ruled the city of Rasetra (which Khetep had used as a strategic point against the Lizardmen) as a king for 6 months while his father recovered. At which point Khetep left the city of Rasetra to one of his generals and gave Nagash to the Mortuary Cult. For unknown reasons, Khetep covered up Nagash's brief period of rulership, rewriting history to call Nagash a "brave warrior" and nothing more. It was Nagash first taste of rulership, and the first time he had it ripped from his grasp.

As a Mortuary Priest, Nagash was brilliant and quickly rose to become its High Priest. Nagash at that time was able to accurately predicted Morrslieb's sighting, a feat no other priests were able to accomplish. Like all Mortuary Priests, he was searching for a means to achieve immortality at the command of the by then (oh irony!) long-dead [[Settra the Imperishable]]. Unlike most Mortuary Priests, Nagash hated his job and craved greater magical power and king, lamenting that in every other nation he knew of firstborn sons took the throne. One day he saw the hot chick his brother was betrothed to, feeling sexual attraction for the first time in his life. He sought to steal her from his brother (note: Nagash merely saw her as a trophy, not a person to adore or treasure), and failed horribly. Knowing she would've been his if not for the royal traditions and priests' traditional celibacy, Nagash decided enough was enough for him. It was time to act (read: scheme)!

When King Khetep died horribly in battle against Zandri's army, Nagash's younger brother Thutep took the throne and became the ruler of Khemri. Nagash seethed under Thutep's weak rule, a perception which was only reinforced by Thutep's diplomatic concessions and Khemri's dwindling prestige. While tending to his father's body, the only thing Nagash felt about his father's death (which was the first red flag for the uninitiated that something was wrong with the guy) was interest in what killed him, for his corpse bore the marks of powerful dark magic. While extracting Khetep's organs for mummification, Nagash saw they had been blackened and twisted together by unknown foul magic; a power unlike that of any Nehekaran Mortuary Priest or the blessings of their gods.

Unfortunately for the Khemrians, and the world as a whole, Nagash found the source of this magic. During his father's burial ceremony, a Zandrian diplomat arrived and offered [[Dark Elves|three unidentified humanoids with snow white hair, pale skin and pointy ears]] as sacrificial slaves. This immediately drew Nagash's attention, and he speculated that they may have been used by the Zandrian army as slaves/mercenaries against his father, but had become so feared thanks to their dark magic that the Zandrians chose to betray them. His suspicions were proven correct when he sensed a weak and cold power from one of the female captives, who was quietly channeling her power (Note: the three of them were all drugged up to make them easier to subdue). Nagash, quick to an seize opportunity when he saw one, ostensibly agreed and took custody of the three elves. Although they were supposed to be poisoned and entombed along with his father, he ordered his assistant priest to drug them with sleeping medicines instead and had them imprisoned somewhere else.

This brings in two interesting pieces of trivia. The first that this trio of Dark Elves were the leaders of the covert-op unit that was killing Dwarf caravans to start the [[War of the Beard]]. So we can place Nagash in the timeline properly; the first Nagash novel occurs approximately just after the second War of Vengeance novel and demonstrates another way the Dark Elves have helped fuck up the world. The second is that, before being put under, the male captive spoke to the Nehekharan crowd in their language saying that [[Irony|whoever killed them would have their flesh slough from their bones and their land would fall to ruin]], [[Tomb Kings|which would come true, just not in the way anyone would've predicted]]. Apparently, the Dark Elves had a natural talent at unknowingly predicting other's doom, just like how they predicted Malekith's.

===Invention of Necromancy===

[[File:Wallpaper-nagash-sorcerer.jpg||thumb|right|400px|Nagash; once was human, always was an asshole.]]
But back to Nagash: he trapped the three magic-users in his father's pyramid full of lethal traps, and forced them to barter their sorcerous knowledge for him revealing what and where the traps were. Despite this, they were far from subdued, demanding whatever they could from Nagash, from silk pillows to books (particularly ones about tomb construction, architecture and escapology...). From the trio, Nagash learned of the Chaos Gate in the far north and the Winds of Magic that blew from it, and how they could be harnessed by a careful practitioner. Unlike the magics of Khemri, which relied on the intercession of the Nehekaran gods, Nagash learned that mortals could manipulate magic for themselves. He learned of Dark Magic and of how it coagulated into warpstone.

Although the Dark Elves withheld their juiciest secrets, Nagash still managed to reach an unparalleled (in humans) mastery of dark magic, because he was still an extremely intelligent member of the Mortuary Cult. However, Nagash very quickly deduced that his very human nature limited his ability to draw and channel magical energy (the reason why [[Teclis]] would create the Imperial Schools of Magic drawing on a single aspect instead of the full raw power like High/Dark magic does). He performed many experiments of his own along with other evil magic-y things; combining what he could use of the Dark Elves' craft with ways to call upon power as a human (all of which invariably involved mass human sacrifices, which was how the Dark Elves showed him the limits of his power, but Nagash didn't give a single fuck about human life besides his own and only did the bare minimum to remain discreet).

Eventually the Dark Elves read enough Harry Houdini books to escape the tomb. Near the exit, they found Nagash standing in their path to freedom, who told them their freedom rested upon them beating him in a magical battle. Although the Dark Elves outnumbered Nagash, one had been crippled by a poison dart from the tomb's traps and the rest still underestimated Nagash, so he still ended up brutally killing them and consuming their souls (you know that when someone can out-evil and out-betray '''Dark Elves''', they're cold mothafuckas).

Taking everything he’d learnt, Nagash created an elixir out of human blood which allowed him to stay alive through death (although the body degenerated, becoming essentially a lich without a Phylactery). He wandered the Necropolis of Khemri, summoning spirits of the departed and daemons with his new power, and learned great secrets. He penned nine different [[Necronomicon]]s/Books of Vile Darkness which contain all of his work and experiments (which nobody to date has ever managed to attain the same degree of working knowledge of; because Nagash took a leaf from [[The Lord of the Rings|Sauron]] and infused part of himself in each of his artefacts so no one but him could master them). The books explain the details and use of Necromancy, a form of magic that Nagash had codified from death magic along with the rituals of the Tomb Kings and the various Dark Magic tidbits his Dark Elf tutors gave him (He was not the first to attempt this, but he was the first to be so unequivocally successful). Necromancy, although usable by the forces of Chaos, also repels it; in a way the Undead are artificial Daemons made of equal amount of magic and material which flips the middle finger at the laws (as much as Chaos can be said to have such laws anyway) of both.

===King of Khemri===
During his studies Nagash also planned to overthrow his brother, scheming with several disgruntled military officers and nobles ([[Arkhan the Black|including a certain wastrel called Arkhan who would go on to become his infamous right-hand man]]). He gave them all a sip of his elixir, with Arkhan being the first to take it. When Thutep learned (warned by his vizier) of Nagash's experiments with dark magic via investigating the disappearances of the people he sacrificed, he took some royal guards and confronted Nagash. While many of Nagash's followers died, his inner circle didn't and Nagash used his dark magic to kill all but Thutep. Nagash then killed his brother by entombing him alive in their father’s pyramid.

The next morning, Nagash claimed the throne of Khemri for himself along with Thutep’s wife, Neferem (finally gotten that squared away). Despite being the only woman he's ever been attracted to, Nagash was a terrible husband to her. It's all but stated he abused her, used her as a sex object with no care for her pleasure (she later then cut off his penis for revenge), her handmaidens were terrified of him and his murder of Thutep was about as secret as [[A Song of Ice and Fire|the incestuous habits of the Lannister twins]]. To secure his throne, he secretly murdered her son (also his nephew) and used his body and soul to make a variant of the elixir to make her his sort of undead sex-slave (bruh). Nagash assembled the largest pyramid in Nehekhara (a big feat) made entirely out of black marble. However, doing so was expensive, and Nagash demanded such a large tribute of building materials and slaves that he nearly bankrupted Nehekhara; the fabulously wealthy kingdom became as poor as Detroit. During this time, his unholy work had become an open secret, and many others in Khemri flocked to his promises of immortality and power as well as a third of the Priests of Khemri (the rest of the priests were killed when they rebelled).

However, the other Kings of Nehekhara were utterly appalled at Nagash's reign of terror. Enraged at the corruption he had brought, and in fear of the wrath of the gods, the kings from seven other lesser cities formed an alliance to force Nagash from his throne. A powerful army was raised against Khemri.

Nagash, in turn, used the Black Pyramid to channel the energies of his Necromancy and raise an army of the undead - a horde of skeletons to destroy the attacking armies. [[Just as planned]]. Such a thing was unheard of, and in the death-obsessed culture of Nehekhara, it was recognised as the greatest of obscenities. Hundreds fled, terrified by the thoughts of battle against the departed. Things got even worse when Nagash had his undead wife killed, ending her bloodline and breaking the covenant between the Nehekharans and their gods. However, all was not lost. Although many did flee the sight of the dead army, the forces of the other kings rallied; Lybaras brought with them new technologies (including [[Awesome|steam-powered hot air balloons]]). Rasetra bought their Lizardmen mercenaries as well as their hardened soldiers that fights them on daily basis. The Lahmian, led by Lamashizzar, brought his famed '''Dragon Force''' soldiers who wields "dragon staff" (guns) that was bought from Cathay (which they made a deal with the Cathayan by giving them their city if they couldn't pay them). With the awesome new tech, they managed to push the undead back to Khemri and after a final battle at Maharak, they defeated Nagash.

There were TWO crucial details about Nagash's defeat. First was that his undead army suffered months of brutal attrition during the siege of Mahrak. The city of hope had the most powerful of the gods blessings and the most powerful Ushabti (not statues, actual demi-god soldiers) garrisoned in the city as well as magic defences like a high temperature death field and a force field that blocked catapult shots. By the time Nagash had figured out that killing Neferem was the only way to take away Nehekharan's blessing from the gods and thus neutralize Mahrak's defences, his army was already in tatters. The second was the surprise attack from Lamashizzar's dragon staff troops. Lamashizzar had so long desired Nagash's elixir of longevity that he went to pledge Nagash his allegiance prior the final siege. Little did Nagash knew Lamashizzar ended up betraying him just as Nagash reached the heart of the city where the many temples of the gods resided. The ranged firepower coming from Lamashizzar's Dragon Force mortally wounded Nagash and shattered his skeleton army. For some reason, the gunfire left an incurable wound on his left shoulder which he was unable to regenerate, even with the power of his elixir or with the pyramid's power. His resulting loss of consciousness from the injury meant that his followers, including Arkhan, and what remained of his undead army had to cover his retreat to his sarcophagus within the Black Pyramid.

After the battle, it was generally decided at that time that all that Nagash had wrought during his accursed reign should be destroyed: the cabal of twisted followers he had ensnared to his ghastly practices were put to the sword, the Black Pyramid was sealed and great fires consumed much of what Nagash had done and written — even his precious Nine tomes were believed to be among the ashes...

==The Great Necromancer==
Nagash had not been destroyed, but had fled into the desert; the Saharan-style one with no water anywhere. He wandered through the desert, yelling and raging to scare off the hungry jackals that followed him, until he got far enough into the desert that even they abandoned the chase. Without any of his elixir, he was doomed to perish in the wastes.

One night, he did die. During this time his brother Thutep's soul (as well as many others he had fucked over) found his and rightfully castigated Nagash over all of his evil. They pointed out that breaking the covenant with the gods had made it hard for the dead to find Nehekhara's version of heaven, and they wanted payback against Nagash. However, the next morning, Nagash returned to his body, got right back up and kept walking.

[[Awesome|That's right, Nagash went "fuck this!" to being dead and just kept going.]] (Once again, another being who makes the [[God-Emperor of Mankind|Emprah]] look like a failure. [[Archaon|It's sort of a theme in Fantasy though]]).
[[File:Nagash-necromancer.jpg|400px|thumb|right|"Death? Been there, done that, no thanks."]]

This is where he first encountered the Skaven. He was traveling towards the direction of the Sour Sea (the area on the upper right of the Nehekhara), sensing some sort of magical power from one of its "dark mountains". He saw four Skaven warpstone scavengers, and had an idea. Nagash, like a smooth undead assassin, pretended to be dead and when one of the rat hunters found and decided to eat him, Nagash surprised the rat with a bite to the neck. The others, except one that ran away, were killed and eaten by Nagash. In consuming them, he found that a mysterious power within the rat's blood gave him more replenishment than all the elixir he had ever consumed. Then, a faintly glowing green light on one of the rat hunters' clothes caught Nagash's attention, and that's how he discovered warpstone.

As Nagash examined the rock, he found bite marks on it, prompting the assumption that it was not only edible, but also the source of power that he had felt when he consumed the rat. He then decided to eat the stone, the smallest piece out of the 3 he had smashed it into. The stone gave Nagash a painful sensation like never before, but gave him enough power to heal his incurable gunshot wounds from the war, popping the bullets from his body like some anime character, as well as the energies he needed to continue his search. Sadly, the stone also fucked up his vision and his sense of direction, forcing him to [[Fail|wander the wasteland for 139 fucking years]] like an undead meth-head Moses.

After that embarrassing 139-years-[[drug|warpstoned trip]], Nagash came off his high and started to study (one of the only things he excels at) the warpstone for other purposes. Naming it Ab-ni'khat, Nagash learned warpstone pieces resonate near each other, which led him to start a warpstone hunt. Although he found some of them during his hunt, too many times for his liking he found that the Skaven got there first and took all the warpstone, which made Nagash swear to kill and eat every ratman he came across. After that, he eventually decided to just rely on his instincts and head to the dark mountain. By the time he arrived, the mountainside was inhabited by a tribe of humans formed during the century he'd spent "stoned".

This barbarian tribe were called '''Yaghur'''. Unlike the Norscan barbarians, which Nagash knew only as slaves back in his days at Khemri, these barbarians' appearances had much more in common with Nehekharans, with a few mutations due to the warpstone's influence. While studying the daily lives and behavior of the Yaghur, he realized that while most of the tribesmen had a mutated appearance, a few of them, namely their "high priests" (who wore long robes and carried out funeral rites and other rituals) were not mutated due to their thorough understanding and control of the stones. These priests sat at the top of the barbarian hierarchy, and were in fact a type of necromancer who used the barbarians to harvest souls and dead bodies for their own means while chilling in the hilltop castle like the nobility they are.

In order to gain more power and information on warpstone, Nagash decided to take over the barbarian tribe. With some luck and his magic, he secretly resurrected the dead for his warpstone manual labor, and even gained a living follower after he "accidentally" spared him. He then used his undead armies and his magic power (amplified by the warpstone he had mined) to conquer them and, with an army of living and undead, made a new domain for himself. After 247 years of some fighting and slaving against the chaos worshipers living in the east at the plain of bones (the location where Vorag's fortress "will" be) led by a chieftain with 3 sorcerers, he began turning the mountain into a fortress-city to inspire terror and awe the world over - [[Nagashizzar]].

Such a large amount of warpstone drew other creatures (helped along by a treacherous servant of Nagash), namely Skaven. Upon learning about the mountain full of warpstone, [[derp|the Skaven councils began their usual backstabbing contest to see who gets the mountain, which laughably lasted for 25 years]]. They only stopped backstabbing each other when they remembered they'd miss out on the warpstone if they focused on infighting, thus they decided to form an alliance and created the biggest expedition in Skaven history. It was filled with a clusterfuck of rats from each clan, so big that the councils believed they'd conquer the mountain within a month. This expedition was led by Eekrit Backbiter, Warlord of Clan Rikek with his Chief assassin Eshreegar by his side and his idiotic assistant Lord Hiirc on the other.

When the Skaven began attacking the mining force, Nagash sensed the absence of his skeleton miners and initially believed to be the work of treacherous "living" barbarians among his army. When he actually saw an armored Skaven through the vision of one of his skeletons, Nagash's reaction was reasonably ''PISSED OFF''. He hated the Skaven for being cowardly, coyote-like beasts who used any means to get their dirty little paws on '''his''' warpstone. He wasted no time and took control of his army, hoping he could find the rat hole they came from and erase their existence from the world for good.

The Skaven armies were vast, but Nagash's magic abilities were also great, as was his army of undead. At the time, the Skaven had a very old version of a warpfire thrower - a very large bronze device mounted on a wooden cart pushed by four ratmen - and it was powerful enough to melt some of Nagash's living servants. The warpfire thrower even almost killed Nagash himself. Though he raised corpses in front of him fast enough to avoid getting completely facefucked, and destroyed it with a magic missile to the back as the rats turned the weapon away, the warpfire left permanent damage to Nagash's body and weakened his powers.

At one point, Nagash launched a crucial battle against the skaven stronghold after extracting information from a Skaven chieftain's mind using a torture device of his own creation to discover its whereabouts. His battle plan was to ambush the Skaven from two sides using secret tunnels he had dug. The plan wasn't known to his servants because he believed there are traitors that could leak it to the Skaven. Still, his plan was known to the Skaven already and thus Nagash's invading forces in the tunnel were met with Skaven forces pushing them back. On the battlefield , Nagash hacked and slashed the ratmen using an obsidian blade he took from a certain northern barbarian's grave and buffed with his own spellwork (possibly '''Mortis''' aka '''Zefet-nebtar'''). His enemies were strong, led by Hiirc and an old as fuck Grey seer named '''Velsquee'''. Although Nagash's ambush plan failed, he was able to devastate the main Skaven army with him and his combined army of barbarians and undead skeletons alone while being bombarded by poison wind mortars.

He managed to get near Hiirc and was going to kill him, only to be blasted by magic from his enslaved barbarian witch '''Akatha'''. She confirmed his prior suspicions by announcing she was the traitor who called the Skaven into the mountain and revealed his plans to the rats by telepathically sending messages to their Grey Seers. Nagash tried to retaliate, but his magic was depleted and Akatha's magical charm protected her, forcing Nagash to direct some of his undead troops to take it from her. Without her charm, the vulnerable Akatha had her soul joyfully devoured by Nagash with the mocking parting words of "''darkness awaits you''", leaving her dried body to be ripped apart by the undead Skaven.

With the traitor eliminated, Nagash uncovered his other hidden forces from the caves on top as well as scarab constructs he had created to fight the Skaven. He later fought the grey seer in a melee duel. Despite the rat's old age, he put up a decent fight against Nagash, even dealt a mutual wound that broke his horn but broke Nagash's skull in return. Still, the tide turned when Nagash destroyed the poison wind mortar team by throwing skaven slaves onto its ammunition, causing a chain explosion that spelled the doom to the weapon teams, as well as the main Skaven army that inhaled the poison wind. The Skaven had lost this important battle. Velsquee was wounded but survived, but Hiirc was met with a treacherous knife from Lord Eekrit after he was found near the ruins of his War Litter.

After this defeat, the Skaven forces were not only forced to abandon their previous conquered warpstone mine, the councils also dissolved the alliance of clans and disbanding the expeditionary force due to its war of attrition against Nagash. Lord Eekrik's forces were left with no reinforcement nor resources and Nagashizzar is now known infamous among the Skaven as '''The Cursed Pit'''. Although befret of a conquering army, the Skaven resort to futile guerrilla harassment against Nagash and his forces also depleted of manpower/corpses and warpstone. It was at that moment Nagash decided to send his servant to offer the Skaven a truce: he would give them some warpstone if they gave him slaves in exchange.

The Skaven, wary of his plans (due to being naturally untrusting and a prophecy foretold by the Grey Seer '''Qweeqwol'''), but coveting the warpstone, agreed. Although Lord Eekrit was disappointed and frustrated for failing to beat bone daddy, he had no choice for he has nowhere left to go (going back to Skavenblight would mean embarrassment and execution by a council assassin). Lord Eekrit grudgingly accepted the truce after hearing Lord Velsquee's suggestion (Eekrikt will take the deal and later kill Nagash at the right moment). Eekrit's forces lured several Savage Orc tribes into the pits beneath the fortress for Nagash to slaughter and use for his rituals. It wasn't profitable however, since the warpstones they received was about as much as they had mined during the war, and taking captives from orcs was difficult and dangerous. The large amount of souls from the captives allows Nagash to replenish him and strengthen his newly raised undead soldiers like never before. Having witness all this, Eekrit's resentment of the arrangement could only grow.

Having finally made a truce with the Skaven and gaining lots of useful materials from their trade, Nagash decided to further strengthen himself with a set of war gears. At The mountain's highest peak was its tower, Nagash and his three lieutenants forged his Black Armour (AKA '''Morikhane''') in a long and painful ritual using Gromril (a known Dwarf favored mineral he got from the Skaven), obsidian, and some warpstone dust. Although Nagash had no idea how to into smithery, let alone work gromril, he did it nonetheless with the help of his three lieutenants and lots of magic. Obsidian and Gromril in the pot was mixed in with warpstone and fused onto Nagash's body, piece by piece through a long and complicated incantation he had thought of. The armor was a success, offering powerful protection and undoing the damage the Skaven warpfire had wrought on his body. It is also at that time Arkhan the Black was brought back from the dead by Nagash and has been acting as a negotiator for the skaven as well as his spokesman for guests.

His three lieutenants, completely worn out and their flesh withered by the magics used in the forging, were complimented by Nagash for a job well done... then killed and sent to the "destroyed underworld" to deliver his hated foes (aka his brother and other people he fucked over) a message that their vengeance will never come. He then went to forge his '''Crown of Sorcery''' using the remaining materials in the pot. The crown was special however because it required an even longer and complicated incantation and had to be forged by Nagash alone, who -again - had never studied smithery in his life. As Nagash struck the metal with his hammer, he injects it with memories and experiences his living life; his hatred, lust, vengeance and all that edgy stuff went into the crown. The finished crown was ugly, but nonetheless a dangerous yet powerful artifact that made Nagash even stronger.

While forging the crown, Nagash was telepathically bothered by a [[W'soran|nerdy bloodsucking fanboy of his]] who wished to summon him. Though magic or astronomy, Nagash had learned of the day where Sakhmet the green witch (aka Morrslieb) covered Neru (moon) and put that in one of his books. That book was stolen by Lamashizzar and found its way into W'soran's hands, who used it to find that exact time and use its power to summon Nagash. Not appreciating the interruption, Nagash took one look at W'soran with his green burning eyes then telepathically grasped him with his invisible hand, squeezed him like an insect then blots out the pathetic nerd's mind. W'soran will be staked in the heart and imprisoned soon after, but will be freed 22 years later where Lahmia will be besieged.

After [[Neferata]] and other well known Vampires failed defending Lahmia, the surviving vampires fled to other corners of the world like bitches. [[W'soran]] and his vampire followers too survived and made a long journey to Nagashizzar in order to pledge their allegiance to Nagash by offering his stolen book. Upon meeting W'soran, Nagash at first was about to devour W'soran until the vampire mentioned "a usurper" by the name Alcadizzar, a Rastraian who has claimed the throne of Khemri and even claimed himself to be one of Settra's descendants. Intrigued, Nagash spared W'soran, had him spill the beans and took in the Vampires as part of his invasion forces.

With W'soran and Arkhan leading his MASSIVE SKELETON LEGION including many deadly constructs and bone giants, Nagash was ready to destroy Nekehara!! Or so he thought. [[Alcadizzar]], a Rastran prince and the new king of Khemri/Nehekhara has long since informed about Nagash's invasion and has been doing a fuck ton of homework and improvements to his military technology. Alcadizzar was not only a brilliant strategist, but also an innovator. Despite Nehekharans no longer being capable of using their gods' miracles, Alcadizzar built magic academies and created a fuck ton of ways to kill the undead (all without the help of some [[Teclis|pointy ears]], suck it Volan!). Limited magical rune weapons were produced at Ka-sabar and were distributed among the Nehekharan armies. They allow the Nehekharan soldiers to one-shot undead in combat (some serious power creep only the Empire wishes they could achieve). A [[Farsqueaker|telepathic communication (aka magic telephone)]] network was also established in order for Alcadizzar to track the undead armies' movement as well as allow him to make other improvements without the need to travel around the countryside.

Despite having a gigantic army and shared master, W'soran and Arkhan didn't get along. W'soran considered Arkhan a coward while Arkhan considered W'soran an arrogant fool. They suffered heavy casualties even against a typical Nehekharan army, now armed with magic arrows and weapons good for killing undead warriors. Arkhan found it annoying that his spells kept getting dispelled by the enemy casters, but they still destroyed them with their larger army. They managed to raze Maharak to the ground at least (as revenge from Nagash) since not only it is the closest Nehekharan city near Nagashizzar (Lahamia was the closest, but was razed in the aftermath of the Vampire war), it is also the home of those salty mortuary cult priests, a bunch of old folks who no longer had any power, were facing poverty, and were too stubborn to accept any improvement from Alcadizzar.

Arkhan and W'soran would face their utter defeat at the Valley of Kings (also known as Charnel Valley, as well as [[Queek Head-Taker]]'s [[Total War: WARHAMMER|starting province in Mortal Empires]]). That valley path is a well known strategical location for the Nehekharans since the era of Settra. Alcadizzar carefully [[Rogal Dorn|fortified its position]], hid numerous traps and installed artillery such as flaming tar rock throwers against the undead legion. By the time the undead had breached all three sturdy walls and their defences, they suffered losses that halved their number. Alcadizzar and his armies then came at the right moment, just as the undead legion had arrived at the end of the valley, and dealt a swift blow against the undead forces. Arkhan was forced to retreat and W'soran escaped using some kind of scarab magic after all of his vampire servants were slain in battle. After this, the once mighty undead legion was merely a regular-sized army, forced into a fighting retreat against the Nehekharans. By the time Arkhan retreated back to Nagashizzar, only a tenth of the original legion remained.

Alcadizzar was going to chase after Nagash but gave up after he learned from his trusted prophetess that he would win such a fight but lose everything in winning, so he decided to enjoy the life he had always wanted with his family.

Nagash was so furious at his army's poor performance that he raged for 7 days and 7 nights. His voice trembled across the fortress and tunnels causing quakes and his magical power spikes to make his body light up the fortress like a lantern. Once he stopped killing failed minions and wrecking shit, he sat down and brooded. Nagash had gained knowledge of all of the Winds, including those that did not blow through Nehekhara, and became one of the only mortals to gain a grasp of understanding about the Chaos Gods without his mind breaking. Far from it in fact, he saw them as a goal; to become Chaos and rule over the material plane consisting only of the mindless Undead. His first targets were, naturally, the Nehekharans. He paid the Skaven to poison the Vitae Tarn (also known as Mortis Tarn after this incident), a lake that contributed the primary water source of the entire Nehekhara region and spread its corruption through every river it connects, including the crucial River Vitae (later known as the River Mortis after this incident) and unleashed a magical plague to decimate every living thing in Nehekhara (ironic, considering Nagash and Nurgle don't get along later). Note that the poison was warpstone disks with various rune carved on them, suggesting that it was actually warpstone particles that was flowing down the river which allowed Nagash to control whoever inhaled those particles. After the plague decimated over three quarters of the living population, Nagash sent an undead army to Khemri to slaughter the rare few who had survived the plague, except Alcadizaar, who was to be captured and brought to Nagash.

Nagash had a massive plan, and he had spared Alcadizzar for a reason, even made sure his magical plague wouldn't infect Alcadizzar no matter what. Nagash needed him as a focus for his new master plan: [[Grimdark|a massive spell that would kill EVERYTHING living in Nehekhara and render it a literal no-man's-land with no water, no vegetation, no animals, nothing; just skeletons up the ass which he would raise into a gigantic undead army under Nagash's command. By using Alcadizzar to represent the ruler of the entire Nehekhara, a powerful symbolic meaning in magic, every damn thing in Nehekhara would have their soul bound to their dead body and serve. Nagash would then use this army to kill every living thing in the world and turn it into a kingdom of undeath, where only he would rule for all eternity]].

After the biggest summoning in history, Nagash was weakened so much he needed to recuperate for the last part. He had Alcadizaar thrown into a dungeon for later torture and took a power nap on his throne. Fortunately for the rest of the world, Alcadizaar was spirited away by two VERY frightened Skaven, Lord Eekrit and Eshreegar, into Nagash's throne room itself and given [[Fellblade#Warhammer_Fantasy|a sword made of pure Warpstone which was SO deadly, Alcadizaar only had a short amount of time to use it before he himself died just from touching it]]. During this time, Nagash was confronted by the ghost of his ex-wife/brother's widow, who was enraged at all he did and subtly mocked him about the coming beatdown he was going to get. Cue our "hero" arriving in the big bad's throne room, where he charged in and chopped off Nagash’s hand before he could react. While the Skaven DIDN'T directly attack Nagash themselves, the Council of Thirteen did use their magic to protect Alcadizaar from Nagash's magic even as it slowly killed them; the fact that SKAVEN were co-operating with each other AND risking their lives to help a non-Skaven shows just how bad things had gotten.

Despite both being fatigued and weakened by their ordeals, the ensuing battle was titanic, for even in his weakened state, Nagash was a foe to be reckoned with. But finally, it was Alcadizaar who emerged victorious. Flying into a rage, Alcadizaar flew at Nagash and hacked away at him until he was dead and his corpse left in many small pieces. Alcadizaar took his crown as a trophy and staggered off, with Eekrit and Eshreegar gathering all of Nagash's body parts (except for his right hand, which crawled away unnoticed during the fight...) and burning them in Warpstone fire.

===Nagash’s Return===
Nagash's nine books were lost, popping up in various times and places. Alcadizaar's body, bearing the Crown of Sorcery made by Nagash and still carrying the Fellblade, washed up on shore in the [[Old World]] along the Mediterranean equivalent. The Skaven tracked him down and took the Fellblade back from his lifeless body, but left the corpse and crown alone. Later the sorcerer Kadon found Alcadizzar's body and the crown. Taking both, he interred Alcadizzar's body in a cairn and used the crown which gave rise to the Necromantic kingdom of Mourkain.

Nagash did not stay dead. Using the power of his Black Pyramid, he was able to knit his body back together, piece by tiny piece, over 1,111 years minus the severed hand. The next time he rose, he found the lands of Nehekhara defended by many jealous undead kings with their combined armies of skeletons equal to anything he could muster. Nagash challenged the reigning king of Khemri, the first King Settra, for the rule of Nehekhara. Settra and the other Kings, furious at what Nagash had done, chased him from Nehekhara. They had no fear of his monstrous form or the undead hordes he commanded, for they commanded skeletal legions of their own and had become just as ghastly in appearance as him. And while powerful, Nagash no longer had the power to bend them all to his will, despite being their creator. He had lost too much, and the Tomb Kings had grown in power and independance while he regenerated.
[[File:The Black Pyramid.PNG|thumb|right|300px|The Black Pyramid, when active.]]
Returning to his fortress, Nagash found the Skaven had mined most of the warpstone away. Nevertheless, he took command of a horde of Ghouls, and in one night they drove all the Skaven from Cripple Peak, venting his frustrations on the ratmen. The Skaven made many attempts at regaining Cripple Peak, but after being defeated by Arkhan who once again joined his master, they eventually decided that they had gathered enough of the warpstone, and left Cripple Peak for good.

After wiping out the Skaven who'd taken over his fortress, Nagash realized that he needed his old magical artefacts to reassert his power, including his stolen crown. So Nagash forged a new hand to replace his missing one out of a warpstone alloy. The crown had been taken north into the Badlands, where it fell into the hands of Orcs who raided across the Black Mountains and seemingly disappeared. Nagash led a great army into the nascent Empire to reclaim it. During the final battle he fought in a duel with [[Sigmar]] himself and nearly defeated him. Sigmar, realizing what was at stake went on a [[Humanity Fuck Yeah|Humanity Fuck Yeah!]] (Though Nagash was also a (undead) human, so how does it apply here? Who cares? Its awesome from both perspectives) [[Rage|rampage]] and finally crushed Nagash's skull with his hammer. The spirit of Nagash fled the battlefield and went back to his fortress where he recovered, having learned that the world now has powers capable to match him. Even Sigmar at the height of his power only just managed to defeat Nagash, and even then only by wearing Nagash's own crown to protect him from Nagash's magic. A crown that had pretty much sent Sigmar insane the last time he wore it. Even then, fighting Nagash crippled Sigmar; while he still kicked a lot of ass he did not regain his full strength until much later.

Nagash did pop up a few times more after that, but each time he did, he was weaker than the time before; pre-retcon every time he died the ghosts of people he killed would gang up on him in the Afterlife and hurt him a bit more each time. Post-retcon the Fellblade was ''so'' deadly, its killing blow was continuing to eat away at Nagash's very spirit, slowly making him less and less powerful with each incarnation. Nagash once again returned to life, 1,666 years after his death at the hands of Sigmar, in the night known as the Night of the Restless Dead because his return prompted undead to awaken across the world, but was so weak he was only alive for a single night before his power weakened and he slipped back into the afterlife. Between this and knowledge of the Chaos Gods, he made a plan to come back for good and be free of what the Fellblade did to him. To this end, he charged Arkhan with working to restore him.

During the downtime, Nagash recruited a "young" Vampire named [[Mannfred von Carstein]] to serve him, and teamed him up with Arkhan the Black to resurrect their master. Now the time has come... FOR [[Games Workshop|GAMES WORKSHOP]] TO UNLEASH THEIR LATEST CASH COW IN THE NAME OF NAGASH!

==[[The End Times]]==
[[Image:Nagash White Dwarf.jpg|500px|thumb|right|1000 points in WFB and costs 100 <strike>Naggaroth</strike> 'Murican dollars, now 70-99% derp free! (Percentage largely depends largely on your opinion of the pope hat to end all pope hats; some players cut it down, or replaced it with the larger skeleton head from the Necrosphinx. Also ignore the derp-faced staff)]]
'''GUESS WHO'S BACK!!!!!!!'''

Nagash is back, with fuckawesome (and fuckexpensive) model (*It would be 100% if not for the derpy skull face on the staff - which can be solved by using the sword instead, the ridiculous skeleton pope hat that is the size of a man standing on another man's shoulders - though that is meant to evoke [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pschent the Pschent crowns] of real-life Ancient Egyptian Pharaohs, the [[/d/|naughty tentacle]] spinal cords borrowed from Doctor Octopus, the buck-teeth on the ghosts and that long bone hanging between his legs - which is meant to be a loincloth made from a spine but it looks like something else...) and another storyline chapter that involves everyone this time.

His primary goal is to bring order to the world; with the dawn of the End Times we see the [[High Elves]] and [[Dark Elves (Warhammer)|Dark Elves]] getting railed by massive chaos incursions while the [[Wood Elves (Warhammer)|Wood Elves]] sit in their forest laughing about how everyone is gonna be speared on [[Slaanesh|Slaanesh's]] dick but them. The [[Beastmen]] who are massing disagree with this assessment however. The [[Empire]] is currently taking it from behind by nearly every faction in the game (mainly the [[Warriors of Chaos]] lead by [[Archaon]] who is determined not to end up looking like a little shit this time) at the moment, with [[Kislev]] having been almost entirely wiped out (assuming this "End Times" is a wash like the last one they'll have rebuilt their green wood castles in a week, but still). [[Bretonnia]] was in flames as civil war tore through the country, but has mostly united now, even if 50% of the population died. The [[Orcs & Goblins]] have been decimated by the attacks of [[Eltharion]] against their race as WAAAGH!s that lasted since the dawn of time were obliterated with fire magic, leaving no spores to repopulate. The remainder of their race (barring individuals and their bands such as [[Skarsnik]], Warlord of the Eight Peaks and [[Grimgor Ironhide]]) are heading straight for eastern [[Ulthuan]] into a trap that could possibly work and wipe out most of the greenskins. The [[Skaven]] backstabbing and plotting against the world hasn't changed of course and are currently conquering the majority of the southern human nations with numbers that even vampires think is excessive.[[Lizardmen]] are under assault from [[Chaos|Daemons]], and Mazdamundi declares that the great plan has failed and that a great exodus must begin. [[Dwarfs (Warhammer Fantasy)|Dwarfs]] have barricaded themselves in their holds, or else gone about trying to retake and rebuild the [[Eight Peaks]] thanks to being shunned by both the Empire and [[Tyrion]] when help was offered in their missions against the Undead (of course, thanks to the fact that Dwarfs will rather destroy their own race than let grudges go, it's unlikely that the Dwarfs will be around long after reunification and the chance to avenge themselves at each other with impunity).

Just before the End Times, Teclis managed to contact Nagash with an offer of gaining the Wind of Shyish and forming an anti-Chaos alliance with the living. Nagash, being Nagash, threw Teclis' offer back in his face. However, he secretly co-opted Teclis' plan with a few alterations: harness the Wind of Shyish to control all Death magic (something even Nagash himself hadn't thought of and grudgingly commended Teclis for), overthrow the Chaos Gods and become the only god of a world of undead. To this end, Nagash had Arkhan fast-track his resurrection plan. In his own End Times book, after much scheming, magic and war from Arkhan and Mannfred, Nagash has risen again. He does this via a ritual after Volkmar the Grim (who as it turns out is Sigmar’s descendant) and Aliathra were captured, Volkmar’s hand was forcibly replaced with Nagash's remaining one the claw of Nagash, Aliathra was slain to power the ritual, and Nagash’s soul possessed Volkmar’s body and transforming it into a new one for Nagash. Unfortunately Nagash miscalculated because Aliathra as it turns out is not the Phoenix King’s daughter but actually Tyrion’s meaning Nagash ends up getting the curse of Khaine from her blood instead of Asuryan’s power not that it matters later on once he ascends to Godhood and becomes incarnate of the Wind of Death. By the way you can read the efforts of Arkhan and Mannfred to bring back Naggy in the "The Return of Nagash", brought to you by Black Library, among the highlights of the novel you get Count Nyktolos "Count Von Count", finally fulfilling the long time wish of /tg/ to get the old Sesame Street star as a vampire Count.

Once he came back he held up his hands for quiet, then told the assembled peoples of the world this; "Guys, I got a plan. Everyone just take off your skin and meat, and line up over there. Trust me guys, this'll work for sure." As one can imagine, that isn't going over so well. The first to get crushed was [[Settra the Imperishable]], who united the [[Tomb Kings]] (and punished those who refused to kiss the ring and get in line by ordering their unliving skull by used as artillery ammunition) against just such a threat. The idea that anyone rule over SETTRA THE FUCKYOU was too much for the old man, but it turned out badly and his army (plus one of his gods) were destroyed/eaten by Nagash. Likewise, Archaon stopped his march into the Empire and instead followed a route that would lead him to the massive Undead fuckhead that DARED to take HIS rightful place as big-bad of the setting.

Following similar logic, [[Queen Neferata]] has gathered a massive army pulled from the Undead across the world, as well as the living armies whose leaders have been under her thumb since day one. But she has not yet decided who she'll follow; on one hand, serving Nagash would be beneficial as he's seeking to become the Chaos God of Undeath (replacing all four of the other Chaos Gods and BECOMING Chaos Undivided) which would make her ruler of all beneath him. On the other hand..."serving" isn't something she does, to the point that one of her earliest decisions after leaving his service originally involved [[Ushoran|pooling all the forces available to her to go fuck up one of her closest allies and his entire kingdom because he implied that he was better at ruling than her.]] If she DOES choose to serve however (as in, if the player who shells out $79 for her model fields her as a model in the [[Undead Legion]] army) she becomes known as the Mortarch of Blood and takes place in Nagash's trinity of servants.

But Nagash has planned for his return well. His first servant and first in the big three Mortarchs, [[Arkhan the Black]], became known as the Mortarch of Sacrament. Arkhan leads Nagash's main army against the forces of the world. Meanwhile [[Vlad von Carstein]], Mortarch of Shadow, leads a detachment of Nagash's forces against Archaon's Chaos army to ensure that the <s>Nordic fuckup</s> half-blooded <b>EMPIRE</b> Daemon Prince fuckup that got boo-ed offstage in [[Storm of Chaos]] doesn't interfere with Nagash's big moment in the spotlight. He even cemented power by entering the Afterlife, defeating and consuming the god of the dead for humanity Usirian (AKA Morr and all the other names humans have for their god of the dead in Warhammer Fantasy). He even tore Settra apart, though didn't kill him, and forced Settra to watch the destruction of Khemri. Nagash then went on to bitch-slap the Tomb Kings into submission, destroying the few that resisted and finally has his FUCKHEUG undead army to conquer the world, which he will use to ruin the day of Chaos' forces, he also has now <s>a Necron Monolith</s> his own Flying Black Pyramid.

Nagash landed the Black Pyramid in Sylvania, surrounded by a River Styx expy where the magic builds up, and spent the next three books chilling in a sarcophagus, slowly absorbing the wind of Death Magic. During that time Arkhan took a leaf from [[The Lord of the Rings|the Witch King and the Mouth of Sauron]], keeping the undead legions in order. When Isabella and the turncoat Nameless lead a Nurglite host attack Sylvania, Arkhan arranged a battle plan. The undead hold them off but they force their way to the front, even slaying Krell and Arkhan. Just after Arkhan is killed by Isabella, Nagash wakes up and enters the battle, but while Isabella distracts Nagash by trolling him her Skaven allies destroy the Black Pyramid with warpstone bombs (the warpstone equivalent of nukes) placed by tunneling teams. Nagash gets pissed enough to impress an [[Angry Marine]] and destroys all the daemons, including a Great Unclean One, with a single blast of magic. After venting, Nagash took stock. Between that epic, magical temper tantrum and the Black Pyramid's destruction he can't reach godhood as he originally planned. After much introspection Nagash swallowed his pride and conceded that he would either have to serve the Chaos Gods or ally with the living to survive. He reluctantly chose the latter, bringing back Arkhan and Krell; despite his frustration over their failure, he needed loyal, intelligent servants.

He leaves Neferata to rule Sylvania and its undead legions before going to Athel Loren, sending Mannfred as a messenger to parley. During the meeting Nagash tries to engender goodwill by handing Mannfred to the elves as compensation for Aliathra's death, but he also taunts Alarielle and Tyrion about Aliathra's fate and withholds Arkhan's involvement because he's too useful (the only reason Nagash even did this was because Malekith had nearly convinced the other Incarnates that they didn't need Nagash and, combined, the six Incarnates present could have destroyed him). His army is ordered to stay out of Athel Loren, except for Vlad and Arkhan. Nagash and his accompanying two Mortarchs are escorted everywhere under heavy guard including at least two other Incarnates because (understandably) no-one trusts him. When the forces of Chaos arrive, Nagash goes "Bitch Please!" and gives a beatdown to anything thrown at him, from Beastmen warbands to monsters; he even solos A [[Bloodthirster|BLOODTHIRSTER]]... AND WINS! After being teleported to Middenheim with Arkhan, Krell, Vlad and part of his army he roflstomps his way through the Chaos forces occupying Middenheim until they get to the the excavation. Along the way he kills Chaos' prisoners, bringing back all the dead as zombies under his control. His forces do take losses, including Krell being killed by Sigvald. He then he meets Settra, who was restored by the Chaos Gods. He tells Nagash he was sent to kill him, before killing a daemon that was about to attack Nagash. Settra explains that NO ONE COMMANDS HIM, that he's going to take down the Chaos Gods for offering him rulership for service, then he'll come back and Nagash had either better bend the knee or be slain. Settra then goes off to fight the Chaos army, leaving Nagash to join with the others. Nagash gives Arkhan the remaining Morghasts and tells him to cover his retreat and hold the line until dead.

Nagash reaches the artefact with the other incarnates and tries to fight the forces of Chaos, providing a rearguard of zombies raised from the combined dead of Middenheim. He continues curbstomping anything that directly engages him, only fighting an opponent who can match him in the form of a stronger than average Bloodthirster, Ka'bandha.

After all the Chaos forces are defeated with Archaon MIA, the Old Ones artefact destabilizes, creating a magical rift that will consume the world. The surviving Incarnates and Teclis (who takes two winds of magic into himself) start to contain the Rift but fail when Mannfred disrupts the ritual by killing Balthazar. This led to Teclis' death as he tried to re-stabilize the magic by taking a third wind but the power is too much and he is disintegrated. Free of their control, the rift grows; when it touches the surviving Incarnates it sucks out all of their magic, including Nagash's. He is last seen collapsed and panicking while his body crumbles to dust.

==[[Age of Sigmar]]==

<div style="text-align:left;font-size:1.10em;font-weight:italic;font-style:bold;font-family:MS Gothic;margin-top:1em;margin-bottom:1em"><span style='color:teal;font-size:100%'> THOSE SOULS ARE MINE YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!<br>- Nagash bitching at Sigmar and co.'''</span></div>

{{Topquote|'''KING KONG, AIN'T GOT SHIT ON ME!!''' That’s right, that’s right. Shit, I don’t, fuck. I’m winning anyway, I’m winning… I’m winning any motherfucking way. I can’t lose. Yeah, you can shoot me, but you can’t kill me.|Nagash shortly before getting rekt by rats. Again}}

In the new setting, Nagash has achieved godhood, but not on his terms and with others who can challenge him. According to Black Library, after the End Times, Nagash was originally trapped by the Chaos Gods in "a crypt of forgotten moments, burying him in the weft of time itself"; we still wonder how it is that Sigmar managed to free him, as well as '''why''' he freed him, as it's obvious that apart from GW favouritism, there's no possible reason that Sigmar could've had that would justify all the shit that Nagash could (and did) do later. Once freed (and being the [[assholetep|asshole]] that he is), he immediately set up shop in the realm of Shyish, declared himself its king and tried claiming ownership of everyone that died (despite not running the place or providing its afterlives, but just being the biggest kid on the playground). He also planned to betray all of the other gods in the setting (who are at this point his allies), with his reasoning being that they were probably going to betray him sooner or later so he might as well be the first to do it. Given what happens later, it's not really a surprise that so many races chose to ignore his (unsubstantiated) claim to their people's souls.

For a while he was allied with the other incarnate gods in this new era, mutually tolerating Sigmar (not counting his planned betrayal), providing order, and occasional undead reinforcements. Morathi eventually found her way to the pantheon in her aelven form and, as is her style, tried to seduce the other members. Sigmar ignored her so she focused her efforts on Nagash. Nagash responded with an epic pimp slap that struck Morathi down, revealing her true serpentine form, which caused Morathi to flee in humiliation and rage. At one point, Alarielle, now the ruler of Ghyran, managed to strike a bargain with him to deal with some rampaging undead in the Realm of Life; Nagash could consider the undead-infested part of Ghyran his sovereign territory, in exchange he kept the undead contained to it. Nagash agreed to Alarielle's terms, likely with his finger bones crossed behind his back.

When the Age of Chaos rolled in, Nagash found that his territory was already rife with well established chaos cults. This was completely shocking to him, and only him because the evil fuck was so terrible a ruler that the onset of chaos was seen as an improvement by many of his subjects ([[FAIL|and they're probably right]]). How the fuck he missed all of these cults and had no clue there were Chaos worshipers in his realm is also a mystery, until you remember that his ego is so high that airplanes have to fly around it. And while it should be acknowledged that some of that ego is indeed well-earned, his inexhaustible arrogance has a tendency to just make him stupid when left unchecked.

When things were looking bleak, the various gods started going their separate ways to defend their own lands. [[Not As Planned|Surprisingly]], Nagash was the last one to abandon Sigmar and step out on [[Grand_Alliance:_Death|his own]]. [[Just As Planned|Unsurprisingly]] he did so in the most [[dick]][[Eldrad|ish]] way, kicking Sigmar's forces in the balls on the way out (and fucking over any hope the pantheon had of holding Chaos in check, meaning he also fucked himself over). This was the last straw, with Sigmar going back to being a barbarian god-king and roflstomping his way through Shyish to try and teach Nagash a lesson. They 'fought' twice, with Nagash running like a bitch both times before Sigmar could finish him. After working out his rage, Sigmar finally bothered to check his inbox... and found out that in his absence Chaos went "all your bases are belong to us!" on the realms. This made Sigmar head back and seal off his realm before working on [[Stormcast Eternals|his newest weapons]]. Nagash on the other hand tried fighting off the forces of Chaos (barely even having recovered from Sigmar's invasions), only to get his shit kicked in by Archaon (who destroyed his body). His armies were crushed, his territory was claimed by Chaos and without Arkhan he might've died permanently (which probably would've been better for everyone in the setting). From this point on, instead of trying to fight Chaos in any way Nagash just gave up and waited for somebody else to do it, only stepping back into the fray when Sigmar showed up with the Stormcast Eternals. This time he rejected Sigmar's request to team up against Chaos, figuring he can do just fine against them on his own, because that worked out so fucking well for him last time. He also later had a rematch against Archaon where he once again lost, his army was destroyed a second time, but instead of getting his body obliterated he chose to run like a bitch.

Unsurprisingly Nagash didn't take kindly to Sigmar keeping the souls of his dead to remake into Stormcast Eternals; he claimed he'd never forgive Sigmar for his 'soul-theft' and whined that he'd been betrayed (ignoring that he'd planned well before this to betray everyone else and that the souls don't technically belong to him). He began plans to fight Sigmar's forces and take back what he saw as his, because that worked so fucking well the last two times he got his ass kicked by Sigmar, who at the time didn't have superhumans helping him. To add insult to injury Nagash is the reason the Stormcast Eternals degrade with each death, whenever they die Nagash sticks his skeletal fingers in Sigmar's pie to try and grab some each time; the bits of memory and personality that each Stormcast loses with each death and rebirth are the bits Nagash claims. It took a while, but Sigmar eventually learnt of this (actual) soul-theft. In response, Sigmar marshaled his forces and directed them to Shyish to find Nagash and/or liberate the souls.

The first expedition, led by Lord Celestant Tarsus Bullheart, found Nagash with predictable results. Nagash threw their message and Sigmar's offer back in their faces, and then attacked (Nagash struck first). When the rest of the Stormcast attacked Nagash, he killed all but Tarsus. Tarsus got up and noticed that the Stormcast's souls were being trapped by Nagash and that he was unable to return to Azyrheim and Sigmar. He mocked Nagash and hit him with a bolt from of his cape hammers, which hurt Nagash enough to distract him, the lapse in concentration allowing the Stormcasts' souls to escape. Livid, Nagash killed Tarsus with a wave of amethyst fire and imprisoned Tarsus soul, gloating to the imprisoned Stormcast about how he would torture Tarsus' soul and pry as many of Sigmar's secrets as he can from him.

Sigmar isn't the only one who pissed Nagash off however, the new book revealed that Nagash ''really'' wants aelf souls, as they can be manipulated more than most others, being more easily used in more complicated craftings like weapons of war, rather than just becoming more undead servants. He was unable to acquire them however, thanks to Slaanesh eating them all. Furthermore, when Tyrion and Malerion cut Slaanesh open Nagash sensed the souls spilling out, though once again (and perhaps, unsurprisingly) he wasn't able to get any; he was really steamed about that. He's also equally pissed at the Idoneth Deepkin who steal the souls of their victims, though he hasn't been able to catch them either. Furthermore there's a number of other factions who do whatever they want to their souls and the souls of their dead, and unless Nagash or his forces show up in person there's fuck-all he can do about it. When he does show up though, he makes sure to let everyone know it by punishing those who keep their souls in as dickish a manner he possibly can, although sometimes it fucks him over too (since Nagash is just the king of foresight), like altering a city so that the souls of anyone in it can't leave the city and preventing him from doing anything with them (Other than creating more Nighthaunt).

Nagash still likes his black pyramids, so much so he built many of them, turned them upside down (because why not) and made them all fly, in theory making them Skaven-proof although in practice they definitely are not. He also managed to get some use out of them, in the ''Malign Portents'' campaign he built a new inverted black pyramid and surrounded it with realmstone, think crystals that are literally magic in solid form. His plan was to cause all the magic in the realm to coalesce into the center, where he'd absorb it all to become the true master of death, giving him control over all the dead in all the realms, [[The End Times|because that worked so fucking well the last time he tried it.]] Unsurprisingly he got the exact same fucking outcome as last time, drawing all the magic to himself, finding he's not as awesome as he thinks he is, because just like last time, the ritual is corrupted (this time by the Skaven, who could have predicted they'd fuck him over) and having the magic spill back into the land, fucking things up for everyone in the setting (while his pyramid started spinning and [[FAIL|accidentally burrowed into the ground]]). During this ritual the Chaos Gods themselves show up to first get laughed at by Nagash, then laugh at Nagash, then get laughed at by Nagash again, who viewed his failure as success. As a by-product, souls everywhere coalesced into the Nighthaunt, under the dictations of Nagash's ironic sense of justice. The sudden influx of spooky ghosts resulted in Sigmar having to open up his special mage chamber, the ones formerly guarding his anvil-of-apotheosis. The failures in Sigmar's reforging process have become more common because of the Necroquake, making him more desperate to fix the flaw of reforging.

Out of all the deities in the setting, Nagash is easily the most impotent. While Nagash claims every soul for himself, and every soul has to travel to the Shyish underworlds, many of the other Deities do what they will with the souls of their people and don't give a shit about what he thinks. Necromancers are likewise free to do as they please because unless Nagash happens to be right there, he's not going to be affecting shit amd seems unable to enforce anything from afar. He still sticks his bony fingers into everything he pretends is his, see Shadespire, where they cheated death using shadeglass and Nagash weaved a great ritual to trap their souls in a prison of eternal torment.

Among other things, Shyish consists of afterlives that are created by the beliefs of mortals of what happens after they die. Most people who die go to one of these places, where they remain until those places fade away (if the civilization they're from is destroyed) upon which they can just go elsewhere - except, since the Necroquake, many of those underworlds are being dragged to the epicenter of the ritual and are ripped apart into more raw magic, and more nighthaunt. Additionally, since Nagash has claimed dominion over Syhish, many of those underworlds have been twisted by his presence - pyramids, obelisks, and other monuments to his vainglory dot the various landscapes.

He might as well be a cartoon villain given how often he tries to repeat past events while forgetting their outcomes. Each and every time he seems surprised he's getting exactly the same results and then he holds a grudge because he would have gotten away with it if it weren't for those meddling Skaven/Chaos gods/Sigmar/Archaon. Luckily this never gets him down, since Nagash sees negatives as positives, his cowardice during the Age of Chaos was just him biding his time, his petty and unreasonable grudges are him punishing thieves who are stealing his (unjust) due. His planned betrayals of his closest allies were just him demonstrating how much foresight he has (aka, none) and his routine failures have just instilled in him the confidence [[Skaven|that he is never to blame for any of his mistakes]], so he carries no doubt in his unbeating heart that he will, one day, rule over everything.

Incidentally Sigmar considered Nagash his closest ally back in the 'good old days', in fact, they initially went on a super smash bros tour cleaning the still forming Mortal Realms from eldritch abominations which would have given even Chaos a run for his money. Arkhan the Black even believed that the two need to be reunited in order to beat back Chaos. Neither of the two gods seem keen on that idea, in Sigmar's case he gave up on forming an alliance after getting betrayed again by having an entire army of Stormcasts get wiped out during the Allpoints' Shyish gate siege because Nagash never sent the promised reinforcements, and in Nagash's case, he's a fucking moron.

Recently it's been retconned that when Nagash was helping create Sigmar's cities, he built secret underground tombs beneath them that nobody noticed in however long it's been from the age of myth until now. How the fuck they went undetected, even by the [[Skaven|race that literally burrows up into areas exactly like these]] has gone unanswered, but it's probably fair to blame shitty writing. In these crypts were super-skeletons made from several bodies, in effect being the prototype versions of one Nagash's designs that he'd later call the [[Ossiarch Bonereapers]]. This means that he planned to betray Sigmar twice when they were still working together, but don't think this means he's not still upset at imaginary betrayals against him. After the necroquake, Nagash would summon all of the undead in the crypts beneath the cities, and apparently, they all made their way to back to the realm of death, making one wonder what the point of building the crypts was in the first place. After they arrived he spent time perfecting his design, working them into their current appearances and distilling souls to ensure that the beings housing them were free of all negative traits (those being any he doesn't like), and once satisfied with the result he then unleashed them to collect more bones for him so that they can build him fancy bone cities and bone statues.

The latest development in Nagash's story comes courtesy of the second book of the Broken Realms saga, Broken Realms Teclis. In it, Nagash, buoyed by the power boost he got from the Necroquake and backed by all the undead raised in its wake sets his eyes on the realm of Hysh and sends an army of Nighthaunts there to try and conquer the joint human-aelf town of Settler's Gain only for Teclis to appear and spank the army good and hard and send the survivors running back to Nagash. A furious Teclis then astrally projects into Nagash's throneroom and tells him to knock his bullshit off, only for Nagash to tell Teclis "bitch I do what I want!" and dispel the projection. He then orders his three OG Mortarch's (the newer ones being off fighting Archaon in the Eightpoints) to seal many of the realm gates leading directly into Shyish to slow or stop any Hyshian retaliation, before sending them out through some one-way realm gates leading out into other realms with the intention of corrupting them on the other side into what are essentially black hole generators that will suck the other realms into the Shysian Nadir. Unfortunately for Nagash, his plans go wrong pretty damn fast. First Neferata's scheme in Chamon is accidentally uncovered by a random Kharadron Airship captain who manages to warn the rest of her people who then promptly launch an assault on Neferata's operation and force her to retreat. Then Arkhan fails not once but twice at his attempts to corrupt some Hyshian realm gates and gets stabbed and temporarily killed by a vengeful Eltharion for his trouble. As for Mannfred, his attempts in Ghyran also fail when his army gets too spread out dealing with a bunch of Nurgle troops and the combination of the fighting and the energy from the corruption ritual ends up alerting Alarielle and the local Sylvaneth to what's going on. Alarielle and company then fight their way through the two opposing armies and shut the ritual down, though Mannfred's internal monologue as he retreats reveals he knew his plan was doomed from the beginning meaning he's been playing everyone in this whole mess for his own unknown gains.

Meanwhile, while this was going on Teclis uses a hidden Realmgate into Shyish that Nagash was unaware of to launch a series of retaliatory strikes with the goal of showing Nagash wasn't as all-powerful as he made himself out to be and thus not only bring hope to the inhabitants of the realm of Shyish but hopefully spark a rebellion against the Necromancer god. Although the campaign turns out to be more difficult than expected Teclis succeeds in destroying the Ossiarch fortress known as the Triptych, purifying the land around it and freeing several of Nagash's cities from Ossiarch control before calling it a day and heading back home. Understandably enraged by all this, Nagash orders the remnants of Arkhan's Ossiarch forces in Hysh to destroy one of the local flesh-eater court enclaves so as to have bodies to rebuild their armies with. Nagash then wraps himself in captured Aelf spirits to shield himself from direct attack before personally accompanying more of his Ossiarchs (their numbers grown swollen with the dead of the invading force) to Hysh to link up with Arkhan's former forces before they all head over to Ymmetria to corrupt the great mountain spirit Avelanor, the greatest of his kind, and thus give the magical equivalent of a giant middle finger to the Lumineth. Teclis hears about this and backed by the moon spirit Celennar, an army of Lumineth, nature spirits, and other allies he heads to the mountain to intercept Nagash. After arriving at the chosen battlefield and throwing insults at each other for a bit Teclis and Nagash then throw down in an intense battle that leaves neither god unscathed with Nagash's Nine books incinerated and all his trapped souls (including the ones he claimed in the world that was) being blasted away by Teclis' magic, while Teclis ends up cut up by Nagash's blade and cursed by death magic. In the end, it is the Lumineth who claim victory though as the Lumineth manage to wear down the Ossiarch forces enough to leave Nagash vulnerable to a barrage from some magical laser artillery brought courtesy of the allied human mages of Settler's Gain. Teclis then magically chains Nagash against Avalenor's slopes before the entire Lumineth army dogpiles Nagash and beats the tar out of him until his physical form is destroyed and his spirit retreats to Shyish where he discovers he has been magically bound so that he can't leave Nagashizzar. Teclis then uses the last of his strength before passing out to carve a magical banishment rune in the sky of Hysh that's so powerful it not only banishes all traces of the Undead and their magic from the realm of Hysh it also ends up reverberating through the fabric of the Mortal realms itself and ends up finally quelling the power of the Necroquake.

As a result, Nagash is left without a body like he was during the Age of Chaos, but now he doesn't have his books. Though he can still directly interact with his Mortarchs, Morghasts and Vokmortion, he's gotten a bit scatterbrained, occasionally forgetting that Arkhan fell in Hysh. But he remembers what Teclis did -destroying his books, helping destroy his body and undoing the Necroquake, and he's '''REALLY''' mad at Teclis. There's going to be big changes when Nagash puts himself back together.

Things only continue to go from bad to worse for Nagash when [[Alarielle]] performs her rite of life and resurrects the Oak of ages, an act which unleashes a blast of life energy so potent it spreads throughout all of existence and forces back most of the death magic that had spread throughout the realms during the Necroquake (it also released the ancient god of destruction and earthquakes [[Kragnos]] and woke up the living content of Thondia in Ghur but that’s not important to Nagash). What is important is that it leaves Nagash even further weakened to the point he can’t ASSUME DIRECT CONTROL over his generals outside of Shyish. Something which stings Nagash something fierce especially once he finds out about all the souls Morathi stole from him to ascend as well as all the ones she gave to the Idoneth to make peace with them. Enraged at the theft of what he saw as his property but too weakened still to deal with the matter himself Nagash decides to summon Kurdoss Valentian, the Craven King, since while he’s competent he’s not one of his more powerful generals which is good since he won’t try to usurp him upon learning of Nagash’s weakened state. He then tasks Kudross to reclaim some souls specifically from Morathi since Nagash still doesn’t know where most of the Idoneth are located. Kudross thus summons his crossbow-wielding Craventhrone Guard and sets out to attack Har Kuron to reclaim some souls alongside Vayon of the Withered Quill, one of the dreaded Scriptors Mortis, and a merciless Nighthaunt army. They wait until the Daughters of Khaine are distracted with some of their big arena fights and attack the city from below killing a whole bunch of civilians. Unfortunately for the Nighthaunt the reaping of souls is cut short when the Daughters realize what’s going on and retaliate faster than anticipated with High Gladiatrix Yelena and company chasing the Nighthaunt back into the underground catacombs and eventually pushing them out of the city. Still the Nighthaunt did manage to claim a bunch of civilian souls so the whole effort wasn’t a total loss, especially since the attack definitely would piss off Morathi once she learned of it.

==On The Tabletop (Warhammer Fantasy)==
[[Image:Nagash_Derp.jpg|250px|thumb|right|Nagash in all his [[Derp|derptastic]] evilness.]]
Nagash was actually a special character back when it was just ''Warhammer Armies: Undead'' and all the dead boys were united in one armybook. Despite being described as "a pale shadow of his former self" he was an unholy rapetrain - a statline with the lowest stats being 6's (init and attacks) and everything else being a 7. Add in a completely unmodifiable 4+ save against everything (including any and all spell effects), a sword that gives him +1 str and lets him use any wounds he causes to heal himself and being one of the most powerful mages in the game making him pretty much unstoppable. (<s>''Unless you threw a High Mage at him with Drain Magic and Banishment which resulted in epic lulz.''</s> Foolish Elf. Nagash would take High Magic with his book just to prevent you from doing that.)

It used to be speculated, before Games Workshop advanced their storyline with [[Skub|The End Times and Age of Sigmar]], that Nagash getting off his bony ass and doing shit would be a game ender. There were only a handful of non-divine characters equal to or more powerful than him such as Sigmar (who'd beaten him once before), Kroak (though now he's much weaker as a ghost-Slann) and other First Spawning Slann who would simply think Nagash out of existence if they were still alive. Arguably Morathi, Malekith and Aenarion could stand up to him, Teclis is described as being if not his equal in magic, then close behind, and Archaon the Everchosen would be a fine matchup.

In those days Games Workshop chose to give him what might very well be the single most [[Derp|derptastic]] model to ever blight a tabletop with its presence, an unholy abomination of fail so ridiculous that it makes the [[Tyranid]] [[Biovore]] look like a towering monument of awe and might in comparison. Even the beardiest of [[cheese]]mongers thought twice before fielding it, knowing all too well that they would pay for it not only in army points, but in dignity and self-respect. There was a running joke that the model was made stupid-looking to prevent people from using Nagash, therefore keeping him from changing the status quo (see "trivia" below for the true reason behind the derpy model).

Then the End Time rolled around.

[[The End Times]] update brought Nagash back into the game as a powerhouse, boasting higher stats and better spellcasting than anything else in the entire game. In short he's a Level 5 Wizard with access to the Lores of Death, Light (he's Nehekharan, remember?), Vampires, Nehekhara, and a new Lore called "Undeath". He carries his nine books of Nagash which lets him carry NINE spells (total), one being "Ryze, the Grave Call", with the rest generated from any combination of the mentioned Lores as he pleases (with the newest rules from the Khaine book, he will have ALL spells from all 5 of those lores, plus a special Summon Arcane Fulcrum spell, giving him 41 spells in total). But wait, there's more. He re-rolls any Miscast (but must accept the new result) and can store, at any time in the Magic Phase, up to four Power Dice for later, surpassing the six-dice-per-spell-limit; he can also empower attacks by adding the ''Heroic Killing Blow'' to his already powerful sword (+1 Strength and Multiple Wounds (D3), but only one die per attack has that rule), and being a Monster he also has the Thunderstomp Attack; this guy is a rape machine in close combat.

Thought that was bad? It gets worse; any Undead within 12" suffer two fewer wounds from Unstable, plus any other rule that stacks (for example, Battle Standard Bearer). And the cherry on this hell cake: each time he casts a summoning spell of Undeath the points summoned and the range are TRIPLED (e.g. Ryze, The Grave call he ALWAYS has: with difficulty 9+, anyone else can summon 50 points of troops within 12" or 100 at 14+. At best(16+) 150 points worth of Monstruous Infantry at the same range. Nagash summons 150, 300 and '''450''' respectively at 36"). This also includes Raise the Dead tokens, so spend five tokens and now Nagash can raise 600 points worth of models, whereas all other wizards can only raise 200.

Lastly he's 1000 points to field, which is fine because End Times came with a rule update allowing half your army points to be spent on Lords and Heroes, so fielding Nagash has to be at a 2000 point game at the minimum, <s>although you will have no other characters at all (including a Battle Standard Bearer</s> and thankfully Lords and Heroes have a SEPARATE allowance, so if you get Nagash in a 2000 point game you cannot have any other lords (don't forget, he can summon characters with a base 195pt cost, not to mention any tokens he spends to up that total), but you can have plenty of heroes (which a BSB is). He costs a whopping $105 Ameribucks, although considering the size of his model it's not a terrible deal (for GW anyway). He also currently has the biggest hat in either Warhammer setting, proving that he's the single biggest force to be reckoned with.

Nagash can only be fielded with the [[Undead Legion]], his own army that consists of everyone from [[Vampire Counts]] and [[Tomb Kings]] that he's brought under his rule. As a result there's no "wrong" way to field Nagash; everything you CAN field him with is supported in fluff. His army is even Neutral in alignment, meaning you can get in a 2v2 battle with any army in the game supporting any army in the game. Throwing an Empire army lead by Karl Franz on the field being BFFs with Nagash against Wood Elves and Ogre Kingdoms is completely copacetic in the fluff.

==On the Tabletop (Age of Sigmar)==

Luckily on the Tabletop Nagash isn't the complete bitch he is in the lore. Not only does Nagash sport a whopping 16 Wounds with a 3+ Save, he hits really hard both with magic and with melee. He not only knows every spell known to all Death Wizards on the board, but by default he gets +3 to all his casting/unbinding rolls (which can be buffed further with his army rules/artefacts, provided he's near the ones who have them), while being able to cast/unbind 8(!) spells by himself at default. On top of this, he has one of the most notorious spells in the game, Hand of Dust, which can instantly kill any model in the game, no matter who they are or how well protected they are, unless they're like Archaon or Gotrek and have a rule that triggers once an enemy wizard uses a spell on them. For a laugh take 3 Warscroll Battalions and then use Arkhan's command ability for times to give the spell a 27" range, just to say 'fuck you' to your opponent's general right off the bat. He also has Soul Stealer, a spell that tests the units Bravery in a similar manner to a banshee, with them suffering D3 to D6 mortal wounds if they fail, and with Nagash regaining wounds that are successfully allocated.

In the combat phase he's no slouch either, boasting solid hits, rends and damages across the board, doing so much damage that most elite units will easily be ripped apart in only one round (provided he didn't get charged by something like a large group of blood/chaos knights or Morghasts), and his own Command Ablity further helps this, as well as his entire army by boosting hit and wound rolls.

Like many other monster Nagash has a wounds table, with his performance getting worse the more he is hurt. Thankfully it's relatively minor, not only can he heal himself, but the bonuses lost are just attacks with his sword and the number of bonus spells he can cast, as well as the extra amount he casts/unbinds with (which can be boosted through other means). Thankfully he also has a way to prevent his stats from dropping too fast due to mortal wounds, he wears armour that protects him on a 4+, with a 6+ reflecting the MW back to the unit that caused it.

Unfortunately Nagash still struggles somewhat against hordes. Despite doing a lot of damage, he can easily be brought down if he's charged and his (justifiably) high points cost mean your opponent can likely swamp him with models (if they're so inclined, and somehow you have let him get through your never ending hordes). While he's trying to deal with the major threats your opponent brought, they can surround him with clanrats, stormvermin or (ironically) zombies, all of which can pile on so many wounds and who have so many models to remove (especially since with a command point they auto-pass their bravery test) that his stats can be knocked down quick, causing him to do less damage and becoming a weaker spellcaster in general. Given he also has an ability to revive slain models and heal wounds dealt to units (healing 5 summonable units for D3 each) you should make sure that such units are only fighting the ones they should be up against (at least until you've whittled them down some), leaving Nagash free to take on the enemy's elite.

Nagash also has the exact same issue in this edition as he had in Warhammer Fantasy: Artillery. Cannons in general can royally fuck him over since each shot brings him down to a 5+ save and does D6 damage when he fails it. Rockets are even worse, their presence on the field virtually guarantees he's going to be having a very bad day. If you're going to use him, just be aware of his limitations, as well as what can bring him down quick as while he's certainly tough, he's not invincible.

==Why Nagash is so evil==
While most evil characters on the game have done their share of bad deeds, Scumbag Nagash has a special place amongst them thanks to sheer volume and scope from the very personal like domestic abuse and rape to various genocides and mass slaughters. Also, unlike most of the poor bastards that live in a Warhammer setting, he doesn't do these for survival, being tricked into it or to seek the favor of a more powerful being. He does it because he is a fucking prick. The following list illustrates how sick this fuck is:

* Started out learning magic through sacrificing people. Although it was due to Nehekhara's desert lacking much of the winds of magic and the people Nagash sacrificed were usually unwanted sons and daughters of nobles, who were despair ridden from gambling and drinking. Still, Nagash did not feel a pang of sympathy for them and was being taught by Dark Elves at the time, in the most sadistic evil way possible, by torturing the sacrificial victim with pain for hours or so before slitting their throat. Then again, it's not like he had a heart to begin with.
* In order to dethrone his brother, Nagash made his city suffer by unleashing his magic to afflict the nobles with a plague, secretly disrupted the market price and used his servants to spread lies that these were punishments from the gods. When Nagash took the throne, he got rid of the plague and made the market prices go back to normal [[Just as Planned|in a selfish publicity stunt]].
* Out Betrayed the [[Dark Elves (Warhammer Fantasy)|Dark Elves]], whom were one of the most evil creatures in the setting (besides the Skaven) and were far superior than the humans at that time (in terms of military, magic and economy). In details, the three dark elves were figuring out how to escape the pyramid Nagash had them trapped in, using the various books and knowledge they extorted from Nagash, while Nagash had to learn magic from them as soon as possible before the [[Dark Elves (Warhammer Fantasy)|Dark Elves]] made their escape. Not only did Nagash manage to master his own dark magic on a time crunch, he even caught up to the three dark elves at the pyramid exit, killing them in a heated magic duel. It was no easy task for Nagash at the time since the dark elves had withheld some of their arcane knowledge from Nagash, but Nagash still did it, the absolute mad man!
* During his first and last violent encounter with his brother Thutep, Nagash used his followers as meatshields, having them killed by Thutep's much superior bodyguard only to use their souls to power up his spell and cast on the guards in return. After all the bodyguards were dead, Nagash restrained his brother with magic, taunted him for his inability to move/use his Khopesh while sadistically watching his brother furiously trying to move his body, face red and tears flowing from his eyes. Note that this battle took place after Nagash had defeated his three [[Dark Elves (Warhammer Fantasy)|Dark Elf]] mentors, which means he was exhausted in the aftermath and was still able to destroy his brother's forces, much respect.
* Entombed his own brother alive and stole his wife, Neferem. Right before the entombment, Nagash even told Thutep about him claiming Neferem just to watch his painful and tormented expression for extra sadism. A century after when his skull was dug up, it's jaw position suggests Thutep died a painful yet slow death while screaming in agony.
* Nagash has always hated his father's Vizier: Ghazid, a wise man well known for his two watchful blue eyes, which he continued to serve Thutep with the same remarkable ability. The fact Khetep prevented him from being entombed beside him made it all the for unfortunate for the poor old man. Nagash had spared Ghazid after Thutep's death just so he could get kicked around by his underlings. Years of torment from Nagash's cruelty combining with aging has turned the once wiseman into a childlike senile old man. Having witnessed Sukhet's death and kept alive by the elixir (just a reminder it is made out of human blood and dark magic by the way), he continued to suffer while accompanying the equally tormented Neferem as living corpses until both finally died in Mahrak.
* After taking the throne, Nagash married Neferem and was a cruel husband to her since she was but a trophy to be owned, a subject that does nothing but used to flaunt his massive ambitious ego at everyone. Her handmaidens fled in fear when he entered their room and at one point she got a look of stoic resignation and said "just get it over with", with it likely being sex. Her son '''Sukhet'''; who was also Nagash's nephew was poorly treated as well. He was to be kept locked in a dirty storage room under the palace with the former Vizier Ghazid, separated from his mother. Because on top of being a kinslayer, a usurper and an evil wizard, he was a domestic abuser and a rapist.
** At a court meeting with Lahmian King Lamasheptra (the brother of Neferem), Nagash shamelessly used Neferem and her son as hostages in order to demand more slaves (1,000 slaves per month!) for his ''literally'' goddamned pyramid in exchange for a short meeting with one of them at a time. Unfortunately for Nagash, his scheme failed when both of them came from the dark and met each other for the first time in 10 years in front of various great city ambassadors. Their meeting moved Lamasheptra and other guests, but not a cold motherfucker like Nagash, who then proceed to murdered Sukhet out of anger as well as to secure his throne from any potential heir and made an elixir out of him. After that, Nagash appeared before Neferem, making a mocking promise to never harm Sukhet and telling her, she is free to stay by his side or end her life with the aforementioned elixir in disguised as a poison. [[grimdark|Now lets recap. It's already fucked up that Neferem wishes to kill herself, but instead she humiliated herself into drinking her son, yet at the same time she was unknowingly turned into Nagash's immortal slave.]] That's some 400 IQ evil play right there Nagash.
*** Upon realized the of priests of Khemri and their covenant, his first servant Khefru and Neferem has started a coup against him, Nagash immediately use his pyramid's power to darken the entirely of Nehekhara and '''KILLED''' every priests that has touched its darkness. Doing so however greatly used up pyramid's power and it only killed thousands of priests that were not inside a room. Still, only a evil super villain like him could own a superweapon powered by dead soul and shadow-kill anyone in an area of a fucking continent.
*** To punish his first servant Khefru, Nagash had his soul bind to him so he could serve him for all eternity. Arkhan will soon suffer the same fate. Such is the fate of those who serves Nagash.
**** After survived the said coup, he revealed to Neferem the elixir she had drunk was in fact made from her son's blood, then turned the said wife into an agony-ridden walking corpse and kept her that way for centuries.
* Started a war which destroyed many of the Nehekharan cities and killed even more of the population.
* Brutally sacked the city of Zandri and destroy the Zandri army lead by its king with his own dark magic. While slavery and raiding weren't uncommon in any Nehekharan military campaign, Nagash made it extra evil with the introduction of his elixir, made from the blood of innocents captured from Zandri, which is then drunk by Nagash and his servants to power them up. Note that Nagash created its elixir based on the concept where Nehekharan warlord would drink the blood of a sacrifice before battle (a sacrificial cow blessed by Geheb just before the battle, '''not''' human slaves). Nagash won by using his magic to mentally tormenting Zandari's Norscan slave soldiers into rebellion. Oh and despite Zandri's king being responsible for the death of Nagash's father Khetep, Nagash didn't destroy them to avenge his dad, but for his own ego and greed. After the battle, the Zandari army was not only forced to surrender without any negotiation, the surviving soldiers were then forced into slavery and its king was stripped of any valuables like crowns and clothing. The king was forced to return to his sacked city wearing only ragged clothing while riding a flea ridden donkey.
** Apparently, the tomb of Zandri contained ancient blue prints of many terrible engines of war, and Nagash sent an engineer to study its knowledge. As a reward for learning all this knowledge, Nagash had the engineer's tongue cut so he couldn't share it with anyone.
* His reign was responsible for the deaths of at least tens of thousands of people, and he even cancelled out his excuse of wanting the throne because he considered Thutep an ineffective king, since Nagash nearly destroyed Nehekhara's economy to build his Black Pyramid. He is so dissatisfied with the amount of time that is required to build his pyramid (at least 200 to 250 years according to his calculation) that he forbade any other constructions in Khemri until his Pyramid was complete. To further speed up the progress, he forced prisoners and even regular non-slave civilians into building the damned thing, alongside the aforementioned Zandri POWs as well as barbarian slaves from the north, all while they were suffering from disease and famine (priests wouldn't help curing the disease because they were mad at Nagash for holding Neferem hostage as well as defying the ancient treaty). Nagash, being an edgy evil tyrant, specifically ordered the dead workers' bodies to be used as foundation for the pyramid or to have their bones used as carving tools. The details of how the workers were to these things was not important to him, as long as their death offered something to the pyramid's construction. The construction killed so many people that all their souls combined generated enough energies to be stored in the pyramid and used by Nagash for his various horrifying spells.
* When Nagash was confronted with news about citizens in Khemri dissatisfied with their lot and protesting, his solution to restore the order was to send his immortal generals and a handful of soldiers to [[Vlad von Carstein|kill every man, woman and children they'd find in that quarter of the city, then impale their corpse on a spike to serve as a reminder to the rest of the public masses]]. It was so cruel that ''Arkhan the Black'', of all people (do remember Arkhan used to be a lowlife scum who'd seen some shit), called out his master's method of 'restoring order' counterproductive to the construction of the Black Pyramid. Unironically, Arkhan was completely right since the high mortality rate in the construction had the labor pool shrink at an unsustainable pace.
** When the pyramid's architect (old and mortal, unlike Nagash and his immortals) informed his master about the pyramid's completion, Nagash was so overjoyed to test out his pimped out doomsday device that he slit the architect's throat like a cold gangster motherfucker. Then the poor architect's blood was feasted upon by the immortal officers, just to point that out.
* Captured the spirits of his enemies and kept them in eternal torment. Just because he felt like it.
* When Bhagar opposed the rule of Nagash from Khemri, Arkhan the Black lead a punitive expedition that enslaved most of the Bhagarites and killed/drove to extinction all of their prized god given horse herds (Arkhan made it extra evil by having the horses slaughtered in front of the Bhagarites). The slaves were then used to build the black tower of Arkhan and sacrificed on an altar, having their souls sent back to Nagash's pyramid to fuel it. The Bhagarites' loss had to do with their leader Shahid ben Alcazzar surrendering, and doing so he broke the ancient oath his people had made to [[Settra the Imperishable|Settra]]. '''Khsar''', the god of desert, took no pity on them for that betrayal, dried up their wells and erased their safe routes through the desert, forcing the Bhagarites to live like a nomadic tribe for the rest of their days. As if it wasn't already bad enough the Khemrian gods did not straight up smite down Nagash, they even did backstab their own people. Guess Nagash wasn't wrong about the gods being [[Eldrad|dicks]], [[Star Wars|from a certain point of view.]]
* Using the death energies from the aforementioned massacre, Nagash called upon rain of blood on the city of Quatar. The rain unleashed a plague that droves both livestock and men mad, forcing them to tear each other to shreds and then die of fever. Everyone that wasn't hiding inside the magic proof white palace of Quatar died within a week.
* When [[Arkhan the Black]] failed to take down the priest king of Rastraen, '''Rakh-Amn-Hotep''' (also [[Alcadizzar]]'s grandfather) in Quatar, Nagash harshly punished Arkhan by commanding a swarm of tomb beetles to chew on Arkhan's already rotten skin. Since Arkhan had achieved immortality through Nagash's elixir, he was unable to be freed from his punishment through death and had to endure it for hours and hours on end, squirming on the floor in his own rotten meat fluid while [[Ripper|many tiny mouths bit him]]. And whenever Arkhan tried to scream the beetles immediately swarmed into his mouth, choking him and tearing out his throat from inside out. To the remainder of Nagash's immortal champions that were forced to observe, it was a cruel reminder of their fate if they ever failed and that not even immortality could save them from such torments. The still-living vassal kings of Nagash that were present the gruesome spectacle fainted and afterwards hopelessly consumed lot of wine and black lotus in an attempt to dull the horror of what they were forced to witness (which still doesn't help them).
* Tainted a god-given spring just to deny his enemy from replenishment. To put emphasis on how sick Nagash could be, the observer at that time kings Hekhmenukep and Rakh-amn-hotep were on their sky boat, where they overlooked Nagash's work and trembled in disgust. The Spring used to be a beautiful greenish oasis with many pools of silvery water, until Nagash's underlings defiled them by filling them with corpses and blood. Aside from its new grotesque scenery, it reeked of dry dead air that stung the eye and now housed a swarm of a blackened pool of cannibalistic insects that could reach even the kings' sky boat. Both of them were so sickened and afraid (for the first time in their life even, as Rakh-amn-hotep was described as a stalwart and fearless warrior) of such a thing, they truly dreaded monsters like Nagash and his men who were capable of such debasement.
* Nagash broke the covenant between the Nehekharan gods and their people by finally killing Neferem (who is the daughter of Ptra from the bloodline that formed the pact between the gods and Nehekharans), not only removing the divine powers of the Nehekharans but ensuring that after death they wouldn't be able to go to their gods and would have to stay in a nether dimension forever. Especially jarring if you remember that he used to be the High Priest of their Death Cult. In all honesty, Nagash hadn't thought of killing her until he was trying to breach the gate of Mahrak, the city of hope that is built with magical defenses made by the priests themselves (from magic force field, high temperature death field and LIVING SPHINX GUARDIAN). After her death, all the priests lost their power and every Ushabti (just god blessed elite troops, not even constructs at that time) lost their strength and went mad.
* Everything Nagash had done above has effectively ended Nehekharan's golden age. Many Great Cites were either unable to recover like Bhagar (most of its population enslaved then sacrificed. The rest turned into banditry, living in the life style of clannish nomads) or left in ruins like Khemri (which was ruled by Nagash himself and had suffered total loss of life due to the said bastard's need for his pyramid and human sacrifice for his dark magic). The most important thing Nagash took away has to be Neheharan's pact with their god, which robbed them of god blessed power ranger, magic and other important relics. The Great Cities were stuck in an hiatus of recovery for 540 years (mostly due to Neferata manipulating the Great Cities into warring among themselves) until [[Alcadizzar]] took down the said bitchy vampire and took the throne of Khemri (fixing Nehekhara's economy took him 37 years). Did I mentioned all these tragedies happened because Nagash was salty at the gods for not letting him rule?
* Indirectly corrupted some of the nobility of Nehekhara, who became the first vampires. This is partly thanks to Lamashizzar's greed for Nagash's knowledge that instead of destroying them, he bought one of the tome as well as Arkhan as a hostage to his city, beginning a series of event that led to Neferata becoming the first vampire and doomed Lahmia as well as the rest of Nehekhara.
** Letting the Vampires spread their corruptions by turning others into vampires. Nagash only sees humans as cattle while treating his vampire servants like pawns. To him, the only thing worth about the vampire is their ability to produce other vampires as well as creating other undead (because more undead things = more power for Nagash!). One of the primary reason to keep them around despite their constant treachery.
* After he reached the mountain that contains the warpstone mine, he discovered a tribe living nearby. Upon making first contact with the first four villagers he encountered, [[murderhobo|instead of trying to making any communication with them, he decided to just kill and dissect them in order to learn about their biology like some fucking monster (which he already is in appearance due to the inhuman side effect from the life elixir, warpstone and the wounds he received from the war)]].
* During his time in the waste, he created a technique that allows him to rip and eat the memory of a person's soul in order to absorb their knowledge. His victims at that time were mostly barbarians and Nagash, being the typical Nehekharan tyrant, viewed them as inferior beings and callously discarded most of their memories as garbage, effectively erasing the individuality of their souls.
* Turned a whole tribe of his followers into ghouls because they annoyed him several times by asking him to give them a promised reward. In truth, Nagash was helping the tribe after he posed as their god to fight against their northern chaos worshiping tribe. Before the battle, Nagash promised them a secret that would make them stronger than that tribe. What he intended to reveal was just simple smithing technology the Nehekharans used as well as a couple useful fighting techniques to behave like an army instead of a mob. However, they proved [[that guy|so hopelessly incompetent]] (for these assholes alerted the enemies with their war cries while fucking off the entire time or wasted time looting the enemies' belonging instead of fighting them) Nagash just decided 'Fuck it!' While he never had any high expectation for them, viewing them as unbefitting for any profession (even as slaves in Nehekhara), their behavior in battle made him realize that these barbarians were too fucking stupid to see any value in what he was planning to teach them, and might in fact be expecting some kind of fucking miracles like turning them into superman or something. Being the nice and rational person he is, Nagash turned them to cannibalism by claiming they could gain the strength of their foes by ingesting their flesh. His mortal servant was horrified to deliver the message, but he still did it and the entire tribe were dumb enough to follow Nagash's cruel sense of humor, becoming the only [[ghoul]] "Yaghur" (also their tribe's name) in the setting, creatures of hairless, naked ape like monster that eats humans ([[grimdark|preferably woman and children]]). To this day, the Yaghurs hunts for the flesh of any living being as well as their own in the area around the shores of the Soul Sea, probably killed some Dwarf thus earned some grudges and fought some orcs where they either ate them, got krumped by them or ate each other like a dumb ass lovers.
* After Nagash finally conquered the northern tribe by forcing his enemy to starvation by denying them farming (his undead army does not need to eat and his ghouls sustain themselves on their kills), he had every "heretical priests" of the tribe burned alive while chained on a totem of their [[Chaos God|four-faced god]]. Nagash was having a blast where he sadistically insulted their god(s) in front of their cult's leader. Nagash then rounded up every tribesman and subjected them to his [[1984|EXTREME undead-feudalism, where women are to be treated like a cattle, continue to giving birth so the children would grow up to either become his slave warriors, slave miners, or died in the process while being either of them, then raised back as undead to repeat in death their slavery in life]]. Still, Nagash was at least 'reasonable' in his rule (and may be even approaching some remote form of kindness for the '''first''' time in his life), for he allowed the mortal tribes to farm and eat as long as they served him, and even rewarded those that were smarter and more capable with some form of nobility and useful trinkets (even if he personally despised every last one of them and wished to use them as pawns to destroy his homeland). That said, he was still being Nagash, and those who opposed him met with death, having them as well as their entire families (from women to children) devoured by his ghouls. Anyone foolish enough to rebel was punished by their undead ancestors, raised from their graves that were just so happened to entombed outside their village's surrounding.
* Despite having studied architecture in Khemri for 20 years, the buildings he designed are grim, dull, dangerous and scary. His Black Pyramid (unlike those of other tomb kings who were white marble pyramids) is pitch black as fuck (since is made out of black marble, with its purpose being some kind of magical super weapon and power storage, but not for preservation and honoring gods). His Nagashizzar is even more frightening with its green flame torches and poison gas coming out of warpstone mines like some fucking death metal album. When Nagash and his newly enslaved barbarian followers arrived at its front gate, the view traumatized his battle-hardened forces. Some of his constructs are built from human tendon (in case you are wondering, making constructs (robots) is part of Nehekharan's architecture studies).
* While ruling Nagashizzar, he had a constant urge to kill his "living" followers out of thoughtless paranoia (a frustrating experience he had learned from his betrayal in the past). When Braghad, one of Nagash's top living servants, criticized him for not protecting Braghad's village, Nagash telepathically rebuked him by saying that they're his tools for all eternity (because they have drunk the life elixir and are now Nagash's BITCH). Nagash followed up by spitefully choking his barbarian witch servant for criticizing Nagash's callousness with the lives her warriors. So in short, Nagash is a self-obsessed, paranoid, greedy, power-hungry, murderous, selfish being that loves warpstone; [[Skaven|does that seem-sound familiar?]]
* He used his loyal vassals as tools in a terrible incantation to make himself a magic set of amour and then, for the only time in any of his fluff, he does something nice for someone besides himself by complimenting them for exceeding his expectations. After complimenting them, he sent them to the '''now destroyed afterlife''' where they would tell the dead Thutep and others that their vengeance would never come.
* Started a new war against Nehekhara. Managed to destroy Maharak as a revenge, but that was it since Nehekharans were too well prepared under Alcadizzar's guidance.
* Employed the Skaven to taint the river of his own birth land and unleash a horrible plague to annihilate the entire Nehekharan civilization after losing the war against them; because on top of being a mad wizard and an immoral bastard, he's a sore loser. The plague makes any normal being rot from their inside out, slowly torment them with pain, finally drive them to madness then die. Despite Alcadizzar's effort, the entire Nehekaran society crumbled within a year. All food prices suddenly spike up, forcing many plague bearing citizens to resort to violence and thievery for food and clean water. This ultimately destroyed everything Alcadizzar worked for and killed his two sons and wife. By the time the undead legion launched their second invasion, Alcadizzar's forces consisted of merely a thousand plague weakened soldiers, wearing little to no armor while wielding farming tools (because armor and other good weapons were too heavy for the sick).
** Bonus evil point that the plague killed animals and plants too; wild or domesticated. All lifeforms were targeted by this plague just like how he tainted the god given lake in life. Nagash's crime against nature makes any modern corporation's illegal chemical dumping practice look like a child's play.
* After capturing Alcadizzar and subjecting him to harsh captivity on the trip to Nagashizzar, Nagash taunted Alcadizzar, asking him how it felt to watch his people and loved ones die. He then explained why he'd spared Alcadizzar, and how the entirety of Nehekhara's souls would be enslaved by using him as the key, and how he'd use the legion of the dead of every dynasty combined as the ultimate army to annihilate all life in the world. Nagash capped this off by telling Alcadizzar how he was going to take Alcadizzar's (un)dead wife as his consort if he liked her enough - similar to what Nagash did to his brother Thutep before entombing him... (Except Nagash genuinely lusted after Neferem. This he just said to taunt Alcadizzar further.)
** Said ritual also used up a lot of captured Savage Orcs' souls, which is a crime because even deserved to die fightin' in a WAAAGH rather than being sacrificed to some ded humies' borin' magic.
* Almost destroyed the Empire and nearly crippled Sigmar in a duel by using a poisoned blade.
* Cursed the [[Vampire Counts|Vampires]] with a vulnerability to Sigmar's power and other curses after the assholes were too self-absorbed to help Nagash out during the two major battles: war with the Empire and the Nehekhara war. While this might seem like good riddance because of the vampires' treacherous and dickish nature, the evil thing about these curses is that it prevents vampires from enjoying life with their new found immortality and it also applied to the vampires who were loyal to him.
* The End Times adds killing several demigods, including [[Valaya]], the ancestor goddess of the Dwarfs, while she slumbered and Usirian, the Nehekharan's chief god of death, so he could take on and destroy the Chaos Gods (and then failing to do that).
* After defeating Settra and uniting nearly all of the Tomb Kings under his banner, he destroyed Nehekhara despite all the resources the nation held (not to mention depriving Neferata of ever going to Lahmia again).
* Killing messengers from the Empire asking for his help when a 'no' would have been enough, then turning around and expecting to get help when he's forced to ask the living for it.
* Mocked Tyrion and Alarielle about the fact that he was brought back to life by their daughter being sacrificed; (Which makes this list because [[That Guy|he did so while asking for their help]]). The actual quote was something like "MY DESTRUCTION WILL NOT BRING HER BACK... THE SOUL OF THE EVERCHILD IS NOT MINE TO GIVE. LIKE ALL YOUR KIND, SHE IS ALREADY FODDER FOR THE [[Slaanesh|DARK PRINCE]]!" Gotta hand it to Nagash for this one, since he clearly hasn't lost his funny bone despite being a cold-blooded lich who kill people as he pleases.
* When invading a Chaos-controlled Middenheim to stop Archaon, Nagash and his forces encountered captive soldiers and civilians of the Empire. Arkhan suggested freeing them to use as extra fighters (while privately thinking to use this as a goodwill gesture for their living allies), but Nagash decided to kill them, turn them into a zombie army, and joked about how they're now free and how he plans to "free" the forces of Chaos.
** In the aforementioned invasion, Nagash had [[Throgg]] by the throat but was told by him (a fucking troll, of all living beings!) that serving Chaos is better than serving Nagash. The best thing is that Throgg made a reasonable statement and quite valid observation, conceding that both were servitude but lucidly contrasting Nagash's undying, static, slavering one with the Chaos Gods' adaptable, occasionally rewarding one; and how the latter was just so much more appealing than the former. Of course, Nagash [[rage|simply couldn't stand getting told]], and Throgg was turned into dust on the spot.
* Nagash's evil extends beyond his universe. Apparently, GW must have bribed Naggy with souls or whatever, because in the new Death Faction Nagash didn't see fit to bring back the Tomb Kings.
* Murdered even more death gods in order to take over the realm of Shyish.
* Started hiding undead armies, who would go on to become the [[Ossiarch Bonereapers]], beneath cities of the forces of Order for when he would make his bid for power.
* Betrayed Sigmar and the forces of Order to try to become the supreme god, which allowed Chaos to take over seven eighths of the realms while he got beaten down by Archaon. Notable because it began with Nagash's undead army turning on Sigmar's forces during a crucial battle against Chaos.
* When a group of queens ruling island-nations, collectively called the Skull Isles, offered themselves to Nagash if he would spare their people, Nagash claimed them for himself... then had their kingdoms destroyed by his undead armies (in that same audio drama, Nagash outright states he does not have mercy, honor or pity).
* [[Warhammer Underworlds|At some point while ruling his realm of Death, he punished the citizens of Shadespire for cheating death with the use of some magic mirrors by throwing the entire fucking city into the void of between the realm of life and shadow, forcing them into an unlife of torment.]]
** As a revenge for destroying Krell (wait, Nagash actually care about something other than himself? or is it because Krell was one of his favourite toys?), Nagash trapped Sigvald's fractured soul inside a [[Warhammer Underworlds|Shadespire]] mirror and cursed it so that viewers will only see idealized version of themselves instead of Sigvald. The mirror was then thrown into the direction where [[Warhammer Underworlds|Shadespire]] was supposed to be just so it could end inside one of its many pocket dimensions inside any mirror of the cities, trapped inside them for eternity. Thankfully it did not work out for Nagash and the mirror was flung to Slaanesh's prison instead and Sigvald became a demon prince because of this.
* A necromancer and tribal leader named Tamra ven Drak released some spirits he'd imprisoned in order to save her people from a Nurglite invasion; Tamra and her people were devout worshippers of Nagash. When Nagash confronted Tamra, she begged for mercy for her people. Nagash killed them all right down to the last child and turned them into an undead army, stating this preserved their souls forever, put them under her charge and said this was what he calls mercy. While Nagash did make Tamra a Deathlord, he only did so because Arkhan and Neferata insisted. (And they had to work together to convince Nagash Tamra would be more useful if he spared her.)
* He never showed up during the siege of the Allpoints Shyishian Gate despite promising reinforcements in a supposedly renewed alliance, which meant not only making Sigmar lose (temporally) an entire army of Stormcasts, but allowing Archaon to keep a direct avenue of attack to his own realm.
* Attempted to enact a ritual that would raise all dead in the Mortal Realms in order to exterminate all life. This would also deprive all the other gods of their worshipers, so they would have to bend the knee.
* About that ritual, he started it long before the Age of Chaos, which means he outright planned to betray Sigmar, despite Sigmar freeing him from the atemporal tomb.
* His Nighthaunt armies include Dreadscythe Harridans, spirits of healers who he has turned into tormented killing machines for the 'crime' of saving people from dying and thus preventing their souls from coming to Shyish ''even though this is temporary since mortals all die over time''. Other examples are enslaving the ghosts of betrayed people to the ones who killed them (Lord Executioners) and forcing ghosts into servitude because they didn't pray to Nagash to free them when they were still alive (Bladegheists and Chainrasps). He considers this "justice", even calling himself "...a just god, if nothing else". Yes, he is so evil he can deny good people from going to their specific afterlife paradises, which actually ''do exist'' in the Age of Sigmar setting.

[[TL;DR]] He was a spiteful person who blamed [[Malekith|the gods and everyone else in his homeland for denying his throne]], which got worse overtime where he is tormented by his own failures, then his inhumane undead transformation through warpstone, dark magic and life elixir, further made him spiteful at all living life.

While some of the deeds on this list may have been done by your average [[Skaven]], [[Dark Elves|Dark Elf]] or [[Chaos]] Lord there is a big difference between them and Nagash. The former usually do this either to advance a group they're part of or to appease their gods, and no single member of those factions has done as much as Nagash. Points of case; [[Thanquol]] at least respects and pays homage to the Horned Rat, [[Malus Darkblade]] actually cared up to a certain point for his own troops while loving his mother and his pet/steed Spite, and [[Archaon]] was very protective of his adopted father and lover (the only people Archaon had ever gave a shit about) before they died. Nagash on the other hand didn't care about anyone, despised the gods and had no empathy for anyone besides himself. He killed off his remaining family, fucked up his own nation and a large section of the world for selfish gain and, so far as the fluff goes, he has never cared or done anything for anyone other than himself, with his ultimate plan being to literally turn everything into undead with no will under his command.

On one hand, Nagash honestly believed this to be the best thing for the Warhammer world and had something of a point. Chaos has a hard time corrupting the undead, and Nagash had already managed to steal one of Khorne's favoured champions (Krell). On the other hand, undead are resistant to Chaos but can be corrupted by it. In the End Times, Chaos managed to steal two of Nagash's champions (Kemmler and Walach), not to mention Nagash himself briefly considered bending the knee to the Chaos Gods after the destruction of the Black Pyramid. And Nagash himself was already an omnicidal sociopath, even without Chaos corruption; [[Malekith]] called Nagash an evil monster who needed to be destroyed, the once-human daemon Bea'lakor considered Nagash his equal in evil and Teclis - while using divine vision from Lileath - noted that Nagash's aura was only slightly less black than the invading Khorne daemons. Nagash is so evil he's considered only slightly less evil than daemons, which are literal embodiments of evil. In Age of Sigmar, Archaon actually managed to work on Nagash's vaingloriousness to make him betray Sigmar (more jarring when it was revealed they fought together to save the Mortal Realms from ancient abominations), and the vampire Vhordrai tried to betray Nagash to the Chaos Gods.

Black Library seemed to share the idea, since a banner promoting the book ''"The Return of Nagash"'' names him as ''"The Greatest Villain in the Warhammer World"''. He also appears to have helped GW [[Squat]] the Tomb Kings. On a side note Nagash also enjoys the occasional orphanage being slaughtered as a snack, we wonder how is that Sigmar kept him in check during the entire Age of Myth, probably judicious application of Ghal Maraz to the skull (cue squeaky toy hammer sounds).

==Trivia==
* It is possible, especially considering GW's love of basing things in both 40k and Fantasy on actual history and famous works, that Nagash could have been inspired by a variety of sources:
** Most obviously, Nagash is Warhammer's answer to [[Vecna]], being an evil man who invented necromancy, used it to decimate a kingdom, lost a hand that became a powerful magical artefact and could operate independently and went on to become a god of death and unliving. Amusingly, on the roleplaying show [[Critical Role]] the end of their first campaign involves a battle with Vecna, who is represented by a conversion of Nagash's model. (And they're helped by a character named Arkhan)
** There is also a fictional shout-out to the works of Lovecraft, as his backstory resembles that of Nephren-Ka from Yog-Sothothery (he was a tyrannical Pharaoh who set up an unholy cult, built a giant evil structure, and was overthrown by his people because of his tyranny; all evidence of his reign was purged and he became immortal after the defeat).
** His name could be derived from Nahash, which is both one of the names used for the serpent in the Abrahamic faiths that tempted Adam and Eve and is also the name for a warlike king during Old Testament days.
* If you ever wondered about what would have happened if Nagash was a elf, check Mannimarco, the Worm King from the Elder Scrolls verse. Seriously, They are both badass, evil, awesome, FAKHIGNH OLD and both became gods of death through sheer evil.
* Interestingly, there could have been a chance to have a non-derpy old-school Nagash model the whole time. The true reason for this terrible model was a design disagreement between departments. [[Old School Roleplaying|Years ago, when GW cared somewhat about the customers more than their money]], the sculptor wanted Nagash to have more of a desiccated corpse look, while a skeletal look was being demanded from his superiors. [[Just As Planned|In an attempt to force them to accept a resculpt with a non-skeletal face, he made Nagash's skull as stupid-looking as he could]] (oh, how he succeeded). [[Not As Planned|Unfortunately, they decided to go with that sculpt instead of demand he redo it]].

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Image:Nagash.jpg|Old school Nagash art. ([[Mark Gibbons|MG]])
Image:Nagash White Dwarf 2.png|Just when you thought you had convinced the Dwarfs not to bring 6 cannons, they get justification for it.
Image:Nagash's_return.jpg|Fuck mortality
File:Uncle_Nagash.jpg|"I WANT '''YOU''' FOR UNDEAD LEGION"
Image:Settra V Nagash Dawn of Boner.jpg|The Tomb Kings undergo a... management dispute.
Image:Nagash Thirsters.jpg|Nagash, CRUSHING A FUCKING BLOODTHIRSTER in the final battle.
Image:Nagash Fanart.JPG
Image:Nagash-shyish.jpg|Nagash, uncharacteristic in that he is coloured with the Wind of Death instead of ectoplasmic matter and has no bucket teeth, also, no wonder why the Mortal Realms beelined to sign for Chaos if this guy was all you could expect for an eternity upon dying.
</gallery>

{{Tomb Kings}}
{{AoS-Gods}}

[[Category:Vampire Counts]][[Category:Undead Legion]][[Category:40k and Fantasy Gods]][[Category:Ossiarch Bonereapers]]
[[Category:Legions of Nagash]]

W'soran/Melkhior

2023-01-31T15:02:30Z

2600:387:9:9:0:0:0:62: /* Melkhior */

[[Image:Master-of-Death.jpg|right|thumb|400px|W'soran on the cover of his own [[Black Library]] book.]]

The founder and usurper of the Necrarch Bloodline of the [[Vampire Counts]]. Both were huge fucking nerds with a penchant for [[/tg/|playing army men as adults]]. Note that there are two different versions of the end of the story of W'soran/Melkhior. It's more up to personal interpretation which is canon, although the former story is supported by the legend of Ushoran leading to it being taken as slightly more canon.

==The Legend==
===W'soran===
Originally the High Priest of [[Nehekhara|Lahmia]] during the days when the [[Tomb Kings]] had skin. W'soran was born to an ancient yet respectable bloodline from Mahrak (a place known for the founding of Nehekharan religion). Despite his heritage, he secretly adored Nagash's brilliance, even go as far as regretted that he was born too late to serve Nagash during the war. It was also mentioned that he was driven out of his homeland by his rival high priests, which is probably the reasons why he favors Nagash's dark arts more than Nehekharan religion.

He was invited by Lamashizzar to join his little cabal where they tried to attain immortality by studying Nagash's books and interrogating his servant [[Arkhan the Black]] for further knowledge. Like other members, he grew tired of Lamashizzar's incompetence and switched sides when Neferata showed her superior mastery of the dark arts over her brother. In fact, W'soran was the first to kneel before Neferata.

After Neferata became a vampire, W'soran was the first to be invited by Neffy to drink her new vampire elixir. Upon his transformation, he looked older to the point of looking more like a zombie than a human, but was satisfied with the result.

The founding of the cult of blood as well as the construction of its temple were W'soran's idea to harvest more blood and minions without drawing attention. However, like the other cabal members he did not approve of Neferata's sudden decision to raise the future king of Khemri herself. At that moment, W'soran considered Neffy a lost cause, driven batty by killing Khalida. He believed they (the vampries) should master the dark arts and use it to conquer and build a new empire over Nehekhara, rather than ruling a trading ground behind the mortals.

Still, he was able to persuade Neferata to give him the permission to study the book. He seized the opportunity to do what he had always wanted to do...seal himself up in the Great Library of Lahmia to read...and summon Nagash! Years passed, he used up a lot of slaves in his rituals but failed to summon the great necromancer's spirit. Then one day Ushoran barged into his place and offered assistance in exchange to unite against Neferata's rule. Under W'soran's instruction, Ushoran obtained Thutep's skull (because being Nagash's twin still allows him to form spiritual link to his evil brother despite being a decayed skull) after he secretly hired a bunch of tomb raiders to dug up Thutep's remain at Khetep's pyramid.

With the proper material acquired, all that's left is proper timing. Just so happens the book he has contained crucial information about Morrslieb's sighting, and they were all predicted by Nagash in life. With the green moon's power and Thutep's rotten skull, W'soran found Nagash! But to his surprise, Nagash was in fact alive/unlive, building an army capable of destroying Nehekhara and was living just north of Lahmia across the sour sea.

Unfortunately for W'soran, Neferata caught him right at this time, staked him in the heart and stuffed him in a barrel. Before being immobilized however, W'soran told Neferata that Nagash would come and destroy all and when that time comes, every vampire will bow to him like a maggot, even threaten Neffy that he would curse Lahmia to be destroyed and never rebuilt till the end of times.

W'soran was stuck in the barrel for 22 years until Alcadizaar laid siege to the city. He was freed by Ushoran under Neferata's order just so he could provide battle support for the Lahmian army. The entire times, W'soran stayed inside a tower with clear view of the battlefield. He use the books knowledge to summon a fuckload of zombies to fight their enemies. The zombies came from the catatomb, mostly belonging to poor or homeless people Neferata had torture and killed for food or info to find Alcadizzar. Although the Nehekharans do not fear the dead as they used to when fighting Nagash, the zombies served as a good distraction that [[Tarpit|blocked the enemy troops from moving forward]]. His part in the battle ended after a good catapult shot disrupted his ritual and thus instantly unbind all the zombies he had raised.

After Lahmia's fall, W'soran and his followers escaped and travel straight to Nagashizzar where they pledge themselves to Nagash after offered him his books. Nagash took in him and his followers and trained them until he was pretty much a level 4 wizard. For the 32 years (-1168 IC) of his time at Nagshizzar, he formed a bitter rivalry with [[Arkhan the Black]], whom was raised back to serve his master. [[Arkhan the Black|Arkhan]] proved to be quite an obstacle to W'soran becoming Nagash's number 1 (all just so he could obtain his knowledge, of course) due to being W'soran's equal in sorcery and having superior battlefield experience, still proving to be Nagash's most useful servant by far. W'soran tried to kill Arkhan many times with his minions, but failed to do so and was unable to while being watched by Nagash's baleful gaze.

Around this time, Ushoran had made to Nagashizzar and was bought before Nagash after he was captured by the undead sentinels. Cunningly, W'soran presented Ushoran to Nagash as a useful servant (or a monster, according to Arkhan) which led him to hunt down and enslave all his former cabal members.

He managed to track down Ankhat, who was the easiest to located and is now multiclassing as some sort of wizard pirate captain. Using his Terrogheist, W'soran located Ankhat's boat on the sea. Unfortunatly for W'soran, Ankhat already knew what the nerdy vampire wants for him and denied him even before W'soran bought up the topic. W'soran cannot forced Ankhat into servitude either due to his capabilties in using magic and fighting, which could ended both of them in a bloody stalemate. Still, Ankhat managed to convinced W'soran away by giving out the other members' whereabout... which W'soran will have to put the search on halt, for there are Nehekharans that needs to be conquored.

In order to control the massive undead army he had created, Nagash etched the sigil of binding into W'soran's face as well as his other 7 followers, making sure he could inflicting suffering on them while tasting their agony (because lore of darkness is all about feeding on negative emotions and feelings, further evidence on the dark elves and necromancers being edgelord wizard). Because of the additional vampires W'soran had bought, he was able to control a much larger army, a fact that irritated Arkhan since he doesn't trust nor liked W'soran, but he still needs his cooperation if he wanted the invasion to succeed. Nagash also granting W'soran his permission to use his book on the battlefield.

When the undead legion invaded, it first landed on Lahmia and took over its ruin, killing all the bandits and thugs hanging out there and making its first encampment at the former Lahmian palace in order to plan for further strategies. W'soran had to stay there for days, only to furiously found out Arkhan had abandoned him and head straight west to where Khemri located, thought the bastard lich was trying to steal his glory for taking Alcadizzar's head. After W'soran's army crossed the golden plain and raze its crops with blackness, Arkhan's army was already in a battle position against a coalition army of Lybaras and Rasetra. Arkhan blame W'soran for misinformed everyone and Nagash that the great cities are divided and were unable to muster a proper defence against them. W'soran rebuttled by saying it is but a fraction of the forces they had defeated back in the seige of Lahmia. As a result, Arkhan ended up making W'soran to clean up his messes since he already had prior knowledge on defeating them. W'soran was apparently surprised by the Nehekharan army's soldiers wielding new rune weaponry that were effective in killing the undeads and its new addition of wizard that can dispel magic. It was by sheer size and the udnead's tireless natural that W'soran won the battle. Still, the casualty inflicted on them would wiped out an average army and W'soran began to notice how long and painful this campaign is going to be with Arkhan being his bane while dealing with Nehekharan's new military technology.

Because of the nuisance Lybaras and Rasetra had posed, W'soran had to divide his army and sent his 4 vampires to seige their city (leaving only 3 by W'soran's side), prevents them from marching behind their army. Arkhan was also aware of W'soran's treachery that he make sure to stay away from him as far as possible.

A week after Arkhan razed Mahrak, the undead legion began trespassing the Valley of Kings, a gigantic linear valley path that leads straight towards Quatar then Khemri. Unfortunatly for them, Alcadizzar has prepared a strong defense along the valley path: Archers with fire arrows, catapult that sling flaming boulders, a tall wall made of granite and heavily armored soldiers from Ka-sabar that throws sandblocks and fire pots.

W'soran wasn't even called to help until they began the assault on the second wall, which it was even taller than the first one that their ladder cannot be reached and its walls are too thick to be blast open by spells and catapult. W'soran was persuade by Arkhan into sending his vampires to kill everyone within the walls (Note: the death of just one vampire could killed off several thousand undead soldiers that was bind to them). It was a great risk but they succeed nonetheless with W'soran casting a fog spell to conceal his vampires to sneak into the wall. The second wall finally falls after 5 days.

The final wall was even thicker, taller, leaving only a gate made of basalt. There, Arkhan leaving the rest to W'soran and his goon. W'soran and his 3 followers then began channeling their energy together and bought forth a dark cloud of tomb scarabs. The scarabs were then sent to the defenders ontop of the wall while 6 bone giants battered down the gate.

Unfortunately for W'soran, his rituals were disrupted when a newly reinforced archers arrived on the wall and starts to shoot flaming arrows rain upon them and shot one of his followers. Worst comes when Alcadizzar arrived just in time on his chariot with many horseman charging with him.

W'soran managed to blast Alcadizzar and his queen off the chariot, but due to the sheer plot armor of the king, he not only survived but also slained all three of W'soran's followers (one of them was shot in the eye by his queen). Abandoned by Arkhan, W'soran raged quit from the battlefield by using his tomb scarabs magic. He was never seen again at this point, not even in Nagashizzar for sure since Nagash was busy raging his ass off on their failure for 7 days and 7 night and he '''definitely NOT''' going anywhere near there.

In his novel, the ''Master of Death'', it was revealed he had came back to Nagash's side after Alcadizzar was captured and the Nehekharan decimated by the plague. There, W'soran taunted Alcadizzar that his queen will never fired another shot at his eye (W'soran's eye never recovered from the war and had remained empty) and even go as far as to push the immobilized Alcadizzar to the ground. Being Nagash's important component for his ritual, Alcadizzar is important enough for the daddy lich to being protected of Alcadizzar, even go as far as to mock W'soran that Alcadizzar's blood worth thousands more than his Vampire kinds'.

Also, while observing Alcadizzar's mistreatment, W'soran's view on Nagash being a god has changed. Nagash may not be a god, a man, nor an invisible master, but he is certainly a very evil being, yet his behaviors and actions is deemed somewhat like an exceedingly petty and spiteful human (gloat over Alcadizzar, temper tantrum, hating anything) to W'soran. Regardless, W'soran was certainly having a wet dream about how the ritual which will gave birth to a whole new generations of undead in Nehekhara, which they will all serve Nagash and kill every living being in the world for him. Did I mentioned that W'soran thought it is a beautiful thing? What. the. fuck.

Here, the story of W'soran and Melkhior splits. The W'soran version follows.

After Nagash was killed W'soran turned more nerds into Vampires and crossed the impassible mountains to join [[Ushoran]], who had been kind of a bro to him. He aided Ushorsn in building up the power of Strigos, and helped Ushoran claim the Crown of Nagash.
An afterthought came that Nagash wouldn't have been to pleased about that and that maybe the Crown of Sorcery was better left in the hands of an actual sorcerer (himself). This inspired W'soran to began to experiment with imbuing one's own essence into physical objects, skirting along the magical theory of elf [[Soulstones]] but instead creating the process of [[Lich]] phylacteries. He eventually created a helmet of his own and placed part of his soul within it, then gave it to a tribe of humans called the Dresca and watched them tear themselves apart through his subtle mental influence.
He made a pact with the leader of a human tribe named Vorag Bloodytooth, who in exchange for helping make him powerful built W'soran a fantastic and secret laboratory fortress. Here W'soran conducted many EEEEEEEVIL experiments and perfected the Lore of Vampires.
During the fall of Strygos, W'soran and his followers ambushed the Strigoi while they were fighting greenskins. Eventually, W'soran faced Ushoran alone and lost due to the influence of Nagash through the Crown. His forces were crushed by the Strigoi, and he himself fled through the burning city causing as much damage as he could to slow down the pissed off Strigoi, Strygos, his own traitorous followers, and Orc pursuers. During his retreat he found a large vein of Warpstone and consumed it, using the boost in magic to collapse a mountain which killed many of those chasing him and cut off the rest.

He used his magic to hastily construct a mountain keep that could only be reached by a long mountain pass filled with traps and monsters, then awaited his enemies. The Lahmians and Strigoi made it to the pass, but most were slain between battling each other and falling into traps laid by the mad scientist Vampire. Melkhior, clever and knowledgeable about his master's preference for traps, reached the keep and pretended to warn his former master about the coming threat, and convinced him they would make a final stand inside W'soran's own vault. W'soran found himself fighting the enemy Vampires alone, and after slaying them to the last Melkhior attacked his master from behind. Melkhior taunted him as W'soran lay dying, and W'soran seemingly fought his own dying breath to make out a few last words to his traitorous pupil. As Melkhior leaned in closer with a grin to hear what the old Vampire had to say, W'soran seized him and growled with a wicked smile that he had discovered the secret of true immortality. W'soran bit his student in the neck, and his soul entered the body of Melkhior and consumed the younger Vampire's soul and knowledge.
When the Lahmian reinforcements finally arrived at the keep, they found the corpse of W'soran and the (un)living student claiming to have done the deed. He told them he wanted to join them, and would give them all the secrets of W'soran provided he had time to translate the many tomes and decipher the experiments and tablets within the vault. He fed them a steady stream of lesser magics and artifacts before returning to his wayward students, gathering them into enclaves dedicated to advancing different areas of necromantic and alchemical study. Each knows little of the other enclaves, and none know all but himself. He himself is the master of the large and isolated Necrarch Bloodline, and over time and wearing different guises has ingratiated himself one way or the other with all of the Vampire Bloodlines.

While each different Bloodline may claim to control an army, claim to control a nation, or claim to be invincible it is W'soran and the Necrarchs who's combined strength is represented by the application of Undead monsters, unbelievably powerful and previously unknown magic, and subtle manipulation to the combined might of the others. W'soran has fully mastered necromancy becoming a spiritual being of darkness and has taken many apprentices and identities in his unlife.

===Nourgul the Wamphyro===
At one point W'soran or a [[Necrarch|necrarch vampire]] possessed by his spirit assaulted the southern realms he was called Nourgul by Tileans, Arabyans and Estalians. Nourgul was defeated by [[Abhorash|a mysterious knight]] disguised as a [[Myrmidia|worshipper of myrmidia]] in Magritta.

===Melkhior===
The above stories represent the basic interpretations of the story of W'soran. The following is the original version of the fluff and is less detailed.

In this one, after the fall of Nagash the Necrarchs built their power and spread throughout the world without the parts involving Ushoran and the Strigoi. W'soran, being more trusting in this interpretation, took loyal students with him as they traveled in secret administrating to the Necrarch enclaves. At one point, Melkhior began to read the books of Nagash while W'soran meditated or conducted intensive research. During one of these meditations, Melkhior slew the body of his master, trapping the soul of W'soran in the spirit world where he gathers armies of Ethereal undead to prey upon the living and eventually his former student.

Melkhior built a magically hidden tower in the Great Forest which is found within the Empire, and studied magic alone.

===Zacharias The Everliving===
The following story goes along with the latter story where Melkhior defeats W'soran, but for the sake of unified canon (as in the current canon both W'soran aiding Ushoran built his empire and this story appear to both be true) one can assume that a different version of is happens in the former story as well.

At one point a thief named Zacharias attempted to breach the tower where Melkhior was dwelling and steal a book of Nagash and, impressed that the young man had foiled his magical defenses, Melkhior made Zacharias his pupil. As the years went on, Melkhior became more and more insane and would go on Strigoi-like rampages to drain whole cities of blood. Zacharias took advantage of these times to read the book. Of course, one of these times Melkhior returned and caught him at the act so a fight broke out with Melkhoir winning and Zacharias fled.

Wounded by the pursuing minions of Melkhior, he hid in a cave and fell into a restorative hibernation for ten years. When he awoke he found that a Black Dragon had begun to use the cave as a lair. He promptly drained the dragon's blood over a very long time until it died (since nothing can wake up if a vampire feeds on it while it's sleeping) which caused him to grow in strength and cured his Vampiric weaknesses and need to feed on blood. He promptly reanimated the Dragon's corpse as a mount, then gathered an army and returned to lay siege to the tower. The two battled, and from here the story splits once again.

In one version of the story, Melkhior only narrowly survived the confrontation and fled to plot revenge. In the other, he perished and Zacharias took over as head of the Necrarch Bloodline and organized them into an effective force preparing to attempt to conquer the Empire in a manner similar to the von Carsteins. Either way, Melkhior's treasures and book of Nagash wind up in the hands of Zacharias.

===[[The End Times]]===
When Nagash came back, Nagash contacted him for his service, but found that Zacharias thought he was his equal. For this insult, Nagash promptly set his brain on fire in his head and instantly killed him. Unfortunately, this and a complete lack of any mention of W'soran or Melkhior in End Times suggests he really was killed by Zacharias, although no mention of the other Necrarchs were made either. Unfortunately, End Times left out quite a few things and the lore answers that [[Josh Reynolds]] provided were rendered non-canon by usual [[Games Workshop]] douchebaggery so either the Necrarchs were all wiped out alongside Zacharias, completely offscreen or just joined Nagash/went into hiding equally offscreen, and either way were 100% destroyed with the old setting when [[Age of Sigmar]] came to be.

==Necrarchs==
[[File:Necrarch Notes.jpg|An example of the fucked up shit that Necrarchs get up to. Seriously, you thought the Umbrella Corporation and the Chaos Cultists of 40k were bad?|thumb|right|300px|Necrarchs are the mad scientists of the Vampire Count options. All are skilled in magic and/or science. Much of their time is spent in experimentation, in delving for the knowledge of other races (like elves), and creating new forms of magical artifacts and Undead monsters.]]

Like the other spellcasters of the game (Empire Mages, [[Tzeentch|Tzeentchian]] [[Warriors of Chaos]], [[High Elves|Saphery Mages]], and the like) the Necrarchs are more likely to be found in the company of other Bloodlines than in an army of their own. Should have need to however, Necrarchs are very adaptable.

Any option you want to take can be handwaved as another Bloodline recruited to their service, although particularly "Necrarch" options include Zombies and Skeletons for Core raised in bulk as needed (failed test subjects in mass graves is another good explanation), Corpse Carts (as gatherers of new specimens) and Hexwraiths/Spirit Hosts (vengeful test subjects, experiments in soul-binding, or the minions of W'soran in the story where his soul is doomed to wander) as Special, Black Coaches (as a protective form of Chariot for the studious Necrarchs to direct battle from) and Mortis Engines (an arcane object created by Necrarchs powering their creations) for Rare. For Lords and Heroes, no named character is fitting (apart from possibly Mannfred the Acolyte. After all, he has studied everywhere, probably including under a Necrarch tutor at some point) unless one wants to use the stats of one of the Mannfreds to use as a Necrarch model. Necromancers are a possible option as an assistant, but really any options should be spellcasting Vampires and Master Vampires. Use of any other Lores other than Lore of Vampires is within theme if you choose to use them.

==On the Tabletop==
W'soran/Melkhior once had models and stats, but have long since been removed from the game and discontinued. If you can obtain the models, one can use W'soran or Melkhior (depending on which version of the fluff you consider canon) as a Master Vampire spellcaster in the Lore of Vampires riding an Abyssal Terror.

Necrarchs used to be one of the more popular Bloodlines until von Carsteins became the only Bloodline of any importance in the game in 7e, and as a result have a fair number of on foot and mounted models. All are out of production, so eBay is your only source.

As for how they used to be in their old rules, Melkhoir knocks in at 660 pts , he causes terror (with -1 to enemy leadership, but the modifier doesn't affect undead or daemons naturally), he is immune to all psychology, he is a lvl 4 wizard that gets one more spell than usual, has stupidity, has an abyssal terror and most importantly he can recast a spell on a 3+ (you still have to cast it as normal after passing the recast roll), though he cannot cast the same spell twice on the same unit.
Melkhoir also has three very special items that are awesome, he's got a magical sword that gives the models he hits -1 to their to hit rolls (he doesn't need to wound and the effects are not cumulative), he has a book he wrote that allows him to automatically cast a spell (it doesn't even use up any of your magic power either), and the spell that he casts can be recast as normal, but after using it, roll a die, on a 1-2 it can't be used again for the rest of the battle, and he has a black cloak that makes it impossible to shoot him. Literally, he cannot be shot at or hurt by shooting ever, not even by warmachines (he takes no damage if he gets hit) and not even by magical missiles (again he takes no damage) which is awesome combined with the sword so he doesn't get hit in combat, and combined with the book so he can keep shooting out spells. Statwise he's a Necrarch Vampire Lord, so also good in combat.

==Gallery==

<gallery>
Image:Melkior.jpg|The body of Melkhior, either inhabited by the soul of W'soran or as the traitorous pupil himself. Mounted on the "ever popular" only version of the Abyssal Terror that looks good.
Image:Necrarch 1.jpg|An old Necrarch model.
Image:Necrarch 2.jpg|A set of older Necrarch models.
Image:Necrarch 3.jpg|Yet more Necrarch models.
</gallery>

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