Warhammer Fantasy (setting)

There are numerous nations and races in the Warhammer World. Mankind, the most prominent, often proves to be the most susceptible to the corrupting influence of Chaos. Most of the featured human nations are based in the Old World (analogous to real world Europe).

Many factions, such as the Elves, the Lizardmen, the Ogres and the Halflings, have been created by the Old Ones: star-travelling gods responsible for the creation of most of the setting's sentient races. These Old Ones were brought low by the daemonic forces inadvertently unleashed by the collapse of their Warp Gates (one on the North Pole and one on the South Pole), leaving their creations to fend for themselves. This backstory also provides an easy explanation for the presence of a variety of familiar fantasy races. Ogres and Halflings, for example, are closely related. Both are resistant to the mutating effects of Chaos energies (fuelled by hearty appetites and efficient metabolisms), but have opposite physical templates.

The Elves were the first civilized race to walk the Warhammer world. Brought into creation by the Old Ones, the Elves showed a natural talent for magic and superlative martial skill. The once thriving civilization of the Elves was torn asunder many thousands of years ago by a bitter civil war, resulting in the sundering of the race into three distinct kindreds: the evil, twisted Dark Elves, the proud, noble and magical High Elves who continue the ancient traditions from before the sundering, and a third group as the rustic, sylvan and mysterious Wood Elves. The High Elves inhabit the magical island of Ulthuan (analogous to Atlantis), while the Dark Elves inhabit the continent of Naggaroth (correspondent to North America in the real world), a desolate icy wilderness and the Wood Elves live in the forests of Athel Loren in the Old World.

Many races have fallen to, or been corrupted by Chaos. The barbaric Warriors of Chaos (formerly called "Hordes of Chaos") invade the civilized nations from the far northern Chaos Wastes. Beastmen, the human-animal hybrid products of Chaos are found in the dark forests of the entire Warhammer world. Another Chaos race are the Skaven, diabolical ratmen living in a subterranean dog-eat-dog machiavellian society, called the "Under-empire".

The Chaos forces are the personified flaws of sapient beings; the inner daemons of living things come back through a magic medium as literal daemons to torment and kill. The ultimate victory of these forces is often hinted at, highlighting a strong assumption that sentient beings are fundamentally flawed and will eventually bring about their own destruction via the forces of Chaos. The possibility of the victory of Chaos is a major theme in the End Times campaign.

Dwarfs are an ancient, gritty, and determined race integral in the founding of the Empire. Dwarfs are the greatest craftsmen in the Warhammer World, a skill largely matched by the Chaos Dwarfs who split from their brothers after being corrupted by Chaos.

In the jungles of the Lustria continent (Central and South America) are the Lizardmen who were created by the Old Ones to aid in their great works. The Slann, who act as leaders and priests, now lead the Lizardmen blindly, via ancient prophesies containing almost incomprehensible instructions left by the Old Ones. The culture and aesthetic of the Lizardmen are heavily inspired by those of the Aztec and Mayan cultures.

Orcs and Goblins, and their kin (also known as Greenskins), are relatively primitive and disorganized, but their instinctive belligerence threatens the various nations. Their violent nature commonly causes wars against not only the neighboring peoples, but also their own kind. They are found predominantly in the forests and mountains of the Old World, as well in the jungles to the south and stretched across the steppes to the East, but their kin can be found all over the world, inhabiting almost all continents and adapting to their environments. Thus there are many sub-species of Orcs and Goblins such as Black Orcs and Night Goblins.

Besides these, there are the Undead, who are a result of the black sorceries of the first necromancer, Nagash, in the long distant past. His legacy has left the Tomb Kings, who are the resurrected armies of the first human civilisation, in the hot desert lands of Nehekhara to the south of the Old World (based on Ancient Egypt), the Vampire Counts in the Old World (based upon Dracula which is set in Transylvania), and Nagash in his own city of undead. Prior to Games Workshop retconning the backstory, there was previously a unifed Undead Army.

The Chaos Wastes is a fictional place in Games Workshop's Warhammer Fantasy world setting. The Chaos Wastes are a vast warped, cold and barren wasteland to the north (and probably also the south) of the habitable areas of the world. It is referred to by the Norse as Shadowlands and sometimes as Umbra (or Umbra Chaotica). The Wastes are mentioned in many of the Warhammer sourcebooks. It borders Cathay, Naggaroth, Ogre Kingdoms and Norsca and the Eastern Steppes. Norsca and the Eastern Steppes are considered to be part of the Wastes.

The Chaos Wastes are inhabited by various mutated flora and fauna, Daemons, Chaos monsters (including Beastmen), Greenskins and the barbaric human tribes of the Norsca (Norse), Kurgan, Hung, and once-numerous Tong who worship Chaos gods whose influence is strong here. A great Chaos Portal between the material world and the Realm of Chaos spews raw magical energy into the material world. Several other, lesser rifts also exist in the wastes. Unstable energies change the climate and cause mutations to anybody moving there.

• Champions of Chaos travel to the wastes to gain respect and rewards from their masters. The mightiest of these champions may even become a Daemon Prince. Followers of different Chaos gods constantly battle in the Wastes, until a powerful enough warlord unites the different tribes and starts a Chaos incursion to some location of the Warhammer World.
• The mighty empire of Cathay has built a huge wall, known as 'The Great Bastion' (similar to the Great Wall of China) to protect their lands from invasion from the Chaos Wastes. The Dark Elves also maintain a series of watchtowers in order to prevent incursions into Naggaroth by the denizens of the Chaos Wastes.
• Huge Chaos Monoliths are a common sight in the wastes.

The Dark Lands are a mountain-ringed region in the position intermediate between the Western Old World and Eastern human civilizations. It lacks any real-world equivalent, but is similar to Mordor of Tolkien's Middle-earth.

They are said to be ruled by warring tribes of Orcs and Goblins, except in the very north where the Chaos Dwarf Empire dominates. To the south west is the Plain of Bones where the remains of many dead dragons can be found. This area draws practitioners of necromancy and the Undead. To the south east are the Dragon Isles which are often cited as a desirable, if dangerous, location for voyages in search of riches to aim for. On its southern coastline in the river delta region lies the human frontier settlement Pigbarter.

The Dark lands also have a substantial population of Ogres and their goblinoid slaves, the Gnoblars.

The area of the Warhammer World equivalent to Asia is not greatly developed in the published games or fiction, but there are human civilizations there, specifically Ind, Cathay, and Nippon (which are equivalents of India, China, and Japan respectively).

Estalia is the Warhammer equivalent of the Iberian peninsula. Estalia is located in the Southern Old World, a peninsula to the south-west of Bretonnia bordered by the Irrana and Abasko Mountains to the east, the Great Western Ocean to the north and west and the Southern Sea to the south. Far from the front lines in the wars against Chaos, Estalia has remained politically fractured, with rival kingdoms vying for power and influence between each other and against the neighboring city-states of Tilea, such as Tobaro, which lies across the Abaskos from Bilbali.

Estalia is dominated by two powerful port cities, Bilbali and Magritta. The rivalry between the two - and between each and their Tilean neighbors, for that matter - has endured for centuries. Estalia bore the brunt of Sultan Jaffar's invasion from Araby, which was eventually driven from the peninsula by a combined force including knights from Bretonnia and Legionaries from Tilea. Estalians take great offense at being referred to as Tileans, or at being addressed in the Tilean language by accident. The peninsula is renowned for its Diestros, skilled duelists who ply their skills across the Old World.

While the old Black Library novel Zaragoz detailed the eponymous city in the peninsula, relatively little of Estalia has been published in recent years. It has most prominently included in the release of the Dogs of War army book in the 5th edition of Warhammer, as well as in the BL novel Fell Cargo.

The Empire is the largest human civilization in the Old World. It is culturally, technologically, and geographically based on early modern Germany, with its name being an allusion to the historical Holy Roman Empire.

Sylvania is a region of the Empire developed in the setting as a home to vampires, ghouls, and other beings. It is a cursed land plagued by the undead and suffers from warpstone meteorite falls. Once ruled openly by the vampire counts, the Von Carsteins, now it is ruled secretly by vampires of other lines. Treaties between the vampires and human nobles have created an uneasy peace.

An undead nation in the fictional world of the Warhammer Fantasy setting, Nehekhara is geographically isomorphic to Egypt, and culturally based on Ancient Egypt. Its faction is known as the Tomb Kings, an army composed of skeletons, mummies, and giant stone constructs animated by the souls of great warriors. Its capital and greatest city is Khemri.

The greatest and first true king of Nehekhara, Settra the Imperishable, is defined by his famous words, "Settra does not serve. Settra rules." Despite being a tyrannical merciless leader, Settra was the one to unite the warring kings who squabbled over Nehekhara. It was under his rule that Nehekhara saw great prosperity and a return to their reverence of the old gods who had lifted the Nehekharan's ancestors out of squalor to place them above all other men. Truly, no man revered the old gods as much as Settra, who would prove his loyalty by sacrificing his own children.

Through his desire to rule over all others, Settra founded the mortuary cult, a group dedicated to extending their rulers life indefinitely so that he may spend an endless number of lifetimes conquering any who dared not bend the knee to the King of Kings. Though the cult was able to extend his life well beyond that of a normal man, immortality was out of their reach. It was decided that Settra would be entombed in the most glorious pyramid to ever be constructed and that magic runes would be engraved on his final resting place to ensure his soul would remain while the cult researched how to bind it back to his body.

After Settra's death, two thousand years would go by before circumstances allowed for his body to resurrect and in that time Nehekhara would be transformed from the beautiful paradise he knew to a vast desert known only as the Land of the Dead. Seeing what his absence had caused to his once great empire, Settra made a vow to never rest again knowing that his kingdom might disappear once again like sand in the wind.

Eventually a young noble known as Nagash was born. He was the oldest son of the current king. Instead of becoming the heir as eldest sons other nations would, he was forced into the ranks of the Liche Priests as the Grand Heirophant, a living sacrifice to the Gods. Later after becoming a high priest, he killed his younger brother and usurped the throne. His rule was terrible. During this time he began the construction of the black pyramid as a 'magnet' for dark magic. He also began studies into an elixir of life using human blood. Due to his dark nature combined with his tyrannical rule, the other kings rose up against him and he was forced to flee his homeland. The kingdom of Lahmia was eventually corrupted as well by vampirism, thus causing another series of wars culminating in the other kingdoms destroying Lahmia, causing the vampires to spread to all corners of the earth.

In time Nagash returned with vast armies of the dead he had perfected through his newly developed necromancy. Although he was initially defeated by the armies of Khemri, he then unleashed plague which decimated the people of the land and when the Great Necromancer attacked again he committed mass genocide with little resistance, obliterating all remaining life from the land.

Nagash's plan now reached its final stage, using the incredible amounts of power he had accumulated combined with mined warpstone and massive numbers of sacrificed Orcs he cast a mighty spell to muster all the dead in the world to his call, especially the now-dead Khemrians. With this army he planned to rule the world and transform it into an eternal kingdom where only he ruled. Nagash was assassinated by the last living Khemrian (King Alcadizaar, who Nagash had taken prisoner), with the help of the Skaven, who forged a mighty blade specifically to kill the Great Necromancer. However, Nagash completed his ritual before his death, awakening all the dead of Khemri from their tombs.

The dead raised by the ritual were free of Nagash's rule, but only the Tomb Kings and Lich-Priests were sentient. When they awoke they were less than pleased at the current turn of events, having expected to be reborn as gods in the afterlife, not dusty mummies. The enraged Tomb Kings then proceeded to re-establish control over their now dead subjects with mixed degrees of success. This state of affairs has remained the same into the modern day, where they continually fight amongst themselves, against other nations and against the resurrected Nagash. The lesser Kings and Princes are more or less ruled over by Settra the Imperishable, the first and the greatest of the Priest-Kings.

Old World: Arkhan the black was a criminal who was hired by Nagash. He was called The Black due to a habit of chewing a root that turned his teeth black. Nagash used him for many missions but on one mission, Arkhan the Black died. Nagash resurrected him and he became Nagash's greatest and most loyal servant. Time after time, he died and Nagash kept resurrecting him. Till this day Arkhan serves Nagash.

Age of Sigmar: Today Arkhan is the called The Mortach of Sacrement. He ruled the realm of Shyvish when Nagash was badly injured and needed time to recover. When Nagash returned. His capital, Nagashizzar was under siege by some warbands of Orruks. Arkhan fought bravely against them. Then Nagash activated the Black Pyramid and all Orruks were burned alive. With the activation of the Pyramid the Soul Wars began.

Norsca is isomorphic in position within the "Old World" to Scandinavia, and similar in shape and climate. Its human occupants, the "Norse", were originally based upon historical Vikings, though as the setting developed the Norse departed from the historical template increasingly and are now one of the main tribes of the Warriors of Chaoes.

Norsca abuts the Realm of Chaos (also called Shadowlands by Norse, Kurgans and Hung and known as Chaos Wastes) to its north. To its south beyond the Sea of Claws lies the Empire and to the east and Southeast the Eastern Steppes and Kurgan nation and the kingdom of Kislev, respectively. Between Norsca and Kislev is a wilderness area called Troll Country.

Norsca was originally populated by both High Elves and Dwarfs. Humans came to this land long after them. Norse Dwarves still remain and often come into conflict with the Norse tribes, but Elves have left the land. There are many ancient elven ruins. One of these mysterious places is the Forest of Knives, in the middle of Norsca, where an ancient Elven temple is located.

Some novels involving mostly Norse characters and places are C.L. Werner's Palace of the Plague Lord, Forged by Chaos and the Wulfrik, Valkia and Sigvald novels for Warhammer Heroes. The Legend of Sigmar novels also displays the Norse as the main antagonists of the first two books. Slaves to Darkness, by Gav Thorpe, also shows the Norse tribes as important supporting characters to the Imperial born Chaos Champion protagonist.

The Norse Dwarfs is the most northerly of the Dwarfs of the Old World. While related to the Dwarfs in their strongholds to the South the separation over the years has led to some changes and the Norse Dwarfs have taken on some more wild characteristics compared to the mainstream of Dwarf society.

Norse Dwarfs are featured in the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (WFRP1) supplement Dwarfs: Stone & Steel and also in the (WFRP2) supplement Tome of Corruption.

• The main stronghold (capital) of Norse Dwarfs in Norsca is Kraka Drak. Other major holds included Sjoktraken port, Kraka Dorden, Kraka Onsmotek, Kraka Ravnvake.
• In the 2008 Warhammer Fantasy Battle (7th edition) book: Warriors of Chaos, features story about the destruction of Kraka Drak. This is done by High King Valmir Aesling. Valmir was a great general of the mighty Chaos Champion and Everchosen Asavar Kul, so this story probably happens during the time of "World War III" (IC circa 2300), but it is implied to have happened shortly after the defeat of Asavar Kul. Even though the story gives the idea that Kraka Drak is totally destroyed, it is still featured in many sources that are dated after the war. One possibility is that hold was retaken by the Norse Dwarfs sometime after the war (or not totally taken by the invading Chaos Horde). Or it could be a simple oversight on the part of the writers.

The Norse are, like the historical Norsemen, great seaborne explorers, traders, reavers, and slavers who have built and maintain colonies in Lustria (the Warhammer world's version of South and Meso America).

Through the 1980s, the Norse troops and characters in Warhammer Fantasy were closely based on the historical Vikings. Later, the Norse were largely merged into the Chaos faction as the Warriors of Chaos (main human footsoldiers of Chaos).[3]

The Southlands correspond to real world sub-Saharan Africa. The Southlands lie south of the Land of the Dead and are dominated by dense swamplands and rain forest. These are inhabited by Lizardmen, savage orcs and forest goblins, and small tribes of what adventurers call the "Dark Men", who are content to live at peace with nature and seem to have the protection of the Lizardmen.

Lizardmen are the primary power in the Southlands and have five temple-cities, though one is ruined. Due to centuries of separation from their Lustrian brothers, the spawnings of saurus have become slightly rare and so skinks dominate in both civil life and warfare. Although similar in climate and culture to Lustria, the Southlands remain much less explored by human or High Elves and thus the Slann of the Southlands are said to have a much more complete set of Old One prophecies as they have not been pillaged by treasure hunters. However, the Slann practice of embalming their dead under pyramids is said to have had a major influence on the early Khemrian civilisation in the Land of the Dead, which suggests they were not always so isolated. They are reported to have come in conflict with the fabled "Lost Hold" of the Dwarfs, Karak Zorn, which is said to be located somewhere in the mountains of the Southlands.

The Southlands are believed to be the original homeland of the Dwarfs, where they began as simple cave dwellers using crude stone tools, before following the chain of mined riches up the mountain chain towards the north.

When the Skaven Clan Pestilens ravaged Lustria, they were driven out by Sotek and they migrated to the Southlands. Sotek also took action against them here by sending jungle swarms to destroy the clan.

The Worlds Edge Mountains are a significant geographic location in the fictional setting of the game of Warhammer Fantasy.

To the east of the Old World lies the ancient and impossibly high Worlds Edge Mountains. This snow-capped mountain range officially extends from the Nehekhara in the far south, up into the far north past Kislev, before branching west into Norsca. They separate the desolate Dark Lands in the east from the civilised lands of The Empire and Kislev in the west.

Though the unbroken chain of mountains reaches into the Southlands from the Worlds Edge Mountains, the peaks south of the Nehekharan deserts are technically part of the Great Mountains chain.

They are a prominent scene for many main events in the histories of the Dwarf, Orc and Goblin races.

The High Pass is the northernmost route traversing the range, and descends into the lands of the Troll Country before its road leads eventually into the city of Praag in Kislev. A very popular invasion route for the marauder tribes of the west and the Orcish Warlord Grimgor Ironhide's greenskins hordes.

Peak Pass is the next most northerly passage across the mountains. It is overlooked at its eastern starting point by the greenskin fortress of Gnashrak's Lair, and at its western end by the Dwarf Stronghold of Karak Kadrin. In olden times it enabled Dwarfs to travel between the western and eastern fronts of the range. Though its importance has much declined since then and after the Dwarfs had forsaken the mines and watchposts on the eastern frontier. In the present times it must be guarded vigilantly for invading Orcs and Goblins moving from their eastern lairs use it as one of their main attack routes. The Karak Kadrin Dwarfs guard it fiercely against these intruders

The Silver Road is a central route that comes in from the easterly Wolf Lands. Its western opening bypasses The Dwarfen capital city Karaz-a-Karak, while its east is haunted by the Orc-infested ruins of the old Dwarf mine, Mount Silverspear, which is now known more commonly as Mount Grimfang, after the Orcish warlord who captured it. In olden times the pass was the scene of the bloody battles of the Silver Road Wars.

Black Fire Pass is originally named Haz-Drazh-Kadrin by the Dwarfs, which literally translates into human tongue as Passage of Black Flame. It forms a divider between the Black mountains and the World's Edge Mountains and is the main route between the lands of the Border Princes, Karaz-a-Karak and the southern regions of The Empire, travelling along the historical Old Dwarf Road. It is essentially a deep chasm, created when volcanic eruptions tore the peaks in ages past. Orc and goblin tribes in the south use this as their principal route of invasion through the mountains. More importantly, The Battle of Black Fire Pass was played out here, which an alliance of tribes of men of the time before the Empire, and the Dwarfs, engaged a massive invading greenskin army in the pass. The ensuing victory was the beginning of the founding of the nation of men under Sigmar.

Mad Dog Pass, alternately known as Varag Kadrin, was in the days of the Dwarf's greatest power, the chief thoroughfare to the isolated mines of the Dark Lands and the eastern front of the ranges. It is now only occasionally used, and studded with Night Goblin fortresses and their tunnels riddle its steep sides.

Black Water is an immense mountain lake high in the western highlands, and its Black Falls empty down into the Skull River. The lake is actually a vast crater, and was filled up with melted ice water from the surrounding snowy mountains. In ancient times a meteor fell from the heavens and punched this massive crater into the rock. Valuable metals and ores can be found all around the lake. Many Dwarf strongholds were founded around Black Water to mine and refine these meteoric ores, and to take advantage of the raging torrents gushing down the mountainside from the Black Falls, powering waterwheels and machinery. Its black depths are home to ancient and dark monsters. The Battle of Black Falls also took place here, when Dwarf and Goblin armies met on the shores of Black Water. The High King Alrik and the Goblin Warlord Gorkil Eyegouger were both slain while fighting along the edge of the Black Falls. [4]

The south Worlds Edge Mountains are more volcanically active than the northern regions. The largest volcanoes are named Fire Mountain, Red Cloud Mountain and Thunder Mountain. They continually bring up new minerals from the planet's interior, and thus attract many miners, although their settlements are frequently destroyed by eruptions and earthquakes.[4]

The Worlds Edge Mountains are a barren wilderness. The Dwarf Strongholds are the only enclaves of civilisation in the region. The Greenskins also have many crude settlements in the mountains, as do the Skaven. The fallen Holds are also home to these two races.

Karaz-a-Karak means Pinnacle of the Mountains and is also known to men as The Everpeak. This Dwarfen Hold is the largest and most powerful, and is also their capital city. Its lord is the High King of all the Dwarfs. Currently ruled over by High King Thorgrim Grudgebearer. The temples of the venerable Ancestor Gods are here, and is also home to the Great Book of Grudges, a vast account of all wrongdoings and breaches of faith against the Dwarfen race.

Karak Ungor, now known as Red Eye Mountain. It is now overrun by the Red Eye Tribe of the Night Goblins, and was the first Dwarfen Hold to fall. It sits in the north, overlooking western Kislev.

Karak Kadrin, has a reputation as being home to fierce Dwarf clans. Known commonly as Slayer Keep. Home to the Shrine of Grimnir, and where the Dwarf Slayer Cult makes pilgrimages to. Its King is bound by two incompatible Oaths. That of A King to his People, and that of his family's hereditary Slayer Oath, neither of which he can successfully fulfill without failing in the other.[4]

Cripple Peak is the mountain spire in the south overlooking the Sour Sea. It is riddled with the tainted rock known as Warpstone, which is highly prized by the Skaven and Necromancers. It is the home of the Supreme Lord of the Undead, Nagash. A massive army of skeletal warriors patrols the ramparts of the fortified mountain while their master regains his power after the last time he was defeated. Nagash ordered the mountain to be mined for all of its Warpstone for his use in Necromancy, by his legions of undead and local human tribes which pledged allegiance to him out of terror. The lower regions are known as the Cursed Pit.[5]

The Worlds Edge Mountains are also home to many great Dragons. Throughout history there have been many dragon nests discovered by miners, and their hoards are of great proportions. Most of the time these dragons are in a deep slumber. Notable dragons include Skaladrak Incarnadine, Mordrak, Fyrskar and Graug the Terrible.[4]

• Cavatore, Alessio (2006). Warhammer. Games Workshop. ISBN 1-84154-759-X.
• Gallard, Richard Wolfrik (1998). The World of Warhammer. London: Carlton Books. ISBN 1-85868-488-9.
• Priestley, Rick; Tuomas Pirinen (2002). Warhammer. Games Workshop. ISBN 1-84154-051-X.
• Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay. Rick Priestley et al. Games Workshop 1989