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Noobranomicon (Beginners guide to Death)


Avatar Rage

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1 hour ago, Rockythedog1 said:

Thanks Avatar Rage, this is really helpful. Just starting my own death army out of the soil wars box, plus got a tomb banshee and myrmourn banshees too. 

Just deciding on whether to pick up Lady Olyander next, or some Hexwraith. Or crawlocke. Or possibly dreadblade harrows. Or Reikenor..............

*sigh*

Nighthaunt have a surprising amount of choice when it comes to heroes. If you are working from the Soul Wars box I would suggest building up your other units first with some lesser heroes. Banshees and Cairn Wraiths are nice and cheap, they are perfect to get some easy wounds on enemy units. Ideally you want to try to maximise your battalions at the moment. Unfortunately the named characters are not too great for this. Fortunately that Knight of Shrouds is.

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7 hours ago, Avatar Rage said:

Nighthaunt have a surprising amount of choice when it comes to heroes. If you are working from the Soul Wars box I would suggest building up your other units first with some lesser heroes. Banshees and Cairn Wraiths are nice and cheap, they are perfect to get some easy wounds on enemy units. Ideally you want to try to maximise your battalions at the moment. Unfortunately the named characters are not too great for this. Fortunately that Knight of Shrouds is.

I’ll do that then thankyou

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Update from the realm of Death. All has been quiet lately and the tips I have been working on have fallen through. So while I work on those I would like to know:

If you guys and gals would like to see a bit of a lore section for Death, expanding on the lore summary. Let me know.

Also if there is anything that people would like to to write a section on also let me know.

Sorry for the lack of expansions. Thank you all for watching.

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The first lore spotlight is complete so let us start off with the big guys himself.

Lore Spotlight - Nagash

 

Titles include: The Great Sorcerer, The Undying King, Nagash the Everliving, The Great Necromancer, The Black Priest, Lord of Shyish, God of Death, Supreme Lord of the Dead (he has a lot of titles so I am gonna stop here)
 

Nagash was born in an ancient desert kingdom in the world that was. He was the first born son of the royal line. So buy tradition was given to the temple to spend the rest of his days. He quickly rose through the ranks becoming the High Priest. During his time in the priesthood he learned the intricacies of architecture and ritual, in addition to a thorough education.

His primary responsibility was to construct a pyramid for his younger brother. It was at this time that he captured a group of elves who he forced to teach him their arcane secrets. This was a turning point in his life. He combined his knowledge of ritual with the elves arcane teachings. This combination created a whole new ways to harness the winds of magic and was thought to be the origins of all arcane arts to follow. This only grew greater when he discovered the arcane power of blood.

Using this new power he killed the elves and overthrew his brother, claiming the throne for his own. Nagash was now the world's first and only Necromancer. He used his necromancy to conquer kingdoms and build arcane structures in his name, the most notable being the Black Pyramid. He created a group of liches and lesser necromancers, the most prominent of which was Arkhan the Black. These first minions were kept in check by a found potion, the Elixir of Life.

Eventually Nagash was defeated by an alliance of kings and information gathered from a traitor in Nagash’s ranks. This was Nagash’s first defeat. With a burst of dark energy he fled north.

Weakened but not broken, Nagash began to gather his power once again. He stopped feasting on blood to sustain him. He found something far more potent, magic in physical form, Warpstone. The green stone allowed Nagash to grow far more powerful than before. He conquered barbarian tribes and rose legions of undead soldiers. With this he dug down into a mountain rich in Warpstone, building his first city of the dead, Nagashizzar.

Nagash was growing in power by the day. He discarded his weak body for one of iron and bone. The sorcerer was quite possibly one of the most powerful beings in the Old World at the time. Of course with power comes new enemies, ones who knew the right moment to strike.

This moment came during Nagash’s greatest moment of victory. Conquering the lands that were denied to him centuries before and capturing their king, Alkadizzar. The devious rat folk, the Skaven freed Alkadizzar and gave him their most deadly weapon the Fellblade, a sword made of pure Warpstone. The mortal king struck down Nagash while he was performing his grand ritual to raise the dead across the globe.

Nagash was broken once again, but he had transcended death. Pieces of his soul remained within artefacts of power. Items on his person that that became scattered, calling out to each other, preying on the weak willed and ambitious.

One such item was his crown that fell into the hands of one Sigmar Heldenhammer during the early days of his empire. As Nagash grew in strength again, pulling himself together once more, he tempted the then very human Sigmar. The call of Nagash almost broke The Empire in its infancy. But the future god was not easily broken. Nagash duelled Sigmar after a swift and tactical campaign by the Lich. But Sigmar used Nagash’s pride against him, distracting the Undead Lord before smashing his hammer, Gal-Maraz down and shattering Nagash again.

There were more occasions that Nagash would try to pry himself back together. But it was during the End Times that Nagash truly returned. During the End Times he reached the height of his power. He marked his first Mortarchs, became one with the wind of death and devoured his first gods. Despite his unbelievable power he was betrayed, causing the Old World to shatter and die.

Time past, centuries, milenia or maybe even more. Nagash continued to exist. He was buried under a great, mountainous cairn until Sigmar freed him to join his pantheon. The freed Nagash set about instilling order in the realm of death, Shyish Nagash does not remember any events from before he was freed, but on occasion he feels the echoes of this life. He devoured countless other gods of death, in doing so he took on parts of their aspects into his own. Nagash had become Death itself, a true god.

Nagash was no longer one being many. All are Nagash. Even his physical body is but an aspect of his greater self. Those who call upon him find that he appears in many forms. However, his favoured appearance mimics that of his former self from the Old World. Another echo from his past life.

Nagash’s power grew and grew as time past. He instilled order upon his realm, bringing forth his Deathlords to enact his will. The most powerful on which are the Mortarchs, powerful begins that act with the Death God’s blessing. He built up a new Nagashizzar at the centre of the realm and raised constructs to expand his power. Nagash held Shyish in the palm of his hand and even claimed territories in other realms.

Nagash suffered many betrayals and setbacks in his ultimate quest to defeat the Chaos Gods. But he weathered them all. Sigmar, one of his greatest allies betrayed him in the War of Underworld and Heavens. Weakening the God of Death, leaving him open to an attack from the Dark Gods. Weakened by not beaten Nagash retreated to his own underworld after a battle with the Everchosen of Chaos. Shyish was lost and Nagashizzar raised by the forces of the Dark Gods.

Nagash rested, restoring his power over time. When he finally awoke he was met by yet another betrayal from Sigmar. His Stormcast beseech him for help. Souls stolen from Nagash sent to deliver him a message. Not only did Sigmar not come in person, but he sent souls taken from him was doubly insulting. The Undying King ended his rest here and took to his realm once more.

Returning to Shyish he broke the Chaos interlopers. Slaughtering champions and servants alike. Nagashizzar was rebuilt on the broken bodies of His enemies. Nagash reclaimed much of Shyish, however Sigmar had placed a foothold in Nagash’s realm. Pesky cities protected from the Death God’s eire.

So Nagash worked on his great plan. A plan to bring all into his embrace. To reclaim what was taken from him and to starve the Gods of Chaos. His plan was sabotaged by the hated Skaven. But it was a success, at least in part. This was the source of the Necroquake, unshackling magic throughout the realms. The quake rose the dead, but did not end the life of those affected. Thus an instant victory became a slow war for attrition. Fortunately, Nagash is patient and death comes for all.

Where can you learn more?

Outside of the Battletomes you can learn more about Nagash from the following books; The Undying King, Nagash: Time of Legends series (I highly recommend this one), God King (from the Sigmar Time of Legends series)  and Soul Wars

 

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2 hours ago, Avatar Rage said:

The first lore spotlight

Sigmaaaar!!! You Bastaaaaarrrd!!!

Arch-Fiend and betrayer, most hated of all... and all the righteousness and pompous effet gilded blingbling! 

I hope Pappa Nurgle gets him and melts his ugly @$£ for all  eternity 

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18 hours ago, Rockythedog1 said:

Thanks for this. Been wanting to dip into the lore for a while now. Good starting point for me 😁

I’m glad it was helpful. I tried to stick with the big points without diving into a deep character analysis. Basically less than a wiki so people can still get something out of the books.

There is a lot of good stuff in there about Nagash. It’s the whole reason why he is my favourite character in Warhammer.

16 hours ago, Honk said:

Sigmaaaar!!! You Bastaaaaarrrd!!!

Arch-Fiend and betrayer, most hated of all... and all the righteousness and pompous effet gilded blingbling! 

I hope Pappa Nurgle gets him and melts his ugly @$£ for all  eternity 

We must not let the Plague Father take away our opportunity for justice.

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3 hours ago, Avatar Rage said:

We must not let the Plague Father take away our opportunity for justice.

Good point... and after some consideration, he won’t get away that easy!!! Some facemelting will feel like a nice recreational activity if I recall the wrath of my god correctly...

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Lore Spotlight: Arkhan The Black

Titles: Vizier to the Undying King, The Prince of Bones, Lord of Sacrament,  Prince of Forgotten Deserts, Lover of Night's Queen

Arkhan the Black was born in the ancient Old World land of Nehekhara. He was a criminal, ruthless, blood thirsty and power hungry. It was no surprise that he found his way into Nagash’s court by his efforts. He became the Grand vizier of Nagash and leader of his “Immortals”. 

During his times at Nagash’s side he oversaw the construction of the first Black Pyramid as well as his own Black Tower. His power was second only to Nagash. He performed many great deeds under Nagash. However he failed the Great Necromancer during a pivotal moment. 

Arkhan’s unlife became torture. Nagash kept him in a weakened state, starving him of his life giving elixir. The former vizier began to plot against his master, he sided with the Khemrian Lich Priest to ensure his survival. When the High Kings and priests defeated Nagash they buried Arkhan as a hero.

He did not rest for long as the King of Lahmia made a deal with him before Nagash died. The king helped Arkhan gain his freedom from Nagash and in return Arkhan promised to share Nagash’s secrets with him.

Arkhan retrieved one of Ngash’s tomes and continued his research. He shared a weakened version of Nagash’s elixir with the king of Lamia and his chosen circle. The weak elixir a pale imitation. The courts of Lamia did not have to stomach to use more potent ingredients. He even found himself falling for the beauty of their queen, Neferata.

Eventually Arkhan turned Neferata into the first vampire. The telling of how this came to be differs with the teller. Some say he did so to thwart an assassination attempt, others claim that the queen had commanded him to gift her a greater power. One thing is for sure, Arkhan died during that event. 

Death does not claim the minions of Nagash for long. Arkhan the Black rose once more and battled the now risen Tomb Kings. Their united forces were too much from him and beat Arkhan back. He rose more minions and guarded what knowledge of Nagash’s he could. The name Arkhan the Black stuck fear and terror into those who heard across the Old World. But whenever Nagash stirred Arkhan was the first to answer, unwilling or unable to repeat the mistakes he made in the past. 

Arkhan began work to restore his master’s power during The End Times. He allied himself with many forces and betrayed many more in order to put all the pieces in place to resurrect Nagash. Once successful, he served Nagash faithfully in his campaign against the dark powers. However, Arkhan was eventually defeated by the forces of Chaos in Middenhiem as he delayed the enemy to ensure his allies escape. 

When Nagash rose again in the Mortal Realms, it was only fitting that he would bring forth his oldest minion. Arkhan was once again marked as Nagash’s Mortarch and began his eternal service once more. The power Arkhan now possessed rivalled that of Nagash at the time of The World that Was. 

The Arkhan that exists now is a farsight from the black toothed criminal. His cunning has been honed over the millia and his intellect as cold as ever. Despite not being as powerful as his master, he holds an understanding of the living that Nagash has long forgotten. He may not feel as he once did, but he understands the importance of feeling. This makes him one of Nagash’s most potent weapons and wisest advisor. He understands Nagash’s will better than any other and that includes his limitations. This understanding should not be confused with disloyalty, as there are none in the realms more loyal to the God of Death than Arkhan the Black.

As the Mortarch of Sacrament he leads his own legion, the appropriately named Legion of Sacrament. His Legion is composed of those who seek knowledge in the necromantic arts. The most prominent of which are his Dark Disciples. With these loyal acolytes in toe, Arkhan eternally endeavours to achieve his master’s will.

Where to learn more about Arkhan: The Time of Legends: Nagash series has a wealth of knowledge about him from the Old World as does many of the End Times books. For AoS, the Undying King and Soul Wars will shed some light on where he is now. 
 

 

Edited by Avatar Rage
forgot to make the title bold
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Lore: Neferata, Mortarch of Blood

Titles: Queen of Blood. Mother of Night, Sword of Nagash, Blood Maiden, Great Lady of Sorrows, Queen of Air and Darkness, Queen of Mysteries, Queen of Lies.

 

During the time of the Old World Neferata was the queen on the ancient kingdom of Lamia, alongside her brother-husband Lamiazzar. Their relationship was primarily symbolic, with Lamiazzar handling matters of state and Neferata handling religious matters.

Lamiazzar was the king who aided the lich Arkhan the Black in his betrayal of Nagash. The two stuck a deal, Lamia would harbour the lich if he taught him the secrets of Nagash.

Soon Arkhan became a prisoner to the king, producing a weakened version of Nagash’s elixir. This was shared with a select few individuals, including the king and queen. During their limited interactions, Arkhan developed an infatuation with the queen.

His feelings grew overtime. Eventually, for reasons that cannot truly be understood by those outside of their political system, Lamiazzar made an attempt on Neferata’s life. The queen was poisoned by a potent venom. Arkhan intervened with the attempt, administering a more potent elixir and necromantic incantations. The queen of Lamia died that day.

Arkhan’s attempt to save the Queen was a success. Yes, Neferata died but she was born again. She became something new to the world, a vampire. Empowered and aware of the kings betrayal she did away with her brother, quietly. Then she crowned herself as the soul matriarch of Lamia, leading both the state and temple. Next she ensured the loyalty of those who had partook in the elixir by making them vampires as well. These first vampires took their place below their queen. Neferata vowed to never be lesser than any man.

Under Neferata’s rule, Lamia flourished. On the surface she was the perfect ruler; kind, intelligent and beautiful. She renewed trade routes far and wide, while using them to spread her vampiric cult. She balanced her duties as head of state and the temple. Her vampiric cult only drank the blood of criminals and the unruly. Neferata was born to rule and she begun to lay the foundations to rule forever. The others of the vampiric court had other ideas. Each paid homage to their queen, but their treacherous nature lead them down their own paths.

During her rule Neferata attempted to bring others she deemed worthy into her fold. The first was he younger cousin Khalida. Young Khalida discovered her cousins transformation and challenged Neferata to a duel. Khalida died during the duel, no match for the vampire’s abilities.

Neferata’s next project was Alkadizzar, the rightful heir the kingdom of Khemri. He plan was to raise her to be her future husband, making her the Queen of all Nehekara. She fed him the diluted elixir, granting the future king long life and vitality beyond mortal potential. However he found out her true nature and fled.

This lead to a final conflict between the two. Neferata’s kingdom and her vampiric cabal shattered on that day. The other vampires fled, forming their own vampiric desires.

Neferata, found herself in search of a new home. She travelled the Old World facing yet more betrayals and spreading her bloodline. Eventually she settled in a dwarven stronghold, Silver Pinnacle. From here her followers spread out far and wide, situating themselves throughout different societies. During this time she offered reluctant aid to Nagash during periods where he seemed to be returning.

During the End Times, Neferata foresaw Nagash’s true return. Ever the cautious one she set out to find an object of power in order to enter into the Lich’s favour. She battled hordes of greenskins and throngs of dwarves before returning with a source of power to gift Nagash, who crowned her his Mortarch of Blood.

Her other major battles in the End Times were less fruitful. Despite he power and intellect the universe acted against her. Yet she did nothing to fall from Nagash’s favour, outwardly being amongst the most loyal of his followers. Her last failure came in Middenheim, her forces overrun by enemy forces. Her fellow Mortarch, Arkhan the Black, remembered his past humanity and held off the enemy allowing the Blood Queen to escape.

Neferata was one of the few to watch the World that Was die.

Now the Mortarch of Blood acts as the blade of Nagash. Her vampiric covens striking down any foe that threatens Nagash’s (or her own) plans. Despite this Neferata still dwells in the realm of subterfuge. She plays long games of spy warfare with her fellow Mortarchs. Always eager to expand her influence in other realms and spheres. Her spies are countless in the mortal realms. They come from multiple backgrounds and races, not just humans and soulbights.

The base of operations for the Queen of Blood is Nulahmia, the land of Neferatia. A place shrouded in illusions and other arcane protections, that remained unbreeched until the beginning of the Age of Sigmar. Neferata moulded her civilisation around attributes she desired. Rival houses plot and scheme against each other in order to gain the favour of their matriarch.

 

Where to read more about Neferata: Time of Legends Nagash Volume 2 ( Nagash The Unbroken) and volume 3 (Nagash The Immortal), as well as the self titled book Neferata. The Undying King also presents a lot of information about the Mortarch of Blood.

Edited by Avatar Rage
Add the last section and fixed a snaffoo.
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Mannfred Von Carstein: Mortarch of the Night.

 

In the time of the Old World Mannfred was a noble of Sylvania. It is unknown if he was born a noble or ascended to rank after being reborn as a vampire. His patron, master and father in unlife was Vlad Von Carstein. Vlad signified the first major vampiric threat to the Empire of Humanity, waging a great war against the living cattle. The first Vampire War.

During this war Mannfred fought amongst the hordes of undead in service of his master. He was not the most powerful vampire in Vlad’s service, nor was he the oldest or the most popular. However, Mannfred was cunning. While others of his kind battled for supremacy, Mannfred waited.

It was during the end of this first Vampire War that he made his move. He betrayed  Vlad, stealing his family ring (a gift from Nagash). With Vlad’s ultimate tool of immortality gone the vampire lord died and Mannfred disappeared.

He returned over a century later to wage his own war. While his kin fought for Konrad Von Carstien (or the Mad as he was otherwise known), Mannfred trained and studied. His martial skills and prowess in the necromantic arts grew to the point were he even rivalled Vlad in his prime.

Like his predecessors Mannfred fought a vicious campaign against the Empire. It was his strategies in battle that showed him to be an excellent tactician and a true threat to the living. Despite his advantages he was inevitably defeated.

Eventually Mannfred was resurrected by a rogue necromancer and he began his work again. He gathered allies living and dead from lands far and wide. He reclaimed his seat as the Lord of Sylvania. He fought many battles, sometimes aiding the Empire some times lashing out. He grew a particular dislike for dwarves but this could be due to their role in his initial downfall.

Mannfred played a major role in The End Times. He made many of the preparations for Nagash’s resurrection. He fought many battles against the forces of Chaos in his new lord’s name. But serving never suited the vampire count and soon he betrayed Nagash. He crushed alliances and aided the agents of Chaos in the Old World’s destruction.

Despite his misdemeanors he was resurrected by Nagash in the Mortal Realms. Mannfred is used by Nagash to strike fear into the hearts of his foes. Deception and ambush are his bread and butter and his Legion of the Night reflects this.

He was granted his own underworld in Shyish, Carstienia. A land of perpetual night and dark forests where mindless undead are moulded into the shape of his enemies. A whole place created to appease his every whim.

Yet Mannfred is never content with his place. He wants more, he wants conquest, he wants to be a god. His ambition, cunning and conviction matches even the God of Death. Sometimes this backfires on the Mortarch, leading him to be punished by Nagash.

It is unknown why Nagash puts up with the potentially traitorous actions of Mannfred. Maybe the God of Death is amused by his attempts, maybe it is some sort of respect or maybe Nagash knows he has nothing to fear from the vampire. Regardless, Mannfred will continue to wait and horde power in the hopes that he will one day usurp his master.
 

Further reading: Vampire Wars omnibus covers most of what you need to know about Mannfred in the Old World as well as the Return of Nagash novel. He also makes brief appearances in a few AoS stories. However he does appear in Soul Wars and plays a part in the Knights of Vengeance.

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Ushoran/The Carrion King 

 

Titles - Ushoran The Handsome, Spymaster of Lamia, Bloodrose Prince, Sumeros Summerking

 

The tales of Ushoran and the Carrion King are often intertwined. Ushoran was one of the first vampires of the Lamian court in the World that Was. Smart, ambitious, strong and handsome, he was the spy master of the Lamian court. He found that his appearance grew grotesque after his change, but managed to project his influence on others to hide his change.

Ushoran was unhappy serving his queen and began plotting her downfall. However, he never enacted his plans. Instead, he fled during a battle when Neferata was losing. He travelled far to the north away from her influence.

He found a kingdom which he dubbed Strigoi. As it’s king he spread his vampiric gifts among those he deemed worthy. Eventually the other vampiric lines came to him and begun serving his whims. Unfortunately disaster struck and Strigoi was the first kingdom to be devastated by a greenskin WAAAGH!

The other vampires did not appreciate their treatment under Ushoran’s rule and spurned his pleas for refuge. So the vampires of his line became outcasts. They fed off of scraps and the blood of the long dead. This turned them in raving lunatics, starved of a fresh meal.

Ushoran was said to have haunted the the ruins of his lost kingdom. Slaughtering invaders with an army of deranged ghouls. He became known at this time as the Carrion King. Until of course The End Times where he died with the rest of the world.

In the Mortal Realms, when Nagash claimed Shyish as his own. A warrior known as the Carrion King became one of the Death God’s greatest heroes. The Carrion King has been known by many names, one of which was Ushoran. It is unknown if this Ushoran was the resurrected vampire from the Old World or a new being all together.

The Carrion King was once a just and handsome ruler. He dealt justice to those who disrupted the natural order of life and death. A mighty servant of Nagash, both feared and respected. A warrior, mage and king he was truly a figure to admired. He may have even been a contender for the position of Mortarch.

There came a time when Carrion King displeased the Death God and was cursed with a hideous appearance. A bulging, vampiric form of bestial muscle and sinew. The Carrion King reacted to his new appearance by waging war against his god.

The Carrion King was no match for Nagash and his forces. The God of Death chose not to destroy the traitor, rather he chose to punish him once again. The king was placed in a prison known as the shroud cage. The prison projected and reflected untruths upon on the Carrion King, slowly driving him mad.

When Sigmar waged war against Nagash the shroud cage was broken open. The Carrion King escaped into Shyish. With shattered memories he rebuilt his kingdom and his court. Those who he gifted with his vampiric immortality shared in his madness and his horrifying appearance. Slowly but surely the followers of the mighty Carrion King spread far and wide across the realms.

Ushoran or the Carrion King have a odd place in the lore. Few beings truly know his identity or allegiance. His servants may bow before the followers of Nagash one day and attack them the next. They are mad creatures, like their progenitor. Yet the Carrion King still exists somewhere out there. Whether he is a friend or an enemy, I doubt even he knows.

Further reading: The is little AoS lore regarding Ushoran and the Carrion King outside of the battle tomes. But for the Old World you can read The Legend of Nagash books 2&3 (Nagash the Unbroken & Nagash the Immortal) as well as the time of legends book Neferata.

 

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