Iconic Skaven

[Lior'Lec]

     Looking for some input/advice from some of those Skaven fanatics out there. I’m  starting to play around with a side project of mine where I need a few Skaven minis/types, however I know next to nothing about Skaven lore so I’m not sure what models to buy (I know a tiny bit of lore from back in the day thanks to old school warhammer quest but nothing recent/modern).

     My project is limited to infantry type models. Monsterous infantry (rat ogres) are acceptable depending on the size of the model (what size base I could squeeze it onto) but things like war machines and cavalry/mounted are not. Heroes and such are also not what i’m looking for, though some would obviously fit the bill I'm looking for the faceless cannon fodder here not the schemers plotting from on high. What would be the three most iconic units/types of Skaven? Break the three suggestions down into relative tiers of power if you would please. 

     If necessary I’d be willing to take each clan as it’s own faction under the same criteria of a T1, T2, and T3 unit. 

     From what I can remember about old warhammer quest would imply Clanrats as the weakest T1 and representing the basic Skaven from across all the clans. I don’t remember there being a T2 or 3 equivalent for “generic Skaven” and they were instead the “clan flavors” meaning one of the clan specific elites (which I don’t remember at all, gutter runners?) as T2 representing one specific clan. And something like Rat ogres as T3.

     I’m not interested in building an army and I am only building 2-10 or so of any given model type so don’t want to buy any of the books (this project costs enough just from the models I buy and throw in the bits bin). 

     Also since Skaven are now a portion of chaos do they have any lesser demons (I only know about the vermin lords)? Thanks for any and all input. 

[Lior'Lec]

Updating: Since they are chaos I don’t really need to know three. Each of my chaos groups uses only two units so two for generic Skaven and/or specific clans would suffice. 

[Num]

I am not sure I understood well...
But Stormvermins are the elite Skaven "clanrats" in the lore. Clan rats fear them, and warlords cherish them. Skavens who are born black-furred, which is rare, are trained as the elite and become stormvermin. Lesser clanrats have brown fur.

The elite elite are albino stormvermins. They are even bigger and bulkier, and they are the bodyguards of the most elite Skaven heroes: the council of thirteen.

More info https://warhammerfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Stormvermin

I think these are what you are looking for

T1: clanrats, brown fur
T2: stormvermins black fur

T3: albino stormvermins

 

Rat ogres are a different breed...

T1: rat ogre

T2: stormfiends (more monstrous rat ogres, elite)

T3: bonereaper (the biggest and most monstrous rat ogre)

They are all "faceless" and mindless. They are nothing but slaves controlled by other skavens (packmasters, seers...)

 

 

[Kramer]

Yeah, would help a bit to know the goal along with a question but lore wise it’s slaves (they have compendium rules), clanrats, stormvermin, (minor) warlords.

Fur colour is an indication of rank but it’s all based on strength. So in a litter a couple of rats will eat the rest and become clanrats just for surviving . if they are particularly weak but survive or are captured by a rival clan they will become slaves. Black fitted rats tend to become stronger and bigger then the rest and are then recruited as stormvermin.

White furred rats are seen as blessed by the horned rat and are generally eaten in the litter but if they survive are inducted into the the grey seer faction. And trained as a wizard. Grey seers are above the clans and move around, relatively safe, between them. 

I think I remember the white stormvermin being an exception in a story rather then common ‘ranking’. 

Of course every clan has their own specialists besides the normal clanrats and stormvermin.

pestilence: monks, censor bearers priests. 

Skryre: globe throwers, engineers

Moulder: Rat swarms, giant rats, rat ogors, packmasters. 

Eshin: night runners, gutter runners, assassins. 

Hope this helps. 

[Lior'Lec]

     Yes it helps thanks, I’d tried looking for some slaves before asking but didn’t find any decent prices so may kitbash them from clanrats. As for why I’m asking I’ve got a (years long, off and on again style) project to rebuild/update some of my favorite old board games. Currently I’m  in the process of buying the kits I’ll want for replacing and updating all of the monsters in HeroQuest, Advanced HeroQuest, and Warhammer Quest (using GW’s range of figures whenever possible but not limiting myself to them).

     I’ve got several kits already but still need a ton of others. Limiting each group to a two to three tier spread gives them enough variety to show the faction’s flavor while keeping the total number of kits per faction down.