Realm of death basing

[Bosmer Nightblade]

I'm doing a really cool (well I think so) mixed elven force from the realm of death. But I'm trying to get an idea of the lore behind the area for their bases.

Does anyone know what the realm is like overall? Is the entire plane dark and dreary, or are there different places with different styles? Is everything literally dead there, or do trees have leaves? Are there trees?

By default and without a point of reference, I really liked the idea of doing my bases inspired by 'the upside down' in Stranger Things.

[Shadowspite]

IIRC, every Realm has vast tracts of 'normal' terrain that wouldn't look out of place in the World That Was (or on Earth for that matter). The more 'high magic' locations with trees made of living fire, deserts of metal shavings, seas of liquid lightning and so on are the exception rather than the rule. However, those high magic locations also tend to be the places where the more interesting battles are fought.

The Realm of Death is likely to have been partially shaped by Nagash's (and his mortarchs') will. So expect replicas of ancient Khemri and Nagashizzar, as well as places reminiscent of Sylvania. But all climates and biomes could find a place in the world.

I think ruins would be more or less everywhere. Broken statuary and obelisks. Lonely menhirs marking ancient barrows. The message/theme is that everyone dies. Every civilization, no matter how grand, will fall to Nagash in the end. Every ruin is a poignant reminder to the living inhabitants of the realm that Nagash always wins eventually. You live only so long as he allows it, so do not even think of betraying him.

I'm not familiar with Stranger Things but, as I understand it, the Upside Down is basically the Plane of Shadow / the Shadowfell from D&D. A dark, decaying mirror of the 'real' world. I think that would work well as a representation of the Realm of Death.

EDIT: Another interesting thing is that the theme of the Amethyst Wind of Magic was changed in (IIRC) 4th edition. The association with necromancy and the idea of cheating death was introduced then. Before that, corrupted Amethyst wizards didn't turn to necromancy, but to the worship of Slaanesh. Amethyst magic was not about death, so much as mortality and the inevitable passage of time. Using it made a wizard appreciate the finer things of life and to revel in hedonism and "burning the candle at both ends". So a world forged from Amethyst magic might not be grim and grey and decaying, but rather a feverish carnival where the living drink and feast and dance (and other things...) to make the most of their short lives, while the dead drink and feast and dance (etc.) alongside them in a macabre parody, vainly attempting to recapture the vitality they have lost forever. So maybe your bases could be littered with drinking cups, empty bottles, half-eaten food, carnival masks and so on? I think that might work especially well for an elven army, since they're already so strongly associated with Slaanesh.

[ElectricPaladin]

I've been hollowing out part of some larger bases, painting them red, and filling them with water effect for a "swamp of blood" look. Sometimes I also place some skulls and body parts in. The rest of each base is just sanded, but I pour a lot of nuln oil into the sand so that it looks dark and ashen. It's a pretty cool effect, if I do say so myself…