Total War: Warhammer background and factions introduction

[Påsan]

The Empire is far from the most important state. They would have beem destroyed many times over the course of their history if it weren't for the dwarfs. Cathay and Ind are also probably equally important and when the Lizardmen come out of Lustria they're important too. The Skaven under empire is larger than the Empire and also quite important. My point is that there is no one most important faction.

Empire is the most important faction in the setting, no doubt about that. Cathay and ind in the end times got like a line "Destroyed by Skaven" lol.

Given that most of the End Times is set in the Empire, its the most important faction. Its where most of the stories and lore revolve around. While Japan, China and India dont even have army lists.


Obviously High Elves, Dwarves, Chaos, Orks and the Undead are quite important too. But they are not quite as essential as the Empire is any of them.

[Markas]

Isn't the whole planet it's set on called Warhammer? I've never heard it referenced as anything else aside from the Old, New World, Darklands, Cathay etc for the main areas.

[Rogal Dorn 229]

You dare say that my beloved Tomb Kings are not as important as the Empire???!!!
On a side not, I've been putting off doing the Orcs&Goblins on the grounds that they have the most varied unit selection of all the four factions that CA has said will be playable on release. So, given that I am(at the moment) too lazy to do the Orcs&Goblins, here is some of the fluff about the Wood Elves seeing as they seem to be popular.

The Wood Elves are descendents of those High Elves who chose to remain in the Old World following the Elves defeat during the War of the Beard(I'll expand on that in another post should if you like). They live in the forest of Athel Loren and, while the forest is nominally part of Bretonnia, any strangers who attempt to go through the forest don't come out again. Despite this isolationism, the Wood Elves aren't a united kingdom. They are divided into many different Kinbands, each ruled over by an Elf noble. Each Kinband has different ideologies, so fueds arrise between the various kinbands, in spite of them all paying homage to the King and Queen of Athel Loren, Orion and Ariel, the the avatars of Kurnuos and Isha respectively.

Very little of note has happened in Athel Loren since the War of the Beard due to the Wood Elves isolationist nature. As a general rule Athel Loren is peaceful, with the wars between the various human kingdoms they border just passing them by. The only faction with whom the Wood Elves(or Asrai as they call themselves) are regularly at war are the beastmen.

I'll do a post about their army at some later date. However, for the moment, exams, like winter, are coming, making it difficult for me to find the time for very long posts.

[HigoChumbo]

here is some of the fluff about the Wood Elves seeing as they seem to be popular.

Hah, I wouldn't be so sure, as far as the voting in my poll goes, I am so far the only one in the entire forum who has voted for them to be playable in future expansions

[Vardeus]

Hah, I wouldn't be so sure, as far as the voting in my poll goes, I am so far the only one in the entire forum who has voted for them to be playable in future expansions

Don't forget i kinda voted for them! I'm no racist, every faction must be in to get ghal maraz'd in the face.

[geala]

I voted for the Wood Elves in other threads. I need their backward flavour. And it seems no other factions would offer enough naked skin to make looking at them worthwhile.

[Didz]

To be strictly accurate the Empire is not a state at all. It's actually modelled on the real life Holy Roman Empire, and as such is a confederation of separate Electoral States, each ruled by an Elector, who in theory elect the Emperor from amongst the Electoral College.

Map of the Old World

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Detailed Map of the Empire

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

The current Electoral States are as follows:

• 
  
  • Averland
  • Hochland
  • Stirland
  • Middenland
  • Nordland
  • Ostermark
  • Ostland
  • Reikland
  • Talabecland
  • Wissenland

There are also a number of former Electoral States that have broken away from the Empire and are now independently controlled including:

• 
  
  • Drakwald
  • Solland
  • Sudenland
  • Westerland
  • Sylvania (Sylvania is currently under the domination of the Vampire Counts
  • The Moot (Is a semi-independent state within the Empire, with representation on the Electoral College but with no voting rights. It's the Halfling homeland)

The Empire is divided into two distinct religious factions.

The Sigmarites - A religious cult founded in the Reikland and dedicated to the worship of Sigmar Heldenhammer. The Sigmarite Cult have a strong political motivation to support the ambitions of the Reikland Electors and continue the domination of the Empire by the Reikland. They have two votes in the Electoral College which helps them achieve this aim.

The Ulricans - A religious cult which worships Ulric the god of war and wolves. Many of the Electors and people of the Empire worchips this god in preference to Sigmar including Middenheim. Ulrican's do not recognise Sigmar as a God, merely a hero of the Empire, however, the Ulrican cult only get one vote in the Elctoral College and so are normally unable to constrain the Sigmarites ambitions without support from other Electors.

This division is a constant source of friction within the Empire, which is only really set aside in times of greater crisis. Th Sigmarites wish to unify the Empire under their own guidance and the leadership of the Reikland. Other factions most notably the Electors of Middenland are oppsoed to such unification, wishing to retain the Electoral College and its more limited influence over local power.

[Condottiere 40K]

2022
The game is Eurocentric, and Ind, Cathay and Nippon are too far away, while it became too politically incorrect to make fun of the Arabs.

My guess is that the designers wanted to give it a distinctive ambiance that didn't instantly make players compare it to D&D.

[Baron of Hyrule]

Pardon me, I noticed most of the information is only about the factions shown in the trailer.

As a large Bretonnian fan/player/devotee I would like to put forth information of that faction's background. Would that be okay?

I'll include my sketches as a bonus (unless you think they stink, in which case I'll leave them out).

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[Didz]

Pardon me, I noticed most of the information is only about the factions shown in the trailer.

It seems that the TW game is going to be Empire centric, not just euro-centric. But we should not forget that the world of warhammer is much bigger than the tabletop wargame, and far more diverse. If the TW offering isn't even going to cover the factions included in that, then it certainly isn't going to cover the entire warhammer world. It appears they have already written out Cathay, Nippon and the Border Princes. So it's looking a bit like another NTW exercise where half the world is going to be excluded.

[petertel123]

It seems that the TW game is going to be Empire centric, not just euro-centric. But we should not forget that the world of warhammer is much bigger than the tabletop wargame, and far more diverse. If the TW offering isn't even going to cover the factions included in that, then it certainly isn't going to cover the entire warhammer world. It appears they have already written out Cathay, Nippon and the Border Princes. So it's looking a bit like another NTW exercise where half the world is going to be excluded.

does that really surprise you? There is absolutely no lore on Ind, Nippon and Cathay, nor is there anything on estalia, tilea and araby, I can imagine them doing Lustria, Nagarythe and ulthuan but nothing more than that

[Didz]

does that really surprise you? There is absolutely no lore on Ind, Nippon and Cathay, nor is there anything on estalia, tilea and araby, I can imagine them doing Lustria, Nagarythe and ulthuan but nothing more than that

Not in the tabletop game, as GW never got round to producing a range of figures for them, but there is in the WFRP background which is far more extensive in it's detail and scope.

It really depends whether the TW game is going to be limited to the fantasy battle background, or encompass the entire warhammer universe. But I suspect from what I've heard that it will be limited to a sub-set of of fantasy battle background. The main problem being that this background is largely focussed on the goal of pushing lead rather than providing a fully integrated campaign background. So, it will be interesting to see how TW deals with the anomalies.

As Son of Horus has already noted above, the WFB background detracts significantly from the logic which links the WFRP universe concepts together to ensure that they make sense. We've seen how this translates in previous digital incarnations of WFB, and it's pretty shallow and uninspiring. I noticed for example on another thread that someone was pointing out that their will only be one race of vampires in the game, which makes sense as only the Carsten's were developed as an army for WFB.

[Son of Horus]

As Son of Horus has already noted above, the WFB background detracts significantly from the logic which links the WFRP universe concepts together to ensure that they make sense. We've seen how this translates in previous digital incarnations of WFB, and it's pretty shallow and uninspiring. I noticed for example on another thread that someone was pointing out that their will only be one race of vampires in the game, which makes sense as only the Carsten's were developed as an army for WFB.

Really? There are rules for Strigoi Ghoul Kings, Coven Thrones (associated with Lahmia), Blood Knights (Blood Dragons), in addition to Vargheists (Von Carsteins), leaving only Necrarch's without a closely aligned unit (but it is they who rarely fight in battles anyway so are unlikely to form dedicated units) and with options to create Vampires representative of any of the bloodlines mixing and matching in 8th, while in previous editions, they had defined subsects of the 5 Vampire Bloodlines with rules allowing you to create one around their abilities.

I don't mean to keep calling you out, and it's not personal, but what you're saying is directly opposed to what is in the tabletop and it's concurrent fluff.

[Condottiere 40K]

1086
Will the time periods be fortnightly, monthly, bimonthly, seasonally, semi-annual, annual, biannual? In theory, the undead and the Elven leaders and generals are going to be around forever.

[Didz]

Although Elves live for over 200 years they do eventually transcend to the spiritual plane. Though you are right in that Elves don;t consider this death as such, but somple a different form of existence.

Undead obviously can't die, as they are already dead. But they do lose their structural integrity if the magical energy keeping them together is terminated. So, for example killing the necromancer would result in his entire army crumbling into dust. But it gets a bit more complicated if the necromancer is an undead liche himself. Then your scrambling around trying to find the source of his energy. These guys rarely make it simple.

[Son of Horus]

Although Elves live for over 200 years they do eventually transcend to the spiritual plane. Though you are right in that Elves don;t consider this death as such, but somple a different form of existence.

Undead obviously can't die, as they are already dead. But they do lose their structural integrity if the magical energy keeping them together is terminated. So, for example killing the necromancer would result in his entire army crumbling into dust. But it gets a bit more complicated if the necromancer is an undead liche himself. Then your scrambling around trying to find the source of his energy. These guys rarely make it simple.

Elves are functionally immortal is a quote from one of the army books. I want to say 7th edition. No, they do not transcend to the spiritual plane, as that is not really a thing in Warhammer. As for Lich's, you're mistaken typical fantasy tropes for Warhammer here, I'm afraid. Liche Priests in WHF rarely bind themselves in the manner of the D&D liche to the power; while it may happen, they are not referred to as liche's; the Liche Priests of Khemri are priests of the mortuary cult who have learned to extend their life via magical means; no mention is ever made of phylacteries or equivalents.

[Rogal Dorn 229]

@Baron Hyrule: That would be fine as you likely know more about Brettonians than me. Also it woud be good to have some information posted up here as I wont have time to do so these next few weeks.

[Condottiere 40K]

37935
In the sense of a campaign. you won't have to worry of them dying of natural causes. And Slann as well.

[General Gordon]

Well guess that at least if we get flying dragons and other units that fly we can at least siumulate some sort of Pearl Harbour and Battle of Britain

[petertel123]

Well guess that at least if we get flying dragons and other units that fly we can at least siumulate some sort of Pearl Harbour and Battle of Britain

that's it, the first thing I'm going to do in this game is attack a fleet with fire breathing dragons XD