Tactical Demands - Warhammer and 40k at Today.com

Today, let us look at Warhammer Fantasy and it’s backstory, gleamed from the rule book and it’s various histories.  This will be a brief over sight and not go into too much detail.  That can be another fun post in the future.

The Warhammer world was shaped by the Old Ones, beings of terrible power, and futher refined by them and there servants the Slann.  In turn the Slann created other races, the Skink and Sauraus warriors to help them deal any native races and monsters.  The empire spread and various great works built.

The problem with that, it turned out, was the Slann built two gateways at either pole of the world to help them travel across the galaxy.  Something went badly wrong with these, however, and eventually the gateways collapsed into Chaos, punching a hole into the realm itself, and letting the Daemons of Chaos freedom to enter the world.   At the same time the Old Ones vanished, either defeated by the Chaos Gods or simply believing the world irrevocably tainted and leaving.

This left the Slann and there servants to fight back the forces of Chaos.  Fortunately other works were there to help as well…the Dwars, Humans and Elves.  Each of these races had been seeded and developed by the Old Ones and now played a part in driving Chaos back into North and South.  The Slann created barriers to prevent more incurions but the Lizardmen races were devestated by the wars, many of the Slann were dead and the Old Ones were gone.  The Lizardmen became reclusive, leaving the younger races to the world.

Each of the races grew in strenght, but especially the magically resistant Dwarfs and the magically powerful Elves.  The two became allies, until the Dark Elves managed to get the two to fight in the War of Vengence, or the War of the Beard, with the Dwarfs eventually driving the majorityof the Elves back to the Island of Ulthua, with only the Wood Elves remaining in the Loren Forest.

With the Elves gone and the Dwarfs weakned Men came into there own, as the warring factions were united by Sigmar, the first Emperor of what is most commonly simply called the Empire.  Other nations sprang up, such as the Bretonnians carving a kingdom from the Orcs, and Kislev to the North.

Other races appeared.  The twisted Dark Elves were driven from Ulthuan to the dark lands of Naggaroth, where they constantly raid others.  The rat-men, the Skaven, built and underground empire, eventually even reaching Lustria where the remaining Lizardmen dwelt.  Chaos’ forces, both Daemonic and human, took the North of the world beyond Kislev.  The Ogre Kingdoms were driven from Cathay by the Great Maw, a creature intent on devouring the world and resettled in the Mountains of Mourn.  and the Orcs and Goblins caused problems for pretty much everyone.

The next notable incursion of Chaos was defeated by Magnus thePious, with help from both the Dwarfs and the Elves.  It resulted in the creation of the Colleges of Magic in the Empire.

The last major incursion of Chaos saw Archaeon the Everchosen attempt to end the world by taking Middenheim.  He was stopped by the Empire but eventually defeated by Grimgore Ironhide, the Black Orc Warboss.

The other  notable races, the Vampire Counts and the Tomb Kings, are both undead amd have had relatively little impact on the world as a whole.  The Vampire Counts caused a great deal of damage under the Von Carstein vampire counts, butit was mostly to the empire.  And something to talk about with regards to the army itself.

Next time, we’ll talk about Warhammer 40k’s backstory.  Have fun until then.

~Jon.

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