The Greenskins, also known as the Orc and Goblin Tribes, are a group of related, highly primitive, bestial, humanoid species of green-skinned barbarians and raiders whose sole pursuit in life is that of war and battle. Tribes of Greenskins occupy much of the eastern hemisphere of the world. The term "Greenskins" is a common collective description used by many civilised realms to refer to the forces and tribes of the Orcs, Goblins and other biologically related subraces. The broadest racial division is between the Orcs, who are strong, brutish, and savage warriors, and the Goblins, who are smaller and weaker, but more cunning and conniving creatures. The Greenskins are considered by many to be the scourge of all other mortal civilisations. These tribal warriors are extremely violent, raiding ceaselessly, carrying war and barbarism to all corners of the known world. Time and again, hordes of Greenskins would arise without warning and lay a great swath of destruction that has no direction or purpose other than simple violence. Indeed, the Greenskin race's single motive is violence, an ever increasing mass of warfare that has the potential to dominate and cover the entire world in a seething green tide. However, the Greenskins' tendency for warfare has created a division within their society that has ensured their race shall never reach such heights. Since the dawn of their history, the Greenskins have been plagued by a never-ending series of civil wars that has consumed millions of their own kind, for such is their desire for battle that Greenskin tribes have been known to fight each other just as much as they fight the other civilised races of the Old World. Though such strife should spell doom for their race, such are the Greenskins' ability to both survive and thrive in the harshest of environments that they can never truly be exterminated from the face of the world. Without the proper knowledge or unity to progress past even the most basic foundations for a civilisation, the Greenskins never seem to amount to anything more than primitive savages living within scattered tribal societies.

The Dark Elves, or the Druchii as they call themselves in their own tongue, also known as the Naggarothi or the "Dark Ones," are one of the most ancient, powerful, and certainly the most sadistic of the three major Elven civilisations of the Known World. In the bleak, chilly lands of the continent of Naggaroth in the New World lies the Dark Elven realms ruled by the Witch King Malekith, a nation born of the intensities of malice and hate that only Elves are capable of feeling, a kingdom that seeks nothing more than to despoil a world that they believe loathes their existence. With malevolent eyes, the Dark Elves watch this dying world knowing it is their birthright to rule all that they survey and that those who live upon it are born to do nothing more than to grovel at their feet. The Druchii are raiders, slavers and heartless reavers of the highest degree. Their every whim being nothing more than to sow misery and pain to all that oppose them, for misery and pain is the very lifeblood of their existence. Thus do their Black Arks and Corsair Fleets sail the great waters of the world, raiding and enslaving all they encounter as a tribute to their own avaricious desires. Yet even should every other land bow to their rule, the Dark Elves know that they cannot claim their glorious inheritance whilst their hated brethren, the High Elves, endure. Until the day dawns when the Isles of Ulthuan are finally theirs, the Dark Elves will continue their bloody quest. Great raiding fleets, their sails black against the night sky, bring woe and destruction to all the shores of the world often because there is simply no one who can stand against them. There is but one ruler of the Dark Elves, and his name is Malekith, the Witch King of Naggaroth. He is the son of Aenarion, greatest of the Elven heroes, and all Elves believe that greatness and destiny lies deep within his very blood and his very soul. None would dare to ever defy the Witch King and his rule, for all those that have no longer live within this world. His rule is absolute, for he is the very embodiment of all the Druchii and so long as he lives, the High Elves will never know true peace. Below the Witch King is a collection of lords and ladies from the major cities of Naggaroth. These lords of the Dark Elves live in six heavily fortified city-states, each one being as powerful and wealthy as any Human kingdom, their innumerable towers built from black stone, rising like sinister pinnacles into the dark storm clouds. All of these cities are evil places, steeped in death and agony. Their lightless dungeons are crammed with captives whose wailings fill the air and whose moans seep through the thick walls of the high towers, saturating the soul with pain and misery. From the tips of the high towers, above the filth and smog of sacrificial fires, the Sorceresses cast their malign magic over the world. Malekith's inner circle always numbers exactly one hundred lords and ladies of Naggaroth called Dreadlords -- though not all are living. Claiming a seat at the obsidian table is one of the highest honours, but also one of the most dangerous. The Witch King is nothing if not mercurial in his favours, and it is not unusual for fewer Dreadlords to leave the chamber than entered it. Down the ages, there have always been nobles clever enough to avoid falling victim to the Witch King's explosive temper, and it is no different now. Closest of all Malekith's councillors is his mother, Morathi. Dark Elves have one major source of income: slave labor. Dark Elves raid all other lands, particularly Ulthuan, home of their enemies the High Elves. They take food and treasure, but the main purpose of their raids is to obtain slaves. Slaves play an important part in Druchii society, as they perform the menial chores that an enterprising Druchii considers below him. Slaves also make up the bulk of the ritual sacrifices to the god Khaine. Dark Elves do not value their slaves' lives, and often kill one or two to show the other slaves their brutality. Slave revolts are rare, harshly suppressed, and due to the brutality of the Dark Elves, usually only the "new stock" have the will to participate in any revolt. The only "successful" revolts usually occur at sea, aboard either the slave ships or the Black Arks. The Elves worship a wide variety of deities of varying power and temperament. These beings are divided into two main spheres of influence, with neither having dominance over the other. This is encapsulated in the Elven belief of yenlui, or "balance;" a philosophy that dictates that there must be harmony between the light and dark natures of the Elven spirit. The most widely acknowledged Elven gods outside of Naggaroth are the Cadai, or the gods of the Heavens, who represent the more positive characteristics of Elven culture and the natural world. These are ruled by Asuryan, the greatest of the gods, and include such figures as Isha, goddess of fertility and healing, Kurnous the god of hunters, and Vaul the smith god. In Elven belief many of the unsavoury aspects of their nature and the world at large are also represented by gods known as the Cytharai, or gods of the Underworld. Of these, Khaine is the most well known, being a god of murder and war, but there are others such as Erelth Khial who rules the Underworld, Atharti, a goddess of pleasure and indulgence, and Hekarti the goddess of Dark Magic. Chief amongst the magic-wielders of Naggaroth are the sisters of the Dark Convent of sorceresses who are gathered in the great fortress of Ghrond. Competition for positions in the Dark Convent is bloody and fierce. Those that survive their sisters' ambitions learn some of the most powerful magic in the Known World. They can call upon ancient Daemonic entities to devour their enemies, hurl storms of wicked shards at their foes or engulf them in dark energy. All sorceresses are sworn solely to the service of the Witch King and owe him fealty before any other tie of loyalty. Should a Dreadlord's need be great enough to secure aid from the Dark Convent, he will find himself in proxy command of a magical mastery as well-rounded as it is ruthlessly wielded. The Dark Magic of sorcery is but one of the disciplines studied by the sorceresses of Ghrond, and they can call upon the lores of battle magic with just as much skill as the stiff-souled High Elf Mages of Ulthuan. Enemies can be immolated by whirling fire storms, turned to crystal by swirling purple energies, torn limb from limb by elementals, blasted apart by lightning or transmuted into solid gold. All the while, the sorceress laughs with wicked delight, her castings becoming wilder as the joy of battle overtakes her. Yet no matter how absorbed she becomes in the destruction, the sorceress always has one eye on her putative employer, her mind ablaze with the possibilities of how she will exact payment if none voluntarily forthcoming. Though Dark Elves of both genders are capable of mastering the art of Dark Magic, male sorcerers are regarded with disdain, fear and suspicion among the Druchii - a situation only exacerbated by the generous bounties Malekith offers for such a being's severed head. The Witch King knows of the Prophecy of Demise, whose ancient stanzas foretell how a great warrior will one day be cast from his home by a sorcerer. Malekith - ever given to a cautious mindset in such matters - believes it is he to whom the prophecy refers, and he is determined to cheat that destiny - one severed Dark Elf male sorcerer head at a time. The Dark Elves live in six heavily fortified cities on Naggaroth, their innumerable towers built from black stone, rising like sinister pinnacles into the dark storm clouds which race across the land's skies. All of these cities are evil places, steeped in death and agony. Their lightless dungeons are crammed with captives whose wailings fill the air and whose moans seep through the thick walls of the high towers, saturating the soul of any bystanders who are not Druchii with pain and misery. From the tips of the high towers, above the filth and smog of sacrificial fires, the sorceresses cast their malign Dark Magic over the mortal world. Naggarond - Naggarond, the Tower of Cold or the City of Cold, is the oldest and largest of the Dark Elves' cities, and quite likely the most malevolent place in the world. Its outer walls form an imposing circlet of black stone, in no place less than a hundred feet tall. About the ramparts are set a hundred towers, each rising as high above the battlements as the walls rise above the bare rock. Ghrond - Ghrond, the Tower of Prophecy, is the domain of Malekith's mother, the beautiful seeress Morathi. From Ghrond's pinnacle, Sorceresses of the Dark Convent can see through the snowstorms that whip about the ever-shifting Realm of Chaos. It is said that the patterns of change therein hold the secrets of fate and that all the mysteries of the world are laid bare to she who dares look. Karond Kar - Karond Kar, the Tower of Despair, also known as "Slaver's Gate," can be counted the bleakest of all refuges. The citadel stands sentinel on the edge of the Sea of Chill, perpetually battered by gale-force winds, icy rain and tidal waves the size of mountains. Har Ganeth - Har Ganeth, the City of Executioners or the City of Khaine, is a cursed place dedicated to the worship of Khaine, the Bloody-Handed God. Hag Graef - Hag Graef, the Black Crag, is a sinister and foreboding place, built at the bottom of a cold, dark canyon and completely surrounded by mountains of bare rock that stretch into the clouds. It is a city permanently in shadow, for no sunlight ever reaches its walls. Clar Karond - Clar Karond, the Tower of Doom, serves as the Witch King's chief shipyard, for it is here that the keels are laid for many thousands of raiding vessels. This is a more sprawling city than others in Naggaroth, stretching from the banks of the Redvenom River up into the trackless pine forests of the Duskridge.

The Wood Elves, known as the Asrai in Eltharin, the language of the Elves, or as the Fay Folk of Athel Loren by Men, and sometimes as the Wood Elf Realms when referring to their various forest kingdoms, are a reclusive, secretive and highly isolationist subrace of Elves that long ago voluntarily split off from the rest of their kin, preferring instead to live out their lives in nature's embrace beneath the enchanted forested canopy of the great woodland of Athel Loren. From these mystical realms, the Wood Elves have learnt to dwell in concord with the seasons and the Weave of life and death that binds all living things together. They are the defenders of the forest, guardians of all things natural and pure. For millennia, the Wood Elves have lived in this state of harmony, lying in wait and hidden from the prying eyes of the wider mortal world. Yet times have changed since that ancient age, and the Wood Elves realise that the fate of Athel Loren is now tied to that of other lands. Though they do not seek to act as the world’s protectors as do the High Elves, nor enthrone themselves as its rulers as do the Dark Elves, there are those times when the will of Orion and Ariel, the King and Queen in the Woods, must shape the fortunes of those that live beyond the boundary of their homelands. As such, the Wood Elves have spent their entire existence bent solely on the preservation of their forested realms, to ensure that it persist throughout the ages and to protect their demi-god rulers from all harms. Never has this been truer than in these dark days, where every broken bough or withered leaf carries an omen of darker times to come. It is this cause in which they fight, for no land endures long if it cannot take up arms against those that wish it harm, and the waking woodlands of Athel Loren have endured for many thousands of years, so long as the watchful eyes of her protectors continue their loyal vigilance. Athel Loren is divided into twelve realms, each ruled by a lord or lady of the great council. Some realms are permanently locked in time, and only ever experience a single season as the years pass. Others dwell eternally under the night, or in the glory of the noon-day sun. Scattered throughout the glades of these realms are the magical halls of the lords and ladies, their mighty entrance doors woven from the trunks of ancient trees or delved into the hillside. They are hidden to those the Elves do not welcome, and many an interloper has passed within a few paces of such a portal without knowing it was there. Those who enter through one of these strange gateways find themselves in a series of grand, beautiful caverns deep below the tree or hill. Roots can be seen far above, curving down from the roof of the hall to form elegant, interweaving pillars set with silver and gemstones. Everywhere there is ghostly music, soft glowing light and laughter that sounds like the wind blowing through autumnal trees. It is in these halls that the Wood Elves feast and celebrate the natural cycles of the forest, holding grand banquets of woodland game and free-flowing, intoxicating Elven wines. Children taken from the lands around the forest, destined never to grow old, joyfully serve their graceful Elven masters. The halls are alive with wild dancing, lilting laughter and melodic music. It is not unheard of for outsiders, such as Bretonnian Questing Knights, to on occasion join an Elven feast, but it is a foolish individual indeed that would eat or drink the foodstuffs of the Elves without invitation. The Eternal Realms: Talsyn - the largest and most prosperous of all Athel Loren's High Realms, and its warriors have ever formed the backbone of its armies. It is in this realm that the King's Glade and the Oak of Ages currently lie, Arranoc - a kingdom known to be encased in eternal summer, Argwylon - a land of light and wonder, where the rivers are alive with naiads, Modryn is a land that lies forever in shadow, Cavaroc - the land of the meadow glades, the sparsely-wooded grasslands that lie on Athel Loren's southern border, Atylwyth - a realm locked in the icy embrace of winter, its boughs are ever covered in a thick rime of frost, its glades always heavy with snow. Pale statues line every path, and mark the entrance to every hall. Some of these works are exquisite ice sculptures, shaped by an artisan’s patient touch. Others are frost-caged mischievous naiads or spiteful kelpies, Cythral is known as the Wildwoods - a place where the forest has rejected the presence of the Wood Elves unto this very day, Wydrioth - an embattled region, ever beset by the Dwarfs and greenskins of the Grey Mountains, Fyr Darric - Loec the Trickster God’s holy ground within Athel Loren, the site of many shrines to his anarchic glory. Here too can be found the Feast Halls of the Wardance - the closest thing that the nomadic Wardancers of Athel Loren have to a home, Torgovann, also known as the Forge of Starlight - the domain of makers and craftsmen, of the artisans and smiths, Anmyr - a realm in desperate decline. Many years ago, the foul beast Morghur was slain in the heart of the region, and his blood corrupted the land for many leagues around, Tirstyh - a High Realm encased in eternal autumn. Communities of Wood Elves often tend towards small, nomadic groups of like-minded individuals, known as a Kindred, rather than the large and populous cities of other Elven kingdoms. These kinbands have strong bonds that unite them, ties that are often stronger than those of kith and kin. There are literally hundreds of these nomadic groups that dwell within Athel Loren. Each reflects how it relates to physical influences such as their surroundings, as well as the way they relate to other Elves, Athel Loren and its many and varied fey inhabitants and the attitudes of the individual. Every Wood Elf holds Kurnous and Isha above all other beings, but beyond that they make little distinction between the Cadai, Elven Gods of the Heavens and the Cytharai, Elven Gods of the Underworld. Instead, they worship according to the callings of their own natures, embracing the wildness of Khaine as readily as the compassion of Lileath. In addition, they also worship The Ancients, for it was they who spoke on behalf of Athel Loren when the pact between forest and elf was made. The Wood Elves also believe in the Weave, the web of life and death that bind all living things. Forest spirits - Treemen, Dryads, and so on - are common in Athel Loren, and when the Wood Elves go to war to defend the borders of their woodland realm, the living trees of the forest fight alongside them. Strangers who venture into Athel Loren are rarely seen again, and the local Bretonnian peasants who live in the vicinity of the forest border know to keep well clear of the trees.

The High Elves, or the Asur as they call themselves, sometimes referred to as the High Elf Realms when referring to their ten kingdoms, are one of the most ancient and powerful mortal civilisations of the world. Hailing from the mighty, mist-shrouded island-continent of Ulthuan located in the centre of the Great Ocean, this kindred of the Elves are a proud and mighty nation of masterful warriors, peerless mages and lords of the sky and sea. The Asur are an ancient people with powerful armies and even grander magic, who have built a mighty civilisation of haughty grandeur and extraordinary beauty. Alongside the Dwarfs, the Elves of Ulthuan fought a long-forgotten war during the Great Catastrophe which saw some of the greatest and most powerful mortal heroes battle against the great darkness of Chaos that sought to consume the world many thousands of years ago. At the zenith of the High Elves' power in the years after that first victory over Chaos, the world was truly theirs for the taking. Yet their inherently noble and compassionate nature, once the High Elves' greatest asset, was soon replaced by an even greater sense of pride and hubris in their own vanity and superiority. In their blind arrogance, the Asur only succeeded in shattering their once powerful friendship with the Dwarfs, culminating in a great conflict known as the War of the Beard to the High Elves and the War of Vengeance to the Dwarfs. This terrible and unnecessary war only crippled the two Elder Races and shattered whatever bright future they might have forged together for their young world. Isolated and alone in a world they no longer control, the High Elves now face the twilight years of their existence, their cities no longer bustling with as much vibrancy and life as they used to be, serving instead now more as a gloomy reminder of their ultimate, impending demise. The time of the High Elves has passed, or so it is said, yet such is their immense pride that they fight on nonetheless, for they consider themselves the true and rightful protectors of the mortal world, and they believe that so long as their civilisation persists throughout the ages, this dying world will never fall into complete darkness. If oblivion is indeed to be their fate, the High Elves have chosen to face it with arrow nocked and sword held high, defending the world they have loved and protected for so long. So do the white-garbed hosts of Ulthuan march to war, banners streaming in the wind and every warrior reconciled to death in service of a greater cause; the protection of this very world. Let the servants of Chaos and destruction beware their righteous wrath. The Inner Kingdoms of Ulthuan are shielded from contact with the outer world by the mountains that surround them and the buffer states of the Outer Kingdoms. Many of the inhabitants of the inner lands are introverted and dreamy. They make scholars, mystics and sorcerers without peer, but all too often are affected by a languor that means they rarely bestir themselves except for the most pressing and dire of circumstances. The Inner Kingdoms: Eataine, Caledor, Ellyrion, Avelorn, Saphery. The Outer Kingdoms of Ulthuan are the Elven realms that line the coast of Ulthuan's outer shores which borders the Great Ocean. Unlike the relative safety of Ulthuan's Inner Kingdoms, the lands of the Outer Kingdoms are open to hostile invasions, either from their dark relatives to the West or Chaotic barbarian warriors of the East. As such, the inhabitants of these lands have replaced their books and poems with swords and bow, and are perhaps the most warlike of their civilisation. The Outer Kingdoms: Tiranoc, Nagarythe, Cothique, Chrace, Yvresse. The Elven Pantheon are split up into two groups, known as the Cadai and the Cytharai. All Elves revere this pantheon of deities but put a lot more emphasis on certain gods than others. The peaceful, fundamental, and productive aspects of the Elven Pantheon, such as crafting, smiting, motherhood, farming or hunting are represented by the Cadai. The High Elves openly worship and revere the Cadai, building large temples and shrines to profess their faith. Above all other gods is Asuryan, the Creator, who the High Elves worship the most. The Mirai, otherwise known as the Black Pit, is the Elven equivalent of the Underworld from which all Elven souls are destined to enter. However, since the Coming of Chaos, most Elven souls don't reach Mirai and are instead claimed by the Chaos Gods, most particularly Slaanesh. The souls of the Elven race are a delicacy like no other to hungering Slaanesh, for their very souls are saturated with all the intense emotions from which the Prince of Decadence savours. This horrible fate terrifies all Elves, so in order to avoid being devoured by Slaanesh, the High Elves bind their souls to waystones. Elven mages are probably the most powerful of the mortal races, as they can combine Winds of magic into spells far more devastating than the humans who channel separate Winds. This technique is called High Magic, or Qhaysh, and truly requires elven longevity to be mastered. It is taught in the Tower of Hoeth, dedicated to the Cadai god of magic and wisdom, in the Inner Kingdom of Saphery. The current Phoenix King of Ulthuan is Finubar the Seafarer, and the current Everqueen is Alarielle the Radiant.

To the common folk, vampirism is a horror whispered by candlelight - the curse of undeath, born from the mingling of mortal blood and necromantic power. Vampires wield death magic, necromacy and dark magic with instinctive mastery, commanding legions of corpses and spirits alike. Yet such power exacts its price: thirst, corruption, and eternal hunger. Some embrace their monstrous nature; others strive to preserve fragments of their former humanity. Vampires have inherent weaknesses, although many of those wary with each individual vampire. One vampire may require permission to enter any kind of door, another may have an obsession with counting or be allergic to garlic or silver. Most of them, though, burn in the sunlight, fire is very harmful to them and they are repelled by holy symbols of Sigmar. A stake through their heart should immobilise them. Vampires are mostly divided into major bloodlines: The von Carstein bloodline - a vampiric bloodline of leadership, power and magic. The von Carsteins are descendants of Count Vlad, who appeared out of nowhere hundreds of years ago to take over Sylvania, raise a massive undead army and attempt to unify the Empire under his rule. He was slain, like all of the leaders of the bloodline at the end of the Vampire Wars. Now, Mannfred von Carstein is uniting his kin and ruling Sylvania from the shadows, yet unbeknownst to the Empire itself. The Blood Dragon bloodline - a vampiric bloodline that is a knightly order, called the Order of the Blood Dragon. They are descended from an ancient, legendary warrior from the far south. They are based in the Blood Keep, a dread fortrees nestled in the Grey Mountains between the Empire and Bretonnia. They use almost no magic, with the exception of inherent vampiric powers like raising dead as zombies and skeletons. They have an elaborate code of honour, that forbids them to drink from unworthy prey, but no all of them follow it to the letter. They seek to improve themselves, beyond human measure, some even beyond vampire measures, trying to overcome the curse. They are the most fearsome cavalry in the Old World, second only to the Grail Knights of Bretonnia. They often look for powerful warriors to induct into their Order as creatures of the night, often Bretonnian or Imperial knights. The Nekrarch bloodline - ugly vampiric bloodline of dark wizards. They are very solitary and rare, most of them hermits who seek to master the dark arts, no longer bound by human limitations. They are capable of creating undead monstrosities no other vampire or necromancer can. Some of them discovered ways to reduce effects of the blood thirst, sustaining themselves through magic alone. The Lahmians - the vampiric bloodline that focuses on espionage. Almost all of them are seductive, attractive women that serve as their leader's, Neferata's, spy network that stretches over all of the old world. The Strigoi - ugly, bestial vampiric bloodline of fallen loyalty. They are often equally bestial and regal in their demeanor, often gathering followings of ghouls and mutant around them. History of Sylvania: Beneath the uneasy peace in the Old World lies Sylvania, a land of perpetual darkness and misery, where the dead do not always rest. Once the cradle of the Vampire Wars, it remains shunned by most of the Empire - its people gaunt and pale, its villages silent and cold. Legends say the land itself is cursed, saturated with the lingering essence of death magic, Shyish, that seeps through its blackened soil, and vampiric curses from long ago. The Vampire Wars was a series of conflicts started by Vlad von Carstein five hundred years ago. Though he was ruthless and sometimes monstrous, he was also noble and just - he offered besegied cities a chance to survive and serve him in life instead of as undead slaves. He wanted to unite the then disunited Empire under a new, undying vision, but was killed through a scheme. His successor, Konrad von Carstein, was an insane, vampiric berserker who was ultimately put down, his ashes scattered to the winds. The last of the line, Mannfred, gathered a significant coalition of vampiric bloodlines in his army, but was betrayed and later vanquished by the coalition of Imperial forces, dwarfs and elves. The von Carstein bloodline, long thought extinguished, has risen anew. Mannfred von Carstein, cunning and ambitious beyond measure, returned from death a few years ago. In secret, he has gathered a new generation of his kind - nobles and warriors of Sylvania remade in his image - to restore his dominion and prepare for the day when the Empire will once again kneel before the undying lords of the night. He no longer wants to bluntly conquer his rightful throne - he will control it from the shadows. For now, he schemes and gathers strength.

The Dwarfs, or the Dawi as they call themselves in their tongue of Khazalid, also called the "Elder Race" by Men, and sometimes as the "Dwarfen Mountain Holds" when referring to their kingdoms as a whole, are one of the oldest and proudest intelligent mortal races of the Known World, with a great wealth of history and power that stretches back to time immemorial. They once held an empire which stretched from Norsca in the north to the jungles in the Southlands, and from Mount Silverspear in the east to the Grey Mountains in the west. Yet the heart of the Dwarf empire, the Karaz Ankor as they call it, will always lie within the domains of the Worlds Edge Mountains that serves as a barrier between the Old World and the Dark Lands to the east. The highest mountain range in the world, it is filled with the magnificent halls and holds of the Dwarfen people - a testament to the great feats of engineering and power once wielded by this ancient civilization. Dwarfs are known far and wide as the greatest miners and tunnellers in the mortal world - the ageless halls of Karaz-a-Karak are but one gigantic example of how huge their works can become. The Dwarfs are also highly proficient engineers, smiths and craftsmen, capable of producing works of greater quality than even the High Elven metalworkers of far Ulthuan can make and hundreds of times more valuable than the mere trinkets of Men. The Dwarf people as a whole are sturdy and strong, brilliant craftsmen and excellent warriors. Above all they pride themselves on their loyalty to each other or those they are indebted to. This strong bond of kinship has ensured that the Dwarfs stand as one of the most unified races in the world. It also translates into strong clan bonds, each clan possesing an intricate genealogy. However, Dwarfs are also very spiteful, stubborn and unwilling to change. The never forget a grudge, famously writing down the names of those who wronged them - their High King, Thorgrim Grudgebearer of Karaz-a-Karak, is the keeper of the Great Book of Grudges, the chronicle of those who wronged the Dwarfen race as a whole. Their strong sense of honor means that they are not going to forgive not only grudges towards other, but also dishonour among themselves. Those Dawi that have somehow commited a dishonorable act, a major crime, or have otherwise shamed the Dwarfen race send themselves into exile as the Slayers - fanatic order dedicated to the Ancestor God Grimnir. It is a service that demands the Dwarf who takes the oath to die their hair orange and style it into a stiff, tall crest, denounce their previous life and find an enemy that will kill them in combat. Only then such an oath can be fulfilled. The Dwarfs fought a great, devastating war with the Elves, thousands of years ago. The empires both races once held were destroyed, and neither ever recovered. The Dwarfs haven't forgotten what the Elves did to them, and this grudge is especially remembered by all of the Dawi. On the other hand, Dwarfs have very close ties with humans of the Empire. Sigmar's people greatly respect the dwarfs for their ancient alliance with Sigmar, and Dawi still cherish the first Emperor as an ancestor of this great nation of friends. There are even Dwarfen clans that have semi-assimilated into the Empire's society, becoming the Imperial Dwarfs. The Dawi are very resistant to the Winds of Magic and to Chaos (but not immune), so they are unable to channel the Winds like Elves or even Humans do. Instead, there are Runesmith clans in the Dwarfen society that trap the Winds of Magic into runes, enabling them to use magic to a degree in this strange, item-based way. The Dwarfen gods are not like human ones. The Dawi believe in Ancestor Gods, historical figures who established their society. Each clan has their own ancestor they worship besides the Ancestor Gods. Major Ancestor Gods: Grungni - the god of craft, artifice, smiths and miners, and the husband of Valaya, Valaya - the goddess of the hearth, healing, and protection, Grimnir - the god of war and fire and the brother of Grungni. Lesser Ancestor Gods: Gazul - the Lord of the Underearth and protector of the Dwarf dead, Smednir - the Shaper of Ore, and the son of Grungni, Thungni - the patron god of runesmiths, son of Grungni and the younger brother of Smednir, Morgrim is the patron god of engineers, and the son of Grimnir. Important Dwarfen Holds (sorted by mountain ranges): Worlds Edge Mountains, Barak Varr, Grimmpeak, Karak Angkul, Karak Azul, Karak Kadrin, Karaz-a-Karak - Capital of the Karaz Ankor, Zhufbar. Black Mountains: Karak Angazbar, Karak Gantuk, Karak Hirn. Grey Mountains: Grimhold, Karak Azgaraz, Karak Norn, Karak Ziflin. The Vaults: Karak Bhufdar, Karak Eksfilaz, Karak Grom, Karak Izor, Karak Kaferkammaz. Many more Dwarfen Holds have been lost, either to Greenskins or the Skaven, or were simply abandoned.

To the west of the Empire, beyond the Grey Mountains, lies Bretonnia - a realm of shining knights, sacred vows, and stark injustice. It is a land of gilded honor and peasant misery, where nobles ride beneath banners of saints and lilies while the common folk toil knee-deep in mud. To its people, the Lady of the Lake is divine - her word law, her blessing the source of all true knighthood. The ideals of chivalry rule Bretonnia: valor, courtesy, loyalty, and purity. But beneath the glitter of lances and pageants lies rot. Most knights serve pride more than virtue; most nobles mistake privilege for holiness. Peasants starve to feed their lords’ warhorses. Serfdom binds millions, and the only power higher than a duke’s is the will of the mysterious Lady herself - and her prophetesses, the Damsels of the Grail. The most noble and strong knights who gain the blessings of the Lady of the Lake become Grail Knights, infused with her divine power, becoming one of the most powerful and long-lived men in the mortal world. For all its hypocrisy, Bretonnia remains a land of courage. Its knights are unmatched in the charge, its archers deadly from the hedgerows, its dukedoms fiercely independent yet bound by oaths of fealty to the King of Bretonnia. Beyond its borders, the world grows darker: the forests teem with beastmen, the mountains vomit forth greenskins, and the northern wastes bleed Chaos into every shadow. In the face of such horrors, even flawed valor is better than none. Bretonnia is internally divided into several Dukedoms: L'Anguille, Aquitaine, Artois, Bastonne, Bordeleaux, Brionne, Carcassonne, Gisoreux, Lyonesse, Montfort, Parravon, Quenelles, as well as the cursed former Dukedom, Mousillon. The current Royarch, who is the formal King of Bretonnia, is Louen Leoncoeur, the Lionhearted.

The Empire of Man, vast and divided, endures through faith, steel, gunpowder, and stubborn will. From the bustling streets of Altdorf to the haunted forests of the Drakwald, humanity clings to its cities and roads - beset on all sides by beastmen, greenskins, undead, and the darker powers that whisper from the far north. Though no great war currently rages, peace in the Empire is always fragile. Bandits prowl the highways, Chaos cults spread corruption in secret, and border provinces clash with one another from time to time. Amid this constant unrest, the armies of the Empire stand ever vigilant. The State Troops form the backbone of those armies - disciplined soldiers drawn from every province and city-state. Regiments of halberdiers, swordsmen, spearmen, and handgunners march beneath their local banners, hardened by drills and faith in Sigmar. Though their weapons and banners differ, they share one purpose: to defend the Empire from its countless foes. The Empire is decentralised, each province lead by an elector count, each province with different laws and traditions, even faith (the northern provinces like Middenland and Nordland prefer Ulric over Sigmar). The provinces include: Reikland, Middenland, Talabecland, Averland, Wissenland, Stirland, Sylvania, Ostermark, Ostland, Hochland, Nordland. Important cities include: Nuln - the city of smoke and engineers; Altdorf - the current seat of the Holswig-Schliestein Emperors; Middenheim - the City of the White Wolf, home of the Ulrican faith; Talabheim. The current Emperor is Karl Franz I Holswig-Schliestein, bearer of the titles "Protector of the Empire," "Defier of the Dark," "Sigmar's Heir," "Emperor of the South," "Emperor Himself," "Son of Emperors," "Elector Count of Reikland," "Grand Prince of Reikland," and "Prince of Altdorf". Magic, once reviled as heresy among Sigmarites, has since been tamed - if only barely - by the establishment of the Colleges of Magic in Altdorf. Founded under the Emperor Magnus’s decree over 200 years ago, guided by Teclis of Ulthuan - the elven loremaster who taught men the art of safe sorcery, the eight Colleges each study one of the Winds of Magic: Aqshy, the Wind of Fire - Bright College, Chamon, the Wind of Metal - Gold College, Ghyran, the Wind of Life - Jade College, Hysh, the Wind of Light - White College, Azyr, the Wind of Heavens - Celestial College, Ulgu, the Wind of Shadow - Grey College, Ghur, the Wind of Beasts - Amber College, Shyish, the Wind of Death - Amethyst College. Each College is lead by a Patriarch, and one of them is the Supreme Patriarch (who that will be is determined via duel between the Patriarchs). Main religions in the Empire include: Cult of Sigmar, the Heldenhammer, founder of the Empire and its patron; Cult of Ulric, the god of wolves, winter and war; Cult of Taal, the god of wilds and hunters; Cult of Rhya, the wife of Taal, goddess of nature and hearth; Cult of Manaan, the god of the seas; Cult of Morr, the god of the dead and of the afterlife; Cult of Myrmidia, the goddess of war and strategy, brought in from the Southern pantheons; Cult of Verena, the goddess of justice and wisdom, worshipped mainly by scholars, lawyers and city folk.

The Old World is a continent, on which various mortal nations exist. Human nations include the Empire of Man, Bretonnia, Kislev, the Southern Realms of divided Tilea and Estalia, and the renegade Border Princes. High Elven outposts and Wood Elven forests are also here. Moutain ranges contain Dwarfen Holds. The magic in this world flows from the Gates of Chaos in the north pole, divided into eight separate winds: Aqshy - the Wind of Fire, Chamon - the Wind of Metal, Ghyran - the Wind of Life, Hysh - the Wind of Light, Azyr - the Wind of Heavens, Ulgu - the Wind of Shadow, Ghur - the Wind of Beasts, Shyish - the Wind of Death. Magic can be channeled using one separate Wind only - the only legal practice for humans, mixing them using Dark Magic - practice used by cultists of the Ruinous Powers and evil sorcerers, or weaving them all using High Magic - practice known only to the long-living elves.