Vampire Counts are one of the two factions of the Undead
playable in the tabletop wargame Warhammer Fantasy Battle, the
other being the Tomb Kings, from the sixth edition onward when
Games Workshop divided the old Undead forces. The Vampire Counts
have access to strong heroes and much of the troops from the former
Undead, making it more of a successor to the preceding unified
army.
They are heavily influenced by stories of vampires from popular
culture. The Vampire Counts generally hail from the area of
Sylvania, though their presence is felt across the Old World and
beyond.
History
Some two and a half thousand years before the birth of Sigmar,
the ancient civilization of Nehekhara dwelt along the banks of the
great river Vitae. (Nehekhara is mostly based on Ancient Egypt). Of
all the kings of Nehekhara, none could match the splendour, cruelty
and arrogance of Settra, first Priest King of Khemri. Under his
inspired leadership and unparalleled ruthlessness, the many kings
of Nehekhara were conquered and forced to pay tribute and
acknowledge Khemri as the greatest city of the land. But Settra was
unsatisfied, knowing that one day death would rob him of all he had
accomplished. In his arrogance he vowed that the grave would not
claim him and proclaimed that he would cheat death, setting his
wisest and most powerful priests towards working on a means of
preventing his passing. Soon all of Nehekhara became preoccupied
with death and the afterlife, building many huge temples and
monuments to the dead. These huge tombs became so frequent and huge
that the rulers blocked them all into the giant cities of the dead
called Necropoli.
It was into this culture that Nagash was born, brother of the
Priest king of Khemri. Nagash was the first son and was given to
the mortuary cult as tradition demanded. He soon rose to the
position of high priest. He observed the morticians as they
prepared the dead for internment. He learned all of their ancient
spells but because nehekarra was so fa south the winds of magic
were too weak to cast them. But then, when a group of dark elves
were blown off-course and captured by the Zandri navy then given to
Khemri as a gift to be sealed in with Nagash's father in his tomb,
Nagash only pretended to poison them he then proceeded to learn in
secret all they knew. Nagash kept them sealed in his fathers
pyramid as a bargain: he would learn their sorcery and they would
get out alive.They taught him how to reap souls and use their
energy to cast spells on his own he created the elixir that made
him immortal as long as he continued to drink it. Nagash took to
unspeakable experiments in his quest for immortality and soon all
the citizens of Khemri shunned him. Nagash's experiments met with
limited success, he prolonged his life so that he didn't die even
though he still aged, but there was something missing, something
that evaded Nagash He shared his elixir with depraved noble men,
building support for himself before he finally killed his brother
and seized power in Khemri. He and his immortal supporters soon
became overconfident and killed many citizens of Khemri before
constructing the Black Pyramid, the largest structure ever built by
man. Slowly the other priest kings became afraid of Nagash and
formed a confederation against him. After a bloody war that
accumulated in the battle at the walls of Mahrak in which Nagash
severed the connection to the gods by killing Neferem the
representation of the covenant between mortals and the gods so he
could shatter the wards protecting Mahrak and nearly a century of
warfare Nagash's power was broken and he fled north to avoid
destruction. Unknown to the priest kings however, Nagash rebuilt
his power and constructed a vast citadel that became known as
Nagashizzar in the mountain known as Cripple Peak, seeking to take
advantage of the huge reserves of warpstone there. The Skaven, also
desiring the warpstone, tried many times to sack Nagashizzar and
take Cripple Peak for their own, but they couldn't take the
fortress, but neither could Nagash drive them away. Finally, after
many years of fighting ground to a stalemate, Nagash formed an
alliance with the Skaven, supplying them with warpstone in exchange
for aid with his plans.
The rulers of the city of Lahmia, Queen Neferata and her brother
Lamashizaar had been part of the confederation against Nagash.
After Nagash was defeated outside the walls of Mahrak known as the
City of the Gods. Lamashizaar allied with Arkhan the black in
secret. They traveled to the black pyramid of Nagash, Lamashizaar
entered the Black Pyramid of Nagash with Arkhan the Black in secret
with his troops and plundered his library taking the nine books of
Nagash lamashizaar enslaved Arkhan after he attempted to kill him.
HE brought the books and Arkhan back to Lahmia where he sought to
create Nagash's elixir and become immortal. Unwilling to kill
humans to fuel the elixir because of a fear of being found out. He
and his cabal of followers instead used animals. They extended
their lives but did not make themselves immortal. Neferata
frustrated with the lack of progress and desiring power for herself
allied with Arkhan in secret and with his help created a new elixir
then used it to turn the cabal to her side and took power.
Lamashizaar eventually attempted to kill her using sphinx venom
with its magical properties could overwhelm the elixirs power.
Arkhan however using sorcery and blood was able to save her, Arkhan
then sought and killed Lamashizaar in his bedchamber, after which
Arkhan was found and cut down by Abhorash, Lahmia's most formidable
warrior. Neferata through a combination of the sphinx venom and
elixir turned into the first vampire she then proceeded to turn the
rest of the cabal consisting of Lord Ushoran, W'soran, Naaima, Lord
Ankhat, Zurhas, Abhorash and several others into vampires using the
same method (though Abhorash had to be tricked into drinking the
elixir). Each of the twelve masters (Nefereta included) bore
particular traits, and they could expand their lineage by creating
vampire servants, but through each successive generation, the
powers of the vampire weakened. Abhorash became the first Blood
Dragon Vampire, W'soran the first Necrach Vampire, Neferatta become
the first Lahmian Vampire.
The vampire cabal engineered their own deaths and then used the
cult of Asaph as a cover for their operations. Neferata ruled as
queen behind the scenes using her mortal descendents to issue her
edicts. The vampires defended their homeland but were ultimately
pushed back to Lahmia itself. Alcadizaar's armies then broke
through the gates of Lahmia and set about the city. The library of
Lahmia, the centre of the vampires' lore and knowledge, was
defended stoically by some vampires, who were slain and died in the
flames. Accepting Lahmia as lost, the vampires fled north. Of the
twelve Masters, only seven survived the sacking of Lahmia.
Heading north, the remaining vampire masters encountered Nagash,
who was secretly pleased with the havoc they had wreaked. Making
them his captains, they lead the Undead into Nehekhara. The might
of Nagash combined with the power of the vampires was awesome to
behold, but they faced one of the greatest leaders of all time,
Alcadizaar the Great. Through a brilliant campaign, he smashed the
Undead armies, and sent the vampires fleeing from Nehekhara.
Nagash, furious at being defeated, cursed the Vampires to be burnt
by the rays of the sun. The Vampire Masters separated and fled into
hiding.
Nagash then unleashed a plague upon Nehekhara: many hundreds of
thousands died and were raised to swell the ranks of undead under
Nagash's control. Nagash used this new army to invade Nehekhara:
easily overwhelming the meagre defences, he captured Alcadizaar and
took him back to Nagashizzar in chains. After consuming massive
amounts of warpstone, Nagash began the Ritual of the Waking to
transform the whole world into an undead realm. Fearing
destruction, the Skaven of Cripple Peak betrayed Nagash, freed
Alcadizaar, who then (apparently) killed Nagash with the Skaven's
Fellblade. In actuality his spirit survived, though it took him
nearly a thousand years to regenerate his body. When he was reborn
in his Black Pyramid, he tried to seize control of Nehkhara once
more, but the other Tomb Kings, outraged by what he had done and
united under the leadership of the resurrected Settra, drove him
out. Defeated, Nagash returned to Nagashizzar, only to find the
Skaven had occupied it. Nevertheless, in a single night, Nagash
destroyed the Skaven Clan that ruled his fortress, Clan Rikek, and
seized Nagashizzar. The Skaven decided they didn't want another war
with the necromancer and left him his prize. Nagash remains in his
fortress, biding his time and gathering his strength.
Game
In previous editions of the game, only five of the vampire
bloodlines were treated: Lahmians, Von Carsteins, Blood Dragons,
Strigoi, and Necrarchs. With the re-release of the Vampire Counts
army book in March 2008, Games Workshop has diverted focus onto the
Von Carsteins. However the ability to diversify vampires with the
new 'vampiric abilities' section has kept the option of fielding
bloodlines other than Von Carsteins in the Vampire Counts army
list, at least from a narrative point of view. For example, a Blood
Dragon could technically be fielded by taking a vampire with the
'avatar of death' upgrade.
The armies of the Vampire Counts feature some similar units to
the Tomb Kings, another undead army, but the two operate very
differently. Vampire Count armies are primarily hordes of
low-quality infantry, made up of classic undead creatures like
skeletons, zombies, ghosts and ghouls, alongside elite units of
Black Knights, Grave Guard, and various other creatures typically
depicted as being in league with vampires, such as wolves or bats.
These hordes are led by powerful Vampires, Necromancers, Wights (a
form of undead warrior), or other undead. When comparing the armies
it is easiest to use the appearance of the army and a general rule
of thumb: if the army is 95% bone (skeletons, bone giants, bone
scorpions, etc.) with an 'Egyptian' theme, it is Khemri. If there
are anywhere from 20-40% fleshed units (vampires, ghouls, zombies,
zombie dragons, etc.), it is Vampire Counts. The only 'war machine'
for the Vampire Counts is the "Black Coach", driven by a wraith
bearing a scythe and drawn by two skeletal steeds.
A big difference has come since the Undead were separated into
the Tomb Kings and Vampire Counts. Vampire Counts have access to
strong heroes and much of the troops from the old Undead, making it
more of a successor to the formerly united army. They also are able
to raise undead in the game. Tomb Kings have the larger number of
troops, tougher/bigger troops and never miscast spells. In short,
Vampire Counts rely more on combat and attrition tactics more than
Tomb Kings, whereas the latter rely more on the spells of the liche
priests and strong blocks of elite undead (Tomb Kings can field
entire armies of heavy skeletal horseman and light chariots without
a single foot-soldier in sight).
The resurrected dead are bound to the service of Vampires by
foul Necromantic magic. The bulk of their armies consists of
skeletons and zombies, with small units of Ghouls - living
cannibals, driven insane by the flesh of humans. Bats are naturally
drawn towards the power of Vampires. Elite units of Grave Guard,
heavily armoured skeleton champions, march to war alongside the
immortal vampires, and the dread Black Coaches thunder into battle,
able to move even if the skeleton horses pulling it have been shot
down. Necromancers are living wizards who have turned to darkness,
and provide magical support. Vampires are almost indomitable in
combat. Vampires also possess magical abilities which they use to
destroy foes, and cover the sunny skies with clouds while marching
to war. Cairn Wraiths are wizards who failed to become immortal,
only their soul is left, wrapped in a cloak of darkness - these
Rare choice units can be led by a howling banshee.
In the army's newest edition (8th) a few new units were
introduced. Corpse Carts are an un-living mess of zombies on
wheels, and can serve as a mount for a Necromancer. Varghulfs are
Vampires who allowed their bestial instincts to overwhelm them, and
have mutated and devolved into huge bat-like monsters possessed of
enormous fighting power and boundless ferocity. Blood Knights are
another Vampire unit, an elite brotherhood of vampire knights
hailing from the fortress of Blood Keep in the Grey Mountains. In
2011 Tomb Banshees and Cairn Wraiths received a visual remake,
having this time only one type of each model instead of having
three different variants with different poses.
http://buypainted.com/
Bloodlines
There are five distinct families of vampires, each descending
from one of the "first vampires" or original ones created Neferata,
these families are called "Bloodlines", each with different
characteristics that affect the way the armies of each operate,
although it must be noted that the more powerful members of any
vampire bloodline can cast spells, and that all vampires are
formidable in combat. Games Workshop has removed the bloodlines
from the new edition of the Vampire Counts Armies book; replacing
them with selectable skills associated with the original bloodlines
(yet mixable as though having aspects of many bloodlines). The
known vampire bloodlines are as follows:
Von Carstein
These vampires are somewhat stereotypical vampires, modeled very
much in the manner of Dracula. They are seen as having close bonds
with animals such as wolves and bats. In game terms, these vampires
have no particular modifications and several of their bloodline
powers emphasize their ties with animals. They are hereditary
rulers of Sylvania.
The von Carsteins have been prevalent throughout the recent
history of the vampire counts, and are the only bloodline to openly
go to war with the Empire. The blood line was created by Vlad when
he married Isabella on the night that Count Otto, her father and
the then count of Sylvania, died. The history of Vlad before that
night is unclear. Vlad has come close to destroying the Empire,
only being defeated in a duel with the Grand Theogonist, on the
walls of Altdorf. After Vlad was killed there were five remaining
claimants for the throne of Sylvania: Fritz was killed while
attempting to besiege Middenheim, Hans was killed in a quarrel
instigated by Konrad, Pieter was slain by witch hunter Helmut van
Hal (rumor at the time suggested Mannfred led him to Pieter's
lair), and Mannfred left Sylvania to travel in search of
Necromantic lore. Konrad, who had no ambitions other than mindless
and bloody slaughter, wasted no time in marauding across half the
Empire and even attacking the Dwarfs of Zhufbar until he was
destroyed at Grim Moor. Mannfred then returned to Sylvania and
bided his time, rebuilding the bloodline after Konrad nearly
destroyed it. Mannfred then attacked Altdorf but was forced to
retreat; after a long backwards and forwards chase he was defeated
at Hel Fenn, where prince Martin claimed to have killed him, but
rumors persist that this is not the case.
The Von Carsteins are the descendants of Vashanesh, Neferata's
husband. However, most of the history of the bloodline is lost:
specifically, everything between Vashanesh becoming a vampire and
the resurgence of Vlad. Some claim that Vlad and Vashanesh are one
and the same, but none can confirm this.
Blood Dragons
Blood Dragons are fallen Knights, usually from the realm of
Bretonnia; they are portrayed as souls in suffering, neither good
nor evil. They desire skill in military combat, but do not
particularly wish to become rulers or land owners, thus making them
undead Knights Errant. Their goal is to not find the Grail as a
Bretonnian Knight would, but rather succeed in mastering combat,
and obtaining the same ability of permanently suppressing the need
to drink human blood to survive as their leader, Abhorash did. The
game system emphasizes their combat skill at the expense of
spell-casting abilities.
Abhorash was the greatest warrior of Lahmia and held honour
above all else, so much so that when Neferata and the nobles of her
court turned into vampires, Abhorash who was content to continue to
drink Nagahs elixir had to be tricked into drinking the sphinx
venom. Initially he refused to feed on the blood of his own people,
and desperately fought to control his fury: eventually however, his
thirst grew so great that he slaughtered a dozen men and women in
one night of gore. It is said that he wept tears of blood for the
poor souls he had murdered to save himself, he fled south past
Rasetra into the hot jungles of the Southlands, the others
attempted to find him but could not.
Abhorash was at the front of Lahmia's defense when the Priest
Kings attacked and slew hundreds of their warriors, until the steps
of the royal palace and Neferata's temple were covered in blood.
Despite his great fighting abilities, the armies of the Priest
Kings were too many to defeat: Lahmia was sacked, its people
enslaved or killed, and the undead aristocrats hunted down and put
to the sword. As the few remaining vampires gathered up as much
wealth and riches as they could and fled surrounded by hordes of
their minions, Abhorash cursed his arrogant brothers who had
brought destruction upon his beloved city, and set off followed by
only a few loyal warriors and carrying only his weapons and armour,
in exile. He taught his followers that skill in close combat and
honour in battle were the only measures of greatness and they would
only drink from great fighters, saying that only the impure fed on
the weak. Eventually his travels took him to a great mountain
wreathed with eternal flames; ignoring the advice of all of his
followers Abhorash scaled the side of this fiery mountain.
As he reached its summit, a red dragon of immense size emerged
from the crater and descended upon the Vampire Lord. At the
prospect of testing his martial abilities, Abhorash drew his sword
and prepared to fight the great wyrm. The two fought the entire
night and in the end the Vampire was victorious. As the dragon
lashed in its death throes, Abhorash seized its throat with his
fangs and drank deep. Intoxicated by the blood of the dragon,
Abhorash cast the carcass of the broken creature down from the
mountain top. His search had ended; he no longer craved the
lifeblood of men and had become the ultimate warrior, a man with
the strength of a Vampire who had no need for blood. He then
dispatched his followers to go forth into the world and charged
them to master the arts of combat to such a skill that they could
overcome their bloody thirst as he had. When they had succeeded, he
would call them back to him, and they would go to war. It is said
Abhorash still waits at the mountain, waiting for the day when his
followers can rejoin him. Other famous Blood Dragons include:
Walach Harkon (who challenged and defeated the entire Order of the
Blood Dragon single-handedly), The Red Duke and Varison the
Blade.
While the Bloodlines are largely eliminated in the new Army
Book, Blood Dragons are still represented in squads of powerful
Blood Knights.
Lahmians
This bloodline is (almost) entirely female, and no male models
have been released. They are descended from Neferata, the original
vampire. They emphasize the seductive nature of vampires and many
of their bloodline powers center around influencing the behavior of
enemy heroes. In the game they are given greater speed at the
expense of their combat potential.
Neferata was queen of the city-state of Lahmia and the first of
all the Vampires. After the city was destroyed by the Kings of
Nehekara, she fled with her minions to the mountain known as 'The
Silver Pinnacle'. After driving out the mountain's Dwarf
inhabitants, Neferata established a new court, where she rules as
the leader of a Sisterhood of enchantingly beautiful vampires who
use secrecy, cunning and intrigue where others would use brute
strength, to sway the political powers of the human kingdoms to do
their will. The talons of the Lahmians reach all levels of human
society and they take an active interest in human affairs. No one
can guess how many eccentric noblewomen, widows of princes and
dukes, and high-born ladies who shun the light of day and lock
themselves up in tall towers and opulent palaces, are in truth the
Undead and part of Neferata's brood. Geneviève Dieudonné (who was
made a vampire without approval and is not linked to the Lahmian
hierarchy) is of special interest to the Lahmians, who guard her in
the hopes that her heroic status amongst the humans can be used to
the benefit of the Lahmians' goals.
Necrarch
Necrarch vampires appear monstrous and wizened, very much on the
mold of the vampire shown in the classic film Nosferatu. In
Warhammer terms they are weaker in combat but have much greater
magical potential than the other vampire bloodlines. However, their
physical strength is still on a similar level to other vampires,
their disadvantage being a poorer weapon skill. Overall they are
still vastly more dangerous than an equivalent level wizard in
close combat, and on par with the more dangerous of melee fighters.
They are described as solitary researchers, working on ever more
terrible spells as they live out their undying centuries. Because
of their studies the Necrarch armies field large numbers of
necromantic constructs, spellcasters, and zombie dragons.
Necrarchs claim descent from W'soran, who they revere as the
father of Vampires, for W'soran served under Nagash himself. With
the fall of Lahmia, the kingdom of Vampires came to an end and the
Great Library of Lahmia was burned to the ground. The accumulated
knowledge of ancient Nehekhara was destroyed and many disciples of
W'soran died in the flames, reluctant to abandon their work.
However a handful of Necrarchs fled and survived the pursuit of the
armies of the kings of Numas and Zandri, taking with them books and
scrolls and other fragments of the dark lore that Nagash created.
They scattered all over the world hiding themselves to patiently
wait for the death of their enemies and continue their studies. It
is implied they are still in the servitude of Nagash, or are
attempting to conduct a spell similar to the one he used to
decimate Nehekhara and awaken the dead therein. Their progenitor
was W'soran, and their previous master Melkhior was known to have
served Nagash closely.
Strigoi
Strigoi were first introduced in the sixth edition of the game
as a new bloodline. In appearance they are even more monstrous than
the Necrarchs and are huge and heavily built.they are the
descendants of Ushoran who with his followers fled north to what is
now the badlands and built a great empire. when it was destroyed by
orcs the Strigoi were scattered and eventually degenerated to what
they are today. The Strigany are the descendants of the mortal
servants of Ushoran. The Strigoi are animalistic, half-mad and
barely intelligent. In game terms they have similar combat
potential to the Blood Dragons, but in terms of strength and
bestial fury rather than skill-at-arms. The tradeoff is an
inability to use steeds, weapons or armor. An interesting note is
that Strigoi are a type of Romanian vampire based on the striga—but
there is little resemblance between the myth and the bloodline in
Warhammer Fantasy.
Strigoi armies contain little undead, bolstered by large numbers
of Ghouls and their champions. Their progenitor, Ushoran, snubbed
the other vampire masters to establish his own empire in Strigos,
situated in what is now the Badlands. When the capital Mourkain was
sacked by an Orc, the Strigoi vampires sought out their fellow
vampires, who shunned them for Ushoran's snobbery and in some
cases, openly hunted them down. The misery of what they had lost
and the betrayal of their kin destroyed their minds and corrupted
their bodies, and thus the Strigoi degenerated into the insane,
feral beasts they are now. Unlike other vampires, Strigoi mainly
drink the blood of the freshly dead instead of the living, for fear
of attracting unwanted attention from both humans and vampires.
Some Strigois have (d)evolved into Varghulf, massive bat-like
creatures driven only by the instinct to kill and feast.
Sartosa
Introduced in mid 2008. They are found on the Games Workshop
website as a collector's model.
When the body of Luthor Harkon was unwittingly taken on board
the long-boat of Norse raiders and taken to Lustria, he created an
undead realm known as the Vampire coast of zombie pirates from
shipwrecks that became feared pirates and attacked the Lizardmen of
the city of Huatl.
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