1 00:00:06,360 --> 00:00:11,120 In the known world, the dead do not rest easy. 2 00:00:12,000 --> 00:00:16,680 Vampires lurk in haunted castles in the sinister forests of 3 00:00:16,680 --> 00:00:21,040 Sylvania. Necromancers seek to escape 4 00:00:21,040 --> 00:00:25,160 their mortality by searching for forbidden knowledge within the 5 00:00:25,160 --> 00:00:29,360 pages of accursed books. In lost pyramids beneath the 6 00:00:29,360 --> 00:00:34,000 desert sands of the Kingdom of the Dead, the Leech Lords rule 7 00:00:34,000 --> 00:00:38,760 over legions of corpses, their servants in death as they were 8 00:00:38,760 --> 00:00:42,000 in life. Armies slain in the poisoned 9 00:00:42,000 --> 00:00:47,160 wilderness of the Chaos Wastes do not lie dead as others do. 10 00:00:47,800 --> 00:00:51,960 Often they return to a ghastly unlife and bring terror to 11 00:00:51,960 --> 00:00:55,240 former comrades. Along the boundaries of Kislev. 12 00:00:56,200 --> 00:01:00,400 In the musty crypts of dead noblemen, tomb robbers freeze in 13 00:01:00,400 --> 00:01:04,560 terror when they hear the clink of silver rings and movement 14 00:01:04,560 --> 00:01:08,400 behind them. And behind all this towers the 15 00:01:08,400 --> 00:01:13,520 gigantic shadowy figure of Nagash, the Great Necromancer 16 00:01:14,120 --> 00:01:19,240 who in ancient days rivalled and challenged the gods themselves. 17 00:01:20,440 --> 00:01:24,400 To understand the nature of the restless dead, one must 18 00:01:24,400 --> 00:01:27,640 understand the nature of magic in the known world. 19 00:01:28,160 --> 00:01:33,640 The winds of magic emerge from the northern Chaos Gate and blow 20 00:01:33,640 --> 00:01:37,520 out across the world. Magical energies permeate 21 00:01:37,520 --> 00:01:40,720 everything blowing down from the northern wastes. 22 00:01:40,800 --> 00:01:44,640 Most of the currents of magical energy separate into one of the 23 00:01:44,680 --> 00:01:49,000 8 colours of magic. Some however, remain a rolling 24 00:01:49,000 --> 00:01:53,960 mass of pure dark magic which descends where it will. 25 00:01:54,600 --> 00:01:59,520 A peculiar quality of dark magic is like attracts like. 26 00:02:00,280 --> 00:02:03,920 Once it starts to build up in the area, more and more of the 27 00:02:03,920 --> 00:02:08,280 stuff will be drawn to the same place, forming a swirling vortex 28 00:02:08,280 --> 00:02:12,560 of evil that will eventually coalesce into pure warp stone 29 00:02:12,720 --> 00:02:17,200 from the very air. Since dark magic pervades the 30 00:02:17,200 --> 00:02:22,400 motivating power that animates the undead, many of the areas 31 00:02:22,400 --> 00:02:26,920 where dark magic is strongest are also the places that attract 32 00:02:27,240 --> 00:02:32,200 or spawn undead. Furthermore, some philosophers 33 00:02:32,200 --> 00:02:36,600 state that since chaos feeds on strong emotions, places where 34 00:02:36,600 --> 00:02:41,600 great negative emotions such as fear, terror, hatred, and horror 35 00:02:41,720 --> 00:02:44,600 have been felt also attract dark magic. 36 00:02:45,000 --> 00:02:48,920 Battlefields, plague stricken towns, houses where dark deeds 37 00:02:48,920 --> 00:02:53,480 of murder have been committed, all draw the forces of undeath 38 00:02:53,640 --> 00:02:58,480 to them, often compounding the horrific effects of whatever has 39 00:02:58,480 --> 00:03:02,120 gone before. Alternatively, it could simply 40 00:03:02,120 --> 00:03:05,760 be a reflection of the fact that dreadful energies are often 41 00:03:05,760 --> 00:03:10,040 unleashed during battles, and that mass graves and plague pits 42 00:03:10,040 --> 00:03:13,920 of diseased townships attract and provide cover for 43 00:03:13,920 --> 00:03:17,960 necromances and their unspeakable rites. 44 00:03:18,880 --> 00:03:22,440 Whatever the reason, there are particular areas in the known 45 00:03:22,440 --> 00:03:26,360 world that attract the undead. These areas include the 46 00:03:26,360 --> 00:03:30,400 Desolation of Nagash, the Kingdom of the Dead, Sylvania, 47 00:03:30,520 --> 00:03:34,840 the cursed city of Mussilon in Bretonia, the zombie haunted 48 00:03:34,840 --> 00:03:39,880 swamps South of Skavenblight in Thaila, and the Mound of Crell 49 00:03:39,880 --> 00:03:43,320 in the Grey Mountains. The Barrow Hills and the Border 50 00:03:43,320 --> 00:03:46,120 Princess are scarcely less infamous. 51 00:03:46,760 --> 00:03:51,320 These areas, I'll famed as they are, are far from being the only 52 00:03:51,320 --> 00:03:53,400 places where the undead are found. 53 00:03:54,080 --> 00:03:59,360 Any lonely tower with access to old burial grounds or crypts may 54 00:03:59,360 --> 00:04:04,000 be the haunt of a necromancer, or worse still, one of the 55 00:04:04,120 --> 00:04:09,080 undying leeches that they can become. 56 00:04:10,720 --> 00:04:14,360 Welcome my friends. My name is Owen and this is a 57 00:04:14,360 --> 00:04:19,240 deep dive into Warhammer Armies Undead by Jervis Johnson and 58 00:04:19,240 --> 00:04:24,000 Bill King, released I believe in 1996. 59 00:04:24,200 --> 00:04:30,600 I want to say a classic book. I think in this book we see the 60 00:04:30,600 --> 00:04:32,600 undead have not yet found themselves. 61 00:04:32,720 --> 00:04:34,720 They have not yet become the Tomb Kings. 62 00:04:34,720 --> 00:04:38,480 On the vampire accounts they are still under 1 banner, and that 63 00:04:38,480 --> 00:04:43,240 one banner is undead. But the writing is so good, the 64 00:04:43,240 --> 00:04:47,040 background is so good, everything here is so evocative. 65 00:04:47,240 --> 00:04:50,840 I only read you a part of the introduction to this book just 66 00:04:50,840 --> 00:04:56,240 then, but it was enough to give you a taste of what lies within 67 00:04:57,080 --> 00:05:01,520 something truly wonderful in Warhammer's old world. 68 00:05:02,080 --> 00:05:06,200 You are lucky to have me today. It's one of the stormiest days 69 00:05:06,200 --> 00:05:08,720 in living memory. Today as I look out the window, 70 00:05:08,880 --> 00:05:11,160 the rain lashes against the windows. 71 00:05:12,360 --> 00:05:15,360 But I decided to go and visit a standing stone. 72 00:05:16,120 --> 00:05:20,800 In my foolish nature, I drove my car nearly all the way there, my 73 00:05:20,800 --> 00:05:24,640 dog in the boot when nearly about a mile away from the 74 00:05:24,640 --> 00:05:28,760 stone, a river burst its bank and run across the road. 75 00:05:29,320 --> 00:05:33,280 It took my car for a second, but luckily I was going fast enough 76 00:05:33,280 --> 00:05:37,160 I was able to regain control and get it back on the road. 77 00:05:38,040 --> 00:05:41,640 I pulled over, more in shock than anything, and let my dog 78 00:05:41,640 --> 00:05:44,960 out for a moment and it saw some sheep in a field and ran after 79 00:05:44,960 --> 00:05:47,120 them and I ended up chasing it through the hills. 80 00:05:47,560 --> 00:05:50,680 Then I had to run a drive back through the river to get away. 81 00:05:51,520 --> 00:05:55,240 So I'm just chilling out. I'm just calming down. 82 00:05:55,760 --> 00:06:00,840 I'm just here feeling lucky to be here and I thought why not 83 00:06:00,840 --> 00:06:04,640 calm myself down by doing a reading from this book. 84 00:06:05,960 --> 00:06:09,080 I used to love the undead. I had a lovely army full of 85 00:06:09,080 --> 00:06:11,200 skeletons. I can remember being on a a 86 00:06:11,200 --> 00:06:16,320 works course away and building a regiment of 40 zombies, those 87 00:06:16,320 --> 00:06:18,320 old zombie figures from years ago. 88 00:06:18,720 --> 00:06:22,920 So this is a great book to read. So if you are sitting down or 89 00:06:22,920 --> 00:06:26,000 painting or whatever it is you're doing, wherever you are 90 00:06:26,000 --> 00:06:29,240 in the world, why not sit back and relax? 91 00:06:29,240 --> 00:06:31,480 And I'll take you through some of this book. 92 00:06:32,200 --> 00:06:34,720 If you really enjoy it, you can buy me a coffee at 93 00:06:34,720 --> 00:06:38,200 coffee.com/owen State and that would be great. 94 00:06:39,080 --> 00:06:41,640 Or you can follow my storytelling podcast, Time 95 00:06:41,640 --> 00:06:43,960 Between Times. That would be great as well. 96 00:06:44,680 --> 00:06:46,640 But I'm just glad to have your company, to be honest. 97 00:06:47,520 --> 00:06:50,760 OK, I'm using a new program because I don't have this book 98 00:06:50,760 --> 00:06:54,800 again and it's very small so I'm struggling to read it. 99 00:06:54,800 --> 00:07:00,160 So please bear with me if I'm not quite as fluid as I normally 100 00:07:00,160 --> 00:07:03,000 am as I'm working my way through to other bits to read. 101 00:07:03,000 --> 00:07:06,760 And of course I'm just coming at this almost blind if you like. 102 00:07:06,960 --> 00:07:10,160 So I'm choosing bits of the book to read and then we'll go from 103 00:07:10,160 --> 00:07:12,320 there. So please forgive any mistakes. 104 00:07:12,920 --> 00:07:16,840 The introduction that I read you just now, I love that it goes on 105 00:07:16,840 --> 00:07:20,080 for quite a bit, a couple of pages and there are some lovely 106 00:07:20,240 --> 00:07:24,320 pencil art that goes with it. One of a skeleton with a spear 107 00:07:24,560 --> 00:07:27,560 standing there with bats flying all around him. 108 00:07:28,160 --> 00:07:29,840 Reminds me of the Nightmare Legion. 109 00:07:29,840 --> 00:07:31,320 Do you remember those four years ago? 110 00:07:31,880 --> 00:07:34,920 What was his name now? But anyway, brilliant figures, I 111 00:07:34,920 --> 00:07:36,760 think they still stand up to this day. 112 00:07:37,120 --> 00:07:39,480 What I'd give to have a regiment of those now that would be 113 00:07:39,480 --> 00:07:42,640 amazing. Then we've got what looks like a 114 00:07:42,640 --> 00:07:46,440 vampire counting sort of bone armour, probably reminiscent of 115 00:07:46,440 --> 00:07:49,800 the Dracula film, the Gary Oldman Dracula film that goes 116 00:07:49,800 --> 00:07:52,880 back to about the same period of this, which obviously has taken 117 00:07:52,880 --> 00:07:55,120 some, this has taken some influence from that. 118 00:07:55,960 --> 00:07:58,280 We go on a couple of pages and we turn over and there's a 119 00:07:58,280 --> 00:08:01,560 lovely pencil sketch of a mummy and it looks like some sort of 120 00:08:01,560 --> 00:08:04,960 where creature as a mummy, you know, with his long teeth 121 00:08:04,960 --> 00:08:08,720 screaming through the bandages. In fact, while we're here, let's 122 00:08:08,720 --> 00:08:11,520 read about mummies. They were terrible figures. 123 00:08:11,520 --> 00:08:12,760 You remember them? They were looking like they were 124 00:08:12,760 --> 00:08:14,960 doing some sort of dance. But there we are. 125 00:08:15,880 --> 00:08:20,080 Mummies are found in the tombs of Arabi and the necropolises of 126 00:08:20,080 --> 00:08:23,560 the Kingdom of the Dead. Once, they were the remains of 127 00:08:23,560 --> 00:08:28,120 proud nobles of the ancient land that Nagash destroyed. 128 00:08:28,600 --> 00:08:31,200 They were buried according to the custom of their kind, 129 00:08:31,400 --> 00:08:36,679 wrapped in sediments and preserved by strange alchem. 130 00:08:37,200 --> 00:08:40,320 Why did I choose this one chair? Strange practices. 131 00:08:40,600 --> 00:08:44,480 These mummies were imbued with dark power by Nagash when he 132 00:08:44,480 --> 00:08:47,200 created the Leech kings of the necropolises. 133 00:08:47,600 --> 00:08:51,360 Others have sold. The necromancers have been sold 134 00:08:51,360 --> 00:08:55,440 to necromancers in the Old World by unscrupulous merchants still 135 00:08:55,440 --> 00:08:59,360 permeated by the dark energy of ancient days that make 136 00:08:59,360 --> 00:09:03,440 particular powerful and dead when raised according to the 137 00:09:03,440 --> 00:09:08,640 proper rituals. All ghouls share an unspeakable 138 00:09:08,640 --> 00:09:10,880 hunger for the meat of their fellow men. 139 00:09:11,160 --> 00:09:14,680 Some ghouls are the twisted descendants of primitive tribes 140 00:09:14,840 --> 00:09:17,560 who long ago worship Nagash as a God. 141 00:09:18,280 --> 00:09:22,160 They observed the dark feast and ate the flesh of their kin, and 142 00:09:22,160 --> 00:09:26,120 down the generations were changed into warped and twisted 143 00:09:26,120 --> 00:09:29,480 parodies of men. Now they are roamed the 144 00:09:29,480 --> 00:09:34,160 desolation of Nagash and the surrounding lands, searching for 145 00:09:34,160 --> 00:09:37,720 fresh meat. Other ghouls came about by a 146 00:09:37,720 --> 00:09:41,360 different method. When the lean and hungry times 147 00:09:41,360 --> 00:09:45,560 of famine came upon the Old world, certain depraved folk 148 00:09:45,720 --> 00:09:49,600 took to feasting on human flesh to stay alive, and entire 149 00:09:49,600 --> 00:09:53,120 villages have been known to dissolve into this vile state. 150 00:09:53,840 --> 00:09:57,960 Certain inbred Hamlets in Sylvania have been burned to the 151 00:09:57,960 --> 00:10:01,560 ground by the Emperor's troops because of this disgusting 152 00:10:01,560 --> 00:10:05,000 affiliation. Yet other colonies of ghouls 153 00:10:05,000 --> 00:10:07,520 creep through the years undiscovered. 154 00:10:08,280 --> 00:10:11,480 It is said that a small army of them dwell within the great 155 00:10:11,480 --> 00:10:14,720 burial crypts on the hills around Mussilon. 156 00:10:15,560 --> 00:10:19,880 It is true that the tomb guards of that city are all armed and 157 00:10:19,880 --> 00:10:25,080 never enter the crypts alone. Ghouls are often drawn into the 158 00:10:25,080 --> 00:10:29,320 wake of the great undead armies. Something in their blood calls 159 00:10:29,320 --> 00:10:34,720 to them, and they must go. There we are, mummies and 160 00:10:34,720 --> 00:10:38,440 ghouls, and we move on and we come to the next page, which is 161 00:10:38,440 --> 00:10:42,000 the undead Gazeteer. There is a bit about the land of 162 00:10:42,000 --> 00:10:44,480 the dead then. Nagishiza. 163 00:10:45,600 --> 00:10:48,240 Let me read about that. Nagashiza. 164 00:10:49,320 --> 00:10:52,920 By the shores of the Sour Sea. Oh, beautiful stuff. 165 00:10:53,200 --> 00:10:56,880 By the shores of the shuts. If I could say it again, by the 166 00:10:57,000 --> 00:11:00,720 shores of the Sour Sea, surrounded by the glittering 167 00:11:00,720 --> 00:11:05,920 desert of the Desolation of Nagash, is Nagishizar, the 168 00:11:05,920 --> 00:11:11,000 Cursed Pit, home of the great necromancer Nagash and mightiest 169 00:11:11,000 --> 00:11:13,600 fortress the world has ever seen. 170 00:11:14,680 --> 00:11:19,080 Built over centuries by the tireless labour of countless 171 00:11:19,080 --> 00:11:23,720 undead things, the castle rises nearly half a mile above the 172 00:11:23,720 --> 00:11:27,160 desert. It is sculpted and excavated 173 00:11:27,160 --> 00:11:30,120 amongst the living rock of Cripple Peak, and the mountain 174 00:11:30,120 --> 00:11:35,040 top is its highest Spire. Hundreds of other great towers 175 00:11:35,040 --> 00:11:39,360 bristle from the mountain side. By night, terrible green witch 176 00:11:39,360 --> 00:11:42,200 lights are often seen burning in their windows. 177 00:11:43,000 --> 00:11:47,160 Nagishiza is a fortified mountain pierced by councillors, 178 00:11:47,160 --> 00:11:50,720 leagues of corridor within thousands of chambers. 179 00:11:50,720 --> 00:11:54,920 Hundreds of undead things wait, ready to answer their Lords. 180 00:11:54,960 --> 00:11:58,960 Every command. Vast as this great Army is, it 181 00:11:58,960 --> 00:12:03,280 is but a tiny fraction of the legions who once served the 182 00:12:03,280 --> 00:12:07,560 Great Necromancer. Four mighty gates guard the 183 00:12:07,560 --> 00:12:12,080 approaches to Nagashisa, each watched over by mighty war 184 00:12:12,080 --> 00:12:16,920 machines of the most dangerous type, animated golems of bone, 185 00:12:17,240 --> 00:12:21,240 boat throwers that fire the thigh bones of giants wound 186 00:12:21,240 --> 00:12:25,080 round with deadly ruins, catapults that throw screaming 187 00:12:25,080 --> 00:12:28,760 skulls, and worse. The gates themselves are made 188 00:12:28,760 --> 00:12:32,840 from some nameless black metal, which shines like burnished 189 00:12:32,840 --> 00:12:37,320 Obsidian and is 10 times harder than steel. 190 00:12:38,560 --> 00:12:42,640 The pits beneath Nagishiza extend down almost twice the 191 00:12:42,640 --> 00:12:46,680 height of the mountain, forming a huge honeycomb of galleries 192 00:12:46,680 --> 00:12:49,880 and mines. Where once undead and Scraven 193 00:12:50,120 --> 00:12:54,720 toiled to find Warpstone, these corridors are patrolled by 194 00:12:54,720 --> 00:12:59,240 untiring sentries from the Gash's undead legions, who must 195 00:12:59,240 --> 00:13:04,480 be eternally vigilant in case the Scaven should ever return. 196 00:13:05,480 --> 00:13:08,800 With his great audience chamber. At the height of the peak of the 197 00:13:08,800 --> 00:13:13,240 Husk of the Gash, the great Necromancer himself sits on a 198 00:13:13,240 --> 00:13:16,920 throne of skulls. He has brooded here for over a 199 00:13:16,920 --> 00:13:22,120 Millennium, waiting and planning and guiding the host of agents 200 00:13:22,120 --> 00:13:26,440 at his command. With his thoughts now infused, 201 00:13:26,760 --> 00:13:33,280 he is ready to March once more. Now that was good, wasn't it? 202 00:13:33,840 --> 00:13:38,560 Excellent stuff. By the shores of the sour sea. 203 00:13:39,440 --> 00:13:43,400 It's easy to write, it's hard to say, but by the gods it's 204 00:13:43,400 --> 00:13:45,680 evocative. Some of the writing in this book 205 00:13:45,680 --> 00:13:48,960 is absolutely fantastic. The next couple of pages are 206 00:13:48,960 --> 00:13:52,080 filled with maps. Those old familiar maps that 207 00:13:52,080 --> 00:13:54,680 we've looked at a couple of times in these deep dives, but 208 00:13:54,680 --> 00:13:57,600 they are excellent. Pencil drawn, not in colour, in 209 00:13:57,600 --> 00:13:59,920 black and white. Then we have some more 210 00:13:59,920 --> 00:14:04,520 information about the Plain of Bones, Drakenhof, Castle 211 00:14:04,880 --> 00:14:09,360 Mussilon, all these places where you can choose to put your 212 00:14:09,360 --> 00:14:11,320 undead armies should you so wish. 213 00:14:12,400 --> 00:14:16,040 Then we have a piece on the history of the undead and the 214 00:14:16,040 --> 00:14:19,600 Great Necromancer. Let's read a bit of this. 215 00:14:19,920 --> 00:14:21,440 Seems to go on for quite a while. 216 00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:24,920 There's an amazing pencil drawing on the bottom right hand 217 00:14:24,920 --> 00:14:29,240 corner with some grim Reaper on a Black Horse overlooking a 218 00:14:29,240 --> 00:14:34,280 curved bridge coming out of the skull of a a giant and sitting 219 00:14:34,280 --> 00:14:37,280 behind that up great castle. Here we go. 220 00:14:38,880 --> 00:14:43,000 South of the Empire, South of the broader Princess, South even 221 00:14:43,000 --> 00:14:47,400 of the Badlands and Caracazeal, lies a land of which few men 222 00:14:47,400 --> 00:14:50,880 speak. Even those who know its true 223 00:14:50,880 --> 00:14:55,600 name do not say the word aloud. Rather, they refer to it in 224 00:14:55,600 --> 00:14:59,360 hushed tones as the Kingdom of the Dead. 225 00:15:00,320 --> 00:15:03,440 Few men have been there and returned to tell the tale. 226 00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:08,520 The mad Arab Prince Abdul Ben Rashid wandered there for a 227 00:15:08,520 --> 00:15:13,000 season, seeking inspiration for his blasphemous masterpiece, The 228 00:15:13,000 --> 00:15:16,640 Book of the Dead. It is the few one of the few 229 00:15:16,640 --> 00:15:19,600 remaining copies of this poem that most scholars owe their 230 00:15:19,600 --> 00:15:23,560 knowledge of the Kingdom. Ben Rashid did not live to see 231 00:15:23,560 --> 00:15:28,080 the widespread public revulsion against his work, all copies of 232 00:15:28,080 --> 00:15:31,360 which the Caliph of Kasaba ordered burned. 233 00:15:32,080 --> 00:15:35,080 The Mad Prince died under mysterious circumstances, 234 00:15:35,200 --> 00:15:40,480 strangled by unseen hands within a locked and shuttered room. 235 00:15:41,520 --> 00:15:44,720 When his servants eventually broke down the door, they found 236 00:15:44,720 --> 00:15:47,920 only his frozen, purple faced corpse. 237 00:15:48,200 --> 00:15:52,080 The body was so chilled to the touch that it burned the hands 238 00:15:52,080 --> 00:15:56,320 of those who tried to lift it. The Crusaders eventually brought 239 00:15:56,320 --> 00:16:00,320 back copies of the work back from their journeys in Araby, 240 00:16:00,880 --> 00:16:04,640 but many of them later came to regret that decision. 241 00:16:06,000 --> 00:16:10,160 The Book of the Dead speaks of a great desert to the east of 242 00:16:10,160 --> 00:16:14,280 Araby, from which rise the necropolis, tomb cities of the 243 00:16:14,320 --> 00:16:17,840 Unquiet dead. Each necropolis consists of 244 00:16:17,840 --> 00:16:22,080 countless mausoleums and pyramids, within which dwell 245 00:16:22,080 --> 00:16:24,680 things it is better to be ignorant of. 246 00:16:26,160 --> 00:16:30,360 By day the burning sands between the grave houses are empty, and 247 00:16:30,360 --> 00:16:33,760 only huge serpents glide through the ruins. 248 00:16:34,640 --> 00:16:38,400 But on certain dark nights, the corpses of the dead stir from 249 00:16:38,400 --> 00:16:40,840 their homes and go about their business. 250 00:16:40,960 --> 00:16:45,760 In a grim parody of their former lives, they repair the time 251 00:16:45,760 --> 00:16:49,320 eroded tombs and patrol the boundaries of their necropolis. 252 00:16:49,960 --> 00:16:54,000 Often they March forth to make war on the dead inhabitants of 253 00:16:54,000 --> 00:16:59,280 other tomb cities. This goes on for a long time, my 254 00:16:59,280 --> 00:17:04,240 friends, and I wish I could read it all for you, but all I can 255 00:17:04,240 --> 00:17:07,560 recommend is that you grab a copy of yourself and let this 256 00:17:07,560 --> 00:17:11,240 just be a taster for this is a wonderful tone. 257 00:17:12,079 --> 00:17:13,960 I could not remember this being so good. 258 00:17:13,960 --> 00:17:15,680 I mean, Bill King is obviously writing on here. 259 00:17:15,680 --> 00:17:20,119 He's a great author, isn't he? But yeah, some of the the 260 00:17:20,119 --> 00:17:23,680 fiction here, which obviously in these books, they gave a great 261 00:17:23,880 --> 00:17:27,319 pride of place to something. They don't do as much now, which 262 00:17:27,319 --> 00:17:32,280 is unfortunate, but there we go. We have page after page after 263 00:17:32,280 --> 00:17:34,160 page about the history of Nagast here. 264 00:17:34,440 --> 00:17:39,400 I'm looking at 10/12/14 pages. And then we get to the vampire 265 00:17:39,400 --> 00:17:42,200 accounts of Sylvania, which would of course take pride of 266 00:17:42,200 --> 00:17:46,240 place in further editions. There's a long piece on them as 267 00:17:46,240 --> 00:17:49,960 well, but I will go forward because this background is 268 00:17:49,960 --> 00:17:53,800 really, really good, isn't it? We go into an undead timeline a 269 00:17:53,840 --> 00:17:56,360 few pages further on, so I'll have a look at this. 270 00:17:56,760 --> 00:18:04,960 I'll choose a year -1152 The Priest Kings are now united, and 271 00:18:04,960 --> 00:18:09,360 the King Alakaziza under his formidable leadership, Lagashe's 272 00:18:09,360 --> 00:18:13,680 first assault is defeated. Lagash unleashes a plague upon 273 00:18:13,680 --> 00:18:16,280 the land. His own undead forces are 274 00:18:16,280 --> 00:18:19,440 immune, but the folk of the land die in droves. 275 00:18:20,080 --> 00:18:23,720 A new army of undead invades the lands of the Priest Kings and 276 00:18:23,720 --> 00:18:28,040 sweeps all before them. Alkadizar is brought in chains 277 00:18:28,040 --> 00:18:34,440 to Nagishezar to be tormented by nagash -15. 278 00:18:35,280 --> 00:18:40,480 Arkin the Black crushes a huge Escaven horde at the Battle of 279 00:18:40,480 --> 00:18:43,280 Death Rock. The scheme defeat is so 280 00:18:43,280 --> 00:18:46,840 devastating they give up attempting to recapture the 281 00:18:46,840 --> 00:18:54,600 cursed pit in the year 1797. Vlad von Karstein, what a name 282 00:18:54,600 --> 00:18:59,320 there is, becomes the first of the vampire accounts of Sylvania 283 00:18:59,680 --> 00:19:02,480 and Mary's Countess, Isabella Vondrak. 284 00:19:03,160 --> 00:19:05,760 Over the following two centuries, the remaining 285 00:19:05,760 --> 00:19:10,200 aristocratic families are infected by the curse of 286 00:19:10,200 --> 00:19:15,200 vampirism. And now we lead to some coloured 287 00:19:15,200 --> 00:19:18,040 pages. Here we have the old undead 288 00:19:18,040 --> 00:19:19,600 figures. We're looking at the Skeleton 289 00:19:19,600 --> 00:19:21,880 horde. Skeleton army figures now 290 00:19:21,880 --> 00:19:26,560 matched with a load of whites and newer undead figures for the 291 00:19:26,560 --> 00:19:29,280 time. They still have a metal zombie 292 00:19:29,280 --> 00:19:32,600 regiment here, maybe my plastic one came a little bit later than 293 00:19:32,600 --> 00:19:34,920 this. Then we have the wraiths, who 294 00:19:34,920 --> 00:19:39,680 are all grim reapers, some skeleton horsemen, an undead 295 00:19:39,680 --> 00:19:43,600 chariot, a Wraith Lord, and then a battle scenario. 296 00:19:43,720 --> 00:19:46,800 Forces of the undead confront high elves. 297 00:19:49,000 --> 00:19:52,440 The undead. There they are, the Leech King's 298 00:19:52,440 --> 00:19:54,640 mighty chariot. I haven't seen that for a long 299 00:19:54,640 --> 00:19:57,320 time now. There's a model from the dark 300 00:19:57,360 --> 00:20:01,600 dusty ages gone by, isn't it? Arc in the Black Riding in it? 301 00:20:02,640 --> 00:20:04,040 And then we have some. A vampire. 302 00:20:04,080 --> 00:20:06,520 I've got that vampire Lord. I've got the necromancer figure 303 00:20:06,520 --> 00:20:08,320 there. I believe that one came free 304 00:20:08,320 --> 00:20:11,360 with a computer game, didn't it? Is it cursed to the horn rat? 305 00:20:11,680 --> 00:20:15,240 Something like that. Then we have some spell cards 306 00:20:15,280 --> 00:20:19,160 which are in there. Then Dieter Helsnicht, the 307 00:20:19,160 --> 00:20:24,480 Doomlord of Mendenheim, the old, there, he is riding on his beast 308 00:20:24,480 --> 00:20:25,280 there. What is that? 309 00:20:25,400 --> 00:20:27,080 A manticore is it? I believe it is. 310 00:20:27,880 --> 00:20:30,240 Wow. Now that's a model from age has 311 00:20:30,240 --> 00:20:33,240 gone by, isn't it? Absolute classic model of the 312 00:20:33,240 --> 00:20:36,160 age. And then we have some more 313 00:20:36,160 --> 00:20:39,840 battle pictures, some more spells, a ghost, a ghoul, some 314 00:20:39,840 --> 00:20:43,280 more wraiths. They look great in ranks of 315 00:20:44,440 --> 00:20:46,200 ranked up units to deny all these. 316 00:20:46,960 --> 00:20:49,880 Then we've got a a scenario, a deployment map. 317 00:20:50,160 --> 00:20:52,200 And this is called Revenge of the Doomlord. 318 00:20:52,200 --> 00:20:53,880 And let me just read a little bit of this. 319 00:20:54,920 --> 00:20:59,320 Deita Helsticht was once a great and renowned wizard who lived in 320 00:20:59,320 --> 00:21:03,080 the Empire city of Medenheim during the time of the three 321 00:21:03,080 --> 00:21:06,400 Empires. Over the course of his studies, 322 00:21:06,400 --> 00:21:10,320 Dieter learned that the great necromancer King Kedan had 323 00:21:10,320 --> 00:21:13,160 decided to travel the lands he had once ruled over in the 324 00:21:13,160 --> 00:21:16,920 Border Princess in order to find out more about this enigmatic 325 00:21:16,920 --> 00:21:19,720 and evil figure. It was while he was there that 326 00:21:19,720 --> 00:21:24,080 Dieter first stated first started to hear rumours of the 327 00:21:24,080 --> 00:21:27,120 return of the Gash. After his defeat by Sigmar, 328 00:21:27,720 --> 00:21:32,360 Data, drawn by the irresistible curiosity, continued his journey 329 00:21:32,360 --> 00:21:35,400 and travelled to the fortress of Nagishiza. 330 00:21:37,040 --> 00:21:41,760 What happened to him in that cruel place is unknown, but he 331 00:21:41,760 --> 00:21:44,080 returned to Medenheimer changed man. 332 00:21:44,320 --> 00:21:48,360 His hair turned prematurely grey and his skin tinged with an 333 00:21:48,360 --> 00:21:52,680 unhealthy pallor. The Doomlord had been born 334 00:21:53,400 --> 00:21:57,000 shortly after his return. Word began to spread of evil 335 00:21:57,000 --> 00:22:01,080 practices and vile rituals being performed in the dead of the 336 00:22:01,080 --> 00:22:06,080 night by Data and his followers, only two aware of where such 337 00:22:06,080 --> 00:22:09,000 things could lead, the High Priest of Ulrich gathered a 338 00:22:09,000 --> 00:22:12,160 company of Knights and descended on Data's dwelling. 339 00:22:12,600 --> 00:22:16,440 They arrived just in time, disrupting a magic ritual that 340 00:22:16,440 --> 00:22:19,920 would have allowed Data to raise the dead buried in Medenheim 341 00:22:20,080 --> 00:22:24,840 into a powerful undead army. Shaking his 1st and vowing 342 00:22:24,840 --> 00:22:29,080 revenge, Dator fled from the city, swooping over the heads of 343 00:22:29,080 --> 00:22:32,520 their astonished high Priest and Knights atop the back of his 344 00:22:32,520 --> 00:22:37,000 monstrous manticore. Dator was a man of deep, if 345 00:22:37,000 --> 00:22:40,960 twisted, intelligence and had prepared for every eventuality. 346 00:22:41,320 --> 00:22:45,040 He had built the secret fortress deep in the forests of Shadows 347 00:22:45,400 --> 00:22:48,400 to which he could escape should his activities be discovered. 348 00:22:49,280 --> 00:22:53,760 From this dark and evil place he plotted his revenge and surely 349 00:22:53,760 --> 00:22:58,280 built up his strength. Decades passed and those who had 350 00:22:58,280 --> 00:23:02,280 known Dieter Helsnicht had either died or forgotten him 351 00:23:02,680 --> 00:23:08,240 when rumours started that a dark tide of pestilence and death was 352 00:23:08,240 --> 00:23:12,640 spreading through the land. That's great, isn't it? 353 00:23:13,400 --> 00:23:16,400 That's just an introduction to this scenario. 354 00:23:17,200 --> 00:23:21,200 There's a piece there on undead army selection and deployment. 355 00:23:21,640 --> 00:23:24,600 And then we've got more a few more pages about maps, about how 356 00:23:24,600 --> 00:23:27,880 the battle should be run. There's an Empire army against a 357 00:23:28,080 --> 00:23:31,840 an undead army in this. So they were very sort of niche. 358 00:23:31,840 --> 00:23:33,560 These weren't there. I mean, if you didn't have the 359 00:23:33,560 --> 00:23:36,440 figures or the armies, they were very difficult to do anything 360 00:23:36,440 --> 00:23:39,680 with. But they are so nice and they 361 00:23:39,680 --> 00:23:43,720 read so well that I still believe they have a place here. 362 00:23:44,800 --> 00:23:50,400 Then Jervis Johnson decides to to give us the gift of a an 363 00:23:50,400 --> 00:23:52,800 article on undead battle tactics. 364 00:23:53,320 --> 00:23:55,640 Let's have a look at what he's got to say about undead 365 00:23:55,640 --> 00:23:57,320 Chariots. And Carrion is it? 366 00:23:57,760 --> 00:23:59,720 There's quite a few things in here, but let's just look at 367 00:23:59,720 --> 00:24:03,240 this one. These two units can win the game 368 00:24:03,240 --> 00:24:07,080 for an undead army, but have to be used carefully because they 369 00:24:07,080 --> 00:24:09,280 are quite easy for an opponent to destroy. 370 00:24:10,200 --> 00:24:13,440 Undead Chariots in particular are very susceptible to missile 371 00:24:13,440 --> 00:24:17,040 fire because it only takes one hit on the skeleton's steeds, 372 00:24:17,200 --> 00:24:20,320 pulling the chariot to render it next to useless. 373 00:24:20,880 --> 00:24:23,880 Because of this, you should be very careful where you set the 374 00:24:23,880 --> 00:24:27,680 Chariots up. If at all possible, set them up 375 00:24:27,680 --> 00:24:30,480 behind cover so your opponent can't shoot at them. 376 00:24:31,360 --> 00:24:35,600 If this is not possible, try to put other units units between 377 00:24:35,600 --> 00:24:39,560 the chariot and the enemy. Once the battle starts, try to 378 00:24:39,560 --> 00:24:44,040 save the Chariots up for a final devastating charge to finish the 379 00:24:44,040 --> 00:24:46,600 enemy off. If you send the Chariots ahead 380 00:24:46,600 --> 00:24:49,920 of the rest of the army early, they will almost invariably get 381 00:24:49,920 --> 00:24:51,720 destroyed before they can do anything. 382 00:24:52,680 --> 00:24:56,240 Sadly, in most battles your Chariots will be taken out by 383 00:24:56,240 --> 00:25:00,240 enemy missile before you even have a chance to use them, but 384 00:25:00,240 --> 00:25:03,240 when you do get to charge, they should win you the game. 385 00:25:03,960 --> 00:25:06,000 He's basically saying they're next to useless here. 386 00:25:07,000 --> 00:25:10,080 Carrion are extremely useful for taking out enemy war machines 387 00:25:10,080 --> 00:25:12,920 and missile troops. Like the Chariots, they are 388 00:25:12,920 --> 00:25:16,240 vulnerable to enemy missile fire, so you should try to move 389 00:25:16,240 --> 00:25:20,280 them round the enemy's flanks or advance towards them undercover. 390 00:25:20,840 --> 00:25:26,760 Fortunately, the Carrion's 24 inch movement fly a flying move 391 00:25:26,760 --> 00:25:31,760 makes this fairly early fairly easy, and they can always fly up 392 00:25:31,760 --> 00:25:35,440 high and then dive down on the enemy if there is no approach 393 00:25:35,440 --> 00:25:39,840 route on the table itself. Avoid the temptation and attack 394 00:25:39,840 --> 00:25:42,480 anything other than missile troops or war machines with 395 00:25:42,480 --> 00:25:44,800 Carrion, at least early in the game. 396 00:25:45,600 --> 00:25:48,840 The Carrion's low weapon skill, strength and toughness useless 397 00:25:49,120 --> 00:25:51,840 means that they are quite easy to beat in hand to hand combat, 398 00:25:52,240 --> 00:25:54,160 so you need to pick on enemy troops. 399 00:25:54,160 --> 00:25:58,280 You don't have rank bonuses, unit champions, or standards if 400 00:25:58,280 --> 00:26:02,200 you want to be sure of winning. And later in the game you can 401 00:26:02,200 --> 00:26:05,960 use the Carrion to launch flank attacks on enemy units that are 402 00:26:05,960 --> 00:26:09,920 already engaged in the front, or even better to chase them down 403 00:26:09,920 --> 00:26:13,080 when they are fleeing. The Carrion's 24 inch charge 404 00:26:13,080 --> 00:26:16,600 makes moves very difficult for the fleeing unit to get away. 405 00:26:16,720 --> 00:26:21,040 They'll only move 2D6 or 3D6 and if the Carrion catches them, the 406 00:26:21,040 --> 00:26:26,080 fleeing unit will be wiped out. Well, there we are. 407 00:26:26,200 --> 00:26:29,760 Thank you Jervis. I don't know if I'd be investing 408 00:26:29,760 --> 00:26:33,200 in those units after reading that undead roster sheets. 409 00:26:34,120 --> 00:26:36,400 Undead always had quite low stats, didn't they? 410 00:26:36,400 --> 00:26:38,120 But and they were quite expensive. 411 00:26:38,120 --> 00:26:41,720 So the armies weren't that big, but obviously you could re raise 412 00:26:41,720 --> 00:26:44,320 them, which was obviously the the the major point. 413 00:26:44,400 --> 00:26:49,280 But and obviously you had that big weakness that if the the the 414 00:26:49,280 --> 00:26:51,600 leader, the general was to die, then the whole thing could 415 00:26:51,600 --> 00:26:56,720 crumble around you. Dieter Helsnet is 750 points. 416 00:26:57,880 --> 00:27:00,440 That's a massive amount of points to spend on one figure, 417 00:27:00,440 --> 00:27:02,560 isn't it? Even if he's got his Mantico? 418 00:27:04,920 --> 00:27:09,880 Excuse me. Right, we have got, we're going 419 00:27:09,880 --> 00:27:11,120 on to the meeting and contingent. 420 00:27:11,120 --> 00:27:13,280 We're still talking about the scenario battle here. 421 00:27:13,280 --> 00:27:16,680 Then we have a bit of fiction, and then we've got the Undead 422 00:27:16,680 --> 00:27:18,640 Beastery for one of the first rules. 423 00:27:18,640 --> 00:27:21,360 It tells us about no March moves. 424 00:27:22,080 --> 00:27:24,320 So that makes the undead army very slow, doesn't it? 425 00:27:25,040 --> 00:27:28,240 Let's have a look at Skeleton Warriors, the meat and two veg 426 00:27:28,240 --> 00:27:30,120 of the old undead army. Here. 427 00:27:31,000 --> 00:27:34,240 The battlefields of the old world are strewn with the graves 428 00:27:34,280 --> 00:27:38,640 of countless brave warriors who are fallen in combat and be 429 00:27:38,640 --> 00:27:42,880 consigned to a hasty resting place or simply left upon the 430 00:27:42,880 --> 00:27:46,680 ground amongst the carnage. Even in death there is no place 431 00:27:46,680 --> 00:27:51,280 for fallen warriors, for they can be summoned back from the 432 00:27:51,280 --> 00:27:55,480 dead as skeletons. I've lost my page now. 433 00:27:57,200 --> 00:28:01,080 Very awkward this one. By using dark sorcery. 434 00:28:01,440 --> 00:28:05,840 All the skeletons can recall of mortal life are faint memories 435 00:28:05,840 --> 00:28:09,320 of battles fought long ago. They feel the compulsion to 436 00:28:09,320 --> 00:28:12,680 fight, to March, to wage war and obey the commands of their 437 00:28:12,680 --> 00:28:14,640 master as they did when they were alive. 438 00:28:15,080 --> 00:28:18,680 The power of dark magic binds their bones together and gives 439 00:28:18,680 --> 00:28:22,880 strength to that grip. Skeleton warriors carry rusty 440 00:28:22,880 --> 00:28:26,920 weapons, axes and swords, Spears with splintered shafts. 441 00:28:27,040 --> 00:28:31,240 Another ancient war gear. A few tattered rags still cling 442 00:28:31,240 --> 00:28:34,800 to their old bones, while they may still be encased in battered 443 00:28:34,800 --> 00:28:37,920 armour covered with filth and corrosion. 444 00:28:39,400 --> 00:28:42,600 Movement 4. Weapon skill 2 Bow skill 2 445 00:28:42,600 --> 00:28:47,080 Strength 3 Toughness 3 Wounds 1 Initiative 2 Attacks 1A. 446 00:28:47,080 --> 00:28:52,240 Leadership 5. Special Rules Combat skeletons 447 00:28:52,240 --> 00:28:55,240 cannot be broken in hand to hand combat, and he never take a 448 00:28:55,240 --> 00:28:59,200 brake test if beaten in combat. When they are beaten in hand to 449 00:28:59,200 --> 00:29:02,280 hand combat, the magical link between them and their master is 450 00:29:02,280 --> 00:29:06,360 weakened and as a result some of the skeletons collapse and are 451 00:29:06,360 --> 00:29:09,360 destroyed. For every point at which they 452 00:29:09,360 --> 00:29:12,560 have lost the combat, one extra skeleton is removed. 453 00:29:12,960 --> 00:29:16,680 This means the skeleton units would quickly dissolve away if 454 00:29:16,680 --> 00:29:20,000 they are beaten, although they can never be broken as such. 455 00:29:20,640 --> 00:29:25,080 Fear skeletons are unnatural creatures which cause fear in 456 00:29:25,080 --> 00:29:27,440 others. Skeletons are covered by the 457 00:29:27,440 --> 00:29:31,280 psychology rules for fear as described in the Warhammer rule 458 00:29:31,280 --> 00:29:35,840 book and immune to psychology. Skeletons are not affected by 459 00:29:35,840 --> 00:29:39,640 psychology themselves. They are immune to fear, terror, 460 00:29:39,640 --> 00:29:43,240 panic, and all other psychology tests. 461 00:29:44,360 --> 00:29:48,280 I go on the page and read you a bit about zombies. 462 00:29:49,400 --> 00:29:53,160 Zombies are fresh corpses brought back to life by foul 463 00:29:53,160 --> 00:29:56,680 necromancy. Being more recently dead than 464 00:29:56,680 --> 00:30:00,640 skeletons, they retain much of their intellect and are more 465 00:30:00,640 --> 00:30:04,440 like living humans, although they are totally under the will 466 00:30:04,440 --> 00:30:07,600 of the necromancer whose conjurations created them. 467 00:30:08,200 --> 00:30:11,480 Although rejuvenated by magic, they continue to decay. 468 00:30:11,800 --> 00:30:16,080 Their flesh is rank and hangs in strips from their bodies, and 469 00:30:16,080 --> 00:30:20,400 their clothes are tattered and caked with blood like skeletons. 470 00:30:20,400 --> 00:30:24,400 Zombies are animated by magic, and this link can be broken as 471 00:30:24,400 --> 00:30:27,240 they fight, making them vulnerable to weapons in the 472 00:30:27,240 --> 00:30:30,640 same way as living men. They are horrible creatures and 473 00:30:30,640 --> 00:30:34,000 extremely difficult to fight, though troops who stand their 474 00:30:34,000 --> 00:30:38,040 ground can beat them off if they keep their nerve, and they have 475 00:30:38,040 --> 00:30:40,600 some special well. Their stats are Movement 4 476 00:30:40,600 --> 00:30:44,480 Weapons killed 2, both killed 0, Strength 3, Toughness 3, Wounds 477 00:30:44,480 --> 00:30:48,120 1, Initiative 11, Attack and Leadership 5. 478 00:30:49,040 --> 00:30:52,400 Fear Zombies are disgusting and natural creatures that cause 479 00:30:52,400 --> 00:30:55,760 fear as described in the Warhammer rule book, immune to 480 00:30:55,760 --> 00:31:00,000 psychology and Brake. Units of zombies that fail a 481 00:31:00,000 --> 00:31:02,280 brake test in hand to hand combat are destroyed 482 00:31:02,280 --> 00:31:05,200 immediately. The magical link that makes them 483 00:31:05,200 --> 00:31:09,600 keeps them animated is destroyed and they collapse lifelessly to 484 00:31:09,600 --> 00:31:12,600 the floor. That makes them very vulnerable, 485 00:31:12,600 --> 00:31:14,400 isn't it? Especially with all sorts of 486 00:31:14,400 --> 00:31:17,960 stats, Very, very vulnerable indeed. 487 00:31:19,120 --> 00:31:22,280 We have ghosts, we have whites, we have carrion, We have all the 488 00:31:22,280 --> 00:31:26,280 rules for these beats beasts, the wraiths, the zombie dragon. 489 00:31:26,720 --> 00:31:28,960 And we still move on. And we come to a bit of fiction 490 00:31:30,120 --> 00:31:36,280 and and then we go to undead Chariots and screaming Skull 491 00:31:36,280 --> 00:31:41,320 catapult, undead magic, Van Hal's Dance, Macabre's in there, 492 00:31:42,120 --> 00:31:46,120 Necromandic spell commentaries, all those are quite good. 493 00:31:46,280 --> 00:31:51,000 We have lots of this, and then we've got another little bit of 494 00:31:52,480 --> 00:31:54,640 fiction. In fact, I'll read you this one, 495 00:31:54,640 --> 00:31:56,480 shall I? I'll read this as we go on. 496 00:31:56,480 --> 00:32:00,080 Let's have a look at it. It's a couple of pages long, but 497 00:32:00,240 --> 00:32:04,720 here we go. Heinrich Kemler looked down on 498 00:32:04,720 --> 00:32:08,400 the valley below. Perhaps he could find a place to 499 00:32:08,400 --> 00:32:10,840 turn at Bay and make his last stand. 500 00:32:11,400 --> 00:32:15,560 His enemies snapped at his heels like a pack of Manji Kurs. 501 00:32:16,240 --> 00:32:19,200 Once he would have brushed them aside like bothersome fleas. 502 00:32:19,720 --> 00:32:24,200 Now his powers had faded and his necromatic might was all but 503 00:32:24,200 --> 00:32:27,600 spent. Now those who once would have 504 00:32:27,600 --> 00:32:31,320 been less than apprentices to him were close to ending his 505 00:32:31,320 --> 00:32:33,920 days forever. He felt old. 506 00:32:34,520 --> 00:32:38,680 He felt tired. Kemler leant on his staff and 507 00:32:38,680 --> 00:32:40,720 asked himself how this could have happened. 508 00:32:41,120 --> 00:32:43,600 How could a man know his name had once called peasants to 509 00:32:43,600 --> 00:32:48,520 shiver from fear all through the Old world, and the merest rumour 510 00:32:48,520 --> 00:32:52,720 of those caused rivals to retreat to their protective 511 00:32:52,720 --> 00:32:55,360 crypts. How could it have come to this? 512 00:32:56,280 --> 00:32:59,000 It was not that his knowledge was any the less. 513 00:32:59,160 --> 00:33:01,880 He could still remember every stanza of the Nine Books of 514 00:33:01,880 --> 00:33:05,520 Nagash, He could still quote to memory every sanity blasting 515 00:33:05,520 --> 00:33:10,600 line of the Lieba Mortis. He knew still knew every spell 516 00:33:11,000 --> 00:33:14,360 from the art of necromancy, and he knew many more spells from 517 00:33:14,360 --> 00:33:18,000 other forbidden colleges. No one since the days of Great 518 00:33:18,280 --> 00:33:22,120 Nagash himself had his compendious knowledge of the 519 00:33:22,120 --> 00:33:28,600 dark arts of this seafelt shore. Despite the long centuries he 520 00:33:28,640 --> 00:33:33,000 lived, his mind was still keen. If it wasn't a lack of 521 00:33:33,000 --> 00:33:36,280 knowledge, then what was it? How was it now? 522 00:33:36,280 --> 00:33:39,480 His rivals had been able to drive him from his ancient lair 523 00:33:39,680 --> 00:33:42,560 and forth into empty lands as a wanderer. 524 00:33:43,320 --> 00:33:44,960 It wasn't that there were too many of them. 525 00:33:45,280 --> 00:33:48,560 In the past, his enemies had gathered together in cabals, 526 00:33:48,800 --> 00:33:52,840 pooling their resources in vain attempts to dispute his mastery. 527 00:33:53,520 --> 00:33:59,080 Always, he had overcome them. He smiled with satisfaction, 528 00:33:59,600 --> 00:34:03,600 remembering old triumphs. In the hills beyond Britonia, 529 00:34:04,240 --> 00:34:07,480 his mighty army had smashed the zombie legions of the Council of 530 00:34:07,480 --> 00:34:09,480 Nine. In the dark woods beyond the 531 00:34:09,480 --> 00:34:13,600 town of Bogan Halfen, he had overcome 3 vampire Wizards of 532 00:34:13,600 --> 00:34:16,800 Brutwald and all the armies of The Walking Dead. 533 00:34:17,639 --> 00:34:21,440 In the crypts beneath the cursed castle of Vermas, he had 534 00:34:21,440 --> 00:34:25,800 overcome the ancient wizard and all his acolytes and one for 535 00:34:25,800 --> 00:34:28,440 himself the title of Leech Master. 536 00:34:29,159 --> 00:34:31,760 Kemler allowed himself a wintery smile. 537 00:34:32,560 --> 00:34:35,920 In those days, his military genius had been renowned as his 538 00:34:35,920 --> 00:34:38,960 necromancy. He had LED his hordes to many 539 00:34:38,960 --> 00:34:42,400 victories. Even kings had come crown in 540 00:34:42,400 --> 00:34:46,679 hand to beg his assistance in their petty squabbles. 541 00:34:48,280 --> 00:34:53,239 Slowly, Kemler's smile ended. Now was not the time to relieve 542 00:34:53,239 --> 00:34:56,480 past triumphs. He could I'll afford any time 543 00:34:56,600 --> 00:35:00,400 for reverie with a hounds of darkness snapping at his heels. 544 00:35:00,920 --> 00:35:05,040 Still, the temptation was there. It was more comfortable to 545 00:35:05,040 --> 00:35:08,720 recall lost glories than to relive his recent defeats. 546 00:35:09,560 --> 00:35:13,520 Better to remember the days when the kingdoms of men were baubles 547 00:35:13,520 --> 00:35:17,560 to be played with than to recall the recent shattering of his 548 00:35:17,560 --> 00:35:21,440 undead host by the forces of his accursed rivals. 549 00:35:22,480 --> 00:35:25,960 Cold fury filled him as he looked at the pitiful remains of 550 00:35:25,960 --> 00:35:29,680 his undead army. Here were but a few 100 animated 551 00:35:29,680 --> 00:35:32,640 skeletons and 10 score Walking Dead. 552 00:35:33,280 --> 00:35:36,960 A pathetic remnant of an army whose numbers had once been 553 00:35:37,160 --> 00:35:41,200 legion. Once the Carrion had come back, 554 00:35:41,800 --> 00:35:44,880 Once the mummies of the night tombs of the Kingdom of Dead had 555 00:35:44,880 --> 00:35:48,520 lumbered to obey his every whim. Now he had nothing. 556 00:35:49,360 --> 00:35:51,880 Now his enemies flickered through the pages of his 557 00:35:51,880 --> 00:35:56,520 unsurpassed necromatic library, and his greatest rivals drank 558 00:35:56,520 --> 00:36:00,760 hallucinogenic wine drawn from the Cellars of his Dark Tower. 559 00:36:01,640 --> 00:36:05,240 Kemler licked his lips. He could kill for a drink of 560 00:36:05,240 --> 00:36:08,360 that wine now. He recalled laying it down in 561 00:36:08,360 --> 00:36:13,720 the days of his glory 150 years ago, mixing the potent mushrooms 562 00:36:13,720 --> 00:36:17,800 with drops of Lotus and the forbidden grapes of Quaar Amman, 563 00:36:17,920 --> 00:36:21,920 whose roots must be bedded in soil fertilized with a flesh of 564 00:36:21,920 --> 00:36:25,720 murderers. He cursed aloud and hoped the 565 00:36:25,720 --> 00:36:29,880 wine brought his foes nightmares, that it had gone bad 566 00:36:29,880 --> 00:36:33,920 and poison ran in their veins. He knew it would not be so. 567 00:36:34,760 --> 00:36:37,920 One glance over his shoulders and he could see the distant 568 00:36:37,920 --> 00:36:41,640 stream of green witch lights that marked the presence of his 569 00:36:41,640 --> 00:36:45,760 pursuers. He thought of his library and a 570 00:36:45,760 --> 00:36:48,880 great gloom filled him. It had taken many lifetimes of 571 00:36:48,880 --> 00:36:53,640 man to acquire it, the greatest trove of necromatic law outside 572 00:36:53,640 --> 00:36:56,680 Nagishizar. Now it was in the hands of 573 00:36:56,680 --> 00:37:00,600 fools, lesser men without the vision of a foresight to apply 574 00:37:00,600 --> 00:37:04,800 it beyond their own petty ends. There was one consolation, 575 00:37:04,800 --> 00:37:06,920 though. He had modified many of the 576 00:37:06,920 --> 00:37:10,640 spells in the Gurimas in ways only he knew and could 577 00:37:10,640 --> 00:37:14,040 compensate for. Anyone using these works without 578 00:37:14,040 --> 00:37:17,840 his knowledge was in for a few unpleasant surprises, and no one 579 00:37:17,960 --> 00:37:21,240 would benefit much from the store of knowledge he had 580 00:37:21,240 --> 00:37:26,280 smuggled so long to accumulate. This was getting him nowhere. 581 00:37:26,840 --> 00:37:30,560 He was no closer to solving the Riddle of why he was being 582 00:37:30,560 --> 00:37:32,880 defeated. He could no longer muster the 583 00:37:32,880 --> 00:37:35,240 strength to break the spells of his foes. 584 00:37:36,240 --> 00:37:39,640 Perhaps, he thought, age had finally overcome him. 585 00:37:40,440 --> 00:37:43,080 In spite of the cunning of his sorceries and the supreme 586 00:37:43,080 --> 00:37:47,480 alchemel mastery that had prolonged his life, his strength 587 00:37:47,480 --> 00:37:52,080 had flowed from him like wine from an overturned goblet. 588 00:37:53,160 --> 00:37:55,680 Perhaps there was a limit to how long a mortal man could 589 00:37:55,680 --> 00:37:58,400 continue, and perhaps he had reached it. 590 00:37:59,760 --> 00:38:03,640 He knew he could no longer find the strength within him to cast 591 00:38:03,640 --> 00:38:06,520 the great spells. He struggled with simple 592 00:38:06,520 --> 00:38:10,640 reanimations, like a wheezing old codger trying to run a mile. 593 00:38:11,240 --> 00:38:13,920 He simply no longer had the power he once had. 594 00:38:14,120 --> 00:38:17,320 His strength had faded and withered, and there could be 595 00:38:17,320 --> 00:38:19,320 nothing he could be doing about it. 596 00:38:20,440 --> 00:38:23,120 Perhaps all necromance has reached this point, he thought. 597 00:38:23,840 --> 00:38:26,760 Perhaps that was why they became leeches and bartered their 598 00:38:26,760 --> 00:38:29,840 mortal thorns for undying carcasses. 599 00:38:30,760 --> 00:38:34,040 Kemla shuddered. Even after all these centuries 600 00:38:34,040 --> 00:38:37,600 of eluding death, the idea was still repugnant to him. 601 00:38:38,160 --> 00:38:40,920 He tried to imagine what it would be like to be a Leech. 602 00:38:41,080 --> 00:38:43,840 He tried to imagine what it would be like to find life in 603 00:38:43,840 --> 00:38:47,680 death, or perhaps death in life. He tried to imagine what it 604 00:38:47,680 --> 00:38:52,240 would be like to never breathe or feel a heartbeat, or to enjoy 605 00:38:52,240 --> 00:38:56,440 the taste of wine or food. He tried to imagine what it 606 00:38:56,440 --> 00:39:00,920 would be like to have maggots eat his rotten vitals and simply 607 00:39:00,920 --> 00:39:06,440 not to care. Others might make the trade 608 00:39:06,440 --> 00:39:09,040 willingly, but they were ignorant fools. 609 00:39:09,440 --> 00:39:12,440 They might think it was not so bad to swap a living, ageing 610 00:39:12,440 --> 00:39:16,120 body for one which could. Chuet's change meant nothing. 611 00:39:16,880 --> 00:39:19,240 He had seen leeches in all their horror. 612 00:39:19,680 --> 00:39:22,720 He had talked with those he had bound to his will, and he had 613 00:39:22,720 --> 00:39:26,240 some idea of what it would be like to become one over 614 00:39:26,240 --> 00:39:30,520 centuries. He had put off the idea, but he 615 00:39:30,520 --> 00:39:34,880 told himself perhaps that was simply the folly of a young and 616 00:39:34,880 --> 00:39:37,560 mighty mage, confident in his power. 617 00:39:38,240 --> 00:39:40,840 Perhaps, all necromancers thought as he did when they 618 00:39:41,120 --> 00:39:44,840 first set their feet upon this dark path, perhaps this was the 619 00:39:44,840 --> 00:39:48,280 choice they all faced eventually, the slow and 620 00:39:48,280 --> 00:39:52,360 diminishing of their powers and eventual death on a transition 621 00:39:52,360 --> 00:39:54,360 to a new and different stage of being. 622 00:39:55,240 --> 00:39:58,680 Perhaps the human form was merely a lava from which a Leech 623 00:39:58,680 --> 00:40:03,280 emerged like a moth from a chrysalis, Faced with the stark 624 00:40:03,280 --> 00:40:07,200 choice between extinction and continued existence, maybe all 625 00:40:07,200 --> 00:40:09,200 men would make this choice if they could. 626 00:40:09,920 --> 00:40:12,360 Perhaps he was simply lucky to be in a position to make it. 627 00:40:12,960 --> 00:40:16,200 Countless millions of others would never be granted such a 628 00:40:16,200 --> 00:40:19,600 chance. Kemla cursed himself for a fool. 629 00:40:20,240 --> 00:40:23,520 He had stood here brooding on the nature of his existence, and 630 00:40:23,560 --> 00:40:26,080 all the time his enemies drew closer. 631 00:40:27,000 --> 00:40:31,320 He felt a brief stab of startled panic, such as a fox might feel 632 00:40:31,320 --> 00:40:35,160 when it hears the hounds closing in, and he fought the urge to 633 00:40:35,160 --> 00:40:39,360 contain the urge to run. He would survive only now by 634 00:40:39,360 --> 00:40:43,080 keeping his wits about him. Those who followed would make no 635 00:40:43,080 --> 00:40:46,880 deals, would show no mercy. He knew he was alone. 636 00:40:47,680 --> 00:40:50,960 They did not frighten him. He had been alone for many long 637 00:40:50,960 --> 00:40:53,720 decades. His vocation had cut him off 638 00:40:53,720 --> 00:40:56,480 from those who followed more normal human lives. 639 00:40:57,320 --> 00:41:00,520 The years had taught himself sufficiency and great cunning. 640 00:41:01,480 --> 00:41:04,360 It was time to put that cunning to use. 641 00:41:05,360 --> 00:41:08,520 Perhaps there was something about this might aid him. 642 00:41:08,680 --> 00:41:12,080 And after all, this was why he had fled in this direction. 643 00:41:12,520 --> 00:41:15,720 The stretch of the vaults was dotted with ancient tombs and 644 00:41:15,720 --> 00:41:18,600 barrows dating from the time before the Empire and the 645 00:41:18,600 --> 00:41:21,920 Kingdom of Bretonia. Some, it was whispered, dated to 646 00:41:21,920 --> 00:41:25,640 the time even before dwarfs and elves had walked these lonely 647 00:41:25,640 --> 00:41:28,920 paths. It was even hinted yet in 648 00:41:28,920 --> 00:41:31,880 certain dread books that there was a Barrow about here which 649 00:41:31,880 --> 00:41:35,640 contained a weapon of power that was once belonging to a Champion 650 00:41:35,640 --> 00:41:39,320 of Chaos. With such a weapon, Kemler knew 651 00:41:39,480 --> 00:41:43,040 he might be able to defy those who hounded him, perhaps even 652 00:41:43,040 --> 00:41:47,040 reclaim his former pre eminence. He ordered his servants to 653 00:41:47,040 --> 00:41:48,960 spread out and speak in the search. 654 00:41:49,840 --> 00:41:53,160 With this will, he imprinted upon their rotting brains that 655 00:41:53,160 --> 00:41:57,240 they must find that Barrow. With the relentless, implacable 656 00:41:57,240 --> 00:42:01,120 purpose of automatrons, they began their search. 657 00:42:02,280 --> 00:42:05,320 Kemler muttered a prayer to whatever dark gods might be 658 00:42:05,320 --> 00:42:09,760 listening. He knew his existence hung in 659 00:42:09,760 --> 00:42:13,760 the balance. They were still using Kemler a 660 00:42:13,760 --> 00:42:16,120 lot to you, Heinrich Klemmler. I remember him from Terror. 661 00:42:16,120 --> 00:42:19,480 The niche master in a green box, I believe it was all those years 662 00:42:19,480 --> 00:42:21,800 ago. Card buildings and the works. 663 00:42:22,440 --> 00:42:26,960 The army list is next, and we have a few pages of that. 664 00:42:27,320 --> 00:42:30,680 Of course, all the stuff there at the front is the same as we 665 00:42:30,680 --> 00:42:33,400 have in all the different books. And you have a unity of 666 00:42:33,400 --> 00:42:37,480 characters and dead generals and dead battle standard and a hero 667 00:42:37,480 --> 00:42:42,600 and dead champion Necromancers. Lots of these regiments include 668 00:42:42,600 --> 00:42:45,920 skeleton horsemen, skeleton warriors, zombies, ghosts, 669 00:42:45,920 --> 00:42:50,640 wraiths and ghouls. Excuse me, mummies, carrion 670 00:42:50,640 --> 00:42:54,920 wraiths, screaming skull catapults, undead Chariots. 671 00:42:55,880 --> 00:42:58,280 Beautiful, isn't it? And then the list of monsters, 672 00:42:58,280 --> 00:43:00,880 which of course was traditional in these times. 673 00:43:02,000 --> 00:43:05,800 And we have special characters, the first of course being Nagash 674 00:43:06,040 --> 00:43:08,400 Spree, Supreme Lord of the Undead. 675 00:43:09,080 --> 00:43:14,360 Look at that, 475 points plus 35 points if given the Blade of 676 00:43:14,360 --> 00:43:18,080 Death, plus 100 points for the Black Armour of Nagash, plus 100 677 00:43:18,080 --> 00:43:20,960 points for the Book of Nagash, and an extra 40 points for the 678 00:43:20,960 --> 00:43:23,600 Staff of Power. You wouldn't have much else if 679 00:43:23,600 --> 00:43:27,400 you went with Nagash, would you? Are the characters of Vlad von 680 00:43:27,400 --> 00:43:31,440 Karstein, Isabella von Karstein, Manfred von Karstein all 681 00:43:31,440 --> 00:43:34,440 characters that would make brick a lot into the Warhammer world 682 00:43:34,440 --> 00:43:36,920 as things went on? Heinrich Kemmler we know all 683 00:43:36,920 --> 00:43:41,640 about just now, the Cloak of Shadows Ark and the Black Krell, 684 00:43:41,640 --> 00:43:44,000 Lord of the Undead. Good figure for him. 685 00:43:44,000 --> 00:43:46,960 I remember Cetra, the Tomb King of Kemri. 686 00:43:47,400 --> 00:43:50,880 See, the whole background here was just based in one character 687 00:43:50,880 --> 00:43:53,680 at this point, really was. This was to really emerge and 688 00:43:53,680 --> 00:43:58,360 get a lot deeper as we went on. Then we have some magic items. 689 00:43:59,680 --> 00:44:02,720 They're on the backs of cards as they were in these books in 690 00:44:02,720 --> 00:44:05,840 years gone by. And let me see the Cloak of Mist 691 00:44:05,840 --> 00:44:09,280 and Shadows. The Cloak and Mist and Shadows 692 00:44:09,280 --> 00:44:13,600 allows its wearer to cast the necromantic dark mist spell a 693 00:44:13,600 --> 00:44:16,080 Will. Once per magic phase, the 694 00:44:16,080 --> 00:44:19,560 character's body melts into the dark mist and swirls around the 695 00:44:19,560 --> 00:44:23,040 battlefield. He may move 24 inches per turn 696 00:44:23,320 --> 00:44:25,880 and can move through solid objects and therefore no suffer 697 00:44:25,880 --> 00:44:29,200 no penalties for moving over difficult terrain or obstacles. 698 00:44:29,720 --> 00:44:32,960 He can move through buildings, but may not move through other 699 00:44:32,960 --> 00:44:35,120 creatures. The character may not attack 700 00:44:35,120 --> 00:44:37,680 while the spell is infect, but can cast spells. 701 00:44:37,840 --> 00:44:40,560 It may only be harmed by magical weapons or spells. 702 00:44:41,360 --> 00:44:43,600 Once cast, the spell remains effective for the rest of the 703 00:44:43,600 --> 00:44:47,080 game until it is dispelled or until the character decides to 704 00:44:47,080 --> 00:44:49,960 end it. It's a powerful spell, isn't it? 705 00:44:50,240 --> 00:44:53,600 A powerful item, really are now just finishing up. 706 00:44:53,600 --> 00:44:56,120 Towards the end of the book we have these black and white 707 00:44:56,120 --> 00:44:59,360 pictures of the figures and all their parts and components. 708 00:45:00,040 --> 00:45:06,000 Yep, there they are, the undead. They're of a different time. 709 00:45:06,080 --> 00:45:08,360 Like suppose they're supposed to be really, aren't they, these 710 00:45:08,360 --> 00:45:11,040 figures? But they still hold a certain 711 00:45:11,040 --> 00:45:14,600 charm to them. Skeleton commands some beautiful 712 00:45:14,600 --> 00:45:17,920 standard bearers there. Undead plastics. 713 00:45:17,920 --> 00:45:23,560 Then coming up, skeleton horse, skeleton foot, skeleton chariot, 714 00:45:23,560 --> 00:45:27,960 even undead plastics. And then the back and shows us 715 00:45:27,960 --> 00:45:31,720 some of the books we can get before finishing off with a 716 00:45:31,720 --> 00:45:37,360 skeleton horde, a mighty undead horde, lovely scenery. 717 00:45:37,480 --> 00:45:42,120 That old Chapel that they often used, rocks filled with skulls 718 00:45:42,880 --> 00:45:47,280 before we have the black back at the end of the book. 719 00:45:48,800 --> 00:45:51,480 Well, there we have it. You could read that for 720 00:45:51,480 --> 00:45:54,280 pleasure, couldn't you? It was such a good book. 721 00:45:54,280 --> 00:45:56,960 Some of those stories, some of the background they gave those 722 00:45:56,960 --> 00:46:01,800 characters, they felt lived in, they felt alive even though they 723 00:46:01,800 --> 00:46:07,120 were undead and they felt or you felt that you would be proud to 724 00:46:07,120 --> 00:46:11,240 have them leave your armies. I think that's been my favorite 725 00:46:11,240 --> 00:46:16,680 one so far. It really is such a good book. 726 00:46:16,840 --> 00:46:22,440 It has such a good feel to it and it's also one of the ones 727 00:46:22,440 --> 00:46:26,280 they moved away from more than some of the other ones really. 728 00:46:26,360 --> 00:46:29,560 They changed the background a lot in later editions. 729 00:46:30,720 --> 00:46:32,840 But there's gold in them hills there, isn't there? 730 00:46:33,720 --> 00:46:37,320 It's a really, really you could tell the talent they had at that 731 00:46:37,320 --> 00:46:40,160 time. I think Bill King was a big loss 732 00:46:40,600 --> 00:46:42,960 when he left. To do stuff or not to do the 733 00:46:42,960 --> 00:46:45,960 books anyway. Well, there we are, my friends. 734 00:46:46,520 --> 00:46:49,600 I survived a a death defying moment today. 735 00:46:50,000 --> 00:46:53,520 The night is growing dark. The storm is still raging 736 00:46:53,520 --> 00:46:54,960 outside. You could probably hear it as I 737 00:46:54,960 --> 00:46:57,920 was reading to you. It's getting to the end of 738 00:46:57,920 --> 00:46:59,760 November. I'm not sure when Joshua put 739 00:46:59,760 --> 00:47:02,960 this out, so if I don't see you or hear from you before, have a 740 00:47:02,960 --> 00:47:05,640 Merry Christmas guys. The Doleg Klawen. 741 00:47:06,400 --> 00:47:09,200 My name is Owen Stayton. You can follow me on X or 742 00:47:09,200 --> 00:47:12,840 Twitter as I prefer to call it, and VO in Stayton on there and 743 00:47:12,880 --> 00:47:15,200 even on Blue Sky. Now I'm getting the hang of 744 00:47:15,200 --> 00:47:17,320 that. Please feel free to buy me a 745 00:47:17,320 --> 00:47:21,800 coffee, coffee.com/owen stating and listen to my podcast The 746 00:47:21,800 --> 00:47:25,000 Time Between Times. I'd be very grateful if you did 747 00:47:25,000 --> 00:47:27,400 that. Take care everyone. 748 00:47:28,480 --> 00:47:33,200 It's a good hobby to have, it's a good hobby to spend your time 749 00:47:33,200 --> 00:47:38,040 in, It's creative, it inspires your thoughts, and it's 750 00:47:38,040 --> 00:47:40,120 something that you can take with you anywhere. 751 00:47:41,480 --> 00:47:44,320 War Gaming has been a great servant to me and continues to 752 00:47:44,320 --> 00:47:48,200 be. I'm quite proud of that ticket.