Alright, as I promised to myself, gonna try and actually write some stuff that'd perhaps be really useful to someone.

Before I begin, a small foreword from me.

I love Warhammer. I really, really do. Warhammer 1st edition is pretty much my first "real" RPG, with complex rules, fine illustrations, etc. etc. It's a system my father used to talk about with me a lot when I was a wee bugger, and I got my corebook when I was twelve, and had been using it since then.

So as you understand, I feel a damn big sentiment for that old bastard. And when 2e came out in Poland, it was pretty much The Big Thing for me.

And then, I really didn't know what to do with it. I mean yes, I could understand that the mechanic was cleared up, but the setting just felt so...meh for me. It went from a dark fantasy style Medieval/Renaissance Europe, to some post - apocalyptic semi - steampunk grimdark thingie. It's probably a bit unfair on my part to talk about 2e like that, but - sentiment.

So I kept gaming on 1e, and as luck had it, thanks to my buddy from school, I was invited to a game of his older cousin, where I came alongside a set of house rules and house setting, that did what I just wanted it to do - pumping out a good load of fresh air into Warhammer. Most importantly, a vast armoury and combining 2e's idea of All Magic Is From Chaos with 1e's magic system.

And so, now that my gaming pals asked me for a Warhammer game, I sat down and decided to use that set of house rules for Great Justice, and steal some ideas from my friend, while still making the setting my own variation on Warhammer. So, to the point then. I'm going to post here a bits about "my" setting of Warhammer, some monster ideas, some cities, and some just general visions of "How I see Warhammer". I hope you'll like this, or at least find some tricks to salvage.


Warhammer: Blood and Gunpowder

Premise of the setting.

My main idea for the Warhammer is simple - it's a great stage for setting adventures in "How would Renaissance Europe look if  there was magic and alien races involved". But I also fell in love with Malazan Book of the Dead recently, so I had decided to throw a good share of epic fantasy into the world of Warhammer - the empires of elves and dwarves were much bigger then suggested in the setting books, covering much of the nowadays Empire, before the elves and dwarves decided to drown their future in blood. Now, the Forest Elves mostly keep to the forests, mainly the ones of Bretonnia, plotting with their Highborn brothers the return of the True Race, while dwarves are too busy trying to save what's left of their once mighty kingdoms, while more and more dwarves decide it is safer to forget about the graves of ancestors, and simply live in the cities of Empire. And as you walk through the forests and swamps of the Empire, sometimes you will come across an odd ruin - testimony of ages past, of fallen hopes...and perhaps treasures to be found for those brave enough, to dare and look into it's depths?

The vision of Empire:

I take Holy Roman Empire of XV - XVI century as a guideline here, except the Emperor is a much more powerful figure. Still, the Empire could have conquered most of the world, perhaps even deal with Greenskins and Chaos for good, were it not for it's internal problems. Karl Franz is more busy  trying to keep his fellow Prince Electors in line, then fight Chaos, and not helping that problem is the technological revolution that slowly begins to sweep through the Empire, threatening the ancient order.

For that note - I've cut out most of the Steampunkish elements from the Empire. There are Steam Tanks, and the dwarves have their Gyrocopters and Ironclads - but they are all recent  designs of Imperial Dwarves, only recently introduced, and with the exception of Gyrocopters, who are just extremely rare (and also used by Mountain Dwarves), Steam Tanks and Ironclads are unique - there's perhaps about 3 - 4 of them in the Old World. Gunpowder weaponry was discovered by the dwarves, but about 100 - 150 years ago, not 2000 years ago, and ironically enough - the designs are slowly being mastered by Tilean craftsmen. Such events as Time of Three Emperors, however, are still "canon" for my vision.

What troubles the Empire:

Religious conflicts

Unsurprisingly, Church of Sigmar in the role of Catholic Church, fighting politically against Ulricans, but... Some religious zealots, especially in the south of the Empire, are spreading various dangerous thesis, aimed at the divinity of Sigmar. Many people, both nobles and peasants, tired of the wealth and power accumulated by the Sigmarites, or perhaps fearful that the polytheistic nature of the Empire is threatened, listen well to those dissenters.

To make things more complicated, for some time now, through the former province of the Empire, Sudenland, there had been a large amount of Tilean weapon being trafficked to the Empire, alongside mercenaries, who are skilled in usage of tactics that will shock the orthodox knights of the Empire - proper utilisation of gunpowder weaponry, alongside infamous "wagon fort" tactic, that allowed Sudenland to hold onto it's independence so far. Averland and Stirland are light gunpowder kegs, ready to be lit.

To prevent the "granaries of Empire"  from being set on fires of religious conflicts, the Sigmarite Inquisition reinforced their efforts in trying to hunt down the heretics, but also extend a hand towards other religions, calling for a great council in city of Streissen. An unfortunate location, for the people of Streissen still remember the swords of knights that cut down many of their fellow people during the infamous Food Riots 10 years ago, when Streissen also lost most of it's privileges.

The Council will not only try to put out the flames, but also decide a very problematic nature - what to do with Old Faith, the druids.

And the druids are indeed a problem, for they are masters of ancient knowledge, that perhaps Men was not meant to know. They know the secrets of ruined strongholds of elves and dwarves, and magic scribbled on their walls. Some druids keep close ties with Wood Elves, which is only another reason for Sigmarites, who are strongly influenced by their spiritual father's alliance with dwarves, to despise the Old Faith. So the Inquisitors and their hounds, Witch Hunters, also arm themselves with the weaponry pioneered by their stout allies, as well as used by their sworn foes amongst the Ulricans and Myrmidians of South.

Soon, the gunpowder shall fight against the ancient rituals, bullets against magic missiles, cannonballs against fireballs, future against the past.


Feudals against Feudals, Feudals against Guilds.

For a long time in the Empire, the landed nobility, knights, were the highest social class. Armoured in plate armours, brought by dwarven tradesmen to the Empire, they were a sight to be reckoned with. Sadly, most of the energy of those fierce warriors was, and still is, wasted on infighting - everyone, from the poorest of knights to the mightiest of Electors, is constantly plotting how to steal land from their fellow nobles, and make their own demesne bigger.

Lately, however, the nobility stopped infighting amongst themselves, and instead, started to fight against the raising power of City Councils and City Guilds - usually one and the same thing, really. At first, it was an easy fight, as the City Councils had to use unreliable mercenaries, usually poorly equipped - or terribly expansive.

It all had begun with introduction of a crossbow. Suddenly, a weapon that could be learned to operate in a few week's time, had the power to pierce even the finest of armours. Now, the primitive gunpowder weaponry is becoming more and more reliable, and while it is still expansive and requires far more training then a crossbow, it also pierces a breastplate much easier.

Though the knights of the Empire are not as degenerated as the ones of Bretonnia, and still assemble to the call of their sovereigns, the latter understand that infantry is not a whipping boy of the cavalry any longer. Peasant levies are still utilised, but mostly as support troops - mercenaries are becoming troops of choice for those who can afford them, in style of Tilean city - states tactics. Not only the mercenaries are much better then levies at combat, using them also does not cause you to forego the harvests.

A new group of people raises in the Empire - landsknechts. Those mercenaries utilise Tilean love of guns with the tactics used by Sudenlanders and dwarves, to make a truly fierce combat force. Armed with pikes, two - handed swords and handheld arquebuses, they are a force to be reckoned with. Only the richest of nobles can afford their constant service...and the City Councils.

For the cities had grown indeed, and nowadays, the Guilds of biggest cities of Empire can rival the power of Prince Electors, at least when it comes to matters of coin. An organisation devoted to keeping the competition "fair" and to protect the trade routes, as well as unite the various mercenary contingents of City Councils - Hanza, is a needle in the eye of most of the nobles.

However, the cities of the Empire are also a main "breeding" ground for the heretics and apostates, who dare to question the holiness of Sigmar. The Prince Electors are therefore dragged into the religious conflict - some will support the Sigmarites, using the fight against heresy to crush the spine of Hanza, while others, under the banner of Boris Todbringer, silently support the Ulrican "heretics", so that after the Hanza and Sigmarites fight it out, they may swoop in and establish Ulric, and themselves, as main power of the Empire.


Well, and that's my 30 minutes up. Tomorrow I'll post a bit about conflict with Ruinous Power, or "de - Chaositation" of Empire - I think the 2e really took the whole "Chaos is everywhere and plotting" a bit too much.

Ruinous Powers


First of all - I like Enemy Within. I love it. But it sent a bit of a wrong message that resulted in 2e basically stating this: Everything that's wrong with the Empire? Probably Chaos.

Evil tax collector? Chaos. Overambitious advisor to an Elector? Chaos. Milk gone sour in the village? Chaos.

So, I have decided to cut most of the influences of Chaos in the Empire. Don't get me wrong - mutants are still born, and there's a fair share of  them, mostly hiding in small bands in deep forests and swamps, too busy trying desperately to survive to be real danger, and there's an occasional Khornite warband that manages to get through Kislev into the Empire. But the secret societies of Chaos worshippers, are exactly  that - secret. And not really  that numerous. There will be occasionally someone near the top in such an organisation, but those people usually remain highly anonymous. The disgruntled masses, normally a perfect recruiting grounds for Chaos cults, are now too busy being dragged by Ulricans, Myrmidians and druids into war against the Sigmarites, to make good Ruinous Powers cannon fodder. And the Inquisition is not just hunting the apostates and heretics to the Church of Sigmar - they are more then actively hunting down Chaos worshippers. With activities of Inquisition more widespread then ever, Chaos cults keep their heads low, and plot - at the same time, trying to pose themselves in best position, to strike after things calm down. As for the cults of various gods, here are my general guidelines.

Societies of Khorne: Practically non - existent in the cities, and least popular in the Empire, as Kislev is an effective buffer for various marauders, whom are usually more then content to fight it out in Chaos Wastes. The faith is mostly spread by the few warbands who actually travel the Empire, and occasionally, non - mutated banite bands listen to such teachings as well. Another, small source of worship of Khorne in the Empire are  Norse mercenaries - some tribes from Norsca worship Khorne, though they do so secretly, and rare is a priest amongst those war - like people. But when a prophet of Khorne rises amongst the Norses, snows of the north are covered in blood.

Societies of Slaanesh: Probably the most common form of Chaos worship in the Empire. Spreading from degenerated Bretonnian nobility, the members of Slaanesh cults are mostly scions of old noble families and wealth merchants, especially the nouveau riche, that wish to mingle amongst the families of "old money". As most of the members of Cults of Slaanesh are influential individuals, it is hard to persecute them officially - but Church of Sigmar is well known for not shunning from underhanded methods when it comes to dealing with Cults of Slaanesh, and Templars of White Wolf consider slaying every Slaaneshite another proof of Sigmarite degeneration in the Empire.

Societies of Nurgle: Perhaps the second biggest group of Chaos worshippers in the Empire, with their access to necromantic rituals and plague recipes, the cults of Nurgle would be the most dangerous one in the Empire, were it not for one monster of a man. Constant Drachenfels, the greatest necromancer who ever lived, and tutor of infamous Nagash, Drachenfels always challenged Ruinous Powers - especially Nurgle's control over necromantic magics. Though Drachenfels died recently, slain by Oswald von Konigswald, his apprentices and vampiric allies continue to be a thorn in the eyes of Nurgle cultists, who not only have to fight amongst themselves for the glory of their bloated god, but also, by his decree, attempt to hunt down the vilest of heretics' offspring - and so far, the teachings of Great Enchanter proved to be an even match for Nurglites of the Empire. The Nurglites are mostly drawn from the worst dregs of the society - lepers, grave robbers, disgruntled peasants and beggars. The classic witch from Sigmarite sermon is a cultist of Nurgle. As such, cults of Nurgle rarely have great resources to draw on, relying mostly on the fact, that nobody cares about dregs of the society, making them perfect spies.

Societies of Tzeentch: The smallest, yet perhaps the most dangerous, save the cults of Slaanesh, group of Chaos worshippers in the Empire. The main goal of Tzeentch is simple - total control over magic, and those are also goals of his worshippers, whom are mostly academics and wizards, lured by the promise of power that Tzeentch gives as the self - proclaimed Master of Magic that he strives to become. And indeed, the power comes - but with a price. For though many dispute Tzeentch's claim on magic, there is none who dispute that he is indeed Changer of Ways, Lord of Change, and those who serve him are slowly warped into his image - the most faithful can even earn their award of becoming Lords of Change themselves.

As for gods of Chaos themselves - I have decided that they are four princes of Old Ones, who were corrupted in the moment of gates' explosion and sucked into Realms of Chaos, a corrupted part of Realms of Magic. Now, they struggle to free themselves by various means, while keeping the rest imprisoned - Khorne grows stronger with each drop of blood shed in his name. Nurgle's body bloats with each death by disease and plague in the Empire, so that one day it'll become bigger then Realms of Magic. Slaanesh believes that with enough decadence the other Old Ones, who became gods of Servitor Races, will purge the world and in order to do so, break the seal to Realms of Magic to gather enough raw arcane power. Tzeentch finally wishes to take over the control of the matter that their prison is constructed from, and liberate himself in that manner.

Necromancers in the Empire, and alternative history of necromancy.

Despite the words of priests, not all magic is evil. And despite the lies of Tzeentch, Changer of Ways does not yet control all magic. However, besides the vile daemonology which indeed is magic dedicated to gods of Chaos - though sometimes used against them - there is another school of magic, forbidden in the Empire, though ironically, the first school of magic mastered by Man.

It all started with Constant Drachenfels, though in those days he was simply another nameless test subject, one of the first humans, before the Old Ones created races of elf, dwarf and halfing. Drachenfels, left to die by his tribe, killed another human to survive, and by an accident - and as luck would have it, the murder took place where gates of Old Ones were to be erected in the future - a natural connection with the Realm of Magic, activated by sacrifice of blood. And so, thanks to a massive discharge of raw mana, Drachenfels not only had become younger - but also the first wizard of the world, knowledgeable in art of prolonging his own life. Perhaps even it was Drachenfels terrible deed that brought the Old Ones to the world - as none save that monster remember those dark times, we will never know.

The Old Ones came and went, populating the world with their experiments, the Servitor Races, and Drachenfels watched, learning from the new masters of the world - especially due to slavish service to a certain bloated creature, that would become in ages to past Nurgle, God of Disease, from whom, in return for his faithful service, received the Golden Mask - a powerful tool that allowed Drachenfels an unparalleled control over magic, for a mortal. As such, Drachenfels learned the truth behind Gods of Chaos and Gods of Servitor Races, but kept it to himself, so that he would be out of their reach - save for Nurgle, who realised that this pathetic ape - creature dared to steal the secrets of necromancy from him.

Ages after the fall of Old Ones, Drachenfels ruled the Khemri society from the shadows as head of Liche Priests, a group of necromancers posing as a cult. Then, one day, a certain prince with ambition, Nagash, was forced to become a Grand Heirophant - mummified alive, a sacrifice to the gods. Perhaps Drachenfels saw his younger self in the mutilated young prince, betrayed by his own people. Or perhaps it was the ennui from millenniums without challenge. One way or the other, Drachenfels saved Nagash life with his magic, then took him as his first apprentice, and the finest he ever had.

However, unlike Nurgle, Drachenfels was not to be trapped in the Realms of Chaos, and Nagash was an ambitious man. In due time, he betrayed his master, quite literally backstabbing Drachenfels, then trapping his immoral corpse in one of the great pyramids of Khemri.

From then, the story plays in the same way as chronicles suggest - Nagash ruled Khemri, was deposed, became a Liche, created the vampires and ultimately "died" to the Fellblade wielded by insane Alcadizaar.

All that time, Drachenfels plotted, slowly liberating himself from his own prison. And finally, he managed to - but unfortunately, he also understood that his apprentice was now far more powerful then him, for he felt Nagash's power being reborn in the crypts of Black Pyramid. So Drachenfels went north, and found a new nation of man. Pretending to be a wandering prophet of Ulric, he managed to become an advisor to young ruler of "Empire", Sigmar, and warned him of impending invasion of undead - for Drachenfels knew that Nagash will not rest, until all of the world is subject to the Great Undeath. Sigmar, in his wisdom, listened to the warlock's council, but remained wary of Drachenfels' nature. The Great Enchanter, on the other hand, used the remaining time before Nagash was reborn, to persuade the Vampire Lords to betray their creator, for which they were later forever cursed.

After Nagash's defeat by the hands of Sigmar, the First Emperor did not think twice - and suddenly, to the shock of his "advisor", Ghal Maraz fell on Drachenfels' head, cracking the monster's infamous Golden Mask forever, and stripping Drachenfels of much of his powers. Though the Great Enchanter managed to flee, he never forgave Sigmar for stripping him from most of his powers, and took residence in Grey Mountains, and begun to train a new generation of "Liche Priests", or necromancers as they were simply called. It was there that Drachenfels, after ages of sin and bloodshed, was slain by Duke Oswald, finally ridding the world of it's most ancient evil.

Or so it'd seem - for Drachenfels managed to gather quite a following. And now, his former servants, when not fighting the servants of Nurgle, are plotting to bring their master back to life. In order to do so, they seek to locate the infamous Hand of Nagash - unknown to most, the Hand of Nagash is not only a powerful necromantic artifact, but also it was with that hand that Nagash backstabbed Drachenfels, forging an eternal connection between the two.