Races and nations of Warhammer Fantasy

In the fictional Warhammer Fantasy setting by Games Workshop, there are a number of different races and nations. The most important of these features are individual armies in the Warhammer Fantasy Battle table top game.
Realms of Men
Kingdom of Bretonnia
Bretonnia is based on both real-world medieval France and the Chivalric Romance literary genre popular during that time period, especially the Arthurian Cycle; its name is clearly derived from the French province of Britanny that Arthurian canon is heavily associated with.
In the setting, Bretonnia was founded when the Knight Lord Gilles le Breton drove the hordes of Orcs and Chaos out of Bretonnia in the name of the Lady, the goddess in whom the Bretonnians place their faith. Since then Bretonnia has been divided and collectively ruled by the King of Bretonnia and his twelve Dukes and their families. Each Duke, in turn, rules over several barons and earls, each having great swathes of land and are able to call upon dozens of knights from the lesser nobility that they rule.
Worship of 'The Lady' is only exclusive to the aristocracy, as peasants are considered unworthy to worship Her and any caught doing so are brutally punished. Peasants instead worship the standard Old World pantheon with local modifications.
Bretonnian armies rely on powerful charges of their numerous knights in order to achieve victory. These knights are arguably the best heavy cavalry in Warhammer Fantasy, along with being the most varied. They train extensively from boyhood in riding and heavy armor combat, specializing in two kinds of weapons, the longsword and the lance; completely abstaining from using ranged weapons, which they consider dishonorable. Though indoctrinated in the art of knightly chivalry (similar to that which is practiced in Arthurian legend), Bretonnians generally believe that chivalrous acts and responsibilities only apply to their fellow aristocrats and do not extend the same courtesies and respect to their peasant citizens. Bretonnian knights are born exclusively from the nobility of Bretonnia as peasants cannot afford the cost of the armor and weapons required to be a knight, to say nothing of the upkeep necessary to keep horses and maintain equipment.
Some more well-off peasants may still serve as Men-at-arms in their lord's forces, each aristocrat being able to raise a few hundred men-at-arms from their peasant tenant families. These part-time soldiers are paid a marginal wage and are provisionally given basic armor and carry pikes or spears as their armaments. Each is also required to wear the livery of his lord's house. Though organized and markedly courageous, they are mostly poorly trained and under-supplied as their lords will rarely spare the time and resources to properly equip them. As such, men-at-arms often rely on salvaged or captured arms and other war gear from the battlefield.
Additionally, Bretonnian armies are supplemented by the Fey Enchantresses (women who are mysteriously abducted by fey spirits when they are young, raised by the Lady and endowed with magical powers) and the famed Pegasi Riders (knights trained to ride highly-temperamental winged horses exclusively raised by Bretonnian breeders and serve as the kingdoms aerial forces). For heavy firepower, Bretonnia has only one major siege weapon, the trebuchet. While boasting impressive range, the siege weapon is as inaccurate to fire as it is cumbersome to load. These are usually kept far to the rear of Bretonnian armies along with their peasant longbowmen who rank even less than Men-at-Arms and are often used as fodder.
The Empire
*The Empire is one of the largest nations of the Old World. The Empire is based upon the real-world Holy Roman Empire with heavy Germanic influences, especially during the early modern period. The Empire benefits from a great diversity of units and magic. They also field an extensive variety of black-powder weapons, but its core troops are quite weak in comparison with those of other races.
Smaller states of the Old World
* The Wasteland - Akin to the Low Countries, this low-lying land at the mouth of the River Reik is home to Marienburg, one of the largest cities in the Old World. This region used to belong to the Empire when it was referred to as Westerland, but is now fiercely independent. Marienburg is a single city-state and is not covered by its own army book for Warhammer Fantasy Battle. Although the previous edition of Empire Army book contains a listing for a Marienburg army.
* Tilea - South of the Irrana Mountains and the Vaults. The fractious city-states of Tilea embrace trade, exploration and civil war with equal passion. The bulk of armies in these lands are made up of powerful Legions, fighting on behalf of the wealthy rulers of the many republics and principalities, but there are also wandering mercenary armies who serve the self-proclaimed Merchant Princes and often fight further north in the service of the Empire. Merchant Prince armies can be represented by the Dogs of War army list, but the main Tilean armies have no official book, relying on unofficial sources written by independent players. Tilea roughly corresponds to the real world's Roman Empire, while the nature of the gypsy-like Merchant Princes more resemble Renaissance Italy.
* Estalia - A peninsula southwest of Bretonnia. They are far from the threat of Chaos, this land is home to a kingdom, akin to the Iberian peninsula prior to the Reconquista along with some Renaissance Italy influences. The name "Estalia" is a mix-up of the names España (Spain) and Italia (Italy). Estalia was once occupied by forces from Araby (which mirrors the real life Iberian peninsula which was once under Moorish control) but these were driven out by a combined effort by other Old World human realms. There is no official Estalian army book or list published by Games Workshop at this time. However, one could use a Dogs of War army list as a basis for a royal or mercenary force from the peninsula or use one of the unofficial books published by independent players. Estalia's position in the Old World mirrors that of Spain and Portugal in Europe.
* Norsca - Bordered to the north by the Chaos Wastes, to the south by the Sea of Claws, and to the east by Troll Country. Norsca is a wild country based on Scandinavia. The tribal and Viking like Norse worship a large pantheon of gods, the most significant of which are the , and are often found among the ranks of the Warriors of Chaos forming the majority of the Hordes as both marauder foot soldiers and Chaos Warrior shock troops.
* Kislev - A northern nation and an ally of the Empire under constant threat due to their close proximity to the maddening Realm of Chaos. This nation is reminiscent of medieval Russia and relatively similar to the Slavic countries. In the most recent incarnation, the Kislevites fantasy Russians, with Boyars, Kossars and the Tsar and Tsarina all being very similar adaptations of Russian realities. Kislevites can be taken as allies by some armies, and can be fielded as their own army through an Army Book published as a supplement with White Dwarf (in 2004) .
The North, East, and South
*Albion - based upon the British Isles. Albion is an island surrounded by mist and fog. In 2001, Games Workshop ran a worldwide summer campaign based around control of the Isle of Albion which included rules for adverse weather conditions and stone circles, which enhanced the abilities of magic users. Unofficial army books produced give army lists reminiscent of the cultures and mythologies of the Ancient Celtic Britons and Gaelic Irish.
*Norsca - based on Scandinavia and inhabited by the Norse faction, based on historical Vikings. This distinctive human faction in later editions became subsumed into the Chaos faction (see below).
*Cathay - based upon ancient China.
*Nippon - based upon ancient Japan
*Araby - based on the Islamic Near East during the medieval period with units based largely on Arabian Nights style fantasy. Earlier background describes it as being divided into several theocratic states comprising a large empire ruled by the "Sultan of All Araby".
*Kingdoms of Ind - they are the equivalent to the Indian Subcontinent in the real world. In the relevant Army Books of Warhammer, there is little reference to the Kingdoms of Ind. The southern half of Ind is covered in forests containing a high concentration of Beastmen.
There is an island just off shore of Ind, the equivalent of Sri Lanka, mostly covered by forests on which a High Elf fortress known as the Tower of the Sun is situated. A collection of smaller islands are bunched up close to Ind, one of which has another High Elf outpost known as the Tower of Stars. Separating the Kingdoms of Ind from Grand Cathay is a leg of mountains from the Ogre Kingdoms, the equivalent of the Himalayas, where the Land of the Celestial Dragon Monks is. Just inside the nation of Ind is a coastal city called the City of Spires. The rulers of Ind are said to be attended by many servants and slaves, as well as being wealthy and generous.
Elves
The Elves were the third civilized race to walk the world. Brought from creation by the Old Ones, the Elves showed an adeptness to magic. Torn asunder many thousands of years ago by a great civil war, there are three major nations of Elves.
* Dark Elves - The relentless and bitter Druchii of Naggaroth still follow Malekith, who was exiled but still claims to be the rightful heir to the throne of the Elven Kingdoms of Ulthuan. The dark elves are sworn enemies of the high elves and try incessantly to invade their former homeland. Dark elves enjoy nothing more than inflicting pain and suffering on others, and they frequently launch raids throughout the Old World in order to capture more slaves to feed their hunger for cruelty. Their priestesses, the Witch elves of Khaine, perform blood rituals to rejuvenate their youth.
* High Elves - The Asur carry on the ancient traditions of the Elven people on the island continent of Ulthuan, as well as the burdens of many millennia of arrogance and warfare. Without them the daemons of chaos would overrun the entire world.
* Wood Elves - The ruthless Asrai abandoned their kin to both protect and restrain the strange sentient forest of Athel Loren in the Old World. Considering Warhammer Fantasy's influcence from Tolkien's Middle Earth universe, if the High Elves are likened to the Vanyar/Noldor races, the Wood Elves are mostly the Teleri (including Sindar) from Lothlórien and Mirkwood. They appear to be neither good nor bad, as likely to kill lost travelers as to aid them. They are mortal enemies to the Beastmen, and wage a mostly unnoticed war against them.
In the first edition of the game, there were two other Elven armies noted: the "Sea Elves" and the "Night Elves". Sea Elves were essentially the Elves of the more practical and worldly Outer Kingdoms of Ulthuan, and the Night Elves are now considered part of the Dark Elves.
Dwarfs
The Dwarfs live in city fortresses dug into the mountains of the Old World. Their Chaos brethren occupy one huge towering city in the lands to the south east of the Old World.
Dwarf
* Dwarfs - An ancient, grim, and determined race that was integral in the founding of the Empire, the Dwarfs spend their days avenging grudges and counting gold. Dwarfs are the greatest craftsmen in the Warhammer World and in addition to enjoying fine arms and armor, they field the best heavy infantry and artillery in the game. Dwarf armies are well suited to defensive warfare; however, due to their lack of mobility, they do not do well when forced to go on the offensive. Dwarves are famous for their ability to neither forget nor forgive a wrong against them, their finely crafted weapons and armor, their ability to consume large quantities of ale, extreme stubbornness, mistrust of elves, and their hatred of greenskins. Dwarves are the closest ally to Humanity, although the Elves of Ulthuan have united with the Humans as well in the last few hundred years. Due to the horrid War of the Beard, Dwarves hold a grudge against the High Elves.
Chaos Dwarfs
* Chaos Dwarfs - are an offshoot of the Dwarven race. Originally they were Dwarves, but began to worship the Gods of Chaos and broke off to form a new society. This schism is similar to the one between the High Elves and Dark Elves.
In many ways, Chaos Dwarves are the mirror-images of Dwarves. Where Warhammer Dwarves shun most magic (save for Runic magic, which is unique to this race) Chaos Dwarves have embraced it; where Dwarves worship their Ancestor Gods, Chaos Dwarves have turned to the worship of the evil Hashut, Father of Darkness; where Dwarves abhor slavery and "greenskin" races (Goblins, Orcs and the like), Chaos Dwarves hold masses of slaves and are allied with or are overlords of many greenskin tribes and peoples. They are even responsible for the creation of the Black Orcs.
Chaos Dwarves are depicted as having a rather Mesopotamian look; they wear Assyrian-style armor and sausage-curled beards. The main physical difference between them and ordinary Dwarves is that Chaos Dwarves have long tusks jutting up out of their lower jaws. Their capital city is in the form of a huge ziggurat, called Zharr-Naggrund. They hate or despise all outsiders, and especially hate other Dwarves, who see their existence as an intolerable dishonor to the Dwarf race, meriting extinction.
Chaos Dwarves were introduced through the magazine White Dwarf, and even given a limited rulebook of their own. Unfortunately, the model range never caught on, and was slowly abandoned. However, Games Workshop has recently hinted they may try rereleasing the Chaos Dwarves figurine line much to the enjoyment of its loyal cult following.
Fimir
Fimir are a fantasy race created by Graeme Davis and Jes Goodwin at the end of the 1980s for and the 3rd edition of .
Fictional ecology
Inspired by the Fomorians of Celtic myth, they are depicted as humanoid, cyclopean creatures with barbed tails and beak-like snouts, with skins that varied from a dark green to a muddy brown colour. They are described as being part Daemon.
The Fimir inhabit the wetlands of the Warhammer world, typically within crudely constructed fortifications resembling nothing more than a pile of rocks. From these locations, the Fimir raid the homes of humans, taking captives for daemonic sacrifices. The Fimir loathe sunlight, and are followed by wreaths of mist to shield them from it, and their homes are always shrouded by it.
Fimir society is divided into a caste system, consisting of Meargh, the Dirach, the warriors, and the Shearl. The Meargh - also known as witch-hags - are the leaders of Fimir colonies, as well as the only females. A Meargh would typically also be a very powerful user of magic. The Dirach - described as "daemon-friends" - are a caste of wizards specialising in the worshipping of Daemons. The warrior caste - consisting of Fimm (warriors), Fianna Fimm (elite warriors), and the various nobles - take the brunt of raiding and fighting. The Shearls - the slaves of a Fimir settlement - exist only to work and die. The ruling Meargh hold the clans together. In the event of a Meargh's death, the Fimir of her stronghold separate, either working as mercenaries for other evil creatures or seeking out another clan to join. However the Meargh is sterile and therefore unable to breed. So as to replenish their numbers the Fimir kidnap young fertile human women to use as breeding stock.
Inclusion History
The Fimir were created at the behest of Games Workshop's then-owner, Bryan Ansell who wanted a race "to be as distinctive of Warhammer as the Broo are of Runequest". However, the Fimir did not prove popular, and disappeared with the 4th edition of WFB, although this did give them time to make a guest-starring appearance in HeroQuest. Very few (official) sources on Fimir exist and include the WFRP Bestiary, an article in White Dwarf No. 102, the third edition of WFB (Bestiary and Warhammer Armies) and some references in supplements.
There are two Fimir miniatures at the "correct scale" i.e. a size between 1.8m and 2.1m (in-game scale): Fimir (actually Fimm Warriors) from HeroQuest and some limited edition Fimm Warrior miniatures sold separately. One can also find Fimir by Nick Bibby the size of ogres, although these obviously do not integrate well with the "correctly" scaled models. Original concept sketches of the miniatures made by Jes Goodwin represented human-sized creatures and the published characteristics of the Fimir reflected this fact. However, when Nick Bibby started to sculpt the Fimir miniatures, he made them ogre-sized, leading to them being disproportionately weak for the size of their figurine in WFB. It was officially decided that this was the fault of the authors. Ultimately, WFRP was published with Fimir, but the race disappeared from the next edition of WFB.
The last official appearance of the Fimir was in the WFRP sourcebook Marienburg: Sold Down the River, published in 1999. Since WFRP 2nd edition, the background has been brought into line with WFB and races such as Zoats, Gnomes and Fimir have been quietly dropped. Games Workshop described such races as being in "interminable hiatus". In response, several fan-written creations have been published, including a "Fimir special" issue 25 of the WFRP fanzine Warpstone.
There appears to be another reference to the Fimir in UK White Dwarf 310. Where in the article on the Gnoblar Horde, a new army list, there is a background piece on boglars, a sub-species of gnoblar that live in marshes. It says that "A large tribe in the Marshes of Madness have been rumored to be in alliance with strange, cyclopean creatures." While not being specific, this is almost certainly a reference to the Fimir.
The Fimir were mentioned in the time of Legends novel 'Empire', where creatures matching their description were encountered living in the marshes.
Fimir are referenced by name in the "Marshland" entry of the terrain rules section of the 8th Edition Warhammer Fantasy Battles rulebook.
The July 2011 "Storm of Magic" supplement has, at last, reintroduced Fimir into the Warhammer tabletop game, in the form of a Dirach wizard called a Balefiend, which can be used as a bound monster by any Warhammer army. The character is now a full-fledged monstrous infantry (i.e. ogre-sized) model, rather than regular infantry.
In December 2011, Warhammer Forge revealed three new models to be released in Q1 of 2012 as part of the supplement titled Monstrous Arcana.
In August 2016, a Fimiarch Noble miniature was revealed to be released by Games Workshop's Forge World division.
In July 2017, it was revealed that the Fimir would be re-appearing in an official Games Workshop tie-in product as a part of the Norscan Faction DLC for Total War: Warhammer.
Lizardmen
The Lizardmen have undergone many successive changes through the history of the Warhammer game. Originally they were conceived as the 'native' race of the Warhammer World who were driven underground by the frog-like Slann prior to their vast terraforming (which created the distinctive form of the continents compared to those of Earth). They fought an eons-long guerrilla war against the amphibian aliens whose armies were then made up of Amazons, Pygmies, Lobotomised Slaves and Slann warriors. The appeared in the game only as vassals of the main faction the Slann.
For some years the Slann disappeared as a playable faction. Games Workshop then in 1997 reintroduced the faction as Lizardmen: the Slann now appeared only as commanders of armies almost entirely composed of varied kinds of Lizardmen, and featuring dinosaurs as mounts. The Lizardmen were now reimagined as having been originally created by the Old Ones, thus being the second civilization of the Warhammer world. Preceded by the Old Ones and succeeded by the Elves to aid in their great genetic works, the Slann now lead the Lizardmen through prophesies containing ancient instructions from their gods, who may or may not some day return. The Slann and Lizardman culture is based on the Aztec and Mayan cultures and are found in the New World, corresponding with ancient Central and South America.
Orcs and Goblins (Greenskins)
The tribes of Orcs, Goblins and other Greenskins are spread across the Old World and into the east. They are mostly referred to in general as "Greenskins" for obvious reasons. The magic they use is called Waaaagh! and is drawn from the power and energy of excited, bloodthirsty Greenskins armies. A large horde led by a great Orc Leader (or sometimes a Goblin one) of Orcs and/or Goblins is called a Waaagh!
A relative of the Common Goblin is the Gnoblar, which is found living with the Ogre Hordes in the Mountains of Mourn. East of the Mountains of Mourn on the borders of Cathay live the Hobgoblins, a race of greenskins somewhere between a Goblin and an Orc, but more cunning than either. Hobgoblins can also be found as slaves or slavers within realm of the Chaos Dwarves. Smallest in size of all the Greenskin races are the Snotlings, They are considered the lowliest of greenskins and are most often bullied around by their larger, greener cousins. and the Von Carsteins - fit into vampire legends and lore.
* Tomb Kings - In the hot desert lands of Nehekhara to the south of the Old World a race was once ruled by the necromancer Nagash. After a successful rebellion against his rule, he killed every mortal being in order to raise an unassailable army of the undead to conquer the world. He was stopped by the last king of Khemri. The aftermath of Nagash's great spell awakened several thousand years worth of the buried dead and their Kings as an undead army. Their armies consist mainly of Egyptian-style units, such as bowmen, light infantry and several chariots.
The Ogres
* Ogre Kingdoms - Massive Eastern barbarians who will do any work for gold and will eat anything and anyone. They ride large beasts resembling mammoths and sabre-tooth tigers. Since ogres are guided solely by their stomachs, they spread devastation and destruction wherever they go. Ogres are often considered to be a "neutral" army, and can end up fighting for any side, they hire themselves out as mercenaries to feed their lust for food. Before the great cataclysm the ogre kingdoms lived in prosperity, However, the great cataclysm saw many ogre deaths and later, a huge warpstone meteorite landed in the ogre's lands and killed many more. When the dust cleared a huge mouth (referred to by the ogres as "the great maw") spanned the landscape surrounding the crash site, driving the ogres' endless hunger.

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