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| “ | He who steal-takes my things will soon be cut-sliced into giblet-bits, yes-yes! Snikch always finds his mark! | „ |
| ~ Deathmaster Snikch |
Deathmaster Snikch is one of the most dreaded killers in the world of Warhammer and one of the main antagonists of Warhammer Fantasy. He is known as the Deadliest Skaven of All Time, truly as feat as every Skaven is or will be a craven murder.[1]
He is the Master Assassin and prime agent of Lord Sneek, Lord of of Clan Eshin, the Skaven clan specialized in assassination and sabotage. His infamy is only exceeded by the mystery which surrounds his whereabouts at any particular time. Lord Sneek ensures that this is the case, as long as no one knows the location of his greatest assassin no one can feel safe. Deathmaster Snikch has appeared all over the Old World at one time or another, seldom being seen but always leaving his distinctive symbol traced in blood beside the decapitated heads of his victims.
Deathmaster Snikch comes from Warhammer Fantasy and has made appearances in the Total War games.
Overview[]
Personality & Characteristics[]
Snikch is a black-furred Skaven, typically associated with being a natural-borne killer in ratmen society. He dressed in the typical master-assassin garb of his Clan, though he is the sole Deathmaster of the thirteen top killers active in Clan Eshin at any one time. In the novels, he has black fangs, and his eyes are variously depicted as acidic green or bright red. Unusual for a Skaven, Snikch has a low and raspy voice, provided by voice actor Duncan Duvalle.[2]
Snikch hides it beneath a veneer of near-silence and gentlerat politeness, but he is considered madly homicidal even by the standards of his race. He's infamous for butchering a group of one hundred Stormvermin and building a pyramid from their heads all stacked on each other, with their rebellious leader high on the top. It's said that Snikch doesn't kill for money, but mostly for the pleasure of being able to murder victim after victim.
The concept of a fair fight is alien to Snikch's mind, fittingly for what amounts to a Skaven ninja. He has used many unorthodox methods in his countless assassinations, in a fight he always coats his blades in poison, and he readily fights dirty when confronted. Clan Eshin as a whole embraces this mentality even more then the other Skaven clans.
Abilities[]
His unique fighting style makes Snikch quite possibly the best swordsman in the entirety of Skavendom, and one of the most skilled individuals in the entire Warhammer world. It's the Whirl of Weeping Blades, a secret art he's mastered, and it lets him make use of three envenomed swords at the same time, two in both hands and on with his tail. He wields these blades with extreme proficiency, using finesse, strength and lighting-fast speed, to the extent that he looks like a literal whirlwind, carving up an entire group of enemies so fast that it almost looks like he killed them in a single stroke of his blades. Combine it with his mobility, and his target is already as good as dead.
History[]
No one truly knows what horrors the Deathmaster has perpetrated during his long and mysterious existence, how many ships have been sunk or foundered with mysterious leaks or severed rigging, how many towns have been consumed by fire or pestilence released from the sewers below or even how many people the Deathmaster has killed in his lifetime. It is only on the battlefield that the Deathmaster's presence can at least been known to dwell, stalking his victims, concealed beneath the magical Cloak of Shadows, its ensorcelled power strong enough to make a mockery of the most intricate defences. Where the stealthy tread of Deathmaster Snikch falls, no prince or warlord is safe from his blades.
Ever since Snikch became the Deathmaster of Clan Eshin, his deeds have become legend amongst the Skaven Clans. When he kills on Council orders, Snikch leaves his distinctive symbols so that all would know who have done this grisly act. Warlord Sskut of Murkpit had his neatly removed head stacked atop 100 heads from his Stormvermin bodyguards. When Clan Festerlingus began selling their own mutated mix of Giant Rats and alligators, it was Snikch’s mark that was scrawled over the mutator's bodies. Such rituals are enacted when the Lord Sneek wants to seed terror, an example to those that cross Clan Eshin or the Council.
Of course such gory rituals are only enacted when the Lord Sneek feels that an example should be made, usually to other defiant Skaven. In the lands of men, Elves, and Dwarves it is harder still to detect the Deathmaster Snikch's presence, save perhaps by effect and implication only. For example, the bizarre deaths of Frederick Hasselhoffen and his entire household in Altdorf have never been explained to this day. And the fate of the celestial wizard Heinrich Frisen, found flayed in his observatory tower with the door still locked from the inside, left city watch officials mystified. Many muttered about daemons but the truly erudite know that daemons seldom leave so few clues.
Almost assuredly the fate of the Heinrich Frisen was the work of Snikch. The Dwarf Lord Dromgar, brother to King Belegar of Karak Eight Peaks, was slain in a heavily fortified stronghold. That Dromgar is still missing his head points strongly to the ultimate ninja ratman. While a master of murder, it is likely that Snikch is also behind many of the ratmen's most devious acts of sabotage. The Great Fire of Lothern, the bombing of the Imperial Navy in the Reiksport, and the destruction of Dwarf Engineer Thornik Thorson's Iron Cog-dragon on the eve of the Battle of the Bitter Peak, yet no one truly knows if this is the work of the mysterious Deathmaster.[3]
Total War: Warhammer[]
| “ | Silence-shut up Daemon! | „ |
| ~ Snikch, after being pestered by Tz'arkan[4] |
In Total War, Snikch comes in conflict with the Druchii warlord Malus Darkblade. Unbeknownst to the Skaven, the Dark Elf harbours a Daemon of Slaanesh and the Deathmaster becomes possessed by it after doing away with Malus. Tz'arkan, the daemon question, has a similar, contentious relationship with his new skaven host as he did with the now-dead Malus Darkblade. This was the scheme all along, for Nightlord Sneek knew the daemon would need a new host after Malus was killed.
The End Times[]
Snikch was present and active during the End Times on the side of Chaos, following the Skaven allying themselves with the forces of Archaon. He slew Thorgrim Grudgebearer after the Dwarf High King had killed Queek Headtaker, the legendary Warlord of Clan Mors.
Gallery[]
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Sources[]
- ↑ 40 Years of Warhammer – Deathmaster Snikch Is the Deadliest Skaven of All Time
- ↑ Full Cast & Crew: Total War: Warhammer II (2017 Video Game)
- ↑ Warhammer Armies: Skaven (7th Edition)
- ↑ Total War: Warhammer II