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They gnaw at the roots of the world, plotting the downfall of all other races. They are the skaven, a race of rat men bred up from rodents long exposed to the mutating effects of the strange chaos material known as Warpstone. From the blighted, marshy hallows of Skavenblight, they spread across The Old World, forever seek an advantage that will allow them to topple their many enemies.
~ Children of the Horned Rat (Old World Bestiary)

The Skaven, also called the Ratmen, Ratkin, and the Children of the Horned Rat are an antagonistic species of anthropomorphic common rats from the Warhammer Fantasy and Age of Sigmar properties. They are unique to the setting, unlike races commonly found in fantasy worlds such as elves, orcs, dwarves, and gnomes. Skaven are evil, craven, and incredibly numerous, making them one of the foremost threats to The Old World. Despite this however, many humans in the empire deny their existence as a hoax. This is precisely as the ratmen prefer it.

Overview[]

Origins[]

Skavenblight

Skavenblight, capital of the Skaven race.

The Skaven are a race of mutated ratmen uplifted by the mutating powers of Warpstone. Their exact origins are murky and the Skaven themselves largely do not care to keep track of events that have happened far in the past. However, their species and their capital came into existence around the same time as the Doom of Kazvar. Previously a prosperous city inhabited by dwarves and men, a hooded stranger was allowed into the populace, where he helped the people of the city complete a mighty tower to venerate their gods. At the tower's peak hung a great, rune-inscribed bell, which tolled thirteen times and thusly brought strife to Kazvar in the form of ceaseless rain, meteors, and ravenous rats. It was these rats, swollen on the city's food and mutated by the effects of Warpstone, who would become the first of the Skaven and the new Lords of the broken city.[1][2]

Characteristics[]

The Skaven, a ravenous horde of verminous ratmen. They gnaw at the roots of the world. They mean to rule over ruins, for such is the will of their god, the Great Horned Rat.
~ The Advisor[3]

Although there are hulking brutes among them, most skaven are smaller and slighter than men. They stand four or five feet tall, but appear smaller due to a perpetually hunched posture. They are built for stealth and speed and are possessed of a nervous energy, with constantly twitching tails, ears, noses, and eyes as if ready to spring into action at any time. They appear broadly rodentine; covered in hair, with the exception of the nose, ears, and a worm-like tail. Their fur is fine, thick, and covered in an oil that makes the Skaven all but waterproof, suggesting that the ratmen are good at and frequent swimmers. Skaven fur is commonly brown, but can also come in tawny, fawn, beige, black, cream, white, grey, and even piebald patterns (piebald patterns are considered a mark of low status).

Skaven have many ratlike qualities, owed to their origins as common rats. They chitter, brux their teeth, and even boggle their eyes when presented with particularly good news or pleasurable prospects. They also practice cannabalism when food is scarce, and it is almost constantly scarce, creating an environment where the weak and sick are quickly indentified and preyed upon by the strong and healthy.[4] Skaven are highly variable in their appearance, due to both rampant inbreeding within the species and constant exposure to Warpstone.[5]

Skavenhorde

A Horde of Skaven.

Some color pelts are hierarchically significant, but most are not and thusly, most skaven are commoners (or worse) to be used and abused at the whim of the mighty and chosen of their kind. They also have glands, not unlike a skunk, near the base of the tail which they use to squirt a variety of aromas. These scents can indicate emotional states and these emotional states are contagious. The musk of war is metallic and can rouse an entire group of Skaven to aggression, but the musk of fear is acrid and can do the opposite just as well. To most human noses though, the musk all smells the same: like strong urine.[6]

Skaven have hard claws and flesh-rending talons capable of tunneling through earth and subterranean travel is their preferred method of travel. They have beady eyes, most commonly black or red in coloration, though green and yellow eyes have been recorded. Their skin often bears the stigmata of their deity or the consequences of their living conditions: boils, rashes, postules, scars, abrasions, and minor mutations such as bone spines, extra digits, or even extra eyes are quite common to see on the typical slave or clanrat.[7]

The Mighty among Skavenkind are dark furred; either dark brown or solid black. In Skaven society this is considered the mark of a true killer and indeed, these Skaven tend to be larger and stronger than other ratmen. The Chosen among skaven are white, grey, or even albinoid of fur; often, they are also born with tiny nubs that will become curling horns with the passage of the years. Considered marked for greatness by the Horned Rat, these Skaven make up the orthodox priesthood of the species. They are known to have weaker constitutions than typical skaven, but make up for that with sheer cunning, intelligence, and arcane might.[8]

All Skaven have acute night vision, a well developed sense of smell, and keen hearing. Their senses are sharp, so as to help them avoid becoming food. They also assist in acquiring that food, a constant concern amongst the populous ratmen. The Skaven stomach is small and his metabolism fast, meaning an individual ratman must eat regularly in just a single day. If a skaven goes too long without food, he will enter a psychotic state in a latch ditch attempt to obtain a meal called the Black Hunger. In this state, he is feral and fearless, throwing caution to wind to satisfy a long-ignored hunger.[9]

The skaven have occasionally been compared to the Beastmen and some Old World scholars posit that the ratmen are a subspecies or relative of the Cloven Ones. However, there is no notable accord between the two species and while the Beastmen have always been explicitly aligned with the Ruinous Powers, the Skaven God is jealous and the ratmen only joined Chaos officially during The End Times. That said, many ratmen were worshippers of Nurglitch prior to the Horned Rat's alliance with and entry to the Dark Pantheon. The Clan Pestilens' leader takes the name "Nurglitch" over his own names, in fact.

Females[]

Few have seen them and recognized them for what they are.Perhaps they are the key to the destruction of the Skaven, forwithout females, how would they propagate? Nevertheless, Skaven females do exist, cloistered away and used as necessary by those males who have earned the right to breed. Broods of ratlings are born within the Skaven nurseries, and their mothers are rarely without child for more than a month.
~ Steffan Paulus Adelhof, Scholar of Wolfenburg
Femaleskaven

A Broodmother.

Female Skaven, called Broodmothers, Ratmothers or simply Breeders, are the only known type of female in Skaven society. Unlike the male Skaven who is autonomous, female Skaven are dependent on their male counterparts for their survival and serve the Under-Empire by bringing forth the next generation of ratlings into the world. This is not a natural state. At a young age, the lucidity of the females is blasted away by the application of warpstone-based narcotics and so the Broodmothers are only vaguely aware of the going ons within the Under-Empire. Breeders are typically owned by high-ranking males who make use of them whenever they so desire. They are overseen by Rat-Wives; castrated male slaves who are responsible for both their survival and the caretakers of their offspring. In Skaven society, Broodmothers are property of the males, being regularly bought, sold, traded, stolen from, used as rewards by the males of their society.[10]

Different Ratmothers have a tendency to bring forth different kinds of Skaven, and this is sometimes influenced by experiments. Vaunted females who bring forth high-caste offspring such as black-furred stormvermin or grey seers are kept in relatively clean (by skaven standards) areas within the Clan burrow, but most females are kept in filthy breeding pits.[11]

Broodmothers are rarely without a litter for a month, producing up to ten offspring per birth. Females are described as docile, though barely intelligent. They are known to have favorite whelps. They are also not free from the mutating attentions of their male counterparts and may be altered to produce larger litters or certain types of skaven, such as black-furs and white-furs.

Society[]

“A tale is told of two Skaven, birthkin from the same breeder. While scouting the woods above their home, they encountered a ravenous Minotaur. Wisely, they fled the beast, but it gave chase and pursued them for many miles. “‘Surely,’ said the first Skaven, panting, ‘we cannot-cannot outrun this horrible creature.’ “The second chittered his agreement. ‘Nor do we have to,’ he replied. “Unsure of his birthkin’s motive, the first Skaven asked, ‘What do you mean?’” “By way of response, the second Skaven tripped his companion, answering, ‘I only need to outrun you!’”
~ A fable from the Lessons of the Horned Rat[12]

Skaven society is most succinctly described as tyranny moderated by assassination. Though the ratmen despise and denigrate other races, this does not mean they have any great love for their fellow ratmen. If anything, the opposite is true; in the day-to-day survival in the burrow of a Skaven Clan, a ratman's biggest threat is every other ratman. Lower ranked skaven scheme to usurp the rank of higher ranked skaven and higher ranked ratmen are constantly on the look out for treachery. Many are paranoid, maiming and killing any threat they judge to be there, and so many lower ranking skaven are (insincerely) obsequious when dealing with their betters up until the time is right to stab that superior in the back.[13] Thusly, even unflinching loyalty from a subordinate does not assauge the fears of a Chieftain or Warlord and may in itself be considered suspicious.[14]

Biggerratskaven

There's always a bigger rat...

The jostling for power is mostly contained to the "mighty" and "chosen", white-furred and black-furred respectively, of Skaven society, though common skaven absolutely pursue their own petty power struggles. A Skaven Clan is led by a Warlord, one who often gives himself grand titles to distinguish himself from Warlords of lesser rank. Below the Warlords are the Chieftains and below the chieftains are the Stormvermin, the largest and most fearsome of skavenkind. The vast majority of clanrats and especially skavenslaves born into those positions will die in those very same positions. Meanwhile, a Stormvermin could advance to the Fangleader, and from Fangleader rise to become a chieftain. From chieftain, he could further advance as Warlord of the Clan in the event certain 'accidents' and 'misfortunes' befall his superiors.[15][16]

Apprentice Grey Seers advance through the ranks similarly, with enmity between mentor and mentee often resulting in covert homicide attempts by both parties. The Seer Council has limited available membership and so an audacious student might seek entry throught the death of his master. Grey Seers themselves are ordered in a hierarchy with one Skaven, called the Seerlord, at the zenith. However, any with anywhere else in the under-empire, underlings of the Seerlord often seek to usurp his position, using assassins, traps, and poisons to remove their rivals.[17]

Skaven society is held in some semblence of order by the terror all Skaven feel towards their deity, the Horned Rat. This fear is extended to the Horned Rat's chosen, the Grey Seers and the Council of Thirteen. As well as passing down edicts to the race, the Council ensures those edicts are followed by using Stormvermin to enforce their will on anyone who rebels against their orders. However, the Council itself is fraught with conspiracy, infighting, and other intrigue despite being ostensibly unified for the good of the skaven race at large.[18]

The Council of Thirteen[]

Skaven politics are labyrinthine and convoluted. Their society has been described by Bagrian, a Bretonnian Taalite priest who is an authority on the Skaven, as ‘a tyranny moderated through assassination’. For the teeming multitudes who make up the Warlord Clans this is effectively the case, but there is a higher order directing the grander schemes of Skavendom: the Council of Thirteen.
~ The Horned Rat's Companion
Councilof13

The Council of Thirteen

The Council of Thirteen is the supreme governing body of the Skaven Race. Also called The Lords of Decay, they were founded by the Grey Lords, 12 ratmen who emerged from the ruin of Skavenblight and bade the Skaven spread across the globe in the early history of the race. In more modern times, each Ratman was personally chosen by the Horned Rat after placing his hand on the Black Pillar of Commandments and surviving the ordeal, bestowing upon him the right to rule. The Council is ancient and powerful; every member sitting has never been usurped since being selected. They have been responsible for the unfolding of events on the surface world, such as the defeat of Nagash and the death of Mandred the Skavenslayer, but exactly how influential they have been cannot be said for certain.[19]

Seats 12 and 1 are considered the most powerful and influential seats of the Councilor's table. This is because these seats are the closest to the Horned Rat's own, being to the right and left of him respectively.

  • Seerseat (1st Seat): Seerlord Kritislik of the Order of the Great Seers
    • Head of the Grey Seers and Ruler of Clan Scruten. As the Horned Rat's favoured, Kritislik has two votes on council matters, one for himself and one on the Horned Rat's behalf.
  • 2nd Seat: Warlord Gnawdwell of Clan Mors
    • Warlord Gnawdwell is the master of Clan Mors and a long-time rival of Kratch Doomclaw, whom his clan also rivals.
  • 3rd Seat: Warlord Kratch Doomclaw of Clan Rictus
    • Warlord Kratch Doomclaw is the Ruler of Rictus
  • 4th Seat: Warlord-General Paskrit the Vast of Clan Morbidus
  • 5th Seat: Warlord Vrisk Ironscratch of Clan Skurvy
  • 6th Seat: Arch-Brutelord Hesh Vrakspine of Clan Krizzor
  • 7th Seat: Arch-Pontifex Sitch of Clan Morbidus
  • 8th Seat: Lord Griznekt Mancarver of Clan Skab
  • 9th Seat: Grand Nightlord Sneek of Clan Eshin
  • 10th Seat: Arch-Plaguelord Nurglitch VII of Clan Pestilens
  • 11th Seat: Packlord Verminkin of Clan Moulder
  • 12 Seat: Lord-Warlock Morskittar of Clan Skryre
  • 13 Seat: The Horned Rat, God of Skavendom
    • The 13th Seat is symbolically empty, meant for the Horned Rat himself to occupy. It is said that the Horned Rat’s seat is occasionally taken by a shadowy figure with luminous green eyes. Whether this is an avatar of the Horned Rat or merely a Warpstone-induced hallucination is unknown.

The Order of the Grey Seers[]

After the Council of Thirteen, the Grey Seers are the most essential power base within Skavendom. They interpret the will of the Horned Rat, and through preaching his commandments they seek to provide Skaven society with drive, cohesion and common purpose.
~ Horned Rat's Companion, The Grey Seers

For most ratmen, their starting place in the 'rat race' that is Skaven society begins in the womb. It is determined by their birth size, their fur color and, in the case of the Grey Seers, the presence of small nubs on the head that will one day be spiring horns. Paired with white, grey, or albinoid fur, they are considered the "chosen" of their race. Grey Seers are born to their station and are extremely rare among the teeming multitudes of the ratmen. Though they are slated to enjoy exalted status, horned pups are not safe from the treachery rife within Skaven society. Carried off and cloistered away with their own kind to be educated and indoctrinated in the Lore of the Horned Rat, these apprentices must contend with one another, as well as their mentors, within the secret walls of their society.[20]

Greyseer

A Grey Seer

The Order of the Grey Seers only has 169 official Grey Seers at any one time, and each one holds tremendous influence as each is a powerful sorceror as well being the chosen prophets of the Horned Rat. They interpret the will of their fell god and provide a sense of cohesion to Skavendom. Weilding such power, Grey Seers are invariably corrupt and often use their station to further their own schemes. Only the Lords of Decay outrank them and even so, there are feats they can perform that most of the Council cannot, such as the summoning of one of the Horned Rat's Greater Daemons: The Verminlords. Though loathe to actually do this, Grey Seers are more than willing to use the threat of it to make even the most difficult Skaven Warlord see it's point of view.[21]

Grey Seers are longer-lived than typical Skaven, who are considered middle-aged at just ten years. At this age, a Skaven would only just begin growing out his horns and, were his stars lucky, could expect to live three times the span of a normal ratman at sixty years of age.[22]

Seerlord Kritislik is the master of the Order, but Thanquol is the most infamous of the Grey Seers.

  • Seerlord
  • Grey Seers
  • Apprentice Grey Seer

The Great Clans[]

Of the multitude of Skaven clans, four stand out from the rest. These Great Clans hold much of the power in the Under-Empire, and each is the equal, both militarily and economically, of dozens of lesser clans. From the stealthy assassins of Clan Eshin to the twisted creations of Clan Moulder, the Great Clans each offer some asset to the Lords of Decay. These unique resources continue to guarantee that the Great Clans remain in power for generations to come.
~ The Four Great Clans (Children of the Horned Rat)[23]
Skavengreatclans

Representatives of the Four Great Clans.

There are countless clans within the Under-Empire, all fighting for prominence and dominance over their neighbors, rivals, and non-skaven alike. However, through the histories of the ratmen race, only four have stood the test of time continuously. These four are called the Great Clans' or Greater Clans and they hold much of the power within the Under-Empire. Each is immensely wealthy, immensely populated, and has a distinct trade setting them apart from the lesser clans and even each other. They profit from these services, selling their wares to lesser clans so that rivals might visit disease or hellish mutant beasts or devious skaven-spawned machinery or simply assassination onto their rivals. Greater Clans profit from the infighting of the lesser clans and on occassion have been known to fight amongsts one another.[24]

Each Great Clan is represented on the Council of Thirteen.

Clan Skryre[]
Warlockengineer

A Warlock Engineer.

Clan Skryre Skaven are the artificers of the Skaven race. Within their highly religious and highly superstitious species, the tinker-rats of Skryre are notable secular by comparison. They blend dark magic with insane devices and are at the forefront of Skaven Technology. Their trade is weapons of mass destruction and they constantly experiment to make weapons deadlier and more effective.The Warlock Masters and Engineers of Skryre make their fell creations from scratch, but have no issue stealing them from surface races and 'improving' them. However, Skaven are not patient or considerate creatures and the weapons they create are just as likely to malfunction and kill their wielders as they are the enemy. This is because the technology is based on warpstone, but the buyers care not and purchase them anyway to war upon rival clans. Clan Skryre is thusly the most prominant and wealthy of the Four Great Clans.[25]


Despite their machinery having a penchant for exploding and killing it's operators, Clan Skyrer boasts some of the most advanced technology in the world. Their crafts put even the dwarfs to shame, due in large part to the Skaven willingness to kill their own in reckless experiments for the sake of progress. They have created such weapons as the Warp Bomb, Doom-Wheel, Moonbreaker Cannon, and the Farsqueaker. Only the Chaos Dwarfs match them in technological prowess and utter disregard for the lives of others in the pursuit of their unholy craft.

Rattlinggunskaven

Two Ratling Gunners.

It finds an occasional ally in the Clan Moulder, a fellow clan with a scientific interest, albeit in flesh rather than machinery. The results of such collaborations can be deadly indeed: the Stormfiend is among the foremost of Skaven battle monsters. However, Clan Skryre finds rivals in both Clan Pestilens and the Order of the Grey Seers, who object to the secular nature of the Clan and it's members.

Clan Skryre is ruled by Warplord Morskittar, titled the Emperor of Warlocks. Ikit Claw is considered the most talented and ambitious of the Warlock Engineers within the Clan.

  • Warlock Masters
  • Warlock Engineer
  • Ratling Guns
  • Poison Wind Globadiers
  • Warplock Jezzails
  • Doom-Wheel
  • Warp-Lightning Cannon
  • Warpfire Throwers
  • Doom Flayers
  • Poisoned Wind Mortars
Clan Moulder[]

While the Clan Skryre deals in metal and machines, Clan Moulder's trade is war-beast, fleshcrafting, and mutation. Situated in Hellpit, far in the north within Troll Country, the Packmasters of Moulder use the monsters they catch and the prisoners they win or buy to create some of the most hellish and monstrous lifeforms known throughout the World of Warhammer. Moulder Rats are versed in the application of warpstone to flesh, are knowledgeable of selective breeding practices and genetics, and use all of this to produce and sell beasts of war. The fleshcrafting rats are called Master Moulders or Master Mutators and they often bear mutations of their own as stigmatas from their craft.[26]

Skavenpackmasters

Skaven Packmasters.

Clan Moulder creates myriads of creatures, but one mainstain of their flesh pits are the Rat Ogres and the Wolf-Rats. After a batch of mutants or monsters are created they are tested in a great arena to gauge their ferocity in battle. Those that preform well as caged and sold to the highest bidder. Those that underperform are killed and eaten by more successful monsters or perhaps even their own masters, fed back into the system so that more monsters can be born. For every success, Moulder produces hundreds of failures; monsters that are too mishappen or creatures that are sterile and cannot sire a new generation of horrors. But the Moulders do so love their vocation and do not lose heart. Their ultimate goal is the abomination to end all abominations: the perfect beast of war.[27]

The Clan is led by Packlord Verminkin, a massive multi-headed ratman who sits the Council of Thirteen. Throt the Unclean is one of the Lords of Hellpit and considered it's greatest mutator. He was the creator of Ghoritch, a mutant rat ogre transplated with the brain of a Khornate Warrior.

  • Master Moulder
  • Master Mutator
  • Harbinger of Mutation
  • Packmaster
  • Mutant Rat Ogre
  • Bonebreaker
  • Rat Ogre
  • Brood Horror
  • Wolf Rats
  • Hellpit Abomination
  • Throtlings
Clan Eshin[]

Quiet as shadows, the Clan Eshin is the most mysterious of the Four Greater Clans. Their trade is assassinations and while all many ratmen have the blood of his kin on his claws, no skaven kill with the skill and precision the assassins of Eshin do. Much of the Council of Thirteen's power can be attributed to these black-clad assassins, as the Lords of Decay will cripple and destroy dissention by sending murder-rats to destroy any threat. Clan Eshin operates on contracts and claw-pacts and once one is struck between an assassin and his client, death is often a matter of when rather than if.

Deathmastersnikchwh2

Snikch, deadliest of the Eshin Assassins.

Early in it's history, Clan Eshin migrated to the far east under the leadership of Lord Vikstrin. There, they came in contact with the human cultures of Cathay, Ind, and Nippon and learned much of the art of stealth and assassination from them. They would return during the midst of the first Skaven Civil war between the Under-Empire and the Pestilent Brotherhood and prove the force needed to swing the balance of power back into the favor of the Under-Empire. This earned them their place on the Council of Thirteen. They are also tasked with keeping the knowledge of the Under-Empire to a minimum among surface races, assassinating and blackmailing any who grow to curious or refuse to deny the existence of their species.

Eshin rats are darker-furred than Skaven are tyically. They exemplify the stealth and speed of the skaven, operating in a manner many would call supernatural. They make use of poisons, stealth magic, and warpstone-weapons in order to kill their prey and can often slay a target without his allies being any the wiser until the deed is well past done. Who the target is matters little; Eshin assassins are as willing to slay their fellow ratmen as any of the overground races. They are unique in that they have notions of inter-clan loyalty, even honor, and do not readily defect from their Clan.

Nightlord Sneek is the Ruler of Clan Eshin. Deathmaster Snikch is his personal instrument of death and the finest assassin the Under-Empire, perhaps the entire Warhammer World.

  • Deathmaster
  • Master Assassin
  • Assasin Adept
  • Death Runner
  • Gutter Runner
  • Night Runner
  • Eshin Triads
  • Eshin Sorceror
Clan Pestilens[]
Oh but they are delightful, jolly lads. They come up with the most pleasant of diseases, why that lovely little plague they gifted those stuffed shirts in Brettonia was truly inspired. Of course, they get a bit carried away sometimes, but for a race of jumped up vermin I, for one, think they've come a long way.
~ Scabarous Pox, Seneschal of Onogal

Perhaps the most disruptive of the Great Clans, the ratmen of Pestilens are a deeply religious clan of plague and pox worshipping ratmen. They have a unique interpretation of the Horned Rat, one that puts his aspect of plague and disease over his aspect of ruin and destruction. Centuries ago, migrants from Skavenblight touched down in Lustria and began dying in droves to the exotic diseases of that jungle continent. However, the first Arch-Plaguelord Nurglitch struck a pact with a Herald of Nurgle named Uthl'kritchnaak and the ratmen of skaven begin to embrace and worship the diseases killing them.[28] In time, they began to withstand the diseases, so long as their faith to the Horned Rat was true.

Pestilensskaven

Disease ridden plague skaven of Pestilens.

Clan Pestilens believes that embracing the Horned Rat in his true aspect is the only way that the Skaven race can ascend as it is meant to. They view all other skaven outside of the Pestilent Brotherhood as ignorant and consider the Order of the Grey Seers as their primary rival for power. Twice has Clan Pestilens instigated civil war between the clans, seeking primacy on the Council and over the Grey Seers in particular. Their power comes from their resistance to disease and the brewing of poxes to visit on the surface world or enemy clans. The trade and rituals of the Clan have drawn some comparison to Nurgle and his worshippers and rumors abound that the inner circles of the Plague Clans are indeed worshippers of Plague Lord rather than the Horned Rat. These accusations are circulated most fervently by the Grey Seers, but no hard evidence has been brought before the Council. In truth it was a Daemon of Nurgle who began the Clan's worship of disease.

Clan Pestilens is lead by Arch-Plaguelord Nurglitch VII. Lord Skrolk is considered the most zealous among them and is one of the seven Plaguelord of the Clan.

Some of their Plague Priests, by rights, should be Grey Seers, but the Pestilent Brotherhood retains those grey and white furred horned ratlings and raises them within it's own religion rather than the mainstream sect of the Ratmen's faith.[29]

  • Plaguelord
  • Pleague Deacon
  • Plague Priests
  • Censor Bearers
  • Plague Monks
  • Stinking Things
  • Screaming Bells
  • Stinking Thing

The Warlord Clans[]

Below the Greater Skaven Clans are the Multitudinous Warlord Clans. They are scattered about the Warhammer World, some strong and powerful, others weak and obscure, all cloistered away beneath the earth, plotting and scheming to usurp the surface races and, often enough, each other.

  • Clan Mors is perhaps the best known of the Warlord Clans, having power and influence on par with the four Greater Clans. They are unusual among skaven in that there is a unity and barebones sense of loyalty between it's members. The cause is unclear; some posit narcotics or other substances, other suspect black magic. It is led by Lord Gnawdwell, who sits the council, and home to one of the most infamous Skaven Warlords in the Under-Empire: Queek Headtaker.
  • Clan Rictus is also powerful, an up-and-coming Warlord Clan with influence to rival the four clans. Much of it's power comes from the inordinate amount of black-furred storm vermin born among it's ranks. Clan Rictus has long entertained a rivalrly and grudge against Clan Mors and, in the past, was powerful indeed. Lord Vecteek, a former Lord of Decay and ruler of the Clan, held an iron grip over Skaven politics during the time of the Black Plagues and was made a Verminlord by the Horned Rat after his death. Currently, Rictus is led by Kratch Doomclaw and Tretch Craventail is considered one of it's most shrewd warriors.
  • Skavenslaves ( Spears & Slingers)
  • Clanrats (Spears & Shields)
  • Stormvermin ( Halbreds & Sword, Shield)

The Thrall Clans[]

Thrall clans are lesser clans of skaven that as vassals of and owe fealty to Warlord or, more commonly, the Great Clans.

Clanless Skaven[]

Clanless Skaven are rare and short-lived. The Queekish word for 'clanless' is actually a synonym for food.[30]

Notable Ratmen[]

  • Queek Headtaker was unusually bold and brave among skavenkind and this made him insane by their standards. He was raised personally by Gnawdwell aand was a large example of his species. Clad in Warpstone plate and wielding his weapon Dwarf-Gouger, the Headtaker had a penchant for taken the skulls of his enemies and even wore them on a rack attacked to his armor. Queek hated intrigue, didn't tolerate disloyalty, and had an open dislike of Grey Seers. His most loyal companion was the Skaven Ska.
  • Ikit Claw was a highly intelligent Skaven of Clan Skryre, considered one of it's most talented Warlock Engineers. He could be easily spotted amongst other Skaven, weilding his weapon storm-daemon and clad in blue-ish armor. Ikit was aethyrically talented and could cast Skaven spells of ruin, as well as bring many arcane devices to bear, most notably the Warp Bomb.
  • Tretch Craventail, titled Chieftain of the Deep Warrens, was noted and exalted for his cunning. He was Warlord of Clan Rictus.
  • Lord Skrolk was the blind, heavily-disease riddled Plaguelord of Clan Pestilens. He was deeply devout and is so rank with disease that the very world rots around him. Life withers and dies in his presence and he is known as the Disease That Walks throughout skavendom.
  • Throt the Unclean is an obese three-armed ratman with a cruel streak and an unquenchable desire to mold and craft flesh. He is one of the most talented of the Hellpit Lords, as well as the most prolific. Much of Clan Moulder descends from his Bloodline. Surly at the best of times, Throt is constantly hungry as a result of his profession and it's risks and can enter a ravenous state if he goes too long without eating.
  • Deathmaster Snikch is the foremost killer of the Under-Empire and the personal instrument of Nightlord Sneek. None but Clan Eshin's master has any idea where he is at any given time. Because of this, no one can feel truly safe from his clutches.
  • Thanquol is a Grey Seer with a penchant for causing grevious loses and deaths among the enemies of the Skaven as well as among the Skaven. He is noted for his survivability, managing to worm himself out of situations that would kill even the most wily of ratmen.

Navigation[]

           Warhammer (game) logo Villains

Both Fantasy/Age of Sigmar and 40,000
Forces of Chaos
Chaos Gods
Ruinous Powers
Khorne | Tzeentch | Nurgle | Slaanesh
Chaos Daemons
Daemons of Khorne | Daemons of Tzeentch | Daemons of Nurgle | Daemons of Slaanesh | Daemons of Chaos Undivided

Others
Be'lakor | The Blue Scribes | Gork & Mork

Fantasy/Age of Sigmar Only
Hordes of Chaos
Archaon | Burblespue Halescourge | Constant Drachenfels | Festus the Leechlord | Sigvald the Magnificent | Tchar'zanek | Valkia the Bloody | Wulfrik the Wanderer
Beast-Men
Gorthor | Morghur | Taurox

Skaven
Horned Rat | Deathmaster Snikch | Ikit Claw | Lord Skrolk | Queek Headtaker | Thanquol | Throt the Unclean

Dark Elves
Lokhir Fellheart | Malekith | Malus Darkblade | Morathi

Tomb Kings
Nagash | Arkhan the Black | Dieter Helsnicht | Dread King | Krell (Warhammer) | Settra the Imperishable

Vampire Counts
Vampire Coast | Abhorash | Konrad Von Karstein | Mannfred Von Carstein | Vlad von Carstein

Greenskins
Black Orcs | Night Goblins | Azhag the Slaughterer | Grom the Paunch | Skarsniik

Misc.
Wood Elves (Drycha) | Ogre Kingdoms (Great Maw) | Black Grail Knights | Fimir | Heinrich Kemmler | Throgg | Chaos Dwarfs (Hashut)

40,000 Only
Imperium of Man
Fyodor Karamazov
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(Black Templars, Grey Knights, Flesh Tearers, Marines Malevolent, Minotaurs)
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Inquisition

Chaos Space Marines
Abaddon the Despoiler | Ahzek Ahriman | Alpha Legion | Alpharius Omegon | Angron | Black Legion | Death Guard | Eidolon | Eliphas the Inheritor | Erebus | Fabius Bile | Fulgrim | Warmaster Horus | Huron Blackheart | Ignatius Grulgor | Iron Warriors | Julius Kaesoron | Khârn the Betrayer | Khornate Berzerkers | Konrad Curze | Lorgar Aurellian | Lucius the Eternal | Magnus the Red | Marius Vairosean | Mortarion | Mutilators | Lord Nemeroth | Night Lords | Noise Marines | Perturabo | Plague Marines | Sindri Myr | Rubric Marines | Thousand Sons | Typhus | Tumulus Samael | Word Bearers | World Eaters

Chaos Knights

Other Chaos Factions and Followers
Cult of Admonition | Dark Mechanicum | Eugan Temba | Moebian 6th (Captain Wolfer, Karnak Twins, Mara Vinci) | Plague Hulks | Red Angel | Scabeiathrax | Serpent Lodge | Solun Decius | Soul Grinders

Xenos Races
Eldar
Craftworld Eldar
Dark Eldar
Asdrubael Vect
Harlequins

Orks
Goffs | Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka | Warboss Grimskull | Gorgutz Ead Hunter | Kaptin Bluddflagg | Nazdreg Ug Urdgrub

Necrons
Szarekh | Trazyn the Infinite

Tyranids
Tyranid Hive Mind

T'au Empire

C'Tan
Nightbringer | The Deceiver

Genestealer Cults

Other Xenos Races
Barghesi | Enslavers | Hellgrammite | Megarachnids | Rangda | Slaugth | Thyrrus

Misc.
Cthonian Mining Guilds | High-Riders | Kronus Hegemony | Men of Iron | Overlords of Barbarus (Necare) | Severan Dominate (Severus XIII) | Water Cartel

Gallery[]

References[]

  1. Warhammer Fantasy Role Play: Old World Bestiary
  2. The Loathsome Ratmen and All Their Vile Kin (Background Book)
  3. Total War: Warhammer II (Skaven Campaign)
  4. Hour of Shadows: Storm of Magic
  5. White Dwarf #66
  6. Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay: Children of the Horned Rat
  7. Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay: Children of the Horned Rat
  8. Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay: Children of the Horned Rat
  9. Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay: Children of the Horned Rat
  10. Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay: Children of the Horned Rat
  11. Total War: Warhammer Fantasy (Skaven) - Breeding Pits
  12. Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay: Children of the Horned Rat
  13. Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay: Children of the Horned Rat
  14. Total War: Warhammer Fantasy II (Skaven Chieftain) - Suspciously Loyal
  15. Warhammer Armies: Skaven (7th Edition)
  16. Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay: Children of the Horned Rat
  17. Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay: Children of the Horned Rat
  18. Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay: Children of the Horned Rat
  19. Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay: Children of the Horned Rat
  20. Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay: Children of the Horned Rat
  21. Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay: Children of the Horned Rat
  22. Grey Seer (Novel) by C.L. Werner
  23. Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay: Children of the Horned Rat
  24. Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay: Children of the Horned Rat
  25. Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay: Children of the Horned Rat
  26. Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay: Children of the Horned Rat
  27. The Loathsome Ratmen and All Their Vile Kin (The Greater Clans: Moulder)
  28. Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay: Lustria
  29. Dead Winter (Novel) by C.L Werner
  30. Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay: The Horned Rat
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