Forces of Fantasy

High Elf Realms

Battle Magic Lore

Unlike many Wizards who spend long hours in darkened rooms studying their arcane arts by candlelight, practitioners of Battle Magic tend to be hardy individuals, as at home on the battlefield as they are in their libraries. This is because, unlike other lores that may be studied, Battle Magic is openly offensive and tailored towards use upon the field of battle (which, given the Lore's name, should come as no surprise), and it is here that masters of the Lore hone their skill. Practitioners of Battle Magic are favoured by cunning generals all across the Old World and beyond, and their services are often in high demand. Many an opposing army has been undone by devastating fireballs cast from afar, found a cloying mist obscuring their view, their path blocked by a bend in the river that was not there before, or their courage sapped as arrows fell upon them with supernatural accuracy. Those that wield Battle Magic will draw their power from whichever of the Winds of Magic suits their purpose. They grasp at the red wind, summoning forth fire from the air to rain upon the enemy, the green wind to armour themselves with the strength of oak, the grey wind to cow and demoralise their foe, and more besides. To a Battle Mage, the incorporeal dangers of harnessing several Winds of Magic at once are of little concern – what matters most is turning the tide and ensuring swift victory. 

Battle Magic

Elementalism Lore

Wizards that study Elementalism will often hide their art from the uneducated masses, for the powers they wield can easily be mistaken for darker arts such as Daemonology or Necromancy, summoning as they do elemental spirits from the ætheric netherworld. But for all the suspicion that haunts their study, their abilities are often in great demand. Many a farming community has sought out the aid of an Elementalist to end a period of drought; their ability to summon rain from a clear sky the difference between a prosperous and a failed harvest. Many a ship's captain will seek an Elementalist's services for long and dangerous voyages, hoping that their charms can deliver favourable winds and settle a restless ocean. Still other Elementalists conceal their craft behind a more mundane façade. Many a skilled blacksmith or farrier secretly manipulates the red wind to heat their forge and the iron that glows within it by arcane means, producing works of great wonder. Other Elementalists prefer to turn their magical powers to a different, more scientific purpose, melding arcane knowledge of the yellow wind and study of natural philosophy within the halls of academia to study alchemy. In battle, the powers an Elementalist wields are a considerable blessing, able as they are to disrupt the enemy lines, entrench and defend their own, and even cause the weapons of allies to burn with the heat of their forging whilst the armour of their foes crumbles to rust. 

Elementalism

High Magic Lore

With the collapse of the polar gates, a torrent of magic was unleashed, the gentle clouds of silvery light becoming gusting gales and swirling storms. Upon completion of the Elves' great ritual – performed to lessen the magic flooding the world – the arcane works of the Old Ones shattered, causing the silver light of magic to fragment, revealing the kaleidoscopic Winds of Magic. Students of High Magic study each of these winds closely, becoming intimately familiar with their properties and potential over long years. With mastery of each wind, the mage edges closer to understanding High Magic and, eventually, becomes able to draw all of the winds together, crafting High Magic. This may seem similar to the use of Dark Magic, similar even to the lesser Lores of Magic. It is not. Where other Wizards grasp clumsily at the Winds of Magic, or warp them into darker hues, High Mages carefully bring all eight winds together, seeking the silvery light of pure magic and crafting spells of such sublime potency that lesser Wizards are struck dumb to witness. A simple fireball cast by a Battle Mage may burn hot with the power of the red wind, but one conjured by a High Mage will burn incandescently bright, searing the world and blinding all that gaze upon it. Such is the power of High Magic. 

High Magic

Illusion Lore

Many Illusionists travel the Old World, manipulating the innocent and subjecting the unwary to their will. Others find shelter within the entourage of a powerful lord or lady, masquerading as entertainers before courtiers and guests. Almost all maintain a pretence of stagecraft in everything they do, carefully crafted charms working to befuddle the minds of those around them, lulling an audience into an almost trancelike state in which the Illusionist's victims remain convinced that, no matter how overt the magic practiced before their eyes, they are witnessing a simple mummers act. Behind this pretence, Illusionists practise a profane art which thrives upon deceit and misdirection. They work the Winds of Magic in subtle ways, crafting mirage images that fill the mind with counterfeit memories and imposter emotions. It is by these means that Illusionists are able to manipulate those around them, bending them to their will, causing them to react to realities that are not, in fact, real. Illusion is, perhaps, the most dangerous of lores, both for those that practise it as well as those that witness it. A careless Illusionist can find themselves drawn into their own deceits, the Winds of Magic entrapping them and pulling their mind into a world that does not truly exist. 

Illusion

Mage

Regular Infantry

This sub-category covers all the roughly human-sized warriors of the Warhammer world, be they Men, Elves, Dwarfs, Orcs, Zombies and so on. Regular infantry will normally form the core of your Warhammer army, the troops upon which you rely to get the job done. Regular infantry can be expected to adopt almost any formation to fulfil any role. Due to their ubiquity, the basic rules of Warhammer: the Old World are written around regular infantry, so no additional rules apply to this troop type. 

Character

Some models will have the word 'Character' in brackets after their troop type, indicating that the model is a character. This section does not cover characters in detail. Instead, and because characters are such a powerful and important part of Warhammer: the Old World, they have a section all to themselves..

Warhammer: The Old World Online Rules Index

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