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Vampire Counts

Dark Magic Lore

With the collapse of the polar gates, Chaos came into the world. As it did, the pure and refined magic harnessed by the Old Ones came into contact with its influence for the first time within the mortal realm. Almost immediately, the corrupting power of Chaos began to work upon it as surely as it did the bodies and minds of mortals. Twisted and warped by Chaos, the unseen strands of colour that composed pure magic merged and bled into one another, causing the Winds of Magic to grow blackened and ever more unstable. Amongst the Elves of Ulthuan, there were those drawn to this phenomenon. Sensing a raw source of power, magic which could be mastered more easily, they began to experiment with its use. Quickly, most learned the dangers – that magic corrupted by Chaos would quickly corrupt those that sought to master it – yet there were those that persisted. Today, Dark Magic still torments the world. Wherever the touch of Chaos is felt most strongly, the Winds of Magic twist and coalesce into dark, roiling clouds. Many Wizards feel compelled to study and use Dark Magic, wielding it with careless abandon, enraptured by its potency and the apparent ease of its mastery. Yet those that dabble with Dark Magic are fools, for Dark Magic is like nothing so much as the raw stuff of chaos, and its use is a path to certain damnation and eternal servitude. 

Dark 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

Necromancy Lore

Necromancers make use of the darker Winds of Magic, the purple wind of death and the grey wind of shadow most often, melding them with the green wind of life and the amber wind of beasts. From these disparate strands of ætheric power they craft charms and incantations that grant them a power to reach beyond death's embrace. With this power, Necromancers summon spirits and commune with the dead, channelling the spirits of the departed that they may speak with the living. Still others take their study further into the dark, dallying with the blackest of magics, the raw power of chaos. Some utilise foul warpstone to enhance their control of this writhing, evil force, using the wicked material to draw bleak power ever more closely about their withered forms, channelling this dark energy into the husks of dead things and crafting vile unlife from cold, lifeless corpses pulled from the dark earth. For every Necromancer gainfully employed in spiritualism, communing with the souls of departed loved ones, there is certain to be another skulking in graveyards and mausoleums, disturbing the dead and seeking to extend their own life by means magical and profane. This is why Necromancers are so untrusted and unloved – for honest and good citizens of the Old World can never be sure just how deep into the shadows a Necromancer has delved. 

Necromancy

Vampire Thrall

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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