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Been waiting for WAR for 18 years...
killerwig
Member UncommonPosts: 236
... yes, 18 long and painful years.
I was 12 years old when I was playing the original warhammer roleplay and warhammer fantasy battle. The Warhammer world has depth and history like few others - and yep, I still have all the army books, rule books, old seige rules and a couple of thousand miniatures that I just can't bring myself to get rid of - I spent too much time and effort painting them all. I even have some of the very old White Dwarf magazines, which date way back to the mid 80's - I have issue #4 somehwere, I think.
My friends and I always used to daydream that, one day, there'd be a "Virtual Reality" version of the Warhammer world - or something like that, anyway. Heh, I guess some dreams do come true, after all.
The Warhammer world is not a shiny, happy place like most MMO settings of today. No... this world is a dark and cruel place of endless battles and bloodshed, pain, torture and suffering, disease and corruption. here's a little background for those of you who don't know and are interested... (if my memory serves me)
The Chaos pantheon consists of four major Gods:
Khorne - The Blood God - A god of mindless rage, slaugher and battle. The god's Greater Daemon is The Bloodthirster with a human body, cloven hooves, bat-like wings and a horned, dog-like head. The Bloodthirster usually carries a large Daemon blade, or double headed axe and a cruel barbed whip. Lesser Daemons include: Bloodletters - horned gangly humanoid Daemons with blood drinking weapons, Flesh hounds of Khorne - ravenous and ferocious Daenomic dogs of the Chaos Wastes, and the Juggernaut of khorne - a creature that vaguely resembles a rhino, but it is made of living brass and molten lava for blood - as is the steed chosen for khorne's most favoured of Champions.
Tzeentch - The Changer of Ways - The Grand Schemer - The Lord of Sorcery - A mysterious god of subtle manipulation,change and unfathomable goals and aspirations. The greater Daemon of Tzeentch - the Lord of Change, is a bipedial bird-like creature of vast magical power and intelligence. Lesser Daemons include: Horrors - an ever changing mass of limbs and humanoid form, spewing forth magical fire from various orifices... Flamers, with twisted and mishappen arms and gaping maws which incenerate their foes... and the flying Discs of Tzeentch - disc-ike creatures of flesh, tenticles and metal, often used as lightning fast transport for Tzeentch's Champions and Sorcerors.
Nurgle - The Lord of Decay - Grandfather Nurgle - Papa Nurgle - A god of disease, plague and decay. this god takes an interest in his victims of the diseases that he unleashes upon the world, regarding each plague as one of his gifts. The Greater Daemon of Nugle is The Great Unclean One - Massive disease-carrying bloated masses of boils and sores, who takes great delight in infecting or vomiting upon anyone who stands in it's way. Lesser Daemons are: Nuglings - tiny, podgy versions of the great unclean one who infect Nurgle's Champions in large numbers... Plaguebearers - whose eternal work is to count the number of infections, plagues and diseases unleashed upon the world in Nugle's name. they are rotting horned wasted creatures with a single eye and swarms of flies continuall buzz around them... Beasts of Nurgle - a writhing mass of tenticles atop a slug like foot - these creatures have the jovial mind-set of a puppy, lovingly and enthusiastically slaughtering all in it's path, quickly getting bored when each of their play-mates stops moving...
Slaanesh - The Dark Prince - A hedonistic, sexual, self-indulgent god who takes pleasure in all things, especially pain and suffering. Slaanesh's Greater Daemon is The Keeper of Secrets - huge and powerful humanoid creatures with four arms, the head of a bull, and a hermaphrodite body. These daemons kill by inflicting thier victims with pure extasy and suffering, as they use their large crab-like claws to tear them to pieces. The lesser Daemons include: Daemonettes - feminine creatures who seduce the enemy with their lithe female bodies, while at the same time using their terrible claws to snip off much needed limbs. Steeds of Slaanesh - these creatures resemble bipedial seahorses, with long prehensile poisonous tongues. Every follower of Slaanesh has a complete lack of fear, and see every battle as a new, almost sexual experience to be enjoyed.
Now... this is just the primary Chaos gods - and there are other lesser gods, such as Khaine, Lord of Murder, who the Dark Elves and Witch Elves follow. I remember the Dark Elf army book being packed full of stories about torture, and how they just love torturing people to death... I mean, it's quite sick sometimes, and I caught myself wondering how Games Workshop got away with releasing that kind of information... lol
Personally, I can't wait for a game of this depth and scope to be released... but I've been waiting for 18 years, so i guess I can live with waiting a little longer. 
Comments
Look forward to the game and enjoy what it has to offer and promsis as we all do.
Tzeentch is the chosen god there going to play around in WAR and thats just fine, they can fight the other chaos gods to the end of contentment.
On another note I thought Khorne was Khaine... and all elves belive in him, he is there battle god, but to the corrupt he is a blood god, still in essence being the same god, from what I can remember and read. Just a side note, I may be a little wrong.
Blah blah lore:
Within the Warhammer Fantasy universe Khaine is worshipped primarily by the Dark Elves and High Elves. However, in this instance his full title is Khaela Mensha Khaine,
The High Elves worship Khaine as a war god. He is primarily worshipped during times of war, as he is seen to be a bloodthirsty deity, and worship of him during peacetime is not considered appropriate. Khaine had a tremendous influence over the formative period of the High Elven kingdom, as the first Phoenix King, Aenarion, brought a great curse upon himself and his family by claiming Khaine's Sword. This curse still affects the current heirs of Aenarion's legacy, the twins Tyrion and Teclis.
The Khaine that is worshipped by the Dark Elves is described as a god of murder. This suits the harsh society of Dark Elves, who view any sign of weakness as a fatal flaw. Holidays dedicated to Khaine invariably involve killing, such as the Harvest of Souls and Death Night. Fueled by the social Darwinism of Dark Elf culture, devotees of Khaine elevate killing to an art form and will gladly kill anyone - friend or foe - who displays vulnerability.
The primary Temple of Khaine resides in the fortress city of Ghrond in Nahharoth. It is a seat of great power, as the worship of Khaine is officially the state religion. Morathi (the Queen Mother) and Crone Hellebron (the High Priestess of the temple) both claim supreme dominance of the temple. Both are kept in check by Malekith, the Witch King of the Dark Elves.
It has been implied that Khaine is the Chaos god Khorne by another name, or possibly a minor aspect of Khorne who has gained his own consciousness. This is vehemently disputed by the Dark Elves, who see Khorne as a crude brute in comparison to the refinement and subtlety that defines their god of murder.
Die Noctique, By Day and Night
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| www.40ksource.net - 40k MMO fansite
You really know your stuff....
I also have been waiting for this game...but for a different reason. Ever since the CU of SWG, I have been playing "Checkers" when it comes to MMORPGs. WAR is going to bring back a real "Thinking Mans Game". When it comes to MMORPGs I want to engage my brain. I want to think in terms of long term tactics, as well as the short term. I want battles that last longer than 2 mins! I want to play a complex game...Not too complex, but complex just the same.
WAR is going to allow me to play "Chess" again
Have played and painted over 20 armies with Chaos and Dwarves being my favorite Fantasy armies, and Space Marines (Crimson Fists) for 40k.
Looking forward to WAR, great to see so many veterans.
Been playing since 1992, first picked up Necromunda to 40k and Ended with Warhammer (With a short stint in blood bowl) played since erm late forth addition (Herohammer
Die Noctique, By Day and Night
During my teenage years in the UK, before moving to the United States, I began playing Warhammer with a very large group of guys at hobby shops, their homes, and other such places. About the same time, I also started messing with D&D roleplaying and other games. I definitely seemed very out-of-place (although much to the delight of my male companions!), considering there were no other female gamers in any of the groups. Actually, this was part of my reasoning; I always have preferred the company of men to other women, and it certainly helps to gain the attention of guys when you are actually located near them!
I wasn't terribly good at Warhammer by any stretch of the imagination, but I did have a fun time watching my army get decimated in amusing ways time and again (and basking in the ensuing sympathy from the guys). I was considerably more successful in other games! As you can see, obviously I have retained my love for gaming and placing myself in the centre of what is still a primarily male enterprise, even though I'm very happily married to a man who, despite being a serious professor of history, enjoys these silly hobbies also (in fact, I met him when we were both reading at university by way of a student gaming organisation). A large part of the reason why I hold such high hopes for Warhammer Online is because of all of my fond memories and current fun with the game and its player community. I hope that it will deliver!
Nice
- so many old gamers (and I use the term "old" loosely.. lol) - let's hope all the Normals stay away from this game, and continue their fun with WoW - or whatever game they happen to like when WAR comes out. It's always the community which makes the biggest impact upon the enjoyment of an online game, I find. It's already looking like WAR will have plenty of fanatical, gibbering Warhammer vets queueing up to buy their copy. I personally have a lot of faith that Mythic and Games Workshop will deliver on this, to provide us with quality escapism at it's very best - and takes us all back to those days of dreams, excitement and imagination.
In fact - I'm willing to forgive a lot upon the release of WAR - bugs and all - just because of the world in which this will be set. It's always been my favourite fantasy setting, with a close second going to Krynn of Dragonlance fame (and that was mainly because of the characters involved). But still, I think Mythic realise that they have to deliver on this game, especially with the great following and anticipation it's already generating. That alone is of some comfort, I think.
Now, for those of you who don't know much about the Warhammer world, I suggest that you pick up a series of books by David Ferring called the Konrad Saga. Those books will pretty much put you there in the grim, dark world of Warhammer to give you a great idea of what to expect - and they are an excellent read. They're quite old, so that means they'll be quite cheap at whatever bookstore you find them at. I found a short synopsis online which I'll share with you:
The Konrad Saga - Warhammer Novels - by David Ferring
The tale of the young orphan Konrad and his quest to rid his land of foul beastmen and to discover the secret of his mysterious past. His past lost... His future uncertain... Konrad must face his destiny alone. Orphaned at an early age, Konrad's tempestuous life is further upheaved when his adoptive village is destroyed by the vile bestial servants of Chaos, leaving him cast adrift in a world of danger and adventure. Alone and hunted, the fierce young warrior sets off in search of the truth of his ancestry and the mysterious forces that seem to have a hand in his destiny. Konrad's adventures take him across the length and breadth of the Empire, from the majestic capital Altdorf, to the merchant city of Marienburg and even beyond, into the great Northern Wastes, home to dread servants of Chaos.
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And just to keep this an informative thread - a little more Lore: Now this is mostly off the top of my head, so it might be slightly innaccurate with the minor details. But I'm pretty sure of the major details here.
The creation of the Warhammer World - The Old Ones
The Old Ones were a race of god-like creatures of vast intellect, and who experimented with a phenomena they called The Warp. During their early experimentation, a freak occurrence within the warp led to the creation of a higher entity that they called Tzeentch. The creation of this entity marked the beginnings of the changing of the warp.
To their surprise, The Old Ones discovered a pathway through the warp that led back to real space, exiting around the poles of a barren, rocky planet with no atmosphere. Intrigued, they followed this pathway to the planet, and shortly after began work on terra-forming the world – providing a stable atmosphere, water, and an ecosystem. To aid them in the new world’s creation, The Old Ones created The Lizardmen by using genetic stock from their own home world. As The Old Ones studied this new world, they noticed that the warp gate was directly affecting the world, and that the Lizardmen in particular were sensitive to it. Thus was the birth of Magic, on the Warhammer world.
Next, The Old Ones created the race of Dwarfs, purposely making them highly resistant to the effects of the warp gate in the process. This had the side-effect of giving the Dwarfs a marked preference for dwelling underground, making them difficult to study. Next The Old Ones modified the races of Eldar, Orks and Gretchin and seeded them upon the world, creating the races of High Elves, Orks and Goblins. The original species of Orks – The Brainboyz, were left unmodified, thus leading to the infestations of Snotlings within the Ork and Goblin camps.
After nearly 200,000 years since the beginnings of The Old One’s direct experimentation with The Warp, new Warp entities had been created – most notably, Khorne and Nurgle. Despite the Old One’s best efforts to remain in full control of the warp, these new Chaos gods altered the nature of the warp forever. It took a heroic effort on behalf of the Old One’s to prevent the Chaos Gods access to the Warhammer World – and direct access to real space itself. The Old One’s created new generations of Lizardmen to aid in the reinforcement of the warp gate and to maintain the travel lines throughout the universe. Later, with a highly controversial decision, The Old Ones allowed access of some of the new warp entities to the Warhammer World, realising that they themselves were now a prime target for the Chaos Gods.
A new race added itself to The Old One’s project, changing in more ways and faster than anyone had anticipated. This race was the Humans – short-lived and not remarkably resistance to the nature of the warp. There was however one exception to the rule – The Warp Child. The Warp Child was born with direct access to the warp and could interact with it in a way that The Old One’s could not duplicate. It was believed by the Old Ones that it was he who put the first humans upon the Warhammer World, though they could not understand how The Warp Child achieved that without using the pathways of The Warp.
The powers of Chaos grew stronger and the warp became a deadly place for the Old ones. They could not continue the fight, and resigned themselves to utter defeat and inevitable destruction. They gave orders to the Lizardmen in order to stabilise the warp gate, and watched with their last years as the Eldar and The Warp Child continue their battle against Chaos. When the Eldar corruption revealed itself, as Chaos inevitably broke through their mental defences, a new Chaos God was Born within the warp – Slaanesh, given birth to the psychic death scream of a billion Eldar. The Old One’s High Elves, because of their modification, remained unaffected to continue the fight against Chaos. And at long last, the Old Ones died, leaving the World of Warhammer, the universe, and all their creations to fend for themselves.
This is a good starting point:
http://www.warhammeralliance.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6181
www.gamesworkshop.com
www.blacklibrary.com
The official websites for stories. Although, the first is more or less comprehension, the second one you can use to order novels, of which I recommend the books like Liber Chaotica etc. The official rulebook for TT has alot of background information as well, but does not go into details, just as armybooks, which focus upon the races.
Test doesn't have to be too hard, but it will keep lots of no Warhammer freaks away from it ^^
The Illuminati Gaming Society
I've only played warhammer for 10 years, i am a big fan of vampires and undead (Nagash rules). Since i can't play either i plan on playing Chaos, i have always liked Khorne, but i think nurgle would be so much more fun to play. Maybe because of my times playing Skaven?! Who knows, but as far as game lore gose, there is ton's of it and the stories are brilliant!!
lol Elda... A warhammer test? - It's an interesting idea, but the RP servers that they are bound to have will probably do a similar job. I'm looking forward to that - just because I'd enjoy the whole Warhammer RP experience. It's comforting to know that a lot of Warhammer enthusiasts are waiting for this game to come out... sounds like it could be a lot of fun - like the hobby.
As for Undead and Nurgle / Khorne etc - you can bet that there will be a lot of room for expansion, but for the initial release, I think they've been really smart in picking Tzeentch - the first of the Chaos gods. Tzeentch allows for a broader variety when it comes to playable classes, and also adds to a believable aspect (lore-wise) when it comes to alliances on the destruction faction side. - It's all good.. oh, wait.. I mean.. chaos...
For the playable classes, I'm really not sure what I am going to pick. This is the first game I have looked at where I love all of the available classes and races equally, both lore-wise and the way that they look. It's going to be a difficult decision. I'm amazed that I can't say the same thing about any other MMORPG.
Oh, and the Konrad trilogy - yep, I need to buy them and read them again, I think. It's been a long time since i read those books.
one that story was amazing i never knew that the warhammer fantisy world is a planet somewhere in Warhammer 40k awsome.
two. what about Hashut a chaos god worshed by the chaos dwarfs he is associated with abttle and bulls
Hey, glad you enjoyed my rendition of that story. It needs cleaning up a bit, but that's basically what happened. It's interesting that the Warhammer World is all that stands between the Chaos gods and the universe itself. It's a really cool story.
As for Hashut...
Hashut was once a Greater Daemon of Khorne - A Bloodthirster, who unlike any of his bretheren developed its own individual mind. The Bloodthirster began to dabble in ancient magics forbidden by his master, in an attempt to overthrow Khorne and the other gods of Chaos. The Blood God discovered Hashut's foolish plans and hunted him down, for Khorne saw magic as a cowardly insult to the greater martial prowess involved in battle and slaughter. Hashut managed to escape Khorne's daemon armies and hid underground, but eventually, Hashut was captured and imprisoned behind a huge door beneath the Mountains of Mourn.
There within his prison, Hashut remained for centuries in darkness, his name and deeds falling into ancient myth and legend. During the collapse of the warp gates and the great Chaos incursion, the Dwarfs of the Dark Lands began to tunnel to find a way out of their ancient strongholds. Upon his release by the Dwarfs, Hashut slaughtered thousands in his rage and then bargained with them, promising great power and wealth if they woshipped him alone instead of their Ancestor Gods. The corruption ran deep, and the Dwarfs of the dark lands were lost forever in darkness and evil.
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As a note, there is very little written about the origins of Hashut and you have to dig through old copies of White Dwarf, and Warhammer Roleplay (1st edition) to find information. As such, this account of Hashut's beginnings might not be entirely accurate - but it's all I could find.