Lizardmen v Skaven Campaign

So today I wrap up the saga of the Lizardmen and the Skaven – possibly the most called for pairing among the Warhammer Online community. Having presented my 8 classes I conclude with the Tier 1-4 campaign map; however, this concept alone poses several problems (even one I constructed for myself). I will do my best to tackle these problems and come up with a map that is reasonable.

• Problem 1: Lizardmen rarely go on the offensive. This means that the war would be confined to their ‘home territories’. In my Lizardmen Prelude I posed a scenario which would allow for the Lizardmen to go somewhat on the offensive, and that is an alliance with the High Elves (no mention of the Dwarves or Empire here although presumably they would be ‘allied’ with them as well, just not actively participating in their struggle).
• Problem 2: Only Clan Pestilens has a stake in Lustria/The Southlands. The other skaven Clans would not aid Clan Pestilens, they would much rather see them fail. In my Skaven Prelude I dug my own hold by having the Skaven join Destruction on the condition that they are taking Dwarven Holds. Arguably they can fight the Empire, Bretonnia, and Wood Elves as well – but Ulthuan has no Skaven presence and struggles against the aforementioned Order entities would again be one Clan versus that Order army. Potentially the biggest problem lore-wise is bending an alliance between the Great Clans.
• Problem 3: Any ‘capital’ of the Lizardmen is eons away from Skavenblight. With this in mind a tier 4 campaign stretching from Lustria to Skavenblight seems rather ridiculous.

Now if we follow for the concept of the Empire and Chaos that the path to victory is never a straight line and the concept of the Dwarves v Greenskins that no distance is too far, then having the Lizardmen v Skaven campaign stretch from Lustria to the Old World is no great issue. I am no particular fan of Mythic’s mind-boggling concept of cartography however and would prefer to follow the High Elf v Dark Elf concept of the most direct route leads to victory.

My solution to these problems – the struggle between the Lizardmen and Skaven in fact is the epitome of the struggle between Order and Destruction. Elements of all factions of Order besiege the home-front of the Skaven, while elements of all factions of Destruction besiege the home-front of the Lizardmen. This way the Lizardmen ‘home-regions’ are located in the lands of the Lizardmen as they fend off not only Skaven, but also other armies from Destruction; likewise, the Skaven ‘home-regions’ are located primarily in the Old World as they fend off the armies of Order. The result is a map more akin to the High Elf v Dark Elf paring which focuses the war on the south but (with Tier 5) spills the war over into the Old World. It’s not a solution I’m entirely happy with because I do not like having the entire campaign take place in the southern hemisphere while pulling these two armies into their respective alliances and following the High Elf v Dark Elf style where the ‘bad guy’s’ capital is thousands of miles away as safe. However for the purpose of this hypothetical scenario I will focus Tier 1-4 on the Clan Pestilens struggle  and throw all the other Clans in Tier 5.

So I present my ‘solution’ to this terribly difficult problem –

Assassin – Skaven MDPS

“There are tales of mages being found dead surrounded by powerful wards and behind locked doors. There are tales of of members of the Empire’s court being found dead mere feet from their body-guards. There are tales that the shadows themselves can kill. When you hear these tales, know that they are true and that Clan Eshin chooses the time of your death.” Lord Sneek, Nightlord of Clan Eshin

Assassin

Archetype – Melee DPS

Armor – Light

Weapon – Dual Wield Daggers

Mechanic – Shadow Blades

• You fight with enchanted weapons altering the effectiveness of your combat as you face off head to head with your opponents or drag them through the shadows. Each Blade enchantment is a sixty minute buff that cannot be removed. Some abilities require that you are using a particular Blade.

Mastery Trees

• Day-Killer – A focus on toe-to-toe combat
• Dusk-Stalker – A focus on weakening your enemy
• Night-Shade – A focus on positional attacks

Warlock Engineer – Skaven RDPS

“From deep in the heart of Skavenblight engineers toil endlessly – manipulating warpstone this way and that. The height of this knowledge and power is in the hands of the deadly Warlock Engineers of Clan Skryre. It is our mastery of this volatile material that makes Clan Skryre the most powerful clan in Skavendom! We shall spread the shifting winds of chaos to all our foes!” Lord Morskittar, Lord Warlock of Clan Skryre

Warlock Engineer

Archetype – Range DPS

Armor – Light

Weapon – Warprifle & Warpstorm Rod (Back-piece)

Mechanic – Warp Energy

• You harvest warpstone to empower your attacks, but be wary warpstone will hurt you and others if it becomes unstable. You have a pool of 100 Warp Energy, each attack drains a little bit for corporeal or elemental damage. You can harvest warpstone to regain Warp Energy in combat. Friendly players can take damage from certain abilities only if they are in combat.

Mastery Trees

• Warpshot – A focus on single target corporeal damage
• Warp-poison – A focus on dealing corporeal damage over time
• Warpstorm – A focus on area of effect elemental damage

Plague Priest – Skaven Healer

“The world shall learn to fear the name of Clan Pestliens. We send forth our Plague Priests to spread the pestilence across the land. With the powerful blessings of the Lord of Decay there is little to stop our triumph over the sun-dwellers!” Arch Plaguelord Nurglitch of Clan Pestilens

Plague Priest

Archetype – Healer/Support

Armor – Light

Weapon – Plaguestaff & Plague Token

Mechanic – Skaven Brands

• You mark your allies with infused Skaven Brands, each a mark of a different dominant clan in Skaven culture. You burn a mark into the flesh of your ally granting them short term blessings, . Each group member may have one offensive and one defensive brand

Mastery Trees

• Proliferation – A focus on keeping your allies alive
• Devastation – A focus on killing your enemies and infecting them with the plague
• Escalation – A focus on branding your allies to increase their battlefield effectiveness

Stormvermin – Skaven Tank

“To the cause of the skaven domination of the realms of the sun Clan Moulder gives its elite stormvermin. These are no ordinary skaven mind you, Clan Moulder only breeds the biggest, strongest, toughest skaven in all of skavendom. Rest assured that they will crush any foe on the battlefield regardless of size or prowess.” Lord Verminkin, Packlord of Clan Moulder

Stormvermin

Archetype – Tank

Armor – Heavy

Weapon – Sword and Shield; Halberd

Mechanic – Marks of Chaos

• Rabid Thirst (0-100) builds at 1 per second in combat; 1 per each time you hit with an attack; 2 pereach time you are hit with an attack. At 100 Rabid Thirst you may enter one Mark of Chaos expending all your Rabid Thirst
• Mark of the Bonecrusher – +70 Toughness at rank 40, and +2/mastery point in the corresponding mastery tree for a maximum of +100 Toughness. 4m Duration, 5m cooldown.
• Mark of the Spearbreaker – +600 Armor at rank 40, and +10/mastery point in the corresponding mastery tree for a maximum of +750 Armor. 4m Duration, 5m cooldown.
• Mark of the Headbasher – +70 Wounds at rank 40, and +1/mastery point in the corresponding mastery tree for a maximum of +85 Wounds. 4m Duration, 5m cooldown.

Mastery Trees

• Bonecrusher – A focus on bringing down all your might to smash your enemies
• Spearbreaker – A focus on breaking your enemies’ fighting power on yourself
• Headbasher – A focus on preventing harm from spells and anti-magic

Skaven Prelude Part II

Summer, Skavenblight

The Council of Thirteen had gathered, a rare occurrence, and one wrought more with arguments and threats of death and downfall. This Council ruled the Skaven clans of the world, and should it ever actually work together and unite, then woe unto the world. Fortunately for the realms kissed by the sun, the Skaven were too busy planning ways to undermine each other and secure a seat on the Council; the thought never occurred to them to unite and rid the world of their foes, that is, until now.

In a large chamber eerily lit by green lanterns twelve skaven lords sat around a horseshoe shaped table, and lurking in the shadows were the ears and eyes of the assassins of Clan Eshin. This was the Council of Thirteen – twelve skaven lords, and the highest spot reserved for their god, The Horned Rat. Thirteen votes to bring the world of skaven together, or more likely than not, to keep it fragmented. At the head of the Council sits Lord Kritslik, the Seerlord, who holds not only his own vote, but also the vote of the Horned Rat. The disunity of the Skaven is often attributed to him and his desire to ensure that he is the most powerful Skaven. The remaining eleven seats are held by two other Grey Seers, the Warlord-General of Skavendom, the heads of the four Great Clans, and the heads of four lesser Clans.

Skaven Prelude Part I

Summer, Black Mountains

“Oy, gobbos arn’t made for dis kinda work, eh Scragz?” one goblin said bracing his lower back.

“Well meybe if ya hadn’t let da orcz eat da stunties who were doin’ da diggin’ for us den we wouldn’t be diggin’ nows, eh Greentoof?” Scragz replied.

“Wes gotta make da orcz git back ta werk so we dont have ta dig anymore, itz their turn eh?”

“Oi ya bigguns!” Scragz called to a dozen savage orcs sitting around a crude meal of cooked rats, “Youz git back ta work now! Da Warboss aint gonna like hearin’ about his orcz gettin’ fat while workin’!”

The orcs grumbled and picked up several picks and hammers and got back to the tunnel wall and began to toil away. For weeks now their Warboss had ordered them to expand the tunnel until they breached a dwarven mineshaft. The orcs and goblins were restless; this wasn’t their type of work. Unfortunately far from ready food supplies, they’d eaten all their slaves who were digging for them and now the workload fell on their shoulders.