Soulblight Gravelords – Warscrolls

When a bloody moon rises in the sky, Belladamma Volga rides at the head of a Dire Wolf pack to bring death and suffering to mortals. The matriarch of the Vyrkos dynasty has fought alongside many of her brood to overwhelm Sigmarite outposts, though she lingers only for the victory feast. Volga’s secrets are hers to keep, and woe betide any who meddle in her business.

When mounted upon an undead steed known as a nightmare, a Vampire Lord carves a gory path through the enemy with each thundering charge. The beast’s ironshod hooves cave in chests and grind foes into the mud, while the undead cavalier astride it lays about themself with a blade or axe, opening throats with every blow.

Most powerful of all the Deathrattle tyrants are the Wight Kings, those undead sovereigns whose domains encompass dozens – sometimes hundreds – of barrow kingdoms. The embodiment of endless conquest, they possess the willpower to defy all save Nagash and the military might to bring entire continents into their iron grasp.

Wight Lords often ride to war atop fleshless steeds, taking command of the household cavalry and overseeing the annihilation of their liege’s foes first-hand. These undead champions observe the battle with passionless focus, waiting for the moment that an opening presents itself. Then they ride forth to exploit that weakness, plunging deep into the enemy’s line at the tip of an armoured wedge.

Cado Ezechiar is an outcast and exile, and his destiny leads him on a path drenched with blood. Two companions accompany him on this dark odyssey. The first is the vampire warrior Sissendra, a ruthless and graceful killer who shares none of Cado’s self-restraint. The second is the Nulahmian death-priest Aurelias, a trusted servant of her majesty Neferata. There are few foes this trio cannot overcome.

An outcast amongst a dynasty renowned for the strength of its blood ties, the rebellious Ivya Volga has spent centuries roaming across the deadliest wilds of Shyish and beyond, hacking down its most ferocious denizens with her woodcutter’s axe and drinking from their opened veins. She surrounds herself with a swarm of needle-fanged bats, which will sacrifice themselves without hesitation to protect their mistress.

The repellent Kritza is a vampire that has feasted upon so many rodents that he has adopted many of the traits of these hardy and cunning creatures. Hiding his sewer stench behind a thick cloud of equally nauseating perfume, this gaunt and unsettling creature preys upon mortals without restraint. Whenever he feels outmatched, he will simply transform into a swarm of vermin and slip away through cracks in the walls.

Annika fights as though suffused by some arcane swiftness, for she is faster and more agile than any of her Vyrkos kin. She wields the Blade Proboscian, slicing open the veins of her prey and letting the enchanted weapon drain their blood dry in moments. Yet for every foe exsanguinated in this manner, Annika gains only fleeting succour. Whether caused by her consumption of exotic substances or simply a side-effect of the Soulblight curse, her unique, haemovoric mania can never be satisfied.

At first glance, one might number a Necromancer amongst the dead. Their faces are sallow and their limbs wizened, but a vestige of life still glints in their eyes – though it is all but smothered by morbid arcana. Even as they are corrupted by these energies, a Necromancer wields them to bolster the legions of Nagash and place enervating curses on the foe, sapping them of vitality with the hunger of the Shyish Nadir.

Broad-shouldered and swollen with the animalistic powers of the Vyrkos bloodline, Radukar the Wolf overwhelms his prey with sheer ferocity, swinging a blade seized from the tomb of the vampiric emperor Morkan. Not for him the role of martial strategist positioned behind a mass of rotting footsoldiers: Radukar delights in the rush and crunch of battle, ripping and tearing at the enemy in a wild frenzy, laughing with the pure thrill of slaughter.

Sekhar is one of the most lethally skilled agents of the Mortarch Neferata and the most prominent member of the elite order known as the Fangs of Nulahmia. She is a master manipulator and spy whose honeyed whispers have seen more kingdoms crumble to dust than she can recall. Sekhar travels the realms at the behest of her mistress, advancing the cause of the Nulahmian elite and ensuring – through subterfuge, trickery or outright slaughter – that Neferata’s enemies are bled white.

The eldest vampires are granted fearsome powers by the Soulblight curse: unnatural speed, potent arcane power, and strength enough to dismember foes with their bare hands. Peerless duellists and cunning strategists all, they affect an aura of nobility even as their innermost impulses urge them to glut themselves on warm, fresh blood. They sate this hunger in the thick of battle, slicing throats with ornate rapiers or smashing open ribcages with flanged maces to devour the crimson rain that sprays forth.

Wight Kings are deathless tyrants, ruling over barrow empires populated entirely by skeletal thralls. They exist only to dominate others, having long ago sacrificed emotion and passion on the altar of their obsessive lust for triumph. In battle, few can withstand their relentless assault. Those foolish enough to challenge their supremacy are soon hacked to pieces by the monarch’s cursed blade, a weapon capable of snuffing out a soul with a single scratch.

Known as the Hollow King, Cado Ezechiar seeks both vengeance and redemption. Once a mortal king, his lands were ravaged by Chaos. Now he hunts the servants of ruin while seeking a way to escape the controlling will of Nagash.

The macabre creature known as Gorslav the Gravekeeper lorded over the many cemeteries and mausoleums of Ulfenkarn. In battle, he leads hordes of shambling Deadwalkers that hurl themselves at the foe, infused with a rabid determination.

Sekhar is one of the most lethally skilled agents of the Mortarch Neferata and the most prominent member of the elite order known as the Fangs of Nulahmia. She is a master manipulator and spy whose honeyed whispers have seen more kingdoms crumble to dust than she can recall. Sekhar travels the realms at the behest of her mistress, advancing the cause of the Nulahmian elite and ensuring – through subterfuge, trickery or outright slaughter – that Neferata’s enemies are bled white.

This dark magician earned himself a place in Radukar’s court thanks to his mastery of grave-sand and its uses. When called into battle, Torgillius can unleash devastating sorcery that leaves any survivors drained of all strength.

During the purge of the city, the traitorous Watch Captain Oleksandr Halgrim was swift to swear himself and his warriors to the Wolf’s cause. In death, he commanded the vast legions of skeleton warriors known as the Ulfenwatch.

Not for nothing is Lauka Vai known as the Mother of Nightmares, for she is the matron of the bestial and maligned Avengorii dynasty. Though she refuses to give in to the vile urges that thunder in her cursed blood, Vai is swift to respond to threats or insults with overwhelming violence. Foes are ripped to shreds by her talons and her dancing rapier, their gory remains tossed to the menagerie of twisted horrors that serves as her court.

A cunning military mastermind and a skilled wielder of the darkest magic, Mannfred von Carstein is feared and reviled across the Mortal Realms. In his wake lie the corpses of untold thousands, slaughtered because they stood in the path of his vaulting ambition. The Mortarch of Night rides into battle atop the dread abyssal Ashigaroth, carving a bloody path through his terrified prey with lightning slashes of Gheistvor, the Sword of Unholy Power. Any foes able to fend off this deadly assault are subjected to a soul-withering storm of amethyst sorcery that seals their demise.

All living beings dread the name of Nagash, the God of Undeath. Cruel and tyrannical, the overlord of Shyish intends to conquer the Mortal Realms and transform them into a lifeless Necrotopia, in which not a speck of dust moves unless it is by his will.

Ancient beyond mortal comprehension, Queen Neferata is the progenitor of the Soulblight dynasties. Though she is a being who adores luxury and the intricate schemes of her royal court, Neferata has overseen more war and bloodshed than any of her rivals. Borne into battle atop the dread abyssal Nagadron, she traps her foes in a deadly web of mists and sorcery. As they stagger in confusion, she artfully dispatches them with the dagger Akmet-har and the staff Aken-seth – ritual weapons from another age, imbued with terrible enchantments.

The most feared vampire cavalier in existence is the legendary Prince Vhordrai, castellan – and prisoner – of the Crimson Keep. When released from his cursed fortress to wage war against the living, Vhordrai rides forth atop the undead Draconith known as Shordemaire. This ancient beast spews gouts of pestilential breath that melt flesh and armour, before swooping in low so that its master can drive his Bloodlance through the ribs of any foes still standing.

The vampire Radukar became ever more monstrous as the full power of his curse manifested. He transformed into a terrifying berserker-beast, the injuries that threatened to end him eclipsed by raw strength. This altered Radukar is a towering creature with dagger-length claws, capable of moving with a swiftness that seems impossible for his size.

Twisted by the power of unbound arcana, Vengorian Lords embody the nightmarish true nature of the Soulblight vampires. Unable to bear the sight of their own reflection, they wield magics of rust and corrosion, revelling in their own self-loathing. Those who rouse a Vengorian’s dark appetite are torn to pieces in a frenzied fit of hunger, their blood gulped down and their bones left crushed and scattered across the ground.

The proudest and most martial of vampires take to battle astride terrifying undead drakes. Armed with such a potent mount, they are capable of turning the tide of battle alone, striking down their rivals and supping their blood from enchanted goblets.

Coven Thrones are a symbol of macabre splendour prized by the most egotistical vampires, those who see the dirt and filth of a churning battlefield as beneath them. Drifting forth upon a surging mass of bound spirits, this necro-crafted palanquin allows its occupants to observe and partake in the slaughter whilst reclining in comfort. Sipping from goblets of freshly drained blood, they pour the rest into an unholy font, reading the bubbling liquid within for signs and portents regarding the battle’s outcome.

When a truly formidable Necromancer is destroyed, their acolytes will reverently collect their remains and inter them within rune-marked caskets and reliquaries. These are then mounted atop the arcane constructs known as Mortis Engines, each guided into battle by a Corpsemaster learned in the ways of the amethyst arts. This dreadful reliquary acts as a wellspring of necromantic power, sending forth waves of life-stealing magic and bolstering the Shyishan energies that animate lesser undead.

From atop macabre conveyances known as Bloodseeker Palanquins, the Sanguinarchs refine the art of blood-blending. In battle, they violently exsanguinate worthy champions, using their ichor in crimson concoctions to invigorate their vampiric kin.

It is said that to hear a Dire Wolf’s howl is to be damned. These lupine undead are tireless hunters, and when they finally run their prey to ground, their powerful jaws ensure that the kill comes swiftly indeed.