Standard top ten list, who are your favourite Warhammer characters? Guidelines: your selections should be solely comprised of named characters base your decisions on a character's story/fluff, model and/or artwork do not take into account a characters in-game rules (so models with crap rules are fair game) a character need not have actual rules, as long as they appear in WFB lore (even from the past) feel free to include characters that are mentioned in earlier WFB editions stick to characters that are from official lore (including black library material), so no homebrews avoid selecting gods (i.e. Tzeentch, Khaine, Old Ones etc.) Here is my list: Venerable Lord Kroak➤ The Slann are my favourite models, and Lord Kroak is the coolest of them all. How can you not like an uber powerful undead relic froggy? Greatest wizard of all time. Took out thousands of daemons himself. Beautiful model. Settra the Imperishable➤ Settra does not serve. Settra rules. Enough said! Lord Mazdamundi➤ Slann... check! Badass Stegadon mount... check! Archaon➤ Lord of the End Times. The main baddie in the game, badass of badasses. Cool concept to have a single character blessed by all four of the Chaos gods. Really awesome model. High Queen Khalida➤ A Tomb Queen! Cool backstory with Neferata. Love the archery and snake angle. Throgg➤ A smart Troll, who leads the rest of his dimwitted counterparts to battle. Fun back story and a cool model to boot. Thanquol➤ Hilarious in the Black Library novels. Love how he always attributes successes to his brilliance and failure upon the incompetence of those below him. The prototypical Skaven in my mind. Grimgor Ironhide➤ if anyone best exemplifies their race, it is Grimgor. The biggest and the baddest. Kairos Fateweaver➤ Excellent backstory with Tzeentch casting him into the well of eternity (because he was afraid to go in himself). Results in a character that knows things that Tzeentch himself does not. Awesome twin headed lord of change model. Nakai➤ I've always had a fondness for Kroxigors. So a sacred Kroxigor that appears when most needed (only to disappear again after the battle) is a no brainer! Not having a model does kind of bump him down the list though. So who are your picks and why? As this is fluff related, maybe @Scalenex will weigh in too!
Slightly biased about lizards so theres alot of them on my list 1. Kroqgar the last Defender: The backbone of the lizardmen military strength, Has a Cybernetic Arm or gauntlet, and rides an Ageless Carnosaur. (Wish he had more stories tho like the rest of the lizardmen) 2. Nakai the Wanderer: The living manifestations of the jungle, and the lizardmen's white dwarf or green knight, And the Oldest kroxigor/ potentially oldest lizardmen aside from 2nd generation slanns. He had few stories about him but the ones he was in were big ones. (Originally he was tied with Kroqgar but Kroqgar has more stuff to put him on the edge) 3. Mazdamundi: The Apprentice of Venerable Lord Kroak himself, and the chaddest slann that has the balls to mount the biggest, baddest Stegadon that have ever lived. Lasty can evaporate cities 4. Vlad Von Carstine: The closest Vampire to have taken the Entire Empire (Plus he has a sick wife, and tricked Neferata) 5. Tehenhauin The prophet of Sotek: This guy showed the first emotion, and character that the lizardmen lacked and I really like skinks even tho GW neglects them the potential to be main characters to finally give them novels. 6. Archaon The Everchose: Has a very engaging backstory, and a fitting character for the end all be all big baddie, Its like watching the journey of an MC. 7. Skarsnik The king of the Eight peaks: The most Cunning of all Gobbos!!! and plus points for Gobbla 8. Skarbrand: BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!!! 9. Malus Dark Blade: The only elf that was that I liked, His novels makes you wanna route for the bad Guy 10. Gor-Rok: Skaven pulled a moon just to kill this guy
Oki doki, here comes my super duper, hella Lizardmen biased ranking: 1. Krog-Gar: It could be no one else, what beats a super badass dino with a high tech gauntlet, wielding a spear that belonged to a god, riding the biggest T-Rex. The go-to, and probably by far best general for the Lizardmen, how can you not like that? Also Saurus are just badass and I love their design. 2. Lord Kroak: I don't think there is any doubt that he is the most powerful wizard in the setting, its just a matter of whether he finds the circumstances important enough to use it all. So powerful that he doesn't die. I especially like it in AOS, where the god of Death (Nagash) Seemingly have no power over him, cause Kroak don't care. I also quite like the statement in the army book where it says he was there at the beginning of the universe and he will be there till its end. 3. Oxyotl: He has been propelled upwards for me as of late, due to TWW2, not quite sure why, I just appreciate him more now I guess. What I find cool about him, is how superb of an assassin that he is, that even some of Skaven's best, didn't even see him as he picked them off. 4. Chakax: Saurus, check. Badass lore check. What seals the deal for me, is how unflinchingly and seemingly unbothered by poisoned blade, he took out Skaven assassins in The End Times. Also just the idea of a highly skilled and stalwart defender, who have never failed id appealing to me. 5. Gor-Rok: A runner up for spot 4, but since Temple Guard is slighlty more cool than regular saurus, and because of his End Times bit, Chakax got the edge. Still Gor-Rok awesome, being an immovable object on the field of battle. 6. Nakai: I quite like Nakai, but probably more as a kind of force of nature for the Lizardmen, since he does not have a lot of character to him otherwise, as far as I'm aware. 7. Tehenhauin: A seemingly fanatical skink that is seemingly reincarnated every so often, to absolutely obliterate Skaven if they dare show their faces in Lustria. I love that, since I absolutely despise Skaven (probably because I am so biased towards my lizards and hate playing against them in TWW2 -ugh). 8. Malekith: I know, madness!, he didn't go with another lizard. tbh I'm not entirely sure why I like Malekith, maybe it's that he is kind of the Darth Vader of the Warhammer world. 9: Eltharion: I can confidently say that Eltharion is only on my list, after CA decided to basically make him Batman. From this point, it gets a bit tricky, it could be a lot of characters, since I don't care a whole lot about the rest, it just can't be anything from Skaven, Empire, High Elves (like the army, but the characters are mostly horrible) or Ogre Kingdoms. So with that in mind, I think my last spot will go to a character with one of the best sentences, the one and only: 10. Settra The Imperishable: You know why.
You're correct that the list does seem to be slightly biased towards Lizardmen, but Settra is in there (even if he barely made the cut), so it's all good Interestingly, that's also two first place votes for Kroq-Gar. I'm the only outlier so far, as he didn't even make my list. It also seems that my list is the most diverse in terms of armies represented... for better or worse. Interesting!
Gotta say @NIGHTBRINGER, this thread is dangerously close to being a Fluff sub-forum item... - Okay, so these are my choices: 1.Gotrek & Felix These guys hold a special place in my heart. Dwarfs was my first army and ever since Lord of the Rings, Dwarves had been my favourites. When I first got into Warhammer, the first real story I read was of these guys. There's something about Gotrek's never-say-die, irascible power that really appeals to me. Felix adds the comic element and together they are brilliant. Strongest? No. But still pretty good and a firm #1 for me. 2. Malus Darkblade I read all of the Warhammer Monthly comics with his background story in it. I'm not usually into bad guys (he is the only one on my list), but having read his full story I couldn't help but like the guy. The fact that he has a powerful Dinosaur (Spite the Cold One) closed the deal for me. Because of this, he takes #2. 3. Kroq-Gar & Grymloq A very close #3. Possibly if I'd read more stories about him he would have taken 2 or 3. I am a sucker for a self-sacrifice, honor-not-allowing-the-warrior-to-give-up kind of a story and this is Kroq-Gar to a T. The fact that Grymloq is a NAMED special character T-REX is just brilliant. 4. The Green Knight I love the Brettonians and the Arthurian feel. The Green Knight is just a fantastic character: a mystical knight who will suddenly appear and defend you is totally up my alley. 5. Ungrim Ironfist A king who is a Slayer? Say no more. 6. Settra the Imperishable I love the Tomb Kings Egyptian feel. Settra has to be in this list as he is the top boss! Fantastic. 7. Khalida I loved her back story, the whole hatred for Vampires thing and the fact she was spared by the Gods from becoming a vampire herself. I also love the fact that they threw her in as a top special character in the army. 8. Alith Anar The Shadow Warriors King. Fudge yeah. Master of infiltration. Danced in the court of Malekeith before stealing from them? Sworn to obliterate the Dark Elves? Yes please! 9. Golgfag Maneater The Ogre Kingdoms book is filled with humor and tongue-in-cheek rules. When I first read the book, I loved the Maneaters idea. A great comedy idea which also creates a great fluff and backstory. Golgfag then takes this to the next level. Imprisoned with dangerous Orc's? With no food? Simple, just eat the Orc's! ) 10. Oxyotl Such great lore. Such a shame that his model's rules reflect NONE of this. He's supposed to be this master infiltrator, but just get's Scout like everyone else. He's supposedly killed Daemon's, but he just get's a strength 3 (with Poisoned attacks, but still) blowpipe. If only they had matched his lore. One of possibly a handful of creatures to escape from the Realm of Chaos with sanity intact. Awesome.
Well this is an interesting thread. I like the fact that WFB has a lot of named characters opposed to AoS. This is a great richness for fluff and lore, but makes it hard to pick from. On the other hand. I am not sure I can make a list of 10 characters with a reason for choosing them This might take some time... Grrr, Imrahil
I know . I have another topic in mind that also flirts with fluff. I justify it all with the process of categorization inherent in the creation of a top 10 list. Gives it just enough of an analytical component to satisfy my soul. I have 5 in my list! (along with 3 forces of order and 2 neutrals) I didn't know you liked Dwarfs that much. I don't often hear you discussing them. A fun excuse to explore some of the cool characters in the WFB universe! I look forward to seeing what you come up with.
It is a slippery slope my friend, a fluffly analytical thread today... THE SHORT STORY THREAD TOMORROW! Of course you do. Surprising absolutely no-one Your top ten phrasing was interesting though, not which you thought were the BEST but which you LIKED the most. So just Malus for me. It's true. The thing is that when I stopped playing for years, my mum sold my dwarves at a car boot sale. For a pittance. I doubt I need to explain to you how I felt about that. Then when I got back into it, there were already two friends who collected Dwarves so between these two factors I decided to start a totally new army. Being asked who is my favourite brought back some fond memories though.
This was surprisingly difficult, but after much deliberation, here's my list: Gor-Rok➤ Ever since I read the lore section where he's tasked with recovering the star stelae, I've always loved the guy. Direct quote: "When stabbed through the chest, Gor-Rok refused to die, instead pulling his assailant towards him by drawing the iron lance through his own body until he was close enough for his jaws to rip the elf's throat." His title eventually became my LO username, after several minutes of staring blankly at the username entry form. Skarsnik, Warlord of the Eight Peaks➤ Was I the only one close to tears when Gobbla died? All around an awesome greenskin character, gotta love him. Oxyotl➤ His lore is just so incredible it's hard to compete. I mean, he literally goes on a two thousand year rampage straight through the chaos realms. Drycha➤ Evil, ancient, and seeking revenge, Drycha is definitely one of my favorite characters all around Settra, The Imperishable➤ Best catchphrase in all of Warhammer, and leader of one of the most unique factions. Khazrak, The One Eyed➤ Everything I love about beastmen. So malicious, cunning, and just all around bad. Naestra and Arahan➤ The whole good/evil contrast and the fact that they're the heralds of Ariel makes them on of my favorite wood elf characters. Tenenhauin, Prophet of Sotek➤ The Cult of Sotek is one of the most interesting parts of the whole lizardmen lore, plus he literally wears sacred plaques as armor. Grom the Paunch➤ A overweight goblin that somehow starts a huge Waggh! and ends up invading Ulthuan by accident. Enough said. Ungrol Four Horn➤ Super cool lore, and it's also awesome that the horns of the tribe's Bray Shaman and Beastlord give hime the powers of both.
I suppose that anything is possible, but if I were you, I wouldn't place any bets on it. For me it's always been: gaming >> painting > fluff The closest I've come to any fluff creation is when I've created custom characters. I do like coming up with character rule sets, and I usually create a background story for them (but I rarely write them out because I've already got them rattling around in my head). I only ever finished background fluff for one character and one unit. That said, the background story is written in the style that one would find in an army book (summary description) and not in the style of an actual story, short or otherwise (viewpoint characters, dialogue, etc.) That is harsh. It's such a shame that you no longer own your favourite army. Maybe someday in the future you'll run into a really crazy good deal and pick up a fresh new Dwarf army. Those are some great characters, from a wide range of armies. I see Lizardmen, Goblins, Wood Elves, Tomb Kings and Beastmen... a nice mix!
Now this looks fun! I’d better put in my fourpenneth: 1. Thorgrim Grudgebearer: The High King of the Dwarfs himself. Not only does he have THE best throne in the Old World, he also wields Grimnir’s remaining axe and is the boss of the Book of Grudges. He’s also more open-minded than your average Dwarf, because he is also willing to forgo avenging grudges if it leads to achieving a higher cause, and has an empathy for the poor of the human world. I hated the way GW killed him off in the End Times so disrespectfully (getting him stabbed in the back by Deathmaster Snickh after he got to the top of some stairs). 2. Settra the Imperishable: “I do not serve... I RULE!” The greatest of the Tomb Kings has to have a place on my list, with his double-sided personality making him at times a tyrant and others a good guy who wanted to bring the order and enlightenment of civilisation to all the corners of the known world, and without doubt the best-looking chariot in the game. Also one of the only characters in the End Times who was treated with any respect. 3. Josef Bugman: Holds a special place in my heart as he was one of the first Dwarf models I got when I started Warhammer, and his lore’s pretty awesome - a Dwarf on a mission to avenge grobi smashing up his brewery while still cheerful enough to give out pints to the other Dwarfs in the army he joins. 4. Kroq-Gar: A beast of a Saurus character in lore, riding his empowered Carnosaur, blessed with a fantastic 8th Edition model. I also loved the 7th rules that allowed you to take some Saurus Cavalry as a Core choice. The rest of his rules were embarrassing though (except perhaps the Hand of the Gods). 5. Skarsnik: Da most kunnin’ and sneaky Night Gobbo dat ever was! Self-proclaimed ruler of Karak Eight Peaks who feeds anyone he doesn’t like to his pet Squig. Would make a great Warhammer Bond villain. 6. King Belegar Ironhammer: Skarsnik’s rival who wants to take back Karak Eight Peaks, the only reason Belegar is below his grobi foe is because his lore wasn’t fleshed out and he didn’t have rules until 8th Edition, so isn’t usable in previous editions which is sad. Also the model he got wasn’t really how I imagined him (the face mask and long helmet back-banner looked off to me). 7. Queek Headtaker: Had to have the third of the Warlords of the Eight Peaks on here! Queek is brutal and fighty (for a Skaven), while also retaining his race’s characteristic sneakiness and penchant for dirty tactics, and is also quite bonkers. What’s not to love? 8. Gotrek Gurnisson: The unluckiest Slayer in the whole of the Dwarf race’s history, but also the most successful. There’s a series of books about him. Oh, and he’s voiced by none other than the legend that is Brian Blessed. 9. Slugtongue: A little-known Beastmen character who in my opinion has top-marks in creepiness and malevolence - a withered Bray-Shaman that is the personification of Winter, whose cackling, gurgling incantations turn crops to dust and rain to sludge, starving enemy villages and baiting their armies into attacking their fully-fed Beastmen enemies while malnourished and understaffed (contrary to the rumours and the 7th Edition book, Beastmen have human-level intelligence and can be pretty tactical when they put their minds to it). 10. Moonclaw: Another Beastmen character that is practically unheard of by any non-Beastmen player, mainly because of his atrocious 7th Edition rules, but is again a pretty symbolic and thematic character, who personifies the madness within every Beastman, and indeed every human. Also the only Beastman cavalry model, and you’d have thought GW could have written pretty good rules for a guy who can bombard his enemies with green lunar meteors, wouldn’t you? (As a consolation prize, I’ve done a good bit of work to make him better in my 8th Edition book for the Beasts). Gorthor the Beastlord also was blessed by all four Chaos Gods (and had rules for it in 6th Ed, which has been resurrected in my 8th book) so Golden Boy Archaon may be the current recipient of the Chaos Gods’ favours, but he wasn’t the first.
Archaon was never the first. Apparently there have been 13 champions who have bore the title of Everchosen; meaning 12 that came before Archaon. https://warhammerfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Everchosen#fn_4a
I guess I kind of like Maz, Oxoytl, Mannfred Von Carstein, Marius Leitdorf, Sigmar, Tehehuan, Throgg, Arkhan the Black, and Settra the Imperishable, and Azhag the Slaughterer if I have to name ten.