UNIFORMS & HERALDRY

of
THE VAMPIRE COUNTS

Immortal Lords of the Unquiet Dead

Some two and a half thousand years before the birth of
Sigmar, the ancient civilization of Men known as Nehekhara
dwelt along the banks of the great River Vitae. Such was
the power of these kings they sought to defy death itself.
Soon all of Nehekhara became preoccupied with death and
the afterlife, building many huge temples and monuments
to the dead. These gigantic tombs became so frequent and
enormous that the rulers blocked them all into the giant
cities of the dead called Necropoli.

It was into this culture that Nagash was born, brother of the
Priest king of Khemri. Nagash was the first son and was given
to the mortuary cult as tradition demanded. He soon rose
to the position of high priest. He observed the morticians
as they prepared the dead for internment. He learned all of
their ancient spells but, because Nehekhara was so far south
of the Winds of Magic, he was too weak to cast them. Nagash
took to unspeakable experiments in his quest for immortality
and soon all the citizens of Khemri shunned him. Chance
would have a small number of shipwrecked Druchii come
under Nagash’s thrall. He tortured the secrets of Dark Magic
from them. Coupled with his research and new found lore
Nagash was able to concoct an elixir to extend his life, but
true immortality eluded him.

When the other kings of Nehekhara threw off the yoke of

Nagash and his corrupt followers, his recorded Necromantic
knowledge was seized by the rulers of Lahmia. After many
years of using the elixir in secret, Queen Neferata and her
brother Lamashizaar fell into competing cabals. Poisoning
his sister with Sphinx blood to overcome the elixir the
intervention of Arkhan the Black to attempt to save her,
caused a quickening of her blood. Arkhan then sought and
killed Lamashizaar in his bedchamber, after which Arkhan
was found and cut down by Abhorash, Lahmia’s most
formidable warrior. Neferata through a combination of the
sphinx venom and elixir turned into the first vampire. She
then proceeded to turn the rest of the cabal, consisting of Lord
Ushoran, W’soran, Naaima, Lord Ankhat,
Zurhas, Abhorash and several others, into
Vampires using the same method (though
Abhorash had to be tricked into drinking the
elixir). Each of the twelve masters (Nefereta
included) bore particular traits, and they
 Queen Neferata in Ancient
Nehekhara

could expand their lineage by creating vampire servants, but

through each successive generation, the powers of the vampire
weakened. Eventually, these cabals of vampires would be
destroyed or scattered when found out by the uncorrupted
forces of Nehekhara. Ever since those times, the vampires
from these bloodlines have plagued man; sometimes covertly,
other times in open warfare. Vampire forces are
varied from bloodline to bloodline. As such
their icons, style of dress, and heraldry varies.
The common thread is the frequent usage of
symbols of death, somewhat ironic due to their
deathless nature; but they, more than most,
understand the fear of death.
Blood Dragons
Descending from Aborash, the
vampires commonly known as Blood
Dragons hone their skills in combat
rather than the dark arts. The end
goal of their pursuits is to succeed
in mastering combat, and obtaining
the same ability of permanently
suppressing the need to drink human
blood to survive, same as their progenitor. The bloodline is
prevalent in Bretonnia and the Empire where they seek the
best warriors to test their skills in combat. Blood Dragons
tend to keep similar men-at-arms and troops (though
undead) with uniforms and icons in reds, blacks, silver,
and gold. There are many hermit knights, remote Knight
Chapterhouses, and singular “Questing knights” that are, in
fact, vampires of this nature.

Blood Dragon Vampires

Bottom. Dragon icons are
very common
Above. Banners of Blood Keep
Below. Bloodknights are
vampiric heavy cavalry
Above Left. Wights in Service
to the Red Duke of Bretonnia.
Above Right. The Red Duke’s
personal banner
Below. Skeletal Bretonnian
Knights in eternal servitude.
 Above. Banner
bearer for the Order
of the Red Dragon.

Left. A flayed skin

of a vaunted foe
serves as the banner
for a Blood Dragon
enclave in the
Border Princes

Top. Banner denoting

how many Blood
Dragons feel about their
vampiric “life”
Above. Skeletal footman
bearing Blood Dragon
colors
Above. Wings and Wyrms in
red and black are common
Below. Skeletal Warriors serve
with military precision

Above. Archers are mostly unique to

Blood Dragon retinues
Blood Dragon Arch-Lords often
re-animate and ride the carcass of the
Dragon they have slain to overcome their
thirst for blood.
The most legendary of all Blood Dragons
was and is their first master, the Dragon
Slayer, the Scourge of the Greenskins,
the Blade Immortal, the Lord of Blood,
Abhorash the Great, Abhorash the
Wanderer, Abhorash the Master.
Lahmians
Primarily a sisterhood, Lahmians may
not have the brute strength of some
of the other bloodlines, but they more
than make up for this lack in cunning,
deviousness, and their mastery of others.
The Lahmians live alongside humanity,
not in distant towers, castles, or crypts,
but in the mansions and palaces of high
society, as befits their station. They
move invisibly amongst their victims,
performing a dance that has many rules and complicated
steps The Lahmians are secret string-pullers of the world,
invisibly exerting untellable control over history. Their
immortal plots are difficult for short-lived humans to see, and
some that were set in motion in antiquity have yet to come
to fruition. Most of all, they long for the return of the glory
of ancient Lahmia. When their troops take to open warfare
their icons and uniforms often reflect and echo their ancient
Nehekharan origins.

Lahmian Vampires, beautiful and

deadly. Fully versed in using their
feminine wiles, honed by centuries,
on their foes and cats-paws.
Skeletal footmen may have been
in service to the Lahmians for
thousands of years and still bear
their original Nehekharan icons
and gear.
Top and Above. Bretonnian Knights often fall sway under
Lahmian charms due to their chivalric code. It usually means
eternal service as heavy cavalry. Many “widowed” Ladies of
Bretonnian are in fact Lahmian vampires.
Above. A Wight
clad in purple silk
pleasing to his
mistress
Above Right.
Snake icons are
frequently seen on
Lahmian banners
Right. Felines
are favored by
the Lahmians.
Pets, familiars
or shape-shifted
vampire. Anything
is possible.
Below. Shield icon
and footman of the
Silver Pinnacle
Above. Coven Thrones take to the field of
battle when only force of arms will complete
the Lahmians murky goals.
Neferata, which translates to “Beautiful Death” in ancient
Nehekharan, is the self-proclaimed Queen of Lahmia, the Queen
of the Silver Pinnacle, the First of the Vampires, and the founder
and head of the Lahmian Sisterhood. Queen Neferata is one of the
most ancient and powerful Vampires to still exist within the world
of today, owing much of her success to her own seductive beauty,
a cunning demeanor and a secret network of exquisitely beautiful,
female Vampire spies that has since infiltrated the aristocracy of all
the Human kingdoms of the Old World.

Sitting upon her luxurious throne within the former Dwarf fortress-
city of the Silver Pinnacle, Queen Neferata has, since the time of her
exile from the lands of Nehekhara, been plotting and weaving a web
of intrigue and alliances from all the remaining Vampiric bloodlines,
hoping to unite or enslave them under her rule as she seeks to
reinstate the City of Lahmia to its former glory, rebuild the Temple
of Blood and reinstate herself as the City’s eternal Queen.
Necrarch
The Necrarch are a cabal of vampires
focused primarily on the mastery of
necromancy with little interest in the
world of mortals. Necrarchs invariable
see the world as a blurry image but the
dead and energies of Shyish are crystal
clear.
Necrarch vampires are hideous in
appearance as their constant exposure
to death magics twists and corrupts
them. Interestingly though there is an advantage to this;
Necrarch vampires are much less afflicted by the blood lust
of other vampires, with some able to forgo blood entirely,
using the dark magic to sustain themselves.
Most Necrarchs live in hidden towers where they study
the wind of death and the heavens, their chambers and
laboratories full of strange experiments and potions they use
to preserve their bodies and enhance their minds. Though
less bellicose than some vampires, the Necrarch will field
armies when force of arms helps them achieve their goals.
As expected these troops bear the icons of death: skulls,
ominous winged depictions, and often bearing the word
“Legion” in reference to the inevitable death of all things.

Above. Necrarch Vampires

Left. Wight bearing the winged beast
skull icon of his Master.
Below. Hexenwraiths are prized
cavalry of the Necrarchs

Above. Infamous
Screaming Banner
 Below. Fell Bats and monstrous Varghulfs are
often counted amount the menageries of the
Necrarchs

Monochrome icons reflect the Necrarchs vision of

the world.
The Necrarchs often utter the phrase “Death comes on swift wings”
and it is reflected in their favored icons.

Zombie Dragons and other flying monsters are

favored mounts of the powerful Necrarch Lords
W’soran the Wicked, known also as the Father of Vampires, is
the founder and head of the Necrach Bloodline of Vampires.
W’soran, once a Prince of Rasetra, used his position as
High Priest of Lahmia to poison the mind of the young
Princess Neferata, destined to become Queen of Lahmia.
Neferata was a willful girl fascinated by magic and death
who was frustrated by the Mortuary Cult’s unwillingness
to pass on their teachings to women. Secretly, W’soran
nurtured her thirst for this forbidden knowledge, coaching
her in the magical knowledge he learned at Nagash’s side
W’soran joined the cabal of Lamashizzar and Neferata of
Lahmia in the aftermath of the war between the priest kings
of Nehekhara and Nagash. This group sought to use the
books of Nagash to discover Nagash’s secret to immortality.
Eventually becoming disenfranchised with Neferata’s rule,
W’soran sought out Nagash himself instead.
Strigoi
The Strigoi are vampires that have
embraced the beast within them,
taking all the strength and fury the
animal can give them. That strength
is terrible to behold, and that fury
knows no end.
Shunned by other Vampires, forced
into hiding, and unable to integrate
very well with the living, the Strigoi resort to feeding upon
the dead instead of the living, a habit which hastens their
descent into insanity and bestial appearance. The dead,
unlike the living, attract no attention if disturbed. The sole
exception to this is the traveling people of old Strigos - the
Strigany. Isolated and shunned from human communities,
the predations of the Strigoi Vampires upon these traveling
folk remain unnoticed, and, of course, there are many
amongst those people who rush to welcome their once and
future kings. Strigoi more often hold court over bestial
Ghouls who share similar feeding methods and hold mastery
over the bats and creatures who inhabit their abandoned
places and tunnels. Uniforms and icons are rare in Strigoi
retinues, having little concept of martial order. Bones and
skulls are common features. The Strigany favor bright colors
in their clothing such as turquoise, orange, and purples, the
colors of ancient Strigos.

Strigoi can vary in color

and physique depending on
their diet and environment
Bats often share their home
with Strigoi and become bound
to them

Strigoi and his Charnel

Guard
Below. Common Ghouls
 Above Middle. Above Left. Fang
Strigany Witch icons denotes
Left. Purple recalls Strigoi unlife as
the former glory of hunters
Strigos. Above. Crypt
Below. Strigany in Horror
servitude to their Right, Left. Bestial
Vampire Masters shield icon are
common.

Skeletons are raised as

troops. Ghouls leave no
meat behind...
Below. Many Strigoi
devolve into Varghulf
Right. Fell Bats share the
same caves and blood thirst
as the Strigoi

Left. Crypt
Horrors are
Ghouls that
have suckled
vampire blood

Below. So-called “Ghouls Kings”

often create Terrorgheists from the
remains of titanic gargantuan
bats.
Prince Ushoran, Lord of Masques, Celebrations,
and Festivities, stole the precious Elixir and
entered into that same state of great unlife without
Neferata’s help, becoming the first of the Strigoi.
The first to openly challenge Nagash, Ushoran’s
kingdom was eventually destroyed and he and his
bloodline harried into hiding. Exiled from human
and vampiric society, madness and rage festered in
the hearts and minds of Ushoran and his Strigoi
progeny, becoming the truest monstrous reflection
of vampires.
Von Carstein
Out of all the Vampires that have
ever been known to man, the cursed
bloodline of the Von Carsteins
is by-far the most legendary.
Handsome, arrogant, charismatic,
prideful and ambitious, the Von
Carsteins are the true aristocracy
of the night. Ruling the benighted
Imperial province of Sylvania, the
Von Carsteins believe that they have the right and legitimacy
for Sigmar’s realm as much as any other contender.
Many nobles believe deeply in the concept of the peerage
to its literal extreme. Nobility, in other words, is in the
blood. The upper classes are placed above the lower because
only they have the qualities necessary to rule, and for Von
Carsteins these qualities can literally only be passed through
the blood.
Von Carsteins, not unlike other Imperial lords, devote most
of their lives to the twin obsessions at the heart of all nobility,
conspiring to improve their status over each other and
waging outright war. The armies of Sylvania bear the icons
and heraldry not unlike other state armies of the Empire.
However, unsurprisingly, the themes are thematically
darker. Reds, greens, blacks and purples are prominently
featured. Von Carstein wolf and Von Drak (the superseded
ruling house) dragon and winged icons are common.

Barring their deathly pallor, many Von

Carsteins appear similar to Imperial
Nobles in dress and war gear.
Winged and skull icons in black
and red were common even before
Sylvania came under Vampire rule
Vlad von Carstein’s early
heraldry featured the Kislevite
Tundra Wolf. The icon is still
common in the armies of Sylvania
hailing from Waldenhof
In times of war the
degenerate peasant
levies of Sylvania still
answer their Lords’
call to arms

Below. Banners vary depending on when they

were first made. Prior to the Vampire Wars
many still favored Imperial norms (Left) Later
banners depict the true Von Carstein nature
(Right)
Above. Even death is no release from the peasants of
Sylvania duties. It is whispered that many villages are
only inhabited by zombies going about their chores in a
mockery of life.
 Vargheists are vampires that have
been locked away in their coffins
in warpstone dank crypts. A
monstrous metamorphosis takes
place

Von Carsteins have

a strange bond with
the wolves of the dark
forest who serve them
in death

Banshees abound in Sylvania. Many a noble lady

has died tragically there.
Dark coaches carry the coffins of many vampires who have fallen but
were not destroyed. They travel to and from areas where Shyish pools.
They are often seen participating in pitched battles to speed the recovery
of their morbid cargo.
Vlad von Carstein, known in his former life as Vashanesh
of Nehekhara, so impressed Neferata she gave him the
last of the Elixir of Life, which none have been able
to recreate since and made him her husband, King of
Lahmia and co-ruler of its vampires.
Vlad was the first Vampire Count of Sylvania, and the
founder of the Von Carstein bloodline. He was dreaded
by many as the monster that brought darkness upon
the lands of Sylvania after his marriage to Isabella von
Drak, daughter of the late Imperial Count Otto von
Drak. His bid for power, and the desire to rule the whole
Empire as his own has ensured the total blighting of the
Imperial province, as well as to herald the beginning of
the first of the Vampire Wars.
Necromancers
Necromancers are amongst the most
cursed of all those who practice the
magical arts, for they have damned
their souls and exchanged their
humanity for the ability to raise the
dead and command them to wage
war upon the living. Such willingness
to damn one’s soul is often a sign of
desperation, for at the heart of each
Necromancer’s morbid obsession is the need to escape the
inevitability of death and to subjugate and punish those
who have persecuted him in the past, regardless of the
cost. To learn the dark art, an aspirant must find either a
Necromancer or a Vampire and become his apprentice. It
is from this need to learn the dark arts that often drives
Necromancers to become servants of the Vampire Counts,
hoping to learn first hand from the masters of undeath
themselves. However, such servitude often comes at a steep
price, for once a Vampire takes in an apprentice, they are
bound to the Vampire for all eternity. In order to avoid such
a fate, some have gone the path of studying the forbidden
lore by reading through unholy books. Seeking out books of
forbidden lore has its own perils and Necromancers often
turn to communing with long dead wraiths, shades, spirits
and other loathsome entities. Many will become enslaved to
the will of Nagash by design or folly.

While many Necromancers

who make themselves known are
gnarled, wizened, old men; there
just as many in hiding who are of
any age or gender.
Necromancers seize upon one key fact: The dead outnumber the living.
The word “Legion” is code for this knowledge. Every graveyard, tomb,
necropolis, barrow, and battlefield increases the size of their armies.
 Banners depict
death in various
ways. Skulls
and reapers are
common.

Necromancers are also adept at raising and binding less

corporeal undead.
Many Necromancers travel the dark tracts of the
world on Plague or Corpse Carts. These vehicles
that represent the final journey that ends at the
grave are a powerful focus of Shyish and helps to
power the Necromancer’s dark art.
The most powerful of Necromancers can create
the morbid monstrosities known as Necrofex
Colossi. Some are raised from the remains of
fallen Giants, other colossi vary in size and
composition, but always hold true to the same
basic form - a monstrous humanoid shape,
akin to a giant, fashioned upon a frame of
timber, iron or bone, onto which the “flesh”
and musculature of the dead have been bound
and shaped with scores or sometimes hundreds
of corpses used in their creation. The largest
Necrofex Colossus ever was created from the
wreckage of the Iron Fetter, a great galleass
hulk used as a floating prison, after it sank in
a terrible storm.
Mortis Engines are powerful necromantic relics that
are saturated with strong amounts of Dark Magic,
such as the remains of powerful Necromancers and
Liche-Lords of ancient times. Some reliquaries also
carry blasphemous tomes to battle, or scrolls of
parchment rumored to have been penned by Nagash
himself. When the locks are removed and the lead-
lined reliquary opened, the deadly artifact within
can be held aloft, leeching enemies’ life energy away
and invigorating any nearby Undead creatures.
The longer a battle rages, the more energies the relic
absorbs, and the more powerful it becomes. Mortis
Engines can typically be found where the fighting is
thickest, ominously drifting into bloody battle lines.
Such positions simultaneously fuel the Engine with
the energies of the dying and allow the engine to
support Undead forces where the fighting is thickest.
Master Necromancers are those few individuals whom
have dedicated their entire existence to the learning and
practicing of Necromancy and Dark Magic. Extending
their lifespan beyond their mortal limits, these evil
mages are truly powerful sorcerers that have the ability
to conjure up an entire army of Undead all by themselves.
Ancient and malevolent beings, they have since lost
all touch with their former humanity. Counted among
these Masters of the Dead are Kadon the Eternal, Pitre
Fonce the Madman of Mousillon, Heinrich Kemmler the
Lichemaster, Arkhan the Black, Liche Lord Frederick
van Hal, Helman Ghorst, Doom Lord Dieter Helsnicht,
and of course, Nagash, the founder of Necromancy.
Dread Fleets
When a Dread Fleet sails forth,
their Undead captains are eager to
slake their unholy thirsts. Several
Vampire Counts have taken to the
high seas to carve out their own
bases of power separate from the
politics and machinations of the
Lahmians and Von Carsteins. The
warships of the damned emerge
from banks of sulphurous fog,
illuminated only by the flicker
of pallid ghostlights. They draw closer with the sickening
slowness of a nightmare. Suddenly, the uneasy murmur
of the open seas is split by the thunderous roar of cannon
batteries. A low moaning can be heard in the distance, issuing
from a thousand ragged throats, a haunting sound that is
punctuated by the barked orders of unliving commanders
as monstrous warships are brought to bear. Icons most
prevalent reflect nautical themes and pirate motifs.

Dread Fleet Vampire Captain and Admiral

 Shield and banner
icons often represent
the personal icons
of the Captain
or Fleet Admiral
and generally are
nautical in theme.

Above and Left. Gunnery

Wights, usually former 1st mates
and Ship’s Captains.

Zombie Pirate Deckhands

 Above. Banner and Shield from the
Bloody Reaver vampire Man o War
Below. Zombie Pirate Deckhands

Above and Facing Page. Zombie Gunnery Hands

Right. Deck Gunners
Left. Animated Hulks,
some crews had Ogre
Deckhands in life
 Below. Carronade. Ship’s cannon retro fitted to
be a field gun.

Above. Deckdroppers. Fellbats and

Pirates combine for cunning tactics
Right and Below. Rotting Leviathans
Below. Zombie Pirate Mob carrying
the common Jolly Roger banner.

Necrofex Colossus fashioned

from ship wreckage.
In 876 IC a Norscan raiding party attacked an Imperial merchant ship
and took everything of value from within its holds. Unfortunately
for the raiders, this included the sarcophagus of Luthor Harkon.
The Norse ship must have then headed south towards Lustria,
perhaps pursued by Imperial ships or perhaps just searching for
new lands to plunder. When the longship broke apart on the shores
of Lustria, all its crew had undergone a marked change in both
allegiance and vital signs. The Norse had either been enslaved or
turned into Undead and now served a new master: the Vampire
Luthor Harkon. Though stranded many thousands of miles from
home, Luthor never looked back and took his newly indentured
vassals on a march of conquest, carving out a realm for himself
on the eastern coast of the southern continent of Lustria from the
flotsam of wrecked ships and drowned sailors.
The Cursed
The restless dead and the unliving
are not all creations of the artifice
of vampires and necromancers. The
energy of death, Shyish, is the purple
wind of magic and its power comes
from the ending of things, the slow
decline of the soul, and the certainty
and terrible awe of death that all
sentient creatures must face at some point. Shyish is drawn
to places where death must be faced, or where things are
brought to an end. It blows strongly around battlefields,
lingers around gallows and courts of justice, and hangs in
the mournful silence around fresh graves. It is said to be
strongest around times of obvious transition, when one state
ends and another begins.
At times the transition from life to death is interrupted and
the energy of Shyish brings vigor to to the dead. It is known
where Shyish pools on the land that the dead do not rest
easily. Stories also tell of powerful warriors, in spirit and
vigor, returning as vengeful revenants. Other tales tell of
unliving warriors reanimated by their own powerful guilt,
eternally trying to gain atonement. These lost souls are often
named “The Cursed.” These undead account for the tales
of mysterious regiments of skeletons arriving to the aid of
Imperial and Tilean forces and stories of the death shrouded
Elves of Tor Anrok defending their lost tower.
Richter Kreugar the Damned and his Cursed Company.
 The Doomed Elves of Tor Anrok haunt their
destroyed Elven colony located in the Border
Princes.

Ennio Mordini’s revenant Nightmare Legion. Betrayed and

slaughtered in an ambush, the Tilean Mercenary Company marched
again in vengeance against duplicitous Tilean Merchant Princes.
The dark legend of Richter Kreugar the Damned and his Cursed
Company has been told for countless years across the Empire. A tragic
tale of betrayal, greed and revenge, the details and truth behind the
stories have long become hazy and unclear as the story has been told
and retold for generations.
The most common tales revolving around Richter Kreugar’s tragic curse
tell of a young mercenary captain, proud, talented, and ruthless. He
hired out his services freely, uncaring who he fought for as long as the
price was right. Centuries ago in the history of the Old World, Richer
was said to have allied with a powerful Necromancer, aiding him in his
diabolical campaign against the Empire.
After a horrible war of attrition and seeing the Necromancer faltering,
Richter accepted the bribes of an Empire agent, the calculating young
mercenary seeing a chance to make some easy money and be on the
winning side. As the titanic battle hung in the balance, Richter played
his hand, striking out at the foul Necromancer, who fell beneath his
blade. However, with his dying breath the unholy sorcerer’s riposte was
to be the eternal undoing of the enterprising sell-sword.
Richter’s skin began to wither and within moments he collapsed to
the ground, a lifeless pile of bones and armor. The day was won for
the Empire forces, and the tale of Richter’s betrayal may well have
been forgotten, had his death not been accompanied by a tragic twist.
Richter’s skeleton rose the next day to begin a quest for redemption
that continues to this day, aiding armies in desperate need. Those who
fall under his sword are bound to his cause until they are destroyed.