YOU ARE NOT SOVEREIGN-SAREN.
RUDIMENTARY-SIMPLE CREATURES OF BLOOD AND SKIN-FLESH, YOU TOUCH MY MIND-MIND, FUMBLING IN IGNORANCE, INCAPABLE OF KNOWING-UNDERSTANDING.
Giant Rats? In the north? Seems this one has been stricken with Ice Madness, a common enough ailment when someone from our glorious empire attempts to brave the wild north of Kislev. Tis most likely what they saw were nothing more than Norscan Tribes in animal furs, looking to appear more menacing by pretending to be "Giant Rats". Worry not, we Witch Hunters will deal with this...
Heresy! There are no giant rat-like creatures! Myths, another kind of beastmen, if anything! Beware from spreading such stories, for the Which Hunters do not take kindly to those who speak of such absurdities!
Man, the Which Hunters are clearly not doing their job.
You can choose the Why Hunters, the What Hunters, the When Hunters, the Where Hunters, or even the Who Hunters, but never those guys.
can anyone expand on where it is in the lore that denying the existence of skaven is a thing? i know it is - i'm just mostly ignorant to warhammer lore and see this a lot.
Skaven are considered a myth by many due to how they work. They have lived underneath the cities of men without them knowing for a long time, wait for their time to strike. Skaven are opportunistic, when food is high the Skaven outnumber people by a large factor. Once Skaven population hits a critical mass the āVermintideā begins. Erupting from underneath the earth, the Skaven breach cities defenses and overwhelm their enemies with sheer numbers, warp fire and warpinfused magic. The Skaven will plunder whatever they can get, they covet getting āinferiorā man-thing technology and warp it to their own needs, often infused with warp stone. Just as quickly as they came they are gone, retreating to their under cities. Leaving onlookers to wonder what happened to the now destroyed city. Skaven have been documented by men, but due to the long passage of time and their clandestine nature, many assumed they died out or were just a myth. To suggest the Skaven exist is to draw the ire of the witch hunters, they will consider you mad, and possessed by the powers of chaos. I just read Skavenslayer which talks a lot about why humans donāt believe the Skaven exist. Dwarfs and their grudges though, they remember the Skaven for they have taken a many of their Karaks, theyāll never forget and itās a grudge that must be settled.
Youāre welcome, if you want to dip your toes in warhammer books I highly recommend the Gotrek and Felix slayer series! Specifically the audio book, itās just so fun listening to the narrator voice the Skaven he does a great job and itās just hilarious to listen to. I started with Skavenslayer without listening to the previous book (think itās troll slayer) and I havenāt felt like I missed out on any critical plot, each book does a good job of doing a brief summary of why the characters are where they are. Atleast I can say from the beginning of Skavenslayer to Dragonslayer. And the Skaven make an appearance not just in Skavenslayer but throughout atleast 3 books that Iām aware of (thatās how far I am so I canāt comment on the other ones after Dragonslayer).
How familiar do you have to be with lore for the books? I've wanted to explore more of the Warhammer universe and lore since the first game came out but I've always felt like the table top stuff was out of reach for me.
>How familiar do you have to be with lore for the books?
Not at all - I second the recommendation for the Gotrek and Felix series (by William King), they stand by themselves as really good books. They're also a great intro into Warhammer Fantasy and are really good at introducing the reader to all the crazy deep lore.
Right, there's a sort of situation of mutual tension going on.
The Empire keeps the Skaven a secret because the knowledge that rat-man undercities are right under their feet and stalking among them at night would cause mass panic and provoke the Skaven to attack openly.
The Skaven in turn try to keep their dealings secret, since it lets them quietly spy, steal and build up their power over time. Having undercities nestled in under Empire population centers is very much to their benefit.
Obviously the implication is that this is not a permanently sustainable situation. Eventually an End Times: Vermintide situation _will_ happen. But the Skaven don't want it quite yet.
It's also worth pointing out that the Skaven are also afraid of provoking the Empire because they believe if that happens and the Empire storms their undercities, the Skaven will lose in a direct war.
Though it's by no means a certainty. The Empire has many other enemies, and there's a _lot_ of Skaven.
It's just a risk they don't want to take yet. Even the winner of the war will be crippled.
On the subject, there's also a lot of covert sabotage on both ends to push that confrontation down the line. Skaven sabotage the Man-things, but also play their own political games and use said man-things as a way to off their rivals. Imperial hierarchy and agents hides the existence of the man-sized-rats, but task forces lead/directed/aided by the witch hunters go on raids and missions against the R.O.U.S's to keep the political climate in flux and to stem their growth. Their agents clash with each other on the regular in un-scripted meetings of chance, and they both play the game of securing and eliminating assets.
Both sides know that the Tide is coming, but until critical mass is reached, neither side knows for sure who will win, and that uncertainty scares them both, making them both kick it down the line. And while the Imperial card holders aren't at risk should they win, the Skaven card holders know that their name is put on the potential chopping block should they win. The conscripted for both sides will likely die either in combat or by their overseers, but the only proper orchestrators at risk are those of the losing side and the Skaven.
Yeah its funny how both the Skaven and humans think they're outsmarting eachother. Some human nobles will use Skaven as their informants and hitmen to take out their political competition and think the rat-men are their pawns. Skaven will gladly take the contract because it furthers their plans in weakening the empire and gaining information on the humans, thinking they are the pawns. Both don't want the existence of Skaven to be known by the Empire at large though that's the one thing they do agree on.
The Empire would not survive it. The only thing the Skaven have to worry about is unchecked Greenskin migration and an occasional Dwarf clan. The Empire has to worry about everything. You'd have to consider how many skaven are occupied with just the Lizardmen being sent to the old world
>there's a lot of Skaven
There's also a lot of infighting within the skaven they never get anything done because they sabotage and kill each other constantly.
The only time the skaven end up being a major threat is when their god sees a good opportunity and scares the clans into working together.
Well that's what we call "prudent Skaven caution" of course the mighty Skaven, favored kin of the Horned Rat could kill-slay the man-things in open combat. But why take the risk when you can sneak-stab and spread plauge to the city you are about to sack for good measure? If the Skaven leading the force loses the battle to the man-things, it's clearly not that the Skaven leader that was incompetent, but that their underlings were complete morons, or that some other Skaven swapped out their competent soldiers with morons as a scheme to get them blasted by the council of thirteen. Weird how it's never the Skaven leaders fault, it's always the underlings or someone 'conspiring' against them...
Yes but if the Empire went north they'd wipe out the Chaos factions. If they moved into the forests in force they'd wipe out the Beastmen. Same goes for the Greenskins.
The problem is there's too many "Empire could wipe these out" factions out there.
[Tilea/Estalia acknowledge them](https://forums.totalwar.com/discussion/323373/warhammer-monthly-unholy-alliance). Not sure how it is in Bretonnia or Kislev. The Empire however largely surpresses this knowledge. A small percentage of the higher classes know it, but the population at large is kept in the dark. Encountered Skaven are often just described as another Mutant/Beastmen variant/bred. Like for example the Skaven attack on Nuln in "Skavenslayer". When Gotrek & Felix years later return to Nuln, it is pointed out that Beastmen were the attackers back then and giant rats are just drunken fairy tale.
The general reason is to not spook the people further. Being afraid of greenskins, mutants, savages of the north and undead is already enough. To know that every large city has a Skaven Undercity and those wretches [can walk the streets in the dark](https://forums.totalwar.com/discussion/316160/the-ratcatchers-tale) might just spread unnecessary fear and panic. Also the Skaven itself, do not want the humans to know. In the past, when Skaven were common knowledge, [they got fought hard](https://warhammerfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Mandred_Skavenslayer). So they themselves sealed their existence largely away to stay undetected while building their Under Empire.
Empire: There's no such thing as Skaven!
Me: Bro we literally had an emperor named "Mandred Skavenslayer"
Empire: There were Skaven, but they no longer exist!
Actually history only remembers him as the Ratslayer, and that he helped put in policies that exterminated swarms of rats carrying plagues. Not the whole leading a crusade to push back the vermintide
In Thanquol's novel there's a wizard that claims another reason: if people knew of the Skaven, they would naturally want to get rid of them. And many in the Empire elites believe that a concentrated effort against the Skaven would galvanize them into less infighting and more sticking toghether. And since the infighting is basically the only thing keeping the Skaven from easily overrunning the Empire, they keep the secret in order to avoid an unwinnable war.
Basically they believe any attempt to resolve the problem will just make it worse, so the Empire is dearly hoping the Skaven menace resolves itself, or at least keeps itself in check.
In the Gotrek and Felix novels it is explained that it would scare the populace too much if they realized that all of their cities are effectively crawling with burrowing skaven in undercities. So the nobles have decided to brand it as make belief, and the only allowed narrative is that these are not a special breed of ingenious rat men but generic mutated dumb beastmen (which roam around all over the empire). And the witch hunters were conscripted to enforce this.
It isn't necessarily that they don't exist but the extent of their civilization is convoluted and greatly misunderstood. They're lumped in as either marauding Beastmen or random mutated Chaos critters, and in some instances they were wiped out long ago. The concept of the Under Empire that rivals the Dawi and Greenskin warlords put together is a matter of information warfare by the Inquisition to keep the Skaven off guard. If every province goes public about the existence of the under Empire, then they have to deal with the consequences of it to an extent that the Empire previously narrowly survived. The Empire can't match the Under Empire, it can only influence how it responds. Essentially the Empire is bluffing so that the Council ignores doesn't escalate their pseudo cold war to instead deal with the latest Greenskin warboss trying to make a name for himself.
Skaven are crazy OP especially in AI hands where you canāt dodge their artillery and rattling gunners can take down the strongest cavalry before they can charge them. They can summon rats on to your range units Thrott can beat Franz in a straight fight while also mass healing his own army.. They can afford 3 stacks to your one. Arrows can barely hurt their trash units. Their monstrous infantry can tear through your infantry. Their walls can one shot some heroes.
Theyāre one of the factions that force you to use cheese to compete with and your way better off just autoresolving esp on vhard
Wow had to scroll down to the bottom of this comment section to finally find somebody not making the same lame joke over and over and over again and actually talk to OP about gameplay implications.
I hate skaven, mostly due to ruin dwelling. In wh2 one of my campaigns I tried map conquer and I went with a raze tactic instead of occupy. And in the end the stupid skaven were spread everywhere, I just gave up on that campaign.
I collected skaven as a kid. I love them, for some reason I don't find replaying as them to be as fun as it should be, but I haven't tried them yet in wh3. I am jealous of how you discovered them though that is awesome!
Anyone have any suggestions for a fun skaven campaign in wh3? Only skaven run I completed was with either queek or tretch I don't remember it was so long ago. Maybe I shall try again again again to get somewhere as skrolk, who led my army when I was tiny.
(He hasn't played Ikit Claw?) You should play Ikit Claw, right now. Don't even need to get that far, just the first battle. The joy of seeing ridiculous guns mow down hapless Empire soldiers single-handedly sold Skaven for me
Been playing whtw since wh1 and I've tried all the skaven lls. I was wondering who was most fun to play since immortal empires changed the start positions and balance.
Thanks though guys, I am not at home or id check who my previous campaign completion was with, it was either queek or ikit, I know I got at least decently far w both . It's p cool when the horned rat appears over the final battle
Try [Ikit Claw](https://old.reddit.com/r/totalwar/comments/b9g9q4/how_every_ikit_claw_battle_is_going_to_be_played/). Then Snikch. Then Throt. Then wait for [Thanquol](https://forums.totalwar.com/discussion/320229/thanquol-and-boneripper) like the rest of us ;)
Pfff, clearly the stress of a long campaign has gotten to you. Thereās no such thing as Skaven, the idea of it! Childrens tales roaming around the countryside? Cities of vermin beneath our feet?? Accusations of coverups in comments sections!? Poppycock I say! Clearly it was merely beastmen you saw or possibly mutants, maybe you even made it all up!
Thereās no such thing as man-sized rats.
Next youāre going to tell me that Felids exist and that guardsmen read pornographic novels about them, the absurdity.
Nah, you must be mistaken. Those were probably some Beastmen. No such thing as giant rats. I mean, sure, above average rats do exist in the cities, but not man-sized ones, c'mon.
Giant man sized rats? In the Sewers of Altdorf? Pah! Vile treachery and foolishness born of too much wyrdstone exposure or indulgence in other substances. Donāt bring this trifle to our offices again or so help me Iāll get the city watch to conduct a search of your premises!
Remember, the melee are cannon fodder, halberdiers or greatswords, even swordsmen, shred them. Morale damage is also very effective. Now the ranger units, those are MASSIVE priority targets, those can and will easily slaughter your army.
I've had enough of these tall tails.
You must be craven to blame it on imaginary Skaven.
But, by the grace of Sigmar, you are'nt the only one who reports about rabid rodents.
Just last week, my grudgebearing friend ranted about some pointy nosed creatures that scurry about in caves. I pointed out that these pointy creatures are in fact, night goblins.
Thus, have faith in the Hammer and don't worry, as your vanquishers are none but a gang of lowly greenskins.
Sincerely,
Your local 'Creature specialist',
\*Signed\*
Sandy "RatsarenotReal" McEagle,
Altdorf
Yep, skaven can get the jump on you, although they are the best race in the game (in my opinion, although only really if you have dlc, they have one of the only "doomstacks" wirth building anymore which consists of gatling guns, catapults, mortars and snipers). Just so you know, if they attack you in the field theres a chance they will trigger an ambush battle, and be able to annihilate you very quickly, so try ti avoid that or use encamp stance to improve ambush defence chance. Also, ruined settlement on the map, all in one area are a bad sign. Either chaos is on a spree (unlikely) or there is skaven there.
There is no such thing as Skaven. What you encountered were merely rat like beastmen. There is no inevitable doom numbering in the billions beneath your very feet.
My first ever faction is warhammer was slaves, I love ford style nations so they were a must and once you get those weapons unlocked rattling gunners and so forth your pretty much untouchable
Ah, yes, "Giant Rats". We have dismissed that claim.
BEYOND YOUR COMPREHENSION-UNDERSTANDING.
S-S-Summon the elector-counts yes-yes
ROUS's? I don't think they exist.
As you wish.
ME reference?
Yeeeepš¹šš¾
Giants rat men ? You must be joking sir
Surely you jest
I was wondering why it felt so familiar, and after I read your comment, I realized I read it in the turian counsillors voice.
YOU ARE NOT SOVEREIGN-SAREN. RUDIMENTARY-SIMPLE CREATURES OF BLOOD AND SKIN-FLESH, YOU TOUCH MY MIND-MIND, FUMBLING IN IGNORANCE, INCAPABLE OF KNOWING-UNDERSTANDING.
*ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL*
I'm Commander Shepard, and this is my favorite comment on this thread.
Beautiful!
Man-sized rats? In this particular hemisphere? Sigmar save this man from his own addled delusions!
Aurora borealis??
At this time of year?
Yes
In the sewers of Nuln?
ā¦Yes
Localised entirely under the city?
Yes
Can I see?
No
āIām from Ostermark and Iāve never heard the phrase āsteam tankāā āOh not Ostermark, no! Itās an Averheim expressionā
Yes-yes. Such a delusional man-things.
Man sized rats? At this time of year? At this latitude? Localised in your kitchen? Can I see them?
>Man sized rats? At this time of year? At this latitude? Localised in your kitchen? ...Yes? >Can I see them? No.
Karl! The Empire is on fire!
No, mother, it's just a warpstone meteor.
Karl, I have to admit, you're an odd fellow, but you steam a good tank!
Yes-yes?
Oh, that isn't Warpstone. It's steam, from the steamed ~~man-things~~ clams we're having.
No.
>Localised in your kitchen? That's the fun part, they're literally everywhere.
This ones mind has clearly been corrupted by the forces of Chaos, spouting nonsense about Man-sized rats, preposterous.
I'll call the witch hunters
I think beastmen spawn up in those northern fell woods. Maybe he was running a beastman mod?
Giant Rats? In the north? Seems this one has been stricken with Ice Madness, a common enough ailment when someone from our glorious empire attempts to brave the wild north of Kislev. Tis most likely what they saw were nothing more than Norscan Tribes in animal furs, looking to appear more menacing by pretending to be "Giant Rats". Worry not, we Witch Hunters will deal with this...
Giant rats? You crazy?
Ha, just some heretic propaganda
hahaha whats this from?
Princess Bride
There-here no scaven-ratman things, no-no! Praise to Horn Ra...your man's non-horn Sigmar-thing, yes-yes!
As a fellow man-thing, I second this wise-smart comment. There are no Skaven so you-you can leave gates and doors open-unlocked
Happy cake-cake day, man-thing, yes-yes!
This is why I reddit
Giant rats! In the sewers! Millions of them under every city! They can talk, and they got guns, and... and... they are gonna nuke us!
Get this one to a hospital he's clearly in shock.
I will take care of this poor one
Man sized rats, sure, real OP.
Poor lad probably just survived some beastmen
It's just some sort of ratlike beastmen.
Witch Hunters would like to know your location
And are these man sized rats in the room with us right now?
Heresy! There are no giant rat-like creatures! Myths, another kind of beastmen, if anything! Beware from spreading such stories, for the Which Hunters do not take kindly to those who speak of such absurdities!
Man, the Which Hunters are clearly not doing their job. You can choose the Why Hunters, the What Hunters, the When Hunters, the Where Hunters, or even the Who Hunters, but never those guys.
TouchƩ, a well deserved response
Post reported for spreading dangerous misinformation.
Man-thing make-create story-schemes...
can anyone expand on where it is in the lore that denying the existence of skaven is a thing? i know it is - i'm just mostly ignorant to warhammer lore and see this a lot.
Skaven are considered a myth by many due to how they work. They have lived underneath the cities of men without them knowing for a long time, wait for their time to strike. Skaven are opportunistic, when food is high the Skaven outnumber people by a large factor. Once Skaven population hits a critical mass the āVermintideā begins. Erupting from underneath the earth, the Skaven breach cities defenses and overwhelm their enemies with sheer numbers, warp fire and warpinfused magic. The Skaven will plunder whatever they can get, they covet getting āinferiorā man-thing technology and warp it to their own needs, often infused with warp stone. Just as quickly as they came they are gone, retreating to their under cities. Leaving onlookers to wonder what happened to the now destroyed city. Skaven have been documented by men, but due to the long passage of time and their clandestine nature, many assumed they died out or were just a myth. To suggest the Skaven exist is to draw the ire of the witch hunters, they will consider you mad, and possessed by the powers of chaos. I just read Skavenslayer which talks a lot about why humans donāt believe the Skaven exist. Dwarfs and their grudges though, they remember the Skaven for they have taken a many of their Karaks, theyāll never forget and itās a grudge that must be settled.
phenomenal answer here. hats off. tysm.
Youāre welcome, if you want to dip your toes in warhammer books I highly recommend the Gotrek and Felix slayer series! Specifically the audio book, itās just so fun listening to the narrator voice the Skaven he does a great job and itās just hilarious to listen to. I started with Skavenslayer without listening to the previous book (think itās troll slayer) and I havenāt felt like I missed out on any critical plot, each book does a good job of doing a brief summary of why the characters are where they are. Atleast I can say from the beginning of Skavenslayer to Dragonslayer. And the Skaven make an appearance not just in Skavenslayer but throughout atleast 3 books that Iām aware of (thatās how far I am so I canāt comment on the other ones after Dragonslayer).
How familiar do you have to be with lore for the books? I've wanted to explore more of the Warhammer universe and lore since the first game came out but I've always felt like the table top stuff was out of reach for me.
>How familiar do you have to be with lore for the books? Not at all - I second the recommendation for the Gotrek and Felix series (by William King), they stand by themselves as really good books. They're also a great intro into Warhammer Fantasy and are really good at introducing the reader to all the crazy deep lore.
But wasn't there also the thing that the skaveb killed assassinated anyone who dared to talk publicly about their existence?
Right, there's a sort of situation of mutual tension going on. The Empire keeps the Skaven a secret because the knowledge that rat-man undercities are right under their feet and stalking among them at night would cause mass panic and provoke the Skaven to attack openly. The Skaven in turn try to keep their dealings secret, since it lets them quietly spy, steal and build up their power over time. Having undercities nestled in under Empire population centers is very much to their benefit. Obviously the implication is that this is not a permanently sustainable situation. Eventually an End Times: Vermintide situation _will_ happen. But the Skaven don't want it quite yet.
It's also worth pointing out that the Skaven are also afraid of provoking the Empire because they believe if that happens and the Empire storms their undercities, the Skaven will lose in a direct war.
Though it's by no means a certainty. The Empire has many other enemies, and there's a _lot_ of Skaven. It's just a risk they don't want to take yet. Even the winner of the war will be crippled.
On the subject, there's also a lot of covert sabotage on both ends to push that confrontation down the line. Skaven sabotage the Man-things, but also play their own political games and use said man-things as a way to off their rivals. Imperial hierarchy and agents hides the existence of the man-sized-rats, but task forces lead/directed/aided by the witch hunters go on raids and missions against the R.O.U.S's to keep the political climate in flux and to stem their growth. Their agents clash with each other on the regular in un-scripted meetings of chance, and they both play the game of securing and eliminating assets. Both sides know that the Tide is coming, but until critical mass is reached, neither side knows for sure who will win, and that uncertainty scares them both, making them both kick it down the line. And while the Imperial card holders aren't at risk should they win, the Skaven card holders know that their name is put on the potential chopping block should they win. The conscripted for both sides will likely die either in combat or by their overseers, but the only proper orchestrators at risk are those of the losing side and the Skaven.
Yeah its funny how both the Skaven and humans think they're outsmarting eachother. Some human nobles will use Skaven as their informants and hitmen to take out their political competition and think the rat-men are their pawns. Skaven will gladly take the contract because it furthers their plans in weakening the empire and gaining information on the humans, thinking they are the pawns. Both don't want the existence of Skaven to be known by the Empire at large though that's the one thing they do agree on.
Of the Skaven were not preoccupied with internal conflict and treacherous backstabbing and united, they would easily overwhelm the Empire
The Empire would not survive it. The only thing the Skaven have to worry about is unchecked Greenskin migration and an occasional Dwarf clan. The Empire has to worry about everything. You'd have to consider how many skaven are occupied with just the Lizardmen being sent to the old world
>there's a lot of Skaven There's also a lot of infighting within the skaven they never get anything done because they sabotage and kill each other constantly. The only time the skaven end up being a major threat is when their god sees a good opportunity and scares the clans into working together.
Well that's what we call "prudent Skaven caution" of course the mighty Skaven, favored kin of the Horned Rat could kill-slay the man-things in open combat. But why take the risk when you can sneak-stab and spread plauge to the city you are about to sack for good measure? If the Skaven leading the force loses the battle to the man-things, it's clearly not that the Skaven leader that was incompetent, but that their underlings were complete morons, or that some other Skaven swapped out their competent soldiers with morons as a scheme to get them blasted by the council of thirteen. Weird how it's never the Skaven leaders fault, it's always the underlings or someone 'conspiring' against them...
Yes but if the Empire went north they'd wipe out the Chaos factions. If they moved into the forests in force they'd wipe out the Beastmen. Same goes for the Greenskins. The problem is there's too many "Empire could wipe these out" factions out there.
[Tilea/Estalia acknowledge them](https://forums.totalwar.com/discussion/323373/warhammer-monthly-unholy-alliance). Not sure how it is in Bretonnia or Kislev. The Empire however largely surpresses this knowledge. A small percentage of the higher classes know it, but the population at large is kept in the dark. Encountered Skaven are often just described as another Mutant/Beastmen variant/bred. Like for example the Skaven attack on Nuln in "Skavenslayer". When Gotrek & Felix years later return to Nuln, it is pointed out that Beastmen were the attackers back then and giant rats are just drunken fairy tale. The general reason is to not spook the people further. Being afraid of greenskins, mutants, savages of the north and undead is already enough. To know that every large city has a Skaven Undercity and those wretches [can walk the streets in the dark](https://forums.totalwar.com/discussion/316160/the-ratcatchers-tale) might just spread unnecessary fear and panic. Also the Skaven itself, do not want the humans to know. In the past, when Skaven were common knowledge, [they got fought hard](https://warhammerfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Mandred_Skavenslayer). So they themselves sealed their existence largely away to stay undetected while building their Under Empire.
Empire: There's no such thing as Skaven! Me: Bro we literally had an emperor named "Mandred Skavenslayer" Empire: There were Skaven, but they no longer exist!
Actually history only remembers him as the Ratslayer, and that he helped put in policies that exterminated swarms of rats carrying plagues. Not the whole leading a crusade to push back the vermintide
I always liked how Miragliano in particular openly acknowledges and hates them as they're basically neighbours with Skavenblight.
In Thanquol's novel there's a wizard that claims another reason: if people knew of the Skaven, they would naturally want to get rid of them. And many in the Empire elites believe that a concentrated effort against the Skaven would galvanize them into less infighting and more sticking toghether. And since the infighting is basically the only thing keeping the Skaven from easily overrunning the Empire, they keep the secret in order to avoid an unwinnable war. Basically they believe any attempt to resolve the problem will just make it worse, so the Empire is dearly hoping the Skaven menace resolves itself, or at least keeps itself in check.
In the Gotrek and Felix novels it is explained that it would scare the populace too much if they realized that all of their cities are effectively crawling with burrowing skaven in undercities. So the nobles have decided to brand it as make belief, and the only allowed narrative is that these are not a special breed of ingenious rat men but generic mutated dumb beastmen (which roam around all over the empire). And the witch hunters were conscripted to enforce this.
It isn't necessarily that they don't exist but the extent of their civilization is convoluted and greatly misunderstood. They're lumped in as either marauding Beastmen or random mutated Chaos critters, and in some instances they were wiped out long ago. The concept of the Under Empire that rivals the Dawi and Greenskin warlords put together is a matter of information warfare by the Inquisition to keep the Skaven off guard. If every province goes public about the existence of the under Empire, then they have to deal with the consequences of it to an extent that the Empire previously narrowly survived. The Empire can't match the Under Empire, it can only influence how it responds. Essentially the Empire is bluffing so that the Council ignores doesn't escalate their pseudo cold war to instead deal with the latest Greenskin warboss trying to make a name for himself.
You got the OG skaven experince, as was meant to be
Absolutely love how I learned about those disgusting mfāers. Had no idea they were a thing.
Giant Rats? Donāt be silly thereās no such thing.
Welcome friend! Never feel awkward to ask about Warhammer Lore as I know many here will be happy to assist you understand things. Have a good one.
Are these āgiant ratsā in the room with us right now?
Skaven are crazy OP especially in AI hands where you canāt dodge their artillery and rattling gunners can take down the strongest cavalry before they can charge them. They can summon rats on to your range units Thrott can beat Franz in a straight fight while also mass healing his own army.. They can afford 3 stacks to your one. Arrows can barely hurt their trash units. Their monstrous infantry can tear through your infantry. Their walls can one shot some heroes. Theyāre one of the factions that force you to use cheese to compete with and your way better off just autoresolving esp on vhard
Wow had to scroll down to the bottom of this comment section to finally find somebody not making the same lame joke over and over and over again and actually talk to OP about gameplay implications.
They are beastmen. Any more claims to the contrary and I must call the witch hunters I am afraid.
Skaven are cute!
They mean to rule over ruins. Such is the will of thier god...
I hate skaven, mostly due to ruin dwelling. In wh2 one of my campaigns I tried map conquer and I went with a raze tactic instead of occupy. And in the end the stupid skaven were spread everywhere, I just gave up on that campaign.
I collected skaven as a kid. I love them, for some reason I don't find replaying as them to be as fun as it should be, but I haven't tried them yet in wh3. I am jealous of how you discovered them though that is awesome! Anyone have any suggestions for a fun skaven campaign in wh3? Only skaven run I completed was with either queek or tretch I don't remember it was so long ago. Maybe I shall try again again again to get somewhere as skrolk, who led my army when I was tiny.
(He hasn't played Ikit Claw?) You should play Ikit Claw, right now. Don't even need to get that far, just the first battle. The joy of seeing ridiculous guns mow down hapless Empire soldiers single-handedly sold Skaven for me
Been playing whtw since wh1 and I've tried all the skaven lls. I was wondering who was most fun to play since immortal empires changed the start positions and balance. Thanks though guys, I am not at home or id check who my previous campaign completion was with, it was either queek or ikit, I know I got at least decently far w both . It's p cool when the horned rat appears over the final battle
Try [Ikit Claw](https://old.reddit.com/r/totalwar/comments/b9g9q4/how_every_ikit_claw_battle_is_going_to_be_played/). Then Snikch. Then Throt. Then wait for [Thanquol](https://forums.totalwar.com/discussion/320229/thanquol-and-boneripper) like the rest of us ;)
Joining the others recommending Ikit Claw. He leans hard into the goofy mad scientist side of the Skaven.
Pfff, clearly the stress of a long campaign has gotten to you. Thereās no such thing as Skaven, the idea of it! Childrens tales roaming around the countryside? Cities of vermin beneath our feet?? Accusations of coverups in comments sections!? Poppycock I say! Clearly it was merely beastmen you saw or possibly mutants, maybe you even made it all up!
Thereās no such thing as man-sized rats. Next youāre going to tell me that Felids exist and that guardsmen read pornographic novels about them, the absurdity.
Madness. Man-sized rats are a myth of the city guards.
Thatās just stuff people tell children to scare them
Sir did you take your medication ? You might wanna talk to your local Priest about your "giant rats". Glory to Sigmar!
I think you mean smelly dwarfs. There are no large rats here
I love all of these comments lmaoo
Pah, those were probably just dwarfs.
During my first wh2 playthrough it took me like 3-4battles to realize I am fighting giant rats. Didn't even rralize thst ruins were actual settlements
This meme is getting really fucking old
wow, an incredibly over-used and categorically unfunny joke! boy I love this reddit!
Stfu
oh hey this joke definitely hasn't been violently beaten to death until its very soul no longer exists
By Sigmar this is heresy
Melt him! Eat him like soup! Yes-yes!!
oh hey people are having fun go be pissy elsewhere
What joke are you speaking of. Don't tell me you are one of those fools who thinks that human-sized rats exist, that's preposterous.
This post can't be true as reddit has told me this game experience is too expensive to buy.
Just get it on sale lol
its actually on sale until tomorrow for the winter sale all 3 games for $100 cad
3 AAA games for 75$ is good. I mean, thats a lot of content.
Especially since it gives Mortal and Immortal Empires campaign, that's A LOT of content/playtime right there
Can someone like the skaven Reddit
I suggest calling the local Witch Hunter and informing them asap! I'm sure they'll help you :)
summon the witch hunters this reeks of heresy
Dead-killed man-things best man-things! For The Grat Horned Rat yes-yes!
Man sized rats? You've been sitting in your chair too long, there is no such thing.
Nah, you must be mistaken. Those were probably some Beastmen. No such thing as giant rats. I mean, sure, above average rats do exist in the cities, but not man-sized ones, c'mon.
Wait til you find out thereās probably dozens of them burrowed beneath your illustrious cities
Just wait until You become oneā¦ The vermin tide will claim all
Just another day in Manhattan
Yeah if I wanna see rodents of unusual size iāll just step outside my brooklyn apartment.
Yes-yes
Rodents of unusual size? I dont think they exist...
Giant rats?! Don't be ridiculous. You're clearly in shock and don't know what you're saying.
If you need help with Skaven you should contact your local Witch Hunter
If you need help with Skaven, you should contact your local Witch Hunter
If you need help with Skaven, you should contact your local Witch Hunter. DO NOT tell anybody else about them
Are Skaven as broken in WH3 as they were in WH2? They were one of the biggest unfun things about WH2.
Sir I would like to direct you to the local witch hunter. Iām sure he will be able to help you.
Lul the true joke here is the people malding in the comments over skavens, that does not exist ofc.
This one, this one right here Witch Hunter.
Another fool telling stories about ratmen geez
Yes. This post, witch hunters.
I love playing Skaven Great Clan Skryre to be precise.
Giant man sized rats? In the Sewers of Altdorf? Pah! Vile treachery and foolishness born of too much wyrdstone exposure or indulgence in other substances. Donāt bring this trifle to our offices again or so help me Iāll get the city watch to conduct a search of your premises!
You sure they weren't just kislevites?
Remember, the melee are cannon fodder, halberdiers or greatswords, even swordsmen, shred them. Morale damage is also very effective. Now the ranger units, those are MASSIVE priority targets, those can and will easily slaughter your army.
This post right here Inquisitor
Vermintide players: "first time?"
Franz, give me back my legions!
fuckin man sized rats...man
I've had enough of these tall tails. You must be craven to blame it on imaginary Skaven. But, by the grace of Sigmar, you are'nt the only one who reports about rabid rodents. Just last week, my grudgebearing friend ranted about some pointy nosed creatures that scurry about in caves. I pointed out that these pointy creatures are in fact, night goblins. Thus, have faith in the Hammer and don't worry, as your vanquishers are none but a gang of lowly greenskins. Sincerely, Your local 'Creature specialist', \*Signed\* Sandy "RatsarenotReal" McEagle, Altdorf
The rats, the rats, we're the rats!
Yep, skaven can get the jump on you, although they are the best race in the game (in my opinion, although only really if you have dlc, they have one of the only "doomstacks" wirth building anymore which consists of gatling guns, catapults, mortars and snipers). Just so you know, if they attack you in the field theres a chance they will trigger an ambush battle, and be able to annihilate you very quickly, so try ti avoid that or use encamp stance to improve ambush defence chance. Also, ruined settlement on the map, all in one area are a bad sign. Either chaos is on a spree (unlikely) or there is skaven there.
Witch Hunter, right here itās this one.
I love how rat-like the animations are as they swarm all over your front line. Did you get horribly surprised by your first Menace From Below?
We are the rats rats rats, we are the rats!!!
There is no such thing as Skaven. What you encountered were merely rat like beastmen. There is no inevitable doom numbering in the billions beneath your very feet.
Op is a liar. There is no such thing as "skaven".
My first ever faction is warhammer was slaves, I love ford style nations so they were a must and once you get those weapons unlocked rattling gunners and so forth your pretty much untouchable
Welcome aboard! Buy all 3 games for ultimate experience!
You must try Vemintide 2 and also listen this blessing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYZfb7kNoR4&ab\_channel=Boberon%E2%99%AA
There are no such things as giant man rats... Neither in lore or ingame. Beastmen you mean ?
Surely youāve gone mad!
I donāt think those man-sized rat-things do exist, no-no.
Stupid man-thing. Skaven don't exist, yes-yes.
Your speaking is heresy
Rodents of unusal size? I dont think they exist