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Warhammer: The End Times #Background & Rules Vol.I
Warhammer: The End Times - Nagash
Nagash was the most powerful and feared of the necromancers of old. Now he has returned, and the Warhammer world will be forever changed.
This volume details the fateful events following Nagash’s return to unlife, and his plans to unite all the Undead of the Warhammer World under his supreme command. This terrifying new chapter in the history of the Old World is revealed over two mighty hardback tomes which are presented together in a sturdy slipcase.
Warhammer: Nagash Book 1 is a 296-page volume which provides a narrative sweep of the events surrounding the return of Nagash. From Bretonnia and the Empire, to Nagash’s birthplace in the Land of the Dead, vast battles are fought, the dead rise and nothing will ever be quite the same.
Warhammer: Nagash Book 2 is a 96-page volume that contains new scenarios and rules based on the events in Warhammer: Nagash Book 1. It includes the full rules that will allow you to field Nagash and his loyal subjects - along with all-new rules for some of the most powerful heroes of the Old World, such as Valten and Vlad von Carstein - in your games of Warhammer.
Armies of the End Times can also field more Lords - up to 50% - and the brand new spell lore - The Lore of Undeath - allows every wizard, mage and sorcerer to wield the fell magic unleashed by Nagash. There are also army lists that allow you to create a unified army of Tomb Kings and Vampire Counts known as the Undead Legion.
This volume details the fateful events following Nagash’s return to unlife, and his plans to unite all the Undead of the Warhammer World under his supreme command. This terrifying new chapter in the history of the Old World is revealed over two mighty hardback tomes which are presented together in a sturdy slipcase.
Warhammer: Nagash Book 1 is a 296-page volume which provides a narrative sweep of the events surrounding the return of Nagash. From Bretonnia and the Empire, to Nagash’s birthplace in the Land of the Dead, vast battles are fought, the dead rise and nothing will ever be quite the same.
Warhammer: Nagash Book 2 is a 96-page volume that contains new scenarios and rules based on the events in Warhammer: Nagash Book 1. It includes the full rules that will allow you to field Nagash and his loyal subjects - along with all-new rules for some of the most powerful heroes of the Old World, such as Valten and Vlad von Carstein - in your games of Warhammer.
Armies of the End Times can also field more Lords - up to 50% - and the brand new spell lore - The Lore of Undeath - allows every wizard, mage and sorcerer to wield the fell magic unleashed by Nagash. There are also army lists that allow you to create a unified army of Tomb Kings and Vampire Counts known as the Undead Legion.
392 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 2014
15 people are currently reading
270 people want to read
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Games Workshop
1,016 books108 followersGames Workshop Group PLC (often abbreviated as GW) is a British miniature wargaming manufacturing company. Games Workshop is best known as developer and publisher of the tabletop wargames Warhammer, Warhammer 40,000 and The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
November 10, 2014
A thoroughly entertaining read! I was impressed at how the storyline advanced, however I didn't worry nearly as much about named characters dying, other than the big shockers that everyone was already talking about, as I began to notice the recurring cantrip of the bad guys slinking off from the battlefield with an almost cartoonish villain laugh and a promise that "you haven't seen the last of me!!!" Or somehow after a character "dies" they are reborn, raised, or brought back in one form or another.
There are those that say this reads like a history book, but it isn't like any history book I've ever read. It reads like a novel, as it is constantly referring to what characters are thinking, what their intentions are and what their emotions are. A history book does not presume to say what historical figures were feeling, or thinking, it may make a few educated guesses, but it will label them as such. The action is usually in an immediate sense of feeling and the story advances in a very linear sense. This is a large novel, and a very entertaining one at that.
As for the story, it does a good job of endearing (if that is the right word) the vampire counts. I felt a certain sympathy for Mannfred, even being the douchebag that he was, I did feel like the story dealt with the characters well and it made me want to start a Vampire Count army, so well done there! I liked the advancement of the storyline and look forward to reading the next book: Glottkin!
That being said, this book like all novels that seemed to be based in the Warhammer world (I'm looking at you Black Library) they seem to lack in-depth editors and their writers have at most taken one or two college level classes on writing narratives. They are stumbling in places and at times I swear they were writing to a soundtrack and thought "Man, this is AWESOME!!!!" when they were writing and didn't go back and bother re-reading it when they weren't in the moment and saw it for all its gooey cliché stickiness. There are some truly well done moments, but a lot of the times when you are expecting grandeur, you're fed something that feels like it was written by a high school senior. I'd say it's about 50/50 as far as well done to crappy writing is involved, which leads me to believe this was done by several authors, and that makes sense, but they didn't do a very good job of melding their writing styles.
There are those that say this reads like a history book, but it isn't like any history book I've ever read. It reads like a novel, as it is constantly referring to what characters are thinking, what their intentions are and what their emotions are. A history book does not presume to say what historical figures were feeling, or thinking, it may make a few educated guesses, but it will label them as such. The action is usually in an immediate sense of feeling and the story advances in a very linear sense. This is a large novel, and a very entertaining one at that.
As for the story, it does a good job of endearing (if that is the right word) the vampire counts. I felt a certain sympathy for Mannfred, even being the douchebag that he was, I did feel like the story dealt with the characters well and it made me want to start a Vampire Count army, so well done there! I liked the advancement of the storyline and look forward to reading the next book: Glottkin!
That being said, this book like all novels that seemed to be based in the Warhammer world (I'm looking at you Black Library) they seem to lack in-depth editors and their writers have at most taken one or two college level classes on writing narratives. They are stumbling in places and at times I swear they were writing to a soundtrack and thought "Man, this is AWESOME!!!!" when they were writing and didn't go back and bother re-reading it when they weren't in the moment and saw it for all its gooey cliché stickiness. There are some truly well done moments, but a lot of the times when you are expecting grandeur, you're fed something that feels like it was written by a high school senior. I'd say it's about 50/50 as far as well done to crappy writing is involved, which leads me to believe this was done by several authors, and that makes sense, but they didn't do a very good job of melding their writing styles.
August 20, 2025
I so would wish that the campaign in Nehekarah would have been turned into a narrative style book as had been the events leading up to the return of Nagash because even though they cover more or less the same events; the two different approaches; one as a narrative story one (this one) as a background lore bundle do have different highlights.
It is a shame though that games workshop went into the end times right before total war warhammer was a thing; imagine if they had had that earlier and launch the end times now!
It is a shame though that games workshop went into the end times right before total war warhammer was a thing; imagine if they had had that earlier and launch the end times now!
January 1, 2021
Although it is a very nice edition with great graphics, the story was developed too much as a vehicle for the accompanying book detailed the battles. It read less like prose and more like battle reports, which kept me from getting too invested in the story. Only the part with Balthazar Gelt really jumped out as being more than just some battles stringed together.
April 16, 2021
Un placer culpable para desveladas con frituras de maíz. No es literatura, pero se le acerca. Warhammer es el equivalente leído de una película bélica gringa
February 26, 2024
A must read for Warhammer fans. I recommend the audiobook. It doesn’t disappoint.
August 10, 2023
alfarein the grim is direst
January 7, 2015
Holy cow this book took me longer to read than it should have. 1 part lack of time, 1 part lack of motivation and 1 part overwhelmed with stress lately, and i just haven't been getting in much reading time for the last couple months.
It was a fun read though. Lots of big shakeups for the warhammer world and heaps of major characters getting killed off left and right. the "End Times" have been interesting, to say the least.
My only real complaint, is that in a lot of places the book was very very much like a text book. There are a lot of great little side-bars of narrative, where you get to see an event or battle through a particular character's eyes and get some insight into their motivations, but overall the book was "this happened, and then this guy died, and then this other thing went nuts"... kindof a thing. which is fine. There's a companion novel called "The Return of Nagash" that was more or less the same story but written entirely as a narrative. But then, that story also doesn't hit all the major events and battles that happen during this first volume of the "End Times" either.
I have the next volume; "Glottkin", which focuses more on the Chaos Legions who worship Nurgle ransacking the Empire... but i think i'm going to give that one a bit of time before i jump in. Need to replenish my reading-enthusiasm a bit first.
It was a fun read though. Lots of big shakeups for the warhammer world and heaps of major characters getting killed off left and right. the "End Times" have been interesting, to say the least.
My only real complaint, is that in a lot of places the book was very very much like a text book. There are a lot of great little side-bars of narrative, where you get to see an event or battle through a particular character's eyes and get some insight into their motivations, but overall the book was "this happened, and then this guy died, and then this other thing went nuts"... kindof a thing. which is fine. There's a companion novel called "The Return of Nagash" that was more or less the same story but written entirely as a narrative. But then, that story also doesn't hit all the major events and battles that happen during this first volume of the "End Times" either.
I have the next volume; "Glottkin", which focuses more on the Chaos Legions who worship Nurgle ransacking the Empire... but i think i'm going to give that one a bit of time before i jump in. Need to replenish my reading-enthusiasm a bit first.
September 29, 2014
The Warhammer world came into being in 1983, and by 1987 had developed into its recognisable form. Since then there have been minor changes along the way as the tabletop game has developed and grown, but things have essentially remained the same since the late '80s. With the release of Warhammer : End Times - Nagash, that's all about to change. The first in an expected series of expansions detailing the events of the coming End Times, this is the start of a new era for Warhammer, shaking up the old order and breathing new life into a world which has existed for over thirty years.
Read the rest of the review at http://trackofwords.wordpress.com/201...
Read the rest of the review at http://trackofwords.wordpress.com/201...
October 29, 2014
What a great book! This was the first time that I have been excited to read a book about Games Workshop's Warhammer Fantasy setting. The art in this book is remarkable, the battles epic and the plot very exciting. I was especially glad to hear that my beloved Bretonnians got some spotlight in this volume and look forward to what GW has in store for them in the future. My only negative concerning this work is a minor one- that it got a little tedious hearing victory after victory from Nagash's forces no matter the odds or who they were fighting, though this is Nagash's book so that should be the theme. I'm sure that the book dedicated to the Chaos powers will follow the same theme.
February 3, 2015
The idea behind this, finally getting the background of the Warhammer World to move, is fine. But the writing is, well.. sub par. The short descriptions almost always finish without clear resolution, and the amount of grimdark is even by Warhammer standards atrocious. And this is book 1.
Also, they are releasing new miniatures in parallel to this, including new monstrous infantry and some big-ass new models, and the background found on these new entities is - next to zero. Honestly, there is more in the troop description and on the website thatn on the huge background tome. This is beyond sloppy.
Also, they are releasing new miniatures in parallel to this, including new monstrous infantry and some big-ass new models, and the background found on these new entities is - next to zero. Honestly, there is more in the troop description and on the website thatn on the huge background tome. This is beyond sloppy.
July 21, 2015
Beginning the send-off for a game that so many people grew up with, this is packed with content - high quality illustrations and photographs, lengthy campaigns, new character and model types and an extensive background to the campaigns.
The latter covers the same ground as some of the short stories (especially The Return of Nagash ) but in a very different style - it's more historical in tone, more descriptive rather than being story-led.
The latter covers the same ground as some of the short stories (especially The Return of Nagash ) but in a very different style - it's more historical in tone, more descriptive rather than being story-led.
January 21, 2015
The first book gives a more broad info pack of what is going on in Warhammer world and then focuses on two specific areas and a few people. All in all it is at its best very good and interesting novel with graphical maps etc. that help the reader get the grip on what is going on where and how but at its worst it becomes a comprehensive battle report.
The new rules are nice and add flawor to the game without breaking it.
The new rules are nice and add flawor to the game without breaking it.
January 9, 2015
A decent read for those interested in the lore of Warhammer Fantasy-great characters. Cool battles, and a lot of bloody deaths! A stupid, but extremely fun ride; let the winds of magic guide you directly towards the tome of Nagash. It won't disapoint.
November 18, 2014
Such epic proportion.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews