The language of The Old World
Glossary
Plain-English definitions of the terms, weapons, places, and powers of The Old World — every one cross-linked into the archive.
20 terms
Places
AltdorfAltdorf is the capital of the Empire and the seat of its Emperors — a sprawling, reeking, magnificent city built where the River Talabec pours into th…
Athel LorenAthel Loren is the great enchanted forest on the south-eastern marches of Bretonnia, and it is less a forest than a vast, slow intelligence that happe…
Karaz-a-KarakKaraz-a-Karak, the Everpeak, is the greatest and oldest of the dwarf holds and the capital of the Dwarfen Mountain Holds. Delved into the tallest peak…
LustriaLustria is a vast, steaming continent of jungle across the Great Ocean to the west, and the heartland of the Lizardmen. Beneath its dripping canopy li…
MiddenheimMiddenheim, the City of the White Wolf, rises atop the Fauschlag — a colossal pillar of rock that thrusts from the heart of the Drakwald Forest, its s…
MorrsliebMorrslieb is the Old World's second moon, and the wrong one. Where its fair sibling Mannslieb waxes and wanes in orderly fashion, Morrslieb is a sickl…
NaggarothNaggaroth, the Land of Chill, is the cold and cruel realm of the dark elves in the far north-west of the world — a continent of black mountains, froze…
NehekharaNehekhara lies far south of the Old World across sun-blasted deserts — the Land of the Dead, though its people once called it the Blessed Land. Here, …
NorscaNorsca is the mountainous peninsula at the roof of the world, wedged between the Sea of Claws and the edge of the Chaos Wastes — and its people are pr…
NulnNuln is the great industrial city of the southern Empire, straddling the River Reik where it meets the Aver, and the undisputed capital of Imperial gu…
PraagPraag is the northern city of Kislev that has come to stand, above all others, for the horror of what Chaos does to a place it has touched. Set on the…
SylvaniaSylvania is the Empire's haunted corner: a fog-bound eastern county of black pines, sagging gibbets, and villages where peasants nail hawthorn above t…
The BadlandsThe Badlands are a harsh and lawless expanse of arid hills, broken crags, and dusty plains lying south of the World's Edge Mountains, beyond the civil…
The Cathayan BastionThe Cathayan Bastion, called the Great Bastion, is the colossal wall that guards the northern frontier of Grand Cathay against the endless hordes that…
The Chaos WastesThe Chaos Wastes are the polar regions of the world, where geography surrenders to nightmare. In the deep past the Old Ones, the vanished architects o…
The Grey MountainsThe Grey Mountains form the great western wall of the Empire, a rugged range that runs east to west and divides the Imperial provinces from the chival…
The Provinces of the EmpireThe Provinces of the Empire are the great semi-independent states from which the Empire is stitched together — Reikland, Middenland, Talabecland, Aver…
The River ReikThe River Reik is the greatest river of the Old World and the artery through which the lifeblood of the Empire flows. Rising in the Grey Mountains and…
The World's Edge MountainsThe World's Edge Mountains are the great spine of the Old World: a titanic range of snow-capped peaks and bottomless chasms running north to south for…
UlthuanUlthuan is the island-continent of the high elves, a great ring of land encircling an inner sea in the midst of the Great Ocean. It is beautiful past …
5 terms
War Machine
Celestial HurricanumThe Celestial Hurricanum is a mystical war machine of the Empire, constructed under the auspices of the Celestial Order of wizards who study the heave…
Great CannonThe Great Cannon is the mainstay artillery piece of the Empire, a mighty barrel of black iron mounted upon a sturdy wheeled carriage and served by a c…
Helstorm Rocket BatteryThe Helstorm Rocket Battery is a volatile war machine of the Empire, a wheeled frame from which racks of gunpowder rockets are loosed in screaming vol…
Luminark of HyshThe Luminark of Hysh is a wondrous war machine of the Empire, wrought by the Wizards of the Light Order and drawn to battle upon a great wheeled carri…
War Altar of SigmarThe War Altar of Sigmar is a sacred war machine of the Empire, a towering gilded shrine drawn into battle upon a great armoured carriage and bearing t…
5 terms
The Skaven
Clan EshinClan Eshin is the shadowy clan of assassins and spies that serves as the covert blade of the Skaven race, masters of murder, infiltration, and the gat…
Clan MoulderClan Moulder are the flesh-shapers of the Skaven, breeders and vivisectionists whose packmasters drive howling monsters to war on chains of barbed iro…
Clan PestilensClan Pestilens is the fanatical plague-cult of the Skaven, a brotherhood of diseased monks who worship the Horned Rat through the spreading of pestile…
Clan SkryreClan Skryre is the foremost of the Skaven warlock-clans, a cabal of mad artificers whose warp-lightning cannons and jezzail teams have levelled the wa…
The Under-EmpireThe Under-Empire is the vast, sprawling subterranean domain of the Skaven, an unmapped labyrinth of tunnels, burrows, and buried city-warrens that rid…
1 term
Weapons & Wargear
1 term
Chaos
3 terms
Military Unit
OutridersThe Outriders are elite mounted skirmishers of the Empire, horsemen who carry finely crafted repeater handguns into battle and range ahead of the main…
Savage OrcsThe Savage Orcs are a primitive and superstitious breed of greenskin, dwelling in the wildest reaches of the world far from the more organised tribes …
Squig HoppersThe Squig Hoppers are among the most chaotic and unpredictable warriors of the greenskin hordes, Night Goblins who mount the bounding fungus-beasts kn…
11 terms
Concepts
Sigmar HeldenhammerSigmar Heldenhammer is the founder, first Emperor, and — in time — the god of the Empire of Man. His legend begins with a twin-tailed comet blazing ac…
The Book of NagashThe Book of Nagash is the foundational grimoire of all necromancy, the black tome in which the first and greatest necromancer set down the secrets of …
The Grail VowThe Grail Vow is the most sacred oath a knight of Bretonnia can swear: a pledge to abandon home, title, and comfort and ride out in search of the holy…
The Great Horned RatThe Great Horned Rat is the singular god of the Skaven, the monstrous deity in whose image the ratmen believe themselves made and whose insatiable hun…
The Great War Against ChaosThe Great War Against Chaos was the cataclysm of 2302 IC, when the greatest Chaos invasion the world had yet seen swept out of the Chaos Wastes and ve…
The Lady of the LakeThe Lady of the Lake is the patron goddess of Bretonnia, the divine mistress whose favour is the foundation of that kingdom's chivalry and the source …
The Runes of the DwarfsThe Runes of the Dwarfs are the ancient magical glyphs with which the Dwarfen Mountain Holds work their sorcery — not by casting spells into the air, …
The Vortex of UlthuanThe Vortex of Ulthuan, called the Great Vortex, is the vast, roaring maelstrom of magical energy that spins at the heart of the island continent of Ul…
The WaaaghThe Waaagh is the great, boiling phenomenon at the heart of the greenskin race — at once a war, a migration, a religion, and a tide of crude psychic e…
The Winds of MagicThe Winds of Magic are the eight currents of raw sorcery that gust across the Old World, and the fuel for every spell cast within it. Magic is not nat…
WarpstoneWarpstone is solidified Chaos: the raw, corrupting essence of dark magic crystallised into a physical substance, glowing a sickly green and radiating …
10 terms
Magic
The Amber CollegeThe Amber College is the order of the Colleges of Magic devoted to the Lore of Beasts, drawing upon Ghur, the brown Wind of Magic that howls with prim…
The Amethyst CollegeThe Amethyst College is the order of magic within the Empire of Man that masters Shyish, the Purple Wind of Death. Its wizards, called Amethyst magist…
The Bright CollegeThe Bright College is the order of the Empire of Man devoted to the study of Aqshy, the Red Wind of Fire, one of the eight great winds separated by th…
The Celestial CollegeThe Celestial College is the order of the Colleges of Magic devoted to Azyr, the Lore of the Heavens. Its wizards, called Astromancers or Celestial Wi…
The Gold CollegeThe Gold College is one of the eight Colleges of Magic founded in Altdorf, dedicated to the study of Chamon, the Lore of Metal. Its wizards, known as …
The Grey CollegeThe Grey College is the order of the Colleges of Magic devoted to Ulgu, the Lore of Shadow. Its wizards, called Shadowmages or Grey Wizards, wield the…
The Jade CollegeThe Jade College is the order of the Colleges of Magic devoted to Ghyran, the Lore of Life. Its wizards, called Jade Wizards or Druids, channel the ve…
The Life CollegeThe Life College is the order of the Colleges of Magic that harnesses Ghyran, the green Wind of Magic, and its practitioners are the Jade Wizards who …
The Light CollegeThe Light College is the order of the Colleges of Magic devoted to Hysh, the Lore of Light. Its wizards, called Hierophants or Light Wizards, command …
The Lore of DeathThe Lore of Death is the discipline of magic drawn from Shyish, the Amethyst Wind, the darkest and most sombre of the eight coloured winds of magic th…
1 term
The Dwarfs
1 term
Creatures
9 terms
Military
The Black OrcsThe Black Orcs are the largest, strongest, and most disciplined of all greenskins, a warrior caste that towers over their lesser kin among the Orc and…
The Demigryph KnightsThe Demigryph Knights are among the most fearsome heavy cavalry of the Empire of Man, riding into war upon savage demigryphs, lesser cousins of the no…
The GreatswordsThe Greatswords are the elite infantry of the Empire of Man, veteran soldiers who wield massive two-handed blades and serve as the personal guard of t…
The IronbreakersThe Ironbreakers are the elite warriors of the Dwarfen Mountain Holds, sworn to guard the deep tunnels and mineshafts against the horrors that dwell b…
The Night GoblinsThe Night Goblins are a subterranean breed of greenskin that dwells in the darkness beneath the mountains, shunning the hated light of the sun. Clad i…
The Phoenix GuardThe Phoenix Guard are the silent, immortal-seeming warriors of the High Elf Realms, the sacred wardens of the Shrine of Asuryan upon the isle of the F…
The Plague MonksThe Plague Monks are the fanatical warrior-devotees of Clan Pestilens, the pestilent faction of the Skaven who worship disease itself as a holy sacram…
The ReiksguardThe Reiksguard are the elite bodyguard regiment sworn to the Emperor of the Empire of Man and to the province of Reikland from which they draw their f…
The WaywatchersThe Waywatchers are the elite scouts and sentinels of the Wood Elf realms, guardians who patrol the deepest and most perilous reaches of the forest of…
2 terms
Institutions
The Colleges of MagicThe Colleges of Magic are the eight great institutions of human wizardry, founded in Altdorf in the aftermath of the Great War Against Chaos. Before t…
The Great Book of GrudgesThe Great Book of Grudges — Dammaz Kron in the dwarf tongue — is the vast, iron-bound ledger in which the dwarfs record every wrong ever done to their…
7 terms
Ranks & Institutions
The Council of ThirteenThe Council of Thirteen is the supreme ruling body of the Skaven, the great secret that governs the ratmen's sprawling under-empire from the hidden ci…
The Cult of SigmarThe Cult of Sigmar is the state religion of the Empire and the faith woven most deeply into its soul, for it worships the very man who founded the nat…
The Cult of UlricThe Cult of Ulric is one of the oldest and fiercest faiths of the Empire, devoted to the grim god of wolves, winter, and battle. Older even than the w…
The Elector CountsThe Elector Counts are the sovereign rulers of the great provinces of the Empire, and the men and women who choose its Emperor. When an Emperor dies, …
The EverchosenThe Everchosen is the supreme champion of Chaos Undivided — the single mortal warrior chosen by all four of the Dark Gods at once to unite their fract…
The Liche PriestsThe Liche Priests are the undying sorcerer-priests of the Tomb Kings, the withered masters of the mortuary cult who rule the dead realm of Nehekhara i…
The Slann Mage-PriestsThe Slann Mage-Priests are the ancient, immortal rulers of the Lizardmen, and the mightiest sorcerers the world has ever known. Vast, bloated, toad-li…
3 terms
Technology
The DoomwheelThe Doomwheel is a monstrous war machine of the Skaven, a colossal rolling wheel of wood, iron, and crackling warp-lightning propelled by frenzied rat…
The Hellblaster Volley GunThe Hellblaster Volley Gun is one of the most fearsome and unpredictable weapons of war produced by the engineers of the Empire of Man. A masterwork o…
The Steam TankThe Steam Tank is one of the rarest and most feared war engines ever fielded by the Empire of Man, a massive armoured hull of iron and brass driven fo…
3 terms
Bretonnia
The Errantry WarAn Errantry War is a grand campaign of chivalric adventure launched by the King of Bretonnia, calling forth the realm's Knights Errant to prove their …
The Green KnightThe Green Knight is the mysterious immortal guardian of the sacred places of Bretonnia, a spectral warrior clad in ancient green armour who appears wi…
The Knights of the RealmThe Knights of the Realm form the backbone of the martial aristocracy of Bretonnia, the sworn and landed nobles who hold fief and title in service to …
3 terms
The Empire
The FlagellantsThe Flagellants are the wild-eyed prophets of doom who wander the roads of the Empire, convinced that the end of days is at hand. Clad in rags, scourg…
The MootThe Moot is the ancestral homeland of the Halflings, a small, verdant province nestled within the borders of the Empire, granted to the little folk by…
The Witch HuntersThe Witch Hunters are the grim inquisitors of the Empire, sworn to root out the taint of Chaos wherever it festers. Armed with pistol, blade, and holy…
1 term
Lizardmen
2 terms
Characters
The Grey SeersThe Grey Seers are the horned prophets and most powerful sorcerers of the Skaven, born marked by grey fur and a pair of curling horns that set them ap…
The VerminlordsThe Verminlords are the greatest and most terrible of the daemons of the Horned Rat, towering ratkin monstrosities that serve as the physical avatars …
1 term
Battles & Events
1 term
Cathay
3 terms
The Undead
The Mortuary CultThe Mortuary Cult was the priesthood of death in ancient Nehekhara, a powerful order of priests charged with preserving the bodies and preparing the s…
The Vampire BloodlinesThe Vampire Bloodlines are the great dynasties of the undead, descended from the first vampires created by the sorceress Neferata of ancient Nehekhara…
The Von Carstein DynastyThe Von Carstein Dynasty is the most infamous of the vampire bloodlines, a lineage of aristocratic monsters who ruled the haunted province of Sylvania…
4 terms
The Elves
The Phoenix KingThe Phoenix King is the martial monarch of the High Elves of Ulthuan, ruler of the realm and warlord of his people, who reigns alongside the Everqueen…
The SunderingThe Sundering was the catastrophic civil war that tore the elven race asunder and forever divided the High Elves from the Dark Elves. It arose from th…
The WardancersThe Wardancers are the deadly worshippers of Loec the Trickster God, elite warrior-dancers of the Wood Elves whose lethal artistry turns battle into a…
The Witch ElvesThe Witch Elves are the fanatical priestesses of Khaine, the murder-god of the Dark Elves, who bathe in the blood of sacrifices to preserve their unna…
1 term
Society
1 term
Religion
1 term
