Category:Skaven

"YOur DOoM-dOom CoMEs, ELF-thING."

- Ikkit Vermintide descends upon a Drow rogue.

At a Glance
An alliance of man-sized rodent hengeyokai, the Skaven lived in the great city of Skavenblight, hidden within The Echoes of The Underdark. The Skaven as a whole are one of the world's most numerous species, often having a population numbering several millions as they breed at an exponential rate (to offset their cripplingly short lifespans). Despite their large population, the existence of an organized Skaven society is carefully and violently concealed from the Drow and other races. Even when presented with irrefutable proof, the common layman regards them as an urban legend -- only the Dwarves remember the legends of strange rat-beasts lurking in forgotten tunnels...

Attempts at communication and trade with the Skaven has, for most of history, been almost impossible due to the depths of isolation in which they burrow. A clan-based society in which the number 13 holds important significance, the Skaven once payed homage to Vecna, whom they worshipped primarily out of fear following The First Necrotic War where He cursed them with unending boils and decay. Since The Scattering, the Skaven have fallen under the thrall of a new oppressor who has been able to quell their pain, but not quite in the way they had hoped.

The God of Madness and Slavery Torog, appearing as a friend, promised the Skaven that he could release them from their pain in exchange for their service -- which they eagerly accepted. But rather than strip the disease from their bodies, Torog instead shattered their minds, sending them into an altered state of insanity. Still cursed with plague-ridden bodies the Skaven became unable to recognize the pain caused by their contagions, now free from the agony of decay but still carrying their pestilence with them wherever they go (making their appearances incredibly worrisome to the other races).

Driven to madness to escape the pain of decay, the Skaven are innately paranoid and deceitful. Because of this mixed-heritage of influence, Skaven magics are also closely linked to fungus (which has allowed them to invest in agriculture and survive deep in The Underdark) and given them the ability to weaponize hallucinogenic spores and other mind-altering drugs.

Since the Age of Adventure the Skaven have begun to rise from the bowels of The Underdark in the millions, vastly outnumbering the combined races of the mortal plane. Where Humans or Tieflings dream of dominating the world, Skaven dream of no such thing. They have already burrowed their tunnels to every each of the continent. They have all the territory they want, deep underground where it is warm. In Skaven's mind, they have won. All that remains now is enslaving the pockets of Elfkins and other surface dwellers who are too blind to realize this mad vision.

Some sympathetic souls believe that within their damaged culture Skaven are a people trying to deal with the harsh subterranean environment and corruption of a mad-god; that despite their fearsome appearance and treacherous nature, some Skaven such as Nehekhara have proven to be truly heroic. Ask any Skaven, however, and they'll balk at the notion of honour or compassion. For them, these sentiments have long been dead, and as an empire more cunning than Goblins that grub in the dark, Skaven are eager to cover the world in chains and enslave all life.