The universe of Warhammer is ancient – and not just because the tabletop game has existed since 1983. The fantasy world has a long history. Here we present the 5 oldest of these beings.
The Warhammer universe encompasses many different worlds that are – sometimes more, sometimes less – strongly interconnected. The oldest of these worlds is the “Old World.” The tabletop game began with this in 1983.
The Old World offers fairly classic fantasy with humans, dwarfs, elves, orcs, vampires, and more. It is also this world that you conquer in the grand sandbox campaign of Total War: Warhammer 3 – or try to save from the end of the world in the co-op slasher Warhammer: Vermintide 2.
But did you know that the Old World did not always look like it does now? Long before most of the currently living races existed, the world was already inhabited and shaped by other beings. Many of them have become rarer today – or have even completely disappeared.
What is being ranked here? We are only looking at the oldest beings from Warhammer: The Old World. Warhammer: Age of Sigmar eventually ties into the end of the Old World, and Warhammer 40,000 takes place in the distant future of our own universe. You can read about the differences between the various Warhammer settings on MeinMMO.
For the ranking, we examined the age of these beings within the lore. As a starting point, we chose the coronation of Karl Franz, the current Emperor of the Empire. This can be easily located in the Imperial Calendar (IC) used by Warhammer Fantasy: It took place in the year 2502 IC. However, since Games Workshop deliberately avoids exact dates when it comes to events before year 0 (when Sigmar Heldenhammer founded the Empire), there are not always concrete numbers for the time relevant to us. The ranks are awarded in ascending order, from the youngest to the oldest.
As a source for the entire lore, we used the Lexicanum, a fan-created online wiki about Warhammer. Its entries refer to official material that comes directly from Games Workshop or licensed partners.
Rank 5: Slann
Still ancient but only in 5th place are the Slann. These creatures resemble fat toads and sit on palanquins magically levitating above the ground. They are the leaders of the lizardmen, their priests, and incredibly powerful mages.
Although they are the youngest beings on this list, they are still old enough to remember a world without humans and dwarfs. Many Slann died in the first great war against Chaos – one of several events that nearly wiped out the world of Warhammer Fantasy. Since the disappearance of their masters, no new Slann have been born.
One of the oldest living Slann is Lord Mazdamundi, although his exact age is not known. However, we do know that he belongs to the second brood of Slav that occurred sometime after -10,000 IC (events that occurred before year 0 are marked with a “-“). This makes Lord Mazdamundi about 12,000 years old.
In terms of age (and power), he is surpassed only by one other, namely Lord Kroak. He was one of the first Slann created between -15,000 IC and -10,000 IC. However, he has not actually “lived” for a long time, existing instead as a “relic priest” – his spirit lingers in his mummified body.
