Skaven development thread

[LMR]

Hi everyone,

This thread is dedicated to the development of Skaven units for Warhammer. My aim is to have a Skaven race ready for inclusion in the next version of the Warhammer Mod, if there is one . So, if you’re interested, post here or PM me. As well as units, we’ll need a leaderhead and civ pics and stuff, so you don’t have to be a unit creator to help out!

NOTICE: If you are going to create a Skaven unit, please post that you are here so i can edit the unit list accordingly. Thankyou.

Below is a list of what we need:

Land Units:
Skaven Settler completed by LizardmenRule! and can be found here
Slaverat (Worker) completed by aaglo and can be found here
Rat Warrior completed by aaglo and can be found here
Nightrunner completed by aaglo and can be found here
Clanrat completed by LizardmenRule! and can be found here
Stormvermin Guard completed by LizardmenRule! and can be found here
Stormvermin Warrior completed by aaglo and can be found here
Poison Wind Globadier completed by LizardmenRule! and can be found here
Gutterrunner completed by LizardmenRule! and can be found here
Rat Swarm completed by LizardmenRule! and can be found here
Giant Rat completed by aaglo and can be found here
Warpfire Thrower completed by aaglo and can be found here
Ratling Gun completed by aaglo and can be found here
Rat Ogre completed by LizardmenRule! and can be found here
Warplock Jezzail completed by aaglo and can be found here
Assassin completed by aaglo and can be found here
Grey Seer completed by aaglo and can be found here
Warplightning Cannon completed by aaglo and can be found here
Plague Monk completed by mrtn and can be found here
Plague Censer Bearer completed by aaglo and can be found here
Warlord completed by Quinzy and can be found here
Doomwheel completed by aaglo and can be found here
Rat Tank completed by aaglo and can be found here
Vermin Lord completed by aaglo and can be found here

Sea Units:
Doombringer completed by Orthanc and can be found here
Deathburner completed by Orthanc and can be found here
Warpraider completed by Orthanc and can be found here
Bilge Rat completed by aaglo and can be found here

Graphics:
Leaderhead completed by aaglo and can be found here
Rat Mill (improvement)
Pitfighting Arena (improvement)
Screaming Bell (improvement) completed by LizardmenRule! and can be found here

Specs:
Leader: Emissary of the Council Thanquol
Culture Group: Asian (same as Orcs and Goblins)
Aggression Level: 2 (Low)
Build Preferences: Offensive Land Units, Artillery Units, Growth
Preferred Government: Chaos
Shunned Government: Monarchy
Civilisation Traits: Scientific, Industrious
SL: Ikit Claw, Lord Skrolk, Lord Morskitter, Throt the Unclean, Klawmunkast
ML: Grey Seer Thanquol, Deathmaster Snikch, Gnawdwell, Queek Head-Taker, Lord Sneek
Cities: Skavenblight, City of Pillars, Crookback Mountain, Hell Pit, Fester Spike, Putrid Sump, Mount Silverspear, The Black Chasm, Mount Grey Hag, Fool Peak, Karak Varn, Karak Ungor, Karak Azgul, Karak Drazh, Tobaro, Ekrund.


These are Nightrunners, Plague Censer Bearers, Plague Monks, Poison Wind Globadiers and Ratling Gun.

 

[LMR]

These are the Assassin, Giant Rats, Grey Seer, Gutterrunners and Jezzail Team

 

[LMR]

These are the Screaming Bell, Stormvermin, Warlock Engineer, Warlord and Warpfire Thrower

 

[LMR]

This is the Warplightning Cannon, Vermin Lord and Rat Tank.

 

[lanky316]

I know it's not in the current ed but I would love to see someone try the doomwheel. Why did GW get rid of my favourite Skaven creation

BTW here is one attached so you've got a reference.

 

[drzoidberg]

I know it's not in the current ed but I would love to see someone try the doomwheel. Why did GW get rid of my favourite Skaven creation

BTW here is one attached so you've got a reference.

Great thread. Thanks Lizardmen. I know it might be a bit premature but we should discuss what kind of civilization the Skaven will be. I would vote for very weak but cheapish regular units with fairly cheap but devastating artillery. I think it would be fun to force the Skaven player into a heavy artillery mode of play as to make the Skaven more unique. And artillery is fun. The skavens best military units should without a doubt be it's chemical warfare units.

They should most definatly be scientiffic, (and maybe religious?) and the sewers should be an important invention for them!

The reason I would like to get this discussion going is because it will make it clear which units are most important to prioritise. I wouldn't mind them having setlers that don't cause population loss. That way they'll spread like rats, and have their military so weak as to make it an interesting game.

Maybe my ideas are to far out?

 

[lanky316]

Sound good enough to me. I think scientific and religious are probably about right for them with the strong religious belief of Horned Rat and of course science suits them perfectly with Eshin and Skyre making new forms of weaponry (weeping blades for Eshin), Pestilence mixing unusual achemicals and Moulder with all their genetic engineering.

It would be interesting to see a way of making the sewerage system work in the same style as the way the fluff says so that we can make them move through the civ game in a "realistic" way. Of course, the assasins will be hidden so that's explained simply enough but to have an entirely hiden army, may be too much!

 

[Plotinus]

Bear in mind that the AI barely uses artillery, so a civ that relies on artillery would be severely disadvantaged when played by the AI.

 

[Mr. Do]

The Doomwheel is ace, I think it's got a better palce in a Civ than the Screaming Bell. They did bring back the Doomwheel through online rules, at least, and it's still in Warmaster so there's no reason to not have it

The artillery shouldn't be too important- flavour units basically.

 

[Disenfrancised]

Nice idea LMrule! I really like your rat ogre!

With the aim of making a Civ; you'll probably want to add worker and settler type units to your wanted list - some skavenslaves maybe (possibly M-Unit with a clanrat poking them along )

Regarding in game stats - how useful is high Rate of Fire, but low strength artillary (warpfire thrower, poisen gas chucking guy, ratling guns, and what have you)? will the AI use it?

Finally, in a display of incredable optimism about the unit creators, wouldn't it be cool if the Nightrunner/gutterrunner had a paradrop animation where they open a sewer grating/hatch and crawl out

 

[LMR]

I've already added skaven to my warhammer mod, but i'm using lots of odd graphics (dire wolves for giant rats, gnolls for others). i made them scientific and expansionist, but forget about the Horned Rat. that sounds like a good idea. i also let them ignore all movement costs, since they travel through their Underempire (system of tunnels) they would be unaffected by the above terrain.

I also had them extremely cheap, but all units (except the Rat Ogre) get disadvantaged by having at least a one HP decrease. this makes it easy to build units, but the units are destroyed just as easily.

In regards to artillery, i've set my units so that they act like regular infantry, but can bombard as well, which means that they will be used by the AI, even if its not for its specific purpose. the warplightning cannon is the only unit i've designated as pure artillery

 

[drzoidberg]

The Doomwheel is ace, I think it's got a better palce in a Civ than the Screaming Bell. They did bring back the Doomwheel through online rules, at least, and it's still in Warmaster so there's no reason to not have it

The artillery shouldn't be too important- flavour units basically.

I'm not sure if we should let us be prevented by GW's sales tacticts when chosing units for this mod. They continually issue new units with every issue of White Dwarf that are just a little better just to sell more blisterpacks with miniatures. I suggest that we just pick units that we think are cool from WH's entire history. The Doomwheel was probably removed because it was too old and didn't sell any more miniatures.

 

[Goldflash]

Also, you have to remember that this is for Siv three, so you may need to make up some units as well!

Uoi'll need a Skaven Worker and settler, and possibly a scout.

 

[Antiochus VII]

AND a leaderhead unless I'm mistaken - a Grey Seer is my vote, especially if you make them Religious as well as Scientific.

 

[Mr. Do]

I'm not sure if we should let us be prevented by GW's sales tacticts when chosing units for this mod. They continually issue new units with every issue of White Dwarf that are just a little better just to sell more blisterpacks with miniatures. I suggest that we just pick units that we think are cool from WH's entire history. The Doomwheel was probably removed because it was too old and didn't sell any more miniatures.

It's good you don't think we should let that stop us, because neither do I or LizardmenRule! In fact I was just explaining that it's a semi-current unit, so it doesn't even matter that it's not part of the current army book list. Also the Doomwheel was removed because someone who was given the job of updating the army book decided the Doomwheel was just a big "hamster wheel" style joke. Even though I doubt many people saw it that way...

 

[LMR]

i was planning for the nightrunner to be used as a scout, then upgrade to a gutterrunner, then again late-game to the assassin. The assassin would be invisible.

goldflash is right, we need as many units as we can, so the doomwheel is definately in, along with any other obscure units that i have missed.

a leaderhead is needed, and a grey seer would be good, although a warlord wouldn't be bad either. it depends on if they are religious or not

 

[drzoidberg]

a leaderhead is needed, and a grey seer would be good, although a warlord wouldn't be bad either. it depends on if they are religious or not

They have a central capitol, Skavenblight and from there they are ruled by something called the council of thirteen. They don't seem to have any one clear leader, but they do use grey seers as their face outward so definatly a grey seer.

It would be nice with a dialog like, "the council finds your offer to be acceptable", "the council does not see this as a worthy trade" or "the council demands tribute".

I found this about grey seers.

"They advise and coerce the Warlord clans towards fulfilling the will of the Horned Rat, in accordance to their own interpretations, and act as intermediaries to relay the decrees of the Council of Thirteen."

http://uk.games-workshop.com/skaven/miniature-gallery/2/
http://uk.games-workshop.com/skaven/who-are/1/

 

[LMR]

"There, the mighty Lords of Decay, ruthless rulers of all Skaven, sit on the Council of Thirteen, scheming and preparing for the time when their armies will emerge from the subterranean realm to raze the entire surface of the world. Such is the ultimate ambition of the Skaven race, a destiny preached by the Grey Seers..."

this is an extract from one of the sites from dr.zoidberg's last post, and this sounds to me that skaven are very expansionistic. perhaps they can have three traits to compensate somewhat if they have less HP than other races - scientific, religious and expansionist.

although what does the expansionist trait do? it just gives the race a scout from the start, right? if that is so, don't bother about expanionist and just have scientific and religious.

 

[LMR]

and i like the diplomatic talk as well. that would be very cool.

bout the leaderhead, who should the leader be? i found these names on the aussie games workshop site: Lord Sneek, Warlord Queek Head-Taker and Lord Morskittar. all are lords of decay who sit on the council of thirteen.

what would be cool, tho, is have the leaderhead as a skaven, but have several other skaven sitting around a table behind him bathed in shadow (see below). this would give more of an indication that the skaven are ruled by a council.

 

[Mr. Do]

Oh yes, just to go further on something Goldflash touched on- a skaven worker should obviously be the skaven slave unit. Gets another skaven unit in the game!

Sounding like a good plan for the leaderhead... I'd go with whatever Grey seer sits on the council mainly (Is it Thanquol? Probably not...)