Total War: Warhammer Skaven Lore Society, Religion, and Origins
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- čas přidán 27. 08. 2017
- Welcome back to more warhammer lore. In this video we delve into the Skaven Under Empire, explaining what in fact a Skaven is, as well as defining characteristics of both themselves and their society. We also look into their origins and what makes them unique as a species. Hope you enjoy the video and don't forget to like and subscribe for future content.
*Music
"Agnus Dei X" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
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"Martian Cowboy" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
creativecommons.org/licenses/b... - Hry
I like the beginning "They're capable of rudimentary engineering." The Skaven would then proceed to make rat powered bladed unicycles of death and the first atomic bombs.
And machineguns, planetary cannons that can destroy moons, gas bombs...and have their own wizards...humans had to get their engineering from dwarves and their wizards from elves. This is why once they got their shit together and started to organize the world ended.
@@TheBayzent pfft planetary Cannons? That's just Rudimentary talk.
I love the story of why the blew up the moon. They really just hated the lizards so much they didnt care about the consequences
It's still rudimentary since a lot of it is backwards-engineered from stuff they scavenge from other races, and it has a tendency to blow them up as much as the enemy.
That's most of the race. occasionally you will have a true tech genius like Ikit Claw, but they are very far between.
I remember that time when scaven misguided all races *cough* twin comet *cough*
I find it funny that mothers tell their children that skavens exist to scare them while there are acutal beastmen, vampires, zombies and orcs out there... xD
Ikr its so funny too cuz in the lore its said skaven are a rumour and people deny their existance scoffing. While beatmen exist lmao
Yes but they don't live under their own cities, spreading disease and causing chaos
Yeah, telling them that Skaven dont exist while everything else does is kinda redundant. 😅
it's warhammer. everything is scary and gonna eat you, take your soul, conquer your kingdom or at least steal your stuff and drink your blood. Unless you are from Norska. I bet kids there stay up all night hoping for an ork or skaven to emerge from under their bed giving them the chance to stab one.
@@phreakazoith2237 Knowing Warhammer, seems pretty legit.
Skaven are the real original trademark of Warhammer fantasy. Others are pretty generic, dwarves and elves from Tolkien, The Empire from early modern Holy Roman Empire, Bretonnia from the King Arthur tales, Vampires and Undead from classic horror genre, Chaos from Michael Moorcock and Poul Anderson. Skaven on the other hand, Chaos worshippin mad mutant rats with sci-fi weapons of mass destruction, well that's both damn original and you can't go crazier than that.
Fimir.
That is all.
When I saw the lizardmen,I immediately thought of Argonians,but you don’t see that kind of race often
@Matthew Beattie I think Lizardmen are from Eldritch Horror and Robert E. Howard novels.
Beastmen are very generic mythological creatures like minotaurs, centaurs etc. most of wich are very savage enemy of man in the actual mythology.
@@Someone-wj1lf well lizardman in name only is as old as american hollywood producing cheesy sci fi movies, which unfortunately spawned conspiracies by people who can not tell the difference between fiction and non fiction however dinosaurs or more dino like is a new one unless Argonians are riding ontop of raptors
No,argonians are not riding animals but I find them very similar to the skinks of the lizardmen kind
"Possessing just enough intelligence to make simple tools.." watches ratling gunners and doom wheels roll by.
The Skaven would practically be their own game world - like Saint's Row or something. I could picture a "Skaven Simulator" - with consequences vs reward involved; as your Skaven Character vies for highest standing in society - sorta like a mafia or something.
You would die 99.9999999999999%
Of the time as there are many many ways to die. But that is what would make it awesome if supremely difficult.
That's how SkavenBlight works.
They would also make an amazing stand alone villain in a dnd campaign
Play the warband Warhammer mod and you can do just that
I think a dungeon keeper strategy like game
Involving the slaves would be brilliant.
Something i find crazy is the dwarfs invented warpstone flame throwers to use against the elves, the dwarfs were getting corrupted so they stopped and then the skaven found the diagrams for it
Chaotic evil in its purest form.
Ez Bayt dungeons and dragons refrance?
They make for excellent villains :)
To me, more like Neutral Evil
Gabriel Perrella yeah Skaven are too well organized to be chaotic evil, and they're too treacherous to be lawful evil.
More akin to Neutral evil. Chaotic evil would be...well...Chaos Warriors. Lawful evil perhaps Dark Elves - but willing to be corrected.
A small point, one of the main reasons as to why Skaven can not invade the Elven lands, is the simple fact, that the magical wards around the main "High Elf" lands are crystals/pylons which are designed to drain and siphon all chaos energy around them. Because of this, ALL of the Skaven technology i.e warp-fire throwers, ratling-guns and so on and so forth, just stop working. All of the above marvels of Skaven are of course powered by warp stone. Essentially warp stone is really chaos energy compressed etc. This means that all of their warp stone powered machinery can no longer function , once they get into close proximity to one of said pylons/crystals/wards whatever you want to call them.
Would this work for the negative effects of warp stone as well? Let's say you are being exposed to warp stone constantly, even intake the stuff, maybe getting somewhat ill or weird or mutated by it and you walk into the Elven land - would you be healed?
Most probably not.
I thought the reason was that the island was actually 'free floating', so that there wasn't actually any connection to the underway?
The pylons would stop all the tech which the Skaven highly lean on, but that wouldn't stop any sabotage or basic swarm tactics would it?
Edit: Nvm, he mentioned this already.
You are thinking of Protos...
@@Jenkermister No, I'm really not. Also , the word "pylon" was not made up by Blizzard lol.
This has to be the most interesting fantasy race I've ever stumbled across.
Saltzpyre: *ANGRY YELLING WHILE SHOOTING PISTOLS!*
Colleywoodstudios SIGMAR SMITE THY HERETIC SOULS, SKAVEN HERETICS!
"Skavens dont exist honey. Now go to sleep before the vampire lords catch us up and drinks our blood because we live in Sylvania"
Found this after playing vermintide, very cool how deep it goes.
Likewise! Loved the "Doom of Kavzar" poem- with the music it felt so... fateful how the Skaven were born.
@@ninjaduck3534 not even chaos will touch that shit
This is just scratching the surface
Sniff Sniff Yess..Yess.. sacrifice to the Great Horned Rat Sniff.. Sniff..
Imagine 90lb 4ft Skaven running around eating their body weight every day
I love skaven man. Fav race in warhammer. Stormvermin all the way
You don’t play on legendary/very hard difficulty do you?
@@peterfile3257 what are you talking about? Total war? Im talking about warhammer in general lol
Just tried to watch a Gaming Shenanigans video on this exact same subject and you're video is so much better, you actually sound like you are into this rather than just reading it off prepared notes. Sub well earned
I appreciate the sub good sir.
He is just reading off the wiki though
same
@@tariqt.2252 But he does it with passion, flare, a pleasant voice and also offers his own takes on things.
As opposed to some other "lore masters" such as OneMindSyndicate.
So fascinating. I love the artwork and the story behind Skavenblight, and that many people think they are just a myth. I've read/played/watched a lot of fantasy and the Skaven are one of the more intriguing malevolent factions in fantasy in general. Your choice of music here is very fitting!
Just a reminder that Thanqual, one of the most feared Skaven (according to his novels anyways), was nearly overpowered and killed by a traveling circus that he brought an army to ambush because he thought it was Gotrek and Felix
Ironic because he is probably the most powerful WH Fantasy and AoS Mage given he accidentally summoned Skarbrand, just imagine what he could do if he actually tried.
@InquisitorXarius able to summon one of the most dangerous demons imaginable but still nearly killed off by a traveling circus. Skaven really are creatures of extremes
@@MrDark086 Indeed, they are after all the parody and exagerration of the worst and best of Humanity
Actually Skaven are truly brave when in large numbers not just cornered.
thats not true bravery but just bravado
My total war warhammer 2 army says otherwise
@@shayfarrelly6789 game mechanics can't be taken as lore. Nobody would play them if the back line of ur army stabbed their "allies" in the back everytime and ran away once the number ratio was less then a 20 to 1
Nah, they are afraid of their leader and Horn Rat more. If one clanrat emit musk of fear, the rest of army will just run away. In fact when Ikit Claw told Skaven to evacuate from Doomsphere zone, they descend in to chaos, killing and stealing each others like black friday sale.
I would agree. With the fall of Tilea and the emergence of the Skaven they were brave enough to horde in the streets and seek out survivors to slaughter when grouped together.
The first time I heard the doom of kavzar there was a whole cinematic vision popping into my head word for word up to the final battle with beady red encircling the unfortunate remaining people of the city. The skaven are so awesome.
Rats: have basic knowledge. Also Rats: have nukes
I like how when I heard him say that the shop owners were killing each other to out do each other I was like “of course they would that’s logical”. Like it was just normal. Great video
I love the lore for these creatures, why hasnt a horror movie been made about the skaven, like tbh i would rather take my own life then going through the vermintide
I have a high metabolism. You’re telling me I have short lifespan... damn that’s deep.
Who would win, 100 soldiers stuck in hte middle ages or one power armored ratty boi with ratling gun boyz
One plaig monk vs medieval society = human extinction
@@lunarlegion7157 You say that but with a mod I have where I can recruit my faction's defeated legendary lords, lets say Skrolk sucks at surviving, so I end up recruiting him and I usually send him against Brettonia because the plague claw catapults are amazing for sieges because of their high arc, though that has been changed last I checked.
Skrolk is best mightiest of all monks and while the catapults are good plaig magic is way more devastating
0:40 "They are simply rap men" thanks automatic subtitles but I already knew mah bois were thugs livin' da street life, ya know B)
Skaven thugs....ho boy.
Bigge Cheese
Where Arch Warhammer has the pure mindset and psychology of Skaven...you have the seriousness of their threat and that makes me more determined to vanquish the Skaven from the world in Vermintide!!!
🏹⚔️. BY THE HAMMER AND THE BELL, YOU SHALL BE VANQUISHED!!!
Realistically, could you imagine the complete horror of being overrun in the complete darkness of night by a tidal wave of Skaven?
Chills
Pretty soon you won't have to imagine, pink-skin
@@shiperobin is this based on real life ?
The problem with Skaven (in universe, not my opinion) is that they always backstap each other making them just as if not more dangerous to them selves.
thats actually the point.
Warboss West if they didnt everyone is screwed
Yup, the one time they didn't, the whole world literally ended.
(Abit late) but they also feel the most brave when in big groups. Maybe its instinct that makes it so they don't just utterly rip each other apart.
I mean, wouldnt you fear something thats even dangerous to itself but still worked as one?
Watching this made me realize how similar the skaven and the emperium of 40k are.
I wonder how the Imperium react to seeing the Skaven in 40k especially given how the Skaven are a parody of them and the worst and best of the Imperium Darkly reflected from the form of Humanity turned to a Corrupted Parody of Itself erect in Verminous Form.
These Rats never stopped attacking me on Warhammer 2 until I got pissed off and Alexander’d them off my map.
I play skaven i tend to win. I play anyone else. Skaven are the biggest problem i have
I like to think Jenner from Don Bluth's "The Secret of Nimh" was a source of inspiration
That was a very well animated film but the thematic message was lost on me.
I hope so 👀
They are really bad ass if you focus on their warpstone techonology where they use warpstone bombs, warpcannons and flamethrowers.
Has there ever been a skaven raised outside of skaven culture? Curious to see how they'd turn out.
Not as far as I know but, that raises another question; what cultures would?
Mayby dark elves, but not in a right way
I revisit these videos fairly often and this lore series has made me a big fan!
Epitome. E-pit-o-me. Loved your video. Very well researched. Your voice is extremely clear. The background music fits and is not distracting. Got a new sub here.
glad I'm not the only one who caught that lmao
Thank you from the future. I came here for this.
Oh jeez, just started the video - don't tell me I'm going to hear "epi-tome"
So glad that someone else said it- I always feel like a dick when I correct people- at least he used the word correctly!
@John Galt “Never make fun of someone if they mispronounce a word. It means they learned it by reading”
Great work. Love your vids. I inhale this kinda material and you are one of the better providers out there. Hopefully, others will catch onto that as well. A lot of people looking for info on the Skaven so this is a good time to be putting vids like this one out.
Well there is more coming soon.
The skaven genuinely scare me for some reason. There also more disturbing to me than any other fictonal antagonists
Same
Truly a compelling race yes? 😈
They are terrifying because they parody our everyday hypocrisy, and portray our dark nature. Nobody wants to admit that they have more in common with those pests than they would like to admit, and that many of their friends are similar... And that their fate is often dictated by such plays and treachery as can be found in this fictional society.
It's terrifying because it's what we are, and the dangers we face, everyday. The skaven would not admit it openly, yet all of them know the rules and how the game plays out, like we humans. It pains me to admit it, but I am indeed a rat and often have I schemed... Just like my neighbour.
Great video man. Keep the lore going.
Let’s be real if skaven weren’t as backstabby and paranoid amongst themselves as they are, they probably would have conquered the world already
Great lore video. Much better than the others I’ve seen
very interesting vid, thanks allot. since i started playing warhammer 1 total war i got interested in the warhammer lore and because of playing warhammer 2 total war i got very interested in skaven lore since they're my all time favourites.
CA just added the Skavens regiment of renown in TWW2(among others things too^^). Patience are always rewarded. The Council Guards are just Beautiful and Ikkit Claw is the new Legendary Lord, The Vermintide will break on the world and everything will be washed away. We rule over Ruins for it is the will of the Horned Rat. yes-yes.
Hey man I just stumbled on your video's and your content is awesome, it's a crime you don't have more subs. Anyway if you read this, have a nice day!
Thanks for your work, mister!
amazing lore vid! i want more! keep it up buddy Skaven for the win!
Great vid dood! :) Im listening while playing as the Skryre Clan.
This is the best skaven lore video ever
subbed, your lore vids are really good :) now just gotta get through your others.
That's the plan Duke.
Something I would love to know. It is understandable that a clanrat or slave rat is physically weaker than a human but what about one that isn't starving? One with Black fur?
I believe they are still weaker physically but have been trained a lot better in combat and tactics compared to other skaven infantry. Because even the elite skaven infantry is pretty bad compared to elite infantry from other races, they still rely on their numbers and war machines/abominations and their stealth.
@@taserrr Well Storm Vermin models in most examples of Warhammer are far larger than average sized humans in terms of torso width and in some cases like in vermintide they're even good bit taller. So it would make sense that they're probably far above the status quo in terms of strength. They also get food first, clan rats are given Storm Vermin scraps so unless times are tough meaning they're not going to be malnourished.
Dude, your show is awesome!
Loved this, thanks for this video
I looked for the bottom and never saw it, I love how deep this is.
love your content! make more plz!
The more I listen to this, the more I can't help but think about co-workers and supervisors I've had throughout the years. The idea that one can actually believe they are never at fault and every positive outcome they were involved with, no matter how slight, is their achievement is so alien and ludicrous to me that I never believed people in my life could think that way. But clearly the writers of the Skaven lore didn't pull this mindset out of nothing. Clearly they had the very same type of people in mind as people I have to deal with at work when they were coming up with this lore. To me it's disgusting, illogical, asinine, but fascinating even more so. To think actual people in the real world really think this way and that's why they have treated me so poorly over the years...
That is so true. All my life I've worked with skaven
u sound like hitler rn dude
Of course, you are not one of them :)
Great podcast man!!!
I really want Thanquol in tw wh2
very nice overview thank you
The music is perfect
great work!
Subbed! Great content mate!
Just found you but i love the detail!
37:30 That image looks... familiar... somehow...
I subscribed to your channel very enjoyable thank you
A video about Skaven society during the end-times would be awesome, I feel like the average Warhammer enjoyer knows very little about that and I think it's pretty neat how different (in some ways, drastically) it ended up being once they had a unified goal.
This is oddly great to sleep to.
It's been a while since I've put together some Warhammer figures and read lore. After trying out the Total War: Warhammer games recently, I felt like checking some lore videos.
Thanks for the video
This all knowledge to combat rats I'll never see in my life. Worth my time.
Very cool video , thank you .
Very intersting, thank you!
I look forward to playing this faction when I pick the game up
It's a hoard army that often blows itself up, so it's bound to be fun
Enjoy yourself mate
Awesome video
Nice video, are the other clans less important or described in the books? Because you only specifically mentioned 3 or 4 clans. Subbed!
I love skaven. They're who I want to play.
Good video, do more like what you did with the poem
the music is amazing ... Horror ....
Nice vid friend
your lore videos are dope man just wish you'd dive deeper make more vids pls man
Skaven! Yes, yes!
It’s entirely possible the bell giver was a deacon of tzenntch wh9 went solo, but still this why you fine check these agreements and always keep a receipt. Yes yes
Consumer advice from Queek...heh
Someone else said this before me, but they should make a movie out of that Tilean poem. It reads like a horror story
I think the grey clad stranger in Doom of Kavzar was thanquol? He’s a grey character like a grey seer and had access to something like a screaming bell, another grey deer weapon. Either that or it was Tzeentch or the Horned Rat
It was the Horned Rat before they ascended to godhood with the Doom of 13.
Great video yes-yes....
I love the whole Skaven Last Supper thing lol
it is impressive to imagine tier one Skavens to spent time in the same room, discussing politics, making decisions without ripping each other to fluffy pieces at first glance
@@phreakazoith2237 AAA tier Skaven got underlings for that
pls do standalone doom of kavzar story with the gud eerie music! it was a really good vid btw u got a sub extra!
Food as important as warpstone? Eat-eat warpstone!
Skaven represents all the most evil, disgusting parts of humanity.
Who created all this lore? It is amazing
Shaven Culture is so interesting!, I wonder what their architecture looks like?; Maybe rat statues and rusty and shabby materials as well as warp paint or something, and to decorate maybe there are skaven queekish runes and banners.
How do they worship the Great Horned Ray? Besides sacrifice? And besides the Grey Seers, is there a organized religious clergy for their religion?
Do they have holidays or festivals? Vermintide exists so yeah I guess.
We know that they have monks so likely at least some organisation.
I want to play a skaven in d and d
You can! Google skaven d&d 5e
I added then into my campaign, and my players love cutting down their hordes, but nearly shit them selves when they know a ratogre is approaching, or one of them gets pinned by a night runner. As a PC they are a little overpowered, so show your DM what you want to do and I'm sure they will work to make it happen with a little editing.
Yes yes, the skaven don't exist, the grey ones say we can speak this.
I have to correct you in one point, the Skaven are not "just intelligent enough to make basic tools".
Exactly what point in the video did I say that?
Jumbo Thick at 1:47 and I have to correct myself, you've said simple not basic tools but it's the same just in other words
Nike-o Tho, for geniuses they are incredibly dumb.
Well not every Skaven is capable of making the insane technology their race is known for
I'm sure that that is meant of the average skaven, after all not all skaven have can make rattlings, jezzilers, or other weapons of war. The average skaven can probably make a reasonable effective sword, shields, or other arms. Similar to not all being magic users, not all can build machinery.
In the reference to the story of Kavzar, does that story predate the lore of the Tomb Kings and the story of Negash with the references to the Skaven in that lore?
yes because negash was killed by a skaven built blade
Just got a new sub
Bro, thanks to you I now think that the Skaven are the most interesting society in the Warhammer world and have grown to love them like you do. Yes, yes!
skaven will also attack with reckless ness when having superior numbers
Rats, the rats, we're the rats
We prey at night, we stalk at night. We're the rats!
So those are the giant rats that make all of da rules
I am really sorry. But I there is only one like button... This is sooo good!