Total War: Warhammer

It is an age of endless conquest, thousands of warriors clash in titanic battles as entire races wage war on one another, each led by a formidable hero seeking dominion over the world.

All at your command.

Total War: Warhammer is a turn-based strategy real-time tactics video game by the Creative Assembly and published by Sega. The game features the gameplay of the Total War series with factions of Games Workshop's Warhammer series. It's the 10th title in the Total War series and will be the first title to be released in the Total War: Warhammer trilogy. The title was released on Steam on 24 May 2016. Major DLC expansions such as Call of the Beastmen and Realm of the Wood Elves have already been released.

The 360 trailer can be found here.

Tropes used in Total War: Warhammer include:

• Absolute Xenophobe: Subverted with the Empire. Chaos, Greenskins, vampires and the undead are definitely not welcome. On the other hand, the Empire's humans have little trouble with Dwarfs, which is based on canon given how they're close allies and that the Dwarfs are also known to worship Sigmar.
• The Alliance: The Shield of Civilization mechanic for factions like the Empire, Dwarfs and Wood Elves, which kicks in once Chaos becomes a sufficiently End Times-level threat.
• Ape Shall Never Kill Ape: Sort of the case for the Dwarven Kingdoms. Barring the occasional civil war or uprising, they're unlikely to turn on each other.
• Ax Crazy: The Greenskin hordes in general as well as the followers of Chaos, who take this Up to Eleven.
• Authority Equals Asskicking: General/Lord characters in general can take on whole masses by themselves, especially as they level up. This is most evident however with "legendary lords."
• Badass Normal: The Empire's forces, by and large, are just regular humans with Renaissance-era weapons facing up against insurmountable odds; coincidentally, their playstyle is the most "conventional" as far as Total War games go. The Bretonnians' more elite units also count, though their peasantry are decidedly weaker.
• BFG: The Empire's artillery as well as those of the Dwarven Kingdoms.
• Black and Gray Morality: While the Empire isn't nearly as grimdark as the Imperium of Man, even at its murkiest it's far preferable to the realms of Chaos.
• Blade on a Stick: Some units like the Empire's halberdiers have bonuses against large opponents.
• Bling of War: Each faction doesn't exactly shy away from being this in various ways.
• Bloodier and Gorier: The fittingly titled Blood for the Blood God DLC, which incorporates Gorn into the mix, with decapitations and blood aplenty on the battlefield.
• Boss in Mook Clothing: Certain units or unit types like giants can make life hell for your soldiers if they're confronted without the right preparations.
• Civil Warcraft: The Empire starts off with the newly crowned Karl Franz having to consolidate the realm from rivals and usurpers.
• Clock Punk/Steampunk: The more advanced technological units that the Dwarven Kingdoms and Empire can deploy come across as this.
• The Corruption: In various forms, this is how Chaos and the Vampire Counts expand their reach, making their conquests easier to assimilate. In gameplay terms, this is akin to the religion and allegiance mechanics in previous Total War games taken Up to Eleven, especially given how they visibly affect the landscape.
• Crapsack World: The Old World isn't exactly a pleasant place to live in.
• Crystal Dragon Jesus: The Cult of Sigmar, which venerates the first Emperor-turned-God, Sigmar Heldenhammer. Though in Sigmar's case, he's less Jesus and more Arminius meets Norse Mythology (Thor in particular).
• Deadly Decadent Court: The Empire's inner workings can be its own worst enemy, especially with various nobles and internal factions seeking to claim the throne from Karl Franz. Part of Karl Franz's questline, indeed, involves having to confront some of them on the battlefield.
• Death From Above: Some of the magic spells that can be cast on the battlefield amount to this. Not to mention how aerial units can sweep down to kill unsuspecting troops.
• Death World: Territories under the Vampire Counts turn into veritable graves where the undead walk with impunity. While lands taken over by Chaos morph into literal pieces of Hell.
• Decapitated Army: For the Vampire Counts, losing a general is crippling blow as most of not all of your undead units would also crumple immediately afterwards, unless there's another lord present.
• The Dev Team Thinks of Everything: Units have various responses and taunts depending on the opposing faction. In addition, in keeping with the source material, factions like the Empire can't simply occupy the Chaos-controlled northern wastes or Dwarf strongholds. While Chaos can't control any territories at all, but simply corrupt them in their image.
• DLC: The Warriors of Chaos and Blood Knight unit for the Vampire Counts are free DLC, essentially.
• Eldritch Location: Athel Loren, being a living forest and the domain of the Wood Elves is both this and Genius Loci.
• Elite Mooks: In addition to some high-tier units, there are the "Regiments of Renown," which are unique and considerably powerful variants that can turn the tide of battle.
• Enemy Mine: Subverted for the Vampire Counts of Sylvania. They may have a common foe with the Empire against Chaos, but would rather see both at their mercy.
• Exactly What it Says on the Tin:
  • The Blood for the Blood God DLC, as the title suggests, brings in much blood and gore.
  • Call of the Beastmen makes the titular Beastmen a playable faction.
  • Realm of the Wood Elves brings in the Wood Elves and further expounds on Athel Loren.
• Fan Nickname: The game tends to be affectionately referred to by fans as either "Total Warhammer" or "Total Waaagh!!"
• Fantasy Counterpart Culture: Quite a few, befitting both a Total War title and its Warhammer setting:
  • The Empire is basically the Holy Roman Empire around the time of the Renaissance and suitably German in inspiration.
  • The Vampire Counts are an undead version of Überwald, though still noticeably Germanic due to Sylvania's past as a province of the Empire.
  • Bretonnia is a blend of High Middle Ages France and Arthurian myth.
  • Kislev is very much a blend of various medieval Slavic realms, Poland and Russia more specifically.
  • The forces of Chaos are generally based on Vikings and the Germanic barbarians of Late Antiquity.
  • Marienburg, the bustling heart of the breakaway Wasteland, is basically the Netherlands.
  • The Dwarfs are a in a sense Scotland and post-Viking Scandinavia with a healthy dose of Tolkien-style influences.
  • The Beastmen, in addition to their Chaos trappings have elements of Native American nomadic culture and various Roman-era and medieval stereotypes of barbarian pagans.
  • The Wood Elves are both reminiscent of the Celts and a darker take of The Fair Folk.
• Fantasy Gun Control: As with the source material, averted in the case of the Empire and Dwarven Kingdoms, which have much in the way of firearms and artillery. On the other hand, Bretonnia deliberately invokes this trope with its much more obvious medieval pretensions.
• The Federation: The Empire in practice functions as this, somewhat, given how the provinces and territories outside of Emperor Karl Franz's direct rule answer to various Elector Counts.
• Foreshadowing: A number of events hint at the possible inclusion of the likes of Skaven and the Elven races in the future.
• Game Mod: Like many Total War games before it, the latest entry in the franchise is mentioned as very moddable.
• Genre Shift: Not only from the historical backdrops of previous Total War titles to the fantasy setting of Warhammer. But also in the inclusion of hero units, magic and aerial combat among others into gameplay.
  • Even among the various playable factions, there are different mechanics that change the way the game plays to various degrees. These include the Dwarfs' Book of Grudges, the Warriors of Chaos' inability to occupy settlements and so on.
• Glass Cannon: In addition to artillery, magic-users in general tend to be this.
• The Horde: The Greenskins, Beastmen and Warriors of Chaos behave like this in various forms. In the case of the latter, they neither own settlements nor even gain income like other factions.
• Hero Unit: The "legendary lords" for each faction, with some even serving as leaders of their particular sub-faction, such as Karl Franz for the Empire. As they level up, said hero units can develop along very divergent paths depending on your particular focus.
• Horny Vikings: The Warriors of Chaos, or at least their human elements, have a predominant Norse element to them in addition to their general barbarian stylings.
• Just Before the End: The game takes place in the period just before the "End Times" of the canon Warhammer universe.
• Legion of Lost Souls: The Vampire Counts can summon undead armies to fight for their cause.
• Magitek: The Empire's magic-users can deploy special devices designed to augment their abilities. Bretonnia meanwhile tends to augment their medieval technology with magic.
• Massive Race Selection: As of its release, the game has the Empire, Greenskins, Dwarven Kingdoms, Vampire Counts and Warriors of Chaos fully playable, with Bretonnia so far limited to custom battles. Word of God however states that more factions and areas would be fully incorporated as time goes on; by the time the planned trilogy is complete, the roster is expected to be huge.
  • As in the source material, each faction is comprised of various fiefs, vassals, subraces, etc. such as the Imperial provinces, the Bretonnian feudal realms and Greenskin tribes.
• Meat Shield:
  • Most of Bretonnia's peasant units ultimately amount to this, their purpose being to either soak up enemy attacks or hold the line until the knights and elite troops arrive to get the job done.
  • Some of the undead forces the Vampire Counts can send to their foes, such as zombies, also double as this. Their sheer bulk making up for their individually weak attacks.
  • The Greenskins' goblin warriors exist pretty much to die and hold down enemies long enough for the Greenskins themselves come into the action.
• Medieval European Fantasy: Played with. Neither the Empire, Dwarven Kingdoms nor even the Vampire Counts really play to the conventional elements of the trope. Bretonnia meanwhile embraces the aesthetic, complete with magically-enhanced knights in shining armor.
• Medieval Stasis: Bretonnia is a deliberate case of this even in-verse, especially in contrast to the Empire.
• Mountain Man: The Dwarfs reside in great mountain fortresses and thus can only occupy mountainous territory.
• Nintendo Hard: The game is stated as being difficult even by Total War standards, especially with the presence of magic and aerial combat.
• Our Orcs Are Different: The Greenskins, aka the original inspiration for the Orks. And just as rowdy and deranged.
• The Queen's Latin: The Germanic-based denizens of the Empire speak with British accents, with Bretonnians using French-accented English and Dwarfs having a Scottish air to their speech. While the Greenskins, like like their Ork counterparts, speak in Cockney.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Karl Franz of the Empire comes across as this, especially compared to many of his foes.
• Scenery Porn: The Old World is a sight to behold.
• Spiritual Successor: Of sorts to the myriad total conversion Game Mods based on the Warhammer tabletop game, particularly the ones for Medieval II: Total War and Empire: Total War.
• The Starscream: For the Empire, the province of Nordland will constantly try to make life difficult for Emperor Karl Franz and any attempt at fully consolidating the realm.
• Theme Park Version:
  • Bretonnia seems to be intentionally invoking this trope, given how it looks straight out of a fairy tale rendition of Le Morte d'Arthur in contrast to the Empire.
  • The Empire itself is a more downplayed example, as its culture, politics and general atmosphere are an exaggerated take on the Holy Roman Empire.
• Überwald: Sylvania, the "homeland" of the Vampire Counts is a dead ringer for this trope, with its status as a former domain of the Empire, Germanic culture and undead reputation.
• Unfriendly Fire: Magic-based attacks can be indiscriminate and can result in "friendly fire" if cast too close to your own forces.
• Violence Is the Only Option: Not always. As the Empire, it's possible to "confederate" the various Imperial provinces, bringing them effectively under Karl Franz's direct rule peacefully. Albeit at the expense of a diplomatic penalty with the other provinces and more civil unrest. This option is also available for the Dwarfs, Greenkins and Bretonnia for their respective domains.
• War Is Hell: Even with the more bombastic tone, the battlefield is just as brutal and awesome as any recent Total War game.
• Witch Hunter: The Empire can deploy them to tackle undead corruption.
• World of Ham/World of Badass: This is a Warhammer game after all, with the atmosphere of the source material in full blast. Even the environments themselves seem to join in on being as grandiose as possible.
• Zombie Apocalypse: The Vampire Counts can send in swarms of zombies towards their foes, whose otherwise weak stats are more than made up for by sheer bulk.