Warhammer Quest D&D

The Warhammer World is a place of magic, a realm of adventure where heroic knights lead mighty armies into battle against the massed hordes of Chaos sweeping down from the north. On vast oceans the war fleets of the Elves and the Empire clash with those of Orcs. Skaven and Dark Elves. And in the dungeons beneath the mountains dwell all manner of foul and fell beasts.

In this uneasy and war-torn domain, brave Warriors go forth in search of adventure, treasure, and glory. Many are the tales of great hoards of treasure and powerful magical items waiting to be claimed by those bold enough to try for where there is a treasure, so too are found monsters, and the greater the treasure the more powerful its defenders. Adventure-lust fills the veins of the young and the foolhardy, but the majority of those who do embark on such a quest for wealth never return and are never heard of again. One can only guess at the horrible nature of their deaths, alone and unnoticed in the dark and lonely places beneath the Warhammer World.

Still, such is the lure of riches and honour that some cannot resist their siren call. They set off into the wild places of the world, far from the cosy hearth fires of civilisation. Nowhere is this more true than on the borders of the Empire, the largest country in the Old World, where the ancient Dwarf cities beckon with promises of long-lost gold.

The Empire is the most powerful nation of mankind, an ancient realm of forest and mountains, seat of human learning and bastion of humanity. Its great cities are famous the world over, teeming with tradesmen, warriors, artisans and wizards. To the north, the Empire is bordered by the Sea of Claws and the proud warrior nation of Kislev. Along all its other borders it is closed off by grim and brooding mountain ranges, traversable only through winding mountain passes. To the west, the Grey Mountains form the border with Bretonnia, while to the east lie the Worlds Edge Mountains, below which are the ancient Dwarf kingdoms, the source of untold riches.

The Dwarfs are an ancient and long-lived race, and their great kingdom once stretched the length of the Worlds Edge Mountains in a series of vast, labyrinthine subterranean cities. These were tunnelled into the living rock over many ages of hard labour, as the Dwarfs followed the rich veins of precious metals deep below the ground. Their kingdom was rich beyond all telling, and the Dwarfs’ skills in metalworking and forge craft were legendary throughout the world. Fiercely proud and jealous of their treasure, the Dwarfs believed their mountain bastions impregnable. They were wrong.

Drawn by the riches of the Dwarfs, unstoppable legions of Orcs and Goblins from the Dark Lands threw down the defences and crushed the Dwarf holds one by one, while vile Skaven armies erupted into the cities from tunnels beneath. Though the Dwarfs fought bravely, many of their cities fell and the once-mighty empire fragmented.

To their anger, the Orcs and evil creatures who destroyed the cities did not find all the Dwarfs’ fabled treasure: much of it lies still buried in cleverly concealed hiding places in the deepest caves and tunnels. Over the ages, these Dwarf halls have been occupied by all manner of fell beasts, from chittering bats and raging Minotaurs to Undead Lords and Chaos Sorcerers. These once bright cities have become places of dread – dark, dank caverns where death lurks around every corner. To descend into this twilight realm is to invite disaster and to risk a terrible fate at the hands of unseen enemies.

Yet there is never a shortage of those brave, or perhaps foolhardy enough, to
take their chances in the dark, to risk everything in the search for treasure and
renown…