Warhammer: Paths of the Damned
It is the year 2521. The Emperor, Karl Franz, has been in power for nineteen years – a time that has seen prosperity and order restored to the Empire following years of fraction and political infighting. Since the famous victory of Magnus the Pious over the armies of Chaos over two hundred years ago, the most potent threat to the Empire has lain within its own borders, as the schemes and machinations of ambitious Elector Counts have threatened to tear it apart.
The current Emperor’s strong leadership and skilled political manoeuvrings have subdued any internal conflict for now, and while the Empire is still fractious by nature, Karl Franz has managed to suppress any turbulence before it has been allowed to cause any significant disruption.
Now, however, there are whispers of a new threat emerging that will cut short the days of peace and once more plunge the Empire into strife. Earlier this year, a Chaos army led by Surtha Lenk invaded Kislev and smashed into the Empire, handing several bloody defeats to Kislevian and Imperial forces and leaving the northern city of Wolfenburg brutally sacked and despoiled. While Lenk’s forces were defeated at the Battle of Mazhorod, new rumours have surfaced that this was merely the vanguard of a much larger force, one that is uniting the armies of the Ruinous Powers under one banner in preparation for an assault like nothing the Empire has ever seen.
Signs and portents all foretell the inevitability of an attack, one greater than that faced by Magnus the Pious, and even decent people have started to fall back to forbidden ways, secretly praying to the Four Lords of Chaos for mercy in anticipation of the Empire’s downfall.
Whether you believe this is up to you. For now though, you have work to do.
