Kislev
- – Kislevan proverb
- – Sabaton
"Perhaps some day, but not today."
- – Archaon and a Kislev general trading barbs after the above line
Kislev is the northenmost civilized state in the Old world, and the first line of defense against the hordes of Chaos that regularly spill out of Norsca to the far north.
Historically, Kislev is the result of the inter-mingling of main tribal confederations; the native Ungols of the north, the Gospodars in the south, and the long dead Roppsmenn tribes. The former two are in fact the off-shoots of the Kurgan tribes of the northeast. To this day, the Ungols maintain good relationship with those Chaos marauders, who have such wonderfully well thought out names such as "Dolgan", "Khazag" and "Kul".
In case you can't tell, Kislev is like Tsarist Russia. But only in the weak, decadent south. In the strong, manly north, it actually turns into Mongolia, Poland and the Turkic countries (Khazakhstan, Uzbekistan, etc). And the Kurgans who dwell east of the Norsemen are basically Siberians.
In essence, Kislev is a fantasy version of Russia with dollops of every other Eastern European country because normies can't tell the difference. It's also named after Kievan Rus, as in the old Viking kingdom and the current capital city of Ukraine, all GW did was tack on two letters in the middle of Kiev (actually, Kislev is a month in the Hebrew calendar, which makes sense, considering that millions of Ashkenazi Jews lived in Eastern Europe for centuries until WWII). In the 1980s when Kislev was created, Russia and Ukraine were both republics with the USSR.
Also, Kislev is no more according to the whole return of Nagash thing GW had planned. At last, Archaon has done that which Napoleon, Hitler, the USA and the EU could only dream of -- the annihilation of Russia.
During the reign of Katarina, they had a secret police called the Chekist (HURR DURR) who's job it was to root out, torture, and execute anyone with whiff of dissatisfaction or criticsm regarding the Tzarina's rule about them, often justifying it with 'muh Chaos cults'. So, that's fun.
History of Kislev[edit]
- – The extent of Kislevite diplomacy
Long before the Empire was founded, the Ungol people had populated the land that would be called Kislev. They lived alongside several other humans tribes in the area and held a border with the tribe to which Sigmar belonged to, the Teutogen. When Sigmar began his campaign to drive out the violent Norsii tribe and unite various people into his future Empire he inadvertently drove the Norsii toward Ungol territory. Not liking the Norsii the Ungols decided to aid Sigmar against them and they succeeded in driving the Norsii toward the land of Norsca where the violent tribe would settle down and give rise to the modern Norscan people. In the wake of this campaign, the Ungol and Sigmar’s fledgling nation would promised to help each other if one or the other was invaded which created a bond between the two lands which lasts till this day. Unfortunately for the Ungols their reign over the lands of Kislev was not to last.
In 1494 IC another tribe called the Gospodar lead by the Khan-Queen Miska the Slaughterer fled across the Eastern Steppes and away from the encroaching Chaos wastes at the beckoning of a spirit called the Ancient Widow. The native Ungol people noticed the newcomers crossing the Worlds Edge Mountains and tried to resist their incursion but were no match for the wealth, arms, and magic of the Gospodar Tribe. The Ungols then tried to appeal to the Empire for aid but the Empire at this time was going through a civil war and could not help them. Without the aid of the Empire the invaders would conquer the Ungol settlement of Praag in 1497 IC and began to carve out a kingdom that grew in size as the Gospodars used the Lynsk river to launch incursions further into Ungol and later Imperial territory. Although Imperial forces eventually drove the Gospodar off Empire lands the tribe was successful in forcing the Ungol to accept Gospodar rule and would eventually agree to a defensive treaty with the Empire. Around 1524 IC Miska abruptly abdicated her position of leadership after receiving an apocalyptic vision of a future where she would once again be needed to lead her people to salvation. The infamous ice witch and queen would disappear into the North promising to return but not before passing her throne and magic blade fearfrost (which may or may not have been forged by mixing ice magic with Dwarf craftsmanship, the lore is a bit iffy) to her daughter. Under the leadership of Miska's daughter Shoika, the first true Tzarina, the Gospodar would build themselves a new capital city for their kingdom over the ruins of the destroyed Ungol city of Dorogo. This new capital of theirs Kislev City would be completed in 1527 IC and would eventually lend its name to the whole kingdom and all the kingdom's inhabitants. Following this, the surviving Ungols would settle on the northern border of the modern-day Kislev nation where their people still reside and mainly serve as the kingdom's first line of defense against Chaos marauders. The south of Kislev is considered more civilized and even has some influence from the the Empire.
Despite this acrimonious beginning over the ensuing 750 years, the two people would basically intermingle to the point that now almost everyone sees themselves as people of Kislev first and whatever tribe they came from second.
For most of the nation's history, the Gospodar people held virtually all the power in the nation with almost all of the nobles being Gospodar and the Tzars and Tzarinas all being descended from the first Gospodar Khan-Queens. This began to change later on largely because the current Tzarina Katarin Bohka began uplifting more and more Ungol men into leadership roles to further tighten her grip on the nation. Given her strength of character and the magic power she wields, some people have begun to whisper she may be Miska’s reincarnation.
According to various sources including 2nd ED of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay and the 15th issue of Games Workshop's citadel magazine, their military consisted of the following: On the magic front there are Ice witches, an exclusively female group that wields the power of...well ice magic...which interestingly does not draw power from the winds of magic and hag witches (another all-female group) who bind the spirits of the land to themselves rather than use the winds in order to cast curses, predict the future, cleanse stuff, banish malevolent spirits, and give themselves a melee combat boost by turning themselves into a monster called the Form of the Ancient Widow. Due to a legend dating back to the age of Tzarina Shoika stating that a male magic-user would appear and taint ice magic forever Kislev has banned male magic-users entirely. Any male magic-users discovered by the state are either killed, forced to undergo a ritual that removes their magic at the cost of turning them into a husk of their former selves, or forced to flee to the Colleges of Magic in the Empire. Meanwhile, on the conventional army side, Kislev's forces consist of: Kossars, the axemen-archer infantry of the standing army of Kislev recruited from any who can pass fitness and correspondingly has an excellent reputation on the field of battle along with a terrible one-off of it. Streltsi, an elite infantry subset of the Kossars first formed after a Kislev noble viewed the gunpowder portion of the Empire trifecta put a Chaos horde to rout and decided to ape their halberds and handgunners, Streltsi are literally just the real Russian Streltsy but with more brotherhood and loving their guns so much that it's said they might find someone sleeping with their wife to be less offensive than shooting their handgun without their permission. Ungol Horse Archers, auxiliaries from the northern tribes which are basically Huns or Mongols in their natural state for battle. Winged Lancers, which are totally the Polish Winged Hussars but based from their settlements rather than part of the standing army and wear wings on their back with the explanation of them causing an unnerving sound as they ride being adapted from a common theory to the real Winged Hussars. And finally the Gryphon Company, the most prominent and heaviest company of Winged Lancers ever which is comprised of noblemen who fletch their wings with Griffon feathers and commonly act as mercenaries while not defending Kislev from Chaos invasion. They come downright close to an actual Imperial Knight order. For extra firepower and to deal with enemy fortifications the army of Kislev has access to Mortars and Urugan cannons which are basically Kislev's version of the Empire's Great Cannons. Also adding a bit of extra cool factor to their army, at least one example of bear cavalry is canon according to WFRP, with the prior-to-current Tzar Boris Bokha riding into battle on a bear that was tamed after they defended one another from a wolf pack attacking them while Boris had tried to break and tame the bear more conventionally.
Interestingly the same Role playing book that introduced Bear Cavalry also confirmed the fact that Kislev was once ruled by a Lahmian vampire Tzarina named Kattarin the Bloody (no relation to the current Tzarina) around Magnus the Pius time until she was ousted by a mortal relative Tsarevich Pavel who got a vampire hunting group named after him for this feat. Prior to this more recent mention, the Vampire Tzarina thing had only been mentioned in the Vampire Genevieve books.
In order for the Warriors of Chaos to get to the Empire on foot they have to go through Kislev. So the horde that shows up in the empire is actually a hell of a lot smaller than when they marched out. Kislev has been on the forefront of the chaos wastes since its inception and not once has the nation fallen. That basically means these guys have balls of steel on par with the Imperial Guard. At least that's how it was until the End Times when Katarin got killed, Archaon’s troops destroyed all but one Kislev city and he then proceed to obliterate the whole world.
Geography of Kislev[edit]
Kislev, unlike the most WFB nations, is a pretty unified and centralized country. Most of it consists of pretty warm steppes in the south and cold wasteland tundras in the north, although forests are still present in some areas. The different ethnic groups that make up the state didn't blend as much as the Empire and still consider themselves distinct. Administratively, Kislev is divided into oblasts:
- Southern Oblast - The least hellhole-ish region of the country, both in terms of monsters and frost. It's the main farming area of Kislev, with many orchards and forests. In fact, some of the travelers can easily assume it's a part of The Empire without even knowing the truth, though in spite of that the population is generally resentful of the Empire as their armies headed north to fight Chaos are prone to "procuring" supplies from orchards and settlements on their way north or south. Ethnically almost all of the population here (if not all) is Gospodar.
- Kislev - Large and prosperous capital of the realm, situated on the banks of River Urskoy. Its history is long, but being constantly destroyed kept its history and name changing; Pelzburg which traded with its Gospodar neighbors was sacked by them and became Dorogo, which was razed by a massive Gospodar invasion under Khan-Queen Miska. This in a way makes the city both the youngest and oldest of main three Kislevite cities, as it was built by Miska's daughter Tzarina Shoika less than thousand years before the End Times. It became a trade hub with near-exclusivity to both the oceans east and west, drawing in great minds and writing worldwide that lead to a mix of architecture. Global politics among the factions of Order play out within the Empire's embassy complex and ring out to their respective homelands, the Ursanite cult at its traditionalist roots opposes the Orthodoxy from within the Temple of Ursun across town from the Grand Citadel of the Orthodoxy, and the giant Bokha Palace has been restructured with shaped ice expansions turning it into a fortress within a fortress within a massive and well-defended city. It is a residence of Tzar that has never been taken by enemies, even in Great War Against Chaos (though this reputation is kind of subject to the Worf effect given that Kislev falling is what heralds apocalypse events like Storm Of Chaos, End Times, and any time northern Chaos gets to actually be a threat to the south in Total War: Warhammer). Kislev City sits in the middle of the trade routs from Old World to Eastern Lands, and is very influenced by other cultures, especially Imperial.
- Fort Jakova - A southeastern point to monitor the mountainous Greenskins and send word of incoming invasions.
- Vitevo - Siberia. Little more than a penal colony where those who have offended the royal court are sent to work to death mining salt.
- Zavstra - The only place friendly to the Empire in the Southern Oblast and predictably on the border, due to being entirely destroyed during Storm Of Chaos it was partially rebuilt by refugees from the Empire and the mixed population is pushing Kislev and the Empire into an annexation confrontation.
- Igerov - No known info.
- Western Oblast - the heart of Kislevite trade. It's not as developed as its southern neighbour oblast, and has to deal with Chaos invasions sometimes. Most of it is a steppe. Ungols are a minority here.
- Erengrad - The main port of Kislev which in Old Worlder trade is second only to Marienburg. It was the Ungol capital called Norvard before the arrival of Gospodars. It sits in the delta of River Lynsk, and, unlike rich capital with enormous stone walls, is built with wood and has two-stories buildings at best. Quite obviously based on St. Petersburg/Petrograd/Leningrad. Easily the most cosmopolitan of Kislev's large cities, with Dwarfs, Imperials and Kislevites living together. The city is also home to a rather large cult of Manann and also one of the few places in Kislev where the worship of the traditional Kislevian gods is in the minority. Since Kislev lacks a (professional) navy it relies entirely on its trade partners to defend it either willingly or by conscription during crisis, which includes Norscans defending Erengrad from Norscans. Sea mines, walls beyond the city itself, and a substantial number of cannons extend the defense. The actual port is on an island in the middle of a lagoon that's warm enough to not freeze despite being connected to the glacial Sea Of Claws, and said port is connected to the city proper by only a large wooden bridge. The main gate is made of bronze and faces towards Middenheim in the south.
- Eastern Oblast - Pretty similar to a previous one, with frozen steppes dominating the landscape aside from some farmland in the south. However, it's much more dangerous to live there, as Greenskins and Chaos marauders are raiding the land constantly resulting in a grim population. It's also a fairly mixed region, with Gospodars and Ungols being equal in population, and even having some Ungol-dominated cities. Hags have political influence on the people here.
- Praag - The northernmost main Kislevite city, that is also the most defended against Chaos. It is also the oldest one, surpassing Erengrad and Kislev in age. It was badly ravaged in Great War and had to be rebuilt from scratch while also combating Chaos taint. Mutants are common births and entire districts are unpopulated as Mordheim-like hellscapes. The Kislevites spent a lot of effort rebuilding the city and remodeling it from scratch. It's not the worst place to be in; it houses a great park named the Garden of Magnus in the Emperor's honor (despite him never having visited Praag) boasting both a grand observatory and Academy of Music, and a lot of entertainment catering to the needs of the trading caravans aiming to traverse the Dark Lands and the Mountains of Mourn into Cathay. On top of that the area is rich in silver, with the rooftops of buildings covered in it and all the mechanical wonders and intricate works that a city able to support a full industry of silversmiths would grant (just look into the history of its real-life counterpart, helping advance the technology level of the world through the clockwork mechanisms the abundance of silver helped cause). But some piece of Chaos taint has remained and the whole city is said to be very gloomy and constantly on edge. Its got layers and layers of walls manned with troops and armed with cannons plus Dwarf runic magic protecting them and a population of every Kislevite ethnicity plus Cathayans and Ogres. Its also got one extra secret protection; the Chaos God Of Law Astasis is entombed in a crystal metal coffin beneath the city. When it falls under a world-ending siege she'll awaken, disintegrate the Chaos armies attacking it, then go forth to challenge the one who freed her in a three-way battle between Chaos. Sadly because GW didn't own the rights to her under the name Arianka, the two times Praag was destroyed in an apocalyptic event it went unmentioned, but have since renamed her and made her canon again; what the hell she did during Storm Of Chaos and End Times apparently was offscreen.
- Volksgrad - The first or last stop across the extremely hostile trade route leading to Cathay. Needing to be defended from Chaos Dwarfs, Greenskins, and the worst Chaos can throw outside of doomsday scenarios but being EXTREMELY profitable whether expeditions succeed or fail has resulted in a garrison of horseless Ungols that are left to their own devices even when the aforementioned doomsdays occur, aside from Storm Of Chaos where its military forces were summoned then wiped out resulting in a power vacuum in the city during the aftermath of Archaon's defeat.
- Gerslev - A provincial town mocked in the rest of Kislev as a place of ignorant countryfolk, which has resulted in a highly metropolitan town fond of basically every other culture and fashion in the world. After Storm Of Chaos their local Winged Lancers were cut to a quarter its strength, resulting in the city having ambitions to add a force of riflemen instead. Just like everything else about the settlement this has gone down poorly with the rest of Kislev.
- Novchozy - No known info.
- Duklys Forest - The wide feral expanse where the Hags and Mother Ostankya dwell. Practically an Athel Loren made up of the horrors of Kislev folktales.
- Yetchitch - No known info.
- Plesk - Home to the Widows Tree, a sacred site to the Hags. The tree is massive, with white fronds and hanging bone decorations and inhabited by an ancient spirit that predates some gods.
- Sepukzy - Home to one of the largest Ungol settlements, but this one with no Gospodars. The Hags are powerful and train recruits to their numbers here.
- Northern Oblast - the most brutal region. It has almost no agriculture due to a constant raids from Troll Country, and is entirely covered in cold steppes and icy wastelands. Settlements here are pretty rare, with no big towns at all. Ungols are a majority.
- Castle Alexandronov - Just north of Erengrad, built by its namesake Tzar Alexandr Njevski after Tzar Boris Ursa appeared to him in a dream and told him to build a grand fortress to protect Kislev from destruction. Sandwiched between a 500 foot cliff and a clean stream that became a waterfall, it was constructed by Dwarfs and Tzarina Olga's Ice Mages until it was a massive bastion of seven walls and a large keep called Njevski's Citadel holding a garrison of elite troops. It bankrupted Kislev at the time but has protect it since, weakening Chaos as any idiot warlord with a handful of tattooed red, purple, blue, or green horsemen try their luck taking it on and deplete hordes of numbers as well as potential future leaders. Around every three years it goes under siege from a large Chaos force, so anyone wanting to join the Kreml Guard or Gryphon Legion has to first serve there for six. During the time of Magnus it was a site of constant war.
- Bolgasgrad - A large stanitsa with an interesting plot hook. Not only is it home to the Temple of the Ancient Allies which is the only dedicated site where the Chaos Gods of Atheism Necoho and Zuvassin are worshiped, but its also the only place in Kislev where Morr is the most popular god. The city has constant issues with undead, the intelligent and mindless kind, and although the large force of Winged Lancers have always been successful at repelling and purging, they always come back no matter how many are destroyed and how many Necromancers are found and killed. Furthermore the Boyars always go native, treating themselves as an independent state no matter who Kislev appoints to replace them. No actual conflict exists, they accept the changes authorities make, but before long they're calling themselves independent again.
- Zoishenk - A small town on the edge of civilization where Pulks on their way into Troll Country and beyond begin their journey. Otherwise its a cattle town. In Storm Of Chaos the forces of Chaos marched right past it aside from some raiders that they managed to drive off, and as a result the refugees from the towns they actually did destroy mostly have settled in it in the aftermath resulting in a growing town. In TWW the Druzhina Enclave begin here, with Druzhinas being the lowest rank of the Gospodar nobility which Katarin has begun using as a source of funds and flooding the ranks to diminish threats by elevating new families, including Ungols, into the Druzhina ranks. Its also a large settlement in TWW, showcasing that potential for growth.
- Dushyka - No known lore.
- Fort Ostrosk - No known lore.
- Fort Straghov - No known lore, but that's Ulrika's last name so its likely her family estate.
- Troll Country - While Kislev at least claims to own this region, in reality it is desolate wilderness that is infested with all sorts of nastiness, beginning with the Trolls that give it its name but also Chaos corrupted creatures and Marauders. Troll Country is also what separates Norsca from Kislev so it's no big surprise why it's so dangerous to dwell here.
- Leblya - Technically a rallying point more than a settlement, its the only inhabited place in what's otherwise Troll Country. Most of it is just a main hall and garrison with some small buildings protected by the weather on top of a mound built by the Scythians (Warhammer ones, not real life ones and not to be confused with the Scythans who live in Nehekhara, Scythians were the pre-Chaos ancestors to Kurgans and Gospodars). When a Pulk gets overwhelmed they fall back here to regroup and heal, as well as where they muster after leaving Zoishenk. Its permanent residents are ataman Sevhim and his men, who managed to protect it during the entirety of Storm Of Chaos.
- Dhazhyn - No known lore.
Politics of Kislev[edit]
Like it's inspiration, Kislev is an authoritarian Absolute Monarchy. That said, it fortunately has more of Peter and Catharine the Great than Nicholas II.
Starting with the reign of Tzar Boris Bokha, Kislev went through a major political and religious reformation, which is still ongoing even after his death and the coronation of his daughter. In those reforms the Tzar's power, which was severely weakened after the Great War Against Chaos, was restored, turning the country into an absolute monarchy (which is quite impressive, seeing how most of the southerners are still stuck in feudalism). Also The Great Orthodoxy was introduced, which we'll get to later.
Katarin's Kislev, however, went into a different direction. She started promoting Ice Witches into power, severely downplaying the role of the religion, and also began uplifting more and more Ungol men into leadership roles originally meant for Gospodar to further tighten her grip on the nation. Due to that current Patriarch Kostaltyn, who like most other Kislevite priests hates magic and considers it abomination of Chaos, isn't quite happy, and if Kislev didn't have a bigger threat, it would collapse in a civil war.
Thankfully, they're both not idiots and can set aside their differences to protect Kislev from daemon vikings. Not Daemon Huns though, as the End Times showed.
Religion in Kislev[edit]
- – Unknown heretic, not long before being blammed by the Kislevite secret police
Like the Empire to the south the people of Kislev have multiple deities with the main one being the Cult of Ursun the Father of Bears. There's also the Ancient Widow an ancient spirit imprisoned by Chaos (which some speculate is the same as the law goddess Arianka). It was she who first drew the Gospodars to Kislev and helps the Ice Witches with their ice magic. Other common gods in Kislev are Dazh the god of fire and the sun, Dazh's underling Kalita the god of merchants, Tor the axe-wielding god of warriors and lightning (and ALMOST blatant Thor ripoff), Salyak the goddess of healing (basically a more stern motherly version of Shallya), and the more well-known gods Taal and Ulric.
Remote settlements in the extreme north like Tungask worship the Kislevite pantheon plus some gods who may or may not be facsimiles of the Chaos Gods, as a result of Norse and Kurgan influence that far north.
According to the new Total War: WARHAMMER lore, now the worship in Kislev is regulated by the institute known as The Great Orthodoxy, which was founded by Tzar Boris himself. His motivation to create it was to help in the reunification of the country after the Great War Against Chaos and to prevent some tribes and/or more civilised villages from worshipping Chaos. The Orthodoxy, as the Kislev mechanics post shows, recognises Ursun, Dazh, Tor and Salyak, with Ursun priests being quite obviously at the top of their hierarchy. In theory, the Orthodoxy was created to help consolidate and centralize the influence and authority of Kislev's various religious sects, thus theoretically being even more unified than the Empire's competing cults. The game shows that Kislev also worships the motherland itself, not as a being but as a force that comes to their aid. Which it does, if the elemental bears are any indication.
Military[edit]
Most of what makes up the current canon for Kislev's military has been retconned for Total Warhammer 3, so everything is fairly recent and up-to-date.
Given Kislev's blatantly autocratic political structure, their military is mostly comprised of conscripted citizens living in the harsh wilderness, who are for the most part the more tribal, Ungol parts of the population. These are the Kossars, who are a mix between militarized serfs and tribal warriors, more similar to the Norscan tribesmen (with which they are closely related with, culturally speaking) than anything found down south. Their weapons are mostly primitive and cheap, but effective, supplemented by the richer Ungols that live around Praag and Troll Country that can boast some decent armour and sometimes guns. The other half are their more civilized countrymen who make up the nobility and leadership of Kislev, the Gospodars, who embraced many technological and cultural advancements that made their way up north. Because Kislev is at the forefront of anything that seeps out of Norsca and the Chaos Wastes, much of their society is militarized to counter the various horrors that run around the Tundra. The nobles of Kislev are nothing like the foppish, useless nobility of the Empire, every Gospodar is trained and indeed even expected to fight should the need arise. The basic Gospodar military formation are the Streltsi, who fight in a manner reminiscient of early 18th century line infantry, but instead of having bayonets, they simply turned their muskets into greataxes (Streltsi used to carry a separate axe, but wanted to bring more firepower to the table and had to use their guns as clubs, so, in a rare occurence of actual common sense in Warhammer, the Streltsi just went "fuck it" and used the axe heads as buttstocks). The other Gospodar parts of the Kislevite military are the various flavours of cavalry, with their Winged Lancers and Bear Riders as the most prominent examples. A bit more esoteric is the personal guard of the Tzarina, the Ice Guard, who wield magically charged weapons in the defense of home and motherland. They are also, interestingly, solely made up of Ungol women, something not everyone in Kislev agrees with.
Tabletop[edit]
3rd Edition[edit]
Kislev appears in very limited fashion here, in the form of two different types of unit; Kislevites in the Old World Allies sub-list, and Kislevite Druzhina in the Old World Mercenaries sub-list.
Kislevites receive no lore outside of a single sentence describing them as sturdy, tough warriors of great courage from a harsh land. You can take up to 30 of them maximum in your force, fielding them in units of 10-30, for a cost of 7 points apiece. They wield a lance and a hand weapon, wear light armor, and can be upgraded with a unit champion, and light armor. Their stats are Movement 4, Weapon Skill 3, Ballistic Skill 3, Strength 3, Toughness 3, Wounds 1, Initiative 3, Attacks 1, Leadership 7, Intelligence 7, Cool 7 and Willpower 7.
You can also field a level 5 Kislevite Hero as part of your Old World Allies allotment, who has Movement 4, Weapon Skill 4, Ballistic Skill 4, Strength 4, Toughness 3, Wounds 2, Initiative 4, Attacks 2, Leadership 7, Intelligence 7, Cool 7 and Willpower 7.
Kislevite Druzhina are horse-riding mercenaries described as being Kislevite noblemen (and their retainers) who have ridden to the south/west to fight as mercenaries, and are characterized by the fact that their armor tends to be old-fashioned and low-value until and unless they can loot more modern gear from the battlefield. You can take up to 30 of them maximum in your force, fielding them in units of 10-30, for a cost of 18 points apiece. They wield a lance and a hand weapon, wear light armor, and can be upgraded with a unit champion, shields, and heavy armor. A single Druzhina unit in the army can carry a magic banner worth up to 50 points. Their stats are identical to the regular Kislevite, except that they count as having Movement 8 due to being horse-riders. Even the level 7 Druzhina Hero has no different stats than his foot-slogging Kislevite counterpart - and for this, they expect you to pay +11 points more!
4th Edition[edit]
Kislev troops are part of the very first army book for The Empire, even debuting their first ever special character in Ice Tzarina Katarin. Granted, they still only consist of two units and a special character, but hey, at least they're officially part of the army, right?
Kislev Winged Lancers cost 25 points per model, have Movement 4, Weapon skill 4, Ballistic Skill 3, Strength 3, Toughness 3, Wounds 1, Initiative 3, Attacks 1 and Leadership 7, ride warhorses, wear light armor, and carry a shield, sword and lance. They have a 4+ save and can carry a magic standard.
Kislev Horse Archers, in comparison, cost only 16 points, possibly because they have an amalgamated profile that leaves them as basically identical to the Winged Lancers, but with Movement 8 and Weapon Skill 3. They carry shields (giving them a 5+ save), are armed with bows and hand weapons, and are Skirmishers.
6th edition[edit]
During 6th Kislev got hold of it's own mini-army book that was designed to be used in tandem with other armies such as the Empire and Bretonnia. As a result there were only 7 units available in the army, with 2 of them being Special characters, 1 being a generic Hero and 3 generic units being Cavalry, leaving Kossars as the only Core infantry unit available. In addition to this there were no real army special rules, since each unit has a specific special rule that applied to that unit, such as Kossars Steady in the Ranks and Winged Lancers Glorious Charge. Overall the Kislev army relied heavily of Cavalry to be the hammer and skirmishers, while the relatively flexible, but lightly armoured (read; No armour) Kossars acting as both ranged and front line units, and while the lack of any artillery units, heavy infantry or magic users outside of Katarin meant that Kislev was ill-equipped to deal with most other armies, these rules were designed to be used as an allied contingent to an army like the Empire, which could bring all the cannons and Full-plate you could want.
You would think that getting the beginnings of an army and models would be a good reason for Kislev to be turned into a fully fledged army, but apparently GW was more busy making terrible Space Marine kits and giving Thorpe and Ward free reign to fuck up the rules and fluff, so this never happened and Kislev remained as a weird 1/4 army for the rest of Warhammer Fantasy's existence with no hope of actually being recognised as a full faction.
At least until...
Warhammer: The Old World[edit]
Announced in early 2020 it was confirmed Kislev is returning in Warhammer: The Old World as one of the playable factions...just not at Launch. While confirmed early on and heavily pushed during 2020 this turned out to be more of a push to advertise Kislev in TWW3, and they're not a part of the initial release and will come out at an indeterminate date (if ever). GW would later come out and say not to expect Kislev and Cathay in the near future, and considering how most of the initial hype was tied to Kislev/Cathay, the bait-and-switch was met with the usual fair-handed and reasonable discussion we are known for.
So even after two and a half editions, an entire vidya trilogy, and the death and reincarnation of Warhammer Fantasy, they're still not a full playable table top army.
Kislev during The Old World[edit]
Unlike most other nations during Warhammer: The Old World, Kislev is very different to the rest of them, as it's actually doing well. In comparison to The Empires centuries long civil war and Bretonnia being... Bretonnia, Kislev it at it's zenith, being the largest nation (outside of possibly Cathay) and being much, much larger than it would be a 2 centuries later. The main part of Kislev is still the Kislevite heartlands between Norsca, The Empire, but Kislev has seemingly spread across parts of the World Edge Mountains, the Dark Lands and has territory in the very north of the Mountains of Mourn, that skirts all the way towards Cathay. Most of this "new" eastern territory is part of the Eastern Steppes and the settlements in the Eastern Steppes are more of a group of loosely connected towns, fortified to keep the locals out and situated along a large and long road, which connects Kislev to Cathay, and is the main trade route between the Western and the Eastern nations during the Age of Three Emperors. Now these territories on the other side of the Worlds Edge Mountains are much more hostile than the ones in the Kislevite heartlands, but Kislev clearly has enough of a control of this territory to have multiple large settlements, including 3 cities along the cross roads. These territories will all be lost after the Great War Against Chaos, shrinking Kislev from a nation of similar size to Russia after after they annexed most of Siberia, to being about the same size as the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth. But that's later on in TOW timeline, so they're currently having a good time of it.
As for who is ruling Kislev during TOW, the Tzarina is Mishenka Romanoff, who is an Ice Witch and mother of the future Tzar Alexis, who will be the one to lead Kislev during the Great War and who is already looking south at the Empire to figure out how to stop the civil war and get the Empire to reunify under a single leader, as he's figured out the Kislev will probably need a strong ally if the forces of Chaos ever get their shit together. The Orthodoxy doesn't exist yet, though some proto-form of it will possibly appear. Mother Ostankya doesn't really have an origin, so she'll exist if they want her to.
Total War: Warhammer III[edit]
Kislev is one of the core races in CA's TW:WH3, standing with Cathay as humanity's bulwark against Chaos. Because neither army ever really had a definite tabletop presence, their announcement was met with a lot of hype, hype that soon died down after it became clear that CA was going to milk the players for as long as they could.
Gameplay-wise, Kislev is a defensive army composed of dual-role infantry (including gunpowder troops wielding Gun-Axes), fast moving shock cavalry, and lots and lots of bears; their cavalry rides bears, their characters ride bears, their artillery is dragged along by bears, and they can even turn the land itself into one big fucking bear.
Bears aside, the Kislev army is a bit lacking compared to the other factions: when it first came out, the Kislevite roster did not have dedicated melee troops until the very end of their tech-tree, and they still don't have direct-fire artillery. The Kislevite faction ability By Our Blood somewhat mitigates your lack of dedicated linetroops by letting you pull an "Order 227" and giving your unit's a temporary Unbreakable boost instead of routing. While this very useful and lets your basic Kossars hold out for as long as possible, the obvious holes in your roster are there so CA can sell you DLCs, and it actually took community backlash and shit-flinging for CA to cave and actually give us some dedicated meatshields.
Meta and roster complaints aside, There are two ways to play TW:WH3. Most people play TW:WH3 for the massive, free-for-all sandbox Immortal Empires, but for those wanting an actual story, the game also has the Realms of Chaos cammpaign.
In Immortal Empires, Kislev is, predictably, kinda fucked. Your two vanilla lords, Kostaltyn and Katarin, are competing with each other for power and influence to see who can reunify Kislev (and confederate the other) first. Of course, because Kislev is beset by enemies from all fucking sides, you very rarely get to make use of this mechanic because your rival gets slain by Orcs, mutated by Skaven, or just fucked by Chaos in general by turn 50. You cant even rely on the Empire because Festus and Sylvania are in the way.
Your other lords are too far to be helpful: Boris is canonically MIA, but in-game is still on an expedition in the fucking Chaos Wastes right next to Archaon's start; Baba Yaga Ostyanka is in Naggaroth of all places, and unless you have a mod for recruiting fallen Lords, Kislevites have very little chance of receiving reinforcements.
Kislev is the main focus of the entire Realms of Chaos campaign, being the reason why the entire fiasco even happened: there is some resentment among the Kislevites for having to shoulder the burden of constantly having to push back the Legions of Chaos, with the trailer showing a Boyar turning to Khorne, and the prologue showing the corruption of an Ungol Prince.
Things get even spicier when their Bear God, Ursun, gets kidnapped by Be'lakor. Without his roar to break the ice and usher in spring Kislev starts to starve and dissent begins to break out throughout the kingdom. In desperation the Tzarina sends out the Ungol descended Prince Yuri Barkov…who according to a short story is actually both her childhood friend and her secret lover (certainly explains why she started to let the Ungols into the nobility). Yuri sets out to find Ursun accompanied by his brother Gerik and some forces and guided by a voice he thinks is Ursun’s. However after picking up some cursed artifacts from some chaos warriors and getting mind warped by some chaotic knowledge Yuri goes mad with power and kills his own brother so as to summon some Khornate demon to aid him in killing the traitorous Boyar Kurnz and opening a path to Ursun. After reaching the forge of souls Yuri discovers a captive Ursun…but also learns the voice that lead him here was not Ursun but Be'lakor whose been living as an incorporeal shadow since he pissed off the chaos gods. The first demon Prince then proceeds to goad Yuri into wounding Ursun with the demon pistol Yuri took from the dead Boyar. Be'lakor then uses the blood from Ursun’s wound to regain a physical form, Yuri after nearly dying gets turned into a Demon Prince called God-Slayer by the chaos gods, a massive storm of magic breaks out throughout the world and now all the various in game factions are rushing (for one reason or another) to get to Ursun before Be'lakor can use the power from the bear’s imminent death to become a chaos god of shadows.
So grab your Vodka, mount your Bears (Not like that Boris!) and start blaring Sabaton on full blast, KISLEV HAS ARRIVED!
Collecting Kislev[edit]
In Warmaster, Kislev used to have both an official army list and a nice line of miniatures. In WHFB, things are a little more complicated. While there is no official army book for them, aside their supplements in the 4th and 6º edition, there is also the Warhammer Fantasy roleplay book "Realm of the Ice Queen". There are good fan made ones which do include Bear Cavalry which in turn makes all other human armies seem pathetic (except for the Warriors of Chaos, who are motherfucking Vikings). (Honestly that's easily debatable. These manly fuckers fight giant chaos monsters with a bow, rocks, and an axe. And you think they ask for help?) There are even a few official models made for them and a small White Dwarf list for them but that is out of date. Additionally, the Privateer Press line of Khador models for Warmachine give off the nice fantasy/russian look, if going only for infantry, with the Doom Reavers, Kossite Woodsmen, and Greylord models. If you need bears, you can grab their Brun and Lug set. Actual Winged Hussars models are also hardly rare from other historically-based games.
With Kislev's roster being fleshed out between the collaborative efforts of GW and CA for Total War: Warhammer and the upcoming Old World tabletop revival, Kislev will officially have tabletop representation in the coming years. If you don't mind GW's undoubtedly steep prices, of course.
Links[edit]
- Here is a link to the current fandex [1]
- Good video for modelling Kislev armies from [2]
- "Kislev.", recorded for posterity.
Gallery[edit]
-
Kislev Minis for Warmaster. Those were the days... -
Map of Kislev -
The new shiny (low pixel count) map of Kislev. Showing off all it's new... uhhh... old territory. -
The Famed Winged Lancers of Kislev (well actually Polish Winged Hussars but whatever same thing) -
Living in Kislev is basically like this -
Ursun, the main god of Kislev and the most goddamn Russian thing ever since Zangief -
INTO THE MOTHER LAND, THE CHAOS ARMY MARCHED! -
THEN THE WINGED HUSSARS ARRIVED! -
What thirsts for blood more - Bloodthirsters, or bears?
| Regions and Areas of the Warhammer World | |
|---|---|
| Areas of The Old World: | The Empire of Man - Bretonnia - Albion - Estalia - Tilea - Kislev - Norsca - Border Princes - Worlds Edge Mountains - Karak Eight-Peaks |
| Areas of The New World: | Naggaroth - Lustria |
| Areas of The Eastern Lands: | Cathay - Nippon - Ogre Kingdoms - Dark Lands - Kingdoms of Ind - Khuresh - Eastern Steppes |
| Areas of The Southlands: | Nehekhara - Araby - Badlands - Marshes of Madness |
| Other Areas of the world: | Ulthuan - Athel Loren - Chaos Wastes - Skavenblight - Lost Isles of Elithis |
| Main bodies of Water: | The Great Ocean - The Far Sea - The Sea of Dread - Inner Sea of Ulthuan |
