Ushoran in Old Lore was the brother of Neferata, as in her human brother. She then became the first vampire and Ushoran was one of the first vampires after that, alongside such legends as Vlad von Carstein. But Ushoran was much more humane than the others and tried to build a kingdom where mortas lived as the main populace and Vampires ruled and protected the humans as not just livestock, but their subjects. It was surprisingly symbiotic and Ushorans human followers loved him. He was so successfull, that several other vampires, including Neferata, saw him as a threat. So they guided one of the biggest Savage Orks Waaaaghs in history towards Ushorans kingdom. This Waaaagh was so monumental, it destroyed the kingdom entirely and Ushoran supposedly died there as well. His descendants were known as the Strigoi, the most bestial looking vampires. They were being hunted by other vampires relentlessly and so many had to hide in crypts, caves, sewers, just wherever they would not be found. And so the Strigoi turned into the hunched, Nosferatu-style vampires we see now with the ghoul kings. And that is where they developed their relationships with Ghouls, Crypt Horrors and other pitiful creatures. Many were driven mad by their fate but they still remain a great threat, especially the ones that kept their sanity and fight a war in the shadows against other vampires. And clearly Ushoran still existed in some way, as Nagash remade him as one of the first Mortarchs when AoS started. I can only imagine that a terrible fight between him and Neferata is inevitable, considering their long history of disagreements and betrayal.
Ushoran is the strigoi progenitor, by far the strongest vampire around. They were beast like and stronger than other vampires from the start. Nefarata cant fight him, so she will continue trying to influence his actions.
Old Warhammer Fantasy Ushoran was actually a really deep and dynamic character. His story started back in ancient Lahmia where he was the little brother of Neferata, the first vampire. She had the original elixir of eternal life that turned people into vampires, and she was being super deliberate and political about who she gave it to. She basically used it as the carrot for the most loyal members of her court. Ushoran was having none of that, and he basically snuck in and stole the last remaining drops of the elixir. In him it manifested as him swelling up to massive size and strength. Neferata was pissed at him for stealing the elixir though and that relationship would basically just continue to spiral downhill through the rest of the setting. Eventually the rest of ancient Nehekhara couldn’t put up with the Lahmians anymore, and the other kingdoms showed up to cast down Neferata, they did exactly that, and all the vampire bloodlines scattered from there. Cut forward a few hundred years and Ushoran ends up in a place called the Marshes of Madness (which were not called that at the time). In his exile, Ushoran decided that Lahmia fell apart because the vampires there had no restrictions. They could basically predate on the humans with impunity, treat them like cattle. So Ushoran founded the Strigos Empire, and under him the people were treated like subjects rather than cattle. The Strigoi vampires still weren’t nice, but they had lines they weren’t allowed to cross. It was an actual functioning society. But Neferata couldn’t have that because she would never allow Ushoran to one up her, from her perspective Strigos was basically “Ushoran’s better Lahmia.” So she basically used her subterfuge to pit the world against the Strigoi. Eventually it was the Orcs that brought Strigos down, the Empire was right on the border of the Badlands so they basically had to endure raids from them all the time. The Greenskins managed to bring Ushoran down and the Empire crumbled as well. When he came back he was basically the raving half-mad monster sort of like his AoS counterpart. His kind were basically hunted for sport by other vampires and smeared by the Lahmians at every turn. The Strigoi were essentially the ultimate rejects and outsiders among the vampires (as were the human survivors of the Strigos Empire). Unfortunately we don’t really have anything about Ushoran and the End Times, so it’s not entirely clear yet how he made the jump into AoS. In short, Ushoran was super interesting because he had this fascinating character development. He went from this spoiled arrogant trust fund kid who stole immortality from his sister, to a well meaning leader who genuinely wanted the best for vampire kind, to a raving monster shunned and exiled by most of his own kind (including some of his old friends like Vlad von Carstein).
He indeed was a compelling character. And I’m glad that the Flesh Eater Courts lore expands that depth out into the entirety of the faction and into the models.
Yeah we do, it involves aborash. Too tired to explain. Also, Aos ushoran is miles more interesting. So glad how they eveloved my favourite character in fantasy.
He actually conquered the Bretonnian province of Mousillon during the End Times and had teamed up with Abhorash at one point, and was trying to make an alliance with the Green Knight but that went nowhere. He was still desperately trying to defend his new Kingdom against the Skaven and Chaos folks when the planet blew up.
The crown of bone sounds like a reference to the Crown of Sorcery (Nagash’s crown) from Warhammer Fantasy that Ushoran wore for a time. It’s power let him create a great empire of men (though led by vampires) in the badlands. However, there was a lot of Nagash in the crown (think Sauron and the One Ring) and that contributed to Ushoran going mad in the Old World as well. I like the parallels that in both settings, either directly or indirectly, Nagash gives Ushoran power and elevates him but ultimately it’s a tainted chalice and costs him his sanity.
From what I remember from world that was lore, he was chased out ( I think by the then living tomb kings) and he fled into the wilderness, where he fed on beasts and other foul creatures till he devolved into the head of the strigori vampire blood line.
A month ago I barely gave FEC a thought. Today is the first time I bought a warhammer box that wasn't 3d printed. Them ghoulies gripped me in their delusion and I'm not escaping any time soon.
Ive always loved the fec as this blend of 40ks genestesler cult with an abhorrent in place of a patriarch and the hp lovecraft story “the outsider” but i know a lot of folks that were always put off by the old, limited model range and its great to finally see more people picking up whats in my opinion easily the most interesting death faction.
That's cause most read the tomes and active else where. 40k people half of them just play the terrible games and the meh books. Aos has been cause all the rejects hang on TH-cam and tw lol.
If you want to know more about Ushoran, I’d recommend reaching out to Loremaster of Sotec. He’s another TH-camr and is a walking encyclopedia of Old World knowledge!
I just pre ordered the new flesh eater boxset today because I really liked putting together the beastflayer warband for warcry. Looking forward to putting them together.
Love this! Keep up the awesome work its hard finding lore tubers for AoS that have such a nice vibe like you, you're genuinely the reason I got the big ol Flesh eater court box! Gonna pre order the big man himself soon!
Just wanted to say thank you for your lore videos. I've been watching a lot for the last month and I've started to get some Deepkin models to paint up in the new year!
My first aos army at the realmgate wars times, developed into Hollowmourne and now I couldn't be more excited for a new battletome. For the Realm and the Carrion King!
Yes! Glorious new 2+Tough video on the Mortal Realms! Christmas came early indeed and that’s not a delusion! :D Loving this expansion on the FEC lore and their infectious madness while being still alive which makes them the ultimate wildcards, even the Era of the Beast & life flood across the cosmos empowering them unlike what it’s doing to the other Death armies! 🤩 Also excellent art collection. I see everything in there from Soulbound* bits to the Skaven vs FEC set when their pantries in the Realm of Metal was attacked by the vermin the knights needed to chase out. 🧹 *Soulbound just released the Ulfenkarn last Thursday, 100% worth getting for more Realm of Death lore!(also Blackened Earth is finally in physical books, Greywater ho!)
Another Soulbound point out is in the Anvilgard series one of the Supplements even show a FEC ship that was troubling the Charrwind Coasts. Massive thing with a huge skull on the front and where the “mouth” is has a gaping structure so it can literally swallow smaller ships so the ghoul crews can “capture” them.(in their minds a noble ransom action on pirates when of course they’re eating them & cannibalising the small ship for parts) Just thought worth a mention when going through the art!
Doug a bit of Old World lore you might not know is that Ushoran was Neferata's brother. Also does the 3rd edition Battletome mention the Offal / Awful Queen and the Giblet / Gibbeted Prince orginally mentioned in the 1st edition book who are supposed to be Ushoran's wife and son?
I am thoroughly enjoying and dare I say devouring the revamp of the Flesh Eaters lore and models. The main criticism I have with WFB Ghouls is that while Ushoran and the origins of the Strigoi are very compelling backstories, the intrigue gradually peters out and it just largely becomes generic ghouls by the main Fantasy timeline. Im glad the FEC seem more active and dynamic in their lore and place in the setting, with their distinct delusions becoming characters in and of themselves.
I do recall him being Neferata's sibling but that's as far as I knew. With that info I speculated that maybe Neferata couldve either: A.) Manipulated the Realm's Edge event to sabotage her sibling to be the greatest of the Soulblight Mortarchs. OR B.) She convinced Nagash to stay his hand in killing him and instead placing him into the Shroudcage as he would be of use in the future.
Ushoran was my favorite of the og vampire patriarchs so to make a very long story much less long Ushoran was/is Neferata's little brother. When she started her experiments and made the first vampires Ushoran was one of them and was her spy master. Nicknamed the Prince of Maskes he was there when Lahamia fell and fled to the moutains where he would meet the necromancer shaman Kadon. Kadon had Nagash's Crown of Sorcery and with Ushorans help they founded the vampire kingdom of Mourkain which was a pretty sick place. Vampires could only feed on crimmals and stood on a similar level to humans so everything was great till Neferata showed up. She though treachery caused Mourkain to fall and Kadon died but Ushoran again fled and survived but not alone. Him and his surviving vampires became de evolved insane monsters called the Strigoy. He did managed to recover his sanity and started to rally his bloodline but End Times. There are like 3 different versions of this story and I am glossing over the details, like W'soran, but thats the gist of Ushoran's WFB lore.
What I know of WFB Ushoran in a nutshell; - He is Neferatas younger brother in the city state of Laminah. Neferata tried to retreate Nagashs Elixir of eternal life but made a faulty copy, which created the first vampires. Neferata gave this elixir to some of her retainers but refused to give it to Ushoran. Ushoran stole a vial/stole the formular (can't recall what) and became a vampire against Neferatas will. Still he served the city as its spymaster. - the vampires were later expelled by the then living Tomb Kings. They joined forces with Nagash but abandoned him when he lost a battle. The different prime vampires, who drank from the elixir went seperate ways, each founding their own bloodline - Ushoran and his "children" went into the Badlands (WFB middle east). There a local king had found Nagashs crown and became the magical ruler of a small kingdom. Ushoran usurped him and founded/refounded Strygos. Strygos was a prosperus nation for its time where the vampires ruled fairly over their mortal subjects. It outshined all of Neferatas holdings in terms of power, culture and else. Neferata hated that her brother could be a better ruler than her. Thus she spread rumors to the other bloodlines and united the other bloodlines against Strygos. In addition she sabotaged the kingdom and directed a huge Waagh! against it - Ushoran died in the defence of his city. His offspring were hunted by other vampires too. Without their primogenitor, a kingdom and constantly under threat the Strigoy had to hide in caves and cementaries, feeding on dead flesh and blood instead of the living to not attract attention. This embittered them and over time this lifestyle mutated them into their known shape. But it attracted ghouls towards them (humans mutated via cannibalism and dark magic). - many strigoy want to reestablish strygos or establish a similar realm. Several, including Vorag the first ghoul king, let crusades of ghouls and undead into the badlands. Though none were sucessfull. However one Strigoy, Gashnag the Black, rules his own petty kingdom, hiding his vampiric nature and looking fairly normal for a strigoy. - the surviviors of strygos, the Strigani, are basicly WFB gypsies and travel the Old World. They still hold there old masters in reverence and may house a strigoy vampire or act as their spies. - later Ushoran was retconned to have survived and somehow having been transformed into a ghoulking as well. From my perspective with less than sufficient explanation and causing several thematic issues.
Ushoran was also from Nehekara in the old world. He was Neferata’s wily younger brother and was known as the Lord of Masques, Celebrations, and Festivities so he’s been known to take on different identities to fit plans. Neferata hated him and had no intention of making him a vampire but Ushoran stole the Elixer of life and became one anyway. After the vampires were cursed by Nagash for betraying him Ushoran took over the kingdom of Morkain where he built a prosperous vampire society known as Strigos where the vampires only fed on foreigners and criminals. He then invited other vampires to join his kingdom as his subjects. However Neferata got pissed and refused to be beneath him and so arranged for Strigos to be destroyed. She tricked a bunch of human raiders to attack the kingdom and distract him and while he was away she got a horde of Greenskins to flank them and wreck the kingdom. Ushoran’s kingdom was destroyed, his human followers became nomadic pseudo-Gypsies called the Strigany and his vampires the Strigoi were made outcasts by the other vampire clans. They were forced to feed on animals and the weak blood of corpses which progressively twisted their appearance and manner to be more animalistic. By all rights they would have been quickly wiped out due to being unable to blend in with regular humans but the Strigany still felt affection and loyalty towards their old masters and so they helped them hide and move about by sheltering them in their caravans. Ushoran meanwhile survived his kingdom’s destruction and went totally crazy and hid himself away for centuries except when he would emerge to take revenge on those who dared the harm the descendants of his kingdom’s subjects. Eventually a bunch of humans came to worship him and emulate him by eating corpses and thus became the first ghouls. Ushoran then became known as the ghoul king. Later during the end times Ushoran emerged from hiding and 2”with the aid of the Strigoi and Strigany he conquered the Bretonnian province of Mousillon. Following he would team up with the vampire Abhorash and his blood dragons and they would go on to try to defend Bretonnia alongside the Green knight against the hordes of Skaven and chaos worshippers which they proceeded to do so until Archaon blew up the damn planet.
Iirc, Ushoran was Neferata's little brother in Lamia before the rise of the vampires. Neferata hated him because he was given things that she wanted, and was frankly better suited to, like the power of the throne and general renown. When Neferata made the flawed elixir of eternal life, made in its 'perfected' form by Nagash, Ushoran stole the last draft of the potion that Neferata had been saving for someone worthy. From there she wanted to kill Ushoran but couldn't due to rules that all of the other vampires agreed to live by. After Lamia fell to the Tomb Kings, High Queen Kalida specifically but that's getting into a bigger story, all of the original vampires fled. Ushoran ended up in what would become the Marshes of Madness, and here he started to pull in the nomadic humans who lived in these parts and kept them safe. He did this while feeding from them, of course, but given the dangers of the nearby Greenskins and so the humans found the arrangement acceptable to some degree. Eventually, by and by his kingdom grew into a truly prosperous kingdom full of people safe from the Greenskins and thriving in their lands. And then Neferata decided she had enough of her brother making a mockery of her rule. She sent her spies and agents into Ushoran's kingdom and destroyed it from within. The horrors of this fall were enough to turn the land sour and turn the humans living there back into permanent nomads without a home. From here then Ushoran fled into the wilderness and began living as a wild animal and degrading into a monsterous form, this gave rise to the Strigoi vampire line, and the Strigoni human culture. From there, i don't know that he played a large role in the world, or if he even did something big in the Endtimes
I really like the idea of Nagash locking Ushoran away now. Instead of Nagash just being a dick, it's like 'this guy is a problem and I need him out of the way for a little while'. But then Sigmar knocks down the Shroudcage and not only is Ushoran *still* a problem, but he's also worse now!?
Saw the models get revealed and knew nothing about them loved the models though. Read about them and now I’m in love with them. Super jazzed to get the new army box
Even in older books, Ushoran had two possible origins, but both end the same. In his death and the unleashing of the Strigoi Ghoul Kings. Had the great misfortune of being more successful than either his former boss or elder sister. Either way, being an enemy of Neferata is never good for one’s long term health.
It’s taken far too long for this range update to roll round but hey now there’s only 3 factions that still don’t have a named character that isn’t from underworlds
I guess I somehow knew this was coming because I thought, you know a flesh eater army would be interesting because I like the ghoul king in Warhammer 3. Then like 2 days later Ushoran was shown
When the new Ushoran model was revealed, Tuomas Pirinen, former GW employee (Mordheim, 6th ed WhFb etc) talked about in twitter about the character: Tuomas Pirinen: "When i wrote him i envisaged something a bit more skeletal, but it is a cool model." Me: "Ushoran is your creation?" TP: "Indeed. Vampire Counts 5th ed book and accompaying lore is my work" Neat bit of making of history :)
Who's "they"?! "They're using his blood for something" Also, who was stealing the gravesand? Did he walready have thw crown before going to the realm edge? What form did he take when he was brought back by Nagaash, was he a vampire or something else? Really looking forward to this series 💙
Anyone who wants to know anything about the old world check out loremaster of sotek. Hes got vidoes on most names characters from the old world. Hes also covering the rebieth of the old world as it is happening now. Come join the red host for old world news.
Ushoran in Old Lore was the brother of Neferata, as in her human brother. She then became the first vampire and Ushoran was one of the first vampires after that, alongside such legends as Vlad von Carstein. But Ushoran was much more humane than the others and tried to build a kingdom where mortas lived as the main populace and Vampires ruled and protected the humans as not just livestock, but their subjects. It was surprisingly symbiotic and Ushorans human followers loved him. He was so successfull, that several other vampires, including Neferata, saw him as a threat. So they guided one of the biggest Savage Orks Waaaaghs in history towards Ushorans kingdom. This Waaaagh was so monumental, it destroyed the kingdom entirely and Ushoran supposedly died there as well. His descendants were known as the Strigoi, the most bestial looking vampires. They were being hunted by other vampires relentlessly and so many had to hide in crypts, caves, sewers, just wherever they would not be found. And so the Strigoi turned into the hunched, Nosferatu-style vampires we see now with the ghoul kings. And that is where they developed their relationships with Ghouls, Crypt Horrors and other pitiful creatures. Many were driven mad by their fate but they still remain a great threat, especially the ones that kept their sanity and fight a war in the shadows against other vampires. And clearly Ushoran still existed in some way, as Nagash remade him as one of the first Mortarchs when AoS started. I can only imagine that a terrible fight between him and Neferata is inevitable, considering their long history of disagreements and betrayal.
Ushoran is the strigoi progenitor, by far the strongest vampire around. They were beast like and stronger than other vampires from the start. Nefarata cant fight him, so she will continue trying to influence his actions.
This was awesome thank you
Thank you for sharing!
Thanks , great infos :D
Flesh Eaters lore is the only reason why I gave AoS a chance because theyre just that cool.
Old Warhammer Fantasy Ushoran was actually a really deep and dynamic character.
His story started back in ancient Lahmia where he was the little brother of Neferata, the first vampire. She had the original elixir of eternal life that turned people into vampires, and she was being super deliberate and political about who she gave it to. She basically used it as the carrot for the most loyal members of her court. Ushoran was having none of that, and he basically snuck in and stole the last remaining drops of the elixir. In him it manifested as him swelling up to massive size and strength. Neferata was pissed at him for stealing the elixir though and that relationship would basically just continue to spiral downhill through the rest of the setting. Eventually the rest of ancient Nehekhara couldn’t put up with the Lahmians anymore, and the other kingdoms showed up to cast down Neferata, they did exactly that, and all the vampire bloodlines scattered from there.
Cut forward a few hundred years and Ushoran ends up in a place called the Marshes of Madness (which were not called that at the time). In his exile, Ushoran decided that Lahmia fell apart because the vampires there had no restrictions. They could basically predate on the humans with impunity, treat them like cattle. So Ushoran founded the Strigos Empire, and under him the people were treated like subjects rather than cattle. The Strigoi vampires still weren’t nice, but they had lines they weren’t allowed to cross. It was an actual functioning society.
But Neferata couldn’t have that because she would never allow Ushoran to one up her, from her perspective Strigos was basically “Ushoran’s better Lahmia.” So she basically used her subterfuge to pit the world against the Strigoi. Eventually it was the Orcs that brought Strigos down, the Empire was right on the border of the Badlands so they basically had to endure raids from them all the time. The Greenskins managed to bring Ushoran down and the Empire crumbled as well. When he came back he was basically the raving half-mad monster sort of like his AoS counterpart. His kind were basically hunted for sport by other vampires and smeared by the Lahmians at every turn. The Strigoi were essentially the ultimate rejects and outsiders among the vampires (as were the human survivors of the Strigos Empire).
Unfortunately we don’t really have anything about Ushoran and the End Times, so it’s not entirely clear yet how he made the jump into AoS.
In short, Ushoran was super interesting because he had this fascinating character development. He went from this spoiled arrogant trust fund kid who stole immortality from his sister, to a well meaning leader who genuinely wanted the best for vampire kind, to a raving monster shunned and exiled by most of his own kind (including some of his old friends like Vlad von Carstein).
He indeed was a compelling character. And I’m glad that the Flesh Eater Courts lore expands that depth out into the entirety of the faction and into the models.
Yeah we do, it involves aborash. Too tired to explain.
Also, Aos ushoran is miles more interesting. So glad how they eveloved my favourite character in fantasy.
He actually conquered the Bretonnian province of Mousillon during the End Times and had teamed up with Abhorash at one point, and was trying to make an alliance with the Green Knight but that went nowhere. He was still desperately trying to defend his new Kingdom against the Skaven and Chaos folks when the planet blew up.
Thanks!
The crown of bone sounds like a reference to the Crown of Sorcery (Nagash’s crown) from Warhammer Fantasy that Ushoran wore for a time. It’s power let him create a great empire of men (though led by vampires) in the badlands. However, there was a lot of Nagash in the crown (think Sauron and the One Ring) and that contributed to Ushoran going mad in the Old World as well.
I like the parallels that in both settings, either directly or indirectly, Nagash gives Ushoran power and elevates him but ultimately it’s a tainted chalice and costs him his sanity.
From what I remember from world that was lore, he was chased out ( I think by the then living tomb kings) and he fled into the wilderness, where he fed on beasts and other foul creatures till he devolved into the head of the strigori vampire blood line.
By the other vampires. Neferteta in particular.
A month ago I barely gave FEC a thought. Today is the first time I bought a warhammer box that wasn't 3d printed. Them ghoulies gripped me in their delusion and I'm not escaping any time soon.
Ive always loved the fec as this blend of 40ks genestesler cult with an abhorrent in place of a patriarch and the hp lovecraft story “the outsider” but i know a lot of folks that were always put off by the old, limited model range and its great to finally see more people picking up whats in my opinion easily the most interesting death faction.
Best AoS channel on TH-cam hands down. You deserve 10 times the subscribers man.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many and the few that do exist are primarily 40K channels.
That's cause most read the tomes and active else where.
40k people half of them just play the terrible games and the meh books. Aos has been cause all the rejects hang on TH-cam and tw lol.
Weird how 40k books are highly rated by critics and fans. Just cuz u don't like the universe doesn't mean you have to talk out of ur Arse.@@jakea3950
Love Flesh eater courts and AoS in general awesome lore and its getting better
If you want to know more about Ushoran, I’d recommend reaching out to Loremaster of Sotec. He’s another TH-camr and is a walking encyclopedia of Old World knowledge!
Or read the fantasy book about him and his followers.
But tbh battletome will be where its at.
The new history sounds again like a telling from Nagash to put himself in the best light.
I just pre ordered the new flesh eater boxset today because I really liked putting together the beastflayer warband for warcry. Looking forward to putting them together.
Love this! Keep up the awesome work its hard finding lore tubers for AoS that have such a nice vibe like you, you're genuinely the reason I got the big ol Flesh eater court box! Gonna pre order the big man himself soon!
Just wanted to say thank you for your lore videos. I've been watching a lot for the last month and I've started to get some Deepkin models to paint up in the new year!
As a "old fantasy" player I was never a huge fan of Age of Sigmar.
But all your amazing lore video s about AOS changed that! Many thanks for that.
So glad I subscribed to this channel. Love the content you cover
My first aos army at the realmgate wars times, developed into Hollowmourne and now I couldn't be more excited for a new battletome. For the Realm and the Carrion King!
Really cool, the lore of the flesh eaters and way more complex than i imagined!
looking forward to the next video about flesheaters
Yes! Glorious new 2+Tough video on the Mortal Realms! Christmas came early indeed and that’s not a delusion! :D
Loving this expansion on the FEC lore and their infectious madness while being still alive which makes them the ultimate wildcards, even the Era of the Beast & life flood across the cosmos empowering them unlike what it’s doing to the other Death armies! 🤩
Also excellent art collection. I see everything in there from Soulbound* bits to the Skaven vs FEC set when their pantries in the Realm of Metal was attacked by the vermin the knights needed to chase out. 🧹
*Soulbound just released the Ulfenkarn last Thursday, 100% worth getting for more Realm of Death lore!(also Blackened Earth is finally in physical books, Greywater ho!)
Another Soulbound point out is in the Anvilgard series one of the Supplements even show a FEC ship that was troubling the Charrwind Coasts.
Massive thing with a huge skull on the front and where the “mouth” is has a gaping structure so it can literally swallow smaller ships so the ghoul crews can “capture” them.(in their minds a noble ransom action on pirates when of course they’re eating them & cannibalising the small ship for parts)
Just thought worth a mention when going through the art!
I just dinished listening to GMG do a breakdown of the rules and thought I can't wait for Doug to do a review!!
Dude. Great to see you doing content again. I have missed your lore videos 😊
Super excited to see more flesh eater content! Keep up the great work!
Been with fec from the start. Love how much love they got and even rules did my boys proud 👏
Doug a bit of Old World lore you might not know is that Ushoran was Neferata's brother. Also does the 3rd edition Battletome mention the Offal / Awful Queen and the Giblet / Gibbeted Prince orginally mentioned in the 1st edition book who are supposed to be Ushoran's wife and son?
I am thoroughly enjoying and dare I say devouring the revamp of the Flesh Eaters lore and models. The main criticism I have with WFB Ghouls is that while Ushoran and the origins of the Strigoi are very compelling backstories, the intrigue gradually peters out and it just largely becomes generic ghouls by the main Fantasy timeline. Im glad the FEC seem more active and dynamic in their lore and place in the setting, with their distinct delusions becoming characters in and of themselves.
I am hyped for their ghoulish battletome, love the lore on these fellas and just 2 books away from completing my battletome library XD
I do recall him being Neferata's sibling but that's as far as I knew. With that info I speculated that maybe Neferata couldve either:
A.) Manipulated the Realm's Edge event to sabotage her sibling to be the greatest of the Soulblight Mortarchs.
OR
B.) She convinced Nagash to stay his hand in killing him and instead placing him into the Shroudcage as he would be of use in the future.
Ushoran was my favorite of the og vampire patriarchs so to make a very long story much less long Ushoran was/is Neferata's little brother. When she started her experiments and made the first vampires Ushoran was one of them and was her spy master. Nicknamed the Prince of Maskes he was there when Lahamia fell and fled to the moutains where he would meet the necromancer shaman Kadon. Kadon had Nagash's Crown of Sorcery and with Ushorans help they founded the vampire kingdom of Mourkain which was a pretty sick place. Vampires could only feed on crimmals and stood on a similar level to humans so everything was great till Neferata showed up. She though treachery caused Mourkain to fall and Kadon died but Ushoran again fled and survived but not alone. Him and his surviving vampires became de evolved insane monsters called the Strigoy. He did managed to recover his sanity and started to rally his bloodline but End Times. There are like 3 different versions of this story and I am glossing over the details, like W'soran, but thats the gist of Ushoran's WFB lore.
What I know of WFB Ushoran in a nutshell;
- He is Neferatas younger brother in the city state of Laminah. Neferata tried to retreate Nagashs Elixir of eternal life but made a faulty copy, which created the first vampires. Neferata gave this elixir to some of her retainers but refused to give it to Ushoran. Ushoran stole a vial/stole the formular (can't recall what) and became a vampire against Neferatas will. Still he served the city as its spymaster.
- the vampires were later expelled by the then living Tomb Kings. They joined forces with Nagash but abandoned him when he lost a battle. The different prime vampires, who drank from the elixir went seperate ways, each founding their own bloodline
- Ushoran and his "children" went into the Badlands (WFB middle east). There a local king had found Nagashs crown and became the magical ruler of a small kingdom. Ushoran usurped him and founded/refounded Strygos. Strygos was a prosperus nation for its time where the vampires ruled fairly over their mortal subjects. It outshined all of Neferatas holdings in terms of power, culture and else. Neferata hated that her brother could be a better ruler than her. Thus she spread rumors to the other bloodlines and united the other bloodlines against Strygos. In addition she sabotaged the kingdom and directed a huge Waagh! against it
- Ushoran died in the defence of his city. His offspring were hunted by other vampires too. Without their primogenitor, a kingdom and constantly under threat the Strigoy had to hide in caves and cementaries, feeding on dead flesh and blood instead of the living to not attract attention. This embittered them and over time this lifestyle mutated them into their known shape. But it attracted ghouls towards them (humans mutated via cannibalism and dark magic).
- many strigoy want to reestablish strygos or establish a similar realm. Several, including Vorag the first ghoul king, let crusades of ghouls and undead into the badlands. Though none were sucessfull. However one Strigoy, Gashnag the Black, rules his own petty kingdom, hiding his vampiric nature and looking fairly normal for a strigoy.
- the surviviors of strygos, the Strigani, are basicly WFB gypsies and travel the Old World. They still hold there old masters in reverence and may house a strigoy vampire or act as their spies.
- later Ushoran was retconned to have survived and somehow having been transformed into a ghoulking as well. From my perspective with less than sufficient explanation and causing several thematic issues.
He was not retconned to be alive later. He was just written to have survived.
Ushoran was also from Nehekara in the old world. He was Neferata’s wily younger brother and was known as the Lord of Masques, Celebrations, and Festivities so he’s been known to take on different identities to fit plans. Neferata hated him and had no intention of making him a vampire but Ushoran stole the Elixer of life and became one anyway. After the vampires were cursed by Nagash for betraying him Ushoran took over the kingdom of Morkain where he built a prosperous vampire society known as Strigos where the vampires only fed on foreigners and criminals. He then invited other vampires to join his kingdom as his subjects. However Neferata got pissed and refused to be beneath him and so arranged for Strigos to be destroyed. She tricked a bunch of human raiders to attack the kingdom and distract him and while he was away she got a horde of Greenskins to flank them and wreck the kingdom. Ushoran’s kingdom was destroyed, his human followers became nomadic pseudo-Gypsies called the Strigany and his vampires the Strigoi were made outcasts by the other vampire clans. They were forced to feed on animals and the weak blood of corpses which progressively twisted their appearance and manner to be more animalistic. By all rights they would have been quickly wiped out due to being unable to blend in with regular humans but the Strigany still felt affection and loyalty towards their old masters and so they helped them hide and move about by sheltering them in their caravans. Ushoran meanwhile survived his kingdom’s destruction and went totally crazy and hid himself away for centuries except when he would emerge to take revenge on those who dared the harm the descendants of his kingdom’s subjects. Eventually a bunch of humans came to worship him and emulate him by eating corpses and thus became the first ghouls. Ushoran then became known as the ghoul king. Later during the end times Ushoran emerged from hiding and 2”with the aid of the Strigoi and Strigany he conquered the Bretonnian province of Mousillon. Following he would team up with the vampire Abhorash and his blood dragons and they would go on to try to defend Bretonnia alongside the Green knight against the hordes of Skaven and chaos worshippers which they proceeded to do so until Archaon blew up the damn planet.
Iirc, Ushoran was Neferata's little brother in Lamia before the rise of the vampires. Neferata hated him because he was given things that she wanted, and was frankly better suited to, like the power of the throne and general renown. When Neferata made the flawed elixir of eternal life, made in its 'perfected' form by Nagash, Ushoran stole the last draft of the potion that Neferata had been saving for someone worthy. From there she wanted to kill Ushoran but couldn't due to rules that all of the other vampires agreed to live by. After Lamia fell to the Tomb Kings, High Queen Kalida specifically but that's getting into a bigger story, all of the original vampires fled. Ushoran ended up in what would become the Marshes of Madness, and here he started to pull in the nomadic humans who lived in these parts and kept them safe. He did this while feeding from them, of course, but given the dangers of the nearby Greenskins and so the humans found the arrangement acceptable to some degree. Eventually, by and by his kingdom grew into a truly prosperous kingdom full of people safe from the Greenskins and thriving in their lands. And then Neferata decided she had enough of her brother making a mockery of her rule. She sent her spies and agents into Ushoran's kingdom and destroyed it from within. The horrors of this fall were enough to turn the land sour and turn the humans living there back into permanent nomads without a home. From here then Ushoran fled into the wilderness and began living as a wild animal and degrading into a monsterous form, this gave rise to the Strigoi vampire line, and the Strigoni human culture.
From there, i don't know that he played a large role in the world, or if he even did something big in the Endtimes
I really like the idea of Nagash locking Ushoran away now. Instead of Nagash just being a dick, it's like 'this guy is a problem and I need him out of the way for a little while'. But then Sigmar knocks down the Shroudcage and not only is Ushoran *still* a problem, but he's also worse now!?
New to AoS. Love your channel. BZ
Looks like I'm starting a new army.
And that's when the cannibalism started
Favorite comment ever
Saw the models get revealed and knew nothing about them loved the models though. Read about them and now I’m in love with them. Super jazzed to get the new army box
Even in older books, Ushoran had two possible origins, but both end the same. In his death and the unleashing of the Strigoi Ghoul Kings. Had the great misfortune of being more successful than either his former boss or elder sister. Either way, being an enemy of Neferata is never good for one’s long term health.
It’s taken far too long for this range update to roll round but hey now there’s only 3 factions that still don’t have a named character that isn’t from underworlds
Ah the flesh eater courts. My favorite undead faction in age of sigmar.
I guess I somehow knew this was coming because I thought, you know a flesh eater army would be interesting because I like the ghoul king in Warhammer 3. Then like 2 days later Ushoran was shown
Whoa! Nagash is “The Villain of this story”?!?!?
Hail to the (Summer)king baby! 👑
When the new Ushoran model was revealed, Tuomas Pirinen, former GW employee (Mordheim, 6th ed WhFb etc) talked about in twitter about the character:
Tuomas Pirinen: "When i wrote him i envisaged something a bit more skeletal, but it is a cool model."
Me: "Ushoran is your creation?"
TP: "Indeed. Vampire Counts 5th ed book and accompaying lore is my work"
Neat bit of making of history :)
Who's "they"?! "They're using his blood for something"
Also, who was stealing the gravesand? Did he walready have thw crown before going to the realm edge? What form did he take when he was brought back by Nagaash, was he a vampire or something else? Really looking forward to this series 💙
Amazing 🤩
Anyone else think Ushoran looks a lot like Father Ariandel?
Anyone who wants to know anything about the old world check out loremaster of sotek. Hes got vidoes on most names characters from the old world. Hes also covering the rebieth of the old world as it is happening now.
Come join the red host for old world news.
Ushoran was quite deep in old world lore. I have forgotten more than i can recall but lore,qster sotek has videos on him before
😮
Ab-HOR-ant, not AB-er-ant