The Skaven are a race of malevolent rat-men who inhabit a vast underground empire — the Under-Empire — that stretches beneath the entire Old World. Cunning, treacherous, and numerous beyond counting, the Skaven are one of the greatest threats to civilization, their warrens riddled with warpstone-powered technology and their society driven by a constant, frantic competition for power and resources.

The Skaven emerged from the ruins of a Lizardmen city, mutated by warpstone into a new and terrible race. They built the Under-Empire in secret, gnawing tunnels beneath every major city in the world. The Black Plague that devastated the Empire was a Skaven weapon. The fall of Karak Eight Peaks was engineered by Skaven treachery. The Council of Thirteen — the ruling body of the Skaven — plots the eventual conquest of the surface world.

Skaven armies rely on overwhelming numbers and warpstone-powered technology. Clanrats and Stormvermin form the infantry core, while Plague Monks and Plague Censer Bearers spread disease and death. The Skaven's unique advantage is their technology — Warp Lightning Cannons, Doomwheels, Ratling Guns, and the terrifying Screaming Bell. The four great Clans — Pestilens, Skryre, Moulder, and Eshin — each contribute unique warriors and weapons.

Skaven society is defined by treachery, backstabbing, and the constant struggle for dominance. The Council of Thirteen rules from Skavenblight, but every Skaven is plotting against every other Skaven at all times. The four great Clans are in constant competition, their rivalries as dangerous as any external enemy. Warpstone — a magical mineral of immense power and toxicity — is the foundation of Skaven technology and the source of their mutations.

• ✦Skavenblight — the capital of the Under-Empire, built atop a ruined Lizardmen city
• ✦Karak Eight Peaks — the contested hold, partially controlled by Clan Mors
• ✦The Under-Empire — the vast network of tunnels beneath the Old World
• ✦Hell Pit — the domain of Clan Moulder, where monstrous creatures are bred