Characters / Iron Kingdoms Iron Liches

(aka: Iron Liches)

Following

• Achilles' Heel: If an Iron Lich's boiler is doused or deprived of oxygen and loses steam pressure, the physical body cannot move.
• Cold Iron: Inverted, Iron Liches are made from pure iron that has been perverted by Dragonblight in order to function as the housing for their souls.
• Hidden in Plain Sight: Iron Kingdoms RPG: Tales From the Blackwater Cantina mentions that because an Iron Lich's phylactery can be literally anywhere, hiding it somewhere extremely public is a legitimate tactic.
• Magic Knight: Every iron lich is a capable spellcaster and warrior, as a necessity of becoming an iron lich and the simple reality of possessing a body made of metal.
• Mobile-Suit Human: An iron lich's mortal body, with the exception of its skull, is replaced with a complex mechanikal apparatus that sustains its existence. In effect, the skull serves to bind the soul to the body, while the body itself is a Real Robot and a Mini-Mecha that needs a constant supply of necrotite to sustain itself. Without a functioning boiler, the Iron Lich's physical body loses the ability to move.
• The Needless: Played with. Due to being souls piloting robot suits, an actual iron lich itself needs no food, water, or anything else to survive. Its robotic body does actually need fuel, though.
• Our Liches Are Different: An iron lich is an unliving fusion of necromancy and mechanika, who replaced its mortal body with a complex mechanikal apparatus that sustains its existence in an attempt to attain immortality. Its form is not constrained to any particular configuration and need not bear any resemblance to its living form. Iron liches store their spirit essence in a phylactery—a physical receptacle that houses the soul.
• Soul Jar: So long as an iron lich's phylactery remains intact, the creature cannot truly be destroyed. Because a phylactery is an iron lich's only true vulnerability, iron liches take great pains to conceal and protect theirs. Most iron liches are paranoid enough to keep the location of their phylactery secret or to share it with only their most trusted retainers.
• You Look Familiar: As with the Dragons, the Iron Liches often reuse existing art for new characters. Sciosar and Angorus use the same art, Venethrax's art is reused (and recolored) for Shakkal, and Asphyxious' art is used in at least a half a dozen entries for other Iron Liches. In several cases, the art used for them doesn't actually match their lore descriptions!
• Your Soul Is Mine!: Every iron lich has, out of necessity, become quite skilled at this trope. After all, they're all walking mecha piloted by their own captured souls! Add onto that the fact that Cryx all use souls as a sort of elite currency and those who can't capture souls would never make it as an iron lich, let alone a lich lord.

Lich Lord Angorus is the master of the Cryxian treasury. From the Treasury of Skell, he tallies the taxes accumulated from the Nightmare Empire and levied from among the Scharde Islands. He lurks among the vaults, overseeing the tallying of dedicated thralls who balance vast amounts of stolen wealth—though coin is not the only treasure in the hoards. A great tally of corpses and living flesh are also counted among the resources of the Dragonfather's enormous treasury. The finances Angorus oversees are used in numerous ways, from bribing weak-willed mortals on the mainland, for paying off spies, and even for semi-legitimate trade with the mortal-crewed ships of the Five Fingers, Clockers Cove, and other ports of ill-repute.

Angorus has a single version, Lich Lord Angorus, Lord of the Treasury of Skell

• All Webbed Up: He has "Web" as a 2nd level spell prepared.
• Anti-Regeneration: One of his Lair actions allows Angorus to ban any creature within 30 feet of himself from healing in any way unless they pay a thousand gold tithe to him.
• Counterspell: Naturally, he keeps it prepared as a 3rd level spell.
• Curse:
  • He has "Bestow Curse" prepared as a 3rd level spell.
  • He also can throw out cursed gold coins that inflict Disadvantage on anyone who picks them up.
• Gold Fever: Angorus can voluntarily inflict this on others with his "Fool's Gold" legendary action. Creatures who see the cursed gold coins he throws out must pass a Charisma saving throw or be compelled to pick up the coins and be cursed.
• An Ice Person: He keeps "Cone of Cold" prepared as a 5th level spell.
• Lawful Evil: His in-universe alignment, and a mandatory one given his position as Lord of the Treasury. He must be strict about the income and outflow of Cryx currency or Lord Toruk will kill him and replace him.
• Liquid Assets: Like all Lich Lords he can consume souls he has captured to grant himself spell slots again.
• Luck Manipulation Mechanic: Those cursed by the gold coins he throws with his "Fool's Gold" Legendary Action must roll two dice and choose the lower value on all their Charisma saving throws.
• Maximum HP Reduction: His "Balance the Books" Legendary Action reduces the maximum hitpoints of any creature within 30 feet of Angorus that fails a Constitution save.
• Mind Control: Angorus has a number of tools in his arsenal to inflict this on his foes:
  • He keeps "Charm Person" and "Hypnotic Pattern" spells prepared
  • His "Strike a Bargain" attack charms a single target who fails a Charisma saving throw for up to ten turns.
  • His "Fool's Gold" Legendary Action magically compels people to pick up the gold he throws and become cursed. Only those who pass a Charisma saving throw can resist the urge.
• No-Sell:
  • As an Iron Lich he has immunity to Necrotic, Poison, Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing damage
  • He also has immunity to Charm, Fatigue, Fear, Paralysis, and Poisoned Status Effects.
• Omniglot: He speaks Caspian, Scharde, Thrallspeak, and Tkra. While Sharde tongue and Thrallspeak are necessary for where he lives, Caspian and Tkra are more of a mark of his status as a Lich Lord and his need to interact with irregular people.
• The Paralyzer:
  • He has "Hold Person" prepared as a 2nd level spell
  • His "All that Glitters" action allows him to restrain or petrify a target who fails a Constitution saving throw
• Resistant to Magic: As expected of a Lich Lord he has "Magic Resistance" to make him harder to undermine by his backstabbing fellow Lich Lords.
• Sensor Character: Angorus can know the location of every single piece of treasure that has ever passed through the Treasury of Skell. This makes keeping even gold coins on one's person a potential security threat for traveling to secret locations.
• Status Effects:
  • He can inflicted "Restrained" or "Petrification" on a target who fails their saving throw against his All That Glitters action.
  • His lair can deafen creatures who fail a Constitution saving throw, becoming awash with the sound of falling coins being tallied.
• Vampiric Draining: When he reduces the maximum hitpoints of a target with his "Balance the Books" Legendary Action, he gains hitpoints equal to the amount they lost.
• Weapons of Their Trade: Rather than fighting with a sword or a spear, he uses a pair of scales that he also uses for his job of tallying the coins of the Treasury.
• You Can Run, but You Can't Hide: His Lair has the ability to give every Undead creature within it the ability to know the exact location of every Living creature within 120 feet for a turn.

^{Click here to see Gaspy4} Game-Breaker, now in Cyriss flavor!

Once a druid of the Circle Orboros, who swore his service to Toruk at the dawn of the Nightmare Empire. One of Cryx's most enthusiastic commanders, capable of any act, no matter how vicious.

For sixteen centuries he has gathered lore, mastered war and the arcane arts, and become as formidable a creature as has ever walked the face of Caen. He looks to orchestrate the will of Toruk, see the Dragon's empire encompass the mainland, drown its cities in blood, and release a never-ending tide of souls from which he can drink and draw power. Asphyxious leaves behind ashen fields of lifeless grasses and withered trees. Blackened corpses and bubbling pools of gore are all that remain of his victims. The demands of his iron body create a ravenous thirst for fresh souls. The powerful iron carapace grants great physical strength, and his iron talons wield the ensorcelled Soulsplitter—a twin-pronged spear bathed in raw entropy.

Asphyxious has become the Dragonfather’s chosen instrument on the mainland and the unholy general of the rapacious unliving army of Cryx. Wherever he goes, he leaves behind him ashen fields of lifeless grasses and withered trees. Blackened corpses and bubbling pools of gore are all that remain of his victims. A prime source of the cancer feeding upon western Immoren, he gleefully spreads the shadow of the Dragonlord’s wings. It is a shadow that will one day, by his efforts, extend across all Caen.

More than one thousand years of preparation has brought Asphyxious closer than ever to his goal of rising above the other lich lords to stand as Toruk’s most invaluable general. He alone holds the key to unleashing the terrible might of the Nightmare Empire. To aid him in his great work, Asphyxious has applied his impressive mastery of thrall runes to craft Vociferon, a skarlock perfectly equipped to serve as a conduit for souls. Vociferon’s battle standard of death and discord resonates with unholy intent, for it was made to collect the essences of all who perish within its reach and fuel Asphyxious’ fell sorceries.

Once one of the most feared of Cryx’s generals and hell-bent on the total domination of western Immoren, the Iron Lich Asphyxious now stands against the infernal threat in an effort to protect humanity from the Claiming. His body rebuilt by Convergence engineers, Asphyxious is formed anew and equipped with a host of new abilities and hardware, including a trio of annihilation servitors to extend his destructive reach.

Asphyxious has four versions: Iron Lich Asphyxious (Gaspy1), Lich Lord Asphyxious (Gaspy2), Asphyxious the Hellbringer & Vociferon (Gaspy3), and Asphyxious the Sanctified & Annihilation Servitors (Gaspy4). He is a Warcaster.

• The Ace: Far from being a Squishy Wizard, Asphyxious can throw down in melee with some of the best melee fighters in the game and win reliably. Notably, for a character in a faction where Death Is Cheap, Asphyxious has died only once: the process that turned him into an Iron Lich. The closest he's ever come was trying to fight Infernal Master Osmodamos, who is basically a Physical God, in melee, and even then he lived long enough to be rebuilt by Convergence into Asphyxious the Sanctified!
• Always Accurate Attack: Asphyxious1 has "Sustained Attack" on his melee weapon, meaning as long as it attacks the last target it hit, it automatically connects and goes straight to damage.
• The Archmage: Due to having been training for almost two millennia, Asphyxious is ludicrously skilled as a mage. This is reflected in his tabletop versions, all of which have some of the most powerful and diverse spell lists in the game.
• Back from the Dead: Most versions of Asphyxious have some mechanism to do this to allied models, but none moreso than Gaspy2. Lich Lord Asphyxious' Feat used to resurrect all allied models that had died wtihin a huge radius around him, then let them charge up the board into melee to finish off the enemy. This made him the only Warcaster in the game who it was basically impossible to prevent from charging you, as any deaths you inflicted he would replace right before impact. After considerable nerfs, his Feat now is limited to resurrecting 6-8 friendly models at random.
• Bait-and-Switch: Asphyxious4 appears to have an absolutely abysmal five FOCUS and a laughably small spell list of three, making him appear to be at best a Lethal Joke Character. Then you realize, thanks to "Malign Alignment" he and all Warjacks he controls have "Dark Shroud" cast on them permanently, He has a permanent and respawning squad of Cannon Fodder to block hits for him at all times, he can still gather additional FOCUS via Soul Tokens, and as a Battlegroup Controller rather than a "true" Warcaster, he isn't actually your Warcaster but a separate, dedicated support unit.
• BFS: His third incarnation wields a huge one called Daimonion.
• The Chessmaster: Even prophecy can't keep up with him.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: Asphyxious is notorious for inflicting these in the lore, making his absolutely devastating loss at the hands of Osmodamos all the more suprising
• Evil Mentor: To Deneghra.
• Fan Nickname: Asphyxious is quite tricky to type and quite long to say, leading to fans (and this wiki) referring to him as "Gaspy"
• Foreshadowing: In June 2019 Gaspy had a Limited Special Collector's Ultimate Edition sculpt released called "Asphyxious, the Undamned." The design bears a striking resemblance to Krueger, Wrath of Blighterghast, a fellow former Circle Orboros druid now working in service of a dragon. The Undamned sculpt even uses the same spear as Krueger2!
• Game-Breaker: Every version of him has broken the game, but Gaspy2 is the most notorious. Upon the beginning of Warmachine, Privateer Press announced they would never nerf a model or unit as a balancing measure, preferring instead to buff other units to compensate and bring everything back into balance. The goal of this policy was to ensure that no one ever felt like their units became unusable, as a response to frequent balancing tactics used by Privateer's primary competitor. Gaspy2 was so broken they nerfed him three times!. And he was still broken, forcing them to release 3rd edition and rebalance the entire game around using more Warjacks and fewer infantry to indirectly reduce his access to free Soul Tokens.
• The Heavy: He's effectively the Skull Lord to Toruk's Orcus on His Throne.
• I Call It "Vera": Each version of Gaspy has a different example:
  • Gaspy1 has his spear "Soulsplitter"
  • Gaspy2 upgrades to a sort of Halberd named "Daemortus"
  • Gaspy3 opts for a BFS named "Daimonion"
  • Gaspy4 now has a Boom Stick named "Annullifier"
• Limited Special Collector's Ultimate Edition: In June 2019 Asphyxious had a limited edition sculpt released called "Asphyxious, the Undamned," which resembles him when he was still a living, breathing mortal druid of the Circle Orboros.
• Master of All: Every version of Asphyxious has melee damage on par with The Butcher of Khardov, a dedicated melee warcaster. His spell lists always include at least one extremely useful Status Buff, one Status Ailment, one offensive spell that ignores Tough and removes models from play, and one spell that effectively doubles his speed for free. All but one version of him has above average FOCUS, and every version can use Soul Tokens as free FOCUS. And all but one version have some of the most powerful Feats in the game.
• Mecha-Mooks: Gaspy4 has a trio that he respawns whenever they die, acting as ablative wounds and additional melee attacks for him. Each also has "Murderous" giving them free boosted damage against living enemies.
• Nerf: He was subjected to four rounds of Nerfs to try and reign him in from being a Game-Breaker. Specifics include:
  • Because of how the rules worked in 2nd edition, it was possible to have a unit attack, kill some things, then get charged and killed by an allied unit, then use his Feat to resurrect the dead and have them attack again. This was removed, charging and killing your own models was no longer allowed in 3rd edition.
  • Gaspy2 used to have a Combo move that would allow him to essentially fire a Bile Thrall at the enemy turn 1, blowing them up and dealing acid damage to everyone before the game even really began. That was nixed.
  • His spell Excarnate used to actively let him grow his own army size by killing enemy models, allowing him to get into melee, blast the enemy, and then resurrect them all as a fresh squad to attack the enemy with. This was also nixed.
  • Part of his overbearing power was that armies in 1st and 2nd edition were largely infantry focused, and this meant lots of Soul Tokens available for him to gather and give himself truly silly amounts of FOCUS. 3rd edition shifted the rules ot encourage heavy use of Warjacks, leaving far more robots on the field that would not give Gaspy the Soul Tokens he so craved.
• One-Handed Zweihänder: Gaspy3 carries "Daimonion" in one hand, despite the handle being nearly three hands long.
• Shadow Archetype: He carries several Censers, religious implements for burning incense and usually the symbol of priesthood, on his belt. He uses them to capture souls of the living in a twisted mirror of priestly duties to "save" the souls of their congregation.
• Spikes of Villainy: Every version of him, even Gaspy4 has these, reflecting his status as The Heavy for Toruk.
• The Starscream: Cheerfully contrived the death of Lich Lord Daeamortus, and then forged his soul into a weapon and took his rank.
• Teleportation: Every version of him has a spell or innate ability that allows this within a short distance of himself, making him exceptionally difficult to pin down or put cover between you and him.
• The Unfettered: Flung himself into a volcano to prove his willingness to serve Toruk, and has absolutely no depth to which he will not sink to attain power for himself, Toruk or both.
• Wave-Motion Tuning Fork: Asphyxious1 and 4 carry spears with split tips, which they use to fire their spells out of, achieving this trope.

Lich Lord Corripio controls the Archive of Skell, a library of unestimable worth that includes a treasure trove of stolen and accumulated lore, including many tomes thought lost forever by those on the mainland. What the archive contains on the Orgoth in particular is beyond compare. It also preserves voluminous documents transcribing discoveries and insights arising from the work of other Lich Lords, such as Fulmenus, Tenebrous, and Venethrax. Corripio's peers must stay in his good graces if they desire access to this information. Lich Lord Malathrax has been notably reticent to contribute to the archives, hoarding his gathered intelligence and doling it out frugally.

Corripio has a single version, Lich Lord Corripio, Master Librarian of the Archive of Skell

• Anti-Magic:
  • His "Silence!" command within the Archive of Skell prevents victims from casting spells that need an incantation or other verbal component.
  • His "Dark Energy" lair command automatically cancels every spell of a 5th level or lower that his enemies are using
• The Archmage: Compared to his peer Lich Lords, Corripio is far more dedicated to the spellcasting side of combat, relying on the innumerable stores of knowledge he has at his disposal to deal with problems rather than "merely" hitting things.
  • Fittingly, he can cast all of his Cantrips, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd level spells at will. Normal wizards can only cast Cantrips at will.
  • He also can use his "Arcane Absorption" ability to turn one spell that he has seen cast within the past 60 seconds to turn one of his scrolls into a copy of it.
  • His legendary actions allow him to potentially cast four spells per turn, though three of them will be cantrips. If he chooses to cast a second leveled spell he'll only be able to cast a "mere" three spells per turn.
• Chain Lightning: Invoked verbatim, as Corripio keeps the "Chain Lightning" spell prepared as a 6th level spell.
• Counterspell: He also keeps this spell prepared as an at will ability.
• Disintegrator Ray: He keeps "Disintegrate" prepared as a 6th level spell.
• Elemental Barrier: He has "Wall of Force" prepared as a 5th level spell, letting him both protect himself and inflict offensive damage to the enemy at the same time.
• Finger Poke of Doom: Invoked with his "Finger of Death" spell, which relies on his lich nature to kill with a seemingly innocuous finger poke. If his victim dies, he even gets to resurrect them for free!
• Great Big Library of Everything: As Master Librarian of the Archive of Skell his job is to protect and maintain the largest repository of knowledge in the entirety of Immoren.
• An Ice Person: He keeps "Ray of Frost" and "Ice Storm" prepared at all times.
• Keeper of Forbidden Knowledge: Deliberately Invoked, as not only does the Archive of Skell have every piece of knowledge Cryx has ever recovered, Corripio is always happy to prevent underlings and even his fellow Lich Lords from accessing any of it.
• Lawful Evil: His in-universe alignment, exaggerated as he is an absolute stickler for the rules and is happy to use them as justification to deny anyone who displeases him access to the Archive.
• Limited-Use Magical Device: In addition to his Magic Staff he carries eight blank scrolls on his person at all times to whip up a spell as necessary.
• Magic Staff: His relatively mundane "fell staff" is his only actual melee weapon, and which he usually uses instead to cast spells. He can still hit enemies with it, at least, and its magical properties allow it to deal magical bludgeoning damage in a pinch.
• Mana Shield: His "Shield" spell, which as a 1st level spell improves his durability at the expense of his spell slots. Or it would, if he wasn't The Archmage and good enough to ignore the Vancian Magic system to a degree.
• Night of the Living Mooks: He can cast "Animate Dead" at will, allowing him to resurrect hordes of thralls and zombies at will to battle his foes. On top of this, he keeps the library stocked with armies of Thralls, both to act as his personal attendants and to act as muscle to prevent anyone else from being allowed in the Archives without his approval.
• No-Sell:
  • Despite his focus on spells, his resistances are Cold and Lightning, and he's only immune to Necrotic, Poison, Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing damage. He isn't even Resistant to Magic!
  • He does, however, still have immunity to the Charm, Fear, and Poisoned Status Effects.
  • As a Lich Lord he also has the ability to automatically pass three failed saves per day with his Legendary Resistance ability.
• The Paralyzer: He has "Hold Person" and "Hold Monster" both prepared, though because "Hold Monster" is a 5th level spell he has to consume a spell slot to use it.
• Scary Librarian: He is the head of the Archive of Skell, and a Lich Lord to boot. These two facts together allow him to pull a number of additional spell-like abilities from the Archive, turning even the building itself against his enemies.
• Shock and Awe: In addition to his Chain Lightning spell, he keeps "Shocking Grasp" prepared as a Cantrip.
• Status Effects:
  • He can command "Silence!" in his Library, which causes all creatures who fail a Charisma saving throw to be muted for a full turn and unable to cast verbal spells or communicate.
  • His "Wave of Blight" Lair Action inflicts one level of Fatigue on all enemies who fail a Constitution saving throw.
• Teleportation: He has both the "Teleport" spell and the "Plane Shift" spell. That being said, it's not actually clear if Corripio has ever actually travelled to any of the other planes in the Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition cosmology. And if he has, it's not clear if the Archive of Skell now stores knowledge from outside the Iron Kingdoms' plane.
• Time Stands Still: One of his two 9th level spells is "Time Stop," allowing him to end a fight before his enemies can even react.
• Words Can Break My Bones: He knows the legendary "Power Word: Kill," allowing him to command someone to die and watch them keel over.
• Your Soul Is Mine!: Within the Lich Lords of the Iron Kingdoms RPG Corripio is a notable aversion. While he has the knowledge to bind souls, he doesn't keep any Soul Cages on his person, and in combat he lacks the means to either capture or consume souls to use as extra Mana.

Handpicked by Dominarch Deneghra to command the Necrofactorium, Lich Lord Dekathus bestrides battle like the entropic shadow of a wrathful god. With his mastery of the arcane arts of necrotheurgy and soul magic, Dekathus sows death with every step. His twin sickle-bladed mortifiers weave malefic magics to rip the souls from the damned as they fall before him, their spectral energies reinforcing Dekathus' own dark power.

Dekathus is a 4th edition Warcaster. He has a single version, Lich Lord Dekathus.

• "Avoid This Area" Effect: His spell "Shadowmancer" gives all Dekathus' Helljacks the "Dark Shroud" special rule, inflicting -2 armor on all enemies within 2" of them.
• Came Back Wrong: Dekathus lived in life as a Bold Explorer and Caspian ship's captain who was a skilled negotiator and storyteller. After being resurrected as an Iron Lich he became a humorless taskmaster obsessed with violence and strength, without the stomach for intrigue or games.
• Blood Magic: His sickles have the "Blood Boon" special rule, allowing Dekathus to harness the dying energies of enemies to cast spells for free. Notably he can still gather Soul Tokens on top of casting a spell for free, suggesting he uses the energies of their death to cast spells this way, rather than using their souls as Mana.
• Bold Explorer: What got him captured by Cryx in the first place. Sailing as a Caspian explorer brought him to the (at the time) largely unknown Scharde Islands. His crew were overwhelmed by mechanithralls and Cryxian undead, and he was captured and enslaved.
• The Brute: Though a capable spellcaster, Dekathus' role is as Deneghra's personal attack dog. His spells and his physical prowess are both focused entirely on harming anything that may oppose him, and he acts to ensure the loyalty of the infamously backstabby Lich Lord Council to his master.
• Deader than Dead: His spell "Annihilation" removes the victim from play and prevents them from generating Corpse Tokens
• Disintegrator Ray "Annihilation" vaporizes the target completely, leaving no corpse and causing Dekathus to gather the victim's soul regardless of the range.
• Double Agent: When first captured, Dekathus' mortal form negotiated his own survival by offering to become this trope for Cryx. On the surface he continued to sail for Caspia and explore, but in secret his crew were replaced with Scharde Pirates and he brought lore and intelligence on Immoren back to his Cryx masters.
• The Dragon: To Deneghra. While politically incompetent, Dekathus is an unparalleled mage and melee combatant. He unflinching loyalty to Deneghra makes him her primary lieutenant on the council of Lich Lords and the implicit threat against any who would try to subvert her.
• Dual Wielding: For melee he wields a pair of sickles, showing that he is a combat-focused Lich Lord in contrast to his peers and their preference for Magic Staffs and blades on sticks to keep enemies at a distance.
• Gathering Steam: His "Ghost Shield" special rule gives Dekathus +1 armor for every Soul Token he has stored
• Hobbes Was Right: Though his ascension to the Lich Lord council upset even Deneghra's own supporters, his sheer savagery and Undying Loyalty to Deneghra have kept everyone to afraid of reprisal to dare suggest anything against her.
• I Call It "Vera": His sickles are named "Mortifier."
• Implacable Man: Standing on a 40mm base, Dekathus is an enormous undead construct of soul and steel. His great sickles cleave through any enemies in his path, to the point that even other Lich Lords are terrified of upsetting him or moving against his master. In Warmachine he has the "Unstoppable" special rule, allowing him to freely enter and leave melee without penalty so that he can keep moving towards his target as he chooses.
• Luck Manipulation Mechanic: Dekathus' Feat allows him to force any enemy or ally within 14" of himself to reroll any roll they make for a turn, at the cost of 1 Soul Token.
• Mana Potion: The first portion of his Feat fills Dekathus' Soul Token stash with 5 tokens that he can use as additional Mana.
• No One Could Survive That!: Unusually for an Undead he has the "Tough" special rule, giving him a 1-in-3 chance to ignore lethal damage. It plays into his Walking Wasteland status as an Implacable Man by making him essentially an unkillable living disaster.
• Rōnin: An interesting variation. His Lich Lord Daemortus was slain by Asphyxious, leaving Dekathus masterless and without direction. In voluntary exile, he garrisoned an empty fortress on the edge of the Scharde Islands: the last directive his master had given him. It was Deneghra herself who sought him out, offering him as a new master and a new purpose.
• Sinister Scythe: His weapons of choice are a pair of enormous sickles, giving him a strong Grim Reaper aesthetic that ties into his role as a combat-focused Warcaster.
• Undying Loyalty: Dekathus is noted for his unusual possession of the virtue of Loyalty among Cryxian forces and Lich Lords in particular. After his lord Daemortus was killed, Dekathus dutifully carried out the last directive he was given for decades, and once Deneghra offered him a new master to serve, he took to her with gusto.
• Villain Holds the Leash: The carrot that Deneghra offered to both cement her own power and Dekathus' role as her proxy within the council of Lich Lords. She promised to stay his hand and curtail his "reckless" slaughter provided they supported her. Dekathus' own incredible martial prowess as the stick immediately saw Deneghra's power solidified.
• Visible Invisibility: His spell "Shadowmancer" also grants all Dekathus' Helljacks the "Stealth" special rule, rendering them impossible to target with ranged attacks from beyond 5". At close range, though, the imperfections in the effect allow enemies to detect those cloaked by it, similar to the Predator.
• Walking Wasteland: His "Entropic Force" special rule creates a 5" radius zone around himself where flesh rots and wounds refuse to heal. All enemies lose Tough while near him, and cannot heal from their injuries.
• Weaponized Teleportation: His Mortifiers have "Gates of Hell," allowing him to spend a soul token when he kills an enemy with them to teleport anywhere within 4" of himself.
• Yank Into Melee: His "Impending Doom" spell drags all enemies within 5" of him into his melee range, where he can follow up with his Mortifiers for a Coup de Grâce.
• Your Soul Is Mine!:
  • As a Lich Lord he naturally has "Soul Taker," though his skill at it is inferior to most, restricting him to living enemies who die within 2" of Dekathus himself.
  • His "Annihilation" spell allows Dekathus to gain an enemy's soul regardless of the range, as long as it kills them.

No other individual in Cryx has been so deliberately molded into a mystical weapon from childhood as has Deneghra. Born Gloria Haley in a fishing village on the western coast of Cygnar, along with her twin sister Victoria, Deneghra was identified by prophecy and then seized by satyxis at the age of five to be delivered to Asphyxious. Her entire upbringing was engineered to exploit her warcaster talents for the Nightmare Empire. The iron lich mentored her directly to prepare her for her early induction into the warwitch tradition, the direct inheritors of Orgoth magics. Deneghra embraced these practices, showing an aptitude for cruelty and shadow that would have horrified her forgotten parents.

Wherever she travels, Deneghra leaves a scorched path of devastation. On the battlefield she is a beautiful terror, perversely angelic in her wicked beauty. Deneghra drifts like a phantom through trees and walls and need but whisper for men to claw at their skulls in a vain attempt to silence the voices inside their minds.

Undeath has amplified Deneghra’s twisted manners of treachery and deceit, her cruelty, and her lust. She can only feel a tempestuous rage and act against those in her path, wantonly seeking victims to crush and kill at the behest of her master. However, it does nothing to ease her worries or fill the void left by her vacant soul.

Deneghra, the Soul Weaver takes to the skies to terrorize her foes. Atop her nightmarish winged necromechanikal mount she blots out the sun, casting a long shadow over those destined to die by her command. She gathers the souls of those slain in her presence, twisting them to her malevolent will. Such is her mastery that she can send these tormented spirits to empower her machines or tear their essence apart to weave a torrent of withering magic.

Deneghra has four versions, Warwitch Deneghra (Denehgra1), Wraith Witch Deneghra (Deneghra2), Deneghra the Soul Weaver (Deneghra3), and Warwitch Initiate Deneghra (Deneghra0). She is a Warcaster.

• Acid Attack:
  • Deneghra1, 2, and 0 have the spell "Venom", which just sprays acid all over the enemy, dealing corrosive damage.
  • Deneghra3 rides a mount that has this as a Breath Weapon.
• Always Someone Better: Deneghra was kidnapped because Skarre Ravenmane forsaw that her mother would give birth to a sorcerer of Reality Warper talents, but it was unknown which sister it would be. Fast forward to the present and Deneghra3 has died and been rebuilt, and now rides a huge necromechanikal Dragonspawn. Haley3 became Neo, able to alter matter at a whim, render herself immortal, stop and twist time, and summon past and future versions of herself that can die without causing any paradoxes, allowing her to resummon them. Pretty easy to figure out who the Reality Warper child was between the two of them.
  • On another level, she kidnapped Allister Caine's daughter, Cynthia Rosko, to try to put her through the same thing she was subjected to. She was not pleased when Caine rubbed it in her face during the ensuing rescue mission that his little girl had managed to escape from her captors when Deneghra didn't.
• Back from the Dead: After she was killed by his sister, Asphyxious rebuilt her into an Iron Lich.
• Bare Midriffs Are Feminine: Naturally she has the exposed midsection rather than any of the Male Cryx Warcasters.
• Beat Them at Their Own Game: Deneghra1 has the spell "Dark Seduction", which allows her to take control of enemy warriors for a short time. Her transition from Deneghra1 to Denegrha2 began when her sister Haley took control of her own Warjack and had it murder her.
• Cain and Abel: A very solid Cain to Victoria's Abel.
• Captain Morgan Pose: Deneghra2 was resculpted in 2016 to have this pose to better evoke her Dominatrix elements.
• Casting a Shadow: Gains phenomenal shadow powers after dying and being reborn.
• Chainmail Bikini: Downplayed, at Armor 15 she is fairly squishy, but she's still far more armored than men clad in heavy leather aprons covered in metal tools despite walking around in a thong and thigh high boots.
• Counter-Attack: Deneghra3 can grant the ability to perform one to a friendly model with her spell "Grave Wind", it grants +2 defense and the ability to push enemies who miss attacks away from the model, potentially moving them out of range to try and attack again.
• Dark Is Evil: She really, really is.
• Devious Daggers: One sign that Deneghra0 isn't a full warcaster yet is that she's relegated to Dual Wielding a pair of curved daggers instead of using one of her signature polearms.
• Deader than Dead: Deneghra's spell "Hellmouth" removes victims from play rather than killing them, meaning Tough can't save them, and they can't come Back from the Dead.
• Dominatrix: Every version of Deneghra is in a Stripperific leather and steel outfit, but Deneghra2's 2016 resculpt evokes this trope most clearly. She's even resculpted to be holding her soul-traps like a whip and standing with her boot on the head of an enemy.
• The Dragon: For most of her life, Deneghra had been Asphyxious' most trusted and valuable acolyte.
• Dragon Ascendant: After Asphyxious joined the refugees and left Caen through the gateway at the battle of Henge Hold, Toruk promoted Deneghra to replace him, attaining the role he had always envisioned for her.
• Dragon Rider: Deneghra3, after being rebuilt by Asphyxious, was given a necromechanikal Dragonspawn to ride.
• Dual Wielding: Only Deneghra's prequel variant fills this trope, carrying a pair of shadowblades rather than one of her iconic polearms.
• Evil Counterpart: Has a number of mechanical counterpoints to her sister, such as feats that spread penalties across the enemy lines and the same Focus stat.
• Expy: Downplayed, as her character role has always been different, but aesthetically she owes almost all of her design influence to the Borg Queen. Only her Prequel version diverges from this design consistency, opting for more of a Tin Tyrant design due to not wearing Power Armor.
• From Nobody to Nightmare: Small child + training by Asphyxious = Cryxian war witch.
• Hoist by His Own Petard: Was ripped in half by her own Slayer when her sister hijacked it.
• Intangibility: Deneghra2 has this as an innate ability, letting her become incorporeal for a full turn provided she was solid the previous turn.
  • Her Feat grants this to 4-6 models within 14" of her.
• Mana Potion: Deneghra3's feat is basically this. All it does is give her seven Soul Tokens, which, as they aren't FOCUS can be spent slightly differently than normal, especially in conjunction with her "Arcane Spirits" and "Vengeful Spirits" special rules.
• Naginatas Are Feminine: The three full Warcaster versions of Deneghra all use some kind of pole-arm, either a spear or a glaive.
• Nature Versus Nurture: Haley and Deneghra were twin sisters. Due to nature, both developed incredible Warcaster talent at a young age. Due to nurture, Deneghra turned into a sociopathic serial killer while Haley became a champion of Cygnar.
• The Paralyzer: Deneghra's first two versions can inflict "Shadow Bind" on enemy models, crippling their ability to avoid incoming damage and preventing them from moving beyond turning-to-face.
• Power Parasite: Literally, her spell "Parasite" reduces an enemy's armor by 3 and increases her armor by 1.
• Psychosexual Horror: The only plausible justification for why every version of her has a pair of pipes that feed directly from her steampunk Power Armor into her nipples, even the ones from before she was killed and resurrected as an Iron Lich.
• Sensible Heroes, Skimpy Villains: Haley wears a full-body-covering Power Armor and undersuit, while Deneghra wears a tube top, thong, and thigh highs.
• The Sneaky Guy: Part of her Character Development. Her first iteration and her prequel iteration have "Stealth", making ranged attacks automatically miss from more than 5" away. After dying and being resurrected, she's far less careful or afraid of injury, losing Stealth entirely. Her third version is a full on Battle Engine, eschewing sneakiness entirely in favor of full-frontal aggression.
• Spikes of Villainy: Every version has between 2 and 6 huge talon spikes coming out of her back, creating a visual aesthetic somewhere between wings and spider legs.
• Status Ailment:
  • Deneghra1's spell "Black Talons" reduces an enemy model's defense by 3
  • Her spell "Crippling Graps" reduces their speed, damage, defense, and armor by 2.
  • Deneghra2 has "Breath Stealer", a spell that reduces a target's speed and defense by 2. Her prequel iteration also has this spell.
  • She also has "Curse of Shadows", which reduces a victim's armor by 2 and prevents them from taking free strikes at enemies who pass nearby them. It also renders them intangible to movement, letting her units pass right through them and potentially reaching whatever her target was protecting.
  • Finally, her spell "Shadow Step", which has the same effect as "Black Talons"
  • Deneghra3 meanwhile has the spell "Mortality", which reduces a target's defense and armor by 2, while also stripping them of Tough and inflicting a Wound That Will Not Heal.
• Status Buff:
  • Deneghra1 has "Ghost Walk", a spell that lets one of her models become intangible.
  • Deneghra2 has the spell "Damnation", which lets all her Warjacks charge and slam without needing to spend FOCUS,
• Superpowerful Genetics: Deneghra and her twin sister Haley are both incredibly powerful Warcasters. Deneghra was even kidnapped as a baby because of a prophecy that her mother would give birth to a Reality Warper.
• Undeathly Pallor: Played with. Original depictions of Deneghra showed her with peach-colored skin in an effort to emphasize that she was still a living character compared to other Cryx characters, however after her 2008 resculpt official art has always depicted her with pure white skin, similar to Aiakos above, due to her lifetime spent living among the Blight of Toruk.
• Unrealistic Black Hole: Deneghra's second form sports the spell "Hellmouth", which, on impact, sucks enemy models towards the first person hit, then detonates a 3" AOE guaranteeing enemies will be hit.
• Walking Wasteland: Deneghra1 has this as part of her Feat, debilitating all enemy models within 14" of her by -2 to all the common stats for a turn.
• Weaponized Teleportation: Deneghra's second form has "Dark Banishment" on her glaive, letting her forcibly teleport any enemy model she hits anywhere within 4-9" of where they were when she hit them, potentially moving them from trying to kill her to right in front of one of her Warjacks.
• Your Soul Is Mine!: As a student of Asphyxious, Deneghra in all her forms has "Soul Taker", letting her fuel herself by converting the souls of the dead into FOCUS.
  • Deneghra3 cranks this up to eleven by not only letting her use Soul Tokens to fuel herself, but to also collect Soul Tokens from allied models, and use them to cast spells for free or fill up her Warjacks for free.

Lich Lord Divinitus is the high priest of the Church of Toruk. From the Black Temple in Skell, he directs the worship of the Dragonfather, guiding supplicants in a ceaseless stream of praises and litanies of Toruk's greatness. The Priesthood of the Dragonfather answer to him in all matters, and Divinitus exhorts his flock to spread the blessing of Toruk's blight across the Nightmare Empire. Divinitus is not fond of the newest Lich Lord Deneghra, who he believes is attempting to usurp his position at the Dragonfather's right hand—a position only he seems to believe he commands. He watches with a close eye lest this Warwitch Usurper slip up and give him reason to call her devotion to Toruk into quesiton.

Divinitus has a single version, Lich Lord Divinitus, High Priest of the Church of Toruk

• Anti-Magic: He has "Antimagic Field," "Dispel Magic," and "Dispel Evil and Good" on his list of spells.
• Anti-Regeneration: Divinitus' "Bless with Blight" Legendary Action allows him to fill the area around himself in a 30 foot radius with Dragonblight, preventing all creatures in the area of effect from being able to regain hitpoints for a turn.
• The Archmage: Though less pronounced than some of his peer Lich Lords, Divinitus still has the ability to cast Cantrips, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd level spell at will. He does, however, have conspicuously fewer spells that Corripio at his disposal (for example, a single 9th level spell compared to Corripio's two) but is still a tremendously powerful spellcaster.
• Armor-Piercing Attack: His "Inevitable" special rule allows him to ignore Resistance: Necrotic on his victims.
• Back from the Dead: One of Divinitus' at-will spells is "Animate Dead," allowing him to keep resurrecting his Thralls in the heat of battle if necessary.
• Cooldown Manipulation: His "Second Sermon" special action instantly reduces the recharge timer on his "Litany of the Dragonfather's Praises" action to 0 and allows him to use it immediately.
• Curse: One of his at-will spells is "Bestow Curse."
• Flunky Boss: As the head of the Church of Toruk, if he's fought inside the Black Temple of Skell, he will deploy throngs of worshippers against his foes to overwhelm them while he slings spells from afar.
• Holy Is Not Safe: The Religion of Evil version. While within the Black Temple of Skell, Divinitus can use his position as the pope of the church of Toruk to overwhelm his foes with Toruk's splendor and magnificence, filling the temple with Toruk's intoxicating Dragonblight and his divinity.
• Inspiring Sermon: Weaponized, one of his default actions is the "Litany of the Dragonfather's Praises," which launches a sermon that inflicts psychic damage and paralysis on anyone within 100 feet of himself.
• Intangibility: Divinitus keeps the "Etherealness" spell prepared to help him avoid any enemies who manage to close into melee range with him.
• Kill It with Fire: Among his spells are "Sacred Flame," "Flame Strike," and "Fire Storm."
• Kill the Lights: He also keeps "Blindness/Deafness" prepared.
• Knockback: While in the Black Temple of Skell, Divinitus can fill it with the Divine Might of Toruk, causing all creatures who fail a Wisdom save to be knocked prone in the face of Toruk's glory.
• Lawful Evil: Unsurprisingly the Pope of the Church of Toruk is a real stickler for rules, granting him this alignment in-universe.
• Luck Manipulation Mechanic:
  • His "Guidance" and "Resistance" spells grant the target "Advantage," allowing them to roll two dice and pick the higher value for accuracy and saving throws, respectively.
  • While in the Black Temple of Skell, Divinitus can rouse the congregation to attack his foes, giving them all "Advantage" on all their saving throws in the process.
• Mana Potion: The Vancian Magic equivalent. While in the Black Temple of Skell, Divinitus can use one of his lair actions to regain all of his spell slots below a random number between 1st and 8th level.
• Meaningful Name: Naturally the head of the Church of Toruk is named Divinitus.
• No-Sell:
  • He naturally has immunity to Necrotic, Poison, Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing damage, as well as resistance to Cold and Lightning damage
  • He's also immune to Blind, Charm, Deafen, Fatigue, Fear, Paralysis, Petrification, Stunned, and Poisoned Status Effects
  • With three Legendary Resistances per day he can outright ignore three failed saves per day.
  • He keeps "Protection from Good and Evil" and "Protection from Energy" prepared as 1st and 3rd level spells, respectively, allowing him to cast them at will.
  • Finally, he's immune to Turn Undead outright.
• The Paralyzer: Divinitus can use his "Litany of the Dragonfather's Praises" action to inflict Paralysis on all targets who fail a Charisma saving throw
• Religion of Evil: He leads the worship of Toruk as a legitimate religion. In this case, he can even weaponize his sermons to spread the literal divinity of Toruk, blighting anything within range.
• Resistant to Magic: Divinitus has the "Magic Resistance" special rule common to Lich Lords, giving him Advantage on saving throws against spells.
• Sinister Minister: He's the leader of the Church of Toruk, the head of the entire religious arm and its worship of the Dragonfather.
• Small Name, Big Ego: Downplayed, as he's still a Lich Lord and thus on the ruling council of Cryx. At the same time, Divinitus takes his name rather literally, believing that as the Pope of the Church of Toruk he's effectively the sole arbiter of Toruk's will and his (un)living mouthpiece on Caen. Unsurprisingly he despises anyone who undermines his self-perception, particularly Asphyxious and Deneghra who both act as the de facto leaders of Cryx, and remains in denial of the fact that the rest of the Lich Lords also don't see him as anything more than a token mouthpiece for the religious aspects of Toruk that none of them care about.
• Status Effects:
  • He can cast "Silence" at will, preventing the casting of spells with a vocal component such as an incantation.
  • He also has "Sanctuary," which forces anyone trying to attack the creature he cast it on to pass a Wisdom saving throw first.
• Thinking Up Portals: His sole 9th-level spell is "Gate," which allows him to teleport by opening holes in reality.
• True Sight: He has "True Seeing" as one of his available spells to cut through any illusions or obstacles his enemies might throw up.
• Weapons of Their Trade: His primary melee weapon is a thurible, also known as a censer. It's essentially a small incense burner on a chain, typically used in Catholic religious ceremonies in real life. He uses it as an improvized Epic Flail.

One of the two Lich Lords who fought at the battle of Drer Drakkerung, Fulmenus is a shadowy specter whose body was obliterated in the final arcane destruction of the Orgoth stronghold. However, his ghostly form is not a deteriment to Fulmenus' studies, his reasearch into the necromantic lore. His shade flickers through the Archive of Skell attended by a court of spectral servants, and the unliving thralls of the archive seem naturally drawn to his presence.

Fulmenus has a single version, Lich Lord Fulmenus, Master of Necromancy

• Acid Attack: One of his cantrips is "Acid Splash"
• The Archmage: Like Corripio he knows some of the most powerful spells in Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition, though like Divinitus he is slightly less capable of casting some high level spells than Corripio. The fact that he's also a ghost means he's deceptively durable for a wizard, too, letting him sling spells even in melee without much hinderance.
• Back from the Dead: His title "Master of Necromancy" isn't just for show:
  • At-will, he can cast "Animate Dead," up to four times per turn.
  • He also knows both "Finger of Death" and "Create Undead" as higher level spells.
  • He can also pull forth souls trapped in the Void to attack his foes while within the Archive of Skell. He's so good at doing so he doesn't even need to summon them as Banes, he can just rip them out of the Void and fire them like bullets at his enemies.
• Casting a Shadow:
  • His "Shadow Step" Legendary Action allows Fulmenus to Flash Step to a nearby shadow
  • One of his Lair Actions also allows him to damage any enemies hiding in the shadows of the Archive of Skell with the shadows of the Archive of Skell.
• Curse: Like Corripio he knows the "Bestow Curse" spell as an at-will ability.
• Field Power Effect: His "Master of Necromancy" special rule gives all undead allies of Fulmenus himself Advantage on all saving throws while they're within 60 feet of him.
• Finger Poke of Doom: Like Corripio he knows the "Finger of Death" spell, allowing him to inflict enormous necrotic damage with just a finger poke. As an added bonus, anything that dies from the spell resurrects as a zombie under his control.
• Flash Step: His "Shadow Step" Legendary Action allows Fulmenus to pull of this trope, but only to a nearby shadow.
• Ghostly Glide: While few Lich Lords have legs, preferring instead to hover over the ground for greater agility and dexterity, Fulmenous is one of only two Lich Lords who fits this trope by virtue of being a living phantasm. In contrast to basically every other Iron Lich ever, he has been able to maintain a semi-corporeal form after the destruction of both his phyllactery and his Iron Lich body. This was presumably due to some quirk of Orgoth magicks interacting with his own Lichdom.
• An Ice Person: He keeps "Cone of Cold" prepared as a 5th level spell, and can cast "Chill Touch" and "Ray of Frost" at-will.
• Intangibility:
  • As essentially an unkillable ghost, Fulmenus can freely travel through any obstructions he desires to get where he wants to go.
  • While in the Archive of Skell he can also use a Lair Action to give all undead creatures within the Archive the ability to pass through walls, doors, ceilings, and floors for a turn.
• Ironic Name: His name "Fulmenus" comes from the word "Fulmenate," meaning "to turn into an explosive." Fulmenus himself is famous for having survived the explosion at the end of the Orgoth retreat from Immoren as an apparition for the next millennium.
• Kill It with Fire: He also can cast "Fire Bolt" and "Burning Hands" at will.
• Kill the Lights: He has both "Blindness" and "Darkness" as at-will spells, allowing him to blind any potential foe.
• Life Drain: Due to being a ghost, Fulmenus' default attack is sapping the life energy out of his foes and healing himself in the process.
  • When he damages a living creature with one of his spells, his "Spirit Reaper" ability heals him for 2x the spell's level
  • Invoked verbatim with his melee attack, "Life Drain."
• Living Forever Is Awesome: Fulmenus revels in the fact that he's nigh-impossible to kill, even by the standards of the already difficult to kill Lich Lords of Cryx. The fact that he's also impossible to stop from going where he pleases also means that he can mill around the Archive of Skell at his leisure, with Corripio totally unable to stop him.
• Maximum HP Reduction: Those struck by Fulmenus' Life Drain melee attack find their maximum hp reduced by the same amount they were damaged, until they can rest long enough to recover.
• Mind Control: He has "Dominate Person" as a 5th level spell prepared.
• Neutral Evil: In contrast to Corripio, this is Fulmenus' in-universe alignment. This reflects his more free-spirited (pun intended) nature, willing to break the "rules" if it benefits himself.
• Night of the Living Mooks: As the Master of Necromancy he specializes in amassing armies of zombies and Thralls at his beck and call. He even seems to naturally accrue them, with the Thralls in the Archive of Skell naturally congregating around his location.
• No-Sell:
  • Thanks to his incorporeal form he's outright immune to Cold, Necrotic, Poison, Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing damage, as well as resistant to Acid, Fire, Lightning, and Thunder damage.
  • Like the other Lich Lords he has three Legendary Resistances per day, letting him outright ignore a failed save.
  • He's also immune to Charm, Fatigue, Fear, Grapple, Paralysis, Petrification, Knockdown, Restrained, and Poisoned Status Effects.
  • And, despite being a ghost, he's still immune to Turn Undead effects.
• Ominous Fog: He has both "Cloudkill" and "Fog Cloud" prepared as spells.
• The Paralyzer: He has "Hold Person" as an at-will spell.
• Power of the Void: As the Master of Necromancy within Cryx, Fulmenus is so skilled he can temporarily call forth souls trapped in the Void to attack his foes, without needing to go through the usual process of fabricating a true Bane. While within the Archive of Skell in the Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition version of his statblock, he can use this as a Lair Action at the start of each turn, striking every foe who fails a Wisdom saving throw for enormous damage.
• Resistant to Magic: Part of what makes him even more unkillable than a conventional Iron Lich is that he has "Magic Resistance," meaning he still has Advantage on all saving throws from things like "Dispel Magic," the exact sort of thing that would permanently kill him.
• Resurrective Immortality: Because he's no longer bound to a physical Iron Lich form, whenever he dies he resurrects automatically up to 6 days later, rather than having to wait for a new body to be manufactured for him.
• Supernatural Fear Inducer: His "Horrifying Visage" special action allows him to inflict Fear on all nearby enemies for fail a Wisdom saving throw. He can even use "Horrifying Visage" as one of his Legendary Actions.
• Words Can Break My Bones: Like Corripio, he knows "Power Word: Kill" as a 9th level spell.

Malathrax is the cunning spymaster of Cryx. Standing over ten feet tall, his slender body of black iron is concealed by flowing robes of midnight black. The Lich Lord conceals his floating skull under a cunningly devices mask of articulating silver plates that can form all manner of features, from a cherubic infant's face to the snarling countenance of some Urcaen-dwelling monster. Hidden beneath his robes, a swarm of insect-like necromechanikal creatures swarm across and within his iron body. Malathrax is inscrutable, even to his fellow Lich Lords. They know him to possess vast libraries of information known only to himself, and what little he does share with them is most often in pursuit of his own agendas.

Malathrax has a single version, Lich Lord Malathrax, Spymaster of Cryx

• The Archmage: To keep pace with Corripio, Malathrax is an excellent spellcaster. Not only can he cast all of his spells 3rd level or below at will, his Legendary Action allows him to cast any of his at-will spells for just a single action (rather than costing two for most Lich Lords).
• Beat Them at Their Own Game: Despite his specialty focus in Mind Control, Malathrax has no immunity to Charm or Fear, meaning he can be Mind Controlled right back.
• Casting a Shadow: Downplayed, as his only ability that fits this trope is his "Shadow Stealth" special rule. While in shadow, he gains a free Hide Bonus Action as he melts into the darkness, invisible.
• Counterspell: To keep pace with his fellow Lich Lords, he has this as an at-will spell.
• Disintegrator Ray: He keeps "Disintegrate" prepared as a 6th level spell.
• Dodge the Bullet: His inherent Reaction is the "Uncanny Dodge" ability, allowing him to halve the damage of any attack that hits him by dodging.
• Expressive Mask: Justified, as his "face" is a mask that is actually composed of numerous individual and mobile elements, allowing him to reconfigure it into different expressions at will. He even uses this as a weapon:
  • His "Mask of Many Faces" attack acts as a Supernatural Fear Inducer, and his "Masks, Ever Changing" Legendary Action lets him use it twice per turn if he wants.
• Helpless with Laughter: Weaponized, he has the "Hideous Laughter" 1st level spell as an at-will option.
• Kill It with Ice: He keeps "Ray of Frost" as one of his cantrips, allowing
• Mana Potion: Malathrax carries five soul cages on his person, and can consume souls he keeps trapped within them to replenish his spell slots.
• Mass Hypnosis: He has "Mass Suggestion" prepared as a 6th level spell, presumable for both protection from angry mobs and to allow him to more easily infiltrate Immorese societies for secrets if necessary.
• Master of Illusion: He has the spells "Minor Illusion," "Disguise Self," "Project Image," and "Mirror Image" prepared, so that he can misdirect threats or interrogate targets. His "Misinformation" Legendary Action also allows him to create an illusory copy of himself at will.
• Mind Control: His specialty, to facilitate his role as Spymaster when he has to get his hands dirty personally. He keeps "Charm Person," "Suggestion," "Confusion," "Dominate Person," "Dream," "Modify Memory," "Mass Suggestion," "Feeblemind," and "Mind Blank" prepared at all times. He can also cast "Charm Person" and "Suggestion" at-will.
• Neutral Evil: His in-universe alignment. As Spymaster, his role is to break the law to sustain the lawful rule of Toruk, illegally discovering state secrets to empower the nation of Cryx.
• No-Sell:
  • He's immune to Poison, Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing Damage, as well as resistant to Necrotic Damage.
  • He's also immune to Turn Undead, Paralysis, Petrification, Poisoned, Knockedown, Restrained, and Knockout Status Effects
• Omniglot: Fittingly for the Spymaster of Cryx, Malathrax speaks Cygnaran, Khadoran, Llaelese, Scharde, Tkra, and Thrallspeak. He also speaks Infernal. This allows him to root out knowledge from the largest sources of technological innovation in Immoren, as well as potentially interrogate secrets from beyond this plane of existence.
• Resistant to Magic: Invoked verbatim, as he has Advantage on all saving throws against spells and magical effects.
• Shock and Awe: One of his cantrips is "Shocking Grasp"
• The Spymaster: Invoked as his official title on the Council of Lich Lords.
• The Stoic: Due to knowing the value a single misplaced word can have, Malathrax plays everything close to the chest. He's a Lich Lord of few words, and despite his Expressive Mask betrays nothing about his own machinations or goals to others.
• Supernatural Fear Inducer: He can use his "Mask of Many Faces" to induce fear in any living or construct creature he can see within 60 feet of himself.
• The Swarm: Inside his cloak is a horde of nechromechnical mites that he can deploy as a ranged spell attack to hit up to six targets within 30 feet. While the individual damage isn't much, its precision Area of Effect allows him to manage multiple threats at once quite effectively.
• Twin Switch: When he manifests his illusory clone with his "Misdirection" Legendary Action, he can also freely teleport to switch places with it at will.
• Words Can Break My Bones: He knows "Power Word: Kill" as a trump card against threats too Genre Savvy to fall for his illusions or Mind Control.

At a young age Lucidia joined a cult of Cyriss based in the Foundry of Enumeration in the Wyrmwall Mountains, and was responsible for the creation of the first vectors, the Galvanizer. In 335 AR, she joined the team working on the Anima Corpus Procedure, a project to transfer a soul into the body of a machine, and was responsible for most of the innovative work on the project. She eventually reached the rank of forge master, the second-highest leader in the temple second only to Fluxion Helicratus.

As the team slowly sought to perfect the process, Lucidia became increasingly dissatisfied with the progress: the soul that was to be inhabiting the clockwork vessel failed to stick to it and always moved to Urcaen. After yeras of research,Lucidia finally identified the flaw that so troubled her: the creations did not possess true free will. Some external force exercised a subtle but undeniable control over the translated consciousness. Lucidia decided on a more radical approach: seek answers by experimenting on an iron lich of Cryx, which to her analytical mind were the closest parallel to their own work. She chose her prey carefully and recruited Lucant and fourteen other guards and engineers. Rumours of a buried Orgoth library succeeded in gaining the attention of the iron lich Lorvetus who obligingly took the bait. The ensuing battle against the iron lich saw five dead and two wounded, although in the end the mission was a success.

After a month of dissection, Lucidia brought in the body of the iron lich and announced to the priests the necromantic technology of Cryx had solved the very dilemma they faced. Her findings saw her imprisoned, declared apostate, and cast out of the cult of Cyriss. Two months later, she secretly sent Lucant a series of writings, a compilation of research conducted after her interrogation and examination of the iron lich. In 363 AR, a short time after Lucant perfected the process and successfully transferred Helicratus into a clockwork vessel, Lucidia led an army of thralls to attack the Foundry of Enumeration. She deactivated the guardians and killed everyone except for Lucant, whom she forgave for speaking against her. She seized Helicratus as her captive and fled to Cryx. Offering all she knew in exchange for asylum to the lords of Blackwater, she began to apply her theories to her own form, transforming into an Iron Lich.

Reborn Mortenebra, she has emerged from the smoke and soot to lead her ‘jacks to war. Surrounded by dozens of constructs, the children of her twisted science, and accompanied by her specially designed skarlock thrall Deryliss, Mortenebra has brought a new kind of nightmare to the mainland and spread the darkness of necrotite smoke over the kingdoms of men.

With her cold and penetrating mind, she has worked behind the scenes to further the development of the Nightmare Empire’s necromechanikal horrors. Driven to seek insights through the crucible of combat, she has continued to augment her own physical form through iterative reimaginings of her mechanikal frame. Now, with the chance to observe her creations in battle, Mortenebra’s dark mind has been stirred to new and greater heights.

Designed to reward tactical foresight, she excels at battlefield manipulation and seamless synergy with Deathjacks. Her weapons aren’t just brutal—they’re surgical. Blade Feathers bring fliers crashing down, and Tail Strike punishes missteps — Mortenebra shapes the battlefield before the first charge is declared. Her feat, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, lets her bring a destroyed Warjack back into the fray, giving her force staying power and keeping her Deathjacks active deep into the fight.

Mortenebra has three versions, Master Necrotech Mortenebra & Deryliss (Morty1), Mortenebra, Numen of Necrogenesis (Morty2) and Mortenebra Perfected (Morty3). She is a Warcaster.

• Absurdly Sharp Claws: In the Iron Kingdoms RPG her only melee attacks are her Necroclaws, which are superior to even a greatsword in base damage.
• Action Girl: Not content merely to toil in a lab, Mortenebra is willing to wage war on the front lines in pursuit of new "samples" for her experiments.
• Anti-Air: Morty3 has "Free Fall" on her Blade Feathers ranged attack, knocking flying enemies hit by it out of the air and inflicting knockdown on them.
• Anti-Magic:
  • Morty1 has the spell Void Gate", which creates an "Avoid This Area" Effect that negates all spells within it
  • Morty2 has "Spellpiercer", which grants all her allied models within 14" the ability to ignore Status Buff spells on her enemies
• Arbitrary Weapon Range: Thanks to her new wings, Morty3 has "Fly High," reducing the range of any enemy shots fired at her by -3" to represent just how high up she is.
• Armored, but Frail:
  • Morty2 has improved on her first version's heavily armored statline, but their low defense and need to spend all their FOCUS every turn means they're vulnerable to getting gunned down by massed fire.
  • Averted by Mortenbra Perfected, who retains her second form's Light Warjack grade armor but has brought her defense back to her lightly armored first version's.
• Armor-Piercing Attack: Morty3's Tail Slap has the "Chain Weapon" special rule, allowing her to ignore all armor from shields with it.
• Back from the Dead: Mortenebra Perfected can resurrect one of her Helljacks with full health (as long as it's 50mm or smaller) with her Feat.
• Badass Bookworm: She's the mind behind two of the most successful technological factions in the setting. She revolutionized the entire Convergence of Cyriss faction and Cryx. And she will kick all of the ass on the tabletop to go with it.
• Blood Knight: As time has gone on, Mortenebra has developed into a mechanikal version of this trope. She lives for the din of battle not out of a particular Bloodlust or thirst for violence, but because she sees it as the best crucible within which to test her creations.
• Blood Magic:
  • Morty1's spell "Sacrificial Lamb" lets her damage her infantry to provide free FOCUS to her Warjacks.
  • Morty3 has the spell "Convection," which harvests living enemies' lives to fuel her Warjacks.
• Brain–Computer Interface: Mortenebra's first form has a physical plug she can use to connect to her warjacks in base-to-base contact with her, allowing them direct access to her FOCUS reserves. Her upgraded bodies lose this ability, though.
• Continuity Nod:
  • Due to years as a member of the Cult of Cyriss and a secret researcher, she speaks three of the most common languages in western Immoren.
  • Mortenbra's "perfection" is developing her own version of Convergence of Cyriss' Clockwork Angels to integrate into her centipede form.
  • She also gained Syntherion's iconic spell "Synergy".
• Creepy Centipedes: Oh so very much, Morty2 has gone full centipede and is one of the most disturbing and evil characters in the setting, as she dissects people alive in the middle of battle for her own depraved "experiements".
• Evil Counterpart: To Lucant, her former mentor in Cyriss. Both are the engineering architects of Cyriss, while Lucant currently heads the factorums of Cyriss Mortenebra runs the Cyrx necrofactorums. Their model designs are deliberately mirrored to reinforce this, both being many-legged and four-armed in their first versions. Notable too as Lucant's arms in particular are very Cryxian in their stylings compared to other Cyrissian Warcasters who generally lack recognizable hands at all in favor of having tool-based extremities.
• Fallen Hero: The cult of Cyriss aimed to ascend all of Caen to a utopian hegemony. Mortenebra's obsession with perfecting the soul transferrence process meanwhile saw her join Cryx, the zombie apocalypse faction.
• Feather Flechettes: Morty3 can fire Blade Feathers from her wings as a ranged attack that hits harder than a Hand Cannon in-universe!
• Flight: Mortenebra Perfected has further upgraded her body with a pair of enormous mechanikal wings to allow her to flight.
• For Science!: Her obsession with science is what caused her to join Cryx.
• Gathering Steam: Morty3 has the spell "Synergy," which gives each of her Warjacks +1 accuracy and damage in melee for every other Warjack under her control that hit the same target that turn. This buff caps at +3 but encourages Mortenebra and her Helljacks to squad up against her foes, grouping into threes to drag them down.
• Hellfire: One of her 3rd level spells is "Dark Fire"
• Herd-Hitting Attack: Mortenebra's new Perfected wings allow her to fire a "Spray" type attack that hits all enemies in a line up to 10" away.
• High-Altitude Battle: Thanks to Flight and "Fly High," Mortenebra Perfected naturally engages in this with any models trying to attack her in melee.
• Home-Run Hitter: Morty3's tail has "Critical: Smite," launching enemies up to 6" backwards with her Tail Slap on a critical hit.
• Hyperactive Metabolism:
  • Mortenebra's second incarnation and her warjacks can heal themselves by feeding on the wrecks of enemy Warjacks.
  • In the Iron Kingdoms RPG she can use this on all enemy and allied Warjacks who are destroyed within 10 feet of herself.
• The Igor: Morty1 is accompanied everywhere by Deryliss, Mortenebra's underling who helps keep her Warjacks fueled and powered up.
• Implacable Man: Her added mass has given Morty3 the "Unstoppable" special rule, allowing her to freely leave melee without penalty.
• Just Think of the Potential!: She realized earlier than any other Cyrissists that the necrotechnology of Cryx could be reverse-engineered and adapted for "purer" uses. The rest of the church felt this was too great a risk to take and had her excommunicated for it. She was right though.
• Large and in Charge:
  • After the death of her master Morbus at the hands of Victoria Haley, Mortenebra rose to the overall command of the necrofactoriums. At the same time, she upgraded her form considerably, becoming a massive centipede like mechanikal horror.
  • Due to her giant wings, Morty3 is even larger than her previous form, barely fitting on her 50mm base.
• Lightning Bruiser: Mortenebra Perfected ignores terrain, ignores models in her way, has the armor of a Light Warjack, the speed of light infantry, the defense of a Fragile Speedster, the size of a Heavy Warjack, the "Unstoppable" special rule, the damage of a Light Warjack with a flamethrower, and has the "Mobility" spell to give herself +2 speed (boosting her to Cavalry speed) at will. In many ways she's Cryx's version of Karchev the Terrible, a Warcaster and Warjack in one that exemplifies the design philosophies of both for their respective factions.
• Liquid Assets: In the Iron Kingdoms RPG Morty can use her
• Luck Manipulation Mechanic:
  • Morty1's Feat lets all her allies within 14" of her freely reroll their accuracy and damage rolls for one turn.
  • In the Iron Kingdoms RPG, she gives all Warjacks under control "Advantage" on any attacks against the same target as another member of her battlegroup. This lets them roll two dice on every attack and pick the higher value.
  • She also can spend her FOCUS to give herself Advantage on a saving throw.
• Mana Burn: Morty1's primary method of dealing with enemy Warcasters. Her spell "Doom Spiral" deals 1-3 to Warcasters when it damages one of their Warjacks.
• Mana Potion:
  • Deryliss, Morty1's personal attendant, has the spell "Empower", letting him act as one for Warjacks.
  • Morty3 has the spell "Convection" that refills one of her Warjacks by 1 FOCUS when she kills an enemy with it.
  • Morty in the Iron Kingdoms RPG can consume souls like her fellow Lich Lords to restock her spell slots.
• Mecha-Mooks:
  • Mortenebra in both forms is one of the premiere Warjack focused Warcasters in Cryx, encouraging her to bring an army largely or entirely composed of Warjacks and then absolutely run roughshod over the enemy.
  • In the Iron Kingdoms RPG she goes everywhere with three Warjacks under her command.
• Mix-and-Match Critters: Mortenebra's various forms have always mishmashed her humanoid components with those of other creatures. In her original form she was a mix of humanoid, centipede, and scorpion with her various Artificial Limbs. With her perfected body, however, she combines a centipede, human, serpent, and angelic metal bird wings.
• Neutral Evil: Her in-universe alignment, reflecting her willingness to either go with or against the rules as necessary to achieve her own personal goals, including her perfection of the Soul Transference process and her rise as an Iron Lich.
• No-Sell:
  • One of the benefits of having a hundred legs is that Mortenebra's first two iterations are immune to knockdown.
  • Morty2's spell "Fail-Safe" lets her Warjacks ignore crippled systems.
  • In the Iron Kingdoms RPG she has immunity to Necrotic, Poison, Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing damage, and resistance to Cold and Lightning damage
  • She's also immune to Turn Undead, Blind, Charm, Deafen, Fatigue, Fear, Paralysis, Petrification, Poisoned, and Stunned Status Effects
  • She also has three Legendary Resistances per day, letting her automatically pass three failed saves at will.
• Old-School Dogfight: Against other models with Flight and "Fly High", Mortenebra Perfected fights using this trope, with the two duking it out high above the battlefield, firing blade feathers and gunshots at one another until someone goes down.
• Omniglot: Owing to her history as a member of the Cult of Cyriss, she can speak CygnarAn, Khadoran, Scharde, and Ordic.
• Overdrive: Morty1 has the spell "Overrun", letting one of her Warjacks run for free out of turn when her other Warjack gets a kill.
• Pixelation:
• Reduced Mana Cost: Morty3 has "Resourceful," allowing her to upkeep spells for free.
• Sinister Scythe: Morty1's only melee weapons are her "Scavengers", a pair of praying-mantis-like scythes mounted on arms jutting from her back.
• Speed Shoes:
  • Morty3's spell "Admonition" allows one of her Warjacks to move 3" for free when an enemy moves within 6" of them.
  • Her spell "Mobility" gives all her Helljacks +2 speed and doubles their speed through rough terrain for a turn.
• Spider Limbs: Her iron lich frame has quite a few legs that vaguely resemble a spider's. The sheer quantity of them causes her to straddle the line between this trope and Creepy Centipedes.
• Tail Slap: Invoked with Mortenebra Perfected's "Tail Strike" attack. It hits just as hard as her Blade Feathers with the added bonus of ignoring shields!
• We Used to Be Friends: With Lucant, one of the highest commanders of Cyriss who finished her work on the Soul Transference after she was excommunicated from the cult.
• Wrench Wench: She is a former Cyrissist, and Cryxian necrotechs look upon her with almost religious adoration as a paragon of their craft.
• Your Soul Is Mine!: Unsurprisingly for the woman who perfected the soul transference process, she excels at collecting the souls of her enemies to fuel herself

Lord Exhumator Scaverous is Cryx's foremost forensic necromancer. He specializes in exacting necromantic arts required to unbind the tongues of the dead, to manifest their shades from echoes left on their bones and force from them answers to his questions. Scaverous’ experiments have consumed an untold number of corpses and souls. No longer can the whims of a willful spirit deny him information. Through carefully inscribed runes and the manipulation of the energies separating Caen from Urcaen, Scaverous can compel virtually any spirit to give up its memories.

Scaverous has a single form, Lord Exhumator Scaverous. He is a Warcaster.

• Anti-Magic: His Feat does this, increasing spells his enemies cost within 14" of him by 1 while decreasing his own spell costs.
• Armored, but Frail: Despite packing armor and defense on par with a Light Warjack, his 18hp leaves him surprisingly vulnerable against dedicated anti-armor units.
• Attack Its Weak Point: Inverted, his spell "Death Ward" lets him choose which systems get damaged on his Warjacks, preventing enemies who try this trope from succeeding.
• "Avoid This Area" Effect: His spell "Feast of Worms" creates one, a 4" diameter zone where enemies suffer -2 armor
• Badass Bookworm: Scaverous' driving motive in life is the consumption of knowledge, to the point he secretly desires the skulls of the Iron Lich Lords themselves so he can add their secrets to his repertoire. At the same time, he's capable of decapitating seven Greylords in a single swing, and adding their skulls to his treasure trove.
• Herd-Hitting Attack: His scythe has "Thresher", letting him hit every enemy model within 2" of him.
• I Call It "Vera": His scythe is named "Avernus"
• Interrogating the Dead: His role in Cryx, and why he's allowed to live without getting perpetually subjected to a Klingon Promotion. While a capable fighter, his real strength is in his ability to extract even the deepest secrets from the skulls of the dead.
• Keeper of Forbidden Knowledge: What drove Scaverous to embrace Cryx in the first place: He wanted to know everything.
• Luck Manipulation Mechanic: His ability "Knowledge of the Damned" lets him spend his FOCUS to force a reroll for any model within 14" of him.
• Mind Over Matter: His spell "Telekinesis" lets him drag enemies around, and he can absolutely spam it, especially on the turn his Feat is active.
• Rage Helm: The remains of his mortal skull form one for his mechanikal body.
• Sinister Scythe: Scaverous wields a large scythe called Avernus.
• Skeletons in the Coat Closet: A lot of skulls are visible inside Scaverous' iron lich frame.
• Spikes of Villainy: His Sinister Scythe has spikes on it! It's not even an example of Chainsaw Good, it just has spikes all over it!
• Status Buff:
  • "Death Ward" lets Scaverous give one of his models +2 armor
  • His Feat gives all his spellcasters within 14" of him boosted accuracy rolls on their spells.
• Torture Always Works: Scaverous' success rate with decapitating enemies and then interrogating their souls is basically at 100%, to the point that not only was he able to gather intel in the middle of a raging battle from a Greylord's corpse, he then decapitated several more Greylords trying to stop them and interrogated them too!
• Treasure Chest Cavity: Scaverous stores the skulls of those whose information he seeks to obtain within his chest cavity, carrying them with him to ensure he can interrogate them at his leisure in the event he is interrupted.
• Your Soul Is Mine!: Thanks to his focus on extracting information from the dead, Scaverous has several abilities that specialize in this, on top of the usual Cryxian "Soul Taker".
  • His spell "Soul Harvester" lets him use his Warjacks and units to kill enemies then guarantee he gets the souls off them
  • His spell "Excarnate" lets him convert enemy warriors into allied ones, killing them and resurrecting them as thralls
  • His spell "Feast of Worms" ensures any model who dies within the Area of Effect gives their soul to him, and he can keep the AOE in play as long as he wants by paying its upkeep cost.

Scopulus commands the Cryxian army kept in reserve. He supports the incursions on the mainland with his sizeable stockpile of thralls, weapons, and necrotite. Scopulus also controls the Nightmare Empire's garrisons and fortresses and ensures their readiness against counterattack, such as when the Cygnarans retaliated in the aftermath of the Scharde Invasions. He coordinates his efforts with those of Terminus' fleets to guarantee that a steady stream of reinforcements reaches the mainland. Asphyxious' measures to construct mainland production facilities have mitigated the urgency of this resupply, but with the sudden arrival of the Infernals and the alliance of all of western Immoren against them even Scopulus' forces have been stretched to their limit to keep up.

Lately, one of Scopulus' underlings has become ambitious. She has perceived his lowly office compared to his personal power as a blight on his respect, and has sought to rectify this through her own methods...

Scopulus has a single version, Lich Lord Scopulus. He is a Warcaster.

• Acid Attack: His default attack is a Giant Medical Syringe full of acid that he uses to stab at enemies.
• Advertised Extra: Despite being both a Lich Lord and a Warcaster, Scopulus has never been included in Warmachine and has only been mentioned in the Iron Kingdoms RPG. After his inclusion in the original list of Lich Lords on the Council, his only subsequent mentions are in the Lich Lords of Cryx 5e supplement (as one of the Lich Lords) and the Tales from the Blackwater Cantina supplement as a background character and Deus ex Machina who casts judgement on his underling Tiberia when her schemes are outed. This is entirely due to his role being to defend the Scharde Islands; as Cryx was never invaded at any time in the Warmachine time period, he never became relevant to the various battlefields of Immoren.
• Always Accurate Attack: Invoked with both his "True Strike" and "Guided Fire" spells, which aim to ensure the next attack hits their target.
• Appeal to Authority: In the Tales from the Blackwater Cantina supplement, his underlings regularly invoke his name in order to intimidate their peers and spur their employees on. Players can even get in on this for some of the tasks they are given, though the flaws in this trope come into play during the climax as Scopulus finally takes an interest in how badly Tiberia has screwed everything up and comes crashing down on her and anyone else invoking his name for clout.
• Breath Weapon: Subverted, as his "Breath of Corruption" attack is actually a 4th level spell rather than an innate ability.
• Bulletproof Human Shield: A variant, his "Sacrificial Lamb" 1st level spell allows him to divert damage aimed at himself to a nearby ally instead.
• Casting a Shadow: Scopulus has both "Hex Blast" and "Stygian Abyss" prepared as spells.
• Combat Pragmatist: Invoked with his "Flank: Thralls" special rule and his "Thrall Mob" Legendary Action. Scopulus, while a capable fighter and a Lich Lord, will gladly use all the Thralls at his disposal to dogpile onto a target and drown them in bodies if they pose even the vaguest threat to himself, or use them as a distraction while he performs a Back Stab with his Acid Injector.
• Dog Pile of Doom: Encouraged with his "Thrall Mob" and "Flank: Thrall" special rules. "Flank: Thrall" gives him free bonus damage on any attacks against a creature with a Thrall attacking it, and "Thrall Mob" allows him to deploy every Thrall within his control range to make a free move into melee with a nearby enemy, drowning them in bodies.
• The Dreaded: His "Frightful Presence" action allows him to inflict terror just at the sheer magnitude of his proximity, exemplifying precisely why he is not just a Lich Lord, but the Lich Lord charged with protecting the Cryx homeland.
• Gameplay and Story Integration: In the lore Scopulus is in charge of the enormous armor of Thralls, Banes, and Helljacks in charge of protecting the Scharde Islands from counter-invasion or assault by any of Toruk's brood. In the Iron Kingdoms RPG: The Lich Lords of Cryx supplement, his stats include several abilities related to empowering Thralls near himself, and he also has Warcaster rules to allow him a deceptive variety of spells to cast or Helljacks to command.
• Giant Medical Syringe: His primary weapon is his "Acid Injector," an example of this trope that deals acid damage to his victims in melee.
• Hellfire: He has the "Dark Fire" spell prepared as a 3rd level spell.
• Inadequate Inheritor: His attitude towards Tiberia after her scheme to get Mortenebra kicked off the Council of Lich Lords is revealed as a False Flag Operation.
• Luck Manipulation Mechanic: His "Focus Manipulation: Shake It Off" special rule, coupled with his "Dead Bounty" special rule allows him to allocate FOCUS to any allied undead necrotech within his control range, then have them spend a FOCUS to gain Advantage on a saving throw.
• Mecha-Mooks: Even in casual travel, Scopulus is explicitly accompanied by three Helljacks or Bonejacks at all times.
• Mook Lieutenant: His "Dead Bounty" special rule allows all allied Necrotech creatures (Thralls, Banes, Necrotechs, etc) within his control range to be allocated FOCUS and spend it like he can. This essentially turns his entire army into an extension of himself, like a horde of Lesser Warjacks.
• Neutral Evil: His in-universe alignment, as he cares little for laws but is also fine abiding by them when they serve his purposes. His only concern is maintaining the homeguard of the Scharde Islands and ensuring its forces do not leave the Dragonfather unprotected while his other armies wage war on the mainland.
• Neutral No Longer: After spending most of the Tales from the Blackwater Cantina as a background name, Scopulus personally intervenes in the climax. Rather than go to war with Mortenebra, or gather the rest of the Council of Lich Lords to expel her, he teams up with Mortenebra, Malathrax, and Thalassina to condemn Tiberia for her actions and aid the players against his own subordinate.
• No-Sell:
  • He's immune to Necrotic, Poison, Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing damage, as well as resistant to Cold and Lightning damage
  • He's also immune to Charm, Fatigue, Fear, and Poisoned Status Effects, and as a Lich Lord, he's outright immune to Turn Undead effects.
• Pixelation: Invoked with his "Blur" 2nd level spell, which makes the target more difficult to hit by pixelating their appearance.
• Realpolitik: Scopulus cares nothing for his title. Just by being granted the office of Lich Lord he's already automatically more powerful and respected than any non-Lich Lord in Cryx. Further, his role as the General in charge of Cryx's home guard army makes him automatically more valuable, and gives him far more political and social sway, than any office he could have. Divinitus, Corripio, and all the other Lich Lords will struggle to find a justification to oppose him, for even though his title is a lowly station, the fact that he has the full military backing the Dragonfather by default, as well as controls the largest horde of Thralls and 'Jacks in the Scharde Islands, means any attempts to undermine him are tantamount to declaration of war against Toruk himself.
• Regenerating Mana: Because he was never ported to Warmachine, his FOCUS runs instead off of the Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition system that the Iron Kingdoms RPG uses, where he regenerates half his FOCUS each turn and can spend it on casting spells or empowering Helljacks or Thralls.
• Status Effects: His "Bleed" 1st level spell inflicts damage over time on the target and can cause them to bleed to death.
• Strength, Sorcery, Finesse: In contrast to The Archmage Lich Lords like Corripio, Scopulus is more in the Finesse category. While he can cast spells, his spells top out at 5th level, and only his Cantrips can be cast at-will (like most spell casters). Instead, he has a diverse array of Mook Lieutenant abilities which make him a capable general, with a side of spellcasting and melee combat if he should have to personally intervene.
• Summon Bigger Fish: The climax of Tales from the Blackwater Cantina involves getting him to personally intervene in the schemes going on at a more ground level. Unsurprisingly, bringing him in allows the players to immediately unravel Tiberia's web of lies, culminating in her death.
• Taking You with Me: His "Last Gasp" Reaction allows a single allied necrotech creature to make a final move and attack after it's been reduced to 0hp, potentially killing its killer.
• You Have Failed Me: His attitude towards Tiberia, after her scheme to frame Mortenebra for undermining him in a False Flag Operation gets revealed. He's so incensed by her willingness to threaten Cryx's safety by sabotaging her own projects that he has her killed and her phylactery consumed.

Tenebrous is obsessed with the esoteric occult. He saw firsthand the power of the Orgoth's dark sorceries and the might that could be wielded by those who understood their masters. From the Archive of Skell, he sends out legions of wraiths and forensic necromancers to spy on and pluck every ounce of occult lore found in all of Immoren. Like his counterpart, Fulmenus, the Lich Lord Tenebrous has existed for centuries as a disembodied shade. He floats silently through the Archive of Skell, plucking tomes from its shelves and working without end to find deeper connections and greater truth about the nature of all occult matters. Whether he is dissecting a captive Grymkin's corpse or overseeing the torment of a cultist's soul, his quest for answers is unending.

Tenebrous has a single version, Lich Lord Tenebrous, Archivist of Esoteric Occult Lore

• Acid Attack: One of Tenebrous' four Cantrips is "Poison Spray."
• Adaptational Dumbass: Despite being a 19th level DnD Warlock in the Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition of the Iron Kingdoms RPG as well as being the Archivist of Esoteric Occult Lore, Tenebrous knows zero Eldritch Invocations, rather than the 8 he should have. He also only has two 5th level spell slots rather than the four he should have, and knows 10 spells rather than the 15 he should know.
• Collector of the Strange: Hence his office, Archivist of Esoteric Occult Lore.
• Combat Tentacles: He has "Black Tentacles" as one of his available spells.
• Deal with the Devil: Implied in his 5e version, as he is a DnD Warlock class whose spells have to come from a pact with some greater force. The greater force in this case is presumably Toruk, though what deal he made is unknown.
• Evil Is Deathly Cold: One of Tenebrous' few at-will spells is "Chill Touch," in keeping with his Neutral Evil undead lich nature.
• Field Power Effect: One of his only innate abilities is his "Master of Shades" special rule. While an undead incorporeal ally is within 60 feet of himself, he can give them Advantage on saving throws.
• For Science!: Part of his role as Archivist of Esoteric Occult Lore involves dissecting and torturing otherworldy creatures his forces have captured for study. This overlap with Sciosar implies the latter works for him in some capacity.
• Ghostly Glide: Like Fulmenus, he's one of the only Iron Liches to truly embody this trope thanks to being rendered into a semi-corporeal ghost without need of a physical body.
• Helpless with Laughter: Weaponized with his "Hideous Laughter" spell, which cripples the victim by forcing them to roll on the floor laughing, completely helpless until they can pass a Wisdom saving throw.
• Intangibility: His "Incorporeal Movement" special rule allows Tenebrous to phase through walls and creatures as necessary to get where he wants to go. He uses this to maneuver around the Archive of Skell.
• Life Drain:
  • Invoked verbatim by his melee attacks, "Life Drain." Subverted, however, by the fact that his attacks don't actually heal himself, they simply inflict Maximum HP Reduction on the target.
  • Played straight with his "Spirit Reaper" special rule, which heals him when he damages enemies with spells, based on the level of the spell he casts.
• Luck Manipulation Mechanic:
  • His "Master of Shades" ability gives one allied ghost Advantage on saving throws against Turn Undead, letting them roll two dice and pick the higher value.
  • His "Magic Resistance" special rule also gives him Advantage on any saving throws against spells and magic effects.
• Master of Illusion: One of his four at-will spells is "Minor Illusion"
• Maximum HP Reduction: His "Life Drain" attacks actually inflict this trope, reducing the victim's HP by the amount of Necrotic damage they take.
• Mind Control: He has "Dominate Person" as one of the ten spells he knows.
• Mind Over Matter: He has "Detect thoughts," "Phantasmal Force," "Sending," and "Telekinesis" as some of his ten spells, as well as "Mage Hand" as one of his at-will spells.
• Monochrome Apparition: Like Fulmenus, Tenebrous' body was shattered by the Orgoth explosion, leaving him permanently a manifested shade capable of interacting with the physical world. Like all ghosts and apparitions in the Iron Kingdoms setting, he's a solid green translucent figure in appearance.
• Neutral Evil: His in-universe alignment. Much like Malithrax, he cares little to break the rules, if it helps him fulfill his own Toruk-given role as Archivist of Esoteric Occult Lore. He's happy to wield an army of spies, wraiths, and necromancers to observe the living and interrogate the dead.
• No-Sell:
  • Thanks to his ghostly nature he's immune to Necrotic, Poison, Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing damage.
  • His raw power is enough that he's also immune to Blind, Fatigue, Fear, Petrification, Turn Undead, Restrained, and Poisoned Status Effects
  • He also gets 3 Legendary Resistances, allowing him to outright pass any failed save.
• Shout-Out: His office is Archivist of Esoteric Occult Lore, one of Ponder Stibbons' numerous offices at Unseen University.
• Stone Wall: He has one of the highest armor classes of any Lich Lord, but lacks in offense by having a fraction of the spells and abilities a DnD Warlock of his level should have.
• Supernatural Fear Inducer: One of his Legendary Actions is to inflict a Fear check on an enemy with his "Frightening Presence."

Long ago, he who would come to be known as Terminus commanded the Dragonfather's legions at the fortress called Dragon's Roost, Cryx's northernmost fortress and bastion for the fleet. It was there Terminus began to internalize his master's transfiguring blight. His body slowly swelled to immense size, and wings erupted from his back, tearing and distending skin and bone. Necrosurgeons replaced the cankerous portions of his body with necrotech and iron as his flesh failed him; no semblance of his previous form remained by the time Cryx launched its assault against the remnants of the Orgoth invasion at Garlghast Island. He joined the attack as an iron lich of already fearsome reputation. Driven mad by his torturous existence, he waxes and wanes between a master strategist and berserk rampaging machine.

Terminus has a single version, Lich Lord Terminus

• Always Accurate Attack: Invoked with his "True Strike" cantrip, which is intended to ensure his next attack is guaranteed to hit.
• Anti-Magic: In the Iron Kingdoms RPG he has the "Hex Blast" 3rd level spell, which detonates on impact and cancels all Status Buffs on the target .
• Armor-Piercing Attack: In the Iron Kingdoms RPG his sword is magical, allowing him to bypass resistance to non-magical damage.
• "Avoid This Area" Effect: Terminus' spell "Malediction" creates a 2" no-go zone around himself, where any enemy models suffer -2 defense and armor.
• The Berserker: Thanks to his spell "Ravager", Terminus can turn any of his Warjacks into this. They lose the ability to make Chain attacks but gain the "Berserk" special rule, forcing them to keep attacking until they run out of targets within melee range.
• BFS: His sword the Doomsayer
• Blade Below the Shoulder: In addition to his Wolverine Claws, his left hand is actually a scythe blade.
• Blade Spam: In the Iron Kingdoms RPG he can perform seven attacks with his BFS per turn without buying any bonus attacks.
• Boring, but Practical: Terminus' entire role in Warmachine. He does one thing: Gather a bunch of undead around himself and run right into your face. And it is terrifying.
• Breath Weapon:
  • His Acid Attack du jour in Warmachine
  • In the Iron Kingdoms RPG this attack instead is a cone of fire.
  • He still has an Acid Attack, however, in the form of his "Breath of Corruption" as a 4th level spell.
• Crippling Overspecialization: His Feat specifically. Against an all-Warjack army, or any other army composed of units that don't give souls when killed, it does literally nothing.
• Cyborg: Terminus qualifies more than most Lich Lords, as unlike them he is not simply a soul bound to his skull piloting a robot body. Terminus still retains some few elements of his original mutated body, namely his wings.
• Deader than Dead:
  • His spell "Annihilation" lives up to its name, preventing any models it kills from leaving a corpse behind and feeding their soul directly to Terminus himself.
  • He has the Cryxian mainstay "Hellfire", which ignores Tough and removes victims from play.
• Gathering Steam:
  • His Feat is a brief version of this. For every soul token he has, he gains +1 armor, and he gains a destroyed model's soul within 10" of himself no matter who else might contest it.
  • In the Iron Kingdoms RPG he retains a version of his Feat as a once-per-day ability called "Dragon's Call." It gives him +1 AC up to +5 AC in total for up to a minute. With a normal AC of 18 this can bump him up to an insane 23 AC, superior to full plate armor with a shield!
• Genius Bruiser: Armour on par with a helljack. A blade that hits as hard as a Seether. And a brilliant strategic mind.
• Giant Flyer: He's not just as tough as a helljack, he's the size of one, and is outfitted with massive wings due to blight-induced mutation.
• Good Wings, Evil Wings: His are not only the traditional demonic wings, but are torn and tattered for extra creepy evil factor. Somehow he still flies without issue.
• Grievous Harm with a Body: One of his default actions is "Fling," allowing him to throw enemies he grapples in the Iron Kingdoms RPG.
• Hellfire: He has "Dark Fire" as a 3rd level spell, allowing him to deal both Fire and Necrotic damage and capture the soul of any target he kills with it.
• Knockback: Terminus' scything claws have "Critical: Pitch", letting them launch enemies up to 6" away from him on a critical hit.
• Lightning Bruiser: At speed 6 despite being the size and armor of a Heavy Warjack, plus flight, Terminus is ludicrously fast and hits like an absolute beast in melee. He's best used by charging straight into the enemy with a horde of infantry trying their best to keep up with him.
• Mana Potion: In the Iron Kingdoms RPG he can consume captured souls to refill his spell slots.
• Mecha-Mooks: He is accompanied everywhere in the Iron Kingdoms RPG by three Warjacks at all times.
• Names to Run Away from Really Fast:
  • "Terminus" means "the end point in space and time"
  • His scythe is called Doom sayer
• Neutral Evil: His in-universe alignment, reflecting his role as Toruk's Right-Hand Attack Dog while also being a Genius Bruiser.
• Night of the Living Mooks: He specializes in creating what fans call a "Deathstar", a collection of infantry that huddle within 10" of him, charging up the board as fast as they can to be an absolutely unkillable ball of murder thanks to "Tough".
• No One Could Survive That!: On top of having the stats of a Helljack, he has "Tough", letting him ignore lethal damage outright 33% of the time. He also grants this ability to all undead within 10" of him, making his army ludicrously durable and countering one of Cryx's primary weaknesses.
• No-Sell:
  • He's immune to Necrotic, Poison, Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing damage, and resistant to Cold and Lightning damage.
  • He's immune to Turn Undead, Blind, Charm, Deafen, Fatigue, Fear, Paralysis, Petrification, Poisoned, and Stunned Status Effects
• Omniglot: Far from being Dumb Muscle, Terminus is quite intelligent to go with his combat skills. As part of this, he can speak Cygnaran, Scharde, Thrallspeak, Tkra, and Ordic.
• Pixelation: He has the "Blur" spell, allowing him to inflict this trope on himself to make him harder to hit.
• Run-and-Gun: Part of what makes Terminus such a terrifying Lightning Bruiser is his special rule "Assault", which lets him fire his Breath Weapon as he's charging into melee, all but guaranteeing he can wipe out an entire squad by himself in a single round.
• Sinister Scythe: Terminus primary weapon is "Doomsayer", a scythe blade mounted in place of his left hand.
• Status Effects: He has "Bleed" as a 1st level spell, inflicting Damage Over Time on enemies.
• Taking You with Me: In the Iron Kingdoms RPG his "Dying Breath" reaction allows him to make a free Dragon Fire Breath Weapon attack as soon as he drops to 0 hitpoints.
• Why Won't You Die?: One of his abilities uses the zombies under his command to heal him by sacrificing them. Normally not a problem. Except Terminus can resurrect the slain zombies at the start of his next turn.
• Wolverine Claws: He has the Freddy Kreuger version, his right hand wields "Scything Claws" which deal power 14 base damage.
• Your Soul Is Mine!: As an Iron Lich Lord, he's unsurprisingly quite adept at this.

Thalassina is tasked with steering matters regarding the human kingdoms and other potential rival powers in order to complement Malathrax's intelligence gathering. She is a manipulator without peer, using the spymaster's information to find weaknesses and points of leverage she can use to bring mortals into line with the goals of the Nightmare Empire and Lord Toruk. She seldom interacts with mortals herself but has trained an army of blackmailers corruptors, and seducers from the least-blighted population of the Schardefolk. She pores over dossiers collected by Malathrax and his agents, cultivating the perfect weapon to use against the minds and spirits of the mortals she wishes to manipulate.

Thalassina has a single version, Lich Lord Thalassina, Mistress of Foreign Affairs

• Acid Attack: She has both "Caustic Mist" and "Breath of Corruption" as spells
• Always Accurate Attack: One of her 1st level spells is "Magic Missile," which automatically hits without any chance to avoid it.
• Armor-Piercing Attack: All of her attacks are magical in nature, allowing her to bypass both resistance and immunity to "Non-Magical" physical damage.
• Breath Weapon: Subverted, as "Breath of Corruption" is actually a spell, even though she can breathe it from her mouth.
• Casting a Shadow: She has "Curse of Shadows" as a 2nd level spell.
• Counterspell: To combat her fellow Lich Lords, Thalassina has this spell verbatim prepared at 3rd level.
• False Flag Operation: She is implicated in one in the Tales from the Blackwater Cantina. Thralls bearing her runes are caught secretly sabotaging Scopulus' latest warship. It turns out she's actually the victim of it, rather than the perpetrator. Tiberia has been co-opting, bribing, or otherwise manipulating the forces of Scopulus' fellow Lich Lords in an effort to make them look bad and elevate him to higher standing without his knowledge.
• Kill It with Ice: As a 5th level spell, Thalassina has "Cone of Cold."
• Luck Manipulation Mechanic: With her "Total Comprehension" reaction, she can inflict Disadvantage on one creature within 60 feet of herself. The victim is forced to roll two dice and choose the lower result.
• Mana Potion: Like some of her fellow Lich Lords, Thalassina can consume souls she has captured in her cages to regain spell slots.
• Master of Illusion: She has "Mirror Image" and "Weird" as spells, the latter allowing her to create the thing her victim fears most as an illusion to attack them.
• Mind Control: Her specialty as The Spymaster, like Malathrax. She eschews relying on spells though, instead inflicting "Charm" with her default melee attacks. She also has a Legendary Action, "Unsettling Insight," that allows her to choose the next action that a creature who fails an Intelligence saving throw must take.
• Morton's Fork: In the Tales from the Blackwater Cantina supplement, Thalassina initial takes this position when the players seek her help. If she refuses to intervene, no matter who wins the ensuing power struggle, she will be stronger for it. Subverted by the reveal that she's already realizing Tiberia is messing things up too much and has called in Malathrax, Mortenebra, and Scopulus to put an end to Tiberia's scheming.
• Neutral Evil: Her in-universe alignment, reflecting the perception (despite her own protests) that she is the mediator and peacekeeper among the various schemers on the Council of Lich Lords.
• No-Sell:
  • She is resistant to Cold and Lightning damage, and outright immune to Necrotic, Poison, Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing damage
  • She's immune to Charm, Fatigue, Fear, Paralysis, Turn Undead, and the Poisoned Status Effects
  • She also gets three legendary resistances per day, allowing her to No-Sell three failed saves.
• Omniglot: Fittingly for the Mistress of Foreign Affairs, she speaks Cygnaran, Khadoran, Llaelese and Ordic, as well as Scharde and Tkra. Notably she does not know Thrallspeak, because she works primarily with Schardefolk and mortals as her spies.
• Resistant to Magic: Invoked nearly verbatim as one of her explicit abilities, "Magic Resistance."
• Shock and Awe: She has both "Shocking Grasp" as an at-will spell, and "Lightning Bolt" as a 3rd level spell.
• The Spymaster: Despite Malathrax being the explicit Spymaster of the Council of Lich Lords, Thalassina also serves as an intelligence gathering source
• Supernatural Fear Inducer:
  • Her 9th level spell "Weird" conjures an illusion of whatever the target fears most
  • Her Frightful Glare attack doesn't actually inflict damage, instead inflicting "Fear" on a target who fails a Wisdom saving throw.
• Team Switzerland: She is perceived as this among the Council of Lich Lords, as a neutral and mediating presence who can be sought out to ensure that infighting does not weaken Cryx as a whole. When players seek her out, though, she insists otherwise, claiming she's entirely self-serving. Subverted by the reveal that she was way ahead of the players and has already called in all the pertinent Lich Lords to deal with Tiberia.
• Telepathy: On top of having "Detect Thoughts," "Detect Magic," and "Scrying" as spells, she has three additional abilities related to this trope.
  • Her reaction "Total Comprehension" allows her to predict a creature's next move, represented by inflicting Disadvantage on their accuracy
  • Her "Read Minds" Legendary Action allows her to read the mind of one target who fails a Wisdom saving throw
  • Her "Unsettling Insight" Legendary Action allows her to outright choose a creature's next move, accurately predicting what they'll do to a degree that borders on Batman Gambit.
• Teleportation: She has both the regular "Teleport" spell as well as "Abyssal Gate" prepared.
• Thinking Up Portals: Her "Abyssal Gate" spell allows her to create a portal between two locations to move herself and allies or materials through.
• We ARE Struggling Together: Thalassina has developed a reputation as the mediator among the various backstabbers of the Council of Lich Lords, acting as a "neutral" party without a stake in the success of either side. It's noted she's spent centuries ensuring that the machinations of individual Lich Lords or their underlings don't undermine the will of Toruk and his goals on Caen.
• Verbal Deflection: She spends her initial conversation with the players in Tales from the Blackwater Cantina doing this just to annoy them. Every single response she gives to them will be some form of this trope, until she either grows bored or Scopulus arrives, at which point she will discuss with Malathrax, Mortenebra, and Scopulus what to do about Tiberia.
• Wild Card: What she insists she actually is on the Council of Lich Lords; not an impartial mediator but rather than the disloyal and self serving power behind the throne, willing to partner with anyone for the sake of advancing her own agenda. Given that she says this as part of a conversation where she's Trolling the players, it's likely a lie on her part.

Venethrax rose to the rank of Lich Lord after his predecessor was killed by the dragon Blighterghast in 1400 BR. Although his seat of office has long been Skell, where he could answer to Lord Toruk in person, Venethrax has conducted scores of operations on the mainland over the centuries. Lich Lord Venethrax is supremely well suited to root out and destroy the Dragonfather's dark progeny. He is given to an obsessive, sometimes narrow focus of his duties, and his every thought is devoted to details of the draconic war. His vast web of agents has spread across the mainland, listening for whispers of the dragons and their plans. they have gathered the corrupt lore of ancient Morrdh, studied tales of the dragon Ethrunbal's defeat within Ios, and learned rumors of a new legion of blighted elves commanding dragon-spawned creatures far in the Immoren north.

Venethrax has a single version, Lich Lord Venethrax. He is a Warcaster.

• Action Bomb: In the Iron Kingdoms RPG his greatsword turns enemies it kills into an ash bomb that detonates on death, burning all enemies within 15 feet of the dead.
• Always Accurate Attack: Invoked with his spell "True Strike," which aims to ensure the next attack he makes hits no matter what.
• Anti-Magic:
  • Venethrax's spell "Lamentation" doubles the cost of any spells enemies cast within 14" of him.
  • In the Iron Kingdoms RPG his "Dragon Vengeance" special action prevents all enemies within 80 feet from being able to regenerate their Mana.
• An Arm and a Leg:
  • Venethrax has "Dismember" in Warmachine, granting him a free boosted damage die against Warbeasts to better improve his odds of cutting off their limbs.
  • He retains "Dismember" in the Iron Kingdoms RPG, where it gives him free bonus damage against Aberrations, Beasts, Dragons, and Monstrosities.
• Badass Bookworm: As Toruk's chief Dragonhunter, Venethrax spends just as much time in research as he does out in the field killing Dragons.
• BFS: His sword "Wyrmbane" is almost as large as another iconic Dragonslayer sword.
• Cooldown Manipulation: One of his Legendary Actions in the Iron Kingdoms RPG allows him to instantly recharge his "Dragon Vengeance" special attack and use it.
• Counter-Attack: Venethrax' Field Marshall ability allows all his Warjacks to get a free automatic charge on the enemy's turn whenever an enemy model ends its turn within 6" of them.
• The Dragonslayer: He's Cryx's master of draconic lore, and he's supremely well-suited to root out and destroy Toruk's progeny.
• Enemy to All Living Things: Deliberately invoked with Venethrax's spell "Terminal Velocity". It gives all his Warjacks under his control free boosted accuracy, charges, and power attacks against living models, as well as a 2" bonus movement when charging towards them.
• Frontline General: Out of necessity. Killing a Dragon is a very specialized process that can only be fully done by another Dragon and their own Athanc. Venethrax is an expert in slaying the flesh forms and then imprisoning the athancs of dragons so that they can be returned to Toruk for consumption, and as a result he must physically attend to all the dragonslaying, using his armies for protection and menial labor while he does the actual Dragon Slaying.
• Gameplay and Story Integration: Venethrax's role as one of Toruk's twelve Lich Lords is to hunt the Dragonfather's escaped progeny. Thanks to "Dismember", "Eruption of Ash", "Mortality", "Vengeance of the Dragonfather" and "Terminal Velocity", Venethrax is extremely powerful against the Legion of Everblight on the tabletop.
• Hellfire: Though he lacks it as a default action, he still has "Dark Fire" as a 3rd level spell, letting him deal both Fire and Necrotic damage and consume the soul of any target it kills.
• I Call It "Vera": Venethrax's sword is named "Wyrmbane"
• Luck Manipulation Mechanic: In the Iron Kingdoms RPG he can use his FOCUS to give himself Advantage on saving throws, letting him roll two dice and choose the higher value.
• Mana Drain: Venethrax's Feat, "Vengeance of the Dragonfather", prevents all enemy models within 14" of him from using FOCUS to fuel Warjacks and leeching FURY from Warbeasts to control them.
• Mecha-Mooks: In the Iron Kingdoms RPG he is accompanied everywhere by 4 Helljacks or Bonejacks.
• Mana Potion: He can use "Consume Soul" in the Iron Kingdoms RPG to restore his spent spell slots, based on how powerful the soul was that he consumed.
• Morton's Fork: Venethrax's spell "Deadweight", when it kills an enemy model, forces another enemy model to lose its movement or its attacks for the next turn.
• Neutral Evil: His in-universe alignment out of necessity. While he serves Toruk, his job is to hunt Dragons, meaning he has to be a Combat Pragmatist in the extreme, and can't let himself be bound by laws. At the same time he's a loyal and devoted servant to the rule of law under Toruk.
• No-Sell:
  • In the Iron Kingdoms RPG he's immune to Necrotic, Poison, Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing damage, and resistant to Fire damage so that he can't be easily killed by dragonfire.
  • He's also immune to Charm, Fatigue, Fear, Paralysis, and Poisoned Status Effects, and can auto-pass three failed saves per day with his Legendary Resistances.
• Omniglot: Used for an element of Establishing Character Moment. Despite his lore in Warmachine having had him travelling through Khador, in the Iron Kingdoms RPG, the only languages he speaks beyond Scharde and Tkra (the language of Cryx and Dragons, respectively) is Cygnaran...meaning he's been spending most of his life working out how to kill Blighterghast, the watchman Dragon responsible for calling the Alliance of Dragons against Toruk. This is because Blighterghast lives in the Wyrmwall Mountains, on the very edge of Cygnar and near the Cygnaran city of Highgate. As essentially Toruk's warden, this would make him a priority target for the Dragonfather's head dragonslayer.
• One-Handed Zweihänder: Wyrmbane very clearly has a handle large enough for both of Venethrax's hands, but he only ever uses one at a time.
• Pixelation: In the Iron Kingdoms RPG he has the "Blur" spell, improving his evasion via this trope.
• Resistant to Magic: He has "Magic Resistance" as a special rule in the Iron Kingdoms RPG, giving him Advantage on saving throws against spells.
• Stuff Blowing Up: Wyrmbane causes enemy models it slays to explode into a 3" cloud of ash that damages enemy models who enter it.
• Villain Killer: Venethrax' purpose is to hunt the spawn of the Dragonfather. Far from only killing offscreen Dragonspawn, he's actually managed to kill named characters from other wargame factions, and most infamously nearly killed Everblight's own chosen daughter, Absylonia.
• Villain of Another Story: Even as Khador and Cygnar wage war over the annexation of Llael, Venethrax is off cutting a bloody swathe through Llael and Khador towards the border with Rhul for the purposes of hunting an Athanc.
• Wound That Will Not Heal: The ironically named spell "Mortality" causes a model to lose Tough and inflicts this trope.
• Your Soul Is Mine!: Twofold! On top of the usual ability to collect souls expected of an Iron Lich, Venethrax specializes in hunting and capturing Athancs, the crystaline "Soul" of Dragons.

A member of the Withershadow Combine, Admonia is one of a trio of Iron Liches who stalk Immoren, secretly preying on the foes of the Dragonfather. Recorded sightings of Admonia date back to the early rebellion against the Orgoth, which she apparently spent much time observing. She is particularly fascinated with the origins of arcane magic on the mainland and has allegedly plundered the ruins of notable arcane repositories from both sides. Passages in apocryphal journals suggest these include the excavation of the Arcanist’s Academy, the lost ruins of the tower left by Scion Nivara, and the hidden grave of Scion Stacia. These tales must contain some truth, since the Thamarite cabal known as the Shroud seeks her destruction in the hope of recovering lost relics.

Admonia can only be taken as part of the Withershadow Combine as a unit attachment for your Warcaster.

• Action Girl: She's the only female Iron Lich in her group, and hits just as hard in melee and with spells as they do.
• Badass Bookworm: Admonia is the only member of the Withershadow Combine who goes into battle carrying a book, which she is constantly reading to ensure she has the right spells for the current situation.
• Glass Cannon: The Withershadow Combine are extremely powerful, but need to play precariously close to the enemy frontlines to get maximum benefit. This can leave them vulnerable to retaliation, and their Armor 15 is rarely enough to shrug off any serious damage.
• Mauve Shirt: Each member of the Withershadow Combine is a named character with a unique backstory, but their role is to serve as secretaries and support units to your Warcaster. In the end, given the choice between losing a Warcaster or the Withershadow Combine, players will always choose the Combine due to death of a Warcaster being an Instant-Win Condition for the enemy.
• Reduced Mana Cost: Admonia is the source of the "Black Arts" ability, which allows her Warcaster to cast one spell for free each turn
• Stealth Expert: She and the rest of the Withershadow Combine have "Stealth", improving their durability by preventing enemies from targeting them from further than 5" away.
• Touch the Intangible: Admonia's "Sigil of Power" allows her to grant a friendly model or unit "Damage Type: Magical" on their weapons, letting them hit incorporeal and ghostly models.
• Two Guys and a Girl: Admonia is the one girl on the Withershadow Combine.

A member of the Withershadow Combine, Maelovus is one of a trio of Iron Liches who stalk Immoren, secretly preying on the foes of the Dragonfather. Maelovus has access to lore never transcribed in book or scroll. The first recordedsighting of him was on the Sand Narrows during an outbreak of Brackriver plague. Locals witnessed him reaping souls along this length of shore so often that they began to make offerings to him as an incarnation of death. One desperate village sacrificed an entire generation of their children in his name. Crude statues bearing his likeness still rest in recessed crevices of this region’s dark cliffs. Maelovus' expertise allows him to cast any spell a Warcaster might know, supplementing their abilities with his own.

Maelovus can only be taken as a member of the Withershadow Combine, as an attachment to a Warcaster.

• The Archmage: Maelovus can cast any spell with a cost of 3 or less that the Warcaster he's working alongside knows.
• Demiurge Archetype: Though disliking the worship the peoples of the Sand Narrows sent his way, he was quite happy to reap the souls of the region on behalf of Toruk.
• Glass Cannon: The Withershadow Combine are extremely powerful, but need to play precariously close to the enemy frontlines to get maximum benefit. This can leave them vulnerable to retaliation, and their Armor 15 is rarely enough to shrug off any serious damage.
• Mauve Shirt: Each member of the Withershadow Combine is a named character with a unique backstory, but their role is to serve as secretaries and support units to your Warcaster. In the end, given the choice between losing a Warcaster or the Withershadow Combine, players will always choose the Combine due to death of a Warcaster being an Instant-Win Condition for the enemy.
• Mistaken Identity: Due to being an Iron Lich rolling around reaping souls in front of people, he got mistaken for the anthropomorphic personification of death. While he despised the worship headed his way (not least in part because it could be used to paint him as a traitor to Toruk) he was happy to collect the souls offered to him and give nothing in return.
• Nazi Nobleman: Cryx naturally embraces a lot of the real-world policies of Nazi Germany, but Maelovus specifically qualifies because he's the Officer in charge among the elite that are the Withershadow Combine, making him the evil counterpart to the Officer and a Gentleman.
• Two Guys and a Girl: Maelovus is one of the two guys, while Admonia is the "one girl" in the Withershadow Combine.
• Unwanted False Faith: Maelovus had little need or desire for the sacrifices and offerings the peoples of the Sand Narrows set out for him, even when an entire village sacrificed their firstborn children to him.
• Wolverine Claws: Of the Freddy Kreuger variety, every member of the Withershadow Combine has only their claws to attack with in melee, but those claws deal damage on par with a Hand Cannon.

An ambitious Iron Lich operating out of Blackwater has set his sights on the Ditches. He has set up shop in the partially buried remains of an old Orgoth guard post and has employed the crew of a Broken Coast pirate ship called the Bloody Tongue to ferry supplies to him under the cover of night. Most recently, however, the ship arrived to find Pestixius and his staff of thralls and Helljacks gone without a trace. The pirates wouldn't normally care, but he still owes them a hefty sum, and they would like to collect—or bring what's left of him back to Blackwater to sell for scrap, if that's the only way to recoup their losses. Of course, they aren't going to the Ditches to look for him, but if they can convince someone else to go on their behalf...

Pestixius has a single version, he is exclusive to the Iron Kingdoms: Into the Deep Wild supplement.

• Call to Adventure: He's mentioned only as an Adventure Hook at the tail end of the lore passage for the Ditches area of western Immoren, on the western side of the Wyrmwall Peninsula.
• Dine and Dash: The pirates of the Bloody Tongue who were bringing him supplies are concerned he did this, ordering goods smuggled to his location only to skip out before the bill came due.
• Flat Character: Because he exists solely as an Adventure Hook, Pestixious has basically no characterization beyond his ambitious decision to set up shop in an abandoned Orgoth facility on the very edge of the Wyrmwall, as well as his mysterious disappearance.
• Mecha-Mooks: Pestixius was noted to have not just a small army of Thralls but also a collection of 'jacks serving as his staff of laborers.
• Uncertain Doom: His ultimate fate is entirely up to the game master, as his only mention is to serve as the Call to Adventure for a group of players who wish to have a campaign in the wilderness of western Immoren.
• Venturous Smuggler: Pestixious has been paying the crew of the Bloody Tongue to smuggle him supplies under the cover of night, and the noses of the Cygnaran authorities.

Cryx has long been a seeker of forbidden occult knowledge, and the new discoveries made in the recent conflicts were no different. Cryxian necromancers and occult arcanists wished to discover more about the abilities of these foreign invaders before them, and how to defeat—or control—them. One such individual is Sciosar. In life an arcane mechanik, in death he has risen in prominence as a masterful necrotech and coordinator in Dreggsmouth, the foul heart of Cryx's black industry. Sciosar overheard accounts of the fight against the infernals during the Claiming, taking particular interest in their death. When they fell in combat, their bodies did not remain. Instead, their flesh rapidly dissolved as if devoured by some kind of invisible, otherworld scavengers, denying enemies study of the corpses to learn their enemies' weaknesses. Sciosar believes that some kind of spectral necrophages clean up the corpses, and he is curious about the potential energy that could be harvested from them. He wishes to study the dissolution of their flesh firsthand, so he can better understand the energies at work and devise a way to bend them to his own purposes.

Sciosar has a single version, Iron Lich Sciosar of Dreggsmouth

• Acid Attack: His "Acid Arrow" 2nd level spell.
• All There in the Manual: According to ''Tales from the Blackwater Cantina" his name is pronounced "SKEE-oh-sahr"
• Ambition Is Evil: He's a Lawful Evil character and immediately recruits the player characters upon their arrival to Skell, priding himself on his ability to recognize and cultivate ambition in newcomers.
• Back from the Dead:
  • He keeps "Animate Dead," "False Life," "Create Undead," and "Finger of Death" prepared as spells, giving him a variety of mechanisms to create zombies and other undead dynamically.
  • After the attack on his Monolith, the Umbral Reaver the players capture escapes and kills his mortal form. His Skarlock and Necrotechs inform the players he can be freely resurrected despite having his skull obliterated.
• Badass Bookworm: Though not on the same level as a Lich Lord, Sciosar is still a powerful Iron Lich with spells up to 7th level and a Challenge Rating of 14. He's also a studious researcher and generally a Non-Action Guy in the Tales from the Blackwater Cantina supplement.
• Body Backup Drive: After being destroyed five times, Sciosar now keeps multiple spare bodies in his workshop tended and upgraded by his thralls.
• Call to Adventure: He exists as the immediate Adventure Hook for players fresh off the boat to the Scharde Islands and Skell in the Tales from the Blackwater Cantina supplement.
• Collector of the Strange: Observant characters will notice that Sciosar's home is full of artifacts recovered from centuries of Immorese history, and beyond. He even has in his possession Orgoth artifacts from their home continent!
• Combat Tentacles: As a 4th level spell he has "Black Tentacles" prepared.
• Counterspell: He keeps it prepared as a 3rd level spell, though his comparative lack of power versus a Lich Lord means he has to consume some of his limited spell slots to cast it.
• Crazy-Prepared: Mentioned in the "Sorry Boss!" portion of his second task. Should players accidentally kill all the infernalists they're sent to capture alive, the game master is encouraged to reveal that Sciosar had multiple mercenary teams sent to multiple targets to try and bring back a live target.
• Curiosity Killed the Cast: Abused in-universe. Sciosar's body has been destroyed five times by his own research, and he relies on his thralls to rebuild it.
• Deep Cover Agent: He deployed Degar Gilfin to locate and infiltrate an infernalist cult. Unfortunately, after alerting Sciosar that he had accomplished his task, Gilfin was captured and imprisoned. Players engaging in Sciosar's second task can potentially encounter Gilfin and rescue him.
• Deflector Shields: He has "Shield" as a 1st level spell to improve his armor in the event of a threat.
• Determinator: As seen under Curiosity Killed the Cast, Sciosar is absolutely unrelenting in his pursuit of knowledge. In the "Sorry Boss!" portion of his second task, it even mentions that should a Game Master feel like they don't want to reveal Sciosar had a second or third/fourth/fifth team hunting infernalist cults, he will work for weeks, possibly even months, to find another target and send the team after them.
• Disintegrator Ray: He has "Disintegrate" prepared as a 6th level spell.
• Doing Research: Sciosar is explicitly a firm believer in this trope. While he's pushing the limits of Caenite understanding, he also knows that he's not the first person to have pushed these same limits. He will scour books and scrolls for months to track down every scrap of knowledge he can about those who've come before, all in an attempt to ensure he can avoid making their mistakes.
• Eaten Alive: He believes that the reason that infernals and their horrors leave No Body Left Behind upon death is that there's some kind of creature that eats them. Part of his studies are aimed at identifying and weaponizing these theoretical creatures as a means of countering any future attempts by infernals to invade Immoren.
• Explosive Stupidity: Flaws in his designs have resulted in him blowing himself up no less than five times. This is Justified in-universe, as his equipment is all bleeding edge prototypes designed to study entirely different planes of reality where physics doesn't apply as normal.
• Flawed Prototype: Justified, as Sciosar seeks to push the very boundaries of Cryxian knowledge. All his equipment is custom built to his own specifications, all in an attempt to contain and control the conditions he thinks will exist. This naturally results in his monolith failing when he tries to use it to contain Umbral Parasites and have them devour an infernalist.
• For Science!: He driving impetus, to a degree that it's noted he could likely remain animated indefinitely as a Revenant even if his bodies were permanently destroyed, solely through his single-minded devotion to study and uncovering new secrets.
• Hellfire: One of his default actions is his "Dark Fire" attack, which not only deals Fire and Necrotic damage, it also will immediately capture the soul of anyone it kills.
• Horse of a Different Color: To help convey how different the Scharde Islands are compared to mainland Immoren, Sciosar calls the party a carriage to take them to their first quest, only for it to be pulled by Brute Thralls instead.
• Invisibility: He keeps this spell prepared verbatim at 2nd level, to try and escape danger if he can't defeat or contain it.
• Kidnapped Scientist: Inverted, Sciosar's second task is to kidnap a member of an Infernal Cult so that he can study their connection to the outer abyss.
• Kill It with Fire:
  • His default attack is "Dark Fire," dealing Fire damage and Necrotic damage.
  • He also has "Fireball" prepared as a 3rd level spell.
• Kill It with Ice: One of his at-will spells is "Ray of Frost"
• Lawful Evil: His in-universe alignment, reflecting that he is a Badass Bookworm who honors his deals and is always in pursuit of more knowledge.
• Luck Manipulation Mechanic: He has Advantage to resist Turn Undead effects, letting him roll two dice on all saving throws against it and choose the higher value.
• Mad Scientist Laboratory: After completing his second task, players will get to visit Sciosar's personal lab, where he's building an enormous contraption to try and contain and manipulate the physics of another plane of reality.
• Magic Staff: He carries a Fell Staff that he can use as a spellcasting implement or as a blunt weapon.
• Mind Control: While not his specialty, he does keep "Dominate Person" prepared as a 5th level spell in case he needs to stop someone from attacking him.
• No-Sell:
  • He is immune to Poison, Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing damage, and resistant to Cold, Lightning, and Necrotic damage
  • He's also immune to Charm, Fatigue, Fear, Paralysis, and Poisoned Status Effects.
  • Despite not being a Lich Lord he still has three Legendary Resistances per day, allowing him to decide he automatically passes up to three failed saves.
• Omniglot: The lore notes he speaks Scharde, Thrallspeak, and five other languages of the Game Master's choice (presumably to ensure that he can always understand any collection of player characters)
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Despite being an Iron Lich working for the Dragonfather himself, Sciosar is not a big believer in You Have Failed Me or You Have Outlived Your Usefulness. If players fail to bring him a living target for their second task, he won't punish them and will even pay them for their service, and after they complete their second and third tasks he displays no signs of betrayal.
• Some Kind of Force Field:
  • He uses one in his experiments to contain an Umbral Reaver and attempt to get Umbral Parasites to devour it.
  • He also has "Force Cage" as a separate 7th level spell to try and contain any threats his equipment can't.
• Starter Villain: As the introductory Iron Lich and quest giver for the Tales from the Blackwater Cantina supplement, Sciosar's first quest for the player party is to kill one of these. Specifically, a Thrullg has invaded the workshop of one of his employees.
• Torches and Pitchforks: After Sciosar completes his first experiment his lab comes under attack by a mob of infernalist pirates pissed that he abducted their leader.
• Vampiric Draining: He has "Vampiric Touch" prepared as a 3rd level spell, though with four spells prepared and only three slots, he has to pick and choose his uses compared to Counterspell, Animate Dead, and Fireball.
• Weird Currency: He pays exclusively in either gemstones or equipment upgrades, despite Cryx having both its own coinage and stocks of coinage from the Iron Kingdoms to discretely pay its mercenaries with.
• The Worf Effect: He's a Challenge Rating 14 Iron Lich (meaning he'll likely kill at least one member of a four-man team of level 13 players) but is instantly killed by a single Umbral Reaver to show how deadly infernals are.

Shakkal is the senior subordinate to Iron Lich Tiberia in Skell. He is responsible for the minutia of the construction of a ship unlike any Immoren has ever seen. While Tiberia has authorized the hiring of mercenary forces to ensure completion of the ship's contracts, via force if necessary, Shakkal is strangely coy about the need for haste in this task. In fact, all of the direct control is exerted by Shakkal, from ordering the Skarlocks and servitors to their work in Tiberia's absence to doling out contracts and providing information to employees. Whether he is as loyal to his master as his station would imply, however, is unclear.

Shakkal has a single version, Iron Lich Shakkal

• Absurdly Sharp Claws: One of his available melee attacks. It hits with an extended 10 foot range and a power comparable to some Greatswords!
• Acid Attack: He keeps "Melf's Acid Arrow" as a 2nd level spell prepared.
• Back from the Dead: Like any self-respecting Iron Lich he can return the dead as thralls. He has "Animate Dead" as a 3rd level spell to aid him in this.
• Big Fish in a Bigger Ocean: By stats, Shakkal is a Challenge Rating 10 enemy^Comparison CR10 creatures include young Gold Dragons and Red Dragons, as well as Stone Golems and Nonatons, able to single handedly take on a squad of elite Level 9 players and kill at least one of them. He's also a glorified middle manager, subordinate to Tiberia, and very subordinate to Scopulus and Divinitus.
• Call to Adventure: He's the initial questgiver in "Pretensions of a Lich" adventure within the Tales from the Blackwater Cantina supplement.
• Counterspell: Though limited in his ability to cast it due to being a "mere" Iron Lich compared to his Lich Lord peers, Shakkal does still keep this spell prepared at a 3rd level.
• Deflector Shields: He has "Shield" as a 1st level spell to help supplement his fairly-low armor class.
• Disintegrator Ray: He has "Disintegrate" as one of his two 6th level spells prepared.
• Exact Words: Nothing he says to players is a lie, and in fact he's an extremely helpful source of information about Tiberia's needs and the status of the project he's contracted the players for. He is, however, neglecting to mention that he and Tiberia are the ones sabotaging the project in a False Flag Operation to blame Mortenebra.
• Field Power Effect: Despite its name, his "Globe of Invulnerability" spell actually creates an Anti-Magic zone around himself, negating any spells 5th level or lower that are cast outside its Area of Effect.
• Hellfire: Invoked with his "Dark Fire" action, which fires a ball of Fire and Necrotic damage that automatically claims the soul of its victim.
• Invisibility: He has this as a 2nd level spell to help him escape.
• Kill It with Fire: In addition to "Dark Fire" he has "Fireball" as a 3rd level spell. Because it competes with his limited slots for Counterspell, however, he has difficulty casting both in the same fight.
• Kill It with Ice: As one of his at-will cantrips Shakkal has "Ray of Frost".
• Lawful Evil: His in-universe alignment, reflecting his Undying Loyalty to Tiberia and his studious maintenance of her daily business.
• Luck Manipulation Mechanic: He has "Advantage" on
• Master of Illusion: While not on par with the Lich Lords, he does at least keep "Mirror Image" prepared as a 2nd level spell.
• Natural Weapon: Oddly, despite reusing Venethrax's art, Shakkal fights exclusively using his Absurdly Sharp Claws and his bite.
• No-Sell:
  • Shakkal is immune to Poison, Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing damage, as well as resistant to cold, Lightning, and Necrotic damage
  • He's also immune to Charm, Fatigue, Fear, Paralysis, and Poisoned Status Effects.
• Omniglot: In contrast to most Iron Liches, he speaks an interesting mix of Scharde, Ordic, Cygnaran, and Molgur-Trul.
• Seers: He has "Scrying," "Detect Magic," and "Detect Thoughts" prepared at various spell levels.
• Starts Stealthily, Ends Loudly: After players are tasked to recover Tiberia's Phylactery from his office, if they successfully infiltrate but take too long, Shakkal will return and catch them in the act, necessitating a fight.
• Thinking Up Portals: He has "Dimension Door" prepared as a 4th level spell for quick getaways.
• Undying Loyalty: Unusually for a society that tends to run on Klingon Promotion, Shakkal is extremely loyal to Tiberia and to her master Scopulus. So loyal, in fact, that he keeps Tiberia's Phylactery in his office at the shipyards.

Tiberia is an Iron Lich overseeing the construction of the most powerful warship Immoren has ever seen from the inland city of Skell. However, for suspicious reasons, the project has run into numerous delays. Tiberia herself is thus quickly losing patience with others in Skell who are supposedly contributing to the ship's construction. In truth, many find her goals of establishing the vessel as a holy monument to her Lich Lord master to be overly ambitious. Those contractors she has been tasked to oversee have been quietly sabotaging her in various methods, in an effort to make Tiberia appear incompetent and undermine her standing in the Skell hierarchy.

Tiberia has a single version, Iron Lich Tiberia

• Acid Attack: She has "Acid Arrow" as a 2nd level spell.
• An Offer You Can't Refuse: At the climax of the Tales from the Blackwater Cantina supplement Tiberia is forced to fight to players by Scopulus, Malathrax, Mortenebra, and Thalassina as punishment for attempting to sabotage both a Lich Lord and Cryx's home defense with her actions. Because this acts as the Final Boss of the supplement, it's strongly implied the Lich Lords are sending her on an Uriah Gambit.
• Back from the Dead: She has both "Animate Dead," "Create Undead," and "Finger of Death," allowing her to kill and resurrect multiple targets per day.
• Bad Boss: Despite nominally being in charge of the creation of her master Scopulus' personal flagship, and the project having suffered numerous setbacks and delays, Tiberia takes no active participation in the project and instead delegates everything to Shakkal, who then delegates tasks further to the players. Subverted by the revelation that she was actively sabotaging herself as part of a False Flag Operation to undermine Mortenebra
• Combat Tentacles: She has "Black Tentacles" as a 4th level spell.
• Counterspell: Tiberia keeps it prepared as a 3rd level spell, though her comparatively limited spellcasting vs the Lich Lords means she has to pick and choose her counterspells.
• Deliberate Under-Performance: It turns out the project has been deliberately sabotaged by Mortenebra's sub-contractors. The fact that none of the contractors Tiberia sends the players to investigate mention Mortenebra by name is a hint that this is actually a False Flag Operation, and Tiberia is hoping the project's repeated delays can be used to kick Mortenebra off the Council.
• Disintegrator Ray: She has "Disintegrate" as a 6th level spell
• Hellfire: Her "Dark Fire" action, which deals Fire and Necrotic damage.
• Hoist by His Own Petard: Tiberia's attempts to undermine Mortenebra by making it look like she was sabotaging Scopulus instead result in Scopulus, Mortenebra, and two other Lich Lords having her executed instead.
• Informed Attribute: Scopulus considers her his most talented of proteges. She's completely incapable of managing the shipbuilding project for his flagship and she has no idea how his political power base actually works, resulting in her essentially trying to undermine him to get him a better job on the Council of Lich Lords.
• Instant Armor: She has "Mage Armor" as a 1st level spell to make up for her comparatively weak natural armor.
• Kill It with Ice: One of her at-will cantrips is "Ray of Frost"
• Klingon Promotion: Her project is the source of an intrigue version of this trope, with Mortenebra apparently sabotaging it to undermine Scopulus and rise higher in the Council of Lich Lords. It turns out to be a False Flag Operation by Tiberia herself to get Mortenebra kicked off the Council and Tiberia appointed in her place.
• Luck Manipulation Mechanic: Her "Turn Resistance" gives her "Advantage" on saving throws against Turn Undead spells. This lets her roll two dice and choose the higher value.
• Mana Potion: She has the "Strength From Death" special rule, allowing her to replenish her spell slots by consuming souls she captures in her cages.
• Mind Control: She has "Dominate Person" as a 5th level spell.
• Multi-Armed and Dangerous: She's a rare Iron Lich with multiple upper arms, sporting a quartet of them for her purposes.
• Naginatas Are Feminine: Her weapon of choice is a "Serpentine Fell Spear," reflecting her femininity by emphasizing her ranged combat even in melee.
• Neutral Evil: Her in-universe alignment, reflecting that she is happy to break the rules of Cryx and sabotage her own project (and by extension Cryx's defenses) to ascend to the Council of Lich Lords and strip Mortenebra of her seat.
• No-Sell:
  • She's immune to Poison, Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing damage, and resistant to Cold, Lightning, and Necrotic damage.
  • She has immunity to Charm, Fatigue, Fear, Paralysis, and Poisoned Status Effects as well.
  • Despite not being a Lich Lord, she still gets three Legendary Resistances per day, allowing her to pass three failed saving throws.
  • Her "Magic Unbinding" special rule gives her immunity to Necromancy spells of 5th level or lower, unless she chooses to be affected by them.
• Omniglot: She speaks Scharde, Cygnar, Ordic, and Molgur-Trul.
• Some Kind of Force Field: She has "Force Cage" as a 7th level spell.
• Spider Limbs: Her design is composed of long, spindley mechanical limbs that end in either singular points or long, sharp fingers.
• Troubled Production: She's overseeing the production of her Lich Lord, Scopulus', new flagship. Given Scopulus' role as the defender of the Cryx homeland, his ship is intended to be larger, stronger, faster, more maneuverable, and generally better in every way than any other ship in Immoren. Unsurprisingly, this has resulted in numerous setbacks and production delays from the incredible demands of all fabrication elements of the project.

A member of the Withershadow Combine, Tremulus is one of a trio of Iron Liches who stalk Immoren, secretly preying on the foes of the Dragonfather. Tremulus joined these two ancient horrors seven decades later, after a long tenure overseeing Cryx’s charnel pits. Fascinated with manipulating mortal minds, he infiltrated the sanctums of several arcane organizations throughout the Iron Kingdoms to pry loose their secrets. By his labors in later centuries, the Combine gained a better understanding of mainland warjacks; the liches passed this knowledge to Lich Lord Morbus, thereby affecting the development of a number of weapons systems. Though extremely intelligent, Tremulus is completely insane by mortal reckoning. The twitching of his macabre marionette forces enemies to respond in kind—a mystical manipulation that reflects what some might mistake for a sense of humor possessed by the peculiar lich lord.

Tremulus can only be taken as part of the Withershadow Combine, a unit of Iron Liches attached to a Warcaster.

• Creepy Doll: Tremulus' doll is fashioned in the style of an Iron Lich, a composite of steel and bone rigged into the form of a vague human.
• Evil Has a Bad Sense of Humor: It's unclear whether he genuinely finds using his doll as a medium to control others humorous or if it's an example of Bathos.
• Glass Cannon: The Withershadow Combine are extremely powerful, but need to play precariously close to the enemy frontlines to get maximum benefit. This can leave them vulnerable to retaliation, and their Armor 15 is rarely enough to shrug off any serious damage.
• Mad Scientist: As an Iron Lich, Tremulus spent his time studying the behaviors and knowledge of mortals. He's also responsible for much of the knowledge that led to the development of Helljacks, having pried it from the tight lips of researchers around Immoren. And he's completely insane.
• Mauve Shirt: Each member of the Withershadow Combine is a named character with a unique backstory, but their role is to serve as secretaries and support units to your Warcaster. In the end, given the choice between losing a Warcaster or the Withershadow Combine, players will always choose the Combine due to death of a Warcaster being an Instant-Win Condition for the enemy.
• People Puppets: Tremulus' speciality is controlling enemy models and units to do his bidding.
• Two Guys and a Girl: Tremulus is one of the two guys, while Admonia is the "one girl" in the Withershadow Combine.
• Ur-Example: Tremulus was the first ever model to have the "Puppet Master" spell, and was the basis for much of the errata and balancing around it before it spread to other models.
• Voodoo Doll: Tremulus uses the doll on his model to manipulate enemies, forcing the doll to do things that others are then forced to replicate.
• Wolverine Claws: The Freddy Kreuger variant, the Withershadow Combine have only their claws to attack with, but they hit as hard as a Hand Cannon.
• Your Soul Is Mine!: In addition to his usual Iron Lich abilities, Tremulus specializes in binding the souls of the still living to his doll, forcing them to act as he makes the doll act with his spell "Puppet Master"

A seemingly minor Iron Lich working for Lich Lord Malathrax, he is infamously difficult to get hold of and most would have no idea where to search for him. This is, in truth, because he prefers to work incognito. While he makes little effort to conceal his nature as an Iron Lich, his long robes and hood do at least conceal his identity when he wishes it. Velenus has been secretly working behind the scenes to uncover the actions of the Iron Lich Tiberia and her machinations against his master. To that end, he is willing to employ mercenaries and sellswords, always acting through secondary and tertiary agents to conceal his own involvement. Those who prove their competence in his services are typically rewarded with greater service, and should their investigations make his life easier Velenus is even willing to put in a good word for them with his master.

Velenus has a single version, Iron Lich Velenus, the Contact

• Back from the Dead:
  • In-game he will return to life if the players attempt to invoke the Lord British Postulate on him.
  • He has "Finger of Death," "Create Undead," and "Animate Dead" as spells, allowing him to kill and resurrect multiple targets per day. Because of how his "Strength from Death" rule works, he can even create a kind of Cycle of Hurting with this combination, killing a target, collecting their soul, casting "Animate Dead," then regaining spell slots by devouring their soul.
• Combat Tentacles: At 4th level he has the "Black Tentacles" offensive spell.
• Deflector Shields: One of his 1st level spells is "Shield"
• Disintegrator Ray: Velenus has "Disintegrate" as a 6th level spell
• Evil Is Deathly Cold: One of his at-will cantrips is "Chill Touch" and he's a Neutral Evil undead lich.
• Hellfire: He has the common "Dark Fire" attack, dealing Fire and Necrotic damage to targets twice per turn.
• Instant Armor: He has "Mage Armor" as a 1st level spell
• Invisibility: Invoked verbatim with one of his 2nd level spells.
• Kill It with Fire: In addition to his Hellfire attack, he has the infamous "Fireball" spell
• Kill It with Ice: In addition to his Chill Touch spell, he has "Ray of Frost" as an at-will spell.
• Lord British Postulate: Consciously acknowledged in the Tales from the Blackwater Cantina supplement, which explicitly gives him stats expecting players to try and kill him, but also adds narrative rules to allow him to continue to fill the narrative role after death and keep the plot moving as planned.
• Luck Manipulation Mechanic: He has "Advantage" on all Turn Undead saves, letting him roll two dice and choose the higher value.
• Mana Potion: Like Tiberia he can consume the souls he has trapped in his soul cages to regain spell slots.
• Mind Control: Unusually, he only has "Dominate Person" despite his narrative role. He prefers instead to rely on More than Mind Control, convincing others to do what he wants rather than forcing them to do so.
• Mysterious Stranger: He doesn't reveal his name until the end of the supplement, spending most of it known only as "The Contact." In the Tales from the Blackwater Cantina supplement he regularly "happens" to meet the player characters, offering them probing questions and vague answers designed to encourage them to dig deeper into the web of conspiracies surrounding Tiberia's project.
• Neutral Evil: His in-universe alignment as one of Malathrax's underlings. He relies on spying and violating laws to uphold the legal and political power of his master and, by extension, the Council of Lich Lords.
• No-Sell:
  • He's immune to Advantage from enemy creatures, as well as immune to Critical Hits.
  • He's immune to Poison, Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing damage, and resistant to Cold, Lightning, and Necrotic.
  • He's immune to Charm, Fatigue, Fear, Paralysis, and Poisoned Status Effects
  • And he gets 3 Legendary Resistances per day, allowing him to choose to pass three failed saves.
• Omniglot: Fittingly for an underling of Malathrax the Spymaster, he speaks Cygnaran, Khadoran, Llaelese and Ordic and Molgur-Trul, allowing him to spy on basically any of the major factions in the Iron Kingdoms.
• Some Kind of Force Field: He has "Force Cage" as a 7th level spell.
• The Trickster: He prefers to trick others into doing what he wants rather than either relying on Mind Control or otherwise forcing them to do his bidding. He's even willing to let his physical body be killed with no ill will as long as it accomplishes his goals. It's even Invoked with the name of his weapon, the "Trickster's Bane Lance."
• Vampiric Draining: He has "Vampiric Touch" as a 3rd level spell.

Annikilus is an ambitious overseer known for profiting from the downfall of Lich Lord Morbus and came to some prominence with the rise of Lich Lord Asphyxious. He is a practiced artillerist whose weapons have been refined for the better part of a decade to equal the breech-loading rifles of the Cygnarans and Khadorans. Annikilus was contracted to cast two prototype 68-pounder cannons for shipboard testing with another eighty to be ordered if deemed satisfactory, along with a few cannons of smaller caliber. Annikilus' own standing is sufficient that he was able to steer Lich Lord Scopulous directly into giving his foundry the contract over Tiberia's preferred choice, a fact for which Shakkal absolutely despises him. In truth, Annikilus' own eagerness is to impress both Tiberia and Shakal with the quality of his weapons and his workforce. He drives himself and his underlings to destruction in an effort to ever-more-perfect the rifled naval guns he is prototyping, and is loathe to admit the truth of his situation to outsiders.

Annikilus has a single version, Annikilus, the Iron Lich Overseer. He is a Warcaster.

• Bad Boss: His "workshop" and "office" is more like a single, enormous, unregulated shooting range where he verbally and physically berates his workers for failing to meet his impossible standards.
• Be as Unhelpful as Possible: He makes excuses for his delays when the characters meet him but a successful Insight check reveals he's lying about having "lost" the contract, and has instead been paid off by agents posing as Mortenebra's employees to not make the cannons.
• BFG: His specialty. The players are sent to contact him in the Tales from the Blackwater Cantina because he was contracted to cast a set of enormous 68 pounder cannons for Scopulus' new flagship.
• Buy Them Off: He used his political "connections" to get the contract to make Scopulus' new cannons. He's also been bribed to delay production by agents posing as Mortenebra's underlings.
• Genius Slob: He's the premier cannon manufacturer in Skell, to the point that he was commissioned to manufacture never-before-tried 68 pounder cannons. His "office" consists of an enormous, blast riddled concrete slab for a "desk" and a scattering of papers and explosives on an unregulated artillery shooting range.
• Gun Nut: He specializes in making BFGs, and is absolutely exacting about his standards for their quality.
• Insufferable Genius: He's a Bad Boss to his Thralls over his obsessive standards for his work, but is also legitimately unhappy about having been unable to make the cannons for Scopulus' new flagship, as he wanted to prove his competence and skill to Shakkal and Tiberia.
• Mecha-Mooks: He keeps a battlegroup of four Bonejacks in his workshop with him.
• Multi-Armed and Dangerous: He has at least three arms, which he uses to punish his Thralls for their failures, as well as lift superhumanly heavy objects.
• Reckless Gun Usage: He casually brandishes a naval artillery shell at the players when they walk into his "office," before throwing it downrange to explode.
• Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!: Shakkal implicitly despises him because he used his political connections with Lich Lord Scopulus to get the contract to make the guns for Scopulus' new flagship. In truth, he was bought off at the last second, and Shakkal despises him because he's worried that Annikilus is such an obsessive about his guns and proving his superiority that he won't go along with the False Flag Operation to blame Mortenebra for the ship's delays.
• Troubled Production: Invoked. He's been contributing to the delays in Scopulus' new flagship. On top of the bribes and political interference, casting unprecedented artillery cannons has been causing him some problems, resulting in not even having had time to test the first successful casts before the players arrive at his shop.