"Warhammer: Shadow of Eight Peaks" - How the Nemesis System could be used.

[GabrieltheFallenArchangel]

"In pride we built Eight Peaks, at the zenith of our ancient power. It was a wonder to the world; more beautiful than even Everpeak, open to the sky. A sign of our wealth and power, strong beyond the measure of Dwarf, Elf, or Men. We thought it would never fall and the mines would be ours forever... What fools we were."

-Gotrek Gurnisson

You would play a Dawi Ranger, whose patrol was decimated by a sudden Skaven attack. You were the only one who survived, and you swore the Grudge against those Skaven. Tracking them leads you to Karak Eight Peaks, otherwise known as Vala-Azril-Ungol, which translates to "Queen of the Silver Depths".

The Karak is constantly fought over by the Dawi, Goblins and Skaven. In your path of solving your Grudge, you will support your Kin in taking back what your people lost. Karak Eight Peaks will return to the Dawi of Karaz Ankor.

You will cross your Grudge.

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The concept came from playing Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, specifically from the system used in that game. Nemesis System.

For those who don't know: Nemesis System is an innovative system which makes it possible for your actions in the world to affect what you will face. More precisely, the enemies that you fight. From your actions, what you do and how you kill hostile enemies, your nemesis will be born.

When playing the game and in my free time, I was thinking how that System has wasted potential (thanks, Warner Bros) and where it could be used. One specific setting that came to my mind was Warhammer Fantasy.

The first thing that came to my mind was a Skaven-focused game, where you are a Skaven character who rises through ranks to reach the top. And during the game, the rivals that you either killed or sent some soldiers to kill them, come back, and you fight them again. But when discussing the idea with some people, Karak Eight Peaks and Dwarven Rangers came up, and I already liked them much more than my initial idea.

Why Dawi Ranger? To explain, the Dawi Rangers are seen as weirdos in Dawi Society because they don't fight like traditional Dawi, aren't afraid to walk under the sun and open sky, and, not to mention, are much more flexible than most Dawi. But they are tolerated by others because they are needed, and they get more respect than most Slayers. Even when it is not a high bar to pass.

Now, how would stuff work? I will expand on many elements of this later, but first and foremost, as in Middle-earth: Shadow of War, there will be missions that either support Dawi who fight across Eight Peaks, or focus on dealing with Skaven or Goblin high-ranking individuals.

Of course, there is stuff you need to remember:

• No 'Banished from Death' stuff:

Our Dawi Ranger doesn't have Talion's ability to return from Death. But it doesn't mean it is hardcore. It means that when Ranger is killed, his progress will be reset to some point, depending on how far you are in the storyline (avoids possible repeats of storyline missions).

• He is still Dawi:

By that, I mean he doesn't have endless stamina or a magical way to heal himself (and I mean sucking the energy from your enemies), so you need to be smart about it and not just throw yourself at the enemy.

• Gathering information:

You don't have the power to enter someone's mind. So you need to gather information about Skaven Warlords and Goblin Chiefs the old-fashioned way. Listening to what their subordinates are saying, finding scattered info, and interrogating weak-willed individuals (worms).

Now, how stuff will work. Obviously, holding ground will be the hard part with Dawi. They have limited numbers, but we could find ways around it. Like, possibly migration of Dawi from different Holds coming towards Eight Peaks to support their Kin.