Rats in the Walls – The Origins of the Four Skaven Great Clans – PRIME
That scratching in the walls might be worse than you think. Peer into the darkness to unearth the inspiration for Skaven clans.
While there are several antagonists in the Warhammer Fantasy and Age of Sigmar universes, few personify the “comic book villain” hilarity better than the rat-like Skaven. Mad scientists, dangerous warriors, and surprisingly adept enemies, the Skaven have been present at several major events in the history of the Old World (including being responsible for the death of Nagash) and have had their claws in shaping the history of Warhammer lore even when other races thought they were responsible. Millions of them live below the surface, and it is widely believed that should the Skaven ever stand together as one, they would easily sweep aside the surface races. Luckily, the Skaven are as distrustful of their own kind as they are hateful of the surface dwellers, so even if such an alliance happened, it would be very short-lived.
At the top of Skaven society is the Council of Thirteen, 12 leaders representing the 11 strongest Skaven clans, which are constantly replaced due to disgrace, betrayal, or death, and the Council of Grey Seers. The 13th seat at the head of the council is symbolically reserved for the Horned Rat itself, a lesser Daemon God that the Skaven believe was responsible for their creation. Though the other 11 seats are constantly in flux, four clans that seem to always have a representative there in one form or another are Skryre, Moulder, Eshin, and Pestilens, known as the 4 Greater Clans.
They represent the darker aspects of the Skaven, and provide warbeasts, artillery, assassins, or horrid poisons to the other clans for exorbitant fees or favors for the future, and have been at the forefront of Skaven involvement in the greater events of the surface world, both as dangerous antagonists or secret benefactors. Here are some theories on what may have inspired these four insidious clans and how the real-world perception of the rats they are based on and the media around them has shaped their portrayal.
Clan Pestilens
As their name suggests, the vile and fanatical Skaven of Clan Pestilens specialize in disease and poisons, believing that the truest form of worship of the Horned Rat is to spread his horrific contagions to the surface world. Though they are associated with Nurgle in Age of Sigmar, since all of Chaos was brought under the umbrella of the 4 Chaos Gods, in Warhammer Fantasy, they represented the radioactive disease associated with warpstone and the Horned Rat. The warping disease drove them to feats of incredible bravery and fanaticism, flinging themselves into battle with wild abandon and swinging massive censer-flails that weep corrosive and virulent smoke. They were responsible for the plague that ravaged the Empire during the reign of the tyrannical Boris Goldgather, and reaped a terrible toll on the Lizardmen of Lustria until Tehenhauin, the Prophet of Sotek, rose to stop them.
The obvious first comparison with this clan is the association rats have with being disease carriers and the primary agents of plague. Ever since the Bubonic Plague ravaged England in the Medieval period, rats have been blamed and associated with spreading all manner of horrible pathogens, from rabies to the aforementioned Black Plague. Though the blame should primarily be associated with the fleas the rats bore and the lack of proper bathing and horrid living conditions of the local populace, rats have always been an easy scapegoat thanks to their generally disliked nature. Even to this day, when massive plagues are depicted in fantasy or media, rats are usually present. However, the plague is not the only association with the diseased zealots of Clan Pestilens, and the other inspiration comes from the mutagenic and deteriorating effects of radiation poisoning. It has long been theorized that the real-world comparison for the greenish-black magical rock known as warpstone is highly irradiated meteorites, and rats have been used in lab testing of the effects of long-term radiation exposure since before the creation of the atom bomb. Because of this, the association with Pestilens going rabid and bearing the raw signs of radiation poisoning thanks to their warpstone proximity are pretty clear.
Clan Eshin
Slinking from the shadows to assassinate their targets with envenomed blades or steal important documents or artifacts, the agents of Clan Eshin are everywhere, manipulating events or removing key figures to ensure the will of the Council and their masters are carried out. Trained in the mystical lands of Cathay and Nippon in the art of infiltration, assassination, and minor shadow magic, it is said that the assassins of the Clan can fade into the darkness, infiltrate impossible locks, and even climb sheer surfaces without a sound. In fact, one such target was a Dwarven Thane, who was found with his throat slit deep in his own keep behind three locked and guarded doors, with no sign of the assailant. Wherever the agents of Eshin walk, death follows.
The modern depiction of ninja assassins is the first source of inspiration for these shadow rats, as evidenced by their dress, weaponry, and battle tactics. In the game, they are light skirmishers who are dangerous up close, wielding poisoned blades that bypass armor saves and shadow bombs to escape unfavorable engagements. And while rats might not seem like the first animal to associate with assassins, a unique biological adaptation actually makes them the perfect infiltrators. Because of their lives as tunnel dwellers and burrowing creatures, rats have adapted long cylindrical bodies and can fit through openings that look many times too small for their bodies. This has lead to the myth that they have collapsible skeletons, which is untrue, but can be traced as a possible inspiration for rats as assassins and spies. Their adaptations also make them prefer darker environments, like the tunnels they would normally live in, giving credence to an army of rats that prefer the dark.
Clan Skryre
The mad scientists of the Old World, Clan Skryre are ingenious inventors who combine galvanism and sorcery to create terrifying weapons of war, from the long-barreled Jezzail rifles to the toxic Poisoned Wind Globes. Their primary special character, Ikit Claw, was even able to build himself an Iron Man-style suit to keep himself alive when a lab experiment went horribly wrong and robbed him of most of his body. Skryre is responsible for all the technological advancements of the Skaven Under Empire, and in addition to being one of the most dangerous Greater Clans, they are the wealthiest and hold the closest seat to the Horned Rat’s chair on the council outside the Council of Grey Seers. They have even developed the Warp Rocket, a deadly weapon with the destructive potential of an atom bomb, though thankfully, they are exceedingly rare and hard to produce.
With all the mention of galvanism and their general coloration, the Skaven of Clan Skryre seem to draw a lot of inspiration from Nikola Tesla’s theories and, by extension, the Steampunk genre. Their “death rays”, lightning cannons, and general vibe all fit an alternate history that had chosen Tesla over Edison, as well as bear a resemblance to the enhanced rats from the Nimh books and film. In addition, thanks to the radioactive nature of the warpstone that powers most of their weaponry, especially the Warp Rocket, they bear a strong resemblance to the Manhattan Project and other similar weapon experimentation groups.
Clan Moulder
Masters of fleshcraft and the breeding of horrifying war beasts, the packmasters of Clan Moulder create the warrior creatures for the Under Empire. They provide the Rat Ogres and Giant Rats, the Brood Horrors and Bonebreakers ridden by prolific Warlords, and the grotesque Hell Pit Abominations. They are also half responsible for the Stormfiends of Clan Skryre, providing them with the massive Ogres to augment with weaponry, and created the current Boneripper companion that accompanies Grey Seer Thanquol, the most famous of the Grey Seers.
With all their bio-science, Clan Moulder resembles the tale of Frankenstein and his creature, especially in the case of Boneripper, who was made from dead bodies. However, they also draw inspiration from the myth of massive mutated rats living in sewer systems. With the impressive size of some rats, especially larger breeds like the Gambian Pouched Rat, this is an easy comparison to make, and the idea that rats will eat anything if hungry enough plays into the creature danger here as well.
I think I hear scratching?
