Vlad von Carstein

Vlad von Carstein is a Vampire Counts Legendary Lord introduced in Total War: Warhammer. He is a powerful melee fighter who gives all units in his army vanguard deployment, and casts spells from the Lore of Vampires.

In the campaign, he is one of the two Legendary Lord choices for the Von Carstein faction, alongside Isabella von Carstein.

Description
Vlad von Carstein was the first and greatest of the Vampire Counts of Sylvania. A master swordsman and skilled general with no small aptitude in the magical arts, it was he who tainted the aristocracy of Sylvania with the curse of vampirism, and in doing so, created an Undead Kingdom at the heart of the Empire. Count Vlad was a towering figure, with a mane of long hair and piercing eyes. Those who met him and survived described him as possessed of a "feral charm", but with an evil temper that could turn into a berserk fury if he was thwarted in his endeavours. It is said that at such times, only his wife, Isabella, could calm him without blood being spilled. No records tell of Vlad's origins before his coming to Sylvania. Even the Vampires of that realm know nothing of his life before that fateful night in Drakenhof, and Vlad certainly never recounted or wrote down his personal history. That he knew much about the workings of the Empire, and its internal division at the time of his arrival, attests to knowledge of the dealings of mortal men for many years.

Though he was defeated in the great finale of the Vampire wars at Aldorf's gates, rumours persist of the Von Carstein partraich's second coming was noted by several Witch hunters from Sylvania before their holds and bases were destroyed by Mannfred. Of course, when others discovered this piece of information, the former Elector Count of Stirland was already making a bloody warpath across the Empire.

Roleplay note: While controversial to some of the more long-term fans of the Warhammer Fantasy setting, Vlad did a face-turn in the end times revealing himself to be actually quite fond of his human underlings, joining the anti-chaos forces to try and save his realm. Now whether this is for selfish reasons, such as wanting to have a province left at the end of it all to stake his claim to the throne with, or not is up to personal interpretation, and his ultimate goal was always to save his beloved Isabella. In the end he does sacrifice himself, giving up his own immortality just to save Isabella.

So, our boy Vlad allows players to play that "Chaotic good' vampire lord RP as you are beloved by the loyal human populace(even though they know you aren't mortal and are why the prisons are always suspiciously empty despite the strict legal system) and quite literally eternally monogamous while you raise dead and defile nature. Remember when you're playing Vlad, you're killing them to raise them again because you care.

Campaign Effects (as starting lord)

 * Additional Starting Units
 * Fell Bats
 * Blood Knights
 * Vargheists
 * Lord Effects
 * [[file:construction.png]] Access to unique building in Castle Drakenhof, the Mausoleum of the Mad Count, which allows recruitment of Vampire heroes much sooner and greatly improves them in a variety of ways
 * [[file:melee.png]] Undying Love: +15 to Melee Attack and Melee Defence when Vlad and Isabella are reinforcing each other
 * [[file:Campaign_movement.png]] Campaign movement range: +5% (all characters)
 * [[file:Attribute guerrilla deploy.png]] All units in Vlad von Carstein's army receive Vanguard Deployment

Abilities

 * Master of Beguilement
 * Aura of Dark Grandeur

Mounts

 * None

Items

 * Blood Drinker
 * The Carstein Ring

Spells

 * Lore of Vampires

Strategy
Vlad von Carstein solves one of the Vampire Counts' only weaknesses in battle: Getting in to combat. While ranged units and artillery could be a concern previously, giving your entire army Vanguard Deployment means you can almost immediately close the gap to melee. On top of that, Vlad himself also takes advantage, which makes up for his inability to take a mount. Lastly, units that cause Terror or Fear can almost immediately begin causing issue to the enemy.

While he's not as much of a spellcaster as Mannfred, his abilities can help his army continue to perform either through regeneration or by buffing individual units. Once in melee, Vlad becomes one of the most difficult Lords in the game to take down, thanks to multiple sources of regeneration and strong overall stats. And against particularly difficult opponents, having Isabella reinforce him boosts those stats higher still, making him an absolute nightmare to contend with.

If facing Vlad, utilizing ranged damage, cavalry and fire damage can take him down without suffering too many casualties. If kept at a distance, ranged damage will chip away at him without consequence. Cavalry can keep him off his feet and cause severe morale penalties. Fire will do bonus damage against him, quickly chipping away at his health. If he does close the gap, try and take him down quickly, as his regeneration will essentially undo small bits of damage.