Norsca


 * For other uses, see Norsca (disambiguation).

Norsca is a playable race introduced in Total War: Warhammer.

Norsca is playable in campaign, custom battles and multiplayer.

The land of Norsca is an icy mountainous peninsula in the far north, under the shadow of Chaos. Its inhabitants (the hardy and warlike Norscan Tribes) are Chaos-worshippers, and they share their inhospitable land with ferocious monsters. When the Norscans raid and plunder other lands, it is with hordes of barbarian warriors backed up by trolls, mammoths, fimir, skin-wolves and even mighty frost-drakes.

There are 2 playable subfactions: World Walkers and Wintertooth.

How they play
A summary of Norsca gameplay:


 * Units: Cheaper, undisciplined marauder units, backed up by many large monstrous units. Few ranged options.
 * Regiments of Renown: Norsca has access to several RoR, some have special requirements in the campaign.
 * Allegiance to the Gods: Norscan factions can gain favour with one of four Chaos Gods, gaining various rewards and bonuses.
 * Norsca settlements: Unique settlement system, can only colonise settlements in the Norscan peninsula, coastal settlements and racial capitals, which unlocks technologies.
 * Monstrous Arcanum: A book that allows Norsca to engage in monster hunt quests, for great rewards.
 * The Everchosen's Summons: A special dilemma which allows Norsca to join the Chaos Invasion with the Warriors of Chaos, if they choose.
 * Tribal Confederation: Norsca can confederate Norscan Tribes by defeating their leaders, or vassalize them by taking their last settlement.

Background
"Mortals despair! The reign of the Gods has begun."

The harsh and brutal nature of the far north is reflected in the grim character of its peoples. Yet even more than the privations of their cold and barren lands, their proximity to the Realm of Chaos shapes the Norsca and other northern tribes. Rather than fight the darkness, they embrace it, worshipping the forces of Chaos as Gods, providing a willing army for the Ruinous Powers' never-ending war against order and reason.

Though physically tougher and more powerful than those living an easier life in the south, the Northmen are still Men - although many of them will have their humanity warped by mutations, and their savagery and barbarism are legendary. War is their natural state, and whether raiding across the Sea of Claws in their longships or feuding with neighbouring tribes, their blades never go long without blood. They follow the Ruinous Powers with unquestioning fervour, personifying them as the Hound, the Crow, the Serpent and the Eagle. They need no priests to intercede with their Gods, believing the slaughter and terror they bring is an act of worship in itself, though they are also highly superstitious and often raise twisted shrines and make blood offerings to honour whichever deity they hope to win favour with. The shared ambition of every northern warrior is to cause the greatest possible bloodshed and mayhem in order to appease and please their Gods; in seeking this goal most die violent deaths, or fall into warped insanity, but a few become favoured as Champions of the Gods, often 'blessed' with mutations such as a melding of flesh and armour, or weapons fused with the hands that wield them.

No single Lord holds sway over the nomadic northern tribes, although men and monster alike are increasingly drawn to fight for King Throgg, a Troll of surprising intellect, or to follow Wulfrik the Wanderer, a Norscan warrior cursed by the Gods to forever seek out and fight the mightiest opponents. And whenever the Ruinous Powers prepare for a new assault on the south the Northmen put aside their petty disputes and rivalries and unite behind their Champions, ready to fight and die in the name of their Gods. At times like this, the Realm of Chaos itself swells and expands, bleeding over into mortal lands. One day, the Norsca believe, their advance will not be checked, and Chaos will swallow the world.

Unit Roster

 * Main article: Norsca unit roster

Cheaper, undisciplined marauder infantry and cavalry units, backed up by many large monstrous units. Few ranged options, though Marauder Hunters (Javelins) are quite good against monstrous units. Mammoth units are a great asset, and have the siege attacker trait. No less than 7 monstrous infantry units including characters.

Norscan spellcasters have access to the Lore of Death, Lore of Fire, Lore of Metal and Lore of Shadows.

Regiments of Renown
Norsca have several Regiments of Renown available. These are elite, unique versions of standard Norscan units.

Two Regiments of Renown are rewards for Monster Hunts (see below), while one is a reward for gaining max allegiance with the Hound (again, see below).

The other six were added in the Foundation Update.

In the Campaign
Norsca is a non-horde faction who occupy settlements and control provinces, however they use a special colonization system different to other races. See below.

Legendary Lord choices
Norsca players can choose from the following lords when starting a campaign. See the individual lord pages for information on their various bonuses in campaign.


 * Wulfrik the Wanderer - a powerful melee duellist and army leader.
 * Throgg - a monstrous troll with a toxic vomit attack.

Norsca settlements

 * Main article: Norsca settlements.

Norsca as a race uses a different settlement system to other races, and is unaffected by regional occupation. They can only occupy settlements in the Norscan peninsula, coastal settlements, and racial capitals.

Monstrous Arcanum

 * Main article: Monstrous Arcanum.

The Monstrous Arcanum is an ancient book which contains monster hunt quests. These quests are unlocked via the Norscan technology tree, and have various powerful rewards such as unique items and Regiments of Renown.

In May 2018, four more monster hunts were added to the Monstrous Arcanum for Mortal Empires in Total War: Warhammer II.

Allegiance to the Gods

 * Main article: Allegiance to the Gods.

Allegiance to the Gods allows Norscan armies to take various actions to honour either the Serpent, the Crow, the Eagle or the Hound. This will fill up a bar for the corresponding god, and when the bar is totally full a bonus will be given - for instance filling the Eagle's bar will give the player a Lord of Change called Azrik the Maze Keeper, while filling the Crow's bar will create a plague to affect your enemies.

Tribal Confederation
This mechanic changed between Total War: Warhammer I and Total War: Warhammer II.


 * Total War: Warhammer I

When the player kills another Norscan Tribes faction's leader (not just any lord, but the faction leader who appears on the diplomacy screen) in battle, then that faction will become extremely likely to agree to confederate with the player's faction. Additionally, after taking a Norscan faction's last settlement, the player has the option to subjugate them.


 * Total War: Warhammer II

When the player kills another Norscan Tribes faction's leader (not just any lord, but the faction leader who appears on the diplomacy screen) in battle, then a dilemma will appear called Warlord Defeated. This gives the option to release the enemy leader, kill them permanently, or confederate their faction.

If you defeat Throgg or Wulfrik then you will get Throgg Defeated or Wulfrik Defeated. These latter dilemmas only give the option to confederate or release the lord (which gives -20 relations with their faction).

The Everchosen's Summons
The Everchosen's Summons is a special dilemma for World Walkers and Wintertooth that occurs when the Chaos Invasion starts. It allows them to either ally with Archaon and his Warriors of Chaos in their invasion, or forge your own route and destroy the Warriors of Chaos.

Buildings

 * Main article: Norsca buildings

Technology

 * Main article: Norsca tech tree

Limited technology tree. Some options must be research in order to unlock quests in the Monstrous Arcanum. Powerful technologies unlock after occupying other races' racial capitals.

Inventory

 * Norsca items
 * Norsca followers
 * Norsca banners

Climate preferences
Climate preferences for Norsca (note they are still affected by the Norsca settlements restrictions):


 * Habitable: Temperate, Wasteland, Frozen, Chaotic Wasteland, Savannah, Mountain, Jungle, Island
 * Unpleasant: Desert, Magical Forest
 * Uninhabitable: Ocean

Stances
Special stances: Raiding Camp (allows replenishment and attrition immunity while also raiding and remaining stationary)

Common stances: Default, March, Encamp, Ambush, Raiding, Channelling.

Post-battle options
Norscan post-battle options for captives are as follows:


 * Kill Captives
 * Sacrifice Captives
 * Enslave Capitves

Settlement options
See settlement options for details.


 * Sack
 * Occupy
 * Subjugate
 * Raze for the Serpent
 * Raze for the Crow
 * Raze for the Hound
 * Raze for the Eagle

Commandments
Norsca does not have any commandments, since they cannot control entire provinces except in the Norscan peninsula itself.

Start Position


World Walkers start in Icedrake Fjord settlement in Ice Tooth Mountains, in all campaigns.

Wintertooth has a separate start location, east of Wulfrik's and west of Kraka Drak.

Victory Conditions (for World Walkers)

 * Short Campaign


 * Attain Level 3 Allegiance with one of the Gods
 * Defeat all of the Challengers sent against you
 * Destroy the following faction(s): Wintertooth, Reikland, Couronne
 * Control any 5 of the following settlements either by direct ownership or through vassals and military allies: Couronne, Miragliano, Karaz-a-Karak, Altdorf, Castle Drakenhof, Black Crag, Naggarond, Lothern, Hexoatl, Itza, Skavenblight, Hell Pit, Khemri, Kislev, Ironfrost, Fortress of the Damned, Skeggi, The Oak of Ages
 * Earn the following amount from raiding: 10000
 * Maintain a total of 7 units of the following type Skin Wolves, Skin Wolves (Armoured), Feral Mammoth, War Mammoth, War Mammoth (Warshrine)
 * Maintain 40 units in total


 * Long Campaign


 * Attain Level 3 Allegiance with one of the Gods
 * Defeat all of the Challengers sent against you
 * Destroy the following faction(s): Wintertooth, Reikland, Couronne, Eataine, Khemri
 * Control any 10 of the following settlements either by direct ownership or through vassals and military allies: Couronne, Miragliano, Karaz-a-Karak, Altdorf, Castle Drakenhof, Black Crag, Naggarond, Lothern, Hexoatl, Itza, Skavenblight, Hell Pit, Khemri, Kislev, Ironfrost, Fortress of the Damned, Skeggi, The Oak of Ages
 * Earn the following amount from raiding: 20000
 * Maintain a total of 12 units of the following type Skin Wolves, Skin Wolves (Armoured), Feral Mammoth, War Mammoth, War Mammoth (Warshrine)
 * Maintain 60 units in total

Victory Conditions (for Wintertooth)
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Norscan names
See also: Norscan names

Strategy

 * Norsca's economy is usually quite poor, and they have a hard time generating income from settlements. They rely on raiding, looting and sacking for income.
 * Defeating a hostile Norscan faction leader is a huge boon, resulting in you being able to confederate them immediately. This is a very effective way to become powerful, especially early in the campaign.
 * If the player rejects the Call of Chaos at the end of the Norscan God quest chain, they must fight the Warriors of Chaos faction alone. This may seem like a daunting task, but the reward is equally great: defeating the Warriors of Chaos faction as Norsca grants the player a 75% reduction in upkeep costs, making Norsca a faction that can essentially have free armies, until supply lines catch up. This does not apply to Total War: Warhammer I.

Minor factions (Norscan Tribes)

 * Main article: Norscan Tribes

On the campaign map, many minor factions are grouped together as Norsca (Norscan Tribes in Total War: Warhammer I).

The Old World
Default factions:


 * Goromadny Tribe
 * Helspire Tribe
 * Naglfarlings
 * Skaeling
 * Vanaheimlings
 * Varg

Factions that appear for the Chaos Invasion:


 * Bjornling

Factions that appear if awakened by Warriors of Chaos:


 * Aesling
 * Baersonling
 * Graeling
 * Sarl

Eye of the Vortex

 * Aghol
 * Mung
 * Skaeling
 * Skeggi

Factions that can appear to interfere with Rituals:


 * Warband of the Crow (vs. Skaven Rituals)
 * Warband of the Eagle (vs. High Elf Rituals)
 * Warband of the Hound (vs. Dark Elf Rituals)
 * Warband of the Serpent (vs. Lizardmen Rituals)

Chaos Invasion
Many Norscan factions join the Chaos Invasion in various campaigns. The playable Norscan factions are given the choice of whether or not to join Chaos (see above).

Trivia

 * As noted in the introduction, World Walkers used to have the generic name "Norsca" until it was changed in the Potion of Speed Update for Total War: Warhammer II.
 * Norsca was introduced in Total War: Warhammer via the Norsca (DLC) on August 10th 2017. Prior to this, Norscan factions existed in the campaign with a limited unit roster, as AI-only factions (see here for details).
 * Norsca's inclusion in Total War: Warhammer II's Mortal Empires was delayed for several months, until May 31 2018.