Grand Cathay

Concept art of a strategy piece which Tzarina Katarin used to represent the forces of Grand Cathay in the Total War: Warhammer III announcement trailer. Note the Dragon wearing a breastplate, pauldrons, and holding a globe. Official Games Workshop art.

Grand Cathay is a playable race that will be introduced in Total War: Warhammer III. Cathay is the largest empire in the Warhammer World, consisting mostly of humans, ruled over by immortal dragons who can take human form. The faction is based strongly on the history of Imperial China, and Chinese mythology. They are staunch opponents of Chaos, but their location in the Far East makes them very isolated. Thousands of miles from potential allies, they have constructed a Grand Bastion on their northern border to keep out marauding forces.

How They Play

• On the campaign map, at least one Cathay faction relies on the wealth of trade via the Ivory Road.
• In battle, Cathay factions focuses around a Harmony mechanic. Through Yin and Yang, melee and ranged units gain buffs when near each other.
• Legions of weaker, cheaper human troops backed up by a diverse roster of stronger elite troops, Ling Ma riders, huge Terracotta Sentinel constructs, War Balloons, gunpowder artillery and dragon leaders.
• Generally a defensive, less mobile army vulnerable to flanking.
• Spellcasters include Alchemists and Astromancers, with the Lore of Yin and Lore of Yang.

Background

Grand Cathay, sometimes called Far Cathay, The Dragon Empire of Cathay and the Celestial Dragon Empire, is the largest empire in the Warhammer Fantasy setting. Located in the Far East, Grand Cathay is bordered to the west by the Mountains of Mourn and Ancient Giant Lands, to the east by the Far Sea and the island country of Nippon, to the south by the Hinterlands of Khuresh, and to the north by the Eastern Steppes and Chaos Wastes. To the southwest lies the mountainous border with the Kingdoms of Ind.

Grand Cathay is a powerful nation of order that stands against Chaos. However they are also very isolated, located far from potential allies. Contact and trade with the High Elves and human nations of the Old World has increased in recent times, but is still fairly unreliable and limited. Between Cathay and the Old World lie great mountains, desolate Dark Lands, hostile factions. This means Cathay has largely been forced to defend itself without outside aid. As a result, Grand Cathay long ago constructed the Great Bastion, a huge fortification along their northern border which prevents incursions from nomadic Hobgoblin hordes, as well as marauding bands of Hung, Kurgan and other forces of Chaos.

The ruling caste of Cathay are a family of immortal dragons, who are able to use magic and assume human form. In principle, Grand Cathay is ruled by the Celestial Dragon Emperor and Moon Empress, who are revered by the populace, and speaking ill of them is a swift way to get onesself killed. However, in practice, these two spend most of their time in the Imperial Court, and leave governing of the empire to their oft-quarrelsome sons and daughters.

The strongest of these is Miao Ying, the Storm Dragon, ruler of the Northern Provinces, who is charged with defending the Great Bastion and the city of Nan-Gau. There is also Zhao Ming, the Iron Dragon, ruler of the Western Provinces and Lord of Shang-Yang, who guards the city of Shang-Yang and the Ivory Road which brings great trade wealth to Cathay from the west. Zhao Ming's proximity to the Warpstone Desert has led his dragon siblings to question whether he may have been corrupted...

Indeed, while the Dragon Emperor and Moon Empress command their subjects to live and work in harmony for the good of all, it is not always so. For in addition to external assaults by the Ogre Kingdoms, Hobgoblin Khanate and forces of Chaos, Grand Cathay is also sometimes riven by internal rebellions and competition between the dragon siblings, Chaos cults of Tzeentch and more. During one period where the Dragon Emperor and Moon Empress were mysteriously absent, the mysterious Monkey King was for a time able to march on the capital and usurp the throne, before eventually being ousted and disappearing into the south.

Despite these threats, the proud armies of Grand Cathay fight on. At their core are untold legions of stalwart infantry, from peasant conscripts to highly-trained, well-armoured polearm infantry, cataphracts in scale armour and brigandine. These are supported by hand cannoneers, artillery pieces shaped like great bronze dragons, flying Kongming Baloons and Sky-Junks. Perhaps the most feared are the Terracotta Sentinels - statue constructs that lie motionless for centuries until, in times of great need, they are magically animated to fight in the defense of the Celestial Empire.

Units

Main article: Grand Cathay unit roster

Magic

Grand Cathay has access to ?? Lores of Magic

• Lore of Yang
• Lore of Ying

In campaign

Playable Subfactions

In campaign there are two playable Cathayan factions, each with its own starting position, and led by separate Legendary Lords. See individual pages for faction-specific info.

File:Northern Provinces.png	Northern Provinces, led by Miao Ying
File:Western Provinces.png	Western Provinces, led by Zhao Ming

provinces and settlements

In the cinematic announcement trailer for Total War: Warhammer III, a Total War style map of Cathay is shown with several province / settlement names:

• Great Bastion
• Lands of Stone and Steel
• Celestial Riverlands
• Warpstone Desert
• Gunpowder Road
• Nan-Gau
• Shang-Yang
• Forests of the... [last word covered]

Minor Factions

????

Strategy

As an empire, a people, and on the battlefield, Grand Cathay is about harmony. They are a defensively focused army, long standing against the tides of darkness that crash against their Great Bastion, over and over again across the centuries. Ranged and melee units receive buffs when in close proximity, their power boosted as the Yin and Yang that runs through every inhabitant of the empire works in concert. This gives them incredible ranged firepower and a stalwart, hardy front-line. They are slow-moving and easy to flank, but their flying machines, alchemists, and dragon sorcerers do much to make the army a formidable one.

On the campaign map, Grand Cathay must use the incredible wealth of the Ivory Road to fund their war effort and defense of the Grand Bastion, the invincible walled fortress that borders the Chaos Wastes to their North. Defending it and launching assaults from it is a key part of their campaign and will make or break the fates of mortals.

Development

• Before Total War: Warhammer III, Cathay is referenced in several items and followers, such as the Horn of Immortals and the Cathayan Slave Dancer.
• In 2018, a group of Chinese Total War fans visited Creative Assembly in the UK, and presented them with a fan-made map of Grand Cathay, to show their desire for Cathay to become a playable faction.

• In 2019, Creative Assembly released Total War: Three Kingdoms, a Total War game set during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history (220-280 CE). The game draws heavily on Romance of the Three Kingdoms, a 14th-century Chinese novel which is part history, part myth, and is set in the three kingdoms period. Total War: Three Kingdoms sold 1 million copies in less than a week.

• Games Workshop and Creative Assembly worked together to create Grand Cathay for Total War: Warhammer III. Previously, Cathay had only existed as snippets of lore in Warhammer Fantasy books.

Trivia

• Cathay is strongly based on Imperial China and Chinese fantastical elements. The Great Bastion is based on the Great Wall of China.
• In Chinese-language editions of Warhammer, Cathay's name is Zhendan (震旦), which is an archaic name used for China.

Gallery

Screenshots

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Creative Assembly art

• 
• 
• 
• 

Games Workshop The Old World art

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Videos

????