Total War: WARHAMMER Wiki

The Lore of Death is a lore of magic introduced in Total War: Warhammer.

Lore Attribute[]

Life Leeching[]

Spellcasters who practise Death Magic can channel the life force of foes into their spells.
Passive AbilityThis ability targets allies or self
Lore of Death
Type Augment of the Winds
Target Self
Reserves Per Second +0.10
Duration 25 seconds
Enabled if Casting
Triggers when casting spell

Spells[]

Aspect of the Dread Knight[]

An invisible aura of horror surrounds the Wizard’s allies. Only the bravest foes now stand before them.
SpellThis ability targets allies or self
Lore of Death
Cost 4 Winds
Type Augment
Target Self or Single Ally
Imbuement Magical Attacks
Leadership +8
Can Cause Terror
Can Cause Fear
Range 200 metres
Duration 16 seconds
Cooldown 29 seconds
Affected units Affects allies in range(max: 1)

Aspect of the Dread Knight Upgraded[]

An invisible aura of horror surrounds the Wizard’s allies. Only the bravest foes now stand before them.
SpellThis ability targets allies or self
Lore of Death
Cost 8 Winds
Type Augment
Target Self and Allies
Imbuement Magical Attacks
Leadership +8
Can Cause Terror
Can Cause Fear
Range 200 metres
Effect range 35 metres
Duration 32 seconds
Cooldown 29 seconds
Miscast chance 50%
Affected units Affects allies in range(all)
Added effect area
Extended effect duration

Spirit Leech[]

The Wizard extends an ebon hand towards the chosen foe, leeching its spirit through tainted sorcery.
SpellThis ability targets enemies
Lore of Death
Cost 8 Winds
Type Direct Damage
Target Single Enemy
Damage Per Second 33-67
Range 100 metres
Duration 13 seconds
Cooldown 32 seconds
Affected units Affects enemies in range(max: 1)
Causes damage to combatants
Strong vs character
Strong vs a single combatant

Weak vs multiple combatants

Spirit Leech Upgraded[]

The Wizard extends an ebon hand towards the chosen foe, leeching its spirit through tainted sorcery.
SpellThis ability targets enemies
Lore of Death
Cost 11 Winds
Type Direct Damage
Target Single Enemy
Damage Per Second 33-67
Range 300 metres
Duration 13 seconds
Cooldown 32 seconds
Miscast chance 50%
Affected units Affects enemies in range(max: 1)
Extended cast range
Causes damage to combatants
Strong vs character
Strong vs a single combatant

Weak vs multiple combatants

Doom & Darkness[]

Spirits of the departed assail the Wizard’s foes, sapping their resolve and causing dread among their numbers.
SpellThis ability targets enemies
Lore of Death
Cost 5 Winds
Type Hex
Target Single Enemy
Leadership -16
Range 200 metres
Duration 36 seconds
Cooldown 43 seconds
Affected units Affects enemies in range(max: 1)

Doom & Darkness Upgraded[]

Spirits of the departed assail the Wizard’s foes, sapping their resolve and causing dread among their numbers.
SpellThis ability targets enemies
Lore of Death
Cost 10 Winds
Type Hex
Target Enemies
Leadership -16
Range 200 metres
Effect range 35 metres
Duration 36 seconds
Cooldown 43 seconds
Miscast chance 50%
Affected units Affects enemies in range(all)
Added effect area

Soulblight[]

Harnessing the sickly power of Shyish, the Wizard weakens the foe's will to survive the battle.
SpellThis ability targets enemies
Lore of Death
Cost 8 Winds
Type Hex (Area)
Target Enemies
Base Weapon Damage -25%
Armour-Piercing Weapon Damage -25%
Armour -30
Range 200 metres
Effect range 35 metres
Duration 20 seconds
Cooldown 45 seconds
Affected units Affects enemies in range(all)

Soulblight Upgraded[]

Harnessing the sickly power of Shyish, the Wizard weakens the foe's will to survive the battle.
SpellThis ability targets enemies
Lore of Death
Cost 14 Winds
Type Hex (Area)
Target Enemies
Base Weapon Damage -25%
Armour-Piercing Weapon Damage -25%
Armour -30
Range 200 metres
Effect range 35 metres
Duration 40 seconds
Cooldown 45 seconds
Miscast chance 50%
Affected units Affects enemies in range(all)
Extended effect duration

The Purple Sun of Xereus[]

A colossal orb of purple-edged darkness materialises - those who do not escape its crystalline touch are doomed for eternity!
Spell
Lore of Death
Cost 18 Winds
Type Vortex
Target Ground, All
Damage Per Second 11 (63%)
Duration 11 seconds
Radius 12 metres
Movement Speed 2 metre per second
Range 150 metres
Duration 11 seconds
Cooldown 54 seconds
Affects units if: Not on or below a platform
Huge, randomly-moving area of effect
Good against armour
Strong vs multiple units

The Purple Sun of Xereus Upgraded[]

A colossal orb of purple-edged darkness materialises - those who do not escape its crystalline touch are doomed for eternity!
Spell
Lore of Death
Cost 24 Winds
Type Vortex
Target Ground, All
Damage Per Second 11 (63%)
Duration 22 seconds
Radius 12 metres
Movement Speed 2 metre per second
Range 150 metres
Duration 22 seconds
Cooldown 54 seconds
Miscast chance 50%
Affects units if: Not on or below a platform
Extended effect duration
Huge, randomly-moving area of effect
Good against armour
Strong vs multiple units

The Fate of Bjuna[]

Following the fate of the unsmiling warrior, Bjuna, the targets of the caster’s ire will laugh themselves to death.
SpellThis ability targets enemies
Lore of Death
Cost 22 Winds
Type Direct Damage
Target Single Enemy
Damage Per Second 125-250
Range 100 metres
Duration 18 seconds
Cooldown 52 seconds
Affected units Affects enemies in range(max: 1)
Causes damage to combatants
Strong vs 25 men unit or above
Strong vs multiple combatants

Weak vs a single combatant

The Fate of Bjuna does not have an overcast version.

Units with the Lore of Death[]

Beastmen[]

Unit
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Chaos Dwarfs[]

Unit

Daemons of Chaos[]

Unit
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Dark Elves[]

Unit
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Greenskins[]

Unit

High Elves[]

Unit
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Kislev[]

Unit

Lizardmen[]

Unit

Norsca[]

Unit

(WH1 & WH2 only)
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Nurgle[]

Unit
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Ogre Kingdoms[]

Unit

The Empire[]

Unit

Tomb Kings[]

Unit

Tzeentch[]

Unit

(Fragment of Shyish)
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(Formless Horror: Archaon the Everchosen)
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(Formless Horror: Arkhan the Black)

(Formless Horror: Azhag the Slaughterer)

(Formless Horror: Elspeth von Draken)

(Formless Horror: Kairos Fateweaver)
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(Formless Horror: Malagor the Dark Omen)
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(Formless Horror: Mannfred von Carstein)

(Formless Horror: Morathi)
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(Formless Horror: The Blue Scribes)
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Vampire Coast[]

Unit

Vampire Counts[]

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Warriors of Chaos[]

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Strategy[]

Despite its ominous title, the Lore of Death is an awkward and fairly poor school of magic which is best avoided if you have a choice, unless the hero or lord wielding it has good enough traits to make them worthwhile on their own merits. Investing on Lore of Death enough, especially on certain factions/characters, can make every single spell generate Winds of Magic, thereotically granting you a never-ending source of magic reserve in battles. It focuses on bypassing armour in numerous different ways.

  • Life Leeching is a pretty good passive, simply rewarding you with more magic the more you cast, making Death magic practitioners good secondary wizards if you already have one.
  • Spirit Leech is an obvious choice to cast upon problem SEMs and lords, but it absolutely cannot take out anything powerful on its own and needs to be followed through with attackers. It's a strong contender to max out first so you can overcast it for maximum effect.
  • Aspect of the Dread Knight is a nice, cheap buff which is definitely worth investing in if you're fighting Daemonic or Undead enemies who are vulnerable to magic attacks.
  • Doom & Darkness might help you break some enemies quicker when cast at the right time, but it's rare to see it have a noticeable effect.
  • Soulblight is similarly mediocre and even more expensive. Reducing enemy damage output is much less valuable than increasing their own susceptibility to damage so you can get rid of them faster, and armour is one of the less important stats.
  • The Purple Sun of Xereus certainly looks impressive and can annihilate clumps of enemies... sometimes. It moves randomly, so it may decide it's not interested on staying over your foes. This is the price of a relatively quick casting time for a nuke spell. Obviously you need to cast it well away from your own troops.
  • Fate of Bjuna is an extremely potent unit killer, but it also has an insanely high cost. Pick a target for it carefully because without plenty of Arcane Conduits it may well be the only sizeable spell you'll get to cast that battle.

Video Guide[]

How to use the Lore of Death[]

Trivia[]

  • The Lore of Death is the most widely-accessible lore in the game, being available to generic casters of sixteen races as of Update 6.0's introduction of the Death variants of the Slaughtermaster and Butcher of the Ogre Kingdoms.
Magic