The End Times

Lore & Background

The End Times were prophesied in ancient texts—a convergence of dark stars and the awakening of Chaos from the northern wastes. Archaon, the Everchosen of the Chaos Gods, united the warring tribes of the north and led a colossal horde southward, shattering the defenses of Kislev and breaching the Empire's borders with fire and sorcery. Simultaneously, the Skaven, under the cunning Grey Seer Thanquol and the Council of Thirteen, unleashed their own long-planned invasion, tunneling beneath cities to burst forth in swarms, spreading plague and war with unprecedented coordination. The world's great powers—the Empire, the Dwarfs of Karaz-a-Karak, and even the undead legions of Nagash—were forced into desperate, often doomed alliances, but their efforts were fragmented by betrayal, ancient grudges, and the sheer, suffocating scale of the onslaught.

In Their Own Story

The air in Ubersreik tasted of ash and iron. Kruber wiped the grime from his brow, peering over the barricade as a wave of ratmen surged from the sewers, their red eyes gleaming like embers in the firelight. 'They just keep coming,' he muttered, his voice hoarse. 'Like the world itself is vomiting them up.' Beside him, Sienna whispered a prayer to a god she no longer believed in, her hands already wreathed in flame. 'It's not just the rats, Markus,' she said, pointing to the north, where the sky churned with unnatural colors—bruised purples and sickly greens. 'That's the real end. We're just the last ones to see it coming.'

Reader's Guide

The End Times in Vermintide is a localized retelling of the greater Warhammer Fantasy apocalypse, focusing on Ubersreik and its surroundings. Players witness the Skaven's role in the End Times through the 'Skaven Invasion' narrative, where the ratmen exploit the chaos of Archaon's invasion to launch their own campaigns. Key terms like 'the Horned Rat' (the Skaven god) and 'the Council of Thirteen' (their ruling body) appear in item descriptions and dialogue, hinting at their grand strategy. The game's maps—from the sewers of Ubersreik to the Dwarf fortress of Karak Azgaraz—showcase the Skaven's tunneling and plague-spreading tactics in gut-churning detail. Vermintide's story diverges from the broader End Times by giving the Ubersreik Five a heroic, if ultimately futile, role, as they fight to protect their home while the world crumbles around them. The 'End Times' is referenced in loading screens and character banter, a constant reminder that every battle is a last stand, and every cheer may be the last sound they hear.

Did You Know?

• The End Times were originally a tabletop wargame campaign for Warhammer Fantasy Battle, released in 2014-2015, which concluded with the world's destruction.
• In the original lore, the Skaven's role in the End Times was masterminded by the Grey Seer Thanquol, who appears in Vermintide as a recurring antagonist.
• The End Times saw the return of Nagash, the first necromancer, who attempted to claim the world for himself before being defeated by the forces of order.
• Vermintide's timeline places the Ubersreik Five's adventures during the early stages of the End Times, before the final fall of the Empire.