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Icon wh main lore deathThe Lore of Death is a lore of magic introduced in Total War: Warhammer.

Lore Attribute[ | ]

Icon rarity common small Life Leeching[ | ]

Spellcasters who practise Death Magic can channel the life force of foes into their spells.
Wh main lore passive life leeching skill Passive AbilityThis ability targets allies or self
Lore of Death
Type Icon spell augment of the windsAugment of the Winds
Target Self
Reserves Per Second +0.10%
Duration 25 seconds
Enabled if Casting
Ua arrow increase 1 Triggers when casting spell

Spells[ | ]

Icon rarity common small Spirit Leech[ | ]

The Wizard extends an ebon hand towards the chosen foe, leeching its spirit through tainted sorcery.
Wh main spell death spirit leech SpellThis ability targets enemies
Lore of Death
Cost 8 Winds
11 Winds (Overcast)
Type Icon spell direct damageDirect Damage
Target Enemy
Damage Per Second 33-67
Range 100 metres
300 metres (Overcast)
Duration 13 seconds
Cooldown 32 seconds
Miscast Chance 50% (Overcast)
Affected units Affects enemies in range(max: 1)
Ua winds of magic upgraded icon Extended effect duration
Ua arrow increase 1 Causes damage to combatants
Ua arrow increase 1 Strong vs character
Ua arrow increase 1 Strong vs a single combatant

Ua arrow decrease 1 Weak vs multiple combatants

Icon rarity common small Aspect of the Dread Knight[ | ]

An invisible aura of horror surrounds the Wizard’s allies. Only the bravest foes now stand before them.
Wh main spell death aspect of the dreadknight SpellThis ability targets allies or self
Lore of Death
Cost 4 Winds
8 Winds (Overcast)
Type Icon spell augmentAugment
Target Self, Ally
Allies (Overcast)
Imbuement Modifier icon magical Magical Attacks
Morale character Leadership +8
Causes terror Can Cause Terror
Causes fear Can Cause Fear
Range 200 metres
Effect range (Overcast) 35 metres (Overcast)
Duration 16 seconds
32 seconds (Overcast)
Cooldown 29 seconds
Miscast Chance 50% (Overcast)
Affected units Affects allies in range(max: 1)
Affects allies in range(all) (Overcast)
Ua winds of magic upgraded icon Added effect area
Ua winds of magic upgraded icon Extended effect duration

Icon rarity uncommon small Doom & Darkness[ | ]

Spirits of the departed assail the Wizard’s foes, sapping their resolve and causing dread among their numbers.
Wh main spell death doom and darkness SpellThis ability targets enemies
Lore of Death
Cost 5 Winds
10 Winds (Overcast)
Type Icon spell hexHex
Target Enemy
Enemies (Overcast)
Morale character Leadership -16
Range 200 metres
Effect range (Overcast) 35 metres (Overcast)
Duration 36 seconds
Cooldown 43 seconds
Miscast Chance 50% (Overcast)
Affected units Affects enemies in range(max: 1)
Affects enemies in range(all) (Overcast)
Ua winds of magic upgraded icon Added effect area

Icon rarity uncommon small Soulblight[ | ]

Harnessing the sickly power of Shyish, the Wizard weakens the foe's will to survive the battle.
Wh main spell death soulblight SpellThis ability targets enemies
Lore of Death
Cost 8 Winds
14 Winds (Overcast)
Type Icon spell area of hexesHex (Area)
Target Enemies
Icon stat armour Armour -30
Icon Stat Damage Base Base Weapon Damage -25%
Modifier icon armour piercing Armour-Piercing Weapon Damage -25%
Range 200 metres
Effect range 35 metres
Duration 20 seconds
40 seconds (Overcast)
Cooldown 45 seconds
Miscast Chance 50% (Overcast)
Affected units Affects enemies in range(all)
Ua winds of magic upgraded icon Extended effect duration

Icon rarity rare small 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!
Wh main spell death the purple sun of xereus Spell
Lore of Death
Cost 18 Winds
24 Winds (Overcast)
Type Icon spell vortexVortex
Target Ground, All
Damage Per Second 11 (63%Modifier icon armour piercing) Modifier icon magical
Duration 11 seconds
22 seconds (Overcast)
Radius 12 metres
Movement Speed 2m/s
Range 150 metres
Duration 11 seconds
22 seconds (Overcast)
Cooldown 45 seconds
Miscast Chance 50% (Overcast)
Ua winds of magic upgraded icon Extended effect duration
Ua arrow increase 1 Huge, randomly-moving area of effect
Ua arrow increase 1 Good against armour
Ua arrow increase 1 Strong vs multiple units

Icon rarity rare small The Fate of Bjuna[ | ]

Following the fate of the unsmiling warrior, Bjuna, the targets of the caster’s ire will laugh themselves to death.
Wh main spell death the fate of bjuna SpellThis ability targets enemies
Lore of Death
Cost 22 Winds
Type Icon spell direct damageDirect Damage
Target Enemy
Damage Per Second 125-250
Range 100 metres
Duration 20 seconds
Cooldown 52 seconds
Affected units Affects enemies in range(max: 1)
Ua arrow increase 1 Causes damage to combatants
Ua arrow increase 1 Strong vs 25 men unit or above
Ua arrow increase 1 Strong vs multiple combatants

Ua arrow decrease 1 Weak vs a single combatant

Units[ | ]

Beastmen[ | ]

Chaos Dwarfs[ | ]

Dark Elves[ | ]

Daemons of Chaos[ | ]

Greenskins[ | ]

High Elves[ | ]

Kislev[ | ]

Lizardmen[ | ]

Norsca[ | ]

Nurgle[ | ]

The Empire[ | ]

Tomb Kings[ | ]

Tzeentch[ | ]

Vampire Coast[ | ]

Vampire Counts[ | ]

Warriors of Chaos[ | ]

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. 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.
  • The iconic Soul Drain 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.

Videos[ | ]

How to use the Lore of Death

Trivia[ | ]

  • The Fate of Bjuna has quite the interesting backstory. "Bjuna was a mighty warrior, so the story goes, but famously never smiled -- leastways not until the trickster god cursed him to laugh until his sides ruptured and split. Tellers of this tale cannot agree whose fate was worse: Bjuna's, or the servants who had to clean up the mess." [1]
  • The Lore of Death is the most widely-accessible lore in the game, being available to generic casters of ten races as of The Warden & The Paunch's introduction of the River Troll Hag. The next-most common lore, Shadows, is available to nine.

References[ | ]

  1. Warhammer: Rulebook (8th Edition)
    • pg. 499
Magic
  1. [1]
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