So, you want to know about the Total War: Warhammer III races and factions? While this was one of the biggest causes for speculation during the months immediately after Warhammer III’s announcement, plenty of information has been released since, so we can answer the question with some certainty at this point.
Developer Creative Assembly previously promised to include all 15 of Warhammer Fantasy’s eighth edition core races in its Warhammer Total War games, which at the time prior to the third game’s announcement left only Ogre Kingdoms and Deamons of Chaos. The Ogre Kingdoms were eventually announced and confirmed as the pre-order bonus race in November 2021, while the Deamons of Chaos were revealed in January 2022, fulfilling the prophecy.
We were also treated to the surprise that Grand Cathay, the most enigmatic Warhammer race of them all, would be brought to life for the very first time in partnership with Games Workshop’s Warhammer Fantasy revival. We’ve laid out a quick summary of all of the confirmed races below, along with some additional speculation regarding future Warhammer III races we think might turn up as Warhammer 3 DLC.
Total War: Warhammer 3 races
The confirmed Total War: Warhammer 3 factions are:
- Legion of Chaos (Chaos Undivided)
- Kislev
- Khorne
- Nurgle
- Tzeentch
- Slaanesh
- Cathay
- Ogre Kingdoms (DLC race)
Legion of Chaos (Chaos Undivided)
While this isn’t technically a separate race, at the time of writing the game treats this faction as a distinct entity separate to the main four Chaos factions, so we can list it as such. Revealed in January 2022, the ninth Legendary Lord is simply called the Daemon Prince, and they lead a faction known as Legion of Chaos.
Devoted to the ideal of Chaos Undivided, the goal of unifying the forces of Chaos under one banner takes form in Total War: Warhammer III through the highly customisable Daemon Prince. You can dedicate them wholly to following one Chaos god, or you can honour them all and command a diverse roster pulling from all corners of the Chaos pantheon. You can even customise your prince’s appearance. Read more details here, and there’s this trailer as well:
Again, the Daemon Prince and Chaos Undivided still fall under the larger Chaos banner, so not technically a wholly seperate race, but still pretty cool none-the-less and they’ll have plenty of reasons to fight the other forces of Chaos during the game.
Kislev
The reveal trailer and the accompanying announcement were clear: Kislev will be a launch race for Total War: Warhammer III. Warhammer’s analogue of Russia, Kislev borders the Empire to its north and thus is the first place to get reamed whenever the hordes of Chaos in the north pole decide to beat up someone other than themselves. It’s a cold, harsh land full of cold, harsh people, sometimes scorned by the Empire as savages, but as the first line of defence against Chaos the rest of the world owes them a debt. That’s pretty badass, and has made Kislev into fan favourites.
As one of the first races announced, there’s been plenty of information on Kislev revealed at this point, but some of the higlights include the official faction trailer:
And the official Kislev army roster reveal.
Khorne, Nurgle, Tzeentch, Slaanesh
Each of the four Chaos gods will get a dedicated sub-faction. Khorne was announced pretty much straight away and has had a lot of attention, but Tzeentch has been showcased recently fighting against Cathay. Nurgle and Slaanesh got their own time in the spotlight eventually as well.
There will be some common mechanics across all Chaos factions, but each individual faction will also have its own unique mechancs, as well as the unique traits of specific Legendary Lords. Unlike like most Warhammer races – which tend to launch with two legendary lords – the Chaos factions will only launch with one each. There is a strong suggestion that more will follow as DLC.
Here is Khorne’s official faction trailer:
You can also read about their full army roster, and their campaign mechanics.
Meanwhile, here’s Tzeentch’s (very purple) introduction trailer:
And here’s details on their army roster, and campaign mechanics.
Fancy yourself some Nurgle? We’ve got you covered:
And here is the army roster and campaign mechanics.
Last, but not least, Slaanesh got its time in the sun as well:
Cathay
The big news of the original reveal trailer announced Grand Cathay, the Warhammer analogue of China. It has been mentioned often enough in the lore, but it’s never had any official rules or even models.
Here is their official faction trailer (although Cathay got more trailers than other Warhammer 3 races):
And you can read up on details regarding their army roster, and their faction campaign mechanics, through those links.
Ogre Kingdoms
Last, but certainly not least, the Ogres. These big bois were all but confirmed when Ogre Mercenaries were inroduced into Warhammer II, but they only got officially announced for Warhammer III in November 2021. Here’s the announcement trailer:
Technically speaking, the Ogre Kingdoms are a DLC race and not part of the base game’s offering. Anyone who pre orders Warhammer III or purchases the game within the first week, will be given the race pack for free, after which it will be made available for sale as a normal expansion.
Speculation: Chaos Dwarfs
For our final two entries in this guide, we’re going to engage in some educated speculation as to what future Warhammer III races could be introduced as DLC.
Another major denizen of Warhammer III’s probable map are the twisted kin of the noble Dawi. The Chaos Dwarfs are among the most prominent of Warhammer’s ‘minor’ races – they got an army book in the game’s fifth edition before being ‘squatted’ thereafter, so as with Kislev, there’s plenty of lore and old units for Creative Assembly to work with. We know they sort-of exist in Total Warhammer already, as you can see them crewing the Hellcannons used by the Warriors of Chaos.
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This reflects their affinity for engineering, which they retain from their not-evil cousins. Unfortunately, their added evil has unleashed their imagination a bit, and their so-called daemonsmiths have cooked up all sorts of infernal machinery and artillery that would make them the rival of any ranged army in the game. A definite highlight here is the K’daai Destroyer, a massive, daemon-infused construct.
Add some Mesopotamian vibes and you’ve got the Chaos Dwarfs: their elite units are called ‘Immortals’ after the ancient Persian bodyguard, and they live in colossal black ziggurats which dominate the Mordor-like wasteland they call home. Here they worship Hashut, a minor Chaos god who taught them how to wield raw magic, which of course proper dwarfs know not to do as it doesn’t agree with their physiology. The Chaos Dwarfs are no different, and eventually all their sorcerers turn to stone.
Speculation: Hobgoblins
Hobgoblins are a distinctive sub-species of goblin – slightly taller, yet somehow even more treacherous (one of their units is, honestly, called a Sneaky Git). They are native to the eastern lands where Warhammer III looks to be set, and especially the eastern steppes, where, under the leadership of one Hobgobla Khan, they have built a Hobgoblin Empire bigger than any other Greenskin empire in the known world.
Why yes, Hobgobla Khan is the Warhammer analogue of Genghis Khan, how ever did you guess? His empire lies to the north of the Ogre Kingdoms and Grand Cathay, which built the Great Bastion partly to keep him out. You can definitely expect some Greenskin placeholder factions in his territory when Warhammer III launches, which are ripe to become playable in a future Lord pack that fleshes them out with Hobgoblin flavouring and the Khan himself as a new Legendary Lord.
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Don’t forget to check out our guide on the Total War: Warhammer III release date, as well as everything else we know.
Words by Richard Scott-Jones and Joe Robinson