Kings of War 3rd edition just released in October of this year and the rule book that was released is T H I C C. The book itself is 402 pages, filled with rules, unit stats, and beautiful images. However, the majority of its pages have nothing to do with the mechanics of the game at all, instead over 200 pages are filled with the history, mythology, and background information regarding the world of Pannithor. This has been Mantic Games biggest leap into world-building yet, and I have to say its impressive how much resources they dedicated towards lore in a USD 44$ book.

I have been around the Kings of War community in some form or fashion since the game began in 1st Edition all the way back in 2013. So knowing the community, a lot of folks enjoy the elegant rule-set of Kings of War because it makes for a clean competitive scene at tournaments. Many came over from systems like Warhammer which had a rich background story built off of decades of world-building that fans were very fond of, so while there has been some interest in the lore of Kings of War, the discussion surrounding it seems to be an afterthought. To Mantic’s credit they listened to the community this go around and gave us a lot of rich material to work with in regards to Kings of War lore, but for it being the majority of the rule book it seems to be getting the least amount of attention.

200+ pages is a lot to digest, so I understand if not everyone has the time and energy to read over the rich fluff Mantic has given us in the hustle and bustle of preparing new 3rd Edition armies. I myself am taking time away from producing some Northern Alliance Ice Elementals to write this, but some things just need to be said.

Within this article I am going to cover the basics of lore in the 3rd Edition Rulebook, the setting and history of the world in the section titled “Pannithor”. These first 18 pages of fluff set the stage for the world in which we play Kings of War, so I thought that would be the most beneficial for players to hear so that they may begin to understand the world and its history. Should I find the time I will go on to give notes on later chapters of the fluff in the 3rd Edition book.

I will not be going into huge detail every point, rather I will give a highlight of something I think may be beneficial to know in the form of a bullet. This should make it easy to skim and digest during your busy day. I will occasionally have a sub-bullet that covers a thought that I may have regarding the background or an idea:

[A highlight of the Pannithor Lore] [My own thoughts regarding]



Feel free to skip over my thoughts if you don’t have the time. I wanted to keep that separate as to allow people to digest the main points of the fluff.

Lets begin…

PANNITHOR, Page 76

Sets the scene of the Elven city of Therennia Adar and a hidden library deep within the twilight gloom therein. Entrance is protected by a spell from Valandor himself.

A great library filled with grimoires and history books of the Elves.

Within the library is a great table upon which is a map, a magical quill can draw a map from every stage of Pannithor history at command.

IN THE BEGINNING, Page 77

Before the coming of the noble races (Elves, Dwarves, Humans) there were 7 gods known as Primogenitors: Bhanek, Shobik, Lonok, Ohmpek, Dainek, Thrennekka, and Korgaan.

Each Primogenitor has their own aspect: Life, Death, Darkness, Light, Earth, Water, Air.

Two recognizable names were that of Korgaan who is the god of Air, and Shobik the god of Death. Interesting given what we know about these two in previous interactions of the lore. Krogaan worshiped by those in the blizzardy north (Varangur) and Shobik by the undead.

All of the Primogenitors were in pairs (e.g. Life and Death), except for the god of Earth, Dianek.

Primogenitors ruled over the lands playing around until Bhanek the god of life created the Elves “Ushering in the beginning of the end”.

ON THE ORIGIN OF THE NOBLE RACES, Page 78

History has seen many wars and much blood, entire civilizations wiped clean from existence.

Each noble race had their own name for the world. Men called it “Mirramoth” or “Minaholm”. Dwarves call it “Kholen-Bakkar” translated meaning “the over-earth” but they also use a modern term “Berranonn”. Elves call it “Shalath’enir”.

Elves, Dwarves, and Men were the dominant races until the God War. Though they are not talked about in this section, I would assume that races such as Naiads, Salamanders, etc existed during this time given that they would refer to the above three as “dominant” implying there was one to dominate. But as the section moves on to describe a complete dominion by the 3 noble races prior to the shattering of the mirror.

Dwarves evidently into modern times are the only race to truly hold on to their mythology and origin story.

The creation of the Elves caused much grief for the god of Earth, Dianek, who was alone without even a Primogenitor pair. Her tears over her lack of children gave life to the Dwarves.

Bhanek hid the Elves from the God of Death, Shobik, as to leave his mark on the world. Thus they had eternal life. Once Shobik discovered the Elves, Bhanek created the race of mortal Men to appease him.

Because of their mortality, men rose to drive themselves harder to try and surpass their temporary existence, they sought to “bestride the world and become gods themselves”.

Elves forged their own path, inadvertently stumbling on the building blocks of creation itself: magic.

Elves taught the secrets of magic to humans who were envious of Elves’ mastery of magic and their immortality which gave them more time to study magic. Human mages became more focused and disciplined in their studies.

Ultimately a love affair between an immortal Elf and mortal Human gave birth to Necromancy. Men became apprentices to elves and due to the proximity between them and their masters they grew envious of the beauty and longevity, causing them to seek out Necromancy further to span beyond their allotted time in the world.

Eventually the Elves’ study of magic would see them exploring the voids between worlds and stars, thus drawing the attention of other beings… the Celestians.

THE TIME OF LIGHT, Page 82

The Celestians were not from Pannithor, many conflicting theories existed as to their origin: from a different dimension, planet, from the future, etc.

Gods such as the Primogenitors draw power from the belief of their followers. As the noble races became more self-reliant, the Primogenitors lost power and became less prevalent. Sort of a neat little part of the Pannithor universe here. The world building aspect that different deities gain power from their followers is not played out as much in other fantasy settings so this could be something to unique to capitalize on in your own world building. I myself may use this within my Varangur Cult that worships various ancient non-Celestian demons.

Celestians came to the Elves to share their knowledge with them, soon after they too gave it to Dwarves and Men. All enjoyed a time of peace and prosperity due to the advancements from the knowledge of the Celestians.

Dwarves were distrusting of the Celestians, the last race to succumb to their gifts.

During this time the Elves spanned the globe with great fleets, even traveling to the stars. They excelled in things like art, architecture, magic, and more.

Elves believed themselves equal to the Celestians because of their success. Scholars warned this vanity would spell their doom.

Primovantor was at its height during this time, their empire larger than that of the Elves. Men within it strove to master the power of life and death itself.

Dwarves did not worship the Celesitans as gods like Elves and Humans did, they stubbornly stuck to their creation mythology and Dianek.

The only Celestian of reverence to the Dwarves was Fulgria, the Goddess of Fire.

Growing under the feet of Men and Elves, the Dwarves felt as if the other races looked down upon them.

Dwarves traded technologies with Men but held back from their affairs.

Elves and Men commonly had mixed marriages, Dwarves looked upon this with disgust.

OF CELESTIANS, Page 83

Celestians eventually displaced the old Primogenitors. Really not much is said about this, sort of just blinks away the Primogenitors with not much reason why. Could be because of the nature of how Gods derive their power. The coming of the Celestians and their glorifying nature surely more appealing to worship than the Primogenitors.

Celestians are not entirely physical or ethereal.

Possibility that Celestians come from another dimension to escape some calamity.

Celestians very cleverly manipulated the Noble Races, massaging their pride and wonder.

The Time of Light which they created was the most prosperous time for all.

Amongst the Celestians there was one who was discontent with his own race, Oskan.

Oskan was a young Celestian, known as the “Father of Lies”. In his angst he sought to destroy his kind and all within the world.

Oskan sought out a pawn in his scheme, someone to unknowingly do his bidding. He found Calisor Fenulian, the most power elf mage of his time.

THE FENULIAN MIRROR, Page 84

Many different renditions of the story of the Fenulian Mirror exist.

Calisor was the court mage to the Elven King and was very prideful of his unbelievable power and position.

Calisor fell in love with the Emissary from the Human Kingdom’s daughter, Elianthora.

Elianthora was not interested in Calisor, she feared being outlived by an immortal husband and not seeing her children grow to their full maturity.

Many, including her own father, sought to convince her to take Calisor up on his offer. Mostly for selfish reasons when it came to her father. Calisor was of great power and those Elves that sought to convince her did not understand why she would turn down such glory.

Calisor fell into a depression after many times of being rejected, eventually this depression made him fall from grace and leave the service of the King and wander the glades.

Oskan ran in to Calisor here, who then confided in Oskan his sorrow. Seeing the opportunity Oskan pitched the idea of the Fenulian Mirror as a solution to win over Elianthora’s heart.

Many to this day dispute whether the Fenulian Mirror was an actual mirror or a spell.

Calisor had to gather many rare elements and artifacts to make it work, including a Star of the Heaven.

Oskan told Calisor all he needed to do was have his love look into it and she would see she loved him. As almost an afterthought Oskan told him to stop her from looking into the mirror after the singing of a golden bird.

Calisor used his favor with the King to borrow the Elven fleet to seek out all of the elements needed. The King did not mind however as he was happy to see Calisor back to his old self.

By time he had gathered what he needed, the Elven Fleet was decimated and the coffers of the King far emptier.

Many bad omens of what Calisor was doing began to appear in the world. Natural disasters and such. Calisor did not pay any of this heed.

After he fused the mirror with the star, Calisor now began the struggle to get Elianthora to look into it. He had to harass her for a considerable amount of time to get her to agree.

Eventually she agreed to look into it, and upon doing so saw a happy picture of what her life could be if she married him. She was very happy, and began to feel love for him. Calisor in his own happiness forgot to stop her after hearing the golden bird song.

The images in the mirror began to show what would happen after Elianthora’s death. Images of Calisor filling his bedchambers with many women to fill the void in his heart, her children all spiteful against their father. Calisor would eventually be crucified by their son. These images enraged Ellianthora, driving her mad until she shattered the Fenulian Mirror.

The mirror shattered, one of the shards killing Ellianthora. The Celestians themselves then were either split into their Shining or Wicked selves or were destroyed altogether.

Oskan pulled the mirror fragment, now known as “God Splinters”, from Ellianthora and took it as his weapon, dispatching his good half. This was the first “God Murder”.

His fragment was known as “Calisor’s Sorrow”.

It is disputed what happened to Calisor after this.

Many shards of the mirror were used to this day as powerful artifacts.

THE GOD WAR, Page 88

Oskan

A war without compare at the onset of the shattering of the Fenulian Mirror.

The world began a great upheaval. Tsunamis, storms, big monsters from the deep made their mark on the world as the Pannithor of today began to take shape from the destruction.

Oskan was prepared for all of this having orchestrated the events that led to this calamity.

Oskan murdered 24 Shining Ones by pretending to be wounded, thus earning him the title of “Father of Lies”. Seeing this other Wicked Celestians joined him, while the Shining Ones banded against him. The War began.

War ravaged all of Pannithor, legends of various Celestians battling through the years include duels that lasted centuries and mountains thrown from the heavens.

Mortals too had a stake in the war, many allied themselves with the Shining Ones, using their numbers to compete with the might of the few Celestians.

Oskan himself sought to create creatures out of his evil intention, thus the demons and hordes of the Abyss were created.

Others tried to copy Oskan and create for themselves creatures to serve them. Garkan the Black thus created the Orcs out of splicing souls of other mortals together in his flesh-forges.

In the beginning of the war it was mostly the gods fighting, now with the creation of these beings it spread to the mortal races who waged huge wars.

Many of these conflicts between races influence their cultures and relations to this day. For instance the Dwarves (both Free and Imperial) despise Orcs to a greater degree than other noble races due to the massacre of Faeynhold.

A great battle came at the peak of this war, where the “Hybrid” Domivar the Unyielding faced Oskan as their mortal armies met on the field of battle. It does not say here what sort of Hybrid he was, later on it mentions it is Shining One-Human hybrid. An interesting concept, again another opportunity for world building.

Oskan gained power from the bloody war, and had morphed his God Splinter into an Ax that cut through the “stuff of existence” itself.

Domivar wielded a weapon forged from star-iron but it was no match for Oskan and was destroyed in their duel. Unbeknownst to Oskan the sword contained a splinter of the very mirror shard that killed Ellianthora, a splinter that evaded even Oskan.

The splinter lodged in Oskan’s flesh began to drain Oskan of his power, eventually allowing Domivar to wrestle Calisor’s Sorrow away from him and drive it into the ground.

When he drove the ax into the ground it created a huge chasm that sucked in all of the wicked ones and their followers, thus trapping them in the Abyss. Domivar himself was turned back into a human and the Ax Calisor’s Sorrow was destroyed.

THE TIME OF ICE, Page 92

After the banishment of the Wicked Ones to the Abyss, Pannithor returned to some semblance of peace. However, due to the general upheaval, instability, and distrust between civilizations and realms of mortals, wars still were waged.

A storm began to rage causing unseasonably cold temperatures, killing crops, forming ice shelves. It carried on until there was only one season: winter.

The Elves discovered it was an escaped Wicked One, Winter (ex. Ice Maiden Shakara) that was causing this as a slow war against the mortals.

Emissaries were sent to the Dwarves and Men to seek alliance, but the bitterness of the other Noble Races against the Elves for the Mirror was still embedded in their hearts.

Knowing that she was discovered, Winter began an all out war, sending armies of terrifying creatures.

Winter sent out 7 Ice Elemental Knights and old alliances between the noble races were reformed. Much more mistrusting existed between allies than in other times.

The Shining Ones could not be counted upon during this struggle, many fragments of themselves since the God War. Only one came to the mortal realm’s aide: Valandor.

Each race viewed Valandor a different war, either as a great general, artist, or craftsmen.

He did not disclose to the noble races he was a Shining One, instead he tried to repair relations between them.

Valandor fought in many battles, seeing empty victory in all of them as he needed to kill Winter outright to end the war.

Winter knew not to face Valandor on open field, sending her armies and pawns instead to fight the mortals and wear down Valandor.

During the Battle of Ileuthar, Valandor was wounded by Ice Demons, and upon letting his guard down Winter appeared before him to strike the final blow.

As she let her guard down to kill him, Valandor struck Winter and began to land many blows. The two fought on magical and physical levels as their armies watched.

Eventually Valandor gained the upper hand, Winter- to an extent- let him kill her, and to Valandor’s horror around them her ice began to melt causing “the Great Inundation”.

Valandor ran across Pannithor to try and save as much as he can. He raised a mighty wall around Thenrennia Adar, diverted water from Basilea, but he failed just as much as he succeeded. An example of this, the Primovantan Empire, was lost to the floods.

THE AGE OF CONFLICT, Page 94

The world continued, new lands created by the strife of the past ages were available for the noble races to claim. Though still there was war and strife.

Old Empires and Alliances are gone, all squabble among themselves for small gains.

The Elves struggle to unite the Kindreds while the Dwarves harden their hearts against the world. Evermore threats such as Orcs, Undead, Abyss and Nightstalker grow.

Valandor’s ageless body is kept at the top of the Tower of Walldeep where many pilgrimage each year.

All are divided, far from the glory of their civilizations in past ages.

The Flooding of The Abyss, Page 95

As time goes on civilizations rise and fall and minor characters make a name for themselves in history.

The Abyss waxes and wanes, its power even at its weakest is terrible.

The region of Mantica, ancestral home to the noble races, has suffered during this time. Though records show that lands beyond are far worse off, resembling hellfire.

1,200 years after the War with Winter, the Abyss began to expand and send forth its legions of hell-spawn.

Forces of Good lead by the Green Lady fought to hold back the Abyss while other sinister forces took advantage of the situation.

After many years of fighting and near defeat, The Green Lady, a former Celestian, pushed back the forces of the Abyss to a point where she could deal the final blow.

With the help of Thuul Magicians and the consent of those who lived near, she ordered the Frozen Sea thawed and the Abyss flooded. A great wave swept across the Steppe and flooded the Abyss.

Once the waters receded it could be seen that the Abyss had expanded far into new territories and the after effects are still felt in the lands nearby such as Basilea or Halpi.

Now that the Abyss had been pacified for the time being, the Forces of Good lick their wounds.

Abyssal Dwarves have built a new fortress, Tragazahk, at the edge of the Abyss to guard it. They have raised many legions and their Ratkin Slaves to march north for the city of Chill.

It still amazes me that all of the above notes is only from the first 18 pages of this book. There is a lot more juice in the book that I cut out in hopes of giving you all the main points. My hope is that you all may take the time to read it as it is well done and quite interesting. The thing that has always drawn me to Kings of War is how Mantic has kept it so open to allowing their players to draw their own narrative within the setting they have laid out. Much of what is entailed above is only he main event of those ages, but you the player get to decide how you are part of that… or not.

Thanks for giving this a read, and as always please give any feedback that you may have so that I can improve upon what I give you all. I look forward to any discussion we can have over some lore as well!

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I’ll leave you with a meme only those who have read the lore will get.

Till next time…

F&F

It be like that sometimes.