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"I say you can find out the servants of Death and tell them by their Mark. No man is born so unnatural that his body does not revolt at the foul pollution of Undead blood. And by these marks can you tell them. By the fangs of the predator, for their thirst for blood is the thirst of a fanged fiend. From their porcelain-white skin, cold to the touch and unnatural to the eye. From the glow of their eyes behind which lives the Hunger."

—Johann van Hal.[2a]
JohanWilhelm

Johann van Hal, Witch Hunter, and Wilhelm Hasburg, Warrior Priest of Sigmar.

Johann van Hal and Wilhelm Hasburg are a pair of wandering sigmarites whose goal is to eradicate the enemies of the faith- Chaos Cults, Witches, Necromancers and the Undead.[1a]

History[]

"Burn them all!"

—Motto of Johan and Wilhelm.[1a]

Johann van Hal is probably one of the most well-known Witch Hunters of the Old World. He is best known for slaying the vampire Gunther von Blodfel and purging the haunted castle of the Reikwald. Van Hal does not like to talk about his past or his motives for fighting Chaos. In reality, it is because he is a descendant of Frederick van Hal, the first Necromancer of the Empire. Like many members of the Van Hal family, he felt obliged to spend his life fighting what his forefather had brought to the Empire.[1a]

Johann is accompanied by Wilhelm Hasburg, a Priest of Sigmar. Wilhelm joined Johann after his church was burned by Chaos worshippers. Some say that this event caused him to become insane. However, his faith and piety are beyond a doubt. Like the Flagellants, he mutilates himself and makes apocalyptic prophecies. His faith and continuous prayers are said to protect the duo from enemy magics.[1a]

Generals all over the Old World look to the aid of Johann and Wilhelm when facing supernatural foes. Drawing the sign of the hammer on town gates and road signs, they call the legendary witch hunters to them. As mercenaries, Johann and Wilhelm demand payment, but donate the majority of it to the Church of Sigmar.[1a]

Wargear[]

Johann van Hal[]

  • Stake of Sigmar: It is said that the Stake of Sigmar was cut from a tree felled by Sigmar himself. The stake was held in the Temple of Sigmar at Obersdorf, until it was pillaged by greenskins. The relic was thought lost until it appeared in the hands of Johann van Hal.[1a]

Wilhelm Hasburg[]

  • The great book Hammer of Witches.[1a]
  • Holy Staff: The Holy Staff is made of ironwood and topped with an ox's jawbone. It is said that the bone was used by Sigmar to single-handedly slay an army of Skaven. The staff was recovered from the ruins of Hasburg's temple.[1a]

Miniatures[]

Sources[]

  • 1: White Dwarf 233 (UK)
    • 1a: pp. 76-77
  • 2: White Dwarf 236 (UK)
    • 2a: pg. 38
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