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Sea of Claws

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Sea of Claws Map C7

A map of the Sea of Claws dividing Norsca from the Empire and Kislev to the south.

The Sea of Claws is a bitterly cold and rough stretch of water that belongs to the Great Ocean, separating the northern Empire from the land of Norsca, and it has a well-deserved reputation as a hotbed of piracy. Of course pirates and foul weather don't stop dozens of ships sailing across it from Marienburg and other northern ports of the Old World, making it quite accessible for those wishing to cross it, either on their way to Norsca or other places further afield.[1a]

Sea of Claws

A map of the regions of the Middle Sea and those of the Sea of Claws as depicted in Man O' War: Corsair. Each location's name matches those used in the game. The symbols depicting which faction is patrolling each area represents their positions in 2517 IC but are subject to minor changes as the game's campaign progresses.[2a]

Within the Sea of Claws lies the Dragon's Maw, also called the Dragon's Teeth, a jagged line of rocky islands off the northern tip of Bretonnia. Countless ships are said to have been broken upon their shores and a trove of salvage awaits any brave enough to risk the Teeth to recover it.[1a] Those who live in Kislev or along the Sea of Claws know better, but for the average person, the threat of invasion is only a dim, albeit nagging, fear.[2a] The Sea of Claws' frigid waters are the bane of many a sailor, with winds so cold that the very spray freezes, each gust sending sharp knives of ice to bite the flesh and freeze the extremities. Many of the horrors found in the Sea of Chaos swim over into these waters, setting upon merchant vessels and military ships with abandon, dragging fools to terrifying deaths beneath the dark, swirling waters.[2b][2c]

The Skaeling tribe of Norsca claims a Daemon God named "Mermedus," often believed to be a dark reflection of tempestuous Manann, the god of the sea, dwells beneath the Sea of Claws. They depict him as a bulbous and ghoulish figure, bloated in death, and covered in bulging eyes. It's said he walks on the sea floor, causing stormy waters to capsize ships and drown sailors. To appease this vile god, the Skaeling make Human and animal sacrifices, casting the weighted bodies down to distract the god from their voyage.[2d]

Tilean architects, undeniably influenced by the High Elves, build their temples to Manann with slender towers and elegant arches, better representing the deity as the patron of the placid Middle Sea rather than the raging Sea of Claws. An excellent example of this is the Grand Chapel of Mathann in Miragliano.[3d]

The Sea of Claws is home to a special breed of Harpies known as "Salt-harpies," which are known to harass passing ships.[3a]

History[]

Notable Events[]

  • ca. –4000 IC - A millennia-long project to inscribe "Expel Chaos" Master Runes on megaliths around the krakas of the Norse Dwarfs is commenced.[3b]
  • –2839 IC - Dwarfs and Elves swear oaths of friendship. The sea wall, Vloedmuur, is raised around Sith Rionnasc'namishathir by the Dwarfs.[3b]
  • –1997 IC - Dwarfs and Elves come to blows. A 400 year war commences. This will be known to the Dwarfs as the "War of Vengeance," whilst the Elves call it the "War of the Beard."[3b]
  • –1997 IC - First Siege of the Elven city of Tor Alessi by Dwarf armies.[3b]
  • –1501 IC - But for a few isolated forest communities that become the homes of the Wood Elves, the Elves completely withdraw from the Old World.[3b]
  • ca. –1000 IC - Norse Dwarfs begin trade with less violent Norscan tribes of Men and fight skirmishes against the Skaven of Hell Pit. Over the following centuries they learn the degree to which the Norscans venerate Chaos, and restrict Dwarfen trade to a few trusted tribes.[3b]
  • –700 IC - One of the horsetribes of the Bretonni settles in the lands around the Elven ruins of Tor Alessi.[3b]
  • –10 IC - Marius the Fen Wolf comes upon the ruins of Sith Rionnasc'namishathir and founds the city of Marienburg. The fortress of Rijker's Isle is built upon an island at the mouth of the River Reik.[3b]
  • 1111 IC - The Norscans abandon Marienburg as the Black Plague takes its toll on their armies.[3b]
  • 1597 IC - Marienburg is seized by a Bretonnian army under the leadership of the duc de L'Anguille. For the next five years the Bretonnian occupation army is harassed by the locals. When the Imperial army of the Grand Duke of Middenland approaches Marienburg, the Bretonnians abandon the port city.[3b]
  • 1604 IC - Baron van Buik grants seats on the Marienburg City Council to merchants and ship-owners, instigating a tradition of democratic institutions influencing Marienburg's municipal government.[3b]
  • 1988 IC - Soldiers from the Elector Count of Nordland's army find the coastal town of Debneitz in ruins, its inhabitants' flayed corpses nailed to nearby rocks.[3b]
  • 2292 IC - The Ungruvalk, Kraka Ravnsvake's secret network of underground canals, is completed.[3b]
  • 2302 IC - The Great War Against Chaos. A fleet from Kraka Ravnsvake defeats a force of Norscans at the Battle of Skapa Fjord. Paulus van der Maacht, the last baron of Westerland, joins Magnus the Pious in his campaign, and dies a valiant death in battle. Valmir Aesling leads a host to the Norse Dwarf hold of Kraka Drak, commencing the War in the Mountains. King Silverbeard orders that the mountain itself be toppled to prevent Valmir from invading other krakas. Trapped together in the depths, the Dwarfs struggle valiantly, but steadily lose ground. Refugees from the conflict swell the populations of other Norse Dwarf krakas.[3b]
  • 2368 IC - The Treaty of Schoninghagen. Baron Ludwig Nikse agrees to bring Nordland under the rule of the graf of Middenheim, ending its status as an independent Electoral Province in its own right.[3b]
  • 2391 IC - A riot occurs in Marienburg. The Sea Elves are accused of the summary arrest and imprisonment of a citizen of the city's Suiddock district. Before order is restored several Elves are killed.[3b]
  • 2424 IC - Waaagh! Grom. Following attacks on Nuln and Middenheim, the Goblin Warlord Grom leads his forces to the fens around Marienburg. The city prepares for a siege, but Grom's Goblins busy themselves with assembling a flotilla of ramshackle hulks, and sail west.[3b]
  • 2448 IC - Spring floods swamp Marienburg. The Vloedmuur's defences are extended, and drainage improved. Dwarf runecraft and engineering combine to better control the water level.[3b]
  • 2449 IC - Rioting breaks out in Marienburg in response to anti-Labour Guild laws passed at the behest of the city's merchants. There is widespread destruction and several murders before the city-state's ruling Directorate agree to rescind the offending laws and limit strikes.[3b]
  • 2490 IC - The necromancer Hela Half-dead leads a horde of shambling corpses into Troll Country, slaughtering every living thing she finds. Hela's horde is eventually intercepted and torn to pieces by Throgg, the self-proclaimed "Troll King," and an army of his Trolls.[3b]

Norscan Raids[]

Warhammer Sea of Claws

The Sea of Claws is a constant battleground from which fleets of barbarians and armadas of Imperial Navy warships fight each other in brutal engagements.

The Sea of Claws lies between the land of Norsca and the southern realms of the Old World such as Bretonnia, the Empire and Kislev. It is a treacherous and wild stretch of water. Freezing winds, strong currents, rocky coastlines, and icebergs contribute to the many hazards sailors face on the sea, and there is the ever-present threat of a marauding Norscan warparty aboard a flotilla of longships, or an attack by one of the many monsters that make their lairs beneath the waves.[3a]

The land of Norsca lies to the north of the sea, a harsh region of jagged mountain peaks divided by a veritable labyrinth of glens and fjords. It is a barren place, locked within ice and snow during the winter, and made a misty swamp of biting flies and roving Trolls in the warmer months.[3a]

The many Human tribes of Norsca may recognise the gods of the Old World, but in order to survive the unrelenting harshness of their country they habitually resort to calling upon the darker, bloodier powers of the Chaos Gods to lend them strength and fortitude.[3a]

It is in the nature of even the most civilised of the Norscan tribes to dominate through war and conquest. Their histories are war-torn, even by the bellicose standards of the Old World's kingdoms. To most folk of Bretonnia and the Empire, the archetypal Norscan is a frenzied berserker, yelling praises to the Blood God Khorne whilst hunting for more innocents to slay. Open-minded traders may engage in dealings with the Norscan tribes, but they do so with painstaking degrees of vigilance and circumspection.[3a]

Imperial Power Projection[]

While presenting many threats, the Sea of Claws also provides hope and opportunity to those who live upon its shores. An abundance of daggerfish and gymmcrab wait to be harvested, and the great port cities of Erengrad in Kislev and Marienburg in the Wasteland receive goods from the four corners of the Known World. The Sea of Claws provides the Empire with its only stretch of coastline in the north of that realm. Since the secession of the Wasteland in 2429 IC the Empire has lacked a convenient port from which to launch effective fleets for trade or war without the interference of the oligarchic Directorate that rules Marienburg.[3a]

In the decades since, successive emperors have variously tried to deny that the Wasteland's independence proves a problem, cajole or bully Marienburg into re-joining the Empire, or sponsor one of many disastrous false starts in setting up a rival port. Now with the cooperation of House Gausser of Nordland, Emperor Karl-Franz hopes that Salzenmund will provide him with all he needs to build up and project Imperial sea power.[3a]

The Empire still reels from the chaotic impact of the civil strife known as the Turmoil of 2512 IC, but in Nordland a new spirit of adventure and entrepreneurship gathers pace. Ambitious and desperate folk alike are making their way to Salzenmund to lend their efforts to conquering the waves in the names of Grand Baron Theoderic Gausser of Nordland and Emperor Karl Franz.[3a]

High Elf Intrigue[]

The Sea of Claws is not known as an area of great interest to the High Elves, though they are active there. Ulthuan sends trading missions to Marienburg. There is growing competition between the merchants of Lothern and those of Cothique to reach new markets and exploit the opportunities they present. Elftown in Marienburg is home to delegations from both Ulthuani kingdoms, and whilst they provide a united front to the eyes of their Human neighbours, they privately engage in intricate schemes to undermine one another, or find loopholes in their treaties with their Human agents in Marienburg.[3c]

The Loremasters of Hoeth of Saphery also have an interest in maintaining a High Elven presence in Marienburg. They desire to keep a close eye on developments in Altdorf, where the Imperial Colleges of Magic are found. These institutions have taught relatively safe principles of wizardry laid down by the High Elf Archmage Teclis over two centuries ago, but as far as many Asur are concerned, they still amount to nothing more than a risky, ongoing experiment.[3c]

Wary of angering the Human wizards (who are more numerous, if not so powerful, as their own mages) the Loremasters of Hoeth send missions to tutor and spy upon them. The independence of Marienburg, and the fact that it contains its own magical college, is a worry to the Loremasters. They would prefer their journeys to Altdorf to be as frictionless as possible, so that any information they collect from Altdorf does not come into the possession of their enemies or rivals, and that the magic taught at Baron Henryk's College of Navigation and Sea Magicks remains true to the principles of colour magic originally laid down by High Loremaster Teclis.[3c]

This is a potential source of conflict between the Ulthuani kingdoms, as Lothern and Cothique enjoy the rich trading opportunities afforded by Marienburg's liberal attitudes and laws, which have flowered because of its independence from the Empire. On the other hand, there are many in Saphery who would find it comforting to see Marienburg come under the control of the Empire once again.[3c]

The Sea of Claws provides a route to the Great Ocean, the island of Albion, the island continent of Ulthuan, and the continent of Lustria in the New World. These lands are rich in secrets and treasures that the High Elves of Ulthuan would rather remain hidden from the eyes and hands of Men. Whilst privileged Human traders are permitted to berth at Ulthuani ports such as Lothern and Tor Koruali, their presence there is tolerated rather than welcomed. The seas about Ulthuan are patrolled by the High Elf navies, whose Dragonships are swift and crewed by peerless sailors.[3c]

Dark Elf Vengeance[]

The Dark Elves are sailors every bit as skilled as their High Elven counterparts from Ulthuan, and they are in possession of several Black Arks. These vessels combine aspects of both battleship and fortress. They were created during the great Elven civil war of the Sundering, when the northern marches of Ulthuan were shattered and drowned during the titanic conflict that saw the Dark Elves banished to the freezing wastes of Naggaroth.[3c]

The towers of several sorcerers were spared from this calamity as enchantments were woven into them, keeping them integral and buoyant. Rather than sinking beneath the waves, they broke free of the ground and became massive floating fortresses. The Black Arks enable the Dark Elves to project massive power far from their home shores, for each vessel is so large that it can garrison armies of corsairs, house massive beasts of war, and provide the laboratories and libraries of Dark Elf wizards, all at once.[3c]

The loss of a Black Ark is a sore blow to the forces of Naggaroth, and two have met with stiff resistance in the Sea of Claws. Ecstasy of Pain was badly damaged after being caught between Bretonnian corsairs and a Nordlander navy, and part of its ramparts now makes up a tower of Castle Salzenmund. Cleaver of Souls was wholly destroyed by a punitive expedition led by Admiral Burnetz of Ostland, though she lost her life, alongside her whole fleet, in the effort to sink the Dark Elf vessel.[3c]

The Dark Elves are not quick to forget such humiliations, but they are also wary of suffering further defeats. Whilst they raid villages along the shorelines of the Sea of Claws, they are careful not to attract the attention of Bretonnian or Imperial warships. Since the secession of Marienburg, the Men of the Empire has been inhibited from protecting their shores, but still the Dark Elves take care when sailing the area, desperate not to lose another of their precious Black Arks.[3c]

Instead, they are hatching a plan to appeal to the Wood Elves of Laurelorn to assist them in their vengeance. The Witch King has deemed it appropriate to send an agent, the assassin-corsair Khyrathi Bayne, to spy upon the denizens of Laurelorn, and come up with a strategy that will lead to greater cooperation between Naggaroth and the Eonir. Khyrathi is more interested in bloodshed than diplomacy, but she is a patient Druchii and has some confidence that, should she succeed in her current mission, the Witch King will find her future work more in line with her tastes. She believes a potential area of common interest could be the Humans of Nordland.[3c]

If she can sow discord between them and the Eonir, perhaps Queen Marrisith might take the first steps in fostering an alliance with the Dark Elves.[3c]

Notable Locations[]

  • Bay of Aarnau - The Bay of Aarnau surrounds the town of Aarnau, ruled by Baron Martinus van Buuren.[3l][5a]
  • Laurelorn Sea - Further east from Reavers Point, along the coast to the north of the Laurelorn Forest, the Laurelorn Sea is plagued by a tribe of Goblins known as the Reavaz. This tribe are noted for their blue-green skins and seafaring skill. They have been said to inhabit the area ever since the invasion of Grom the Paunch. The Eonir claim to hunt them down with malice, and flotillas of their ramshackle craft are often destroyed by Nordlander warships, but they remain a stubborn presence in the many caves that riddle the cliffsides.[3h]
  • Marienburg Sound - Marienburg Sound, also known as Mannanspoort Sea by the Wastelanders, is always bustling with sea traffic. Hundreds of fishing vessels supply the city-state of Marienburg with their daily catch. Merchant traders bring their wares from near and far. Occasionally an Imperial Navy warship might be spotted, having passed through the city from the River Reik, and now making its way to a posting along the Nordland coast.[3m][5a]
  • Nordland Sea- The Empire's northern frontier is its shoreline, from the Wasteland to the border with Kislev. The Nordland coast is a bastion against raids from the north, where the maritime legacy of the Empire is found in the bays, coves, and clifftops lashed by the Sea of Claws. The Nordland coast is a cold, desolate place, marked by long stretches of isolated dunes and sheer cliffs crumbling into the sea. Human settlements cling to the sloping shore, their lanterns flickering across the waves to ships sailing through the fogs and gloom of the night. Between Wrecker's Point and the River Demst, the coastline is under the scrutiny of the Eonir, whose woodland realm of Laurelorn covers the western extent of Nordland. Elven and other traders occasionally sail south on the River Demst or Schaukeln deep into the Wood Elf realm.[3g][5a]
  • Reavers Point- Reavers Point is a peninsula to the north of the Wasteland famed for its treacherous rocks, and the treacherous wreckers who scavenge from any vessel that becomes stricken there.[3h]
  • Sea of Claws - The Sea of Claws is a large area, its interior divided into two smaller regions, the Northern Sea of Claws and the Southern Sea of Claws.[5a]
    • Northern Sea of Claws[5a]
    • Southern Sea of Claws[5a]
  • Sea of Couronne - The stark coastline of the Bretonnian Dukedom of Couronne is sparsely inhabited. The region is regularly beset by storms, and there are no locations suitable for a deep harbour. Every coastal village is fortified against the frequent raids of Norscans and Dark Elves. There is little to attract legitimate traders to the area, and the locals tend to be wary of visitors.[3e][5a]
  • Dragon's Maw - To the north and west of the Gulf of L'Anguille lies the Dragon's Maw. Any sailor with a semblance of sanity refuses to go anywhere near the region, as it has a deadly (and well-deserved) reputation. Sharp rocks rise from the water like jagged teeth, wreathed in the spray of the vicious tides that constantly hammer their sides. The currents are unpredictable, visibility is poor, and to make matters worse the area is subject to frequent storms. The coast is so inhospitable that it is almost entirely uninhabited. The local lord has offered a handsome reward to anyone able to map a safe route through the Maw, but so far no one has been foolish enough to take him up on the offer.[3e][5a]
  • Old Coast - Along the western shore lies an ancient, raised road of white blocks, built by the High Elves millennia ago. Known as the Old Coast, or as the Old Coast Road, it winds its way from the Grootscher Marshes and along the coast, continuing to Couronne and eventually ending just short of L'Anguille. The years have not been kind, and much of this highway has fallen into the sea or been broken apart by locals looking for construction materials. Tancred Castle is the last seat of a Bretonnian knight before the territory of the Wasteland. Squeezed between the Old Coast Road and the Manaanspoort Sea is the village of Broekwater.[3m][5a]
  • Sea of Chaos (Sea of Claws) - Northern area of the Sea of Claws which lies off the coast of southern Norsca. This area should not be confused with the true Sea of Chaos which lies off the northern coast of Norsca and separates it from the northern Chaos Wastes.[3f][5a]
  • Wrecker's Point - In the far west of the Sea of Claws is Wrecker's Point, a large promontory isolated from the rest of the Imperial province of Nordland and almost lawless. Other than the hard-bitten Nordlanders eking out a living there, the headland harbours a tribe of sea-going Goblins known as the Reavaz. Further east is the vast sweep of Eiger Bay, with low dunes and windswept shoreline from Hargendorf to Dietershafen.[3g][5a]

Notable Borders[]

  • Sea of Chaos - The far west of Norsca is as mountainous and inhospitable as the rest of the northlands. Where the Sea of Chaos and the Sea of Claws meet, tall waves and heavy weather crash against the shore. This is the land of the Bjornling tribe, a loose confederation of Norscan clans known for their involvement in trade and exploration.[3f]

Sources[]

  • 1: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition: Companion (RPG)
  • 2: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition: Tome of Corruption (RPG)
    • 2a: pg. 62
    • 2b: pg. 136
    • 2c: pg. 137
    • 2d: pg. 145
  • 3: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition: Sea of Claws (RPG)
    • 3a: pg. 5
    • 3b: pp. 6-7
    • 3c: pp. 16-17
    • 3d: pg. 84
    • 3e: pg. 9
    • 3f: pg. 58
    • 3g: pg. 18
    • 3h: pg. 39
    • 3i: pg. 30
    • 3l: pg. 138
    • 3m: pg. 11
  • 4: Knight of the Blasing Sun (Novel) by Joshua Reynolds
  • 5: Man O' War: Corsair (PC Game)
    • 5a: Campaign map
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