Kislev

Kislev

The frozen bulwark against the dark

Founding FoundedAncient (traditionally 1 IC, founding of the Gospodar migration) FounderKhan-Queen Miska the Slaughterer (Gospodar), later Tzar Boris Ursus Current LeaderTzarina Katarin the Ice Queen Geography CapitalKislev City Major CitiesPraag, Erengrad, Volstad RegionsThe Oblast, the northern steppe and taiga Biology Lifespan35–50 years (longer if you don’t freeze or get eaten by daemons) Height160–185 cm (5′3″ – 6′1″) Culture LanguageKislevarin (Slavic tongue) ReligionUrsun the Bear God, Tor, Dazh, ancient spirits; the Tzarina’s Ice Court Government GovernmentAbsolute monarchy under the Tzar/Tzarina, ruled by ice and blood Relations AlliesThe Empire, Dwarfs (grudging respect), Ungol tribes EnemiesChaos (eternal), Norsca, Beastmen, Greenskins, Troll Country horrors

Kislev is the frozen shield of the Old World. North of the Empire, south of the Chaos Wastes, it’s a land of endless blizzards, iron-hard winters, and people who laugh at the cold because the alternative is dying. Think medieval Russia and Poland after the Ruinous Powers turned the thermostat to “apocalypse.” Its folk have stared into the Polar Gates and spat in their eye for two thousand years. They ride bears, shoot fire from axes, and drink enough kvas to pickle a dragon. When Chaos comes south, Kislev bleeds first—and it bleeds hard—but it never breaks.

Overview

If you want to play someone who wakes up every morning knowing the world might literally end before supper, and still saddles up to go punch daemons in the face, Kislev is calling.

Appearance

Broad faces, high cheekbones, eyes the colour of winter skies. Hair is thick, beards are mandatory for warmth and status. Everyone wears furs—wolf, bear, snow-leopard—layered over wool and mail. Winged lancers look like avenging angels forged from steel and feathers. Streltsi march in long coats and tall fur hats, axes slung across their backs like they were born holding them. War bear riders are exactly what they sound like and twice as terrifying.

Culture & Society

• Regions: The endless northern steppe, the dark taiga, three great cities that somehow still stand.
• Culture: Survive first, ask questions never. Honour is important, but staying alive is more important.
• Names: Slavic and hard as nails—Boris, Katarin, Ivan, Zoya, Yuri, Natasha, Kostaltyn.
• Religion: Ursun the Great Bear, plus older gods of fire, sun, and thunder. The Ice Court answers to no one except the Tzarina.

Relations with Other Races

• The Empire – Friendly (soft southern cousins, but they send guns and gold)
• Dwarfs – Friendly (respect for anyone who fights Chaos and pays debts)
• Bretonnia – Neutral (pretty knights who’ve never seen real winter)
• Norsca, Chaos, Beastmen – Hostile (kill on sight, salt the ground afterwards)
• Chaos Corruption – Hostile (burn the mutant, burn the village, burn the ashes)
• Slavery – Disdained (a free Kislevite dies before kneeling)

Strengths & Weaknesses

• Strengths: Unbreakable in defence, terrifying horse-lords, actual Ice Magic that flash-freezes blood.
• Weaknesses: Superstitious, fractured boyar politics, no one trusts anyone south of Praag.

Playing a Kislevite

You were born cold, you’ll probably die cold, and you’ll take a dozen daemons with you when you go.

Speak short, drink deep, and never trust the weather. A winged lancer charges with a roar that rattles the steppe. A streltsi stands in the snow and fires until the barrel glows red. An Ice Witch doesn’t speak—she just looks at you until your breath freezes in your lungs. Superstition is common sense here: yes, the old woman in the woods is probably a hag, shoot first.

Your humour is black, your stories end in blood, and your songs are half battle cry, half funeral dirge. You don’t dream of glory; you dream of one more spring where the crops don’t fail and the Chaos moon doesn’t look bigger than last year.

Physical Appearance

Kislevites look like winter carved them out of granite. Pale or ruddy skin, scarred from cold and claw alike. Men braid their beards with rings taken from fallen enemies. Women braid their hair the same way. Everyone smells of horse, woodsmoke, and kvas. The wings on a lancer’s back aren’t decoration—they scream like banshees when the charge hits, and the enemy breaks before the lances even touch them.

Notable Ranks & Careers

Ungol horse-archer → Kossar → Streltsi → Winged Lancer → Gryphon Legion Boyar → Ice Maiden → Ice Witch → Tzarina (good luck)

Racial Traits (Tabletop / RPG)

• Motherland’s Fury – Units Stubborn when defending Kislev soil or in snow terrain.
• Ice Magic Lore – Unique discipline; spells freeze enemies in place or call blizzards.
• Bear’s Endurance – Re-roll failed Fear/Terror tests if a unit champion carries an icon of Ursun.

Design Notes

Kislev is the hybrid army that refuses to die. Fast horse-archers harass, heavy lancers smash, bears maul anything still moving, and Ice Witches turn the battlefield into a skating rink of blood. You fight outnumbered every single game and you love it. It rewards reckless courage, clever combined arms, and the ability to laugh while your army is on 10 % models left and still winning. Perfect for players who want to feel like the last warband between the world and hell—and who fully intend to make hell pay for every inch.

Sources

• Warhammer Wiki: Kislev
• Lexicanum: Kislev
• Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2e – Realm of the Ice Queen
• Warhammer: The Old World – Forces of Fantasy
• Total War: Warhammer (Kislev roster, Old World updates)