If your army is led by Heinrich Kemmler, it may include Krell, one of the dreaded dark lords of Nagash. Krell can be taken as a Hero choice. He must be fielded exactly as presented here and no extra equipment or magic items can be bought for him.

Krell was a mighty Chaos champion long before the birth of the Empire. At this time there were only a few scattered tribes of men who were nothing more than barbarians with few skills and little learning. Krell was the ruler of one such tribe that was corrupted by the Chaos god, Khorne. Krell quickly carved out an empire amongst the barbarian tribes of the north and then turned against the Dwarfs to the south. This was during the period the Dwarfs call the Time of Woes, when their empire had been riven by earthquakes and volcanic explosions, then assaulted by massed tribes of Orcs, Goblins, Skaven and other evil creatures. Krell allied with the Night Goblins who stormed the Dwarf Strongholds of Karak Ungor and Karak Varn and his name is recorded many times in the Great Book of Grudges. He was finally slain by the Dwarf Hero Grimbul Ironhelm during the assault on Karak Kadrin.

Krell's followers carried away his body and buried it in a crudely wrought tomb on the edge of the area now known as the Chaos Wastes. Nearly 1,500 years later Nagash came upon this tomb whilst he was searching for his lost Crown of Sorcery. Nagash had heard much of Krell and his brief but bloody reign, so he raised the mighty warrior from the dead. Krell was placed in command of one of Nagash's Undead legions when he fought against Sigmar at the Battle of the River Reik.

Krell's forces were to attack the Empire's Dwarf allies, giving him the chance to avenge his defeat centuries before. Leading his legion from the front, Krell smashed into the Dwarfs. The battle raged furiously, the Dwarfs stubbornly refusing to give ground against the seemingly endless ranks of Undead troops. But just as it seemed that the Dwarf line was crumbling, Sigmar cut down Nagash. In moments, the Undead army was all but destroyed, as units turned to dust without Nagash's will to keep them alive. Only Krell survived and at the head of his troops, he was only just able to battle his way through the Dwarf lines and escape.

Sigmar's forces were exhausted by the battle and did not pursue him immediately. This proved to be a mistake, for such human frailties did not worry Krell or his Undead followers. Marching night and day Krell led his remaining troops on a dance of destruction that cut a bloody swathe across the fledgling Empire. Entire communities were destroyed, towns sacked and castles burned to the ground, while the cities of the Empire filled with refugees fleeing from Krell's army. He was finally cornered by Sigmar and defeated at the Battle of Glacier Lake, and imprisoned in a magically constructed tomb. To this day, tales of Krell and his doomed legion are still told round campfires and taverns across the Empire.

Hundreds of years later Heinrich Kemmler came across Krell's tomb. He struck a deal with the warrior and freed him to do his bidding, or so he thought. In fact, Kemmler's wanderings in the mountains had been subtly guided by Nagash as part of a cunning and evil plan that would free Krell and unite him with the Lichemaster, so that he could unleash these two powerful Undead champions against Bretonnia. Nagash's plans suffered a minor setback following the heavy casualties the combined forces suffered at the Battle of La Maisontaal Abbey, but in time they are sure to bear rich and terrible fruit.

Weapons: Black Axe of Krell.

Armour: Chaos Armour (4+ armour save).

Mount: None.

King of Wights. In Krell's hands his dreaded weapon reaches the pinnacle of its dark powers and delivers a Killing Blow (see Warhammer Rulebook, page 112) every time Krell rolls a 5+ on his rolls to wound.

Black Axe of Krell (see Vampire Counts army book, page 49)

Crown of the Damned (see Vampire Counts army book, page 50).