n the gods-forsaken lands of Sylvania, ancient evils stir and armies long dead march to war. Raised from mass graves and despoiled tombs, the Undead army gathers amidst the tumbled ruins and blasted groves of this ill-favoured realm. Upon fen and moor, creatures of darkness that have haunted the nightmares of Men for millennia break free from ancient cairns and age-worn mausoleums. As a tide of the dead, driven on by Necromantic magic and the undying will of its dread general, the unliving host advances.

he most powerful and deadly of the Undead are the Vampires, created by unholy rituals many thousands of years ago. Though physically strong, fast and resilient, it is not these qualities that make the Vampires such a threat. It is will and ambition that drives the Vampires to seek great power, a driving force that other Undead creatures lack. Imbued with supernatural powers over the dead, Vampires make natural leaders for the Undead hordes that plague the world. Though loathed and hunted, Vampires lurk within human society, either masquerading as lords and ladies, or on the very edge of civilisation. Once human, they cannot forget their past lives and whether scholar or warrior, a Vampire's immortal existence is fuelled by a craving for magical power and worldly domination.

his was never more so than during the Wars of the Vampire Counts. For over a century, the von Carsteins of Sylvania waged war upon the Empire, leading armies of the Undead the like of which had not been seen since the Empire's founding. Three successive masters arose to challenge the Elector Counts for rule of the Empire – Vlad, Konrad and Mannfred – each a deadly threat in their own way.

nder the command of the Vampire Counts, hordes of Zombies, legions of Skeletons and hosts of other fell creatures of the Undead besieged the Empire in a relentless campaign for control. Divided by politics and war, the Empire was almost overrun and came close to being enslaved to the will of a Vampire Emperor. It was only through the sacrifices of the armies of the Elector Counts, and the efforts of a few remarkable heroes, that the hosts of the Undead were held back and the Vampires laid to eternal rest.

hough eventually the von Carsteins were defeated, persistent rumours claim to this day that the last of the Vampire Counts, Mannfred von Carstein, escaped destruction and bides his time. For centuries, the tales say, he has awaited the moment when the Empire is once again weak and vulnerable, and then the armies of Sylvania will march forth again, greater than ever before. While dead things stir in their graves and travellers disappear in the wilds of haunted Sylvania, there is always the fear that one day the Vampire Counts will rise once again to sweep away the rule of the living and create an eternal Empire of the Undead.