A tale of scheming skaven in the Age of Sigmar, David Guymer’s wonderfully-titled The Unlamented Archpustulent of Clan Morbidus reimagines the political maneuvering of a papal conclave as the vicious, backstabbing process of electing the new spiritual leader of Clan Morbidus. As the voting draws nearer, several candidates for the position of Archpustulent employ bribery, cunning and violence to ensure they, and only they, are elevated to this vaunted – and dangerous – position of power. In typical skaven fashion, however, each candidate’s devious schemes clash, backfire and generally get in each other’s way causing carnage in the depths of Blight City.
Theological conflict within the Clans Pestilens makes for a wonderfully entertaining concept, and the three main priestly hopefuls – the classic ambitious schemer, the fervent young firebrand and the wise old ancient – combine nicely in a typically bonkers and entirely skaven-appropriate story. As usual Guymer nails the tone and feel of the skaven, and the dark humour in their paranoid, backstabbing viciousness, although it’s a shame this wasn’t a longer story, with more time to explore the doctrinal differences between the various factions and give the reader more time to become familiar with the characters. There’s lots to absorb, but it’s nevertheless a lot of fun and a great little standalone story.
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The Unlamented Archpustulent of Clan Morbidus is available either as a standalone e-short or within the Inferno! Volume 3 anthology. The best value option is to pick up the anthology.
Click here to buy Inferno! Volume Three.
Click this link to buy The Unlamented Archpustulent of Clan Morbidus.