Creative Assembly has announced the first champion Azazel from the Champions of Chaos Lords Pack. It will include four new Chaos Lords, each worshiping one of the Chaos Gods. All of them will be playable both in the standard Total War: WARHAMMMER III campaign and in the massive Immortal Empires campaign, which will be released simultaneously with the release of the DLC on August 23, 2022.
Azazel is the first introduced Champion from the new Lord Pack. He is able to deal significant damage to enemies, and in close combat he can use the Temptator ability: it gives temporary protection and reflects damage back to attackers. At the diplomatic level, Azazel will have a bonus of +80 relations with the Empire, Kislev, Cathay and Bretonnia.
The Champions will have their own storyline: they will have to get to the city of Zanbaijin to perform a special ritual and free the countless souls of warriors from past eras. The developers have not forgotten about unique mechanics, including:
- Gifts of Chaos. Winning battles gives the souls of enemies, which can be used as currency to gain power and reinforcements.
- Dark fortresses and vassals. By capturing a special region in the Chaos Wastes, it will be possible to build a powerful fortress there. By capturing a fortress in the Hemles of Norsca, it will be possible to create a new Norsca Vassal faction.
- Warband. Chaos Champions recruit their units instantly, and mortal units can be promoted to Chaos rank and walk through all the way up to Chaos Knights.