Update 9.0 rebuilt how the Vampire Counts play in Total War: Warhammer 3, arriving alongside the Lords of the End Times DLC and the free Legendary Lord Neferata. The faction’s recruitment, economy, and Lord acquisition all changed, so the old habit of spamming raised armies off battle markers no longer applies.
Quick answer: Raise Dead is now the default way to recruit undead, most units have caps tied to buildings, and you juggle three resources — Dark Magic, Corpses, and Blood — to raise armies, awaken Vampire Lords, and unlock research.
Recruitment now runs entirely through Raise Dead
Raise Dead is the standard recruitment method for the undead. From the recruitment menu you can instantly add undead units to an army by paying Corpses or Blood, and you can summon as many per turn as you can afford, provided you stay within unit caps. Recruitment is no longer chance-based.
Weak fodder like Skeletons, Zombies, and Bats has no cap, so you can raise unlimited numbers of them. Stronger units such as Crypt Ghouls, Wraiths, and monsters carry maximum caps that you raise through military buildings, technology, or the Bloodlines system. You still need the right buildings to unlock each unit in the first place.
Human units are the exception. Sylvanian Handgunners, Crossbowmen, and similar troops do not count as undead and recruit the normal way.
Even though you pay Corpses or Blood to raise undead, their upkeep is still paid in Dark Magic, so all three currencies stay in play throughout a campaign.
The three currencies and where they come from
Dark Magic remains the faction’s long-standing resource, but Corpses and Blood join it as the two new pillars of the economy. Balancing all three is the core of the reworked campaign.
| Currency | Main source | Primary use |
|---|---|---|
| Dark Magic | Existing faction income | Unit upkeep |
| Corpses | Battles; passive from Bone Pits | Raising low-tier undead (mostly tiers 1–3) |
| Blood | Catacombs of Woes converting Corpses | High-tier units, research, awakening Lords, decrees |
Corpses accumulate after every battle, and bigger fights in a province yield more. During peacetime you lean on Bone Pits for a passive trickle. Corpses are a provincial resource, so you cannot immediately raise huge legions while campaigning deep in hostile territory.
Blood is much rarer. Catacombs of Woes convert Corpses into Blood each turn and serve as your main supply, while the Harvest Corpses decree in a settlement adds a little more per turn. Blood recruits high-tier units like Blood Knights and Hexwraiths, starts research, awakens Vampire Lords, and feeds several other systems below.
Vampire Lairs and awakening custom Lords
Vampire Lords are no longer recruited from the standard menu with full benefits. Instead, some settlements hide Vampire Lairs — sealed tombs where ancient Lords sleep. Fully discovering a settlement, by occupying it or using the right hero actions, reveals the Lair and lets you begin awakening the Vampire inside.
Unlike most factions, the Vampire Counts curate the Lords they raise, similar to how Kislev handles Frost Witches. You pick the Lord’s Bloodline and up to six starting bonuses, then recruit them as you would any other Lord once awakened. Investing more time and resources produces a stronger Vampire.
Each Vampire Lair can only be used once, so choose the Bloodline and bonuses deliberately before awakening.
Bloodlines grant a themed bonus and can be empowered with Blood for stronger effects. Empowerment is now uncapped, but each successive upgrade costs progressively more Blood. The five Bloodlines and their traits are below.
| Bloodline | Key traits |
|---|---|
| Von Carstein | +1 cap for Sylvanian Crossbowmen and Handgunners; every unit gains +1 rank; von Carstein Lords receive +1% HP, +1% Weapon Strength, and +1% Spell Mastery |
| Strigoi | +1 cap for Crypt Ghouls and Crypt Horrors; every unit replenishes 20%; Strigoi Lords gain +2% Weapon Strength, +2% HP |
| Blood Dragon | +1 cap for Blood Knights; all Lords receive +1000 XP; Blood Dragon Lords gain +1% HP, +1% Melee Strength, and +1 Melee Attack |
| Lahmian | Lahmian Handmaidens: +1 unit cap; heroes begin recruitment at +1 rank; Lahmian Lords receive +1% Spell Mastery, +1% Melee Defence, and +1% Speed |
| Necrarch | +1 cap for Cairn Wraiths; +100 Research Point surplus; Necrarch Lords gain -2% Spell Cooldowns, -2% Winds of Magic spell costs |
Necromancer Lords can still be recruited through the usual screen, but they lack the customized benefits an awakened Vampire Lord carries.
Blood Decrees: spending Blood on the campaign map
Blood Decrees are campaign-map actions that apply a strong buff to your armies or provinces. Each costs either Blood or Population Surplus, and they must be unlocked through research first.
| Decree | Cost | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Tenebrous Authority | 300 Blood | +10 Local Province Control and +20 Vampiric Corruption Control; all armies you own in the province recover 50% movement |
| Sanguine Wards | 200 Blood | +375 Barrier HP when defending settlements, +2000 Defensive Supplies, -50% siege attrition, +100% unit experience locally |
| Midnight Culling | 2 Pop Surplus | Gain 3000 Corpses |
Many research perks now also cost Blood to unlock, which adds another draw on a resource you already need for high-tier troops and Lords.
Confederating the other Vampire Counts
You can now confederate the Vampire Counts factions you did not choose at the start of a campaign. Doing so requires completing faction-specific objectives, then spending both Dark Magic and Blood to seal the deal.
Confederation adds all of that faction’s Legendary Lords and Heroes to your recruitment pool. It also destroys their existing armies and leaves behind any territory they held, so you gain the characters rather than an intact empire.
The reworked research tree
Research now spans multiple tabs, each focused on a different aspect of the faction.
- Vampirism — improves Vampire units and unlocks essentials like occupying Vampire Lairs with heroes and access to Ascendant Legacies.
- Necromancy — campaign perks include expanded hero capacity, economic boosts, and improvements to magic.
- The Dead — improves units and raises the caps for powerful options such as Handmaidens, Varghulfs, and Blood Knights.
Neferata brings her own unique tree, Web of Power, packed with upgrades for Handmaidens and Covens, and she also has access to all three shared trees. Starting any research now draws on Blood, tying the tech tree back into the same currency economy that drives everything else in the rework.
