Slann

Praise be the Old Ones and all they devise First of the First all hail the mighty Slann Mighty in Magic, powerful and wise Upon their minds rests the Old Ones’ Great Plan Earth, sea, flame, sky, over all they tower Cold blood and warm blood, all life shall serve Light, shadow, death yield high magic power All praises and honors the Slann deserve Five Spawnings will oversee the world sphere Eternally, they serve their divine roles Preserved in death, maintain their bodies here Great Rituals preserve their mighty souls Just below the Old Ones, the Slann stand tall Strong and wise, with dominion over all
-Song of the Old Ones Slann Chapter

The Slann are the frog/toad-like rulers of the Lizardmen. the Slann are essentially demigods and are the most powerful mortals in the entire Warhammer world.

Phenomenal Cosmic Powers! Itty Bitty Living Space!

It often seems a contradiction that Slann are depicted as godlike in the published fluff of Games Workshop but far less than godlike on the tabletop within the rules of Warhammer.
In my head canon at least, Slann have extreme power but most of the time witnesses only see a tiny fraction of said power.
When the Slann act with their full power, they can raise and lower continents and summon massive tidal waves and other forces of (super)nature. They can even direct the power of biology having magically amplified the natural robustness and danger level of the Lustrian jungle as a deterent to invaders.
A Slann's mighty power is restrained by many things, among themselves.
The Slann are well aware that they have enough power to literally destroy the world. Even a small mistake or miscalculation could destroy millions of lives or irreprably damage a major aspect of nature.

Basic Information

Biological Traits

Slann are generally built like squat frogs or toads, roughly as tall as a human man but much broader.
All Slann are old. The Slann of the Fifth Generation are roughly 10,000 years old and the Slann of the Second Generation are closer to 100,000 years old. Generally older Slann are larger and fatter than younger Slann.
Older Slann command more raw power than their younger cousins but they are slower to use it either because they are much more contempative or because they are physically impaired in some way, likely both.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Slann are true omnivores, but because the have hordes of fanatically loyal subjects most have rarified palates.
Slann can eat almost any non-poisonous plant or animal source (and they have the magic to transform poisonous or inedible materials into tasty food), Slann certainly have favorite food.
Most Slann prefer to eat specific forms of insects, either very large insects for very large quantities of small insects. The insects might be spiced or treated in some exotic way.
Slann also eat a lot of fruit or at least drink the juice after their servants painstakingly squeeze and prepare said juice.
Slann enjoy eating food, but they don't have to eat food. Slann can and often do use magic so they need to eat less. A Slann can go decades or even longer without taking so much as a sip of water. When a Slann uses magic to replace the need for mundane sustenace he is usually doing so no one bothers him with mundane things while he is working on some deep contemplation or mighty magical work.
When taking "Me time" is when Slann are most likely to indulge in eating their favorite foods.

Biological Cycle

Slann are either unaging or they age so slowly that to lesser mortals (even elves) they appear to be ageless.
Even the youngest Slann are over 10,000 years ol
No one apart from the Slann themselves remember what the Slann were like when they were newly spawned, so it is unclear in how they change with time.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

There are a few online resources for randomly generating Lizardmen or Seraphon names. I also like to dive into loose translations from the Mayan and Aztec languages.
I also like to incorporate the names of mythological gods and goddesses not connected to Warhammer and alter the pronunciation and spelling to give it a more Mesoamerica feel.
For example, Merestar's name is based on the goddess Mera from my main fantasy world of Scarterra.

Average Technological Level

In my head canon, a dirty little secret of the Slann is that they cannot truly innovate anything new. Their intellect far surpasses all other mortals and they received a superb education from the Old Ones themselves, but they cannot create anything new, they can only maintain the works of others.
If they need to come up with a solution to a new problem, they have to listen to what the Skinks have come up with and figure out a way to improve on a Skinks. Slann can also spy on the activities of warmblooded races from afar and implement their own versions of these races' technologies and strategies.

Major Language Groups and Dialects

Slann are the inventors of the Saurian language and all other dialects of Saurian are simplified versions of the language to let simpler creatures communicate with the Slann and each other.
The Slann communicate with underlings primarily with the spoken language but the Slann communicate primarily with each other via telepathy.
The Slann can communicate with lesser Lizardmen telepathy but they generally only do so when the stakes are high because repeated telapthic contact can damage the minds of lesser mortals.
Slann can use telepathy as a form of attack against their enemies but they usually save this as a weapon of last resort lest their own minds become tainted by the impure thoughts of foul creatures.

Common Dress Code

Slann tend to be nude or near nude, which is okay because Slann don't really have genitalia to cover up.
Also, Slann are cold blooded in a warm environment, so they don't need shelter from the elements, even if they did, it's easier for a Slann magically alter his body temperature than put on clothes.
Slann tend to wear headdresses, crowns, or amulets both as a sign of devotion to the Old Ones and as a sign of rank or prestige because even among Slann, there is a hieararchy.

Interspecies Relations and Assumptions

In Lizardmen society, if the Slann make a command, the other Lizardmen will instantly obey it whether that command is "Destroy all the humans in that city" or "bring me a cup of water."
Generally rather than address large populations of Lizardmen at once, Slann delegate most things. Slann give orders to a small group of attendants and these attendants carry out the Slann's will by proxy.
For good or ill, few Slann are micromanagers. Slann often tell their minions what to do but not how to do it.
Slann tend to be terse and vague, so in a lot cases what the Slann wants is not always clear and every utterance of a Slann every blink or gesture is carefully scrutinizes. The Slann are content to have the Skinks, Sauri, and Kroxigors hasten to obey their every whim, but the other races of the world hardly act like this.
The Slann themselves aren't sure what to do about it and the Slann's differing opinions on how to interact wtih the younger races have sparked the ongoing inter-Slann conflict known as the The Great Debate.

Genetic Ancestor(s)

• Lizardmen

Geographic Distribution

• Lustria

Related Organizations

• Mazdamundi's Coalition
• Merestar Coalition