The Pact of the Vermintide
Five souls bound by blood and steel against the ratmen.
Forged in fire, filth, and desperation, the Pact of the Vermintide is the unspoken blood-oath binding the five survivors of Ubersreik—Markus Kruber, Victor Saltzpyre, Sienna Fuegonasus, Kerillian, and Bardin Goreksson—against the Skaven tide that drowned their city. No charter was signed, no priest blessed it; their bond was hammered out in the reeking dark of a cellar, in the clang of steel and the hiss of warpfire, as they learned that to stand alone was to die alone. This pact is the emotional and narrative core of the Vermintide series, driving the heroes from the fall of Ubersreik through the Chaos Wastes and beyond.
Quick Facts
- Character
- The Ubersreik Five
- Role
- Unofficial alliance of heroes
- Affiliation
- The Empire of Man (loosely)
- First appears
- Warhammer: End Times – Vermintide
- Status
- Active throughout the Vermintide saga
Lore & Background
The Pact of the Vermintide was born not from strategy but from sheer, choking survival. When the Skaven horde erupted from the sewers to slaughter Ubersreik's defenders, five strangers collided by chance or grim fate: Kruber, a mercenary haunted by the battles he'd survived; Saltzpyre, a Witch Hunter whose faith burned hotter than any pyre; Sienna, a Bright Wizard whose gift was a curse she could barely leash; Kerillian, a Waywatcher of Athel Loren who smelled the taint of Chaos beneath the rat-stench; and Bardin, a Dwarf Ranger whose quest for lost Karak Zorn had led him to the wrong city at the worst hour. Their first stand together—a desperate, blood-soaked fight in the Red Moon Inn—sealed their bond not with oaths, but with the raw truth that only as one could they hope to see dawn.
Reader's Guide
The Pact of the Vermintide is the fan term for the heroes' alliance, never explicitly named in-game but referenced through dialogue and shared history. Players see its formation in the first game's prologue, where the five meet during the Skaven attack on Ubersreik. Key locations tied to the pact include the Red Moon Inn (their initial base), the Magnus Tower (a strategic stronghold), and the Horn of Magnus (a signal device). The pact evolves across the series: in Vermintide 2, it faces strain from the Chaos corruption and internal conflicts, such as Kerillian's secret allegiance to the Dark Elves and Sienna's struggle with her magic. The game's retelling of the End Times simplifies the broader Warhammer lore, focusing on the heroes' personal journey rather than the global apocalypse. Terms like 'the Pact' appear in item descriptions and fan discussions, emphasizing the bond that transcends their differences.
Did You Know?
- Each hero's backstory—such as Kruber's service in the Ostland army or Bardin's quest for Karak Zorn—ties directly to the pact's formation.
- In Warhammer Fantasy lore, the End Times saw the destruction of the world, but Vermintide's narrative diverges by focusing on the heroes' survival.
More in Lore & History
Elsewhere in Warhammer Vermintide
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