Not going to say 100% but so far from my own experience it seems to be working, I have three vassals and no infighting. A quick browse on the steam forums also shows others players are also having success, so making them vassals certainly does something in early to mid game play, late game could be a bit different. Now I am also taking precautions, only awaking 4 to give me Sigvald and that's it, by not awaking all of them, this may also be a key to keeping order as there is less competition over land.
They said it was a small patrolling force, the Skaeling commander thought. They said they were an easy prey, scum traitors who claimed to be the real Chaos chosens. Some marauders and a couple of cavalry units at best, ideal for covering in blood long dried axes. A 3000 strong war band was gathered to fall upon those fools, to feast on their corpses and offer their souls to the dark gods. Little they know, in that "patrolling" force there were the sons of the mountains, the ruinos powers' blessed. Dragon ogres. And even them were nothing compared to their leader, who emerged from the Age of wonders, who lived through millenia watching civilizations rise and fall; Kholek Suneater. The battle was truly a bloodbath, but those who suffered the most were the arrogant Skaelings. Each swing from the weapons of the ancient beings sent flying dozen of norscans, trampling under their reptilian feet any who survived the initial attack. However, even in the midst of the fiercest engagements, Kholek shadowed anybody else with his titanic figure. Every strike from his hammer named Starcrasher felt like a lighting scorching the top of a mountain, leaving hundred of corpses behind whenever the enemy routed terrorized by such an imposing entity. In the end, though, all this mattered little to the Skaleing fleeing commander, the last of the three generals sent against the true sons of Chaos. For the last thing he saw, was the shadow of the gigantic hammer falling on his pathetic corpse. 342 lives were claimed by Kholek himself that day, truly a great omen anticipating even greater bloodsheds, once the land of the southern men will be stroke by the Storm of Chaos.
Kholek Suneater was added to the Warhammer Fantasy Table top game I believe in 7th edition (2008) when GW restructured the Warriors of Chaos codex. In 7th edition, warriors of Chaos lost access to daemons and to fill the voids were given access to monstrous creatures from the Chaos Beastmen codex, GW used this restructuring as an opportunity to introduce more named chaos characters and broaden the Chaos lore to make them appealing to a wider player base. Since then, Kholek has been a permanent named character chaos players could take for their armies. Below is the Lore behind Kholek's origins. Taken from the Total War Forums which cite his fluff story from the Chaos Army Codex in 8th edition. "Every eight generations, when the malevolent moon Morrslieb waxes full in front of its benign cousin Mannslieb, a terrible storm rages through the crevasses and chasms of the Worlds Edge Mountain s. Jagged ridges are silhouetted like the broken teeth o f some titanic beast as lightning flashes and thunder roars. Before a great chasm that splits the mountains like a gigantic axe wound, hundred s upon hundred s of North men kneel in the pelting hail and snow, chanting sonorously as their captives are sacrificed and hurled bodily into a cavernous lair. Then , as the storm reaches its terrible climax, a terror from the prehistory of the world bursts forth with a roar that shakes the roots o f the peaks them selves - Kholek Suneater awakes, and all the world trembles at his wrath. Kholek is a Shaggoth of tremendous age. He is one o f the first-born kin o f Krakanrok the Black, father o f the Dragon Ogres. Kholek was present when the terrible pact with the Dark Gods was forged, pledging their race to an eternity of servitude in exchange for immortality. The sagas tell that Kholek’s part in the bargain was such an affront to nature that the sun hid its face behind a bank o f storm clouds and has never looked upon Kholek since that fateful day. True enough, Kholek’s coming is heralded by roiling black thunderheads. W here the Herald o f the Tempest walks, a raging storm blots out the sun. Like all Dragon Ogres, Kholek is energised and enlivened by the power o f lightning, roaring with triumph as crackling bolts o f pure power play across his ancient and scaly body. He wears great plates of brass as his arm our, the better to attract the tempest’s kiss, encrusted with the patina of age and blackened by soot. In his shadow march the mountain tribes that worship him as a primal god o f destruction. Kholek Suneater was last seen by mortal eyes during A savar Kul’s great invasion, striding south with his armies under the cover of a ferocious blizzard. The histories of that time describe a raging storm -beast tall enough to look over the ramparts of Praag, a god of winter who smashed his way into the city with pure brute force. The sagas tell o f how the monstrosity stalked the Old Quarter of the city, demolishing each and every temple within the city walls before returning to his glacial realm. I f the rumours from the north are true, Kholek is abroad once more. W henever the sky darkens with cloud and thunder rumbles on the horizon, all w ho know of the legend of the Suneater shiver in fear, for how can mortals stand against a being w ho has waged war in the name of the Dark Gods since before the dawn of Man? Starcrusher: The gigantic warhammer known as Starcrusher was forged in the raging heart of a volcano and enchanted to fell monstrous foes. Kholek wields this enormous weapon with both hands as he bears down upon his doomed enemies. At the siege of Praag, it was Kholek Suneater wielding this giant warhammer that smashed a great wound in the city walls, and paved the way for the city's demise. "
So now the Varg are near extinction, but the Skaelings have 90% of Norsca under their rule. And they absolutely loathe Archaon. ........ I'm around turn 200, and I haven't even started going south. It's all been a war for the North, so far.
My second Empire campaign ended in a Long Campaign Victory on Turn 35... I used money and a whole lot of luck to get all of the Imperial provinces but Marienburg against the Vamp Counts. While the rest of the Empire was curb stomping VC I went and conquered Marienburg, which earned me favor with Nordland and Middenland. Using more money and the diplomatic gains from fighting the VC I managed to secure military alliances with all the provinces I did not either conquer or confederate with. This was the last major battle of the campaign on Turn 33. http://i.imgur.com/p8TaMXY.jpg In that one battle we managed to crush the majority of the VC's remaining military strength and in the following two turns I captured their remaining city, Drakenhof itself. Once it was captured...victory screen popped up. Apparently the Warriors of Chaos hadn't even left the wastes yet. My third playthrough I'm going to go hyper-aggressive Franz. No allies, no confederations. Non-aggression and trade is accepted for economic purposes. Brettonia shall fall, the Border Princes and the southern realms will be integrated into the Empire as well. Then the Dwarves will either become my vassals or see their holds razed until their race is as old and gone as some of the entries in the Dammaz Kron.
To be honest neither do I, GW never made a model for him in the tabletop game, so that certainly didn't help get his name out, all GW did was give him some fluff and stats and provided a few images so that players could make models of him. I pulled this off of 4chan. Under the heading the End Times. Kholek Suneater - According to Joshy Reynolds, he was ultimately killed by Settra, as a test to prove his worth to Archaon--the dragon ogre was uncontrollable, and thus of no use to the Three Eyed King. The battle lasted for four days, and flattened most of the forest around Middenheim, before Settra managed to remove the Mountain Lord's head with his khopesh, and drag it to the temple of Ulric and deposit it at Archaon's feet. If this 4chan is true this could also be why we don't hear about him much in the end times. I think we all can agree Kholek is a nice addition to the legendary heroes for chaos, I like the fact that he isn't like all the other human/humanoid heroes that are in the game but some massive beast that demolishes whole units in seconds!
