Nab the Bretonnian capital and you’ll be able to research the Secrets of Grain & Grape, conferring a whopping 500 percent bonus to trade agreement tariffs, along with buffs to cavalry charges and growth. There is, however, an exception! Taking certain capitals or regions unlocks unique buildings and research opportunities, empowering your bloodthirsty armies. But if you’re rich in both cash and troops, erecting a monolith might be a better course of action. If you desperately need more troops, for instance, an outpost is a good call. Ultimately, you choose based on your needs at the time. But every occupied settlement is a monolith that doesn’t get constructed.

There, they can spread Chaos corruption, generate a modest income and recruit new units closer to the front. Outside of their homeland they can occupy coastal cities and capitals, turning them into outposts. They can, and probably should, occupy conquered settlements. And not just in regards to picking a deity, but in the fate of settlements as well. The Nosca campaign, then, is laden with crossroads. These patron gods offer up several bonuses and sometimes special characters, and once enough favour has been won, a war is triggered with the other two jealous deities and their champions. Honouring one pisses off the others, but it has to be done. After a successful siege, on top of sacking or occupying the city, they may also erect monoliths to their dark gods - a twist on the raze option - to win their favour. Unlike the Chaos Warriors, who just want to watch the world burn, Norscans conquer with purpose. It’s not a perfect solution to Warhammer’s typically dull diplomacy, but it’s definitely more reactive and, more importantly, clearly tied to things you're doing on the campaign and in battles. Diplomacy at the end of a sword is the Norscan way.

The Norscan tribes respect strength, and if their leader has been defeated in battle, they’ll usually agree to join a confederation. While diplomacy is an option, assimilation is best achieved by fighting their leaders and winning. Initially, though, they must contend with the other northern tribes by conquering or assimilating them.

Though harbours, mines and other buildings can be erected in some settlements, their main source of income is raiding foreign lands and sacking foreign settlements with relentless forward momentum. The business of running an empire and new types of quests don't get in the way of what the Norscans do best, however: looting and pillaging. They’ve got the same pace and ferocity, but they’re a richer army, with empire management wrinkles and a new quest system fattening up the campaign. Somewhere between squashing Dwarves with my enraged mammoths and burning down the Bretonnian capital in the name of my dark god, I realised that the Norscans contain most of what I felt was missing from the Chaos Warriors, Warhammer’s first DLC faction. They’re aggressive, experimental and blessed with an exotic and intimidating roster of warriors and monsters. These mammoth-loving Viking analogues, despite being a minor faction that don’t quite have the star power of the Orcs or Empire, manage to encapsulate and then build on all that's great about Creative Assembly’s post-release armies. From the unpleasantly chilly northern edge of Total War: Warhammer’s Old World comes its final DLC faction: Norsca.

Total war warhammer norsca settlements