Free DLC Coming To Total War: Warhammer This Week

Tomorrow Total War: Warhammer [official site] will be getting a new expansion that lets you answer the Call of the Beastmen to try and conquer your neighboring kingdoms. But the good news is that, along with a smattering of other freebies, you won't need to purchase the expansion in order to fight against them as AI opponents.

Call of the Beastmen goes live on Thursday, and even if you elect not to drop the extra cash you'll still benefit from the launch with some rather nice treats.

Aside from having the Beastmen rampaging across your campaigns as AI opponents, the free DLC also includes a new hero and mount, new multiplayer features and maps, and an unlockable lord for custom and multiplayer battles. The new hero is the Amber Wizard who fights for the Empire, a savage spell-caster who can summon a manticore to tear enemies to bits. He also has his own special mount, a jade griffon, just in case he wasn't intimidating enough.

Aside from four new maps, other multiplayer features in the free DLC include the ability to customize lords and heroes with abilities to better tailor their utility in combat to your tastes. This includes being able to add or subtract certain skills that you may or may not want. Finally, a new lord is available after you unlock an achievement while playing in the campaign. Sarthorael is a "like a child playing upon some gigantic anthill, poking with a stick at its inhabitants and laughing at the hopeless antics of their defence." Which, frankly, sounds a bit rude.

Anyway, you can read all of the details in the free DLC here or wait until it arrives on Thursday to find out for yourself. Call of the Beastmen is regularly priced at $19/£14 and is available through Steam.