Dark Lands

The Dark Lands are a location in the Games Workshop's fictional Warhammer Fantasy setting. It is roughly analogous to the real world steppe land east of the Urals and to Mordor of Tolkien's Middle-earth.

On maps released by the Games Workshop the Dark Lands are a vast area of wasteland between the Worlds Edge Mountains and the Mountains of Mourne. They are said to be ruled by warring tribes of Orcs and Goblins, except in the very north where the Chaos Dwarf Empire dominates. To the south west is the Plain of Bones where the remains of many dead dragons can be found. This area draws practitioners of necromancy and the Undead. To the south east are the Dragon Isles which are often cited as a desirable, if dangerous, location for voyages in search of riches to aim for. On its southern coastline in the river delta region lies the human frontier settlement Pigbarter. It is a common target for Gnoblar thieves.

The Dark Lands frequently feature in Warhammer literature as the source of Orc and Goblin invasions that plague the Old World. In many respects this is based upon the successive real world invasions of Europe by mobile eastern groups from the steppe land, such as the Huns and Alans. The name also derives from the Medieval legends of a Land of Darkness often perceived in the legends to be in a roughly analogous location to its Warhammer counterpart. The Dark lands also have a substantial population of Ogres and their goblinoid slaves, the Gnoblars.