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ArkhanPATCH 2026.10.20

Tomb Kings Legendary Lords and Starting Positions Explained

By VGSources Team 9 min read

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In Total War: Warhammer III Immortal Empires, the four Tomb Kings begin in very different strategic situations: Settra the Imperishable starts at Khemri in the Land of the Dead; High Queen Khalida at Lybaras in the Crater of the Waking Dead; Grand Hierophant Khatep at Clarak Spire in the Red Desert; and Arkhan the Black at the Wizard Caliph’s Palace in the Land of Assassins. Settra is the most forgiving choice for a new player, Khalida emphasizes poison and ranged fire, Khatep is the isolated high-pressure campaign, and Arkhan trades Tomb Kings diplomacy for vampiric recruitment and a mixed roster.

The four Immortal Empires starts at a glance

Legendary lord Starting settlement Region
Settra the Imperishable Khemri Land of the Dead
High Queen Khalida Lybaras Crater of the Waking Dead
Grand Hierophant Khatep Clarak Spire Red Desert
Arkhan the Black Wizard Caliph’s Palace Land of Assassins

The settlement names are more than map trivia. Distance from fellow Tomb Kings, nearby enemies, starting units, diplomatic modifiers and faction-wide bonuses determine how quickly each lord can stabilize, expand and assemble a larger undead army. Creative Assembly’s Total War Academy specifically describes Settra as the easiest King to start with, while Khatep and Arkhan are both presented as difficult openings for different reasons.

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Settra the Imperishable: Khemri, Land of the Dead

Settra begins at Khemri, the traditional heartland of the Tomb Kings. Creative Assembly calls him “the easiest King to start off with,” citing strong faction effects for growth and public order. Those effects make the first phase less punishing: settlements can develop more reliably, and public-order pressure is less likely to derail an otherwise stable expansion.

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What Settra starts with

  • Tomb Guard equipped with halberds.
  • A Khemrian Warsphinx.
  • Faction effects that support growth and public order.

The halberd-equipped Tomb Guard give Settra a durable answer to heavily armored threats, while the Khemrian Warsphinx supplies a powerful monster presence from the opening roster. Together, those units make his first battles more conventional than the specialized starts of the other legendary lords.

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Why Settra suits beginners

Settra is the clearest choice when you want to learn Tomb Kings’ core campaign loop without adding an unusually severe geographic problem. His documented growth and public-order advantages reduce two routine sources of early instability. That does not remove the need to manage settlements, armies and the Tomb Kings’ distinctive progression, but it gives mistakes more room to recover.

Choose Settra if your priority is a recognizable restoration campaign centered on the Tomb Kings’ own territory. His start is the reference point against which the other three campaigns feel more specialized: Khalida changes the battle plan, Khatep changes the map problem, and Arkhan changes the diplomatic and roster problem.

High Queen Khalida: Lybaras, Crater of the Waking Dead

High Queen Khalida starts in Lybaras in the Crater of the Waking Dead. Her campaign identity is built around poison and ranged pressure rather than Settra’s general-purpose opening. Creative Assembly lists Sepulchral Stalkers and Necropolis Knights among her starting forces, and her faction gives archer legions 20% extra ammunition in all her armies.

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Khalida’s defining bonuses

  • Archer legions receive 20% additional ammunition in every army.
  • Her faction has +20 diplomatic relations with all Tomb Kings.
  • Her opening roster includes Sepulchral Stalkers and Necropolis Knights.

The ammunition bonus is faction-wide, so it remains relevant as Khalida raises additional armies rather than applying only to her initial force. It rewards battles in which ranged units can fire repeatedly before the enemy reaches the line. Sepulchral Stalkers reinforce that ranged identity, while Necropolis Knights give the army a mobile, hard-hitting option for pressure and flanking.

Who should choose Khalida?

Khalida is the natural pick for players who want their Tomb Kings campaign to feel different in battle from the start. Her bonuses point toward preserving firing time, choosing engagements carefully and making ammunition last through the whole fight. The +20 relations with other Tomb Kings also gives her a friendlier diplomatic foundation inside the faction than Arkhan has.

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Her start is less about being universally easy or hard than about committing to a clear style. If you enjoy ranged armies and want diplomacy with fellow Tomb Kings to support a consolidation strategy, Lybaras is the most direct fit.

Grand Hierophant Khatep: Clarak Spire, Red Desert

Grand Hierophant Khatep starts at Clarak Spire in the Red Desert. He is geographically separated from the other Tomb Kings and surrounded by enemies. Creative Assembly describes him as “one of the hardest Kings to start off with,” explaining that he is banished far from the rest of the Tomb Kings and that support is hard to come by.

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Khatep’s opening tools

  • An opening army that includes a Hierotitan and Carrions.
  • The Exiles can live comfortably in mountains.
  • The faction gains Canopic Jars each turn without relying on character traits.
  • All armies receive movement bonuses.

The Hierotitan and Carrions give Khatep tools for both a strong centerpiece and battlefield mobility, but they do not solve his strategic isolation. His bonuses are designed to make the remote campaign viable: mountain suitability broadens the places where the Exiles can operate comfortably, passive Canopic Jar income supports the faction’s unique economy, and movement bonuses help compensate for long distances and the need to respond quickly.

Why Khatep is considered difficult

Khatep’s challenge is logistical before it is mechanical. Other Tomb Kings are not close enough to provide immediate support, and hostile neighbors can force you to divide attention between securing your base and finding a route toward safer territory. The movement bonus improves flexibility, but it does not change the fact that every reinforcement, diplomatic contact and expansion decision begins from a remote position.

Pick Khatep when the appeal is a high-pressure campaign shaped by geography. The mountain and Canopic Jar effects reward a player who can turn an isolated position into an economic and military advantage, while the movement bonus helps an experienced commander operate across a wide front.

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Arkhan the Black: Wizard Caliph’s Palace, Land of Assassins

Arkhan the Black starts at the Wizard Caliph’s Palace in the Land of Assassins. The settlement is underdeveloped, and strong enemies surround it, including Dwarfs. Creative Assembly therefore describes Arkhan as one of the hardest characters to play: the opening combines a weak economic base with immediate military pressure.

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Arkhan’s faction effects and roster

  • Access to some vampiric units.
  • +20 diplomacy with Vampire Counts.
  • -50 diplomacy with Tomb Kings.
  • +10 magical reserve for all armies.
  • Starting units include Crypt Ghouls and a Tomb Scorpion.

Arkhan is not simply a harder version of Settra. His ability to recruit some vampiric units creates a roster that mixes Tomb Kings tools with undead units unavailable to the other leaders in the same way. Crypt Ghouls broaden the early army, while the Tomb Scorpion supplies a powerful monstrous threat.

The diplomatic trade-off is equally important. Arkhan receives +20 relations with Vampire Counts but suffers -50 with Tomb Kings. That makes his campaign politically distinct: fellow Tomb Kings are substantially less receptive, while Vampire Counts are the natural diplomatic connection documented by his faction effects. The +10 magical reserve applies to all armies, giving his spellcasters a larger pool for campaign battles.

Who should choose Arkhan?

Choose Arkhan if you want the most unusual Tomb Kings campaign and are prepared to defend an underdeveloped starting settlement against strong local enemies. His mixed roster and Vampire Counts relationship create options that the other three lords do not share, but the Tomb Kings diplomatic penalty removes the easy internal cooperation that benefits Khalida.

Which Tomb King is best for beginners?

Settra is the best starting point for most beginners because Creative Assembly explicitly identifies him as the easiest King to start with and points to his growth and public-order advantages. His Khemri position, halberd-equipped Tomb Guard and Khemrian Warsphinx provide a straightforward introduction to the faction’s conventional strengths.

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Khalida is the next most approachable choice if you already prefer ranged armies. Her 20% ammunition bonus is powerful, but it asks you to manage firing lines and engagement distance rather than relying only on a general-purpose army. Khatep and Arkhan are better treated as challenge campaigns: Khatep because of isolation and surrounding enemies, Arkhan because of an underdeveloped settlement, strong enemies and strained Tomb Kings diplomacy.

Is Khatep the hardest Tomb Kings start?

Khatep is officially described as one of the hardest Kings to start with, not as the sole, universally measured hardest lord. His difficulty comes from being far from the other Tomb Kings and surrounded by enemies, which makes outside support difficult. Arkhan is also officially described as one of the hardest characters because he begins with an underdeveloped settlement and strong enemies, including Dwarfs.

There is no independent player-performance statistic establishing a single objective ranking between Khatep and Arkhan. The practical distinction is the type of pressure: Khatep faces distance and isolation, while Arkhan faces a weak starting settlement, hostile neighbors and a -50 diplomatic relationship with Tomb Kings.

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What makes Arkhan different from the other Tomb Kings?

Arkhan differs in three connected ways. First, he can recruit some vampiric units, including the Crypt Ghouls listed in his starting force. Second, his diplomacy favors Vampire Counts by +20 but penalizes Tomb Kings by -50. Third, every army receives +10 magical reserve. Those effects produce a hybrid campaign identity rather than a standard Tomb Kings restoration campaign.

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His starting position reinforces that difference. The Wizard Caliph’s Palace is underdeveloped, and Dwarfs are among the strong enemies around it. Arkhan therefore combines a distinctive army and diplomatic network with an opening that demands immediate attention to survival and development.

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How the starting positions shape your first campaign decisions

Settra: build on stability

Settra’s documented growth and public-order effects make settlement development and orderly expansion the sensible priorities. Use the forgiving opening to learn how Tomb Kings infrastructure, armies and faction progression interact before taking on more specialized objectives.

Khalida: protect ranged value

Khalida’s extra ammunition is most valuable when her archers have time to fire. Campaign planning should therefore favor engagements and positions that preserve ranged uptime. Her positive relations with Tomb Kings can support a consolidation plan while you develop an army built around poison and missile pressure.

Khatep: solve distance first

Khatep’s movement bonuses and passive Canopic Jar income directly address the problems created by his remote location. The opening question is not simply which nearby settlement to take, but how to maintain a route between armies, objectives and potential allies while enemies can attack from several directions.

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Arkhan: survive while exploiting the hybrid roster

Arkhan’s underdeveloped base means that military pressure and development compete for attention. His vampiric recruitment and magical-reserve bonus offer a distinct payoff once the opening is stable, but the -50 Tomb Kings relationship means diplomacy inside the faction cannot be assumed to provide the same support available to other lords.

Patch 6.3 and access to other Tomb King leaders

Creative Assembly’s Patch 6.3 developer blog says its Tomb Kings work focused on campaign pace, Canopic Jars, technology, landmarks and access to multiple Tomb King leaders. The stated confederation matrix is specific:

Faction Force-confederation options Mortuary Cult option
Arkhan Khalida and Khatep Not stated
Khalida Khatep Khatep
Khatep Khalida Khalida
Settra Khatep Khalida

This matrix matters when choosing a campaign for a long-term objective. The lord you select determines which other legendary leaders can be brought into your faction through the documented force-confederation route and which can be accessed through the Mortuary Cult. It also means that “start with one lord and collect the others” is not identical for every faction: each leader has a different path listed in Patch 6.3.

A practical choice guide

  1. Choose Settra if you want the most forgiving opening, conventional Tomb Kings forces and a campaign supported by growth and public order.
  2. Choose Khalida if poison, ranged pressure, 20% extra ammunition and positive Tomb Kings diplomacy are the features you value most.
  3. Choose Khatep if you want a remote campaign in which mountains, movement and passive Canopic Jars help you overcome isolation.
  4. Choose Arkhan if a mixed Tomb Kings-and-vampiric roster, Vampire Counts diplomacy and stronger magical reserves are worth accepting an underdeveloped start and poor Tomb Kings relations.

These labels describe the documented mechanics and Creative Assembly’s qualitative difficulty statements, not an independently measured ranking. Settra is the safest learning campaign; Khalida is the clearest ranged specialist; Khatep is the geographic challenge; and Arkhan is the roster-and-diplomacy outlier.

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ArkhanImmortal EmpiresKhalidaKhatepSettraTomb KingsTotal War: WARHAMMER III

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