Believe it or not, Grand Cathay has been hiding in plain sight since almost the beginning of Warhammer Fantasy.
For decades, it’s been little more than a whisper from the east — a few paragraphs in rulebooks, a namedrop in bestiaries, a scattered roleplay reference here and there. You might’ve heard about an Immortal Dragon Emperor or that doomed treasure fleet to Lustria, but for years, that was all we got.
That’s finally changing. Grand Cathay is making its full, glorious entrance into Warhammer: The Old World, not just as a Total War faction, but as a fully playable army on the tabletop. To mark this long-awaited debut, the team behind Cathay’s development sat down to share how this ancient empire finally came to life — from dusty archives to fully sculpted miniatures.
Building a Kingdom from Old Texts and Lost Notes
Back in 2018, Creative Assembly approached Games Workshop with a pitch for Total War: Warhammer III. They wanted to expand the factions and asked about Kislev first, which already had some groundwork. But then they asked the real question — what about Grand Cathay?
At that point, the faction only existed in fragments. That’s when Mark, Owen, and JTY started digging deep. Every obscure reference from the second edition of Warhammer Fantasy Battles to Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay books got pulled from the archives. Even the infamous Tamurkhan: The Throne of Chaos book from 2011 offered some foundational material — like the Onyx Crowmen and Shugengan wizards.
It turns out, not only was Cathay rich with unused detail, but most of it could be woven together without contradiction. The Dragon Emperor had different names? Makes sense — travelers might misidentify his functionaries. A Cathayan sailor with a tattooed back shows up in a Lizardmen book? That got worked in too.
Designing for the Tabletop and the Screen
One of the early challenges was that Creative Assembly didn’t need to worry about miniatures. But Games Workshop did. That meant every piece of concept art and faction design needed to work both as a video game asset and as a Warhammer miniature.
There were limitations. Flowing robes don’t animate easily. Designs below the knee were out of bounds for digital models. But the team stuck to their guns — because in plastic, you can make the definitive version. That’s why what we’ll see on the tabletop comes straight from the original, fully fleshed-out designs.
The Jade Warriors, Grand Cannons, and Terracotta Sentinels were all created with miniature play in mind. The design team ensured every detail was grounded in Warhammer logic — but also deeply rooted in Chinese history, culture, and mythology.
Inspiration with Respect: Doing Cathay Right
Grand Cathay is a fantasy faction, but it draws clear inspiration from real-world China — in the same way that The Empire draws from the Holy Roman Empire or Bretonnia reflects medieval France. But the team wasn’t content with surface-level references. They brought in Chinese cultural consultants and worked closely with Creative Assembly’s sensitivity readers to make sure their approach was authentic and respectful.
They avoided symbols tied to traumatic periods in history. They respected aesthetic distinctions between Chinese, Japanese, and Korean design. When it came to things like skulls and gore — which are everywhere in Warhammer — they got creative, pulling in other design elements to preserve the Warhammer feel without clashing with Chinese cultural norms.
Take the Longma, for instance. Originally based on the qilin — a Chinese mythological beast — it was reimagined into a “dragon-horse” that could serve as monstrous cavalry. The qilin didn’t work visually as a pegasus stand-in, and sticking wings on it wasn’t the answer. So they built a new creature grounded in myth but tailored to Warhammer gameplay.
Terracotta Sentinels and Armoured Myths
Another example of this thoughtful design is the mountain armour seen on the Terracotta Sentinels. This fantastical armour type exists only in myth and sculpture — historians can’t even confirm if it was real. But it feels legendary, and that’s what matters. For heroes and war constructs in Cathay, it’s the perfect visual.
From Tang dynasty military history to ancient decorative patterns, the artists carefully blended real references into the fantasy aesthetic. And then, they made sure it could actually be built in plastic. After all, nothing in Warhammer matters unless it’s on the sprue.
Translating Ideas into Rules
When Total War needed unit stats, the dev team turned to eighth edition Warhammer Fantasy Battles as their framework. Cathayan movement speeds, combat roles, and profiles were built to fit that ruleset, helping Creative Assembly understand how these units compared to existing armies.
These rules weren’t just guesswork. They laid a foundation that Games Workshop is now using to bring Cathay to the tabletop in Warhammer: The Old World. Expect unit profiles and mechanics that echo those Total War stats, but adapted for the new system.
Wrapping Up – The Eastern Empire Emerges
Grand Cathay is finally more than a myth. After decades in the background, it’s stepping into the spotlight — not as a vague idea, but as a fully realized Warhammer faction, complete with lore, rules, and plastic models.
The depth of research, the respect for source material, and the thought put into every sculpt make this one of the most ambitious expansions of Warhammer lore in years. Whether you’re a Total War fan, an Old World veteran, or someone just excited about dragons and gunpowder, Grand Cathay is coming — and it’s bringing the storm.
Stay tuned for more updates this week in the Old World Almanack, where we’ll dig into the in-universe lore of the Kingdom of the Dragons. Until then, may your jade armour gleam and your cannons roar.
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