Description of the Council of Thirteen
The Council of Thirteen is undoubtedly the most powerful and feared authority in all of Skavendom, and with such esteemed membership as the Horned Rat himself at its head, the scope and breadth of its power is unsurprising. Few directly challenge the authority of the Council of Thirteen, although the more crafty may attempt to circumvent or manipulate Council decrees.

The greatest problem involving the Council is the Council itself. The Council has twelve members, with the thirteenth position being filled symbolically by the Horned Rat himself. The Council was set up by the Horned Rat two centuries ago, according to the dictates engraved on the Pillar of Commandments. The members of the Council are known as the Lords of Decay. The Council is organized in a circle of power, with the Horned Rat at the thirteenth and highest position. The position of the seats is numbered in a circle from the seat to the left of the Horned Rat, known as the first seat, around the circle until it ends at the seat on the Horned Rat's right, the seat number twelve. The occupants of the seats closest to the Horned Rat at the head of the circle are the more powerful in the Council of Thirteen. The most prized seats are those directly adjacent to the Horned Rat's chair, these seats are the first and twelfth seats, held by the Seerlord and the Lord Warlock of Clan Skryre respectively.

When the Council needs to decide on a motion, action, decree, or referendum, the Council will vote. Each Lord of Decay may vote in favor or the motion or abstain. When a Lord of Decay abstains from a vote, it vetoes the vote of its ”opposite number” in the Council. The opposite numbers are Seats 1 and 12, 2 and 11, 3 and 10, 4 and 9, 5 and 8, and 6 and 7. This system of opposing votes with vetoes by equally powerful members of the Council can be paralyzing. Long before a motion comes to a vote, the political battle begins. Bargaining of all sorts, threats, blackmail, application of political and military pressure, bribery, slander, begging, plotting, conspiring and any other means to pass a vote, or to block an enemies vote. The alliances are always changing, and the Lords of Decay see no problem in exercising outside pressure to influence the Council. All too often the political maneuvering and plotting began before the motion was even placed before the Council. Lords of Decay will manipulate and interfere with Clan matters to influence or alter conditions that the Council will meet upon; rivals will seek to counter these moves by using other Clans to prevent further plotting or progress. By plotting and scheming beyond the Council chambers they hope to further their own ends. The subterfuge played within and without the Council Chambers is unsurpassed anywhere else in the Old World.

Duties and Powers of the Council of Thirteen
The Council is supposed to serve numerous functions. It serves as the absolute head of the Cult of the Horned Rat. All (or at least most) Grey Seers obey and serve as minions to the Council. The Council relies on the Cult as the source of its best servants. It may demand the service of any Clan represented by it, but it simply can not trust or rely on such dubious allies. The Council also maintains a large number of Skaven agents. The Council functions as the highest legislative and mediating authority in Skavendom. All decisions and decrees from the Council are final. There can be no higher appeal other than the Horned Rat himself.

The Council also wields a great degree of economic control. With all the Warpstone Tithes coming from the individual Represented Member Clans, and the holdings of Warpstone Reserves, they wield considerable influence, and can exert economic pressure upon any opposing the Council will.

The Council and its servants are the only group allowed to interact or deal with the societies living above ground. Although this is law, many Clans engage in secretive actions such as raids, abductions, or small trade transactions, but all these are heretical transgressions and punishable by death. Despite the punishments, this law is often violated, sometime with the unspoken permission of the Council. Finally, the Council can draw on the military strength of any Clans to provide them with a certain amount of troops. Such troops though, are often the worse, and the strain in controlling large groups of troops from different Clans is to awkward to employ on a regular basis.

Despite all the legislative, economic, military and religious authority, the Council simply can not control all that happens in the Skaven Under-Empire, much less all of Skavendom. Skaven society is just far too dispersed and spread out to administer with that degree of authority. The divisions and plotting of the Council further complicate the already complex issues.

Current Membership of the Council Of Thirteen
The current Lords of Decay have all held their seats for at least the last two centuries. They are organized by their seating. They are not listed not by their power, but by the numerical arrangement of their positions.

Seat One-Lord Kritslik the Seerlord
Seat Two-Greylord Skrisnik-Warlord and Seer of Clan Skrisnik
Seat Three-Lord Sneek, Lord of Decay, Nightlord of Clan Eshin
Seat Four-Lord Paskrit, Warlord-General of all Skavendom
Seat Five-Lord Kratch Doomclaw-Clan Warlord of Clan Rictus
Seat Six-Lord Gnawdwell-Clan Warlord of Clan Mors
Seat Seven-Lord Vittrik
Seat Eight-Arch Plaguelord Nurglitch of Clan Pestilens
Seat Nine-Lord Verminkin, Packlord of Clan Moulder
Seat Ten-Lord Azarskittar-Greylord of the Southlands
Seat Eleven-Lord Burr-Keeper of the Temple
Seat Twelve-Lord Morskittar-Lord Warlock of Clan Skryre

Skaven and Council Dealings with Humanity
The Skaven find humanity to be intelligent, yet greedy and willing pawns to their plots. The Council of Thirteen, through its agents, interact and manipulate human affairs for their own benefit. Humans who are viewed as potential pawns may be approached by other trusted human Skaven agents with simple tasks or jobs to test their mettle. By this means the Skaven will often acquire items or tome of great power of influence. The Skaven may keep these items to use for themselves, or they may barter and trade these artifacts with greedy humans for even more important items, information, or leverage. The Skaven also acquire human wealth in coins, gold, and gems with which to entice greedy humans to do their bidding. Skaven will only deal directly with completely corrupt and evil humans, other humans will be manipulated by Skaven proxies. The Skaven through sorcery and stealth, can easily attain a wealth of information to set up or blackmail those they seek to use or dispose of, and the Skaven have become masters at using this to control and destroy people of renown and power.

Those humans who are a threat to Skaven will be abducted at night by the Skaven, and dragged down to hidden tunnels and lairs beneath the sewers, never to be seen again. Those less worthy of this treatment, are merely harassed or intimidated by human Skaven agents.

These humans who are Skaven agents are often people obsessed with power and secret knowledge, and are easily ensnared by the Skaven into a vicious circle of blackmail, delusions, power, and wealth. A few of these humans are actually Cultists who become worshippers of the Horned Rat, seeking the power and influence and the blessing of the Horned Rat. They hope to escape what will befall the rest of humanity when the Skaven shall inherit the earth. Their hopes and fervent prayers are useless, of course, but these wretched men are little more than puppets to the Skaven.

The Skaven have implemented a number of policies to interact with humanity, one of the more ingenious being their use of fake merchant businesses under the control of human agents to acquire Warpstone and other important artifacts. These items are smuggled secretly to cities under the guise of alchemical ingredients where they will are eagerly secreted away by the Skaven.

Only the Council of Thirteen and the Cult of the Horned Rat are allowed to authorize interaction with humans, but this edict is often ignored, and the Council and Cult, aware of most if not all of these violations, bide their time, waiting to blackmail or expose the Clans that are violating the edicts at a time when it serves their purposes.