WH3 Ancillary Reference

A single-page, searchable reference for every equippable ancillary (item/follower) in Total War: WARHAMMER III — rarity, effects, set bonuses, character locks, and the full mechanical breakdown of any ability an item grants (active/passive, targeting, conditions, Winds-of-Magic numbers, stat buffs, named on-hit effects, spell-cost modifiers, and ability kind: summon / vortex / magic missile / bombardment).

build_ancillary_page.py reads an extracted copy of the game database and writes a self-contained ancillaries.html.

⚠️ No game assets are included in this repository

This repo contains only the generator script and the HTML/CSS it produces — no Creative Assembly data, text, or images. To build the icon-rich version you point the script at your own extraction of the game files, which you are licensed to create by owning the game. Nothing copyrighted is redistributed here or passes through this project.

Usage

1. With RPFM, extract the game's db/, text/, and the ui/ icon folders into a directory (the script expects them under fullExtraction/).

2. Point DB (and, for icons, the fullExtraction/ base) at your extraction near the top of build_ancillary_page.py.

3. Build:

   python3 build_ancillary_page.py            # full version, uses your local CA icons
   python3 build_ancillary_page.py --no-assets # asset-free: CSS placeholder icons, no images

   Windows: use py instead of python3 — e.g. py build_ancillary_page.py. (Needs Python 3.6+; the script is standard-library only, nothing to pip install.)

   • ancillaries.html — full icons, for personal use (references your local game files).
   • index.html — zero game assets, a single portable file safe to host publicly (e.g. GitHub Pages). This is the build to share.

Live demo

https://seleucid-tools.github.io/wh3-ancillary-reference/

Served from index.html via GitHub Pages. It has no external references and no CA art — just text, CSS, and rarity-coloured placeholder icons — so it's safe to host publicly. Run the script without --no-assets locally if you want the real game icons.

How to read a card

Each card is one ancillary:

• Name + rarity — the tag (Common / Uncommon / Rare / Unique / Crafted) and the colour-coded border show the item's rarity.
• 🔒 Only: — if present, only these characters can equip the item.
• • bullets — flat effects the item grants while equipped (stats, attributes, etc.).
• ✦ ability — an ability the item grants. The ▸ lines beneath it are its real mechanics, read straight from the battle tables:
  • kind — Summon / Vortex spell / Magic missile / Bombardment,
  • timing — active duration + cooldown + uses, or passive aura,
  • Targets: self / allies / enemies,
  • activation condition — e.g. Active only when out of melee,
  • numbers — Winds-of-Magic recharge/reserve, healing, damage, stat buffs,
  • named on-hit effects — e.g. Imbues attacks: Poison.
• Spell modifiers — lines like Wind of Death: −4 Winds of Magic cost or All spells: −20s cooldown mean the item makes a spell you already know cheaper or faster; it does not grant that spell.
• ⊟ Set bonus — extra effects active when the listed set items are equipped together.
• bottom line — the item's internal DB key, handy when editing in RPFM.

Filtering

The toolbar combines four filters, so you can narrow 1,900+ items to exactly what you need:

• Search — matches name, effect text, ability, or key (Esc clears).
• Type checkboxes (with all / none) — show only Weapons, Enchanted Items, etc.
• Generic only — hides items locked to a specific legendary character.
• Faction buttons — one faction at a time, or all.

Example: "a generic enchanted item for my campaign" → none → check Enchanted Items → tick Generic only → pick your faction.

Credits & disclaimer

Total War: WARHAMMER III and all associated names, data, and artwork are © Creative Assembly / SEGA. This is an unofficial, non-commercial fan reference tool and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Creative Assembly or SEGA. Game icons, when present, are rendered from the user's own legally-obtained game files and are not distributed with this project.

(Not legal advice — provided as the rationale for the assets-stay-local design.)