Warhammer Fantasy is home to a plethora of factions. From vampire counts/pirates, mongolian ogres, aztec dinosaurs, the French, to the great empire of mankind, there is a wide variety to choose from that offer their own unique aesthetics and mechanics. It's important to note however, that due how many factions are inside the game at the moment, it can be a little overwhelming. So for the sake of making this beginner friendly, I will be covering a few of the factions while leaving out a few, and putting some together into one category. Also, not every faction has yet to be fully acknowledged, such as halflings, within Total War Warhammer, so they will not be among this list.
If you would like to see more, feel free to head to Warhammer Fantasy to be able to see every faction outside of Total War Warhammer.
Humans: The Empire is home to the human faction that uses gunpowder with a steampunk aesthetic. Bretonnia is the neighboring faction to the Empire. They're French, but honorable..
Dwarves: If you enjoy being a drunk, stubborn and prideful lad who has a literal book full of grudges and slights made to every dwarf alive and dead that you believe should be made right, then the dwarves are for you!
Elves: If you want to be a pompous and elegant race who believes the world owes them something, play the elves! There’s the wood elves who isolate themselves from the world in the trees, or the high elves who isolate themselves on an island.
Lizardmen: These are Aztec lizards riding on the back of dinosaurs while firing magic, space lasers. I don’t have to explain much further than that.
Orcs: They serve no one but themselves. Only the biggest, toughest, ruthless of orcs commands the great WAAAAGH! Bit of a silly faction with dark undertones.
Undead: There are a lot of undead factions in this game. Tomb kings are undead egyptians, Vampire counts are transylvanian vampires, and Vampire coast are vampire pirates.
Skaven: Rat men who will stop at nothing to sink the world to ruin through their sheer number and scheming under the Old World.
Dark Elves: As polar opposites of their kin, the dark elves take enjoyment in the suffering of others.
Chaos: The main villains of the Old World. These factions revel in destruction gifted by their dark masters, the Chaos gods.