Post by Fadril Adren on Aug 9, 2015 15:06:13 GMT -5
Warhammer: Age of Sigmar is a models strategy skirmish-level wargame set in the new Warhammer Fantasy setting that was formed after the world-sundering events of the The End Times.
According to Games Workshop it is a product that will remain supported and updated using a "living document", meaning it will be constantly updated rather than re-released as a new thing each time (for example, version 1.2, version 1.3, version 1.4, and so on). The initial rulebook only consisted of four pages which can be found for free online (here), with additional updates to come. Every model in the older Warhammer (or at least the models still in production when it was released) receives stats through a "Warscroll", a downloadable stat card. On July 3rd, 2015, the Games Workshop main page was altered to have Age of Sigmar rather than Warhammer Fantasy as its category. You can still click to view models by their 8e army, although now another sorting option shows armies by race and the new four factions.
As for the Warscroll Compendium released online for free, it did what it was prophesied to do and basically made it so your prior investment in Warhammer miniatures is compatible.
Games can be played on a MUCH smaller scale, although there is no upwards limit on the size of the match. In fact, the second page of the rules state a player can literally field everything you own, until you run out of space on the field. One would hope that most people will not actually do this unless their opponent does the same. Older players feel it is harder to make a game fair between both players than to win. There are various homebrew rules that attempt to provide a point system for those who want it. Thus far, the "need" for a points system and concerns for balance has been a sticking point for many long time WHFB players. However, in practice, Games are balanced during deployment, with players being able to react in real time to their opponents unit choices making balance up to the participating players.
As a skirmish game round bases will be primarily used, although Games Workshop specifically pointed out repeatedly in the corresponding White Dwarf release that any base size or shape is viable as now measurement will be made from the model itself. As base size no longer matters, models no longer are made to rank up BUT there are a few Warscrolls that give unit bounses if they do. Games Workshop claims formation does not matter, and bringing ranked models on square bases on movement trays is still viable.
Despite the actual end of End Times indicating only one figure survived, Age of Sigmar allows any character to be fielded; in fact, some such as Grimgor who had confirmed deaths are still playable, although who specifically survived lorewise other than Sigmar and the Incarnates is in doubt. The tagline in fluff states "Not all perished in the destruction of the world. Hidden in shadow realms, alternate dimensions or protected by fell magic, they endured the darkness of the void and emerged once more. Warhammer Age of Sigmar reintroduces these legendary heroes and notorious villains, though not all will come back as you remember them." So expect new models.
The names of every classic Warhammer race was changed, most likely for maximum copyright. The pre-order date was set for July 4th, and release July 11th.
The game now has only four Grand Alliances, grouped into different Factions and races. Despite this, there are NO limitations on models AT ALL. In a vanilla game you can put any model in the game into your force. You can field an army of half Aelves and half Duardin, with a few characters from Daemons and Tomb Kings. Stormcast Eternals and Savage Orcs, WAAAGHing it up against the Blüd God and his army of Treekin. Want to have an airforce of Gyrocopters, Screamers, and Dragons? Go for it. How about Cyclopean Giants Gargants and their Goat(man) herds? Maybe a plague army of Bubonic rats and Nurgle's best with some Fanatics and Witch Elves Aelfs to spread the rot? Go for it. The army choice is now yours. BUT there are scenarios that will give bonuses (and negatives) depending on what you've chosen.
Age of Sigmar: SETTING
The new setting is made up of nine Realms. Each Realm represents a magical Wind and its properties and Sigmar ruled them all initially. Unfortunately, the ninth Realm is basically the Northern Wastes from the Old World, and is Chaos incarnate. The Realms are connected through gates called "Realmgates".
* The Realm of Aqshy (fire) Lands of passions untold and volatile landscapes. In this realm, aggression is born and carried afar upon hot, gusting winds.
* The Realm of Hysh (light) Once the domain of reason and symmetry, here there is still purity. The very lands themselves are rife with symbolism and hidden meaning.
* The Realm of Azyr (Heavens) is Sigmar's personal domain. Azyr glitters like a swirl of celestial jewels.
* The Realm of Shyish (Death) is the domain of endings and silent decay, where all is in decline. No realm is more haunted, for all gates to the Underworlds reside here.
* The Realm of Ghur (Beasts) is a primeval realm of untamed savagery, all of its lands have one thing in common: only the strongest can hope to survive here.
* The Realm of Chamon (Metal) Dawn breaks golden over the hard and unyielding lands of this realm. Strange transmutations abound amongst its vast mountain ranges.
* The Realm of Ulgu (Shadow) Thirteen regions, each a realm of secrets and riddles whispered upon a breeze. All the shrouded countries are saturated with illusion and lurking menace.
* The Realm of Chaos (Dark Gods) Roiling, inconceivable, this realm encompasses nightmarish landscapes beyond counting. Those who trespass upon such domains are devoured, grotesquely transformed, or damned.
Picture of the new Realmgate Scenery models
After floating through the void of nothingness after Chaos's destruction of the Warhammer Fantasy world, Sigmar found the metal core of the planet which was in fact once the core of the twin-tailed comet that heralded his own birth. Some time later, he made friends with some space-dragon named Dracothian who was made of stars saw that core sparkling in the nothingness. He named it Mallus and befriended Sigmar, then revealed his role as the being who restarts realities before gathering the magics of the old setting and creating the new one. It drew the souls of thousands and more of beings who had survived the destruction wrought by Chaos, who saw Sigmar and Dracothian as their leaders. They forged the light around them into a new city, Azyrheim which surrounds Mallus and includes a halo of floating buildings. Every race was present in the cloud of souls, and each of their ideals and styles went into it (one can assume the Orcs just painted stuff).
Eventually the spirits grew new bodies just like their old ones where they rebuilt the past cultures or formed new ones, reproduced, and mortal life began again although exactly how long souls kept reincarnating for is undefined; language used hints this is an ongoing process rather than a one-time thing. Some souls were reborn within the winds. Although it is stated all races were present in the could, it is also stated that no Elves could be found until later, so there is a minor lore disconnect that may mean only Half-Elves were in the cloud (as a compromise between the two statements) to instill Elfish architecture in Azyr. In time, the city was crowned by a MASSIVE statue of Sigmar which forms a fortress called Sigmaron.
After forming the Mortal Realms, Sigmar then sought out the other beings who survived as well, all former Incarnates once bound to the Winds of Magic.
The greatest Human realm, Azyrheim
Grimnir and Grungni were chained to a mountain in the Realm of the Fire Wind, and refused to give any information to him about how they got there. After freeing them they both pledged themselves to his service. Grungni, who is now a crippled smith god, taught the various mortals metalworking and brought their general technological level back to the point where it had been prior to Age of Sigmar. He then gathered the Dwarfs, now called Duardin, to himself and forged a new mountain Hold called the Iron Karak for them to dwell in. Grimnir on the other hand wanted his debt repaid immediately, so Sigmar requested he fight Vulcatrix, the Mother of Salamanders (with Salamanders themselves apparently being the origin of ALL FIRE, EVERYWHERE). Both of them were destroyed in the conflict by shattering into thousands of pieces that rained over the Realm of Fire (while Grimnir's beard was on fire). The fragments of Vulcatrix created the volcanoes that dot the Realm of Fire, while the fragments of Grimnir are unknown.
Grimnir is battling the Mother of Salamanders
Sigmar then found Tyrion and Teclis. Tyrion is a god proper, the Lord of Light and is the one who actually holds domain over the Lore of Light. He is blind, and can only see through Teclis's eyes. They attempt to find Elf mortals, but are unable to and eventually give up to join Sigmar's pantheon of Order.
Malekith somehow fused with his dragon Seraphon during End Times, and woke up as the god of the Lore of Shadow who called himself Malerion, completely alone. He searched for other beings and eventually found his mother Morathi, who has "changed" and has the companionship of Daemons made of pure shadow. Eventually they too joined Sigmar (no word on if they're taking back up the old family practices).
Alarielle awoke alone, although she still had magical seeds from the old setting. She planted them everywhere and created Fey beings as well as new treefolk, and although she did join Sigmar eventually she nonetheless shunned others in favor of her pod people.
Gorkamorka, the merged Gork and Mork (or is it Mork and Gork?) was found by Sigmar trapped in sapient amber named Drakatoa that had claimed the Realm of Beasts for itself. Sigmar smashed it open, and Gorkamorka acknowledged him as his Warboss (cue O&G players seeing green...and red).
Orruks!
Nagash was kicking back in the Afterlife, and there's no word on how Sigmar found him or secured his assistance. All that's know is that Nagash took over control of the various Afterlifes again, becoming the god of all (most likely human) Underworlds. He also brought back his right-hand man, Arkhan.
Many, MANY years after End Times Sigmar has gathered most of the mortals left in the Warp together, and has created a full pantheon that includes many of his fellow Incarnate gods, lesser gods, demigods, and even some strange and random monsters and beings willing to cooperate. Initially, all went well; Nagash formed a proper afterlife that does not include any Chaos soul-eating and had Undead do the bulk of the construction efforts. Grungni continued teaching mortals of technology and smithing, and although Gorkamorka was EXTREMELY bored and irritable Sigmar appointed him to the task of hunting and killing things bigger than himself, which kept the greenskin god entertained.
When Chaos rediscovered the Winds of Magic and found that instead of water/wind-like magic they are now a whole planet divided in zones, they assaulted the world to reclaim their might. But the new pantheon was strong, as were their servants, and Chaos found it difficult to beat them. Alarielle abandoned the defense of the Realms in favor of only fighting within her own Realm, the Realm of Life, to defend it from Nurgle using guerrilla warfare and ambush tactics. The efforts of Order were further weakened when Tyrion and Teclis with Malerion left during the battles against the Four's armies to find Slaanesh, who had eaten so many souls during the End Times that he had become bloated and unable to even move in the small cave he had been hiding in. Then, Slaanesh's forces suddenly railed, sensing the disappearance of their master, and despite 7/8 of the Realms having been taken by Chaos they fled the battles to launch in pursuit while Khorne (at Tzeentch's manupulation) attacked them from behind which prevented them from saving Slaanesh. What exactly happened to Slaanesh is not known, although the souls of the Elves that Slaanesh has consumed from the old world suddenly appeared in the new one (given that the Island of Blood main character, Prince Althran, now has an End Times Warhost it is suggested they simply popped out of Slaanesh as they were similar to the Greek Gods being vomited by Cronus after Zeus cut his balls off hilariously enough). The reborn Elves are now called Aelfs.
Stormcasts fighting Chaos!
Gorkamorka, tiring of being in a "civilization building" state, broke from the pantheon by forming a one-god "WAAAGH" through all eight Realms and the Warp, then embarked on a return trip the same way until Sigmar broke him back into Gork and Mork (or Mork and Gork?) where they settled into the Realm of Beasts.
Finally, at the battle for the location containing a Realmgate to each Realm, Nagash backstabbed Sigmar and the rest of Order then left in a mad dash back to the Realm of Death. Sigmar chased after him in anger before realizing the main battle was still going on and returned to see Chaos has laid siege to each Realm. Sigmar, disgusted, called on Tyrion and Morelion to take a moment from capturing Slaanesh and help him and the mortals forge a magical barrier preventing Chaos from entering Azyr (or the all-seeing Tzeentch from seeing past it), then shut the gates to the Realm and began preperations to defend against the incoming siege. Nagash returned to the Realm of Death thinking he's won only to find the Skaven had blown up his Black Pyramid. AGAIN. Archaon appeared and killed Nagash, although Nagash's soul survived (he controls the afterlife now, where else would he go?) and began reforming his body (so Nagash was reset back to pre-End Times, although he can actually appear on the battlefield now if he wants to).
Nagash! The Ultimate Power of Undeath
Enraged by the manipulation, Khorne then attacked the ENTIRE REST OF CHAOS and drove them out, allowing the forces of Order to regroup and retake the lands claimed by Chaos until they had been forced back to the very last Realm, the Realm of the Warp. During the battles the Horned Rat had managed to take Slaanesh's spot in the Chaos pantheon, renaming himself the "Great Horned Rat". The other three Chaos Gods thought very little of him, although Skavenblight was allowed to become a section of their part of the Warp (due to the mistakes of the Skaven however, it half sunk back into the material plane which in turn gives Skaven the ability to appear in any of the Realms at will). Even Archaon believes himself above the Skaven among the Chaos faction, and he spits in the face of the Great Horned Rat directly.
The player-driven story of the game starts as Sigmar creates the Stormhosts, reforges (no pun intended) his old ties with the other forces of Order, and sends their combined forces through the Gates of Azyr to beat some Chaos ass with the ultimate goal of taking the fight to the Warp itself.
It has been a very long time since End Times ended, and many, MANY generations of mortals have lived and died. The previous setting is now called the Age of Myth, with End Times and what came after the Age of Chaos; Sigmar's unification of Order, and the point where Chaos for the first time began to lose power and territory to him, is the Age of Sigmar.
The plot will supposedly keep advancing after this using scenarios. Scenarios specify what models you must have, meaning that its more likely GW will sell specific sets simply because updates will revolve around you having specific things to get the most out of them.
Age of Sigmar: Factions
There are currently 4 Grand Alliances in Age of Sigmar. Order, Chaos, Destruction, and Death. The Winds of Magic, and thus their aligned Factions, are placed accordingly.
The Alliance of Order:
Saraphon Battle Chaos!
The factions united under Sigmar, interested in defeating Chaos and...well, just kind of surviving. Races are no longer homogenous; Dwarf, Elf, Human, even some Undead live and dwell alongside each other with all previous conflicts forgotten. Some cultures from the past world survived, and new ones have appeared as Sigmar united the mortals from many settings lost in the Warp.
Unfortunately Sigmar cannot keep the other Incarnates in check. Nagash and Gorkamorka went off to make their own factions, half of the Duardin bound to Fire need payment to do anything and are barely loyal, and the three factions of Elves or Aelfs keep leaving to do their own interests.
On top of that, Sigmar white-knighted when he saw Warriors Mortals torturing a maiden (unspecified race), complete with a "M'lady" and refused to leave her despite her claims she was "unclean". He carried her to Sigmarheim where she was fully healed of both physical and mental scars by his Aelfs. He failed to notice she has two shadows...fans speculate she is anyone from Slaanesh to Isha or Lileath to the Sisters of Twilight remerged; given the shadows and the state of the Realm of Shadows it's possible Morathi has a hand in it.
The current Alliance of Order are Humans (Bretonnians and Empire), Aelfs (Highborn (High Elves), Exile (Dark Elves), Wanderers (Wood Elves)), Saraphon (Lizardmen), Duardin (Dwarfs), Sylvaneth, and Stormcast Eternals.
The Alliance of Destruction:
The WAAAGH!
The Orcs of Orcs & Goblins, lead by Gorkamorka, the two-headed combined form of the old gods Gork and Mork (or is it Mork and Gork?), who separates back into the two when greenskins fight each other. Confirmed that Gork is the brutal one while Mork is the sneaky one, though that has been implied if not outright stated for years. He was intially interested in Sigmar's plans until he got bored and lead the savage elements of the reborn world on a massive reality spanning WAAAGH and finally settling to his realm made of Ghur, the Wind of Beasts. Now they're predictably trying to get in as many fights as they can, and don't really care about exactly who it is that they're fighting. Their Shamans are now called Ju-ju Doks, and are exclusively Savage Orruk.
The current Alliance of Destruction Factions are: Orruks and Grots and Ogors.
The Alliance of Death:
Necromancer Raising His Army
The spooky side of things. Same goals as Order, but they don't play nice and their secondary goal is ruling over the survivors after Chaos is gone. Considered the best defended realm after Sigmar's (since controlling all Afterlifes means any mortals who dies and don't get taken by Sigmar or Chaos go to him. Theoretically this would give him one of, if not the, most numerous army, with the dead of seven realms. Plus, undead don't need rest or nourishment and can pop up anywhere at anytime, bonus points for being scary).
Nagash came back with the Wind of Death, took control of the Afterlifes in the new setting and formed the realm of Shyish. He allows living mortals to remain in his realm, but they must worship him (probably to provide blood for the vampires to feed off too). This departure from his "...turn the entire world into a kingdom of death, were no action would be taken except when he willed it" plan suggests he may have learned something from all his experiences. Going by promotional photos from the book, Nagash has brought back at least three of his Mortarchs; Arkhan (obviously), Neferata and (surprisingly) Mannfred (despite him. dooming the previous world going "I'll betray you to Chaos, then I'll betray Chaos then I'll betray you again, ah forget it, I serve me!").
The current Alliance of Death Factions are: Vampire Counts and Tomb Kings.
The Alliance of Chaos:
Khornites Charge Upon the Field of Battle!
Demons - Khorne has new Daemons, the "Khorgoraths" who are mortal men so infused with Khorne's magic their skin becomes like liquid boiling blood with skulls bubbling within, and in time they come to resemble Khorne himself not unlike Great Unclean Ones resemble Nurgle.
Slaanesh gorged himself on souls during End Times until he was so bloated he was unable to move, and spent post-End Times hiding in a cave while digesting. Tzeentch manipulated Khorne into attacking the armies defending him, which allowed the Aelfs Tyrion and Malerion to kidnap him which removed him from the Great Game. Slaanesh's forces, who are justifiably worried that their god(dess) is missing, are currently invading Ulgu in search of Malerion for clues as to where their god(dess) is. To quote White Dwarf, "THE FORCES OF CHAOS HAVE ARRIVED...BUT WHERE IS THE DARK PRINCE?" The other Chaos Gods are actually happy he/she/it is gone, but the Chaos Gods have always hated each other so that's to be expected.
It is possible that Slaanesh is being kept hidden while Tyrion works him over, perhaps to make Slaanesh give back Aliathra's soul.
Once Chaos had taken 7/8 of the Realms, with Sigmar as the only holdout, Khorne blitzed his way into Nurgle's Garden and Tzeentch's Maze, allowing the other factions to reclaim their lands (although the Daemon-wrought damage now makes them resemble something out of Brütal Legend).
Mortals of Chaos - Warriors of Chaos have a new name, and that is...mortals. Chaos is still here and broadly similar to what they were originally. They are apparently still barbarian tribesmen, though it is unknown if the "Mortal Realms" have a North for them to be centered in. The Glottkin are still around. The most prominent of the mortal servants of Chaos so far is a group called the Khorne Bloodbound; you can probably guess which Chaos God they serve just by looking at the name. Archaon the Everchosen was tested once again by each of the Chaos Gods following the End Times, as they wanted him to turn to them as their new supreme champion. Once again he defeated their challenges, and each granted him new powers until he was a demigod, and Incarnate of Chaos itself. Great Horned Rat attempted to give him a blessing upon joining the pantheon, but Archaon refused it and spat in its face.
Their faction includes the old Chaos Dwarfs.
Khorne's new warriors all have names alluding to their deity's blood and decapitation fetish.
Slaughterpriest
Bloodsecrator
Bloodstoker
Skullgrinder
Deathbringer
Red Headsman
Skaven - They still exist. They are still aligned with Chaos.
The Great Horned Rat ascended as the god of blight (no doubt annoying Nurgle since that's supposed to be his job) and the fourth major Chaos God after Slaanesh's disappearance, but only the Skaven worship him and the other gods (along with Archaon) look down on him, seeing him as a scheming usurper rather than a true equal. He's hoping to get more power, and the Skaven do remain numerous.
The day Horned Rat was accepted into the Four, Chaos drew Skavenblight into itself as a fifth realm in the Daemon-controlled Warp, which was renamed Blight City. In true Skaven fashion however, they dug their burrows too deep and accidently sunk Blight City halfway back into the material plane. This turned out to be a blessing as now Skaven can travel anywhere from Warp to material plane at will and bring anything Chaos friendly with them at the moment with.