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An Exploration of the Mortal Realms: An Age of Sigmar Thread

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Don't fall for FOMO practices
  • Informational
    • I was browsing through the latest White Dwarf issue an hour ago, and when I came across the AoS section I was astonished. There were actually interesting Campaign rules and genuinely good content in there. Then I started going over the White Dwarfs over the years, and my jaw kept dropping as I saw so many interesting articles for AoS across those White Dwarfs. Rules for aerial combat. Rules for character creation (as in make your own Hero on the Tabletop rules and pointswise), rules for special types of games. Rules for campaigns and realms and specific scenarios and special campaign rules for different factions and so so much more.

    But I realised then. That's how they get you. Limited monthly physical releases that they refuse to sell online. They tried to have digital White Dwarf before, but they shut it down within the year. GW will not tolerate anything that cuts their profit, and my theory is that they saw people pirating and went "that's it". Warhammer+ is advertised as having a vault full of Old White Dwarfs, and while that's nice, one thing is missing.

    The rules.

    Warhammer+ White Dwarf doesn't have the rules. It's incomplete, and it will never be complete. Because you weren't there.

    GW have become addicted to this method of release lately. Every two months or so when new books are released GW will release Battleboxes for two factions that are having Battletome (Army Books) released around the same time. These boxes have been dubbed "FOMO Boxes", because they explicitly prey on FOMO. Fear of Missing Out.

    You get an overall discount when you buy a FOMO box. That is supposed to lull you into a false sense of security where you think that's a good deal. Don't believe that. The overall cost of a FOMO Box is upwards of 100 pounds, and it gives you two incomplete armies. The total cost is about 400 points of each army, so unless you're sharing the price with someone else who wants to play the other army or you want both armies, it isn't worth it. In fact, I would argue it isn't worth it unless you want every single model in that box.

    Also in those boxes are special Hero models that are exclusive to that box. They only officially release those Heroes in their own packaging months after the fact. I had to wait a month for Lady of Vines, and her battlebox was released 4 months ago or something like that. The FOMO Box also often includes things exclusive to that box, usually some sort of Campaign or special ruleset for a Region of War and several Battleplans (Scenarios) for Narrative Play. Just to add insult to injury, I'm pretty sure they never release those rules outside the box. The Box also has lore sections that act as a preview to the eventual Battletome, but those sections are at least mentioned in the Battletome as having happened.

    What is my point in all this? Well, I'd like to think it's a bit of a PSA. I love Age of Sigmar, but there is absolutely no doubt that GW sucks. Their practices are predatory and vile, and they can get away with it because they cornered the market in a niche area that people barely pay attention to. I recommend anyone who wants to get into the hobby find as many ways to sidestep GW as much as possible. Whether it be through acquiring their material through unconventional means, getting secondhand stuff, buying from retailers who sell at discount, use proxies, use 3D printers, use online programs, or kitbash their own stuff.

    And most importantly of all, don't fall for the temptation of FOMO. It sucks to know you missed something, but that's ok. Those who are patient get rewarded. With eventual leaks and videos of "Man Reads Book".
     
  • Informational
    • Broken Realms: Teclis is out of stock and literally impossible for me to get. There's E-Bay, but I have problems with that kind of delivery. So I just watched Lore videos from 2+ Tough instead. It's not a true substitute, but it works.

    By far my favorite thing about the book is that the reason Teclis managed to pull through and defeat Nagash is because of all the mortals that helped him. Not just the Lumineth and Hysh Spirits, but the part where the Luminarks of Settler's Gain shot their beams at Nagash in unison and lent their aid to Teclis to have him win was fantastic. I love that a City of Sigmar was essential in the process of taking down a God.
     
    Codex said:
    Broken Realms: Teclis is out of stock and literally impossible for me to get. There's E-Bay, but I have problems with that kind of delivery. So I just watched Lore videos from 2+ Tough instead. It's not a true substitute, but it works.

    By far my favorite thing about the book is that the reason Teclis managed to pull through and defeat Nagash is because of all the mortals that helped him. Not just the Lumineth and Hysh Spirits, but the part where the Luminarks of Settler's Gain shot their beams at Nagash in unison and lent their aid to Teclis to have him win was fantastic. I love that a City of Sigmar was essential in the process of taking down a God.
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    Eltharion yeeting Arkhan off the edge of the Realm of Light was pretty cool too.
     
    IfIhadaHammer said:
    Eltharion yeeting Arkhan off the edge of the Realm of Light was pretty cool too.
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    That's just payback for the End Times. Well deserved.
    Dragonofelder said:
    Sounds like Anime
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    Lumineth are Anime. They're literally a bunch of people who go through a training arc where they risk their lives to bond with a spirit of the Elements and use it to do cool shit like turn their skin to stone or float on clouds. There's even an instance of someone who's mastered Zenith magic, who, as they were about to be captured in their bound state, did something like teleport themselves into the stratosphere (or the Realmsphere equivalent) to escape.

    There's an entire Great Nation, Iliatha, which does something ridiculous. Iliatha is matriarchal and greatly reveres the process of life and giving rise to it. Now, you might think that this is going to descend into a weird "women have to give birth" thing, but they don't focus on that.

    Instead, the people of Iliatha clone themselves. In fact, they cloned themselves so much before the Spirefall, that after it they decided to cut down on it and make it so that you could only have one Clone per person. It's implied some weird and messed up shit happened as they "descended to depravity" or something from Slaaneshi influence or something. Don't take my word for it though, I'm recalling this from memory. I don't have the book with me.

    But yeah. Almost everyone in Iliatha has a clone twin. I'm pretty sure that Nation is single handedly responsible for something like 50% of Lumineth population.

    "average Lumineth Twin rate is 50%" factoid actualy just statistical error. average Lumineth doesn't have twins. Iliatha, which clones all its citizens, is an outlier adn should not have been counted
     
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    So, what's going on with the Bad Moon in age of sigmar? I understand it was a thing featured on old chaos maps and that now it's sort of kind of a aspect of...mork? That the !not spider and !not night goblins worship but I'm unsure how powerful it is, or what it is.

    Is it kind of like Morrslieb but more active and goblin-ey? Does anyone else worship it?
     
    16 characters said:
    So, what's going on with the Bad Moon in age of sigmar? I understand it was a thing featured on old chaos maps and that now it's sort of kind of a aspect of...mork? That the !not spider and !not night goblins worship but I'm unsure how powerful it is, or what it is.

    Is it kind of like Morrslieb but more active and goblin-ey? Does anyone else worship it?
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    There's a wiki page on it that covers it. I haven't read the Gloomspite Gitz book, but it is on the docket, because their lore is extremely interesting.

    The Bad Moon is basically a wandering celestial object made out of a mysterious substance called "Loonstone". There are many myths about its origins, from Gorkamorka attempting to eat it but it was too tough so their tusks broke and fell on the realms where the mountains the Gitz live in were created, to the Spider god laying an egg that hatched into the Moon. The Moon itself forms a face in itself, and it has its own phases of immense power and grotty nature. The Grots call it "Da Faces of Da Bad Moon" that represent different aspects of Gorkamorka. The Moon itself has an orbiting celestial body that zips around at lightning speed which has plenty of myths about it, one of them referencing Skarsnik from WHF.

    Da Bad Moon is basically a deity worshipped by the Moonclan and Spiderfang Grots, but Troggoths (Trolls) and Squigs often accompany the hordes into battle. The light of the Bad Moon energises the Gitz by filling them with "Gloomspite", an alternative to the Waaagh. The Bad Moon also hurls shards of loonstone into the Realms, which can create fragments of the Everdank or be harvested for the Loonbosses and Looncap Shamans own needs.

    There's more about it, but that's the gist of it. It's the centerpiece of an entire book after all. I've heard a lot of good things about the Gloomspite novel and Gitslayer, so I want to check them out eventually. Gloomspite Gitz are apparently a serious case of fridge horror.
     
    Andres said:
    Do the Sylvaneth have good guy sub-factions?
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    Oh yeah, this is what I'm equipped to answer. I've pulled out my Sylvaneth 3rd Edition Battletome, and I'll go over the subfactions briefly. I just want to note that the Sylvaneth prize nature above all, and no Order faction is truly a "good guy", not even the Stormcast. It's kind of like WHF in that way. At the end of the day they're all different flavors of "good, but still do some bad stuff". If you desecrate nature, they will eviscerate you, and they don't exactly behave like humans. Their thought processes are very different, and strangely enough, I would compare them to the Lizardmen/Seraphon. In that every Sylvaneth is created for a specific purpose and understands that's what they were created to do, and they possess all the knowledge needed to achieve that purpose. Some are more free than others, primarily the Free Spirits who aren't bound to the structure of any one Glade, but most are Noble or Forest spirits who form their own clans within their own glades and create inter-clan relations and politics.

    Yes, the tree people have their own complex society. They aren't actually "trees good, everyone else is bad".

    So, subfactions:

    Oakenbrow: These guys are probably your most standard good guys. They're prideful and noble and consider themselves the "First Glade". They contain some of the most expansive groups of Sylvaneth and some of the most prominent and oldest Clans and Treelords, some who are as old as the Age of Myth, including their King Rhaeloth, big enough to stare a Mega-Gargant in the eyes who advises Alarielle. Oakenbrow's treemen are the most active and sleep the least, to spread the influence of Oakenbrow across the realms. Even the lowliest of Oakenbrow can recite the oldest stories and histories of their Glade, and they often gather around their elders to hear the stories of the Spirit-Song, incomprehensible to anyone but the Sylvaneth, but carries the weight of years. Oakenbrow hold the past in high regard, which means they're not eager to let go of feuds. Primarily with the Dreadwood Sylvaneth glade, the obligatory edgy subfaction. Oakenbrow maintain some of the greatest relations with the other races, being some of the first to fight alongside the Stormcast and having many Clans in the Living City. All the Glades hold them in high regard/respect, but some look at them with jealousy, envy and distaste due to their somewhat arrogant nature. Mechanically they're focused on Treelords/Treelord Ancients/Spirits of Durthu.

    Gnarlroot: Almost as old as Oakenbrow, Gnarlroot is the Magic Glade. They respect age and tradition most of all, and to most they seem grim, taciturn and secretive, sometimes isolationist. Yet they have to be, for they protect some of the greatest magical secrets the Sylvaneth possess, and their job is a difficult one. Many individuals sought them out for nefarious ends, and so they are rightfully suspicious and paranoid. Despite that, the Gnarlroot is inquisitive and always looking for lost lore, which results in them having the most enclaves in the Cities of Sigmar aside from Oakenbrow. They are not known for personableness, but they are known for their acts of heroism as they will do whatever it takes to quell the forces of disorder from interrupting the Cycle of Life.

    Harvestboon: Also one of the more heroic Glades, Harvestboon is one of the youngest glades, only rising during the Age of Chaos. This glade is full of a rising vitality and youthful exuberance, so much so that their acts have created a symbol of hope to their people. They truly believe that the tragedies of the past can be reversed and they buck the traditions of old, much to the disapproval of their elders. Some of their oldest are only a few centuries old, nothing compared to most of the Sylvaneth glades, and yet they are just as eager to prove themselves. They have proved themselves countless times in successful raid and reclaiming missions, and yet in their exuberance they have made mistakes and accidentally overgrown foilage over budding towns of mortals in their eagerness, not realising the consequences of their actions. Such things are always met by their sorrow and regret as they attempt to fend off the attacks from outraged mortals, but they always seek amends for their youthful mistakes. They are known to swear binding oaths to those they have inadvertently wronged. Through their deeds, they manage to make it up to the communities that once despised them, eventually becoming an indispensible part of their ecosystem.

    Ironbark: A glade that settled in Chamon, one of the first. They became one with the realm and formed a metallic sheen to their skin that protected them, and they began harvesting the minerals of the realm. Knowing they were not in Ghyran, the Ironbark sought out to use their wealth to form accords with worthy allies. Surprisingly, they formed the greatest kinship with the Duardin. The kin of Alarielle and Grungni are not often easy neighbours, yet they grew to appreciate each other's great tenacity and respect for tradition. In the Age of Chaos, Khazalid throngs marched out to protect Sylvaneth places of power, and the Sylvaneth hosted the Duardin in their glades and greenholds so they could take refuge when their holds fell. Many Duardin consider Ironbark Sylvaneth a step removed from kin. The return of Grungni was met with celebration by the Glade, and their Archduke went to meet Grungni in Azyr to meet with him. The Ironbark are also excellent smiths.

    Heartwood: A Hunter Glade that venerates Kurnoth (AoS Kurnous) to the same degree as Alarielle, which puts many Sylvaneth ill at ease. Heartwood fought alongside Kurnoth when he was still alive, and they were there for his fall and had granted Alarielle his spear. They are fierce and tireless yet patient trackers and hunters who face off against the enemies of the Sylvaneth, and they employ some of the greatest collection of Kurnoth Hunters. They also form strong bonds with their Aelven Hunter kinsmen, which other Sylvaneth don't like, because most of the Wanderers abandoned them for Azyr during the Age of Chaos. However, these Aelves never left Ghyran and were one with the Forest and with Kurnoth, such that they were dubbed the Kurnoth. Some were so in-tune that they became animalistic in nature, such as developing hooves or turning into centaurs. Heartwood are steadfast allies of Oakenbrow and always come to Harvestboon's defence.

    Winterleaf: Once named the Springleaf, they were driven out of their wondrous homeland by the forces of Nurgle and forced to hide within some of the coldest and most desolate regions. The tendrils of life there were sparse but resilient, and they grew to harness their cold bitterness into strength. They are strange and fey, carrying with them the deepest chill of winter and freezing their enemy's blood, even the immaterial forms of enemies, such that they may not escape. Winterleaf represent the fading nature of spring, and they know that for spring to return, they must pass. But before it does, they will wreak their vengeance such that the seeds of life will spring forth.

    Dreadwood: They have a story, but to summarise, they're the dark subfaction. They were born in the dark, shrouded and gloomy forests of the realms and internalised their dearful darkness. They are the most malicious of all the Sylvaneth, they are the horror and terror of the forest and the menace that steals children and lure travellers to their demise. They hate everyone, including outsiders and even other Sylvaneth Glades, and have been engaged in conflict with many of them over the millenia. While most Sylvaneth get to live in vibrant life, they were forced to squander their lives in the squalid lairs of Decreptia, watching with hateful eyes. Many of their glades swear themselves to Drycha and the Outcasts the Wargrove of Woe, those who have gone made without the Spirit Song or could only hear the War-Song blaring in their souls. Creatures of spite and malice. And yet, they are protected by Alarielle, and they respect her, even if they don't like her alliance with Sigmar. None can explain the strange relationship, but it is rumored that Alarielle is guilty about the events of the Shrouded Season.

    That's it. And damn I went overboard. Hope you enjoyed it at least.
     
    Wow, every single one of those subfactions except Dreadwood is huggable in their own way.

    I can't help but think of Oakenbrow as the Sylvaneth Ultramarines; they're the biggest and oldest and most respected glade the other glades are jealous of, who go out into the realms the most to spread the glory of Oakenbrow and make the most friends. Still, it looks like they're legit pretty alright people, they do go out and save the day, and them being the most active glade despite being the oldest is a nicely surprising twist I didn't see coming.

    The Gnarlroot glade looks lonely. It's understandable why they keep to themselves like they do, and even despite keeping to themselves they still have curiosity and heroism in their hearts.

    Harvestboon is the puppy glade. They're puppies. I love them.

    It's so cool that the trees and the dwarfs are friends for once. What a very good decision GW made when making the Ironbark glade.

    I like how the Heartwood glade are friends with the elves even though other Sylvaneth don't like them. Heartwood doesn't interest me as much because Kurnous doesn't interest me, but I sympathise that they miss hunt dad.

    Winterleaf is so tragic and sad. I want them to not be sad anymore.

    Dreadwood can go back in its box.
     
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    Recently read the latest White Dwarf. It had a section on Rondhol, one of the continents of Ghur. It had a lot of super cool and neat stuff, so I copied down a section to show people in a discord and was ignored because everybody else was posting at the same time. To make sure my effort isn't wasted, I'll paste it in this thread for preservation:

    "The Continent's flesh is a patchwork of floodplains and wetlands, dotted with oxbows and mountain clusters. Snaking between all these is a dizzying network of rapids that are bracketed by kilometre high cliffs and canyons. The waters of Rondhol churn ferociously with white froth and are dotted with protruding rocks that have spelled the doom of countless vessels. Control of the scant bridges and river passes is essential, especially to the nomadic, chaos-worshipping tribes that must traverse them in their search for fresh places to pillage. However, the fury of the rivers ensures that many of these crossing points are smashed asunder by nature, if warring armies do not do it first"

    Rondhol is the continent of savage waters. Its rivers and water sources are incomprehensible and powerful, flooding villages and towns and even cities in tidal waves that consume the people and carve through the mountains of the land. Even the land's mountains are cautious of the rivers, launching boulders from their high places to block river flows and attempt to stem the tides. When enough force is built up from these elemental dams, the water floods the surrounding plains and pushes the beasts up the mountain slopes where they are devoured. It's also where Drakatoa, the Living Avalanche, consumed Gorkamorka. There are areas and particularly turgid rivers filled with an Amber glow that are said to be the results of Gorkamorka's struggle tearing chunks of Drakatoa into the area. It's also where Sigmar and Gorkamorka fought for 12 days, and the Mountains of Maraz were crafted from their conflict. Rivers of aggresive green rush from jagged maws in the flanks of the Mountains of Maraz, said to be the blood of Gorkamorka.
     
    Codex said:
    I haven't actually read the book. Without spoilers, what are your honest opinions?
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    Good book. Despite the vampires and all, not really horror, but there are quite a few spooky moments. Oh and, a literal ocean of blood.

    Characters are all nice, all have their plots and plans and motivations.

    Interesting look at how Free Cities adapt to the realms (or rather, not all all).

    Just overall good and interesting.
     
    So I have a question about rules that someone might be able to help me with. When I first opened this thread, there was a section that said "Let's Read threads should only have quoted segments consisting of a maximum of 250 words". This technically isn't a Let's Read thread, but I just want to make sure that what I want to do doesn't skirt the rules.

    I'm planning on going over the official timeline of Age of Sigmar from the official Age of Sigmar website. It's freely available to everyone, and I want to preserve the original text instead of putting my own interpretation over it. However, at every stage, I have commentary planned to flesh out the small blurbs and give some context to give a more solid understanding of the timeline. My intent is to create something transformative, but in the process it will likely lead me to quoting a decent chunk of stuff. It's all freely available so I assume it's ok, but I just want to make sure.
     
    Worst case you can probably get a response in the Ask a Private Question section of the forums.
     
    2+ did a new video on how Nurgle is adapting to the era of the beast.

    Speaking of the era of the beast, who do you think is next? We've had death, we're doing destruction. Do ya'll think it's chaos's turn next or Order?
     
    Emphar said:
    2+ did a new video on how Nurgle is adapting to the era of the beast.

    Speaking of the era of the beast, who do you think is next? We've had death, we're doing destruction. Do ya'll think it's chaos's turn next or Order?
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    If you mean who will be the focus of the next Edition, my best is on Chaos. I'm going to bet Slaanesh will break free of their prison and Archaon will finally initiate his invasion of Azyr after breaking down the Gates, and we'll finally get to actually fight in Azyr.
     
    Did the Newborn become Dexcessa and Synessa or did it merely give birth to them? I'm not sure if the latter two are Slaanesh's children or grandchildren. If grandchildren, is the Newborn still around?
     
    Andres said:
    Did the Newborn become Dexcessa and Synessa or did it merely give birth to them? I'm not sure if the latter two are Slaanesh's children or grandchildren. If grandchildren, is the Newborn still around?
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    The Newborn is a protean entity formed from Morathi's ritual giving Slaanesh an opportunity to release a cleaved portion of themself into the Mortal Realms. Its endlessly shifting form blazed across the sky and the Hedonites followed it until it landed, where it gave birth to Dexcessa and Synessa. The Newborn isn't really mentioned after that, so I assume it gave birth in the sense that asexual lifeforms give birth. Through Mitosis.
     
    So how are the Daughters of Khaine regarded post-"Morathi Fucks Everything Up Take 2"? Are they still part of Free Cities?
     
    Dragonofelder said:
    So how are the Daughters of Khaine regarded post-"Morathi Fucks Everything Up Take 2"? Are they still part of Free Cities?
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    Long story short, Sigmar was absolutely furious when he found out Morathi just violently took over one of the Free Cities. He sent three full Warrior Chambers (how much that is can be discussed later when I talk about Stormcast military structure, which is waaaaaay too in depth) and lots of blood was spilt, with the Idoneth and Morathi herself participating. It was only the arrival of the Celestant Prime that ended the conflict because Sigmar realised that he had to be pragmatic, and he couldn't open another front in Aqshy with so many fronts already open and Excelsis under peril. He parleyed with Morathi out of pragmatism, allowing her to have Har Kuron (formerly Anvilgard) as her own as long as she properly treated the original non-Aelven citizens who were not killed in the invasion, and as long as she assisted him in stopping Kragnos' rampage in Excelsis, one of Sigmar's other cities.

    This resulted in a ceasefire of sorts, but Prime swore retribution to Morathi, for her transgressions would not be ignored or forgiven. There's a whole section about a Stormcast inciting rebellion in Har Kuron, but that's for another time. Gist of it is that Grungni is attempting to mediate things with his level head so that war doesn't break out between the forces of order, but it's really all but inevitable that things collapse.

    Whether Daughters of Khaine are still part of the Free Cities, I don't have all the details, so I can't really say. Sigmar isn't at war with her, but none of the Free Cities are keen on being conquered by bloodthirsty zealots.
     
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