An Exploration of the Mortal Realms: An Age of Sigmar Thread
- Thread starter Codex
- Start date
- Discussion
Codex
Fantasy Addict
- Pronouns
- She/Her
I assume you're talking about the infamous "Squignos" list. It's funny that it's actually kind of optimal. Kragnos turning the normally 2d6" charge roll to 3d6" and increasing max charge distance from 12" to 18" is a very big deal for a charge based army, and the Squigs greatly appreciate it. Use Jaws of Mork for the rerolling moves ability and Loonboss on Giant Squiq for the extra 3" move and pick up the teleportation and run and charge spells for Gitz and you got yourself a mobile army that can rack up some damage. Kragnos is no slouch in combat either, and he's such a threat that people will want to take him down, letting you sneak away with battle tactics and objectives.
Unfortunately the Bad Moon still sucks and the Loonshrine does not encourage highly mobile armies with its static 12" range. The Gitz book really needs to come out sometime next year.
I was just reffering to the general clash of vibes that are Kragnos and Gloomspite in general, although that does sound fun
Codex
Fantasy Addict
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Kragnos/Ogors is also fun. Ogors are all about charging, and they have a special ability that lets them roll a number of dice equal to their unmodified charge roll. This means that rolling 3D6 is just straight up better, because it does not count as a modification.
Codex
Fantasy Addict
- Pronouns
- She/Her
I was reading Broken Realms Be'lakor, and I think I came across one of the most ridiculous and absurd yet awesome moments I've ever read in Age of Sigmar. Lord Kroak as a fleet commander of an armada of space ships:
"The largest of the Seraphon ships was a many tiered behemoth whose bow was fashioned in the image of a golden serpent. This was the temple-ship Itza-huitlan, which had the honour of bearing the eldest of their kind – venerable Lord Kroak, first amongst Starmasters. The slann's mummified corpse sat upon its holy palanquin in the viewing orrery of the temple-ship, yet his spirit blazed with arcane power beyond even that of the Gaunt Summoner. With a mental impulse so powerful it sent scrying mechanisms in arcane sanctums across the realms momentarily haywire, Lord Kroak ordered his armada forward. Detaching from Itza-huitlan came dozens of golden barges, decorated with leering reptilian faces and glyphs in a tongue long ago forgotten. These lesser vessels screamed across the emptiness of the void and slammed into the Silver Tower, disgorging phalanxes of shield-bearing saurus and hulking Kroxigor into its labyrinthine halls. There they met the Tower's garrison of daemons in furious battle, primal strength and cold fury set against raw arcane might." Page 20-21
The sheer dissonance associated with this scene makes it so much more absurd. A toad mage is leading a bunch of lizard people in space ships. I love it.
"The largest of the Seraphon ships was a many tiered behemoth whose bow was fashioned in the image of a golden serpent. This was the temple-ship Itza-huitlan, which had the honour of bearing the eldest of their kind – venerable Lord Kroak, first amongst Starmasters. The slann's mummified corpse sat upon its holy palanquin in the viewing orrery of the temple-ship, yet his spirit blazed with arcane power beyond even that of the Gaunt Summoner. With a mental impulse so powerful it sent scrying mechanisms in arcane sanctums across the realms momentarily haywire, Lord Kroak ordered his armada forward. Detaching from Itza-huitlan came dozens of golden barges, decorated with leering reptilian faces and glyphs in a tongue long ago forgotten. These lesser vessels screamed across the emptiness of the void and slammed into the Silver Tower, disgorging phalanxes of shield-bearing saurus and hulking Kroxigor into its labyrinthine halls. There they met the Tower's garrison of daemons in furious battle, primal strength and cold fury set against raw arcane might." Page 20-21
The sheer dissonance associated with this scene makes it so much more absurd. A toad mage is leading a bunch of lizard people in space ships. I love it.
I'm not familiar with that association, though my knowledge of Chinese mythology is pretty shallow, to be honest.
Thunder/lightning are seen as sacred forces that are extra-effective at destroying evil. If you ever see someone specifically wrecking demons/ghosts/spooky stuff in Chinese fantasy with thunder/lightning, well, this is the reason.
If there's a Chinese element that I'd associate with life, it'd be Wood. It's the element associated with spring and growth. In contrast, Water would be the element associated with winter and stillness. That said, it's not as though these things are separate from one another because, well, Water leads to Wood in the generative cycle.
It's not a coincidence that the God of Mount Tai (the sacred mountain associated with the East) had strong associations with both life and death.
Codex
Fantasy Addict
- Pronouns
- She/Her
I'm not currently in the mood for content creation, so my planned effortposts aren't coming out all that soon. I could post a random fun fact about Age of Sigmar every day though. Would people be interested in that? Just whatever comes to mind. I'd keep it short and sweet, not a comprehensive essay about the diet of AoS citizens.
As another note, I recently found an amazing resource. I found a release spreadsheet that tracks the release date of almost every AoS release since its inception. This is going to be so very vital for me when I eventually get to talking about the History of Age of Sigmar from an out of universe perspective. It doesn't include the most recent releases, but it goes all the way up to Fyreslayers this year, and even includes tabs for Warcry and Underworlds.
As another note, I recently found an amazing resource. I found a release spreadsheet that tracks the release date of almost every AoS release since its inception. This is going to be so very vital for me when I eventually get to talking about the History of Age of Sigmar from an out of universe perspective. It doesn't include the most recent releases, but it goes all the way up to Fyreslayers this year, and even includes tabs for Warcry and Underworlds.
- Location
- A Pit Of My Own Making
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Sounds good to me
Currency in the Mortal Realms
Codex
Fantasy Addict
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Ok then. First fun fact:
There is no standard currency in the Mortal Realms.
Well, there sorta is, but it's only kind of. You see, the Mortal Realms went through the Age of Myth, and they likely had some sort of system back then. But then the Age of Chaos came and collapsed the majority of civilisation across the Realms. As the Age of Sigmar dawns, the people of the Mortal Realms favored practicality and survival over superficial benefits, and the nature of the Mortal Realms makes standard currency difficult.
You see, Azyrite society could probably use standard coinage when they were isolated from all the other Realms in Azyr. But once the floodgates opened and Free Cities began establishing themselves all across the Realms, problems began to surface.
How the hell do you use coins for money when Chamon shits out metal all the damn time?
No seriously, this was a problem. Kharadron Overlords would and were 100% willing to corner and destroy the market if the Free Cities settled on coins, because they can conjure that stuff in the blink of an eye. So the people of the Mortal Realms essentially continued with the system that worked best for them, the barter system.
Now, I think I should be clear in the diversity of the Mortal Realms. It is composed of eight separate Realmspheres that each have their own distinct environment and culture, and not everyone in a Realm has the same culture. The mercenary red haired and hotblooded Vitriolans are different from the gloomy, jealous necromantic Golvarians who are different from the cosmopolitan trade focused slik weavers of Bataar who are different from the advanced magitek and scholarship of Aspiria. And all of these groups I've mentioned come from the western section of the Great Parch, the central continent of Aqshy which is the size of Asia or something like that.
So at the end of the day, currency is generally determined by the environment, culture and necessity/accessibility of particular resources, and it can be distinctly different from place to place. Azyrites (those who managed to find refuge in Azyr during the Age of Chaos before Sigmar locked the gates) and the Reclaimed (those who remained in their native realms during the Age of Chaos who survived to the Age of Sigmar without falling to Chaos or dying out) are two distinct groups that have a gap between them. The Azyrites are what you would expect high class snooty nobles from a cloistered and prosperous city would be like. They're deeply religous, truly believe in spreading the good word of Sigmar and "civilising" the Realms and look down on the "barbaric" Reclaimed, whereas the Reclaimed view the Azyrites as foppish cowards who would piss their pants the instant they faced off against a Daemon.
But anyways, I'm getting ahead of myself. We can discuss the finer details of Reclaimed vs Azyrite at another time. Instead, we'll continue talking about currency.
While standard currency isn't really a thing, there is something close to it in the Soulbound RPG, because the game needs some currency to stand instead of GM fiat. The currency is Aqua Ghyranis, a special type of water from a sacred spring in Verdia, Ghyran (continent within the central Everspring Swathe, Alarielle resides there). This water is highly valued because of its strong magical healing properties, and is measured in Drops (pippets), Phials and Spheres. There are 10 drops in a Phial and 10 Phials (or a 100 drops) in a sphere. They are abbreviated as D, P and S respectively, which is intuitive.
Aqua Ghyranis, which I'll just be calling AG from now on, can heal you proportionally to how much you consume, and quantities of it can purify an area from the taint of Chaos and boost life growth similarly to the Lifebloom spell, which makes it incredibly valuable in places like Aqshy for obvious reasons. Places like Ghyran value AG less due to the abundance of it, so they look for other means of currency. Other places adopt different currencies, such as Excelsis in the Coast of Tusks within central Ghur. That Free City is built around the Spear of Mallus, a giant chunk of the World that Was made of Sigmarite supercharged with the magic of Azyr. Chunks of the Spear as shaved to create Glimmerings, which is a valuable resource because it gives you limited insight into the future, and the citizens of Excelsis trade it as a currency. It does, however, tend to create a lot of paranoia.
Realmstone is sometimes used as a currency by mages in need of it, because there's always a need for Realmstone, but its unpredictability and negative side effects (it's called cursestone for a reason) has prevented it from ever becoming a standard currency.
Then we get into faction specific currency. Fyreslayers only want Gold, and that's because Ur-Gold, the fragments of Grimnir and Vulcatrix that the Fyreslayers hammer into their own bodies and which they believe will revive their shattered god, has mingled with gold across the Realms. As such, the Fyreslayers work as mercenaries for gold in the hopes that they can extract the Ur-Gold from it. It's not pure greed that drives them, it's a desire to connect with their god. The process of hammering Ur-Gold Runes into their skin is as much a religous experience as a cultural one.
Kharadron Overlords are a mercantile and meritocratic society that deeply value monetary value, but what they desire most of all and what determines their wealth and status most of all is Aether-Gold, the substance that their entire society is built around. Aether Gold, otherwise known as the Breath of Grungni, is supposedly the fragments of Grungni's great works across the realms mixed with his breath, such that it possesses deeply mystical powers that float high in the sky, particularly in his favored Realm of Chamon. These clouds contain the mineral of Aether-Gold, which is a substance that is impossible to magically detect, yet monsters are intuitively drawn to it. The Kharadron have the ability to sniff it out (particularly their Aether Khemists), and they use their Aether Hulks and transport ships to draw in the clouds and distil them into a solid substance. They then escort those ships with Frigates and Ironclads to ensure their safety from monsters that desire it. Aether Gold is a lighter than air metal and is what allows the Kharadron to create their Endrins that allow their Rigs, Ships and even their Sky Port islands to float. Without them they don't function as a society.
Speedrunning other currencies. Lumineth trade works of art, artifacts, favors and Aetherquartz. Idoneth want souls. Chaos wants destruction. Orruks want to fight (and sometimes trade scrap or bone depending if they're Ironjawz or Bonesplitterz). Ogors want meat. Gitz want Loonstone and to follow the Bad Moon and to eat mushrooms that get them high. Daughters of Khaine want to kill and bathe in the blood of their enemies. Death doesn't really trade, aside from Flesh Eater Courts who wholeheartedly believe they're Nobles in a court serving a righteous king and sometimes work with the good guys. Gargants work as Mercenaries for people and get paid in all sorts of stuff they're interested in. Skaven trade with Warpstone. Stormcast don't have a mercantile society. They eat, sleep then fight. They only use currency when they want to hire someone.
People in Ghur have tons of meat and natural resources of the wild variety. Ghyran has tons of natural resources of the living variety. Aqshy has a lot of diverse and unique materials from its environment. Shyish has a lot of gems crushed up underneath its surface. Chamon has a ton of metals. Azyr has the most prosperous society and the most sophisticated magical society and scholarly resources. Ulgu provides a lot of truly odd and unique materials and resources. Hysh produces some of the best glass, telescopes, lenses and all sorts of elaborate and intricate devices and mechanisms and artifacts. All of the Realms have Realmstone and Stormvaults and Godbeasts and all sorts of wacky special stuff. The people of Shyish need meat from Ghur, the people of Aqshy need water from Ghyran, the people of Ghyran (specifically Hammerhal Ghyra) need magma from Aqshy to keep the constantly expanding forest at bay, the people from Ghur need the resources from other Realms to survive, the people of Chamon need non metallic food to survive, the people of the other realms appreciate the minerals of Chamon etc. etc.
It's a fascinating topic and includes a lot of variables. And I just realised this isn't nearly as short as I thought it would be. Oh well, I'll just threadmark this I guess.
There is no standard currency in the Mortal Realms.
Well, there sorta is, but it's only kind of. You see, the Mortal Realms went through the Age of Myth, and they likely had some sort of system back then. But then the Age of Chaos came and collapsed the majority of civilisation across the Realms. As the Age of Sigmar dawns, the people of the Mortal Realms favored practicality and survival over superficial benefits, and the nature of the Mortal Realms makes standard currency difficult.
You see, Azyrite society could probably use standard coinage when they were isolated from all the other Realms in Azyr. But once the floodgates opened and Free Cities began establishing themselves all across the Realms, problems began to surface.
How the hell do you use coins for money when Chamon shits out metal all the damn time?
No seriously, this was a problem. Kharadron Overlords would and were 100% willing to corner and destroy the market if the Free Cities settled on coins, because they can conjure that stuff in the blink of an eye. So the people of the Mortal Realms essentially continued with the system that worked best for them, the barter system.
Now, I think I should be clear in the diversity of the Mortal Realms. It is composed of eight separate Realmspheres that each have their own distinct environment and culture, and not everyone in a Realm has the same culture. The mercenary red haired and hotblooded Vitriolans are different from the gloomy, jealous necromantic Golvarians who are different from the cosmopolitan trade focused slik weavers of Bataar who are different from the advanced magitek and scholarship of Aspiria. And all of these groups I've mentioned come from the western section of the Great Parch, the central continent of Aqshy which is the size of Asia or something like that.
So at the end of the day, currency is generally determined by the environment, culture and necessity/accessibility of particular resources, and it can be distinctly different from place to place. Azyrites (those who managed to find refuge in Azyr during the Age of Chaos before Sigmar locked the gates) and the Reclaimed (those who remained in their native realms during the Age of Chaos who survived to the Age of Sigmar without falling to Chaos or dying out) are two distinct groups that have a gap between them. The Azyrites are what you would expect high class snooty nobles from a cloistered and prosperous city would be like. They're deeply religous, truly believe in spreading the good word of Sigmar and "civilising" the Realms and look down on the "barbaric" Reclaimed, whereas the Reclaimed view the Azyrites as foppish cowards who would piss their pants the instant they faced off against a Daemon.
But anyways, I'm getting ahead of myself. We can discuss the finer details of Reclaimed vs Azyrite at another time. Instead, we'll continue talking about currency.
While standard currency isn't really a thing, there is something close to it in the Soulbound RPG, because the game needs some currency to stand instead of GM fiat. The currency is Aqua Ghyranis, a special type of water from a sacred spring in Verdia, Ghyran (continent within the central Everspring Swathe, Alarielle resides there). This water is highly valued because of its strong magical healing properties, and is measured in Drops (pippets), Phials and Spheres. There are 10 drops in a Phial and 10 Phials (or a 100 drops) in a sphere. They are abbreviated as D, P and S respectively, which is intuitive.
Aqua Ghyranis, which I'll just be calling AG from now on, can heal you proportionally to how much you consume, and quantities of it can purify an area from the taint of Chaos and boost life growth similarly to the Lifebloom spell, which makes it incredibly valuable in places like Aqshy for obvious reasons. Places like Ghyran value AG less due to the abundance of it, so they look for other means of currency. Other places adopt different currencies, such as Excelsis in the Coast of Tusks within central Ghur. That Free City is built around the Spear of Mallus, a giant chunk of the World that Was made of Sigmarite supercharged with the magic of Azyr. Chunks of the Spear as shaved to create Glimmerings, which is a valuable resource because it gives you limited insight into the future, and the citizens of Excelsis trade it as a currency. It does, however, tend to create a lot of paranoia.
Realmstone is sometimes used as a currency by mages in need of it, because there's always a need for Realmstone, but its unpredictability and negative side effects (it's called cursestone for a reason) has prevented it from ever becoming a standard currency.
Then we get into faction specific currency. Fyreslayers only want Gold, and that's because Ur-Gold, the fragments of Grimnir and Vulcatrix that the Fyreslayers hammer into their own bodies and which they believe will revive their shattered god, has mingled with gold across the Realms. As such, the Fyreslayers work as mercenaries for gold in the hopes that they can extract the Ur-Gold from it. It's not pure greed that drives them, it's a desire to connect with their god. The process of hammering Ur-Gold Runes into their skin is as much a religous experience as a cultural one.
Kharadron Overlords are a mercantile and meritocratic society that deeply value monetary value, but what they desire most of all and what determines their wealth and status most of all is Aether-Gold, the substance that their entire society is built around. Aether Gold, otherwise known as the Breath of Grungni, is supposedly the fragments of Grungni's great works across the realms mixed with his breath, such that it possesses deeply mystical powers that float high in the sky, particularly in his favored Realm of Chamon. These clouds contain the mineral of Aether-Gold, which is a substance that is impossible to magically detect, yet monsters are intuitively drawn to it. The Kharadron have the ability to sniff it out (particularly their Aether Khemists), and they use their Aether Hulks and transport ships to draw in the clouds and distil them into a solid substance. They then escort those ships with Frigates and Ironclads to ensure their safety from monsters that desire it. Aether Gold is a lighter than air metal and is what allows the Kharadron to create their Endrins that allow their Rigs, Ships and even their Sky Port islands to float. Without them they don't function as a society.
Speedrunning other currencies. Lumineth trade works of art, artifacts, favors and Aetherquartz. Idoneth want souls. Chaos wants destruction. Orruks want to fight (and sometimes trade scrap or bone depending if they're Ironjawz or Bonesplitterz). Ogors want meat. Gitz want Loonstone and to follow the Bad Moon and to eat mushrooms that get them high. Daughters of Khaine want to kill and bathe in the blood of their enemies. Death doesn't really trade, aside from Flesh Eater Courts who wholeheartedly believe they're Nobles in a court serving a righteous king and sometimes work with the good guys. Gargants work as Mercenaries for people and get paid in all sorts of stuff they're interested in. Skaven trade with Warpstone. Stormcast don't have a mercantile society. They eat, sleep then fight. They only use currency when they want to hire someone.
People in Ghur have tons of meat and natural resources of the wild variety. Ghyran has tons of natural resources of the living variety. Aqshy has a lot of diverse and unique materials from its environment. Shyish has a lot of gems crushed up underneath its surface. Chamon has a ton of metals. Azyr has the most prosperous society and the most sophisticated magical society and scholarly resources. Ulgu provides a lot of truly odd and unique materials and resources. Hysh produces some of the best glass, telescopes, lenses and all sorts of elaborate and intricate devices and mechanisms and artifacts. All of the Realms have Realmstone and Stormvaults and Godbeasts and all sorts of wacky special stuff. The people of Shyish need meat from Ghur, the people of Aqshy need water from Ghyran, the people of Ghyran (specifically Hammerhal Ghyra) need magma from Aqshy to keep the constantly expanding forest at bay, the people from Ghur need the resources from other Realms to survive, the people of Chamon need non metallic food to survive, the people of the other realms appreciate the minerals of Chamon etc. etc.
It's a fascinating topic and includes a lot of variables. And I just realised this isn't nearly as short as I thought it would be. Oh well, I'll just threadmark this I guess.
- Location
- The Final Frontier
I play a decent amount of Soulbound, and I really like AoS. An ent, a lighting powered immortal, a soul stealing fish elf, and a steampunk flying dwarf fighting bone golems in a giant orbital ring is an entirely reasonable adventure in that game! It rules.
- Location
- A Pit Of My Own Making
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Would there not be three groups? Azyr natives, Reclaimed (side note, they probably hate that name) and refugees from other realms that fled to Azyr? I know the Darlking Coverns didn't integrate, but did others?
Also on that note is there an overcrowding issue in Azyr?
Codex
Fantasy Addict
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Many of the refugees integrated to some extent, but there is indeed a divide from refugees and the "Nobles" of Azyr. The high class Azyrite citizens are the descendants of the original Twelve Tribes of Azyr that Sigmar united during the Age of Myth. There is also the Grand Conclave of Azyrheim, which consists of 121 officials representing different aspects of the government of Azyrheim, the Eternal City and first of the Ciites of Sigmar.
On overcrowding, not really. Azyr is pretty big and Azyrheim is also big. Although to be fair there is very little content focusing on Azyr. It's always kept nebulous and undefined in opposition to the other Realms where the stories take place. However, it should be noted that Sigmar and his followers, particularly the Witch Hunters of the Order of Azyr and his Lord Veritants, carry out purges within Azyrheim to take care of the "influence of Chaos". Certain sources imply that it's a pretty dystopian thing.
The Azyrheim Calendar
Codex
Fantasy Addict
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Fun fact of the day this time is the Azyrheim Calendar, aka the Calendar that the Eternal City uses which in extension tends to be used by many of the Free Cities. It should be noted that there isn't a whole lot of detail on the actual aspects of the Calendar. It is generally agreed that time fluctuates and tends to be measured where you are in relation to Hysh and Ulgu, and that the cycles of Hysh and Ulgu where one or the other is ascendant changes the way time flows, usually from making days 26 to 30 hours long. This cycle between Hysh and Ulgu is known as the "Dance of the Spheres". What determines a year? Is it a full rotation of Hysh and Ulgu around each other? That would be the most intuitive, since Hysh essentially serves as a Sun and Ulgu as a metaphysical representation of shadow.
Anyways, the Azyrheim calendar is described in Soulbound as the RPG would need it to provide details, and it was adopted into the 3rd Edition core book for AoS. The calendar inexplicably follows the same conventions as the real world, with seven day weeks, months comprised of "roughly 30 days", and a total of 12 months in a year.
"The days of a week in order are Cometsday, Moonday, Zenithus, Sunwane, Starsday, Horizonday, and Voidsday. The first day of the last week of each month is Sigmarsday, which commemorates the day on which Sigmar's Tempest broke. This is celebrated with a festival day in most cities. There are twelve months in the Azyrheim calendar.
Starting with the festival day of Year's Beginning, the months are Coldbane, Shiverblight, Hope's Renewal, Rainstay, Highspright, Azyr's Gleaming, Meadowswell, Golden Harvests, Thresh, Wyndscal, Darkening, and Evenswinter." Page 203 Soulbound Core Book
The nature of the day and night cycle differs from Realm to Realm. Hysh is always bright, although its light dims when Ulgu is in the ascendant. Ulgu is always dark, though its shades and shadows grow lighter when Hysh is in the ascendant. Aqshy is brimming with bright red blazing flames and magma from all sources, from their bright moons to their volcanic eruptions to their blazing Realmgates. Azyr's stars never dim, always shining their light on the people of Low Azyr, while those in High Azyr frolic among the stars. So on and so forth.
I think next thing I'll talk about is going to be the moons of the Mortal Realms.
Anyways, the Azyrheim calendar is described in Soulbound as the RPG would need it to provide details, and it was adopted into the 3rd Edition core book for AoS. The calendar inexplicably follows the same conventions as the real world, with seven day weeks, months comprised of "roughly 30 days", and a total of 12 months in a year.
"The days of a week in order are Cometsday, Moonday, Zenithus, Sunwane, Starsday, Horizonday, and Voidsday. The first day of the last week of each month is Sigmarsday, which commemorates the day on which Sigmar's Tempest broke. This is celebrated with a festival day in most cities. There are twelve months in the Azyrheim calendar.
Starting with the festival day of Year's Beginning, the months are Coldbane, Shiverblight, Hope's Renewal, Rainstay, Highspright, Azyr's Gleaming, Meadowswell, Golden Harvests, Thresh, Wyndscal, Darkening, and Evenswinter." Page 203 Soulbound Core Book
The nature of the day and night cycle differs from Realm to Realm. Hysh is always bright, although its light dims when Ulgu is in the ascendant. Ulgu is always dark, though its shades and shadows grow lighter when Hysh is in the ascendant. Aqshy is brimming with bright red blazing flames and magma from all sources, from their bright moons to their volcanic eruptions to their blazing Realmgates. Azyr's stars never dim, always shining their light on the people of Low Azyr, while those in High Azyr frolic among the stars. So on and so forth.
I think next thing I'll talk about is going to be the moons of the Mortal Realms.
Codex
Fantasy Addict
- Pronouns
- She/Her
For those interested in the concept of Halflings in the Mortal Realms, a new fan made battletome was released in beta for the "Gnomad Feastmasters". Download and check it out if you want, it's great fun.
I truly love it when fans are dedicated enough to make their own stuff, and these guys put a lot of effort into it. I think they deserve the recognition.
I truly love it when fans are dedicated enough to make their own stuff, and these guys put a lot of effort into it. I think they deserve the recognition.
- Location
- Australia
Interesting thing to note, the guy who did the cover art for that also does official art for WFRP 4e.
The Moons of the Mortal Realms
Codex
Fantasy Addict
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Yesterday I spoke about the calendar. Today I will talk about the Moons of the Mortal Realms. I've spent a bit of time talking about the metaphysics of the Realms and their nature, and it is known by now that the Realms are therefore each their own individual pocket of reality. Surrounding these pockets, however, are celestial objects in orbit, often a reflection of the Realm they are orbiting. Their exact nature is unknown. Were they a section of the Realms that split from the main body? Or are they a fragment of the Aetheric Void which solidifed in orbit surrounding the Realmsphere it inhabits? These questions are not answered, but the Cosmos Arcane section on the 3rd Edition Core Book for AoS does give some interesting information.
As a refresher, here is the map of the Mortal Realms once again so you can visualise the moons I'm talking about:
In terms of each individual Realm:
Azyr: Azyr has far too many stars to count. Some of the most important are Dharroth, a moon of ill aspect, Mallus, the broken core of the World that Was, and Sigendil, the star from which Sigmar draws his power to release his lightning across the Mortal Realms. The firmament of Azyr holds many creatures and celestial objects, and it is home to many Starborne Seraphon and the Dracothian's Children.
Hysh: Hysh's passage and power determines the light and seasons across the realms, and it possesses many Ethereal Moons. Hysh only possesses one true moon, Celennar, whose spirit is entertwined with Teclis who she would teach the principles of the Aelmentiri. The remaining moons become corporeal when waxing and insubstantial when waning, the brightests of which is Leoth. The Great Nation of Zaitrec revere these Ethereal Moons.
Ulgu: Ulgu has four dark moons whose orbit is fickle and unpredictable. Attempting to follow their patterns as a guide is to become hopelessly lost. The Twin Moons, Nocta and Obta, hurl meteors against each other in a ceaseless celestial barrage. Oliatrus, the Liar's Moon, is the patron of liars and decievers. Untruths told under its shade becomes all the more convincing. The Orb Duplicita, on the other hand, is host to a race of Shadow Daemons who have a non-aggression pact with Morathi and Malerion.
Shyish: Shyish has one moon, Lunaghast. It is a skull faced moon made of dark matter which feeds on secrets and empowers betrayers and madmen. It is the ghost of Morrisleb from the Old World.
Aqshy: Aqshy's blazing surface is so bright that it's seen as a second sun by those Realms closest to it. It has three moons: Thaquia the Fireheart, Evigaine the First Spark and Orb Infernia. Thaquia and Evigaine hurtle across the outer limits of the Realm, blazing across the skies and painting them in a warm orange glow. The Orb Infernia, however, is a collection of four hollow continents connected together and fought over by four warring Daemon Princes of each of the Chaos Gods, hanging lower in Aqshy and occasionally raining blood. It plays a part in the Realmgate Wars. Also speaking of the Realmgate Wars, there also used to be a low hanging sun made from the chained and imprisoned body of Ignax the Solar Drake, daughter of Vulcatrix and a Godbeast in her own right, who was captured by Grimnir and bound using chains of Grungni to a floating piece of rock to form the Land of the Chained Sun. Long story short, Archaon frees her and binds her to his will during the Realmgate Wars, but a Runemaster of the Austarg Lodge (a vassal of the Vostarg Lodge) carved a Rune into her body that freed her of Archaon's posession at a pivotal battle at the All-Gates that led to her lashing out then escaping. She is still as large and the Runemaster who bound the rune to her was teased as alive and leading a Cult of Ignax in the Realm of Fire.
Chamon: Chamon has two moons of living metal known as the Gholem Moons. They are Alembus the Alchemist and Entillian the Chameleon, a moon that changes shape and hue as it hurtles across the void. Both moons have been altered by Tzeentch's flux magic and are prowled by monstrous metallic forms.
Ghur: The moons of Ghur are known as Koptus and Gnorl Half-Eaten. Legends say that the both of them keep a safe distance from Ghur to keep from being devoured by their "parent realm" (exact wording), as is said to have happened to the now extinct moon Dronsor. Also, Gnorl Half-Eaten is known as such because Ghur took a chunk out of it. Ouch.
Ghyran: Ghyran has a large jade mother moon known as Ghalea and a smaller yellow hunter moon named Kurnalhune that orbits Ghalea. Both were infected by Nurgle across the Age of Chaos.
Da Bad Moon: Gitz legend states that Gorkamorka tried to take a bite out of Da Bad Moon and his tusks broke, landing into the Realms and forming the mountain ranges that from the Gitz' dank homes. Da Bad Moon is a malevolent planetoid that hurtles through the cosmos seemingly at random, and hurls shards of Loonstone from its surface down towards the realms, forming new portions of the Everdank and leading the Gitz to the area to collect the stones and begin farming and harvesting mushrooms, often from the corpses of the dead.
Those are the major moons, but it should be noted that novels and supplementary materials and expansions and obscure sources apply new stuff all the time. For example, in one of the Blacktalon novels, there are the Hungering Moons in Ghur. They're a pair of moons found in the skies above the Coast of Tusks in Thondia, with one following the other like a predator chasing prey. There's the Goremoon of the Eightpoints mentioned in Warcry Tome of Champions 2019. There are the yellow Beast Moons of Ghur that host twisted followers of chaos who became mockeries of wolves mentioned in the Spear of Shadows novel, visible from the Amber Steppes. There's Arghus the Plague Moon from the Plague Garden novel within the Realm of Nurgle. There are the Whisper Moons of Shyish mentioned in a White Dwaf, and in the Vulture Lord novel there is a Shyishan moon by the name of Shyish's eye, according to the city of Lament, which is a bone white orb blazing pulsing aethereal white flame.
Beyond that there is also a random phenomenon that can overcome any of the moons known as the Blood Moon, where the light of the moon becomes read and projects a malefic light that empowers Chaos and Death. It's primarily from the 2018 General's Handbook narrative play section.
That's probably it about moons.
As a refresher, here is the map of the Mortal Realms once again so you can visualise the moons I'm talking about:
Azyr: Azyr has far too many stars to count. Some of the most important are Dharroth, a moon of ill aspect, Mallus, the broken core of the World that Was, and Sigendil, the star from which Sigmar draws his power to release his lightning across the Mortal Realms. The firmament of Azyr holds many creatures and celestial objects, and it is home to many Starborne Seraphon and the Dracothian's Children.
Hysh: Hysh's passage and power determines the light and seasons across the realms, and it possesses many Ethereal Moons. Hysh only possesses one true moon, Celennar, whose spirit is entertwined with Teclis who she would teach the principles of the Aelmentiri. The remaining moons become corporeal when waxing and insubstantial when waning, the brightests of which is Leoth. The Great Nation of Zaitrec revere these Ethereal Moons.
Ulgu: Ulgu has four dark moons whose orbit is fickle and unpredictable. Attempting to follow their patterns as a guide is to become hopelessly lost. The Twin Moons, Nocta and Obta, hurl meteors against each other in a ceaseless celestial barrage. Oliatrus, the Liar's Moon, is the patron of liars and decievers. Untruths told under its shade becomes all the more convincing. The Orb Duplicita, on the other hand, is host to a race of Shadow Daemons who have a non-aggression pact with Morathi and Malerion.
Shyish: Shyish has one moon, Lunaghast. It is a skull faced moon made of dark matter which feeds on secrets and empowers betrayers and madmen. It is the ghost of Morrisleb from the Old World.
Aqshy: Aqshy's blazing surface is so bright that it's seen as a second sun by those Realms closest to it. It has three moons: Thaquia the Fireheart, Evigaine the First Spark and Orb Infernia. Thaquia and Evigaine hurtle across the outer limits of the Realm, blazing across the skies and painting them in a warm orange glow. The Orb Infernia, however, is a collection of four hollow continents connected together and fought over by four warring Daemon Princes of each of the Chaos Gods, hanging lower in Aqshy and occasionally raining blood. It plays a part in the Realmgate Wars. Also speaking of the Realmgate Wars, there also used to be a low hanging sun made from the chained and imprisoned body of Ignax the Solar Drake, daughter of Vulcatrix and a Godbeast in her own right, who was captured by Grimnir and bound using chains of Grungni to a floating piece of rock to form the Land of the Chained Sun. Long story short, Archaon frees her and binds her to his will during the Realmgate Wars, but a Runemaster of the Austarg Lodge (a vassal of the Vostarg Lodge) carved a Rune into her body that freed her of Archaon's posession at a pivotal battle at the All-Gates that led to her lashing out then escaping. She is still as large and the Runemaster who bound the rune to her was teased as alive and leading a Cult of Ignax in the Realm of Fire.
Chamon: Chamon has two moons of living metal known as the Gholem Moons. They are Alembus the Alchemist and Entillian the Chameleon, a moon that changes shape and hue as it hurtles across the void. Both moons have been altered by Tzeentch's flux magic and are prowled by monstrous metallic forms.
Ghur: The moons of Ghur are known as Koptus and Gnorl Half-Eaten. Legends say that the both of them keep a safe distance from Ghur to keep from being devoured by their "parent realm" (exact wording), as is said to have happened to the now extinct moon Dronsor. Also, Gnorl Half-Eaten is known as such because Ghur took a chunk out of it. Ouch.
Ghyran: Ghyran has a large jade mother moon known as Ghalea and a smaller yellow hunter moon named Kurnalhune that orbits Ghalea. Both were infected by Nurgle across the Age of Chaos.
Da Bad Moon: Gitz legend states that Gorkamorka tried to take a bite out of Da Bad Moon and his tusks broke, landing into the Realms and forming the mountain ranges that from the Gitz' dank homes. Da Bad Moon is a malevolent planetoid that hurtles through the cosmos seemingly at random, and hurls shards of Loonstone from its surface down towards the realms, forming new portions of the Everdank and leading the Gitz to the area to collect the stones and begin farming and harvesting mushrooms, often from the corpses of the dead.
Those are the major moons, but it should be noted that novels and supplementary materials and expansions and obscure sources apply new stuff all the time. For example, in one of the Blacktalon novels, there are the Hungering Moons in Ghur. They're a pair of moons found in the skies above the Coast of Tusks in Thondia, with one following the other like a predator chasing prey. There's the Goremoon of the Eightpoints mentioned in Warcry Tome of Champions 2019. There are the yellow Beast Moons of Ghur that host twisted followers of chaos who became mockeries of wolves mentioned in the Spear of Shadows novel, visible from the Amber Steppes. There's Arghus the Plague Moon from the Plague Garden novel within the Realm of Nurgle. There are the Whisper Moons of Shyish mentioned in a White Dwaf, and in the Vulture Lord novel there is a Shyishan moon by the name of Shyish's eye, according to the city of Lament, which is a bone white orb blazing pulsing aethereal white flame.
Beyond that there is also a random phenomenon that can overcome any of the moons known as the Blood Moon, where the light of the moon becomes read and projects a malefic light that empowers Chaos and Death. It's primarily from the 2018 General's Handbook narrative play section.
That's probably it about moons.
Codex
Fantasy Addict
- Pronouns
- She/Her
I bought a new charger. Your fun fact of the day is that GW finally decided on revealing another preview of the Dawnbringer Crusades, the new model range that is supposed to replace the aging Cities of Sigmar range. Notably they're mentioning humans, Aelves and Duarding rather than just humans this time. Really, all this shows is a bunch of weapons. Same ol' dripfeed. The constant S's kind of prevents you from using many of these parts for armies that aren't aligned for Sigmar, but I guess you can kitbash that out.
I can't help but chuckle at the frankly stupid "ingenious combination of pike and hand cannon". That's just a bayonet. Worse, that's a bayonet attached to a firearm that will likely snap the thin twig it's attached to, or if it's some magical substance it'll probably dislocate your shoulder. Some Engineers in the Mortal Realm are getting too big for their own britches.
I can't help but chuckle at the frankly stupid "ingenious combination of pike and hand cannon". That's just a bayonet. Worse, that's a bayonet attached to a firearm that will likely snap the thin twig it's attached to, or if it's some magical substance it'll probably dislocate your shoulder. Some Engineers in the Mortal Realm are getting too big for their own britches.
- Location
- A Pit Of My Own Making
- Pronouns
- He/Him
I wonder if this post was just time filler; they need something to show, but can't show anything good yet, so they just use the first thing they can. I do like more Dawnbringer though.
Also yeah, that cannon is flying off first chance it gets. Probably won't even need to fire it.
Codex
Fantasy Addict
- Pronouns
- She/Her
They decided to do developer blog for Dawnbringer Crusades around this year. Dawnbringer Crusades were announced at the start of 3rd Edition last year, but they then went radio silent for so long peoples straight up thought it wasn't ever coming until they announced it this year with a Coin that they were selling. The Coin Malleus. Then they decided to do developer blogs showing bits of the models, but they're just bits and pieces of models without showing us the meat of it so they can buy time and try to maintain engagement.
I can't say this is the most exciting stuff, but at least it's something. Better than radio silence at least. GW are very bad at PR and communication.