"In their madness, the abhorrants' view of the Great Necromancer Nagash is divided. Some revere Nagash as a benevolent father-god and seek him out, hopeful of finding solace in his strength. Others loathe him as a force of destruction or dominance, forever fearful that Nagash is their doom or is seeking to cage them. Like lost children, abhorrants either flock to beg at Nagash's feet or flee from his gaze. To all mordants and abhorrants, however, Nagash is their god.
---
Many of these courts willingly fight in the armies of the dead, often much to the distrust and disgust of other undead lords. In the delusional eyes of some Abhorrant Ghoul Kings, Nagash appears as a beneficent god wrapped in flowing golden robes, or wearing a golden crown as he smiles down from the sky. To honour their god, many courts have built churches among the ruins of their kingdoms, such as the Corpsefane of the Nightlands, covered with ten thousand flayed faces, all stitched together with the same expression of rapture.
By contrast, those courts that distrust Nagash often travel far from the Realm of Death, seeking to escape the Great Necromancer. Many of these courts would sooner face destruction or famine out in the wilds of the Mortal Realms, and will go to great lengths to stay one step ahead of the God of Death. Some are forever on the move, like the Gluttonous Carnival. Its roving corpse caravans, heavy with scavenged meat, endlessly rumble across the land as they try to stay ahead of their imagined pursuers. Others construct vast fortresses, like the Witherclaw in Ghyran. Though its high walls exist only in its inhabitants' imaginations, its bone palisades and blood moats are real enough, and make it a formidable bastion that is fiercely defended against any suspected servant of Nagash sent to bring them to heel."
1st Edition had a lot of problems, but it was good for flavor and spice. It lacked substance though, which is why 2nd and 3rd focused on filling the sketches of the Realms with detail and substance.
Reading Broken Realms Kragnos. I love Doralia ven Denst:
'It's well known that you Stormcasts are tough,' she said. 'Are you immune to poison?'
'Not this kind,' came the reply. The White Reaper staggered, then, and sank to one knee.
'Up, Lord Sentanus,' said Doralia. 'The city needs you more than ever.'
The Stormcast did not reply but instead slumped with eyes unfocused, one hand in the gutter. Galen jumped down from his hunting-nest on the roof above, a trio of severed rat's tails in one hand. 'That doesn't look good,' he muttered. She cast him a glance, her lips pursed, and mouthed, 'It isn't.'
'My lord, we cannot yield,' she said. 'Who can possibly save this benighted place? Only the faithful, is that not your credo?'
Sentanus looked up at her, a spark of fire in his eyes once more. 'That's the Hallowed Knights, dolt. I am a Knight Excelsior.'
'Is it?' said Doralia innocently. 'Are they the ones who never give up?'
She reminds me a lot of Mathilde (from Divided Loyalties on this website). Probably a good part of why I like her so much.
Overall I like Galen and Doralia. It's nice to see such competent mundane humans in the setting. I hope to see more characters like them in the future.
Reading Broken Realms Kragnos, it's being hammered in pretty hard that not only is Slaanesh the Newborn's parent, but Morathi is also their "Mother" in a sense. When Morathi "smells" the Newborn, she begins to think that it smells familiar. Almost famillial. Also the narration explicitly refers to her as effectively their mother. Being created from Morathi's ritual of Godhood, they are not only reflections of Slaanesh, but they're also reflections of Morathi. That is why they're two Demigods from one Being. They are a reflection of Morathi's split nature between her primal and regal side. Also, since their existence comes from Uhl-Gysh, the realm of Twilight, Contradiction and Paradox, that is a part of their nature as well.
Apparently one represents Hysh (Dexcessa the Talon I'm assuming) whereas another represents Ulgu (Synessa the Voice I assume). Also, they inherited Morathi's self hatred apparently. Nothing like inheriting your mother's trauma eh?
I don't think even Morathi fully knows they're her children. I don't believe it's mentioned in the DoK book. Malerion also doesn't really get much. You'll have to wait for his Army to be released. Just like Tyrion, who's also in limbo because his model isn't out. There isn't even art of him in AoS.
Also, finally, at the very end of Broken Realms Kragnos, Grungni reveals himself fully:
'You fought for Excelsis against Kragnos,' said the Stormcast. 'Even the Fist of Gork retreats to lick his wounds. But it does not excuse the co-opting of a city for your own ends. Do you admit to the theft of Anvilgard?'
'I am a goddess, you gilded fool. I do as I please.'
The Celestant-Prime slowly picked up Ghal Maraz. Above the shattered roof, a score of Knights-Venator winged into view, their enchanted arrows nocked and pointing right at her. Snarling, Morathi-Khaine felt killing power swell in her fingertips. 'And so,' said the Celestant-Prime, 'there can be only one course.'
'Aye,' came a booming voice, filling the hall. 'Aye, lad, and it's clemency.'
A white-bearded duardin thumped into the room, his footsteps carrying the weight of aeons. He was huge and bristling with power.
'The Great Maker,' breathed the Ironweld duardin delegate, scrabbling out of his seat. 'My lord Grungni.'
He knelt low as the newcomer took his place. 'None other,' said the duardin god. 'Right, enough bickering, you lot. We've got work to do.'
Now that I've finished Broken Realms, I can give my impressions.
I could not read Broken Realms Teclis. It's not available and I can't get my hands on it. But I've read the remaining books, and I can say this without doubt.
It's good.
It strike an excellent balance between lore and narrative, combining personal and realmwide consequences with character motivations and developments in the story and narrative to create a cohesive story that smoothly transitions from one point to the next. You could make a few quibbles in terms of the convenience of certain events happening or not happening, but in terms of narrative structure it surpasses practically every other event I've ever read from GW. It provides a fantastic perspective into the Mortal Realms and its metaphysics, advances the setting, pushing the narrative forward, and also providing perspective on Godhood. Whether it's Morathi ascending to Morathi-Khaine, Teclis and Nagash's battle in Hysh, Be'lakor's attempts to push his plans forward to take the position of Everchosen and become a new Chaos God, or Kragnos' story of him ascending to Godhood and returning to the Mortal Realms. It's a good narrative and it introduces a lot of characters that you can do a lot more with.
If you can get your hands on it, Broken Realms is good. Unfortunately it's pretty hard to get your hands on it. GW have a nasty habit of decommissioning stuff at record pace.
As a final note, I really like Kragnos. For a god they made in AoS instead of one imported from a Fantasy character, he's got a strong identity and niche and memorable backstory. He is relatively simple, as Destruction characters tend to be, but he is not a humorous parody or a simple "I smash" character, although that's what he often does. His story is a mixture of ambition, sorrow and rage. You would feel bad for him if it wasn't for the fact that he brought his misery onto himself. There is also a definite level of palpable energy that comes from the fight scenes that involve him, although I think that's clear with all the Gods. AoS does a pretty good job at making the Gods people with flaws and motivations and character while also making them otherworldly in aspect and in action.
I don't have Broken Realms Teclis so I can't make comments on Teclis and Nagash' portrayal, but I enjoyed what little Alarielle we got as well as what we got from Volturnos, Kroak, Morathi, Be'lakor, Olynder, Gardus, the Ven Densts, Dexcessa and Synessa, Kragnos, Gordrakk and Skragrott. Lots of highlights.
Finished Lady of Sorrows. It's not a horrifying book, but it definitely is scary in parts, especially towards the end. Lady Olynder is pretty terrifying.
Other than that it's a good look in Shyish, the realm itself and the culture with, and also the culture clash between the Azyrites and Reclaimed.
I will say the group was lucky everything was in walkable distance. Like, I don't know how long they took over all, but not that long.
Long ago, during the Age of Myth, before the rise of Chaos and even before the arrival of Sigmar into the Mortal Realms, the Realm of Ghur was dominated not by humans, but by hybrid creatures of man and beast.
Some were the spawn of Chaos. The Beastmen, who claim to represent the savagery of Ghur. Others, however, were pure and free of taint, representing the primal savagery of the Realm. Standing head and shoulders above them were the Drogrukh of the nation continent of Donse. These Centauroid creatures were so large they could stomp an Ogor to death, and fierce and proud were they of their long heritage. They represent the earth and wilderness, and none had placed such an impact on the history of the Mortal Realms as Kragnos, son of the tribal elder Gorgos.
Little is known of Kragnos beyond the cave drawings and oral traditions of Ghur, representing the many legends of his existence, passed down from elder to skald through the tribes of the land. The stories say that Kragnos was born mortal, as many gods tended to, and that his people had shaped the plateaus and mesas of Donse into caves that could accommodate them, and then into mighty citadels from which eyries that held their eagle messengers could be held.
It was the way of the Drogrukh that they only took what they needed, but Kragnos, ever the young whelp with a short temper, desired more. After being scolded for beating his brother to a pulp over the right to court the same mare, Kragnos struck out with his closest companions to forge his own destiny. The five Drogrukh forged their legend across the Ghurish Heartlands, roaming the wilds of Thondia and the icy tundras of Bjarl, climbing the mountain of Beastgrave in distant Lendu and staking their claim on the land by forging deadly weapons from the magmic streams released from their pounding hooves. The humans of the time lived in fear of their rampage, but the Orruks were captivated by this figure of destruction that they named "Da Boss Trampla". Each telling of the stories involving them was more exaggerated than the last, all with Kragnos, son of Gorgos, as the victor.
The making of a god is through legend and myth. Through belief and stories. As Kragnos' legend grew more prominent, so did his power and stature increase. Stories abound of him strangling the Seven Serpents, of his hooves being shod with wreck and ruin, of his victories over nation after nation that failed to stop his rampage. Stories of him tumbling Ur-Haracho through sheer anger, shattering the ice floes of Bjarl to form its fragmented coastline, of him acquiring the heart of Ghur's largest geomantic nexus to forge the head of his Dread Mace. There was even a story of him acquiring the bronze disk of the shield inviolate known as Tuskbreaker from a crack in the crust of Ghur, thrown there in disgust after Gorkamorka chipped his tooth on it after attempting to test its rigidity. From the Twin Headed God's blooded saliva, the shield inherited the ability to eat magic. It could repel the strongest spells and hexes from the shamans of Ghur, such that Kragnos' Orruk followers dubbed it Tuskbreaker.
The Orruks of that time were much closer to Bonsplitterz than anything else, and they held the belief that the bones of those who have been slain, particularly beasts, held a fragment of power from the one it belonged to. To feast on its marrow is to inherit that strength, and as such many of the Orruks provided bones to Kragnos as a sacrifice to their nascent deity of destruction, believing him to be an incarnation of Gorkamorka. Kragnos gladly feasted on the bones and even crunched much of the Amberstone realmstone given to him, the priceless minerals and the bestial materials imparting a measure of their strength to him, allowing him to grow larger and more powerful. Kragnos' legend became a self fulfilling prophecy, where the more he won the more offerings he received which made him stronger and netted him more victories and followers. There was no end to his rampage or his ever escalating power.
Kragnos was happy to have the Orruks fighting beside him, for they chanted his name and fervently believed in him, and they granted him the respect he deserved for they admired strength, determination and stubbornness as much as he. Perhaps Kragnos even knew on a subconscious level that he owed a degree of his power to them.
Kragnos was dubbed the "End of Empires" thanks to his constant rampage felling nation after nation of the human tribes that frequented the Ghurish Heartlands. It was a favored tactic of him and his companion to stomp their hooves on the ground to create tremors that felled walls and buildings with the resultant earthquakes. Such stories spread across the lands from Orruk stories and cave paintings such that they spread across Realmgates and formed stories of Kragnos as a God of Earthquakes. Eventually, glutting on a diet of beast marrow and amberstone, reality began to echo the myth. When Kragnos stamped his hooves, the ground would yawn open. When Kragnos was wounded, his roar would shatter buildings and walls. The echo of his stomping began to be heard across the lands by Orruks of all stripes, as they began to mimic the beat of his hooves. The eradication of humanoid creatures became as nothing to him.
Then Kragnos got greedy.
Kragno's rampage eventually lead him to the mountain range of Vexothskol, where the Draconith stronghold lay on the skeleton of their Saurian predecessor. The Draconith are draconic creatures and masters of magic born of Dracothian who live in Ghur, and the races of the Draconith and Drogrukh were equally matched in prowess. The two were not allies as such, but they held an alliance long ago in their venture to wipe out the Dragon Ogors of Thunderscorn Peak, as the creatures from Azyr were destructive and held that Ghur belonged to them. The two worked together to nearly eradicate the creatures from Ghur, and from there Kragnos' father had negotiated a non-aggression pact between the two nations to ensure that all out war would not occur, for there would be chaos if that occured.
Kragnos cared for none of that. At the height of his ambition, he saw the Draconith not as allies, but as worthy foes to challenge. So he climbed their mountain range, yelled his challenge to the Draconith lords, and toppled their spires and statues of their patron god Dracothian and kicked their mountain lion pets to death. The Draconith could not ignore such a challenge, and this act would signal the end of not one, but two Empires, all for the hubris of one person. Gorkamorka approved.
Kragnos and his Drogrukh companions as well as his Orruk followers fought in that mountain city, the din of battle echoing across the mountain range as his companions loosed their greatbows and unleashed their might through their spears and throwing axes and other weapons that toppled the Dragons from the air. The Draconith responded with amber fire and arcane curses that turned their enemies stone. Kragnos in particular was doing extraordinarily well, the spells of the elder drakes flowing off him thanks to his impervious shield and his mace breaking the Draconith blow by blow. With his hooves smashing the earth and his roars turning their home into rubble, the Drakes were forced to retreat, but not before they unleashed their magic to kill all his companions. Then they left to destroy his home nation of Donse and the Drogrukh who lived there, ensuring the eradication of his race.
Left alone in Vexothskol, Kragnos was overwhelmed with sorrow as he was left, injured and wounded, looking at the corpses of his companions who served as his captains for hundreds of battles. That sorrow turned to rage, and Kragnos' wrath led him to destroy the Draconith's eggs, their entombed ancestors, their artifacts, all in the hope that he could wipe the Vexothskol Draconith from history altogether. His hatred did not stop there, for he galloped across the lands in search of any drake he could find so he could hunt and kill them.
The last living drakes of the Draconith resorted to desperate measures. The Dracothian Princes Krondys and Karazai, united through blood and their shared scholarly interest, knew of a race that revered Dracothian just as much as they did, and so the two of them worked together to achieve a trance to commune with them. Doing so led them to none other than Lord Kroak, most ancient of the Slaan, who heard their pleas and ascertained that balance had to be kept. As long as they gave the Temple-Ships of the Seraphon all the eggs they had left, then he would assist them in dealing with Kragnos. The Princes, left no other choice, acceded to Kroak's demands, and they initiated their plan.
It was at Twinhorn Peak that the alliance of drake lord and mage priest was put in effect. Kragnos, glut on the marrow of his enemies, amberstone and constant conquest, had grown so immense and powerful that the earth beneath him split as he climbed the mountain. The Slann did not fare well against him, for his shield rendered him all but immune to magic and it was near impossible to overwhelm him physically. His Mace swung and crushed a slann, his shield was thrust against another and the mage priest was squashed between the mountain wall and Tuskbreaker. He seemed unassailable. That is, until the earth that split beneath him was revealed to be the hollow granite horn of a colossal, long dead creature. Kragnos watched in awe and horror as the Drake Lords and Mage Priests formed tendrils of magic into the constellation form of the Zodiacal Godbeast, Dracothian himself. The God Drake wrapped his coils around the Drogrukh, weathering the Centaur God's blows as he kept him immobilised.
The final part, I will quote:
"Immobilised, his shield's anti-magic aura sparking violent green as it finally met its match in Dracothion's godly power, Kragnos was lowered downwards into a roiling sphere of energies that had gathered in the gullet of the mountain's opening maw. Around him hovered a dozen mage-priests like moons orbiting a realmsphere, each borne upon a palanquin of gold as they concentrated their immense arcane might on holding Kragnos fast for a few vital moments. The mountain, split open by Kragnos' own destructive aura as much as the warring arcane powers around the peak, closed once more. In doing so, it buried not only Kragnos but many of his assailants alive – a sacrifice deemed necessary by mage-priest, drake-lord and godbeast alike, for it entombed Kragnos in a hollow core of timelessness beneath hundreds of feet of granite. The spell of entrapment was woven of time itself and could not be damaged by mace, nor by might, nor by sheer outrage. Kragnos had been removed from the cosmic tapestry entirely by the magic of the Great Drake and his allies. But his incarceration would one day break, and on that day, his wrath would be mighty indeed…" Page 37 Broken Realms Kragnos
And such it was that Kragnos' story ends. For a time. The God King arrives to the Mortal Realms and Kragnos' legend fades into myth and story. His roars of rage trapped eternally within a sphere of timelessness that did not fade with time. That is, at least, until Alarielle's Rite of Life…
You'll have to wait a little. I'm going back to my home country tomorrow, so I'll be busy for a little while. Also, Kragnos' story is full with fight scene after fight scene, so I'm a bit hesitant that I wouldn't be able to accurately portray him without quoting huge sections of combat.
As expected of a God of Destruction, 70% of his screentime is fight scenes.
I would assume so. Particularly close to the Realm's Edge or high up in the Realmsphere close to the stars. But even then, it would require some magical sensitivity and skill to parse through it, recall it, and use it effectively. Celestium is Azyr's Realmstone, and it's highly valued for its prophetic abilities. Unfortunately it's hard to access because it floats high between Azyr's stars. Sigmar is the greatest distributer because he sometimes collects it and throws it down to the Mortal Realms to guide his followers.
Certain people are much better at this sort of stuff though. Vandus Hammerhand is well known for being able to percieve a future that Sigmar himself couldn't, and Sigmar is the God.
I shouldn't be surprised, because they're as endemic as their smaller counterparts, but I wasn't expecting the Skaven to turn up. Now I have… a few questions.
How did the clans as a whole survive? Did the Horned Rat jump ship too? Who are they working for now?
And on an unrelated note… how powerful and advanced are guns in AoS?
Thank You in advance for the answers, (probably) Codex.
I shouldn't be surprised, because they're as endemic as their smaller counterparts, but I wasn't expecting the Skaven to turn up. Now I have… a few questions.
How did the clans as a whole survive? Did the Horned Rat jump ship too? Who are they working for now?
And on an unrelated note… how powerful and advanced are guns in AoS?
Thank You in advance for the answers, (probably) Codex.
The Horned Rat ascended to become one of the Chaos Gods in the End Times. Skavenblight merged into the Realm of Chaos and turned into Blight City, the Horned Rat's domain. The Skaven are the most unchanged of the races, they're just far more numerous than they used to be to match the new sense of scale of the AoS setting. Instead of "Clan Eshin" or "Clan Moulder" it's now "Clans Eshin" and "Clans Moulder". Each of the Great Clans has expanded into many, many, many smaller vassal and splinter clans under the general leadership of the Clan's central authority.
Aside from Moulder, Pestilens, Eshin and Skryre, there's also the Masterclan (Grey Seers and Verminlords) and Clans Verminus (Foot soldiers, Stormvermin and Clanrats). The Skaven's Blight City is built on a gigantic chunk of warpstone and they're still up to their usual shenanigans, but in order to enchance their chaotic nature they have the ability to create "Gnawholes". These are holes in reality equivalent to Realmgates that allow them to traverse the Realms, but unlike Realmgates they're unstable and temporary and entirely unpredictable. Sometimes it doesn't even lead where they expect it to lead. Unfortunately for everyone else, they also cannot be predicted by their enemies so the Skaven can do some serious damage if they pop out in the right place.
If they pop out in the right place. They're likely to just end up in some dank underground lair full of monsters without the direct guidance of the Horned Rat.
Clans Pestilens also has a pretty friendly relationship with Nurgle. Pestilens Skaven have the "Nurgle" keyword and can be allies to Nurgle. What this means is that they benefit from Nurgle buffs and aren't affected by abilities that wouldn't affect Nurgle units. Also notable, Eshin Skaven are a higher power level, to match the enemies in this reality.
In terms of guns? Entirely depends on the faction, but widespread industry is somewhat difficult iin the Mortal Realms due to the incredibly varied nature of the Realms. However, through adaptation and ingenuity, the Ironweld Arsenal of the Free Cities has created industrial powerhouses like Hammerhal Aqsha and Greywater Fastness to mass produce all sorts of guns. But it should be noted that crossbows and regular bows are used just as often, because this is a fantasy setting and sometimes the bows and crossbows are magical and fire special bolts of lightning and magic.
The power of the guns depends on the production and bullets. Blessed runic pistols wielded by the Order of Azyr full of Nullstone Bullets can kill Wizards and destroy spells for example. Guns with Emberstone powder would have explosive and high impact force. Kharadron Overlords are in a completely different level, firing machine guns or assault rifles with high impact pressurised Aether Gold that solidifies on the point of impact. There's a lot of variety here.
Many thanks.
Those firepower disparities sound insane, but that's heroic high fantasy for you.
What's changed with the Horned Rat ascending to become a Chaos deity? Is it just a matter of power?
He's become more powerful and the Skaven are Chaos now, but to be honest there isn't much of a difference. Archaon hates the Skaven and Be'lakor doesn't really care for them. Most of the Chaos Gods don't consider the Horned Rat much of an equal at all and I struggle to say that he's part of the Great Game. Unfortunately the Skaven are at an awkward spot where they're the only ones who haven't had much of a change at all in the transition to Age of SIgmar. Their involvement in the plot is largely secondary and they're mostly there to provide some comedy and lightheartedness with their usual slapstick horror elements that they typically employ.
The biggest thing they've done plotwise is ruin Nagash's plans and stop the Necroquake from going as planned. Nagash just can't seem to predict these rats. IMO they just don't want to do anything major with the Skaven until they update their model range. Some of their models are still from the 90s and made of resin.
Emberstone, the Aqshian Realmstone, also makes people bloodthirsty and angry. Amberbone makes people wild. Lots of the more overt Winds make people feel a certain way. Part of why they're known as Cursestone.
Ulgu's Falsestone is pretty interesting in that it doesn't want to be found. It's impossible to find if you don't have Windsight, and it creates hallucinations and illusions on those around it. It's also thick and viscous, kind of like spider webs.
