Age of Sigmar: Points and Handbooks

[Cheesegear]

Well they said Gortrek, not necessarily Felix yet.

Gotrek will be looking for Felix, under the strong impression that he'll be a Stormcast Eternal.
In order to get us on board, they basically gave away the whole plot.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

What are you talking about!?

[Tome]

New Gortek novel announced. Surprise! He's survived.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

I see. That's...reassuring, I guess?

Something I've been wondering is if it's worth getting invested in Age of Sigmar's story. I don't play wargames but Cubicle7 IS bringing out an Age of Sigmar RPG after they're finished with Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay's 4th Edition. Part of me feels like it's right up my alley, like Warhammer through the lens of a gonzo power metal album! But at the same time, accepting Age of Sigmar means accepting the End Times canon, which still makes me angry and depressed because of the ignominous demises of characters and factions I'd come to care about over the course of playing Total War: Warhammer and its sequel (PARTICULARLY Bretonnia), and because of what I've heard regarding its generally poor quality of writing.

Then there's the description of the setting. So these Mortal Realms are like, floating continents based on the elements? Sigmar's realm is basically a medieval space station? What is life LIKE on these places!? What is this setting's NORMAL?! The whole thing feels a lot like Exalted, or the Hallow setting in Legend, which are both settings I've had trouble wrapping my head around.

So...how do I get past this? It feels like if there's good in Age of Sigmar, it's awful hard to get past the End Times, and then the setting looks so alien that I'm having a hard time getting comfortable with it.

[Drasius]

I see. That's...reassuring, I guess?

Something I've been wondering is if it's worth getting invested in Age of Sigmar's story. I don't play wargames but Cubicle7 IS bringing out an Age of Sigmar RPG after they're finished with Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay's 4th Edition. Part of me feels like it's right up my alley, like Warhammer through the lens of a gonzo power metal album! But at the same time, accepting Age of Sigmar means accepting the End Times canon, which still makes me angry and depressed because of the ignominous demises of characters and factions I'd come to care about over the course of playing Total War: Warhammer and its sequel (PARTICULARLY Bretonnia), and because of what I've heard regarding its generally poor quality of writing.

Then there's the description of the setting. So these Mortal Realms are like, floating continents based on the elements? Sigmar's realm is basically a medieval space station? What is life LIKE on these places!? What is this setting's NORMAL?! The whole thing feels a lot like Exalted, or the Hallow setting in Legend, which are both settings I've had trouble wrapping my head around.

So...how do I get past this? It feels like if there's good in Age of Sigmar, it's awful hard to get past the End Times, and then the setting looks so alien that I'm having a hard time getting comfortable with it.

A group of the people from my old store are playing an AoS'ified 4th ed DnD campaign. It's quite surprising just how well everything translates across. Just think of the various realms like the planes in DnD and you're 90% of the way there.

As for the quality of the writing, I can't say one way or the other personally, but from what I've heard, the quality of writing either stayed the same or improved compared to WHFB era stuff. Perhaps getting one of the books would give you a better understanding of the new setting? I've been told that the Realmgate Wars is an excellent starting point. Perhaps Cheese can suggest a good entry point since IIRC he is up to date with the early stuff.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

Just for clarification, when I'm talking about quality of writing I'm referring to The End Times specifically and not Age of Sigmar itself.

[LCP]

Honestly, why bother with an AoS RPG when WFRP4E is going to be coming out at about the same time from the same publisher? One of these settings is an actual fleshed-out world, the other is a terminally late-stage GW collage of album covers optimised solely to sell toys.

There are settings that do the multiple worlds thing and OTT magic without insulting the intelligence of the reader in the way that AoS does (the Stormlight series for one). A world where the copyright fairies mean you use your Ironstrike Nailsmiter to drive in your Stalwart Fastenspike instead of hammering in a nail just doesn't seem like a viable setting for anything other than stories about he-men hitting each other with hammers.

If Cubicle 7 make something RPG-worthy of AoS it'll be purely on the back of their own work to flesh out the AoS world beyong WAR!!!11!!. I'm looking forward to WFRP 4E but I wouldn't touch the AoS RPG with a 10-foot Storm-pole.

[Cheesegear]

But at the same time, accepting Age of Sigmar means accepting the End Times canon, which still makes me angry and depressed because of the ignominous demises of characters and factions I'd come to care about over the course of playing Total War: Warhammer and its sequel (PARTICULARLY Bretonnia)

That's well, your problem. There are no more stories set in The Old World. You could probably scrounge eBay and pick up anything that C.L. Werner has written, and the Knight of Bretonnia trilogy is fantastic. Gotrek & Felix gets worse as it goes along (until Guymer & Reynolds get their hands on it, and it gets good again), etc. But, eventually you'll stop finding good stories to pick from WHFB. But, Black Library is continuously pumping out reprints under the Warhammer Chronicles title.

So, if you like The Old World, you can always go back...But there's nothing, going forwards.

and because of what I've heard regarding its generally poor quality of writing.

Do you have any specific books and/or authors you're talking about?
'Cause Josh Reynolds and C.L. Werner are churning them out, and they're not bad.

David Guymer will also be returning to Gotrek & Felix, and he's the one who finished out G&F with Slayer. So if anyone can bring back G&F, and not suck, it's Guymer (though I'd prefer Reynolds, but, both of them know G&F fairly well).

So these Mortal Realms are like, floating continents based on the elements?

'Continent' is far too small a descriptor. You can walk from end, keep walking, and not reach the other end in your lifetime.

What is life LIKE on these places!? What is this setting's NORMAL?!

Near-constant war. And trying to find Realmgates and/or McGuffins that help your patron God expand their influence into the other planes and/or to overthrow the other Gods/armies. 'Normal people' are few and far between, because almost every aspect is dedicated to fighting the war.

Alarielle, Grimnir, Grungi, Malerion, Sigmar, Teclis & Tyrion
Gorkamorka
Nagash
Khorne, Tzeentch, Slaanesh, The Great Horned Rat, Nurgle

Rule the Realms in various ways in a great Chess game.

There are also other Deities (particularly Khaine and Kurnoth) that are Gods, but don't appear to be actually playing 'the game'. Then there are also God-Beasts, which are generally just pains in the arse.

The whole thing feels a lot like Exalted, or the Hallow setting in Legend

Yep. I like that sort of thing.

It feels like if there's good in Age of Sigmar, it's awful hard to get past the End Times

Maybe for you. I listened to the eight stories of the Mortarch of Night anthology (that's Mannfred, spoiler alert. Except you find that out in Prisoner of the Black Sun, basically immediately, and the title of the anothology immediately spoils the 'surprise' anyway...Point is, Mannfred is a ****) for a total of ~10 hours - partly because of a road trip I had to take alone - and I have to say that I wasn't disappointed.

and then the setting looks so alien that I'm having a hard time getting comfortable with it.

The only thing that can be suggested, is that you get to know the setting, so it isn't alien. I listened to Mannfred drag Stormcasts around according to his whims Stormcasts force Mannfred to guide them through the Realms, and it's fine. If you actually get to know the setting, and you still hate it, even then. Well, them's the breaks. But I'm not entirely sure how you've disliked the setting before you even know it, short of the fact that you know that an older setting that you like was destroyed to make it (but, as I said at the top, you can always go back, Warhammer Chronicles novels are still printing).

[Archpaladin Zousha]

Honestly, why bother with an AoS RPG when WFRP4E is going to be coming out at about the same time from the same publisher?

Mainly because, given what little I've seen of it (the fact that the "iconic" party on the covers is apparently fighting Skaven in Ubersreik like in the Vermintide video game, for example), I have no reason to not expect the shadow of the End Times to hang over WFRP4E like the Sword of Damocles, knowing as I play it that any character I play is fundamentally doomed to suffer and die horribly when the End Times happens, so why bother getting attached? There's no hope for the PCs any more than there's hope for Karl Franz or Louen Leoncoeur or Teclis.

That's well, your problem. There are no more stories set in The Old World. You could probably scrounge eBay and pick up anything that C.L. Werner has written, and the Knight of Bretonnia trilogy is fantastic. Gotrek & Felix gets worse as it goes along (until Guymer & Reynolds get their hands on it, and it gets good again), etc. But, eventually you'll stop finding good stories to pick from WHFB. But, Black Library is continuously pumping out reprints under the Warhammer Chronicles title.

So, if you like The Old World, you can always go back...But there's nothing, going forwards.

It's less about reading the novels and more about the tabletop RPGs that Cubicle7 will be releasing later this year. How many stories can Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4e actually TELL if it's set basically a year or so before the start of the End Times? The previous two editions didn't have this problem because they were written based off the now non-canon Storm of Chaos plotline, and depending on whether it was 2e, where it was after SoC and Archaon's invasion had been beaten back, or 3e, where it was just getting started and the PCs had a chance to get involved in stopping it, either way there was a future for PCs in those games to fight for, you could keep things going. You can't do that with the End Times, because the canon clearly states what happens, and all efforts are in vain, so basically any campaign you play will end with "And then the PCs all died during the End Times."

Do you have any specific books and/or authors you're talking about?
'Cause Josh Reynolds and C.L. Werner are churning them out, and they're not bad.

David Guymer will also be returning to Gotrek & Felix, and he's the one who finished out G&F with Slayer. So if anyone can bring back G&F, and not suck, it's Guymer (though I'd prefer Reynolds, but, both of them know G&F fairly well).

I've never actually read any novels related to Warhammer. At most I've read both Lexicanum and the other Warhammer wiki, as well as a few army books for factions like the Empire and Bretonnia and every book in the 2nd Edition of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay.

So it's really not about any one book or writer but just the general sense of nihilism and disappointment from viewing the thing as a whole: nothing anyone did made any difference in the end, and it seemed to go out of its way to actively snuff out any hopeful bits (like Belak'or or however his name's spelled destroying the haven thingy Lileath created so the souls of all those elves and Grail Knights and stuff are gone for good or something, or what Mannfred did at the very end to ruin everything). The whole thing just feels so mean-spirited.

'Continent' is far too small a descriptor. You can walk from end, keep walking, and not reach the other end in your lifetime.

But it still looks "weird," right? These aren't worlds that can be mistaken for the normal one we live in or like what the Old World looked like?

Near-constant war. And trying to find Realmgates and/or McGuffins that help your patron God expand their influence into the other planes and/or to overthrow the other Gods/armies. 'Normal people' are few and far between, because almost every aspect is dedicated to fighting the war.

Alarielle, Grimnir, Grungi, Malerion, Sigmar, Teclis & Tyrion
Gorkamorka
Nagash
Khorne, Tzeentch, Slaanesh, The Great Horned Rat, Nurgle

Rule the Realms in various ways in a great Chess game.

There are also other Deities (particularly Khaine and Kurnoth) that are Gods, but don't appear to be actually playing 'the game'. Then there are also God-Beasts, which are generally just pains in the arse.

That's equal parts interesting and kind of disappointing. I like epic quests and exploring crazy landscapes as much as the next gamer, but at the same time it sounds like the RPG that would result from such a world won't have time for things like "the heroes are roped into starring in an opera," or "the heroes discover a local butcher is making sausages out of nurglings," or "people are randomly bursting into flames at an annual wine-tasting festival."

Yep. I like that sort of thing.

I admit, I am getting more used to settings like that.

Maybe for you. I listened to the eight stories of the Mortarch of Night anthology (that's Mannfred, spoiler alert. Except you find that out in Prisoner of the Black Sun, basically immediately, and the title of the anothology immediately spoils the 'surprise' anyway...Point is, Mannfred is a ****) for a total of ~10 hours - partly because of a road trip I had to take alone - and I have to say that I wasn't disappointed.

Yeah, I utterly LOATHE Mannfred for betraying the world at the end of the End Times. And now he gets REWARDED by being brought back and being more powerful than ever?! IT'S NOT FAIR!

The only thing that can be suggested, is that you get to know the setting, so it isn't alien. I listened to Mannfred drag Stormcasts around according to his whims Stormcasts force Mannfred to guide them through the Realms, and it's fine. If you actually get to know the setting, and you still hate it, even then. Well, them's the breaks. But I'm not entirely sure how you've disliked the setting before you even know it, short of the fact that you know that an older setting that you like was destroyed to make it (but, as I said at the top, you can always go back, Warhammer Chronicles novels are still printing).

That's the thing: I'm getting more and more interested in the setting, especially after reading the Sylvaneth battletome. And while I'm disappointed that the books don't really address the setting's "culture" and "everyday life," I understand that's not the purpose of books like the Battletomes, and when the RPG comes out it'll probably be able to address those aspects more thoroughly. It's not the SETTING I dislike, and in fact I'm starting to enjoy it. It's got a lot of potential for interesting stories to roleplay in. But again, the End Times looms over it and brings all the frustration I have about it with it. I want to enjoy this, but it feels like the canon is essentially telling me "If you want to like Age of Sigmar, you have to like the End Times too," and conversely "If you want to continue enjoying the Old World, you have to reject the canon and throw Age of Sigmar out the window."

[LCP]

Mainly because, given what little I've seen of it (the fact that the "iconic" party on the covers is apparently fighting Skaven in Ubersreik like in the Vermintide video game, for example), I have no reason to not expect the shadow of the End Times to hang over WFRP4E like the Sword of Damocles, knowing as I play it that any character I play is fundamentally doomed to suffer and die horribly when the End Times happens, so why bother getting attached? There's no hope for the PCs any more than there's hope for Karl Franz or Louen Leoncoeur or Teclis.

Ubersreik was invented for WFRP3E, Vermintide just recycled it. There's no particular need for things set in Ubersreik to also be concurrent with/immediately prior to the End Times.

More than that, though, why care? If 4E is anything like 1E or 2E (which it explicitly claims it will be) then it'll be good for adventures set pretty much any time in the last 1,600 years of Warhammer world history. Technological & social progress in the Old World is slow enough that you can usually copy-paste an adventure set in 2523 IC into 2053 IC with next to no substantive changes. Or just say that in your timeline the End Times don't happen.

You know, the sun is gonna go red giant eventually and all life on Earth will perish, but that doesn't make stories set on Earth uninteresting. I wouldn't fret about the End Times any more than that.

[Cheesegear]

There's no hope for the PCs any more than there's hope for Karl Franz or Louen Leoncoeur or Teclis.

You know Teclis lives, right? And is currently a God, right? And Karl Franz is sort of implied to be the current Celestant-Prime?

How many stories can Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4e actually TELL if it's set basically a year or so before the start of the End Times?

As many as the players want.

The whole thing just feels so mean-spirited.

You were under the impression that The Old World was sunshine and rainbows?

But it still looks "weird," right? These aren't worlds that can be mistaken for the normal one we live in or like what the Old World looked like?

Azyr is a giant city. Step through a Realmgate. Boom, you're in Ghyran a verdant jungle. Step through a Realmgate. Boom, you're in Ghur badlands where Ogors want to eat you. Step through a Realmgate. Boom, you're in the underworld talking Nagash out of trying to eat your soul as a snack. Step through a Realmgate. Boom. You're trading food with Duardin for metal in Chamon. Not to mention all the individual landmarks in said Realms...And then you're back to Azyr telling Stormcasts that Tzeentch is about to ruin Chamon (again), and you all need to go save the Duardin...Also, here's some of their metal.

(Also, Nagash snuck a do-hickey in one of your bags, and you've inadvertadly set a section Azyr on fire)

but at the same time it sounds like the RPG that would result from such a world won't have time for things like "the heroes are roped into starring in an opera," or "the heroes discover a local butcher is making sausages out of nurglings," or "people are randomly bursting into flames at an annual wine-tasting festival."

Who said that?

Yeah, I utterly LOATHE Mannfred for betraying the world at the end of the End Times. And now he gets REWARDED...

Almost like the world isn't fair, and BL is known for being the patron of GrimDark, where Good is Dumb, and Evil is almost always rewarded.

but it feels like the canon is essentially telling me "If you want to like Age of Sigmar, you have to like the End Times too,"

The problem is that you're connecting The Old World and The Mortal Realms far more strongly than you should. There are only a handful of characters tied to the Old World, and most of them are basically entirely different characters now, just with the same name.

The Mortal Realms has (almost) nothing to do with The Old World, and it's almost like it's a completely different setting. Let me tell you about Sky-Pirate Duardin...

Which is one of the reasons I think bringing back Gotrek & Felix might be a mistake; Because it ties TMR more strongly backwards to TOW. Which BL should be trying to get away from, and tell new stories.

[Requizen]

I think it's less "constant war" than you might think, that's just what they focus on for obvious reasons. Been instances in books/short stories talking about average chumps, but who cares about them?

[RagingBluMunky]

With the way the story advanced since it was released, there are now free cities in many of the realms, where people live normal lives (more or less).

I haven't played it myself, but I do know that the board game Shadows Under Hammerhal (which is set in the biggest of these) has a section for relaxing/carousing between adventures. Anything that could happen in Altdorf could probably happen there.

Outside of the cities, life goes on similarly to how it did in the old world; farmers and such try to scrape out a living, preparing for the next beast men/undead/monster/chaos worshiper attack. But with a more rlemental bent, depending.

In addition to the main realms, there are a lot of "demi-realms" I guess? That are kinda like moons, and their size can carry wildly.

As for specific realms, Cheesgear is mostly correct. The one exception is Azyr. Azyrheim, Sigmar's city, is very a very large city, but there is more to it. In the Stormcast battletome, it talks about how, before he sent them out into the mortal realms, Sigmar sent the new stormhosts into the wilds of any, hunting down all the chaos tainted beasties/orruks/etc. that managed to sneak in before he closed all the realmgates. There are mountains where things like the dracoths, gryph-hounds, and aetherhawks live.

Sorry if this was annoying, I just thought y'all might be interested, as it related (at least tangentially) to what you were talking about.

[Grim Portent]

The impression I got from reading some of the new undead fluff is that even a control freak like Nagash doesn't actually control his entire realm directly, there's entire kingdoms of semi-independant mortals and undead in his realm as well as those who pay him direct fealty. There's nations that resemble Sylvania, some that resemble Nehekhara and some that are completely their own thing. Wherever the Ghoul King lineage of vampires settle down they construct xenophobic cults of delusion as they twist cannibals into a nightmare version of a noble court. Presumably all the realms are similar in nature, with small kingdoms paying no heed to the realm's nominal master and dealing with small chaos warbands or orruk invasions and internal conflicts.

There's room in the realms for basically any society with any thematics and lifestyle you want and subgroups of any race themed around any realm and conflicts of any scale. What's a dwarf city in the realm of shadows like? There's bound to be at least one after all. Given that the realm is very hard for chaos to invade, what other problems would such a city face? How do they deal with the local elf forces? Do outlying farms still get the odd skaven troupe gnawing into reality in the barn? Are chaos cultists creeping about the old mineshafts and plotting to sell out the city to the dark gods?

[Cheesegear]

Travel between areas with no regard to distance/time is something that WHFB and 40K both struggled with. AoS has simply removed the distance/time factor, except for when traveling non-magically within the same realm.

Stormcasts are struggling in Ghur against Orruks.
Sigmar needs to send reinforcements.
Sigmar uses lightning to teleport Stormcasts from Azyr to the closest Realmgate. The Stormcasts use the Realmgate to teleport to Ghur.
Within minutes, to a few hours...The Stormcasts have reinforcements. And everything makes sense within the narrative. Because distance between two points on a map is meaningless.

It's a plot hole that is simply removed from AoS.

It's not a case of 'Is there any Realm that resembles TOW?', because, fact is, all of the Realms are connected, to create one 'World'. Treating the Realms as independent entities is simply, well, not wrong. But definitely missing the point. If a person has a reason to move between Realms (biomes), they can, provided that they have access to a Realmgate. One second you're in a Realm of living, twisted metal, the next you're not.

[9mm]

The impression I got from reading some of the new undead fluff is that even a control freak like Nagash doesn't actually control his entire realm directly, there's entire kingdoms of semi-independant mortals and undead in his realm as well as those who pay him direct fealty. There's nations that resemble Sylvania, some that resemble Nehekhara and some that are completely their own thing. Wherever the Ghoul King lineage of vampires settle down they construct xenophobic cults of delusion as they twist cannibals into a nightmare version of a noble court. Presumably all the realms are similar in nature, with small kingdoms paying no heed to the realm's nominal master and dealing with small chaos warbands or orruk invasions and internal conflicts.

yes, and no. Syish is a realm of layers, and the further down you go, the more literal afterlives you will find. Nagash, has basically been to the bottom, until the Legion retcon, Morgasts were former gods of the dead Nagash bound and twisted into his image. As for the Flesh Eater Courts, they aren't actually in Syish for the most part, but the delusions they have are ingrained in that particular strain of the soulblight curse.

[Cheesegear]

It's also worth pointing out that in Spear of Shadows (which is basically a 'travelogue', and does a really good impression of what an RPG might actually look like), a Soulblight Vampire becomes an agent of Grungi.

Orruks can be made into Stormcast Eternals if their heart/soul is right.

Kharadrons (Duardin) will fight for anyone.

[Cheesegear]

Top 10 from CanCon

Spoiler: 10. Stormcasts

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(G) Lord-Celestant on Stardrake; Hammer, Staunch Defender, Mirrorshield, Keen-Clawed - 560 Points
Drakesworn Templar; Hammer - 500 Points
Lord Castellant - 100 Points

Liberators (x5); Hammers & Shields, Grandhammer - 100 Points
Liberators (x5); Blades & Shields, Grandblade - 100 Points
Judicators (x5); Skybolts, Shockbolt Bow - 160 Points

Fulminators (x2) - 240 Points
Fulminators (x2) - 240 Points

Total: 2000 Points

Double Stardrakes is obviously stupid strong.

Spoiler: 9. Tzeentch

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(G) Lord of Change; Arch Sorcerer - 300 Points
Tzaangor Shaman - 160 Points
Sayl the Faithless - 120 Points Forge World
Gaunt Summoner; Souldraught - 120 Points

Chaos Marauders (x10); Axes & Shields, Tzeentch - 60 Points
Chaos Marauders (x10); Axes & Shields, Tzeentch - 60 Points
Chaos Warriors (x30); Hand Weapons & Shields, Tzeentch - 480 Points

Tzaangor Skyfires (x9) - 600 Points

Reinforcements - 100 Points

Total: 2000 Points (120)

Spoiler: 8. Stormcasts

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(G) Lord-Celestant on Dracoth; Tempest Hammer & Shield, Staunch Defender, Obsidian Blade, Keen-Clawed - 220 Points
Lord-Castellant; Lantern of the Tempest - 100 Points
Lord-Castellant - 100 Points
Lord-Relictor - 80 Points

Liberators (x5); Blades & Shields, Grandblade - 100 Points
Judicators (x5); Skybolts, Shockbolt Bow - 160 Points

Battalion - Vanguard Wing - 200 Points
Liberators (x30); Dual Warhammers, x6 Grandhammers - 520 Points
Prosecutors with Javelins (x3); Stormsurge Trident - 100 Points
Prosecutors with Javelins (x3); Stormsurge Trident - 100 Points
Prosecutors with Javelins (x3); Stormsurge Trident - 100 Points

Sisters of the Thorn (x5) - 220 Points

Total: 2000 Points (220)

A 30-blob in the Vanguard Wing is one of the more gross things I've ever seen.

Spoiler: 7. Dispossessed

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(G) Warden King; Grudgebearer - 120 Points
Runelord; Ancestral Pickaxe - 80 Points
Runelord - 80 Points

Warriors (x10); Two-Handed Weapons & Shields - 80 Points
Warriors (x10); Two-Handed Weapons & Shields - 80 Points
Longbeards (x10); Two-Handed Weapons & Shields - 120 Points

Quarrellers (x20) - 240 Points
Irondrakes (x20) - 400 Points
Ironbreakers (x30) - 400 Points

Celestant-Prime - 340 Points
Gryph-Hound - 40 Points

Total: 1980 Points (380)

Alpha Strike hard-as-nails on Turn 2. If the opponent goes first, Gryph-Hound. Then drop the Celestant-Prime. Yeah.

Spoiler: 6. Tzeentch

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(G) Lord of Change; Magical Supremecy, Wellspring of Arcane Might - 300 Points
The Blue Scribes - 120 Points
Gaunt Summoner & Familiars - 120 Points
Tzaangor Shaman - 160 Points

Pink Horrors (x10) - 120 Points
Pink Horrors (x10) - 120 Points
Pink Horrors (x10) - 120 Points

Tzaangor Skyfires (x9) - 600 Points

Reinforcements - 340 Points

Total: 2000 Points

That many Reinforcements is a PitA, 'cause you don't have to deploy anything (which means going first), and your opponent doesn't have to tell what's in their list. The only thing you can do is look under the table to see what models they have available to them.

Spoiler: 5. Tzeentch

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(G) Lord of Change; Magical Supremecy, Wellspring of Arcane Might - 300 Points
The Changeling - 140 Points
Gaunt Summoner and Familiars - 120 Points
Ogroid Thaumaturge; Daemonheart - 160 Points
Tzaangor Shaman - 160 Points

Kairic Acolytes (x10) - 100 Points

Tzaangor Enlightened on Discs (x3) - 160 Points

Battalion - Alter-Kin Coven - 70 Points
Kairic Acolytes (x10) - 100 Points
Tzaangors (x10) - 180 Points
Tzaangor Skyfires (x3) - 200 Points

Reinforcements - 310 Points

Total: 2000 Points

Spoiler: 4. Fyreslayers

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Auric Runesmiter; Forge-Key, Ash-Plume Sigil - 80 Points
Auric Runesmiter; Forge-Key - 80 Points

Vulkite Berzerkers (x30); Warpicks & Slingshields - 330 Points
Vulkite Berzerkers (x30); Warpicks & Slingshields - 330 Points
Vulkite Berzerkers (x30); Warpicks & Slingshields - 330 Points

Battalion - Lords of the Lodge - 90 Points
(G) Auric Runefather; Exemplar of the Ancestor, Obsidian Coronet - 80 Points
Auric Runemaster - 80 Points
Battlesmith - 80 Points
Hearthguard Berzerkers (x30); Poleaxes - 480 Points

Total: 1960 Points

And the winner of 'AoS' Most Expensive Army' goes to...I'm adding it up, and it comes pretty close to $1500 AUD.
But seriously, the next person to tell me Magmadroths are worth taking, gets...Something. You buy the Start Collecting! box, pull out the 3 Characters, and 10 Berzerkers, and dropkick the Magmadroth model into the nearest bin...Then set it on fire.

Spoiler: 3. Seraphon

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(G) Saurus Scar-Veteran on Carnosaur; War Spear, Mighty War Leader, Incandescent Rectrices - 240 Points
Skink Priest; Priestly Trappings - 80 Points

Skinks (x20); Javelins & Bucklers - 120 Points

Ripperdactyls (x3) - 140 Points

Dread Saurian - 380 Points Forge World
Stegadon - 240 Points

Battalion - Shadowstrike Starhost - 170 Points Obviously!
Skink Starpriest; Light of Dracothian - 80 Points
Skinks (x20); Javelins & Bucklers - 120 Points
Skinks (x20); Javelins & Bucklers - 120 Points
Ripperdactyls (x6) - 280 Points

Total: 1970 Points

I'm surprised at no Bastiladon...But, that's where the Dread Saurian comes in. Taking Battalions just so you can get a 'Auto-Unbind' artefact - if your Faction has one - is almost always worth doing if you also have Battalions worth taking.

Spoiler: 2. Nurgle

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(G) The Glottkin - 420 Points
Gutrot Supreme - 140 Points
Poxbringer; Tome of a Thousand Poxes - 120 Points

Plaguebearers (x30) - 320 Points

Battalion - Blight Cyst - 220 Points
Lord of Blights; Rustfang - 140 Points
Blightkings (x10) - 320 Points
Blightkings (x5) - 160 Points
Blightkings (x5) - 160 Points

Total: 2000 Points

Gross.
ION; This guy used to play at my local. Top guy and extremely good at WHFB/40K, and now he's good at AoS, too. Everytime I see his name winning OZ tournaments, I'm like "Yep. Sounds about right."

Spoiler: 1. Stormcasts

Show

(G) Lord-Celestant; Staunch Defender - 100 Points
Knight-Heraldor - 120 Points
Lord-Relictor - 80 Points
Lord-Relictor - 80 Points
Lord-Castellant; Lantern of the Tempest - 100 Points

Liberators (x5); Hammers & Shields, Grandhammer - 100 Points
Liberators (x5); Hammers & Shields, Grandhammer - 100 Points
Liberators (x5); Hammers & Shields, Grandhammer - 100 Points
Judicators (x5); Skybolts, Shockbolt Bow - 160 Points

Gryph-Hound - 40 Points
Fulminators (x2) - 240 Points
Fulminators (x2) - 240 Points
Tempestors (x2) - 220 Points
Tempestors (x2) - 220 Points

Battlemage - 100 Points

Total: 2000 Points (100)

I know for a fact that the Knight-Heraldor is one of the most underrated Leaders in the 'Tome. Maybe now people will listen to me. How is Run & Charge in the same turn, on Dracoth units not brutally strong? Also has the potential to deal Mortal Wounds to multiple units with no dice roll. I don't get how people don't rate them.

While Tzeentch and Stormcasts make a strong showing, fact is, the lists are different. Meaning that those Battletomes actually have multiple units worth taking in varying combinations (although obviously you can see some staples). Unlike 40K, where the exact same list makes up 3/8. Though, that could be Australia's meta just being smaller. But I doubt it. People who can read, know what's good. And with the internet, you can figure out what units are good if you wanted to. Alternatively, Sigmar is such a free-form game that there is more than one play-style that wins games, instead of just spamming Guns in the back of the board.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

You know Teclis lives, right? And is currently a God, right? And Karl Franz is sort of implied to be the current Celestant-Prime?

I thought he was a "satellite entity" to Tyrion, needed so he can see and stuff but still subordinate to him, that TYRION was the one that was important (plus the whole thing with Tyrion going nuts during the End Times and falling for MORATHI of all people irks me. I thought he was better than that.). And I thought Games Workshop had made a definitive statement "No, The Celestant-Prime is not reincarnated Karl Franz."

As many as the players want.

Until the End Times get started.

You were under the impression that The Old World was sunshine and rainbows?

Oh, SIGMAR NO! But its darkness was tempered by a sense of humor about the whole thing, whether it was the absurdity of some of the Dwarfs' grudges, the byzantine and contradictory laws of The Empire and Bretonnia, or the antics of the Skaven and Greenskins. In the End Times, the only things that happened that had that sense of humor were Sigvald's undignified demise at Throgg's hands and Thanquol having finally captured his nemeses Gotrek and Felix only to learn they had no clue who he was. Everything else was ALL GRIMDARK ALL THE TIME and that just made it depressing.

Azyr is a giant city. Step through a Realmgate. Boom, you're in Ghyran a verdant jungle. Step through a Realmgate. Boom, you're in Ghur badlands where Ogors want to eat you. Step through a Realmgate. Boom, you're in the underworld talking Nagash out of trying to eat your soul as a snack. Step through a Realmgate. Boom. You're trading food with Duardin for metal in Chamon. Not to mention all the individual landmarks in said Realms...And then you're back to Azyr telling Stormcasts that Tzeentch is about to ruin Chamon (again), and you all need to go save the Duardin...Also, here's some of their metal.

(Also, Nagash snuck a do-hickey in one of your bags, and you've inadvertadly set a section Azyr on fire)

That sounds like a whole lot of fun. Drasius was right to describe it like D&D's planes, that sounds almost like a Planescape story!

Speaking of Nagash, a friend of mine and me are arguing about Nagash's status in AoS. I personally like that they've given him a more "Saturday morning cartoon villain" vibe. I can almost imagine him saying "I'LL GET YOU NEXT TIME, SIGMAR! NEXT TIME!" in Dr. Claw's voice. My friend, on the other hand, argues that what made Nagash special was his rarity, that he was the final word in Warhammer Fantasy villains, and that using him sparingly made him more ominous, but by cashing in on that popularity now, Games Workshop is destroying what made Nagash popular in the first place. What say you?

Who said that?

No one said that. I'm just describing some scenarios that occur in published adventures for the second edition of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay. My point is that Age of Sigmar seems so focused on high adventure and grand, epic war stories that the sort of localized, small-scale, almost noir-like stories Warhammer Fantasy's setting is good at don't seem to fit into Age of Sigmar's setting well. Instead of, say, starting from humble beginnings and overcoming dangers both mundane and supernatural you carve out a life for yourselves in the grim and perilous Old World, you're powerful enough to tangle with Bloodthirsters on your first day and are on first-name basis with Sigmar and Nagash. The texts outright SAY that each Stormcast Eternal was already a hero in the Mortal Realms before Sigmar reforged them.

Almost like the world isn't fair, and BL is known for being the patron of GrimDark, where Good is Dumb, and Evil is almost always rewarded.

Maybe, but Manffred was equally dumb in that instance, considering it seemed like it was a spur-of-the-moment decision that ended up stabbing him in the gut. Literally. With Sunfang. For a guy billed as a masterful schemer, he REALLY didn't think that one through at all.

The problem is that you're connecting The Old World and The Mortal Realms far more strongly than you should. There are only a handful of characters tied to the Old World, and most of them are basically entirely different characters now, just with the same name.

Though there are some figures in the Old World that make me wonder what happened to them, especially the "old gods" if you will. We know what happened to ones like Lileath, Grimnir and Khaine thanks to the End Times, and I understand Nagash ate all the other death gods at some point, so that explains why Morr's gone, but what about ones like Ulric or Myrmidia?

The Mortal Realms has (almost) nothing to do with The Old World, and it's almost like it's a completely different setting. Let me tell you about Sky-Pirate Duardin...

That's the Kahadron Overlords, right? They're interesting. I like that they sort of made the Dwarfs more varied and they're not a monolith anymore, which is something that I thought was kind of a flaw in Warhammer Fantasy.

Which is one of the reasons I think bringing back Gotrek & Felix might be a mistake; Because it ties TMR more strongly backwards to TOW. Which BL should be trying to get away from, and tell new stories.

I'll agree with you on that one. I haven't even READ the Gotrek and Felix books. I only know them through reputation and the fact that WHFRP 2E references their exploits several times.

Stormcasts are struggling in Ghur against Orruks.
Sigmar needs to send reinforcements.
Sigmar uses lightning to teleport Stormcasts from Azyr to the closest Realmgate. The Stormcasts use the Realmgate to teleport to Ghur.
Within minutes, to a few hours...The Stormcasts have reinforcements. And everything makes sense within the narrative. Because distance between two points on a map is meaningless.

That is awesome! I can just imagine it happening with this song blaring in the background!

It's also worth pointing out that in Spear of Shadows (which is basically a 'travelogue', and does a really good impression of what an RPG might actually look like), a Soulblight Vampire becomes an agent of Grungi.

Whoa! How'd THAT happen?!

Orruks can be made into Stormcast Eternals if their heart/soul is right.

Oh my gosh that's hilariously awesome! "OI, CHAOS GITS! I'M GONNA ZOGGIN' SMASH YA IN SIGMAR'Z NAME! WAAAGH!!!"

Kharadrons (Duardin) will fight for anyone.

I thought that was the Fyreslayers.

[Cheesegear]

Oh, SIGMAR NO! But its darkness was tempered by a sense of humor about the whole thing

GW hasn't had a sense of humour for 15 years. They tried, when Sigmar was first released. But everyone hated it. So it went to more GrimDark.

Speaking of Nagash, a friend of mine and me are arguing about Nagash's status in AoS. I personally like that they've given him a more "Saturday morning cartoon villain" vibe. I can almost imagine him saying "I'LL GET YOU NEXT TIME, SIGMAR! NEXT TIME!" in Dr. Claw's voice.

Definitely wrong.

My friend, on the other hand, argues that what made Nagash special was his rarity, that he was the final word in Warhammer Fantasy villains, and that using him sparingly made him more ominous, but by cashing in on that popularity now, Games Workshop is destroying what made Nagash popular in the first place. What say you?

I say Nagash barely does anything, too busy keeping his own Realm under control to bother going outside it.
That's why he has his three henchmen Mortarchs.
The only reason Nagash will ever kill you, himself, is if you, personally go to him to get killed.

My point is that Age of Sigmar seems so focused on high adventure and grand, epic war stories that the sort of localized, small-scale, almost noir-like stories Warhammer Fantasy's setting is good at don't seem to fit into Age of Sigmar's setting well.

You've obviously never read one of the novels.
Nobody needs to eat, so there are obviously no farmers outside Azyrheim trying to feed the city. That surely doesn't happen.
Where are the Duardin and Freeguilds getting all their booze from? Oh wait, you told me that pubs don't exist.

It's an RPG. You can decide any adventure you want.

Instead of, say, starting from humble beginnings and overcoming dangers both mundane and supernatural you carve out a life for yourselves in the grim and perilous Old World, you're powerful enough to tangle with Bloodthirsters on your first day and are on first-name basis with Sigmar and Nagash.

What?

The texts outright SAY that each Stormcast Eternal was already a hero in the Mortal Realms before Sigmar reforged them.

And you're a Stormcast, are you? Not one of the endless grunts in the Freeguilds? Maybe you're one of the Sigmarite fanatics, and not only does Sigmar not even know who you are, he wants you to stop what you're doing.

Maybe, but Manffred was equally dumb in that instance, considering it seemed like it was a spur-of-the-moment decision that ended up stabbing him in the gut. Literally. With Sunfang. For a guy billed as a masterful schemer, he REALLY didn't think that one through at all.

And yet he's more powerful then ever.
What an idiot, right?
Having listened to Mortarch of Night, Mannfred it doesn't regret his actions, because it all led to a net gain for him.

To me, it just sounds like you've heard or read a bunch of incomplete nonsense, and decided that that's how it was. It sounds like you've read sources from 2015, or you've talked to people who read the initial fluff for AoS, and then never went back. It sounds like you haven't read anything that Josh Reynolds has done to improve the setting at world-build. It sounds like you're hung up on The Old World, and you can't move on. You don't seem to realise that the similarities between AoS and WHFB are token at best, and they're two entirely different settings, and you may as well be reading a new setting.

All of the 'ties' to End Times, are all in your head. Like, 7 people in the entire Mortal Realms even remember that there was a World-That-Was (Mannfred is one of them).

[Archpaladin Zousha]

You aren't wrong. The only other person I regularly talk to about Warhammer-related stuff (the guy arguing with me about Nagash) hates Age of Sigmar for a number of reasons, and most other information I've gotten has come from the Stormcast Eternal and Sylvaneth battletomes and what little info is on the wikis.

I had thought the general consensus was that the End Times were terrible, and Age of Sigmar was terrible because they were the result of the End Times, shoehorned Space Marines in where they weren't wanted, changed everything's names to ridiculous "copyright-friendly" ones and that everybody hated it.

But that's clearly wrong, since the very existence of this thread is proof that people DO like Age of Sigmar. That enough people like Age of Sigmar for an RPG based on it to be worth making, and from what I've read of the setting, it sounds like I might enjoy it too.

To clarify the adventure stuff, Cubicle7 said in their first major press release that they were doing this was the big difference between Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4e and the Age of Sigmar RPG was going to be:

WHFR 4e: "Look, a Bloodthirster! RUN!!!"
AoS RPG: "Look, a Bloodthirster! CHARGE!!!"

[Cheesegear]

I had thought the general consensus was that the End Times were terrible

The End Times were awesome.
But, like Mass Effect 3, the only real problem with it was the last 10 minutes.

and Age of Sigmar was terrible because they were the result of the End Times

And then two years past, until Sigmar was able to tell its own stories.

shoehorned Space Marines in where they weren't wanted

Until AoS started telling good stories about Stormcasts. Then started telling stories about more Factions. Then started releasing models that weren't Stormcasts.

changed everything's names to ridiculous "copyright-friendly" ones and that everybody hated it.

Who, honestly gives a ****? I can think off the top of my head half a dozen books/series that I know of, all with different words for 'Elves'.
Arbitrary names are just that. Arbitrary. When you see the word 'Aelf', does it conjure up an image of burning rage and hatred at a capitalist system designed to punish people trying to steal people's work...Or do you see 'Elf'? Does it really matter? When you're played Elder Scrolls do you freak out at the word 'Altmer', or are you like "High Elf, no problem." and move on? Almost like 'Altmer' is a copyrightable term...Oooh...*Spooky hands*.

I said the other day that 'Wood Elves were really strong', a kid, probably no more than 16, said "What are Wood Elves?...Oh, you mean Wanderers. Or do you mean the Legacy army?"
Yes. I did mean Wanderers. I was the one who was wrong, because the new generation takes over the old. Adapt or...Quit, I guess.

But that's clearly wrong, since the very existence of this thread is proof that people DO like Age of Sigmar.

Age of Sigmar - again, two/three years ago - had problems getting off of the ground because the whole thing was scrapped and they had to start from scratch.
There's no way that GW/BL could comprehensively cover all the ground of all the Factions from the word go. And there was definitely no-one writing novels about anything, because there was no groundwork with which to write novels, on. Are Stormcasts lightning trapped in armour, or are they physical people? Can they take their helmets off or can't they? I'm so confused.

The beginning was all Stormcasts, all the time. Except we had no idea who Stormcasts were, or what they did, or what they were about. Certainly, it seemed like there were literally zero stakes involved 'cause they're all immortal.

Oh wait. Turns out souls are currency to power. Almost anything magical can kill them. Stormcasts can die. Nagash may or may not be even worse than the Chaos Gods. Holy ****, did Archaon just corrupt/tame a God-Beast? Oh, now there are stakes. Now there is a story. ...And what's the deal with Seraphon being able to cure Nurgle's Rot?

It feels like people who still complain about Matt Ward. Like, get over it? Unless you're doing it to be funny, maybe? ...But then that's a dead meme, and about as unFunny as it gets.

Yeah, I guess there are people who were pissed off with AoS so much at the beginning that they dropped it like a rock and never looked back. Fair enough. But, then, why keeping bringing it up every few months? If you're 'not looking back', why are you constantly looking back?

Then, there were people like me, who said "Just wait six months, everything will make sense." (turned out to be 12 months) Once novels started getting churned out, once it was apparent that there were pretty much two people in charge (Reynolds & Guymer) keeping everything consistent with a relative plan to cover as much ground as possible within 12 months (i.e; The Realmgate Wars), the story was going to make sense... Just not on release day. How could it?

Then, on the gaming side. Yeah, it was trash. Then a book came out called The General's Handbook and fixed, overnight, the three biggest problems of the game at the time. And GH 2017 only refined it. So, after 12 months after release, the story was going somewhere, and making sense. And the game was worth playing... That was July, 2016. Roughly 18 months ago, and it's been almost three years since Day 0.

As much as 'everyone hates AoS', why did the AoS tournament I'm about to play in, sell out in 2 days, with so much demand that they had to make it a doubles tournament? Because it's not the same as it was.

To clarify the adventure stuff, Cubicle7 said in their first major press release that they were doing this was the big difference between Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4e and the Age of Sigmar RPG was going to be:

WHFR 4e: "Look, a Bloodthirster! RUN!!!"
AoS RPG: "Look, a Bloodthirster! CHARGE!!!"

Running gets old. I mean, I know it makes sense within the setting. But, I guess there are people, that, when they want to play their Heroic Fantasy Escapism Simulator, maybe they don't like running away from all their problems? Maybe 'Dark Heresy is too hard.' was a positive for some people, but it was a pretty big negative for a lot more people. Businesses don't like not making money. Yay, Rogue Trader'll fix everything!

TL;DR: Wikis are completely unreliable (shock), especially incomplete ones and people who haven't read anything Sigmar-related in three years, are three years out of date.

[Vaz]

Morathi gets a sexy snake makeover, and it might be enough to get me involved. Dechala the Denied one was an old school favourite of mine and I have sold old Sepulchral stalkers knocking about.

I hope that they have a multi armed beast, I need a good marilith.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

The End Times were awesome.
But, like Mass Effect 3, the only real problem with it was the last 10 minutes.

Ooooh, yeah. Am I gonna get the full effect of the End Times if I just read the novels, though? I've heard they were more meant to "fill in the blanks" left by the gamebooks.

And then two years past, until Sigmar was able to tell its own stories.

Until AoS started telling good stories about Stormcasts. Then started telling stories about more Factions. Then started releasing models that weren't Stormcasts.

Alright, you've convinced me to give the novels a try. I can pick up the first "Realmgate Wars" novel next time I'm at my local bookstore. Is that a good starting point, or is there a specific book I should start at? You obviously enjoyed the Mortarch of Night audiobook.

Who, honestly gives a ****? I can think off the top of my head half a dozen books/series that I know of, all with different words for 'Elves'.
Arbitrary names are just that. Arbitrary. When you see the word 'Aelf', does it conjure up an image of burning rage and hatred at a capitalist system designed to punish people trying to steal people's work...Or do you see 'Elf'? Does it really matter? When you're played Elder Scrolls do you freak out at the word 'Altmer', or are you like "High Elf, no problem." and move on? Almost like 'Altmer' is a copyrightable term...Oooh...*Spooky hands*.

You're right. You're absolutely right about this. I don't GET why people made such a big deal out of this, apart from the fundamental fear of change that seems to permeate fantasy fandoms the world over and a disdain for "phantasie spellyngs" which, as you said, lots of fantasy writers do.

It feels like people who still complain about Matt Ward. Like, get over it? Unless you're doing it to be funny, maybe? ...But then that's a dead meme, and about as unFunny as it gets.

That's something I don't get either, and my experience with 40K is mostly "If The Emperor had a Text-to-Speech Device" where while the Ultramarines ARE depicted as overpowered and obnoxious, but it's played up for laughs and even the Ultramarines THEMSELVES are sick of it, and even then Matt Ward isn't part of the joke, and Dark Heresy and Rogue Trader, neither of which really deal with Space Marine stuff at all. And all the stuff people seem to be mad at Matt Ward FOR seem to be old news that's been taken in other directions by other writers to the point that it's not really a problem anymore, so why do they harp on a problem that isn't there anymore? Come to think of it, that's what I was doing with the End Times. You're right. Why keep harping on what happened in the End Times when by the time Age of Sigmar happens it's long been over and done with?

Yeah, I guess there are people who were pissed off with AoS so much at the beginning that they dropped it like a rock and never looked back. Fair enough. But, then, why keeping bringing it up every few months? If you're 'not looking back', why are you constantly looking back?

Then, there were people like me, who said "Just wait six months, everything will make sense." (turned out to be 12 months) Once novels started getting churned out, once it was apparent that there were pretty much two people in charge (Reynolds & Guymer) keeping everything consistent with a relative plan to cover as much ground as possible within 12 months (i.e; The Realmgate Wars), the story was going to make sense... Just not on release day. How could it?

Then, on the gaming side. Yeah, it was trash. Then a book came out called The General's Handbook and fixed, overnight, the three biggest problems of the game at the time. And GH 2017 only refined it. So, after 12 months after release, the story was going somewhere, and making sense. And the game was worth playing... That was July, 2016. Roughly 18 months ago, and it's been almost three years since Day 0.

As much as 'everyone hates AoS', why did the AoS tournament I'm about to play in, sell out in 2 days, with so much demand that they had to make it a doubles tournament? Because it's not the same as it was.

This is very reassuring to hear, even if I don't get into the wargame itself. It gives me high hopes for Cubicle7's RPG.

Running gets old. I mean, I know it makes sense within the setting. But, I guess there are people, that, when they want to play their Heroic Fantasy Escapism Simulator, maybe they don't like running away from all their problems? Maybe 'Dark Heresy is too hard.' was a positive for some people, but it was a pretty big negative for a lot more people. Businesses don't like not making money. Yay, Rogue Trader'll fix everything!

As someone who likes both, I'd say you're right in that regard as well.

TL;DR: Wikis are completely unreliable (shock), especially incomplete ones and people who haven't read anything Sigmar-related in three years, are three years out of date.

Good point. Especially since by now any information I could have got from it I can just read in the WHFRP books I have (since Cubicle7 generously reissued all the out-of-print books on PDF through DriveThruRPG!)?

Thanks for setting the record straight for me, Cheesegear. This really helped a lot.

[Cheesegear]

Alright, you've convinced me to give the novels a try. I can pick up the first "Realmgate Wars" novel next time I'm at my local bookstore. Is that a good starting point, or is there a specific book I should start at?

Well, ideally, The Realmgate Wars is a series of 10 books. One of which - Warbeast - got Gav Thorpe of all people a ***-damn Gemmel Award last year.
Age of Sigmar. Gav Thorpe. Gemmel Award 2017. **** me.

Spear of Shadows (Josh Reynolds) is nominated for a Gemmel Award this year, as is Overlords of the Iron Dragon (CL Werner). SoS is basically an Inquisition book in Sigmar. Where a hero and his buddy (and a Vampire!) go searching Realms for treasure. Owain Volker is a 'normal person', not a Stormcast, on a quest for Grungi. Not Sigmar. Overlords is obviously a book about Kharadrons, so, take it or leave it.

There's also the compilation of short stories (supposedly) designed for people to get into AoS; Hammerhal & Other Stories.
HOS...Also contains a Chapter each of both Spear of Shadows and Overlords. So...Yeah.

You obviously enjoyed the Mortarch of Night audiobook.

The Mortarch of Night series is a group of 8 audio dramas roughly 10 hours long in total... All of which were compiled into Book #9 of the Realmgate Wars, aptly titled Mortarch of Night.

And all the stuff people seem to be mad at Matt Ward FOR seem to be old news that's been taken in other directions by other writers to the point that it's not really a problem anymore, so why do they harp on a problem that isn't there anymore? Come to think of it, that's what I was doing with the End Times. You're right.

[...]

Thanks for setting the record straight for me, Cheesegear. This really helped a lot.

Hooray, I'm helping!

[Archpaladin Zousha]

I...take it your not a fan of Gav Thorpe?

[Cheesegear]

I...take it your not a fan of Gav Thorpe?

The vast majority of books he writes are basically unreadable. Although occasionally every now and then he writes something good.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

Yikes! Thanks for the warning!

[Cheesegear]

Yikes! Thanks for the warning!

Like I said, he's won a Gemmel Award for Warbeast. It's pretty good. Schrodinger's Thorpe; The only way to know if a book written by Gav Thorpe is good or bad, is to read it.
(and if it's bad, joke's on you, 'cause you've read it now)

[Drasius]

Well, ideally, The Realmgate Wars is a series of 10 books. One of which - Warbeast - got Gav Thorpe of all people a ***-damn Gemmel Award last year.
Age of Sigmar. Gav Thorpe. Gemmel Award 2017. **** me
....
The Mortarch of Night series is a group of 8 audio dramas roughly 10 hours long in total... All of which were compiled into Book #9 of the Realmgate Wars, aptly titled Mortarch of Night.

Explains why our local AoS enthusiasts were all banging on about how great it [Warbeast] was when it came out. Reception of the entire series was pretty positive all 'round from what I remember.

We had TMoN on the speakers in the shop while there was only the two of us in there for a couple of hours of paint sesh and what I listened to was pretty good.