Learning about the AoS Background

[BrazenRogue]

So I've heard a lot of criticism levelled at Age of Sigmar's background, generally that it's a bit on the shallow side. But I've also heard a few people congratulate it on being quite an original concept. I'm interested, but I'm also not sure where to start digging into it.

Is it just the big rulebook that covers the world, or are there other ways to learn more about it? Do the Black Library books give a good grounding in the new realms? I'm a little cautious about picking up the main rulebook, as it's a hefty price for someone who's just curious.

[veterannoob]

Hey, the initial rulebook has some fluff but at that time in was pretty thin (lots of art though). For a world description--as it develops--the Realmgate Wars Campaign books are the way to go. The BL books add much needed flavor and are also important but secondary at this point, unless you have a favorite character from a BL book.

If you don't mind podcasts I'd recommend a listen at HeelanHammer, Garagehammer, or Mortal Realms and find one episode that gives the best overview of what you want and see what they give as overview and suggestions. Come back if you're completely lost:)

[nonrelatedarticle]

Do the realmgate books give information on all the realms? The one Im most interested in is the realm of death and would like to learn more about it.

[Memnos]

I'm interested in learning more about how these armies survive.

Who grows their food? Who quarries their stone to make the giant walls everyone has? Who forges their weapons and who maintains all of these things?

I'm mostly interested in just what normal people are doing and how they're surviving in these tiny, hidden enclaves. Is there anything that goes in to that?

[shinros]

I do recommend Gav Thorpe's warbeast novel since it does go into how some of the normal people survived the age of chaos and LOADS of kislev nods. Or the audio drama series first volume goes in the after effects of how it effected the normal people of the realms the only place normal people were safe is Ayzr. The new fury of Gork Novel shows how sigmar is trying to deal with the effects of the reforging by setting up various storm hosts to fight together since they may learn and grow from one another there was a nice discussion about fear in there. Oh and Orruks are awesome.

In the very first novel in Asqhy before the stormcast arrived they said most normal people don't live until 20 cause the bloodbound either force them to join their warband or eat them if they refuse. Still in the second volume of the audio drama it does show that the normal people are starting to recolonize the mortal realms.

[Memnos]

I do recommend Gav Thorpe's warbeast novel since it does go into how some of the normal people survived the age of chaos and LOADS of kislev nods. Or the audio drama series first volume goes in the after effects of how it effected the normal people of the realms the only place normal people were safe is Ayzr. The new fury of Gork Novel shows how sigmar is trying to deal with the effects of the reforging by setting up various storm hosts to fight together since they may learn and grow from one another there was a nice discussion about fear in there. Oh and Orruks are awesome.

In the very first novel in Asqhy before the stormcast arrived they said most normal people don't live until 20 cause the bloodbound either force them to join their warband or eat them if they refuse. Still in the second volume of the audio drama it does show that the normal people are starting to recolonize the mortal realms.

That's interesting - So Sigmar's artificial satellite/world ring has topsoil and the like? So he probably forged his realm out of bits he imported from other realms. Hunh.

And Chaos allows people to live to 20, then forces a choice? I like that. It means that most places must be basically feral, with no government or real skills in things like cloth-manufacturing, no mining. They must be ekeing subsistence living.

[shinros]

Yeah his realms has plains and everything he even had to deal with the chaos cults and Orruks before he could sally forth and take the fight to chaos, the only realm that is contested and normal people have a chance in living in is the realm of Death. Since well.... vampires and necromancers are pretty much the norm compared to most places. Yeah in Ashqy the old and children normally died first if you are too weak or too sick to run and fight you are toast. In many of the realms there were barbarian tribes, Kings, Queens and all sorts of civilizations.

Many barbrians tribes have survived and fought against chaos. There was a story in the campaign book about a devoted of sigmar army called the candlemen hid underground and in caves until it was the right time to strike of course that happened when they saw stormcast fighting chaos. There is another story in the call of Archaon novels of a group of people living in some sort of tower and rediscovering their faith in sigmar until a nurgle champion attacks it. Since the realm of life is under attack by nurgle. There loads of small tid bits here and there of the history of the civilsation that lived in the ruins that the stormcast pass by or places were people are surviving like in the warbeast novel or audio drama.

In the audio drama mannfred and the stormcast come across some pilgrims I won't spoil why they are going to their destination by they explain how they survived the age of chaos when so many died. Still mannfred was pretty much the tour guide explaining all the locations they visited and what happened to said people in the area.

On the stormcast front this part truly shows me that they are humans that all they are is the order version of chaos warriors.

This is a small extract from the new novel fury of gork Two lord Celestant's talk about Fear and what it means to them this whole conversation just shows that sigmar is trying to do something about the reforging effects. Zephacleas was a Chieften when he was mortal the second lord Celestant is Greel who got owned by a Tzeentch chaos Lord Sorceress and had the souls of his men trapped within her armor. This conversation happens after Zephacleas fell back and trapped the orruks for a moment instead of fighting head on. Since greel wants to kill her since he feels that his weakness cost them the battle and had the souls of his warriors trapped.

Zephacleas: Fear is not a weakness, brother. It is a part of being mortal, like courage or sadness. Joy, rage. Among my people - when I had a people(got wrecked by chaos) it was said that a man who had never felt fear was one who had never truly lived. The fear of facing a sabretusk, with only a spear between you and it. The fear of starvation(stormcast can die of starvation funny enough. :P) or daemons in the night. The fear of pain, as your enemy's blade draws close. The fear of... surviving, where others died.

Greel: I was told you were a warrior, not a philosopher

Zephacleas: Hardly a philosopher. I was a chieftain, Iron-side. Not a hunter or a warrior, or even a tender of the sick, but a ruler. And I have had this talk more times than I can remember. You still know fear, brother but now you fear faliure rather than death.

Greel: And is that better or worse?

Zephacleas: Only sigmar can say.


Now the orruks in the novel are AMAZING causing even a gaunt summoner to shudder at how kunnin the new Orruck character is. :D

[Kotrag]

Yeah his realms has plains and everything he even had to deal with the chaos cults and Orruks before he could sally forth and take the fight to chaos, the only realm that is contested and normal people have a chance in living in is the realm of Death. Since well.... vampires and necromancers are pretty much the norm compared to most places. Yeah in Ashqy the old and children normally died first if you are too weak or too sick to run and fight you are toast. In many of the realms there were barbarian tribes, Kings, Queens and all sorts of civilizations.

Many barbrians tribes have survived and fought against chaos. There was a story in the campaign book about a devoted of sigmar army called the candlemen hid underground and in caves until it was the right time to strike of course that happened when they saw stormcast fighting chaos. There is another story in the call of Archaon novels of a group of people living in some sort of tower and rediscovering their faith in sigmar until a nurgle champion attacks it. Since the realm of life is under attack by nurgle. There loads of small tid bits here and there of the history of the civilsation that lived in the ruins that the stormcast pass by or places were people are surviving like in the warbeast novel or audio drama.

In the audio drama mannfred and the stormcast come across some pilgrims I won't spoil why they are going to their destination by they explain how they survived the age of chaos when so many died. Still mannfred was pretty much the tour guide explaining all the locations they visited and what happened to said people in the area.

On the stormcast front this part truly shows me that they are humans that all they are is the order version of chaos warriors.

This is a small extract from the new novel fury of gork Two lord Celestant's talk about Fear and what it means to them this whole conversation just shows that sigmar is trying to do something about the reforging effects. Zephacleas was a Chieften when he was mortal the second lord Celestant is Greel who got owned by a Tzeentch chaos Lord Sorceress and had the souls of his men trapped within her armor. This conversation happens after Zephacleas fell back and trapped the orruks for a moment instead of fighting head on. Since greel wants to kill her since he feels that his weakness cost them the battle and had the souls of his warriors trapped.

Zephacleas: Fear is not a weakness, brother. It is a part of being mortal, like courage or sadness. Joy, rage. Among my people - when I had a people(got wrecked by chaos) it was said that a man who had never felt fear was one who had never truly lived. The fear of facing a sabretusk, with only a spear between you and it. The fear of starvation(stormcast can die of starvation funny enough. :P) or daemons in the night. The fear of pain, as your enemy's blade draws close. The fear of... surviving, where others died.

Greel: I was told you were a warrior, not a philosopher

Zephacleas: Hardly a philosopher. I was a chieftain, Iron-side. Not a hunter or a warrior, or even a tender of the sick, but a ruler. And I have had this talk more times than I can remember. You still know fear, brother but now you fear faliure rather than death.

Greel: And is that better or worse?

Zephacleas: Only sigmar can say.


Now the orruks in the novel are AMAZING causing even a gaunt summoner to shudder at how kunnin the new Orruck character is. :D

"Barbarian" in this case meaning that they all look like Flagellants.