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Aeloran Nomads - Reinventing Wanderers in Age of Sigmar (Custom Battletome)


Melcavuk

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So as a projects with my partner and as a natural enemy to my Suneater tribes Ogors we have started work on a new Aelven Battletome inspired by the Wood Elves/Wanderers of old but with a darker and more Age of Sigmar magical lean. Below is what we have so far for comments and critique:

 

Some call them Wanderers, Nomads, Forest Aelves, it is said within the borders of Ghyran their name has been struck from every record in that woodland realm. Those that call them wanderers know little of the reason why, of the darkness that took root in the very souls of these forgotten Aelves in times long since past, over the disease of the Wyld that now lurks in every drop of blood coursing through their every changing forms. It is said that these Nomads travel ever onward not because they wish to, but because they must, every footprint seeds the nightmarish plants of the Wyld land, a curse that travels with them wherever they go.

Born once long ago to the Goddess Alarielle when all of her Aelven kin sought to take their share from the gullet of Slaanesh, they were her loyal huntsmen within Ghyran. Children of Kurnoth and Alarielle both, these Woodland Aelves found the forests of Ghyran their sanctuary, stalking beasts that upset the natural order of their home and enforcing the will of their Goddess upon all who strayed within her sacred borders. Their lives were full, peaceful and safe in the knowledge that their Goddesses powers within the walls of the forest were absolute, it was this knowledge that led them to rebuke Sigmars offer of sanctuary when the tides of Chaos first began to encroach upon the realms. It is said that these Wanderkin stood as Alarielles sentinels on the very edge of her forest kingdom, keeping watchful gaze across the horizons for any sign of the tide of chaos. Few know what shook the faith of these Aelven hunters, perhaps the sanctuary they had become accustomed to had softened them, perhaps they knew not the true savageries of war, whatever their reason when their faith was tested it was found wanting. In the dead of night these Nomads abandoned their posts at the edge of the forest, fleeing with all speed from the tide of darkness that had drowned the horizon and blotted out the stars themselves. The wrath of their Goddess would send tremors throughout every root within the Realm, every tree shook with her rage, her children had forsaken her.

These accursed Wanderers fled, the tide of chaos ever at their heel as the forests they once knew as sanctuary became drowned in an onslaught of flame and axe. Finding all gates to Azyr sealed to them they took the only route that had been left open, travelling through the Primal Gates of Ghur they fled beyond the very edges of the mapped world, into the swirling madness of the Maelstrom at realms edge. Here, amidts the shifting Wyld winds that ravage the very distant corners of Ghur they found sanctuary… for a time.

AELORAN NOMADS

When the Realms fell to chao those Wanderers who found themselves abandoned by their volatile and spiteful goddess fled across the realms, the tide of chaos ever biting at their heels as they sought a place to call their own. Yet godless and without allies every door became closed to them, even the mighty gates of Azyr were found sealed by the time their beleaguered populace came unto it. It was then that they were driven onwards, ever further out from their cities in the heart of Ghur towards the volatile and unknowable forests at worlds edge that they might endure the elements longer that they could the blades of their foes. Their hidden refuge at realms edge has, for the longest time kept the nomads hidden from the wars that ravaged the Realms, but the very magics that have shielded them have taken a heavy toll upon their bodies and souls. An intelligent and deeply invasive bestial wind called the Wyld at the edge of Ghur has seeped into the very fibres of every muscle, the primal drum beat that forms the very pulse of the realm now resides within the souls of every Aelf in their ranks threatening to overwhelm reason or logic with every beat of the endless rhythm.

As the Wyld seeks to claim their souls the desperate Nomads sought ways to stave off their final bestial forms, that they might retain their Aelven grace and nobility for few millenia longer. Through many trials that claimed more and more of their population with every passing year eventually a symbiosis was found, the strongest souls within their ranks could merge their souls with the savage beasts of the realm, burying their own soul within that of the mighty beasts to hide it from the Wyld that sought to snuff them out. Such an act would preserve the Aelven soul but the toll it took on their partnered beast was heavy, no such beast could endure more than a few years of the merge before the Wyld claimed it entirely.

It has then come to pass that the eldest amongst the Aeloran populace have formed such a bond with hundreds of beasts, each becoming inclined to merge with a beast that matches their personality beyond all others. At first such pairings seemed solely matched by personality, the most vigilant paired with the mighty raptors that claimed the skies of world edge, the fleet of foot would pair with the mighty stags that leapt deftly through the forest and the greatest hunters would merge with packs of the savage wolves that hunters in the darkest corners of their realm. As the years have worn on however the Aelorans features have begun to shift and alter to match that of the beasts whose souls have touched their own, the Birdkind develop accute vision, their bone structure lightening as though able to drift on the wind instead of falling. The Doekind develop extraordinary muscle structures allowing them to dance across the very tree tops with every deft leap, and the Wolfkin become hunters beyond compare.

The Aeloran carry with the Wyld wherever they travel, it has become a disease that spread like wildfire throughout their populace and even the blending of souls can only delay it so long. They have become blighted, never able to settle for long lest the carnivorous plants of the Wyld itself spawn in their very footprints, beset at all times by the predators within and without they lead nomadic lives, ever in pursuit of the great hunt that they might find a beast able to endure the blend long enough to hold their degradation entirely.

 

 

AN EMPIRE OF NOMADS

On the following pages you will find rules and abilities for your Aeloran Nomad army. These include powerful allegiance abilities and items, new battle plans, and war scrolls and battalions that describe the hidden empires of Aeloran Nomads in games of Warhammer Age of Sigmar
 

 

 

ALLEGIANCE ABILITIES

From potent enchantments to bestial traits there are many benefits to the Aeloran Tribe allegiece. These can be found below:

 

ALLEGIANCE

Every unit and warscroll battalion in Warhammer Age of Sigmar owes allegiance to one of the Grand Alliances – either ORDER, CHAOS, DEATH or DESTRUCTION. Many units and warscroll battalions also have more specific allegiances – for example AELORAN NOMAD or CENTAURID. If all the staring units and warscroll battalions in your army are from AELORAN NOMADS, then it has the AELOAN NOMADS allegiance. An army with the AELORAN NOMADS allegiance – sometimes known as a AELORAN NOMAD army – can use the potent allegiance abilities found in the following pages.

 

When your army qualifies for more than one allegiance – e.g. all of the units are AELORAN NOMAD and ORDER – you must choose which allegiance your army will use before each game. These restrictions aside, you can use allegiance abilities whenever you play games of Warhammer Age of Sigmar.

 

 

 

Battle Traits: An allied army fights with units and cohesion, granting it additional boons. See opposite for the battle traits available for Aeloran Nomad armies.

 

Command Trait: Each leader has their own style of command. See opposite for the command traits available to Aeloran Nomad generals.

 

Relics of the Hunt: These arcana trophies are claimed by the mightiest of warriors within the Nomadic Empires. See pages XX-XX for the magical trophies Heroes from your army can possess.

 

Wyldform Magicks: Those skilled in the Arcane Arts or with a primordial link to the Wyld are capable of bringing its magic to bear in the heat of battle. See page XX for Wyld-based spells available to Wizards from your army.

 

BATTLEPLANS

The Aeloran Nomads have their own evasive and savage methods of destruction and waging war across the mortal realms unlike any other. The battle plans on pages XX-XX allow you to wage was just as the Aeloran Nomads do.

 

PATH TO GLORY

On pages XX-XX you will find rules for player a Path to Glory campaign. These enable you to field your Aeloran Nomad miniatures as a formidable war band and fight an immersive campaign in which your forces grow stronger with each victory. Included are war band tables to help you collect your army, as well as rewards tables for your champion and their followers

 

WARSCROLL BATALLIONS

This section describes formations made up of several units that combine their strengths to gain powerful new abilities. By fielding these formations, you can muster your own Tribe on the table top. There are rules for fielding some of the most notable empires of Aeloran Nomads, each possessing its own strengths and distinct character.

 

WARSCROLLS

This section describes the characteristic and abilities of the individual Aeloran Nomad models and units.

 

ALLEGIANCE ABILITIES
The Aeloran Nomads lead savage lives, beset on all sides by the primal beasts from the maelstrom at the very edge of the known realms. Every fibre of their being has been infected with the ravenous energies that fuel the realm of beasts, threatening the burst forth from their unwilling hosts should they fall in battle

 

 

BATTLE TRAITS
An army with the AELORAN NOMAD allegiance gain the following abilities.

The Savage Heart – To survive the Wyld is to understands ones place within the food chain, the Hunter must consume the prey, and the prey must be consumed. Roll a dice for every enemy model that flees due to battleshock whilst their unit is within 3 inches of an AELORAN unit, for every roll of a 4 or more the AELORAN unit regains a wound, if there are no wounded models in that unit you may instead restore a number of models to the unit lost earlier in the battle with a number of wounds upto the wounds restored.

Wyldform – The eldest of the Aeloran populace have begun their final descent into the Wyldform, every drop of their blood carrying the changing taint from world edge with them into battle. Should a precious drop of this blood hit the ground it bears the spores of the predatory plants of Ghur, erupting forth to reclaim the lands. At the end of any turn in which an AELORAN NOBLE is wounded but not slain, roll a D6 for every AELORAN NOBLE that was wounded adding the number of wounds lost. You may add one base of WYLDSHARD BRAMBLES within 3 inches of that model for every roll of a 5 or more. In addition is an AELORAN NOBLE model is slain, immediately replace the model with a base of WYLDSHARD BRAMBLES.

 

 

COMMAND TRAITS

In addition to their command abilities, if they are a Hero, the general of a AELORAN NOMAD army can have a command trait from the list below. Pick the trait that best suits your generals’ personality. Alternatively, you can roll a dice to randomly determine a trait. If, for whatever reason, you must select a new general during the battle, immediately generate a trait for them.

 

D6

Command Trait

1

Aspect of the Scorpion – Your hero channels the poisonous nature of the monolithic scorpions at world edge. Pick one of your heroes weapons (this cannot belong to their mount), if your hero wounds but does not kill an enemy model with this weapon that model suffers an additional mortal wound at the end of that phase.

2

Aspect of the Stag – This hero channels the grace and speed of the great stags of the forest. Add 3 to this models move characteristic.

3

Aspect of the Raptor – Channelling the great raptors that claim the skies of Ghur these heroes descend on wounded prey with unrelenting speed. You may reroll failed charges for this model if the charge move will end within 3 inches of a model already wounded that turn.

4

Aspect of the LionThe nails and teeth of this hero have sharpened to the needlike points of the feline predators of their homelands. In the combat phase you may add one to the rend of and attacks that roll a 6 to hit.

5

Aspect of the Hydra – This hero has gained a sliver of the mighty regeneration power of the Hydra, seemingly regrowing lost limbs in the heat of battle. In each of your hero phases you may regain 1 wound on this model lost earlier in the battle.

6

Aspect of the Ironhide – Channelling the tough hide of the Ironhide Rhinos of the Ghur mountains this heroes skin has toughened to deflect blades. Roll a dice whenever a wound or mortal wound is allocated to this model, on a roll of a 6 that wound is ignored.

 

 

 

 

 

 

PITCHED BATTLE PROFILES


The table below provides points, minimum and maximum unit sizes and battlefield roles for the Warscroll and Warscroll battalions in this book, for use in Pitched Battles. Used alongside the rules for Pitched Battles in the Generals Handbook, this provides you with everything you need to field your army of Aeloran Nomads against any opponent

 

AELORAN NOMADS

UNIT SIZE

POINTS

BATTLEFIELD ROLE

NOTES

UNIT

MIN

MAX

Aeloran Noble on Wyldrunner Chariot

1

1

220

LEADER

 

Aeloran Wyldshaper on Griffin

1

1

260

LEADER, BEHEMOTH

 

Aeloran Lord on Wyldmare

1

1

220

LEADER

 

Aeloran Huntmaster

1

1

80

LEADER

 

Aeloran Gladeshards

10

30

160/420

-

BATTLELINE if AELORAN NOMAD Allegiance and your general is an AELORAN NOBLE

Aeloran Reavers

5

20

140/500

BATTLELINE

 

Aeloran Forest Shades

10

30

160

BATTLELINE

 

Aeloran Chargers

3

12

200

-

 

Centaurid Hunters

3

9

120

-

BATTLELINE if AELORAN NOMAD Allegiance and your general is a CENTAURID

Centaurid Stargazer

1

1

100

LEADER

 

Centaurid Gladiatori

3

9

150

-

 

Avari Sunrakers

3

6

200

-

 

Avari Starcaster

1

1

100

LEADER

 

Shard of the Wyldhart

1

1

360

BEHEMOTH

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

aeloran-centaurid-hunters.jpg

aeloran-forest-shades.jpg

aeloran-gladeshards.jpg

aeloran-longstriders.jpg

aeloran-lord-on-wyldmare.jpg

aeloran-noble-on-wyldrunner-chariot.jpg

aeloran-reavers.jpg

aeloran-wyldshaper-on-griffon.jpg

wyldshard-brambles.jpg

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11 minutes ago, DionTheWanderer said:

I wish I'd seen this *before* painting my Wanderers army...! 

 

Looks good though, would happily play games against an Army like this, and I think the lore is excellent.

Thanks, its still heavily work in progress as i also complete my own Suneaters Ogors tome, the fun thing is that the recent history and unit choices for both will be decided in a narrative game between myself and my other half as the Shatterhawk Nomads have found themselves in the way of the Burnin Klaw Ogor migration, both being native to ghur the ensueing war is where both subfactions have been locked in the aftermath of the Necroquake, with every falling Nomad hero causing Wyldshard plants to erupt from the barren earth beneath their feet the Suneater Ogors are struggling to summon enough flame to keep the forest at bay. 

 

With two such opposite schools of thought between the armies it lets us flesh out, play out and evolve both armies plus we get the playtesting of the rules done in the process to balance the warscrolls :P

When finished both tomes will have wargears, spell, prayer and trait cards to be used in battle along with properly made tomes (when I find a decent artist)

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27 minutes ago, MrZakalwe said:

Seriously nice work- reliable damage on a chariot charge is a nice touch (almost absent in the game).

Forest shades could do with dropping in points quite heavily. 

Agreed. They haven’t been standout units in any of the games so far and with only a single shot a piece, no rend and limited survivability they’re feeling rapidly outclassed by all more recent units. The glade shards sit where I think a standard archer battleline for aelves should be.

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12 hours ago, Melcavuk said:

Agreed. They haven’t been standout units in any of the games so far and with only a single shot a piece, no rend and limited survivability they’re feeling rapidly outclassed by all more recent units. The glade shards sit where I think a standard archer battleline for aelves should be.

 

The Gladeshards are pretty damned hardcore though even for them I wouldn't pay more than 140. I like that the Hunters beyond repute rule makes them artificially bad at sniping characters. Hmm maybe the 160 is worth it considering how good they'd be at operating as minimum strength units (no point in running more than the minimum - extra shot from the squad leader and hunters rule means minimum strength units have a similar damage/point ratio to massive regiments and are much more able to use cover).

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7 minutes ago, MrZakalwe said:

 

 

The Gladeshards are pretty damned hardcore though even for them I wouldn't pay more than 140. I like that the Hunters beyond repute rule makes them artificially bad at sniping characters. Hmm maybe the 160 is worth it considering how good they'd be at operating as minimum strength units (no point in running more than the minimum - extra shot from the squad leader and hunters rule means minimum strength units have a similar damage/point ratio to massive regiments and are much more able to use cover).

The Hunters rule was to give them a useful ability against Hordes, designing the faction based on my Partners brief she wants small, fancy and elite units (mostly to limit having to paint hundreds of models) whilst still retaining Aelven charactertistics (so not amazingly resilient, but graceful and fast). The Centaurid have a benefitial ability to target characters so the Hunters was to do a guerilla warfare style ability where a small unit excels at taking on the larger ones, it also gives them a use in the current meta of larger sized units in that theyre specifically better when the opponent plays to max size bonuses.

160 felt heavy in points to me but at the same time I tend to lean toward heavy rather than light pointing when starting out as its a custom unit.

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