Community Creativity: Your ideas for new factions

[Melcavuk]

In an effort to embrace the creativity and scope of the Sigmar realms in terms of sheer possibilities I thought it might be fun to hear players ideas for new factions, units and concepts that fit into the themes and scope of the age of sigmar settings. The imaginations of hobbiests are a fantastic resource and many players can likely identify something within their chosen grand alliance they'd love to see explored.

In the past few years I've explored a host of concepts from my Aeloran Fire Aelves and their Phoenix queen to the Roving Jotun giant tribes. 

So if you have ideas let's here them, something like a paragraph on the faction idea and a warscroll or two that you feel really personify your faction. 

 

I would ask that people refrain from comments about "bring back X" or "like X but better". Let's focus on new, creative and cool.

 

thanks,

Ricki

[Elmir]

I do hope they do something cool for death  deadwalkers.  Something along the lines of a techno-arcane "Frankenstein style undead". 

Nothing magical, just a bunch of deranged scientists in lab coats experimenting with lightning and radioactive stuff to re-animate the dead and who use their electro and lodestone based weapons on the enemies trying to interfere with their work.  They'll essentially resurrect anything they can get their hands on. 

- Undead bears
- Undead wolves
- Flesh gollems made out of parts from various ogre/troll sized monsters. 
- Zombie giants with palanquins on their shoulders with scientists operating Tesla coil based electricity cannons. 
- Regular zombies
- Suicide style zombies with radioactive gas canisters strapped to their back.
- Zombies with lighting coil conductors on their back to augment the electro weapons when you shoot enemies in contact with those zombies. 
- Corpse carts obviously.
- Scientist with crazy weaponry as the heroes or with warmachines to jolt the zombies back to life. 
- Artillery using radioactive lodestone shells.

So no real mages/immortals really. Just mortals dabbling in undeath and not quite getting it right yet to  create permanent unlife... But still worshipping Nagash i nthe hopes of getting some more knowledge of course. 
 

[Melcavuk]

Sounds good, would need to suitably differentiate them from clan Skyre who currently hold the weird sciences throne in sigmar (including lightning guns and weird gases etc).

 

Could intergrate it as a subfaction of skaven but for Death grand alliances where their sciences have brought them into service of nagash due to a more morbid fascination

 

 

For my own part I have a long winded write up for my Fae and their marionnette husk legions formed from souls and debris to imitate life to draw in more victims. The Fae-kin are an elusive race, born not of flesh or bone, rock nor wood but of possibility. It is said that in the days when the realms were young and the populations sparse, a parasitical species was born from every decision not made, every road not walked, they were the darkened mirror to the worlds around them only ever able to feed off of the reality that had rejected them. The very nature of their conceptual existance prevented the Fae from producing offspring of their own, they were cursed with no fate nor destiny of their own and thus never capable of passing such a future on to their offspring. Instead they lurked in the shadows of the Realms, glaring back at the residences through their reflection, living in the corner of their eyes just beyond perception, in the dead of night the Fae would slip into the homes of sleeping villages, soundless on their approach as they passed mere inches from passing adults to reach the nurserys of newborns. They would steal the young, replacing them with creatures sewn from twigs and dirt, bound together by magics and hidden by perception filters to resemble those children stolen.
 

ALLEGIANCE ABILITY:

Cutting The Thread: Before they go to war the Fae examine the tapestry of fate, tugging at the threads to best find the one that risks their demise and removing it entirely. There are however countless threads that make up the tapesty, and even the Fae cannot truly see all routes to the conclusion.

Before battle begins, roll two dice to represent the thread that has been cut, this resut is your Severed Thread. Throughout the battle whenever your opponent attempts to CAST or CHARGE within 10 inches of a FAE unit, compare their result to your Severed Thread, if the results match their attempt is considered to have failed, additionally if there is a FAE unit within 10 inches of the failed attempt they may heal D3 wounds off of the energies released

 

HUSKS

 

UNIT: Husks

BATTLEFIELD ROLE: Battleline

POINTS: 80
UNIT SIZE: 10-40

 

Description: As the flickering flames of the torch light catches the figures their true forms are unveiled, from their crudely hewn wooden boots, to the flesh and metals fused together to form their musculature and hinged wooden frames these hideous marionettes are poor imitations of the Aelves they impersonate. Constantly warping and twisting masks born of living stone reflect the darkest fears of their would be victims. Long and winding strings hang from their limbs seemingly coursing like serpents with wills of their own, raising their lengthened and distorted limbs the Husks send the tendril like strings swimming through the air.

 

Move: 6

Wounds: 1

Bravery: 10

Armour: 6+

 

Weaponry:
Hooked Claws and String
Attacks: 1

Range: 1
To Hit: 4+

To Wound: 4+

Rend: -

Dmg: 1

 

Awakened: One model in this unit may be nominated as an Awakened, a Husk that retains or mirrors some torturous concept of awareness. They move with a grace denied their Marionette kin and are able to direct the kin to ensnare victims who would attempt to retreat. Any unit attempting to retreat from combat with a unit of Husks that includes an awakened take D3 mortal wounds as some of their number become ensnared by the living strings of the Husks.

 

The Dark Mirror: To face the every shifting faces of the husks is to face terror itself, their visage twists and warps into the nightmares of those they face in combat. In vast hordes their pallid silence and shifting features can strike terror into even the strongest heart. If a unit contains 10 or more Husks all enemy units within 6 inches suffer -1 Bravery, if the unit contains 20 or more this increases to -2, finally a unit of 30 or more husks inflicts -3 bravery.

 

Born of Cowardice: A husk is constructed from the last strand of a cowards soul, the future they rejected in running from a fight is what is used to ensure the husk always remains in the battle. For every enemy that flees from them husks can devour their futures, constructing fresh kin from bodies and strewn debris to replenish their number. For every enemy unit that loses a model to battle shock within 3 inches of a Husk unit you may replenish D3 husks to the unit lost earlier in the battle.

 

[polarbear]

Maybe a living human Death faction that rejects Sigmar, felt betrayed by him during the Age of Chaos, and turned to Nagash for survival. They've sworn an oath of allegiance to Nagash, who imbues them with deathly power in exchange for not taking their lives just yet. Very ornate decorations and iconography of the kingdoms they once were. Magic-based army, many part-ethereal, riding winds of death magic. 

[Melcavuk]

Just now, polarbear said:

Maybe a living human Death faction that rejects Sigmar, felt betrayed by him during the Age of Chaos, and turned to Nagash for survival. They've sworn an oath of allegiance to Nagash, who imbues them with deathly power in exchange for not taking their lives just yet. Very ornate decorations and iconography of the kingdoms they once were. Magic-based army, many part-ethereal, riding winds of death magic. 

Would be a good way of exploring the many facets of human empires living within the realms without them all being loyal to Sigmar, having loyal humans to arm and armour his undead legions would give nagash a whole host of slaves capable of more refined working than skeletons and zombies are capable of. A dark pact sworn to a God that promised them salvation from the tides of chaos by a council of wizards in order to secure their kingdoms future.

[Kronos]

1-Goblin Nomads. Goblins that shun Gorkamorka and instead worship The Bad Moon, lots of wolves and bats, a night like theme. So Night goblineque but less focus on squigs and mushrooms, could even tie in with Hobgoblins?

 

2 Beastmasters  - Norsca style men that live in all realms, non chaotic. Leaders could be shapeshifters or werekin. Strong links with Taal, maybe renamed and Ursus from old Kislev. Lots of Bears, Bison and stranger beasts .. Bears the size of elephants with Bison horns? Can cause havoc amongst monsterous enemies, men are larger than stormcast on average, burly Beorn like.

 

3 Insectiles - aanthropomorphic  insects, like sylvaneth thye have the darker kin and the neautralkin which lean towards "good". Predator/amazonian tribe style aesthetics. Mostly predator insects like praying-mantis, centipedes and scorpions for the dark kin. Moths, beetles and dragonflies for thr others. Maybe something like MTG insect warriors in form. About tyranid size .... allies to sylvaneth roll in hamadroth beetles.

 

4 Druad Netherkin - Deaths answer to Malal, undying uncontrolled, wisps and souls of eternal creatures. Their deathforms do not reflect their previous forms. Image links to Grotesques and Gargoyles. Elemental type beings of energy, Bone, stone and deadwood, think fenn beasts and treekin. They answer to no god, AI of thr fantasy world, risen by mages which are themselves Thralls to the Spirits. Could also have other human thralls, look like zombie but are very much alive, bar the possessing spirit.

 

5- what im currently doing myself, Troll army of chaos, for me one of the best ideas GW had and never saw through, such a Ragnarok feel when I think a bout it.

[Davariel]

I would absolutely love to see a Death faction with an underwater/Atlantis vibe. A once mighty civilisation that was buried beneath the waves (perhaps as punishment for defying Nagash). Think stuff like drowned men that still look like they're floating underwater, watery spirits, sirens, even undead merfolk.

[bsharitt]

2 hours ago, Kronos said:

1-Goblin Nomads. Goblins that shun Gorkamorka and instead worship The Bad Moon, lots of wolves and bats, a night like theme. So Night goblineque but less focus on squigs and mushrooms, could even tie in with Hobgoblins?

I've been thinking of something similar, but less a new faction, but more of a night/moon focused expansion for Moonclat Grots with some bats, wolves and other creatures of the night. Of course I'd keep squigs too.

[Ulf]

Forest Goblins, but extending the spider-y theme to other animals. Weedy goblins who can't fight on their own, but tame forest or jungle monsters, and ride them into battle. An army made predominantly of large models ridden by grots, with minimal 32mm or 25mm based infantry.

Sort of the flip-side to the Bonesplitterz... these guys don't specialize in hunting & killing monsters, they specialize in trapping and taming them.

A cool inclusion would be a mad shaman type, who could once per game drink a magic potion, and then after that, if he's killed, he'd be removed from the board, and be replaced with a monster. You'd need to set points aside, like a summoning pool, but you'd get your choice of monster from their battletome. 

I dig the idea of this little maniac swigging his magic brew, then charging recklessly into the teeth of the enemy, knowing that if the opponent kills him, all of a sudden he'll have a giant spider, a giant rhinoceros, or some other punchy combat monster in his grill.

[Melcavuk]

Some fantastic ideas for fleshing out Grots, both the beast faction and the shadier night goblins really add character back into factions. And i've always been fond of the sheer level of character that can be shown in the grots despite their smaller stature. As a way of introducing some of the more diverse creatures of the Sigmar Realms it's fantastic.

[Moonlightwolf]

Bring back halflings but as a destruction faction. They could be crazed pygmies that are obsessed with cooking everything in the realms. They used to belong to order but during the age of chaos they were forced to eat whatever they could find eventually turning on any living thing as a potential source of food, including each other. They might even bring a cauldron of broth into battle that gave different bonuses depending on what (or who) was used to make it. Obvious allies would be gutbusters and maneaters, and if they also brewed a morbid ale from the juices of their foes then Gargants could work too.

[Melcavuk]

4 minutes ago, Moonlightwolf said:

Bring back halflings but as a destruction faction. They could be crazed pygmies that are obsessed with cooking everything in the realms. They used to belong to order but during the age of chaos they were forced to eat whatever they could find eventually turning on any living thing as a potential source of food, including each other. They might even bring a cauldron of broth into battle that gave different bonuses depending on what (or who) was used to make it. Obvious allies would be gutbusters and maneaters, and if they also brewed a morbid ale from the juices of their foes then Gargants could work too.

"Eat the heart to gain its power" could easily do a tribe of increasingly savage halflings in the realm of beasts, their obsession with consuming bigger and stronger prey that they might take on the power of those that they consume. Even look at things like those draped in the pelts of their kills, jaguar warriors who move with lightning speed with gloves mounting savage claws to carve away their foes flesh. Those wearing spider carcasses with blades formed from the fangs of their kills that send even a gargant into shock with the potency of the venom. Then could look into "battle drugs" and "poisons" as a faction specific trait, consuming even the savage plants of their homelands to drive them into battle frenzy (a drug to increase damage on charge but they must always charge if in range etc)

[SaJeel]

Avian Aelves, focus on wind magic, and the ability to transform into werehawks. Model wise you have giant flying birds, ridden by avian looking humanoids, Large harpie beasts, and monstrous great hawks. A thematic counter to tzaangors. 

[bsharitt]

Since a living human death faction was mentioned and we already have order an Chaos humans, we'd need a destruction human faction to balance it out. I'm thinking some kind of Mongol-like force of nature horse riding hoard. Of course that's probably be too generic for GW to make these days.

[FRoper]

I had the idea of humans in the fire realm, but covered in stone forms giving them unnatural strength and they worship a giant fire turtle inside a volcano. 

[TheNotebookGM]

6 hours ago, Moonlightwolf said:

Bring back halflings but as a destruction faction. They could be crazed pygmies that are obsessed with cooking everything in the realms. They used to belong to order but during the age of chaos they were forced to eat whatever they could find eventually turning on any living thing as a potential source of food, including each other. They might even bring a cauldron of broth into battle that gave different bonuses depending on what (or who) was used to make it. Obvious allies would be gutbusters and maneaters, and if they also brewed a morbid ale from the juices of their foes then Gargants could work too.

I literally came here to write this. 

[Cinncinnatus]

Personally I'm hoping Tyrion's Realm of Light aelves are close combat monsters with terrible saves. Their saving grace, though, would be that they have some sort of allegiance ability of Blinding Light that makes them much harder to hit with both ranged and melee weapons.

[pseudonyme]

I like the rumour of the chaos space marines equivalent: death stormcasts eternals.

With werewolves event if they are too much artistically DRM free.

[Gecktron]

On 27.8.2017 at 7:40 PM, Melcavuk said:

[...]

In the past few years I've explored a host of concepts from my Aeloran Fire Aelves and their Phoenix queen to the Roving Jotun giant tribes. 

[...]

I had a similar idea. I would like to see GW does something with the Phoenix Temple faction, as there is a solid base to expand on. 

Just like the Fyreslayers are connected with Aqshy and the Kharadron Overlords with Chamon, I see a possible connection between the Phoenix Temple and the realm of Ghyran. I know, why should there be fire aelves in the realm of life when there are already the Sylvaneth? 
First of all, GW will need to have more than one faction per realm and second, fire doesn't have to be the opposite of life and growth.
Fire can burn away the old and rotten, fertilizing the ground and making way for something new. While the phoenix theme of death and rebirth is extremely fitting for the realm of life and thirdly, during last years summer campaign the phoenix temple has its very own city, the Phoenicium, within the realm.

The temple could be lead by The Phoenix King a amalgamation of the souls of all the phoenix kings of the world-that-was and a shard of the old aelven god Asuryan. We know that at least the memory of the old gods survived the end of the world as both Kurnoth and Khaine are mentioned in canon. 
 

As for units, I would look at the last few Age of Sigmar releases.
Most of them had:

• A big centerpiece model (Alarielle, Ironclad…)
• a "monster" (Magmadroth, Treemen, Arkanaut Firgate…)
• a elite infantry unit (Thunderers, Tree-Revenants)
• a specialized unit (Kurnoth Hunters, Endrinriggers, Auric Hearthguard)
• and a core infantry unit (Arkanauts Company, Vulkite Berzerkers, Dryads)

Now lets take a look at what we already have:

• Frostheart/Flamespyre Phoenix (filling the monster slot)
• Phoenix Guard (as elite infantry)

Which leaves us with three slots that need filling.

As for the big centerpiece model, The Phoenix King reborn would be the obvious choice. He could be a humanoid character, slightly larger than a treemen, clad in Phoenix Guard style armor and engulfed by a vortex of fire (similar in style to the celestant-prime). In one hand carrying a phoenix guard styled halberd, the other hand stretched out with a fire bolt in the form of a phoenix coming out.

As for the core infantry, a unit of temple serfs would fit. These could be a more civil looking unit as they would only take up arms in a time of need (also referencing the militia based high elven military back in the world-that-was). 
The models can be equipped with shields and either swords or spears, while some models carry religious objects like thuribles with flames leaking out of them or a vexillum with a phoenix figure on top. 

This leaves only the special unit slot open. For these I thought about something similar to the exalted sorcerer kit in 40K and the Stormfiends for Skyre. A unit of three. Each of these aelves have once been a mute member of the phoenix guard. But they have become much more. 
When a great phoenix is close to death, but to weak to be reborn, a member of the phoenix guard brings the ultimate sacrifice. The same moment the phoenix takes his last breath, the guardsmen ends his own life. Both are set on fire and out of their shared ashes a new entity rises. A fusion of the essence of the phoenix and the soul of the aelve. They become one of "The Reborn", their oath of silence voided as they old life ended and they became something entirely new. 
As for the unit, they would be a unit of three. Slightly larger than a normal aelve, wearing highly ornate armor, with flames leaking out of every gap. 
Weapon options could either flaming twin swords, hands throwing fireballs or a large halberd. 


As for the overall rules, I want this army to be elite focused. Low tier units should also receive buffs when being close to stronger units as they are literally fighting with shards of their god. For example, Temple serfs get better when close to Phoenix guard units, Phoenix guard when close to a unit of Reborn and the Phoenix King would of course buff all units.

Wow, that became way longer than I expected when I started. Sorry for the Wall of Text but Inspiration stuck me while writing this.

[Melcavuk]

Sound cool. My Aeloran Fire Aelves signified the many faces of the flame, they were hot tempered and passionate, could burn bright and sear those who crossed them ill prepared but most of all they signified rebirth.

 

the army focused on skirmishes mostly with a heavy elemental focus on bows and speed, a force that struck from the ash storms and disappeared again without a trace. As much legend and myth as they were a reality, the faction even had a philosophical divide between the militant Aeloran guard fighting to reforge an empire and the shady Nomads who dealt in fire root and illicit temptations of the flame. 

[tea_wild_owl]

I play my death army as undead wikings and would like to have a faction for them. I even converted my mortis engine as a flying ghost ship to fight these flying dwarfish tin cans

another thing that I thought of is a blood magic lore for my converted necromancer with his blood ghosts and animated armor

[The Door Master]

I posted this on another thread but I think it would be good to bring up the idea here, my idea for a Destruction faction. Termites! For those of you who have ever dealt with Termites, you know that they love to destroy any wooden structure to make their towering mounds.

So my concept is this; massive Termite warriors ravaging the to the realms and cites of Sigmar to be broken down to build city size mounds to dominate the realms. War is the norm for termites, so feel they would very easily fit in the setting. There is also the idea that they could be more effective in combat against Sylvaneth (they are made of wood after all) and battlefield terrain.

 

[Praecautus]

The land and sky - the natural world can be destructive, more so than the armies that wage war on it. This army is made from the weather and the very land given form. As opposed to simple trolls and elementals it would be interesting to explore other ways  this can happen e.g. A large earth monster could be a small hill that can appear any where on the battle field as it is pushed up by the ground it then attacks by creating landslides crushing those that attack it, clouds that drift across the table and rain poison down on the army below, trees that catch on fire and explode etc

[VoodooChileIRL]

I know it's a ripoff but I'd love to see a Freman style faction come out of the realm of Ghur. Sand worm riding humans who "rode" out the Age of Chaos on the back of an absolutely enormous sand worm.

Living in the chitin and folds on the back of the giant worm while it's underground, coming out to defend it and it's offspring when it surfaces. (Essentially a symbiotic relationship like the remora and a shark) 

You could have individual riders on the smallest worms, a "command" worm with the leader of the humans on a larger worm and groups of humans, possibly with hastily mounted weaponry, on the largest worms that can act as transports for infantry.

They'd obviously be in constant conflict with the beasts of Ghur, the Ironjawz and Beastclaw Raiders but I'd suspect also some grudge holding Duardin for some holds that were destroyed because the great worm passed too close. Chaos kind of also goes without saying.

 

It's all a giant Dune ripoff but in fairness that has never stopped Games Workshop  

(Thinking about it, it might actually work as a counts as for Kharadron Overlords...)

[Melcavuk]

Its a cool idea, and one of the books shows a gate of Ghur literally inside the mouth of one of the giant monsters there gained open for access so its entirely doable in terms of monsters within the setting. Nomadic human factions with a desert vibe would be cool especially with all of the varieties of lethal herbs/plants from the wild realm they could harness for weaponry and the sheer number of mount possibilities. It'd be a cool new mounted human faction without having to go back to horses everywhere,