The Rumour Thread

[RyantheFett]

Funny enough I was also against more religion and gods in most games. Only after I started to read Age of Sigmar books did I finally sort of like the concept. 

If you got to pick a religion Sigmar is not a bad one to choose. Seems pretty chill with the accpetance and redemption. Usually most stories go the 40k route so it is a nice change of pace to have at least decent/active gods in a story..

[xking]

Nurgle accepts all into his grandfatherly embrace.

[EntMan]

1 hour ago, Neverchosen said:

I do wish that they made it more clear if the embodiment on the table top was the literal god or an aspect or avatar of the God. Because having Teclis get defeated by a swarm of skink blow-darts or Nagash defeated by standing next to dangerous terrain would likely impact their cults to some extent? But if it was a temporary expression of their power that had appeared temporarily on the battle field it would be an easier pill to swallow and would make me more inclined to use them... without wondering about the strange narrative implication of the Goddess of Life is personally digging into a rat burrow to toss hands with a swarm of rodents.

To paraphrase The Hulk - Puny Gods.

I've always seen the gods of AoS (and I guess 40k too) as superpowerful entities rather than omnipotent supreme beings.

[Enoby]

While I personally don't mind CoS being related to Sigmar, I will at least put in some defence of the "antitheist" stance as it was what put me off Vampires. 

So, to begin, AoS is definitely a god-focussed setting. I myself play Slaanesh which is very god aligned, though it could be argued that the Chaos gods are rather unique in their less-humanoid manifeststions compared to the other gods. In a world of infinite realms it could be argued that you need gods to tell a story - after all, the only beings capable of making a noticeable impact would be deities (or not far off). Personally, I love the Chaos goes and the callous way they interact with their followers - awful, inhuman clouds of emotion that use and discard the lost and the damned at will. 

So why am I making at least a bit of a stand for the "antitheist" opinion in AoS?

In 2015, I started the game playing Vampire Counts after reading and enjoying Neferata. At the time I started, there wasn't much lore at all and I didn't even realise there was a core book for the first month. Regardless, a few months in I learned that "all was one in Nagash" - aka Nagash was the head honcho of Death and the dearly departed were just extensions of his will. In many ways, this is similar to Chaos. I, however, didn't like this - in fact, it (alongside no updates) put me off Death and I've not looked back. Why? Well because I think Nagash is kind of lame and I didn't want my guys to have anything to do with him. And his hat sucks. 

As mentioned before, many of the AoS specific gods are pretty mortal - like the Greek gods. In some ways this allows you to have more engaging stories with them where they can make mistakes and learn from them. Unlike the Chaos Gods, these guys are actually characters who have plans that are comprehensible and so can become a fully-fleshed out part of the narrative. However the issue can come when you make a faction have too much to do with a humanoid god. Simply put, if the god is done poorly then it reflects badly on the entire faction. If Sigmar was suddenly rewritten to be an arrogant drunk idiot who kicks puppies and punts orphans into the sun, then Stormcast players may well feel robbed of their faction because their head-honcho dictates the direction of them. Even if you wanted Stormcast to be heroic, Drunk-Sigmar would be hard to reconcile with that.  

So basically, gods can be a good tool to tell a story in a large setting but if they're too intertwined with their faction then their presence can take away the personality of the individual characters. If you love Neferata but hate Nagash, then you'd struggle much more to enjoy Death than if it were the other way around.

TL;DR - Gods can be a cool narrative tool but sometimes individual gods are lame and that reflects badly on the faction they represent.

[novakai]

TBF most of Warhammer has always had theme of religious zealotry and fanatical fate/ devotion in both settings, it sort of famous for those kind themes and stuff. I wouldn’t expect the main human faction of AoS to deviate from such common theme especially when they are usually the one that exemplify it the most ( Imperium of Man and the Empire)

[xking]

27 minutes ago, Enoby said:

While I personally don't mind CoS being related to Sigmar, I will at least put in some defence of the "antitheist" stance as it was what put me off Vampires. 

So, to begin, AoS is definitely a god-focussed setting. I myself play Slaanesh which is very god aligned, though it could be argued that the Chaos gods are rather unique in their less-humanoid manifeststions compared to the other gods. In a world of infinite realms it could be argued that you need gods to tell a story - after all, the only beings capable of making a noticeable impact would be deities (or not far off). Personally, I love the Chaos goes and the callous way they interact with their followers - awful, inhuman clouds of emotion that use and discard the lost and the damned at will. 

So why am I making at least a bit of a stand for the "antitheist" opinion in AoS?

In 2015, I started the game playing Vampire Counts after reading and enjoying Neferata. At the time I started, there wasn't much lore at all and I didn't even realise there was a core book for the first month. Regardless, a few months in I learned that "all was one in Nagash" - aka Nagash was the head honcho of Death and the dearly departed were just extensions of his will. In many ways, this is similar to Chaos. I, however, didn't like this - in fact, it (alongside no updates) put me off Death and I've not looked back. Why? Well because I think Nagash is kind of lame and I didn't want my guys to have anything to do with him. And his hat sucks. 

As mentioned before, many of the AoS specific gods are pretty mortal - like the Greek gods. In some ways this allows you to have more engaging stories with them where they can make mistakes and learn from them. Unlike the Chaos Gods, these guys are actually characters who have plans that are comprehensible and so can become a fully-fleshed out part of the narrative. However the issue can come when you make a faction have too much to do with a humanoid god. Simply put, if the god is done poorly then it reflects badly on the entire faction. If Sigmar was suddenly rewritten to be an arrogant drunk idiot who kicks puppies and punts orphans into the sun, then Stormcast players may well feel robbed of their faction because their head-honcho dictates the direction of them. Even if you wanted Stormcast to be heroic, Drunk-Sigmar would be hard to reconcile with that.  

So basically, gods can be a good tool to tell a story in a large setting but if they're too intertwined with their faction then their presence can take away the personality of the individual characters. If you love Neferata but hate Nagash, then you'd struggle much more to enjoy Death than if it were the other way around.

TL;DR - Gods can be a cool narrative tool but sometimes individual gods are lame and that reflects badly on the faction they represent.

"Nagash is all and all are one in Nagash!"

 

 

[Twisted Firaun]

5 hours ago, Enoby said:

While I personally don't mind CoS being related to Sigmar, I will at least put in some defence of the "antitheist" stance as it was what put me off Vampires. 

So, to begin, AoS is definitely a god-focussed setting. I myself play Slaanesh which is very god aligned, though it could be argued that the Chaos gods are rather unique in their less-humanoid manifeststions compared to the other gods. In a world of infinite realms it could be argued that you need gods to tell a story - after all, the only beings capable of making a noticeable impact would be deities (or not far off). Personally, I love the Chaos goes and the callous way they interact with their followers - awful, inhuman clouds of emotion that use and discard the lost and the damned at will. 

So why am I making at least a bit of a stand for the "antitheist" opinion in AoS?

In 2015, I started the game playing Vampire Counts after reading and enjoying Neferata. At the time I started, there wasn't much lore at all and I didn't even realise there was a core book for the first month. Regardless, a few months in I learned that "all was one in Nagash" - aka Nagash was the head honcho of Death and the dearly departed were just extensions of his will. In many ways, this is similar to Chaos. I, however, didn't like this - in fact, it (alongside no updates) put me off Death and I've not looked back. Why? Well because I think Nagash is kind of lame and I didn't want my guys to have anything to do with him. And his hat sucks. 

As mentioned before, many of the AoS specific gods are pretty mortal - like the Greek gods. In some ways this allows you to have more engaging stories with them where they can make mistakes and learn from them. Unlike the Chaos Gods, these guys are actually characters who have plans that are comprehensible and so can become a fully-fleshed out part of the narrative. However the issue can come when you make a faction have too much to do with a humanoid god. Simply put, if the god is done poorly then it reflects badly on the entire faction. If Sigmar was suddenly rewritten to be an arrogant drunk idiot who kicks puppies and punts orphans into the sun, then Stormcast players may well feel robbed of their faction because their head-honcho dictates the direction of them. Even if you wanted Stormcast to be heroic, Drunk-Sigmar would be hard to reconcile with that.  

So basically, gods can be a good tool to tell a story in a large setting but if they're too intertwined with their faction then their presence can take away the personality of the individual characters. If you love Neferata but hate Nagash, then you'd struggle much more to enjoy Death than if it were the other way around.

TL;DR - Gods can be a cool narrative tool but sometimes individual gods are lame and that reflects badly on the faction they represent.

Killing off the Tomb Kings and their pantheon of deities was one of GW’s biggest mistakes in my opinion. The Tomb Kings offered death  players an army that didn’t bow down to Nagash but still had the “metal” feel only an army of the undead can produce. GW’s tried to hype up Nagash as this powerful and cunning deity….. but so far he’s the only god in the setting to be Pimp-Slapped in some way or form by every other faction. Hell, I created my own death-god so that I can justify using Nagash’s rules without playing him. 

like @Enoby I love the fact that Chaos Gods essentially leave their worshippers to their own devices. It allows both us and GW to create our own Mortal & Daemonic champions to expand the narrative in their own way, and still push the Chaos Agenda. 

[Vasshpit]

Is the Vyrkos Dynasty a part of Nagash's will? I thought they came from another godbeast or something and not tied to his will? 

Edited August 7, 2022 by Vasshpit

[Sahrial]

1 hour ago, Vasshpit said:

Is the Vyrkos Dynasty a part of Nagash's will? I thought they came from another godbeast or something and not tied to his will? 

They became vampires through Hrunspuul, hound of cairns, instead of Nagash, but they do follow him. I’m not 100% on the specifics of the arrangement but by head cannon is it’s an allegiance of convenience.

[Ravinsild]

We have seen some leaks for the Slaves to Darkness battletome, but do we have any rumours about how said leaks will be released? Will they be bros and release Command Groups for those of us that bought the Start Collecting! boxes with no musicians or banners for Knights and Warriors or am I going to have to buy like 10 boxes to get a handful of functioning squads with all the right equipment? 

[Harioch]

6 hours ago, Loyal Son of Khemri said:

 Hell, I created my own death-god so that I can justify using Nagash’s rules without playing him. 

I liked Nagash since Fantasy so I'm not advocating for it but, maybe someday GW will split Nagash into many different personnas. It has been said in BL books that Nagash is revered in many forms in the realms. He could split after his recent loss...

The problem is that it could make Death look like Destruction :many gods tied to GorkaMorka. Plus we already have a Nagash miniature...

Personnaly I never understood why people want a faction of Death led by a Death divinity...into Death allegiance...that are against Nagash. I can see the appeal but this faction belong to Order then...not Death. Because every allegiance has infighting but ultimately are allies against other allegiance. Not here because Death is...ultimately...Nagash and pals..

On the other side..if allegiances are split....

[Grimrock]

4 hours ago, Ravinsild said:

We have seen some leaks for the Slaves to Darkness battletome, but do we have any rumours about how said leaks will be released? Will they be bros and release Command Groups for those of us that bought the Start Collecting! boxes with no musicians or banners for Knights and Warriors or am I going to have to buy like 10 boxes to get a handful of functioning squads with all the right equipment? 

Definitely the latter. They haven't released command groups in... Man I don't even know how long. Not since you had to buy units one blister pack at a time. The good old days. 

Edited August 7, 2022 by Grimrock

[Beliman]

15 hours ago, Enoby said:

Simply put, if the god is done poorly then it reflects badly on the entire faction. If Sigmar was suddenly rewritten to be an arrogant drunk idiot who kicks puppies and punts orphans into the sun, then Stormcast players may well feel robbed of their faction because their head-honcho dictates the direction of them. Even if you wanted Stormcast to be heroic, Drunk-Sigmar would be hard to reconcile with that.  

That's one of my main issues with AoS. An entire faction following a king means nothing, the king can die and another one will rise, you can have a shift after shift in the top of the hierarchy, or even a Civil War between kings, warlords, wannabe-emperors, etc... for a big brawl that everybody will enjoy, but it's a bit more dificult in a setting has gods of an entire civilizations and/or races.

But what will you think if I say that there is an AoS army full of little stunty pirate atheist dudes/ettes that don't care about gods...

Edited August 7, 2022 by Beliman

[MitGas]

Personally I‘m fine with gods being part of the setting, even actively, but I certainly want more key players than just the gods (which we are slowly getting, at least it feels this way to me). I agree with Enoby that Death = Nagash is a bit boeing narratively and I‘m glad they‘re introducing some more colorful underlings. 
 

Small-time heroes are a bit difficult in a setting of gigantic realms though as local heroics do have less of an impact than campaigns backed by god-like beings. 

[KingBrodd]

Not too long now till the LOTR Preview stream!!

[Aleser]

50 minutes ago, KingBrodd said:

Not too long now till the LOTR Preview stream!!

New lotr boxes really cought my eye for the first time

[Jefferson Skarsnik]

The rumours were true, new Osgiliath starter set with plastic Faramir /Madril/Damrod/Gothmog alongside morannon orcs, troll, rangers, warriors of MT and osgiliath ruins terrain. Unlikely to be as insanely good a deal as the pelennor fields set was but then what ever will be again, you'd almost have to ask

I bought metal Faramir and weird Finecast Gothmog as soon as they went last chance to buy lol

[Neverchosen]

I love lord of the rings and the game system but I think i will duck this release... if they go into the first age then I will make a Nargothrond army but otherwise I will stay strong and keep my hands clean...

Maybe a small  shire army... or a Rohan... or maybe the Knights of Dol Amroth... or a third age Erebor army?

But you know... just a little army.

Edited August 7, 2022 by Neverchosen

[Clan's Cynic]

Not AoS but Glorfindel's new model is worth sharing.

[Sigmarusvult]

If all the AoS Previews could be as good  😍 I don't even play the game nor own LORT miniatures but this was quite enjoyable to watch,  the box sets are all tempting and they seem to be a great way to start Middle Earth.

Edited August 7, 2022 by Sigmarusvult

[Chikout]

58 minutes ago, Sigmarusvult said:

If all the AoS Previews could be as good  😍 I don't even play the game nor own LORT miniatures but this was quite enjoyable to watch,  the box sets are all tempting and they seem to be a great way to start Middle Earth.

It was a nice preview but the middle earth release strategy is exactly what everyone has been complaining about with AoS: new plastic character and very old plastic units. Unless the TV show causes the game to really take off again, I don't think we'll ever see a new plastic unit. The new Elrond is nice though. 

[Vasshpit]

That new Osgiliath terrain though! 🤩

[Neverchosen]

Hey Gencon AOS News?

Will I actually check out Soulbound?

Edited August 7, 2022 by Neverchosen

[EonChao]

Just a heads up for those in the UK, Fauxhammer are saying subscriptions for the next Age of Sigmar partworks, Stormbringer, will be live to sign up to from Monday 29th August. They normally have reasonable knowledge about what Hachette are up to so I'd take this as fairly solid even without any confirmation. There is an exclusive Praetor Prime in issue 5 for those who care about that. S

I posted a thread with the known information including a breakdown of kits included here. I shall try to keep it up to date.

[KingBrodd]

1 hour ago, Chikout said:

It was a nice preview but the middle earth release strategy is exactly what everyone has been complaining about with AoS: new plastic character and very old plastic units. Unless the TV show causes the game to really take off again, I don't think we'll ever see a new plastic unit. The new Elrond is nice though. 

I agree. I love MESBG but after leaving the hobby around 2007-08 I was shocked to see almost all the exact same kits in circulation when I returned. If they updated those it would revitalise the game, much like some AOS Factions!!