Thoughts on the Age of Sigmar Background

Having read the new Warhammer: Age of Sigmar book, here are some thoughts on the background for the new world, how it differs from the old Warhammer world, what it means for the game design, and what I think it means for the game's future.

First of all, I'm pleased to say it still feels very Warhammery.  There are plenty of hold-over characters and references.  Several of the old characters become gods:  Sigmar, Teclis, Tyrion, Nagash...

Chaos remains Chaos: Nurgle, Tzeench, and Khorne are all basically the same.  The models and art are evocative of the long-developed Chaos look and feel.  Slaanesh is present too, but the fluff says s/he is now a prisoner.  Fan paranoia thinks GW may be writing Slaanesh out of the background to be more child friendly.  I am not yet sure.  I think there may be a battle for Slaanesh in some future campaign.  (Besides, what sort of S&M god would Slaanesh be, if he didn't like to be tied up from time to time.) The Horned Rat gets promoted to be a minor Chaos God.

Orks look pretty much the same, but don't get many photos.

Ogres look pretty much the same, and feature in lots of photos.  I predict minimal changes to the Ogre model range.

The undead have lots of Nagash stuff from the endtimes, and seem to be using the Vampire Counts skeletons.  I predict a loss of Transylvanian and Egyptian elements, in favor of some new look.

Interestingly, the Lizardmen are all over the place in the photos, with lots of giant dinosaurs.  They are renamed, but I think that far from being written out of the new universe, the Lizardmen will remain with minimal changes to the model range.  There are just too many cool dinosaur models.

The Skaven play a major role in the background.  If anything, the Skaven have gotten even more emphasis than in WFB.

The wood elf tree spirits have an army in the main book, minus all the elf elements.

Dwarves are mentioned as existing, but get one picture -- of a Slayer.

The Elves are just gone.  Wood Elves, High Elves, Dark Elves. Gone.  There are elf gods, but they are all sad that their people have vanished, except for a few survivors that hang out with Sigmar.

The Empire is gone, gone, gone.  Bretonnia is gone, gone, gone. No more Renaissance Germany.  No more King Arthur.  Boo hoo.

The world is more open.  There are now nine realms, seven of which are contested battlefield.  Each corresponds roughly to an old Wind of Magic (except for the Chaos Realm itself).  Each of these mortal realms is made up of (apparently) many sub-dimensions, pocket worlds, and so forth.  So there is no D&D campaign map of the world any more, only of particular battlefields, and you are free to invent your own.  I think this is a major change, and it gives GW space to grow and develop this new world.

The Stormcast Eternals are magic Space Marines (more or less) who descend from the Heavens on drop pods... I mean lightning bolts and smash things.  Actually, I think they are quite interesting.  With the Stormcast Eternals, GW is reversing the usual background.  Instead of Chaos corrupting and destroying a decaying world, we have (essentially) a fantasy version of the Emperor's Great Crusade.  Order is on the offensive, liberating worlds and bringing hope.

Overall, I think the emphasis will be on smaller numbers of bigger, more interesting models.  The existing factions are simplified into 4 big factions: Order, Chaos, Destruction, and Death.  So all the good guys into Order, Chaos remains Chaos plus it's got the Skaven, Orcs and Ogres hang out together, and then there are some undead.

My guess is that we will soon see a repackaging and rerelease of many of the old models.  I strongly suspect that GW will keep the newer kits, the ones that are more atmospheric, and larger or more dynamic.  I think older models, models based on real history, and so forth will be phased out.  The biggest losers, I think will be the good guys (and the dark elves).  The two human factions, Empire and Bretonnia, look to me to be gone for good. There doesn't seem to be any good place for their historical armies.  Most of the elf and dwarf stuff seems too low-fantasy, and just generic.  Maybe some of the bigger or newer kits like Lion Chariots, Dragons, or War Altars will survive.

Heck, maybe none of them will, ultimately.  I'm merely guessing when I suggest some older models will be repackaged with new (IP protected) names and round bases.  And all of this is dependent on Age of Sigmar surviving long enough for GW to put into action whatever long-term plans it has.

Given the horrible new rules, I'm not sure that's a safe bet.

But overall, I do like the new world.