[AoS] Age of Sigmar huhut ja uutiset

[jamovoima]

Viralliset pisteet taitaa olla melko suoraan tehty niiden faniviritelmien päälle ja niitä aika aktiivisesti päivitettiin pelikokemusten perusteella, että varmasti oli toimiva systeemi myös se.
Englannin turnauksissa on muuten yleisesti ollut ihan hauskanoloinen armeijanrakennusysteemi, joka näyttäisi olevan käytössä myös general's handbook aikana. Eli armeijaan valitaan 3000 pisteellä joukkoja ja niistä deployataan 2000 pistettä alussa. Toki kuullostaa myös vähän näpräämiseltä kun pitää laskeskella pisteitä samalla kun deployaa. Toisaalta kun ei ole mitään ylimääräisiä laskettavia yksikköupgradeja ja kaikki on tasalukuja niin kai tuo onnistunee.

General's handbook on näemmä myös päivitetty Aos appiin. Harmillisesti vaan joutuu maksamaan 14 euroa jos haluaa käyttöön. Siten saa suoraan appiin tehtyä matched play armeijalistat. Vaikuttaa ihan näppärältä, mutta tykköän enemmän fyysisistä kirjoista.

[jamovoima]

Hoh, opinpa jotain uutta. Varsin suuresta osasta uusista AoS figuista vastaa käyttäjänimi Morbäck, jonka (ranskankielistä) blogia on tullut seurattua pitkään ja jolla on ollut aika kipeitä töitä siellä:

http://leskouzes.blogspot.fi/2016/05/work-stuff.html

[smaxx]

Generals Handbook on loistotekele. Pelkkää asiaa, eli sääntöjä ja skenuja kannesta kanteen. Erilaisia kampanjoja, skenaarioita, moninpeliä, pisteet yms. Ei ollenkaan huono, tätähän voisi vaikka kokeilla !

[jamovoima]

Path To Glory on monille tuttu konsepti, mutta kertauksena homma on yksinkertaisuudessaan pelimuoto jossa on oma sankari joka kerää pikkuhiljaa sotajoukkoja, seuraajia ja kokemusta (joilla saa lisätaitoja joko itselle tai yksiköille). Pelimuoto on mahtava ns. Slow grow-pelaamiselle ja keskittyy myös enempi ropettamiseen kuin naama näkkärillä-vääntöön. Pari hassua juttua tuolla on sankariosiossa mahdollista ottaa heti alkuun (esim. Kaaoslordi Manticorella tai Stormcastien lohikäärme), MUTTA tätähän voi pelata niin että kaikki ottaa alussa suurhirviön ja loput ovat tavallista tykinruokaa. Ihan miten päin vain pelikumppanit haluavat. :) Sankarit ja seuraajat voi joko valita tai arpoa.

Sain viimein itsekin kirjan käsiin ja pisti silmään tämä sama taulukko. Komentajan kovuus vaikuttaa followerien määrään, perus jalkalordilla saa 6 yksikköä, merkattu ja demonic mount lordi viisi ja Manticorella tai demonic steedillä saa neljä.
Path To Glory kyllä kiinnostaa kovasti. Kaapissa olisi kokonainen kaaosarmeija joka sopisi hyvin tällaisessä käytössä maalattavaksi.

[Seraphi]

Kenraalin käsikirja: näi palijo asiaa tämmösellä hinnalla! Nyt kyllä nostin hattua ja nostelen GW:lle edelleen tästä hyvästä... harmi ku Stormcastit maksaa. Mutta pikkuhiljaa ja samote aikaa vaatii tä käsikirja tarkempi tutkiminen.
Mutta hyvä ostos ja kuulemma menöö hyvi kaupaksi.

[marke]

Pakko sanoo, että noi Ogret on ihan jäätävän hienoja.

[Hammerheart]

Pakko sanoo, että noi Ogret on ihan jäätävän hienoja.

Missaanko nyt jotain? Nehän on ne samat Ogret mitä on ollut Fabassa jo kymmenen vuotta? En huomannut yhtään uutta sculptia - jopa ne sapelihammasotukset on yhtä kammottavan kamalia kuin ennenkin.

Edit: eikun jaa, se olikin vain sanaleikki. Hahha.

[finmirage]

Ostin kans tämän ja hyvä kirja on. Mun mielestä noi pisteet on kans ihan hyvä juttu vaikka semmosta läpsyttelypelaamista suosinkin. Helpompi hahmottaa mikä on hyvää ja mikä huonoa, kun ei noista stateista ihan heti aukee aina.

[jamovoima]

Scrollbuilderiin (http://www.scrollbuilder.com/) on näemmä lisätty myös General's handbookin pisteet (nimellä GW). Todella helppokäyttöinen listanrakennustyökalu.

[jamovoima]

Joku on jaksanut lukea AoS-kirjallisuutta ja on referoinut sen kompaktiin muotoon, josta päääsee hyvin(?) perille missä mennään ja myös että minkälaisia porukoita on luvassa seuraavina uusina porukoina peliin:

I just ended up reading AllGates and I must say that, though I have been very critical of the setting and narrative of AoS so far, it is starting to get good and exciting. In fact, out of excitement, I have decided to write this little introduction/guide to it. The guide serves as a small summary of the way in which AoS setting should be read, along with a review of its achievements and lingering flaws. Please, feel free to add any or to discuss of the topics regarding the setting in this thread.

I. General idea of the AoS setting


Most of us, fluff lovers of games, might have felt a little lost with the AoS setting after the end of WHFB in its original form. It was quite obvious that it was a "higher" fantasy setting which stopped dealing with mortal resistance against unstoppable god powers and moved to a "battle of gods" kind of setting. But it somehow felt like it did not work up to AllGates. Allgates is the first time in which the AoS setting seems to have a logic which is working.
The main idea of the setting can be summarized in the following way: unlike a civilization resistance setting (WHFB), AoS is a total war setting. The idea behind it is to construct a conflict so vast, that it can be the base for decades of gaming in an evolving setting. As the factions that fight each other have huge amounts of resources at their disposal (therefore: total war), the setting feels like a logistic struggle.


II. The participants of the AoS total war
AoS factions in war are divided along four grand alliances: Chaos, Order, Destruction and Death. This Grand Alliances do not represent, however, individual players, but rather orientations. Chaos stands for chaotic dominion on the base of primal emotions and phanomenae, although it represents also oppression and slavery. Order stands for civilization. Destructions stands for, well, destruction (war for its own sake). Death, finally, stands for total order through soul dominion.

However, the big participants in the AoS total war are not the alliances, which in general lack any central power, but gods. This are the big players of the game:
1) Chaos:

-Khorne: The blood and war god. Primal entity who resides in the realm of chaos, formed by emotions of anger and wrath. His armies are both mortal (Bloodbound) and daemonic. At the start of the Age of Sigmar, Khorne is dominating power both in the Mortal Realms and in the Realm of Chaos. As Sigmar is focussing on his armies – which is proved by the fact his main attacks took place in the MR controlled by Khorne, Aqsy –, his strenght seems to be waning. But Khorne is the god of war and cares not from whence the blood flows, only that it does, so even in defeat he gains strength by the mere fact that there is war.

-Tzeentch: the great deceiver, god of change, deceive and magic. His dominion over the Realm of Chaos is called the Crystal Labyrinth. As any Chaos God, his armies are both daemonic and mortal (Arcanists). Although he holds control over Chamon, at the start of the Age of Sigmar he seemed to be in a weaker state than Nurgle and Khorne. Tzeentch plays the long game though and his fortune seems to be in the rise.

-Nurgle: the great corrupter, god of disease and plagues. His armies are also daemonic and mortal (Rotbringers). Holds control of a portion of the Realm of Chaos (Nurgle's Garden) as well as parts of the Mortal Realms, including most of Ghyran. At the start of the Age of Sigmar, it was the most powerful faction after Khorne and seemed to be in the verge of reversing the balance of power by capturing Alarielle and ending the War of Life. Badly defeated with Alarielle's resurgence though and on the verge of losing most of his control over Ghyran

-Slaanesh: the Dark Prince, youngest of the big chaos gods, the god of pleasure and strong emotions, nemesis of the elves: when they die, their soul is "eaten" by Slaanesh. After the destruction of the Old World, including all elven realms, he could not diggest so many elven souls, so he was tracked and captured by the elven gods (Malerion and Tyrion). Currently missing. His portion of the Realm of Chaos is currently controlled by the other gods.

-The Great Horned Rat: God of the skaven. His armies including both mortals (the skaven) as well as daemons (Verminlords). But his control over daemons is rather tenuous, so the armies tend to be known under a single name (Skaven). Holds control of some obscure regions of the Realm of Chaos. Status in the Mortal Realms unknown, but that is to be expected: the power of the skaven lies precisely on the secrecy.

-Archaon: the Three Eyed King. Formerly a templar of Sigmar in the world that was, he turned to Chaos when he though he had discovered the lie about Sigmar's existence. He then claimed all of the Everchosen's relics; artifacts whose acquisition, following trials, allowed to claim the title of champion of Chaos undivided and therefore lead unified Chaos troops. Subsequently invaded the Old World and set its destruction in motion. Although defeated by Sigmar and the incarnates in the final battle, they could not stop the destruction of the World that Was, setting up the process which lead to the new formation of the Mortal Realms. Still Everchosen of Chaos, so he leads unified chaos armies and his own faction (the Everchosen). Holds control of the Allpoints (Eightpoints), the main transportation hub in the Mortal Realms, allowing him to reinforce locations as needed.

2) Order

-Sigmar: the God-King. Formerly son of a barbarian king and then barbarian king himself. He saved a dwarven king from being taken hostage by orcs, gaining the trust of the great dwarven empire and uniting the barbarian tribes with dwarven armies to erradicate most of the orcs in his region. He then founded the Empire, the greatest nation of men. Trapped by Tzeentch in the winds of magic. Treated as main god in the pantheon of the Empire. He was released from his prison in the winds of magic 2500 years later when Teclis liberated them to form the incarnates in the final war against chaos. He then assumed the body of the dying Emperor of the Empire, Karl Franz, and became the Incarnate of Heavens. Failed to save the World that Was despite defeating Archaon, but managed somehow reform them (or travel to them, very unclear) as the Mortal Realms. Since then God of Heavens, ruler of Azyr and main deity (at least in his mind) in the non-chaotic pantheon of the Mortal Realms. His armies include both the Stormcast Eternals, elite shock troops, and many mortal factions of men, elves and dwarves.

-Alarielle: formerly the Everqueen of Ulthuan, the realm of the High Elves. She was given the gift of life by the dying Queen of the Woods, Ariel and became Incarnate of Life as the wind of life used her as beacon after its liberation by Teclis. Survived the End Times and then became (somehow) Goddess of Life and Ruler of Ghyran. Out of melancholy pulled herself away from the war against Chaos and after the defeat of the Order armies, her realm was mostly conquered and she was herself hunted by Nurgle. Currently in a war-like mood and reconquering her realm. Her armies are the Sylvaneth, mostly tree spirits.

-Grugni: the Great Maker, one of the great ancestors of the dwarves, he gave them the gift of craftmanship. God of Metal in the Mortal Realms and former ruler of Chamon. Helped Sigmar to forge the Stormcast Eternal, he also gave him the gift of thunder (his ability to just "throw" Stormhosts into the Mortal Realms) as well as training six demi-god blacksmiths. He then disappeared in order to find and help his armies in Chamon. Current location unknown. His faction are the Steamhead Duardin or Metal Dwarves. Not much more known about them.

-Grimnir: the Great Slayer, dwarven god of war. Held chaos at bay from one of the portal gates for thousands of years but Gotrek took his place. He then travelled to the Old War when it was about to disappear and ended up as God of Fire in the Mortal Realms. Awaken by Sigmar (he was trapped somewhere), he battle the godbeast Vulcatrix at his request, ending up both destroyed. His essence is still alive in the metal which was born out of that confrontation, the Ur-Gold. As Ur-Gold is made into body-runes by the Fyreslayers, he lives in them. He has no conscious form though, so his faction (the Fyreslayers), lack the central organisation of the other order factions.

-Malerion: formerly Malekith, son of Aenarion, the greatest hero of the elves in the World-that-Was. After the death of his father, obvious choice to rule the high elves, but he was not given the crown as hereditary monarchy did not suit them. Grew evil and cause a civil war which ended up with his side exiled to the cold realm of Naggaroth. During the ET he allied himself with Teclis and successfully invaded Ulthuan. Crowned as Phoenix King and then Eternity King, he also became the Incarnate of Shadow. Although he did not die in the end battle, he was swallowed by the vortex. With the formation of the Mortal Realms, he took the form of a god without body, a shadow god. He allied himself with Sigmar, but along with Tyrion decided to capture Slaanesh, which ended up with the other Chaos Gods uniting against Order. Ruler of Ulgu, seems to have a strong control of it. His faction is the Shadowkin, apparently formed both by shadow creatures (daemons) and elves.

-Tyrion/Teclis: God of Light. Twin brother descending from Aenarion. By the ET, they were the greatest heroes of Ulthuan, the realm of the high elves. During the ET Teclis followed an elven goddess instructions (Lileath) to ally himself with Malekith and then release the winds of magic to form semi-divine entities (the incarnates) that could stand against the gods of chaos. In the war for Ulthuan, his brother Tyrion - greatest military commander of Ulthuan - was possessed by the elven god of war and blood, Khaine, a curse which was passed to him by his ancestor Aenarion. Although he won most battles, he was finally (almost) killed by Alith Anar. Teclis took his body and kept him alive after Khaine had abandoned him, and then revived him with the essence of the wold god Ulric and made him into Incarnate of Light. In the final battle, after the incarnate of fire, beasts and finally metal were killed, Teclis tried to control all three of these winds of magic to destroy the vortex, but was consumed by so much energy. Tyrion survived the ET up to the demise of the world. Both were reborn as God of Lights and rulers of Hysh, but not much more is known. They seem to be pretty much in control of their realm. Their faction should be some kind of light elven faction, but name is unknown atm.

-The Slann: former helper of the ancient beings that formed much of the World that Was, they were tasked with defending it and seeing that their great plan is completed. During the ET they stopped once the destruction of the Old World, but could not stop it (nor participate at all in its defence) the second time. They were able however to transport to the Mortal Realms, where they took home in Azyr. They have decided that the Great Plan can only be fulfilled with the destruction of the God of Chaos, so they play the long game in helping defeat them. They lead the Seraphon, energy beings with the form of the former lizardmen armies of the Slann, into battle.

3) Death: Nagash
The Great Necromancer. Formerly a high priest of the egyptian like civilization of Khemri, he became obsessed with mortality. After learning magic from captured dark elves, he refined necromancy and made his city into his eternal kingdom. When the others kings of Khemri learned of it, they allied themself to defeat him and exile him. He was later killed in war with the kingdom of Khemri. Although he had learned to cheat death and could come back to life, he did so every time with less power. Reborn with almost full strength by his greatest disciple, Arkhan, and Manfred von Carstein, he absorbed both the power of the wind of death (before its liberation by Teclis) and Khemri's god of the death. With this power he planned to defeat the god of chaos themselves, but most of the power was deposited in the Great Black Pyramid of Khemri, which was destroyed by a skaven team. Weakened, he allied himself with the other incarnates but could not prevent the destruction of the world that was. Reborn as god of death in the Mortal Realms, he allied himself with Sigmar but then betrayed him, allowing for Chaos final victory. He was however subsequently defeated by Chaos and killed by Archaon. By the time of the Age of Sigmar, he has been reborn. Leads many death factions as ultimate leader.

4) Destruction: Gorkamorka
God of destruction and of the greenskins, he takes sometimes the form of two deities (Gork, cunning brutality, and Mork, brutal ingenuity) and sometimes the form of one deity. He was also the god of the greenskins in the world that was, so not much seems to have changed. Originally allied to Sigmar, he then grew bored with his peace and started war just for the fun of it before the Age of Chaos. He therefore did not fight the great wars against chaos. Gorkamorka is an anarchic god, so he does not seem to have much of a plan; his power is better described as a "force of nature".

III. Current state of affairs
In a setting build around a logistic total war, it is all about the balance of power. The concept itself is very often repeated in the main studio publications regarding AoS setting. The balance of power is measured around control of the mortal realms and the realm of chaos. But it is important to remember that logistics is all in this setting. Better transportation and coordination is much more important that territorial control.


Until AllGates, logistic control lied with Chaos. This was possible thanks to the Allpoints. The Allpoints is a realm which exists outside the mortal realms but is connected to all them. It is some sort of city within the transport system between realms, just like Comorragh in 40k. Control of the Allpoints allowed for rapid deploy of troops to any of the 8 gates connected to it. Since the Age of Chaos, the Azyr has been closed, so no Allpoints (Everchosen) troops could be deployed to Azyr. All other realms were still connected to it. In this way, Chaos was able to logistically beat all other gods.
Current state:

1) Allpoints: currently controled by Archaon. Only connected reliably to Chamon. Connection to Azyr, Aqsy and Ghyran broken. State of connection to Hysh and Ulgu unknown. Connection to Ghur unreliable (moving worm!).
2) Aqsy, the fire realm. Territorially controlled by Khorne in most parts. But isolated from the Allpoints and most likely from most chances of reinforcements from outside. Gates to Azyr controlled by Sigmar. Logistic advantage of Sigmar.
3) Ghyran, the life realm. Territorially controlled by Nurgle in most parts. But under strong attack from within (Alarielle) and Azyr and Aqsy. Most likely isolated from reinforcements. Logistic advantage with Alarielle and Sigmar.
4) Chamon, the metal realm. Territorially controlled by Tzeentch. Gate to the Allpoints under Archaon control, so logistic advantage with Chaos. Most likely will be a major hive of attacks by Chaos, taking into account the fact that Tzeentch is about to unleash his power. Grugni and Steamhead Duardin still missing, but likely to appear.
5) Shysh, the death realm. Territorially controlled by Chaos (god allegiance: unknown) and still connected to the Allpoints. To which extent Chaos is here under pressure is unknown. Nagash will soon appear...
6) Hysh, the light realm. Territorial control unknown. Logistic advantage unknown, but most likely not resting with Chaos. Whether there is a connection at all to the Allpoints unknown. Likely power in control of the situation: Tyrion/Teclis and the new high elves.
7) Ulgu, the shadow realm. Territorial control Shadowkin-Malerion (most likely). Whether there is chaos at all, apart from Slaanesh hunting party, is unknown. Strongly suggested that chaos armies get wiped entirely when they try to invade it.
8) Azyr, the heavens realm. Absolute territorial and logistic control: Sigmar.
9) Ghur, the beasts realm. Territorial and logistic control most likely under orruk hands. Chaos getting wiped.

IV. Current activity of the main players in the total war

The AoS setting is centred around major players carrying out a huge war. Therefore most of the narrative is sustained by their actions. Understanding the current activities of each major player may help to make sense of the state of the setting in a given moment.

1) Sigmar: just ended up the first of his plan, which was to gain a logistic advantage in the starting war. Plans were partially successfull: very strong position not only on his stronghold of Azyr but also on Aqsy and Ghyran. Very much failed in Chamon and has not met with huge success in the more independent (from Sigmar and from Chaos) Mortal Realms (Hysh, Ulgu, Ghur, Shysh).

2) Alarielle: Ascendant in her own realm. Ghyran is still controlled territorially by Nurgle, but she is in such a strong military position, that a "cleansing" is to be expected. Pretty much absent of any activity outside of Ghyran.

3) Grugni, Malerion and Tyrion/Teclis: missing. Malerion and Tyrion seem to be very much in control of their realms though.

4) Gorkamorka: has some kind of activity-plan (a growing threat), but unknown to the reader. Very much in control of Ghur.

5) Nagash: enigmatic. If he has a plan or simple failing is unknown.

-Chaos

1) Khorne: strong presence in Aqsy and until AoS pretty much dominating in both the mortal realms and the chaos realms. Has suffered a major defeat in Aqsy though, so seems to be losing his position. Plans to retaliate unknown. But then, Khorne does not plan much.

2) Nurgle: strong presence in Ghyran, but after major defeats and Alarielle's resurgence, about to lose most of his dominion in the Mortal Realms. Plans unknown. For now, he is just frustrated: having captured Alarielle would have meant becoming dominating power in both MR and CR.

3) Tzeentch: ascending. Thanks to Archaon his stronghold of Chamon is secured. He is preparing something big...

4) Slaanesh: captured by the elven gods and therefore missing.

5) The Great Horned Rat: enigmatic position. No dominant position on any known Mortal Realm, but then the skaven have their own territories and means of transportation. Clan Pestilens is about to get very powerful.

6) Archaon: has control of the Allpoints and from there can still reinforce at least Chamon. Retaliation plans are unknown in details but pretty much certain.

V. General assessment of current state of the setting
The setting is starting to get interesting. AllGates was a good reading, with the last chapter being even exciting. As a war setting, AoS is starting to become very good. It still suffers from lack of characters with whom you can identify and from excess of OTT stuff (Godbeasts). Still, it is starting to make sense.
Lingering flaws: complete absence of culture (aesthetical, political). Lack of characters and factions with which to identify. Hopefully, with cities growing again, this will also get much better soon.

Lähde: http://www.tga.community/forums/topic/1 ... ment-11514

Eli seuraavaksi voitaneen odotella Tzeentchin ja Slaaneshin uutta tulemista, haeltijoita kahdessa eri muodossa (shadowkinistä ja Tzeetchistä saatiinkin jo esimakua Silver towerissa) ja ilmeisesti seuraavana julkaisuna tulevia Grungnin teräskääpiöitä. Mielenkiintoista nähdä mitää sieltä tulee. Etenkin haltiajat voi olla aika siistejäkin.

Hyvin on ilmeisesti general's handbook otettu vastaan, kun foorumeilla on paljon juttua siitä, kuinka monissa paikoissa AoS on syrjäyttänyt 40k:n suosituimpana pelinä. Tätä tukee myös se että nämä uusimmatkin uudelleenjulkaisut on ehditty myymään loppuun jo kertaalleen.

[jamovoima]

Pieni raportti AoS open daysta, joka sisältää ihan mielenkiintoisia juttuja GW:n nykyisestä julkaisumetodista:

Well the dust has settled from the excitement of the weekend and I'm finally back in the land of the living. So where to start - the beginning is probably a good place!

Firstly, here's the link to the photos I took: https://flic.kr/s/aHskGy8eeZ

With most events at Warhammer World I tend to travel up by train on the Friday before, generally arriving late afternoon, with enough time to drop my bags off at the hotel and wander over to Bugmans for a couple of pints and burger for tea. This event was no different really, train journey nice and smooth and grub was excellent as usual - half a cow and pig in a bun, what's not to like (unless you don't eat meat). With the Open Day being on the Saturday there was a slow trickle of staff moving display cabinets into the staff canteen area. On the way out I chatted with Alex in the store and saw the WHW exclusive Stormcast miniature painted up and in a cabinet. The released pictures don't do the model justice and it has a far more dynamic pose than I was expecting.

The Saturday started with @Penddraig and I having a hearty breakfast at the hotel and wandering over to arrive around 9.30. The queue had just about reached the bike shed/smoking shelter so wasn't anywhere near as crazy as the Forge World Open Day a few weeks previous. The usual drill of staff bringing out a promotional flyer, pin badges and lanyards before we were all allowed in when the doors opened. After getting in we headed straight over to the studio area...

The studio was split into a number of sections, White Dwarf, Forge World, The WHW Studio, Eavy Metal, Sculptors and lastly Army Painters. You also had Warhammer TV in the form of @Rufio going round and videoing and Tony Cottrell taking photos. What was very strange was the complete lack of design studio - so the people who write the rules, lists, etc.

The White Dwarf area had the Getting Started box armies from the Tale of Four Gamers series that they've been running recently and Dan Harden's new Skaven army set up on a display board. It was really nice to see some alternative colour schemes rather than the more traditional box art variations.

Out of everything there, I think Forge World contained the biggest surprises with three previously unknown models in the form of the Fimir Hag with slave, Fimir Sorcerer and Khorne Daemon Prince.

Speaking to the scultors Penddraig and I gleened a few bits of information. Firstly the links to Irish Celtic mythology is being kept and used to shape the feel of the race. The Fimir are a matriarchal society which is represented by the Hag being a good 50% ~ 70% larger than the male warriors. The intention is the Hag will have a number of (possibly blind) slaves and also have a cauldron. The sorcerer has a more slight build than the warriors and the casting hand has yet to be done (it likely won't be a pointing finger as the sculpt suggests). The question as to if this will become a full army is basically down to how successful the range does in its current format. Whilst it is popular Forge World will continue making new Fimir models, if this at some point means they become a full army then brilliant, but it's deliberately being kept flexible.

Trish Carden has done a phenomical job on the new Khornate Chaos Dragon and it is an absolute beast, festooned with embedded skulls and detail in the same way as much of the rest of the Khorne range. The Chaos Lord (who I hope is available as a single miniature) is going to be stood upon the back of the dragon in a Dune sand-worm style fashion, likely just holding onto some chains embedded into its mounts scales. I think my only concern is that the size of this model will mean it only gets fielded in epically large games of 5000+ points with very little scenery.

What is likely Keith Robertson last AoS sculpt before he moves onto other projects is a rather beefy looking Khorne Daemon Prince. As you would expect with something Khorne related the actual model looks brutal, basically the love child of a Bloodthirster and Minotaur. The more you look the more you spot little nods to both mortal and daemon models, from the Bloodletter spine to Bloodbound manacles. The shield is quite curious too with a daemonic face stretched across its surface in the same way as Valkia has. This actually suggests that the model may get its own warscroll as the standard Daemon Prince warscroll doesn't have any rules for a shield or axe. Although it would have been nice to see some of the other Chaos deities get some love the new Daemon Prince will end up in my army!

Two new display pieces were being shown off by the WHW Studio team who I don't think have been given space at an event before. There was a new (completed) Sylvaneth vs Oruks display which was stunning and really nice to have the opportunity to see this properly before it gets put into a cabinet behind glass. The counter-part to this a Oruk vs Sylvaneth display which is very much in the starting stages. Speaking to the guys it's really interesting to find out all of the tricks and tips they use for building something like this - for example all of the tree elements are actually old roots and branches, however rather than just sticking them into a board they carefully interweave other branches to scale them down and then apply a certain amount of paint to them to bring them into line with the scene. One thing I didn't realise either is that they're the same people who create all of the scenery for the Warhammer World gaming tables and there were a couple of nice ruined pieces of terrain that I may need to borrow ideas from.

As you would expect the Eavy Metal team were on hand with a selection of models and lots of advice if you wanted to know something. They also ran a couple of Demo Pods, one on painting ice & crystal effect weapons (which I didn't get to) and one on how they painted the Maw Krusha (more on that in a bit).

As strange as it sounds, we probably spent the most amount of time talking to the sculptors who were sat painting a few models. Worth a massive mention are Maxime Pastourel's amazing Bloodbound conversions. These were made using a mixture of different miniatures and painted in a pale off-white armour - and looked phenomenal. He's somehow captured the brutal nature of the Bloodbound and his Lord of Juggernaught is a work of art. He also spent quite a bit of time explaining to me what parts he's used and some of the thinking behind the models.

Speaking to Aly Morrison, what was quite interesting is hearing some of the ways that things have changed as a result of 3d CAD. On the surface it's pretty obvious they've gained rapid prototyping using 3d printers, but there are a whole host of other benefits. Previously the model would need to be made 3-up, pantograph cut into a steel mold, cast up (hopefully with no problems), first run passed to 'Eavy Metal and then the box can start to be designed. The process is now much more streamlined; a 3d print can be used to create resin models so 'Eavy Metal can start painting before production. The steel mold can be cut using CNC machines (on site) removing the time-intensive need for pantographing. The decision on how many and the size of the sprues was decided right at the start of the project which means the box art can be designed whilst the models are being painted so can be printed ready for when the first sprues come from production. Amazing really.

However 3d CAD hasn't sped up the actual sculpting process and has actually added more work for the sculptors as they do the sprue layout in addition to the model sculpts. This has had the benefit that they have pretty much free range to fill up the sprue with as much stuff as they fancy - those random things like owls and such like are the brain child of one of the sculptors! It was also confirmed that there is no theoretical maximum size of a kit, the largest sprue they produce is the "tank" sprue (as used on models such as the Baneblade) but they could feasibly produce as many as them as they wished for a single kit. Where the limit comes is down to return on investment, would Games Workshop sell enough models to cover the investment etc. One other interesting snippet is the box size and number of sprues appears to be how prices are currently calculated rather than what the unit does in game. This does make sense and explains why the getting started box sets are such good value.

The team work on projects from across all of the game systems and the average lead time on a new model is 2 years. This can be rapidly reduced (for example the recent anniversary marine was produced in 2 months) or lengthened (strong hints at a race of fish men have been being worked on for some time). Reading between the lines any range that is in a Grand Alliance book will receive some love in the future, it may be reworked models/imagery or new units but they are working on new and exciting things. This part of Games Workshop is now also "product secure" which explains the reduction in the number of murky WIP shots.

What I think was really impressive what the enthusiasm that the sculptors all have. Even though they may have worked on something a couple of years back, they're still really keen to see it and get a copy to paint up or convert.

The demo pod on the Maw Krusha had Maxime explaining how he had evolved the classic Wyvern and how Max Faleij had developed the paint schemes. Maxime's concept is that to an Oruk a beast is either to kill or ride and if they rode it, it needed to have the same mentality as they do. One interesting point was that they 3d-printed some miniature Maw Krusha's to practice the paint scheme to use (somehow the small size made them look cute and numerous people now wish to own one). Max did give a few tips if you paint one and said that you need to make sure that the armour and skin of the rider needs to contrast enough against the scales of the wyvern. Also the head has been deliberately designed to clip into place so you can paint it separately and then just clip it into place - you can also do the same with the mask and the models 'Eavy Metal have painted have been done so the mask is entirely removable.

Unlike the Forge World Open Day, Golden Demon was held in one of the conference rooms rather than at the back end of the staff canteen. This was really beneficial as some people were at the event just for Golden Demon (and why not!) which meant they could happily tuck down into a chair there in the relative quiet and speak to fellow painters. Although there weren't many entries the standard was really high as you would expect. Next year I'm tempted to enter too, although I'm not high enough level to win a demon, the set up was much better for the style I tend to paint my display miniatures in.

If you're a teacher and wish to introduce Age of Sigmar into a school gaming club you're also very much in luck. They now have a new member of staff (sorry I didn't take her name) and created packs that they will send out to schools at the start of the new year to introduce children to the hobby. It sounds like there are various games designed to teach children (and staff who don't play) the rules in simple stages.

Overall that was pretty much it, the sales area had a number of new items up for sale (new Stormcast and a couple of Ironjawz bits) and there were a few games being run. Bugmans also had a one-day-offer Gore-Grunta hot dog which did look amazing.

In summary the day was really enjoyable and I cannot fault the format or how things ran. I do feel that it was a missed opportunity not to have had some of the studio team there to quiz on how AoS is going to progress and possibly somebody from the FAQ team though as it did mean we couldn't find very much out about the ultimate direction of the game. That said I wouldn't say that spoiled the day in the slightest.

Well I think I've prattled on enough now! I did participate in the tournament on the Sunday, but think this would be better in a separate post for fear of ranting ;)

Lähde: http://www.tga.community/forums/topic/2 ... -day-2016/

[jamovoima]

Itse sain juuri ekan general's handbook pelin pakettiin, seraphonini saivat neniinsä 1000 pisteen matsissa take and holdissa stormcasteiltä. Tosi hauska mittelö oli, vaikka vielä tuottaa hankalauuksia muistaa käyttää kaikkia eri buffeja ja vielä muistaa hyödyntääkin niitä myöhemmin vuorolla.
Tuhannella pisteellä ei ehkä saanut ihan tarpeeksi väkeä tähän skenuun jotta olisi oikeasti päässyt pelaamaan objektiiveista, mutta se johtui osin armeijoistakin. Pisteet vaikutti tämän pelin perusteella ihan oikeutetuilta ja maailmallakin niistä ollaan oltu ihan tyytyväisiä. Kannattaa toki muistaa että pisteytys on tehty noita kirjan skenuja silmälläpitäen. Hirviöt lyö kovempaa kuin mitä maksavat pisteitä, mutta kun eivät oikein osaa kaapata objektiiveja, on hinta oikeutetumpi. Siinäkin mielessä ilmeisesti on onnistuttu, että ensimmäisen Englannin isomman turnauksen top 4:ssä oli kaikki grand alliancet edustettuina.

[Himulus]

Hoi! Onko näistä generals hand bookin jälkeisistä pelikokeiluista noussut joitakin tähtösiä factioneistä tai niiden osista? Valitsin jo Deathin, mutta ihan yleisesti kiinnostaa miten tämä homma on muotoutunut tässä parissa viikossa.

En voi väittää pelanneeni läheskään tarpeeksi montaa armeijaa vastaan, et voisin mitään absoluuttista totuutta antaa, mut tähän asti kaikki pelit on kyl kivasti tasapainottuneet, et joutuu pelaamaan sekä vastustajan armeijaa, että skenua samanaikaisesti. Mikään yksittäinen armeija ei ole myöskään tuntunut erikoisen överiltä.

[jamovoima]

Taas olisi tarjolla kiinnostuneille striimattua turnaus-hammeria:

http://facehammer.co.uk/warhammer-age-o ... nament.php

Ei ihan yhtä laadukas toteutus kuin Gw:n omalla Warhammer tv:llä, mutta ihan viihdyttävää näinkin.


Twitteristä löytyy hienoja armeijoita:
https://mobile.twitter.com/hashtag/FHGT2016?src=hash

[jamovoima]

Voittajaksi selviytyi lopulta puhtaalla pelillä aika normaalin oloinen "little bit of everything" stormcast armeija, joka hyödynsi "deep strike" formaatioita (turnauksessa sai tuoda kaksi listaa, joista molemmilla piti pelata vähintään yksi peli). Erilaisia Death-armeijoita näytti olevan myös paljon kärkikahinoissa. Ykköspöydässä viimeisellä kierooksella häviävänä osapuolena mm. tyylipuhdas (poislukien Heinrich Kemmler ja yksi necromancer) Tomb kings armeija ja turnauksen kakkoseksi tullut Nagashin johtama Flesh eater courts armeija. Warlordseissa vahvasti esiintyneet erilaiset kaaos-viritelmät oli vähemmällä menestyksellä, tiedä sitten miksi. Kuitenkin mukava nähdä että näissä turnauksissa pärjää tosi erilaisia armeijoita. Viittaisi siihen, että General's handbookin pisteet on ihan suht toimivat.

[Air Defence]

Onkohan beastmäneille luvassa jotain täydennystä? GW:n verkkokaupassa ungorit ovat väliaikaiseti loppu ja eikö tämä ole yleensä tarkoittanut, että kyseiset napit saavat pyöryläalustat ja julkaistaan 30 äijän laatikossa joskus lähitulevaisuudessa?

[Ironman_]

Onkohan beastmäneille luvassa jotain täydennystä? GW:n verkkokaupassa ungorit ovat väliaikaiseti loppu ja eikö tämä ole yleensä tarkoittanut, että kyseiset napit saavat pyöryläalustat ja julkaistaan 30 äijän laatikossa joskus lähitulevaisuudessa?

TGA:ssa huhuiltiin, että tänä vuonna ei olisi ainakaan isompia uusia julkaisuja AoS:iin tulossa, mutta hyvinkin saattaa jouluksi tulla esim uusia Start Collecting -boxeja. En ihmettelisi jos vaikkapa beastmaneille moinen tulisi.

Huhujen mukaan Generals Handbookin myötä AoS:n myynti on maailmalla lähtenyt voimakkaaseen nousuun ja ensi vuodelle on odotettavissa paljonkin isoja julkistuksia.

[jamovoima]

GW on ilmeisesti tuonut vähän Lean-ajattelua valmistusprosessiinsa ja tavaraa ei tehdä enää hirveästi varastoon, kun silloin tälllöin sieltä tuntuu olevan aina joku tuote loppu. Voi toki olla uudelleenpakkauskin käynnissä.

Ensivuodelle voisi tosiaan odottaa ainakin niitä Steamhead Duardianeja, Tzeentch Arcaniteja ja varjohaltioita. Slaanehs täydennykset ja uudet death-joukot eivät varmaan myöskään olisi ihan odottamattomia julkaisuja.

[rpr]

Nyt kun muutama matsi on tullut pelattua GH:n myötävaikutuksella niin ei tämä AoS ihan niin pelleilyä ole. Lähiksestä-minne-sattuu -ammukselu nyt vähän yskittää yhä, mutta pääosin rullaa hyvin. Hieman pelottaa, että aloitusheitosta muodostuu yhtä kriittinen kuin epicissä, ainakin edellinen matsi ratkesi aloitevoittoon kriittisellä kierroksella.

[Ironman_]

Uutta startteria pukkaa?