Friday, July 13, 2018

Traversing the Realms - Local Narrative Campaign

Hey Everyone!  Today I wanted to chat about a local campaign that is starting up this weekend.  A little while ago my club mate Luis asked about running an Age of Sigmar Campaign for all of us right after the new edition dropped.  I was very excited to see one of the club players eager to try to run an event.  For my local club, Ligonier Legions, I always head up the Age of Sigmar games with the hope to inspire others to want to do the same.  That desire has finally come to fruition and I get to take a step back and simply play the game and enjoy all the fun of the event from a players point of view.  Considering NOVA Open is fast approaching and a lot of my Hobby effort is toward running its Age of Sigmar Grand Tournament and Doubles Event I welcome the break a bit as well.


Luis has been a great addition to our club over the past year or so as he comes in with a love for the game, great painting skills, and a love for both competitive and narrative gaming.  For his three month campaign entitled, Traversing The Realms, he has set up a simple narrative hook for us to grab on to while encouraging us to craft our own ongoing story in an escalation style league.  Points can be scored for games played, a crafted narrative, hobby, and a nice addition were he has a nice incentive for everyone to build a piece of terrain to add to the clubs collection.

I feel the best part of the event will be getting to really experience all of the realms over the coming event days as we will be playing in every realm.  I feel there are a few realms you won't see in matched play very often due to some of the spells and rules attached to it, but they are great for narrative style games.  Luis is also mixing the use of the matched play scenarios and ones of his own creation to allow us to get comfortable with the new scenarios while still needing to prepare for the unexpected.




This month the games are starting at 1000pts using matched play rules to build our forces.  Initially, I was looking at my Daughter's of Khaine as they are my primary army and I absolutely love to play the army.  However,  there were brand new Stormcast models released that I was eager to try so it was a strong contender for a few days.  Ultimately, I went in another direction entirely after cleaning my Hobby area one night and some help from Twitter.  I discovered a yet unbuilt Alarielle model I was gifted sometime ago for helping out a friend.  It made me think about my Sylvaneth that I had done for last years Armies on Parade.  I really enjoyed painting the models and had yet to get them on the table and with an excuse to paint Alarielle my choice was made.


My only dilemma was how to round out the very basic force as we grow in points.  I plan to ally in Wanderers to fill out my numbers since I have quite a few of them, freshly rebased, and a quick bit of paint can unify the color schemes to make a nice looking force with a little bit of effort and minimal need to buy anything new.  With a plan for the army and the Battletome in hand I only had my narrative to worry about, but with a bit of time and thought I was able to get a small story flowing that I look forward to expanding as the events continue.  Below is the start of my Narrative for "The Dark Harvest".



Vyndel Willowrun stalked through the densely packed trees of the Ever-Autumnal Grove daring not to disturb a single fallen leaf with his steps.  Despite his footfalls being silent enough to make even a fellow Aelfe question if they heard anything he knew he had been noticed, but not by the prey he sought.


Vyndel had been hunting a lone Priest of Khorne who had ransacked an entire Wanderer camp and feasting on their still warm and sometimes still living bodies, before turning on his own in an orgy of Blood and Slaughter.  While he cared not for the fate of the fell worshipers of The Blood God he would not let the transgression against his own kind continue.


The Slaughterpriest was easy to track, but Vyndel had yet to deduce his motive.  He would march for days at a time only stopping to toy with an amulet on his belt before setting off in a completely different direction.  It wouldn't matter much longer as the dense woods they were now in had slowed his pace considerably. The Chaos scum would be dead within the hour.


The sun was beginning to set when he came upon his prey.  The Khornite Priest was mumbling to himself toying once more with the amulet on his belt unaware of the arrow aimed at his throat and the Aelf who had aimed it.  Vyndel let the arrow fly and as it hissed through the air its target snapped back to reality. Unable to dodge it completely the Slaughterpriest held up a meaty forearm allowing the arrow to lodged itself in the limb.  With a roar, the priest charged Vyndel.


The Khorne worshipper swung his huge cleaver, barely missing Vyndel as he stepped backward from the onslaught.  Vyndel shows the patience of his lineage as he ducked and weaved each brutal swing. The Priests pace was not slowing even as he cut through full grown trees with a few of his swings.


This had been the breaking point for the Sylvaneth that had been watching to two since they entered the woods.  As the Slaughterpriest continued his wild assault vines began to entangle his feet tripping the priest as he fell to the ground with a thud.  Vyndel did not attack knowing what was to come next. A large Ancient Tree Lord appeared from out of nowhere casually picking up the Khorne priest before tearing him in two and tossing the two halves to the forest floor.  The body was quickly covered by all manner of forest fauna as the autumn leaves covered the grisly scene.


“The Cycle continues,”  Vyndel whispered in prayer to the Goddess Alarielle.


Vyndel had known the Sylvaneth were watching but knew he could do nothing about it.  This was their domain and he was trespassing just as much as the Khorne Priest had been.  Vyndel had hoped that his actions would be viewed with leniency from the Tree Folk.


As Vyndel watched the Treelord disappear once more he saw a smaller of its kin appear before him.  A Branchwraith stared hard into his soul looking for any intent to harm the forest. When she was satisfied with the purity of his soul he procured the amulet the Slaughterpriest had been so transfixed by the past few days.  With an open “hand” she offered to Vyndel.


As he touched the amulet visions flashed before his eyes of mighty battles, great victories, and his Goddess Alarielle.  One image truly caught his attention, however, He was fighting side by Side with the Branchwraith standing before him. In an instant, he knew she saw the same images


“I am called Norisarra of The Ever-Autumnal Grove.”  The Brandwraith said with surprising grace and clarity.  “We welcome you to our grove. It seems our destinies are tied to one another.”


Vyndel smiled warmly.  “I am known as Vyndel Willowrun  and I pray to Alarielle our destiny is a promising one.”


I am really looking forward to seeing how the army plays on the table and how to incorporate my Wanderers into the force to complement the overall army. With the release of the new edition playing a local campaign to try out all the new additions with the new rules is a terrific use of our precious gaming time. If you are doing something similar let me know int e comments and if you have any tips for playing Sylvaneth I would appreciate that as well. Until next week, Happy Hobbying!

Chuck Moore