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So I just finished the Gates of Azyr, and it was surprisingly good for what it is. I really enjoyed the somber and sad feeling of the Stormcast background, and I'm now very happy with my decision to collect them. They are ripped from their former lives, or even death, to serve Sigmar and conquer a land that is so far removed from what they once knew that they are essentially fighting someone else's war. They have been locked up in the Celestial Realm for hundreds or even thousands of year while their former homeland has been ravaged and transformed by Chaos. This has the potential for some very interesting stories about individual Eternals. I'm really looking forward to the developing story going forward, and we'll probably get to see a lot more of the "common man" as lands get reconquered and more tribes such as the one in GoA get rescued and resettled. Not to mention the re-imagining of all the other races! I see a lot of potential in this story. What do you guys think, especially those who have read more fluff than I have?

If you like Gates of Azyr, you will love War Storm (and Ghal Maraz - nice progression between them, and they all follow on from one another).

Also check out the ebook shorts, Call of Archaon. I have a feeling that line is going to become a very important plot point

Are eternals much different from space marines, the way they are shown in fiction?

Makumba wrote:
Are eternals much different from space marines, the way they are shown in fiction?

There are many similarities, as they are are quite obviously meant to be fantasy Space Marines. They are magically enhanced super soldiers, reared by a god-king, divided into untold warbands all with their own individual heraldry. One big difference is that they are essentially immortal, being resurrected again and again, each time losing a part of themselves in the process. They are also all former heroes or great warriors, some brought back from the dead, some taken from the living. I can't say much about the depiction of their personalities or demeanor since I've read so little. The world is obviously different though, although parallels can be made to the a Great Crusade in 40k. Sigmar and the Stormcast have locked themselves in the Celestial Realm for a long time, while the world has been ravaged by Chaos. They are now re-entering the world to drive Chaos away. This also means that they are all unfamiliar with the current state of the world and just how far it has fallen. I really like this aspect.

That's basically all I know.

Makumba wrote:
Are eternals much different from space marines, the way they are shown in fiction?

Why wouldnt they be tho? Its all suppose to fit in together at some point and time right? I got both those books on order ill get them friday.

Externals are heroic or stoic persons of character (humans, elves, etc... they even hint at possibly vampires or undead with the lord relictor). These persons were taken just before death or during death by sigmar. They were recreated as more muscular, taller humans (prolly 7-8 feet tall) in the 'heaven world' (about eye to eye with most chaos mutated warriors). They wear heavy metal armor made by sigmar and brandish weapons made by sigmar. They move in the armor under their own muacular power. Some weapons are impregnated with magic, others not.

Space marines are humans that are taken, and surgically altered into genetic superhumans. They are then given armor that only functions because it has a power plant (otherwise the marine could possibly not move in the armor). Similar to the eternals they use super weapons.

Both seem similar but are yet vastly different. One is completely fantasy, just large humanoids wearing armor of the time, the other is completely sci fi -super genetic freaks wearing power armor.

It kinda sounds like Sigmarines are more 'Space Marine' than space marines..

Unfortunately, the fluff I've seen so far seems to have taken up the trope of the Space Marines/Eternals doing heroic things and being the center of the story while the people of the other factions exist mainly to get slaughtered around them.

Well, the fluff revolving around the Sigmarines is a bit strange to me.
Therefore, I'll stick with Warriors of Chaos.

So have the Stormcast fought anything after their reforging or not? In War Storm, one guys says "we are all untried in battle, we Stormcast", but later another guy talks about one of his guys being a boss during "the cleansing of azyr" implying that they fought together against Chaos in the Celestial Realm, before they opened the gates. So what gives?

 Mymearan wrote:
So have the Stormcast fought anything after their reforging or not? In War Storm, one guys says "we are all untried in battle, we Stormcast", but later another guy talks about one of his guys being a boss during "the cleansing of azyr" implying that they fought together against Chaos in the Celestial Realm, before they opened the gates. So what gives?

There were some scattered Chaos beasties in Azyr that they hunted down, but nothing organised (or smart) like the Goretide, Rotbringers or Bleak Horde.

So, they gave the odd Chimera a kicking but had not faced the likes of Lord Khul.

Read all the books and they are different to space marines in the regard that they feel fear and they are terrified of dying since dying messes with their memories think of them as the good/order version of chaos warriors. Hence why in gameplay terms they are not bravery 10 like darmons and undead.