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So the Dryads make me want to get into Age of Sigmar. Beyond buying the models, what books or downloaded documents do I want to get to get me started on the game?

Sylvaneth looks to be the first of a new style of AoS book with relics and Command abilities, so I'd say Sylvaneth.

Very basic getting started is to grab the free app.
Gives you the rules plus the war scrolls all for free.

Past that you can pick up the generals hand book once it's released for more competitive games if you want.

But the app is easily the best starting point.

Main rules and unit rules are all free on the GW website.

The app is also pretty decent.

Does anyone know if there will be an iPad version of the Generals Handbook?

Yes there will be.

Davor wrote:
Does anyone know if there will be an iPad version of the Generals Handbook?

And it looks like $20 for it... $5 cheaper than the printed version....

What is Games Workshop doing??... it seems like someone is using good judgement on pricing.....

I plan to try to take that mechanized city. My ArchWarlock has to participate either way (Contract with the Clan Pestilens he works with the the nurgle daemons they bring along,) and what power-hungry ratman WOULDN'T take the chance to harness a new energy source?

I love Rob Symes' "amazing" preview of Battletome Sylvaneth that they posted on the Age of Sigmar Facebook page. Its much better than Gee-Dubs usual preview videos

https://www.facebook.com/GWWarhammerAgeofSigmar/videos/vb.452117934985005/491709634359168/?type=2&theater

 Ghaz wrote:
I love Rob Symes' "amazing" preview of Battletome Sylvaneth that they posted on the Age of Sigmar Facebook page. Its much better than Gee-Dubs usual preview videos

https://www.facebook.com/GWWarhammerAgeofSigmar/videos/vb.452117934985005/491709634359168/?type=2&theater

That was pretty great.

I for one would love to see destruction win. It would basically be a massive troll; the epic schemes and armies of gods undone by a mass of dumb brutes.

@Swampmist, that's the first thing I thought when I read about that city and it's "realm stones". The good counterpart to the infamous warp stones that the ratmen are going to want to have at any cost.

Anyway, either Order or Death for the win.

Order: vibrant cities that can make amazing backgrounds.

Death: undead cities that can make creepy awesome backgrounds. (If dark souls has taught us anything it's that.)

 NinthMusketeer wrote:
I for one would love to see destruction win. It would basically be a massive troll; the epic schemes and armies of gods undone by a mass of dumb brutes.

Isn't that the ending of Storm of Chaos?

 NinthMusketeer wrote:
I for one would love to see destruction win. It would basically be a massive troll; the epic schemes and armies of gods undone by a mass of dumb brutes.

Yeah it would be funny but we all know what's going to happen destruction is just going to wreck the cities punk the other factions and walk off into the sunset while laughing.

Baron Klatz wrote:
@Swampmist, that's the first thing I thought when I read about that city and it's "realm stones". The good counterpart to the infamous warp stones that the ratmen are going to want to have at any cost.

Anyway, either Order or Death for the win.

Order: vibrant cities that can make amazing backgrounds.

Death: undead cities that can make creepy awesome backgrounds. (If dark souls has taught us anything it's that.)

That's how I also see it as well.

Read the preview copy of the generals hand book today. I like it. The core rules of age of sigmar are decent, but the lack of points system really held it back. The book also adds some extra tweets that really feel like a refinement to the core system for the better. Everything added is short and sweet.

This is very excellent work from gw tbh, and wonder how the lessons learned from age of sigmar will effect other products. The design choices made were all very sensible.

I'm actually looking forward to age of sigmar for the 1st time.

Nobody comment this from Faeit?

Make no mistake, Age of Sigmar second edition starts right now. The new Sylvaneth and Bonesplitterz books are going to set the standard for the next wave of army books, in much the same way the Decurion set the standard for Warhammer 40k.

The Battletomes are going to have a significant spike in power, and therefor necessity for most players, as GW piles on more special rules, spells, relics, and battalions. Army specific spells and magic items will be limited to their respective army (to maintain both balance and flavor), while battalions will have an additional point tax, but allow for more mixed and matched armies to retain some of the cool faction specific abilities. The best and most restrictive of which will force you to take specific magic items and command traits, but include rules to make them somewhat more powerful. The cross faction battalions will be the exception that proves the rule to “more specific armies get the best rules”. Larger battalions will essentially be framed as armies in a can, with some very fluffy rules and units that are designed to attract players who are into more narrative play.

There is no plan yet to include point costs in the battletomes, GW want to push the general’s handbook as AOS version of the BRB, but they’re trying to create a roadmap for new plays to become more “hardcore”. The idea is that the ‘start collecting’ armies and/or a bunch of random dudes little timmy picks up at the shop are on one level of gameplay, which gets progressively more complex and intricate as you buy more books.

First you buy a few models to play with your friend, then you buy your armies battletome to see what kind of cool abilities they have, then you buy the generals handbook once you want to start playing more balanced and competitive games. The BRB as it is will become a fluff and campaign book, with the bigger coffee table books being released every once and a while to act as the base line for whatever the current story line is about, while smaller narrative books (see the realmgate wars series) will release with every major wave to keep the story chugging along. The narrative books will never be as necessary for games as battletomes and general’s handbook, but GW still wants them to be fun and fluffy for narrative players, as well as reference the current state of the setting and tease contents of future battletomes.

The General’s handbook is going to have a few gaps in it that will be filled by the next wave of battletomes, but expect a new one every once and while with updates and newer rules.

The current General’s handbook is going to last the entire summer, covering every major AOS update between now and whenever the next wave of 40k starts (Some say early September, some say late, but there will be a 2 week buffer between AOS summer and 40K
winter).

Then after the next wave of 40k, AOS is going to pick up where the summer campaign left off, with a new BRB coffee table book covering the events of the summer campaign and covering the groundwork of the new lore.

It’s not going to be called second edition, and the exact title of the book is subject to change based on the outcome of the campaign, but expect everyone to call is AOS 2.0. No word yet on who exactly will be featured

In the second edition starter set, but if I were a gambling man I’d say it would be Sylvaneth Vs. Rotbringers, with some neat missions to “Recreate the final days in the battle for the realm of life”.

Then another series of mini campaign books will launch and the cycle will begin all over again. The realm of life summer campaign is going to play a huge factor in whether or not GW brings campaigns back, but expect another AOS campaign before we see a 40k one. GW wants to try and pretty up the current state of 40k with the next edition before it gets its own special campaign books
and summer campaigns.[i]

zamerion wrote:


The Battletomes are going to have a significant spike in power, and therefor necessity for most players, as GW piles on more special rules, spells, relics, and battalions. Army specific spells and magic items will be limited to their respective army (to maintain both balance and flavor), while battalions will have an additional point tax, but allow for more mixed and matched armies to retain some of the cool faction specific abilities. The best and most restrictive of which will force you to take specific magic items and command traits, but include rules to make them somewhat more powerful. The cross faction battalions will be the exception that proves the rule to “more specific armies get the best rules”. Larger battalions will essentially be framed as armies in a can, with some very fluffy rules and units that are designed to attract players who are into more narrative play.

If true, I'd be worried about this. One of the main complaints with 40k (and WFB) was that later books started becoming overpowered and the game creep put a lot of people off. 40k requires a forest worth of books which you need to buy to get that specific benefit and which continually escalates. I'm not sure I like the idea of this rumour at all as it doesn't really show GW are learning from the mistakes of the past; it's back to buy the new model/book because it's more powerful than the last etc.

Why should GW change their successful business strategy.

But I think this is not a real rumour but and educated guess on how thinks will proceed based on how GW treat rules in general and how the new books look like.

 Lou_Cypher wrote:

 shinros wrote:
Yeah I suspect so after listening to the recent audio drama I am just wondering what Nagash is planning.

Oh piece of advice for the love of god and all that is the god of spooky don't let chaos or destruction win.

It's clear what chaos wants to do with the cities and well destruction? Do I need to say anything else. If Death wins I suspect interesting fluff development if order wins the cities will flourish and stay I suspect going by the end of the season of war.

Yeah, see, I really... really want Chaos to have a foothold on one of the cities. Preferrably the one that Alarielle raised. In the name of Tzeentch, and not filthy Nurgle.

I'm sure we can come to a few negotiations. Tzeentch need not be an enemy here....

Trade some secrets and all that.

Do we know if the campaign will be granular enough to make the different Chaos Gods fighting matter?
I too would like to see what Tzeentch will do with a foothold in the realm of life, but kick out the filth.

Haha I love that GW facebook video review, when he's trying to discuss the book and he just gets caught up in the artwork.

'Oh thats awesome....and we've got....oh...oh thats cool....thats cool.....oh my god that is badass.....'

zamerion wrote:
Nobody comment this from Faeit?

Of course not. People mostly ignore that craphole. He/the site basically tends to take existing rumors add their own garbage on top of it to claim it as their own rumormongers operating anonymously, and then gets pissy when called out on it. I genuinely cannot think of a time where any of the bolted-on rumors that the site claims have been unknown or surprising.

After looking at the painting tuts I'm even more impressed with the sculpting on that beetle. Amazing good model.

The tut itself did introduce some more advanced techniques too. Good job!

I will display my ignorance and ask what a 'tut' is. Obviously corny references to the boy king are void in Tennessee, Nevada and parts of Oregon.

Probably tutorial

* Tutorials.

So the creep starts.

All codexes to this date just had battalions and warscrolls.

Rites of Battle: potent abilities that can be conferred on armies with the Sylvaneth allegiance, and Command Traits that can be used by their generals; ­
Spell Lores: powerful magic, both defensive and offensive, specifically for sylvaneth wizards; ­
Artefacts of the Glades: relics of war, usable by sylvaneth heroes;
3 Battleplans, helping you to fight glorious battles based on the narrative leading up to them;
5 Warscroll Battallions, collections of miniatures who gain special abilities when combined; ­
8 special Warscroll Battalions called Wargroves. These give you even more special abilities, magic items, command traits and spells;
1 Historical Battalion, the Guardians of Alarielle, which recreates the alliance between the sylvaneth and the Stormcast Eternals;
details of the history and organisation of the sylvaneth, with full background for every unit, character and monster in the faction.

Rites of Battle and Artefacts for the other armies are in The General's Compendium. Sylvaneth's stuff is NOT within The General's Compendium though.

The Wargroves and Guardians of Alarielle seem like they might just be reprinting the Sylvaneth material from the campaign books.

 Kanluwen wrote:
Rites of Battle and Artefacts for the other armies are in The General's Compendium. Sylvaneth's stuff is NOT within The General's Compendium though.

The Wargroves and Guardians of Alarielle seem like they might just be reprinting the Sylvaneth material from the campaign books.

I dont know I never heard anyone mention spell lores for the other races in the general book. If its there glad to be wrong.

On the plus if they keep adding points upgrades relics ect to the editions aos might be playable in a couple years.

 Kanluwen wrote:
Rites of Battle and Artefacts for the other armies are in The General's Compendium.
.

I have only seen the general stuff yet, so are Fireslayer, Stormcast, Bloddbound etc. get their own stuff in the handbook?

 NAVARRO wrote:
* Tutorials.

Ah, thanks.
Was thinking "tuts" versus "tutes"