Warhammer Age of Sigmar narrative play is all about story-telling. Imagine that you and your fellow players are the directors of a film. The aim is to collaborate throughout rules creation, background writing for your forces, creating epic tables to play on and then acting out that story through the game.
The boards are set, the pieces are moving, and it is against these backdrops that hobbyists everywhere create their own tales by building their forces, painting them and fighting mighty battles.
Creating scenarios where your army has to prevent the enemy from completing a dark ritual that will tear the very substance of reality apart. Playing an epic campaign, where each participant is trying to carve out their own region of the map to call their own. Naming and writing the back-story for all the characters and units in your army. All of these are examples of narrative play, and they can be one of the most involved and fulfilling ways to engage with the Warhammer hobby.
This section of the site, currently in development, will provide advice, resources and inspiration for Age of Sigmar narrative play.
Age of Sigmar Narrative Play
The General’s Handbook 2017 (and other resources like Skirmish, Hinterlands, Renown or Ruin) provide a toolkit for creating compelling Age of Sigmar narrative battles in the Mortal Realms. For example:
- Time of War rules allow you to experience particular effects depending on where you have set your battles (and this will be expanded on further with the Realmscape features in Age of Sigmar Second Edition).
- Narrative Battleplans designed around creating exciting battles around a story line:
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- Against the Horde pits a force of guerilla fighters against an enormous combined force in a desperate mission of assassination;
- To Bind the Storm turns every single hero in your army into a lightning wielding Wizard battling to defend or destroy a mighty edifice
- Siege battles allowing for defensive warfare against overwhelming odds, including a special Siege phase that allows you to tunnel under your opponent’s fortifications or starve the defenders ahead of the battle.
Try an Age of Sigmar Narrative Event
The best way to experience Age of Sigmar narrative play, especially if you don’t have a group of like-minded players locally, is to try an Age of Sigmar narrative event. Take part as the event organiser sets the tone and story framework for the event. Some great examples to check out are:
Further reading
While this section of the site grows, check out:
- the Creator Class interviews – interviews with Age of Sigmar narrative gamers from around the world about their creative process;
- the Narrative Event Organisers Network – articles and resources for Age of Sigmar narrative gamers; and
- the Narrative section of The Grand Alliance Community, the internet’s leading Age of Sigmar forum;
- the Open War Cards from Games Workshop;
- AoS 28: The Dark Age of Sigmar;
- Battletome: the End Times;
- Mengel Miniatures’ review of Age of Sigmar Skirmish;
- the Hinterlands Skirmish Campaign Set;
- Heroic Play, an unofficial expansion for Age of Sigmar Skirmish;
- Renown & Ruin Age of Sigmar Skirmish Expansion;
- Warfront: An Age of Sigmar Map League;
- Vital Objectives: An Unofficial Warhammer Age of Sigmar Supplement from Mengel Miniatures
