Age of Sigmar Roleplay

Age of Sigmar Roleplay (or, to give it is full title: Warhammer: Age of Sigmar Roleplay: Soulbound) is a roleplaying game set in the universe of Warhammer: Age of Sigmar, and is basically its equivalent to Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay with rules more in line with Wrath & Glory. Much like how Age of Sigmar is more overtly High Fantasy than Warhammer Fantasy, so too is the RPG; whereas Warhammer Roleplay presumed that players started off as a bunch of randomly generated Low Fantasy schlubs who had virtually nothing and would probably die on their first adventure, with starting careers like Dung Collector, Rat Catcher and Beggar, Soulbound goes a different route, having PCs who basically start out as the equivalent of Hero-level characters from the wargame. Mind, just because AoS is more High Fantasy than Low Fantasy doesn't mean its any less Dark Fantasy than WFB, and even more so in some cases. Things can get pretty horrific. For extra fun, play a WFRP 4e game through the duration of Karl Franz's reign then have your party face the End Times, then switch to Soulbound as Stormcast Eternals forged from unlikely heroes who stood until the end.

Binding and being Soulbound

These terms show up a lot in the flavor text, so it's best to try and explain. As stated at the beginning, adventurers in Age of Sigmar Roleplay aren't merely random schmucks looking for gold and probably never going to get it like their counterparts in the World That Was. Adventurers (or at least the kind that AoSRP focuses on) are spiritual successors to the Age of Myth, when Sigmar teamed up with the other non-Chaos Gods of the Eight Realms to beat the shit out of Chaos. During that time, the Pantheon of Order would similarly select mortals from their various races to act as champions, often forming them into mixed-race teams for greater versatility. The "Order of the Soulbound" faded into obscurity when the Pantheon of Order tore itself apart and the Age of Chaos began, but as a result of the Necroquake and Nagash's shitstirring in recent years, Sigmar has been trying to re-invoke the Order, to mixed efforts - so far, only the Duradin and Aelf gods have really been willing to do it, but there do exist those soulbound made by the gods of Death and Destruction, though the process isn't quite as helpful.

The term "Binding" refers to the magical rite that creates a Soulbound in the first place, as well as an adventuring party of Soulbound. This is because Soulbound are created in groups, as the Rite of Binding basically causes would-be party member's spirit to be mystically interlinked with those of several other people at the same time. Those who are part of a Binding have effectively become a singular mega-soul shared across multiple bodies, and this merged essence is the foundation of their heightened abilities.

A Soulbound individual gains some pretty neat perks, the most prominent being technically immortal (they can still be brutally murdered, but they stop aging once they become Soulbound... not that they usually live long enough to enjoy this), augmented healing abilities, the ability to tap into their Binding's group-soul for power via the Soulfire mechanic, and a complete immunity to any of the various spiritual malaises that afflict the Eight Realms; Soulbound are immune to the madness caused by exposure to aether-gold, or the sanity-shredding lust for ur-gold that afflicts Fyreslayers, or the endless phantom pain that bedevils Idoneth Deepkin - the first and foremost of these being that Soulbound individuals can't fall into the clutches of Nagash upon their demise (that is, if the Binding isn't already pledged to his bony ass). True, nobody is quite sure what happens to them upon death; some believe they simply cease to exist, others believe that they disperse but will eventually reknit themselves. But it beats serving Nagash for all eternity, doesn’t it? The downside? Beyond having to serve the gods as their special champions, which is its own source of danger and goes hand in hand with forsaking a normal life, Soulbound become sterile (which has some really major cultural connotations for Fyreslayers and Sylvaneth) and are also mystically compelled to hang around with the individuals whom they underwent the Rite of Binding with. Exactly how this works hasn't really been elaborated on, but basically, once you join a Binding, you're stuck with each other until you die.

The Champions of Death splat complicates things by not only allowing the various undead races to join mortal bindings (Often due to some sort of vestige of nobility or overwhelming urge to flee the tyrant god of death) but also going into some detail as to how Death-focused Bindings are established. Indeed, Nagash learned much from the other gods during the formation of the Bindings and would later perfect the techniques used when forming the Ossiarchs. However, it was when Sigmar began using his Soulbound in order to meddle in his plans that he decided to fully establish his own order, composed of various ghastly monsters and marshalled by his ever-faithful Bonereapers to seek vengeance upon his hated enemies. Almost all of these bindings of Death are formed by either Nagash or Arkhan (chief architects to these rituals), though it may be possible that other mortarchs like Mannfred von Carstein might also have cribbed some notes and forged their own Soulbound in order to ensure undying loyalty. These bindings are far less prone to any unity, as Nagash enjoys grouping together traitors and miserable wretches to torment each other, while the Ossiarch wardens are soldiers meant to be extension of their god's will.

Similarly, the Champions of Destruction splat also mentions that the Binding has an equivalent among the forces of Destruction with a much more familiar name: WAAAAAAGH! While the various races can indeed join basic Order-focused Bindings, such situations are violently unpredictable and not all situations may see such rosy outcomes when dealing with the savage monsters that are often merely a step down in danger from the forces of Chaos. Unlike with Death or Order, Bindings of Destruction tend to be even more tied to freak coincidences, sudden overloads of Waaagh energy that it suddenly melds souls together. Considering that the many races of Destruction are innately hostile to most anything and only respect the strongest, it's no surprise that instances of ordained bindings, whether presided by powerful leaders like Skragott the Loonking or by living gods like Kragnos are exceedingly rare occurrences. Such Destruction-focused Bindings can instead draw from this latent Waaagh energy in ways different than the Soulfire typically used by Order and Death, and all Bindings are strictly led by one of its own until their leadership ends, whether willingly or by the hands of a lucky challenger.

Despite being called the "Order of the Soulbound", the individual Bindings each work independently; they are created for their own initial purpose, and then make their way in the worlds from there. Many Bindings actually don't even know that there are other Soulbound out there!

Rules

The rules are pretty much like Wrath and Glory, except considerably more simplified. Each character only has three stats (Body, Mind, and Soul) to derive everything from. Tiers and Levels have also been done away with, considering how vast the gulfs between racial power levels are, with XP now only being used to buy your skills and talents.

Like W&G, you roll on dice pools combining stats and skills to make your testing. However, rather than the static value for success, the target number for a roll to be considered a success is determined by the test's difficulty, as is the number of successes you need. In combat, you have a particular resource called Mettle, which you can spend to on your rolls to influence how many rolls or successes you got.

Combat also takes a decidedly FATE System-like approach, where movement is highly-abstracted into Zones and ranges are similarly generalized. However, here Initiative is a legitimate stat and thus it takes a linear order of progression.

Magic is a rather familiar fare, split between the CRB disciplines (though they don't exist as such anymore in the wargame) - Pass the associated test, and you can pull any extra successes to boost your spells while failure makes a guaranteed bad-things roll based on the difficulty on the test. Fortunately, these rolls aren't Perils of the Warp bad, with the worst being summoning an out-of-control Endless Spell. There's also Miracles, a special talent variant for all the priest-like characters. This requires you to take a talent to declare fealty to your chosen god (Or the Ethersea for Idoneth)- You then gain access to the various miracles which act somewhat like spells, though not all require tests to trigger.

Glory and Doom exist here as well, though in different ways. Glory would be renamed "Soulfire" to emphasize it's nature as an inter-party resource (and to which the Sigmarines cannot contribute considering that their souls are already property of Sigmar himself and Ossiarchs can't contribute because they are technically Soulbound to the various fragments of their own souls). Soulfire acts like WFRP's Luck, letting you re-roll tests, turn a test into a sweeping success, restoring health, and even cheating death - something that was usually reserved for a very limited resource like Fate. This is offset by two factors: One is how any actions you take with Soulfire requires the entire party to consent to it or else risk giving the GM a point of Doom. The second is that the quantity doesn't necessarily restore per session, but only on accomplishing character goals, expending downtime, and a few very rare exceptions. Doom, meanwhile, no longer acts as a GM resource for dickery and instead a vague tracker to determine the threat level of the enemies.

Races

One of the things that separates Soulbound from Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay is the sheer diversity of playable races that can make up a Soulbinding - gone are the days of nothing but humans with maybe a token elf, dwarf or halfling! Well, okay, in fairness, WFRPG 4th edition is starting to follow in Soulbound's footsteps, adding things like ogres and gnomes to the PC list. Anyway.

Of course, having so many potential races to play does raise a natural question: what the heck do they think of each other? Whilst mono-racial or at least mono-factional Bindings do tend to be the norm, depending on what the gods will, a Binding can have some really damn crazy mixes and so that means that sometimes, people just need to play nice...

The corebook offers Human, Duradin (Fyreslayer or Kharadon Overlord), Aelf (Dark Aelf or Witch Aelf) and Sylvaneth races. Star and Scales added Seraphon, and Champions of Order added Aelf (Lumineth). Champions of Death added Ghoul, Vampire, Wight, Nighthaunt and Ossiarch Bonereaper. Champions of Destruction added Orruk (Bonesplitter, Ironjaw, Kruleboy), Grot, Hobgrot, Troggoth and Ogor.

Champions of Order

Being the default protagonist race, even in Warhammer: Age of Sigmar, Humans don't really get any particular "hook" assigned to them to become Soulbound; their motivations are usually tied more into their background and class (sorry, Archetype) - a Battle Mage is probably after greater arcane power, a Warrior Priest is motivated by religious faith, and so forth. As to how they feel about being bound spiritually to nonhumans, well, that's largely left to inferal, though the general sentiment is probably along the lines of "better to have them inside pissing out than outside pissing in". After all, wouldn't you rather have some of the monsters on your side for once?

Ulgan Aelves are typically motivated by pride, a desire for profit, or a love of adventure. The sheer power of becoming a Soulbound is very enticing, and having powerful compatriots around who actually can't betray you is useful in its own right.

The Daughters of Khaine are usually directly appointed to Bindings by Morathi to get rid of her followers that have become too dangerous or useful to just kill and be done with them. See, as much as being a Soulbound grants a Witch Aelf personal power, it also permanently cuts them out of the bloody hierarchy of the cult of Khaine. Plus, it helps smooth the oft-rocky relationship that Morathi has with the other Gods of Order. Some Witch Aelves even welcome the Binding; whether overly ambitious, too independent to knuckle under to Morathi's will (as executed by their superiors), or even sliding towards heresy, these Witch Aelves are happy to be part of the Binding... even if it means that they have to be linked with non-Witch Aelves. Ironically, the price a Witch Aelf pays for being Soulbound is in an inevitable loss of faith - having their souls opened up to emotions and energies beyond those normally experienced by a Witch Aelf invariably leads to them doubting Khaine's bloody creed. Even Hag Priestesses are willing to embrace the Binding for the power, immortality and the freedom it offers.

To say that Fyreslayer Duradin have conflicted feelings about Soulbound is an understatement. A reclusive and insular people, the idea of opening themselves up to outsiders to the point of literally mingling souls is daunting, if not mildly obscene. Even outside of that issue, there's the little problem of sterility; the super-patriarchal society of Fyreslayers revolves heavily around one's ability to sire sons, after all (no mention is made of what the Fyreslayer women think, but then, who knows if they even exist) and so the usual "it serves my political ambitions" goal is completely absent amongst these Duradin Soulbound. Most Fyreslayers who agree to be Soulbound are Grimnyn, "Fated Wanderers" - those who are desperately seeking a purpose in life or at least a glorious death, in a slightly less grimdark version of the Slayer's Oath. Those who aren't Grimnyn are still oddballs in their own right. Soulbound Fyreslayers often make a big deal about needing remuneration for their services, if only to make their normal kinsfolk a little more comfortable - ironically, becoming Soulbound often tempers a Fyreslayer's usual greed. The precise Archetype a Fyreslayer followers often dictates what they want out of their membership in a binding - but recovering Ur-Gold remains a top priority.

The Idoneth Deepkin are rarely called to become a Soulbound, but at the same time, they find the offer incredibly enticing. It brings them freedom from the pain that plagues them from birth, great power, a surety of their continued existence without the need to steal souls from others, and freedom to reap a soul-harvest from whoever they please (so long as the Binding was going to kill them anyway). With the awareness the gods do not expect faith or worship of a Binding, only its obedience, and a refusal to directly serve Teclis, the Idoneth who are given the chance to be Soulbound typically grab it with both hands, even if it does tend to alienate them from their xenophobic kindred.

The Kharadron Overlords approach the topic of Soulbinding with the same guiding principles that dictate every other action they take: pragmatism and profit. An irreligious race, the Kharadrons focus on what the Binding boils down to if you strip out all that god-stuff: a lifelong and literally unbreakable contract, wherein the Kharadon offers loyal service and is granted extended life and myriad opportunities for glory and profit. Also, a handy immunity to the intense paranoia caused by even slight exposure to aether-gold. True, it's a case of great rewards carrying commiserate risks, but to most Kharadron, that's only proper, and so they will happily make the bargain.

Stormcast Eternals are an oddity in that they are the only members of a Binding who aren't properly Soulbound. Even the Bindings of Destruction have a phenomenon akin to Soulfire in the form of the WAAAAGH, but a Stormcast's spirit is inherently tied to Sigmar. They are and will always to some level be outsiders; attaches to the Binding and not members of it proper. Sigmar selects Stormcasts to accompany Bindings for many reasons, from mentorship to spying on Bindings he doesn't particular trust. Some Stormcasts actually choose to join Bindings of their own free will, finding companionship in beings who have a similarly...unusual... relationship with mortality.

The Sylvaneth regard joining a Binding as both a solemn, terrible burden and a great gift. The curse of the Soulbound is that it destroys a Sylvaneth's lamentiri, effectively ending its former existence of an eternal cycle; unable to birth future incarnations of itself, when a Soulbound Sylvaneth dies, its memories and everything that made it an individual goes with it, lost forever. This is a terrifying fate, and for this reason only Alarielle herself will ask a Sylvaneth to become a Soulbound (and she much prefers to select human or aelven champions instead). But at the same time, breaking from the Spirit Song gives a Sylvaneth an entirely new view of the world; it opens them up to new minds, new worlds, new emotions and perspectives. Merging their essence with the quickblooded humanoids of the Realms, ironically, makes Sylvaneth Soulbound some of the very few of their race who can truly understand non-Sylvaneth. They make natural envoys, especially because ordinary Sylvaneth are more inclined to open up to and trust outsiders Bound to one of their own, given the respect they regard Soulbound.

The Lumineth regard the act of Soulbinding with a certain degree of favor; after all, it's not so different on a conceptual level from the practices of their own aelementiri in particular, or even just their cultural embrace of collectivism. Many Lumineth undergo the Binding with rather arrogant beliefs that they will be "spreading wisdom to the less fortunate", but often they find themselves learning from their bond-mates in the process. Indeed, some of the wiser Realm-lords will even push for students to become Sounbound in order to save them from the path of insular, narrow-minded obsession - an ongoing danger with these Hysh-born Aelves.

Seraphon, just like Stormcast Eternals, cannot become Soulbound, with all attempts to create them resulting in the death of all involved. The exact reasons for this are unknown, some claiming their souls have already been bound, others that their souls are just fundamentally incompatible with that of other mortals. When Seraphon feel the need to aid a Binding, they typically don't bother to introduce themselves or explain their motives: they simply appear and say they're going to help. Once their goals are accomplished, they leave the party as mysteriously as they arrived; the game itself recommends Seraphon characters only stick around for one adventure before being retired.

You'll notice that these entries don't talk very much about how to have these races get on with each other. That's because the Champions of Order basically represent the "default protagonists" of the setting: these are the races who are used to hanging out with each other and working together. Oh, they still bash each other's brains out and everybody knows it, but in general, the cosmopolitan cities of the Free Peoples are places where humans, aelves, and duradin intermingle freely - even Sylvaneth are welcome, if slightly exotic. They're just not as "weird" as the other potential races...

Champions of Death

Now we're starting to get weird!

Ghouls are, in many ways, the undead of the Realms most willing to join a mixed-Faction Binding. After all, they already "live" under a perpetual delusion of being noble champions, knights in shining armor, brave heroes, etcetera: traveling alongside living humans, Stormcast Eternals, duradin or aelves is honestly easy for a ghoul to handle - if anything, it's less stressful for their fevered brains than having to travel with a murderous skulking ghost, a bone-harvesting ossiarch or a blood-sucking vampire. The trick is figuring out what would make a Binding made up of living beings accept the ghoul! The easiest answer is that a) this Binding is one of those collaborations between Nagash and the other non-Chaos deities of the Realms, and b) Nagash decided to be a dick for laughs, which he does pretty often. On the other hand, Soulbinding actually does grant a ghoul greater lucidity, although they can never remain truly "sane" at all times; maybe the ghoul achieved luicidity long enough to beg for salvation from the horror of its previous existence, or maybe it knows something useful enough that placing it under a Binding was deemed necessary.

Nighthaunts, of all the undead, can be said to eagerly seek Binding with non-undead allies, because of what such a Binding offers that a Binding of Death cannot: freedom. Whether that freedom is the shadow of a life that is at least outside of the eternal torments of Shyish, or the certainty of annihilation and passing beyond Nagash's torturous grip upon defeat, or sits somewhere between those two points doesn't matter - all that matters is that Binding their undead soul with the essences of living beings frees them from their existence. Of course, they first have to escape from their natural state of bitterness and spite enough to consider this simple truth, then somehow escape Shyish so they can petition one of the living gods, but a Nighthaunt who can pull that off is usually guaranteed to be accepted. Of course, how much of a hassle having a specter in your Binding is depends on the precise nature of the spook; a Guardian of Souls is generally quite easy to work with, fully appreciative of the freedom its new state offers, but a murderous Cairn Wraith is often more a self-propelled weapon than a proper teammate.

The Ossiarch Bonereapers are almost literally Nagash's take on the Stormcast Eternals, and so have the same issue: already an amalgamation of countless slivers of souls, their essence can't be interwoven with others to become Soulbound. Amongst Bindings of Death, they fill largely a similar role to the Stormcasts, but in mixed company? That's where things get interesting. Most commonly, an Ossiarch joins a living Binding because they have a goal in common and their interests coincide; the generic reason any of the undead end in a mixed-faction Binding. But then there are other reasons... Some Ossiarchs follow Bindings of any sort in order to study Soulfire, hoping to refine their own creation rituals. Others just find themselves spontaneously achieving synergy with a Binding as if the Bound were fellow Ossiarchs. Parrha exiles often ally themselves with Bindings for the simple reason that they don't want to be remoulded or recycled, and a Binding makes for powerful allies. Others are just driven by impulse - some lingering emotion or memory from one or more fragments of their patchwork soul that survived the amalgamation. Ossiarchs from different legions can have even stranger motivations - the Petrifex Elite's tendency to incorporate the fossilized bones of long-fallen Soulbound often results in them inheriting missions from their "donors", whilst the Null Myriad cares far more about protecting the Realms from the horrors of Chaos and the void than about Nagash's petty squabbles and the Crematorians simply hope that studying Soulfire can teach them how to avoid being consumed by their own spiritual flames.

Vampires, as a general rule, privately loathe Nagash and chafe under his rule, being well-aware that if he achieves his goal of killing all life and turning it into undead, they will be destroyed in the process - they need blood to sustain their existence. Whilst some turn to Binding for freedom - at least dying whilst Soulbound will ensure they cannot be tortured by the vengeful Nagash for all eternity - or even for noble reasons, most do so out of a sense of self preservation or to further their own ambitions. Living members of the Binding typically tolerate the vampire for its raw power and useful skills - ironically, many vampires often find themselves in Bindings aimed specifically at battling the undead, and often they appreciate the irony with some dark humor.

Wights are the rarest of the Undead to become Soulbound in a mixed-faction Binding, and when it happens, invariably, it's to pursue a purpose. Either their place in the Binding helps them attain the purpose they defied death to complete, or else it gives them a chance to find a new purpose.

Also, spare a thought for Necromancers, the human mages who have devoted themselves to studying the dark arts pioneered by Nagash. Being living beings who seek to master the forces of death, necromancers are both universally reviled by the undead but also needed; undead hold more power, but a living magic-user has much greater mental flexibility, allowing them to innovate and learn at a rate far greater than the undead. At the same time, Nagash loathes his would-be heirs, tolerating them only so far as they are useful. Necromancers aware of the art of Soulbinding eagerly pursue it as a reliable (if roundabout) way of achieving immortality, with some even managing to emulate the ritual themselves, and they're not very picky about who they merge souls with. If anything, living companions in a Binding are often more tolerable than powerful, free-willed undead, for reasons that should be obvious.

Champions of Destruction

A funny fact about the Champions of Destruction is that the more mystically based Archetypes often have the easiest time integrating into mixed factions. Wardokks are natural team players who consider non-Gorkamorkans no different that the usual oddballs and outcasts they work with. Fungoid Cave Shamans were literally made to be the Voices of Mork, so they naturally fit in when Mork decides to make common cause with the other gods to fashion a Binding, whilst Wise-Grots regard Bindings as just another type of Gobbapalooza, one with even grander stages to access. Warchantas can sometimes hear the heartbeats of their future Soulbound, and don't care about the shape of the body that heart beats in, just that it can play its part in the rhythm of the WAAAAAGH! Butchers appreciate the exotic ingredients and love the rare chance to share ogor culture with outsiders.

Bonesplitter Orruks are amongst the most spiritual of the Races of Destruction; after all, they already gave up their original orruk lifestyle (usually as an Ironjaw) to join the Bonesplitterz in the first place, all based on a deep, intuitive feeling that "dis was right". Bonesplitterz approach being Soulbound in much the same way; precognitive sensations compel an orruk to walk away from his Rukk and start wandering until, eventually, he bumps into the future members of his Binding. And if they turn out to not be orruks (or grots, or even ogors or troggoths)? Well, he don't care! A Bonesplitter'z mentality can usually be summed up as "Dis is my mob; don't matta what dey lookz like, dey is mine, an' I'll krump any git what lookz at dem funny". Of course, an Orruk is still an Orruk and a non-Destruction Binding will usually need to keep its more Destructive impulses in check, but that deep-seated faith in his companions means that a Bonesplitter will typically be surprisingly acceptant of these behaviors, confident that this is the will of Gorkamorka being carried through them, just as it is carried through him. They are perhaps the orruk subrace most commonly found in mixed-faction Bindings.

Grots, whether they be Moonclan or Spiderfang, accept Soulbindings largely to pursue power or save their own skin, and if that means being bound to non-Destruction races, they don't really care. In fact, aside from the sometimes confusing rules about who it's okay to stab and when, a non-greenskin Binding actually tends to work out pretty well for grots, who are surprised to find that so long as they do what they're told, they can generally expect not to be beaten up on a whim.

Troggoths are the most ineffable of all the Destruction races. Orruks, grots and ogors have no understanding why they get added to Destruction Bindings, so it's literally anybody's guess why a troggoth sometimes ends up being Soulbound to non-Destruction races. Usually, Troggoths just act on their own strange and inscrutable whims... and their Soulbound just have to work with the flow, regardless of what race they are.

Ironjawz Orruks often become Soulbound to non-Destruction Bindings in almost a mythic recreation of that long-ago alliance between Sigmar and Gorkamorka: the Ironjawz respect warriors, and don't care for little details like shape or skin color. So long as they're given plenty of chances to take on tough opponents, they're happy. Unfortunately, Ironjawz aren't as patient as their Bonesplitter cousins, and tend to get recalticant if they are held back from fights. Whilst smarter Ironjawz do have a sense of patience, they are first and foremost followers of Gork, so a Binding that succeeds with an Ironjaw in it is usually one that is quick to find targets for him to krump.

Kruleboyz Orruks are the least-likely of all the Orruk subraces to be seen in a non-Destruction Binding. It's not because they're opposed to the idea; as the Morky orruk society, they see a lot of potential in the Binding, and at the very least, it opens up so many places to get into that normally would be closed off to them. The problem is in the name: whereas Ironjawz and Ogors can have a convivial boisterousness and Grots or Bonesplitterz are usually entertaining, Kruleboyz are genuinely sadistic and mean. But then again, not all of the Free Peoples are exactly "nice guys" themselves, and if a Binding can work with a Witch Aelf, then working with an orruk who lives to spook people isn't that big a stretch. Besides, Kruleboyz tend to need less "managing" than Ironjawz or Bonesplitterz.

The little-known Hobgrots make natural Soulbound; the thieves, traders and schemers of orruk (and subspecies) society, they're used to interacting with non-grotz without fighting them. The trick is for a hobgrot to figure out what they can offer to a god other than Gorkamorka to make them accept him as a Soulbound in the first place, with most defaulting to their sneakiness and cunning.

Ogors are the Destruction race most commonly seen in mixed faction Bindings, for the simple reason that, as the most human-like and "civilized" of their ilk, ogors already freely work alongside the Free Peoples as mercenaries on the regular. Ogors tend to take a pragmatic approach to Soulbinding in general, and that applies regardless of the other races involved. Often, they'll join a largely Order or Death-based Binding for access to plenty of food, especially if it's an exotic delicacy that they would have a hard time sating if they weren't given free access to their Binding's society.

Archetypes

The analogue to WFRPG's Careers, Archetypes are the class structures, though they also serve as a way to establish membership in specific subraces - if you want to specifically play a Fyreslayer Duradin or an Idoneth Deepkin Aelf, you pick the appropriate Archetype. That said, there are rules for custom archetypes if you wanna build more generic or unseen concepts (Such as the Lumineth Realm Lords or maybe just more Freeguild equivalents), like you could in W&G.

In addition to the Trade Pioneer Archetype, which is open to any race, the archetypes actually mostly serve to reinforce racial choices.

Humans can take the Battlemage or Excelsior Warpriest archetypes. The Champions of Death supplement adds the Necromancer Archetype.

Free Peoples' (aka, generic) Aelfs have access to the Darkling Sorceress and Black Arc Corsair archetypes. Other Aelven Archetypes are specifically tied to the two most developed factions of aelves so far; the Daughters of Khaine (Hag Priestess, Witch Aelf, Khainite Shadowseer) and the Idoneth Deepkin (Akhelian Emissary, Isharann Soulscryer, Isharann Tidecaster, Isharann Soulrender). The Champions of Order splatbook introduced rules for Lumineth Realm-Lords (Alarith Stoneguard, Alarith Stonemage, Scinari Cathallar, Vanari Guard)

Duradin are strictly restricted to archetypes based on membership in either the Fyreslayers (Auric Runesmiter, Battlesmith, Doomseeker, Grimwrath Berzerker) or Kharadron Overlords (Aether-Khemist, Endrinmaster, Skyrigger, Brewmaster, Aetheric Navigator) subraces.

Stormcast Eternals and Sylvaneth are restricted to racial archetypes; the Knight Azyros, Incantor, Questor, Venator and Zephyros for the former (due to not actually being Soulbound and having joined either of their own volition or on orders from their Chambers) and the Branchwych, Kurnoth Hunter, Tree-Revenant Waypiper, and Spite-Revenant for the latter (due to the fact Eldritch fay types don't really do trade, which remains the only generic universal Archetype). The Stars & Scales supplement also does the same for Seraphon with only two archetypes available: The Saurus Oldblood and Skink Starpriest.

The Champions of Death supplement similarly restricts archetypes to their particular races; the Ossiarch Bonereapers (Immortis Guard, Kavalos Deathrider, Morghast, Mortisan, Necropolis Stalker) who are incapable of being Soulbound and often join on Nagash's orders or their own interests, Ghouls (Abhorrent Ghoul, Crypt-Ghast Courtier, Crypt-Haunter Courtier, Crypt Infernal Courtier) whose bodies are twisted to serve their delusions, Nighthaunt (Cairn Wraith, Guardian of Souls, Knight of Shrouds, Lord-Executioner, Myrmourn Banshee, Spirit Torment) who can't really pick up a whole lot anyways due to being ghosts, Soulblight Vampires (Blood Knight, Vampire Lord), and Wights who are mere skellingtons (Grave Guard, Black Knight).

The Champions of Destruction supplement comes with their own races with archetypes; Orruks are known for their brutish determination and have archetypes for the Bonesplitterz (Morboy, Wardokk, Wurrgog Prophet), Ironjawz (Brute, Warchanta, Weirdnob Shaman), and Kruleboyz (Gutrippa, Man-Skewer Boltboy, Murknob, Swampcalla Shaman). The Hobgrots, being a minor client race that were only recently canonized, only have the Hobgrot Slitta as an archetype and gain a greedy personality with a compulsion to trade up treasures. The Gloomspite Gitz have archetypes for both the diminutive but arrogant Grots (Boingrot Bouncer, Fungoid Cave Shaman, Loonboss, Spider Rider, Webspinner Shaman, Wisegrot) and ever-unkillable Troggoths (Fellwater Troggoth and Rockgut Troggoth). The Ogors remain massive walls of meat with a surprisingly dangerous bite and plenty of archetypes in the Ogor Mawtribes (Butcher, Firebelly, Icebrow Hunter, Maneater)

The Mortal Realms

Whilst an overview of the realms and history of the Age of Sigmar world are presented in the Soulbound corebook, the corebook focuses on adventuring in the Great Parch region of Aqshy.

Religion

Whilst the gods of Order and Chaos have been a part of the Age of Sigmar world for a while, the AoSR corebook goes into particular detail about how the current pantheons stand at the moment. Certain characters gain the abilities to channel Miracles

The Pantheon of Order consists of eight recognized deities:

• Sigmar, the God-King
• Nagash, the Undying King
• Alarielle, the Everqueen
• Gorkamorka, the Greenskin God
• Grimnir, the Shattered God
• Grungni, the Maker
• Malerion, the Shadow King
• Morathi, High Oracle of Khaine
• Teclis, the Illuminator

Of course, there are other beings that certain armies worship that aren't quite part of the pantheon:

• The Bad Moon, a strange and inscrutable celestial body whose presence can eclipse even the light of Hysh. The Gloomspite Gitz fervently worship it, hoping for its presence.
• The Ethersea, the spiritual ocean that the Idoneth channel to allow them to thrive on the surface.
• The Everwinter, the perpetually snowy phenomenon that surrounded the Beastclaw Raiders. While its influence has weakened enough that it has allowed the raiders to coexist alongside the basic mawtribes, certain ogors can channel its power in ways that can freeze enemies.
• The Gulping God, an aspect of Gorkamorka that may or may not be an expy of the Great Maw that Ogor Butchers fervently worship.
• Kragnos, the End of Empires
• The Spider God that the Spiderfang Grots revere.

The Gods of Chaos, in comparison, number five strong: Khorne, Nurgle, Tzeentch, The Great Horned Rat, and Slaanesh, who is the odd ball out since s/he’s currently imprisoned between Ulgu and Hysh but has since gained influence and power.

Supplements and Adventures

• Core Rulebook
• Bestiary
• Age of Sigmar Roleplay Starter Box: Contains the "Faltering Light" introductory adventure.
  • Brightspear City Guide: Included in the Starter Box. Provides some background details to the free city of Brightspear, including plot hooks.
• Crash & Burn: Free adventure
• Shadows in the Mist: A set of inter-connected adventures involving the forces of Nurgle assailing the free city Anvilgard. Incidentally, some might remember that Anvilguard went through some shit during the Broken Realms Saga, which the compilation addresses.
  • Anvilgard City Guide: Same as the book for Brightspear above, this provides some plot hooks and details for the city before and after Morathi's takeover.
• Fateful Night: Adventure module involving protecting Brightspear from some Nighthaunt.
• Trouble Brewing: Adventure module involving delivering the brew of a descendant/expy of the great Josef Bugman. Also include the Brewmaster archetype for Kharadron Overlords.
• Champions of Order: The first major splatbook, introducing plenty of new archetypes, as well as introducing the Lumineth Realm-Lords. It also introduces the feature of background perks based on various army factions.
• Steam & Steel: The big splatbook about crafting and vehicles. Includes other manner of gear, including Kharadron aether-rigs and Fyreslayer runes.
• Stars & Scales: (Web supplement) Introduces rules for Seraphon PCs as well as an adventure involving them.
• Champions of Death: Introduces the various forces of Death as PCs (both in Death-only parties and in normal Order-based parties) and as adversaries.
• Artefacts of the Realms: A book full of super-powerful relics and plot-hooks using them. Also includes rule for crafting items using realmstone (crystallized essences of the Mortal realms as well as Warpstone and Varanite). Surprisingly also has statlines for the CRB Endless Spells, since they weren't included anywhere else.
• Champions of Destruction: Introduces the various forces of Destruction as PCs (both in Destruction-only parties and in normal Order-based parties) and as adversaries.
• Ulfenkarn: City at the Edge of Death: Supplement detailing the setting of Warhammer Quest: Cursed City, yet to be released.
• Era of the Beast: Upcoming supplement based on running games taking place after Broken Realms. Includes a bunch of new Order Archetypes like Melusai and Lumineth Loreseekers, as well as details on the continent of Thondia in Ghur.